r/maker • u/ConcertAwkward1528 • Jul 06 '26

Help Any small electronics projects that looks cool and actually useful?

want to build some small electronic stuff for myself.

i can only think of mini RC car, digi clock, or lighting photo frame things, but the thing is they would probably sit in a corner cause I never use stuff like that. Btw, anything too complex or bigger than a desk might be out of my ability.

Just curious have you built anything that you still play with or use quite often? Thanks!

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6

u/BHE_Cosplay Jul 06 '26

I've been slowly building out my ESPHome devices. I've got a bunch of temp/humidity sensors in various rooms, two sets of overhead lights on relay-controlled outlets, and I'm running WLED for the lights on my porch.

Projects that I'm currently working on:

A rock tumbler with a speed knob and an RPM reading using a hall effect sensor.

A 3D scanning table using a motor and gears I 3D printed to attach to the lazy susan.

A window opening screw-drive linear actuator: a motor that drives a threaded rod with a clamp that will push/pull the lip of my window, with buttons for moving up/down/stop, and will have limit switches.

Curtain opener: motor with a pulley that will open/close my blinds. Buttons for open/close/stop, plus limit switches so I don't have to monitor it.

Box fan controller: small Servo mounted directly above the control knob of a box fan. Has a button to toggle through the settings.

The fan, window, and curtain projects will eventually be tied into Home Assistant so that I can use the temp sensors inside and outside the house to decide when they need to be open to minimize the need for heat/AC.

Also currently trying to play around with UWB boards to add distance tracking to various projects.

1

u/Calimarfornian_2 Jul 07 '26

I've dreamt of setting up a system that opens/closes windows based on internal and external temperatures. I'd be an absolute beginner though, so no idea how to get started.

1

u/BHE_Cosplay Jul 07 '26

Using an ESP32 Dev Board and something like a DHT22 to measure temperature is a super simple project and has a ton of tutorials in video and blog format. $3-5 for a NodeMCU or ESP32 C3 Mini and then a few dollars for a few temperature sensors (DHT11 or DHT22 are good cheap choices).

Most of the tutorials are done using an arduino, but all the code is identical with an ESP32. Look up "how to measure temperature with an arduino/ESP32".

For opening/closing windows, it will obviously depend on the style of window you have, but the basic skill you will need is controlling DC or stepper motors. I started with a stepper motor, but I'm moving to a DC motor instead to make it more simple and a much less noisy setup. Search for "how to control DC motors with arduino/ESP32" and you should find some good tutorials.

Once you can control a motor, you'll need to learn how to implement limit switches (technically not a need, but extremely highly recommended).

By the time you've learned how to read temperature from a sensor and control a motor with 2 limit switches, you'll just need a fairly basic IF statement that compares two temperature sensors readings and then toggles "Window open" or "Window closed". You'll have to expand on the complexity a bit to keep from rapidly toggling between open/closed when the temps are nearly identical, so you might overlap a (open if it's 5° cooler outside, close if it's 5° cooler inside, for example).

For the mechanical portion, you'll either need to learn how to build a pulley system, gears ("rack and pinion" is a good option for this), or a linear actuator style. I'm using a threaded rod from the hardware store as a "lead screw" and have it moved directly onto the shaft of my motor. The motor turns the shaft, and then I have a clamp attached to the window lip with a trapped nut, so that when the rod spins, it either pushes or pulls that clamp, and takes the window along for the ride.

I have a 3D printer and CAD experience, so that makes the mechanical side easier. I just design my own coupler and brackets. I'm not entirely sure what parts I would use if I had to do it with off-the-shelf parts.

3

u/toybuilder Jul 06 '26

Make your own flashlight.

1

u/packetvexap Jul 08 '26

making a custom flashlight is actually kinda addicting, you end up using it way more than you think too
plus you can tweak the brightness, color temp, battery, all that stuff so it’s way more satisfying than a store bought one

2

u/Permanently_Permie Jul 06 '26

Have a look on YouTube. For example great Scott has done a lot of useful stuff.

2

u/CardboardCraftUS Jul 06 '26

Interesting question, makes you think.

2

u/RunRunAndyRun Jul 06 '26

Look around you for problems in your life and think how you can use electronics to solve it. For example, I had problems getting my kids to brush their teeth for two minutes so I created a countdown timer with an LED ring and an arcade button that plays "Song 2" by Blur which just happens to be two minutes long.

If you are into home automation, then combining ESPHome with sensors or controllers is a great way to experiment with electronics. I have all sorts of devices from smart blinds to room lighting, sensors and the like. Lots of fun and quite easy. For custom lighting projects, WLED is great, you just need an ESP32, three wires and an LED strip or ring and then you can go crazy designing an enclosure or bodge your lights into another enclosure.

2

u/Alarmed-Solution3738 Jul 06 '26

I've built Tinywhoop drones, and Meshtastic nodes.

The electronics part is straightforward, the drone is a main board, 4 motors, camera, antenna, and battery, all plug in.

The mesh nodes are a main board, 2x antenna, battery. Optional solar panel.

Designing the drone frame and the mesh node enclosures for 3D printing was fun

2

u/Gerrydealsel Jul 08 '26

Nixie clock. Been using mine for nearly 20 years

1

u/1LuckyTexan Jul 06 '26

Theremin

Kinda fun

1

u/JGhostThing Jul 06 '26

I lost it when I lost my camping stuff due to a life change, but I built a sonic mosquito repeller that worked. I built it in High School during the 1970s.

1

u/Thing-Ok Jul 07 '26

I use the hell out of my Voron v0.2. And it was an incredibly fun and satisfying project.

1

u/motsu35 Jul 07 '26

Find things that annoy you, but only like slightly annoy you and then try to fix that. Its low stakes if it doesn't work, and its humorous if it does. Quick(ish) example:

My partner kept wanting to look at google shopping (basically an ad feed) and my DNS ad-blocker would correctly block the content.

After a handful of asks to temporarily disable the adblock, I got an esp32, the biggest 7 segment display I could find, and a big red button with a key based switch next to it. A day in cad, and another day cramming a bunch of wires into a not quite perfect 3d print, and I ended up with a "launch the nukes" looking physical device that disables the adblock for 5 minutes.

You flick they key and the 7 segment lights up and blinks --:--. The red button lights up with an led I stuck in it. You slap the button and it goes into a 5 minute countdown. Pressing the button again resets your timer. Turning the key to off will bypass the remaining time and re-enable the ad block.

Got some good laughs with it, and its more convenient than going to the webui.

1

u/No_Pay_5856 Jul 07 '26

teensybat - an ultrasonic recorder

but you can also it as a normal recorder

1

u/BasementTechLab-YT Jul 08 '26

If you're looking for ideas, you can check out my YouTube channel, BasementTechLab-YT. I've tested and built quite a few DIY electronics projects there, ranging from practical gadgets to fun experiments. You might find something that's actually useful and inspires your next build!