ColinFriedel

Computer science and engineering grad from Santa Clara University, looking for engineering roles where I can solve problems and learn quickly.

Colin Friedel smiling
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Projects

Things I've built and figured out, from embedded systems to sewing. Open any project for the full story.

Senior design project

Reef Monitoring Communication System

Underwater sensor data sent through the water by acoustic modem, then to the cloud over cellular for live monitoring.

  • Embedded
  • Serial protocols
  • Cellular IoT
View details Personal build

Arduino Volume Knob for My Car

A physical volume knob for my Acura, built from a sunroof switch and an Arduino.

  • Arduino
  • Hardware
  • Problem solving
View details Software project

Automatic Radio Recording System

A cloud service that records every hour of the station and emails it to the DJ, with no one touching it.

  • Python
  • AWS
View details
Hands-on

Hemming My Jeans

Teaching myself to hem a pair of jeans.

  • Sewing
  • Learning a new skill
Details coming soon
Hands-on

New Floor Mats for My Car

Making new floor mats for my car.

  • Car
  • DIY
Details coming soon
Creative

Music Production

Recording and producing my own tracks.

  • Music
  • Recording
Details coming soon
← All projects

Senior design project

Reef Monitoring Communication System

Getting data off an underwater reef sensor network and onto a live web page, by chaining serial, acoustic, and cellular links together.

My role
Led the software and data pipeline
Built with
RS-485 and RS-232 serial, Feather Adalogger M0, Succorfish Delphis acoustic modem, Particle Boron 4G LTE
Code
github.com/colinfriedel/IRIS-Senior-Design
Photo or demo video goes here

Highlights

  • Led the software and data pipeline, covering the whole path from underwater sensor to the cloud
  • Connected three different kinds of links: wired serial (RS-485 and RS-232), sound through water, and 4G LTE cellular
  • Built for a reef off Palos Verdes, with the data feeding a public Google Site for live monitoring

How the data travels

  1. Underwater sensor networkCollects the reef data
  2. RS-485Feather Adalogger M0Pulls the data in and buffers it locally
  3. RS-232Acoustic modemSuccorfish Delphis, driven by the converted signal
  4. Sound through the water columnSecond acoustic modemReceives the transmission
  5. RS-232 and RS-485Feather Adalogger M0An identical chain on the receiving side
  6. Particle Boron 4G LTEProgrammed to publish the data to the cloud
  7. 4G LTE cellularCloud and Google SheetThe published data feeds a Google Sheet
  8. Public Google SiteEmbeds the sheet for live monitoring
Technical deep dive
  • Wired and programmed an RS-485 interface to pull data from the underwater sensor network into a Feather Adalogger M0 for local buffering
  • Converted the signal to RS-232 to drive a Succorfish Delphis acoustic modem, transmitting it through the water column to a second acoustic modem and back through an identical RS-232/RS-485/Feather Adalogger M0 chain
  • Programmed a Particle Boron 4G LTE module (404X) to publish the received data to the cloud, feeding a Google Sheet embedded in a public Google Site for live monitoring

What I learned

Placeholder: what was hardest, how I figured it out, and what I'd do differently.

← All projects

Personal build

Arduino Volume Knob for My Car

My Acura has no steering wheel controls, so I built a physical volume knob out of a sunroof switch and an Arduino.

My role
Everything: design, wiring, and code
Built with
Arduino Nano, 2003 Acura RSX sunroof switch, 12V to 5V buck converter
Works with
JVC KW-M560BT head unit
Photo or demo video goes here

Highlights

  • Repurposed a 2003 Acura RSX sunroof switch (part M20778) and mounted it in the blank fog light switch cutout, since the car has no fog lights
  • An Arduino Nano reads the switch and sends volume up and down commands to the head unit's steering wheel control input
  • Powered from the car's 12V wiring through a buck converter that steps it down to 5V

