Hacker News with Generative AI: Electronics

KiCad 9.0 Released (kicad.org)
The KiCad project is proud to announce the release of the next major version of KiCad. Version 9 is packed with new features, improvements, and hundreds of bug fixes. We hope you enjoy the new version! Head to the KiCad download page to get your copy of the new version (note that some packages may still be in the process of being released at the time this announcement is published).
New Releases, Software, Electronics, Open Source
19 points by craftyjon 6 hours ago | 7 comments
Flea-Scope: $18 Source Available USB Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer and More [pdf] (rtestardi.github.io)
Hardware, Open Source, Electronics, DIY, Testing
356 points by burgerone 4 days ago | 107 comments
ESP32 Antenna Array Can See WiFi [video] (youtube.com)
ESP32, WiFi, Hardware, Electronics, Video
75 points by qwertox 5 days ago | 3 comments
ESP32 Antenna Array Can See WiFi [video] (youtube.com)
ESP32, Electronics, WiFi, Hardware
12 points by roeles 5 days ago | 1 comments
Root-inspired additive printing for fabricating robust conformal electronics (nature.com)
Conformal electronic devices on freeform surface play a critical role in the emerging smart robotics, smart skins, and integrated sensing systems.
Additive Manufacturing, Electronics, Robotics, Materials Science
20 points by PaulHoule 7 days ago | 1 comments
Capacitive Touch Keyboard Business Card (hackaday.io)
A PCB business card that are a usb-c touch keyboard
Hardware, Electronics, DIY, Business Cards
14 points by rishikeshs 12 days ago | 3 comments
Physicists Confirm the Existence of a Third Form of Magnetism (sciencealert.com)
An experiment in Sweden has demonstrated control over a novel kind of magnetism, giving scientists a new way to explore a phenomenon with huge potential to improve electronics – from memory storage to energy efficiency.
Physics, Magnetism, Science, Electronics
14 points by benkan 15 days ago | 1 comments
Homemade Copper Oxide Thermoelectric Generator Can Light an LED (2011) (sparkbangbuzz.com)
Just 16 copper oxide junctions can produce enough voltage to light an LED.
DIY, Thermoelectrics, Electronics, Energy, LEDs
3 points by teuobk 16 days ago | 0 comments
$3 AliExpress 120W USB-C charger test (youtube.com)
Electronics, Reviews, AliExpress, USB-C
4 points by miohtama 18 days ago | 1 comments
AMD adds RF-sampling data converters to Versal adaptive SoCs (2024) (electronicsweekly.com)
AMD is to add integrated direct RF-sampling data converters to  its Versal adaptive SoCs.
AMD, Hardware, SoCs, Semiconductors, Electronics
50 points by teleforce 19 days ago | 21 comments
Zusie – My Relay Computer (nablaman.com)
I amuse myself by constructing a computer almost entirely out of relays.
Hardware, Computing, Electronics, DIY Projects
133 points by xk3 20 days ago | 31 comments
PCBs, copper pours, ground planes, and you (lcamtuf.substack.com)
In the early 1980s, a typical printed circuit board inside an 8-bit home computer looked roughly like this:
Electronics, Hardware, History, Circuit Boards, Retro Computing
284 points by surprisetalk 22 days ago | 83 comments
Proper decoupling capacitor practices, and why you should leave 100nF behind (wordpress.com)
Ever wondered why 100nF is a go-to value for decoupling capacitors? This number has pervaded in datasheets and electronics advice going back to the 1980s, and is still widely present in the datasheets of modern components. Folks are out there sprinkling 100nF capacitors on their boards like seasoning, and when they decide 100nF isn’t enough, they inevitably recommend the big/little practice, e.g. 1uF + 100nF in parallel.
Electronics, Capacitors, Hardware Design, Engineering
226 points by zdw 25 days ago | 79 comments
Integration of 1,024 silicon quantum dots with on-chip electronics (phys.org)
Researchers at Quantum Motion in London recently demonstrated the integration of 1,024 independent silicon quantum dots with on-chip digital and analog electronics, to produce a quantum computing system that can operate at extremely low temperatures.
Quantum Computing, Nanotechnology, Electronics, Research
19 points by bookofjoe 26 days ago | 0 comments
How to Build an Artificial Synapse (gsnetwork.com)
The video below shows how to build artificial synapses on breadboards using LEDs as an optocoupler.
Artificial Intelligence, Electronics, Hardware
10 points by rUsHeYaFuBu 27 days ago | 0 comments
UI is hell: four-function calculators (lcamtuf.substack.com)
I have a thing for the history of calculators; they were among the earliest portable electronics, they pushed the limits of display technologies, and were the first digital computing devices to enter millions of homes.
