Hackaday Podcast
Hackaday Editors take a look at all of the interesting uses of technology that pop up on the internet each week. Topics cover a wide range like bending consumer electronics to your will, designing circuit boards, building robots, writing software, 3D printing interesting objects, and using machine tools. Get your fix of geeky goodness from new episodes every Friday morning.
info_outline
Ep 318: DIY Record Lathe, 360 Degree LIDAR, and 3D Printing Innovation Lives!
04/25/2025
Ep 318: DIY Record Lathe, 360 Degree LIDAR, and 3D Printing Innovation Lives!
This week Elliot Williams was joined by fellow Europe-based Hackaday staffer Jenny List, to record the Hackaday Podcast as the dusk settled on a damp spring evening. On the agenda first was robotic sport, as a set of bipedal robots competed in a Chinese half-marathon. Our new Robot overlords may have to wait a while before they are fast enough chase us meatbags away, but it demonstrated for us how such competitions can be used to advance the state of the art. The week's stand-out hacks included work on non-planar slicing to improve strength of 3D prints. It's safe to say that the Cartesian 3D printer has matured as a device, but this work proves there's plenty more in the world of 3D printing to be developed. Then there was a beautiful record cutting lathe project, far more than a toy and capable of producing good quality stereo recordings. Meanwhile it's always good to see the price of parts come down, and this time it's the turn of LIDAR sensors. There's a Raspberry Pi project capable of astounding resolution, for a price that wouldn't have been imaginable only recently. Finally we retrned to 3D printing, with an entirely printable machine, including the motors and the hot end. It's a triumph of printed engineering, and though it's fair to say that you won't be using it to print anything for yourself, we expect some of the very clever techniques in use to feature in many other projects. The week's cant-miss articles came from Maya Posch with a reality check for lovers of physical media, and Dan Maloney with a history of x-ray detection. You'll find all the links over at Hackaday!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/36313360
info_outline
Ep 317: Quantum Diamonds, Citizen Science, and Cobol to AI
04/18/2025
Ep 317: Quantum Diamonds, Citizen Science, and Cobol to AI
When Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams need a break from writing posts, they hop on the podcast and talk about their favorite stories of the past week. Want to know what they were talking about? Listen in below and find out! In an unusual twist, a listener sent in the sound for this week's What's This Sound competition, so it turns out Elliot and Al were both stumped for a change. See if you can do better, and you might just score a Hackaday Podcast T-shirt. On the hacking front, the guys talked about what they hope to see as entries in the pet hacking contest, quantum diamonds (no kidding), spectrometers, and several science projects. There was talk of a tiny robot, a space mouse—the computer kind, not a flying rodent—and even an old-fashioned photophone that let Alexander Graham Bell use the sun like a string on a paper cup telephone. Things really heat up at the end, when there is talk about computer programming ranging from COBOL to Vibe programming. In case you've missed it, Vibe programming is basically delegating your work to the AI, but do you really want to? Maybe, if your job is to convert all that old COBOL code.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/36221935
info_outline
Ep 316: Soft Robots, Linux the Hard Way, Cellphones into SBCs, and the Circuit Graver
04/11/2025
Ep 316: Soft Robots, Linux the Hard Way, Cellphones into SBCs, and the Circuit Graver
Join Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi as they talk about the best stories and hacks of the week. This episode starts off with a discussion of the Vintage Computer Festival East and Philadelphia Maker Faire -- two incredible events that just so happened to be scheduled for the same weekend. From there the discussion moves on to the latest developments in DIY soft robotics, the challenge of running Linux on 8-pin ICs, hardware mods to improve WiFi reception on cheap ESP32 development boards, and what's keeping old smartphones from being reused as general purpose computers. You'll also hear about Command and Conquer: Red Alert running on the Pi Pico 2, highly suspect USB-C splitters, and producing professional looking PCBs at home with a fiber laser. Stick around to the end to hear about the current state of non-Google web browsers, and a unique new machine that can engrave circuit boards with remarkable accuracy. Check out the if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/36099420
info_outline
Ep 315: Conductive String Theory, Decloudified Music Players, and Wild Printing Tech
04/04/2025
Ep 315: Conductive String Theory, Decloudified Music Players, and Wild Printing Tech
This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up across the (stupid, lousy) time zones to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. Again, no news is good news. On What's That Sound, Kristina didn't get close at all, but at least had a guess this time. If you think you can identify the sound amid all the talking, you could win a Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation when it comes to a pair of formerly-cloud music players. We take a look at a crazy keyboard hack, some even crazier conductive string, and a perfectly cromulent list of 70 DIY synths on one wild webpage. Finally, we rethink body art with LEDs, and take a look at a couple of printing techniques that are a hundred years or so apart in their invention. Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, !
