Instant Romance

[AshLu]

Instant Romance

Parts List/Cost

                EST302301 Model Rocket Igniters from Hobby Store: $5.99 for 6-pack

                IRF510 Mosfet Transistor from Radioshack: $1.99

                5940534 Microphone from Fry’s Electronics: $3.99

                External DC Power Supply

                Candles

                Total Cost: $11.97

Setup

                HW

1. Connect the electrical components as follows:

The leads on the igniters are interchangeable. The power supply should output enough current to light the igniters. Mount the igniters on the candle wicks and connect the microphone to the Audio In channel. Plug in the power supply.

                SW

                Set the paths for the background song and the fireplace video on the front panel. Choose the microphone Audio In and the Analog Output channel that is hooked up to the circuit. When you run the VI, it will run minimized, but the video will play on the screen as soon as the claps are detected. The microphone sensitivity can be controlled on the front panel. To stop the fullscreen video, hit Esc, then Esc again to stop the VI (or the stop button).

Explanation

                The LabVIEW program run in the background monitoring the sound input and looking for peaks. As soon as it detects peaks that match three equally spaced claps, it kicks off the sequence. An Analog Output voltage is output to a physical channel, which completes a circuit and passes a voltage through the rocket engine igniter. The igniter goes off, lighting the candle wicks. At the same time, two ActiveX controls are used to play a Barry White song in the background and a video of a fireplace playing full-screen on the front panel (which could be connected to a TV using a VGA or other cable).

ATTACHED: VI CODE, MP3