An In-Browser Visualizer For GPS Satellites

June 18, 2026 by 1 Comment

Billions of people use GPS on a daily basis, along with the various other satellite navigation systems available today. But few of us spend much time contemplating the fleet of satellites above us that actually makes the system work. [Robert Wolf] has, though, and he’s built a simple visualizer that displays just what those space birds are doing at any given time.

The visualizer runs right in the browser, and displays a cluster of GPS satellites in a 3D view around the Earth. The tool also offers a list of satellites and related data, including signal-to-noise ratio of the received signals from each one, and the ability to play back satellite positions from previous days. The satellite positions are captured from a GPS receiver that [Robert] operates in the UK.

The view isn’t global or complete, since the receiver can only see a certain number of satellites from its location, but it nevertheless gives an idea of where a subset of GPS satellites are flying above the globe. Depending on the selected view, it’s possible to see the satellites superimposed over the world map itself — or from a distant observer’s perspective, as if looking at the Earth from a distance, among other options.

If you’ve ever wanted an intuitive idea about where the GPS satellites live, this tool is a great way to understand it. We’ve also previously discussed the wide range of GPS alternatives that have been developed over the years. If you’ve got your own GPS hacks brewing in the home lab, don’t hesitate to let us know on the tipsline.

What Happens If Russia Shuts The Door On Their Leaky ISS Module?

June 18, 2026 by 8 Comments

There was a particularly tense moment aboard the International Space Station earlier this month, with NASA directing their astronauts to secure themselves in the Dragon capsule and prepare for a potential return to Earth while their Russian counterparts engaged in what we now know to have been some impromptu demolition work on their side of the orbiting complex.

Despite objections from their American partners, Roscosmos had given their cosmonauts the go-ahead to drill and cut into the walls of the Zvezda module — one of the core components of the ISS which has been in orbit since 2000 — to try and identify and ultimately repair persistent leaks that have been venting the Station’s atmosphere out into space for several years. We may never know the exact nature of the behind-the-scenes communication that went on between the two space agencies, but in the end the Russians abandoned their plan and NASA’s personnel were told to resume their normal duties.

But where do things go from here? Although it’s true the International Space Station is entering its final years, the mission isn’t over yet, and that means the two countries need to continue to work together if they hope to get any science done in the time they have left.

At this point there hasn’t been any official word from either agency, but sources that wish to remain anonymous have been dropping hints, and that’s got the rumors swirling. With the understanding that anything is still possible, at this point it looks like Russia is going to abandon any further attempts to repair the leak and instead seal off the crippled compartment of the Zvevzda module. This won’t solve all the problems, and in fact will create some new ones. But if that’s what it will take to keep the peace with NASA until Station operations wind down, it’s apparently a bargain they’re willing to make.

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A promo image that might have been a little much even in 1999.

Commodore Unveils Linux Powered Flip Phone

June 18, 2026 by 35 Comments

Whatever happens with the new incarnation of the Commodore corporation, we’ll always remember the old one fondly. Well, we’ll remember certain of its products fondly, at any rate, if not the corporate leadership that drove them under. About that, perhaps the less said the better. That’s why we’re looking at the revived Commodore’s latest offering with equal parts interest and trepidation — is there really a market for a Linux-based, Commodore branded flip phone in 2026 and beyond?

The official reveal trailer, which you can watch below, can only be described as weaponized nostalgia for the late 90s, which tracks because the revived C-64 is more-or-less the same thing for the 8-bit era. That said, between replaceable batteries, actually having a decent camera  — a 48MP Sony module — quality Cirrus Logic DAC for audio, and running the Linux-based, Android-app-compatible Sailfish OS, the “Callback 8020” ticks all the boxes. Except for price, that is. Many will find the $499 USD launch price a little tough to swallow in this economy, so we hope they aren’t betting the farm on this one being a mass hit.

Still, compared to other premium “digital minimalist” products like the LightPhone III, the price looks reasonable — and with web browsing and social media explicitly excluded from the app store, this phone is firmly in that category. At least this one comes with some sweet Commodore branded headphones, which double as an FM antenna just like they did on your Nokia back when.

While it doesn’t come with DOOM from the factory, it does come with Snake and a selection of emulated C64 games . Ringtones are SID samples, but of course there’s no actual SID chip in the phone, any more than there’s a 6502. That said, if someone builds a phone around a 6502, please let us know.

No, it’s not a new Amiga, as so many of us were hoping for, but by putting quality modern components into the flip phone form-factor, at least they’re trying to innovate (or perhaps retrovate) and we have to respect that. Only time will tell if the market does.

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Nintendo DS Port Of Super Mario 64 Released With Multiplayer Support

June 18, 2026 by No comments

For some time now [Tobi Friedly] has been tinkering away at porting the original Super Mario 64 from the Nintendo 64 to just about any device imaginable. One of these being the Nintendo DS, with the code and build instructions now up on GitHub, along with the demonstration video below that shows off the added multiplayer functionality.

