Did you ever wonder how the mechanical voltage regulator — that big black box wired up to the generator on a car from the ’60s or before — worked? [Jonelsonster] has some answers.

For most people in 2026 an old car perhaps means one from the 20th century, now that vehicles from the 1990s and 2000s have become the beloved jalopies of sallow youths with a liking for older cars and a low budget. But even a 1990s vehicle is modern in terms of its technology, because a computer controls the show. It has electronic fuel injection (EFI), anti-lock braking system (ABS), closed loop emissions control, and the like.

Go back in time to the 1970s, and you’ll find minimal electronics in the average car. The ABS is gone, and the closest thing you might find to EFI is an electronic ignition where the points in the distributor have been replaced with a simple transistor. Perhaps an electronic voltage regulator on the alternator. Much earlier than that and everything was mechanical, be that the ignition, or that regulator.

The video below the break has a pair of units, it seems from 1940s tractors. They would have had a DC generator, a spinning coil with a commutator and brushes, in a magnetic field provided by another coil. These things weren’t particularly powerful by today’s standards and sometimes their charging could be a little lackluster, but they did work. We get to see how, as he lifts the lid off to reveal what look like a set of relays.

We’re shown the functions of each of the three coils with the aid of a lab power supply; we have a reverse current relay that disconnects the generator if the battery tries to power it, an over-current relay that disconnects the field coil if the current is too high, and an over-voltage relay that does the same for voltage. The regulating comes down to the magnetic characteristics, and while it’s crude, it does the job.

We remember European devices with two coils and no field terminal, but the principle is the same. There is never a dull moment when you own an all mechanical car.

youtube.com/embed/nRtqdTp6CFY?…

hackaday.com/2026/03/16/a-volt…

You would be very hard pressed to find any sort of CPU or microcontroller in a commercial product that uses anything but binary to do its work. And yet, other options exist! Ternary computing involves using trits with three states instead of bits with two. It’s not popular, but there is now a design available for a ternary processor that you could potentially get your hands on.

The device in question is called the 5500FP, as outlined in a research paper from [Claudio Lorenzo La Rosa.] Very few ternary processors exist, and little effort has ever been made to fabricate such a device in real silicon. However, [Claudio] explains that it’s entirely possible to implement a ternary logic processor based on RISC principles by using modern FPGA hardware. The impetus to do so is because of the perceived benefits of ternary computing—notably, that with three states, each “trit” can store more information than regular old binary “bits.” Beyond that, the use of a “balanced ternary” system, based on logical values of -1, 0 , and 1, allows storing both negative and positive numbers without a wasted sign bit, and allows numbers to be negated trivially simply by inverting all trits together.

The research paper does a good job of outlining the basis of this method of computing, as well as the mode of operation of the 5500FP processor. For now, it’s a 24-trit device operating at a frequency of 20MHz, but the hope is that in future it would be possible to move to custom silicon to improve performance and capability. The hope is that further development of ternary computing hardware could lead to parts capable of higher information density and lower power consumption, both highly useful in this day and age where improvements to conventional processor designs are ever hard to find.

Head over to the Ternary Computing website if you’re intrigued by the Ways of Three and want to learn more. We perhaps don’t expect ternary computing to take over any time soon, given the Soviets didn’t get far with it in the 1950s. Still, the concept exists and is fun to contemplate if you like the mental challenge. Maybe you can even start a rumor that the next iPhone is using an all-ternary processor and spread it across a few tech blogs before the week is out. Let us know how you get on.

hackaday.com/2026/03/16/ternar…

The controversial mass surveillance of private messages in Europe could soon come to an end. Negotiations between the European Parliament and EU member states regarding the extension of the so-called “Chat Control” concluded yesterday without an agreement. This means that starting April 4, US tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft must stop indiscriminately scanning the private chats and photos of European citizens. The digital privacy of correspondence is restored.

