Electronic Afflictions

Not knowing what I was getting into, I tried various methods of wiring the sensors in a simple manner - dropping the voltage, different motors, etc. I got to the point where I could get the sensors to function, but in doing so arose another issue - when they opened - which was spotty at best due to the strange power issues, they tended to stay open and thus burn out the motors.

To solve this I required a circuit that would accomplish two things:
1. Allow the whiskers and motors to work on two separate circuits, resolving any power issues.
2. When the whiskers were triggered, turn the motor for a controlled period of time, and then turn it off again.

Luckily, Chelsea Grant was also looking for a timer circuit, so we tackled the problem together. The original circuit we were basing our efforts around was this, a 555 timer circuit:


In keeping with the spirit of this studio, the frigging thing didn't work.

Thus began our epic battle against the timer circuit.