DIY Electronics Projects and Circuit Diagrams, Schematics

Simple Stereo VU Meter

2012-01-20T23:35:00.002+05:00

I like to see lights move to music. This project will indicate the volume level of the audio going to your speakers by lighting up LEDS. The LEDS can be any color so mix them up and really make it look good. The input of the circuit is connected to the speaker output of your audio amplifier. You want to build two identical units to indicate both right and left channels. The input signal level is adjusted by the 10k ohm VR. If you wish to make a very large scale model of this unit and hang it on your wall there is an optional output transistor that can drive many LEDS at once. The unit I built drove three LEDS for each output. The sequence of the LEDS lighting are as follows Pin 1, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10.

Voice Scrambler

2012-01-20T23:34:00.004+05:00

With this circuit you can modify how your voice sounds by changing the pitch of your voice. This circuit can be connected to a phone and with a duplicate circuit on the end of the phone line, you can have a scrambled voice communication. The way the circuit works is as follows: If we cut the circuit in half at the T2 transformer and include the LM324 on the left side, you will see that the LM324 portion of the circuit is a tone oscillator which shifts the frequency of all input signals to a new higher frequency. When the voice and the tone oscillator mix frequencies the voice is not recognized. The voice signal is then inputted to the second stage which again shifts the voice signal again. I recommend that the first stage be tuned to a frequency that is 100hz lower then the second stage.

Universal DC Power Supply

2012-01-20T23:33:00.003+05:00

I didn't realize till the other day that I have never shown a circuit for a standard power supply. Shown below is a supply that will use any of the LM78XX series of voltage regulators. The transformer in the circuit will vary depending on which regulator you use. For voltages from 5 to 12 use a transformer with output of 18vac. With voltages from 15 to 24 use a transformer of 30vac. The first capacitor in the circuit may need to vary if you are supplying more current to the load. Typically it will be 2000uf for every amp of current.

Touch Switch II

2012-01-20T23:29:00.004+05:00

This circuit uses a 555 timer as the bases of the touch switch. You can learn more about 555 timers in the Learning section on my site. When the plate is touched the 555 timer is triggered and the output on pin 3 goes high turning on the LED and the buzzer for a certain period of time. The time that the LED and the buzzer is on is based on the values of the capacitor and resistor connected to pin 6 & 7. The 10M resistor on pin 2 causes the the circuit to be very sensitive to the touch.

Touch 'N Flip

2012-01-20T23:27:00.003+05:00

Ever wonder how a touch plate, like the kind you see on some elevators and lamps work? This circuit will give you a feel for how the touch plate works in a circuit and you can expand on the circuit to suit your project needs. The touch plate can be a small piece of metal or aluminum foil. Start the circuit by moving S2 to the set position and then back to the previous position. Now press S1. One of the LED's will light. Now touch the touch plate and the LED's will flip on the opposite way. The sensitivity of the plate will vary depending on the humidity. Adjust the VR and capacitor that is connected to S2 to adjust the sensitivity.

Strobe Light

2012-01-20T23:25:00.003+05:00

The way that this circuit works is as follows. The AC line voltage is rectified by D1 and D2 which connects to a voltage doubler circuit made up of the two 22uf capacitors. The Flash Freq. Pot and the 10uf capacitor charge up which triggers the Diac and causes the triac to turn on. This allows the trigger transformer T1 to send a very High Voltage to the flash tube and lighting it. The flash timing is adjusted by the flash freq. pot.

Quick Draw

2012-01-20T23:24:00.004+05:00

The object of Quick Draw is to test your reaction time against your opponent's. A third person acts as a referee and begins the duel by pressing S1, which lights LED1. Upon seeing LED1 go on, you try to outdraw your opponent by moving S2 from "Holster" position to "Draw" position before your opponent moves S3 from "Holster" to "Draw" position. Who ever gets there first will light the corresponding LED and will automatically prevent the other LED from lighting, clearly indicating a winner.