The Myth of a Legal Vacuum

This does not create a legal vacuum—quite the opposite. Ending indiscriminate mass scanning clears the path for modern, effective child protection. Targeted surveillance based on reasonable suspicion and a judicial warrant remains fully permissible, as does the routine scanning of public posts and hosted files. User reporting also remains fully intact.

New Study Proves: Chat Control Software is Flawed

Just in time for the end of the negotiations, a newly published scientific study provides the final nail in the coffin for the current system of indiscriminate chat control: Renowned IT security researchers analyzed the standard “PhotoDNA” algorithm, which is used by companies like Apple, Meta, and Microsoft for Chat Control. Their damning verdict: The software is “unreliable,” and there are “serious doubts on the suitability of PhotoDNA for the large-scale detection of illicit content.”

The researchers proved that criminals can render illegal images invisible to the scanner through minimal alterations (e.g., adding a simple border). At the same time, it is easy to manipulate harmless images so that innocent citizens are falsely reported to the police. Overall, the study warns “that the current widespread deployment and use of PhotoDNA represent a significant and concerning threat, both for innocent users of these platforms and for victims of illegal content dissemination.”

Digital freedom fighter and former Member of the European Parliament Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party) commented on yesterday’s negotiation outcome:

“Yesterday was a triumph for civil society. Digital privacy of correspondence lives on! We have stopped a broken and illegal system. Just as the postal service isn’t allowed to simply open our physical letters, the indiscriminate scanning of our private digital messages must remain strictly off-limits.

The mass surveillance of our chats on US platforms has never made a significant contribution to rescuing abused children. Instead, it has criminalized thousands of teenagers and severely overloaded our police forces. If investigators are no longer drowning in a flood of false suspicion reports, resources will finally be freed up to hunt down organized abuse rings in a targeted and covert manner. That is what truly protects children.”

The Hard Facts: Why Chat Control Has Failed Spectacularly

The track record of indiscriminate chat control is disastrous. The EU Commission’s evaluation report reads like an admission of complete failure:

• Data Giant Monopoly: Roughly 99% of all chat reports to police in Europe come from a single US tech corporation: Meta. US companies are acting as a private auxiliary police force—without effective European oversight.
• Massive Police Overload from Junk Data: Algorithms are blind to context and intent. The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reports that—out of around 300,000 chats reported annually in the EU—a staggering 48% are false positives and criminally irrelevant. This flood of junk data ties up massive resources that are urgently needed for targeted, covert investigations into real abuse rings.
• Criminalization of Minors: In Germany, 40% of investigations target teenagers who thoughtlessly share images (e.g., consensual sexting) rather than organized predators.
• An Obsolete Model Due to Encryption: Perpetrators can easily switch to encrypted messengers, where chat control is already not applied. Because providers are increasingly transitioning to end-to-end encryption for private messages, the number of chats reported to the police has already dropped by 50% since 2022. Instead of investing in targeted investigative work, the EU Council is clinging to a dying surveillance model.
• Reversal of the Burden of Proof: According to the Commission’s report, there is no measurable correlation between the mass surveillance of private messages and actual convictions. Yet, the Commission and Council are demanding the extension of a measure whose effectiveness they themselves cannot prove, all while service providers admit to error rates of up to 20%.
• Failure in Child Protection: Mass scanning for previously known images does not stop ongoing abuse, nor does it rescue children who are currently in acute danger.

The Way Forward: “Security by Design” Instead of Surveillance Mania

The EU Parliament and EU member states are continuing negotiations on a permanent child protection regulation (CSAR or Chat Control 2.0). While EU governments are once again demanding supposedly “voluntary” mass scans, the EU Parliament is championing a new approach: Platforms should be obliged to protect children directly through safe design (“Security by Design”). This includes requiring apps to technically prevent sexual approaches to children (grooming) through strict default settings and warning features. Furthermore, illegal material on the open web (and the darknet) must be actively tracked down and destroyed at the source via strict, immediate takedown obligations. There must be an end to law enforcement agencies, like Europol, declaring themselves “not responsible” for the removal of abuse material.

