Gadgets and electronics
From
Nightfox to
All on Fri Apr 15 17:02:54 2022
I'm not sure it counts as a hobby, but I feel like generally messing around with gadgets and electronics could count as a hobby. There are a couple echos on HobbyNet that could fit into this (such as programmable microcontrollers and radio controlled vehicles), but I think this is a bit more general.
I sometimes like learning about and using various different electronics and gadgets and technology etc. One thing I like is building desktop computers and tinkering with computers - Playing games, finding useful software that does cool stuff, etc..
I also like using a secondary PC to set up a media server (I have a PC that I use to run my BBS, media server, PiHole (ad blocker) etc..), things like Raspberry Pi and all of its possible uses, setting up TVs and entertainment systems, etc..
Also I like to use 3rd-party firmware on my network router at home (currently I'm using DD-WRT on my Netgear Nighthawk 7800, but I've also used Tomato in the past) - Sometimes I like seeing what I can do with my router; for instance, I think it's cool that I can configure my router to connect to a VPN, so all of my home network could be on a VPN if I wanted to.
Recently I bought a Raspberry Pi, as I had heard about a piece of software that can run on a Raspberry Pi to stream games & such from a PC to a TV. However, as I like to play music, I found out about an open-source synthesizer software program called Zynthian that can run on a Raspberry Pi, and they also sell hardware kits for the Raspberry Pi that includes a custom board that allows you to add audio inputs & outputs, MIDI ports, and a custom Pi case with a touch screen that basically lets you make a small music synthesizer with a Raspberry Pi (it looks like you'd just need to plug in a MIDI-capable keyboard or MIDI controller into it). I recently ordered one of their Zynthian kits, but they say they're out of stock now and have to wait for parts to come in.
Nightfox