Close
0%
0%

NFC powered synth businesscard

Another gimmicky EE businesscard. But engineered to be actually (sort of) practical.

phil-weaselPhil Weasel
Following
Liked Like project

Just one more thing

To make the experience fit your profile, pick a username and tell us what interests you.

Pick an awesome username
hackaday.io/
Your profile's URL: hackaday.io/username. Max 25 alphanumeric characters.
Pick a few interests
Projects that share your interests
People that share your interests

We found and based on your interests.

Choose more interests.

OK, I'm done! Skip
Similar projects worth following
0 comments
0 followers
View Gallery
Everyone of us just loves PCB business cards with a gimmick (throwback to the 2024 contest). But Lets be honest. They are either expensive, hard to build and/or impractical. And giving away a PCB with your data just printed on is boring. So i set myself up to find a solution.

I also always wanted to make a toy like the famous synthasette/stylosette .... so here we go.

Everything from now on is AI free by the way.

In the end there will be a final release so everyone can make his/her own.

You can find all files and the current progress on my codeberg ... (at some point tho dont expect it to be pretty just yet)
https://codeberg.org/WeaselsLab

To achieve my goal a set up 4 targets:
1. Be slim
2. Be usable by anyone
3. Be rugged
4. Be easy to manufacture

To stay slim, batteries and any fancy IO falls out. I want to be max 3 PCB thick so everything has to be SMD.

To stay usable, USB falls off. This would be a big NONO in (especially) the corporate world because nobody will plug in a random device.

Being rugged, i have to stay enclosed and have no exposed components/wires (mechanical stress, ESD)

And easy to manufacture .... so as little components and no mechanical stuff.

--

An idea i had in mind since the Jolly-Tagger i made was to finally do something with NFC energy-harvesting .... adding touch buttons and we can make a completely enclosed card.

--

Check out the LOGS for current process

--

  • First tests and insights

    Phil Weasel • a day ago • 0 comments

    So i build up the POC ... wrote a small firmware and .... IT WORKS .... well sort of. The circuit, unoptimized, needs around 3-4mA which drains the caps way too fast. However the touch sensors work flawlessly ... the I2C split was not problem and they are pretty much plug and play ..... nice.

    I was a bit down BUT i noticed, holding a keycard in between makes my phone to keep the filed up .... and oh boy suddenly we have SO MUCH MORE POWER ... way more power than we need. I even was able to charge a 7F Supercap with no problems .... kinda insane.

    Also ... KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED

    So the touch IC work without problem ... thats good so we can play around with the design like crazy. For the Energy harvesting im planning to trick around a bit .... since we need a tag to keep the field up, i will try to implement a 2nd antenna with the same IC i used on the Jolly-Tagger ... i tried it and this one also keeps the field up ..... this is gonna be good

  • The POC prototype

    Phil Weasel • a day ago • 0 comments

    So to actually test my idea i built a small prototype ..... some big ass 0805 caps, a rectifier, and attiny and two AT42QT1070.

    Im not 100% sure on how to design the touch pads so i made every possibility. Grounded, meshed, with shiled ... and everything between just to see how the IC will react. I added a UART output just in case for possible debugging/experimantal purposes.

    And yes .... the IC has a not-changable address so i split up the I2C into two. Having one on the main pinout and the other on the alternative pins.
    Will it work? I have NO idea.

  • Testing the environment

    Phil Weasel • a day ago • 0 comments

    So before i do anything a found an old NFC antenna around. Measuring the inductance, getting a capacitor to make it resonant and added a full bridge rectifier to charge a capacitor bank.

    The outcome ... well just by polling alone i was able to make the LED glimmer....

    According to my calculations im able to get a "constant" ~1mA@2,5V .... kinda impressive .... lets see where it takes us.

View all 3 project logs

Enjoy this project?

Share

Discussions

Similar Projects

A set of smart dice, the same size as traditional ones, full of LEDs and Bluetooth-enabled.
Project Owner Contributor

Pixels

jean-simonetJean Simonet

Modular Open Source Hardware Tablet that is easy to hack and can run a standard Desktop Linux Distribution (or Android)
Project Owner Contributor

DLT one - A Damn Linux Tablet!

timonskutimonsku

A base station of all your blinking lights
Project Owner Contributor

Electronic Barrette Hub

dehipudeʃhipu

An open platform for creating installations to show various types of motion. Useful for museums and schools. Composed of individual cells.
Project Owner Contributor

Periodic Table of Motion

bob-baddeleyBob Baddeley

Does this project spark your interest?

Become a member to follow this project and never miss any updates

Going up?

About Us Contact Hackaday.io Give Feedback Terms of Use Privacy Policy Hackaday API

© 2026 Hackaday

Yes, delete it Cancel

Report project as inappropriate

You are about to report the project "NFC powered synth businesscard", please tell us the reason.

Send message

Your application has been submitted.

Remove Member

Are you sure you want to remove yourself as a member for this project?

Project owner will be notified upon removal.