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Travelling Hacker Box

lol travelling salesman problem

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What is it? It's a migratory box of random electronics stuff. The idea is simple: Pick a person on a list. This person will receive this box in the mail. They open it up, take one item, and add another (of about equal value). The box is then shipped to the next person on the list.

Has this idea been done before? Yes, yes it has. Why am I doing it? Because there are some really cool people on hackaday.io with weird stuff on their workbenches.

What the hell is this? It's a magical box of random electronic crap that's shipped from person to person. Everyone takes one item, and replaces it with another item from their workbench- that isn't food.

Want to get in on the action? Request to be added to the Travelling Hackerbox Project. There's a button to your left that will do that. Once you've been accepted, hang out in the Travelling Hackerbox Hacker Chat. Do that, and you'll eventually get a magical box of random electronic crap, if no one steals it before you.

The box has recently completed its trip around the US and now it's heading abroad:

Where is the box heading next? Here's a map showing the planned trip around the world:

With detail of Europe:

This trip around the globe is a minimum of 53,000 miles.

whiteCeramic1.txt

Prior to the first box's having lived up to its original title containing "will be stolen"... Someone was cool enough to include two white ceramic and gold EPROMs... This is their contents.

text/plain - 9.26 kB - 12/25/2015 at 09:37

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  • Rogue box arrived in Latvia

    Arya08/07/2017 at 18:09 0 comments

    @jlbrian7 got a box from @Sophi Kravitz , and it's now in Latvia, in MakeRiga hackerspace. Next stop is likely in Estonia, unless @Benchoff advises otherwise. 

    Box:


    Yes, it did cost $93 to ship =D


    The books are great! It seems that we're grabbing the Forrest M. Mims book, or one of the others.


    Some misc PCBs - theremin (working), Adafruit Circuit Playground, something something LEDs microphone PCB (working),  2x RFM12BS, protoboards, double relay board and, well, a Tandy PC-6! Tandy's batteries are flat, so they need to be replaced - hopefully, I'll test it.

    Read more »

  • rouge box

    jlbrian707/23/2017 at 00:55 0 comments

    here is what is in the box:



    Here is what I took from the box:



    Here is what I put in the box:


    I think I will find a few more bits and bobs before I get the box sent off though.

  • Next Stop

    StevenSemancik02/24/2017 at 23:50 11 comments

    I received the box early last week and was surprised at the variety of stuff. It was packed tight with stuff. My cat Cleo was particularly interested in the package:

    I took a quick look and found a few items to work with. An esp8266, trinket, some really nice big MOSFET's, two shift registers, an in-system programmer (I always forget to order one of these so now I have one), PIR sensor and even a piece of muscle wire!!. Some interesting stuff to make a motion activated cat toy.

    What I added, a few nice old miniature nut driver/wrenches, a couple of cold-war era sub-mini triodes (6247WA), a spare TI Launchpad, an HID ballast, one of those parrot picture frames (that runs Linux), Zilog Z8 micro, a vintage 'score and snap' (really handy for cutting PCB's), some Toshiba chips I think were used in cassette decks or telephones or something (sorry, no datasheet), two QFP test clips that I haven't used in years and some general purpose PNP and NPN's :

    I took the box for a tour of Kelowna (as promised) and here are some pics. Kelowna is situated on the beautiful Okanagan valley and is home to the Ogopogo lake monster:

    And now its off to the next stop, Calgary Alberta.

  • The Travelling Hacker Box Is On The Move!

    Benchoff01/26/2017 at 21:35 1 comment

    A few months ago, I received the Travelling Hacker Box for the Hackaday SuperCon in Pasadena. This was the end of the US tour, and the beginning of the trip around the world. After the SuperCon, I got a new box, packed everything up, and sent it to the first stop around Vancouver, Canada.

    The box came back. The very next day. The box came back. I thought it was a gonner, but the box came back, the very next day. It just couldn't stay away.

