SENSORS -The Secret Life of Components, a series of guides for makers and designers - episode 9

More information about the video, more episodes to watch and to donate, visit www.timhunkin.com/a241_compon...
CHAPTERS
0:00 - Start
08:06 - Tilt sensors
09:59 - Pressure sensors
12:48 - Level sensors
14:55 - Temperature sensors
20:29 - Reed sensors
24:52 - Powered sensors
26:31 - Opto sensors
36:33 - Shaft encoders
40:09 - Inductive sensors
46:04 - Movement sensors
48:57 - Connecting sensors
54:14 - Problem sensors

[@RobertBoerner]

I've said it before and I will say it again, I believe Mr. Hunkin deserves a Knighthood for his contributions to education.

[@jagboy69]

I've said the same thing! He has inspired MILLIONS of people and given us a thirst for all things mechanical!

[@andyZ3500s]

@@jagboy69 He certainly does a great job teaching. It is simply brilliant how he brakes the components down to their simplest form.

[@hughn]

I think that he would be too modest to accept one.

[@KiteTurbine]

Deserves his own kingdom.

[@mark314158]

Absolutely right. But probably will have to make a "knighting" arcade machine. Insert coin (a "donation" to a political party) kneel down and be auto-knighted...

[@johnbaines9580]

Tim - you are a National Treasure at a time when they are sadly lacking!

[@reedreamer9518]

The English/British people have a right to defend their Nation against invasion and cultural extinction - fight back now before its too late!

[@RCAvhstape]

As if we didn't already love you enough, Tim, the fact that you actually built an alien butt probe machine makes you positively heroic!

[@hopelessnerd6677]

Some pretty kinky machines here.

[@FranLab]

Awesome Tim! I love the inside look at your machines. Cheers!

[@DavidLindes]

They're delightful, no? :)

[@jlucasound]

Hi Fran! Fancy meeting you here. :-)

[@jrkorman]

Not totally surprised at seeing you here, but now have an idea why this video may have been suggested! Really neat stuff!

[@roberthindle5146]

A little squeal at my childhood hero posting another video, and further squeal at Fran commenting on it!

[@skivvy3565]

Well hello there, nice to see you here. Love your lab channel ms fran

[@neilfurby555]

Such a modest man, no hype, no showbusiness, just brilliant engaging teaching. Always wonderful.

[@SoloRenegade]

this is how engineering needs to be taught in colleges. Theory, yes, but with an emphasis on real-world practical applications through hands-on projects.

[@Scodiddly]

Yes, those are known in the college world as "labs". :)

[@SoloRenegade]

@@Scodiddly yeah....about those "labs"....

[@AMD1]

@@SoloRenegade I had plenty of labs like this in college. The teachers are what makes the difference.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@AMD1 That's very true. A good teacher is really what matters.

[@gormenfreeman499]

Miniaturization makes these things seem more complicated then they are. In college a reed switch is something you see with a microscope.

[@puciohenzap891]

ONE HOUR - Tim, you're spoiling us!

[@pureboxofscartcables]

"of course you can't do that now"! I didn't get where I am today without sodding about with mercury switches as a child, thanks in equal parts to my Dad and "The Secret Life Of.." series.

[@raychambers3646]

Where I worked all the lighting was controlled mercury switches which were changed out for relays didn't see the going of the mercury !

[@johncoops6897]

We used to push blobs of Mercury around with our fingers in Science class at school. None of us grew 3 heads or anything, so I really don't know why people are so worried about it. Many (most?) of the big old lighthouses used huge pools of Mercury as frictionless bearings for the spinning light head and lens. Lots of interesting info online about that... I wonder where all that mercury ended up, in the sea?

[@raychambers3646]

@@johncoops6897 I think we a lot of "naughty "things in our science classes without hi vis , goggles etc .My favourite was to take the bunsen burner off the hose and substitute a biro body for it ,made a good flame thrower!

[@g0fvt]

I have a bottle of mercury, I shall slip it into my pocket when I think they may be cremating me...

