Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Awhile back I made a little instructable on how to make a simple Solar Cockroach virbobot out of a 1.5V solar cell and a little vibrating motor. People seemed to enjoy making them and I enjoyed giving them away as odd gifts to my friends instead of buying them real birthday gifts.
All was good in the land... until someone in China decided to stop making the little 1.5V solar cells AND the very efficient little motors which were the backbone of our vibrobot. Sadness fell on many a basement workshop. Little motors all over the world stopped vibrating.
Well after a bit of searching replacements were found! A better, and slightly more cockroach sized, solar cell was discovered and tested. A more powerful and flexible motor was bought. Now all those Solar Cockroach lovers out there can get back to making what they love: lead solder covered children's toys.
In this instructable I'll be showing you how to put together a Solar Cockroach. As stated above it's a small vibrobot that uses a solar cell to power a little vibrating motor. It's easy to construct and makes a great gift. How easy is it? I had my neighbor's 13 year old son put one together, and he had never soldered before.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Cost: $5-10
Difficulty: Easy
All was good in the land... until someone in China decided to stop making the little 1.5V solar cells AND the very efficient little motors which were the backbone of our vibrobot. Sadness fell on many a basement workshop. Little motors all over the world stopped vibrating.
Well after a bit of searching replacements were found! A better, and slightly more cockroach sized, solar cell was discovered and tested. A more powerful and flexible motor was bought. Now all those Solar Cockroach lovers out there can get back to making what they love: lead solder covered children's toys.
In this instructable I'll be showing you how to put together a Solar Cockroach. As stated above it's a small vibrobot that uses a solar cell to power a little vibrating motor. It's easy to construct and makes a great gift. How easy is it? I had my neighbor's 13 year old son put one together, and he had never soldered before.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Cost: $5-10
Difficulty: Easy
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1What You Need
Supplies:
1x 2V Solar Cell
1x Vibrating Pager Motor
1X Resistor or diode, or other bits of scrap wire.
2x Big Paper Clip
2x Googly Eyes
Magnet Wire
Tools:
Soldering Iron
Solder
Hot Glue Gun
Wire Cutters
Helping Hand - (Optional, but really... handy)
Where to buy:
You can find these 2V solar cells all over the net. eBay has quite a few people selling them in bulk. You can really use any cell you want, but the big factor is the size. The 2V work well in this case though a small round cell would be fun to turn into a Solar Ladybug.
You can buy the vibrating motors all over the web. They come in various sizes or shapes. If you have an old cell phone or pager you can steal the vibrating motor out of it. This will save you $2.
I sell completed Cockroaches as well as kits on my website, BrownDogGadgets. I also have a variety of solar cells and vibrating motors if you're in the need.
As I said above, you can easily buy or salvage most of these parts.
1x 2V Solar Cell
1x Vibrating Pager Motor
1X Resistor or diode, or other bits of scrap wire.
2x Big Paper Clip
2x Googly Eyes
Magnet Wire
Tools:
Soldering Iron
Solder
Hot Glue Gun
Wire Cutters
Helping Hand - (Optional, but really... handy)
Where to buy:
You can find these 2V solar cells all over the net. eBay has quite a few people selling them in bulk. You can really use any cell you want, but the big factor is the size. The 2V work well in this case though a small round cell would be fun to turn into a Solar Ladybug.
You can buy the vibrating motors all over the web. They come in various sizes or shapes. If you have an old cell phone or pager you can steal the vibrating motor out of it. This will save you $2.
I sell completed Cockroaches as well as kits on my website, BrownDogGadgets. I also have a variety of solar cells and vibrating motors if you're in the need.
As I said above, you can easily buy or salvage most of these parts.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
to cut off the wire of the thing just to get the wire is something I woudn't do
I guess it all verries from person to person.
I once built a beatlebot and bought stuff at Radioshack and the thing ended up costing $34.00!
(That being said there are a couple of nice items they make that I do buy from them at a high price, but only because no one else has them.
how much do "Helping hands" cost?
Thanks for tolerating my comments
Just take apart an old (broken) cell phone and you can't miss the motor.
I still dont understand why you can't use the motars that already have wires
or the fancy blue ones.