oh no first challenge. . . in the next circuit, where there is a perhaps 16" distance from the pin to the end of the last of three LEDs in a row, the white LED is VERY VERY Dim. It’s lit but very very dim.
On the photo, the two red LEDs that go on the map light up well! However, the white light that goes over Marvina is the one that is dim. I changed it from purple to white to minimize the voltage needed.
Do you think it is the distance? I think I secured the LED very very well. . .
A combination of the distance and a white LED (has higher Vf and so less current at any applied voltage). How well does a white LED, all by itself, light up using alligator clip leads ? The other LEDs, red, seem to light well enough. But their presence in the circuit, drawing whatever current that they do, will drag the output voltage down somewhat. Measure the voltage at the pin w/a DVM and see what it says.zackboston:
Do you think it is the distance? I think I secured the LED very very well. . .
So it’s likely a combo of all 3 things.
I tested the white LED by putting a 1.5 V battery across it and it lights up very well.
You are right that I do need to get out the multimeter and see what the voltage drops are across the two red and white LEDs. I will do that tomorrow morning and get some readings.
Do you think it will help if I replace the white LED with a red LED? Don’t they have the smallest required voltage?
This also makes me concerned about the last two sets of 3 LEDs I have not sewn yet. They have similar distances across the quilt! They are yellow/orange ones.
Yes, I think it'll help. And yes, that's correct.zackboston:
Do you think it will help if I replace the white LED with a red LED? Don’t they have the smallest required voltage?
If the red LEDs are OK, it's likely the yellow will be too. They're closely matched wrt Vf.zackboston:
This also makes me concerned about the last two sets of 3 LEDs I have not sewn yet. They have similar distances across the quilt! They are yellow/orange ones.
Oh dear. . . that just goes to show you I needed to do my research. . . just made a chart of forward voltages for all the LIlypad LEDs.
My intuition was TOTALLY off!
White LEDs need the biggest forward voltage!
Yellow & Red need 2V
Purple needs 2.8V
Green needs 3.2V
White needs 3.3V
eek! am going to try a red one today. . .never tried to replace an LED without resewing the whole circuit tho.
Yay! the red one works and I “spliced” it in! Wow. I owe you a pie next time you are in Boston or I am in Colorado!
Hey circuit number three works. . . with the bridge (never made one before) and also just connected to a grounded LED instead of sewing all the way to the ground pin on the lilypad mp2! yay!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28629285@N02/14978967230/
one more just like #3 to go and then hooking up to only the battery (right now I am using computer to power) and adding the speakers with external power source.
monday l’merchie and i are going to put the whole thing together!!! she’s finishing up the outside quilt that lays over. . . i will send photos.
Actually I'm at Lake Winnipesaukee. The majority of people responding of these forums don't work in any way for SFE.zackboston:
I owe you a pie next time you are in Boston or I am in Colorado!
Well NH is only a skip away. If you or your family are in Boston, you can visit the South End Technology Center @ Tent City and make something in our Fab Lab when you pick up your pie! I am as good as my word and my pies are famous.
Might be hard to resist pie. :mrgreen:
How is it going ? Pics (or better a video) or, as the saying goes … “it didn’t happen”. :twisted:
Yea! Make a video of it! I have been following this thread since the beginning and curious to see it in action. And Mac is right, we don’t work for Sparkfun. The Sparkfun employees on here, their name is in red. But if SF would let me just sweep their floors, I would relocate to Colorado!
Hey, glad to report super success with your coaching (at least with the electronics and programming part).
First of all, all the LED circuits work. . . Yay! We used your alternating globe LED suggestion.
Second, the circuits work both plugged into computer and with battery. . . Yay!
Third, the programming mostly works (we had some audio issues and had to remix some of it, then the original program that they youth made had some glitches)
One thing I learned is that the timing is super wonky. You can’t do calculations based on the LED lights. . . for instance in the blinking sequence where we are doing 500ms on 500ms off and that part of the recording is 31000 ms, we had to loops that lasted 27000ms, not 31000. This is part of the code that works with the actual timing:
// SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
// Yellow LEDs blink every .5 seconds during the song
if (digitalOutputPins) { // LED Sequence digitalWrites - will start BEFORE music)
for (i = 1; i < 27; i++) { // Blink Sequence 1
digitalWrite(TRIG2,HIGH);
delay(500);
digitalWrite(TRIG2,LOW);
delay(500);
Here is the audio for the 4 different parts, if you want to listen:
South African National Anthem
one of our youth teachers, Marvina, a refugee from Liberia, talks about the impact of Nelson Mandela on her.
