Elaborate electronic fly trap

Not his real preference.

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Another extremely complicated fly trap.

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Your post could be a band name.

THIS post could be a band name.

Band Name could be a band name.

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serious to do: mount atop an aquarium of Venus Fly Traps.

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I’m a little bummed about the USB power requirement.

If you watch this teardown (thanks @willmore), you’ll see they actually added a resistor in series with the motor (between positive and negative) for the sole purpose of increasing the power consumption so it keeps USB power packs running. Pretty funny.

Clip that resistor and it consumes 20 milliamps, which is so small that it should be perfect for that solar panel. Though oddly, that solar panel doesn’t list it’s power output. But it must be more than 20ma…

On a sidenote, ordered! I got this one, which looks like the same one in the teardown, and is half the price of the one linked to here. I guess the other one got Boing’d.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DQR7P68

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Thank Christ they aren’t as attracted to the human tongue as much as they are to sugar! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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That explains the current administration…

I think you’d need a 250Ω resistor for the already USB config’d 5v panel to get to 20ma. So that must be what’s on the flytrap between the USB and the motor (assuming 5v USB). It might not be too important as long as you don’t overload it. Without going through a battery system, on direct DC the motor output will respond to the supply, so it might go slower when it’s less sunny out etc.

This cookie-walled but helpful article uses an example from a garden light for which it says “The 3 cm x 3 cm (solar cell) from this example generated 2.7 volts in full sunlight with a short circuit current of 17 mA.” I am not an electrician, but thinking maybe without any special components, a garden light solar cell could drive the motor (in full sun) just a bit slower than on USB.

That’s the weird thing, the resistor is between the positive and negative lines, not the motor and the power source. It appears to be simply to increase the power consumption, presumably so usb power packs stay on.

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It’s the law of demand and supply.

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