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INTRODUCTION
This is the second half of our Transistor Circuits ebook. It contains a further
100 circuits, with many of them containing one or more Integrated Circuits (ICs).
It's amazing what you can do with transistors but when Integrated Circuits came
along, the whole field of electronics exploded.
IC's can handle both analogue as well as digital signals but before their arrival,
nearly all circuits were analogue or very simple "digital" switching circuits.
Let's explain what we mean.
The word analogue is a waveform or signal that is changing (increasing and
decreasing) at a constant or non constant rate. Examples are voice, music, tones,
sounds and frequencies. Equipment such as radios, TV's and amplifiers process
analogue signals.
Then digital came along.
Digital is similar to a switch turning something on and off.
The advantage of digital is twofold.
Firstly it is a very reliable and accurate way to send a signal. The signal is either
HIGH or LOW (ON or OFF). It cannot be halfon or one quarter off.
And secondly, a circuit that is ON, consumes the least amount of energy in the
controlling device. In other words, a transistor that is fully turned ON and driving
a motor, dissipates the least amount of heat. If it is slightly turned ON or nearly
fully turned ON, it gets very hot.
And obviously a transistor that is not turned on at all will consume no energy.
A transistor that turns ON fully and OFF fully is called a SWITCH.
When two transistors are crosscoupled in the form of a flip flop, any pulses
entering the circuit cause it to flip and flop and the output goes HIGH on every
second pulse. This means the circuit halves the input pulses and is the basis of
counting or dividing.
Digital circuits also introduce the concept of two inputs creating a HIGH output
when both are HIGH and variations of this.
This is called "logic" and introduces terms such as "Boolean algebra" and "gates."
Integrated Circuits started with a few transistors in each "chip" and increased to
whole mini or micro computers in a single chip. These chips are called
Microcontrollers and a single chip with a few surrounding components can be
programmed to play games, monitor heartrate and do all sorts of amazing things.
Because they can process information at high speed, the end result can appear to
have intelligence and this is where we are heading: AI (Artificial Intelligence).

But let's crawl before we walk and come to understand how to interface some of
these chips to external components.
In this Transistor Circuits ebook, we have presented about 100 interesting circuits
using transistors and chips.
In most cases the IC will contain 10 100 transistors, cost less than the individual
components and take up much less boardspace. They also save a lot of circuit
designing and quite often consume less current than discrete components.
In all, they are a fantastic way to get something working with the least
componentry.
A list of of Integrated Circuits (Chips) is provided at the end of this book to help
you identify the pins and show you what is inside the chip.
Some of the circuits are available from Talking Electronics as a kit, but others will
have to be purchased as individual components from your local electronics store.
Electronics is such an enormous field that we cannot provide kits for everything.
But if you have a query about one of the circuits, you can contact me.

Colin Mitchell
TALKING ELECTRONICS.
talking@tpg.com.au

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

KITOFPARTS
TalkingElectronicssuppliesakitofpartsthatcanbeusedtobuildthemajorityof
thecircuitsinthisbook.
Thekitcosts$15.00pluspostage.

KitforTransistorCircuits$15.00
Akitofcomponentstomakemanyofthecircuits
describedinthiseBookisavailablefor$15.00plus
$7.00post.
OremailColinMitchell:talking@tpg.com.au

Thekitcontainsthefollowingcomponents:
(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
2 BC557 transistors
1 BC338 transistor
3 BD679 Darlington transistors
5 red LEDs
5 green LEDs
5 orange LEDs
2 superbright 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, surfacemount 6 x 40 hole board or others.

Photoofkitofcomponents.
Eachbatchisslightlydifferent:

Inmanycases,aresistororcapacitornotinthekit,canbecreatedby
puttingtworesistorsorcapacitorsinseriesorparallelorthenexthigher
orlowervaluecanbeused.

MORE INTRO
There are two ways to learn electronics.
One is to go to school and study theory for 4 years and come out with all the
theoretical knowledge in the world but almost no practical experience.
We know this type of person. We employed them (for a few weeks!). They think
everything they design WILL WORK because their university professor said so.
The other way is to build circuit after circuit and get things to work. You may not
know the indepth theory of how it works but trial and error gets you there.
We know. We employed this type of person for up to 12 years.
I am not saying one is better than the other but most electronics enthusiasts are
not "book worms" and anyone can succeed in this field by constantly applying
themselves with "constructing projects." You actually learn 10 times faster by
applying yourself and we have had technicians repairing equipment after only a
few weeks on the job.
It would be nothing for an enthusiast to build 30 40 circuits from our previous
Transistor eBook and a similar number from this book. Many of the circuits are
completely different to each other and all have a building block or two that you
can learn from.
Electronics enthusiasts have an uncanny understanding of how a circuit works and
if you have this ability, don't let it go to waste.
Electronics will provide you a comfortable living for the rest of your life and I
mean this quite seriously. The market is very narrow but new designs are coming
along all the time and new devices are constantly being invented and more are
always needed.
Once you get past this eBook of "Chips and Transistors" you will want to
investigate microcontrollers and this is when your options will explode.
You will be able to carry out tasks you never thought possible, with a chip as small
as 8 pins and a few hundred lines of code.
As I say in my speeches. What is the difference between a "transistor man" and a
"programmer?" TWO WEEKS!
In two weeks you can start to understand the programming code for a
microcontroller and perform simple tasks such as flashing a LED and produce
sounds and outputs via the press of a button.
All these things are covered on Talking Electronics website and you don't have to
buy any books or publications. Everything is available on the web and it is instantly
accessible. That's the beauty of the web.
Don't think things are greener on the other side of the fence, by buying a text
book. They aren't. Everything you need is on the web AT NO COST.
The only thing you have to do is build things. If you have any technical problem at
all, simply email Colin Mitchell and any question will be answered. Nothing could
be simpler and this way we guarantee you SUCCESS. Hundreds of readers have
already emailed and after 5 or more emails, their circuit works. That's the way we
work. One thing at a time and eventually the fault is found.
If you think a circuit will work the first time it is turned on, you are fooling
yourself.
All circuits need corrections and improvements and that's what makes a good
electronics person.Don't give up. How do you think all the circuits in these eBooks
were designed? Some were copied and some were designed from scratch but all
had to be built and adjusted slightly to make sure they worked perfectly.
I don't care if you use breadboard, copper strips, matrix board or solder the
components in the air as a "bird's nest." You only learn when the circuit gets
turned on and WORKS!
In fact the rougher you build something, the more you will guarantee it will work
when built on a printed circuit board.
However, highfrequency circuits (such as 100MHz FM Bugs) do not like open
layouts and you have to keep the construction as tight as possible to get them to
operate reliably.
In most other cases, the layout is not critical.

TRANSISTORS
Most of the transistors used in our circuits are BC 547 and BC 557. These are
classified as "universal" or "common" NPN and PNP types with a voltage rating of
about 25v, 100mA collector current and a gain of about 100. Some magazines use
the term "TUP" (for Transistor Universal PNP) or "TUN" (for Transistor Universal
NPN). We simply use Philips types that everyone recognises. You can use almost
any type of transistor to replace them and here is a list of the equivalents and
pinouts:

CONTENTSred indicates 1100 Transistor Circuits

Note:Allcircuitsuse1/4wattresistorsunlessspecifiedonthediagram.
Adjustable High Current Power Supply Night Light see also Automatic Light
Aerial Amplifier NiCd Charger
OnOff via push Buttons
Alarm Fridge OPAMP
Alarm 5Seconds Oscillator Sinewave phase Shift
Alarm Using 4 buttons Passage Light Automatic PIR
Amplifier uses speaker as microphone Pass Transistor Regulator
PhaseShift Oscillator good design
AM Radio 5 Transistor Phaser Gun
Amplifying a Digital Signal PIR LED Light
Audio Amplifier (mini) Phone Bug
Automatic Battery Charger Phone Security
Phone Tape3
Automatic Blinds Phone Tape4 using FETs
Automatic Garden Light PIC Programmer Circuits 1,2 3
Automatic Passage Light Piezo Buzzer how it works
Automatic Solar Light PIR Detector
PIR Passage Light
Battery Charger 12v Automatic Point Motor Driver
Battery Charger Doubler Powering a LED
Battery Charger Gell Cell Power ON
Battery Charger MkII 12v trickle charger Power Supplies Fixed
BatteryLow Beeper Power Supplies Adjustable LMxx series
Battery Monitor MkI Power Supplies Adjustable 78xx series
Power Supplies Adjustable from 0v
Battery Monitor MkII Power Supply Inductively Coupled
Bike Flasher Project can turn ON when DARK
Bike Turning Signal PushON PushOFF
Beacon (Warning Beacon 12v) PWM Controller
Quiz Timer
Beeper Bug Railway time
Blocking Oscillator Random Blinking LEDs
Book Light Rectifying a Voltage
Bootstrap Amplifier Relay Chatter
Relay OFF Delay
Buck Converter for LEDs 48mA Relay Protection
Buck Converter for LEDs 170mA Resistor Colour Code
Buck Converter for LEDs 210mA Resistor Colour Code 4, 5 and 6 Bands
Buck Converter for LEDs 250mA Reversing a Motor & 2 & 3
Robo Roller
Buck Converter for 3watt LED Robot
Boom Gate Lights Robot Man Multivibrator
Bootstrap Amplifier Schmitt Trigger
Breakdown Beacon SCR with Transistors
Second Simplest Circuit
Buck Regulator 12v to 5v Sequencer
Cable Tracer Shake Tic Tac LED Torch
Camera Activator Shunt Transistor Regulator
Capacitor Discharge Unit MkII (CDU2) Trains Simple Flasher
Simple TouchON TouchOFF Switch
Capacitor Discharge Unit MkII Modification Sinewave Oscillator
Capacitor Tester Siren
Car Detector (loop Detector) Soft Start power supply
Car Light Alert Solar Tracker
Sonic Detector
CFL Driver (Compact Fluorescent) 5w Cct2 Spy Amplifier
Charger Gell Cell Strength Tester
Charger NiCd Sun Eater1
Chip Programmer (PIC) Circuits 1,2 3 Sun Eater1A
Super Ear
Circuit Symbols Complete list of Symbols SuperAlpha Pair (Darlington Transistor)
Clock Make Time Fly Supply Voltage Monitor
Chaser 3 LED 5 LED using FETs Switch Debouncer
Clap Switch Sziklai transistor
Clap Switch turns LED on for 15 seconds Telephone amplifier
Code Lock Telephone Bug
Code Pad Telephone Handset
Coin Counter Telephone Taping see Phone Tape
Colour Code for Resistors all resistors Testing A Transistor
Colpitts Oscillator Ticking Bomb
Compact Fluorescent Lamp Driver Time Delay Circuits
Combo2Transistor tester Toggle a Push Button using 2 relays
Constant Current Toggle A Relay
Constant Current Drives two 3watt LEDs TouchON TouchOFF Switch
Courtesy Light Extender for Cars Tracking Transmitter
Constant Current Source Cct 2 Cct 4 Track Polarity model railway
Continuity Tester Train Detectors
Crystal Tester Transformerless Power Supply
Dancing Flower Transistor Amplifier 3 Tr Amp
Dark Detector with beep Alarm Transistor tester Combo2
Dark Detector for Project Transistor Tester1
Darlington Transistor Transistor Tester2
Decaying Flasher Trickle Charger 12v
Delay before LED turns ON Turn Indicator Alarm
Delay Turnoff turns off a circuit after a Vehicle Detector loop Detector
delay VHF Aerial Amplifier
Delay turn On turn OFF Voice Controlled Switch see VOX
"Divideby" Circuit Vibrating VU Indicator
DoorKnob Alarm Voltage Doubler
Door Lock Delay Voltage Multipliers
Driving a LED VOX see The Transistor Amplifier
Drive 20 LEDs eBook
Dynamo Voltage Doubler Voyager FM Bug
Electronic Drums Wailing Siren
Electronic Filter Warning Beacon Flashing Taillight
Emergency Light Water Level Detector
FadeON FadeOFF LED Walkie Talkie
Fading LED Walkie Talkie with LM386
Ferret Finder Walkie Talkie 5 Tr circuit 1
FET Chaser Walkie Talkie 5 Tr circuit 2
Field Strength Meter for 27MHz White LED Flasher 3v
Flasher (simple) 3 more in 1100 circuits White Line Follower
Flashing Beacon (12v Beacon) taillight White Noise Generator
 Flashing Lights XtalTester
Flashing taillight brake light Zapper 160v
Fluorescent Inverter for 12v supply Zener Diode Tester
FM Transmitters 11 circuits Zener Regulator
Fog Horn 1watt LED very good design
FRED Photopopper 1.5 watt LED
Fridge Alarm MkII 1.5v LED Flasher
Fuel Sender 3Phase Generator
Gell Cell Charger 3 Transistor Amplifier
Gold Detector 3 watt LED Buck Converter for
Guitar Fuzz 3v3 from 5v Supply
Hartley Oscillator 4 Phone Security
Headlight Extender & see Light Extender, cars 4 Transistor Amplifier
Hex Bug 5v from old cells circuit 1
HBridge 5v from old cells circuit 2
High Current from old cells 5v Supply
High Current Power Supply 5v Regulated Supply from 3v
High Fuel Detector 5 LED Chaser
Increasing the output current 5 Second Alarm
Inductively Coupled Power Supply 5 Transistor Radio
Intercom I Intercom II 6 to 12 watt Fluoro Inverter
Latch 8 Million Gain
Latching A Push Button 9v Supply from 3v
Latching Relay Toggle A Relay Toggle (sw) 10 Second Delay
LED Detects light 12v Relay on 6v
LED Fader 12v Trickle Charger
LEDs on 240v 12v Battery Charger Automatic
LEDs Show Relay State 12v CFL Driver Flyback Cct
LED Turning Flasher 12v Flashing Beacon (Warning Beacon)
LED Torch with Adj Brightness 12v Supply
Light Alarm for Fridge 12v to 5v Buck Converter
Light Extender for Cars 20 LEDs on 12v supply
Limit Switches 24v to 12v for charging
Low fuel Indicator High Fuel Detector 27MHz Door Phone
Low input voltage for 7805 regulator 27MHz Field Strength Meter
Low Mains Dropout 27MHz Transmitter
Low Voltage cutout 27MHz Transmitter no Xtal
Low Voltage Flasher 27MHz TransmitterSq Wave
Mains Detector 27MHz Transmitter2 Ch
Make you own 1watt LED 27MHz Transmitter4 Ch
Making 01A Ammeter 27MHz Receiver
Magnetic Door Lock Delay 27MHz Receiver2
Mains Night Light 38kHz Infrared Link
Make any capacitor value 240v Detector
Make any resistor value 240v LEDs
Metal Detector 303MHz Transmitter
Model Railway time
Model Railway Point Motor Driver
Motor OverRun
Multimeter Voltage of Bench Supply
Music to Colour

RESISTORCOLOURCODE

Seeresistorsfrom0.22ohmto22Minfullcolouratendofbookandanotherresistortable
RECTIFYINGaVoltage
Thesecircuitsshowhowtochangeanoscillatingvoltage(commonlycalledAC)to
DC.ThetermACmeansAlternatingCurrentbutitreallymeansAlternatingVoltageas
therisingandfallingvoltageproducesanincreasinganddecreasingcurrent.
ThetermDCmeansDirectCurrentbutitactuallymeansDirectorunchanging
Voltage.
TheoutputofthefollowingcircuitswillnotbepureDC(likethatfromabattery)butwill
containripple.Rippleisreducedbyaddingacapacitor(electrolytic)totheoutput.
DARKDETECTORwithbeepbeepbeepAlarm
Thiscircuitdetectsdarknessandproducesabeepbeepbeepalarm.Thefirst
twotransistorsformahighgainamplifierwithfeedbackviathe4u7toproduce
alowfrequencyoscillator.Thisprovidesvoltageforthesecondoscillator
(acrossthe1kresistor)todriveaspeaker.

