sunmorgus / Dalek-Xmas-Tree

What would the holidays be without a little EXTERMINATE!!!

Dalek Xmas Tree

What would the holidays be without a little EXTERMINATE!!!

This repo will hold the script for running your own Dalek Christmas Tree, using python and a Rapsberry Pi! More information about this project can be found here: http://dev.csbctech.com/dalek/wordpress

At a minimum, use of this script (without modification) requires the following items: 1. A Raspberry Pi 2. A USB Bluetooth Dongle 3. A Wii Remote

Before getting started, there are some dependencies you need to install on your Rapsberry Pi (mostly to get sound working, plus adding the CWiid package for Wii Remote control). The instructions below are for the official Raspbian release, usage elsewhere...YMMV:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates git binutils bluetooth python-cwiid python-pyaudio python-pymad

Then update the Pi's firmware:

sudo wget http://goo.gl/1BOfJ -O /usr/bin/rpi-update && sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/rpi-update 
sudo rpi-update

Add the sound driver to /etc/modules

snd_bcm2835

Reboot the Pi, then just download and run the dalek.py script:

git clone git://github.com/sunmorgus/Dalek-Xmas-Tree.git
chmod u+x dalek.py
./dalek.py

I've included some sound files in the snd directory; feel free to delete them and add your own. If you do, just update the files array with the appropriate file names. Also, make sure you update the directory variable if you didn't check out to the pi user's home directory:

def mainLoop():
    wiimote = None
    directory = "/home/pi/snd/"

    files = []
    files.append("riley_exterminate.mp3")
    files.append("nat_exterminate.mp3")
    files.append("aiden_sonic_screwdriver.mp3")
    files.append("nat_doctor_who.mp3")
    files.append("riley_doctor_detected.mp3")
    files.append("riley_doctor_who.mp3")
    files.append("riley_kill_the_doctor.mp3")
    files.append("riley_tick_tock.mp3")

NOTE: If you are running this script via ssh, it's helpful to launch it in a screen first, so the script will continue to run after you've closed the ssh connection. After starting the script, just hit ctrl-A + D to detach from the screen, then you can exit the ssh connection and the script will continue on. More info on using screen can be found here https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Screen.

I have plans to convert this script to run as a daemon, which will hopefully negate the need to use screen.