December kit builds: Noisy Lasers!

Welcome to the last of the 2023 December of kit builds.
Today we've got lasers. Ok, LED lasers, but still... Lasers!
And it's musical too!
Want to build this kit yourself?
Here's where I got mine: pileofstuff.ca...
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This isn't the only way to do it.
It's probably not the best way to do it.
But it's how I did it.

[@Multi-Skill-Bill]

Neat little toy! And, it comes with LEDs. What's not to like.

[@sebastian19745]

It seems to me that the left push-button change the octave, thing indicated by those 3 LEDs. Stay safe and a Happy New Year!

[@pileofstuff]

I was hoping so, but all that button does is start the auto-play. The LED associated with it does indicate additional notes in the pre-programmed song that aren't available on the "keyboard".

[@DavidPlass]

The right button seemed to do that.

[@fredflintstone1]

what a great gift to give to the kids of a neighbour you don't like, the kids could then drive them crazy playing with it 🙂

[@DavZell]

Cheaper and easier to give them vuvuzelas!

[@fredflintstone1]

@@DavZell yes as long as they are detatched neighbours 🙂

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

At least if you turn one laser upwards they could turn a blind eye to how bad they're playing 🙂

[@fredflintstone1]

@@TheEmbeddedHobbyist indeed 🙂

[@frankowalker4662]

I love these kit build vids. 👍 The first of those two buttons plays a song, the second button changes the octave of the note that you are playing. Happy New Year.

[@jjab99]

I really like these videos and I enjoy building along with you. Sometimes I build the same kit and sometimes a different kit, but it's just a fun way to spend some time chilling out and making something that some/most of the time works. Take care, have fun and stay safe in 2024 everyone, Joe

[@pileofstuff]

That is awesome! If I can find the time, I'd like to do one as a live stream, but that may have to wait until I retire from the day job.

[@HazeAnderson]

That would make a really cool interface for generating MIDI CC to effect synths and things ... Happy New Year! 🥳

[@sparkyprojects]

No isea why GM for the photoresistors, maybe something to do with a language translation Photoresistors are normally cadmium sulphide (cds), so it's not an abbreviation of that. And there's 'Y' for the crystal instead of X

[@DavZell]

A quick search brought up results showing a photoresistor series where the part numbers begin with GM. Just search for: gm photoresistor.

[@RonDogInTheHouse]

Thanks for the past year of videos. What to change? NOTHING! Keep up the good work. Great advice "respect the notch" 😇

[@stealthbanana]

I hav had one of these in my kit box since way before Covid. I really should make it.

[@pileofstuff]

It's a lot less daunting than I imagined. Getting the lasers lined up was the only tricky part, and even that wasn't all that hard.

[@whitesapphire5865]

A bowler hat and a London black cab. In the USA, they'd call the hat a "Derby hat"..... I have no idea what Canadians would call it. Either way, neither items are particularly representative of England, just that part which is encircled by the M25 motorway.

[@pileofstuff]

If they;'re going to use a "mind the gap" reference, at least they could use the tube map graphic - or the station sign...

[@whitesapphire5865]

@@pileofstuff Good point! Although "Mind The Gap" also appears on many ordinary train station platforms as well.

[@onecircuit-as]

Great kit, nice build! 👍😀

[@dennis2494]

Some models Railroad projects for both AC/Lionel and DC / HO trains and their layouts.

[@OldBaloo33]

Happy New Year and thank you for the great videos!!!

[@pileofstuff]

Same to you!

[@retireeelectronics2649]

Neat kit, hopefully Santa was good to you and have a happy New Year

[@escheytt9326]

Enjoyed the year with you. Have and Happy New Year and look forward to your sharing of knowledge and fun in 2024. Best regards.

[@devttyUSB0]

I wish you a great 2024 Mr. Stuff, thanks for all your videos!

[@erikburman530]

I built that kit several months ago. You got me onto the habit of collecting and building AliExpress/Banggood DIY kits. I've got bin full of them, just like you do, waiting for me to get to them. I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work! BTW I have used these cheap but functional kits to teach other interested young people how to solder, through hole and SMD. They are great for educational purposes! I like the little Chinese melodies. Too bad they don't give access to the code.

[@markfergerson2145]

The way the lasers are mounted strikes me as somewhat restrictive. I’d be tempted to extend the optical path with mirrors or just longer standoffs to make it more harp-like. I noticed that you made no wiring errors. You’re probably right in that practice approaches perfection. I also noticed more kits lying in the bin all dejected that they weren’t chosen. A kit build thrown in randomly, or just for holidays, would go over well. Happy new year.

[@danman32]

I was going to say something similar. Only 4 Fridays in December isn't going to get all those collected kits built

[@pileofstuff]

I usually do the occasional one throughout the year. There's a playlist of them linked at the end of the video.

[@tinygriffy]

Thanks for all the kit builds ! Looking forward to the end of next year ;) .. or maybe you could consider a 1st of the month kit build or something ;)

[@pileofstuff]

I usually do one or 2 randomly through the year. There's a playlist of all my kit builds from the past few years linked at the end of this video.

[@jerril42]

Thanks again. I hope you have a safe and Happy New Year. Take care. 🍺 Cheers!

[@RottnRobbie]

Just out of curiosity, I looked up the microcontroller datasheet. It doesn't have an ADC, so no analog inputs.

[@paulcabrelli1863]

I have enjoyed your kit builds this month. Great fun. A happy new year for 2024 to you and your family.

[@lahtinenk]

I wonder if that 10 uF is for reset delay?

[@pileofstuff]

That makes sense.

[@Palmit_]

i wonder is it is polyharmonic? that way you could use a bit of a template to cover some holes all at once. also i think it MAY have a recording function???

[@pileofstuff]

No, it's strictly monophonic. I tried to do chords and harmonies, but it just muted when the second note is added.

[@Palmit_]

pants 😢@@pileofstuff Oh well. Happy New Year! and thank you! :)

[@shagreobe]

They should have had 8 lasers so you have a full octave. Pretty neat kit though

[@pileofstuff]

That surprised me too. There are lots of extra GPIO pins available on the microcontroller.

[@loveminis31]

This kit is grand indeed. I have watched you solder so many parts however now I have a question. Do you pull off a certain amount of solder and work with that or you a I can use it off the roll kind of guy. Yes I know seems like a strange question but I want to know. I have worked in places that have actually controlled such a thing.

[@pileofstuff]

I use it on the roll. Never understood why people break off a bit, use it down to a short piece you can't hold, then break off another piece.

[@DavZell]

​@@pileofstuffI'm sure this isn't a universal reason, but I have done it due to fine motor skills/dexterity issues, in my case from a permanent disability.

[@johncoops6897]

For info... I break off about 10-12" then roll it around 2 fingers to make a mini-roll. The main reason is that my solder rolls are far too heavy to constantly hold in one hand, and I often solder in free-air like BigClive. Having a long string of solder hanging on the bench between roll and hand is very restrictive and messy! Consider what it is like to use a cordless phone, compared to having one with a cord 😂

[@dhultgren1]

Instead of Winnipeg beers, how about doing Winnipeg whiskeys for 2024? 😏

[@pileofstuff]

AFAIK, there's only a couple of local distilleries and only one of them does a whisky. And it's sold out...

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

If only there was a small circuit that would keep the voltage on the LASER Diodes at the proper voltage otherwise the diodes will burn out.

[@DavZell]

"Lazeds" or "Ledzers"

[@happysprollie]

"Any other pokey bit"? No, please don't go there...