ProjectcanturnONwhenDARK

Thiscircuitdetectsdarknessandallowstheproject
toturnon.Theprojectcanbeanycircuitthat
operatesfrom3vto12v.
Thecomponentshavebeenchosenfora6vproject
thatrequires500mA.
toIndex

3PHASESINEWAVEGENERATOR
Thiscircuitproducesasinewaveandeachphasecanbetappedatthepoint
shown.Thesecrettoproducingagoodwaveformistheadditionofthe2k2
resistorinthe0vrail
ThiscircuitandwaveformisprovidedbyJackHoffnung.

TwoofthethreewaveformsweonlyhavedualtraceCRO's!!!!
toIndex
TRANSFORMERLESSPOWERSUPPLY
Thiscleverdesignuses4diodesinabridgetoproduceafixedvoltagepowersupplycapableofsupplying35mA.
Alldiodes(everytypeofdiode)arezenerdiodes.Theyallbreakdownataparticularvoltage.Thefactis,apowerdiode
breaksdownat100vor400vanditszenercharacteristicisnotuseful.
Butifweput2zenerdiodesinabridgewithtwoordinarypowerdiodes,thebridgewillbreakdownatthevoltageofthe
zener.Thisiswhatwehavedone.Ifweuse18vzeners,theoutputwillbe17v4.
Whentheincomingvoltageispositiveatthetop,theleftzenerprovides18vlimit(andtheotherzenerproducesadropof
0.6v)Thisallowstherightzenertopasscurrentjustlikeanormaldiode.Theoutputis17v4.Thesamewiththeother
halfcycle.
ThecurrentislimitedbythevalueoftheX2capacitorsandthisis7mAforeach100nwheninfullwave(asperthis
circuit).Wehave1ucapacitance.Theoreticallythecircuitwillsupply70mAbutwefounditwillonlydeliver35mAbefore
 theoutputdrops.ThecapacitorsshouldcomplywithX1orX2
class.The10Risasafetyfuseresistor.
Theproblemwiththispowersupplyisthe"live"natureofthe
negativerail.Whenthepowersupplyisconnectedasshown,
thenegativerailis0.7vaboveneutral.Ifthemainsisreversed,
thenegativerailis340v(peak)aboveneutralandthiswillkill
youasthecurrentwillflowthroughthediodeandbelethal.You
needtotouchthenegativerail(orthepositiverail)andany
eartheddevicesuchasatoastertogetkilled.Theonlysolution
istheprojectbeingpoweredmustbetotallyenclosedinabox
withnooutputs.
ATRANSFORMERLESSPOWERSUPPLYisalsocalleda
CAPACITORFEDPOWERSUPPLY.
Itisverydangerous.
Here'swhy:
ACapacitorPowerSupplyusesacapacitortointerfacebetweenahighvoltagesupplyandalowvoltagecalledTHE
POWERSUPPLY.
InotherwordsacapacitorisplacedbetweenahighvoltagesupplywecallTHEMAINS(between110vand240v)anda
lowvoltagethatmaybe9vto12v.
Eventhoughacapacitorconsistsoftwoplatesthatdonottoucheachother,aCapacitorPowerSupplyisavery
dangerousproject,fortworeasons.
Youmaynotthinkelectricitycanpassthoughacapacitorbecauseitconsistsofplatesthatdonottoucheachother.
Butacapacitorworksinaslightlydifferentway.Acapacitorconnectedtothemainsworkslikethis:
Consideramagnetononesideofadoor.Ontheothersidewehaveasheetofmetal.Asyouslidethemagnetupthe
door,thesheetofmetalrisestoo.
Thesamewithacapacitor.Asthevoltageononesideofthecapacitorrises,thevoltageontheothersideispulledoutof
thegroundanditrisestoo.
Ifyoustandonthegroundandholdoneleadofthecapacitorandconnecttheothertotheactivesideofthemains,the
capacitorwillpull120vor240voutofthegroundandyouwillgetashock.
Dontaskhoworwhy.Thisisjustthesimplestwaytodescribehowyougetashockviaacapacitorthatconsistsof
twoplates.
Ifthecapacitorshortsbetweenthetwoplates,the120vor240vwillbedeliveredtoyourpowersupplyandcreate
damage.
Secondly,ifanyofthecomponentsinyourpowersupplybecomeopencircuit,thevoltageonthepowersupplywill
increase.
Butthemostdangerousfeatureofthistypeofpowersupplyisreversalofthemainsleads.
Thecircuitisdesignedsothattheneutralleadgoestotheearthofyourpowersupply.
Thismeanstheactiveisconnectedtothecapacitor.
Now,thewaytheactiveworksisthis:
Theactiveleadrises120x1.4=180vinthepositivedirectionandthendropsto180vintheoppositedirection.Inother
wordsitis180vhigherthantheneutrallinethen180vlowerthantheneutral.
For240vmains,thisis325vhigherthen325vlower.
Theneutralisconnectedtothechassisofyourprojectandifyoutouchit,nothingwillhappen.Itdoesnotriseorfall.
Butsupposeyouconnectthepowerleadsaroundthewrongway.
Theactiveisnowconnectedtothechassisandifyoutouchthechassisandawaterpipe,youwillgeta180vor345v
shock.
ThatswhyaCAPACITORFEDpowersupplymustbetotallyisolated.
Nowwecometothequestion:Howdoesacapacitorproducea12vpowersupply?
Whenacapacitorisconnectedtothemains,oneleadisrisingandfalling.
Dependingonthesizeofthecapacitor,itwillallowcurrenttoflowintoandoutoftheotherlead.
Ifthecapacitorisalargevalue,ahighcurrentwillflowintoandoutofthelead.Inaddition,ahighvoltagewillallowa
highercurrenttoflow.
Thiscurrentistakenoutofthegroundandflowsbackintotheground.
Itdoesnotcomefromthemains.Themainsonly:influencestheflowofcurrent.
Thuswehaveaflowofcurrentintoandoutofthecapacitor.
Ifyouputaresistorbetweenthecapacitorandground,theamountofcurrentthatwillflow,dependson3things,the
amplitudeofthevoltage,thesizeofthecapacitorandthespeedoftheriseandfall.
Whencurrentflowsthrougharesistor,avoltagedevelopsacrosstheresistorandifweselectthecorrectvalueof
resistance,wewillgeta12vpowersupply.

THEOUTPUTVOLTAGE
TheOUTPUTVOLTAGEofalltransformerlesspowersupplieswillbeabout50%HIGHERthanthemainsvoltageifa
LOADisnotconnected.That'sRIGHT:Theoutputofa120vCAPACITORPOWERSUPPLY(transformerlesspower
supply)willbeabout180vanda240vmainstransformerlesspowersupplywillbeabout345v.
Howdoyougeta12vor24vsupply????
Itworkslikethis:ThetransformerlesspowersupplyisaCURRENTDELIVEREDpowersupply.Inotherwordswehaveto
talkaboutCURRENTVALUESandnotvoltages.
Forabridgecircuit(calledafullwavedesign)itwilldeliver7mAforeach100n.Supposewehave220n.Wehave15mA
available.
Wetakethe15mAandsay:Howmanyvoltswilldevelopacrossa100Rload?Theanswer=0.015x100=15v.Ifwe
use82Rthevoltagewillbeabout12v.Ifweuse220Rthevoltagewillbe33v.That'showtheoutputvoltageisdeveloped.
Ifyouaddanother220nacrossthe220n,thevoltageswillbeDOUBLE.It'sassimpleasthat.
toIndex

LEDson240v

Idonotlikeanycircuitconnecteddirectlyto240vmains.HoweverChristmastresslightshavebeen
connecteddirectlytothemainsfor30yearswithoutanymajorproblems.
Insulationmustbeprovidedandthelights(LEDs)mustbeawayfrompryingfingers.
Youneedatleast50LEDsineachstringtopreventthembeingdamagedviaasurgethroughthe1k
resistorifthecircuitisturnedonatthepeakofthewaveform.AsyouaddmoreLEDstoeach
string,thecurrentwilldropaverysmallamountuntileventually,whenyouhave90LEDsineach
string,thecurrentwillbezero.
For50LEDsineachstring,thetotalcharacteristicvoltagewillbe180vsothatthepeakvoltagewill
be330v180v=150v.EachLEDwillseelessthan7mApeakduringthehalfcycletheyare
illuminated.The1kresistorwilldrop7vsincethe
 RMScurrentis7mA(7mAx1,000ohms=7v).No
rectifierdiodesareneeded.TheLEDsarethe
"rectifiers."Veryclever.YoumusthaveLEDsinboth
directionstochargeanddischargethecapacitor.The
resistorisprovidedtotakeaheavysurgecurrent
throughoneofthestringsofLEDsifthecircuitis
switchedonwhenthemainsisatapeak.
Thiscanbeashighas330mAifonly1LEDisused,
sothevalueofthisresistormustbeadjustedifasmall
numberofLEDsareused.TheLEDsabovedetect
peakcurrent.
A100ncapwilldeliver7mARMSor10mApeakin
fullwaveor3.5mARMS(10mApeakforhalfa
cycle)inhalfwave.(whenonly1LEDisineach
string).

The
current
capability
ofa
capacitor
needs
more

explanation.Inthediagramontheleftweseeacapacitorfeedingafullwavepowersupply.Thisis
exactlythesameastheLEDson240vcircuitabove.ImaginetheLOADresistorisremoved.Two
ofthediodeswillfacedownandtwowillfaceup.ThisisexactlythesameastheLEDsfacingup
andfacingdowninthecircuitabove.Theonlydifferenceisthemidpointisjoined.Sincethevoltage
onthemidpointofonestringisthesameasthevoltageatthemidpointoftheotherstring,thelink
canberemovedandthecircuitwilloperatethesame.
Thismeanseach100nofcapacitancewilldeliver7mARMS(10mApeakoneachhalfcycle).
Inthehalfwavesupply,thecapacitordelivers3.5mARMS(10mApeakoneachhalfcycle,butone
halfcycleislostinthediode)foreach100ntotheload,andduringtheotherhalfcyclethe10mA
peakislostinthediodethatdischargesthecapacitor.
YoucanuseanyLEDsandtrytokeepthetotalvoltagedropineachstringequal.Eachstringis
actuallyworkingonDC.It'snotconstantDCbutvaryingDC.Infactisitzerocurrentfor1/2cycle
thennothinguntilthevoltagerisesabovethetotalcharacteristicvoltageofalltheLEDs,thena
gradualincreaseincurrentovertheremainderofthecycle,thenagradualdecreasetozerooverthe
fallingportionofthecycle,thennothingfor1/2cycle.BecausetheLEDsturnonandoff,youmay
observesomeflickeringandthat'swhythetwostringsshouldbeplacedtogether.
toIndex
BOOKLIGHT
Thiscircuitkeepstheglobe
illuminatedforafewsecondsafter
theswitchispressed.
Thereisoneminorfaultinthe
circuit.The10kshouldbe
increasedto100ktoincreasethe
"ON"time.
Thephotoshowsthecircuitbuilt
withsurfacemountcomponents:

toIndex
CAMERAACTIVATOR
Thiscircuitwasdesignedforacustomerwhowantedtotriggeracameraafterashort
delay.
TheoutputgoesHIGHabout2secondsaftertheswitchispressed.TheLEDturnson
forabout0.25seconds.
ThecircuitwillaccepteitheractiveHIGHorLOWinputandtheswitchcanremain
pressedanditwillnotupsettheoperationofthecircuit.Thetimingcanbechangedby
adjustingthe1Mtrimpotand/oralteringthevalueofthe470k.

toIndex
POWERSUPPLIESFIXED:

Asimplepowersupplycanbemadewithacomponentcalleda"3
pinregulatoror3terminalregulator"Itwillprovideaverylowripple
output(about4mVto10mVprovidedelectrolyticsareontheinput
andoutput.
Thediagramaboveshowshowtoconnectaregulatortocreatea
powersupply.The7805regulatorscanhandle100mA,500mAand1
amp,andproduceanoutputof5v,asshown.
Theseregulatorsarecalledlinearregulatorsanddropabout4v
acrossthemminimum.Ifthecurrentflowis1amp,4wattsofheat
mustbedissipatedviaalargeheatsink.Iftheoutputis5vandinput
12v,7voltswillbedroppedacrosstheregulatorand7wattsmustbe
dissipated.
toIndex
POWERSUPPLIESADJUSTABLE:

TheLM317regulatorsareadjustableandproduceanoutputfrom
1.25toabout35v.TheLM317Tregulatorwilldeliverupto1.5amp.

toIndex
POWERSUPPLIESADJUSTABLEusing7805:
The7805rangeofregulatorsarecalled"fixedregulators"butthey
canbeturnedintoadjustableregulatorsby"jackingup"theiroutput
voltage.Fora5vregulator,theoutputcanbe5vto30v.

toIndex
POWERSUPPLIESADJUSTABLEfrom0v:

TheLM317regulatorisadjustablefrom1.25toabout35v.Tomake
theoutput0vto35v,twopowerdiodesareplacedasshowninthe
circuit.Approx0.6visdroppedacrosseachdiodeandthisiswhere
the1.25vis"lost."
toIndex
LOWINPUTVOLTAGE
Thisclevercircuitletsyouknowifthevoltageacrosstheregulator
dropsbelow2v.
Thisisveryimportantwhenyouareincreasingtheoutputvoltage
andtheregulatorSUDDENLYdropsoutofregulationbecausethe
voltageacrossitisinsufficient.
Thiscanbeduetotheripplecausingtheproblemandyouwillsee
thegreenLEDflickering.
YoucanaddextradiodesinserieswiththeLEDtogetasafety
marginof2.6vor3.2vThe220Rontheoutputisonlyneeded
whentheoutputisnotloadedandthecurrenttakenbytheLED
needstobebroughtfromthe0vrailastheoutputdoesnotliketo
draggedhigherthan5v(oritspresentoutputvoltage).

toIndex
5vPOWERSUPPLY
UsingthetheLM317regulatortoproduce5vsupply(5.04v):
 toIndex

CONSTANTCURRENT
Thisconstantcurrentcircuitcanbeadjustedtoanyvaluefromafew
milliamptoabout500mAthisisthelimitoftheBC337transistor.
Thecircuitcanalsobecalledacurrentlimitingcircuitandisidealin
abenchpowersupplytopreventthecircuityouaretestingfrom
beingdamaged.
Approximately4visdroppedacrosstheregulatorand1.25vacross
thecurrentlimitingsection,sotheinputvoltage(supply)hastobe
5.25vabovetherequiredoutputvoltage.Supposeyouwantto
charge4NiCadcells.Connectthemtotheoutputandadjustthe
500Rpotuntiltherequiredchargecurrentisobtained.
Thechargerwillnowcharge1,2,3or4cellsatthesamecurrent.
Butyoumustremembertoturnoffthechargerbeforethecellsare
fullychargedasthecircuitwillnotdetectthisandoverchargethe
cells.
TheLM3173terminalregulatorwillneedtobeheatsinked.
ThiscircuitisdesignedfortheLMseriesofregulatorastheyhavea
voltagedifferentialof1.25vbetween"adj"and"out"terminals.
7805regulatorscanbeusedbutthelossesintheBC337willbe4
timesgreaterasthevoltageacrossitwillbe5v.
toIndex

THEPOWERSUPPLY
Thesimplestpowersupplyisatransformer,diodeandelectrolytic:

Buttheripplewillbeveryhighbecauseonlyeveryalternateportion
oftheacsignalisbeingpassedthroughthediodeandthe
electrolytic(calledthefiltercapacitor)cannotsmooththeripplevery
well.Theresultwillbealoudhumifpoweringanamplifier.

