New Product Friday: Oh Fudge!

This week we play some pranks with our new products.

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The winner of the March caption contest is Nerdrobin! Congratulations - you win the "Hacker On-the-Go" wishlist!


What do you mean I can't eat it? You said there were chips in this box!

We're back, and it's time to have some fun. It's been awhile since we pulled a good prank on anyone and this week's product selection was just screaming to be used in a prank. Check out the video and see what we did.

If you need the Vimeo link, check it out here. The 'Oh Fudge' is one of those great products that is great in theory, easy in execution, and just plain ridiculous in reality. With the lid open, it scares the fudge out of you, even if you know it's coming. It was a bit hard to prank people with it since most people are wary when cameras are around. That and every time it went off, you could hear it in the entire building and even outside. They're seriously loud.

We couldn't have made the Oh Fudge without these car horns.  We could have, but I don't think the sound of a relay clicking on would scare anyone. This is another one of those products that is just cool to have on your project. They're easy to use, loud, and look cool.

Ribbon cables are a good way to make multiple connections in a clean way. With slight modification (removing a single wire), our 10-wire ribbon cables can be used with these DB9 connectors. We have them in male and female versions. They even have a handy strain relief that allows the ribbon cable to exit straight or at a right angle so your project can look clean and tidy.

Back at the Viking Funeral, we sent the old version of the Rootooth on a ship and lit it on fire. We've since revised the product to include a much easier cable assembly which made all of production happy. The RooTooth is a Bluetooth connection for your Roomba robot. Just don't tell anyone you're hacking the Roomba, people may misinterpret your intentions.

We have a new version of the RingCoder Breakout. This time we've added some current limiting resistors and made it compatible with our RGB rotary encoder. When coupled with the rotary encoder and the circular LED bargraphs, it makes for a flashy input device.

This week the ADH8066 Evaluation Board got an update. We've added pull-down resistors to the LED and moved around some stuff so it's now compatible with hardware flow control.

Our classic Arduino Pro Mini even gets an update this week. We've heard the cries and we've added ADC6 and ADC7 as well as footprints for the optional I2C pull-up resistors! And we still kept it the same size. It's the same board you know and love, but with the extra pins, it's better than ever. It still maintains its footprint and layout, so you can still drop the new ones into your old designs.

Now, in addition to the 5V Pro Micro, we have slower, but still loveable sibling, the 3.3V Pro Micro. If you love the Pro Mini, but want USB on-board, check out the Micros. They've got a lot of cool features, and fit into just about anything.

Well, that's all I've got for this week. Thanks for reading and we hope you appreciate the shenanigans. We had a good time making the video and playing with the Oh Fudge! I just saw a few things coming up next week that should be pretty cool so as always, check back next week! See you then.


Comments 57 comments

  • techfreek / about 12 years ago / 6

    the mountain dew can on the table intrigues me.

    • lol, that was the first thing I noticed!

    • Daaargh! Don't get me started - we don't have it in the UK (because the brominated water bit is illegal in the EU :-P) but it tastes soooooo good! (If someone even dares say that Mountain dew energy is the same, I will rip their head off (metaphorically at least...))

    • CF / about 12 years ago / 1

      Robert, you really need to try the Mountain Dew Throwback! King Soopers has it.

    • I've always thought soda cans would make neat enclosures for projects.

      • I would put a car horn in one!

      • Ichbinjoe / about 12 years ago / 2

        I've always wanted to make a IMU datalogger in a tictac container.

      • Skott / about 12 years ago / 1

        Check out the Cansat competition. It's a challenge for university teams to create a payload of some sort (when I took part in it, we built a weather telemetry device that fell from low orbit) that has to fit inside a soda can. It was really cool to see the designs that people came up with to maximize the space inside.

  • SoggyWaffles / about 12 years ago / 4

    Nice product placement there, get any kick backs from Mountain Dew?

  • AndyL / about 12 years ago / 3

    This thing needs a very visible "Remove to Arm" tag. Like the pin on a grenade, or the try-me tabs on toys.

  • Matthew Wilkes / about 12 years ago / 2

    "Just don't tell your wife you're hacking the Roomba..."

    Any particular reason you decided to include this, SFE? Looks like a poor attempt at a sexist joke, or did I miss the "don't tell your wife you're hacking the x" in all the previous new product posts?

    • SomeGuy123 / about 12 years ago / 5

      The people who wrote and carried out the script are men. Since people instinctively assume that all other people are the same gender as them, as they can relate better with their own gender, it makes sense that they would say "wife" without thinking about it. That especially applies to topics such as electronics, where very few women choose to spend their time.

      While it was a joke, I highly doubt it was intended as a sexist joke.

      • You hit the nail on the head. It was a joke, and not intended to be sexist. I'm a guy. I'm married. If I were to go around hacking household appliances, it would be my wife that would get upset.

        Don't read too much into it. It's just a general statement about your partner/roommate/significant other and how they might be miffed by your hacking adventures.

