Suggestions & Requests

Maybe something with those DIY speakers made out of a Dayton audio exciter and a really big foam panel. I think you can merge it into something really cool and cheap

Love your channel Matt. PLEASE build a Vestaboard.

you could show how to recover the polarizing filter from the monitor and then how to use it in combination with a flash and a circular polarising filter on an DSLR.

Could a polarizer from a monitor be used in photography in combination with a polarizing filter on a camera ?

A 12v Powered computer would be pretty cool, especially to a wide audience

A repair microscope please. Those are too expensive to buy

This is grat idea! I would also like some led spectrum analizers or something

Vladimir Vojnović

Hi Matt, I would love seeing something like what you did for old broken computers but for old digital cameras. I have a bunch of them laying around and don't wanna throw them out

Hi Matt. Kudos to your content. You are the first creator that I have supported via Patreon as I find your content very informative and useful. Particularly the video regarding the repurposed smashed laptop that you attached to a slim computer screen. As I am new to this platform, I can't seem to find the guides for that build (if available) anywhere. Appreciate the help and please, please, continue to create awesome content! Cheers.

Hello DIY Perks! Amazing videos, as a teacher I find them very interesting to show students about heat transfer. I have a request, can you allow close captions for your videos? Specially the one about water-cooled camera. Thanks!

Just discovered a company called Waveform Lighting. (Link: https://www.waveformlighting.com/) They sell LED strips with an advertised 99 CRI. Since you've done a lot with lighting, they may be something to check out and review. They're rather expensive, too, compared to the light strips you've recommended in the past. But if they are actually 99 CRI, and you're obsessed with light quality, it may be worth it.

Good idea and perhaps recommended essential kit items for doing these kind of repurposing projects

I think a guide to soldering would be fantastic. It helps enabeling your viewers to rebuild your creations.

Wireless intercom system for your front door that keeps the outdoor components discreet (anti-theft/ant-vandalism) with the indoor components using a traditional telephone design for ease of use for all users (especially those who find smart phones difficult to use). Would be useful during lockdown to safely answer the front door.

Like to see window treatment that make the window opaque to transparent with a flip of a switch. better yet adjustable.

Inspired by your DIY screen from an old Lenovo laptop, I am hoping I can take a great functioning Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga S1 screen with wacom's passive digitizer and convert it into a super thin and light sketchpad for a desktop computer. The computer itself is getting old, but the digitizer LCD is still working great. I can't justify spending 3k on a 13lbs wacom tablet when I have this 3 lbs one that works so well. Any help on where to start with this project would be greatly appreciated.

I would love to see some more music centric lighting projects. I saw this amazing free form circuit volume meter, that I would love to see your take on. Something like that made from recycled arts for decorating your home with would be super cool. For reference it was done by Mohit Bhoite

I had a thought that I figured you may like since it kind of relates to a past video you did. I have an old laptop screen, and after I saw your video on "how to turn an old laptop screen into a second monitor" I was like, hey I know what I'm going to do now. Then I had another thought recently, that I'm curious to know if it's possible, and if it was, I figured you may know, or would want to do a DIY about it. Here's the thought, since my old laptop was a touch screen, would it be possible to get a controller board that recognized that functionality, and turn it into an extended, or most likely mirrored display for my tablet? Cause my thinking was I could mount the screen on a flip down hinge underneath one of my upper cabinets in my kitchen. Then if I want to follow recipes or video's when I'm cooking, I can just pull the screen down, plug in my tablet, and just use the screen as my touch interface. But after all this thought, I'm not sure where to start looking to see if this is even possible, or if I'm only able to use it as a display only and would still need to interact with my tablet to actually do stuff. Then I thought of you, and I was like, hey if anyone knew it was probably you. Sorry for the ramble, but I thought it was a neat idea, and if possible, maybe something you would like to have on your channel.

Replicating sunlight really fires my imagination and I'd like to suggest a GROW LIGHT using collimating principles like the small light box in Matt's last upload. I'd like to build a grow light for a specimen plant (like a medium sized orchid) but there are really only two designs: The boring desk-lamp setup and the ugly, industrial, cannabis, ceiling mounted units. I was thinking that I would suspend the Fresnel light-box from the ceiling but I bet Matt could come up with something more creative, pleasant, and effective. Thanks for the consideration!

