Feel-The-Code Reader - Part 2: LED Hardware

Feel-The-Code (F-T-C) is a vibra-tactile Morse Code text reader. It has a software component and a hardware component. Its purpose is to make it possible to read any text file silently and without looking at the computer. With F-T-C a person who is blind can read text easily and unobtrusively.

Part 1 of the project described the free F-T-C software (Pic 2) and how to use it. I would suggest you read that IBL before you start to building the the vibra-tactile display.

Part-1: Software

Part-3-Amp-Hardware

The hardware vibra-tactile component (Pic 3) described here is based on a LED controller harvested from a USB keyboard. It can be built for as little as $25 even if you have to buy all the parts. It is compact and portable so it can be carried from PC to PC.

Some soldering to small electronic parts is required so review one of the IBLs on soldering if you are new to this. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/

Step 1: Tools and Parts

Required:

Small side cutter
Small pliers
20-40 Watt soldering iron (RadioShack #64-2184)
Rosin-core solder (RadioShack #64-009 )
Small screw drivers
Drill with 1/8" and 1/4" bits
Knife
Hacksaw or other fine-toothed saw
Tape measure

Optional, but handy:

Wire stripper
Volt-ohm meter
Hot glue gun and sticks

Miscellaneous Parts:

Hookup wire 24 or 30 guage stranded
Fix-all adhesive (Dollar Tree) $1
Foam sheet from hobby store saved from packing material
Electrical tape

Parts for relay box:

USB (wired, NOT wireless) Keyboard (Walmart ONN brand) $10
Project Enclosure 4"X2"X1" (RadioShack #270-1802) $4
Relay 5VDC (RadioShack #275-0232) $4
Jack mono or stereo 1/8" (RadioShack #274-0249) $3

Parts for haptic tip:

Vibra-tactile motor 3VDC (RadioShack #273-0107) $4
(or from cheap battery-powered toothbrush - Pic 3)
CVPC 1/2" pipe and end caps or any small container like a pill bottle
Plug and wire (Dollar Tree myTunes 1/8" Extension Cable) $1