The Bootloader

By Paul Cutler and Tod Kurt

A monthly podcast loading you up with news, project updates and product talk from the CircuitPython and maker communities. Hosted by Tod Kurt and Paul Cutler.

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· Technology

5

33 ratings

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FAQs about The Bootloader:

How many episodes does The Bootloader have?

The podcast currently has 26 episodes available.

The Bootloader episodes:

August 22, 2025CircuitPython Day 2025
This episode is a replay of The Bootloader’s live CircuitPython Day 2025 show from August 15th, 2025 hosted on Adafruit’s YouTube channel. The episode has been lightly edited.
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky.
00:00 Intro
00:26 Welcome
1:02 Thank you Anne Barela
Subscribe to the Python on Hardware newsletter
1:46 CircuitPython Fonts
CircuitPython fonts repository with circup instructions
CircuitPython BDF & PCF font Learn Guide
CircuitPython font code shown
6:57 CircuitPython v2 extension for VS Code
CircuitPython VS Code extension v1 by Joe Devivo
CircuitPython v2 for VS Code by Will Merkens
CircuitPython v2 for VS Code source code
11:40 Fruit Jam USB Host MIDI Tester
Fruit Jam USB Host MIDI Tester
Fruit Jam Portable MIDI Synth
Fruit Jam USB Gamepad Demo
15:52 Fruitris
Cooper Dalrymple’s homepage
Fruitris on Adafruit Playground
Fruitris GitHub repository
Fruitris blog post
Fruitris demo on Show & Tell
Cooper on The CircuitPython Show May 5th, 2025
19:37 CircuitPython Workflows
https://docs.circuitpython.org/en/latest/docs/workflows.html
https://code.circuitpython.org/
...more
25min
August 04, 2025Drop the beat - with guest John Park
In this episode, Tod and Paul welcome John Park to the show. They discuss a floppy disk MIDI boombox, live-coding music, RP2350 as a mini-computer, and more.
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky.
Show Notes
00:00 Intro
Joséphine Wolf Oberholtzer, creator and maintainer of Supriya
00:54 Floppy Disk Midi Boomboxes (John #1)
Vintage:
Roland MT-80S
Roland MT-300S
Yamaha MDP-10
DIY:
MIDI Blaster by Luke.the.maker and build instructions and pre-built
MT-420 by Jonas Bengtson
9:04 AlgoRave (Tod #1)
DJ_Dave:
Instagram reels:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DL0P-2WusOO/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIKC6D6SpQM/
TikTok
YouTube livestreams
Strudel
Originally mentioned in Bootloader Episode 2 back in Oct 2022
Awesome livecoding list
14:00 The RP2350 Mini-Computers are here
Adafruit Fruit Jam
Olimex RP2350pc
18:39 CyberBricks
24:28 KiCad cli and diff viewer
kicad-cli
Tod’s visual diff shell script
28:56 Commodore 64 Ultimate
31:48 Wrap-up
...more
33min
July 07, 2025The rant and the love letter
Tod and Paul discuss a MIDI chip, an epic rant, a love letter, and more.
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky.
00:00 Welcome
00:17 SAM2695 General MIDI chip
Seeed XIAO MIDI
M5stack w/ speaker
M5stack w/ MIDI in/out
DIYElectroMusic articles
SAM2695 datahsheet
Tod demo on Adafruit Show-n-Tell
3:51 Supercollider and Supriya
Supercollider synth engine
Supriya Python API
Supriya subreddit
5:47 The STM32 rant
12:18 A love letter to embedded engineering
Prof. V. Hunter Adams’ November 2023 lecture, “Why I love building things with microcontrollers.”
16:10 Alternate music keyboard layouts
20:09 Spintronics
22:47 Wrap-up
...more
23min
June 02, 2025 Rated PG for Language
Paul and Tod discuss tariffs, desoldering tricks, a classic arcade game, and more.
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky. Follow Paul on Mastodon or Bluesky. Follow Tod on Mastodon or Bluesky.
For detailed show notes and transcripts, visit TheBootloader.net
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome
00:17 Tarriffs are Bullshit
6:00 Desoldering Tricks
10:21 Philips Fixables
12:45 Resurrecting Sinistar
15:36 Kiwix
17:56 Euroknob
21:40 Wrap-up
...more
22min
May 05, 2025I'm Afraid it's TRMNL
Welcome to a new episode! Tod and Paul chat about woodworking, MP3 players, a CircuitPython synthio tutorial, and more.
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky.
00:00 Intro
00:12 Hyperwood
2:34 Synology NAS devices
7:27 TRMNL WiFi ePaper display
11:29 Rockbox 4.0
Paul incorrectly stated 2022 as the year of the first Rockbox release. It’s 2002 and we regret the error.
13:02 CircuitPython synthio tutorial
16:05 mobygratis
18:13 Wrap-up
...more
19min
April 07, 2025Welcome Andy Piper