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/36006035
info_outline
Ep 314: It's Pi, but Also PCBs in Living Color and Ultrasonic Everything
03/28/2025
Ep 314: It's Pi, but Also PCBs in Living Color and Ultrasonic Everything
It might not be Pi Day anymore, but Elliot and Dan got together for the approximately 100*Pi-th episode of the Podcast to run through the week's coolest hacks. Ultrasound seemed to be one of the themes, with a deep dive into finding bugs with sonar as well as using sound to cut the cheese -- and cakes and pies, too. The aesthetics of PCBs were much on our minds, too, from full-color graphics on demand to glow-in-the-dark silkscreens. Is automation really needed to embed fiber optics in concrete? Absolutely! How do you put plasma in a bottle? Apparently, with kombucha, Nichrome, and silicone. If you need to manage your M:TG cards, scribble on the walls, or build a mechanical chase light, we've got the details. And what exactly is a supercomputer? We can't define it, but we know one when we see it.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35909560
info_outline
Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
03/21/2025
Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
We're firmly in Europe this week on the Hackaday podcast, as Elliot Williams and Jenny List are freshly returned from Berlin and Hackaday Europe. A few days of mingling with the Hackaday community, going through mild panic over badges and SAOs, and enjoying the unique atmosphere of that city. After discussing the weekend's festivities we dive right into the hacks, touching on the coolest of thermal cameras, wildly inefficient but very entertaining wireless power transfer, and a restrospective on the capacitor plague from the early 2000s. Was it industrial espionage gone wrong, or something else? We also take a moment to consider spring PCB cnnectors, as used by both one of the Hackaday Europe SAOs, and a rather neat PCB resistance decade box, before looking at a tryly astounding PCB blinky that sets a new miniaturisation standard. In our quick roundup the standouts are a 1970s British kit synthesiser and an emulated 6502 system written in shell script, and in the can't-miss section we look at a new contender fro the smallest microcontroller, and the posibility that a century of waste coal ash may conceal a fortune in rare earth elements. .
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35809160
info_outline
Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
03/21/2025
Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
We're firmly in Europe this week on the Hackaday podcast, as Elliot Williams and Jenny List are freshly returned from Berlin and Hackaday Europe. A few days of mingling with the Hackaday community, going through mild panic over badges and SAOs, and enjoying the unique atmosphere of that city. After discussing the weekend's festivities we dive right into the hacks, touching on the coolest of thermal cameras, wildly inefficient but very entertaining wireless power transfer, and a restrospective on the capacitor plague from the early 2000s. Was it industrial espionage gone wrong, or something else? We also take a moment to consider spring PCB cnnectors, as used by both one of the Hackaday Europe SAOs, and a rather neat PCB resistance decade box, before looking at a tryly astounding PCB blinky that sets a new miniaturisation standard. In our quick roundup the standouts are a 1970s British kit synthesiser and an emulated 6502 system written in shell script, and in the can't-miss section we look at a new contender fro the smallest microcontroller, and the posibility that a century of waste coal ash may conceal a fortune in rare earth elements. .
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35809175
info_outline
Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
03/21/2025
Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
We're firmly in Europe this week on the Hackaday podcast, as Elliot Williams and Jenny List are freshly returned from Berlin and Hackaday Europe. A few days of mingling with the Hackaday community, going through mild panic over badges and SAOs, and enjoying the unique atmosphere of that city. After discussing the weekend's festivities we dive right into the hacks, touching on the coolest of thermal cameras, wildly inefficient but very entertaining wireless power transfer, and a restrospective on the capacitor plague from the early 2000s. Was it industrial espionage gone wrong, or something else? We also take a moment to consider spring PCB cnnectors, as used by both one of the Hackaday Europe SAOs, and a rather neat PCB resistance decade box, before looking at a tryly astounding PCB blinky that sets a new miniaturisation standard. In our quick roundup the standouts are a 1970s British kit synthesiser and an emulated 6502 system written in shell script, and in the can't-miss section we look at a new contender fro the smallest microcontroller, and the posibility that a century of waste coal ash may conceal a fortune in rare earth elements. .
