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https://hackaday.com/2024/01/13/openwrt-to-mark-20-years-with-reference-hardware/ | OpenWRT To Mark 20 Years With Reference Hardware | Jenny List | [
"Network Hacks"
] | [
"linux",
"openwrt",
"SBC"
] | The OpenWRT project is now two decades old. The project has come a long way since Linksys was forced to release the GNU-licensed code for the original WRT54G router from which the project takes its name. They’ve marked the occasion in an interesting manner: by proposing that the plethora of devices supported by the OS
be joined by a fully upstream-supported reference hardware platform
.
Spec-wise it’s what you would expect for a hackable router platform in 2024. A MediaTek chipset can be found at its centre, but the hardware is not in this case the important bit. Here will be a platform that won’t have to rely on proprietary manufacturer BLOBs, and which will thus likely continue to have up-to-date kernel support long into the future. So many enticing SBCs fall in this regard, and many retain ossified kernel versions after their manufacturers tire of them as a result.
It appears that the future of this project will be subject to an OpenWRT community vote, and we sincerely hope that it will come to fruition. Meanwhile, we couldn’t resist a peek at the status of the router that started it all, by our reckoning
the original WRT54G was last supported by the OS over a decade ago
. | 17 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718707",
"author": "concretedog",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T12:52:41",
"content": "Blimey I feel old :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6718723",
"author": "Ostracus",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T14:14:50",
... | 1,760,372,043.411313 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/bringing-the-voice-assistant-home/ | Bringing The Voice Assistant Home | Matthew Carlson | [
"Artificial Intelligence",
"home hacks"
] | [
"home as",
"homeassistant",
"LLM",
"openai",
"voice assistant"
] | For many, the voice assistants are helpful listeners. Just shout to the void, and a timer will be set, or Led Zepplin will start playing. For some, the lack of flexibility and reliance on cloud services is a severe drawback. [John Karabudak] is one of those people, and he
runs his own voice assistant with an LLM (large language model) brain
.
In the mid-2010’s, it seemed like voice assistants would take over the world, and all interfaces were going to NLP (natural language processing). Cracks started to show as these assistants ran into the limits of what NLP could reasonably handle. However, LLMs have breathed some new life into the idea as they can easily handle much more complex ideas and commands. However, running one locally is easier said than done.
A firewall with some muscle (Protectli Vault VP2420) runs a VLAN and
NIPS
to expose the service to the wider internet. For actually running the LLM, two RTX 4060 Ti cards provide the large VRAM needed to load a decent-sized model at a cheap price point. The AI engine (vLLM) supports dozens of models, but [John] chose a quantized version of Mixtral to fit in the 32GB of VRAM he had available.
However, how do we get the model to control devices in the home? Including the home state in the system portion of the prompt was easy. Getting instructions for HomeAssistant to follow is harder. While other models support
“Function calling
,” Mixtral does not. [John] tweaked the wrapper connecting vLLM and HomeAssistant to watch for JSON at the end. However, the model liked to output JSON at the end even if it wasn’t asked to. So [John] added a tag that the model adds when the user has a specific intent.
In the end, [John] has an intelligent assistant that controls his home with far more personality and creativity than anything you can buy now. Plus, it runs locally and can be customized to his heart’s content.
It’s a great guide with helpful tips to try something similar. Good hardware for a voice assistant can be hard to come by. Perhaps someday
we’ll get custom firmware running on the existing assistants
we already have to connect to your local assistant server? | 22 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6719133",
"author": "Ostracus",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T03:16:11",
"content": "The focus on AI hardware may end up helping.https://youtu.be/q0l7eaK-4po",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6719140",
"author": "Seth",
"timest... | 1,760,372,042.989324 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/hackaday-links-january-14-2024/ | Hackaday Links: January 14, 2024 | Dan Maloney | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"737",
"accident",
"Air Alaska",
"asteroid",
"aviation",
"Bennu",
"door plug",
"Endeavour",
"hackaday links",
"laser",
"Lexington",
"museum",
"OSIRIS-REx",
"sample return",
"SETI",
"TRAPPIST"
] | How long does it take a team of rocket scientists to remove two screws? When the screws they’re working on are keeping a priceless sample of asteroid safe,
it’s about three months
. That’s how long NASA has been working on the OSIRIS-REx sample return canister, which came back to Earth from asteroid Bennu back in September. The container was crammed full of asteroid bits, thanks in part to an overly energetic impact between the sample-collecting boom and Bennu. There was so much stuff that planetary scientists were able to recover about 70 grams of material that was covering the outside of the sealed container; this must have been a boon to the engineers, who got to figure out how to open the jammed cover of the container without anyone breathing down their necks for samples to study. The problem was a pair of stuck fasteners out of the 35 holding the lid on the container; the solution was far more complicated than a spritz of WD-40 and a little bit of heating with an oxy-acetylene torch. Engineers had to design two “clamp-like tools” and test them on a mock-up to make sure they wouldn’t contaminate the sample. We’d love to know more about these tools; trust us, we’ll be looking into this closely. If we find anything, a full article will be forthcoming.
Big news this week a bit closer to home as an Air Alaska flight suffered a serious oopsie shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. You’ve no doubt heard more about “door plugs” in the beleaguered 737 Max-9 by now than you ever wanted to, but for those still left wondering how such things are attached to the plane, A&P mechanic Juan Brown has
an excellent primer
over on his Blancolirio channel on YouTube. The look inside the mechanism makes it clear that the only physical way the plug could have departed the plane as cleanly as it did was if the locking bolts on the hinge fittings were missing. The National Transportation Safety Board, one of the regulatory bodies investigating the incident, says
the bolts may never have been installed
during assembly of the essentially brand-new plane. For what it’s worth, six fasteners holding the guide roller plates to the fuselage on plug on the opposite side of the plane were tightened at the Boeing factory when they were found to be loose during assembly, according to a report by
Air Currents
. That report has an excellent photo of the plug mechanism that should help clear up any mechanical questions you may have. It’s scary stuff and must have been absolutely terrifying for the passengers. Luckily the flight was still on climb-out, so everyone still had their seatbelts on; we doubt anyone would have been as lucky as
this iPhone
was had they departed the plane with it.
So it seems that the good people of Lexington, Kentucky have taken upon themselves the responsibility of
making contact with extraterrestrial intelligence on behalf of planet Earth
. Over the Christmas holiday the local tourism agency, VisitLEX, coupled a “powerful laser” to a telescope and beamed a message to any technologically advanced civilizations that may be extant on the rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zone of TRAPPIST-1, a mere 39 light years away. The message is a low-resolution monochromatic bitmap with icons representing the many attractions that Lexington has to offer, including bourbon and water, horses, and prime numbers, the last of which honestly would be the attraction of choice for us. For anyone worried about the risks of making first contact with an alien species in an advertisement, relax; from the look of the “powerful laser” attached to a tiny reflector telescope teetering on milkcrates, it’s as likely as not the message won’t get there. And really, it could be worse — what if Newark, New Jersey pulled the same stunt?
Finally, back in July, we
covered the story
of how the space shuttle
Endeavour
was getting a new home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles — a full-stack, launch-configuration display, complete with SRBs and external fuel tank. It’s a massive undertaking, to say the least. The orbiter itself had already been on static display at the museum, and the solid rocket boosters were erected and anchored in place over the last few months. Now ET-94, the last flight-qualified external tank in existence,
is being moved
roughly 1,000 feet (300 meters) in preparation for the big lift into place in the final stack-up. By the time is published the tank should be in place. We’ll try to find video of the lift — should be fascinating stuff. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "6719093",
"author": "Mirthy",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T00:18:21",
"content": "hahagood one- your writeup of the Lexington laser!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,372,043.126619 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/laptop-memory-upgradable-again/ | Laptop Memory Upgradable Again | Bryan Cockfield | [
"computer hacks"
] | [
"camm",
"compression attached memory",
"computer",
"dimm",
"laptop",
"memory",
"module",
"soldered",
"upgradability",
"upgradable"
] | For some computing components, the bottleneck to improved speed and performance hasn’t been power consumption or clock speed but physical space. But
a new memory standard may provide all of the power and space-saving benefits of soldered memory modules without losing any upgradability
.
The standard is called compression attached memory modules (CAMM) and provides a way for small form factor computers to have upgradable memory without needing dual in-line memory module (DIMM) slots. Unlike DIMM, though, CAMM modules allow for modern high-speed low-power memory to be used and can take advantage of dual-channel properties even if only one memory module is installed. CAMM modules are held in place with small screws, similar to modern M.2 drives, and don’t have the massive footprint of a DIMM slot. This allows laptop manufacturers to save nearly as much space as having soldered memory.
While this won’t solve the problem of computer manufacturers offering only soldered memory as a cash-grab, hopefully, some take the new standard under their wing for those of us who value the upgradability of our hardware. There are of course some problems with newer standards, but right now it seems like the only other viable option is soldered modules or slower, heavier computers. Some may argue that these soldered-on modules can be upgraded in theory,
but not without considerable effort
. | 38 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "6719048",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren",
"timestamp": "2024-01-14T21:07:25",
"content": "So, this _might_ be applicable to laptops going forward, but not for my 14 y. o. ThinkPad R400.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comme... | 1,760,372,043.194772 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/uevr-project-converts-games-to-vr-whether-they-like-it-or-not/ | UEVR Project Converts Games To VR, Whether They Like It Or Not | Donald Papp | [
"Software Hacks",
"Virtual Reality"
] | [
"modding",
"reverse engineering",
"UEVR",
"unreal engine",
"virtual reality",
"vr"
] | UEVR
, or the Universal Unreal Engine VR Mod by [praydog] is made possible by some pretty neat software tricks. Reverse engineering concepts and advanced techniques used in game hacking are leveraged to add VR support, including motion controls, to applicable Unreal Engine games.
The UEVR project is a real-world application of various ideas and concepts, and the results are impressive. One can easily not only make a game render in VR, but it also handles managing the player’s perspective (there are options for attaching the camera view to game objects, for example) and also sensibly maps inputs from VR controllers to whatever the game is expecting. This isn’t the first piece of software that attempts to convert flatscreen software to VR, but it’s by far the most impressive.
There is
an in-depth discussion of the techniques used
to sensibly and effectively locate and manipulate game elements, not for nefarious purposes, but to enable impressive on-demand VR mods in a semi-automated manner. (Although naturally, some anti-cheat software considers this to be nefarious.)
Many of the most interesting innovations in VR rely on some form of modding, from
magic in Skyrim that depends on your actual state of mind
to adding
DIY eye tracking to headsets
in a surprisingly effective, modular, and low-cost way. As usual, to find cutting-edge experimentation, look to the modding community. | 18 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6719055",
"author": "Doomer",
"timestamp": "2024-01-14T21:36:17",
"content": "Can I play Doom in VR with it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6719165",
"author": "The Duggler",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T07:16:09"... | 1,760,372,042.929929 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/saving-pic-microcontrollers-with-diy-programmer/ | Saving PIC Microcontrollers With DIY Programmer | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"microcontroller",
"micropython",
"pi pico",
"pic",
"PIC16F72",
"programmer",
"raspberry pi"
] | When working on a project, plenty of us will reach for an Atmel microcontroller because of the widespread prevalence of the Arduino platform. A few hackers would opt for a bit more modern part like an ESP32. But these Arduino-compatible platforms are far from the only microcontrollers available. The flash-based PIC family of microcontrollers is another popular choice. Since they aren’t quite as beginner or user-friendly, setting up a programmer for them is not as straightforward. [Tahmid] needed to program some old PIC microcontrollers and
found the Pi Pico to be an ideal programmer
.
The reason for reaching for the Pico in the first place was that [Tahmid] had rediscovered these decade-old microcontrollers in a parts bin but couldn’t find the original programmer. Thanks to advances in technology in the last ten years, including the advent of micropython, the Pico turned out to be the ideal programmer. Micropython also enables a fairly simple drag-and-drop way of sending the .hex file to the PIC, so the only thing the software has to do is detect the PIC, erase it, and flash the .hex file. The only physical limitation is that the voltages needed for the PIC are much higher than the Pico can offer, but this problem is easily solved with a boost converter (controlled by the Pico) and a level shifter.
[Tahmid] notes that there’s plenty of room for speed and performance optimization, since this project optimized development time instead. He also notes that since the software side is relatively simple, it could be used for other microcontrollers as well. To this end, he made the code available
on his GitHub page
. Even if you’re more familiar with the Arduino platform, though, there’s more than one way to program a microcontroller like this project which uses the
Scratch language to program an ESP32. | 32 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718960",
"author": "Major Armstrong",
"timestamp": "2024-01-14T15:59:57",
"content": "Nice article and a clever fix for his problem.As to the level of “User-Friendly-ness” between flashing PIC and Arduino, I see no great distinction. Just read the docs. Both work well, I have had ... | 1,760,372,043.529785 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/mobius-tanks-twisty-treads-became-bendy/ | Möbius Tank’s Twisty Treads Became Bendy | Donald Papp | [
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"3d printed",
"linear actuator",
"mobius",
"mobius strip",
"tank",
"tread"
] | [James Bruton]’s unusual Möbius Tank has gotten a little more unusual with the
ability to bend itself
, which allows it to perform turns even though it is a single-track vehicle.
The turning radius isn’t great, but three-point turns are perfectly feasible.
The Möbius Tank was a wild idea that started as a “what if” question: what if a tank tread was a Möbius strip?
We saw how [James] showed it could be done
, and he demonstrated smart design and assembly techniques in the process.
He’s since modified the design to a single-track, and added a flex point in the center of the body. Two linear actuators work together to make the vehicle bend, and therefore give it the ability to steer and turn. A normal tread would be unable to bend in this way, but the twist in the Möbius tread accommodates this pivot point perfectly well.
It works, but it’s not exactly an ideal vehicle. With the tread doing a 90-degree twist on the bottom, there isn’t a lot of ground clearance. In addition, since the long vehicle has only a single tread, it is much taller than it is wide. Neither does it any real favors when it comes to stability over uneven terrain, but it’s sure neat to try.
Even if it’s not practical, Möbius Tank is wild to look at. Check it out in the video, embedded just under the page break. | 14 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718937",
"author": "ajimbo",
"timestamp": "2024-01-14T13:43:46",
"content": "sorry, with two twists, that track is not a Möbius strip",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6718938",
"author": "Zai1208",
"timestamp":... | 1,760,372,043.464094 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/14/why-the-ipad-doesnt-have-a-calculator/ | Why The IPad Doesn’t Have A Calculator | Maya Posch | [
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"apple",
"Apple iPad",
"ipad"
] | For the handful among us who have an iPad tablet from Apple, some may have figured out by now that it lacks a feature that has come standard on any operating system since roughly the early 90s: a calculator application. Its absence on the iPad’s iPadOS is strange since the iPhones (iOS) have always had a calculator application built into the system. Even Apple’s laptop and desktop systems (MacOS/OS X/MacOS) include a calculator. As [Greg] at [Apple Explained]
explains in a 2021 video
, this seems to have been initially due to Steve Jobs, who didn’t like the scaled-up iOS calculator that the person in charge of iPad software development – [Scott Forstal] – was working on and set an ultimatum to replace or drop it.
In the video, [Greg] shows sections of an interview with Apple software chief [Craig Federighi], who when confronted with the question of why iPadOS doesn’t have a calculator or weather app, quickly slithers out of the way of the incoming question. He excuses the absence with the idea that Apple won’t do anything unless it makes people go ‘wow’ when they use it. Fast-forward two years, and iPadOS 17
still doesn’t have
a version of the
Apple Calculator
app, making for rich meme fodder. One question that gets raised by some is whether Apple really needs to make such an app at all since you can use Spotlight and Siri to get calculations resolved, in the latter case, using the apparently hidden Calculator app.
These days, you can use Google Search as a calculator, too, with it even throwing up a calculator UI when you ask it to perform a calculation, and the App Store is full of various calculator apps, with or without advertising and/or paid features. In this context, what could Apple do with a calculator that would positively ‘wow’ its users? | 78 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718893",
"author": "jbx",
"timestamp": "2024-01-14T09:42:47",
"content": "Why ?Because Apple.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6718902",
"author": "MrSVCD",
"timestamp": "2024-01-14T10:57:18",
"content": "My favorite... | 1,760,372,043.299719 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/13/wiring-an-sd-card-to-a-handspring-pdas-68k-bus-with-only-three-sot23s/ | Wiring An SD Card To A Handspring PDA’s 68K Bus With Only Three SOT23s | Maya Posch | [
"Retrocomputing",
"Reverse Engineering"
] | [
"handspring",
"pda",
"PDA hack"
] | In 1998 the founders of Palm had a bit of a falling out with the wildly successful PDA company’s new owners. They set up a new company called Handspring, which enabled them to make PDAs again in the way they preferred, This resulted in the Handspring Visor line of PDAs, which featured a big cartridge slot called the Springboard Expansion slot. Much like a Gameboy, you could put in a range of modules, ranging from games to cameras to memory expansion and more. Since these modules connect directly to the internal Motorola 68k-based microprocessor, you could make a module either to comply with this standard or if you’re like [Dmitry],
you’d figure out a way
to get an SPI device like an SD card to communicate and expand storage.
Editor note:
Dmitry’s design isn’t the first SD/MMC interface for the Visor. Portable Innovation Technology’s SD MemPlug Module supported SD/MMC way back in 2002. However – MemPlug was a commercial product, while Dmitry’s work is open source.
Schematic of Dmitri’s SpringSD board for Handspring Visor PDAs.
To make the M68k bus traffic look somewhat SPI-like to an SPI slave, a CS signal had to be generated using a
74LVC1G80GW
D-type flipflop, with the same flipflop also used on the address line for MOSI to keep this stable on the side of the SD card. Finally, an inverter (74HCT1G04GW) was added for the clock signal, making for three SOT-23 packages total. All that was required now was a driver to use this custom board. Once the driver was done, [Dmitri] was able to use the SD card in the PalmOS file manager.
As also noted by [Dmitri], this is not the way to make a Handspring-approved Springboard cartridge, but he provides the documentation to make one that does. Despite the short lifespan of the Visor range of PDAs with this slot, it nevertheless saw
positive reviews
and a
range of cartridges
released. If you still have an old visor around, why not use
it to control a robot arm
! | 13 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718693",
"author": "rasz_pl",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T10:31:10",
"content": "> As I had mentioned, only read accesses are used, since we use data pins for output and address lines for input.>read to chip select 1 address 0x20100 will set MOSI low and nCS low. A read access to any ... | 1,760,372,042.86641 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/wiring-harness-thats-a-wrap/ | Wiring Harness? That’s A Wrap! | Al Williams | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"wire wrap",
"wire wrapping",
"wiring harness"
] | [Mr Innovative] likes to keep his wire harnesses tidy, but it is a pain to neatly wrap cables. So, he
automated the process
using a combination of milled acrylic and 3D printing. We hope the design files will be up on his website soon, although the mechanism is similar to
another wrapping machine
he made a few years ago. However, it can still be a source of inspiration if you want to do a unique take on it.
To use the machine, you feed the wires through the center hole and mount tape on the spool. A motor spins the spool and you only need to slowly advance the tool to get a nice close wrap. Naturally, you can wrap tape around wires by hand, so this is a bit of a luxury item. However, we could see modifying it to move the cable through at a constant rate with another motor, which might do a better job than you can do by hand.
We couldn’t help but wonder if you could start with a ping pong paddle instead of cutting the frame out of acrylic. | 22 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718672",
"author": "Urgon",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T08:54:25",
"content": "There is one old technique I find aesthetically pleasing, but had no opportunity to use it yet, called cable lacing. It’s quite a bit of work, but it looks great. I once saw a wire loom done that way inside... | 1,760,372,043.353642 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/the-early-history-of-the-microcontroller-it-came-from-texas/ | The Early History Of The Microcontroller: It Came From Texas | Maya Posch | [
"Retrocomputing"
] | [
"microcontroller",
"texas instruments",
"TMS1000"
] | Ti’s presentation of the rapid integration of calculator chips.
Although for most generations alive today the era of microcontrollers (MCU) feels like it starts somewhere with the Intel 8051 and AVR MCUs, the history of these self-contained computing marvels that are now found just about anywhere begins long before those were even conceptualized. In a recent article titled
Tiny Computers From Texas
, [Babbage] goes through this early history of what would ultimately become such an integral part of daily life.
An MCU is defined as a small, self-contained computer, which requires few to no external components to function. This contrasted with the more traditional MPUs, or microprocessor units, where a computer was assembled out of one or more MPUs, I/O chips, memory SRAM and so on. It’s perhaps little surprise that the drive towards MCUs was the result of primarily the calculator market, where competing firms were trying to upstage each other with higher levels of integration into as few chips as possible, while driving down costs and power usage.
Ultimately, the Texas Instruments
TMS 1000
was the first true MCU that got produced in large volumes after its release in 1974. Moving beyond calculators, the TMS 1000 found its way into toys, including the Speak & Spell – which uses another Ti chip (TMS 5100) for the voice synthesis – so that today any toy can be interactive in exciting and often noisy ways.
Back in 2020
we took our own affectionate look at this chip
. | 17 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718639",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T04:17:23",
"content": "Interesting!Thanks Maya!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6718645",
"author": "LambdaMikel",
"timestamp": "2024-01... | 1,760,372,043.590328 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/all-i-want-for-mr-christmas-is-some-new-music/ | All I Want For Mr. Christmas Is Some New Music | Kristina Panos | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"laser cutter",
"laser cutter projects",
"Mr. Christmas",
"Music box"
] | It’s true — you really can find anything (except maybe LEGO) in thrift stores. When [thecowgoesmoo] picked up a Mr. Christmas Symphonium music box one day, they knew they wanted to
make it play more than just the standard Christmas and classical fare that ships with the thing.
So they did what any self-respecting hacker would do, and they wrote a MATLAB script that generates new disk silhouette images that they then cut from cardboard with a laser cutter. They also used various other materials like a disposable cutting mat. Really, whatever is lying around that’s stiff enough and able to be cut should work. You know you want to hear Van Halen’s “Jump” coming from a tinkling music box, don’t you? Be sure to check out the video demonstration after the break.
If you don’t want to wait around until a Mr. Christmas lands in your lap,
why not make your own hand-cranked music box and accompanying scores? | 7 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718578",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T00:47:45",
"content": "I’ve seen those at store, they can cost a few hundred dollars.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6718588",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As ... | 1,760,372,043.864734 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/in-praise-of-old-meters/ | In Praise Of Old Meters | Al Williams | [
"Repair Hacks",
"Teardown",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"micronta",
"multimeter",
"radio shack",
"VOM",
"vtvm"
] | We are spoiled with multimeters today. Even the cheapest meter you will get these days is almost surely digital with a tremendous input impedance. But a few decades ago, meters were almost always analog affairs. To make a precise measurement, you needed a mirror under the meter to ensure you read the needle correctly. Moreover, a common meter wouldn’t have that high of an input impedance. If you spent more, you could get a VTVM and, later, one that used FETs to provide high input impedance. [Peter AA2VG] just picked up a
vintage Micronta FET volt-ohm meter
to join some of the other new and old meters in his shack. You can check it out in the video below.
[Peter] already has a Simpson and a more modern Fluke meter. The Simpson, however, doesn’t have a tube or FET amplifier. The Fluke is nice, but there is something about the needle on an analog meter. If you aren’t old enough to remember, the Micronta brand was a Radio Shack label.
The teardown and repair started just before the 11-minute mark. There were two obviously burned resistors and a leaking battery—an easy repair to put this meter back into service.
If you weren’t a fan of Radio Shack, maybe
Heathkit
was more your style. While we like our digital meters, many people still like to use
analog instruments
for some tasks. | 54 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718476",
"author": "mayhem",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T21:09:40",
"content": "Simpson 260 6xlm for the win!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6718604",
"author": "Antron Argaiv",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T01:54:4... | 1,760,372,043.990307 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/a-homebrew-gps-correction-system-for-diy-land-surveying/ | A Homebrew GPS Correction System For DIY Land Surveying | Dan Maloney | [
"gps hacks"
] | [
"cartography",
"correction",
"gnss",
"gps",
"map",
"mapmaking",
"NTRIP",
"real-time kinematics",
"RTK",
"satnav",
"surveying"
] | For those of you rushing to the comment section after reading the title to tell [Ben Dauphinee] that his
DIY land surveying efforts
are for naught because only a licensed surveyor can create a legally binding property description, relax — he already knows. But what he learned about centimeter-resolution GPS is pretty interesting, especially for owners of large rural properties like him.
[Ben]’s mapping needs are less rigorous than an official survey; he just wants to get the locations of features like streams and wood lines, and to get topographic elevations so that he has a general “lay of the land” for planning purposes. He originally engaged a surveyor for that job, but after shelling out $4,600 to locate a single property line, he decided to see what else could be done. Luckily, real-time kinematics, or RTK, holds the key. RTK uses a fixed GPS station to provide correction signals to a mobile receiver, called a rover. If the fixed station’s position is referenced to some monument of known position, the rover’s position can be placed on a map to within a couple of centimeters.
To build his own RTK system, [Ben] used some modules from SparkFun. The fixed station has an RTK breakout board and a multi-band GNSS antenna to receive positioning data, along with a Raspberry Pi to run the RTK server. An old iPhone with a prepaid SIM provides backhaul to connect to the network that provides correction data. [Ben]’s rover setup also came mainly from SparkFun, with an RTK Facet receiver mounted on a photographer’s monopod. Once everything was set up and properly calibrated, he was able to walk his property with the rover and measure locations to within 4 centimeters.
This was not an inexpensive endeavor — all told, [Ben] spent about $2,000 on the setup. That’s a lot, especially on top of what he already paid for the legal survey, but still a fraction of what it would have cost to have a surveyor do it, or to buy actual surveyor’s equipment. The post has a ton of detail that’s worth reading for anyone interested in the process of mapping and GPS augmentation. | 60 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718434",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T19:42:11",
"content": "i am currious, why not use the data from us, eu and chinese gps? They all together should pretty exact. Also the cheapest smartphones are able to get all signals.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,372,043.825291 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/hackaday-podcast-episode-252-x1plus-hacks-bambu-scotto-builds-a-katana-keyboard-and-bass-puts-out-fire/ | Hackaday Podcast Episode 252: X1Plus Hacks Bambu, Scotto Builds A Katana Keyboard, And Bass Puts Out Fire | Kristina Panos | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Podcasts"
] | [
"Hackaday Podcast"
] | This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up to discuss the best hacks of the previous week. It’s CES time once again in Las Vegas, and you know what that means — some wacky technologies like
this AI pet door that rejects dead mice
.
Then it’s on to What’s That Sound, which Kristina managed to nail for once. Can you get it? Can you figure it out? Can you guess what’s making that sound this week? If you can, and your number comes up, you get a special Hackaday Podcast t-shirt.
But then it’s on to the hacks, beginning with a new keyboard from [Joe Scotto] and an exploration of all you can do with an LED strip, like 1D fireworks and roller coasters without any moving parts. From there, we marvel at the ability of sound waves to extinguish flames, and the tech behind life as a quadriplegic. Finally, we examine not one, but two of Jenny List’s finely-crafted rants, one about web browsers, and the other about the responsible use of new technology.
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!
Download and savor at your leisure
.
Where to Follow Hackaday Podcast
Places to follow Hackaday podcasts:
iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
RSS
YouTube
Check
out our Libsyn landing page
Episode 252 Show Notes:
News:
CES 2024 live: Latest tech, weird gadgets and our Best of CES awards
New images reveal what Neptune and Uranus really look like
What’s that Sound?
Fill out this form
with your best guess, and you might win!
