<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/system/syndication/atom.xsl" media="screen"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en-US"><title type="html">Make a Connection </title><subtitle type="html">Post your Project Competition Entries for the Make a Connection competition</subtitle><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/atom</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/atom" /><generator uri="http://telligent.com" version="12.1.9.35025">Telligent Community (Build: 12.1.9.35025)</generator><updated>2026-08-01T14:04:40Z</updated><entry><title>EM Signal detection and transmission</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/em-signal-detection-and-transmission" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/em-signal-detection-and-transmission</id><published>2026-09-10T20:23:43Z</published><updated>2026-09-10T20:23:43Z</updated><content type="html">A sea of electromagnetic noise surrounds humanity, coming from countless electrical devices.&amp;nbsp;Have you ever been curious about that noise?&amp;nbsp;For my competition entry, I&amp;rsquo;ll show you how to build a simple EM detector so that you can listen...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/em-signal-detection-and-transmission"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30175&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>Hoytman</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/hoytman</uri></author><category term="signal" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/signal" /><category term="circuits" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/circuits" /><category term="signaling" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/signaling" /><category term="breadboard" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/breadboard" /><category term="electronics" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/electronics" /></entry><entry><title>Blinking at a webcam: a one-way optical data link with an M5Stack Atom Matrix</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/blink_2d00_optical_2d00_one_2d00_way_2d00_communication_2d00_m5stack_2d00_atom_2d00_matrix" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/blink_2d00_optical_2d00_one_2d00_way_2d00_communication_2d00_m5stack_2d00_atom_2d00_matrix</id><published>2026-09-10T09:52:59Z</published><updated>2026-09-10T09:52:59Z</updated><content type="html">An M5Stack Atom Matrix blinks colour at a webcam. A CRC-verified one-way optical link decodes the text. No radio, nothing to jam. Project14 entry.(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/blink_2d00_optical_2d00_one_2d00_way_2d00_communication_2d00_m5stack_2d00_atom_2d00_matrix"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30173&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>apn201</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/apn201</uri></author><category term="esp32" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/esp32" /><category term="android" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/android" /><category term="m5stack" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/m5stack" /><category term="image processing" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/image%2bprocessing" /><category term="apn201" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/apn201" /><category term="rgb led" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/rgb%2bled" /><category term="framing" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/framing" /><category term="python" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/python" /><category term="dollhouse" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/dollhouse" /><category term="led matrix" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/led%2bmatrix" /><category term="free space optics" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/free%2bspace%2boptics" /><category term="self-clocking" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/self_2D00_clocking" /><category term="blob detection" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/blob%2bdetection" /><category term="opencv" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/opencv" /><category term="vlc" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/vlc" /><category term="signaling" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/signaling" /><category term="hue" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/hue" /><category term="li-fi" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/li_2D00_fi" /><category term="3D Printing" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/3D%2bPrinting" /><category term="optical communication" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/optical%2bcommunication" /><category term="data over light" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/data%2bover%2blight" /><category term="hsv" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/hsv" /><category term="colour tracking" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/colour%2btracking" /><category term="micropython" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/micropython" /><category term="crc-8" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/crc_2D00_8" /><category term="enclosure" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/enclosure" /><category term="atom matrix" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/atom%2bmatrix" /><category term="visible light communication" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/visible%2blight%2bcommunication" /><category term="numpy" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/numpy" /><category term="project14" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/project14" /><category term="lighthouse" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/lighthouse" /><category term="make a connection" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/make%2ba%2bconnection" /><category term="uiflow2" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/uiflow2" /><category term="webcam" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/webcam" /><category term="computer vision" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/computer%2bvision" /><category term="proof of concept" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/proof%2bof%2bconcept" /><category term="error detection" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/error%2bdetection" /><category term="camerax" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/camerax" /><category term="packet protocol" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/packet%2bprotocol" /><category term="kotlin" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/kotlin" /><category term="one-way link" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/one_2D00_way%2blink" /></entry><entry><title>OrderUp -  Turning a Spoken Order Into a Signal the Kitchen Can Hear</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/orderup---turning-a-spoken-order-into-a-signal-the-kitchen-can-hear" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/orderup---turning-a-spoken-order-into-a-signal-the-kitchen-can-hear</id><published>2026-09-06T08:20:28Z</published><updated>2026-09-06T08:20:28Z</updated><content type="html">
Since the time I learnt that the next project14 theme was going to be &amp;quot;Make a Connection&amp;quot; - Build a project that sends a message or Signal, I have been racking my mind for something unique. I blasted through the usual suspects, nearly fina...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/orderup---turning-a-spoken-order-into-a-signal-the-kitchen-can-hear"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30154&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>arvindsa</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/arvindsa</uri></author></entry><entry><title>Meshtastic Solar Hat Node</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/meshtastic-solar-hat-node" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/meshtastic-solar-hat-node</id><published>2026-09-05T00:49:21Z</published><updated>2026-09-05T00:49:21Z</updated><content type="html">Meshtastic Solar Hat Node