    I'm assuming it was a customs issue.

    I'm back in the office, so now the box is departing again. It's heading up to Canada, again, with the same game plan: Vancouver to St. Johns, then off to Greenland (!). I have plannedthe trip around the world, but I haven't contacted the recipients in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania to tell them they will be receiving it. One continet at a time, I guess.

    Want proof the box is on the move? Here's a pic of the FedEx guy, in the office elevator, taking the box to his truck:

    The box is on the move! Expect an update from the first Canadian recipient within a week or two.

  • Hacker Box Visits North Dakota

    Carl Smith10/09/2016 at 04:48 6 comments

    The Hackaday.io Traveling Hacker Box recently arrived in the mostly rectangular state of North Dakota. It was full of numerous goodies that any reader of Hackaday would be interested in having.


    Here are some photos of the stuff inside:

    First we have a bunch of stickers.

    A bare BeagleLogic PCB and LCD+CapTouch board, some sort of line scan CCD board, a bunch of random components, a couple motors, and a small LCD.

    A couple of standard character LCDs and some LED assemblies.

    A TI dev board, a couple LCDs, a PIC programmer, a busted reflow oven controller, MAX7219 based dot matrix LED kits, an NXP dev board, and some other miscellaneous stuff.

    A large selection of various integrated circuits, some large green LEDs, vintage transistors.

    A bunch of small plastic boxes of integrated circuits.

    An MB Quart speaker crossover, Vivitar camcorder, Apple charger, Zune MP3 player, and a little orange rover car.

    A bunch of Geppetto Electronics PCBs. Most unpopulated. A few GPS oscillators, AVR programmers, PiPower boards, a Divide by 3 circuit.

    A panel of Crazy Clock PCBs, and an empty panel of some other small PCB. Some smart cards to go with the card reader board, a Parallax RFID reader and an RFID card. Another programmer board, a Cypress PSOC development board, some addressable LEDs wired together, a motor, and some heat shrink.

    What I took from the box:

    The Parallax RFID card reader and RFID card. I’ve never done an RFID project so I thought this would be interesting.

    The BeagleBone BeagleLogic PCB. I have a BeagleBone Black board that I haven’t done much with, so this could be an interesting project and a chance to learn more about the BeagleBone board.

    One of the Max7219 LED dot matrix kits, some stickers, three Crazy Clock PCBs (there’s 24 left), and one of the USB ISP programmers.

    One of the Geppetto Electronics GPS disciplined oscillator boards.

    What I put in the box:

    One of my favorite components for motor control or other high current designs is the IXYS IXFN200N07 MOSFET. This is not your average MOSFET. It’s rated for 70 Volts and 200 Amps. And that’s not just a theoretical die current that you can never achieve, like with these MOSFETs that claim ridiculous currents but come in a TO-220 package that can’t dissipate the heat that would be created if the leads into the part didn’t melt first. These IXYS parts come in a package called a SOT-227B, which sounds like another small surface mount package but it’s really a large block with screw terminals on the top. Not your average MOSFET.

    Someone could build a really high current H Bridge to control a motor, or maybe a high current dummy load. Bolt them to an old computer CPU heatsink and you could control a lot of current.

    I realized that not everything in the box has to be strictly electronic. So I added a small bag with an assortment of terminals. Also a few microswitches that maybe could be used as limit switches in a 3D printer or whatever motorized device ends up being controlled by those giant MOSFETs.

    I threw in a webcam PCB. It’s probably not useful for anything but I like how you can see the whole sensor chip and the bond wires.Also I threw in a couple PCBs with jacks for Left/Right audio, Composite video, and S-Video. Useful for any audio project or anything that needs a few RCA jacks.

    And last, but not least, I threw in a back light inverter board. It’s an interesting design with a novel flat transformer. Maybe someone can use or misuse it for some sort of high voltage project.

