The Ruscombe Gentleman’s Steam Bicycle
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-ruscombe-gentlemans-steam-bicycle/
Cycling for health and transportation might seem like a good idea, but it unfortunately has the nasty side effect of making you tired. To ease the suffering, many have turned to electric bicycles. But what if you want to really stand out from the crowd? Well then you should look …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-ruscombe-gentlemans-steam-bicycle/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-ruscombe-gentlemans-steam-bicycle/
Cycling for health and transportation might seem like a good idea, but it unfortunately has the nasty side effect of making you tired. To ease the suffering, many have turned to electric bicycles. But what if you want to really stand out from the crowd? Well then you should look …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-ruscombe-gentlemans-steam-bicycle/)
The Barcode Revolution: Welcome To Our Automated World
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-barcode-revolution-welcome-to-our-automated-world/
Featured in many sci-fi stories as a quicker, more efficient way to record and transfer information, barcodes are both extremely commonplace today, and still amazingly poorly understood by many. Originally designed as a way to allow for increased automation by allowing computer systems to scan a code with information about …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-barcode-revolution-welcome-to-our-automated-world/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-barcode-revolution-welcome-to-our-automated-world/
Featured in many sci-fi stories as a quicker, more efficient way to record and transfer information, barcodes are both extremely commonplace today, and still amazingly poorly understood by many. Originally designed as a way to allow for increased automation by allowing computer systems to scan a code with information about …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/the-barcode-revolution-welcome-to-our-automated-world/)
An ESP8266 Environmental Monitor in your USB Port
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/an-esp8266-environmental-monitor-in-your-usb-port/
At this point, we’ve all seen enough ESP8266 “weather stations” to know the drill: you just put the ESP and a temperature sensor inside a 3D printed case, and let all those glorious Internet Points™ flow right on in. It’s a simple, and perhaps more importantly practical, project that seems …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/an-esp8266-environmental-monitor-in-your-usb-port/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/an-esp8266-environmental-monitor-in-your-usb-port/
At this point, we’ve all seen enough ESP8266 “weather stations” to know the drill: you just put the ESP and a temperature sensor inside a 3D printed case, and let all those glorious Internet Points™ flow right on in. It’s a simple, and perhaps more importantly practical, project that seems …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/an-esp8266-environmental-monitor-in-your-usb-port/)
Commercial Circuit Simulator Goes Free
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/
If you are looking for simulation software, you are probably thinking LTSpice or one of the open-source simulators like Ngspice (which drives Oregano and QUCs-S), or GNUCap. However, there is a new free option after the closing of Spectrum Software last year: Micro-Cap 12. You may be thinking: why use …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/
If you are looking for simulation software, you are probably thinking LTSpice or one of the open-source simulators like Ngspice (which drives Oregano and QUCs-S), or GNUCap. However, there is a new free option after the closing of Spectrum Software last year: Micro-Cap 12. You may be thinking: why use …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/)
Engineering Your Way to Better Sourdough (and Other Fermented Goods)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/engineering-your-way-to-better-sourdough-and-other-fermented-goods/
Trent Fehl is an engineer who has worked for such illustrious outfits as SpaceX and Waymo. When he got into baking, he brought those engineering skills home to solve a classic problem in the kitchen: keeping a sourdough starter within the ideal, somewhat oppressive range of acceptable temperatures needed for …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/engineering-your-way-to-better-sourdough-and-other-fermented-goods/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/engineering-your-way-to-better-sourdough-and-other-fermented-goods/
Trent Fehl is an engineer who has worked for such illustrious outfits as SpaceX and Waymo. When he got into baking, he brought those engineering skills home to solve a classic problem in the kitchen: keeping a sourdough starter within the ideal, somewhat oppressive range of acceptable temperatures needed for …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/engineering-your-way-to-better-sourdough-and-other-fermented-goods/)
Titanium Coating Is Actually Pretty Straightforward
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/titanium-coating-is-actually-pretty-straightforward/
[Justin] enjoys tinkering in his home lab, working on a wide variety of experiments. Recently, he’d found much success in coating objects with thin layers of various metals with the help of a DC sputtering magnetron. However, titanium simply wouldn’t work with this setup. Instead, [Justin] found another way.
As …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/titanium-coating-is-actually-pretty-straightforward/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/titanium-coating-is-actually-pretty-straightforward/
[Justin] enjoys tinkering in his home lab, working on a wide variety of experiments. Recently, he’d found much success in coating objects with thin layers of various metals with the help of a DC sputtering magnetron. However, titanium simply wouldn’t work with this setup. Instead, [Justin] found another way.