Animprovementistouseabridgerectifier.Thiswillreducethe
rippleandreducethehumbecausethewaveformtotheelectrolytic
consistsofpulsesthatareclosertogetherandtheelectrolyticdoes
nothavetosupplyasmuchenergybecausethepulsesarecloser
together.
ZENERREGULATION
Thenextimprovementistoreducetheripplewithazenerdiode.
Thezenerdiodeisplacedacrossthevoltageyouwanttosmooth
andasthevoltageincreases,thezenerdiodeturnsONmoreand
additionalcurrentflowsthroughittothe0vrail.Thisreducesthe
voltagebuttheresultisasmoothervoltage.
ThisiscalledaSHUNTREGULATORorZENERSHUNT
REGULATORorZENERDIODESTABILIZER.

Inplaceofazener,wecanuseatransistor.
THESHUNTTRANSISTOR
Atransistorplacedacrossthevoltagetoberegulated(orstabilized)
iscalledaSHUNTTRANSISTOR,becauseitshuntsorsendsthe
unwantedextrawaveformtothe0vrail,andtherebysmoothesthe
voltage.
Itusesazenertosensethevoltageasinthezenerregulatorcircuit
above,butthecurrentthroughthezenerislessbecausethe
transistorturnsONandreducesthevoltage.Alowerwattagezener
diodecanbeusedandsincelesscurrentflowsthroughit,the
voltageacrossitwillbemorestable.
Thisarrangementisbetterthanazenerdioderegulatorduethe
improvedstabilityofthediodewithlesscurrentflowingthroughitand
thecircuitwilldeliverabout100timesmorecurrentduetothe
inclusionofthetransistor.
However,thiscircuitisverywastefulbecausethemaximumcurrent
isflowingallthetimeandbeingsenttothe0vrail.Whenyouadda
load(suchasanamplifier),thecurrentisdivertedfromtheshunt
transistorandintotheamplifier.Theamplifiercanonlytakecurrent
uptothemaximumthetransistorwaspassingtothe0vrail.

THEPASSTRANSISTOR
APASSTRANSISTORislesswastefulthanaSHUNT
TRANSISTOR.Thecircuittakesalmostnocurrent(whenthe
amplifierisnotconnected).
Therippleontheoutputisdeterminedbytheeffectivenessofthe
zener(duetothelowcurrentisisrequiredtopass)andthetransistor
(passesthisvoltageand)amplifiesthecurrentabout100times.

Novalueshavebeenprovidedforthesecircuitsaretheyare
intendedtoexplainShuntTransistorandPassTransistor.The
typeoftransistorandvalueofresistorinthepowerlinewilldepend
onthecurrent.

toIndex

THEELECTRONICFILTER
Hereisasimplecircuittoreducetheripplefromapowersupplybyafactorofabout100.This
meansa20mVripplewillbe0.2mVandwillnotbenoticed.Thisisimportantwhenyouare
poweringanFMbugfromaplugpack.Thebackgroundhumisannoyingandverydifficultto
removewithelectrolytics.Thiscircuitistheanswer.The1kand100uformafilterthatmakesthe
100uonehundredtimesmoreeffectivethanifplaceddirectlyonthesupplyline.Thetransistor
detectsthevoltageonthebaseandalsodetectstheverysmallripple.
Ascurrentistakenbytheload,about100thofthiscurrentisrequiredbythebaseandiftheload
currentis100mA,thecurrentintothebasewillbe1mAandonevoltwillbedroppedacrossthe
1kresistor.
Thecircuitissuitableforupto100mA.Apowertransistorcanbeused,butthe1kwillhavetobe
reducedto220Rfor500mAoutput.Theoutputofthecircuitisabout2vlessthantheoutputof
theplugpack.
Byaddingazeneracrosstheelectro,theoutputvoltagewillremainmuchmoreconstant(fixed).
Ifazenerisnotadded,theoutputvoltagewilldropasthecurrentincreasesduetoafactorcalled
REGULATION.Thisistheinabilityofthesmalltransformertoprovideaconstantvoltage.The
additionofthe3componentsonlyreducestheRIPPLEportionofthevoltageanddoesnot
changethefactthatthevoltagewilldroopwhencurrentisincreased.Itrequiresazenertofixthis
problem.
Thiscircuitcanalsobecalled:RIPPLESUPPRESSOR,RIPPLEREDUCERorCAPACITANCE
MULTIPLIER.The100ucanbeincreasedto470uor1,000u.

AnELECTRONICFILTER
toIndex
5vFROMOLDCELLScircuit1
Thiscircuittakestheplaceofa78L053terminalregulator.Itproducesaconstant5v@100mA.
Youcanuseanyoldcellsandgetthelastoftheirenergy.Usean8cellholder.Thevoltagefrom
8oldcellswillbeabout10vandthecircuitwilloperatedowntoabout7.5v.Theregulationisvery
goodat10v,onlydroppingabout10mVfor100mAcurrentflow(the78L05has1mVdrop).Asthe
voltagedrops,theoutputdropsfrom5vonnoloadto4.8vand4.6von100mAcurrentflow.The
potcanbeadjustedtocompensateforthevoltagedrop.ThistypeofcircuitiscalledaLINEAR
REGULATORandisnotveryefficient(about50%inthiscase).Seecircuit2belowforBUCK
REGULATORcircuit(about85%efficient).

Theregulatorconnectedtoa12vbattery
pack
 Theregulatorconnectedtoa9v
battery

Thebatterysnapplugsintothepinson
the5vregulatorboardwiththeredlead
goingtothenegativeoutputoftheboard
asthebatterysnapisnowDELIVERING
voltagetothecircuityouarepowering.

Acloseupoftheregulator
module

toIndex
5vFROMOLDCELLScircuit2
ThiscircuitisaBUCKREGULATOR.Itcantaketheplaceofa78L053terminalregulator,but
itismoreefficient.Itproducesaconstant5v@upto200mA.Youcanuseanyoldcellsand
getthelastoftheirenergy.Usean8cellholder.Thevoltagefrom8oldcellswillbeabout10v
andthecircuitwilloperatedowntoabout7.5v.Theregulationisverygoodat10v,onlydropping
10mVforupto200mAoutput.

toIndex

INCREASINGTHEOUTPUTCURRENT
Theoutputcurrentofall3terminalregulatorscanbeincreasedbyincluding
apasstransistor.Thistransistorsimplyallowsthecurrenttoflowthrough
thecollectoremitterleads.
Theoutputvoltageismaintainedbythe3terminalregulatorbutthecurrent
flowsthroughthe"passtransistor."Thistransistorisapowertransistorand
mustbeadequatelyheatsinked.
Normallya2N3055orTIP3055isusedforthisapplicationasitwillhandle
upto10ampsandcreatesa10amppowersupply.Theregulatorcanbe
78L05asallthecurrentisdeliveredbythepasstransistor.
toIndex

SOFTSTART
Theoutputvoltageofa3terminalregulatorcanbedesignedtorise
slowly.Thishasverylimitedapplicationasmanycircuitsdonotlike
this.

toIndex
TURNOFFDELAY
These4circuitsareallthesame.Theysupplypowertoaprojectforashort
periodoftime.YoucanselecteitherPNPorNPNtransistorsorDarlington
transistors.Theoutputvoltagegraduallydiesandthiswillwillproduceweird
effectswithsomeprojects.Seecircuit4inTimeDelayCircuits(below)fora
relaythatremainsactiveforafewsecondsafterthepushbuttonhasbeen
released.

toIndex
TIMEDELAYCIRCUITS
These3circuitsareallthesame.Theyturnonarelayafteraperiod
oftime.
Theaimofthecircuitistochargetheelectrolytictoareasonably
highvoltagebeforethecircuitturnsON.Infig1thevoltagewillbe
above5v6.Infig2thevoltagewillbeabove3v6.Infig3the
voltagewillbeabove7v.

Therelayin
thiscircuitwill
remainactive
forafew
secondsafter
thepush
buttonhas
beenreleased.
Thevalueof
the1kresistor
andelectrolytic
canbe
adjustedtosuit
individual
requirements.

toIndex

LEDDETECTSLIGHT
TheLEDinthiscircuitwilldetectlighttoturnontheoscillator.OrdinaryredLEDsdonot
work.ButgreenLEDs,yellowLEDsandhighbrightwhiteLEDsandhighbrightredLEDs
workverywell.
TheoutputvoltageoftheLEDisupto600mVwhendetectingverybrightillumination.
WhenlightisdetectedbytheLED,itsresistancedecreasesandaverysmallcurrent
flowsintothebaseofthefirsttransistor.Thetransistoramplifiesthiscurrentabout200
timesandtheresistancebetweencollectorandemitterdecreases.The330kresistoron
thecollectorisacurrentlimitingresistorasthemiddletransistoronlyneedsaverysmall
currentforthecircuittooscillate.Ifthecurrentistoohigh,thecircuitwill"freeze."
Thepiezodiaphragmdoesnotcontainanyactivecomponentsandreliesonthecircuitto
driveittoproducethetone.AdifferentLEDDetectsLightcircuitineBook1:
1100TransistorCircuits
toIndex

TRAINDETECTORS
Inresponsetoareaderwhowantedtoparallel
TRAINDETECTORS,hereisadiodeORcircuit.
Theresistorvaluesoneachdetectorwillneedto
beadjusted(changed)accordingtothevoltageof
thesupplyandthetypesofdetectorbeingused.
Anynumberofdetectorscanbeadded.See
TalkingElectronicswebsitefortraincircuitsand
kitsincludingAirHorn,CapacitorDischargeUnit
foroperatingpointmotorswithoutoverheatingthe
windings,Signals,PedestrianCrossingLightsand
manymore.
toIndex

TRACKPOLARITY
Thiscircuitshowsthepolarityofatrackviaa3
leggedLED.TheLEDiscalleddualcolour(ortri
colour)asitshowsredinonedirectionandgreen
intheother(orangewhenbothLEDsare
illuminated).
toIndex

DECAYINGFLASHER
InresponsetoareaderwhowantedaflashingLED
circuitthatsloweddownwhenabuttonwasreleased,
theabovecircuitincreasestheflashratetoa
maximumandwhenthebuttonisreleased,theflash
ratedecreasestoaminimumandhalts.
toIndex
SIMPLEFLASHER

Thissimplecircuitflashesaglobeatarate
accordingtothevalueofthe180Rand2200u
electrolytic.
toIndex
LATCHINGRELAY
ToreducethecurrentinbatteryoperatedequipmentarelaycalledLATCHINGRELAYcanbeused.
ThisisarelaythatlatchesitselfONwhenitreceivesapulseinonedirectionandunlatchesitself
whenitreceivesapulseintheotherdirection.
Thefollowingdiagramshowshowthecoilmakesthemagnetclickinthetwodirections.

Tooperatethistypeofrelay,thevoltagemustbereversedtounlatchit.Thecircuitaboveproducesa
strongpulsetolatchtherelayONandtheinputvoltagemustremainHIGH.The220ugradually
chargesandthecurrentfallstoaverylowlevel.Whentheinputvoltageisremoved,thecircuit
producesapulseintheoppositedirectiontounlatchtherelay.

Thepulselatchingcircuitabovecanbe
connectedtoamicrocontrollerviathecircuit
attheleft.Theelectrolyticcanbeincreased
to1,000utocaterforrelayswithalow
resistance.

IfyouwanttolatchanordinaryrelaysoitremainsONafterapulse,thecircuitsabovecanbeused.
PowerisneededallthetimetokeeptherelayON.
Ifyourlatchingrelaylatcheswhenitreceivesa50mSpulseandunlatcheswhenitreceivesa50mS
pulseintheoppositedirection,youjustneedareversingswitchandapushbutton.Youjustneedto
flicktheswitchtothelatchorunlatchpositionandpushthebuttonveryquickly.

Tooperatealatchingrelayfromasignal,youneedthefollowingcircuit:

Tousethiscircuityouhavetounderstandsomeofthetechnicalrequirements.

WhenthesignalisHIGHithasdrivingpowerandisclassifiedalowimpedanceanditwillonlyturn
ONtheBC547.IfyoumakesurethesignalisHIGHwhenthecircuitisturnedON,youwillhaveno
problem.
ButifthesignalisLOWwhenthe12vpowerisapplied,thesignallinewillbeeffectively"floating"
andthefour1kresistorsinserieswillturnonbothtransistors.
The10uisdesignedtodelaytoBC547anditwillproducethelongerpulsetodeactivatetherelay.
Youwillhavetoadjustthevalueoftheresistorsandelectrolyticstogettherequiredpulselengthand
therequireddelay.Thiscircuitisjusta"startingpoint."
Thiscircuithasbeenrequestedby:StephenDerrickJehuemail:djs@xtra.co.nzContacthimfor
thesuccessofthiscircuit,withhis8ohm12vEHCOTECvalveB23E1ML4.5vDC.

Specifications:
4.5VoltDCminimumcoilvoltage
12VoltDCmaximumcoilvoltage
50mS(min)pulseopensvalve
50mSpulse(min)withreversepolarityclosesvalve
2.5Wpowerconsumptionat4.5vDC
Thefollowingcircuitpulsesalatchingrelayevery30seconds.Thecircuitonlyconsumescurrent
duringthe50mSlatchingperiod.
Thevaluesforthetimingcomponentshavenotbeenprovided.Thesecanbeworkedoutby
experimentation.

LatchingRelaysareexpensivebuta5vLatchingRelayisavailable
from:ExcessElectronicsfor$1.00asasurplusitem.Ithas2coils
andrequiresthecircuitattheleft.A5vLatchingRelaycanbeuseon
12vasitisactivatedforaveryshortperiodoftime.

