Brian Corteil
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cannonfodder.bsky.social
Brian Corteil
@cannonfodder.bsky.social
Maker
It's a trap!
November 8, 2025 at 9:55 PM
I have just finished making a badge for Potton Pi & Pints from an old School @pimoroni.com Unicorn hat, the brains 🧟 is a Raspberry Pi PicoW. The Pico is hosting a web site to select the current pattern display and brightness of the LEDs. Always forget how bright an Unicorn hat is when unleashed! 😎
October 30, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Yes, it's now my box. Move on!
October 26, 2025 at 7:23 PM
At Assemble :-)
October 25, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Self portrait in 64 x 64 pixels displayed on my Giant Unicorn.
October 25, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Finally tidying up the bird's nest of cables and floating PCBs before Assemble Darby tomorrow, the Colour Pixel Picker is hardware complete, just need to finish the software 😂
Part of my #GiganticUnicorn project.
October 24, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Used the colour picker to create this 8-bit Pacman image. :-) software status is good enough. Need to make a couple changes to the function keys, currently too easy to wipe your hard work with one key press. This Saturday I will be showing off this project and others at assemble. #giganticUnicorn
October 22, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I'm looking forward to showing off.... Er sharing my old school @pimoroni.com Unicorn hat projects this Saturday. It's a great making festival with all sorts of makers sharing their projects & the joy of making.
October 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Update for the Giant Unicorn hat colour selector. It works! 😎

#GiganticUnicorn
October 21, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I hit a bit of a brick wall this weekend programming a save buffer function for the colour picker. Then copied and then reinstated the saved data was lost! After a bit of thinking I realised that copying the buffer, that the data was not copied just the labels pointing to the original buffer 1/2
October 20, 2025 at 1:28 PM
I will be at Assemble, Darby on Saturday, showing off the @pimoroni.com Giant Unicorn hat and other projects.
#GiganticUnicorn
October 19, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Software has been started, the LEDs buffer is sent to the PyGame on a Raspberry Pi.
#GiganticUnicorn
October 18, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Just a DC motor, built into the fader, I'm using @pimoroni.com motor 2040 to control the motor and read the value of the fader.
October 18, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Working on the layout for the colour sector for my #GiganticUnicorn project, you are able to change the colour of individual pixels on the Unicorn hats.... Well you will be able to when I finish the programming :-)
October 18, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Fun times, cracking open a phone to replace the battery. Not scary at all 😱, letting Tom take the lead. He not worried, new battery or phone whatever the outcome 🤣
October 12, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The faders are motorised and move to the stored value after selection, currently set up for RGB colour values. It's programmed in CircuitPython. The motor driver is a @pimoroni.com Motor 2040 and is handling all the inputs and outputs.
#GiganticUnicorn
October 1, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Further update on my #GiganticUnicorn colour controller build, now have the Trellis keypad/display working and the fader is able to set colour level, currently only a single channel is connected, when selecting a pixel, fader is set automatically to current level.
September 28, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Today, I have been working on a controller for the Giant Unicorn Hat. Have written a function to move the powered fadder to a set position, using a @pimoroni.com motor 2040, running CircuitPython to monitor/control the faders and the NeoTreilis.
#GiganticUnicorn
September 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Old school @pimoroni.com Unicorn hat running on a Raspberry Pi 500+

You can never have enough LEDs!
September 26, 2025 at 9:32 PM
So pretty :-)
September 26, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Things happen when you live and work close to the Raspberry Pi shop!
September 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Quick and dirty test at 5v, that was quick!
#GiganticUnicorn
September 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I blame @usedbytes.com for this, motorised faders for selecting the colour values of the Giant Unicorn hat pixels, thinking about designing a PCB to make it pretty :-) select a pixel and the pots move to the correct values #GiganticUnicorn
September 21, 2025 at 11:46 AM
For my next Hacky Racers robot build 'Rubber Ducky', I bought this beauty :-) for the Moxy team badge the tag line will be 'Get out of my quacking way'.
August 20, 2025 at 8:37 PM
In a field in Suffolk :-) #footfest

A giant thank you to @pimoroni.com for their support allowing me to create the Giant Unicorn Hat.

#GiganticUnicorn
August 9, 2025 at 6:07 AM