This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up over the tubes to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous seven days or so.

In Hackaday news, we’ve got a new contest running! Read all about the 2025 Component Abuse Challenge, sponsored by DigiKey, and check out the contest page for all the details. In sad news, American Science & Surplus are shuttering online sales, leaving just the brick and mortar stores in Wisconsin and Illinois.

On What’s That Sound, it’s a results show, which means Kristina gets to take a stab at it. She missed the mark, but that’s okay, because [Montana Mike] knew that it was the theme music for the show Beakman’s World, which was described by one contestant as “Bill Nye on crack”.

After that, it’s on to the hacks and such, beginning with a really cool way to smooth your 3D prints in situ. JWe take a much closer look at that talking robot’s typewriter-inspired mouth from about a month ago. Then we discuss several awesome technological feats such as running code on a PAX credit card payment machine, using the alphabet as joinery, and the invention of UTF-8 in general. Finally, we discuss the detection of spicy shrimp, and marvel at the history of email.

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!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.

Episode 338 Show Notes:

News:

• 2025 Hackaday Component Abuse Challenge: Let The Games Begin!
  • Hackaday.IO — Component Abuse Challenge
• American Science And Surplus Ends Online Sales

What’s that Sound?

• Congratulations to [Montana Mike], the Beakmaniest of them all!

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Smooth! Non-Planar 3D Ironing
• A Closer Look Inside A Robot’s Typewriter-Inspired Mouth
• Running Code On A PAX Credit Card Payment Machine
• Jointly Is A Typeface Designed For CNC Joinery
  • Complex Wood Joints, Thanks To New Software’s Interactive Features
  • 50 Digital Wood Joints by Jochen Gros – WINTERDIENST
• Original Mac Limitations Can’t Stop You From Running AI Models
• UTF-8 Is Beautiful

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks:
  • Oil-Based Sprengel Pump Really Sucks
  • Reverse-Engineering The Milwaukee M18 Diagnostics Protocol
  • A 10″ Telescope, Because You Only Live Once
  • USB-C PD Decoded: A DIY Meter And Logger For Power Insights
• Kristina’s Picks:
  • Making A Laptop With A Mechanical Keyboard
  • Hosting A Website On A Disposable Vape
  • When Is Your Pyrex Not The Pyrex You Expect?

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Naturally Radioactive Food And Safe Food Radiation Levels
• Forgotten Internet: The Story Of Email
  • Wikipedia — Juno Online Services

This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up over the tubes to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week.

In Hackaday news, get your Supercon 2025 tickets while they’re hot! Also, the One Hertz Challenge ticks on, but time is running out. You have until Tuesday, August 19th to show us what you’ve got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started now. Finally, its the end of eternal September as AOL discontinues dial-up service after all these years.

On What’s That Sound, Kristina got sort of close, but this is neither horseshoes nor hand grenades. Can you get it? If so, you could win a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt!

After that, it’s on to the hacks and such, beginning with a talking robot that uses typewriter tech to move its mouth. We take a look at hacking printed circuit boards to create casing and instrument panels for a PDP-1 replica. Then we explore a fluid simulation business card, witness a caliper shootout, and marvel at one file in six formats. Finally, it’s a telephone twofer as we discuss the non-hack-ability of the average smart phone, and learn about what was arguably the first podcast.

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!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.

Episode 333 Show Notes:

News:

• Get Your Tickets For Supercon 2025 Now!
• Announcing The 2025 Hackaday One Hertz Challenge
• End Of The Eternal September, As AOL Discontinues Dial-Up

What’s that Sound?

• Think you know what the sound is? Fill out the form for your shot at a shirt.

