Freedom-Respecting Devices and Open Hardware

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jun 05, 2026

• Devices With Linux

  • Geeky Gadgets ☛ DIY Handheld LattePanda GNU/Linux Cyberdeck Build Guide from Scratch

    Building a Cyberdeck is a fascinating blend of engineering, design and creativity, as demonstrated by Ben Makes Everything in their latest project. At its core, this DIY endeavor involves constructing a portable x86 computer using components like the LattePanda μ single-board computer and a custom-built battery management system.

  • Geeky Gadgets ☛ How to Turn the Odin 3 Into an ARM-Based Steam Deck Alternative

    The Odin 3 handheld gaming device, equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 ARM-based CPU, has emerged as a platform capable of running Rocknix Linux, allowing it to function as a compact gaming system.

  • Hackaday ☛ If You Want To Hack Me, Come In Through The Speaker

    The soundbar connects to USB, but it also has Bluetooth, which, for some reason, is always on. There’s an app that can communicate with the speaker using BLE, and Creative has a special protocol to control it. The same protocol works on USB or Bluetooth, but with an important difference.

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • CNX Software ☛ Wireless-Tag ESP32P4C61-TINY board combines ESP32-P4 and ESP32-C61 SoCs (Crowdfunding)

    Wireless-Tag has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the ESP32P4C61-TINY, a compact open-source AIoT development board based on their WT01P461-S1 module, which combines ESP32-P4 (general-purpose) and ESP32-C61 (wireless) RISC-V SoCs. Like other ESP32-P4 boards, including the ESP32P4C5 Core Board, the M5Stack Stamp-P4, or ESP32-P4-Pi-VIEWE, this one also uses a separate SoC (ESP32-C61) for wireless connectivity. Additionally, it features built-in MIPI CSI and DSI for camera and display support, along with a microSD card slot for storage, making it suitable for AIoT and edge computing applications.

  • Arduino ☛ This stunning smart planter tracks plant health and handles daily care

    Gardening is a prime application for smart automation, because plant care requires a lot of monitoring, but is relatively simple to execute. Large-scale agricultural operations are already highly automated, so why not do the same thing with your house plants?

  • CNX Software ☛ ModRetro M64 – An AMD Artix UltraScale+ FPGA based open-source Nintendo 64-compatible console with original cartridge support

    ModRetro has announced the M64, an open-source Nintendo 64-compatible console powered by an AMD Artix UltraScale+ FPGA, designed to play original cartridges using hardware-level emulation instead of software. The M64’s reliance on an AMD Artix FPGA enables accurate and responsive gameplay, and the console supports original game cartridges and controllers, while also adding modern connectivity features such as HDMI, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB-C. ModRetro M64 specifications: FPGA – AMD Artix UltraScale+ (16nm architecture) Memory – PSRAM Storage – MicroSD card slot (for firmware updates and potential homebrew applications) Media Interfaces – Dedicated Nintendo 64 physical cartridge slot for original retro media preservation and play.

  • CNX Software ☛ Comet Q USB-C KVM device is made for smartphones, tablets, and laptops (Crowdfunding)

    GL.iNet Comet Q (GL-RMQ1) is a USB-C KVM device designed to remotely control smartphones, tablets, and laptops via a single USB Type-C cable and web browser. The hardware is based on a dual-core Arm processor paired with 512MB of RAM and a 512MB NAND flash, integrates a 1.8-inch touchscreen LCD for control and information display (e.g., IP address), a short USB-C cable to connect to the target, and a USB-C port for optionally charging the target while it is being controlled.

  • CNX Software ☛ Convert old IR remote controls into presentation clickers using an RP2040 USB board and open-source TTVKTR firmware

    Brisk4t’s “Tossed The TV — Kept The Remote” (TTVKTR) is an open-source firmware project for Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB boards that aims to reduce electronics waste by converting old IR remote controls into presentation clickers. Most Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards with USB ports should work, but the project highlights the Waveshare RP2040-Zero combined with a standard 38 kHz infrared receiver due to its small size and low price ($4-5).

  • Hackaday ☛ Ways To Embed Magnets In 3D Prints And Not Ruin Printers

    Another issue is that of heat, which is something that magnets generally do not like much. Using magnets like you’d use heat inserts for bolts is a recipe for disaster, as the heat from a soldering iron will demagnetize the magnet, which for the typical magnet is less than 200°C. At least this should mean that the magnet stuck to your extruder nozzle will eventually fall off by itself after it demagnetizes.

  • Hackaday ☛ An RGB Keyboard For Your Hackaday Communicator Badge

    The most recent Hackaday event badge has been the Communicator, a handheld wireless terminal with a rather nice QWERTY keyboard. It’s good enough as delivered, but [makeTVee] has gone one better and made his Communicator keyboard into a fully RGB light-up experience.

  • [Old] Cornell University ☛ ECE4760 rp2040 DMA machine

    DMA uses memory controllers separate from the CPU to accelerate data movment between memory locations, or between peripherials and memory. The RP2040 has 12 DMA channels which can stream an agregate of over 100 megabytes/sec without affecting CPU performance, in many cases. There are a huge number of options available to set up a DMA transfer. You can think of a DMA channel controller as a separate, programmable, processor with the main job of moving data. Memory on the rp2040 is arranged as a bus matrix with separate memory bus control masters for each ARM core and for the DMA system, and several memory bus targets accessed by the masters. Each bus target can be accessed on each machine cycle.