Mist King Button

At the San Diego Reptile Super Show I met Marty from Mist King for the first time. I have purchased from him and talked with him on the phone and through email many times. It was great to meet him in person and shake his hand. While hanging out at his booth talking I started to play with the display he had setup on the table. He had a box with a button that operated a pump under and some misters that were setup in a terreriam that was on top of the table.

This is the box he had on the table. It looked great! (this is a pic I took after taking out his cords and installing what I planned to use..... but ya get the idea....)

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A lot of people would walk up and press the button and not hold it... and the response was "it doesn't work" or "oh, you have to hold it....". I told Marty he needed a 'delay off' timer relay. He looked at me like 'a what?'. I tried to explain myself to him but we ended up agreeing that I would just build him something if he sent me his button and box.

I made some purchases online and did a little shopping at Fry's... A week or so after the box arrived I had a working rough draft. I ended up replacing Marty's button with a new one. You can't really tell from outside of the box... but I like mine because it has a lower profile inside the box. :D

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The original idea was to make the relay fit inside of the box with the button. I guess I didn't realize how small the box was when I suggested the idea :eek:. What I ended up doing instead, was making a second box to sit under the table that had all the components and a single cable that would go to the button box that would trigger the timer. This makes things simple for the box and button 'display', there won't be a bunch of cords running around the top of the table if I separate the two.

This is the completed version of the whole sha-bang.... kinda

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At first I was going to make the cord going from the button box to the relay box connect directly together, as one. But I started thinking... This means the two boxes will have to be packed together and could get damaged in shipping and moving around... it also meant the cables would get tangled and messy as time goes on and the display is moved around and used.

So I told him I would put on connectors for the trigger cord and make an extension cord for it as well. This would give him some flexibility. I don't have the cord in the shot.. but this is the final product I will be sending him.

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Here are some pics of the inside guts...

Inside the button box... The lower 'block' is a light housing to illuminate the button and the upper 'block' is the 'switch'.

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This is the inside of the relay box. Here you can see the delay relay, circuit break, and the terminal blocks and a few wires.... :p.

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The relay I am using is very versitil. It can do a delay from 0.1-1.0 seconds or 1-10 hours. You select the range by setting the dip switches and turning the knob sets the delay. Here is the setup....

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This relay can also be setup as a 'one shot' or 'off delay' timer. That means.... once the button is pressed the timer starts (one shot) or when the button is released the timer starts (off delay). This shows the way it would work....

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Continued....

In order to change the time delay I made a hole for Marty to insert a screw driver. This way he doesn't have to open the box each time he wants to make an adjustment. As is, he can make adjustments from 1-10 second delays by turning the knob on the relay.

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And here is a video I made of the system operating my lava lamp :D

 
Are we supposed to know what any of that means?

Either way, it looks good and works well. Nice work.
 
Very cool Kev, you have talent and a tremendous amount of patience with that electrical stuff.:cool:

Marty is surely going to be stoked with that thing.:)


-Jay
 
Love this! Thanks for taking time to detail it. I'm really impressed by your refinement of the housing and inner workings!

Heres a million dollar idea:
How about making a small weight activated platform that turns the mister on?
A few simple springs and a waterproof switch, maybe even build it into a perch so it doesn't mess with the aesthetics of the enclosure.

I know my veiled would take less than a week to work out he could mist at his own discretion by climbing onto his shower platform :)
 
That looks great! it's really going to save my throat, no more "you have to press it and hold it"....now I'll have to start saying ... "Let go - don't hold it !!!!" You can preview the button at the Daytona show :)

Thanks man....

He looked at me like 'a what?'

I don't recall that ... hehehe ... you're such a gadget geek ! :D
 
I really like how you were able to create that lower profile button. Very cool. Now you gotta make an add on for it so when someone presses the button a voice comes out of a small speaker telling people to let go so Marty doesn't have to keep saying it :)
 
He had the same button at the Missisauga reptile expo :p
I got quite a pleasure out of just standing their and pushing it. Lol.

I like pushing people's buttons.... but it gets me into trouble for pissing them off especially my boss :D:eek:.

This was a very fun project, Marty!

When I have some extra money I'll build a demo version of my auto/manual mister control. The idea is that you plug your pump into it, you plug the box into the wall and into your Mist King timer. The timer will trigger the box to power the pump, just like it normally would. BUT when you want to mist manually.... you press the button and you will trigger the delay timer (like what you see above) to power the pump for a defined amount of time. If people like this kind of device ill look into building a prototype and have it made. The guy I have been buying PCB stuff from in... oh I forget what country he is in... said he can build me whatever I need. Local PCB makers aren't cheap (unless someone knows someone?). :eek: I found a company that buils these solid state timers for a decent price with the spec I want and its a very small footprint.. just need to build a box and PCB.... :cool:
 
Marty's Button Box (the smaller box) headed down the Merge.... just about to get scanned, weighed and measured.... and then my credit card will be charged the shipping... on in a split second.

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Marty I am shipping it 2nd day air. should be there thursday.... or friday.
 
heheh... too funny. I love the way you document things :) I'll try to get a photo as I take it from the hands of the UPS guy :p
Thanks!
 
Great Job Man! I love this community. It is amazing how our hobby grows and makes us more successful by working together. I've been in similar situations sooo many times when the help of a fellow cham lover enriches my knowledge and the life of my chams.

Well done guys!
 
hehe... it made it. Looks great and works even better. Love the extra touches, like extension cord, tripple plug, perfect packing and even the little screw driver for adjusting the time. You rock! UPS didn't dissapoint either, right on time ! They must have new uniforms.
 

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hehe... it made it. Looks great and works even better. Love the extra touches, like extension cord, tripple plug, perfect packing and even the little screw driver for adjusting the time. You rock! UPS didn't dissapoint either, right on time ! They must have new uniforms.

THATS YOUR UPS DRIVE? wow!
 
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