[@roberthindle5146]

@@johncoops6897 I dont think mercury in metallic form is toxic. It's when it's a non-organic salt form that is of concern.

[@barclaybehie7787]

Watching the secret lives of machines when I was young is what inspired me to go to school and get a degree in industrial technology. Thanks

[@taylorsutherland6973]

Same here! I now work on industrial controls as an independentcontractor. Thank you Tim!

[@crazyg74]

fabulous!

[@altronixvideo]

I've seen your work since I was 13 in 1989, you're an absolute joy to watch and learn from.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

23:49 when using reed switches, it helps to visualise lines of force round the switch and magnet to work out the operating position & range. e.g. a long magnet of similar length to the switch, parallel to it gives the best range.

[@AlienRelics]

I came here to say that...

[@crazyg74]

nice to see you here Mike. Thanks for everything you do too!

[@funkyuk1]

I must say I was a little disappointed to not see you sporting a maker induced minor injury as usual, then noticed you had repaired a finger/ nail with sellotape. Superb stuff. Thank you Tim.

[@skylined5534]

I remember when Tim did the secret life of cars and puncturing an oil filter on an old Ford OHV and hardly flinching as he talked about the lubrication system while getting sprayed with hot dirty engine oil 😂 Tim Hunkin, an absolute living legend and maker of some of the most interesting, engaging television ever.

[@stellamcwick8455]

ME: I’m just gonna fall asleep while listening to the dulcet tones of Tim teaching me the various aspects of sensors that he uses in his arcade machines….. TIM: Proceeds to use the loudest most annoying buzzer in his collection loudly proclaiming “HOW DARE YOU FALL ASLEEP DURING MY LECTURE!!!!!!!!!!!”

[@nicmost3044]

Rest in peace my dear friend, Rex. I would have love to have seen your input and comment in this program. From an absolute fan of your work, Tim, and for Rex, our late brave man who suffered from dementia. All of those good engineers that inspired died young. Tim, sir, you have been a great man in my opinion. Have a long healthy life.

[@gregebert3103]

Tim is the ultimate maker of things that are creative, humorous, entertaining, and downright ingenious. Even though I've made a decent living designing IC's for almost 40 years now, nothing I've done has this level of imagination.

[@theelectricmonk3909]

After 40 years, are your ICs still small square/rectangular black plastic boxes with legs or pads on them? Tsk. How hard is it to design one of those?! Kidding of course - modern ICs are quite unbelievable these days in both size and function. I'd guess that designing them is actually quite a challenge these days, hats off to you. I just get to use them. Hmmm - how do you fancy designing a chip that has about 16 bytes of storage, with dual SISO capability - so I can use SPI on one set of pins to pass a command into the buffer, and SPI on a different set of pins to extract it, replace it with a response, which the first SPI can then read off...? :D Probably quite a limited market for that, unfortunately.

[@gregebert5544]

@@theelectricmonk3909 Use an FPGA or CPLD. They are user-programmable, and can be purchased on Ebay, etc for less than 20 USD. An Altera (Intel) EPM240 should suffice, and the development software is free. So, now you can literally make your own ICs at home. If you know how to design using Verilog, the rest is easy. And those ICs today ?? Definitely not small with over 1000 legs, and it takes armies of engineers and many millions of dollars to develop them for products that become obsolete with a few years. Oh how I miss those days when 1 person did the whole chip, start-to-finish. And yes, the first chips I did in the mid 1980's are still in-service orbiting our planet in satellites, whereas most of the ones I worked on this century are now in landfills.

[@roberthindle5146]

@@theelectricmonk3909 It's mind-boggling isn't it? I work in IC design (strictly speaking, what we call a system on chip) and we are blasé about throwing a few thousand flip-flops at something to make it easier to close a small part of the design. In 12 months, we might be expected to design something with billions of transistors in synchronous circuits running at GHz+, with more arithmetic processing power than existed in the entire world in the early 80s, at design cost of tens of millions of dollars. And yet what Tim presents is infinitely more impressive to me.

