tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40276508398111112372024-02-06T20:33:15.565-08:00Sverd IndustriesEirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-61733512698970559132018-04-07T02:36:00.000-07:002018-04-07T02:57:28.795-07:00RGB Sword - IoT Smart Lamp Controller<h2>
Introduction</h2>
This will be the information page for the RGB Sword - Smart ESP8266 Controller app. The page will constantly be updated to add new and relevant information, about both the application itself and the whole project the app is connected to.<br />
<br />
So the basics are: First <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sverdindustries.rgbsword" target="_blank">download this app</a> which connects to your WiFi. You now have the ability to send control signals to a WiFi enabled micro controller. This will in turn act on the information you just sent! While there are many projects that does exactly this and something similar. This solution is meant to be easy for beginners and more experienced hobbyist to get immediate results. You follow this guide on parts and circuitry, I provide the finished micro controller code. And before you know it you've got a sweet taste of the smart home of the future!<br />
I'm using it to control the color and intensity of an RGB LED strip.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASFWNTdZrD4NW68NtEeRvIO0OYFU-PxxyEbIHXQ4Yoh4WNhJXuJk8cbogsyrBIuNyzrl0BF9n880CEFtgxZBgnbfL5zhutNdRL5jxBIm0wp3NzRy2m_W1Ox1OKaGmw85ZyY_WH6xypJQ/s1600/2017-08-27+15.15.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASFWNTdZrD4NW68NtEeRvIO0OYFU-PxxyEbIHXQ4Yoh4WNhJXuJk8cbogsyrBIuNyzrl0BF9n880CEFtgxZBgnbfL5zhutNdRL5jxBIm0wp3NzRy2m_W1Ox1OKaGmw85ZyY_WH6xypJQ/s400/2017-08-27+15.15.02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Here you can see the results after I installed the RGB LED strip in my brothers room.</i></div>
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Let's get started!<br />
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<br />
The arduino is connected to the internet using an inexpensive WiFi module, the ESP8266. To make everything even easier I've provide links to a product named NodeMCU. This is both an arduino compatible micro controller and ESP8266 chip in one solder friendly package.<br />
After uploading the code I've provided on this page the arduino will start to listen for incoming requests. The arduino acts as its own server and thus we can direct traffic to it like any other server on the internet! It can receive requests from any browser like device, and most importantly, from your new application.<br />
What happens behind the scenes when you push a button is a new HTTP client is started. This sends a good old GET request to the arduino/nodeMCU. This request contains the information about color values. After the information is received, the arduino responds with an all clear signal before setting the light values to what you just sent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSd27VyARZMUovBNNbHnVl-JV7RwtEsV0lsU7BADxMVIzw7Yc0eF2eFuqIZDZLLhxUEmvKiF63znsCJT0iFKQ7F6UKUe26zCORulKLTT3ruDyBBJCrsJoMzAYNyIhHWQc6fBzWTcRRgM/s1600/doubleScreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="986" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSd27VyARZMUovBNNbHnVl-JV7RwtEsV0lsU7BADxMVIzw7Yc0eF2eFuqIZDZLLhxUEmvKiF63znsCJT0iFKQ7F6UKUe26zCORulKLTT3ruDyBBJCrsJoMzAYNyIhHWQc6fBzWTcRRgM/s640/doubleScreen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can choose between five different pre-set colors as well as choose your very own custom color by using three sliders. This means you can choose between 16.581.375 different colors! There's also a neat function that slowly and softly fades between all available colors. Absolutely perfect as an ambient light!<br />
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<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sverdindustries.rgbsword" target="_blank">Click here to download the app and get started.</a><br />
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<h2>
Parts and Tools</h2>
You are going to need the following parts for the smart lam<br />
<ul>
<li>Arduino with ESP8266</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ESP8266-ESP12-ESP-12-WeMos-D1-Mini-WIFI-Dev-Kit-Development-Board-NodeMCU-Lua/32653918483.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.72091ed5kXx7FS&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10697_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_10534_308_100031_10103_441_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_28,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=50064cde-7a9a-4cf8-ae7f-db6e8eefb115-0&algo_pvid=50064cde-7a9a-4cf8-ae7f-db6e8eefb115&priceBeautifyAB=0" target="_blank">Wemos D1 Mini</a></li>
</ul>
<li>LEDs</li>
<ul>
<li>15 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/W1209-DC12V-cool-temp-thermostat-temperature-control-switch-temperature-controller-Acrylic-Box-only-the-box-no/32764038125.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.656f1dceyOEadZ&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10084_10083_10618_10307_10313_10059_10534_100031_10103_10627_10626_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_25,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=db45c273-1654-4719-8d06-2616bdd29afa-0&algo_pvid=db45c273-1654-4719-8d06-2616bdd29afa&priceBeautifyAB=0" target="_blank">Warm white 5050</a></li>
<li>15 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/W1209-DC12V-cool-temp-thermostat-temperature-control-switch-temperature-controller-Acrylic-Box-only-the-box-no/32764038125.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.656f1dceyOEadZ&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10084_10083_10618_10307_10313_10059_10534_100031_10103_10627_10626_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_25,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=db45c273-1654-4719-8d06-2616bdd29afa-0&algo_pvid=db45c273-1654-4719-8d06-2616bdd29afa&priceBeautifyAB=0" target="_blank">Cold white 5050</a></li>
<li>18 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100pcs-Ultra-Bright-Red-Green-Blue-SMT-SMD-LED-RGB-5050-LED-DIODE-Chip-Light-Emitting/32340120687.html">RGB 5050</a></li>
</ul>
<li>5 x MOSFET</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shippin-10pcs-lot-SMD-transistor-TR1-SOT23-screen-NTR4501NT1G-NTR4501-new-original/32551216518.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.312b1ac6V8fEYp&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10084_10083_10618_10307_10313_10059_10534_100031_10103_10627_10626_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_41,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=39e627f9-b95b-4483-9b2d-1836b70d7a90-0&algo_pvid=39e627f9-b95b-4483-9b2d-1836b70d7a90&priceBeautifyAB=0">NTR4501NT1G </a></li>
</ul>
<li>Resistor</li>
<ul>
<li>5 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100Pcs-1206-SMD-resistor-0R-10M-1-2W-0-1-10-100-150-220-330-ohm/32847115923.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.15.44dc1acduNkSEX&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10697_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_10534_308_100031_10103_441_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_28,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=0c44ab14-d34f-4f6f-bbeb-12eef2312ac6-2&algo_pvid=0c44ab14-d34f-4f6f-bbeb-12eef2312ac6&priceBeautifyAB=0" target="_blank">1k ohm SMD resistor</a></li>
<li>6 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100Pcs-1206-SMD-resistor-0R-10M-1-2W-0-1-10-100-150-220-330-ohm/32847115923.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.15.44dc1acduNkSEX&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10697_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_10534_308_100031_10103_441_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_28,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=0c44ab14-d34f-4f6f-bbeb-12eef2312ac6-2&algo_pvid=0c44ab14-d34f-4f6f-bbeb-12eef2312ac6&priceBeautifyAB=0">300 ohm SMD resistor</a></li>
<li>42 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100Pcs-1206-SMD-resistor-0R-10M-1-2W-0-1-10-100-150-220-330-ohm/32847115923.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.15.44dc1acduNkSEX&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10697_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_10534_308_100031_10103_441_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_28,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=0c44ab14-d34f-4f6f-bbeb-12eef2312ac6-2&algo_pvid=0c44ab14-d34f-4f6f-bbeb-12eef2312ac6&priceBeautifyAB=0">150 ohm SMD resistor</a></li>
</ul>
<li>12V Power supply</li>
<ul>
<li>The current capacity will determine the length of LED strip</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brand-New-78M05-7805-TO-252-20PCS-Lot-Trinistor-Voltage-Stabilizing-Wholesale-Electronic/32423519714.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.95916f837WRzLN&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10151_10065_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10697_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_10534_308_100031_10103_441_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_28,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=93272908-53f8-4f8a-b259-5cf81590c014-0&algo_pvid=93272908-53f8-4f8a-b259-5cf81590c014&priceBeautifyAB=0" target="_blank">LM7805 voltage regulator</a></li>
<li>PCB</li>
<ul>
<li>Use these files</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
To put everything together you will need these tools<br />
<ul>
<li>Soldering iron</li>
<li>Solder</li>
<li>Wire cutters</li>
<li>Wire strippers</li>
<li>USB cable that goes between your computer and micro controller</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<h2>
