SOLENOIDS & RELAYS - The Secret Life of Components, a series of guides for makers and designers - 15

[@StubbyPhillips]

I can't imagine what it's like for all those sad, helpless people who go through life not knowing how things work (generally speaking) and not even WANTING to know! Knowing how stuff works RULES!! Sharing that knowledge with someone who genuinely wants to understand it is EVEN BETTER!

[@Bob3519]

I agree. Even watching magic . When I find out how the magic trick is done, I am usually just as impressed.

[@StubbyPhillips]

@@Bob3519 Indeed! Perhaps to people who don't tend to know how things actually work, it all seems kind of like "magic." I guess that's why so many people can believe really stupid stuff, like homeopathy and free energy and what-not.

[@MrFujinko]

@@StubbyPhillips Caution. There is an old saying that goes: ignorance is bliss. It is impossible to know it all. Don't waste your life in this pursuit, because it is a trap. A trap for the mind. I don't know how a MRI works, but I know it saved my life. I know that someone else will know how it works when I need it.

[@tarstarkusz]

It's amazing how many of them there are. Don't know. Don't care. Leave me alone. Football is on.

[@StubbyPhillips]

@@tarstarkusz "The Greeks also invented a kind of theater for stupid people, known as _Sport._ " Philomena Cunk

[@timmiller7524]

As a retired professor of electrical engineering I can only sit at the feet of this wonderful natural teacher. I'm reading a biography of Kelvin and there are strong echoes of his introduction of experimental sessions in his Natural Philosophy course at Glasgow University in the 19th century. This video is marvellously clear and spoken with superb diction and a voice that should appeal to young and old alike. The economic and intellectual and practical importance of this material cannot be overstated.

[@the_mancavewithjacob]

I wouldn't object to his story's if he was my grandfather

[@wjroberts913]

Mr. Hunkin's the man I wish I lived next to growing up. I'm imagining Saturday morning finishing my breakfast and being almost unable to wait to run over to his house for that day's lesson in off-the-shelf "junk" science. I taught electronics principles in US Air Force aviation maintenance in 1982-83 using mock-ups & illustrations. Oh what I would have given for a room full of his collection of true teaching aids. The on-the-spot made nail + wire electromagnet: GENIUS; same/same for the solenoid. I'm now going to have to go back and enjoy every single video of his . . .

[@AjinkyaMahajan]

Tim is a real treasure of knowledge. I enjoy this series a lot Thanks

[@battleangel5595]

That he is. Just wish Rex Garrod was with him.

[@geomcc39]

Just found his video today ! I'm not sure how I missed this guy channel ?

[@davetuttle9701]

Thank you very much for the great shows and the great memories. I grew up watching your shows, we watched them over dinner as a family. Great memories that I cherish. Thank you!

[@ramblinginmeath4950]

Hello Tim -- that was an excellent presentation on solenoids and relays - both myself and my Dad (RIP) are industrial electrical engineers and solenoids and relays were always part of our weekly schedule of works - my Dad taught me a lot about them -- sadly no longer with me - greetings from Ireland - Paul

[@sampofilms]

Thank you Tim: as a child I grew up watching your secret life series on PBS here in the states and for better or worse I am a tinkerer now because of how simple and logical you and Rex managed to break down all these seemingly complex machines. Today I am an artist who often has to make his own devices out of what's available to me and your new series is ever more educational and inspiring than the one I grew up on. I am going to make an attempt at wrangling my niece (she's 8, the same age I was back in the PBS days) to watch and be inspired the same way I was with your new videos. :-) Thank you for everything you do and I can't wait to someday visit your arcades.

[@siliconinsect]

Tim and Rex taught me most of what I know.

[@robm8809]

You need to grab a copy of Tim's book, "Almost Everything There Is To Know", it's utterly brilliant!

[@samakovamk]

Oh my god, back when we had hair on our heads...I too watched your series on TV in the UK all those years ago, nice to see you've continued to keep your hands in with all sorts of mech items.....appreciate your "new videos" on here, and glad I re-found you, best regards and thanks for sparking my interest in machinery and engineering all those years ago.....47 years now in the Injection Moulding maintenance trade....best wishes Tim....thankyou...

