Thread: Spitter test

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Okay, so I've built my own spitter for the giant spider I am building. This is a work in progress. It's controlled by an Arduino microcontroller that I programmed to wait for motion detection from a Parallax PIR motion sensor, and it triggers the solenoid on & off several times each time it seems motion. It will also be triggering sound effects when it is done. Here's my most recent progress.

First, here's what the spider looks like so far. I still have to finish shaping the main body:


Now for the video... Sorry for the poor quality. I forgot to reboot my phone which would have resulted in a much smoother video:

Awesome! I have a prop I'd like to set up for that. Is it costly to do?

Here's another video with the microcontroller also triggering the sound box that I made:



To answer your question, it can be cheap to do a prop like this, depending on your skill level. I used an Arduino microcontroller and had to wire up the breadboard and write the code myself. The Arduino costs $20-$30. You could also buy a Prop1 or a PicoBoo or some other haunt controller, but those all cost a lot more money but make it much easier to do. The solenoid cost me about $22 and the fittings were a few bucks more. The polyethelene tubing is about 100' for less than $9 at Menards. The sound box was built by modifying an $11.95 sound board by replacing the battery board with a voltage regulator and a barrel style power connector. The speaker was cut off and a 1/8" audio jack was attached. I the fit those pieces into a small Radio Shack project box.

The spider itself was surprisingly easy to build. It's an inflatable medicine ball, for which I give credit to TK421 for the idea. You can get those for < $10 at Target. The PVC I used is 3/4" and I used 16x of the 45 degree connectors and 8x of the 90 degree connectors. A couple of small pieces of 3/4" plywood and some 2" construction styrofoam for the main body. The ball sits on a metal rod bent into a round shape and secured to the wood, and the ball is taped to the metal rod with duct tape. Let's see... I used pool noodles to bulk up the joints on the legs and duct-taped those to shape a little. I smeared Great Stuff foam (only used 1 can) over the legs. Any other questions, just ask.

Thanks! Im afraid my skills currently lie in the actual props, not the controls. I think a PicoBoo would be best for me, lol. I can do the solenoid and tubing setup, but not a full on electronics build. I made a corpse prop with a pop up mechanism in mind, and I'd like to add a spitting/mister to it.
Thanks for the detailed response!

Originally Posted by chop shop

Thanks! Im afraid my skills currently lie in the actual props, not the controls. I think a PicoBoo would be best for me, lol. I can do the solenoid and tubing setup, but not a full on electronics build. I made a corpse prop with a pop up mechanism in mind, and I'd like to add a spitting/mister to it.
Thanks for the detailed response!

There are ways to do this without a prop controller and dirt cheap (under $10) and still get the effect...just not the "control" of having a set time before reset.

Here's a video of a windshield wiper pump spitting and basically it's just as easy and the same setup only you put the air valve where I used the pump.





This little 2 way valve cost $2.50 add a thrift store wallwart for a $1 and a couple dollars worth of tubing and a blinker turn signal fuse ($2) to turn the valve on and off just like your turn signal does.



BTW that's one nice spider you got going looks great.

Thanks Madmax!!!

The problem with that is you will seriously get somebody wet using a windshield wiper fluid pump. That's a big no-no especially when you're in a cold climate such as in Chicago. What I am doing is spraying a mist. Even if you get blasted right in the face, you will not get soaked unless you stand there and let yourself get hit repeatedly again and again.

Yeah, I do need just a mist...(but thats still clever madmax) ,

Either way, you can just wire up a simple push-button switch to the solenoid (or windshield fluid pump) and manually trigger your spitter from a hidden location without the need for a microcontroller. The wiring is dead simple:

Code:

(+) --------------------------- switch ----------------+
                                                       |
       compressor===============================>  solenoid ====================> spitter
                                                       |
(-) ---------------------------------------------------+

It really doesn't matter which end is plugged into + or - terminals for a solenoid. Most work either way. It might be important for a windshield fluid pump because if it is reversed, the pump might blow air into the tank instead of blowing water out the other end.

I'm pondering how to rig the air line to pull in the water from the water line? Like a venturi I think its called. Then you could introduce that connection after the air leaves the solonoid?