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Josef Prusa Warns Open Hardware 3D Printing Is Dead
  • Continuous-Path 3D Printed Case Is Clearly Superior
  • FullControl – Unconstrained Design
  • The Trials Of Trying To Build An Automatic Filament Changer
• Talking Robot Uses Typewriter Tech For Mouth
• Hacking Printed Circuit Board To Create Casing And Instrument Panels
• That’s No Moon, Er, Selectric
• The WHY 2025 Badge And Its 18650s
• LEDs That Flow: A Fluid Simulation Business Card

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks:
  • Calipers: Do You Get What You Pay For?
  • Building A Trash Can Reverb
  • Coping With Disappearing Capacitance In A Buck Converter
  • One File, Six Formats: Just Change The Extension
• Kristina’s Picks:
  • 2025 One Hertz Challenge: Abstract Aircraft Sculpture Based On Lighting Regulations
  • Don’t Say This DIY Diskette Was A Flop
  • Digital Etch-A-Sketch Also Plays Snake

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Smartphone Hackability, Or, A Pocket Computer That Isn’t
  • Ask Hackaday: Why Aren’t We Hacking Cellphones?
• The World’s First Podcaster?

This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week.

In Hackaday news, the One Hertz Challenge ticks on. You have until Tuesday, August 19th to show us what you’ve got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started now! In other news, we’ve just wrapped the call for Supercon proposals, so you can probably expect to see tickets for sale fairly soon.

On What’s That Sound, Kristina actually got this one with some prodding. Congratulations to [Alex] who knew exactly what it was and wins a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt!

After that, it’s on to the hacks and such, beginning with a ridiculously fast Benchy. We take a look at a bunch of awesome 3D prints a PEZ blaster and a cowbell that rings true. Then we explore chisanbop, which is not actually K-Pop for toddlers, as well as a couple of clocks. Finally, we talk a bit about dithering before taking a look at the top tech of 1985 as shown in Back to the Future (1985).

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!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.

Episode 328 Show Notes:

News:

• Announcing The 2025 Hackaday One Hertz Challenge

What’s that Sound?

• Congratulations to [Alex] for knowing it was the Scientist NPC from Half-Life.

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Managing Temperatures For Ultrafast Benchy Printing
  • 3D-Printed Parts Don’t Slow Down This Speedy Printer
• When Is A Synth A Woodwind? When It’s A Pneumatone
• Budget Brilliance: DHO800 Function Generator
  • Android-Powered Rigol Scopes Go Wireless
• I Gotta Print More Cowbell
• Kids Vs Computers: Chisanbop Remembered
• Pez Blaster Shoots Candy Dangerously Fast
  • Hackaday Supercon 2024: Lightning Talks – YouTube

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks:
  • IR Point And Shoot Has A Raspberry Heart In A 35mm Body
  • Turning PET Plastic Into Paracetamol With This One Bacterial Trick
  • Five-minute(ish) Beanie Is The Fastest We’ve Seen Yet
• Kristina’s Picks:
  • CIS-4 Is A Monkish Clock Inside A Ceiling Lamp
  • 3D Printer Turbo-Charges A Vintage Vehicle
  • Shadow Clock Shows The Time On The Wall

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• Dithering With Quantization To Smooth Things Over
• Back To The Future, 40 Years Old, Looks Like The Past

Can you teach an old typewriter new tricks? You can, at least if you’re [maniek-86]. And a word to all you typewriter fanatics out there — this Optima SP 26 was beyond repair, lacking several internal parts.

But let’s talk about the keyboard. It has a standard matrix, which [maniek-86] hooked up to an Arduino Lenoardo. Although the keyboard has a Polish layout, [maniek-86] remapped it to English-US layout.

As you’ll see in the photos of the internals, this whole operation required careful Tetris-ing of the components to avoid overheating and ensure the cover could go back on.

The graphics were a bit of a challenge, since the motherboard had no PCI-E x16 slot. To address this, [maniek-86] used a riser cable, probably connected to a PCI-E x1 slot with an adapter, in order to use an NVIDIA GT 635 GPU. It can’t run AAA games at 4k, but you can bet that it’ll play Minecraft, Fortnite, or Dota 2 just fine.

Parkinson’s Keyboard Design Starts With the Human Body

This is OnCue, designed by [Alessandra Galli]. For Andrea, design is a “vehicle for care, inclusion, and meaningful social impact,” and these values are evident in her creation.

The keys themselves have haptic feedback as well as the cuffs. AI-driven visual cues light up the most likely next letters, which is interesting. And everybody deserves a split layout.

