Relay circuit for toy

The 555 timer is your best bet. It's tiny, not many parts needed:

Depending on how much current your bug draws to operate, you can wire it up to pin 3 and ground or pin 3 and +v.

You'll need fairly large values for R1, R2 and C. Here's a calculator:

HTH

Randy, Thank you for the response, but Im not familiar with electronics. I have no idea what you sent or how to hook a relay timer to this toy. Is there a 30 second or close to relay timer I can purchase and solder on to this toy? It needs to be run off the small battery in the unit or double A- 9 volt battery. Thanks, Erik

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If anyone can help me on this, I would appreciate it. Can I use this item to solder onto the toy or do I have to figure out how to put a

555 timer circuit on this bug. Im clueless. Thanks, Erik

It could be done but I doubt very much if what you're looking for is available as a commercial off-the-shelf item.

Relays tend to be (relatively) power hungry and so not terribly battery friendly. A latching relay obviates that disadvantage somewhat. Your best bet would probably be using a transistor switch; bipolar if you can absorb the voltage drop or a FET otherwise.

A CMOS version of the 555 timer would probably do for the actuator, since they're fairly bullet-proof, low power, and an exact timing interval probably isn't critical.

(used fixed-width font to view)

Something like this could be a starting point, assuming that the "bug" only draws a few mA while operating. Long-period 555s aren't that predictable (leakage currents) and large value capacitors won't be right on, typically, so expect to do some tweaking. Still, it's a place to start...

+9V .-------------------------------. | | .------------o--o---. | | | | | | | | .--o-. .-. .----o------o----. | | | | | 4 8 | |LOAD| 39K | | | | | | '-' | | '--o-' | | | | o-------o 7 | 22K | | | | ___ |/ | | CMOS 3 o----------|___|--o--| 2N4401 .-. | 555 | | |>

| | | | | | 180K | | | | .-. | '-' | | 220K | | | | | | | | | o-------o 6 | '-' === | | | | GND o-------o 2 1 5 | | | '-----o-------o--' | | | | === | | | GND | | | --- | --- 220u --- | --- 0.01u | | | | | | | | === === === GND GND GND (created by AACircuit v1.28.6 beta 04/19/05

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Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA

(snip picutres)

Those little bugs run off a few button cells. (I think). The vibrator is like those in cell phones. Do you picture the timer riding on top of the bug? I don't think it will work very well if you load it down with a

9 volt battery and a relay.

The first thing you might do is measure how much current the vibrator draws.

George H.

oy bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

Thank you guys for the help. The main reason I want a time relay is to conserve batterys and peak my cats interest. I wasn't sure If a relay would run off the small battery that is already in it. I know nothing about electronics, was just hoping someone could tell me to buy a specific timer and solder wire A to pin B.

Thanks, Erik

that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

anything you buy will most likely not fit in that shell.

What you need to do is use a P-channel PowerFet, a small one, one resistor, a cap and one momentary switch to turn it on.

I suppose it could also be done with a N-channel fet, in any case, all one needs to do is have the Cap and R in parallel to drive the gate to the common which will turn it on. The momentary switch will simply charge the cap and the R will regulate the discharge time to turn it off.

For that little toy, those components should fit inside or out side glued on with out adding any significant wait or power drain..

I don't have the facilities to pop a ASCII schematic in the channel, nor would I expect you to understand it. This is a static sensitive device until you get it solder together..

Maybe one of the other guys here can post a simply schematic of what I am talking about..

Jamie

oy bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

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Jamie, Thank you for the reply. I really don't know what you just said but it sounds good. Erik

bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

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that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

Your best bet may be to search the cat toy sites online and find something similar that's ready-made.

Or ... take the opportunity to start playing with electronics! Pick up something like this and get started. No magic involved...

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Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA

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You don't need a "double A- 9 volt battery", what you need is a source
of phlogiston.

toy bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

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Yeah the first thing to do is buy three more, so you can break some and still have one left for the cat.

Then take one apart and see how the circuit works. Do you have a cheap DMM? Less than $10.

I don't think there are any 'tab A in slot B' answers to your question.

George H.

a toy bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

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George, I don't know what DMM stands for so probably don't. I do have 5 of these toys to play around with so I could test it with some sort of

555 timer. I just don't know what wires to hook up for an extended on off time. Rich, Thanks for the info on the electronic kit. I may give it a try. Thank you, Erik

Find a local clock shop, and see if you can buy a mechanical clock movement; tie a piece of yarn to the balance wheel or the escapement, and you'll keep that filthy evil animal occupied for hours as it tries to capture and torture the yarn.

Another thing you can do to entertain a cat is to give it a piece of Scotch tape.

Good Luck! Rich

"emetzger" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@a18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com...

Looking at the pictures I'm sure you have no space for a relay or an extra battery. Even a 555 timer will not do. It's not the chip itself but the timing capacitor that is not likely to get small enough to fit. An off the shelf solution is completely beyond my imagination. So the only way to go is making something yourself. But that's a hard way. No challenge for a designer but next to impossible for a layman.

If I had to make one for myself the first thing I want to find out the available space. Then I want to know the electrical values involved. So what battery is used (type, voltage, capacity) and what current is drawn when the device is on. As there is some motor to run, the inrush current also is an important thing I want to know. With that knowledge I'd decide what timing device to use, what driver is required and how to connect it to the inner electronics of the gadget.

petrus bitbyter

a toy bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

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DMM is a digital multi meter. You can use it to measure voltage, current, resistance, and sometimes other things. It would be a good first piece of electronics test gear. You could use it to measure the battery voltage and current in your circuit. I think the problem you will have is not very much voltage. With only 3 volts or so it might be hard to make a 555 timer circuit work. (I think?)

George H.

| DMM is a digital multi meter. You can use it to measure voltage, | current, resistance, and sometimes other things. It would be a good | first piece of electronics test gear. You could use it to measure the | battery voltage and current in your circuit. I think the problem you | will have is not very much voltage. With only 3 volts or so it might | be hard to make a 555 timer circuit work. (I think?) | | George H. |

Minimum guaranteed operation voltage of a CMOS 555 depends on the manufacturer. Some say 3V, others 1.5V. A problem may arise for the dimensions of the timing capacitor. I did not calculate it (yet) but you may need a >100uF capacitor which has to fit in the available space.

petrus bitbyter

bug that when turned on it vibrates and walkes around

National's CMOS version is spec'd down to 1.5 V and they are available in some pretty small packages.

As was noted somewhere else on the thread, though, enough capacitance to run a 30 sec on - 30 sec off cycle with a 555 would probably make the entire package far too large.

Something that might work -- not mentioned earlier for fear of scaring the OP away too soon -- would be a little 6- or 8-pin SOIC microcontroller running off of an internal clock. That, an SOT-23 transistor, and similar catch diode for the motor could probably all be squeezed into the available space with a little creativity.

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Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA

[snip]

Yabbut, isn't there an unwritten rule that whoever suggests a micro has to supply the source code?

:)