Project Development part II (Week18)
Since i was having troubles in figuring out the logical arrangement of the mechanical component of the clock with the electronic circuit, I thought of changing my project. After taking approvals from Alex, our mentor and evaluator for Fab Academy, I began working on a wearable device which glows when someone speaks.
The idea is to connect a mic with a series of LEDs and plug the circuit into a necklace.
The ‘new’ Final Project helped me delve further into electronics, make my own circuit from scratch, figure out the logic behind electronic components, calculate resistance and capacitor values, design a small circuit, small enough to hide behind a necklace :)
Here’s an image of the circuit:
ATTiny45 was programmed using Arduino IDE to receive signals from the mic and transmit them to the LEDs which would be connected via jumper wires on the header pin.
FabISP was used to program the board.
The mic in my circuit wasn’t functioning as it needed an amplifier, which we don’t have in the inventory. On adding a microphone shield from Keyes to the circuit, the set up worked fine.
The red board is the Keyes Microphone Shield for Arduino.
Answering some of the questions as required for the assignment :
1. What tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain ?
The circuit has been made and programmed using FabISP. It works perfectly well. The video of the working circuit can be accessed here. I also made denim flowers to hold the LED and the circuit in a necklace design. Images below.
The task of reducing the size of the circuit and completing it with an amplifier for the mic remains. We haven’t been able to find the right component and hence the delays in fixing this.
2. What has worked? What hasn’t ?
I think the idea of making this new project was good. Everything has been as per expectation and as I imagined. I really enjoyed making the necklace as I was working with needle, thread and fabric - my hobby for over 15 yrs, which got neglected amidst the busy work life.
3. What questions need to be resolved ?
None at all.
4. What will happen when ?
I am hoping to make the final circuit in the coming week.
5. What have you learned ?
I wasnt aware of the fact that the mic would need an amplifier IC / op-amp and was hoping it would work fine with the attiny45.
My inspiration was Sensebridge’s Sound Spark, where the maker hasn’t used an op-amp or amplifier IC.
The final project also introduced me to Arduino IDE and Eagle in greater detail.