Practical, source-linked field guides
Make the next decision with evidence.
Field guides for choosing, evaluating, flashing, recovering, and repurposing hackable hardware. Every guide includes a repeatable workflow, explicit limits, primary sources, internal links, and a real next step.
Used Hardware Hackability Checklist
A practical, source-linked guide to assess chipset, bootloader, firmware, recovery, ports, community, parts, and safety before buying, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
How to Read an FCC ID and Identify the Hardware Inside
A practical, source-linked guide to use official filings to find radios, manuals, photos, and variants, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Brick-Risk Field Guide: Flash, Recover, or Walk Away
A practical, source-linked guide to classify soft/hard brick modes and recovery evidence, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Firmware Project Health: Five Signals Beyond GitHub Stars
A practical, source-linked guide to evaluate release cadence, maintainers, issues, device matrix, and security response, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Twenty Useful Second Lives for an Old Android Phone
A practical, source-linked guide to match sensors, battery state, OS support, and mounting to realistic projects, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Used-Market Triage: What to Ask Before Buying Hack Hardware
A practical, source-linked guide to verify model/revision, locks, accessories, damage, returns, and price, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Protocol-Native Hardware: Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, MQTT, or Wi-Fi?
A practical, source-linked guide to choose interoperability, local control, power, and ecosystem, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Safe Firmware Flashing: A Preflight and Recovery Checklist
A practical, source-linked guide to back up, verify image/revision/power, capture logs, and prepare recovery, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Security Debt in Abandoned Smart Devices
A practical, source-linked guide to check known vulnerabilities and decide isolate, replace firmware, or retire, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.
Raspberry Pi 5 Beginner Project: A Local-First Home Dashboard
A practical, source-linked guide to choose screen/device/protocol, isolate network, and plan maintenance, with a repeatable workflow, evidence ledger, checklist, and decision gate.