Nostr notes by MakerWire

Battery Prototype Uses Superextensive Quantum Effects to Charge ...

2026-10-29T03:18:14Z

Battery Prototype Uses Superextensive Quantum Effects to Charge Faster

Although the term ‘quantum battery’ is a bit of a vague term, the cell that [Kieran Hymas] et al. demonstrate in a recent paper does seem to suggest that it uses quantum effects to charge faster than would otherwise be possible, with this rate increasing faster than its volume, meaning at a superextensive rate.
The general idea behind a quantum battery is that these somehow use a quantum effect to store and release energy faster than would be possible using classical physics. First proposed in 2013, the initial Dicke model saw its theoretical quantum advantage shot down by 2020, leading to the search for alternative models.
We have previously seen claims of a quantum advantage in batteries based on the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, such as by [Davide Rossini] et al., but this new paper may be the first prototype cell demonstrating a reproducible effect.
In the here demonstrated cell a microcavity is created with strong light-matter coupling, allowing for both energy storage and discharging, with the illuminated particles super-absorbing the light with what the researchers claim to be due to these particles cooperating using a quantum mechanism. Effectively scaling up the cell would thus scale up the charge- and discharge rate faster than in a conventional chemical cell.
Whether this demonstration can be replicated and expanded upon remains to be seen, naturally. The stored energy in this experiment was very small and the storage time only very brief, so for now it serves primarily as an interesting experimental result for researchers to dig through.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/28/battery-prototype-uses-superextensive-quantum-effects-to-charge-faster/

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Airborne Particle Monitoring, the BIG way Airborne micro ...

2026-10-28T04:08:17Z

Airborne Particle Monitoring, the BIG way

Airborne micro particles can be a significant health hazard in a workshop, and thus it’s important to maintain a high standard of ventilation. But monitoring their concentration is also important, and thus there exists a range of sensors to help keep you safe. [WeSpeakEnglish] has taken this idea to the MAX, with a PM2.5 sensor that drives a very large wall mounted display. You’ll never be uncertain what the level is now!
The standout feature of this thing is a huge addressable LED seven segment display PCB, upon the back of which sits a tiny Seeed Studio Xiao board to which the particle sensor is hooked up. The software displays the particle count, and handily changes the colour as the number creeps upwards. Meanwhile should you wish to log the readings, the USB exposes a serial port upon which they are placed.
We can see this is a useful project for anywhere that is likely to have a high particle count, but it’s worth noting also that a large 7-segment display with an ESP32 board attached could have plenty of other uses. Meanwhile this is a nicely finished air quality monitor, but it’s certainly not the first we’ve seen.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/27/airborne-particle-monitoring-the-big-way/

#particlemonitoring #airborneparticle #seeedstudio #studioxiao #meanwhile #max #pcb #led

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Building Passive Headphones YouTuber Paul Lagier designed and ...

2026-10-25T14:52:45Z

Building Passive Headphones

YouTuber Paul Lagier designed and built 3D printed passive headphones to enable easy repairs if anything breaks.
The design combines 3D-printed ear cups, TPU seals, an adjustable headband and interchangeable side panels. In this video, I’ll show you how I designed the parts in Shapr3D, put together the electronics and turned everything into a working pair of headphones and find out how they actually sound.
See more
Learn how to customize your headphones with 3D printed accessories or NeoPixels in the Adafruit Learning System!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/25/building-passive-headphones/

#passiveheadphones #paullagier #learningsystem #youtuberpaul #adafruitlearning #tpu

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It took me nine years to hack my Xbox 360 A writer at kennedn.com ...

2026-10-21T00:46:55Z

It took me nine years to hack my Xbox 360

A writer at kennedn.com bought a Matrix CoolRunner Rev D glitcher in 2017 to tackle an Xbox 360 and only finished the job in 2026. The Xbox 360 was built so that the first bootloader, 1BL, is baked into the CPU silicon and checks Microsoft’s signature on everything that follows. Software attacks mostly went nowhere.
The way in was fault injection. Pulsing the CPU_RESET line for about 100 nanoseconds makes the processor execute an instruction wrong. Researchers used that to turn the mr instruction during signature checking into a move of zero, which gave them code execution.
The 2017 attempt failed at the NAND dump, done over an LPT port on an old PC, a process that would have taken over 30 minutes. In 2026 the same step took seconds with PicoFlasher on a £5 Raspberry Pi Pico. A second Pico running Pico-dirtyJTAG programmed the CoolRunner timing files. The Pico’s PIO blocks give a timing resolution of roughly 7.5 nanoseconds at 133 MHz.
A software-only Xbox 360 exploit was released the week the post went up.
See more on kennedn.com and content on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/20/it-took-me-nine-years-to-hack-my-xbox-360/

#xbox #pico #cpu #coolrunnerrev #matrixcoolrunner #microsoft #raspberry #lpt

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Off The Cloud: a Raspberry Pi 5 that replaces Google Photos I ...

2026-10-20T18:25:20Z

Off The Cloud: a Raspberry Pi 5 that replaces Google Photos

I feel constantly overwhelmed and inundated by both our ever-growing stock of digital photos and the need to pay multiple companies to store said photos. This clever and handy project from maker Alonso Vidales proposes a DIY solution to that very issue:
Google Photos and iCloud are convenient, but they keep a family’s photos on someone else’s servers, behind a storage plan that keeps growing. I wanted the same convenience at home: phones that back up by themselves, search that finds any photo, and sharing with family and friends, on a box the family owns, with no storage subscription and nothing that needs a terminal to set up. Off The Cloud is that box.
Check out more project details here on Hackster.io

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/20/off-the-cloud-a-raspberry-pi-5-that-replaces-google-photos/

#googlephotos #cloud #raspberry #alonsovidales #diy

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Spreading Life to Bleached Coral Coral bleaching is a major ...

2026-10-20T17:32:33Z

Spreading Life to Bleached Coral

Coral bleaching is a major problem for ocean ecosystems as the ocean gets warmer. Researchers at Stanford have found a new method for regenerating bleached corals.
Scientists working on coral found that when they had a bleached and healthy example accidentally touching in the lab, the symbionts from the healthy coral that make its food were able to spread to the bleached coral, reviving it in a matter of weeks. Contact was only required for one week, although three days was sufficient in a few cases. The effect only seems to work with corals of the same genet as the healthy corals of other genets just take over the bleached coral antagonistically.
This is particularly exciting, as areas where not all coral has bleached may indicate the presence of symbionts that are more heat tolerant, and being able to spread these symbionts to their neighbors quickly can greatly speed up the process of coral regeneration and save the reef. Coral reefs are some of the most vibrant ecosystems in the ocean, so if you save the coral, you can save many other species as well that rely on them.
If you’d like to explore how the coral is doing near you, perhaps you should try an open ROV or a bionic jellyfish?

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/20/spreading-life-to-bleached-coral/

#bleachedcoral #rov

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Remote Control with the Huzzah + Adafruit.io #AdafruitLearn This ...

2026-10-20T17:07:52Z

Remote Control with the Huzzah + Adafruit.io #AdafruitLearn

This guide will show you how to send button press data to Adafruit IO from the HUZZAH ESP8266, then use that data to change the color of an LED connected to a second HUZZAH ESP8266.
If you haven’t worked your way through the Adafruit IO feed and dashboard basics guides, you should do that before continuing with this guide so you have a basic understanding of Adafruit IO.
Adafruit IO Basics: Feeds
Adafruit IO Basics: Dashboards
You should also go through the setup guide associated with the HUZZAH ESP8266 for use with the Arduino IDE.
Adafruit HUZZAH ESP8266 Setup Guide
If you have completed all of the prerequisites listed above, you are now ready to move on to the Adafruit IO setup steps.
Let’s get started – Check out the full guide!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/20/remote-control-with-the-huzzah-adafruit-io-adafruitlearn/

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Wine ported to OpenBSD A port proposal posted to the ...

2026-10-20T15:46:55Z

Wine ported to OpenBSD

A port proposal posted to the openbsd-ports mailing list brings Wine to OpenBSD. The sticking point had been %gs/gsbase, which OpenBSD does not let userland set. The workaround emulates the %gs prefix on instructions in software, and that opened the way for the rest of the port.
Several dozen 64-bit Windows programs have been tested, mostly working. The Witcher 3 remaster, released last month, runs with vkd3d-proton added. The main limitation is that WoW64 does not work, so 32-bit Windows software will not run at all. Check a binary with file(1): if it reports a 32-bit Intel 80386 PE, it is out. The built-in test suite is disabled for now because the tests need an X server and several hang.
The post suggests Notepad++ as a small 64-bit program to try first. It also recommends running Wine as a separate unprivileged user, with unveil(2) fencing still an open question. Contributions came from several OpenBSD developers and from people in the #openbsd-gaming IRC channel.
See more at marc.info and content on GitHub. Via Hacker News.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/wine-ported-to-openbsd/

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What happened to Gateway computers? Dave Farquhar at The Silicon ...

2026-10-20T14:29:16Z

What happened to Gateway computers?

Dave Farquhar at The Silicon Underground answers two versions of the same question: who bought Gateway computers, and who bought the company. The short answer to the second one is Acer, on October 17, 2007, for $710 million. Gateway had been the subject of multi-billion-dollar merger rumors with Dell and Compaq less than a decade earlier.
Founded in Iowa in 1985 as Gateway 2000 and later based in South Dakota, the company sold on a friendly midwestern image, low prices and cow-spotted shipping boxes. Farquhar notes the machines used name-brand parts, including Intel motherboards and Creative sound cards, but were finicky to service. His advice from a first job: call Gateway before touching one of their machines.
Annual satisfaction surveys in the PC magazines said the same thing every year. Average or below average reliability, best in the industry customer service. When the support got slower and HP and Dell prices came down, the formula stopped working. Gateway bought eMachines in 2004 for its management, then lost 98.3% of its value between 2000 and 2007. Acer still sells Gateway-branded machines, which are Acer computers with a different badge.
See more at dfarq.homeip.net.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/what-happened-to-gateway-computers/

#gatewaycomputers #siliconunderground #acer #southdakota #dell #farquhar #davefarquhar #october #average

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Fruit Jam SSTV Reciever #CircuitPython #AdafruitLearningSystem ...

2026-10-20T13:08:30Z

Fruit Jam SSTV Reciever #CircuitPython #AdafruitLearningSystem @Adafruit

Gaining support for USB SDR devices unlocks the ability to receive all sorts of interesting radio signals on CircuitPython based hardware. One such fun signal is SSTV, which are signals that decode into images. Hams broadcast these images back and forth on agreed upon frequencies somewhat regularly. Occasionally even the ISS gets in on the action with ARISS SSTV events. This guide will cover what you need in order to get your Fruit Jam and SDR set up to receive and decode these transmissions.
Read more at Fruit Jam SSTV Reciever

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/fruit-jam-sstv-reciever-circuitpython-adafruitlearningsystem-adafruit/

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Super Mario Galaxy Now Runs on the GBA Joining the ranks of fresh ...

2026-10-20T12:13:25Z

Super Mario Galaxy Now Runs on the GBA

Joining the ranks of fresh backported Nintendo games is Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance (GBA), courtesy of [Tobias Friedly], AKA [Tobi]. In a recent video he announces the release of this game, along with the release of the source code of the engine and all the game’s code in a GitHub project.
Naturally none of the original Wii game’s assets are provided to appease Nintendo’s vicious lawyers, so you’re expected to bring your own super-legally acquired ISO image or equivalent to fill in these blanks when you build your ROM for the GBA.
This is a mostly complete port, even integrating the star pointer despite the GBA’s limited number of controls compared to the Wii. In some situations it’s opted to have star bits automatically collected to work around this limitation, which is probably a quality-of-life improvement that many SMG players will appreciate.
For the game’s logic a lot of code was borrowed from the recently decompiled version of the original game, which saved a lot of time even if the GBA’s hardware is no match for the Wii’s. From the gameplay in the video it definitely looks like a playable version of the game, with an acceptable frame rate that looks to be worth a try.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/20/super-mario-galaxy-now-runs-on-the-gba/

#mariogalaxy #supermario #gba #game #runs #tobiasfriedly #boyadvance #wii #aka #tobi

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I electrified my push scooter with a power drill Eddie ...

2026-10-20T11:48:57Z

I electrified my push scooter with a power drill

Eddie Abbondanzio converted a Razor A5 Lux push scooter to electric drive using a cordless drill, and wrote up the build on his site.
He uses the scooter to get around at autocross events while working the course. He already owned it and did not want a second scooter sitting unused, so he adapted the one he had with a welder, a 3D printer, and parts from Harbor Freight, Amazon, and McMaster.
It is front wheel drive. A Hercules cordless drill sends power to the front wheel through a keyed shaft and one way bearings, so the wheel still free spins when the drill is off. Run in the low speed setting, it tops out around 10mph with a rider aboard. A 5 amp hour battery is good for about 2 miles.
The drill’s original trigger was relocated to the handlebars, which meant opening the drill and extending wires in the trigger assembly. The wheel and tire are printed in three pieces, ASA for the wheel and TPU for the tire, with teeth on the mounting surface so the tire cannot spin. Abbondanzio notes he saved no money over buying an electric scooter.
See more at eddieabbondanz.io.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/i-electrified-my-push-scooter-with-a-power-drill/

#pushscooter #drill #harborfreight #abbondanzio #lux #razor #amazon #eddieabbondanzio

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Counting stars: open source hardware at chip companies Zero ASIC ...

2026-10-20T10:32:19Z

Counting stars: open source hardware at chip companies

Zero ASIC ran a count of GitHub stars on public, non-fork chip design repositories, grouped by company. The data was collected October 11, 2026. The company says it ranked first in the world, roughly 100 times the next company and about 4,900 times NVIDIA.
The post also normalizes stars by headcount, and checks the 320 companies listed in Awesome Semiconductor Startups. Bluespec stands out there. It open sourced its BSC compiler and publishes a family of RISC-V cores, enough to place fourth overall, just behind AMD. After that the numbers fall off fast.
Most of the startup list has no chip design repositories at all. That includes well funded AI chip companies such as Groq, Etched, SambaNova, d-Matrix, Lightmatter, Ayar Labs, Axelera, SiMa.ai, Rebellions and Furiosa, whose public repositories are SDKs, model zoos and inference examples.
The Zero ASIC total includes work going back to Adapteva and Parallella. The author calls the survey not a rigorous academic study, and asks readers to report organizations that were missed so the numbers can be corrected.
See more at zeroasic.com and content on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/counting-stars-open-source-hardware-at-chip-companies/

#chipcompanies #zeroasic #stars #open #awesomesemiconductor #ayarlabs #semiconductorstartups #october #nvidia

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Visualize Regular Expressions with Marbles If you are one of ...

2026-10-20T09:38:42Z

Visualize Regular Expressions with Marbles

If you are one of those people who visualize things physically better than in the abstract, then Regex Marble Run by [bottomless] might be for you. You enter a test expression and a string, and the site generates a virtual marble machine that lets you see the regular expression pick apart the string in a physical way.
Click this link, and you’ll see the regular expression “^[hH]ack.[dD][^0-9]*$” which, if you aren’t a regular expression user, might seem a bit cryptic. However, it is fairly simple if you take it bit-by-bit.
The caret character tells it to match the start of the string. So “^dog” will match “dog” and “dog food” but won’t match “food for a dog.” The following bit “[hH]” will match either “h” or “H”. Then there is “ack” which is just what you think it is. So a string starting with “hack” or “Hack” might match (depending on the rest of the expression.
The period means match any single character. Then there’s another “[]” but this time with “dD” to match any kind of D. The next “[]” character class is a range from 0-9, but since there is a caret, the match is negated. So “[^0-9]” means match anything except a digit from 0 to 9. The “*” means we can have zero or more of these. So “HackxD” matches, but so does “HackxDXYZabc” for now. Trick question: Does “HackxDXYZabc123” match? So far, yes, but it only matches to the lowercase “c” character.
The final character, “$” means end of string. So now “HackxDXYZabc123” does not match because we are still in the middle of the string. However, “HackxDXYZabc” will match since the previous “*” “ate” the rest of the string.
Head spinning? The site will let you see each letter of a test string as a marble that falls through the different parts of the regular expression. Balls that pass wind up in the left-hand box, while failures are in the right-hand box. Will it help you? We don’t know, but it is fun to watch.
Want a refresher on regular expressions? Or perhaps you want some practice?

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/20/visualize-regular-expressions-with-marbles/

#regular #marblerun #regexmarble #hack #however #hackxdxyzabc

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Video2NAND: how to build logic gates inside the VP8 video codec A ...

2026-10-20T09:14:03Z

Video2NAND: how to build logic gates inside the VP8 video codec

A post on Shared Object shows how to build logic gates inside the VP8 video codec, using nothing but a key-frame and its intra-frame prediction modes.
The setup is simple. Each block in the frame is either all white (pixel value 255) for True or all black (0) for False. Wires running right and down are made with H_PRED and V_PRED, which copy pixel values from the block to the left or the block above. Inputs are plain blocks set to a constant value, and outputs are just labeled wire blocks.
The gates come from TM_PRED, or True Motion prediction, where each pixel equals left + top – top_left, clamped to 0 through 255. Set the top row to 255 and the left column to 0, feed the input into the top-left pixel, and the block computes 255 – INPUT, a NOT gate. Set top_left to 255 and feed two inputs into the top row and left column, and the block computes A + B – 255, an AND gate. That pair is functionally complete, so NAND and anything else follows.
See more at sharedobject.blog.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/video2nand-how-to-build-logic-gates-inside-the-vp8-video-codec/

#videocodec #buildlogic #gatesinside #sharedobject #truemotion #set #inputs

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Moisture Sensor Robot Planter CrazyScience shares this robot ...

