Solid-state Halloween controller and how to build a Haunted House

Step 4 Make it!

Here's the real reason to get the Make article: I built this thing so long ago, that I didn't take pictures at each step.

Step 1
Attach the solid-state relays, terminal block, and breadboard to the base using the wood screws. Lay the components out, mark places for holes, and drill holes appropriately sized for the screws.

Step 2
Cut the extension cords approximately 12 inches from their receptacles and strip 3/4 of an inch of insulation at the cut. Mount the receptacles to the base by drilling through holes and securing with cable ties; use hot glue for a snugger fit.

Step 3
Attach the cut end of the long extension cord to the base, and strip 3/4 of an inch of insulation.

Step 4
Wire up the AC side of the controller according to the schematic using the screw connections on the terminal block and the solid-state relays. Use short pieces of the #16 wire to connect hot to all the solid-state relays (it’s best to switch hot, not neutral).

The wires in extension cords are often color coded: hot is black, neutral is white, and ground is green. If yours isn’t color coded, look at the plug with the blades pointing towards you and the round, ground plug at the top; hot is the smaller blade on the lower right. Once you have identified the proper blade, use a multi-meter to check conductivity between the blade and the stripped wire. If you’re confused, ask a friend with AC experience to lend a hand and check your wiring.

Step 5
Make the data cable by attaching the ribbon cable to the D-subminiature and DIP connectors. This is done by positioning the ribbon cable in the insulation displacement connectors (the two rows of forked contacts) and pressing down with the strain relief, which will then snap into a locked position. Each of the forks pierce through the ribbon cable’s insulation and make a connection with a conductor in the ribbon cable. You will need to separate one of the conductors from the ribbon cable on the DIP connector side; this will be either pin 1 or pin 13 on the parallel port, neither of which are used in this project. Use the multi-meter to determine how the pins on the D- connect to the DIP. Pins 2 through 9 are output data lines and 18 through 25 are all grounded.

Step 6
Wire up the signal side of the controller on the breadboard according to the schematic. Use small pieces of cut and stripped #22 wire. The parallel port can only source a few milliamps of current and can be damaged if the data lines are shorted to ground. Ensure your wiring is correct before attaching to a computer. Use a cable tie as a strain relief so the DIP connector doesn’t get yanked out of the breadboard. Instead of a breadboard, you could use a prototyping board and solder all the connections. I chose the breadboard because I’m sure I’ll want to modify the controller later, or scavenge all these parts for some future project.

The LEDs are not required to operate the solid-state relays. They simply provide feedback about the state of the parallel port. With fewer solid-state relays than data lines in my controller, I used an LED on the fist data line to indicate that my code was operating and that there was a good connection to the computer.

Step 7
Cover the AC portion of the controller. Mark and drill holes in the base and cover and connect them with the stand-offs. I used clear acrylic so I could still see the LEDs.

Step 8
Once you’ve double checked all your wiring, plug the controller into your computer’s parallel port (leave the AC unplugged for now) and see if you can make the LEDs go. Use a parallel port monitor such as “lpt.exe” from http://neil.fraser.name/software/lpt/. The port number of the parallel port varies between machines, so be sure to check all the options. You may have to change your parallel port’s setting in the BIOS to something other than bi-directional, such as ECP or output only. The 8 output pins are addressed in binary fashion: writing a 0 to the port turns them all off, writing 1 turns on the first pin, 2 the second pin, and 3 the first and second.

Step 9
Plug the controller into 120 VAC and plug a lamp into one of the receptacles connected to an AC solid-state relay. The power to the lamp should now be under computer control. To control a DC device, modify its power supply (for example, the device’s wallwart), switching the positive conductor with the solid-state relay. For battery powered devices, you can use an external battery pack and run the wires through the controller, or cut apart one of those AC to DC transformers of the appropriate voltage from an unused walkman or other piece of discarded electronics.