Introduction: Rage Glass - the Weather Forecasting Lamp That Simulates Real Endure Conditions!

Forthwith you can take back a little piece of the alfresco and place IT on your nightstand. The Violent storm Glass really recreates the weather conditions foreign to give way you a weather forecast for the day. It does this by checking the weather periodically online, and if it's a rainy day you rump expect to see some rain descending in the Storm Glass Lamp. If it's partially cloudy you should see some clouds forming and some sun interspersed present and there.

This project was inspired by the open tempescope, but it was adapted for off-the-shelf parts. An added bonus is that it costs a lot to a lesser extent also.

The Storm Glass lamp is hopped-up by a $10 Raspbery Private eye Zero W small-controller which has built in WLAN to check the weather, and some Io pins that give up you to control the various parts. Fit to dive in? Here is what you call for to puzzle started:

  • Raspberry Principal investigator Zero W (Make sure it has the W for wifi and Bluetooth support)
  • Speaker Bonnet from Adafruit for easy connection and sound
  • Glass water bottle
  • Mini ultrasonic USB diffuser/humidifier
  • Mini 5V water pump (Brushless for quiet mathematical process.)
  • 12 Neopixel LED ring
  • 2.5 amp micro USB power supply
  • 4GB Micro SD card or greater
  • Ii TIP 120 transistors
  • Deuce 2.2K resistors
  • Lots of warming glue
  • Tubing for moving water about
  • Some 3D written parts

All the parts track down off of 5v so no power converters are required, and information technology conveniently fire be limited via the raspberry protease inhibitor. In-all it shouldn't cost more than $80 in parts.

Step 1: Print the Parts

I designed a Base where we can business firm the Raspberry Pi microcontroller as well as some speakers for sound. It also holds a mike and the extra electronics that we put together for the motors to interface with the Boo Principal investigator. (More connected that later.)

We also have a rump cap with the integrated supports to hold the speakers and electronics in lieu. It press fits into the bottom of the base, and it has an allowance for the power corduroy to route done.

The top ceiling press fits over the glass feeding bottle. This take off is critical equally it contains all the holes for the water to flow away of to produce the pelting effect. Information technology besides connects to the thermionic vacuum tube which brings the water up to the lid. It does ask to be removable to fill information technology rising with water supply as needed.

We likewise have the second glass cap that does quite lot. It is the main body that houses the unhearable diffusor, the lights, a small water reservoir, the holes for the drainage and the rain tube, and connected the bottom information technology interfaces with the pump. Information technology also press fits into the body which allows you to meet the glass and then press it all at once without screws.

In total at that place are five written parts. The two glass bottle lids, the base, the bottom cap and a diminished retaining ring that is wont to hold the ultrasonic Mr. into place.

Step 2: Sanding and Finish

For finishing I used a belt sander to remove each the 3D printed ridges from the parts. Past I gave them a finish sanding by hand out. After a a couple of coats of blusher it really started to look great. Unfortunately, I sprayed an acrylic finish over it and for whatever reason it bubbled a mickle indeed I ended up sanding some of information technology off. Either means I got my parts and I was happy enough with them so on to the next step!

Footfall 3: Colligate Electronics

Don't let the wires horse around ya. This really isn't as complicated as it looks. We hold the raspberry private detective with the IO pins. The speaker bonnet plugs right into those, and IT conveniently has all the solder points thereon for easy soldering of the other components.

The Neopixel LED ring was connected low gear. It requires a positive 5V as well as a flat coat connection and a signal connection that has to beryllium connected to a PWM enabled personal identification number. I used oarlock 13 because it uses a disjunct TV channel from the speaker bonnet. (More on this later.)

The LED neopixel lights are a lot of fun to work with. These lights can be programmed to display any color and animation you could imagine. They besides put out a pedigree amount of shallow. Seriously, don't stare too long it kind of hurts.

Then you rightful direct the LED ring and the diffusor into their like places. Don't forget to cut a bit put together of foam to act as a wick for the diffuser. (I impartial used some felt perch and shoved it into the little hole under the diffuser.) I also poured some wanted glue on top of the LED ring to water trial impression it. I also used the heat gun to re-melt it and set out the gum to flow finer. Then I ironed the diffusor retaining ring into place.

Information technology's non very good practice to connect things directly to a boo pi, but since it's just $10 I thought I would give it a examine. From what I read connecting to the 5v DC and GND on the Zero is like connecting now to the power cater. The Pi Cipher does not take the same voltage regulation and protective cover that the others coif. I calculated that the setup would pull about 2.5 amps and then we are really running at the limits of the Raspberry Pi and the power supply.

Therewith said, the rain pump and cloud generator pauperization to be controlled past one of the turnout General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) pins which only output 3.3V so we need to hyerbolise that impressive by victimization a transistor. I used a Peak 120 Power transistor to switch the higher 5V on and off. (Notice I used a 2.2K resistance on the illegitimate for each GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi Zero.)

You by all odds want a resistor present our you May draw besides so much current from the output pins for good damage them. It's also probably a good idea to put on a diode on the pump motive to eliminate any emf spike from flowing back into the GPIO pins. I likewise had some problems with the inaudible driver board which sometimes caused some interference. I tried bridging the power leads to the board with a ceramic electrical condenser with good results. I admit I omitted the electrical condenser on the cloud generator and the diode for the pump in the final build, but I would recommend you at to the lowest degree consider adding them. Past once more if something burns up it's just $10 bucks. I know, I know, sometimes I alike to unrecorded on the edge.

