Date Clock Requires (Almost) No Interaction
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/19/date-clock-requires-almost-no-interaction/
A lot of commercial offerings of technology aimed at helping the elderly seem to do a good job on the surface, but anything other than superficial interaction with them tends to be next to impossible for its intended users. Complicated user interfaces and poor design consideration reign in this space. …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/19/date-clock-requires-almost-no-interaction/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/19/date-clock-requires-almost-no-interaction/
A lot of commercial offerings of technology aimed at helping the elderly seem to do a good job on the surface, but anything other than superficial interaction with them tends to be next to impossible for its intended users. Complicated user interfaces and poor design consideration reign in this space. …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/19/date-clock-requires-almost-no-interaction/)
Starlink Satellites Posing Issues For Astronomers
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/starlink-satellites-posing-issues-for-astronomers/
Spotting satellites from the ground is a popular pastime among amateur astronomers. Typically, the ISS and Iridium satellites have been common sightings, with their orbits and design causing them to appear sufficiently bright in the sky. More recently, SpaceX’s mass launches of Starlink satellites have been drawing attention for the …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/starlink-satellites-posing-issues-for-astronomers/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/starlink-satellites-posing-issues-for-astronomers/
Spotting satellites from the ground is a popular pastime among amateur astronomers. Typically, the ISS and Iridium satellites have been common sightings, with their orbits and design causing them to appear sufficiently bright in the sky. More recently, SpaceX’s mass launches of Starlink satellites have been drawing attention for the …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/starlink-satellites-posing-issues-for-astronomers/)
Fail of the Week: The 3D Printer Nozzle Wipe That Won’t
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fail-of-the-week-the-3d-printer-nozzle-wipe-that-wont/
Some of you will be familiar with the idea of using a brush as a nozzle wipe on a 3D printer. The idea is that passing the hot end over the brush cleans any stray plastic from the nozzle, ensuring that those plastic bits don’t end up in unwelcome places. …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fail-of-the-week-the-3d-printer-nozzle-wipe-that-wont/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fail-of-the-week-the-3d-printer-nozzle-wipe-that-wont/
Some of you will be familiar with the idea of using a brush as a nozzle wipe on a 3D printer. The idea is that passing the hot end over the brush cleans any stray plastic from the nozzle, ensuring that those plastic bits don’t end up in unwelcome places. …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fail-of-the-week-the-3d-printer-nozzle-wipe-that-wont/)
Brussels Looks Towards Banning Fossil Fuel Transportation As Soon As 2035
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/brussels-looks-towards-banning-fossil-fuel-transportation-as-soon-as-2035/
Many cities around the world routinely struggle with smog. Apart from being unsightly, heavy air pollution has serious negative health effects, both in the short term and with regards to long-term life expectancy. Over the years, governments have tried to tackle the problem with varied tactics around the world.
When …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/brussels-looks-towards-banning-fossil-fuel-transportation-as-soon-as-2035/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/brussels-looks-towards-banning-fossil-fuel-transportation-as-soon-as-2035/
Many cities around the world routinely struggle with smog. Apart from being unsightly, heavy air pollution has serious negative health effects, both in the short term and with regards to long-term life expectancy. Over the years, governments have tried to tackle the problem with varied tactics around the world.
When …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/brussels-looks-towards-banning-fossil-fuel-transportation-as-soon-as-2035/)
Fast Fresnel Hack Embiggens the Smallest of Heads
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fast-fresnel-hack-embiggens-the-smallest-of-heads/
Aside from frightening small children, we have absolutely no idea why anyone would need a face-magnifying headpiece. But the video below gives us a chuckle every time we see it, and we figure a good laugh that incorporates a quick optics hack is worth a look.
When he’s not playing …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fast-fresnel-hack-embiggens-the-smallest-of-heads/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fast-fresnel-hack-embiggens-the-smallest-of-heads/
Aside from frightening small children, we have absolutely no idea why anyone would need a face-magnifying headpiece. But the video below gives us a chuckle every time we see it, and we figure a good laugh that incorporates a quick optics hack is worth a look.
