Any good summer electrical projects?

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by eagle33199

This reminds me of my college days... A good example of how engineers can over complicate things very quickly...

The back door to the house we were renting had a very annoying habit of not latching when it was closed... and on those cold Cleveland nights it would blow open and waste a ton of heat before someone woke up, realized what happened, and closed it. Our solution... a small magnetic switch, timer circuit, and speaker... If the door was open for more than 30 seconds, the whole neighborhood knew about it!

In retrospect, we could have fixed the latch... but that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.

Speaking of over-complicated college projects...

A buddy of mine would always forget the key to front door of his apt building, the one where you get "buzzed" in. He made a little unit that sat over the door bell speaker that would unlock the doors when the right pattern of buzzes was pressed from the front door.

You don't have to revolutionize an industry or invent something completely original to have fun and learn a lot, and some times the more complicated way is much more fun