2026-05-01 16:00:59
Here at Hackaday we cover the world of retrocomputing, which means that we see all manner of older computers in our everyday work. We might even claim that we’ve seen them all, were it not that every now and then something comes along which surprises us. [Tynemouth Software] has done just that, with an unexpected Commodore. It’s a Commodore 4064, something that was new to us, but which is best described as a Commodore 64 in a PET case. He’s bringing this one back to life.
For those with weak early-Commodore-fu, maybe it’s worth a quick recap. The PET was Commodore’s big hit from the early 1980s, and it took the form of an all-in-one machine with a CRT display built in. They packed a 6502, BASIC, blocky monochrome graphics, and unexpectedly an IEE-488, or GPIB port. Meanwhile the 64 was the company’s smash hit early 1980s home computer in a compact console design, with high-res color graphics for the time on your TV, and a synthesizer chip that’s still legendary in 2026. Combining a 64 mainboard with the super-robust PET case appears to have been part of Commodore’s business and education offerings.
This one appears to have been in the damp, because that board is definitely more than a bit grubby. After a lot of debugging its power and video circuits, including an unexpected sync splitter board to drive the non-composite monitor, he narrows down the problem to a dodgy ROM and some memory errors.
It seems there’s some question in Commodore enthusiast circles as to whether these machines were assembled from surplus PET parts, but he puts that one to bed by pointing out the custom metalwork and the few custom Commodore 64 features on the board. All in all it’s an interesting dive into an unusual 8-bit machine.
We’ve seen [Tynemouth] a few times here, perhaps most notably with their modern take on a ZX80.
2026-05-01 13:00:46
Before Linux, there was Unix. It was great, but it was and has been plagued by problems with licensing and proprietary competition. [Vintage Appartus] recalls, for example, the AT&T Unix PC from the 1980s. It was awesome, but you’ve probably never heard of it. For 1985, it was a nice setup. You got a 10 MHz Motorola 68010, 512K of RAM (but upgradable to 4M), a floppy, a modem, a 720×384 monochrome screen, and a 10 or 20 MB hard drive. You can check out the video explaining the machine and its problems below.
Physically, the computer looked like a high-end Apple ][ with a removable keyboard and a built-in monitor. Expansion was via three slots. Cold start took about three minutes, and then you have a fairly normal Unix setup for the period.
The sample machine uses a disk emulator, so the video shows the computer running much faster than it would with a real period hard drive. The card also has an 8086 expansion board that can boot MSDOS, an important feature in 1985.
We’d like to see inside the box. Why did it fail? The video says it was very slow and since Unix does more than DOS, it was perceived as very slow compared to an IBM PC. This was made worse by a very slow hard drive that was prone to failure. The price didn’t help. Apparently, the list price at introduction was $15,000. A comparable IBM AT was around half of that. To make the machine really usable, you’d have to throw even more money at it.
While 1985-era Unix isn’t as nice as what we have today, if you spent time on older versions, you’d appreciate what it does do. Unix workstations did have their day, and they were great. But your desktop will probably run circles around even the best of them today.
2026-05-01 10:00:01
Normally, when you design an electronic gadget, you worry about how hot it will get. Automotive-grade components, for example, often have higher allowable temperatures than commercial parts. However, extremely cold environments, such as deep space or the interiors of quantum computers, are also challenging. Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology believe gallium oxide may be key to operating near absolute zero.
According to [Vishal Khandelwal], one of the researchers, most conventional electronics fail below -173C or 100K. Quantum computers routinely operate at 4K. However, β-Ga2O3 is a wide-bandgap semiconductor that has low current leakage and works at high temperatures up to 500C. However, it also avoids the freeze-out effect that traps electrons in other semiconductor materials.
The team built two devices from the material seeded with a silicon dopant. The first was a FET with a fin-shaped geometry. The second was an inverter. Both operated reliably down to 2K.
Gallium oxide has many interesting properties. For that matter, so does gallium.
