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Electronics: 29th July 2025

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Published 29th July 2025

🎨 Creative Projects & Maker Props

Mini Neon Sign Prop & n00ds Booster Case (learn​.adafruit​.com). Create a versatile case for the nOOd booster to transform props into illuminated signs with easy mounting and adjustment features

Pico Touch Board Audio (diyelectromusic​.com). Explore building a stand-alone Pico Touch Board for audio output using PWM, CircuitPython, and various components for DIY electronic music projects

Making a Retro Dock for the Playdate Console (alexmeub​.com). Create a retro dock for Playdate using a Raspberry Pi case, involving 3D printing, USB-C wiring, and retro gaming aesthetics

Fibonacci256 Expanding Pixelblaze (evilgeniuslabs​.org). Fibonacci256 features a 166mm disc with 256 RGB LEDs in a Fibonacci layout, offering mesmerizing animations and Wi-Fi connectivity for control

Built Me Another (ben​.akrin​.com). Ben discusses improvements in building his Gondola PlottyBot v2 with high-quality components and lessons learned from previous models

🏠 Home Automation & Smart Devices

IR cameras (revk​.uk). RevK® discusses the challenges and limitations of IR cameras, focusing on practical applications, resolution issues, image format concerns, and data transfer difficulties

TRMNL (imperialviolet​.org). TRMNL is an 800x600 e-ink display that connects via Wi-Fi and is customizable with a Go program for displaying calendar events

Stirring the Cryo Tanks with Home Assistant (morgandavis​.net). Morgan Davis transitions from Google Nest to ecobee Smart Thermostat and uses Home Assistant for automation control, enhancing home temperature management

Flume2 Water Sensor Install (morgandavis​.net). Morgan Davis installs a Flume2 water sensor to detect leaks, sharing insights on setup, battery concerns, and integration with Home Assistant

🕹️ Retro Computing & Restoration

More than you wanted to know about how Game Boy cartridges work (abc​.decontextualize​.com). Allison Parrish explores Game Boy cartridge construction, detailing the interaction between memory, ROM, and microcontrollers like the RP2040 in a comprehensive guide

Bringing a Decade Old Bicycle Navigator Back to Life with Open Source Software (and DOOM) (raymii​.org). Restoring a Navman Bike 1000 cycling navigator using Windows CE, NaVeGIS, OpenStreetMap, and even playing DOOM, highlighting planned obsolescence in tech

[Success] iBook Clamshell Soldered RAM Upgrade (lowendmac​.com). Successful upgrade of soldered RAM on iBook G3 Clamshell using BootROM modifications, EEPROM programming, and chip soldering techniques

The Ultimate RAM Detective: Meet the Innoventions RAMCHECK (linuxjedi​.co​.uk). Exploring the Innoventions RAMCHECK, a modular RAM testing device for vintage machines, ideal for diagnosing and repairing faulty memory modules

Commodore SR-37 calculator repair part 2 (blog​.qiqitori​.com). Power consumption issues and key repair addressed in the Commodore SR-37 calculator with technical insights and voltage testing details

More restoration work on 2501 Card Reader - buttons, lights, cable repair, short circuit check (rescue1130​.blogspot​.com). Restoration work on IBM 2501 Card Reader: DC voltage checks, microswitch repairs, power connector issues, and lamp circuit testing

Retro computing and projects (maddox​.pro). Exploration of retro computing projects, focusing on Transputers and PC104 form factors, along with personal challenges and mental health reflections

📚 Learning & Development Resources

Embedded Systems Roadmap: Bridging the Gap (interrupt​.memfault​.com). Roadmap for embedded systems engineering, emphasizing hardware-software integration, learning paths, resources for testing, and community feedback for beginners and experienced engineers

The ArmSom Forge1 (taoofmac​.com). Review of ArmSom Forge1 board: industrial design, minimal specs, Rockchip RK3506J SoC, no HDMI, setup challenges with RKDevTool and firmware flashing

Lessons from holding a workshop (42m​.me). Lessons from a DIY workshop on temperature and humidity monitors highlighting time management, participant feedback, and the importance of organization

An Interesting Architecture (idle​.nprescott​.com). Exploring digital twins, event handlers, and device networking with Python's dataclasses for effective software onboarding

🔨 Design Tools & Miscellaneous

A flatpack bed, survey of 2D CAD tools and conceptual models (kevinlynagh​.com). Exploring flatpack bed design using CNC routing, 2D CAD tools like Autodesk Inventor, Cuttle, and parametric modeling concepts for efficient woodworking

Scratch Pad: Teensy, Lowe, Athena (disquiet​.com). Reflections on impatience, musical festivals featuring Nick Lowe, and editing a novel interspersed with a creative exploration of a Teensy 4.1

