One day there will be no more need for flames. [slider2732] has put yet another nail in the coffin of this most ancient of all technology by making a candle that uses a flicker LED that you blow out. A little more miniaturization and we’ll have them fully integrated into the size of birthday cake candles (Hint hint, hackers!).
You may have seen these candle flicker LEDs. They have a small chip inside them that modulates the LED’s light to flicker like a candle. We’ve even reported on what [Cpldcpu] found when he reverse engineered them first here and then here.
What [slider2732] did was to buy an electronic candle that used one of the LEDs actually shaped like a flame, and to drill a hole near the ‘flame’. He them embedded a microphone behind the hole. That goes to an LM386 amplifier circuit and from there to an Arduino Pro Mini all powered by a LiPo. As you’d expect, the Arduino code is very simple, just watch the pin from the amplifier and based on an internal variable, turn the LED on or off. We really like how none of the electronics is visible and how you actually have to lean over and blow into the top of the candle to blow it out. You can see this demonstrated in the video below.
To light the LED again he makes it so that blowing on the LED while it’s off will turn it back on again. To us old schoolers, that seems a little odd so we’d like to see an electronic match that lights up when you swipe it against something (with a flicker LED) and that lights the candle’s LED when brought near it. Of course you’d blow out the electronic match too! If you’re not that ambitious then a lighter with flicker LED would work too. Submit it to our tips line when you’re done!
Filed under: led hacks
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