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    1 100TransistorCircuits PDF

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    Anonymous mqsR6k1q6
    This document introduces an e-book containing 100 transistor circuits. It provides instructions on how to build the circuits using common components that can be sourced from discarded electronics. It explains that most circuits can be built with less than an hour of work and are rewarding to see functioning. The document also includes an introduction to transistors and how they work, as well as offering a kit of common components for building the circuits.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    1 100TransistorCircuits PDF

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    165 views133 pages
    This document introduces an e-book containing 100 transistor circuits. It provides instructions on how to build the circuits using common components that can be sourced from discarded electronics. It explains that most circuits can be built with less than an hour of work and are rewarding to see functioning. The document also includes an introduction to transistors and how they work, as well as offering a kit of common components for building the circuits.

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    1-100TransistorCircuits.pdf

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    This document introduces an e-book containing 100 transistor circuits. It provides instructions on how to build the circuits using common components that can be sourced from discarded electronics. It explains that most circuits can be built with less than an hour of work and are rewarding to see functioning. The document also includes an introduction to transistors and how they work, as well as offering a kit of common components for building the circuits.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    165 views133 pages

    1 100TransistorCircuits PDF

    Uploaded by

    Anonymous mqsR6k1q6
    This document introduces an e-book containing 100 transistor circuits. It provides instructions on how to build the circuits using common components that can be sourced from discarded electronics. It explains that most circuits can be built with less than an hour of work and are rewarding to see functioning. The document also includes an introduction to transistors and how they work, as well as offering a kit of common components for building the circuits.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 133
    At a glance
    Powered by AI
    The document presents over 100 transistor circuit designs that can be built using common components. It aims to get readers interested in electronics by seeing circuits work with just a few parts.

    Some circuit examples included are a transistor tester, speaker transformer, light-activated robot, switch debouncer, and music on hold circuit.

    Many components can be obtained from discarded electronics like transistor radios and toys. The document also mentions a kit of common parts is available for $15 plus shipping.

    save on your computer as .pdf: 1-100 Transistor circuits.

    pdf

    Go to: 101 - 200 Transistor Circuits


    Go to: 100 IC Circuits
    See TALKING ELECTRONICS WEBSITE

    email Colin Mitchell: [email protected]

    INTRODUCTION
    This e-book contains 100 transistor circuits. The second part of this e-book will contain a further
    100 circuits.
    Most of them can be made with components from your "junk box" and hopefully you can put
    them together in less than an hour.
    The idea of this book is to get you into the fun of putting things together and there's nothing
    more rewarding than seeing something work.
    It's amazing what you can do with a few transistors and some additional components. And this
    is the place to start.
    Most of the circuits are "stand-alone" and produce a result with as little as 5 parts.
    We have even provided a simple way to produce your own speaker transformer by winding turns
    on a piece of ferrite rod. Many components can be obtained from transistor radios, toys and
    other pieces of discarded equipment you will find all over the place.
    To save space we have not provided lengthy explanations of how the circuits work. This has
    already been covered in TALKING ELECTRONICS Basic Electronics Course, and can be obtained on
    a CD for $10.00 (posted to anywhere in the world) See Talking Electronics website for more
    details: http://www.talkingelectronics.com
    Transistor data is at the bottom of this page and a transistor tester circuit is also provided.
    There are lots of categories and I am sure many of the circuits will be new to you, because
    some of them have been designed recently by me.
    Basically there are two types of transistor: PNP and NPN.
    We have labelled the NPN transistor as BC547. This means you can use ANY NPN transistor, such
    as 2N2222, BC108, 2N3704, BC337 and hundreds of others. Some circuits use TUN for Transistor
    Universal NPN and this is the same as our reasoning - the transistor-type is just to let you know
    it is not critical.
    BC557 can be replaced by: 2N3906, BC327 and many others.
    Don't worry too much about the transistor-type. Just make sure it is NPN, it this is the type
    needed.
    If it is an unknown transistor-type, you need to identify the leads then put it in the circuit.
    You have a choice of building a circuit "in the air," or using an experimenter board (solderless
    breadboard) or a matrix board or even a homemade printed circuit board. The choice is up to
    you but the idea is to keep the cost to a minimum - so don't buy anything expensive.
    If you take parts from old equipment it will be best to solder them together "in the air" (as they
    will not be suitable for placing on a solderless breadboard as the leads will be bent and very
    short).
    This way they can be re-used again and again.
    No matter what you do, I know you will be keen to hear some of the "noisy" circuits in
    operation.
    Before you start, the home-made Speaker Transformer project and Transistor Tester are the
    first things you should look at.
    If you are starting in electronics, see the World's Simplest Circuit. It shows how a transistor
    works and three transistors in the 8 Million Gain project will detect microscopic levels of static
    electricity! You can look through the Index but the names of the projects don't give you a full
    description of what they do. You need to look at the circuits. And I am sure you will.

    KIT OF PARTS
    Talking Electronics supplies a kit of parts that can be used to build the majority of the circuits in
    this book.
    The kit costs $15.00 plus postage.

    Kit for Transistor Circuits -


    $15.00
    A kit of components to make many of the circuits presented in this
    eBook is available for $15.00 plus $7.00 post.
    Or email Colin Mitchell: [email protected]

    The kit contains the following components:


    (plus extra 30 resistors and 10 capacitors for
    experimenting), plus:

    3 - 47R
    5 - 220R
    5 - 470R
    5 - 1k
    5 - 4k7
    5 - 10k
    2 - 33k
    4- 100k
    4 - 1M
    1 - 10k mini pot
    1 - 100k mini pot
    2 - 10n
    2 - 100n
    5 - 10u electrolytics
    5- 100u electrolytics
    5 - 1N4148 signal diodes
    6 - BC547 transistors - NPN - 100mA
    2 - BC557 transistors - PNP - 100mA
    1 - BC338 transistor - NPN - 800mA
    3 - BD679 Darlington transistors - NPN - 4amp
    5 - red LEDs
    5 - green LEDs
    5 - orange LEDs
    2 - super-bright WHITE LEDs - 20,000mcd
    1 - 3mm or 5mm flashing LED
    1 - mini 8R speaker
    1 - mini piezo
    1 - LDR (Light Dependent Resistor)
    1 - electret microphone
    1m - 0.25mm wire
    1m - 0.5mm wire
    1 - 10mH inductor
    1 - push button
    5 - tactile push buttons
    1 - Experimenter Board (will take 8, 14 and 16 pin chips)
    5 - mini Matrix Boards: 7 x 11 hole,
    11 x 15 hole, 6 x 40 hole, surface-mount 6 x 40 hole board or others.
    Photo of kit of components.
    Each batch is slightly different:

    There are more components than you think. . . plus an extra bag of
    approx 30 components. The 8 little components are switches and the
    LDR and flashing LED is hiding.
    In many cases, a resistor or capacitor not in the kit, can be created by
    putting two resistors or capacitors in series or parallel or the next higher
    or lower value can be used.

    Don't think transistor technology is obsolete. Many complex circuits have one or more transistors
    to act as buffers, amplifiers or to connect one block to another. It is absolutely essential to
    understand this area of electronics if you want to carry out design-work or build a simple circuit to
    carry out a task.

    We also have an eBook: THE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER with over 100 different transistor circuits
    . . . proving the transistor can be connected in so many ways.

    THEORY Read the full article HERE (the Transistor Amplifier eBook)
    The first thing you will want to know is: HOW DOES A TRANSISTOR WORK?
    Diagram "A" shows an NPN transistor with the legs covering the symbol showing the name for
    each lead.
    The transistor is a "general purpose" type and and is the smallest and cheapest type you can get.
    The number on the transistor will change according to the country where the circuit was designed
    but the types we refer to are all the SAME.
    Diagram "B" shows two different "general purpose" transistors and the different pinouts. You
    need to refer to data sheets or test the transistor to find the correct pinout.
    Diagram "C" shows the equivalent of a transistor as a water valve. As more current (water) enters
    the base, more water flows from the collector to the emitter.
    Diagram "D" shows the transistor connected to the power rails. The collector connects to a
    resistor called a LOAD and the emitter connects to the 0v rail or earth or "ground."
    Diagram "E" shows the transistor in SELF BIAS mode. This is called a COMMON EMITTER
    stage and the resistance of the BASE BIAS RESISTOR is selected so the voltage on the collector
    is half-rail voltage. In this case it is 2.5v.
    To keep the theory simple, here's how you do it. Use 22k as the load resistance.
    Select the base bias resistor until the measured voltage on the collector 2.5v. The base bias will
    be about 2M2.
    This is how the transistor reacts to the base bias resistor:
    The base bias resistor feeds a small current into the base and this makes the transistor turn on
    and create a current-flow though the collector-emitter leads.
    This causes the same current to flow through the load resistor and a voltage-drop is created
    across this resistor. This lowers the voltage on the collector.
    The lower voltage causes a lower current to flow into the base and the transistor stops turning on
    a slight amount. The transistor very quickly settles down to allowing a certain current to flow
    through the collector-emitter and produce a voltage at the collector that is just sufficient to allow
    the right amount of current to enter the base.
    Diagram "F" shows the transistor being turned on via a finger. Press hard on the two wires and
    the LED will illuminate brighter. As you press harder, the resistance of your finger decreases. This
    allows more current to flow into the base and the transistor turns on harder.
    Diagram "G" shows a second transistor to "amplify the effect of your finger" and the LED
    illuminates about 100 times brighter.
    Diagram "H" shows the effect of putting a capacitor on the base lead. The capacitor must be
    uncharged and when you apply pressure, the LED will flash brightly then go off. This is because
    the capacitor gets charged when you touch the wires. As soon as it is charged NO MORE
    CURRENT flows though it. The first transistor stops receiving current and the circuit does not keep
    the LED illuminated. To get the circuit to work again, the capacitor must be discharged. This is a
    simple concept of how a capacitor works. A large-value capacitor will keep the LED illuminated for
    a longer period of time.
    Diagram "I" shows the effect of putting a capacitor on the output. It must be uncharged for this
    effect to work. We know from Diagram G that the circuit will stay on when the wires are touched
    but when a capacitor is placed in the output, it gets charged when the circuit turns ON and only
    allows the LED to flash.

    1. This is a simple explanation of how a transistor works. It amplifies the current going into the
    base about 100 times and the higher current flowing through the collector-emitter leads will
    illuminate a LED.
    2. A capacitor allows current to flow through it until it gets charged. It must be discharged to see
    the effect again.

    Read the full article HERE


    INCREASING THE VOLTAGE
    You can change the voltage of many circuits from 6v to
    12v or 3v to 6v without altering any of the values. I can
    see instantly if this is possible due to the value of the
    components and here's how I do it:
    Look at the value of the resistors driving the load(s).
    Work out the current entering each load and see if it is
    less than the maximum allowable.
    Then, take a current reading on the lower voltage.
    Increase the voltage to the higher value and take
    another reading.
    In most cases the current will increase to double the
    value (or a little higher than twice the original value).
    If it is over 250% higher, you need to feel each of the
    components and see if any are getting excessively hot.

    If any LEDs are taking excessive current, double the


    value of the current-limiting resistor.
    If any transistor is getting hot, increase the value of the
    load resistor.
    In most cases, when the voltage is doubled, the current
    will will crease to double the original. This means the
    circuit will consume 4 times the original energy.
    This is just a broad suggestion to answer the hundreds
    of emails I get on this topic.

    CONTENTS circuits in red are in 101-200 Circuits


    Note: All circuits use 1/4 watt resistors unless specified on the diagram.
    Adjustable High Current Power Microphone Pre-amplifier
    Supply Mobile Phone Alert-2
    Aerial Amplifier Model Railway Point Motor Driver
    Alarm Using 4 buttons Model Railway time
    Amazing LED Flasher - for Bikes Motor Speed Controller
    Ammeter 0-1A Motor Speed Control (simple)
    Amplifier uses speaker as Movement Detector
    microphone Multimeter - Voltage of Bench Supply
    AM Radio - 5 Transistor Music On Hold
    Amplifying a Digital Signal Music to Colour
    Arc Welder Simulator for Model Nail Finder
    Railways NiCd Charger
    Audio Amplifier (mini) Night Light - see also Automatic Light
    Automatic Battery Charger On-Off via push Buttons
    Automatic Bathroom Light OP-AMP -using 3 transistors
    Automatic Garden Light Passage PIR LED Light
    Automatic Light - see also Night Light Phaser Gun
    Automatic PIR LED Light Phase-Shift Oscillator - good design
    Automatic Solar Light Phone Alert
    Battery Capacity Phone Alert-2 (for mobile phone)
    Battery Charger - 12v Automatic Phone Bug
    Battery Charger MkII - 12v trickle Phone Tape-1
    charger Phone Tape-2
    Battery-Low Beeper Phone Tape-3
    Battery Monitor MkI Phone Tape-4 - using FETs
    Battery Monitor MkII Phone Transmitter-1
    Bench Power Supply Phone Transmitter-2
    Bike Flasher Bike Flasher - amazing Phone Transmitter-3
    Bike Turning Signal Phone Transmitter-4
    Beacon (Warning Beacon 12v) Phase-shift Oscillator
    Beeper Bug Plant Needs Watering
    Blocking Oscillator PIC Programmer Circuits 1,2 3
    Blown Fuse Indicator Piezo Buzzer - how it works
    Book Light PIR Detector
    Boom Gate Lights PIR LED Light
    Bootstrap Amplifier Point Motor Driver
    Boxes Powering a LED
    Breakdown Beacon Power ON
    Bright Flash from Flat Battery Power Supplies - Fixed
    Buck Converter for LEDs 48mA Power Supplies - Adjustable LMxx
    Buck Converter for LEDs 170mA series
    Buck Converter for LEDs 210mA Power Supplies - Adjustable 78xx
    Buck Converter for LEDs 250mA series
    Buck Converter for 3watt LED Power Supplies - Adjustable from 0v
    Buck Regulator 12v to 5v Power Supply - Inductively Coupled
    Cable Tracer Power Zener
    Camera Activator Project can turn ON when DARK
    Capacitor Discharge Unit MkII (CDU2) Push-On Push OFF
    Trains PWM Controller
    Capacitor Tester Quiz Timer
    Car Detector (loop Detector) Radio - AM - 5 Transistor
    Car Light Extender MkII Railway time
    Car Light Alert Random Blinking LEDs
    CFL Driver (Compact Fluorescent) 5w Rechargeable Battery Capacity
    Charge-current without a multimeter Rectifying a Voltage
    Chaser 3 LED 5 LED Chaser using Relay Chatter
    FETs Relay OFF Delay
    Charger - NiCd Relay Protection
    Charging Battery via Solar Panel Resistor Colour Code
    Chip Programmer (PIC) Circuits 1,2 3 Resistor Colour Code - 4, 5 and 6
    Circuit Symbols Complete list of Bands
    Symbols Reversing a Motor
    Clock - Make Time Fly Robo Roller
    Clap Switch - see also VOX Robot
    Clap Switch - turns LED on for 15 Robot Man - Multivibrator
    seconds Safe 240v Supply
    Code Lock Schmitt Trigger
    Code Pad SCR with Transistors
    Coin Counter Second Simplest Circuit
    Colour Code for Resistors - all Sequencer
    resistors Shake Tic Tac LED Torch
    Colpitts Oscillator Signal by-pass
    Combo-2 - Transistor tester Signal Injector
    Constant Current Simple Flasher
    Constant Current Drives two 3-watt Simple Logic Probe
    LEDs Simple Touch-ON Touch-OFF Switch
    Constant Current for 12v car Simplest Transistor Tester
    Constant Current Source Cct 2 Cct 4 Siren
    Constant Current 1.5amp Siren
    Continuity Tester Soft Start power supply
    Courtesy Light Extender for Cars MkII Solar Engine
    Crossing Lights Solar Engine Type-3
    Crystal Tester Solar Light - Automatic
    Dancing Flower Solar Panel - charging a battery
    Dancing Flower with Speed Control Solar Photovore
    Dark Detector for Project Sound to Light
    Dark Detector with beep Alarm Sound Triggered LED
    Darlington Transistor Speaker Transformer
    Decaying Flasher Speed Control - Motor
    Delay Before LED turns ON Spy Amplifier
    Delay Turn-off - turns off circuit after Strength Tester
    delay Sun Eater-1
    "Divide-by" Circuit Sun Eater-1A
    Door-Knob Alarm Super Ear
    Driving a LED Super-Alpha Pair (Darlington
    Drive 20 LEDs Transistor)
    Dynamic Microphone Amplifier Supply Voltage Monitor
    Dynamo Voltage Doubler Switch Debouncer
    Electronic Drums Sziklai transistor
    Electronic Filter Telephone amplifier
    Emergency Light Telephone Bug see also Transmitter-
    Fading LED 1 -2
    Ferret Finder Telephone Taping - see Phone Tape
    FET Chaser Testing A Transistor
    Field Strength Meter for 27MHz Ticking Bomb
    Flasher (simple) Time Delay Circuits
    Flashing 2 LEDs Toggle a Push Button using 2 relays
    Flash from Flat Battery Toggle A Relay
    Flashing Beacon (12v Warning Beacon) Toroid - using a toroid Inductor
    Flashing LED - See Flasher Circuits on Touch Switch
    web Touch-ON Touch-OFF Switch
    see: 3 more in: 1-100 Touch Switch Circuits
    circuits Tracking Transmitter
    see Bright Flash from Flat Track Polarity - model railway
    Battery Train Detectors
    see Flashing 2 LEDs Train Throttle
    see LED Driver 1.5v White Transformerless Power Supply
    LED Transistor Amplifier
    see LED Flasher Transistor Pinouts
    see LED Flasher 1-Transistor Transistor tester - Combo-2
    see LEDs Flash for 5 secs Transistor Tester-1
    see White LED Flasher Transistor Tester-2
    see Dual 3v White LED Transistor and LED Tester - 3
    Flasher Transistor and Capacitor Tester- 4
    see Dual 1v5 White LED Trickle Charger 12v
    Flasher Turn Indicator Alarm
    see 1.5v LED Driver Vehicle Detector loop Detector
    see 1.5v LEDFlasher VHF Aerial Amplifier
    see 3v White LED flasher Vibrating VU Indicator
    Flashing tail-light (indicator) Voice Controlled Switch - see VOX
    Fluorescent Inverter for 12v supply Voltage Doubler
    FM Transmitters - 11 circuits Voltage Multipliers
    Fog Horn VOX - see The Transistor Amplifier
    FRED Photopopper eBook
    Fridge Alarm Voyager - FM Bug
    Fuse Inidicator Wailing Siren
    Gold Detector Walkie Talkie
    GOLD DETECTORS - article Walkie Talkie with LM386
    Guitar Fuzz Walkie Talkie - 5 Tr - circuit 1
    Hartley Oscillator Walkie Talkie - 5 Tr- circuit 2
    Hex Bug Warning Beacon
    H-Bridge Water Level Detector
    Headlight Extender & see Light Worlds Simplest Circuit
    Extender Cars White LED Flasher
    Heads or Tails White LED Flasher - 3v
    Hearing Aid Constant Volume White LED with Adj Brightness
    Hearing Aid Push-Pull Output White Line Follower
    Hearing Aid 1.5v Supply White Noise Generator
    Hee Haw Siren Xtal Tester
    High Current from old cells Zapper - 160v
    High Current Power Supply Zener Diode (making)
    High-Low Voltage Cutout Zener Diode Tester
    IR LED Driver 0-1A Ammeter
    IC Radio 1 watt LED - a very good design
    Increasing the output current 1-watt LED - make your own
    Increasing the Voltage - see above 1.5 watt LED
    Inductively Coupled Power Supply 1.5v to 10v Inverter
    Intercom 1.5v LED Flasher
    Latching A Push Button 1.5v White LED Driver
    Latching Relay Toggle A Relay Toggle 3-Phase Generator
    (Sw) 3v White LED flasher
    LED Detects Light 3 watt LED Buck Converter for
    LED Detects light 3v3 from 5v Supply
    LED Driver 1.5v White LED 5v from old cells - circuit1
    LED Driver for 12v car IR LED Driver 5v from old cells - circuit2
    LED Flasher - and see 3 more in this 5v Regulated Supply from 3v
    list 5 LED Chaser
    LED Flasher 1-Transistor 5 Transistor Radio
    LED and Transistor Tester 6 to 12 watt Fluoro Inverter
    LED Flashes 3 times when power 8 Million Gain
    applied 9v Supply from 3v
    LED 1-watt 10 LEDs on 9v
    LED 1.5 watt 10 Second Delay
    LED Fader 12v Battery Charger - Automatic
    LED flasher 3v White LED 12v Flashing Beacon (Warning
    LEDs for 12v car Beacon)
    LEDs on 240v 12v Relay on 6v
    LED Strip - passage Light 12v Trickle Charger
    LED Torch 12v to 5v Buck Converter
    LED Torch with Adj Brightness 12v Supply
    LED Torch with 1.5v Supply 18 LEDs using a 3.7v Li-Ion CELL
    LED Turning Flasher 20 LEDs on 12v supply
    Lie Detector 20watt Fluoro Inverter
    Light Alarm-1 20 LEDs on 12v supply
    Light Alarm-2 24v to 12v for charging
    Light Alarm-3 27MHz Door Phone
    Light Extender for Cars 27MHz Field Strength Meter
    Limit Switches 27MHz Transmitter
    Listener - phone amplifier 27MHz Transmitter - no Xtal
    Logic Probe - Simple - Simple with 27MHz Transmitter-Sq Wave
    PULSE 27MHz Transmitter-2 Ch
    Logic Probe with Pulse 27MHz Transmitter-4 Ch
    Low fuel Indicator 27MHz Receiver
    Low Mains Drop-out 27MHz Receiver-2
    Low Voltage cut-out 240v Detector
    Low-High Voltage Cutout 240v - LEDs
    Low Voltage Flasher 303MHz Transmitter
    Mains Detector
    Mains Hum Detector
    Mains Night Light
    Make any capacitor value
    Make any resistor value
    Make Time Fly!
    Make you own 1watt LED
    Making 0-1A Ammeter
    Mains Night Light
    Make any capacitor value
    Make any resistor value
    Metal Detector Metal Detector MkII
    Metal Detector - Nail Finder
    METAL DETECTORS - article
    RESISTOR COLOUR CODE

