Exploring the Raspberry Pi 3D Xmas Tree Kit from The Pi Hut

Nov 19, 2020

Our rating: 5/5

In this special holiday video, we'll explore blinky things with the 3d Xmas Tree Kit from The Pi Hut! Available as a solderable or pre-soldered kit, it mounts to your Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins to make for a fun, programmable, hackable Christmas thing.

Used here

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This makes a fun alternative to a traditional Christmas tree, particularly for those looking to protect their Xmas trees from cats and other pets.

Check out the video below to learn how it works, how to assemble it, and some of the cool things you can do with it!

Soldering iron	×	1
Helping hands	×	1
Raspberry Pi	×	1
3D Xmas Tree Kit for Raspberry Pi	×	1
Solder	×	1

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I used the sample code that The Pi Hut provided here. I've recreated the software/steps below.

First, connect to your Raspberry Pi. Then, follow the steps below.

Install the required libraries

sudo apt-get install python-gpiozero python3-gpiozero

Create the test Python script

sudo nano ~/.tree.py

Add the following, save, and exit:

from gpiozero import LEDBoard
from gpiozero.tools import random_values
from signal import pause
tree = LEDBoard(*range(2,28),pwm=True)
for led in tree:
 led.source_delay = 0.1
 led.source = random_values()
pause()

Run the script and make things blinky!

sudo python ~/tree.py

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Michael (175)

Nov 19, 2020

In a world full of various Raspberry Pi starter kits, what makes a kit like the Canakit Raspberry Pi 4 Starter Kit stand out? Is this a good kit for beginners? For veterans? What's included?