Bought Fearmongering by the Lobbying Machine

During the legislative process, lawmakers were pressured by the tech industry (DOT Europe) and certain child rights organizations (ECLAG), who jointly warned against the creation of “legal uncertainty.” This narrative is false. Phasing out indiscriminate Chat Control does not leave the police “blind.” The scanning of public posts and hosted files, as well as user-based reporting, remain fully permitted.

Moreover, massive and questionable lobbying efforts have been exposed: The push for Chat Control is heavily driven by foreign-funded lobby groups and tech vendors. The US organization Thorn, which sells the exact type of scanning software in question, spends hundreds of thousands of euros lobbying in Brussels. The tech industry officially lobbied side-by-side with certain organizations for a law that does not protect children, but rather secures their own profits and data access.

Patrick Breyer concludes:

“Right up to the very end, the US tech industry and foreign-funded lobby groups tried to panic Europe. But flooding our police with false positives from mass surveillance doesn’t save a single child from abuse. Yesterday’s failed negotiations serve as a clear stop sign to this surveillance mania. Negotiators cannot ignore this verdict in the ongoing trilogue negotiations for a permanent regulation. Indiscriminate mass scanning of our private messages must finally give way to truly effective child protection that respects fundamental rights.”

patrick-breyer.de/en/end-of-ch…

Patrick Breyer

2026-03-10 14:34:07

🇪🇺 1/7 🌍 Foreign-funded lobby groups from outside the EU are pushing #ChatControl with misleading propaganda. They want to #PassTheLaw to scan your chats, but who are they and who's paying them? Let's expose the network.
Thread 👇

FITNESS CHALLENGE VOL. 2 - Sport e Socialità

Centro Sociale Anomalia - Via Archimede 1 - Palermo
(venerdì, 20 marzo 20:00)

FITNESS CHALLENGE - Sport e Socialità Vol. 2

Dopo la bella energia del primo appuntamento, torniamo con il Volume 2 della serata di socialità organizzata dalla palestra di quartiere

Come sempre partiamo dall’allenamento, per poi continuare la serata insieme trasformando la palestra in uno spazio di incontro, gioco e condivisione. Perché la palestra di quartiere non è solo un posto dove allenarsi: è un presidio sociale, un luogo dove costruire comunità, solidarietà e sport popolare

🏓🎯 Durante la serata ci saranno giochi da tavolo, torneo di ping pong, freccette, carte e momenti per stare insieme in modo semplice e aperto a tutte e tutti

A chiudere la serata, dj set finale per ballare e continuare a condividere energia 💃🏽

La nostra idea di sport è questa: accessibile, collettivo e radicato nel quartiere

🏋🏼 Per chi vuole allenarsi con noi 🤸🏽

La palestra è aperta lunedì e venerdì dalle 18 alle 20 🕣 e mercoledì dalle 16 alle 18 🕡

scruscio.org/event/fitness-cha…

Corteo rionale

Parco Mitilini Stefanini Moneta - Parco Mitilini Stefanini Moneta
(martedì, 17 marzo 17:00)

UN'ALTRA GIORNATA DI MOBILITAZIONE AL PILASTRO: CORTEO RIONALE CONTRO LA PASSERELLA DI ARA! 🔻

Ore 17 appuntamento al Parco contro la Passerella di Ara

Il Comune ha confermato la volontà di chiusura a qualsiasi forma di dialogo, rimanendo fermo sul proseguo dei lavori e sulla devastazione ambientale del parco che ne consegue.

L'abbiamo detto e lo ribadiamo: non faremo un passo indietro. Dalle 17.00 saremo al Parco per un corteo rionale contro la passerella di Ara: il comune continua a chiudersi nelle sue stanze, lasciando alla questura e ai nuovi decreti sicurezza la militarizzazione di un quartiere e la violenza continua verso lo stesso e i suoi residenti.