Calculators, Technology History, Electronics
225 points by surprisetalk 28 days ago | 138 comments
Extraction of Secrets from 40nm CMOS Gate Dielectric Breakdown Antifuses (arxiv.org)
CMOS one-time-programmable (OTP) memories based on antifuses are widely used for storing small amounts of data (such as serial numbers, keys, and factory trimming) in integrated circuits due to their low cost, requiring no additional mask steps to fabricate.
Electronics, Memory, Semiconductors, Microelectronics, Security
5 points by fanf2 28 days ago | 1 comments
Capacitors Meet Geometric Series (ivanbelenky.com)
We'll analyze the charge present in a capacitor under the influence of a square wave with symmetric semi-period and positive average value.
Capacitors, Electronics, Mathematics, Geometric Series
32 points by ivanbelenky 30 days ago | 3 comments
Calculator Forensics (2002) (rskey.org)
"Calculator forensics" is a term I've coined which seeks to answer the questions of who originally designed a particular calculator's chip set, what features of a particular calculator have been borrowed from earlier designs, and how has calculator technology spread among the manufacturers.
Electronics, History, Design, Technology
26 points by todsacerdoti 32 days ago | 1 comments
Building a keyboard for a 1985 Casio FX-451 calculator [video] (youtube.com)
Retro Computing, Hardware, Electronics, DIY, Video
21 points by zdw 34 days ago | 0 comments
Developing a Circuit Board Fabricator (youtube.com)
Hardware, Electronics, DIY, Fabrication
6 points by FpUser 34 days ago | 1 comments
Project Mini Rack – compact and portable homelabs (jeffgeerling.com)
Today I'm announcing Project MINI RACK, an open source project to help those building homelabs, RF/wireless rigs, and other electronics projects into mini 10" racks.
Open Source, Homelabs, Electronics, DIY Projects
103 points by ferriswil 34 days ago | 43 comments
Reverse Engineering a VanMoof E-Shifter – Part 2 – Decoding the Signals (mikecoats.com)
At the end of the last post, I left everyone hanging, having tapped into and sniffed some data being transferred on the wires between the bike and the e-shifter.
Reverse Engineering, Electronics, Cycling, Hardware
47 points by jandeboevrie 36 days ago | 21 comments
All-Band Receiver Lets You Listen to All the Radio at Once (hackaday.com)
There are many ways to build a radio receiver, but most have a few things in common, such as oscillators, tuned circuits, detectors, mixers, and amplifiers.
Radio, Electronics, Hardware, DIY, Projects
27 points by darkswordreams 39 days ago | 11 comments
Soldering the Tek way (hackaday.com)
For a lot of us, soldering just seems to come naturally. But if we’re being honest, none of us was born with a soldering iron in our hand — ouch! — and if we’re good at soldering now, it’s only thanks to good habits and long practice. But what if you’re a company that lives and dies by the quality of the solder joints your employees produce? How do you get them to embrace the dark art of soldering?
Soldering, Electronics, Manufacturing, Training, Quality Control
204 points by zdw 42 days ago | 102 comments
Binary modding a water dispenser to save me from pressing a button (2021) (practicapp.com)
A few months ago, I decided that it’s time I started to become more responsible and to start drinking more water.
Life Hacks, DIY, Electronics, Water
108 points by trinix912 42 days ago | 19 comments
How do non-software engineers feel upon reflection, about their degrees? (ycombinator.com)
To set the scene: I wanted to build my own devboard for my own projects. I'm sat here looking at my screen after having opened KiCAD with some of the documentation for an STM32H7 MCU. It dawns on me that I have absolutely zero clue of what I am looking at and have no idea where to start beyond watching youtube. Here I am now writing this.
Electronics, Software Engineering, Education, Personal Projects, Learning
20 points by AdobiWanKenobi 44 days ago | 38 comments
Building Ultra Long Range Toslink (benjojo.co.uk)
This post is a textual version of a talk I gave at The 38th Chaos Computer Congress at the end of 2024. You can watch the talk that was recorded by the wonderful C3VOC team below if that’s your preferred medium:
Electronics, Networking, Hardware, Audio
279 points by ingve 44 days ago | 118 comments
How to Debounce a Contact (2014) (ganssle.com)
The beer warms a bit as you pound the remote control. Again and again, temper fraying, you click the "channel up" key until the TV finally rewards your efforts. But it turns out channel 345 is playing Jeopardy so you again wave the remote in the general direction of the set and continue fiddling with the buttons.
Electronics, User Experience, Humor
150 points by user_7832 46 days ago | 79 comments
A History of Early Microcontrollers, Part 1: Calculator Chips Came First (2022) (eejournal.com)
Gary Boone, who worked in the Texas Instruments (TI) MOS Department, devised the first chip that can be called a microcontroller because he was becoming bored with his job and in trouble with his family.
Microcontrollers, History, Electronics, TI
104 points by teuobk 47 days ago | 17 comments