Hackaday Podcast

The entire Hackaday crew wishes you happy holidays and a fantastic 2026. You'll hear back from us then, so stay tuned.

This week's Hackaday Podcast sees Elliot Williams joined by Jenny List for an all-European take on the week, and have we got some hacks for you! In the news this week is NASA's Maven Mars Orbiter, which may sadly have been lost. A sad day for study of the red planet, but at the same time a chance to look back at what has been a long and successful mission. In the hacks of the week, we have a lo-fi camera, a very refined Commodore 64 laptop, and a MIDI slapophone to entertain you, as well as taking a detailed look at neutrino detectors. Then CYMK printing with laser cut stencils draws our attention, as well as the arrival of stable GPIB support for Linux. Finally both staffers let loose; Elliot with an epic rant about spreadsheets, and Jenny enthusiastically describing the Haiku operating system. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams met up to cover the best of Hackaday this week, and they want you to listen in. There were a hodgepodge of hacks this week, ranging from home automation with RF, volumetric displays in glass, and some crazy clocks, too. Ever see a typewriter that uses an ink pen? Elliot and Al hadn't either. Want time on a supercomputer? It isn't free, but it is pretty cheap these days. Finally, the guys discussed how to focus on a project like Dan Maloney, who finally got a 3D printer, and talked about Maya Posch's take on LLM intelligence. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Join Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi as they go over their picks for the best stories and hacks from the previous week. Things start off with a warning about the long-term viability of SSD backups, after which the discussion moves onto the limits of 3D printed PLA, the return of the Pebble smart watch, some unconventional aircraft, and an online KiCad schematic repository that has plenty of potential. You'll also hear about a remarkable conference badge made from e-waste electronic shelf labels, filling 3D prints with foam, and a tiny TV powered by the ESP32. The episode wraps up with our wish for hacker-friendly repair manuals, and an interesting tale of underwater engineering from D-Day. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up over coffee to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous seven days or so. On What's That Sound, Kristina got sort of close, but of course failed spectacularly. Will you fare better and perhaps win a Hackaday Podcast t-shirt? Mayhap you will. After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with an interesting tack to take with a flat-Earther that involves two gyroscopes. And we take a look at the design requirements when it comes to building synths for three-year-olds. Then we discuss several awesome hacks such as a vehicle retrofit to add physical heated seat controls, an assistive radio that speaks the frequencies, and an acoustic radiometer build. Finally, we look at the joys of hacking an old Kindle, and get a handle on disappearing door handles. Check out the links over at Hackaday to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Wait, what? Is it time for the podcast again? Seems like only yesterday that Dan joined Elliot for the weekly rundown of the choicest hacks for the last 1/52 of a year. but here we are. We had quite a bit of news to talk about, including the winners of the Component Abuse Challenge -- warning, some components were actually abused for this challenge. They're also a trillion pages deep over at the Internet Archive, a milestone that seems worth celebrating. As for projects, both of us kicked things off with "Right to repair"-adjacent topics, first with a washing machine that gave up its secrets with IR and then with a car that refused to let its owner fix the brakes. We heated things up with a microwave foundry capable of melting cast iron -- watch your toes! -- and looked at a tiny ESP32 dev board with ludicrously small components. We saw surveyors go to war, watched a Lego sorting machine go through its paces, and learned about radar by spinning up a sonar set from first principles. Finally, we wrapped things up with another Al Williams signature "Can't Miss Articles" section, with his deep dive into the fun hackers can have with the now-deprecated US penny, and his nostalgic look at pneumatic tube systems.

It's a wet November evening across Western Europe, the steel-grey clouds have obscured a rare low-latitude aurora this week, and Elliot Williams is joined by Jenny List for this week's podcast. And we've got a fine selection for your listening pleasure! The 2025 Component Abuse Challenge has come to an end, so this week you'll be hearing about a few of the entries. We've received an impressive number, and as always we're bowled over by the ingenuity of Hackaday readers in pushing parts beyond their limits. In the news is the potential discovery of a lost UNIX version in a dusty store room at the University of Utah, Version 4 of the OS, which appeared in 1973. Check out your own stores, for hidden nuggets of gold. In the hacks, we have two cameras at the opposite end of the resolution spectrum, but sharing some impressive reverse engineering. Mouse cameras and scanner cameras were both a thing a couple of decades ago, and it's great to see people still pushing the boundaries. Then we look at the challenge of encoding Chinese text as Morse code, an online-upgraded multimeter, the art of making lenses for an LED lighting effect, and what must be the best recreation of a Star Wars light sabre we have ever seen. In quick hacks we have a bevvy of Component Abuse Challenge projects, a Minecraft server on a smart light bulb, and a long term test of smartphone battery charging techniques. We round off with a couple of our long-form pieces, first the uncertainties about iRobot's future and what it might mean for their ecosystem -- think: cheap hackable robotics platform! -- and then a look at FreeBSD as an alternative upgrade path for Windows users. It's a path not without challenges, but the venerable OS still has plenty to give. As always, check out the links to all the articles over on Hackaday.

