The Low-Power Challenge Has the Community Charged Up

We're seeing some fantastic entries for the Low-Power Challenge, and we've still got a month to go. [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, February 15, 2023 [This RF Multi-Sensor Can Last 20 Years on a AA Battery »]( Low Power, High Energy Over the years, we've learned a thing or two about conducting hardware design contests for the hacker and maker crowd. One of the things we've noticed is that the community responds well to being given what others might see as unreasonable limitations. For example, if you say entries can't have a PCB larger than one square inch, or can only be powered by a coin cell, you're bound to get some interesting results. So it's no surprise that we've already seen so many impressive projects entered into the [2023 Low-Power Challenge](. We'd have a tough time picking a winner right now, but with more than a month to go before this latest contest wraps up, it looks like this is going to end up being quite the competition. [2023 Low-Power Challenge]( Of course, we aren't complaining. We never get tired of seeing the incredible creativity of this community, so don't be shy -- if you've got an idea for a low-power project, we want to see it. Remember that the judges take many different aspects of a project into account when assigning their scores, so even if your idea is similar to something else that's already been entered, it could be your documentation that puts your version on top. While it's not strictly required that your project be open source, designs which can be replicated by others in the community will always earn extra points around these parts. You have until March 21st to enter your project into the Low-Power Challenge, and while that might seem like plenty of time we're all keenly familiar with the whooshing noise deadlines make as they go by. To help inspire your energy sipping masterpiece, let's take a look at a few of the projects that are currently in the running. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [A Capacitive Critter]( The idea is simple, touch the raccoon's stomach and its eyes light up. But there's so many great details in the execution, from the gorgeous PCB art to the low part count and use of the iconic ATtiny85 microcontroller. Creator [Savo] created them to be given away, but we're not surprised to hear some people have offered to buy this handsome little fellow. [project thumbnail]( [Boilerplate Battery Power]( We've all seen those cheap lithium-ion charging modules based on the TP4056 IC. In fact, we bet a lot of you reading this have a couple in your parts bin. But have you ever tried making one yourself? This straightforward design shows how to put this popular chip to work, and provides a drop-in charging circuit you can use in future projects. [project thumbnail]( [A Solar Supercap Sensor]( Using a pair of super capacitors, this solar-charged device can send the data collected from a BME280 sensor (temperature, humidity and pressure) out over its nRF24L01 radio transceiver for a really long time. It can run for 80 hours in darkness, so even a bit of light hitting the panels each day will go far. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY You Should Host a Hack Chat! If you've been thinking about hosting a Hack Chat, here's your chance. Do you work in an interesting field that people would love to hear about? Do you have a cool project you're working on? Or maybe there's just something you'd like to discuss? Then host a Hack Chat! Check out [our FAQ]( for all the details. And if there's someone you're just dying to see on the Hack Chat, let us know and we'll try to make it happen. [Send us your ideas](mailto:tips@hackaday.com?subject=Hack Chat Tip) and we'll see what we can do. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [A Keychain Sized UV and Environmental Sensor]( [An Open Source Solar Sensor Platform using ESP-NOW]( [Low-Power Coop Door Keeps Chickens Secure]( [Tiny GPS Tracker Can Last 30 Days on a Charge]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [Trenton Computer Festival - Mar. 18]( The longest running computer festival in the world will return for its 47th year in 2023. The preliminary schedule has recently been posted, and looks like it will be a fantastic day of talks and workshops, with a streaming component for those who can't make the trip to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in person. [Los Angeles Maker Faire - Apr. 1]( The downtown LA Mini Maker Faire returns for its third year, this time at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Mark your calendars and fire up your soldering irons now. Don't you want to have something to show off? [VCF East - Apr. 14 - 16]( The Vintage Computer Festival East will be a hybrid event, with talks streamed worldwide from the InfoAge Science and History Museum in Wall, New Jersey. An absolute must-see event for anyone with a love of vintage hardware. [OSHW Summit 2023 - Apr. 28 - 29]( This year's Open Source Hardware Summit will be held in New York, both remotely and in person. More details to come. [twitter]( [facebook]( [instagram]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hackaday · 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue · Suite 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105 · USA