Hackaday Podcast

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi start off by talking about the chip shortage...but not how you think. With a list that supposedly breaks down all of the electronic components that the Russian military are desperate to get their hands on, we can see hackers aren't the only ones scrounging for parts. If you thought getting components was tricky already, imagine if most of the world decided to put sanctions on you. We'll also talk about kid-friendly DIY stereoscopic displays, the return of the rotary cellphone, and using heat to seal up 3D printed parts for vacuum applications. Join us as we marvel over the use of rubbery swag wristbands as tank treads, and ponder an array of AI-created nightmares that are supposed to represent the Hackaday writing crew. Finally we'll talk about two iconic legacies: that of the 3.5 inch floppy disk, and astrophysicist Frank Drake. Check out the links in the show notes!

16 Sep 20221h

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos had a lot of fun discussing the best of the previous week's hacks in spite of Elliot's microphone connectivity troubles. News-wise, we busted out the wine and cheese to briefly debate whether a Colorado man should have won an art competition by entering an image created by AI. Afterward, we went around a bit about floppies, which are being outlawed in Japan. Then it's on to the What's That Sound Results Show, but since Elliot can't find a 14-sided die, he pulled on the the Internet for our random number needs. Congratulations to our big winner [D Rex], who will receive one our coveted Hackaday Podcast t-shirts. Is the food-safety-of-3D-printing debate over once and for all? It is as far as Elliot's concerned. You know what else is over? The era of distributed, independent email servers. Bah! We're not kidding about that last one -- and we discuss a lie-detecting app that may or may not prove our innocence. Finally, we talk active foot cooling, heat barriers for hot shops, and big, strong magnets. What are they for? Fixing floppies, fool! Check out the links in the show notes!

9 Sep 202259min

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos met up on a secret server to discuss the cream of this week's crop of hacks. After gushing about the first-ever Kansas City Keyboard Meetup coming up tomorrow -- Saturday the 27th, we start off by considering the considerable engineering challenge of building a knife-throwing machine, the logistics of live-streaming on the go, and the thermodynamics of split-level homes. This week, Kristina came up with the What's-That-Sound and managed to stump Elliot for a while, though he did eventually guess correctly after the tape stopped rolling. Think you know what it is? Then fill out the form and you'll earn the chance to win a genuine Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! Later in the show, we look at a macro pad that breaks the mold, an ASCII terminal like it's 1974, and a Z80 that never was (but definitely could have been). Stick around as we root for the CubeSats hitching a ride aboard Artemis I, and at last call on the 'cast, it's lagers vs. ales (vs. ciders). Head on over to the show notes for links and oh, so much more!

26 Aug 202240min

Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi are here to bring you the best stories and hacks from the previous week (and maybe a little older). Things kick off with news that the Early Bird tickets for the 2022 Hackaday Supercon tickets sold out in only two hours -- a good sign that the community is just as excited as we are about the November event. But don't worry, regular admission tickets are now available for those who couldn't grab one out of the first batch. This week there's plenty of vehicular hacks to talk about, from John Deere tractors running DOOM to a particularly troublesome vulnerability found in many key fobs. We'll also lament about the state of 3D CAD file formats, marvel at some retro-futuristic photography equipment, and look at the latest in home PCB production techniques. Wrapping things up there's a whole lot of cyberdeck talk, and a trip down silicon memory lane courtesy of Al Williams. Check out the links in the show notes!

19 Aug 20221h 7min

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos convened in a secret location to say what we will about the choicest hacks of the past week. We kick things off by discussing the brand new Cyberdeck contest, which is the first of it's type, but certainly won't be the last. In other contest news, we recently announced the winners of the Hack it Back Challenge of the Hackaday Prize, which ran the gamut from bodysnatching builds to rad resto-mods and resto-recreations. Taking top honors in wow factor this week is [Stuff Made Here]'s jigsaw puzzle-solving robot. This monster can currently tackle small laser-cut puzzles, but is destined to solve an all-white 5000-piece nightmare once all the engineering pieces have come together. Then we took a field trip to Zip Tie City, where the plastic's green  and the wiring's pretty, admired volcano nuts from afar, and briefly considered the idea of a 3D printer with a heating zone of programmable length. Finally, we take a look at a creatively destructive robot that's akin to a useless machine, bloviate about books you should read, and dance around the topic of learning by playing. You want to click the links in the show notes, no?

12 Aug 202251min

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos traded sweat for silence, recording from their respective attic-level offices in the August heat unaided by fans (too noisy). We decided there's no real news this week that lacks a political bent, except maybe that Winamp is back with a new version that's four years in the making. (Is Winamp divisive?) Does it still whip the llama's ass? You be the judge. After Elliot gives Kristina a brief math lesson in increasing area with regard to 3D printer nozzle sizes, we talk a bit about 3D pens, drool over a truly customizable macropad that uses a microcontroller for each keyswitch, and  discuss dendrometers and tree health. Then it's back to keyboards for one incredible modular build with an e-ink display and haptic feedback knob which is soon to go open source. Finally, we talk tiny CRTs, a USB drive that must have the ultimate in security through obscurity, discuss the merits of retrograde clocks, and wonder aloud about the utility of jumping PCBs. Don't bounce on us just yet -- not until you hear about our first electronics wins and learn the one thing Kristina doesn't do when she's spending all day in the heat. Check out Hackaday for all the links!

5 Aug 202248min

Join Hackaday Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Staff Writer Dan Maloney for their take on the hottest hacks in a hot, hot week. We found a bunch of unusual mechanisms this week, like an omnidirectional robot that's not quite wheeled but not quite a walker either. Or, if you'd rather fly, there's a UAV that's basically a flying propeller. There's danger afoot too, with news of a chess-playing robot with a nasty streak, a laser engraver that'll probably blind you, and a high-voltage corona motor that actually does useful work. We'll use our X-ray vision to take a deep dive into a 60-GHz phased array antenna, let a baby teach a machine what it means to be hungry, and build a couple of toy cameras just for funsies. Ballons as a UI? Maybe someday, thanks to ultrasonic levitation. And we'll wrap things up by snooping in on the Webb telescope's communications, as we find out how many people it takes to make wire harnesses. Spoiler alert: it's a lot. Check out the links in the show notes!

29 Jul 20221h 13min

Hackaday Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi start this week's podcast off with an announcement the community has been waiting years for: the return of the Hackaday Supercon! While there's still some logistical details to hammer out, we're all extremely excited to return to a live con and can't wait to share more as we get closer to November. Of course you can't have Supercon without the Hackaday Prize, which just so happens to be wrapping up its Hack it Back challenge this weekend. In other news, we'll talk about the developing situation regarding the GPLv3 firmware running on Ortur's laser engravers (don't worry, it's good news for a change), and a particularly impressive fix that kept a high-end industrial 3D printer out of the scrapheap. We'll also fawn over a pair of fantastically documented projects, learn about the fascinating origins of the lowly fire hydrant, and speculate wildly about the tidal wave of dead solar panels looming menacingly in the distance. Check out the show notes!

22 Jul 20221h 11min