I’ve spent years managing projects in a professional capacity so, yes, this may appear a little formal but I assure you, I don’t have a Gantt chart lurking somewhere – it’s just messy folders with links to webpages, JPEGs and PDFs.
The page lists the projects I am working on, the ones I’m about to start, the ones deferred and the ones completed.
In Progress
Retro Pi Phone
Repurpose vintage GPO 706 phone as VoIP phone with Alexa; using Raspberry Pi. (Almost complete – awaiting USB soundcard). Some difficulties with consistency of rotary dialler pulse mapping (not debounce time, no).
I suspect Google will consolidate their many communication platforms so I may hold off on the VoIP part for a while.
Arcade Machine
I am using a Raspberry Pi 3 board to make a full sized retro arcade machine. The MDF frame is assembled, a monitor in situ and the controls are in place. I am using an old PC PSU to give 5V and 12V rails and I have (as of Apr ’23) got a small 12V amplifier. Just need some 3 inch speakers (with grills) and some perspex (a large cheap picure frame from a charity shop) for the front and it will be almost complete. The final touch will be printing graphics on vinyl so there’ll be some photshoppery/ilustrator and convincing a printers to let me print copyrighted graphics – I think it’s okay for personal.
Use 3D Printer
Need to fire up the Rep Rap and test all is okay. Be good to fit CNC and laser.
Vintage AV
I am currently restoring a music centre (record player, tape deck and FM radio), a couple of reel-reel and super-8 projector. I’m also fixing up a mini B&W portable TV and soldering on a composite input.
Brownie Pi
I recently acquired a couple of old Brownie cameras and with film so pricey, I decide to fit one of them out with a rapsberry pi and camera etc. Thee cameras are so commonplace, I don’t feel it is ‘sacrilege’.
Ready to Start
Build a Sundial
The study of sundials is Gnomonics – good book from the 70s called “Sundials: Their Theory and Construction”
Weather Station
Build a weather station (wind, rain, temp, humidity, pressure, soil moisture/temp, air quality, UV) that sends updates to the web for logging. Lots of projects have been documented – no need to reinvent the wheel – reaspberry Pi foundation has documented one.
Acquire HAM radio license.
Purchase Transceiver(Bought Baofeng UV-5R and some antennae)- Read Foundation Now
- Join Club (I don’t think any local clubs are still active).
- Sit Exam and get a call sign.
Setup RTL-SDR Web Server
I purchased an RTL-SDR USB dongle for £7 in 2014 when I found out it could be used to receive frequencies 25MHz to 1750MHz (extended to 13 – 1864 MHz with a minor hack). Great for picking up part of the shortwave spectrum. Have used it for interest on occasion but I want a more permanent availability and enable public users to use this device remotely over the Web (this would really be amateur radio operators). There’s two software contenders to control my software-defined radio (SDR) running on a (at least) RPi 3: OpenWebRX and WebSDR. Live examples of each can be found at skywavelinux.com.
Buy RTL-SDR board
Automated Equatorial Mount Telescope
Will utilise Panasonic Toughbook and Vellemann K8055 USB board to motorise object-tracking telescope for deep sky astrophotography.
Teletext Converter
I had a 6 month recovery in hospital in 2000 after an accident and without Internet access, Teletext was my only source of live info (and some degree of interactivity). Ironically, I had a full-blown desktop PC just to provide me with Teletext via TV tuner. I am so nostalgic for Teletext; the music and its nuances. I want to build either a Raspberry Pi-HDMI-TV box or a web page to format current content on the fly into a Teletext format from some nostalgia.
Patchwork Blanket
I have been saving patches of material I cut out from old clothes etc. that were too shabby for charity shops. I have an old Singer sewing machine in pristine condition that I could use to make a patchwork quilt. Use an old sheet for the lining. Good to go.
Deferred
Archival and Storage
Need a good system for storing 50TB of data. Needs to be reliable, low energy consumption and low cost per TB. The M-Disc format with some sort of NAS disc changer is looking promising. Anything else seems pointless for reliability – see the comparison table in this article.
Smartwatch App Development
I’ve already spent some time learning lua
Either for use in home automation, with quadcopter.
Defer until platform has stabilised.
E-Ink Digital Photo Frame
I have digital photo frames but the main problem is that they are effort to update via an SD card. I want photo frames that update automatically over the Web and utilise Google Photos. I use a couple of chromecasts at home that do this in ambient mode via the TV in the lounge and a monitor in the office. Despite the TV’s remarkably low power consumption, force of habit makes me turn it off after use and if I am in the office, I am likely using the monitor for something anyway: Net result, I never see the Chromecasts displaying photos.
I don’t need more LED screens around the house though. I have this series of screens from largest to smallest – TV, desktop, laptop, tablet, phone and watch. It’s madness. I don’t like leaving screens on at night either. The best solution would be either a Chromecast (easy) or a raspberry pi (not as easy) connected to a colour e-ink display (like this one). It would be low power consumption and they can be left on as they don’t have a backlight. The difficulty is, that they currently have such a limited range of colours (seven!) and I suspect they will evolve and become a lot cheaper in a couple of years – deferred for now.
TI-83 Plus App
I got the TI-83 Plus calculator when I started my maths degree and it’s brilliant. I’d intended to make an app for it and although this is my go to calculator, even after a couple of decades I never did make an app. There’s lots of documentation for development and I must have a 3.5mm to USB lead knocking about somewhere. This really is not a priority.
Completed
Pseudo Holographic Projector
Make a dress – made for JP to wear on Burns Night, along with a matching bow tie for me.
Make Scout blanket into a poncho and sew on my badges. Done (with Mum’s help!).