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35809155
info_outline
Ep 312: Heart Attacks, the Speed of Light, and Self-balancing
03/14/2025
Ep 312: Heart Attacks, the Speed of Light, and Self-balancing
Elliot does the podcast on the road to Supercon Europe, and Al is in the mood for math and nostalgia this week. Listen in and find out what they were reading on Hackaday this week. The guys talked about the ESP-32 non-backdoor and battery fires. Then it was on to the hacks. Self-balancing robots and satellite imaging were the appetizers, but soon they moved on to Kinect cameras in the modern day. Think you can't travel at the speed of light? Turns out that maybe you already are. Did you know there was a chatbot in 1957? Well, sort of. For the can't miss stories: watches monitor your heart and what does the number <em>e</em> really mean? if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35700145
info_outline
Ep 311: AirTag Hack, GPS Rollover, and a Flat-Pack Toaster
03/07/2025
Ep 311: AirTag Hack, GPS Rollover, and a Flat-Pack Toaster
This week, Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start off the episode by announcing Arduino co-founder David Cuartielles will be taking the stage as the keynote speaker at Hackaday Europe. In his talk, we'll hear about a vision of the future where consumer electronics can be tossed in the garden and turned into compost instead of sitting in a landfill for the next 1,000 years or so. You'll also hear about a particularly clever manipulation of Apple's AirTag infrastructure, how a classic kid's toy was turned into a unique display with the help of computer vision, and the workarounds required to keep older Global Positioning System (GPS) hardware up and running. They'll also cover DIY toasters, extracting your data from a smart ring before the manufacturer can sell it, a LEGO interferometer, and a new feature added to the Bus Pirate 5's already impressive list of capabilities. Capping off the episode there's a discussion about the surprising (or depending on how you think about it, unsurprising) amount of hardware that was on display at FOSDEM this year, and the history of one of man's most infernal creations, the shopping cart wheel lock. and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35577130
info_outline
Ep 310: Cyanotypes, Cyberdecks, and the Compass CNC
02/28/2025
Ep 310: Cyanotypes, Cyberdecks, and the Compass CNC
This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up in a secret location with snacks to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. First up in the news, and there's a lot of it: we announced the Hackaday Europe 2025 workshops and a few more speakers, though the big keynote announcement is still to come. In case you missed it, KiCad 9 moved up into the pro league, and finally, we're hiring, so come join us in the dungeon. On What's That Sound, Kristina didn't get close at all, but at least had a guess this time. That's okay, though, because nobody got it right! We're still giving a t-shirt away to [AlwaysTheWrongAnswer], though, probably because Elliot has a thing for using random number generators. Then it's on to the hacks and such beginning with a beautiful handheld compass CNC and cyanotype prints made with resin printer's UV light. After that, we take a look at open-source random numbers, a 3D-printed instant camera, and a couple of really cool cyberdecks. Finally, we discuss whether DOOM is doomed as the port of choice in this day and age, and kvetch about keyboards.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35483415
info_outline
Ep 309: Seeing WiFi, A World Without USB, Linux in NES in Animal Crossing
02/21/2025
Ep 309: Seeing WiFi, A World Without USB, Linux in NES in Animal Crossing
This week Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off with updates on the rapidly approaching Hackaday Europe and the saga of everyone's favorite 3D printed boat. From there they'll cover an impressive method of seeing the world via WiFi, Amazon's latest changes to the Kindle ecosystem, and an alternate reality in which USB didn't take over the peripheral world. You'll also hear about a multi-level hack that brings the joys of Linux into the world of Animal Crossing, 3D printed circuit components, and the imminent release of KiCAD 9. Stick around until the end to learn about a unique hardened glass from East Germany and the disappointing reality of modern voice control systems.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35378835
info_outline
Ep 308: The Worst 1 Ever, Google's Find My Opened, and SAR on a Drone
02/14/2025
Ep 308: The Worst 1 Ever, Google's Find My Opened, and SAR on a Drone