When he’s not playing …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/fast-fresnel-hack-embiggens-the-smallest-of-heads/)
Texas Tesla Tower Titillates
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/texas-tesla-tower-titillates/
One of the nice things about a road trip is you often get to see something that really surprises you. A recent trip through Texas may have resulted in my second most surprising sighting. There’s a strange tower that looks oddly like a Tesla tower in the middle of rural …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/texas-tesla-tower-titillates/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/texas-tesla-tower-titillates/
One of the nice things about a road trip is you often get to see something that really surprises you. A recent trip through Texas may have resulted in my second most surprising sighting. There’s a strange tower that looks oddly like a Tesla tower in the middle of rural …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/texas-tesla-tower-titillates/)
Open Source Kitchen Helps You Watch What You Eat
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/open-source-kitchen-helps-you-watch-what-you-eat/
Every appliance business wants to be the one that invents the patented, license-able, and profitable standard that all the other companies have to use. Open Source Kitchen wants to beat them to it.
Every beginning standard needs a test case, and OSK’s is a simple one. A bowl that tracks …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/open-source-kitchen-helps-you-watch-what-you-eat/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/open-source-kitchen-helps-you-watch-what-you-eat/
Every appliance business wants to be the one that invents the patented, license-able, and profitable standard that all the other companies have to use. Open Source Kitchen wants to beat them to it.
Every beginning standard needs a test case, and OSK’s is a simple one. A bowl that tracks …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/open-source-kitchen-helps-you-watch-what-you-eat/)
Vintage Bike Gets Briggs And Stratton Power
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/vintage-bike-gets-briggs-and-stratton-power/
eBay made the process of motorizing a bicycle popular, with cheap engines from China combined with a handful of parts to lace everything together. If your tastes are a little more vintage however, [Oliver]’s build might be more your speed.
Starting with a real Briggs and Stratton liberated from an …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/vintage-bike-gets-briggs-and-stratton-power/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/vintage-bike-gets-briggs-and-stratton-power/
eBay made the process of motorizing a bicycle popular, with cheap engines from China combined with a handful of parts to lace everything together. If your tastes are a little more vintage however, [Oliver]’s build might be more your speed.
Starting with a real Briggs and Stratton liberated from an …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/vintage-bike-gets-briggs-and-stratton-power/)
Old Cisco WAN Card Turned FPGA Playground
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/old-cisco-wan-card-turned-fpga-playground/
Many of us think of FPGAs as some new cutting edge technology, but the fact of the matter is that they’ve been around for quite some time. They’ve just traditionally been used in hardware that’s too expensive for us lowly hackers. A case in point is the Cisco HWIC-3G-CDMA WAN …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/old-cisco-wan-card-turned-fpga-playground/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/old-cisco-wan-card-turned-fpga-playground/
Many of us think of FPGAs as some new cutting edge technology, but the fact of the matter is that they’ve been around for quite some time. They’ve just traditionally been used in hardware that’s too expensive for us lowly hackers. A case in point is the Cisco HWIC-3G-CDMA WAN …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/old-cisco-wan-card-turned-fpga-playground/)
University Makes Bulletproof 3D Prints
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/university-makes-bulletproof-3d-prints/
Researchers at Rice University are studying 3D printing plastic structures that mimic tubulanes — theoretical nanotube structures predicted to have extraordinary strength. The result has been very strong and very compressible structures that can actually resist bullets.
As an experiment, the researchers fired projectiles at 5.8 km/s at a block …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/university-makes-bulletproof-3d-prints/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/university-makes-bulletproof-3d-prints/
Researchers at Rice University are studying 3D printing plastic structures that mimic tubulanes — theoretical nanotube structures predicted to have extraordinary strength. The result has been very strong and very compressible structures that can actually resist bullets.