[@paterickcutts5601]

So glad to see Tim Hunkin still going strong, I only wish I had half the drive he has to keep making things. I absolutely loved 'The Secret Life of Machines', it's one of my favorite shows.

[@mixtapesfrommylatepartner]

Tim toasts Marshmallows by holding them over the fire with his bare hands. What a Man!

[@mm7wabanamateurradiowomble30]

Proper Job Tim! Brings back memories of fun times using pairs of reed switches embedded below model railway track in pairs set at 90deg to each other for train detection and train type identification. Passenger trains had one magnet fitted below the first and last coach in-line with the track, goods trains had pairs of magnets, one in-line with track and one at 90deg to the track. This allowed trains to operate automatic signalling and traction current dependent on train type. Passenger trains would stop at stations but goods trains would pass through without stopping. Later exhibition layouts used opto-sensors and reflective strips below the trains to do the same job. One of the layouts using the magnetic reed switches was in use for over 20 years after I sold it. Surprising how reliable reed switches can be and they were much cheaper than the opto-sensor systems. If I ever build another layout it will use good old reeds and magnets. The signalling will most likely be controlled with Atmel microcontrollers instead of a mess of diode matrix and transistor switching.

[@theelectricmonk3909]

I'm working* on exactly that, right now! Must admit, I hadn't considered the idea of using directional magnets/reed switches.... that's another one on the experiment list! I'll be using an Atmel (ATTINY) to do the sensing, but a Raspberry Pi to do all the controlling. * I say "working", it's barely past the "thinking" stage so far... although I did buy a bag of reed switches which bear a striking resemblance to model railway sleepers :D

[@PibrochPonder]

Thanks for doing these programs. I find them pretty interesting. Having said that the buzzer in this program is SO Annoying.

[@andyZ3500s]

That buzzer is definitely annoying.

[@algorithminc.8850]

Decades ago, I saw some of your videos on PBS here in the US. Long ago, I searched and found VHS tapes of those shows, ordering them from Australia to the US. I still have them, and have to say that I really loved the program. The humor in it made tinkering and engineering appealing to my son years ago too. Many thanks ... and great to find the new bits. Cheers!

[@michaelt.4806]

Being a full time teacher (in Belgium) I must take of my hat off and bow very deeply as you are far better in teaching and explaining how things work than I will every be, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@ByWire-yk8eh]

Thanks, Tim. I've been watching your "Secret Life of Machines" since your early shows with Rex several decades ago, and I have been very happy to see you do these newer series. Another thing about the "hysteresis" of reed switches and relays in general is the way magnets attract. It takes more electric current to "pick" the relay than to "hold" the relay. It's the same as pulling two permanent magnets apart. Once there is a little space, the force required to pull them apart gets less and less. And, good thing you're not playing Val Bennett's "The Russians are Coming"!!

[@autotoyexchangegarage7053]

I think I've figured it out... The stuff you discuss, to be honest, isn't about the most interesting things in the world, but you somehow manage to make them captivating & always have! The perfect blend of artist, engineer & teacher.

[@hullinstruments]

I have been waiting on this since you announced it. I’m so happy you decided to do it. Thank you so much. It’s 3:30 AM here and I’m riding out the tornado warnings all night so I’ve been very excited to see this posted!! Wish you and your family the very best….. and so glad you were able to work on your machines more this past year.

[@bootsowen]

Just watched a VidVulture video of the aftermath of some of those tornados! stay safe!!

[@hullinstruments]

@@bootsowen much appreciated. We were lucky, I live in Georgia but only about 15 minutes outside of Chattanooga Tennessee city limits. We didn’t have any real bad weather this time around. But we’ve had several terrible tornado events of the last 10 or 12 years.

[@Ioughtaknowbetter]

I woke up and saw this and ended up going to work late so I could watch the whole thing

[@wutzerface77]

wow.... just a few days ago I thought to myself "I wonder how camshaft sensors, and carbon monoxide sensors, etc. work", and my hero Tim Hunkin decided to tell me all about them. I could die happy now

[@henriquemaiochi7606]

You're back!!! Yayyy! I have missed those videos so much...

