Hi from a newbie, I've got a reasonable understanding of simple DC electrics but I'm stuck with this bit of electronics.
I want to run an electronic cigarette inside a Scalextric car so that when it goes around corners it switches on and smoke comes out from the back tyres. Not exactly the solution to world peace, but it keeps me and the kids amused.
The Scalextric car gets anywhere between 0V and 15V from the rails, the voltage varies depending on whether you've got the throttle fully open, fully closed or somewhere in between. The hand controller has a simple variable resistor inside it. The motor takes (at an educated guess) 1.5A maximum.
The electronic cigarette has a coil of resistance wire which is about 1 ohm and what I thought was that with a tilt switch inside the car I can use it to switch the cigarette's coil on. A quick look around shows me that a tilt switch can switch about 20mA but I believe the usual power is 3.7V and 800mA.
First, what do I need (a modern version of a relay) to switch the coil from a tilt switch? Second, is there a better way to do this instead of having a heavy battery inside the car? Maybe use a smaller battery and take power from the rails to top it up?
I don't think I can directly switch the coil from the rails because I know if you put two cars on one track they slow down a lot, so if I power the coil on it will probably slow down the motor. The Scalextric's power supply isn't very high current.
Thanks for any help on this, I know it's a little odd.
I want to run an electronic cigarette inside a Scalextric car so that when it goes around corners it switches on and smoke comes out from the back tyres. Not exactly the solution to world peace, but it keeps me and the kids amused.
The Scalextric car gets anywhere between 0V and 15V from the rails, the voltage varies depending on whether you've got the throttle fully open, fully closed or somewhere in between. The hand controller has a simple variable resistor inside it. The motor takes (at an educated guess) 1.5A maximum.
The electronic cigarette has a coil of resistance wire which is about 1 ohm and what I thought was that with a tilt switch inside the car I can use it to switch the cigarette's coil on. A quick look around shows me that a tilt switch can switch about 20mA but I believe the usual power is 3.7V and 800mA.
First, what do I need (a modern version of a relay) to switch the coil from a tilt switch? Second, is there a better way to do this instead of having a heavy battery inside the car? Maybe use a smaller battery and take power from the rails to top it up?
I don't think I can directly switch the coil from the rails because I know if you put two cars on one track they slow down a lot, so if I power the coil on it will probably slow down the motor. The Scalextric's power supply isn't very high current.
Thanks for any help on this, I know it's a little odd.