Pumpkin Assembly and Coding

RGB LEDs connected to the breadboard and each other using 3-pin extension cables.

  • Assemble the platform you will be mounting your project to.
  • After making the platform, assemble the RGB LED string by putting a 3-pin cable into each side of your LED boards, going from SI to SO in each LED. The last LED in the string should have one side without wire connections.

Side-view of the RGB LED connections.

  • Wire the circuit for the LEDs on the Activity Board's breadboard. Your signal wire (white) should connect to a pin between numbers 3 to 11. Make sure the pin you choose is the correct pin you call in your BlocklyProp code later on!
  • Ground wire (black) must connect to ground on your Activity Board. The red wire goes to 5V.

Schematic for wiring the RGB LEDs.

The diffuser was 3D printed, and fits snugly in the bottom hole of the pumpkin.

  • Glue the light diffuser you made into the bottom of the pumpkin and then glue head to the platform. Leave about half of the head over the cut out in platform so you have room to insert the LEDs. I used CA glue with PLA filament for good bonding.

RGB LED string being placed into the pumpkin head.

  • Insert the RGB LEDs you set up already into the hole in the bottom of the pumpkin (into the light diffuser you should already have placed inside).

Veho speaker connected to the ABWX and mounted to the platform.

  • Install the wav-playing speaker (Veho, or Portable Mini Hamburger speaker) to the side of project platform.
    • If you have SimpleIDE installed, follow the directions provided in the Play WAV Files tutorial here to load the wav file of your choice to your SD card.
    • If you do not have SimpleIDE installed, you will need an SD card/USB adapter you can plug into your computer to load in your wav file. See the tutorial above for filename limits and other restrictions.

The finished Halloween Flaming Pumpkin Display Project!

This is my finished pumpkin display. When I put it in a window, I like to use a small black piece of cloth around the platform to hide the "on" lights from the ABWX and speaker.

Subsystem testing is very important.

I pre-tested all systems before the full assembly of the pumpkin to ensure everything was working as it should. This can be done after assembly as well, but it is simpler and easier to make wiring changes (if necessary) before it is all put together.

The BlocklyProp code for the Halloween Flaming Pumpkin Display project.

And here is the Blocklyprop code I wrote to run everything. Please feel free to improve it!

I hope you enjoy this project.