It's Valentine's Day today, and what better way to capture your beloved's heart than by settling down together and listening to the Hackaday Podcast! Elliot Williams is joined by Jenny List for this week's roundup of what's cool in the world of hardware. We start by reminding listeners that Hackaday Europe is but a month away, and that a weekend immersed in both hardware hacking and the unique culture offered by the city of Berlin can be yours. The stand-out hack of the week is introduced by Elliot, Henrik Forstén's synthetic aperture radar system mounted on a cheap quadcopter, pushing the limits of construction, design, and computation to create landscape imagery of astounding detail. Most of us will never create our own SAR system, but we can all learn a lot about this field from his work. Meanwhile Jenny brings us Sylvain Munaut's software defined radio made using different projects that are part of Tiny Tapeout ASICs. The SDR isn't the best one ever, but for us it represents a major milestone in which Tiny Tapeout makes the jump from proof of concept to component. We look forward to more of this at more reasonable prices in the future. Beyond that we looked at the porting of Google Find My to the ESP32, how to repair broken zippers, and tuning in to ultrasonic sounds. Have fun listening, and come back next week for episode 309!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35285095
info_outline
Ep 307: CNC Tattoos, The Big Chill in Space, and PCB Things
02/07/2025
Ep 307: CNC Tattoos, The Big Chill in Space, and PCB Things
The answer is: Elliot Williams, Al Williams, and a dozen or so great hacks. The question? What do you get this week on the Hackaday podcast? This week's hacks ran from smart ring hacking, to computerized tattoos. Keyboards, PCBs, and bicycles all make appearances, too. Be sure to try to guess the "What's that sound?" You could score a cool Hackaday Podcast T. For the can't miss this week, Hackaday talks about how to dispose of the body in outer space and when setting your ship's clock involved watching a ball drop.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35191990
info_outline
Ep 306: Bambu Hacks, AI Strikes Back, John Deere Gets Sued, and All About Capacitors
01/31/2025
Ep 306: Bambu Hacks, AI Strikes Back, John Deere Gets Sued, and All About Capacitors
It was Dan and Elliot behind the microphones today for a transatlantic look at the week in hacks. There was a bucket of news about AI, kicked off by Deepseek suddenly coming into the zeitgeist and scaring the pants off investors for... reasons? No matter, we're more interested in the tech anyway, such as a deep dive into deep space communications from a backyard antenna farm that's carefully calibrated to give the HOA fits. We got down and dirty with capacitors, twice even, and looked at a clever way to stuff two websites into one QR code. It's all Taylor, all the time on every channel of the FM band, which we don't recommend you do (for multiple reasons) but it's nice to know you can. Plus, great kinetic art project, but that tooling deserves a chef's kiss. Finally, we wrap up with our Can't Miss articles where Jenny roots for the right to repair, and Al gives us the finger(1).
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/35100625
info_outline
Ep 305: Caustic Clocks, Practice Bones, and Brick Layers
01/24/2025
Ep 305: Caustic Clocks, Practice Bones, and Brick Layers
This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces and Wonder-Twin rings to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. First up in the news: Big boo to Bambu Labs, who have tried to clarify their new authentication scheme and probably only dug themselves in deeper with their customers. On What's That Sound, Kristina didn't get close at all, but at least had a guess this time. Do know what it is? Let us know, and if you're right and your number comes up, you can keep warm in a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt. Then it's on to the hacks and such beginning with a rather nice reverse-engineering of the Yamaha PRS-E433 keyboard, which led to a slice of Bad Apple playing on the tiny screen. After that, we take a look at an NES musical instrument, how to make wires explode with energy, and a really cool space mouse that uses flexures. Finally, we talk about a piece of forgotten Internet history, and a whole bunch of keyboards. if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34994535
info_outline
Ep 304: Glitching the RP2350, Sim Sim Sim, and a Scrunchie Clock
01/17/2025
Ep 304: Glitching the RP2350, Sim Sim Sim, and a Scrunchie Clock
It's podcast time again, and this week Dan sat down with Elliot for a look back at all the cool hacks we've written about. We started off talking about Hackaday Europe, which is coming up in March -- seems unlikely that it's just around the corner, but there it is. There's also good news: the Hack Chat is back, and we started things off with a bang as Eben Upton stopped by to talk all things Pi. Separately, we talked about fault injection attacks, including how to find the hidden cup of 0xC0FFEE in an RP2350. We saw a very cool piece of LED jewelry that does a fluid simulation, a direct conversion radio that's all laid out in front of you, and the scrunchiest mechanical digital clock you'll ever see. We saw blinkenlights for blinkenlights' sake, all the ways to put threads in your prints, and how to ditch to coax and wire up your antennas with Cat 6 cable. Plus, it's an Al Williams twofer in the Can't-Miss Articles, with a look back at life before GPS and how you can tune into digital ham radio, no radio required.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34895940
info_outline
Ep 303: The Cheap Yellow Display, Self-Driving Under $1000, and Don't Remix that Benchy
01/10/2025
Ep 303: The Cheap Yellow Display, Self-Driving Under $1000, and Don't Remix that Benchy