Circuit </h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Mc5QHNNoPa5gV7AbOY23GD-df2QrK7h6VOhXo2gPmEfpkGA0C4VoJ7ovf_Y2m5FqR_mgFRIAmgaAhGMeHZyV6BANRSMmjS3w6bJtpQNEDYvv1vOh_1kX90plzgrgDzSSEeIk5w_I484/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="618" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Mc5QHNNoPa5gV7AbOY23GD-df2QrK7h6VOhXo2gPmEfpkGA0C4VoJ7ovf_Y2m5FqR_mgFRIAmgaAhGMeHZyV6BANRSMmjS3w6bJtpQNEDYvv1vOh_1kX90plzgrgDzSSEeIk5w_I484/s400/2.png" width="332" /></a></div>
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The schematic is all made in the gerber files. Which you can download here.</div>
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<h2>
Arduino Code</h2>
<div>
You can download the arduino code by clicking here. if you don't already have the arduino IDE installed you can find it by going <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<div>
After everything is downloaded and you have opened the code perform an ipconfig on your computer. This is how to do it if you're on a Windows PC: Open the start menu. Type <i>cmd</i> and press enter. In this window type in <i>ipconfig</i> and press enter. Note the information from the image below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTC7wCGXfBRKO3n9kv5IjeeCyzBW9bx0Owp40q2AZKpNt1qKHVzyyp68kqPSR04Ma8o3AIl-3pJzeJN1mmoVVseTb3zlil9eSqtF7qV7a5aFPA7brvHt7XL64vUKfpEtukHO4akEYs68/s1600/ipconfig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="667" height="593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTC7wCGXfBRKO3n9kv5IjeeCyzBW9bx0Owp40q2AZKpNt1qKHVzyyp68kqPSR04Ma8o3AIl-3pJzeJN1mmoVVseTb3zlil9eSqtF7qV7a5aFPA7brvHt7XL64vUKfpEtukHO4akEYs68/s640/ipconfig.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Green text on black background. That's how you know I'm a real hacker.</i></div>
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<div>
Now you can enter this information into the arduino code and make it your own. Write the Subnet Mask on line 10 and the Default Gateway on line 9. Look at the IPv4 Address and modify the last number (in my case 4) to a free address on your network (I chose 63). Write this new IP address on line 8 in the arduino code.</div>
<div>
You can verify that the address is free by typing this in your command window <i>ping 192.168.0.63</i>. Where you substitute with your free address. If you don't get a reply or the reply is that the destination host is unreachable, that means the address is free and you can use it for your micro controller.</div>
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<div>
Now you're almost ready to upload the code. Just make sure you've installed the ESP8266 library. Sparkfun has a terrific guide on doing just that which you can find <a href="https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/esp8266-thing-hookup-guide/installing-the-esp8266-arduino-addon" target="_blank">here</a>. Now you're finally ready to connect the nodeMCU to your computer with an USB cable and push UPLOAD in the arduino IDE!</div>
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<h2>
Troubleshooting</h2>
<div>
If you've soldered the circuit, uploaded the code, and downloaded the app - congratulations! Now if it has previously worked, but suddenly stopped lets look trough a few common problems, and how to solve them.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Make sure WiFi is turned on</li>
<li>Double check the IP address saved in the settings page in the application is the same as the IP address you've given to the arduino</li>
<li>Connect the phone to the same network as the arduino. The ESP8266 can only connect to 2.4GHz networks. However it still works if your phone is on the corresponding 5GHz network. So that shouldn't be a problem.</li>
<li>If you get a error message in the app that says <i>Connection refused </i>this means the static IP you've given to the arduino is already taken. Upload your code with a new, and available, IP address.</li>
</ul>
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</div>
<h2>
Further Development</h2>
<div>
So this is the current state of the development of both the application and arduino code. However it's always under development. I have a lot of ideas and I plan of rolling these out gradually when I implement them. This page will be updated whenever there are significant changes to the functionality.</div>
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<div>
If you do some cool changes to the arduino code, or have requests for new features, be sure and let me know at sverd.industries@gmail.com</div>
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<div>
So here's what's in the pipeline and what I really want to add.</div>
<div>
<b>Notification control</b></div>
<div>
I plan on adding the ability for the app to see other applications incoming notifications. It would be really cool if the LED strip gave a quick flash whenever you got a new notification. And it would be cooler still to match the RGB LED color to that of the incoming notification! This is in development.</div>
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Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-56484691265717652602017-10-08T03:15:00.000-07:002017-10-08T03:15:23.326-07:00Update on the Ultimate Electronics HelperI have a huge update on what after publishing the Ultimate Electronics Helper. Apparently more people liked the projects as well as I've been featured on Hackaday! This is one of those websites that has been a staple of my internet diet since I first started going online. Thus I couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride when Hackaday wrote an article about my project!<br />
You should check out what they wrote by <a href="https://hackaday.com/2017/07/28/give-your-bench-power-supply-a-helping-hand/" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.<br />
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<h3>
But wait, there's more</h3>
<div>
I entered a few contests over on instructables and the voting is done for all of them. The results are in. This project won a prize in every single contest I entered!</div>
<div>
I received the runner up prize in the <a href="https://www.instructables.com/contest/invention2017/" target="_blank">Invention Challenge</a>. The second prize in the <a href="https://www.instructables.com/contest/explorescience2017/" target="_blank">Explore Science Contest</a>. And the first prize in the <a href="https://www.instructables.com/contest/powersupply/" target="_blank">Power Supply Contest</a>. </div>
<div>
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<div>
This means there's several packages in the mail. Which is always a fun period. In the Explore Science Contest I'm getting a PocketLab One, which is basically a small box with several sensors. These sensors communicate over bluetooth to a phone, or computer, or whatever. So it's a super easy way to get quick sensor information and visualize it.</div>
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<i>Photo taken from www.thepocketlab.com</i></div>
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<div>
So I have now received my first prize from the Power Supply Contest in the mail. This was a groovy bluetooth speaker, the usual instructable shirt, and a drone from DJI! Now DJI is one of the two largest drone companies as of today. So this drone has some really advanced features!</div>
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This is by far the biggest prize I've ever received. I walk around just smiling from ear to ear</div>
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Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-40975569939742819402017-09-24T08:24:00.003-07:002018-04-07T02:35:51.380-07:00RGB Sword - ESP8266 RGB LED strip only<h2>
Introduction</h2>
This is information regarding a smart lamp with RGB channels only. You may consider this the first version of the smart lamp, and the five channel lamp the latest version. The main difference between the two is the five channels on the latest version: Red, Green, Blue, Cold white, Warm white.<br />
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASFWNTdZrD4NW68NtEeRvIO0OYFU-PxxyEbIHXQ4Yoh4WNhJXuJk8cbogsyrBIuNyzrl0BF9n880CEFtgxZBgnbfL5zhutNdRL5jxBIm0wp3NzRy2m_W1Ox1OKaGmw85ZyY_WH6xypJQ/s1600/2017-08-27+15.15.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASFWNTdZrD4NW68NtEeRvIO0OYFU-PxxyEbIHXQ4Yoh4WNhJXuJk8cbogsyrBIuNyzrl0BF9n880CEFtgxZBgnbfL5zhutNdRL5jxBIm0wp3NzRy2m_W1Ox1OKaGmw85ZyY_WH6xypJQ/s400/2017-08-27+15.15.02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Here you can see the results after I installed the RGB LED strip in my brothers room.</i></div>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Parts and Tools</h2>
You are going to need the following parts<br />
<ul>
<li>Arduino with ESP8266</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/dQfjvz" target="_blank">Alternatively NodeMCU </a>or similar products</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/jiaeWA" target="_blank">LED strip</a></li>
<li>3 x MOSFET</li>
<ul>
<li>I recommend the <a href="https://goo.gl/Fr4coc" target="_blank">IRLZ44N</a></li>
</ul>
<li>3 x <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1LOT-100PCS-Metal-Film-Axial-Resistors-10Kohm-1002-1-1-4W-10000ohm-0-25W-metalfilm-resistor/32528064710.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10065_10151_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10307_10137_10060_10155_10154_10056_10055_10054_10059_10532_100031_10099_10338_10339_10103_10102_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051_10171_10326_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_143_10312_10313_10314_10078_10079_10073,searchweb201603_30,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=bc1478dd-39e6-4236-ad5f-1da4770f0f19&algo_expid=731579ab-57ea-484e-b639-88ed44ad49e3-0&algo_pvid=731579ab-57ea-484e-b639-88ed44ad49e3" target="_blank">10k ohm resistor</a></li>
