{"id":2763,"date":"2021-12-14T12:18:44","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T03:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/?p=2763"},"modified":"2021-12-14T14:49:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T05:49:15","slug":"playstep-mini-making-a-10-thing-to-replace-the-700-playstep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/?p=2763","title":{"rendered":"PlayStep Mini &#8211; Making a $10 thing to replace the $700 version"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The PlayStep Mini is a tiny device that allows a parent to limit screen time from any HDMI device based on \u201ccharging up\u201d energy using an exercise stepper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/SethRobinson\/PlayStepMini\">Github sources here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Replacing a $700 device with a $10 one?! - the PlayStep Mini\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-LQPoaPvWRQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>This explains what it is<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But why tho?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the CDC,&nbsp; kids aged 8 to 10 spend an average of 6 hours a day in front of screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While rationing time is good, in the real world sometimes parents need additional tools to help keep kids fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, I made the PlayStep, an open source program that runs on a Raspberry Pi that allows a kid to power the screen with exercise.&nbsp; Years later, we still use it for one of my kids!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I guess I\u2019m the only person on earth using it, even though it\u2019s open source.&nbsp; I don\u2019t know why, I mean it only costs around $700 in hardware and low level knowledge of linux command line stuff\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, you want something more reasonably priced and easier to use?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Behold: The Playstep Mini!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The differences are this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>No cool video mixing, just on and off<\/li><li>Zero latency<\/li><li>Extremely power efficient (uses 30ma directly from the input HDMI\u2019s 5v power)<\/li><li>Standalone and easy to use<\/li><li>Can be made for under $10 (plus exercise stepper that you might already have)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If this is something you\u2019d be interested in buying as a kit to use, well, leave a comment, I can buzz you if myself or someone else ever offers it for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re someone who knows if it\u2019s legal to sell something like this as a kit without certification of any kind, uh, also please let me know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F.A.Q.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Won&#8217;t a kid just disconnect it and play without exercising?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If mine did, he knows he&#8217;d probably lose gaming altogether for a week at least so it&#8217;s never been an issue here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is it safe?  Will my kid get a leg injury from too much exercise?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Please use common sense and adjust the &#8216;time energy&#8217; per step, step resistance on the machine, and &#8220;max energy level&#8221; to something that is safe.  Uh, if your kid is limping around you should definitely disconnect it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consult your doctor or whatever so I don&#8217;t get sued when your kid is skinny but with two herculean calves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I get some made from JLCPCB and give them away or sell them?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, I don&#8217;t care, do anything the GPL license allows.  I could switch it if there is a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You freaking used pcb auto-routing with HDMI? My Eyes! My God man, I would love to help you do it right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hey, I&#8217;m a beginner!  But that is very nice of you to offer to help improve it, you glorious human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This version works great for 1080p, but the board layout is too stupid and noisy for 4k to work.&nbsp; I guess I should stop using auto routing and get rid of all the HDMI vias by using more layers or whatever?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can help me work on this and you\u2019re ok with its&nbsp;open and free hardware license, please check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/SethRobinson\/PlayStepMini\">github project<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The PlayStep Mini is a tiny device that allows a parent to limit screen time from any HDMI device based on \u201ccharging up\u201d energy using an exercise stepper. Github sources here But why tho? According to the CDC,&nbsp; kids aged 8 to 10 spend an average of 6 hours a day in front of screens. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arduino","category-development","category-tech-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2763"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2774,"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions\/2774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.codedojo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}