Samwise Makers' News
Friday, August 7, 2026
PhantomDrive: Open Source USB Drive Hides an Encrypted Secret Partition
Ryan Walker (machinehum) has built the PhantomDrive, a fully open source USB flash drive with a secret secondary filesystem. The hidden partition’s existence is concealed from the operating system under normal circumstances, and when it does appear, all data is encrypted with AES-256. Decryption is handled internally by the CH569 chip, making it platform-agnostic with no software required on the host computer. Authentication is covert: the firmware monitors write operations to the drive’s unsecured section and looks for the string ‘password:’ — whatever follows becomes the decryption key. Machinehum cautions the project has not been professionally audited and should be treated as an experiment.
Look Mum No Computer Builds a Propane Organ That Makes Music and Fire
Musical organs typically use air or steam as their working fluid, but Look Mum No Computer has built one that runs on propane. Mounted on a trailer, the instrument pumps propane through copper organ pipes — the gas itself creates the sound, while igniting it produces a fire light show as a bonus. An earlier version used pilot lights, which had an annoying habit of blowing out and wasting propane. The current design uses spark plugs and ignition coils, as found in an internal combustion engine. Crucially, the same MIDI signal that opens the gas valve also triggers the ignition, giving LMNC sound and spectacle from a single control.
How Rubidium Frequency Standards Work: IMSAI Guy’s Three-Cell Explainer
IMSAI Guy has posted an explainer video on rubidium frequency standards. The key is a trio of gas cells. An RF-excited rubidium-87 discharge lamp produces light at specific wavelengths; a rubidium-85 filter cell selectively absorbs part of that spectrum, leaving light that optically pumps rubidium-87 atoms in a resonance cell into two closely spaced hyperfine ground states separated by about 6.835 GHz. Microwave energy at exactly that frequency shifts atoms between the two states, creating a detectable dip in light absorption. Electronics servo the microwave oscillator onto that dip, locking it to an atomic transition — rather than a crystal — for an extremely stable frequency reference.
CNC-Inspired Adjustable Wrench Uses Anti-Backlash Spring to Stop Rounding Bolts
Someone Should Make That was fed up with his adjustable wrench rounding off bolt heads and built a better one. The root problem is mechanical slop: once set, there is enough play in the worm screw that the jaws open slightly under torque and slip off the fastener. His CNC-machined solution borrows from the machine that built it — spring-loading the adjustment screw in the same spirit as an anti-backlash nut on a CNC mill or 3D printer leadscrew. The spring tension keeps the jaws snug against the bolt under load. He prototyped in plastic first, then machined the final version, though the adjustment screw itself stayed plastic.
Amiga Corporation Reaches IP Agreements with Commodore International and Hyperion
Amiga Corporation, holders of much of the Commodore and Amiga IP, has reached agreements with both Commodore International Corporation and Hyperion Entertainment BV, clarifying the long-tangled ownership landscape. The 8-bit Commodore rights — software and documentation — are licensed to Commodore International Corporation, enabling it to produce machines such as the C64. Hyperion retains the right to continue developing AmigaOS 4.x. In a separate timeline element, the rights to AmigaOS 3.x for 68k Amigas will revert to Amiga Corporation at the end of 2027, with Amiga Corporation stating it will direct continued development. Whether that eventually leads to a new licensed 68k Amiga is an open and interesting question.
VANTIX: A Mostly 3D Printed Cycloidal Gearbox Sized for NEMA 17 Steppers
Gjhudson2008 has designed VANTIX, a compact cycloidal gearbox for NEMA 17 or 23 stepper motors that is mostly 3D printed. Its height matches exactly that of a standard NEMA 17 axle. One constraint: the stepper’s shaft must have the D-bore cut all the way down — any uncut shank at the base will not fit. ABS is the recommended material for the tighter-tolerance parts using a 0.2 mm nozzle, while other components print better with a larger nozzle. Assembly is a mix of press-fit, print-in-place, and heat-set inserts, with lubrication needed to keep things moving. Several top plates are available for different mounting scenarios.
PID Without the Math: Al Williams’ Spreadsheet Simulates P, I, and D Step by Step
PID controllers regulate temperature, motor speed, power supplies, and positioning systems. Al Williams has shared a Google Spreadsheet that simulates a PID controller alongside a simulated process, letting you change gains, alter the plant model, and inject disturbances without compiling a line of code. P (Proportional) reacts to the current error; I (Integral) accumulates error over time to eliminate steady-state offset — the classic failure of P-only control; D (Derivative) responds to how rapidly the error is changing. Every intermediate calculation is visible in the spreadsheet rows for easy inspection. Real-world complications such as integral windup and derivative kick are explained but left unimplemented to keep the model transparent.
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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