OK, I admit it, I like gadgets. So when I saw the opportunity to make a geophone like the ones I saw on Ghost Hunters, I just didn’t have the will power to resist. Besides including the kit, shipping and a trip to Radio Shack and I have less than $45 in total and it works great!
The only problem I had with the whole process was the wiring directions left a lot to be desired. Actually all you really got was a schematic showing you where all the wires went. In reality it wasn’t that hard and I had it all done in about 30 minutes.
Here is a list of all the parts I used to put this together. First thing was getting the kit, it included:
• geophone vibration pickup
• electronic meter display with sensitivity adjuster
• power supply (which I didn’t use)
This all came from BG Micro.
At Radio Shack I got:
• 4×2x1 plastic project enclosure (#270-1802)
• Micro-mini toggle switch (#275-0624)
• 9V battery connectors
• Extra wire (optional)
• Double sided tape
Tools you will need are:
• mini Phillips head screwdriver
• soldering iron and solder
• mini regular screwdriver
• something to cut and strip wires with
• A 3/16 drill bit and drill
There are two things we don’t need. One is the power supply, it is a 9v and figuring there would be places without electricity that these could be used in I opted to run this off a 9v battery instead. The other is the metal piece that comes in the plastic project enclosure.
Now to get started I drill two holes: one in the top which I centered length wise but offset it width wise towards the back this is to run the wires through. The other I drilled in one long side of the box where the switch will go.
Now it is time to solder everything together. No wire is sent with the geophone kit but when you buy the 9v battery connectors, they come in a pack of 5 so I snipped off one connector and used that wire to connect the geophone vibration pickup. Solder the wire to the pickup, there is no positive or negative side and for now set it aside.
Now we will solder another battery connector and the switch together. The box has enough room to place the battery on one side and the vibration pickup on the other. Approximate how much of the red wire you need to reach the switch. (You can do this with the switch installed but I found it easier to solder with it out) Cut the wire there and strip the ends of the plastic coating. Solder one end of the red wire to one of the switch poles and the other end to the other. Be careful that they do not touch. Install the switch if you haven’t already.
Next, put a piece of double sided tape on the pickup and put it on its side on one side of the box. Run the 4 wires from battery and pickup through the hole you placed in the top. Now I put double sided tape on the bottom of the circuit board and stuck on the top of the box opposite the hole. There are two blue connection boxes on the circuit board. Beside each box is printed signal and power.
The vibration pickup gets plugged into the signal side by loosening the small Phillips head screws, putting the wires in and retightening the screws. Positive and negative doesn’t matter.
The battery is wired into the power side the same way but here it is important that red is positive (+) and black is negative (-). I also trimmed the wires making them not so long. (If you do, make sure to trim a little of the plastic coating off before putting into blue connector box)
Now connect your battery which will conveniently fit snuggly on the other side of the box. You may have to switch the switch to get it to work. Right beside the signal connection box is the sensitivity adjuster. Using a regular mini screwdriver you can turn the knob and adjust the sensitivity. I turned mine until the right two LEDs just turned off.
Place the top on the box and screw it down and you should have a working geophone. Place it on a table and tap the table and see the LEDs light up. The bigger the vibration the more LEDs light up. Mine will even go off when I walk on the concrete floor in the basement!
Related posts:
I got a little loss with hooking up the switch. Does the switch go between the sensor and sensor hook up on the board?
Take the positive (or negative) wire coming from the battery and cut it in half. Then solder one end to a tab on the switch (doesn’t matter which one) and then the other end to another tab – careful not to let them touch.
All the switch is doing is breaking the current.
If you have any more questions – I can take a picture of mine. (I suck at directions
)
hey you cant buy the kit anymore, could you email me the components required for this, should say on them, thanks!
kevin
The circuit board with the LED lights has nothing written on it but showing my electrical non-knowledge…the black piece in the middle has:
JB842AD
LM3915N-1
The geophone vibration pickup has:
SM7m HMT
10 Hz
350 OHM
Hey there… Thanks for listing the geophone element info and lm3915. I’ve been looking all over for the components also! Is there any chance you could either take a closeup photo of the front and then the back of the circuit board, or list out the other little components…. I’m trying to figure out exactly which pieces to get for the circuit board including the resistors, trim pot, any capacitors, the little blue boxes. The color bands on the resistor (if there is one) would be good to know. This would be a HUGE help. Thanks a ton!
I don’t know much about electronics also, but I think this would be a pretty fun project to start with!
Hello again… I just remembered… did the bg micro geophone kit come with a schematic drawn in the manual? If so, that may be all I’m looking for! A photo of that would be awesome. Thanks!
I am getting the pictures and will email them to you, yes they came with a schematic but unfortunately they went into the trash a while ago.
Thanks a lot! I’m looking forward to seeing them and figuring out how to put this little gadget together.
hey could i get those pictures too when you get them?
Hey i found the IC’s at this place, http://avnetexpress.avnet.com/store/em/EMController/_/A-1411817/An-0?action=part&catalogId=500201&storeId=500201&langId=-1 but still looking for the geophone pickups, anyone able to find’em?
Hi, Any luck with those photos? I have all the parts put together now, but it doesn’t seem to be as sensitive as it should be… I’m hoping I’m just missing something simple!
Thanks!
Sorry guys has a Moon River and Gettysburg weekend back to back. Here are photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37813417@N06/4087573509/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37813417@N06/4087573217/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37813417@N06/4088329778/
Tried to zoom up as close as I could without losing to much sharpness.
Thanks for the photos! I’m pretty sure I have the circuit wired together correctly now. It works, but I think the geophone element I got just isn’t as sensitive as I’d like it to be.
You seemed to had run into the same problem I did, with the LED’s mounted on the front of the board you cannot find a good location to mount it. I went ahead and inverted all my LED’s to the rear of the board so I could mount it in my box.I also had to use a larger box than you,6″ 3″. You can check it out at our myspace, http://www.myspace.com/bprs08 . Any questions just contact me.