Phone In Use Indicator

2012-01-20T23:22:00.003+05:00

With this circuit mounted in or near every phone in the house, it will allow users to know if the phone is being used and not to pick up the phone. When a phone is taken off hook, the voltage across the tip and ring terminals drops to 10 volts or less. This will cause the FET (2N4360) to turn on and also turn on the transistor (2N2222). When the transistor turns on it will allow current to flow through the LED and make it light. A blinking LED could be used to make the effect better.

Phone Hold With Music

2012-01-20T23:20:00.002+05:00

This circuit will allow you to place a phone call on hold and if you wish to have them listen to music while they are on hold. The circuit operates as follows: The RED wire from the phone jack is typically positive and the GREEN wire is negative or ground. When you want to place a call on hold, close S1 and hang up the handset. The resistor R1 simulates another phone off hook and allows enough current to pass through to prevent the phone company from disconnecting the call.

The resistor R2 and LED provide a visual indication that you have someone on hold ( this is optional ) The capacitor C1 and the transformer provide the interface to a radio or CD player headphone jack. Before you hook up the project to the phone line you must determine the polarity of the line. Place a voltmeter across the red and green wires of the telephone line, there should be about 48 volts DC positive when the black lead of your meter is connected to the green phone wire. If it is negative 48 volts then reverse the wires.

Motor Speed Control

2012-01-20T23:19:00.003+05:00

This circuit will allow you to control the speed of an AC motor, for example an electric drill. The way that this circuit works is as follows. The bridge rectifier produces dc voltage from the 120vac line. A portion on this current passes through the 10K ohm pot. The circuit comprised of the 10k pot, the two 100 ohm resistors and the 50uf capacitors delivers gate drive of the SCR. The diode D1 protects the circuit from reverse voltage spikes. The ratings of the bridge rectifier and the SCR should be 25 amps and PIV 600 volts. The diode D1 should be rated for 2 amps with PIV of 600 volts. The circuit can handle a load up to 10 amps. The SCR should be very well heat sinked.

Infrared Remote Control

2012-01-20T23:17:00.002+05:00

This circuit will allow you to turn on any piece of equipment that operates on 115 volts ac. The receiver circuit is based on the Radio Shack infrared receiver module (MOD), part number 276-137. It is also available from some of the other sources listed on my Links page. The MOD accepts a 40khz IR signal that is modulated at 4 khz. When a signal is received the MOD will go low. The sensitivity of the MOD is set by different values for R1 and C1. The values for R1 may need to be as high as 10,000 ohms and for C1 40uf. This will prevent the unit from turning on under normal lighting conditions. You will need to experiment with the values that work best for you. The output of the 4013 chip a flip flop toggles on and off with the reception of a IR pulse. The output of the 4013 turns on the MOC optical coupler which in turn switches on the triac and supplies power to the AC load.

Headlight Flasher

2012-01-20T23:16:00.005+05:00

This circuit was requested from an email. It will allow your car headlights to flash on and off at the same time or it will cause them to flash alternately. The circuit is based on the 555 timer. It is used in the astable mode. The 555 timer output will go high for an adjustable period of time and then turn off. It will then repeat the procedure. The time is adjusted by R1. To hook up the circuit to your car you must locate the positive wire from the fuse box to the headlights. Cut the wire and insert the relay contact and bypass switch. The bypass switch will allow you to bypass the relay contact for normal headlight operation. In the alternating headlight configuration you must cut the positive wire to each headlight and wire in the relay contact.

Electronic Combination Lock

2012-01-20T23:14:00.002+05:00

This circuit is very basic to build. To open a the lock which is connected to the K1 Load you must press each momentary switch in the correct sequence. The sequence used in this circuit is S1,S2,S3,S4. If any of the other switches are pressed the circuit will reset and you will need to start over. Depending on how you wire the switches, you can use any 4 switch combination.

Color Organ

2012-01-20T23:12:00.002+05:00

I have had many requests for this circuit. It was a very popular unit years ago. The basic idea of the project is to make different colored bulbs light at different frequencies of music. The circuit connects to the speaker outputs of your stereo or to the back of your speaker. The music passes through the transformer and the volume level is adjusted by the 5k ohm pot. Each light bulb is turn on by a different frequency of sound based on the resistor & capacitor combination in the gate circuit of the SCR. If the resistors R1, R2, or R3 are changed, the frequency of sound that will trigger the SCR will change. The isolation transformer is for protection.

