• Hangups: Works best for smaller groups.
No proper webinar option —users are
routed through YouTube for additional needs.
Call recording quality is moderate. Seems to
have a few extra hiccups compared to more
established systems.
• Tips: Like Zoom’s virtual backgrounds, the “blur
background” option will save you from having
to tidy up before a call. And be careful when
naming your conference room;this make things
easy but the names save across the platform,
so two different groups might end up in the
same place simultaneously.
Live Streaming
YOUTUBE LIVE, FACEBOOK LIVE, PERISCOPE,
INSTAGRAM LIVE — Each lets you broadcast to
your followers directly from your phone. Makes
mobile streams so easy! They work great,
although the flexibility is limited for adding any
extra touches.
RESTREAM (restream.io) — Transmit on multiple
social platforms at the same time; consolidate
comments and views. Free. Browser-based.
Additional Tools
OBS —”Open Broadcaster Software” is another
open package that’s big and powerful and
immensely configurable. Want to create pro-
grade online events with graphics, overlays,
picture-in-picture, configurable switching, and
more? This will do all that, and then some.
• Features: Free. Lets you bring in multiple
video sources. Audio mixing. Outputs to most
streaming services.
• Hangups: Connecting to Zoom for broadcasting
requires convoluted workarounds. Some extra
features cost money — using your iPhone as
another camera source, for example, is $16.
• Tips: Make sure you need this level of video
control. If you’re just trying to do some distance
learning, you can probably get along without it.
EPOCCAM —Turns your iPhone or Android into
a camera source for streaming services, which is
good because suddenly all the USB cameras are
sold out. We’re using this as an overhead camera
for streaming builds with an old iPhone 5s.
• Features: Free. Lets you stream wirelessly
through your computer.
• Hangups: Zoom’s latest security updates have
made this non-functional. (Thankfully we still
have the old version installed.) Perhaps they’ll
have fixed it by the time you’re reading this.
• Tips: Important —restart your computer after
you install the EpocCam driver to get it working.
And you need to have a streamable app open on
your computer to get the camera to respond.
Adove Stock - Boyko.Pictures
OBS: picture-in-picture, overlays, transitions, and more.
53
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COMBATING COVID-19 Self-Suciency
Homesteading is
the New Normal
54 make.co
Written by Mike Senese
P
erhaps that prairie lifestyle appeals to you
more than going all-in on screentime during
our lockdown. We get it! There’s a huge range
of skills and builds you can work on to become
self sufficient in these times. Here are a few that
we’ve focused on over the past few months. You
can find steps and video examples of these and
more at makezine.com/go/home-sufficiency, and
if you’re looking for even more resources, check
out homestead.org.
Kitchen
•
Make sourdough yeast: Tastier than the dry
stuff, and not sold out in stores —you make it
from the air around you.
• Build a proofing box: Keeps the yeast in your
dough active at just the right temperature so
you can pop a perfectly risen loaf into the oven
for best baked-bread results.
• Bake some no-knead bread: Mark Bittman’s
recipe inspired countless variations for a good
reason —it’s dead simple and works great.
• Make vinegar: Some apples, sugar, water, and
a bit of time and you’re ready to go.
• Pickle everything: Add a tangy flavor and
longevity. Try fermentation too.
• Malt grains for beer making and more.
Garden
•
Make newspaper planting pots: Once your
seedlings sprout these go right into the ground.
• Plant some fast-growing veggie seeds: Leafy
greens and root vegetables are good options.
• Build a simple, low-cost greenhouse: You can
make a tabletop version for a few bucks.
• Assemble self-wicking garden tubs: Makes
watering less of a chore.
• Do a hydroponic garden: These grow large
quantities of vegetables quickly.
• Get started on a proper victory garden: A full
setup will give you all the produce you need.
Hygiene
•
Determine your no-toilet-paper options:
Bidets, used dryer sheets, cloth, recycled
newspaper. Yeah... not a fun one.
• Make your own soap: Washing your hands
is considered the best way to combat virus
transmission.
• Build a greywater system: Water shortages
are a separate issue from Covid-19, but you
might as well jump on this while you’re
sheltering in place.
