Blog on Cal Bryant

Astralbrowser: designing an incredibly fast but niche file search engine

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This post covers the background and design of Astralbrowser – a simple, fast file search engine I created. Here’s a demo of the final implementation in action:

Ctrl+Alt+Drink: Adventures building a garden bar with a hidden motorised drinks cabinet

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Yep, that’s me dressed as Jaws¹ from Moonraker. We had a 007 themed opening party because everyone kept saying the motorised drinks cabinet looked like something from a Bond film.

Training a new AI voice for Piper TTS with only 4 words

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Over the last 15 years (!) I have used Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems for various projects including a fairly elaborate home automation system,¹ a distributed public announcement system and a monitoring system.²

Rackmounting that which should not be rackmounted

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A few years ago I developed a few clever ways of rackmounting non-rackmount equipment so it could look neat in my HiFi rack enclosure.¹ The goal was to have a professional-looking setup that would support input from my TV, spotify, Airplay, DJ controller and other sources while being able to drive a subwoofer with room correction and integrated crossover.

3D printing giant things with a python jigsaw generator

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I really like the idea of a fully automated pipeline¹ when I build anything – it’s highly satisfying to see a machine do all the work for you. Combine this with parametric design, and it makes iteration and customisation a breeze. My flagship example is my recent speaker project.

Design/build of some curved, fully parametric speaker cabinets

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This post documents a saga of speaker design dating back to 2019. Since then, I’ve been gradually working on a CAD model for a new set of what started as (yet another) subwoofer, but became some compact 2-way office ribbon speakers.

Hacking GPS into the Meteor 75 Pro, a tiny FPV drone

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve since managed to get it working reliably! Check the update I’ve added to the end of the article.

Following on from my previous article I added GPS¹ (well, GNSS) to my tiny drone – the Meteor 75 Pro. I wanted to add GPS so I could make use of GPS rescue in betaflight as well as see the altitude, speed and distance in the OSD.

A comprehensive guide to FPV drone technology

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background

Since the mid-2000’s hobbyists have been building and flying quadcopter drones.¹ Since then, the technology has been improved – and commercialised.

The goggles view on my first flight

Despite the commercialisation, an incredibly diverse and open selection of hardware and software is available to hobbyists, in addition to the off-the-shelf ready-to-fly (RTF) drones.

DIY FPV flight simulator using a VTX, control receiver and HDMI converter

Sat, 14 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve recently got into a bit of a rabbit hole with FPV quadcopter drones.¹ Specifically with a “mini-whoop” style drone, the Meteor 75 Pro.

...sneak preview of the end product!

As it turns out, it’s possible to connect a real drone controller to a computer to practice flying with many different simulators. I’ve tried a few of them, but I think the best one is Liftoff – it feels the most realistic.

Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I recently upgraded from a Ryzen 3700X to a 5950X. Double the cores, and nearly double the potential heat output. I didn’t upgrade my cooling solution, a 240mm Kraken X53 AIO liquid cooler.

Semi-automatic whole-house iPhone internet failover with NixOS

Sat, 10 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I have a cable broadband connection at home. It’s actually reliable, which is refreshing compared to the poor experience had with the same provider as a student living in Leicester.

CNC routing: speeds and feeds

Sat, 25 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A friend has his own CNC router; he built it himself in 2009 and has been upgrading it ever since – though it’s been a while since it was last used. I’m helping get it running again, and help improve it further to cut a pair of speakers I’ve designed.