Turn the :MOVE Motor into a Radio Controlled Halloween SpookMobile

2023-10-13 | By Kitronik Maker

License: See Original Project

Courtesy of Kitronik

Guide by Kitronik Maker

The Spookmobile. Wraith Wagon. Spectre Sedan. AaAaAaAAaaAAutomobile. All ‎good names for this make, but I certainly couldn’t choose so I’ve included them all.‎

This is a simple make that sits on top of your :MOVE Motor and adds some ‎Halloween drama to your remote-controlled buggy. The LEDs are used to replicate ‎the flickering of candles, and the V2 micro:bit’s speaker is used to make a ghostly ‎noise when you shake the remote micro:bit. Follow along with Emma's instructions ‎and mod your :MOVE Motor.‎

We Used: ‎

‎1 x :MOVE Motor for the BBC
‎2 x micro:bit
‎1 x 2 AAA Battery Cage with JST Connector

For the Ghost:‎

White Material
Thread and Needle (Or a Sewing Machine)
Googly eyes
A Black Pen
Thick Wire (You could use a wire hanger)
Tape
A stuffing material such as scrap material, paper, or stuffing
Two discs of sturdy material
‎1 x 16mm M3 Pan Head Screw
‎1 x M3 Hex Nut

‎This make falls into three sections:‎

Make the Ghost
Attach the Ghost
Code the Spookmobile

In essence, the first two sections can be done however you want to do them. A 2D ‎paper ghost on a spring taped to your buggy could still be spooky!‎

Making The Ghost:‎

Step 1 - Framed:‎

framed_1

Build an armature for your ghost. This is like a metal skeleton which will hold the ‎ghost in position. I have coiled a thick wire to give the skeleton some thickness to ‎build off of so that the lower portion of the wire that is not covered by the ghost will ‎act as a spring.‎‎ ‎

Step 2 - The Body:‎

body_2

Next, build a body shape off of the armature. I’ve used a stuffing material held ‎down with tape to build the ghost. Make yours any shape you like!‎‎ ‎

Step 3 - Adding the Costume:‎

adding_3

Lastly, cover with a costume! I made a tailored ghost-sheet-costume on a sewing ‎machine, then added googly eyes and a marker pen mouth.‎ ‎

costume_4 ‎

Attaching The Ghost:‎

Step 1 - The Screw: ‎

Make sure the bottom of your Armature is coiled in a tight enough loop to wrap ‎snugly around the M3 screw. This is so that it can be secured down using the ‎screw.‎

screw_5

Step 2 - The Pen Hole:

In order to attach the ghost, we are going to use the pen ‎hole in the centre of the PCB. Using appropriate means, cut from a sturdy material ‎two discs that are just slightly larger than the pen hole - ours are 13mm in diameter. ‎In the centre of each disc, cut a 3mm hole to accommodate the screw.‎‎ ‎

Step 3 - Assembly:‎

assembly_6

As above, attach the ghost using the Screw and Hex nut, securing the wire ‎armature to the two discs on either side of the pen hole.‎‎

‎Coding The Spookmobile:‎

The code for this buggy is in two parts: A Transmitter and a Receiver. This means ‎you will use one micro:bit as a radio control for the other, which will be plugged into ‎the :MOVE Motor. The transmitter code is as follows:‎

code_7

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This is a simple bit of micro:bit code that uses the radio controls to send words ‎‎(“strings”) to the other microbit. Depending on the input, a different string will be ‎sent which the other micro:bit will correspond to different movements. The receiver ‎code is as follows:‎

code_8

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This code allows the receiver micro:bit to translate the words sent by the ‎transmitter micro:bit into movements. It will have the :MOVE Motor perform ‎different actions depending on the word it receives.‎

This code also has two spooky additions: Flickering candle-style LEDs and a ‎spooky ghost noise made using the “sad” audio preset in MakeCode.‎

movement_9