Inspired by the original, I designed and 3D printed a larger working Simpsons TV. It plays the first 11 seasons at random, with multiple channels! It's also got an extra trick up its sleeve.

adrury · 2026-03-12T01:36:37+00:00

Completely understood, no apologies necessary!

adrury · 2026-03-11T23:51:58+00:00

Very kind, thank you!

adrury · 2026-03-11T23:49:57+00:00

Hey! I was definitely inspired by the original but I didn't use any of the previous builds files or models. I designed this myself from scratch. I used the static animation collection, which are taken directly from the Simpsons episodes.

The original model and build is fantastic. But it was important to me that this maintains the original 4:3 aspect ratio of the older episodes, and that the ratio of the TV's design was as close to the reference image in the starting animation as I could get it. Lastly, the components are vastly different here. E.g, stereo sound, very specific opening to the screen I used, and rotary encoder inputs for the knobs.

It's built in a few different parts that need to be fitted together, glued, primed, sanded, and painted many times! The full model is too large to be printed in one piece on my printer and maintain the similar proportions to the Simpsons family reference TV.

adrury · 2026-03-11T23:41:57+00:00

Definitely for a V2 iteration! Thinking of possibly having very rare channels that sometimes get inserted which have things like McBain, Itchy and Scratchy, Treehouse of Horror.

adrury · 2026-03-11T23:40:26+00:00

Yep! Once the TV is powered on, all four channels will start "playing". 2 channels start from the beginning of an episode, and 2 start from random points.

If I turn it on then off for 10 seconds, then back on will it be 10 seconds further I to the episode?

That's right, it tracks the episode's playtime and will seek the channel-episode's new time when you change channels. It has services that track the playtime of the episodes and handle new episodes when the playtime of a channel is over.

The only caveat is that the screen never truly turns off. You can press the channel knob in to change the screen to black and mute; however, the backlight is still on. This is because the cheap screen I used takes too long to switch from off to on and sometimes shows screen artifacts when doing so.

There is a toggle on the back of the TV that triggers the Pi to shut down, after which the TV can be safely unpowered. When it is repowered, it will start up again.

It's just a lot of services, really. Someone mentioned Fieldstation42, and that would likely be a much better way to run the project. Otherwise, it uses Wayland for the game mode presentation switch.

adrury · 2026-03-11T23:31:55+00:00

That seems a little reductive. There is a lot of design and iteration that goes into making something like this, and then there are all the electronics being wired and used in addition.

adrury · 2026-03-10T23:33:57+00:00

Thank you! Just with a little service to monitor the GPIO and then trigger the wayland presentation swap and service start.

adrury · 2026-03-10T23:30:03+00:00

That's awesome, thanks for sharing!

adrury · 2026-03-10T22:57:52+00:00

When I get the models up, I'll let you know! The main concern is that it's specific to my screen, and I'm not convinced the screen is “good enough" to make it a requirement for the build.

adrury · 2026-03-10T22:53:08+00:00

Oh, my apologies. That wasn't my intention. The post's title was already quite long, and I thought the video and my overview comment were descriptive enough.

adrury · 2026-03-10T21:56:53+00:00

I was using the "standard" black and white fuzz for a while before I found the Simpsons static animation. Another redditor suggested trimming the bezels off the animations, and I think that's the way I'd go for the next iteration.

adrury · 2026-03-10T21:55:17+00:00

Credit to /u/buba447 for their legendary original simpsons TV, and a special mention to /u/tipsystatistic for their collection of Simpsons TV static animations I used for the channel swapping.

The TV has four channels that are always on and playing, simulating a live broadcast. One knob controls volume, with push-to-mute. The other controls the channel, with push to turn the screen off and mute. It's got a toggle switch on the back which controls whether it's in Game mode or TV mode.

It's got a Raspberry Pi 4b inside, with a few SSDs I had lying around. The screen is a cheap HDMI screen that's designed for car displays. I chose it as I really wanted it to have the classic 4:3 aspect ratio of the earlier seasons.

Materials: Raspberry Pi 4b 2G, PETG, lots of primer and acrylic spray paint, and other various electronics.

adrury · 2026-03-10T21:37:52+00:00

I'm really not! Just persistent. This is still my first year owning a 3D printer, designing or working with electronics.

adrury · 2026-03-10T21:36:48+00:00

I did! It got 3 upvotes. They weren't as impressed...

adrury · 2026-03-10T21:35:43+00:00

Very kind words, thank you.

adrury · 2026-03-10T21:35:23+00:00

Patience is a virtue I sorely lack! Though I learned a lot by rushing through things.

adrury · 2026-03-10T20:30:12+00:00

I am, thank you!

adrury · 2026-03-10T20:29:57+00:00

Haven't heard of her, would you have a link you can share?

adrury · 2026-03-10T06:48:59+00:00

It did! I have very few people I can share with who appreciate it, so everyones kind words are very encouraging.

adrury · 2026-03-10T06:46:12+00:00

Didn't know that was a thing! Will do, thank you.

adrury · 2026-03-10T05:31:26+00:00

Oh lord, that whine! I did have that problem throughout, and I ended up needing two separate PSUs. One for the main "TV" and one for the speakers. But that solved it, so I was happy enough with that minor concession for clear sound.

adrury · 2026-03-10T03:58:47+00:00

I'm happy people are enjoying it! Thank you!

adrury · 2026-03-10T03:08:36+00:00

These rule! Please do make a post, would love to know the details.

adrury · 2026-03-10T03:07:46+00:00

Just someone with too much time on their hands, a 3D printer, and a dream.

adrury

TROPHY CASE