Adoublepole(ordinary)relayandtransistorcanbe
connectedtoprovideatoggleaction.
Thecircuitcomesonwiththerelaydeactivatedandthe
contactsconnectedsothatthe470uchargesviathe
3k3.Allowthe470utocharge.Bypressingthebutton,
theBC547willactivatetherelayandthecontactswill
changesothatthe3k3isnowkeepingthetransistorON.
The470uwilldischargeviathe1k.Afterafewseconds
theelectrowillbedischarged.Ifthepressbuttonisnow
pushedforashortperiodoftime,thetransistorwillturn
offduetotheelectrobeingdischarged.

Asinglecoillatchingrelaynormallyneedsa
reversevoltagetounlatchbutthecircuitat
theleftprovidesforwardandreversevoltage
byusing2transistorsinaverycleverH
design.
ThepulseONandpulseOFFcanbeprovided
fromtwolinesofthemicrocontroller.

Anormalrelaycanbeactivatedbyashort
toneanddeactivatedbyalongtoneas
shownviathecircuitontheleft.Thiscircuit
canbefoundin"27MHzLinks"Page2.

ThecircuitwillcomeONin
eitherSETorRESETstate,
dependingonthestateofthe
armatureintherelay.
IfitcomesONinRESET
state,the2k2ontheSETcoil
willchargethe22uelectrolytic
sothatwhentheswitchis
pressed,the22uwillactivate
 theSETcoilandchangethe
stateoftherelay.Theopposite
22uwillnotgetchargedand
whentheswitchispressed
afterafewseconds,relaywill
changestate.
TherelayisSY4060from
JarcarElectronics.

toIndex
LATCHElectronicLatchLatchaSignal
Whenthecircuitseesavoltageabout1vorhigher,thecircuitlatches
ONandilluminatestheLEDorrelay.ThethirdcircuitprovidesSET
andRESET.ThefourthcircuitprovidesSETandRESETviaabi
stablearrangement.

toIndex
LATCHINGAPUSHBUTTONalsocalled:PUSHON
PUSHOFF
Whenthecircuitisturnedon,capacitorC1chargesviathetwo470k
resistors.Whentheswitchispressed,thevoltageonC1ispassedto
Q3toturniton.ThisturnsonQ1andthevoltagedevelopedacross
R7willkeepQ1turnedonwhenthebuttonisreleased.
Q2isalsoturnedonduringthistimeanditdischargesthecapacitor.
Whentheswitchispressedagain,thecapacitorisinadischarged
stateandthiszerovoltagewillbepassedtoQ3turnitoff.Thisturns
offQ1andQ2andthecapacitorbeginstochargeagaintorepeatthe
cycle.

toIndex
TOGGLEAPUSHBUTTONusing2relays
Thecircuitisshownwiththesecondrelay"active."
Halfofeachrelayisusedforthetogglefunctionandtheotherhalf
canbeconnectedtoanapplication.
Thefirstrelay(whichisoff),appliesvoltagefromitscontactsand
latchesthesecondrelayon.Theconditionchangeswhentheswitch
ispressed.Voltageisappliedtothefirstrelay,latchingiton.
Releasingtheswitchturnsthesecondrelayoff.
Whentheswitchispressedagain,12visappliedtobothendsofthe
firstrelayanditturnsoff.Thesecondrelayturnsonwhenthe
switchisreleased.Thereisslightlagintheaction,dependingonhow
longtheswitchispressed.

toIndex
TOGGLEARELAY
Thiscircuitwillactivatearelaywhentheswitchispressedandreleasedquicklyandturntherelayoff
whentheswitchispressedforabout1secondthenreleased.
Thecircuitreliesonafewcomponentvaluestooperatecorrectlyandtheymayneedtobeadjustedto
getthecircuittooperateexactlyasrequired.
Whentheswitchispressed,TheBC557turnsONandsuppliesnearlyrailvoltagetotherelay.
ThisclosesthecontactsandtheBC547iscapableofdeliveringacurrenttotherelay.
Thetransistoractsjustlikearesistorwitharesistanceequalto1/250thevalueofthebaseresistor.
Thisis40ohms.Iftherelayhasacoilresistanceof250ohms,itwillseeavoltageofabout10vfora
12vsupply.
Whentheswitchisreleased,theBC547keepstherelayenergised.
Duringthisactivation,the220uelectrolytichelpsinactivatingtherelay.
Here'show:
Initiallythe220uischarged(quiteslowly)viathe10kresistor68ohmresistorandthecoiloftherelay.
Itisnowfullychargedandwhentheswitchispressed,thenegativeendoftheelectrolyticisraisedvia
thecollectoroftheBC557.Thepositiveendrisestooandthisactionraisestheemitterandwhenthe
relaycontactsclose,therelayisdeliveredcurrentfroboththeBC557andandBC547.Whentheswis
released,theBC547takesoverandthedischargingofthe220uintothebase,holdstherelayclosed.
Asthe220ugraduallydischarges,theabilityoftheBC547todelivercurrentreducesslightlyandthe10k
baseresistortakesoverandturnsthetransistorintoa40Rresistor.
Finallythe220uhasaverysmallvoltageacrossit.
Whentheswitchispressedagain,theBC547actsasaresistorwitharesistancelessthan40ohmsand
itisabletodeliveravoltageslightlyhigherthanthatprovidedbytheBC547.
Thisslightlyhighervoltageispassedtothenegativeleadofthe220uandthepositiveleadactuallyrises
aboutrailvoltageandtheelectrogetsdischargedviathe10kresistor.
Whentheswitchisreleased,theelectrohaslessthan0.6vacrossitandtheBC547transistorisnotable
todelivercurrenttotherelay.Therelayisdeactivated.

toIndex
REVERSINGAMOTOR1
Thereareanumberofwaystoreverseamotor.Thefollowingdiagramsshowhowtoconnectadouble
poledoublethrowrelayorswitchandasetof4pushbuttons.Thetwobuttonsmustbepushedatthe
sametimeortwodoublepolepushswitchescanbeused.
SeeHBridgebelowformorewaystoreverseamotor.

Addinglimitswitches:

Thewaythedpdtrelaycircuit(above)worksisthis:
Therelayispoweredbysay12v,viaaMAINSWITCH.Whentherelayisactivated,themotortravels
intheforwarddirectionandhitsthe"uplimit"switch.Themotorstops.WhentheMAINSWITCHis
turnedoff,therelayisdeactivatedandreversesthemotoruntilitreachesthe"downlimit"switchand
stops.TheMAINSWITCHmustbeusedtosendthemotortothe"uplimit"switch.
toIndex
REVERSINGAMOTOR2
AUTOMATICFORWARDREVERSE
Thefollowingcircuitallowsamotor(suchasatrain)totravelinthe
forwarddirectionuntilithitsthe"uplimit"switch.Thissendsapulse
tothelatchingrelaytoreversethemotor(andendstheshortpulse).
Thetraintravelstothe"downlimit"switchandreverses.

Ifthemotorcanbeusedtoclickaswitchormoveaslideswitch,the
followingcircuitcanbeused:
 toIndex
REVERSINGAMOTOR3
Ifthetraincannotphysicallyclicktheslideswitchinbothdirections,
viaalinkage,thefollowingcircuitshouldbeused:

Whenpowerisapplied,therelayisnotenergisedandthetrainmust
traveltowardsthe"uplimit."Theswitchispressedandtherelayis
energised.TheNormallyOpencontactsoftherelaywillcloseandthis
willkeeptherelayenergisedandreversethetrain.Whenthedownlimit
ispressed,therelayisdeenergised.
Ifyoucannotgetatriplepolechangeoverrelay,usethefollowing
circuit:

toIndex
AUTOMATICBLINDS
Thiscircuitcanbeusedforanythingthatneedstobeautomaticallyopenedorclosed
viaaMAINSTIMER.
NormallytheTimerturnsonalamp.OurcircuitusesaWallWartintheMainsTimer
socketandthe12v"PlugPack"activatesa12vrelay.
Therelaysends(say)positiveoutthetopleadandwhenthetoplimitswitchisopened
bythemotorreachingtheendofitstravel,itstops.Thetop1N5404preventscurrent
passingtothemotor.At5PMtheMainstimerturnstherelayOFFanditsendsnegative
outthetoplead.Thetop3ampdiodeallowsthemotortoreverseandthenthelimit
switchcloses.Whenitreachesthelowerlimitswitch,theswitchopensandthelower
diodepreventscurrentflowingtothemotor.
toIndex
BATTERYMONITORMkI
Averysimplebatterymonitorcanbemadewithadualcolour
LEDandafewsurroundingcomponents.TheLEDproduces
orangewhentheredandgreenLEDsareilluminated.
ThefollowingcircuitturnsontheredLEDbelow10.5v
TheorangeLEDilluminatesbetween10.5vand11.6v.
ThegreenLEDilluminatesabove11.6v

BATTERYMONITORfor6v:

ThefollowingcircuitmonitorsasingleLiIONcell.Thegreen
LEDilluminateswhenthevoltageisabove3.5vandthegoes
outwhenthevoltagefallsbelow3.4v.TheredLEDthen
illuminates.
Adjustthe560kforthevoltageatwhichtheLEDturnsON.No
currentlimitingresistorisneededasthetransistoronlyallows
afewmilliampcollectorcurent.
toIndex
BATTERYMONITORMkII
Thisbatterymonitorcircuituses3separateLEDs.
TheredLEDturnsonfrom6vtobelow11v.
Itturnsoffabove11vand
TheorangeLEDilluminatesbetween11vand13v.
Itturnsoffabove13vand
ThegreenLEDilluminatesabove13v

toIndex
LOWFUELINDICATOR
Thefirstcircuithasbeendesignedfromarequestbyareader.Hewanteda
lowfuelindicatorforhismotorbike.TheLEDilluminateswhenthefuelgauge
is90ohms.Thetankisemptyat135ohmsandfullatzeroohms.Toadapt
thecircuitforan80ohmfuelsender,simplyreducethe330Rto150R.(The
firstthingyouhavetodoismeasuretheresistanceofthesenderwhenthe
tankisamply.)
Thesecondcircuitusesapowertransistortodrivealamp.
HIGHFUELINDICATOR
Thiscircuitilluminatesalampwhenthefuelhasnearlyfilledthetank.It
couldalsoactivateanalarm:

RelayDROPSOUTwhentheoutputvoltageofthefuelsenderisabout0.8v
toIndex
QUIZTIMER
Thiscircuitcanbeusedtoindicate:"fastestfingerfirst."Ithasa
globeforeachcontestantandonefortheQuizMaster.
Whenabuttonispressedthecorrespondingglobeisilluminated.
TheQuizMasterglobeisalsoilluminatedandthecathodeofthe9v1
zenerseesapproxmidrailvoltage.Thezenercomesoutof
conductionandnovoltageappearsacrossthe120Rresistor.No
otherglobescanbelituntilthecircuitisreset.
toIndex
TRACKINGTRANSMITTER
Thiscircuitcanbeusedtotracklotsofitems.

Ithasarangeof200400metresdependingontheterrainand
theflashingLEDturnsthecircuitONwhenitflashes.The
circuitconsumes5mAwhenproducingacarrier(silence)and
lessthan1mAwhenoff(backgroundsnowisdetected).
toIndex
BIKETURNINGSIGNAL
Thiscircuitcanbeusedtoindicateleftandrightturnonamotorbike.Two
identicalcircuitswillbeneeded,oneforleftandoneforright.

 toIndex
PHONETAPE3
Thiscircuitcanbeusedtoturnonataperecorderwhenthephonelinevoltageis
lessthan15v.Thisistheapproximatevoltagewhenthehandsetispickedup.
SeePhoneTape1andPhoneTape2in200TransistorCircuitseBook(circuits
1100).Whenthelinevoltageisabove25v,theBC547isturnedonandthis
robsthebaseofthesecondBC547ofthe1.2vitneedstoturnon.
Whenthelinevoltagedrops,thefirstBC547turnsoffandthe10uchargesvia
the47kandgraduallythesecondBC547isturnedon.Thisactionturnsonthe
BC338andtheresistancebetweenitscollectoremitterleadsreduces.Twoleads
aretakenfromtheBC338tothe"rem"(remote)socketonataperecorder.When
theleadispluggedintoataperecorder,themotorwillstop.Ifthemotordoesnot
stop,asecondremoteleadhasbeenincludedwiththewiresconnectedthe
oppositeway.Thisleadwillwork.Theaudioforthetaperecorderisalsoshown
onthediagram.Thiscircuithastheadvantagethatitdoesnotneedabattery.It
willworkona30vphonelineaswellasa50vphoneline.

toIndex
PHONETAPE4
ThiscircuitisidenticalinoperationtothecircuitabovebutusesFET's(Field
EffectTransistors.
15vzenersareusedtopreventthegateofeachFETfromrisingabove15v.
AFEThastwoadvantagesoveratransistorinthistypeofcircuit.
1.Ittakesverylittlecurrentintothegatetoturniton.Thismeansthegateresistor
canbeveryhigh.
2.ThevoltagedevelopedacrosstheoutputofaFETisverylowwhentheFETis
turnedon.Thismeansthemotorinthetaperecorderwilloperateatfullstrength.
Thiscircuithasnotbeentestedandthe10kresistor(inserieswiththefirst15v
zener)createsalowimpedanceandthecircuitmaynotworkonsomephone
systems.

toIndex
SEQUENCER
Thiscircuithasbeenrequestedbyareader.Hewantedtohaveadisplayonhisjacketthatran
9LEDsthenstoppedfor3seconds.
Theanimatedcircuitshowsthissequence:

Notethedelayproducedbythe100uand10kproduces3secondsbythetransistorinhibiting
the555(takingpin6LOW).Learnmoreaboutthe555seethearticle:"The555"onTalking
Electronicswebsitebyclickingthetitleontheleftindex.SeethearticleonCD4017.See
"ChipDataeBook"onTEwebsiteintheleftindex.
toIndex
HBRIDGE
Thesecircuitsreverseamotorviatwoinputlines.Bothinputsmustnot
beLOWwiththefirstHbridgecircuit.IfbothinputsgoLOWatthe
sametime,thetransistorswill"shortout"thesupply.Thismeansyou
needtocontrolthetimingoftheinputs.Inaddition,thecurrentcapability
ofsomeHbridgesislimitedbythetransistortypes.

Thedrivertransistorsarein"emitterfollower"modeinthiscircuit.

TwoHBridgesonaPCboard
HBridgeusingDarlingtontransistors
toIndex
TOUCHONTOUCHOFFSWITCH
ThiscircuitwillcreateaHIGHontheoutputwhentheTouchPlateistouchedbrieflyandproduce
alowwhentheplateistouchedagainforaslightlylongerperiodoftime.Mosttouchswitches
relyon50Hzmainshumanddonotworkwhenthehumisnotpresent.Thiscircuitdoesnotrely
on"hum."

