Busy hands | Disquiet mind

Gemma projects revisited

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:00:13 GMT

It can be funny, what projects end up being used for a very long time. But with time comes maintenance, and possibly even improvements. Which is what happened as I was considering ways to make my beloved Gemma projects less fragile. When they were constructed I didn't have a 3d-printer, which ruled out experimentation. But I do now.

( Gemma case )

( Tiara )

But if we're talking about improvements around things involving Gemmas, then I'd like to present a lifetime achievement award to the maker of this JST connector extractor model. It's explicitly for micro:bits, but it's the same JST-PH form factor as used by Gemmas, Floras, and Lilypads. It is the 20 minute print that I wished I've had for the last 15 years. *applause*

JST-PH extractor tool
Photo by chebe

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Music From Outer Space Noise Toaster

Sat, 15 Jul 2023 18:35:18 GMT

I made up the SynthCube MFOS Noise Toaster kit! (You can blame LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER.) The project page should be this project link but it seems to be down a lot, so here's a WayBackMachine cache.

This is not a beginners project. There is a lot of assumed knowledge. There is a book, to help fill in some of the background, but electronics and enclosures familiarity is still assumed. As well as plenty of tools at hand. It's also not a quick win, there are a few days of slog involved for the uninitiated. But, with determination it is still very approachable!

The first thing you need to know is that the project page and the book provide different views, and some different information, so I found I needed to use both. But they don't always agree. I'll flag the bits I found under-explained and/or confusing.

Also, the website details some modifications, but the kit does not come with the parts for them. (Though they do look cool, I might try them in future.)

( Build notes )

Finished Music from Outer Space Noise Toaster, toaster style
Photo by chebe

But what kind of noise does it make? It's an analog synth. With mono output. (But the only way I have to transmit a recording to you is digital.) The only reliable sound I can manage is wind, gusty, on an open, desolate plain. But I tried flicking switches and twirling knobs as well to give you an idea of the possibilities. Here you go, feel free to jump around through it, it's not a tune or anything.

Recording of some of the sounds possible with the Noise Toaster
Video by chebe

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LilyPad and Protoboard Wrist Mounted Controller

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 16:46:21 GMT

I find myself wanting to use the same hardware controls in different projects again and again. But in various configurations. Can I make something modular, that I can reuse as needed?

Let's take the Colour Stealing circuit, actually let's take the version with a microphone.

( Details )

Here's the whole system; wrist controller connected to power regulation and signal level shifter board and NeoPixel matrix. For the longer runs of wire I'm using thicker silicone wire that I have loosely plaited.

Overall it has the same problem as watches, in that the heavier section has a habit of shifting around, but if it annoys too much I suppose I could always stick it in place. The nice thing is that it all disassembles cleanly, making everything (not soldered to the protoboard) reusable.

Wrist Controller in the middle of it all
Photo by chebe

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LED wire Shamrock sign

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:52:00 GMT

A long time ago, during Makevember I made a galvanised coated garden wire shamrock, for use as a sign at events. Here it is at Congress. To make it I printed the shape I wanted on A4 paper, put that on top of some cardboard, and used a pattern tracing wheel to transfer the outline to the cardboard. Then I cut the cardboard along that outline. And used pliers to bend and shape the wire to follow the outline of the cardboard shape. Including some feet so it could stand.

( Process )

Lit up LED shamrock sign, brightest setting
Photo by chebe

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Time Cuboid

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 19:55:42 GMT

I find myself, like many of us, sitting at my desk a lot. I sit there for work. I sit there again for the many video and/or voice socials that have been set up. I sit there to play games or watch films. I even clear off the computer stuff and sit there to solder and work on projects. I am, in fact, sitting there now as I write this. So basically, I sit there a lot. And it got so that I found it difficult to know what time it was, whether early or late, start of the day, or end. I know, I thought, possibly aloud, no-one will ever know, I need a clock.

But I didn't want to go buying lots of unnecessary things, or wait until my usual suppliers were back in full swing. So I dug around in the piles of boxes that comprise my electronics stash. Back at GaelHack (seven years ago) I started on a clock, but it never left the breadboard. I dusted that off, and found most of what else I needed.

( Making it all fit together )

Given the purpose of the device, and age of most of the components, I had half a mind to refer to this as a Time Capsule, but Time Cuboid seems more self-explanatory.
Overall it looks something like this;

Time Cuboid, on
Photo by chebe

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Adafruit NeoPixel Goggles Kit enhancement

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 21:51:46 GMT

Get yourself one of the Adafruit NeoPixel Goggle kits, and make it up following their excellent instructions.

Adafruit NeoPixel Goggle kit made up
Photo by chebe

( Enhancements )

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RGB Colour-Mixing Hat

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 15:22:17 GMT

A long time ago I acquired a hat. Some time after that, still a long time ago, I added a blue LED strip to the band. Later again I replaced the silver ribbon with a black ribbon, removed the original hat band (cutting the glue off the hat), hot-glued a felt pocket to the inside to hold the battery, and cut a slit so the wires could pass through.