As the holiday party season fades away into memory and we get into the swing of the new year, Elliot Williams is joined on the Hackaday Podcast by Jenny List for a roundup of what's cool in the world of Hackaday. In the news this week, who read the small print and noticed that Benchy has a non-commercial licence? As the takedown notices for Benchy derivatives fly around, we muse about the different interpretations of open source, and remind listeners to pay attention when they choose how to release their work. The week gave us enough hacks to get our teeth into, with Elliot descending into the rabbit hole of switch debouncing, and Jenny waxing lyrical over a crystal oscillator. Adding self-driving capability to a 30-year-old Volvo caught our attention too, as did the intriguing Cheap Yellow Display, an ESP32 module that has (almost) everything. Meanwhile in the quick hacks, a chess engine written for a processor architecture implemented entirely in regular expressions impressed us a lot, as did the feat of sending TOSLINK across London over commercial fibre networks. Enjoy the episode, and see you again next week!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34805610
info_outline
Ep 302: Scroll Wheels, Ball Screws, and a New Year for USB-C
01/03/2025
Ep 302: Scroll Wheels, Ball Screws, and a New Year for USB-C
After a bit too much eggnog, Elliot Williams and Al Williams got together to see what Hackaday had been up to over the holiday. Turns out, quite a bit. There was a lot to cover, but the big surprise was the "What's that Sound" competition. Do you know who had the correct answer from the last show? No one! So they guys did the right thing and drew from all the entrants for a coveted Hackaday Podcast T-shirt. Back to the hacks, you'll hear about USB-C and the EU, what to do when the Kickstarter product you had your heart set on doesn't deliver, and a very strange way to hack some power grids wirelessly. If you are interested in physics cameras, modifying off-the-shelf gear, or a fresh approach to color 3D printing, they'll talk about that, too. Finally, you can find out what Tom Nardi thought of Hackaday in the year past, and if your next ocean voyage will have to stop for a charge.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34710530
info_outline
Happy Hacking Holidays
12/27/2024
Happy Hacking Holidays
Hackaday is having a happy holiday, and we hope you are too! We'll be back next Friday, so stay tuned.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34630255
info_outline
Ep 231: Hacking NVMe into Raspberry Pi, Lighting LEDs with Microwaves, and How to Keep Your Fingers
12/20/2024
Ep 231: Hacking NVMe into Raspberry Pi, Lighting LEDs with Microwaves, and How to Keep Your Fingers
Twas the week before Christmas when Elliot and Dan sat down to unwrap a pre-holiday bundle of hacks. We kicked things off in a seasonally appropriate way with a PCB Christmas card that harvests power from your microwave or WiFi router, plus has the potential to be a spy tool. We learned how to grow big, beautiful crystals quickly, just in case you need some baubles for the tree or a nice pair of earrings. Speaking of last-minute gifts, perhaps you could build a packable dipole antenna, a very durable PCB motor, or a ridiculously bright Fibonacci simple add-on for your latest conference badge. We also looked into taking a shortcut to homebrew semiconductors via scanning electron microscopes, solved the mystery of early CD caddies, and discussed the sad state of table saw safety and the lamentable loss of fingers, or fractions thereof.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34551880
info_outline
Ep 300: Hackaday Podcast Episode 300: The Dwingeloo 25 m Dish, a Dead-Tech Twofer, and Deconstructing PCBs
12/13/2024
Ep 300: Hackaday Podcast Episode 300: The Dwingeloo 25 m Dish, a Dead-Tech Twofer, and Deconstructing PCBs
This week on the big 300th episode, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos teamed up to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. So basically, business as usual. First up in the news: it's time for the Hackaday Europe 2025 call for proposals! Do you have a tale of hardware, firmware, or software that must be shared with the Hackaday crowd? Then this is your chance to regale us with a 20- or 40-minute talk. You know we love to hear new voices, so be sure to consider proposing a talk. On What's That Sound, it's a results show week. Congratulations to [Kelvin] who was one of many that correctly identified it as the Wii startup sound. Kristina will just be over here with her Pikachu64 with the light-up cheeks. Then it's on to the hacks and such beginning with a rather nice reverse-engineering of the PS1, which surprisingly did it with a two-sided board. Then it's on to a smartphone home server, magic eye images in a spreadsheet, and the math behind the music of 80s. Finally, we talk about disc cameras, the hovercraft revolution, and a whole mess of keyboards. if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34432130
info_outline
Ep 299: Beaming Consciousness, Understanding Holograms, and Dogfooding IPv6
12/06/2024
Ep 299: Beaming Consciousness, Understanding Holograms, and Dogfooding IPv6
