Simple Coin Button LED Switch (Using Weight)

This is a relatively simple coin button switch to perform. When weight is applied to the clamp conductors, the downward force lights up the LED's.

Step 1: Materials

These are the materials that I used for this switch. Since this is a simple switch, you can add or remove anything to your desire.

Materials:

1) 2 LED's

2) 2 coin buttons

3) 4 clamp conductors

4) Textbook (doesn’t have to be a book. It could be anything as long as it has weight to it)

5) Scotch Tape

Step 2: Clamping an LED

Take an LED and slightly pull the anode and cathode (+ and - sides) away from each other, and then take 2 clamp conductors and clamp one to each side. It doesn't matter which clamp is on which electrode, but make sure to take note on which clamp is on the positive end and which clamp is on the negative end.

Step 3: Tape One Conductor End to Its Coin Battery Side

Take a piece of scotch tape and tape one end of a conductor to the corresponding side of a coin battery. For example, I took the purple conductor that was clamped to the positive side of the LED and taped the end to the positive side of the coin battery. Make sure it's taped well enough that the conductor doesn't slip out, but leave enough open space on the other side so that the coin circuit can function.

Step 4: Check to Make Sure the Circuit Works

Very small, but important step. Take the end of the other clamp conductor and place it on its corresponding end. This is to make sure that the LED and the circuit work, as well as to check if the correct conductor ends are on their correlating coin button sides.

(If you want to, you can also tape this conductor end to this side of the coin battery. I didn't do this however, because I was worried that I would tape it in a position where the switch wouldn't work.)

Step 5: Set This Aside

After you've completed the previous step, set this circuit aside. Now you're going to be working on the 2nd circuit.

Step 6: Repeat Steps #2-4 for the Second Circuit

This is self-explanatory. Do everything that you did for the first circuit again for the second circuit. I would recommend changing the colors of the LED as well as the clamp conductors so that nothing gets mixed up.

Step 7: Set Up the Switch

Set up the coin button circuts near each other like this, and get your textbook (or other weighted objects) ready. You are now ready to perform the switch!

Step 8: Perform the Switch

Place your weighted object on the ends of the upward-facing conductors, and both LED's will light up. You may have to place the object in a way where the ends won't get moved from their position because of the object's weight (if you didn't tape this end).

Congrats, You've just completed the switch! If it doesn't work, you may have to move things around or redo previous steps, but you'll get it to work.