    Oh, I almost forgot that I added a nice Maxxon DC gear motor. And a couple packs of “screen wipes.” They are very nice for cleaning anything from your phone screen to camera lenses to the LCDs in the box.

    The box had been crushed a bit in shipping so I decided to reinforce it a bit. I glued a layer of cardboard to the inside sides of the box, then glued pieces in the corners for double reinforcement. It should travel better now. I had thought about replacing the box but I thought it would be...

    Read more »

  • Visit in MN

    TechGirl09/26/2016 at 16:13 0 comments

    Box hasn't changed much since last log, but here's some highlights of what I found inside:

    I took this stuff :

    And replaced it with 3 8x8 LED kits, a digispark that I can find Mint drivers for, a RTC, some 10mm LEDs, and some things that won't be surprises if you watch the video, and some others that are undocumented<wink>


    And off it goes....


  • It's on its way

    Nick Sayer08/01/2016 at 15:00 0 comments

    I was going to take some more pictures, but my wife packed the box for me (she's good at organizing). Fortunately, it all fit including my additions. We've replaced the box. It's getting heavy enough that we thought the structural integrity of a new box was a good idea. Besides, they're free.

    I schnagged the EL tape, one of the USB breakout boards for testing, and an interesting looking AVR programmer in a cool anodized aluminum case. I also made off with a couple of the stickers.

    I added a blank panel of AD8495 breakout boards, a populated panel of crazy clock controllers, a few GPS Disciplined oscillators, a brand new TCXO, a couple of USB µISP AVR programmers, a Toast-R-Reflow power board and a bunch of bare boards - GPSDOs, and an "I can reflow!" badge.

    The (new) box will be on its way to the Great Salt Lake today.

  • Back to Silicon Valley

    Nick Sayer07/29/2016 at 01:15 1 comment

    The box arrived today here at Chez Geppetto.

    This is actually going to be... a challenge... It's chock-a-bloc with... everything!

    I'm going to have to take some stuff out to make room for the additions I want to make.

    I've taken some preliminary unboxing pictures I thought I'd share, but I haven't even gotten a quarter a way down from the top. It's really an amazing trove. Everyone who has contributed so far should be congratulated.

    A very nice note from @Reenigneesrever right on top.

    3D print filament. I would not have expected that, but it totally makes sense.

    I have not seen a DIP-40 in person in... gosh... 10 years now. Since I had 1980's arcade games in the garage.

    A very beefy... stepper motor, I believe.

    A MiFi! I had one of these a while ago when LTE was brand new and I was commuting on CalTrain.

    Stickers! I'll be liberating a few of those for sure.

    That's a good one. I've seen that slogan before, but it's a cool sticker, even if it is upside-down.

    I almost missed this. It was tucked in-between the purple tension sheets (this box clearly made it close to @oshpark) and the box wall... Bare copper clad PCB stock.

    A Zune. How quaint.

    Anyway, you can see how little progress I have actually made delving into the box's secrets.

    As for the actual box itself... I feel like maybe replacing it might be a good idea at this point. Flat rate priority mail boxes are free, of course... Does anyone have any objection to the next recipient getting a fresh box?

  • Back To Portland after being in Northern Washington

    Reenigneesrever07/26/2016 at 04:13 5 comments

    Sorry for the quality of the pictures and glare, I did my best to try and control my excitement and go slow but my self control is not that great. Lots of stuff in the box and it's holding up ok. At this point the tape and labels are starting to add structural integrity to the box.

    Here is the box as it appeared at my house.

    Opened revealing all of it's secrets!

    Top layer unpacked, stickers, 3d filament, iteaduino and various IC's

    closeup of iteaduino in packaging

    trying to get closeup of some of the labels, not sure if they are what they say they are as I wasn't in the search of any IC's so I didn't pull them out to verify.

    another closeup

    next layer down, more IC's, some electrical tape, and a few USB VA testers from friedcircuits.us. The IC's were in nice little plastic cases, I'm sure some room could be saved by combining these but at this point room isn't an issue so I kept them as they were.

