Project Ladybird Update: borked!
Update on Project Ladybird: Having retrieved an intact chip from the body of a London Transport Oyster card, I set about repairing the damage I’d done to it. Skeptobot used a milder solution of acetone and was able to extract the chip and aerial in one piece. I’ll need to drastically modify the aerial in order for Project Ladybird to work, so I’m not too disappointed that I need to reattach it – it’ll be a good lesson.
Out I went and purchased the necessary materials – fine wire, solder, a soldering iron, plus a crocodile clip to use as a heat sink (thanks for the tip, Ian!). My soldering skills have remained untested since high school, but I was pleased with the result.
The following day, I took my Oyster hack to Piccadilly station to test it out. The result… it failed! Boo. From what I can gather, I think I’ve attached the aerial to the wrong termini on the chip. I couldn’t find any good quality images of the chip with aerial attached, so I had to guess how to attach it. But it’s equally likely that I fried the chip with the soldering iron, or the military grade acetone used.
So it’s back to the drawing board, to extract a new chip, this time with Skeptobot-endorsed nail polish remover – watch this space!
Add comment May 9th, 2008