TinyTendo Is A Miniscule Yet Real NES

June 1, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 3 Comments

These days, it’s possible to get a single-board computer the size of a stick of gum. This will give you the power to emulate thousands of games and you can run one off batteries inside a handheld of your own devising. [Redherring32] took an altogether more creative and old-school approach with the TinyTendo, however. This is one pocket-sized NES that actually runs on genuine hardware. (Nitter)

The feat was achieved by drastically reducing the size of the original NES hardware to make it fit into a Game Boy style form factor. Key to this work was creating a custom cut-sized motherboard which uses original Nintendo DIP chips that have been machined down to become more like QFN-style surface mount packages. With that done, the chips can be assembled onto the TinyTendo PCB which is even smaller than a contemporary Raspberry Pi 3. It’s all assembled in a custom case, with USB C for charging and a bright and colorful LCD screen.

The TinyTendo is designed to use mini-cartridges created by [Bucket Mouse], a hacker who’s no stranger to impressive custom Game Boy hardware. By virtue of running genuine NES hardware, there’s also the possibility that the TinyTendo could play full-sized NES carts with a simple adapter.

This project has been a long time in the making; we first looked at [Redherring32]’s efforts back in 2021. It begs the question why the original NES was so big when Nintendo clearly had plenty of space to spare in those hefty DIP packages! It’s amazing what can be done with some creativity and perseverance. Continue reading “TinyTendo Is A Miniscule Yet Real NES” →

Neural Network Helps With Radar Pipeline Diagnostics

May 31, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 3 Comments

Diagnosing pipeline problems is important in industry to avoid costly or dangerous failures from cracked, broken, or damaged pipes. [Kutluhan Aktar] has built an system that uses AI to assist in this difficult task.

The core of the system is a MR60BHA1 60 GHz mmWave radar module, which is most typically used for breathing and heartrate detection. Here, it’s repurposed to detect fluctuating vibrations as a sign that a pipeline may be cracked or damaged. It’s paired with an Arduino Nicla Vision module, with the smart camera able to run a neural network model on the captured radar data to flag potential pipe defects and photograph them. The various modules are assembled on a PCB resembling Dragonite, the Dragon/Flying-type Pokemon.

[Kutluhan] walks us through the whole development process, including the creation of a web interface for the system. Of particular interest is the way the neural network was trained on real defect models that [Kutluhan] built using PVC pipe. We’ve looked at industrial pipelines in detail before, too. Video after the break.

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Can Hobbyists Bring SGI’s IRIX OS Back To Life?

May 31, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 33 Comments

Irix was the operating system developed by Silicon Graphics from 1988 to 1998. The OS supported the company’s high-end workstations and served in many serious roles. The company cut off support for the UNIX-based OS in 2006, but now a diehard community is looking to bring the ancient codebase back to life.

SGI workstations used to cost big money before the company collapsed. It failed to make the leap to a new era when x86 architecture began to dominate the wider computing industry. Credit: Bruno Cordioli, CC-BY-2.0

While SGI’s workstations once sold for five or six figures, surviving examples can now often be had for just a few hundred dollars on eBay. The MIPS-based hardware was potent for its time, often used for 3D rendering work for video games, films, or for scientific purposes. IRIX was SGI’s own OS built specifically to support these use cases.

The IRIX Network is a hobbyist community that loves these old machines and their software. The group hopes to raise $6,500 through crowdfunding to reverse-engineer IRIX. The hope is to use those learnings to create an open-source derivative version named IRIX-32, based on IRIX 5.3, the last 32-bit version of the OS.

It’s a monumental task, but admirable nonetheless. Whether we one day see IRIX reborn, akin to what happened to AmigaOS, remains to be seen.

Moon Phase Lamp Uses Rotating Shade

May 31, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 9 Comments

The Moon has fascinated humanity for centuries. These days, though, it’s a trial and a bore to go outside and stare upwards to check on the natural satellite. Instead, why not bring the Moon to your bedside with this rotating phase lamp?

The build comes to us from [payasa_manandhar], who did a good job of replicating the Moon in both form and function. It’s based around a lithophane of the lunar surface, which adequately duplicates the Moon’s grey pockmarked visage thanks to topographical data sourced from NASA. It looks a treat when backlit from the inside. However, this is no mere ornamental lamp. With the aid of a stepper motor controlled by an Arduino, a shade inside the lamp actually rotates to shadow the Moon as per the appropriate phase.

It’s a build that is both fun and educational, in both the electronic and astronomical disciplines. We’ve seen some other great Moon lamps before, too.

Secret Bookshelf Door Uses Hidden Fingerprint Scanner

May 30, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 4 Comments

What is it that compels us about a secret door? It’s almost as if the door itself and the promise of mystery is more exciting than whatever could lay beyond. In any case, [Scott Monaghan] is a lover of the form, and built his own secret door hidden in a bookshelf, as all good secret doors should be.

The door is activated by pulling down on the correct book. This then reveals a fingerprint scanner. Upon presenting the right digit, the door will elegantly swing open to reveal the room beyond. Secret door experts will note there’s an obvious tell due to the light spilling through the cracks, however [Scott] reports that the finishing stages of the build solved this issue. The door was also fitted with a manual release for easier daily use.

Details are light, but the basics are all there. Really all you need is a cheap hardware store door opener, a secret activation lever or authentication method, and a well-hinged bookcase to achieve this feat yourself. We’ve seen some other great secret doors before, too. Video after the break.

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Pretty Small Robot Is Capable, Nonetheless

May 30, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 5 Comments

When science fiction authors imagined robots in the 20th century, many of them were huge imposing steel automatons. [Shane]’s designs for the Pretty Small Robot are quite contrary to that, being tiny in stature and cute in affect .

The whole robot is an exploration in nifty engineering. It uses an easy clip-together structure with fasteners and glue not required. The chassis is 3D printed, with all the components sliding into place. Two small DC gearmotors are used for differential drive, with each side of the robot having a pair of wheels wrapped in a rubber band for traction. The brains of the robot is an ESP32, providing it with both plenty of processing power and good connectivity options. Control is over WiFI via MQTT.

At this stage the robot doesn’t do a whole lot, though [Shane] has some exciting plans. He’d like to add a camera in future and let it explore a maze under human command.

If you’ve ever wanted to build a robot with an almost coin-sized foot print, this build is for you. Files are available on GitHub for those wishing to dive deeper. Video after the break.

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Ultimate Garage Door Control Does The Job Brilliantly

May 30, 2023 by Zoe Skyforest 21 Comments

[Stephen Carey] had previously relied on an Insteon garage door controller, only to have it perform poorly and fail at integrating with Alexa properly. Thus, he did what any good hacker would do, and built his own system instead.

The garage door was first outfitted with a pair of reed switches to sense when it was fully open or fully closed. The drive sprocket of the garage door was also set up to be monitored with magnets and Hall effect sensors, essentially creating a rotary encoder. This allows a ESP32 to monitor the door’s direction of travel, it’s position, and when it has hit the end stop in either direction. Using Micropython, [Stephen] whipped up some code to tie the garage door controls in with Home Assistant, complete with a neat visual display of the current door position.

There are millions of home automation products out there, many of which make annoying compromises that frustrate the end user. Sometimes, doing it your own way is the only way to get satisfaction!