Ukulele LED Light

Hi,
In this instructable I am going to show you how to create Ukulele LED Light that changes color.

Step 1: Materials

For this instructable you only need a few things.
Materials
LED- I used a 10mm RGB self cycling LED. 20-50 Cents. You can take an LED pretty much any old electronic device or buy them online. Radio shack sells them normal (non RGB) LEDs for an arm and a leg.
Coin Cell Battery- I used the CR2032. Very Common. You can get them at radio shack or online. Even Big Grocery Stores have them. They cost any where from 7 cents a piece online to close to $5 dollars at radioshack. Here is one of many stores online with cheap batteries.
Electrical tape- About 5cm. You could even use duct tape.
Magnet- You need at least 2 maybe more depending on size and strength. I would recommend a rare earth magnet. They are really strong, and pretty cheap. You can get them online or cannibalize them out of old toys, hard drive or any number of electronics. They only cost pennies for small ones. _{,There are some really big ones that cost a lot though. ($100s of dollars!!)},
Magnetic Switch- I used one that I took off of an old sliding door. It was used for a security system. You need the type that is on in the presence of a magnetic field. You can buy these online, at radioshack or at your local hardware store. ( Please Shop local, no big box stores. Big Box stores are evil!!!) They cost about $3.
Ukulele or Guitar- You could use any hollow body guitar or Ukulele. It is probably not a great idea to stick magnets next to your guitar if it has pickups because it could screw it up.

Optional
Solder and Soldering Iron- This makes the connection that much better.

Comments

[doobuzz]

Great instructable, im definitely going to try that on my uke

[joejoerowley]

Thanks! Let me know how it turns out:)

[masterochicken]

What kind of uke is that? I have a Makala.

[joejoerowley]

I am not exactly sure. I got it for my brother for about $30 at guitar center.

[masterochicken]

That's about how much mine costs but yours looks much nicer.

[T3h_Muffinator]

Nice one, joe - next step is to analyze the type of notes/volume/music being played, and change the colors of a 3anode RGB led based on mood =P

[joejoerowley]

Thanks, that would be amazing. I was thinking of tapping into the pickup of a guitar and then using TIP31 to trigger the LEDs but it would be nice to have it actually change based on the volume. Maybe for a guitar 6 RGBs LEDs that each blink at the exact frequency the note is. That way you are actually visualize the note. I bet I could do your idea with an arduino. What do you think the best route is? Thanks

[T3h_Muffinator]

No Problem!

I don't have an arduino, but I use AVR's so yeah, I'd go that route. ATM I'm working on a new LED shirt, but perhaps in the future =D I really like the freq visualization idea, it sounds awesome!

[joejoerowley]

Thanks. I don't really know how to program so I am just kind of stumbling through it. If I figure out how to do of these ideas I will post them. Thanks Oh yeah what does "ATM" stand for besides Automatic teller machine? Thanks

[T3h_Muffinator]

At The Moment ;)

If you want help with programming (straight AVR, I don't use arduino) in C - or if you need a little boost to get you going, I can help.

Feel free to ask/PM me =)

[joejoerowley]

Thanks so much. It really means a lot to me that you offer to help. Once I get a little free time maybe this summer I will work on it. Thanks so much. Thank you Joe

[pyro13]

at the radio shack here you can get 10 for 3$

[joejoerowley]

What, the switches or the LEDs or the batteries? Thanks

[gmoon]

OK--a little off-the-wall, but cool anyway!

[joejoerowley]

Thanks!!!!

[GorillazMiko]

That's awesome! You used the "!" a little too much, but it was funny. This is still awesome, great job, look forward to doing this if I get the pieces. +1 rating.

[joejoerowley]

OK_{! For picture comments I use "!" a lot.Thanks!}