2026-10-20T07:56:04Z

Moisture Sensor Robot Planter

CrazyScience shares this robot friend who lets you know when your plant is feeling a little dehydrated. Check out the details on instructables
Hi planters! in this instructables i made this cute little robot that shows the real time plant moisture levels along with cutest facial expressions!
This mini robot planter will keep your plants hydrated, which we most of us forget when we are out from the house or while we have a busy life schedule.
Be frank guys! how often do you check on your plants?
Most of us completely forget that plants exists! even i was the same before building this, But now i never miss watering the plant since this robot buddy will show the moisture levels on real time.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/moisture-sensor-robot-planter/

#robotplanter #check #crazyscience

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Birduino Plays Bird Calls on Demand with NFC-enabled Cards All ...

2026-10-20T07:01:45Z

Birduino Plays Bird Calls on Demand with NFC-enabled Cards

All [Hannah Robertson]’s Birduino needs is for one to tap an NFC-enabled card to the reader, and the device plays one of the vocalizations associated with the bird shown on the card. It ties together a few different components into a whole, and acts as a good reference design for similar work. There are a few time-saving construction tips worth keeping in mind, too.
The major components are an Arduino Nano, an RC522 RFID reader, and an MP3 player module. Using hardware modules and breakout boards means simpler wiring and being able to take advantage of existing libraries and sample code. There are also a few other things in this build that avoid re-inventing the wheel.
A deck of bird cards plus a roll of NFC stickers equals a ready-to-scan assortment without having to design it oneself.
Rather than design, print, and cut a set of bird cards, [Hannah] found a set of bird-themed playing cards with a different North American bird on each. The back of each card gets an NFC sticker off a big roll purchased online. The result? A set of NFC-enabled bird cards with a minimum of work and fuss. The RC522 RFID reader doesn’t fully support NFC, but it works well enough to read the ID off the stickers.
When the user touches a card to the reader, the device plays one of the vocalizations from a collection of sounds for each bird. Creating the manifests and linking each card’s ID to them was a lot of manual work, but the result is great. The sound themselves come from the Cornell Guide to Bird Sounds of the United States and Canada, a $20 USD curated compilation of vocalizations from a staggering 908 bird species of North America. In a way, the biggest bottleneck is the card deck itself. At 52 cards plus two Jokers, it contains only a small subset of the total birds in the Cornell collection.
The enclosure is laser-cut clear acrylic, and here [Hannah] offers some time- and money-saving advice for anyone looking to glue acrylic to acrylic in a way that doesn’t frost or cloud the clear acrylic: Clear Gorilla Glue Gel. There are of course other glues made for this purpose, but Clear Gorilla Glue Gel (the one in a squeeze tube) is something one should be able to find in just about any hardware store. Another tip: double-check before buying, because many Gorilla Glue products are very similarly named despite being significantly different products.
Watch (and listen to) the video embedded below. If birds and their vocalizations are something that intrigues and inspires you, Cornell also has a resource for identifying birds by sound alone — we’ve seen it implemented with a Raspberry Pi and USB microphone.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/birduino-plays-bird-calls-on-demand-with-nfc-enabled-cards/

#birdcalls #birduinoplays #cards #gorillaglue #gluegel #hannahrobertson #cleargorilla #nfc #arduinonano #rfid

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NesEmulatorPicoSeries: An NES emulator in PureMetal for Raspberry ...

2026-10-20T06:36:49Z

NesEmulatorPicoSeries: An NES emulator in PureMetal for Raspberry Pi Pico W, Pico 2 W and Pi 4

Developer ajtaji has published NesEmulatorPicoSeries on GitHub, an NTSC NES emulator written in PureMetal and compiled to bare-metal machine code with PureMetalForge. There is no SDK and no RTOS. Games are not built into the firmware. A small Python tool writes your own .nes files to the board’s flash, with a window for normal use and a command line for scripts.
Builds exist for the Pico W, the Pico 2 W and the Pi 4 under Anvil. The RP2350 port runs on both Cortex-M33 cores at the Pico 2 W’s nominal 150 MHz with 75 MHz LCD SPI. Video and audio are compile-time plugins: LAFVIN ST7796 is the default, with ILI9341, Adafruit HX8357D and ST7789 Display Pack options at various states of hardware testing.
Audio is Bluetooth A2DP, SBC at 48 kHz stereo, over the CYW43439 radio. Published firmware has no speaker address set, so it is silent until you build your own. The on-board test suite passes 1,926,732 checks with zero failures on a physical Pico 2 W. The PPU is not dot-exact, and only documented CPU opcodes are implemented. MIT licensed.
See more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/nesemulatorpicoseries-an-nes-emulator-in-puremetal-for-raspberry-pi-pico-w-pico-2-w-and-pi-4/

#nesemulator #pico #raspberry #displaypack #github #mhz #rtos #audio #adafruit #lafvin

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LT6502b, a second and slimmer revision of the LT6502, a laptop ...

2026-10-20T05:20:45Z

LT6502b, a second and slimmer revision of the LT6502, a laptop built around the 6502 processor

TechPaula has posted the LT6502b on Codeberg, a second and slimmer revision of the LT6502, a laptop built around the 6502 processor. The first version was red. This one is orange. The project is still a work in progress.
The memory map carries over from the first LT6502, with two changes: the expansion port is gone, and a modem and a SID sound chip are in. The build log tracks the work from a case design render through a partly assembled PCB, text on screen, a graphics test, keyboard scanning code, and finally a fully assembled machine.
See more at codeberg.org and content on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/lt6502b-a-second-and-slimmer-revision-of-the-lt6502-a-laptop-built-around-the-6502-processor/

#laptopbuilt #slimmerrevision #processor #codeberg #pcb #sid

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A custom server for the undead robot vacuum cleaners Neato ...

2026-10-20T04:05:09Z

A custom server for the undead robot vacuum cleaners

Neato Robotics shut down in 2023, and its vacuums depended on company servers to work. Vacuula has published a replacement server on GitHub that brings those orphaned robots back online.
The project is an all-in-one repair and control solution for broken Neato robots. It runs as a server you host yourself, so it needs hardware that stays powered on. Home Assistant users can add it through a provided add-on repository. Everyone else is pointed at Docker Compose. There is also an installer that handles setup and tells the robot which port to connect to.
Testing so far covers ARM 64-bit and x86 64-bit. The team wants ARM 32-bit and possibly x86 32-bit working too, so the server can run on older single board computers. Support for the original BotVac Connected did not make the first release and is being worked on.
See more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/a-custom-server-for-the-undead-robot-vacuum-cleaners/

#server #neatorobotics #arm #dockercompose #github #homeassistant #connected #botvacconnected

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Making Photovoltaic Solar Cells with a Microwave Although solar ...

2026-10-20T02:49:02Z

Making Photovoltaic Solar Cells with a Microwave

Although solar panels may seem like a kind of magic, they’re really quite simple devices, in their silicon form featuring nothing but the p-type silicon wafer and an n-type layer doped with e.g. phosphorus. Because of this simplicity it’s quite possible to make your own solar cells at home using only a few basic, off-the-shelf ingredients and a kiln, which in this recent video by [Dr. Semiconductor] uses a microwave kiln and thus justifies the video’s title.
Even the silicon wafer that you start with can be easily purchased online, though you have to be careful that it’s a bare wafer, without existing etchings on it. On this you need to get a phosphorus-rich layer, which is done by creating a delicious mixture of 1 mL of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), 0.3 mL of 85 wt% phosphoric acid, 5 mL of ethanol and 0.25 mL of distilled water. After low heat boiling this for 30 minutes, it is spincoated onto the cut square of silicon wafer using a spinning platform, like a PC fan.
Next, you shove the coated silicon into the kiln and put it into the microwave to bake at a fairly low power level for half an hour. In the video it took less than 50% power of the microwave to not melt the silicon, so remember that those microwave kilns get pretty hot.
With the delightful smells of freshly baked silicon now teasing your nostrils, you can then take out the doped silicon to sand or etch off the thin layer of glass that’s formed around the new PV cell. On the clear spots you can now put a gallium-indium contact on the p-type Si side and a wad of indium on the newly doped Si-P side, which are now your contacts for the PV cell.
The full recipe along with many of the issues discussed in the video can also be found on the blog article, though the video conclusion notes that many improvements are still possible. The created PV cell in the video reaches an efficiency of about 5%, but this could be improved through changes like the use of a clean-room, adding an anti-reflection coating and improving the contact with the cell.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/making-photovoltaic-solar-cells-with-a-microwave/

#photovoltaicsolar #makingphotovoltaic #solarcells #microwave

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A Pimoroni Presto UK train display Robin Cole has published a ...

2026-10-20T02:13:43Z

A Pimoroni Presto UK train display

Robin Cole has published a live UK train departure board for the Pimoroni Presto on GitHub. It pulls data from National Rail Darwin through the Rail Data Marketplace REST/JSON API. There is no Raspberry Pi, server, cloud function or translation proxy in the chain. The legacy SOAP service is not used.
Setup is two local files. A secrets file holds credentials, and config.py holds the station list, the Waterloo destination filter, the RDM URL, the refresh interval, screen brightness and an inactivity timeout. Setting the timeout to zero keeps the display on all the time. Both real config files are gitignored.
Upload the code over USB. Replacing main.py makes the station picker start with the board, or keep the stock launcher and upload train_display.py instead, which shows up in the carousel with the built-in travel icon. The repo also includes a dependency-free host test suite and a renderer preview you can run against a connected Presto without installing files. Cole notes the app was developed iteratively with OpenAI Codex and tested on physical hardware throughout.
See the video below and more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/a-pimoroni-presto-uk-train-display/

#pimoronipresto #train #nationalrail #raildarwin #display #marketplacerest #datamarketplace #cole #github #api

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A flicker-free DMA driver for SM16380 S-PWM HUB75 LED panels on ...

2026-10-20T00:55:34Z

A flicker-free DMA driver for SM16380 S-PWM HUB75 LED panels on the ESP32-S3

StubbyDevs has published a driver on GitHub for HUB75 LED panels that use SM16380 S-PWM column drivers, running on the ESP32-S3. The row scan runs in hardware with no CPU time, and a new frame is spliced in at the end of a scan pass, so updates do not tear or blink. A 128×64 panel animates at about 67 fps.
S-PWM panels are not shift registers. Each driver chip has its own frame memory, generates its own PWM, and needs to be configured and uploaded to over its own protocol. That is why the common HUB75 libraries do not work with them. This code does, on a $10 board.
It uses the LCD_CAM peripheral in i80 mode with GDMA, sending one 16-bit word per bus cycle, with CLK carried as a data bit rather than the LCD write strobe. Color depth is 4 bits per channel. The speed ceiling is PSRAM bandwidth, not the panel. Examples include color bars, a plasma demo that prints fps, a two-panel 256×64 layout, and scrolling text through Adafruit_GFX. The protocol notes are in extras/PROTOCOL.md.
See more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/flicker-free-dma-driver-for-sm16380-s-pwm-hub75-led-panels-on-the-esp32-s3/

#ledpanels #dma #lcd #cpu #color #pwm #clk #see #psram

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An RV on a Bike Bicycles are the ultimate form of transportation ...

2026-10-20T00:06:37Z

An RV on a Bike

Bicycles are the ultimate form of transportation freedom. They’re easy to repair, parts are cheap, and they will travel almost anywhere for free, as long as the rider has enough calories. Their only real downside is dealing with car-dependent societies, but once a year there’s a place in the American desert that eschews all of this and [Attoparsec] decided to take this custom cargo bike modified into an RV out to Burning Man, a place and time that would be perfect for a build like this.
The build started out as a cargo bike, but not many of them have cargo areas long enough to support a sleeping human. To increase this storage capacity, the bed was extended towards the rear. Without moving the axle further back, though, this created a problem with tail-heaviness so two trailer jacks with wheels were added to the back to keep it from occasionally tipping up too far. The sleeping enclosure was built with rigid foam insulation and taped together, in a modified style common to the Burning Man event which helps keep out sun and playa dust. The bicycle recived one last upgrade to the chain to support the extra weight, and a solar-powered refrigerator, and then it was off to the desert.
The bike RV worked well in the end, and even handled a rain storm without the roof leaking. There were some problems with the customized drive train which were solved in the short term by pounding on one of the wheels occasionally with a hammer. [Attoparsec] left the event early for other reasons, though, and might not be back for a while. But vehicles like these are gaining in popularity, presuming there are safe places to ride them. [Paul Elkins] is often making ones like this gas-powered bicycle and trailer camper.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/an-rv-on-a-bike/

#bike #burningman #attoparsec #paulelkins

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New Learn Guide: Crankfruit #Gaming #AdafruitLearningSystem ...

2026-10-19T23:42:14Z

New Learn Guide: Crankfruit #Gaming #AdafruitLearningSystem @Adafruit

Play with this unofficial, experimental Playdate-inspired CircuitPython game console on your TV using a controller and custom crank!
Crankfruit is a standalone game player for the Adafruit Fruit Jam that runs Playdate-style Lua games from source, with crisp one-bit graphics and synth sound over HDMI. Play with a USB game controller, and add a crank with a 100-pulse CNC handwheel encoder.
Read more and build your own at Crankfruit

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/new-learn-guide-crankfruit-gaming-adafruitlearningsystem-adafruit/

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Classic Macintosh software has been rebuilt for modern macOS A ...

2026-10-19T22:30:28Z

Classic Macintosh software has been rebuilt for modern macOS

A collection of 68000 Mac programs from the 1980s and ’90s has been rebuilt as native macOS apps. The developer used Claude Opus 5.5 to reverse-engineer each one back to an approximation of its original source language, then ported the game logic to Swift or C with SDL. The original sounds and artwork are used. Most of the apps draw native menus, and apps marked BETA are not fully tested yet.
Flight Simulator 1.02 was the hardest of the group. It was written mostly in hand-optimized 68k assembly and had to fit the 128k and 512k Macintosh, so it runs its own bytecode interpreter, with graphics, scenery and menus all handled by hand-written bytecode routines.
The apps need macOS 14 Sonoma or later unless noted. The ones marked Universal run on Apple silicon and Intel, the rest need Apple silicon. Everything is signed and notarized by Apple: unzip, drag to Applications, open. The ports are unofficial preservation projects, and rights holders can email roy@roytinker.com for a takedown.
See more at roytinker.com.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/classic-macintosh-software-has-been-rebuilt-for-modern-macos/

#classicmacintosh #macos #claudeopus #apple #sdl #swift #flightsimulator

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Meshtastic Sniffer for DragonOS Meshtastic has gained a lot of ...

2026-10-19T21:40:03Z

Meshtastic Sniffer for DragonOS

Meshtastic has gained a lot of popularity over the last few years thanks to its low barrier of entry. No licenses are needed and the hardware is dirt cheap, at least when compared to a lot of ham radio gear. But while that physical barrier is low, there is a bit of a learning curve. Part of that comes from the fact that there are a lot of channels and modes that people could be communicating on, and unless the user knows that information up front it can be hard to find where the conversations are happening. [cemaxecuter] noticed this problem and built a Meshtastic sniffer into his radio-forward Linux distribution, DragonOS.
The sniffing software is built in C and comes as a complete standalone binary and does not rely on GNU Radio. With DragonOS up and running and the software loaded, it can look at the entire bandwidth that Meshtastic operates on and detect any traffic and decode it (as long as the key is known). [cemaxecuter] is using a HackRF as a software-defined radio for this project, which he notes doesn’t quite have enough bandwidth to cover every Meshtastic operating frequency, but it can get most of them. After firing up his own node, the software quickly detects it and shows its details in the terminal.
Software like this opens up a lot of opportunities for things that would be tedious, difficult, or impossible to do with with a standard Meshtastic node. Besides finding places where conversations are happening more easily, [cemaxecuter] also suggests that it could be used for wardriving and for locating or finding other networks much more easily. For those who still haven’t tried it out, take a look at this 2023 treatise on the protocol and hardware and then dive right in.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/meshtastic-sniffer-for-dragonos/

#meshtasticsniffer #dragonos #software #radio #gnuradio

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etherbulb: the bulb that shows you the RF spectrum Peter ...

2026-10-19T21:14:46Z

etherbulb: the bulb that shows you the RF spectrum

Peter Holzhauser has published Etherbulb on GitHub, open source firmware that turns an inexpensive ESP32-C3 smart bulb into a receive-only radio. The bulb listens to the 2.4 GHz band and the mobile bands nearby, classifies what it hears, and colors the room by signal type. Blue for Bluetooth, green for WiFi, and a color of your choice for anything else you pick. A stronger signal makes a brighter light.
There is no app, no cloud, and no account. The bulb doesn’t decode content and it doesn’t transmit on the bands it watches. It serves its own JSON API and dashboard, including endpoints for status, configuration, a log, and a raw snapshot of what it is hearing. The firmware locks out running the RGB and white channels at the same time, with a hardware check on the PWM duty cycles.
The receiver path comes from the ESPARGOS project’s esp-sdr by Florian Euchner, Zoltan Doczi and contributors, with the signal and mobile band tables from the ESPsoup app. Building it needs a specific ESP-IDF commit and Python 3.12. Everything is GPL-3.0-or-later.
See more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/etherbulb-the-bulb-that-shows-you-the-rf-spectrum/

#peterholzhauser #florianeuchner #zoltandoczi #github #bluetooth

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MicroManipulatorStepper: a sub-micrometer 3D motion control ...

