Ambient Email Notifier Using Twinkling Star

Overview

The project utilizes an RGB LED in the form of a start connected to the USB port in order to provide email notification.

Details

The RGB LED is controlled by a PICAXE 08M which is provided with RS232 and power using a 4d-micro-USB module. There are 7 colors that can be controlled such as green for newsletter, red for work email, blue for other emails, etc. By sending characters to the COM port, the brightness can also be controlled which is done by a Python script that is run every 10 minutes by the Task Scheduler. To allow the LED to be turned OFF again, this is accompanied with a system tray icon.

To connect the device to the PC using standard AM to BM cable, the micro-USB uses a standard USB B connector and an 8-pin footprint at 0.1” centers on the target board, which allows connecting to the breadboard easily. The micro-USB is based on CP2102 IC which contains an on-board EEPROM and a UART. It is a single chip in which the data traffic between USB and UART formats are converted. A complete USB 2.0 full-speed function controller is included.