DIY Rooftop Tent Sets Up In A Jiffy

November 6, 2026 by Donald Papp 4 Comments

[CraftAndu] shares his DIY car rooftop tent design that looks like a pretty accessible build. It allowed him to test drive the concept to his satisfaction while spending a fraction of what a commercial unit would cost.

The rooftop tent consists of a folding platform of sturdy plywood bolted to the roof rack. The tent is attached, with the support rods cleverly anchored to the hinges so folding the platform stows the tent and mattress, and unfolding deploys it. Doing this in a way that also leaves suitable clearance between the sections when folded requires a special hinge design, but it’s mechanically straightforward. According to [CraftAndu], it’s also plenty strong and he never had any worries about stability. The final touch is a rain cover made from durable waterproof fabric that buckles around the whole thing.

There are a few nifty design elements we particularly like. The integrated aluminum ladder is a nice touch, as is the little folding table on the inside of the ladder. Also, since the platform folds out to the side, one can have a small roof overhead while sitting below. Hanging a tarp around the perimeter also creates a what he jokingly refers to as “the livingroom”.

[CraftAndu] also shares his thoughts after using it for a two-week trip. Chief among them is that while it worked very well and shows no signs of wear, it’s still just a tent. It’s a bit cramped, cold, and like any tent it needs to be dried out in the morning due to condensation even if there’s no rain. On the plus side, it’s ridiculously convenient and easy to set up. Check it out in the video, embedded just below.

If you want to see some other DIY vehicle-camper projects, don’t miss this DIY pop-up truck camper, the Toyota Corolla that sleeps two, and for a little something different here’s a van converted to off-grid camper-slash-remote office.

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Finger Joint Cutter Uses A Jigsaw Blade, But Not As We Know It

November 5, 2026 by Donald Papp 36 Comments

Around these parts, finger joints (or box joints) are usually the product of laser cutting. [bluesyann] shows us a method of using a stationary jigsaw, a custom blade, and 3D-printed jig to create a DIY box joint cutter whose results look impressive. What’s appealing is not just the end result, but the fact that the whole system is made from little more than an inexpensive tool, scrap wood, and common hardware.

A DIY wide blade cuts each notch in a single go.

In [bluesyann]’s system, the jigsaw is fixed in place to make a stationary cutter. The saw itself is nothing special; it’s the wide blade that makes the difference. It cuts a notch in a single go, and it’s made by epoxying together multiple blades to make a single extra-wide one. Jigsaw blades are not expensive, and they’re easy to snap into pieces. By using a total of three blades (snapping two of them into pieces) one can create the wide version shown here.

With a stationary jigsaw sporting an extra-wide blade that cuts the same notch every time, all that remains is a way to get the spacing right. The solution there is a 3D-printed jig that each freshly-cut notch fits onto as the next one is cut.

There are a few other details, but those are the important bits. One does have to do a bit of trial and error to get things dialed in, but once they are, it’s off to the races.

If one prefers a less hands-on method of cutting box joints, check out this robotic table saw which automates the process.

DIY WiFi Analyzer Sniffs Out Congestion And Coverage Issues, Suggests Fixes

October 31, 2026 by Donald Papp 16 Comments

[Roni Bandini]’s JEV WiFi Analyzer is an interesting experiment that glues together a single-board Linux computer, a USB WiFi adapter, and a specialized AI model to create a new kind of automated tool that passively monitors WiFi activity to measure and profile coverage, congestion, and suggest possible optimizations.

Here’s how it works: a Python program connects to WiFi, cycles through available channels, and uses scapy to gather details like signal strength, number of clients, WiFi frames per second, and similar data about each given channel. That data is fed to Jev, a highly efficient sort of decision-making AI model responsible for interpreting that data on an ongoing basis.

Briefly, Jev is a new kind of AI that is completely unable to generate text or images. It outputs only numbers representing bounded decisions. We covered these decision-making models earlier, including locally-installed versions. Jev is cheap enough to throw at a variety of problems, but it’s also practical to run your own model on your own hardware.

In [Roni]’s analyzer, Python gathers the raw numbers and Jev takes care of classifying the WiFi network’s coverage, congestion level, and basic remedial actions if applicable. There’s a brief video embedded below (Spanish only) that shows the Jev WiFi Analyzer in action.

The AI isn’t making particularly deep analyses, but it doesn’t take much to imagine Jev taking a more active role like deciding which channels to spend more (or less) time monitoring. Using a decision-making model in this way is interesting, and makes us wonder if similar models integrated with other kinds of hardware is a branch of projects waiting to happen.

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VR Headset Ditches The Base Stations With DIY Tracking

October 30, 2026 by Donald Papp 3 Comments

Those in the virtual reality scene might be interested in [Prohurtz]’s add-on for the Bigscreen Beyond VR headset. BSB-SLAM adds SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) tracking to the headset by attaching a sensor to the front of the headset, and providing the software to tie the two together. As a result, the headset can be fully tracked in 3D space with no need for external base stations. It essentially adds inside-out tracking as a DIY add-on.

