"This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud." - The Mentor, The Hacker's Manifesto

"HACK THE PLANET!" - Zero Cool, HACKERS

With previous ADABOXes you've built robots and radios, learned CircuitPython and played retro games. Now you're ready to learn about the dark arts of electronics - this ADABOX is Super Sneaky with a Secret + Spy + Security theme.

Everything in this box will teach you stuff they don't want you to know!

We wanted to bring you the full experience of being a super hacker spy, but without having to hang upside-down from a helicopter, or break into MegaCorp's skyscraper headquarters at 2AM.

You'll use your brains and hands to solve puzzles, send secret messages, break locks, and listen in on the radio waves around you. Then build some electronic projects that will teach you about security while having some fun. You'll learn how real hackers and security experts work, and at the same time how to protect yourself from spying eyes.

Kit Contents

Large Clear Padlock & Complete Lockpick Kit - Learn about the inner workings of locks with this clear 6-pin pin-tumbler padlock. It will help you get a feel for opening locks without the key.

This lockpick set includes a number of hook picks and diamond picks, a ripple rake for side-dimple locks, as well as two tensioners for turning the cylinder as you lift the pins until - CLICK - you've picked open your first lock!

Software Defined Radio Receiver USB Stick - If you've ever been curious about software defined radio (SDR), this USB stick is the easiest way possible to have fun with a powerful, configurable receiver. Packed with the powerful RTL2832U and R820T tuner, it can tune into signals from 24MHz to 1850MHz. That means you can use a computer (with Windows, Mac, or Linux) to tune into: FM Radio, AM signals (but not AM broadcast radio), CW (morse code!), unencrypted radio signals (such as those used by many police and fire departments), POCSAG pagers, and more.

Adafruit GEMMA M0 - The Adafruit Gemma M0 is a super small microcontroller board, with just enough built-in to create many simple projects. It may look small and cute: round, about the size of a quarter, with friendly alligator-clip sew pads. But do not be fooled! The Gemma M0 is incredibly powerful!

USB cable - 6" A/MicroB - This here is your standard A-microB USB cable. Perfect for connecting your Gemma M0 to your computer in order to program it. We had these made to our specifications, available in Adafruit Black Approximately 6.5" long from end to end, its a little more compact than the typical cable -- perfect for the discrete connections you want when you create the Fowl Foul or Mouse Jiggler projects!

Invisible Ink Pen & 5mm UVA LED - Ultraviolet marker pens use ink which lacks color pigment, so it doesn’t leave a mark visible to the naked eye under normal lighting conditions. However, when illuminated with a UV light source (sometimes called a blacklight), it fluoresces brightly. This is easiest to see in dim lighting conditions.

The LED emits UV 'blacklight' in the UVA spectrum so it's great for projects with fluorescent materials referred to as UV/blacklight-reactive or 'glow-in-the dark'. They are bright (350mcd) and have about a 20-degree LED beam.

Please note the UV is clear when not lit and is 'loose' in the large plastic baggie, not to be confused with the blue-ish Infrared (IR) LED!

3 x AAA Battery Holder with On/Off Switch and 2-Pin JST - This battery holder connects 3 AAA batteries together in series for powering all kinds of projects. We spec'd these out because the box is slim, and 3 AAA's add up to about 3.3-4.5V, a very similar range to Lithium Ion/polymer (Li-Ion) batteries, and they have an on-off switch. That makes them ideal for use with 3.3V projects that have a 2-pin JST connector meant for one of our Li-Ion/Poly batteries.

Alkaline AAA batteries - 3 pack - Battery power for your portable project!
These batteries are Alkaline (MnO2) chemistry, with a voltage range of 1.6V (fresh) to 0.8V (dead). The mAh capacity depends on discharge usage but at 25mA rate it is 1200mAh Use them to power your portable Gemma M0 projects!

Fast Vibration Sensor Switch (Easy to trigger) - The "poor man's" accelerometer/motion sensor! These spring-vibration switches are high sensitivity non-directional vibration induced trigger switches. Inside is a very soft spring coiled around a long metal pin. When the switch is moved, the spring touches the center pole to make contact. So, when there's motion, the two pins will act like a closed switch. When everything is still, the switch is open. Great for basic projects and wearables!

Piezo Buzzer - Piezo buzzers are used for making beeps, tones and alerts. This one is petite but loud! Drive it with 3-30V peak-to-peak square wave. To use, connect one pin to ground (either one) and the other pin to a square wave out from a timer or microcontroller. For the loudest tones, stay around 4 KHz, but works quite well from 2KHz to 10KHz. For extra loudness, you can connect both pins to a microcontroller and swap which pin is high or low ('differential drive') for double the volume.

Panel Mount 10K Potentiometer - This potentiometer is a two-in-one, good in a breadboard or with a panel. It's a fairly standard linear taper 10K ohm potentiometer, with a grippy shaft. It's smooth and easy to turn, but not so loose that it will shift on its own. We like this one because the legs are 0.2" apart with pin-points, so you can plug it into a breadboard or perfboard. Once you're done prototyping, you can drill a hole into your project box and mount the potentiometer that way.

Potentiometer Knob - Soft Touch T18 - Red - This 'soft touch' T18 knob that works great with our Panel Mount 10K potentiometer. The knob is designed to set directly on the potentiometer's ridges so it's an easy & secure fit. It has a nice feel, with a rubbery grip, tweaking it is quite fulfilling.

Woven Metallic Fabric - This woven conductive fabric is silver colored and made of Copper+Nickel-plated nylon. Use small pieces for soft switches, plush keypads, capacitive touch sensors, and other textile interfaces. This highly conductive fabric has a resistance of less than 1 ohm per foot in any direction across the textile.

IR (Infrared) Receiver Sensor - IR sensor tuned to 38KHz, perfect for receiving commands from a TV remote control. Runs at 3V to 5V so it's great for any microcontroller.

Super-bright 5mm IR LED - 940nm - Infrared LEDs are used for remote controls (they're the little LED in the part you point at your TV) and 'night-vision' cameras, and these little blue guys are high powered ones! They are 940nm wavelength, which is what nearly all devices listen to. They're 20 degree beamwidth, and work great for any kind of remote control application.

Please note the IR LED is blue-ish even when not lit and is in a mini bag, not to be confused with the clear UV LED!

Enameled Copper Magnet Wire - For winding custom coils, or very fine-pitch rework, we always reach for magnet wire. Magnet wire is very very thin (0.1mm diameter!) copper wire with a very thin layer of insulation. It's used for a range of electronics, hacking and making applications. Commonly these are used for winding transformers, inductors, motor or solenoid coils, speakers, hard disk head actuators, electromagnets, pickups, among other things. However, this wire is also really good for when you have to do PCB repair, jumper wires, or solder directly to SMT pads.