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How to Build a Time Fountain. By Shawn Patton. How to order parts for a time fountain. And then hold on to them four 22 months without doing anything. By Shawn Patton. How to Build a Time Fountain in a Night!!. After having bought the parts almost 2 years ago…. By Shawn Patton.
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How to Build aTime Fountain By Shawn Patton shawn@shawnpatton.com
How to order parts for a time fountain.And then hold on to them four 22 months without doing anything. By Shawn Patton shawn@shawnpatton.com
How to Build aTime Fountainin a Night!! After having bought the parts almost 2 years ago… By Shawn Patton shawn@shawnpatton.com
How I Built theTime FountainYou'll See TodayWhich isn't done yet, but it's still pretty cool… By Shawn Patton shawn@shawnpatton.com
What is a time fountain?? • A time fountain is a fountain that can stop time! • Not really, but it is a fountain that uses a strobe light to give the illusion that drops are hanging in mid-air. • I got the idea from Nate True by way of hackaday.com… two years ago. shawn@shawnpatton.com
Nate True’s Time Fountain shawn@shawnpatton.com
Totally sweet, but… • Hard to build, uses a drip sync mechanism requiring an elaborate setup and programmed chip. Boo! • Uses Fluorescein dye which stains everything. Boo! • UV light can burn your retina. Boo! • Why can’t you just strobe a light? Humm…. shawn@shawnpatton.com
To the internet!! • Found a page by Alain Bellon, who says, yes, you can just strobe, if you have a constant drip rate. • He even gives a schematic for a circuit using a 555 timer chip. • He also discusses how cool white liquid looks with white LEDs shining on it (no more toxic dye and retina searing light!) • What makes water white you ask? Why, Miracle Milk, sold right in Southside at the Cuckoo’s Nest Magic Shop. shawn@shawnpatton.com
Design • 3 drips are better than 1, I could have backwards time, stopped time, and slow time with three different strobe rates! All the forms of time, at my control!! • Metal is cool! Let’s use that a lot! • Tall, no, taller! Make it big!! shawn@shawnpatton.com
Design Revamp • 3 drips, am I insane?!? Let’s get one working first. • Steady drip needs water at same level always. Must pump in, must have drain back down. • Would be cool to run the tubes for water up the metal support tubes. • Have block of wood inside bottom metal piece to support poles. Store electronics in bottom too. shawn@shawnpatton.com
Rough Schematics shawn@shawnpatton.com
And now a word from our sponsor: • A timer 555 chip from Radio Shack: $2 • A printed circuit board : $3 • Not having to buy either and finally using that gift your cousins gave you when you were 12: Priceless. shawn@shawnpatton.com
Shopping… • Strips of white LEDs from Hong Kong • Various resistors, capacitors, and switches from Radio Shack. • Hardware from Lowe’s and Home Depot. • And, another trip to Radio Shack for a new soldering gun, since I couldn’t find my old one. shawn@shawnpatton.com
New soldering gun: Sweet sunbeams: shawn@shawnpatton.com
Leads to… a bunch of stuff: shawn@shawnpatton.com
Assembly Notes • Don’t try to make your fountain all in one night. • Drilling stainless steel is very difficult. • Having a spigot to control water drip-rate is key (Yes, finally I did something right!) • Wood is easy to work with, and it’s better to get something done than nothing : ) Plus, it actually looks kind of cool, and I think the final design will use wood. shawn@shawnpatton.com
Yada yada yada: Demo Time!! For some links, this presentation, and a placeholder for photos and instructions, visit: http://www.shawnpatton.com/timefountain Makes your water, whiter! shawn@shawnpatton.com