Awesome community you have here! I experiment with self-bondage and I've recently bought myself a Hitachi Magic Wand as well as a pwrUSB (Its a power bar that can have its outlets turned on or off from a software interface on the computer). I was reading the manual for the Hitachi magic wand, and I do remember briefly spotting somewhere that you should not start it in an already powered on state. I wanted to have it connected to my pwrUSB and then have randomized on/off state changes through a program I've written, but I also don't want to damage the magic wand. Has anyone here had any experiences with any of these devices? Is there anything to look out for?
I'm not an expert in electronics but I wouldn't recommend to power any motorized device through something like the pwrUSB. The tension is too high, the current surge could easily damage the relays inside the pwrUSB. If you have ever plugged a vacuum cleaner with the switch on into a power plug you might have seen a scary little spark, it's pretty much the same thing here, only inside the pwrUSB.
If you want to control a vibrator with your computer I would recommend to buy one that has an external power supply. The tension out of the power supply shall be much lower (maybe 12 or 24 volt). It would be easy (and safe) to cut the cable and plug a computer controlled relay in the middle.
With more work and skills, assuming the vibrator works a DC motor (most likely), it would be possible to use a transistor linked to a microcontroler commanded by the computer. With this, not only could the computer turn the vibrator on and off, but it could also varies the vibrations. Sounds like a device that would sell
Thanks for the information, Slippers. Its some really nice stuff to go on. I'll definitely follow your advice here. Sir Cumference: Thank you as well. I have a lot of vocabulary to learn I'm a programmer by trade but I love to learn and I now have a new hobby it seems. Final stand: What about including a surge protector with it though?
Sir Cumference wrote:The wand in it's classic form has an AC motor. That makes it quite a bit harder to control.
A DC- motor is much easier, and can be controlled with simple pulse width modulation and a power transistor or MOSFET.
If you just want on/off, your USB-controlled outlet should be fine.
A genuine HMW has a Universal Motor, as used on many small electrical appliances. This will run on AC or DC. The hi/lo switch simply switches a rectifier diode in series with the motor to get the lower speed, thus running the motor on rough DC. You can control the speed of an HMW with an ordinary light dimmer. I can't comment on any of the HMW look-alikes.
No reason why you shouldn't switch it on/off with a solid state relay as found in a USB controlled power strip. Worst that can happen is that the SSR fails short circuit and the HMW stays switched on. Or open circuit and the HMW stays switched off.
SlackOverflow wrote:What about including a surge protector with it though?
As far as I know these things does not exist. A motor will always produce a current surge when starting because it needs extra power to go in motion. The only way I'm aware to flatten the surge is to make the motor accelerate progressively using some electronics (different depending on the kind of motor). Even that may not work if the motor is loaded when it starts.
I think you have two options here :
Take the bet that the surge isn't going to be too high (it's a vibrator after all) and that the components into the pwrUSB are strong enough to withstand it. This may work. It's not "clean" but it may work. The worst that can happen is that the pwrUSB may stop working after repeated use (but there is no risk of setting your house on fire or other disaster).
As I said, buy another vibrator that operates on low voltage with an external power supply and hack it so it can be controlled by your computer.
If it was for me I would choose the second option. Not only because of the surge problem, but, most importantly, because the idea of a sex toy operating on high voltage seems ridiculously dangerous to me. It's applied on your body and it can get wet (if it is efficient it will). But I assume it has some pretty good protection to prevent this from happening.
I think there's a slight misunderstanding about surge protection.
The problem is a current surge, such as you get when powering up an inductive load, can lead to the generation of much higher voltage spikes - these are what the surge protection is for. The usual device is a varistor, a sort of resistor that an open circuit until a threshold voltage is reached, at which point it effectively becomes a short-circuit, absorbing the spike. The threshold is always above the supply voltage, as the device cannot absorb more than a few milliseconds of short-circuit current. You buy one with a working voltage stated in the spec, so a 230vac device will probably have a threshold around 350v peak.
There are other devices but these are cheap and widely used and available. I could give a lot more detail but that should do the job.
I'm a programmer by trade but I love to learn and I now have a new hobby it seems. Final stand: What about including a surge protector with it though?
