Everything seems to be #my_hobby. So, let's get a little more granularity going.
This will be on #my_defiant - my first plastic model. My shipment of tiny LEDs came in from evandesigns [.com]. I now have the four smallest sizes - Chip, Pico, Nano, and Z.
My paint also arrived.
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#my_hobby
Python is all well and good, but I'm beginning think that I'm going about things the wrong way. I'm learning #Python to understand #CircuitPython well enough to write a little code that will turn lights on/off and play a .WAV. Seems like overkill.
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#my_hobby
On the 8 wires per nacelle issue: What is I used picoblade compatible connectors?
www.adafruit.com/product/4976
#my_hobby #defiant
While waiting for the newest shipment of LEDs, I've started thinking about wiring. Bussards, warp grills, dorsal and ventral pulse phasers? Yeah, that's eight wires per nacelle.
<sigh>
I'm going to need to re-think this.
#my_hobby
Before I started going down the #microcontrollers rabbit hole, I found #schematics for #electronic_circuits using #transistors. I'd re-create the circuit in #tinkercad As best I could and ...
Circuits that were supposed to flash, didn't.
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#my_hobby
Well, frell. I made a slight miscalculation. I'm working on a Polar Lights 1:1000 scale Defiant and planned on lighting the pulse phasers. The dorsal pulse phasers have a light pipe just under 2mm in dia. poking out. I had thought of enlarging the hole and using a 2mm tower LED.
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#my_hobby
I actually am working on multiple model effects projects. There's the 1:350 Jester-class photon torpedo (PT Boat), there's a 1:1000 TOS-era Romulan Warbird, and there's a 1:000 model of the Defiant.
The "PT Boat" is waiting on software, the warbird on assembly, and the Reliant ...
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#my_hobby
I think I have a path forward. @adafruit.com has a HAL 9000 project using one of their Adafruit RP2040 Prop-Maker Feather with I2S Audio Amplifier microcontrollers.
The code is written in #circuitpython, and seems simple enough for me to have at it and build the project.
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#my_hobby
According to the home page of my online #python account, I've completed 56 chapters in the last 30 days. Impressive, perhaps, but I've gone through many of these concepts in Swift Playgrounds.
And, as fascinating as this stuff is, I really just want to flash lights and play .WAV files.
#my_hobby #python
Maybe I should mention that I am continuing my studies into Python with online classes. It seems to be similar to C/C++ and Swift, in the same way that Romance languages are similar.
#my_hobby
I also have these tiny pink LEDs for use as a Zaku monoeye. These work nicely with a 1220 coin cell hidden away in the chest.
Adafruit Product ID 5508. 300mm blue nood. 3.3V, 100 ohm current limiting resistor.
#my_hobby
Test of 300mm blue nood flexible LED string. 3.3V 100 ohm current limiting resistor. Adafruit Product ID 5508
White LED semi-circular backlight. 100 ohm current limiting resistor, 3.3V supply. Looks promising for a 1:1000 TOS-era Romulan Warbird. White line across backlight is a reflection.
#my_hobby
It worked. As advertised. 3.3V supply. 100 ohm current limiting resistor. This backlight is for a test to see if this light could be used to light the windows in the primary hull (saucer section) of a model starship.
#my_hobby
I forgot to order the test clips, so I won't be able to run my Forward Voltage tests just yet.
I did receive my order of resistors, but on retrospect, I may not have ordered the value I'd need the most.
#my_hobby
But, we can make some assumptions. Navigation Lights (red, green, white) should be brighter. They're there to be seen. Same with weapons.
Various glows (impulse crystals, warp nacelle grills, Bussard collectors, exterior windows, Zaku monoeyes) don't need to be as bright.
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#my_hobby
Exactly what voltages/current levels I need are guesswork at this point, until I do some measuring.
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#my_hobby
According to the numbers, I should think about supplying 5.0V for blue, purple, UV, and white LEDs.
White LEDs would be used for lighting the inside of a starship so the windows show up, but not at full brightness levels. They shouldn't be as bright as Navigation Lights. IMHO.
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#my_hobby
I decided to create a spreadsheet with a range of Forward Voltages from 1.4 to 4.0 Volts, against Battery Voltages of 3.0V (Coin Cell), 3.7V (LiPo), 5.0(USB), and 9.0V. At the intersection of those two, calculate the Current Limiting Resistor Value to pass 20mA.
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#my_hobby
I have a question about driving LEDs from batteries.
My friend has tested LEDs by placing a 3V coin cell across the leads of an LED. The LED lights.
I want to place LEDs in scale models, and power them with a 3.7V LiPo battery.
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#my_hobby #romulan_warbird #leds
I have a collection of 3mm and 5mm green LEDs in Flat Top Wide Angle, Frosted, and Diffused varieties.
The 30ga Kynar wire will go up the wing pylons. I have both red and black.
#learning_python #my_hobby
I found an on-ramp for learning Python.
I write code, which moves a character and has it perform tasks.
This is very similar to how I learned basic Swift, and from there, learned Arduino IDE.
30ga Kynar wire
5mm LEDs - Wide Angle, Diffused, and Frosted.
3mm LEDs - Wide Angle, Diffused, and Frosted.
#my_hobby
30ga Wiring and LEDs for testing as Romulan Bussard Collectors.
#my_hobby
And, in other news, I've realized that some small models are too small for effects and complicated lighting. I've had to re-think lights for a resin Romulan War Bird and a Polar Lights Defiant.
I have some ideas, and I've been collecting parts.
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#my_hobby
And, I haven't found a good on-ramp for learning Python.
TBH, I'd rather work with Arduino IDE, rather than learn a new language from scratch, but it looks like I'm almost being forced to learn Python.
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#my_hobby
- Interface with a QIACHIP 4-channel remote control
I want to add sound to work with the lighting effects and that opens up a can of worms.
Some microcontrollers don't support sound. OK. I bought a microcontroller that does.
But, the examples are in Circuit Python, not Arduino IDE
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#my_hobby
I am trying to figure out how to add lights and sound to a scale model.
I've purchased an Adafruit microcontroller, learned Arduino IDE well-enough to:
- Interface with a PWM LED Driver
- Control Brightness on Individual LED Channels
- Create a "Photon Torpedo" Lighting Effect
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Jester-class (Oberth-class variant) Starship. Image: DeviantArt
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What am I building? A Jester-class (Oberth-class variant) Starship. The underslung sensor pod is replaced with an underslung photon torpedo pod.
The M0 Express and the first TLS59711 fit in the primary hull, with a second TLS59711 in the secondary.
Image: DeviantArt
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Two channels on my RX480e Receivers weren't working. Rather than troubleshoot it, I went with a new unit, and rebuilt my test set-up.
I tested the TX/RX pair, and confirmed that it worked.
I created a short sketch to light LED_BUILTIN if an input was seen. It was.
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When I last posted on this, I had two main tasks to complete.
The first was interfacing the QIACHIP RX480e receiver/TX118SA-4 transmitter with an Adafruit Feather M0 Express.
The second was gaining the ability to play a .WAV file from the M0 Express.
I figured out the first.
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And, the JST-XH sockets are a bit big for where I wanted to use them. Bummer.
