Annoying Festive…thing

Electronics isn’t just a hobby that can be used for good, y’know. With just a couple of easily obtainable parts, basic tools, and rudimentary soldering skills it’s possible to really annoy people.

Take those irritating electronic Christmas musical modules, for example. Replace the push-switch with a vibration switch, and it will be activated by the slightest movement.

Parts list:

  • Electronic music box from greetings-card/novelty
  • Vibration sensor (really cheap one from eBay or Amazon marketplace)

Music box and cheap vibration sensor

Music box and cheap vibration sensor

 

Pry apart the music box exposing the internals – taking note where the switch is located.

Inside music box
Inside music box

 

Solder the vibration switch in place of the push switch (best to remove the battery before doing this)

Sensor installed
Sensor installed

 

Re-assemble the music box (I had to cut-away part of the push switch to get it back together)

Completed device
Completed device

 

Deploy the device in a place that will be set off by occasional movement. I taped mine to the bottom of a dining chair in the staff kitchen. This turned out to be a bad idea, as it went off so often that once my colleagues had worked out where it was hidden (took them long enough, mind) they took their annoyance out on it.

Discreetly taped to the bottom of a chair
Discreetly taped to the bottom of a chair

I recovered most of the bits after it had been smash and thrown across the room.

Internet In A Box

I don’t think anyone where I work has ever thought this box contains the entire internet, although it has been met with concerned curiosity:

“What does it do?”, I’ve been asked.
“It’s a box with a flashing red light – that’s all”, I replied.
“No, really, what’s it actually for, though?”

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, then watch this clip of the excellent Channel 4 UK comedy “The IT Crowd”:

 

The main component is the M34-1H 3-pin LED flasher IC, and the circuit is about as simple as it gets:

Internet In A Box Circuit
Internet In A Box Circuit

I bought the IC from Rapid Electronics, and the box is of the type readily available from Maplin:

The complexity is simply humbling, I know.
The complexity is simply humbling, I know.
Behold - The Internet! (De-magnetised)
Behold – The Internet! (De-magnetised)