Radio-tree that would change station when a bird lands on a branch

Hello everyone.

I am planning to make some kind of a tree/bird perch for an art installation. Each branch of this small tree would be reactive to the weight of a bird in order to change radio stations when it comes and sits on a branch. I am new to Arduino (but i've used Processing before) so i have several questions with absolutely no clue to answer them.

I own an Arduino Uno, and i can buy/find the rest of what would be needed.

1st - Do you think it is a good idea to put a button at the connexion in between the trunk and branch so that the (small) bird weight presses it to change the radio station ? And if thats a good start, what should I use ?

2nd - How do I make an Arduino play different stations of radio ?

3rd - Would it be hard to have my own amp and sound source out of my "Radio Tree" or should I rather just put a jack in order to connect it an external source ?

Any help would be really appreciated ! :))

Thanks,
Juliette

Google "TEA5767"

Hi Juliette,

About first question: I don't think that buttons is a good idea. The weight of a small bird is very low, so you need to have a perfectly balanced system wich is not easy.
I would rather use IR sensors to "see" the birds,You need one for each branch, but the tree will be a lot more simple to build because there will be no moving parts.

Claude