[@quantummotion]

"I found posh packets of crisps work better than cheaper ones...". I don't know why, but this comment aroused a burst of laughter and made my day! Tim, thank you for sharing your infectious joy of the things that make up our world!

[@gs425]

I was half expecting to see Rex's infamous car flip using a solenoid when you did the flash back insert 😀

[@matblackgraviton]

I miss Rex & his Brum😢

[@josephhammond9367]

Yes, Sir. Mr. Tim o grew up watching your show. I'm 61 on the 8th of 2024. Watching the. Secret Life Of Machines was like magic. Well, on the very special occasion, our TV could pick up LPB in Lafayette. Louisiana. God bless you and yours. Thank you for the many wonderful video logs you've given us..

[@beautifulsmall]

Synchronome slave, Wow that big one is a monster. Wonderful unidentified mechanism from the pre digital era. That hard drive coil setup would make a lovely siesmometer pick up (the small one) Crisp packet loudspeaker, genius, best before date's getting on a bit. What a great two voltage solenoid with its own relay contacts. Pure pleasure to watch.

[@RapperBC]

Tim has posted a video about solenoids and relays, and I am anticipating as enjoyable a time as I believe I had upon first watching "the secret life of machines" for the very first time in 1988.

[@davidrobertson1980]

Tim I love the bit some time in the 1970's where you are showing the washing machine solenoid working (guess that makes you over 70 my friend!) Time flies...

[@nateryan7041]

That's the best video I've ever listened to about relays and solenoids thank you TIM very much 👍👍👍

[@richbrockmeier3922]

I wish I'd have had you as my teacher. You're an amazing man. Thanks. I'm learning now things i should've learned 50 years ago.

[@NasirQazi1]

Simple but great information. Thanks.

[@matthewupward4303]

You've had that crisp packet speaker for a while!! Expiry 2003!! Great work Tim, love your enthusiasm!!

[@gilmour73]

Awesome to see these videos. I am a machinist by trade, but I don't know much outside of my sphere of work. These videos as well as your excellent series has taught me a whole lot! Thanks for posting more of these.

[@phrodendekia]

I worked doing manteinance to a boiler, and the water lever relays that control the opening and closing of the intake water valve were mounted on a lever attached to a float that moved a pair of glass bulbs filled with mercury as the ones you showed. They were double action, so when water level was down they would open the water valve and fill up the boiler, and when the water level went to the max, it would close them.

[@michaelsap]

This man is a national treasure.

[@tarstarkusz]

Every time you upload a video I am reminded to think "gee, I hope he is training a replacement"

[@RickL_was_here]

I'm enthralled, yet amazed I've not stumbled upon you before given your long history. Great channel and I very much look forward to seeing more.

[@TheHughzt]

Another excellent video, thanks. I know you're a hoarder but I have to ask why you have a crisp packet with a best before date of Aug 2003 in your parts store 😂

[@Benhammond1947]

Tim I’m 25 and live in Australia, I’ve watched all your videos and you are an absolute inspiration! I’ve always been a tinkerer since a very young age and I love your can do attitude and so long as it works that’s all it matters!

[@Lykaotix]

I'm so happy to have found this channel! My children will most definitely be giving this video a watch later 😅

[@TinyMaths]

So simply explained. Now I actually understand how an object could be propelled using several solenoids for example (if that's what someone wanted to do). Your simple demonstration 'nailed' it 🙂

[@vidinwoodworker]

Thanks for a great episode Tim/ Ive been looking forward a long time to this. I still remember your rudiments of wisdom in the observer colour supplement every Sunday.👍

[@alandrury9955]

An excellent episode. When I was in the workplace PLCs didn't exist, entire processs lines were controlled by cabinets full of relays that handled everything including time delays and responding to inputs. You got a free soundtrack that somehow made the machine all the more impressive with alll the clacking and clanking and the occasional contact flash. Marvellous stuff.

[@vylbird8014]

Did you also have the person who had worked there for ten years and could diagnose faults just by listening to the clicks?

[@alandrury9955]

@@vylbird8014 Yes!