Interesting Hacks of the Week:
X1Plus: Open Source Bambu Lab X1 Firmware
Rooted: The Good the Bad and Freedom of Choice
The ScottoKatana Keyboard Is Cutting-Edge
1D Fireworks Are Nice And Quiet
Line Wobbler – Robin Baumgarten: Playful Installation Art
How To Make A Model Roller Coaster Without Any Moving Parts
Remote-Control Kinetic Sand Table Uses A Single Arduino
Controlling two linear motions of an object 1a – YouTube
[Thomas Sanladerer] Gets New Threads
Putting 3D Printed Screw Threads To The Test
Using Sound Waves As A Fire Extinguisher
Quick Hacks:
Elliot’s Picks:
How To Build A Fully Offline Smart Home, Or Why You Should Not
37C3: The Tech Behind Life With Quadriplegia
Half Power Bank, Half Spot Welder
Kristina’s Picks:
There Are Stradi-various Ways To Make A Violin, And This Is One
Sandpaper Alternatives For 3D Prints
Not Dead Yet: Microsoft Peripherals Get Licensed To Onward Brands
Can’t-Miss Articles:
The World Of Web Browsers Is In A Bad Way
Comparison of browser engines – Wikipedia
A Few Reasonable Rules For The Responsible Use Of New Technology
What Uses More Power Than Argentina But Doesn’t Dance The Tango? | 4 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718556",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren",
"timestamp": "2024-01-13T00:01:28",
"content": "Well, if the (large mouth) bass is still alive and wet, its tail could probably swat out a small fire.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"... | 1,760,372,043.730001 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/voice-controlled-rover-follows-verbal-instructions-to-get-around/ | Voice Controlled Rover Follows Verbal Instructions To Get Around | Lewin Day | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"robot",
"robot car"
] | Typically, when we want to tell a robot where to go, we either pre-program a route or drive it around with some kind of gamepad or joystick controller.
[Robotcus] decided to build a simple robot platform that drove around in response to voice commands instead.
The robot is based around a Raspberry Pi Zero, charged with instructing the motor controllers to drive the ‘bot around. The Pi Zero is also in charge of interpreting the voice commands via Google’s speech recognition tool. The ‘bot itself is a fairly simple design using brushed gearmotors for propulsion and a 3D-printed chassis to tie everything together.
The car is capable of understanding five commands – drive, turn left, turn right, go backwards, and “attack”. The last command simply activates a flipper from the robot’s former life as a battlebot. Things ran okay at first, but the Pi Zero was slow at processing commands. The wheels also had minimal traction. A full-fat Raspberry Pi solved the latter issue, while a new chassis provided better grip.
It’s a simple project, but one that taught [Robotcus] plenty about programming and building small robots in the process. Like so many learning experiences, it’s easy to see how
the robot starts out flailing uselessly and eventually starts to perform as intended
. It’s always nice to see that progression. Video after the break. | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718107",
"author": "Sooner Boomer",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T21:31:03",
"content": "Congratulations. You’ve duplicated the VCP200 Voice Recognition chip from the late ’80’s. I guess what’s old is new again",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"com... | 1,760,372,043.903616 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/retrotechtacular-rebuilding-a-fire-ravaged-telephone-exchange/ | Retrotechtacular: Rebuilding A Fire-Ravaged Telephone Exchange | Dan Maloney | [
"History",
"Retrotechtacular"
] | [
"att",
"bell",
"central office",
"disaster",
"exchange",
"fire",
"new york",
"PSTN",
"retrotechtacular",
"telephone",
"western electric"
] | Those who haven’t experienced the destruction of a house fire should consider themselves lucky. The speed with which fire can erase a lifetime of work — or a life, for that matter — is stunning. And the disruption a fire causes for survivors, who often escape the blaze with only the clothes on their backs, is almost unfathomable. To face the task of rebuilding a life with just a few smoke-damaged and waterlogged possessions while wearing only pajamas and slippers is a devastating proposition.
As bad as a residential fire may be, though, its impact is mercifully limited to the occupants. Infrastructure fires are another thing entirely; the disruption they cause is often felt far beyond the building or facility involved. The film below documents a perfect example of this: the
1975 New York Telephone Exchange fire
, which swept through the company’s central office facility at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan and cut off service to 300 blocks of the East Village and Lower East Side neighborhoods.
The fire, which started due to a short circuit in one of the basement cable vaults during the graveyard shift on February 27th and spread rapidly up through cable chases into the rest of the building, eventually escalated to five alarms and involved more than 700 FDNY firefighters. It took more than 16 hours to extinguish the blaze, which belched black smoke as miles of PVC-insulated cable burned to cinders.
Removing some of the miles of vault cable destroyed by the fire.
Before the toxic smoke even cleared, New York Telephone’s rebuilding efforts were underway. Job one was to assess the damage, and the picture was grim: all the switching equipment on the second and third floors of the building was destroyed, smoke and water vapor damaged equipment all the way up the eleven-story building, and most of the 2,400-pair vault cables entering the building’s basement were melted to slag. With over 170,000 customers deprived of their only means of communication, NYTel engineers and managers had to figure out how to restore service as rapidly as possible.
Sensing the historic nature of this disaster — it would remain the most destructive and disruptive event in Bell System history until the 9/11 attacks — AT&T dispatched a film crew to document the recovery. The film may feel a little self-congratulatory, but considering the enormity of the problems they had to overcome, the praise and plaudits are well-deserved. Five thousand employees from all over the Bell System converged on lower Manhattan to strip out the destroyed equipment, clean and repair the building, and begin rebuilding the exchange from scratch. Supplies and gear were diverted from all over the country to aid the effort; in a notably lucky break, a main distribution frame destined for another office was pulled from a Western Electric loading dock, shipped to NYC, and installed in only four days, instead of the six months a job like that would normally take.
Thanks to the massive mobilization, what came to be known as “The Miracle on 2nd Avenue” restored service to all customers in a mere 23 days. That success came at a very high price, though; even though no lives were lost in the fire, over 300 firefighters were injured during the response. But that was only a shadow of things to come — thanks to the toxic smoke from all that burning PVC, over forty cases of cancer cropped up in first responders over the ensuing decades. If you ever wondered why building codes specify “plenum-rated” cables for certain locations, it’s at least partly thanks to the lessons learned from this fire, and the health consequences suffered by those who set it all to rights.
We got wind of this one through an [Anonymous] tip. Thanks! | 15 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718088",
"author": "asheets",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T20:15:46",
"content": "I still have my “red card” to be able to work inside ATT exchange facilities. The key parts of the training I remember:1) Do not drill into walls without x-raying first.2) Do not x-ray in the facility.Ha... | 1,760,372,044.140567 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/linux-fu-name-that-tune/ | Linux Fu: Name That Tune | Al Williams | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Linux Hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"raspberry pi",
"Shazam",
"song recognition"
] | If you aren’t old enough to remember, the title of this post refers to an old game show where contestants would try to name a tune using the fewest possible notes. What can we say? Entertainment options were sparse before the Internet. However, using audio fingerprinting, computers are very good at pulling this off. The real problem is having a substantial library of fingerprints to compare with. You can probably already do this with your phone, and now you can do it with your Linux computer.
In all fairness, your computer isn’t doing the actual work. In fact,
SongRec
— the program in question — is just a client for Shazam, a service that can identify many songs. While this is mildly interesting if you use a Linux desktop, we could also see using the same technique with a Raspberry Pi to get some interesting projects. For example, imagine identifying a song playing and adjusting mood lighting to match. A robot that could display song information could be the hit of a nerdy party.
The Code
If you look in the repository, there is a fairly simple Python version that only recognizes songs from audio files. The main program is newer, has more options for handling audio, and uses Rust. However, if you were trying to graft it into your own program, starting with the older code might be easier. Unless, of course, you are also using Rust.
Under the Covers
Shazam downsamples audio to 16 kHz and produces four spectrograms. Each spectrogram measures a different band: 250-520 Hz, 520-1,450 Hz, 1,450-3,500Hz, and 3,500-5,500 Hz. The peaks in the spectrograms should match for the same song. The client sends information about the peaks at different times to the Shazam database, which returns information about the song. You can see an explanatory video about how it works below.
According to
a paper about Shazam
, if they can detect a live performance, it is a good bet the performer is lip-synching to a prerecorded track since the algorithm isn’t smart enough to get similar tracks.
In Use
If you use the main SongRec executable, you can pick files, or the program will constantly monitor the sound device of your choice (including your speakers). When it finds a song, it will show you the album art, the name, and the album. You can even export the results to a CSV file.
Back to Code
If you look at the Python code in
signature_format.py
, you’ll see the frequency bands there. However, a lot of the work also occurs in
algorithm.py
. Most of the rest of the Python code involves making an API request or gluing pieces together.
The Rust code has a similar structure but has many extra pieces, as you might expect. Overall, though, it isn’t that hard to understand.
If you are worried about your audio data being shipped over the network, relax. The code only sends the frequency information, which isn’t going to allow anyone to reconstruct anything. If you want to see what that might sound like, use the “Play a Shazam Lure” button. This button will produce audio that Shazam will recognize as the song. If you recognize the song from the lure, you can probably understand R2D2, as well.
We’ve seen audio fingerprinting used for
different purposes
. Or, you can make a dress that lights up when
it hears the right song
. | 9 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718052",
"author": "Mecrisp",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T18:28:19",
"content": "To identify a piece just using human memory of the melody, there is a nice invention called “Parsons Code” and melodic contour search:https://www.musipedia.org/melodic_contour.html",
"parent_id": null... | 1,760,372,044.191386 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/building-a-loop-station-with-an-rp2040/ | Building A Loop Station With An RP2040 | Lewin Day | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"guitar",
"loop pedal",
"loop station",
"rp2040"
] | Loop stations are neat things, able to replay one or more loops of audio over and over again while you perform over the top of them. Musicians like [Marc Rebillet], [Reinhardt Buhr], and [Dub FX] have made careers out of this style of performance. [Yaqi Gao], [Xiaoyu Liang] and [Alina Wang] decided to build a loop station of their own,
using the popular RP2040 chip.
At its simplest, a loop station must take in audio, record it, and then play it back. Generally, it can do this with several tracks and mix them together, while also mixing in the incoming audio as well. The group achieved this by inputting a guitar signal to the chip via an amplifier and the onboard analog-to-digital converter. The audio can be recorded as desired, and then played back via an external digital-to-analog converter. Live audio from the guitar is also passed through to allow performing over the recorded sound. The group also used an external half-megabyte FRAM chip to allow storing additional audio sample data, which can be trucked out over serial and saved.
It’s not the cleanest loop station in the world, with a relatively low sample rate causing some artifacts. Regardless, it definitely works, and taught the group plenty about
working with digital audio in the process
. For that reason alone, we’d call it a success. | 9 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718021",
"author": "Joseph Eoff",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T16:34:04",
"content": "“Regardless, it definitely works, and taught the group plenty about working with digital audio in the process. For that reason alone, we’d call it a success.”That’s reason enough to do it.There’s a lo... | 1,760,372,044.236216 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/nasa-adjusts-course-on-journey-to-the-moon/ | NASA Adjusts Course On Journey To The Moon | Tom Nardi | [
"Featured",
"News",
"Space"
] | [
"Artemis",
"Lunar Gateway",
"moon",
"nasa",
"SpaceX"
] | It’s already been more than fifty years since a human last stepped foot on another celestial body, and now that
NASA has officially pushed back key elements of their Artemis program
, we’re going to be waiting a bit longer before it happens again. What’s a few years compared to half a century?
The January 9th press conference was billed as a way for NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other high-ranking officials within the space agency to give the public an update on Artemis. But those who’ve been following the program had already guessed it would end up being the official concession that NASA simply wasn’t ready to send astronauts out for a lunar flyby this year as initially planned. Pushing back this second phase of the Artemis program naturally means delaying the subsequent missions as well, though during the conference it was noted that the Artemis III mission was already dealing with its own technical challenges.
More than just an acknowledgement of the Artemis delays, the press conference did include details on the specific issues that were holding up the program. In addition several team members were able to share information about the systems and components they’re responsible for, including insight into the hardware that’s already complete and what still needs more development time. Finally, the public was given an update on what NASA’s plans look like after landing on the Moon during the Artemis III mission, including their plans for constructing and utilizing the Lunar Gateway station.
With the understanding that even these latest plans are subject to potential changes or delays over the coming years, let’s take a look at the revised Artemis timeline.
2025 – Artemis II
Originally scheduled to happen by the end of 2024, Artemis II now has a No Earlier Than (NET) date of September 2025. Beyond being pushed back a year, the mission itself has not changed, and will still see four astronauts travel from Earth orbit to the Moon and back aboard the Orion capsule. This mission is roughly analogous to Apollo 8 in that the crew will operate their craft within close proximity to the Moon, but won’t attempt to land. Unlike Apollo 8 however, Artemis II will not enter lunar orbit and instead make a single close pass around the far side of the Moon at a distance of approximately 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).
NASA says the delay is largely due to three major technical issues with the Orion capsule that need to be addressed before it can carry astronauts:
Heat Shield Performance
While the
Artemis I mission in 2022 was a complete success
, engineers did notice
greater than expected erosion
of the AVCOAT heat shield material that protects the Orion capsule during reentry. The shield is designed to be ablative, and NASA says there was still a “significant amount of margin” left on the spacecraft, but the fact that the damage didn’t track with pre-flight simulations has mission planners concerned.
Technicians examine the charred heat shield of Artemis I.
As Artemis II will be flying a very similar mission profile, engineers wanted to take a closer look at this anomaly, looking to not only improve their simulations but to see if there is some way the erosion could be reduced on future flights.
Amit Kshatriya, the Deputy Associate Administrator for the Moon to Mars Program, says that team feels they have a good understanding of the issue, and hope to have their investigation completed by spring.
Life Support Design Flaw
A design flaw found in certain life support components currently being installed in the Orion capsule for Artemis III lead to the decision to go back and replace the hardware that had already been installed in the Artemis II capsule. The components were explained to be responsible for controlling various valves in the system, including those used by the carbon dioxide scrubbers.
Given the fact that the life support system in the Artemis II capsule had already passed its qualification checks before the flaw was identified, some consideration had been given to using the flawed components, perhaps with some procedural changes to avoid triggering a malfunction. But ultimately it was decided that crew safety couldn’t be compromised, and that the hardware needed to be replaced.
Unfortunately, with assembly of the the Artemis II capsule so far along, accessing the components in order to replace them is a considerable undertaking. The capsule will also have to redo various qualification checks once reassembled, further delaying its completion.
Potential Power Loss During Abort
The final major issue was identified was with the Orion capsule’s batteries, which testing showed could fail when subjected to the vibrations expected during an in-flight abort.
Should the batteries fail after the
solid-fuel rocket motors in the Launch Abort Tower
pull the Orion capsule away from the crippled or damaged booster, the crew could be left without power at a critical moment.
Kshatriya said the investigation into this particular issue is still in the early stages, and a decision has yet to be made on how it will be addressed. But as with the life support electronics, should the decision be made to remove the batteries, it will likely add several additional months to the capsule’s assembly and testing time.
2026 – Artemis III
Artemis III is also being pushed back by roughly one year, in part due to the delay of Artemis II. As a number of major systems are reused from one Orion capsule to the next (such as the avionics), technicians need several months to remove those components and install them in the newer spacecraft.
But even if Artemis II hadn’t been pushed back, NASA says there are two major areas of development that need more time before they can put astronauts back on the Moon:
Human Landing System
The Human Landing System, or HLS, is the official Artemis designation of the customized version of SpaceX’s Starship that will take astronauts down to the lunar surface. NASA says they are satisfied with the pace of development for Starship, which should make its third test flight as soon as next month. But there are concerns about the
in-space refueling procedure
that will be necessary for HLS to reach the Moon, which has never been attempted in space.
For SpaceX’s part, they believe that many of the key elements of orbital refueling can be tested and perfected at a smaller scale, allowing them to rapidly iterate until the bugs are worked out. Jessica Jensen, VP of Customer Operations and Integration at SpaceX, also said that the lessons the company is currently learning on transporting and loading the vehicle’s cryogenic propellants on the ground will be directly relatable to how they will perform similar operations in orbit.
Starship’s second test flight in November
There’s also the matter of developing a Starship-Orion docking mechanism that will allow the crew to transfer from one vehicle to the other. This is not so much a technical challenge, as SpaceX already has real-world experience in building docking hardware for the Crew Dragon, but will still require time to develop and test.
Finally, Starship still needs to complete an uncrewed demonstration mission that includes all the steps required to complete Artemis III. That means launching into Earth orbit, being refueled, travelling to the Moon, successfully landing, and of course, lifting off the surface and returning to space. This test is currently scheduled for 2025, which will give SpaceX and NASA time to go over the results and make any necessary changes to the final mission.
Next-Generation Spacesuits
After determining that their own version wouldn’t be ready in time,
NASA turned to commercial partners
to develop a next-generation spacesuit for use on the lunar surface. Axiom Space, who are currently orchestrating
private missions to the International Space Station
and hope to
eventually build their own orbital facility
, ended up winning the competition.
NASA gave the public a peek
at what the new suits would look like in March of 2023, and then in October, Axiom announced they were
partnering with Italian luxury designer Prada
to improve the design. Since then there hasn’t been much news about the suits or their development, but given the fact that the suits have been identified as one of the things holding Artemis III back, we can assume things aren’t progressing as quickly as hoped.
2028 – Artemis IV
The date for Artemis IV, the first post-landing mission of NASA’s lunar program, actually hasn’t changed. It was always scheduled for 2028, but details on what the mission would entail were always a little vague.
That situation hasn’t improved by much, but we now at least have confirmation that NASA plans to have the first modules of the Lunar Gateway station ready in orbit around the Moon by the time the Artemis IV astronauts arrive. No launch date for these modules, which are
slated to fly on a Falcon Heavy
, was given — but they’d have to be on their way to the Moon by early 2027 at the latest for the timing to work out.
Lunar Gateway Station
A
Block 1B version of the SLS
, with greatly improved payload capacity, will send both an Orion capsule and the
International Habitation Module (I-HAB)
towards the Gateway, where an upgraded version of the Starship HLS will be waiting. After the astronauts deliver the module to the station, they will descend to the surface to complete further mission objectives.
Given how far out Artemis IV is, there’s little point in speculating what kind of hardware delays it could run into, but clearly there are many moving parts involved. Not only do the two first modules of the Gateway need to be completed and launched to the Moon, but the I-HAB needs to be ready, as does SLS 1B.
To further complicate matters, the mass of the combined SLS 1B and I-HAB is so great that a new launch platform will need to be used, a project that has already been delayed and is significantly over budget.
In a June 2022 report
from NASA’s Office of Inspector General, it was estimated that the new launch platform wouldn’t be ready until at least the end of 2026.
Terms Subject to Change
It was an open secret that the previous Artemis timeline wasn’t realistic — if astronauts were to be headed to the Moon before the end of 2024, it’s likely we would have already seen the SLS rocket they’ll be riding to orbit in going through its final tests. But until the announcement was officially made, NASA had to keep telling the public that things were on track.
Even this revised timeline is arguably pushing what the agency is capable of, given their divided attention and relatively limited budget. During the press conference, Kshatriya admitted that the 2026 date for Artemis III is “very aggressive”, suggesting that this isn’t the last time NASA is going to have to shuffle their plans around before they can finally put some fresh boot prints on the lunar surface. | 61 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717992",
"author": "jenningsthecat",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T15:32:54",
"content": "I don’t follow the space program much; but this story doesn’t surprise me at all, thanks to this video which came up in my YT recommendations a month ago:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoJsPvmFixU... | 1,760,372,044.403802 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/succulents-into-supercapacitors/ | Succulents Into Supercapacitors | Navarre Bartz | [
"Battery Hacks",
"Science"
] | [
"biohacking",
"biology",
"biomass",
"botany",
"energy storage",
"plant energy storage",
"plants",
"renewables",
"supercapacitor"
] | Researchers in Beijing have discovered a way to turn
succulents into supercapacitors
to help store energy. While previous research has found ways to store energy in plants, it often required implants or other modifications to the plant itself to function. These foreign components might be rejected by the plant or hamper its natural functions leading to its premature death.
This new method takes an aloe leaf, freeze dries it, heats it up, then uses the resulting components as an implant back into the aloe plant. Since it’s all aloe all the time, the plant stays happy (or at least alive) and becomes an electrolytic supercapacitor.
Using the natural electrolytes of the aloe juice, the supercapacitor can then be charged and discharged as needed. The researchers tested the concept by solar charging the capacitor and then using that to run LED lights.
This certainly proposes some interesting applications, although we think your HOA might not be a fan. We also wonder if there might be a way to use the
photosynthetic process
more directly to charge the plant? Maybe this could recharge a
tiny robot that lands on the plants
? | 17 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717936",
"author": "Andrea Campanella",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T12:17:05",
"content": "*stares at the Aloe plant in the corner**Aleo plant shakes in terror*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6717954",
"author": "make p... | 1,760,372,044.287017 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/faking-bluetooth-le-with-an-nrf24l01-module/ | Faking Bluetooth LE With An NRF24L01+ Module | Maya Posch | [
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"bluetooth LE"
] | Despite the name, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has very little to do with the original Bluetooth, other than its use of the same 2.4 GHz frequencies. This is where [Dmitry] got the idea to use a 2.4 GHz nRF24L01+ module to
implement his very own BLE device
, without the typical BLE chipset. This should be easy, since this popular IC supports GFSK modulation, 1 MHz channels and the 1 MBit data rate of BLE.
Despite of how simple BLE seems to implement, [Dmitry] quickly came across a range of issues due to limitations of the nRF24L01+. These include no support for a 24-bit CRC, a too sluggish PLL cycling for BLE’s frequency hopping, and as the coup de grâce, a lack for incoming data packets larger than 32 bytes — which destroyed any hope of accepting incoming connections.
Unperturbed, [Dmitry] set to work implementing what would work on this IC: broadcasting BLE packets. In the article he covers the entire code (in C) that allows the nRF24L01+ to send broadcast packets and any BLE-supporting device that’s listening to receive them. Admittedly not as useful as having a fully functional BLE stack, but good enough for broadcasting something like sensor data. It also raises the question of which alternative released in the intervening decade to the venerable nRF24L01+ might fill in the missing features, without making a dedicated BLE IC (or ESP32 variant) look more cost-effective.
It’s always a good day when a new project from [Dmitry] hits the tip line. We’ve previously covered his
impressive efforts to add more RAM to the RP2040
, and his
business card that can boot Linux on an ATSAMD21
. | 11 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717913",
"author": "Miha Banovec",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T09:43:42",
"content": "Sorry for the offtopic but, what is the tool for generating graphical representation of the PCB pinouts, like the one in the beginning of this article?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"r... | 1,760,372,044.444681 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/19th-century-copy-machine-the-cyclostyle/ | 19th Century Copy Machine: The Cyclostyle | Al Williams | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [] | In the 2020s photocopiers are getting a bit exotic, although they are not gone yet. But these days, you are more likely to simply print multiple copies of a document. However, it wasn’t long ago that making a copy of a document was a tall order. Carbon paper was fine if you were typing and only needed a few copies. But in the late 1800s to early 1900s, several solutions were available,
including a beautiful early mimeograph known as the Cyclostyle
at [Our Own Devices], examined in the video below.
The Cyclostyle was possibly inspired by a hectograph (
something we looked at before
). The Cyclostyle was originally a special stylus used to remove wax from a paper stencil. Then, a process similar to screen printing would make copies for you.
The video mentions several other copying systems, including one that used shellac and corrosive ink. He also talks about Edison’s electric system to produce stencils that eventually led to both tattoo guns and the A.B. Dick mimeograph.
If you want to jump straight to the hardware and skip the history — but we don’t recommend that — you can start at minute 7 of the video. The specific machine probably dates to 1910 or so and was made in the UK and sold in Canada. A.B. Dick dominated the market in the United States.
A great look at a grand old machine. We’ve looked
at copiers similar to this one
and up to the original Xerox machines. If you really want to do “real” printing, why not
3D print a
letterpress? | 15 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717896",
"author": "Garth",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T07:50:38",
"content": "I remember well the mimeograph machines of my childhood, and the ditto machines he mentions at the end of the video, both used a lot by school teachers. I still have copies made by them decades ago. They ... | 1,760,372,044.494664 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/the-hobbes-os-2-archive-will-shut-down-in-april/ | The Hobbes OS/2 Archive Will Shut Down In April | Maya Posch | [
"computer hacks",
"Retrocomputing"
] | [
"hobbes os/2 archive",
"ibm",
"os/2"
] | The
Hobbes OS/2 Archive
is a large collection of OS/2 software that has been publicly available for many years, even as OS/2 itself has mostly faded into obscurity. Yet now it would appear that the entity behind the Hobbes OS/2 Archive, the Information & Communication Technologies department at the New Mexico State University, has decided to call it quits — with the site going permanently offline on April 15th, 2024.
Fortunately, from a cursory glance around the comment sections
over at Hacker News
and other places, it seems that backup efforts have already been made, and the preservation of the archive’s contents should be secure at this point in time. Regardless, it is always a shame to lose such a central repository, especially since IBM’s OS/2 operating system is still anything but dead. Whether for hobbyist, industrial or commercial use, there is still a vibrant community around today,
as we noted in 2019
already in relation to the NYC’s subway system.
Beyond downloaded copies and boxed CDs bought on EBay, you can even get a modernized version of OS/2 called
ArcaOS
, which even comes with commercial support. Whatever the fate is of the Hobbes OS/2 Archive’s data, we hope it finds a loving new home somewhere. | 27 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717875",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T03:58:28",
"content": "Thanks, Microsoft.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6717885",
"author": "Jon Mayo",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T06:22:14",
"content": "I can p... | 1,760,372,044.765785 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/pico-sized-ham-radio/ | Pico-Sized Ham Radio | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"am",
"cw",
"fm",
"microphone",
"morse",
"muliplexer",
"phase modulation",
"pi pico",
"pico",
"pwm",
"radio",
"raspberry pi",
"rf oscillator",
"ssb"
] | There are plenty of hobbies around with huge price tags, and ham radio can certainly be one of them. Experienced hams might have radios that cost thousands of dollars, with huge, steerable antennas on masts that can be similarly priced. But there’s also a side to the hobby that throws all of this out of the window in favor of the simplest, lowest-cost radios and antennas that still can get the job done. Software-defined radio (SDR) turned this practice up to 11 as well, and
this radio module uses almost nothing more than a microcontroller to get on the air
.
The design uses the capabilities of the Raspberry Pi Pico to handle almost all of the radio’s capabilities. The RF oscillator is driven by one of the Pico’s programmable I/O (PIO) pins, which takes some load off of the processor. For AM and
SSB
, where amplitude needs to be controlled as well, a PWM signal is generated on another PIO which is then mixed with the RF oscillator using an analog multiplexer. The design also includes a microphone with a preamplifier which can be fed into a third PIO; alternatively it can receive audio from a computer via the USB interface. More processor resources are needed when generating phase-modulated signals like RF, but the Pico is still quite capable of doing all of these tasks without jitter larger than a clock cycle.
Of course this only outputs a signal with a few milliwatts of power, so for making any useful radio contacts with this circuit an amplifier is almost certainly needed. With the heavy lifting done by the Pico, though, the amplifier doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. While the design is simple and low-cost, it’s not the simplest radio possible.
This transmitter sends out radio waves using only a single transistor
but you will be limited to Morse code only. | 18 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717858",
"author": "M_B",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T02:07:32",
"content": "Is it just me or deja vu?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6717940",
"author": "Mordae",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T12:38:32",
"content": "Hahah... | 1,760,372,044.545334 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/usb-c-power-supply-pushes-almost-2-kw/ | USB-C Power Supply Pushes Almost 2 KW | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"dc module",
"kilowatt",
"power delivery",
"power supply",
"server psu",
"usb",
"USB-PD"
] | When the USB standard was first revealed, a few peripherals here and there adopted it but it was far from the “universal” standard implied by its name. It was slow, had limited ability to power anything, and its plug-and-play capability was spotty at best. The modern USB standard, on the other hand, has everything its predecessors lacked including extremely high data transfer rates and the ability to support sending or receiving a tremendous amount of power. [LeoDJ] is taking that latter capability to the extreme, with this
USB-C power supply that can deliver 1.7 kW of power
.
