Hallo listers,

We have a problem: Our church build in 1300's has a Carillon ( Bells, Glockenspiel) of 16
bells that used to play every hour on the hour a hymn for three minutes.

Every bell has an solenoid actuator that strikes the bell; this mechanical component
seems to be o.k..

The problem seems to be in the old fashioned hole card driver, which we would like to
replace with an electronic one. Seems to me if one can buy a phone with thousands of
songs :-) we should be able to programm a basic computer to do the job. the problem
would be the interface between the computer and the current drawing solenoids.

Any of the shelf componends available or any advice how we could go about it?

Thank you very much , H. Rode

On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:07:50 GMT, "Heinz Rode"
wrote:

Hallo listers,

We have a problem: Our church build in 1300's has a Carillon ( Bells, Glockenspiel) of 16
bells that used to play every hour on the hour a hymn for three minutes.

Every bell has an solenoid actuator that strikes the bell; this mechanical component
seems to be o.k..

The problem seems to be in the old fashioned hole card driver, which we would like to
replace with an electronic one. Seems to me if one can buy a phone with thousands of
songs :-) we should be able to programm a basic computer to do the job. the problem
would be the interface between the computer and the current drawing solenoids.

Any of the shelf componends available or any advice how we could go about it?

---
Yes. Buy me a round trip ticket to BC and back, lunch, and supper
and lodging if I need to stay, and I'll quote you a system which
I'll guarantee to work for at least 20 years.


--
JF

"Heinz Rode" schrieb

We have a problem: Our church build in 1300's has a Carillon
(Bells, Glockenspiel) of 16 bells that used to play every hour
on the hour a hymn for three minutes.

Every bell has an solenoid actuator that strikes the bell;
this mechanical component seems to be o.k..

The problem seems to be in the old fashioned hole card driver,
which we would like to replace with an electronic one.

Might be a nice project for a nearby local university / technicians
school. You might also ask other churches or your diocese for
information on companies that sell such instruments.

Regards
Martin

Heinz Rode wrote:
[...]The problem seems to be in the old fashioned hole card driver,
which we would like to replace with an electronic one.

Have you checked to see if the company that made the original
is still in business?
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...lons+Carillons

"Heinz Rode" wrote in message
news:qJrZi.14882$8S5.9579@edtnps82...
Hallo listers,

We have a problem: Our church build in 1300's has a Carillon ( Bells,
Glockenspiel) of 16 bells that used to play every hour on the hour a hymn
for three minutes.

Every bell has an solenoid actuator that strikes the bell; this mechanical
component
seems to be o.k..

The problem seems to be in the old fashioned hole card driver, which we
would like to replace with an electronic one. Seems to me if one can buy a
phone with thousands of songs :-) we should be able to programm a basic
computer to do the job. the problem would be the interface between the
computer and the current drawing solenoids.

Actually this is a basic problem that can be solved with older technology.
An Apple II could easily do it or a cheap microcontroller like a Picaxe,
that is easy to program. Any cheap computer with a serial or a USB port
could do it with a couple of shift registers and a modest logic support
circuit.

The solenoid interface is also simple ... transistor drivers to convert
logic levels to the current needed.

I'd recommend searching for an EE or a good tech. with software experience
.... one might exist in your community.

Also, some memory chips plus a very basic controller might be all that you
need. Several stored sequences in memory ... one for each song.

Sounds like a nice senior project for a university student!