Inexpensive Wireless Interactive Board

Receiver Extension Module (Hub 2)

Now that Hubs 1-4 are complete in wiring, we can create the extension receiver hubs that can attach to hubs 1 and 2 to increase the number of receivers on the system (effectively increasing the physical resolution of the system). We create an extension module with the multiplexers on the small breadboard. Complete the connections for the multiplexers to the phototransistors the same way you did for Hub 2 and its phototransistors and multiplexer connections.

Step 5 (Hubs 1 & 3)

In step 4 (Hubs 1 & 3), we completed the connections for one multiplexer and 8 corresponding phototransistors. Now, we are going to connect the 3 remaining multiplexers to the 16 remaining phototransistors in the same fashion we hooked up the first 8 phototransistors to the first multiplexer. The image is crowded with wires, but this is to show how the finished product of all the multiplexers hooked up to the phototransistors should look like. If you cannot remember how to hook up the rest of the phototransistors, please refer back to step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3) and step 4 (Hubs 1 & 3).

Step 5 (Hubs 2 & 4)

In step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4), we completed the connections for one multiplexer and 8 corresponding phototransistors. Now, we are going to connect the 3 remaining multiplexers to the 16 remaining phototransistors in the same fashion we hooked up the first 8 phototransistors to the first multiplexer. The image is crowded with wires, but this is to show how the finished product of all the multiplexers hooked up to the phototransistors should look like. If you cannot remember how to hook up the rest of the phototransistors, please refer back to step 3 (Hubs 2 & 4) and step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4).

Hub 1 Modular

In order to build a modular system, we need to make adjustments to Hub 1 (you can pick which one of Hub 1 and 3 is "1" because they should be identical at this point) so that it can accept more receiver hubs. In order to do this we extend some of the connections and leave the wires hanging off of the breadboard using male to female wires (the male end should be in contact with the breadboard and the female end should be hanging off of the breadboard). We do this for 8 connections as shown.

Step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3)

On this step, hubs 1&3 start to look different from 2&4, wiring the phototransistors to the multiplexers is different for hubs 1 &3 so please make sure you only make these adjustments for 2 of the 4 circuits you are working on. Those 2 circuits you make these adjustments to are now going to be referred to as 'Hubs 1 & 3'.

Hub 2 Modular

In order to build a modular system, we need to make adjustments to Hub 2 (you can pick which one of Hub 2 and 4 is "2" because they should be identical at this point) so that it can accept more receiver hubs. In order to do this, we extend some of the connections and leave the wires hanging off of the breadboard using male to female wires (the male end should be in contact with the breadboard and the female end should be hanging off of the breadboard). We do this for 8 connections as shown.

Step 2

This is the second step to the 4 primary hubs, in this step we just add more components to the circuits for Hubs 1-4 we have started to make. At this point, all the Hubs are identical in the wiring.

Step 3 (Hubs 2 & 4)

In the last step (step 3 (hubs 1 &3)) we made adjustments to hubs 1 & 3, now we have to make changes to Hubs 2 & 4 so that they are unique from 1 & 3. Take the remaining circuits (excluding 1 & 3) and make the following adjustments to them. Those 2 circuits you make these adjustments to are now going to be referred to as 'Hubs 2 & 4'.

Hub and Extension Module Orientation

In order to orient the modules and the hubs correctly, I created a visual that shows how the different modules face each other. The modules are oriented with Hub 1 being in the bottom left, Hub 2 in the bottom right, Hub 3 at the top left, and Hub 4 at the top Right. Connect receiver extension modules to their respective Hubs via with the male headers coming off of the extension matching their female counterparts (visible through color coding of the diagrams) and the emitter extensions with their respective hubs in the orientation in the image (use the color coding again to determine how to connect the modules together).

