No 'try me" on him ?

 

There is/was. I removed it. It's sound activated. Maybe I can find another cheap prop that motion activated and steal the PIR sensor.

 

It can be done...but it depends on a few things. At the most basic level, a sensor essentially changes the flow of electricity to a specific control mechanism, which results in the control mechanism behaving a certain way. Trouble is, how the sensor does that determines how the controller behaves. For example, a moisture sensor is a specialized resistor--when resistence is changed due to water on the contacts, the signal from the sensor goes "low" and the microcontroller receiving that signal does whatever its program says to do when a "low" signal is received.


Maybe you can see the problem--if the control mechanism needs a "low" signal to do something, and your new sensor outputs a "high" signal, the control mechanism won't activate. Since not all sensors work the same, they're not necessarily interchangeable without some hacking.

 

I can handle that. A quick and dirty search shows me I need to be looking for a setup like this. I don't care about the current voltage it is pulling from...just the output. If I get the correct PIR and relay, I can output the required 4.5VDC to power it.

 

The try me switch only works to turn it on, not off. When you press it the wolf howls 6 times and quits. Pressing it again when the wolf is howling does nothing. Does that change anything?

 

Yours must be different than all of the ones I've tried in the stores.

 

I tried one this morning at HD. Each press of the button turns it on, and a subsequent press turns it off. If yours is a "fire and forget," then you can use the PIR relay idea.

 

Yup, mine turns off with the second press as well.

I've also noticed that the try me activation on the gray hound is much shorter than the sound activated. It only plays a few seconds compared to a min or so with normal activation. Haven't tested it out on the wolf yet but might be something to look out for.

 

That is good news the the OP's prop doesn't turn off with the second press of the try me button. So a PIR and small relay may be all they need for this.

As for the 5V vs 4.5V issue, you can put a diode (I'd recommend a 3A type such as the 1N5401) in series with the 5V supply to drop the power down to around 4.3V for the prop. The cathode (banded end) of the diode goes towards the prop. I've done this many times and it works well.

The PIR and relay can still be run directly from the 5V supply. I can do up a diagram if need be.

 

If drawing up a diagram isn't too much hassle, that'd be great.

As far as power goes, couldn't I just use a 9V battery? I'd only need it to work for about 4 hours.

 

^^Or get a 12v PIR/relay and power the sensor side with 8 AA batteries. If he's using a relay to pass the prop side power, it doesn't really matter what the sensor side voltage is as long as it activates the relay.

 

Here's a diagram that shows how to hook up a 5V PIR, 5V relay and a 4.5V prop and run them from a 5V power source.

Security PIRs have a normally closed relay output, so we need to use the normally closed contact on the extra relay to flip the logic around again.

The 1N5401 diode drops the 5V down to around 4.3V which is fine for the prop.

 

The more I ponder this, the more I think it'll be easier and just as effective to make a pressure switch. Where the wolf is located, I can easily run a wire to the sidewalk and attach to a foot-activated mat.

 

I bow to all of you on this Post.
I love reading these post, though I may only understand every 3rd word.
I'd like to think each time I learn something (because I do), BUT I have yet to try to do even the easiest rewiring hack.
Jerseyscare

 

Don't be afraid to give it a try, reading is great and the best way to prepare but hands on is the best way to learn. You may surprise yourself!

 

Ok, so remember me telling you that the Try Me didn't turn off the howl? I was wrong. At least on the one I grabbed to buy. They had 3 out on the floor. The one we played with would not turn off for love nor money...I swear. I don't recall testing the one I bought until we got home and I removed the switch right away.

So, now I have a pressure switch that turns it on like a champ and promptly turns it off if you step on it again. Talk about frustrating.

So, how do I make lemonade here? Any ideas?

 

In that case what you need is a simple prop controller. The four banger (with a single relay and no mp3 board) should do it and is probably the cheapest / simplest option.

 

Hi David,

Here's a pic of its guts. I think at this point I am going to follow your suggestion and use an Arduino and a relay to trigger it with the pressure sensor. The only problem I have right now is how to delay the Arduino's action if triggered again to keep the prop from stopping when another person steps on the mat. I am thinking of removing the little sound activation sensor and using those wires to connect to the relay which will close the switch (relay) and complete the circuit, correct?

 

So here's what I did.
I purchased a cheap harbor freight driveway alarm which uses a pir sensor and receiver box that's has a chime and flashes some leds when pir is triggered.

I open the receiver box soldered two wires off the led connections. These wires went to a transistor that I wired in place of the piezo element in the HD howling dog prop.

So I place the pir sensor at my desire location, pir sensor gets tripped sends signal to receiver box. Box lights up led which send voltage through the wires to transistor, which actives the prop. Down and dirty home made pir activated prop.