<ul>
</ul>
<li>12V Power supply</li>
<ul>
<li>The current capacity will determine the length of LED strip</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10PCS-L7805CV-TO220-L7805-TO-220-7805-LM7805-MC7805-new-and-original-IC-free-shipping/32549779686.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10065_10151_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10307_10137_10060_10155_10154_10056_10055_10054_10059_10532_100031_10099_10338_10339_10103_10102_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051_10171_10326_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_143_10312_10313_10314_10078_10079_10073,searchweb201603_30,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=84e8a3ff-ad12-4b1f-95de-5c6ec8f6327b&algo_expid=3d69e6bb-dc2d-4480-8491-4b0af0d9a1a0-0&algo_pvid=3d69e6bb-dc2d-4480-8491-4b0af0d9a1a0" target="_blank">LM7805</a></li>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/rzmQtb" target="_blank">Perf board</a></li>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/A1cSTH" target="_blank">Female pin headers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/T5uVHr" target="_blank">5.5mm female barrel jack</a></li>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/no7T9J" target="_blank">5.5mm male barrel jack</a></li>
<ul>
<li>These are used for the power supply and are optional</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
To put everything together you will need these tools<br />
<ul>
<li>Soldering iron</li>
<li>Solder</li>
<li>Wire cutters</li>
<li>Wire strippers</li>
<li>USB cable that goes between your computer and micro controller</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Circuit </h2>
<div>
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Simply follow the schematic to recreate your circuit on a perf board. I recommend using the barrel jack on the power connections from the power supply. It's also a good idea to solder female header pins to the perf board so the NodeMCU can easily be added or removed from the soldered perf board.<br />
<br />
To determine your maximum length of LED strip we need to do a bit of math. The LED strips draw 60mA of current per 10cm of length. The strip is divided into segments of 10cm so this means it draws 60mA per segment. The NodeMCU along with the linear voltage regulator draws about 100mA. My PSU could supply 2A at 12V.<br />
Thus I can power a max number of: (2000 [mA] - 100 [mA]) / 60 [mA per segment] = 31.67 segments<br />
Which equals 31 segments * 10cm = 310cm. Thats a long light strip!<br />
<br />
<h2>
Arduino Code</h2>
<div>
Follow the regular arduino configuration in the main information page. The only difference here is you need to change </div>
<i>const int ARRAY_LED_COUNT = 5;</i><br />
to 3 instead of five. Along with removing 5, and 4 from the line<br />
<i>const int ledPin[ARRAY_LED_COUNT] = {14, 12, 13, 5, 4};</i><br />
That's it! You've now configured the arduino code to work with three instead of five channels!<br />
<h2>
</h2>
Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-91257251305331941882017-09-24T00:23:00.000-07:002017-09-24T00:23:47.228-07:00Ultimate Electronics Helper || Variable Bench Top PSU With Helping HandsI have finally completed a long awaited project! This is something that's been churning around in my head for quite some time - close to a year. I started ordering parts for last years Christmas. After receiving these I've gone through several design iterations on both the 3D printed casing and the electronics and circuitry. I have to admit I'm quite pleased with the results!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V5kF0q1VqE4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V5kF0q1VqE4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Ultimate-Electronics-Helper-Variable-Bench-Top-PSU/" target="_blank">Introduction at instructables</a><br />
<i>When working with electronics two tools are pretty much always needed. Today we'll be creating these two essentials. And we'll also take it one step further and merge these two together into the ultimate electronics helper!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I'm of course talking about a Variable Bench Top PSU and a good pair of Helping hands!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The PSU features variable voltage and current so it can be used in any number of projects. It also has a constant 5V output from a USB connector. As you've probably experienced a lot of DIY electronics projects require 5V and some other voltage.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Helping hands always need a sturdy base to keep everything still. This is solved by mounting them onto a power supply unit, which usually weighs a lot.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Let's get started!</i>Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-54479360135846064222017-09-24T00:16:00.000-07:002017-09-24T00:16:27.806-07:00Programming Electronics Academy Podcast InterviewI'm as lucky as to have been interviewed about my passion - hobby electronics and DIY projects!<br />
Programming Electronics Academy is a site with several courses on electronics and arduino. Every other week they release an interview with makers from around the world.<br />
<br />
In this episode the host, Mike, and I spend a half hour talking about how I chose my studies, self watering plants, DIY home automation, and much more!<br />
<br />
You can listen to the episode on their <a href="https://programmingelectronics.com/self-watering-plants-eirik-sverd/" target="_blank">website </a>or on their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2TF6z2NtHM" target="_blank">youtube channel</a>. Be sure to check out both their learning material and this very special podcast interview!Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-36216088706437855162017-04-10T10:47:00.001-07:002017-07-21T01:36:47.712-07:00 DIY Bluetooth Adapter for any Headset<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">I recently bought a new headset that I'm mostly satisfied with. Except I would really like the convenience of streaming music wirelessly!</span></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">Instead of buying a more expensive headset, I cut the cord, and went to work to create a bluetooth headset adapter. </span></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">That's what I'm showing you today.</span></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">At first I looked at all the parts needed to make an adapter from scratch. But realized I could get most of the circuitry needed in a much smaller package, by modifying a cheap pair of bluetooth earbuds.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></span>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hN6npHOMP8c/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hN6npHOMP8c?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Shopping list</span></div>
</div>
<div lang="en-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
<div lang="en-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>1x
Bluetooth headst <a href="https://goo.gl/EIzn89" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://goo.gl/EIzn89</a></li>
<li>3 x Push
Buttons <a href="https://goo.gl/yP6AXk" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://goo.gl/yP6AXk</a></li>
<li>1 x
Female Audio Jack <a href="https://goo.gl/aTc7ku" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://goo.gl/aTc7ku</a></li>
<li>1 x
Li-ion Battery <a href="https://goo.gl/aTc7ku" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://goo.gl/aTc7ku</a></li>
<li>1 x AUX
Cable</li>
<ul>
<li>For Bose
headsets, needs to be shortened <a href="https://goo.gl/SVXJLI" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://goo.gl/SVXJLI</a></li>
<li>For
regular headsets, pre-shortened <a href="https://goo.gl/r3z2bZ" style="font-size: 11pt;">https://goo.gl/r3z2bZ</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<div lang="en-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 5pt;">
3D Files <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2238432">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2238432</a></div>
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These are the only points we care about to
transmit music wirelessly. And they need to be wired from the bluetooth chip to
the audio jack.</div>
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<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-73074112725168782902017-04-09T13:20:00.003-07:002017-04-09T13:20:48.831-07:00Gift Away Your Heartbeat for Valentines Day! | Arduino Tutorial<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 3px;">
All right people, I've got a pretty sweet project lined up, just in time for valentines day. I'm going to show you how to gift away your own heart!</div>
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This is how to use an ECG sensor along with an arduino to record your heart beat! This data will then in turn be used to make an awesome picture, so you can give away your heart to whomever you fancy! While this might seem complex from the start, the process itself is pretty straight forward and now I'm going to show you how to do it!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Gift-Away-Your-Heartbeat-for-Valentines-Day-Arduin/" target="_blank">Click here for detailed build instructions.</a></span></span></div>
