Logarithmic Gears, a Weather Channel Teardown, and Loving Cassette Tapes

Plus, a keyboard for Raspberry Pi Pico, and converting a rotary encode to use magnets [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, March 17, 2021 [Nautilus Sculptures: 3D-printed logarithmic spiral gears »]( Bring-a-Hack on April 8th Join us on [Thursday, April 8th at 1pm Pacific time for a Bring-a-Hack]( These geeky gatherings are usually the night before an in-person conference and we've missed the fun over the past year. So, dust off one of those half-finished projects, polish it up, and show it off on this Zoom call the day before the [2021 Open Hardware Summit](. [Bach]( The important thing here is the story of your hack, and for that reason there's a long-running tradition where some people don't start on their builds until they're in transit to the conference. How much or little time you spend on yours is up to you. But make it a fun tale of how you managed to pull something together, no matter how large or small. We're time-limited so about 20-25 people will be able to show-and-tell to the full group. [Add your name here]( to be one of those 2-minute presenters. Of course we'll also break out into groups afterward for more opportunities to gab about your hardware creation. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [WeatherSTAR 4000 Secrets Revealed]( This is a piece of history. It's a rack-mounted device that was responsible for grabbing satellite downlink data and generating the digital overlay on The Weather Channel's "Weather on the 8's" tailored to your viewing area. This project is an ongoing masterpiece of reverse engineering that unlocks all the secrets and gets the thing up and running once more. [project thumbnail]( [This Lamp Sounds Great!]( The clean lines of this modern lampshade harken back decades to a time when we carried our tunes around as spools of magnetic tape. Eight audio cassettes form the cube-shaped lamp shade, with a few strips of LEDs to light them up. A wireless microcontroller means this can be used as a smart device to convey information based on color. [project thumbnail]( [DIY Magnetic Rotary Encoder]( When the resolution of a traditional rotary encoder just isn't up to snuff, you can get creative and turn it into a magnetic encoder. This hack reuses the encoder by cracking it open and gluing a magnet to the bottom. A 3D-printed bracket then combines it with a magnetic position sensor. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY [Today: Retro Recreations Hack Chat]( Tube Time will host [this week's Hack Chat](. Those bitten by the retrocomputing bug are often disappointed to find that a lot of people have gotten there before them, making it sometimes difficult to find specific pieces of retro gear. Rather than accept what the market offers, Tube Time has embarked on some ambitious projects, building modern replicas of classic peripherals like sound cards and video adapters. He'll join us to discuss his retro recreations, adventures in reverse engineering, and general topics of interest to the computationally nostalgic. [Next Week: MIDI All the Things Hack Chat]( Tim Alex Jacobs will host [next week's Hack Chat](. It's hard to overstate just how important to music the MIDI standard has become. MIDI provided a standardized way to connect controllers and musical instruments, and in doing so opened a floodgate of musical creativity. Tim Alex Jacobs, perhaps better known as Mitxela, has undertaken a ton of MIDI builds, from things that barely qualify as instruments to a complete synthesizer in a DIN connector shell. He'll stop by the Hack Chat next week to show us all the ways to put MIDI into our builds. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [Tiny Keyboard for the Raspberry Pi Pico]( [Where to Source Parts to Build the COMIX-35]( [Building an LC Meter]( [Wall-Mounted SCARA 3D-Printer]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [Hackaday Remote Bring-A-Hack: April 8]( Virtual | Join the Hackaday community for a meetup where the ice-breaker is something you've built! This Bring-a-Hack kicks off with 20-25 people showing off their hardware to the whole group for two minutes. Afterwards we'll break out into small groups for a social hangout and of course to continue the hardware show-and-tell. [Open Hardware Summit @Home: April 9]( Virtual | The 2021 Open Hardware Summit will be [held virtually on Friday, April 9th](. Dr. Meghan McCarthy of the NIH will present the keynote about open source PPE and medical device manufacture during the public health emergency. Many other speakers throughout the world will present on a wide range of Open Hardware topics. Applications for [the Ada Lovelace Fellowship]( remain open for two more days. The fellowship seeks to encourage more participation of women, LGBTQA+, and people of color in open source. There are many fellowships available, please apply today! [Hackaday Classes and Events]( Virtual | We can't get together in person right now, so we're takin' things online! Checkout [the calendar of Hackaday classes and events]( to log on and tune in to a packed schedule of hacker happenings. Hackaday.io Courses: [Hackaday.io Courses]( are now live. Keep an eye out for course releases on Hackaday's YouTube - [like and subscribe for updates](. Weekly LED Chat: After Hack Chat each Wednesday, join in on [a live chat all about creating Art with LEDs.]( If you have an event that should be added to the calender, send the details to superconference@hackaday.io. 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