        • The intent is irrelevant. It's sexist.

          • Defo / about 12 years ago * / 4

            OMG OK.. Let's sanitize our language and become as verbose as a legal contract to avoid the offending of anything (see above) or anyone.

            Grow up and get over it. You will always find offense if you are looking for it, but you keep wearing your "sexist blinders." (Not available at SFE btw... try the NOW website)

            • DanaDanger has a point.

              I do think intent is relevant, in that I work with Rob and I'm sure he had no intention of making a blanket statement about gender roles. That's important. Still, in text on the web, it's easy enough to read that throwaway line as "Men Do The Hacking Women Do the Cleaning Ha Ha".

              We should be more careful, and will be in future.

              • Matthew Wilkes / about 12 years ago / 2

                I agree, intent is relevant, and sorry if I caused an offence to Rob, I'm sure it was never meant to be a boys club style joke, it's just that I read it that way and I'm sure others did too. Optimising communities is something close to my heart and a lot of that is ensuring that they're not accidentally made unwelcoming by jokes, so I guess it just triggered one of my warning lights.

                I didn't phrase my comment very constructively and I'm sorry for that.

              • Thanks very much, Brennen!

              • mrwright / about 12 years ago / 1

                Thank you! :)

    • jlhonora / about 12 years ago / 2

      Then change it for "Just don't tell your husband you're hacking the Roomba". Seriously guys, chill.

    • war_spigot / about 12 years ago * / 1

      Same thing happened here.

      It's not meant to be a sexist joke, it's meant to be just be a joke. They could have said spouse, but seeing as how most hackers are men, wife is the most accurate. They could have said partner to include homosexual couples. Wait, but then that's discriminating against single people...

      It's a joke. Put the wrong noun and it becomes a "who can be the most PC" frenzy.

      Edit: fixed link, thanks paradoxial

      • mrwright / about 12 years ago / 1

        It might not have been intended as a sexist joke, but a joke that basically implies that it's men who do the hacking and women who do the cleaning is a sexist joke. I was disappointed when I saw it.

        • rwizard / about 12 years ago / 6

          Get a grip, and get your (unspecified gender)(spouse/partner/friend/neighbor/top/bottom) to check the filter on your solder fume hood, I don't think it is working to peak capacity.

      • TECH GEEK / about 12 years ago / 1

        your "here" link is broken

        • SomeGuy123 / about 12 years ago * / 1

          Here is his link fixed.

          Make sure to include "http://" in front of links to external pages. Otherwise, It will link to "http://www.sparkfun.com/hackaday.com/2010/02/07/hackaday-links-february-7-2010/" instead of "http://hackaday.com/2010/02/07/hackaday-links-february-7-2010/".

  • Spade / about 12 years ago * / 2

    Can you write up a tutorial on how to build the "Oh Fudge!" box? Also, it doesn't look to difficult to add an IR remote to arm and disarm the box. You wouldn't want someone who wasn't the target to pick up the box (i.e. someone's small child, friend with heart condition, your boss if he is mad at you, etc.).

    • It's really just a few lines of code. It's like this:

      delay(10000); total = analogRead(0) + analogRead(1) + analogRead(2)

      then the main loop just reads the sum, and if it deviates +-25 or so, it makes the pin that's connected to the relay high. pretty basic stuff.

    • CF / about 12 years ago * / 1

      Spade, this is the code I used. I'm not sure how to format it correctly for the comments so if you want me to email it to me, let me know.

      I built one to "cure" the dog from getting into things I leave accessible by mistake when I leave the house. It's going to make an appearance at work after the dog learns.

      ;) Chris

      // BETA version of the Oh Fudge!
      
      int x = A0;                    // Set X axis pin
      int y = A1;                    // Set Y axis pin
      int z = A2;                    // Set Z axis pin
      
      int xval = 0;                  // Initial X axis value
      int yval = 0;                  // Initial Y axis value
      int zval = 0;                  // Initial Z axis value
      
      int result1 = 0;                 // Variable for sum of all three 
      int result2 = 0;                 // Varialbe for to compare to
      int result_diff = 0;             // Variable for the difference
      int threshold = 30;              // Variable for threshold  
      
      void setup() {                
      
        pinMode(A0, INPUT);        // Set X axis pin as an analog input
        pinMode(A1, INPUT);        // Set Y axis pin as an analog input
        pinMode(A2, INPUT);        // Set Z axis pin as an analog input
        pinMode(13, OUTPUT);       // Set timeout LED pin digital output
        pinMode(9, OUTPUT);        // set Relay pin as a digital output
        Serial.begin(9600);        // For serial debugging
        delay(15000);              // Give us time to leave the package
      }
      
      void loop() {
      
        xval = analogRead(x);      // Get X axis value
        yval = analogRead(y);      // Get Y axis value
        zval = analogRead(z);      // Get Z axis value
        result1 = xval + yval + zval;       // Add them all up
      
        delay(100);                // Wait 1/10 a second
      
        xval = analogRead(x);      // Get new X value
        yval = analogRead(y);      // Get new Y value
        zval = analogRead(z);      // Get new Z value
        result2 = xval + yval + zval;      // Add new values up
        result_diff = abs(result2 - result1); // We only want + values
      
