Before the era of large-scale integration (LSI) semiconductor circuits, discrete logic circuits using the common diode-transistor logic (DTL) were still necessary and available in a format that was modular and reusable. [David Lovett] over at the Usagi Electric farm has two great examples that date back to the 1950s and 1960s, showing the jump in technology over the course of a mere decade.

The newer Varian Data Machines 620 from 1966 uses germanium diodes and transistors, while the 1956 Bendix G-15 uses germanium diodes with vacuum tubes, the latter effectively fulfilling the same purpose as the transistors. The main difference between the modules is the density, with a decade of technological improvements allowing for more than double the logic on similarly sized cards and a similarly impressive reduction in power usage.

Currently, [David] is working on reverse-engineering these so-called VersaLogic modules to be able to troubleshoot the Data/620 machine in his possession. The results of these efforts are being published on GitHub. Although you can think of these modules as more or less big versions of the 7400-logic ICs — which began to replace them in the Data/620I from 1967 — some of the circuits on the cards get pretty complex.

With hundreds of these VersaLogic cards in one Data/620 computer, finding a few dodgy germanium diodes and transistors on them is quite the struggle. Whereas the Bendix G-15 helpfully provided a semi-automatic tester for the modules, no such option appears to be exist for these VersaLogic cards, leaving [David] to make his own version if he ever wants to see this 1960s machine that was once used at NASA roar back to life, and possibly read out what’s stored in the magic core memory.

This debugging process is complicated by the fact that these aren’t your basic 5V TTL-style logic cards, but rather use -12- and 0V-based high-threshold logic (HTL). Developing testing logic and hardware for these cards, which also takes into account the bidirectional nature of some of these cards, is a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, the Usagi Electric community is on the job, and you’re cordially invited to hop over to the official Discord channel to pitch in if that’s your thing.

We always enjoy thinking of different ways to implement logic. Even the really bizarre ones.

youtube.com/embed/9wE1WbcfxtI?…

hackaday.com/2025/08/02/explor…

Learning Morse Code is no longer a requirement for HAMs in many jurisdictions, but it’s still a nice skill to have. [I_void(warranties)] wanted to learn, but couldn’t find a trainer that fit his style. What to do but build it yourself? Since we’re in the midst of a challenge, he took up the gauntlet and turned his need to learn Morse into a 1 hertz Morse code game.

In concept it is quite simple: a message beeps out in Morse, with a corresponding LED flash, all in one second. The player then has one second to type think they heard. Get it done fast enough, and a character LCD will tell you if you scored.

The project is based around an Arduino Nano; thanks to easily-available libraries, a PS/2 keyboard can serve as input and a 2×16 LCD as feedback with no real effort expended. For the audible component of the Morse challenge, an 8-ohm speaker is driven right off a pin on the Arduino. We won’t claim this efficient design only took one second to put together, but it probably didn’t take too long.

Of course this trainer, unlike some we’ve seen, only helps you learn to listen to the stream of dots and dashes. None of the others ever tried to fit a One Hertz theme, or [I_void(warranties)]’s particular learning style. For some, decoupling send and receive might be just the ticket to finally learning Morse one second at a time.

hackaday.com/2025/08/02/2025-o…

The key to Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) operations is the ability to fly slow– really slow. That’s how you get up fast without a long takeoff roll to build up speed. Usually, this involves layers of large flaps and/or leading edge slots, but [rctestflight] on YouTube decided he wanted to take a more active approach with a fully blown wing.

The airplane in question is R/C, of course, and good thing: these wings would be a safety nightmare for a manned aircraft. With a blown wing, air is blown out of a slot on the top end of the wing, producing a high-speed, high-pressure zone that keeps the wing flying when it would otherwise be completely stalled out. As long as everything works, that’s great! If an engine fails, well, suddenly you aren’t flying anymore — and you’re going too slow to glide. It ends badly.

[rctestflight] doesn’t have to worry about that, though, because this foamboard and pink styro R/C aircraft carries nothing that can’t survive a crash. (A couple of electric ducted fans (EDCs), an Ardupilot, a radio, and a battery are all pretty shock-resistant.) The EDCs sit midway down the chord of the wings, and blow air into a plenum carved into the foam. On each wing, the exhaust from the fans is driven rearward from a slot created by a piece of carbon fiber. This air serves not only as a lift-enhancement but also as the plane’s sole propulsion and a component of its control system.

Propulsion makes sense: all that air washing back of the wing was bound to create thrust, but control? Well, if you run the EDCs at different speeds, you’re going to create a different amount of thrust on each side of the aircraft. Differential thrust on a twin-engined aircraft can usually control yaw, but on this plane, it will also speak to pitch as the wing with more thrust will experience greater lift, causing that wing to rise and forcing the other to drop. It’s an interesting control scheme, but ultimately [rctestflight] decided he did not trust it enough not to add in ailerons.