Saremo in piazza per ribadire che il MUBA non si deve costruire e I lavori vanno fermati immediatamente. Porteremo anche ad Ara queste rivendicazioni: IL PARCO NON SI TOCCA, LO DIFENREMO CON LA LOTTA!

balotta.org/event/corteo-riona…

Recycling plastic at home using 3D printed molds is relatively accessible these days, but if you do not wish to invest a lot of money into specialized equipment, what’s the most minimal setup that you can get away with? In a recent [future things] video DIY plastic recycling is explored using only equipment that the average home is likely to have around.

Lest anyone complain, you should always wear PPE such as gloves and a suitable respirator whenever you’re dealing with hot plastic in this manner, just to avoid a trip to the emergency room. Once taken care of that issue, there are a few ways of doing molding, with compression molding being one of the most straightforward types.

With compression molding you got two halves of a mold, of which one compresses the material inside the other half. This means that you do not require any complex devices like with injection molding, just a toaster oven or equivalent to melt the plastic, which is LDPE in this example. The scrap plastic is placed in a silicone cup before it’s heated so that it doesn’t stick to the container.

The wad of goopy plastic is then put inside the bottom part of the mold before the top part is put in place and squeezed by hand until molten plastic comes out of the overflow opening(s). After letting it fully cool down, the mold is opened and the part released. Although the demonstrated process can be improved upon, it seems to work well enough if you are aware of the limitations. In terms of costs and parts required it’s definitely hard to come up with a cheaper way to do plastic molding.

youtube.com/embed/CWjjZHdZ4WQ?…

hackaday.com/2026/03/16/recycl…

CINEFORUM - Divine Intervention

Spazio Popolare Neruda - Corso Ciriè 7, 10124, Torino
(giovedì, 19 marzo 20:30)

gancio.cisti.org/event/cinefor…

Every ham radio shack needs a clock; ideally one with operator-friendly features like multiple time zones and more. [cburns42] found that most solutions relied too much on an internet connection for his liking, so in true hacker fashion he decided to make his own: the operator-oriented Ham Clock CYD.
A tabbed interface goes well with the touchscreen LCD.
The Ham Clock CYD is so named for being based on the Cheap Yellow Display (CYD), an economical ESP32-based color touchscreen LCD which provides most of the core functionality. The only extra hardware is a BME280 temperature and humidity sensor, and a battery-backed DS3231 RTC module, ensuring that accurate time is kept even when the device is otherwise powered off.

It displays a load of useful operator-oriented data on the touchscreen LCD, and even has a web-based configuration page for ease of use. While the Ham Clock is a standalone device that does not depend on internet access in order to function, it does have the ability to make the most of it if available. When it has internet access over the built-in WiFi, the display incorporates specialized amateur radio data including N0NBH solar forecasts and calculated VHF/HF band conditions alongside standard meteorological data.

The CYD, sensor, and RTC are very affordable pieces of hardware which makes this clock an extremely economical build. Check out the GitHub repository for everything you’ll need to make your own, and maybe even put your own spin on it with a custom enclosure. On the other hand, if you prefer your radio-themed clocks more on the minimalist side, this Morse code clock might be right up your alley.

hackaday.com/2026/03/16/every-…

Cena sociale di quartiere GRAB

Circolo “Ost Barriera” - Via Luigi Pietracqua, 9
(giovedì, 19 marzo 20:00)

Cena sociale di quartiere

Porta quello che vuoi trovare

Un piatto, una posata, un bicchiere, la tua ricetta preferita

Lasciamo la piazza più pulita di come la troviamo

Il circolo Ost barriera ci ospita e mette il servizio bar

gancio.cisti.org/event/cena-so…

C’è una scena che in queste ore sta girando molto, di una studentessa fuori sede che protesta perché per tornare a votare dovrebbe spendere più di cento euro di viaggio. È una cosa semplicissima, elementare: votare è un diritto, ma costa troppo, ed è una frase che dovrebbe farci riflettere.

I fuorisede sono una categoria fragile della democrazia italiana: invisibili nelle politiche pubbliche, ma centralissimi nella realtà sociale del Paese. Vivono tra due case e tra due territori, e spesso sono proprio loro a mantenere vivi i legami con le comunità che si stanno svuotando. Non sono emigrati definitivamente, non sono residenti nel luogo in cui vivono. Stanno in mezzo. E in quel mezzo, spesso, si perdono diritti.

