Magic Mirror
My first real hardware project I ever worked on was a Magic Mirror. In case you're not aware, a "Magic Mirror" is a screen display hooked up behind a one-way mirror in a way where you can see the content from the display.
There is an application running on the display, accurately called MagicMirror², that shows configurable content in different modules.I don't have any pictures saved from when I put it all together, but I grabbed this screenshot from my Instagram story.
I could go into details about this project, because this was one of my most fun projects. I tried a lot of new things, I did some wood-working, and I cohesively assembled a working project with multiple pieces.
The only thing is, I went in depth on the build on my aforementioned Instagram story, and I think I did a really good job explaining everything.
So, the link to the full build can be found here.
I'll just highlight some of the important parts/pain points.
To start with materials, I used a Raspberry Pi 3 as the computer and the display was a computer monitor I had lying around after I took the shell and internals off.
For the frame, I bought some wood panes and black acryllic primer from Lowe's, along with some cheap LED lights from Amazon as a bonus.
Loading the Magic Mirror app onto the Pi was remarkably simple as this documentation tells you all you need to know. Once you decide which modules you want to add to the mirror screen, you're done with all software configuration.
The hardest part to me was definitely making the frame. I have never been very handy, and was never the type of student to take Woodshop in high school. Eventually, after screwing up the frame and needing to go back to Lowe's, I attached the mirror to the frame with duct tape and Velcroed the monitor to the frame.
Then I just taped on the pi and attached the lights and I was done.
Overall, making the mirror was a ton of fun. I learned about wood-working which I honestly never thought I'd care about. I also liked to build something with my hands, rather than type away at a keyboard like I'm used to.
I wish I could say the mirror is still hanging proudly in my room but that would be a lie. After like a month I ran down the stairs too quickly and I guess the reverberations caused the mirror to fall and the scren to rip.