The idea behind this circuit is that when you press on the sensor, the velostat changes resistance and this can be measured by a Neattools module to perform a variety of functions. This type of sensor is used directly with the Magic Carpet.

First, you are going to need the following Ingredients to make the sensor..

• One 6cm width by 1 foot length piece of Linoleum (A)

• Two 3cm wide by 25 cm long pieces of Copper (B&C)

• One 4cm wide by 28cm long piece of Velostat (D)

• One 6cm width by 1 foot length piece of Velostat (Same Size as the Linoleum) (E)

• Two Pieces of wire. Gauge and length are your choice. (Not shown)

Figure 1

Stip each of your wires by about 1/4 an inch on the same end. For example, if I was using an ethernet network cable to hook up this sensor to the stereo plug, I would:

Cut a length of about 4 feet (or whatever you prefer for length) of the cable.

I would determine which end was going to go to the sensor

Cut off the protective casing on that end, about 2 inches from the end of the wire.

Cut away all excess wires, Leaving yourself 2 wires.

Strip each wire so about 1 inch of the copper is exposed on the wire.

Solder (as seen in B1 below) one piece of the wire to one end of the copper (B) . Now take the linoleum (A) and place it tile side down. Peel off the back piece of paper which now reveals the sticky side of the linoleum. Firmly press the copper (B) piece onto the linoleum on one end. Now firmly press down the rest of the copper. The idea here is to get the copper as flat against the linolem as you can, and directly in the center of the linoleum. The linoleum glue is very strong, and this step is very hard to repeat if messed up, so understand it fully before you attempt this. The copper (B) should now be in the center of the linoleum (A) with one wire sticking out. Next we are going to take the smaller piece of Velostat (D) and put it over the copper so the recently pressed copper is hidden. It is crucial that no copper shows when this step is completed. The easiest way to do this is to lightly place the velostat over the center of the copper. Make sure that there is no copper showing. Then, press fimly down on all of the velostat to remove as many air pockets as you can.

Figure 2

At this point, your project should look like the above diagram (Fig 2), except the solder connection should be covered with Velostat. Now that you have half of the sensor made, it is all downhill from here. Bring out the other piece of copper (C) and solder the other wire onto it like you did for piece B. Now place the copper (C) in the center of the velostat, like Figure 3 has. Try to get the copper as flat against the velostat as possible. Do not rub or move the copper to roughly against the velostat so you do not tear the velostat. Finally, take the last piece of velostat and cover it tightly over the entire piece of linoleum using the glue of the linoleum to hold it in place. This will cover all of the layers you have put on so far and will also complete the circuit.

Figure 3

Stereo Plug Wiring for the Velostat Sensor..

Wiring a Velostat sensor (above) to a stereo plug can be found HERE for Thing 3 and HERE for Thing 3B. Note: Thing 3B wiring is compatable with Thing2, the RedThing.

Return to Tim's Really Neat Internship

Return to Pulsar