Nuts and Volts - September 2008

Applications

The talking skull is not only a fun item to have around, but the kit itself contains portions that should be interesting to many different hobbyists as it requires drilling, sanding, soldering, wiring, audio, and even a bit of robotics. Using the controls on the board, you should be able to adjust the skull to provide a very realistic sync with all kinds of different audio source. My daughter likes to put various pop-music CDs in the player and watch the skull sing with the voice of stars like Britney Spears or Hannah Montana. To see some videos of the finished talking skulls from our Make and Take, check out Resources for links.

Alternate Uses

project. If you have any questions or if you would like to share your thoughts on the Talking Skull Kit, please stop by the Nuts & Volts forums where you can discuss projects, share pictures and videos, or get ideas from other builders. As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them to me at vern@txis.com. NV

Just in time for Halloween! The Talking Skull kit is available NOW in the Nuts & Volts online store! Visit http://store.nutsvolts.com to order yours today!

If the audio servo kit is intriguing but seems like a one trick pony (or maybe you’re just not into Halloween), remember that there are lots of other uses for this board. Instead of buying the skull kit, you could purchase just the board and servo motor for use in animating other props or puppets. The board is well suited to making a talking Santa Claus, a group of singing elves, a wise-cracking easter bunny, or a chatty Christmas present (Figure 19). It can be used anywhere you want to move an object in relation to an audio source.