Building a "Billie Jean" Sidewalk

Step 4 Cheap and reliable pressure switches

The real trick was thinking of a switching mechanism. I considered micro switches, limit switches, and finally decided to keep it simple (and cheap!) and make a home-brewed pressure switch. My idea was to tape a wire to the upper (acrylic) and lower (frame) pieces of each step with some foil duct tape and separate them with a bit of weather stripping (3/8" thick). The panel sits on top of the weather stripping and as it's depressed, the two pieces of foil make contact and the lights go on. Once the weight is off the step, the weather stripping springs back, and opens the switch.

I decided to place two switches per each step on the edges you walk across. Closing either or both switches would complete the circuit. The good thing about this is that as you're walking along, even if you just catch the edge of the next step, it will light. Having to step in the center of each step would be much less effective.

Adjusting the sensitivity of the switches is easily done by changing the length of weather stripping and how close it is to the foil switch.

Comments

[PMadds]

What is this different-colored material in the middle of the square?

[flaming_pele!]

You mean on the acrylic square tilted up in the top part of the picture? That's tan color is the protective paper that's on one side of the plastic when it's shipped. I thought it looked decent and defused the light pretty good so I left it on.

[queesy]

I wish I knew what was going on here Im a fairly "newbie" type of user here. I was really interested in this but I feel there on detailed instructions missing for people like me to actually build this =(

[Fl0ris]

First you need some wooden frames, a translucent (lux=light, only permitting light) material, e.g. arylic, (you walk over this) and some weather stripping to seperate the transluc. material and the wooden frames. You put some wiring attached with foil duc tape on both sides (so you put this on the translucent material and the wooden frames on the left and the right). If the duc tape foils touch each other the circuit is closed. More info about schematic circuit in step 3.

If you have more questions please reply

[xadevox]

where can you get weather stripping?

[flaming_pele!]

Just a hardware store like Home Depot. It normally is used for windows and doors.