The "Cat Blaster 2009" plus video

So I have been having some problems with my cat lately scratching up the screen door. I needed to find a way to deter him without doing him any harm. Enter the "Cat Blaster 2009" . A safe non harmful cat deterrent. Basically a remote controller air gun.

Using a spare servo, a picaxe, and other misc stuff I built the Cat Blaster. The result, no more damage to my screen door, and another project under my belt. Also can be used as a Halloween prop or general gag.

Check out the video on youtube here.

http://www.youtube.co...

Patrick

Very creative. I especially like seeing it in action. I need to something like that with a vision system to distinguish between my cats and the neighbor's cat who comes over and eats all my cats' food.

I saw the video too. Couldn't you have just used a regular DC motor and analog electronics? (Wait, I'm always saying that....)

What kind if IR sensor were you using?

PS: Sorry I missd the last two meetups, my part-time job got in the way.
Additionally, I don't know if I will be able to come regularly, with my up-coming college semester.
No, I have not quit, I'm trying to come, but life is in the way.

[On the upside, I've managed to start programming my picaxe 40X1.]

Dustin, I had to use a Servo because its takes some torque to squeeze the trigger for the air nozzle. I could have used a geared motor but I just used what I had laying around. Also I can control the servo precisely with the "servo" command. The PICAXE 08M is such an inexpensive chip I used it instead of analog. Less components too.

I used a Sharp IR sensor from Radio Shack Catalog #: 276-640. I used my TV Universal Remote to trigger the Box from within my living room. Cat scratches the Screen, I point the remote at the Cat Blaster, press the "Enter" button, cat gone lol.

I am using the 40X1 for my following bot. Works great. What are you planning on using it for?

Been wondering about you at the meetings. Hope to see you make one soon.


Patrick

I think I might be able to make this July meetup. I might not have anything cool to show by then, as I have been salvaging stuff (taking my accumulated junk apart in anticipation of college busyness).

I took my homemade microcontroller apart (i.e. popped off my breadboard). Why? I was trying to get the instruction memory loaders to be coodinated, but I had some CMOS to TTL problems. Or was it a slow transition clock? At any rate, it stopped working, and I could not find the problem. Oh, well. I used the newfound breadboard room to play around a bit with a Radioshack red flashing LED. (for some reason, I seem to bust FLED's faster than regular LED's)

As for the 40x1, I'm not sure. I/O through the portc is awkward (Can't set portc pin input/output directions individually, have to set them all at once). In addition, the picaxe programmer thinks porta (port A) pin commands are syntax errors!

I think I'll look it up on the picaxe forum, mybe they have had this problem.

...A 38kHz IR sensor. I was under the impression this was an automatic operation. Perhaps you could mention this is remote controlled? Still, nice project. As practice, I rigged up my 40x1 to my only servo and two of my CdS sensors, trying to make it look at the brightest thing in the room. It follows my flashlight just fine, however, when sitting stil, it will jitter every now and then, as if on the edge of my programmed deadband.


...08m inexpensive, less components, precise control... all this Vs. analog electronics
Sounds like a challenge!
How many parts did you use (including voltage regulator, bettery not counting).