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This project was designed in conjunction with the Faux Candles project. The idea is to use a wiper motor (I have several) to move a figured back and forth across a rope. A remote control unit triggers the controller attached to the spook. A piezo siren fires of at first, and then the controller starts the movement sequence. The spook then lights up with some LEDs and lamps. A limit switch tells the spook it is at the end of the rope.
First of all, if you need technical info on using wiper motors, visit scary-terry
Here's a work in progress shot:
This 1 1/2" diameter pulley is too small. The spook moved very slowly, even at the highest unsupported, you'll burn your motor out speed. Next, I got a 4" plastic clothesline pulley. The speed was much better. Unfortunately, I never got the remote control receiver working with this controller, so I had to go with something simpler. Maybe next year I can pick up where I left off.
What a great find!
Doug Caulkins and I were on a geocache hunt during lunch and found this bracket from a telephone line just lying on the ground down in a ditch. I did my civic duty to keep Dunwoody beatiful and took it home to use as a mount for the spook. I mounted some daylight bright red and green LEDs for illuminating the eyes.
Here are some photos of the spook in 2005 without the motors. We still hung it on a rope, but there was no movement. A blacklight illuminated it from below.
 The spook's face mounted Larger Image |
 A somewhat blurry image of the spook hanging on the rope. Larger Image |
Annie drew the spook's face. More than one trick-or-treater told me that this was a scary face. And Annie knows scary.
For 2005, I had to cop out and just flash the leds and occasionally turn on the siren for a second or so.
