EEV Blog See ‘n Say

As a kid (or as an adult, no judgment) you may have played with a toy called the “See ’n Say.” This rotary device allows users to point a dial at an object and pull its crank; it then says whatever you’ve selected in a mechanically — or electrically in later versions — synthesized voice. As fun as that might be, Andrei Aldea decided to take it to the next level and build an EEV Blog version of the toy. Not only does it emit a selection of Dave Jones quotes (and a few other bonus subjects) based on the icon selected, it also randomizes what he says for well over 300 phrases.

Hacking this device involved connecting each of 10 buttons that the spinning mechanism pushes internally, along with a selection flap as inputs to an Arduino Nano clone. The Nano then selects from files stored on an SD card MP3 module, which takes care of sound playback. While the clip is randomly chosen from a set of clips for each icon, Aldea notes that this routine could be improved as what comes out is next still a bit predictable.

Entirely random or not, it’s an impressive build, and since he had most of the parts on-hand, all Aldea had to buy was the toy to hack for $9! Files needed for the build are found on GitHub, and a demo of the build, as well as a 2014 Ben Heck version that inspired this hack can be seen below: