Quote from: jorwick on Jan 20, 2016, 03:00 am
I must admit, I am a little surprised there isn't more interest in duplicating this project

I'm interested. Just got too much else in the way to start on it right now!

I'm also interested, though my TARDIS is probably 6 months to a year away from being ready for lights and sound.

I can build some impressive things using wood, bricks, shovels and wheelbarrows, but with electronics I need easy to follow instructions and a trouble-shooting guide.  I plan on reading through your post again to see if this is something that I really can do, but I must admit, it's a little above my comfort level.


Thanks,
Greg

Quote from: deck5 on Jan 20, 2016, 03:41 am

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 20, 2016, 03:00 am
I must admit, I am a little surprised there isn't more interest in duplicating this project

I'm interested. Just got too much else in the way to start on it right now!

I know how that goes.. It took me 6 months from the end of building my TARDIS (shaped box)   to actually sitting down and getting this done.  I promise the electronics and enclosure and software loading should be   a single weekend project.. well maybe not for you -  you might need to add a cool  seal  to it or something

So if you did build it - how much would would you build and are there aren't  features you really want to see that aren't there? Like A PIR motion sensor?  Music Player?  Just trying to figure out if there is more I should start coding and how to package this up so its easy to install and useful for those who want it... I can make it such that you just download a large image file, load that image on the stick and turn it on... or would  you rather admin your own Linux box and load the bits one at a time (with instructions) , so you know what is in there?  I AM just some guy on the internet and in theory you would connect this to your home network.. so there is some level of trust to be concerned with here as well  

Quote from: Bob's your Uncle on Jan 20, 2016, 05:50 am
I'm also interested, though my TARDIS is probably 6 months to a year away from being ready for lights and sound.

I can build some impressive things using wood, bricks, shovels and wheelbarrows, but with electronics I need easy to follow instructions and a trouble-shooting guide.  I plan on reading through your post again to see if this is something that I really can do, but I must admit, it's a little above my comfort level.


Thanks,
Greg

Hey  6 months is a long time.. So one rainy/snowy weekend when you don't want to go into the shop, you can build this instead.. Besides, once you have her set up the FIRST thing - the very first thing -- you want to do is have it light up..  so you stick your shop light in there. Fun, but its too yellow. It doesn't flash. It doesn't make a noise. And your spousal unit says "is your stupid blue box done now?"  instead of "Okay- that is pretty cool. Lets put it in the living room"

So lets talk about your concerns..What exactly is making you uncomfortable?

  I haven't posted instructions for loading the software,  but its a LINUX system with an Windows like GUI, so loading it will simply be a matter of following instructions ( which I will endeavor to make as simple as I can. )  or I can simply give you an image file of  my system and then   using a free program and a windows or Mac machine you load that image on the stick, and then simply pop that memory stick into the PI..and it will load and my applications will automatically start.

The voltages we are working with are not dangerous.. You could actually power it with a  9 Volt battery, but the LEDs wouldn't be as satisfyingly bright..the worse case scenario is you let the magic smoke out of everything and you are down $50  - but you can prevent that by following two simple rules:

1) Never, ever, try to wire something with power connected. Its not going to hurt you, but your chance of accidentally shorting something goes way way up.  When I was younger and studying Electrical Engineering in college,  I could do it.. no problem. Every time.. and now and found out this time around I no longer have hands that steady - and yes I burned out a PI trying to replace a cap on my breadboard..and touching something with a lead I shouldn't have.  

2)  take a Digital Multi Meter which  you should own anyway if you ever work on your car or with House wiring.. and set it to test for shorts ( if you touch two connected wires,  its makes a noise)   Then go through with the power off and test to make sure that only things that Should be connected are - paying close attention to the Gnd and Power wires ( a short there will let the smoke out for sure)

Then  plug it in and see if there is smoke. If there isn't smoke  ( or that wonderful smell of burning silicon and PCB) all is well.   Your PI will boot up just like any other computer you own and you can watch it do so on anything with an HDMI input. Then test buttons, etc.  If there still isn't smoke , all is well.  If something doesn't work. Turn it off,  get the meter out again and make sure your connections are all good for that part of the circuit.

