New domain! 🥳

Hoera! - Er is er 1 jarig... En weer een nieuw URL! MadJohn.nl linken we nu ook door naar Madjohn.eu voor betere bereikbaarheid!🥳 Verder heeft de gehele website op veelvuldig verzoek een transitie ondergaan naar PHP! :)
// Last updated @ 13-12-2022

Bowers & Wilkins amplifier hack (repair+mod) 🔊

This Bowers & Wilkins amplifier hack contains both a repair job and a giant speaker mod as lots of work was involved repairing, but even more work was involved to redo the new hardware and software.

A new pair of class-D amplifiers was required to repair, however this also required a redesign solution of the volume and equaliser, in order to reuse the buttons and audio control via the docking station again. Therefore, all the signals and data protocols needed to be sniffed in order to reverse-engineer and re-design a custom volume-/ equalizer controller.

A bare minimal Arduino implementation was used as glue-logic, in order to restore full functionality. So, what started as a seemingly doable repair, ended up into a major modding project that I've been working on for over weeks.

However, the whole thing was way beyond economical repair, the project was both interesting and fun, and the final result was very satisfying to listen to after all!


// Last updated @ 14-12-2022

New website! 🥳

Hoera! - Een nieuw URL, een nieuwe website en uiteraard met een nieuwe look! (Op verzoek wel de [oude retro-site bewaard gebleven]) Lees hier meer over de historie van deze site, en hoe de nieuwe website tot stand gekomen is!
// Last updated @ 1-12-2020

1st prize @ Global Y4PT public transport Hackathon sponsored by Hackariadna 🏆️🛰

My team #Sense4Air and team #Hamba won the shared first prize in the #Y4PT hackathon #hackariadna, Melbourne 2021, here we come! 😁 #innovation

Update 1: We're happy to finally share our interview with recent #HackARIADNA hackathon project details @ UITP, to satisfy most your questions what it was all about :)

Update 2: Unfortunately the Y4PT hackathon in Melbourne 2021 is canceled due to Covid 19.

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The #Sense4AIR.com crew: Marco van Nieuwenhoven Sander Claassen Massimo Santi

Global Y4PT public transport Hackathon - Maskbot 🤖😷

During the pandemic, I attended another hackathon with the aim to fight Covid-19.

We designed a bot to inform about current measures and supply face-masks in a safe maner, with audio-visual guiding how to properly wear them (before this was even a thing). Also a laser-guided contactless alcohol-dispenser was build in, again with instructions. Click here to view our final teaser presentation on YouTube!

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Thanks to our MaskBot-team from all around the globe for having a great & fun time working to gether!

Bricky the LEGO robot! 🤖🧱️

This blog is about a funny team-building LEGO challenge event with a crazy hackathon twist. And just in case you're not surrounded by developers every-day by yourself, you must be thinking by now; Are you !@#$%ˆ&-kidding me?! The answer to that simple question however is a bit complicated, so let me briefly explain; No, I'm actually surrounded with 'grown-up' engineers that keep using LEGO's to proto-type and build awesome stuff. But yes, this just started as a little joke (before it all got fully out of hand, and Bricky turned into a legend after winning an award)!!!😬

1st prize @ Hackathon Hack Global Goals Platform 🏆️🛰

1st prize @ Hackathon Hack Global Goals Platform - “BEARHUG – embracing everyone” 🛰

If you live in a rural off-grid community, you have challenges when it comes to maintenance of your solar water pump or your PV micro-grid. Replenishing stock or getting help has its own logistical issues. With BEARHUG we help these 700 million people worldwide by providing them a means to remotely monitor their equipment health, order stock products and signal community issues to their support people - anywhere on the planet. BEARHUG can save up to an estimated 50% on logistics and maintenance costs, open up new revenue streams for these communities, and bring these communities closer to their support groups.

The communication for this IOT concept in remote locations makes use of a cost efficient Hiberband satellite connection. The working prototype with sensors for our use case includes an API to compress the data as dense as possible due to the origin of the challenge itself: https://lnkd.in/ejhUyfC

Can’t wait for a demo? Please visit our booth at the Eindhoven Maker Faire | 29 + 30 September 2018 #programming #hacking

Team "MAD alert" 🚨

Yet anoter great hackathon with our MAD_Space hackerspace friends @ Science Hack Day Eindhoven! ;) Thanks everyone! This project was about making the local city a safer place. MAD alert allowed to interact with the already existing facility tools from our sponsor; Eindhoven Living Lab, to followup faster on criminal activity around the city using smarter technology.

Russia hackathon 2017 Ⓜ️🚇

Moscow has a major public transport problem, especially during rush-hour you’re basically ‘trapped’ in traffic jams, especially by car, but even in busses and metro stations. So, we came up with a congestion-based route planner app, as the congestion should be predictable given that 1) trams are coming by every 2 minutes, 2) a fixed load of passengers and our holy grail of secretly available data 3) the available cell-phone clients on the free/ public Wi-Fi networks per bus-stop, tram station (cell-location), and so on. Because basically, the whole city was already supplied with a WiFi network, owned by the Metro station. This data was reliable, because many people used it as it was the only way to get cell-phone reception at all far underneath the ground. The only thing to be rolled-out, was our app of course! ;-)

This incredible event was truly beyond all our expectations! Many thanks to all of you making this possible and especially the #Y4PT crew for organizing this event! #Y4PThackathon #Y4PTring #MoscowMetro

1st prize @ Hackathon Eindhoven Maker Faire 🏆️

Een mijlpaal; Mijn eerste hackathon gewonnen met ons Track 'n Skate concept, binnen het kader van IoT en Society (omtrent Skate park Area 51). Hiermee kunnen we skaters middels een online platform en een positionerings-systeem automatisch gegenereerd videomateriaal, high-scores, tips & tricks laten delen op social media. Cool toch!? ;-)

The (REAL) RSI free mouse! ⚠️

This blog item is about making a custom HID device to address a common problem of using a computer. Actually, it’s a PEBKAC issue, since the “Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair”; As it might be you, suffering from RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). Please read on to find out how I addressed the issue using the (REAL) RSI-free mouse!