It is kind of the ultimate "not a TOE[1]" example yet.
[1] TOE or TCP Offload Engine was a dedicated peripheral card that implements both the layer 1 (MAC), layer 2 (Ethernet), and layer 3 (IP) functions as a co-processing element to relieve the 'main' CPU the burden of doing all that.
Any suggestions for people not used to tinkering with hardware? I would like to play I think, but I have a lack of imagination regarding potential projects/goals.
I'd like to hook up a rain sensor to a skylight to close it when it rains (needs a little motor, too), and then also hook it up to weather forecasts.
I currently have to switch on my TV, surround set and a laptop, and then push multiple buttons to switch to/from a firestick. I'd like to automate that, so I can just switch it on/off and switch the source easily. Also if the system is in an unknown state (tv on, but using the incorrect HDMI input and the surround set if switched off, etc.), which is what the naive solution using a "fingerbot" and a IR blaster hooked up to godawful tuya stuff doesn't do.
Build a GPS-synchronized flip clock.
Add remote control door opening without destroying my flat's intercom system.
Mostly kinda boring home automation stuff, but would be worth it for tinkering.
If you don't know how to solder the Hacker Boxes folks have a soldering workshop kit that includes an iron[2], but many maker spaces will do soldering clinics. Soldering irons are available as cheap[3] and more expensive[4] (and ludicrous[5]). The Arduino IDE runs on pretty much anything (Linux, MacOS, Windows).
[2] Soldering Workshop --- https://hackerboxes.com/collections/subscriptions/products/s...
[3] $13 iron from Amazon --- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DY7CCW5
[4] ~$150 soldering station --- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077JDGY1J?th=1
[5] $1000+ Metcal station --- https://www.qsource.com/itemdetail/?itemCode=MX-5210-M020
To that end:
1. Blink an LED (this is more rewarding than it seems it should be, because it proves that the toolchain works)
2. Learn to fade that LED on and off instead of blink
3. Learn to make an RGB pixel using red, green, and blue LEDs and some tissue paper
4. Realize that's kind of limiting, and use a WS2812B LED pixel instead
5. Notice that there's whole panels of WS2812B available
6. Buy one. Make it display dumb memes or emojis or dickbutts or whatever.
7. Add a web interface.
8. Give it a domain name.
9. Aim a camera at it, fire up a twitch stream, send the link to HN, and we'll spend a few hours or days shitposting on your little video wall
10. ???
11. (there is no profit. it's supposed to be fun, right?)
When he messed up the color conversion "Green Farquaad" was a recurring meme in our group chat.
Oh hey, I made that[0] at a previous apartment! It sat on my LAN and I'd VPN in if I was out of wifi range.
I struggle to find time/motivation for stuff like that these days. I was contracting back then and had downtime between jobs.
[0] https://github.com/jeremy21212121/doorman-building-arduino
you can program it with the USB and the Arduino IDE
most dev boards (that means the MCU is put onto a PCB and you can do stuff with its pins) already have a LED on it so you can blink that without any soldering
they also usually have two tiny buttons one of which doesn't do anything/much and you can use those as input
ESP32 also has built in Wifi and you can make it host a supertiny webserver, or even be its own AP. It also has Bluetooth but I haven't tried that yet.
You can do all these things by asking ChatGPT for the code and instructions :-)
It can do a lot more than this though, but it might inspire you to try other things.
Oh one more very cool thing if you're just getting started is that the ESP32 has 10 pins which are "capacitive touch" sensors and attach a wire to that pin and if you touch the wire, your program gets a signal. This works very well and makes that you can do interactive stuff without even having to solder buttons on anything.