Hackaday Podcast Episode 357: BreezyBox, Antique Tech, And Defusing Killer Robots

February 13, 2026 by Tom Nardi No comments

In the latest episode of the Hackaday Podcast, editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off by discussing the game of lunar hide-and-seek that has researchers searching for the lost Luna 9 probe, and drop a few hints about the upcoming Hackaday Europe conference. From there they’ll marvel over a miniature operating system for the ESP32, examine the re-use of iPad displays, and find out about homebrew software development for an obscure Nintendo handheld. You’ll also hear about a gorgeous RGB 14-segment display, a robot that plays chess, and a custom 3D printed turntable for all your rotational needs. The episode wraps up with a sobering look at the dangers of industrial robotics, and some fascinating experiments to determine if a decade-old roll of PLA filament is worth keeping or not.

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 this episode in DRM-free MP3 on your ESP32 with BreezyBox for maximum enjoyment.

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Argon ONE UP: Test-Tasting A Raspberry Pi CM5 Based Laptop

February 12, 2026 by Maya Posch 18 Comments

The Raspberry Pi Compute Module form factor is a tantalizing core for a potential laptop, with a CM5 module containing a fairly beefy SoC and RAM, with depending on the exact module also eMMC storage and WiFi. To turn this into a laptop you need a PCB to put the CM5 module on and slide it into a laptop shell. This is in effect what [Argon40] did with their crowdfunded ONE UP laptop, which [Jeff Geerling] has been tinkering with for a few weeks now, with some thoughts on how practical the concept of a CM5-based laptop is.

Most practical is probably the DIY option that [Jeff] opted for with the ‘Shell’ version that he bought, as that meant that he could pop in one of the CM5s that he had lying around. The resulting device is totally functional as a laptop, with all the Raspberry Pi 5 levels of performance you’d expect and with the repair-friendliness of a Framework laptop.

If you’re buying the Core version with the 8 GB CM5 module and 256 GB NVMe SSD included, you’re looking at €475 before shipping or the equivalent in your local currency. This puts it unfortunately in the territory of budget x86 laptops and used Apple MacBooks, even before taking into account the current AI-induced RAMpocalypse that’d push [Jeff]’s configuration to $600 if purchased new, with prices likely to only go up.

Even if this price isn’t a concern, and you just want to have a CM5-based laptop, [Jeff]’s experience got soured on poor customer support from [Argon40] and above all the Raspberry Pi’s arch nemesis: the inability to do sleep mode. With the lid closed it runs at 3.3 W idle, but that’ll run down the battery from 100% to flat in about 17 hours. Perhaps if Raspberry Pi added sleep states to their systems would it make for a good laptop core, as well as for a smartphone.

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The function generator circuit on a breadboard

555-Based Square-Wave And Triangle-Wave Function Generator Build For Beginners

February 7, 2026 by John Elliot V 8 Comments

Over on YouTube [Andrew Neal] has a Function Generator Build for Beginners.

As beginner videos go this one is fairly comprehensive. [Andrew] shows us how to build a square-wave generator on a breadboard using a 555 timer, explaining how its internal flip-flop is controlled by added resistance and capacitance to become a relaxation oscillator. He shows how to couple a potentiometer to vary the frequency.

He then adds an integrator built from a TL082 dual op amp to convert the circuit to a triangle-wave generator, using its second op amp to build a binary inverter. He notes that a binary inverter is usually implemented with a comparator, but he uses the op amp because it was spare and could be put to good use. Again, potentiometers are added for frequency control, in this case a 1 MΩ pot for coarse control and a 10 kΩ pot for fine control. He ends with a challenge to the viewer: how can this circuit be modified to be a sine-wave generator? Sound off in the comments if you have some ideas!

If you’re interested to know more about function generators check out A Function Generator From The Past and Budget Brilliance: DHO800 Function Generator.

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Hackaday Podcast Episode 356: Nanoprinting, Vibe Coding, And Keebin’ With Kristina, IN HELL!

February 6, 2026 by Kristina Panos 5 Comments

This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up over coffee to bring you the latest news, mystery sound results show, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous seven days or so.

We found no news to speak of, except that Kristina has ditched Windows after roughly 38 years. What is she running now? What does she miss about Windows? Tune in to find out.

On What’s That Sound, Kristina thought it was a jackhammer, but [Statistically Unlikely] knew it was ground-tamper thingy, and won a Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! Congratulations!

