Adam Fabio

Dec 28, 2024 | hackaday.com | Adam Fabio

[Mattmopar] figured out how to get a white Christmas even if the weather isn’t frightful. He built a simple DIY snow making machine with a few plumbing parts, and tools you probably already have. Snowmaking machines used on the ski slopes cost tens of thousands of dollars. Even the “low-cost” home versions are $400 and up. [Matt] cut things down to the basics. Snowmaking requires two ingredients: Water and compressed air. The water is coming from a cheap electric pressure washer he found used.

Nov 17, 2024 | hackaday.com | Adam Fabio

Did you know the ESP32 can be a USB host? Well it can, and [Volos] uses host mode to build this fun little word processor. The venerable ESP32 has a well-known USB device mode. Anyone who has programmed one has used it. A bit less known is the microcontroller’s ability to host USB devices. These days, operating as a USB device is relatively simple. But acting as a host is a much more complex task. The ESP32 has a software host that works — but only for Human Interface Devices (HID).

Oct 14, 2024 | hackaday.com | Adam Fabio

The Greengate DS:3 had been re-created in the form of the Goodgreat. Now [Bea Thurman] had to put it to use. If the Greengate DS:3 card was rare,  the keyboard was nearly impossible to find. After a long search, [Bea] bought one all the way from Iceland. The card of course came courtesy of [Eric]. It was time to connect the two together. But there was a problem — a big problem. The GreenGate  has a DB-25 connected via a ribbon cable to the board’s 2×10 connector.

Oct 14, 2024 | hackaday.com | Adam Fabio

[Bea Thurman] had a retro music conundrum. She loved the classic Greengate DS:3 sampler, but couldn’t buy one, and couldn’t find enough information to build her own. [Bea’s] plea for help caught the attention of [Eric Schlaepfer], aka  [TubeTime]. The collaboration that followed ultimately solved a decades-old mystery. In the 1980s, there were two types of musicians: Those who could afford a Fairlight CMI and everyone else. If you were an Apple II owner, the solution was a Greengate DS:3.

Sep 7, 2024 | hackaday.com | Adam Fabio

Ever been working on a project and get stuck on one of those last little details? That’s what happened to [Empire of Scrap]. He’s building an Ohio Scientific (OSI) superboard II replica. He wants it to be accurate down to the dates on the chips. It is quite an impressive build. The problem is the crystal. OSI used large crystals, even by early 1980s standards. The crystal is in a large can with thick pins, like something you’d expect to find in old radio equipment.