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404 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Ep 250: Trains, RC Planes, and EEPROMS in Flames
29 december 2023 · 46 min
This week in the Podcast, Elliot Williams is off at Chaos Communication Congress, hearing tales of incredible reverse engineering that got locomotives back up and running, while Al Williams is thinking over what happened in 2023. There's a lot of "how things work" in this show, from data buoys to sewing machines to the simulated aging of ICs. Lees meer
Whether you're into stacking bricks, stacking Pi Picos, or stacking your 3D prints to make better use of precious bed space, this episode is for you. Enjoy.
And as always, check out the links over at Hackaday, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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Ep 249: Data by Laser and Parachute, Bluetooth Hacks, Google's Gotta Google
22 december 2023 · 1 uur 9 min
'Twas the podcast before Christmas, and all through the house, the best hacks of the week are dancing around Elliot and Tom's heads like sugar-plums. Whatever that means. Lees meer
Before settling their brains in for a long winter's nap, they'll talk about the open source software podcast that now calls Hackaday home, the latest firmware developments for Google's Stadia controller, high-definition cat videos from space, and upgrades for the surprisingly old-school battery tech that powers the Toyota Prius.
Out on the lawn, expect a clatter about the the state-of-the-art in DIY camera technology, the acoustic properties of hot chocolate, and a storage media from the 1990s that even Al Williams had never heard of.
Finally, after tearing open the shutters and throwing up the sash, the episode wraps up with a discussion about wiring techniques that let you leave the soldering iron at home, and the newest chapter in the long history of transferring data via parachute. Miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer sold separately.
Check out the links over on Hackaday.
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Ep 248: Cthulhu Clock Radio Transharmonium, Thunderscan, and How to Fill Up in Space
15 december 2023 · 1 uur 3 min
This week, Elliot sat down with Dan for the penultimate podcast of 2023, and what a week it was. We started with news about Voyager; at T+46 years from launch, any news tends to be bad, and the latest glitch has everyone worried. We also took a look at how close the OSIRIS-REx mission came to ending in disaster, all for want of consistent labels. Elliot was charmed by a Cthulhu-like musical instrument, while Dan took a shine to a spark gap transmitter that's probably on the FCC's naughty list. Lees meer
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishably from magic, and we looked at the laser made possible by the magician-in-chief himself, C.V. Raman. Why would you stuff a PSU full of iron filings? Probably for the same reason you'd print fake markings on a 6502 chip. We also took a look at the chemistry and history of superglue, a paper tape reader that could lop off your arm, and rocket gas stations in space.
How about checking out the links over at Hackaday? That's what we'd do.
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Ep 247: Cameras From Gingerbread or Hardboard, and the Insecurity of Bluetooth
9 december 2023 · 44 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up to discuss the best hacks of the previous week. We have no nerdy news this week, but is that necessarily a bad thing? Lees meer
Speaking of nothingness, we have no winner for What's That Sound? because all six people who responded were wrong. Was the sound of Clippy too obscure?
But then it's on to the hacks, beginning with an awesome autonomous excavator that, among other things, lays boulders algorithmically to build load-bearing walls without any mortar or cement. From there, it's old school meets new school in the form of a laser-cut fox-wedged mortise and tenon joint. We take a look at a couple of simple cameras, making dry ice from seashells, and a really tiny POV display where everything spins. Finally, we talk about how small that proposed Italian lunar outpost is, and discuss whether rating airlines would help stop the spread of diseases.
Check out the links, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 246: Bypassing Fingerprint Readers is Easy, Killing Memory Chips is Hard, Cell Phones vs Sperm
1 december 2023 · 1 uur 18 min
It's the week after Thanksgiving (for some of us) and if you're sick of leftovers, you're in luck as Elliot and Dan get together to discuss the freshest and best inter-holiday hacks. We'll cue up the "Mission: Impossible" theme for a self-destructing flash drive with a surprising sense of self-preservation, listen in on ET only to find out it's just a meteor, and look for interesting things to do with an old 3D printer. We'll do a poking around a little in the basement at Tektronix, see how easy it is to spoof biometric security, and get into a love-hate relationship with both binary G-code and bowling balls with strings attached. What do you do with a box full of 18650s? Easy -- make a huge PCB to balance them the slow way. Is your cell phone causing a population crisis? Is art real or AI? And what the heck is a cannibal CME? Tune in as we dive into all this and more. Lees meer
Check out the links over at Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 245: The Silver Swan, ET's Umbrella Antenna, Model Tanks vs Space Shuttle Tires
24 november 2023 · 59 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi link up through the magic of the Internet to go over some of their favorite stories from the last week. After revealing the bone-chilling winners of this year's Halloween contest, the discussion switches over to old-timey automatons, receiving deep space transmissions with a homebrew antenna that would make E.T. proud, and the treasures that can be found while poking around in a modern car's CAN bus. Lees meer
They'll also go over how NASA saved the taxpayers a bunch of money by hacking a remote controlled WWII tank, CNC controlled microscopes, and a cinema-quality camera you can probably build from what you've already got in the parts bin. Finally, they'll detail an ambitious effort to recreate an old computer's motherboard with a new feature in KiCad, and muse over all the interesting things that become possible once your test equipment can talk to your computer.
Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 244: Fake Chips, Drinking Radium, and Spotting Slippery Neutrinos
17 november 2023 · 46 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up to discuss the best hacks of the previous week, at least in our opinions. Lees meer
After chasing the angry bird away from Kristina's office, we go to the news and learn that we're in the middle of a solar conjunction Essentially, the Sun has come between Earth and Mars, making communication impossible for about another week. Did you know that this happens every two years?
Then it's time for a new What's That Sound, and although Kristina had an interesting albeit somewhat prompted guess, she was, of course, wrong.
And then it's on to the hacks, beginning with a really cool digital pen that packs all the sensors. We learned about the world's largest musical instrument, and compared it to the Zadar Sea Organ in Croatia, which if you'll recall was once a What's That Sound.
From there we take a look at fake buck converters, radioactive water as a health fad, and a garage door company that has decided to take their ball and go home. Finally we talk about how slippery neutrinos are, and discuss Tom's time at JawnCon.
Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 243: Supercon, Super Printing, and Super Gyros
10 november 2023 · 44 min
With solder fumes from Supercon badge hacking still in the air, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Al Williams met to compare notes about the conference talks, badge hacking, and more. Tom Nardi dropped by, too. Lees meer
Did you miss Supercon? It isn't quite the whole experience, but most of the talks are on our YouTube channel, with more coming in the weeks ahead. Check out the live tab for most of the ones up now. You can even watch the badge hacking celebration.
Al nailed What's That Sound, as did many other people, including this week's winner. [Jacx] gets a T-shirt, and you get a chance to play again next week.
The hacks this week range from a pair of posts pertaining to poop -- multi-color 3D printer poop, that is. We wondered if you could print rainbow filament instead of a purge tower. The Raspberry Pi 5 draws a lot of excess power when in standby. Turns out, thanks to the Internet, the easy fix for that is already in. Other hacks range from EMI test gear to portable antennas with excursions into AI, biomedical sensors, and retrocomputing.
In the Can't Miss category, we discussed Maya Posch's post, which could just as easily be titled: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about CAT Cable (But Were Afraid to Ask). Last, but not least, you'll hear about Lewin Day's round up of exotic gyroscope technology, including some very cool laser pictures.
Check out the links over at Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 242: Mechanical Math, KaboomBox, and Racing the Beam
27 oktober 2023 · 43 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up from their separate but equally pin drop-quiet offices to discuss the best hacks of the previous week. Well, we liked these one, anyway. Lees meer
First up in the news, it's finally time for Supercon! So we'll see you there? If not, be sure to check out the talks as we live-stream them on our YouTube channel!
Don't forget -- this is your last weekend to enter the 2023 Halloween Hackfest contest, which runs until 9 AM PDT on October 31st. Arduino are joining the fun this year and are offering some spooky treats in addition to the $150 DigiKey gift cards for the top three entrants.
It's time for a new What's That Sound, and Kristina was able to stump Elliot with this one. She'll have to think of some more weirdo sounds, it seems.
Then it's on to the hacks, beginning with an insanely complex mechanical central air data computer super-teardown from [Ken Shirriff]. We also learned that you can 3D-print springs and things by using a rod as your bed, and we learned whole lot about rolling your own electrolytic capacitors from someone who got to visit a factory.
From there we take a look at a Commodore Datassette drive that sings barbershop, customizing printf, and a really cool dress made of Polymer-dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) panels. Finally we talk about racing the beam when it comes to game graphics, and say goodbye to Kristina's series on USPS technology.
Check out the links, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 241: Circuit Bending, Resistor Filing, the Butterfly Keyboard, and the Badge Reveal
20 oktober 2023 · 1 uur 4 min
Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi meet up virtually to talk about the week's top stories and hacks, such as the fine art of resistor trimming and lessons learned from doing overseas injection molding. They'll go over circuit bending, self-driving cars, and a solar camera that started as a pandemic project and turned into an obsession. You'll also hear about Linux on the Arduino, classic ICs etched into slate, and an incredible restoration of one of the most interesting Thinkpads ever made. Stay tuned until the end to hear about a custom USB-C power supply and the long-awaited Hackaday Supercon 2023 Vectorscope badge. Lees meer
Check out the links and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments over at Hackaday!
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Ep 240: An Amazing 3D Printer, A Look Inside Raspberry Pi 5, and Cameras, Both Film and Digital
13 oktober 2023 · 1 uur 7 min
Date notwithstanding, it's your lucky day as Elliot and Dan get together to review the best hacks of the week. For some reason, film photography was much on our writers' minds this week, as we talked about ways to digitalize an old SLR, and how potatoes can be used to develop film (is there a Monty Python joke in there?) Lees meer
We looked at a 3D printer design that really pulls our strings, the custom insides of the Raspberry Pi 5, and the ins and outs of both ferroresonant transformers and ham radio antennas. Learn about the SMD capacitor menagerie, build a hydrogen generator that probably won't blow up, and listen to the differences between a mess of microphones. And that's not all; the KIM-1 rides again, this time with disk drive support, Jenny tests out Serenity but with ulterior motives, and Kristina goes postal with a deep dive into ZIP codes.
Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 239: Overclocking, Oscilloscopes, and Oh No! SMD Out of Stock!