After that, it’s on to the hacks and such, beginning with 3D printing on the nano scale, and a couple of typewriter-based hacks. Then we take a look at the beauty of the math behind graph theory, especially when it comes to circuit sculptures and neckties.

We also talk display hacking, macro pads with haptic feedback knobs, and writing code in Welsh. Finally, we discuss the Virtual Boy, and ponder whether vibe coding is killing open source.

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 DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.

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Toybox Tractor: Plywood, Lathe Hacks, And 350W Of Fun

February 5, 2026 by Matt Varian 14 Comments

When you think of a toy tractor, what probably comes to mind is something with fairly simple lines, maybe the iconic yellow and green, big rear tires, small front ones. Well, that’s exactly what [James] built, with simple, clean lines and a sturdy build that will hold up to driving around off-road in the garden. This Tractor is a great build, combining CAD, metal and wood work, some 3D printing, and electronics.

Starting at the power plant for the build, [James] went with a 350W DC motor powered by a 36V Li-ion battery from an e-bike. The motor turns a solid rear axle he made on a mini-lathe, connected to a set of riding lawn mower wheels. The mini-lathe spindle bore was too small to accommodate the shaft, and the lathe was not long enough to use the tailstock, so [James] had to get creative, using a vice and a piece of wood to make a stand–in tailstock, allowing him to turn this custom rear axle. The signature smoothly curved bonnet was made possible with plywood and body filler, rather than the sheet metal found on full-sized tractors. In fact, most of the build’s frame used plywood, giving it plenty of strength and, once painted, helping give it the appearance of a toy pulled out of a toybox.

This build had a bit of many domains in it, and all combined into a fantastic final result that no doubt will bring a smile to any face that gets to take the Tractor for a ride. Thanks [James] for documenting your build process, the hacks needed to pull off the tough bits along the way in making this fun toy. If you found this fun, be sure to check out another tractor related project.

5K IMac Turned Into 5K Display

February 4, 2026 by Bryan Cockfield 12 Comments

While Apple weren’t the first to invent high-DPI displays or to put them into consumer electronics, they did popularize them fairly effectively with the Retina displays in the early 2010s and made a huge number of them in the following years. The computers they’re attached to are getting up there in age, though, and although these displays are still functional it isn’t quite as straightforward to use them outside of their Apple-approved use. [David] demonstrates one way of getting this done by turning a 5k iMac into an external monitor.

The first attempt at getting a usable monitor from the old iMac was something called a Luna Display, but this didn’t have a satisfying latency. Instead, [David] turned to replacing the LCD driver board with a model called the R1811. This one had a number of problems including uneven backlighting, so he tried a second, less expensive board called the T18. This one only has 8-bit color instead of the 10-bit supported by the R1811 but [David] couldn’t personally tell the difference, and since it solved the other issues with the R1811 he went with this one. After mounting the new driver board and routing all of the wires, he also replaced the webcam with an external Logitech model and upgraded the speakers as well.

Even when counting the costs for both driver boards, the bill for this conversion comes in well under the cost of a new monitor of comparable quality from Apple, a company less concerned about innovation these days than overcharging their (admittedly willing) customers. For just a bit of effort, though, these older iMacs and other similar Apple machines with 5k displays can be repurposed to something relatively modern and still usable. Others have done similar projects and funded the upgrades by selling off the old parts.

Lumafield battery quality report cover page

Lumafield Peers Into The 18650 Battery

January 31, 2026 by John Elliot V 22 Comments

[Alex Hao] and [Andreas Bastian] of Lumafield recently visited with [Adam Savage] to document their findings after performing X-ray computed tomography scans on over 1,000 18650 lithium-ion batteries.

The short version — don’t buy cheap cells! The cheaper brands were found to have higher levels of manufacturing defects which can lead them to being unsafe. All the nitty-gritty details are available in the report, which can be downloaded for free from Lumafield, as well as the Tested video they did with [Adam] below.

Actually we’ve been talking here at Hackaday over at our virtual water-cooler (okay, okay, our Discord server) about how to store lithium-ion batteries and we learned about this cool bit of kit: the BAT-SAFE. Maybe check that out if you’re stickler for safety like us! (Thanks Maya Posch!)

We have of course heard from [Adam Savage] before, check out [Adam Savage] Giving A Speech About The Maker Movement and [Adam Savage]’s First Order Of Retrievability Tool Boxes.

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