Moritz

Just received an email that my Dutch F1 Sunday ticket got upgraded for the full weekend. I love free stuff.

This is such a mind blowing project!

As a sidetone: You start to appreciate hardware projects so much more when you're building your own.

Paris.

Also we’re back from Paris, that city just blows my mind every single time.

YouTube video by flip forward How to build a split flap display. #buildinpublic #splitflap #maker

The thing with a first step is: you just have to do it.

Posted something, might regret later: How to build a split flap display. #buildinpublic #splitflap #maker
youtube.com/shorts/EPOdZ...

Ha, love it!

Yeah I figured that the worst I can do is not do anything, so sharing it is.

Spent the past few days recording footage of me assembling split flap displays, and I'm slowly running out of excuses for not publishing those.

I've always looked forward to be able to "get real" and speak about what I'm doing, but frankly, right now I'm rather terrified.

#buildinpublic

Ihr habt so n kleines bisschen Hunger, aber wollt euch jetzt noch nix machen, weil zu nah an der nächsten Mahlzeit.

Was holt ihr euch aus dem (Kühl-)Schrank und stopft es euch in den Mund?

Hier ist es:
1 Scheibe Käse

I think today is a firmware day, but I'm kind of holding my horses until my new DisplayLink-Dock arrives so I can finally use my M1 MBA with two displays (it's just how i work).

While I enjoy using Windows for all things CAD, I'm way too locked in on Mac for anything software.

That solder paste shot is super satisfying.

Also went to the pool for a 1.5k swim and … that was work at 14 degrees ❄️

Spent the day refining the target architecture for what I want to build. Always cool to see how much clarity „writing something down“ brings.

Also LLMs for early feedback, really useful, but I do include a „never rewrite“ in my default prompt.

Today it’s for a bit of prototyping a project/startup idea. Not hardware, all software.

Is it only me or does it feel extremely weird going back to coding with no LLM support?

They were clearly wrong. Mistral got it right, but it's the first time I reproducibly get a wrong answer - with the machines doubling down.

Correct way described here: www.onsemi.com/download/app...

Having a bit of a brain melt today - I added reverse polarity protection using a P-Channel MOSFET. Trying to get a better understanding I discussed it with ChatGPT (and Claude), but both broke down in explaining the schematic

Totally nailed it this morning by placing a 600€-order on JLCPCB. With a wrong component placement. Rockstar moment.

I’ve got 3 weeks between the old job and the new one - time for intense side project time!

World War 3 kinda sucks, but you know, it was either this or pronouns

After countless hours debugging my fine pitch soldering skills - the TMC just didn’t turn on - I figured that two zones on my PCB simply aren’t connected.

And the embarrassing part is that the DRC very clearly stated that, I just didn’t notice.

Did my first 1k outdoor pool swim today - that was just good.

If I owned SpaceX I would just rebrand as a fireworks company

Pretty happy with the new connection board design that finally cleans up the backside of the displays.

Interestingly I’m spending most time on stuff that I would have never thought I’d spend a lot of time on - but cable management is really a big topic, especially with 5+ displays.

teenage mutant bärensee turtles.

3. those 2020 profiles are the best thing, super affordable and very easy to build stuff with.
4. I feel in love with Python building the controls around it.

Some notes:
1. it’s all on a budget - I know there’s a proper way to do everything I’m doing, but I’m going the hack direction by design.
2. I’m using the same control boards that I made for the split flap displays. Daisy chaining and TMC2209 = ❤️

I admit, that was a tad more complicated than originally thought. But I can now swap flaps and have a fully working gantry.

Nothing better than a fresh delivery from JLCPCB in the morning.

Sidequest Update: I now have a somewhat working x/y/z gantry. Out of some misguided sense for adventures, I designed all parts myself. That was more work than expected, but also more fun.

Because there’s not much to show yet. Will keep you updated :)

went on a ridiculous side quest and decided to build a little sorting/pick and place machine for my printed flaps.

The problem is that I have roughly 500 packs of 43 flaps, but none of them are sorted. Admitted, it's probably faster to hand sort them than to build a machine for it but...

Went on vacation, found some time to blog about things I think about: software architects.

blog.moritzhaarmann.de/software-arc...