# Halloween Display Help (Non-Car Motor Question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787 "2007-09-02T04:40:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787/1 "2007-09-02T04:40:54Z")
This Halloween I’d like to make a display of a person sitting in a chair, lifting and lowering its hand every so often. What I’m thinking of is having a motor attached to the ceiling above the display; a wire attached to both a lever on the motor and a hand on the person; and with each revolution, the lever lifts the wire (thus, lifting the hand) and then lowering it (thus, lowering the hand). Kinda as shown in [this drawing](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1216/1299381663_0a81e37493.jpg?v=0). (You’ll have to pardon the questionable artwork.) My question is, where would I find a motor slow enough to do what I want? I don’t want the motor to run so quickly that the guy looks as if he’s having a seizure, but I do want it fast enough so passers-by can see he’s waving. If I can get this to work, I’ll eventually try something similar with a motor and a coffin lid. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787/2 "2007-09-02T04:46:00Z")
You want a [gearhead motor](http://www.robotobjects.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=390). They are available in a wide variety of gear ratios and operating voltages. You just need to determine what RPM will give you the results you want. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787/3 "2007-09-02T05:07:09Z")
You want a gearhead motor. Jameco has them in a huge range of voltages & rpms. Micro-mark sells one under the name “animation gearmotor”. Or you could probably hack it for less money by modifying a cheap kid’s toy. Back when I did more of this sort of thing, I’d prowl around Toys-R-Us looking for things that did almost what I wanted to, then I’d rip them apart and get the bits I needed. One year I built a shark head that had a jaw that opened and shut, and that was mostly done with bits from one of those little yapping dog toys. On preview: Darnit, QED beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787/4 "2007-09-02T05:22:48Z")
Thanks for the gearhead motor suggestions, **Q.E.D.** and **buckgully**. I’d actually seen those before, but the ones I had come across revolved at a significantly faster speed than what I wanted. Plus, I’d have to attach it to a power source, and I wasn’t sure about how to do that. Your kids toy suggestion is what I was thinking of (that, or a clock), **buckgully**. I remembered cannibalizing my Robotix motors for many a school project way back in the day, and thought maybe I could find something similar these days. But, it looks like I won’t even need to take a trip down to the local toy shop; I found the Micro-Mark site, and it looks like the [animation gearmotor](http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82090) is exactly what I need. Thanks for your help, guys! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787/5 "2007-09-02T05:32:00Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] I’d actually seen those before, but the ones I had come across revolved at a significantly faster speed than what I wanted. [/quote] The one I linked to revolves at 58 RPM. That would be about 1 wave per second. Pretty reasonable. If you want slower, they are certainly available. [QUOTE=SkipMagic] Plus, I’d have to attach it to a power source, and I wasn’t sure about how to do that. [/QUOTE] Huh? You’d have to do that for _any_ motor. What’s the difference here? ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-display-help-non-car-motor-question/417787/6 "2007-09-02T05:38:20Z")
Fifty-eight RPM was still kind of high for what I was looking for; the 2.5 RPM gearmotor is more what I need. I just want the arm to lift up and down slowly; at 58 RPM, it’d be moving too quickly for the effect I want. I was probably too vague when I was explaining that. As for the power source, what I mean is that, with the animation gearmotor, I won’t have to attach a power cord or battery to it; it already has a power cord attached, leaving me with less work to do.