# Ep 302: Scroll Wheels, Ball Screws, and a New Year for USB-C

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2025-01-03
- Length: 1h 02m
- Episode: 302
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c
- Listen: https://hackaday.libsyn.com/ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c

## Summary

Hosts Elliot Williams and Al Williams review the week's hacks, starting with the EU's mandate for USB-C charging ports and a 'What's That Sound' competition where no one correctly identified a slowed-down blackbird recording. They discuss Engineer Bose's precise scroll wheel built from a Kickstarter failure, security researchers' discovery of vulnerabilities in German power grid controllers, and Andy's modification of hardened ball nuts. The episode also covers Brian Heidet's 'movies of light' experiment, the Poly dye project for color 3D printing, and Tom Nardi's retrospective on 2024 hardware trends including RISC-V and multimaterial 3D printing.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=1) Introduction and EU USB-C Mandate
- [3:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=205) What's That Sound Competition
- [7:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=477) Free Space Optical Communication
- [14:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=892) Engineer Bose's Precise Scroll Wheel
- [19:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=1171) Power Grid Security Vulnerabilities
- [27:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=1622) Andy's Ball Nut Modification
- [31:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=1882) Movies of Light with Photomultiplier Tubes
- [43:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=2609) Poly dye Color 3D Printing
- [47:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=2831) Quick Hacks and 2024 Hardware Retrospective
- [58:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c#t=3494) Battery Electric Ships and Standards

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- USB-C (other)
- Chaos Communication Congress (other)
- RISC-V (other)
- Bamboo Labs (company)
- Poly dye (product)
- boxes.py (tool)
- Marlin (other)
- Arduino IDE (tool)
- CH 32 (chip)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [50.0000 Ohms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2024-05-31-50-0000-ohms) (The Amp Hour)
- [Pneumatic Tubes, Straight To The Home](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2024-01-22-pneumatic-tubes-straight-to-the-home) (The Amp Hour)
- [Hyperloop, Upverter and Soldering - Unbelievable USB Ustulater](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-08-14-hyperloop-upverter-and-soldering-unbelievable-usb-ustulater) (The Amp Hour)
- [Feed the Mouse](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2021-07-26-feed-the-mouse) (The Amp Hour)
- [065 - Multitalented Grinch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-07-30-065-multitalented-grinch) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)

## 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/2025-01-03-ep-302-scroll-wheels-ball-screws-and-a-new-year-for-usb-c. 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.