WEEK 11: BITS & PIECES

Proof of Concept

GOAL: Ensure that all interactions work together in one code!

This week was pretty self-explanatory (as mentioned above). The goal was to ensure that the dial, hookswitch, mic, and speaker can all work successfully. I wanted to keep this week simple as my workload in other places is, a lot. I developed a code (SHOWN BELOW SOON) to run the functions.

It was a struggle at first, figuring out how to get GPIO to work with the audio functions and distinguishing the different device inputs and outputs (as it is not directly labeled). But it worked successfully.

WIP: Lo-Fi Assembled Phone

Raspberry Pi fitting underneath phone shell.

Here is where it gets frustrating. I moved the phone to the table to take video documentation of the functions working, but after unplugging the wires and safely removing the power bank from the wall, I wanted to check if it fits underneath the shell of the rotary phone. It fit! However, in the process, after turning it on, the Raspberry Pi was not registering. To this day, I still have no idea why, but with the ol' unplug and plug it back in, the functions worked as normal...EXCEPT the speaker! After trial and error (checking it on other pins, other code, etc.) I believe in the process of moving it around, one of the wires connecting the speaker actually broke as there was no registered speaker output at all from the Raspberry Pi. Unfortunately I have no documentation of the speaker working originally, so you'll have to take my word for it. I will be meeting with Brett to debug this situation.

Speaker power and ground wires are not working.

Lastly, after advice from a dear friend and graduate of ICAM, they recommended I focus more on the functionality of the phone and ensure it works the way I wanted it, rather than worrying about making the column from scratch. Since I'm not much a sculpture, nor does it contribute much to the final project, I think it would just be best to buy one. Here is an example of something I would find by Week 13.

Found in Vista, CA

Here is a presentation explaining this process, along with an updated timeline.

View my TechFinder!