“The Desktop Device is a small personal desktop assistant that can display various information downloaded from the internet. This device was designed and built by me for the CRT 420 - Special Topics class at Berry College which is lead by Instructor Zane Cochran.
This instructable will go into detail about how to build your own device similar to this one. In the video that I linked, the more visually appealing steps as well as some grade A commentary from me show the process of the device being built. I’m relatively new to YouTube but I am trying to make some interesting DIY / automotive content so feel free to check it out and let me know what you think I could improve on! Also if you want to check out some of my other Instructables, you can do so by clicking on my profile.
Below are the items and software that are used to create the desktop device (The Amazon links are affiliate links which support me when you purchase items through them, at no extra cost to you)
Much like SlouchyBoard (https://www.instructables.com/id/SlouchyBoard-an-A…), we started out by Breadboarding this circuit to make sure everything worked before we soldered it into a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). These are the breadboarding components that I used to make sure everything works.
- $11 ESP32: https://amzn.to/2HfT26Y
- $7 Micro USB: https://amzn.to/2PXntSb
- $17 Screen(HiLetgo 2.2” Display 240x320): https://amzn.to/2LNc0Gu
- $6.50 Jumper Wires: https://amzn.to/2ViOfFm
- (Not required, but we used a 10microFahrad Capacitor to make the screen run much better)
- $15.50 Capacitor kit: https://amzn.to/2LDNcR4
- 10k Ohm resistors (If you ever bought an Arduino kit you probably already have these)
- $9 Resistor Kit: https://amzn.to/2vVTwbL
- Buttons (again, you probably have some, just make sure your PCB has the correct button!):
- $17 Button kit (in case you want some other button choices):https://amzn.to/2E4Gu0j
- $10 Acrylic (I used some 1/16” acrylic to make my stand, however, anything could be used): https://amzn.to/30eFyQf
- $12 Spacer screws (used to attach the board to the case): https://amzn.to/2Yq5tTn
I originally wanted to 3D print a case but ended up running out of time. In the lab, we use the XYZ 3D printers which make for a good starting printer: https://amzn.to/2JAyasy
After testing all components and doing some basic programming tests, we went onto EasyEDA (https://easyeda.com/) to make the custom PCB board. Once that was done we moved all of those components over to the PCB and soldered them into place. The following steps will go into detail for the build.
The total price of this project depends a lot on what you decide to make for yourself, what components you already have and/or chose to use.”