How would you hack into this electronic applause button?

SFC Josh Jackson — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:29:53 -0500

My people! This is the bottom of my applause button. it is literally an applause button; it plays several seconds of people clapping and cheering when the button is pressed. Awesome, right?

But it would be more awesome if I could hack it! See the thing in the red circle? I think it's some kind of jack that I can plug an audio input into to change the sound that's played. Problem is, I have no idea what that would be, or where to find one. Do any of you know? Thanks!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 10 at 2015 2:00 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 May 2015 14:00:21 -0400

not 100% on this but im pretty sure that is the cheepo usb hook up... if im remembering right they are three prong cords, but i dont think it would be as easy as plugging in a cord and changing the sound...

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made May 10 at 2015 2:23 PM

LTC Yinon Weiss — Sun, 10 May 2015 14:23:10 -0400

This looks to me like a voltage input interface. You could plug in 3 copper (shielded) wires which carry a low voltage (similar to what sprinkler systems have), and there would be 7 possible settings you could initiate. For example, imagine the three plugs are A, B, and C. And if I list the character below, it means it's ON, and if not, it's OFF. You could then send a signal for the following combinations:

ABC
AB
A C
A
B
C
BC

Each combination would tell the device to do something different, if it was programmed that way.

So what you would need is some sort of device that can put out low voltage lines and turn each line on or off. You would probably have to test to see what voltage is correct for the device to accept it (without being too low or too high to fry it).

Note: I am not an electronics expert, so follow this advice only at your own risk. I suggest consulting with a technician prior to experimentation.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made May 10 at 2015 2:25 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 May 2015 14:25:50 -0400

Looks like you should ask a CW3 to me! I am not quite there yet and have am not privy to this type of information.

Response by GySgt Joe Strong made May 11 at 2015 9:09 AM

GySgt Joe Strong — Mon, 11 May 2015 09:09:16 -0400

Well, If
I were going to try to hack it, I'd probably get it out of the case and get a look at the circuit board - that's going to tell you a whole lot more about what's going on than just the outside of the case and a jack that may or may not have anything to do with what you want to do.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 9 at 2015 6:18 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 18:18:45 -0400

I would ask an EOD tech - 89D.