On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:05:24 GMT, DaveC wrote:

One regular poster here has designed a microcontroller-based, networked (
(remotely accessible), whole-home climate control monitoring system
(heating-AC/hot h2o/heat exchangers/the whole works). Others have modified
their digital toaster (I'm not mentioning names... (c: )

How has your profession (or hobby) leaked into your everyday life? What
customizations or applications have you put electronics to that makes your
life easier and/or more fun?

My wife is blind. Yes, there are kitchen timers which are intended for
the blind, but the one we had couldn't announce the time remaining-
and you couldn't even check that you'd remembered to start it.

So I made one which gives different tone of beep depending on whether
you've pressed the minute, ten-minute, or hour setting button, and
which speaks the time remaining when you press a button. That's one
PIC, one speech-storage chip, and a CMOS D-type.Current when not
running is microamps.

I also made talking kitchen scales; disembowel cheap electronic
scales, find a signal relating to weight, and again use a PIC and a
speech storage chip. (Yes, you can get such things off the shelf.)

This has been a piece of own-trumpet-blowing by an old git in the east
of England. Thank you for your forbearance.
--
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.