shawn@shawnpatton.com 1 how to build a time fountain by shawn patton

shawn@shawnpatton.com 1

How to Build aTime Fountain

By Shawn Patton

shawn@shawnpatton.com 2

How to order parts for a time fountain.And then hold on to them four 22 months without doing anything.By Shawn Patton

shawn@shawnpatton.com 3

How to Build aTime Fountainin a Night!!By Shawn Patton

After having bought the parts almost 2 years ago…

shawn@shawnpatton.com 4

How I Built theTime FountainYou'll See TodayWhich isn't done yet, but it's still pretty cool…

By Shawn Patton

shawn@shawnpatton.com 5

What is a time fountain??

A time fountain is a fountain that can stop time!

Not really, but it is a fountain that uses a strobe light to give the illusion that drops are hanging in mid-air.

I got the idea from Nate True by way of hackaday.com… two years ago.

shawn@shawnpatton.com 6

Nate True’s Time Fountain

shawn@shawnpatton.com 7

Totally sweet, but…

Hard to build, uses a drip sync mechanism requiring an elaborate setup and programmed chip. Boo!

Uses Fluorescein dye which stains everything. Boo!

UV light can burn your retina. Boo! Why can’t you just strobe a light? Humm….

shawn@shawnpatton.com 8

To the internet!!

Found a page by Alain Bellon, who says, yes, you can just strobe, if you have a constant drip rate.

He even gives a schematic for a circuit using a 555 timer chip.

He also discusses how cool white liquid looks with white LEDs shining on it (no more toxic dye and retina searing light!)

What makes water white you ask? Why, Miracle Milk, sold right in Southside at the Cuckoo’s Nest Magic Shop.

shawn@shawnpatton.com 9

Design

3 drips are better than 1, I could have backwards time, stopped time, and slow time with three different strobe rates! All the forms of time, at my control!!

Metal is cool! Let’s use that a lot! Tall, no, taller! Make it big!!

shawn@shawnpatton.com 10

Design Revamp

3 drips, am I insane?!? Let’s get one working first.

Steady drip needs water at same level always. Must pump in, must have drain back down.

Would be cool to run the tubes for water up the metal support tubes.

Have block of wood inside bottom metal piece to support poles. Store electronics in bottom too.

shawn@shawnpatton.com 11

Rough Schematics

shawn@shawnpatton.com 12

And now a word from our sponsor:

A timer 555 chip from Radio Shack: $2 A printed circuit board : $3 Not having to buy either and finally using that

gift your cousins gave you when you were 12: Priceless.

shawn@shawnpatton.com 13

Shopping…

Strips of white LEDs from Hong Kong Various resistors, capacitors, and switches

from Radio Shack. Hardware from Lowe’s and Home Depot. And, another trip to Radio Shack for a new

soldering gun, since I couldn’t find my old one.

shawn@shawnpatton.com 14

New soldering gun: Sweet sunbeams:

shawn@shawnpatton.com 15

Leads to… a bunch of stuff:

shawn@shawnpatton.com 16

Assembly Notes

Don’t try to make your fountain all in one night.

Drilling stainless steel is very difficult. Having a spigot to control water drip-rate

is key (Yes, finally I did something right!) Wood is easy to work with, and it’s better

to get something done than nothing : )Plus, it actually looks kind of cool, and I think the final design will use wood.

shawn@shawnpatton.com 17

Yada yada yada: Demo Time!!

For some links, this

presentation, and a

placeholder for photos

and instructions, visit:

http://www.shawnpatton.com/timefountain

Makes your water, whiter!