Mel King introduces Nelson Mandela in 1990
Excerpts from Nelson Mandela’s speech to the youth.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-UMdc … sp=sharing
There is one thing we would like to add to the programming — the ability to hit the T1 button and have the sequence start over, but the library/code we found that works is too big for the Lilypad MP3 (I think you need a Leonardo to run it).
Do you know of any way we can stop partway through and start at the beginning again other than using the on off switch on the Lilypad MP3?
L’Merchie Frazier, the fiber artist, is coming today having put together all the top quilt parts and we are going to attach the electronics to it! I will send photos/video!
Codlink,
If you are ever in Boston, please come visit South End Technology Center @ Tent City where we are doing the coolest things with urban youth.
I won’t make you sweep the floor. . . smile.
I'd have to look at the LP MP3 code to be certain, but I have to believe there's a way to "start over". Perhaps you could post your code ...zackboston:
There is one thing we would like to add to the programming — the ability to hit the T1 button and have the sequence start over, but the library/code we found that works is too big for the Lilypad MP3 (I think you need a Leonardo to run it).Do you know of any way we can stop partway through and start at the beginning again other than using the on off switch on the Lilypad MP3?
// "Trigger" example sketch for Lilypad MP3 Player
// Mike Grusin, SparkFun Electronics
// http://www.sparkfun.com
// Uses the SdFat library by William Greiman, which is supplied
// with this archive, or download from http://code.google.com/p/sdfatlib/
// Uses the SFEMP3Shield library by Bill Porter, which is supplied
// with this archive, or download from http://www.billporter.info/
// NOTE: The large bracket lines surround the blocks of text which
// are important for this project.
// ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [
// ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [
// ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
// (Section 1a - Initialization) These are the libraries you need to make sure you import into your Arduino Library folder
#include <SPI.h> // To talk to the SD card and MP3 chip
#include <SdFat.h> // SD card file system
#include <SFEMP3Shield.h> // MP3 decoder chip
const int TRIG1 = A0; // This is the only pin that is going to remain a trigger
// These 4 pins are made into digital output pins so you can send a digitalWrite(pinName) to them
const int TRIG2 = A4;
const int TRIG3 = A5;
const int TRIG4 = 1;
const int TRIG5 = 0;
// This creates an array (table) of integers with a length of 5
// The array stores the trigger names, so typing TRIG1 in the code
// would be the same as typing trigger[1]. This is a shortcut for declaring pins.
int trigger[5] = {TRIG1,TRIG2,TRIG3,TRIG4,TRIG5};
// ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
// (Section 1b Boolean Setting) These are the libraries you need to make sure you import into your Arduino Library folder
// Set debugging = true if you'd like status messages sent
// to the serial port. Note that this will take over trigger
// inputs 4 and 5. (You can leave triggers connected to 4 and 5
// and still use the serial port, as long as you're careful to
// NOT ground the triggers while you're using the serial port).
boolean debugging = false;
// Setting this value to true will repurpose trigger pins 2 - 5
// so that they are digital outputs. (BD)
// this just says that there ARE digital output pins
boolean digitalOutputPins = true;
// ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ]
// ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ]
// And a few outputs we'll be using: (Needed for the system)
const int ROT_LEDR = 10; // Red LED in rotary encoder (optional)
const int EN_GPIO1 = A2; // Amp enable + MIDI/MP3 mode select
const int SD_CS = 9; // Chip Select for SD card
// Create library objects:
SFEMP3Shield MP3player;
SdFat sd;
// ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
// Set interrupt = false if you would like a triggered file to
// play all the way to the end. If this is set to true, new
// triggers will stop the playing file and start a new one.
boolean interrupt = true;
// Set interruptself = true if you want the above rule to also
// apply to the same trigger. In other words, if interrupt = true
// and interruptself = false, subsequent triggers on the same
// file will NOT start the file over. However, a different trigger
// WILL stop the original file and start a new one.
boolean interruptself = true;
// We'll store the five filenames as arrays of characters.
// "Short" (8.3) filenames are used, followed by a null character.
