Open Hardware/Modding: Arduino, Fairphone, and Much More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jun 28, 2025

• CNX Software ☛ reComputer Mini is a compact carrier board for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano/NX module

  Seeed Studio’s reComputer Mini is a small carrier board for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano or Jetson Orin NX module that’s barely larger the the system-on-module itself at 88 x 56 x 17mm, or slightly larger than a credit card, and suitable for robotics and drone applications. Despite its small size, the reComputer Mini still offers a good range of interfaces, including two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port with DisplayPort alt-mode, M.2 sockets for NVMe storage and wireless expansion, UART and USB JST connectors, and two 60-pin high-speed connectors for add-on boards.

• Jeff Geerling ☛ Getting weather data from my Acurite sensors was shockingly easy

  I've had a Pi and SDR earmarked for 'getting weather data from my weather station' for a long time now. I don't know why I waited so long, because it was shockingly easy.

• Arduino ☛ The PlatypusBot is a TurtleBot3-inspired robot built from vacuum cleaner parts

  For now, this 3D-printed robot assembled from reclaimed robot parts is controlled via a joystick over UDP and Wi-Fi. The host PC converts the joystick’s locations into a vector for the motors to follow, after which the values are sent to the UNO R4 WiFi for processing.

• Arduino ☛ This machine automatically scans books from cover to cover

  A computer running Python oversees the process and catalogs the images. It controls the various motors through an Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi board paired with a CNC shield, as well as additional relays and a servo driver board.

• Marcin Juszkiewicz ☛ Bought myself an Ampere Altra system

  So I have decided to buy myself an Ampere Altra system. As cheap as possible.

• SparkFun Electronics ☛ The ZED-X20P Breakout is Now Shipping!

  The ZED-X20P module is an all-band, high precision GNSS receiver that concurrently processes signals from the GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, and NavIC constellations across all GNSS frequency bands, including L-band. With positioning algorithms for Real-time Kinematics (RTK), PPP-RTK, and Precise Point Positioning* (PPP) technologies, the module supports standard RTCM corrections for Virtual Reference Stations (VRS) in a Network RTK setup or a local base station setup. Additionally, L-band correction services are natively supported without the need to integrate an external receiver, such as the NEO-D9S.

• Macworld ☛ 50 years ago, a single keystroke changed Apple and the world forever

  That was the big moment. “I typed a few keys on the keyboard and I was shocked! The letters were displayed on the screen,” Wozniak explained. “It was the first time in history anyone had typed a character on a keyboard and seen it show up on their own computer’s screen right in front of them.”

  For context, many computers at the time required a terminal in order to display characters. You would type your characters into the terminal, which would feed them to the computer and then display the result on its screen. The thing you were typing on was doing none of the processing itself, which is where Wozniak’s creation differed.

• CNX Software ☛ Improved HackRF Pro open-source SDR platform supports 100 kHz to 6 GHz operating frequency

  HackRF Pro is an update to the HackRF (One) open-source SDR platform first launched by Michael Ossmann from the Great Scott Gadgets through a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 that attracted close to 2,000 backers at the time, and is still popular since then. Compared to the HackRF One, the HackRF Pro has a wider 100 kHz to 6 GHz operating frequency, features more RAM and flash memory, supports 16-bit samples for low sample rates, eliminates the DC spike, improves RF performance with a flatter frequency response, has been designed with better power management, and implements other small changes such as switching to a modem USB-C port.

• The Fairphone (Gen. 6): A smartphone that is fairer in every way

  The new Fairphone (Gen. 6) isn’t just a powerful device. It’s our most sustainable phone ever. Our latest model is made to last, made from more fair and recycled materials than ever before, and made to be as climate-conscious as possible. It’s a phone that respects your time and your values.