Spy Tech: The NRO and Apollo 11
When you think of “secret” agencies, you probably think of the CIA, the NSA, the KGB, or MI-5. But the real secret agencies are the ones you hardly ever hear …read more Continue reading Spy Tech: The NRO and Apollo 11
Author Archives: Al Williams
Build Your Own 6K Camera
[Curious Scientist] has been working with some image sensors. The latest project around it is a 6K camera. Of course, the sensor gives you a lot of it, but it …read more Continue reading Build Your Own 6K Camera
First Transistor Computer Reborn
Ok, we’ll admit it. If you asked us what the first transistorized computer was, we would have guessed it was the TC from the University of Manchester. After all, Dr. …read more Continue reading First Transistor Computer Reborn
A Serial Mouse for a Homebrew 8-bit Computer
[Too Many Wires] has a custom computer he’s building. He wanted a mouse, but USB is a bit of a stretch for the fledgling computer. We might have opted for …read more Continue reading A Serial Mouse for a Homebrew 8-bit Computer
For a Robot Claw, the Eyes Have It
Have you ever wished your hand had an extra feature? Like, maybe, a second thumb? A scope probe pinky maybe? Well, if you are building a robot effector, you get …read more Continue reading For a Robot Claw, the Eyes Have It
Regretfully: $3,000 Worth of Raspberry Pi Boards
We feel for [Jeff Geerling]. He spent a lot of effort building an AI cluster out of Raspberry PI boards and $3,000 later, he’s a bit regretful. As you can …read more Continue reading Regretfully: $3,000 Worth of Raspberry Pi Boards
Forgotten Internet: The Story of Email
It is a common occurrence in old movies: Our hero checks in at a hotel in some exotic locale, and the desk clerk says, “Ah, Mr. Barker, there’s a letter …read more Continue reading Forgotten Internet: The Story of Email
Retro x86 with 486Tang
Tang FPGA boards are affordable, and [nand2mario] has been trying to get an x86 core running on one for a while. Looks like it finally worked out, as there is …read more Continue reading Retro x86 with 486Tang
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Manhattan Project (But Were Afraid to Ask)
There have been plenty of books and movies about how the Manhattan Project brought together scientists and engineers to create the nuclear bomb. Most of them don’t have a lot …read more Continue reading Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Manhattan Project (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Debugging vs Printing
We’ll admit it. We have access to great debugging tools and, yes, sometimes they are invaluable. But most of the time, we’ll just throw a few print statements in whatever …read more Continue reading Debugging vs Printing