TOUCHONTOUCHOFFSWITCH
toIndex
SIMPLETOUCHONTOUCHOFFSWITCH
ThiscircuitwillcreateaHIGHontheoutputwhentheTouch
Plateistouchedbrieflyandproducealowwhentheplateis
touchedagain.

toIndex
SHAKETICTACLEDTORCH
Inthediagram,itlookslikethecoilssitonthetablewhilethemagnethasitsedgeonthetable.Thisis
justadiagramtoshowhowthepartsareconnected.Thecoilsactuallysitflatagainsttheslide(against
thesideofthemagnet)asshowninthediagram:
Theoutputvoltagedependsonhowquicklythemagnetpassesfromoneendoftheslidetotheother.
That'swhyarapidshakingproducesahighervoltage.Youmustgettheendofthemagnettofullypass
thoughthecoilsothevoltagewillbeamaximum.Thatswhytheslideextendspastthecoilsatthetop
andbottomofthediagram.

Thecircuitconsistsoftwo600turncoilsinseries,drivingavoltagedoubler.Eachcoilproducesapositive
andnegativepulse,eachtimethemagnetpassesfromoneendoftheslidetotheother.
Thepositivepulsechargesthetopelectrolyticviathetopdiodeandthenegativepulsechargesthelower
electrolytic,viathelowerdiode.
ThevoltageacrosseachelectrolyticiscombinedtoproduceavoltageforthewhiteLED.Whenthe
combinedvoltageisgreaterthan3.2v,theLEDilluminates.TheelectrolyticshelptokeeptheLED
illuminatedwhilethemagnetstartstomakeanotherpass.
 toIndex
FADINGLED
ThecircuitfadestheLEDONandOFFatanequalrate.
The470kchargingand47kdischargingresistorshave
beenchosentocreateequalonandofftimes.

toIndex
MAINSNIGHTLIGHT
Thecircuitilluminatesacolumnof10whiteLEDs.The10u
preventsflickerandthe100Ralsoreducesflicker.

toIndex
RANDOMBLINKINGLEDS
ThiscircuitblinksasetofLEDsinarandompatternaccordingtotheslightdifferencesinthethree
SchmittTriggeroscillators.TheCD4511isBCDto7segmentDriver

toIndex
HEXBUG
ThisisthecircuitfromaHEXBUG.Itisasurfacemountbugwith6legs.Thepagermotoris
drivenbyanHBridgeand"walks"toawallwhereafeeler(consistingofaspringwithastiffwire
downthemiddle)causesthemotortoreverse.
Intheforwarddirection,bothsetsoflegsaredrivenbythecompoundgearboxbutwhenthemotor
isreversed,theleftlegsdonotoperateastheyareconnectedbyaclutchconsistingofaspring
loadedinclinedplanethatdoesnotoperateinreverse.
Thiscausesthebugtoturnaroundslightly.
Thecircuitalsorespondstoaloudclap.Thephotoshowsthe9transistorsandaccompanying
components:

HEXBUGCIRCUIT

InclinedDogClutch

HEXBUGGEARBOX
HexBuggearboxconsistsofacompoundgearboxwithoutput"K"(eccentricpin)drivingthelegs.
Youwillneedtoseetheprojecttounderstandhowthelegsoperate.
Whenthemotorisreversed,theclutch"F"isahousingthatisspringloadedto"H"anddrives"H
viaasquareshaft"G".Gearwheel"C"isanidlerandthecentreof"F"isconnectedto"E"viathe
shaft.When"E"reverses,thecentreof"F"consistsofadrivinginclinedplaneandpushes"F"
towards"H"inaclickingmotion.Thusonlytherightlegsreverseandthebugmakesaturn.When
"E"isdriveninthenormaldirection,thecentreof"F"drivestheoutercasing"F"viaanaction
calledan"InclinedDogClutch"and"F"drives"G"viaasquareshaftand"G"drives"H"and"J"is
aneccentricpintodrivethelegs.
ThedrawingofanInclinedDogClutchshowshowtheclutchdrivesinonlyonedirection.Inthe
reversedirectionitridesupontherampand"clicks"onceperrevolution.Thespring"G"inthe
photokeepsthetwohalvestogether.
SeeLadybug Robot in"100ICCircuits"foranopampversionofthisproject.

toIndex
PWMCONTROLLER
This555basedPWMcontrollerfeaturesalmost0%to100%pulsewidthregulationusingthe100kvariable
resistor,whilekeepingtheoscillatorfrequencyrelativelystable.Thefrequencyisdependentonthe100kpotand
100ntogiveafrequencyrangefromabout170Hzto200Hz.

toIndex
LIMITSWITCHES
Thiscircuitdetectswhenthewaterlevelislowandactivatessolenoid(orpump)1for5
minutes(adjustable)toallowdirtywatertobediverted,beforefillingthetankviasolenoid2.

toIndex
WAILINGSIREN
Thiscircuitproducesapenetrating(deafening)up/downsirensound.

 toIndex
MODELRAILWAYTIME
HereisasimplercircuitthanMAKETIMEFLYfromourfirstbookof100transistorcircuits.
Forthosewhoenjoymodelrailways,theultimateistohaveafastclocktomatchthescaleofthelayout.
Thiscircuitwillappearto"maketimefly"byrevolvingthesecondshandonceevery6seconds.The
timingcanbeadjustedbytheelectrolyticsinthecircuit.Theelectronicsintheclockisdisconnected
fromthecoilandthecircuitdrivesthecoildirectly.Thecircuittakesalotmorecurrentthantheoriginal
clock(1,000timesmore)butthisistheonlywaytodothejobwithoutasophisticatedchip.

ModelRailwayTimeCircuitConnectingthecircuittotheclockcoil

Forthosewhowantthecircuittotakelesscurrent,hereisaversionusingaHexSchmittTriggerchip:

ModelRailwayTimeCircuitusinga74c14HexSchmittChip
toIndex
SLOWSTARTSTOP
Tomakeamotorstartslowlyandslow
downslowly,thiscircuitcanbeused.
Theslideswitchcontrolstheaction.
TheDarlingtontransistorwillneeda
heatsinkifthemotorisloaded.

SlowStartStopCircuit
toIndex
VOLTAGEMULTIPLIERS
Thefirstcircuittakesasquarewave(anyamplitude)anddoublesitminusabout2vlosses
inthediodesandbaseemitterofthetransistors.
Thesecondcircuitmustrisetoatleast5.6vandfalltonearly0.4vforthecircuittowork.
Alsotheriseandfalltimesmustbeveryfasttopreventbothtransistorscomingonatthe
sametimeandshortcircuiting.
ThethirdcircuitdoublesanACvoltage.TheACvoltagerises"V"voltsabovethe0vrail
and"V"voltsbelowthe0vrail.

toIndex
CLAPSWITCH
ThiscircuittogglestheLEDseachtimeitdetectsaclaportaporshortwhistle.
Thesecond10uischargedviathe5k6and33kandwhenasoundisdetected,the
negativeexcursionofthewaveformtakesthepositiveendofthe10utowardsthe0vrail.
Thenegativeendofthe10uwillactuallygobelow0vandthiswillpullthetwo1N4148
diodessotheanodeendswillhaveneartozerovoltsonthem.
Asthevoltagedrops,thetransistorinthebistablecircuitthatisturnedon,willhave0.6v
onthebasewhilethetransistorthatisturnedoff,willhavezerovoltsonthebase.Asthe
anodesofthetwosignaldiodearebroughtlower,thetransistorthatisturnedon,will
begintoturnoffandtheothertransistorwillbegintoturnonviaits100uand47k.Asit
beginstoturnon,thetransistorthatwasoriginallyturnedonwillgetless"turnon"from
its100uand47kandthusthetwoswitchoververyquickly.Thecollectorofthethird
transistorcanbetakentoabuffertransistortooperatearelayorotherdevice.
SeeasimpleClapSwitchusingaCD4017ICin100ICCircuits.
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/100%20IC%20Circuits/1100_ICCcts.html

toIndex
INTERCOM
Hereisa2stationintercomusingcommon8Rminispeakers.The"presstotalk"switches
shouldhaveaspringreturnsotheintercomcanneverbeleftON.Thesecrettopreventing
instability(motorboating)withahighgaincircuitlikethisistopowerthespeakerfroma
separatepowersupply!Youcanconnectanextrastation(ortwoextrastations)tothis
design.

RequestfromKimEdwards:
Pleaseanalysethiscircuitforme.
Thecircuitisnotnormalasitmustconsumenocurrentwhensittingaroundandeitherend
mustbeabletocalltheotherend.
Startwiththefirsttransistor.Itisselfbiasedwithabouthalfrailvoltageonthecollector.The
secondtransistorisselfbiasedwithabout1vonthebase(viathe220kand1M).0.4v
across470Rmakesabout1vacrossthe1kresistor.
TheemitteroftheBC557willbeabout0.4vlowerthansupplyrail.
Thiswillproduceabout1vppoutputviathespeaker.
Increasingthe220kto470kwillincreasethevolume.The10utothespeakerallowsAC
signaltoentertheamplifierandthe10uonthesupplyrailkeepsthevoltagefromfluctuating
toomuchasthesupplyiscomingviathespeaker.The100uimprovesthecurrentfromthe
batterywhenthebatteryisweak.
toIndex
WARNINGBEACON

Hereisa12vWarningBeaconsuitableforacarortruckbreak
downonthesideoftheroad.Thekeytotheoperationofthe
circuitisthehighgainoftheDarlingtontransistors.Thecircuit
mustbekept"tight"(thickwires)tobesureitwilloscillate.
AcompletekitsofpartsandPCboardcosts$5.00plus
postagefrom:TalkingElectronics.EmailHEREfordetails.

Hereisthemodificationfor35superbrightLEDs:

ClickHEREforLEDTurningIndicatorproject.
toIndex
PHASESHIFTOSCILLATORalsocalledSINEWAVEOSCILLATOR

Thesecircuitsproducesasinewaveverynearlyequaltorailvoltage.
Theimportantfeatureistheneedfortheemitterresistorand10u/47ubypass
electrolytic.Itisamostimportantfeatureofthecircuit.Itprovidesreliablestartupand
guaranteedoperation.For6voperation,the100kisreducedto47k.
Thethree10ncapacitorsandtwo10kresistors(actually3)determinethefrequencyof
operation(700Hz).
The100kand10kbasebiasresistorscanbereplacedwith2M2betweenbaseand
collector.
Thistypeofcircuitcanbedesignedtooperatefromabout10Hztoabout200kHz.
BoththesecircuitsareNOTVERYRELIABLE.Theyworkwithsometransistorsbetter
thanothers.Theystopworkingwhenyoutouchsomeoftheparts.Thefrequency
changeswhenyouadda100uacrossthepowerrails.Theyaretoofiddlytobe
recommended.Placeapiezodiaphragmacrossthecollectorloadandexperiment
yourself.Trychangingthe1kandtry6vto12vtoseewhatImean.
toIndex
BLOCKINGOSCILLATORalsocalledFLYBACKOSCILLATOR

Thecircuitproduceshighvoltagepulses(spikes)ofabout40vpp(whentheLEDisnot
connected),atafrequencyof200kHz.ThesuperbrightLEDontheoutputabsorbsthe
pulsesandusestheenergytoproduceillumination.ThevoltageacrosstheLEDwillbe
about3.6v
ThewindingtothebaseisconnectedsothatitturnsthetransistorONharderuntilitis
saturated.Atthispointthefluxcannotincreaseanymoreandthetransistorstartsto
turnoff.Thecollapsingmagneticfieldinthetransformerproducesaveryhighvoltage
andthat'swhywesaythetransformeroperatesinFLYBACKmode.
Thistypeofcircuitwilloperatefrom10kHztoafewMHz.
toIndex
LOWVOLTAGEFLASHER

Thiscircuitflasheswhenthevoltagedropsto4v.
Thevoltage"setpoint"canbeadjustedby
changingthe150konthebaseofthefirst
transistor.

toIndex
POWERON

ThisLEDilluminatesforafewsecondswhenthe
poweristurnedon.Thecircuitreliesonthe47u
dischargingintotherestofthecircuitsothatitis
unchargedwhenthecircuitisturnedonagain.

toIndex
CARLOOPDETECTOR

A25cmdiacoil(consistingof40turnsand12turns)isplacedinthe
centreofadriveway(betweentwosheetsofplastic).Whenavehicleis
drivenoverthecoil,itrespondsbythewaveformcollapsing.Thisoccurs
becausethetankcircuitmadeupofthe40turnsisreceivingjustenough
feedbacksignalfromthe12turnstokeepitoscillating.Whenmetalis
placednearthecoil,itabsorbssomeoftheelectromagneticwavesand
theamplitudedecreases.Thisreducestheamplitudeinthe12turnsand
theoscillationscollapses.Thesecondtransistorturnsoffandthe10k
pullsthebaseofthethirdtransistor(anemitterfollower)tothe6vrailand
turnsontheLED.

toIndex
ALARMUSING4BUTTONS

Toopenthelock,buttonsS1,S2,S3,andS4mustbepressedinthisorder.Theymustbepressedformorethan
0.7secondsandlessthan1.3seconds.
ResetbuttonS5anddisablebuttonS6arealsoincludedwiththeotherbuttonsandifthedisablebuttonispressed,
thecircuitwillnotacceptanycodefor60seconds.Eachofthe3v3zenerscanbereplacedwithtworedLEDsand
thiswillshowhowyouareprogressingthroughthecode.MakesuretheLEDsarenotvisibletootherusers.

toIndex
AUDIOAMPLIFIER(mini)

Thisprojectiscalled"mini"becauseits
sizeissmallandtheoutputissmall.
Itusessurfacemounttechnology.

HOWTHECIRCUITWORKS
Theoutputispushpullandconsumes
lessthan3mA(withnosignal)but
drivestheearpiecetoaveryloudlevel
whenaudioisdetected.
ThewholecircuitisDCcoupledand
thismakesitextremelydifficulttoset
up.
Basicallyyoudon'tknowwheretostart
withthebiasing.Thetwomostcritical
componentsare8k2betweenthe
emitterofthefirsttransistorand0vrail
andthe470Rresistor.
The8k2acrossthe47usetstheemittervoltageontheBC547andthisturnsiton.Thecollectorisdirectly
connectedtothebaseofaBC557,calledthedrivertransistor.Boththesetransistorsarenowturnedonandthe
outputoftheBC557causescurrenttoflowthroughthe1kand470Rresistorssothatthevoltagedevelopedacross
eachresistorturnsonthetwooutputtransistors.Theendresultismidrailvoltageonthejoinofthetwoemitters.
The8k2feedbackresistorprovidesmajornegativefeedbackwhilethe330ppreventshighfrequencyoscillations
occurring.
toIndex
CAPACITORDISCHARGEUNITMkII(CDU2)
Thisprojectisavailableasakitfor
$10.80plus$6.50post.email
TalkingElectronicsfordetails.
 Thiscircuitwilloperateatwosolenoidpointmotor
andpreventitoverheatingandcausinganydamage.
Thecircuitproducesenergytochangethepointsand
ceasestoprovideanymorecurrent.Thisiscarried
outbytheswitchingarrangementwithinthecircuit,by
samplingtheoutputvoltage.
IfyouwanttocontrolthepointswithaDPDTtoggle
switchorslideswitch,youwillneedtwoCDU2units.