Hackaday Editors Tom Nardi and Al Williams spent the weekend at Supercon and had to catch up on all the great hacks. Listen in as they talk about their favorites. Plus, stick around to the end to hear about some of the highlights from their time in Pasadena. If you're still thinking about entering the Component Abuse Contest, you're just about out of time. Need some inspiration? Tom and Al talk about a few choice entries, and discuss how pushing parts out of their comfort zone can come in handy. Do you make your own PCBs? With vias? If you have a good enough laser, you could. Or maybe you'd rather have a $10 Linux server? Just manage your expectations. The guys both admit they aren't mechanical geniuses and, unlike [4St4r], aren't very good at guessing sounds either. They round up with some 3D printing projects and a collection of quick hacks.

This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up across the universe to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous seven days or so. In Hackaday news, OMG Supercon is almost here! And we just revealed the badge! In other news, we've still got a contest running. Read all about the 2025 Component Abuse Challenge , sponsored by DigiKey, and check out the contest page for all the details. On What's That Sound, Kristina failed spectacularly. Will you fare better and perhaps win a Hackaday Podcast t-shirt? Mayhap you will. After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with a really cool entry into the Component Abuse Challenge wherein a simple transmission line is used to multiply a voltage. We watch as a POV globe takes to the skies, once it has enough motors. Then we discuss several awesome hacks such as an incredible desk that simulates beehive activity, a really great handheld PC build, and a Tinkercad twofer. Finally, we discuss the future of removable batteries, and the history of movable type. Check out the links over at Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

It was Elliot and Dan on the podcast today, taking a look at the best the week had to offer in terms of your hacks. We started with surprising news about the rapidly approaching Supercon keynote; no spoilers, but Star Trek fans such as we who don't have tickets will be greatly disappointed. Elliot waxed on about taking the poop out of your prints, Dan got into a camera that adds a dimension to its images, and we both delighted in the inner workings of an air-powered squishy robot. Questions? We've got plenty. Is it possible to take an X-ray without an X-ray tube? Or X-rays, for that matter? Did Lucille Ball crack a spy ring with her fillings? Is Algol set to take over the world? What's inside a germanium transistor? How does a flipping fish say Happy Birthday? And how far down the Meshtastic rabbit hole did our own Tom Nardi fall? Tune in to find out the answers.

The nights are drawing in for Europeans, and Elliot Williams is joined this week by Jenny List for an evening podcast looking at the past week in all things Hackaday. After reminding listeners of the upcoming Hackaday Supercon and Jawncon events, we take a moment to mark the sad passing of the prolific YouTuber, Robert Murray-Smith. Before diving into the real hacks, there are a couple of more general news stories with an effect on our community. First, the takeover of Arduino by Qualcomm, and what its effect is likely to be. We try to speculate as to where the Arduino platform might go from here, and even whether it remains the player it once was, in 2025. Then there's the decision by Google to restrict Android sideloading to only approved-developer APKs unless over ADB. It's an assault on a user's rights over their own hardware, as well as something of a blow to the open-source Android ecosystem. What will be our community's response? On more familiar territory we have custom LCDs, algorithmic art, and a discussion of non-stepper motors in 3D printing. Even the MakerBot Cupcake makes an appearance. Then there's a tiny RV, new creative use of an ESP32 peripheral, and the DVD logo screensaver, in hardware. We end the show with a look at why logic circuits use the voltages they do. It's a smorgasbord of hacks for your listening enjoyment.

