3 ms·

Ha I love it! I love seeing old hardware hacked to bring it kicking and screaming into the modern world. This is why I love things like Arduino's. They a cheap

Ha I love it! I love seeing old hardware hacked to bring it kicking and screaming into the modern world. This is why I love things like Arduino's. They a cheap but so much fun. My daughter is 13 and I have been teaching her C (well the Arduino version of C) to make a clapper (clap to turn lights on and off) for her bedroom. She loves it and keeps coming up with ideas for things she wants to do. Future projects include an automatic curtain motor and a remote controlled lock for her desk based on if her phone is or is not near by. I don't know (or care tbh) if she will want to go into the world of computers for a job later in life but I am sure her knowledge of how computers work and not just how to login to Instagram will be benefit for her.

malnourish 11y ago
Awesome project idea! I actually wanted to make a clapper to trigger wake-on-lan. What type of mic/pickup are you using?
- kozukumi 11y ago
  We just picked up a cheap electret microphone from ebay. Was a few £.
StavrosK 11y ago
By the way, if you need to control anything that may rely on mains power, a very easy and safe way I've found is to use remote-controlled wall-plug switches and switch them on and off from the Arduino. You can find more info on my blog (check the RF/IR stuff): http://www.stavros.io/projects/ http://www.stavros.io/projects/
- kozukumi 11y ago
  We just went with a simple 240v/10a relay. I would prefer to use something a bit cleaner though so the remote switches look interesting. Cheers.
  - StavrosK 11y ago
    Yeah, I wouldn't mess with that sort of current directly, especially when children are involved and the thing would be close to other things inside the house, plus remote switches are great because of their range. They can easily go tens of meters with a few walls between them.
- kejaed 11y ago
  I have used the PowerSSR Tail at home and now at the office for switching mains power on and off with an Arduino, works quite nicely and comes in a nice little package. http://www.powerswitchtail.com/pages/powerssrtail.aspx http://www.powerswitchtail.com/pages/powerssrtail.aspx
  - StavrosK 11y ago
    That looks great as well, if a bit pricy. IIRC you can get four RC plugs for the same price.
Immortalin 11y ago
You can use the atmel avr SDK if you want to go more in-depth.

malnourish 11y ago

Awesome project idea! I actually wanted to make a clapper to trigger wake-on-lan. What type of mic/pickup are you using?

kozukumi 11y ago
We just picked up a cheap electret microphone from ebay. Was a few £.

StavrosK 11y ago

By the way, if you need to control anything that may rely on mains power, a very easy and safe way I've found is to use remote-controlled wall-plug switches and switch them on and off from the Arduino. You can find more info on my blog (check the RF/IR stuff): http://www.stavros.io/projects/ http://www.stavros.io/projects/

kozukumi 11y ago
We just went with a simple 240v/10a relay. I would prefer to use something a bit cleaner though so the remote switches look interesting. Cheers.
- StavrosK 11y ago
  Yeah, I wouldn't mess with that sort of current directly, especially when children are involved and the thing would be close to other things inside the house, plus remote switches are great because of their range. They can easily go tens of meters with a few walls between them.
kejaed 11y ago
I have used the PowerSSR Tail at home and now at the office for switching mains power on and off with an Arduino, works quite nicely and comes in a nice little package. http://www.powerswitchtail.com/pages/powerssrtail.aspx http://www.powerswitchtail.com/pages/powerssrtail.aspx
- StavrosK 11y ago
  That looks great as well, if a bit pricy. IIRC you can get four RC plugs for the same price.

Immortalin 11y ago

You can use the atmel avr SDK if you want to go more in-depth.