Planet Arduino

Imgurian “ElectricYFronts” has created an Arduino-controlled solar heating system for his kids’ paddling pool.

Small semi-portable above ground pools can be fun, but are generally not heated. The “Solar Paddle” system, however, raises the temperature of the pool from a chilly 68 degrees Fahrenheit to a much warmer 83 degrees (20 to 28 Celsius). It does this by piping water into and out of the pool, then heating it in over 200 yards of black watering pipe on top of a shed.

Water is cycled via an impeller pump, which is powered by a solar panel along with a battery to keep power even over fluctuations. A few buttons and an LCD panel allow things to be changed around without opening up the Arduino Uno’s enclosure.

You can see more on how this heater was made on Imgur.

Imgur user Peter Clough recently created his own colorful “Magic Box” Bluetooth speaker assembly with a NeoPixel visual display.

If you need a speaker (or rather a speaker with an enclosure) the easiest way is usually to just buy one. On the other hand, if you want something really awesome and unique, why not build it yourself? Clough did just that using an Arduino Pro Mini and a Bluetooth receiver along with a strip of programmable LEDs that react to the emitted sounds–made possible by an electret microphone amp.

Cleverly, the case was sourced from a hobby supplies store, while neodymium magnets were used to keep the lid in place. Clough also employed a “really beefy” 20W 4Ohm speaker, as well as a rotary encoder with push button for volume and play/pause control.

You can find more details, including a schematic, on the project’s Imgur page.

Imgur user Peter Clough recently created his own colorful “Magic Box” Bluetooth speaker assembly with a NeoPixel visual display.

If you need a speaker (or rather a speaker with an enclosure) the easiest way is usually to just buy one. On the other hand, if you want something really awesome and unique, why not build it yourself? Clough did just that using an Arduino Pro Mini and a Bluetooth receiver along with a strip of programmable LEDs that react to the emitted sounds–made possible by an electret microphone amp.

Cleverly, the case was sourced from a hobby supplies store, while neodymium magnets were used to keep the lid in place. Clough also employed a “really beefy” 20W 4Ohm speaker, as well as a rotary encoder with push button for volume and play/pause control.

You can find more details, including a schematic, on the project’s Imgur page.

Electronic music seems to be ripe for hacking, as a new device can be fun as well as quite useful. Imgur user “fatcookies” decided to create a small DJ controller using an Arduino Nano, six push buttons, three potentiometers, and four configurable LEDs.

In this setup, each input is fed into the Arduino, then sent to a computer over USB to be used as a MIDI interface (with the help of a couple pieces of intermediate software). A neat build for sure, but what really sets this tiny beast apart is that it’s about the size of a notebook’s trackpad.

The electronics are all stored inside a transparent nuts and bolts storage box, while fatcookies rounded out the design with some arcade buttons and brushed aluminium knobs on two of the pots.

You can check out how to make one of these mini devices for yourself on the project’s Imgur page.

Imgur user “Bodaciousbus” set up his apartment window fans to only circulate air when not filled with smoke.

Living in a communal area like an apartment or condo has its benefits, but there are several hassles to deal with as well. One in particular are neighbors who smoke right outside. If you’d like to leave a window open for ventilation, perhaps in combination with a fan, this can be quite annoying.

Bodaciousbom solved this issue with a series of fans connected to a smoke detector sensor and an Arduino. If the air is OK, the fans are allowed to blow, pushing homemade flaps out of the way and ventilating the apartment. There is also a series of LEDs to show the current status of the outside air.

I’m still a rookie with Arduino, but an experienced tinkerer. This project took me a couple of hours to complete, but overall was not too bad. I can relax now, knowing that my window fan will only run when the air outside is free of cigarette smoke (among other things).

Are you faced with a similar problem? Be sure to check out the project in more detail here.