Keep in mind that circuit is looking for very small change in voltage to trigger the prop. The piezoelectric elements creates this with sound or vibrations. I'm using the transistor basically as a switch that causes a change in voltage for circuit to sense.

 

How does the sound sensor work? If you're up for a little hacking, you can probably tie you pressure switch into the sensor line.

Here's the other thing: based on its behavior, the "try me" line either has a toggle switch or there's a microcontroller at the end of the line that's telling the prop to turn on and off with a button press. I'd say it's the latter of the two. See what happens if you bypass the "try me" button by splicing the wires on that line together, that may give us a clue about it's "thinking".

 

It's not a toggle. Just a press and release button. Once you let off it, the switch reopens by itself. Bypassing that may work but I'll have to dig into the head and I'm not sure how accessible everything is. But, it was put together so it'll come apart, right?

The other option which I am working on now is the controller and relay that David_AVD suggested. I think that can be done fairly easily as long as I can find cheap parts. Also, one thing that would allow me to do if I want is boost the howl if I add an MP3 card and attach a larger speaker. I need to learn how to do this crap anyway and this may force my hand.

 

Ok tarpleyg, here is my 2 cents for a very simple solution to your problem. Just use a driveway alert to change the prop from a sound activated one to a motion activated prop. I have done this with all of my sound activated props (I have several) and it works great on every one. You just glue the speaker from the driveway alert receiver over the sound sensor of the prop. In reality the prop is still sound activated but the PIR in the driveway alert triggers the driveway alert receiver speaker that that in turn triggers the prop. So I guess it is sort of a fake motion sensor . But it works like a motion sensor. It takes about an hour to hack the driveway alert to do this but it is very simple and works great. All you have to do is remove the speaker from the driveway alert receiver and extend the speaker with additional wiring. The extra wire will need to be long enough to reach from wherever you place the driveway alert receiver to the speaker where you attach it to the prop. By putting a 5 or 10 ohm resistor in the line from the driveway alert receiver to the speaker you do not hear the driveway alert chime but it still triggers the prop. Actually, I just did this with a skeleton cat that my wife bought from Home Depot. It is very similer to the Howling Wolf in that the can meows and the mouth moves when it is triggered. The driveway alerts I buy are from Harbor Freight and cost between $10 and $12 on sale. Hope this helps you a little.

PS I posted info on these driveway alerts a couple of years ago but in reviewing the post I actually didn't put a true tutorial on how to do it as this was simply an "out of the box" way to use the driveway alert. I now modify the alert somewhat by removing the speaker from the receiver case, adding a 5 or 10 ohm resister to the speaker wire, and extending the speaker from the case to the prop. Here is the link to the tutorial.

http://www.halloweenforum.com/tutor...tep/151394-quick-easy-way-make-sound-activated-props-work-motion-activated.html

 

Ok tarpleyg, here is my 2 cents for a very simple solution to your problem. Just use a driveway alert to change the prop from a sound activated one to a motion activated prop. I have done this with all of my sound activated props (I have several) and it works great on every one. You just glue the speaker from the driveway alert receiver over the sound sensor of the prop. In reality the prop is still sound activated but the PIR in the driveway alert triggers the driveway alert receiver speaker that that in turn triggers the prop. So I guess it is sort of a fake motion sensor . But it works like a motion sensor. It takes about an hour to hack the driveway alert to do this but it is very simple and works great. All you have to do is remove the speaker from the driveway alert receiver and extend the speaker with additional wiring. The extra wire will need to be long enough to reach from wherever you place the driveway alert receiver to the speaker where you attach it to the prop. By putting a 5 or 10 ohm resistor in the line from the driveway alert receiver to the speaker you do not hear the driveway alert chime but it still triggers the prop. Actually, I just did this with a skeleton cat that my wife bought from Home Depot. It is very similer to the Howling Wolf in that the can meows and the mouth moves when it is triggered. The driveway alerts I buy are from Harbor Freight and cost between $10 and $12 on sale. Hope this helps you a little.

PS I posted info on these driveway alerts a couple of years ago but in reviewing the post I actually didn't put a true tutorial on how to do it as this was simply an "out of the box" way to use the driveway alert. I now modify the alert somewhat by removing the speaker from the receiver case, adding a 5 or 10 ohm resister to the speaker wire, and extending the speaker from the case to the prop. I will try to get this done tonight and put a link here.

Scary Papa, I'm looking forward to any tutorial you put together illustrating this. Photos of the guts would be very helpful. I have a number of the driveway alarms sitting on a shelf I'd love to do this with. I have the vulture from this year I could do something like this to it. Sadly all my dogs and cats are mute. But at least they don't bother the neighbors

 

Interesting development. Since my controller and other stuff isn't here yet, I figured I play around with this.