    SAFE 240v SUPPLY


    When working on any project that connects to the "mains," it
    is important to take all precautions to prevent electrocution.
    This project provides 240v AC but the current it limited to
    60mA if a 15 watt transformer is used. Although the output
    can produce a nasty shock and the voltage will kill you, the
    circuit provides isolation from the mains and if a short-circuit
    occurs, it will not blow a fuse, but the transformers will get
    very hot as start to buzz.
    You can use any two identical transformers and the wattage
    of either transformer will determine the maximum output
    wattage.
    If you don't use identical transformers, the output voltage will
    be higher or lower than the "mains" voltage and the wattage
    will be determined by the smaller transformer.

    This arrangement is not perfectly safe, but is the best you can
    get when working on projects such as switch-mode power
    supplies, capacitor-fed down-lights etc.

    RECHARGEABLE BATTERY CAPACITY


    This simple circuit tests the capacity of a rechargeable cell.
    Connect a 4R7 (yellow-purple-gold-gold) resistor across the
    terminals of a clock mechanism and fit a fully charged
    rechargeable cell. Set the hands to 12 O'Clock and the clock
    will let you know how long the cell lasted until the voltage
    reached about 0.8v.
    Now fit another cell and see how long it lasts. You cannot
    work out the exact capacity of a cell but you can compare one
    cell with another. The initial current is about 250mA for a 1.2v
    cell.

    BLOWN FUSE INDICATOR


    This circuit indicates when a fuse is
    "blown."

    PLANT NEEDS WATERING


    This circuit indicates when the soil is dry and the plant needs watering.
    The circuit does not have a current-limiting resistor because the base
    resistor is very high and the current through the transistor is only 2mA. Don't
    change the supply voltage or the 220k as these two values are correct for
    this circuit.

    THE SOLAR PANEL


    This will clear-up a lot of mysteries of the solar panel.
    Many solar panels produce 16v - 18v when lightly loaded, while other
    12v solar panels will not charge a 12v battery.
    Some panels say "nominal voltage," some do not give any value other
    than 6v or 12v, and some specify the wrong voltage. You can't work
    with vague specifications. You need to know accurate details to
    charge a battery from a solar panel.
    There are 3 things you have to know before buying a panel or
    connecting a panel to a battery.

    1. The UNLOADED VOLTAGE.


    2. The voltage of the panel when delivering the rated current. Called
    the RATED VOLTAGE
    3. The CURRENT.

    1. The Unloaded Voltage is the voltage produced by the panel when


    it is lightly loaded. This voltage is very important because a 12v
    battery will produce a "floating voltage" of about 15v when it is fully
    charged and it will gradually rise to this voltage during the charging
    period. This means the panel must be able to deliver more than 15v so
    it will charge a 12v battery.
    Sometimes there is a diode and a charging circuit between the panel
    and battery and these devices will drop a small voltage, so the panel
    must produce a voltage high enough to allow for them.
    The Unloaded Voltage can sometimes be determined by counting the
    number of cells on the panel as each cell will produce 0.6v.
    If you cannot see the individual cells, use a multimeter to read the
    voltage under good illumination and watch the voltage rise. You can
    place a 100 ohm resistor across the panel to take readings.

    2. The RATED VOLTAGE is the guaranteed voltage the panel will


    deliver when full current is flowing. This can also be called the
    Nominal Voltage, however don't take anything for certain. Take
    readings of your own. The Rated Voltage (and current ) is produced
    when the panel receives bright sunlight. This may occur for only a
    very small portion of the day.

    You can clearly see the 11 cells of this panel and it produces 6.6v
    when lightly loaded. It will barely produce 6v when loaded and this is
    NOT ENOUGH to charge a 6v battery.

    This panel claims to be 18v, but it clearly only produces 14.4v. This is
    not suitable for charging a 12v battery. When you add a protection
    diode, the output voltage will be 13.8v. A flat battery being charged
    will reach 13.8v very quickly and it will not be charged any further.
    That's why the output voltage of a panel is so important.

    This is a genuine 18v panel: The panel


    needs to
    produce
    17v to 18v
    so it will
    have a
    small
    "overhead"
    voltage
    when the
    battery
    reaches
    14.4v and
    it will still
    be able to
    supply
    energy into
    the battery
    to
    complete
    the
    charging
    process.

    3. The Rated Current is the maximum current the panel will produce when
    receiving full sunlight.
    The current of a panel can be worked out by knowing the wattage and
    dividing by the unloaded voltage.
    A 20 watt 18v panel will deliver about 1 amp.

    CHARGING A BATTERY
    A solar panel can be used to directly charge a battery without any other
    components. Simply connect the panel to the battery and it will charge when
    the panel receives bright sunlight - providing the panel produces a voltage
    least 30% to 50% more than the battery you are charging.
    Here's some amazing facts:
    The voltage of the panel does not matter and the voltage of the battery
    does not matter. You can connect any panel to any battery - providing
    the panel produces a voltage least 30% to 50% more than the battery you
    are charging.
    The output voltage of the panel will simply adapt to the voltage of the
    battery. Even though there is a voltage mismatch, there is NO "lost" or
    wasted energy. An 18v panel "drives into" a 12v battery with the maximum
    current it can produce when the intensity of the sun is a maximum.
    To prevent too-much mismatch, it is suggested you keep the panel voltage
    to within 150% of the battery voltage. (6v battery - 9v max panel, 12v
    battery - 18v max panel, 24v battery - 36v max panel).
    But here's the important point: To prevent overcharging the battery, the
    wattage of the panel is important.
    If the wattage of an 18v panel is 6watts, the current is 6/18 = 0.33 amps =
    330mA.
    To prevent overcharging a battery, the charging current should not be more
    than one-tenth its amp-hr capacity.
    For instance, a 2,000mAhr set of cells should not be charged at a rate
    higher than 200mA for 14 hours. This is called its 14-hour rate.
    But this rating is a CONSTANT RATING and since a solar panel produces
    an output for about 8 hours per day, you can increase the charging current
    to 330mA for 8 hours. This will deliver the energy to fully charge the cells.
    That's why a 6 watt panel can be directly connected to a set of (nearly fully
    discharged) 2,000mAhr cells.
    For a 12v 1.2AHr battery, the charging current will be 100mA for 12 hours or
    330mA for 4 hours and a regulator circuit will be needed to prevent
    overcharging.
    For a 12v 4.5AHr battery, the charging current will be 375mA for 12 hours
    and a larger panel will be needed.

    ADDING A DIODE
    Some solar panels will discharge the battery (a small amount) when it is not
    receiving sunlight and a diode can be added to prevent discharge. This
    diode drops 0.6v when the panel is operating and will reduce the maximum
    current (slightly) when the panel is charging the battery. If the diode is
    Schottky, the voltage-drop is 0.35v.
    Some panels include this diode - called a BYPASS DIODE.

    PREVENTING OVERCHARGING
    There are two ways to prevent overcharging the battery.
    1. Discharge the battery nearly fully each night and use a panel that will only
    deliver 120% of the amp-hour capacity of the battery the following day.
    2. Add a VOLTAGE REGULATOR.

    Here is the simplest and cheapest regulator to charge a 12v battery.


    Full details of how the circuit works and setting up the circuit is HERE.
    The solar panel must be able to produce at least 16v on NO LOAD. (25-28
    cells). The diagram only shows a 24 cell panel - it should be 28 cells.
    The only other thing you have to consider is the wattage of the panel. This
    will depend on how fast you want to charge the battery and/or how much
    energy you remove from the battery each day and/or the amp-Hr capacity of
    the battery.
    For instance, a 12v 1.2A-Hr battery contains 14watt-hours of energy. An
    6watt panel (16v to 18v) will deliver 18watt-hours (in bright sunlight) in 3
    hours. The battery will be fully charged in 3 hours.

    SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER / REGULATOR


    The pot is adjusted so the relay drops-out at 13.7v
    The charger will turn ON when the voltage drops to about 12.5v.
    The 100R Dummy LOAD will absorb 3.25 watts and that is the
    maximum wattage the panel will produce with 100R load.

    CHARGE CURRENT
    Here is a very clever circuit to find the charging current, if you don't have a
    multimeter.

    Connect a 22R 0.25 watt resistor in series with the battery and hold your
    finger on the resistor. The resistor will get very hot if 100mA or more is
    flowing.
    This resistor will indicate ONE WATT of energy is flowing into the battery,
    but we are using a 0.25 watt resistor to measure the heat as this represents
    "LOST ENERGY" and we want to keep the losses to a minimum.
    To get some idea of 0.25watt of heat, place a 560R 0.25watt resistor across
    the terminals of a battery.
    This is 250mW of heat and is your reference.

    A 1.2A-Hr 12 volt battery has 14 watts of energy and if you are charging at
    ONE WATT, it will take about 16 hours to fully charge the battery.

    This circuit can be used when charging a battery from your car, from a solar
    panel, a battery charger or a pulsed solar-charging circuit. It is also a
    SAFETY CIRCUIT as it will limit the current to 100mA. If the current is
    higher than 130mA, the resistor will hot and start to smell.

    Note: when the 22R is removed, the current flowing into the battery WILL
    INCREASE.
    The increase may be only 10% from some chargers, but can be as high as
    100% OR MORE if the battery is connected to the cigarette lighter plug in
    your car.
    xx
    HIGH-LOW VOLTAGE CUT-OUT
    This circuit will turn off the relay when the voltage is above
    or below the "set-points.";
    You need either a variable power supply or a 12v battery
    and an extra 1.5v battery.
    Turn the LOW voltage cutout trim pot to mid way and
    connect the 13.5v supply. Turn the HIGH voltage trim pot to
    the high end and the relay will turn off.
    Now turn the 1.5v battery around the other way and adjust
    the LOW voltage trim pot to the 10.5v supply.

    See resistors from 0.22ohm to 22M in full colour at bottom of this page and another
    resistor table

    TESTING AN unknown TRANSISTOR


    The first thing you may want to do is test an unknown transistor for
    COLLECTOR, BASE AND EMITTER. You also need to know if it is NPN or PNP.
    You need a cheap multimeter called an ANALOGUE METER - a multimeter with
    a scale and pointer (needle).
    It will measure resistance values (normally used to test resistors) - (you can also
    test other components) and Voltage and Current. We use the resistance settings.
    It may have ranges such as "x10" "x100" "x1k" "x10"
    Look at the resistance scale on the meter. It will be the top scale.
    The scale starts at zero on the right and the high values are on the left. This is
    opposite to all the other scales. .
    When the two probes are touched together, the needle swings FULL SCALE and
    reads "ZERO." Adjust the pot on the side of the meter to make the pointer read
    exactly zero.

    How to read: "x10" "x100" "x1k" "x10"


    Up-scale from the zero mark is "1"
    When the needle swings to this position on the "x10" setting, the value is 10
    ohms.
    When the needle swings to "1" on the "x100" setting, the value is 100 ohms.
    When the needle swings to "1" on the "x1k" setting, the value is 1,000 ohms =
    1k.
    When the needle swings to "1" on the "x10k" setting, the value is 10,000 ohms =
    10k.
    Use this to work out all the other values on the scale.
    Resistance values get very close-together (and very inaccurate) at the high end
    of the scale. [This is just a point to note and does not affect testing a transistor.]

    Step 1 - FINDING THE BASE and determining NPN or PNP


    Get an unknown transistor and test it with a multimeter set to "x10"
    Try the 6 combinations and when you have the black probe on a pin and the red
    probe touches the other pins and the meter swings nearly full scale, you have an
    NPN transistor. The black probe is BASE
    If the red probe touches a pin and the black probe produces a swing on the other
    two pins, you have a PNP transistor. The red probe is BASE
    If the needle swings FULL SCALE or if it swings for more than 2 readings,
    the transistor is FAULTY.

    Step 2 - FINDING THE COLLECTOR and EMITTER


    Set the meter to "x10k."
    For an NPN transistor, place the leads on the transistor and when you press hard
    on the two leads shown in the diagram below, the needle will swing almost full
    scale.
    For a PNP transistor, set the meter to "x10k" place the leads on the transistor
    and when you press hard on the two leads shown in the diagram below, the
    needle will swing almost full scale.
    SIMPLEST TRANSISTOR TESTER
    The simplest transistor tester uses a 9v battery, 1k resistor and a LED (any
    colour). Keep trying a transistor in all different combinations until you get one of
    the circuits below. When you push on the two leads, the LED will get brighter.
    The transistor will be NPN or PNP and the leads will be identified:
    The leads of some transistors will need to be bent so the pins are in the same
    positions as shown in the diagrams. This helps you see how the transistor is
    being turned on. This works with NPN, PNP and Darlington transistors.

    TRANSISTOR TESTER - 1
    Transistor Tester - 1 project will test all types of transistors including
    Darlington and power. The circuit is set to test NPN types. To test PNP
    types, connect the 9v battery around the other way at points A and B.
    The transformer in the photo is a 10mH choke with 150 turns of 0.01mm
    wire wound over the 10mH winding. The two original pins (with the red and
    black leads) go to the primary winding and the fine wires are called the
    Sec.
    Connect the transformer either way in the circuit and if it does not work,
    reverse either the primary or secondary (but not both).
    Almost any transformer will work and any speaker will be suitable.
    If you use the speaker transformer described in the Home Made Speaker
    Transformer article, use one-side of the primary.

    TRANSISTOR TESTER-1
    CIRCUIT The 10mH choke with 150
    turns for the secondary

    TRANSISTOR TESTER - 2
    Here is another transistor tester.

