Electronic headstones. The first with an image of a circular lamp on a table. Text reads: "Halo Rise, Amazon, September 2022-August 2023, 0.9 years, Stopped offering cloud support (quick death)" Second is an image of a disassembled countertop appliance. Text reads: "Juicer, Juicero, March 2016-September 2017, 1.3 years, Change in business model/financial reasons" Third is an image of a black TV remote with the text: "Harmony Express, Logitech, April 2019-September 2020, 1.4 years, Stopped offering cloud support (quick death)"

Electronic Waste Graveyard Immortalizes Dead Electronics

February 5, 2026 by 1 Comment

Everyone here can think of a cloud-connected product that was killed because the company that made it stopped supporting it. While these corporations have forgotten their products, the US PIRG Education Fund has immortalized them in their Electronic Waste Graveyard.

With an estimated “130,000,000 pounds of electronic waste” produced since 2014, the amount of wasted resources is staggering. The advent of the cloud promised us reduced waste as lightweight devices could rely on remote brains to keep the upgrades going long after a traditional device would have been unable to keep up. The opposite seems to have occurred, wreaking havoc on the environment and pocketbooks.

Of course, we can count on hackers to circumvent the end of companies or services, but while that gives us plenty of fodder for projects, it isn’t so great for the normal folks who make up the rest of the population. We appreciate PIRG giving such a visceral reminder of the cost of business-as-usual for those who aren’t always thinking about material usage and waste.

If PIRG sounds familiar, they’re one of the many groups keeping an eye on Right-to-Repair legislation. We’ve been keeping an eye on it too with places like the EU, Texas, and Washington moving the ball forward on reducing e-waste and keeping devices running longer.

When Mains Networking Fails, Use Phone Wires

February 5, 2026 by 2 Comments

A quiet shift over the last couple of decades in many places has been the disappearance of the traditional copper phone line. First the corded landline phone was replaced by cordless, then the phone migrated to a mobile device, and finally DSL connections are being supplanted by fiber. This leaves copper-era infrastructure in houses, which [TheHFTguy] decided to use for Ethernet.

The hack here isn’t that he bought some specialized network boxes from Germany, though knowing they exist is useful. Instead it comes in his suggestion that they use the same technology as mains networking. Mains network plugs are a dime a dozen, but noisy power lines can make them of limited use. Our hacking curiosity is whetted by the question of whether a cheap mains networking plug can have its networking — in reality a set of RF subcarriers — separated from its mains power supply, and persuaded to do the same job at a fraction of the cost. Come on commenters – has anyone ever tried this?

Restoring The Soul Of A 1940s Radio

February 4, 2026 by 3 Comments

Although we do often see projects that take antiques and replace some or all of their components with modern equipment, we can also sympathize with the view that (when possible and practical) certain antique electronics should be restored rather than gutted. [David] has this inclination for his 1948 GE radio, but there are a few issues with it that prevented a complete, period-correct restoration.

The main (pun intended) issue at the start of this project was safety. The original radio had a chassis that was just as likely as not to become energized, with the only protection being the plastic housing. [David] set up an isolation transformer with a modern polarized power cable to help solve this issue, and then got to work replacing ancient capacitors. With a few other minor issues squared away this is all it took to get the radio working to receive AM radio, and he also was able to make a small modification to allow the radio to accept audio via a 3.5mm jack as well.

However, [David] also has the view that a period-correct AM transmission should accompany this radio as well and set about with the second bit of this project. It’s an adaptation of a project called FieldStation42 originally meant to replicate the experience of cable TV, but [Shane], the project’s creator, helped [David] get it set up for audio as well. A notable feature of this system is that when the user tunes away from one station, it isn’t simply paused, but instead allowed to continue playing as if real time is passing in the simulated radio world.

Although there are a few modern conveniences here for safety and for period-correct immersion, we think this project really hits the nail on the head for preserving everything possible while not rolling the dice with 40s-era safety standards. There’s also a GitHub page with some more info that [David] hopes to add to in the near future. This restoration of a radio only one year newer has a similar feel, and there are also guides for a more broad category of radio restorations as well.

