Looking for advice on a simple circuit build or a company who would do it

[Oswald Cobblepot]

Hi Guys, I’m looking for some direction on a simple circuit design. Preferably I’d like an electronic prototype producer to do this for me however old google wants to point me to high end electrical engineering companies that are far too expensive for my simple project design. And so i've come to the experts for advice!

Its basically a trigger switch attached to > a compact speaker > red LED > blue LED > a ‘rumble’ mechanism (such as that in a vibrating game controller) and an internal switch mechanism to control ‘randomness’ (from my point of ignorance I think this would be a microprocessor?) it should cause one of two actions to occur at random when the trigger is pulled, preferably at a ratio of 5:6 where one outcome occurs slightly more often then the other.

The idea is, when the trigger switch is pulled it either produces a 1 sec sound clip A with a flash of the red LED and a short sharp rumble/vibration OR a 1 sec sound clip B with a flash of the blue LED and no rumble/vibration.

Do you know if a microprocessor is the right mechanism to use here and/or can anyone recommend a prototype builder who could wire this up for me? I’d be happy to DIY it if it was simple enough to acquire all the parts but am not sure if I've approached this correctly, assuming microprocessor is the way to go.

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated!

Please see how I imagine it to look as a finished item (as you can see I have no circuit drawing knowledge ) .

 

[AnalogKid]

There is more to your idea than simply assembling prebuilt modules - such as the software to make them all work together. An Arduino has many peripheral devices, including an audio player. What is your programming experience.

Also, what is this for?

ak

 

[Oswald Cobblepot]

Hi AnalogKid, My experience is nill to nothing as far as electronics and programming! This is a part of a UNI project on conditioning. It's synonymous with the Pavlov's dogs experiment. Like a tool to help condition a person to associate a buzz, colour and sound with unpalatable tastes and a different, less threatening noise and a blue flash with pleasant tastes. It'll be housed in a custom shell I'll be 3D printing for the volunteer/s to carry in their pocket.

Since I have little knowledge of electronics, my intention is to have someone else construct it for me however i A) dont know who to approach to build this on the cheep.. and B) Am not sure if i will make sense when i'm asking Haha. For example, if i find out from you electro-wizards that a microprocessor is not what i need then that will be something i shouldn't be asking about integrating into the design.

Thanks for your response!

 

[Oswald Cobblepot]

PS: even your casual drop of "Arduino" has helped streamline my efforts to scrape together some direction. Thanks! Word of the week.

 

[dougy83]

Hello, just curious about which country are you in and what the sound clips are (and what playback quality they need to have).

 

[Oswald Cobblepot]

Hey Dougy83, I'm an Aussie From Sydney. The clips should be fairly decent and clearly audible over ambient noise environments. we where planning on using natural anxiety and relief inducing noises, being a sudden gun shot 'bang' and a quieter 'click' as if a gun did not fire. The idea being to encourage anxiety of the bang prior to pulling the trigger switch (which is important here) Thanks for responding!

 

[Superdat]

A microcontroller could do what you want. Think of a microprocessor as a device that makes other things work at set times and duration. E.g, when SW1 is operated make sound2 for 5 seconds and send it to speaker1 and flash LEDs 1-5 alternately for 6 seconds. It's not a magic box, just a very fast one.
At this stage asking for a circuit is way too vague. The pcb is relatively easy, the functionality (sounds, lights etc.) not so easy. Someone could design and build one but it probably wouldn't be what you want, so what then, build another?

it should cause one of two actions to occur at random when the trigger is pulled, preferably at a ratio of 5:6 where one outcome occurs slightly more often then the other

