Projects

Turning on Computers with Computers And It’s been a while… …since i wrote about some Pfusch on here. So here comes for part two of Automated Lights. To increase the ever growing laziness in this household, i decided to expand the automation plattform i have built. The 4 USB-Ports got swapped out in favor of 8 2.5x5.5 powerplugs/ports. The main difference in this setup is, that they’re not powered, but the connected relais only shorten the two incoming leads. These Relais then act as button presses. ...

Hacking into the Projector-Matrix In order to turn on this standalone Benq Projector (BenQ TH671ST) via my Automation-Plattform, i needed to hijack the Power-Button. Getting into this system wasn’t as easy as expected. The various plastic clips proved to be stupid. If you plan on opening up this exact system, start with the bottom screws and work your way from the front plastic to the back. Mind the connected Cable from the Top-Cover and start poking into the retaining-clips with a screwdriver or smth similar. ...

Hacking into the Sound-Matrix Same as with the Projector, i needed to get leads onto the power-button of this thing. Getting into this system was easier than this stupid Benq. Pull away the side covers to reveal 3 screws, afterwards just pull away the top cover. Modding the button proofed to be difficult. These are capacitive Touch-buttons, which means they dont have regular 4 lead-push-buttons. Some tinkering revealed that the marked power-lead connects to the push-surface. What this thing does exactly is unknown to me, but it reacts to changes in its circuit (against ground probably, what do i know…) A single wire got soldered to that Connector. The other end gets plugged into the NO-Side of the Relais. The switching of the Relais triggers a button-event. ...

The first installment of finished carnival games. Key Facts: Kick Off: 05.07.2017 Finish: 03.09.2017 approx. Cost: ~350€ During my time at HTL Krems i apparently didn’t have enough to do already, so i set out a new goal for myself. I wanted to recreate one of the classic Arcade Machines of the 80s/90s era. Research has begun and thus i landed on the MAME Project. A Multiple Machine Emulator, which would be able to run various types of ROMs which i obviously bought from someone wearing a long black-leathered coat in a dark allyway. As i recently had to purchase a new Laptop for school, i had an unused and really shitty Laptop laying around (yes, it was a Medion…). That became the backbone of this Project. ...

A QOL-improvement to assist in camping cooking. Key Facts: Kick Off: 26.01.2025 Finish: 23.04.2025 approx. Cost: 50€ Printables Files Two friends of mine came to me with a very specific problem they came across while being out on a camping trip. They tried to secure their cutting Board perpendicular to the stove-lid, to act as a windbreak while cooking. Attempts were made using an assortment of different tools, none of which could provide the needed holding strength for day-to-day usage. ...

My first dive into the world of gridfinity. The combination of having a workshop and also hoarding screws creates a great need for organization. There comes a time, when you can’t resist the temptation of starting your own gridfinity implementation any longer. I created my STL Files in Freecad, using the Gridfinity Workbench. Unfortunately, the needed Freecad Version 1.0 is only available as .AppImage as the time of writing. ...

A (debatably) beautiful headphone stand. Key Facts: Kick Off: 26.03.2025 Finish: 04.04.2025 approx. Cost: 90-100€ Printables Files A friend of mine sent me a picture of a headphone stand he had laid his eyes on for the past couple of weeks and asked me if we could (kind of) recreate it for cheaper. So i tried. A first recreation was quickly drawn up in a CAD-model, before realizing there will be some modifications needed for structural integrity. ...

A wedding gift for two very close friends. ❤️ Key Facts: Kick Off: 01.03.2024 Finish: 02.06.2024 approx. Cost: undisclosed This project involved two major parts i had to develop. A music player and a motor-driven carousel. At first i tried to let one arduino control both the music and the motor. Since i had gathered lots of experience controlling various stepper/dc motors in the past, i knew the bigger struggle would be the audio-part. Many iterations of buying -> testing -> failing lead me down different paths of exploring sd-card modules, active amplifiers and speaker combinations and various arduino boards. In the end i concluded it would be simpler to acquire a used mp3-player & mini-speaker, dissasemble them both and reincorporate their components into the project. ...

The second installment of finished carnival games. Key Facts: Kick Off: 01.11.2022 Finish: 01.10.2023 approx. Cost: 600€ Controlling-Boards: Arduino Uno & Arduino Mega Claw Model: Thingiverse: servo robotic claw The idea was born while working on the meanwhile abandoned project “pinball-machine”. Continuing to work on a 3+ year old project base seemed no longer like a good idea. My manufacturing capabilities and process-standards evolved a lot during these years, while doing various other projects. Notably the “smart-home/security” project, which kicked off my production of homebrew parts through 3d-printing and evolved the planning & execution of electrical components. So it became clear that the “pinball-machine” wouldn’t be wise to continue, with the realization that i would need to rework all components to fit my self-obliged production-standards. ...