Trick or Treat
You can give digital support to some pretty scary special effects for your next Halloween using the Raspberry Pi.
Using the Rasp Pi to make Halloween really spooky
Lead Image © Martin Malchev, 123RF.com
Trick or Treating on All Hallows Eve has spread as a custom practiced by many children across the world. The practice originated in Ireland and crossed the ocean with immigrants arriving in the US. Now, Raspberry Pi (Rasp Pi) users have an opportunity to bring Halloween into the cyber age with a digital ghost that moans, shrieks, blinks its eyes, and waves its arms.
Eyes and Mouth
For the eyes and the mouth, I suggest a ready-made LED module that consists of the MAX7219 and an LED matrix with 8x8 diodes. You can purchase this component from numerous sources [1]. Because deliveries from China can occasionally take up to four weeks, a domestic source might be the best option.
The module has an Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), which is all you need to connect this component to a Rasp Pi. For more information on SPI, see the "SPI" box. The circuit diagram in Figure 1 shows how to connect the modules. You can also find this diagram on the FTP site in gEDA and EPS formats [2]. A regular, commercially available grid board can be used to give the module a solid mounting foundation.
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