Andy Piper joins Tod and Paul and they discuss an open source laptop, 3D printing filament detection, synths, and more.
Visit Andy’s homepage
Check out TheBootloader.net for detailed show notes and transcript.
Follow us on social media:
Andy Piper on Mastodon or Bluesky
Paul Cutler on Mastodon or Bluesky
Tod Kurt on Mastodon or Bluesky
00:00 Intro
00:59 Glance app
5:33 Soundfonts, General MIDI, and a ROMpler
11:55 OpenSpool and SpoolEase
15:39 MNT Pocket Reform
21:55 DIYR Design Lamps and Speaker
25:20 Podcast Later
28:22 Wrap-up
...more
29min
March 03, 2025Welcome Brent Rubell
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky and join our newsletter
Check out TheBootlader.net for detailed show notes, links, and transcript.
Brent Rubell of Adafruit Industries joins Tod and Paul. They discuss the Wippersnapper IoT firmware, Arduino libraries, microcontrollers as mini-computers, and more.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome
00:27 Wippersnapper’s new offline mode
Wippersnapper Learn Guide
5:36 rp2040 speed update
Hackster coverage
9:19 Microcontrollers as mini-computers
[SlimeDeck[(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnwPmoWMGqk)
*Adafruit Fruit Jam
14:14 Obsidian note taking app
17:44 Arduino library bots
fosstodon.org/@arduinoLibs
@ArduinoLibs.bsky.social
Maintaner: @tobozo
20:48 3D Printed records
Instructables page
Amanda Ghassaei’s home page
26:01 Wrap-up
...more
27min
February 03, 2025Bamboozled
Paul and Tod discuss drama in the world of 3D printing, oscilloscope music, inventory management for makers, and more.
Follow the show on Mastodon or Bluesky and sign up for ad-free, spam-free, tracking-free monthly newsletter.
Show Notes
bamboozle: To deceive or dupe; hoodwink. synonym: deceive.
00:00 Welcome
00:14 Drama in the world of 3D printing
Bambu Firmware Update Introducing New Authorization Control System
The Verge coverage
8:36 Oscilloscope music
Tutorials and how-to links
Oscilloscope Music
13:00 ucritair
15:50 Buchla and friends
19:02 Inventory management for makers
22:14 Wrap-up
...more
23min
January 06, 2025Sunsets, Synths, and Pinball!
Happy New Year! Tod and Paul are back, each with three things to share. They discuss sunsetting a popular IDE, Tod’s favorite synth (which does so much more), 3D printing, pinball, and more.
We’re now on Bluesky! Follow us on Bluesky or subscribe to our newsletter.
Visit The Bootloader.net for detailed show notes, links, transcripts, and more.
00:00 Welcome
00:19 Sunsetting Mu
3:23 The Synthstrom Deluge
9:11 Home Assistant Voice (Preview Edition)
12:13 The Sound of Logic: Klangorium
15:50 3D Printing News Round-up
A 4D axis printer, where the nozzle can rotate.
MobiPrint, a mobile 3D printer, without a bed. Hackaday YouTube
Make a working PCB using a SLA printer’s UV light.
The Lemontron 3D printer costs just over $400 to make yourself and is small enough to transport in an empty filament box. Hackaday and Tom’s Hardware
PolyDye adds an ink jet toner cartridge to your 3D printer to allow printing in color. Hackaday
PETFusion 2.0 launched a Kickstarter that fully funded in 3 hours to create a bottle recycler and custom 3D printer filament maker. It includes the STL files and bill of materials you need to build your own. STLs start at $39 up to $109 for a commercial license version.
19:18 Pinball!
Pacific Pinball Museum
Find machines near you with Pinballmap.com
23:01 Good-bye RadioFreeFedi.net
23:15 Wrap-up
...more
24min
December 02, 2024 Supercon 2024
Tod and Paul discuss the recent Hackaday Supercon. They share some of their favorite talks, the Supercon badge, and notable add-ons for the badge.
For detailed show notes, including pictures, visit TheBootloader.net. And while you’re there, sign up for our newsletter!
00:00 Welcome
00:25 What is Supercon?
3:23 The Supercon badge
5:25 Supercon badge simple add-ons
6:44 The 2024 Supercon badge
7:16 Tod’s simple add-on, the touchwheel SAO
10:03 Conference talks overview
10:35 Giving Robotic Friends a Voice (Paul #1)
12:59 CircuitGraver (Tod #1)
15:17 Solving the Last Mile with 3D Printed Packaging (Paul #2)
18:10 In Living Color: A New World of Full Color PCBs (Tod #2)
19:27 Microcontrollers are Just Radios in Disguise
24:41 Notable Simple Add-Ons
29:28 Wrap-up
...more
30min

FAQs about The Bootloader:

How many episodes does The Bootloader have?

The podcast currently has 26 episodes available.

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