6 oktober 2023 · 1 uur 7 min
Elliot Williams and Al Williams got together again to discuss the best of Hackaday for a week, and you're invited. This week, the guys were into the Raspberry Pi 5, CNC soldering, signal processing, and plasma cutting. There are dangerous power supplies and a custom 11-bit CPU. Lees meer
Of course, there are a few Halloween projects that would fit in perfectly with the upcoming Halloween contest (the deadline is the end of this month; you still have time).
OpenSCAD is about to get a lot faster, and a $20 oscilloscope might not be a toy after all. They wrap up by talking about Tom Nardi's latest hardware conversion of DIP parts to SMD and how TVs were made behind the Iron Curtain.
Did you miss a story? Check out the links and/or tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 238: Vibrating Bowl Feeders, Open Sourcery, Learning to Love Layer Lines
29 september 2023 · 1 uur 1 min
Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start this week's episode off with some deep space news, as NASA's OSIRIS-REx returns home with a sample it snapped up from asteroid Bennu back in 2020. From there, discussion moves on to magical part sorting, open source (eventually...) plastic recycling, and the preposterously complex method newer Apple laptops use to determine if their lid is closed. They'll also talk about the changing perceptions of 3D printed parts, a new battery tech that probably won't change the world, and a clock that can make it seem like your nights are getting longer and longer. Stick around until the end to hear about the glory days of children's architecture books, and the origins of the humble microwave oven. Lees meer
Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 237: Dancing Raisins, Coding on Apples, and a Salad Spinner Mouse
23 september 2023 · 43 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos gathered over the Internet and a couple cups of coffee to bring you the best hacks of the previous week. Well, the ones we liked best, anyhow. Lees meer
First up in the news, we've got a brand-spankin' new Halloween Hackfest contest running now until 9AM PDT on October 31st! Arduino are joining the fun this year and are offering some spooky treats in addition to the $150 DigiKey gift cards for the top three entrants.
It's a What's That Sound Results Show this week, and although Kristina actually got into the neighborhood of this one, she alas did not figure out that it was an MRI machine (even though she spent a week in an MRI one day).
Then it's on to the hacks, which had a bit of a gastronomical bent this week. We wondered why normies don't want to code on their Macs, both now and historically. We also examined the majesty of dancing raisins, and appreciated the intuitiveness of a salad spinner-based game controller.
From there we take a look at nitinol and its fun properties, admire some large, beautiful Nixie tubes, and contemplate a paper punching machine that spits out nonsensical binary. Finally we talk about rocker bogie suspensions and the ponder the death of cursive.
Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 236: The Car Episode, Building Leonardo's Water Mill, Reviving Radio Shack
15 september 2023 · 1 uur 3 min
Elliot and Dan got together this time around to recap the week in hacks, and it looks like the Hackaday writing crew very much had cars on their minds. We both took the bait, with tales of privacy-violating cars and taillights that can both cripple a pickup and financially cripple its owner. We went medieval -- OK, more like renaissance -- on a sawmill, pulled a popular YouTuber out of the toilet, and pondered what an animal-free circus would be like. Is RadioShack coming back? Can an ESP32 board get much smaller than this? And where are all the retro(computer)virus writers? We delve into these questions and more, while still saving a little time to wax on about personal projects. Lees meer
And although the show is peppered with GSM interference (Elliot says sorry!) it's not actually a clue for the What's That Sound.
Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 235: Licorice for Lasers, Manual Motors, and Reading Resistors
8 september 2023 · 1 uur 7 min
Name one other podcast where you can hear about heavy 3D-printed drones, DIY semiconductors, and using licorice to block laser beams. Throw in homebrew relays, a better mouse trap, and logic analyzers, and you'll certainly be talking about Elliot Williams and Al Williams on Hackaday Podcast 235. Lees meer
There's also contest news, thermoforming, and something that looks a little like 3D-printed Velcro. Elliot and Al also have their semi-annual argument about Vi vs. Emacs. Spoiler alert: they decided they both suck.
Missed any of their picks? Check out the links on Hackaday, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 234: Machines on Fire, Old Kinect New Kinect, and Birth of the Breadboard
1 september 2023 · 1 uur 7 min
It might sound like a joke, but this week, Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off by asking how you keep a Polish train from running. Like always, the answer appears to be a properly modulated radio signal. After a fiery tale about Elliot's burned beans, the discussion moves over to the adventure that is home CNC ownership, the final chapter in the saga of the Arecibo Telescope, and the unexpected longevity of Microsoft's Kinect. Then it's on to the proper way to cook a PCB, FFmpeg in the browser, and a wooden cyberdeck that's worth carrying around. Finally, they'll go over the next generation of diode laser engravers, and take a look back at the origins of the lowly breadboard. Lees meer
Check out the links over at Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 233: Chandrayaan on the Moon, Cyberdecks, Hackerspaces Born at a German Computer Camp
25 augustus 2023 · 46 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos experimented with the old adage that brevity is the soul of wit. That's right; this week, they're all Quick Hacks, and that's to make room for a special series of interviews that Elliot recorded at CCCamp with the pillars of US hackerspace creation. This one's really special, do have a listen. Lees meer
We still made room for the news this week: India launched Chandrayaan-3, which combines an orbiter, lander, and rover all in one. Then it's on to the What's That Sound results show, and while Kristina did not get it right, she did correctly identify it as being used in Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", as did one of the guessers who identified it as the cowbell sound from a Roland 808.
