Solar Power Your Pi
Running a Raspberry Pi with solar power sounds easy. Of course, like most things, the details are what get you. About a year ago, [Bystroushaa] tried it without success. But …read more Continue reading Solar Power Your Pi
Author Archives: Al Williams
All American Five Lives Again
If you haven’t heard of an “all-American five,” then you probably don’t dig through bins for old radios. The AA5 is a common design for old AM radios that use …read more Continue reading All American Five Lives Again
Examining Test Gear from Behind the Iron Curtain
Back in 1978, an oscilloscope was an exotic piece of gear for most homebrewers. We expect they were even more rare in private hands behind the iron curtain, and [Thomas …read more Continue reading Examining Test Gear from Behind the Iron Curtain
Retrotechtacular: The Computer Center of 1973
You might expect Bell Labs would have state-of-the-art computers, and they did. But it is jarring to realize just how little that was in 1973, fifty years ago. If you …read more Continue reading Retrotechtacular: The Computer Center of 1973
Retro Gadgets: The Real Desktop Computer
People argue about the first use of the computer desktop metaphor. Apple claims it. Xerox probably started it. Yet, when I think of computer desktops, I think of the NOVAL …read more Continue reading Retro Gadgets: The Real Desktop Computer
Ask Hackaday: What’s Linux Anyway?
Any time we mention Linux, it is a fair bet we will get a few comments from people unhappy that we didn’t refer to it as GNU/Linux or with some …read more Continue reading Ask Hackaday: What’s Linux Anyway?
Old Style 1802 Computer Has MMU
When you think of an MMU — a memory management unit — you probably think of a modern 32-bit computer. But [Jeff Truck] has a surprise. His new RCA 1802 …read more Continue reading Old Style 1802 Computer Has MMU
TV Typewriter Remembered
With the recent passing of Don Lancaster, I took a minute to reflect on how far things have come in a pretty short period of time. If you somehow acquired …read more Continue reading TV Typewriter Remembered
Vintage Digital Frequency Meter Teardown
You think of digital displays as modern, but the idea isn’t that new. We had clocks, for example, with wheels and flip digits for years. The Racal frequency counter that …read more Continue reading Vintage Digital Frequency Meter Teardown
Shake, Rattle, Roll, with Your Own Seismograph
We always love to see projects where you can build your own lab equipment so [CompactDIY’s] homemade seismograph caught our eye. The design uses an Arduino with an accelerometer and …read more Continue reading Shake, Rattle, Roll, with Your Own Seismograph