Project Yodel Toaster
There's an older video game named Spelunx, a kind of kid-oriented Myst-style game with worse graphics, made by the same company that put out Myst, Cyan.
A notable feature in the extremely-hidden backstory of this game, is an in-game book, a key plot point of which is a royal decree issued for persons everywhere to construct the very best yodeling toaster in the kingdom.
Given the lack of competition in this area, I believe I should be declared the de-facto winner of this particular competition :-) And yes, it still toasts.
WARNING: Toasters operate directly on mains/line power, and can get very hot. This isn't just a standard disclaimer, toasters (at least my cheap GeneriBrand NoSafetyOversight Edition) are apparently not expected to be reparable/openable and contain exteremely dangerous circuitry. The main toast lever on my model presses down on a quarter-inch by 3-inch thin strip of bendable copper that makes contact with another static copper contact farther down when depressed. This huge unexposed strip was, of course, line power, which was just applied to the heating coils whenever they needed to be heating. The timer functionality was implemented mechanically. So simple. So cheap. So dangerous to work around with the power on while testing your half-assembled yodel toaster.
The Willing Victim
On a related note, I cannot confirm or deny that the table below is being held up by a soda bottle, nor that the table in question is actually a door.
Parts/Tools Used
- Small phillips screwdriver
- Angle Grinder (seriously)
- Old 5V wallwart
- Audio-playing electronics
- Sheet Metal (I used a spare breadboard backing plate)
Creation of an Electronic Audio Solution
I was originally going to put in a tiny AVR and bit-bang out the audio into a PC speaker, but the amount of flash on the microcontrollers I had was prohibitively small for storing sound samples, even with a few space-saving tricks. The off-the-shelf solution was like $8 from an online electronics place (google 'diy audio greeting card' or similar to get several different models/suggestions), so I had no problem going with that.
Disassembly of the Toaster's Plastic Housing
This toaster was easy to disassemble, as if the manufacturer was secretly encouraging yodel-based modifications, with normal phillips screws on the bottom holding a few plastic outer shell parts together. The only unusual part was how they all snapped together and how the plastic lever extension had to be removed first before continuing disassembly. While performing this step, look for areas of open space that will be A) Not excessively warm during device operations and B) Enough space to fit your electronics guts.
Making The Parts Fit
YMMV; this step will obviously vary wildly or may be completely optional with differing base toaster models.
Keep in mind when performing modifications that you won't want your poor PCB getting too warm during Normal Toasting Operations (NTOs).
Toaster innards
Toaster, incision sites marked and ready for surgeon
The surgeon delicately performing the operation on the patient with an angle grinder
Addition of Audio Circuitry
Find a nice way to mount your electronics guts into the chassis. Try not to short it out on the metal heat shield, and try not accidentally desolder the PCB during NTO.
In order to make a clean looking single-power-cord going into the device, with no external signs of yodel-capabilities, I fished a spare 5V-DC wallwart out of my housemate's Box-O-Extra-Wallwarts(TM), and integrated this into the device.
Addition/Integration of Button Circuitry
I confess I have not taken apart any toasters besides this one, so do not consider me a subject matter expert. In my particular model, as described in the warnings section, the lever just presses a strip of wire connected directly to mains down to make contact with the resistive heating circuit. I really hope this isn't how they all do it, that's gross.
Anyways, you should either somehow latch onto whatever contact they have, make your own contact that triggers when the button is pressed and/or comes up after finishing a toast action. Having the depress-action (falling edge) also resulting in a yodel gives the added benefit of alerting you that your toast is complete! In my case the toaster did not have a bell for this functionality like others might, so this was a welcome feature to have.
In my case, I ended up cutting a small piece of sheet metal from a spare breadboard backing and very carefully folding it, which was actually a joy to work with, even given the small size of the mechanical/electrical contact I was extending. I then wired this up along with a matching contact to form a press-button circuit to my electronics.
Categories: Projects
