Hey, I'm going to build an arc reactor from Iron Man for Halloween, but I could use a recommendation. It's going to sit on my chest and be about 4 inches wide and a half an inch deep. I was going to hook about 10 White or Blue LED's on it. Not sure what kind yet, as I have to see how each of them look.
I wanted to make some kind of circuit that allowed me to turn it on and off, change the brightness, and maybe have it pulse or fade. Per another Arduino user's recommendation , I was going to power it with a CR2032 for each LED. But I was kind of curious as to whether there existed multi color LEDs (So I can change from white to blue, etc)
Anywho, I'm new to Arduino, but have always wanted to try one. I'm a computer engineer major and this seemed like a perfect project for me to start with.
I'm confused with the different arduinos though. Is there any way you guys could recommend one for me to buy? I was going to buy it today (Monday). Running out of time before Halloween! I was thinking about just attaching it to the back of the reactor prop if its small enough. But if it isnt, I guess I could try to just put it in my pocket. Directly attached would be neater though.
Thanks
PS: For a second arduino recommendation, I was thinking about programming an iPhone app that either connected to the Arduino via bluetooth or wifi, and just control it like that. (But I doubt Ill have time for that, so maybe I'll buy this kind of arduino too for later)
Thanks. Those look like something I could use. I'm still looking to see if there exists a blue and white led.
For the interface route, I've been looking at the different ardunios. Turns out any arduino with a serial can interface with an iPhone (for future development), and bluetooth arduino's dont seem like they work with iPhone's because of the lack of SDK, but maybe wifi.
Anywho, I'm still stumped. They all look almost the same! Can someone enlighten me on the arduino that would best suit me? Or explain the differences.
Can someone enlighten me on the arduino that would best suit me?
For what you want I would go with the UNO. The others offer things like a small form factor, just the processor, lots of I/O and maximum memory (mega), lower operating voltage and so on.
Cool thanks. Do you think the UNO will be small enough to fit behind a shirt, or do you think itd be best in my pocket. I was originally debating between the Uno, Mega, and Lilypad. But the lilypad I was worried it wouldn't have the features to do what I want to do.
And do you know the difference (in terms of capabilities) between the Mega and Uno?
Getting pretty excited about my upcoming project. Thanks!
The Mega has more memory and I/O pins (which you probably don't need for this simple project, but which might be nice someday). Be warned that it has a couple of minor pinout incompatibilities that cause problems with certain accessories (mostly those like the Ethernet interfaces that use SPI).
I haven't used the Lilypad, myself, but it's very popular with people doing projects like yours because it's small and designed to run happily on batteries.
Since you don't need shields or constant connection to a PC for this, I suggest also looking at boards like the RBBB or Pro Mini. That version of the Mini is electrically much like the Lilypad, but mechanically more-convenient if you want to re-use it in other projects.
The Arduinos without an on-board FTDI chip need a PC with a serial interface and an RS232-to-TTL level converter, or a USB-to-serial cable, for programming. They also need a 3.3V or 5V power supply, because they don't run off the USB power. But that's often a good trade-off for lower cost and smaller size.
Okay, did a little more digging. If I connect via iPhone, i would have to get a WiShield. If I connect via serial, it would have to have a serial connector on it.
Do the arduinos you listed support any of those? Aka: Pro Mini, RBBB, Uno.
Thanks! Sorry for all the noobish posts. Just want to make sure Im buying the right stuff.