[@jagmarc]

I remember those days, the circuit diagrams the contacts drawn like capacitors ----| |----|/|-----

[@andrewsmail8307]

Excellent video. There is an arcade on southwold pier, UK crammed with machines like this. So many great examples and you are cracking me up with your collection of solenoids and you compulsion to remove them from things - I am same with old compute bits and have 50 neodymium magnets, you remind me a bit of Norman Lovett, the bloke who is in the computer of Red Dwarf. This is great education too.

[@emilsitka7590]

Great video as always. One thing I'd add is LATCHING RELAYS. They hold the contacts closed without constantly energizing the coil. They will hold the position until either the coil is energized in the opposite polarity OR energize a separate coil, depending on the type of relay. Great for battery operated circuits to cut down on power usage.

[@amarissimus29]

There was an entire segment on a latching configuration. I think you are distracted.

[@emilsitka7590]

@@amarissimus29 I saw him describe a latching circuit for a relay but not a latching relay. It's a different type of relay.

[@welshpete12]

I remember when the original series went out on TV . It explained how all sorts of machines worked from radio to washing machines ! Why don't we have interesting program's like that these days ?

[@ironhand69]

we are in the age of build it; buy it and throw it away. The days of build once and hold for years are over. Lots of people want to go back now but all through the 90's if you remember it was credit cards and use once items. Its sad but yeah I'm with your story wish it was different. It really started to take off with the Client administration.

[@douglas2lee929]

It is much more important to know what the Kardashians are doing 😥

[@TheBauwssss]

I think y'all would get a real kick out of watching Mr. Louis Rossmann's videos right here on the good 'ol Utubez (KZbin). He is a truely awesome spokesman for the US Right to Repair movement, and he often makes videos about (new) products from Apple (and several other vendors of similar but also horridly difficult to repair products) all the while ranting about the bad design while (fruitlessly) offering design corrections to the manufacturers and ways to bypass and/or fix the product for consumers. He's currently screwdriver-deep into getting the individual US States to accept new Right to Repair legislation for both consumer and farm equipment. I really think you guys would like his videos, as he seems to be exactly our crowd (judging from you guys' comments and such), and especially is you use Apple products you *really ought to* watch his stuff! cheers guys, and I hope all you lads have a wonderful day!!

[@wayland7150]

There are a lot of people on KZbin doing just this sort of thing. However the big corporations like Apple actively fight against people learning and tinkering. This is strange because Apple was started by Steve Jobs and Steve Woz who were big tinkers starting with Phone Freaking and moving on to microprocessors and the first Apple computer.

[@JJHP3]

@@wayland7150 Ahhh... BS.

[@StargazerFS128]

This is great, I used to love your show “the secret life of machines” can’t recall which network it aired on in Canada but I was in my early teens and curious as could be, your show was a treasure back then, to me. To hear your familiar voice and see you again is so nostalgic.

[@sayednazmussazib]

Hello Mr natural professor. What a magic!

[@primenumberbuster404]

Solenoids and Relays were always cool to me. This will be awesome!!!!!

[@vaughngaminghd]

Making a speaker out of a chip bag - Most fun thing I've seen in a while! Thanks Tim for the chuckle…

[@larrypriest5789]

beautiful job keep up the excellent work

[@Dave5400]

Just when I thought these videos couldn't get any better, you just start playing music from the radio out of a bloody crisp packet in about as nonchalant of a manner as possible! I'm fairly familiar with speakers and the like, but this has just blown my mind!

[@buzzwerd8093]

EMF falls off by distance cubed. BIG FAN of The Secret Life of Machines!

[@gordslater]

Years ago I gave an apprentice a task to order a box of 4X400M Mensrace relays - eventually he spent ages on the phone to RS tech support who kept him wound up for a good half an hour taking about French and Belgian manufacturers "who use different order numbers for 4-way relays you see - let me check another supplier list gimme a minute" etc etc :)

[@TomOConnor-BlobOpera]

This is an excellent episode, a lot of the demos remind me of the original Secret Life of Machines series. Definitely seen that coin release solenoid before

[@justincatterall9597]

Loving your videos, Tim. I work with PLCs, relays, and contactors on a daily basis (industrial electrician). As someone only recently (5 years) in the field, seeing the basics again is very good for embedding my learning. Thank you. My wife and I visited your installation at Southwold years before I trained as an electrician (and years before I knew of your channel here), and we really enjoyed it. I have a whole new level of appreciation for the automata now I know more about how they operate. I very much admire your work, and creativity.