Automotive Speed Indicator

2012-01-20T23:10:00.003+05:00

The speed of an automobile can be indicated by detecting the pulses generated by the ignition system and causing an LED to light. The circuit utilizes a quad NOR gate IC chip. Two of the gates are configured as a one shot multivibrator which produces a fixed duration pulse each time the primary circuit of the automobile ignition system opens the circuit to the ignition coil. The other 2 gates are used as buffers which provide an accurate rectangle pulse.

As the number of pulses per second increases, the voltage fed to the base of of the NPN transistor becomes high enough to cause it to conduct and turn on the LED. The speed at which the LED lights is set by R4. The input of the circuit is connected to the distributor side of the ignition coil or to the tachometer connection on those cars that are equipped with electronic ignition.

60 LED Clock

2012-01-20T23:08:00.002+05:00

This months project is based on the 4017 chip that we used in a project last month. If you haven't had a chance to review the basics of the 4017 chip you may want to review the info presented in June's project of the month. As you can see see we have changed the circuit a little. For example, the 4093 NAND gate is now set to exactly 1 second clock pulses. The clock rate is determined by the resistor and capacitor combination on the 4093.

If the resistor is 220k ohms and the capacitor is 4.7uf then the output will be 1 second clock pulses. To increase the clock rate you should decrease the value of the resistor or capacitor. To decrease the clock rate you should increase the value of the resistor or capacitor. Please remember to ground all unused legs of the 4093 or noise in the circuit will occur and cause the clock to malfunction. Therefore, ground pins 5,6,8,9,12, and 13. To operate the circuit simply move the switch from STOP to RUN.

DC 12 Volt to AC 120 Volt Inverter

2012-01-20T23:05:00.003+05:00

Ever needed a low power 120volt AC power source for your car, van or truck? Well this circuit should do the trick for you. It will supply 15 watts of AC power to a device. It should power lamps, shavers, small stereos and small appliances. If you draw to much power the circuit will shut down all by itself. The output of this circuit is a square wave so there may be some noticeable hum on audio units plugged into it. To reduce some of the hum increase the value of the output capacitor which is at .47uf now. That transistor in the circuit are high power PNP transistors. Radio Shack part number 276-2025 are good ones to use or TIP32. The transformer is a 24 volt 2 amp center tapped secondary Radio Shack part number 273-1512 or equivalent.

Car Charger for 12V Batteries

2012-01-12T18:17:00.001+05:00

The circuit has been designed to produce a battery charger for automobiles that are using 12V batteries only. BTY79 – a 10A Silicon controlled rectifier with an operational temperature range from 0ºC to 125ºC C106D – a 4A sensitive gate Silicon controlled rectifier that functions as reverse blocking thyristors designed for high volume consumer applications such as light, speed control, temperature, process and remote control, and warning systems where reliability of operation is important.

The typical car battery chargers have simple designs that produce a few amperes during its operation while charging the battery continuously. In the event that the charger is not turned OFF, overcharging will occur with due to evaporation which looses electrolyte and might cause damage to its elements. With the design of this circuit, this type of problem can be avoided by monitoring the condition of charging of the battery via the retroactive control circuit. This is done by imposing a high current charge until the charging is complete. The LED LD2 will indicate that charging is full which will eventually deactivate the charging circuit. In creating this design, the cables that connect the transformer to the circuit should have enough cross-sectional area to prevent voltage drop when heat is produced as the current flows through.

The adjustment of the circuit comes after the design, with the adjustment of TR1 to null value. The LEDs are checked without connecting the battery initially and allowing them to turn ON. By connecting a battery, a 2A to 4A current is permitted to flow while ensuring that LD2 is turned OFF. TR1 is carefully adjusted to a few hundred milliamps until LD2 turns ON. This is done using the hydrometer technique. The correct adjustment allows LD2 to begin flickering as the battery is being charged. Connected to the battery is Q1, since it functions as a rectifier and charges the battery, which can be fired in each half cycle by R3-4 and LD2. In case an uncharged battery is connected, a low terminal voltage is obtained.

