RIP RUSP

The Rotary Un-Smartphone reaches an end; Maker Faire Hannover and more

Author

Dale Dougherty
August 22, 2025

Table of Contents

End of the line for the Rotary Un-Smartphone

by Sam Freeman

Orders for RUSP, Justine Haupt’s Rotary Un-Smartphone, are officially bclosed as of August 18. Kits are still being worked on, but if you haven’t ordered one by now, it’s too late.

Mike Senese wrote about Justine Haupt’s Open-Source Rotary Cellphone Puts Retro Calling Back In Your Hand in February 2020. Justine wrote about the Rotary Cell Phone project in Make: Vol. 73. The idea of the Rotary Un-Smartphone went viral. And when thousands of people offer to buy something you made, it seems like success.

But the gulf between making one of something for yourself and 1,000 for the public is seismic. Even though it was updated for mass production, phones are complicated, and the project ran into numerous hurdles. All sorts of challenges seemed to crop up, from now-familiar supply shortages to life events to changes in mobile network operations. She tried to control manufacturing by assembling PCBAs in-house, but it backfired and added more complexity. Still, the small, volunteer team has put an incredible amount of energy and their own money into making sure that each backer gets either a refund or a kit, which is a far better result than many pre-ordered products.

We salute Justine Haupt and her volunteer team for tackling a hard build with honesty and transparency.

Maker Faire Hannover this weekend

Maker Faire Hannover takes places this weekend at the Hannover Congress Centrum. Over 1,000 makers will present exciting projects at 230 booths for participants to participate in, try out, and marvel at.

"Maker Faire is a place where you don't just see technology, you experience it," said Daniel Rohlfing of Maker Faire Germany. Many makers share not only their projects but also their knowledge—in the spirit of open source and collaborative learning.

The projects on display include a DIY robotic lawnmower, smart birdhouses, 3D-printed jukeboxes, a CNC milling machine made from open-source components, and the legendary crêpe machine "Amalettomat." Around 30 percent of the exhibitors are participating for the first time this year—a sign of the constant development and diversity of the scene.

La Danseuse

Also, there’s the six-meter-tall machine ballerina "La Danseuse" (The Dancer, above). On Sunday, many Hanover mascots will be making an appearance for the first time, parading around the grounds with Makey. Also new is the international Hebocon competition, in which self-made robots made from electronic waste compete in bizarre sumo duels. In an open workshop, visitors can build their own "Hebois" – no prior experience required. Those looking for a more professional approach can join in the excitement of the exhibition fights of the German Roboteers Association eV in the large tent. Eben Upton of the Raspberry Pi Foundation will also be speaking.

Really Cool Stuff in Fayetteville AK

The fourth Maker Faire NWA (North West Arkansas), which takes place on September 7 at the Fayetteville Public Library, An article in Ozarks at Large had a great quote from Harrison Grimwood, who is an AV coordinator for the library:

Maker Faire is Fayetteville’s biggest, weirdest, most eclectic show and tell. If you make something and you want to show it off, this is the place to come do it. If you’re selling something and you want to come vend, you’re more than welcome to. And if you’re unsure if you want to come show something off, just show up. There are a lot of cool people who do cool things.

…

When we started this about three years ago, we mainly thought 3D printing, laser engraving, and we just went from there. But every time Maker Faire rolls around, you see something, you’re just like, whoa, I didn’t even realize you could do that. So we slowly expand the resources that we have here at the library, and it’s really informed by the things that you see online or you see in the community. And Fayetteville has a pretty crazy scene. Fayetteville has a lot of people that are doing some really cool stuff.

…

We try our best to encourage. Some people might get themselves stuck in a rut where they’re just doing 3D printing. But we have lasers, CNC, we have soldering irons. We really try to encourage people to find ways to combine those modalities into producing something besides just a 3D print or just a thing that was laser cut and engraved, because you can use the tools together. It just isn’t always the most obvious how you do that. So just the sheer amount of access to cool stuff is what excites me about it.

Harrison Grimwood, quoted in Ozarks At Large

From tree to table

Former teacher and furniture maker Hillel Posner visited the Academy of Innovative Arts to show students how he mills wood from a fallen tree and then uses a variety of tools to make stools, bowls and other items.

Posner’s Alaska mill — a chainsaw and guide

He talked about how he liked making things, mostly of out wood, but he was also playing around on computers and with digital technology. He uses a CNC. “I liked solving problems and making things — it didn’t have to be one specific thing. That’s been the thread that’s gotten me into different careers and opportunities and all these different things in my life, some of which have paid amazingly well and some didn’t really pay at all. It was just something I enjoyed doing.” Now that he’s retired he mostly does work around his home and in his garden.

Hillel Posner talking to students

A produce basket made from cedar wood and a portable stool built from found wood

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