Month: November 2024

The PITA (Pain In The Ass) box is a fun/funny vessel to give a gift of cash, etc. The premise is that the box must be taken to one or more pre-defined (by me in the code) GPS locations before mechanically unlocking itself.

The first PITA box, crammed into a water bottle so all it’s guts and glory are visible. Note the flickering screen is an artifact of the video recording process. In real life the screen does not display such artifacts.

Because it’s based on the ESP8266 module, the PITA box offers a WiFi access point in order to connect and control the device. Once the “game” has ended, instructions are given on connecting and resetting the box.

I’ve made two of them so far, each one in a very different container. The bottle was version 0, and this box version 1:

The top of this PITA box sports a small screen and the GPS antenna

Inside is the madness of the device, including a ESP8266 MCU, GPS module, motor controller, Li-Ion battery management system (BMS) and mechanical puzzle housing with stepper motor attached.

And here is the bottom with the “payload” exposed.

The next PITA box will possibly be built with a simpler lock/unlocking system and a single board PCB. Stay tuned!

My rechargeable bike light (Planet Bike Roho 100) no longer takes a charge. I cracked it open and discovered the Li-ion battery is dead. Fortunately I have another battery (from an old digital camera) approximately the same size, just a little thicker. Let’s see if it all can be made whole again.

To accommodate the larger battery I printed standoff extenders (green, in image below). The original screws aren’t long enough to go through the circuit board and extenders into the original standoffs so I glued wires in place instead.

The circuit board now hovers over the larger battery, and the bent wires keep it snug.

Now , when the original parts are dry fit, a gap forms around the unit. What’s need is a collar of some sort to fill the gap. It took several attempts to get it right.

The last thing is to replace the rubber caps over the switch and USB port then glue it together!

Lastly, it’s time to charge the new battery!