Build Instructions

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• 1

  Step 1

  Create a bulb by wrapping an LED strip around a plastic bottle. You could skip this, but the Sense HAT is not bright enough to make a lamp. Cut the top off an empty plastic bottle, cover it in sticky pads and wrap the LED strip around it in a spiral. You can secure the ends further with tape. Have the connection end at the wider opening so that you can route the power cable to the Pi and then out through the centre. We’ll mount the Pi on top of the upside-down bottle end, so ensure it’s flat.

• 2

  Step 2

  Remove the Earth from its mount by pulling the pegs of the holder out of the holes in the Arctic and Antarctic. Next, split it in half along the equator by pulling the two hemispheres apart. It should disassemble fairly easily with a little force applied in the correct places. You’ll want to fashion a new mount to stop the globe rolling around, whilst still allowing the power cable to exit from the bottom hole – you could use the inside of a roll of tape. You can cut a small slot with a knife to allow the wire to enter.

• 3

  Step 3

  Attach your new LED bulb to the inside of the globe. Mount the neck of the bottle over the lower hole with Blu-Tack or putty; it should be sturdy enough to support the weight of the Pi resting on top of it. Mount the Sense HAT on the Pi, and then place both on top of the upturned bottle. Attach a USB WiFi dongle to the Pi (unless you’re using wired Ethernet - see step 8 - or a Raspberry Pi 3), otherwise it will wake you at the wrong time. This is because the Pi requires internet access to set its clock.

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