Hackaday Podcast Episode 384 covers a fully 3D-printable thermoacoustic Stirling engine, a Casio F-91W retrofitted for tap-to-pay contactless payments, and a device that optically reads MOD files encoded on paper, preserving Amiga-era music formats beyond the lifespan of M-Discs. Editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams also flagged a Quest VR headset unlocked as open hardware and a project emulating an iPod from scratch.
The two standout deep reads are a Hackaday Europe talk on producing what the hosts call magical PCBs, and a history of space stations that starts in the 1800s, well before any hardware left the ground. Mailbag this episode included listener Joshua Wiebe asking specific questions about MOSFET motor drivers, and Alexander writing in with firsthand experience using an ultrasonic knife, a follow-up to last week's episode.
The 2026 Hackaday Retrocomputing Challenge was also announced this episode, and Supercon 2026 got a mention. Episode 384 is available on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and direct MP3 download. The show notes list every linked project, and the MOSFET motor driver question is open for listener responses at mailbag@hackaday.com.
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