Seer Frights — Swamp Glow

Parts List

Everything you need. Where to find it.

Field notes — Mrs. Calhoun's supply list, reconstructed. Everything below is what you need to build the Swamp Glow.

VERSION 1 — THE EASY ONE

Green LED, diffused, 5mm

Qty: 1

The soft kind — not the bright clear ones. Diffused LEDs scatter the light so the whole puck glows evenly. 100-pack, about $0.06 each.

Amazon (OWOFYDR 100-pack) →

CR2032 coin battery

Qty: 1
#1 Swamp Glow#2 Route 13

The flat silver one. 3V. Available at any drugstore, grocery store, or online. About $0.45 each in a 20-pack.

Amazon (Energizer) → Amazon Basics → Amazon (POWEROWL 20-pack) →

Electrical tape

1 roll
#1 Swamp Glow#2 Route 13#3 Three-Knock

Black electrical tape. Holds the battery and LED legs together. Any hardware store or dollar store.

Amazon →

Clear plastic ornament ball

Qty: 1

Clear capsules that split in half. 2-inch size — perfect for the coin battery build. 50-pack for $19.79.

Amazon (JOINPAYA capsules) →

Aquarium silicone

1 tube

Optional. Seals the ball seam for waterproofing. Skip if you're not putting it in water. Must be 100% silicone, no anti-mildew additives.

Amazon →

Green glass paint

1 bottle

Optional. One coat makes the clear ball look swampy. Without it, the LED still glows green through the clear plastic.

Amazon →

Fine sandpaper

1 sheet

Optional. 220-grit or higher. Roughing up the ball frosts the surface and scatters the glow. Works without it, but looks better frosted.

Amazon →

VERSION 2 — ADD THESE

Building Version 2? You still need the LED, CR2032 battery, ball, and housing supplies from Version 1, plus these extra parts. No soldering required.

ATtiny85 chip (8-pin DIP)

Qty: 1
#1 Swamp Glow#2 Route 13#3 Three-Knock

ATTINY85-20PU. Tiny 8-pin microcontroller — program it once, it remembers forever. Runs on 2.7–5.5V. 5-pack for $13.99 — gives you spares.

Amazon (5-pack) →

Tiny AVR Programmer

Qty: 1
#1 Swamp Glow#2 Route 13#3 Three-Knock

USB programmer board with a built-in socket. Plug the ATtiny85 in, plug into USB, upload from the Arduino IDE. $16.99.

Amazon →

Resistor, 150Ω

Qty: 1
#1 Swamp Glow#2 Route 13

LED current limiter. 1/4 watt. Brown-green-brown color bands. 100-pack for $5.49.

Amazon (EDGELEC 100-pack) →

CR2032 battery holder with leads

Qty: 1
#1 Swamp Glow#2 Route 13#3 Three-Knock

Snap-in holder with red (+) and black (−) wires and built-in on/off switch. Red wire to VCC (pin 8), black wire to GND (pin 4). No extra hookup wire needed. 6-pack for $5.59.

Amazon (Coliao 6-pack) →

VERSION 3 — GO FURTHER

Building Version 3? No soldering. No timer chip. Just the ATOM Matrix, a cable, a battery pack, and the same housing from Versions 1 & 2.

ATOM Matrix

Qty: 1

24mm square, 7 grams. ESP32 processor, 5×5 RGB LED matrix, Wi-Fi, accelerometer. USB-C power. About $15.

Buy →

USB-C cable

Qty: 1

Powers the ATOM Matrix. Any USB-C cable will work.

Amazon →

Small waterproof power bank

Qty: 1

Or a long USB cable to a hidden outlet. Tuck the power bank in a waterproof bag and bury it near the roots.

Amazon →

Housing

Same as Versions 1 & 2 — plastic ornament ball, aquarium silicone, sandpaper, green glass paint. See above.

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