HOWTHECIRCUITWORKS
Thecircuitissuppliedby16vACorDCandthediode
ontheinputisusedtorectifythevoltageifACis
supplied.Ifnothingisconnectedtotheoutput,the
baseoftheBD679ispulledhighandtheemitter
follows.Thisiscalledanemitterfollowerstage.Thetwo1,000uelectrolyticschargeandtheindicator
LEDturnson.Thecircuitisnowready.
WhentheMainorSidingswitchispressed,theenergyfromtheelectrolyticsispassedtothepoint
motorandthepointschange.Astheoutputvoltagedrops,theemitterfollowertransistoristurnedoff
andwhentheswitchisreleased,theelectrolyticsstarttochargeagain.

ThepointmotorcanbeoperatedviaaDoublePole
DoubleThrowCentreOfftoggleswitch,providingthe
switchisreturnedtothecentrepositionafterafew
secondssothattheCDUunitcanchargeup.

toIndex
CAPACITORDISCHARGEUNITMkII(CDU2)modification
Ifyourtransformerdoesnotsupply15vACto16vAC,youcanincreasetheinputvoltagebyaddinga
100uto220uelectrolyticand1N4004diodetotheinputtocreateavoltagedoublingarrangement.
Youcanalsochangeoneorboththe1,000uelectrolyticsfor2,200u.Thiswilldeliveramuchlarger
pulsetothepointmotorandguaranteeoperation.

toIndex
PHONEBUGseealsoPhoneTransmitter1and2(1100circuits)
Thiscircuitconnectstoanormalphonelineandwhenthevoltagedropstolessthan15v,thefirst
transistoristurnedoffandenablesthesecondtransistortooscillateatapprox100MHzandtransmit
thephoneconversationtoanearbyFMradio.Thetransistorsmustbe65vdevices.Donotuse
BC547.

toIndex
CODELOCK
Thiscircuitturnsonarelaywhenthecorrectcodeisenteredonthe8way
DIPswitches.TwodifferenttypesofDIPswitchesareshown.
Keepthetopswitchoffandnocurrentwillbedrawnbythecircuit.
Thereare256differentcombinationsandbecausethecombinationisin
binary,itwouldbeverydifficultforaburglartokeepupwiththesettingsof
theswitches.

toIndex
LEDSSHOWRELAYSTATE
ThegreenLEDindicatestherelayisnot
energisedandtheredLEDshowsthe
relayisenergised.

toIndex
VOLTAGEDOUBLER
Thisisavoltagedoublercircuitfromabicycledynamodesignfoundontheweb.Thedynamoproduces6vACand
chargesa3.3FARADsupercapvia2diodesandanelectrolytic.Asyouwillsee,C2,D3andD4arenotneededand
canberemoved.
Thisishowthecircuitworks.
ThevoltageatthemidpointofdiodesD1andD2canfallto0.6vandrisetorailvoltageplus0.6vwithoutanycurrent
beingsuppliedfromthedynamo.
Whenthevoltagerisesmorethan0.6vaboverail
voltage,thedynamoneedstodelivercurrentandthis
willallowtherailvoltagetoincrease.Westartwith
thedynamoproducingnegativefromtheleftsideand
positiveontherightside.
Theleftsidewillfallto0.6vbelowthe0vrailandthe
rightsidewillchargeC1andC2willsimplyrisein
exactlythesamemanneraswedescribedtheleft
sideofthedynamobeingabletorise.
SupposeC1chargestoabout7v(whichitwillbeable
todoafterafewcycles).Thevoltagefromthe
dynamonowreversesandtheleftsideispositive
andtherightsideisnegative.Therightsideis
alreadysittingatapotentialof7v(viaC1)andasthe
leftsideincreases,itraisestherailvoltagehigherby
anamountthatcouldbeashighas7vminus0.6v.
Theactualrailvoltagewillnotbeashighasthisas
the3.3Faradcapacitorwillbecharging,butifenergy
isnottakenfromthecircuititwillrisetonearly14v
orevenhigheraccordingtothepeakvoltage
deliveredbythedynamo.
Whenthedynamoisdeliveringenergytothepositive
rail,itis"pushingdown"ontheC1andsomeofits
storedenergyisalsodelivered.Thismeansitwillhavealowervoltageacrossitwhenthenextcyclecomesaround.
C2,D3andD4arenotneededandcanberemoved.Infact,C1willalwayshaverailvoltageonitduetothe47
resistor,sothevoltagedoublingwillstartassoonasthedynamooperates.

DYNAMOVOLTAGEDOUBLER
HereisasimplecircuittoincreasethevoltagefromaBICYCLEDYNAMO(orHANDCRANKEDGENERATORthat
hasaspinningmagnetNOTaDCmotor)andchangetheACvoltageitproduces,toDC,andchargeasmallbattery:

BATTERYCHARGERDOUBLER
ThiscircuitwillchargeabatteryfromanACsourcewheretheACvoltageistoolowtochargethebattery.
ThiscircuitincreasesthevoltageandrectifiesittoproducepulsingDC.The100uelectrolyticlimitsthecurrentand
canbeincreasedto1,000utoprovideahighercurrent.
Eventhoughthevoltagewillbeincreasedtoabouttwicethepreviousvoltage,thiswillnotaffectthebatteryasthe
importantquantityisCURRENTandTIME.Youneedtomonitorthebatteryanddeterminewhenitisfullycharged.
 toIndex

AdjustableHighCurrentRegulatedPower
Supply
Therearetwowaystoadda2N3055(TIP3055)asthepasstransistorfor
ahighcurrentpowersupply.Thisishandyasmosthobbyistswillhave
oneoftheseintheirpartsbox.

RLmustbelowenoughtoguaranteeatleasta30mA.Itcanbea
separateresistororpartoftheactualload.

toIndex
INDUCTIVELYCOUPLEDPOWER
SUPPLY
ThiscircuitisfromanInterplakModelPB12electric
toothbrush.
Acoilinthechargingbase(alwayspluggedinandon)
couplestoamatingcoilinthehandunittoformastep
downtransformer.TheMPSA44transistorisusedas
anoscillatoratabout60kHzwhichresultsinmuch
moreefficientenergytransferviatheaircorecoupling
thanifthesystemwererunat50or60Hz.The
amplitudeoftheoscillationsvarieswiththefullwave
rectified100Hzor120HzunfilteredDC.
Thebatterychargerisnothingmorethanadiodeto
rectifythesignalfromthe120turncoilinthecharging
base.Thusthebatteryisinconstanttricklechargeas
longasthehandunitisinthebase.Thebatterypack
isapairof600mAhrAANiCdcells.
toIndex
POWERINGALED
Sometimestheoutputofagatedoesnothavesufficientcurrentto
illuminateaLEDtofullbrightness.
Herearetwocircuits.ThecircuitsilluminatetheLEDwhentheoutput
signalisHIGH.Bothcircuitsoperatethesameandhavethesameeffect
onloadingtheoutputofthegate.

toIndex
NiCdBATTERYCHARGER
ThisNiCdbatterychargercanchargeupto8NiCdcellsconnectedinseries.This
numbercanbeincreasedifthepowersupplyisincreasedby1.65vforeach
additionalcell.IftheBD679ismountedonagoodheatsink,theinputvoltagecan
beincreasedtoamaximumof25v.Thecircuitdoesnotdischargethebatteryifthe
chargerisdisconnectedfromthepowersupply.
UsuallyNiCdcellsmustbechargedatthe14hourrate.Thisisachargingcurrentof
10%ofthecapacityofthecellfor14hours.Thisappliestoanearlyflatcell.For
example,a600mAhcellischargedat60mAfor14hours.Ifthechargingcurrentis
toohighitwilldamagethecell.Thelevelofchargingcurrentiscontrolledbythe1k
potfrom0mAto600mA.TheBC557isturnedonwhenNiCdcellsareconnected
withtherightpolarity.IfyoucannotobtainaBD679,replaceitwithanyNPN
mediumpowerDarlingtontransistorhavingaminimumvoltageof30vandacurrent
capabilityof2A.Byloweringthevalueofthe1ohmresistorto0.5ohm,the
maximumoutputcurrentcanbeincreasedto1A.

toIndex
CRYSTALTESTER
Thiscircuitwilltestcrystalsfrom1MHzto30MHz.Whenthecrystaloscillates,the
outputwillpassthroughthe1ncapacitortothetwodiodes.Thesewillchargethe
4n7andturnonthesecondtransistor.ThiswillcausetheLEDtoilluminate.
 toIndex
LOWVOLTAGECUTOUT
Thiscircuitwilldetectwhenthevoltageofa12vbatteryreachesalowlevel.Thisis
topreventdeepdischargeormaybetopreventavehiclebatterybecoming
dischargedtoapointwhereitwillnotstartavehicle.Thiscircuitisdifferentto
anythingpreviouslypresented.IthasHYSTERESIS.Hysteresisisafeaturewhere
theupperandlowerdetectionpointsareseparatedbyagap.
Normally,thecircuitwilldeactivatetherelaywhenthevoltageis10vandwhenthe
loadisremoved.Thebatteryvoltagewillriseslightlybyaslittleas50mVandturn
thecircuitONagain.Thisiscalled"Hunting."Theoff/ontiminghasbeenreduced
byaddingthe100u.Buttopreventthistotallyfromoccurring,a10Rto47Ris
placedintheemitterlead.Thecircuitwillturnoffat10vbutwillnotturnbackon
until10.6vwhena33Risintheemitter.
Thevalueofthisresistorandtheturnonandturnoffvoltageswillalsodependon
theresistanceoftherelay.

toIndex
THEDARLINGTONTRANSISTOR
Normallyasingletransistorstageproducesagainofabout100.
Ifyourequireaveryhighgain,twostagescanbeused.Twotransistorscanbe
connectedconnectedinmanywaysandthesimplestisDIRECTCOUPLING.Thisis
showninthecircuitbelow.Anevensimplermethodistocombinetwotransistorsin
onepackagetoformasingletransistorwithveryhighgain,calledDARLINGTON
TRANSISTOR.
Theseareavailableas:
BD679NPNDarlington
2N6284NPNDarlington
BC879NPNDarlington
BC880PNPDarlington
TIP122NPNDarlington
TIP127PNPDarlington

ThesedevicesconsistoftwoNPNorPNPtransistorsbutthesameresultcanbe
obtainedbyusingaPNP/NPNpair.ThisiscalledaSziklaipair.Thisarrangementwill
havetobecreatedwithtwoseparatetransistors.
TheDarlingtontransistorcanalsobereferredtoas:
"SuperTransistor,SuperAlphaPair,Sziklaipair,ComplementaryPair,
Darlingtontransistorshaveagainof1,000to30,000.Whenthegainis1,000:1an
inputof1mAwillproduceacurrentof1ampinthecollectoremittercircuit.
TheonlydisadvantageofaDarlingtonTransistoristheminimumvoltagebetween
collectoremitterwhenfullysaturated.Itis0.6vto1.5vdependingonthecurrent
throughthetransistor.
Anormaltransistorhasacollectoremittervoltage(whensaturated)of0.2vto0.5v.
Thehighervoltagemeansthetransistorwillheatupmoreandrequiresgood
heatsinking.Inaddition,aDarlingtontransistorneeds1.2vbetweenbaseandemitter
beforeitwillturnon.ASziklaipaironlyrequires0.6vforittoturnon.
 toIndex
PICPROGRAMMER
ThesimplestprogrammertoprogramPICchipsisconnectedtoyourcomputerviatheserialport.Thisisa9pin
plug/socketarrangementcalledaSUBD9withthemaleplugonthecomputerandfemaleonaleadthatplugsintothe
computer.
Thesignalsthatnormallyappearonthepinsareprimarydesignedtotalktoamodembutweusethevoltagesandthe
voltagelevelstopoweraprogrammer.ThevoltagesonthepinsareOnorOff.On(binaryvalue"1")meansthepinis
between3and25volts,whileOff(binaryvalue"0")meansitisbetween+3and+25volts,dependingonthecomputer.But
manyserialportsproducevoltagesofonly+8vand8Vandtheprogrammercircuitusesthistoproduceavoltageofabout
13.5vtoputthePICchipintoprogrammingmode.Thisistheminimumvoltagefortheprogrammertowork.Anycomputers
withalowervoltagecannotbeused.That'swhythecircuitlookssounusual.Itiscombiningvoltagestoproduce13v5.
Herearetwocircuits.
ThefirstcircuitisusedinourPICPROGRAMMER12partsproject.
Circuit2usesmorecomponentstoproducethesameresultandcircuit3useslesscomponents.
 toIndex
FLUORESCENTINVERTER
Thesimplecircuitwilldriveuptotwo20wattfluorotubesfroma12vsupply.
Thecircuitalsohasabrightnessadjustmenttoreducethecurrentfromthebattery.SeeFluorescentInverter
articleformoredetails.

5wattCFLDriver
Bothcircuitsarealmostidentical
andthiscircuithasthebrightness
sectionremovedandthe100u
removed.Theremovalofthe100u
reducesthebrightnessbutitalso
reducesthecurrentfrom500mA
to250mAtomakeaveryefficient
circuitforanemergencysituation.
Note:Drivinga20watttube
(normal2foottube)produces
 muchmoreilluminationthana5
wattCFL.

