My 8x8x8 LED Cube at PMMF14

I spent almost 40 hours to build this. This project test my patience and soldering skill. If you want to build one yourself, follow this site that has a detailed step-by-step instructions with source code. I also purchased an 8x8x8 LED cube kit from eBay which I haven't construct yet. Will post it up once is done. 

I showed this during the Penang Mini Maker Faire 2014 together with my friend's LED Message Board and 3D Cube booth. 

Build: Vintage Sign Board with Running Lights - Part 3

Hi! Welcome back and staying with me for part 3 of my project - The Wiring & Electronics for the vintage sign board project. I know it has been 6 weeks since from the last update on my blog. I was busy to welcome a new member into my family. I'm now a dad to my beautiful daughter. It was a joyful and happiest moment in my life.

Okay, back to my project. If you were wandering what was I trying to build with the ATTiny13 microcontroller which I posted on my blog on 15-June-14, here is the answer. To build a simple running lights using Arduino on ATTiny13 chip. Basically I needed 2 inputs and 2 outputs for the switches and a pair of lights. With the UNO or the MINI would probably under utilize and also not cost efficient. So, I decided to use the ATTiny13 which I had a few lying around on my table. I managed to get the tips from the open-source community on how to program the ATTiny13 with Arduino core easily. Refer to the link for more information.

The circuit consists of  a +5V regulated power supply for the entire board, the main controller and lastly the high voltage AC circuit to drive the incandescent bulbs. The optoisolator MOC3023 purpose is to drive the triac and isolate between the high voltage and low voltage circuit. I picked the BTA12-600 triac for this project to drive nine 230V AC bulbs at each time. The connection MT1 and MT2 should be correctly connected to Neutral  and Live wire in order to work correctly. I had some problem earlier due to wrongly connected. Please be reminded that this part of the project involved high voltage electricity and can be fatal. If you're not sure, please consult a professional or don't do this project. Below is the schematic diagram.

Build: Vintage Sign Board with Running Lights - Part 2

 

Part 2: The Wood Frame Board
The woodworking part was the easiest part of the project. With the right tools available, woodworking can be very exciting and fun. The wood materials are not difficult to find and is inexpensive. I bought a piece of 2 1/4 inches width x 1 inch thickness x 8 feet wood for the frame and I had left over of 2 cm thick plywood from previous project used for the back ground board. Then I used a heavy duty stapler instead of screws and nails to hold the pieces together and shellac for the finishing.

Here were the tools I used for this part of the project: jigsaw, palm sander, bench drill, cordless drill, mitre guide, tenon saw, ruler, protractor, palm router, workbench stand, shellac and heavy duty stapler. Total 4 hours time spent.

Build: Vintage Sign Board with Running Lights - Part 1

Introduction
I made this project for my cousin's wedding reception. I was working with his brother-in-law from the beginning on an idea of vintage display board with the "Now Showing" sign. To make it look classic, I use the incandescent light bulbs like the one we see at the old theater sign board. Then equipped with 4 running light patterns (including ALL ON) to make it interesting.

Me posing with the sign board at the wedding night

There are 3 parts in this project.
Part 1: The Paper Lettering
Part 2: The Wood Frame Board
Part 3; The Electronics & Wiring
This project involved arts & crafts, woodworking, wiring and electronics skills.

ATTiny13 with Arduino IDE

Some projects that I'm working do not require more than three I/O pins. Arduino UNO and even the Arduino MINI are little more than I need. I need less than 5 I/O pins, using internal clock, small, cheap and easy to program > Arduino IDE. So, I found the ATTIny13 and this website provides the step-by-step instructions how to program the ATTiny13 using Arduino's IDE with AVRISP MKII. 

I used the smeezekitty's core13 library. But I used the core13_018 version and no luck with the latest core13_18_5. Not sure why the latest version doesn't work on my PC. Anyway, this will open the door to my many other mini projects that doesn't require a lot of I/Os and cost. Mainly my reason is that I have a handful of surface mount type ATTiny13 lying around from my previous project. 

My first project with ATTiny13 will be for display board running lights. To connect to AC230V incandescent bulbs with speed control and blinking modes. Will use triacs, optoisolators and voltage regulator for this project. Will post up in my blog when is ready.