The project was inspired by the discovery of an inexpensive USB-PD (power delivery) module which is capable of delivering either 100W or 65W. After extensive testing, to see if the modules were following the USB standard and how they handled heat, [LeoDJ] grabbed 20 of the 65W modules and another four of the 100W modules and assembled them all into an array, held together in a metal chassis that also functions as a heat sink. The modules receive their DC power from two server power supplies wired together in series.
There was some troubleshooting, including soldering difficulty and a short circuit, but with all the kinks ironed out this power supply can deliver nearly 2 kW to an array of USB-capable devices and, according to the amount of thermal testing done, can supply that power nearly indefinitely. It’s an over-the-top power supply with a small niche of uses, but to see it built is satisfying nonetheless. For more information on all of the perks of working with USB-C,
check out this tell-all we published last year
. | 44 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717802",
"author": "TG",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T21:11:03",
"content": "“…a small niche of uses”I’m having a hard time thinking of one, anyone else have any ideas?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6717803",
"author": ... | 1,760,372,044.701326 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/brand-new-pcb-makes-replica-trs-80-possible/ | Brand-New PCB Makes Replica TRS-80 Possible | Dan Maloney | [
"Retrocomputing"
] | [
"pcb",
"retrocomputing",
"Tandy Radio Shack",
"trs-80",
"z80"
] | If like us, you missed out on the TRS-80 Model I back when it first came out, relax .With
this brand-new PCB that’s a trace-for-trace replica of the original
and a bunch of vintage parts, you can build your own from scratch.
Now, obviously, there are easier ways to enjoy the retro goodness that is the 46-year-old machine that in many ways brought the 8-bit hobby computing revolution to the general public’s attention. Sadly, though, original TRS-80s are getting hard to come by, and those that are in decent enough shape to do anything interesting are commanding top dollar. [RetroStack]’s obvious labor of love project provides the foundation upon which to build a brand new TRS-80 as close as possible to the original.
The PCB is revision G and recreates the original in every detail — component layout, connectors, silkscreen, and even trace routing. [RetroStack] even replicated obvious mistakes in the original board, like through-holes that were originally used to fixture the boards for stuffing, and some weird unused vias. There are even wrong components, or at least ones that appear on production assemblies that don’t show up in the schematics. And if you’re going to go through with a build, you’ll want to check out
the collection of 3D printable parts
that are otherwise unobtainium, such as the bracket for rear panel connectors and miscellaneous keyboard parts.
While we love the devotion to accuracy that [RetroStack] shows with this project, we know that not everyone is of a similar bent. Luckily there are
emulators
and
clones
you can build instead. And if you’re wondering why anyone would devote so much effort to half-century-old technology — well,
when you know, you know
.
Thanks to [Stephen Walters] for the tip.
Feature image:
Dave Jones
,
CC BY-SA 4.0
, via Wikimedia Commons | 31 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717781",
"author": "Joshua",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T20:16:24",
"content": "This is awesome! 😃👍But I have one question – why? 🤔I mean, the shell, the keyboard, the monitor etc are all pretty nice and functional, but..The computer itself wasn’t so, um, great.So I’ve expected an ... | 1,760,372,044.875073 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/open-source-needs-a-new-mission-protecting-users/ | Open Source Needs A New Mission: Protecting Users | Donald Papp | [
"Software Development"
] | [
"big tech",
"change",
"foss",
"licensing"
] | [Bruce Perens] isn’t very happy with the current state of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), and an article by [Rupert Goodwins] expounds on this to explain
Open Source’s need for a new mission in 2024, and beyond
. He suggests a focus shift from software, to data.
The internet as we know it and all the services it runs are built on FOSS architecture and infrastructure. None of the big tech companies would be where they are without FOSS, and certainly none could do without it. But FOSS has its share of what can be thought of as loopholes, and in the years during which the internet has exploded in growth and use, large tech companies have found and exploited all of them. A product doesn’t need to disclose a single line of source code if it’s never actually distributed. And Red Hat (which [Perens] asserts is really just IBM) have simply stopped releasing public distributions of CentOS.
In addition, the inherent weak points of FOSS remain largely the same. These include funding distributions, lack of user-focused design, and the fact that users frankly don’t understand what FOSS offers them, why it’s important, or even that it exists at all.
A change is needed, and it’s suggested that the time has come to move away from a focus on software, and shift that focus instead to data. Expand the inherent transparency of FOSS to ensure that people have control and visibility of their own data.
While the ideals of FOSS remain relevant, this isn’t the first time the changing tech landscape has raised questions about how things are done, like
the intersection of bug bounties and FOSS
.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments. | 43 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717719",
"author": "Ostracus",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T16:47:40",
"content": "Open standards that go beyond FRAND.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6717849",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2024-01-11T00:53:36... | 1,760,372,044.95388 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/not-dead-yet-microsoft-peripherals-get-licensed-to-onward-brands/ | Not Dead Yet: Microsoft Peripherals Get Licensed To Onward Brands | Maya Posch | [
"News",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"ergonomic keyboard",
"microsoft"
] | After Microsoft announced in April of 2023 that they’d cease selling branded peripherals – including keyboards and mice – as part of its refocusing on Surface computers and accessories, there was an internet-wide outcry about this demise. Yet now it would seem that Microsoft has licensed the
manufacturing of these peripherals to Incase
, who will be selling a range of ‘Designed By Microsoft’ peripherals starting in 2024. Incase itself is a brand owned by
Onward Brands
, which is the portfolio manager for Incase and other brands.
Although Microsoft has been selling peripherals since the 1980s (with the Microsoft Mouse appearing in 1983), it seems that we now have to rely on this new company that is said to use the same suppliers as Microsoft did. As for what we can expect to see return with Incase, it’s effectively the same assortment of items that Microsoft was selling at the beginning of 2023, so we will likely not see the return of the Natural 4000 or other peripherals that saw their life cut short before this.
If Incase does manage to relaunch these products this year, which items would you be most interested in purchasing, and how many dozens of those did you manage to stock up on in April when the news broke? | 33 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717628",
"author": "deshipu",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T12:19:21",
"content": "I always said that Microsoft should have focused exclusively on making computer mice, it’s the one thing they ever did acceptably well. Let’s hope it’s not a second Lenovo.",
"parent_id": null,
"d... | 1,760,372,045.087441 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/the-simple-tech-behind-hidden-camera-detectors/ | The Simple Tech Behind Hidden Camera Detectors | Danie Conradie | [
"digital cameras hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"bigclive",
"hidden camera",
"led flasher"
] | If you’ve ever been concerned about privacy in a rental space or hotel room, you might have considered trying one of the many “spy camera detectors” sold online. In the
video after break
[Big Clive], tears one down and gives us an in-depth look at how these gadgets actually work, and their limitations.
Most detector follow the same basic design: a ring of LEDs through which the user inspects a room, looking for reflections indicating a potential hidden camera. Although this device can help spot a camera, it’s not entirely foolproof. The work best when you’re close to the center of a camera’s field of view, and some other objects, like large LEDs can produce similar reflections
The model examined in this video takes things one step further by adding a disc of dichroic glass. Coated with a metallization layer close to the wavelength of the LEDs, it effectively acts a bandpass filter, reducing reflections from other light sources. [Big Clive] also does his customary reverse-engineering of the circuit, which is just a simple flasher powered by USB-C.
[Big Clive]’s teardowns are always an educational experience, like we’ve seen in his videos on
LED bulb circuits
and a
fake CO2 sensor
. | 26 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718375",
"author": "sweethack",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T17:03:28",
"content": "So the “Anti-camer detector” is a reflective surface detector. You could have use any light for this it would have acted the same.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,372,045.016339 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/this-week-in-security-ai-is-terrible-ransomware-wrenches-and-airdrop/ | This Week In Security: AI Is Terrible, Ransomware Wrenches, And Airdrop | Jonathan Bennett | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"News",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"ai",
"airdrop",
"This Week in Security",
"vpn"
] | So first off, go take a look at
this curl bug report
. It’s a 8.6 severity security problem, a buffer overflow in websockets. Potentially a really bad one. But, it’s bogus. Yes, a
strcpy
call can be dangerous, if there aren’t proper length checks. This code has pretty robust length checks. There just doesn’t seem to be a vulnerability here.
OK, so let’s jump to the punch line. This is a bug report that was generated with one of the Large Language Models (LLMs) like Google Bard or ChatGPT. And it shouldn’t be a surprise. There are some big bug bounties that are paid out, so naturally people are trying to leverage AI to score those bounties. But as [Daniel Stenberg] point out, LLMs are not actually AI, and
the I in LLM stands for intelligence.
There have always been vulnerability reports of dubious quality, sent by people that either don’t understand how vulnerability research works, or are willing to waste maintainer time by sending in raw vulnerability scanner output without putting in any real effort. What LLMs do is provide an illusion of competence that takes longer for a maintainer to wade through before realizing that the claim is bogus. [Daniel] is more charitable than I might be, suggesting that LLMs may help with communicating real issues through language barriers. But still, this suggests that the long term solution may be “simply” detecting LLM-generated reports, and marking them as spam.
This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Now on to another terrible idea,
an automated torque wrench with network access
. These devices are used in manufacturing, to tighten bolts to the proper torque — a critical step in many cases.
So, in fairness, it sort of makes sense that a manufacturer would want to record and automatically transmit torque history from the device, in an effort to catch problems right away. Except these devices have Swiss-cheese for firmware,
with 23 identified vulnerabilities
. The mix allows for an exploitation chain starting with a completely unauthenticated attacker, and ending with root code execution on the device.
The researchers behind this work are from Nozomine Networks, and they’ve created a couple of Proof of Concepts (PoCs) to demonstrate what a real attacker could do. The first is a ransomware program, asking for a tenth of a Bitcoin to make the drill operational again. The second is even sneakier, instructing the device to use incorrect torque settings, while still reporting the correct ones onscreen. Now that would make for some very sneaky industrial sabotage.
While the existence of the vulnerabilities have been announced, the technical details are still embargoed. Security fixes are expected to be available by the end of the month.
The Google Supercookie
One of the more convenient features of the Google ecosystem is the ability to have a device or browser permanently logged in to a user account. All those devices are supposed to be logged out on a password change, but
there is apparently a wrinkle in that scheme
. A black hat security researcher discovered that the account ID and security tokens taken from the internal state of a logged-in browser can be sent to the MultiLogin endpoint, and valid authentication cookies can be generated — even after a password change. That’s a pretty big deal, when part of the standard solution to a security issue is a password change. In this case, that doesn’t guarantee a malicious actor is kicked out of the account.
This is a zero-day problem that is part of several malware toolkits, and has yet to be patched by Google. The reason seems to be that the MultiLogin endpoint is a core part of Google account authentication flow. For now, if you suspect your Google account has fallen victim to this problem, the solution is to manually sign out of every browser or device session, do a password reset, and signing each session in again.
Ivanti
Also under active exploitation is
a pair of vulnerabilities in the Ivanti corporate VPN solution
. There isn’t yet a lot of information available, but we know that
CVE-2023-46805 is an authentication bypass, while CVE-2024-21887 is a command injection flaw
. Together, the two flaws seem to make a very effective attack chain leading to external unauthenticated code execution.
The first hint of these flaws
has been found dating back to December 3
. A mitigation is available, and full patches are planned to roll out in January. The limited exploitation has been attributed to a Chinese APT, but it’s likely that the flaws will be recreated by others and widely exploited.
Airdrop
Apple’s Airdrop is a nifty way to share files with local contacts. It even has an option to share files with everyone within WiFi or Bluetooth range. Way back in 2019,
researchers identified a problem
with how Apple was using simple hashing to identify users. Airdrop never makes the claim of being truly anonymous, but users rely on the functional anonymity, particularly in places like China where the free exchange of information is sometimes curtailed. That functional anonymity has proven to be incomplete, as Chinese authorities have found a way to identify the users sending and receiving messages.
Based on the information available,
it appears that they have managed this
by constructing a rainbow table of hashes and possible identifiers.
Rainbow tables are a very clever technique to achieve partial pre-calculation of a hash. There are broadly two extreme ways to reverse a hash and derive the secret. On one side, you can simply brute-force the hash, trying every possible combination and comparing the hashed guess to the hash you’re trying to reverse. This takes an extremely long time, but basically zero data storage. On the other hand, you could pre-calculate all those guesses, and just store the results in a lookup table. A hash could be reversed very quickly, but the data storage requirements would be insane.
A rainbow table splits the difference, by very cleverly storing a much smaller lookup table, and doing some of the computation when breaking the target hash. It works by using a reduction function, intended to take a hash and compute it back into something resembling another guess. When pre-computing the rainbow table, you start with a guess, then hash it with the target hash. You then use the reduction step to turn that into a different guess, and then hash that guess. This process continues for a set number of rounds, let’s use 100 as an example. Once the rounds are complete, the first round guess and the last round hash are stored. This process is done for many guesses, and the entire result is stored.
Then when trying to break a real hash, the same reduction/hashing process is done 100 times. If after any of those steps, the resulting hash matches one of the stored hashes, you know the secret is probably one of the guesses on that chain. The attacker simply has to re-walk the matching chain, and the matching secret and hash is found. Just an aside, for many years Windows user passwords were
trivially easy to crack using free rainbow tables
.
Now back to the Airdrop problem. Armed with the insufficient cryptography of Airdrop, Chinese authorities are using rainbow tables to trace the “inappropriate information in public places”. Of particular note is the fact that this wouldn’t be terribly difficult to secure. Apple has a good track record in the US of securing its users, even from government and law enforcement access. In my opinion, it would be rather damning if Apple failed to address this vulnerability being used by Chinese law enforcement.
Bits and Bytes
Adobe’s
Coldfusion had Remote Code Execution (RCE) and arbitrary file read vulnerabilities
that were used in the wild last year. SecureLayer7 has the inside scoop on exactly what caused the vulnerabilities. It was a JSON deserialization bug in the ColdFusion Java code.
Now here’s a clever idea. You can add CSS to theme your Office 365 page. As part of that CSS, you can include a file, for example a background image. If you also host that background image, you can watch your server logs in real time to see what page it’s being called from. If that URL happens to be something different than your actual login URL, then y
ou just caught an Adversary-in-the-Middle (AitM) phishing attack!
We have a pair of
Twitter
X fails, first from
the SEC losing control of their X account
. The single post made by an attacker claimed that the SEC approved a Bitcoin ETF, which sent markets swinging wildly in response to both the fake post, and the news that it wasn’t real. And then Mandiant has released their promised information about their hacked X account. The official word is that it was a brute-force attack and 2 Factor Authentication temporarily turned off on the account.
We have finished our investigation into last week's Mandiant X account takeover and determined it was likely a brute force password attack, limited to this single account.
— Mandiant (@Mandiant)
January 10, 2024
And finally, Wireshark has released version 4.2.1, with
a handful of Vulnerability fixes in Wireshark itself
. We’ve seen threat actors targeting security researchers over the last couple years, so it’s not unthinkable that a Wireshark packet capture could actually contain an exploit. Just like everything else, be careful opening untrusted pcap files! | 8 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718357",
"author": "Truth",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T15:43:10",
"content": "The problem for Apple in China, is if they do things that the government does not like, they could loose access to sell in China – which is a massive market with a lot of potential for growth with new custo... | 1,760,372,045.307989 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/bambu-lab-to-allow-installing-open-firmware-after-signing-waiver/ | Bambu Lab To Allow Installing Open Firmware After Signing Waiver | Maya Posch | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"News"
] | [
"Bambu",
"replacement firmware",
"warranty"
] | On January 10th Bambu Lab
published a blog post
in which they address the issue of installing custom firmware on your Bambu Lab X1 3D printer. This comes hot on the heels of a number of YouTube channels for the first time
showing off the X1Plus firmware
that a number of X1 users have been working on as an open source alternative to the closed, proprietary firmware. Per the Bambu Lab blog post, there is good and bad news for those wanting to use X1Plus and similar projects that may pop up in the future.
After Bambu Lab consulted with the people behind X1Plus it was decided that X1 users would be provided with the opportunity to install such firmware without complaints from Bambu Lab. They would however have to sign a waiver that declares that they agree to relinquish their rights to warranty and support with the printer. Although some details are left somewhat vague in the blog post, it appears that after signing this waiver, and with the target X1 printer known to Bambu Lab, it will have a special firmware update (‘Firmware R’) made available for it.
This special firmware then allows for third-party firmware to be installed, with the ability to revert to OEM firmware later on. The original exploit in pre-v1.7.1 firmware will also no longer be used by X1Plus. Hopefully Bambu Lab will soon clarify the remaining questions, as reading
the Reddit discussion
on the blog post makes it clear that many statements can be interpreted in a variety of ways, including whether or not this ‘Firmware R’ is a one-time offer only, or will remain available forever.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen a 3D printer manufacturer give users this sort of firmware ultimatum.
Back in 2019 Prusa added a physical “appendix”
to their new 32-bit control board that the user would have to snap off before they could install an unsigned firmware, which the company said signified the user was willing to waive their warranty for the privilege.
Thanks to [Aaron] for the tip. | 26 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718302",
"author": "Inhibit",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T12:27:36",
"content": "Does this differ from the warranty screw cover that we don’t allow companies to do here in the USA? I was under the impression that a warranty can’t be conditional; the user has to actually damage, not mo... | 1,760,372,045.257112 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/decoding-a-rom-from-a-picture-of-the-chip/ | Decoding A ROM From A Picture Of The Chip | Jenny List | [
"Reverse Engineering"
] | [
"calculator",
"die shot",
"tms0801"
] | Before there were home computers, among the hottest pieces of consumer technology to own was a pocket calculator. In the early 1970s a series of exciting new chips appeared which allowed the impossible to become the affordable, and suddenly anyone with a bit of cash could have one.
Perhaps one of the more common series of chips came from Texas instruments, and it’s one of these from which
[Veniamin Ilmer] has retrieved the ROM contents
. In a way there’s nothing new here as the code is well known, it’s the way it was done which is of interest. A photo of the die was analysed, and with a bit of detective work the code could be deduced merely from the picture.
These chips were dedicated calculators, but under the hood they were simple pre-programmed microcontrollers. Identifying the ROM area of the chip was thus relatively straightforward, but some more detective work lay in getting to the bottom of how it could be decoded before the code could be verified. So yes, it’s possible to read code from an early 1970s chip by looking at a photograph.
A very similar chip to this one was famously reprogrammed with scientific functions to form the heart of the inexpensive
Sinclair Cambridge Scientific
. | 14 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718263",
"author": "Alphatek",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T09:38:18",
"content": "Interesting, but… how is he converting the image to a bitmap (IYSWIM…) – I can’t help but think from the text that he’s doing it manually!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
... | 1,760,372,045.395556 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/e-ink-photo-frame-is-a-simple-pleasing-design/ | E-Ink Photo Frame Is A Simple, Pleasing Design | Lewin Day | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"digital photo frame",
"e-ink",
"e-reader",
"Nook",
"photo frame"
] | Regular photo frames are good, but they tend to only display a single photo unless you pull them to bits and swap out what’s inside. [Ben] decided to make a digital photo frame using an e-ink display to change things up, and unlike some commercial versions we’ve seen,
it’s actually pretty tasteful!
The build is based on a Nook Simple Touch Reader, which can be had pretty cheaply on the used market. It was chosen for the fact it runs Android, which makes it comparatively easy to hack and customize compared to some other e-readers on the market. Once it’s running a custom Android brew, it can be set to run an app called Electric Sign which simply shows a given website fullscreen and updates it at regular intervals. That turns the Nook into a remotely updateable photo frame in one fell swoop. From there, it just took a little trickery to access an iCloud album to update the frame with fresh pics. Then [Ben] just had to customize a nice photo frame to neatly mount the e-reader with room for the cable to subtly snake out the back.
It’s a simple build that relies on some existing tools already laying around the Internet. That’s nice, because it makes it easy for anyone to replicate themselves at home given the same materials. We’ve seen some other great digital photo frames before, too. If you’ve built your own neat and creative way to display your pics, don’t hesitate to
drop us a line! | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718240",
"author": "Ronya",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T08:06:02",
"content": "This is a beautiful hack! Its looks if it was allways there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6718338",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2024-01-... | 1,760,372,045.347513 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/weird-trashcan-is-actually-advanced-1990s-robot/ | Weird Trashcan Is Actually Advanced 1990s Robot | Lewin Day | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [] | [Clay Builds] found a bit of a gem at a recent auction, picking up a Nomadic Technologies N150 robot for just $100. It actually looks like something out of science fiction, with its cylindrical design, red bumpers, and many sensors. He decided to
try and restore the research-grade robot
to functionality with the aid of modern hardware.
Right away, it’s clear this was an expensive and serious bit of kit. It’s full of hardcore gears and motors for driving three rubber-tired wheels, each of which has a pivoting mount for steering the thing. Through his research, [Clay] was able to find some ancient websites documenting university work using the robots. His understanding is that the platform was designed for researchers experimenting with simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms, and other robotic navigation tasks.
[Clay] doesn’t just settle for a teardown, though. He’s been able to get the platform running again in one sense, using an Arduino to manually run the robot’s drive controls under the command of a gamepad. Without official software or resources, it’s perhaps unlikely he’ll be able to get the stock hardware to do much without completely rebraining it, so this method makes sense. In future he hopes to get the bumper sensors and sonar modules working too.
It’s a fair effort given [Clay] was working with no documentation and no supporting software. We’ve seen
similar efforts for robotic arms before, too
. Video after the break. | 8 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718171",
"author": "Jon H",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T03:05:22",
"content": "Looks like a fancy Heathkit Hero-1",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6718186",
"author": "PWalsh",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T03:51:57",
"conte... | 1,760,372,045.43614 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/11/a-dashboard-outside-the-car/ | A Dashboard Outside The Car | Bryan Cockfield | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"CAN",
"can-bus",
"dashboard",
"dial",
"gauge",
"gauge cluster",
"home automation",
"instrumentation",
"spi"
] | One of the biggest upsides of open communications standards such as CAN or SPI is that a whole world of vehicle hacking becomes available, from simple projects like adding sensors or computers to a car or even building a complete engine control unit from the ground up. The reverse is true as well; sensors and gauges using one of these protocols can be removed from a car and put to work in other projects. That’s the idea that [John] had when he set about
using a vehicle’s dashboard as a information cluster for his home
.
The core of the build is an Astra GTE dashboard cluster, removed from its host vehicle, and wired to an Arduino-compatible board, in this case an ESP32. The code that [John] wrote bit-bangs an SPI bus and after some probing is able to address all of the instrument gauges on the dashboard. For his own use at home, he’s also configured it to work with Home Assistant, where each of the gauges is configured to represent something his home automation system is monitoring using a bit mask to send data to specific dials.
While this specific gauge cluster has a lot of vehicle-specific instrumentation and needs a legend or good memory to tie into a home automation system without any other modification, plenty of vehicle gauges are more intuitive and as long as they have SPI they’d be perfect targets for builds that use this underlying software.
This project takes a similar tack and repurposes a few analog voltmeters
for home automation, adding a paper background to the meters to make them easier to read. | 12 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6718148",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2024-01-12T01:15:28",
"content": "So I guess if the temperature gauge is up it’s hot, if the battery gauge is up there’s a lightning storm and if the speedometer reads 120 there is a hurricane?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,372,045.482256 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/a-very-21st-century-receiver-for-a-very-20th-century-band/ | A Very 21st Century Receiver For A Very 20th Century Band | Jenny List | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"broadcast radio",
"CH32V003",
"fm radio",
"portable radio"
] | The FM broadcast band has been with us since the middle of the 20th century, and despite many tries to unseat it, remains a decent quality way to pick up your local stations. It used to be that building an FM broadcast receiver required a bit of RF know-how, but the arrival of all-in-one receiver chips has made that part a simple enough case of including a part. That’s not to say that building a good quality FM broadcast receiver in 2024 doesn’t involve some kind of challenge though, and it’s one that [Stefan Wagner]
has risen to admirably with his little unit
.
Doing the RF part is an RDA5807MP single chip radio, but we’d say the center of this is the CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller and its software. Twiddling the dial is a thing of the past, with a color display and all the computerized features you’d expect. Rounding it off in the 3D printed case is a small speaker and a Li-Po pouch cell with associated circuitry. This really is the equal of any commercially produced portable radio, and better than many.
Even with the all-in-one chips,
there’s still fun in experimenting with FM the old way
. | 24 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717359",
"author": "Orzel",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T16:33:51",
"content": "Yet another nice-looking/well documented project…. without the hardware source. Only the pdf/gerber. Of course nobody is obliged to whatever. But I’m still amazed at how that’s a common practice in the hard... | 1,760,372,045.536905 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/37c3-the-tech-behind-life-with-quadraplegia/ | 37C3: The Tech Behind Life With Quadraplegia | Elliot Williams | [
"cons",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"37C3",
"assistive technolgy",
"chaos communication congress",
"quadriplegic"
] | While out swimming in the ocean on vacation, a big wave caught [QuadWorker], pushed him head first into the sand, and left him paralyzed from the neck down. This talk isn’t about injury or recovery, though. It’s about
the day-to-day tech that makes him able to continue living, working, and travelling
, although in new ways. And it’s a fantastic first-hand insight into how assistive technology works for him.
If you can only move your head, how do you control a computer? Surprisingly well! A white dot on [QuadWorker]’s forehead is tracked by a commodity webcam and some software, while two button bumpers to the left and right of his head let him click with a second gesture. For cell phones, a time-dependent scanner app allows him to zero in successively on the X and Y coordinates of where he’d like to press. And naturally voice recognition software is a lifesaver. In the talk, he live-demos sending a coworker a text message, and it’s almost as fast as I could go. Shared whiteboards allow him to work from home most of the time, and a power wheelchair and adapted car let him get into the office as well.
The lack of day-to-day independence is the hardest for him, and he says that they things he misses most are being able to go to the bathroom, and also to scratch himself when he gets itchy – and these are yet unsolved problems. But other custom home hardware also plays an important part in [QuadWorker]’s setup. For instance, all manner of home automation allows him to control the lights, the heat, and the music in his home. Voice-activated light switches are fantastic when you can’t use your arms.
This is a must-watch talk if you’re interested in assistive tech, because it comes direct from the horse’s mouth – a person who has tried a lot, and knows not only what works and what doesn’t, but also what’s valuable. It’s no surprise that the people whose lives most benefit from assistive tech would also be most interested in it, and have their hacker spirit awakened. We’re reminded a bit of the
Eyedrivomatic
, which won the 2015 Hackaday Prize and was one of the most outstanding projects both from and for the quadriplegic community. | 21 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717356",
"author": "Twisty Plastic",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T16:28:09",
"content": "It’s not sufficiently descriptive. If the injury were lower so he could use his arms this article wouldn’t make any sense but he would still fit your description. Likewise what if it wasn’t a compl... | 1,760,372,045.591989 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/how-to-refrigerate-with-urine/ | How To Refrigerate With Urine | Maya Posch | [
"chemistry hacks"
] | [
"ammonia",
"ammonium nitrate",
"refrigeration"
] | It’s often said that the best science experiments are the ones which do not require any special devices or ingredients, which makes the use of what naturally comes out of one’s body clearly one of the winners. It’s also the beginning of yet another [Hyperspace Pirate] chemistry video that’s both fascinating and unforgettable —
this time introducing a considerable collection of urine
, and the many uses of the urea in it, including its use for refrigeration.
