$30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

[<< | Prev | Index | Next | >>] Thursday, July 18, 2024 $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener In the spirit of my thermostat and dishwasher controller, I managed to cobble together a decent blinds opener in a short weekend almost entirely from spare parts on hand. This design is very much what I could do quickly with what I had, so probably not worth copying, but perhaps it can be an inspiration. It is intentionally the world's slowest blinds opener: It's purpose is to open the blinds very gradually (and silently!) in the morning (because at this latitude, natural sunrise is wayy too early this time of year). Right now it takes about 8 minutes running at full speed, and can easily be slowed down just by running for, say, 30 seconds at a time between pauses. One key component is the silicone(?) motor mount, which I had previously salvaged from a dead Phillips water flosser and happened to be close enough to the right size for the geared motor I bought. That's the one hard-to-find comp ... Read full article.