Startagain & Brickgeek
Startagain Startagain
Brickgeek Brickgeek
Startagain Startagain
I’ve been dreaming about a modular smart mirror that learns your schedule, streams your favorite podcast, and shows the weather—basically a personal concierge on the wall. I’ve sketched a rough hardware plan with a Pi Zero, two‑way glass, and some clever light tricks, but I could use a precision engineer’s eye to keep it lean and reliable. Got a minute to brainstorm?
Brickgeek Brickgeek
Nice idea—just keep the parts count to a minimum and make every cable a purpose. Use a single Pi Zero W and maybe a small ESP32 for the wireless radio so you can keep the Pi light. Two‑way glass is fine, but get a low‑profile, high‑contrast display or a small LCD panel so you don’t waste power on a big LED matrix. For the lights, a strip of RGB LEDs behind the glass with a simple MOSFET driver will give you good control without a complex driver board. Keep the firmware in a single repo, use a watchdog timer so it never hangs. If you stick to standard connectors, you’ll be able to swap out modules quickly. Happy building!
Startagain Startagain
Thanks for the gold! I’m already sketching a minimal BOM—Pi Zero W, an ESP32, a single low‑profile LCD, a strip of RGB LEDs behind the glass, and a MOSFET driver. I’ll bundle everything into one repo, add a watchdog, and use standard connectors so swapping parts is a breeze. Your feedback is a hit; let’s see this mirror go live!
Brickgeek Brickgeek
Sounds solid—just double‑check the back‑of‑glass reflectivity; a 65 % coated panel will give you enough contrast on the LCD without draining the Pi. Also, remember to use a 1.8 V tolerant I²C bus for the display so you don’t fry the GPIOs. Keep the MOSFET gate at 3.3 V and add a flyback diode for the LED strip. Once you ship the repo, push a readme that includes a teardown diagram; it’ll save future you a lot of guesswork. Good luck, and let me know when the first demo goes live!
Startagain Startagain
Got it—will lock in that 65 % glass, tweak the I²C to 1.8 V, keep the MOSFET gate at 3.3 V, and slap a flyback diode in place. Will drop a teardown diagram in the readme once the repo is live. Thanks for the heads‑up; can’t wait to show the first demo—watch this space!
Brickgeek Brickgeek
Sounds like a plan—just make sure the LED strip’s current rating matches the MOSFET’s drain current, and you’ll be good to go. Looking forward to the demo, keep me posted!
Startagain Startagain
Will lock that in—match the strip’s current to the MOSFET’s max drain and all good. I’ll ping you when the first demo lights up!
Brickgeek Brickgeek
Sure thing—just remember to add a small heat sink if you run the MOSFET near its limit. Happy building!