micropi

Repairing a Commodore 64

A few months ago my aunt gave me her old Commodore 64 that had been sitting in the attic for over 30 years. It was covered with a layer of dust and grime which needed a lot of toilet paper to remove. I wasn’t able to try and get it working at the time becauseContinue reading “Repairing a Commodore 64”

Creating an online bird identification quiz

Over the past couple of days I’ve been working on an online quiz that tests your ability to recognise birds by showing pictures or playing recordings. I created it with TypeScript and it uses the iNaturalist API to get the images and sound files. You can try it out on GitHub pages here, and theContinue reading “Creating an online bird identification quiz”

Repairing an 80s micro cassette recorder

This holiday, between revising for the mock exams, I’ve found time to get a micro cassette recorder that used to belong to my great grandfather working. I think it’s a model from the 80s, but I haven’t been able to find an exact date. I was able to get it working by attaching 4.5v acrossContinue reading “Repairing an 80s micro cassette recorder”

Creating a multiplayer game with TypeScript, Java and WebSockets

Back at the end of 2020 I created a multiplayer game using the Phaser game engine. Players connect to a Java Tomcat server using WebSockets to communicate. To start you have to join a lobby. The host (first person to join the lobby) can control parameters such as movement speed, vision radius and round length.Continue reading “Creating a multiplayer game with TypeScript, Java and WebSockets”

Upgrading the air quality monitor

When I originally built the air quality monitor for my school I used the Things Network, a public LoRaWAN radio network for low power devices to send data to the internet. This year a new version of the back end came out, called The Things Stack (aka V3). As a result, they are shutting downContinue reading “Upgrading the air quality monitor”

Cyberfirst Advanced

This year I was able to get onto the Cyberfirst Advanced residential course. It was held in Warwick after the Cardiff event was cancelled. I met some interesting people and learned some new skills. The course was divided between lecture time, where the two educators taught us content, and lab time, where we got toContinue reading “Cyberfirst Advanced”

Creating another TTN Mapper node with a Heltec LoRa32 v2

For my Gold DofE practice expedition I used the school’s Things Uno board to make a Things Network node that transmits its GPS coordinates. These GPS coordinates can then be received by gateways, and from there they are used to map the coverage of the Things Network, a free-to-use radio network designed for low powerContinue reading “Creating another TTN Mapper node with a Heltec LoRa32 v2”

CanSat competition

Over the past seven or so months I have been working in a team of four taking part in the CanSat competition. The goal of the competition is to build a simulation of a satellite within the volume of a soft drinks can. The device is then launched in a small rocket and descends withContinue reading “CanSat competition”

Creating a TTN Mapper GPS node with the Things Uno

Recently I went on a DofE expedition in the Brecon Beacons. I wanted to try mapping any LoRaWAN coverage while I was there using TTN Mapper, but we weren’t allowed our phones so I couldn’t use the app. However, TTN Mapper also allows you to use nodes that broadcast their GPS coordinates, thus removing theContinue reading “Creating a TTN Mapper GPS node with the Things Uno”

Using object oriented programming in C++ to create an ESP8266 breakout game

Recently I’ve been making a breakout game for an ESP8266 module that has a 64×128 OLED display and a 4-way joystick: Up until now I’ve avoided using any object oriented programming with Arduino. However, I wanted to have a go at it, and this seemed like a good project to start. You can see theContinue reading “Using object oriented programming in C++ to create an ESP8266 breakout game”