[puterdoc]

Great find. I have a HF nearby and was looking at these last week. I was thinking I could use them to trigger some props. Still pondering on this.

 

[Skulkin]

We have a similiar mat that screams when you step on it. We have an old wooden toe-pincher coffin with the worlds ugliest corpse that we set up in our cemetery to look like gravediggers got caught in the act of stealing. There's a latern on top, a shovel and dirt spread around. We bury the mat in the dirt by the head of the coffin and encourage the kids to get a closer look at the dimly lit corpse. When they step on it and it screams, it's all over. Mwya-ha-ha!

 

[kungfubonanza]

I didn't know if anyone had posted this yet but I found these at Harbor Freight:

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

I bought four!

deveds2, have you received your pressure mats? If so, are they worth purchasing?

Thanks!

 

[deveds2]

I got them. I put a 9v battery in one and they seem to work great just as an alarm. Nice and sensitive to the touch but not too sensitive so they can be put under a small rug. I'll be putting them to the test in our haunt this year.

 

[deveds2]

Well, I bought 4 and used 2. They worked flawlessly. No false triggers on the Cowlacious boards - even with 25 feet of lamp cord as the lead wire.

Now to store them...

 

[Spectremaster]

I got a HF near me, I'll have to get one of these and then find something to do with it. I had a toe pincher set up this year with a motor and cam that would lift the lid. I just had a regular foot switch that i use for a shopvac/saw setup. Step on the footswitch, AC turns on, battery charge plugged into outlet runs motor. got quite a few kids this year. Operating it myself worked nice. Keep it off for when the young TO came through, and hit it at just the right time when the bigger ones walked right up to it. I placed the footswitch about 9-10 feet away.

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

I like the idea of the mat. Obviously I wouldn't want the alarm attached to it. What else can you rig it to? Can it be set up to trigger an mp3 player or light or something else?

 

[wicc_ed]

The pic makes them look kind of thick.. Like they would be noticed and could be avoided. Did you experience this at all?

 

[brushe]

You can hook these no any kind of the props that have try me on them. That way you don't have to worry about low light in the area. Just cut off the alarm, cut off the try me button. Join the wire and you have it.

 

[deveds2]

The lead wire has a small plug that connects to the alarm wire. The mat is just a simple contact switch.

As for thickness, they have some foam in them that makes them about 3/8" thick but if you put them under a rug or doormat they don't even make a lump. They are very soft almost like a down coat.

 

[darryl]

Cowlacious board? So it set off a talking skull? I thought the board just worked when sound was sent through the input. Oh, do you have the sound chip? If you do does the mat trigger the chip and then the skull starts talking? Sorry I have so many ?'s here but this could really work for me. Could you please go a little in depth as to how this was set up please???

 

[deveds2]

I don't really use talking skulls (yet )... I use the mat to trigger a cowlacious board playback that goes to an amp that goes to a sound system that powers a sound-to-light device that controls a pneumatic valve... The same setup has worked for a couple of years on a jumper and a descending spider. Both with old icemaker water valves and using the screendoor type pneumatic cylinders. They work flawlessly.

 

[Mrs. Maggot]

I use this alarm mat to protect my outdoor Christmas display. I never thought about using it for Halloween - great idea! Thanks!

 

[factrat]

Not sure how long this thread has been going, but I have made my pressure pads myself for years. A couple of pieces of cardboard 2ft by 2ft cover one side of each piece with aluminum foil (glue them to the cardboard). Cut some cardboard strips about 1 inch by 2ft, maybe 6. Glue these strips on one 2ft by 2ft boards aluminum side. space them out evenly. place the other 2ft by 2ft board on top of the other one, aluminum side towards the strips. Need to have 2 wires cut to what ever length you want with alligator clips on one end. Hook one clip on each 2ft by 2ft boards, making sure to get good contact to the aluminum. Once clipped cover with duct tape. Just have to make sure your strips keep the aluminum sides from touching. If all works well you will have a great working pressure pad for you prop. When someone steps on the pad it will make the aluminum sides touch and the prop activates.

 

[CobhamManor]

I use these pressure mats to trigger some of my props, and I was wondering if there's a way to shorten the time the siren sounds when it's triggered. Ideally I would want the alarm to sound for just a second or two and then go off. Anyone know if there's a way to do this?

 

[deveds2]

There are some great timers from Velleman. They might work depending on what siren you're using. factrat, I've made a couple pressure mats with metal tape and cardboard and they've worked great for years. I'm really pleased with them. I use the HF ones more often though since we do get wet every now and again.

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Kind of an old thread to comment on Deveds. But since you did, I asked Harbor Freight a few weeks ago if they still carried them and was told they use to be in the home security area but the clerk hadn't seen them stock in quite sometime. Assume that's the case all over at all their locations. So where do people pick up a fairly inexpensive one?