Samwise Makers' News
Friday, June 12, 2026
Hackaday Communicator Badge Gets Full Meshtastic Support in New Firmware
A community developer has released new firmware for the Hackaday Communicator Badge, a handheld gadget featuring a QWERTY keyboard, LoRa radio module, and ESP32 microcontroller that debuted at a recent European hardware event. Developer Giovi321's update adds full Meshtastic protocol support, allowing the badge to join the off-grid LoRa mesh network used by outdoor communicators worldwide. The firmware also extends battery life through improved GPS module power management. Installation requires the ESP32-IDF framework, with complete documentation provided. Running on FreeRTOS, the update represents a meaningful community effort to give event conference badges practical post-event utility rather than consigning them to a drawer.
Sources: Hackaday
Hand-Cranked AI Demonstrator Runs Inference on Harvested Mechanical Energy
A maker has built a hand-cranked AI demonstrator challenging the energy-intensive reputation of large language model inference. The project uses a hand crank as the sole power source, running a lightweight neural network on a microcontroller rather than cloud-based GPUs. By keeping the model small enough to execute on harvested mechanical energy, the project highlights a counterpoint to concerns about commercial AI electricity consumption. Documentation covers both the mechanical power generation circuit and firmware configuration for running inference under constrained power, offering a practical entry point for exploring edge AI on minimal hardware resources.
Sources: Hackaday
Video Survey Covers Every Major Analog-to-Digital Converter Architecture
A new educational video from YouTube channel Eric Explains surveys analog-to-digital converter architectures, covering the spectrum from flash ADCs to successive approximation register designs, sigma-delta converters, and the Wilkinson ADC. Flash ADCs achieve high speed by comparing input voltage against many reference levels simultaneously, while SAR converters iterate through a binary search process. Pipeline and sigma-delta architectures are examined with attention to their trade-offs in resolution, speed, and power consumption. For electronics hobbyists and embedded developers choosing a converter for a project, the video provides a concise decision framework backed by circuit-level explanations of each major ADC type.
Sources: Hackaday
Maker Faire Prague 2026 Draws Thousands With Robots, Tesla Coils, and Teen Engineers
Maker Faire Prague 2026 has been praised by attendees as one of the most energetic European maker gatherings in recent years. Held at the Križík Pavilions at the Prague Exhibition Grounds in May, the event featured drone racing arenas, laser harps, musical Tesla coils, and a giant 3D-printed alpaca. Teenage engineers demonstrated custom tool-changing 3D printers they built themselves, and artists transformed glass rods into intricate beads on the floor. Maker educator Kristin Berbawy called the event a standout for joyful energy and packed halls, with thousands of visitors attending from across the Czech Republic and Europe.
Sources: Make:
Seeed Studio's $7.99 Wio-S3 Packs ESP32-S3 and LoRa Into a Tiny Surface-Mount Module
Seeed Studio has launched the Wio-S3, a compact wireless module priced at $7.99 measuring 21.6 by 16.5 millimetres. The module integrates an ESP32-S3R8 dual-core MCU with 16 MB Flash and 8 MB PSRAM alongside a Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver, delivering Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth LE 5.0, and long-range LoRa in a single surface-mount package. The SX1262 covers EU868 and US915 bands with up to +20.9 dBm transmit power and -137 dBm receive sensitivity. Interfaces include UART, I2C, SPI, ADC, and USB across a -40 to 85 degree Celsius industrial range, targeting smart agriculture, remote monitoring, and industrial IoT.
Sources: CNX Software
Open-Source piBrick PocketCM5 Is a Pocket Linux Computer Powered by Raspberry Pi CM5
Indonesian maker Ahmad Amarullah has released the piBrick PocketCM5, an open-source handheld Linux kit built around the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5. The device pairs a 3.92-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard and trackpad, targeting developers and system administrators wanting a pocketable Linux machine. The CM5 provides dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, with a 5,000 mAh battery for portable operation. Hardware schematics, STL enclosure files, and GPL-3.0 firmware are on GitHub and OSHWLab. Fully assembled kits sell on Tindie for $240, with component costs around $172 for those preferring to self-source parts.
Sources: CNX Software
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1. arduino/Arduino — 600k+ ★ (org total)
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Upcoming Events
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency