Hackaday Podcast Episode 384: OCR MOD Records, Magical PCBs, And The Gravity Of Space Stations

What did Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams read in Hackaday last week? Probably everything, but you can tune in and hear about their favorites on this week’s podcast. They heard from lots of listeners this week, and also saw DIY projects running from a 3D-printed Stirling engine, to clogs, to LEDs.

There are some over-the-top hacks like a refit for a decades-old watch to do tap-to-pay and a — for lack of a better word — a record player that optically reads MOD files. Want to emulate an iPod? Talk to Eliza? Print a hand-operated rail car? Hackaday is the place to read about it all.

The can’t miss articles included a talk from Hackaday Europe about making magical PCBs and a not-so-brief history of space stations starting in the 1800s.

Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Direct download in MP3 suitable for hand-decoding.

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FLOSS Weekly Episode 879: Easy Like Butter

This week Jonathan chats with Nathan Freitas of the Guardian Project! What is going on at the forefront of Open Source and privacy advocacy? Where are we on a true Tor browser on iOS? And what’s the ideal solution to the Android Lockdown issue? Watch to find out!

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 383: QR Codes, Caving Gear, And The Old School Way To Learn Electronics

In this week’s episode, Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off by getting excited about the recently announced 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge. From there the conversation will cover efforts to improve desktop 3D printing with lasers, an expensive grill with an ESP32 controller and an open source firmware, open source tools underground, and some impressive techniques to squeeze a bit more utility out of the common QR code.

You’ll also hear about turning PVC pipes into flat stock, old school Radio Shack electronic kits, and VR soldering demos. Stick around to the end of the episode learn about the latest developments in over-the-counter hearing aids and the 1-bit CPU that’s enjoying an unexpected fandom nearly 50 years after its release.

Check out the links if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Direct download in DRM-free MP3.

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 382: Glueballs, Borg Cubes, And Supersonic Trebuchets

It’s still hot on both sides of the Atlantic, but Kristina has a new secret weapon for staying cool without making noise. Will Elliot and the others follow suit? Time will tell.

In Hackaday news, well, there’s a lot of it. For starters, Supercon Ten tickets went on sale Thursday morning, but chances are good that by the time you read this, the early bird offering will be all pecked out. But, never fear! More tickets will be released soon enough.

Don’t want to buy a ticket, but still want to go? Submit a talk proposal that gets accepted, and you’ll be welcomed in free of charge. Lucky for you, we just extended the deadline by two weeks to August 26th.

After exhausting the news, Elliot reached into the ol’ Mailbag and found a funny anecdote from [Vik Olliver]. (Funny in that it’ll make you go ‘hmm’.) A brief discussion about imperial vs. metric ensued, but then it was on to the hacks.

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!

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 381: Airless Tires, Full-color Prints, And 28 MW Of LEDs

This week’s Hackaday podcast is a European affair again, as Elliot Williams is joined by Jenny List on a summer evening to review the week. And we have a feast of hacks for your delectation.

As the title above says, one of the stand-out hacks this week was a set of airless mountain bike tyres 3D printed in glorious fluorescent TPU. They look as though they shouldn’t work but in fact they showed real promise, and we discuss the process behind their design. Then we take a look at a hybrid of a UV printer and an SLA 3D printer, capable of making high-resolution and robust 3D prints. The prospect of new Amigas intrigues us for a while, then carbon-fibre fabric in 3D prints.

Finally we’re in awe of the tech behind the Las Vegas Sphere, and we’re there for some radio at the Danish BornHack hacker camp. Follow that one up and you’ll find a bonus, an unofficial extra Hackaday podcast.

All the usual links are below, but before you head on down to have a listen, don’t forget we’ve got a mailbag for the podcast and we’d love to hear from you!

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 380: 3D Printing The Rainbow, IR And IP Camera Hacks, And Americium 241 On The Loose

Elliot Williams and Al Williams got together to compare notes on the most interesting posts this week on the site. As usual, there are just too many choices, so you’ll have to settle for just the few that can fit in a podcast. The guys were excited about 3D printing — both FDM and SLA — as well as a few camera projects. Ever wanted your own starship? They do, too, and you’ll hear about it along with portable radar and more.

Want to make flexible PCBs? Fill up a carbon dioxide tank? Or play Doom via regular expressions? Tune in, and you’ll find out about those stories and more.

Follow along with the links, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments! Better still, drop us a note in the mailbag, and you might hear your question on a future episode. You can record audio or send us a message, and one of the hosts will read it on your behalf.

Direct download in IR color-corrected DRM-free MP3.

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