Per noi che veniamo da una terra di partenze questa non è una questione marginale. Per chi viene dal Sud questo è ancora più evidente, perchè dietro la parola “fuorisede” c’è qualcosa di grave che conosciamo bene, lo spopolamento. La Calabria perde ogni anno migliaia di cittadini che vanno a studiare o lavorare altrove. Non perché lo vogliano davvero, ma é per il sistema li spinge fuori; e poi, quando arriva il momento di votare, lo Stato gli chiede di pagare centinaia di euro per esercitare un diritto fondamentale. Se votare significa permettersi un treno o un aereo, allora non è più un diritto universale, ma diventa un privilegio economico. I fuori sede sono una categoria fragile e invisibile della Democrazia italiana.

Un Paese che costringe i suoi giovani a partire e poi chiede di pagare per poter votare sta dicendo, implicitamente, che la partecipazione non è per tutti, e invece dovrebbe essere esattamente il contrario. Chi vive lontano da casa non è meno cittadino, ma è spesso semplicemente qualcuno che è stato costretto ad andare via. E se la democrazia non riesce a raggiungere anche loro, allora il problema non sono i fuori sede. È la democrazia che si è fatta troppo stretta.

Garantire il voto ai fuorisede significa riconoscere che quelle vite sospese tra due luoghi continuano a far parte della stessa comunità politica. Significa difendere l’idea stessa di diritto, che smette di esistere nel momento in cui diventa accessibile solo a chi può permetterselo.

Noi di Possibile crediamo che le cause sono perse solo se nessuno è disposto a combattere per loro, e il diritto di voto non è una causa persa.
È una battaglia democratica per cui vale la pena combattere.

Silvia Giandoriggio
Possibile Calabria

L'articolo Voto fuorisede: un diritto non può costare proviene da Possibile.

Kneecap

Candelo - Cinema Verdi - Via M. Pozzo 2, Candelo
(giovedì, 19 marzo 21:00)

La rassegna di Hope club presso il @cinemaverdicandelo continua il 19 MARZO alle ore 21:00 con KNEECAP, che ci trasporterà in un viaggio tra musica, libertà e ribellione.

Il regista Rich Peppiatt, al suo esordio, racconta l’ascesa (romanzata) dell’omonimo trio rap di Belfast, noto per le sue canzoni in lingua irlandese e per l’attivismo culturale. Kneecap allude alla gambizzazione (kneecapping, appunto) praticata in Irlanda del Nord durante i Troubles, con i paramilitari che colpivano i presunti criminali, sia politici che “ordinari” (furti, spaccio, comportamenti antisociali). Quando, nel 2017, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Caireallain e JJ Ó Dochartaigh si misero insieme per costituire un gruppo musicale, scelsero di chiamarsi così con intento ironico, pensando però soprattutto a “ní cheapaim”, il cui suono è simile a “kneecap him” e sta per “non la penso così”.

caosbi.eu/event/kneecap

Kitchen scales are plentiful and cheap, but their accuracy and measuring speed often leave a lot to be desired. In particular the filtering out of noise can make small changes a nightmare as e.g. adding a little bit of weight slowly can result in the result never updating. This frustrated [Mark Furneaux] enough that he dug up the load cell and metal base of a scrapped laboratory scale and added a strain gauge amplifier to build a better kitchen scale around it.

The only purpose-bought part was an HX710-based strain gauge amplifier module for $7 with LED display, with the metal base getting some metal bits welded onto it to hold said module as well as a push button and toggle switch. Existing wiring from the load cell was wired into the HX710 module, with power provided from a single 18650 Li-ion cell. This was paired with the standard TP4056-based module and its protection IC.

Ultimately the entire assembly looks very much bodged together, with plentiful zip ties, hot glue and messy welding, but it’s hard to deny that it seems to work well. A plastic cutting board makes for a good surface for the items being weighed, and measured drift across the range was about 200 mg, while the amplifier module updates the output in real-time so that you can see even the smallest changes and noise.

