Hackaday Podcast Episode 346: Melting Metal In The Microwave, Unlocking Car Brakes And Washing Machines, And A Series Of Tubes
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Wait, what? Is it time for the podcast again? Seems like only yesterday that Dan joined Elliot for the weekly rundown of the choicest hacks for the last 1/52 of a year. but here we are. We had quit…

Wait, what? Is it time for the podcast again? Seems like only yesterday that Dan joined Elliot for the weekly rundown of the choicest hacks for the last 1/52 of a year. but here we are. We had quite a bit of news to talk about, including the winners of the Component Abuse Challenge — warning, some components were actually abused for this challenge. They’re also a trillion pages deep over at the Internet Archive, a milestone that seems worth celebrating.

As for projects, both of us kicked things off with “Right to repair”-adjacent topics, first with a washing machine that gave up its secrets with IR and then with a car that refused to let its owner fix the brakes. We heated things up with a microwave foundry capable of melting cast iron — watch your toes! — and looked at a tiny ESP32 dev board with ludicrously small components. We saw surveyors go to war, watched a Lego sorting machine go through its paces, and learned about radar by spinning up a sonar set from first principles.

Finally, we wrapped things up with another Al Williams signature “Can’t Miss Articles” section, with his deep dive into the fun hackers can have with the now-deprecated US penny, and his nostalgic look at pneumatic tube systems.

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Episode 346 Show Notes:

News:

Congratulations To The 2025 Component Abuse Challenge WinnersMeet The Shape That Cannot Pass Through ItselfInternet Archive Hits One Trillion Web Pages

What’s that Sound?

[Andy Geppert] knew that was the annoying sound of the elevator at the Courtyard by Marriot hotel in Pasadena.

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

Reverse Engineering The Miele Diagnostic InterfaceHyundai Paywalls Brake Pad ChangesThe Simplest Ultrasound Sensor Module, Minus The Module Good Vibrations: Giving The HC-SR04 A Brain TransplantBend It Like (Sonar) Beacon With A Phased ArrayFundamentals Of FMCW Radar Help You Understand Your Car’s Point Of ViewCasting Metal Tools With Kitchen Appliances

Microwave Forge Casts The Sinking-est Benchy EverMore Microwave Metal CastingPossibly-Smallest ESP32 Board Uses Smallest-Footprint Parts Hacking A Pill CameraWWII Secret Agents For Science

Quick Hacks:

Elliot’s Picks Damn Fine (Solar Powered) CoffeeHumane Mousetrap Lets You Know It’s Caught SomethingIn Praise Of Plasma TVsExploring The Performance Gains Of Four-Pin MOSFETsDan’s Picks: Making A Machine To Sort One Million Pounds Of LEGOThe King Of Rocket PhotographyCheap VHF Antenna? Can Do!

Can’t-Miss Articles:

Hackers Can’t Spend A Penny Penny Miser Copper Coin SorterI Made a Super Simple Penny Sorter!Tech In Plain Sight: Pneumatic Tubes The Safe House Milwaukee

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