[@andrewsmedley2164]

Awesome informative video, every day is a school day! and im learning here, brill!

[@mahmoudajjan466]

WoooooooW you're the Awesomest man of your age and you explain stuff very easily, THANK YOU AWESOME GRANDPA ❤😊

[@paulhall8146]

Amazing video and gives such clear understanding. Well done Sir

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

That was wonderful having Older Tim introduce Younger Tim!

[@rickblackwell6435]

Tim, ignoring for a moment that these bare entertaining as hell, I also appreciate the extraordinary value they represent to both the maker community and technical education in general. Cheers!

[@gatblau1]

I belong to a model railway club that dates back to 1949 and most of the switches were controlled by solenoids. Every time we would throw a switch there would be a loud “clomp” as the solenoid switched the track. We have been replacing them all with modern switch motors in the last ten years since changing the layout to a digital control system.

[@cmanycrows8400]

How on earth have I never heard of this guy until today? What a gem!

[@ActorswithStrings]

Wonderful - you have captured the most practical adaptations of so many components - thank you so much for sharing your knowledge - God Bless you

[@kevinsaddington2604]

Tim! thanks so much for these videos. They're very much appreciated. Keep 'em coming!

[@davenport8]

Thank you Mr. Hunkin for this and the series of videos you've made. Great fun and informative.

[@CAW78]

Huge fan of Tim here in the US. I remember watching Secret Life of Machines as a kid and I've recently rediscovered him on this channel. He is such a treasure! I hope to visit the UK soon and check out his arcades.

[@sujaradhakrishnan5878]

First of all great thanks for the information contained induction magnetism always with affinity follow up with close calls

[@johntoe6127]

Tim is the King of all Makers.

[@Jawst]

Ooooo you're spoiling us Tim!!!

[@puciohenzap891]

Ditto

[@DavidBynoe]

Thank you Tim these videos are amazing. Regarding the relay failures on inductive loads, have you looked into adding in snubber or flyback diodes? If you drop one into the circuit reverse biased and close to the coil it will dump the energy that's in the coil out through the diode as heat, rather than having it travel back and erode the switching contacts. I use them on any type of solenoid.

[@DavidMills_Physicist]

I love that the background carpet is still the same ~40 years later and the workshop has just grown around it.

[@Wobabledotcom]

Only Tim Hunkin can keep a 20 year old Crisp Packet and have a use for it..!

[@scottthomas3792]

Years ago, I had a meter relay....the name describes it. The pointer of a meter hit a conductive peg. The peg was adjustable. It only controlled a tiny amount of current, but could be controlled with a crystal radio output. You would need another relay to make it practical, but it would work with tiny amounts of current. Your videos should be shown in schools...they are excellent...

[@bertspeggly4428]

We had a Morris Minor with those "trafficators". Rather ridiculous considering that a flashing light was so much more visible. I suppose it was meant to resemble the hand signals. Great video, informative and entertaining.

[@digitalradiohacker]

5:12 The back-emf when you disconnected the supply caused a pretty impressive arc there!

[@AnthonyFrancisJones]

Thanks so much for making this and all the effort that has gone into it. We are so lucky to have your work and endless knowledge and enthusiasm shared with us on KZbin!

[@AndrewElwell]

Hi Tim, The contraption you show at 13:30 reminds me a lot of an old electric fence energiser - the HT circuit that went out to the fence was made every time it 'tapped' the coil. Example video I've just found at kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6jCqGqCoNynisU shows it

[@dadahlberg3]

Knew if I scrolled through the comments SOMEONE would know what that thing was. What a fabulous contraption!

[@TheRecreationalMachinist]

I was going to ask, but you've already answered my question 👍 🇬🇧

[@thetattyman8859]

Yes! I was about to make same comment.....I took apart a 12v (car battery powered) stock-proof fence unit years ago as it had stopped working - I was confronted with a mechanism exactly like that, just as Andrew has described. It was a little more leisurely in its' operation. Any adjustments to the fence had to be made by touching it very quickly between the 'ticks'!

