Halloween Hackfest Is Heating Up 🔥

Check out the competition! [Digi-Key is a proud sponsor of the 2023 Hackaday Prize]( [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, October 11, 2023 [Ouija Robot Spookily Spells Out Tweets »]( Show Us Your Scary Builds! As spooky season rolls on, so do the hacks! We're smack-dab in the middle of the [2023 Halloween Hackfest]( which means there's still plenty of time for you to enter your scariest, most hair-raising builds. Whether it's a jack-o-lantern, spooky animatronic creature, or a costume, we want to see it. In fact, we've got more categories than that this year. Costumes, yes, bring those on for sure. We also want to see your jack-o-lanterns, whether they have electronics or not. Other categories include kid-pleasers, like games and elaborate candy dispensers, and the spooky category, which is for those simply scary builds. So, what are you waiting for? You have until 9AM Pacific on October 31st to [submit your entry](. Up for grabs are three $150 DigiKey gift cards, plus some Arduino treats! If you need some inspiration, check out some of the early entries we've seen thus far. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [Pumpkin Pin Flickers Like the Real Thing]( Although this adorable pin glows and flickers just like a candle-lit pumpkin, there's absolutely no danger of getting burned. Every part of this pumpkin does dual duty, from the LEDs to the battery's edge to the tack pin. [project thumbnail]( [Yorick Mimics Every Move of Your Skull]( This project uses two Raspberry Pis communicating wirelessly to transmit the head movements of the operator to the three-axis skull of the skeleton in real time. If you wanna scare 'em off the porch, consider replicating this project. [project thumbnail]( [Treat Trough of Terror Delivers Delights]( Although the worst of COVID is probably over, it's not a bad idea to continue social distancing. What could be more fun than a ramp with lights that follow your tiny Snickers bar down the slide? A distance sensor detects the candy and starts the show. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY [Next Week: Satellite Hunting Hack Chat]( Scott Tilley will host [next week's rescheduled Hack Chat](. There's a lot of hardware whizzing over our heads right now, and has been for the last 70 years or so. Space is crowded with satellites of all kinds, but the most interesting ones perhaps are the satellites that nobody wants to talk about. Nations spend billions putting satellites in orbit, only to obfuscate them as much as possible in the interest of national security. It's understandable, but it's also an irresistible challenge to satellite hunters like Scott Tilley, who loves to track down and characterize these secret spacecraft. Join us as we learn what it takes to snoop in on secret -- and not-so-secret -- satellites, and really find out what's going on up there. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [Mac-o-Lantern Cycles Through Spooky Faces]( [Dante's Inferno Game Will Assign You a Level of Hell]( [It's Okay, Scary Cat Can't Hurt You]( [The Mirror of Enchantment Gives Scares and Records Reactions]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [Maker Faire Bay Area - Oct 13-15 & 20-22]( After what feels like a long hiatus of a just a few years, the legendary Maker Faire Bay Area is back for not one but two weekends of fun. Come for the amazing robots and builds, and stay for the cutting-edge technologies. [The Hackaday Superconference - Nov. 3-5]( Supercon is by far the most awesome hardware hacker con of the year, and if you love Hackaday, you definitely want to be there. Honestly, just the crowd that Supercon brings together is reason enough to attend, but then you throw in the talks, the badge-hacking, the food, and the miscellaneous shenanigans… it’s an event you really don’t want to miss. [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