The respective cooling effect of a variety of compounds in solution. (Credit: Hyperspace Pirate)
As icky as this may sound, it doesn’t even rank in the top ten of quaint things people have historically done with urine, so extracting urea from it is rather benign. This is performed by adding sodium hydroxide to the starting component after heating, which creates gaseous ammonia (NH
3
) which was then condensed into its liquid (dissolved) form. In order to create the target compound – being ammonium nitrate – nitric acid (HNO
3
) had to be created first.
For this the older, but cheaper and easier
Birkeland-Eyde
process was used. This uses high-voltage electrical arcs to break down the nitrogen and oxygen in the air and cause the formation of nitric oxide (NO), that subsequently reacts with atmospheric oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide (NO
2
). Running the NO
2
through water then creates the desired HNO
3
, which can be combined with the ammonia solution to create ammonium nitrate. The resulting solution was then evaporated into solid ammonium nitrate, to use it in an aluminium cooling cylinder, with freshly added water.
This is the simplest way to use the cooling effect of such solutions (pictured), but the benefit of ammonium nitrate over the original urea seems minimal. The low efficiency of this cooling approach means that the next use of urine will involve a much more efficient vapor-absorption cycle, which we’re sure everyone is squeezing their legs together for in anticipation.
We’ve been covering the refrigeration experiments [Hyperspace Pirate] has been conducting for some time now. If you’re into the science of making things cold check out how
seashells can be turned into dry ice
, or what
goes into building a home cryocooler
. | 13 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717274",
"author": "DmR",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T09:47:13",
"content": "Defcon Beverage Cooling Contraption Contest?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6717283",
"author": "BT",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T10:44:29",
"c... | 1,760,372,045.653743 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/another-tesla-coil-starts/ | Another Tesla Coil Starts | Al Williams | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"slayer exciter",
"tesla coil"
] | Everyone interested in electronics should build at least one Tesla coil. But be careful. Sure, the high voltage can be dangerous, but the urge to build lots of coils is even worse. [Learnelectronics] shows how to
build a slayer exciter
using a 3D-printed core, and lots of wire of course. You can see the coil, an explanation of the design, and a comparison to a cheap kit in the video below.
Of course, you hear about Tesla coils, but it is really more of a Tesla transformer. The 3D-printed core holds the many turns of the secondary coil. The larger Tesla coil, amusingly, upset the camera which made it hard to get close-up shots.
The new coil will use a 555 to interrupt the flow. We were sad that by the end of the video, we didn’t get to see the new coil except in an early prototype stage, but he promised to show it once it is working properly, so stay tuned. The explanation of the circuit is worth a watch though. One important thing to remember: the circuit capitalizes on a parasitic capacitor inherent in the large coil so any analysis of the circuit needs to account for that.
If you can’t wait to build your own, we’ve seen plenty of
slayer exciter coils
over the years. Some of them are
extremely simple to build
. | 5 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717260",
"author": "David Schwarze",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T08:59:50",
"content": "When was the last time anyone built a Van De Graf machine? Was right of passage in my day…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6717341",
... | 1,760,372,045.856514 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/a-picture-frame-for-your-eyes-only/ | A Picture Frame For Your Eyes Only | Kristina Panos | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"hidden picture",
"John Cena",
"PDLC film",
"picture frame",
"smart film"
] | We can think of all kinds of reasons you’d want to display a picture that only you and the family can see, and we don’t even have to work blue to do it. Whether as a joke, or as a serious way to hide a special image, this
magical picture frame by [Placitech]
is just the thing.
You might recognize this as using PDLC switchable “smart” film. Whenever power is applied, the panel goes from frosty opacity to near-crystal clarity in an instant. The trick here is to to image recognition and only allow certain faces to unlock the picture.
The brains of this operation is an ESP32-CAM module, which does all the heavy lifting of getting the image in the first place, handling it, and deciding via code who is eligible to flick the switch. Everything is housed in a nice 3D printed frame that [Placitech] designed.
Be sure to check out the build video after the break, and files are available via [Placitech]’s Discord if you’d like to build this yourself.
There’s a lot you can do with PDLC panels,
as evidenced by this amazing dress. | 2 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717410",
"author": "drenehtsral",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T19:32:10",
"content": "… like the magic mirror in “The Enchantress of Florence” which only works if the mirror’s owner is the only one looking at it (so everyone else thinks he’s lost his marbles).",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,372,046.010367 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/putting-the-c-in-c64/ | Putting The C In C64 | Al Williams | [
"Retrocomputing",
"Software Development"
] | [
"c compiler",
"commodore 64"
] | Older CPUs and some fairly modern microcontrollers are not made to readily support C compilers. Among those are the 1802, some 8-bit PICs, and the 6502 at the heart of the Commodore 64. That’s not to say you can’t make a C compiler for any of them, but the tricks required to handle the odd word sizes, lack of stack manipulation, or whatever other reason C isn’t a good fit tends to make compiled code bloated and possibly slower. [Dr. Mortal Wombat] took a different approach. The
oscar64 compiler
takes C source code and compiles it to a virtual machine code or native machine code for cases where performance might be important.
Turns out, the penalty for using native code isn’t as much as predicted, at least in some cases, The performance penalty for using the interpreter, however, can be significant in many common cases. The 6502 has a small stack that is hard to address, and indexing into a user-maintained stack is slow. The word size problem also produces lots of code as you have to break 16-bit operations into multiple 8-bit ones. The compiler aims to be C99-compliant, including floating point, recursion, multiple dimensions for arrays, and pointers to structures.
There are a few things left to hammer out. The linker doesn’t support external libraries, and the floating point code doesn’t understand NaN. On the other hand, many C++ features are available, like namespaces, reference types, templates, and more. The compiler can target several Commodore machines from the C128 to the PET. It also works with some Nintendo and Atari systems and can create various cartridge formats.
If you are writing code for any kind of 6502, it is probably worth checking out. Compiling C for the 6502 is no small feat, but then, so it is targeting
PowerPoint
. Don’t have a C64?
Build one
.
Image: [MOS6502],
CC-BY-SA 3.0 | 42 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717141",
"author": "Carlos",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T01:43:05",
"content": "6809 would be a good choice, though there is cmoc and Microware’s C.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6717143",
"author": "George White",
"time... | 1,760,372,045.972152 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/darkroom-robot-automates-away-the-tedium-of-film-developing/ | Darkroom Robot Automates Away The Tedium Of Film Developing | Dan Maloney | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"3.5mm",
"arduino",
"C41",
"Chemistry",
"darkroom",
"developing",
"film",
"processing",
"sous-vide"
] | Anyone who has ever processed real analog film in a darkroom probably remembers two things: the awkward fumbling in absolute darkness while trying to get the film loaded into the developing reel, and the tedium of getting the timing for each solution just right.
This automatic film-developing machine
can’t help much with the former, but it more than makes up for that by taking care of the latter.
For those who haven’t experienced the pleasures of the darkroom — and we mean that sincerely; watching images appear before your eyes is straight magic — film processing is divided into two phases: developing the exposed film from the camera, and making prints from the film. [kauzerei]’s machine automates development and centers around a modified developing tank and a set of vessels for the various solutions needed for different film processes. Pumps and solenoid valves control the flow of solutions in and out of the developing tank, while a servo mounted on the tank’s cover gently rotates the reel to keep the film exposed to fresh solutions; proper agitation is the secret sauce of film developing.
The developing machine has a lot of other nice features that really should help with getting consistent results. The developing tank sits on a strain gauge, to ensure the proper amount of each solution is added. To avoid splotches that can come from using plain tap water, rinse water is filtered using a household drinking water pitcher. The entire rig can be submerged in a heated water bath for a consistent temperature during processing. And, with four solution reservoirs, the machine is adaptable to multiple processes. [kauzerei] lists black and white and C41 color negative processes, but we’d imagine it would be easy to support a color slide process like E6 too.
This looks like a great build, and while it’s not the first
darkroom bot
we’ve seen — we even featured
one made from Lego Technics
once upon a time — this one has us itching to get back into the darkroom again. | 14 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717084",
"author": "Steven Clark",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T22:43:16",
"content": "Design looks solid in principle, but I’m not sure about how light safe a reel agitation mechanism would be. For color you still have to throw it all in a computer controlled tempting bath. So if co... | 1,760,372,046.059498 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/there-are-stradi-various-ways-to-make-a-violin-and-this-is-one/ | There Are Stradi-various Ways To Make A Violin, And This Is One | Kristina Panos | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"3d printing",
"electric violin",
"piezo bridge",
"violin"
] | We’ve always said that if we had enough money, we’d have a large room that housed every musical instrument we’ve ever been even mildly interested in. While that dream may never come to pass, it would be far more likely to happen if many of the instruments could be 3D-printed, like
this electric violin.
We really like this compact design, which mimics a headless guitar with the tuning pegs down by the bridge. [Carmensr] started with a model on Thingiverse, which uses violin strings wound around electric guitar tuners instead of wooden friction pegs. To further the guitar comparison, the three-piece neck contains a truss rod of sorts.
So how does it work, though? The magic is in the special bridge, which contains a piezo element. The bridge picks up the strings’ vibrations and sends them to a little pre-amplifier, which creates a signal that can then be used by a program like Audacity or connected directly to a speaker. Be sure to give it a listen in the video after the break.
Of course, there’s no reason not to
design and print acoustic violins.
It would be fun to experiment with different filaments for different sounds. | 14 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717062",
"author": "Peter Petit",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T22:02:56",
"content": "Brilliant. I like the novel placement of the tuning gears on the player side of the bridge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6717063",
"author... | 1,760,372,046.251942 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/make-your-own-play-station-the-space-is-important/ | Make Your Own Play Station (The Space Is Important) | Jenny List | [
"Nintendo Hacks",
"Playstation Hacks"
] | [
"nintendo",
"nintendo play station",
"sony"
] | The early history of the Sony Playstation lies in a stillborn collaboration between Nintendo and Sony to produce an SNES with a CD-ROM drive. So the story goes, Nintendo’s Philips deal angered Sony, who decided to make their own console line, and the rest is history. A very small number of prototypes were made, badged as “Play Station,” and should you find one that escaped today, you’re sitting on a fortune. [James] doesn’t have one, but he did have half a Playstation and an SNES shell, so
he could make an ungodly child of the two consoles
that you can see in the video below the break.
Those Playstation CD-ROM drives were notorious for melting back in the day, so it’s no surprise they’re still for sale today. Thus, he was able to bring the Sony back to life. What follows is an episode of console cutting worthy of a slasher horror movie, as instead of a bit of fine Dremmeling, he brings out an angle grinder and slices away with abandon. We don’t like the Nintendo switch carrying mains voltage, but we’re fine with the PlayStation expansion connector going away. The Nintendo eject button needs a hack to operate the Playstation door open button when pressed. It’s cool to see the board has a mod chip. We used to fit those as a sideline in a previous life.
Everything goes together with a lot of hot glue and more of that angle grinder, leaving only the drive to fix. A far too large drill comes out, and more hot glue and the drive sits vertically on top of the unit. We like this console, and we like the humour with which a pile of essentially scrap parts have been made into a one-of-a-kind. Remembering Sony’s sensitivity about the use of that space from our days in the industry, though, it wouldn’t surprise us if it attracted the attention of one or another set of notoriously litigious lawyers. | 20 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716944",
"author": "limroh",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T16:46:04",
"content": "> Those Playstation CD-ROM drives were notorious for melting back in the day, so it’s no surprise they’re still for sale today.??? Am I missing something or does that ^^ make no sense?If they were melting ... | 1,760,372,046.14015 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/liquid-tin-could-be-the-key-to-cheap-plentiful-grid-storage/ | Liquid Tin Could Be The Key To Cheap, Plentiful Grid Storage | Lewin Day | [
"Current Events",
"Featured",
"Interest",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"energy storage",
"grid storage",
"Liquid Tin"
] | Once expensive and difficult to implement, renewable energy solutions like wind and solar are now often the cheapest options available for generating electricity for the grid. However, there are still some issues around the non-continuous supply from these sources, with grid storage becoming a key technology to keep the lights on around the clock.
In the quest for cost-effective grid storage, a new player has entered the arena with a bold claim: a thermal battery technology that’s not only more than 10 times cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, but also a standout in efficiency compared to traditional thermal battery designs. Fourth Power is making waves with its “sun in a box” energy storage technology, and aims to prove its capabilities with an ambitious 1-MWh prototype.
Hot Stuff
Simple heating elements turn electricity into heat, putting it into liquid tin that then heats large graphite blocks. Credit: Fourth Power,
Vimeo screenshot
The principle behind Fourth Power’s technology is deceptively simple: when there’s excess renewable energy available, use it to heat something up. The electrical energy is thus converted and stored as heat, with the idea being to convert it back to electricity when needed, such as at night time or when the wind isn’t blowing. This concept isn’t entirely new; other companies have explored doing this with everything from bricks to molten salt. Fourth Power’s approach involves heating large blocks of graphite to extremely high temperatures — as high as 2,500 °C (4,530 °F). Naturally, the hotter you go, the more energy you can store. Where the company’s concept gets interesting is how it plans to recover the heat energy and turn it back into electricity.
Of course, operating any sort of storage system at such high temperatures takes some serious engineering. At the heart of Fourth Power’s system lies a unique innovation, in that it uses liquid tin as a working fluid to move heat around. It required the development of a liquid tin pump capable of operating at temperatures exceeding 1,000 °C (1,800 °F). Most pumps built using metallic components would simply see their components melt and fail under such extreme conditions. Instead, the pump uses a ceramic design. Developed by Fourth Power founder Dr. Asegun Henry, it can withstand temperatures of many thousands of degrees Celsius. Indeed, that’s important, as the liquid tin in the system is at 2,400 C at its hottest, and cools down to 1,900 C at the coldest part of the system.
Indeed, the pump actually holds
a Guinness World Record for the feat
, and was of great technical note for this achievement. This pump is crucial for moving the superheated liquid tin around the system, transferring heat efficiently from the heating elements to the graphite blocks and back. It’s key to the whole system, as thermal energy systems are generally most efficient when operating at the highest possible temperatures. Thus, by being able to pump liquid tin at such high temperatures, it’s possible to transfer energy into and out of the graphite blocks more efficiently than using a more typical working fluid at lower temperatures.
Thin graphite pipes carrying liquid tin emit light when they become hot. This is then captured by special thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells inserted in the middle of the pipes, which turn the light into electricity. Inserting and removing the TPV cells can vary their power output, allowing the system to quickly respond to demand spikes or troughs. Credit: Fourth Power, Vimeo screenshot
Here’s What is New
The energy recovery process itself is quite unlike most traditional heat storage concepts. When the grid needs energy, liquid tin is pumped around the hot graphite blocks, which heats it up to 2,400 C. The tin is then run through thin graphite tubes, which glow white-hot as it passes through. The light emitted is then turned into electricity by
thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells
. They’re essentially similar to solar cells, but they’re fine-tuned to most efficiently generate electricity from the wavelengths output by the graphite in this specific application. Through development, these cells have reached efficiency levels competitive with steam turbines when it comes to turning heat into electricity. The cells are designed to harvest the most high-energy wavelengths of light output by the hot graphite pipes, while reflecting back the rest so that the liquid tin remains as hot as possible. This part of the concept actually gives the company its “Fourth Power” name. That’s because as per Stefan-Boltzmann’s Law, the output of radiant energy from a black body is directly proportional to the fourth power of the material’s absolute temperature.
The thermal battery is intended to be able to respond quickly to the grid, ramping up delivery in a matter of seconds to cover spikes in demand. By virtue of being based on flowing tin, it’s not going to be quite as fast as battery solutions, but still quicker than firing up large turbine-based generation. Currently at 41%, the company is targeting round-trip energy efficiency of approximately 50%. It’s important to note that is a much lower figure than traditional solutions like pumped hydro, along with lithium battery arrays like the
Hornsdale Power Reserve
, which typically sit around 80%.
Thermophotovoltaic cells pick up light energy emitted by thin graphite pipes, which glow white-hot when liquid tin is passed through them. It’s an unusual way of turning heat back into electricity, but it’s comparable in efficiency to a good steam turbine. Credit: MIT
However, it’s balanced out by the system’s low-cost materials, which Fourth Power says is on the order of ten times cheaper than comparable lithium battery storage solutions. Much of that is down to the materials involved, with graphite and tin being abundant and cheap compared to the fancy materials required to fabricate high-density lithium-ion batteries. The cost per kilowatt-hour of stored and returned energy is projected to be less than $25, compared to a figure of $330 that the company quotes for a lithium battery setup. This price advantage could make the technology a potentially disruptive force in the energy storage market.
It’s not a perfect solution to all grid storage questions. The company touts its use for both short and long duration storage, which it can achieve. However, there are losses involved with heat storage over longer time periods, as the system tends to lose heat and cool down over time without additional energy input. It’s also potentially mechanically more complex, and currently, largely unproven. However, if the concept works at prototype scale, that should demonstrate whether it can be a useful tool nonetheless.
Current plans involve the development of a 1-MWh prototype facility to be constructed near Boston, which should be up and running in 2026. That’s just a pilot-level installation, as today, grid battery storage solutions are capable of storing hundreds of megawatt-hours of power, and spitting it out in short order, too. If proven practical, full-scale commercial installations could be a thing in the years following, but we wouldn’t be expecting to raise a glass to completion of a major tin-based grid storage plant before the decade is out. | 143 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716891",
"author": "Joseph Eoff",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T15:09:51",
"content": "“ten times cheaper” also known as 1/10 the cost.How did this “X times cheaper” crap come to be, and how can we rid the English language of it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": ... | 1,760,372,047.318541 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/bringing-a-chain-printer-back-to-life-the-power-supply/ | Bringing A Chain Printer Back To Life: The Power Supply | Adam Fabio | [
"hardware",
"Retrocomputing"
] | [
"chain printer",
"line printer",
"printer",
"retrocomputing"
] | [Usagi Electric] has his Centurion minicomputer (and a few others) running like a top. One feature that’s missing, though, is the
ability to produce a hard copy
. Now, a serious machine like the Centurion demands a serious printer. The answer to that is an ODEC-manufactured printer dressed in proper Centurion blue. This is no ordinary desktop printer, though. It’s a roughly 175lb (80 Kg) beast capable of printing 100 lines per minute. Each line is 132 characters wide, printed on the tractor-feed green bar paper we all associate with old computer systems.
This sort of printer was commonly known as a chain printer, as the letters are on a chain that rides over a series of 66 hammers. Logic on this printer is 74 series logic chips – no custom silicon or LSI (Large Scale Integration) parts on this 47-year-old monster.
This is [Usagi’s] first time working on a printer, so he’s taking it slowly. This episode was all about bringing up the power supply. He started by disconnecting the supply from the rest of the printer, removing the dust, dirt, and mud dauber wasp nests. The supply itself is linear and included a couple of previous repairs, including a power resistor, which had been swapped for a much newer aluminum model.
The first problem [Usagi] encountered was bringing back the giant old electrolytic capacitors. He hooked them up to his bench supply and tested them. It took a bit of work, but all three caps came back to life.
Reforming
is a great way to save/reuse original capacitors in old equipment. Shotgunning the caps isn’t always the answer!
With the caps working, [Usagi] re-installed the supply but kept it disconnected from the rest of the machine. It came up with 5, 30, 10, and -12 volt rails. Of course, this is just the start of a much larger project, but we’re already hooked. We can’t wait to see this printer hammering away, even
if it isn’t musical
. Just make sure you have some hearing protection, [Usagi]! | 25 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716841",
"author": "cliff claven",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T12:31:45",
"content": "I remember these printers well. I never had to do real repairs or maintenance, only standard operator service (replace the chain for one with upper and lower case for ‘correspondence quality’, change... | 1,760,372,046.544401 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/08/half-power-bank-half-spot-welder/ | Half Power Bank, Half Spot Welder | Jenny List | [
"Teardown",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"battery pack",
"battery spot welder",
"spot welder"
] | There was a time when every gizmo on AliExpress also had a big white LED so it could also work as a flashlight, but maybe the power bank is the new flashlight. [Aaron Christophel] has
a battery spot welder that costs a not unreasonable 30 euros and can also be used as a novelty power bank
. He subjects it to a test and teardown in the video below the break.
First of all, he conducts a few weld tests, and we have to say it seems capable of some reasonable results if its parameters are correctly adjusted. Then the end comes off the extruded aluminium case, and the guts of the device are slid out for a teardown.
The power comes from a pair of Li-Po pouch cells, while on the board, there’s an STM32 clone providing the timing for a set of MOSFETs that do the heavy lifting. There’s a colour display for tweaking the settings. Alongside all this, there’s also a small chip for that power bank functionality. Charging is via USB-C, though, of course, it’s not really proper USB-C but a USB-C socket that expects 5 volts. This is a disappointing trend in cheap electronics that sullys the promise of USB-C.
It seems this spot welder is capable of doing the job, which is pleasing after
our previous disappointing look at battery welders
. | 13 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716788",
"author": "jpa",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T10:04:56",
"content": "In my experience these work quite well for the nickel plated steel strips.They do not make good welds in the lower resistance pure nickel strips.Perfectly usable for rebuilding a basic power tool battery, but... | 1,760,372,046.189574 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/discovery-dish-lets-you-pick-up-the-final-frontier/ | Discovery Dish Lets You Pick Up The Final Frontier | Tom Nardi | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"KrakenRF",
"parabolic antenna",
"satellite dish",
"software define radio",
"weather satellites"
] | These days, affordable software defined radios (SDRs) have made huge swaths of the spectrum available to hobbyists. Whether you’re looking to sniff the data from that 433 MHz thermometer you’ve got in the backyard or pick up transmissions from satellites, the same little USB-connected box can make it happen.
But even the best SDR is constrained by the antenna it’s connected to, and that’s where it can still get a little tricky for new players. Luckily, there’s a new option for those who want to pick up signals from space without breaking the bank: the
Discovery Dish
by KrakenRF. After reaching 105% of its funding goal on December 20th, the handy little 65-cm aluminum reflector looks like it’s on track to ship out this summer.
The Discovery Dish was designed from the ground up to enable hobbyists to receive real-time weather data from satellites transmitting in the L band (GOES, NOAA, Meteor, etc.) and experiment with hydrogen line radio astronomy. Neither of which are anything new, of course. But having a pre-built dish and feed takes a lot of the hassle out of picking up these distant signals.
Although the current prototype has a one-piece reflector, the final Discovery Dish will break down into three “petals” to make storage and transport easier. If you don’t want to take it all the way apart, you can simply remove the feed to make it a bit more compact. Speaking of which, KrakenRF is also offering three different feeds depending on what signals you’re after: L band, Inmarsat, or hydrogen line.
You still have options if you’ve got to keep your radio hacking on a tighter budget. As we saw recently, you can actually pull an ET and
pick up weather satellites using a foil-lined umbrella
. Or spend a little at the big box hardware store and
grab some aluminum flashing
. | 15 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716843",
"author": "Mr. Bebersuko",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T12:37:22",
"content": "It looks like a pasta strainer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6716890",
"author": "Smudge",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T15:02:... | 1,760,372,046.31467 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/worlds-first-precision-lathe-indispensable-when-constructing-the-antikythera-mechanism/ | World’s First Precision Lathe: Indispensable When Constructing The Antikythera Mechanism | Maya Posch | [
"classic hacks",
"how-to"
] | [] | The precision lathe with the hooks, the bowstring, and vise visible as material is being processed. (Credit: Clickspring)
We commonly tend to associate lathes with the Industrial Revolution, when metalworking shifted largely from blacksmiths to machinists, but the use of lathes is much older than that. As [Chris] over at the Clickspring YouTube channel
demonstrates
in a recent video, small precision lathes were exceedingly common in the Ancient World. Not only is there ample historical evidence of them being used
as far back
as 1300 BCE in Ancient Egypt, but they’re also the most optimal way to get perfectly round pins and other, more intricate shapes that would be an absolute nightmare to create with just some metal files and chisels.
In the video, [Chris] uses two metal hooks, bent in a ninety-degree angle and clamped down in a vise, tapering towards each other into points. A bow string around a round piece of wood is used to bootstrap a more permanent retention element and bushing for the bow string as it is drawn over the wood to rotate it. Subsequent material that has to be worked on in the lathe is then clamped between the two points. This way, using basic materials that have been around for thousands of years and some muscle power, it’s possible to create a small lathe that can be used to create perfectly symmetrical shapes, such as those used in the construction of the
Antikythera Mechanism
, which [Chris] has been rebuilding for the past years, using only period-correct tools. He’s
learned a lot about the mechanism in the process
. | 27 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716715",
"author": "Isaac Wingfield",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T04:21:02",
"content": "Been watching ClickSpring for a long time — absolutely fascinating!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6716734",
"author": "DrewTheMachinist... | 1,760,372,046.614327 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/10/adding-ai-to-npcs-is-easy-doing-it-well-is-hard/ | Adding AI To NPCs Is Easy, Doing It Well Is Hard | Donald Papp | [
"Artificial Intelligence",
"Games"
] | [
"ai",
"game development",
"games",
"prototype"
] | Adding natural language interfaces to software is easier than ever, and that led [creikey] to
prototype a game that hinges on communicating with NPCs
. The prototype went through multiple iterations during which he mainly discovered things that did not work well. Ultimately, it led to [creikey] settling on a western-themed game called
Dante’s Cowboy
which he hopes to release as an experiment. He begins talking about the game around the 4:43 mark in the video, which directly precedes a recording of a presentation he gives at as an indie developer.
Games typically revolve around the player manipulating entities in an environment in order to make things happen. This interaction drives engagement and interesting decisions. But while adding natural language AI to NPCs makes them easy to
talk
with, talking by itself is a shallow interaction. Convincing NPCs to do things? That’s complex and far more difficult to implement. [creikey] realized the limitations large language models (LLMs) had and worked to overcome them to make a unique game experience.
The challenges boil down to figuring out how to drive meaningful interaction, aligning AI behavior with the gameplay context, and managing API costs. In his words, “it’s been a learning experience to figure out where [natural language AI] even belongs in a game, if it belongs at all.”
We’ve previously seen
ChatGPT used to grant NPCs the ability to communicate naturally
which is a fascinating tech demo, but gameplay-wise can boil down to being a complicated alternative to pressing a button. As [creikey] discovered, adding this technology into games in a way that feels meaningful takes a new kind of work. | 18 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717565",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T09:37:05",
"content": "I used to be an AI like you, until I took an arrow to the knee.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6717717",
"author": "aaronfish",
"ti... | 1,760,372,049.115656 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/how-to-build-a-fully-offline-smart-home-or-why-you-should-not/ | How To Build A Fully Offline Smart Home, Or Why You Should Not | Maya Posch | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"smart home"
] | So-called ‘smart home’ appliances and gadgets have become an ever-more present thing the past years, with nary a coffeemaker, AC unit or light bulb for sale today that doesn’t have an associated smartphone app, cloud service and/or subscription to enable you to control it from the beach during your vacation, or just set up automation routines to take tedium out of your busy schedule. Yet as much as [Calvin Wankhede] loves home automation, he’d very much like for it to not stop working the moment his internet connection goes down, or the company running the service goes bankrupt. This is where his journey to
create an off-line alternative
smart home based around Home Assistant and other (open) software began.
Although Home Assistant (HA) itself has become significantly easier to use, what becomes readily apparent from [Calvin]’s journey is that setting up and managing your own smart home infrastructure is a never-ending project. A project that involves finding compatible hardware that can tie into HA, whether or not without reflashing the firmware, resolving configuration issues and other assorted fun. If you are into this kind of thing, it is of course a blast, and it’s a good feeling when it finally all works.
