Homelabs don’t always have to be massive. Sometimes it’s just a Raspberry Pi, a laptop and a couple of old phones can be an ideal laboratory setup. I’m in the second camp, preferring old phones in my spare time. My latest experiment is to modify an old Motorola phone in my home lab.
I use a Motorola Moto G for my home lab. When I say “terminal” I’m talking about it Termux program unless otherwise specified.
Always on clock screen
Get creative with an old device
Watches have been the mainstay of our lives. It’s pretty simple, but gives you a nostalgic, all-time watch face. If you happen to have an extra phone that you don’t do anything with, it’s perfect as a retro watch replacement.
For this I use a program called Zen Clock Flip. I bought the premium version to access all its features and kill ads. After that, it’s a watch, plain and simple.
Plug it in and switch to set it as an always-on display Settings > Developer Options > Stay awake.
It’s just a fun thing to do, and great if the phone can’t do anything else or isn’t suitable for use as a pocket server. Remember to keep it plugged in.
Test different phone functions with Bash, Termux, and the Termux API
Extending my system test script
A few months ago I developed a “test” script that used the Termux API to consistently test some basic phone features. Since then I’ve added a few things to the test script and made it even weirder.
It’s simple and vague, but it’s something I use to test functionality before building a new experiment.
The other point of this is to just show something cool to people who are learning how phones work and some of the different things you can do on the terminal.
This time I’ve added a few more phone test functions, the Dublin weather alert command (curl (wttr.in/dublin)(http://wttr.in/dublin)) and something random using luck and cow.
Use Phyphox for
Take advantage of your phone’s sensors
Some practices require additional programs. Each phone has a number of different sensors and Phyphox software helps redefine them for your experiences.
I often use it for a variety of things I’m interested in, but my favorite tools are (you’ve probably guessed it) sound sensors.
Did you know your phone can use sonar? The experiment allows you to send a chirp to locate an object. You’ll have to interpret the data yourself, but if you’ve ever wanted to learn how sonar works, it’s a really interesting experience.
I’ve been experimenting with acoustics for years and it’s really interesting to me to have the tools to perform different tests like checking the amplitude, spectrum and coverage of different audios. There’s also a ton of generators, so of course I had fun with that.
Apparently I’m humming in the key of C.
There’s a lot more to do with the app than audio experiences. The best way to learn is to just get in there and try things.
Plays text-based and graphical games on your terminal
Reset your brain between practices
As I learned more about Termux, I learned that you can play “text-based” games, but not classic adventure titles like them. Zork (there are several; Nethak pretty good). It’s more like games where graphics are made from text elements.
Buy it moon chariot, for example. Your lunar lander and almost all the elements are made of letters and symbols. It’s also quite difficult and I dread it.
Other graphics based games are also available. I like it This is a curated collection 20 different games. All of these can be installed manually; this collection simply lists them all. Some are better than others. Installation is simple, but I had to rotate my phone to download the app.
Finally, there is Termux Tetris that you can install pkg install bastet. It’s a fun take on the classic game and works pretty well on the terminal.
Old phones are ideal companions for the home lab
I have a simple philosophy: old technology can usually be repurposed. Whenever I replace a tablet, phone, video game console, or whatever, I keep the old one “for a future project.”
There’s a whole world of experiences out there, and the little computers we carry around every day can do so much more. It is enough to find an interesting experiment and see it.
