Full Version: Tips and Question
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Quite some years ago my wife dabbled in ceramics. I came across a small box of supplies. They use an open mesh "sandpaper" that is fine enough to be grills, or walkways, but probably too heavy for a fence.

Another thing is the screen type lids for cooking to keep splatter in, they are pretty fine screening also and would have myriads of uses, fence, etc.

Question: I have some flashers that screw on bicycle tires. They run on tiny batteries. They only flash when they are jarred, then stay on for 5-8 seconds until they are jarred again. Other than the battery, they are really tiny unit. I wonder, is there some way that the jarring part can be blocked so it would work on a switch? I guess I could just tear into one, but if I screw up the flashing part first, I wouldn't be able to find out what makes the rest tick. Has anyone ever fooled with one of these?

Lynn
yellowlynn Wrote:Question: I have some flashers that screw on bicycle tires. They run on tiny batteries. They only flash when they are jarred, then stay on for 5-8 seconds until they are jarred again. Other than the battery, they are really tiny unit. I wonder, is there some way that the jarring part can be blocked so it would work on a switch? I guess I could just tear into one, but if I screw up the flashing part first, I wouldn't be able to find out what makes the rest tick. Has anyone ever fooled with one of these?

Lynn

I am not exactly sure what you are referring to, but at one time an oil company (I will withhold the name) came to my university and gave us geology students free gifts, one of which was a stress relieving ball. When you threw it against the wall, it would flash red and blue LEDs. Inside was a tiny circuit board with the flashing circuit flush mounted to the board. The circuit board primarily was there for a place to attach the LEDs, a tiny battery holder, and a switch. The switch was a tiny cylinder with a spring inside. One lead was connected to the cylinder, the other to the spring. When the spring touched the cylinder as a result of jarring, the lights would flash for a few seconds. I still have it somewhere. It wouldn't be that hard to modify either the switch or the power supply - just need to unsolder the spring switch and attach two wires.
Tomorrow I'll get out my magnifier and see what it is. It seems I did see a spring of some sort. If jarring that is what starts it up, would pushing that spring up against the "contact" keep it energized? The guts are a smidgeon bit bigger than a pencil eraser.

Lynn
yellowlynn Wrote:Tomorrow I'll get out my magnifier and see what it is. It seems I did see a spring of some sort. If jarring that is what starts it up, would pushing that spring up against the "contact" keep it energized? The guts are a smidgeon bit bigger than a pencil eraser.

Lynn

I found the little thing I salvaged from the stress ball. I will try to take a photo later.
Here is a close up taken under heavy magnification. Sorry, i forgot to include a scale, but the whole thing is about 3/8" diameter. The battery holder is on the left, the LEDs on the top and bottom, and the spring switch thingy on the right. You could short the switch out, but the batteries would not last long. I don't think it would be difficult to solder wire leads to the other side of the circuit board to the connections where the switch connects.