Elliot Williams and Al Williams got together to share their favorite hacks of the week with you. If you listen in, you'll hear exciting news about the upcoming SuperCon and the rare occurrence of Al winning the What's That Sound game. For hacks, the guys talk about the IEEE's take on the "best" programming languages of 2025 and how they think AI is going to fundamentally transform the job of a programmer. On a lighter note, there's an industrial robot who retired to bartending, a minimal drum machine, a high-powered laser, and a Fortran flight simulator reborn with Unity 3D. In the "can't miss" category, you'll learn how not to switch Linux distributions and what to expect when you need surgery while on your next mission to outer space. There's lots more. Want to follow along? Check out the links below. As always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start this week's episode off with an update on the rapidly approaching 2025 Supercon in Pasadena, California. From there they'll talk about the surprisingly high-tech world of vapes, a flying DeLorean several years in the making, non-contact pulse monitoring, and the potential of backyard radio telescopes to do real astronomy. You'll hear about a dodecahedron speaker, a page turning peripheral, and 3D printed tools for unfolding boxes. They'll wrap things up by taking a look at the latest generation of wearable smart glasses, and wonder if putting a bank of batteries in your home is really with the hassle. Check out the links over at Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up over the tubes to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous seven days or so. In Hackaday news, we've got a new contest running! Read all about the 2025 Component Abuse Challenge , sponsored by DigiKey, and check out the contest page for all the details. In sad news, American Science & Surplus are shuttering online sales , leaving just the brick and mortar stores in Wisconsin and Illinois. On What's That Sound, it's a results show, which means Kristina gets to take a stab at it. She missed the mark, but that's okay, because [Montana Mike] knew that it was the theme music for the show Beakman's World , which was described by one contestant as "Bill Nye on crack". After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with a really cool way to smooth your 3D prints in situ. JWe take a much closer look at that talking robot's typewriter-inspired mouth from about a month ago. Then we discuss several awesome technological feats such as running code on a PAX credit card payment machine, using the alphabet as joinery, and the invention of UTF-8 in general. Finally, we discuss the detection of spicy shrimp, and marvel at the history of email. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Fresh hacks here! Get your fresh hot hacks right here! Elliot and Dan teamed up this week to go through every story published on our pages to find the best of the best, the cream of the crop, and serve them up hot and fresh for you. The news this week was all from space, with the ISS getting its latest (and last?) push from Dragon, plus <<checks notes>> oh yeah, life on Mars. Well, maybe, but it's looking more and more like we are not alone, or at least not a few million years ago. But even if we are, plenty is still going on down here to keep you interested. Like homebrewing? Good, because we looked at DIY inductors, wire nuts, and even a dope -- but nope -- ultralight helicopter. Into retro? We've got you covered with a loving look at IRC, a 60s bedside computer guaranteed to end your marriage, and a look at the best 8-bit language you never heard of. We looked at a rescued fume hood, sensors galore on your phone, a rug that should have -- and did, kind of -- use a 555, and raytracing for the rest of your natural life. As for "Can't Miss Articles," Elliot could barely contain himself with the bounty of projects written up by our Hackaday writers, not to mention Arya's deep dive into putting GPS modules to work in your builds.

Thunderstorms were raging across southern Germany as Elliot Williams was joined by Jenny List for this week's podcast. The deluge outside didn't stop the hacks coming though, and we've got a healthy smorgasbord for you to snack from. There's the cutest ever data cassette recorder taking a tiny Olympus dictation machine and re-engineering it with a beautiful case for the Commodore 64, a vastly overcomplex machine for perfectly cracking an egg, the best lightning talk timer Hackaday has ever seen, and a demoscene challenge that eschews a CPU. Then in Quick Hacks we've got a QWERTY slider phone, and a self-rowing canoe that comes straight out of Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence. For a long time we've had a Field guide series covering tech in infrastructure and other public plain sight, and this week's one dealt with pivot irrigation. A new subject for Jenny who grew up on a farm in a wet country. Then both editors are for once in agreement, over using self-tapping screws to assemble 3D-printed structures. Sit back and enjoy the show!

What happens when you listen in on Elliot Williams and Al Williams? You get a round up of the best of last week's Hackaday posts, of course. The topics this week range from beer brewing to lightning protection, with a little bit of everything in between. This week, many problems find solutions. Power drill battery dead? Your car doesn't have a tire pressure monitor? Does your butter tear up your toast? You can find the answer to these problems, and more, on the Hackaday podcast. For the can't miss section, the guys are annoyed that Google wants to lock down their phones, and also talk about measuring liquid levels in outer space. 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 !