The blown wing does work, however, with the plane having a very, very impressively short takeoff distance– doubly so for a seaplane. We shouldn’t be surprised, though. [rctestflight] has been at this a long time; we’ve seen everything from human-carrying hydrofoils to a series of solar soarers, to a 3D-printed rover-tank from the prolific YouTuber.

We still wouldn’t ride in it, though.

youtube.com/embed/o6FMjOl0TRA?…

hackaday.com/2025/08/02/this-p…

We’re saddened to report the passing of Shunsaku Tamiya, the man behind the Tamiya line of models. What was surprising about this, though, is how many of our readers and writers alike felt touched by the Tamiya model company. I mean, they made great models, and they’re definitely a quality outfit, but the outpouring of fond memories across a broad spectrum was striking.

For example, we originally ran the story as breaking news, but our art director Joe Kim spent a good part of his childhood putting together Tamiya kits, and felt like he absolutely had to do a portrait of Mr. Tamiya to pay his respects. I presume Joe is more on the painting-the-models end of the spectrum of Tamiya customers, given his artistic bent. Jenny’s writeup is absolutely touching, and her fond remembrances of the kits shines through her writing.

Myself, I’m on the making-small-robots end of the spectrum, and was equally well served. Back in the early ’90s, the “twin motor gearbox” was a moderately challenging and tremendously rewarding build for me, but it was also the only variable-ratio small motor gearbox that we had easy access to for making small bots to run around the living room.

Indeed, the Tamiya line included a whole series of educational models and components that were just perfect for the budding robot builder. I’m sure I have a set of their tank treads or a slip clutch in a box somewhere, even today.

It’s nice to think of how many people’s lives were touched by their kits, and to get even a small glimpse of that, you just need to read our comment section. We hope the company holds on to Mr. Tamiya’s love for quality kits that inspire future generations, whether they end up becoming artists, engineers, or simply hackers.

This article is part of the Hackaday.com newsletter, delivered every seven days for each of the last 200+ weeks. It also includes our favorite articles from the last seven days that you can see on the web version of the newsletter. Want this type of article to hit your inbox every Friday morning? You should sign up!

hackaday.com/2025/08/02/thanks…

Nel panorama sempre più affollato dei robot umanoidi, il nuovo Unitree R1 ha fatto notizia non solo per le sue capacità acrobatiche, ma soprattutto per un prezzo che rompe gli schemi: circa 5.900 dollari (circa 5.500 euro). Un costo sorprendente se pensiamo che i modelli precedenti – come il G1 della stessa Unitree – arrivavano a sfiorare i 99.000 yuan (oltre 12.000 euro).

Ma cosa può fare davvero il R1? E possiamo immaginarlo davvero come assistente domestico?

youtube.com/embed/bxa93wSbtDQ?…

Tecnologia e caratteristiche

R1 è alto circa 1,21 metri, pesa 25 kg e ha ben 26 gradi di libertà che gli permettono movimenti complessi e fluidi: capriole, pugni, calci rotanti, perfino verticali. Il tutto grazie a una combinazione di motori ad alta coppia, giunti avanzati e un modulo di intelligenza artificiale capace di riconoscere voce, immagini e rispondere ai comandi.

Integra:

• Telecamera binoculare per la visione 3D
• Microfoni e altoparlanti stereo
• Connettività Wi‑Fi 6 e Bluetooth 5.2
• Batteria rimovibile che garantisce circa 1 ora di autonomia

E nelle faccende di casa?

Qui arriva la (parziale) delusione:

• La versione base del R1 non ha mani funzionanti; può muovere le braccia, ma non afferrare o manipolare oggetti.
• L’autonomia ridotta e la necessità di script o comandi manuali rendono complesso pensare a un robot che lavi i piatti o passi l’aspirapolvere.

Chi vuole davvero provare a trasformarlo in un aiuto domestico deve guardare alla versione EDU, dotata di mani tattili e modulo di calcolo più potente, ma a un prezzo più alto.

A cosa serve davvero oggi?

Il R1 non è (ancora) il maggiordomo robotico che sogniamo, ma ha un potenziale enorme:

• Robotica educativa e ricerca
• Sperimentazione di IA e algoritmi di percezione e movimento
• Dimostrazioni ed eventi (immaginate un robot che fa parkour dal vivo)
• Sviluppo di applicazioni custom per aziende o università

Perché è importante

Il vero punto forte del R1 è il prezzo: meno di 6.000 dollari significano che startup, ricercatori e maker possono finalmente mettere le mani su un umanoide programmabile, senza dover investire cifre a sei zeri.

