Donald Bell

Hallelujah! This looks promosing. Thank you!

Hey Scott! Sorry for the late reply. So cool that you got Bluetooth working. To clarify, I actually used a second Arduino with a simple smaller motor shield from Pololu to just run the tail back and forth now and then (nothing interactive). I just could figure out how to run both the mouth motor loop and the tail motor loop in parallel on the same board without slowing down the mouth motor sensitivity.

What could go wrong?!

Totally, check out Scott's warping infinity mirror project: https://www.instructables.com/id/Warping-Infinity-Mirror/

I expanded the existing holes with a step bit. I did not drill new holes.

Well, I do have a second rim! I just thought that black would provide a better contrast to the rainbow lights. But hey, I'll embrace full rainbow-pink-princess-power mode on the next one.

Great question! I came at this project just excited to find new uses for the scrap pieces from this bike. But the more people I show it to, I'm frequently asked if there's a way to make this so it can be usable as a functional bike wheel. I think the answer is that it's possible, but dangerous, because each new hole (not reinforced by a spoke) will only weaken the rim. On a bike traveling at high speed, that could be a dangerous point of failure.That said, if anyone was to attempt it, I'd suggest using this flatter style of weatherproof LED (https://www.adafruit.com/product/738) or (https://www.adafruit.com/product/3631). The slimmer profile would likely fit in the channel better and leave room for the tube.A more practical solution would be to apply it to the outside of the rim. I'm cu...

Great question! I came at this project just excited to find new uses for the scrap pieces from this bike. But the more people I show it to, I'm frequently asked if there's a way to make this so it can be usable as a functional bike wheel. I think the answer is that it's possible, but dangerous, because each new hole (not reinforced by a spoke) will only weaken the rim. On a bike traveling at high speed, that could be a dangerous point of failure.That said, if anyone was to attempt it, I'd suggest using this flatter style of weatherproof LED (https://www.adafruit.com/product/738) or (https://www.adafruit.com/product/3631). The slimmer profile would likely fit in the channel better and leave room for the tube.A more practical solution would be to apply it to the outside of the rim. I'm curious to try out some solutions. You can find my email in my bio and contact me directly. I think it would be neat to work on a project like that.

I think that I haven't had enough coffee! Now that you've got me thinking, what it really needs is a little servo-driven arm to close it up once it reaches a minimum light threshold. It's the twilight hours that confuse it.

Thanks Loek! You inspired me.

Thanks Audrey! I'm trying to make time for getting more projects up on Instructables. The content here provides so much for me, it's nice to give something back.

You bet. Though now that I'm looking closely at those AliExpress ones, I don't see any indication that the tail moves. Still, I'm curious to see how close it is to the original. It definitely would be great if there were a $15 source for these things.

Yeah, definitely shop used. I got this one as a discounted Used, as-is item from an amazon reseller. It arrived DOA, but I was going to tear it apart anyway, so no big deal. I recommend saving a search for "broken Billy Bass" on eBay and keeping an eye on the feed. Typically it's just a loose wire or shorted connection. Worst case, you've got parts for the next fish.

I eventually solved it the hard way by cramming a whole second Arduino in there just to handle the tail movement. It was a dumb and expensive way to pull it off, but someone made me an offer to buy one that I couldn't refuse, so I made it work. What I'm excited to try for another run at this is this technique for using a raspberry Pi Zero to both host Alexa and drive the motors. https://howchoo.com/g/otewzwmwnzb/amazon-echo-furby-using-raspberry-pi-furlexa I'm not sure if the mouth will be as responsive with this method, but I like the idea of everything being contained inside the Billy Bass.

For what it's worth, AliExpress has some knockoffs for around $15 that could be a good alternative (search for Singing Fish). I just ordered one to see if they're any good. So crazy that it somehow costs $1.50 to ship a new one from China, but it costs $15 to ship broken ones on eBay.

Perfect! I'm chopping up a bike this afternoon, actually, and now I'm inspired to save the spokes and different tube sections for some instruments. Are those bungee cords you're stringing up the pipes with?

Great Instructable, and I love your example instruments! So much personality. I clicked through to your site too, and I can't get over how cool that Bike Gamelan is. I'd love to see that one written up.

Beautiful work! I just wish those 3D printed clip STLs would materialize again. I have to imagine someone's made a comparable clip for these standard panels. If you have any leads, let me know. Thanks.

Right?! Now I'm looking for places locally to pickup hardwood veneer. I think MacBeath Hardwood in Berkeley has a good selection from what I remember. I think this would be a neat trick for making quick, but good looking hardware enclosures.

Thanks for including our conversation in your Instructable! Just know that it's never my expectation that you'll include these, but if you feel it adds value to your Instructable, I'm honored. Talk to you again soon!