markusvankempen / neopixel-santahat

How to use Arduino and NeoPixel to build a colorful blinking SantaHat

Blinking Santa Hat with Arduino or ESP8266 and NeoPixels

How to use a Arduino Nano and NeoPixels to build a colorful blinking SantaHat with an extra NeoPixel in the Pom-Pom aka Bommel ;) ESP8266 / Wifi Version here

I wanted to build a nice Santa hat that uses colorful NeoPixels for the Christmas / New Year / Holidays.

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Here are the materials is used.

• Arduino Nano (you use any small Arduino or ESP32)
• NeoPixel Strip - Use some water proofed once
• Small Power Booster
• Cables
• Ble Modul (optional)
• LiPO USB Charger (optional)
• Battery 500maH
• 1 Diffused NeoPixel 8mm (optional)
• Some heat shrink
• Christmas Hat
• [A little on off switch] optional
• [You may also want to add Capacitor , Diode and resistor] (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/mlcdownloads/downloads/submissions/64467/versions/2/previews/html/NeoPixelExample_Basic.html) to be proper

Of course you will need some soldering iron, cables and tape etc.

You can find these parts on the internet at various place like AliExpress and/or Amazon etc.

I started building the prototype on a bread board 1st and than fit it into the hat.

Once you got this working you will need to solder the cables onto the Nano. My little boster had only 3 ports Vin,Ground,Vout. I Soldered 2 male cable for the Battery (Vin,Ground) and 2 cables as bridge (Ground,Vout) to the Gnd Vin at the Nano. The Nano has one more Gnd and 5V Port which i use for the Single NeoPixel which goes into the Bommel. Note: Your can also use the end of the NeoPixel strip as a power source for the Singel PomPom like i did at the ESP8266 version.

Important! Make sure all exposed cable ends and open contacts/ports are covered in tape or heat schrink.

To put the single NeoPixel in the Pom-Pom - I wired the cables inside the hat and use the soldering iron to "burn" a hole into the Pom-Pom to place the NeoPixel inside.

The Finished product

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Code is available in the code folder of this github.

Check also video folder for detailed description/demos.

The ESP8266 wifi Version is available here

SantaWifi Hat

Enjoy / Cheers

Markus