Hackaday Podcast

Discover the latest breakthroughs in adaptive optics, capturing stunning images of the sun. Uncover the ingenious Raspberry Pi hack that keeps mischievous cats from bringing home live prey. Explore a DIY ribbon microphone crafted from everyday items, and delve into advanced 3D printing techniques that enhance the strength and customization of designs. Plus, learn about a 6-DOF robotic arm project and the decline of Blackberry keyboards. Join in on the fun with a sound guessing game that tests listeners' sonar tech knowledge!

Our choice of hacks included a fond look at embedded systems and the classic fashion sense of Cornell's Bruce Land, risky open CRT surgery, a very strange but very cool way to make music, and the ultimate backyard astronomer's observatory. We talked about Stamp collecting for SMD prototyping, crushing aluminum with a boatload of current, a PC that heats your seat, and bringing HDMI to the Commodore 64. We also took a look at flight tracking IRL, a Flipper-based POV, the ultimate internet toaster, and printing SVGs for fun and profit. Finally, we wrapped things up with a look at the tech behind real-time river flow tracking and a peek inside the surprisingly energetic world of fuel cells. Check out all the links over at Hackaday!

This week, the hosts pay tribute to Ed Smylie, who ingeniously helped save the Apollo 13 astronauts. They unveil exciting open-source projects, including a high-speed Ethernet switch and the revival of Doom on an Atari ST. A minimalist programming language from the '70s, Mouse, is explored alongside hacks like a Raspberry Pi image processor. The discussion also critiques modern web design challenges and the pitfalls of tech company dominance, while humorously pondering AI's attempt at emulating human creativity. Tune in for a mix of nostalgia and innovation!

Discover the secrets of 3D printing with tips to enhance your projects, including how to optimize shell strength and hole placements. Explore the clever transformation of Chromeboxes into energy-efficient PCs. Dive into nostalgic tech with a DIY holochess table inspired by Star Wars and discussions on upgrading classic ThinkPads. Uncover innovative communication technologies that utilize meteor reflections for signals and debate on the ethics surrounding open-source licensing controversies. It's a whirlwind of creativity and tech exploration!

This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up across the universe to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. In Hackaday news, the 2025 Pet Hacks Contest rolls on. You have until June 10th to show us what you've got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started today! On What's That Sound, Kristina actually got it this time, although she couldn't quite muster the correct name for it, however at Hackaday we'll be calling it the "glassophone" from now on. Congratulations to [disaster_recovered] who fared better and wins a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with a complete and completely-documented wireless USB autopsy. We take a look at a lovely 3D-printed downspout, some DIY penicillin, and a jellybean iMac that's hiding a modern PC. Finally, we explore a really cool 3D printing technology, and ask what happened to typing 'www.'. Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Dive into the fascinating world of virtual keyboards designed for alternate realities, and discover projects blending oscilloscope music with innovative synth technology. Journey back to the origins of precision machining and see how ancient techniques still inspire modern creativity, featuring unique builds like 3D-printed typewriters and pneumatic grippers. Reflect on the challenges of open-source software while mourning the loss of beloved electronics magazines, all while exploring how DIY craftsmanship continues to evolve.

This week Elliot Williams was joined by fellow Europe-based Hackaday staffer Jenny List, to record the Hackaday Podcast as the dusk settled on a damp spring evening. On the agenda first was robotic sport, as a set of bipedal robots competed in a Chinese half-marathon. Our new Robot overlords may have to wait a while before they are fast enough chase us meatbags away, but it demonstrated for us how such competitions can be used to advance the state of the art. The week's stand-out hacks included work on non-planar slicing to improve strength of 3D prints. It's safe to say that the Cartesian 3D printer has matured as a device, but this work proves there's plenty more in the world of 3D printing to be developed. Then there was a beautiful record cutting lathe project, far more than a toy and capable of producing good quality stereo recordings. Meanwhile it's always good to see the price of parts come down, and this time it's the turn of LIDAR sensors. There's a Raspberry Pi project capable of astounding resolution, for a price that wouldn't have been imaginable only recently. Finally we retrned to 3D printing, with an entirely printable machine, including the motors and the hot end. It's a triumph of printed engineering, and though it's fair to say that you won't be using it to print anything for yourself, we expect some of the very clever techniques in use to feature in many other projects. The week's cant-miss articles came from Maya Posch with a reality check for lovers of physical media, and Dan Maloney with a history of x-ray detection.  You'll find all the links over at Hackaday!

When Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams need a break from writing posts, they hop on the podcast and talk about their favorite stories of the past week. Want to know what they were talking about? Listen in below and find out! In an unusual twist, a listener sent in the sound for this week's What's This Sound competition, so it turns out Elliot and Al were both stumped for a change. See if you can do better, and you might just score a Hackaday Podcast T-shirt. On the hacking front, the guys talked about what they hope to see as entries in the pet hacking contest, quantum diamonds (no kidding), spectrometers, and several science projects. There was talk of a tiny robot, a space mouse—the computer kind, not a flying rodent—and even an old-fashioned photophone that let Alexander Graham Bell use the sun like a string on a paper cup telephone. Things really heat up at the end, when there is talk about computer programming ranging from COBOL to Vibe programming. In case you've missed it, Vibe programming is basically delegating your work to the AI, but do you really want to? Maybe, if your job is to convert all that old COBOL code.

The hosts dive into the excitement of the Vintage Computer Festival East and the Philadelphia Maker Faire, celebrating the charm of vintage tech. They discuss innovative soft robotics, including a remarkable salamander robot, and a minimalist approach to running Linux on just three 8-pin ICs. Enhancing ESP32 performance with antenna hacks and repurposing old cellphones into single-board computers are explored, showcasing creative recycling. The podcast wraps up with insights into the shifting web browser landscape and the remarkable accuracy of a new circuit board engraving machine.

This week, listeners dive into the world of tech with playful sound challenges and hacks. Discover how open-source projects are reviving cloud-dependent music players while tackling security flaws. Explore humorous DIY keyboard creations and an impressive collection of synthesizers. Innovative wearable tech merges art with electronics using biodegradable string, and nostalgic printing techniques are revisited. From high-altitude balloon photography to unique touch switches, the creativity in technology takes center stage!