PIMORONI Bearables Fox Kit User manual

BearablesFox Kit /PIM318
A complete Bearables Fox Kit with coloured LED
badge, light sensor, thread, needles, and
battery. Sewable, hackable, wearable, adorable!
Bearables is a range of woodland-themed wearable LED badges and sensors. Wear the
badges on their own, or connect them to one of the sensors with conductive thread to
bring them to life. Designed for kids* (suggested age 8+) and grown-up kids alike!
Attach the flower light sensor to the Fox badge and when you cover the sensor or when
it's dark your badge's LEDs will light up.
In their five star review, The MagPi said that Bearables were "excellent value for
money" and that "the badge kit has everything you need to sew your interactive badge
and sensor to clothes".

*Contains small parts. Not suitable for children 3 years or younger. This is not a toy.
Keep battery out of reach of children. If ingested, seek medical help immediately.
Kitcontains
•Fox badge with 12 LEDs (multi-coloured)
•Flower light sensor
•3m stainless steel conductive thread
•3 sewing needles
•CR2032 3V coin cell battery
•2x sticker sheets
•Instructions
•Reusable box
Features
•12 coloured LEDs (blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink)
•12 light patterns
•Multi-functional button (mode change, sleep, trigger mode)
•PIC16F1503 microcontroller
•Sewable hooks
•Light sensor with two phototransistors
•Battery life of 3-4 days with a CR2032 coin cell battery
UsingyourBearablesbadge
Press the multi-functional button on your badge briefly to cycle through the light
patterns. Each of the LEDs will light to indicate which of the 12 patterns is currently
selected. Press and hold the button to put your badge into sleep mode.
The nifty design of the badges and sensors means that it's super-simple to connect
them. It doesn't matter which way round they're connected. Just connect one hook on
the badge to one hook on the sensor with conductive thread, then do the same with the
other two hooks.
Once a sensor is connected, press and hold the multi-functional button to put your
badge into trigger mode. Now when you trigger the sensor, the LED lights on your
badge will light up.

Notes
•Bearables badges and sensors are not waterproof or washable
•Be aware that conductive thread is sharp!
•Ensure that the two pieces of conductive thread connecting your Bearables badge and sensor
do not touch, bearing (pun intended) in mind that they may touch when the fabric is creased or
folded. Nothing bad will happen, the sensor just won't work as it should.
•The hooks on the back can be shorted without any damage to the badge, although it may trigger
the LEDs similar to triggering them with a sensor. A painted or coated safety pin will work better
than a bare metal one.
•A dab of clear nail varnish on the conductive thread around the hook can help to give a better,
more reliable connection
•Badge dimensions: 47x35x5mm (LxWxH)
•Sensor dimensions: 17x17x5mm (LxWxH)
Bearables is a range of woodland-themed LED badges and sensors. Wear the badges
on their own, or connect them to one of the sensors with conductive thread to bring
them to life. Designed for kids* (suggested age 8+) and grown-up kids alike!
Contains small parts. Not suitable for children 3 years or younger. This is not a
toy. Keep battery out of reach of children. If ingested, seek medical help
immediately.

In this short tutorial, we'll go through how to use your Bearables badge, how to wear it
or attach it, and how to connect and use the sensors. There's a handy little quick start
guide to using your Bearables badge below, that you can print out and keep.

Using your badge
Your Bearables badge has 12 differently-coloured LEDs, a multi-functional button, a
coin cell battery holder, and two metal hooks to attach your badge and to connect
Bearables sensors to it.
If the battery is already in your badge, then pull out the paper or plastic tab and your
badge should come on. If the battery isn't already in, then push it all the way in to the
battery holder, with the + side facing upwards (matching the + on the battery holder).
Pressing the button briefly will cycle through the 12 different light patterns, and the
LEDs will light when you press the button to show which mode is selected.
Pressing and holding the button for a few seconds will put the badge to sleep, or put the
badge into trigger mode when you have a sensor connected (more on that later).
If you leave your Bearables badge switched on, then it will go into sleep mode
automatically after about 60 minutes to save the battery from draining too quickly. Your
badge should run for 3-4 days if lit continuously (using a 3V CR2032 coin cell battery).
Wearing your badge
You can use a safety pin, a small disc magnet, a piece of double-sided sticky tape, or of
course thread, to attach your Bearables badge to your coat, bag, or whatever you wish.

If you're using a safety pin, then unfasten the pin and pass the pin through one hook,
then through the fabric, and then through the second hook, before fastening the safety
pin again.
You can also use a small disc magnet of about 20mm in diameter to attach your badge.
Pop the magnet underneath the fabric and it'll be attracted to the battery on the badge
on top of the fabric and hold it in place.
Bear (!!) in mind that small magnets and safety pins are unsuitable for small
children.
Sensors
Bearables sensors have two metal hooks just like the badges. To connect a sensor to
your badge, you just connect each of the hooks on your badge to the hooks on the
sensor, and it doesn't matter which hook you connect to which, either way will work.
You can test your sensors with a couple of crocodile clips clipped to the hooks.
To put your badge into trigger mode, press and hold the button on your badge for a
couple of seconds while your badge is connected up to a sensor. The bottom middle
LED on your badge should flash to indicate that it's in trigger mode, and when you cover
the light sensor, or move the motion sensor, then your badge's LEDs should light.
Sewing your badge
Conductive thread, like the thread included in the Bearables kits, is made of metal and
conducts electricity just like normal wires. You can sew with it as you would with regular
thread.
We'll go through how to sew your badge and sensor now.
Cut a length of conductive thread long enough to stretch from where you want your
badge to be to where you want to place your sensor, plus some extra to account for
looping the thread around the hooks.

Tie a knot in one end of your thread. Conductive thread is a bit harder to knot than
regular thread, so you might have to tie a couple of knots on top of each other to stop it
from untying.
Thread your needle, and then anchor your thread by sewing two or three stitches on top
of each other next to where you'd like the first hook of your badge to be.

Using your needle, loop the thread around the first hook four or 5 times, pulling it tight
against the fabric and making sure that it's tightly wound round the hook to make a good
electrical contact.
Anchor the thread again next to the hook to hold it tight, then run a stitch to where you'd
like the sensor to be positioned.

Go through the same steps that you did for the first badge hook with the first of the
sensor's hooks: anchor the thread, wrap it four or five times around the hook, then
anchor again.
Repeat the steps above for the second badge hook and the second sensor hook.

It's really important that the two pieces of thread don't touch each other; nothing
bad will happen, it'll just mean that the sensor won't work as expected and your
badge will be permanently triggered.
Handy hints
A little dab of clear nail varnish on the hooks can help to hold the thread nice and tight
and give a solid electrical contact.
Unlike real bears, Bearables bears (and indeed foxes, flowers, and acorns) do not like
water, so please don't wash them, take them out in the rain, or otherwise get them wet
(or feed them after midnight).
If you're a more experienced stitcher, you could attach your badge and sensor to a
small piece of fabric and attach pop fasteners to them and to your garment, allowing
you to remove them before washing.
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/bearables-fox-kit 1-12-18