How it works

  1. Sunroof switchPress up or down, mounted where the fog light switch would go
  2. Pins D3 and D5Arduino NanoReads the switch and decides which command to send
  3. Pin D7JVC KW-M560BTReceives the volume commands on its steering wheel remote wire
Technical deep dive
  • Pin layout: switch down on D3, switch up on D5, signal out to the JVC on D7
  • Testing the head unit turned up other working commands too: track skip forward and back on 0x12 and 0x13 (works over USB CarPlay), mute on 0x0E, and the voice assistant on 0x1A
  • Mute needed a single-repeat send, otherwise it undid itself instantly
  • The Arduino is powered from the cigarette lighter wire through a 12V to 5V buck converter with a USB output

What I learned

Placeholder: what was hardest, how I figured it out, and what I'd do differently.

← All projects

Software project

Automatic Radio Recording System

A cloud service that records each hour of the radio station and emails the recording to the DJ who was on air.

My role
Built the service and its cloud storage pipeline
Built with
Python, AWS EC2, AWS S3
Code
github.com/colinfriedel/KSCU-Show-Recorder
Photo or demo video goes here

Highlights

  • A Python service on AWS EC2 that runs continuously and records the station's output every hour
  • Emails each recording straight to the DJ who was on air, in a downloadable format
  • Recordings go through a cloud storage pipeline on AWS S3, and the whole thing runs unattended 24/7 with no manual steps

What I learned

Placeholder: what was hardest, how I figured it out, and what I'd do differently.

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Colin Friedel

San Ramon, CA colin@friedelsweb.com LinkedIn GitHub

Education

Santa Clara UniversityJune 2026
B.S. Computer Science and Engineering · Santa Clara, CA

Relevant coursework: Software Engineering, Operating Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Theory of Algorithms, Computer Networks, Embedded Systems

Projects

Reef Monitoring Communication System
Cellular / acoustic / serial communication · github.com/colinfriedel/IRIS-Senior-Design
  • Led the software and data pipeline for an underwater reef sensor system in the Palos Verdes Reef, coordinating cellular, acoustic, and serial communication protocols across the full sensor-to-cloud path
  • Wired and programmed an RS-485 interface to pull data from the underwater sensor network into a Feather Adalogger M0 for local buffering
  • Converted the signal to RS-232 to drive a Succorfish Delphis acoustic modem, transmitting it through the water column to a second acoustic modem and back through an identical RS-232/RS-485/Feather Adalogger M0 chain
  • Programmed a Particle Boron 4G LTE module (404X) to publish the received data to the cloud, feeding a Google Sheet embedded in a public Google Site for live monitoring
Automatic Radio Recording Distribution System
Python, AWS EC2, AWS S3 · github.com/colinfriedel/KSCU-Show-Recorder
  • Built a continuously running Python service on AWS EC2 that auto-records hourly radio output and emails each recording directly to the on-air DJ in a downloadable format
  • Architected cloud storage pipeline using AWS S3; runs unattended 24/7 with zero manual intervention

Work experience

General Manager, KSCU 103.3 FM Radio StationJune 2025 – June 2026
Santa Clara, CA
  • Managed a team of 16 hired student staff across programming, production, and station operations
  • Oversaw 130+ active DJs and off-campus volunteers to sustain a 24/7 live broadcast
  • Planned and executed multiple live music events per quarter, coordinating artists, venues, and logistics end-to-end
  • Was solely responsible for staff hiring, station strategy, and day-to-day operations
Software Development Intern, NationsBenefits, LLCJune – August 2023
Plantation, FL
  • Developed and optimized C# programs to parse and reformat healthcare data files received from external partners, improving processing efficiency
  • Operated in an Agile/Scrum environment; presented technical progress and findings to the software development team

Skills

Languages
Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, C#, C++, SQL
Tools and platforms
AWS, React, Git/GitHub, VS Code, Azure DevOps, Jira
Concepts
Full-stack development, REST APIs, Agile/Scrum, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems

Interests

Backpacking, automotive repair, guitar, rock climbing, trivia