As an experiment, the researchers fired projectiles at 5.8 km/s at a block …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/university-makes-bulletproof-3d-prints/)
DIY Photo Backup In The Field
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/diy-photo-backup-in-the-field/
They say a file isn’t backed up if it isn’t backed up twice. This is easy enough to do if you have access to your computer and a network, but if you’re a photographer you might end up in a place without either of these things and need a way …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/diy-photo-backup-in-the-field/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/diy-photo-backup-in-the-field/
They say a file isn’t backed up if it isn’t backed up twice. This is easy enough to do if you have access to your computer and a network, but if you’re a photographer you might end up in a place without either of these things and need a way …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/20/diy-photo-backup-in-the-field/)
Print From the ESP8266, Courtesy of Google
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/print-from-the-esp8266-courtesy-of-google/
The ESP8266 has become the hacker’s microcontroller of choice because it’s exceptionally easy to get the chip connected to the network and talking to other devices. The fact that it’s also absurdly cheap is just a bonus. Since nearly every piece of electronics you buy today is “smart” enough to …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/print-from-the-esp8266-courtesy-of-google/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/print-from-the-esp8266-courtesy-of-google/
The ESP8266 has become the hacker’s microcontroller of choice because it’s exceptionally easy to get the chip connected to the network and talking to other devices. The fact that it’s also absurdly cheap is just a bonus. Since nearly every piece of electronics you buy today is “smart” enough to …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/print-from-the-esp8266-courtesy-of-google/)
Jackpot!: The Trials And Tribulations Of Turning A Slot Machine Into An ATM
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/jackpot-the-trials-and-tribulations-of-turning-a-slot-machine-into-an-atm/
Have you ever wished that slot machines dispensed money as easily as an ATM? Well so did [Scotty Allen] from Strange Parts, so in collaboration with his friend [Matt] decided to combine the two. After a four-month journey fraught with magic smoke and frustration, they managed to build a fully …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/jackpot-the-trials-and-tribulations-of-turning-a-slot-machine-into-an-atm/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/jackpot-the-trials-and-tribulations-of-turning-a-slot-machine-into-an-atm/
Have you ever wished that slot machines dispensed money as easily as an ATM? Well so did [Scotty Allen] from Strange Parts, so in collaboration with his friend [Matt] decided to combine the two. After a four-month journey fraught with magic smoke and frustration, they managed to build a fully …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/jackpot-the-trials-and-tribulations-of-turning-a-slot-machine-into-an-atm/)
Training Bats in the Random Forest with the Confusion Matrix
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/training-bats-in-the-random-forest-with-the-confusion-matrix/
When exploring the realm of Machine Learning, it’s always nice to have some real and interesting data to work with. That’s where the bats come in – they’re fascinating animals that emit very particular ultrasonic calls that can be recorded and analysed with computer software to get a fairly good …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/training-bats-in-the-random-forest-with-the-confusion-matrix/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/training-bats-in-the-random-forest-with-the-confusion-matrix/
When exploring the realm of Machine Learning, it’s always nice to have some real and interesting data to work with. That’s where the bats come in – they’re fascinating animals that emit very particular ultrasonic calls that can be recorded and analysed with computer software to get a fairly good …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/training-bats-in-the-random-forest-with-the-confusion-matrix/)
Gaze Deeply Into These Infinity Mirror Coasters
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/gaze-deeply-into-these-infinity-mirror-coasters/
Infinity mirrors have been gaining in popularity recently, thanks in no small part to the availability of low-cost RGB LED strips to line them with. Generally such pieces are limited to wall art, or the occasional table build, which is what makes these infinity mirror drink coasters from [MnMakerMan] so …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/gaze-deeply-into-these-infinity-mirror-coasters/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/gaze-deeply-into-these-infinity-mirror-coasters/
Infinity mirrors have been gaining in popularity recently, thanks in no small part to the availability of low-cost RGB LED strips to line them with. Generally such pieces are limited to wall art, or the occasional table build, which is what makes these infinity mirror drink coasters from [MnMakerMan] so …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/gaze-deeply-into-these-infinity-mirror-coasters/)
Retrotechtacular: 934 MHz CB Radio
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/retrotechtacular-934-mhz-cb-radio/
The radio spectrum is carefully regulated and divided up by Governments worldwide. Some of it is shared across jurisdictions under the terms of international treaties, while other allocations exist only in individual countries. Often these can contain some surprising oddities, and one of these is our subject today. Did you …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/retrotechtacular-934-mhz-cb-radio/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/retrotechtacular-934-mhz-cb-radio/
The radio spectrum is carefully regulated and divided up by Governments worldwide. Some of it is shared across jurisdictions under the terms of international treaties, while other allocations exist only in individual countries. Often these can contain some surprising oddities, and one of these is our subject today. Did you …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/retrotechtacular-934-mhz-cb-radio/)
Little Flash Charges In 40 Seconds Thanks to Super Capacitors
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/little-flash-charges-in-40-seconds-thanks-to-super-capacitors/
We’ve all committed the sin of making a little arduino robot and running it off AA batteries. Little Flash is better than that and runs off three 350 F capacitors.
