Lmst

ISS Mimic Brings Space Station Down to Earth https://hackaday.com/2023/10/06/iss-mimic-brings-space-station-down-to-earth/ #internationalspacestation #HackadayColumns #scalemodel #telemetry #HackChat #Space #iss

Modeling Space Hack Chat https://hackaday.com/2023/10/02/modeling-space-hack-chat/ #HackadayColumns #HackChat

Keebin’ with Kristina Hack Chat https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/keebin-with-kristina-hack-chat/ #HackadayColumns #HackChat

Satellite Hunting Hack Chat https://hackaday.com/2023/09/18/satellite-hunting-hack-chat/ #HackadayColumns #HackChat #Slider

Mass Production 3D Printing Hack Chat https://hackaday.com/2023/08/21/mass-production-3d-printing-hack-chat/ #HackadayColumns #HackChat #Slider

The Past, Present, and Future of CircuitPython https://hackaday.com/2023/08/01/the-past-present-and-future-of-circuitpython/ #SoftwareDevelopment #HackadayColumns #CircuitPython #micropython #adafruit #HackChat #python

CircuitPython Happenings Hack Chat with Adafruit https://hackaday.com/2023/07/24/circuitpython-happenings-hack-chat-with-adafruit/ #HackadayColumns #HackChat #Slider

Discussing The Finer Points Of Space-Worthy Software https://hackaday.com/2023/07/17/discussing-the-finer-points-of-space-worthy-software/ #softwaredevelopment #HackadayColumns #spacecraft #HackChat #cubesat #Space #nasa

Discussing the Tastier Side of Desktop 3D Printing https://hackaday.com/2023/07/12/discussing-the-tastier-side-of-desktop-3d-printing/ #HackadayColumns #3dPrinterhacks #3dprintedfood #pasteextruder #foodprinter #bioprinter #HackChat

Software for Satellites Hack Chat https://hackaday.com/2023/07/10/software-for-satellites-hack-chat/ #HackadayColumns #HackChat

Democratizing Space, One Picosatellite at a Time https://hackaday.com/2023/06/28/democratizing-space-one-picosatellite-at-a-time/ #commercialspace #hackadaycolumns #lowearthorbit #hackchat #smallsat #cubesat #space

Vintage Pro Audio Hack Chat Gets In the Groove

Despite the fact that we've been doing them for years now, it's still hard to predict how a Hack Chat will go. There's no question it will be an hour of interesting discussion of course, that much is a given. But the dynamics of the conversation can range from a rigid Q&A, which isn't exactly unexpected when you've only got a limited amount of time with a subject matter expert, to a freewheeling hangout with a group of people who all happen to be interested in the same thing.

This week's Vintage Pro Audio Hack Chat with Frank Olson definitely took the latter approach. The allotted hour flew by in a blink, with so many anecdotes and ideas flying back and forth that at times it was tricky to follow. But no worries, with the Chat transcript to pore over, we can make sure none of that accrued first-hand knowledge goes to waste.

So what did we learn during this Chat? Well, it probably won't come as much of a surprise to find that those who have an opinion on audio gear tend to have a strong opinion on it. Folks were painting with some fairly broad brushes, with particular manufacturers and even whole fields of technology receiving a bit of good-natured ribbing. If your favorite brand or piece of gear gets a specific shout-out, try not to take it too personally -- at the end of the day, most in the Chat seemed to agree that sound is so subjective that the right choice is more often than not whatever sounds best to you at the moment.

Which leads directly into Frank's work with custom microphones. As a musician he knew the sound he was looking for better than anyone, so rather than spend the money on big-name gear, he prefers to build it himself. But the real hook here is their unique construction, with pieces that reimagine design concepts from mid-century commercial equipment using unexpected materials such as thin pieces of walnut cut with a vinyl cutter. Frank explains that the structure of the microphone isn't as critical these days thanks to the availability of powerful neodymium magnets, which gives the builder more freedom in terms of materials and tools. He says the goal is to inspire others to try building gear from what's available to them rather than assuming it won't work because it's unconventional.

We appreciate Frank, and everyone else, stopping by this week for such a lively and friendly discussion. Let's be honest, a Chat specifically for folks who want to discuss concepts as personal and nebulous as how they perceive the warmth of sound could have gotten a little heated. But the fact that everyone was able to express their opinions or ask for advice constructively is a real credit to the community.

The Hack Chat is a weekly online chat session hosted by leading experts from all corners of the hardware hacking universe. It 's a great way for hackers connect in a fun and informal way, but if you can't make it live, these overview posts as well as the transcripts posted to Hackaday.io make sure you don't miss out.

#hackadaycolumns #audio #hackchat #microphone #sound

Vintage Pro Audio Hack Chat

Join us on Wednesday, May 25 at noon Pacific for the Vintage Audio Hack Chat with Frank Olson!

There was a time, and not all that long ago on the cosmic scale, that if you wanted to hear music, you either needed to make it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. For most of history, music was very much a here and now thing, and when the song was over, that was it.

