Hackaday Podcast Episode 260: KiCad 8, Two Weather Stations, and Multiple I2Cs [Hackaday]

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It’s a leap year, so Elliot and Dan put the extra day to good use tracking down all the hottest hacks from the past week and dorking out about them. There’s big news in the KiCad community, and we talked about all the new features along with some old woes. Great minds think alike, apparently, since two different e-ink weather stations made the cut this week, as did a floating oscilloscope, an automated film-developing tank, and some DIY solar panels.

We talked about a hacker who figured out that water makes a pretty good solar storage medium, and it’s cheaper than lithium, another who knows that a crappy lathe is better than no lathe, and what every hacker should know about Ethernet. Is there a future for room-temperature superconductors? Maybe it just depends on how cold the room is.

Grab a copy for yourself if you want to listen offline.

Episode 260 Show Notes:

News:

• FLOSS Weekly Episode 772: Raspberry Pi From The Man Himself
• An Automotive Locksmith On The Flipper Zero And Car Theft

What’s that Sound?

• Congrats to [Beeman] for identifying the Shephard-Risset tone.

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• KiCad 8 Makes Your Life Better Without Caveats
• A Smarter Solar Water Heater
  • Our Home Automation Contest Starts Now!
• ESP32 Weather Station Looks Great With Color E-Paper Display
  • Humidity Sensor Shootout
  • Building Touch Sensors From Digital Barometer Chips
• There’s Hope For That Cheap Lathe Yet!
• Wireless Telescope Guidance You Can Build On The Cheap
• 3D-Printed Automated Development Tank For Classic Photo Films
  • Darkroom Robot Automates Away The Tedium Of Film Developing

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks
  • The Photodiode You Never Knew You Had
  • Avoid I2C Address Conflicts On ESP32 By Pin Muxing
  • Blast From The Past: Schematic Templates

• Dan’s Picks:
  • Solar E-Ink Weather Station Works On Dark Days, Too
  • Your Scope, Armed And Ready
  • Making A Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Is Almost DIY-able

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Ask Hackaday: What If You Did Have A Room Temperature Superconductor?
• Ethernet For Hackers: Equipment Exploration
  • Ethernet For Hackers: The Very Basics
  • The Modular Connector And How It Got That Way