Blog Post Actions
Group Actions
Engagement
  • Author Author: robertwerner
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Views 375 views
  • Likes 11 likes
  • Comments 13 comments
Related
Recommended

Santa Incoming Chimney! [SIC]

robertwerner

Merry Boxes & LEDs

Enter Your Project for a chance to win a Maker Tool Kit, an Oscilloscope Grand Prize for the project that brings the Most Joy to the Heart, and Gift to Gives!

Back to The Project14 homepage

Project14 Home
Monthly Themes
Monthly Theme Poll

 

 

ESP-Now device for warning of the approach of Santa!  This device has a Master which detects with PIR or a wire break to set a pin low--it is monitored when a TPL 5111 wakes the unit up.  The solar charger keeps the device charged with a battery mounted on the roof.  The receiver device (Slave) constantly monitors for the ESP-Now communication from the master and announces the arrival of St. Nick with a bright cascade of Led's.

Anonymous
  • in reply to shabaz

    The unique aspects of this project are the ease of dedicated low power communication from the master to slave without internet and the display method for the LEDs.  The  tube enclosure with rear projection of the LED light allows a screen effect that diffuses the light effects without the "tear in your retina" direct LED problem.  The enclosure of the tube provides enough contrast that an open wall back diffusing system would not offer.   I have used this same effect successfully in commercial installations that are well lit and the projection is easy to see.   The nice low power system is achieved with a TPL 5111 timer from Adafruit (no commercial connection) its a great little device that cheaply turns on and off your project with its own easily adjustable timer that requires almost no power.  The timers in these ESP machines I have found to be fairly unsteady in the long term--works for a week and then nothing....The other neat thing in this project is the flexible solar panel it quickly contacts cements to your project and looks great.  

    If you have any more questions -- I have lots more pictures and can upload the fritzing code separately. 

  • Nice project!

    But leaves me wanting more : ) A couple of photos of the master and slave units would be nice to see, if you get a chance to update this project. I get the feeling people could want to replicate aspects of this project, since there is often a desire to remotely transmit and receive data.

  • Great project and great effect with the bamboo. Although I'm not a great fan of bamboo as I have on the border of my garden and I just cannot get rid of it. I just have to keep digging it up.

     

    Dubbie

  • in reply to neilk

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMOwbNUpDQA&vl=en

    This youtube is great by Spiess for instructing on setting this up.  It is a wonderful interface in that it doesn't require any internet connection at all merely two very cheap microcontrollers talking to each other.  The only difficult thing is setting up the correct addresses and the direction to use them.  The program I set up uses data transfer of an array so you can send much more information than just whether Santa has come.  The project was originally built for a school instruction project for a perpetual rainstick that would send a signal when it rained...the small master being outside perpetually charging itself with the sun and hardly using any power...the slave which is very power dependent connected to 5 volts.