Using photocells

I really new to electronics. I have a noise making device that is suppost to scare of critters but it annoys the heck out of me so what I would like to do is make a sensor that turns the device on when it gets dark out. I've been using a photocell resistor and a plan out of my Radio Shack Electronics Learning Lab in an attempt to use that circuit as the on off switch. Hasn't worked. Then I tried to use the same plan to power a relay but that didn't work. If I could up load a photo I could show you the plan but I'm unable to do that at this time. Do you have any suggestions as to how to accomplish this? The noise unit is a six volt unit powered off of 4 AAA batteries.... Any help would be awesome. Thank You.

Josh,

You should be able to upload your project in about any image format. Send us an email at info(_at_)eeweb.com if you're still having problems.

Once we see your schematic we can help you out.

Cheers.

Hi Josh Id be interested to see the radio shack lab project you have curiosity more than anything else Could you possibly upload this for us as well Id like to see what you are learning and how this is being taught

Many thanks

Mark Harrington

Hi Josh,
Uploading images:
EEWeb accepts images: JPG GIF PNG which can be created with Windows Paint. Saving as GIF or PNG is best as they don't lose detail. PDFs also work.
Not: accepted: BMP TIFF

What kind of noise maker are you using ? And what kind of animals is it supposed to repel ?
I have heard of various ultrasonic devices that are intended to repel things ranging from dogs to mosquitoes, but you should not be able to hear those if they are working correctlly. (Unless you are Superman !-)

Hi Josh
If you need a swich only, torn apart a garden light and use its switch to trigger your project instead of led lights.