How to Build a Time Fountain

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How to Build aTime Fountain

• By Shawn Patton

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

• By Shawn Patton

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How to Build aTime Fountainin a Night!!
After having bought the parts almost 2 years ago

• By Shawn Patton

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

• By Shawn Patton

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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.

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Nate Trues Time Fountain
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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 cant you just strobe a light? Humm.

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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 Cuckoos Nest Magic Shop.

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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! Lets use that a lot!
• Tall, no, taller! Make it big!!

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Design Revamp

• 3 drips, am I insane?!? Lets 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.

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Rough Schematics
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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.

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Shopping

• Strips of white LEDs from Hong Kong
• Various resistors, capacitors, and switches from
  Radio Shack.
• Hardware from Lowes and Home Depot.
• And, another trip to Radio Shack for a new
  soldering gun, since I couldnt find my old one.

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New soldering gun
Sweet sunbeams
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Leads to a bunch of stuff
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Assembly Notes

• Dont 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 its better to get
  something done than nothing )

Plus, it actually looks kind of cool, and I think
the final design will use wood.
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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!