Install CircuitPython
The first think to do is install CircuitPython on your Funhouse. Follow this guide to get it set up with the latest release version.
Text Editor
Adafruit recommends using the Mu editor for using your CircuitPython code with the Funhouse. You can get more info in this guide.
Shhhh... Secrets
In order for the Funhouse to connect to the internet, you'll need to include a secrets.py file on the board that contains your WiFi access point ssid and password, as well as your AIO key.
Follow this guide page to get your secrets.py file set up.
Download the Project Bundle
Your project will use a specific set of CircuitPython libraries and the code.py file. In order to get the libraries you need, click on the Download Project Bundle link below, and uncompress the .zip file.
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2021 John Park for Adafruit
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
# FunHouse Mail Slot Detector
import board
from adafruit_debouncer import Debouncer
from displayio import CIRCUITPYTHON_TERMINAL
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Pull
from adafruit_funhouse import FunHouse
beam_sense_pin = DigitalInOut(board.A0) # defaults to input
beam_sense_pin.pull = Pull.UP # turn on internal pull-up resistor
beam_sensor = Debouncer(beam_sense_pin)
AMBER = 0xF0D000
BLUE = 0x00D0F0
RED = 0xFF0000
WHITE = 0xFFFFFF
GRAY = 0x606060
funhouse = FunHouse(default_bg=None, scale=3)
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.brightness = 0.05
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(AMBER)
# Create the labels
funhouse.display.root_group = CIRCUITPYTHON_TERMINAL
mail_label = funhouse.add_text(
text="No Mail yet", text_position=(4, 14), text_color=AMBER
)
reset_label = funhouse.add_text(text="reset", text_position=(3, 70), text_color=GRAY)
funhouse.display.root_group = funhouse.splash
def send_io_data(mail_value):
funhouse.peripherals.led = True
funhouse.network.push_to_io("mail", mail_value)
funhouse.peripherals.led = False
send_io_data(1)
while True:
beam_sensor.update()
if beam_sensor.fell:
funhouse.peripherals.set_dotstars(RED, WHITE, BLUE, WHITE, RED)
funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(2000, 0.25)
funhouse.set_text("Mail is here!", mail_label)
funhouse.set_text_color(BLUE, mail_label)
send_io_data(0)
if funhouse.peripherals.button_down:
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(AMBER)
funhouse.set_text("No Mail yet", mail_label)
funhouse.set_text_color(AMBER, mail_label)
send_io_data(1)
Next, drag the contents of the uncompressed bundle directory onto you microcontroller board CIRCUITPY drive, replacing any existing files or directories with the same names, and adding any new ones that are necessary.
How it Works
The Funhouse Mail Detector acts a bit like a simple switch that sends data to Adafruit IO when it detects a change. To do this, you first import some libraries.
import board from adafruit_debouncer import Debouncer from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Pull from adafruit_funhouse import FunHouse
The board library provides pin definitions. digitalio is used to check the switch.
adafruit_debouncer make it easy to check for switch open and switch close events.
adafruit_funhouse allows simple access to the Dotstar LEDs, via the peripherals layer, as well as the network layer used to connect to the internet and send messages to Adafruit IO
Setup
Next you'll do some setup including setting up the break beam sensor on the A0 pin, creating the debouncer object on that pin, setting LED color variables, and creating the funhouse object.
beam_sense_pin = DigitalInOut(board.A0) # defaults to input beam_sense_pin.pull = Pull.UP # turn on internal pull-up resistor beam_sensor = Debouncer(beam_sense_pin) AMBER = 0xF0D000 BLUE = 0x00D0F0 RED = 0xFF0000 WHITE = 0xFFFFFF GRAY = 0x606060 funhouse = FunHouse(default_bg=None, scale=3) funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.brightness = 0.05 funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(AMBER)
FunHouse Display
You'll set up the FunHouse display with text labels to show the state of the mail slot, and to label the reset button.
# Create the labels
funhouse.display.root_group = CIRCUITPYTHON_TERMINAL
mail_label = funhouse.add_text(
text="No Mail yet", text_position=(4, 14), text_color=AMBER
)
reset_label = funhouse.add_text(text="reset", text_position=(3, 70), text_color=GRAY)
funhouse.display.root_group = funhouse.splash
Send IO Data Function
You'll create a function to send either a 0 or a 1 to the AIO door feed when the beam is broken or reset.
def send_io_data(mail_value):
funhouse.peripherals.led = True
funhouse.network.push_to_io("mail", mail_value)
funhouse.peripherals.led = False
Main Loop
The main loop of the program checks the switch pin with the debouncer's beam_sensor.update() function.
Two if statement do the rest. If the beam sensor state falls, the mail has arrived and the feed is sent a message with the data value 0.
If the reset button is pressed, the feed is sent a message with the data value 1.
This configuration of triggering only on a state change is helpful, because it means the board won't be constantly spamming the AIO feed with data!
Page last edited January 14, 2025
Text editor powered by tinymce.