Thankfully, those days are long gone, and for better or worse, we have instant access to whatever music we're in the mood for. The Spotify client in your pocket is a far cry from the iPod of a few years back, or the Walkman of the 80s, or even a mid-century transistor radio. But no matter how you listen to your music, it all starts with getting the live music recorded, and that's where we'll be going with this Hack Chat.

Hooking up the preamps, mixers, mics, and recorders that make modern music possible is what Frank Olson is all about. You'll probably recognize Frank's name from his unique niche as a maker of wooden microphones, but dig a little deeper and he's got a lot of experience with vintage pro audio gear. As both a musician and an audio engineer, Frank brings an enthusiast's passion for recording gear to the Hack Chat, and we're looking forward to picking his brain on the unique ways he's found to turn sounds into music and to get to all down on tape.

Our Hack Chats are live community events in the Hackaday.io Hack Chat group messaging. This week we’ll be sitting down on Wednesday, May 25 at 12:00 PM Pacific time. If time zones have you tied up, we have a handy time zone converter.

#hackadaycolumns #hackchat

Hackaday Links: May 1, 2022

We start this week with news from Mars, because, let's face it, the news from this planet isn't all that much fun lately. But a couple of milestones were reached on the Red Planet, the first being the arrival of Perseverance at the ancient river delta it was sent there to explore. The rover certainly took the scenic route to get there, having covered 10.6 km over the last 424 sols to move to a position only about 3.5 km straight-line distance from where it landed. Granted, a lot of that extra driving was in support of the unexpectedly successful Ingenuity demonstration, plus taking time for a lot of pit stops along the way at interesting features. But the rover is now in place to examine sedimentary rocks most likely to harbor the fossil remains of ancient aquatic life -- as opposed to the mainly igneous rocks it has studied along the crater floor so far. We're looking forward to seeing what happens.

Speaking of Ingenuity , the plucky helicopter just keeps on performing. It recently completed its 27th flight -- of five planned flights, mind you -- and spotted the crashed remains of the aeroshell and parachute from its spectacular arrival last February. They look quite the worse for the wear, but that's to be expected. The stunningly high-resolution pictures Ingenuity sent back will no doubt be pored over by engineers for whatever clues it holds about how the structure stood up to descent and landing conditions. We're not sure, but this may be the first time a landing or crash site has been revisited since Allan Bean absolutely nailed the Apollo 12 landing to within walking distance of Surveyor 3 in 1969.

"And the Emmy goes to… Comic Sans?" No, not really, and apologies to anyone triggered by the mention of The Font That Shall Not Be Used. But this week the 2021 Technology & Engineering Emmy award went to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web fonts Working Group and MPEG together for "standardizing font technology for custom downloadable fonts and typography for web and TV devices." To be clear, the award is not for any particular font, but rather the technical achievement of downloadable fonts. Still, it's easy to poke fun at typography, especially when font snobs go on about the merits of this serif or that descender. But those subtle differences that most of us think are meaningless actually play a huge role in the "feel" of websites. Web fonts have a lot to do with how polished and professional most sites look these days, compared to some of the atrocities of the Web 1.0 days.

A couple of weeks back, we had a PCB Thermal Design Hack Chat over on Hackaday.io with Mike Jouppi. It was a great discussion and spawned an interesting sidebar with attendee Sven about thermal vias. It looks like Sven's application had plenty for Mike to sink his teeth into, because he made an in-depth video on the thermal design of this PCB, along with a discussion of what went into developing IPC-2152, the standard for PCB trace current-carrying capacity design. Thanks to Mark Hughes of Advanced Assembly for the heads up on this, and for suggesting Mike come on the Hack Chat in the first place.

And finally, it looks like Lichtenberg patterns are getting popular enough that it's necessary to warn people that playing with electricity can be dangerous. Lichtenberg patterns, which are fractal channels burned into wood or other materials by the (hopefully) judicious application of high voltage, are certainly something we've seen and featured before. However, the American Association of Woodturners -- because of course there's such a group -- now condemns the practice, which apparently has caught on in the woodturning community. The AAW really doesn't want anyone doing Lichtenbergs -- they banned the practice at all their events and in their publications, enlisted the aid of a doctor to tell everyone that electricity can stop your heart, and urged anyone who has fractal woodburning gear to throw it out now before it attacks. We understand and wholeheartedly agree that working with high voltage can be dangerous, and we're not saying that woodturners should not take the potentially deadly consequences of Lichtenbergs seriously. But this warning seems a bit rich coming from an organization that encourages its members to stand in front of a machine that can throw razor-sharp tools at you, fling heavy chunks of wood at your head, or instantly relieve you of your clothes -- or worse. Be safe out there, everyone.

#hackadaycolumns #hackadaylinks #aeroshell #emmy #font #hackchat #ingenuity #ipc2152 #lathe #lichtenberg #mars #mpeg #parachute #perseverance #thermalvias #webfonts #woodturning

#hackchat

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