Tequila Bottle + Cigar Box + Arduino = Cool Night Light

We love recycling beautiful things and we love Arduino, so we decided to combine the two into something useful and fun! We took a Tequila bottle, a cigar box, and Arduino Uno, and a few everyday components and created a light sensitive night light.

There are a myriad of ways to achieve this, but this is simple, straight forward and easy to achieve for those new to electronics and a fun inspiration for those that use electronics everyday. Feel free to use a plug if you choose to connect to an outlet or a solar panel and rechargeable batteries outside.

Step 1: What You Need....

Empty bottle: we chose a Tequila bottle as it had an appealing shape and casts a nice light/shadow for my tastes.

Empty box: we chose a cigar box

Drill and small bit

Soldering Iron and Solder

Double Sided Tape

Glue Gun

Battery Holder with Barrel Jack Connector : We chose 8 x AA for ours. You can use 9V, AAA, AA if you prefer. **You MUST have at least 5V going to Arduino

Arduino Uno: You could use other microcontrollers as well as 'Arduino Compatible' knockoffs to keep costs down.

400 Point Breadboard - Self-Adhesive

Assorted male-male Jumper Wires

4.7KΩ Resistor

LDR(Light Dependent Resistor)

White Piranha LED (you can use any LED, we just like the brightness of this type) Here is a video of differnt types of LED's.

Small gauge hookup wire

*HOW you cut glass is up to you and there are many online ideas and methods of how to do this. GLASS CUTTING IS DANGEROUS so please be careful. We use a Dremel with a tile cutting blade with plenty of running water.

**You can these items at multiple places online and we simply use Sparkfun links as a guide

Step 2: Cut Your Glass

HOW you cut glass is up to you and there are many online ideas and methods of how to do this.

GLASS CUTTING IS DANGEROUS so please be careful.

We use a Dremel with a tile cutting blade with plenty of running water.

Step 3: Prep the LDR and the Pirahna LED

LDR's and Piranha LED's are made to sit close onto the breadboard and we need to extend their legs. We achieve this by simply soldering 6-10 inch pieces of small gauge hook up wire to extend the legs.

We do recommend marking the legs of the Piranha LED so you know the orientation.

We also recommend using electrical tape or heat shrink to insulate the LDR's legs.

Step 4: Drill Holes in Box

Draw one hole in the middle of box for the Piranha LED.

Draw one hole toward the front for the LDR.

Step 5: Create the Circuit

Here is a closeup and our Fritzing diagram.

Step 6: Should Look Like This...

Almost there!

Step 7: Code Your Arduino

Unplug the battery pack and plug your Arduino into your computer. Here is the code we used, simply cut and paste.

int ldrPin = A0;
unsigned int ldrValue = 0;

void setup ()

{ pinMode(13, OUTPUT); Serial.begin(9600);

}

void loop()

{

ldrValue = analogRead(ldrPin);

if (ldrValue<200) digitalWrite(13, HIGH);

else digitalWrite(13,LOW);

}

Step 8: Run the Code and Test the Circuit

If it works put everything in the box and allow the Piranha LED and the LDR to go through. Feel free to remove the adhesive backing paper from the breadboard and adhere it to the bottom of the box. We used a bit of double sided tape for the battery pack and the Arduino.