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Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-76060769983828005632017-03-12T12:56:00.000-07:002017-03-12T12:57:16.825-07:003D Printed Utility Desk Shelf<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">While living in tiny a dorm room you learn one trick right away - you have to use your vertical space!</span><br />
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To make use of a living space with small area you it's absolutely necessary to stack your items. This produces a challenge if you need a decent working area.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 3px;">
I, like most college students, picked up my furniture from IKEA. While my desk certainly was cheap it's somewhat lacking in working space. My computer would take up most of the desk which left little room for reading and note taking books.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 3px;">
This is the challenge I set out to solve!<br />
<br />
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I'm going to show you how to make your very own smart desk extender!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 3px;">
It's a clever solution where you get an level on your desk for your laptop, pens and other items to keep close, and even a second monitor.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 3px;">
This is also adds some smarts to your desk with utility features! The Smart Desk Space Extender comes with a phone grip and headset hook - both of which hovers your items above your desk. It also comes with cable managers making it easier to keep all cables out of your way!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 3px;">
The desk extender parts are 3D printed meaning you'll be using a robot to upgrade your working area. What exciting times we live in!</div>
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<a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Smart-Desk-Space-Extender-Video/" target="_blank">Click here</a> for detailed build instructions.</div>
Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-57432152610574799352017-02-03T12:00:00.003-08:002017-02-03T12:01:51.303-08:00Replacing machine parts with a 3D printed copyI was recently tasked with fixing a washing machine using my 3D printer. This may certainly sound complicated, but was actually a small task. So the case was that I needed to make a replacement wheel for the lower drawer inside the washing machine. One of the original wheels had just disappeared so I was given one of the remaining wheels to make a copy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefP9-PoggLQfXq8dA7lspeTKto6vb8-lB3cNa6_gFYE4OzsyCzrpRSpZhtLGYuiFHoqSMUxpsEKSwEYY1fk93PCStYL3ya2Hf03mpuHcvDiSXcbWr8K-z84UcUr4hKBg0k08sJuJJoL8/s1600/20161109_213818_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefP9-PoggLQfXq8dA7lspeTKto6vb8-lB3cNa6_gFYE4OzsyCzrpRSpZhtLGYuiFHoqSMUxpsEKSwEYY1fk93PCStYL3ya2Hf03mpuHcvDiSXcbWr8K-z84UcUr4hKBg0k08sJuJJoL8/s400/20161109_213818_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The original wheel on the left and the copy on the right.</div>
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As you can see in the pictures above the new wheel looks really good. However this was far from what this mission required. The 3D printed wheel had to perform well.</div>
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The original wheel had an interesting design in the way it was put together. It consisted of two parts: the main wheel, and the axle. </div>
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The axle was made of plastic that gripped the front end of the wheel, but still let it slide in the middle of the axle. The back part of the axle had two plastic nubs that gripped onto a metal rod on the drawer in the washing machine. This was only fastened by the friction caused by the two nubs being pressed onto the metal rod.</div>
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What proved to be the main challenge was replicating the axle on a regular FDM 3D printer. FDM is an acronym for Fused Deposition Modeling, which basically means that a hot nozzle melts plastic in a precise pattern, and then melts another pattern on top of the first. This creates several layers that make up a solid object. FDM is the the most common type of hobby 3D printers.<br />
Because a FDM printer works in layers, it also means the finished object has a grain - analogous to wooden grain. And like wood grain, it is something to be wary of when using it as a material to hold a load. On a 3D printer, the grain is strongest along the X- and Y axis, these are the "flat" axes on the bed. This means the object is weakest on the Z axis, which is the upwards axis.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxSC1QBj4YI0wIbM-eA44Ys9rkebx2PWW0oKM2bsA9HUnMgMDXrI4j6JBEjJxMZHC5jFLO71HyTVnrNoJk51vX2idBXCZq6RWIRgPMlquOHqKgs1mjbQcuuVtfQ9y4OoMBLSegpOZLFM/s1600/wheel1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxSC1QBj4YI0wIbM-eA44Ys9rkebx2PWW0oKM2bsA9HUnMgMDXrI4j6JBEjJxMZHC5jFLO71HyTVnrNoJk51vX2idBXCZq6RWIRgPMlquOHqKgs1mjbQcuuVtfQ9y4OoMBLSegpOZLFM/s320/wheel1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finished copy of the most imported parts from the wheel.</div>
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The knowledge of the grain in a printed object should be used to make stronger objects when possible. But this knowledge was what made making the axle so difficult. Ideally the axle/metal rod holder would be printed on its side. This would mean it could withstand higher forces in the vertical axis after it was put in place. However, printing sideways would mean the metal holder would be made with support material, which would decrease their strength. There would be no use having the cart holder be strong to vertical forces, if one of the plastic nubs would break so it couldn't hold the cart in the first place!<br />
If the axle/cart holder was printed upright like in the picture above, the axle part would be very week to shock. Meaning it couldn't hold a lot of weight and could snap at any moment. Like the picture above is hinting at, my solution was to not print the axle at all, just the metal rod holder. Instead I would model the wheel and cart holder to use a M3x16mm machine screw as the axle. This would make it much stronger, and if I used a lock nut instead of a regular nut, the wheel would still spin freely.<br />
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I'm quite pleased with how the final model came together. While printing the wheel I paused the printer and put in a M3 nut. After starting the printer again it kept on printing above the nut, meaning it became fully integrated into the wheel itself. See the picture below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIkGGXFTEAV_d54NFKgF3TK-OUPIEXTvzfJtzsQiCT2dZmI3zuYiETUSSxpcXBob-p1asTydBrB9iCfmz8kDhqnhRJryqS930NZMVDCN7sNK91KVAvF5maOEXWTEoCNmPmBWwAynCzAU/s1600/2017-02-03+20.03.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIkGGXFTEAV_d54NFKgF3TK-OUPIEXTvzfJtzsQiCT2dZmI3zuYiETUSSxpcXBob-p1asTydBrB9iCfmz8kDhqnhRJryqS930NZMVDCN7sNK91KVAvF5maOEXWTEoCNmPmBWwAynCzAU/s400/2017-02-03+20.03.45.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
After the wheel was printed I fastened the screw really tight into the nut, from the front side of the wheel. This made the plastic wheel and metal screw act as one solid part. After the screw/axle was in place I just put on a couple of metal washers and the metal rod holder, before everything was put together with a nut on the end.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-QIOBuZGozx474bBGjTgzxA2U9ZPEyi0Ib4XuYKkRqk1LDt_qyJHuS038NFG49-4NVUeHM_y6V8a8eeHIe18-PL3GSfIKViO1H7E6lM2oH0-T3TVmOlWNhiJr-QX0bNdL0eSJ-q7lMk/s1600/20161109_213852_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-QIOBuZGozx474bBGjTgzxA2U9ZPEyi0Ib4XuYKkRqk1LDt_qyJHuS038NFG49-4NVUeHM_y6V8a8eeHIe18-PL3GSfIKViO1H7E6lM2oH0-T3TVmOlWNhiJr-QX0bNdL0eSJ-q7lMk/s400/20161109_213852_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_AW-AT8JXv9te5JQ95KfMQx-39kH4eRY9vhS43DBwi0_FYC2YtOERBrqp6ZnbSz9utLCIIs8gvyOlZGh_1kXtaGcSMKvN006jhqqjMC7fSylCvkgx2w_ZeoZRrBEWSXugwViicLkbxQ/s1600/wheel2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_AW-AT8JXv9te5JQ95KfMQx-39kH4eRY9vhS43DBwi0_FYC2YtOERBrqp6ZnbSz9utLCIIs8gvyOlZGh_1kXtaGcSMKvN006jhqqjMC7fSylCvkgx2w_ZeoZRrBEWSXugwViicLkbxQ/s400/wheel2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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How the wheel was modeled with space for a M3 nut. After placing the nut during printing the printer would keep on adding plastic on top it.</div>
<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-34838557723027615702017-02-02T07:38:00.001-08:002017-02-21T11:59:25.420-08:00DIY Bed LEDsI always keep my eye out for small problems that could be improved my over engineering a solution to test my skills. My recent tutorial is no exception! I've attached a meter of LED strip under my bed, and it is of course controlled by an arduino.<br />
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The arduino is soldered onto a perf board along with an RTC module and a PIR sensor. The code is written to work as a wake-up and night light. The lights turn on in the morning, 06:30, to make it easier to wake up because the room is no longer dark. Then it turns off a couple hours later, when I'm out of bed.<br />
After this the lights turn on again in the evening before it turns off and goes into motion detect mode. The motion detect mode is on between 19:00 and 06:30. This means the lights turn on and stay on for three minutes whenever it detects movement between these hours. Perfect whenever I need to get out of the bed in the middle of the night!<br />
