All articles tagged with #hardware hacking
Hackaday looks back at the BBC Bridge Companion from 1985, a TV-connected learning console that housed a Z80, PAL video, and 16K VRAM; one hacker reverse-engineered its boot header to run Tetris, adapted the PAL output for a monitor, and repaired the cartridge slot, noting nine ROM cartridges existed and teasing more technical detail in a follow-up post.
Hackers have pushed past the once-described “impossible” barrier by porting Doom to stock Neo Geo hardware via two projects, Doom64KB and Doom-NG. Doom64KB uses a proto frame buffer from the fix layer to render Doom maps at low color, while Doom-NG applies a sprite-based renderer that stacks walls and objects to simulate 3D views. The results are recognizable Doom with a stripey, low-color look and decent frame rates, but with clear graphical compromises and still-missing gameplay elements like enemy AI, music, and weapon handling.
A hobbyist builds a high-powered homelab by stuffing Raspberry Pi 5s/4s, a GMKtec NucBox, LattePanda, NVIDIA DGX Spark, and more into repurposed Linksys router cases, achieving a 2000s-era aesthetic while running Talos and Kubernetes.
A Hackaday piece highlights RetroGameRevival’s release of the RGR ezBuff, a 3D-printed, open-source disk polisher that buffs scratches off optical discs. While it can revive disks, users must avoid aggressive polishing to prevent irreparable damage, a timely tool as physical media remains valuable with Sony stepping back from disc production.
An enthusiast repurposes a discarded ASRock BC250 board—an RDNA2-based, crypto-mining unit resembling a neutered PS5—into a budget, Steam Machine–style PC by flashing a new BIOS, reworking cooling, and running Linux; with community tweaks to unlock up to 40 compute units, it achieves roughly GTX 1060 Ti–level performance at 1080p, illustrating open-hardware ingenuity despite setup complexity and higher power use compared with Valve’s Steam Machine.
An enthusiast attempts to double the RTX 3070’s VRAM by salvaging GDDR6 modules from an RX6900XT, reballing, and tuning power and memory mappings. While synthetic tests show little improvement because most workloads are compute-bound, a few titles benefit from reduced system memory pressure. Overall, the significant hardware risk and effort yield only modest gains, making the upgrade impractical for most users.
A hardware enthusiast uses JTAG (and UART) shown in the Yamaha THR10c’s service manual to extract the bootloader and main firmware from the amp, then reverse-engineers what the code does and patches firmware to add custom features, illustrating how accessible JTAG tools make it to modify consumer electronics.
A USB killer can inject high voltage (up to about 200V) into a car’s USB port, potentially damaging the port and infotainment system; the piece notes how such devices have been demonstrated to fail car electronics and advises buyers to avoid plugging them into everyday gear, using them only for testing via reputable sources.
A maker resurrects Epson’s 1997 FilmScan 200 SCSI film scanner by reverse‑engineering its ESC/I protocol and writing new software to talk to it on a Mac SE/30 with System 7, using an old patched SANE driver to switch negatives and coax color data—delivering a working DIY scan solution, with VueScan as a ready-made alternative.
The article discusses how developers used clever techniques to surpass the Amiga's hardware limitations on sprite display, notably by exploiting the system's coprocessor to render more sprites simultaneously than officially supported, enhancing game visuals and complexity.
Bose is discontinuing support for its SoundTouch smart WiFi speakers by February 2026, removing features like online streaming and app control, leaving only Bluetooth and physical connections, which highlights the vulnerability of smart hardware to obsolescence and the ongoing relevance of hardware hacking.
A DIY project demonstrates that a $35 vape with a Cortex-M4 MCU can run DOOM by using a screenshare firmware to connect to a PC, hinting at future possibilities of gaming on vaping devices.
A hobbyist has developed a third-party motherboard called nsOne for the original PlayStation, which is fully compatible with the original hardware and restores features like the parallel port that Sony removed, aiming to extend the lifespan of vintage gaming consoles.
NASA successfully repaired the Juno spacecraft's camera orbiting Jupiter by remotely annealing its damaged components, extending its operational life and providing valuable lessons for future spacecraft maintenance. The technique involved heating the camera to fix radiation-induced damage, allowing continued imaging until the 74th orbit, demonstrating innovative remote repair methods in space exploration.
Hackaday introduces Wrencher-2, a chat assistant powered by the collective expertise of its team rather than generative algorithms, providing pithy and on-the-nail answers to hardware hacking queries. The AI offers advice on selecting MCUs, solving household problems, and using tools, while maintaining a personal touch. Access to Wrencher-2 was limited to the early hours of April 1st due to human limitations and lack of funding, but the team looks forward to its potential impact.