Another IKEA Product Yields An LED Matrix

October 10, 2026 by Jenny List No comments

The IKEA Kortlinje is a digital clock that costs around 20 dollars, featuring a hygrometer and thermometer. It’s another cheap appliance, you might think, were it not that the display is a white LED matrix. Best of all, with three VK1640 LED controllers, it has hacking potential. You’re in at the ground floor if you hack one of these, but so far we’ve seen a post from the RevSpace hackerspace in the Netherlands, and the first glimmerings of a firmware on GitHub from [VIPnytt].

We have one on the bench here, and cracking it open we find the three LED drivers, an unidentified microcontroller with a 32.768 kHz watch crystal, and a mystery chip nobody’s yet identified that may either be some kind of I2C multiplexer or have something to do with those sensors. Neither has any markings, so no help there. The hackability comes in the relative ease of desoldering the microcontroller and substituting your own. In which case with access to I2C and the LED drivers, you can make it do your bidding.

This thing is part of a rich tradition of hacking IKEA products. Perhaps one of our favorites is the use of bowls from the Swedish furniture giant to make a telescope mount.

Super Mario 64 Comes To The Microsoft Zune

October 9, 2026 by Bryan Cockfield 1 Comment

As a portable media player, Microsoft’s Zune simply couldn’t compete with Apple’s juggernaut iPod — the latter essentially becoming the de facto personal media player until smartphones took over. But in 2026 it might be Microsoft that gets the last laugh, as thanks to [rsheldiii] the Zune can now play Super Mario 64.

The software is based on sm64ex, and notably doesn’t include the ROM file necessary to actually run the game. But presuming a legal dump of a cartridge has been done, building and loading it onto a Zune HD is straightforward enough. From there the player is presented with a controller interface on the device’s touchscreen overlaid with the video output from the game. Some interesting things are happening in the background here as well, like using NVIDIA’s Tegra tools to pre-compile shaders so the 2009-era processor can handle the rest of the gameplay.

Although it didn’t enjoy the mainstream success of the iPod, the Zune was actually a pretty solid device, and even though the last of them rolled off the assembly line back in 2012, there’s still a fairly active userbase for it. Modern improvements have added Bluetooth and solid-state drive upgrades for them have been available almost since they were first released.

2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: NEC 286 Laptop Rides Again

October 9, 2026 by Tyler August No comments

The sad reality is that all consumer electronics are going to be e-waste eventually. [Cory Whitesell] was determined his old NEC ProSpeed 286 Laptop wouldn’t meet that fate until absolutely necessary, so when his attempts at repairs failed, his efforts pivoted to create a retro battlestation from the stylish old machine.

That screen looks too good to be stock, but otherwise you can’t tell from this angle.

Externally, it looks pretty well stock, and [Cory] has retained as much of the internals as possible. The original power supply remains intact, with power taken off the original HDD’s molex connector. Said power drives a Raspberry Pi, which is small enough to fit inside without any gutting. The original keyboard connects easily enough via a PS/2 to USB adapter, while the passive-matrix LCD has been replaced with a modern screen of the same dimensions. You’d have to be a pretty hard-core purist to mourn that last change.

With emulation on the Pi, he can still have the DOS experience you’d expect from this machine, but its also powerful enough to be useful in the modern day. While we place no bets on whether or not this mod will stay relevant for another 38 years, a more powerful single-board computer or slightly-squished cell phone can be placed in the drive bay instead once the Pi’s ARM processor inevitably starts to look as anemic as the 286 does now.

Not everyone loves this kind of restomod, but we’ve featured more than a few and have a special category for it in our ongoing retrocomputing contest for those who will do everything to keep classics out of the e-waste bin, including remaking them.

Embedded 3D Printing With Liquids On A Bricked Prusa FDM Printer

October 9, 2026 by Maya Posch 1 Comment

Recently [Riley] got his paws on an old Prusa i3 FDM printer that had clearly seen better days, with a hot-end that had suffered an explosive blow-out. For the project he had in mind this was of course perfect, as his intention was to replace the hot-end with a syringe system for embedded 3D printing (E3DP), which uses a supportive medium to allow for the printing of materials and structures that would be impossible with just air.