Although wrist-based haptic feedback was the most well-received feature based on user feedback, it’s interesting to note that no single feature stood out as preferred by all. Users found the haptic feedback calming and relaxing, which is a huge win compared to the usual keyboard experience faced by users with Parkinson’s disease. Because the overall Parkinson’s experience is different for everyone, [Alessandra] took a modular approach to designing the customization software. Users can adjust the settings based on routines, preferences, and intensity of symptoms. And plus it looks to me like there’s a haptic feedback slider right there on the keyboard.

The Centerfold: Bonsai? Banzai!

Regarding the real bonsai on the right shelf, [mugichanman] keeps it outside for the most part. It only comes indoors for a little while — three days at the absolute most. If you’re interested in the care and feeding of these tiny trees, check out this bonsai master class in a book.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: the Columbia Index Typewriter

Remember the Caligraph? Probably not, so I’ll wait. Well, apparently inventor Charles Spiro was hellbent on building a better Caligraph after he saw one being used. But he couldn’t raise enough capital to create such a large machine, so instead he went down to the basement and came up with the Columbia Index Typewriter.

If you’ll recall, index typewriters are like label makers — you must choose each character using an index of some kind. Operating this machine was no different.

One simply turned the straight handle on the right side to choose the character, which was highlighted by a small hand. Then the user would just press down on the handle to print it, and this action locked the typewheel so it wouldn’t slip and print something different.

Interestingly, the Columbia was the first typewriter with proportional spacing. That means that the carriage advanced based on the width of individual characters.

Columbia typewriters were only made for three years, from 1884-87. Three models were produced — Nos. 1 and 2, followed by an improved No. 2. The Columbia shown here is a No. 1, which typed in uppercase only. The 2 came out in March 1885 and could do upper and lowercase. The improved No. 2 was more robust and better mechanically, as well as being easier on the eyes. By 1887, Spiro was working on the Bar-Lock typewriter.

Finally, One-Handed Keyboard Does It Flat Out

The journey toward the keyboard you see here began with an email to [HTX Studio]. It came from a father who wanted to see his daughter be digitally independent again after an accident took the use of her right hand.

After several iterations, each tested by the daughter, the result is a compact, 61-key affair in a fanned-out arrangement for ease of use. Everything is within close reach, with special consideration given to the location of Space and Delete.

One of the early iterations had the user moving the entire keyboard around to mouse. While that’s definitely an interesting solution, I’m glad that everyone settled on the nicely exposed trackball with left and right click buttons above Space and Delete.

Another thing I’m happy about is that [HTX Studio] not only built 50 more of these in both left- and right-handed models and gave them away to people who need them, they went ahead and open-sourced it (Chinese, translated). Be sure to check out their fantastic video below.

Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.

This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week.

In Hackaday news, the 2025 Pet Hacks Contest rolls on, but only for a short time longer. You have until Tuesday, June 10th to show us what you’ve got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started now! In other news, check out what adaptive optics can do when it comes to capturing pictures of the Sun. In other, other news, there won’t be a Podcast next week as Elliot is on vacation.

On What’s That Sound, Kristina failed once again, but four of you guessed correctly. Congratulations to [ToyoKogyo12aTurbo] who fared better and wins a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt!

After that, it’s on to the hacks and such, beginning with a largely-printed 6-DOF robot arm. We take a look at a bunch of awesome 3D prints like guitars and skateboards, take a look at some pet hacks, and discuss brick layers in orcaslicer. Finally, we talk a lot about keyboards, especially the quickly-evaporating Blackberry keyboards and why they’re disappearing.

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!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.

Episode 324 Show Notes:

News:

• Adaptive Optics Take Clearest Pictures Of The Sun Yet
• 2025 Pet Hacks Contest

What’s that Sound?

• Congratulations to [ToyoKogyo12aTurbo] for knowing it was the ping of modern active sonar!

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Simulation And Motion Planning For 6DOF Robotic Arm
  • Robotic Arm EB310
• 2025 Pet Hacks Contest: Keep The Prey At Bay With The Cat Valve
• Testing Brick Layers In OrcaSlicer With Staggered Perimeters
• You Can Make Your Own Ribbon Mic With A Gum Wrapper
  • Blue Ribbon Microphone
  • DIY Ribbon Element Upgrades A Studio Microphone
• Add Wood Grain Texture To 3D Prints – With A Model Of A Log
  • Adding Texture To 3D Prints
  • Fuzzy Skin Finish For 3D Prints, Now On Top Layers
  • Texturing 3D prints in IdeaMaker for Strength — CNC Kitchen
• You Wouldn’t Download A Skateboard?

