Dynamite Alarm Clock

by DFLphysics100 in Circuits > Clocks

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Dynamite Alarm Clock

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Ever had trouble waking up in the morning? Ever fall back asleep after the alarm clock has already rang? Wake up, and stay awake by building your own DYNAMITE alarm clock! There is no real explosion obviously, but the LEDs connected to the PVC tubes make sure you are awake and make sure you do not fall back to sleep.

To the Start of a Great Morning:

*Make sure you have all of your materials.

Materials:

- 5 1 1/2” PVC pipes $4.97 per 10in (The Home Depot) http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100135041?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051&N=5yc1vZbv13Z1z114tt&R=100135041#.UWVxJqs9K1-

- Red paint $2.94 (The Home Depot) http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202510011?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=red+paint&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=202510011#.UWVwlKs9K18

- Cool looking wires (Salvation Army)

- Digital Clock $8.68 (Wal-Mart)http://www.walmart.com/ip/Elgin-Travel-Alarm-Clock/10298528

- Red, orange, and or yellow colored LEDs (class)

- Electric tape $1.97 (The Home Depot) http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100130843?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=electrical+tape&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=100130843#.UWVxbas9K18

Taking the Alarm Clock Apart:

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- Take the back cover of your alarm clock carefully.
- Make sure none of your wires are ripped, and are working.
- Make sure your alarm clock is made of an electrical conducting material.
- Figure out how circuit of alarm clock.
          - More specifically the circuit that controls the alarm clock going off.


The Circuit (The Beginning):

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- As stated in the previous step, your circuit should begin where the positive wire is connected to the hammer (of the clock), on the inside part of the clock.
- Connect the other end of the positive wire to the positive wire of the battery holder. (The batteries should have an out put of 3 volts).
- Solder the negative wire to the negative end of the battery holder.

Setting the Pipes:

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- Measure out the distance between each LED, and drill a hole in the PVC.
          -Make sure the hole is big enough, and not too big.
-DO NOT DRILL IN EVERY SINGLE PVC PIPE. Think about it, do you need LEDs everywhere?
-Drill three (3) holes per pipe in the four (4) pipes that will be at the top, or "roof", of the alarm clock.

- Glue the pipes together- make sure drilled pipes are on top, and holes are facing out!
-Only, i repeat, ONLY after careful ,and precise measuring, drilling, and gluing can you actually spray paint the pipes (Preferably in red).

Setting the LED Wires

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- Cut into appropriate length.
          -- (IMPORTANT: there is a minimum. You need to use at least enough wire that it connects to one of the LEDs inside the tube,       and comes out of the PVC far enough so it can be twisted at the end).
- Each wire will be soldered at one end to an LED.
          - Make sure negative wires are soldered to the negative leg of the LED (The shorter of the two).

The Circuit (The Middle):

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- As the negative wire is soldered to the battery holder, you now will connect 12 negative wires to it.
          - The circuit for the LEDs will be running in parallel.

- Before soldering the LED wires to the primary wire, you will twist them at the ends.
- Make sure all negative wires, touch the primary wire.
- Solder the wires together

The Circuit: the End

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-Again, measuring the appropriate length cut and solder the positive wires to the positive end of the LED.
- Place the LED into the whole, and continue pulling the positive wire through the PVC to the other side, until it come out.
- Pulling each one of the positive ends through the PVC, and placing the LED into its designated hole.

Fishing the Circuit:

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- Just like the negative end, the positive end will come out the other side of the tube.
- All positive ends will need to be connected to a primary positive wire.
- Twist wire, make sure they all touch the primary wire.
- Solder them together.

-Take the primary positive wire and connect it to the bell of the alarm clock.
- Put tin foil over the wire.
-Tape tin foil to bell.