Tanner Staus
I build working prototypes of connected devices for startups and small teams: sensors, LoRa radios, Raspberry Pi, and the software that reads them.
What I do
I take a device idea from a parts list to something working on your bench: the board and sensors, the firmware, and the software that collects the data and shows it to you. Good fit for a prototype, a proof of concept, or a device that has to talk to the rest of your system.
Booking projects now, from a small fix up to a full prototype built over a few months.
Tools I use: Python, Linux and systemd, Raspberry Pi, Heltec LoRa boards and Meshtastic, local device APIs, USB and Bluetooth debugging.
How I work
- You tell me what you need. A short email is enough to start.
- I write up a plan. What I'll build, split into milestones, each with a fixed price and a clear "done" test.
- A deposit starts the work. Then you get an update every week, with the device working on video.
- You get everything. Hardware, code, wiring notes and setup docs. Once it's paid for, you own it, and anyone can pick it up later.
Things I've built
Home automation without the cloud
Goal: control the lights, ceiling fan and AV system at home without vendor apps or cloud accounts.
Built: small command-line tools that talk straight to an Insteon hub, a Modern Forms fan and a Control4 controller over the home network.
Result: one command turns the lights, fan or TV system on and off, and keeps working when the internet is down.
Movies from a laptop to any TV in the house
Goal: play a video file from a laptop on any TV in the house, with no streaming service.
Built: a tool that asks the Control4 controller which Roku a room is using, serves the file to it over DLNA, and drives the Roku through its local control API. It converts surround sound to stereo first, because 5.1 audio played silent.
Result: used for family movie nights, about 15 minutes from file to screen.
Text messaging gateway with no modem
Goal: send and receive texts from my own server without a SIM card or a paid SMS service.
Built: a Linux service that collects messages from an always-on Mac every 2 minutes and sends replies back out through it, retrying every 30 seconds without double-sending.
Result: running nonstop since late September; other tools on the server can text me.
LoRa radio link and packet logger
Goal: send messages between devices with no internet or cell service, and keep a record of nearby radio nodes.
Built: a Heltec LoRa radio running Meshtastic, plus a background service that saves every received packet to a log file.
Result: traded messages both ways with a node at Sandbox, an Atlanta hackerspace, and logged 51 packets from nearby nodes.
Debugging a USB audio device end to end
Goal: find why a stereo receiver's USB input kept cutting out, with no help from the maker.
Built: a test setup that checked every link in the chain: bit-exact recordings of the output, USB packet captures, buffer timing and CPU interrupt checks, then swapping in Bluetooth and analog inputs one at a time.
Result: proved the laptop, dock and software were clean, pinned the fault on the receiver's USB input (matching other owners' reports), and fixed it with an analog feed.
Self-hosted services
Goal: run my own calendar and task list instead of renting them.
Built: a Linux server running a calendar server and a task app.
Result: everything is reachable only over a private network, so nothing is exposed to the open internet.
Contact
Tell me what the device should do, your timeline, and a rough budget. A few sentences is plenty. I reply within a day.
Or write to tanner@staus.dev from any email app.