But single colour LEDs? Running off a 9 volt battery? Not good enough nowadays. Enamoured with potentiometers of late, I got the idea of doing a red-green-blue plus brightness mixing board. (Bonus points for not using radio, meaning it would remain functional at maker/hacker meetups where radio frequencies are often saturated.) I found myself in Makevember so I did up a quick breadboard prototype.

( images )

But once I had that done I wanted to add extra modes, controllable by pressing the push button a number of times. The first one I added was Rainbow Cycle (I'm using the Adafruit Neopixel library rather than FastLED here).

Rainbow pattern
Photo by chebe

( Videos )

Parts;
Hat
Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip, 60 LED/m
Adafruit Flora
Bakelite Perfboard
Potentiometers
10K ohm resistor
Momentary push button
Headers
Various jump leads
LiPo battery

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Colour Stealing+ Cyberpunk Headpiece

Sun, 02 Sep 2018 15:28:29 GMT

Somehow, while making my Colour Stealing Skirt, I got the idea that I would like a headpiece to go with it. I mean, it's for EMFcamp, so go big or stay home, right? (Not at all, but I wanted to so I made excuses.) I wandered down a path of cybergoth falls for a little, but wanted something a bit more cyberpunk, and what is more punk than outrageous mohawks? But I don't have a 3D printer, or laser cutter, or CNC. How was I going to get something strong enough to stand upright, but translucent enough to light up nicely? I had an idea in my head of circles, inspired by CDs and hair rollers, but nothing else. So I took myself on a tour of hardware shops and wandered aimlessly. Eventually I found these. They come in different diameters and different heights, but these seemed just right for me.

Plastic furniture leg/wheel coasters, or floor protectors
Photo by chebe

Next step; how do I affix these plastic circles to my head? I wandered around youtube until I found people who use garden wire (for trailing vines and such) to make frames for costume headpieces. The idea is to shape a double-sided U-shape (one for each side of the head) out of the wire. You make the join with duct tape. I added extra supports to the top, by bending the ends to sit along existing wires, and duct tape them together.

Wire frame base
Photo by chebe

Then I continued in the same way down the back of my head. Aiming for a secure fit. I also wrapped the wire with ribbon (secured with super glue), not just to make it nicer, but because the duct tape glue was coming undone and the ribbon keeps pressure on all the joins.

( Many details )

Wear
Photo by Jeffrey_Roe

Parts;
Galvanised Coated Garden Wire, 2mm / 12 Gauge / 5/64"
Ribbon
62mm plastic furniture leg/wheel coasters (floor protectors)
Organza scraps
Wide crinoline tubing

Potentiometer
Adafruit Flora
Adafruit Neopixel strand
3-pin JST SM Plug + Receptacle Cable Set
Adafruit Colour Sensor
LilyPad Button Board
SparkFun Microphone

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Colour Stealing Underskirt

Sun, 02 Sep 2018 15:24:31 GMT

I've had an idea for an elaborate electronic skirt for, literally, years now. And no matter how long I waited progress just wasn't being made. At one point I realised that EMFcamp was fast approaching and I needed something for it. So I scaled back my ambitions, found a white tulle/net skirt on sale, and got to work.

I had a few Neopixel strands laying about the house, and found to my surprise that each 20 pixel (2" pitch) strand was almost exactly the width of my skirt. Two strands would completely encircle it. Rather convenient. And I wanted to be able to set the colour of the Neopixels from things around me, so I needed a colour sensor. I also wanted a potentiometer so I could adjust the brightness depending on ambient light, and would need a button to change between modes. Oh, and a microcontroller to make it all work. Which gave me this circuit.

( Details )

But white is very much not my aesthetic. Which is a large part of why I made this an underskirt. You can use this one underskirt with a variety of overskirts to achieve different effects. Here I've used a black crushed velvet skirt with uneven hem so that some of the glowing tulle/net still peeks out. In dark enough environments, there is a side benefit of seeming to exist in a puddle of light on the ground. (Which can be handy when trying to navigate a campsite.) Overall this skirt is fun, but not the most practical. Though I do foresee it coming in handy from time to time.

Skirt
Photo by chebe

Parts;
Fabric scraps
Petticoat
Skirt

Potentiometer
Adafruit Flora
Adafruit Neopixel strands
3-pin JST SM Plug + Receptacle Cable Set
Adafruit Colour Sensor
LilyPad Button Board

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LilyPad Protoboard Small + Potentiometer

Sun, 02 Sep 2018 15:14:21 GMT

Do you know what's great? Control. The ability to adjust something without having to recode it. Potentiometers. But to use them in a wearable piece more easily they need to be set into a Protoboard. Previously I have set a headphone jack and wearable keypad into small Protoboards. I did notice the newer Protoboards have fewer holes but they still suit our current needs.

Get yourself a 10kOhm through-hole rotary potentiometer with 1mm mounting hole diameter. I went with a snap-in flatted shaft/d knob style, and matching knob. Fit the potentiometer onto the Protoboard. I had to angle the snap-in prongs outwards with pliers (to align with the Protoboard pins) to get it to fit.

( Process )

Finished
Photo by chebe

Parts;
LilyPad Protoboard Small
Potentiometer
Knob

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