Sensor for toy

Some advise sought please.

Other half bought one of Morrison's Halloween Petrifying Prisoner toys at half price yesterday.

Unfortunately someone had removed/half inched the small front facing activation sensor, with just two bare wires where it should be.

Does anyone have any idea what that sensor is and can I get something similar.

The 'toy' works via the 'Test Me' button.

I will be in credit if I can get it to work via a sensor.

Power is by means of three AA batteries, but haven't checked if connected in //le or series.

Geoff - Ready to machine the drill vice bolts.

Hi Geoff,

What does said prisoner respond to? Light, movement or... if he's cheap and cheerful, it's probably a phototransistor or photodiode.

Neil

Can you measure voltage on wires.

Perhaps you can see if putting a resistor across the wires makes it work.

Neil,

Cheap and cheerfull it most certainly is, and other half said a bunch of ladies nearly had pups when one of them activated the thing by moving her hand in front of it, and it burst into life with flashing eyes and voice. SHMBO joined in the laughter as well.

There is a 4mm wide slot in a front facing moulding that houses the sensor.

I never bothered to inspect them when they where first put on the shelf for sale, so cannot describe the sensor.

Bazyle,

Will check the voltage.

Thank you both for your quick responses.

Geoff - I WILL have to replace the damaged power feed worm gear in the lathe. Oh effing bother!

Most likely to be an infra red sensor similar to those used in the detectors in outside intruder lights.

just take it back and get another???

I think it will be a photo diode and a simple bridge/comparator circuit with two different time constants. Any sudden jump in the voltage across the diode (caused by a shadow) will set off the alarm. it may be more sophisticated with a microprocessor these days, of course, but any circuit like this will be self compensating, so any photodiode wired to be reverse biased should work to some extent (if I'm right!).

Neil

Hi OuBallie,

Take the duff one as far as Morrisons car park. Go in store and buy another one. Go to car, swap duff for good, march back into store, have tantrum, then ask for a refund, job done.

Bears can stoop pretty low, they have to, to catch them salmon.

Regards, Bear..

I'm with fizzy on this one, why not just take it back for a refund or replacement?

Edited By V8Eng on 05/11/2013 14:00:42

take it back not worth the hastle and time to fix it

bob

Would if I could, but it was on an end of line 1/2 price sale, and was the last one.

It works, but only manually.

Still have to check the voltage at those bare wire ends.

Geoff - Proof reading/checking BH600G Apron oiling write-up before posting. Yes it's done! Photos up first though.

Why not look online for a description and picture of the toy, might find an answer there.

Geoff, if shorting the wires together then separating them sets it off, it's probably a photodiode.

Neil

Thanks for all the responses.

Neil,

Correct diagnosis, that is what happens. The slot looks to be the right size at 4mm.

New photo Album - Missing Sensor

Geoff - Bad night, but I will get into the workshop with luck later, but in carefully does it mode.

Edited By OuBallie on 06/11/2013 09:51:38

Photo insert actually working on the iPad now. Well done whoever sorted this out!

Edited By OuBallie on 06/11/2013 09:54:07

bin it
Bob

It's the petrifying pensioners around here that scare me.

Neil

Update.

Have tried three photodiodes:

Two with a dark 'lens' one being IR Filtered but they only work when a bright light is aimed at them

The third has a clear lens that works when light is interrupted.

It appears to need a proximity/movement sensor of some sort.

Ready to file this in the Lost Cause folder and just let her indoors operate it manually, BUT I will be in credit with her if I can get it to work properly

More photos added.

Geoff - A week wasted with nothing done.

Hi Geoff,
If you have any LDRs (Light dependent resistors.) you could try one of them. They tend to be more sensitive than photo diodes. Maplin no longer seem to stock them so I do not know where you could buy one without sending away for it.

Les.

Geoff - I have some big LDR's somewhere I acquired from street lamps as a kid, let me dig out what I have in the scrap box and I'll post the resistance readings, see if one of those will do the trick.

Steve

Only managed to find one - but it is big, around 25mm. it's pretty much open circuit in the dark (>50Mohm) and 500K in bright artificial light. Sounds like the wrong characteristic to me.

Steve