When the voltage of the battery exceeds the predetermined value, Q2 is activated by the combination of C1, TR1, R2, and D2. Q1 is deactivated with the current supply cut off as the battery terminal voltage is increased where Q2 shifts the control of Q1 gate after TR1 fixed the increased battery terminal voltage above the level. A heatsink should be mounted on the bridge rectifier GR1 and Q1 to prevent overheating. A 5A DC ammeter M1, connected in parallel, is used to measure the charge current.

R1= 1Kohms
R2= 1.2Kohms
R3= 470 ohms
R4= 470 ohms
R5= 10Kohms
C1= 10uF 25V D1= 1N4001
D2= 6.8V 0.5W zener
TR1= 4.7Kohms trimmer
Q1= BTY79 or similar 6A SCR
Q2= C106D SCR
GR1= 50V 6A Bridge Rectifier T1= 220V/17V 4A Transformer
LD1= Green LED
LD2= Red LED
M1= 0-5A DC Ampere meter
S1= 10A D/P On / Off Switch
F= 5A Fuse.

The circuit’s theory of design will only be applied to batteries with rating of 12V. These batteries are mainly used in a variety of vehicles used in land, air, and water such as personal watercraft like boat, yacht, Jet Skis, and other marine applications. They are also utilized widely in automobiles and motorcycles such as quad bike, RVs, snowmobile, motor scooter, utility vehicle, and riding mower. It can also be beneficial to disabled persons by providing aid to wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

STK4050 Audio Amplifier with 200W Output

2012-01-12T17:50:00.002+05:00

The project is based around the hybrid integrated circuit STK4050 manufactured by Sanyo to build a low noise mono audio amplifier with complete high quality. The project has a maximum output power of 200W while incorporating a volume control. The power supply used in the circuit is an on-board type and because of this, only a center tapped transformer is needed for the powering of the circuit. The sound has a very good quality and it can be proven when used in home theaters, in computers, and other audio equipments which can also be used as subwoofer amplifier. For thin-type audio sets, it can be considered as a compact package.

The heat generated in thin-type audio sets is being dispersed easily with a good heatsink design. There may be case where a shock noise may be encountered especially during switch ON and switch OFF. This can be reduced by providing a constant current circuit. The design of the circuit can be tailored for reducing occurrence of thermal shutdown, short circuit protection for loads, shock noise muting from external power supply. The load resistance should have 8 Ohms value with 55K Ohms input impedance.

USB 5V to 12V DC-DC Step-Up Converter by LT1618

2012-01-12T17:46:00.002+05:00

This is a 5V to 12V DC-DC step-up (boost) converter circuitry that is especially ideal for the USB powered applications. First of all a USB port has two current supply modes. Before detecting the connected device, it supplies maximum 100mA to the load. After recognizing the device, it increases the output current up to 500mA. In this circuit, controller (LT1618) also provides two input current modes. 100mA and 500mA input modes can be selected by the user.

Output currents are limited due to the increased potential difference at the output. When the demand of the load increases, output voltage will start to decrease. For example, if the circuit operates in the 100 mA input mode, when the load is 35 mA, the output voltage will be kept at 12V. But if the load increases to 50 mA, output voltage will reduce to 8V to maintain the constant 100 mA input current.

Adjustable Symmetrical Power Supply Using LM317 and LM337

2012-01-12T17:26:00.003+05:00

The circuit was designed to provide an adjustment with a power supply that is symmetrically designed while providing a voltage range of 1.25V to 30V at 1A current. LM317 – an adjustable 3-terminal positive voltage regulator capable of supplying in excess of 1.5A over an output voltage range of 1.2V to 37V and requires only two external resistors to set the output voltage due to its internal current limiting, thermal shutdown and safe area compensation, making it essentially blow-out proof LM337 – an adjustable 3-terminal positive voltage regulator capable of supplying in excess of 5A used as battery chargers, constant current regulators, and adjustable power supplies due to its features such as protected output from short circuit, product enhancement tested, current limit constant with temperature, guaranteed thermal regulation, adjustable output down to 1.2V, guaranteed 5A, and guaranteed 7A peak output current.