    This is basically a high gain amplifier


    with feedback that causes the LED to
    flash at a rate determined by the 10u
    and 330k resistor.
    Remove one of the transistors and insert
    the unknown transistor. When it is NPN
    with the pins as shown in the photo, the
    LED will flash. To turn the unit off,
    remove one of the transistors.
    TRANSISTOR and LED TESTER - 3
    Here is another transistor tester. And it also tests LEDs. See the full project:
    Transistor Tester
    This circuit is basically a Joule Thief design with the coil (actually a transformer)
    increasing the 1.5v supply to a higher voltage to illuminate one or two LEDs in
    series. The "LED Test" terminals uses the full voltage produced by the circuit and
    it will test any colour LED including a white LED. The two "coils" are wound on a
    10mm dia pen with 0.1mm wire (very fine wire). All the components fit on a small
    PC board. A kit of parts for the project is a available from Talking Electronics for
    $4.00 plus $3.00 postage.

    TRANSISTOR and LED TESTER

    TRANSISTOR TESTER - 4 with ELECTROLYTIC TESTER


    This circuit will test transistors and electrolytic capacitors from 1u to 220u
    for leakage, open, shorts and approx capacitance.
    Build the circuit on a strip of PC board as shown in Transistor Tester-2 so
    the transistors can be replaced with a suspect transistor and an electrolytic
    can be fitted in place of the link for the capacitor.
    When an electrolytic is fitted to the circuit, it will produce a wailing and
    eventually stop. If the tone continues, the electrolytic is leaky.
    If the tone is not produced, the electrolytic is open. If the tone does not
    change, the electrolytic is shorted.
    TRANSISTOR TESTER - 4 CIRCUIT

    WORLDS SIMPLEST CIRCUIT


    This is the simplest circuit you can get. Any NPN transistor can
    be used.

    Connect the LED, 220 ohm resistor and transistor as shown in


    the photo.
    Touch the top point with two fingers of one hand and the lower
    point with
    fingers of the other hand and squeeze.
    The LED will turn on brighter when you squeeze harder.

    Your body has resistance and when a voltage is present, current


    will flow though your body (fingers). The transistor is amplifying
    the current through your fingers about 200 times and this is
    enough to illuminate the LED.
    SECOND SIMPLEST CIRCUIT

    This the second simplest circuit in the


    world. A second transistor has been
    added in place of your fingers. This
    transistor has a gain of about 200 and
    when you touch the points shown on the
    diagram, the LED will illuminate with the
    slightest touch. The transistor has
    amplified the current (through your
    fingers) about 200 times.

    8 MILLION GAIN!
    This circuit is so sensitive it will detect "mains hum."
    Simply move it across any wall and it will detect
    where the mains cable is located. It has a gain of
    about 200 x 200 x 200 = 8,000,000 and will also
    detect static electricity and the presence of your hand
    without any direct contact. You will be amazed what it
    detects! There is static electricity EVERYWHERE!
    The input of this circuit is classified as very high
    impedance.

    Here is a photo of the circuit, produced by a


    constructor, where he claimed he detected "ghosts."

    http://letsmakerobots.com/node/12034
    http://letsmakerobots.com/node/18933
    MAINS HUM DETECTOR
    This simple circuit will detect if a cable is carrying the "Mains." The piezo
    diaphragm is will let you hear the hum: Do not touch the copper wire. Only
    place the detector near the plastic covering. It will work at 2cm from the
    cable.

    FINDING THE NORTH POLE


    The diagrams show that a North Pole will
    be produced when the positive of a
    battery is connected to wire wound in the
    direction shown. This is Flemmings Right
    Hand Rule and applies to motors,
    solenoids and coils and anything wound
    like the turns in the diagram.
    BOXES FOR PROJECTS
    One of the most difficult things to find is
    a box for a project. Look in your local
    "junk" shop, $2.00 shop, fishing shop,
    and toy shop. And in the medical
    section, for handy boxes. It's surprising
    where you will find an ideal box.
    The photo shows a suitable box for a
    Logic Probe or other design. It is a
    toothbrush box. The egg shaped box
    holds "Tic Tac" mouth sweeteners and
    the two worm reduction twists a
    "Chuppa Chub." It cost less than $4.00
    and the equivalent reduction in a hobby
    shop costs up to $16.00!

    A two-worm reduction gearbox producing a reduction of


    12:1 and 12:1 = 144:1 The gears are in the correct
    positions to produce the reduction.

    The speaker transformer is made


    by winding 50 turns of 0.25mm wire on a
    small length of 10mm dia ferrite rod.
    The size and length of the rod does not
    matter - it is just the number of turns that
    makes the transformer work. This is
    called the secondary winding.
    The primary winding is made by winding
    300 turns of 0.1mm wire (this is very fine
    wire) over the secondary and ending with
    a loop of wire we call the centre tap.
    Wind another 300 turns and this
    completes the transformer.
    It does not matter which end of the
    secondary is connected to the top of the
    speaker.
    It does not matter which end of the
    primary is connected to the collector of
    the transistor in the circuits in this book.

    SUPER EAR
    This circuit is a very
    sensitive 3-transistor
    amplifier using a
    speaker transformer.
    This can be wound
    on a short length of
    ferrite rod as show
    above or 150 turns on
    a 10mH choke. The
    biasing of the middle
    transistor is set for 3v
    supply. The second
    and third transistors
    are not turned on
    during idle conditions
    and the quiescent current is just 5mA.
    The project is ideal for listening to conversations
    or TV etc in another room with long leads
    connecting the microphone to the amplifier.

    LED FLASHER WITH ONE TRANSISTOR!


    This is a novel flasher circuit using a single driver transistor
    that takes its flash-rate
    from a flashing LED. The
    flasher in the photo is
    3mm. An ordinary LED
    will not work.
    The flash rate cannot be
    altered by the brightness
    of the high-bright white
    LED can be adjusted by
    altering the 1k resistor
    The circuit uses a flashing across the 100u
    LED to flash a super-bright electrolytic to 4k7 or 10k.
    20,000mcd white LED The 1k resistor discharges the 100u so that when the
    transistor turns on, the charging current into the 100u
    illuminates the white LED.
    If a 10k discharge resistor is used, the 100u is not fully
    discharged and the LED does not flash as bright.
    All the parts in the photo are in the same places as in the
    circuit diagram to make it easy to see how the parts are
    connected.

    Arc Welder Simulator for Model Railways


    This very simple circuit replaces a very complex circuit (one of our previous projects)
    because all the random flashing is done via a microscopic microcontroller inside the
    flickering LED.
    These LEDs can be purchased on eBay and you can contact Colin Mitchell for the link.
    The super-bright white LED flashes much more than the flickering LED because the
    transistor and the 1u electrolytic picks up the pulses (the waveform) across the 470R
    resistor and only the main changes in the signal are transferred to the white LED. The 10k
    is very important as it discharges the 1u to help produce the OFF portion of the waveform.

    LED FLASHER
    These two circuits will flash a LED very bright and consume less than 2mA average current.
    Both circuits can use a transistor with a larger current capability for the second transistor.
    The first circuit needs a PNP transistor and the second circuit needs an NPN transistor if a
    number of LEDs need to be driven. The second circuit is the basis for a simple motor speed
    control.
    See the note on how the 330k works, in Flashing Two LEDs below.
    FLASHING TWO LEDS
    These two circuits will flash two LEDs very bright and consume less than 2mA average
    current. They require 6v supply. The 330k may need to be 470k to produce flashing on 6v as
    330k turns on the first transistor too much and the 10u does not turn the first transistor off a
    small amount when it becomes fully charged and thus cycling is not produced.

    1.5v LED
    FLASHER
    This will flash a
    LED, using a
    single 1.5v cell.
    It may even flash
    a white LED
    even though this
    type of LED
    needs about
    3.2v to 3.6v for
    operation.
    The circuit takes
    about 2mA but
    produces a very
    Here is my circuit copied by Eleccircuit.com: bright flash.

    My circuit has
    been copied by
    Eleccircuit.com
    but my layout
    makes it much
    easier to see
    how the circuit
    works.
    LED on 1.5v
    SUPPLY
    A red LED requires
    about 1.7v before it
    will start to illuminate
    - below this voltage -
    NOTHING! This
    circuit takes about
    12mA to illuminate a
    red LED using a
    single cell, but the
    interesting feature is
    the way the LED is
    illuminated.
    The 1u electrolytic
    can be considered to
    be a 1v cell.
    (If you want to be
    technical: it charges
    to about 1.5v - 0.2v
    loss due to collector-
    emitter = 1.3v and a
    lost of about 0.2v via
    collector-emitter in
    diagram B.)
    It is firstly charged by the 100R resistor and the 3rd transistor (when it is fully turned
    ON via the 1k base resistor). This is shown in diagram "A." During this time the
    second transistor is not turned on and that's why we have omitted it from the
    diagram. When the second transistor is turned ON, the 1v cell is pulled to the 0v rail
    and the negative of the cell is actually 1v below the 0v rail as shown in diagram "B."
    The LED sees 1.5v from the battery and about 1v from the electrolytic and this is
    sufficient to illuminate it. Follow the two voltages to see how they add to 2.5v.
    3v WHITE LED
    FLASHER
    This will flash a white LED,
    on 3v supply and produce a
    very bright flash. The
    circuit produces a voltage
    higher than 5v if the LED is
    not in circuit but the LED
    limits the voltage to its
    characteristic voltage of 3.2v
    to 3.6v. The circuit takes
    about 2mA an is actually a
    voltage-doubler (voltage
    incrementer) arrangement.
    Note the 10k charges the
    100u. It does not illuminate
    the LED because the 100u is
    charging and the voltage
    across it is always less than
    3v. When the two transistors
    conduct, the collector of the
    BC557 rises to rail voltage
    and pulls the 100u HIGH.
    The negative of the 100u
    effectively sits just below the
    positive rail and the positive
    of the electro is about 2v
    higher than this. All the
    energy in the electro is
    pumped into the LED to
    produce a very bright flash.

    BRIGHT FLASH FROM FLAT BATTERY


    This circuit will flash a white LED, on a supply from 2v to 6v
    and produce a very bright flash. The circuit takes about 2mA
    and old cells can be used. The two 100u electros in parallel
    produce a better flash when the supply is 6v.
    BIKE FLASHER
    This circuit will flash a white LED (or 2,3 4 LEDs in
    parallel) at 2.7Hz, suitable for the rear light on a
    bike.

    BIKE FLASHER - Amazing!


    This bike flasher uses a single transistor to flash two white LEDs from a single cell. And
    it has no core for the transformer - just AIR!
    All Joule Thief circuits you have seen, use a ferrite rod or toroid (doughnut) core and
    the turns are wound on the ferrite material. But this circuit proves the collapsing
    magnetic flux produces an increased voltage, even when the core is AIR. The fact is
    this: When a magnetic filed collapses quickly, it produces a higher voltage in the
    opposite direction and in this case the magnetic field surrounding the coil is sufficient to
    produce the energy we need.
    Wind 30 turns on 10mm (1/2" dia) pen or screwdriver and then another 30 turns on top.
    Build the first circuit and connect the wires. You can use 1 or two LEDs. If the circuit
    does not work, swap the wires going to the base.
    Now add the 10u electrolytic and 100k resistor (remove the 1k5). The circuit will now
    flash. You must use 2 LEDs for the flashing circuit.
    BIKE FLASHER - AMAZING!

    THE IMPROVED BIKE FLASHER CIRCUIT

    The original 30 turns + 30 turns coil is shown on the right. The circuit took 20mA to
    illuminate two LEDs.
    The secret to getting the maximum energy from the coil (to flash the LEDs) is the
    maximum amount of air in the centre of the coil. Air cannot transfer a high magnetic flux
    (density) so we provide a large area (volume) of low flux (density) to provide the energy.
    The larger (20mm) coil reduced the current from 20mA to 11mA for the same brightness.
    This could be improved further but the coil gets too big. The two 30-turn windings must
    be kept together because the flux from the main winding must cut the feedback winding
    to turn ON the transistor HARD.
    When the transistor starts to turn on via the 100k, it creates magnetic flux in the main
    winding that cuts the feedback winding and a positive voltage comes out the end
    connected to the base and a negative voltage comes out the end connected to the 100k
    and 10u. This turns the transistor ON more and it continues to turn ON until fully turned
    ON. At this point the magnetic flux is not expanding and the voltage does not appear in
    the feedback winding.
    During this time the 10u has charged and the voltage on the negative lead has dropped
    to a lower voltage than before. This effectively turns OFF the transistor and the current
    in the main winding ceases abruptly. The magnetic flux collapses and produces a
    voltage in the opposite direction that is higher than the supply and this is why the two
    LEDs illuminate. This also puts a voltage through the feedback winding that keeps the
    transistor OFF. When the magnetic flux has collapsed, the voltage on the negative lead
    of the 10u is so low that the transistor does not turn on. The 100k discharges the 10u
    and the voltage on the base rises to start the next cycle.
    You can see the 100k and 1k5 resistors and all the other parts in a "birds nest" (in the
    photo above), to allow easy experimenting.
    This is the first circuit you should build to flash a white LED from a single cell.
    It covers many features and shows how the efficiency of a LED increases when it is
    pulsed very briefly with a high current.
    The two coils form a TRANSFORMER and show how a collapsing magnetic field
    produces a high voltage (we use 6v of this high voltage).
    The 10u and 100k form a delay circuit to produce the flashing effect.
    You can now go to all the other Joule Thief circuits and see how they "missed the boat"
    by not experimenting fully to simply their circuits. That's why a "birds nest" arrangement
    is essential to encourage experimenting.
    Note: Changing the turns to 40t for the main winding and 20t for the feedback (keeping
    the turns tightly wound together by winding wire around them) reduced the current to 8-
    9mA.

    The circuit can be made small by using a ferrite slug 2.6mm diam x 7.6mm long.
    The inductance of this transformer is quite critical and the voltage across the LEDs must
    be over 6v for the circuit to work. It will not work with one or two LEDs. It needs THREE
    LEDs !!!
    If the author not not keep experimenting, he would have missed this amazing feature !!
    DUAL 3v WHITE LED
    FLASHER
    This circuit alternately
    flashes two white LEDs, on a
    3v supply and produces a
    very bright flash. The
    circuit produces a voltage
    higher than 5v if the LED is
    not in circuit but the LED
    limits the voltage to its
    characteristic voltage of 3.2v
    to 3.6v. The circuit takes
    about 2mA and is actually a
    voltage-doubler (voltage
    incrementer) arrangement.
    The 1k charges the 100u and
    the diode drops 0.6v to
    prevent the LED from
    starting to illuminate on 3v.
    When a transistor conducts,
    the collector pulls the 100u
    down towards the 0v rail and
    the negative of the electro is
    actually about 2v below the
    0v rail. The LED sees 3v +
    2v and illuminates very
    brightly when the voltage
    reaches about 3.4v. All the
    energy in the electro is
    pumped into the LED to
    produce a very bright flash.

    DUAL 1v5 WHITE LED


    FLASHER
    This circuit alternately flashes
    two white LEDs, on a 1.5v
    supply and produces a very
    bright flash. The circuit
    produces a voltage of about
    25v when the LEDs are not
    connected, but the LEDs
    reduce this as they have a
    characteristic voltage-drop
    across them when they are
    illuminated. Do not use a
    supply voltage higher than
    1.5v. The circuit takes about
    10mA.
    The transformer consists of 30
    turns of very fine wire on a
    1.6mm slug 6mm long, but any
    ferrite bead or slug can be
    used. The number of turns is
    not critical.
    The 1n is important and using
    any other value or connecting it
    to the positive line will increase
    the supply current.
    Using LEDs other than white
    will alter the flash-rate
    considerably and both LEDs
    must be the same colour.
    LED FLASHES 3 TIMES WHEN POWER IS APPLIED
    This circuits uses a FLASHING LED - not an ordinary LED.
    When the circuit turns ON, the electrolytic is uncharged and the
    charging-current turns on the transistor. This makes the LED flash.
    The value of the 47u and 100k will depend on how many times you
    want the LED to flash.
    The 1N4148 diode discharges the electrolytic when the power is
    turned off so the circuit will start immediately the power is applied.
    This diode is not needed if the circuit is turned off for a long time.

    LED FLASHES FOR 5 SECONDS AFTER


    BUTTON IS RELEASED
    This circuits uses a FLASHING LED - not an ordinary
    LED.
    When the switch is pressed, the LEDs flash for about
    5 seconds when the switch is released. and turn off.
    The circuit takes NO CURRENT after the LEDs have
    turned OFF.
    You can experiment with the value of the electrolytics,
    the 4k7 and 10k to get the result you want. Use red or
    green LEDs. Only 2 white LEDs can used in each
    string for 9v supply

    DANCING FLOWER
    This circuit was taken from a
    dancing flower.
    A motor at the base of the
    flower had a shaft up the stem
    and when the microphone
    detected music, the bent shaft
    made the flower wiggle and
    move.
    The circuit will respond to a
    whistle, music or noise.
    DANCING FLOWER with SPEED CONTROL
    The Dancing Flower circuit can be combined with the Motor Speed Control circuit to produce
    a requirement from one of the readers.

    WHITE LINE
    FOLLOWER
    This circuit can be used for
    a toy car to follow a white
    line. The motor is either a
    3v type with gearing to
    steer the car or a rotary
    actuator or a servo motor.
    When equal light is
    detected by the photo
    resistors the voltage on the
    base of the first transistor
    will be mid rail and the
    circuit is adjusted via the
    2k2 pot so the motor does
    not receive any voltage.
    When one of the LDR's
    receives more (or less)
    light, the motor is activated.
    And the same thing
    happens when the other
    LDR receives less or more
    light.
    LED DETECTS LIGHT
    All LEDs give off light of a particular colour but
    some LEDs are also able to detect light. Obviously
    they are not as good as a device that has been
    specially made to detect light; such as solar cell,
    photocell, photo resistor, light dependent resistor,
    photo transistor, photo diode and other photo
    sensitive devices.
    A green LED will detect light and a high-bright red
    LED will respond about 100 times better than a
    green LED, but the LED in this position in the
    circuit is classified as very high impedance and it
    requires a considerable amount of amplification to
    turn the detection into a worthwhile current-source.
    All other LEDs respond very poorly and are not
    worth trying.
    The accompanying circuit amplifies the output
    of the LED and enables it to be used for a number
    of applications.
    The LED only responds when the light enters the
    end of the LED and this makes it ideal for solar
    trackers and any time there is a large difference
    between the dark and light conditions. It will not
    detect the light in a room unless the lamp is very
    close.

