Project idea I need help with

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compukid
 
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Project idea I need help with

Post by compukid »

Just thinking of a new project and need some help. I warn you I am not an engineer so I apologies ahead of time.

My idea begins with a box. Let's say about the size of a shoe box. The box wouldn't show hinges and there would be nothing on the outside of the box, but the box would be locked.

The box would be locked from the inside using a small solenoid http://adafruit.com/products/412

The solenoid would open and close based on an rfid controller http://adafruit.com/products/789

I would use an arduino, but I am not sure how to power this. I would like to put this all in the box and hide it of course, but not sure how and not even sure what kind of power I would need. It sounds like I would need a power supply for the arduino and another power source for the solenoid. Can someone please help me on this? I was thinking of putting a false bottom to hide the power source or a switch. Or maybe I add a switch to the box anyway so I don't waste power.
Again if someone can help me think this through I would appreciate it.

Thanks

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zener
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by zener »

Battery?

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Google "reverse geocache" for projects that do pretty much the same thing.

There are lots of options, and the specific choices you make have an effect on what parts will be best. With no other information to guide a decision, I'd say "use three C-cells".. those have the best weight-to-power ratio among standard batteries.

Syn7
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by Syn7 »

So I guess you would have to program the pin to release on power failure, ya?

compukid
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by compukid »

So I would rather not have the pin open on power failure. The goal is to make the box look like a puzzle box. A clean wood box, but the secret would be you need an rfid tag to open it. If I do put a switch or batteries outside the box I will not accomplish my goal. But I guess it is better than nothing. Maybe I can make it and then improve on it later. I will look up the reverse geocache to see if that helps me.

Thanks

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tastewar
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by tastewar »

If your batteries are on the inside, and the batteries die before the box is opened, what happens? I suppose you could have two external power terminals on the outside for emergency use (they could be nails or screws that also happen to hold the box together, or at least look like they do...

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

If you want to get fancy, you can put one of those inductive cell phone chargers inside the box along with a rechargeable battery pack. If the batteries do go flat, you can recharge them by setting the box on the charger plate.

I can't remember the name of the commercial product, but I've seen them at Best Buy. You could also roll your own, and could possibly use the RFID pickup coil as the charging coil.

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zener
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by zener »

tastewar wrote:you could have two external power terminals on the outside for emergency use (they could be nails or screws that also happen to hold the box together, or at least look like they do...
I like this idea!

compukid
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by compukid »

Thanks for the response. Doesn't look like I will be able to do exactly what I had in mind, but these suggestions sound good. I will let you know what happens.

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zener
 
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Re: Project idea I need help with

Post by zener »

compukid wrote:Doesn't look like I will be able to do exactly what I had in mind
Which part can't you do?

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