char filename[5][13];
// ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [
// ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [
// Sets up pins and board
void setup() {
int x, index; SdFile file; byte result; char tempfilename[13];
if (digitalOutputPins) { // if digitalOutputPins is set to true, pins 2 - 5 are set to outputs
debugging = false; // debugging takes over pins 3 and 4 so it is disabled to make them outputs
pinMode(TRIG2,OUTPUT); pinMode(TRIG3,OUTPUT); pinMode(TRIG4,OUTPUT); pinMode(TRIG5,OUTPUT); // Sets pins 2 - 5 to outputs
digitalWrite(TRIG5,LOW);
pinMode(TRIG1,INPUT); digitalWrite(TRIG1,HIGH); // Sets T1 to be a trigger pin
}
else { // This is the standard setup of the board where all pins are triggers
for (x = 0; x <= 4; x++) { // loops through trigger array syntax: for ( start; // ends if this is true; // increment per loop to increase x by (x++ is the same as x = x + 1))
pinMode(trigger[x],INPUT); // sets pin at trigger index
digitalWrite(trigger[x],HIGH); // writes once to set up pulldown resistor
}
}
// ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ]
// ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ]
// If serial port debugging is inconvenient, you can connect
// a LED to the red channel of the rotary encoder to blink
// startup error codes:
pinMode(ROT_LEDR,OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(ROT_LEDR,HIGH); // HIGH = off
// The board uses a single I/O pin to select the
// mode the MP3 chip will start up in (MP3 or MIDI),
// and to enable/disable the amplifier chip:
pinMode(EN_GPIO1,OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(EN_GPIO1,LOW); // MP3 mode / amp off
// If debugging is true, initialize the serial port:
// (The 'F' stores constant strings in flash memory to save RAM)
if (debugging)
{
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println(F("Lilypad MP3 Player trigger sketch"));
}
// Initialize the SD card; SS = pin 9, half speed at first
if (debugging) Serial.print(F("initialize SD card... "));
result = sd.begin(SD_CS, SPI_HALF_SPEED); // 1 for success
if (result != 1) // Problem initializing the SD card
{
if (debugging) Serial.print(F("error, halting"));
errorBlink(1); // Halt forever, blink LED if present.
}
else
if (debugging) Serial.println(F("success!"));
// Start up the MP3 library
if (debugging) Serial.print(F("initialize MP3 chip... "));
result = MP3player.begin(); // 0 or 6 for success
// Check the result, see the library readme for error codes.
if ((result != 0) && (result != 6)) // Problem starting up
{
if (debugging)
{
Serial.print(F("error code "));
Serial.print(result);
Serial.print(F(", halting."));
}
errorBlink(result); // Halt forever, blink red LED if present.
}
else
if (debugging) Serial.println(F("success!"));
// Now we'll access the SD card to look for any (audio) files
// starting with the characters '1' to '5':
if (debugging) Serial.println(F("reading root directory"));
// Start at the first file in root and step through all of them:
sd.chdir("/",true);
while (file.openNext(sd.vwd(),O_READ))
{
// get filename
file.getFilename(tempfilename);
// Does the filename start with char '1' through '5'?
if (tempfilename[0] >= '1' && tempfilename[0] <= '5')
{
// Yes! subtract char '1' to get an index of 0 through 4.
index = tempfilename[0] - '1';
// Copy the data to our filename array.
strcpy(filename[index],tempfilename);
if (debugging) // Print out file number and name
{
Serial.print(F("found a file with a leading "));
Serial.print(index+1);
Serial.print(F(": "));
Serial.println(filename[index]);
}
}
else
if (debugging)
{
Serial.print(F("found a file w/o a leading number: "));
Serial.println(tempfilename);
}
file.close();
}
if (debugging)
Serial.println(F("done reading root directory"));
if (debugging) // List all the files we saved:
{
for(x = 0; x <= 4; x++)
{
Serial.print(F("trigger "));
Serial.print(x+1);
Serial.print(F(": "));
Serial.println(filename[x]);
}
}
// Set the VS1053 volume. 0 is loudest, 255 is lowest (off):
MP3player.setVolume(10,10);
// Turn on the amplifier chip:
digitalWrite(EN_GPIO1,HIGH);
delay(2);
}
void loop() {
int t; int i; // current trigger
static int last_t; // previous (playing) trigger
int x;
byte result;
// Step through the trigger inputs, looking for LOW signals.
// The internal pullup resistors will keep them HIGH when
// there is no connection to the input.
// If serial debugging is on, only check triggers 1-3,
// otherwise check triggers 1-5.
int triggers = 0; // Number of trigger pins
if (debugging) {
triggers = 3;
}
else if (digitalOutputPins) {
triggers = 1;
}
else {
triggers = 5;
};
for(t = 1; t <= triggers; t++)
{
// The trigger pins are stored in the inputs[] array.
// Read the pin and check if it is LOW (triggered).
if (digitalRead(trigger[t-1]) == LOW)
{
// Wait for trigger to return high for a solid 50ms
// (necessary to avoid switch bounce on T2 and T3
// since we need those free for I2C control of the
// amplifier)
x = 0;
while(x < 50)
{
if (digitalRead(trigger[t-1]) == HIGH){
x++; }
else
x = 0;
delay(1);
}
if (debugging)
{
Serial.print(F("got trigger "));
Serial.println(t);
}
// Do we have a valid filename for this trigger?
