Super Scary Halloween Pumpkin Using the BBC Micro:bit and Our Micro:Pixel

With Halloween on its way, its time to get your skills on with a Pumpkin again!.

But instead of using the traditional candle to light up the juicy pumpkin meat, why not stay ahead of the neighbours and use the latest tech in the form of our Micro:pixel add on for the BBC Micro:bit?

This piece of wonderment is a 4x8 array of WS2812B Neopixels all mounted to a Micro:bit compatible add on board.

Our tech guy, Drew,  has knocked out a piece of code that will cause the Micro:pixel board to light up with a most satisfying flickering candle vibe.

To show you just how nice this looks, our expert Goods In/Out girl, Sammy, spent the morning carving pumpkins out so we could take some cool pics and videos for you guys. She is the only responsible adult here at Proto-PIC and sharp things were involved. I think you'll agree she did a great job!

Once we had two pumpkins carved out quite nicely, we downloaded Drews code and dropped it into the BBC Micro:bit

We then dropped the BBC Micro:bit with the Micro:Pixel add on connected up to a AAA battery cage into the pumpkins.

Drew has done two different Micro Python versions of the code for you to try. We have included links to the code and youtube videos of what you should see with each one below:

Version 1. Realistic Flame
This is a very realistic candle effect, very subtle colour changes and it looks great  when the light reflects around the inside of the pumpkin.
Download Realistic Flame Hex File (right click and Save Target As, then copy to your micro:bit)

Version 2. Spooky Halloween Colour Show
A little bit more disco - when you look at it cycling on the micro:pixel itself, it looks like it shouldnt REALLY look like a flame, more like a party. But when you drop it in the pumpkin and take a step back it looks really cool!
Download Spooky Halloween Colour Show Hex File (right click and Save Target As, then copy to your micro:bit)

Want to make it even better?

• Why not addin a PIR sensor so your pumpkin lights up only when there are people around to see it!
• Put the Micro:pixel inside one of our small packing boxes to diffuse the light - this creates a great effect