Step 4 (Hubs 1 & 3)

In Step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3), we wired up half of a multiplexer with 4 phototransistors, now we are going to hook up another 4 for Hubs 1 & 3 each. Notice that the previous connections we made on Hubs 1 & 3 do not appear in this image, some connections were taken off so that you may clearly view the connections for the second set of 4 transistors. You should not remove the connections made for the first 4 phototransistors in step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3), merely add these connections to the hubs.

Emitter Extension Module (Hub 3 & 4)

We have created Hubs 1-4 and receiver extension modules for Hubs 1 and 2, now we need to create emitter extension modules for Hubs 3 & 4. The wiring for these modules is fairly straightforward, just make sure that you leave two wires hanging off of the two terminals as shown in the images. Create two of these circuits (for Hub 3 and 4) and ensure they each have the two wires so that they may attach to their respective hubs.

Step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4)

In Step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4), we wired up half of a multiplexer with 4 phototransistors, now we are going to hook up another 4 for Hubs 2 & 4 each. Notice that the previous connections we made on Hubs 2 & 4 do not appear in this image, some connections were taken off so that you may clearly view the connections for the second set of 4 transistors. You should not remove the connections made for the first 4 phototransistors in step 3 (Hubs 2 & 4), merely add these connections to the hubs.

Receiver Extension Module (Hub 1)

Now that Hubs 1-4 are complete in wiring, we can create the extension receiver hubs that can attach to hubs 1 and 2 to increase the number of receivers on the system (effectively increasing the physical resolution of the system). We create an extension module with the multiplexers on the small breadboard. Complete the connections for the multiplexers to the phototransistors the same way you did for Hub 1 and its phototransistors and multiplexer connections.

Step 1

This is the first step in building the 4 primary hubs, they should all start out looking like this. The green ICs that are marked 74HC4051 represent the 4051 multiplexers, yours should look like completely black ICs, despite the difference in looks, the wiring is the same.

Hub 5

This is the wiring for Hub 5, it is the most straightforward as it is composed of the Pro Micro and the NRF24L01. You may use the female to female jumper wires to connect the two devices together.

Step 4 (Hubs 1 & 3)

In Step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3), we wired up half of a multiplexer with 4 phototransistors, now we are going to hook up another 4 for Hubs 1 & 3 each. Notice that the previous connections we made on Hubs 1 & 3 do not appear in this image, some connections were taken off so that you may clearly view the connections for the second set of 4 transistors. You should not remove the connections made for the first 4 phototransistors in step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3), merely add these connections to the hubs.

Receiver Extension Module (Hub 2)

Now that Hubs 1-4 are complete in wiring, we can create the extension receiver hubs that can attach to hubs 1 and 2 to increase the number of receivers on the system (effectively increasing the physical resolution of the system). We create an extension module with the multiplexers on the small breadboard. Complete the connections for the multiplexers to the phototransistors the same way you did for Hub 2 and its phototransistors and multiplexer connections.

Step 5 (Hubs 1 & 3)

In step 4 (Hubs 1 & 3), we completed the connections for one multiplexer and 8 corresponding phototransistors. Now, we are going to connect the 3 remaining multiplexers to the 16 remaining phototransistors in the same fashion we hooked up the first 8 phototransistors to the first multiplexer. The image is crowded with wires, but this is to show how the finished product of all the multiplexers hooked up to the phototransistors should look like. If you cannot remember how to hook up the rest of the phototransistors, please refer back to step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3) and step 4 (Hubs 1 & 3).

Step 3 (Hubs 2 & 4)

In the last step (step 3 (hubs 1 &3)) we made adjustments to hubs 1 & 3, now we have to make changes to Hubs 2 & 4 so that they are unique from 1 & 3. Take the remaining circuits (excluding 1 & 3) and make the following adjustments to them. Those 2 circuits you make these adjustments to are now going to be referred to as 'Hubs 2 & 4'.

Step 1

This is the first step in building the 4 primary hubs, they should all start out looking like this. The green ICs that are marked 74HC4051 represent the 4051 multiplexers, yours should look like completely black ICs, despite the difference in looks, the wiring is the same.

