Physical computing – transistor solenoid tutorial

Automated Nepalese standing bells

You’ll learn how to make an electro-mechanical meditation automation system. How to strike Nepalese standing bells with solenoid mallets from Arduino with millis(). Say goodbye to blocking delay().

While the electronic circuit is usually very straightforward, the “magic” in physical computing projects happens always in the code. So, please see the GitHub link to the BOM, the schematic, and extensively commented code that you can easily adapt and recycle in your own projects. Often, there’s a useful code concept or code snippet that you can use for an entirely different design, because it’s a fundamental principle.

If you want to learn about good soldering, this seven minute vintage video is still the best of them all.