Thiscircuitwilldrivea5wattCFLtubefromanoldCFLlampfrom6v
or12v.Itmakesaveryhandyemergencylight.
Thetransformerismadebywinding500turnsforthesecondary.
Thisconsistsofwindingabout10turnsontopofeachotherbefore
advancingalongtherod.Therodcanberoundorflat,fromanold
AMradio.Itiscalledaferriterod.The500turnshavetobeadded
beforereachingtheendandthismeans100turnshastotakeup
1/5thofthedistance.Thisreducesthevoltagebetweentheturnsas
theenamelwillonlywithstand100volts.
Beforeyoustartwinding,useatleast3layersofstickytapeto
preventthehighvoltageshortingtotherod.
Thesizeofthewireisnotimportantandanything0.25mmorthinner
willbesuitable.Afterwindingthesecondary,theprimaryis50turns
andthefeedbackis10turns.
Theprimarycanbe0.5mmwireandthefeedback0.25mm.
Connectthetransistor,componentsandtubeandturnthecircuitON
verybriefly.Ifthetubedoesnotilluminateimmediately,reversethe
wirestothefeedbackwinding.
Thetransistormustbe2N3055(ortheplasticversion,TIP3055).It
willgetwarmwhenilluminatingthelampandneedstobe
heatsinked.Thelampmustnotberemovedasthecircuitwill
overloadanddamagethetransistor.
Thecircuittakes250mAwhendrivinga5wattCFL(or18watt
fluorescenttube)on12vsupply.The1kbaseresistorcanbe
reducedto820Randthebrightnesswillincreaseslightlybutthe
currentwillincreaseto500mA.
Thecircuitismoreefficienton6v.The1kbaseresistorisreducedto
220Randthetransistorremainscool.

toIndex
ZAPPER160v
ThisprojectwillgiveyouaREALSHOCK.Itproducesupto160vandoutputsthis
voltageforaveryshortperiodoftime.
ThecomponentsaretakenfromanoldCFL(CompactFluorescentLamp)asthe
transistorsarehighvoltagetypesandthe1u5electro@400vcanalsobetakenfrom
theCFLaswellastheferritecoreforthetransformer.
TheCFLhasa1.5mHchokewithaDCresistanceof4ohms.Thisresistanceistoo
lowforourcircuitandthewireisremovedandthecorerewoundwith50turnsforthe
feedbackwindingand300turnsof0.1mmwiretoproduceawindingwitharesistance
ofabout10ohmsfortheprimary.
Theoscillatoris"flyback"designthatproducesspikesofabout160vandthesearefed
toahighspeeddiode(two1N4148diodesinseries)tochargea1u5electrolyticto
about160v.Ifyouputyourfingersacrosstheelectrolyticyouwillhardlyfeelthe
voltage.Youmightgetaverytinytingleattheendofyourfingers.
Butifthisvoltageisdelivered,thenturnedoff,yougetanenormousshockandyou
pullyoursfingersoffthetouchpads.
That'swhattheotherpartofthecircuitdoes.Itturnsonahighvoltagetransistorfora
veryshortperiodoftimeandthisiswhatmakesthecircuitsoeffective.

 toIndex
TELEPHONEAMPLIFIER
Thisamplifiercircuitisusedinallhometelephonestoamplifythesignal
fromthelinetotheearpiece.Thevoltageistakenfromthelineviaa
bridgethatdeliversapositiverail,nomatterhowthephonewiresare
connected.
Atransformerisusedtopickoffasignalfromthephonelineandthisis
passedthrougha22ntotheinputoftheamplifier.Negativefeedbackis
providedbya15kand1n2capacitor.Theoperatingpointfortheamplifieris
setbythe100kpotandthisservestoprovideaneffectonthegainofthe
amplifierandthusthevolume.

toIndex
VHFAERIALAMPLIFIER
Thisamplifiercircuitcanbeusedtoamplify
VHFtelevisionsignals.Thegainisbetween
5dBand28dB.300ohmtwinfeedercanbe
usedfortheIn/Outleads.

toIndex
CARLIGHTSALERT
Thiscircuitwillalertthedriverifthelightshavebeenlefton.
Awarningsoundwillbeemittedfromthe12vbuzzerwhen
thedriver'sdoorisopenedandthelightsareon.

toIndex
HowaPIEZOBUZZERWORKS
APiezoBuzzercontainsatransistor,coil,andpiezo
diaphragmandproducessoundwhenavoltageis
applied.ThebuzzerinthecircuitaboveisaPIEZO
BUZZER.

Thecircuitstartsbythebasereceivingasmallcurrent
fromthe220kresistor.Thisproducesasmallmagnetic
fluxintheinductorandafteraveryshortperiodoftime
thecurrentdoesnotincrease.Thiscausesthe
magneticfluxtocollapseandproduceavoltageinthe
oppositedirectionthatishigherthantheapplied
voltage.
3wiresaresolderedtopiecesofmetalonthetopand
bottomsidesofaceramicsubstratethatexpands
sidewayswhenitseesavoltage.Thevoltageonthe
topsurfaceispassedtothesmallelectrodeandthis
positivevoltageispassedtothebasetoturnthe
transistorONagain.ThistimeitisturnedONmoreand
eventuallythetransistorisfullyturnedONandthe
currentthroughtheinductorisnotanINCREASING
CURRENTbyaSTATIONARYCURRENTandonce
againthemagneticfluxcollapsesandproducesavery
highvoltageintheoppositedirection.Thisvoltageis
passedtothepiezodiaphragmandcausesthe
electrodeto"Dish"andproducethecharacteristic
sound.Atthesametimeasmallamountis"pickedoff"
andsenttothetransistortocreatethenextcycle.

toIndex
MAINSDETECTOR
Thiscircuitdetectsthe"Active"wireof110vACor240vACviaaprobe
anddoesnotrequire"continuity."Thismakesitasafedetector.
Itusesthecapacitanceofyourbodytocreatecurrentflowinthe
detectingpartofthecircuitandthesensitivitywilldependonhowyou
holdtheinsulatingcaseoftheproject.Nocomponentsofthecircuit
mustbeexposedasthiswillresultinELECTROCUTION.
 toIndex

SIMPLESTFMBUG

ThiscircuitisthesimplestFMcircuityoucanget.Ithasnomicrophone
butthecoilissoMICROPHONICthatitwillpickupnoisesintheroom
viavibrationsonatable.
Thecircuitdoesnothaveanysectionthatdeterminesthefrequency.In
thenextcircuitandallthosethatfollow,thesectionthatdeterminesthe
frequencyofoperationiscalledtheTUNEDCIRCUITorTANKCIRCUIT
andconsistsofacoilandcapacitor.Thiscircuitdoesnothavethis
feature.Thetransistorturnsonviathe47kandthisputsapulsethrough
the15turnwinding.Themagneticfluxfromthiswindingpassesthrough
the6turnwindingandintothebaseofthetransistorviathe22n
capacitor.Thispulseisamplifiedbythetransistorandthecircuitiskept
active.
Thefrequencyisdeterminedbythe6turncoil.Bymovingtheturns
together,thefrequencywilldecrease.Thecircuittransmitsat90MHz.It
hasaverypoorrangeandconsumes16mA.Thecoiliswoundona3mm
drillanduses0.5mmwire.

toIndex

AGOODONETRANSISTORCIRCUIT

ThiscircuitusesaTUNEDCIRCUITorTANKCIRCUITtocreatethe
operatingfrequency.Forbestperformancethecircuitshouldbebuiltona
PCboardwithallcomponentsfittedclosetoeachother.Thephotobelow
showsthecomponentsonaPCboard:

toIndex

ANIMPROVEDDESIGN

Thisdesignusesa"slugtunedcoil"tosetthefrequency.Thismeanstheslugcanbescrewedin
andoutofthecoil.Thistypeofcircuitdoesnotofferanyimprovementinstabilityovertheprevious
circuit.(Inlatercircuitswewillshowhowtoimprovestability.Themainwaytoimprovestabilityisto
adda"buffer"stage.Thisseparatestheoscillatorstagefromtheoutput.)
Theantennaisconnectedtothecollectorofthetransistorandthis"loads"thecircuitandwill
causedriftifthebugistouched.Therangeofthiscircuitisabout200metresandcurrent
consumptionisabout7mA.Themicrophonehasbeenseparatedfromtheoscillatorandthisallows
thegainofthemicrophonetobesetviathe22kresistor.Loweringtheresistorwillmakethe
microphonemoresensitive.Thiscircuitisthebestyoucangetwithonetransistor.

toIndex

MORESTABILITY

Ifyouwantmorestability,theantennacanbetappedoffthetopofthetankcircuit.Thisactually
doestwothings.Itkeepstheantennaawayfromthehighlyactivecollectorandturnsthecoilintoan
autotransformerwheretheenergyfromthe8turnsispassedtoasingleturn.Thiseffectively
increasesthecurrentintotheantenna.Andthatisexactlywhatwewant.
Therangeisnotasfarbutthestabilityisbetter.Thefrequencywillnotdriftasmuchwhenthebug
isheld.Asthetapistakentowardsthecollector,theoutputincreasebutthestabilitydeceases.

toIndex

2TRANSISTORCIRCUIT
Thenextprogressivestepistoaddatransistortogivetheelectretmicrophonemoresensitivity.The
electretmicrophonecontainsaFieldEffectTransistorandyoucanconsiderittobeastageof
amplification.That'swhytheelectretmicrophonehasaverygoodoutput.
Afurtherstageofamplificationwillgivethebugextremelygoodsensitivityandyouwillbeableto
pickupthesoundofapindroppingonawoodenfloor.
Manyofthe1transistorcircuitsoverdrivethemicrophoneandthiswillcreateanoiselikebaconand
eggsfrying.Themicrophone'susedbyTalkingElectronicsrequirealoadresistorof47kfora6v
supplyand22kfora3vsupply.Thevoltageacrossthemicrophoneisabout300mVto600mV.
Onlyaverysimpleselfbiasingcommonemitterstageisneeded.Thiswillgiveagainofapprox70
fora3vsupply.Thecircuitbelowshowsthisaudioamplifier,addedtotheprevioustransmitter
circuit.Thiscircuitisthebestdesignusing2transistorsona3vsupply.Thecircuittakesabout
7mAandproducesarangeofabout200400metres.
Fivepointstonoteinthecircuitabove:
1.Thetankcircuithasafixed39pandisadjustedbya210ptrimmer.Thecoilisstretchedtoget
thedesiredpositiononthebandandthetrimmerfinetunesthelocation.
2.Themicrophonecouplingisa22nceramic.Thisvalueissufficientasitscapacitivereactanceat
34kHzisabout4kandtheinputtotheaudiostageisfairlyhigh,asnotedbythe1Monthebase.
3.The1ubetweentheaudiostageandoscillatorisneededasthebasehasalowerimpedanceas
notedbythe47kbasebiasresistor.
4.The22nacrossthepowerrailsisneededtokeeptherails"tight."Itsimpedanceat100MHzis
muchlessthanoneohmanditimprovestheperformanceoftheoscillatorenormously.
5.Thecoilinthetankcircuitis5turnsofenameledwirewithaircore.Thesecrettolongrangeis
highactivityintheoscillatorstage.Thetankcircuit(madeupofthecoilandcapacitorsacrossit)will
produceavoltagehigherthanthesupplyvoltageduetotheeffectknownas"collapsingmagnetic
field"andthisoccurswhenthecoilcollapsesandpassesitsreversevoltagetothecapacitor.The
antennaisalsoconnectedtothispointanditreceivesthishighwaveformandpassestheenergyto
theatmosphereaselectromagneticradiation.
WhenthecircuitistightlyconstructedonaPCboard,thefrequencywillnotdriftverymuchifthe
antennaistouched.

toIndex

THEVOYAGER
Theonlywaytogetahigheroutputfromtwotransistorsistoincreasethe
supplyvoltage.
ThefollowingcircuitisavailablefromTalkingElectronicsasasurfacemount
kit,withsomecomponentsthroughhole.TheprojectiscalledTHE
VOYAGER.

Alltheelementsofgooddesignhavebeen
achievedinthisproject.Thecircuithasa
slightlyhigheroutputthanthe3vcircuit
above,butmostofthevoltageislostacross
theemitterresistorandnotconvertedtoRF.
Themainadvantageofthisdesignisbeing
abletoconnecttoa9vbattery.Inatechnical
sense,abouthalftheenergyiswastedasthe
stagesactuallyrequireabout4v5vfor
maximumoutput.

toIndex
HANDHELDMICROPHONE

Thiscircuitissuitableforahandheldmicrophone.Itdoesnothavean
audiostagebutthatmakesitidealasamicrophone,toprevent
feedback.Theoutputhasabufferstagetokeeptheoscillatorawayfrom
theantenna.Thisgivestheprojectthegreatestamountofstability
ratherthanthehighestsensitivity.

toIndex

INCREASINGTHERANGE

Toincreasetherange,theoutputmustbeincreased.Thiscanbedonebyusing
anRFtransistorandaddinganinductor.Thiseffectivelyconvertsmoreofthe
currenttakenbythecircuit(fromthebattery)intoRFoutput.Theoutputis
classifiedasanuntunedcircuit.ABC547transistorisnotsuitableinthislocation
asitdoesnotamplifysuccessfullyat100MHz.ItisbesttouseanRFtransistor
suchas2N3563.

toIndex

MORERANGE
Moreoutputcanbeobtainedbyincreasingthesupplyvoltageandaddinga
capacitoracrosstheinductorintheoutputstagetocreateatunedoutput.
The530pmustbeadjustedeachtimethefrequencyofthebugischanged.This
isbestdonewithafieldstrengthmeter.SeeTalkingElectronicsFieldStrength
Meterproject.

Atunedoutputstagedeliversmoreoutput

The2N3563iscapableofpassing15mAinthebufferstageandabout30%is
deliveredasRF.Thismakesthetransmittercapableofdeliveringabout22mW.

toIndex

EMITTERTAP
Thefollowingcircuittapstheemitteroftheoscillatorstage.Thecollectororthe
emittercanbetappedtoproduceaboutthesameresults,howevertappingthe
emitter"loads"theoscillatorless.The47pcapacitorisadjustedto"pickoff"the
desiredamountofenergyfromtheoscillatorstage.Itcanbereducedto22por
10p.

Tappingtheemitteroftheoscillatortransistor
toIndex

GOINGFURTHER

Thenextstagetoimprovetheoutput,matchestheimpedanceof
theoutputstagetotheimpedanceoftheantenna.
Theimpedanceoftheoutputstageisabout1kto5k,andthe
impedanceoftheantennaisabout50ohms.
Thiscreatesanenormousmatchingproblembutoneeffective
wayiswithanRFtransformer.
AnRFtransformerissimplyatransformerthatoperatesathigh
frequency.Itcanbeaircoredorferritecored.Thetypeofferrite
neededfor100MHzisF28.Thecircuitaboveusesasmallferrite
slug2.6mmdiax6mmlong,F28material.
Tocreateanoutputtransformerforthecircuitabove,wind11
turnsontotheslugand4turnsoverthe11turns.Theferritecore
willdotwothings.Firstlyitwillpassahighamountofenergyfrom
theprimarywindingtotheantennaandsecondlyitwill
THERFTRANSFORMERpreventharmonicspassingtotheantenna.Thetransformer
approximatelydoublestheoutputpowerofthetransmitter.

toIndex

WATERLEVELDETECTOR
Thiscircuitcanbeusedtoautomaticallykeeptheheadertankfilled.Itusesadoublepolerelay.

CIRCUIT2
Thecircuitbelowisthesimplestdesignandconsumesalmostzerocurrentwhenthetankisfull.When
thewaterisLOW,thecircuitisturnedONviathe100kpotand10kresistor.
Whenthewaterreachesthecopperwire,thevoltageonthebaseofthefirsttransistorreducesandthe
currentintotheDarlingtonarrangementistoosmalltokeeptherelayenergisedandthemotorturnsOFF.
Asthewaterleveldrops,thecurrentintotheDarlingtonpairincreasesandapointisreachedwhenthe
relaypullsinagain.

CIRCUIT3
Thissimplecircuitwillshowthewaterlevelinatank.
IthasaHIGH,MEDIUMandLOWlevelsandasthewatertouchesthepads,theLEDsstarttoilluminate.
Thisproducesarangeoflevelstoletyouknowexactlythelevelofthewater.
Thesensorpadscanbecutfromatincanoryoucanusethelidofatin.
ThemainsensorisplacedatthebottomofthewatersothelowlevelLEDwillletyouknowthetankis
almostempty.