In più, Unitree ha dimostrato che è possibile progettare robot complessi con costi relativamente accessibili, accelerando una corsa che potrebbe trasformare profondamente mercati come:

• la formazione tecnica e universitaria
• l’intrattenimento live e digitale
• l’industria e la robotica collaborativa

Conclusione

Il Unitree R1 oggi è più performer da palco che domestico. Ma, se guardiamo alla velocità con cui l’azienda cinese sta migliorando design e prezzi, possiamo immaginare un futuro non troppo lontano in cui avere un robot umanoide in casa non sarà più fantascienza, ma una realtà accessibile.

Per ora, chi vorrà provare a farlo cucinare o pulire dovrà armarsi di pazienza, tanto codice… e probabilmente qualche upgrade hardware.

L'articolo Costa 5 iPhone, salta, tira pugni ma ancora non lava i piatti. R1, il robot cinese che sta sconvolgendo il web proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

La Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) ha espresso preoccupazione per la recente proposta degli Stati Uniti di integrare funzionalità di tracciamento e localizzazione nei chip avanzati destinati all’esportazione. Questa misura potrebbe compromettere le prospettive di vendita di Nvidia nel mercato cinese, proprio poche settimane dopo la revoca del divieto statunitense all’esportazione dei chip H20 dell’azienda.

In un comunicato diffuso giovedì, la CAC ha reso noto di aver convocato Nvidia per chiarire se il chip H20 contenesse potenziali rischi di sicurezza, in particolare la presenza di una “backdoor”: un meccanismo nascosto in grado di aggirare le normali misure di autenticazione o sicurezza, aprendo la strada a possibili accessi non autorizzati. Nvidia, dal canto suo, ha negato categoricamente ogni rischio. Un portavoce dell’azienda ha dichiarato:

“La sicurezza informatica è di fondamentale importanza per noi. Nei chip Nvidia non sono presenti meccanismi di backdoor a cui altri possano accedere o che possano controllare da remoto”.

Questa vicenda si inserisce in un contesto di tensioni crescenti nella guerra tecnologica tra Stati Uniti e Cina. La revoca del divieto all’esportazione dell’H20 – imposto ad aprile – è arrivata dopo che Nvidia aveva progettato questo chip appositamente per il mercato cinese, cercando di aggirare le restrizioni introdotte dagli Stati Uniti alla fine del 2023 sui chip AI più avanzati.

All’inizio del mese, il CEO di Nvidia, ha compiuto una visita ufficiale in Cina, partecipando a numerosi eventi pubblici e incontrando funzionari governativi. Durante il viaggio, Huang ha ribadito l’impegno dell’azienda per sostenere lo sviluppo dell’intelligenza artificiale nel Paese, cercando di consolidare il rapporto con Pechino.

Una domanda che resta forte

Secondo Charlie Chai, analista presso la società di ricerca tecnologica 86Research, l’iniziativa della Cina avrebbe più un significato simbolico che pratico:

“Non crediamo che la Cina imporrà vincoli così severi da compromettere realmente l’operatività di Nvidia. La carenza di alternative fa sì che la Cina abbia ancora bisogno dei chip Nvidia per alimentare la ricerca scientifica e lo sviluppo tecnologico”.

Oltre alle aziende private, i chip Nvidia risultano fondamentali anche per istituti di ricerca statali, università e persino enti militari. Stando a quanto riportato da Reuters, la scorsa settimana Nvidia avrebbe ordinato 300.000 chip H20 alla propria fonderia partner, la Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), per rispondere alla forte domanda del mercato cinese.

L'articolo Allarme Backdoor! La Cina preoccupata di possibili interferenze tramite i chip Nvidia proviene da il blog della sicurezza informatica.

When your GPU fan goes rogue with an unholy screech, you either shell out for a new one or you go full hacker mode. Well, [ashafq] did the latter. The result is a delightfully nerdy fan controller powered by an ATTiny85 and governed by a DS18B20 temperature sensor. We all know a silent workstation is golden, and there’s no fun in throwing money at an off-the-shelf solution. [ashafq]’s custom build transforms a whiny Radeon RX 550 into a cool, quiet operator. Best of all: it’s built from bits likely already in your junk drawer.

To challenge himself a bit, [ashafq] rolled his own temperature-triggered PWM logic using 1-wire protocol on an ATtiny85, all without libraries or bloated firmware. The fan’s speed only ramps up when the GPU gets toasty, just like it should. It’s efficient and clever, and that makes it a fine hack. The entire system runs off a scavenged 12V fan. He could have used a 3D printer, but decided to stick onto the card with double-sided tape. McGyver would approve.

The results don’t lie: idle temps at 40 °C, load peaking at 60 °C. Quieter than stock, smarter than stock, and way cheaper too. The double-sided tape may not last, but that leaves room for improvement. In case you want to start on it yourself, read the full write-up and feel inspired to build your own. Hackaday.io is ready for the documentation of your take on it.

Modifying fans is a tradition around here. Does it always take a processor? Nope.

hackaday.com/2025/08/02/an-att…