Ep 313: Capacitor Plague, Wireless Power, and Tiny Everything
Mar 21, 2025
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The hosts share lively tales from Hackaday Europe, discussing their creative community experiences in Berlin. They dive into the mysterious 'capacitor plague' of the early 2000s and explore both its causes and effects. A quirky look at the inefficiencies of wireless power transfer and groundbreaking thermal imaging techniques keeps things fun. Innovations in PCB design and a fascinating miniaturized microcontroller highlight the latest in tech. Plus, there’s a compelling discussion on the potential riches hidden in coal fly ash!
The hosts reflect on their engaging experiences at Hackaday Europe in Berlin, highlighting the vibrant community and unique atmosphere of the city.
A historical analysis of the capacitor plague reveals complex causes, emphasizing manufacturing flaws and material issues rather than a single culprit.
Innovative projects like transforming thermal cameras into high-resolution thermal microscopes illustrate the potential for accessible engineering advancements in hobbyist electronics.
Deep dives
Hackaday Europe Experience
The hosts share their positive experiences from attending Hackaday Europe in Berlin, highlighting the lively atmosphere and unique characteristics of the city. They mention visiting Exane Hackerspace, which stood out as an impressive and well-located hackerspace compared to others they have encountered in Europe. The hosts express gratitude for the community members they met, emphasizing the collaborative spirit of the event. The discussions also touch on logistical challenges encountered during the event's badge production, particularly issues with components and delivery.
Capacitor Plague Explained
A video on the infamous 'capacitor plague' of the early 2000s is discussed, focusing on the widespread failure of electrolytic capacitors across various electronic devices. This failure was attributed to several factors, including poor manufacturing processes and questionable materials that compromised the capacitors' integrity. For instance, the explanation touches upon how the electrolyte formula was allegedly stolen, leading to deficiencies that caused the capacitors to fail. However, the hosts caution that attributing the problem to a single cause oversimplifies the intricate issues behind it.
Wireless Power Transmission
The concept of wireless power transfer is explored, contrasting capacitive coupling with inductive coupling as methods for transmitting energy over distance. The podcast discusses the historical ambitions of Tesla and the challenges inherent in achieving efficient wireless power transmission, particularly the need for ground reference and the losses associated with magnetic fields. One experiment detailed involved large coils that generated considerable arcing, leading to safety concerns, showcasing the difficulties in scaling wireless power systems. The practicalities of this technology highlight why conventional wired connections remain more reliable.
Transforming Thermal Cameras
An innovative project using affordable thermal cameras has been highlighted, showing how they can be transformed into thermal microscopes with new optical capabilities. By incorporating germanium lenses into a 3D-printed design, users can analyze thermal properties at a significantly higher resolution than typical thermal imaging allows. This advancement allows for a detailed examination of heat distributions in electronic components, providing deeper insight for engineers and hobbyists. The discussion notes the availability of certain types of lenses that can make such thermal microscopy feasible and accessible.
GPS Receiver From Scratch
A project focusing on building a GPS receiver using an RTL-SDR is shared, providing insight into how GPS technology works at a fundamental level. Although the receiver is designed for coarse positioning and isn't intended for practical use, it serves as an educational tool to understand signal processing and the mathematics involved behind GPS technology. The creator's open-source software and accompanying videos offer substantial resources for those interested in delving deeper into GPS mechanics. This project emphasizes the importance of understanding underlying technologies, even when ready-made modules are widely available.
We're firmly in Europe this week on the Hackaday podcast, as Elliot Williams and Jenny List are freshly returned from Berlin and Hackaday Europe. A few days of mingling with the Hackaday community, going through mild panic over badges and SAOs, and enjoying the unique atmosphere of that city.
After discussing the weekend's festivities we dive right into the hacks, touching on the coolest of thermal cameras, wildly inefficient but very entertaining wireless power transfer, and a restrospective on the capacitor plague from the early 2000s. Was it industrial espionage gone wrong, or something else? We also take a moment to consider spring PCB cnnectors, as used by both one of the Hackaday Europe SAOs, and a rather neat PCB resistance decade box, before looking at a tryly astounding PCB blinky that sets a new miniaturisation standard.
In our quick roundup the standouts are a 1970s British kit synthesiser and an emulated 6502 system written in shell script, and in the can't-miss section we look at a new contender fro the smallest microcontroller, and the posibility that a century of waste coal ash may conceal a fortune in rare earth elements.