2026-10-19T20:02:06Z

MicroManipulatorStepper: a sub-micrometer 3D motion control plattform

Developer 0x23 has published an open source motorized XYZ micro-manipulator on GitHub, built for optical alignment, probing electronic components, and microscopy. It uses a parallel kinematic structure with miniature ball joints for stiffness and a large range of motion.
The motors are off the shelf steppers run by a 30 kHz closed loop controller. A magnetic gearing trick multiplies the resolution of low-cost magnetic rotary encoders by 30, giving steps down to 50 nm. The project page is clear that resolution is not accuracy, and absolute accuracy is significantly worse.
Control is by G-Code over USB serial, so the stage drops into other projects without much work. The firmware is C++ with look-ahead path planning and 6DOF pose interpolation. A Python API and a GUI with live camera feed are provided. CAD is in FreeCAD, electronics in KiCAD, and the board uses only through hole modules, so no SMD soldering is needed. Hardware v4.0 revises the ball joints and linkage manufacturing, and firmware 1.0.4 adds PWM tool outputs on two GPIO pins for things like laser engraving.
See the video below and more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/micromanipulatorstepper-a-sub-micrometer-3d-motion-control-plattform/

#micromanipulatorstepper #pythonapi #github #xyz #cad #usb #gui #smd #gpio #pwm

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An Open Micro-Maniplulator Improved If you need a ...

2026-10-19T19:11:39Z

An Open Micro-Maniplulator Improved

If you need a micro-manipulator, you probably already have a good idea of what it does. For example, you might be moving a probe over an IC die or wafer. You might be looking at something through a microscope. The key is moving something in very small, precise increments along three axes. An open-source design for a micro-manipulator has seen significant improvements lately. You can see several videos about the device below.
The device uses stepper motors, parallel kinematics, and miniature ball joints to achieve precise motion. The recent version 4.0 update fixes a few problems. According to the GitHub page:
Self-collision during homing fixed.
Connection of the ball joint block with screws only was not well constrained and could be rotated a bit.
No reliable way to ensure consistent linkage rod length
Unnecessary ball joint friction
Accurate ball position heavily dependent on print quality and corner rounding
Rubber bands could not be changed or removed once glued in.
We’ve covered earlier versions of this device, and we were watching the improvements to the ball joints. Since then, the project has updated much of its mechanical design and documentation, and it has also changed the API that drives it. It can even use tools in g-code now to support things like fine control over laser engraving.
If you prefer something old-school manual, consider a 3D-printed one.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/an-open-micro-maniplulator-improved/

#open #rubber #api

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LEGO Technic drawing machine Fun LEGO Technic build! The drawing ...

2026-10-19T18:46:52Z

LEGO Technic drawing machine

Fun LEGO Technic build! The drawing machine creates spirograph-like designs using a single motor, a worm gear, a crank and zero code. Shared by Brick Trials on YouTube:
A turntable spins the paper while a crank swings the pen arm. The two speeds are slightly out of step, so every stroke lands a few degrees further round and the drift alone draws a dense spirograph flower in about three minutes. The 4K video shows the full build with real brick sounds, then the machine drawing.
Thanks for sharing!
LEGO-Compatible Servo Mounts
Adapt servos to standard LEGO-compatible parts

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/lego-technic-drawing-machine/

#legotechnic #drawingmachine #funlego #bricktrials #mountsadapt #servomounts #shared #youtube

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A free SDR receiver for macOS, Windows and Linux Kristijonas ...

2026-10-19T17:34:30Z

A free SDR receiver for macOS, Windows and Linux

Kristijonas Adomaitis has released OnAir on GitHub, a free and open source SDR receiver for macOS, Windows, Linux and Android. It covers 120 modes from one program: digital TV (DVB-T/T2, DVB-C, DVB-S/S2, ATSC, ISDB-T, DTMB), DAB+, FM, DRM, ADS-B, ACARS, VDL2, satellites, GNSS, FT8, PSK31, CW, pagers, cell towers and a spectrum analyser.
Supported radios include HackRF, RTL-SDR, Airspy, SDRplay, BladeRF, LimeSDR, Pluto, USRP, Fobos, RX888, RFNM, network radios, sound cards and Hamlib rigs. Releases are prebuilt binaries, so there is nothing to compile. Without any hardware, OnAir will open IQ recordings in cs8, cu8, cf32, ci16, cu16, SigMF and two-channel WAV, or run a built-in demo signal tour.
The LTE Cells mode can look up decoded cells in OpenCelliD and plot them on a map, with answers cached for offline use. A TV channel scanner feeds a crowd-sourced channel list. AMBE, IMBE and HDC audio codecs are not bundled because they are patented or proprietary, so digital voice and HD Radio stay silent until the user adds their own libraries. The code is GPL v3 or later.
See more on GitHub.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/a-free-sdr-receiver-for-macos-windows-and-linux/

#sdrreceiver #linux #macos #kristijonasadomaitis #cells #ltecells #github #acars #atsc #dab

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One-stop Tool Shows Apple Intelligence The Door Don’t want AI ...

2026-10-19T17:08:24Z

One-stop Tool Shows Apple Intelligence The Door

Don’t want AI features on your Mac? Tough luck, unless one wants to imperfectly do it by hunting down settings in about a dozen different places. Even then, the multi-gigabyte models stay on disk. Unsatisfied by this state of affairs, [omlahore] created RemoveMacAI, a one-stop-shop debloater that shows Apple Intelligence the door, reclaiming its disk space on the way out.
With RemoveMacAI one has a single location from which to turn individual AI features off, delete the models behind them, and block MacOS from downloading them again by redirecting attempts to a closed local port.
What’s refreshingly nice about the tool is how transparent it is about what each setting or preset will change, and communicates clearly what exactly one loses access to by disabling it. Want it all gone? Easy. Use one or two features, but don’t want the rest? No problem. All changes are shown up-front before the tool changes anything, and all alterations are reversible.
Released only a couple weeks ago, to say the tool is popular would be an understatement. Windows 11 also got a “remove AI features” tool, and it requires constant updating to stay functional. Will a future MacOS update interfere similarly with RemoveMacAI? Probably, but one thing that is clear is that a tool like this resonates deeply with a nontrivial number of users.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/one-stop-tool-shows-apple-intelligence-the-door/

#appleintelligence #door #tool #want #removemacai #mac

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Easy sound effects for the Tiny FX board Les Pounder has posted ...

2026-10-19T16:43:37Z

Easy sound effects for the Tiny FX board

Les Pounder has posted the third part of his Tiny FX series at Pimoroni’s Learn site, this time on adding audio to a build. It covers two approaches: generating simple tones on the board for a two tone emergency vehicle siren, and playing a WAV file from onboard storage.
The WAV project pairs a speaker with LED dots to recreate the siren and flashing lights of the Ghostbusters ECTO 1. A MicroPython module handles the lighting animation and audio playback together, triggered by the BOOT button in the centre of the Tiny FX board. The code sits in a try-finally block so the board shuts down cleanly when the script ends.
Audio files go in an sfx directory on Tiny FX’s 4MB of onboard storage, uploaded through Thonny’s file pane. The guide uses a 16-bit, 11025 Hz mono WAV. Higher quality works, but the files get bigger, and the output is mono anyway. Audacity is suggested for recording or trimming your own. The walkthrough takes about 45 minutes.
See more at learn.pimoroni.com.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/easy-sound-effects-for-the-tiny-fx-board/

#tiny #board #wav #ghostbustersecto #audio #pimoroni #led #boot #thonny

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Improving a Brain-Computer Interface Young engineer Aarav Sharma ...

2026-10-19T16:19:31Z

Improving a Brain-Computer Interface

Young engineer Aarav Sharma is still at work developing better brain-computer interfaces.
The post Improving a Brain-Computer Interface appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

https://makezine.com/article/science/health-science/improving-a-brain-computer-interface/

#aaravsharma

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NEW GUIDE: CircuitPython Text to Speech Text to speech has been a ...

2026-10-19T15:52:33Z

NEW GUIDE: CircuitPython Text to Speech

Text to speech has been a favorite since the introduction of the TI Speak & Spell. There are many environments where feedback via speech would be a great feature. Up until recently, using microcontrollers for speech was too slow. But not any more, thanks to CircuitPython 11!
The capability of a speech model depends on the features of the microcontroller and the memory available. Faster microcontrollers with more memory can run more complex speech synthesis models. Adafruit has chosen two open source software speech synthesis models for use with CircuitPython: Moonshine Klatt for average capability chips and PicoTTS for more powerful microcontrollers with PSRAM.
Check out all the details in the new guide > > >

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/19/new-guide-circuitpython-text-to-speech/

#newguide #speech #text #moonshineklatt #spell #speak #psram

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Charlotte’s New Runway Gets A Digital Twin The first viable ...

2026-10-19T15:01:08Z

Charlotte’s New Runway Gets A Digital Twin

The first viable powered aircraft predated the first proper runway by two decades. While it’s entirely possible to launch some planes from austere dirt or grass strips, the aviation world eventually realized that aircraft would be better off launching from a flat, paved surface.
Over the years, paving technology has gradually improved in the aviation world as it has for roads and highways. Now, there’s a project being built in Charlotte with new digital features that hopes to push the state of the art of runways even further.
Twinsies
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) serves the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s by no means the most famous airport in the United States; it wouldn’t make the top 10 in notoriety despite being the 11th busiest in the country).. Still, it serves as a major hub for American Airlines, and has three operating runways that are interesting for the fact that they are all laid out parallel to each other.
Much of the work will involve embedding strain gauges in the runway to monitor how loads affect the structure when the runway is in use. Credit: CLT press release
The airport’s major grand project of late has been the installation of its fourth parallel runway, with the official ground breaking taking place in June 2023. The hope is that the new 10,000 foot runway will add significant capacity for both arrivals and departures to keep the airport competitive while also adding resilience in difficult operational conditions. As the new runway is built, the existing runways have been renamed to 19R/1L, 19L/1R, and 18/36 respectively. The fourth runway will wear the designation 19C/1C.
The new Fourth Parallel Runway, as it is otherwise currently known, will be unique for its “smart runway” features. Unlike a smart fridge, smart oven, or smart bulb, it doesn’t just mean that the runway will have a pointless and annoying WiFi connection and dodgy smartphone app. Instead, it’s all about sensing and telemetry, which is intended to create a better understanding of the runway and its performance and state over time.
The strain gauges, seen here assembled on rebar, are to be embedded in the concrete itself, where they will provide the most useful readings. However, this does mean that the sensors will not be practical to maintain or repair over time. Their expected lifetime is approximately ten years. Credit: CLT press release
During construction, over 2,000 sensors will be installed in the 18-inch deep concrete being poured to lay out the Fourth Parallel Runway. The sensors in question will be used to measure everything from engineering basics like stress and strain, as well as tracking factors like moisture ingress, settlement, friction, and the presence of snow and ice.
The sensors are no different from those that have been deployed on highway bridges and interstates previously for similar purposes. However, this will mark the first time that a US runway has been similarly instrumented in such a way, such that the airport can create a “digital twin” of the runway.
Jointmeters will also be installed in the runway to measure the behaviour of expansion joints in the runway. Credit: CLT press release
This is effectively a digital model that is fed by the sensor data and helps authorities determine the condition of the runway, both from an engineering and operational standpoint. Moisture, snow, and ice sensors can be used to guide the employment of deicing resources and what measures to take on the ground, while monitoring the stress and strain on the runway will guide maintenance decisions over the runway’s lifetime. The latter in particular will provide a very clear idea of how aircraft operations are impacting the very structure of the runway itself. The hope is that this data will be a boon for implementing predictive maintenance. In a busy airport, preventing a time-consuming runway shutdown with a little well-placed maintenance could save huge amounts of money by preventing or limiting the number of flight cancellations, to say nothing of the reduced frustrations for travellers passing through.
Of course, the problem with embedding sensors in 18 inches of concrete is that it’s not particularly easy to get at them for service or replacement purposes. The runway’s sensor system is slated for an expected life of 10 years, during which time data will be collected to better understand the runway and its performance and robustness over time. The hope is that by learning exactly what’s going on in the concrete itself, engineering lessons could be learned on how better to build runways in future. It could lead to new guidelines on concrete mixes, thickness, density, or other factors that influence how long the runway holds up under heavy use by commercial airlines. Despite the limited sensor lifetime, though, the runway itself is expected to last much longer, with the pavement itself slated for 30 to 40 years of use.
Embedding sensors into runways won’t always be a seen as a necessity. It’s perfectly possible to build a runway that doesn’t have telemetry, and just exists as a big old slab of concrete that takes a pounding from air traffic on the regular. However, where a greater understanding of the pavement is desirable, instrumentation can help. Time will tell if the lessons learned from the new CLT runway prove useful enough to justify the investment—but it’s easy to imagine that it would only take a couple of runway shutdowns to be avoided to pay for the $6.5 million project cost. Time will tell!

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/charlottes-new-runway-gets-a-digital-twin/

#parallelrunway #charlotte #fourthparallel #clt #northcarolina #douglasinternational

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An LCR Meter with Compromises YouTube, like the Internet, has its ...

2026-10-19T12:00:53Z

An LCR Meter with Compromises

YouTube, like the Internet, has its plusses and minuses. On the plus side, you can find information on just about anything. On the minus side, you don’t always know if that information is of any value. On the plus side, you can connect to experts who have an uncanny knack for explaining things. On the negative side, you can find people who — let’s just say aren’t. Lucky for us, [Kerry Wong] is very knowledgeable about test instruments, so when we see a review from him, like the one for the ZOYI ZT-XC1 LCR meter and multimeter, we know we will get good information. Check out that review in the video below.
It used to be unusual to have an LCR meter that could measure inductance or capacitance in a home lab. But now it isn’t a big deal, and many multimeters and testers can at least attempt to read these quantities.
[Kerry] noted that the charging port is on the back, which is not very handy, but he also points out it isn’t a showstopper. Oddly, in multimeter mode, the device won’t read capacitance or current, so that makes it less handy as a multimeter.
One of the limitations of many capacitance measurement meters is that they can’t easily account for the capacitance of the test leads. This meter has two adapters that plug into the front of the meter for LCR measurements. That’s great, as long as what you want to measure fits into one of those adapters. If not, then you are out of luck. One adapter fits through-hole components, and the other one is a clever jig for holding surface-mount parts.
We always enjoy listening to [Kerry] talk about oscilloscopes. He even dabbles in reviewing test clips.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/an-lcr-meter-with-compromises/

#lcrmeter #kerry #internet

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Driving On the Moon at a Blistering 11.6 MPH As NASA continues ...

2026-10-19T09:07:25Z

Driving On the Moon at a Blistering 11.6 MPH

As NASA continues humanity’s slow march back to the Moon, different pieces of the puzzle of establishing a more permanent base there are falling into place. One of these pieces is the the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTR), and [Cleo Abram] and [Michelle Khare] got a look at the LTR candidate from Lunar Outpost.
Designed to help astronauts traverse the lunar surface as well as function as a semi-autonomous rover when uncrewed, the LTR will be an integral part to any future Moon base. NASA announced earlier this year that it would be moving forward with the LTR featured in this video and another from competitor Astrolab. Regardless of manufacturer, the LTR will have to deal with some wild conditions in the lunar environment.
Lunar dust is abrasive, so the LTR generates an electric current to pull the dust under the truck to prevent it from entering the cab of the vehicle as it moves along. Given the extreme temperature swings on the moon (-200˚C to 200˚C), the space truck will also be fitted with wire mesh tires as nobody wants to be changing a flat in space. The two seats in the cab are oversized and can help lift the astronauts up as space suits hamper their agility to a significant degree. There are compartments for storing samples, and the truck has a robot arm that can grab samples to bring back if no one is along for the ride.
We’ve still got a few years before crews arrive on the moon, but when they do, there’s a good chance they’ll be using the LTR to explore the lunar south pole in hopes of water.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/19/driving-on-the-moon-at-a-blistering-11-6-mph/

#ltr #moon #lunar #mph #blistering #cleoabram #michellekhare #lunaroutpost #lunarterrain #nasa

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Pixie – the 3W Chainable LED Pixel #AdafruitLearnSystem ...

2026-10-19T08:44:44Z

Pixie – the 3W Chainable LED Pixel #AdafruitLearnSystem

NeoPixels are plenty bright, suuuure. BUT ARE THEY 3 WATTS BRIGHT? No! They are not! That’s why you need a Pixie. These chainable smart LEDs are not only super-smart, they are ridonkulously bright with 3W total, compared to 0.2W of a ‘standard’ NeoPixel. Designed by Ytai Ben-Tsvi, these are the ultimate in LEDs.
Each Pixie not only contains that aforementioned 3W LED, it also has a Microchip PIC microcontroller. You send it the color you want to appear at standard 115200 baud (1 byte per color). You can send a longer string of pixel data and it will ‘forward’ along the messages so you can chain them like a shift register. You only have to send the data once per color change. Once set, the microcontroller does all the PWM handling for you.
You do have to send it data every 1 second at a minimum (as a protection against the bright and hot LEDs staying ‘stuck on’, they will eventually timeout if no updates are received)
Check out the full guide!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/18/pixie-the-3w-chainable-led-pixel-adafruitlearnsystem/

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Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: Ada Lovelace Day 2026, LED ...

2026-10-19T07:55:14Z

Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: Ada Lovelace Day 2026, LED Bubble Hair & More!

ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP
We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.
BLOG
Ada Lovelace Day 2026
Check out the full post here!
LEARN
LED Bubble Hair Extensions with Motion Controlled Effects
Make glowing LED bubble hair that reacts when you move your head!
In this project, six strands of seed pixels are built into a hair extension and controlled by an Adafruit RP2040 Prop-Maker Feather. The LEDs show a soft color gradient during normal wear, then the onboard accelerometer detects a head shake and triggers animated rain effects.
A gentle shake creates staggered glowing droplets that fall down individual strands. A stronger shake creates a lightning flash followed by a faster, denser rainstorm.
This is a fun project for festivals, costumes, cosplay, dance performances, or anyone who wants a little weather system in their hair.
See the full guide here!
YOUTUBE
Voice recorder on a tiny computer!
if the mic demo doesn’t have kids in the background, it’s not real.
See more on YouTube!
DISCOUNTS
15% off our Halloween Gift Guide
The time crunch starts now! Squeeze in a last minute build and add the code BeGood15 to your cart for 15% off items featured in our Halloween gift guide from Saturday, October 17th – Sunday, October 25th at 11:59 PM EDT.
Check out the full post here!
Catch up with us on the blog, in the Adafruit Learning System, and on YouTube.
New nEw NEWs From Adafruit is an email newsletter sent out once a week to subscribers only. It features new products, special offers, exciting original content, and more. Sign-up NOW for the Adafruit weekly Newsletter here: https://www.adafruit.com/newsletter

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/18/adafruit-weekly-editorial-round-up-ada-lovelace-day-2026-led-bubble-hair-more/

#lovelaceday #adalovelace #ledbubble #weeklyeditorial #bubblehair #adafruitweekly #blogada #halloweengift #youtube #hairextensions

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Thunderbolt Strikes Windows98 If there’s one thing everyone ...

2026-10-19T06:15:49Z

Thunderbolt Strikes Windows98

If there’s one thing everyone hated about Windows 98, was the lack of USB4.0 support. We remember vividly the cries of anguish at the launch party when we found out that 21 years in the future, the operating system wouldn’t support the then-undreamt of speeds of the thunderbolt-based fastest USB protocol. After two decades of living with this crushing disappointment, [Yeo Kheng Meng] has delivered the goods: the most modern of USB interfaces on some very much not modern versions of windows.
This builds on [Yeo Kheng Meng]’s work on xHCI drivers for USB2.0 support, which we covered at the time. Like that hack, this one applies to Windows 98 through 7, and has a similar level of LLM-wrangling involved. There are actually a few parts to it– one is a USB3.0 driver, which replaces the old xHCI98 driver and is available on GitHub. On Windows98, USB3.0 speed caps out around 200 MB/s, likely restricted by Windows98’s maximum request limit of 64kB on USB transfers. Even with the faster bus in action, it can only gobble those tiny blocks of data so fast.
There’s also experimental USB4.0/Thunderbolt support, as stated above. While not as stable as the USB3.0 portion, we’re kind of impressed it runs at all. Thunderbolt is more than just a faster data bus, after all– you have to support multiple protocols. To handle all that you can install xhcicm.sys and have the surreal experience of accessing an docked NVMe drive from the last century’s best Windows via his Stor98 driver. That’s based largely on [SweetLow]’s NVMe9x project, which he forked but is going to be bundled into the main repo.
What might be more helpful to the community than these drivers is [Yeo Kheng Meng]’s fork of QEMU11 that emulates USB4/Thunderbolt hosts and devices. Having a working emulator seems like it would be a huge boon for this sort of semi-automated development. That’s available in its own repo.
Aside from the already-linked USB2.0 drivers, [Yao Kheng Meng] has an impressive retro-computing record, that includes Swift on the Apple II and turning DOS into llama.c habitat. It should be noted that that llama.c’s TinyStories is not the LLM that assisted with this project.
Thanks to [Yeo Kheng Meng] for the tip!

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/thunderbolt-strikes-windows98/

#khengmeng #yeokheng #windows #usb #like

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Hackaday Links: October 17, 2026 While Hackaday doesn’t ...

2026-10-19T03:21:34Z

Hackaday Links: October 17, 2026

While Hackaday doesn’t maintain a crime blotter, we couldn’t help but start this week’s post off with a bit of civil disobedience — a retired professor from the University of Pennsylvania was arrested earlier this week for standing in front of a delivery robot.
Granted, she was standing there for long enough that the police were eventually called, but still. Previous reporting indicates that Carolyn Marvin has a history of blocking delivery robots as a form of protest, but this is the first time law enforcement got involved. We’re not lawyers here at Hackaday, so we can’t say for sure whether or not blocking the progress of a robot engaged in commercial operation actually violates any laws. But we do know that refusing a lawful request from a police officer will get you in trouble, and that seems to be what Marvin was actually charged with when she refused to move.
From a robot stopped in its tracks to one that keeps on trucking, NASA is reporting that the odometer on the Perseverance Mars rover recently ticked over to 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers). That might not seem like a lot, but it officially makes it the most traveled rover in the solar system, breaking the record set by Opportunity at 28.06 miles (45.16 km). One might expect that the Curiosity rover would hold the distance record as it had been rolling around on the surface for more than a decade before Perseverance dropped into the neighborhood, but the different scientific missions of the two nearly identical rovers have taken them on very different courses.
On the subject of navigation, MapQuest recently announced the availability of the “Surveillance Layer” in their smartphone application. When enabled, it shows the location of known license plate readers and cameras on the map, allowing the user to plan their route accordingly. A note in the application’s user interface mentions that they’re pulling at least some of this data from OpenStreetMap, though it’s not clear currently if other sources such as DeFlock are being used.
Finally, we have an update on the Christie’s auction for the carrier pigeon data packet sent back in 2001 by Norway’s Bergen Linux User Group. The auction house thought the framed datagram might fetch as much as $3,000 USD, but when the hammer finally went down earlier this week the winning bid was a staggering $20,480. Given all the weird gadgets we’ve picked up on a whim, we’re not in a position to lecture anyone else about how they spend their money…but damn.
See something interesting that you think would be a good fit for our weekly Links column? Drop us a line, we’d love to hear about it.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/hackaday-links-october-17-2026/

#links #carolynmarvin #user #perseverancemars #surveillancelayer #bergenlinux #usergroup

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Off-Grid Refrigeration Using Fire and Salt Refrigeration has been ...

2026-10-19T00:52:07Z

Off-Grid Refrigeration Using Fire and Salt

Refrigeration has been a challenge for humanity since the start. Ancient civilizations in dry climates like Persia and Egypt could use evaporative cooling on a large scale with specialized architecture, and with easy access to electricity modern civilization can cool down almost anything it wants. But whether in a refrigerator or heat pump, the electricity demands can get out of hand quickly, and heat-driven systems often require dangerous or hard-to-get chemicals. But [Greenhill Forge] has crafted a system that creates effective refrigeration with only fire and salt… and a bit of electricity.
Heat-driven systems are called absorption coolers. In this design, water is used as a refrigerant and forced to a very low pressure so that it can boil at a low temperature. When it boils it absorbs heat from the surrounding environment, and then that water vapor can be moved and condensed where it gives off that heat. The build has a few distinct loops to make all of this happen. The generator loop holds the heat source and a tank of water mixed with road salt. Boiled water travels up a tube to a condenser. A valve here is opened slightly to allow the water to drip into the absorber section, where it is under low pressure and boils rapidly. The vapor is carried away by the third system, which uses a shower of the salt solution to quickly suck up the vapor and move it away from the cooled area.
There is a small amount of electricity needed to run pumps and fans, but to keep this off-grid this requirement is easily met by a small solar panel or battery. The bulk of the energy is from the fire which boils the saltwater solution. [Greenhill Forge] added a number of temperature and pressure sensors to monitor and control the system as well, and in his firsts tests the refrigeration system was able to get to about 5° C with an ambient temperature around 16° C. That’s not quite the temperature needed for a refrigerator, but not bad for only salt and fire. [Greenhill Forge] has a number of other ingenious off-grid builds like this sawdust stove and a magnetic induction water heater.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/off-grid-refrigeration-using-fire-and-salt/

#greenhillforge #salt #fire

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The New Phobos Martian Moon Rover that Weighs in at Only 15 Grams ...

2026-10-18T21:10:29Z

The New Phobos Martian Moon Rover that Weighs in at Only 15 Grams

Although for many decades the planet Mars has been prodded, poked, driven upon, flown over and especially orbited by various spacecraft, landers and rovers sent over by a certain humanoid species on Earth, the two moons that orbit Mars have featured significantly more in science-fiction and video games than in scientific literature. This is now about to change when the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission launches on October 19th, which will include a sample return from Phobos.
So far these two moons of Mars – Phobos and Deimos – have only received a few cursory glances by passing spacecraft, leaving many fundamental questions surrounding their formation and composition very much open. With the MMX mission this should change dramatically, with this spacecraft intended to perform detailed measurements of both moons.
In addition a rover – called Idefix – will perform a landing on Phobos for observations of its surface. This will be quite a feat as despite this lander coming in at 25 kg, on Phobos’ surface it will weigh only 15 grams due to the low gravity, or even less than the diminutive dog companion of Obelix, with potential bouncing as we have seen with previous landing attempts on such small bodies.
After launch, the MMX mission will take a year to arrive at Mars, in August of 2027, with Idefix being released in early 2029 for its hopefully soft paws-down on the surface of Phobos where it can scurry about for a while until the main MMX spacecraft lands later for its sample retrieval and return part of the mission. If everything goes well, this would mean that a sample of Phobos should be landing in Australia in 2031.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/the-new-phobos-martian-moon-rover-that-weighs-in-at-only-15-grams/

#newphobos #phobosmartian #martianmoon #moonrover #grams #moons #mmx #mars #weighs #idefix

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Building a Microscope with a 3D View As electronic components ...

2026-10-18T18:19:35Z

Building a Microscope with a 3D View

As electronic components grow ever smaller, a microscope has become an increasingly indispensable tool for any fine work; when inspecting electronics, though, especially solder joints, [Corebb] found a top-down view too limiting, so he built his own microscope with a rotating side-angle view.
The microscope itself is made of a commercial C-mount microscope lens assembly and a USB camera; the lens has a variable magnification factor up to 200x, which is plenty for electronics work, and is mounted on an adjustable stand to move the focal point. This is paired with an LED ring for illumination and two polarizing filters, one mounted on the lens and one one the lighting ring; when adjusted to 90 degrees from each other, these eliminate glare from reflective surfaces.
To view subjects from the side, [Corebb] built a snap-on adapter. This uses a pair of mirrors to capture a view from the side of the object and direct this through the main microscope lens. An additional concave lens compensates for the increased length of the optical path, and ball bearings let the whole adapter rotate around the microscope and capture the subject from any angle. [Corebb] tried 3D-printing the adapter, but found that flexing caused too much jitter; in addition to being sturdier, a machined aluminium part reduced shadows by allowing for thinner supports. The adapter snaps onto the microscope with small magnets, which keep the optical path consistently aligned.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a soldering microscope with a view from the side, but this does look much more affordable. If you’d like to try the polarized light source with your microscope, we’ve covered that before.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/building-a-microscope-with-a-3d-view/

#view #corebb

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A Plasma Donut We know [The Action Lab] always has something ...

2026-10-18T15:26:44Z

A Plasma Donut

We know [The Action Lab] always has something hands-on. This time, the video shows a toroidal plasma demo and how it relates to nuclear fusion. Plasma has a high temperature, and if you use physical electrodes to excite the plasma, this high temperature tends to destroy the electrodes. But thanks to the relationship between electricity and magnetism, you can create plasma with an alternating magnetic field instead of physical electrodes.
The actual practical device is a 10 MHz source with a coil and a low-pressure globe full of xenon gas. It looks pretty cool. Of course, the little tabletop demo isn’t strong enough to drive a fusion reaction. But if you scale it up and make some modifications, including using hydrogen, you get a tokamak reactor.
The problem, of course, is that current reactors need more energy to operate than they produce. But we keep hearing that nuclear fusion is right around the corner. One day, that’ll probably be true.
Of course, you can build your own fusion device. Just don’t expect to generate net power.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/a-plasma-donut/

#actionlab

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Evolving RC circuits We are surrounded by evolving algorithms and ...

2026-10-18T11:44:45Z

Evolving RC circuits

We are surrounded by evolving algorithms and AI models, and it feels like we have to evolve to them as well. Of course, the world itself is always evolving, and when we have to implement filtering circuits based on current environments it might not last all that long. [Saikarthik Ramakrishnan] realized that this phenomenon can easily apply to simple RC circuits, so why not make them adapt to the changing world itself? This is exactly what the Darwin Board is meant to do: act like an evolving simple RC circuit for whatever environment or signal you want gone.
RC circuits are normally considered to be relatively simple in the world of circuits; however, the real world isn’t always all that simple. This simple evolutionary algorithm implemented by [Saikarthik Ramakrishnan] attempts to apply similar principles used in other evolving models to the humble RC circuit. Based on an ESP32, the Darwin Board is a fairly simple model of 2040 possible combinations of genomes. Yes, each possible RC circuit is its own genome, which allows simple evolution from one to another based on current requirements.
You should certainly consider checking out the project’s GitHub repository here to try out the mutating circuit itself. While this project might complicate what is normally fairly simple, there is sometimes beauty in simplicity. So why not use a comically simple circuit for a smart home feature?

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/evolving-rc-circuits/

#saikarthikramakrishnan #darwinboard #evolving #circuits #based

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Turning a Wi-Fi Adapter into an SDR Since the discovery of an ...

2026-10-18T10:56:30Z

Turning a Wi-Fi Adapter into an SDR

Since the discovery of an undocumented I/Q sampling feature in ESP32 chips about two weeks ago, there’s been a flood of similar features being found in other wireless chips, including LoRa and Wi-Fi chipsets. The latest chip to join their ranks is the MediaTek MT7921AU, often used in Wi-Fi adapters, with two different projects developing independent SDR drivers for it in the last few days.
The first was BirriaSDR, which discovered that the chip exposes raw I/Q samples for debugging and calibration; BirriaSDR instead streams these to the host at 40 Msps in 14-bit resolution, with the option to tune from 2156 to 2610 MHz. BirriaSDR uses libusb to directly communicate with the Wi-Fi adapter and access its registers; it doesn’t make any permanent firmware changes, so the Wi-Fi adapter goes back to its original state after being used as an SDR. BirriaSDR implements an API similar to the RTL-SDR’s.
Mtk79ICAP, by contrast, exposes the MT7921AU’s sampling features over a standard SoapySDR interface. Unlike BirriaSDR, it applies some firmware changes to the chip, and it requires a modified driver to work. However, it can reach a maximum bandwidth of 80 MHz and tune to the 5 GHz bands. The Wi-Fi adapter in use can also simultaneously work in monitor mode and stream SDR data, though this only works when automatic gain control is enabled.
This is the second MediaTek chip we’ve seen repurposed for SDR work, after the earlier MT7996. Conveniently, Wi-Fi adapters often have external antennas, which should make it easier to connect a frequency mixer circuit. These adapters aren’t quite there yet, but some hackers have already used the ESP32 to transmit arbitrary signals.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/18/turning-a-wi-fi-adapter-into-an-sdr/

#sdr #birriasdr #mhz #mediatek

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Making a New Mechanism for a Reciprocating Pencil Sharpener An ...

2026-10-18T08:05:57Z

Making a New Mechanism for a Reciprocating Pencil Sharpener

An engineer’s greatest tool is the writing utensil. Be it pen or pencil, we use them for everything from making diagrams to marking out cuts. But as with any practitioner of an art, we can tend to become rather particular about the details. [Choronva Engineering] is not different, and to that end set out to re-invent the pencil sharpener.
In this case, [Chronova]’s ideal pencil tip shape is a concave cone. This is a shape quite trivial to make by using a knife, but rather impossible with a traditional twisting motion. But what if one automatized the knife whittling motion? This is actually a very old idea, with examples dating back to at least 1910. In this example, the blade is guided along two tracks with a particular curvature to enable the concave cone. This is driven by a cam shaft connected to a little cranking mechanism. Initial tests showed the mechanism works quite well at producing a cutoff of the desired shape, but lacks a pencil rotation mechanism.
CAD mockup of the lantern-pinion mechanism.
Inspired by the Geneva wheel, [Chronova] developed a fresh intermittent mechanism for improved satisfaction in the sharpener’s operation. Instead of two gear-like mechanisms on a flat plane, the input and output can sit at a 90 degree offset from each other giving room for the blade’s motion. Rotation is input on a part called the indexing pinion which outputs on a lantern pinion.
At every full rotation of the indexing pinion, it interfaces with the lantern pinion moving it two teeth. Because of this quirk, by making the lantern with an odd number of teeth, twice the number of indexing positions are available in the output. At all other points in the pinion’s rotation the lantern is locked in place.
The pencil is held in place with a collect chuck and mounted on a screw coupled to the lantern pinion’s rotational output. This enables the pencil to move forward slightly with every turn of the crank. The project is topped of neatly with a shavings catcher and handle.
It works rather well, but a practical pencil sharpener that does not make. It takes a rather long time, and is fairly laborious to use. But over-engineering machines to do simple tasks is still quite fun!

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/making-a-new-mechanism-for-a-reciprocating-pencil-sharpener/

#reciprocatingpencil #newmechanism #pencilsharpener #making #rotation #choronvaengineering #chronova

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2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Dollhouse Arcade Cabinet Runs ...

