Inspired by a gag from a mid-90s sitcom Father Ted, [Stephen] decided to create his own talking tape dispenser.
This project is a actually a follow-up to the first version of the dispenser he built back in 2022, and [Stephen] has documented the process thoroughly for anyone wanting to build their own. In the first version, he modified a tape dispenser to house a Raspberry Pi, enabling voice functionality. In the new version, he replaced the Raspberry Pi with a cheaper ESP8266 and designed an entirely 3D printed dispenser that looks closer to the screen-used version.
A clever change was replacing the rotary encoder with a custom encoder embedded in the printed parts. Using a photodiode and an LED, it measures the tape pulled from the spool. As you pull the tape, the encoder calculates the length and announces it through the speaker, just like in the show.
If you’re into prop recreations like this, be sure to check out the winners of our 2022 Sci-Fi Contest.
Yep I’m gonna have to have me one of those
Such a funny project! Love it!
I think the anti-pop code is responsible for the gaps in the audio. A possible solution for that is to edit the audio files to have no pops (ie, make the start and end levels match with what’s adjacent).
What you want to do is put 20ms of silence at the ends of each voice segment, then play them all.
Used to do IVR stuff. (Maybe it was 10ms at each end to get a 20ms gap. Dunno, it’s been a few years. You’ll figure it out)
Next, it should keep track of the total used, and tell you how much is left on the roll.
Ah now father, it goes on and on and on and on…
Oh god please make it become a reality
Look at that…pure class!