iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 9h

turntable proof of concept done

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 14h

despite þe best efforts of þe datasheet, i have managed to hook up þe photointerruptor

a simple circuit on a breadboard, with the power being supplied by an arduino pro micro. the circuit consists of two LEDs, two resistors, and a photointerruptor. the LEDs are showing that the photointerruptor emitter is being powered and the photointerruptor output can see the emitter's signal, signified by a red LED being lit

i have placed an obstacle in the photointerruptor and the output LED has gone out

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 18h

aw dangit, it seemed like I just happened to have þe exact buttons I need to completely swap out þe ones in þe turntables but no. þe ones in þe turntable are þese two legged ones and I only have four legged ones. can't do anyþing about þese turntables rn, will have to order parts

some buttons on a PCB. they are small, six millimeters by six millimeters

one of the buttons has been desoldered. on the left are the buttons i have which have four legs, on the right are the buttons from the turntable which have two legs

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 07/10/2026

dude. boþ of þem work great* and look beautiful doing it *þe buttons need some contact cleaner and þe built-in RCA cables need to be switched out but þat's easy

one of the turntables on my table playing a record. the cartridge is an ortofon club mk2. the light from the cue light is yellow-ish white while the other lights on the turntable are deep blue

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 07/10/2026

þis is such a fuckin crazy get. two mid-to-high-end direct drive turntables for 55€ haven't tested eiþer of þem yet but even if boþ of þem are broken it's still a crazy deal

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 05/10/2026

þis will be quite possibly þe cutest turntable I had modeled þe platter from my reloop rp7000 mk2 earlier so I just scaled þat down and added þe photointerruptor ring. had to drop þe strobe dots from it because þere just wasn't enough resolution

the turntable for the controller. it is about the size of my hand

the bottom of the turntable. there is a lip around it and there are some spaces in the middle on an extrusion for the photointerruptors to use

the turntable platter fits very nicely onto the turntable box. it is framed cutely on four sides by screws

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 03/10/2026

why does ultimaker cura make þese really suboptimal seeming travels and is þere a way to optimize þem out? þis printer I'm using keeps extruding during þe travels so þis leaves ugly marks on þe final piece

a 200x70mm part in ultimaker cura. the print head sometimes travels all the way to the other side of the model for some reason

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 01/10/2026

somebody who is good at þe electronics please help. why does þis not work. D2 is known good and working

a schematic depicting a photointerruptor. VCC is connected to LED D1's anode, with the cathode being connected to ground. on the receiving side a photo NPN transistor is connected so that its collector is connected to VCC and emitter is connected to LED D2 from which it goes to ground

the aforedescribed schematic on a breadboard

the spec sheet for the photointerruptor. too much info to properly alt, sorry

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 01/10/2026

þe stuff to hook up all 7 keys finally arrived. þe project has now reached þe stage where I spent an hour playing þe game like þis when I was just meant to be getting a quick sample video lol (turntable not implemented yet)

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 29/09/2026

good to know þe spambots are also big fans of big anime tittys

my notifications. one of those spambots has reposted my repost of a post by the user @moisturechichi.bsky.social which features four images of anime women with large breasts

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 29/09/2026

had þis project on my hard drive since 2024, sitting in a state of 90% finished for a couple of years. you know how it is. you work on someþing obsessively for like a week þen you forget about it. anyway it's finally ready to publish #TommysStuff #music

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 28/09/2026

i bought 1.014kg of candy and 90% of it is just þese chocolate pellets

chocolate pellets about the size of coins in a bag

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 27/09/2026

sometimes þe phrase 「そう聞いたんだけど・・・」(sou kiitan dakedo...) (I've heard þat, but...) pops into my head and my brain starts playing þis tiktok on repeat and it won't stop until i've watched it again

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 27/09/2026

blender gurus pls help. how do make þis screw more realistic? like irl þe þreads kind of fade in you know? þese þreads just kind of start abruptly. i do not know what search terms to use for þis

a screw thread in blender. it starts abruptly

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 27/09/2026

flea market haul from a couple of days ago, total 4€

the matrix, the matrix revolutions, and the matrix reloaded

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 25/09/2026

got þe first versions of þe sides and þe bottom printed. need to add some kinds of rails to everyþing so it all slots togeþer and þen gets tightened down wiþ þe screws on top and bottom

the halfway assembled box for the buttons. the only bits it's missing are the two long sides on each side

