Nuts and Volts - September 2015

display as an ample amount of well placed fog. One of the biggest drawbacks of most commercially available machines is the ability to deliver the fog at just the right time. Most machines only have a limited amount of fog available before they need to recharge, so you want to make the most of it. A fog remote that can be fired only when your trick or treaters are in exactly the right spot is the ideal solution.

With a few simple modifications and additions to your existing remote, you can incorporate a passive infrared sensor to accomplish this. The ability to better manage your fog machines may allow you to get by with a fewer number, saving money and power — both of which can be in short supply on the big night. I think every haunt would benefit from this type of control to maximize the disbursement and timing of this valuable effect (Figure 7).

8. Vacuum Forming — and !!!

How many times have you been working on a project and wished you could reproduce a part? Oftentimes, we only have a single item but need multiple copies to complete a build, or our original is too heavy and we require something lighter. Building and operating your own vacuum former can solve several of these problems. There are many examples of DIY models available, and they can be built with ordinary tools we already have. A variety of plastics can be used to mold a piece to fit your needs.

With 3D printers being all the rage these days, we may overlook the usefulness of the vacuum former. Once you complete the construction of your machine, creating copies is fast and inexpensive, and no computer or programming skills are required. One day, I’ll own a 3D printer, but for now, the vacuum former fits the bill just fine (Figure 8).

9. Banshee PICAXE Controller —

and !!!

I had the pleasure of working with fellow Halloween enthusiast, Steve Bjork on a previous project who is the real brains behind this new board design. The Banshee board will take many of the DIY printed circuit boards we now use and allow the prop builder to replace them with a single board. This board uses the 40X2 PICAXE chip as its brains, and includes eight servo outputs, four MOSFET drivers, a real time clock, and the ability to add a stereo audio player.

This board will — among other things — allow for the user to have two three-axis skulls talk to each other. (See Steve’s article in this issue.) Like the previously designed

Frankenstein board, the Banshee will walk you through the setup of the board with audio prompts stored on an SD card and played by the audio board.

The last several years have seen a rapid improvement in the number and functionality of DIY controllers, allowing the home haunter to program their characters and scenes just like the professionals. This board will certainly enable you to take your haunt up a notch (Figure 9).