In fact, that’s the entire mission of the robot. [Mike Rigsby] wants people to know there’s a better way. What’s …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/little-flash-charges-in-40-seconds-thanks-to-super-capacitors/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/little-flash-charges-in-40-seconds-thanks-to-super-capacitors/
We’ve all committed the sin of making a little arduino robot and running it off AA batteries. Little Flash is better than that and runs off three 350 F capacitors.
In fact, that’s the entire mission of the robot. [Mike Rigsby] wants people to know there’s a better way. What’s …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/little-flash-charges-in-40-seconds-thanks-to-super-capacitors/)
Casting Gears At Home
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/casting-gears-at-home/
Automatic doors and gates are great, except when they fail, which seems to be about every three days in our experience. [MAD WHEEL] had just such a failure, with a plastic gear being the culprit. Rather than buy a new drive unit, they set about casting a replacement in metal. …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/casting-gears-at-home/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/casting-gears-at-home/
Automatic doors and gates are great, except when they fail, which seems to be about every three days in our experience. [MAD WHEEL] had just such a failure, with a plastic gear being the culprit. Rather than buy a new drive unit, they set about casting a replacement in metal. …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/casting-gears-at-home/)
Building a Front Panel For The RC2014 Computer
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/building-a-front-panel-for-the-rc2014-computer/
The RC2014 is a slick Z80 computer kit that’s graced these pages a number of times in the past. It allows anyone with a soldering iron and a USB-to-serial adapter to experience the thrill of early 1980s desktop computing. But what if you’re looking for an even more vintage experience? …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/building-a-front-panel-for-the-rc2014-computer/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/building-a-front-panel-for-the-rc2014-computer/
The RC2014 is a slick Z80 computer kit that’s graced these pages a number of times in the past. It allows anyone with a soldering iron and a USB-to-serial adapter to experience the thrill of early 1980s desktop computing. But what if you’re looking for an even more vintage experience? …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/building-a-front-panel-for-the-rc2014-computer/)
Creating Lookalike Valves With Resin Casting
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/creating-lookalike-valves-with-resin-casting/
Valves (tubes) certainly have a die hard fan base in the electronic community, praised for their warm sound, desirable distortion characteristics and attractive aesthetic. However, sometimes you just want the look of a valve for a prop or a toy, without actually needing the functionality. For those cases, this project …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/creating-lookalike-valves-with-resin-casting/)
https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/creating-lookalike-valves-with-resin-casting/
Valves (tubes) certainly have a die hard fan base in the electronic community, praised for their warm sound, desirable distortion characteristics and attractive aesthetic. However, sometimes you just want the look of a valve for a prop or a toy, without actually needing the functionality. For those cases, this project …read more (https://hackaday.com/2019/11/21/creating-lookalike-valves-with-resin-casting/)