2026-10-18T00:15:00Z

2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Dollhouse Arcade Cabinet Runs Remote DOS Games

Classic DOS games never ran from within stand-up arcade cabinets in dollhouses, but [Juha Lilja] imagines a world in which they did. His Micro DOS arcade cabinet is described as a device that “runs nothing” because the tiny unit is actually streaming the games over Wi-Fi from a nearby PC. That doesn’t mean it’s just a glorified movie player, though — the cabinet is playable, if a bit awkward to do so.
An economical development board and a 3D-printed enclosure is all it takes to put classic DOS games into dollhouse-sized arcade cabinet.
The core of the micro arcade cabinet is a M5Stack AtomS3R running as an embedded remote terminal. One tilts the whole cabinet as if it were a virtual joystick to send up, down, left, and right. Button presses are done by pushing on the physical screen; it supports single, double, and long-clicks. While in theory one could install a micro joystick and buttons instead, [Juha] aimed to keep everything self-contained and use only what was already built into the AtomS3R. In this case, that’s a motion sensor and the single button which is activated by pressing the screen.
The games themselves run on a PC, with screen contents being streamed wirelessly to the little display and inputs being sent back. The firmware on the AtomS3R doesn’t know or care what game is being played; all it does is display what it’s told, and send back input events. The back end does the rest. This makes it pretty flexible, and a tiny arcade cabinet is a handy way to demonstrate the whole system. It’s a pretty slick addition to his daughter’s dollhouse, too.
If streaming DOS games (or whatever else) to economical endpoints is giving you some ideas, the GitHub repository holds code and a fuller explanation of how it works. There’s a deeper discussion on some of the finer technical points, as well. Watch it in action in the video embedded just below the page break.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-dollhouse-arcade-cabinet-runs-remote-dos-games/

#dosgames #arcadecabinet #classicdos #microdos #runs #juhalilja #button

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Nokia 3310 Upgraded with A Custom PCB Hoani Bryson got first ...

2026-10-17T23:51:28Z

Nokia 3310 Upgraded with A Custom PCB

Hoani Bryson got first place in a Nokia 3310 Jam for the entry Trick Shot II. To create the game Hoani built custom hardware with a Pi based PCB and tore apart a Nokia 3310, not an easy feat.
The Jam’s goals were to make a game as if it were being made for the Nokia 3310. The general restrictions were:
The game’s draw region is a monochrome 84×48 pixels
Audio is limited to what is possible with a Nokia buzzer
Only one audio track can play at a time (a Nokia 3310 only has a single buzzer)
Game controls are limited to 12 buttons – mouse input is only valid if interacting with a virtual keypad
Rather than work with an SDK and programming interface which I had no experience with, I decided to break the hardware interfaces down, and replace the PCB inside a 3310 with my own custom PCB. One thing I found interesting is that the 3310/3315 models have identical hardware, so swapping the internal PCBs for either will work.
See the full write up at Hoani.net and checkout the web-based version of the game here!
more via Hackster.io:
Rather than develop the game only for an old platform that few still have access to, Bryson built it to run both in a web browser and on physical hardware. To accomplish that, he created an open source game engine written in Go and built around two existing technologies: Ebitengine for desktop and web applications, and TinyGo for embedded devices.
The engine separates game logic from platform-specific hardware functions to keep things neat. Developers implement three primary methods: Setup, Update, and Draw. The engine then handles display output, sound generation, and button input according to the target platform.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/17/nokia-3310-upgraded-with-a-custom-pcb/

#custompcb #nokia #game #trickshot #hoanibryson #jam #audio #draw

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NOAA’s 2026-2027 U.S. Winter Outlook – El Niño Looms Large ...

2026-10-17T23:00:42Z

NOAA’s 2026-2027 U.S. Winter Outlook – El Niño Looms Large

The 2026-2027 U.S. Winter Outlook map for precipitation shows wetter-than-average conditions are most likely across the Southwest, South and East Coast. Drier-than-average conditions are forecast for parts of the northern Rockies and Great Lakes, and central Alaska. (Image credit: NOAA)
A wet warm winter is in store for much of the country. A predicted very strong El Niño weather system will bring wet storms and rain to the South with warmer than average temperatures in the North. Check out how El Niño may affect your area. The question is, will it be a Super El Niño?
“As we know from decades of observations, a very strong El Nino will likely bring a southward and eastward shift to the jet stream for the contiguous U.S., which tilts the odds toward stormier weather across the South,” said Ken Graham, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “While higher chances of rain and snow may bring relief to drought-afflicted areas, too much precipitation on dry soil can fuel destructive flash floods and mudslides. Now is the time for communities and individuals to plan ahead for the upcoming winter.”
Read more! You can track expected precipitation levels out 72 hours here and keep an eye out for weather events that become “Particularly Dangerous Situations”
See the official three month outlook at NOAA and Study up on El Niño–Southern Oscillation via Wikipedia
Build your own weather station on the Adafruit Learning System:
eInk / ePaper Weather Station
Weather Display Matrix
PyPortal Weather Station
MagTag Daily Weather Forecast Display
PyPortal Titano Weather Station
PyPortal IoT Weather Station

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/17/noaas-2026-2027-u-s-winter-outlook-el-nino-looms-large/

#winteroutlook #weatherstation #nino #noaa #eastcoast #south #greatlakes #weatherservice #weatherdisplay #nationalweather

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Adafruit New Product this Week: Adafruit CP2105 Friend – USB to ...

2026-10-17T22:10:04Z

Adafruit New Product this Week: Adafruit CP2105 Friend – USB to Dual UART Serial Converters

This week we debuted 1 New Product, the Adafruit CP2105 Friend – USB to Dual UART Serial Converters.
Keep up with all the new at Adafruit.com/NEW.
Want to get new products info beamed straight into your inbox? New nEw NEWs From Adafruit is an email newsletter sent once a week to subscribers only. It features new products, special offers, exciting original content, and more. Sign-up for the Adafruit weekly Newsletter here: https://www.adafruit.com/newsletter
New nEw NEWs From Adafruit is an email newsletter sent out once a week to subscribers only. It features new products, special offers, exciting original content, and more. Sign-up NOW for the Adafruit weekly Newsletter here: https://www.adafruit.com/newsletter

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/17/adafruit-new-product-this-week-adafruit-cp2105-friend-usb-to-dual-uart-serial-converters/

#serialconverters #dualuart #newproduct #adafruit #friend #usb

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Building a Flying Drone With a Single Propeller Technically all ...

2026-10-17T21:23:17Z

Building a Flying Drone With a Single Propeller

Technically all that you need in order to make a drone fly is a single motor and single propeller, but realistically it becomes basically impossible to fly it at that point. In the case of helicopters you therefore need a second rotor somewhere to provide counterbalance to the first and to be able to steer.
There are of course a number of ways to make a drone fly with a single helicopter, but the compromise usually is to use very large propellers, as well as other mechanisms that make for a very large drone. This wasn’t good enough for [Joshua Bird] who wanted to have a very small, single propeller drone.
Key to making it work is not only a very high RPM, but also a hinged propeller hub that manipulates the angle of the blades in such a way that both pitch and roll can be controlled if you react quickly enough. This turned out to be impossible using standard motor ESCs that do not directly measure the motor’s speed and position but rely on back EMF.
In the final prototype of the drone such details had to be measured directly, with super-fast adjustments to the motor’s speed only possible with custom controller code and a lot of trial and error. Even then the drone would often lose track of its position and crash once more. The solution there was to add an infrared beacon in the room and a sensor on the drone, to give it a fixed reference point.
You can find the project files so far on the GitHub project page, with upcoming changes to the drone design involving improvements like adding a scanner to the drone so that it can autonomously use features in its environment as fixed reference points. That way it might conceivably be able to fly outside as well, which would be quite exciting to see.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/building-a-flying-drone-with-a-single-propeller/

#singlepropeller #flyingdrone #joshuabird

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Astrobiologist Answers Mars Questions Space scientist and ...

2026-10-17T20:58:24Z

Astrobiologist Answers Mars Questions

Space scientist and astrobiologist Erika DeBenedictis joined WIRED to answer the internet’s questions about Mars.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/17/astrobiologist-answers-mars-questions/

#mars #questions #erikadebenedictis #wired

#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Oldputer Gives Old Eyes Relief ...

2026-10-17T18:29:22Z

2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Oldputer Gives Old Eyes Relief with E-ink Display

Modern computers are towers of glass and metal with very few large deviations from one to another. Monitor A will go against B, except you can’t tell them apart unless they’re on. At least, that is, compared to how different the old bulky monitors look compared to the new. [Andrzej Górski] seems to agree with this sentiment with his Oldputer, a blast from the past.
[Andrzej Górski]’s inspiration came from one component, and the main component of the project, an old e-ink display. When life gives you one of the slowest versions of a display, there really isn’t too much else to do other than pair it with slow old computers of the past. From that inspiration, there isn’t entirely a whole lot to do other than throw in an ESP32 and some LEDs for indicator lights. Put all this into a fun case, and you get one pretty desk ornament for whatever information you wanna display.
If you want to replicate the past again, you might want to look for the project GitHub here. If you’re looking for something even older, check out the replica of the MCM/70!

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/2026-retrocomputing-challenge-oldputer-gives-old-eyes-relief-with-e-ink-display/

#andrzejgorski #display #old

#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Discovering SDRs Everywhere To quote commenter [douyarou], ...

2026-10-17T15:37:42Z

Discovering SDRs Everywhere

To quote commenter [douyarou], “It’s like our little version of a Precambrian explosion”. A bunch of hackers have discovered, independently and building on each other’s work, software-defined radio (SDR) capabilities in more places than you can shake a stick at.
It all started with [Espargos] and [h0m3us3r] apparently independently discovering that the ESP32 family of chips had a “secret” debug mode that allowed direct access to the radio that’s normally used for WiFi. While the 2.4 GHz radio signal is almost always immediately converted into data by the MAC hardware, here they found a way to listen in upstream, to the raw IQ data.
Seeing this, folks were immediately inspired to find out if they could transmit as well. [marble] not only got transmit functionality working, but integrated the part in with the standard osmosdr data flow, which meant that a whole bunch of existing tools were ready to go. We didn’t know about it at the time, but apparently [jochenhammes] and [z1000biker] concurrently had their TX-capable hacks up and running: here and here.
At this point, folks have already started to use the capabilities for broadcasting digital TV signals, voice signals, FM Hell, and other hijinks. This reminds us of the early days of the RTL-SDR project, when a competent, if receive-only, SDR functionality was found in a bunch of USB TV-tuner dongles. Once the hardware capabilities were sussed out, people started writing all sorts of useful software, and it gave rise to all manner of radio projects, from simply poking at domestic wireless devices to tracking all the airplanes in the world as they fly by.
[Tom] and I were discussing this on the podcast, and he remarked that of course there are SDRs hidden everywhere there is a radio unit these days, and the question is just whether or not we could hack them into usability. And before the podcast was even finally edited, [Samson1te] told us about his find in the LR2021 LoRa chip. This is a radio that’s designed to be a radio, with 16-bit resolution, and covering lower frequencies from 150 MHz to 960 MHz.
Compared to the RTL-SDR revolution, this is all happening at incredible speed. Each of these hacks will enable us to use different slices of radio spectrum with different degrees of ease, but it’s clear that the cost of entry into playing around with digital radio has just dropped precipitously. We will see hundreds of new signals hacks in the next few months – the floodgates have been opened.
This article is part of the Hackaday.com newsletter, delivered every seven days for each of the last 200+ weeks. It also includes our favorite articles from the last seven days that you can see on the web version of the newsletter.
Want this type of article to hit your inbox every Friday morning? You should sign up!

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/discovering-sdrs-everywhere/

#everywhere #sdrs

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SolidCraft is Parametric, Automation-friendly CAD for Desktop and ...

2026-10-17T12:42:40Z

SolidCraft is Parametric, Automation-friendly CAD for Desktop and Browser

If you’re looking to try a new, open source 3D modeling CAD suite, especially one with automation-friendly interfaces, take a look at SolidCraft. It’s under development but there’s support for all the usual features like sketches, solid modeling, and constraints as well as a full parametric feature timeline.
SolidCraft offers desktop, browser-based, headless CLI, and MCP interfaces.
A parametric timeline essentially means the model exists not as a single discrete object, but as the sum of a sequence of operations. One advantage of this is being able to set things up so that if one changes a value (like wall thickness), all the features that depend on that change automatically get rebuilt as a result. But there’s more!
Written entirely in Rust, SolidCraft can run as a desktop app or as a web app in a browser. Everything the user can do in SolidCraft is a command with JSON parameters, and it offers a built-in headless command line interface and even an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server built specifically to give AI agents a way to use the program, should one be interested in experimenting with that sort of thing.
SolidCraft is still in early development, but so far quite a few features seem to work as they should. Check out the development roadmap for details, and there’s a live online demo if you’re in the mood to click around and get a feel for things.
We have seen quite a few open-source, browser-based CAD efforts over the years and it’s encouraging to see developers continuing to explore fresh ideas and features in the CAD landscape.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/solidcraft-is-parametric-automation-friendly-cad-for-desktop-and-browser/

#solidcraft #parametric #mcp #contextprotocol #modelcontext

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Making One Fender From Another There’s a tendency among ...

2026-10-17T09:09:23Z

Making One Fender From Another

There’s a tendency among cherished brands to licence their name and logo onto all sorts of novelty items in order to make a quick buck. Joining this trend is the guitar maker Fender, who have lent their name to a chopping board in the shape of their famous Telecaster. The existence of such a product seems to have been a direct challenge to [Not A Luthier], who promptly bought one and turned it into a real guitar. It’s a genuine Fender, but is it a genuine Fender guitar? Not really, but it’s an entertaining build.
The chopping board isn’t made of great material, instead it’s a set of strips of wood, we’re guessing probably bamboo or rubberwood, glued together. It’s robust, but noticeably thinner than the guitar whose shape it takes, and with a not-great finish. The build is not too different from any other electric guitar build we’ve seen, with the main challenge being that the bridge and pickups need spacers underneath them to compensate for the reduced thickness of the wood.
The video is below the break and makes for a soothing watch as an in-depth guitar build, complete with a moment of drilling all the way through the board and fabricating a plug to hide the evidence. The final guitar seems to sound alright, but we’re not guitarists so maybe a more practiced ear should judge. The genuine Fender logo is still proudly on it so it’s a Fender of sorts, but just like with the chopping board, it’s best value is in novelty.
Meanwhile if guitar builds are a thing, we’ve had a few in the past.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/17/making-one-fender-from-another/

#telecaster #luthier

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15% off our Halloween Gift Guide The time crunch starts now! ...

2026-10-17T08:43:21Z

15% off our Halloween Gift Guide

The time crunch starts now! Squeeze in a last minute build and add the code BeGood15 to your cart for 15% off items featured in our Halloween gift guide from Saturday, October 17th – Sunday, October 25th at 11:59 PM EDT.
Some restrictions apply. This code is only applicable to items featured in our Halloween Gift Guide. We cannot add the discount after your order is placed so please remember to use the code! We also do not permit the use of discount codes on purchase orders.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/17/15-off-our-halloween-gift-guide/

#halloweengift #giftguide #october #sunday #edt #saturday #squeeze

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AI-Powered Halloween Decorations with Raspberry Pi ...

2026-10-17T07:28:16Z

AI-Powered Halloween Decorations with Raspberry Pi #ElectronicHalloween #piday #raspberrypi

Eugene Tkachenko built this Halloween set up that transmorphs the existential fear of AI into actual jump scares. It relies on a Raspberry Pi with the SONY IMX500 AI camera to send a message to an off-the-shelf Halloween prop hacked with an ESP32.
In this video, I use the Raspberry Pi with the SONY IMX500 AI camera to create an awesome Halloween setup that reacts when people pass by! Watch as I break down the entire process, from setting up the AI camera to scaring people with a spooky surprise. Perfect for tech enthusiasts, DIYers, and Halloween lovers alike. Whether you’re a Raspberry Pi beginner or a seasoned pro, you’ll love this project! Get inspired to build your own AI-powered Halloween tricks and enhance your home with smart technology.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! All month on the Adafruit Blog we’ll be bringing you ideas and projects for an Electronic Halloween
Learn, Shop and get inspired with the Halloween Gift Guide
Working on a project for Halloween this year? Let us know about it or tag us on socials!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/ai-powered-halloween-decorations-with-raspberry-pi-electronichalloween-piday-raspberrypi/

#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

TAKTO, Open Source Hand-Tracking Built Like LEGO Hand tracking in ...

2026-10-17T06:35:00Z

TAKTO, Open Source Hand-Tracking Built Like LEGO

Hand tracking in VR/AR can add a substantial amount of immersion and added interactivity. Unfortunately, most camera based tracking suffers when fingers get covered, intertwined, or simply out of view of the headset’s camera. What’s even less common are methods of giving feedback to the user’s hands. [Sebastian Molano] saw these issues and decided if anyone was going to make an open-source solution, it was going to be him with his thesis on TAKTO.
Clear visuals show step-by-step assembly.
TAKTO aims to remove the prior issues mentioned with visual tracking by using magnetic encoders to tell where the device is and the finger’s position inside it. Actuators are able to pull on the fingers themselves to add even further information to the user. Of course, none of this is too crazy, as we have seen similar projects before. Where TAKTO stands out is the extent of the support outside of a one-off hand tracker.
TAKTO.one not only holds general information about the project itself, but also an entire digital twin of the live device. This console can give you a visual of using the glove and general status information. Documentation on how to assemble one for yourself is presented in clean visuals, which should make the build process painless.
Everything else about how to make the hand for yourself can be found on the project’s GitHub. The price tag is steep for the actuated version, though there is a sensing-only version for hand tracking, and most of the cost comes from the quality actuators used. If you want to look into implementing some usability into existing VR hardware, make sure to look at what Valve has released publicly!

