Spring Break 2026 — April Mixtape Recap

I traveled to Orlando and Miami for ten days last month for a family spring break trip. My two assembled Mixfinity prototypes made the journey safely through TSA there and back, and this trip was the first time my brother got to hold the product and try it out. My recap for April will be short and sweet, and generally covers Bluetooth bring-up and some foundational startup work.

Hardware — Second PCB Spin

For SXSW in March, I ordered a second spin of the prototype circuit boards from China that, among other things, actually placed the Bluetooth controller chip. For my first spin in December 2025, I had ordered the boards without Bluetooth because the part was out of stock when I went to order from JLC PCB.

The new Bluetooth boards didn't arrive in time for SXSW and I ended up unboxing the boards at home in NYC. The time-lapse unboxing video is below.

Firmware — Bluetooth Bring-up

Bluetooth bring-up has gone smoothly and I am focused on the user experience around pairing with a single button.

• Short press: Displays Bluetooth connection status on screen
• 3-second press: Reconnect with previously paired speakers
• 6-second long press: Force-enter pairing mode

The Bluetooth button isn't really visible in any of the Mixfinity prototype photographs like the contrast-color playback buttons are along the top-side of the E-ink cassette. There are in fact two additional buttons on the right-side of the circuit board: the Bluetooth pairing button is above the USB-C port, and the Factory Reset button is below. The Factory Reset button will remain a cut-out for a paperclip to reset any music or podcast album you may have overwritten to its original "golden record" release MP3s. The Bluetooth pairing button is also just a cut-out today, and I will be designing a more fashionable button soon.

For now, the prototype will pair to the speakers with the strongest signal nearby. I'm also considering adding a simple menu to be rendered on the E-ink display to select a Bluetooth device. The next big step will be to get FCC certification for the radio.

Branding

I did finally form a company. Starsonder will be the home for this and future hardware products. I spent an afternoon in early April designing a simple landing page for starsonder.com. The design is purposefully very spartan. I did style the page like a dictionary entry because sonder is a neologism and now so is starsonder.

New York

I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping my mixtape on me at all times, so if you are a creator and visiting New York, feel free to reach out any time to arrange a hands-on demo.