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Genetic Algorithm Runs on Atari 800 XL
For the last few years or so, the story in the artificial intelligence that was accepted without question was that all of the big names in the field needed more compute, more resources, more energy,...
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Import GPU: Python Programming with CUDA
Every few years or so, a development in computing results in a sea change and a need for specialized workers to take advantage of the new technology. Whether that’s COBOL in the 60s and 70s, HTML in...
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Shelved Kindle Gets New Life as Weather Display
In the rush to always have the latest and greatest, it’s not uncommon that perfectly serviceable hardware ends up collecting dust in a drawer somewhere. If you’ve got an old Kindle laying around, you...
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Copying Commodore Data Tapes, 40 Years Late
Unless you handle the backups for a large corporation, bank, or government entity, you likely haven’t stored much data to tape recently. But magnetic storage used to be fairly mainstream back in the...
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Inexpensive Repairable Laptops, With Apple Style
Despite a general lack of real-world experience, many teenagers are overly confident in their opinions, often to the point of brashness and arrogance. In the late 90s and early 00s I was no different,...
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Solar-Powered E-Reader With No Buttons
Modern e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle are incredible pieces of engineering, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. A device custom-built to your own specifications is always going...
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EPROM-based Enigma Machine
The Enigma machine is perhaps one of the most legendary devices to come out of World War II. The Germans used the ingenious cryptographic device to hide their communications from the Allies, who in...
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Meshtastic Adds Wireless Connectivity to Possum Trap
Perhaps every gardener to attempt to grow a tomato, lettuce, or bean has had to contend with animals trying to enjoy the food before the gardener themselves can, whether it’s a groundhog, rabbit,...
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Tracking Deep-Sky Objects
Astrophotography, and astronomy in general, takes some fairly specialized tools and a high amount of precision. Setting up the equipment can also take a lot of time, especially for amateurs traveling...
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Turning Down the Noise on SMPS
On paper, electricity behaves in easy-to-understand, predictable ways. That’s mostly because the wires on the page have zero resistance and the switching times are actually zero, whereas in real life...
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Writing a GPS Receiver from Scratch
GPS is an incredible piece of modern technology. Not only does it allow for locating objects precisely anywhere on the planet, but it also enables the turn-by-turn directions we take for granted these...
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Ultra-Low Power Soil Moisture Sensor
Electricity can be a pretty handy tool when it stays within the bounds of its wiring. It’s largely responsible for our modern world and its applications are endless. When it’s not running in wires or...
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Laser Harp Sets the Tone
In many ways, living here in the future is quite exiting. We have access to the world’s information instantaneously and can get plenty of exciting tools and hardware delivered to our homes in ways that...
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Backyard Rope Tow from Spare Parts
A few years ago, [Jeremy Makes Things] built a rope tow in his back yard so his son could ski after school. Since the lifts at the local hill closed shortly after schools let out, this was the only...
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A Modern Take on the Etch A Sketch
The Etch A Sketch is a classic children’s toy resembling a picture frame where artwork can be made by turning two knobs attached to a stylus inside the frame. The stylus scrapes off an aluminum powder,...
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Moving Software Down to Hardware
In theory, any piece of software could be built out of discrete pieces of hardware, provided there are enough transistors, passive components, and time available. In general, though, we’re much more...
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Integrated BMS Makes Battery Packs Easy
Lithium technology has ushered in a new era of batteries with exceptionally high energy density for a reasonably low cost. This has made a lot possible that would have been unheard of even 20 years ago...
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Fitting a Spell Checker into 64 kB
By some estimates, the English language contains over a million unique words. This is perhaps overly generous, but even conservative estimates generally put the number at over a hundred thousand....
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An Inexpensive Way to Break Down Plastic
Plastic has been a revolutionary material over the past century, with an uncountable number of uses and an incredibly low price to boot. Unfortunately, this low cost has led to its use in many places...
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Automatically Crack Safes with this Autodialer
When attempting to secure something, whether it’s a computer, sensitive data, or valuables, there’s always going to be a way to break that security. It might be impossibly hard, like taking centuries...
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