Winners Announcement | Make A Connection

Hey everyone, it’s time to announce our Make A Connection winners!

As always, we will do a very short recap of the competition and the prizes and then we will get straight into it :)

The Competition

The challenge was to build an electronics project that sends a message or signal, the more creative/innovative, the better! Each participant could interpret this theme in their own way.

The Prizes

Don't worry if a prize is out of stock in your region or does not have the right plug for you. We can ship from global stocks, include a plug adaptor, or find a local equivalent of a prize.

The Winners

First Place

Musical Emotions Emitter

 javagoza built an Arduino UNO R4 Minima-based project which generates a melody based on a user-selected emotion (represented by emojis on a rotary encoder). This is then sent to a local speaker and also used to modulate a medium-wave carrier which you can pick up and listen to on a radio.

Second Place

In no particular order

RescueLink

 taifur created a LoRa-based emergency messenger for communicating during disasters when cell networks and internet connectivity might not be available. Check out the video at the end of the messenger in action!

Antarctic Beacon: Bridging 130 Years of Wireless History with IoT & 20m RF

 doctoriot (and team) built a 3 W HF radio beacon that keys its RF carrier with Morse code, reports its own transmissions over Telegram, authenticates every message with a CRC seeded by Marconi's birthday — and is fully controllable through a web browser OR Telegram, anywhere on Earth.

OrderUp

 arvindsa built an ordering assistant for a restaurant which listens to the conversation at a table, detects a customer verbally placing an order, figures out which seat they're in from the direction of their voice, then turns what they said into a structured order, and pushes it to the kitchen.

Runners Up

In no particular order

EM Signal Detector

 Hoytman created an EM detector for listening to and learning more about your environment, demonstrating it by listening in on a Nintendo 3DS and seeing what it’s radiating.

Blinking At A Webcam

 apn201 built a proof of concept for a one-way optical data link using an M5Stack Atom Matrix, a 5x5 RGB LED matrix behind a diffuser, and a PC webcam, which can decode full messages at 1.5 metres indoors.

Car Racing Game Console

 misaz made a SuperTuxKart racing game console using an Arduino Uno Q, a Meccano-type building set, gyroscope, accelerator shield, Linux driver, and a bunch of Python script to connect everything together. Take a look at the video to watch them turn the steering wheel and race to victory!

Well done, everyone! My fantastic colleague e14Liz  will connect our winners with their prizes so look out for any messages regarding shipping etc in the near future.

I also want to give a huge shout out to everyone else who made a connection and submitted a project to this competition! If you haven't already done so then this is your chance to take a look at everyone's creations.

• colporteur  – A NUT (Network UPS Tools) Itch That Needed Scratching
• dougw  – R2D2 Copilot For An E-Bike
• embeddedguy  – Send Some Water To Your Plants From Anywhere In The World
• Erik.H  - Full Duplex Morse Code using the BBC micro:bit V 2.2
• jelektro  – Greenhouse Monitoring & Controlling System + Health & Activity Monitor
• khadri  – EyeLink – A Wheelchair You Drive By Blinking
• Liam_Mitch  – FarmShield: A Subscription Free, Solar-Powered LoRa Mesh Network For Remote Environmental and Water Monitoring
• obones  – Fighting E-Waste And Device Obsolescence
• paolorobillos – AWR: The Signals Behind An Autonomous Canister Recovery Robot
• PlatypiMaster  – Today’s Adventure
• rahuljeyaraj  – Handoff: Shake Hands, Share Contacts
• ralphjy  – Meshtastic Solar Hat Node
• redcharly  – Using LoRa for Remote Communication
• Shishir  – MorseMatrix – Simple Morse Code Machine
• shreaypatel2  – 446MHz Tape Measure Yagi
• shogunx  – Gestu: Gesture Communication with Arduino UNO Q
• Shreyas.chaurasia  – AgriScout: A Smart Agricultural Rover Connecting Farmers To Their Fields
• soumyabrata  – Energy Harvesting From Low Temperature Waste Heat Via Thermoelectric Generators
• Spain_mtg  – Alarm with ZIHATEC AZ-Touch, ESP8266 and ESP-NOW Communication
• ThingToo  – Spoon Box – My First 3D Print Became An ESP32 Media Player

Each project is judged on its own merits but an honorable mention goes to jelektro for submitting two projects.

Projects can change or be updated over time so you can always DM me if you would like me to update a project description.