Samwise Makers' News
Monday, August 3, 2026
Seven Sensors and Breakout Boards to Avoid in Your Next Product
A deep dive on Hackaday examines seven sensor families that work well for prototyping but cause problems in finished products. The DHT11/22 temperature-humidity sensors are slow and unreliable at scale, while the HC-SR04 ultrasonic module lacks weatherproofing for real-world deployment. MQ-series gas sensors need lengthy warm-up time and drift over time, the MPU-6050 IMU lags behind modern accuracy standards, and cadmium sulfide photoresistors carry RoHS compliance risks. ACS712-based mains current breakout boards raise safety concerns at higher voltages. The article recommends alternatives: SHT40 or BME280 for environmental sensing, VL53 ToF for distance, VEML7700 for light, and BMI270 or ICM-42688 for motion.
Easy ESP32 Theremin Uses Built-In Capacitive Touch Pins as Antennas
An Instructables project demonstrates a theremin built around the ESP32 microcontroller, using the chip’s capacitive-touch sensing pins directly as pitch and volume antennas. The ESP32’s built-in capacitive sensing detects hand proximity without physical contact, and audio is output through the chip’s onboard digital-to-analog converter, keeping the overall component count low. The build avoids external sensor modules or audio circuits by relying entirely on peripherals already present in the ESP32. Hackaday highlighted it as a clean example of using a microcontroller’s native touch and audio capabilities to build a functional musical instrument with minimal additional hardware.
Building a Retro Game Console From Scratch With an RP2350B
Maker Throaty Mumbo has posted Game Console V2 on GitHub, a retro-styled game console that avoids modern microcontrollers as its long-term goal. The current build temporarily uses a Pimoroni PGA2350 breakout board hosting an RP2350B MCU, generating NTSC composite video through a 6-bit R-2R resistor network for RGB332 output via an RCA jack. Audio runs through a PCM5102A I2S DAC, and controllers connect via four-pin Bulgin SA2367 sockets using an N64-compatible protocol. Game cartridges use ROMs on a parallel bus rather than SD cards. The planned V3 revision will replace the RP2350B with a proper 8- or 16-bit CPU for a more authentically retro architecture.
An ESP32 Automates Rooftop Water Tank Level Control in India
A maker in India automated a common household task: water is delivered to underground tanks and must be manually pumped to a rooftop tank before use. The manual method means running a pump until water pours out of the overflow pipe — wasteful and time-consuming. Builder Jumpor’s ESP32-based controller uses an ultrasonic sensor inside the rooftop tank to monitor water level, firing a relay to start the lift pump when the level drops below a set threshold and stopping it automatically once full. The electronics are housed in a modified replacement tank cap, leaving the original intact and requiring no permanent plumbing changes, an important consideration for a rental.
HeyGears G1 Combines UV Inkjet Printing With 3D Printing in One Machine
HeyGears has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the G1, a desktop machine that combines UV inkjet printing with 3D printing in a single unit. The G1 uses an Epson UV inkjet head to deposit full-color ink layers directly onto printed objects, with a claimed 10-micron layer resolution across a 420x320x130mm build volume. The approach differs from multi-filament color 3D printing by using UV inkjet ink rather than blended filament. Early bird Kickstarter pricing is approximately $2,000, with an ink kit carrying a suggested retail price of around $189. Hackaday describes the G1 as an attempt to unify two previously separate desktop fabrication workflows in one machine.
Affordable Multi-Material Printers Are Driving a Slicer Software Boom
Hackaday’s Printering column examines how the recent wave of affordable multi-material desktop printers has sparked slicer software innovation. With four-filament machines now widely in makers’ hands, algorithm developers have produced two new color-blending techniques in quick succession: FullSpectrum and the more recent ImageMap, both designed to extract intermediate colors from a standard four-filament printer. ImageMap targets the same goal with fewer filament purges and faster throughput. Columnist Elliot Williams argues that widespread hardware availability is what’s enabling this wave of algorithmic experimentation, and anticipates continued advances in color-blending slicer techniques as more makers experiment with the platform.
SketchForge Is a Local Browser-Based 3D Editor That Exports STEP Files
SketchForge is a browser-based 3D CAD editor that runs entirely locally without sending data to a server. The tool covers basic solid modeling with primitive shapes and supports STEP file export for use in downstream CAD and manufacturing workflows. A live demo is available at sketchforge3d.com, and the project is open-source under the MIT license on GitHub as Formsmith746/SketchForge-3D, where it has accumulated 449 stars. Written in TypeScript, Hackaday describes it as an accessible entry point for makers who need quick geometry work without installing dedicated CAD software or relying on a cloud service.
Octopus 16 Turns Brain Signals Into Game Controller Input via EEG
The Octopus 16 is a coin-sized wireless biosignal device built around the Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3, designed to capture EEG, EMG, and ECG signals from up to 16 electrodes simultaneously. The device presents itself to a host computer as a standard HID device, making it plug-and-play with games and applications without custom drivers. CNX-Software reports it is priced at $250 on Elecrow and includes an optional 3D-printed enclosure. The project positions itself as a low-cost research and maker platform for experimenting with brain-computer interfaces, including controlling games via electroencephalography signals without any physical controller input.
Sources: CNX-Software
Top Crowdfunding
Kickstarter / Indiegogo
1. Kode Dot — $3.25M raised / 15,659 backers, Kickstarter
2. HeyGears G1 — ~$2,000 early bird, Kickstarter
3. None this week
GitHub Trending
Makers & Hardware
1. Formsmith746/SketchForge-3D — 449★
2. themactep/thingino-firmware — ~1.9k★
3. ThroatyMumbo/GameConsoleV2 — new this week
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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