wirehead

wirehead: /wir'hed/ n.  [prob. from SF slang for an
   electrical-brain-stimulation addict] 1. A hardware hacker,
   especially one who concentrates on communications hardware.  2. An
   expert in local-area networks.  A wirehead can be a network
   software wizard too, but will always have the ability to deal with
   network hardware, down to the smallest component.  Wireheads are
   known for their ability to lash up an Ethernet terminator from
   spare resistors, for example.