Intro - "every First Step of a journey"

each project, no matter what purpose it may serve, is like a ride into another realm. Some are jobs and you just wanna do it and be done with it. Some are hobby things, they'll never materialize into finished products. You're tinkering, experimenting, you discover or try new stuff. That's where you'll get your true knowledge from.

..and then, there are those things you've been dreaming about, you know .. we all hav'em Some of us have "to do - wish" lists longer than a kid's letter to Santa. Ya know those dream projects which are delayed indefinitely. The reasons are mostly "trivial": the lack of tools, or proper equipment, or a place big enough and well ventilated where no one is complaining about fine saw dust or welding fumes, or time, or money or.. And still.. you keep waking up, adding yet another project to that secret list which is already crowded, sighing, whispering to yourself .. "ONE DAY!"

[...]

Then one day you start zeroing in and you realize that you might have what you need, you can buy the rest, and you'll manage to manufacture whatever complicated parts you envisioned for your new "baby".. and then you finally start putting time and passion into your dream.

That's when the ride begins.

And that's what you're gonna remember for the rest of your days.

Not the sweat you've sweated, or the time you've invested, the money or all the other sacrifices you've made, not the hundreds of micro cuts you've inflicted on yourself when polishing metal or the soldering fumes or the countless back and fort moments from despair to relief, when you hit a new stone on the road, not the social events you've missed or the brainstorming / debugging sessions at 2AM in the morning after a long, exhausting day.

When you finally hold that new shiny thing you've created in your hands, and you feel like shouting "YEEEEESSS" but it's night and you do it kinda whispering.. when you get the first look at what YOU achieved... nothing else is gonna matter anymore.

You've walked the line, you've reached the finish.. You created something. No money can buy that, and no one can ever take that from you.

It's been a hell of a ride.

To all of you out there, who've been there or will get there someday,

you have my endless respect.

Part 1 - Motivation

My whole life I've been told to stop pursuing perfection because it cannot be achieved, it's a waste of time, it's not "economical", it's just stupid. Teachers, books, bosses or team mates.

"better do something imperfect which will sell in 100 million copies than wasting your time with tiny little details no one will ever notice nor appreciate." 

This time, was no one behind me and I ignored that advice, deliberately.

I pursued perfection again. Don't need to explain to anyone, don't need the admiration nor the money it will generate. This is a PROTOTYPE, and will remain a Single Unit product.

I will not release schematics nor gerber and STL files. I will not try to replicate this again nor anyone else should.

This is my humble way to say "Thank you", to my father, my life's mentor.

I owe you everything dad. Thanks !

Part2 - The Inspiration

I was a teenager when a game called Fallout came out. That concept, the feeling, the game play, the music, the atmosphere it generated got me mesmerized. Then came Fallout 2 which was at least as good as it's predecessor.

If I was secretly inloved with old technology and post-apocalyptic survival scenarios I didn't know it till I played those games.

Imagine living in a desolate wasteland, scraping for everything which could prove useful, wires, empty batteries, broken machines which can be taken apart and repurposed. In those Fallout vaults, computers and old-times tech were still functioning, powered by nuclear cells,...