    12v RELAY ON 6V SUPPLY


    This circuit allows a 12v relay to operate on a
    6v or 9v supply. Most 12v relays need about
    12v to "pull-in" but will "hold" on about 6v. The
    220u charges via the 2k2 and bottom diode.
    When an input above 1.5v is applied to the
    input of the circuit, both transistors are turned
    ON and the 5v across the electrolytic causes
    the negative end of the electro to go below the
    0v rail by about 4.5v and this puts about 10v
    across the relay.

    Alternatively you can rewind a 12v relay by


    removing about half the turns.
    Join up what is left to the terminals. Replace
    the turns you took off, by connecting them in
    parallel with the original half, making sure the
    turns go the same way around
    MAKE TIME FLY!
    Connect this circuit to an old electronic clock mechanism
    and speed up the motor 100 times!
    The "motor" is a simple "stepper-motor" that performs a
    half-rotation each time the electromagnet is energised. It
    normally takes 2 seconds for one revolution. But our circuit
    is connected directly to the winding and the frequency can
    be adjusted via the pot.
    Take the mechanism apart, remove the 32kHz crystal and
    cut one track to the electromagnet. Connect the circuit
    below via wires and re-assemble the clock.
    As you adjust the pot, the "seconds hand" will move
    clockwise or anticlockwise and you can watch the hours
    "fly by" or make "time go backwards."
    The multivibrator section needs strong buffering to drive
    the 2,800 ohm inductive winding of the motor and that's
    why push-pull outputs have been used. The flip-flop circuit
    cannot drive the highly inductive load directly (it upsets the
    waveform enormously).
    From a 6v supply, the motor only gets about 4v due to the The crystal removed and a "cut track" to
    voltage drops across the transistors. Consumption is about the coil. The 6 gears must be re-fitted for
    5mA. the hands to work.

    HOW THE MOTOR WORKS


    The rotor is a magnet with the north pole shown with the
    red mark and the south pole opposite.
    The electromagnet actually produces poles. A strong North
    near the end of the electromagnet, and a weak North at the
    bottom. A strong South at the top left and weak South at
    bottom left. The rotor rests with its poles being attracted to
    the 4 pole-pieces equally.

    Voltage must be applied to the


    electromagnet around the
    correct way so that repulsion A close-up of the clock motor
    occurs. Since the rotor is sitting
    equally between the North
    poles, for example, it will see a Another clock motor is shown below. Note
    strong pushing force from the the pole faces spiral closer to the rotor to
    pole near the electromagnet and make it revolve in one direction. What a
    this is how the motor direction is clever design!!
    determined. A reversal of
    voltage will revolve the rotor in
    the same direction as before.
    The design of the motor is much
    more complex than you think!!
    CONSTANT CURRENT SOURCE
    This circuit provides a constant current to the LED. The LED
    can be replaced by any other component and the current
    through it will depend on the value of R2. Suppose R2 is
    560R. When 1mA flows through R2, 0.56v will develop
    across this resistor and begin to turn on the BC547. This will
    rob the base of BD 679 with turn-on voltage and the transistor
    turns off slightly. If the supply voltage increases, this will try to
    increase the current through the circuit. If the current tries to
    increase, the voltage across R2 increases and the BD 679
    turns off more and the additional voltage appears across the
    BD 679.
    If R2 is 56R, the current through the circuit will be 10mA. If R2
    is 5R6, the current through the circuit will be 100mA -
    although you cannot pass 100mA through a LED without
    damaging it.

    LED driver for 12v CAR


    Here is a simple circuit that will drive any
    number of LEDs in a single string with a
    constant 25mA without having to work out
    the value of the dropper resistor. You can
    use up to 6 red LED or up to 3 white LEDs
    with the same circuit.
    The supply can be 12v to 16v without the
    brightness altering.
    LED driver IR LEDs in a 12v CAR
    This circuit will drive up to 7 IR LEDs at a
    constant current of 70mA from a 12v supply.
    These LEDs will illuminate ultra-violet
    sensitive paint to produce a white glow.

    CONSTANT CURRENT SOURCE


    circuits 2 & 3
    By rearranging the components in the circuit
    above, it can be designed to turn ON or OFF via
    an input.
    The current through the LED (or LEDs) is
    determined by the value of R.
    5mA R = 120R or 150R
    10mA R = 68R
    15mA R = 47R
    20mA R = 33R
    25mA R = 22R or 33R
    30mA R = 22R
    CONSTANT CURRENT
    SOURCE circuit 4
    The output will be limited to 100mA by
    using a red LED and 10R for Re.
    The output will be limited to 500mA by
    using a red LED and 2R2 for Re.
    BC328 - 800mA max
    Use a BD140 in the first circuit and the
    output will be limited to 1A by using a
    red LED and 1R0 for Re.
    5watt LEDs (sometimes called "White
    Big Chip LEDs") have a characteristic
    voltage across them of 3.2v and draw
    1.75amp.
    1, 2 or 3 can be connected in series to
    the second circuit using a heatsinked
    BD140 transistor.

    ON - OFF VIA MOMENTARY PUSH-


    BUTTONS
    - see Also Push-ON Push-OFF (in 101-200
    Circuits)
    This circuit will supply current to the load RL. The
    maximum current will depend on the second
    transistor. The circuit is turned on via the "ON"
    push button and this action puts a current through
    the load and thus a voltage develops across the
    load. This voltage is passed to the PNP transistor
    and it turns ON. The collector of the PNP keeps the
    power transistor ON.
    To turn the circuit OFF, the "OFF" button is pressed
    momentarily. The 1k between base and emitter of
    the power transistor prevents the base floating or
    receiving any slight current from the PNP transistor
    that would keep the circuit latched ON.
    The circuit was originally designed by a Professor
    of Engineering at Penn State University. It had 4
    mistakes. So much for testing a circuit!!!! It has
    been corrected in the circuit on the left.
    SIREN
    This circuit produces a wailing or siren
    sound that gradually increases and
    decreases in frequency as the 100u
    charges and discharges when the
    push-button is pressed and released.
    In other words, the circuit is not
    automatic. You need to press the
    button and release it to produce the
    up/down sound.

    TICKING BOMB
    This circuit produces a sound similar to a
    loud clicking clock. The frequency of the tick
    is adjusted by the 220k pot.
    The circuit starts by charging the 2u2 and
    when 0.65v is on the base of the NPN
    transistor, it starts to turn on. This turns on
    the BC 557 and the voltage on the collector
    rises. This pushes the small charge on the
    2u2 into the base of the BC547 to turn it on
    more.
    This continues when the negative end of the
    2u2 is above 0.65v and now the electro
    starts to charge in the opposite direction until
    both transistors are fully turned on. The BC
    547 receives less current into the base and it
    starts to turn off. Both transistors turn off
    very quickly and the cycle starts again.
    LIE DETECTOR-1
    This circuit detects the resistance between your
    fingers to produce an oscillation. The detection-
    points will detect resistances as high as 300k and
    as the resistance decreases, the frequency
    increases.
    Separate the two touch pads and attach them to
    the back of each hand. As the subject feels
    nervous, he will sweat and change the frequency
    of the circuit.
    The photos show the circuit built on PC boards
    with separate touch pads.

    LIE DETECTOR-2
    This circuit detects the resistance
    between your fingers to turn on
    the FALSE LED. The circuit sits
    with the TRUE LED illuminated.
    The 47k pot is adjusted to allow
    the LEDs to change state when
    touching the probes.
    LIE DETECTOR-3
    This circuit detects the
    resistance between your
    fingers to turn the 4 LEDs. As
    you press harder, more LEDs
    are illuminated.

    LIE DETECTOR-4
    This circuit detects the resistance between
    your fingers to turn the 3LEDs. As you press
    harder, more LEDs are illuminated. The
    circuit is simpler than Lie Detector-3.

    TOUCH SWITCH - globe


    This circuit detects the skin resistance of a finger to deliver a very small current to the super-
    alpha pair of transistors to turn the circuit ON. The output of the "super transistor" turns on the
    BC 557 transistor. The voltage on the top of the globe is passed to the front of the circuit via
    the 4M7 to take the place of your finger and the circuit remains ON.
    To turn the circuit OFF, a finger on the OFF pads will activate the first transistor and this will
    rob the "super transistor" of voltage and the circuit will turn OFF.
    This project is available as a kit of parts from Talking Electronics for $6.00 plus $4.00
    postage.

    TOUCH SWITCH - LED

    This circuit turns a LED on and off.

    TOUCH SWITCH - LED - modification by Mike Grozak


    To make the circuit come ON with the LED not illuminated, you need to put a "set"
    on the circuit.
    A "set" is a particular condition that may be ON or OFF but the fact is the circuit
    ALWAYS starts in a particular way.

    The 10n prevents a voltage appearing on the base of the BC557 transistor when the
    circuit is turned ON and this means the transistor is OFF. The feedback line will not
    have any voltage on it and thus the second and third transistor will not be turned ON.
    Thus the circuit will come ON with the LED not illuminated.
    TOUCH SWITCH-2
    This circuit detects the skin resistance of a
    finger to turn the circuit ON for about 1 second.
    The output can be taken to a counting circuit.
    The circuit consumes no current when in
    quiescent mode:

    TOUCH SWITCH-3
    This circuit stays ON.

    CODE PAD
    Here is a simple CODE PAD to add to your alarm. It consists of 10 buttons and they must be
    pressed in a certain order for the output to change. You can see from the circuit how the
    buttons are pressed and two buttons must be pressed at the same time, the two other
    buttons at the same time, to gain entry. The operation of this type of pad is very unusual as
    anyone pressing the buttons by incrementing numbers will not be able to produce the code.
    SIGNAL INJECTOR
    This circuit is rich in harmonics and is ideal for testing
    amplifier circuits. To find a fault in an amplifier, connect
    the earth clip to the 0v rail and move through each
    stage, starting at the speaker. An increase in volume
    should be heard at each preceding stage. This Injector
    will also go through the IF stages of radios and FM
    sound sections in TV's.

    LIGHT ALARM - 1
    This circuit operates when the Light
    Dependent Resistor receives light.
    When no light falls on the LDR, its resistance
    is high and the transistor driving the speaker is
    not turned on.
    When light falls on the LDR its resistance
    decreases and the collector of the second
    transistor falls. This turns off the first transistor
    slightly via the second 100n and the first 100n
    puts an additional spike into the base of the
    second transistor. This continues until the
    second transistor is turned on as hard as it can
    go. The first 100n is now nearly charged and it
    cannot keep the second transistor turned on.
    The second transistor starts to turn off and
    both transistors swap conditions to produce
    the second half of the cycle.
    LIGHT ALARM - 2
    This circuit is similar to Light Alarm -1
    but produces a louder output due to the
    speaker being connected directly to the
    circuit.
    The circuit is basically a high-gain
    amplifier that is turned on initially by the
    LDR and then the 10n keeps the circuit
    turning on until it can turn on no more.
    The circuit then starts to turn off and
    eventually turns off completely. The
    current through the LDR starts the
    cycle again.

    LIGHT ALARM - 3 (MOVEMENT DETECTOR)


    This circuit is very sensitive and can be placed in a room to detect the movement of a
    person up to 2 metres from the unit.
    The circuit is basically a high-gain amplifier (made up of the first three transistors) that is
    turned on by the LDR or photo Darlington transistor. The third transistor charges the
    100u via a diode and this delivers turn-on voltage for the oscillator. The LDR has equal
    sensitivity to the photo transistor in this circuit.

    SOUND TRIGGERED LED


    This circuit turns on a LED when the
    microphone detects a loud sound.
    The "charge-pump" section consists of
    the 100n, 10k, signal diode and 10u
    electrolytic. A signal on the collector of
    the first transistor is passed to the 10u
    via the diode and this turns on the
    second transistor, to illuminate the LED.
    SIMPLE LOGIC PROBE
    This circuit consumes no current when
    the probe is not touching any circuitry.
    The reason is the voltage across the
    green LED, the base-emitter junction of
    the BC557, plus the voltage across the
    red LED and base-emitter junction of the
    BC547 is approx: 2.1v + 0.6v + 1.7v +
    0.6v = 5v and this is greater than the
    supply voltage.
    When the circuit detects a LOW, the
    BC557 is turned on and the green LED
    illuminates. When a HIGH (above 2.3v) is
    detected, the red LED is illuminated.

    SIMPLE LOGIC
    PROBE with
    PULSE
    This circuit consumes
    no current when the
    probe is not touching
    any circuitry and the
    input has a surprisingly
    HIGH IMPEDANCE.
    Keep the probe away
    from stray signals
    (especially mains hum)
    as the orange LED will
    illuminate.
    When the red LED
    illuminates, the HIGH
    is passed through the
    1N4148 diode and the
    third transistor is an
    emitter-follower. It
    increases the current-
    capability of the pulse
    and charges a 2u2.
    The 4th transistor
    increases the capacity
    of the 2u2 by about
    100 times to make it a
    220u electro to keep
    the orange LED
    illuminated for a few
    milliseconds after the
    pulse has ceased.
    The voltage-drop
    across the diode and
    base-emitter junctions
    of the transistors
    reduces the voltage on
    the emitter of the 4th
    transistor to less than
    1v and an extra 1.5v is
    needed from the
    supply to illuminate the
    orange LED.

    LOGIC PROBE with PULSE


    This circuit has the advantage of providing a PULSE LED to show when a logic
    level is HIGH and pulsing at the same time. It can be built for less than $5.00
    on a piece of matrix board or on a small strip of copper clad board if you are
    using surface mount components. The probe will detect a HIGH at 3v and thus
    the project can be used for 3v, 5v and CMOS circuits.

    CONTINUITY TESTER
    This circuit has the advantage of providing a beep when a short-circuit is
    detected but does not detect the small voltage drop across a diode. This is
    ideal when testing logic circuits as it is quick and you can listen for the beep
    while concentrating on the probe. Using a multimeter is much slower.
    TRAIN THROTTLE
    This circuit is for model train
    enthusiasts. By adding this
    circuit to your speed controller
    box, you will be able to
    simulate a train starting slowly
    from rest.
    Remove the wire-wound
    rheostat and replace it with a
    1k pot. This controls the base
    of the BC547 and the 2N3055
    output is controlled by the
    BC547. The diodes protect
    the transistors from reverse
    polarity from the input and
    spikes from the rails.

    GUITAR FUZZ
    The output of a guitar is
    connected to the input of the
    Fuzz circuit. The output of
    this circuit is connected to
    the input of your amplifier.
    With the guitar at full
    volume, this circuit is
    overdriven and distorts. The
    distorted signal is then
    clipped by the diodes and
    your power amp amplifies
    the Fuzz effect.

    STRENGTH
    TESTER
    This is a simple
    "staircase" circuit in which
    the LEDs come on as the
    resistance between the
    probes decreases.
    When the voltage on the
    base of the first transistor
    sees 0.6v + 0.6v + 0.6v =
    1.8v, LED1 comes on.
    LEDs 1&2 will come on
    when the voltage rises a
    further 0.6v. The amount
    of pressure needed on
    the probes to produce a
    result, depends on the
    setting of the 200k pot.
    FOG HORN
    When the push-button is
    pressed, the 100u will take
    time to charge and this will
    provide the rising pitch and
    volume. When the push-
    button is released, the
    level and pitch will die
    away. This is the
    characteristic sound of a
    ship's fog horn.

    HEADS OR TAILS
    When the push-button is pressed, the
    circuit will oscillate at a high rate and
    both LEDs will illuminate. When the
    push button is released, one of the
    LEDs will remain illuminated. The 50k
    is designed to equalise the slightly
    different values on each half of the
    circuit and prevent a "bias."

    ROBOT MAN
    This multivibrator circuit will
    flash the Robot Man's eyes
    as shown in the photo. The
    kit of components is
    available from Talking
    Electronics for $8.50 plus
    postage. Send an email to
    find out the cost of postage:
    [email protected]
    DYNAMIC MICROPHONE
    AMPLIFIER
    This circuit takes the place of an
    electret microphone. It turns an ordinary
    mini speaker into a very sensitive
    microphone.
    Any NPN transistors such as BC 547
    can be used. The circuit will work from
    3v to 9v. It is a common-base amplifier
    and accepts the low impedance of the
    speaker to produce a gain of more than
    100.

    DYNAMIC MICROPHONE
    AMPLIFIER-2
    This circuit is a BOOTSTRAP
    design. It turns an ordinary mini
    speaker into a very sensitive
    microphone.
    Any NPN transistors such as BC
    547 can be used. The circuit will
    work from 6v to 12v. It has been
    taken from our Stereo VU Meter
    project.

    SCR WITH TRANSISTORS


    The SCR in circuit A produces a 'LATCH.' When the button is pressed, the LED
    remains illuminated.
    The SCR can be replaced with two transistors as shown in circuit B.
    To turn off circuit A, the current through the SCR is reduced to zero by the action
    of the OFF button. In circuit B the OFF button removes the voltage on the base of
    the BC547. The OFF button could be placed across the two transistors and the
    circuit will turn off.

    HEE HAW SIREN


    The circuit consists of two multivibrators. The first multi-vibrator operates at a low
    frequency and this provides the speed of the change from Hee to Haw. It modifies
    the voltage to the tone multivibrator, by firstly allowing full voltage to appear at the
    bottom of the 220R and then a slightly lower voltage when the LED is illuminated.

    MICROPHONE
    PRE-AMPLIFIER
    This circuit consists of
    two directly coupled
    transistors operating as
    common-emitter
    amplifiers.
    The ratio of the 10k
    resistor to the 100R
    sets the gain of the
    circuit at 100.

