#Thread
lusty sand
What is that thing?
livid totem
and I'm in bed 😴 need anything ? I'll reply later tomorrow
winged tree
No problems thought i'd let you know . I'll catch back tomorrow
winged tree
@livid totem IT seems that the video is oddly impossible, as it shows a 3v board driving a 5v led ring. also the parts I got seem to be not correct somehow - and the header pin soldering is a disaster 🙂
livid totem
no as you can see those neopixels, like most, can be driven by 3V, did you run a test ? Can you show your setup ?
Here is a version of the code that uses a wav file instead of MP3, for the feather M0, it is running right next to me, like the other one.
I see you are having issues with the pins, it's true that Adafruit doesn't sell boards with pins much, but since your build is to be mounted inside the toy, you only need connections for 3V, GND, A0 (the analog out) and any digital pin for the neopixels (and maybe more for buttons)
winged tree
no I didn't run a test with the neopixel ring as I idn't order them
Ive got some updates
I dont know what to do about the 3v 5v issue
I do have some good news, the single pixel on board the feather is enough to do the lighting effects so I don't think I need the external lights
given that I modified the code
I converted teh audio file to WAV and then chopped it down to 22k mono
( it was having some issue swith teh speaker )
the problem with the pins is that my hands shake too much to do fine point soldering like that, but I think I managed to salvage it
also once I got the board set up there was some demo code on it that I borrowed to do the light effects. I'm working on cleaning it up
lusty sand
Maybe you could try
winged tree
the problem with the lights is two fold :
- The rings point upwards, I need them to be projecting to the side
lusty sand
I accidentally sent a partially finished message
winged tree
- The rings are 5v not 3v
- The strip that I bought to side mount is 5v , and the board can't drive that
it looks like this specific board is not meant to drive lights
lusty sand
I meant to say that maybe you can try holding the iron tip on the header pin so you have a stable reference.
winged tree
sorry, I think you missed the issue with the soldering
lusty sand
Although that might be kinda hard to do
winged tree
its physically hard for me to do fine point soldering like that due to physical injury
I'm very broken in that regard
lusty sand
But there might be a smart way to get around the soldering problem
lusty sand
Welp that works
winged tree
sadly that is not a thing for this board
I'm working on a solution
Imagine being a 8 yr old kid who just discovered pixy stix and coka-cola
and then trying to solder
🙂
lusty sand
I'm thinking use the board/headers as a stand to hold the iron stable instead of having an unstable hand hokd it
winged tree
ahhh! Ok
livid totem
the problem is that Adafruit doesn't sell feathers with pins much anymore, and you need the battery feature
winged tree
I'll give that a try
livid totem
3. The strip that I bought to side mount is 5v , and the board can't drive that
did you test the strip ?
lusty sand
Actually there might be another solution
Iirc someone makes headers that you just hammer in
Neopixels should be able to be driven by 3.3v logic levels. Minimum threshold on datsheet is like 2.7 iirc
livid totem
yeah most neopixels work with 3V power and signal, some work with 5V power and 3V signal, but some definitely require a level shifter
winged tree
This is what I'm discovering
livid totem
Iirc someone makes headers that you just hammer in
there was like a kit for Raspberry Pi, not super practical, I think it's discontinued
so you tested the strip ?
winged tree
Well I managed to look out because as luck would have it there is a single neopixel embedded in the board and if you turn it up brightly enough it does the job by itself and there's no need for extra lights
Between that and the demo code that was on the board I made a pretty effective flashing light
I did try to use the strip but I could not get it to work
And then I found the demo code that was on the board and I was able to modify that to make the flashing effect that I wanted
The speaker is working fine. I had to convert the audio file from MP3 to wav and then cut down the sample rate and size in order to make it work correctly but that worked out fine in the end
I had one small problem with getting the lights to rotate and the sound to play at the same time but in the demo code I found something new that I hadn't seen before. There is a while command that allows other things to happen while the audio is being played. It's much more efficient than the threading business or some other way of doing it that only half worked
So thanks to your help in a little all night Ingenuity and caffeination I'm 90% of the way there
I've disassembled the mounting and cleaned it all up. There was a lot of battery acid leakage from the old system. I removed the gears and the light assembly that used to make the light light up and it's perfectly sized to hold everything plus a USB charging cord
Right now I'm working on some kind of mounting system and then permanently soldering things in place
And again and again this is my first voyage into playing with feathers and this environment so thanks again for your help. I do know somewhat of what I'm doing but it's just new hardware and new experiences
I don't suppose either of you attend Defcon do you?
livid totem
nope
winged tree
I was going to say if you do stop by and say hey
Anywho I'll post pictures later tonight after work to show you how far I've got so far
livid totem
it's a recent product so I didn't think about it, this would have been a better solution, it's designed to drive 5V strips, though those tail headers can't be easy to solder
https://www.adafruit.com/product/5650
There's also the propmaker featherwing, they have a version with headers, though that expects socket headers on the feather
https://www.adafruit.com/product/4145
winged tree
I'll give those a look
livid totem
they should be releasing a propmaker RP2040 feather soon too, which is a single feather with accelerometer, one 5V neopixel output, and an I2S audio amplifier (for better audio)
https://www.youtube.com/live/yQea9IEmf28?feature=share&t=334
the idea being to have terminal blocks at the end, which might come pre-soldered since that would be the point, but 🤷
there are test points that I use some times for temporary connections, but they require a hook like a Pomona Minigrabber, and that's not a solid connection, I don't know if that can help
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3824
livid totem
Iirc someone makes headers that you just hammer in
those are the hammer pins I know, but I don't know of a more generic version
https://www.adafruit.com/product/5442
those are just for a Pi
those are retired 😦
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/10527
and I don't know of a reference to look for on aliexpress or digikey or other
how about low temp solder paste and a heat gun/oven ?
(it takes some precision to put the paste, but you don't have to heat it until you are happy with the position, and won't burn your fingers while applying it)
winged tree
outside of putting a switch on teh battery, is tehre an on/off switch for this board?
livid totem
you can connect the EN pin and GND to disable the power chip, but it will suck a little bit of power still
it will turn off everything that is powered by the 3V rail
livid totem
I'm sorry but all I see is the robot in the background making a face 
winged tree
That's my stack-chan
winged tree