As for Soldering - an Excellent way to get good at that is to take a PCB out of some old, broken or fried bit of electronics,  and try removing components  and then soldering them back on. There are dozens of you tube videos on how to do this offering different techniques.  Its trashed to start so you can get a feel for it..  and then after maybe 20 minutes of that you  give it a try on your actual project. These are all easy joints - no small DIN packages or anything.. I used little header pins so I could just use jumpers between my board and the PI. I used the same jumper to the pins on the RTC and the AMP , but if its internet connected you don't need the RTC, and you can use your own AMP... or you could use Screw downs and bare wires.

Also the same question for you - if you did build it, does it do what you would ideally  want? What would you change? How much of it would you build ? ( ie.do you want physical buttons or a light sensor or my smallish amp?)

Bottom line I would be here to answer any questions as you went (you know unless I get hit by a car or something)
I just worked hard on it and I would like to see it get more use than just sitting in my  pasture.. and in boxes that are actually pretty...

I knew if I waited long enough somebody would do this.  Good job!  Now to steal your design!

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
Interesting. Yes I would be very interested in seeing what he did and what he used,and appreciate it very much if you can come up with a link/contact I can pursue..

I'm still trying to excavate that Facebook page. I used to have a personal contact e-mail for him, but that card is somewhere in the ether. (I put it in the worst possible place one could think of... one of my 2nd Doctor's coat pockets! Last time I went looking for something I'd left in one of them I'd found Jimmy Hoffa instead!) I've e-mailed a friend of mine that helps run Timegate asking him for some help tracking the TARDIS owner down.

(On another note, I've also asked him if he could put a bug in someone's ear - I won't mention names here - but this person is going to be a guest of honor at Timegate 2016 this May, and he just happens to be a big wig with Big Finish! The bug for the ear? The possibility of Big Finish working something out so their version of the McGann sonic can be made available like the Character Options sonics.)

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
I wonder if he benefited from the Lobby walls reflecting the subwoofer wave..

I doubt it. Just take a look at this photo from when I was at Timegate 2013:

Aside from all of those people, there are chairs, sofas, tables, half-walls, steps, carpeting, more walls under that overhang that makes up that really high ceiling, pillars running along the edge of that overhang... Basically a lot of stuff! And from where this photo was taken, the sound coming from that TARDIS (2010 interior hum, mostly; he only activated the Mat/Demat sounds once in a while) could be heard just as clearly as if you were standing right next to the Old Girl; and when you were, there was no discernible difference in sound volume! It was amazing! You'd think that if you could hear that TARDIS from across this crowded lobby, with all the noise from those people talking, that it would deafen you if you got right up against her. But that wasn't the case.

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
There is a LOT of BASS in those effects. so adding a decent subwoofer would probably do wonders at making this thing heard- especially in an enclosed space..

Well, the subwoofer was attached to the underside of the TARDIS' floor, and mostly gave the Old Girl a "rumbling" feeling when you touched her or stood inside.

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
Use an AMP like this and a large enough speaker.. if you can build up a large enough pressure inside the box and then let it escape somewhere,   it  would just act like a big subwoofer enclosure..

When I heard the owner talking about the sound system, he said the subwoofer was also a transducer, attached to the center under the TARDIS floor, and like I mentioned, it didn't really put off much sound; it was intended to create that feeling of vibration. (As Ian Chesterton said in the first episode when he touched the TARDIS: "It's alive!")

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
Do you recall hearing highs (not that 10K is high-) really easily too? Higher frequencies tend to be very directional... so I would expect people standing in the way would affect them(  but then a lobby might allow for a good ceiling reflection...

The hum coming from the TARDIS had the 2010 version, which had the late Classic Series TARDIS interior hum in it, with some 2005/2010 overtones added, and as anyone knows the Classic version, especially from the Davison era, had some highs in it. Everything came through just fine, like this entire TARDIS was one large resonance cabinet - which she probably was - but the sound was the same level whether the door was open or shut.

As for people in the way affecting the sounds? Nope. That Old Girl was a presence you couldn't ignore; you heard her no matter where you were, even while eating in the attached restaurant; granted the restaurant's front wall was a wide open entrance to the lobby, but you still heard her at your table!

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
Yes, I an definitely interested in finding out how  he did it...  though I rather suspect it wasn't cheap and he had some pretty good Amps inside..

