Bathroom Magic Mirror

spitzlbergerj

@simtechben Hi, I connected the radar sensor like a PIR sensor and followed this description in the broadest sense (https://www.nils-snake.de/archives/magic-mirror-bewegungssensor-einbauen-teil-5). I adapted the script to my needs. But the logic is still as described in the article.
Now I glued the radar sensor outside in the middle of the lower frame board with white tape. So it lies horizontally on the frame at the bottom. Not optimal in alignment, but it works and my wife agreed ;-)
As described above, I would simply place it behind the mirror if there was no Dibond plate or if it had a corresponding cutout.

Ramez

really nice :) just a small question, how did you mount it to the bath wall? you drilled the wall for some hings or what?

many thanks :thumbs_up:

spitzlbergerj

@ramez Hi,
Thank you for your kind words of praise.
On picture 7 you can see my assembly construction. I use the same principle as for a kitchen wall cabinet. A rail is mounted on the wall. The construction hangs then with special fittings on this rail. The advantage of these fittings is that they are height-adjustable and depth-adjustable. This makes exact positioning possible. This is very good for drilling between tiles, because you should only drill in the joints.
I then fastened the frame itself with screws from above through the frame into the substructure (see picture 24).
Here are the links:
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01MPZM5ER/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01BDR8K32/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

cowboysdude

Excellent job!

secdude

@spitzlbergerj Hi, i’m planing to adapt that concept and plan for the respective cutout. Did you test the radar sensor through the mirror glas? Has it proven to work through Glas?

Gruesse aus DE,
Mat

spitzlbergerj

@secdude Hi,
no, I did not test the radar sensor properly through glass, because I had already installed the dibond plate. I’m pretty sure that the sensor will work well through glass alone or through glass with black cardboard behind… Of course I can’t give you a guarantee. However, my experiences with the sensor make this seem very, very likely.

secdude

@spitzlbergerj Danke fuer die Einschaetzung :)

bachoo786

@spitzlbergerj hi well done and looks amazing.
Quick question:

Can you not glue the mirror using the silicone on the back panel directly? Rather using the groove in the wood? Is it possible?
The back panel how is it holding the monitor? I read your comment that you have your back panel cut around the monitor and it fits in perfectly and tightly. How and where did you apply the glue tape ?
Finally do you have any distortions of your image from your mirror? Especially around the edges where you have your silicone in the groove and the mirror? Because the blackness of the groove is different from the back panel and as well as the monitor?

Thanks.

spitzlbergerj

Hi @bachoo786 ,

Thanks for the praise. My pleasure. I’ll be happy to answer any questions.

It’s probably possible. But I wanted a larger amount of silicone to hold the heavy mirror. If you only glue the mirror to the panel, the silicone is only applied very thinly if you don’t want the mirror to protrude too much.
The cut-out in the back panel matches the monitor very closely. This holds the monitor in a vertical position. The tape just has to make sure that the monitor does not tilt backwards out of the cutout. I simply stuck the tape on the panel all around the monitor. Later I still screwed small metal angles on the top and bottom of the wooden frame, which press slightly on the monitor.
The mirror shows no distortion. You can’t see the back panel or the silicone. There is only one spot on the top edge of the mirror (which can only be found if you look very closely and find it once :-) ) where you can see the silicone bead. At this place I was very sparing with the silicone. Therefore you can see the wooden frame at this place, when light falls from above into the gap between mirror and wooden frame.

I hope this helps.

Why are you asking about the groove? Don’t you have a way to make the grooves? If you like, I can mill and send you the frame. We would have to calculate the costs of shipping and then see if it’s worth it.

Greetings
Sepp

bachoo786

@spitzlbergerj thank you for answering.

essentially its the silicone thats holding the mirror currently, I mean the groove does support it and hold it tight also. The reason why I asked about the groove is because I wanted to use the silicone alone and as you mentioned that the silicone is not see through or staining the mirror so you could use essentially alot of silicone to stick it to the back panel.
that makes sense.
I was under the impression that the mirror has to be covered with even blackness from one side in order for it to display the correct non distorted image on the mirror, so even the slightest can cause the image to distort especially around the groove in your case.

How big is the frame? and how much do you think it would roughly cost to ship it to the UK? if its not worth it then can you tell me how you made the groove on the wood? I mean like you mentioned the groove holds the mirror stronger in addition to the silicone.

spitzlbergerj

@bachoo786: You are right, it is important that no stray light falls on the spy mirror from behind. But the back plane does that very well. If the silicone is in the groove all the way around, the image from the MagicMirror screen is without any interference.

The groove was milled with a milling table in two steps. First the deep groove was milled on the outside of the frame. Then the second groove was milled on the side of the frame facing the inside.

The size of the frame naturally depends on how large the mirror is to be at the end. My mirror is about 1 meter by 1/2 meter.

Shipping to UK should cost about 25 EUR (see https://www.dhl.de/versand-grossbritannien)

bachoo786

@spitzlbergerj thank you.

So how much would you charge me for the frame and shipping altogether?

spitzlbergerj

Good morning @bachoo786,

I’m working on a furniture project for my wife. It’s gonna keep me busy for the next four or five weekends. After that, in the middle or end of February, I can take care of your frame.

With all the cut-outs, holes, millings from my frame as well as the grinding work and the safe packing I will work on the frame with my machines for about one weekend. For this I would like to charge you 60 EUR.

The wood incl. angles and flat dowels will cost about 15 EUR.

All in all that will be 60 + 15 + 25 EUR = 100 EUR.

Maybe you can find a private woodworker near you via the relevant internet forums. Or a carpenter in your area. The CAD plan of my frame I have made available. Everybody should be able to rebuild it.

Regards
Josef

hedmik

Very nice design and crafts!!! I’ve just built my two first mirrors and i’m now also planning a bath mirror :-)
Thanks for sharing all detaild pictures as a guidance!

otto

I was think about, maybe build something similar, and got an idea.

Do u think a rpi move sensor can see through the glas?
Think if u have an eye behind the screen, and when it’s noticed movement the MM will show up on the screen.

I don’t own any senor to try it

qu1que

@otto

I’ve tried that with a PIR motion sensor, and really doesn’t work very well. So I’ve finally decided to put it outside mirror.

Anyway, you can try it by yourself.
Hope it helps.

spitzlbergerj

Hi, I’ve tried several options:

Motion detector in the mounting arm of the lamp
Radar sensor behind the glass
Radar sensor inside near the frame
Radar sensor outside on the lower frame

Actually, only the latter works well. And that’s how it’s stayed now. The foil of the mirror shields just about everything. Actually the motion detector in the lamp arm should do the job. But apparently it is also shielded by the aluminium so that it didn’t work.

So not yet an optimal solution …

Fozi

@otto I put a microwave sensor behind the Glas and it works reliably. You can find my tutorial if you follow the link in my signature.

secdude

Hallo Josef,

how happy are you with the chrome spy mirror glas? is the reflected image brigth enough or is it too dark to operate as the main bathroom mirror? Any comments from the wife?;) I’m about to order the same from glas star.

Beste Grüsse,
Mat

spitzlbergerj

Hi, Mat,

my wife and I are very happy with our mirror and we would both not want to miss it anymore. The mirror is a little darker than a normal mirror. But it is perfectly adequate as a bathroom mirror. My wife has never complained about the (missing) brightness. And I myself am also very satisfied.
But before I bought the mirror, I had built a “sample mirror” for my wife from the sample glasses that you can get from the supplier. At that time the direct comparison was possible and the conversion was officially “approved”. :-)

Grüße
Sepp