    HARTLEY OSCILLATOR
    The Hartley Oscillator is characterised
    by an LC circuit in its collector. The
    base of the transistor is held steady
    and a small amount of signal is taken
    from a tapping on the inductor and fed
    to the emitter to keep the transistor in
    oscillation.
    The transformer can be any speaker
    transformer with centre-tapped
    primary.
    The frequency is adjusted by changing
    the 470p.
    COLPITTS OSCILLATOR
    The Colpitts Oscillator is
    characterised by tapping the mid-
    point of the capacitive side of the
    oscillator section. The inductor
    can be the primary side of a
    speaker transformer. The
    feedback comes via the inductor.

    PHASESHIFT OSCILLATOR
    The Phaseshift Oscillator is characterised by 3
    high-pass filters, creating a 180° phase shift.
    The output is a sinewave. Take care not to load
    the output - this will prevent reliable start-up
    and may stop the circuit from oscillating.
    Reduced the 3k3 load resistor if the load
    prevents the circuit oscillating. See Phase Shift
    Oscillator in second section of 200 Transistor
    Circuits for a better design.

    DOOR-KNOB
    ALARM
    This circuit can be used
    to detect when someone
    touches the handle of a
    door. A loop of bare wire
    is connected to the point
    "touch plate" and the
    project is hung on the
    door-knob. Anyone
    touching the metal door-
    knob will kill the pulses
    going to the second
    transistor and it will turn
    off. This will activate the
    "high-gain"
    amplifier/oscillator.
    The circuit will also work
    as a "Touch Plate" as it
    does not rely on mains
    hum, as many other
    circuits do.

    SIMPLE MOTOR SPEED CONTROL


    This circuit is better than reducing the RPM of a
    motor via a resistor. Firstly it is more efficient. And
    secondly it gives the motor a set of pulses and
    this allows it to start at low RPM. It's a simple
    Pulse-Width circuit or Pulse-Circuit.

    MOTOR SPEED
    CONTROLLER
    Most simple motor speed
    controllers simply reduce the
    voltage to a motor by
    introducing a series
    resistance. This reduces the
    motor's torque and if the
    motor is stopped, it will not
    start again.
    This circuit detects the pulses
    of noise produced by the
    motor to turn the circuit off
    slightly. If the motor becomes
    loaded, the amplitude of the
    pulses decreases and the
    circuit turns on more to deliver
    a higher current.

    MOTOR SPEED CONTROL - Circuit 3


    ELECTRONIC
    DRUMS
    The circuit consists of
    two "twin-T" oscillators
    set to a point below
    oscillation. Touching a
    Touch Pad will set the
    circuit into oscillation.
    Different effects are
    produced by touching
    the pads in different
    ways and a whole
    range of effects are
    available.
    The two 25k pots are
    adjusted to a point just
    before oscillation.
    A "drum roll" can be
    produced by shifting a
    finger rapidly across
    adjacent ground and
    drum pads.
    LIGHT EXTENDER
    This circuit is a Courtesy Light Extender for
    cars. It extends the "ON" time when a door is
    closed in a car, so the passenger can see
    where he/she is sitting.
    When the door switch is opened, the light
    normally goes off immediately, but the circuit
    takes over and allows current to flow because
    the 22u is not charged and the first BC 547
    transistor is not turned ON. This turns on the
    second BC547 via the 100k and the BD679 is
    also turned on to illuminate the interior light.
    The 22u gradually charges via the 1M and the
    first BC547 turns on, robbing the second
    BC547 of "turn-on" voltage and it starts to turn
    off the BD679.
    The 1N4148 discharges the 22u when the
    door is opened. A 2k2 may needed to be
    added to completely turn off the globe.

    LIGHT EXTENDER MkII


    This circuit is a simpler Courtesy Light
    Extender for cars. It extends the "ON" time
    when a door is closed in a car. Both circuits
    perform exactly the same. This circuit is
    slightly simpler.
    It uses only a single BC557 and BD679
    transistor.

    A Kit for this project is available from Talking


    Electronics for $5.20 plus postage. Click
    Here .

    20 WATT FLUORO
    INVERTER
    This circuit will drive a 40 watt fluoro
    or two 20-watt tubes in series.
    The transformer is wound on a
    ferrite rod 10mm dia and 8cm long.
    The wire diameters are not critical
    but our prototype used 0.61mm wire
    for the primary and 0.28mm wire for
    the secondary and feedback
    winding.
    Do not remove the tube when the
    circuit is operating as the spikes
    produced by the transformer will
    damage the transistor.
    The circuit will take approx 1.5amp
    on 12v, making it more efficient than
    running the tubes from the mains. A
    normal fluoro takes 20 watts for the
    tube and about 15 watts for the
    ballast.
    A Kit for this project is available
    from Talking Electronics called
    Fluorescent Lamp Inverter for
    $12.50 plus postage. Click Here

    6 to 12 WATT FLUORO
    INVERTER
    This circuit will drive a 40 watt fluoro
    or two 20-watt tubes in series but
    with less brightness than the circuit
    above and it will take less current.
    2 x 20 watt tubes = 900mA to 1.2A
    and 1 x 20 watt tube 450mA to
    900mA depending on pot setting.
    The transformer is wound on a
    ferrite rod 10mm dia and 8cm long.
    The wire diameter is fairly critical
    and our prototype used 0.28mm
    wire for all the windings.
    Do not remove the tube when the
    circuit is operating as the spikes
    produced by the transformer will
    damage the transistor. The pot will
    adjust the brightness and vary the
    current consumption. Adjust the pot
    and select the base-bias resistor to
    get the same current as our
    prototype. Heat-sink must be
    greater than 40sq cm. Use heat-sink
    compound.

    GOLD DETECTOR
    see also:
    BFO METAL DETECTOR in
    "100 IC circuits"
    SIMPLE BFO METAL
    LOCATOR in "100 IC circuits"
    METAL DETECTORS - article

    This very simple circuit will detect


    gold or metal or coins at a distance
    of approx 20cm - depending on the
    size of the object.
    The circuit oscillates at approx
    140kHz and a harmonic of this
    frequency is detected by an AM
    radio.
    Simply tune the radio until a squeal
    is detected.
    When the search coil is placed near
    a metal object, the frequency of the
    circuit will change and this will be
    heard from the speaker.
    The layout of the circuit is shown
    and the placement of the radio.

    The TRUTH about Metal


    (GOLD) Detectors.
    A Gold Detector's club in the US
    created a challenge with 12 members
    with skills ranging from 12 months
    detection to over 25 years. They used
    5 different detectors to find 30
    different items, hidden in sand and
    under pieces of cardboard.
    The results were these: All detectors
    performed almost equally but the
    interpretation of the beeps, sounds
    and readings on the detector were
    quite often mis-read and the winner
    was a member with 1 year
    experience.
    The moral of the story is to dig for
    anything that is detected as it may
    not be a "ring-pull."

    With these findings you can clearly


    use a very simple, cheap, detector
    and get results equal to the most
    expensive equipment.
    The only thing you have to remember
    is this: You need the right frequency
    for the type of soil to cancel out the
    effects of minerals etc.
    That's why there is a range of
    frequencies from 6kHz to 150Hz.
    All the other modes of producing and
    injecting the pulse add only a very
    small improvement to the detection
    process.
    The energy put into the injecting
    pulse also has an influence of the
    depth of detection.

    Buying Metal Detector kit:


    Even though this circuit is the simplest
    you can get, it performs just like the
    $50.00 metal detectors because you
    use an ordinary AM radio to produce
    the tone. It will detect a small coin at
    10cm.

    Metal Detector-1 kit: $14.00 FREE


    Shipping

    Log in to your PayPal account and


    send a payment to:
    [email protected] for $14.00 AUD

    METAL DETECTOR MkII - see the full project: Metal Detector MkII
    Metal Detector kit MkII $15.00 plus postage
    This is a self-contained metal detector with about the same performance as Metal Detector-1
    above.
    All Metal detectors having the principle of detecting a metal object with a coil of about 12cm dia
    and operating at 100kHz, will have the same performance, no matter how complex the circuit.
    They all rely on detecting the change in frequency as small as 1Hz or a voltage-change across a
    coil as small as 1uV.
    The secret is to produce the largest waveform while loading the coil as lightly as possible. This
    allows the coil to detect metal at the furthest distance. See more details on Metal Detector MkII
    Nail Finder - see the full project: Metal Detector MkII
    Kits for Metal Detector kit - Nail Finder $17.00 plus postage
    This project is an extension of Metal Detector MkII, with a small detecting head to find tiny
    components such as nails and lost components.
    This is an essential tool for servicemen and anyone trying to find a metal object hidden or buried in
    timber, soil or mud.
    The Nail Finder head

    The Nail Finder project is HERE

    PHASER GUN
    This is a very effective circuit. The sound is amazing. You have to build it to appreciate the range of
    effects it produces. The 50k pot provides the frequency of the sound while the switch provides fast
    or slow speed.
    Hear the sounds: (built by a reader)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?
    v=JN_fBZxRpoU&feature=BFa&list=UU2oJeVi1pM3nQy_8X6fFHAA
    IC RADIO
    This circuit contains an IC but it looks like a 3-leaded transistor and that's why we have included it
    here.
    The IC is called a "Radio in a Chip" and it contains 10 transistors to produce a TRF (tuned Radio
    Frequency) front end for our project.
    The 3-transistor amplifier is taken from our SUPER EAR project with the electret microphone
    removed.
    The two 1N 4148 diodes produce a constant voltage of 1.3v for the chip as it is designed for a
    maximum of 1.5v.
    The "antenna coil" is 60t of 0.25mm wire wound on a 10mm ferrite rod. The tuning capacitor can be
    any value up to 450p.
    Note: The YS414 IC is identical to ZN414. See above.

    5-TRANSISTOR RADIO
    If you are not able to get the ZN414 IC, this circuit uses two transistors to take the
    place of the chip.
    AUTOMATIC LIGHT
    This circuit automatically turns on a light when illumination is removed from the LDR. It remains ON for the delay
    period set by the 2M2 pot.
    The important feature of this circuit is the building blocks it contains - a delay circuit and Schmitt Trigger. These
    can be used when designing other circuits.

    NIGHT LIGHT
    This circuit activates a relay when illumination falls below a preset level
    on the Light Dependent Resistor (Photo Cell).

    This circuit will drive 30cm strips to 5m strips. Two 5m strips have been
    tested with this circuit.
    PIR LED LIGHT
    PIR detectors make a wonderful detector to turn on LEDs to
    illuminate a passage, doorway or path.
    It has an LDR that only allows the circuit to turn ON at night.

    PIR LED LIGHT


    This circuit can use old cells as it requires less than 20mA to
    illuminate the 4 LEDs and less than 0.4mA when sitting around.
    There are a number of different PIR detectors and most of them take
    1 minute to settle before detecting IR and turn ON for a short period
    of time. The 100u increases the turn-ON time to about 4 seconds and
    some detectors keep outputting a signal while you are in front of the
    lens.
    The first transistor increases the current from the PIR module so the
    100u can be charged via the 1k and the second transistor acts as a
    buffer to deliver current to turn on the LEDs.
    The 100R and red 100u prevent the PIR re-triggering.
    This is a great project for "using up" old batteries.
    A kit for this project is available from Talking Electronics for $6.00
    plus $4.50 postage.
    It is built on a small piece of Matrix Board and includes 4 x super-
    bright LEDs. Email Colin Mitchell for details.

    PIR LED LIGHT using LED STRIP


    This circuit uses a home-made transformer, wound on a nut and bolt,
    and a 12v LED Strip or LED Panel.
    You can use almost any nut and bolt and any wire from 0.2mm to
    0.5mm diameter.
    The main winding has 100 turns and the feedback winding has 30
    turns.
    All these LED panels have inbuilt
    resistors so they can be connected
    to 12v supplies. We do not need
    the inbuilt resistors in this circuit
    however the resistors cannot be
    removed.

    The LED strip shown in the circuit


    above contains 9 LEDs in groups
    of 3 with an inbuilt current liming
    resistor. The current-limiting
    resistor is not needed in this
    design but cannot be removed.
    You can make your own LED strip
    by connecting three white LEDs in series (NO current-limiting resistor
    is needed). You can have a total of 9 LEDs. (3 strings of 3 LEDs) or
    you can use any of the 12v LED panels available on eBay.
    If the circuit does not work, connect the feedback wires around the
    other way.
    The LDR is included to turn the circuit ON only at night and the
    emitter-follower transistor increases the ON-time to about 4 seconds.

    You can use old cells and make sure the supply is not higher than 9v
    as the LED Strip will remain illuminated because you will be
    supplying enough voltage to illuminate it !!
    You will need to experiment with the 2k2 resistor and 2n2 to get the
    best illumination with the transformer you use and the supply voltage.

    3-LED CHASER by Faraday [email protected]

    The LEDs in this circuit produce a chasing pattern similar the running LEDs display in video
    shops.
    In fact the effect is called: "Running Hole." All transistors will try to come on at the same time
    when the power is applied, but some will be faster due to their internal characteristics and some
    will get a different turn-on current due to the exact value of the 22u electrolytics. The last 22u will
    delay the voltage-rise to the base of the first transistor and make the circuit start reliably. It is very
    difficult to see where the hole starts and that's why you should build the circuit and investigate it
    yourself. The circuit can be extended to any number of odd stages as shown in the next circuit,
    using 5 transistors.

    Video by Faraday: 3-LED Chaser mp4 128KB

    5-LED CHASER
    This is an extension of the 3-LED Chaser above.

    The following circuit produces a slightly different effect because the LEDs are in the
    emitter. You cannot mix the LED colours.
    3-LED CHASER using FETs
    This circuit uses FETs. This circuit has been tested with the following two
    FETs on 6v to 12v with red and white LEDs. The 1M resistor must be
    reduced to 47k for the 2N7000. Note the different pin-outs for the two FETs.

    BENCH POWER SUPPLY


    T
    his power supply can be built in less than an hour on a piece of copper-laminate.
    The board acts as a heat-sink and the other components can be mounted as shown
    in the photo, by cutting strips to suit their placement.
    The components are connected with enamelled wire and the transistor is bolted to
    the board to keep it cool.
    The Bench Power Supply was designed to use old "C," "D" and lantern batteries,
    that's why there are no diodes or electrolytics. Collect all your old batteries and cells
    and connect them together to get at least 12v -14v.
    The output of this power supply is regulated by a 10v zener made up of the
    characteristic zener voltage of 8.2v between the base-emitter leads of a BC547
    transistor (in reverse bias) and approx 1.7v across a red LED. The circuit will deliver
    0v - 9v at 500mA (depending on the life left in the cells your are using). The 10k pot
    adjusts the output voltage and the LED indicates the circuit is ON. It's a very good
    circuit to get the last of the energy from old cells.

    ADDING A VOLT-METER TO THE BENCH POWER SUPPLY


    A voltmeter can be added to the Bench Power Supply by using a very low
    cost multimeter. For less than $10.00 you can get a mini multimeter with 14
    ranges, including a 10v range. The multimeter can also be used to monitor
    current by removing the negative lead and making a new RED lead, fitting it
    to the "—" of the multimeter and selecting the 500mA range as shown in the
    photo below:
    MAKING 0-1Amp meter for the BENCH POWER SUPPLY
    The item in the photo
    is called a
    "Movement." A
    movement is a
    moving coil with a
    pointer and no
    resistors connected to
    the leads.
    Any Movement can
    be converted to an
    ammeter without any
    mathematics.
    Simply solder two 1R
    resistors (in parallel)
    across the terminals
    of any movement and
    connect it in series with an ammeter on the output of the Bench Power Supply. The
    second ammeter provides a reference so you can calibrate the movement. Connect
    a globe and increase the voltage.
    At 500mA, if the pointer is "up scale" (reading too high) add a trim-resistor. In our
    case it was 4R7.
    The three shunt resistors can be clearly seen in the photo. Two 1R and the trim
    resistor is 4R7.
    You can get a movement from an old multimeter or they are available in electronics
    shops as a separate item. The sensitivity does not matter. It can be 20uA or 50uA
    FSD or any sensitivity.

    MAKING A ZENER DIODE and POWER ZENER


    Sometimes a zener diode of the required voltage is not available. Here are a
    number of components that produce a characteristic voltage across them.
    Since they all have different voltages, they can be placed in series to produce
    the voltage you need. A reference voltage as low as 0.65v is available and
    you need at least 1 to 3mA through the device(s) to put them in a state of
    conduction (breakdown).
    A POWER ZENER can be made from an
    ordinary zener and a transistor. The final
    power-zener voltage will be 0.6v higher than
    the zener and the wattage of the whole circuit
    will depend on the type of transistor used.
    Of course, constant use of this circuit will
    represent a waste of 20 watts and there are
    better ways to design a circuit, but it can be
    used to prevent a rail rising above a certain
    voltage and will only be used for short
    durations.

    12v TRICKLE CHARGER


    The 12v Trickle Charger circuit uses a TIP3055 power transistor to limit the current to
    the battery by turning off when the battery voltage reaches approx 14v or if the current
    rises above 2 amp. The signal to turn off this transistor comes from two other transistors
    - the BC557 and BC 547.
    Firstly, the circuit turns on fully via the BD139 and TIP3055. The BC557 and BC 547 do
    not come into operation at the moment. The current through the 0.47R creates a
    voltage across it to charge the 22u and this puts a voltage between the base and
    emitter of the BC547. The transistors turn on slightly and remove some of the turn-on
    voltage to the BD139 and this turns off the TIP3055 slightly.
    This is how the 2 amp max is created.
    As the battery voltage rises, the voltage divider made up of the 1k8 and 39k creates a
    0.65v between base and emitter of the BC557 and it starts to turn on at approx 14v.
    This turns on the BC 547 and it robs the BD136 of "turn-on" voltage and the TIP3055 is
    nearly fully turned off.
    All battery chargers in Australia must be earthed. The negative of the output is taken to
    the earth pin.