Then it's on to the (quick) hacks, where we alternated for once just to keep things interesting. This week, Elliot is into 3D printing a clay extruder and then printing pottery with that, z-direction conductive tape, and the humble dipole antenna. Kristina is more into cyberdecks for the young and old, a reusable plant monitor, and 3D printing some cool coasters.
Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 232: Hackaday Podcast Chaos Camp Placeholder Edition
18 augustus 2023 · 1 min
Elliot is off at Chaos Communications Camp, and Tom is on vacation, leaving us with no podcast this week. Lees meer
But don't fret, Elliot is picking up a ton of interview material for next week's show. It's gonna be a good one!
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Ep 231: Harnessing Sparks, Hacking Food, and Leaving Breadcrumbs
11 augustus 2023 · 53 min
Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Al Williams don't always agree on the best text editor to use, but they do -- usually -- agree on what makes a great hack. This week, they found plenty of Hackaday posts to discuss, ranging from exotic eavesdropping on keyboards, oscilloscopes, and several posts of interest to anyone who wants to build good-looking prototypes. If you are like mechanics, you'll hear about an escapement-like mechanism and a Hobson's coupler. If you crave more traditional hacks, you can learn more about maximizing battery life and etching PCBs. Lees meer
In addition to a flurry of hacks, Elliot and Al also share their picks for the best original posts from Hackaday's staff. This week, we find out how Arya Voronova documents projects and hear what Tom Nardi thinks of his Beepy -- a ready-made display and Blackberry keyboard waiting for a Raspberry Pi.
Did you miss anything? Check out the links.
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Ep 230: Space Science, Superconductors, Supercaps, and Central Air
4 augustus 2023 · 1 uur 11 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi start things off by tackling a pair of science stories, one that may or may not change the world, and the other that hopes to help us understand the very fabric of the universe. Afterwards they get to the important stuff: the evolution of Game Boy Camera hacking, the finer points of 3D print orientation, and mixing up electrically conductive concrete at home. From there the conversation shifts to a couple of 486 Turbo buttons, a quick yoke recipe, and a very handsome open source vacuum pickup tool. Stick around until the end to hear about the folly of humanoid robots, and the latest operating system to get the Jenny List treatment. Lees meer
Check out the links on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 229: DIY VR, Gutting Voice Assistants, and ChatGPT Failing Its Summer Internship
28 juli 2023 · 42 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos braved the slight cold and the high heat respectively to bring you the best hacks of the previous seven days. In the news this week: you've got a second and final chance to get your Supercon talk proposals in! So get on that, because we need YOU to help make Supercon awesome. Lees meer
We can chalk up a win for Kristina on What's That Sound this week (finally!). Will you get it right? Will you get it exactly right? Time and Elliot's fancy dice will tell.
Then it's on to the hacks, where we check out a cool RFID emulator e-paper badge, discuss whether a certain type of record player is better off as a cyberdeck, and look through the eye of a Gameboy-style camera for the Playdate console.
From there we take a look at gutting and rooting voice assistants, a solenoid keyboard, and a beautifully rebuilt VR headset that now does AR as well. Finally we talk autonomous solar boats, lambast ChatGPT as the worst summer intern ever, and ponder what makes a thing count as Linux or not.
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 228: Bats, Eggs, Lasers, Duck Tape, and Assembly Language
21 juli 2023 · 1 uur 5 min
Summer's in full swing, and this week both Elliot and Dan had to sweat things out to get the podcast recorded. But the hacks were cool -- see what I did there? -- and provided much-needed relief. Join us as we listen in on the world of bats, look at a laser fit for a hackerspace, and learn how to make an array of magnets greater than -- or less than -- the sum of its parts. There'll be flying eggs, keyboards connected to cell phones, and everything good about 80s and 90s cable TV, as well as some of the bad stuff. And you won't want to miss Elliot putting Dan to shame with the super-size Quick Hacks, either, nor should you skip the Can't Miss sweep with a pair of great articles by Al Williams. Lees meer
Check out the show notes on Hackaday for the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 227: Open Source Software, Decoupling Caps, DIY VR
14 juli 2023 · 1 uur 2 min
Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start this week's episode by addressing the ongoing Red Hat drama and the trend towards "renting" software. The discussion then shifts to homebrew VR gear, a particularly impressive solar-powered speaker, and some promising developments in the world of low-cost thermal cameras. Stay tuned to hear about color-changing breadboards, an unofficial logo for repairable hardware, and five lines of Bash that aim to unseat the entrenched power of Slack. Finally, we'll take the first steps in an epic deep-dive into the world of DisplayPort, and take a journey of the imagination aboard an experimental nuclear ocean liner. Lees meer
Check out the complete show notes over on Hackaday!
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Ep 226: Ice, Snow, and Cooling Paint in July
7 juli 2023 · 1 uur 3 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Al Williams shoot the breeze about all things Hackaday. We start off with some fond remembrances of Don Lancaster, a legendary hardware hacker who passed away last month. There's also news about the Hackaday Prize (the tool competition) and a rant about fast computers and slow software, a topic that drew many comments this week. Lees meer
In the What's That Sound event, Al proves he's more of a Star Trek fan than a videogamer. But there were plenty of correct answers, but only one winner: []. There's always next week, so keep playing!
