# Flora-Powered TARDIS Costume (for Dogs!)
## Overview and Parts
Primary: This project is over 11 years old and references Arduino code of the same era. It is suggested that you use this project as an example for your own designs and not rely on every part of this to still work flawlessly as Arduino continues to change their software.
## Overview
Costuming is a natural for considering adding electronics, especially during Halloween ([Check out the Adafruit Blog's Electric Halloween category for lots of great ideas](http://www.adafruit.com/blog/category/halloween/ "Link: http://www.adafruit.com/blog/category/halloween/")).
Everyone knows that Spaniels are adorable, but a _Tardis Spaniel_ is even cuter! Spidey (shown above) is wearing a blue knit Tardis sweater that keeps him warm on October nights and also hides a wearable electronic project that plays the Tardis woop-woop effect and flashes a blue LED as well.
This project uses a [Flora wearable processor](http://www.adafruit.com/flora "Link: http://www.adafruit.com/flora") and the [VS1053 MP3 music player module](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1381) which plays the sound of the TARDIS from Doctor Who. A [Flora NeoPixel](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1260) is used for the blinking blue light on top. The project lays flat for a wearable project. [An infrared receiver](http://www.adafruit.com/products/157) is added to mute the sound when you want quiet (although you could also use it to switch between different audio tracks)
This project shows the flexibility of flora in making more advanced audio projects. Since a good number of digital pins are required to use the VS1053, this project demonstrates use of the extra pins on the Flora ICSP header for digital signals.
## Parts List
The main components are available in the Adafruit shop. There is flexibility in how you design your project. If you do not need to turn the sound off remotely, you can eliminate the IR sensor and remote. Be careful on adding more Neopixels - powering a small number off the Flora regulator works, if you power a large number you will need to use the battery power or a separate supply and appropriate wiring.
- Adafruit [FLORA](http://www.adafruit.com/products/659) wearable microcontroller
- [VS1053 Audio Breakout Board](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1381 "Link: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1381") (Version 1 or 2) and a [microSD card](http://www.adafruit.com/products/102)
- Amplifier Board ([MAX98306](http://http://www.adafruit.com/products/987) shown, the updated [TS2012](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1552) is preferred)
- A [Neopixel](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1260) (alternative would be a blue LED and a resistor nominal 100 ohms)
- [LiPO Battery](http://www.adafruit.com/products/258) (choose size based on how long the project needs to run and the weight your project can tolerate). If you do not have one, a [LiPo Charger](http://www.adafruit.com/products/259 "Link: http://www.adafruit.com/products/259") is required. You can use several batteries and swap them as needed for a longer period.
- Optional [IR Receiver](http://www.adafruit.com/products/157) and [Remote Control](http://www.adafruit.com/products/389) to turn sound on and off (sound can be irritating for long stretches or if you want to talk). You can use your own remote if you determine the code(s) for the key(s) you use.
You will need the following parts to hook things up:
- [Jumper wire](http://www.adafruit.com/category/82) - stranded will give you flexibility at the expense of a bit more work soldering and stripping ends. You can consider [rainbow wire](http://www.adafruit.com/category/82_125 "Link: http://www.adafruit.com/category/82\_125") for its length and flexibility. For my project, I selected solid as the flex was not crucial and it is a bit easier to work with. A ribbon cable, suggested on [Wearable Wednesday](http://www.adafruit.com/blog/?s=wearable+wednesday "Link: http://www.adafruit.com/blog/?s=wearable+wednesday"), was used to connect the Neopixel.
- [Speaker(s)](http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=adasearch&q=speaker#products) - the amplifier will produce stereo although mono is fine. For wearables, you want a flat, lightweight speaker although if you have the space, such as a hat, you can use slightly larger speakers which typically sound better at the cost of weight. For a small wearable, the tiny speakers in talking greeting cards (available also at Sparkfun) work well.
**Costume**
A knit TARDIS outfit sized for a toy dog was obtained on Etsy at a reasonable price. Vendors have hats, scarves, and other Dr. Who themed items. Sewing your own would also be an easy project as the basic color scheme is blue background, white windows, and black trim.
Some color coordinating fabric and thread was used to place the electronics in the costume. Velcro or threat may be used to secure the liner in the costume.
