So, here it is! This is (as far as i can remember) my very first electronic project. I was about 7 years old when i made this one. Being a practical mind from my swing (as it seems), i noticed that my grandmother had a hard time searching for needles on the carpet. She used to like knitting a lot. Some times, a needle or pin was lost in the carpet which was dangerous for a seven years old bare-footed (that was me). So she had to search for it. I really do not remember the route of my thinking and how i finally came up with this idea. I certainly remember though how happy and proud i made my grandmother. Plus, this project was the sign that my father saw - From that year after, my father had a surprise for me (tech-wise of course)!
The Idea
As i said, i do not remember how my thinking evolved to this project. Was it the need to make a needle detector that lead me to this project, OR i accidentally winded 2 wires and found out that i could make a needle detector? ...
Anyway, the idea was to make a "switch" actuated by the needles themselves. Two bare wires side by side perform this switch. Should a needle touch these wires, the switch would close to energize a flash. Making something more sophisticated was simply not possible, first because finding electronic parts in Greece back in the mid 80's was a joke and second because i had zero knowledge on electronics.
The remake
I'm not sure what happened to the original pin detector. I only managed to find the original flash from my father's Yashca camera. As far as i can remember, having my father seen the pin detector, he bought me a cheaper flash to use it instead.
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| I began with the round wooden stick from a mop or cleaner... |
The mop itself is not needed |
Then i cut a 20 to 30cm long piece out of this pole |
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| My grandfather helped me to secure the small piece with a V-slot |
Maybe i used some glue as well? Not sure |
Then, i nailed the small piece to make a T-shaped structure |
My grandfather helped me a lot with this |
Making the switch
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| Fist i fixed with screws some wire terminals |
One on each side |
I used old telephone wire, similar with this UTP, only thicker |
A pair of this wire was used |
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| Then i stripped the wire |
I winded the first wire around the 25cm piece with pitch about 1cm |
Then i winded the second wire WITHOUT touching the first |
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A final touch - duct tape hold the wires in place (the bottom side is still exposed) | |
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| The wires must NOT touch each-other. The ohm-meter shows infinite resistance |
And this is the pin to be found! |
The pin touches the wires and the "switch" is closed having minimum resistance |
The pin is supposed to touch both wires |
The flash indicator
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| This is my father's camera |
And this is the original flash that i used first |
After many years, i had to open it and clean it. |
One contact inside was not working. Temporarily for this presentation, i used an external wire |
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| I fixed the flash with electric wire |
Then i extended the flash switching wires with my detector switch |
The flash connects to the detector switch using the wires terminals. |
Comments
At 15 March 2014, 3:16:03 user Neeraj Badhani wrote: [reply @ Neeraj Badhani]ExxCelllent..joB...
KeeP iT Up..
And Keep Updating Us...
Thanks A LOT....
At 30 August 2013, 16:29:08 user Giorgos Lazaridis wrote: [reply @ Giorgos Lazaridis]@Arron Well, here is my advice: First discover what you like to do - automation? robots? radio control? Digital? Analog? Then go ahead and find circuits that fits your interests. This will be a good start. You will see that slowly you will find your path.
At 8 August 2013, 20:43:00 user Arron wrote: [reply @ Arron]Hi Giorgos,
my name is Arron,
I was wondering if you could give me some advice, i have been looking at your website/projects all are great but all this goes way over my head, i was looking to get into making things with circuit boards and stuff can you give me any advice as to where to start, i have no electronics experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
many thanks
Arron
At 2 July 2013, 16:07:25 user yusuf ishaq wrote: [reply @ yusuf ishaq]Hi Giorgos! My name is Yusuf Ishaq. Am a Nigerian and I've been duplicating your circuit for quite some time now. All of which works like a charm. But never had the opportunity to comment on any one of them. You are one of the great minds that inspires me on electronics and engineering in general. Thanks! |
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