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Ask HN: What cool skill or project interests you, but feels out of reach?

124 points akktor | 1 comments | 09 Jun 25 12:41 UTC | HN request time: 0.214s | source

This question's for all those cool projects or skills you're secretly fascinated by, but haven't quite jumped into. Maybe you feel like you just don't have the right "brain" for it, or you're not smart enough to figure it out, or even worse, you simply have no clue how or where to even start.

The idea here is to shine a light on these hidden interests and the little (or big!) mental blocks that come with them. If you're already rocking in those specific areas – or you've been there and figured out how to get past similar hurdles – please chime in! Share some helpful resources, dish out general advice, or just give a nudge of encouragement on how to take that intimidating first step.

Let's help each other get unstuck!

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swsieber ◴[10 Jun 25 19:03 UTC] No.44240192[source]▶
Hobby electronics & robotics. I can make an LED blink on a ESP8266 (it's been a while), but that's it. I'd like to get more familiar with a multimeter, figuring out broken kids toys, etc. but it's a bit daunting. Maybe there's too many options and not enough constraints. I'm not sure.
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ge96 ◴[10 Jun 25 19:26 UTC] No.44240457[source]▶
This gotta come up with a project you want for yourself and make it. I remember soldering one of those 2x16 LCD screens and it had a short so it would start smoking to designing/3D printing my own quadruped with an IMU/navigation. I did cheat and not use inverse kinematics, I watched videos on other insect-style quads walking and I programmed it manually.

I think main gotcha is power distribution and shared ground eg. using a boost converter or regulator to boost/downgrade voltage and which servos/sensors uses what. Later have to be concerned with too much current being drawn but yeah.

I used these green proto boards you can solder onto as a step up above breadboard but not my own PCB.

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1. theoreticalmal ◴[11 Jun 25 16:12 UTC] No.44249103[source]▶
I have produced the magical blue smoke multiple times out of my own mistakes. It’s part of the process!