The circuit will serve as a voltage converter with an input voltage of 35 V to produce an output voltage of 1.25 V to 30 V. The positive voltage is being handled by LM317 IC while the negative voltage is handled by LM337. The circuit can provide an output current of 1 A. During the production of 1 A current, the regulator is dissipating too much heat and without the presence of a heatsink, the regulator may get damaged.

Using these types of regulators provide features such as low noise and low price in the market. It can be made operational even with few components used. The only disadvantage that it will impose is the poor conversion efficiency. With the output of 35 V to 5 V, the efficient ratio of the output power with the input power is less than 42%. This is the reason why the switching regulator became cheap recently although the number of external components to be connected is minimally increased. These regulators will work with better efficiency when used in case where current is more than 1A for more than 15 V and 0.4 A for less than 15 V from the power supply. Each regulator is adjusted for single positive and negative voltage output using the 10K ohms potentiometers RV1 & RV2. For dual outputs, a dual connected potentiometer RV3 is made to operate by switch S1. The visual indication on the voltmeter V1 is shown using the switch S2.

R1-2=270ohms
R3-4=2.2Kohms
R5-6=10Kohms
C1-5=100uF/63V
C2-4=100nF/100V
C3-8=10uF/25V
C6-10=100uF/63V
C7-9=100nF/100V
RV1-2=10Kohms Lin.
RV3=2X10Kohms Lin.
IC 1=LM 317T
IC 2=LM 337T
D1-2=1N4001
D3-4=1N4001
L1-2=LED 3mm
F1-2=1A slow Blow Fuse
S1-2=2X ON-ON SW
V1=0-30V DC Voltmeter

The adjustable symmetrical power supply is suitable to be used in audio amplifiers, microphone amplifiers, op-amp applications, impedance converters and other devices that require regulated positive and negative DC supply, since the output current is 1 A.

Cash Box Guard

2012-01-06T01:10:00.003+05:00

Most thefts happen after midnight when people enter the second phase of sleep called 'paradoxical sleep.' Here is a smart security circuit for your cash box that thwarts the theft attempt by activating an emergency beeper. The circuit can also be used to trigger any external burglar alarm unit. The cash box guard circuit (shown in Fig. 1) is built around IC CD4060 (IC1), which has an inbuilt oscillator and divider. The basic oscillator is configured by a simple resistor-capacitor (R-C) network. IC CD4060 divides this oscillator frequency into binary divisions, which are available as outputs.

In light, reset pin 12 of IC1 remains low, which enables the oscillator built around IC1. However, in the dark, it making all the outputs low. This also stops oscillations of the internal oscillator. Working of the circuit is simple. If the cash box is closed, the interior will be dark. Hence in the dark, the light-dependant resistor (LDR1) resets IC1 and it stops oscillating and counting. At the same time, pins 13 and 14 of IC1 go low. So neither the piezobuzzer (PZ1) sounds, nor the relay (RL1) energises, indicating that the cash box is closed.

Fig. 1: Cash box guard circuit

If someone tries to open the door of the cash box, light-most probably from the burglar's pen torch -falls on LDR1 fitted into the cash box. As a result, LDR1 conducts and pin 12 of IC1 goes low. IC1 starts oscillating and counting. With the present timing R-C components (at pins 9, 10 and 11), the output timing at pin 14 of IC1 is two-three seconds. Hence pin 14 of IC1 goes high for two seconds after the door is opened and goes low for another two seconds. So the piezobuzzer (PZ1) sounds for two seconds and then falls silent for the following two seconds. This cycle repeats until the cash box is closed.

