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Hackaday Podcast

Hackaday's editors go through the week's most interesting hacks: circuit boards, robots, reverse-engineered consumer electronics and the odd feat of mechanical cleverness.

401 episodes · 374 hours · since 2018

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Hackaday Podcast is filed under electronics, engineering and hardware. Its most recent episode published on , so it is still actively publishing. Listeners have left 66 ratings on Apple Podcasts, averaging 4.9 out of 5.

Latest episodes

The 10 newest episodes of Hackaday Podcast, each with a summary and chapters.

  • · 49m

    Ep 390: DOOM, Cranium Stuff, and Odd OpenSCAD Opportunities

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Christina Panos discuss Amazon's decision to disable the auxiliary input on existing Alexa devices, noting the retroactive nature of the change. They cover several hacks, including Ray Triangle's ESP32-based DOOM console built into an antenna converter, Google Japan's conveyor belt keyboard concept, and Throthy Mumbo's FPGA-based VHS video game system. The episode also features Gareth Davies' ESP32 AM radio transmitter, Mihi's OpenSCAD-designed vertical garden, and articles on running a Matrix server and repairing headphones with OpenSCAD.

    Microcontrollers & dev platformsEmbedded firmware
    9 chapters

  • · 58m

    Hackaday Podcast Ep 389: Spinning Lightfield Displays and Jenny Visits a Blast Furnace

    Jenny List and Elliot Williams discuss Henrik Forstén’s synthetic aperture radar drone, which achieves centimeter-level resolution using RTK GPS and post-processing kinematic positioning. They also cover Breaking Taps’ custom microprocessor designed via wafer.space, James’ spinning Nipkow lightfield display, and Peter A. Jansen’s open-source tricorder featuring a Pomelo radiation detector and Hamamatsu spectrometer. Finally, Jenny describes her visit to the Zeche Zollverein industrial site in Germany’s Ruhr Valley.

    Embedded firmwareSensors & measurement in products
    9 chapters

  • · 1h 14m

    Ep 388: RAM-Swapping on Raspberry Pi, Raindrops on Radar, and a Fine Mesh

    Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams discuss the community reaction to Raspberry Pi locking out RAM chip swapping, debating the balance between preventing fraud and preserving hacker freedom. They explore the physics of raindrops acting as radar antennas, the historical cracking of World War I ADFGVX ciphers, and the potential FCC compliance issues facing LoRa mesh networks like Meshtastic and Meshcore. The episode also covers practical hacks including on-chip debugging for MicroPython, repurposing cheap LTE modems into handheld computers, and local speech recognition tools for Linux.

    Microcontrollers & dev platformsWireless & RF
    9 chapters

  • · 1h 10m

    Ep 387: Superhuman Clocks, CAN in USB-C, and the Joys of Bare Metal

    Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi discuss recent community hacks, including Mikey Sklar's work to bring MicroPython's Viper and empy cross speedups to CircuitPython, and Bas Bottberg's reverse engineering of a Bluetooth printer using bleak. They also cover Ben's complete firmware rewrite of an E-grooter in Rust, which involved discovering CAN bus over USB-C, and Egg Karate Singh's complex mechanical clocks like Ovodio. The episode concludes with Hackaday Europe talks: Sylvain's bare metal 'Minimacy' virtual machine for security-critical applications, and Janelle Wellen's presentation on space mission hacks and troubleshooting.

    Embedded firmwareDebugging & failure analysis
    10 chapters

  • · 46m

    Ep 386: Doomscroll Tamagotchis, Clavichords, and Vibrotrucks

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos review a week of hacks, including Isar Aerospace's successful orbital launch from Europe and the growing Retrocomputing Challenge. They discuss Peter Reisek's self-balancing monopole that uses quadcopter control algorithms, Forgak Moles' non-destructive retrofit of a rotary phone for cellular use, and Diffraction Limited's micron-scale 3D printing using turmeric. The episode also covers Ian Summers' clavichord build, Gadget Industry's computer-in-a-mouse project, and a large-scale seismic survey using vibrotrucks in Munich.

    Prototyping & iterationEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

  • · 1h 08m

    Ep 385: 3D Printers with Lasers, Wicked RAM Prices, and Reverse Polish Notation

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Jenny List discuss a variety of hardware hacks, including a 3D printer modified with blue lasers to smooth FDM prints by remelting layers, and an air conditioning unit tricked into cooling more effectively by heating its external temperature sensor. They also cover the impact of high RAM prices on single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, leading some manufacturers to stop shipping devices, and explore alternative operating systems such as Haiku, ReactOS, and AROS. The episode concludes with a deep dive into PETG filament properties and an overview of Reverse Polish Notation calculators, including a teardown of a Sinclair Cambridge.

    Prototyping & iterationMechanical engineering
    10 chapters

  • · 1h 06m

    Ep 384: OCR MOD Records, Magical PCBs, and the Gravity of Space Stations

    Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams discuss a wide range of DIY projects, including a 3D-printed thermoacoustic Stirling engine, optical reading of MOD tracker files, and home fabrication of LEDs. They also cover the history of space stations, from the fictional 'Brick Moon' to the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, and review a talk by Catherine Dietrich on designing usable PCB props for Dungeons & Dragons.

    Prototyping & iterationAI & machine learning
    8 chapters

  • · 1h 27m

    Ep 383: QR Codes, Caving Gear, and the Old School Way to Learn Electronics

    Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi discuss the 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge, laser-assisted 3D printing, and an open-source firmware project for a Master Built Gravity 800 grill. They also cover Phil Underwood’s open-source cave surveying hardware, QR code compression techniques, and the legacy of Radio Shack electronic kits. The episode concludes with a look at over-the-counter hearing aids and the Motorola MC14500 one-bit CPU.

    Prototyping & iterationEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

  • · 51m

    Ep 382: Glueballs, Borg Cubes, and Supersonic Trebuchets

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Christina Panos discuss recent Hackaday news, including Supercon 10 ticket sales and a breakthrough in particle physics at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider regarding glueballs. They review several community hacks, including a fiber-to-the-home security analysis by Rithwick Jaya Simha and Vibhu, a supersonic trebuchet by Tom Stanton, and a time-tracking cube by Edris Isborg. The episode also covers articles on prosthetic running blades by Van Phillips and storm glasses by Robert Fitzroy, highlighting the intersection of engineering, history, and community innovation.

    Security & privacyMechanical engineering
    7 chapters

  • · 56m

    Ep 381: Airless Tires, Full-color Prints, and 28 MW of LEDs

    Elliot Williams and Jenny List review the week's hacks, starting with a 3D-printed airless mountain bike tire by Berm Peak that uses TPU springs, and a hybrid UV/SLA printer from Hey Gear that combines color inkjet printing with 3D resin curing. They discuss Omega Corporation's press release clarifying the licensing of Commodore and Amiga intellectual property, and analyze the massive scale of the Las Vegas Sphere's 28 MW LED display. The episode concludes with coverage of a fully analog FM radio station at the BornHack hacker camp and various smaller community projects.

    Prototyping & iterationMaterials & manufacturing processes
    10 chapters

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