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Even though the LEDs are directed straight down to the floor, they still cast a lot of glowing light through out the bedroom!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ozVWQj9KjcU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ozVWQj9KjcU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Bed-LEDs-Time-and-Motion-Activated-Video-Tutor/" target="_blank">Introduction at Instructables:</a><br />
<i>Today I'm showing you how to make your bed glow!</i><br />
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<i>This works by having a LED strip hidden under the frame of your bed. This will give off a pleasant glow illuminating your room from downwards and up.</i><br />
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<i>The lights are either activated by the time of day or when it detects motion. I've attached my code and made it easy to tweak and edit to suit your needs.</i><br />
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<i>Now you will never be blinded by light if you wake up in the middle of the night again!</i><br />
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<i>Let's get started!</i>Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-90453610565176034542017-02-02T07:31:00.000-08:002017-02-02T07:38:30.003-08:00Everyday Carry SheetEveryday I go out of the house I have some pre-determined items I'll always want at hand. Mostly stuff for making my interactions with different technology a lot easier. My problem was that I sometimes change bags depending on how many books I'll need that day.<br />
So while I was changing bags I still needed the same technology tools every day. That's why I made a Everyday Carry Sheet!<br />
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This is a plastic sheet with elastic bands meant to hold all the stuff I might want on hand in a day. Now it only takes two seconds to change bags while keeping all my stuff. Just pull out the sheet from one bag, and dump it in another! It also has the benefit of keeping my stuff more organized and using less space in my bag.<br />
Head on over to instructables to see how I made it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGHgJvfZ9SroKmdpiD6BHaj5ZNNSaFNxF7pjQv3975bW87hyphenhyphenGLUKzXQfrECxLLK35lowU_D1nNATqxxaC4rlUBDbY4-BYLOkuhAcl-tFazfcTdpBxkntcq5FgxeGo_wLuaRncJpEcOR0/s1600/FUAS05EIPY0KG52.LARGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGHgJvfZ9SroKmdpiD6BHaj5ZNNSaFNxF7pjQv3975bW87hyphenhyphenGLUKzXQfrECxLLK35lowU_D1nNATqxxaC4rlUBDbY4-BYLOkuhAcl-tFazfcTdpBxkntcq5FgxeGo_wLuaRncJpEcOR0/s400/FUAS05EIPY0KG52.LARGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Everyday-Carry-Sheet-EDC/" target="_blank">Introduction at Instructables:</a><br />
<i>Today I'll be showing you how to make an Everyday Carry Sheet! This is a great way to keep all your essential items in one place that is easy to take out and chuck into whatever bag you're using on a specific day!</i><br />
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<i>So what is this, you ask? Well when going to school I found myself carrying a set of items everyday. This I could need on any day regardless what I was going to do. I wanted an easy and organized way to carry all these items. So the Everyday Carry Sheet was born!</i><br />
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<i>Let's get started!</i>Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-16336605072277346932016-08-28T06:52:00.002-07:002017-07-21T01:32:54.788-07:00No Pump Automatic WateringSo I've been thinking a lot about automation with my kitchen plants. I don't like having to remember if they need water all the time. While this burden has been reduced with my <i><a href="http://eirik.sverd.eu/2016/06/diy-electric-soil-finger.html" target="_blank">Electric Soil Finger</a> </i>I would still prefer if everything took care of itself. Enter automatic watering!<br />
There's already a lot of different solutions for automatic plant watering, but I all found them lacking in one aspec: You need to use a pump with special diameter tubing.<br />
I would prefer not using a pump as that would require less power, be a lot more silent - a big pluss in a tiny dorm, and I won't have to buy several meters of tubing that fits the pump.<br />
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I solved both of these problems and actually won a prize for doing so! Instead of using a pump I had a servo react to sensor readings regarding soil moisture. The servo then opens or crimps shut a water tube to either let water flow or turn off the stream. Another improvement, I didn't have to buy a water tube. This system works with most tiny water tubes no special size. So I made my own water tubing by using the isolation of a power cord.<br />
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These improvements made this instructable my most popular yet with currently over 60.000 views! I also won a prize pack in the <i>Low Water Challenge</i>. <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/No-Pump-Automatic-Watering/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read my full write up!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfM9CEeSWItNXTDrsRxWvVSUhmhzRXuj7CebMt1YPe7G2jwSjSdPQcUf2E0nT4qT-e1e2Rz2AF0bPVqnoYWu_1ZZw-90CtyPIBk1_3APtfFW-0LjpMOyaILgX_HQfZmulaOp_dihI1Oc/s1600/intro-instructables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfM9CEeSWItNXTDrsRxWvVSUhmhzRXuj7CebMt1YPe7G2jwSjSdPQcUf2E0nT4qT-e1e2Rz2AF0bPVqnoYWu_1ZZw-90CtyPIBk1_3APtfFW-0LjpMOyaILgX_HQfZmulaOp_dihI1Oc/s400/intro-instructables.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/No-Pump-Automatic-Watering/" target="_blank">Introduction at Instructables:</a></u><br />
<i>In this instructable I'm going to show you how you can make your very own automatic plant watering system. The best part? This solution requires no pump!</i><br />
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<i>The benefit of using an automatic watering system is that you avoid having your plants start to dry out, and you also wont accidentally soak your plants. The moisture is kept at the perfect level for your plants and you end up using less water!</i><br />
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<i>There's a lot of different automatic watering systems out there. These seem to work great however there has always been something preventing me from building them. They all require a pump. Personally I would prefer not to use a pump because I think they are expensive and makes a lot of noise. I went to the drawing board to see if I could come up with something different!</i><br />
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<i>This system uses a micro controller and soil sensor to monitor the water level of your plants. If your soil is starting to dry out the controller will counter this by watering the soil until it is sufficiently moist again.</i><br />
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<i>Instead of using a costly and noisy water pump, we are going to use a servo to elegantly open and crimp a water tube. So cheap. So easy.</i><br />
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<i>Let's get started!</i><br />
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<b><u>Update:</u></b><br />
I've been featured in an article! Gareth Branwyn from Make Magazine has written an article about this project. At the time of writing it's on the front page of makezine.com or you can <a href="http://makezine.com/2016/08/31/dog-simple-arduino-controlled-plant-watering/" target="_blank">click here</a> to read it.<br />
Super exciting stuff!<br />
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<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-84249596168819589192016-06-22T05:55:00.001-07:002016-06-22T05:55:06.688-07:00How to Harvest and Replant Tomato SeedsFor a about half a year I've had a few tomato plants growing in my window sill. They've grown really fast and got so tall I had to tie them up so they wouldn't fall over. Now I'm about to move and transporting the plants presented a bit of a logistics challenge. Then I figured, if I could just harvest the seeds I could very easily regrow plants when I've finished moving.<br />
This is much preferable because that also means I won't have to fiddle as much with the plants when I'm moving, freeing up time for more important stuff.<br />
I delved deep into several google searches before I found the best technique that worked for my kind of tomatoes. Then I aggregated the most important aspects into it's own tutorial that I shared online.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeF0ueiAGcUr5bPkINg1vQ9JBmSqaSt37KnpmgtUe-DNeimP9sh9DkfUx2CLowM81ndBIN8W8XUzpKmNqZyYnWauiUDVhqvyC9QyWjIpCWb95NdRfkYpvMmC8RUsow1tRT0WZ09dTIjU/s1600/intro-instructable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeF0ueiAGcUr5bPkINg1vQ9JBmSqaSt37KnpmgtUe-DNeimP9sh9DkfUx2CLowM81ndBIN8W8XUzpKmNqZyYnWauiUDVhqvyC9QyWjIpCWb95NdRfkYpvMmC8RUsow1tRT0WZ09dTIjU/s400/intro-instructable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Harvest-and-Replant-Tomato-Seeds/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Harvest-and-Replant-Tomato-Seeds/" target="_blank">Introduction at instructables:</a><br />
<i>In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to harvest seeds from ripe tomatoes. Planting seeds and letting them start to sprout is a nice gift to give to someone who either loves plants, sustainability, or food!</i><br />
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<i>This is a great project if you either have your own tomato plant, or is lucky enough to get a fully home grown tomato so you can start your own plant.</i><br />
