Ep 386: Doomscroll Tamagotchis, Clavichords, and Vibrotrucks
Summary
This episode covers the successful launch of Europe’s first orbital spacecraft, featuring university-built satellites, and announces the SuperCon speaker lineup. Hacks include a self-balancing pole with propellers, a rotary phone converted to cellular, and micron-scale 3D printing using resin and turmeric. The hosts also discuss negative resistance in electronics, a computer hidden inside a mouse, and a Tamagotchi that punishes doom scrolling. The segment concludes with a deep dive into vibro trucks used for geothermal mapping in Munich.
Topics discussed
Intro: Episode 386, DX Doomroll, and early launch risks
DLR satellite competition and Munich headquarters
Retro Computing Challenge results and honorable mentions
Hackaday SuperCon 2026 lineup and self-organizing zones
3D printing forbidden Lego and Fischer Technic connectors
Lego brick tolerances and hidden molding features
Archiving and compressing Wikipedia for offline use
Self-balancing pole with propellers and quadcopter control
Simulating a landline phone network with an ESP32
Nostalgia for old phone error codes and tones
Micro 3D printing with fiber optics and UV resin
Scaling up micro 3D printing and resolution limits
Clavichord mechanics and polyphonic strings
Negative resistance in single-transistor oscillators
Building a computer inside a mouse from smartphone parts
E-ink tablet masquerading as a network printer
3D printable lenticular indicators for bottle caps
Radioactive helicopter blades and Geiger counter monitoring
Custom split keyboard designed for specific hands
Tracefinity: generating custom Gridfinity bins from photos
Anti-doomscroll virtual pets on ESP32
Hackaday Europe talk: Outdoors with Robots by Robot Girl
Hunting the wild vibro truck: seismic surveying explained
Full-stack engineering of geophone logistics and DSP
Outro and final remarks
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