The Jye Tech DSO-150 is a capable compact scope that you can purchase as a kit. If you’re really feeling the DIY ethos, you can go even further, too, and kit your scope out with the latest open source firmware.
The Open-DSO-150 firmware is a complete rewrite from the ground up, and packs the scope with lots of neat features. You get one analog or three digital channels, and triggers are configurable for rising, falling, or both edges on all signals. There is also a voltmeter mode, serial data dump feature, and a signal statistics display for broader analysis.
Brain-to-speech interfaces have been promising to help paralyzed individuals communicate for years. Unfortunately, many systems have had significant latency that has left them lacking somewhat in the practicality stakes.
A team of researchers across UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco has been working on the problem and made significant strides forward in capability. A new system developed by the team offers near-real-time speech—capturing brain signals and synthesizing intelligible audio faster than ever before.
Rear-view mirrors are important safety tools, but [Mike Kelly] observed that cyclists (himself included) faced hurdles to using them effectively. His solution? A helmet-mounted dual-mirror system he’s calling the Mantis Mirror that looks eminently DIY-able to any motivated hacker who enjoys cycling.
One mirror for upright body positions, the other for lower positions.
Carefully placed mirrors eliminate blind spots, but a cyclist’s position changes depending on how they are riding and this means mirrors aren’t a simple solution. Mirrors that are aligned just right when one is upright become useless once a cyclist bends down. On top of that, road vibrations have a habit of knocking even the most tightly-cinched mirror out of alignment.
[Mike]’s solution was to attach two small mirrors on a short extension, anchored to a cyclist’s helmet. The bottom mirror provides a solid rear view from an upright position, and the top mirror lets one see backward when in low positions.
[Mike] was delighted with his results, and got enough interest from others that he’s considering a crowdfunding campaign to turn it into a product. In the meantime, we’d love to hear about it if you decide to tinker up your own version.
You can learn all about the Mantis Mirror in the video below, and if you want to see the device itself a bit clearer, you can see that in some local news coverage.
One might be tempted to think that re-creating a film robot from the 1950s would be easy given all the tools and technology available to the modern hobbyist, but as [Mike Ogrinz]’s quest to re-create Robby the Robot shows us, there is a lot moving around inside that domed head, and requires careful and clever work.
The “dome gyros” are just one of the complex assemblies, improved over the original design with the addition of things like bearings.
Just as one example, topping Robby’s head is a mechanical assembly known as the dome gyros. It looks simple, but as the video (embedded below) shows, re-creating it involves a load of moving parts and looks like a fantastic amount of work has gone into it. At least bearings are inexpensive and common nowadays, and not having to meet film deadlines also means one can afford to design things in a way that allows for easier disassembly and maintenance.
Robby the Robot first appeared in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet and went on to appear in other movies and television programs. Robby went up for auction in 2017 and luckily [Mike] was able to take tons of reference photos. Combined with other enthusiasts’ efforts, his replica is shaping up nicely.
We’ve seen [Mike]’s work before when he shared his radioactive Night Blossoms which will glow for decades to come. His work on Robby looks amazing, and we can’t wait to see how it progresses.
Vintage hi-fi gear has a look and feel all its own. [ThunderOwl] happened to be playing in this space, turning a heavily-modified Technics stereo stack into an awesome neo-retro PC case. Meet the “TechnicsPC!”
This is good. We like this.
You have to hunt across BlueSky for the goodies, but it’s well worth it. The main build concerned throwing a PC into an old Technics receiver, along with a pair of LCD displays and a bunch of buttons for control. If the big screens weren’t enough of a tell that you’re looking at an anachronism, the USB ports just below the power switch will tip you off. A later addition saw a former Technics tuner module stripped out and refitted with card readers and a DVD/CD drive. Perhaps the most era-appropriate addition, though, is the scrolling LED display on top. Stuffed inside another tuner module, it’s a super 90s touch that somehow just works.
These days, off-the-shelf computers are so fancy and glowy that DIY casemodding has fallen away from the public consciousness. And yet, every so often, we see a magnificent build like this one that reminds us just how creative modders can really be. Video after the break.
Radiation-induced volumetric expansion (RIVE) is a concern for any concrete structures that are exposed to neutron flux and other types of radiation that affect crystalline structures within the aggregate. For research facilities and (commercial) nuclear reactors, RIVE is generally considered to be one of the factors that sets a limit on the lifespan of these structures through the cracking that occurs as for example quartz within the concrete undergoes temporary amorphization with a corresponding volume increase. The significance of RIVE within the context of a nuclear power plant is however still poorly studied.
A recent study by [Ippei Maruyama] et al. as published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials placed material samples in the LVR-15 research reactor in the Czech Republic to expose them to an equivalent neutron flux. What their results show is that at the neutron flux levels that are expected at the biological shield of a nuclear power plant, the healing effect from recrystallization is highly likely to outweigh the damaging effects of amorphization, ergo preventing RIVE damage.
This study follows earlier research on the topic at the University of Tokyo by [Kenta Murakami] et al., as well as by Chinese researchers, as in e.g. [Weiping Zhang] et al. in Nuclear Engineering and Technology. [Murayama] et al. recommend that for validation of these findings concrete samples from decommissioned nuclear plants are to be examined for signs of RIVE.
Heading image: SEM-EDS images of the pristine (left) and the irradiated (right) MC sample. (Credit: I. Murayama et al, 2022)
Typewriters aren’t really made anymore in any major quantity, since the computer kind of rained all over its inky parade. That’s not to say you can’t build one yourself though, as [Toast] did in a very creative fashion.
After being inspired by so many typewriters on YouTube, [Toast] decided they simply had to 3D print one of their own design. They decided to go in a unique direction, eschewing ink ribbons for carbon paper as the source of ink. To create a functional typewriter, they had to develop a typebar mechanism to imprint the paper, as well as a mechanism to move the paper along during typing. The weird thing is the letter selection—the typewriter doesn’t have a traditional keyboard at all. Instead, you select the letter of your choice from a rotary wheel, and then press the key vertically down into the paper. The reasoning isn’t obvious from the outset, but [Toast] explains why this came about after originally hitting a brick wall with a more traditional design.
If you’ve ever wanted to build a typewriter of your own, [Toast]’s example shows that you can have a lot of fun just by having a go and seeing where you end up. We’ve seen some other neat typewriter hacks over the years, too. Video after the break.
