Wrap a long piece of NeoPixel strip throughout the grooves in the Carrera "foldable" helmet. Start at one back edge, shifting the strip so that four LEDs are visible to the rider along the front brim.

Cut the strip to length at the opposite back edge and tack the LED strip to the nylon webbing in the grooves of the helmet with a needle and clear thread. We didn't affix to every piece of webbing, just in enough spots to secure the LED strip.
Do not affix electronics to the outer smooth surface of your bike helmet! Helmets are designed to be smooth for your safety.
Using a needle and more clear thread, affix the FLORA main board to the back head brace of the helmet through two unused pins (we used the 3.3v pad next to the USB port and the GND pad next to the JST connector).

Strip and tin three wires, then solder them to the input side of the LED strip.

Cut to length, strip and solder these wires to VBATT, D6, and GND, referring to the wiring diagram on the previous page if necessary.
Solder small flexible wires to the LSM303 accelerometer/compass module, then apply a small piece of Sugru to cover the back of the module. Stick it in the middle of the FLORA main board, making sure not to cover the on/off switch or reset button. We are making a circuit sandwich!

Solder the wires to 3.3v, SCL, SDA, and GND on FLORA, referring again to the wiring diagram.
Repeat the process above with the GPS module, connecting corresponding TX/RX pads to FLORA (remember that TX goes to RX and RX goes to TX).

Sugru insulates the back of the GPS module from the LSM303 and FLORA main board, and also provides a semipermanent sticky situation. The silicone is not quite an adhesive, though it will remain affixed unless you choose to carefully peel it off.

The lithium polymer battery slides behind the elastic of the head brace. We sewed a small fabric pouch around the battery, which in turn was stitched to the elastic.

This guide was first published on Jun 19, 2013. It was last updated on Mar 29, 2024.

This page (Build Circuit) was last updated on Jun 06, 2013.

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