// (Invalid filenames will have 0 as the first character)
if (filename[t-1][0] == 0)
{
if (debugging)
Serial.println(F("no file with that number"));
}
else // We do have a filename for this trigger!
{
// If a file is already playing, and we've chosen to
// allow playback to be interrupted by a new trigger,
// stop the playback before playing the new file.
if (interrupt && MP3player.isPlaying() && ((t != last_t) || interruptself))
{
if (debugging)
Serial.println(F("stopping playback"));
MP3player.stopTrack();
}
// Play the filename associated with the trigger number.
// (If a file is already playing, this command will fail
// with error #2).
//To make the mp3 track play at a certain point in the track, add a comma after the filename and the number of millisecondsin you want the
// track to play.
result = MP3player.playMP3(filename[t-1]); // plays mp3 sequence
if (result == 0) last_t = t; // Save playing trigger
// ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [
// ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [ ------------ [
// SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
// Yellow LEDs blink every .5 seconds during the song
if (digitalOutputPins) { // LED Sequence digitalWrites - will start BEFORE music)
for (i = 1; i < 27; i++) { // Blink Sequence 1
digitalWrite(TRIG2,HIGH);
delay(500);
digitalWrite(TRIG2,LOW);
delay(500);
}
}
if (digitalOutputPins) { // LED Sequence digitalWrites - will start AFTER music)
// MARVINA SPEAKS
// 3 RED LEDs turn on for the whole time she is speaking
{
// Blink Sequence 2
digitalWrite(TRIG3,HIGH);
delay(75000);
digitalWrite(TRIG3,LOW);
delay(1000);
}
// MEL INTRODUCES NELSON Note: USE TRIGGER PIN 5
// Left side Yellow LEDs blink for 39 seconds
for (i = 1; i < 32; i++) { // Blink Sequence 3
digitalWrite(TRIG5,HIGH);
delay(500);
digitalWrite(TRIG5,LOW);
delay(500);
}
// NELSON MANDELA SPEAKS (FIRST 30 SECONDS) Note: USE TRIGGER PIN 4
// Right side Yellow LEDs blink for 30 seconds
for (i = 1; i < 25; i++) { // Blink Sequence 4
digitalWrite(TRIG4,HIGH);
delay(500);
digitalWrite(TRIG4,LOW);
delay(500);
}
// NELSON MANDELA SPEAKS (last 120 seconds)
// Right side and Left side Yellow LEDs blink alternately
for (i=0;i<76; i++)
{
// display Mandela's lights
digitalWrite(TRIG5,HIGH);
delay(600);
digitalWrite(TRIG5,LOW);
digitalWrite(TRIG4,HIGH);
delay(600);
digitalWrite(TRIG4,LOW);
}
//Put the Spotlight on Mandela for the last 30 seconds
digitalWrite(TRIG4,HIGH);
delay(15000);
digitalWrite(TRIG4,LOW);
}
// ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ]
// ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ] ------------ ]
if(debugging)
{
if(result != 0)
{
Serial.print(F("error "));
Serial.print(result);
Serial.print(F(" when trying to play track "));
}
else
{
Serial.print(F("playing "));
}
Serial.println(filename[t-1]);
}
}
}
}
}
void errorBlink(int blinks)
{
// The following function will blink the red LED in the rotary
// encoder (optional) a given number of times and repeat forever.
// This is so you can see any startup error codes without having
// to use the serial monitor window.
int x;
while(true) // Loop forever
{
for (x=0; x < blinks; x++) // Blink the given number of times
{
digitalWrite(ROT_LEDR,LOW); // Turn LED ON
delay(250);
digitalWrite(ROT_LEDR,HIGH); // Turn LED OFF
delay(250);
}
delay(1500); // Longer pause between blink-groups
}
}
I am sewing the last words on now!
It looks great, thanks to you. If you figure out how to reset the program with the start button, I will have time to add that today!
Tomorrow morning, it heads to the World Maker Faire in NYC, then next week to the White House!
Wow. . . it’s been a LOT of work. . .
Will try to get out a video today.
What happens now when you press the button while playing ? Does it stop ? Then (on another press) replay where it left off or restart the track ? Do you have 4 tracks for the 4 parts or just one long track ?
I have one long track! I have to check on what happens when I push the button mid-program.
Here is a test video of the eQuilt which was shown at the White House last week. I am going to try to get our videographer to do a better one with slightly dimmer lighting so the camera picks up the LEDs better. It is quite beautiful and folks at the World Maker Faire and the White House really responded to it!
We are going to make changes before I take it to the FabLearn Conference on 24-27 October, so I will be thinking about the start problem and also to think about wiring in permanent speakers into the quilt. Right now I have an external speaker plugged in.
Thanks again for your help~