We previously covered this project and the challenges involved. The main problem that kept him from just taking the existing Nintendo DSi port by [Hydr8gon] and running it on the original DS is that the latter doesn’t have enough RAM to load the entire game ROM into memory. The integration of NitroFS for asset streaming took some time, along with addressing sound support and overall stability. Meanwhile it appears that multiplayer support was also added along the way.

This multiplayer involves two DS systems, each running its own copy of the game. This can be nice for co-op playing of the game, as well as just for goofing around in a 120 star fully finished game with a buddy.

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Leaky Player Piano Gets MIDI Upgrade In YouTube Restomod

June 17, 2026 by 2 Comments

The word “restomod” is a bit nebulous, but it’s normally used in the automotive world to describe taking an old car and making it better-than-new with all the technological improvements the original builders would have used, had they been available. We think the word applies to [Alnwlsn]’s MIDI-actuated player piano, because what are those punched rolls of paper, but the MIDI of the 19th century?

Unlike a lot of automotive restomods though, this one is mostly reversible. He did drill few holes and slots in the original wood, but nowhere that it would alter the integrity or original operation of the player piano mechanism. The MIDI-controlled solenoids just poke the same key paddles from below that the pneumatic mechanism used. From the listener or operator’s perspective, unless the doors that reveal the music scroll or lack thereof are open, the piano behaves exactly the same. Except now it has access to the whole wide array of tracks that exist in MIDI form, rather than a paltry selection of hard-to-find piano rolls.

Each of the relays is driven by a MOSFET via shift registers to get 88 outputs out of the single Pi Pico in charge, with a level shifter involved to get the RP2040 speaking 5 V logic. If you’re wondering how that gets volume control, no, the piano isn’t smacking keys at full volume all the time. He’s using the RP2040’s powerful PIO to create a sort of PWM signal to soften the solenoid blows when needed. To save his power supply, he’s also got it set up to stagger the pulses, so multiple relays aren’t pulsed at the same time when the MIDI file calls for chords.

There was actually more overlap between player pianos and MIDI than you might think, given this presentation of an Apple ][ being used to create the piano rolls.

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Solid-State Batteries Take To The Sky

June 17, 2026 by 11 Comments

There always seem to be a handful of revolutionary technologies perpetually out of reach: fusion energy, quantum computers, and full self-driving cars are always in this list, and it seems like there’s also some battery technology which will finally let us fully decouple from fossil fuels in there as well. Although lithium batteries have allowed some ground-based electric transportation, the energy density is still not enough to enable full electrification, especially for things like aircraft. Solid state batteries may be on the verge of changing some of this, though, and a team has recently put them to work in a test aircraft to help make some headway with this novel battery chemistry.

The main contributing factor of these batteries’ improved energy densities is the ability to use a solid lithium anode, which has much higher energy density than the graphite-based anodes in modern liquid electrolyte batteries. Solid state batteries also have improved safety, since the solid electrolyte is generally not flammable and the battery itself is less prone to thermal runaway. The tests in this aircraft, a modified motorized glider, bear this out as well. With a standard lithium ion pack the team was able to harness 250 Wh/kg and with their new solid state battery they managed 410 Wh/kg, which let them fly the craft up to 24,000 feet (7,315 m) with the help of some wing-mounted solar panels.

Of course, a motorized glider is a long way away from battery-powered commercial flights, but tests like this are an important step on the way to de-carbonizing one of the more impactful industries on the planet, as well as hopefully making it less expensive to operate aircraft in the way EVs are generally much cheaper to operate than their internal combustion equivalents. But the limiting factor to adopting solid state batteries isn’t going to be implementation but rather the discovery of a cost effective way to manufacture them at scale. It’s the same reason we haven’t seen mass adoption of things like algae-based biodiesel or economic carbon capture yet.

Building And Testing A DIY Robot Actuator

June 17, 2026 by No comments

[Brandon Lai] is hoping to build a humanoid robot. To that end, he’s going to need some actuators, and decided to design his own. His second pass at this turned out pretty well, with a few snags found along the way.

Target specs were a actuator that could run at 40 to 60 rpm while delivering 20 Nm of torque for up to an hour continuously. The design was inspired by an MIT research paper, with [Brandon] making a few mods to suit his use case. Where the MIT design uses an inbuilt planetary gearbox, this build substitutes a cycloidal gearbox with a hope it will provide better torque capacity with less backlash. The design is based around a hand-wound stator made with an off-the-shelf core, while using custom CNC parts and 3D printed components for the motor housing itself.

Testing revealed some limitations. Running off a benchtop power supply with limited current, the motor was only able to achieve 7 Nm of torque, though a better PSU would probably improve this. [Brandon] also noted excessive backlash in the cycloidal gearbox, due to poor tolerances, and the $400 construction cost came in well over budget. Still, [Brandon] hopes to tackle many of these problems in a future revision. CAD files are available online if you’d like to dig deeper into the design.

We’ve featured plenty of great actuator builds over the years. Video after the break.

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