This page created 03-05-2002 02:59:50

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Kilian's Robot Shop of Horrors - 02/08/2002

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Hacking a Cray memory module

rsoh01.jpg
Alan found this Cray memory
module on eBay. [He used to
work at Cray]
rsoh02.jpg
We looked at the intricate
circuitry.
rsoh03.jpg
Then of course we started
taking it apart.
rsoh04.jpg
We used a ball point pen as a
nut driver on the small nuts.
rsoh05.jpg
We ran them up in the tube
until they wouldn't fit
anymore. Then found another
pen.
rsoh07.jpg
Jeff and Brynn admire the
craftsmanship.
rsoh08.jpg
There were two boards
sandwiched around the
aluminum cooling frame. And
they were connected with
these small pins.
rsoh09.jpg
Brynn kept whining about
his hand hurting from playing
racket ball. So he
volunteered to pull the pins
with pliers.
rsoh10.jpg
A closeup of the chips.
rsoh11.jpg
Brynn was making a noble
effort but not getting very
far. So Alan pulled out
some precision tools. We were
cutting the pins with a putty
knife and a hammer.
rsoh12.jpg
Then he went to work with a
pry bar.
rsoh13.jpg
We finally got one of the
boards off.
rsoh14.jpg
This is the aluminum cooling
frame.
rsoh15.jpg
It is milled so it has a pad
that sticks through the board
where every chip is located.
rsoh22.jpg
These are the really small
nuts and bolts that held it
together.
rsoh06.jpg
While we were destroying the
the memory module, Alan was
also trying to load Linux on
one of his laptops.


More Trippy motor drivers

rsoh16.jpg
Alan decided to make a
single board instead of three
small ones.
rsoh17.jpg
This is the start of a 4
channel driver. This one only
has 2 channels.


Other

rsoh18.jpg
We were trying to find
Afghanastan or Bulgaria or
Ohio.
rsoh19.jpg
Alan found this stylish
headgear at a local toy store.
rsoh20.jpg
Fully activated.
rsoh21.jpg
We were going to try the
grape in the microwave
experiment. But we could only
find cherry tomatoes. They
didn't work as well.


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