Hello All! This is my first post. I am a relative novice to electrical work and robotics. I have experience wiring my own guitars and putting together effects pedal kits, but that is essentially the end of it.
So, I have a project that I would like to use a small electric motor for. It is a single string electric guitar type device designed to produce one note in a droning fashion. I'd like to use the motor to spin a wheel that will vibrate the string and produce sound through the pickup and out to an amp. I'd like this to act as a fourth member of a three piece band I play with to generate additional musical depth.
I don't think that it needs to be particularly powerful, so I am hoping for a recommendation that allows for a 9v battery as a power source. Ideally, I can pickup what I need at a Radioshack (USA, Gainesville, FL) and knock it out this weekend for an upcoming performance. I would also like to be able to adjust the speed, so I am thinking maybe a linear potentiometer would work?
I apologize for my lack of knowledge and thank you all for your advice in advance! Thanks!
BONUS POINTS for an easy EBow project that will get a nice drone going!
Have you considered
using a pager vibrator motor or similar? Their specs are 3v +/-, low current. You might consider a 555 PWM circuit to pulse the motor, maybe?
What I’m Trying To Do - Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback. Here’s a little more on the physical application. The pictures show the front and rear of what is already complete. The string still needs to be lowered to interact with the pickup more, but otherwise the sound producing aspects are done. I think that I can mount a motor on the edge opposite the pickup in the center and attach a wheel with some flaps made of bicycle inner tube that will gently activate the string at regular intervals. I’m willing to sacrifice the variable speed because it’s looking like i won’t be able to get it down to less than 100rpms effectively. Speeds that low or lower would be desirable for picking up variation with the setup I will be using, otherwise, it can be very fast to produce a smoother sound.
Before I got these responses yesterday I got antsy and picked up a 9/18v motor from radioshack along with a 1mega ohm pot. I hooked it up with a 9v battery. The pot worked for about 10 seconds before it started to glow, so that’s out. Lots of heat (as predicted)!
They did have smaller motors at RS, so I am happy to swing by and pick one up, along with a AA wiring harness. With a smaller motor, like the 3v suggested, what kind of batterly life could I expect out of a single AA? I really only need 30 minutes or so for the performance. Could I rig this to work off of a plugged in power source? I have lots of 9v adaptors for my various effects pedals that run off of 9v batteries otherwise.
I hope the pictures help illustrate the physical application better. Please let me know if I can offer anymore information. Thanks!
FRONT
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Cool project! Instead of
Cool project! Instead of using the guitar pickup you may want to pick up a piezo transducer at RS and experinent with placing it on different parts of the instrument. Just rig it up to a phone jack like a geetar! RS also has cheap little electric motors that you could rig a wheel onto like a rotating violin bow. Dig around the RS parts bins. Pick up an Arduino while you’re at it…
I’d work out the mechanical part like mounting the motor, wheel, etc. so it’ll rub on the string and then work on varying the speed. Could pick up a hobby servo for lifting the motor off the string for a different sound. Maybe scrounge around for a wall wart for power so you won’t have to worry about batteries.
Good luck and ROCK ON! Looks neat so far!