Unfortunately, interoperability across smart home and similar IoT devices is still a far-off dream, even with the introduction of
Thread and Matter
(which incidentally are among the worst product names to search for, period), as
Matter’s uptake
is pretty abysmal. This thus leaves off-line smart homes mostly as the domain of the tech-inclined in search of a hobby. | 91 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717526",
"author": "Alex365",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T08:01:01",
"content": "Considering wether to have my working setup broken by some stupid update and getting ripped of features (Windows 11, Sonos, etc.) OR investing some time to make sure everythings working and updating when ... | 1,760,372,049.587328 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/ai-pet-door-rejects-dead-mice/ | AI Pet Door Rejects Dead Mice | Kristina Panos | [
"Artificial Intelligence"
] | [
"ai",
"artificial intellegence",
"cat door",
"motion sensor",
"night vision"
] | If you have pet with a little access door to the outside world, and that pet happens to be a cat, you’re likely on the receiving end of all kinds of lifeless little lagniappes. Don’t worry, it’s CES season out in Las Vegas and a company called Flappie has the solution —
an AI-powered cat door that rejects dead mice and other would-be offerings.
Image by Nathan Ingraham via
Engadget
It works about like you might expect — there’s a motion sensor and a night-vision camera on the exterior side of the door. Using Flappie’s “unique and proprietary” dataset, the door distinguishes between Tom and Jerry and keeps out unwanted guests with more than 90% accuracy. To do this, Flappie collected video of a lot of cats and prey in a variety of lighting conditions. There’s even a chip detection system that will reject all other cats.
Thankfully, it’s not all automation. The prey detection system can be turned off entirely, and there are manual switches on the inside for locking and unlocking the door at will. You don’t even have to hook it up to the Internet, it seems.
Americans will have to wait a while, as the company is rolling out the door in Switzerland and Germany first. No word on when the US launch will take place, but interested parties can expect to pay around $399.
Of course, this problem can be solved without AI
as long as you’re willing to review the situation and unlock the door yourself. | 32 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717482",
"author": "Chris Pepin",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T03:28:07",
"content": "This is not a new idea. The Flo Control Project did the same thing almost a quarter of a century earlier.https://web.archive.org/web/20000229222350/http://www.quantumpicture.com/Flo_Control/flo_contro... | 1,760,372,049.06214 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/floss-weekly-episode-765-that-ship-sailed-and-sank/ | FLOSS Weekly Episode 765: That Ship Sailed… And Sank | Jonathan Bennett | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Podcasts",
"Software Development"
] | [
"dart",
"FLOSS Weekly",
"flutter",
"perl",
"Randal Schwartz"
] | This week Jonathan Bennett and
Aaron Newcomb
talk with
Randal Schwartz
, the longest running host of FLOSS Weekly, Perl’s biggest cheerleader, and now Dart and Flutter expert. What’s new with Randal since his last FLOSS Weekly episode in May 2020? Why should you look at Dart and Flutter? And how do you avoid becoming a security martyr?
Randal has been busy since handing over the reigns of FLOSS Weekly, adding to his Perl credentials a solid claim to being a Dart Flutter expert. The Dart language has some real appeal, taking the best features from JIT languages like JavaScript, and also offering binary compilation like a real systems language should. Then the Flutter framework lets you write your code once, and literally run it on any screen. Sure, there have been some growing pains along the way, and listen to the episode to hear Randal describe the “45-degree turns” the language/framework duo has taken through the years.
Then as almost a bonus at the end of the episode, Randal quickly covered his now-expunged conviction for “doing his job with too much enthusiasm”, and covered some basic pointers to keep other security researchers out of trouble. This week is a nostalgia trip for long-time listeners, as well as a real treat for everyone else.
Did you know you can watch the live recording of the show
right in the Hackaday Discord
? Next week we’re interviewing Sean Dubois of the Pion Webrtc server!
Direct Download
in DRM-free MP3.
For fans of the written word, we’ve got the
transcript for this week’s episode right here
.
Places to follow the FLOSS Weekly Podcast:
Spotify
RSS | 5 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717467",
"author": "Randal L. Schwartz",
"timestamp": "2024-01-10T01:50:28",
"content": "Thanks for inviting me! I had a great time being on the other side of the mic for a change, not that that metaphor is even remotely accurate. :) Glad to be a bit more caught up with everythin... | 1,760,372,048.888014 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/x1plus-open-source-bambu-lab-x1-firmware/ | X1Plus: Open Source Bambu Lab X1 Firmware | Maya Posch | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3D printer mod",
"Bambu"
] | Recently [Michael] over at the [Teaching Tech] YouTube channel
got access to the X1Plus firmware
, and takes us through what it may mean for Bambu Lab X1 owners. X1Plus is alternative firmware for the Bambu Lab X1 FDM 3D printer that was developed by X1 owners who felt that there were some features that they were missing, such as a detailed report on automatic bed leveling, input shaping calibration response graphs and more.
Perhaps most interesting is that this firmware does not replace the Bambu Lab firmware, but rather runs completely from a microSD card that’s inserted into the display’s SD card reader. This means that only the bootloader of the printer’s boot medium is changed, and the printer thus retains the ability boot to the OEM firmware as needed. Whether you want to try it on your own X1 depends on a few factors, first of all being that it only works with the OEM firmware up to and including version 1.7.0.
Since the bootloader modification relies on an exploit that was patched in newer firmware, a lot depends on whether Bambu Lab allows such tinkering,
much like Prusa
does with the Mini printer, or allows flashing of older firmware which would enable the exploit on newer X1 printers. Depending on Bambu Lab’s response, the imminent public release of this open source firmware may as a result run into some pretty big hurdles. | 35 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717427",
"author": "Vinny",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T21:12:48",
"content": "There are already reports that Bambulab app isn’t allowing firmware downgrading anymore, specially on reddit and twitter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_i... | 1,760,372,049.179936 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/vulcan-nails-first-flight-but-peregrine-falls-short/ | Vulcan Nails First Flight, But Peregrine Falls Short | Tom Nardi | [
"Featured",
"News",
"Space"
] | [
"Artemis",
"lunar lander",
"moon",
"nasa",
"United Launch Alliance"
] | For those with an interest in the history of spaceflight, January 8th promised to be a pretty exciting day. Those who tuned into the early morning live stream were looking forward to seeing the first flight of the Vulcan Centaur, a completely new heavy-lift booster developed by United Launch Alliance. But as noteworthy as the inaugural mission of a rocket might be under normal circumstances, this one was particularly special as it was carrying
Peregrine
— set to be the first American spacecraft to set down on the lunar surface since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.
Experience has taught us that spaceflight is hard, and first attempts at it doubly so. The likelihood of both vehicles performing as expected and accomplishing all of their mission goals was fairly remote to begin with, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Even in the event of a complete failure, valuable data is collected and real-world experience is gained.
Now, more than 24 hours later, we’re starting to get that data back and finding out what did and didn’t work. There’s been some disappointment for sure, but when everything is said and done, the needle definitely moved in the right direction.
Vulcan: Better Late than Never
Since their formation in 2006, United Launch Alliance (ULA) has maintained a 100% mission success rate between their primary rockets, the Atlas V and Delta IV. While there were always cheaper rides to space, notably on Russia’s Soyuz rocket, ULA became known as the launch provider you selected if you absolutely had to get your payload into space.
But by the early 2010s, it was clear the commercial launch market was changing. Not only was it far cheaper to fly on the Falcon 9, but SpaceX was launching them at (when compared to the entrenched players) a startling rate. While their legacy rockets still had the edge in reliability, guaranteeing ULA certain high-profile payloads, it was clear they needed to develop a cheaper and more agile rocket to remain competitive.
In addition, the continued use of the
Russian RD-180 rocket engines that powered the Atlas V
were becoming a political liability. So in 2014, the decision was made to take all the knowledge and experience gained while operating the Atlas and Delta and combine that into a new booster: Vulcan Centaur.
It was hoped that the rocket, a combination of the all-new Vulcan first stage and an evolved version of ULA’s Centaur III second stage, could be flying as soon as 2019. But the program suffered several delays due to the slower than expected development of its BE-4 engines by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Plans to make the system partially reusable, similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, were also delayed indefinitely in order to get the program operational sooner.
While an
explosion during the testing of the Centaur upper stage in March of 2023
did push the date of the rocket’s inaugural flight out to 2024, the January 8th launch apparently went off without a hitch — an even more impressive feat when you consider that the BE-4 engines are powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen, a combination colloquially known as methalox, which had never successfully been used by an American orbital rocket previously. Other methalox vehicles from the US, such as SpaceX’s Starship or the Relativity Space Terran 1, have flown but have failed to achieve orbit.
In a post to social media, CEO of United Launch Alliance Tory Bruno said that Monday’s launch was among the smoothest he’d ever seen in his career. While obviously not the most unbiased source in this case, it’s clear that it was a day worth celebrating at ULA.
Peregrine: A Dramatic Stumble
While the first flight of the Vulcan Centaur looks to have been the picture of success,
Peregrine’s
inauspicious start was arguably the polar opposite. Just hours after the lander separated from the Centaur upper stage, it was clear something had gone terribly wrong, and that its historic return to the Moon was likely out of reach.
Astrobotic Technology announced the development of the
Peregrine
lander in 2016, and by 2019, it had been awarded a $108 million contract under
NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)
initiative, an ancillary component of the larger Artemis program. The 1,283 kg (2,829 lb) vehicle was designed to ultimately bring 265 kg (584 lb) of payload to the lunar surface, but on this first mission the craft was limited to only 90 kg (200 lb).
Among the cargo being brought to the Moon,
Peregrine
was carrying more than a dozen memorials and time capsules, eight scientific instruments, the
Iris
rover from Carnegie Mellon University, and five small autonomous robots built by the Mexican Space Agency.
According to Astrobotic, it seemed the mission was off to a solid start when
Peregrine
first separated from the booster. Teams on the ground established communications with the rover, and critical systems started to come online as expected. But shortly after enabling its propulsion systems, the craft seemed unable to maintain the necessary attitude to keep its solar panels pointed to the sun. This in turn lead to the vehicle’s batteries being drained to a dangerously low level within just a few hours.
Approximately ten hours after launch, Astrobotic posted an update to social media announcing that they had stabilized the craft and that its batteries were now charging. Unfortunately, while the immediate situation had improved, the concern on the ground was that the craft’s propulsion system had suffered some sort of failure. In a subsequent post, they confirmed the worst case scenario: that a leak was not only destabilizing the craft, but bleeding it of the propellants it needed to make a landing on the Moon.
As of the last update from Astrobotic, a landing had been completely ruled out. Further, between the leak and the constant maneuvering thruster firings necessary to keep the craft properly oriented, the team estimates the tanks will be dry within 40 hours. Before then ground controllers will attempt to set it on a trajectory that will take it as close as possible to the Moon, but without the ability to orient itself, there’s no guarantee on how long communications with the craft will hold out.
Space is Still Hard
All told, January 8th will certainly be looked back on as a major day for spaceflight. America put its first methalox rocket into orbit, and just hours later, had its lunar landing aspirations dashed. Although modern technology has greatly improved our overall access to space, its days like this that remind us of how easily things can go sideways.
But that doesn’t mean we’ll stop trying. The Moon is still calling, and we won’t have to wait long until another mission is on its way to our nearest celestial neighbor. The Nova-C lander, built by Intuitive Machines and also funded by NASA’s CLPS program, is due to liftoff in February. No matter what happens, we’re eager to see it unfold. | 24 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717457",
"author": "rclark",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T23:45:50",
"content": "To bad. Stuff happens. Hopefully they will learn from the failure, and try again. As said above ‘space is hard’ which is good as it ‘challenges’ us to overcome the difficulties and move tech forward.",
... | 1,760,372,049.306584 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/09/a-compact-smd-reflow-hotplate-powered-by-usb-pd/ | A Compact SMD Reflow Hotplate Powered By USB-PD | Dan Maloney | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"CH552",
"hotplate",
"metal ceramic",
"pid",
"reflow",
"smd",
"USB-PD"
] | When it comes to home-lab reflow work, there are a lot of ways to get the job done. The easiest thing to do perhaps is to slap a PID controller on an old toaster oven and call it a day. But if your bench space is limited, you might want to put
this compact reflow hotplate
to work for you.
There are a lot of nice features in [Toby Chui]’s build, not least of which is the heating element. Many DIY reflow hotplates use a PCB heater, where long, thin traces in the board are used as resistive heating elements. This seems like a great idea, but as [Toby] explains in the project video below, even high-temperature FR4 substrate isn’t rated for the kinds of temperatures needed for some reflow profiles. His search for alternatives led him to metal ceramic heaters (MCH), which are commonly found in medical and laboratory applications. The MCH he chose was rated for 20 VDC at 50 watts — perfect for powering with USB-PD.
The heater sits above the main PCB on a Kapton-wrapped MDF frame with a thermistor to close the loop. While it’s not the biggest work surface we’ve seen, it’s a good size for small projects. The microcontroller is a CH552, which
we’ve talked about before
; aside from that and the IP2721 PD trigger chip needed to get the full 60 watts out of the USB-PD supply, there’s not much else on the main board.
This looks like a nice design, and [Toby] has made all the design files available if you’d like to give it a crack. Of course, you might want to freshen up on USB-PD before diving in, in which case we recommend
[Arya]’s USB-PD primer
. | 10 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "6717400",
"author": "Orzel",
"timestamp": "2024-01-09T18:56:33",
"content": "Very interesting. The software doesn’t use PID, but a rather crude on/off depending on temperature, with hysteresis (called ‘offset’ in code). I’m wondering how close to the reflow curve this hardware+softw... | 1,760,372,048.939725 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/hackaday-links-january-7-2024/ | Hackaday Links: January 7, 2024 | Dan Maloney | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"86-DOS",
"brass",
"bsod",
"centrifuge",
"chess",
"ev",
"ford",
"hackaday links",
"hex",
"instrument",
"ms-dos",
"Musical",
"repair",
"rgb",
"scientific photography",
"wargames"
] | Oh, perfect — now our cars can BSOD. At least that’s how it looks from
a forum post
showing a Blue Screen of Death on a Ford Mustang Mach E, warning that an over-the-air software update failed, and now the car can’t be driven. The BSOD includes a phone number to reach Ford’s Customer Relationship Center and even presents a wall of text with specific instructions to the wrecker driver for loading the bricked vehicle onto a flatbed. Forum users questioned the photo’s veracity, but there are reports of other drivers getting bricked the same way. And we’ve got to point out that even though this specific bricking happened to an EV, it could just have easily happened to an ICE vehicle too; forum members were particularly prickly about that point. It would be nice if OTA software updates on vehicles could always roll back to the previous driveable state. Still, we suppose that’s not always possible, especially if memory gets corrupted during the update. Maybe the best defense against a bricked vehicle would be to keep a beater around that doesn’t need updates to keep running.
How about a nice game of chess?
WarGames
may have asked that question in 1983, but three years earlier, you could have played a text-based version of chess on
the earliest known ancestor of MS-DOS
. A 5-1/4″ floppy bearing version 0.1C of 86-DOS — serial number 11 — by Seattle Computer Products has been located and uploaded to the Internet Archive. It’s about as rudimentary as an OS can be, including the familiar COMMAND.COM and SYS.COM, plus two files devoted to the chess game; the whole distribution consists of nine files. By the time
version 1.00
came around, that had swollen to 19 files — talk about feature creep! See it in “action” below.
A high school friend of ours used to brag about his father, who ran a commercial print shop, being able to look at any color and tell you the exact recipe for mixing inks to match it. We never tested him on that skill, but if you feel like you’ve got the RGB equivalent of perfect pitch,
check out Hexcodle
. It’s like Wordle, but instead of figuring out the word of the day, you have to identify the hex RGB values that make up a color swatch. Each guess will tell you which digits are wrong, both in direction and magnitude. We needed all five guesses to get to Blueblood (#0F5184), and given how bad we are at colors, it should be easy for you to do better.
Back in our lab-rat days, we ran a lot of samples through centrifuges, and we always wondered what it looked like in there. Well, Maurice Mikkers figured out how to get
a camera inside a centrifuge
, and the results are pretty amazing. Is there a YouTube channel, we hear you ask? Why yes —
yes, there is
. You’re welcome.
And finally, we’ve always been impressed by just how complicated musical instruments are and the processes used to create them. Repairing them, though, turns out to be just about as fascinating, especially when you watch someone who has been in the trade for 30 years do it.
Wes Lee’s repair of a battered Boy Scout bugle
initially caught our eye mainly because we had an instrument just like that back in the day, much to our parents’ chagrin. Watching Wes bring the tortured instrument back to life is amazing; we’d never have guessed an instrument as simple as a bugle would have so much complexity. It’s strangely soothing to watch him gently massaging the dents out of the brass, especially in places where it looks like the metal is on the verge of tearing. It’s always a treat to watch a craftsman at work. | 27 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716667",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren",
"timestamp": "2024-01-08T00:29:41",
"content": "“Maybe the best defense against a bricked vehicle would be to keep a beater around that doesn’t need updates to keep running.”2004 Honda",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1... | 1,760,372,049.242638 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/using-sound-waves-as-a-fire-extinguisher/ | Using Sound Waves As A Fire Extinguisher | Maya Posch | [
"Science"
] | [
"fire extinguisher"
] | In order for a fire to sustain itself, it needs three things: fuel, heat, and oxygen, with the disruption of just one of those causing the fire to extinguish. Water, sand, and carbon dioxide-based fire extinguishers are commonly used, but you’re probably familiar with blowing out a candle using your breath. Counter-intuitively, we also blow on a fire (or use bellows) to make it burn better, so what is happening here? Starting with a novelty app for smartphones that can be used to blow out small flames like candles, [The Action Lab] digs into the topic
in a recent video
.
Using an air vortex cannon strapped to a bass reflex port to wiggle a flame to death. (Credit: The Action Lab)
Using a fairly beefy speaker to blast a 70 Hz tone at a big alcohol flame was not enough to extinguish it, but using the bass reflex port on the back was more effective, yet still not nearly enough. Using an
air vortex cannon
to focus the sound waves from the bass reflex port, it ‘wiggles’ the flame out in a matter of seconds, as illustrated with a thermal camera. Compared to the much stronger airflow from the box fan that was also used in one attempt, the difference with the sound waves is that they oscillate, constantly fluctuating the air pressure.
This churns the air and thus the flame around, diffusing the suspended fuel, cooling the air, and alternatingly pushing oxygenated air and carbon dioxide-heavy combustion fumes into the flame. This differs from the constant flow from the box fan, which only pushes oxygen-rich air into the flame, thus keeping it intact and burning brightly. Perhaps the main question that remains here is just how practical this approach is for extinguishing flames. Some commentators suggested using this approach in low- and zero-gravity situations, as found in space stations, where regular fire extinguishers based around smothering a flame aren’t as practical.
(Thanks to [Hyperific] for the tip) | 15 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716615",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T21:26:18",
"content": "Red Adair did it better. He used TNT.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0uGHaVZRM4",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6716618",
"author": "Joseph ... | 1,760,372,048.993532 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/recreating-the-jupiter-ace/ | Recreating The Jupiter ACE | Al Williams | [
"Retrocomputing"
] | [
"forth",
"Grant Searle",
"Jupiter Ace"
] | What looks like a Sinclair ZX81 but runs Forth? If you said a Jupiter ACE, you get a gold star. These are rare because ordinary people in 1982 didn’t want Forth, so only about 5,000 of the devices were sold. [Cees Meijer] assumes they are unaffordable, so he
built a replica
and shows you how you can, too. [Scott Baker] built one recently; you can see his video below.
The resemblance to the Sinclair computer wasn’t just a coincidence. Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers were behind the computer, and both had worked for Sinclair previously. In addition to being famous for using Forth, the machine initially had a badly manufactured case and an unreliable keyboard. A later version tried to correct these issues, but there were fewer than 1,000 made. [Cees’] replica used a design from [Grant Searle] with some modifications.
We liked the realistic look of the 3D printed keyboard. The keyboard uses white plastic with raised letters. A quick black spray paint followed by sanding gives the appearance of black keys with white printed text.
Overall, this is a good-looking build of a computer you probably won’t see in person. We wish Forth had caught on in the early PC world, but it didn’t. [Grant] was prolific with replica computers, and [Cees]
isn’t the only one who used
that work as a starting point for their own projects. If you want real old-school Forth, you have to go back
a few more years
. | 26 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716574",
"author": "Olaf",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T19:42:30",
"content": "There is no need to go this way. There was a Forth interpreter written in BASIC for the Spectrum. :-DOlaf",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6716590",
... | 1,760,372,049.36546 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/remote-control-kinetic-sand-table-uses-a-single-arduino/ | Remote-Control Kinetic Sand Table Uses A Single Arduino | Kristina Panos | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"classic hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"h-bot",
"IKEA table",
"sand table"
] | There’s nothing fun about a Sisyphean task unless you’re watching one being carried out by someone or something else. In that case, it can be mesmerizing like
this Arduino-driven kinetic sand table.
What you can’t see. Image via
[thang010146] on YouTube
Like many of these builds, it all started with an ordinary coffee table from the hacker’s favorite furnitüre store. [NewsonsElectronics] opened it up and added a 3mm-thick board to hold the sand and another to hold the rails and magnets.
After designing some pieces to connect the rails and pulleys together, [NewsonsElectronics] let the laser cutter loose on some more 3mm stock. A pair of stepper motors connected to a CNC shield do all of the work, driving around a stack of magnets that causes the ball bearing to trudge beautifully through the sand.
Be sure to check out the videos after the break. The first is a nice demonstration, and the second is the actual build video. In the third video, [NewsonsElectronics] explains how they could write the world’s smallest GRBL code to swing this with a single Arduino. Hint: it involves removing unnecessary data from the g-code generated by Sandify.
Don’t have a laser cutter?
Here’s a sand table built from 3D printer parts. | 11 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716493",
"author": "paulvdh",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T16:11:33",
"content": "I saw a few small pieces of the video, including around 07:40 in the last video, where a circle was “approximated” with 129 “points”, and I stopped when he started to turn it into a “polygon” (Which it al... | 1,760,372,049.636699 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/802-11ah-wi-fi-halow-the-1-kilometer-wifi-standard/ | 802.11ah Wi-Fi HaLOW: The 1 Kilometer WiFi Standard | Maya Posch | [
"Network Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"802.11ah",
"wi-fi"
] | You, too, can add long-distance WiFi to your laptop with this new not-quite dongle solution. (Credit: Ben Jeffery)
The 802.11ah WiFi (HaLow) standard is fairly new, having only been introduced in 2017. It’s supposed to fall somewhere between standard WiFi used in domiciles and offices and the longer range but low-bitrate LoRaWAN, ZigBee, and others, with bandwidth measured in megabits per second. In a
recent video
, [Ben Jeffery] looks at the 802.11ah chipsets available today and some products integrating these.
The primary vendors selling these chipsets are TaiXin Semiconductor (TXW8301), Morse Micro (MM6108), and Newracom (NRC7394), with a range of manufacturers selling modules integrating these. Among the products using these, [Ben] found an Ethernet range extender kit (pictured) that takes 12V input as power, along with Ethernet. Running some distance tests in a quarry showed that 300 meters was no problem getting a strong signal, though adding some trees between the two transceivers did attenuate the signal somewhat.
Another interesting product [Ben] tested is what is essentially an 802.11ah-based WiFi extender, using an 802.11ah link between the server node – with an Ethernet socket – and a client that features a standard 2.4 GHz 802.11n that most WiFi-enabled devices can connect to. Using this, he was able to provide a solid ~10 Mbps link to a cabin near the main house (~10 meters) through two outside walls. What makes 802.11ah so interesting is that it is directly compatible with standard Ethernet and WiFi protocols and uses the 900 MHz spectrum, for which a wide range of alternative antennae exist that can conceivably extend the range even more.
(Thanks to [Keith Olson] for the tip) | 31 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716435",
"author": "NiHaoMike",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T12:19:32",
"content": "I wonder how it compares to some older Ubiquiti 900MHz point to point links that are basically reprogrammed LTE chipsets.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comme... | 1,760,372,049.708193 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/a-journey-through-font-rendering/ | A Journey Through Font Rendering | Matthew Carlson | [
"Software Development"
] | [
"font",
"rust",
"TrueType"
] | In the wide world of programming, there are a few dark corners that many prefer to avoid and instead leverage the well-vetted libraries that are already there. [Phillip Tennen] is not one of those people, and when the urge came to improve font rendering for his hobby OS, axle, he got to work
writing a TrueType font renderer
.
For almost a decade, the OS used a map table encoding all characters as 8×8 bitmaps. While scaling works fine, nonfractional scaling values are hard to read, and fractional scaling values are jagged and blocky. TrueType and font rendering, in general, are often considered dark magic. Font files (.ttf) are structured similarly to Mach-O (the binary format for macOS), with sections containing tagged tables. The font has the concept of glyphs and characters. Glyphs show up on the screen, and characters are the UTF/Unicode values that get translated into glyphs by the font. Three critical tables are
glyf
(the set of points forming the shape for each glyph),
hmtx
(how to space the characters), and
cmap
(how to turn Unicode code points into glyphs).
Seeing the curtain pulled back from the format itself makes it seem easy. In reality, there are all sorts of gotchas along the way. There are multiple types of glyphs, such as polygons, blanks, or compound glyphs. Sometimes, control points in the glyphs need to be inferred. Curves need to be interpolated. Enclosed parts of the polygon need to be filled in. And this doesn’t even get to the hinting system.
Inside many fonts are tiny programs that run on the TrueType VM. When a font is rendered at low enough resolutions, the default control points will lose their curves and become blobs. E’s become C, and D’s become O’s. So, the hinting system allows the font to nudge the control points to better fit on the grid. Of course, [Phillip] goes into even more quirks and details in a wonderful write-up about his learnings. Ultimately, axle has a much better-looking renderer, we get a great afternoon read, and fonts seem a little less like forbidden magic.
Maybe someday [Phillip] will implement other font rendering techniques, such as
SDF-based text renderers
. But for now, it’s quite the upgrade. The source code
is available on GitHub
. | 8 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716434",
"author": "Glaskows",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T12:09:54",
"content": "SDF based font rendering would NOT be an upgrade. It is a cheaper technique that trades memory space with cpu/gpu time. It is between sprite based and curve/polygon rendering.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,372,049.751557 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/an-adjustable-high-voltage-power-supply-built-with-safety-in-mind/ | An Adjustable High-Voltage Power Supply Built With Safety In Mind | Dan Maloney | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"arc",
"Cockcroft-Walton",
"corona",
"flyback",
"high voltage",
"hv",
"multiplier",
"silicone",
"ZVS"
] | It’s not entirely clear why [Advanced Tinkering] needs
a 50,000-volt power supply
, but given the amount of work he put into this one, we’re going to guess it will be something interesting.
The stated specs for this power supply are pretty simple: a power supply that can be adjusted between 20kV and 50kV. The unstated spec is just as important: don’t kill yourself or anyone else in the process. To that end, [Advanced] put much effort into making things as safe as possible. The basic architecture of the supply is pretty straightforward, with a ZVS driver and an AC flyback transformer. Powered by a 24-volt DC supply and an adjustable DC-DC converter, that setup alone yields something around 20kV — not too shabby, but still far short of the spec. The final push to the final voltage is thanks to a three-stage Cockcroft-Walton multiplier made with satisfyingly chunky capacitors and diodes. To ensure everything stays safe in the high-voltage stage, he took the precaution of potting everything in epoxy. Good thing, too; tests before potting showed arcing in the CW multiplier despite large isolation slots in the PCB.
Aside from the potting, some really interesting details went into this build, especially on the high-voltage side. The 3D-printed and epoxy-filled HV connector is pretty cool, as is the special wire needed to keep arcs at bay. The whole build is nicely detailed, too, with care taken to bond each panel of the rack-mount case to a common ground point.