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/takto-open-source-hand-tracking-built-like-lego/

#takto #lego #open #tracking #sebastianmolano

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The Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: subscribe for free The ...

2026-10-17T06:10:32Z

The Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: subscribe for free

The Python for Microcontrollers Newsletter is the place for the latest news involving Python on hardware (microcontrollers AND single board computers like Raspberry Pi).
This ad-free, spam-free weekly email is filled with CircuitPython, MicroPython, and Python information that you may have missed, all in one place!
You get a summary of all the software, events, projects, and the latest hardware worldwide once a week, no ads! You can cancel anytime.
It arrives about 11 am Monday (US Eastern time) with all the week’s happenings.
And please tell your friends, colleagues, students, etc.
Please sign up > > >

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/the-python-on-microcontrollers-newsletter-subscribe-for-free-10-15-2/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GlSkmQPWAAMqzKE?format=png&name=small

#microcontrollersnewsletter #python #free #raspberry #please #monday #micropython

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Microsoft is embracing the tidal wave of AI-decompiled games by ...

2026-10-17T04:52:24Z

Microsoft is embracing the tidal wave of AI-decompiled games by announcing a lab for them

Simon Batt, writing at XDA Developers, reports that Microsoft has responded to the wave of AI-assisted game decompilations with a new group of its own. Recent examples include Super Smash Bros. Melee being decompiled and made to run natively on PC, Android, and Linux.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Xbox Labs on the company’s official blog. Rather than warning about the trend, Sharma described decompilation as “making great games easier to access, giving old games new life and allowing more players to become creators and co-creators.” She said the group is a small team of game makers, engineers, and scientists, and that it will build in the open and measure success by whether more people are playing and creating.
Specifics are thin. Sharma points to remixing Xbox classics and notes that people have gotten old games running in browsers through decompilation, which suggests one direction. The Xbox Labs website currently offers only an email signup field.
See more at xda-developers.com.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/microsoft-is-embracing-the-tidal-wave-of-ai-decompiled-games-by-announcing-a-lab-for-them/

#xboxlabs #xdadevelopers #microsoft #wave #games #smashbros #supersmash #sharma #simonbatt #ashasharma

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The Trials And Tribulations Of Your First Badge On the face of ...

2026-10-17T03:54:55Z

The Trials And Tribulations Of Your First Badge

On the face of it, making an event badge should be an easy process. After all, most of us can hand-assemble a microcontroller, some buttons, a battery, and a screen. But anyone who has been involved in producing one will tell you, the difference between producing one or two, and making sure hundreds or even thousands appear on day one of the event fully working is enormous. [Nicholas Ficara] produced 1750 of his first badge for Canada’s Hack The North hackathon, and he’s shared the full story.
We’ve been involved with the gestation of more than one badge here at Hackaday, so we recognise some of his learning moments only too well. He approached it with a well-planned series of prototype and release candidate steps to catch the problems, which came in handy as there certainly were a few. Wrong footprints, misplaced components, power supply issues, and rotated parts were fixed, and eventually they were delivered in time. It’s good to see that they were well received and well used at the event.
If you’re thinking of doing a badge we can certainly recommend that you give this a read. A few years ago we wrote up the story of another badge whose creators put in some hard work to save it from a more serious part error.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/the-trials-and-tribulations-of-your-first-badge/

#firstbadge #nicholasficara #hackaday

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Zigbee vs. Matter over Thread: understanding IoT protocol ...

2026-10-17T03:25:56Z

Zigbee vs. Matter over Thread: understanding IoT protocol performance in practice

A paper posted to arXiv compares two low power mesh protocols used in smart home gear: Zigbee and Matter over Thread. Both run on 802.15.4 radios, both build mesh networks, and both show up in products from the same vendors. The question the paper takes on is how they actually behave once they are deployed, not how they are described on a spec sheet.
Matter over Thread is the newer of the two and carries IPv6 to each node, while Zigbee has a long install base and its own application layer. That difference in stack design is where measured performance tends to diverge.
If you are picking a protocol for a sensor build or trying to work out why a hub behaves the way it does, the full text is on arXiv.
See more at arxiv.org.
And see “After testing Thread, Zigbee, and Matter, here’s how I’m building my smart home differently” by Maria Diaz on ZDnet.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/zigbee-vs-matter-over-thread-understanding-iot-protocol-performance-in-practice/

#thread #zigbee #performance #iot #protocol #both #mariadiaz #arxiv #see

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Get Ready for Electronic Halloween with nOOds To put it simply, ...

2026-10-17T01:33:51Z

Get Ready for Electronic Halloween with nOOds

To put it simply, we LOVE nOOds! Our flexible LEDs come in different lengths and color and are perfect when you want lighting that’s got pizzazz. They’re made of dozens of micro LED diodes that are bonded together on an ultra-flexible metal backing, then coated in colorful silicone for protection. And because they’re just a ‘big long LED’ you can PWM dim them easily.
Get started with the Adafruit nOOds Überguide and go from there!
LED Noodle Lantern
You can build a sci-fi inspired lantern using an Adafruit QT Py and LED Noodles
Light Up your Costume with Noods
Enhance your mask or hat with colored light
Zelda LED UltraHand
You can build a prop replica of Link’s Ultra Hand from The Legend of Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom. We were inspired by Link’s new ability and used LED noodles to make it into a glowing 3D printed prop.
Moana Glowing Heart of Te Fiti Necklace
Create your own Heart of Te Fiti necklace and make it glow using a coin cell battery and Adafruit’s nOOds – little glowing noodles of light.
Gravity Falls Memory Gun
Build a prop replica of the Memory Gun from the Gravity Falls TV show. Powered by the Feather PropMaker RP2040 and CircuitPython, this 3D printed prop lights up and plays blaster sound effects.
Rumi Sword – KPop Demon Hunters
Seal the Honmoon with Rumi’s sword from KPop Demon Hunters!
LED Noodle Lamp
You can build an Victorian-era inspired lamp using an LED Noodle and 3D printed parts.
LED Masquerade Masks with n00ds
Flexible, bendable light n00dles on your face

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/get-ready-for-electronic-halloween-with-noods/

#electronichalloween #getready #led #lednoodle #noods #memorygun #demonhunters #build #fitinecklace #adafruit

#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Budgeting RAM for your Raspberry Pi Project #piday #raspberrypi ...

2026-10-17T00:09:40Z

Budgeting RAM for your Raspberry Pi Project #piday #raspberrypi

RAM is expensive. There was a time when makers would default to the beefiest Pi for nearly any project. A little extra RAM couldn’t hurt, right? Well, these days, a little extra RAM can hurt your wallet. Calvin Wankhede at Engadget goes over how much RAM you actually need and why, most often, the 1 GB or 2 GB options are sufficient.
That’s not to say you can get away with the bare minimum 1GB of RAM spec in all scenarios. Even on Raspberry Pi OS, running desktop-class programs like a web browser or word processor will quickly fill up the board’s memory. Three or four media-heavy Firefox tabs can be enough to overwhelm the 1GB Pi and force it to use physical storage to swap programs in and out of memory (which can cause slowdowns).
Read more!
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/budgeting-ram-for-your-raspberry-pi-project-piday-raspberrypi/

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Simplifying Slide Rule Calculations with Trig [Bob the Science ...

2026-10-16T23:39:52Z

Simplifying Slide Rule Calculations with Trig

[Bob the Science Guy] remembers how to use a slide rule. Even after all these years, it is pretty easy to remember how to multiply and divide. If you can’t remember, you can usually work it out, as long as you understand how slide rules work. But what about sine, cosine, and quadratics? [Bob’s] been making videos about topics like this, and if you’ve wanted to put your slide rule collection to practical use, you’ll enjoy these videos. You can see one below.
The trick to the slide rule is that it is deceptively simple. You are in effect adding logarithms and then taking an antilog. The issue is that you still have to have some intuition about the scale of the answer since 2×3 works out the same as 2×3000 or 200×300.
But it is even trickier than that. Adding and subtracting is not easy on the slide rule. [Bob] shows how to use your math skills to convert problems that might have been addition problems into trig problems. So while it might seem more complicated to use trig, it may help work the problem on the slide rule.
We like slide rules. If you don’t have one, try this one in your browser (hint: go full screen and show both sides).

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/simplifying-slide-rule-calculations-with-trig/

#sliderule #scienceguy #bob #trig #even #adding

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John Park’s CircuitPython Parsec: STEMMA QT Port GPIO Pins ...

2026-10-16T23:12:00Z

John Park’s CircuitPython Parsec: STEMMA QT Port GPIO Pins

#circuitpythonparsec
Use the STEMMA QT port on your board as a plug-and-play set of GPIO pins plus power and ground! Also, bonus code to ask the board for pin name aliases.
Try out the code example
To learn about CircuitPython: https://circuitpython.org

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/john-parks-circuitpython-parsec-stemma-qt-port-gpio-pins/

#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

Maker Faire Brno: A Growing “Village” Of Makers Brno is ...

2026-10-16T22:45:45Z

Maker Faire Brno: A Growing “Village” Of Makers

Brno is hitting its stride—and makers are leading the charge. Prague’s smaller cousin likes to joke that it’s just a village, but with a big population and some 80,000 students, there’s nothing small about its creative energy. Young people, big ideas, and a healthy appetite for tech, craft, and hands-on experimentation make it fertile ground […]
The post Maker Faire Brno: A Growing “Village” Of Makers appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

https://makezine.com/article/maker-news/maker-faire-brno-a-growing-village-of-makers/

#village #brno #makers #prague

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STM32F407 RT-Spark Music Player Using FreeRTOS John Paul Maluya, ...

2026-10-16T22:16:44Z

STM32F407 RT-Spark Music Player Using FreeRTOS

John Paul Maluya, Karl Vincent Remo, and Amer Patrick Lauma built an eight-song music player built on the STM32F407 RT-Spark board. Check out the details of their project on hackster.io
This project was developed for BCA182 Embedded Systems Programming Laboratory 2 using the RT-Thread RT-Spark development board with an STM32F407 microcontroller.
The objective was to develop a music player that can play eight melodies, display song information, accept button inputs, and manage several operations using FreeRTOS.
The player uses the board’s onboard buzzer for audio output and its 240×240 LCD for displaying song information, playback status, and selection controls.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/16/stm32f407-rt-spark-music-player-using-freertos/

#musicplayer #usingfreertos #karlvincent #paulmaluya #vincentremo #amerpatrick #patricklauma #embeddedsystems #programminglaboratory #johnpaul

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The 10€ Gamepad We aren’t sure what [Lazy_Duck] is doing with ...

2026-10-16T21:24:59Z

The 10€ Gamepad

We aren’t sure what [Lazy_Duck] is doing with video games, but it must require a lot of controllers. Dismayed at the cost and complexity of commercial gamepads, they started soldering and 3D printing to get a cheaper basic controller.
The emphasis is on throwing things together, so there’s no dedicated PCB. Just a protoboard with an RP2040-Zero, a joystick, a few buttons, and a microswitch. A 3D-printed case rounds out the project.
On the printing side, the device uses heat-set threaded inserts, which should make for a very sturdy build. For software, the GP2040-CE firmware handles everything, acting like a controller and managing configuration via a web page.
Even if you don’t want a cheap gamepad, you could apply the principles and software used here to create any kind of gamepad you want. The firmware makes good use of the dual-core RP2040. It also offers a lot you could add to your version of the cheap controller, like OLED displays, RGB LEDs, and more.
Of course, you could also get fancy with the 3D printing side, too. For example, a resin printer makes nice button caps.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/the-10e-gamepad/

#gamepad #pcb #rgb #oled #rgbleds

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Fairbuds 2 Teardown Shows Little Glue, Easy Battery Swap In a ...

2026-10-16T19:58:25Z

Fairbuds 2 Teardown Shows Little Glue, Easy Battery Swap

In a world where wireless earbuds are increasingly seen as devices that you toss into the e-waste bin as soon as they stop working, it’s heartening to see companies take the opposite approach with their designs. In a recent teardown of the new Fairbuds 2 by [iFixit] we get a blow-by-blow report of disassembling one of these devices, getting to its rechargeable LIR1054 coin cell, as well as the very accessible PCB should you have to replace a shorted capacitor or similar issue.
Much like with the first version, the 3.6 V lithium-ion coin cell can be extracted simply by pulling on the battery door, which leverages it out of the enclosure. Despite this easy access method and no glue these earbuds are still IP54 rated, so they’re safe to wear when you’re dashing for shelter in a sudden downpour.
To get further into the device, you have to overcome the plastic clips that hold the enclosure together, along with what appears to be a few dabs of glue. Inside it you find the PCB containing the guts, including the Airoha AB1577S, Cortex-M4F-based IC that provides the Bluetooth Low Energy capabilities as well as enabling the touch control and other features.
Below the PCB is the coin cell holder, followed by the only part that saw real glue usage, namely the driver section. Presumably this is the compromise to keep things like sweat out of the device. Even so, after disassembly [iFixit] managed to reassemble the device and the earbud remained in working condition.
The case for the earbuds is even easier to disassemble, using just some bolts to unfasten. The USB-C port is soldered to the PCB which [iFixit] dinged them on, but still gave it a 10/10 on their repairability score.
Compared to Apple’s AirPods this is obviously a whole different world, although recently [iFixit] was somewhat pleased with the most recent AirPods generation being slightly more repairable, with non-destructive entry for a battery swap at least somewhat feasible.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/fairbuds-2-teardown-shows-little-glue-easy-battery-swap/

#batteryswap #easy #glue #pcb #fairbuds #ifixit #bluetoothlow #lowenergy

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 391: Tuned in to ESP32 SDR, New Old ...

2026-10-16T17:35:31Z

Hackaday Podcast Episode 391: Tuned in to ESP32 SDR, New Old Pagers, and Bugs on Mars

Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start this episode off with a discussion about Philadelphia’s budding hacker conference and the imminent retirement of the EZ80. After considering the parallels between the wide world of aviation headsets and our personal projects, talk moves on to the exciting developments in the world of software-defined radio on the ESP32, a Meshtastic pager from a bygone era, and how all the wild flying machines entered into DARPA’s Lift Challenge ended up losing to a simple helicopter.
You’ll also hear about turning plastic bottles into printer filament, pushing e-ink screens to their limits, and browsing the web on the PSP in 2026. To wrap things up they’ll marvel at all the modern abstraction sitting between software and the memory it’s running on, and revisit some RF concepts that might be particularly useful now that everyone is playing with a new SDR device.
Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
Download in DRM-free MP3.
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out our Libsyn landing page
Episode 391 Show Notes:
News:
JawnCon 0x3 Kicks Off In Philadelphia This Friday
Littelfuse Announces Retirement Of The EZ80
Mailbag:
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but sometimes it can be fun. Thanks [Tom Brusehaver] for the headphone suggestions.
Interesting Hacks of the Week:
ESP-SDR Can Now Transmit
The ESP32, An SDR In Itself
GitHub – h0m3us3r/eSpDR · GitHub
GitHub – jochenhammes/esp32-sdr-trx: A software-defined transceiver from one ESP32-S3 board: rtl_tcp receiver for SDR++ and FM/SSB voice transmitter for 13 cm (experimental) · GitHub
GitHub – z1000biker/esp32c3rxtx · GitHub
Using An ESP32-C3’s RF Hardware For DVB-S2 Video Transmission
GitHub – barisdinc/ESP32-DATV-SA: Stand-alone fork of SP8ESA/ESP32-DATV: ESP32-C3 DVB-S2 beacon/transmitter without a PC · GitHub
Pager Converted To Meshtastic Node
Mars Pathfinder: What Really Happened?
The First Bug On Mars
DARPA Lift Challenge Won By Helicopter
2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: USBSID-Pico Has Two SIDs, Many Inputs
Counting The PET Bottles Needed To Make 1 Kg Of Printer Filament
Quick Hacks:
Elliot’s Picks:
AI Controls IPhone Via ESP32
Slim Type For Small Screens, With PixelFonts
Rendering 3D Prints From G-Code
Tom’s Picks:
A Modern Browser For The PlayStation Portable
Tiny E-Paper Display Delivers 30 FPS Of Game Boy Fun
Single Button, Handheld Gaming Console
Can’t-Miss Articles:
Your Computer Memory Is A Lie
So You Want To Make Your SDR Work On Other Frequencies

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/hackaday-podcast-episode-391-tuned-in-to-esp32-sdr-new-old-pagers-and-bugs-on-mars/

#hackadaypodcast #oldpagers #podcastepisode #newold #followhackaday #sdr #tuned #liftchallenge #github #firstbug

Braino! Takes the Cheap Yellow Display to School These days, ...