An early version, shared with a brief video demo posted to X.

Just to be clear, that doesn’t mean the headset becomes wireless. The Beyond connects to a PC, essentially acting as a display, and that part is the same. But it does mean the headset is no longer tied to having to work in a room with base stations pre-installed.

[Prohurtz]’s solution does this by adding a small off-the-shelf Xvisio XR50 board, USB cable, and 3D-printed mount to the unit. The headset works as normal, just with some extra software needed to use the sensor data in lieu of the base stations.

As far as sensors go the Xvisio XR50 is a bit spendy, but the fact that a small and lightweight SLAM sensor that’s capable of delivering positioning data suitable for tracking a headset in near real-time can be bought online and so readily adapted is pretty interesting.

[Prohurtz] got the idea working back in 2025 but it’s now at the point where one can order a part, print an adapter, and be off to the races with a software package.

This isn’t [Prohurtz]’s first time with VR hardware, either. The EyeTrackVR eye tracking add-on is also their work, combining largely off-the-shelf hardware into an effective DIY solution for VR use.

Valve Releases Hardware And CAD Reference For New VR Headset

October 10, 2026 by Donald Papp 9 Comments

Valve recently began shipping its long-awaited VR headset, the Steam Frame. Now, there is a hardware reference repository that includes everything a budding modder might need, and then some.

No need to 3D scan or break out the calipers if one wants to design their own add-ons.

Want to design and 3D print some add-ons, or a carrying case, or some other doodad? There’s no need to break out the calipers or 3D scan the hardware. The repository contains STEP format models of the VR core module, head strap, and controllers, so it’s as easy as possible to design things that’ll fit. The location of the IR tracking LEDs embedded in the controllers is also documented, so one can ensure their design doesn’t occlude them.

That’s not all. The Frame has a user-accessible hardware expansion port at its front. This port exposes two interfaces: high-speed MIPI camera and PCI Express. This expansion port is documented in the repository, and even has a simple reference design built in both KiCad and Altium.

We’re glad to see Valve maintain their hacker-friendly hardware design with the Steam Frame. Demand for The Frame outstrips supply so far, so if you’re on the waitlist, you might want to browse the repository and get an early start on whatever customizations you have in mind while you wait for your confirmation. And when you get something working, drop us a note on the tips line!

Belt File From Old Mixer And Junk Bin Parts

October 9, 2026 by Donald Papp 5 Comments

Making one’s own power tools can be a rewarding way to upcycle parts, and [bluesyann] does exactly that with a belt file made from an old mixer. We like how the enclosure for the old mixer is preserved and acts as a handle, so there’s no need to worry about motor mounting and wiring separately. It looks perfectly usable, and all the hardware needed is the sort of thing one finds in a scrap pile.

[bluesyann] stretches the sanding belt between a 3D printed pulley attached to the mixer motor, and a bearing fitted into the end of some aluminum U-channel. Scrap wood and more nested U-channel make up the rest of the assembly, and there’s even a tension adjustment made from a threaded rod.

There’s a bill of materials and a 3D model for the pulley, but a build like this is more about sharing the broad strokes rather than the exact design. Whenever one modifies or integrates an existing piece of equipment (the mixer, in this case) into a project, most of the work is about working with and around the bits one can’t change.

Watch it in action in a brief video, embedded just below. If you like the idea but don’t have a mixer like the one [bluesyann] used, let us point you toward a similar DIY attachment to get a similar result from a common angle grinder.

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2026 Retrocomputing Challenge: Retro Terminal Bartop Arcade Topper

October 8, 2026 by Donald Papp 9 Comments

Retrocomputing is more than just hardware. It’s also a feel, a vibe, and [valkyrie0528]’s Retro Terminal Bartop Arcade Topper has it in spades.

The same unit, in bartop arcade machine mode.

Here’s how it happened. The gorgeous device you see in the image above in fact started out as a bartop arcade cabinet build. The front section — with arcade buttons and joystick — is a removable panel. While building it, the panel was uninstalled and [valkyrie0528] placed a keyboard in the empty recess to do some configuration. Sitting at the machine like that felt like being right back in the 80s, perched at an 8-bit home computer. Cue a visit from the Good Ideas Fairy.

Now, in addition to being an arcade cabinet, one can swap the arcade controls panel for a one that has a keyboard (clicky and mechanical, of course), touchpad, and small USB breakout. The result looks amazing either way. As an arcade machine it’s beautiful, and in retro terminal mode it’s simply gorgeous.

The icing on the cake is [valkyrie0528]’s use of cool-retro-term as the terminal emulator, and there’s even a widescreen wallpaper accompanying it that puts an image of two 5.25″ floppy drives to the side. If you like that idea, you can download the wallpaper file from the project page for your own use.

A widescreen wallpaper with two 5.25″ floppy drives is the perfect complement to a retro terminal emulator.

There’s still time to enter our 2026 Retrocomputing Challenge, so if you find yourself inspired and want to show off your own take of things, there’s no time to lose!