It must have been just before Christmas '86, when I went for a walk with my dad and saw this teddy bear in a shop window. He could listen, speak and let his heart shine. I was immediately enthusiastic and wanted to have it.
Santa meant well with me and so the teddy bear lay under the Christmas tree. I was overjoyed with my gift, as you can see from the photo. ^^
At this point I could not know that my dad would pass away some time later and this should be his last present for me.
I've struggled a bit to mention this, after all, you could interpret that negatively. In the end I finally decided to write it down. It explains why a man in advanced age still has a stuffed animal, lovingly repaired it and even placed it in a special place at home. :)
Well, anyway, the bears electronics are falling victim to my burgeoning curiosity about how devices work. Time has also left its mark.
However, since I am now somewhat experienced in dealing with electronics, I thought it was time to undo my act and give him back a little of the old shine...
Due to lack of sewing experience, I decided to open him below. Here you should see mistakes made least. After getting the cotton out, I turned the fabric over, removed the buttons and the heart. Poor guy. :x
As you can see, the buttons have been brittle due to their age.
After a long bath all holes and cracks were closed. Since there was a lot of damage on the front, he was given a bit of "chest hair". I think that suits him very well. :D
First, I worked on the housing for mounting the board and then screwed it in. Since there was only one positive pole pin, but more was needed for the buttons and battery, I made a small pin header.
In order to be able to connect a red Led for the heart, the existing one on the board was removed and I soldered there also a corresponding pin strip. Then I exchanged the old bulb from the heart against said red Led and made four new buttons.
Once I knew where the cables enter the enclosure, I cut corresponding recesses in the lid. Also a hole for the microphone had to be drilled.
Since the enclosed speaker was too quiet and too big for me, I replaced it with a smaller one from my crafting box. To make it a little louder and protected, I then stuck it in a film can, which I had previously edited a little.
With hot glue, the buttons were glued to the individual paws and the heart clamped again. So that when filling the cotton does not get stuck on the boards/solder joints, I covered them with a piece of cloth.
Now all I had to do was to invert the fabric, reinsert the cotton wool and sew the bottom again.
I fixed the plugs after connecting with hot glue to avoid pulling out. I have occupied the upper two paws with the recording function, the lower right with play-once and the lower left with play-while-pressed.
Now, only the housing needed to be closed and all stored in the "pocket".
The work was worth it, he listens, speaks and the heart shines again. :)
Hope the post was not too boring. ;D
Read ya,
Tim Schabe