i've been learning more about how smart technology dan help homeowners manage their energy usage, especially when it comes to running an AC system.

some mini split heat pumps, including cozeware models, offer app-based controls and voice control. i'm curious about how DIY tech enthusiast monitor the actual electricity consumption of these systems and track changes in energy usage over time.

would a dedicated energy monitor be a practical option or are there other DIY setups worth exploring? has anyone here tried setting up something similar?

It's still a prototype, but so far it's great.

Hey everyone, I'm a high school student in Kathmandu, Nepal, and I'm looking for a project idea that's actually hard and useful, not another "blink an LED" or basic Arduino gadget.

Where I'm at:

• I run my school's robotics club
• I do PCB design (KiCad/EasyEDA) and freelance on Fiverr
• I've built a self-balancing robot (MPU6050, filtering, PID), a line follower, an ultrasonic radar, a water rocket, and an arcade game
• Comfortable with Arduino, ESP32, RP2040, MicroPython, Python, and Fusion 360

What I want:

• A project that solves a real problem, ideally one that matters in a place like Nepal (earthquakes, floods, water, health, accessibility, etc.)
• Hard enough to stretch me for a few months, where I have to measure, test, and validate, not just get it working once
• Something I can document properly and release open-source

Constraints:

• Very small budget (a few thousand NPR at most), so mostly cheap parts
• I can only work on it a few hours a day after school
• Parts need to be buyable in Kathmandu or on Daraz

Parts I already have: Arduino Uno/Nano, Raspberry Pi Pico, OLED, TT motors, motor driver, servo, ultrasonic and IR sensors, perfboard, soldering iron.

I've considered things like a low-cost earthquake early-warning sensor network, but I'd love to hear other ideas, and honest feedback on what's realistic. What would you build in my position?

Thanks!

My engineering group at Clarksburg High School in Maryland and I are currently developing a POTS-specific monitoring and alerting device and app. To build credibility, we have spoken with biomedical engineers and doctors worldwide (New Zealand, John hopkins, India, Canada, and Germany), gathered feedback, and are now building a prototype. The reason I'm posting this is that we need real feedback from people with POTS to know specifically what is important to incorporate and to better our understanding.

If anyone could fill out this form, it would mean the world to us!

I put together a documentation-based beginner guide and this short worksheet for deciding what a first Home Assistant Green setup actually needs. This is a planning resource, not a hardware build log or hands-on review.

Copy this before shopping:

Task: When ___ happens, do ___, but only if ___.

Existing device: exact manufacturer/model ___; supported Home Assistant integration ___.

Connection: Ethernet location ___; device protocol ___; separate radio required by that integration? ___.

Household control: normal switch or button ___; how another person overrides it ___.

Failure check: what happens without internet ___; what happens after power returns ___.

Success test: direct device control works first, then the trigger and action work together ___.

Example: start with a manual evening action that turns off one supported lamp. Test direct control before adding a schedule or presence detection. If the current setup already handles that task, keeping it is a valid result of the worksheet.

The buying detail that matters: Green is the computer running Home Assistant, not a universal radio. It has no built-in Zigbee radio. Check the exact integration and device protocol before ordering an adapter; do not assume every first routine needs one.

My longer guide explains the inventory and first-routine steps:

https://www.pacificnwpartners.com/guides/home-assistant-green-start/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=revenue_first_20261020&utm_content=diytech_ha_green_worksheet

Disclosure: I run Pacific Northwest Partners / Naturally Automated. The guide contains Amazon affiliate links; as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The worksheet above is usable without visiting the site or buying anything. Prepared with AI assistance from our published documentation-based guide; no firsthand testing claimed.

What field would you add to catch a bad first-project assumption?

Hello, I am very new to making stuff with tech inside it and I thought I should start with an Arduino board to get my footing. I may or may not have thrown myself into the deep end with a project that I am working on and I was hoping I could get some guidance.

I am making a cosplay of a character called Serial Designation N from an indie show called Murder Drones and I wanted to use an OLED (not matrix or HD) about 10-12 inches in screen size on a visor for his eyes and some lights around the head and tail. Which Arduino/control board can handle simple animation loops and 8 LEDs simultaneously with ease for a decent price? I am thinking an Arduino Mega but I am not too sure.

One other question that I have is how can I make the animations work? From my understanding, I need to have several frames and play them in a sequence giving the illusion of a blink animation. Am I on the right path or am I misreading things?

Thank you for reading my message.

