# Ep109: Cars that Suck, a Synth Packed with 555s, X-ray Letter Reading, and Pecking at a PS/2 Keyboard

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2021-03-12
- Length: 46m
- Episode: 109
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a
- Listen: https://hackaday.libsyn.com/ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-at-a-ps2-keyboard

## Summary

Hackaday editors Mike Szczys and Elliot Williams discuss a range of hardware hacks, including Ben Eater’s reverse-engineering of the PS/2 keyboard protocol using discrete logic, and Tommy (Oscitone)’s polyphonic synthesizer built with 20 individual 555 timers. They also cover Renee K. Miller’s non-planar 3D printing technique for overhangs, X-ray tomography used to read sealed 17th-century letters, and the history of the Chaparral 2J fan car in Formula One.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=1) Engineering Ethics: Challenger and VW Diesel Scandals
- [5:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=318) Ben Eater’s PS/2 Keyboard Reverse Engineering
- [10:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=626) Non-Planar 3D Printing for Overhangs
- [15:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=941) X-Ray Tomography of Sealed Historical Letters
- [19:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=1161) Tommy’s Polyphonic 555 Timer Synthesizer
- [24:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=1467) Jurgen Mueller’s Framed Pong FPGA Build
- [27:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=1629) Water Jet Cut Pastry and Polar Coordinate Robots
- [31:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=1915) Quick Hacks: Digital Telescope, Dual Extrusion, and Cat Classifier
- [36:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a#t=2162) Sea Level Measurement and the Chaparral 2J Fan Car

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Ben Eater (other)
- PS/2 keyboard (product)
- 555 timer (chip)
- Renee K. Miller (other)
- Tommy (other)
- Oscitone (other)
- Jurgen Mueller (other)
- Pong (product)
- FPGA (chip)
- Chaparral 2J (product)
- Formula One (other)
- Raspberry Pi (product)
- Pi Pico (chip)
- Hackaday (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [317: What Do You Mean by Disintegrated?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-01-17-317-what-do-you-mean-by-disintegrated) (Embedded.fm)
- [052 - Twitter Is My Lab Notebook](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2021-10-26-052-twitter-is-my-lab-notebook) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [474: The Doublemint Gum Remote Control](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-03-07-474-the-doublemint-gum-remote-control) (Making It)
- [An Interview with Ken Shirriff](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-09-25-an-interview-with-ken-shirriff) (The Amp Hour)
- [276: Playing a Song on a Potato](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-01-31-276-playing-a-song-on-a-potato) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2021-03-12-ep109-cars-that-suck-a-synth-packed-with-555s-x-ray-letter-reading-and-pecking-a. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Hackaday Podcast.