Today, I will show you how to make a mint tin that vibrates and/or lights up. This would be a great thing to trick your friends with, simply put it on a table, hide somewhere, and when they reach for it, make it vibrate. Its so hilarious it never gets old.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

For this project, you will need some tools and materials. chances are you have all of them lying about somewhere.

Materials:
-1 27mhz mini RC car and controller (or 49mhz, it doesn't matter)
-1 49mhz mini RC car and controller (This is optional for the light, this could be 27mhz , but you can only have one of each frequency)
-Super glue or hot glue, anything other than a glue stick
-Electrical tape (to prevent short-circuits)
-2 LR44 or AG13 button cell batteries. (or any two that equal 3v)
-Patience
-A mints tin. altoids would work best.

Tools:
-Solering iron
-Hot glue gun
-Screwdrivers (if you choose to change up the controller)
-A little electronics knowledge

Step 2: Get the Circuit Boards

First, after we eat all the mints, of course, we need to get the rc circuit boards. do this by taking your rc car, removing the top, and taking off the plastic panel that protects the circuitry.

Next, lift up the circuit board, and break off the this copper wires that go to the front of the car. next, if the motor doesn't have wires coming out of it, we break the wires off of the connections that go to the back of the car. if the motor has wires coming out of it, take off the metal bracket piece that holds it down and take out the motor. LEAVE IT CONNECTED. remove the battery if you havent already and gently take the battery clips out of heir places. you should now be able to lift the circuit board away. repeat this for the other car.

If you aren't adding a light, you only need one car for this project.
If the motor just has metal tabs on it you will have to solder one motor wire to the pad on the end of the motor snd one wire to the side of the motor.

Step 3: Connect the Boards

If you are making a vibrator with a light, you will need to connect both of the boards power inputs together. you can do this by soldering one boards power wires to the power inputs on the other board, or simply by connecting one boards' power input wires to the battery connectors of the other board. then glue the 2 boards together so they stay together.

Step 4: Connect the Light and Make the Vibrator

Next, right before we put it into the container, we will attatch the light and make the motor vibrate.

If you are not adding a light, skip to the second half of the step
The light is going to be using the motor output on one of the circuit boards. solder the light either directly to the board or to the wires for the motor that come off of it. it doesnt matter which way the led is attached, since forwards and backward reverse the current polarity.

make the motor vibrate you need an OFFSET WEIGHT. this is a weight that is not centered but off to the side, or offset. i glued a dead led (without the leads) to the side of the gear so it was offset and made it vibrate. you could also use a big drop of hot glue, but be careful (no matter which glue you use) not to get it on the motor. otherwise you will wreck it.

Step 5: Put It in the Tin

now its time to "Tin" it. get it? anyways, now you need to put everything inside the tin. if you are worried about short circuiting, put some electrical tape down first, then the circuit boards. be sure to glue them, because the whole tin is gonnaa be vibrating and we dont need the circuits everywhere.

then put down the antennas, or antennae. find a good spot, around the edge, where you can lay the antennas. glue them down.

then you will glue the battery holder. glue the clips far enough apart for the 2 batteries. test fit the batteries before the final choice.

now, glue the motor down. glue it at an angle, so the weight doesn't hit the bottom of the tin. make sure it doesn't hit the top either, though. make sure there is clearance for it so it doesn't hit anything. when you are satisfied, glue it. at about a 45 degree angle. dont forget about the light! glue it somewhere too.

Step 6: Test It

now its time to test your creation. put in the batteries, double check the connnections, and close the tin. grab your remote, put the tin on a table, and wait for someone to reach for it. bzzzzttt! the expression on their face is priceless. it works every time. and who knows? maybe your pets would like it too! (unless they ate it and you got mad at them)

if it didnt work:
is something short circuiting?
did you damage the board(s)?
did a wire break off?
did you accidentally glue the motor so its stuck?
are the batteries in right?
are the batteries dead?
are/is the remote(s) okay?

beware loosening batteries! they might have jiggled loose! sticky tack will hold them.

if it did work, CONGRATULATIONS!! now tease somebody with it.