DIY

A new system supports operation with a wide range of sensors and actuators and can also run completely independently of conventional network connections and the power grid.

The BeagleConnect Zepto is a new ultra-affordable computer designed with accessibility in mind. While it isn’t intended to replace a traditional desktop system, it still offers plenty of flexibility for building and experimenting with custom projects.

Also for printing with more than a dozen filaments: Anycubic has added a new 3D printer to its lineup that is said to support various filament types and, according to the manufacturer, comes with an improved hotend. The Anycubic Kobra S1 ACE 2 Pro Combo will initially be available at a discounted price.

A new hardware mod repurposes the 75 W Nvidia Tesla P4 for small-form-factor gaming. By combining Bazzite OS and a custom 3D-printed cooling shroud, this affordable enterprise GPU manages 1080p performance in a compact Dell chassis.

ITG Gear has modified a Lenovo ThinkStation P340 Tiny with a rare AMD Radeon RX 7400 8GB GPU and an i7-10700 CPU. The build is a great exhibit for the gaming potential of this compact workstation, especially for fans of small form-factor machines.

TechEpiphany has released Mindfactory's CPU sales for weeks 14 and 15 of 2026. The data shows that AMD continues to dominate the overall sales. However, Intel CPU sales seem to have improved. That said, TechEpiphany claims that the decline in CPU sales is unprecedented.

Bambu Lab is offering a new 3D printer boasting a wide range of features, including a dual-nozzle printing system designed to deliver clear advantages when working with multiple filaments and producing support structures.

Tiny Corp has released a custom driver enabling Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, including the RTX 5090, to run on macOS for the first time since 2019. Performance is still limited by software despite the hardware breakthrough.

After a viral prototype release in March, Paul Lagier has launched version two of his tiny e-reader project. The pocket-sized device uses an ESP32 and e-paper to store 10 books for roughly $30 in parts.

YouTuber Zac Builds has built a custom DIY Steam Machine that costs a bit less but performs up to 100% faster in games. The build involves used PC hardware, some 3D printed parts, as well as a wooden replaceable front face.

Data Slayer used the Reticulum protocol and LoRa hardware to build a decentralized network between Florida and Venezuela. The setup comprises extremely affordable components and bypasses traditional ISP gatekeepers using encrypted tunnels.

(Update: Clarifications made) Keychron has officially made all of its keyboard and mouse designs open-source, including all of the wireless gaming keyboards and mice, making it significantly easier to design custom enclosures, mods, and add-ons for the relevant products. While these designs are not available for commercial use, the STEP files are free to download, and the community can suggest improvements in GitHub pull requests.

With its display and a very specific feature, Elecrow is essentially offering a smart development board that can also be used as a miner. However, mining on the ESP32 Solo Miner is more of a lottery, so to speak.

A new display also comes with wireless networking and is compatible with Meshtastic. That should make the system well suited for building a compact control panel for a smart home, for example. The CrowPanel Advance 3.5 is also relatively affordable.

Framework CEO Nirav Patel warns that the AI boom and a “winner-takes-all” scramble for chips and storage could drive up component costs and push consumers toward cloud-leased, closed devices, effectively ending personal computing as traditionally understood. While acknowledging progress in repairability across the industry, he positions Framework’s upcoming Next Gen Event as part of a renewed pledge to defend user ownership through upgradable, repairable hardware and local control over data and computation.

The eufyMake E1 UV printer is a compact desktop machine that can print on over 300 different types of materials. It is now available in early access with two bundles and some perks for those who pre-order the machine.

A new developer board offers numerous connectors and supports not only power delivery via a battery but also wireless connectivity on two different frequency bands. The SparkFun Thing Plus board supports Bluetooth and is available now.

A new and particularly compact board can be used to connect various sensors and actuators, and it comes with an SoC based on the RISC-V architecture. As usual, the WeAct CH32V006F8U6 is programmed via USB Type-C and can also be powered over USB.

The Arduino UNO Media Carrier is a new expansion board that is relatively affordable and is intended to significantly expand the capabilities of compatible developer boards and single-board computers. As the name suggests, the focus is primarily on media functions.

A PSP enthusiast has submitted a 333-piece LEGO Ideas recreation of Sony’s original PSP-1000, accurately capturing its distinctive curves, controls, and screen, using legal building techniques and detailed parts such as the power slider and charging port. The model also includes a retractable UMD tray with a demo disc and must reach 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas after surpassing 700 votes since its April 1, 2026 launch to be considered for an official release.

A new expansion board essentially turns the Raspberry Pi 5 into a NAS. It comes with two Ethernet ports and support for multiple storage drives. Both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives are supported.

The Raspberry Pi CM5 TV Stick Lite is a new carrier board available for the Compute Module 5. It retails for $35 and plugs directly to an external display or TV through the HDMI connector.

The Neuro N6 is a new compact board designed for applications such as image recognition, including the use of AI and neural networks. It is advertised as having low power consumption, which could make it suitable for mobile applications.

Google releases Gemma 4: The new model family (E2B to 31B) brings reasoning capabilities and multimodality directly to laptops and smartphones. With a huge context window of up to 256K tokens and Apache 2.0 license, Google is setting an example for free local AI.

A new developer board comes in a Raspberry Pi form factor and supports connecting external sensors, among other things, while also featuring two microphones. Displays can also be connected. It is essentially built around two separate chips, which also enables wireless network connectivity.

Framework CEO Nirav Patel posted a teardown comparing Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo with the similarly priced Framework Laptop 12, arguing they embody opposing philosophies despite both targeting budget buyers. He praised Apple’s improved access to parts like the battery and ports, but criticized its soldered RAM and storage, and the costly display replacement, positioning Framework’s modular, upgradeable design as a longer-lasting alternative that reduces e-waste and avoids pulling users into Apple’s “walled garden.”