As …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/titanium-coating-is-actually-pretty-straightforward/)
Making Custom 3D Printed Slide Switches
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/making-custom-3d-printed-slide-switches/
For a little over a year now we’ve been covering the incredible replicas [Mike Gardi] has been building of educational “computers” from the very dawn of the digital age. These fascinating toys, many of which are now extremely rare, are recreated using 3D printing and other modern techniques for a …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/making-custom-3d-printed-slide-switches/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/making-custom-3d-printed-slide-switches/
For a little over a year now we’ve been covering the incredible replicas [Mike Gardi] has been building of educational “computers” from the very dawn of the digital age. These fascinating toys, many of which are now extremely rare, are recreated using 3D printing and other modern techniques for a …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/making-custom-3d-printed-slide-switches/)
Fail of the Week: Thermostat Almost Causes a House Fire
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/fail-of-the-week-thermostat-almost-causes-a-house-fire/
Fair warning: any homeowners who have thermostats similar to the one that nearly burned down [Kerry Wong]’s house might be in store for a sleepless night or two, at least until they inspect and perhaps replace any units that are even remotely as sketchy as what he found when he …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/fail-of-the-week-thermostat-almost-causes-a-house-fire/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/fail-of-the-week-thermostat-almost-causes-a-house-fire/
Fair warning: any homeowners who have thermostats similar to the one that nearly burned down [Kerry Wong]’s house might be in store for a sleepless night or two, at least until they inspect and perhaps replace any units that are even remotely as sketchy as what he found when he …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/fail-of-the-week-thermostat-almost-causes-a-house-fire/)
It Turns Out, Robots Need Tough Love Too
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/it-turns-out-robots-need-tough-love-too/
Showing robots adversarial behavior may be the key to improving their performance, according to a study conducted by the University of Southern California. While a generative adversarial network (GAN), where two neural networks compete in a game, has been demonstrated, this is the first time adversarial human users have been …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/it-turns-out-robots-need-tough-love-too/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/it-turns-out-robots-need-tough-love-too/
Showing robots adversarial behavior may be the key to improving their performance, according to a study conducted by the University of Southern California. While a generative adversarial network (GAN), where two neural networks compete in a game, has been demonstrated, this is the first time adversarial human users have been …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/it-turns-out-robots-need-tough-love-too/)
3D Printable Stick Shift For Your Racing Simulator
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/3d-printable-stick-shift-for-your-racing-simulator/
If you don’t get enough driving in your real life, you can top it off with some virtual driving and even build yourself a cockpit. To this end [Noctiluxx] created a very nice 3D printable stick shifter you can build yourself.
The design is adapted for 3D printing from an …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/3d-printable-stick-shift-for-your-racing-simulator/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/3d-printable-stick-shift-for-your-racing-simulator/
If you don’t get enough driving in your real life, you can top it off with some virtual driving and even build yourself a cockpit. To this end [Noctiluxx] created a very nice 3D printable stick shifter you can build yourself.
The design is adapted for 3D printing from an …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/3d-printable-stick-shift-for-your-racing-simulator/)
Engineering Overkill Motorizes the Daily Grind
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/engineering-overkill-motorizes-the-daily-grind/
You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and you don’t come between an engineer and his coffee. And really, if all your office has for coffee is a big old BUNN that makes caffeinated trash, you don’t discourage your coworkers from the pursuit of a better brew.
[George] is over at …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/engineering-overkill-motorizes-the-daily-grind/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/engineering-overkill-motorizes-the-daily-grind/
You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and you don’t come between an engineer and his coffee. And really, if all your office has for coffee is a big old BUNN that makes caffeinated trash, you don’t discourage your coworkers from the pursuit of a better brew.
[George] is over at …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/engineering-overkill-motorizes-the-daily-grind/)
Spyware Discovered on All Samsung Phones
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/spyware-discovered-on-all-samsung-phones/
Samsung may have the highest-end options for hardware if you want an Android smartphone, but that hasn’t stopped them from making some questionable decisions on the software they sometimes load on it. Often these phones come with “default” apps that can’t be removed through ordinary means, or can’t even be …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/spyware-discovered-on-all-samsung-phones/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/spyware-discovered-on-all-samsung-phones/
Samsung may have the highest-end options for hardware if you want an Android smartphone, but that hasn’t stopped them from making some questionable decisions on the software they sometimes load on it. Often these phones come with “default” apps that can’t be removed through ordinary means, or can’t even be …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/spyware-discovered-on-all-samsung-phones/)
BeOS: The Alternate Universe’s Mac OS X
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/beos-the-alternate-universes-mac-os-x/
You’re likely familiar with the old tale about how Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple and started his own company, NeXT. Apple then bought NeXT and their technologies and brought Jobs back as CEO once again. However, Jobs’ path wasn’t unique, and the history of computing since then could’ve gone …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/beos-the-alternate-universes-mac-os-x/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/beos-the-alternate-universes-mac-os-x/
You’re likely familiar with the old tale about how Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple and started his own company, NeXT. Apple then bought NeXT and their technologies and brought Jobs back as CEO once again. However, Jobs’ path wasn’t unique, and the history of computing since then could’ve gone …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/beos-the-alternate-universes-mac-os-x/)
