Add some colorful LEDs to your Hanukkah celebration!
The Evil Mad Scientist’s Mega Menorah 9000 is an updated take on the traditional hanukkiyah, a nine-armed Hanukkah candelabrum. But instead of candles, this DIY kit swaps out flames for ultra-bright LEDs capable of producing all kinds of colors and flickery effects.
The Mega Menorah 9000 has an Adafruit Trinket (ATtiny85) at its heart, and is powered by either USB or a 5V DC source. The device is USB programmable via the MCU’s built-in interface.
“No additional hardware is needed (other than the computer and standard USB cable), and you can use the Arduino IDE or avrdude (with some config changes). Our example code (standard firmware) is available for download and is written as an Arduino program, making use of the Lightweight WS2812 library,” EMSL writes.
When turned on, the menorah displays the correct configuration of LED “candles” (just without all that wax) for each night of Hanukkah. Every time that a user presses the “night” button or plugs it in, the ATtiny85 based candelabrum will trigger one more light than it had the previous time. The LEDs are lit up in the traditional sequence, each with a candle-like fade.
The Menorah Mega 9000 features a candle lighting sequence, which allows a user to adjust the brightness level and dim intensity, turn on/off flicker mode, as well as enhance its beauty with one of 24 built-in color combinations. And for the more elegant folks, despair not! This DIY hanukkiyah is equipped with blue/white blinky modes. To change the tone, simply press the “color” button.
“From a control standpoint, it’s awfully nice that they’re managed by just a single pin of the microcontroller, and have the built-in ICs to handle colors and dimming,” EMSL notes.
The Mega Menorah 9000 ships as a soldering kit and includes a pair of circuit boards: an oval-shaped one that holds the MCU, USB jack and control buttons, and another carved in the likeness of a menorah with nine RGB LEDs and connectors.
When completed, the accessory makes for an excellent holiday centerpiece. Measuring just 6” tall and 7.5” wide, the menorah can rest easily on any window sill, mantel or wherever else its creator desires. But perhaps one of, if not, the coolest things about this unit is that it boasts a unique “Trompe-l’œil” PCB design. Although it is actually flat, this gives the illusion of a rounded 3D surface.
Interested? Head over to Evil Mad Scientist’s official page here. In the meantime, happy holidays!
Atmel | Bits & Pieces 