Hackaday editors Mike Szczys and Elliot Williams navigate the crowded streets of the hackersphere for the most interesting hardware projects seen in the past week. Forget flip-dot displays, you need to build yourself a sequin display that uses a robot finger and sequin-covered fabric to send a message. You can do a lot (and learn a lot) with a 1-bit computer called the WDR-1. It’s never been easier to turn a USB port into an embedded systems dev kit by using these FTDI and Bluepill tricks. And there’s a Soyuz hardware teardown you don’t want to miss.

Take a look at the links below if you want to follow along, and as always tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Direct download (~60 MB)

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Episode 053 Show Notes:

New This Week:

• Flashing Light Prize and Sprite’s entry video
• Hackaday Belgrade conference is May 9th

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Unique Clock Finally Unites Hackers And Sequins
  • About H-bots: Hackaday’s Own Josh Vasquez breaks it down.
• What Everyone Else Did With Eight Bits, The Germans Did With Only One
  • WDR-1-Bit-Computer
  • Bit und Byte – Der 1 Bit Computer – Teil 1 – YouTube
  • One Bit CPUs
• Hoverboard Grows Up, Becomes Magnetic Drill Press
• The Cult Of Really Low-Power Circuits: Scrounging, Sipping, And Seeing Power
• Soviet Soyuz Clock Teardown
• Slice Through Your Problems With A Shukran
  • GitHub – jeanthom/DirtyJTAG: JTAG adapter firmware for STM32F1
  • UrJTAG – Universal JTAG library, server and tools
  • GitHub – zoobab/versaloon: JTAG Versaloon firmware for the STM32 Bluepill board
  • GitHub – satoshinm/pill_serial: Triple USB-to-serial adapter firmware for flashing onto an STM32F103C8T6 “blue pill” minimum development board ⛺
  • GitHub – ivpri/mecrisp_pillserial: Two/three USB-to-serial bridges with build in Forth for STM32F103

Quick Hacks:

• Mike’s Picks:
  • SMA-Q2 Smart Watch Is Completely Hackable
  • A Tiny USB Hub For All Your Hardware Modding Needs
  • See-Through Catalytic Converter
• Elliot’s Picks:
  • How Many Smartphones Does It Take To Make A Traffic Jam?
  • Acrylic Mold Makes For Professional-Looking Silicone Keyboards
  • Up Your Game With DIY Headset Motion Tracking

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• How To Hack A Portable Bluetooth Speaker By Skipping The Bluetooth
• The Internet Of Football