Elliot may be dreaming of cooler weather since he talks about ice sculptures, snow measurements, and a paint that can make things cooler. We don't know what Al is dreaming about, but he is worried about his fuses, and the ins and out of open source licensing.
Along the way, you'll hear about personal vehicles, sky cameras, and zapping weeds with extreme solar power. As usual, there is an eclectic mix of other posts. What has the Hackaday crew been up to? Field trips! Hear about Dan Maloney's visit to the SNOTEL network to measure snowfall and a report from Al and Bil Herd's trip to the Vintage Computer Festival Southwest.
What to read along? The links are over at Hackaday. Don't forget to tell us what you think in the comments!
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Ep 225: Leafy Meats, Wind to Heat, and a Machine That's Neat
30 juni 2023 · 40 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos don't have a whole lot in the way of news, but we do know this: the Green Hacks Challenge of the 2023 Hackaday Prize ends precisely at 7AM PDT on July 4th. Show us what you can do in the realm of hacking for the planet, be it solar-based, wind-powered, recycled-trash-powered -- you get the idea. Lees meer
Kristina is now completely down for the count on What's That Sound, although this week, she was sort of in the neighborhood. But no matter, because we know several of you will nail it. Then it's on to the hacks, where we have quite a bit to say this week when it comes to cars.
From there we take a look at a really fun gumball run, ponder the uses of leafy meats, and fawn over an Amiga-inspired build. Finally we talk PCB earring art, hacking the IKEA Kvart, and discuss the potential uses for wind-to-heat power.
Check out the links over on Hackaday to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 224: Star Wars Holograms, Tricorders, and Other Sensors
23 juni 2023 · 50 min
Elliot and Al got together to discuss this week's projects, and you're invited! You'll hear news about replaceable batteries in the EU, along with some news about the Hacakday Op Amp Challenge winners and the start of a new contest. This week's choice hacks ranged from a Star Wars-style volumetric display, navigation using cosmic rays, measuring car speed with microphones, and a crazy 3D printing technique that will blow you away. Lees meer
There's plenty more where that came from. Ever tried to land a model rocket vertically? How about building a punched card reader? The can't miss articles this week cover a thermal camera review and the unintended consequences if AM radio bites the dust.
If you want to read along, head on over to Hackaday. Be sure to leave us your thoughts in the comments.
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Ep 223: Smoking Smart Meter, 489 Megapixels, and Unshredding Documents
16 juni 2023 · 1 uur 8 min
Elliot's back from vacation, and Dan stepped into the virtual podcast studio with him to uncover all the hacks he missed while hiking in Italy. There was a lot to miss, what with a smart meter getting snuffed by a Flipper Zero -- or was it? How about a half-gigapixel camera built out of an old scanner, or a sonar-aimed turret gun? We also looked at a couple of projects that did things the hard way, like a TV test pattern generator that was clearly a labor of love, and an all-transistor HP frequency counter. More plastic welding? Hey, a fix is a fix! Plus, we'll dive into why all those Alexas are just gathering dust, and look at the really, REALLY hard problems involved in restoring shredded documents. Lees meer
Head on over to Hackaday for the links. You really want them this episode!
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Ep 222: VCF East Special Edition
9 juni 2023 · 36 min
Editor in Chief Elliot Williams is spending the week communing with nature, which under normal circumstances would mean no podcast -- after all, he's the one who puts each episode together. But since your weekend would obviously be ruined without a dose of lo-fi Hackaday beats to kick things off, Managing Editor Tom Nardi made a valiant attempt to go it alone and produce...something. Lees meer
This shortened episode will briefly go over the news, including updates about Hackaday's various ongoing contests and the recent unearthly conditions in the US Northeast due to the Canadian wildfires, before diving into the results of last week's What's that Sound challenge. Listeners will then be treated to a special Quick Hacks segment from Jenny List, before settling in for the main event: a pair of fascinating interviews recorded during the Vintage Computer Festival East in Wall, NJ.
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 221: The Future of the Raspberry Pi, Sniffing a Toothbrush, Your Tactical Tool Threshold
2 juni 2023 · 1 uur 2 min
ditors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi are back in the (virtual) podcast studio to talk the latest phase of the 2023 Hackaday Prize, the past, present, and future of single-board computers, and a modern reincarnation of the Blackberry designed by hardware hackers. They'll also cover the current state of toothbrush NFC hacking, the possibilities of electric farm equipment, and a privately funded satellite designed to sniff out methane. Stick around till the end to find out if there really is such a thing as having too many tools. Lees meer
Check out the links and tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 220: Transparent Ice, Fake Aliens, and Bendy Breadboards
26 mei 2023 · 48 min
You can join Elliot and Al as they get together to talk about their favorite hacks of the week. There's news about current contests, fake alien messages, flexible breadboards, hoverboards, low-tech home automation, and even radioactive batteries that could be a device's best friend. Lees meer
We have a winner in the What's that Sound competition last week, which was, apparently, a tough one. You'll also hear about IC fabrication, FPGAs, and core memory. Lots to talk about, including core memory, hoverboards, and vacuum tubes.