        // This is debug code
        Serial.print(" X_");
        Serial.print(xval);
        Serial.print(" Y_");
        Serial.print(yval);
        Serial.print(" Z_");
        Serial.print(zval);
        Serial.print("    R1_");
        Serial.print(result1);
        Serial.print(" R2_");
        Serial.print(result2);
        Serial.print("    Diff_");
        Serial.print(result_diff);
        Serial.print("    Thresh_");
        Serial.println(threshold);
      
        if (result_diff > threshold){  // Check to see if the difference is greater than the threshold, If it is, run code below.
      digitalWrite(9,HIGH);    // Turn on relay  HONK!
      delay(100);              // Wait 1/10th a second
      digitalWrite(9,LOW);     // Turn off relay
      digitalWrite(13,HIGH);   // Turn on timeout LED
      delay(5000);             // Wait 5 seconds
      digitalWrite(13,LOW);    // Turn off timeout LED
        }
      

      else{ digitalWrite(9,LOW); // Keep relay off and do nothing } }

      • Member #552024 / about 10 years ago / 1

        I know this is an old post but I just ordered everything to build an oh fudge and I am using a MPU6050 based accelerometer (GY-521) that uses I2C on pins A4 and A5. The code libraries/examples for that sensor are massive. Is there a way to get a simple x,y,z read from that sensor for use with your sample code without 1000s of additional lines of code?

  • r0b07h4ck3r / about 12 years ago / 2

    loving the longer New Product Friday posts and the demo's are cool.

  • Great project! Although there was some dissent here at my workplace as to whether or not an old-timey ah-ooo-ga horn should be used instead.

  • Shadow13 / about 12 years ago / 2

    It would be cool to combine the Oh Fudge! with the ShakeSphere, just imagine all the resulting chaos.

  • ttstam / about 12 years ago / 2

    For the Insulation Displacement DB9s, the professional way to do that is to use an arbor press. Since most people don't have one at home, the next best thing is to use a vise - even a panavise should work. Absent that, get 2 small pieces of wood and a G-clamp.

    The idea is you want to apply the pressure uniformly so there's no chance of the wires deforming and slipping.

    I've gotten really desparate once and placed it in the lip of my desk drawer and leaned into it.

    • Madbodger / about 12 years ago * / 1

      There is a middle ground. I used to use a vise for this, but I finally picked up a set of IDC pliers. They do a really nice job (they're made for the task), they don't cost too much, and they don't take up a lot of room. Available here, $18 and maybe SparkFun will start offering them along with the connectors.

    • CF / about 12 years ago / 1

      Couple of taps with a hammer and a block of wood to evenly distribute the pressure works great. Everyone has a hammer!

      • cjh08052 / about 12 years ago / 2

        "If I had a hammer, I'd hammer .... Uh, ribbon-cables?"

        Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

        ;-> (cjh)

  • abers13 / about 12 years ago / 2

    Can you put this on Vimeo??

  • Kevin-O / about 12 years ago / 1

    I pulled this on my wife: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn6xDEUDoMw

  • Jeremy Sag / about 12 years ago / 1

    RIP headphone users. :)

  • GearJammer / about 12 years ago / 1

    I know my mom said if you can't say anything nice don't say it at all....BUT seriously!? That caption won?!!? That was probably the lamest, not funny, unoriginal one out there

  • Madbodger / about 12 years ago / 1

    That's technically a DE-9, not a DB-9.

  • war_spigot / about 12 years ago / 1

    Looks like Robert got started on a wishlist: http://sprkfn.com/w38693

    But got distracted, apparently(need some ADD meds Robert?).

  • Blacklab1 / about 12 years ago / 1

    Robert you need to take that box down town at the mall in Boulder and film it. I bet it would be a blast.

    • war_spigot / about 12 years ago / 3

      A box with flashing lights, loud noises, lots of electronics, and left unattended in a public place. What could go wrong?( Oooh, put it right in front of mall security, maybe you can meet some FBI agents)

  • Hoobert / about 12 years ago / 1

    You guys should post some of these demonstration projects as wishlists, for those of us who like details.

  • Eric15 / about 12 years ago / 1

    You guys need to come up with some hidden cameras to capture your pranks without arousing suspicion.

    Also, I'm jealous of Pete's office. It's way cozier than my cubicle.

  • mattstroud / about 12 years ago / 1

    Love the oh Fudge!! Pranks like that are always the best!!

  • Smudger / about 12 years ago / 1

    Hillarious!

  • Thanks robert! i love the new update on the arduino pro.

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