2026-05-01 07:00:10
Back when phones used to ship with chargers in the box, you’d get a plugpack that could charge one device. Aftermarket manufacturers eventually started making chargers with four or five ports which were great for travelling. But what if you wanted to charge even more devices? You might build something like this rig from [DENKI OTAKU].
The goal was to build a charger that could handle 100 devices at once. The charger is designed to charge devices at up to 1.5 amps. That’s no mean feat, as the device would have to be able to deliver 150 amps total when fully loaded. As for the actual design, though, it’s relatively simple. [DENKI OTAKU] simply built a simple USB-C charger PCB based around an off-the-shelf chip which has ten individual chargers on it, and stacked it up ten of those in a housing made out of aluminium extrusion. To deliver the current to run all these chargers, the rig got two massive switching power supplies to feed the charger array a massive amount of current. The open enclosure design here makes sense, in that it probably helps keep everything cool.
The only thing missing from the build video? A heavy-duty test. We’d love to see if it actually holds up under full load with 100 phones connected. We have some suspicions as to whether the traces on the PCBs would hold up under a continuous 15 amp load, for example. Still, if you wanted to provide phone charging en-masse at an event or similar, this kind of simple stacked design could be an easy way to go.
Phone chargers are still moving forward; the last big leap was the adoption of GaN technology. Video after the break.
2026-05-01 04:00:17
One doesn’t generally associate cardboard with structural components like hinges, but [Itoshige Studio] assures us that you can absolutely create hinges out of this ubiquitous material. In total the video covers five different designs, ranging from the simple and straightforward to an interlocking tab design that approximates a typical steel hinge with paper rod to keep both sides of the hinge together.
The most simple hinge is unsurprisingly just a strip of craft paper, which is also demonstrated as the hinge for a wooden box in lieu of the typical metal hinge. This same principle is then demonstrated for a fancy cardboard box.
From here the hinge designs increasingly get more involved, with first a seamless hinge variation, and then a kamichoban hinge design that’s inspired by traditional Japanese room dividers and furniture, using panels that are interconnected with overlapping sections to create a fascinatingly flexible hinge that can fully fold either way.
The flush hinge design is somewhat like the craft paper hinge, but significantly fancier and probably sturdier, while also looking pretty good on something like a cabinet. Finally the interlocking tab hinge is effectively a cardboard version of the hinge design that’s found on every room’s door, with a similar level of flexibility. This is obviously the trickiest one to assemble and get right, but it has its own charm.
Considering that all of these examples use regular corrugated cardboard that we get shipped to our homes by the truckload, the cost to try these examples is your time plus some basic tools and glue. The author also sells a book that contains templates – in addition to digital versions – for these hinges and other designs, if you’d like to enjoy the 100% paper experience.
Thanks to [greg_bear] for the tip.
2026-05-01 02:30:06
The Osmo Pocket 4 is a handheld gimballed camera that’s perfect for shooting running content on the go. However, it’s got a weird sort of form factor and is limited when it comes to things like fitting filters or recording quality sound. To that end, [Byron Seven] whipped up an upgrade kit that turns the Pocket 4 into more of a “real” camera.
The idea is simple enough—the Osmo Pocket 4 is packaged in a 3D printed shell that expands its capabilities. It’s tucked into the structure with a USB power bank that greatly increases how long you can shoot before the batteries run out. In front of the gimbal head, there’s a fitting that allows attaching standard camera filters for visual effect. Topside there’s a handle for better physical control of the camera, along with a rail mount for a DJI wireless mic and a phone to act as a monitor. Down below, there’s a quick-connect fitting so the camera can be slammed on and off a tripod with ease. What’s great is that you can slot a Pocket 4 into this rig when you need, and pull it back out and use it as normal when you’re done.
If you’ve enjoyed the Osmo Pocket 4 but wished you could throw a polarizer on it or chuck it around more, this is a great build to explore. We’ve seen some fun stuff done with non-traditional cameras before, too.
