Clint Patterson's Blog

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Read the thoughts and musings of a cultured redneck here


2022 Christmas Light Dangler
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Last year some legend out there built a prop that hung off his roof as if he was stranded hanging in mid-air in an emergency kind of state. Several people tagged me saying I should build one. So this year, I gave it a shot. What you see below is some behind the scenes pics & videos. It's been funny to see neighbors and people driving by stopping, reversing their cars, double-taking, etc. when they think it's a real person up there.

To build this I used a FrightProps Halloween PVC kit that I modified slightly and coupled it with a motor. That's the core of the solution. Beyond that it's just duct tape and bubble wrap to build out the body. Oh and a foam head from Hobby lobby! 

 


2022 Halloween IOT Props & Recap
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This year I made 2 different Halloween IOT props. I used the same or similar techniques from the previous years... Actobotics for building out the structures and support, Particle.io for the IOT controller and software side, and pneumatic powered "mechs" from FrightProps.com for the movement. The new addition this year was adding in a FrightProps "Picoboo" controller to the setup, which brought on great possibilities. Adding this allowed me to add in audio and instantly cut power on and off to multiple outlets. So I turned lights on and off, fans on and off and strobed some strobe lights. 


If you're interested in previous years implementations check them out below:


As I bult the devices I posted some behind the scenes FB posts and a tweet..

Then when Halloween came we were fortunate to have the rain stop and I got some good reactions on the reactions video. 

 


Clint Patterson

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