This may make perfect sense to you, but to me it means nothing. What sort of random action, why do you want a 5:6 ratio. In short what the hell are you trying to do? As I said before a Microprocessor isn't a magic box.
It might be worth your while to do some research into what you actually want. How is the trigger operated, and why? What type of switch do you want? what sort of noise?
Where is the user going to be relative to the LEDs. A small dimly lit LED won't IMO do much to influence behaviour. A flashing sequence of colours might attract my attention more.
What power source will be used? What sort of quality do you want from the speaker?
You don't need to pysically do everything to start with, e.g. Google 4cm speaker reviews (or similar) videos then you can hear the quality or otherwise of 4cm speakers. Let's say you now want a 10cm speaker because of its quality, only problem is it will be too big and a new problem, it needs too much power i.e. a big battery. Time to compromise.
Once you've figured out what you think you need, then start DIY. Arduino is very popular because it's cheap and there are lots of ready made modules (shields) and it's fairly easy to program. The Shields are designed for people who just want to make it go without the hassle of building every module and minimal programming.
You may say that you don't have time, but have you ever wondered why Degree Students working in Astro or other techie stuff use lathes and other machines to make things for their project? Asking a trained machinist to make a device to measure impact speed when landing on Mars is unlikely to produce the desired result. It's easier to train the student to learn how to use a lathe than train the machinist to understand the required physics or explain it with sufficient detail.
The are lots of ppl without degrees who can program a Microprocessor (an Arduino is a mini project board with a microP onboard).
I don't have a degree and I decided to learn how to program after breaking the stepper motor (2x) hand controller of an astro telescope mount. Like most things the 1st few steps were the hardest. Once I'd mastered that I was sufficiently interested to continue learning. It may come in handy as a useful extra skill.

 

[AnalogKid]

Makes sense to me, but I grew up on a university campus and later built research equipment for six years. The big complicating factor is the audio. If two electronic tones, one pleasant and one not, were ok, the the whole thing could be done in hardware (no programming. It would take a few chips and their supporting parts, but still - no programming. But, since you have no hardware experience either, you still would be dependent on the kindness of strangers.

I don't think making the device wobble will be unpleasant enough to add to the conditioning. A small electrical shock would be, and that is something very easy to control safely, but the human subjects review would be tough.

ak

 

[Superdat]

Makes sense to me, but I grew up on a university campus and later built research equipment for six years.
ak

I didn't realise clarvoyance was taught at university, arrogance is certainly abundant (I've experience plenty whem I was working). Tones weren't mentioned, you made an assumption. The OP has yet to learn how to state his requirements.
Bit like asking for a solid fuel rocket that was powerful enough to lift off from the earth, making lots of noise and that can be seen for miles.
Then being disappointed when a Bonfire Night Rocket is offered.

 

[AnalogKid]

Tones weren't mentioned, you made an assumption.

No, I made a suggestion:

If two electronic tones, one pleasant and one not, were ok, ...

Note the "IF".

ak

 

[dougy83]

Hey Dougy83, I'm an Aussie From Sydney. The clips should be fairly decent and clearly audible over ambient noise environments. we where planning on using natural anxiety and relief inducing noises, being a sudden gun shot 'bang' and a quieter 'click' as if a gun did not fire. The idea being to encourage anxiety of the bang prior to pulling the trigger switch (which is important here) Thanks for responding!

If you're in Sydney, then I may be able to send you some parts if you need them. I did a cheap sound playback on a small microcontroller a while back, see here: Programmer Needed PIC12f683. I can use the same code with a new audio file and some code to handle the switches and lights and get it in a 8-pin IC. Power will be 3 to 6V (so 2-4 AA/AAA batteries). If that sound quality is acceptable (there's samples of a bird squawking; a gunshot may or may not sound better), it shouldn't be hard to do.

 

[Oswald Cobblepot]

Thanks all for your time,
My goal was for a critique of my approach and have found where my assumptions where right and wrong. I've got enough direction to approach a prototyper for a build request.

Thanks for the offer dougy83, much appreciated however I'll try not to crawl deeper down this rabbit hole and leave it to the experts.

Superdat, thanks for your help, under your staunchly furrowing brow lies some good info, very helpful.

Cheers AnalogKid, you where my first.. and will always gold a special place in my heart.

Adios Amigos

 

[Superdat]

If you were as old as me you'd have furrowed brow lines ;-)

 

[OlPhart]

I'd definitely use a micro, choosing which one is like picking an ice cream flavor.
For sound, I like the Winbond ISD series chips (Digi-Key).
For 2 sound clips, just toggle the highest address bit.
I've built several museum exhibits with them.
Writing a "random" number generator is easy, good ones aren't.
Read a free running counter/timer and "bin" the range into the number of outcomes and their ratios.
In your case, 11 equal size bins, if 8 bit value, each ~= 23 values wide.

I'm a prototyper, but in Michigan, USA ... not practical. Good Hunting, <<<)))