It's going back almost three years now, and my memory isn't that sharp (short-term - no problems with the long-term; I just have to get things passed the short-term and into long-term to make them safe)... where was I? Oh yeah... Going back to that Timegate: All of his electronics for the sound, including the amps, was located on a board that fit inside the rear walls Police Box sign. So if he did have some good amps, they were also some good and small ones. The plank everything was mounted to was about 3.5 feet wide (not as wide as the TARDIS' Police Box sign), and when he folded it down it was about 8 inches wide, though not all of it was covered with electronic circuit boards. So everything was very compact. It even controlled the window lighting (which isn't on in the above photo).

Once I hear back from my friend about the contact info, I'll certainly pass it on. The Facebook page I'll post, but if I do manage to unearth that e-mail contact I'll PM you with it.

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 18, 2016, 06:39 pm
unfortunately the spousal unit has already approved one expensive speaker project and she is unlikely to approve another..

They never do, my friend; they never do!

Dino.

Jorwick, thanks to deck5 posting here (http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6545.0) I've been able to locate that Facebook page for that TARDIS from Timegate! The owner is located in Georgia (the US, not Russia), and his Facebook page us here: https://www.facebook.com/FourInTheTARDIS/. He does an great 11th Doctor and his wife is a magnificent River Song. I'm sure you can contact them via the Facebook page to ask him about the amazing sound system he uses. I hope this helps.

Dino.

Okay  so its not yet pretty but here are the basic instructions to download my app onto a Raspberry PI.  I don't have a PI 2 to test with, but it should largely be the same.  This does work for Raspberry Pi rev2 and Raspberry Pi B+ for sure because I have tried it. Still,  if you have any issues please post here or Private Message me.

Instructions for TARDIS CLOCK LOAD

I am assuming here you have downloaded NOOBS and installed the JESSIE distributed of Raspbian. This should all work on Wheezy with some coaxing, but I haven't tested it, and JESSIE is superior in many ways anyway - most importantly non root GPIO access...

The words in Italics are what you should type throughout the instructions

Login as user pi and password raspberry

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo raspi-config

In the advanced menu chose audio and set it to use the 3.5 audio jack

exit the menu and reboot

Log back in  and update everything to current versions. This step bassicall

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get update
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get upgrade
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Install Pi Blaster    ( provides Dimable lights by providing software based Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) - this version uses channels 0, 1,2,3 instead of GPIO 17 ,27 etc.. if you use another version you will need to modify the javsacript to suit...

pi@raspberrypi:~ $git clone https://github.com/mwilliams03/pi-blaster.git
pi@raspberrypi:~/pi-blaster $cd pi-blaster
pi@raspberrypi:~/pi-blaster $make pi-blaster
pi@raspberrypi:~/pi-blaster $sudo make install

This last command builds a service that automatically starts. You will need to Modify it so it only affects the correct pins and uses -PCM (otherwise you cant use onboard sound)
to do that:

pi@raspberrypi:~/pi-blaster $sudo  nano /etc/init.d/pi-blaster

Modify the line
DAEMON_ARGS=""

to be

DAEMON_ARGS="17 27 -p"

to exit Nano,  use cntrl X ,answer the questions with a Y (if there are any)  and hit return to confirm file name. Remeber that because while you will use NANO trhough out the rest of the install, I won't remind you how to save and exit.

pi@raspberrypi:~/pi-blaster $sudo reboot

Log back in

Now test the pi-blaster installation

1) Check to see if the pi-blaster process is running   - you should see the paramters you entered(17 27 -p) for example:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ps aux | grep pi-blaster
root       368  0.0  0.1   1896   704 ?        Ss   01:58   0:00 /usr/sbin/pi-blaster 17 27 -p


To manually start pi-blaster:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo ./pi-blaster 17 27  -p

To manually kill pi-blaster

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo killall pi-blaster

If you have your Circuit built, or even if you just have a LED on a bread board ( Pin to 100-270 OHM resitor- resistor to LED - LED to ground)
You can manually play  with pins from the command line :

   To set pin1 to a PWM of 20%
pi@raspberrypi:~ $   echo "0=0.2" > /dev/pi-blaster
   To completely turn off pin0:
pi@raspberrypi:~ $   echo "0=0" > /dev/pi-blaster
   To completely turn on pin1:
pi@raspberrypi:~ $   echo "1=1" > /dev/pi-blaster
   