An optional relay is added for a remotely located audio/visual alert system. For that, a relay driver circuit built around npn transistor BC548 (T2) is used. The relay is energised by the output from pin 13 of IC1 for about four seconds after the door is opened and then de-energised for the following four seconds. You can use this relay to activate another remotely located audio/visual alert system. After assembling the circuit on a small PCB, house it in a small tamper-proof box (refer Fig. 2) leaving a little window for LDR1 and a small opening for the piezobuzzer (PZ1). Now fit the unit inside the cash box (refer Fig. 3) with LDR1 pointing towards the door of the cash box.

Fig. 2: Assemble unit

Note:

The relay latching facility can be added to the circuit by replacing transistor T2 with a suitable silicon-controlled rectifier such as BT169.
By changing the value of resistor R1, you can adjust the light detection sensitivity of the circuit.
If you want to use a 3-pin piezobuzzer device, remove buzzer-driver npn transistor T1 and connect trigger pin of the buzzer directly to pin 14 of IC1. Also connect the positive and negative terminals of the buzzer to respective positive and negative points of the circuit.
Photo-transistor 2N5777 can be used in place of the 10mm LDR1.

Fig. 3: Unit fitted inside the cash box & also connected to an external alarm

44 Watt Mobile Car Stereo Amplifier

2012-01-06T01:04:00.004+05:00

Using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous. It is also against the law. However, you can use your mobile phone as a powerful music player with the help of a stereo power amplifier. This does away with the need of a sophisticated in-dash car music system. Most mobile phones have a music player that offers a number of features including preset/manual sound equalisers. They have standard 3.5mm stereo sockets that allow music to be played through standard stereo headphones/sound amplifiers. Nokia 2700 classic is an example.

A car audio amplifier with 3.5mm socket can be designed and simply connected to the mobile phone output via a shielded cable with suitable connectors/jacks (readymade 3.5mm male-to-male connector cable is a good alternative). Fig. 1 shows the circuit of car stereo player. It is built around popular single-chip audio power amplifier TDA1554Q (IC1). The TDA1554Q is an integrated class-B power amplifier in a 17-lead single-in-line (SIL) plastic power package.

Fig. 1: Circuit of mobile car stereo player

IC TDA1554Q contains four 11W identical amplifiers with differential input stages (two inverting and two non-inverting) and can be used for single-ended or bridge applications. The gain of each amplifier is fixed at 20 dB. Here it is configured as two 22W stereo bridge amplifiers. The amplifier is powered from the 12V car battery through RCA socket J2. Diode D1 protects against wrong-polarity connection. LED1 indicates the power status.

Connect stereo sound signal from the 3.5mm headset socket of the mobile phone to audio input socket J1. When you play the music from your mobile, IC1 amplifies the input. The output of IC1 is fed to speakers LS1 and LS2 fitted at a suitable place in your car. Electrolytic capacitor C5 connected between pin 4 of IC1 and GND improves the supply-voltage ripple rejection. Components R2 and C4 connected at mute/standby pin (pin 14) of IC1 eliminate the switch on/off plop. The circuit is quite compact. A good-quality heat-sink assembly is crucial for IC1. Fig. 2 shows the stereo socket and stereo jack.

Fig. 2: (a) 3.5mm stereo socket and (b) 3.5mm stereo jack

Assemble the circuit on a general-purpose PCB and enclose in a suitable cabinet. Small dimensions of the power amplifier make it suitable for being enclosed in a plastic (ABS) case with vent holes. Signal input socket, speaker output terminals, on/off switch, indicator, fuse holder and power supply socket are best located on the front panel of the enclosure as shown in Fig. 3.

Strip LED Lamp

2012-01-06T01:02:00.004+05:00

Strip LEDs are available in different colours powered by direct current (DC) source. These LEDs are available as surface mount devices with current limiting resistors. Usually there are 300 LEDs in a 5-metre strip. The strip can be cut into pieces so that the bits having three or four LEDs can be used with 12V DC source. The circuit given here uses the strip LEDs to make an automatic white LED lighting source. The circuit is powered by a capacitor power supply connected to AC mains. Capacitor C1 drops the 230V AC, which is further rectified by the bridge rectifier module and is made ripple-free by C2. Zener diode (ZD1) provides 12V DC to the comparator circuit.

