Poorly designed PCBs and enclosures that slowly cook the electrolytic capacitors within are a common failure scenario in general, but they seem especially prevalent in so-called Internet-of-Things devices. The SwitchBot Plug Mini that [Denki Otaku] took a look at after many reports of them failing is one such example. The location of the failed electrolytic […]
Keeping a cool head is difficult at the best of times, least of all when it’s summer and merely thinking of touching bare skin to the pavement already gets you a second-degree burn. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to spend all summer in an air-conditioned room, but what if you took said room with you? Introducing […]
Although there are a few robots on the market that can make life a bit easier, plenty of them have closed-source software or smartphone apps required for control that may phone home and send any amount of data from the user’s LAN back to some unknown server. Many people will block off Internet access for […]
Before PCBs, wiring electronic circuits was a major challenge in electronics production. A skilled person could make beautiful wire connections between terminal strips and components with a soldering iron, but it was labor-intensive and expensive. One answer that was very popular was wire wrapping, and [Sawdust & Circuits] shows off an old-fashioned wire wrap gun […]
Although often tossed together into a singular ‘retro game’ aesthetic, the first game consoles that focused on 3D graphics like the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation featured very distinct visuals that make these different systems easy to distinguish. Yet whereas the N64 mostly suffered from a small texture buffer, the PS’s weak graphics hardware necessitated […]
Before the Internet, there was a certain value to knowing how to find out about things. Reference librarians could help you locate specialized data like the Thomas Register, the EE and IC Masters for electronics, or even an encyclopedia or CRC handbook. But if you wanted up-to-date info on any country of the world, you’d […]
Simulator-style video games are designed to scale in complexity, allowing players to engage at anything from a casual level to highly detailed, realistic simulation. Microsoft Flight Simulator, for example, can be played with a keyboard and mouse, a controller, or a huge, expensive simulator designed to replicate a specific airplane in every detail. Driving simulators […]
Fidget toys are everywhere these days. A particularly popular type simply puts some keyboard switches on a plate to provide a certain type of clicky satisfaction. [wjddnjsdnd] took that concept a step further, building a keychain-sized fidget toy that actually has games on it. The build is based around six key switches in a 2 […]
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 […]