Garbage Picking, Part 4 (jaypeachproductions​.com). Connecting RCA plugs from Clavinova CVP-50 to Zoom H8 recorder for music recording and signal testing

🎛️ ESP32 & Arduino Projects

Updated regulator (revk​.uk). RevK updates power supply designs with TPS562246 buck regulator, enhancing efficiency for ESP32 and peripheral devices in circuits

Arduino Rust reflex game with bike power plant (jakub-m​.github​.io). Project combining bike power generator, USB charger, and an Arduino-based reflex game for a primary school

Build a Parking sensor with ESP32 board, LEDs and Ultrasonic distance sensor (poeticoding​.com). Create a parking sensor using an ESP32, LEDs, and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor for precise distance measurements in tight spaces

Artificial Brain Controlled RC Truck (gsnetwork​.com). Control an RC truck using artificial brain via ESP32 microcontrollers, equipped with proximity sensors and PWM signal processing

đź”§ Hardware Hacking & Reverse Engineering

KnightPrint's First Run (rknight​.me). Robb Knight explores reverse engineering a thermal printer to print social media mentions using custom code and a GoToSocial API

Getting a Shell on the LAU-G150-C Optical Network Terminal (spaceraccoon​.dev). Exploring hardware hacking on the Link-All LAU-G150-C ONT with UART interface, port probing, and bootloader analysis techniques

Hardware Hacking 101 Village - Post-Mortem (jpdias​.me). An overview of hardware hacking basics, tools, techniques, and recommendations for beginners including Arduino, soldering, logic analyzers, and firmware extraction

How I hacked my washing machine (nexy​.blog). Reverse engineering a Wi-Fi connected washing machine using tcpdump, mitmproxy, and brute-forcing to receive cycle notifications on Discord

Capsure RM200 hacking (blog​.ivor​.org). Exploration of hacking the Capsure RM200 colorimeter using Fiddler, Python, USB traffic interception, and firmware modification techniques

🤖 Robotics & Advanced Computing

My deep dive into robotics: Part 1 (tinystruggles​.com). Exploring robotics through a personalized 12-week roadmap, focusing on manipulation, reinforcement learning, and hands-on projects with the Lerobot system

Beyond the Fabric: Designing with Agilex 3 FPGAs on Custom Boards (adiuvoengineering​.com). Exploring Agilex 3 FPGA integration on custom boards, focusing on I/O types, power supplies, and design considerations for efficient performance

506: How Do I Fit a Whale Into an Apartment Building? (embedded​.fm). Dmitry Grinberg discusses running Linux on small microprocessors, emulating MIPS, and projects like 8-pin Linux and online processor games

Finally, data (Fun with Transputers) (maddox​.pro). Data transfer between an Arduino Micro and a Transputer module using custom code, 5V power management, and memory read/write operations

Building an Open Source arm. Gripper (robonine​.com). Development of an affordable 7DOF robotic arm gripper with open-source design, featuring a parallel-jaw mechanism and integrated depth camera for enhanced object handling

📚 Academic Research

Multi-Scale PCB Defect Detection with YOLOv8 Network Improved via Pruning and Lightweight Network (arxiv:cs). Multi-scale PCB defect detection using YOLOv8 enhanced with Ghost-HGNetv2, C2f-Faster, GCDetect, and Inner-MPDIoU loss for improved accuracy and efficiency

Design of a Noval Wearable ECG Monitoring Device (arxiv:cs). Development of a wireless ECG monitoring device with optimized electrodes from silver-plated fabric for long-term use and reduced power consumption

Design and fabrication of ultrasound linear array transducer used in ultrasound endoscope (arxiv:cs). Ultrasound imaging platform developed with TI EVMs for minimally invasive endoscopy; features a 64-element phased array probe for enhanced imaging performance

đź‘‹ Before you go

I've got a big favor to ask - keeping Blaze running isn't expensive, but it does all add up, so I'm asking readers like you to help, if you can.
That's why I'm launching a Patreon page!. Nothing flashy, just a way for folks who find value in these newsletters to chip in a little each month. In return, you'll get:

  • Real say in how Blaze evolves — vote on new topics, features, topic curation ideas
  • First dibs on merch (details still cooking)
  • That warm fuzzy feeling knowing you're supporting something that saves you time and keeps you plugged into great tech writing

If you are getting value from blaze, checking this out would mean the world. And if you can't contribute, no worries—the newsletters keep coming either way, and you can follow along on patreon for free.
Thanks for reading and being part of this nerdy corner of the internet. All the best - Alastair.

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