Twas the week before Christmas when Elliot and Dan sat down to unwrap a pre-holiday bundle of hacks. We kicked things off in a seasonally appropriate way with a PCB Christmas card that harvests power from your microwave or WiFi router, plus has the potential to be a spy tool. We learned how to grow big, beautiful crystals quickly, just in case you need some baubles for the tree or a nice pair of earrings. Speaking of last-minute gifts, perhaps you could build a packable dipole antenna, a very durable PCB motor, or a ridiculously bright Fibonacci simple add-on for your latest conference badge. We also looked into taking a shortcut to homebrew semiconductors via scanning electron microscopes, solved the mystery of early CD caddies, and discussed the sad state of table saw safety and the lamentable loss of fingers, or fractions thereof.

Download the zero-calorie MP3.

Episode 301 Show Notes:

News:

• Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth delayed until at least March

What’s that Sound?

• Fill in this form for your chance to win.  Be as specific as you can!

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Where This Xmas Card’s Going, We Don’t Need Batteries!
• Automated Rig Grows Big, Beautiful Crystals Fast
• Enabling NVMe On The Raspberry Pi 500 With A Handful Of Parts
  • New Raspberry Pi 400 Is A Computer In A Keyboard For $70
• Homebrew Electron Beam Lithography With A Scanning Electron Microscope
• PCB Motor Holds Fast, Even After 1.6 Billion Spins
  • Superconference Interview: Carl Bugeja
  • “What Good Is a New-born Baby?” — Benjamin Franklin (probably)
• See What ‘They’ See In Your Photos

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks
  • A Red Ring Light Show For Your Xbox 360
  • 3D Printed Blaster Does It With Compliant Components
  • Pulling Backward To Go Forward: The Brennan Torpedo Explained
  • Building The Spectacular Fibonacci128 Simple Add-On
• Dan’s Picks:
  • Wago Terminals Make This Ham Radio Dipole Light And Packable
  • Why NASA Only Needs Pi To So Many Decimal Places
  • Catching The View From The Edge Of Space

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Why Did Early CD-ROM Drives Rely On Awkward Plastic Caddies?
  • Capacitance Electronic Disc – Wikipedia
• Tech In Plain Sight: Table Saw Safety