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks:
  • Ender 3 Pro Gets A Second Job As A Stator Winder
  • Open Source Watch Movement Really Ticks All The Boxes
  • Passive Saturation Box Is A Cheap Way To Distort Your Sound
    • A Brief Hobbyist Primer On Clipping Diodes
  • Can We Replace A Program Counter With A Linear-Feedback Shift Register? Yes We Can!
• Kristina’s Picks:
  • 2025 Pet Hacks Contest: Weigh Your Dog The Easy Way
  • 3D Printing A Modular Guitar Means It Can Look Like Whatever You Want
  • A CRT Display For Retro Weather Forecasting

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• The Blackberry Keyboard: How An Open-Source Ecosystem Sprouts
• Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The H.R. Giger Keyboard
  • Old book typewriter Underwood Elliott-Fisher (1930), how to type on books, and why – YouTube

I had to bust out Brain Salad Surgery to write this one, folks. It was that, or put on some Ministry or something. Just look at all the industrial-ness dripping from [heinn_dev]’s creation.

The only downside, if you can call it one, is that adjusting the tenting is a slow operatiJKon. But then again that’s one of those things that you usually set and forget.

Oh, and those keycaps are printed, too. As one commenter said, those homing nipples look painful, but I think it’s part of the charm. I just hope that hand grime doesn’t end up clogging the holes under the palm area. Clean your keyboards, people.

Serenity Now!

This is a 4-, 5-, or 6-column Corne layout, which is achieved with breakaway tabs on the PCBs. It uses an integrated RP2040 programmed with QMK/Vial and has hot-swappable MX switches.

Curious about the trackballs? I was, too — the left one is for scrolling, while the right is for regular trackballing around the screen.

The fact that it took around 85 tries to get AI to generate a good image for the back sounds about right, and looks to me like it was worth it. Go check it out in the gallery.

[MKBR] is a custom builder who has recently made a number of dystopian-themed boards, and although they’re all quite nice, Serenity is a refreshing alternative.

The Centerfold: LEGO My Tenting Setup

So anyway, this is [koehr]’s Sofle RGB Choc, which has — you guessed it — Kailh choc switches. One of [koehr]’s priorities is to have the halves locked in place, which is easily achievable with bricks. Check out the third picture in the gallery and you’ll see a gap which allows the keyboard’s outer edges to rest on that cool desk mat.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: Elliot-Fisher Book Typewriter

When we think of typewriters, no matter the type, we usually envision a single sheet of substrate moving through it, and usually against a platen.

Well, what if you needed to type in a ledger or other sort of already-bound book? Then you’d need a different beast entirely. You’d need the Elliot-Fisher Book Typewriter.

This machine debuted in 1903, although the design originated with the Elliot-Hatch Company around 1897. Unlike a traditional typewriter where the paper moves past a fixed point, the paper here is fixed, and the point of printing moves.

How is this done? With a set of rails. The typing mechanism moved along these rails to be positioned over the paper, effectively plotting the type. The typebars themselves were arranged vertically in a typebasket under the keyboard, and they rotated downward in order to strike the ribbon and paper.

As one typed, the entire keyboard and typebasket advanced along the rails. To do the next line, the machine move along another set of Y rails at right angles to the X rails. It’s unclear to me whether the book was fed through somehow, or one simply hefted the machine on top of it.

Finally, Cherry Unveils New Switches, Technology

At Computex 2025, Cherry announced “a bold new chapter” and debuted a total of four new switches: the IK, MX Honey, MX Blossom, and MX Falcon.

First and foremost is the new IK inductive switch, which uses their patented inductive sensing technology. Basically, it uses electromagnetic field detection and allows for contactless actuation, which means no mechanical wear, “even after millions of keystrokes”.

These IK switches are touted to consume 50% less power than standard magnetic switches and only 5% of the power that Hall-effect switches use. If that’s not enough for you, these IK switches have RGB and customizable actuation. They come out in Fall 2025.

