Thread: Activating pneumatic props

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Ok since I am planning and doing my layout for next year and I have the basics down of how to get air supplied to the props. How can I go about activating the props so they go off at a set interval. I.E. like every 10-15 secs etc. Some of them will be trigger by sensors but others I want to be triggered on there own at a set interval. What would I need to do that. Will the picboo box do this or does this only work with triggers?

-Thanks

The picoboo will control one prop and you could have it go off every 15 seconds for 2 minutes. But it will be a routine until it ends and is activated again. Sounds like you need something bigger and less expensive because you have alot of props. Look into DMX, you can control plenty of stuff from a computer and have it go off exactly when you want it to.

DMX is probably out of the question even though that would be nice. Reason I can not use my computer is it is already running my animation for my LOR and I am out of slots on my board with the combination of it and my weather station equipment from my other hobby.

At this point the two props I need activated would be a prop that is in a coffin that will sit up. Then a prop that will pop up from behind a tombstone. I would like those two to activate on there own at a set time. Will the picoboo do this?

Why not just use a PIR?

Sorry what is PIR?

Sorry about that, it's a passive infared sensor, like on the motion activated spot lights, Deathlord has a great how-to on his website here:
Motion Trigger -Creep Crafters .Com-
Or you could also do it this way:
HauntedIllinois.com - pictures/mot1.jpg
When the Tot's walk past the PIR, it triggers your pneumatic props, automatically so you don't have to worry about any programming.

Oh ok I got ya. Yea some of them will be done that way, but there will be a couple that will be in the actual graveyard so no one will be walking by them. So I just wanted them to manually activate themselfs at a set time. I run my display from Oct 1st to Oct 31st of course. With the extra stuff added for Halloween night. Since I run a computer animation for the lights that guests can drive by and tune there radio to a certain station they can listen to the lights synced. So I was wanting those few props to go off on there own during the show.

Oh, okay....hmm...sorry, but I don't see any way to do that with a PIR, but you still could use them to trigger these props but wiring it into an extension cord so the sensor could be placed at a distance from the prop that you are tiggering, like on the path that the Tot's are walking. I hope you find a solution.

Would something like this help?
Motorized Cycle Timer, Cramer, Brand New - eBay (item 180261809251 end time Nov-02-08 15:02:15 PST)

Originally Posted by Industen

The picoboo will control one prop and you could have it go off every 15 seconds for 2 minutes. But it will be a routine until it ends and is activated again. Sounds like you need something bigger and less expensive because you have alot of props. Look into DMX, you can control plenty of stuff from a computer and have it go off exactly when you want it to.

I have looked into this picoboo and what was described above sounds like what I need. Like having it go off every 15 seconds, that would be perfect. But can you have it on a continuous cycle to activate them ever 15 secs?