[@Antony_Jenner]

When I was much younger I watched every episode of Secret Life of machines on the telly, they were fascinating. They taught me so much.

[@rayceeya8659]

Those opto sensors remind me of the touchless paper towel and soap dispensers. Long time ago, we told one of our new hires that the paper towel dispenser was "voice activated". Took her about 10 minutes to realize it was a gag.

[@Ralphs-House]

Make and do, engineer, artist - so many things rolled into one with Tim. Particularly great this one. Just seeing so many sensors gives so many ideas. Nice to know I'm not actually alone in the world :)

[@navalenigma]

Just about to watch, know it's going to be brilliant. Like button pressed.

[@jonnafry]

... same ... just making a cuppa tea and then settling in for an hour of quality viewing.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Why isn't this ( still ) on TV ?

[@timcallinan]

Absolute legend Tim. LOVED your show the secret life of machines. Thank you for the great videos.

[@piconano]

Loved your TV series then, love your content on YT now. I can't imagine how many people you inspired. Tens of thousands would be my guess. Keep doing what you're doing so well.

[@NMY556L]

Pure quality Tim. I'd still like to see a major network run a short series about your arcade machines. You haven't lost your ability to present technical concepts in a really amusing and accessible way.

[@prendy1619]

Why don’t you email the networks

[@webbtrekker534]

Science and engineering down to the basics. Enjoyed Tims programs since his first series many years ago.

[@danbhakta]

RIP Rex. You guys were an integral part of my youth with SLoM. Many thanks.

[@videolabguy]

As a kid (11 years old in 68), my electronics part supply store was our county dump (land fill, tip). We lived about two miles as the crow flies. I would take my big red radio flyer over hill and dale and come back with entire console color TVs (sometimes) and mostly radios, tape players or anything else with a cord. Tim's shop reminds me of the half of our barn where my dad let me build my projects. In many ways, they resemble the things Tim builds. Pure nostalgia! Plus, to this day, I can work with a minimum of (so called proper) materials, tools and resources to still get the job done. I am a lab manager for a small company that makes IC chips here in Silicon Valley. Thank you for this excellent video on the subject. You rock, Tim!

[@AlienRelics]

Awesome! He's made another episode. I couldn't get enough of "The Secret Life of Machines" series. Watched every one, multiple times on PBS. Rewatched the remastered ones here. So sorry about your friend.

[@roberthindle5146]

I keep expecting an aside from Rex. He holds a place in the techie hall of fame.

[@AlienRelics]

@@roberthindle5146 same here. Sad he's gone.

[@mahejeah]

these type of videos are rare on youtube these days, dense on information and without the fluff, thanks Tim!

[@dutypaidrock]

My life has very literally been made a measurable 200% better since finding this channel. Loved 'The Secret Life of...' as a kid, and now they're somewhere my son, who loves this sort of thing, can watch them.

[@hightechstuff2]

I so love these new episodes! Brings me back to my childhood. Thanks Tim! I really wish Rex was still around to join you.

[@markg735]

I remember watching the secret life of machines with my dad when I was a child. Now with a full career in engineering I still get the same childhood joy watching Tim's videos. I wish dad were here with me.

[@daveayerstdavies]

Both contacts of a reed switch are ferrous metal, sprung slightly apart. They attract each other in the presence of a magnetic field in a similar way to iron filings that clump together near a magnet.

[@willallen7757]

yup you could see it.

[@MrDarth64]

Nice to see the lift frame from the secret life of lifts still has a job, albeit as a metal rack! Love these new series!

[@CrustyBiker]

I wondered why there was pawl teeth in it, that makes perfect sense, I remember the lift one, that may have been the 1st one I saw, definitely the one I remember the most and transfixed by it, my mate has a son called Otis and I always remember that episode when I hear his name! 😅

[@quantumleap359]

Hi Tim, so glad to see another of your videos. A close friend of mine and I loved watching The Secret Life of Machines, and more recently, your videos. My friend died last Saturday after a long illness, and this video brought back memories of how we loved and discussed all your videos. RIP old friend, I hope you're able to see Tim's latest video.