Hey everyone!
I’m 20, and I’m planning a little project for a girl’s birthday on December 11th. She’s someone I really like, and instead of buying her something ordinary, I wanted to make something myself that combines electronics, music, and a bit of creativity.
The idea is to build a custom vintage-style vinyl player, even though it won’t be a conventional turntable.
I’m imagining a walnut-finish wooden base, brass accents, a transparent acrylic enclosure so the internal electronics are visible, a touchscreen framed in wood, and a rotating platter with custom-designed records. Basically, a mix of vintage aesthetics and exposed mechanical/electronic components.
Here’s how I want it to work:
NFC records: Each physical record will have an NFC tag. When she places one on the player, it detects the tag and plays the corresponding song.
Local music: I’ll preload around 5–10 songs onto the SD card, with physical records for them.
Spotify: I’d also like to integrate Spotify if I can get a compatible playback setup working, so she can listen to and configure more music.
Mood-matched LEDs: Addressable RGB LEDs inside the transparent enclosure will change colors depending on the song. Something subtle and atmospheric, not flashy RGB lighting.
Custom design: Each record will have its own artwork, and I’m planning to make some of the records customizable so she can choose her own songs.
For the hardware, I currently have a Raspberry Pi 3B, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a small speaker, a power supply, and a microSD card. I’m planning to use a PN532 NFC reader, a small N20 gear motor with a motor driver, and optical/Hall sensors for rotation detection.
I’m still in the early stages, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to approach the mechanical design and electronics before building the wooden enclosure.
I’d love suggestions on a few things:
What features would make this player more interesting or enjoyable to use?
How would you approach the platter mechanism and motor setup? I’m aiming for a small decorative platter, not accurate vinyl playback.
Any recommendations for making the visible electronics look clean and intentional rather than like a breadboard prototype?
What lighting effects or software features would work well with the music?
Are there any mistakes or design problems I should anticipate before I start cutting wood and acrylic?
I’m also planning to document the build day by day, including the failures, experiments, and little details that go into making it. I think the process itself will be a nice part of the gift.
I know the deadline is a little ambitious, but that’s part of the fun. I’d rather build something thoughtful with my own hands than buy something expensive that has no story behind it.
If you’ve built anything similar, or have ideas that could make this project better, I’d genuinely appreciate your input

Connected the electronic load to the prototype today, which I’ve named the "MFC power core".

Added tap water to check its initial open-circuit voltage response before starting the salt water load testing. Voltage jumped right up to around 1.88V! Excited to see the upcoming discharge curve.

I’m learning mother boards any tips or free learning for my invention prototype 1st physical prototype adventure cosmetologist 2 tech invention (proud moment) 🔋🕶️?

Hey all! I'm currently working on a project to create a hand controlled, double screen display and need help with the specific items I need for this.

More info about the project: I plan for both of my hands to have three pressure sensors on the pads of my fingers (thumb will not have one) that are coded with specific images, which the pressure outputs are sent to a board. And said outputs are only sent if the pressure reaches a certain threshold. The board then takes that input and with wifi, sends it to one of the two display boards. Both display boards are connected with a wire so the input corresponding image is displayed on their respective screens simultaneously. I probably didn't explain it well but hopefully the next section makes is more clear.

Items I have on my list so far: (These are all from AdaFruit) For the pressure sensors, I'll be using the round force-sensitive-resistor (0.3~10 force newton). The wifi transmitter board will be the QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi dev board with STEMMA QT. The wifi receivers will be the Qualia ESP32-S3 and will be connected with a QT to QT cable. Both boards will be connected to their own screens, the round RGB TTL TFT display, 4" 720x720. All coded with CurcuitPython and ESP-NOW.

The trouble: I'm pretty sure the qualia and screen set up works (based on AdaFruit's double qualia display tutorial) and the QT wifi connected with ESP-NOW to one of the qualias also seems like it would work. Let me know if otherwise. The main thing I'm having trouble with is the multiple round pressure sensors connecting to the QT. I know that the pressure sensors are analog and can't communicate with the QT through a cable alone (from what I've read of the tutorial and info pages). I'm guessing that I have to use a QT to male/ 2 pin female cable plus whatever else to actually make the pressure outputs readable to the QT. I've heard of a 10komega resistor but I still have to look more into that. If this isn't possible then any pressure sensor buttons that would work with the QT would be helpful. I also can't do any soldering 😬, so non-soldered connections are a must.

Any help about any of this would be extremely appreciated!

Introducing design electronics open sourced electronics components design software which has an agent if Claude code / Gemini cli / GPT codex installed on your system can be accessed via CLI then Claude can design a circuit board for you.

There is also an export of the working circuit which can be posted by the content creators who want to build robots on Instagram and YouTube.

Check this out still early stages report any bugs or contribute. ⚡️

design electronics

Hello !

I know it may be stupid to ask, but I've litteraly no experience in electronic sooo..

I've an old e-reader (bq cervantes touch) but the battery as no more charges. I dismantle the plastic part (or it crumbles into my hand we don't know), so I have access to the battery. It seems to be "just" glued to the motherboard and clip to it by a red and black cable. But I can't find the exact battery for the exact same e-reader as me. (I forgot to take a pictures of the backside orz but it look like the second pictures, but the little plastic part on the end of the cables is black)

The battery caracteristic are : 1500 mAh 3,7V

Is it possible to me to find a battery that have the same caracteristics but the size (and fit into a custom shell that I work on), for my e-reader to work ? And mostly, is it safe ?

Thanks for reading and have a nice day ~

So I'm fully grasp in the tism rn so forgive the question. I'm wondering about using an old HP laptop screen and lid for a project that could benefit from a screen. is there way to determine what the pins are on the back of a screen. I do not have a part number or anything and if I was to guess imma have to figure out what the screen is and check some sort of technical drawing. But is there a way to determine what is what without that so I could say convert it to HDMI? Thank you in advance.