Fire found in kids shoes?

[77railer]

Hey gang,
Has anyone taken notice to those completely annoying shoes that some kids have (including mine) that light up when they walk? They have these perfect little red lights in them that when removed and placed into a "burning" building simulate what? You guessed it fire,lol. Anyone else tried this yet or am I by myself?



77Railer

 

[MasonJar]

I think those flashing lights depend on some sort of motion to activate a momentary contact switch - the lights don't flicker when they are still (so you may never have actually seen them not flicker... ).

Interesting idea though... How could it work?

Andrew

 

[Will_annand]

Mount them on the edge of a small gear, hook gear up to slowly revolving motor.

????

Just thinking out loud.....

 

[77railer]

If the momentary motion switch as we will now call it is the same as those found in the flashing balls then we just solder the spring to the pole in the center and we have a perm conection that when supplied with power from a 9 volt battery will result in flashing lights. The "momentary motion switch" thinks that there is alot of moving and shaking going on,lol. At least that is what I think will work,lol. Will let ya know as soon as one of my kids gets tired of the shoes...shouldnt be long now....maybe I will encourage a trip to the mudd puddle a couple of times,lol.



77Railer

 

[N Gauger]

I just use those flashing lights magnetic jewlery..... I haven't used them yet, but they will end up in my "mine" to simulate working Another problem though, You have to physically twist them to turn them on

No on/off switch.. still brainstorming that part...

 

[MCL_RDG]

Uhmmm,...

...try Ramsey Electronics for all your 'blinky" needs. Order their catalog- it will be quite entertaining while in the "reading room". A great resource for learning and economical too.

Ramsey Electronics

Mark

 

[77railer]

Awsome idea Gauger. While I am still in my infancy when it comes to electricity, I believe this will solve your problem. The twisting motion that turns them on and off is the connection to the battery. Just like a flashlight when you take the front off you are removing the connection from the light to the batteries, but if you turn the flashlight on and screw the front on you will see the light come on when the circuit is complete. The battery is stored in the back half of the jewelry on pieces I have seen, and its an all metal housing, which when the two halfs touch it connects the lights to the battery. You could solder two pieces of wire to the back half one on the outer edge and one in the center on the inside and connect them to a 9-volt battery or using resistors connect them to acc power. Theoretically you could also "if our eyes are good enough" change out the lights from several pieces for the same color on one piece say for instance you wanted flashing yellow or blue. Or couldnt you just put a diluted dab of paint on the light to change the color, they dont heat up enough to be a fire hazard? I already have several students volunteering to bring me jewelry tomorrow so we can test it. Will let ya know how it works out.


77Railer
Patience is a virtue, but never pay full price for late pizza.

 

[shaygetz]

Here's three projects I've done with the lights found on the boxes those shoes come in;

http://www.the-gauge.com/thread8512-engine-18-bcofd.html

http://www.the-gauge.com/thread7200-impact-and-momentum-detection-car.html

http://www.the-gauge.com/thread7133-free-freds.html

LEDs are very forgiving and easy to work with. Just remember they are polarity sensitive, there is a positive and negative side---they will not light unless correctly wired. You're right on about those little lights, the soldering will be the hardest part.