Check out the links and tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 219: Lots of Lasers, Heaps of Ham Radio, and Breaching the Blood Brain Barrier
19 mei 2023 · 59 min
Elliot and Dan teamed up for the podcast this week, bringing you the week's sweetest hacks. And news too, as the ESA performed a little percussive maintenance on a Jupiter-bound space probe, and we learned about how to get an Orwellian free TV that exacts quite a price. We talked about Bitcoin mining two ways, including a way to put all that waste heat to good use -- just don't expect it to make good financial sense. Why would you stuff zip ties into a hot glue gun? It might just help with plastic repair. Lugging a tube transmitter up a mountain doesn't sound like a good idea, but with the right design, it's a lot of fun -- and maybe you'll be better able to tap into Schumann resonances while you're up there. Lees meer
Check out the links and tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 218: Open Source AI, The Rescue of Salyut 7, The Homework Machine
12 mei 2023 · 48 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos have much in the way of Hackaday news -- the Op Amp Challenge is about halfway over, and there are roughly three weeks left in the Assistive Tech challenge of the 2023 Hackaday Prize. Show us what you've got on the analog front, and then see what you can do to help people with disabilities to live better lives! Lees meer
Kristina is still striking out on What's That Sound, which this week honestly sounded much more horrendous and mechanical than the thing it actually is. Then it's on to the hacks, beginning with the we-told-you-so that even Google believes that open source AI will out-compete both Google's own AI and the questionably-named OpenAI.
From there we take a look at a light-up breadboard, listen to some magnetite music, and look inside a pair of smart sunglasses. Finally, we talk cars, beginning with the bleeding edge of driver-less. Then we go back in time to discuss in-vehicle record players of the late 1950s.
Check out the links over on Hackaday to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 217: The Unintentional Space and 3D Printing Episode
5 mei 2023 · 1 uur 16 min
Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi definitely didn't plan on devoting most of this episode to 3D printing and space stories, but let's be honest, it was bound to happen sooner or later. After an update on the Hackaday Prize, the discussion moves on to a pair of troubled spacecraft and the challenges of exploring the final frontier. Lees meer
From there you'll hear about a chocolate 3D printer we've had our eyes on for years, the tools you should have next to your own (non-chocolate) 3D printer, and a bit of contemplation of what it really means to design for 3D printing versus traditional manufacturing methods. But it's not all plastic fantastic -- by the end of the episode you'll also hear about some particularly bold high-altitude aviators and the surprisingly short time we have left with the humble barcode.
Check out the show notes to follow along with the links!
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Ep 217: The Unintentional Space and 3D Printing Episode
5 mei 2023 · 1 uur 16 min
Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi definitely didn't plan on devoting most of this episode to 3D printing and space stories, but let's be honest, it was bound to happen sooner or later. After an update on the Hackaday Prize, the discussion moves on to a pair of troubled spacecraft and the challenges of exploring the final frontier. Lees meer
From there you'll hear about a chocolate 3D printer we've had our eyes on for years, the tools you should have next to your own (non-chocolate) 3D printer, and a bit of contemplation of what it really means to design for 3D printing versus traditional manufacturing methods. But it's not all plastic fantastic -- by the end of the episode you'll also hear about some particularly bold high-altitude aviators and the surprisingly short time we have left with the humble barcode.
Check out the show notes to follow along with the links!
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Ep 216: FETs, Fax, and Electrochemical Fab
28 april 2023 · 48 min
In this week's podcast, non-brothers Elliot Williams and Al Williams talk about our favorite hacks of the week. Elliot's got analog on the brain, courtesy of the ongoing Op Amp Contest, and Al is all about the retrocomputers, from a thrift-store treasure to an old, but still incredibly serviceable, voice synthesizer. Both agree that they love clever uses of mechanical parts and that nobody should fear the FET. Lees meer
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 215: Autonomous Race Car, Espresso Robot, and Vintage Computers
21 april 2023 · 59 min
It's podcast time again, and this time around Elliot and Dan took a grand tour through the week's best and brightest hacks. We checked out an old-school analog cell phone that went digital with style, dug into a washing machine's API, and figured out how to melt metal in the microwave -- the right way. Does coffee taste better when it's made by a robot? Of course it does! Can you get a chatbot to spill its guts? You can, if you know how to sweet talk it. Let's play Asteroids on an analog oscilloscope, spoof facial recognition with knitting, and feel the need for speed with an AI-controlled model race car. And was VCF East worth the wait? According to Tom Nardi, that's a resounding "Yes!" Lees meer
Check out the links over on Hackaday and tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 214: Jet Engine Hair Dryer, Comic Sans Type Balls, and Belief in Graphene
14 april 2023 · 47 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Contributor Emeritus Kristina Panos gushed about all the best hacks of the previous week. But first, a contest! That's right -- hot on the heels of the Low Power Challenge comes the Op Amp Challenge, sponsored by Digi-Key. You have between now and June 6th to dip your toes into the warm waters of analog and show us what you've got. Will it be a musical hack? Will you seek high analog precision? We can't wait to see. Lees meer
Kristina definitely did not get What's That Sound this week, which honestly reminded her of a cartoon character getting a piano dropped on them, except the sounds were in reverse order. Then it's on to the hacks, beginning with a way to make an IBM Selectric typewriter use Comic Sans, a project that's sure to make you a believer in graphene, and a miniature MNT for every (cargo) pocket.
