Supercon 2024: Exploring The Ocean With Open Source Hardware

If you had to guess, what do you think it would take to build an ocean-going buoy that could not only survive on its own without human intervention for more than two years, but return useful data the whole time? You’d probably assume such a feat would require beefy hardware, riding inside an expensive and relatively large watertight vessel of some type — and for good reason, the ocean is an unforgiving environment, and has sent far more robust hardware to the briny depths.

But as Wayne Pavalko found back in 2016, a little planning can go a long way. That’s when he launched the first of what he now calls Maker Buoys: a series of solar-powered drifting buoys that combine a collection of off-the-shelf sensor boards with an Arduino microcontroller and an Iridium Short-Burst Data (SBD) modem in a relatively simple watertight box.

He guessed that first buoy might last a few weeks to a month, but when he finally lost contact with it after 771 days, he realized there was real potential for reducing the cost and complexity of ocean research.

Wayne recalled the origin of his project and updated the audience on where it’s gone from there during his 2024 Supercon talk, Adventures in Ocean Tech: The Maker Buoy Journey. Even if you’re not interested in charting ocean currents with homebrew hardware, his story is an inspirational reminder that sometimes a fresh approach can help solve problems that might at first glance seem insurmountable.

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Converting The C64 Mini Into A C64C

The C64 Mini is a beautiful and functional replica of the most popular computer ever made, except at 50% size and without a working keyboard. For maximum nostalgia, it was modeled after the brown breadbox C64 case which so characterized the model. However, [10p6] wanted to build a tiny C64C instead, so set about making a conversion happen.

The build is primarily about the case design. [10p6] created a nice 50% scale duplicate of the C64C, with an eye to making it work with the internals of the popular C64 Mini. The case was paired with a custom PETSCII keyboard PCB and keycaps designed by [Bleugh]. This was a key element, since it wouldn’t really feel like a functional C64C without a functional keyboard. The build also scored a bonus USB hub for more flexibility. For the best possible finish, the case, power button, and keycaps were all printed using a resin printer, which provides a more “production-like” result than FDM printers are capable of.

It’s funny how retro computers remain popular to this day, particularly amongst the hacker set. In contrast, we don’t see a whole lot of people trying to replicate Pentium II machines from the mid-1990s. If you do happen to have a crack at it, though, the tipsline is always open. Video after the break.

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FreeDOS 1.4 Released

Even in 2025 there are still many applications for a simple Disk Operating System (DOS), whether this includes running legacy software (including MS-DOS games & Windows 3.x), or (embedded) systems running new software where the overhead of a full-fat Linux or BSD installation would be patently ridiculous.

This is where the FreeDOS project provides a modern, fully supported DOS, with the recent 1.4 release adding a whole range of features and updates to existing components like the FreeCOM command shell. This is the first stable release since 1.3 was released in 2022.

FreeDOS saw its first release in 1994 and has become the de facto replacement for MS-DOS — featuring many improvements to make it work well on modern hardware and a package manager to manage installed software much like on Linux & BSD. The new kernel didn’t quite make it into this release, but it and some other items will be available in the monthly test builds.

You can download the new 1.4 release here, with live & installer CD images, a USB installer and even a Floppy Edition available. System requirements include an (Intel) x86 CPU, a BIOS (or legacy UEFI mode), 640 kB of RAM and 20 MB of storage.

Supercon 2024: Quick High-Feature Boards With The Circuit Graver

These days, if you want to build something with modern chips and components, you probably want a custom PCB. It lets you build a neat and compact project that has a certain level of tidiness and robustness that you can’t get with a breadboard or protoboard. The only problem is that ordering PCBs takes time, and it’s easy to grow tired of shipping delays when you don’t live in the shadow of the Shenzhen board houses.

[Zach Fredin] doesn’t suffer this problem, himself. He’s whipping up high-feature PCBs at home with speed and efficiency that any maker would envy. At the 2024 Hackaday Supercon, he was kind enough to give a talk to explain the great engineering value provided by the Circuit Graver.

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Supercon 2024: Rethinking Body Art With LEDs

Tattoos. Body paint. Henna. All these are popular kinds of body art with varying histories and cultural connotations, many going back centuries or even longer. They all have something in common, though—they all change how the body reflects light back to the viewer. What if, instead, body art could shine a light of its very own?

This is the precise topic which [Katherine Connell] came to discuss at the 2024 Hackaday Supercon. Her talk concerns rethinking body art with the use of light emitting diodes—and is both thoroughly modern and aesthetically compelling. Beyond that, it’s an engineering development story with liquid metal and cutting-edge batteries that you simply don’t want to miss!

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Why The LM741 Sucks

First of all, we’d like to give a big shout-out to [Afrotechmods]! After a long hiatus, he has returned to YouTube with an awesome new video all about op-amp characteristics, looking at the relatively awful LM741 in particular. His particular way of explaining things has definitely helped many electronics newbies to learn new concepts quickly!

Operational amplifiers have been around for a long time. The uA741, now commonly known as the LM741, was indeed an incredible piece of technology when it was released. It was extremely popular through the 1970s and onward as it saved designers the chore of designing a discrete amplifier. Simply add a few external components, and you have a well-behaved amplifier.

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 314: It’s Pi, But Also PCBs In Living Color And Ultrasonic Everything

It might not be Pi Day anymore, but Elliot and Dan got together for the approximately 100*Pi-th episode of the Podcast to run through the week’s coolest hacks. Ultrasound seemed to be one of the themes, with a deep dive into finding bugs with sonar as well as using sound to cut the cheese — and cakes and pies, too.

The aesthetics of PCBs were much on our minds, too, from full-color graphics on demand to glow-in-the-dark silkscreens. Is automation really needed to embed fiber optics in concrete? Absolutely! How do you put plasma in a bottle? Apparently, with kombucha, Nichrome, and silicone. If you need to manage your M:TG cards, scribble on the walls, or build a mechanical chase light, we’ve got the details. And what exactly is a supercomputer? We can’t define it, but we know one when we see it.

Download the zero-calorie MP3.

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