[@carwashadamcooper1538]

thank you so much, Tim. these are amazing!

[@clivedurrant481]

Thank goodness there's people like Tim in the world,real teaching without ego,brilliant and like affirming,

[@tonywilkes1781]

👍well you have certainly added to my very limited electrical knowledge 👍, I'm now looking for a 6 inch nail ! 👍

[@6teeth318-w5k]

I loved the times when you could tinker. When i was a child i stumpled on a abandoned radio factory. I saw tubes, tuning and all the component and it got me interested. Today pfff,

[@AJMansfield1]

31:44 For switching a DC motor with a relay, you can essentially eliminate contact arcing with an inexpensive flyback diode placed anti-parallel to the motor. Flyback diodes are so cheap and simple I just include them everywhere by default -- not just on high current inductive loads, either, even the relay drive coils themselves get flyback diodes to protect any upstream mosfet driving them. (Unless I was planning to drive it in both directions by reversing polarity or something, then you've gotta use a MOV.) When the contacts of the relay break, the inductance tries to keep the current flowing, so where the voltage across the terminals might have once been +24V, it flips polarity and reach crazy high negative voltages if it can't find a current path; -1kV or more isn't unusual. Once it reaches a high enough voltage to jump across the opened relay contacts, all of the energy that was stored in the inductor ends up being converted into the heat energy of that spark. A backwards-facing diode in parallel with the motor can give that reactive current a way to flow at a much lower negative voltage -- equal to the diode's forward voltage -- so it doesn't rise to a high enough voltage to arc. All of that inductive energy that would've been a spark gets turned into heat inside the diode instead, but it gets converted much slower. You need a diode rated for the same current as the motor you're driving, and ideally you'd use a fast-switching schottky diode, but even 30 amp schottky diodes can be had for astonishingly cheap; a pack of fifty 30A diodes would cost me twelve bucks delivered.

[@ezenwubachidimma1159]

I really like it alot because knowledge is beautiful

[@jobkneppers]

Tim, thank you again and again! One tip for enhancing the force of solenoids is to use the duty cycle to calculate the on time at higher voltages. Some manufacturers mention the pulse time with the maximum voltage you can use to do so. You can dramatically change the starting force as you shown and switch to a much lower level to maintain position. I once made a beer tap with a rotating solenoid at 8 times it's 100% duty cycle for 0,1s. Worked like a charm for many years (8 x 24VDC = 192 VDC). It only took 12 Volts to maintain position during pouring the glass full. Maybe another tip; for arc suppression on dc loads an antiparallel diode works great to catch the reversed high voltage and dissipate it into heat. All the best! Job

[@erikisberg3886]

You can do this in a simpleton way by using a hefty MOSFET(Nowadays very cheap) and a capacitor for the initial kick. Charge the capacitor to a fairly high voltage trough a resistor. Connect the + of the cap to the low voltage by a diode. Connect the load between D and the + capacitor. S to gnd. The limitation is the time it takes to recharge the capacitor. Worked nicely for me to extend the useful pull stroke of solenoids. Also connect a back diode over the MOSFET if not included in the package, which it most often is nowadays.

[@jobkneppers]

@@erikisberg3886 I did it exact like that too. Capacitor bank switched so series for the initial bang. I also limited it in time. Something like 0,1 s

[@palladiumpigeon]

I have two ideas on how the glass trick may work. One: the presence of that high frequency noise could of broken the glass with some sort of resonant frequency, thus using a speaker. Two: a high powered solenoid could of hit it at the bottom, although, I don't know if that would do anything but snap the bottom off so I should try to make my own and see. Anyway, great video Tim, your content is amazing.

[@Titan604]

I am pretty sure it is hit from the far side by a small pointed rod. The really ingenious part is hiding the hole it projects through in plain sight by making the whole back face a mesh of holes!