From there we take a look at a really cool indicator from a 1960s RAF aeroplane and investigate why your multimeter might be lying to you. Finally, we discuss the gargantuan task of building an AR system to rival Google Glass, and the merits of taking a lot of pictures as you go about your hacks.
Head on over to Hackaday to check out the links!
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Ep 213: Not your Grandfather's Grandfather Clock, the Engineering Behind Art, Hydrogen Powered Flight
7 april 2023 · 1 uur 1 min
Join Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi as they review some of their favorite hacks and projects of the past week. The episode starts with a discussion about the recently announced Artemis II crew, and how their mission compares to the Apollo program of the 1960s and 70s. Lees meer
From there, the pair theorize as to why Amazon's family of Echo devices have managed to evade eager hardware hackers, take a look at a very impressive SMD soldering jig created with some fascinating OpenSCAD code, marvel at the intersection of art and electronic design, and wonder aloud where all the cheap motorized satellite dishes are hiding. Stick around for some questionable PCB design ideas, a Raspberry Pi expansion that can read your mind, and the first flight of a (semi) hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Check out the links over at Hackaday.
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Ep 212: Staring through ICs, Reading Bloom Filters, and Repairing, Reworking, and Reballing
31 maart 2023 · 1 uur
It was quite the cornucopia of goodness this week as Elliot and Dan sat down to hash over the week in hardware hacking. We started with the exciting news that the Hackaday Prize is back -- already? -- for the tenth year running! The first round, Re-Engineering Education, is underway now, and we're already seeing some cool entries come in. The Prize was announced at Hackday Berlin, about which Elliot waxed a bit too. Speaking of wax, if you're looking to waterproof your circuits, that's just one of many coatings you might try. If you're diagnosing a problem with a chip, a cheap camera can give your microscope IR vision. Then again, you might just use your Mark I peepers to decode a ROM. Is your FDM filament on the wrong spool? We've got an all-mechanical solution for that. We'll talk about tools of the camera operator's trade, the right to repair in Europe, Korean-style toasty toes, BGA basics, and learn just what the heck a Bloom filter is. Lees meer
Head on over to the show notes for links and more!
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Ep 211: Pocket Sundial, Origami Llama, PCB Spacemouse
24 maart 2023 · 40 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Contributor Emeritus Kristina Panos chewed the fat about the coolest hacks of the previous week. But first, a bit of news -- our Low Power Challenge fizzled out this week, and boy did we have a lot of entries at the last minute. We love to see it though, and we're going to get judging done ASAP. Lees meer
Don't forget, this weekend is Hackaday Berlin! Livestreaming for this one may be iffy, but we'll have the talks up for you eventually, so don't fret too much if you can't make it in the flesh this time.
Kristina definitely got What's That Sound this week, but her answer will of course be bleeped out. Then it's on to the hacks, beginning with a 6DoF controller that does everything in interesting ways and a printed shredder that eats like a goat. From there they cover bolt dispensers, coffee grinders with Bluetooth weighing, camera calibration, and a 50-pen plotter that's definitely a hack. Finally, we discuss the virtues of physicality when it comes to SIM cards and recorded music.
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 210: Living in the Future, Flipper Mayhem, and Samsung Moons the World
17 maart 2023 · 57 min
Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams is joined this week by newly minted Development Editor (and definitely not brother) Al Williams to bring you the weekly highlights from our little corner of the Internet. Lees meer
Between the rapidly approaching deadline for the Low-Power Challenge to Samsung creating a fake Moon with artificial intelligence, there's plenty in the news to get this episode started. From there, the Williams plural discuss using a webcam for cheap virtual reality thrills, an impressive expansion for the Flipper Zero, and whether or not finding a bug in the Nintendo DSi browser counts as retrocomputing.
Stick around to hear about the fascinating work Joshua Vasquez has been doing with DIY light guide plates, and Arya Voronova's deep-dive into PCI-Express.
You want links? You got links in the show notes!
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Ep 209: HDMI Tempest, Norm Upscaled, Seeing Electrons, and When the Radios Go Silent
10 maart 2023 · 56 min
It was one of those weeks, where Elliot and Dan found a bounty of interesting hacks to choose from for the podcast, making it hard to pick. But pick we did, and we found so many deep and important questions. What good is a leaky HCMI cable? Good for falling down a TEMPEST-like rabbit hole, that's what. Why would you use a ton of clay to make a car? Because it's cool, that's why. What does an electron look like? A little like a wiggling wire, but mostly it looks like a standing wave... of waves. Lees meer
Is artificial intelligence going to take over all the code and start suing us for copyright violations? Maybe yes, maybe no, but we're definitely in a strange, new world. And when all our media is on demand, what is the spectrum that broadcasters currently use going to be good for?
It's not all heavy questions, of course; we found a lot of fun hacks, like an extreme drill press makeover, a couple of low-power cyberdecks, the return of Norm Abram in glorious AI-generated HD, getting up close and personal with flip dot displays, and a sled that lets you go uphill as easily as going downhill.
For links and more, head on over to Hackaday.