Activities and Education
•
Find and read the Foxfire school books and
Scouting handbooks.
• Obviously, keep making stuff.
Free Land!
The U.S. federal government no longer offers
land for building a home and farm as it did
with programs like the 1862 Homesteading
Act. However, various rural counties and
municipalities looking for new residents to help
provide an economic boost do have free plots for
those willing to construct and occupy a home.
Many of these, like the program in Elwood,
Nebraska (elwoodnebraska.com/freelots.
html), are in the central portion of the U.S.;
if you’re willing to relocate, this is one way to
score yourself a place to get going on your own
personal homestead.
55
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Brush up on your
self-suciency skills
to overcome staple
shortages
Mike Senese, Adobe Stock - Stokaji
COMBATING COVID-19 Scrubber Spotify Hand-Wash Timer
ADNAN AGA
is a software
engineer developing novel
interactive experiences at
Deeplocal. Born in Dubai
and now living in Pittsburgh,
Adnan can be found bouldering
outside or performing improv at
a local theatre.
TAYLOR TABB is an integration
engineer at Deeplocal, working at the
interface of hardware, software, and
design. He loves weird robots and hybrid
fruits,and is never far from an Arduino.
Originally from Los Angeles, he graduated
from Carnegie Mellon with a bachelor’s
and master’s in mechanical engineering.
56 make.co
Zap coronavirus with Scrubber — a Spotify-
playing, soap-dispensing hand-wash timer
Written by Adnan Aga and Taylor Tabb
Pump Up the Jams
S
ocial distancing at home but wishing you
were getting down at the club? Feeling like
that 20 seconds of lathering is the longest 20
seconds of your life? Looking for a DIY project to
do in quarantine? Scrubber’s got you covered.
Scrubber is your hand-washing soundtrack —
20 seconds of music selected from your most-
played Spotify tracks of the week. When you press
down on the soap pump, you’ll hear your favorite
jams coming right out of the dispenser as a way
to time hygienic hand-washing. All you need is a
Spotify account, a suitable soap dispenser, and
the electronic parts listed here.
We built Scrubber for our creative agency,
Deeplocal, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during
lockdown in March 2020. It’s the first project of
our “Cabin Fever” series — maker projects to
inject a little bit of joy into our lives.
How It Works
Scrubber uses Spotify’s API wrapped in a custom
Node script. The script authenticates with Spotify,
downloads and processes tracks, then plays
audio through the speaker bonnet (Figure
A
)
using ALSA sound software in the Linux kernel.
Don’t worry, we’ve written the steps and the
code so anyone can follow along. Before you get
started, you should have some basic knowledge
of command-line Linux and soldering. The Github
repo (github.com/Deeplocal/scrubber) contains
all the code and documentation you’ll need.
Build Your Scrubber
Let’s get down to it. Start by flashing a recent
version of Raspbian and connecting your Pi
to your wireless network. If you don’t know
how, there’s a great guide at raspberrypi.org/
documentation/configuration/wireless/headless.
md. Make sure you can SSH into your Pi and can
find your Pi’s local IP address.
Talyor Tabb, vecteezy.com
57
makeprojects.com
TIME REQUIRED:
4 Hours
DIFFICULTY:
Easy/Intermediate
COST:
About $30
MATERIALS
Most of these parts can be swapped for what
you have access to — the speaker bonnet can
be replaced with a similar audio pHat or AIY hat,
and the copper tape can even be replaced with
aluminum foil and super glue.
» Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer
» Adafruit Speaker Bonnet #3346, adafruit.com
» Speakers (1 or 2) We used Adafruit #1669 mini
speakers to fit in our soap dispenser.
» Thin wire, 1–2ft total length 22 AWG or similar
gauge
» Copper tape a few inches
» Battery pack (optional) We used a 5V
500mAh LiPo, Adafruit #258, with charger
#1944.
» Soap dispenser Convert an existing dispenser,
or use this nice wooden one we found at Target,
#50364983.
TOOLS
» Tiny screwdrivers
» X-Acto knife or scissors
» Soldering iron
» Wire cutters
» Wire strippers
» Tools to modify your soap dispenser scissors,
drill, etc.
» Computer with internet access
A
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