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<i>Let's get started!</i>Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-5117086190608192142016-06-22T05:45:00.000-07:002016-06-22T05:46:02.229-07:00Detailed Water Droplets from Spray PaintThe project I just made is a bit different as it involves no electronics, just paint. I used a technique to create really detailed water droplets from spray paint. The result looks really convincing so I'm pleased with how everything turned out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0Ok6oXzKXHyxNCfeXSgbso3oG-_lTWo6C0x7HmPH4DE_-sFypXClqGqfZcNqQ0CUsKAGW3NvcCbnm0jTe71xPta2LkshFDP6JNgRtP2uqyx7Ihq14tAmR9X3ehqWgC9t2HACk17M81Y/s1600/intro-instructable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0Ok6oXzKXHyxNCfeXSgbso3oG-_lTWo6C0x7HmPH4DE_-sFypXClqGqfZcNqQ0CUsKAGW3NvcCbnm0jTe71xPta2LkshFDP6JNgRtP2uqyx7Ihq14tAmR9X3ehqWgC9t2HACk17M81Y/s400/intro-instructable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Spray-Painting-Detailed-Water-Droplets/" target="_blank">Intro at instructables:</a><br />
<i>In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to spray paint these incredible detailed water droplets!</i><br />
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<i>It's an incredible simple process to paint surfaces with these water droplets. You're sure to amaze the people you show your painted things to!</i><br />
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<i>If you're anything like me, after learning this trick you'll be searching for what things you own that would like nice with a coat of painted droplets.</i><br />
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<i>Let's get started!</i>Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-4373826423524764782016-06-22T05:42:00.001-07:002016-08-28T06:37:05.361-07:00DIY Electric Soil FingerI've just made a small device I can use to get readouts on when to water plants. This works by measuring the conductivity of plant soil. The conductivity changes according to how wet the soil is. This information is read and mapped as servo positions to indicate on a gauge when it's time to water.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1XHHfMROGv0hvq1KNUpUZ3aR94WOVJscZeSv1m5CwjitUhoNQuPgAcaU7NkfIUrNADOO0HAYfa0wcrBa2-NRBA4fgGCmGiNFdgWKdcndP9fI73mGzJs4iwj-WHwePhS3sk5qj0zOrsk/s1600/introbilde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1XHHfMROGv0hvq1KNUpUZ3aR94WOVJscZeSv1m5CwjitUhoNQuPgAcaU7NkfIUrNADOO0HAYfa0wcrBa2-NRBA4fgGCmGiNFdgWKdcndP9fI73mGzJs4iwj-WHwePhS3sk5qj0zOrsk/s400/introbilde.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electric-Soil-Finger/" target="_blank">Intro at instructables:</a><br />
<i>Today I'm going to show you how to make your own electric soil finger!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>What's an electric soil finger you say? Allow me to explain: This is a sensor for measuring the amount of water in plant soil. This will then in turn show you whether or not it's time to water your plants, or if they are very much happy with the amount of water they have right now!</i><br />
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<i>The inspiration for this was that I was constantly sticking my fingers in my plants dirt to learn if I needed to water them. However, this only gave an idea of the water on the very top layer of soil, no good!</i><br />
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<i>I wanted a deeper and more quantifiable measurement and thus the Electric Soil Finger was born.</i><br />
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<i>Let's get started!</i><br />
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<b>UPDATE:</b><br />
I entered this project in the <i>Automation Contest</i> over at instructables and I was lucky enough to win one of their runner up prizes! This prize includes an instructables t-shirt and a Teensy 3.2 microcontroller! Perfect for future projects with a lot of input/output handling.<br />
I'll update with a picture of the prize when everything arrives.Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-25568511382389530732016-06-17T12:35:00.001-07:002016-06-17T12:35:40.004-07:00Automation with Arduino and RF Signals!I've created yet another tutorial over at instructables.<br />
Just like last time I tried my hands on making a tutorial video. The whole work flow felt a lot smoother and quicker this time. Definitely because this wasn't my first time making a video like this and editing in premiere pro.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3pWSYSOWyRU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3pWSYSOWyRU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I like this new format so I'll be doing more of these videos along with detailed instructions. That is, if I have the time. Making a video along with the project itself takes a lot of time. When a project is pressed for time I'll have to forego the videos to finish the project on time. Or I could live with releasing the video a while after the project has finished.<br />
Either way I'm just happy having the time for DIY stuff!<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Automation-With-Arduino-and-RF-Signals/" target="_blank">Introduction at instructables:</a></i><br />
Imagine the middle of the winter, it’s cold and dark outside, but thanks to automation you wake up to a warm and bright room, with a hot cup of coffee steaming by the side of your bed. This is what I'll show you!<br />
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Learning to control RF signals from an Arduino opens a world of possibilities. Here's some quick examples of what I've previously done with this technique:<br />
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<li>Turn things on and off with sound or motion</li>
<li>Lights that adjust their brightness according to time of day or how bright a room is</li>
<li>Turn on a heating oven or a cooling fan according to temperature</li>
<li>Automatically turn of your 3D printer when it has finished printing</li>
</ul>
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Let’s get started!Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-1327830789711085282016-06-10T05:02:00.000-07:002016-06-11T13:32:53.109-07:00Headset Reduction: Finished product!As you can see the headset got a slick coat of black paint. Looks fantastic!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMChWQq4L5kYmENFK8T_6yuRLRCnOyq52mxIEXqg1R4_tQ9W0W8Yol7h6aW8kDghO4sndPSDy_zzSD9iM2FjpX9XxNAKWt_jHYlrWUXuvpn68LZI_eA8hAakhU5dIj_YNHHChBdIdm6c/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMChWQq4L5kYmENFK8T_6yuRLRCnOyq52mxIEXqg1R4_tQ9W0W8Yol7h6aW8kDghO4sndPSDy_zzSD9iM2FjpX9XxNAKWt_jHYlrWUXuvpn68LZI_eA8hAakhU5dIj_YNHHChBdIdm6c/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thats a fully 3D printed headset completely designed by myself!</div>
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In the previous headset reduction post I was thinking about what to do about the stiff headset band. I tried to solve this by removing some of the plastic from the backside, to make the band weaker. This helped. However, as it turns out this wasn't really necessary. A lot of the bend and flex on the headset comes from the steel wires that grips the ear muffs. Meaning the headset band dosen't really need to be all that flexible. So I was concerned on solving a problem that I actually didn't have. Stiff headset band, no problem!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw3mxwFN0UgbD3glhbgSTFzWkFlAe5K8PTcA5gB1P01uzyiUQledwEBa3X8kMhT3D8l9_KafOHMa6-wVuJnilrxr0wb2TiWt0amZ1zer9PuVntsXp3xQUhNJhzPQxjywSVvXtLQ0EgB4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw3mxwFN0UgbD3glhbgSTFzWkFlAe5K8PTcA5gB1P01uzyiUQledwEBa3X8kMhT3D8l9_KafOHMa6-wVuJnilrxr0wb2TiWt0amZ1zer9PuVntsXp3xQUhNJhzPQxjywSVvXtLQ0EgB4/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Logo came out great</div>
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When I originally started this project my goal was to minimize the overall size of the headset. I have to say I was only somewhat succesful. The headset is definitaly smaller, especially with the band, but the ear muffs are about as big as they were.<br />
So while I only partially succeeded in making the ovaral size smaller, I'm very much pleased with the end result. I wanted a decent headset that I could wear outside of my home. And this result is a huge improvement over the bulky gaming headset I ripped apart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRURIOJ3jhdd5H4F3JCXZf982yiEB5lJRmdEAJ5oehb3bA8tWz15R8dxXe_-dibCJwIRlA3ZeEljiuF_W0NOml3vnm7YbgRoOS8BunJX3gHIIqYIzccOA37f5jnMzT3OTbYUmXJ_JIhoc/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRURIOJ3jhdd5H4F3JCXZf982yiEB5lJRmdEAJ5oehb3bA8tWz15R8dxXe_-dibCJwIRlA3ZeEljiuF_W0NOml3vnm7YbgRoOS8BunJX3gHIIqYIzccOA37f5jnMzT3OTbYUmXJ_JIhoc/s320/1.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
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I'm so satisfied by the right- and left side indicators</div>
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I will eventually do a full write up of all the details in making this headet. I'll link the instructable here when it is finished.Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-14478002092620288822016-06-10T04:46:00.003-07:002016-06-10T04:46:28.330-07:00DIY Powerful LED Panel - Video and Work Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Another new project! I have just created a powerfull LED panel that currently sits and illumates why room. </div>
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This was a fun project for me because I created something I needed. The dorm room I'm renting is dark and I'm not allowed to mount anything to the wall or roof. This meant I needed a compact and bright lamp that would spread a lot of light, without being mounted to anything. That's how I came up with the idea of making a slim LED panel that sits on top a tripod. This I can place nearly everywhere!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgierVUo9WuzTnnVypVNGR19tFBvOSMaA3zg0kBcB3HhiEPLcdQHtrNoRUEHCCcxgTcRgj2Vtgp4mT0U3A2YHBVGnkybtr_1QSK_tAMtaCZ8kOdy0ASp4EW_oPXOGSzmbTQHMWjuAx4Ee4/s1600/intro-instructable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgierVUo9WuzTnnVypVNGR19tFBvOSMaA3zg0kBcB3HhiEPLcdQHtrNoRUEHCCcxgTcRgj2Vtgp4mT0U3A2YHBVGnkybtr_1QSK_tAMtaCZ8kOdy0ASp4EW_oPXOGSzmbTQHMWjuAx4Ee4/s400/intro-instructable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was also fun to try my hands on some filmmaking. I documented the whole build on video with a voice over that I uploaded to youtube. For your viewing pleasure, heres the video:</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tI7kTspQNVY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tI7kTspQNVY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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As always I made detailed build instructions and these can be found at instructables.</div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Powerful-LED-Panel-Video-and-Work-Light/" target="_blank"><i>Intro at instructables:</i></a></div>
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<i>Today I am going to show you how to make a bright and cheap LED panel. I wanted a bright light for my working area, this panel comes with over 200 LEDs and I used just about 10 bucks to make it.</i></div>
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<i>The panel is super bright and great to use as a video light, a grow light for plants, or whenever you need a lot of light while working!</i></div>
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<i>We will be making the LED panel and 3D printing a tripod adapter. This means you have a vast amount of options for mounting the light. This also means the complete light takes virtually no space if you need to pack it. Perfect for tiny workspaces or traveling to a photo shoot.</i></div>
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<i>Here we go!</i></div>
Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-22571580066178457802016-03-21T14:26:00.001-07:002016-03-21T14:27:04.871-07:00Headset Reduction: Final Design - Sanding and PrimingAnother update on the ongoing project of headset size reduction. I've previously written about the <a href="http://eirik.sverd.eu/2015/12/headset-reduction.html" target="_blank">tear down</a> of the old headset and a <a href="http://eirik.sverd.eu/2016/01/headset-reduction-parts-and-test-print.html" target="_blank">test print</a> of the design.<br />
I have now worked through the design I had for the ear muffs and head band I printed as test pieces. Originally, I was going to only slightly alter the ear muff design by scaling it to make it a bit taller. Instead I chose to completely model it from scratch again, only keeping my original measurements. I made this decision because I had learned several new techniques in Fusion 360.<br />
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Here's a comparison between the first test pieces, in blue, and the final design, in silver. At this point I've painted the silver parts with a couple coats of primer. I'm going to lightly sand these before they get some shiny, black spray paint.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviyIDvkx7kOaJF8GOQPyG-4sd89JtzMVVrooCY1C9dpnz8EZkLOmHWlUg2DfPt-qO5-rE4pwcsyy10ATg1-Tkg7H-9vYFOEAKU6-cmzhYcIBRe74V38Wu9VSHCjhD1nb22PfpJSGYFhw/s1600/20160313_203012_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviyIDvkx7kOaJF8GOQPyG-4sd89JtzMVVrooCY1C9dpnz8EZkLOmHWlUg2DfPt-qO5-rE4pwcsyy10ATg1-Tkg7H-9vYFOEAKU6-cmzhYcIBRe74V38Wu9VSHCjhD1nb22PfpJSGYFhw/s640/20160313_203012_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The differences between the two design are that the ear muffs in version two of the design are taller, and thus more rounded. This gives two improvements over the previous design: The sound is more well rounded, and it looks more streamlined - which in my opinion looks much better. I also added a small protrusion at the hole for the audio jack. This has the benefit of letting the female audio jack sit closer to the the shell of the ear muff. Which in turn means that I don't have the push the audio cable as far into the headset.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0U-TFB-3uXPJuqkTNpdiNdeF8LW5s6PLWAIZnhyphenhyphenfbga38g0TStTXK3qcsgxSnhsPV-lInZJRkOgLcYaonnLO4ELgo_dCYlTCbMJzJ5ECELQ3XpA3DhluQLJuyp_peDFF_xJVppmKh4ic/s1600/20160313_202854_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0U-TFB-3uXPJuqkTNpdiNdeF8LW5s6PLWAIZnhyphenhyphenfbga38g0TStTXK3qcsgxSnhsPV-lInZJRkOgLcYaonnLO4ELgo_dCYlTCbMJzJ5ECELQ3XpA3DhluQLJuyp_peDFF_xJVppmKh4ic/s640/20160313_202854_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of course I'm adding my own logo when I make something completely custom!</div>
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You always have to balance between a final cost increase from prototyping, and keeping the final cost as low as possible. For this design I did one test print with material that now has to be thrown away. It would could have been better for the final design to do a couple more test prints, but that would have greatly increased the total material used to do this headset remake. I believe I made the right decision by doing one run of test prints and then springing for finishing the headset.<br />
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Still, I might have to make one more iteration of the head band. It was printed with 10% infill and this made the band to stiff. When pulled over your head, the band wont flex enough so it's a bit tight. I'm going to fix this either by reprinting the band without infill, or by modifying the band by decreasing it's structural integrity.<br />
<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-78890858385282238772016-03-12T04:20:00.003-08:002016-03-12T04:21:36.090-08:00Book of LightAbout a year ago I made a gift inspired from an instructable I had read. This instructable detailed how to make a book that lights up with a warm glow when it's opened. Here are <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/The-book-of-light/" target="_blank">the instructions</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZovexGUyRgNvvsO_v6msELWqApREFVu9ThjauObdnq9tJJ97SCiJxnuJTtovTW47e53lC50OTnSCBy9dSqYEKR3shCT_4KgzHOj9xxk7CYOB9bT8Gl4oNuoOANVK3soBiWZ7GH5d-M3o/s1600/20150418_142757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZovexGUyRgNvvsO_v6msELWqApREFVu9ThjauObdnq9tJJ97SCiJxnuJTtovTW47e53lC50OTnSCBy9dSqYEKR3shCT_4KgzHOj9xxk7CYOB9bT8Gl4oNuoOANVK3soBiWZ7GH5d-M3o/s400/20150418_142757.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I really liked the idea, but there were some areas I wanted to change or improve.<br />
For one, I didn't use batteries in the book. This was to avoid having to either change or recharge batteries. To me this meant the book could be used more freely because there weren't any battery anxiety. Instead of batteries I opted for an USB cable so the book could get power from any old phone charger. The USB cable I ordered was extendable. I chose extendable so the cable could be rolled together and neatly tucked away when the book wasn't powered.<br />
Another change I did was to use regular 5 mm LEDs. Regular size LEDs are much easier to acquire and they don't develop as much heat. Heat was a big concern to me because all the electronics would be enclosed in old and dry paper. Opting for regular LEDs instead of high wattage LEDs had another positive effect. The book could be made with several more light sources, which meant the light from the book would be spread more evenly.<br />
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Video demonstration;<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8p5dOUOxjyI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8p5dOUOxjyI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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And by the way! The book was made as a gift and I'm happy to report it was a huge success. Appreciation always makes the effort worth it.</div>
<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-29598690861247755992016-02-20T03:00:00.000-08:002016-02-20T03:00:00.378-08:00I won another prizeI just received another prize a won!<br />
Because I recently wrote about how <a href="http://eirik.sverd.eu/2016/02/i-won-prize.html" target="_blank">I won a prize from Instructables</a> I feel like I'm on lucky strike here!<br />
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I won a completely new Arduino the MKR1000. Arduino have partnered with Atmel, Adafruit, and Microsoft and they are hosting the <a href="https://www.hackster.io/challenges/arduino-microsoft-maker" target="_blank">Worlds LargestArduino Maker Challenge</a>.<br />
Here I entered by pitching my idea for what I would like to make with the new Arduino board. The idea I pitched was for a DIY Plant Stick.<br />
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The MKR1000 is not yet commercially available but you can read the technical details <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoMKR1000" target="_blank">here</a>. What's really got me excited is its tiny form factor, the built in WiFi chip and the on-board Li-Po battery charger.<br />
