Hello all

I am a complete newcomer to electronics.. I am basically looking for advice on the diagram seen in this post

Basically I want to pass a magnet (stuck to a clock hour hand) over a reed switch which then powers a motor at 3v and plays a recorded sound on one of those cheap greeting card circuits

(1) below shows the general setup without the greeting card sound circuit.
- I need to output 3v from the 2 1.5 v D batteries, is this possible?

(2) greeting car circuit
- Is it possible to somehow connect the greeting car circuit to (1) if so how?? It needs to be powered from the 2 D batteries and the current push switch to be removed and operated by the reed switch in (1)

The overall outcome I want is for the reed switch to power the motor for the duration the magnet is over the reed switch and to play the recodered sound in circuit (2) once. (I tested circuit (2) with the reed switch and it plays once then stops, no repeat)

Any help appreciated

Thanks

Dave

 

Hello Dave,

Welcome to AAC!
Very possible project.
How big is the clock and the hour hand? A magnet on the hand might be a bit heavy for it?
You might want to think of an optical switch using an opto-interrupter. The signal from the optical switch will then trigger a 555-timer circuit which will enable power for the desired duration.

What is the purpose of the motor?

 

Using only the Hour Hand to time an event will not be accurate enough. It will work, but the exact ON trigger and OFF trigger can vary by minutes.
You may have to include the Minute Hand along with the Hour hand to make it more accurate.

But as MrChips mentioned above, an Optical Switch will be a better option.

 

Hi Mr Chips

Thanks for the reply

The motor will run an automation (which I make)

I tried a small neodymium magnet and the reed switch and it works.. However il look into those suggestion, thanks

I just need off the peg circuits I can buy and put together really.. But I haven't done any electronics for 25 yrs!

Cheers

Dave

 

And sorry I meant minute hand! It runs the motor for about 5 mins each hour with a small magnet.

Cheers

 

Show us a photo of the face of the clock.
Does the clock chime every hour?

You might be better off to embed an electronic clock/timer in the back of the clock rather that getting the trigger from the minute hand.

 

The clock is yet to be made! So it can be made to accommodate whatever necessary.. would the said timer sync with the quartz clock?

Thanks again

 

The clock is yet to be made! So it can be made to accommodate whatever necessary.. would the said timer sync with the quartz clock?

Thanks again

I presume that this is a mechanical clock movement. Are you building the movement yourself or it is a purchased movement?
Is it something like this?

Can you post a photo of what you have in mind?

 

Thanks, yes that's the sort of thing. Only difference is that mine has a pendulum

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacem...992431?hash=item36309f7c6f:g:VvkAAOSwKoFa3yK-

 

This is partly a logistics design problem as well as an electronics problem.

Assuming that you want to trigger sound and animation once every hour on the hour, it might be just as easy to embed a second electronic clock behind the main clock. You may simply have to resync the two clocks manually about once a year. Two quartz clocks ought to be able to differ by less than 1 minute over one year.

 

Assuming that you want to trigger sound and animation once every hour on the hour, it might be just as easy to embed a second electronic clock behind the main clock. You may simply have to resync the two clocks manually about once a year. Two quartz clocks ought to be able to differ by less than 1 minute over one year.

Great idea. It handles a lot of aesthetics problems.

Also, the hidden clock could be mounted horizontally. This would make any weight on the hands a bit easier to deal with.

 

Thanks all, and sorry for the slow reply..

I would be open to multiple clocks if it makes it easier to solve.

So going back to my original issue, it may be easier to outline what I want to achieve overall and getting suggestions.. I am very much a novice though.. but happy to learn..

• on the hour a motor is run to animate an automation. Length of time isn't a particularly an issue but 30 seconds to 5 mins ideal
• when motor is triggered a sound plays once (eg a bird sound - I need to record the sound)
• only runs in daylight hours
• Runs from batteries

I don't mind if its hacking together stuff off the shelf, or making the circuit from scratch, but I need a cost effective - ie cheap-ish option..

Here is the sort of simple automaton that would run..

https://www.facebook.com/davehallautomata/videos/1846985541998171/

Many thanks in advance!