Even if you’re not lucky enough to have such a nice load cell and base kicking around, strain gauges are everywhere, and you can absolutely hack an existing (kitchen) scale to be better with some custom hard- and software.

youtube.com/embed/3ANcyO0-xRQ?…

hackaday.com/2026/03/16/making…

@ centroscritture.it
tinyurl.com/lab-centroscrittur…

www.centroscritture.it : nuovo Laboratorio online di scrittura poetica, quinta edizione, in partenza – con il primo incontro operativo – lunedì 23 marzo 2026. I materiali che ciascun partecipante di volta in volta realizzerà nel corso del Laboratorio saranno poi accolti in un volume antologico pubblicato da ECS – Edizioni del CentroScritture.

Il 17 marzo 1861 – 165 anni fa – l’Assemblea nazionale, su richiesta del governo, guidato dall’intraprendente Camillo Benso conte di Cavour, proclamò ufficialmente Vittorio Emanuele II re d’Italia, «per grazia di Dio e volontà della nazione», dove il «II» stava a indicare, a scanso di equivoci, e contro coloro – mazziniani e garibaldini in primis – che contestavano la forma monarchica di Stato, che il nuovo Regno andava inteso come l’ampliamento del precedente Regno di Sardegna.

Il giorno dopo, Pio IX pronunciava l’allocuzione, preparata già da tempo, Iamdudum cernimus con la quale affermava che il Papa non poteva in nessun modo consentire alla «vandalica spoliazione» del suo Stato, facendo con ciò riferimento alle annessioni delle Legazioni e dei territori recentemente «conquistati» delle Marche e dell’Umbria: «Essi vorrebbero – affermava il Pontefice – che dichiarassimo formalmente di cedere in libera proprietà degli usurpatori le province del Nostro Stato Pontificio […]; vorrebbero che questa Apostolica Sede sancisca che la cosa ingiustamente e violentemente rubata può tranquillamente e onestamente possedersi dall’iniquo aggressore».

Leggi l’articolo: L’Unità d’Italia e Pio IX. Quaderno 3842, 17 luglio 2010.

I problemi all’ordine del giorno, che richiedevano immediata soluzione, erano molti e urgenti. Innanzitutto si trattava di «fare l’Italia», poi risolvere il rapporto tra lo Stato e la Chiesa, avvelenato dalla «questione romana». In ultimo, era necessario prepararsi a una nuova guerra per strappare il Veneto all’Austria.

La storia dell’unità d’Italia, come tutte le grandi vicende storiche, ha i suoi eroi (Vittorio Emanuele II, Garibaldi, Mazzini) e i suoi protagonisti (o antagonisti); tra questi un posto particolare, sebbene collocati su fronti opposti, spetta al capo del Governo sabaudo, Camillo Benso conte di Cavour, e a papa Pio IX, cioè all’abile e lungimirante tessitore dell’unità d’Italia e al difensore intransigente dei diritti della Chiesa e del potere temporale. È difficile immaginare due personalità così diverse per cultura, sensibilità e carattere; eppure la vicenda di cui trattiamo li pose indirettamente uno davanti all’altro, confrontati su un problema – l’unità d’Italia – difficile, anzi impossibile, da risolvere sul piano diplomatico, sebbene, da quanto risulta dalle fonti, lo statista piemontese pensasse di poter «strappare» al Papa un qualche accordo da presentare all’apertura delle nuove Camere. Tale iniziativa, a dir poco ambiziosa, dice a chiare lettere che Cavour non conosceva affatto la complessa personalità di Pio IX o semplicemente – questa ci sembra l’ipotesi più sensata – ebbe sul suo conto informazioni errate o superficiali.

Leggi l’articolo: Pio IX, Cavour e l’Unità d’Italia. Quaderno 3848, 16 ottobre 2010.

The post 165 anni fa, la proclamazione del Regno d’Italia first appeared on La Civiltà Cattolica.