time fountain help.

[luka1222]

Hi guys,
my name is lewis , i have been developing a time fountain for some time now, hear is a link of a previous version:

YouTube - time fountain 2
YouTube - My Time Fountain

thing is i have taken it as far as i can, but i want to go further. i am a novice at best with electronics, and have stumbled my way through so far to get to this point. I am a model maker and rapid prototyper by trade and have everypart of the design down , except i need some help refining the electronics.

the original you see in the above vids was done with a 555 timer method. it relys on the fact that i can get perfectly consistent drips through my rig. a variable resistor or two gives you the opetunity to have complet control over the speed of the drops as they fall or turning them in the other direction to make them go up. the thing is it is pretty hard to freeze the drops in the air. tuning the strobe to match the exact frequency to do this is hard and time consuming, and once you get it it only lasts for a few seconds befor it drifts out of line again.
so i need you guys help. i want to be able to keep the same kind of variable control i have at preasent but incorperate a sensor that feeds into the system so at any time i want i can press a button and freeze the drops where they are. the sensor would have to rely on light or something similar, and can not touch the falling drops physically in any way so not to disterb there falling path.
i think this is allot trickyer once you startto get your head around it , and i am at a loss.

Any help with this would be very much appriciated, i dont mind paying for peoples services or evan exchanging a fountain for your troubles.

i am stumped please help!!

 

[luka1222]

ok, will try and do a better explanation a bit later on that was a bit rushed.

 

[jimlovell777]

My first two thoughts are either a beam break type sensor or perhaps a microphone to listen for each drip. You could use a frequency counter to vary the strobe frequency based on the input of either input sensor. I think you have options.

 

[luka1222]

sounds good , never herd of a frequency counter. my instict would be to use a beam break system, microphone wouldnt work with my design.

see what you have is a constant drip of water . what i would need is something that senses the frequency of that water driping and times the strobe
(in this case around 20-30 uv leds) to fire in time, then the drop would freeze.

to make the drop move in slow motion the system would need to look at the frequency of the water drops, match it to freeze the drops, then slightly increase or decrease that frquency on the strobe from there depending on how much you turned a control dial. i have no idea how to do this electronicaly, i would need it spelt out with a circuit diagram. Anyone know how to do this? i will pay.

 

[jimlovell777]

If it were my project I'd use a microcontroller. Since it seems you're not familar with them you'd either have to learn or find someone to write the code for you. How big are your drips of water? Big enough to fully diffuse an iR LASER beam?

 

[luka1222]

the drops are around 4 mm diameter.

 

[Boncuk]

I'd use capacitive sensors to determine the speed and distance between droplets.

 

[luka1222]

ok , dont know what those are but jst as long as they dont touch the drops at all.

i know this is a bit of a long shot but i need someone to do this for me, i will pay.

 

[luka1222]

or does anyone know of a electronics company that can design circuits for you with a sepec along the line ive been saying, like a design service?