Vintage Mini Inkjet Prints On-Demand ASCII Art
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/vintage-mini-inkjet-prints-on-demand-ascii-art/
Readers of a certain age may fondly remember ASCII art emerging from line printers in a long-gone era of computing; for others, it’s just wonderfully retro. Well, when [Emily Velasco] found a vintage Kodak Diconix 150 inkjet at a local thrift store for $4, she knew what she had to …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/vintage-mini-inkjet-prints-on-demand-ascii-art/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/vintage-mini-inkjet-prints-on-demand-ascii-art/
Readers of a certain age may fondly remember ASCII art emerging from line printers in a long-gone era of computing; for others, it’s just wonderfully retro. Well, when [Emily Velasco] found a vintage Kodak Diconix 150 inkjet at a local thrift store for $4, she knew what she had to …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/vintage-mini-inkjet-prints-on-demand-ascii-art/)
Living At The Close Of The Multiway Era
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/living-at-the-close-of-the-multiway-era/
After over a decade of laptop use, I made the move a couple of months ago back to a desktop computer. An ex-corporate compact PC and a large widescreen monitor on a stand, and alongside them a proper mouse and my trusty IBM Model M that has served me for …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/living-at-the-close-of-the-multiway-era/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/living-at-the-close-of-the-multiway-era/
After over a decade of laptop use, I made the move a couple of months ago back to a desktop computer. An ex-corporate compact PC and a large widescreen monitor on a stand, and alongside them a proper mouse and my trusty IBM Model M that has served me for …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/living-at-the-close-of-the-multiway-era/)
Mini Space Station Keeps Tabs on the Real One
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/mini-space-station-keeps-tabs-on-the-real-one/
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of projects that can blink an LED or otherwise notify you when the International Space Station is overhead. It’s a neat trick that brings space a little closer to home, but not exactly a groundbreaking achievement in 2020. That said, we think this …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/mini-space-station-keeps-tabs-on-the-real-one/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/mini-space-station-keeps-tabs-on-the-real-one/
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of projects that can blink an LED or otherwise notify you when the International Space Station is overhead. It’s a neat trick that brings space a little closer to home, but not exactly a groundbreaking achievement in 2020. That said, we think this …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/mini-space-station-keeps-tabs-on-the-real-one/)
Hiking Pole Turned Lightweight Yagi Antenna
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hiking-pole-turned-lightweight-yagi-antenna/
Among amateur radio enthusiasts, there’s a subset of users who climb mountainous areas to use their gear from elevated positions. Anyone looking to take part in what’s known as Summits on the Air (SOTA) will obviously want to keep their equipment as light and small as possible. For [Stuart Thomas], …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hiking-pole-turned-lightweight-yagi-antenna/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hiking-pole-turned-lightweight-yagi-antenna/
Among amateur radio enthusiasts, there’s a subset of users who climb mountainous areas to use their gear from elevated positions. Anyone looking to take part in what’s known as Summits on the Air (SOTA) will obviously want to keep their equipment as light and small as possible. For [Stuart Thomas], …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hiking-pole-turned-lightweight-yagi-antenna/)
Add-On Makes ESP32 Camera Board Easier To Program
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/add-on-board-makes-esp32-camera-board-easier-to-program/
Don’t you just hate it when dev boards have some annoying little quirk that makes them harder to use than they should be? Take the ESP32-CAM, a board that started appearing on the market in early 2019. On paper, the thing is amazing: an ESP32 with support for a camera …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/add-on-board-makes-esp32-camera-board-easier-to-program/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/add-on-board-makes-esp32-camera-board-easier-to-program/
Don’t you just hate it when dev boards have some annoying little quirk that makes them harder to use than they should be? Take the ESP32-CAM, a board that started appearing on the market in early 2019. On paper, the thing is amazing: an ESP32 with support for a camera …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/add-on-board-makes-esp32-camera-board-easier-to-program/)
Don’t DIY This Surgical Robot At Home
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/dont-diy-this-surgical-robot-at-home/
The LVL1 Hackerspace in Louisville hosted a hackathon for useless and impractical devices a couple of years ago and this makeshift Duh-Vinci Surgical Robot was one of the “successful” results. While it’s not necessarily a project that should ever be used for its intended purpose, its miniature setup is certainly …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/dont-diy-this-surgical-robot-at-home/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/dont-diy-this-surgical-robot-at-home/
The LVL1 Hackerspace in Louisville hosted a hackathon for useless and impractical devices a couple of years ago and this makeshift Duh-Vinci Surgical Robot was one of the “successful” results. While it’s not necessarily a project that should ever be used for its intended purpose, its miniature setup is certainly …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/dont-diy-this-surgical-robot-at-home/)
HiFi Audio On The Commodore 64 – 48KHz, Yo!
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hifi-audio-on-the-commodore-64-48khz-yo/
Prior to the development of CD-quality audio hardware in the mid-1990s, home computers and consoles typically made do with synthesized music. Due to the storage and RAM limitations of the time, there weren’t a whole lot of other practical options. If you’re willing to ignore practicality, however, you can do …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hifi-audio-on-the-commodore-64-48khz-yo/)
https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hifi-audio-on-the-commodore-64-48khz-yo/
Prior to the development of CD-quality audio hardware in the mid-1990s, home computers and consoles typically made do with synthesized music. Due to the storage and RAM limitations of the time, there weren’t a whole lot of other practical options. If you’re willing to ignore practicality, however, you can do …read more (https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/hifi-audio-on-the-commodore-64-48khz-yo/)