Hackaday Podcast 178: The Return of Supercon, Victory for Open Source, Exquisite Timepieces, and Documentation to Die For [Hackaday]

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Hackaday Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi start this week’s podcast off with an announcement the community has been waiting years for: the return of the Hackaday Supercon! While there’s still some logistical details to hammer out, we’re all extremely excited to return to a live con and can’t wait to share more as we get closer to November. Of course you can’t have Supercon without the Hackaday Prize, which just so happens to be wrapping up its Hack it Back challenge this weekend.

In other news, we’ll talk about the developing situation regarding the GPLv3 firmware running on Ortur’s laser engravers (don’t worry, it’s good news for a change), and a particularly impressive fix that kept a high-end industrial 3D printer out of the scrapheap. We’ll also fawn over a pair of fantastically documented projects, learn about the fascinating origins of the lowly fire hydrant, and speculate wildly about the tidal wave of dead solar panels looming menacingly in the distance.

Or download the fresh bitstream yourself.

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!

Episode 178 Show Notes:

News:

• The 2022 Hackaday Supercon Is On! And The Call For Proposals Is Open
• Don’t Miss Your Last Chance to Enter the Hack it Back Challenge

What’s that Sound?

• No winner this week, because the one person who got it right actually won last week. Damn, son!
• Alvin Lucier — I’m Sitting in a Room (YouTube)

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Ortur Laser Will Go Open-Source
  • Watch Out For Lasercutter Manufacturers Violating GPL
• Hackaday Prize 2022: $40k Stratasys Printer Fix Costs $1
  • The Prusa i3 MK3S And A Tale Of Two Sensors
• A Home Made Sewing Machine May Be The Only One
  • Chain stitch – Wikipedia
• The Casio Smartwatch You Never Had
• An Impeccably Documented Word Clock In Dutch
  • WordClock mit WS2812 – Mikrocontroller.net (Article)
  • WordClock mit WS2812 – Mikrocontroller.net (Forum Discussion)
• Hacker Liberates Hyundai Head Unit, Writes Custom Apps

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks:
  • Programmable Resistance Box
  • Robot Arm Has The Touch
  • Down The Intel Microcode Rabbit Hole
• Tom’s Picks:
  • Washington, DC Finally Gets Its Own PCB Metro Map
  • Porting DOOM But In The Opposite Direction
  • Peer Into Space Through This James Webb-Style Hexagonal Mirror

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Tech In Plain Sight: Fire Hydrants
• Dead Solar Panels Are The Hottest New Recyclables
  • Getting The Lead Out Of Lithium Battery Recycling