Making Toys

Time based Arduino/LEDs

Second prototype of the Arduino LED time piece. This time is much
higher fidelity. I got some nice clear round enclosures from the
container store, and customized them to created a really nice feeling
container for the project. I used a dremel tool to create openings for
power and USB, and sanded the lid down to create a nice diffusing
effect. Inside the enclosure, I have an array of 12 LEDs in a circular
pattern, grounded in series and connected to power pins on the Arduino
individually. They are connected using wire-wrapping and hot glue. I am diffusing them further through two more layers of plastic and some paper, however the effect is minimal at best. I think I need a taller container or need to work with more LEDs (possibly 2 per pin?) to create a more uniform circular shape like I want. You can see the various ways that
I programmed it in the video (if there is no video i’m waiting on Vimeo to upload it and it’ll be up shortly…be patient please!)

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3156703&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Arduino LED Time Prototype 2 from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

Here’s the code:

Download Prototype2_00