    Another Layer down:

    Panasonic LCD, motor, verizon mifi, vintage transistors some beaglebone capes, USB FTDI cables, some audio equipment, zune player, parkflyer reciever, TI Launchpad, PIC programmer and some things I don't know.

    I have no idea what this thing is but it looks like it busted.

    A Leap VR motion controller, fitbit, TP-Link travel router, and two boxes that I will unpack in the next couple of pictures.

    smaller cardboard box

    unpacked, a couple of LCDs, motors, IC, through hole led kit?, some small completed circuit boards, I think the thing with the black plastic housing has an IR led in it like for a remote control but I am not sure.

    back of the LUMINARYMICRO LCD

    Inside the toolbox some cool printed circuit boards from WeisTek Engineering, a leaflabs maple, some clock oscillators

    Cypress PSoC 4 Prototyping Kit

    rest of the stuff from the bottom of the toolbox, capacitors, heat shrink, some more IC's circuit boards, matrix display, dip switches, motors, seven segments, stuff and a lone green led that's begging to be the eye on someones robot, one IC was off the foam and the pins are trashed, I couldn't get it back on the foam either so it's still rattling around in there. Pins on the back of 7x5 matrix display was bent as well but I think its salvageable


    What I Took!

    -Stickers

    -USB VA Tester

    -TP-Link router

    -weird display that looks like it may have come out of some phone or network device

    -7x5 LED matrix

    -WeisTeks Numitron

    What I put in

    -EL Tape (Red and Blue)

    - El Wire White (courtesy of my local Radio Shack going out of business sale)

    - 2 x Parallex RFID readers and a rfid card

    - an old programmer that I acquired and could never find documentation on

    - Stickers

    - throwing star Lan tap PCB

    - Joe Fitz's Simple Power Analysis Tool PCB

    I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this and hope it continues to make it's way across the US and eventually overseas. I'll be shipping this out tomorrow, down the West Coast to Santa Clara, CA!

  • HackerBox visits Weistek in Portland, Oregon.

    Jeremy g.06/20/2016 at 06:28 0 comments

    I guess it's about time I did an update for the box. The box is ready to go to the next person, just waiting on some info before it can be shipped out. I like photos, so this post will have a lot of them.

    It arrived!!

    The box has definitely seen better days.


    A note from @MobileWill I enjoyed that, made it seem like you weren't just receiving a box of random bits.

    My daughters new best friend, she carries it everywhere. Thanks to who ever put the bug in there, she said she just had to have it.

    ok here is whats in the box, or at least some pics of what is in the box. There's so much stuff in there i can't begin to list everything. Massive caps, random boards, lots of dev boards, some cell phones one of which still boots up.


    more stuff.


    Sadly the large display was broken, I took it out and chucked it since there were no usable parts on it.

    Here is the stuff I took from the box.


    • MobileWill's note.
    • a USB tester created by MobileWill
    • An Ipod
    • hackaday sticker since i don't have any.
    • VisaNet card reader (pics later down, contains Z80 parts :) ).
    • mini crt view finder
    • 3d printer hotend (mine is completely toast.) thanks to who ever put that in there.
    • pSoc from cypress.
    • I haven't decided if I can fully utilize the wifi enabled light yet. I will decide before I ship the box out.

    these are the things I put in the box.


    • 8Gb zune (needs battery) plus data cable.
    • some kind of audio equipment (I really have no idea what it does. picked it up as an impulse buy at goodwill.
    • some double sided copper clad 5cmX4cm if i remember correctly.
    • a few items created by me, 2 x custom perma breadboards, 2 Attiny84A kits, two usbISP programmers flashed with the proper firmware. 1 x VFD tube.
    • 2 x uCurrent boards created by dave jones.
    • a Chinese soldering iron wand.
    • a working LCD screen with combined micro, sdcard etc. I can't remember the micro controller (my boss loves them, TI bought them out a while back and he says they killed the line, it had the best API he had ever used.)

    usbISP packaged with a 10pin to 6 pin ICSP header adapter that I also make. Sorry colors of the cases are random.

