Introduction: Re-active Jewelry

About: Handmade jewelry's artist. Open for new and fresh ideas.

Thought to cross electronics and jewelry - it is very strongly old. Therefore when we remembered it, search gave a large number of works in this respect. However, often, electronic jewelry was meant as jewelry from electronics - the payment pieces dressed in an epoxide, elements, pendants chips.


We wanted to make LED jewelry. Not such as in the Chinese toys which sell at every turn because in them everything is rather uninteresting - there are several programs of blinking switched by the button, and something is more difficult and more interesting. For example, the running fires reacting to surrounding lighting burning more brightly in the dark and which are growing dull on the light. Or flickering in a step to surrounding music. Or changing color depending on the temperature around. Or showing a warm rhythm of the carrier. In other words, we wanted some active reaction.

Step 1: Prepare

For repetition of an electronic part it will be required to you:

  • set for soldering (the soldering iron, tweezers, solder, gumboil, a workplace, electricity);
  • Attiny85 programmer (it is possible to collect most according to the instruction - or to buy complete);
  • Arduino IDE;
  • the project documentation and the source code - everything is found out on Github;
  • set a component, it is BoM (it is possible to download from here for version 1, another will be a bit different) by the number of devices with a twenty-percentage above, fine details have property to be lost and it is necessary to be bought;
  • electronic supermarket nearby or in post availability;
  • the experienced electronics engineer nearby who can issue the instruction below.

Attention! Installation of components happens by means of the soldering iron, careless handling of which can lead to burns and the fires. Please, refrain from experiments if you have no sufficient experience in this area.

IMPORTANT NOTE: you can see v1, v2 and v3 folders in the repository. We strongly recommend using the latest one cause it's bug-free.

Step 2: Make Electronic Path

The sequence of steps for receiving the working device follows:

  1. For a start it is necessary to order printed circuit boards:
    1. follow SeedStudio Fusion Gallery project page - v1 , v3
    2. press the Order boards button - the panel in which it is necessary to choose an only quantity. It is generally simpler to order 10 pieces - will not make less.
    3. pay and wait for production and delivery (usually 3-4 weeks);
  2. Order components from BOM file
    1. make the order for the nearest electronic supermarket. Special attention should be paid on a form factor of resistors and condensers and also quantity. It makes sense to take all positions with a twenty-percentage stock - in order to avoid loss and marriage;
    2. it makes sense to order some positions on AliExpress or something like it:
      1. SK2812 mini (on the website are marked as 3535)
      2. photoresistors;
      3. CR2032 battery holders.
  3. prepare a workplace:
    1. install Arduino IDE;
    2. install support of Attiny microcontrollers in IDE - it is the best of all to make it according to the instruction;
    3. download the project files;
    4. open light_jewelry.ino (ore another .ino file for current version) file in Arduino IDE;
    5. choose in parameters of "Attiny85, 8 MHz", as a programmer - control of that programmer which you use (as rule - "Arduino as ISP");
    6. try to compile and stitch the microcontroller which was purchased at the previous stage;
    7. if everything worked well and IDE did not give out - it is possible to stitch other microcontrollers and to pass to the following stage;
  4. When printed circuit boards have arrived it is necessary to make installation (soldering) of components, taking into account the following nuances:
    1. the key of OLED on the board actually is in an opposite corner of a square (a design error in version 1, fixed in version 3), i.e. it is necessary to mount with turn by 180 degrees;
    2. it is better to bite off legs of the microcontroller before installation on the narrowest part, thus the chip will be on the minimum high;
    3. it is better to mount the photoresistor on long legs that then it was possible to bend it to avoid the self-emit;
    4. it is better to bite off a number of legs of the switch which is not involved in the scheme;
    5. the battery holder before soldering it is necessary to smooth out properly in the field of contacts, it improves solder;
    6. under minus contact of the battery, it is better to apply a little solder on the platform - the existing metallization does not provide good contact;
    7. do not forget to wash after installation gumboil and, perhaps, to cover the front panel with protective lacquer;
  5. If all previous points passed successfully, then after installation of the battery in the device and inclusion LEDs on the panel will consistently light up red, green and blue - an indicator that the microcontroller was successfully started. Otherwise, the cheerful stage of debugging is necessary to you, first of all, it is necessary to check the connection between layers on board (we as you remember, had a manufacturing defect).

Step 3: Add Decoration.

In general, the ready device is serviceable after assembly. But it will be not as beautiful as if to give it a type of the finished product, having applied traditional methods of creation of beads jewelry.

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