Hackaday Podcast · 4 Mar 2022 · 50m · Episode 158
Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Dan Maloney review community projects including a tiny BJ microcontroller, a CRT transplant from a fish finder, and a water-based phased array sonar demo. They discuss the engineering challenges of sealing soil moisture sensors against corrosion and analyze how synthetic aperture radar satellites can inadvertently expose military radar sites. The episode also covers a Hot Wheels PC case mod, exam cheating scandals, and crowdsourced soldering war stories.
makers and hobbyists
Other shows on the same ground, closest first.
Security researcher Mike Grover (MG) explains how he creates cable implants by milling tiny PCBs with an OXO mill to fit inside USB cables. He details the process of designing minimal HID attack circuits using ATtiny microcontrollers and the challenges of home-reflowing BGA components on ultra-thin FR-4 boards. Grover discusses the shift from wired to wireless implants and the importance of rapid iteration in hardware security research.
Cy Keener, an Assistant Professor of Sculpture and Emerging Technology at the University of Maryland, discusses his work creating custom sensors and data-driven art installations, including his 'Digital Ice Core' project in the Arctic. He explains how he uses Arduino-based circuits, ATmega microcontrollers, and Iridium satellite transmitters to collect environmental data from harsh environments like sea ice and ocean drifters. Keener details the engineering challenges of power management in extreme cold, the use of flexible PCBs with thermistors and RGB sensors, and his collaboration with sensor maker Lovro Valcic. He also reflects on his transition from traditional art to tech art, his NSF grant for deploying open-source sensors, and the role of art in communicating climate change.
Hosts Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss a teardown of an aircraft transponder, revealing its use of a Microchip PIC microcontroller and specialized RF power transistors from Gigahertz Technology. They explore the engineering behind high-power RF components, including comb-line filters and PCB stackups, before shifting to the collapse of the Arecibo radio telescope and the impracticality of the Hyperloop. The conversation concludes with observations on current supply chain lead times for parts like the Raspberry Pi Compute Module and the trend of hardware requiring mandatory online registration.
The host of The Electromaker Show reviews several maker projects, including Matthias Wandel’s RP2040-based microwave current sensor and Alisdair Allan’s hack of an IKEA Vindriktning air quality monitor using a Raspberry Pi Pico W. The episode also highlights Arduino Nano projects like cardboard laser tag guns and a persistence-of-vision CD display, before covering new hardware such as the GGTag e-ink RFID device, the Raspberry Breadstick, and the Orange Pi Zero 3.
Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss a Keysight U1272A multimeter that suffers from severe susceptibility to conducted and radiated EM fields, a flaw inherent to its design that bypassed standard compliance testing. They also examine the Allwinner R8 processor and the new Chip Pro module, noting how the latter's System-on-Module design with integrated DDR3 makes previously inaccessible consumer chips viable for small-batch production. Finally, they critique the Wi-Fi kettle's usability failures and Solar Roadways' non-functional public installation, attributing these to marketing-driven product decisions rather than engineering value.
The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Hackaday Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.