On this episode of the Hackaday Podcast, Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi talk about the optical witchcraft behind holograms, the finer points of designing 3D printable threads, and the challenges of switching your local network over to IPv6. They'll also cover how a clever software patch improves the graphics in a flight simulator from the 1990s, and why spacecraft flying into orbit powered by the SABRE engine is going to remain a dream for now. From there you'll hear about a reproduction VW gas gauge that works better than the real thing, custom ball screws, and the latest and greatest in homebrew battery charging. Finally, they'll cap the episode off by exploring the conundrum that's heating up London's Underground, and diving into the (mostly) fictional history of teleportation. 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!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34316320
info_outline
Ep 298: Forbidden USB-C, a Laser Glow-o-Scope, the Epoch Super Cassette Vision
11/29/2024
Ep 298: Forbidden USB-C, a Laser Glow-o-Scope, the Epoch Super Cassette Vision
This week's Hackaday podcast has a European feel, as Elliot Williams is joined by Jenny List for a look at the week's happenings in the world of cool hardware hacks. Starting with the week's news, those Redbox vending machines continue to capture the attention of hackers everywhere, and in the race to snag one before they're carted off for recycling someone has provided the missing hardware manual in the form of a wiki. Europeans can only look on wistfully. Then there's the curious case of life on the asteroid sample, despite the best efforts of modern science those pesky earth bacteria managed to breach all their anti-contamination measures. Anyone who's had a batch of homebrew go bad feels their pain. The week provided plenty of hacks, with the team being wowed by [Bitluni]'s CRT-like laser projector, then the many ingenious ways to 3D-print a hinge, and perhaps one of the most unforgiving environments in the home for a piece of robotics. Meanwhile our appetite for cool stuff was sated by an entire family of Japanese games consoles we'd never heard of, and the little voltage reference whose data sheet also had an audio amplifier circuit. Finishing up, our colleague Arya has many unorthodox uses for a USB-C cable, and we have a frank exchange of views about Linux audio. , and by all means, give us a roasting in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34202425
info_outline
Ep 297: Prusa Eschews Open Source Hardware, The Lemontron Prints Upside-Down, and the vecdec Cyberdeck Does Minority Report
11/22/2024
Ep 297: Prusa Eschews Open Source Hardware, The Lemontron Prints Upside-Down, and the vecdec Cyberdeck Does Minority Report
This week on the Podcast, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. First up in the news: Elliot was at and . And just as excitingly, , which means it's stable and ready for real work. Kristina is getting tired of losing at What's That Sound, so she'll have to come up with some to stump you all. Can you get this week's sound? If you can, and your number comes up, you get a special Hackaday Podcast t-shirt. Then it's on to the hacks and such, but first, there's even more news and opinion to be had in Tom's review of Prusa's new printer, which happens to be closed-source. Then we'll discuss another printer that prints upside-down, an elegant cyberdeck, and a cyberpunk pocket watch. Finally, we talk about the Great Redbox Cleanup, and take a look at man-made stalactites.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/34108801
info_outline
Ep 296: Supercon Wrapup with Tom and Al, The 3DP Brick Layering Controversy, and How To Weld in Space
11/15/2024
Ep 296: Supercon Wrapup with Tom and Al, The 3DP Brick Layering Controversy, and How To Weld in Space
In this episode you'll get to hear not one, not two, but three Hackaday Editors! Now that the dust has mostly settled from the 2024 Hackaday Supercon, Al Williams joins Elliot and Tom to compare notes and pick out a few highlights from the event. But before that, the week's discussion will cover the questionable patents holding back a promising feature for desktop 3D printers, a new digital book from NODE, and the surprisingly limited history of welding in space. You'll also hear about the challenge of commercializing free and open source software, the finicky optics of the James Web Space Telescope, and the once exciting prospect of distributing software via pages of printed barcodes.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/33946332
info_outline
Ep 295: Circuit Graver, Zinc Creep, and Video Tubes
11/08/2024
Ep 295: Circuit Graver, Zinc Creep, and Video Tubes
With Superconference 2024 in the books, Dan joined Elliot, fresh off his flight back from Pasadena, to look through the week (or two) in hacks. It was a pretty good crop, too, despite all the distractions and diversions. We checked out the cutest little quadruped, a wireless antenna for wireless communications, a price-tag stand-in for paper calendars, and a neat way to test hardware and software together. We take the closest look yet at why Arecibo collapsed, talk about Voyager's recent channel-switching glitch, and find out how to put old Android phones back in action. There's smear-free solder paste application, a Mims-worthy lap counter, and a PCB engraver that you've just got to see. We wrap things up with a look at Gentoo and pay homage to the TV tubes of years gone by -- the ones in the camera, for the TV sets.
