It might not be Pi Day anymore, but Elliot and Dan got together for the approximately 100*Pi-th episode of the Podcast to run through the week’s coolest hacks. Ultrasound seemed to be one of the themes, with a deep dive into finding bugs with sonar as well as using sound to cut the cheese — and cakes and pies, too.

The aesthetics of PCBs were much on our minds, too, from full-color graphics on demand to glow-in-the-dark silkscreens. Is automation really needed to embed fiber optics in concrete? Absolutely! How do you put plasma in a bottle? Apparently, with kombucha, Nichrome, and silicone. If you need to manage your M:TG cards, scribble on the walls, or build a mechanical chase light, we’ve got the details. And what exactly is a supercomputer? We can’t define it, but we know one when we see it.

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Download the zero-calorie MP3.

Episode 314 Show Notes:

News:

• No news is good news!

What’s that Sound?

• Congrats to [IrishBoss] for guessing the angle grinder. And from Dan Maloney: “It was the ear protection, I swear!”

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

• 2024 Hackaday Supercon Talk: Killing Mosquitoes With Freaking Drones, And Sonar
• “Unnecessary” Automation Of A DIY Star Lamp Build
  
  • Relevant xkcd

  
  

• Supercon 2024: A New World Of Full-Color PCBs
  
  • Successful Experiments In Multicolor Circuit Boards
  • The Way Of The PCB Artist: How To Make Truly Beautiful Circuit Boards

  
  

• Integrated BMS Makes Battery Packs Easy
  
  • Massive 20-oz. Copper PCB Enables Electric Racing

  
  

• Mural: The Plotter That Draws On Walls
  
  • Jürg Lehni & Uli Franke
  • Pen Plotter Is About As Simple As It Can Get
  • Stringent, the $15 Wall Plotter – Hackster.io
  • Cable Bots, Arise! Domination Of The Universe Is At Hand
  • [Homo Faciens] Builds A Winchbot

  
  

• Cheap Endoscopic Camera Helps Automate Pressure Advance Calibration

Quick Hacks:

• Elliot’s Picks
  
  • Chase Light SAO Shouldn’t Have Used A 555, And Didn’t
  • Turning A Kombucha Bottle Into A Plasma Tube
  • LED Filaments Become Attractive Time Piece
  • Glow In The Dark PCBs Are Pretty Cool

  
  

• Dan’s Picks:
  
  • Aluminum Business Cards Make Viable PCB Stencils
    
    • CNC Router And Fiber Laser Bring The Best Of Both Worlds To PCB Prototyping

    
    

  • Booting A Desktop PDP-11
  • 3D-Printed Scanner Automates Deck Management For Trading Card Gamers

  
  

Can’t-Miss Articles:

• So What Is A Supercomputer Anyway?
• High Frequency Food: Better Cutting With Ultrasonics
  
  • Fail Of The Week: The Little Ultrasonic Knife That Couldn’t
  • Waterjet-Cut Precision Pastry

  
  

hackaday.com/2025/03/28/hackad…