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Welcome to my digital home! There are lots of articles you might find helpful buried in this site on topics such as modifying an Alfa Romeo 159, rebuilding a Lotus 7 (Robin Hood 2B), not to mention a ton of stuff on technology in general. It’s all here somewhere, so use the search function or navigate using the menu structure. if you want to talk, reach out via the contact function, I usually do answer!

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LiveMixeshttps://jabawoki.com/wp-content/mp3/Jabs_14092001_OldSkool_House.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadRelated Images: [...]
Alfa 159I already had the amplifier and sub from a prior install, and in that install I had discovered a problem with the pairing. The sub is an Infinity Kapa perfect 12 VQ rated at 400w RMS and the amplifier is an Alpine MRV-420 rated at 350W RMS. Driving the sub at high voltage, with line levels in excess of 4v and the gains maxed out means that the amp is producing closer to 450W RMS and the sub, which is well regarded as being able to handle much higher loads than 400W RMS, just laps it up, but had one small issue that needed sorting. It would overheat during extended sessions of Drum and Bass at full power! To sort this issue, I stripped the amp back to bare metal, rebuilt it using high grade CPU heat sink paste and added a temperature controlled cooling system utilising 6 x 40mm fans in a push/pull config. Needless to say, it can run at full power and then some, all day long now ! These images are of the strip & rebuild: ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″] Related Images: [...]
LiveMixeshttps://dev.jabawoki.com/mp3/Jabawok_Tranceitions.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download Related Images: [...]
RH2B Build DiaryAfter first getting into the Hoody, I realised that I would have to modify the steering column mounting position as I was just too big for the seating position that had been set by the original builder. Factor in the new seats and the larger steering wheel, and this became pretty critical to me being able to drive it again! The steering wheel mounted to a steel plate hung off a chassis cross member, with a brace bar back to a side chassis rail. Moving it was as simple as drilling some new M10 holes in that mount point a little higher up, and then attacking a lot of metal with a die grinder until I had sufficient clearance to get the column up an inch! A little more leg room. Its often the easiest of changes that have the biggest impact. For instance being able to take your foot off the clutch while turning a corner seemed pretty useful to me 🙂 ready to grind! One issue I found was that due to the mk1 centre clocks, I was unable to engage main beam anymore (left stalk pushed forward), however this is a temporary issue as I intend to design and 3dprint a new stalk that has an extra long bend in the middle to gain me the additional half an inch of clearance I need to get that function back. The future is now! Related Images: [...]
LiveMixeshttps://jabawoki.com/wp-content/mp3/Jabs_20092001_Summer_House.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download Related Images: [...]
Alfa 159 / ElectronicsWell, I continue to work on this and now have a beta unit in my car on a long term test. It is pretty rough around the edges and has one major(ish) issue that I am working to resolve, but its a good starting point to work from. So what I have now looks a bit like this: (click to enlarge) Its still a very simple design that uses as few components as I can, but as a result it has some issues: As the the LEDs are quite hungry (50Ma each) the ATMega328 & the voltage regulator has to work hard to feed them. The above point causes a small delay in start-up of the unit of around 200-300ms. This delay is a problem as the unit is powered by the feed to the brake light, when the brake is pressed, so in essence it adds a small delay between the stop/tail lights of the car illuminating and the high level brake light. Long term this is unacceptable, but for now its a work in progress so I can live with it. The first generation PCB was designed to fit into the dust cover of the brake light, but after I attached the ribbon cables for the LED’s it didn’t fit so is now wedged under the parcel shelf for now. This gives me easy access form the boot to change the unit as I progress the design to remove the delay and make it instant. Here is the mock-up of the PCB using matrix board (left to right we have the finished design, the component layer, the jumper cable layer on the front, and the soldered join layer on the back):        And the finished article looked like this: In the end I decided to opt to hot glue the LED’s into the reflector and wire them back via a ribbon cable to allow me more flexibility on changing the circuits easily: Long term I intend to make a unit that can replace the original light bar, so the LEDs will be mounted direct to a PCB that will be installed into the light bar in some way, or easily attached to the back of the reflector housing, not sure which yet. I am working on a number of new designs at the minute that remove the delay and am getting some help from a true expert in the field of automotive electronics who actually designed stuff  that is used in the Mclaren MP4-12C. The current V3 unit that is in the car looks like this when operated: You can download all of the project files (sketch, layout & schematic) from the downloads section. Watch this space for V4 of the unit. Related Images: [...]
InfoSecPeople often ask me whats the best way to get into security as a career. There are of course many views on this subject, but I don’t believe there is a clear answer. So rather than try and map out a path, lets look at some of the elements involved and some options. The first thing I want to say on the subject is that Security is more of a state of mind than anything else. I have a saying, to be good in security you need to be sceptical with a healthy dose of paranoia! This point of view will serve you well when it comes to security as it will allow you to be objective and not accept things at face value. Secondly, you need an inquisitive nature and a thirst for knowledge, To be the best at security you simply need to be able to hunt out the truth and learn the latest concepts and techniques very quickly. Finally, you need to be a good generalist, I realise this point is contentious, but I truly believe that you need to have a good general grasp of everything technology related as well as your preferred specialism in order to cover the breadth of security. Of course you can be an expert in your chosen specialism, but you must have a grasp of how “everything” fits together in order to be good. OK, so where do you begin? Well, for starters, you need to have a long hard think about what you want out of life. What I mean by this is, are you a “techy” or are you a “manager”? I realise you can be both (as I am), but when your starting out, the subject is so broad you need a direction to head. If your a techy,  then you probably heading down the threat, vulnerability and controls path, with topics such as ethical hacking, intrusion detection and firewalls on your learning list. if however, your more of a manager, your probably heading down the opposite path towards topics such as strategy, assurance and governance. Once you have figured this out, you can start to look at the material, courses and support networks available for each road to help you get going. One important factor that should always be included however is your own personal growth and development. What I mean by this are the softer skills such as communication, empathy, leadership, coaching etc. All of these skills are fundamental to your success and should be developed in equal measure with your chosen subject specialisms. The biggest issues I face as an employer in this sector is finding good security people with excellent soft skills. Its too easy in this game to get trapped in a world of regulations or bits ‘n’ bytes, and forget that all your knowledge is pointless if you cannot make use of it and educate the world. Related Images: [...]