It’s a nice build, and we can’t wait to see what [Advanced Tinkering] does with it. In the meantime, if you want to get up to speed on handling high voltage safely, check out
our HV primer
. | 11 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716428",
"author": "ono",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T11:53:15",
"content": "Much attention to detail.All safety measures he implemented seem sound. Any expert would chime in and point out possible amelioration / things that should be changed / unnecessary measures ?",
"parent_id"... | 1,760,372,049.795167 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/video-and-audio-playback-on-low-end-ms-dos-machines/ | Video And Audio Playback On Low-End MS-DOS Machines | Maya Posch | [
"Retrocomputing"
] | [
"IBM PC",
"ms-dos",
"multimedia"
] | For most people the phrases ‘MS-DOS’ and ‘video playback’ probably aren’t commonly associated, yet it was quite normal as those of us who were watching full-motion video with games like Command & Conquer can attest to. These audiovisual experiences did however require somewhat more capable hardware than something like an original, 4.77 MHz IBM PC. More recently, however, the removal of these limitations has been turned into a challenge that has been gleefully accepted by hackers, including [Scali] whose recent tinkering with getting not only
real-time video but also audio
working on these old beasts has been documented on their blog.
Unlike existing early video formats like
FLIC
from the 1990s, the
XDC format
developed over the past years enables real-time, 60 FPS video and audio playback on an 8088 IBM PC that has a SoundBlaster 2 and CGA card installed. As [Scali] notes, the SB2 card is convenient, because it enables DMA transports for the audio data, which saves a lot of precious CPU cycles. Unlike the original SB card, it also fixes some teething issues, but an SB2 is hardly ‘low-end’ for an early 1980s PC, so it has to go.
In [Scali]’s
GitHub fork
of the XDC codebase a number of optimizations are added, as well as PC speaker PWM routines that use an in-memory lookup table to convert from PCM to PWM values, which still struggles on a 4.77 MHz system. Next, the
Covox Speech Thing
supports PCM directly, giving pretty good results at 4.77 MHz, and adding both Tandy NCR 8496 as well as Sound Blaster (1.0) support was a snap afterwards, opening up a HD-ish audiovisual experience to many more early 1980s systems.
Below you can compare the two versions, first on an IBM PC with SB2 card, and then [Scali]’s version running on a Turbo XT system with just the dinky little PC speaker, which clearly sounds like it’s struggling: | 13 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716227",
"author": "Nerd Ralph",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T18:15:37",
"content": "The Rickroll about 1/3rd of the way through the video made me chuckle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6716250",
"author": "Christian",
"t... | 1,760,372,049.847296 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/3d-printed-cookies-sort-of/ | 3D Printed Cookies, Sort Of | Kristina Panos | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"3D printed mold",
"Autodesk Fusion 360",
"chocolate",
"cookies",
"silicone",
"silicone mold"
] | Are there any cookies that taste better than the ones you make yourself? Well, maybe, but there’s a certain exquisite flavoring to effort. Just ask [jformulate], who created these
custom chocolate-topped butter cookies
using a mixture of 3D printing, silicone, and of course, baking and tempering.
[jformulate] did this project along with a makerspace group, and the first thing they did was decide on some images for the cookies. Once a hexagon-shaped mold was created in Fusion360, the images were added in. Some had to be height-adjusted in order for the detail to come out.
Once these positives were printed, it was time to make the food-safe silicone molds that would form the custom chocolate toppers. If you don’t have a vacuum de-gasser, [jformulate] recommends pouring a thin stream from a high place to avoid air bubbles. You can always tap the mold several times on a flat surface as well to bring trapped air to the top.
Finally, it’s time to make cookies. [jformulate] has good instructions for tempering chocolate, as well as a recipe for the butter cookies that support the designs. As a bonus, [jformulate] shows how to make a fish-shaped hot chocolate bomb, and made Jolly Rancher (sadly not Wrencher) medallions using the silicone molds and a microwave.
For the semi-disappointed,
directly 3D printing cookies is definitely a thing. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716171",
"author": "Dan",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T14:36:03",
"content": "rather than degassing (which can be very messsy), the dice making community cures silicone molds in a pressure pot, ~40PSI.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,372,049.884925 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/teardown-of-two-russian-missile-sensors/ | Teardown Of Two Russian Missile Sensors | Maya Posch | [
"Teardown"
] | [
"gyroscope",
"teardown"
] | Recently [Michel]
received two packages
from Ukraine containing some salvaged Russian electronics that once belonged to (presumably) a 9K38 Igla, Vympel R-27 or similar infrared homing missile, as well as a Fiber Optic Gyroscope (
FOG
) from an unknown missile, though possibly from the
Tornado
family of MRLSes. The latter uses the Sagnac effect to detect the phase shift between two laser beams being injected into the same fiber when the fiber, and thus the device, are rotating. The advantage of such a gyroscope is that it is effectively solid-state, requiring only some optical components, amplifier stage and as shown here an Altera Cyclone II FPGA to integrate the results.
The 16-channel linear infrared array sensor is more basic, with a matching amplification channel for each optical receiver element, which are fed into a multiplexer IC in a rather remarkable looking ceramic-gold packaged DIP format, with what looks like a 2004 date code (‘0424’). Although both are rather damaged, [Michel] figures that he might be able to restore the FOG to working condition, assuming no crucial and irreplaceable parts are missing. As useful as FOGs are in missiles, they also have countless uses outside of military applications.
Thanks to [Zane Atkins] for the tip. | 22 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716019",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T00:11:33",
"content": "The FOG of war.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6716285",
"author": "Pentium Unobtanium 3",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,372,049.995439 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/digital-master-tapes-seek-deck/ | Digital Master Tapes Seek Deck | Navarre Bartz | [
"News",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"cgi",
"D1 Cassette",
"documentary",
"history",
"reboot"
] | As a nerdy kid in the 90s, I spent a fair bit of time watching the computer-themed cartoon
Reboot
. During the course of making a documentary about the show, [Jacob Weldon] and [Raquel Lin] have uncovered the
original digital master tapes of the show
.
This is certainly exciting news for fans of the show, but there’s a bit of a wrinkle. These digital masters are all on
D-1 digital cassette tapes
which the studio doesn’t have a player for anymore. The dynamic duo are on the hunt for a Bosch BTS-D1 to be able to recapture some of this video for their own film while also heavily hinting to the studio that a new box set from the masters would be well-received.
As the first CGI TV series,
Reboot
has a special place in the evolution of entertainment, and while it was a technical marvel for its time, it was solid enough to last for four seasons and win numerous awards before meeting a cliffhanger ending. If you’re an expert in D-1 or have a deck to lend or sell, be sure to email
the creators
.
Feeling nostalgic for the
electromechanical era
? Why not check out some
hidden lyrics on Digital Compact Cassettes
(DCC) or encoding video to
Digital Audio Tapes
(DAT)?
[via
Notebookcheck
] | 16 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715976",
"author": "cplamb",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T21:27:11",
"content": "A good resource for this type of thing is the Association of Moving Image Archivists (https://amianet.org/). They have a supplier directory as well as an email list server which can be used for inquiries a... | 1,760,372,049.938386 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/the-scottokatana-keyboard-is-cutting-edge/ | The ScottoKatana Keyboard Is Cutting-Edge | Kristina Panos | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"arduino pro micro",
"handwired keyboard",
"katana",
"keyboard",
"rp2040"
] | The lovely thing about a hobby like keyboard building is that the melting pot of designs manages to never turn into a nasty porridge. Rather, it remains a tasty chili that keeps getting more flavorful with time. It’s a simple recipe, really; someone becomes dissatisfied enough with their peripherals to do something about it, often trying various designs until they either settle on one, or come up with yet another awesome variant that suits their needs — and possibly someone else’s down the line.
The inimitable [Joe Scotto] has happened upon the katana layout, which has an inverse left-hand row stagger that lends symmetry to the design, and
Scotto-ized it into a 33-key build that he says is the best-sounding one yet with lubed Gateron Milky Yellows.
The case and the keycaps are both 3D-printed, and as with all Scotto builds, it is beautifully hand-wired. This one uses an RP2040 Pro Micro, but an ATMega Pro Micro will work, too.
Everything is available on GitHub, and [Joe] promises a typing test soon, as well as a gasket version that foregoes the integrated plate.
Do you need a fast keyboard? Like, ridiculously fast?
Then you should use an FPGA.
Via
KBD
and
Make: | 9 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715971",
"author": "Dude",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T21:15:47",
"content": "In terms of keyboard layouts – it’s interesting to watch people argue about QWERTY vs. DVORAK with arguments like having the most vowels in the home row, without accounting for the fact that people’s fingers... | 1,760,372,050.064245 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/remembering-niklaus-wirth-father-of-pascal-and-inspiration-to-many/ | Remembering Niklaus Wirth: Father Of Pascal And Inspiration To Many | Maya Posch | [
"Current Events",
"Featured",
"News",
"Software Development"
] | [
"oberon",
"obituary",
"Pascal",
"software"
] | Although perhaps not as much of a household name as other pioneers of last century’s rapid evolution of computer hardware and the software running on them, Niklaus Wirth’s contributions puts him right along with other giants. Being a very familiar face both in his native Switzerland at the ETH Zurich university – as well as at Stanford and other locations around the world where computer history was written – Niklaus not only gave us Pascal and Modula-2, but also inspired countless other languages as well as their developers.
Sadly, Niklaus Wirth passed away on January 1st, 2024, at the age of 89. Until his death, he continued to work on the Oberon programming language, as well as its associated operating system: Oberon System and the multi-process, SMP-capable A2 (Bluebottle) operating system that runs natively on x86, X86_64 and ARM hardware. Leaving behind a legacy that stretches from the 1960s to today, it’s hard to think of any aspect of modern computing that wasn’t in some way influenced or directly improved by Niklaus.
A New ALGOL
Niklaus Wirth in 1969 (Credit: Robert M. McClure)
Niklaus Wirth was born in 1934, got his Bachelor of Science degrees at the
ETH Zurich
in 1959, his Master of Science at the Université Laval in Quebec in 1960, followed in 1963 by his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. After this he worked from 1963 to 1967 as assistant professor of computer science at Stanford University.
During this time he would develop the
Euler
programming language together with Helmut Weber, as a generalization and extension of the then popular ALGOL 60 programming language. He’d also design
PL360
, a system programming language for the IBM System/360, which was the new computer system for Stanford University. His description of PL360 and the reasoning behind its design
were published
in volume 15, issue 1 of the Journal of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). In it he expresses the hope that PL360 will find use as a tutorial language and to be of interest to the designers of future computers, illustrating how his focus was less on this one IBM platform and more on the development of programming languages in general.
With ALGOL 60 becoming somewhat long in the tooth, there was a call for suggestions for the next ALGOL version, called ‘ALGOL X’ as a placeholder. In 1965 Niklaus submitted a proposal for a set of additions to ALGOL 60, which was rejected due to ‘not being ambitious enough’ for a new ALGOL version. Even so, he was invited to submit his suggestions to the ACM magazine, where
it was featured
in the June 1966 issue. Niklaus would develop his proposal into an extension to ALGOL 60, called
ALGOL W
, while his colleague Adriaan van Wijngaarden’s proposal for ALGOL X would go on to become ALGOL 68.
Despite the somewhat competitive nature, there was no bad blood between the parties involved, with the very jovial Niklaus Wirth inspiring for example Van Wijngaarden to
quip
at the 1965 IFIP Congress that “Whereas Europeans generally pronounce his name the right way (‘Nick-louse Veert’), Americans invariably mangle it into ‘Nickel’s Worth.’ This is to say that Europeans call him by name, but Americans call him by value.”
Pascal And Beyond
Following very much his own course, Niklaus used ALGOL W as the foundation for what ultimately would become
Pascal
, as named after the famous French mathematician and physicist, Blaise Pascal. First released in 1970, this programming language would go on to fulfill many of Niklaus’ wishes with PL360, in that it became an important teaching tool at schools and universities, as well as being used for programming minicomputers that were making computers ever more accessible outside of big universities and companies.
A Lilith workstation, on display at the Enter Museum, Solothurn.
Pascal saw itself developed by Borland and Apple into Object Pascal, of which the Delphi dialect is probably one of the more well-known. Meanwhile Niklaus had commenced developing a new language called Modula, but after a 1976 sabbatical – during which he spent time at the Xerox PARC labs and got inspired by their Xerox Alto system and accompanying Mesa language – he abandoned Modula and created
Modula-2
instead, which saw itself paired with the ETH Zurich-developed
Lilith
workstation, released in 1980.
This was an
AMD 2900
-based system, running the, fully written in Modula-2, Medos-2 operating system. From here the 1987
Ceres
workstation with its ill-fated
NS32000
processor followed, which saw the first use of the Oberon System. Although a
Modula-3
was also released, this was not developed by Niklaus Wirth, but rather by Maurice Wilkes who got permission from Niklaus to continue with Modula since Niklaus himself was busy with the
Oberon
programming language, along with the operating system written in it.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Example of a Zooming User Interface.
It’s hard to really look at Niklaus Wirth’s career and get anything other than the feeling that he truly enjoyed every aspect of it, whether the challenge of creating a new, better programming language, exchanging ideas with like- and less likeminded colleagues, or increasingly the development of an operating system, experimenting with both Text-Based UIs (
TUI
) and Zooming UIs (
ZUI
). Although he noted that software in general by the late 1980s had begun to outstrip the capabilities of the hardware it ran on (referred to as
Wirth’s Law
), this didn’t deter him from continuing with what he felt was right.
His efforts in progressing the state of computer programming languages had been acknowledged by the ACM in 1984 when he received the
Turing Award
, along with a range of books such as
Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs
that were used extensively both in education as well as outside it. Despite languages like Pascal having only a small presence in today’s world of computer science, it’s hard to underestimate the impact that it, as well as Modula-2 and other Niklaus Wirth-designed languages have on the landscape of computer science today.
Much of what we accept as the norm today with imperative and object-oriented programming languages, whether it’s C++, Ada, Java, or any of the hundreds of other large and small languages in existence today, can trace their roots to ALGOL 60. Roots shaped and nourished by Niklaus’ efforts over the decades in making programming languages as simple and effective as they can be. Even today, universities like Oxford continue to use Oberon in their computer science classes, with Oxford even maintaining its own Oberon-2 compiler (
OBC
).
Where many modern programming languages have a mostly vertical learning curve, Oberon and its predecessors have the property that they are first and foremost simple and elegant, making them excellent teaching tools alongside Niklaus’ books. Although it may seem quaint to teach students to program in a language that they’re unlikely to encounter in a job, Niklaus Wirth has demonstrated throughout the years that it is not the language that matters, but rather the structures and definitions that underlie them.
Rather than developing ALGOL well into the 2000s, he instead chose to design, use and then discard one programming language after the other, dissatisfied with some aspects that he felt certain he could improve upon with the next iteration.
Preserving The Legacy
What is perhaps the biggest risk to Niklaus Wirth’s legacy is digital oblivion, especially considering the fruits of his career. Even while doing literature research on his academic past and the software projects like Oberon (the language and OS) and the
A2 (Bluebottle)
OS, it’s heartbreaking to see the amount of broken hyperlinks, and the defunct code repository at ETH Zurich for the latter OS. I was able to find an
old mirror copy
on GitHub by Bernhard Treutwein, in which a number of alternate URL are provided, including an
active GitLab instance
that appears to be the main repository.
Although much of the information and data does appear to be still out there, there is no good way for newcomers to learn about or get started with these last projects of Niklaus, with generally more information available on Russian-language websites, presumably due to the use of Modula-2 and kin in the Soviet Union and successor states. This fragmented state raises the risk that more and more of this extensive legacy will slowly decay, with few aware of it, and even fewer trying to preserve everything.
Here’s to Niklaus Wirth’s legacy to be preserved forever in its ever-changing, bit-perfect glory, lest it all becomes just a barely remembered Midsummer Night’s Dream.
(Top image: Niklaus Wirth with the Lilith system that he developed in the 1970s. (Photo: ETH Zurich) ) | 33 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715917",
"author": "Joel Finkle",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T18:59:10",
"content": "Modula-2 was one of the first development environments I had on the Macintosh (128K), but it, like the C and Forth I’d also bought, depended on extensive run-time environments making them impractical ... | 1,760,372,050.160832 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/hackaday-podcast-episode-251-pluto-pinball-speedy-surgery-and-diy-gps/ | Hackaday Podcast Episode 251: Pluto, Pinball, Speedy Surgery, And DIY GPS | Dan Maloney | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Podcasts",
"Slider"
] | [
"Hackaday Podcast"
] | Welcome to 2024! This time around, Elliot and Dan ring in a new year of awesome hacks with quite an eclectic mix. We kick things off with a Pluto pity party and find out why the tiny ex-planet deserved what it got. What do you do if you need to rename a bunch of image files? You rope a local large-language model in for the job, of course. We’ll take a look at how pinball machines did their thing before computers came along, take a fractal dive into video feedback, and localize fireworks with a fleet of Raspberry Pi listening stations. Ever wonder what makes a GPS receiver tick? The best way to find out might be to build one from scratch. Looking for some adventure? A ride on an electroluminescent surfboard might do, or perhaps a DIY “Vomit Comet” trip would be more your style. And make sure you stick around for our discussion on attempts to optimize surgery efficiency, and our look back at 2023’s top trends in the hardware world.
Where to Follow Hackaday Podcast
Places to follow Hackaday podcasts:
iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
RSS
YouTube
Check
out our Libsyn landing page
Grab a copy for yourself
if you want to listen offline.
Episode 251 Show Notes:
News:
Happy New Year!
What’s that Sound?
Congrats to [Crazy Horse] who won a Podcast T-shirt by identifying the ring of a field telephone.
Thanks to
Chaosvermittlung
for setting up the demo.
Interesting Hacks of the Week:
37C3: You Think It’s Bad With Pluto? A History Of The Planets
Localizing Fireworks Launches With A Raspberry Pi
Video Feedback Machine Creates Analog Fractals
The Light Herder: Fractals Made of Fractals: 2nd Rotating Monitor Added!
Scanimate Analog Video Synths Produced Oceans Of Motion Graphics
Mangle Videos With RecurBOY And A Raspberry Pi Zero
Building A GPS Receiver From The Ground Up
Pinball With No Computers
Using Local AI On The Command Line To Rename Images (And More)
Quick Hacks:
Elliot’s Picks:
An Animated LED Fireplace Powered By The CH32V003
Explosion-Scarred Scope Gets Plastic Surgery Hackerspace Style
Impressively Responsive Air Drums Built Using The Raspberry Pi Pico
Electroluminescent Surfboard Looks Sharp For Night Surfing
Dan’s Picks:
How To Build A Small Solar Power System
3D Printing Your Own Triboelectric Generators
Developing An App For Reduced-Gravity Flying
Can’t-Miss Articles:
2023: As The Hardware World Turns
British Hospital Blasts Through Waiting Lists By Slashing Surgeon Downtime | 7 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715890",
"author": "Elliot Williams",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T17:36:26",
"content": "Sorry the show’s coming out late this week! Long story. Better late than never?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6715999",
"author... | 1,760,372,050.334914 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/thomas-sanladerer-gets-new-threads/ | [Thomas Sanladerer] Gets New Threads | Al Williams | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d printing",
"heat set inserts",
"mechanical"
] | If you do much practical 3D printing, you eventually need some sort of fastener. You can use a screw to bite into plastic. You can create a clearance hole to accommodate a bolt and a nut or even build in a nut trap. You can also heat-set threaded inserts. Which is the best? [Thomas] does his usual
complete examination and testing of the options
in a recent video you can watch below.
[Thomas] uses inserts from [CNCKitchen] and some cheap inserts for 3D printing and some for injection molding. There are differences in the configuration of the teeth that bite into the plastic. [Thomas] also experimented with thread adapters that grab a 3D-printed thread.
Of course, the real question is, do you even need the inserts? You can simply print threads in holes and forget all the extra parts. But will it be strong? Does the orientation of the thread matter?
As always, the end of the video summarizes the results. As you might expect, all of the inserts fail to allow the proper preload on the fasteners, so they will not achieve their maximum strength. However, there is more work to do to figure out the influence of infill and several other parameters.
[CNCKitchen] had
a similar review
if you want a second opinion. Or, you can read
our take on it
. | 18 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716370",
"author": "LookAtDaShinyShiny",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T04:31:05",
"content": "Interesting video and results. I had hoped to see more about the geometry and wall counts on the 3d printed parts.If you read some of the manufacturers papers about designing for inserts, they... | 1,760,372,050.389683 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/seeing-fireworks-in-a-different-light/ | Seeing Fireworks In A Different Light | Dan Maloney | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"chronos",
"fireworks",
"grating",
"jupyter",
"optics",
"python",
"spectra",
"spectroscopy",
"spectrum",
"wavelength"
] | If you’re worried that [Roman Dvořák]’s
spectroscopic analysis of fireworks
is going to ruin New Year’s Eve or the Fourth of July, relax — the science of this build only adds to the fun.
Not that there’s nothing to worry about with fireworks, of course; there are plenty of nasty chemicals in there, and we can say from first-hand experience that getting hit in the face and chest with shrapnel from a shell is an unpleasant experience. [Roman]’s goal with this experiment is pretty simple: to see if it’s possible to cobble together a spectrograph to identify the elements that light up the sky during a pyrotechnic display. The camera rig was mainly assembled from readily available gear, including a Chronos monochrome high-speed camera and a 500-mm telescopic lens. A 100 line/mm grating was attached between the lens and the camera, a finding scope was attached, and the whole thing went onto a sturdy tripod.
From a perch above Prague on New Year’s Eve, [Roman] collected a ton of images in RAW12 format. The files were converted to TIFFs by a Python script and converted to video by FFmpeg. Frames with good spectra were selected for analysis using a Jupyter Notebook project. Spectra were selected by moving the cursor across the image using slider controls, converting pixel positions into wavelengths.
There are some optical improvements [Roman] would like to make, especially in aiming and focusing the camera; as he says, the dynamic and unpredictable nature of fireworks makes them difficult to photograph. As for identifying elements in the spectra, that’s on the to-do list until he can find a library of spectra to use. Or, there’s always
DIY Raman spectroscopy
. | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716306",
"author": "fLOTSAM",
"timestamp": "2024-01-07T00:29:05",
"content": "“New Year’s Eve or the Fourth of July”No mention of Bonfire Night aka Fifth of November, Guy Fawkes’ Night or Fireworks Night?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comm... | 1,760,372,050.29229 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/a-look-inside-the-smallest-possible-png-file/ | A Look Inside The Smallest Possible PNG File | Al Williams | [
"Software Development"
] | [
"png",
"png format"
] | What’s inside a PNG file? Graphics, sure. But how is that graphic encoded? [Evan Hahn] shows you what goes into
a single black pixel inside a 67-byte file
. Why so many bytes? Well, that is exactly what the post is about.
You had to guess there is some overhead, right? There is an 8-byte header. Next up is a 25-byte metadata block. That single pixel takes 22 bytes, and then there is a 12-byte marker for the end of file. Turns out, you could put a bit more in the file, and would still take 67 bytes. The metadata is in a chunk — a block of data with a type, length, and CRC. That’s why it takes 25 bytes to store the dimensions of the image. A chunk has to be at least 12 bytes long. The metadata includes the image dimensions, the bit depth, and so on.
The next chunk, of course, is the data. The data is compressed, but in the case of one pixel, compression is a misnomer. There will be ten data bytes in the data chunk. That doesn’t include the 12 bytes of the chunk overhead so that one pixel takes a whopping 22 bytes.
The end of file marker is another chunk with no data. The total? 67 bytes. However, you can add more than one bit and still wind up with 67 bytes. For all the details, check out the post.
Luckily, it is
easy to pronounce PNG
. You can even use the format for
circuit simulation
. | 19 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716282",
"author": "UnderSampled",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T22:25:39",
"content": "So what is the biggest, or most interesting, image you can fit in the same 67 bytes?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6716303",
"author... | 1,760,372,050.444861 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/1d-fireworks-are-nice-and-quiet/ | 1D Fireworks Are Nice And Quiet | Kristina Panos | [
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"fireworks",
"RGB LEDs",
"rocket",
"wemos d1 mini",
"ws2812"
] | Maybe you do it out of respect for the dogs and parents of young children in the neighborhood. Or maybe you do it because they’re harmful to the environment, or just because it’s too darn cold outside. Whatever your reasoning for not setting off fireworks, don’t fret — you can probably put together your own silent
one-dimensional “fireworks” display from what you’ve got in the parts bin
.
[Daniel Westhof]’s design is simple, requiring little more than a Wemos D1 Mini and a strip of WS2812 LEDs. Once activated, a red rocket shoots up from the ground and detonates, sending lights in both directions on the strip to imitate the bombs bursting in air. It’s controlled with a small push button switch, and there’s a deliciously large red LED indicator that shows the thing is ready for detonation.
You might be surprised to find that there’s a wide array of 1D gaming and animation projects out there, many of which made possible by the ubiquitous addressable RGB LED strip. We’ve
seen a dungeon crawler
, at
least two different
versions of
the classic PONG
, and even the makings of a simplified
Wolfenstein
. | 17 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716231",
"author": "limroh",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T18:46:54",
"content": "Hah, like it ;-)now attach a few dozen such led strips to powerful drones and simulate several different explosions in 3D :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comm... | 1,760,372,050.588243 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/new-years-resolutions/ | New Year’s Resolutions | Elliot Williams | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"News",
"Rants"
] | [
"happy new year",
"microcontrollers",
"new year",
"newsletter"
] | As we stand here looking at the brand-new year ahead, we find ourselves taking stock, and maybe thinking how we can all be better people in the next year. More exercise, being nicer to your neighbors, consuming more or less of this or that, depending on whether it’s healthy or un. Those are the standard fare. But what’s your hacker new year’s resolution?
Mine, this year, is to branch out into a new microcontroller family, to learn a new toolchain, and maybe to finally dip my toes into Bluetooth Low Energy. Although that last one is admittedly a stretch.
But the former is great resolution material, if you allow me. New programming tooling is always a little unpleasant to set up, but there’s also payoff at the end of the ordeal. It’s a lot like picking up a new exercise – it makes you stronger. Or course, it helps to have an application in mind, the equivalent of that suit you want to be able to fit into at the end of the diet. I’ve got one. I’ve also been out of programming in straight C for a year or so, and I’m faced with a new HAL, so there’s bound to be enough of a challenge to make it worthwhile.
Honestly, I’m looking forward to getting started, but with the usual mix of optimism, over-optimism, and mild dread. It’s the perfect setup for a resolution! What’s yours?
(And yes, the art is from another story, but setting up a good backup regime isn’t a bad resolution either.)
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
! | 18 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716184",
"author": "Markus Bindhammer",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T15:46:11",
"content": "No specific New Year’s resolution, but I always keep to my motto: A day on which I learn nothing is a day lost.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment... | 1,760,372,050.640074 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/no-dac-try-pdm/ | No DAC? Try PDM | Al Williams | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"dac",
"ESP32",
"PDM",
"pulse density modulation"
] | Ever notice that the ESP32-S3 doesn’t have a digital-to-analog converter? [Chris] did and asserts that he doesn’t care because he can just
use the PDM system to get the same result
. PDM — pulse density modulation — is similar to PWM and, like PWM, requires a filter that could range from a simple RC network to an active filter. You can see the result in the video below.
There are several ways [Chris] could produce the output he wanted. PWM was one choice, and some example code uses a timer to do PDM. However, that is not very efficient. The other alternative is to use the I2S output. However, this does require a few workarounds.
In particular, the I2S output is always stereo and incorporates a clock output that isn’t needed for this application. [Chris] simply output the same value on both channels and routed the clock to some pins that are normally used for startup options. That means they can’t easily be used for your own inputs, but it’s OK to use them for unimportant outputs.
We always enjoy seeing solutions like this because it can give you ideas for use in your own projects. Of course, this won’t apply to every project where you need a DAC, but it still might give you some ideas.
