Tinker Corner
Sometimes, Konstantin likes to step away from serious engineering and work on projects that are just plain fun. This page is where those experiments and playful inventions get shared — a peek into curiosity-driven tinkering.
One recurring theme? Typewriters. Vintage, mechanical, quirky — they make the perfect playground for combining old-school charm with modern electronics.
Networked Typewriter Printer
An old electro-mechanical typewriter was transformed by Konstantin into a fully functional network printer. The machine was fitted with around fifty solenoids, each precisely aligned to operate one of the keys. The solenoids are mounted in 3D-printed frames with aluminum backplates that provide stiffness and cooling. They are driven by custom electronics designed in KiCad and controlled by a Raspberry Pi running a CUPS print server.
When a print job is received, the system interprets the text and activates the solenoids accordingly, producing crisp, typed output on paper through the machine’s original mechanics. The result combines vintage engineering with modern control — a mechanical printer that merges eras in a wonderfully tactile way.
Typewriter as USB Keyboard
For this project, Konstantin modified a vintage German Olympia Monica typewriter to function as a USB keyboard. Using 50 phototransistors, an Arduino Leonardo, and a custom PCB with multiplexers and decoders, each key press on the typewriter is read electronically and sent as a standard USB input.
The typewriter was rescued from a local flea market, and the custom PCB connects to the Arduino via a ribbon cable. The result is a fully functional, retro-inspired keyboard that blends mechanical nostalgia with modern technology.