Taking small LCD screens, a tiny computer running Linux, and a 3D printed enclosure to build miniature versions of old computers is a thing now. Here’s [Cupcakus]’s tiny little Apple II, complete with Oregon Trail. This Apple II is running on a C.H.I.P., uses a 3s lithium battery from a drone, and works with a Bluetooth keyboard and joystick. Yes, the power button on the monitor works.
At Hackaday, we get a lot of emails from people asking the most important question ever: “how do you become a hardware hacker?” [Tex Projects] lays it all out on the line. All you need to do is to buy five of something every time you need one. Need some header pins? Buy five. A sensor? five. Come to the realization that anything you build could be bought for less money.
Are we still doing low-poly Pokemon? [davedarko] has an idea for the Sci-Fi contest we’re running. He’s going to give children seizures. He’s refreshing a project of mine by putting lights, blinkies, and noisy things in a 3D printed Porygon, the original 3D printed Pokemon. Porygon was the subject of that one episode of the Pokemon cartoon that sent 635 Japanese children to the hospital. The episode was banned in America, but it was actually Pikachu that caused the flashing lights.
‘Member Clickspring? He’s the guy who made a fantastic mechanical clock using nothing except a few bits of brass, a blowtorch, a tiny mill and lathe, and a lot of patience. Now he’s building the Antikythera mechanism. The Antikythera mechanism is a 2000-year-old device designed to calculate the phases of the moon, the motion of the planets, and other local astronomical phenomena. This is going to be a masterpiece, and will eventually end up in a museum, so be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel.
I’ve been wanting to take a pi zero and make a miniature working replica of my IBM PS/1 Consultant computer for a while now. Guess I’m not the only one who thought of doing something like that.
I’ve been waiting to take a raspberry pi 15 and make a miniature working replica of my current desktop computer for a while now. Guess I’m the only one who thought of doing something like that.
No
I’m waiting for the prequel to “Oregon Trail”.
If it wasn’t for explorers and fur traders, people who didn’t need maps but who made them, there’d be no route for the settlers to follow.
Michael
“Taking small LCD screens, a tiny computer running Linux, and a 3D printed enclosure to build miniature versions of old computers is a thing now.”
Sadly no miniature mainframes. ;-(
‘At Hackaday, we get a lot of emails from people asking the most important question ever: “how do you become a hardware hacker?”’
By starting with the question “what interests you”?
What does it take to start in ‘hacking’ as a hobbie? Desire, Curiosity & an Idea.
“how do you become a hardware hacker?” That’s what I meant. Desire, Curiosity & an Idea.
You have to have a Idea or curious about something, and when you feel like giving up in frustration when it doesn’t work right away, that’s the Desire that keeps you going at it, chasing it. After a little break though. It’s kept me interested for over 55+ years. I even created two careers from the interest in the beginning hacks. Now, it’s easier. Pick something you have, then how can you make it even better or help someone that struggles with something due to a disability. How can you make it better for them.
It’s amazing how fast the whole thing snowballs. You find so many people now that have the same interests, especially with the kids that are in school. They don’t know others are in the same school with the same desires, get the word out.
I’m a ham radio operator. I learned from a guy that was a Elmer (mentor) to teach and help me get into the hobbie. You have a good resource here for reading how people put things together. Learn from what you see, try to duplicate what you read. Be open to mistakes, those are the building blocks to learning this kind of stuff. Ask, there many people that will show you a way. Look in forums all over the world. There is a world out there to teach you. How much Desire do you have? Do you have enough?
It’s fun and rewarding. And… People will pay you to do that kind of stuff once you know a little bit about what you’re doing. Like I said, I created two careers from it.
I don’t agree that electronics as a hobby is expensive any more. It used to be a very very expensive hobby bat that was a long time ago. Now it’s a comparatively cheap hobby.
I used to race motor cycles, that was an expensive hobby.
Smart hardware hacker? Idiot more like. If you blow something up, you didn’t think about it enough first. If you blow several up in succession, you didn’t learn from your mistakes.
Hacking is/should be an intellectual venture, not just mindless *pop* change stuff *pop* change stuff *pop* change stuff…
Nah, you can blow something up in a series of different ways. Then you’re learning.
It’s not mindless, you’re just learning of all of the ways it won’t work.
Or how not to show off.
Rest in Pieces dear MC34063
“using nothing except a few bits of brass, a blowtorch, a tiny mill and lathe, and a lot of patience”
Uhhhhh…and a huge selection of end mills, specialty cutters and other tools, a precision flat table / blocks, etc etc.
The dude’s videos and craftmanship are stunning. But he’s also got a LOT of time and money invested into his tool set.