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Dustin Baker Inner circle California 1006 Posts |
I'm trying to find something that can release a high-tension rubber band remotely (essentially, a remote controlled sling-shot). The only other requirement is that the remote needs to be wireless.
Think inside the box. . . it's less crowded.
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magicjohn2278 Special user Isle of Man UK 544 Posts |
Well.... you are not going to find anything "off the shelf" that will do all of the above! You need basically three components, the remote control transmitter and receiver, a solenoid and a mechanism to release the slingshot band.
The transmitter/receiver and solenoid you should be able to obtain by searching the Internet - probably someone here will point you in the right direction (As I live in the UK, I buy this sort of stuff locally so any information that I could give you would be pretty useless!) In the past, some have suggested butchering various remote controlled toys for the bits required, and this may be the best way to go if you haven't done much electronics type work in the past. The release mechanism you will have to build yourself and although I know exactly how I would go about it, it would probably take several pages to explain! The best advice that I can offer is think mousetrap (the spring type)! The problem that you will have is that the solenoid will have quite a small movement, and not be very powerful. Certainly, if you loop the slingshot band around the solenoid plunger, nothing is going to happen when you power the solenoid as the tension of the band will be much too great. However, if you imagine the band looped around the retaining bar of a mousetrap, then it takes minimal force and movement to spring the trap, releasing the slingshot. I'm not suggesting that you actually USE a mousetrap, just think levers and construct a mechanism that works on a similar principle! Best of luck! PM me if you need further help. |
hugmagic Inner circle 7655 Posts |
A music box works well if you can time things out a bit.
Richard
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com email-hugmagic@raex.com Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's. |
freefallillusion1 Elite user Cincinnati, OH 446 Posts |
Dbaker, PM'd you.
Phil |
Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
I am thinking that some door bell chimes are still made using solenoids. If you can find an older one with a remote control....
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
I have used solenoid-driven, under table switch machines when I used to model railroads. There are some nice, strong, heavy-duty ones that would work well. There are also mounting brackets that are configurable (is that a word?), because model layouts are so varied.
~michael
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
mkiger Loyal user 228 Posts |
http://science.howstuffworks.com/crossbow.htm
This is a link to a picture of a crosbow trigger. Something like this can overcome the load on a small solenoid. |
Servante Inner circle 1330 Posts |
I haven't needed a solenoid set up for years, but a long time ago I'd go to the parts warehouse for one of the appliance stores. If I didn't know exactly which solenoid I needed, I'd draw a picture for the guys behind the counter (without tipping any secrets).
They'd get excited about helping out and start drawing pictures among themselves until they'd come up with the exact piece needed. |
Lou Hilario Inner circle 2235 Posts |
Buy a remote control car alarm system, car power lock and a small 12v rechargeable battery.
Magic, Illusions, Juggling, Puppet & Parrot Show ^0^
http://www.louhilario.net |
kaytracy Inner circle Central California 1793 Posts |
Have you ever seen a rubber band gun made with a clothespin? The pressure needed to release the clothespin will be easier to get off of a small solenoid than trying to get the rubber band to slip off the pin. One could also use the RC car wheel to pull the pin so to speak, winding a thread will also apply a pull force (drill a hole in one side of the clothespin) to make a release.
k
Kay and Tory
www.Bizarremagick.com |
Dustin Baker Inner circle California 1006 Posts |
Thanks for the ideas everyone.
I'm trying a few different things with RC car motors, mouse traps, a suspended slingshot, and a little toy crossbow that launches foam airplanes. If I can find a cheap one I'll give the auto lock door concept a try as well.
Think inside the box. . . it's less crowded.
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rhiro Regular user Southern California 182 Posts |
How about an RC servo hooked up to a release mechanism? Here are a couple:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti......&P=7 http://www.icare-rc.com/tow_hooks.htm#Remote_tow_hook I once had a cool plastic tow hook springloaded mechanism on an RC glider but I forget who makes it. It locks shut, capturing the tow hook, and a single servo connected to it will trip it via a pushrod or pull cable. Of course, you could always roll your own, a la something like this: http://www.ef-uk.net/data/tow-release.htm Ross Hironaka |
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