Soldering tiny stuff is hard, if not impossible, without some optical assistance. [Ad_w00000] was having just this problem, so built himself a soldering magnifier to help.

The magnifier uses a variety of components [Ad_w00000] had lying around. For the optical side of things, an old Canon DSLR zoom lens was pressed into service as the main magnifying element. The lens was then fitted with an old laptop webcam, which was glued into an old lens extender to avoid modifying the main lens itself. The webcam is hooked up to an Asus Tinkerboard fitted with a touchscreen display to show the images. The whole lens assembly is then fitted onto an old TV stand to enable it to sit far enough above the work surface to focus properly.

The build is a great example of building something useful out of whatever you have on hand. Sometimes, that’s cheaper and quicker than spending money and waiting for something to ship. It also has the bonus that you’ll learn useful skills along the way.

Read more on Hackaday…

Elecia White of the fantastic Embedded.fm podcast gave a talk at the Embedded Online Conference 2021 about how to use memory map files:

Buried treasures and map files

Slides

Memory Map Land Image

Also at Inkarnate where I put it together

And at Society6 which is rumored to produce good prints

Hello.map and Hello.cmd linker file (TI processor)

Map file for the BLE and Zigbee application (TI processor)

Map file for Circuit Python on the SEEDunio via GCC

Any video that starts with a phase diagram has instantly earned our attention. Admittedly, we have a pretty low bar for that kind of stuff, but eye candy aside, [Robin Debreuil]’s quick outline of his technique for desoldering with the help of bismuth is worth watching…

Read more on Hackaday: Make Your Desoldering Easier by Minding Your Own Bismuth

From the Open Source Hardware Association blog:

HardwareX Integrates OSHWA Certification into Paper Submission Process

Today we are excited to announce that the open hardware journal HardwareX is integrating OSHWA certifications into their paper submission process.  

HardwareX is an open access journal that focuses on free and open source designing, building, and customizing of scientific hardware.  It has long used the Open Source Hardware Definition as a requirement for submissions.  Now HardwareX is also integrating the OSHWA hardware certification program into the paper submission process.

First, HardwareX has updated its guide for authors to encourage (although not require) authors to certify their hardware for open source compliance before, during, or after submitting to HardwareX.  This is a win for authors and for HardwareX.  Authors can use the certification process to make sure that their hardware meets the Open Source Hardware Definition.  Certification is often an iterative process where OSHWA helps creators meet all of the Definition’s requirements.  HardwareX can rely on the OSHWA certification to confirm that hardware complies with the Definition, freeing up resources to review the papers themselves.

Second, OSHWA and HardwareX are standardizing ways to connect HardwareX articles to the Certification Directory.  HardwareX will include OSHWA certification UIDs in their specification tables for articles that include certified hardware.  Creators can update their certification directory listing with the “#HX” tag in the project description, and add a link to the HardwareX manuscript.

As the open hardware community grows, so too do our institutions.  We look forward to finding new ways to collaborate with all of the parts of the community in the future.  If you would like to connect with the certification program, please reach out at [email protected], check out our certification program API, or just certify your own hardware directly!

This Thursday, June 3rd, will be Seattle Virtual Hardware Happy Hour (3H)!