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/33851787
info_outline
Ep 294: SAO Badge Reveal, Precision on a Shoestring, and the Saga of Redbox
10/25/2024
Ep 294: SAO Badge Reveal, Precision on a Shoestring, and the Saga of Redbox
With the 2024 Hackaday Supercon looming large on the horizon, Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start this episode off by talking about this year's badge and its focus on modular add-ons. From there they'll go over the results of a particularly challenging installment of What's that Sound?, discuss a promising DIY lathe that utilizes 3D printed parts filled with concrete, and ponder what the implosion of Redbox means for all of their disc-dispensing machines that are still out in the wild. You'll also hear about custom macropads, lifting SMD pins, and how one hacker is making music with vintage electronics learning kits. Finally, they'll reassure listeners that the shifting geopolitical landscape probably won't mean the end of Hackaday.io anytime soon, and how some strategically placed pin headers can completely change how you approach designing your own PCBs. Check out the links over at Hackaday, and tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/33614797
info_outline
Ep 293: The Power of POKE, Folding Butterflies, and the CRT Effect
10/18/2024
Ep 293: The Power of POKE, Folding Butterflies, and the CRT Effect
This week on the Podcast, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. First up in the news: we've extended the 2024 Supercon Add-On contest by a week! That's right, whether you were held up by Chinese fall holidays or not, here's your chance to get in on this action. We love to see the add-ons people make for the badge every year, so this time around we're really embracing the standard. The best SAOs will get a production run and they'll be in the swag bag at Hackaday Europe 2025. What's That Sound pretty much totally stumped Kristina once again, although she kind of earned a half shirt. Can you get it? Can you figure it out? Can you guess what's making that sound? If you can, and your number comes up, you get a special Hackaday Podcast t-shirt. Then it's on to the hacks, beginning with what actually causes warping in 3D prints, and a really cool display we'd never heard of. Then we'll discuss the power of POKE when it comes to live coding music on the Commodore64, and the allure of CRTs when it comes to vintage gaming. Finally, we talk Hackaday comments and take a look at a couple of keyboards. , and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/33514187
info_outline
Ep 292: Stainless Steel Benchies, Lego Turing Machines, and a Digital Camera Made of Pure DIY
10/11/2024
Ep 292: Stainless Steel Benchies, Lego Turing Machines, and a Digital Camera Made of Pure DIY
Here we are in October, improbably enough, and while the leaves start to fall as the goblins begin to gather, Elliot and Dan took a break from the madness to talk about all the wonderful hacks that graced our pages this week. If there was a theme this week, it was long-term projects, like the multiple years one hacker spent going down dead ends in the quest for DIY metal 3D printing. Not to be outdone, another hacker spent seven years building a mirrorless digital camera that looks like a commercial product. And getting a solderless PCB to do the blinkenlight thing took a long time too. Looking to eliminate stringing in your 3D prints? Then you'll want to avoid the "pause and attach" approach, which intentionally creates strings in your prints. Wondering if you can 3D print bearings? You can, but you probably shouldn't unless you have a particular use in mind. And what happens when you have an infinitely large supply of Lego? Why, you build a Turing machine on steroids, of course. Finally, we take a look at this week's "Can't-Miss" articles with a look into plastic recycling and why we can't have nice things yet, and we take a trip out into orbit and examine the ins and outs of Lagrange points. And a little mea culpa from the editing desk: Sorry the podcast is coming out late this week. Audacity ate my files. If you're ever in a similar circumstance, you can probably halfway save your bacon with . Ask me how I know. .
/episode/index/show/hackaday/id/33423012