Hub 2 Modular

In order to build a modular system, we need to make adjustments to Hub 2 (you can pick which one of Hub 2 and 4 is "2" because they should be identical at this point) so that it can accept more receiver hubs. In order to do this, we extend some of the connections and leave the wires hanging off of the breadboard using male to female wires (the male end should be in contact with the breadboard and the female end should be hanging off of the breadboard). We do this for 8 connections as shown.

Step 5 (Hubs 2 & 4)

In step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4), we completed the connections for one multiplexer and 8 corresponding phototransistors. Now, we are going to connect the 3 remaining multiplexers to the 16 remaining phototransistors in the same fashion we hooked up the first 8 phototransistors to the first multiplexer. The image is crowded with wires, but this is to show how the finished product of all the multiplexers hooked up to the phototransistors should look like. If you cannot remember how to hook up the rest of the phototransistors, please refer back to step 3 (Hubs 2 & 4) and step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4).

Emitter Extension Module (Hub 3 & 4)

We have created Hubs 1-4 and receiver extension modules for Hubs 1 and 2, now we need to create emitter extension modules for Hubs 3 & 4. The wiring for these modules is fairly straightforward, just make sure that you leave two wires hanging off of the two terminals as shown in the images. Create two of these circuits (for Hub 3 and 4) and ensure they each have the two wires so that they may attach to their respective hubs.

Hub 1 Modular

In order to build a modular system, we need to make adjustments to Hub 1 (you can pick which one of Hub 1 and 3 is "1" because they should be identical at this point) so that it can accept more receiver hubs. In order to do this we extend some of the connections and leave the wires hanging off of the breadboard using male to female wires (the male end should be in contact with the breadboard and the female end should be hanging off of the breadboard). We do this for 8 connections as shown.

Hub 5

This is the wiring for Hub 5, it is the most straightforward as it is composed of the Pro Micro and the NRF24L01. You may use the female to female jumper wires to connect the two devices together.

Hub and Extension Module Orientation

In order to orient the modules and the hubs correctly, I created a visual that shows how the different modules face each other. The modules are oriented with Hub 1 being in the bottom left, Hub 2 in the bottom right, Hub 3 at the top left, and Hub 4 at the top Right. Connect receiver extension modules to their respective Hubs via with the male headers coming off of the extension matching their female counterparts (visible through color coding of the diagrams) and the emitter extensions with their respective hubs in the orientation in the image (use the color coding again to determine how to connect the modules together).

Receiver Extension Module (Hub 1)

Now that Hubs 1-4 are complete in wiring, we can create the extension receiver hubs that can attach to hubs 1 and 2 to increase the number of receivers on the system (effectively increasing the physical resolution of the system). We create an extension module with the multiplexers on the small breadboard. Complete the connections for the multiplexers to the phototransistors the same way you did for Hub 1 and its phototransistors and multiplexer connections.

Step 2

This is the second step to the 4 primary hubs, in this step we just add more components to the circuits for Hubs 1-4 we have started to make. At this point, all the Hubs are identical in the wiring.

Step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4)

In Step 4 (Hubs 2 & 4), we wired up half of a multiplexer with 4 phototransistors, now we are going to hook up another 4 for Hubs 2 & 4 each. Notice that the previous connections we made on Hubs 2 & 4 do not appear in this image, some connections were taken off so that you may clearly view the connections for the second set of 4 transistors. You should not remove the connections made for the first 4 phototransistors in step 3 (Hubs 2 & 4), merely add these connections to the hubs.

Step 3 (Hubs 1 & 3)

On this step, hubs 1&3 start to look different from 2&4, wiring the phototransistors to the multiplexers is different for hubs 1 &3 so please make sure you only make these adjustments for 2 of the 4 circuits you are working on. Those 2 circuits you make these adjustments to are now going to be referred to as 'Hubs 1 & 3'.