    1.5v to 10v INVERTER


    This very clever circuit will convert 1.5v to 10v to take the place of those expensive 9v
    batteries and also provide a 5v supply for a microcontroller project.
    But the clever part is the voltage regulating section. It reduces the current to less than
    8mA when no current is being drawn from the output. With a 470R load and 10v, the
    output current is 20mA and the voltage drop is less than 10mV. The pot will adjust the
    output voltage from 5.3v to 10v.

    HOW THE CIRCUIT WORKS


    The circuit starts by the 100k turning on the BC547 and the BC557 gets turned ON via
    the 33k resistor.
    This turns ON the BC337 via the 100R resistor. You will notice the "current-limiting"
    resistors are getting small and smaller. This is because the transistor-current is getting
    larger and larger and we want the resistor to pass this higher current.
    Current flowing through the collector-base of the BC337 causes current to flow through
    the inductor. This current creates expanding flux that cuts all the turns of the inductor
    and produces a voltage in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION. This voltage OPPOSES the
    incoming voltage and very little current flows.
    Over a period of microseconds, this voltage drops a microscopic amount and thus a
    slightly higher current will flow.
    The voltage on the collector drops and this change is passed through the 330p to turn
    on the BC557 MORE.
    This continues until the BC337 is fully turned ON (by the action of the 330p).
    The 330p now charges a little more and this reduces the base current in the BC557 and
    it starts to turn OFF.
    This action starts to turn OFF the BC337 and very soon we have both transistors fully
    turned OFF.
    The BC337 is effectively removed from the circuit and the current flowing through the
    inductor stops increasing. The magnetic flux stops increasing and the voltage it
    produces stops IMMEDIATELY.
    The magnetic flux now does not have any voltage opposing it and it starts to collapse
    and cut all the turns of the inductor. It does this very quickly because there is no voltage
    opposing its collapse.
    The result is a very high voltage in the opposite direction to the applied voltage. What
    this means is the lower terminal of the inductor produces a voltage that is ADDED to the
    supply voltage.
    This voltage can be as high at 100v or more, and is passed through the diode.
    Even though this voltage is very high, it actually consists of a very high voltage with a
    very small current.
    The combination of these two is called ENERGY and it flows into the 100u to charge it.
    As the voltage on the 100u increases, its voltage is detected by the 4th transistor and
    when it reaches 10v, the 3rd transistor is turned OFF slightly so the first two transistors
    are not driven as hard.
    This is how a stable 10v is produced.

    5v REGULATED SUPPLY FROM 3V

    This circuit will produce a


    5v regulated output from 2
    cells (3v). The output
    current is limited to 50mA
    but will be ideal for many
    microcontroller circuits.
    The output voltage is set to
    5v by the 3k9 and 560R
    resistors, making up a
    voltage divider network.

    3.3v FROM 5V SUPPLY


    Here are 3 ways to generate
    a 3.3v supply:

    Circuit "A" uses two 1.5v


    cells. This is the cheapest
    and best way to create a 3v
    supply.

    Circuit "B" uses 3 x 1N448


    signal diodes to drop 1.8v
    and produce 3.2v on the
    output. The 5v supply must
    be regulated.

    Circuit "C" produces 3.3v


    from a 3v3 zener. The 47R
    limits the output to about
    30mA. The 5v can have a
    small ripple as the zener will
    create a stable 3v3 output.

    9v SUPPLY FROM 3V
    You can replace a 9v battery
    with this circuit.
    The output is about 10.4v on
    no load and 9.6v @30mA .
    The advantage is the voltage
    stays over 9v for the life of the
    cells.
    A normal 9v battery drops to
    7v very quickly.
    The output voltage is set to 9-
    10v by the 6k8 and 390R
    resistors. The 470R gives the
    circuit an idling current of
    about 20mA and the spikes
    are about 75mV.
    By increasing the 470R, the
    quiescent current decreases
    but the voltage drops more
    when the current is 30mA.

    27MHz Field Strength Meter

    This circuit will test 27MHz transmitters and show the transmitter is
    operating when the antenna is connected to point 1 and the actual
    frequency of transmission when the antenna is connected to point 2.
    See the full project HERE.
    27MHz TRANSMITTER
    The transmitter is a very
    simple crystal oscillator. The
    heart of the circuit is the tuned
    circuit consisting of the primary
    of the transformer and a 10p
    capacitor. The frequency is
    adjusted by a ferrite slug in the
    centre of the coil until it is
    exactly the same as the
    crystal. The transistor is
    configured as a common
    emitter amplifier. It has a 390R
    on the emitter for biasing
    purposes and prevents a high
    current passing through the
    transistor as the resistance of
    the transformer is very low.
    The "pi" network matches the
    antenna to the output of the
    circuit. See full description in
    27MHz Links article.

    27MHz RECEIVER
    The 27MHz receiver is really a transmitter. It's a very weak transmitter and delivers a low level
    signal to the surroundings via the antenna. When another signal (from the transmitter) comes in
    contact with the transmission from the receiver it creates an interference pattern that reflects down
    the antenna and into the first stage of the receiver.
    The receiver is a super-regenerative design. It is self-oscillating (or already oscillating) and makes
    it very sensitive to nearby signals. See full description in 27MHz Links article.
    27MHz TRANSMITTER
    WITHOUT A CRYSTAL
    A 27MHz transmitter without a
    crystal. When a circuit does not
    have a crystal, the oscillator is said
    to be "voltage dependent" or
    "voltage controlled" and when the
    supply voltage drops, the frequency
    changes.
    If the frequency drifts too much, the
    receiver will not pick up the signal.
    For this reason, a simple circuit as
    shown is not recommended. We
    have only included it as a concept
    to show how the 27MHz frequency
    is generated. It produces a tone
    and this is detected by a receiver.
    See full description in 27MHz Links
    article.

    27MHz TRANSMITTER WITH SQUARE-WAVE OSCILLATOR


    The circuit consists of two blocks. Block 1is a multivibrator and this has an equal
    mark/space ratio to turn the RF stage on and off. Block 2 is an RF oscillator. The
    feedback to keep the stage operating is provided by the 27p capacitor. The
    frequency-producing items are the coil (made up of the full 7 turns) and the 47p
    air trimmer. These two items are called a parallel tuned circuit. They are also
    called a TANK CIRCUIT as they store energy just like a TANK of water and pass
    it to the antenna. The frequency of the circuit is adjusted by the 47p air trimmer.
    See full description in 27MHz Links article.
    27MHz RECEIVER-2
    This circuit matches with the 27MHz Transmitter with Square-wave Oscillator. See full description
    on Talking Electronics website: 27MHz Links article.
    The receiver frequency is fixed. The transmitter is adjusted to suit the receiver. The 3-27p trimmer
    is adjusted for maximum gain (10p trimmer and 5p6 in our case) and this is a critical adjustment.
    The base-emitter junction of the first BC547 sets 0.7v (as it is heavily turned on by the 10k) on the
    base of the oscillator Q1, and this is fixed. Q1 is very lightly turned on (due to the emitter resistor),
    and this makes it very sensitive when it is oscillating. Any 27MHz signal from the surroundings will
    upset the oscillator and any tone in the signal will be passed to the stages for amplification. The
    coil is 13 turns. It can be replaced with 11 turns of 0.25mm wire on 3mm dia slug 7mm long.
    Although the original Russian product worked very well, our prototype did not have very good
    sensitivity. The circuit was very difficult to set-up.
    Note: When making the 27uH inductor and checking its value on an inductance meter; if the meter
    does not read low values accurately, put two inductors in series. Measure the first inductor, say
    100uH. The two inductors in series will be 127uH as inductors combine just like resistors in series!
    The result is the addition of the individual values.
    WALKIE TALKIE
    Nearly all the components in the 4-transistor circuit are used for both transmitting and receiving.
    This makes it a very economical design. The frequency-generating stage only needs the crystal
    to be removed and it becomes a receiver. Next is a three transistor directly coupled audio
    amplifier with very high gain. The first transistor is a pre-amplifier and the next two are wired as
    a super-alpha pair, commonly called a Darlington pair to drive the speaker transformer. See full
    description in 27MHz Links article.

    27MHz TRANSMITTER - 2
    CHANNEL
    This circuit does not use a crystal
    but has a clever feature of using
    the two push buttons to turn the
    circuit on when it is required to
    transmit.
    The frequency of the
    multivibrator is determined by the
    value of resistance on the base
    of each transistor. The
    multivibrator is driven directly
    from the supply with the forward
    button and via a 150k for the
    reverse frequency.
    The receiver requires a 1kHz
    tone for forward and 250Hz for
    reverse.
    See full description in 27MHz
    Links article.
    27MHz TRANSMITTER - 4
    CHANNEL
    This circuit uses the same number
    of components as the 2-Channel
    circuit above but has 4 channels.
    The frequency of the multivibrator
    is determined by the value of
    resistance on the base of each
    transistor.
    A 4 channel receiver has been
    designed by talking Electronics
    using a PIC12F628 micro to detect
    the different frequencies.
    See P4 of:
    2 Digit Up/Down Counter (see
    left index on Talking Electronics
    website).
    2 Digit Up/Down Counter has
    the receiver section.

    A = 500Hz B = 550Hz C =
    660Hz D = 1kHz

    303MHz
    TRANSMITTER
    The transmitter circuit
    is made up of two
    building blocks - the
    303MHz RF oscillator
    and the 32kHz crystal
    controlled oscillator to
    generate a tone so the
    receiver does not false-
    trigger.
    The 303MHz oscillator
    consists of a self-
    oscillating circuit made
    up of the coil on the PC
    board and a 9p (9 puff)
    capacitor.

    See full description in


    Wireless Doorbell
    article.

    Type: Gain: Vbe Vce Current Case


    2SC1815 NPN 100 1v 50v 150mA
    140 to
    2SC3279 NPN 600 0.75v 10v 2amp
    @0.5A
    BC337 60 45v
    NPN 0.7v 800mA
    BC338 @300mA 25v
    BC547 45v
    BC548 NPN 70 0.7v 30v 100mA
    @100mA
    BC549 30v
    BC557 PNP 45v 100mA
    70-100
    BD139 NPN @150mA
    0.5v 80v 1.5A

    70-100
    BD140 PNP @150mA 0.5v 80v 1.5A

    2SCxxx
    8050 NPN 10v 1.5A
    8550 PNP 10v 1.5A
    9012 PNP 500mA
    9013 NPN 1v 20v 500mA
    9014 NPN 100mA
    9015 PNP 100mA
    9018 NPN 700MHz 15v 50mA

    BOOM GATE LIGHTS


    This simple circuit will produce flashing lights for
    your model railway crossing. It uses one flashing
    LED and one normal red LED, with a green LED
    hidden in the background. It can be used
    somewhere else on your layout but it is needed
    to produce a voltage drop so the two red LEDs
    will flash.
    You cannot get a simpler circuit.
    The second circuit produces the same effect but
    the flash-rate is more even.
    The 1/10th watt resistors used in this circuit,
    compared with 0.25watt resistors.
    5 TRANSISTOR WALKIE TALKIE - 1
    This walkie talkie circuit does not have a crystal or speaker transformer, with the board measuring
    just 3cm x 4cm and using 1/10th watt resistors, it is one of the smallest units on the market, for just
    $9.50 to $12.00. The wires in the photo go to the battery, speaker, call-switch and antenna. The
    most difficult component in the circuit to duplicate is the oscillator coil. See the photo for the size
    and shape. The coil dia is 5mm and uses 0.25mm wire. The actual full-turn or half turn on the coil is
    also important. Almost all 5 transistor walkie talkies use this circuit or slight variations. See the
    article: 27MHz Transmitters for theory on how these transmitters work - it is fascinating.

    5 TRANSISTOR WALKIE TALKIE - 2


    Here is another walkie talkie circuit, using slightly different values for some of the components.
    See the article: 27MHz Transmitters for theory on how these transmitters work.

    WALKIE TALKIE with LM386


    Here is a more up-to-date version of the walkie talkie, using an LM 386 amplifier IC
    to take the place of 4 transistors.
    SPY AMPLIFIER
    This simple circuit will detect very faint sounds and deliver them to a 32 ohm earpiece.
    The circuit is designed for 1.5v operation and is available from $2.00 shops for less than
    $5.00 The photo shows the surface-mount components used in its construction.
    HEARING AID 1.5v
    SUPPLY
    This simple circuit will detect
    very faint sounds and deliver
    them to an 8 ohm earpiece.
    The circuit is designed for
    1.5v operation.

    HEARING AID with


    PUSH PULL
    OUTPUT
    This circuit will detect very
    faint sounds and deliver
    them to an 8 ohm
    earpiece. It is designed for
    3v operation.

    HEARING AID with CONSTANT VOLUME


    This is a very handy circuit as it provides constant volume. It is designed for 3v operation.
    SOLAR ENGINE
    This circuit is called Type-1 SE. Low current from a solar cell is stored in a
    large capacitor and when a preset voltage-level is reached, the energy from
    the capacitor is released to a motor.
    For full details on how the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page2.html

    SUN EATER-I
    An improved design over Solar Engine circuit above. It has a clever 2-
    transistor self-latching arrangement to keep the circuit ON until the
    voltage drops to 1.5v. The circuit turns on at 2.8v. This gives the motor
    more energy from the electrolytic at each "pulse." For full details on how
    the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page2.html
    SUN EATER-1A
    This circuit is an improvement on the Sun Eater I shown above. It works exactly the same
    except the slight re-arrangement of the components allows an NPN power transistor to be
    used. One less resistor is needed and one less capacitor but two extra diodes have been
    added to increase the upper turn-on voltage.
    For full details on how the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page2.html

    SOLAR ENGINE Type-3


    Type-3 circuits are current controlled or current-
    triggered. This is another very clever way of
    detecting when the electrolytic has reached its
    maximum charge.
    At the beginning of the charge-cycle for an
    electrolytic, the charging current is a maximum. As
    the electrolytic becomes charged, the current drops.
    In the type-3 circuit, the charging current passes
    through a 100R resistor and creates a voltage drop. This voltage is detected by a transistor (Q2) and
    the transistor is turned ON.
    This action robs transistor (Q1) from turn-on voltage and the rest of the circuit is not activated. As the
    charging current drops, Q2 is gradually turned off and Q1 becomes turned on via the 220k resistor on
    the base.
    This turns on Q3 and the motor is activated. The voltage across the storage electrolytic drops and the
    current through the 100R rises and turns the circuit off. The electrolytic begins to charge again and the
    cycle repeats. For full details on how the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page2.html
    SOLAR PHOTOVORE
    The green LEDs cause the Solar Engine on the opposite side to fire and the Solar Photovore turns
    toward the light source. The motors are two pager "vibe" motors with the weights removed. The 100k
    pot on the "head" balances the two Solar Engines. If you cannot get the circuit to work with green LEDs,
    use photo-transistors. For full details on how the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page4.html

    FRED Photopopper (Flashing LED)


    It is a Photopopper using low-cost components. It uses two red or green flashing LEDs to turn the
    circuit on when the voltage across the electrolytic has reached about 2.7v. The flashing LEDs change
    characteristics according to the level of the surrounding light and this turns the circuit into phototropic.
    For full details on how the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page6.html
    ROBO ROLLER
    The circuit consists of two building blocks. The
    Photopopper circuit and a voltage multiplying (or
    voltage increasing) circuit from a Solar Charger
    project.
    For full details on how the circuit works and how to modify it, see:
    http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Robots/Page7.html

    SIGNAL BY-PASS
    This circuit allows a class-A amplifier to drive a low
    impedance speaker and has a low quiescent current. The
    220R in series with the speaker limits the "wasted" current
    to about 20mA max as the transistor is generally biased at
    mid-voltage. However the transistor will be almost directly
    driving the speaker when a signal is being processed and
    the only limitation is the ability of the 220R to discharge the
    100u during each cycle.
    The circuit is called a signal by-pass as the signal by-
    passes the 220R and drives the speaker directly (via the
    100u).

    SOUND-TO-LIGHT
    The LED illuminates when the piezo diaphragm detects sound.
    Some piezo diaphragms are very sensitive and produce 100mV when whistling at
    50cm. Others produce 1mV. You must test them with a CRO.
    The sensitivity of the diaphragm will determine the sensitivity of the circuit.
    The following circuit uses an electret microphone:

    CLAP SWITCH - see also VOX

    SOUND-TO-LIGHT with Delay


    By re-arranging the components slightly from the previous circuit, we
    create a 15 second illumination of the LED. It will be illuminated with
    the clap of the hands.
    The quiescent current is about 20uA, allowing 4 AA cells to last a
    long time.
    The circuit takes about 20 seconds to reset after the LED goes out.
    The 100u discharges through the 27k, 100k and 10k resistors.
    The circuit can also be designed to accept an electret microphone:

    CLAP SWITCH "ON-OFF"


    This circuit turns the LED ON with a clap or short whistle. And a
    further clap turns it OFF. It uses a speaker as a microphone and the
    fourth output of the 4017 is used to reset the chip. The 100u on pin 2
    upsets the amplifier and prevents it clocking the chip, until the electro
    either charges or discharges. A buffer transistor can replace the LED
    to operate a relay. It only requires 2mV signal to activate the circuit.

    Above: A 3.5mm switched stereo plug and socket wiring.


    MUSIC-TO-COLOUR
    The LED illuminates when the circuit detects a high amplitude waveform. It can be
    connected to a "Walkman" or mini radio with earphones. A second channel can be
    connected to produce a stereo effect. Circuit A consumes less current as the LED is off
    when no audio is detected. Circuit B pulses the LED brighter when audio is detected.

    The transmitter is built on a small length of PC board, cut into lands with a file. The photo clearly
    shows how all the components are mounted and how the board is fitted into a toothbrush holder. The
    flashing LED shows the unit is ON and serves to control the beep-beep-beep of the circuit. The
    flashing LED is not an ordinary LED.
    You cannot use an ordinary LED. It must be a FLASHING LED as this type of LED has a built-in
    resistor and a chip to make the LED flash.
    The circuit does not make the LED flash, the LED makes the circuit beep-beep-beep due to the on-
    off from the chip inside the LED.
    One constructor used an ordinary LED - and BANG! That's why we are the first in the world to create
    a symbol for a flashing LED. The extra bar represents the chip inside the LED.