You can also control individual GPIO pinn used by ON/OFF using:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $gpio mode 0 out
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ gpio write 0 1
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ gpio write 0 0

GPIO will not do anything to PINS you have assigned to pi-blaster ( about GPIO 17, 27 --physical pins 11,13) - if you want to play with GPIO you will have to kill pi-blaster first.
Or use pins Pi-Blaster isn't using
   
 
Install I2C  ( i2c controlled AMP or Clock)

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo raspi-config
In the advanced menu enable I2C  and set it to activate

exit and reboot

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get install i2c-tools

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo nano /boot/config.txt

add or un-comment the lines

set dtparam=i2c1=on
dtparam=i2c_arm=on

to the file if not already done

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo nano /etc/modules

add the line
i2c-dev

at the end of the file if it does not already exist

To test i2c installation

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo i2cdetect -y 1
    0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  a  b  c  d  e  f
00:          -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
20: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
30: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
50: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
60: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
70: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Any connected devices will appear with their  address above.  For example , with the MAX AMP connected to the i2c bus and powered,  you should see


    0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  a  b  c  d  e  f
00:          -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
20: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
30: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4b -- -- -- --
50: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
60: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
70: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

You can write to the address  to change the volume by using the following

This sets volume on amp to 100%)
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset 1 0x4b 0x3f
This sets Volume to 0
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset 1 0x4b 0x00

If you have a sound file on the system, and the audio is connected to the amp, and speakers are pluged in you can use

pi@raspberrypi:~ $aplay <soundfile_name>

where <soundfile_name> is the path and name of your wav file.  The Distribution contains such files in the /home/pi/tardisClock/Sounds  directory  so you can return here to test fomr command line once you finish the installation if you don't already have a sound file on the system.

INstalling a RTC

 - you need to identify the chipset your RTC uses and modify the below to match , changing pcf2137  to the clock you are using
The clock I bought was a ds3231

Edit the file /boot/config.txt

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo nano /boot/config.txt

If you see the file /boot/overlays/i2c-rtc-overlay.dtb. To enable this add the following line to /boot/config.txt:

dtoverlay=i2c-rtc,pcf2127

If you see the file /boot/overlays/pcf2127-rtc-overlay.dtb. To enable this add the following line to /boot/config.txt:

dtoverlay=pcf2127-rtc

After restarting your Raspberry Pi the RasClock should be recognised and you can control it with the hwclock command.
------
2. Edit the file /lib/udev/hwclock-set

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo nano /lib/udev/hwclock-set


   Comment out or remove the three lines

if [ -e /run/systemd/system ] ; then
   exit 0
fi

AND

Comment out or remove the two lines which contain --systz
-----
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo hwclock -w

To read the time from the clock module:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo hwclock -r

To copy the time from the clock module to the system:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ pi@raspberrypi:~ $




Installing the latest node.js  - requires removing node red  

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get remove nodered
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get remove nodejs nodejs-legacy

For ARM6 based boards ( PI rev 1 Pi A , PI B+)

pi@raspberrypi:~ $wget http://node-arm.herokuapp.com/node_archive_armhf.deb
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo dpkg -i node_archive_armhf.deb
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get install build-essential python-dev python-rpi.gpio

For PI2 and Zero

pi@raspberrypi:~ $curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_4.x | sudo bash -
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get install -y build-essential python-dev python-rpi.gpio nodejs
pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo npm cache clean

Install NPM

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo apt-get install npm

pi@raspberrypi:~ $git clone git://github.com/jorwick/tardisClock

pi@raspberrypi:~ $cd /home/pi/tardisClock

pi@raspberrypi:~ $npm install

o

To Start tardis clock

node /home/pi/tardisClock/TARDISclock.js

Ctnl-C to quit.


-------------------- to run tardisClock as a service started automatically at boot

create a file called TARDISCLOCK.service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/TARDISCLOCK.service

Place the following text in that file.
[Unit]
Description=TARDISCLOCK
after=network.target

[Service]

WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/tardisClock
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node /home/pi/tardisClock/TARDISclock.js
Restart=always
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=TARDISCLOCK
User=root
Group=root
Environment=NODE_ENV=production

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target


---> then ctrl-x to exit nano, and answer y to save

then  activate the service using

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo systemctl enable TARDISCLOCK.service

to stop the service manually

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo systemctl stop TARDISCLOCK

to start it manually use

pi@raspberrypi:~ $sudo systemctl start TARDISCLOCK

I think my brain just imploded.

