NEW GUIDE: Glue Stick Fiber Optic Rainbow #CircuitPlaygroundExpress #MakeCode #adafruit
For this project we will create a “fiber optic” rainbow archway using glue sticks and a NeoPixel LED dot strand. The NeoPixels hidden beneath the glue sticks guide the light in a curved path away from the LEDs. Because each glue stick connects two different NeoPixels they are able to mix colors in the center, allowing tons of different color combinations to be achieved.
This guide demonstrates how to make, assemble, and code your own glue stick fiber optic rainbow archway, demonstrating how to control the speed, color, and interactive potential of the NeoPixel light display, as well as alternative glue stick arrangements.
This project uses a Circuit Playground Express to control a strand of NeoPixels. The light sensor on Circuit Playground Express can also be uses to detect light levels, automatically triggering the rainbow to turn on or off.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: 100 CircuitPython Community Libraries, a New Arduino UNO and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