    TRANSMITTER CIRCUIT

    This is the professional unit

    The receiver circuit is a high-gain


    amplifier and produces constant
    background noise so the slightest
    magnetic field can be detected.
    The 10mH choke can be any
    value but the largest number of
    turns on the core is best.
    The mini speaker can be a 16R
    earpiece but these are not as loud
    as a mini speaker.
    Quiescent current is 50mA so the
    on-off switch can be a push-
    button.

    RECEIVER CIRCUIT
    CABLE TRACER
    Why pay $100 for a cable tracer when you can build one for less than $10.00! This type of tracer is used
    by telephone technicians, electricians and anyone laying, replacing or wiring anything, using long cables,
    such as intercoms, television or security.
    Our cable tracer consists of two units. One unit has a multivibrator with an output of 4v p-p at approx
    5kHz. This is called the transmitter. The other unit is a very sensitive amplifier with capacitive input for
    detecting the tone from the transmitter and a magnetic pickup for detecting magnetic lines of force from
    power cables carrying 240v. This is called the receiver. The circuit also has an inductive loop, made up of
    a length of wire, to pick up stray signals from power cables, so if one detector does not detect the signal,
    the other will. Our circuit is nothing like that in the professional unit shown above.

    LED TORCH with 1.5v SUPPLY


    This simple circuit will illuminate a super-bright
    white LED to full brightness with 28mA from a
    1.5v cell. The LED is 20,000mcd (20cd @ 15°
    viewing angle) and has an output of approx
    1lumen.
    The transformer is wound on a small ferrite slug
    2.6mm dia and 6mm long. It is made from F29
    ferrite material as the circuit operates at a high
    frequency (100kHz to 500kHz).
    The efficiency of the circuit revolves around the
    fact that a LED will produce a very high output
    when delivered pulses, but the overall current will
    be less than a steady DC current.
    BC 337 has a collector-emitter voltage of 45v.
    (BC338 has 25v collector-emitter voltage rating.)
    The voltage across the transistor is no more than
    4v as the LED absorbs the spikes. Do not
    remove the LED as the spikes from the
    transformer will damage the transistor.
    The circuit will drive 1 or 2 while LEDs in series.

    WHITE LED FLASHER


    This circuit will flash a super-bright
    white LED from a 1.5v cell.
    The transformer is wound on a small
    ferrite slug 2.6mm dia and 6mm long
    as shown in a project above.
    The circuit uses the zener
    characteristic of the reverse-base-
    emitter junction of a BC 547 to pass
    current and flash the LED.
    USING A TOROID INDUCTOR
    Most of our circuits use a ferrite rod and NOT a
    TOROID. A toroid is a circular core (sometimes
    called a doughnut or torus or ring or annulus)
    and is actually the most efficient type of ferrite
    core because none of the flux is lost to the
    outside surroundings.
    BUT if you use a toroid, you MUST work out the
    amount of flux you will be generating when the
    transistor is turned ON and this will give you the
    flux density in the toroid.
    But this is a very difficult thing to do.
    If you deliver more flux than the toroid can
    accept, the expanding flux will not increase at
    this point in time and the current taken (supplied
    or delivered) by the transistor will increase
    ENORMOUSLY and the transistor will be
    DESTROYED.
    If you use a ferrite rod, the flux will be lost to
    the outside air (out the end of the rod) and
    the abrupt saturation-point will NOT be
    generated.
    This means a ferrite rod is a much-more
    "sloppy" or "loose" or "accommodating"
    component and is much easier to
    incorporate into a circuit that has not been
    mathematically designed.
    If you want to use a toroid, the only way to
    "design a circuit" that does not "self-
    destroy" is
    to add a lot more turns and gradually
    remove a few of the turns while feeling the
    output transistor for temperature-rise or
    measure the current taken by the circuit.
    Sometimes the number of turns will be
    reduced to 7 turns plus 7 turns for some of
    the circuits driving LEDs in the boost
    converters shown below.
    Why only 7 turns for a toroid?
    As the transistor turns ON, the 7 turns
    produces much less flux than 30 turns and
    the transistor can turn on for a much longer
    period of time. When it is fully turned ON,
    the core is just at the point of being fully
    saturated. At this instant, the flux no-longer
    expands (increases) and thus the voltage produced in the feedback winding ceases. This is when the
    "increasing" part of the cycle stops, and the "turn-off" part of the cycle starts.
    This means the current through the transistor is only a maximum for a very short period of time.

    That's why you have to experiment yourself and it's only when you get the circuit to work perfectly, that you
    will LEARN ELECTRONICS.

    The workings of an inductor are much more complex than you think.
    1v5 WHITE LED DRIVER

    If you do not have a ferrite slug,


    the inductor can be made from a
    machine screw 10mm long and
    about 3-4mm dia. Wind 150 turns
    of 0.25mm wire. Or you can use
    This circuit will drive a super-bright white LED from a 1.5v cell. a brass ferrule 20mm long x
    The 60 turn inductor is wound on a small ferrite slug 2.6mm dia and 6mm 5mm. Wind 150 turns.
    long with 0.25mm wire. RESULTS for the same
    The main difference between this circuit and the two circuits above is the brightness:
    use of a single winding and the feedback to produce oscillation comes Slug: 21mA
    from a 1n capacitor driving a high gain amplifier made up of two Brass Spacer: 18mA
    transistors. Machine screw: 14mA
    The feedback is actually positive feedback via the 1n and this turns on the Isn't this a SURPRISE!
    two transistors more and more until finally they are fully turned on and no
    more feedback signal is passed though the 1n. At this point they start to
    turn off and the signal through the 1n turns them off more and more until
    they are fully turned off.
    The 33k turns on the BC557 to start the cycle again.

    LED TORCH - 3v Supply


    This circuit will drive up to 3 high-bright
    white LEDs from a 3v supply. (It will also
    work from 1.5v)
    The inductor consists of 50 turns on a
    1.6mm dia ferrite slug using 0.1mm
    enamelled wire.
    This circuit can use a ready-made 33uH
    choke, making it suitable for mass
    production
    LED TORCH with
    ADJUSTABLE BRIGHTNESS
    This circuit will drive up to 3 high-
    bright white LEDs from a 3v supply.
    The circuit has a pot to adjust the
    brightness to provide optimum
    brightness for the current you wish to
    draw from the battery.
    The transformer is wound on a ferrite
    slug 2.6mm dia and 6mm long as
    shown in the LED Torch with 1.5v
    Supply project.
    This circuit is a "Boost Converter"
    meaning the supply is less than the
    voltage of the LEDs. If the supply is
    greater than the voltage across the
    LEDs, they will be damaged.

    BUCK CONVERTER for


    HIGH-POWER LED
    48mA to 90mA
    This circuit is a "Buck Converter"
    meaning the supply is greater than
    the voltage of the LED. It will drive 1
    high-power white LED from a 12v
    supply and is capable of delivering
    48mA when R = 5R6 or 90mA when R
    = 2R2.
    The LED is much brighter when using
    this circuit, compared with a series
    resistor delivering the same current.
    But changing R from 5R6 to 2R2 does
    not double the brightness. It only
    increases it a small amount.
    The inductor consists of 60 turns of
    0.25mm wire, on a 15mm length of
    ferrite rod, 10mm diameter.
    Frequency of operation: approx
    1MHz.
    The circuit is not designed to drive
    one 20mA LED.
    Inductor: 60 turns This circuit draws the maximum for a
    on 10mm ferrite BC 338.
    rod, 15mm long.
    BUCK CONVERTER for HIGH-POWER
    LED 170mA
    This circuit is slightly simpler than above but it does
    not have the feature of being able to adjust the drive-
    current.
    The inductor is the same as the photo above but has
    a feedback winding of 15 turns.
    Connect the circuit via a 220R resistor and if the LED
    does not illuminate, reverse the feedback winding.
    The driver transistor will need a small heatsink.

    BUCK CONVERTER for HIGH-POWER


    LED 210mA
    This circuit will drive 1 high-power white LED from a
    12v supply and is capable of delivering 210mA.
    The driver transistor is BD 139 and the details of the
    inductor are shown above.
    The voltage across the LED is approx 3.3v - 3.5v
    The driver transistor will need a small heatsink.
    The 2R2 can be increased if a lower drive-current is
    required.

    BUCK CONVERTER for


    HIGH-POWER LED 250mA
    - 1watt LED
    This circuit will drive 1watt white
    LED from a 12v supply and is
    capable of delivering 300mA.
    The driver transistor is BC 327 and
    the inductor is 70 turns of 0.25mm
    wire wound on the core of a 10mH
    inductor.
    See Inductor to learn how the
    inductor works.
    The voltage across the LED is
    approx 3.3v - 3.5v
    The 1R is used to measure the mV
    across it. 300mV equals 300mA
    LED current.
    Designed 12-8-2011
    The diode MUST be high speed. A
    non-high-speed diode increases
    current 50mA!
    This circuit is the best design as it
    does not put peaks of current
    though the LED. Reduce 390R
    slightly to increase max. current.
    MAKE YOUR OWN 1-WATT LED

    The transformer consists of 50 turns


    0.25mm wire connected to the pins.
    The feedback winding is 20 turns
    15 LEDs on Matrix board 0.095mm wire with "fly-leads."
    This circuit drives 15 LEDs to produce the same brightness as a 1-watt LED. The circuit
    consumes 750mW but the LEDs are driven with high-frequency, high-voltage spikes, and
    become more-efficient and produce a brighter output that if driven by pure-DC.
    The LEDs are connected in 3 strings of 5 LEDs. Each LED has a characteristic voltage of 3.2v
    to 3.6v making each chain between 16v and 18v. By selecting the LEDs we have produced 3
    chains of 17.5v Five LEDs (in a string) has been done to allow the circuit to be powered by a
    12v battery and allow the battery to be charged while the LEDs are illuminating. If only 4 LEDs
    are in series, the characteristic voltage may be as low as 12.8v and they may be over-driven
    when the battery is charging. (Even-up the characteristic voltage across each chain by
    checking the total voltage across them with an 19v supply and 470R dropper resistor.) The
    transformer is shown above. It is wound on a 10mH choke with the original winding removed.
    This circuit is called a "boost circuit." It is not designed to drive a single 1-watt LED (a buck
    circuit is needed).
    The LEDs in the circuit are 20,000mcd with a viewing angle of 30 degrees (many of the LED
    specifications use "half angle." You have to test a LED to make sure of the angle). This
    equates to approximately 4 lumens per LED. The 4-watt CREE LED claims 160 lumens (or 40
    lumens per watt). Our design is between 50 - 60 lumens per watt and it is a much-cheaper
    design.

    18 LEDs using a 3.7v Li-Ion CELL


    This circuit drives 18 white LEDs from a 3.7v Li-Ion cell. It has been designed by Samuel
    Budiyanto [email protected] using components from an old Compact
    Fluorescent Lamp. No data is available on the 1mH inductor and the circuit has been
    provided for experimentation purposes ONLY.
    It is an interesting circuit because the two transistors provide a constant brightness and the
    BC547 provides feedback to keep the circuit oscillating.
    The 10k base resistor seems very high but the circuit has been tested for 12 hours on a
    1200mA-Hr cell and the brightness remained constant.
    The brightness is determined by how hard you drive the 2SD882 transistor.
    It is turned on by the 10k resistor and this will deliver very little current, but since the transistor
    has a gain of 100 to 300, the collector current will be up to about 100mA.
    Basically the circuit will over-drive the LEDs and the BC547 will limit the current to the
    required brightness level.
    The BC547 transistor has the effect of turning OFF the 2SD at a particular instant in each
    cycle to reduce the time when it is turned ON. The BC547 gets its "timing" from the 10k and
    1k resistors, by the fact that these resistors form a voltage divider to produce a voltage on the
    base. When the 2SD turns ON, a voltage is developed across the 10R that adds to this
    voltage but it is delayed slightly by the 1n capacitor. The 1n determines the frequency at
    which the circuit will oscillate. By experimenting with these 4 components you get the required
    brightness and this remains constant for the life of the cell.
    All the LEDs are in series on each string and the brightness will depend on matching each
    string. By swapping some of the LEDs you will be able to adjust the brightness to make them
    all emit equally.

    1-WATT LED - a very good designn


    This circuit has been specially designed for
    a 6v rechargeable battery or 5 x 1.2v NiCad
    cells. Do not use any other voltage.
    It has many features:
    The pulse-operation to the two 1-watt LEDs
    delivers a high current for a short period of
    time and this improves the brightness.
    The circuit can drive two 1-watt LEDs with
    extremely good brightness and this makes
    it more efficient than any other design.
    The circuit is a two-transistor high-
    frequency oscillator and it works like this:
    The BD139 is turned ON via the base,
    through the white LED and two signal
    diodes and it amplifies this current to
    appear though the collector-emitter circuit.
    This current flows though the 1-watt LED to
    turn it ON and also through the 30-turn
    winding of the inductor. At the same time
    the current through the 10R creates a
    voltage-drop and when this voltage rises to
    Circuit takes 70mA on LOW brightness 0.65v, the BC547 transistor starts to turn
    and 120mA on HIGH Brightness ON. This robs the base of the BD139 of
    see MOD below "turn-on voltage" and the current through
    the inductor ceases to be expanding flux,
    but stationary flux.
    The 1n capacitor was initially pushing against the voltage-rise on the base of the BC547 but it now
    has a reverse-effect of allowing the BC547 to turn ON.
    This turns off the BD139 a little more and the current through the inductor reduces.
    This creates a collapsing flux that produces a voltage across the coil in the opposite direction. This
    voltage passes via the 1n to turn the BC547 ON and the BD139 is fully turned OFF.
    The inductor effectively becomes a miniature battery with negative on the lower LED and positive at
    the anode of the Ultra Fast diode. The voltage produced by the inductor flows through the UF diode
    and both 1-watt LEDs to give them a spike of high current. The circuit operates at approx 500kHz and
    this will depend on the inductance of the inductor.
    The circuit has about 85% efficiency due to the absence of a current-limiting resistor, and shuts off at
    4v, thus preventing deep-discharge of the rechargeable cells or 6v battery.
    The clever part of the circuit is the white LED and two diodes. These form a zener reference to turn
    the circuit off at 4v. The 10k resistor helps too.
    The circuit takes 70mA on low brightness and 120mA on HIGH brightness via the brightness-switch.
    The LEDs actually get 200mA pulses of current and this produces the high brightness.

    The Inductor
    The coil or inductor is not critical. You can use a broken antenna rod from an AM radio (or a flat
    antenna slab) or an inductor from a computer power supply. Look for an inductor with a few turns of
    thick wire (at least 30) and you won't have to re-wind it.
    Here are two inductors from surplus outlets:
    http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16521B
    - 50 cents
    http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/CR-345/345-UH-TOROIDAL-INDUCTOR/1.html -
    40cents

    Here are the surplus inductors:


    The cost of surplus is from 10 cents to 50 cents, but you are sure to find something from a computer
    power supply.
    Pick an inductor that is about 6mm to 10mm diameter and 10mm to 15mm high. Larger inductor will
    not do any damage. They simply have more ferrite material to store the energy and will not be
    saturated. It is the circuit that delivers the energy to the inductor and then the inductor releases it to
    the LEDs via the high speed diode.

    IMPROVEMENT
    By using the following idea, the current reduces to 90mA and 70mA and the illumination over a
    workbench is much better than a single high-power LED. It is much brighter and much nicer to work
    under.
    Connect fifteen 5mm LEDs in parallel (I used 20,000mcd LEDs) by soldering them to a double-sided
    strip of PC board, 10mm wide and 300mm long. Space them at about 20mm. I know you shouldn't
    connect LEDs in parallel, but the concept works very well in this case. If some of the LEDs have a
    characteristic high voltage and do not illuminate very brightly, simply replace them and use them later
    for another strip.
    You can replace one or both the 1-watt LEDs with a LED Strip, as shown below:

    No current-limit resistor. . . why isn't the LED damaged?


    Here's why the LED isn't damaged:
    When the BD139 transistor turns ON, current flows through the LEDs and the inductor. This current
    gradually increases due to the gradual turning-on of the transistor and it is also increasing through the
    inductor. The inductor also has an effect of slowing-down the "in-rush" of current due to the expanding
    flux cutting the turns of the coil, so there is a "double-effect" on avoiding a high initial current. That's
    why there is little chance of damaging the LEDs.
    When it reaches 65mA, it produces a voltage of .065 x 10 = 650mV across the 10R resistor, but the
    1n is pushing against this increase and it may have to rise to 150mA to turn on the BC547. LEDs can
    withstand 4 times the normal current for very short periods of time and that's what happens in this
    case. The BD139 is then turned off by the voltage produced by the inductor due to the collapsing
    magnetic flux and a spike of high current is passed to the LEDs via the high speed diode. During each
    cycle, the LEDs receive two pulses of high current and this produces a very high brightness with the
    least amount of energy from the supply. All the components run "cold" and even the 1-watt LEDs are
    hardly warm.

    Charging and Discharging


    This project is designed to use all your old NiCad cells and mobile phone batteries.
    It doesn't matter if you mix up sizes and type as the circuit takes a low current and shuts off when the
    voltage is approx 4v for a 6v pack.
    If you mix up 600mA-Hr cells with 1650mA-Hr, 2,000mA-Hr and 2,400mA-Hr, the lowest capacity cell
    will determine the operating time.
    The capacity of a cells is called "C."
    Normally, a cell is charged at the 14 hour-rate.
    The charging current is 10% of the capacity. For a 600mA-Hr cell, this is 60mA. In 10 hours it will be
    fully charged, but charging is not 100% efficient and so we allow another 2 to 4 hours.
    For a 2,400mA-Hr cell, it is 240mA. If you charge them faster than 14-hr rate, they will get HOT and if
    they get very hot, they may leak or even explode. But this project is designed to be charged via a
    solar panel using 100mA to 200mA cells, so nothing will be damaged.
    Ideally a battery is discharged at C/10 rate. This means the battery will last 10 hours and for a
    600mA-Hr cell, this is 60mA. If you discharge it at the "C-rate," it will theoretically last 1 hour and the
    current will be 600mA. But at 600mA, the cells may only last 45 minutes. If you discharge is at C/5
    rate, it will last 5 hours.
    Our project takes 120mA so no cell will be too-stressed. A 600mA-Hr cell will last about 4-5 hours,
    while the other cells will last up to 24 hours. Try to keep the capacity of each cell in a "battery-pack"
    equal.

