Get Ready for the Hackaday Op Amp Challenge

It's time to give the analog side of Hackaday a chance to shine. [Digi-Key is a proud sponsor of the Op Amp Challenge]( [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, April 12, 2023 [A Solar Powered Art Piece That's Out of This World »]( An Analog Challenge The world in which Hackaday exists is unapologetically digital. We don't mean just because it's a website either, although that certainly doesn't hurt. We mean in terms of the projects we've come to expect over the last couple of decades. More often than not, if you see it hit the front page of our publication, it's going to have a microcontroller, a single-board computer, or at least a 555 timer in there someplace. But does that mean we don't appreciate the analog side of things? Of course not. In fact, we'd love to see more makers and hackers take a walk on the wild side and leave their 1s and 0s at the door -- and what better way is there to get folks motivated than putting some money on the line? It's in this spirit that we're happy to announce our latest contest: the [2023 Hackaday Op Amp Challenge]( [2023 Opt Amp Challenge]( If you're going to work with analog electronics, there's really no better place to start than the operational amplifier. As the name implies, it's the ideal choice whenever you've got something that needs a bit of amplification. But these versatile chips can also be used for filtering and buffering -- making them an indispensible part of your analog toolbox. Assuming you've got one, anyway. As always, we hope this challenge inspires both the newbies and veterans alike. It doesn't matter if you were working professionally in analog electronics before the AVR was a twinkling in Alf and Vegard's eyes, or if this is the first time you ever considered the fact that an electrical circuit could have more than two states; we want to see what you've got between now and June 6th when the contest ends. As always our friends at Digi-Key have graciously put three $150 shopping sprees on the line for the projects that best put this chip to use. By the way, if you're wondering what happened with our recently concluded [Low Power Challenge]( fear not. By the time this newsletter finds itself in your noncorporeal mailbox, the winners should be already announced on Hackaday proper. In the meantime, let's take one last look at some of the energy-sipping devices that were in the running. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [Accurate Quartz Clock Stretches out CR2032]( Looking to prove you don't need ultra high-tech components to match the best commercial timepieces, [Gabor] has created this fascinating desk clock that aims to drift fewer than 10 seconds per year. Drawing under 15 μA, it should keep you on-time for more than a year on a common coin battery. [project thumbnail]( [Sleek E-Ink Agenda Adds Touch of Elegance]( [Stavros] designed the ESP32 powered Timeframe to be a personal data display that shows all of his important daily information. The fact that it looks like a professional product that's arrived here from the future is just a nice added bonus. [project thumbnail]( [High-Tech Plant Labels]( Gardeners often put little labels near their plants, to record what they are and what their needs may be. This project brings that concept into the future with an e-ink display, ESP32, and a sensor-laden PCB that gets stuck right into the dirt. 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 [Telephone Exchange Relays Power This Pulse Motor]( [Circuit Sculpture Satellite Harvests Solar Power]( [A Handy Board for Working with Latching Relays]( [Learning the Ropes with an STM32 and Three Color E-Ink Display]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [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