Samwise Makers' News
Friday, October 9, 2026
Sipeed Opens Kickstarter for SLogic32U3, a 1.4GS/s USB 3.2 Logic Analyzer
Shenzhen-based Sipeed has opened Kickstarter funding for the SLogic32U3, the third generation of its SLogic logic analyzer series. The device connects to a host PC over USB 3.2 Gen 2 at up to 10Gb/s and samples at 1.4GS/s on up to four channels, dropping to 200MHz across all 32 channels. Maximum input frequency rises to 350MHz, and a 256MB DDR3 stream buffer replaces its predecessor’s 16kB. An optional add-on module provides four eight-bit analog channels at 100MS/s. Sipeed says a browser-based web app with more than 150 Sigrok protocol decoders will run on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Rewards start at $149.
Sources: Hackster.io
Micron Strike Vote in Taiwan Could Push Maker Hardware Prices Higher
Union members at Micron’s operations in Taoyuan, Taiwan, have voted 99-to-1 to strike over a demand for a profit-sharing program, Hackster.io reports, citing Reuters. Workers are initially being encouraged to take a day off to attend a rally in Taipei on October 19, and with mediation at a standstill this is expected to become a formal strike. The Taoyuan union and a still-negotiating Taichung union make up around 80% of Micron’s Taiwanese workforce. Hackster.io warns that prices for single-board computers and other DRAM-dependent devices may spike again. Micron predicts it will be unable to meet memory demand until at least 2028.
Sources: Hackster.io
Raspberry Pi Uses Its Own Boards and Home Assistant to Cut Headquarters Energy Use
Raspberry Pi has published a progress report on its net zero goals, detailing how it uses its own single-board computers to monitor and control energy use at its Cambridge headquarters. Using Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 boards, open source Home Assistant software, and Emporia current-sensing clamps, the team clamped every breaker in the building to track each kWh consumed. The company also replaced a 17-year-old, end-of-life Trend 963 building energy management system with Contemporary Controls’ BASview and BASpi, an open source BACnet system built on Raspberry Pi hardware, at around £7,800 versus an estimated £150,000. A planned solar carport would add 219kW.
Sources: Hackster.io
Researchers Build a Self-Powered Door Sensor From Ground Garlic Peel
Researchers Manas Tiwari and Deepak Bharti have built a self-powered door and window sensor based on the triboelectric effect, Hackaday reports. Their triboelectric nanogenerator, or TENG, uses ground-up garlic peel for its positive side and a sheet of polyethylene for its negative side. Installed on a door frame, opening the door generates about 210 VAC with a 45µA short-circuit current, and a dual-side garlic peel layer raises this to 400 VAC and 65µA. In testing, a separate microcontroller running off a power bank detected the changes. The sensor still worked after half a year in storage and survived 200 stress cycles.
ESP32-S3 Game Console Hidden Inside a TV Antenna Plug Plays DOOM
Maker RayTriangle has fit an entire TV game console, battery included, inside a screw-terminal antenna plug of the type intended to match 300-ohm balanced feeder to 75-ohm coax, Hackaday reports. An ESP32-S3 talks to a controller over Bluetooth and plays DOOM. A look-up table of phase-shifted chroma waveforms for each color helps generate a composite signal through a resistor-ladder DAC, which is modulated onto a carrier provided by the ESP32’s clock generator. The hardware sits on two boards either side of the battery, joined by a flexible PCB. It is designed for PAL TVs with a VHF tuner, and the picture is somewhat noisy.
Maker Turns a Run-Over Samsung Galaxy S23 Into a Gaming PC
LastComputer has converted a badly damaged Samsung Galaxy S23, bought for 1,700 Ukrainian Hryvnia, or about $40, into a gaming computer built around its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, Hackaday reports. The conversion required careful disassembly, straightening the frame with a hammer, and a new battery, since the mainboard will not work without one. A 3D-printed phone case glued to an SSD cage holds a 512GB SSD, alongside two USB hubs, one providing HDMI output. A heatsink and fan hot-glued to the vapor chamber cut temperatures by about seven degrees C. The build runs Samsung DeX, the Dolphin emulator, and the GameHub app.
Maker Builds an 80s-Style Bluetooth Handset to Escape His Smartphone
Kevin Noki has built a retro brick-style handset to stop his smartphone pulling him out of flow state, Hackaday reports. It is a Bluetooth handset rather than a true phone, with no cellular modem inside. He began with an ESP32, but found its audio quality too crunchy and switched to a dedicated Bluetooth Hands Free Profile (HFP) module built for that kind of application. Rather than iterating in CAD, he mocked up the case in XPS foam with a manually operated hot wire cutter, needing only one 3D print for the final version. An acrylic bending jig places black LED acrylic over the display. He sells the design online.
Amazon Removes Alexa Voice Control of Echo Aux Input
Amazon has removed voice control over the 3.5mm aux input on Echo devices that have the jack, Hackaday reports. The change was first reported by Reddit user n8-sd after Amazon began informing users that voice control over the jack is no longer supported. The physical input still works on equipped models, but muting audio from an external device now requires the Alexa smartphone app. In a statement to Ars Technica, an Amazon representative confirmed the feature was removed as of the latest software version, saying analytics showed few people were using it. Amazon also said no changes have been made to voice control of Bluetooth devices.
Top Crowdfunding
Kickstarter / Indiegogo
Morpho UV Printer — nearly $10 million pledged, Kickstarter (ends Oct 14)
Sipeed SLogic32U3 — newly launched, rewards from $149, Kickstarter
GitHub Trending
Makers & Hardware
78/xiaozhi-esp32 — 30,561★
lvgl/lvgl — 24,829★
WeebLabs/DSPi (RP2040/RP2350 audio DSP) — 1,324★
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