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Hackable Microcontroller-Powered Valentine's Card

Posted by kdawson on from the gotta-have-heart dept.

compumike writes "If you have a significant other to impress this Valentine's Day, consider putting your programming skills to use. This video tutorial shows how to build an LED Heart Valentine's card, powered by a microcontroller running C code, with a neat randomized 'twinkling' effect in an interrupt handler. Think about it: how many ladies can say that their Valentine's card runs at 14 MHz?"

15 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. More Likely Responses by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 5, Funny

    Him: Yeah, babe, and now you can tell your friends that your Valentine's Day card runs at 14 MHz.
    Her: Really?! 14? How many songs does that mean it can hold?

    or
    Him: Yeah, babe, and now you can tell your friends that your Valentine's Day card runs at 14 MHz.
    Her: ...uh, yeah... I'll be doing that right away...

    or
    Him: Yeah, babe, and now you can tell your friends that your Valentine's Day card runs at 14 MHz.
    Her: ...
    (She remains as silent as all other RealDolls)

    --
    Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    1. Re:More Likely Responses by Sepiraph · · Score: 4, Funny

      Think about it: how many ladies can say that their Valentine's card runs at 14 MHz?"

      Clearly this is a trick question. No such girlfriend ever existed in the first place.

    2. Re:More Likely Responses by narcberry · · Score: 5, Informative

      Considering my wife came across an electronics project I made, didn't care what it was or how much work it cost and threw it away.. I'm probably not going to spend hours and hours making a valentines day card twinkle...

      --
      Modding me -1 troll doesn't make me wrong.
    3. Re:More Likely Responses by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 4, Funny

      And that's why it's currently +5 funny. I know my audience.

      --
      Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    4. Re:More Likely Responses by moosesocks · · Score: 5, Funny

      OK, but bear with me..... assume a spherical girlfriend of uniform density.....

      --
      -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
    5. Re:More Likely Responses by az1324 · · Score: 5, Funny

      or
      Him: ...14 MHz.
      Her: At least something knows how to oscillate around here.

    6. Re:More Likely Responses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's easy, just imagine the average American woman.

  2. pfftt... by djupedal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >"...how many ladies can say that their Valentine's card runs at 14 MHz?"

    How many want to?

  3. Overclock it? by canatech · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet with liquid cooling you could get it to 18MHz!

  4. Make her a dinner reservation instead by piltdownman84 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Only a really 'special' girl is going to be impressed by this. The only thing a girl wants you to make for Valentines day is a dinner reservation.

    1. Re:Make her a dinner reservation instead by pla · · Score: 5, Informative

      And yes, I'm female. Really.

      No offense, but what "real" females - shallow or not - say and what they mean differ drastically. I don't think this involves lying so much as simple self-delusion (since they seem to actually believe what they say), but it all ends up the same.

      Simple example - Would you rather get a blinking card that represents a week's work from your SO, or a mere half-day's pay worth of roses delivered conspicuously to your workplace?

      And before you answer, I've tried both (well, not a blinking card, but same idea). The "lovingly crafted with my own hands and dozens of hours of hard work" gift gets a "gee, thanks, how... nice". The large bundle of dying plant debris result in a tigress throwing you to the floor and a few hours of scratch-mark-leaving entertainment.

      Women want stuff and attention, and as much of it as possible. They don't care about the effort or intent involved, just the end product.

  5. Re:Come now by iocat · · Score: 5, Funny
    It's not too geeky, it's too PATHETIC. If you need a microcontroller running at 14Mhz and C code to blink some heart shaped LEDs, you should just turn in nerd card now. It's like using an anvil to hammer a picture hanging nail.

    If you can't create that card with a 555 and a couple resistors, I wouldn't be surprised to see your Valentine laugh in your face and go off with a real He-Man who writes assembly.

    Christ! A 14Mhz microcontroller... if you're gonna use that, the damn card better access the internet or play NES games at least.

    --

    Dude, I think I can see my house from here.

  6. Most Likely Response by az1324 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Her: That's NOT the kind of crystal I had in mind.

  7. Re:Come now by daveime · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Damn, you mentioning 555's takes me back ... in 1981 when I was just 13 years old, I got a little project published in Everyday Electronics, on just such a premise ... an oscillator made from two gates of a 4001 feeding into a 1 of 6 counter (4022 ?) and 6 LEDs cycling in sequence. I'd abandoned the 555 in favour of the NOR gates as it was bloody unstable and used to do horrible things to the power supply.

    I got paid 12 pounds for getting that published, which was like a kings ransom for a 13 year old.

    Microcontroller pfft ... can you say overkill ?

  8. Not what she'd want by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 4, Funny
    14Mhz??????

    Personaly I'm sure she'd want something that ran at 150hz (approx)

    BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.