Introduction: Water Running Timer

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This project is for timing how long the water has been running from the kitchen tap.  The project uses Mircosft Small Basic program and a Makey Makey interface to a computer.

Step 1: Step 1

Materials Needed
1 - Makey Makey Circuit Board
2 - Computer with USB interface
3 - Microsoft Small Basic Program
4 - Timer Program JBF006
4 - About 2 feet of wire

A) The Small Basic program can be downloaded from Microsoft for free at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=22961

B) The Makey Makey board can be ordered online from  www.makeymakey.com/ or a number of other places.

C) The Timer program I wrote can be imported for free once you have Small Basic Program open the program and hit import and type in JBF006.  If you just want to view the program go here http://smallbasic.com/program/ and enter JBF006

Connections
The earth connection from the Makey Makey is connected to a piece of wire wrapped around the faucet so that the bare end is hit by water when the tap is turned on.  The second connection is attached to the sink.  As my sink is all metal I used the soap dispenser at one end as it was easier to connect the alligator clip to and the other end goes to "A1" of the Makey Makey.  A1 is the connection for leftclick on the mouse.  Connections are shown in the first and second pictures.

The program uses the left click on the mouse to activate the timer but if wanted the program can be modified to activate on something else.

Using the Setup
One the connections are made, run Microsoft small basic, open and  run the timer  program and turn on the water.  The timer will start to count.

Notes
Can be used for other similar projects such as how long the kids leave the door open.

Step 2:

Detail of Screen