We have
looked at PDM before
. You could, too,
build your own DAC hardware
. | 16 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716128",
"author": "Jan",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T12:10:29",
"content": "PDM on the ESP8266.https://www.hackster.io/janost/audio-hacking-on-the-esp8266-fa9464",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6716137",
"author": "Julian Ski... | 1,760,372,050.769084 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/06/3d-printed-eel-could-cost-less-at-scale/ | 3D Printed Eel Could Cost Less At Scale | Kristina Panos | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"3d printed food",
"eel",
"vegan eel"
] | Be it a matter of cost, principle, or just plain being landlocked, the idea of 3D printed vegan eel over the real deal is quite an attractive development. An Israeli company called Steakholder Foods has introduced this very thing —
something they claim is the world’s first plant-based, printed eel.
One thing to note about eel is that they are quite intricately textured, a problem which seems tailored for 3D printing. The company say they achieve similarity through precise layering and “a unique combination of materials”, which are proprietary. Although the current product is based solely on plant materials, the plan is to incorporate eel cells in the future. Right now, the company is looking to collaborate by providing printers and ink so that participants can create short-term revenue.
While it’s unclear whether the eel is printed and then cooked, or
print-cooked like this chicken
, it sure looks tasty. Would you eat printed food?
Have you done so already
? Let us know in the comments. | 38 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6716148",
"author": "Mystick",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T13:04:31",
"content": "It’s not eel. Shouldn’t be called that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6716150",
"author": "Ray'",
"timestamp": "2024-01-06T13:13:... | 1,760,372,050.717056 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/diy-chemistry-points-the-way-to-open-source-blood-glucose-testing/ | DIY Chemistry Points The Way To Open Source Blood Glucose Testing | Dan Maloney | [
"chemistry hacks",
"Medical Hacks"
] | [
"blood glucose",
"colorimetric",
"diabetes",
"electrochemistry",
"glucose oxidase",
"iodine",
"starch"
] | Every diabetic knows that one of the major burdens of the disease is managing supplies. From insulin to alcohol wipes, diabetes is a resource-intensive disease, and running out of anything has the potential for disaster. This is especially true for glucose test trips, the little electrochemical dongles that plug into a meter and read the amount of glucose in a single drop of blood.
As you might expect, glucose test strips are highly proprietary, tightly regulated, and very expensive. But the chemistry that makes them work is pretty simple, which led [Markus Bindhammer] to
these experiments with open source glucose testing
. It’s all part of a larger effort at developing
an open Arduino glucometer
, a project that has been going on since 2016 but stalled in part thanks to supply chain difficulties on the chemistry side, mainly in procuring glucose oxidase, an enzyme that oxidizes glucose. The reaction creates hydrogen peroxide, which can be measured to determine the amount of glucose present.
With glucose oxidase once again readily available — from bakery and wine-making suppliers — [Markus] started playing with the chemistry. The first reaction in the video below demonstrates how iodine and starch can be used as a reagent to detect peroxide. A tiny drop of glucose solution turns the iodine-starch suspension a deep blue color in the presence of glucose oxidase.
While lovely, colorimetric reactions such as these aren’t optimal for analyzing blood, so reaction number two uses electrochemistry to detect glucose. Platinum electrodes are bathed in a solution of glucose oxidase and connected to a multimeter. When glucose is added to the solution, the peroxide produced lowers the resistance across the electrodes. This is essentially what’s going on in commercial glucose test strips, as well as in
continuous glucose monitors
.
Hats off to [Markus] for working so diligently on this project. We’re keenly interested in this project, and we’ll be following developments closely. | 16 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715453",
"author": "Kathi",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T21:11:18",
"content": "Very well written but i stay with my therapy dog. He smell the chemical changes and tips me with his nose to warn me. Pure love :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,372,050.818023 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/sandpaper-alternatives-for-3d-prints/ | Sandpaper Alternatives For 3D Prints | Bryan Cockfield | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d gloop",
"3d printer",
"epoxy",
"finish",
"polyurethane",
"print",
"sandpaper",
"Solvent",
"spray paint"
] | A finished 3D print, especially plastic deposition types, often have imperfections in them from the process of laying down each layer of material and from the printer itself. For small batches or one-off parts, we might reach for a few pieces of sandpaper to smooth out these rough edges. While that might work for a small number of parts, it’s not always the best or lowest-effort option for refining these prints.
There are a few alternative methods
to try out if your fingers are getting sore, though.
Rather than removing material as sandpaper does, most of these methods involve adding material to the print in order to fill in the rough edges of the print. There is a 3D-print-specific product listed called
3D Gloop!
which is generally used as a glue to hold plastic parts together, but can also act as a fill in a pinch. Two other similar methods, one using spray paint and polyurethane and the other using epoxy, are more general-purpose ways of finishing the prints with a more natural texture than the printer will produce on its own. They’re not all additive, though; the final (and perhaps, most toxic) method here to achieve a smooth surface on a print uses solvent to remove some of the material instead.
While sandpaper does have its time and place, certain prints may lend themselves more to being finished by one of these other methods especially if they are overly complex, fragile, or an unusual size. Take note of the safety gear you’ll want to have on hand for most of these methods, though, as gloves and a respirator are highly encouraged and possibly helpful even if using only sandpaper. These aren’t the only ways of finishing 3D prints, either. Some of our other favorites are using
glazing putty
or
silver
for the finish. | 19 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715428",
"author": "Raham",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T20:46:59",
"content": "Readed the gloop safty papers and it explain why i got headache. But the technical description is really helpfull. Next time i better used it outside and than i should be fine.Had the same problems after lo... | 1,760,372,050.875757 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/the-world-of-web-browsers-is-in-a-bad-way/ | The World Of Web Browsers Is In A Bad Way | Jenny List | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Rants",
"Slider",
"Software Development"
] | [
"browser",
"rendering engine",
"web"
] | There once was a man who invented a means for publishing scientific documents using hypertext. He made his first documents available from his NeXT cube, and a lot of the academics who saw them thought it was a great idea. They took the idea, expanded it, and added graphics, and pretty soon people who weren’t scientists wanted to use it too. It became the Next Big Thing, and technology companies new and old wanted a piece of the pie.
You all know the next chapter of this story. It’s the mid 1990s, and Microsoft, having been caught on the back foot after pursuing The Microsoft Network as a Compuserve and AOL competitor, did an about-turn and set out to conquer the Web. Their tool of choice was Microsoft Internet Explorer 3, which since it shipped with Windows 95 and every computer that mattered back then came with Windows 95, promptly entered a huge battle with Netscape’s Navigator browser. Web standards were in their infancy so the two browsers battled each other by manipulating the underlying technologies on which the Web relied. Microsoft used their “Embrace and extend” strategy to try to Redmondify everything, and Netscape got lost in the wilderness with Netscape 4, a browser on which nightmarish quirks were the norm. By the millennium it was Internet Explorer that had won the battle, and though some of the more proprietary Microsoft web technologies had fallen by the wayside, we entered the new decade in a relative monoculture.
When Using Another Browser Was An Act Of Rebellion
Google enlisted the comic-book artist Scott McCloud
to help launch their new browser
.
What saved us from Microsoft having a
de facto
control over access to the web was the existence of several other browser engines. Opera Software’s browser had been with us since 1995, but it was joined by first Apple’s Safari emerging from the open-source Konqueror in 2003, then
Phoenix
Firebird
Firefox in 2004 from the ashes of Netscape’s legacy. These new contenders were sleek and fast, with features such as tabbed browsing that made the Microsoft browser feel very stale. When Google took Safari’s WebKit engine and a new Javascript system in 2008 to make Google Chrome, the writing was on the wall, and Chrome overtook the Redmond offering early in the next decade.
Ten years ago then, the browser world looked pretty healthy. Chrome was most popular, followed by MSIE, then Firefox and the others. Crucially though, there were four different browser engines among the major contenders, so no one entity could exert control over web standards. Gone were the days when websites had to have different code for different browsers, if you wrote a website properly it would display in all of the browsers equally well.
It seems like a golden age from a perspective here in 2024 though, because in the last decade the number of browser engines has dropped to two, with one on life support. Such has been the success of Chrome that its engine has been adopted by all the browsers which matter, with Firefox the only significant holdout with its Gecko engine against a steeply declining market share. In a couple of decades we’ve gone from a browser monoculture in which one huge technology company has a near-monopoly, to a browser monoculture in which another huge technology company has a near-monopoly. Sadly Google’s days of having a “Don’t be evil” motto are far behind it, so we think this is of huge concern.
The Only New Fully-Featured Browser Engine Is Probably Hiding In A Niche Hobby OS
Ladybird still has some rough edges, but is a remarkable achievement.
A few months ago
I reviewed a hobby OS called SerenityOS
, and was particularly excited by its web browser. Ladybird is a browser that needs more development to be ready for the big time, but at the same time its small development team have achieved the near-impossible feat of writing from scratch a fully-functional modern web browser. That you have to look to such a small and niche project to find what may be the only full-featured modern browser engine still in active development which isn’t part of the Webkit or Gecko family should be all the confirmation you need that there’s something seriously wrong in the world of web browsers. If this doesn’t concern you, it should.
When considering what’s to be done about this it’s easy to find people laying into Mozilla’s management decisions as being at the root of Firefox’s near-demise. But while it’s certainly true that there have been some surprising courses of action at the top in the organisation, it’s probably not the whole story. The fact remains that Firefox is still under development and is still a damn’ good freely available browser. If it can no longer command enough of a percentage of the browser market to remain relevant then that’s not the fault of the software itself but the browser landscape. Perhaps not enough people care any more or perhaps it’s just too easy a choice to develop using Webkit, but either way if Web standards are to remain beyond the direction of a single entity then it’s vital that some attention be paid to the failing contender.
It would be easy to end this piece with an exhortation to download Firefox and give up your Webkit browser, but that is oddly not the solution. What the Web needs is a plurality of browser engines not a duality, and returning to that state is not something fixable by a software switch. There needs to be a moment of collective reflection in which we consider whether we’re happy with a
de facto
monoculture, and assuming that there is then the will for something to be done, to then change the way we look at web browsers. It should no longer be the norm to treat a new Webkit-based browser as an entirely new browser, and as a community we should find ways to encourage the development of other engines. We’ve got here by complacency and seeing fixing the Web as a done deal, and we need to un-learn that position. | 115 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715273",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T18:27:59",
"content": "Google’s actions against adblockers will bring about that moment of reflection pretty soon. Right as Mozilla makes a push for add-ons on Android.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
... | 1,760,372,051.282167 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/how-good-is-the-cheapest-generator-on-amazon/ | How Good Is The Cheapest Generator On Amazon? | Maya Posch | [
"Reviews"
] | [
"electrical generator",
"power analysis"
] | Although an internal combustion engine-based generator isn’t exactly one of the most complicated contraptions, any time that you combine something that produces power with electrical devices, you generally like to know how safe it is. Even more so when it’s a $139 generator you got off Amazon, like the PowerSmart 1200 Watt (1000 continuous) that the
[Silver Cymbal] took a gander at recently
. They used an expensive professional power analyzer to look at more than just the basic waveform of the 120 VAC output to figure out what kind of devices you’d feel comfortable connecting to it.
Waveform analysis of the cheapest generator when under load. Looks better than with no load attached.
On the unit there is a single AC output, which a heater got attached to serve as a load during testing, but before that, the properties out of the output voltage were analyzed without any load. This showed a highly erratic waveform, as the generator clearly was unable to synchronize and produced a voltage within a wide range, immediately disqualifying it for connecting to sensitive electronics. Things got less dire once the load was hooked up and turned up to use up a big chunk of the available continuous power.
Although being far from a perfect sine wave, the output now looked much better, with all properties including the
total harmonic distortion (THD)
being just a hair over 20% and hitting just over 60 Hz on the frequency.
Definitely not a great result, but as a cheap unit to keep around for powering things like heaters and power tools that aren’t too fussy about how clean the power is, one could do a lot worse. | 79 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715182",
"author": "Myself",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T16:38:31",
"content": "It’s also a 2-cycle engine, which has a heinously dirty exhaust and I’m baffled that they’re even still legal to sell. Please, please don’t run one of these.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"r... | 1,760,372,051.022661 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/british-hospital-blasts-through-waiting-lists-by-slashing-surgeon-downtime/ | British Hospital Blasts Through Waiting Lists By Slashing Surgeon Downtime | Lewin Day | [
"Featured",
"Interest",
"Medical Hacks",
"Original Art"
] | [
"efficiency",
"factory",
"medicine",
"surgery"
] | It feels like it doesn’t matter where you go, health systems are struggling. In the US, just about any procedure is super expensive. In the UK and Australia, waiting lists extend far into the future and patients are left sitting in ambulances as hospitals lack capacity. In France, staff shortages rage furiously, frustrating operations.
It might seem like hope is fruitless and there is little that can be done. But amidst this horrid backdrop, one London hospital is finding some serious gains with some neat optimizations to the way it handles surgery,
as
The Times
reports
.
Keep ‘Em Moving
The new innovative model is the brainchild of Imram Ahmad and Kariem El-Boghdadly, a pair of consultant anesthetists working at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The latter compares the surgery setup to the way motorsport pit crews slash the time of a pit stop, by effectively splitting up tasks and designating their completion to certain individuals. For example, a Formula 1 team doesn’t change one tire at a time. Instead, 12 crew members change four tires at once—usually in less than 3 seconds.
Surgeons often sit idle while waiting for patients to be prepped for surgery. If you’ve ever worked in manufacturing optimization, you’ll know that eliminating idle time nets huge benefits. Credit: Olga Guryanova,
Unsplash license
The duo’s trick to speeding up surgery is similarly down to parallelizing operations. It involves setting up two operating theatres side by side. While surgeons are operating on one patient, another is being prepped in the second theatre.
When they complete one procedure, they can move straight to the next procedure with the patient already under anaesthetic and ready to go into surgery. “The anaesthetic happens while another patient is being operated on, and as soon as patient number one is done and leaves the operating room, the second patient has come in the operating room already anaesthetised,” El-Boghdadly told
The Times.
Cleaning is optimized too, with nurses able to clean a theatre post-procedure in under two minute, ready for the next patient to roll in. The operating method is called “High Intensity Theatre”, or HIT for short, and typically runs on weekends at Guy’s and St Thomas’.
The results have been astonishing, helping clear long waiting lists in record time. One Saturday at St Thomas’ hospital saw a third of gynaecological oncology list cleared in a single morning. Where the team would usually do 6 operations in a full workday, they were able to clear 21 cancer diagnostic operations by lunchtime. HIT methods were also used to complete three months worth of breast cancer operations in just five days during one stretch in August, while a prostatectomy team were able to achieve a week’s worth of operations in just one day using the method.
El-Boghdadly is keen to note that it’s not about rushing surgery or cutting corners, but finding efficiencies. He notes that the hospital routinely knocks off two to three times as many surgeries in a day than when using more routine operational procedures.
The basic concept is to set up a pair of operating theatres and staff them so that surgeons can keep doing what they do best with as little downtime as possible between surgeries. Credit:
JC Gellidon, Unsplash License
Working more efficiently has knock-on health benefits too. Many diseases, like cancers, benefit from early detection. Getting patients in for surgery sooner could thus improve outcomes versus those who get stuck on waiting lists for weeks or months for a simple diagnostic.
Indeed, it’s not unlike the optimization that a manufacturing engineer might do to a production line. In a factory, there’s little value having workers around waiting for parts to assemble, for example. In much the same way, it’s silly to have high-dollar, highly trained surgeons twiddling their thumbs while they wait for patients to be prepped for their next surgery. Anything that keeps them working more and reduces their downtime can be a good efficiency gain.
Obviously, it’s still important for staff to take breaks to rest and the like, but the elimination of dead times and the dreaded “hurry up and wait” can be a huge boon. Why spend millions upon millions building more theatres and training more surgeons? If the HIT method really does work, then simply reallocating some staff resources can get many more surgeries out of existing staff in the same amount of time. Spread that across a whole hospital system, and the benefits would be huge.
With waiting lists in many countries stretching out to the moon, this methodology could be a long-overdue way to help get them back down, to the benefit of patients and administrators alike. Here’s hoping the HIT method can bring these benefits to more hospitals around the world. | 66 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715157",
"author": "Foldi-One",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T15:24:33",
"content": "Sounds like a good solution, though I wonder how long the folks working the line can really keep it up. Don’t want to burn out the staff long term or wear them down in a shift so they are making mistake... | 1,760,372,051.126497 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/ch32-risc-v-mcus-get-official-arduino-support/ | CH32 RISC-V MCUs Get Official Arduino Support | Tom Nardi | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"arduino",
"Arduino IDE",
"CH32",
"RISC-V"
] | Like many of you, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the CH32 family of RISC-V microcontrollers from WCH Electronics. You can get the CH32V003, featuring 2 kB RAM and 16 kB of flash for under fifteen cents, and the higher-end models include impressive features like onboard Ethernet. But while the hardware is definitely interesting, the software side of things has been a little rocky compared to what we’ve come to expect from modern MCUs.
Things should start looking up a bit though with the release of an
Arduino core for the CH32
direct from WCH themselves. It’s been tested on Windows, Linux, and Mac, and supports the CH32V00x, CH32V10x, CH32V20x, CH32V30x, and CH32X035 chips. Getting it installed is as easy as adding the URL to the Arduino IDE’s Boards Manager interface, though as the video below shows, running it on Linux does require an extra step or two.
So far, we’ve seen several projects, like
this temperature sensor
or this
holiday gizmo
that use [cnlohr]’s
open-source toolchain
. But there’s no question that plenty of hobbyists out there feel more comfortable in the Arduino environment, and if those folks are now able to pick up a CH32 and do something cool, that means more people jumping on board, more libraries developed, more demo code written…you get the idea.
Just like the ESP8266’s popularity exploded
when it was added to the Arduino IDE
, we’ve got high hopes for the CH32 family in the coming months. | 26 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715115",
"author": "Neverm|nd",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T12:54:47",
"content": "While I’ve been keeping track of RISC-V developments for awhile now, and it is certainly *ideologically* nice to be using a full open-source ISA (particularly if you want to roll your own on an FPGA)… I... | 1,760,372,051.3458 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/current-based-side-channel-attacks-two-ways/ | Current-Based Side-Channel Attacks, Two Ways | Dan Maloney | [
"Reverse Engineering"
] | [
"aes",
"balun",
"cryptography",
"current",
"ESP32",
"shunt",
"Side channel"
] | Funny things can happen when a security researcher and an electronics engineer specializing in high-speed circuits get together. At least they did when [Limpkin] met [Roman], which resulted in
two interesting hardware solutions for side-channel attacks
.
As [Limpkin] relates it, the tale began when he shared an office with [Roman Korkikian], a security researcher looking into current-based attacks on the crypto engine inside ESP32s. The idea goes that by monitoring the current consumption of the processor during cryptographic operations, you can derive enough data to figure out how it works. It’s difficult to tease a useful signal from the noise, though, and [Roman]’s setup with long wire runs and a noisy current probe wasn’t helping at all. So [Limpkin] decided to pitch in.
The first board he designed
was based on a balun, which he used to isolate the device under test from the amplification stage. He found a 1:8 balun, normally used to match impedances in RF circuits, and used its primary as a shunt resistance between the power supply — a CR1220 coin cell — and the DUT. The amplifier stage is a pair of low-noise RF amps; a variable attenuator was added between the amp stages on a second version of the board.
Board number two
took a different tack; rather than use a balun, [Limpkin] chose a simple shunt resistor with a few twists. To measure the low-current signal on top of the ESP32’s baseline draw would require such a large shunt resistor that the microcontroller wouldn’t even boot, so he instead used an OPA855 wideband low-noise op-amp as an amplified shunt. The output of that stage goes through the same variable attenuator as the first board, and then to another OPA855 gain stage. The board is entirely battery-powered, relying on nice, quiet 18650s to power both the DUT and the shunt.
How well does it work? We’ll let you watch the talk below and make up your own mind, but since they’ve used these simple circuits to break a range of different chips, we’d say this approach a winner. | 9 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715059",
"author": "C",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T09:36:55",
"content": "Why do people avoid using nano? Why write 0.1uF instead of 100nf? It always annoyed me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6715105",
"author": "dave... | 1,760,372,051.390506 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/high-resolution-midi-controller/ | High-Resolution MIDI Controller | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"control board",
"control interface",
"digital to analog",
"linear",
"midi",
"potentiometer",
"resolution"
] | For an older standard, MIDI has remarkable staying power in the music industry. It remains the de facto digital interface between computers and instruments thanks to its open nature, but its age does show a little bit. Sending control change (CC) messages, for example, was originally designed to fit within seven bits, which doesn’t give particularly fine resolution compared to more capable modern computers. To work around that, a fourteen-bit message is possible, doubling the resolution, and
this MIDI interface uses this larger amount of data to send these high-resolution CC messages
.
The 14-bit messages are actually fairly well documented but are a bit obscure, with very limited hardware support. To that end, [Gero] set about building this control interface to solve that problem. It’s made up of only eight knobs, each of which is mapped one-to-one to a parameter on the computer, allowing the interface to feel more like an analog device where the knob corresponds directly to a change in an aspect of the sound. The platform is built around a Teensy 4.0 and some multiplexers to handle all of the knobs, with the open source software available for anyone to use to modify their actions. [Gero] was aiming for high fidelity for all aspects of this controller, not just the improved digital resolution, and made a number of other improvements to it as well like re-greasing the potentiometer knobs and a custom 3D printed enclosure.
All of the software is available for use, as well as the files to print the case. [Gero] is also working on a PCB to make the construction of the device a little more streamlined, but for now, it requires a bit of soldering off-the-shelf parts together. The MIDI standard is open as well, which allows for a lot of innovation in the creation of musical instruments from unique hardware.
This project builds a MIDI synthesizer with parts from a Sega Genesis
. | 20 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715887",
"author": "Example",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T17:23:57",
"content": "Cool build with a high quality look!Is going from 7 to 14 bit only doubling its resolution?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6715889",
"auth... | 1,760,372,051.442744 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/this-week-in-security-bitwarden-reverse-rdp-and-snake/ | This Week In Security: Bitwarden, Reverse RDP, And Snake | Jonathan Bennett | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"News",
"Security Hacks",
"Slider"
] | [
"Mandiant",
"rdp",
"ssh",
"This Week in Security"
] | This week, we finally get the inside scoops on some old stories, starting with
the Bitwarden Windows Hello problem from last year
. You may remember, Bitwarden has an option to use Windows Hello as a vault unlock option. Unfortunately, the Windows credential API doesn’t actually encrypt credentials in a way that requires an additional Windows Hello verification to unlock. So a derived key gets stored to the credential manager, and can be retrieved through a simple API call. No additional biometrics needed. Even with the Bitwarden vault locked and application closed.
There’s another danger, that doesn’t even require access to the the logged-in machine. On a machine that is joined to a domain, Windows backs up those encryption keys to the Domain Controller. The encrypted vault itself is available on a domain machine over SMB by default. A compromised domain controller could snag a bitwarden vault without ever even running code on the target machine. The good news is that this particular problem with Bitwarden and Windows Hello is now fixed, and has been since
version 2023.10.1
.
Reverse RDP Exploitation
We normally think about the Remote Desktop Protocol as dangerous to expose to the internet. And it is. Don’t put your RDP service online. But
reverse RDP
is the idea that it might also be dangerous to connect an RDP client to a malicious server. And of course, multiple RDP implementations have this problem. There’s rdesktop, FreeRDP, and Microsoft’s own mstsc that all have vulnerabilities relating to reverse RDP.
The technical details here aren’t terribly interesting. It’s all variations on the theme of not properly checking remote data from the server, and hence either reading or writing past internal buffers. This results in various forms of information leaks and code executions problems. What’s interesting is the different responses to the findings, and then
[Eyal Itkin]’s takeaway
about how security researchers should approach vulnerability disclosure.
So first up, Microsoft dismissed a vulnerability as unworthy of servicing. And then proceeded to research it internally, and present it as a novel attack without properly attributing [Eyal] for the original find. rdesktop contained quite a few of these issues, but were able to fix the problem in a handful of months. FreeRDP fixed some issues right away, in what could be described as a whack-a-mole style process, but a patch was cooked up that would actually address the problem at a deeper level: changing an API value from the unsigned size_t to a signed ssize_t. That change took a whopping 2 years to actually make it out to the world in a release. Why so long?
Two reasons for that long time lag. First off, it was a hardening change, not a response to a single vulnerability. It would have prevented a bunch of them all at once, but wasn’t a required change to fix any of them individually. But even more importantly, this was an API change. It would break things. So, throw it into the major version branch and wait. And here’s where there’s a bit of a dilemma. Should a researcher blast the problem online, or wait patiently? There’s no single solid answer here, as every situation has its own complexities, but [Eyal] makes the case that security researchers ought to be more concerned with projects getting fixes applied, and not just content to score another CVE.
Crawl Networks with SSH-Snake
We just discovered this clever tool this week:
SSH-Snake
. The concept is simple. The script looks for any SSH private keys, then tries them on the list of known ssh hosts. For each host that accepts a key, the script runs again. It doesn’t drop any files on the filesystem, and runs automatically without intervention, compiling a nifty graph of accessible systems at the end. Definitely a worthwhile tool to keep in your digital toolbox.
Bits and Bytes
In an amusing turn of online play,
Mandiant lost control of their X account for a while this week
. It was a fun cat-and-mouse game as posts pushing crypto scams would appear, disappear, and appear again. One can only imagine the frantic work done behind the scenes as this played out. Hopefully we can share a Mandiant blogpost about this in a few weeks. And yes,
there’s an XKCD about that
.
As you likely noticed, yesterday, Mandiant lost control of this X account which had 2FA enabled. Currently, there are no indications of malicious activity beyond the impacted X account, which is back under our control. We'll share our investigation findings once concluded.
— Mandiant (@Mandiant)
January 4, 2024
If you still have a Lastpass account, you may have gotten emails this week about
a master password requirement change in the works
. The TL:DR is that Lastpass has previously “required” a 12 character password. Starting soon, all password will actually have to be 12 characters long, including those from older accounts. It’d probably be best to get out ahead of that change anyway, if you have a shorter password.
It does seem a bit tone-deaf, that
23andMe blames the victims for the recent account breaches there
. “users used the same usernames and passwords used on 23andMe.com as on other websites that had been subject to prior security breaches, and users negligently recycled and failed to update their passwords following these past security incidents”. Except, that’s technically correct. Users really were re-using passwords. And users really did opt in to sharing details with their genetic matches. The only real failure was that nobody at 23andMe spotted the credential stuffing attack as it was happening, but that’s admittedly difficult to discern vs normal traffic. So probably an A- for the technical point. And a D for the delivery. | 10 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715841",
"author": "Foldi-One",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T15:27:39",
"content": ">Should a researcher blast the problem online, or wait patiently?For me that is easy, if the software is being fixed keep quiet even if the full release that makes the fix the norm takes a while. Though... | 1,760,372,051.667934 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/getting-root-access-on-a-telsa/ | Getting Root Access On A Tesla | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Security Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"Autopilot",
"full self driving",
"root",
"security",
"software",
"tesla"
] | A growing number of manufacturers are locking perfectly good hardware behind arbitrary software restrictions. While this ought to be a bigger controversy, people seem to keep paying for things like printers with ink subscriptions, cameras with features disabled in firmware, or routers with speed restrictions, ensuring that this practice continues. Perhaps the most blatant is car manufacturers that lock features such as heated seats or even performance upgrades in the hopes of securing a higher price for their vehicles. This might be a thing of the past for Teslas,
whose software has been recently unlocked by Berlin IT researchers
.
