Watch Those 1% Resistors
Decades ago, electronic components were not as easy to acquire as they are today. Sure, you could get some things at Radio Shack. But you might not have many choices, …read more Continue reading Watch Those 1% Resistors
Author Archives: Al Williams
Russian Weather Satellite Reuses Name, Yields Images
Which Russian weather satellite has the name Meteor 2? According to [saveitforparts], pretty much all of them. He showed how to grab images from an earlier satellite with the same …read more Continue reading Russian Weather Satellite Reuses Name, Yields Images
Retrotechtacular: The Nuclear Cruise Ship of the Future Earns Glowing Reviews
The average modern cruise ship takes about 250 tons or 80,000 gallons of fuel daily. But can you imagine a cruise ship capable of circling the globe fourteen times before …read more Continue reading Retrotechtacular: The Nuclear Cruise Ship of the Future Earns Glowing Reviews
Hackaday Podcast 226: Ice, Snow, and Cooling Paint in July
This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Al Williams shoot the breeze about all things Hackaday. We start off with some fond remembrances of Don Lancaster, a legendary hardware hacker who …read more Continue reading Hackaday Podcast 226: Ice, Snow, and Cooling Paint in July
Getting a Rise With Laser Cutting
Your first 3D print probably seemed pretty amazing. But if you revisit it after a few years, you’ll likely notice it wasn’t nearly as good as you thought. We improve …read more Continue reading Getting a Rise With Laser Cutting
Improved Hydrogen Fuel Cells are Groovy
According to [Charles Q. Choi], a new study indicates that grooves in the hydrogen fuel cells used to power vehicles can improve their performance by up to 50%. Fuel cells …read more Continue reading Improved Hydrogen Fuel Cells are Groovy
No Moving Parts LiDAR
Self-driving cars often use LiDAR — think of it as radar using light beams. One limitation of existing systems is they need some method of scanning the light source around, …read more Continue reading No Moving Parts LiDAR
Better Noise Reduction with Science
Most noise-blocking headphones fall into two categories: they use some kind of material to absorb or scatter noise, or they use active cancellation that creates a signal to oppose the …read more Continue reading Better Noise Reduction with Science
Tentacle Robot Is Like an Elephant Trunk
It sounds like bad science fiction or anime, but researchers are creating helical-artificial fibrous muscle structured tubular soft actuators. What? Oh, tentacle robot arms. Got it. The researchers at Westlake …read more Continue reading Tentacle Robot Is Like an Elephant Trunk
FreeCAD is Simple, According to This Tutorial
Remember learning to tie your shoes or ride a bike? Like many things, that’s easy once you know how to do it, but seems impossible before you learn. [NovaSpirit] asserts …read more Continue reading FreeCAD is Simple, According to This Tutorial