I became a patreon after I've seen your amazing "artificial sun" video. I wanted to build the "tiny" version. Now you completely deleted the scene from to original video. Why? That was the most interesting part..

speaker sub box design

I just found the computer desk & screen youtube video. Would love to see a wall mounted pc build as that's something I've been looking at doing

Hello Matt. Like a bicycle with a lighting frame. That could be cool. Led, el wire, el tape anything within the frame in transparent frame or something. Like the frame itself and then cut, mount it with light. Or anything with a bicycle :D

In Ear Monitor (IEM) headphones is my recommendation for a new project. There are many other videos and channels dedicated to high-end audio that discuss this type of headphone at length. They offer the benefit of transmitting audio through multiple, independent driver units called balanced armature receivers. These can be optimized for producing smaller segments of a sound stage, without taking away a similar optimization from the other driver units. It involves many, distinctly different steps that could be broken up into separate videos. However, there is a risk to fellow DIY followers that attempt to do the project themselves on the ear canal mold making step. I did this at a professional audiologist office and have taken on the other steps without fear of permanent inner-ear injury. High end models that are manufactured by professional companies charge many thousands of dollars for models that have 6, or more, driver units in each ear piece. Reddit has a robust community of DIY IEM makers, and Head-fi.org is a great resource for learning about IEMs and every other type of audio device on the market.

Michael Osterhout

Hi Matt, I was seriously hoping that you could do a DIY Perks tutorial on how to set-up Halloween or Christmas decoration lights and sync them to music. I would be forever in your debt if you do an instructional/tutorial on how to do this because my wife has given me this challenge for my father-in-law's house, and they have very high expectations. Something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GufRiBUZQPc but you wouldn't need to actually do it on a large scale, just enough to give across the foundation so your Patreons could take the lessons learned and apply it to a larger scale.

Moi465

Don't know if this might be of any interest; I'm looking to incorporate several types of electronics, i.e. telemetry, camera, etc. in my 1/100th scale Apollo-era Saturn V space vehicle and it's associated mobile launch platform (MLP) and Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT).

I have a stereo system with 2 big speakers and a subwoofer that would be perfect for surround sound. The stereo itself went out but the speakers work perfectly fine. What could I do with these speakers and sub to still use it as a surround sound system and would I need a receiver?

Patreon messages are best for that.

Still in the process of building the 4k projector but have questions Mat and not getting any answers to complete project . Can I get in touch somehow ?

I’ve been looking at making a briefcase “Spy Laptop” using either my raspberry pi 4, or using my ipad pro 11” and a bluetooth mechanical keyboard. I would love to see what you can do with the same idea!

I've had an idea for awhile now that seems elegant, technical, and zen. It also seems like a project that very much would benefit from your sense of aesthetic design and your shared interest in silent PC builds. What about a thin, vertical PC (similar to your desk PC but upright) passively cooled by attaching heat pipes to the back of a corrugated (finned) and anodized aluminum sheet. The twist? It can be "water-cooled" by turning it into a waterfall/water-feature.

How about a DIY UV sanitizer for phones/watches/tablets etc?

Hey matt, I have an old iphone 4 which has been collecting dust for a while. meanwhile, I am a gamer who always dreamed to have an gaming pad or keyboard. So far we see you have been bringing up amazing project with salvaged electronics and DIY parts. here is the question: can you make a touch screen off hand gaming pad out of the salvaged iphone4, some keyboard or gaming controller and possibly some blinking lights and a few USB extension hub?

Hey. The PC desk you designed built was awesome! It's something I want to try but I just don't know where to begin. I've built my own computers (in a regular case) and am savvy with doing upgrades and can probably at a stretch do the custom mods for water cooling but wood working is completely new to me. I know there are other youtube channels offering woodworking classes etc but it would be great if you did some mini podcasts to focus on the tools you've used and skills we'd need to learn or research specifically for the DIY projects you post. Basically extensions on your exsiting podcasts (maybe you even already have the footage but cut it out) aimed at those that need a bit more guidance on the skills side.

I'd like to see an integrated portable teleconferencing screen that's child proof and makes speaker faces look about actual size with great sound clarity. Plus points if it's done from salvage.

https://store.ohmnilabs.com/products/ohmnirobot

How about a mobile telepresence system?

Along the lines of the PC built into a foldable desk - I am wondering if you could design and build a desk where you can place a mid or full PC tower in a soundproofed location, with dedicated channels for cables going from PC to monitor, wall socket, external HDD, etc.