    More stuff added to the box.


    • Analog meter, should still work.
    • a fitbit (I think it needs a new battery).
    • a flight controller for a remote control helicopter
    • a USB GPS module
    • and some car key fob

    And that's about it. I tried to put back equal to what I took out. The box is pretty stuffed, I wanted to clean it out but didn't want to seem greedy. Down below are more pics of what was in the box. I also repacked some stuff into the plastic box to clear room for the other stuff. I also put some bubble wrap on top of the other screen so it would not get damaged.

    two minute taredown of the visa machine.

    The visa machine contains just about everything needed to build a z80 computer. hell it just about is in its own. just needs some tinkering.


    The other side (top side) is just the control board for the VFD display and the buttons. Ill post a log when I tinker with it.

    more stuff that was in the box. I added some of the loose objects to this box for better packing.


    This plastic box is just packed.. I also repacked this box a bit.



    This was an amazing experience to be apart of, I'd like to thank @Benchoff for allowing me to take part in the hacker box. I would love to take part in the next round. I have more things I want to put in but cant fit into this one.

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Everett Vinzant wrote 01/07/2016 at 04:09 point

So, I'm this one guy in a place that you probably haven't sent it yet.... Colorado. No I won't throw in magic brownies, I eat them too quickly :) BUT, I'm an amateur radio operator (WN7ANT) and I can add some goodies. I'd like to play if theres room on the playground...

  Are you sure? yes | no

xload wrote 01/06/2016 at 22:24 point

PM sent! I don't live in the US, but I want to send a device to contribute the new Hacker Box, and if it's stollen I will send another again!

Best regards from Spain

  Are you sure? yes | no

Cătălin George Feștilă wrote 01/04/2016 at 22:14 point

Funny but I have great idea, To make more easy and also to be more funny to put one satellite with free internet to orbit. Starting with maps , make software for this groups and also make and receive money. Can be possible ?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Bryan Hugill wrote 01/04/2016 at 14:34 point

Wanna send it over to us in Thailand? :)

  Are you sure? yes | no

bruno.salvador wrote 01/04/2016 at 10:41 point

Well, if you are planning to send this box to South America, please don't.

Here in Brazil we have many, many cases of stolen packages from people inside the Correios (Brazilian postal service). Apparently they choose what to stole by the weight. If it is heavy, then it is valuable.

I live here, and I got several packages missing.

  Are you sure? yes | no

Pac wrote 01/04/2016 at 14:06 point

Unfortunately, I strongly agree. Import duties will also hurt as hell. I don't wanna see a post saying that the box was lost to the Brazilian tax office. 

  Are you sure? yes | no

Kris Struble wrote 12/11/2015 at 16:56 point

Would anyone be interested if I shared a small vial of copper nano particles I made? Pretty easy to make, but probably the most unique thing I have to offer. 

  Are you sure? yes | no

controlmypad wrote 11/03/2015 at 23:55 point

I signed up what I think was rather late (months ago), so I've accepted my fate of maybe never seeing the box in person.  Orrrrr if I do see it, it will be full of the most wondrous hodge-podge of things nobody wanted.  Either way I will enjoy following the journey here. 

  Are you sure? yes | no

joelavigueur wrote 10/21/2015 at 18:36 point

Quick question, what do we do with the box when we're done with it? 

do we send it to the next location or back to you?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Benchoff wrote 10/21/2015 at 20:26 point

I'll give you an address before it gets to you. You would just send it on to the next person.