[@MrNoodlyone]

Much respect from the USA. The knowledge you provide is priceless... But for the love of God, THAT ALARM! I will watch w/o headphones.

[@samchapple6363]

30 years, thank you Tim, and Rex ❤

[@jlucasound]

Thanks for your videos, Tim! I was saddened to learn about Rex. He was as awesome as you. My favourite was when you guys got the brake rotor white hot! That was crazy! And educational.

[@lm386opamp]

I love how even though this is elementary to me ( Industrial Maintenance Journeyman 20 years ) I just can never get enough of his calm laid back non-insulting way of communicating information. This is my Bob Ross so to speak. Much respect! Praise God for your talents.

[@faktablad]

What a glorious day for new Tim Hunkin content!

[@elliotbrittain2064]

Wow this is revelational to my electronics learning! You teach at a perfect rhythm for my attention too (although I'm watching at 1.5x for my attention deficit brain lol)! Ty for your contributions; that alien probe machine is hysterical.. I wish to make one in your honor someday. 😅🤣

[@murunbuchstanzangur]

Went to your amazing novelty automation arcade in holborn this week, my nobel peace prize is now proudly displayed on my fridge!

[@mikedrop4421]

There is nothing so valuable as knowledge and Tim has been sharing his wealth his whole life. Thanks Tim.

[@holograph20]

Thanks Tim, Another brilliant episode on sensors. Great to see that reed switches still have a role in electronics. I've found that an old washing machine has a wealth of free sensors from temp, pressure and door sensors to play with :-)

[@malakiblunt]

that BUZZER !!! makes me feel like im watching a david lynch film :-)

[@dewfall56]

TIM!!! That horn drove me crazy. Makes me think the cops are on my tail.

[@gonzo_the_great1675]

A pleasent hour spent. Looking forward to the next one.

[@guslackner9270]

I love your spirit, enthusiasm, wisdom, and adherence to the discipline of demonstration (proof by empirical evidence or data is always better than proof by animation or diagram)! Minor correction at 18:15, It is actually the Seebeck effect, not the Seaborg Effect.

[@pixoariz]

What a joy to see you, Tim. Great episode!

[@TomOConnor-BlobOpera]

I have very fond memories of watching you using one of those IR retroreflective sensors in SLOM for the Decision Maker coin-toss machine. A few years ago, for a home-made weather station, I bought a shaft encoder with *absolute* positioning output, basically it has 8-bit TTL output that corresponds to 256 positions the shaft can be in. Far more than I ever needed for the cardinal compass directions, but amazing what's possible for a few quid on ebay (i think it was about 11 quid).

[@Maker238DeLoach]

It was amazing when I woke up this morning and I saw that I had an hour long video from call my favorite KZbinr. You have given me so much inspiration sir and I just want to say thank you. That being said I have coffee in hand and I’m ready. Make On my Friend

[@HughsScamProducts]

You are my favorite maker for sure. I thought after your last secret life re release, you may have been done. I was so glad to see this notification. Thanks for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge.

[@TheRecreationalMachinist]

Thanks for sharing Tim. Good to have you back. 👍 🇬🇧

[@johncoops6897]

Now days, the really interesting sensors are the gyroscopes, magnetic field detectors, accelerometers, and other tiny little sensors inside mobile phones. Incredible what they can pack into such small packages, and incredible accuracy. You can access these with various Apps, for example to use your phone as a fairly accurate spirit level, or a G-force detector, or compass, or whatever.

[@erlendse]

You can buy the sensor chips too. They are absolutely tiny. Some QFN package with a somewhat low pin count. 3 axis acclerometer, 3 axis gyro and 3 axis compas! I2C is a common and easy to access interface for them. (note: 3.3V or LESS)

[@supralapsarian]

A sincere and heartfelt thank you from across the pond. Your labor and ingenuity are appreciated all around the world.