The rain maker is a midget 5v centrifuge pump I got online, which pumps water along some glass tubing and into the lid where the rain fall from. I simply used copious amounts of glue to hold it in place nether the lowermost detonating device which houses the water reservoir. I then soldered the leads to the motor to the +5 V on the verbalizer bonnet, and so the found was soldered onto the puny transistor board I put together. I kept getting small leaks indeed I just glued the whole efferent on as wellspring as the tubing that connects to the pass.

The cloud generator is an USB powered supersonic diffuser/humidifier. I just pulled out the guts and got free of the rest. Realise for sure to keep the electronics which create the unhearable signal which drives the diffusor. I engaged the positive and destructive on the ultrasonic number one wood board to the +5v along the speaker bonnet and the ground was soldered onto the small electronic transistor board just like the rain down pump as shown in the schematic. I then un-soldered the leads to the piezo transducer on the humidifier and exploited an elderly earphone wire to telegram information technology astir on with the Neopixel ring so that I had plenty of wire length to work with.

Then to hold things from shorting out I used some heat shrink tubing to encase the electronic transistor and electronics also as the ultrasonic driver PCB for the cloud generator.

Now chuck yourself on that back that was the longest and hardest portion of the build.

Step 4: Put It All at once

Here is where it all comes put together. Archetypical in that location is a little prep work that we need to do. Harvest the water nursing bottle glass. The water nursing bottle is perfectible for this project because it has a nice glass container where the atmospheric condition rear be housed. The caps just unscrew and you now have a nice glass container.

Now that we have the parts in tell we can put it all together like and then:

  1. Glue the bed end cap onto the glaze container (We assembled this in the preceding step)
  2. Place the glass tubing into the in proportion to holes where the ticker is connected
  3. Carefully stoc the top cap upbound with the tube and press correspond it into place. (We silent need to add water so don't paste it just yet)
  4. Connect the speakers and the USB microphone
  5. Feed the electronics through the immoral
  6. Press the glass tube into the base
  7. Carefully tuck in entirely the electronics and wires onto the bottom cap
  8. Press the bottom cap into place while making sure to run the power wire through the slot at the base
  9. Open the cap and sate it up with water and so close the cap
  10. Go make yourself a delicious sandwich (you merit it) and the fervour begins!

Step 5: Computer programming and More

I am not going to operate you through how to install Raspbian on the Pi. There are already a number of tutorials for that. Like this one: https://www.raspberrypi.org/certification/installa...

Once you are set up with the Raspbian you butt write python scripts and course them. I won't get in the details here either since it is already good documented online.

So it's time to write and ply our handwriting. You bequeath need an API key from endure underground. You keister stimulate that here: https://www.wunderground.com/brave out/api/

Once you have your API key hyperkinetic syndrome it to the appropriate place happening the code that I let attached. You will also need to fill out your location as shown in the script.

This is a very basic handwriting that barely pulls the weather from weather underground. Then it runs the corresponding windward mathematical function to simulate the weather in the weather cube.

This is just a start. Truth is I am new to programing and this is my first-year attempt at anything like this. I victimized bits of code from hither and in that respect equally well every bit my own made-to-order functions. If you have a better way of doing this delight permit ME know so I can post it and pass it along. Make your own custom animations and add more weather options. With the integrated speakers you could also eventually add effects like mad clap when the lightning goes off etc.

I also have the Alexa digital assistant installed sol I can connect to dwelling house automation or internet of things (IoT) devices. Check unstylish my other instructable on how to act up that.

Since it has bluetooth and wireless fidelity connected board you could also connect to your smartphone, play music, or anything other you could opine. Mayhap erstwhile I get better at programming I can add this functionality and post IT. For now we deliver a weather simulation lamp that is beautiful cool in it's own correctly.

Step 6: Enjoy the Weather

If you've made it this off the beaten track then it's time to delight the fruits of your parturiency. Sit back, pose your feet up, and relax while you watch the sunset in the soothe of your own home!

Until you see it in person you simply won't get the full set up. The pictures rattling don't do it Do. Here are a sample of various weather conditions:

Lightning Storm, Rain, Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Sunset, Sunrise, etc.

This matter is stunning, and I really enjoy watching it!

A couple of things I learned or that I would recommend:

  • Instead of running constantly I should have programmed it to run 15 minutes all hour to tell me the afoot weather.
  • It may be best to add a tiny number of intoxicant or something to restrain algae and other disgusting creatures from growing in the lamp.
  • It may be nifty to apply some rainx Oregon something like IT to the inside of the glass. IT takes quite a while for fog and rainfall to unsubtle from the glass.
  • For whatsoever understanding I am ineffective to use the Alexa assistant when the weather is running. The assistant responds, but the sound it quite a terrible. (I believe it is interference with the PWM for the LEDs even though I used a tell apart communication channel)
  • I would like to add snow, and I think I could manipulation the double glass wall to incorporate a saturated crystal solution to execute that. I volition station it when/if I get it working.

If you like my project please consider voting for Pine Tree State in the lights contest!

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