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The team over at Arduino asked us to not yet share any detailed pictures of the board. This is because it's an exclusive pre-release version of the MKR1000. They said they didn't want third parties to start designing components for a boards that likely will change before final release.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ8YXUrpCsW1YPFRFoB9-50ELzxeHCKm72zgDr7jsM1ps5FX0k-zhh5mb0aMEBK19eyhOYgTR5U34h9a-qxtu_zE5N7-O0PfoOzTF67IeAHA9R-QDo_Qg2jN1sRbav67JffxNd1me1FU/s1600/20160216_191443_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQ8YXUrpCsW1YPFRFoB9-50ELzxeHCKm72zgDr7jsM1ps5FX0k-zhh5mb0aMEBK19eyhOYgTR5U34h9a-qxtu_zE5N7-O0PfoOzTF67IeAHA9R-QDo_Qg2jN1sRbav67JffxNd1me1FU/s400/20160216_191443_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The box. It's not much bigger than a regular match box.</div>
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This is an excerpt from the pitch I wrote to the maker challenge:<br />
<i>I really want to use the MKR1000 to make a plant stick. With this I mean a small stick filled with electronics made to monitor and give essential feedback on plants growing indoors, like small indoor kitchen gardens in urban environments. </i><br />
<i>So what is included in this plant stick? The idea I've played around with is this stick you put into the soil of your plants, and then it monitors different parameters of your plants, which are then sent to the cloud.</i><br />
<i>I want the plant stick to look at the following:</i><br />
<i>* Soil humidity. Also giving recommendations for when to water the plants</i><br />
<i>* Temperature</i><br />
<i>* Humidity</i><br />
<i>* Light level. This parameter will also trigger a relay for a grow light to make sure the plants receive enough light throughout the day.</i><br />
<i>* Air quality</i><br />
<i>* Internet. This is the most exciting and why I'm really looking forward to work with the MKR1000. I will use the internet to connect to Windows Remote Arduino. This will allow people to log and analyze trends for the plants. This is also what will streamline the whole indoor gardening practice.</i><br />
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Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-39313231963242330172016-02-14T04:39:00.002-08:002016-02-14T04:39:29.529-08:00I won a prizeI won a prize from Instructables!<br />
Now, a while ago I wrote about how I made my own <a href="http://eirik.sverd.eu/2015/12/diy-plant-grow-light.html" target="_blank">DIY Grow Light</a>. Along with that blog post was the link to a instructable entry I had made. This contained all the details on how the light was made and how other people can make their own.<br />
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I entered this instructable in a contest they were running at the time, the theme of the contest was <i>Indoor Gardening</i>. Well apparently enough people liked my design and solution so I won third prize in their competition.<br />
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I just received my prize and keeping with the theme of the contest, I received a Hydroponics Experiment Kit. This kit is meant to experiment with different growth solutions for plants in hydroponics. Hydroponics in a couple of words, means growing plants in a water and nutrient solution instead of using soil. Also in my prize pack was an instructables t-shirt and a couple of stickers.<br />
All in all it was really fun getting recognized for one of my projects.<br />
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<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-14555726202772172672016-01-24T09:32:00.002-08:002016-01-24T09:32:49.955-08:003D Printer Heated Bed InsulationI have just upgraded my 3D printer.<br />
The heated bed on my printer have been taking some time heating up. I've been guessing this is because the long and flat heating element looses a lot of heat downwards, with only a fraction of the heat going upwards towards the print zone. This is to be expected because the heating element is long, flat, and very thin. This means that the element has a huge surface area with very little mass.<br />
This was the problem I wanted to solve. My thinking was to insulate the underside of the heating element. Most people know of the insulating properties of cork. It is very common to use circular cork mats to insulate heated pans from a kitchen bench. It's exactly the same thinking I brought to insulating the printer.<br />
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I bought cork mats from IKEA. These mats were meant to be kept under plates while eating to reduce mess. They are thinner than usual cork mats used for heat insulation, but they are thick enough for my purpose. The price for four of these are 29 NOK, I only needed one so I have a few for other projects. The description can be found <a href="http://www.ikea.com/no/no/catalog/products/40281654/" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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It was super simple to install. What I did was unscrew the print bed and then I used this to make a cut out of the cork mat. Then it was simply a matter of poking holes for the screws in the corners of the mat, and sandwiching everything back together.<br />
I haven't analyzed the heat up difference with and without the insulation yet, but I will at a later time.<br />
The heated bed does seem to heat up faster. I also imagine the printer uses less power during printing, because the heating element wont have to work as hard to maintain a stable temperature.<br />
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This is how the final product looks:<br />
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<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-33061421037542370322016-01-13T01:42:00.000-08:002016-01-13T01:42:48.576-08:00Headset Reduction: Parts and Test PrintFinally all the parts I need for the final headset remake have arrived. The parts I needed was a female audio jack, male to male audio cable, and a bluetooth sound receiver. The bluetooth receiver lets me unplug the audio cable from the headset so I can listen to music over bluetooth whenever I want.<br />
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I've also done a test print of the 3D parts for the headest. I was reluctant at first to use filament for something I knew I was going to throw away, but I'm glad I did the test print because it showed some areas of improvement.<br />
When I designed the ear muffs I was focusing on slimming down the profile of the headset. Well, I slimmed it down a tad too much. When I attached the speaker to the ear muff and listened to music, the audio was a bit thin. I'm going to solve this by scaling up the ear muff so it has a bigger air volume.<br />
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I also test printed the band between the ear muffs. I was surprised at how much flex and strength the PLA had. I was originally planning on printing the finished design in ABS, but this test print convinced me to print everything in PLA instead.<br />
I tested both parts by throwing them at the ground and there was not one crack. This is good news because it is much easier to print the finished product in PLA than ABS.<br />
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Headset band and ear muff. The final product will be a much finer resolution.</div>
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Came out pretty good just need some scaling.</div>
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Nice red to go with the painted black headset. Female audio jack to go inside one of the ear muffs. Bluetooth audio receiver for wireless playback.</div>
<br />Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027650839811111237.post-51778423924257774752016-01-03T13:33:00.001-08:002016-01-03T13:33:47.225-08:00Sweet Talking BoxI've made a new instructable! I'm showing how to create a small box with only a visible audio jack and push button. When the button is pressed a prerecorded message will play through the audio jack.<br />
To read the instructable and all the details on how the box and electronics was made, click<b> <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Sweet-Talking-Box-How-to-Make-Your-Own/" target="_blank">here.</a></b><br />
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The finished product.</div>
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The 3D printed box.</div>
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The 3D printed box was designed in Fusion 360 and can be downloaded<b> <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1242099" target="_blank">here</a>.</b><br />
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<u>Introduction at instructables.com:</u><br />
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In this instructable I am going to show you how to make your own little sweet talking box.<br />
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So what is a sweet talking box? This is a tiny box where all you can see is a headphone jack and a small button. When you connect a headset to the box and press the button a prerecorded message will play for your recipient.<br />
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This is a perfect gift idea to make for someone you care about and for someone you want to keep encouraged or reminded by your own words. There are unlimited options to make this gift even more personal by crafting your own box or enclosure!<br />
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The project is easy and you neither require a lot of experience or tools. The most challenging in this project is the soldering required.Eirik Sverdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08484224707046316930noreply@blogger.com0