[@skivvy3565]

Getting a nostalgia trip because I remember seeing these in episodes of secret life’s of machines, like thermostat switch in air conditioning, rubber diaphragm and etc for the washing machine and refrigeration episodes. Love this as always, Tim. Can’t tell you how much you’ve inspired me over the years

[@JakobKsGarage]

You're back! That is just so wonderful. Very useful video, thanks a lot 👍

[@Chris_Grossman]

Your examples of sensors used in your machines is the best part!

[@mfx1]

I really like Hall effect sensors and inductive sensors, I also started doing electronics long before Arduinos were around. There's a lot of cheap Chinese miniature inductive sensors available now.

[@Francois_L_7933]

I always love seeing these videos. I often wish there were more people like you to make the world less boring.

[@mikegLXIVMM]

I liked the way they explained things on 'Secret life of machines'! Just like this video.

[@2.7petabytes]

You are such an excellent teacher Tim! Thank you for what you do!

[@phonotical]

Holy cow my ears! Haha, maybe a red flashing light or a quieter alarm 😅 Happy to see you're back!

[@gs425]

Nice touch dedicating to Rex.

[@frankowalker4662]

I always love watching your shows, there's always something new to learn. The first alarm you used though, It was brain melting. Thank you Tim.

[@sonofdamocles]

Oh my, there's a whole new video?! I make this series required watching for my art department. One day I hope to grow up to be as charming as Tim. Thank you for sharing your hard learned wisdom. What a treasure.

[@ShellacScrubber]

Wonderful stuff as always Tim ! I greatly look forward to the rest of the series.

[@greenatom]

I love all of your content, Tim. Thank you for making it available.

[@paulplatt2622]

I used to watch secret life of machines, and absolutely loved every minute of those shows, so finding you on KZbin feels like winning the lottery, love your work!!

[@TheFlatulentCow]

Your programs (along with the great egg race) were partly to blame for me becoming an engineer. You inspired me greatly. Thank you.

[@the_bigT]

I'm really pleased to see another series. I really enjoyed the first one.

[@bruinflight1]

Great to see you Tim! Thank you for this fantastic video, I will be taking my time with it.

[@thedogwooddandy]

Tim you're back! I was so worried lolol! Thanks for making these and I hope the year ahead is full of new videos.

[@SportFury1966]

Re: the chapter lists. I can't imagine anyone that would dare skip a moment of these treasures.

[@ElectrofizzStudiosCo]

That alarm is the same used in my university accommodation. It was set off so frequently and at such annoying times that just hearing it in your video spikes my blood pressure just a tad lol

[@farmerfuller87]

Fantastic stuff thanks to all those involved Tim your a British icon in my eyes. Thanks for creating these masterpieces.

[@prendy1619]

Put Tim forward for a OBE you can do it online

[@michaelmccarty4765]

What a wonderful, unexpected surprise! So happy to have a new video from you. Thank you!

[@pdrg]

I absolutely love this series and your shared insights

[@MarcelLENORMAND]

Fabulous! Thanks, Tim, for not only the information but also the encouragement on many levels.

[@jambodjembe]

So pleased to watch another episode. Many thanks.

[@workonesabs]

Many thanks for this episode upload, Tim. Can learn a lot for anyone not knowing already and entertaining, as always. Waiting for the next topic...

[@calescapee9642]

You are a Brilliant guy. Loved the Secret Life of Machines back in the day. Take care, RIP Rex.

[@threesixty8154]

Really great Tim, full of great info! Thanks for continuing the series!

[@rosseastman2134]

TIM'S BACK. Totally excellent news. Great video, thanks Mr. Hunkin

[@hugbearsx4]

The practicalities of practical practice with no nauseating nonsense.

[@PatrickDSP]

Thank you for continuing this series, Tim!

[@isaacplaysbass8568]

Absolutely fascinating Tim, many thanks :)

[@uncannyvalleywoods7248]

Your work brings me enormous joy, Tim!

[@alan_wood]

Simply fantastic, thanks Tim.

[@jean-paul7251]

This is what children need....tim your a true hero!

[@StationGarageSt]

Thanks for your depth of knowledge, and sense of humour!