Introduction
Back in July,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="/members/cstanton"&gt;cstanton&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; posted&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="/challenges-projects/design-challenges/f/forum/57138/the-world-s-on-fire---embrace-solar-punk" data-e14adj="t"&gt;The world&amp;#39;s on fire - embrace solar punk&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;in the Design Challenges Forum about the &lt;a href="https://meshtastic.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" data-e14adj="t"&gt;Meshtastic&lt;/a&gt; network and communicating &amp;quot;off grid&amp;quot;.&amp;nbsp; I just di...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/meshtastic-solar-hat-node"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30039&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>ralphjy</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/ralphjy</uri></author><category term="solar hat" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/solar%2bhat" /><category term="off grid" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/off%2bgrid" /><category term="XIAO ESP32S3 &amp;amp; Wio-SX1262 Kit" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/XIAO%2bESP32S3%2b_2600_amp_3B00_%2bWio_2D00_SX1262%2bKit" /><category term="XIAO nRF52840 &amp;amp; Wio-SX1262 Kit" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/XIAO%2bnRF52840%2b_2600_amp_3B00_%2bWio_2D00_SX1262%2bKit" /><category term="L76K GNSS" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/L76K%2bGNSS" /><category term="Wio Tracker L1 E-ink" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/Wio%2bTracker%2bL1%2bE_2D00_ink" /><category term="meshtastic" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/meshtastic" /></entry><entry><title>Fighting e-waste and device obsolescence</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/fighting-e-waste-and-device-obsolescence" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/fighting-e-waste-and-device-obsolescence</id><published>2026-08-25T14:25:37Z</published><updated>2026-08-25T14:25:37Z</updated><content type="html">Back in 2023, I created a &lt;a href="/technologies/experts/f/forum/52497/upcycling-a-broken-weather-station-how-to-drive-lcd-segments-from-3v3-logic" data-e14adj="t"&gt;subject&lt;/a&gt; to get help about a weather station that I inadvertently broke by applying twice its expected voltage at its power source
As I said at the time, I replaced it by another model of the same family and it had been runni...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/fighting-e-waste-and-device-obsolescence"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30091&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>obones</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/obones</uri></author><category term="esp32" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/esp32" /><category term="rf" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/rf" /></entry><entry><title>Alarm with ZIHATEC AZ-Touch, ESP8266 and ESP-NOW communication</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/alarm-with-zihatec-az-touch-esp8266-and-esp-now-communication" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/alarm-with-zihatec-az-touch-esp8266-and-esp-now-communication</id><published>2026-08-19T22:52:03Z</published><updated>2026-08-19T22:52:03Z</updated><content type="html">Alarm with ZIHATEC AZ-Touch, ESP8266 and ESP-NOW communication
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;In this project we are going to develop an alarm that detects when a door is opened and the presence of a person or animal in a room due to movement. For its realization we h...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/alarm-with-zihatec-az-touch-esp8266-and-esp-now-communication"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30075&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>Spain_mtg</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/spain_5f00_mtg</uri></author><category term="esp32" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/esp32" /><category term="hc-sr501" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/hc_2D00_sr501" /><category term="esp-now" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/esp_2D00_now" /><category term="touchscreen" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/touchscreen" /><category term="KY-024" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/KY_2D00_024" /></entry><entry><title>FarmShield: A Subscription Free, Solar-Powered LoRa Mesh Network for Remote Environmental and Water monitoring</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/farmshield-a-subscription-free-solar-powered-lora-mesh-network-for-remote-environmental-and-water-monitoring" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/farmshield-a-subscription-free-solar-powered-lora-mesh-network-for-remote-environmental-and-water-monitoring</id><published>2026-08-16T01:01:48Z</published><updated>2026-08-16T01:01:48Z</updated><content type="html">Hey everyone! Here is a project that my friend and I have worked on for the past month or so!FarmShield directly addresses the difficulty of monitoring remote environmental and water parameters across large farms and protected areas where manual insp...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/farmshield-a-subscription-free-solar-powered-lora-mesh-network-for-remote-environmental-and-water-monitoring"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30054&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>Liam_Mitch</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/liam_5f00_mitch</uri></author><category term="esp32" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/esp32" /><category term="lowpower" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/lowpower" /><category term="lora" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/lora" /><category term="network monitoring" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/network%2bmonitoring" /><category term="rf" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/rf" /></entry><entry><title>A NUT (Network UPS Tools) itch that needed scratching</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/a-nut-itch-that-needed-scratching" /><id>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/a-nut-itch-that-needed-scratching</id><published>2026-08-01T19:04:40Z</published><updated>2026-08-01T19:04:40Z</updated><content type="html">I had an IT itch that I needed to scratch. The yard supervisor met me at the office with his phone, he stated, &amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;re performing seed-plant maintenance and received this message.&amp;rdquo; He showed me a screenshot of the control computer fo...(&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/posts/a-nut-itch-that-needed-scratching"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=30011&amp;AppID=492&amp;AppType=Weblog&amp;ContentType=0" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>colporteur</name><uri>https://community.element14.com/members/colporteur</uri></author><category term="network monitoring" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/network%2bmonitoring" /><category term="raspberry pi" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/raspberry%2bpi" /><category term="usb communication" scheme="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/b/make-a-connection/archive/tags/usb%2bcommunication" /></entry></feed>