Dino.

Yeah, well, the point is you don't need to  understand it.  If you can type it in , my understanding becomes your TARDIS lights and sound project.. all you would do after you type all of this in is interact with it via the web interface.  I can probably write a script to do 90%  of this..  so I can get the install down to a few lines.. I think.. I just haven't done that yet. ( It is after all my first software distro and I am still learning the right ways to package everything up)    But if anyone wants to get started,  they can...

Jorwick, when you come up with a Plug & Play version, count me in. But there is no way that I would attempt this project. I'm with Dino, my old brain just couldn't handle it.  


Greg

Quote from: Bob's your Uncle on Jan 29, 2016, 05:17 am
Jorwick, when you come up with a Plug & Play version, count me in. But there is no way that I would attempt this project. I'm with Dino, my old brain just couldn't handle it.  

I did write a script, so there will be some improvement.. however,  Some of the " go find this in a file and comment it out" stuff  is probably unwise to have scripted - people who actually know what they are doing will edit those files and change them  and I can't assume they will always look the same.. I can investigate what it takes to do an app-get package...

In the meantime I could do is post  a 4-5 Gig Image File -  basically a copy of my "hard drive"  - in this case the Flash Card you put into the PI..  and you can use a free programs like SDFormatter and  win32diskimager  to prepare and "burn" the image to the card - just like you do with a CD.  Then pop the card in and "Bob's your Uncle" ( sorry couldn't resist)  -- you  have working software.   Of course,  someone still needs to do the hardware wiring.. First you format the card ( erasing the partitions)  and the nyou psuh the image onto it and then put it into the PI and boot.

Is the SD image  something "brain dead"  enough to make people happy for now? If so, I will look into finding a place to host the current image..

Quote from: galacticprobe on Jan 21, 2016, 04:40 pm
Jorwick, thanks to deck5 posting here (http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6545.0) I've been able to locate that Facebook page for that TARDIS from Timegate! The owner is located in Georgia (the US, not Russia), and his Facebook page us here: https://www.facebook.com/FourInTheTARDIS/. He does an great 11th Doctor and his wife is a magnificent River Song. I'm sure you can contact them via the Facebook page to ask him about the amazing sound system he uses. I hope this helps.

Dino.

And Four in the TARDIS replied:

"Surface transducers on the 1/4" thick walls (2 per wall and 2 on the roof, 8 total) and Aura bass transducer in the 1/2" thick floor. 200W max range sub amp for the bass, and a 4x45W for the main sound. Everything runs off 12 volts DC and we run 4 12v 12ah SLA batteries to power sounds and lights. Everything full blast will kill the batteries after about 4 hours. Just the main sound no base and it will run for about 12 hours and drop about 2 volts per battery seeing as it is just the hum and not a solid peak sound."


So  1/4 inch walls probably do a lot for this.., mine are 1/2 and I don't dare go any thinner with the livestock around..  But I went ahead and ordered a couple of Dayton Audio DAEX32EP-4 Thruster 32mm Exciter 40W 4 Ohm (it sounds so dirty doesn't it?)   and a fell set of Dayton Audio DAEX25FHE-4 Framed High Efficiency 25mm Exciter 24W 4 Ohm - one for each wall - giving me one large exciter and one small on each wall, and  will experiment with  a couple of cheap 45W amps (TDA7492 Digital Audio Amplifier Board 2x50W -http://www.ebay.com/itm/TDA7492-D-Class-High-Power-Digital-Amplifier-Board-2x50W-AMP-Board-with-Radiator-/141267388674?pt=US_Amplifier_Parts_Components&hash=item20e4314902) that were on sale for  $10 each.  I Might even be able to get them into the Case if I pull my little Amp out of there..  I still like my little AMP,  and I think it would be perfect for an indoor setup. But outside it just isn't carrying  as far as I had hoped. I am hoping adding additional transducers and running at 4 OHM  will make this more impressive.

Jorwick, I'm glad Four In The TARDIS was able to help you out. (They seemed like a really friendly bunch - at least the 11th Doctor owner and his River Song wife were; they let fans - and Colin Baker - have pretty much free run of that TARDIS the whole weekend, and answered any questions that were asked.)

