(^68) The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book raspberrypi.org/magpi
hen Martin Mander saw
The MagPi magazine was
giving away a free hardware
voice kit from Google in issue 57, he
did the sensible thing and rushed
off to buy a copy. But after he
assembled the components, placed
them in the cardboard housing, and
pressed the button to activate the
Google Assistant to ask a question,
he started to think about the
future possibilities.
Ironic, then, that he promptly
delved into the past. “The family
and I enjoy the local car-boot sales
and I’m always looking for old,
obsolete or broken technology
that I can use in projects,” he says,
relishing the chance of picking
up something from the 1970s
and 1980s.
He noticed some intercoms which
were in their battered original
packaging, and he thought it’d be
fun for the kids to be able to chat
between their rooms. “They didn’t
work, and so I shelved them in
the workshop,” Martin continues.
“Then the Voice HAT came along
and I decided it would be nice
to preserve the spirit of these
intercoms in a small way.”
Martin’s idea was to fit the Google
AIY kit into one of these old units.
“I’d followed the instructions in The
Projects SHOWCASE
Eager to evoke a sense of nostalgia, retro nut Martin Mander decided
to place his Google AIY kit inside an old FM wireless intercom
A set of three
intercoms
originally cost
£99.95 in 1986
Martin bought
his set for a
bargain £4
He put the Pi
behind the
case’s grille
The case was
coated with
matt-finish
craft paint
He’d like to
include a
manual rotary
volume control
Quick
Facts
GOOGLE PI
INTERCOM
W
MARTIN MANDER
Martin has 13 Pi boards, many earning
their keep around the home he shares
with his wife and two children. He
works as an analyst in Norwich.
magpi.cc/2vPQK6E
Each component had its own
connectors and cables which,
thankfully, were also long
enough for the new case
Knowing his children would give
the unit a pounding, Martin used
a screw and hot glue to ensure
the microswitch stayed in place
The speaker from
the kit was too big,
so Martin bought this
replacement for £5