Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea of “smart earrings” for a while now, and I finally got something kinda working. It’s not perfect, but hey, that’s how these things go, right?
I started with a pair of regular earrings – you know, the dangly kind. I figured those would give me more room to work with. Then, I ripped apart an old fitness tracker. It was one of those cheap ones that just counts steps and stuff. I was mostly after the tiny circuit board inside and the battery.
The Guts of the Operation
- Earrings: Just a basic pair, nothing fancy.
- Fitness Tracker: Sacrificed for the cause.
- Tiny Wires: I salvaged these from an old broken phone charger.
- Soldering Iron: My trusty friend for connecting everything.
- Super Glue: Because, well, you always need super glue.
The first thing I did was carefully pry open the fitness tracker. Inside, there was this little green board with all the components. I desoldered the battery and the main chip – that was the tricky part. My hands aren’t exactly the steadiest, but I managed not to fry anything.
Next, I soldered those super-thin wires to the battery and the chip. This took a few tries, and I definitely burned myself once or twice. But, eventually, I got them connected.
Then came the fun part – stuffing everything inside the earring. I had to hollow out the back of one of the earrings to make room for the electronics. I used a small drill for this, and let me tell you, it was messy. Glitter and plastic bits everywhere!
Once I had enough space, I carefully placed the chip and battery inside and glued everything shut. I used a toothpick to apply the glue because I didn’t want to get it all over the place. It took many tries.
The other earring, I left alone. It’s just there for balance, I guess. You could probably put something else in there, like a tiny microphone or something, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.
Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
After letting the glue dry overnight, I put on the earrings and went for a walk. I checked the fitness tracker app on my phone, and… it worked! Sort of. The step count was a little off, probably because the earring swings around more than my wrist did. But it was definitely registering movement. I had used super glue to secure the electronics.
So, yeah, that’s where I’m at with my “smart earrings” project. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but it’s a start. I’m thinking about adding a tiny LED light next, maybe one that changes color based on my heart rate. We’ll see how that goes. Stay tuned!
