Ep 353: Fantastic Peripherals, Fake or Not Fake Picos, and Everything on the Steam Deck

What this episode covers

Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi discuss a variety of hardware hacks, starting with Kokenshaw Tech’s simplified open-source smart knob that uses standard brushless DC motors and an ESP module to make Scott Bez’s original design more accessible. They then examine a teardown of a fake Raspberry Pi Pico board by Electron Update, revealing it uses a genuine but older revision RP2040 chip alongside counterfeit supporting components to achieve a lower price point. The episode concludes with a deep dive into using the Steam Deck as a productive Linux workstation, highlighting its battery efficiency and the community's adoption of it for tasks like flashing Supercon badges.