2026-10-16T16:30:28Z

Braino! Takes the Cheap Yellow Display to School

These days, it’s common to give even very young children a mobile device loaded up with educational software that aims to improve everything from basic motor skills to reading and arithmetic. But even the cheapest phone or tablet isn’t the kind of thing most parents would like to see get destroyed, and there’s always a concern about giving children a device that’s capable of connecting to the Internet.
Which is where Braino! from [Ankush Pandit] comes in. This suite of applications can be easily flashed to a common Cheap Yellow Display to turn it into a legitimate educational tool. Combined with a 3D printed case, the total cost of the build is low enough that you don’t have to feel bad about handing it off to even the roughest of youngsters.
[Ankush] makes it clear that this project isn’t trying to sell you anything. You’re responsible for picking up a compatible CYD and installing Braino via the web flashing application. The software is released under the GPLv3 license, and it contains no ads, user accounts, or cloud connectivity. We know not everyone is thrilled with how much time young kids spend staring at screens these days, but opinions on modern parenting aside, it’s hard to find fault with the way things have been implemented here.
When the parent sets up Braino they can pick which of the 40 games can be accessed, allowing the experience to be tailored to the individual child’s age and ability. Should you decide to enable Bluetooth, some of the games even support wireless multiplayer between devices. We also like the beacon function which lets
The commonality of the Cheap Yellow Display is one of its best features, and Braino does an excellent job of showing why that’s so important. Trying to develop a project like this without a standardized platform of some type would be a non-starter, but when anyone can get a CYD sent to their house from Amazon and flash it right from the browser, it’s makes the whole thing far more accessible.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/braino-takes-the-cheap-yellow-display-to-school/

This Week in Security: Critical DNS Keys Rotated, Hacking ...

2026-10-16T15:18:49Z

This Week in Security: Critical DNS Keys Rotated, Hacking Freezers Isn’t Cool, OpenAI Spies On Itself, and Advanced Hardware Wallet Hacks

Critical Internet keys changed this week. Did you notice? The keys behind DNSSEC, the system for cryptographically validating DNS responses, rolled over on October 11 2026. This is the second time the DNSSEC keys have rotated since the system was implemented, and the first time in 2018 didn’t exactly go entirely smoothly.
DNS is what resolves a host name and turns it into an IP address. It underpins web browsing, email, and just about every other connection. It’s also a very early Internet protocol, written in both a simpler, less paranoid era, and an era where encryption was computationally expensive and legally problematic. DNS offers little protection against malicious actors spoofing responses, and the impacts range from phishing to redirecting email to just about any other manipulation of connections you can image.
DNSSEC addresses this by creating a chain of trust between DNS resolvers — the servers that forward the DNS query into the DNS infrastructure and return the results — and the global DNS servers. Part of this chain of trust is the root key that each resolver must have and trust, and this key is what changed this week. DNSSEC resolvers automatically watch for a new root of trust key, but the key must be signed by the previous root of trust, and is checked for at least 30 days before it is trusted. If someone were able to issue a bogus certificate, they would have to maintain control of the infrastructure for over a month before DNS resolvers would trust it.
The process of distributing the new key actually began more than a year ago, on January 11, 2025, to give DNSSEC resolvers time to get the new key. DNSSEC services should have had plenty of time to obtain and trust the new key, and unless DNS stopped working for you this week, they did their job.
The next major change for DNSSEC will require more profound changes to deploy a new signing algorithm that will be post-quantum secure.
Ransomware Recovery Company Didn’t Recover
BleepingComputer reports that the CEO of a company advertising services for recovering from ransomware attacks has been charged with fraud.
The company advertised that it could help with recovering from a ransomware attack by providing decryption services to unlock the ransomed files. Instead, the CEO of the company is accused of negotiating a ransom payment with the attackers and charging the victims a premium on top of the ransom.
In addition to fraudulent claims of decrypting the data without a ransom, this could fall foul of embargo laws against paying ransomware operators in some countries, or be against customer policy regarding payments.
The charges detail incidents in which the ransomware operators were paid $9,800, while the victims were charged $150,000 for “recovery”, and claim the company overall paid more than $8 million in ransom fees while charging customers $18 million.
More Refrigeration Hacks
Several weeks ago, commissaries operated by the United States military suffered a series of refrigeration failures. Units on multiple bases in multiple states and countries entered defrost mode, which activated heaters, spoiling food overnight. This week, hundreds of supermarkets in France have suffered the same issue, with units heating up and some even reportedly catching fire.
The attack started Sunday night, and not only triggers defrost mode, but seems to force the units to stay in defrost mode for a prolonged period. Losses are estimated to reach over $300,000. French prosecutors have called for investigations of the wide-spread attacks.
Clearly, a vulnerability has been found in the refrigeration controllers connected to the Internet, and fingers are being pointed at the Danfoss brand, which is also used by the US military bases. Researcher Kevin Beaumont points out that it may not even be a traditional vulnerability: Many of the units are directly connected to the Internet, with the username “admin”, and a password that changes daily. Unfortunately, the password changes to the current date. “Every single one is like this. You can just log in and change the temperature. Anybody can do it, easily.”
OpenAI employee charged with spying
An OpenAI employee was charged with spying after being caught placing “sophisticated listening devices” in meeting rooms, hidden in toilet paper: the most sophisticated of camouflage.
Employees discovered the device approximately two days after it was placed, according to the report. Ironically, logs indicate the employee used OpenAI’s own chatbot to help design the device and identify locations for it. Photos of the device look like it a SEEED Studio ESP32 device, a dev board likely very familiar to readers.
Stop & Shop and Hannaford hacked
The US supermarket chains Stop & Shop and Hannaford, which share a common owner, seem to have been hacked. There aren’t many details available yet, but multiple news sources in multiple states are reporting that the stores have taken their websites and online ordering completely offline, however stores remain open.
The company says it does not currently believe that customer payment details were part of the compromise.
Hardware wallets under attack
Kim Zetter brings the report of crypto thefts via hardware implanted in Ledger wallets.
Hardware wallets are offered as the panacea every time another crypto heist or supply-chain stealer makes the rounds. The idea is simple: private keys stay on the device and never touch your daily-driver, which is surely contaminated with keyloggers and trojans. The crypto transaction is built on the host and hands it to the device, the wallet device then solves it with the private keys and returns the signature. The only user interface is typically a screen display, which is exactly where the physical supply chain hack against Ledger happened.
The implants, found mainly in Ledger Nano X devices so far, sit dormant until the owner sets up the wallet. When the device shows the new recovery seed on its screen, the implant reads each character and sends the seed out through its own LTE modem, antenna, and eSIM. The implant never touches the host computer or the users WiFi network. The secure storage inside the wallet is never compromised: the hardware implant spies directly on the LCD to read the recovery keys as displayed to the user.
Blockchain analytics firm Bitquery links about 315 drained accounts, roughly $102 million in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron and others, to devices sold by CryptoBilis: that’s Ledger’s authorized reseller for Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
[Joe Grand], a hardware hacker often featured here and the force behind many DEFCON conference badges, began looking in August 2025 after a Reddit post from someone who had bought a wallet on a Thai marketplace. [Joe] bought eight more Nano X units and found implants in four of them. This was reported to Ledger in March of 2026, but according to [Grand], Ledger didn’t follow up for months.
Then in September, Mark Karpelès, the former Mt. Gox CEO, published a teardown showing how the implants have evolved. The first generation used hand-soldered wires to the screen. The second used a transparent orange flex circuit laminated onto the board, with a smaller battery to make room. The third uses a black-coated flex with the part numbers scraped off and a custom antenna. A Japan-based researcher who examined ten Nano X and two Flex devices found five distinct implant designs. They traced the eSIM traffic to an Alibaba-managed data center in Hong Kong, with at least 90 implants reporting seeds there in June alone.
Ledger’s official position is that a “limited number” of devices came from a single seller. It says there is no sign that its own systems were compromised, and it has told resellers to buy only through authorized channels and “never to restock returned products. That last line points at a likely route: buy wallets, implant them, return them, and let them go back on the shelf.
Despite the claims of a single compromised seller, a user named [Johannes] found implants in two Nano X units bought at MediaMarkt stores in Europe, and MediaMarkt is a listed authorized reseller with around a thousand stores across ten countries. There are also reports of implanted Flex devices, and Stax reports that are still unverified. Trezor has started trimming its own authorized-seller list as a “preventive step.” Attribution is still unknown.
CryptoBilis changed ownership earlier this year under an NDA that only recently expired, which has raised eyebrows. Zetter is careful to note that there’s no evidence connecting CryptoBilis to the implants or the thefts.
The takeaway is uncomfortable for anyone who has told people to “just buy a hardware wallet”. The threat model always assumed the device itself was trustworthy, and “buy direct from the vendor” was advice for being extra careful. Now it’s the minimum. Tamper-evident packaging clearly isn’t enough against someone with a lamination process and a parts budget. The options get less fun from here: open the case and inspect the board, which voids the warranty, and good luck spotting a black flex on a black PCB, generate the seed somewhere you control and import it, or use multi-signing across vendors so one bad device can’t empty everything.
Crypto forces you to be your own security, and if you have enough money for someone to design an attack that would have only been expected of a nation-state a few years ago, your home-grown security has to be really, really good.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/this-week-in-security-critical-dns-keys-rotated-hacking-freezers-isnt-cool-openai-spies-on-itself-and-advanced-hardware-wallet-hacks/

Disposing of PLA and Why Composting is Not an Option The ...

2026-10-16T13:58:48Z

Disposing of PLA and Why Composting is Not an Option

The ‘biofriendly’ nature of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) filament often gets touted as one of its main advantages over alternatives like PETG, but even a modicum of research ought to inform a person that the biodegrading feature of PLA is only true for pure PLA without additives and at temperatures at or above its glass transition temperature (Tg). Thus the results of a year-long experiment by [I built a thing] shouldn’t be too surprising.
After burying said PLA in the garden like any self-respecting person does who tries to dispose of some evidence, the PLA suffered through a European winter and very hot, dry summer, before being dug up again recently for inspection and testing. Although not the first time that someone has tested this, it’s a good reminder considering just how much PLA filament is used each year.
In total three sample sets were used, one being the control, the other two buried in soil and compost respectively. A visual inspection showed no major difference, and a tensile strength test also showed no statistically significant change among all three sample sets. The experiment could have been concluded here, but instead calorimetry was used in a laboratory setting to see whether exposure to microbes as commonly found in soil does anything significant.
This isothermal microcalorimetry test was performed at the University of Basel, effectively to answer the question whether there’s anything in the PLA samples that can feed said microbes. As it turns out, the answer is a resounding ‘no’, with microbial activity within the presence of PLA dropping off even quicker presumably due to there being less volume available for nutrients.
When [I built a thing] contacted a large number of commercial biodegrading facilities in Switzerland, Germany and the USA, many would happily take PLA, but none of them would accepted 3D-printed PLA parts, which says a lot. The primary reason for this appears to be that even under industrial composting conditions it simply takes too long for these facilities to consider these to be economical to compost.
With PLA primarily degrading via hydrolysis, it needs to be exposed to the right conditions for this process to not take an eternity. You can of course use something like PHA instead, which doesn’t require this hydrolysis step to be biodegradable. Overall PLA is quite a crummy material, with it also suffering from embrittlement due to crystallization that will happily turn a spool of PLA into lots of sad fragments. This makes PETG into a very common and very attractive alternative to PLA.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/disposing-of-pla-and-why-composting-is-not-an-option/

Running DOOM (Sort Of) on a Sonoff Smart Switch It’s often said ...

2026-10-16T10:18:41Z

Running DOOM (Sort Of) on a Sonoff Smart Switch

It’s often said in this community that DOOM can be made to run on anything, and as time goes on, that’s becoming more and more accurate. We’re at the point now that every “normal” device seems to have some version of the iconic 1993 shooter, so now there’s nothing left but to start working on the more oddball targets.
As a perfect example, [piuppi] recently wrote in to share their efforts to get DOOM — or at least something that looks like it — running on the Sonoff Basic R2 smart switch. We say something that looks like it because the game you’re seeing in the video below isn’t actually DOOM. In fact, it’s not even really a full game. It’s essentially a tech demo that’s capable of rendering graphical data pulled from the game, but only within the confines of simplistic map. Still, not bad for something designed to turn lamps on and off.
The GitHub repo includes excellent documentation should you want to rip and tear on your own Sonoff device. As you might expect the process is a bit involved, and does require you to provide your own copy of DOOM for the script to extract the necessary data from. After it’s setup, you can hit the switch from any browser on the local network and take out your frustrations on the state of modern home automation on some imps. The best part is, even after the game is installed and running on the switch, the device still actually works as a switch.
But don’t worry. Even in the unlikely event that we run out of devices that can be hacked to run DOOM, there’s still a whole world of gadgets out there that need their own port of Duke Nukem 3D.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/16/running-doom-sort-of-on-a-sonoff-smart-switch/

Another Wireless Chip has a Hidden SDR Revealed The news of the ...

2026-10-16T05:30:45Z

Another Wireless Chip has a Hidden SDR Revealed

The news of the past couple of weeks has seen the ESP32 turned into an software-defined radio (SDR) thanks to a hidden baseband mode, an exciting development by anyone’s standards. It seems unexpected SDRs are like busses in that you wait for ages and two turn up at once, because hot on the heels of the ESP32 story is [Samson1te], revealing the SDR functionality hidden within the LR2021 LoRa chip. This one is especially interesting because as well as a 2.4 GHz radio, the chip sports a radio that works from 150 to 960 MHz.
We’re indebted to them for posting this in a comment on our receive converter post, as a complimentary project to the ESP32 one. It gives a 16-bit SDR with receive and transmit, however as with the ESP32 it’s early days and we hope great things lie ahead. There are comprehensive docs available, should you wish to enter the fray. Currently the main demo is P25 digital voice.
If you’re interested, you can follow our coverage of the ESP32 SDR.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/15/another-wireless-chip-has-a-hidden-sdr-revealed/

Using Optical Waveguide Arrays to Make Sheets Sense Shapes ...

2026-10-16T02:28:09Z

Using Optical Waveguide Arrays to Make Sheets Sense Shapes

Determining the shape of an object which can change dynamically is a bit of a challenge, one that especially vexes those who are really into Virtual Reality. Sensing the orientation of various limbs and appendages usually requires external sensors like cameras, or limit the focus to specific details like just the hands and fingers of the player. A more comprehensive and potentially flexible approach might be possible using optical waveguides, as demonstrated by [Qifan Yu] et al. in a recent article in Advanced Intelligent Systems.
Waveguides are structures that guide electromagnetic waves, with optical waveguides such as used here targeting EM radiation in the optical band. This can even allow for the use of cheap and plentiful optical fiber, though here custom elastomeric waveguides are manufactured. These are laid out onto the sheet in a double-sided, overlapping zig-zag pattern, which allows for easy reconstruction of the shape of said sheet based on how the wave propagation through the waveguide changes.
By characterizing the behavior of the signals through the waveguide, its shape and thus that of the sheet can be reconstructed. This was then demonstrated to be accurate by wrapping the sheet around a volunteer’s arm, elow and hand, detecting the flexing and movement of individual joints.
Although fairly bulky in the demonstrated configuration and with an unoptimized algorithm, it’s conceivably something that can be miniaturized to the point where it can be woven into regular fabric. This could make for sensor sheets that could track the configuration of everything from robots to human bodies for something like VR purposes.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/15/using-optical-waveguide-arrays-to-make-sheets-sense-shapes/

NEW PRODUCT – NeoPixel Ring – 16 x 5050 WWA LED with ...

2026-10-16T00:55:38Z

NEW PRODUCT – NeoPixel Ring – 16 x 5050 WWA LED with Integrated Drivers

NEW PRODUCT – NeoPixel Ring – 16 x 5050 WWA LED with Integrated Drivers
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is better than smart LEDs? Smart WWA LEDs! These NeoPixel rings now have 3 white LEDs in them in three tints (also known as ‘color temperatures’): warm white, cool white and amber, great for excellent lighting effects that want pure white lite. These are fun and glowy, and you can control each LED individually! Make your own little LED arrangement with this stick of NeoPixel LEDs.
Round and round and round they go! 16 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with 1.75″ (44.5mm) outer diameter. The rings are ‘chainable’ – connect the output pin of one to the input pin of another. Use only one microcontroller pin to control as many as you can chain together! Each LED is addressable as the driver chip is inside the LED. Each one has ~18mA constant current drive so the color will be very consistent even if the voltage varies, and no external choke resistors are required making the design slim. Power the whole thing with 5VDC and you’re ready to rock.
This is the WWA version. We also have this ring in Warm White RGBW, Natural White RGBW, Cool White RGBW, and good ole RGB!
The NeoPixel is mainly white LED with a yellow phosphor. Unlit, each section resembles an egg yolk. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 8-bit PWM per channel (8 x 4 channels = 32-bit color overall). Great for adding lots of bright white or warm tone dots to your project!
There is a single data line with a very timing-specific protocol. Since the protocol is very sensitive to timing, it requires a real-time microconroller such as an AVR, Arduino, PIC, mbed, etc. It cannot be used with a Linux-based microcomputer or interpreted microcontroller such as the netduino or Basic Stamp. Our wonderfully-written Neopixel library for Arduino supports these pixels! As it requires hand-tuned assembly it is only for AVR cores but others may have ported this chip driver code so please google around. An 8MHz or faster processor is required.
Comes as a single ring with 16 individually addressable WWA LEDs assembled and tested
In stock and shipping now!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/new-product-neopixel-ring-16-x-5050-wwa-led-with-integrated-drivers/

NEW PRODUCT – NeoPixel Ring – 12 x 5050 WWA with Integrated ...