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Detecting Helium Leaks With Sound In A Physics-Based Sensor

February 4, 2026 by 3 Comments

Helium is inert, which makes it useful in a lot of different industries. But helium’s colorless and odorless non-reactivity also means traditional gas sensing methods don’t work. Specialized detectors exist, but are expensive and fussy. Thankfully, researcher [Li Fan] and colleagues found a physics-based method of detecting helium that seems as elegant as it is simple.

The new sensor relies on a topological kagome structure, and doesn’t depend on any chemical reaction or process whatsoever. The cylinders in the structure are interconnected; air can flow in and speakers at the three corners inject sound.

Sound waves propagate through the air within the structure at a fixed rate, and as helium enters the sensor it changes how fast the sound waves travel. This measurable shift in vibration frequency indicates the concentration of helium. It’s stable, calibration-free, doesn’t care much about temperature, and resets quickly. Even better, the three corners act as separate sensors, making it directional. It’s even quite rugged. Just as a basket weaved in a kagome pattern is stable and resistant to damage or imperfections in the individual strips that make up the pattern, so too is this sensor only marginally affected by physical defects.

The sensor design has been tested and shown to work with helium, but could possibly be applied to other gases. More detail is available at ResearchGate, with some information about the math behind it all in a supplemental paper.

5K IMac Turned Into 5K Display

February 4, 2026 by 8 Comments

While Apple weren’t the first to invent high-DPI displays or to put them into consumer electronics, they did popularize them fairly effectively with the Retina displays in the early 2010s and made a huge number of them in the following years. The computers they’re attached to are getting up there in age, though, and although these displays are still functional it isn’t quite as straightforward to use them outside of their Apple-approved use. [David] demonstrates one way of getting this done by turning a 5k iMac into an external monitor.

The first attempt at getting a usable monitor from the old iMac was something called a Luna Display, but this didn’t have a satisfying latency. Instead, [David] turned to replacing the LCD driver board with a model called the R1811. This one had a number of problems including uneven backlighting, so he tried a second, less expensive board called the T18. This one only has 8-bit color instead of the 10-bit supported by the R1811 but [David] couldn’t personally tell the difference, and since it solved the other issues with the R1811 he went with this one. After mounting the new driver board and routing all of the wires, he also replaced the webcam with an external Logitech model and upgraded the speakers as well.

Even when counting the costs for both driver boards, the bill for this conversion comes in well under the cost of a new monitor of comparable quality from Apple, a company less concerned about innovation these days than overcharging their (admittedly willing) customers. For just a bit of effort, though, these older iMacs and other similar Apple machines with 5k displays can be repurposed to something relatively modern and still usable. Others have done similar projects and funded the upgrades by selling off the old parts.

A small white work truck sitting on a faded road with trees in the background. In its bed is what looks like an enormous drill battery in an upside down position. The "battery" is black with red and yellow stripes. It has the words "125V, 500 Ah, 52 kWh" and "Mr. G's Workshop" emblazoned on the side.

Kei Truck Looks Like A Giant Power Tool

February 4, 2026 by 8 Comments

Kei trucks are very versatile vehicles, but their stock powerplant can leave a bit to be desired. If you need more power, why not try an electric conversion?

[Ron “Mr. G” Grosinger] is a high school auto shop and welding teacher who worked with his students to replace the 40 hp gas motor in this Daihatsu Hijet with the 127 hp of a Hyper 9 electric motor. The motor sits in the original engine bay under the cab and is mated to the stock transmission with a custom adapter plate made from plate steel for less than $150. We really appreciate how they left all the electronics exposed to see what makes the conversion tick.

The faux battery was made by a foam sculptor friend out of urethane foam shaped with a carving knife and then painted. It slides on a set of unistrut trolleys and reveals the 5 salvaged Tesla battery modules that power the vehicle. The fold down sides of the truck bed allow easy access to anything not already exposed if any tweaking is necessary.

We’ve seen a kei truck become a camper as well or an ebike powered with actual power tool batteries. If you’re thinking of your own electric conversion, which battery is best?

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FLOSS Weekly Episode 863: Opencast: That Code Is There For A Reason

February 4, 2026 by No comments

This week Jonathan chats with Olaf Andreas Schulte and Lars Kiesow about Opencast, the video management system for education. What does Opencast let a school or university accomplish, how has that changed over the last decade, and what exciting new things are coming? Watch to find out!

Continue reading “FLOSS Weekly Episode 863: Opencast: That Code Is There For A Reason” →