Alright, let me tell you about this little project I got myself into, the thing I ended up calling the “valhalla ring”. Wasn’t anything official, just a name I cooked up while messing around.
So, I’d seen those fancy smart rings, you know? The ones that do NFC stuff or track your sleep. Thought they were kinda neat, but the price tag? Nah. Then I got this idea, maybe I could cobble something together myself. How hard could it be, right? Famous last words.
Getting the Bits and Pieces
First step, figuring out what I actually needed. Scrolled through a bunch of websites, forums, watched some videos. Seemed like the core thing was a tiny NFC tag, the really small passive kind. Found some online, cheap as chips, ordered a handful ’cause I figured I’d probably break a few.
Then needed something to put it in. Looked for ring blanks. Found some basic metal ones, some wooden ones. Went with a simple titanium blank, looked sturdy enough. And epoxy resin, gotta seal the electronics in somehow. Ordered that too. Of course, everything came from different places, took forever to all arrive. You know how it is.
- Tiny passive NFC tags
- Titanium ring blank
- Two-part epoxy resin
- Sandpaper (fine grit)
- Clamps or tape
- Patience (lots of it, turns out)
The Messy Part: Putting it Together
Okay, parts finally arrived. Time to build. This is where things got… interesting. That NFC tag was tiny, like, really tiny. And fragile. The ring blank had a channel, but getting the tag to sit right? Fiddly doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Tried securing the tag first. Little dab of glue. Then mixing the epoxy. Oh boy, the epoxy. First batch, too many bubbles. Looked awful. Had to wait for it to cure a bit, then carefully scraped it out. What a mess. Second try, mixed it slower, poured it carefully over the tag in the ring channel. Used some tape stretched over the top to try and keep it level while it cured. Left it for a full day.
After it cured, peeled the tape off. Still wasn’t perfectly smooth. So, out came the fine-grit sandpaper. Gently sanded the resin down until it was flush with the metal ring edge. Polished it up a bit. Looked half-decent, actually. Not professional, but not terrible for a first attempt.
Did it Actually Work?
The moment of truth. Grabbed my phone, turned on NFC. Tapped the ring against the back. Nothing. Tapped again, moved it around. Still nothing. My heart sank a bit. Thought maybe I’d sanded through the tag or the metal ring was blocking it too much.
Tried a different angle, right on the spot where I knew the tag was embedded. Bleep! The phone read it! Success! Felt pretty chuffed, not gonna lie. Then used an app to program the tag – just set it to open my contacts list, nothing fancy.
So, the “valhalla ring” was born. It technically worked. You had to hold it just right against the phone, but it read the tag.
Final Thoughts
Was it worth it? Eh. It was a fun little experiment, kept me busy for a weekend. Learned a bit about working with epoxy and how finicky NFC can be. But is it practical? Honestly, no. It’s easier to just tap my phone or my wallet which already has NFC cards. The homemade ring is bulky, the NFC is hit-or-miss depending on the phone and the angle.
It’s one of those projects, you know? You do it for the challenge, for the process. You end up with something that kinda works, but isn’t really better than what’s already out there. Still, better than sitting around doing nothing. Now I’ve got this slightly lumpy titanium ring with a hidden NFC tag. A reminder of a weekend spent tinkering. That’s something, I guess.
