The new print files are nearly twice as deep as three weeks ago. Every version has been too shallow. The parts didn’t fit, so it got deeper. Then came the wires and the battery, which were never in the plan, so it got deeper again. It’s getting a bit goofy, but the goal right now is a handheld that works, not one that looks right.
The blue one I printed at the end of July holds everything: the computer and amplifier in one half, a rechargeable battery in the other, a speaker, and a status light that lights up the whole inside. Two halves, and a tangle of wires between them.
The blue handheld open on the desk, July 28, 2025.
Closed up the same night, with the light green through the grille, July 28, 2025.
The real work still happens on the breadboard, where four speakers are lined up to compare. I’m new to soldering, and so far I’ve burned out a few LEDs and fried a speaker.
The breadboard bench, August 4, 2025.
I also printed a small radio another maker shared online, the GuSi radio by earlmckay, to hold and study. It has three buttons and does very little with them. That’s the appeal. It started a thought that won’t go away: one button for music, one for stories, and a kid who knows which is which without reading.
Next: close the blue one up and live with it. And the question the deeper box keeps asking. It fits in my hand, but it isn’t comfortable in a toddler’s. Something has to give.
Small hands and the blue handheld, on the deck, July 31, 2025.