<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" ><channel><title>Morgan&#039;s Blog &#187; Hacking</title> <atom:link href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/tag/hacking/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><link>http://blog.internaldrive.info</link> <description>Technology, internet culture, and more.</description> <lastBuildDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:48:38 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1-alpha</generator> <item><title>A Look Inside the Progressive MyRate Device</title><link>http://blog.internaldrive.info/2009/11/25/a-look-inside-the-progressive-myrate-device/</link> <comments>http://blog.internaldrive.info/2009/11/25/a-look-inside-the-progressive-myrate-device/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:38:16 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Morgan</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Hacking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[electronics]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.internaldrive.info/?p=67</guid> <description><![CDATA[The Progressive MyRate device could be extremely hackable in the near future. Pictures of the internals included.]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My folks just received a Progressive MyRate device. Apparently it&#8217;s supposed to lower your insurance rates if you drive safely&#8230; or something. Curious, I decided to take it apart to see what makes it tick. Let&#8217;s just say that I was very surprised about how hackable this device could be in the near future.</p><p>The MyRate device is based around an Atmel <a title="Atmel AT91SAM7S256" href="http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=3524" target="_blank">AT91SAM7S256</a> processor running at 16 MHz, which includes 256 KB of embedded flash and 64 KB of onboard RAM. However, that just scratches the surface of this device&#8217;s hackability.</p><p>Next to the Atmel CPU is another fine Atmel product, an Atmel <a title="Atmel AT26DF161A" href="http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=4045" target="_blank">AT26DF161A</a> 16MB flash chip.</p><p>There is one more Atmel chip on this board hiding under the connected daughterboard. I could only make out the Atmel logo on it without desoldering (which I may do later to figure out what this chip is).</p><p>There&#8217;s a white CSS-J4B20 buzzer on the top as well. What this is supposed to alert you to is completely up in the air at the moment.</p><p>There is also a 64 KB Oberthur SIM card. What data this stores (other than standard stuff) is unknown at the moment, as I don&#8217;t have a SIM card reader.</p><p>Turn the device over and there&#8217;s a cell phone module: a Telit <a title="GE864-QUAD" href="http://www.telit.com/en/products.php?p_id=3&amp;p_ac=show&amp;p=36" target="_blank">GE864-QUAD</a> with an antenna stuck on top with some double sided tape.</p><p>Now for the really interesting stuff. There is a 4-pin header on the top side of the device. Since the processor supports JTAG, it&#8217;s safe to assume that this is a JTAG header with the VCC and GND pins missing. Maybe?</p><div id="attachment_79" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_4.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-79" title="MyRate Device Teardown" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_4-300x300.jpg" alt="Most of the chips used in the MyRate device, except for a mystery Atmel chip hiding out under the daughterboard." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Most of the chips used in the MyRate device, except for a mystery Atmel chip hiding out under the daughterboard.</p></div><div id="attachment_77" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_7.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-77" title="MyRate Cell Phone Antenna" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_7-300x300.jpg" alt="A view of the MyRate device's cell phone antenna and possible JTAG header." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A view of the MyRate device&#39;s cell phone antenna and possible JTAG header.</p></div><div id="attachment_75" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_5.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-75" title="MyRate SIM Card" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_5-300x300.jpg" alt="The SIM Card and spacer from Progressive's MyRate device." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The SIM Card and spacer from Progressive&#39;s MyRate device.</p></div><div id="attachment_71" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_1.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-71" title="MyRate JTAG Pins?" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_1-300x300.jpg" alt="Are there really JTAG pins on the MyRate device?" width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Are there really JTAG pins on the MyRate device?</p></div><div id="attachment_78" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_8.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-78" title="MyRate Device Cell Phone Module" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_8-300x300.jpg" alt="A Telit GE864-QUAD cellular phone module on the MyRate device." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A Telit GE864-QUAD cellular phone module on the MyRate device.</p></div><div id="attachment_72" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_2.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-72" title="MyRate Device Side View 1" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_2-300x300.jpg" alt="A side view of the MyRate device, showing the onboard fuse and Atmel chips as well as some power filtering components." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A side view of the MyRate device, showing the onboard fuse and Atmel chips as well as some power filtering components.</p></div><div id="attachment_73" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_3.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-73" title="MyRate Device Side View 2" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_3-300x300.jpg" alt="Another side view of the MyRate device, showing the cell phone module, antenna, buzzer, and power filtering components." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Another side view of the MyRate device, showing the cell phone module, antenna, buzzer, and power filtering components.</p></div><div id="attachment_76" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_6.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-76" title="MyRate Board and Case" src="http://blog.internaldrive.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/myrate_6-300x300.jpg" alt="The MyRate device's board and plastic case." width="300" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The MyRate device&#39;s board and plastic case.</p></div> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://blog.internaldrive.info/2009/11/25/a-look-inside-the-progressive-myrate-device/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>
<!-- Performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: http://www.w3-edge.com/wordpress-plugins/

Minified using memcached
Page Caching using memcached (user agent is rejected)

Served from: blog.internaldrive.info @ 2010-09-05 22:28:50 -->