Resistor R1 is important in the power supply as it provides discharge path to the voltage stored in capacitor C1 after the circuit is unplugged from mains. The automatic working of the circuit is based on the light-sensing property of the light-dependent resistor (LDR). Operational amplifier CA3140 (IC1) is used as a comparator with two potential dividers in its inverting and non-inverting inputs. LDR1 and resistor R3 form one potential divider that provides a variable voltage at the inverting input pin 2 of IC1. Second potential divider comprises resistors R4 and R5, which provide half of the supply voltage (6V) to the non-inverting pin 3 of IC1. The output of IC1 depends on voltage level at inverting input pin 2 of IC1 as explained below.

In daylight, LDR1 has low resistance and the voltage at inverting input (pin 2) of IC1 is more than that of non-inverting input (pin 3). This makes IC1 output low, which drives transistor T1 into cut-off condition and strip LEDs do not glow. However, at night the light incident on LDR1 is low and its resistance is high. The voltage at inverting input of the comparator decreases, making it lower than the voltage at non-inverting input. This makes IC1 output high. Transistor T1 goes into saturation, thus connecting cathodes of LEDs to ground. All the LEDs in the strip turn on and remain that way till morning.

Assemble the circuit on a general-purpose PCB and enclose it in a suitable shock-proof case. Strip LEDs are available in ribbon-shaped form. Use 5cm bits (two bits) having three LEDs each. The strip can be cut at supply-contact points. Strip LEDs are arranged on a flexible belt with double-sided adhesive on the back side, so it can be glued to any surface. Connect the LED strip in the circuit with correct polarity. EFY note. Since the circuit uses 230V AC, there is a risk of electrical shock. Do not touch or troubleshoot when the circuit is plugged in. Before connecting the circuit to the power supply section, test it using 12V DC from a battery or DC power supply.

Maximite Stepper Motor Interface

2012-01-06T00:56:00.005+05:00

This simple circuit and program listing allows the Maximite microcomputer (SILICON CHIP, March-May 2011) to control a stepper motor. It could be expanded to allow for the control of multiple motors, with four of the Maximite’s external I/O pins used to control each motor with identical driver circuits. A ULN2003 Darlington transistor array (IC1) switches current through the stepper motor’s two windings in either direction. When one of the four Maximite output pins (8, 12, 16 & 20, corresponding to I/Os 19, 17, 15 & 13) goes high, the corresponding output pin on IC1 goes low, sinking current through a motor winding. Conversely, when these pins are high, the corresponding Darlington transistor is off and so no current flows through that portion of the winding.

The centre tap of each motor winding is connected to a current source comprising PNP Darlington transistor Q1 and some resistors. The maximum current is determined by the resistive divider driving its high-impedance base, setting the base voltage to around 9.1V when it is fully on. By adding Q1’s base-emitter voltage (1.4V at 0.5A, as per the data sheet) we can determine that there will be around 1.5V across the 3.3O resistor (12V - 10.5V), resulting in a current of 1.5V ÷ 3.3O = ~450mA. Transistor Q1 must be fitted with a medium-sized flag heatsink (Jaycar HH8504, Altronics H0637) or larger to handle its maximum dissipation of (10.5V - 4.9V) x 450mA = 2.5W.

When one of the Darlington transistors switches off and current flow through the corresponding motor winding ceases, the inductive winding generates a back-EMF current which causes the voltage across that winding to spike. IC1 has internal “free-wheeling” diodes from each output to the COM pin, which is connected to the +12V supply. The back-EMF current flows back into the power supply and the voltage spikes are clamped at about 12.7V, so that the Darlington transistors do not suffer collector reverse breakdown, which might damage them.

A 470µF capacitor provides supply bypassing for the motor while a 47kO pull-up resistor and toggle switch/pushbutton S1 drives input pin 9 of the Maximite, allowing manual control of the motor direction. Table 1 shows the sequence in which the output pins are driven to turn the motor forward; the steps are run backwards for reverse operation. The delay between the steps determines the speed at which the motor rotates. The source code of the sample program is available for download from the SILICON CHIP website (maximite_stepper_motor.bas).