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 24/09/2026

finished button plate (þis took 4 hours to print ouughh)

the finished button plate: it's a 20cm by 15cm rectangle with 7 big holes in it (with two holes beside each big hole) and four screw holes in the corners

the buttons have been installed onto the plate

the backside of the plate, I have written "V2" on it. the buttons have microswitches on them

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 23/09/2026

working on making a box to mount þe controls in. v1 to v4 are just minor iterations, wiþ v5 being just a fatter version of v4. v5 fits my buttons perfectly. þen it's just a matter of duplicating þat to get þe 7 key layout. not 100% sure how accurate þe spacing is to arcade

the plates to mount buttons in, versions 1 through 5. they're just small plates with a big hole in the middle and two smaller holes beside that so the stem of the button and its pins can fit in neatly

the v5 plate has been duplicated so that there are now 7 plates connected by small spacers

the buttons have been installed onto the 3D printed support. all 7 buttons fit in perfectly and are exactly 10mm apart from each other

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 19/09/2026

one button IIDX has been achieved

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 19/09/2026

ah, my favourite Content. þe Triangle

youtube homepage. the CSS failed to load and the page is just one big white triangle on a dark background with some junk in the top left corner

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 17/09/2026

i tried to do þis via þe button's own light socket too but þe 5V out of þe nano isn't enough for þe 12V bulb which is þe only þing my local store had in stock. i guess i'll look for LED ones but þey'll probably add a lot of cost to þe final design so I might omit lights entirely

the arcade button with the part that you actually press on removed so it's only the switch and light bulb socket left

the button is not being pressed, there is no electricity running to the bulb

the button is being pressed, but most that the 5 volts can do on the 12 volt bulb is to make it glow a tiny tiny bit

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 17/09/2026

i tried a billion different þings including different versions of þe IDE and eventually Someþing Worked™️ and i have no clue what but anyway i have managed to turn on þe onboard LED wiþ a button. now i just duplicate þis 6 more times and relay everyþing back via USB to a PC to make a controller

a rectangular blue arcade button wired up to an arduino nano clone. the button is not being pressed and only the onboard LED is lit

a rectangular blue arcade button wired up to an arduino nano clone. the button is being pressed and this time in addition to the power LED on the board being lit, another LED under that has also been lit

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 17/09/2026

forgive me, father, for i have sinned

5-key beatmania being controlled by a guitar hero controller

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 17/09/2026

ok phew i found it, it was in my bag of "random computer stuff" boþ guitars overstrum :(

a screenshot from clone hero, 95% on barracuda on expert wiþ 23 overstrums

a screenshot from clone hero, 96% on barracuda on expert wiþ 16 overstrums

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 16/09/2026

POV you've been bitten my þe BMS bug again

a properties view of my BMS songs folder. it is 504 gibibytes in size, comprising of 6785974 files in 11653 sub-folders. each sub-folder is its own song

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 16/09/2026

ok I figured out þat I can scan þe booklet so þat þe spine is going parallel to þe scan head so þere isn't just one big gap þe light can get into, removing þe glare completely. however, þis means I have to scan and manually process every single page individually instead of two at once so it's slow

a scan from the booklet for beatmania IIDX 16 EMPRESS. the scan looks great even at the spine where the bar of light was previously

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 16/09/2026

I want one of þose scanning devices þat some have where it like wedges þe material to be scanned at a 90 degree angle and scans it þat way instead of having to flatten everyþing out onto my flatbed which leaves þis ugly light marking on some pages because of þe way it's printed and stapled

a scan of one of the pages of the booklet for the beatmania IIDX 17 SIRIUS soundtrack. on the left side of the page you can see the reflection of light because the surface normal of the page isn't pointing directly towards the light because of the middle of the booklet being raised

