Freeform solar engine

There is really not much to write about. I saw the nice freeform Annoy-o-tron 2000 and got infected. Grabbed one 555 timer as I saw a nice solar engine circuit with 555 timer chip on Instructables, some solid core copper wire and started bending wire and soldering everything together. Not much a plan, just real time design :-D

Here some photos of my creation:

All components are soldered together based on the 555 chip atteched to the main frame. The lower ring is negative and the upper ring is the positive rail where everything gets attached too.

I tried different motors and motor mounts but this one on a spiraled copper wire seems perfect for making some noise.

The 555 chip is connected with pin 4 and 8 to the positive rail and gives it a stable base to connect all the other components. 

 

The sound in the video shows how fast or slow the capacitors charge. In that setup I had a 1000W photo lamp pointing at the solar panel which might simulate a sunny day. Without direct sunlight I can't see any movement since it's not enough to charge the caps above the transistor switching threshold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY6O3SCG-nE
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This is totally awesome!

I am now hooked too, I must make one of these, or maybe two! Thanks for the excellent detail shots!

That’s right Roxanne, I

That’s right Roxanne, I think everybody needs tio build one of these sculptures for fun.

I am going to build another one, not now, not tomorrow but I will do it when I have the magical brain flash for a design :slight_smile: (components are all available just waiting for the flash)