# Trigger a prop over and over, the easy way



## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

I posted this in the Halloween forum, but I figure not everyone would see it, so I put it here too.

Do you have a Spirit prop that you would like to trigger over and over, instead of relying on its motion or sound sensor? This is the easy way to do it.

There's a small timer circuit from Velleman, a hobby electronics company. Connect it to the "Try Me" button. It has a relay that will press the button regularly. This is the one you want:
http://www.vellemanusa.com/products/view/?id=350686

It's designed to make lights flash for models, or trigger a camera every few seconds, etc. It comes as a kit that needs to be soldered together, but there's also a version that is fully assembled.

Search Google for...
Kit version: Velleman MK111
Assembled version: Velleman VM136

This unit needs a battery and will turn the relay on and off based on how you set the two little controls (use a small screwdriver). The relay is just an electronically controlled button.

There's a YouTube video that shows a guy soldering it together and how to set it up:





There are a couple of other videos from guys who couldn't solder the kit together correctly, ignore those.


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## FistJr (Nov 11, 2014)

Will that work with the more recent Spirit props that use a piezoelectric Step Pad? I've had poor/very erratic luck using a bare relays (not the product you mention) with those props - I eventually added a small cap and a resistor to similar a voltage pop as the relay triggered.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Hmmm, might need to look into this for the Home Depot skellie horse because the sound sensor is not very sensitive.


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

This kit is just a 555 timer that triggers a relay over and over, it will replace a Try Me button. I don't have one of the props with that step pad, but if you can put up a schematic of the parts you add it could be helpful.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Watched the video - he did a great job of showing how you solder the kit but didn't go into details (at least for a noob like me) as to how you hook up what you're trying to run. Also, it appears you need to plug it into a power supply (12VDC) rather than a battery for it to operate.


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

For the 12V battery - use one of these:
https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-8-aa-battery-holder?variant=5717214213

With one of these on top:
https://www.radioshack.com/collecti...9v-battery-snap-connectors?variant=5717208773

The circuit doesn't need that much power, and AA batteries will run it for days.

Here's a good picture from the Velleman website:









Power for the board goes to +12V and GND. (GND is the black wire from the battery.)
To replace a Try Me button, connect wires that used to go to the button to NO and COM. (NO = "Normally Open", which means that when the relay closes, the connection is made. COM = "Common".)


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## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

One thing to note is that the time between relay activations would need to be longer than the prop animation goes for.

Otherwise if the relay closes the contact while the prop is still running it will stop it, just like the second press on the try-me button usually does.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Thanks, Jeff, you're a sweetie! We were really hoping to find some way to address the triggering of the horse's sound and LED eyes without having to clap really loudly next to its head.

And thanks for the warning about timing, David.


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

The easy way:
- Time the prop to see how long it runs (example: 10 seconds)
- Decide how long you want the pause before it goes again (example: 15 seconds)

Then play with the Pause control to get a 25 second pause. The LED on the board goes on to show when the relay is triggered and how long it stays on. Adjust how long it's on with the Pulse control, you only need a second or so with most props.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I've ordered the supplies, so we'll see how it goes Thanks again, guys!


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## forevermy3 (Sep 8, 2010)

I have a store prop (110v.) and would like it to activate every 10-15 mins. Any suggestions for that length of time?


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## David_AVD (Nov 9, 2012)

Does the prop "do it's thing" each time it's powered up ?

This will determine whether you can use a simple mains timer or will have to wire into the try-me button.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Thanks Jeff, we got it working.


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## Beck Farms Doe Run (Jun 17, 2016)

Wow, I got lots of learning to do here


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Here's the horse with the interval timer tied in. Thanks again, Jeff, for pointing us in the right direction!


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

Awesome! Glad to hear you got it working.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I'm really happy about this because we've on occasion had props that didn't trigger well or only seemed to work with the Try Me button, and the timer opens up the option of making the prop usable all on its own.


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## Spookie (Aug 26, 2008)

Thanks for all the sources JeffHaas. Appreciate the heads up on the timing too David_AVD. I have a Velleman board I was going to pick up before Halloween this year but got busy. Looks like I found another one to get during the off season!


