Open Hardware/Modding/Retro: Raspberry Pi, ESP32, and More
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CNX Software ☛ u-blox UBX-M10150-CC – A tiny GNSS receiver chip for wearables with 10mW power consumption
u-blox has launched the UBX-M10150-CC GNSS receiver chip tailored for wearables such as sports and smartwatches thanks to its tiny size (2.39 x 2.39mm) and an ultra-low power consumption of just 10mW. The chip supports GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS/SBAS constellations and features LEAP (Low Energy Accurate Positioning) technology for efficient and accurate positioning up to a 1.5m range.
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CNX Software ☛ Raspberry Pi CM5 review with different cooling solutions (and camera tribulations)
The day of Raspberry Pi CM5 release, I published a mini review of the Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5 showing how to assemble the kit and boot Raspberry Pi OS, and I also ran sbc-bench benchmark to evaluate the performance. Sadly, the Broadcom BCM2712 CPU did throttle during the test meaning cooling was not optimal when the CM5 IO board was inside the IO Case and the Compute Module 5 was only cooled by the fan.
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CNX Software ☛ Sanwa Supply unveils a mouse with receiver acting as a USB/HDMI dock, and a 360-degree USB-C cable
Japanese company Sanwa Supply has introduced two unusual devices to the market. First, a wireless mouse with an RF receiver that also acts as a USB dock with HDMI output, followed by a 360-degree USB-C cable to facilitate cable management.
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Byte Cellar ☛ Have a Helping of 8-bit Holiday Cheer! (2024 Edition)
‘Tis the season, and that means it’s time to push out the thirteenth annual Byte Cellar vintage computer Holiday demo roundup so everyone can feel that warm, fuzzy, pixellated holiday glow (which I think we could all especially use this year). With scanlines. Enjoy!
I’ve been a computer geek for a long time now, but I’ve been enjoying The Holidays even longer…
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Ruben Schade ☛ Building a replacement 386/486 CMOS battery
Motherboards made from the late-1990s to today generally have a CR2032 cell to maintain the system realtime clock and CMOS settings when the machine isn’t operating. When these wear out, you can pop them out with a flathead screwdriver, and replace them with a new coin cell without much fuss.
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Hackaday ☛ Dog Plays Chess On ESP32
The ESP32 is s remarkably powerful microcontroller, where its dual-core processor and relatively high clock speed can do some impressive work. But getting this microcontroller designed for embedded systems to do tasks that would generally be given to a much more powerful PC-type computer takes a little bit more willpower. Inspired by his dog, [Folkert] decided to program an ESP32 to play chess, a famously challenging task for computer scientists in the past. He calls this ESP32 chess system Dog.
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CNX Software ☛ Sensy32 Board is an ESP32-S3 sensor platform with up to six sensors for environmental monitoring in IoT applications
The Sensy32 Board is a compact sensor platform powered by Espressif’s flagship ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller. The development board brings different monitoring devices together on the same PCB for easier integration into IoT ecosystems. It is a multipurpose device with several sensors bundled to measure and monitor ultraviolet light intensity, altitude, pressure, orientation, humidity, temperature, motion, and human presence.
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Hackaday ☛ Old 3D Printer Parts Repurposed Into DIY Camera Slider
What do you do with an old 3D printer? They’re full of interesting components, after all, from switches and motors to lovely smooth rails. [Mukesh Sankhla] had a great idea—why not repurpose the components into a motorized camera slider?
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Low Tech Mag ☛ How to Build an Electrically Heated Table?
Why build an electrically heated table?
For centuries, many cultures have used heated tables for thermal comfort in cold weather. Examples are the “kotatsu” in Japan, the “korsi” in the Middle East, and the “brasero de picon” in Spain. A heat source goes under a table, a blanket goes over it, and people slide their legs underneath. The micro-climate under the blanket keeps you comfortable, even though the space in which you find yourself is cold.
The heated table is an excellent example of our ancestors’ energy-efficient way of warming: heating people, not spaces. Historically, glowing charcoal from the fireplace heated the space under the table. While that provided sufficient warmth, it also carried a significant risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. Nowadays, we can use electric heating technology instead. For example, the Japanese kotatsu is still in use, but it’s now working with a small electric heater fixed under the table surface.
In this manual, I will walk you through the making of an electrically heated work desk for one person. I have built the table for myself in the co-working space in Barcelona where I have my office now. The building, an old industrial warehouse, has very high ceilings, no insulation, and little sun in winter. It can get very cold here and conventional heating systems don’t work. My heated table turns out to be a perfect solution. I can power it with a solar panel, a wind turbine, a bike generator, or a battery. I can also plug it into the power grid.
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Computer Conservation Society ☛ Computer Resurrection list
Resurrection is the Society’s journal. With typically three issues each year containing articles on computer history and related topics in an A5 booklet format. It contains CCS news, articles and other material.
Resurrection now forms a significant and authoritative record on computer history - on the machines, on early applications, and on the people.
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Ruben Schade ☛ An MV4-V4S471/472P 486 motherboard from 1995
The 80486 is unashamedly my favourite computing platform. I love every retrocomputer in existence—which has proven dangerous—but you’ll always have that place in your heart for your first machine. Some of my most treasured memories are basking in the glow of that 14-inch CRT on a weekend as my dad showed me how to use DOS and launch Commander Keen. Amigas and Macintoshes were more capable (heck, even Atari machines came with better stock audio capabilities), but that 486 SX was ours.
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Michał Sapka ☛ New license plate frame
If my back one breaks as well, I’ll need something Emacs-themed.