It is easy to port C compilers to architectures that look like old minicomputers or bigger CPUs. However, as the authors of the Small Device C Compiler (SDCC) found, pushing C into a typical 8-bit CPU is challenging. Lessons learned from SDCC inspired a new 8-bit architecture, F8. This isn’t just a theoretical architecture. You […]
If you think sonic booms from supersonic aircraft are a nuisance, wait until the sky is full of planes propelled by up-scaled versions of this interesting but deafening audio resonance engine. Granted, there’s a lot of work to do before this “Sonic Ramjet” can fly even something as small as an RC plane. Creator [invalid_credentials] […]
Split flap displays! They’re mechanical, clickety-clackity, and largely commercially irrelevant in our screen-obsessed age. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a ball making one of your own, though! [Morgan Manly] did just that, with tidy results. An ESP32 C3 SuperMini serves as the boss of the operation, running the whole display. The display is designed […]
As the fundamental flaw of today’s quantum computers, improving qubit stability remains the focus of much research in this field. One such stability attempt involves so-called topological quantum computing with the use of anyons, which are two-dimensional quasiparticles. Such an approach has been claimed by Microsoft in a recent paper in Nature. This comes a few […]
Whether it’s a game of D&D or encrypting top-secret information, a wide array of methods are available for generating the needed random numbers with high enough entropy for their use case. For a tabletop game this might be a single die but for more sensitive applications a more robust method of generating random numbers is […]
LoRa gear can be great for doing radio communications in a light-weight and low-power way. However, it can also work over great distances if you have the right hardware—and the right antennas in particular. [taste_the_code] has been experimenting in this regard, and whipped up a simple yagi antenna that can work at distances of up […]
In 1997 a set of DEC tapes were provided by Dennis Ritchie, as historical artifacts for those interested in the gestation of the UNIX operating system. The resulting archive files have recently been analysed by [Yfeng Gao], who has succeeded in recovering a working UNIX version from 1972. What makes it particularly interesting is that […]
The release notes for the 2.1.1 Raspberry Pi Pico SDK have a late holiday present: The RP2040 chip is now certified to run at 200 MHz if you use at least 1.15V as the supply voltage. Previously, the certified speed was 125 MHz, although it was well-known you could overclock the device. By default, the […]
Your garden variety motion detector uses IR, but these days, there are fancier technologies for achieving similar goals. If so desired, you can source yourself a microwave-based presence sensor instead. Indeed, like [N-08 Labs], you might like to whip one up into a basic intrusion detection system. The idea is simple enough—take a RCWL-0516 microwave […]
Most Christmas ornaments just hang there and look pretty. [Sean Hodgins] decided to whip up something altogether fancier and more mechanical. It’s a real working marble machine that hangs from the tree! The build is simple enough, beginning with a translucent Christmas ornament shell readily available from most craft stores. Inside, a small motor spins […]