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  • Author Author: fustini
  • Date Created: 18 Oct 2012 11:12 AM Date Created
  • Views 3027 views
  • Likes 8 likes
  • Comments 6 comments
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  • halloween
  • pumpkin_pi
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  • adafruit

Pumpkin Pi project for Halloween

fustini
fustini
18 Oct 2012

 

image

#ShareTheScare this Halloween

Visit our Halloween space and find out how to win one of two Cel Robox 3D Printers. There are two ways to win:

  • Build and document your past or present Halloween projects.
  • Tweet your best engineering spook with #ShareTheScare.
Share your Project and Win
#ShareTheScare Competition
The Ben Heck Show Episodes

 

imageWant to build this project?
View Parts

 

For Halloween, I thought I would combine the networking and GPIO capabilities of the Raspberry Pi to create a pumpkin with lights and sound which can be controlled via a web page.  The Raspberry Pi goes inside the pumpkin along with LEDs and a small speaker:

image

Thanks very much to my colleague Liz Houtz for letting me use her nicely carved cat-o'-latern.  I lined the inside of the pumpkin with a gallon ziplock bag to keep the gear from getting too messy.  The power and Ethernet cable went through the carving of the cat's tail on the backside.

 

The simple web interface is intended to allow one to trigger sound or lights remotely via a browser on a computer, smartphone or tablet:

image

UPDATE: I've written a new post covering how to install the software for the project: A second helping of Pumpkin Pi

 

Here's video of the an audio clip being played while the lights are flashing.  However, the ability to choose from any sound file in a specified directory was added after this was shot:

 

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image

 

I prototyped with a tiny breadboard atop the Adafruit Pi Plate .  Pieces of drinking straw can optionally be placed over the LEDs to further diffuse the light:

image

Once I was satisfied with the circuit, I soldered the components on to the Adafruit Pi Plate .  I used orange LEDs (58K2458 ) in place of yellow LEDs in this example:

image

The LEDs are powered from the Raspberry Pi's 5V rail and controlled via transistors that the Pi' GPIO pins can turn on and off:

image

Here is the list of parts that you'll need (excluding the portable speaker which I got from Amazon):

 

Qty

Newark SKU

Part

143W5302 Raspberry Pi Model B
144W3453 Adafruit Pi Plate
144W3465 Adafruit Pi Box
283C0223 Fairchild PN2222BU NPN BJT
238K0327 Multicomp 1K Ohm resistor
409J9321 Lumex 5mm Red LED
438K0351

Multicomp 220 Ohm resistor

420J2488 Lumex 5mm Yellow LED
433R8548

Alternative Yellow if 20J2488 not in stock:

Bivar 5mm Yellow LED

4

58K2458

Alternative to Yellow:

Vishay 5mm Orange LED

438K0345 Multicomp 180 Ohm resistors

 

You can add all the above parts, except the Raspberry Pi, to a Newark element14 shopping cart via this link: Add to Cart.

 

Note: you may want increase the quantity of the LED, resistor, and transistor parts.  Since they are very low cost, it's a good idea to get a few extra in case one gets damaged or lost during assembly.  Also, I've specified 220 Ohm resistors (38K0351 ) for the Red LEDs, but you can substitute with 180 Ohm resistors (38K0345 ) if you find they are too dim.

 

If you don't have any soldering equipment, then you may be interested in Newark element14's low-cost soldering supplies.

 

UPDATE: I've written a follow-up blog post to describe the design of the software and how to install it from GitHub.  A big thanks to Bonnie King for bringing her Python experience to the project.

 

Cheers,

Drew

 

 

element14
Product Name*DescriptionBuy All Parts
Raspberry Pi Model B with SD Card Raspberry Pi model B and 8GB SD Card with NOOBS preinstalled
Optical mouse Basic USB optical mouse
Keyboard Basic USB keyboard
Adafruit Pi Plate Breakout and expansion board for Raspberry Pi
Tiny Breadboard Small breadboard sized to fit Pi Plate
Adafruit Pi Box Clear acrylic enclosure for Raspberry Pi
(2) NPN BJT NPN bipolar transistor
(2) 1k ohm resistor 1k ohm, 250mW carbon film resistor
(4) Red LED 5mm red LED
(4) 220 ohm resistor 220 ohm, 250mW carbon film resistor
(4) 180 ohm resistor 180 ohm, 250mW carbon film resistor
(4) Yellow LED 5mm yellow LED
20AWG Red Hook Up Wire 20AWG solid copper hook up wire - red
20AWG White Hook Up Wire 20AWG solid copper hook up wire – white
Additional Parts
Product Name*Description
Rechargeable USB Battery Pack4000 mAh Li-Ion battery pack with USB outputs and included cables
Mini SpeakerSmall rechargeable mono speaker with integrated amplifier

 

*Products and resources listed are listed to help members build their own Pi Projects. They are suggestions and listed for educational purposes. For substitutions of any parts, please post a question asking the original author.
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Top Comments

  • fustini
    fustini over 12 years ago +1
    FYI - details of how I assembled the LED circuits on the Pi Plate are in this thread along with top and bottom photos: http://www.element14.com/community/message/63503#63503/l/re-how-to-connect-leads-on…
  • doug65
    doug65 over 5 years ago +1
    Great idea I Like the title
  • doug65
    doug65 over 5 years ago

    Great idea I Like the title

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  • fustini
    fustini over 12 years ago

    FYI - details of how I assembled the LED circuits on the Pi Plate are in this thread along with top and bottom photos: http://www.element14.com/community/message/63503#63503/l/re-how-to-connect-leads-on-adafruit-pi-plate

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  • fustini
    fustini over 12 years ago in reply to Former Member

    James: Checkout Gordon Henderson's Halloween Pi which uses a motion sensor: https://projects.drogon.net/halloween-pi/.  Here's another Raspberry Pi plus motion sensing project: http://www.mobilewill.us/2012/10/raspberry-pi-and-cosm.html

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  • fustini
    fustini over 12 years ago

    FYI: I've written a follow-up blog post to describe the design of the software and how to install it from GitHub. 

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  • fustini
    fustini over 12 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Yeah, motion sensing is a great idea!  I'd like to add it, too, and have these two PIR motion sensors which I could try: 14T056214T0562 and 26T394626T3946.

    The sensor has a digital output which could be connected to one of the Pi's GPIO pins.  Using the RPi.GPIO Python module, the pin would be configured for input and then checked at an interval (or via an interrupt if that's possible).

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