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 15/09/2026

ohhhh I see!! it's because I was scanning at 300 DPI. it's fine for most þings but on some þings þere seems to be þis kind of diþering pattern on þe print which þe printer couldn't make out at þe lower resolution. here's 300 DPI (fig. 1 and 3) and 600 DPI (fig. 2 and 4)

the CD cover for HADES by Massive New Krew. it features a red skinned devil woman sitting on a throne with her legs crossed, looking at the viewer with a smug expression. it has been scanned at 300 DPI and there is the same colour banding as can be seen in the previous scans

the same cover, but scanned at 600 DPI. the scan now looks perfectly fine

an extreme close up of the woman's face in the first scan at 300 DPI. the banding is a very clear problem, and it's like there is a dithering pixel pattern all over the image. the lower resolution of the scan means the scanner kind of smushed all the colours together causing the banding

another extreme zoom into the scanned image, this time from the 600 DPI scan. the higher resolution means the printer can now make out the dithering pattern better. it's still there but it doesn't cause the colour banding so in the regular sized image it looks perfectly fine

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 15/09/2026

every time i need to take paracetamol I am reminded of þis limmy's show sketch

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 09/09/2026

þis grocery store still does security by obscurity þe old fashioned waythe cabinet is unlocked, the padlock that is supposed to lock it has been left just hanging there unlocked

a lockable cabin in a grocery store, in the "reserved for grocery delivery robots" section

the cabinet is unlocked, the padlock that is supposed to lock it has been left just hanging there unlocked

inside the cabinet is important wiring for the grocery delivery robots

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 09/09/2026

guys i þink i might be addicted to pepsi max caffeine free

a photo of þe inside of my fridge: 1 carton of milk, half a bottle of dr pepper, 1 case of butter, 1 pack of chicken strips, 1 pack of mince, 8 1.5L bottles of pepsi max caffeine free

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 08/09/2026

i love japanese mistranslations. þey can be so poetic sometimes. we truly do not ask ourselves "Which Save & Load Matches You?" enough

a screenshot from the save/load menu from the PS2 version of beatmania iidx 16 EMPRESS. in the middle of the screen it has the buttons "load", "save", "auto save" which is on, and "exit". in the top left corner of the screen it reads "Which Save & Load Matches You?"

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 07/09/2026

an enbee after my own heart (im sorry i staged this photo i don't actually keep my camera and geiger counter on my kitchen counter because there is no room for them there)

a film camera in its carrying case next to a geiger counter on a kitchen counter

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 06/09/2026

oh ok, ALL þe prints have þis issue, it's just þat þe insert *doesn't* have it on one side for some reason is þis some kind of copy protection or someþing

a scan from the booklet that came with the soundtrack, the banding can be seen in some screenshots of the game

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 06/09/2026

I tried desaturating it but apparently it's not just colours, it's also luminance changes. þere will be banding on þe final scan no matter what. i have no idea why only þis specific print has þis problem. þe other side of þe insert is completely fine

the other side of the insert, so this is the side that faces outward in the DVD case. it has no artifacting anywhere

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 06/09/2026

þat's weird. I was scanning my copy of þe Tekken 6 soundtrack and þe insert is grayscale, but for some reason my scanner put þese color bands on it?

a screenshot from darktable, zoomed into the insert. it does, indeed, have some weird colour banding on it

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 05/09/2026

check it out this bird just let me get within arm's reach of it to pet it

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 02/09/2026

y'all is þis mold? is my record moldy?

a close up of the record sleeve. it is meant to be black but there are splotches of gray-ish spots on it

a close up of a part of the record, there are two brown-ish spots on it that didn't go away with a brush

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 01/09/2026

since þe sleeve is now perfectly aligned i just crop þe image to be only þe sleeve. after þis I can change exposure if I want to, but didn't see a need for it here so þis is þe final image

the image is being cropped in darktable. there is a box over the sleeve with anything outside the box being darkened to signify that those parts will be left out of the final image

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 01/09/2026

after that i define the rotation and perspective structure to straighten everything out and essentially digitally move the camera directly over the sleeve

the colour corrected photo in darktable. i have set the rotation and perspective correction box over the record sleeve so the program knows what I want to set straight

the perspective corrected image. the record sleeve is now a straight box

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Tommy Swanson @tommyswanson.fi · 01/09/2026

the camera settings are: lowest ISO possible (for least grain), highest f-stop possible (for sharpest image), exposure time as long as needed. in my case it's ISO 100, f/11, 30 second exposure next step is processing: colour correction

the original photo directly from the camera. it's a photo of the sleeve on the floor next to the colour checker

the image has been loaded into darktable and i have set it to use a color checker for colour correction. a grid has been drawn over the colour checker with some stats in the right side of the screen

the image has been colour corrected. it is warmer than before and the colors are more vibrant

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