Researchers from Technische Universität Berlin were able to unlock Tesla’s driving assistant by inducing a two-microsecond voltage drop on the processor which allowed root access to the Autopilot software. Referring to this as “Elon mode” since it drops the requirement for the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel, they were able to access the full self-driving mode allowing autonomous driving without driver input. Although this might be a bad idea based on the performance of “full self-driving” in the real world, the hack at least demonstrates a functional attack point and similar methods could provide free access to other premium features.
While the attack requires physical access to the vehicle’s computer and a well-equipped workbench, in the short term this method might allow for owners of vehicles to use hardware they own however they would like, and in the long term perhaps may make strides towards convincing manufacturers that “features as a service” isn’t a profitable strategy. Perhaps that’s optimistic, but at least for Teslas
it’s been shown that they’re not exactly the most secured system on four wheels
. | 36 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715740",
"author": "mime",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T12:06:15",
"content": "telsa?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6715754",
"author": "UncleDingler",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T12:31:47",
"content": "Dys... | 1,760,372,051.611288 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/05/enabling-intel-amt-for-bios-over-wifi/ | Enabling Intel AMT For BIOS-over-WiFi | Arya Voronova | [
"computer hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"bios",
"IME",
"intel",
"intel amt",
"Intel Management Engine",
"Intel ME",
"intel smt",
"management engine",
"ME",
"rom",
"spi flash",
"UEFI"
] | Intel ME, AMT, SMT, V-Pro… All of these acronyms are kind of intimidating, all we know about them is that they are tied to remote control technologies rooted deep in Intel CPUs, way deeper than even operating systems go. Sometimes though, you want remote control for your own purposes, and that’s what [ABy] achieved. He’s got a HP ProDesk 600 G3 Mini, decided to put it into a hard to reach spot in his flat, somewhere you couldn’t easily fetch a monitor and a keyboard for any debugging needs. So, he started looking into some sort of remote access option in case he’d need to access the BIOS remotely, and
went as far as it took to make it work
. (
Google Translate
)
The features he needed are covered by Intel AMT — specifically, BIOS access over a WiFi connection. However, his mini PC only had SMT enabled from the factory, the cut-down version of AMT without features like wireless support. He figured out that BIOS dumping was the way, promptly did just that, found a suitable set of tools for his ME region version, and enabled AMT using Intel’s FIT (Flash Image Tool) software.
Now, dumping the image could be done from a running system fully through software, but apparently, flashing back requires an external programmer. He went with the classic CH341, did the 3.3 V voltmod that’s required to make it safe for flash chip use, and proceeded to spend a good amount of time making it work. Something about the process was screwy, likely the proprietary CH341 software. Comments under the article highlight that you should use
flashrom
for these tasks, and indeed, you should.
This article goes into a ton of detail when it comes to working with Intel BIOS images — whichever kind of setting you want to change, be it AMT support or some entirely different but just as tasty setting, you will be well served by this write-up. Comments do point out that you might want to upgrade the Intel ME version while at it, and for what it’s worth, you can look into disabling it too; we’ve shown you a
multitude
of
reasons
why
you
should,
and a good
few
ways
you
could
. | 28 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715748",
"author": "Joshua",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T12:23:03",
"content": "Um, is the BIOS/CSM still a thing? I thought it’s all UEFI now. 🤷♂️Or is “BIOS” used as a synonym for firmware here?I remember that people talked about “entering BIOS” when they really just meant running... | 1,760,372,051.741544 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/aqueous-battery-solves-lithiums-problems/ | Aqueous Battery Solves Lithium’s Problems | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Battery Hacks",
"chemistry hacks"
] | [
"catalyst",
"energy density",
"hydrogen",
"lithium",
"manganese",
"manganese oxide",
"palladium"
] | The demand for grid storage ramps up as more renewable energy sources comes online, but existing technology might not be up to the challenge. Lithium is the most popular option for battery storage right now, not just due to the physical properties of the batteries, but also because we’re manufacturing them at a massive scale already. Unfortunately they do have downsides, especially with performance in cold temperatures and a risk of fires, which has researchers looking for alternatives like
aqueous batteries which mitigate these issues
.
An aqueous battery uses a water-based electrolyte to move ions from one electrode to the other. Compared to lithium, which uses lithium salts for the electrolyte, this reduces energy density somewhat but improves safety since water is much less flammable. The one downside is that during overcharging or over-current situations, hydrogen gas can be produced by electrolysis of the water, which generally needs to be vented out of the battery. This doesn’t necessarily damage the battery but can cause other issues. To avoid this problem, researchers found that adding a manganese oxide to the battery and using palladium as a catalyst caused any hydrogen generated within the battery’s electrolyte to turn back into water and return to the electrolyte solution without issue.
Of course, these batteries likely won’t completely replace lithium ion batteries especially in things like EVs due to their lower energy density. It’s also not yet clear whether this technology,
like others we’ve featured
, will scale up enough to be used for large-scale applications either, but any solution that solves some of the problems of lithium, like the environmental cost or safety issues, while adding more storage to an increasingly renewable grid, is always welcome. | 15 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715649",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T06:33:00",
"content": "Catalytic recombination of hydrogen and oxygen has been a thing in lead-acid batteries since forever ago. Putting that tech in a zinc-carbon cell is just a waste of palladium. Enjoy your single digit ch... | 1,760,372,051.852806 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/hacking-ble-to-liberate-your-exercise-equipment/ | Hacking BLE To Liberate Your Exercise Equipment | Arya Voronova | [
"Reverse Engineering",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"ble",
"bluetooth",
"bluetooth low energy",
"gatt",
"intercept",
"sniffing"
] | It’s a story we’ve heard many times before: if you want to get your data from the Domyos EL500 elliptical trainer, you need to use a proprietary smartphone application that talks to the device over Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE). To add insult to injury, the only way to the software will export your workout information is by producing a JPG image of a graph. This just won’t do, so
[Juan Carlos Jiménez] gives us yet another extensive write-up
, which provides an excellent introduction to practical BLE hacking.
He walks us through BLE GATT (Generic Attribute Profile), the most common way such devices work, different stages of the connection process, and the tools you can use for sniffing an active connection. Then [Juan] shows us a few captured messages, how to figure out packet types, and moves into the tastiest part — using an ESP32 to man-in-the-middle (MITM) the connection.
The MITM consists of two parts: a laptop with
a Python script
talking with the Domyos EL500, and
an ESP32
that’s spoofing the EL500 to a smartphone app, tied together with a serial link. You can capture all the messages that the app and the trainer are exchanging, modify them in real-time and see the reaction, and figure out how to extract all the data you could dream of. This is more than enough to conquer the next frontier — writing a third-party app to capture workout data, and we can’t wait to see
this experiment
conclude.
BLE is ubiquitous and used in what feels to be every IoT device under the sun, which makes it all the more wonderful that we’ve got yet another tutorial on how to bend it to our will. The tools are easy to find, too. You can use an ESP32,
a Raspberry Pi
, or
an nRF dongle.
You can even get pretty far using
nothing more exotic than an Android device
. Whatever approach you take, the journey is sure to pay off. | 17 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715620",
"author": "AZdave",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T04:44:02",
"content": "There are wearable heart rate monitors out there that ONLY work with a smart phone and ONLY with the manufacturer’s proprietary app. You can imagine what happens to your data.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,372,051.798347 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/04/telescope-rides-on-3d-printed-equatorial-table/ | Telescope Rides On 3D Printed Equatorial Table | Bryan Cockfield | [
"Science"
] | [
"3d printed",
"amateur astronomy",
"astronomy",
"equatorial",
"equatorial table",
"ESP32",
"newtonian",
"telescope"
] | In the realm of amateur astronomy, enthusiasts find themselves navigating a cosmos in perpetual motion. Planets revolve around stars, which, in turn, orbit within galaxies. But the axial rotation of the Earth and the fact that its axis is tilted is the thing that tends to get in the way of viewing celestial bodies for any appreciable amount of time.
Amateur astronomy is filled with solutions to problems like these that don’t cost an arm and a leg, though, like
this 3D printed equatorial table built by [aeropic].
An equatorial table is a device used to compensate for the Earth’s rotation, enabling telescopes to track celestial objects accurately. It aligns with the Earth’s axis, allowing the telescope to follow the apparent motion of stars and planets across the night sky.
Equatorial tables are specific to a location on the Earth, though, so [aeropic] designed this one to be usable for anyone between around 30° and 50° latitude. An OpenSCAD script generates the parts that are latitude-specific, which can then be 3D printed.
From there, the table is assembled, mounted on ball bearings, and powered by a small stepper motor controlled by an ESP32. The microcontroller allows a telescope, in this case a Newtonian SkyWatcher telescope, to track objects in the sky over long periods of time without any expensive commercially-available mounting systems.
Equatorial tables like these are indispensable for a number of reasons, such as long-exposure astrophotography, time lapse imaging, gathering a large amount of observational detail for scientific purposes, or simply as an educational tool to allow more viewing of objects in the sky and less fussing with the telescope. They’re also comparatively low-cost which is a major key in a hobby whose costs can get high quickly, but not even the telescope needs to be that expensive. A Dobsonian telescope can be put together fairly quickly
sometimes using off-the-shelf parts from IKEA
. | 25 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6715546",
"author": "ZaphodHarkonnen",
"timestamp": "2024-01-05T00:54:56",
"content": "And I was just starting to look at putting one of these together. :D Perfect timing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6715687",
"aut... | 1,760,372,052.152869 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/03/a-few-reasonable-rules-for-the-responsible-use-of-new-technology/ | A Few Reasonable Rules For The Responsible Use Of New Technology | Jenny List | [
"Featured",
"Original Art",
"Rants",
"Slider"
] | [
"manifesto",
"new technology",
"obsolete hardware",
"planned obsolescence",
"technology"
] | If there’s one thing which probably unites all of Hackaday’s community, it’s a love of technology. We live to hear about the very latest developments before anyone else, and the chances are for a lot of them we’ll all have a pretty good idea how they work. But if there’s something which probably annoys a lot of us the most, it’s when we see a piece of new technology misused. A lot of us are open-source enthusiasts not because we’re averse to commercial profit, but because we’ve seen the effects of monopolistic practices distorting the market with their new technologies and making matters worse, not better. After all, if a new technology isn’t capable of making the world a better place in some way, what use is it?
It’s depressing then to watch the same cycle repeat itself over and over, to see new technologies used in the service of restrictive practices for short-term gain rather than to make better products. We probably all have examples of new high-tech products that are simply
bad
, that are new technology simply for the sake of marketing, and which ultimately deliver something worse than what came before, but with more bling. Perhaps the worst part is the powerlessness, watching gullible members of the public lapping up something shiny and new that you know to be flawed, and not being able to do anything about it.
Here at Hackaday though, perhaps there is something I can do about it. I don’t sit in any boardroom that matters but I do have here a soapbox on which to stand, and from it I can talk to you, people whose work takes you into many fascinating corners of the tech industry and elsewhere. If I think that new technologies are being used irresponsibly to create bad products, at least I can codify how that might be changed. So here are my four Rules For The Responsible Use Of New Technology, each with some examples. They should each be self-evident, and I hope you’ll agree with me.
New technology should not be used to shorten the lifespan of a product
We’re looking at you, Apple AirPods. Maurizio Pesce, CC BY 2.0
We now know that everything we do carries a penalty in terms of the environmental impact of its manufacture. Thus as a society we are now much more aware of the CO2 generated in manufacture of the things we use, and of what happens to them after we are done with them. We expect the things we use to minimise that impact as well as deliver us value for money, but instead we so often find that the use of new technologies are being used to shorten the lifetime of the things we buy in order to increase the sales of new products.
There are plenty of examples of this to be found, for example in the past we’ve written about technology becoming the new rust in the automotive business, but perhaps when looking for a poster child we find it in the lithium-ion or lithium-polymer battery. What should be an innovation which provides the product with a long life and great performance is all too often designed instead to give it a life of only a few years before it must be discarded for a new one. It’s normal for lithium-ion batteries to be sealed for life inside a product with no way for a consumer to replace them, resulting in what should be perfectly good products becoming junk well before their time. No new technology should be used as an excuse to intentionally shorten the lifespan of a product.
New technology should not be used as an excuse to inhibit repairability
Manufacturers often dislike people repairing their products when they break, either because they would prefer to sell a new product, or because they want to restrict repairs to their own ecosystem of repair agents. The tractor manufacturer John Deere is notorious for their use of digital registration of all new parts before a tractor will recognise them, but there’s a more insidious trend which you’ll probably recognise if you own an Apple device. The cult of no user repairable parts inside has moved from merely a meaningless phrase on the back of your 1970s TV set to the designed-in unreparability of glued-together consumer electronics, alongside a systematic removal of low-tech alternatives.
We’ve railed about the motor industry doing this on a grand scale
here at Hackaday in the past, overusing automotive electronics to make what should be a 25-year vehicle into a 10-year one as the second or third owner balks at the excessive cost of a replacement do-everything module.
Perhaps the saddest part of this erosion of repairability is that the consumers who are its victims simply don’t care, so mesmerised are they by the superficially pretty toys with which the manufacturers coat their next big thing.
New technology should not be tied to unnecessary services
There is no need for my washing machine to be connected to the internet.
My washing machine is a fine appliance, it does my laundry without complaint, and given a bit of extra time it will also dry it, too. It’s functionally similar to the one my family had in the 1970s, except it uses less energy and the mechanical sequencer with a big clicky knob had been replaced by a smart computerised interface.
It also has an app, through which if I installed it I could see if my washing is done, and set it going from the comfort of my sofa. To activate the app I must connect it to my network and sign up for an account with the manufacturer… for what? In fact a stand-alone appliance has become a means to gather usage data. Today I can use it standalone, but perhaps tomorrow its successor will
require
the app.
My washing machine is simply a small example, as everything from a lightbulb to a car now requires an internet connection so my usage data can be sold or I can be targeted with advertising. I simply want my appliances or other devices to do their job, if all the new technology does is enable a data slurp then you are doing new technology wrong.
This of course becomes much more insidious when the device won’t work without the online connection, because then it becomes junk when the online service ends. A few years ago
I reviewed the Nabaztag
, an early internet appliance that went silent when the company behind it folded, and while it was one of the first bricked appliances there have been many more. Far worse are companies who intentionally brick otherwise perfectly good devices to sell new ones, while it’s one thing for an older phone to simply become outdated
it’s another entirely for Sonos to intentionally disable their older products
.
New technology should not be detrimental to the planet
It’s safe to say that over the coming century one of the greatest challenges every to hit humanity will unfold further, as we will have to manage the effects of climate change. We’re living now with the after-effects of technology from decades ago, and our kids and older selves will in turn live with the effects of the technology we have now. It’s no longer the preserve of wild-eyed environmentalists to talk about the dangers of harmful practices, it should be front-and-centre for every engineer as they design something, what its environmental impact will be.
Unfortunately this is in conflict with the commercial motivation to sell more products, thus we all too frequently see new technologies with less concern for environmental impact than they should have. In a way this paragraph has the most overlap with all the previous ones because they all point towards things which extend the life of a product, but it goes beyond that into the world of software. Two of the biggest hype centres of the last few years have been cryptocurrencies and generative AI, both of which are certainly interesting, but should they come at the expense of
using more power than Argentina
? If your new technology wastes energy on an industrial scale, yet again you are doing it wrong.
So there you have it, apply these rules to anything you design, and use them to inform your purchasing choices. Demand better use of technology, and say no to exploitative garbage! | 96 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "6714405",
"author": "Mystick",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T16:11:39",
"content": "“Don’t be evil.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6714417",
"author": "PEBKAC",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T16:41:27",
"content... | 1,760,372,052.091773 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/03/from-kicad-to-blender-for-a-stunning-render/ | From KiCad To Blender For A Stunning Render | Arya Voronova | [
"Art",
"PCB Hacks",
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"3D CAD",
"blender",
"KiCAD",
"kicad integration",
"render"
] | We love Blender. It brings you 3D modeling, but not in a CAD way — instead, people commonly use it to create animations, movies, games, and even things like VR models. In short, Blender is about all things art and visual expression. Now, what if you want a breathtaking render of your KiCad board? Look no further than
the
pcb2blender
tool
from [Bobbe 30350n].
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen
KiCad meet Blender.
However, compared to the KiCad to Blender paths that people used previously, pcb2blender makes the import process as straightforward and as quick as humanly possible. Install a plugin for both tools, and simply transfer a
.pcb3d
file out of the KiCad plugin into the Blender plugin. Want to make the surfaces of your design look like they’re meant to look in real life? Use
the
free2ki
plugin
to apply materials to your 3D models. In fact, you should check out
[30350n]’s Blender plugin collection and overall portfolio,
it’s impressive.
There’s no shortage of Blender hacks – just this year we’ve covered a hacker straight up
simulating an entire camera inside Blender
for the purpose of making renders, and someone else showing
how to use Stable Diffusion to texture 3D scenes
at lightning speed. We even recently published a
comprehensive tutorial on how to animate your robot
in Blender ourselves! Want to give it a shot? Check out this quick and simple
Red Bull can model design tutorial
.
Thanks to [Aki] for sharing this with us! | 34 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "6714293",
"author": "chuck",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T13:14:28",
"content": "Putting an antifa flag in a hackaday article, I’m sure the comment section will only have sane and logical responses.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,372,051.930638 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/03/gyro-controlled-labyrinth-game-outputs-to-vga/ | Gyro-Controlled Labyrinth Game Outputs To VGA | Donald Papp | [
"Games",
"Raspberry Pi"
] | [
"game",
"labyrinth",
"mpu6050",
"pi pico",
"vga",
"wireless"
] | This
gesture-controlled labyrinth game
using two Raspberry Pi Pico units does a great job of demonstrating how it can sometimes take a lot of work to make something look simple.
To play, one tilts an MPU6050 inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to one Pico to guide a square through a 2D maze, with the player working through multiple levels of difficulty. A second Pico takes care of displaying the game state on a VGA monitor, and together they work wirelessly to deliver a coherent experience with the right “feel”. This includes low latency, simulating friction appropriately, and more.
Taking a stream of raw sensor readings and turning them into control instructions over UDP in a way that feels intuitive while at the same time generating a VGA display signal has a lot of moving parts, software-wise. The project write-up has a considerable amount of detail on the architecture of the system, and the
source code is available on GitHub
for those who want a closer look.
We’ve seen
gesture controls interfaced to physical marble mazes
before, but two Raspberry Pi Picos doing it wirelessly with a VGA monitor for feedback is pretty neat. Watch it in action in the video, embedded just under the page break. | 4 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "6714140",
"author": "Jan",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T11:24:15",
"content": "Enough of these ECE 4760 microcontroller class projects at Cornell.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6714198",
"author": "BT",
"timestam... | 1,760,372,052.193463 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/02/video-feedback-machine-creates-analog-fractals/ | Video Feedback Machine Creates Analog Fractals | Richard Baguley | [
"Art",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"art",
"video feedback"
] | One of the first things everyone does when they get a video camera is to point it at the screen displaying the image, creating video feedback. It’s a fascinating process where the delay from image capture to display establishes a feedback loop that amplifies the image noise into fractal patterns. This sculpture, modestly called
The God Machine II
takes it to the next level, though.
We covered the
first version of this machine in a previous post
, but the creator [Dave Blair] has done a huge amount of work on the device since that allows him to tweak and customize the output that the device produces. His new version is quite remarkable, allowing him to create intricate fractals that writhe and change like living things.
The God Machine II is a sophisticated build with three cameras, five HD monitors, three Roland video switchers, two viewing monitors, two sheets of beam splitter glass, and a video input. This setup means it can take an external video input, capture it, and use it as the source for video feedback, then tweak the evolution of the resulting fractal image, repeatedly feeding it back into itself. The system can also control the settings for the monitor, which further changes the feedback as it evolves. [Blair] refers to this as “trapping the images.”
The exciting thing here is that this is an analog process. Although he is using HD digital cameras, all of the evolution happens from the analog feedback process of capturing an image, then displaying it and capturing it again.
The whole thing is built in a walnut frame that synchronizes the cameras and screens to keep the images in the feedback loop. In his
Tumblr of the build process
, there is more detail, where [Dave] shows how the device evolved into its current state over the years. | 10 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "6714391",
"author": "Charles Springer",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T15:39:34",
"content": "In the 1960’s in the USA public broadcasting from vocation schools played hours of this stuff. Frequently. It was made by students playing with the TV cameras and monitors who thought they had di... | 1,760,372,052.237608 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/02/saving-an-expensive-sony-hw65es-projector-with-some-fresh-chips/ | Saving An Expensive Sony HW65ES Projector With Some Fresh Chips | Maya Posch | [
"Repair Hacks"
] | [
"board-level repair",
"projector"
] | HDMI section of the Sony HW65ES PCB.
When you’re the proud owner of a beast of a projector like the Sony HW65ES (£2800 in 2016), you are understandably upset when it stops working. In the case of [Wettergren] it appears that a lightning strike in the Summer of 2021 managed to take out the HDMI inputs, with no analog or other input options remaining. Although a new board with the HDMI section would cost 500 €, it couldn’t be purchased separately, and a repair shop quoted 1800 € to repair it, which would be a raw deal. So, left with the e-waste or DIY repair options, [Wettergren]
chose the latter
.
Suffice it to say that taking one of these large projectors apart is rather an adventure, as is extracting the input PCB. On this board some probing showed that while the HDMI 2 port showed some signs of life, with its
DDC
lines functioning and the EDID readable. The HDMI 1 port had a dead short on these lines, which got traced back to a dead Sil9589CTUC IC, while HDMI was connected to the Sil9679 IC next to it. With this easy part done, the trick was finding replacements for what is decidedly not an off-the-shelf component, but fortunately EBay came through. This just left the slow agony of microsoldering to replace the dead IC, which ultimately succeeded.
After the second repair attempt in May of 2022, the projector is still working in December of 2023, proving that a bit of persistence, a bit of EBay luck and a microsoldering bench with the skills to use it can bring many devices back from the brink to give them a happy second life. | 11 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "6714018",
"author": "Andy",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T07:22:26",
"content": "Good on you. I really love these victories. The world needs more repair and less e-waste. As Grandpa always said (about dead equipment) “What have you got to lose?”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,372,052.285345 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/02/explosion-scarred-scope-gets-plastic-surgery-hackerspace-style/ | Explosion-Scarred Scope Gets Plastic Surgery Hackerspace Style | Arya Voronova | [
"Repair Hacks"
] | [
"front panel",
"hantek",
"repair"
] | Some equipment comes with a backstory so impressive, you can’t help but treat it with reverence. For instance, this Hantek scope’s front panel and knobs have melted when a battery pack went up in flames right next to it. Then, it got donated to the CADR hackerspace, who have in turn given us
a scope front panel refurbishing master class
(translated,
original
), demonstrating just how well a typical hackerspace is prepared for performing plastic surgery like this.
All of the tools they used are commonplace hackerspace stuff, and if you ever wanted to learn about a workflow for repairs like these, their wiki post is a model example, described from start to end. They show how they could use a lasercutter to iterate through figuring out mechanical dimensions of the labels, cutting the silhouette
out of cardboard
as they tweaked the offsets. Then, they designed and printed out the new front panel stickers, putting them through a generic laminator to make them last. An FDM printer helped with encoder and button knob test fits, with the final version knobs made using a resin printer.
Everything is open-source –
FreeCAD knob designs
,
SVG stickers
, and
their CorelDraw sources
are linked in the post. With the open-source nature, there’s plenty of room to improvement – for instance, you can easily
put these SVGs through KiCad
and then adorn your scope with
panels made out of PCBs!
With this visual overhaul, the Hantek DSO5102P in question has gained a whole lot more character. It’s a comprehensive build, and it’s just one of the many ways you can compensate for a damaged or missing shell – check out our comprehensive
DIY shell guide
to learn more, and when you get to designing the front panel, we’ve highlighted a
few
lessons
on that too. | 9 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "6713928",
"author": "The Commenter Formerly Known As Ren",
"timestamp": "2024-01-03T01:33:01",
"content": "So, they spent 10 times the value of the O-scope to repair it?B^)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6713951",
"au... | 1,760,372,052.370198 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/02/you-wouldnt-3d-print-a-toilet/ | You Wouldn’t 3D Print A Toilet… | Al Williams | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"toilet",
"watertight"
] | [Emily The Engineer] wanted a 3D printing project, so naturally, she decided to
print a working toilet
. Check out the colorful contraption in the video below. At the start, we thought making it watertight might be a bit difficult, which proved to be a problem. However, some careful work with sealing and soldering irons did allow her to make a working flushable toilet.
Mercifully, we don’t get to see the device in actual use, and, as far as we can tell, she never actually connected it to the plumbing in her home. But it did fill from a garden hose, shut itself off, and flush 3D printer waste, toilet paper, and other material out of its drain. It doesn’t appear that the designs have been made public, but since something of this size would likely take hundreds of print hours to complete, we aren’t sure anyone would really want to do this anyway.
However, some of the techniques might come in handy if you are working on something that has to handle water. If you do replicate this for actual use, consider that many
3D printed plastics aren’t considered food-safe
because you can’t adequately clean the little ridges from the layer lines. If you were really using this for its intended purpose, cleaning would be a high priority.
Towards the end, the over-engineering bug hit, and you get to see an add-on bidet, armrests, and even mobile casters. A fun project, even if a bit impractical. As an art installation, though, we’ve definitely seen worse.
A mobile toilet is a unique idea, right? Um —
maybe not
. If [Emily] does a second version, we’d suggest making the
TP roll holder heated
. | 43 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "6713859",
"author": "peek",
"timestamp": "2024-01-02T21:44:44",
"content": "Too much plastic waste for me…Why do people print this stuff? Seriously",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6713876",
"author": "a_do_z",
... | 1,760,372,052.657219 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2024/01/03/propico-for-your-pro-pico-needs/ | ProPico For Your Pro Pico Needs | Arya Voronova | [
"PCB Hacks",
"Raspberry Pi"
] | [
"drop-in",
"drop-in replacement",
"FRAM",
"pi pico",
"raspberry pi 2040",
"Raspberry Pi Pico",
"rp2040",
"upgrade board"
] | Ever feel like the Pi Pico board could be doing way more given its footprint? Does it bother you that the RP2040’s ADC quality is even further decreased because of the noisy onboard switching regulator? Miffed about decisions like the MicroUSB socket, the 2MB flash, or lack of the reset button?
[Dmytro] brings us an open-source Pi Pico design,
sporting the same RP2040 and a fully compatible footprint, but adding a number of improvements to its surroundings.
There’s a good few additions, all of them hacker-friendly – [Dmytro] adds comfortably-spaced reset and boot buttons, a USB-C socket, a dedicated low-noise voltage reference for the ADC, one more LED, and an I2C EEPROM footprint socket that is compatible with FRAM chips. Everything worth preserving is preserved – the pinout stays the same, including the SWD connector, which now sports an extra RESET pin. The bottom side USB testpoints remain, with only the four testpoints changed for more useful signals. Last but not least, the switching regulator is replaced by the venerable 1117 – you lose the ability to power your Pico from two AAs, and the capacitor series resistor requirement isn’t great, but you can easily put one of the drop-in 1117 replacement regulators on there.
What’s great is that
the design is fully open-source,
with KiCad files available. Want to design your own Pi Pico footprint board, improve upon this one even further, or maybe make a more tailored one? Treat yourself to the GitHub repository! There’s also a pinout diagram and a KiCanvas schematic for all your tinkering needs. We’ve covered drop-in replacements for classic drawer-inhabiting parts like
the Pi Zero,
for
the 7805
(
twice!
),
the 6502
CPU, and even for
the DE9 serial port connector.
No matter the purpose, they’re always a joy to see. | 6 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "6714957",
"author": "CodeAsm",
"timestamp": "2024-01-04T06:55:26",
"content": "Besides the better powerregulation and maybe better pins (and potentially cleaner adc). Basicly what the aliexpress sellers are selling based on other board designs. Hopefully they switch using this desig... | 1,760,372,052.408958 |
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