Samwise Makers' News
Sunday, May 17, 2026
ESPHome 2026.4.0 Delivers 34% Speed Boost for ESP32 — With a Power Draw Trade-Off
ESPHome’s latest release, version 2026.4.0, delivers a significant performance boost for makers using Espressif ESP32 hardware. The major change switches the default CPU frequency from 160 MHz to 240 MHz on ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, and ESP32-C5 variants, yielding approximately 34% faster CPU-bound operations. API encryption handshakes drop from 90 ms to 64 ms, while Bluetooth Proxy advertisement forwarding on the ESP32-C3 now consumes just 1.8% of main loop time. A new client-side state logging architecture achieves up to 46× faster sensor publishing. One caveat: the change increases power draw, so battery-powered deployments should override with cpu_frequency: 160MHz. A welcome upgrade for the home-automation maker community.
Sources: Hackster.io
Salvaged Calculator VFDs Get Second Life in Nixie-Inspired Clock
A maker known as [maurycyz] has built a retro clock using single-digit vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) tubes salvaged from vintage calculators — devices that share a visual resemblance to Nixie tubes but operate at lower voltage and require less power. Dating from the early 1970s, these tubes occupy a brief window between the Nixie era of the 1950s–60s and the multi-digit VFDs common in 1980s–90s consumer electronics. With no datasheets available, [maurycyz] reverse-engineered each display by probing 13 signal wires, identifying heater and segment connections similar to vacuum-tube behavior. The resulting clock pays elegant tribute to an often-overlooked chapter of display technology history.
Sources: Hackaday
Hacknect Launches on Kickstarter: ESP32-S3 Automation Platform Hidden Inside a USB Cable
A new Kickstarter campaign has launched for Hacknect, a wireless automation platform disguised as an ordinary USB cable. Hidden inside is an Espressif ESP32-S3 microcontroller paired with a microSD card slot, enabling HID keystroke injection, mouse automation, payload deployment, and browser-based remote control — all from a Wi-Fi-connected web dashboard requiring no software installation. Users can trigger automation scripts from smartphones, tablets, or locked-down systems where installing software is not an option. Multiple payload slots can be managed wirelessly. The project targets security professionals and automation enthusiasts. Rewards start at $76, with first shipments expected in August 2026.
Sources: Hackster.io
Anthropic Open-Sources Claude Desktop Buddy: Physical BLE Control for AI Workflows on ESP32-S3
Anthropic has open-sourced Claude Desktop Buddy, a hardware companion project that connects an ESP32-S3-based device to the Claude desktop app via Bluetooth Low Energy. Designed initially for the M5StickC Plus (around $30), the firmware lets makers approve or deny AI assistant actions using physical buttons, removing the need to watch the computer screen. Seven animation states drive an ASCII character display, with official support for custom GIF characters via a Python preparation script. The project includes a manifest.json workflow for adding new characters. It represents an early example of physical hardware integrating directly with AI desktop workflows over a local BLE link, with no cloud dependency.
Sources: CNX Software
Mixapps Brings Back the Mixtape as an Offline-First Progressive Web App
A maker named Hunter Irving has released Mixapps, a Python-based toolkit for packaging personal music collections as self-contained Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) — a modern take on the classic mixtape format. Users run a Python script to select and reorder tracks, then a second build script assembles a web app that can be uploaded to any host and saved to a phone’s home screen. Once installed, the app requires no internet connection and won’t disappear if a streaming platform shuts down or a playlist is removed. The project sidesteps corporate infrastructure dependency entirely, giving shared music collections a durable, portable, offline-first format that anyone can self-host.
Sources: Hackaday
Fixing a $6,000 Cotton Candy Machine Reveals Rockchip Android Core and Right-to-Repair Headaches
[Block’s Retro Repairs] has documented the internals of a $6,000 Red Rabbit cotton candy vending machine in a successful repair series. The machine’s electronics center on a Rockchip SoC running Android 7, driving a large touchscreen with various production settings. After deep-cleaning years of sugar crystallization buildup, adjusting the induction-heated spinning-head temperature, and repairing a faulty thermocouple, the machine now reliably produces cotton candy in multiple colors and shapes. One unresolved issue: the machine remains linked to a previous owner’s account and Red Rabbit support has not responded to requests for documentation or account unlinking — a right-to-repair concern for independent restorers.
Sources: Hackaday
Top Crowdfunding
Kickstarter / Crowd Supply
1. Hacknect — $76+ rewards, August 2026 (Kickstarter)
2. Start9 RISC-V Router — $300+, September 2026 (crowdfunding)
3. LimeSDR Micro — first run, ships Sep 30, 2026 (Crowd Supply)
GitHub Trending
Makers & Hardware
1. zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr — 15,200★
2. qmk/qmk_firmware — 43,871★
3. esphome/esphome — 11,100★
Upcoming Events
Open Hardware Summit — May 23–24, Berlin, Germany
Maker Faire Long Island — June 6, Stony Brook University, NY
Teardown 2026 (Crowd Supply) — July 24–26, Portland, OR
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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