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Ep 208: Hallucinating Robots, Floppy Cartridges, and a Flexure Synth French Horn
3 maart 2023 · 41 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and (former Assignments Editor) Kristina Panos stood around talking about the greatest hacks of the previous week. But first, we've got a contest running now through March 21st -- the Low Power Challenge! Lees meer
Kristina almost got What's That Sound this week, but could only describe it as some sort of underwater organ, so still no t-shirt for her. But [BalkanBoy] knew exactly what it was -- the Zadar Sea Organ in Croatia. Then it's on to the hacks, beginning with the most beautiful sea of 7-segments you'll likely ever see. We gush over a tiny PC in a floppy drive that uses custom cartridges, dish about an expressive synth that uses a flexure mechanism, and enjoy a loving ode to the vacuum fluorescent display.
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Ep 207: Modular Furniture, Plastic Prosthetics, and Your Data on YouTube
24 februari 2023 · 1 uur 8 min
Join Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi as they explore the best and most interesting stories from the last week. The top story if of course the possibility that at least some of the unidentified flying objects the US Air Force valiantly shot down were in fact the work of amateur radio enthusiasts, but a quantitative comparison of NASA's SLS mega-rocket to that of popular breakfast cereals is certainly worth a mention as well. Lees meer
Afterwards the discussion will range from modular home furnishings to the possibility of using YouTube (or maybe VHS tapes) to backup your data and AI-generated Pong. Also up for debate are cheap CO2 monitors which may or may not be CO2 monitors, prosthetic limbs made from locally recycled plastic, and an answer to Jenny's Linux audio challenge from earlier this month.
Check out the show notes for the links and discussion!
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Ep 206: Busted Crypto Killed the Queen, Kicad's New Clothes, Peer Inside the Sol 20
17 februari 2023 · 1 uur
Under the weather though they both were, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Staff Writer Dan Maloney got together to take a look under the covers of this week's best and brightest hacks. It was a banner week, with a look at the changes that KiCad has in store, teaching a CNN how to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors," and going deep into the weeds on JPEG. Lees meer
We dipped a toe into history, too, with a look at one of the sexiest early hobbyist computers, seeing how citizen scientists are finding ancient burial mounds, and looking at the cryptography that cost a queen her head. Rather look to the future? We get it -- which is why we talked about a greener, cleaner way of making hydrogen from methane, as well as a generatively designed five-axis 3D printer. From laser-precise knife sharpening to circuit simulation with Python to clear plastic TVs of the 1930s, there's something for everyone!
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Ep 205: Hackaday Berlin, So Many Sundials, and Ovens Pinging Google
10 februari 2023 · 1 uur 1 min
Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi start this week's episode off with the announcement of Hackaday Berlin on March 25th. It's been quite some time since we've been on the other side of the pond, because we had to cancel 2020's Hackaday Belgrade due to COVID-19, so excitement is high for all three days of this "one-day" event. Lees meer
After a new What's that Sound, discussion moves on to an impressive collection of DIY sundials, the impact filament color has on the strength of 3D printed parts, the incredible retrocomputer replicas of Michael Gardi, and the Arduino FPGA that you've probably never heard of. We'll wrap things up with the unexpected difficulties of mixing multiple cheap audio sources in Linux, and try to figure out why our kitchen appliances need to be connected to the Internet.
Check out the links and tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 204: Cesium, Colorful Cast Buttons, and CNC Pizza
3 februari 2023 · 42 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos met up over thousands of miles to discuss the hottest hacks of the past seven days. There's a whole lot of news this week, and the really good part is the the small radioactive source that went missing in Australia has been found. Phew! Lees meer
Kristina is still striking out on What's That Sound, but we're sure you'll fare better. If you think you know what it is, fill out the form and you'll be entered to win a coveted Hackaday Podcast t-shirt!
Finally, we get on to the hacks with an atomic pendulum clock that's accurate enough for CERN, safecracking the rough-and-ready way, and plenty of hacks that are non-destructive to nice, old things. We'll gush over a tiny DIY adjustable wrench, drool over CNC pizza, and rock out to the sounds of a LEGO guitar/synthesizer thing.
Check out the links and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
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Ep 203: Flashlight Fuel Fails, Weird DMA Machines, and a 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand Flex
27 januari 2023 · 1 uur 12 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi meet up virtually to talk about all the hacks that are fit to print. This week's episode starts off with a discussion about the recently unveiled 2023 Hackaday.io Low-Power Challenge, and how hackers more often than not thrive when forced to work within these sort of narrow parameters. Discussion then continues to adding a virtual core to the RP2040, crowd-sourced device reliability information, and mechanical Soviet space computers. We'll wrap things up by wondering what could have been had Mattel's ill-fated ThingMaker 3D printer actually hit the market, and then engage in some wild speculation about the issues plaguing NASA's latest Moon mission. Lees meer
Check out the links over at Hackaday!
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Ep 202: CNC Monks, Acrobot, Bootleg Merch, and the Rise and Fall of Megahex
20 januari 2023 · 40 min
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos stood around and marveled at machinery in its many forms, from a stone-cutting CNC to an acrobatic robot to an AI-controlled Twitch v-tuber. But before all of that, we took a look at the winners of our FPV Vehicle Contest, poured one out for Google Stadia, and Elliot managed to stump Kristina once again with this week's What's That Sound. Will you fare better? Lees meer
Later, we drooled over an open-source smart watch, argued screen printing versus stenciling when it comes to bootleg Hackaday merch, and got into the finer points of punycodes.
Check out the links and join in the conversation over at Hackaday.