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## FistJr (Nov 11, 2014)

FYI, I saw these on Ebay - they work on 6V, so you could tie them in to the standard Spirit power supplies and not need to worry about a 12v supply for the relay. They also have a digital readout for the time delay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Del...651191?hash=item43f2b36237:g:OnAAAOSwdzVXnv8I


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

There's always another way to do the job! I will probably get one of these and try it out, to see how it compares to the Velleman version.

Looking through the ebay listings, the 3 - 6V version is kind of rare - the common one is 12V. So if you are looking at this in the future, make sure to search for "3-6V" to find the right one.

Also this version is a bit more complicated - it has a few different modes, and you have to pick the right one to get it to work like the Velleman version.


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## Dolly (Oct 30, 2016)

*Power Suppy for VM136 interval timer*

I am looking to try the VM 136 interval timer. Can I use AA batteries to supply power for this? How many batteries should I plan to use. Or do I need to find a 12 V power supply? I am so super new at this, but I'm a big fan of Halloween and we do a big display for the kids in the neighborhood and I just need to find a way to trigger my spirit props. 
Appreciate any help you can offer.


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I suppose you could. The specs I see show it runs off a 12V, 100mA power supply. To get 12V, you'd need to run 8AA batteries in series. Probably easiest to just get a battery holder:

https://www.adafruit.com/product/449

different form:
https://www.parts-express.com/8-aa-cell-battery-holder--140-978

As for how long it would last... I don't see any specs for actual current draw. Suspect it varies based on how many times you're tripping the relay and how long it's being held in. (the actual timing portion likely only draws a tiny amount of power) But given the specs show a 100mA power supply and AA cell would have about ~2000mAh of capacity, you could likely run ~20 hours or more. Of course if the device you're triggering is also drawing off those batteries, that could shorten run time considerably.


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## Dolly (Oct 30, 2016)

*Thank you.*

Thank you, I'm gonna give it a try with 8 batteries and see how it goes.


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

That's how I do it - see the sixth post on the first page of this thread, there's a link to the battery holder there too. These batteries only power the Velleman timer, not the prop. The prop should have its own power supply.


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## Dolly (Oct 30, 2016)

WooHoo, it works. I got the VM136 (pre assembled for those of us who have no clue). Works great with the try me button for props with a short run time, less than 60 seconds. I’m going to try the VM188 for those with a longer run time.
Any idea if this set up will work for props that don’t have a try me button but do have a connection for a foot pad. 👻


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Good to hear. I suspect it would work just the same with a foot pad. At the basic level, either is just completing a circuit to trigger the prop. So I would definitely give it a try.


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## Dolly (Oct 30, 2016)

Well, I dug thru my Halloween supplies to find a “Step Pad” and I’m pleased to say it works perfectly. I tested it on the Jumping Spider. I’m actually surprised Spirit hasn’t realized people want this option, they could sell a ton of these little timers.
Thanks for everyone’s input. &#55357;&#56443;☠&#55356;&#57219;


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## bobby2003 (Oct 9, 2017)

Works perfectly on my Home Depot horse as well.

Ended up purchasing:

Timer: https://www.vellemanstore.com/en/velleman-vm136-adjustable-interval-timer-module

Battery: https://www.vellemanstore.com/en/battery-holder-for-8-x-aa-cell-with-snap-terminals

Battery Connector: https://www.vellemanstore.com/en/battery-snap-for-1-x-9v-cell-t-type

I used one of the little try me buttons that comes with the Home Depot skeletons, clipped the button off and attached it to the circuit as in JeffHaas post. I could see how for a longer running prop though that the VM188 would be a better choice, but the VM136 works great for my horse.


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## Dolly (Oct 30, 2016)

The interval timers worked great. Didn't have to run around trying to trigger props all evening. Thanks so much for posting how to do this.

The link shows are display set up.


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## JeffHaas (Sep 7, 2010)

Glad to hear! And that's a fun video.


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