With e-ink and extensive capabilities: A new display that can also be used wirelessly relies on electronic ink and includes its own processing chip. WiFi is also supported, and creating custom interfaces is intended to be straightforward.

A new 3D printer should be able to print with various metals or alloys, not plastic. This opens up completely new possibilities for producing extremely resilient models with complex shapes and high stability. The Scrap 1 is quite limited in terms of installation space.

The Apple MacBook Neo is powered by a passively cooled A18 Pro SoC. A tech YouTuber has now shown that, with a simple mod, you can increase the performance of the MacBook Neo by double digits while reducing the laptop's temps.

Waveshare has introduced a new mini PC case for the Raspberry Pi CM5. Offering a plethora of ports, the new ultra-compact CM5-powered mini PC can pull off decent performance in lightweight day-to-day tasks.

A Reddit demo shows the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X paired with an Orbbec 336L sensor running Dot3D software to map full indoor spaces in real time. The setup delivers detailed scans, although the cost and workflow can still limit wider use.

In a recent video, DIY YouTuber Luke Maximo Bell showed off the second iteration of his solar-powered drone. This version of the drone, supported by a battery, managed to stay airborne for over five hours, with him landing the drone.

DIY YouTuber Max Imagination has shared a video of his latest build: a mini-drone built with an ESP32 microcontroller. Despite its small size, the drone has a top speed of 108 km/h (67 mph)

Wild project: A maker built his own fully functional diving helmet using a 3D printer, complete with a floating air supply made from a compressor, battery pack, and power inverter. The project is a testament to what's possible with a consumer-grade home printer and a serious dose of engineering creativity. The print files are freely available on Thingiverse. Just keep one thing in mind: attempt this at your own risk.

A maker collective has developed a fully 3D-printable chassis for RC cars—and spent six months testing, breaking, and refining the design along the way. Early prototypes failed due to broken drive shafts, worn bearings, and poorly tuned suspension geometry. The final result: a modular, repair-friendly design with downloadable print files.

Qualcomm has unveiled the Arduino Ventuno Q single-board computer designed for hobbyists and developers interested in creating physical AI projects, such as robots. The SBC is powered by a Dragonwing IQ8 SoC, 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 64 GB eMMC, coupled with an STM32H5 MCU for real-time control of motors and sensors.

The Linux From Scratch 13.0 guide for a build-it-yourself distro is back with over 100 commits since the previous stable version. In addition to the 6.18.10 kernel, it also comes with a list of no less than 36 updated packages, including glibc, openssl, vim, Python, and zlib.

Espressif’s new ESP32-H21 adds an on-chip DC-DC converter that reduces power draw in always-on, battery-powered smart home and IoT devices. We're talking about devices that support Thread, Matter, Zigbee, and Bluetooth Low Energy and need to stay connected without draining the battery for weeks or months.

If you want to replace your Vodafone router with your own OpenWRT or x86-based router, the first step is enabling bridge mode. Only then does the Vodafone Station act as a pure modem, passing the internet connection directly to your new router without interference. In part 4 of my “Unbloated Network” series, I walk through how to enable bridge mode in the Vodafone account portal—and why the Homespot feature often prevents it.

The DFI IRN556 is a highly compact, 1.8-inch industrial single board computer designed for space-constrained, high-performance embedded applications. As an alternative to the Raspberry Pi that works with Windows, the IRN556 is very versatile.

A YouTuber has managed to retrofit Honor’s silicon carbon batteries into Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold with partial success. While he claimed that the battery capacity went up by 71%, the display of the phone, though still working, was damaged in the process.

YouTuber Chris Doel has shown off his latest project — an electric car powered by his homemade battery pack. This battery pack was built using 500 batteries salvaged from discarded vapes.

This tiny ESP32-C3-based development board measures only 25mm x 20mm, features a 0.42-inch OLED display, and supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity via an onboard ceramic antenna.

A new 4.3-inch touchscreen display can be used as an affordable smart home control panel or an AI edge terminal for a professional-looking, DIY setup. It combines a capacitive IPS touchscreen, dual microphones, an onboard audio codec, and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, making it suitable for voice-enabled dashboards, IoT controllers, and interactive HMI applications.

Many ISP-provided routers are closed black boxes with limited functionality. In part 3 of my “Unbloated Network” project, I show how to install OpenWRT on an x86 PC to replace the Vodafone router with your own hardware. Step by step, we’ll set up the latest stable release, including image selection, Linux-based installation, and partition expansion.

TermDriver 2 from Excamera Labs is a USB-to-serial adapter with a built-in IPS display. Connect this board to power, link it to your target’s debugging port, then get straight to debugging MCUs or SBCs both on the workbench and in the field.

The Arduino Matter Discovery Bundle has been officially announced for learning and prototyping Matter-enabled smart home devices. Built around the Nano Matter board, the bundle includes expansion hardware, sensor modules, and a structured curriculum to help developers build and test Matter-over-Thread applications.

The Pironman 5 Pro Max from SunFounder is a Raspberry Pi 5-powered tower PC with some significant upgrades over the non-Pro version. It includes a large 4.3-inch touchscreen, a built-in Raspberry Pi camera holder, and dual stereo speakers with a USB microphone.

YouTuber ETA Prime has turned a broken phone into an under $100 mini PC with a few Raspberry Pi parts. This modified PC with the Galaxy S20 FE mainboard is shown to handle light games and emulation with ease.