Gadget Freak Case #113: Turning a Flash Camera into a Coin Toss
By Design News Staff -- Design News, December 9, 2007
Joe Groele of Allegany, N.Y., took a flash camera, added a few electronic components and turned it into a coin-tossing gadget. He converted the flash into a strobe, then he ran the electricity through a coil to create a magnetic field. “The changing magnetic field causes an electric current in the coin, called an eddy current, which produces an opposite magnetic field,” says Groele. The nifty current makes the coin repel off the coil and into the air, thus tossing the coin.
The process of turning a camera into a coin flipper came with a few blips. Groele ran a few bumpy tests before a slight nudging of the coin turned into a full toss. Most notably, he discovered that working with high voltages “can be painful.” He also says he should have been “more careful drilling holes in fragile plastic.” Lastly, he found out he didn’t have to destroy nearly as many cameras as he expected. But after numerous trials, he hit pay dirt: a contraption that routinely flips a coin.
Get the Build Instructions | View Parts List | Post a Comment
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| Amt | Part Description | |
| 1 | Subminiature toggle switch SPST | 870-0351 |
| 3 | 100 Ω Resistor | 895-0101 |
| 3 | Diode 1N4007 | 950-1095 |
| 3 | SCR 2N6509 TO-220 | 568-0539 |
| 3 | Miniature Pushbutton Switch SPST | 948-7193 |
| 1 | Battery Holder; D Size | 565-0161 |
| 1 | Capacitor 10 µ F 400V dc | 613-0250 |
| 1 | Sidac, DO-92 | 846-0114 |
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WHAT'S THE POINT? MEANINGLESS JUST GET COIL AND RUN CURRENT THRU IT!
- 2008-29-2 04:35:44 EST -
Kudos to Joe for a very clever application of a disposable camera flash into a coin toss.
I believe polarity errors might have crept into the schematic diagram. Reversing the polarity of the camera''s rectifier diode and charge capacitor should fix them.
Also, please be careful playing with these circuits. The energy stored in the capacitor is lethal.
- 2007-20-12 04:23:31 EST -
Nice Job Joe! I am also interested in electronics, and love to build circuits. When i heard about you, i decided to build something myself. Although i am still deciding. Maybe you have some suggestions? Anyway, my name is Austin Schaller and i am 13 years old. Congradulations!
- 2007-18-12 02:57:41 EST -
Way to go!!!!!!
one thing that people may not realize, is that by not being so strict with subscriptions, one also does a public service in helping potentials in the outer world not just within industry.
think about how many kids cant get subscriptions to trade magazines because they are not ceos or people in the field.
those lucky enough to have a parent who gets them can read through design news (as i did growing up, and now do regularly - however, my print copies have stopped, since some algorithm has said, he must be no good, even though i have a company and such! since my print versions dont come anymore, i dont have time to read the mag in the "cracks of life". thats while walking, waiting, or doing mindless things... which is why i love print)
perhaps granting schools and students subscriptions with the understanding that they grow up, and that their age is only an impediment to beuracrats who dont think they are worth participating with.
- 2007-12-12 03:54:02 EST -
Great job! Which coils are shown in the last photo? What does "stacked"/"not stacked" refer to? Did you use a penny for all the tests, or other coins also? I have one suggestion: Add a delay circuit to fire the strobe once when the coin is near its maximum height, to show "heads" or "tails".
- 2007-10-12 14:53:51 EST
