Objects in Flux - RMIT Research Repository - RMIT University

outlet on the lighter seemed made to order (the transducer
can be seen here set in black foam to isolate it from handling
noise). Apart form the large momentary button on the side, all
controls were located in the base of the lighter.
[Figure 5-11]
Original Braun lighter – base, 2005.
There was a small hole here for refilling the lighter. It was
too small for a standard 3.5mm audio plug but could accommodate
a 2.5mm plug (with a few modifications to the plug).
The problem with locating the headphone socket here was
that I wanted the detector to work while sitting upright, but
in this position the base of the lighter has a clearance of only
2mm from the table surface. I needed a right-angle 2.5mm
headphone connector with a depth of just 2mm – not the sort
of thing Tandy has lying around.
[Figure 5-12]
2.5mm mono audio plug, 2005.
So I attacked a standard 2.5mm plug with a file,
Telling Stories
of the amateur nature of hacking, modding and
DIY – participants may not possess the experi-
ence or knowledge necessary to carry out their
project unassisted – but it is also a result of the
highly experimental and cross-disciplinary na-
ture of these activities. Often, projects are not
confined to specific areas of specialization and
may bring together a broad range of influences
and expertise. This diversity can be seen in Tim
Hirzel’s coffee machine modification, discussed
in the previous chapter, which combines knowl-
edge of industrial control systems with gestural
control interfaces and aesthetic conventions
from the computer case modding community
(Hirzel, 2006).
While outbound links are an important mecha-
nism through which project authors can position
themselves within a networked community of
practitioners, it is generally the existence of
inbound links (or ‘back links’) from external
sites that gives a project visibility within the
public realm. Links to project pages from paral-
lel practices, forums, news and aggregator sites
increase a project’s readership and enhance
the likelihood that the project will be copied or
built upon by others. Inbound links generate
page traffic in two specific ways: directly via
‘click-through’ visitors who follow the link to the
project page, and indirectly by increasing the
page’s ranking on Internet search engines, thus
increasing the likelihood that the project will be
found when project specific content is searched
for by others. Inbound links may also lead to
additional outbound links through a process of
‘reciprocal linking’. Reciprocal links may be au-
tomatically generated by ‘track-back’ systems,
such as those commonly found in blogging soft-
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