In this episode of the Hackaday Podcast, editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start out with a warning about potentially radioactive shrimp entering the American food supply via Walmart, and things only get weirder from there. The extra spicy shrimp discussion makes a perfect segue into an overview of a pair of atomic One Hertz Challenge entries, after which they'll go over the latest generation of 3D printer filament, using an old Android smartphone as a low-power Linux server, some tips for creating better schematics, and Lorde's specification-bending transparent CD. Finally, you'll hear about how the nature of digital ownership influences the hardware we use, and on the other side of the coin, how open source firmware like QMK lets you build input devices on your terms. Check out the links if you want to follow along , and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up over the tubes to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. In Hackaday news, get your Supercon 2025 tickets while they're hot! Also, the One Hertz Challenge ticks on, but time is running out. You have until Tuesday, August 19th to show us what you've got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started now. Finally, its the end of eternal September as AOL discontinues dial-up service after all these years. On What's That Sound, Kristina got sort of close, but this is neither horseshoes nor hand grenades. Can you get it? If so, you could win a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with a talking robot that uses typewriter tech to move its mouth. We take a look at hacking printed circuit boards to create casing and instrument panels for a PDP-1 replica. Then we explore a fluid simulation business card, witness a caliper shootout, and marvel at one file in six formats. Finally, it's a telephone twofer as we discuss the non-hack-ability of the average smart phone, and learn about what was arguably the first podcast. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Elliot and Dan got together this week for a review of the week's hacking literature, and there was plenty to discuss. We addressed several burning questions, such as why digital microscopes are so terrible, why computer systems seem to have so much trouble with names, and if a thermal receipt printer can cure ADHD. We looked at a really slick 5-axis printer that COVID created, a temperature-controlled fermentation setup, and a pseudo-Mellotron powered by a very odd tape recorder. We also learned little about designing 3D printed parts with tight tolerances, stepping a PC power supply up to ludicrous level, and explored a trio of unique entries for the One Hertz Challenge. And for the Can't Miss section, we looked at what happens to planes when they get hit by lightning (and how they avoid it), and say goodbye to the man who launched a lot of careers by making model kits. It was also exciting to learn that the first day of Supercon is Halloween, which means a Friday night sci-fi cosplay party. It's gonna be lit.

Another week, another Hackaday podcast, and for this one Elliot is joined by Jenny List, fresh from the BornHack hacker camp in Denmark. There's a definite metal working flavour to this week's picks, with new and exciting CNC techniques and a selective electroplater that can transfer bitmaps to metal. But worry not, there's plenty more to tease the ear, with one of the nicest cyberdecks we've ever seen, and a bird that can store images in its song. Standout quick hacks are a synth that makes sounds from Ethernet packets, and the revelation that the original PlayStation is now old enough to need replacement motherboards. Finally we take a closer look at the huge effort that goes in to monitoring America's high voltage power infrastructure, and some concerning privacy news from the UK. Have a listen!

What did you miss on Hackaday last week? Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Al Williams are ready to catch you up on this week's podcast. First, though, the guys go off on vibe coding and talk about a daring space repair around Jupiter. Then it is off to the hacks, including paste extruding egg shells, bespoke multimeters, and an 8-bit mechanical computer made from a construction toy set. For can't miss articles, you'll hear about boring industrial design in modern cell phones and a deep dive into how fresh fruit makes it to your table in the middle of the winter. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Join Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi as they talk about their favorite hacks and stories from the previous week. They'll start things off with a small Supercon update, and go right into fusion reactors, AI surgeons, planned obsolescence, and robotic cats and dogs. They'll also go over several entries from the ongoing 2025 One Hertz Challenge, an ambitious flight simulator restoration project, old school lightning detectors, and how Blu-ray won the battle against HD DVD but lost the war against streaming. Stick around to the end to hear an incredible story about a clandestine machine shop in a WWII prisoner of war camp, and the valiant fight to restore communications with the Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

This week, Hackaday's Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week. In Hackaday news, the One Hertz Challenge ticks on. You have until Tuesday, August 19th to show us what you've got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started now! In other news, we've just wrapped the call for Supercon proposals, so you can probably expect to see tickets for sale fairly soon. On What's That Sound, Kristina actually got this one with some prodding. Congratulations to [$HACKER] who knew exactly what it was and wins a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! After that, it's on to the hacks and such, beginning with a ridiculously fast Benchy. We take a look at a bunch of awesome 3D prints a PEZ blaster and a cowbell that rings true. Then we explore chisanbop, which is not actually K-Pop for toddlers, as well as a couple of clocks. Finally, we talk a bit about dithering before taking a look at the top tech of 1985 as shown in Back to the Future (1985). 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!

It's Independence Day here in the USA, but if you're not a fan of fireworks and hot dogs, Elliot and Dan's rundown of the best hacks of the week is certainly something to celebrate. Rest easy, because nothing exploded, not even the pneumatic standing desk that [Matthias] tore into, nor the electroplated 3D prints that [H3NDRIK] took a blowtorch to. We both really loved the Ploopiest knob you've ever seen, which would be even Ploopier in anodized aluminum, as well as an automatic book scanner that takes its job very seriously. We looked into the mysteries of the Smith chart, another couple of fantastic student projects out of Cornell, the pros and cons of service loops, and what happened when the lights went out in Spain last Spring. And what does Janet Jackson have against laptops anyway?