
Ep 361: Hackaday Podcast Mailbag, A Phone is Not a Computer, 3D Printing History is New Again
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Mar 13, 2026 They discuss spoofing traffic light control signals and the security gaps between old strobe systems and modern GPS-managed intersections. Debate whether a smartphone can truly replace a desktop given OS and ecosystem limits. Explore 3D printing topics from filament makers to real welding pens and durable joining techniques. Cover DIY e-readers, hardware hacking tutorials, a meteor over Germany, and how player AR scans became valuable map data.
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How Old Traffic Preemption Actually Works
- Emergency vehicle preemption used a 14 Hz xenon strobe carrier with single-byte binary codes on older systems.
- XSS Fox reverse-engineered a receiver, brute-forced IDs, and triggered the receiver on the bench (but warned against live tampering).
Don't Buy Filament Maker For Cost Savings
- Creality's M1 makes filament but costs around $1,000, making it hard to justify versus cheap pre-made spools.
- Consider it only for custom blends/colors or niche production, not general cost savings on common filament use.
Real 3D Welding Needs A Hot End Not A Pen
- A true 3D welding tool must remelt both parts to coalesce them, not just add melted filler.
- Half-Baked Research built a hot-end style hand tool with a brass nozzle and motor feed that produced stronger welded joints than cheap 3D pens.
