Y Combinator backs its first defense startup, Ares IndustriesY Combinator’s first defense startup, Ares Industries, launched earlier this week. In a post on the YC website, the startup outlined a vision to build low-cost cruise missiles that will be compatible with existing launch platforms, saying it will “deliver the capabilities that the [Department of Defense] wants in a form factor that’s 10x smaller […]
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3D Printed Electronics BreadboardThe printed breadboard cover as seen from the bottom. (Credit: CHEP, YouTube)
Does it make sense to make your own breadboards rather than purchasing off the shelf ones? As [Chuck Hellebuyck] notes in a recent video on DIY, 3D-printed breadboards, there’s a certain charm to making a breadboard exactly the size you need, which is hard to argue with. The inspiration came after seeing the metal breadboard spring clips on sale by [Kevin Santo Cappuccio], who also has a 3D printable breadboard shell project that they fit into. This means that you can take the CAD model (STEP file) and modify it to fit your specifications before printing it, which is what [Chuck] attempts in the video.
The models were exported from TinkerCAD to Bambu Lab Studio for printing on a Bambu Lab A1 Mini FDM printer. After a failed first print (which the A1 Mini, to its credit, did detect), a model was printed on a Creality K1 Max instead. Ultimately [Chuck] traced this back to the Bambu Lab Studio slicer failing to add the inner grid to the first layer, which the Creality slicer did add, caused by the ‘wall generator’ setting in the Bambu Lab slicer being set to ‘Classic’ rather than ‘Arachne,’ which can vary line width.
After this, the models printed fine and easily fit onto the spring clips that [Chuck] had soldered down on some prototyping board. A nice feature of these spring clips is that they have a bit of space underneath them where an SMD LED can fit, enabling functional (or just fancy) lighting effects when using a custom PCB underneath the contraption. As for whether it’s worth it depends on your needs. As [Chuck] demonstrates, it can be pretty convenient for a small breadboard on an add-on card (with or without custom lighting) like this, but it’s unlikely to replace generic breadboards for quick prototyping. We can, however, imagine a custom breadboard with mounting points for things like binding posts, switches, or potentiometers.
If we had that kind of custom breadboard, we wouldn’t need these. People were making custom breadboards back in 1974, but they didn’t look like these.

Telegram issues official statement on Pavel Durov detentionThe Telegram team said, "Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe."

A simple 6DOF Hall Effect ‘Space’ MouseThe 3DConnexion Space mouse is an interesting device but heavily patent-protected, of course. This seems to just egg people on to reproduce it using other technologies than the optical pickup system the original device uses. [John Crombie] had a crack at building one using linear Hall effect sensors and magnets as the detection mechanism to good — well — effect.
Using the SS49E linear Hall effect sensor in pairs on four sides of a square, the setup proves quite straightforward. Above the fixed sensor plate is a moveable magnet plate centred by a set of springs.  The magnets are aligned equidistant between each sensor pair such that each sensor will report an equal mid-range signal with zero mechanical displacement. With some simple maths, inputs due to displacements in-plane (i.e., left-right or up-down) can be resolved by looking at how pairs compare to each other. Rotations around the vertical axis are also determined in this manner.
Tilting inputs or vertical movements are resolved by looking at the absolute values of groups or all sensors. You can read more about this by looking at the project’s GitHub page, which also shows how the to assemble the device, with all the CAD sources for those who want to modify it. There’s also a detour to using 3D-printed flexures instead of springs, although that has yet to prove functional.
On the electronics and interfacing side of things, [John] utilises the Arduino pro micro for its copious analog inputs and USB functionality. A nice feature of this board is that it’s based on the ATMega32U4, which can quickly implement USB client devices, such as game controllers, keyboards, and mice. The USB controller has been tweaked by adjusting the USB PID and VID values to identify it as a SpaceMouse Pro Wireless operating in cabled mode. This tricks the 3DConnexion drivers, allowing all the integrations into CAD tools to work out of the box.
We do like Space Mouse projects. Here’s a fun one from last year, an interesting one using PCB coils and flexures, and a simple hack to interface an old serial-connected unit.

The Minimoog Book from Bjooks: Release imminent Bjooks' latest offering packs in over 700 pictures and more than 100 interviews that tell the story of Moog’s legendary monosynth. 

New Music Critique: Leslie EversContact: beatrice@empktmedia.com

Web: Spotify

Seeking: Film/TV, Booking

Style: Contemporary Acoustic Folk

Leslie Evers describes herself online as, “a poet, dramatic writer and cinema veteran, but most of all a musician whose diverse talents include songwriting, singing, swing guitar and clawhammer banjo.” That nails who she is, and what she is as a musician.