Generally in additive manufacturing (AM) methods like fused deposition modelling (FDM) the material is extruded onto a build plate or a previous layer where it solidifies. This works great for materials like thermoplastics, but for other materials having only the surrounding air as support is just a recipe for a big mess. With E3DP the liquid is instead extruded into a supportive material at a selectable depth and volume, opening up a whole range of possibilities.

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Two-Component H-shifter For Racing Sims

October 9, 2026 by Bryan Cockfield 1 Comment

Flying and driving simulators can go as far as money will take you, and at some point it might end up being cheaper to buy a plane or race car than to keep adding capabilities to some of the sim rigs we’ve seen. But it can also be a fairly affordable hobby as well, with entry-level components being within reach for many. The price can drop precipitously from there too, provided some parts can be sourced and a 3D printer is made available, and [Jason] is demonstrating one of the lowest-cost H-shifters we’ve seen which only uses two parts at its core.

The two components only cover the electronics for the build, but this gets almost everything needed for the shifter squared away. A joystick like those found inside many game controllers is paired with an Arduino Pro Micro, with a very straightforward wiring configuration between them. These components are paired with a prototype 3D printed case and shift knob which provides the H pattern of choice. From there it’s as simple as uploading some readily-available firmware, which [Jason] also demonstrates, and which has many options for various configurations of shifters.

Although this was just a prototype, it shows was just a few off-the-shelf components and a 3D printer can provide to an affordable driving sim setup. Even then a 3D printer is not always necessary, like this three-pedal setup using extruded aluminum frame as a base. From there, all kinds of other features can be added like force feedback on the steering wheel.

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 390: DOOM, Cranium Stuff, And Odd OpenSCAD Opportunities

October 9, 2026 by Kristina Panos 1 Comment

This week, Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met a few minutes later than usual, and somehow defeated a buzz together with the power of will before settling into the news, rifling through the Mailbag, and otherwise creating the attached podcast.

So, the news. Amazon, in their infinite wisdom, have chosen to not only remove Alexa’s aux port on future models, but also disable the input on extant ones. Is this really bad news? Maybe just because it seems like taking a choice away for the sake of exerting power over the people.

Anyway. In Hackaday news, the Retrocomputing Contest is currently on fire, and runs through 10AM PDT on Tuesday, October 27th. That means you have about 2.5 weeks left.

Supercon Ten ticket sales are similarly aflame, and per Elliot, it’s about time to release the next round of speakers. So, watch for that.

After digging deep in the Mailbag and eventually just dumping the thing out on the table, we found our brand new Hackaday Podcast Mailbag Audio Bumper! This jingle comes courtesy of [Dakota Winslow], who also advises that there are Easter eggs to be found.

Then, it was on to the hacks, including Elliot’s record-tying number of Quick Hacks, and plenty of in-linkage.

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!

Download in lovely MP3.

Continue reading “Hackaday Podcast Episode 390: DOOM, Cranium Stuff, And Odd OpenSCAD Opportunities” →

Getting To Know The TP223 Capacitive Touch Sensor

October 9, 2026 by Al Williams 11 Comments

Mechanical and prone to failure, switches can seem quaint these days. Plus, everyone is used to having touch screens on their phones and other devices. So why not use touch sensors on your next project? [Tarantula3] has details on using the TP223 instead of ordinary switches.

These inexpensive modules work through plastic, glass, or wood, opening up many interesting possibilities for building a front panel. Of course, the thicker the surface above the module, the less sensitive the switch is, but that’s not always a bad thing. In particular, you may want to reduce sensitivity anyway. Thicker panels, reducing the size of the touch pad, or adding an external capacitor can reduce the sensor’s range.

You may be worried about eating up batteries with a bunch of electronic switches. But according to [Tarantula3], the modules consume less than 2 microamps at rest. You can configure the modules with our favorite scripting language: solder. There are two jumpers, initially unsoldered, and this results in four possible states. By default, the output goes high when someone is touching the sensor and stays high until they release.

However, you can solder jumper A to invert the output. Jumper B causes the switch output to toggle on each press. Of course, you can also do both jumpers, which toggles but has the opposite default state. If you get false triggers, consider adding a small capacitor to filter the power supply to the module.

These would be great “drop ins” for 3D printing to add switches to your designs. You might even be able to use these as power switches with a little work.