Those two yellow wires are the sound sensor. I removed the sensor and if you touch the wires together, it howls. If you touch them again, it still stays on.

So, I figured problem solved. Works great if I solder longer wires on and touch them together...until I put the damn thing back together then it quits working. Tried like 3 times. No crushed wired or anything. I think that little controller board is flaking out on me.

Oh well, I make take this opportunity and completely revamp him with barks, growls, and a better howl and a bigger speaker.

Did I mention I hate microelectronics?

 

Lesson #1 in electronics, never short 2 wires together just to see what happens. You just found out what the result usually is.

 

Well, technically, it's not a short. It's just bypassing the switch (sound sensor) to completely the circuit. One thing I just now noticed is my batteries are pretty run down...sitting at just over 3VDC and it should be over 4.5. Probably has something to do with the problem. Funny thing is I just put fresh ones in when I bought it. I guess that jaw action draws a lot of power.

 

I foresee this turning into a Pimp My Home Depot Prop thread. Now that it's torn apart, the real fun can begin.

It looks like the "sound sensor" is just an electret microphone, which means there are some on board electronics to get that signal to the controller. And motor action would be my next question, but I don't see anything that doesn't look like it couldn't be replaced with your own microcontroller.

 

You betcha! I AM going to need some help once I get all my components in, especially with programming the Arduino.

 

Throw in a MP3 board, different sound tracks, a micro-fogger, a frickin' laser beam...

 

That's the idea! I have an MP3 board on order with a 1GB Micro SD card. For my initial setup, I think I'll find a better howl and see if I can get some more articulation for the jaw motor. I'll drive sound with a bigger speaker or go to an old little guitar amp I have. Laser beams out of his eyes would be cool too!

 

An update!

Most of my stuff is in for this little project and I have a couple of questions for you experts.

1) Since I only have 2 components to turn on or off for this wolf and they are both run on 4.5V, do I still need the relays? Will the Arduino itself turn the eyes and jaw motor on and off by itself (once I plan out what pins are going to control what, that is)?

2) Where would you get power from? Can't I just send it from the Arduino's power supply, either without the relays in place or without them?

3) For the LED eyes...I am struggling with a way to get those to fade in and out if I AM required to use a relay for them. I just can't see how that would be done. If a relay isn't required, I think I have it figured out, in theory at least.

I ask these questions because all of the tutorials and videos I have watch are all geared around props that run off 120V AC. I haven't seen anything really specific to my situation.

If it helps, I am going to be using mikkojay's $20 Arduino build and his software to do all this.

And, sorry in advance for all the dumb questions but this is all new to me.

Thanks,
Greg

 

I assume you are abandoning the original electronics in the wolf. If you are trying to sync the jaw with your own audio, the Aurduino is not gonna do that unless the program code is written to exactly match the audio. Even then it's tricky because you are relying on the audio player and the Arduino to start at exactly the same time within a few milliseconds. As I mentioned before, if you want a controller that will automatically sync the audio to the jaw motor, my Jemmy Talk is perfect, no programming required. It will also flash the LED eyes in sync with the jaw. If you want the eyes to fade in and out, that can be done with proper program code for the Arduino.

 

Great thread! I like to do stuff like this too. I'm learning a lot. Thanks to all who are contributing.

Another thought: you could wire into the crappy little speaker and take the signal out to a set of amped speakers if you want to continue using the on-board sounds. I did this with a Spirit Rosemary zombie prop. Wired a headphone jack into the side and use some old computer speakers to blast her sound. Works great.

I've been meaning to do a write up of it since last year. Maybe this will kick me in the butt...

 

I might do that in the long run.

Right now I am more concerned with how I am going to get power to the little jaw motor and LED eyes. I'd like to be able to power them from one of the Arduino's 5V outputs. The original setup had 3AA batteries totaling 4.5V so I wonder if 5V will overpower anything. Those components sometimes operate in a range of voltage.

 

Voltage is not a concern with LED's if you use the proper resistor. There are several LED calculators on line that will tell you the proper resistor value for your situation. As for driving the jaw motor directly from the Arduino, that's not gonna work, the output pins can't handle that amount of current.

 

I've managed to round up a 4.5V 2A adapter. The more I go down this hole, the more parts and pieces I need. Oh well, at least I am learning this stuff.

 

Well, I am finished dorking with this thing. It's about as good as I have the time for. I can set up the control box as far away as ~12' and it houses the PIR as well. I have a bush in mind to hide it under. Check out the link to the video...for some reason I am having a problem embedding it properly so you see the preview pic.

https://vimeo.com/184245501