Open Hardware/Modding/Retro/Hacking: Commodore 64, ESP32, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on May 03, 2026

• CNX Software ☛ Prunt Board 3 3D printer control board offers smoother and quieter operation (Crowdfunding)

  Prunt Board 3 is a 3D printer control board with six TMC2240 stepper drivers, two 15A heater outputs, four fan outputs, four thermistor inputs, and four endstop inputs that is designed to offer smoother and quieter operation. The hardware is said to offer better ESD protection than boards such as the Duet 3 Mini 5+ or BTT SKR 3 EZ and supports hardware-accelerated step generation, but the magic happens with the Prunt firmware and associated server, which enable a 31-phase velocity profile for smoother operation and higher-quality prints compared to boards running Klipper or Marlin firmware. Let’s have a look at the hardware first.

• Ruben Schade ☛ Installing the 250466 in my “Aldi” Commodore 64

  We’re onto the third instalment of my Commodore 250466 series. In the first post I explained how and why I bought the last C64 longboard, and in the second I explored the board in more detail and confirmed it worked!

• Hackaday ☛ Let Twitch Chat Control Your LED Strings

  The concept is simple enough. The heart of the build is an ESP32 microcontroller, which is easy to integrate with web services thanks to its onboard WiFi capability. It’s hooked upt o a string of WS2812B addressable RGB LEDs. The LEDs themselves are installed within table tennis balls to act as nice, spherical diffusers, and installed in a square frame made of PVC pipes. As for code, the rig uses the WLED library to drive the LED strings, and code from TwitchIO to interface with Twitch chat itself. It’s as simple as rigging up a bit of Python. With everything assembled, [pfeiffer3000] had an attractive LED grid that could be controlled directly by anyone watching their Twitch stream.

• Hackaday ☛ This Handy Synth Packs An ESP32

  Hardware wise it’s an ESP32 with a 3D printed keyboard using keyswitches. There are a load of pots for sound adjustment, and buttons for functions. A small OLED display shows what’s going on. Software wise it relies upon the AMY synth library, and there are repositories for both its hardware and software.

• Make Use Of ☛ Raspberry Pi is still cheap, but it's no longer the smartest choice for a first Linux project

  For over a decade, the Raspberry Pi has been the answer to anyone looking to get started with Linux without wrecking their main computer. You didn't have to deal with dual-boot installs or virtual machines. A cheap, sub-$50 credit card-sized computer, a microSD card, and your phone's charging brick were all it took.

  But in 2026, you might be able to skip the Raspberry Pi and not regret it. The Raspberry Pi is still here, better and more capable than ever, and it's still cheap. However, it's not the only option on the market anymore. For the price you're paying, you might just be able to find something more powerful, more compatible, or both.

• Wind River Systems Inc ☛ Advancing the Enterprise with the Latest eLxr Pro

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Nick ☛ Adventures not building 3G UMTS RNCs

    3G/UMTS was a transitional tech, when it was worked on at the turn of the century, there was a growing recognition that this whole internet thing was going to be a big deal, but without the benefit of knowing exactly how people would use it.