Beginner Question!

[Estebanselva]

So this may be a silly simple question, but I’m new to the nitty gritty of electronics and would appreciate if someone pointed me in the right direction to get this project going.

I’m looking to make a little art project in a picture frame. In the picture frame I want to attach a light action figure. I want to rig it to where when I press a button, a preprogrammed noise goes off and the toy moves up and down.

Any help, suggestions, name of the electronics that will be needed to make this happen would be much appreciated!

 

[John Canon]

I have one of those "sound and motion" greeting cards that plays a short song while a tiny motor spins and makes a bed of flowers rock back and forth. It sings "thank you for being a friend" so cute. I converted it into a desktop tableau that operates at the push of a button. I put the circuit board and tiny speaker into a small project box with a push button.

There are some "sound and motion" cards that allow you to record a quick message (like grandma's voice) onto the card.

 

[Estebanselva]

Oooooh! This helps a lot! I appreciate the response! I can start heading this direction and want to have it all connected to a AA battery.

I have one of those "sound and motion" greeting cards that plays a short song while a tiny motor spins and makes a bed of flowers rock back and forth. It sings "thank you for being a friend" so cute. I converted it into a desktop tableau that operates at the push of a button. I put the circuit board and tiny speaker into a small project box with a push button.

There are some "sound and motion" cards that allow you to record a quick message (like grandma's voice) onto the card.

 

[John Canon]

Good Luck! The best way to learn is building small projects like yours, some great, some poor, but they gradually get better over the years. I started by taking apart old car dashboards and by dismantling old telephone company microwave and switching panels. I collected old tubes from radios and TVs, learned about transistors, SCRs and zeners from the Electronics magazines. Nowadays I build and install custom security camera systems ... still having fun, and getting paid too!

Those greeting cards usually use 3 of the small, cheap button cells to get 4.5 volts. I changed mine to better button cells as they wore out. If you have the space you could use a 3-cell AA or AAA battery holder, but the small cells last OK.

 

[John Canon]

My very first project: install an audio jack into the side panel of a one-tube portable record player. I wired the jack to the stylus pickup circuit. Then I plugged in a $2 crystal mic and had a PA system/imitation karaoke. When you unplugged the mic it was a regular record player. Fun!