This update is going to be about some of the electronics that I\u2019m designing and working with to control special effects on the model \u2013 the lighting of the torp launcher and the sounds that go along with the lighting effects.<\/p>\n
First off, let\u2019s spell out my requirements \u2013 there are three basic sound effects I want to establish:<\/p>\n
First:\u00a0 an ambient noise that will operate at all times that will provide a low-level of background effects.\u00a0 I\u2019ve mixed a 13-minute MP3 of various clips from ST:TMP of scenes from the engineering deck and the shuttle bay.<\/p>\n
Second:\u00a0 a music track \u201cEnterprise Clears Moorings\u201d from ST:WOK that will accompany a power-up lighting procedure that I have on a separate board purchased from Tenacontrols (given what I know now about programming the Arduino, I didn\u2019t really need to buy this, but I\u2019ve got it so I\u2019ll use it).<\/p>\n
Third:\u00a0 a torpedo sound effect that will accompany the firing sequence of lights.<\/p>\n
(I might decide to add a fourth for going to Warp, but I haven\u2019t decided yet.)<\/p>\n
These sounds fit into the actions I want the little computer to do:<\/p>\n
So how are we going to do this?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to assume you aren\u2019t big on electronics, so if you know this stuff already, skip this part.<\/p>\n
The Arduino is a small computer, with a series of input and output pins.\u00a0 You can program it to trigger the outputs based on what it might receive from inputs.<\/p>\n
Certain electronic components produce current as a result of conditions around it \u2013 like changes in light, temperature, buttons being pressed, rheostats being turned, etc.\u00a0 These are considered \u201csensors\u201d \u2013 you have several natural sensors of your own:\u00a0 eyes, skin, smell, etc.<\/p>\n
Other electronic components do things when they receive current \u2013 like spin gears, light up, etc.\u00a0 These are called \u201cactuators,\u201d but more often they\u2019re referred to by their specific function.\u00a0 LEDs, servomotors, transistors, etc. are all actuators.<\/p>\n
So the Arduino, as a microcontroller, receives inputs from sensors and issues on\/off to actuators.\u00a0 There are about a jillion other add-ons that are built specifically for the Arduino, in many cases that snap onto the Arduino itself.\u00a0 These are called \u201cshields\u201d, and they are pin-compatible with the Arduino\u2019s rows of pins so they easily slide onto and off of the little computer.<\/p>\n
The Arduino\u2019s controlling circuits have \u201con\u201d and \u201coff\u201d functions, \u201con\u201d being represented by the board sending 5 Volts of current out the particular pin of the circuit.\u00a0 \u201cOff\u201d receives no current.\u00a0 All the outputs can operate in \u201cdigital\u201d on\/off style, and some of them can operate in \u201canalog\u201d mode \u2013 they\u2019re still on\/off, but they can emulate analog output by cycling a percent of the time by switching much faster than a human can perceive.\u00a0 So to be completely \u201con\u201d they turn on 100% of the time, and to be \u201chalf\u201d on they cycle on\/off 50% of the time, etc.<\/p>\n
Remember the lighting from the Neck section that I made for the torpedo launcher?\u00a0 Five lights \u2013 one for the background, then a red and white for each torpedo.\u00a0 The background will light up, then to simulate a torpedo launch, the red on each side will cycle up, and at the point of launch the white behind it will flash.\u00a0 See this video for an example:<\/p>\n