Open Hardware/Modding: One Hertz Challenge, ESP32, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jul 26, 2025

• Hackaday ☛ 2025 One Hertz Challenge: A Discrete Component Divider Chain

  Most of us know that a quartz clock uses a higher frequency crystal oscillator and a chain of divider circuits to generate a 1 Hz pulse train. It’s usual to have a 32.768 kHz crystal and a 15-stage divider chain, which in turn normally sits inside an integrated circuit. Not so for [Bobricius], who’s created just such a divider chain using discrete components.

• Hackaday ☛ Human In The Loop: Compass CNC Redefines Workspace Limits

  CNCs come in many forms, including mills, 3D printers, lasers, and plotters, but one challenge seems universal: there’s always a project slightly too large for your machine’s work envelope. The Compass CNC addresses this limitation by incorporating the operator as part of the gantry system.

• Linux Gizmos ☛ LILYGO Launches Four New ESP32-S3 Boards for LoRa, Display, Motion, and CAN Applications

  LILYGO has announced four new ESP32-S3-based development boards targeting a diverse range of embedded and IoT applications. These boards combine wireless connectivity with specialized hardware such as e-paper displays, CAN interfaces, motion sensors, and GPS modules, and are designed for rapid prototyping and deployment using familiar platforms like Arduino IDE, PlatformIO, and ESP-IDF.

• Remy Van Elst ☛ Bringing a Decade Old Bicycle Navigator Back to Life with Open Source Software (and DOOM)

  I recently found a Navman Bike 1000 in a thrift store for EUR 10. This is a bike computer, a navigation device for cyclists, made by MiTaC, the same company that makes the Mio bike computers. This Navman Bike 1000 is a rebadged Mio Cyclo 200. It's from 2015 and as you might have guessed, no more map updates. There seem to be newer maps from 2020, but the official download tool fails. Planned Obsolescence at its best. The device is still in very good condition, the battery runs for 5 hours, the screen has great visibility outside and the software is extensive.

• Nico Cartron ☛ I want an Amstrad NC100!

  I finally found time to start reading the CPC Addict magazine I received a few months back, and boy I am so happy!

  I have an article about it coming soon, but while reading it, I heard about the Amstrad NC100 notebook computer.

• Trail of Bits ☛ Exploiting zero days in abandoned hardware

  We successfully exploited two discontinued network devices at DistrictCon’s inaugural Junkyard competition in February, winning runner-up for Most Innovative Exploitation Technique. Our exploit chains demonstrate why end-of-life (EOL) hardware poses persistent security risks: when manufacturers stop releasing updates, unpatched vulnerabilities remain frozen in time like fossils, creating perfect targets for attackers.

• Olimex ☛ Retro Computing Nostalgia meet Open Source Software and Hardware

  Many customers requested a similar computer based on the 6502 processor, which led to the creation of the Open Source Hardware project Neo6502. It’s a retro computer with a modern display interface, allowing connection to new TVs or monitors with DVI/HDMI and support for USB mouse, game pads and keyboards.

• Olimex ☛ MIPI-HDMI is Open Source Hardware MIPI-DSI converter to DVI-HDMI which works with ESP32-P4-DevKit

  This opens new possibilities for displaying IoT data captured from Ethernet to large TV displays.