**Sounds**
The VS1053 board is very flexible in the sounds it can play (OGG, AAC, WAV, MP3, see the [VS1053 tutorial](http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-vs1053-mp3-aac-ogg-midi-wav-play-and-record-codec-tutorial) for complete details).
The Dr. Who sounds were from [this site](https://web.archive.org/web/20190609024350/http://www.maddmansrealm.com/drwho/tardis/sounds/sounds.htm) which has a good selection. For your own project, select sound(s) or music that reproduce well on smaller wearable speakers and fit the theme of your project. You can have multiple sounds, even select between them with a bit more coding noted in the Going Further section below. WAV files may be converted to MP3 with the free program Audacity (Windows, Mac, Linux) with the free LAME plug-in. Name your sound track001.mp3 for the code shown.
- [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/wearable-flora-powered-tardis-costume-dogs/wiring.md)
## Featured Products
### FLORA - Wearable electronic platform: Arduino-compatible
[FLORA - Wearable electronic platform: Arduino-compatible](https://www.adafruit.com/product/659)
FLORA is Adafruit's fully-featured wearable electronics platform. It's a round, sewable, Arduino-compatible microcontroller designed to empower amazing wearables projects.FLORA comes with Adafruit's support, [tutorials and...](http://learn.adafruit.com/category/flora)
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### VS1053 Codec + MicroSD Breakout - MP3/WAV/MIDI/OGG Play + Record
[VS1053 Codec + MicroSD Breakout - MP3/WAV/MIDI/OGG Play + Record](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1381)
This breakout board is the ultimate companion for the VLSI VS1053B DSP codec chip. The VS1053 can decode a wide variety of audio formats such as MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, MIDI, FLAC, WAV (PCM and ADPCM). It can also be used to record audio in both PCM (WAV) and compressed Ogg Vorbis. You can...
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### Stereo 2.1W Class D Audio Amplifier - TPA2012
[Stereo 2.1W Class D Audio Amplifier - TPA2012](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1552)
This incredibly small stereo amplifier is surprisingly powerful - able to deliver 2 x 2.1W channels into 4 ohm impedance speakers (@ 10% THD). Inside the miniature chip is a class D controller, able to run from 2.7V-5.5VDC. Since the amp is a class D, it's incredibly efficient (89%...
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### IR (Infrared) Receiver Sensor
[IR (Infrared) Receiver Sensor](https://www.adafruit.com/product/157)
IR sensor tuned to 38KHz, perfect for receiving commands from a TV remote control. Runs at 3V to 5V so it's great for any microcontroller.
To use, connect pin 3 (all the way to the right) to 5V power, pin 2 (middle) to ground and listen on pin 1. It doesn't do any decoding...
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### Mini Remote Control
[Mini Remote Control](https://www.adafruit.com/product/389)
This little remote control would be handy for controlling a robot or other project from across the room. It has 21 buttons and a layout we thought was handy: directional buttons and number entry buttons. The remote uses the NEC encoding type and sends data codes 0 thru 26 (it skips #3, #7,...
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### Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel version 3 - Pack of 4
[Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel version 3 - Pack of 4](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1260)
What's a wearable project without LEDs? Our favorite part of the Flora platform is these tiny smart pixels. Designed specifically for wearables, these updated Flora NeoPixels have ultra-cool technology: these ultra-bright LEDs have a constant-current driver cooked right into the LED...
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### Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 1200mAh
[Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 1200mAh](https://www.adafruit.com/product/258)
Lithium-ion polymer (also known as 'lipo' or 'lipoly') batteries are thin, light, and powerful. The output ranges from 4.2V when completely charged to 3.7V. This battery has a capacity of 1200mAh for a total of about 4.5 Wh. If you need a larger battery,
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### Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh
[Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh](https://www.adafruit.com/product/328)
Lithium-ion polymer (also known as 'lipo' or 'lipoly') batteries are thin, light, and powerful. The output ranges from 4.2V when completely charged to 3.7V. This battery has a capacity of **2500mAh** for a total of about 10 Wh. If you need a smaller battery,
Out of Stock
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## Related Guides
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- [Sparkle Skirt](https://learn.adafruit.com/sparkle-skirt.md)
- [Adafruit VS1053 MP3/AAC/Ogg/MIDI/WAV Codec Breakout Tutorial](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-vs1053-mp3-aac-ogg-midi-wav-play-and-record-codec-tutorial.md)
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