But there’s so much feel in a song like “Genevieve”—a sweetly expressive example of great storytelling though gently strummed melody and stark vocals—that Evers really does need to be heard to be appreciated. Her restraint is impressive; when you think that she’s about to let loose and soar, she holds back and that ends up being to the immense benefit of the song. The post New Music Critique: Leslie Evers first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Apple reportedly announcing iPhone 16 lineup and more on Sept. 10Apple will be unveiling new products on September 10, with the announced phones going on sale on September 20, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. That lineup will reportedly include the iPhone 16, with larger screens on the Pro models and a new button just for taking pictures. The phones should also support […]
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Breaking: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov allegedly arrested in FranceReports are trickling in via social media, but so far, we haven’t seen any official confirmation.

Comparing AliExpress vs LCSC-Sourced MOSFETsThe fake AliExpress-sourced IRFP460 MOSFETs (Credit: Learn Electronics Repair, YouTube)
These days, it’s super-easy to jump onto the World Wide Web to find purported replacement parts using nothing but the part identifier, whether it’s from a reputable source like Digikey or Mouser or from more general digital fleamarkets like eBay and AliExpress. It’s hardly a secret that many of the parts you can buy online via fleamarkets are not genuine. That is, the printed details on the package do not match the actual die inside. After AliExpress-sourced MOSFETs blew in a power supply repair by [Learn Electronics Repair], he first tried to give the MOSFETs the benefit of the doubt. Using an incandescent lightbulb as a current limiter, he analyzed the entire PSU circuit before putting the blame on the MOSFETs (IRFP460) and ordering new ones from LCSC.
Buying from a distributor instead of a marketplace means you can be sure the parts are from the manufacturer. This means that when a part says it is a MOSFET with specific parameters, it almost certainly is. A quick component tester session showed the gate threshold of the LCSC-sourced MOSFETs to be around 3.36V, while that of the AliExpress ‘IRFP460’ parts was a hair above 1.8V, giving a solid clue that whatever is inside the AliExpress-sourced MOSFETs is not what the package says it should be.
Unsurprisingly, after fitting the PSU with the two LCSC-sourced MOSFETs, there was no more magic smoke, and the PSU now works. The lesson here is to be careful buying parts of unknown provenance unless you like magic smoke and chasing weird bugs.

Flying Lotus is a Framework-Powered Portable All-in-One ComputerOne of the things that we love about the modern era of computing is the increasing ease by which you can roll your own custom computer, as seen with the cyberdeck phenomenon. The Flying Lotus is another awesome build in this vein.
Built around the Framework ecosystem, this device was built to suit the very specific use case of its designer, [Carlos Aldana]. He found himself traveling a lot and that the ergonomics of a laptop left a lot to be desired, especially when in the air. Add to it the fact that he has trouble typing on typical laptop keyboards for any length of time, and you can see how an ergonomic keyboard plus a laptop just doesn’t really work on a tray table.
The Flying Lotus takes the screen, modular ports, and mainboard of a Framework laptop and puts them into a single computing block that can be hung from the clever tabs at the top or mounted on a stand that puts the screen at a more ergonomically ideal height from the work surface. [Aldana] describes it as an “iMac that’s portable.” Since it doesn’t have an integrated keyboard, you can run it with whatever keyboard you like from super duper ergo to a teeny game controller sized unit.
We’ve talked about why we like Framework so much before, and if you’d like another take on a modern portable computer, how about this portable Mac mini?

Getting It Done: Last Week in Indie & DIY Musician NewsLast week in DIY musician news, our tips and advice for independent, do-it-yourselfers covered how to grab the attention of music bloggers, a guide to publishing and master rights, and much more.
The post Getting It Done: Last Week in Indie & DIY Musician News appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: The New Music Industry Last Week in ReviewCatch up on the latest happenings in the music industry last week, from a rise in tour cancellations to the success of Bandsintown, Taylor Swift v. Trump, recent streaming stats, and more...
The post REWIND: The New Music Industry Last Week in Review appeared first on Hypebot.

BABY Audio Celebrates 5th Anniversary, Get I Heart NY for $5!
BABY Audio celebrates its 5th Anniversary (CONGRATULATIONS! 🥳) by offering its first-ever release, the I Heart NY parallel compressor, for only $5 until August 28th. As someone who writes about VST plugins daily, I’ve seen many developers come and go, but only a select few manage to stand out and become household names among the [...]
View post: BABY Audio Celebrates 5th Anniversary, Get I Heart NY for $5!

Vintage gear display at PLASA Show With over 200 brands exhibiting, this year's PLASA showcases all the latest equipment and also features the Classic Gear Live collection of vintage live sound and lighting.

The 3 goals behind a clean mix (free stems included)
Learn how to wield separation, glue, and movement to create a clean mix that's both cohesive and effective.