Join Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi as they talk about the best stories and hacks of the week. This episode starts off with a discussion of the Vintage Computer Festival East and Philadelphia Maker Faire — two incredible events that just so happened to be scheduled for the same weekend. From there the discussion moves on to the latest developments in DIY soft robotics, the challenge of running Linux on 8-pin ICs, hardware mods to improve WiFi reception on cheap ESP32 development boards, and what’s keeping old smartphones from being reused as general purpose computers.
You’ll also hear about Command and Conquer: Red Alert running on the Pi Pico 2, highly suspect USB-C splitters, and producing professional looking PCBs at home with a fiber laser. Stick around to the end to hear about the current state of non-Google web browsers, and a unique new machine that can engrave circuit boards with remarkable accuracy.
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
As always, the Hackaday Podcast is available as a DRM-free MP3 download.
Episode 316 Show Notes:
News:
What’s that Sound?
- Congratulations to [laserkiwi] for winning a Hackaday Podcast t-shirt!
Interesting Hacks of the Week:
- Salamander Robot Is Squishy
- 8 Pins For Linux
- Simple Antenna Makes For Better ESP32-C3 WiFi
- LayerLapse Simplifies 3D Printer Time-lapse Shots
- Turning Old Cellphones Into SBCs
- Ben Eater Vs. Microsoft BASIC
Quick Hacks:
- Elliot’s Picks:
- Tom’s Picks:
The soft robots thing sounds really cool. It doesn’t sound that far from being able to emulate animal muscles with hydraulic actuators.