What made me who I am today? How did it happen that I took such a radical step (at least in my own view) as sharing content about electronics and programming? And does it even make sense to start a blog about topics that the internet is already saturated with? You’ll find answers to these and other questions in my very first, welcome post on this site.
Let’s start with the fact that I wasn’t always a programming and electronics geek. At one point, I was deeply into history and astronomy (which, to be fair, have both stayed with me to this day). On the other hand, I’ve always had a technical mindset. A good example would be building all sorts of vehicles and machines out of LEGO bricks. The only limit was my imagination.
Fairly early on (around the age of 8–9), I got into RC modeling. On top of that, you could find me near real vehicle (I will never forget the incident of burning my hand on a Wartburg exhaust pipe 😊), and even helped build a small utility vehicle (well… more like assisted, but still valid :P). All of this happened while I was still in elementary school.
At this point, I need to pause and mention someone who had a huge influence on all of this – my grandfather, Stanley (Stanislaw). He wasn’t a programmer, but he had an incredible knowledge of analog electronics. He also had some experience with digital electronics, although that was secondary for him. He was the one who introduced me to the world of transistors and capacitors and showed me that you can build amazing things with them.
His influence paved the way for me and is the reason I do what I do today. Together, we built the RC airplane I mentioned earlier, but we also worked on things like a functioning radio, a furnace temperature controller, and even a soldering iron. Well, I was mostly the one watching and asking questions (and occasionally soldering), while my grandfather did took care of the rest.
Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away when I was 15, but the passion for electronics he sparked in me never faded. Around that time, I started building my own projects. One of the first was a clock face backlight using LEDs that would turn on automatically at dusk. No integrated circuits – everything based purely on analog electronics. Looking back, it might seem a bit crude, but at the time it felt like a huge achievement.
I started programming just before entering high school. As I learned more, I became eager to build more ambitious projects, which is when I began using microcontrollers (of course, ATmega from the AVR family) and other integrated circuits. I burned my fair share of components – chips, resistors, and sometimes entire devices – but I didn’t give up. Already in high school, I came up with the idea of building a stratospheric payload. At the time, it felt like the ultimate goal of my engineering ambitions. However, throughout high school, it remained just a dream.
The natural next step after high school was university. It probably won’t surprise you that I chose a field related to electronics and programming. That’s when I started building practical home projects like automatic blinds (controlled manually, on a schedule, or depending on light levels) or systems for regulating temperature and humidity.
During my studies, I often passed courses by presenting my own projects. That’s also when I decided it was time to fulfill my high school dream-a stratospheric flight. I’ve written more about this project in another post in the “Projects” section. I’ll just add that it eventually became my engineering thesis, which I defended with the highest grade 😊
That’s enough about me – let’s talk about the present and the future. I’ve realized that my projects may not be groundbreaking, but I’ve also noticed that many people are still looking for inspiration and knowledge. I’ve never been particularly active on social media, but a few years ago I decided to give it a try and started a YouTube channel. I had no idea what I was doing at first, so I learned through trial and error.
I published a few videos that may not have been a huge success, but they weren’t a failure either. After some time, due to personal reasons, I stopped posting. Now, however, I’m coming back – and with double the energy. I want to expand my reach, which is why, in addition to YouTube, this blog is now part of the plan 😊
Finally, an important question remains: does it make sense to publish content about AVR, electronics, and programming when there’s already so much of it online? I believe it does – and for several reasons. First, AVR microcontrollers may not be the newest anymore, but they are still widely available, affordable, and easy to use. Second, considering how much I’ve learned, it feels natural to start sharing that knowledge and experience. Even if I inspire just a few people-that’s still more than zero 😊 And third – simply because I enjoy it.
See you in the next posts 😉