Martin Mander, aka Old Tech. New Spec, gives life to obsolete technologies, usually by sticking a computer in them and connecting them to the internet. In this example of the upcycler’s craft, he’s turned a cassette (an ancient, rubbish way of recording music) into an IoT notification reader.
The thing is powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero W powered by a 150mAh LiPo battery via a Pimoroni LiPo SHIM. There’s an Adafruit Micro-Lipo in there to make recharging possible, and notifications are displayed on an 11×7 LED matrix.
Software-wise, Martin’s used the IFTTT service to grab updates from the internet, and Adafruit IO and a bit of Python to make the notifications appear on the screen. It’s a simple project, masterfully done.
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