uncanny eyes with Teensy 3.1

[pburgess]

Do the OLED displays come with headers or just the bare board? Any suggestions for cabling?

They do include row header pins (not soldered on by default). For breadboard use (with headers on both the Teensy and display) I'll use M-M jumpers. For other situations (like the Snake Eyes Bonnet for Pi, but again, headers installed on both ends) I've used F-F jumpers. If the situation allows for it though, the most noise- and trouble-resistant method is direct wiring from board to screen(s) using ribbon cable.

[mharnishfeger]

I reflowed the solder on those joints and checked the controller again. I'm thinking it is a bad display as I get nothing at all when power is supplied yet the display is receiving power. I would expect a flash or something but the display remains totally dark.

I ordered a couple more displays for another project so I will swap this one out to see if that is the issue. They should be here tomorrow.

Thanks!
Mark

[pburgess]

Sounding more like that's the problem, we'll replace it if that turns out to be the case. Let me know how the swap goes!

[mharnishfeger]

Yup, it was a bad TFT eye. I swapped in the new one and it came on and worked perfectly.

[pburgess]

Email [email protected] with a link to this post, they'll send out a replacement TFT (P/N 2088).

Thanks for doing the swap test, that always makes things like 100X more certain!

[flightrisk]

The notes mention that there is code specific to the teensy. Does that mean it won't run on an UNO?

[pburgess]

Correct, the code relies on both the speed and memory of the Teensy board. Won't work on Uno, at all, not even close.

[flightrisk]

This may not be easy since the displays use the mirror function, but it might be cool to do "cookoo eyes" where the eyes roll in opposite directions out of sync with each other. They can roll easily enough together.

[mrhume]

Hi PBurgess, I love this project and plan to make it, thanks for creating it!

I know this is a very basic question, but I can’t seem to find where to get the 28 gauge rainbow cable. Can you please point me in the right direction? I think I might be searching for the wrong terms or something.

Thanks again

[bborastero]

try this
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1M-3-3f ... 5c415a8fbf

[mrhume]

Thanks for that. I didn't realize you could buy a larger roll and then just peel off as many as you need. It seems obvious, in hindsight....

thanks again!

[pburgess]

If you're in a hurry, here's a stateside source:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... -ND/686313

Oh hey, SparkFun has it as well, search for "ribbon cable".

In either case, get the 10-conductor stuff and peel away three wires.

[mrhume]

That's perfect, actually, I do need it a bit sooner.

On a different subject, I'm planning to use these eyes in a Halloween wreath, and I'd like them to activate when someone gets close enough. Any thoughts on how to achieve this? I know this was covered earlier in this support thread, but I didn't quite understand what the solution was. Can I just attach a motion sensor to an arduino, and then turn on the power to the teensys when it's activated? Would that work?

Also, can power this project with a USB powerbank? Or do I need to get the LiPoly backpack?

Thanks again for your help (and patience with my beginner questions)!

[pburgess]

Sure, an Arduino switching on the Teensy would work fine, if that's easier than rummaging around in the eye code.

USB power bank works fine. Leave out the LiPo backpack in that case, and power both displays off the Teensy's 'USB+' pin (the slightly inset pin near the USB connector).

[mrhume]

It hadn't occurred to me to try to use the code, but if it's simpler, I'm game! Can you please suggest the best kind of motion detector for this? Would a PIR sensor be a good choice?

If I try using the code, would I just want to treat the motion detector as a kind of switch, essentially? How difficult would it be to incorporate some sort of timer in there, so it shuts down once no motion is detected for a while? As you can tell, I'm a total beginner, but I do have experience lifting code from other projects and using it for my own purposes, so if this is an easy programming task, I can probably kludge it together.

thanks again for all the help