Trying It Out

At this point, the puppet is ready to go. Press a hand or the little guy’s nose, and listen to what he has to say. If something doesn’t work, here are the obvious things to check out: Check that all the batteries are fresh, tightly inserted in the battery pack, and all face the right direction. Check to see that no wires or components have come loose.

Taking It Further

Adding sound to objects has endless potential, as manufacturers of stuffed toys and dolls have discovered. If you like this project, here are some ways to vary it or take it further: You can use a different puppet or stuffed animal or plastic toy in which to put the project. Create a music box that plays when you press a switch. Add more switches for people to push. You can use up to eight of the event pins for sound.

Add light to sound. For example, you might want to put a light on Merlin’s head that lights up every time he speaks. See Chapter 5 for some ideas about working with LEDs. If you want to program the SpeakJet only once, you don’t need to keep the MAX232 with your project. Instead, you can move the SpeakJet to a smaller breadboard. That way, you can fit the board into a smaller puppet or toy.