<h2 id="indie-makers-are-lonely-too">Indie Makers are Lonely, Too</h2>
Have you ever felt like the lone indie maker, toiling over multiple projects and yearning for meaningful connections? I did, and that’s why I decided to create a Swedish Indie Hackers community. It wasn’t just about having a space for developers and designers building on more than one project; it was about creating a sense of belonging, a network where we could all thrive.
<h2 id="a-community-of-humility-and-generosity">A Community of Humility and Generosity</h2>
The community we foster is unlike any typical tech hub. Here, humility and generosity are at the core of our values. Each member who ships apps, ideally for profit, contributes to a vibrant ecosystem of shared knowledge. It’s interesting how a philosophy of ‘give more than you take’ builds a foundation of trust and collaboration amongst peers. There’s so much value in helping each other out, listening, and sharing, and it fuels incredible growth for everyone involved.
<h2 id="balancing-tech-design-and-real-connections">Balancing Tech, Design, and Real Connections</h2>
Our space isn’t just a digital intersection of technology and design; it’s alive with real conversations. We navigate the digital realm through an active Slack channel that’s buzzing with ideas. But we believe in taking online discussions offline, meeting in person over lunch, dinner, or breakfast to deepen those connections. This delicate balance between technology, design, and personal interaction sets us apart from larger communities where individuals often get lost in the crowd.
<h2 id="the-power-of-being-small">The Power of Being Small</h2>
There’s immense power in keeping our community small. It allows us to maintain intimacy and create meaningful opportunities for collaboration. Every voice matters, and every interaction has the potential to inspire new ideas or solutions. It’s not just about the projects we work on but the legacy we strive to leave behind.

I created a small community of Swedish Indie Hackers.

Multimakers

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Capes for Lego minifigs done with laser printer and hole punch. <a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/blog.tomsoderlund.com/Lego+capes.pdf">Download a PDF template here</a>.

Capes for Lego minifigs done with laser printer and hole punch. Download a PDF template here.

Lego capes

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AnyHouse - the DIY A4 dollhouse. Early prototype. #toys #dollhouse #Lego #DIY

AnyHouse - the DIY A4 dollhouse. Early prototype.

AnyHouse – the DIY dollhouse

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Lego on Elm Street

Lego on elm street

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Laser projector complete! Some kind of projector, at least… As you can see, it moves more on the Y axis than on the X axis. Tweaks are needed…
Assembly notes: • Lens movement mechanism from DVD (see previous post). • Mirror also from DVD. Tiny! 5*5 mm or something. • Laser LED mounted on soft packaging styrofoam I received with a Verbatim external disk. • Lots of hot glue!

Laser projector complete some kind of projector

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Laser project phase 2; now with a moving lens mechanism dissected from a DVD drive (inspired by Ljudmila’s instructable: <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Micro-LASER-Show-with-a-CD-Lens-Mechanism/">http://www.instructables.com/id/Micro-LASER-Show-with-a-CD-Lens-Mechanism/</a>). Yes, now I’m rummaging garbage for spare parts…

Laser project phase 2; now with a moving lens mechanism dissected from a DVD drive (inspired by Ljudmila’s instructable:

Laser project phase 2 now with a moving lens

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Finalized the casing for the ultrasound sensor project today. It’s designed as a small “robot”, with two red LEDs as eyes and the SRF02 distance sensor as nose/mouth. There’s a small reset button on the top.
I found the casing itself in the wonderful store Material (<a href="http://www.materialbutiken.se">http://www.materialbutiken.se</a>) in Stockholm for just 15 SEK. It fits an Arduino UNO sideways just perfectly, leaving space for a breadboard and possibly a battery too.

Finalized the casing for the ultrasound sensor project today. It’s designed as a small “robot”, with two red LEDs as eyes and the SRF02 distance sensor as nose/mouth. There’s a small reset button o

Finalized the casing for the ultrasound sensor

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…and the results from the soldering: a working distance meter using ultrasound! Currently it just prints the distance on the serial port, but will form the basis of a simple proximity alarm.
I can recommend this SRF02 framework: <a href="http://www.grapelabs.org/arduino/libraries/srf02-ultrasonic-distance-sensor">http://www.grapelabs.org/arduino/libraries/srf02-ultrasonic-distance-sensor</a>

…and the results from the soldering: a working distance meter using ultrasound

And the results from the soldering a working

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Just lost my “soldering virginity”! Pretty happy with the results. In case you wonder, that’s an SRF02 distance sensor.

Just lost my soldering virginity pretty happy

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Now we’re talking - a friggin’ laser! Coupled with a servo. Feels too slow for a laser projector. Also, need to build some kind of housing for all the gear.

A friggin laser

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Augmenting the SparkFun temperature tutorial with an RGB LED.

Augmenting the SparkFun temperature tutorial with an RGB LED.

Augmenting the sparkfun temperature tutorial with

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Basic tilt sensor. Not too much fun.

Basic tilt sensor not too much fun

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Just ordered my first SparkFun Arduino kit (from the Swedish store <a href="http://www.lawicel-shop.se/prod/SparkFun-Inv-Kit-for-Arduino_924372/Sparkfun_64668/SWE/SEK">Lawicel</a>)!
<a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11227">Source: sparkfun.com</a>

Just ordered my first SparkFun Arduino kit (from the Swedish store Lawicel)

Just ordered my first sparkfun arduino kit from

Got a littleBits kits from my kid sister for X-mas. The electronics spark has fired up!
<a href="http://littlebits.cc"></a>

Got a littleBits kits from my kid sister for X-mas. The electronics spark has fired up

Making