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Anyone else building Netduino Powered Halloween Props?

Started by JerseyTechGuy, Oct 23 2012 06:49 PM

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11 replies to this topic

#1 JerseyTechGuy

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Posted 23 October 2012 - 06:49 PM

So, just curious if anyone else out there is busy building Netduino powered Halloween props this year? I've been busy working on a few new ones to add to our Haunted Cemetery. What kind of stuff are you building?

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#2 Chris Walker

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Posted 23 October 2012 - 06:50 PM

Hi Dave, Ooh, what new props have you been building?

The Haunted Cemetery expands! Chris

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#3 JerseyTechGuy

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Posted 23 October 2012 - 07:27 PM

I'll try to get some pictures uploaded so I can post then and describe the technology. As an overview, this year we've build some animated props. Simple head movements. Triggered by Parallax PIR motion sensors which trigger the motors via Solid State Relays and also control some sound boards. Each prop has it's own sound board. I am working on some more advanced animatronics for 2013. Just ran tight on time this year. I'll get some more info posted w/ pics this week as we bring it all together.

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#4 ShVerni

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Posted 23 October 2012 - 11:05 PM

Sounds awesome, I love Halloween projects! Some friends an I are making cyborg pumpkins, they're using Arduinos and I'll be using a Netduino Mini (I'll let you know how they compare

). The boards will be simulating candle flickers, and using the PIR motion sensors to trigger various things like blinking lights and playing spooky sounds.

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#5 JerseyTechGuy

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Posted 24 October 2012 - 02:02 AM

I've done the flickering candle with a Basic Stamp, but not the Netduino yet. Definitely a cool trick.

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#6 ShVerni

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 02:13 AM

Thanks! It's not as fancy as the stuff you've got going, but I'll get there one day. Even though flickering the LEDs seems simple, it still took me a while to figure out how to pass arguments to threads when I start them (I had to use lambda expressions). It's great how much you can learn from even the simplest (or spookiest) of projects.

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#7 JerseyTechGuy

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 11:00 AM

Thanks! It's not as fancy as the stuff you've got going, but I'll get there one day. Even though flicking the LEDs seems simple, it still took me a while to figure out how to pass arguments to threads when I start them (I had to use lambda expressions). It's great how much you can learn from even the simplest (or spookiest) of projects.

It's good having a project especially a fun one. Makes the learning more meaningful.

A good one to try if you want to kick it up a notch is to use 3 LEDs. I did one a while back for a larger candle. I used 3 LEDs and they were all together except the height of each varied a bit. I ended up making a sort of flame shape out of silicone to cover all 3. All 3 LEDs flickered independently so it made for a cool effect. Later that was easy to translate into a candelabra. Each LED was for a separate candle this way the 3 candles didn't seem to flicker together.

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#8 ShVerni

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Posted 25 October 2012 - 06:59 PM

A good one to try if you want to kick it up a notch is to use 3 LEDs. I did one a while back for a larger candle. I used 3 LEDs and they were all together except the height of each varied a bit. I ended up making a sort of flame shape out of silicone to cover all 3. All 3 LEDs flickered independently so it made for a cool effect. Later that was easy to translate into a candelabra. Each LED was for a separate candle this way the 3 candles didn't seem to flicker together.

I'm actually using four LEDs which maxes out the PWM ports on my Netduino mini (I have to use a transistor switch to enable a speaker for scary noises), they all run in separate threads so they all flicker independently, but they all use the same function so they follow the same randomness rules. If that sentence doesn't make a lot of sense (which, knowing me, is pretty likely) I'd be happy to provide the code.

Maybe there's a better way than using one PWM port per LED (like driving multiple LEDs with the same port), but I wanted to make the LEDs all behave separately to give the flame more realism. However, that silicone flame shape is a brilliant idea that I might have to borrow, along with some of the other spooky ideas you have going.

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#9 Giuliano

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Posted 28 October 2012 - 07:13 PM

Hi Dave, I am interested to see your Halloween projects as well. Question, does the Parallax PIR sensor also has a built-in pull-up resistor? http://www.parallax....83/Default.aspx Thanks

Solo s� que no s� nada

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#10 carb

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Posted 28 October 2012 - 07:46 PM

Giuliano,

I purchased a couple of the Parallax Rev B PIRs.

I connected one the PIRs to my Netduino Classic, and it worked fine without a pull resistor. I wrote sample code to operate the onboard LED and a digital output for a relay. Connecting the PIR to Ground, 3.3 vdc and D2

using System;
using System.Threading;
using Microsoft.SPOT;
using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;

namespace PIR_Test
{
  public class Program
  {
    static OutputPort D1 = new OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D1, false);
    static InputPort PIR = new InputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D2, false,Port.ResistorMode.Disabled);
    static OutputPort LED = new OutputPort(Pins.ONBOARD_LED, false);
   
    public static void Main()
    {
      Thread.Sleep(20000);
      while (true)
      {
        LED.Write(PIR.Read());
        D1.Write(PIR.Read());
      }
    }
  }
}

Chuck

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#11 JerseyTechGuy

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Posted 28 October 2012 - 08:33 PM

Hi Dave,

I am interested to see your Halloween projects as well.

Question, does the Parallax PIR sensor also has a built-in pull-up resistor?

http://www.parallax....83/Default.aspx

Thanks

Yes it does. This is why I love that sensor. Plug and play.