InfoSec……can be reverse engineered by mankind. Its a simple mantra, but one that has served me well in security. Think of of this way, it doesn’t matter how intelligent you are, someone, somewhere is more intelligent! When it comes to security this is never more true. As we all know, security is asymmetric, in so much that the effort required to secure something is significantly more than that required to break into it. Given this point, it makes the mantra even more relevant! If security was symetrical, you would have a 1:1 effort relationship, however, as its not, (we will for the purposes of this article assume its 2:1, i.e. double the effort required to secure), it would theoretically take less brain power than it took to create the control to break it. Obviously I accept that this is a very simplistic representation of the point, but one I think is valid. Related Images: [...]
LiveMixeshttps://jabawoki.com/wp-content/mp3/Jabs_20102001_Progressive_House.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download Related Images: [...]
Alfa 159Daily Power is a work in progress but boost is at 3500mbar and fuel is flowing at 130mm3 so it should be good for a solid 800NM+ as a daily driver 🙂 #noSmokenoPoke Power: Base Model: 2008 159 TI 2.4 JTDM QTRONIC (Diesel) Base Power: 200bhp / 400nm @ the flywheel Dyno Power: 317WHP / 793NM @ front wheels (with Water/Meth 500cc) @ 3200mbar Daily Power: TBC WHP / TBC NM @ front wheels (with Water/Meth 1000cc) @ 3500mbar The run above had a faulty water/meth controller which is why its a little jumpy! Old Dyno Runs of when it was around 250bhp: Dyno run 1 Dyno run 2 Dyno run 3 Dyno run 3 alternative angle Dyno run 4 Dyno run 4 alternative angle Engine Mods: Blow back Recirculation Breather System re-routed to exhaust via E-Vac Scavenger and one way morroso valve Swirl Valves fully blanked in the Manifold Straight through Wizard exhaust with no CAT’s, no DPF and no mufflers on 4″ tails 600 x 300 x 76mm core High Flow, Front Mounted Inter-cooler with custom pipework and mounts 18 row Mocal oil cooler (235mm) Hybrid GTB2056 Turbo (BMW 530D Gt22 Turbine Conversion, 62mm Extended tip billet Compressor Wheel with 4mm extended tips and 49.60mm inducer “62 trim”, Blueprinted, staggered gap oil seals on exhaust side, 15 degree cutback / clipped turbine wheel and 63mm custom  intake adapter) 4bar TMAP sensor 80mm BMC CDA direct to turbo on custom 2ft pipe run for maximum de-restriction Water Methanol System (AEM Pump & 1000cc/min nozzle + Devils Own 100psi/7bar Progressive Controller) Inline OIL sensor reservoirs on Engine and Gearbox Inline Mocal thermostatic control valve on gearbox oil cooler All ECU Mapping work courtesy of Jacekowski and Jabawoki. Handling Mods: 255/40/19 Vredestein ULTRAC Vorti Tyres Spacers on wheels to stance / prevent rub! Autolusso Braided Brake Lines Performance Friction Brake Pads @ Front EBC Yellow Brake Pads @ Rear MTEC Groved, Vented & Dimpled Discs with Black Treatment all round ATE TYP200 Racing Brake Fluid Bilstein B12 Pro Suspension Kit (B6 Shocks & Eibach Springs) Powerflex Front Upper and Lower Bushes Modified upper arms with greese nipples New 330mm Brembo calipers Lighting Mods: H7 LED’s for Driving & Main Beam including custom dust caps Full External LED Conversion Full Internal LED Conversion Cylon High Level LED brake light Project Halo – Tri-Halo DRL Conversion Electrical Mods: 16v 83.333F Super Capacitor Bank on primary electrical system 230v AC Socket in Glovebox Twin Digital Temp Gauge (Engine and Gearbox Oil) in air vent mount secondary fused distribution boxes under dash and in engine bay for ancillaries All wiring and ancillary systems wrapped to look stock. Gearbox Radiator Cooling System 100Amp Shunt and Volt / Ammeter from Capacitor Bank to Battery Multiple 2.2amp USB sockets and feeds for general convenience! Under Bonnet Temperature Sensor / Gauge  Audio Mods: Custom Sub Enclosure with 12″ Infinity KAPPA Perfect 12VQ M3D Sub Fully Soundproofed Modified Alpine MRV-T420 Amplifier Custom Wiring Pioneer AVH-X5700DAB FM/AM/DAB+/GPS Aerial Mod Visual Mods: Fog Lights removed from front bumper and re-grilled for greater air flow to additional radiators Latest Gen Badges all round Some stickers: Cloverleafs …because race car. Nurembergring Sticker …because she’s been 🙂 “Built Not Bought” …because she is. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″] Related Images: [...]

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