My Halloween project - timer circuit? Anyone have any ideas? - Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Free

2000boxster · 8th September 2003, 06:12 AM

I have a Halloween project that I need help with. I have already built the entire project, with the exception of a decent way to trigger this thing!

Basically, this little 'project' is a wooden coffin that is painted up to look very old, and it is going to be leaning up against a tree as a prop for Halloween. Inside the wooden box is a solenoid that 'knocks' on the inside of the coffin, like someone is trying to get out! In addition, there are lots of "Help me!" sounds coming from a set of powered PC speakers inside the box. So basically, it sounds like someone is yelling and knocking to get out of the coffin....

Now, I have a 110V plug hanging out of the back of this thing that powers everything inside. I also have two pairs of wires coming out of the back. If I close the first pair, the "Help me!" sounds begin, and stay on only while the pair is closed. When I close the second pair, the solenoid 'knocks' once.

What I am looking for is a way of making this into a 'pushbutton' application. I would like to just close a pushbutton switch and release. This would cause the sounds to begin and run for a few seconds, and there would be some random knocks from the solenoid.

So, basically what I am looking for is 2 separate circuits. One circuit would energize the whole thing for ~5-10 seconds. The other circuit (which would actually be activated by the first circuit) would cause the random knocks.

If anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate them. I probably could have built this thing 10 years ago when I was working with electronics in college, but I haven't worked on anything like this in years!

Thanks!

2000boxster · 9th September 2003, 04:50 AM

Hello again, I found a circuit this morning on the web that I built this evening and it works pretty good for what I need. I am still looking for a way of randomizing the knocks though. Anbody have any ideas? All I need is a circuit that, while energized, will provide a random sequence of highs and lows to a relay. Actually, I guess it could simply be a preset sequence that just 'seems' random. If anyone has an idea, I would appreciate it!

Regards,

bogdanfirst · 9th September 2003, 04:29 PM

just a suggestion, you coul use a counter and triugger the different effects in a specific order.
o, and an nice thing is if you can make it so that it triggers when you pass by it

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8th September 2003, 06:12 AM	(permalink)
2000boxster	My Halloween project - timer circuit? Anyone have any ideas? I have a Halloween project that I need help with. I have already built the entire project, with the exception of a decent way to trigger this thing! Basically, this little 'project' is a wooden coffin that is painted up to look very old, and it is going to be leaning up against a tree as a prop for Halloween. Inside the wooden box is a solenoid that 'knocks' on the inside of the coffin, like someone is trying to get out! In addition, there are lots of "Help me!" sounds coming from a set of powered PC speakers inside the box. So basically, it sounds like someone is yelling and knocking to get out of the coffin.... Now, I have a 110V plug hanging out of the back of this thing that powers everything inside. I also have two pairs of wires coming out of the back. If I close the first pair, the "Help me!" sounds begin, and stay on only while the pair is closed. When I close the second pair, the solenoid 'knocks' once. What I am looking for is a way of making this into a 'pushbutton' application. I would like to just close a pushbutton switch and release. This would cause the sounds to begin and run for a few seconds, and there would be some random knocks from the solenoid. So, basically what I am looking for is 2 separate circuits. One circuit would energize the whole thing for ~5-10 seconds. The other circuit (which would actually be activated by the first circuit) would cause the random knocks. If anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate them. I probably could have built this thing 10 years ago when I was working with electronics in college, but I haven't worked on anything like this in years! Thanks!

9th September 2003, 04:50 AM	(permalink)
2000boxster	Halloween project Hello again, I found a circuit this morning on the web that I built this evening and it works pretty good for what I need. I am still looking for a way of randomizing the knocks though. Anbody have any ideas? All I need is a circuit that, while energized, will provide a random sequence of highs and lows to a relay. Actually, I guess it could simply be a preset sequence that just 'seems' random. If anyone has an idea, I would appreciate it! Regards,

9th September 2003, 04:29 PM	(permalink)
bogdanfirst	just a suggestion, you coul use a counter and triugger the different effects in a specific order. o, and an nice thing is if you can make it so that it triggers when you pass by it