Toy Flashing Halloween House

This is a Toy Flashing Halloween House instructable. The red LEDs light turns ON and OFF automatically. I implemented this simple circuit with a red flashing LED and two red bright LEDs.

The toy is can be placed outside your door or near your letterbox during Halloween.

The first video shows the toy house flashing (this video is 15 seconds long). The second video shows step in making the house (1 minute and 34 seconds).

Components: Red Flashing LED - 2 (I used one but you might need spare), Red Bright LEDs - 3 (I used two but you might need spare), 9 V Battery Harness, 9 V Battery, Small Matrix Board, A3 (Australian Standard) Black 600 gsm Cardboard or Equivalent (297 x 420 mm or 11.7 x 16.5 inches), 0.9 mm metal wire, Lead Free Solder, Masking Tape.

Tools: Scissors, Craft Knife (photo shown), Pencil, 30 cm Ruler, Eraser, 60 W Soldering Iron, Soldering Iron Holder, Circuit Holder, Wire Stripper, Pliers, Fan (to blow the fumes from the soldering iron), A3 Size Metal Sheet.

The sum of the voltages across each LEDs is equal to power supply voltage:

Vs = Vled1 + Vled2 + Vled3

Red Flashing LED (LED1): Vled1 = 5 V

First Red Bright LED (LED2): Vled2 = 2 V

Second Red Bright LED (LED3): Vled3 = 2 V

Therefore:

Vs = 5 V + 2 V + 2 V

= 9 V

The flashing LED turns ON and OFF automatically at the same time turning OFF current supply to the first and the second bright LEDs.

I chosen the length and width of the house as 5.5 cm that was just about enough to fit the 9 V battery with the 9 V battery harness attached.

This is how I calculated the height of the triangle that used for the roof. Imaging the house has an attic and there is reference point "A" at the centre of the attic floor. The distance from reference point A to the house wall is 5.5 cm / 2 = 2.75 cm. This is equal to the height of the roof or attic that is also 2.75 cm. To calculate the length of the roof cover I used Pythagoras theorem:

Length of Roof Cover = SquareRoot((2.75^2) + (2.75^2))

= 3.8891 cm

= 3.89 cm

You can decide the elevation of the windows above the house floor. I used 2 cm from the floor and 1.5 cm from the ceiling. You can put the window in the middle (1.75 cm from floor and 1.75 cm from ceiling).

Draw the house template with a pencil and ruler on the A3 cardboard sheet.

Cut out the outer shape with scissors. Do not use craft knife because craft knife because craft knife does not cut thick cardboard well. Cut out the door and windows with craft knife (you cannot use scissors for that step).

Assemble you house and seal with masking tape.

The photos show the steps in making the circuit (first photo).

You start by inserting the LEDs in to the matrix board (second photo). The longer pins go on top (above the shorter pins) because the longer pins are the anode (positive LED pin) while the shorter pins are the cathode (negative LED pin). Twist the pins with pliers (third photo) and attach the 9 V battery harness (fourth photo). Test the circuit (fifth photo) before soldering (sixth photo). Secure the battery harness wires with 0.9 mm metal wire because when you bend the metal it breaks (seventh photo). Test the circuit again (eighth photo).

After you finished the circuit you need to stick the circuit on the ceiling/roof (not put on the floor) so that the LED light shines through the windows down onto the surface that the house is standing on.