Rescue your server and build a light show with these Raspberry Pi projects (September 11 - 13)

Published Sep 10, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT Patrick Campanale has been in the tech space for well over a decade, specializing in PC/gaming news and reviews, as well as maker-focused products to build small businesses. With a start in technology back in 2010 surrounding the Palm/webOS ecosystem, Patrick spent his formative years developing mobile applications as well as blogging for various publications, eventually leading to starting his own website in 2014. After running a technology blog for a few years, he stepped out of that role and into the world of high-end custom PC manufacturing and building, with a focus on YouTube video production and overclocking. Then, six years ago, Patrick joined the 9to5Toys team as an editor/writer/reviewer with over 14,000 articles being published there there, ranging from deals and roundups to in-depth reviews on the latest technology, video games, 3D printers, and more. In his free time, Patrick loves to create projects from wood using various robots and methods, including leveraging the technologies of CNCs and lasers. If Patrick isn't working on a computer or playing video games, he's likely in his 2-car garage workshop creating something unique. In addition to all this, Patrick is also a youth pastor at his local church where he feels God has called him to serve, and he loves every minute of it. Do you have a Raspberry Pi that isn't being used to its fullest? Well, this weekend, I have three projects for you to check out from homelab infrastructure to automatically feeding your pets when you're on vacation. Set up PiKVM to remotely access your homelab in an easier way Stop hooking up monitors and keyboards to headless systems Credit: PiKVM If you run a homelab, then you likely know the struggle of having to debug a headless system that won't boot. You have to lug out the monitor and keyboard, fish around the back to plug them in, and then try to catch it at the right moment in booting. With PiKVM, you don't have to worry about any of that. PiKVM allows you to see that computer's display and operate both a keyboard and mouse through your browser — including boot, BIOS, and more. You'll want to start with at least a Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB of RAM if possible, and you'll need an HDMI to CSI capture board as well as a USB power/data splitter. Because of how PiKVM works, you don't actually have to install anything on the headless computer for it to function. Everything is handled on the Pi. The Pi receives the HDMI output of the computer through the CSI capture board and uses the USB cables to function as the mouse and keyboard of the system. This allows you to do remote troubleshooting of the headless system without having to lug out a monitor or keyboard. So, if that's something you've had to do before, then spend some time this weekend getting PiKVM set up — you won't regret it. Or, if you don't want to spend the time and resources to build it yourself, PiKVM actually sells preconfigured setups that are plug-and-play, taking the hassle out of configuring your system. Create your own light show with Falcon Player You don't need an expensive controller to have a feature-packed light show for Christmas Let's face it, we've all driven by that one house with the Christmas light display that looks like some professional company set it up with a radio station, sequenced lights, and all. Chances are, a professional company did set it up, but you can achieve something similar without spending nearly that much using Falcon Player. Falcon Player is a piece of software that runs on your Pi and controls connected LED lights to create a light show. You'll want to start out small here, building just one lighting prop and one short sequence. Falcon Player connects to compatible pixel controllers, which allow it to actually perform the tasks. You'll start out in a program called xLights where you'll design the actual light show. Then, you'll use the xLights FPP (Falcon Player) Connect tool in order to transfer the built sequence to Falcon Player. From there, Falcon Player will command the compatible pixel controller to create the light show. This might sound complicated — and it is, slightly — but once you get going with it, you'll pick it up in no time. Just keep in mind that designing a whole-house show has a lot more requirements than just programming the sequence, as you'll need to weatherproof everything, distribute power, and more. So, maybe keep your first light show to something indoors for this year, and then expand it once you've nailed down exactly how it all works. Automate your pet's feeding before your next vacation Pet sitters are great and all, but making sure your pet is always fed is better I grew up with pets, and while I don't have any right now, I remember having to find pet sitters for them whenever we would go out of town. It was often easy to find pet sitters to stay the night at the house and let the dogs out at the start and end of each day, but what about during the day? That was always more difficult. I wish I had the ability to create an automatic pet feeder when I was younger, but you definitely can now. All you need is a Pi Zero, some form of a food storage system, and then a servo-operated trapdoor. From there, the system handles the rest. You can program how long to keep the trapdoor open depending on how much food you want to dispense. The servo motor you'll need will depend on whether you're doing the project for something like a hamster or a dog. There are some pre-made projects out there for this, but I'd recommend building the code yourself. It's not that hard, especially with vibe coding. Just make sure that you do plenty of testing before trusting it to feed your pet on vacation. And always make sure that you have someone else swinging by the house regularly to check up on the pets. I'm constantly amazed at how versatile the Raspberry Pi is Today I showcased three wildly different projects, including a homelab-focused infrastructure project, a holiday lighting project, and a pet feeding vacation project. The only thing they all have in common is that they center around a Raspberry Pi. So, if your Raspberry Pi is sitting unused (or under-used), consider trying out one of the projects above. You'll be surprised at just how much the Raspberry Pi is capable of doing.