HackSpace_-_October_2019

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Halloween isn’t only about scaring people, is it? Over the years, Halloween

has become an outlet for a maker’s creativity and ingenuity. And maker

extraordinaire Bryan Cera has the perfect wearable to impress everyone at

the party: a fully functional mobile phone that you put on your hand like

a glove (hsmag.cc/oOOwZR). Bryan says his project is “the literalisation of

Sherry Turkle’s notion of technology as a ‘phantom limb’, in how we augment

ourselves through an ambivalent reliance on it, as well as a celebration of the

freedom we seek in our devices.”

The first part of the build involves fabricating the custom glove. Instead

of using fabric, Bryan decided to 3D-print one to give the project a more

robotic look and feel. The next step involved ripping apart the Burg Watch

Phone that has small tactile buttons that are well suited for the project. In

addition to the buttons, he also reused the battery, microphone, and speakers

from the phone. His Instructable has detailed instructions and videos of the

different parts of the build process.

WEARABLE CELL PHONE

collar is controlled via the Bluefruit LE app that sends

instructions to the collar over Bluetooth to trigger the

sound samples stored on the Audio FX Sound Board

and make your furry friend come to life.

Talking of furry creatures, what’s Halloween without

monsters? Adafruit’s Creative Engineer, Phillip Burgess

brings together two of his favourite things, electronics

and Halloween, to bring a demon to life (hsmag.cc/

WSeiRW). The main aspect of the costume is the

monster mask, which combines a couple of Phillip’s

earlier tutorials.

He starts by first using the Adafruit Wave Shield to

create a voice changer (hsmag.cc/BcigOE). He

mounts it inside a mask from a craft store that he had

to modify significantly in order to wear it. Instead of

following his lead, Phillip suggests you mount the

voice changer inside a mask from a costume store

that’s actually designed to be worn.

The monster’s animated eyes (hsmag.cc/mcPeaC)

are another significant aspect of the

project. Instead of directly attaching the

matrix backpacks to the mask, he mounts

them on a flat acrylic plate that’s attached

to the mask via elastic bands. Make sure

you place the LEDs slightly above your eyes

to be able to see. The mask is camouflaged

under a see-through sheer

fabric, and Phillip also

shares a couple of

ideas to hide

the speakers

as well.

with an amplifier, rechargeable batteries, and a power

switch, in addition to the Audio FX Sound Board.

A major part of the build involves tearing down the

original electronics from the mask. Needless to say,

but the teardown instructions will only work with the

kind of mask that John is using, however, you can

follow them in principal to get an idea of what’s

involved. The second part of the build process is where

you put together the new circuit, which involves

soldering the amplifiers and other components to the

Audio FX Sound Board, and is a lot more involved and

time-consuming. Again, there’s a video of the process

that’ll be easier to follow than the illustrated guide.

TALKING HEADS

Once you’re done vocalising Han Solo’s friend, you can

do so with yours as well. The intrepid Becky Stern

uses the Audio FX Sound Board to build a talking dog

collar (hsmag.cc/gYoMwj). Her project uses the

Bluetooth-enabled Bluefruit LE microcontroller to play

sounds through a mono amp connected to a mini metal

speaker embedded in her dog’s collar. The build is

inspired by the talking golden retriever named Dug

from the movie Up, who vocalises his thoughts via a

special collar.

Becky’s replica uses some 3D-printed bits that also

conceal the speakers, a couple of LEDs, alkaline

batteries, and other electronics. Her video makes the

process look easy and, once you’ve assembled all the

components, all it really requires is a good amount of

soldering longer wires. Once you’ve tested them, you

can glue the bits to the circuit, and you’re done. The

Bryan’s

Instructable

has a wealth of

information for

anyone interested

in hacking

electronics and

digital fabrication

The gauntlet can

be charged easily

via the USB port

thanks to the built-

in charger on the

Adafruit Feather

Becky advises

prototyping the

project on a solderless

breadboard, which will be

of great help, especially

for inexperienced makers

like the feature’s author

When you put

together the

mask, make

sure you follow

Phillip’s advice

to help protect

the electronics

from all the

moisture and

perspiration