Introduction: LittleBits Arduino at Heart SOS/All Is Well Beacon

By Cicero Maker Club
About: We've been active for over a year, and we've made a ton of stuff. Thanks to Instructables for being an awesome source of project ideas!

This Instructable is for an LED beacon that flashes SOS or All Is Well using Morse code. It uses several littleBits, including the new-ish Arduino at Heart module. It was based on the if statement Arduino example (included in the Arduino environment download) and the Instructable SOS signal with an arduino.

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Step 1: First, Build Your Circuit!

You will need the following bits:

  • power (p1), plus the battery cord and battery
  • slide dimmer (i5)
  • Arduino at Heart (w6 arduino), plus the USB cord that comes with it
  • wire (w1), optional
  • rgb LED (03)

Hook up your bits in the manner shown. I have the slide dimmer connected to a0 and the wire/LED connected to d5, but there are probably different ways you can set up this circuit (if you change it, you will need to modify the Arduino file).

Step 2: Next, Hook Your Arduino Module Up to Your Computer

This is assuming that you have the Arduino environment downloaded to your computer. Make sure you select Arduino Leonardo as the board, and select the correct port. You may need to download some additional drivers depending on how your computer is set up. I won't repeat all the things that can go wrong here - there are really great troubleshooting resources available at Arduino Troubleshooting and at littleBits.

Upload the file for the SOS/All is Well Beacon to your board:

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Step 3: That's It!

Pretty simple! You can switch between the two Morse code messages by changing the setting on the dimmer switch.

If you want to get fancy, you can house the circuit in something more "beacon-like". We had a balsa wood lighthouse-type structure available (courtesy of ogel, a CiceroDIY member - thanks ogel!). The LED bit was rigged up inside using only a small glue dot.

You could try making an even fancier and more effective housing for this project by including mirrors to increase the range of the LED. It's pretty bright on it's own though!