    MODIFICATIONS FROM A READER [email protected]


    The 390R changed to 1k. The 1n changed to 470p. Replaced the UF4004 with 4 x 1N4148 in
    parallel.
    The result is amazing, much brighter! I can't believe it.
    I put 20 white LEDs in a LED strip... and it works nicely.
    Much brighter than two 1 Watt LEDs.
    Colin: If the length of a ferrite rod is too short, the magnetic material will saturate and it will not
    accept any more current and it will start to produce losses by heating-up. A toroid may work better
    because it will accept a higher flux density because the magnetic path does not have an air gap. (a
    ferrite rod is said to have an air-gap at the ends of the rod). That's why a toroid will be smaller than a
    rod.
    1.5 WATT LED
    The circuit below can be modified to drive up to 30
    white LEDs.
    The effectiveness of a LED array increases when
    they are spread out slightly and this makes them
    more efficient than a single 1 watt or 2 watt LED.
    The two modifications to the circuit make the BC337
    work harder and this is the limit of the inductor. The
    current consumption is about 95mA.
    The winding details for the transformer are shown
    above.

    30 LEDs on Matrix board

    DRIVE 20 LEDs FROM 12v - approx 1watt circuit


    This is another circuit that drives a number of LEDs or a single 1 watt LED. It is a "Buck Circuit"
    and drives the LEDs in parallel. They should be graded so that the characteristic voltage-drop
    across each of them is within 0.2v of all the other LEDs. The circuit will drive any number from 1 to
    20 by changing the "sensor" resistor as shown on the circuit. The current consumption is about
    95mA @ 12v and lower at 18v. The circuit can be put into dim mode by increasing the drive resistor
    to 2k2. The UF4004 is an ultra fast 1N4004 - similar to a high-speed diode. You can use 2 x
    1N4148 signal diodes.
    The circuit will not drive two LEDs in series - it runs
    out of voltage (and current) when the voltage across
    the load is 7v. It oscillates at approx 200kHz. Build
    both the 20 LED and 1 watt LED version and
    compare the brightness and effectiveness.
    The photo of the 1 watt LED on the left must be
    heatsinked to prevent the LED overheating. The
    photo on the circuit diagram shows the LED
    mounted on a heatsink and the connecting wires.
    A 1-watt demo board showing the complex step-up circuitry.
    This is a Boost circuit to illuminate the LED and is completely different to our design. It has been
    included to show the size of a 1 watt LED.
    The reason for a Boost or Buck circuit to drive one or more LEDs is simple. The voltage across a
    LED is called a "characteristic voltage" and comes as a natural feature of the LED. We cannot alter
    it. To power the LED with exactly the correct amount of voltage (and current) you need a supply
    that is EXACTLY the same as the characteristic voltage. This is very difficult to do and so a resistor
    is normally added in series. But this resistor wastes a lot of energy. So, to keep the loses to a
    minimum, we pulse the LED with bursts of energy at a higher voltage and the LED absorbs them
    and produces light. With a Buck circuit, the transistor is turned on for a short period of time and
    illuminated the LEDs. At the same time, some of the energy is passed to the inductor so that the
    LEDs are not damaged. When the transistor is turned off, the energy from the inductor also gives a
    pulse of energy to the LEDs. When this has been delivered, the cycle starts again.

    BUCK CONVERTER for 3watt LED


    This circuit drives a 3watt LED. You have to be careful not to damage the LED when setting up the
    circuit. Add a 10R to the supply rail and hold it in your fingers. Make sure it does not get too hot and
    monitor the voltage across the resistor. Each 1v represents 100mA. The circuit will work and nothing
    will be damaged. If the resistor "burns your fingers" you have a short circuit.
    The BC557 multivibrator has a "mark-to-space ratio" determined by the 22n and 33k, compared to the
    100n and 47k, producing about 3:1 The BD679 is turned ON for about 30% of the time. This
    produces a very bright output, and takes about 170mA for 30% of the time. You cannot measure this
    current with a meter as it reads the peak value and the reading will be totally false. The only way to
    view the waveform is on a CRO, and calculate the current.
    The 100-turn inductor allows the BD679 turn turn ON fully and "separates" the voltage on the emitter
    of the BC679 from the voltage on the top of the 3watt LED.
    When the BD679 turns ON, the emitter rises to about 10v. But the top of the LED NEVER rises above
    3.6v. The inductor "buffers" or "separates" these two voltages by producing a voltage across the
    winding equal to 6.4v and that's why the LED is not damaged.
    When the transistor turns off (for 60% of the time), the magnetic flux produced by the current in the
    inductor collapses and produces a voltage in the opposite direction. This means the inductor now
    becomes a miniature battery and for a very short period of time it produces energy to illuminate the
    LED. The top of the inductor becomes negative and the bottom is positive. The current flows through
    the LED and through the Ultra High-Speed 1N4004 diode to complete the circuit. Thus the circuit
    takes advantage of the energy in the inductor.
    A 500R pot is placed across the LED and a voltage is picked off the pot to turn on a BC547 transistor.
    This transistor "robs" some of the "turn-on" for the BD679 transistor to reduce the brightness of the
    LED.
    Because the circuit is driving the LED with pulses, very high brightness is obtained with a low current.
    Our eyes detect peak brightness and you can compare the performance of this circuit with a DC
    driven LED.

    CONSTANT CURRENT DRIVES TWO 3WATT LEDs


    This constant current circuit is designed to drive two 3-watt Luxeon
    LEDs. The LEDs require 1,000mA (1Amp) and have a characteristic
    voltage-drop across them of about 3.8v. Approximately 4v is dropped
    across the LM317T regulator and 1.25v across the current-limiting
    resistors, so the input voltage (supply) has to be 12.85v. A 12v battery
    generally delivers 12.6v.
    The LM 317T 3-terminal regulator will need to be heatsinked.
    This circuit is designed for the LM series of regulator as they have a
    voltage differential of 1.25v between "adj" and "out" terminals.

    AUTOMATIC GARDEN LIGHT


    This circuit automatically turns on and illuminates the LEDs when the solar panel does not detect
    any light. It switches off when the solar panel produces more than 1v and charges the battery
    when the panel produces more than 1.5v + 0.6v = 2.1v

    AUTOMATIC BATHROOM LIGHT or PASSAGE LIGHT


    by Samuel Budiyanto [email protected]

    This circuit is for all those who experience black-outs and "power-outs."
    It uses a 5v charger from an old mobile phone to trickle charge a 3.6v cell or 2 x lead acid cells.
    Use a small toroid about 40mm diameter or a 10mm ferrite rod 40mm long and 0.25mm wire.
    Keep the charge to 10mA to 20mA and the LEDs will come on every time the power fails. My
    circuit has been working for the past 7 months. If the LEDs don't illuminate with equal brightness,
    change them around and they will equalise.

    AUTOMATIC SOLAR LIGHT


    This circuit automatically turns on and illuminates the LEDs when the solar panel does not
    detect any light. It switches off when the solar panel produces more than 0.5v above the battery
    voltage.
    You can use any number of white LEDs. LEDS should not be connected in parallel, however
    they work if you selects LEDs that produce the same brightness. Any dull LEDs can be used in
    another circuit.
    When the solar panel receives sunlight, the voltage on the base of the transistor keeps it turned
    OFF. When the panel receives no illumination, the 470R and 1k resistors turn the transistor ON.
    You can use a 6v 0.5watt or 1 watt solar panel and the first circuit uses an NPN transistor while
    the second circuit uses a PNP transistor.
    The output of the solar panel automatically adjusts to the voltage of the battery and as more
    light is detected by the panel, the current increases.
    A 0.5watt panel contains 100mA cells and a 1watt panel contains 200mA cells. The battery can
    have any capacity from 600mAHr to 1800mAHr.
    We are assuming the battery is used all night and is flat in the morning.
    A 600mAHr battery will take 6-8 hours to fully charge with a 0.5watt panel and a 1800mAHr
    battery will take 2 days to charge with a 1 watt panel.
    Each white LED requires about 20mA for good brightness and the 47R resistor will have to be
    adjusted to suit the battery voltage and the number of LEDs.
    The third circuit uses a 12v 0.5watt or 1 watt solar panel and the circuit is much more efficient
    as 3 white LEDs can be connected in series for each 20mA of current.
    27MHz DOOR PHONE
    This circuit turns a walkie talkie into a handy wireless door phone. It saves wiring and the receiver
    can be taken with you upstairs or outside, without loosing a call from a visitor.
    A 5-Transistor walkie talkie can be used (see circuit above) and the modifications made to the
    transmitter and receiver are shown below:

    THE TRANSMITTER
    Only three sections of the transmit/ receive
    switch are used in the walkie talkie circuit
    and our modification uses the fourth
    section. Cut the tracks to the lands of the
    unused section so it can be used for our
    circuit.
    There are a number of different printed
    circuit boards on the market, all using the
    same circuit and some will be physically
    different to that shown in the photo. But
    one of the sections of the switch will be
    unused.
    Build the 2-transistor delay circuit and
    connect it to the walkie talkie board as
    shown. When the "push-to-talk" switch is
    pressed, the PC board will be activated as
    the delay circuit effectively connects the
    negative lead of the battery to the negative
    rail of the board for about 30 seconds.
    The 100u gradually discharges via the 1M
    after the "press-to-talk" switch is released
    and the two transistors turn off and the
    current drops to less than 1 micro-amp -
    that's why the power switch can be left
    on. .
    The transmitter walkie talkie is placed at
    the front door and the power switch is turned on. To call, push the "push-to-talk" switch and the
    "CALL" button at the same time for about 5 seconds. The circuit will activate and when the "push-
    to-talk" switch is released, the circuit will produce background noise for about 30 seconds and you
    will hear when call is answered.
    The "push-to-talk" switch is then used to talk to the other end and this will activate the circuit for a
    further 30 seconds. If the walkie talkie does not have a "CALL" switch, 3 components can be added
    to provide feedback, as shown in the circuit below, to produce a tone.

    THE RECEIVER
    The receiver circuit needs modification and a 2-transistor circuit is added. This circuit detects the
    tone and activates the 3-transistor direct-coupled amplifier so that the speaker produces a tone.
    The receiver circuit is switched on and the 2-transistor circuit we connect to the PC board
    effectively turns on the 3-transistor amplifier so that the quiescent current drops from 10mA to
    about 2-3mA. It also mutes the speaker as the amplifier is not activated. The circuit remains on all
    the time so it will be able to detect a "CALL." When a tone is picked up by the first two transistors in
    the walkie talkie, it is passed to the first transistor in our "add-on" section and this transistor
    produces a signal with sufficient amplitude to remove the charge on the 1u electrolytic. This
    switches off the second transistor and this allows the 3-transistor amplifier to pass the tone to the
    speaker. The operator then slides a switch called "OPERATE" to ON (down) and this turns on the
    3-transistor amplifier. Pressing the "push-to-talk" switch (labelled T/R) allows a conversation with
    the person at the door. Slide the "OPERATE" switch up when finished.
    The receiver walkie talkie with the 2-transistor "add-on"

    SCHMITT TRIGGER
    A Schmitt Trigger is any circuit that has a fast change-over from one
    state to the other. In our case we have used 2 transistors to produce this
    effect and the third is an emitter-follower buffer.
    The circuit will drive a LED or relay and the purpose is to turn the LED
    ON quickly at a particular level of illumination and OFF at a higher level.
    The gap between ON and OFF is called the HYSTERESIS GAP.

    SCHMITT TRIGGER-2
    The following circuit is a Schmitt Trigger made with NPN and PNP
    transistors:

    SCHMITT TRIGGER-3
    The following circuit is another Schmitt Trigger made with NPN and PNP
    transistors. The 100k "stop resistor" on the 100k prevents the circuit
    turning ON when the pot is near the supply rail.

    PHONE TAPE - 1
    This simple circuit will allow you to tape-record a conversation from a phone line.
    It must be placed between the plug on the wall and the phone.
    The easiest way is to cut an extension lead. Wind 300-500 turns of 0.095mm wire on a
    plastic straw and place the reed switch inside. Start with 300 turns and see if the reed
    switch activates, Keep adding turns until the switch is reliable.
    Fit two 100n capacitors to the ends of the winding for the audio. Plug the Audio into "Mic"
    on tape recorder. Plug the remote into "remote" on the tape recorder and push "record."
    The tape recorder will turn on when the phone is lifted and record the conversation.
    PHONE TAPE - 2
    The circuit is turned off when the phone line is 45v as the voltage divider
    made up of the 470k, 1M and 100k puts 3.5v on the base of the first
    BC557 transistor. If you are not able to cut the lead to the phone, the
    circuit above will record a conversation from an extension lead. The
    remote plug must be wired around the correct way for the motor to
    operate.

    PHONE ALERT
    Two circuits are available to show when a phone is being used. The first circuit must be placed
    between the socket on the wall and the phone - such as cutting into the lead and insert the bridge
    and diode.
    But if you cannot cut the lead to the phone, you will have to add an extension cord and place the
    second circuit at the end of the line. You can also connect a phone at the end if needed.

    PHONE ALERT-2 (for mobile phone)


    This circuit detects the RF when the phone is communicating with the tower during the
    hand-shaking prior to it ringing.
    The 1SS86 is a Silicon Schottky Barrier Diode for UHF circuits and is 100 times more
    sensitive than a 1N4148 signal diode. Many of the "clone" 1SS86 diodes (fake or really
    another type of diode) sold on eBay NOT NOT WORK. The characteristics of the 1SSS86
    are really amazing.
    This is an ideal circuit to test different diodes.
    The first transistor is biased ON and the signal (waveform) developed across the coil
    takes the cathode end of the diode NEGATIVE for part of the cycle and this puts a slightly
    lower voltage on the left lead of the 10n capacitor. The right-lead follows and a slightly
    lower voltage is applied to the base of the transistor. The transistor turns OFF slightly and
    this effect is passed to the other two transistors to flash the LED.
    With 1N4148, the phone must be 10cm from the project. With a 1SS86 it can be one
    metre away. The circuit takes about 1mA.

    A kit is available from Talking Electronics for $3.00 plus $4.50 postage. The project is built
    on Matrix Board as shown in the drawing above. Phone Alert kit
    THE LISTENER
    This circuit consists of a 4-transistor amplifier and a 3-transistor "switch" that detects when the
    phone line is in use, and turns on the amplifier. The voltage divider at the front end produces about
    11v on the base of the first BC557 and this keeps the transistor off. Switch the unit off when
    removed from the phone line.

    PHONE TRANSMITTER - 1 see also Phone Bug circuit in: 101-200 circuits
    The circuit will transmit a phone conversation to an FM radio on the 88-108MHz band. It uses energy from the
    phone line to transmit about 100metres. It uses the phone wire as the antenna and is activated when the phone is
    picked up. The components are mounted on a small PC board and the lower photo clearly shows the track-work.
    PHONE TRANSMITTER - 2 see also Phone Bug (101-200 circuits)
    The circuit will transmit a phone conversation to an FM radio on the 88-108MHz
    band. It uses energy from the phone line to transmit about 200metres. It uses
    the phone wire as the antenna and is activated when the phone is picked up.

    PHONE TRANSMITTER - 3 see also Phone Bug (101-200 circuits)


    This circuit has poor features but you can try it and see how it performs. It uses
    a PNP transistor and requires a separate antenna. It also has a supply of less
    than 1.9v, via the red LED. It would be better to put 2 LEDs in series to get a
    higher voltage. It is activated when the phone is picked up.
    PHONE TRANSMITTER - 4 see also Phone Bug (101-200 circuits)

    The circuit was originally designed by me and presented in Poptronics magazine. It will
    transmit a phone conversation to an FM radio on the 88-108MHz band. It uses energy
    from the phone line to transmit about 200metres and uses the phone wire as the antenna.
    It is activated when the phone is picked up. The 22p air trimmer is shown as well as the 3
    coils. Q2 is a buffer transistor between the oscillator and phone line and will provide a
    higher output than the previous circuits.

    MUSIC ON HOLD
    This simple circuit delivers audio to the phone
    line from the "audio-out" of a tape recorder or
    radio.
    Adjust the volume control of the radio to
    produce a suitable level of audio.
    Use 400v capacitors to be on the safe-side.

    ROBOT-1
    A simple robot can be made with 2 motors and two light-detecting circuits, (identical to the circuit above).
    The robot is attracted to light and when the light dependent resistor sees light, its resistance decreases.
    This turns on the BC547 and also the BC557. The shaft of the motor has a rubber foot that contacts the
    ground and moves the robot. The two pots adjust the sensitivity of the LDRs. This kit is available from
    Velleman as kit number MK127.

    SWITCH DEBOUNCER and PULSE PRODUCER


    Thus is one of the simplest and cleverest circuits ever produced (by Ron:
    http://www.zen22142.zen.co.uk/ronj/tg1.html
    Ron says: It produces a complete pulse every time the button is pressed.
    When the button is pressed, the output goes low for 3uS and produces a
    pulse to activate the clock-line of a chip. Our circuit produced 100%
    reliability and the cap takes 0.1sec to discharge.
    The circuit does not have any filtering to prevent switch noise as it relying on
    the fact that a single pulse is produced in 3uS and the circuit assumes no
    switch noise can be produced in that time-interval.
    100 more transistor circuits: 101-200 Circuits

    Go to Talking Electronics website: HERE for "new page" format click:


    HERE
    All the resistor colours:
    See 101-200 Circuits for resistors in parallel and series and
    capacitors in parallel and series. You can make ANY VALUE by simply
    connecting resistors in parallel or series. And the same with capacitors.

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