  Are you sure? yes | no

joelavigueur wrote 10/12/2015 at 20:43 point

ooh coming to me next, can't wait

  Are you sure? yes | no

Benchoff wrote 10/12/2015 at 20:47 point

There's more than 200 people signed up. You're on the list, but it's averaging about five or six days per trip...

  Are you sure? yes | no

dougal wrote 10/12/2015 at 23:01 point

Is the queue pre-determined? Or is the next destination determined by the last person who has the box? Can we see the upcoming route? Where did my kid put the Apple TV remote? So many questions...

  Are you sure? yes | no

Benchoff wrote 10/12/2015 at 23:36 point

The queue is predetermined, but I only have the next dozen or so trips planned out. After it hits 25000 miles, it's going abroad (to about 20-30 locations around the globe) then back to the US.

There really aren't many people outside the US, so *if* it makes it through all the continents, I'll start on a much longer queue for the US.

I think it works out well with a single person directing it. It's more of a social pressure not to lose it.

  Are you sure? yes | no

dougal wrote 10/13/2015 at 13:58 point

I assure you, there are *plenty* of people outside the U.S.

Oh. You mean for the THB specifically. Well, yeah. ;)

  Are you sure? yes | no

jareklupinski wrote 10/29/2015 at 01:58 point

can't wait to see what the customs form for this is gonna look like...

  Are you sure? yes | no

Anool Mahidharia wrote 10/29/2015 at 16:37 point

Yo, what's the "outside USA" list look like. And ballpark time frame when it goes international ?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Jack Laidlaw wrote 10/10/2015 at 15:46 point

Looking forward to this coming to the UK, I already have inmind what i would send.

  Are you sure? yes | no

jareklupinski wrote 10/06/2015 at 06:07 point

feeling pretty stoked, can't wait :D I've got a few kits and bits left over that I'll be contributing

  Are you sure? yes | no

Radu Motisan wrote 10/04/2015 at 19:59 point

very cool idea. I'll be watching this for when it gets to Europe!

  Are you sure? yes | no

Paul Scott wrote 10/04/2015 at 10:47 point

Hooray! Just got invited to join! Hopefully the box gets down to South Africa for some goodies too!

  Are you sure? yes | no

Mitch wrote 09/26/2015 at 23:36 point

I have tons of random components, dev boards, displays and other stuff I have no need for to throw into the box that are just laying around doing nothing, this would be a great way to get rid of it all, even if I couldn't find something useful for myself...

  Are you sure? yes | no

Kris Struble wrote 09/29/2015 at 04:28 point

I don't have a ton of extra boards myself, but I too was thinking this would be a good way to get these some unused goodies into the right hands.

  Are you sure? yes | no

Ryan Davis wrote 09/25/2015 at 19:47 point

I filled out the form and sent a request to join, then told my friends. Hopefully it'll make it to me! I'll save some swag from the Atlanta Mini Maker Faire, and I have some other cool things. Maybe I could even do something with adafruit.io and box-tracking on a map, or maybe a cheaper option with manual logging

  Are you sure? yes | no

Andy Moon wrote 09/25/2015 at 15:13 point

I've some choice items that need a new home.  I'm in, hopefully it makes it to me.

  Are you sure? yes | no

icemandave wrote 09/25/2015 at 02:01 point

Im in the same boat as STRIPETYPE my  misses would be greatful if I startted a second perhaps third!

  Are you sure? yes | no

Hacker404 wrote 09/25/2015 at 00:21 point

The only things I would be interested in are the Sierra disk and the 2716's

  Are you sure? yes | no

Mic wrote 09/24/2015 at 20:40 point

If you send it to Switzerland, I fill it with chocolate :-p I also have tons of goodies I'm not really using, I would be happy to make them go around the world!

  Are you sure? yes | no

XDjackieXD wrote 09/24/2015 at 18:52 point

I could also participate if the box is coming to Austria sometimes :P I have a lot of stuff laying around including a lot of ham radio and microcontroller related parts.

  Are you sure? yes | no

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