Hackaday Podcast 123: Radioactive Rhinos, Wile E. Coyote Jetpack, Radio Hacks 3-Ways, and Battery Welders on the Spot

Hackaday’s Mike Szczys is taking a bit of vacation this week, so Elliot is joined by Staff Writer Dan Maloney to talk about all the cool hacks and great articles that turned up this week. Things were busy, so there was plenty to choose from, but how would we not pick one that centers around strapping a jet engine to your back to rollerskate without all that pesky exercise? And what about a light bulb that plays Doom – with a little help, of course. We’ll check out decals you can make yourself and why the custom keyboard crowd might want to learn that skill, learn about the other “first computer”, and learn how a little radiation might be just what it takes to save an endangered species.

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 (55 MB or so.)

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Episode 123 Show Notes:

What’s that Sound?

Tell us your answer for this week’s “What’s that sound?”. Next week on the show we’ll randomly draw one name from the correct answers to win a limited-edition Hackaday Podcast T-shirt. (How limited?  So far, limited to four. But I’m sure we’ll make another in a couple weeks.)

New This Week:

• Mike’s on vacation
• The Mystery of Betelgeuse’s Great Dimming Has Officially Been Solved!
  • Carl Sagan: We are starstuff

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• Waterslide Decals For Wingding Keycaps
• Roller Skating, Wile E. Coyote-Style
• Review: Battery Spot Welders, Why You Should Buy A Proper Spot Welder
  • A Battery-Tab Welder With Real Control Issues
  • Not Just Your Average DIY Spot Welder
• Fit Your LCDs With Lenses For That Vintage CRT Look
  • Milling Dies And Injection Moulding Some Acrylic Lenses
  • Telescope Building with John Dobson – YouTube
• 2:3 Scale VT100 Terminal Gets Closer To Its Roots
  • 2:3 Scale VT100 Terminal Reproduction
• A Smart Light Bulb Running Doom Is A Pretty Bright Idea
  • Ice40 Runs DOOM
  • PrBoom – Project Homepage

Quick Hacks:

• Dan’s Picks
  • Ham Radio Traffic Logger Using A Bug In Baofeng Electronics
  • APRS Implemented At Low Cost And Small Size
  • Balloon Antenna Doesn’t Need A Tower
• Elliot’s Picks:
  • Alexa, Bring Me A Beer!
  • Digital X-Ray Scanner Teardown Yields Bounty Of Engineering Goodies
  • Recore Hacks The Hidden Microcontroller For 3D Printing

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• The Other First Computer: Konrad Zuse And The Z3
• Rhisotope: Addressing Poaching By Making Rhinoceros Horns Radioactive