What Should We Build Next?

me Hi! I’m Michael Kafarowski. I have a passion for exploring new skills and ideas. I love taking things apart, learning how things work, building stuff and sharing ideas.

I work as an embedded systems engineer at Crystal Fountains Inc, an international leader in the design and manufacturing of premium architectural water features. I design and develop electronics and firmware for fountain sequencing products such as LED lights, motors, and DMX/RDM equipment.

You can check out what I’m up to right now.

Featured Project: Marlin 200W+ BLDC Motor Driver (2024 | Crystal Fountains)

Image of the submersible and slab-hung versions of the pump

The Marlin BLDC Motor Driver powers the Crystal Fountains CFPDMX line of submersible pumps, built to realize stunning choreographed fountain shows with dynamic jet effects, extremely fast response times and stream heights up to 10 meters. I designed the electronics, which converts 24VDC power into three-phase AC power for the brushless motor in the pump. I also developed a DMX/RDM 'operating system' for the STM32 processor to control and monitor motor torque and speed, and a bootloader to allow reliable and safe field updates.

Demonstration Video Link to Product Page

Featured Post: Repair of a Marine Ammeter (28 December 2025)

I found a marine-rated digital ammeter at a thrift store, but when I got home I was disappointed to find it wasn't working. I show how I found the root cause, fixed the meter, and explain the lifetime concerns of the components which caused the failure.

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