The holiday's are now over and that means its time to pick the winners of our annual holiday special contest! The competition is now closed and we are looking for volunteers to choose a Grand Prize winner and award the First Place finishers. If you didn't get a chance to participate and this is a theme of interest to you then we could use your help in picking a winner! The Holiday Special showcased a diverse set of festive projects, each reflecting the unique creativity and technical skills of the participants. In this contest we introduced a new project format to the community and we're eager to hear your thoughts on it now the contest is over.
This contest had everything from ChatGPT Festivus AI-generated quotes to an interactive family game where you were fated to enjoy either Chocolate or Sprouts! There was an Interactive Tree Ornament featuring Space Invaders with microcontrollers and OLED displays, while "Happy Happy Happy Holiday" transformed RoadTest instruments into a visually creative holiday display. From LED Christmas trees using Charlieplexing to DIY electronic Christmas cards, there were a lot of fun projects we hope brought a smile to your face. Projects included a mesmerizing animated tree topper with lasers for feline entertainment and a TipsyTunes Festive Light Show featuring LEDs inside beer bottles playing Christmas tunes. The Spinning Christmas Ornament, using a Raspberry Pico W, RGB LED strip, and more, demonstrated a blend of mechanical design, electronics, and software for a visually appealing and dynamic holiday ornament.
There's so many good projects to choose from and we're asking your help in choosing the winners! If you volunteer to judge we'll ask you to pick your top overall project as well as your top 3 overall projects. The winners of this contest will receive multicomp product bundles along with shopping carts to buy whatever they want from our online stores! They will also get to decide shopping cart prizes for any members that produced deserving projects but did not win. Tis' the season for feeling good and making others feel good!
Those of you that have volunteered to judge in the past, you know the drill. Comment below to let me know you wish to volunteer or message me directly at tariq.ahmad.
You're under no obligation to vote for the best project but we do ask that you look for complete projects and let us know your thoughts on the winners you pick.
For each project submission did the entrant do the following:
- Follow the Steps - Did they provide the steps it took to complete the project (text, video, or images) and/or schematics.
- Submit Video Proof - Did they post a video proof of their project?
- Stick to the Theme - How well did the project stick to the theme of the competition?
- Demonstrate Originality - Did they come up with a clever name for their project? Or did they introduce something new or that is not commercially available?
The Projects:
ChatGPT Festivus by Jan Cumps
Jan Cumps 's project involves a Festivus gizmo connected to ChatGPT, generating AI-generated Festivus quotes with a plain device design. Utilizing OpenAI's Chat API, Text To Speech API, and a Raspberry Pi, the gizmo allows users to press a button and hear intelligent festive thoughts spoken aloud.
Chocolate or Sprouts? by Fred27
This Christmas-themed quiz project by Fred27 features a game where two players answer questions using cards detected by a Lego color sensor connected to a Raspberry Pi and Lego BuildHat. Scores are kept secret until the end, and the winner receives chocolate while the loser has to make due with brussels sprouts, creating a festive and interactive family activity!
Interactive Tree Ornament - Space Invaders on a tree by dougw
This project from dougw involves creating an interactive Space Invaders-themed Christmas tree ornament with a microcontroller, OLED display, and sound effects. The build includes designing a compact PCB, stacking modules, and addressing assembly difficulties, resulting in a popular and addictive device for festive fun.
Happy Happy Happy Holiday by dougw
The project involves creating a holiday-themed blog using road test instruments, specifically two arbitrary waveform generators (Multicomp MP750511 and Digilent Analog Discovery 3) and a four-channel oscilloscope (Rhode & Schwarz RTB2004). The goal is to display a festive message on the oscilloscope screen using different channels for color variation, resulting in a visually creative and enjoyable holiday display.
Christmas tree 2023 by mihaita802003 :
This project from mihaita802003 involves creating a Christmas tree using a PIC12F675 microcontroller and 20 LEDs in Charliplexing mode. The code is written in MPASM, programmed using PicKit1, and powered by 3 AAA batteries. The PCB was designed using EasyEDA and soldered components following a specific layout, resulting in a festive LED Christmas tree.
Christmas Card with Lights and Sound by misaz
This DIY Christmas wish card project from misaz involves creating a paper card with LEDs, light bulbs, and a speaker, enhanced by a flexible hand-soldered circuit without a PCB. Controlled by an AVR32DD microcontroller, the card plays audio from external flash memory, features hardware-accelerated PWM for LED control, and is powered by CR2032 batteries for an interactive and festive experience.
Snow time like Christmas! by huwjones
This Christmas countdown decoration from huwjones is a family-built project featuring a snowman design controlled by an Arduino Nano board. Utilizing giant white 7 segment displays, the countdown allows for numeric or alphanumeric displays with user-settable dates, delighting grandchildren and visitors alike.
Christmas Music Panic Button by ntewinkel :
This holiday project from ntewinkel involves creating a "Christmas Music Panic Button" for users of voice assistants, specifically designed to skip unwanted songs in a more inconspicuous manner. Using a DY-SV5W sound module, a speaker, a micro-USB charger, and a button, the device allows users to discreetly skip songs without yelling out voice commands, enhancing the holiday music-listening experience.
Kitty Teasing, Angelic, Animated Beacon Tree Topper by robogary
This holiday project from robogary features a captivating animated light show atop a Christmas tree with a 3D-printed angel, a rotating suncatcher crystal illuminated by a NeoPixel ring, and 10 red lasers for feline amusement. The angelic beacon, controlled by an Arduino Nano, creates a mesmerizing display, enticing the attention of three Siamese cats, making it an over-the-top festive tree topper.
Christmas Card Project Boxes by ntewinkel
This holiday project by ntewinkel creatively repurposes Christmas cards into small electronic project boxes. The card stock's festive design becomes the lid, while the inside greeting forms the box's bottom. With simple steps involving cutting, folding, and taping, these DIY boxes are perfect for housing small tech projects.
Cute Hexapod by satss
A holiday hexapod robot project by satss was undertaken, focusing on smooth leg movements and balance using 18 servos and an STM32 Blackpill microcontroller. The design includes 3D modeling, PCB creation, inverse kinematics equations, and plans for implementing body kinematics and sensors in the next phase.
LED Christmas Tree Charlieplexing 206 LEDs by taifur
This project by taifur involves creating an impressive LED Christmas Tree using Charlieplexing with 206 LEDs and an Arduino Nano. The circuit is straightforward, with 15 Arduino Nano pins used to drive the LEDs without the need for driver ICs, transistors, or resistors. The LEDs are organized into 12 layers, laser-cut from a 2mm acrylic sheet, and stacked with hex spacers. The brightness of LEDs can be adjusted programmatically or with a potentiometer, and a switch control option. The layers are connected with male-to-female hex spacers, forming a visually appealing Christmas tree.
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TipsyTunes Festive Light Show by MarioDL99
The "TipsyTunes Festive Light Show" by MarioDL99 is a holiday project featuring 25 LEDs inside beer bottles, accompanied by a buzzer playing three Christmas tunes. Controlled by an Arduino Mega 2560 and a remote, this quirky creation adds a touch of tipsy technology to festive celebrations, offering a unique combination of visual and auditory delights for beer enthusiasts.
Activity Tracker - With Santa as spotter by balajivan1995
The "Spotter Santa" project utilizes an XIAO ESP32C3 board, MPU6050, and a Nextion 7" display to create a festive and interactive fitness experience, where Santa visually represents exercise predictions. Combining edge computing, sensor data processing, and creative features like water reminders and a music player, the project encourages physical activity in a fun and engaging way during the holidays.
