Week 8: Output Devices

Prior Experience: 2/5

I have some experience using output devices such as a LED, RGB LED, and TFT screen in 6.08.

The Idea

I wanted to do something with a speaker because I've never worked with them before, and it seems like it could be applicable for my final project idea. I will just be connecting an amplifier module (MAX98357A) and speaker to a microcontroller.

PCB Design

I designed the following very simple PCB. It consists of the XIAO ESP32S3 and 7 pads to connect to the amplifier. I couldn't find the library file for the amplifier, so I ended up just using a 1x7 connector which shoud have the same dimensions/positions. The amplifier will have a wired connection to the speaker.

PCB Milling

Unforunately, the mill kept breaking down. It would stop in the middle of the job. Restarting the mill/computer/software worked for a bit, but the issue kept re-occuring. Alec was also not sure about how to fix this issue.

The Second Idea

Since the mill was broken, I decided to add an output device to a PCB that I had already made. I still wanted to do something that will help me with my final project. I decided to use the Neopixel strip, which will be used to light up the lamp for my final project.

Soldering

I decided to attach the Neopixel strip to my existing PCB board with a XIAO ESP32S3. The end of the light strip had to be stripped so that I could solder onto the pads. I used three jumper wires to solder the three connections (5V, ground, and input) between the light strip and the microcontroller. Soldering the wire onto the light strip was a little tricky because the light strip was flexible.

Programming

I programmed the strip to light up as the color indicated by the puzzle in my final project. I used the FastLED library to control the colors. It was relatively straightforward and I thought it's pretty neat that you can control all of the lights individually through just one GPIO pin.

Demo

Files