Can’t wait for the IK switches? The MX Honey comes out in June and is Cherry’s first silent tactile MX switch, which sounds interesting (or doesn’t, I suppose). They allegedly have a newfangled spring and are pre-lubed at the factory.

Also coming in June is the Cherry MX Blossom, which will be their lightest linear switch ever with an actuation force of 35 cN. Finally, my favorite — the Cherry MX Falcon — will come out next month as well. This one is a tactile switch inspired by the community, and is reportedly for heavy typists and enthusiasts. It’s got a long-pole stem and has a sharper bottom-out and a richer sound. All three MX switches should be available as 36-switch kits soon. I can’t wait to get some!

Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.

That’s okay, though, because now you’re caught up and I can talk about his latest keyboard, the mikecinq. The inspiration for this one includes the aesthetics of Le Chiffre and the slimness of Le Oeuf. As you’ll see in the gallery, the top is ever-so-slightly slanted downward from the top.

You can see it really well in the second picture — the top row is flush with the case, and the keys gradually get taller toward the thumb clusters. All [dynam1keNL] really had to do was 3D model the new case and screw in the PCB from his daily driver mikefive.

So in order to deal with this, he made a dedicated mikecinq PCB with big cutouts with castellated holes beneath each switch. Now, the switch contacts are accessible from underneath and can be soldered with an iron.

You may have noticed that the mikefive production files are not available on GitHub — that’s because it was recently licensed and will be available soon. But if you want production files for the mikecinq, let him know in the comments.

Cyberpunk 2077 Here In 2025

This here is a Sofle RGB v2.1 that, as we’ve concluded, is heavily inspired by Cyberpunk 2077. The case is 3D-printed and then airbrushed, and then stickered up with custom decals that include references to Arasaka and Samurai. The acrylic base lets even more Baja Blast-colored RGB goodness shine through.

The switches are Akko Crystal Blues, which seem like a great choice, and the caps are two combined sets — one matte and one translucent. This is the second version of the project, and you can see how the first one turned out over on GitHub.

via reddit

The Centerfold: An Avalanche of Color

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: the Brackelsberg

The Classic Typewriter page calls the Brackelsberg syllabic typewriter “another hallucinogenic creation from the golden age of writing machine design“, and I don’t disagree.

This 1897 machine had types arranged on several type sectors which swung up and down. Each sector carried about 30 types, which I take to mean characters.

The 132-key board was divided into four sectors, and they could be operated simultaneously — as in, you could type four characters at once, entering entire syllables if you so desired. Thus, it was called a syllabic typewriter.

A hammer struck from the rear, connecting the paper and ribbon with the types. It seems slow and cumbersome, doesn’t it? But Brackelsberg insisted that it was quiet, pointed out that the writing was always visible, and argued that the syllabic gimmick would make it fast and convenient to use.

Although never mass-produced, a working prototype was built and is pictured here in a photograph from Friedrich Muller’s book called Schriebmaschinen und Schriften-Vervielfältigung published in 1900.

Finally, a Keyboard That Looks Like a Typewriter and Might Not Suck

I say this because of the disappointment I suffered buying a similar Bluetooth keyboard for ten bucks from a place where everything typically costs half of that or less.  The thing just stopped working one day not long after the store warranty had expired. You win some, you lose some, I suppose.

Anyway, the Yunzii QL75 ought to fare better given that it’s ten times the cost to pre-order; at least I hope it does. And much like the crappy one I have, it comes in pink.

You can choose either Onyx tactile switches or Cocoa Cream V2 linear switches. But if you don’t like those, the switches are hot-swappable and compatible with 3-pin and 5-pins both.

The keycaps are ABS with a matte chrome electroplated finish and laser-engraved legends. Yes there is RGB, but it doesn’t shine through the keycaps, more like between them, it sounds like.

Thankfully, the QL75 works with QMK and VIA if you want to change things up. This thing has three-way connectivity to the device of your choice, which, if it’s small enough, can sit right above the keyboard where the paper would go.

There’s no telling what the knobs on the sides do, if anything, although there are arrows. On mine, they raise and lower the little kickstands.

Via TweakTown

Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.