HackSpace Magazine

Here’s a prop that’s functional and takes you back in time. Co-owners of S&T GeoTronics LLC, James Sanderson and Marc Tessier built a replica of the Enigma M4 encrypting machine (hsmag.cc/EnigmaMachine) for an event. But it wasn’t until they published the detailed instructions on Instructables that their product received worldwide fame.

Their fully functional replica, dubbed Open Enigma, uses an Arduino Mega to crunch numbers. Thanks to the overwhelming response from the community, the duo launched a Kickstarter campaign to offer sophisticated kits and assembled units of the Open Enigma, which overshot the target by 300% in under a month.

The build involves a lot of parts and isn’t for the faint of heart, although Marc tells us you can make your life a lot easier by using their inexpensive PCB. The duo love replicating classic computing devices. Besides the Enigma, they’ve made a replica of the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) Display Keyboard (DSKY), which is seriously cool.