As for the power for that sound system, while they had to run off of batteries (location: no outlets near where they set up), you could probably find one of those UPSes (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) that takes regular house power in and puts out +12 volts from its batteries. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the batteries running down, unless you have a blackout; then you'd probably get about 30 minutes from the batteries because those UPSes are small. But it is good once in a while to run the batteries down to exercise them, otherwise they develop what's called "battery memory", and think they don't need to hold much of a charge. Then if the power goes out the batteries only last a few minutes. It's one reason why we had a battery conditioner for the handheld radio batteries on my ship; the radios were always in the charger so they were "at the ready" at any time. So once a week we'd switch out the batteries and put them in the conditioner, which would run the batteries all the way down, give us a numerical value as to the battery's charging power, and then recharge the battery. Low numbers meant the battery only held a light charge, so any battery showing less than 100 was replaced. The average reading on a good battery was 750.

Anyway, I hope some of that babbling helped.

Dino.

Quote from: jorwick on Jan 20, 2016, 03:00 am

Assuming its the former, and I didn't miss the boat,  I would like to announce the Super scaled down , super easy, el-cheapo version.. (Schematic below)

You will need:

1) A Raspberry Pi v1 or v2 with  SD card ~ $40US
2) 2 Sparkfun kits (simple soldering ) ~ $8 US
3)300 LED strip lights ( which you can wrap around a wood cylinder to create your  light - at this point I am wondering why I didn't do that to begin with...  my fancy DC bulbs are not required. ) ~ $8 US for non-water proof reel of 300 lights...
4) 12v 2-5  amp power supply ~ $6-10 US
5) $10 WiFI USB dongle ( optional - doing wired Ethernet is free)


So if you provide your own amp and  speakers ( and maybe an enclosure, just to be safe - it could be a tupperware type container..)  and control via the web instead of physical buttons - this project is about $75 US... and you can turn off the clock if you think that is lame..  You don't need to have the automatic light sensor (but adding it is about $2 and 4 solder welds)  You don't need the physical buttons (but its about $2 to and 32 solder welds to add them) , or the real time clock or the fancy little i2c controlled AMP, - you  just that old boom box from the local garage sale and an internet connection.. ..  You might even have the power supply lying around from something else old, broken or forgotten. Depending on what you can scavenge, this could be a $50-60 US project, that would take a single weekend of work to complete. And you would have a full blown effects machine you can control from your phone. Come on - you built your own TARDIS. Its big. Its beautiful. It should talk.

I mean  its all good with me--  I got some useful learn'in  about Javascript and such , so it wasn't wasted effort.  I just want to give something back to the community if I can.. I certainly drew lots of inspiration and useful know how from here ( and I still slobber over TARDISGirl's machine) , and this looked like something there  wasn't -yet - an easy solution for. Every TARDIS deserves working sound and lighting effects.  Especially Yours. Because lets face it. YOUR  TARDIS is way cooler than mine. Mine covers a well and  it wasn't put together like furniture. It was put together in hope of withstanding Yaks rubbing against it. . Its not a work of art like the other stuff I see on here. Let my ugly TARDIS guts power your work of art? Please?

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Jorwick,

I just wanted to let you know that I am shortly going to begin the process of ordering all the parts necessary for your design and assembling it to use in our nearly completed TARDIS build. Your post was what inspired me to register for this forum. Your design is by far the best I have seen and will save me a lot of time since I will not have to start from scratch. I have some electrical and computer background so I hope that I don't have many issues putting it all together. I really like the enclosure for the electronics in your original post, along with the button controls, but I think I will use the light solution you have posted later. I also would like to stick with all PCB instead of the breadboard. Ultimately I would like to have manual controls in the tardis along with remote/wifi/phone controls, though the real time clock isn't something I necessarily need for what we are trying to do.

I would really like a method of communicating with you directly as I work on putting this all together. I have no experience with raspberry pi so I might run into some growing pains there. I looked for a way to PM you through the forum but was unable to find one, or a way to contact you via e-mail. Would you mind me communicating with you directly, and how would you like me to go about it?

Thank you for all your hard work. I can't wait to assemble what you have designed!

edit: Wonderful, it looks like the PM icon popped up after I made my first post on the forum.