[@AttilaAsztalos]

@@Titan604 Both. It's the rod that does the breaking - and you can actually see it clearly retracting after the glass breaks if you single-frame step through the video ( with < and >); but you can also see the glass vibrate before that, so there's some acoustic resonance happening there too, just not enough to do the breaking.

[@mike-ology22]

Great video, thanks for sharing. I liked the intro too

[@chrisgavin]

As a youngster I used to really enjoy "The Rudiments of Wisdom" strip in the Observer magazine, then "The Secret Life of Machines" series was a great watch too. The perfect blend of technical curiosity with artistic/creative whimsy. Great to see new content turning up here. Could Tim Hunkin be the Fred Dibnah of the electro-mechanical age ?

[@davidreintjens283]

Hi Tim. I liked this presentation as I worked with solenoids, relays, magnetic clutches and motor contacts on automatic pinsetters (tenpin bowling). They were used in several applications. I would be interested in an episode about time delays and one about selenium rectifiers. Cheers!

[@jobos98]

Love these Tim

[@bryancmcdonald3978]

The fish 🐠 & Chips bag speaker 🔊 made my morning 🌄. I have to fly all the way to England. 👋😎💨 Bryan ========= Queen Elizabeth owned a chain of fish and chip restaurants. ===== It's like our supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens I thought 🤔 💭 he - would always be there too.

[@fredbloggs5902]

I remember a ‘Ladybird’ book that explained electromagnets and motors, with instructions for making your own, there was another book that covered pulleys and levers.

[@CarlDidur]

Who else "pulled things to bits" because of Tim? I had to bury a few in the yard as a kid when they wouldn't go back together.

[@Vickwick58]

That coin dispensing solenoid is a great addition to any workshop. It seems like it would pay for itself in no time.

[@damienmiller]

If wonder if the Releco relays that you mentioned failing around 31:20 failed because the return spring work-hardened rather than the solenoid losing its pull?

[@soldiersvejk2053]

OG TV education vibe!

[@pearlsrx]

Wow I just stumbled on a gold mine!

[@christopherhulse8385]

British Rail had slave clocks all over the network nationwide, at stations, depots and offices which advanced forward every half a minute by a pulse sent down telephone lines from a master clock which I believe was located in Rugby.

[@skivvy3565]

Thank you so much for this, Tim. This is what your fans and the world needed most right now. Love and respect. Hope to run into ya in San Francisco some time. Keep up the excellent work

[@sethgecko9561]

Just discovered this guy and I must say, THIS IS A DAMN TREASURE! The way in which the things are explained is so simple yet spot on with info it's a joy to watch and learn. And man my mind is on overdrive right now because I am a novice inventor and these things are exactly what I need because honestly my ADD get in my way when things get a bit overly boring (even if it's stuff I'm interested in) so yeah I love it. Just subscribed

[@080allanthomas5]

Waiting for more videos like this.

[@hoktunoken2383]

Thank you very much

[@TimPerfetto]

Thank you!

[@MonicahWanyoike-tf1pt]

Good job well explained

[@MrMaxeemum]

Thank you Tim for inspiring me as a kid. Watching your shows "The Secret Life Of xxxx" inspired me to become an engineer and has enabled me to travel the world installing and repairing industrial machinery which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I am unable to create machines as I just don't have the creativity in me of which you have in abundance. Love your work and I am extremely happy to see you are still demonstrating electrical and mechanical principles which are so important to the youth of today.

[@FranLab]

"Posh Crisps" (brilliant)

[@twocvbloke]

It does seem "old" to see relays and solenoids being used today with so much having been evolved to using things like solid state components & the like, but the sound of relays and solenoids doing their thing is just so pleasing, well, unless you're in a telephone exchange during their mechanical heyday... :)

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Cheeky ending :)- fabulous.

[@calbrock6302]

15:52 beautifully said

[@joshandrews6100]

I love the power hammer.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

These videos are an incredible resource, thanks Tim 👍😆

[@fcrick]

So excited! Watching now...

[@Poliss95]

They should invite you to do a Royal Institution Xmas Lecture.

[@marknhopgood]

At @10:39 looks like a part of a reel to reel tape machine. The solenoids moved the tape tensioners so that the tape coming off the reels wouldn''t get tangled.