I would like to see a custom keyboard with programmable unicode input which can be used in tandem with a regular keyboard (and does not cost a fortune) :D

Would like to see a vehicle navigation / dash cam / reverse cam / media system from a tablet. Bonus points if it can control my RGB lights lol

Got another idea: A Thermostat (electric temperature control device) from salvaged parts. It should be able to switch off the power to a fan (used for pulling in "cold" night air, during summertime). So the challenge is not the current it's controlling, but more the control and UI part.

Mike Zitter

I’ll second the solar power idea. Even if it’s just a smaller part of powering a larger project (e.g., an outdoor security cam, extending a topic you’ve already worked on)

How about an automated/smart miniature indoor greenhouse? You could remotely control the lighting, temperature and watering or have it run on a predetermined schedule.

Glued My Balls to my Butthole Again

1. I second the ideas about smart lighting. 2. An Atmos soundbar. 3. A power generator that can be attached to an indoor cycling trainer. It could be used for charging a battery or powering a fan. The faster you cycle the faster the fan spins and cools you down. 4. A CNC machine, a 3D-printer or a laser cutter, or even better an all-in-one machine.

Along the lines of Marc. Smart lighting has a wide price range. It seems the good quality SMART LEDs are very expensive. Perhaps DIY?

I want to make my appartment intelligent. Why not a long project or multiplr smaller ones based on mqtt on the domotic of the house. This ould involve electronic, software and mechanical engineering. This may be interresting in terms of knowledge too.

I would love to see a short range 4k projector, even if it is a small change from the projector you have done.

I saw an article about Zoom's dedicated conference tablet - this costs $599. I know you created a shroud recently for eye-contact conversation over Skype, which was great. Between that and the smartphone to laptop video, how about a purpose built communication station (maybe using Raspberry PI4)? https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/15/21325542/zoom-dten-me-tablet-video-calls-webcam-home-remote-work

Jason Coleman

I like Adrienne's Idea

1) Portable, "cost-effective" solar power generator to use to power let's say an apartment's worth of electronics.

(1) A unique/efficient way of managing the 200-400W a computer outputs. ie, warming your toes in the winter and venting the air to the attic/out a window in the summer -- or move the computer to a closet via a series of wires that are tucked away. (2) A lot of computers are now able to charge via usb-C (my surface pro 7 can charge off a 30W charger. Perhaps a make your own portable battery system out of 18650s. I know there are LOADS of make your own 18650s, but very few output enough wattage to charge a laptop. It can be done as I have a jackery SuperCharge Portable Charger that can do it without issue. (3) I would love to see you integrate a dolby atmos speaker system into a room using speakers you made yourself and a receiver you made (if licensing permits it). (4) Xbox kinnect accessories have a TON of power in them and are old enough now to be very cheap, something with that could be fun (and difficult). (5) Something that sounds really interesting and in your wheelhouse would be to make your own single circuit/plug "tesla powerwall". A small UPS like system that would buffer enough Wh to give a desktop 10 minutes to wrap up during a power outage. (6) The bose soundwear is a weird and very unique thing, maybe looking it up would give some inspiration.

Mika! The Above Average Dog

2. A DYI weather station build from old-laptops/mobile phones.

Mike Zitter

1. A DIY GO-Pro device using stuff from old-laptops/mobile phones as much as possible

Mike Zitter

A headmounted display. Like google glass would be cool. Or a smartwatch project. The parts are quite available. It would be rather small though.

Jasparossa

On demand streamed PCs are quite interesting. And old PC or tablet can be used as quite a powerful machine through that. Maybe a mini PC for streaming your OS would be interesting because it extends the life of older machines.

Jasparossa

Ooh that would be great. Rolls Royce has that.

Jasparossa

DIY golf simulator with Pixy object tracking cameras and an old projector. Ive built one so I'm sure you'd have no problem. All in, it was about $300 and worked pretty well

Or maybe assembling a phone from old phones.

This is not out of your comfort zone, but it would be cool if you did a compilation of things to do with an old tower computer. Like different projects for an old DVD player, hard drive, mother board, power supply, etc...

Or a 360 degree camera system for a car?

An Android Auto headset for a car?

Maybe like a security system that recognizes certain faces or requires a fingerprint?

It is fairly electronic oriented I guess but I'd be keen to see how to build the equivalent of Sonos sound bar or Sono speakers. With the same sort of moder features etc.

Maybe some sort of handheld gaming system. Like, putting together the screen and some sort of device that can run old games. I’m pretty sure you can do that with a raspberry Pi. You may also be able to turn it into a Nintendo switch like device, where you can dock the device somewhere to connect it to a tv, and connect a wireless controller. I just think something gaming related would be cool