2026-10-16T00:44:25Z

NEW PRODUCT – NeoPixel Ring – 12 x 5050 WWA with Integrated Drivers

NEW PRODUCT – NeoPixel Ring – 12 x 5050 WWA with Integrated Drivers
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is better than smart LEDs? Smart WWA LEDs! These NeoPixel rings now have 3 white LEDs in them in three tints (also known as ‘color temperatures’): warm white, cool white and amber, great for excellent lighting effects that want pure white lite. These are fun and glowy, and you can control each LED individually! Make your own little LED arrangement with this stick of NeoPixel LEDs.
Round and round and round they go! 12 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with 1.75″ (44.5mm) outer diameter. The rings are ‘chainable’ – connect the output pin of one to the input pin of another. Use only one microcontroller pin to control as many as you can chain together! Each LED is addressable as the driver chip is inside the LED. Each one has ~18mA constant current drive so the color will be very consistent even if the voltage varies, and no external choke resistors are required making the design slim. Power the whole thing with 5VDC and you’re ready to rock.
This is the WWA version. We also have this ring in Warm White RGBW, Natural White RGBW, Cool White RGBW, and good ole RGB!
The NeoPixel is mainly white LED with a yellow phosphor. Unlit, each section resembles an egg yolk. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 8-bit PWM per channel (8 x 4 channels = 32-bit color overall). Great for adding lots of bright white or warm tone dots to your project!
There is a single data line with a very timing-specific protocol. Since the protocol is very sensitive to timing, it requires a real-time microconroller such as an AVR, Arduino, PIC, mbed, etc. It cannot be used with a Linux-based microcomputer or interpreted microcontroller such as the netduino or Basic Stamp. Our wonderfully-written Neopixel library for Arduino supports these pixels! As it requires hand-tuned assembly it is only for AVR cores but others may have ported this chip driver code so please google around. An 8MHz or faster processor is required.
Comes as a single ring with 12 individually addressable WWA LEDs assembled and tested
In stock and shipping now!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/new-product-neopixel-ring-12-x-5050-wwa-with-integrated-drivers/

WLED WIFI RGB Matrix Panel Clock – ESP32-C3 + WS2812 8×32 with ...

2026-10-16T00:32:50Z

WLED WIFI RGB Matrix Panel Clock – ESP32-C3 + WS2812 8×32 with Scrolling Text #3DThursday #3DPrinting

DrejkCZ shares:
A WLED-powered RGB matrix panel that shows a clock, scrolling text, or runs built-in effects — all adjustable over Wi-Fi from a PC or phone. Controller: ESP32-C3 Super Mini (WiFi + Bluetooth). Matrix: four 8×8 WS2812 (5050) RGB LED modules forming an 8×32 display (256 LEDs on GPIO 8, GRB color order, 1000mA max). Firmware: WLED via install.wled.me. Automatic NTP time sync with timezone setting. Save a preset at boot. ESP32-C3 + WLED is Adafruit-adjacent ecosystem. By DrejkCZ
download the files on: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2624996-wled-wifi-rgb-matrix-panel-clock-effect-text-usb-c
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord
Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit
Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting
3D Printing Projects Playlist:
3D Hangout Show Playlist:
Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:
Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:
Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:
Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken
Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/wled-wifi-rgb-matrix-panel-clock-esp32-c3-ws2812-8x32-with-scrolling-text-3dthursday-3dprinting/

The Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: subscribe for free The ...

2026-10-16T00:21:00Z

The Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: subscribe for free

The Python for Microcontrollers Newsletter is the place for the latest news involving Python on hardware (microcontrollers AND single board computers like Raspberry Pi).
This ad-free, spam-free weekly email is filled with CircuitPython, MicroPython, and Python information that you may have missed, all in one place!
You get a summary of all the software, events, projects, and the latest hardware worldwide once a week, no ads! You can cancel anytime.
It arrives about 11 am Monday (US Eastern time) with all the week’s happenings.
And please tell your friends, colleagues, students, etc.
Please sign up > > >

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/the-python-on-microcontrollers-newsletter-subscribe-for-free-10-14-2/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GlSkmQPWAAMqzKE?format=png&name=small

JP’s Product Pick of the Week 10/13/26 @adafruit @johnedgarpark ...

2026-10-16T00:09:17Z

JP’s Product Pick of the Week 10/13/26 @adafruit @johnedgarpark #adafruit #newproductpick

This week’s pick is the Adafruit Feather RP2040 with RFM95 LoRa Radio – 915MHz – RadioFruit and STEMMA QT! Watch the video for a live demo and more.
Tune in every Tuesday at 3pm ET and 12pm PT on Youtube LIVE, Twitch, Periscope (Twitter) and Facebook. LIVE TEXT CHAT IS HERE in the Adafruit Discord chat!
Catch previous editions on YouTube and don’t miss our gift guide!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/jps-product-pick-of-the-week-10-13-26-adafruit-johnedgarpark-adafruit-newproductpick/

Open Source ESP32 Retro Smart Speaker Mostly Builds shared this ...

2026-10-15T23:57:31Z

Open Source ESP32 Retro Smart Speaker

Mostly Builds shared this open source retro smart speaker. The custom PCB is built around an ESP32 and the radio features a 3D-printed case with a capacitive touchscreen. It supports Bluetooth, streaming internet radio and playback via a microSD card. Thanks for sharing!!
I’m finally open sourcing my retro smart speaker.
The firmware, KiCad files, light pod PCB, and 3D models are all available to download and modify. I also uploaded the circuit boards to PCBWay, where you can order bare or fully assembled versions.
For V2, I added a custom PCB for the bottom light pod, replaced the USB-C bulkhead connector, and added an external micro SD card slot hidden behind the magnetic grill.
Learn more!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/open-source-esp32-retro-smart-speaker/

Last Minute Projects from our Halloween Gift Guide! ...

2026-10-15T23:45:56Z

Last Minute Projects from our Halloween Gift Guide! #ElectronicHalloween

Halloween is a little over two weeks away – that means you still have time to put something together! Here are a few last minute projects we pulled from the Adafruit Halloween Gift Guide! Not seeing anything you like? Browse through all the Halloween things in our Learn System!
Make a simple LED Unicorn Horn
…or go with a NeoPixel jack-o’-lantern.
Add Monster Eyes to your pumpkin!
Add LED n00ds to your favorite mask or head piece.
Make a tap-activated Breathing Head in a Jar
Build a motion activated flying bat with a VL53L1X time of flight sensor
Check out the full guide!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! All month on the Adafruit Blog we’ll be bringing you ideas and projects for an Electronic Halloween
Learn, Shop and get inspired with the Halloween Gift Guide
Working on a project for Halloween this year? Let us know about it or tag us on socials!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/last-minute-projects-from-our-halloween-gift-guide-electronichalloween/

Gothic Raven Mask (Wearable) – Layered Feather Mask with Sharp ...

2026-10-15T23:34:28Z

Gothic Raven Mask (Wearable) – Layered Feather Mask with Sharp Beak #3DThursday #3DPrinting

Shared by DTM247 on MakerWorld:
A free raven-inspired wearable mask with layered wing-like feather shapes and a long sharply-defined beak. Dramatic contours cast strong shadows. Available as an adult-size split-profile file (~14.9h, 4 plates, 4.9★ from 62 reviews) and display-only whole-mask versions for the A1 Max and A1 Mini (7.6h, 1 plate each). Print in matte black. Use a small amount of epoxy to permanently join connectors. New Halloween subcategory (wearable mask).
Download the files and learn more
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/gothic-raven-mask-wearable-layered-feather-mask-with-sharp-beak-3dthursday-3dprinting/

45 Years Later, The Sinclair ULA Design Documents Surface In the ...

2026-10-15T23:23:35Z

45 Years Later, The Sinclair ULA Design Documents Surface

In the 8-bit home computer boom of the early 1980s, Sir Clive Sinclair’s machines were always among the cheapest on the market, often packing a surprising level of sophistication in their limited hardware. If there was one component that was key to their success it was the Ferranti ULA, or Uncommitted Logic Array, a clever way to make an ASIC from a chip containing a library of logic parts ready made. The Sinclair ULAs have been reverse engineered, but their full details have remained a mystery. Until now it seems, because here’s [Happy Little Diodes] with a treasure trove of original Ferranti design documents covering all the Sinclair parts.
The documents were picked up on eBay, and contain folders with printouts, engineering drawings, and hand written design notes. They cover the full range of Sinclair products of the era, including the ZX81 and Spectrum, the ZX printer, the Microdrive, the Spectrum Interface 1, and even the curious little flat screen TV. Oddly the IP is now held by the satellite broadcaster Sky as the holder of Amstrad’s portfolio, but fortunately Sky have recognised their historical importance and allowed their sharing with minimal changes. They’re all catalogued with download links in a Google spreadsheet, so dig in and see what you can find. Of particular interest are the ULAs that haven’t been reverse engineered yet, and the subtle differences between different versions of the same ULA as the engineers tried to fix bugs. The video is below the break.
If you’re curious about the ULA and Ferranti, we linked to a period film about it.

https://hackaday.com/2026/10/15/45-years-later-the-sinclair-ula-design-documents-surface/

Improving Epinephrine Injections with a Wearable Components of ...

2026-10-15T23:13:21Z

Improving Epinephrine Injections with a Wearable

Components of the wearable AI device that monitors physiological indicators for anaphylaxis and intervenes by administering an epinephrine injection. (Purdue University photo/Johana Elisa Vargas Gómez) via PPurdue University
Professor Muhammad Hussain from Purdue University is leading a team of electrical and computer engineers working on developing a wearable device capable of rapid epinephrine administration.
The device integrates advanced sensors, AI-driven decision-making and automated drug delivery with the goal of ensuring rapid epinephrine administration. The researchers are also focused on the device’s manufacturability, security and integration for scalability.
Hussain said the research aims to shrink the potentially dangerous gap between the start of an anaphylactic event and the administration of epinephrine to treat it.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/improving-epinephrine-injections-with-a-wearable/

Epic Games reportedly pivoting to “AI first” game development ...

2026-10-15T23:01:50Z

Epic Games reportedly pivoting to “AI first” game development model

Kyle Orland reports at Ars Technica that Epic Games is moving to an “AI first” development strategy for its collaboration with the Walt Disney Company.
Citing a Bloomberg report based on internal employee messages, the story says AI models will write all the code and guide all the artwork for an upcoming shooter. Human developers would manage and direct assets generated by models such as Anthropic’s Claude, with “no more hand-written code.”
The $1.5 billion Epic and Disney deal was announced in early 2024 and was set to produce a Marvel and Star Wars themed shooter in March 2027. That game is now delayed indefinitely, which the report attributes to the AI shakeup and to understaffed, slower than expected development.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney posted that “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration,” and said the aim is not to do the same work with fewer people. Epic laid off over 1,000 employees in March, citing a downturn in Fortnite engagement.
See more at arstechnica.com.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/epic-games-reportedly-pivoting-to-ai-first-game-development-model/

Build a 10.1-inch Home Assistant panel with an ESP32-P4 Julian ...

2026-10-15T22:50:41Z

Build a 10.1-inch Home Assistant panel with an ESP32-P4

Julian Horsey at Geeky Gadgets writes up a build from Techiesms that turns an ESP32-P4 module into a wall-mounted Home Assistant control panel.
The hardware is a 10.1-inch TFT LCD with a 1200×800 capacitive touchscreen that handles up to five touch points. The ESP32-P4 behind it has a dual-core 400 MHz processor, 16 MB of flash and 32 MB of PSRAM, plus WiFi, Bluetooth and Ethernet. The board ships with firmware already loaded, so WiFi and Bluetooth work without coding.
The custom interface is built with the LVGL graphics library. It groups controls by room, shows live temperature and humidity readings, and adjusts fan speed, all synchronized with the Home Assistant dashboard. The display is mounted in a 3D-printed frame for the wall. GPIO expansion and SD card storage are there if a project needs them.
See the video below and more at geeky-gadgets.com.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/14/build-a-10-1-inch-home-assistant-panel-with-an-esp32-p4/

Wearable Plague Doctor Mask #3DThursday #3DPrinting ...

2026-10-15T22:39:12Z

Wearable Plague Doctor Mask #3DThursday #3DPrinting

FrankEverything shares:
A fully-wearable plague doctor mask designed for cosplay, display, or dramatic costume use. Full-face design, goggle ports (open or fit with your own sunglass or mesh lenses — not included), side grille, long beak. Fits most adult faces with flexible or padded lining underneath. Pairs well with a balaclava or hood. Straps NOT included. Prints in modular sections for multi-color + easier finishing. 0.2mm layer, 3 walls, 20% infill, PLA, ~9.1h, 2 plates, 177g. For cosplay/prop use only — NOT medical protection. By Frankly Everything
download the files on: https://makerworld.com/en/models/1468529-wearable-plague-doctor-mask-3d-printable-cosplay
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord
Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit
Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting
3D Printing Projects Playlist:
3D Hangout Show Playlist:
Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:
Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:
Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:
Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken
Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/wearable-plague-doctor-mask-3dthursday-3dprinting/

Pixel Clock – ESP32 Dev Board + 8×32 LED Matrix Case ...

2026-10-15T22:27:21Z

Pixel Clock – ESP32 Dev Board + 8×32 LED Matrix Case #3DThursday #3DPrinting

user_2957177259 shares:
A free 3D-printable case for a PixelClock using an 8×32 LED matrix and an ESP32 Dev Board (28.5×51.8mm USB-C or 28×54.8mm Micro-USB). Requires a separate 8×32 LED Matrix Frame with Diffuser Grid project. Firmware: PixelClock on GitHub (mBlinkii/PixelClock). Two frame options: screw-mounted (8× M3×4 screws) or glue-on. Separate ESP box and cable channel. Stand included (M4×8, M3×15, M3 nuts). 0.28mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill, ~7.2h, 6 plates, ~338g PLA. Alternative NeoPixel-clock pick (held out of main to avoid archetype overlap with the WLED Matrix Clock at 12PM). By Blinkii
download the files on: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2804448-pixel-clock
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord
Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit
Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting
3D Printing Projects Playlist:
3D Hangout Show Playlist:
Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:
Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:
Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:
Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken
Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/pixel-clock-esp32-dev-board-8x32-led-matrix-case-3dthursday-3dprinting/

Building Community Through Making In Louisville “We want ...

2026-10-15T22:17:00Z

Building Community Through Making In Louisville

“We want visitors to see the range of creativity in our community and leave with anidea they are interested in exploring, whether that involves art, technology orsomething they can build at home. Maker Faire gives people a chance to meet the person behind a project, ask questions and try something themselves.” Maker Faire Louisville 2026 […]
The post Building Community Through Making In Louisville appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

https://makezine.com/article/maker-news/building-community-through-making-in-louisville/

John Park’s Workshop — LIVE TODAY 10/15/26 It’s JOHN ...

2026-10-15T22:05:59Z

John Park’s Workshop — LIVE TODAY 10/15/26

It’s JOHN PARK’S WORKSHOP — LIVE! — Coming up at 4pm ET / 1pm PT Today (the usual time, no change to the Workshop show schedule)! LIVE TEXT CHAT IS HERE in the Adafruit Discord chat!
Projects: Playdate Crankfruit
CircuitPython Parsec: STEMMA QT is a Lie!
Learn Guides
Gear Report: M-Vave FM-1 alt firmware
Tool Tips
CAD: Adafruit Circuit Designer
Retro Gear
Coupon Code
and more!
The live video will be on Youtube LIVE, Twitch, Periscope (Twitter) and Facebook.
Join maker John Park in his workshop each week as he builds, demos, hacks, and mods projects live on air! “John Park’s Workshop — LIVE” is the place to see creative projects come to life, as John uses a wide variety of tools and techniques to make everything from video game controllers to synthesizers to LED dance shoes to arcade games, using digital fabrication, hand and power tools, microcontrollers, and more. Come on into the chat to participate in the fun. Every Thursday @ 4pm ET/1pm PT!

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/john-parks-workshop-live-today-10-15-26/

From the mail bag… From the mail bag! Thank you — I really ...

2026-10-15T21:54:46Z

From the mail bag…

From the mail bag!
Thank you — I really appreciate the help. This is one of my first personal orders with Adafruit, and I’ve been very impressed with the support experience. I’ve interacted with Adafruit on the business side before, and it’s great to see the same level of responsiveness and care extended to individual customers as well.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/from-the-mail-bag-809/

Candy Corn Monsters – Halloween Triad: Cornhallow, Huskbinder, ...

2026-10-15T21:43:32Z

Candy Corn Monsters – Halloween Triad: Cornhallow, Huskbinder, Cobwraith #3DThursday #3DPrinting

cryostatic shares:
Three candy corn monsters — Cornhallow, Huskbinder, and Cobwraith — collectively called the Triadum Inmanducati. Designer’s fiction says they rise from leftover candy corn at Halloween midnight. Large Triad 6″ (127mm): 0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 10% infill, ~27.8h, 1 plate. Tiny Triad 2.5″ (63mm): same settings, ~11.7h, 1 plate. Cornhallow’s teeth made more robust for scaled-down printing. CC BY 4.0 — commercial-use friendly if the curator wants to repost. New Halloween subcategory (candy corn). By Cryostatic
download the files on: https://makerworld.com/en/models/1843259-candy-corn-monsters-halloween-triad
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord
Adafruit on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adafruit
Shop for parts to build your own DIY projects http://adafru.it/3dprinting
3D Printing Projects Playlist:
3D Hangout Show Playlist:
Layer by Layer CAD Tutorials Playlist:
Timelapse Tuesday Playlist:
Connect with Noe and Pedro on Social Media:
Noe’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/ecken
Pedro’s Twitter / Instagram: http://instagram.com/videopixil

https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/10/15/candy-corn-monsters-halloween-triad-cornhallow-huskbinder-cobwraith-3dthursday-3dprinting/