Thecircuithasbeendrawntoshowthetransistorsareplacedonthetopofthetankwithwiresgoingto
eachofthesensorpads.TheLEDsandresistorsaremountedonawallinyourhousewiththe3vsupply
andapushswitch.
Youwillneeda4wireconnectionbetweenthetwounitsandthiscanbe4coretelephonecable.
Thetransistorsarewiredasemitterfollowersandthissaves4resistors(basebiasresistors).Italso
allowstheLEDstocomeonslowlyasthewaterrisessoyougetawideindicationofthewaterlevel.
Youcanaddmoresensorsifrequired.Simplyrepeatthecircuitabovefor3morelevels.
AnyNPNtransistorcanbeusedandanyvalueresistorbetween100ohmsand330ohmscanbeused
andthevoltagecanbeincreasedto6vifyouareusingahighvalueresistor.
ThecircuitonlytakescurrentwhentheswitchispressedbutitcanbeleftONallthetimetoletyouknow
thewaterlevel,ifneeded.
Youdontneedacircuitboard.Simplyhammerafewnailsintoalengthofwoodtoholdthesensorsand
connectthetransistorstothenailsbysoldering.
Makesurethesensorpadsareawayformthewoodanddontholdanywaterwhenthelevelgoesdownas
thecircuitissosensitivethattheLEDswillnotgoout.

toIndex

BATTERYCHARGERworld'ssimplestautomaticcharger
Thisistheworld'ssimplestautomaticbatterycharger.
Itconsistsof6components,whenconnectedtoa12vDCplugpack.Theplugpackmustproducemorethan
15vonnoload(whichmostplugpacksdo.)Analternative15vtransformerandacentretappedtransformeris
alsoshown.Acentretappedtransformerisreferredtoas:15vCT15vor15015
Therelayandtransistorarenotcriticalasthe1kpotisadjustedsotherelaydropsoutat13.7v.
Toimprovethe"pullin"and"dropout"voltages,the10kcanbereplacedwitha12vzener.Thezenercanbe
madeupoftwo6vzenersoranycombinationinseriesandincludeordinarydiodes(drop0.6v).
Theplugpackcanbe300mA,500mAor1Aanditscurrentratingwilldependonthesizeofthe12vbattery
youarecharging.
Fora1.2AHgelcell,thechargingcurrentshouldbe100mA.However,thischargerisdesignedtokeepthe
batterytoppedupanditwilldelivercurrentinsuchshortbursts,thatthechargingcurrentisnotimportant.
Thisappliesifyouarekeepingthebatteryconnectedwhileitisbeingused.Inthiscasethechargerwilladd
totheoutputanddeliversomecurrenttotheloadwhilechargingthebattery.Ifyouarechargingaflatcell
(flat12vbatteryadischarged12vbattery),thecurrentshouldnotbemorethan100mA.
Fora7AHbattery,thecurrentcanbe500mA.Andforalargerbattery,thecurrentcanbe1Amp.

Most12vPlugPacksproduce15vto16vonNOLOADandweareusingthisfeaturetochargethe
battery.Wearealsousingthepoorregulationoftheplugpacktochargethebatterywithouttheplug
packoverheating.

SETTINGUP
Connectthechargertoabatteryandplaceadigitalmeteracrossthebattery.Adjustthe1kpotsotherelay
dropsoutassoonasthevoltagerisesto13.7v.
Placea100R2wattresistoracrossthebatteryandwatchthevoltagedrop.
Thechargershouldturnonwhenthevoltagedropstoabout12.5v.Thisvoltageisnotextremelycritical.It
happenstobethe"hysteresis"ofthecircuitandisdeterminedbythevalueoftheloadinthecollectorofthe
transistor.
The22ustopstherelay"squealing"or"hunting"whenaloadisconnectedtothebatteryandthechargeris
charging.Asthebatteryvoltagerises,thechargingcurrentreducesandjustbeforetherelaydropsout,it
squealsasthevoltagerisesandfallsduetotheactionoftherelay.The22upreventsthis"chattering".
ToincreasetheHysteresis:Inotherwords,decreasethevoltagewherethecircuitcutsin,adda270R
acrossthecoiloftherelay.Thiswillincreasethecurrentrequiredbythetransistortoactivatetherelayand
thusincreasethegapbetweenthetwoactivationpoints.Thepullinpointonthepotwillbehigherandyou
willhavereadjustthepot,butthedropoutpointwillbethesameandthusthegapwillbewider.
Inourcircuit,thecutinvoltagewas11.5vwitha270Racrosstherelay.
Note:NodiodeisneededacrosstherelaybecausethetransistorisneverfullyturnedoffandnobackEMF
(spike)isproducedbytherelay.

AUTOMATICBATTERYCHARGERtricklecharger
Thiscircuitwillautomaticallykeepabatteryfullychargedwiththechargecurrentreducingwhenthebattery
voltagereaches13.8v.Thebatterycanbeusedatanytimeandthechargerwillmaintainfullcharge.

ThetransistoractslikeaPOWERZENER(withthe13.8vzeneronthebase)andthesupplyraildoesnot
riseabove13.8v+0.6v=14.4v.The1N4004removesthe0.6vtodeliver13.8vtothebattery.
Iftheplugpackisreplacedwithasupplycapableofdeliveringavoltagehigherthan16v(onnoload),the
3R3(3watt)resistorwillbeneeded.Thetransistorsimplyremovesthechargingcurrentfromthebatteryand
wastesitasheat.

toIndex

BATTERYCHARGERMkIIaverysimpledesigntokeepabattery"topped
up."
Thisisaverysimplebatterychargertokeepabattery"nearlyfullycharged."
Itconsistsof7components,whenconnectedtoa12v18vDCplugpack.Theplugpackmustproducemore
than15vonnoload(whichmost12vplugpacksdo.)
Fora1.2AHgelcell,uptoa45Ahrcarorboatbattery,thischargerwillkeepthebatterytoppedupandcanbe
connectedformanymonthsasthebatterywillnotlosewaterdueto"gassing."
Theoutputvoltageis13.2vandthisisjustenoughtokeepthebatteryfromdischarging,butwilltakeavery
longtimetochargeabattery,ifitisflatbecauseabatteryproducesa"floatingcharge"ofabout13.6vwhenit
isbeingcharged(atareasonablecurrent)andthischargerisonlydesignedtodeliveraverysmallcurrent.
Thereisaslightdifferencebetweena"oldfashioned"carbattery(commonlycalled"anaccumulator")anda
sealedbatterycalledaGelCell.Thecompositionoftheplatesofagelcellissuchthatthebatterydoesnot
beginto"gas"untilahighvoltageisreached.Thatiswhyitcanbetotallyclosedandonlyhasrubberbungs
that"pop"ifgasathighpressuredevelopsduetogrossovercharging.That'swhythechargingvoltagemust
notbetoohighandwhenthebatteryisfullycharged,thechargingcurrentmustdroptoaverylowlevel.

toIndex
GELLCELLBATTERYCHARGER
Thiscircuitwillchargegellcellbatteriesat300mAor650mAor1.3A,
dependingontheCURRENTSENSINGresistorinthe0vrail.Adjust
the5kpotfor13.4voutandwhenthebatteryvoltagereachesthis
level,thecurrentwilldroptoafewmilliamps.Theplugpackwillneed
tobeupgradedforthe650mAor1.3Achargecurrent.TheredLED
indicateschargingandasthebatteryvoltagerises,thecurrentflow
decreases.Themaximumisshownbelowandwhenitdropsabout
5%,theLEDturnsoffandthecurrentgraduallydropstoalmostzero.

toIndex

TRANSISTORTESTERCOMBO2
ThiscircuitusesanICbutithasbeenplacedinthiseBookasitisatransistortester.
ThecircuitusesasingleICtoperform3tests:
Test1:Placethetransistorinanyorientationintothethreeterminalsofcircuit1(below,left)andaredLEDwill
detectthebaseofaPNPtransistoranagreenLEDwillindicatethebaseofanNPNtransistor.
Test2:Younownowthebaseleadandthetypeoftransistor.PlacethetransistorinTest2circuit(topcircuit)and
whenyouhavefittedthecollectorandemitterleadscorrectly(maybehavetoswapleads),theredorgreenLEDwill
comeontoproveyouhavefittedthetransistorcorrectly.
Test3:ThetransistorcannowbefittedintheGAINSECTION.SelectPNPorNPNandturnthepotuntiltheLED
illuminates.ThevalueofgainismarkedonthePCBthatcomeswiththekit.Thekithasezyclipsthatclipontothe
leadsofthetransistortomakeiteasytousetheproject.
Theprojectalsohasaprobeatoneendoftheboardthatproducesasquarewavesuitableforallsortsofaudio
testingandsomedigitaltesting.
Projectcost:$22.00fromTalkingElectronics.

toIndex

LOWMAINSDROPOUT
Thiscircuitwillturnoffadeviceifthemaindropsbyasay15v.The
actualvoltageisadjustable.Thefirstthingtorememberisthis:The
circuitdetectsthePEAKvoltageandthisisthevoltageofthezener
diodes.
For240vmains,thepeakis338v.
Foravoltagedropofabout12v(RMS),thezenerdiodesneedtohavea
combinedvoltageof320v(youwillneed6x47v+1x20v+1x18v).
The10kresistorwillhaveabout18vacrossitandthecurrentwillbe
nearly2mA.Thewattagewillbe36mW.
Foravoltagedropofabout27v(RMS),youwillneedzenersforatotalof
300vbyusing6x47v+1x18v.Thevoltageacrossthe10kresistor
willbe38vandthecurrentwillbenearly4mA.Thewattagedissipatedby
the10kresistorwillbe150mW.
The10upreventsverysharpdipsordropsfromactivatingthecircuit.
Asthevoltagedrops,thisdropinvoltagewillbepasseddirectlytothe
topofthe10kresistorandasthevoltagedrops,thecurrentintothebase
ofthetransistorwillreduce.Thiscurrentisamplifiedbythetransistor
andwhenitisnotsufficienttokeeptherelayactivated,itwilldropout.

toIndex
PROTECTINGTHECONTACTSOFARELAY:
Thecontactsofarelaycanbeprotectedfromthedamagingeffectsof
reversinganactuator.Thecircuitshowsadoublepoledoublethrow
relaydrivinganactuator.The4"bridgediodes"aroundtheactuator
"squelch"thebackemffromdamagingthecontacts.

toIndex
REDUCINGRELAYCHATTER:
Toreducetherelayclickingorchatteringduringtheactivationofthe
relaydrivertransistor,anelectrolyticcanbeplacedbetweenthebase
and0vrail.Inadditionanelectrocanbeplacedacrosstherelayifthere
isapossibilityofthesupplyvoltageglitchingortemporallyfailing.

toIndex
3TRANSISTORAMPLIFIER:
Thiscircuitproducesaverycleanoutput.

toIndex
4TRANSISTORAMPLIFIER:
ThiscircuitisfullydocumentedinTheTransistorAmplifierasFig105.
 toIndex
VibratingVUIndicator
Thiscircuitcanbeusedtomonitortheoutputofastereotowarnwhenthelevelistoohigh.The
outputisapagermotorandwillvibratesoyoudon'thavetokeepwatchingVUlevels.Thefirsttwo
transistorsareconnectedsoanoverloadineitherchannelwilltriggerthepagermotor.

NopowerswitchisneededasalltransistorsareturnedOFFwhennoaudioisbeingdetected.

toIndex
CFLDRIVER
Thiscircuitwilldrivea5wattCompactFluorescentLamp
from12v:

toIndex
VOX
Thesecircuitsdetectaudioandoperatearelayorproduceanoutput
pulse.Seefulldetailsin:TheTransistorAmplifiereBookunderVOX

SENSITIVEVOXCIRCUIT

3vto6vVOXCIRCUIT

12vVOXCIRCUIT

toIndex
OPAMPWITH3TRANSISTORS:
Thiscircuitshowshowasimpleoperationalamplifiercanbemadewith3
transistors.

3TRANSISTOROPAMP

ItisreallyanACcoupledsingleendedclassAamp,withanopenloop
gainofabout5,000,butasademonstrationcircuit,youcantreatitasa
simpleopamp.Theoutputisbiasedatapproximatelyonehalfthe
supplyvoltageusingthecombinedvoltagedropsacrossthetwoLEDs,
theemitterbasevoltageoftheinputtransistorandthe1vdropacross
1Mfeedbackresistor.The68kand4n7formacompensationnetwork
thatpreventsthecircuitfromoscillating.

Youcanconfigurethisopampasanactivefilterorasanoscillator.It
drivesaloadof1k.Thesquarewaveresponseisgoodat10kHz,and
theoutputreducesby3dBat50kHz.
toIndex
CAPACITORTESTER
Circuitdesignedby:CharlesWenzelcharles@wenzel.com
Thiscircuitwilltestverysmallcapacitors.Thetonefromthespeakerwill
changewhenacapacitorisplacedacrossthetestpoints"Cx."
TheoperationofthecircuitisexplainedinoureBook:TheTransistor
Amplifier(highimpedancecircuit).

toIndex
HighbrightLEDEmergencyLight

Thiscircuitwillilluminatetwo1wattHighbrightLEDswhenthepower
fails.Thechargingcurrentisabout2030mA.Itwilltakeabout7
daystochargethebatteryandthiswillallowilluminationfor5hours,
onceperweek.
Achargingcurrentmorethan50mAwillgradually"dryout"the
batteryandshortenitslife.
Iftheprojectisusedmorethan5hoursperweek,thecharging
currentcanbeincreased.
The220Rchargingresistorcanbereducedto150Ror100R(1watt).

toIndex
RELAYOFFDELAY
ThiscircuitturnsONarelaywhentheinputisabove2vandtherelay
turnsOFFafter2secondswhenthesignalisremoved.TheOFFdelay
canbeincreasedordecreased.

toIndex
AMPLIFYINGADIGITALSIGNAL
ADigitalsignalisonlydetectedasaHIGHorLOW.Howeverifthe
digitalsignaldoesnothavesufficientamplitude,itmaynotbedetected
ATALL.
Thiscircuitdetectsalowamplitudesignalandproducesahighamplitude
signal.

toIndex
PIRDETECTOR
(seealsoLEDStripPassageLight)
Thiscircuitdetectsmovementandoperatesarelay.ThePIRmodulehas"Sensitivity"
and"TimeDelay"pots.TheycanbepurchasedoneBayfor$2.71includingpostage!

toIndex

DELAYbeforeTurnOn...thenturnsOFF
ThiscircuitturnsONtherelay4secondsafterthepowerisappliedand
thenturnsitOFFafter2seconds.
Thisisarequestfromareader.
Youwillneedtochangethecomponentvaluestosuityourowntiming.
Whentestingthecircuit,bothelectrolyticswillbechargedafterthe
circuitoperates,soyouwillhavetowaitanysecondsbeforetesting
again.Otherwise,dischargebothelectrostotestagain.

toIndex
10SECONDDELAY
ThisclevercircuitturnsontheLED10secondsafterthepowerhasbeenswitchedON.
Thesecrettoitsperformanceisthegainofthetransistor.
Withagainof200,thetransistorwillappearasa470/200=2k3resistorfortheLED
andfora12vsupply,thiswillcreateacurrentof121.7/2300=4.4mAthroughthe
LED.
The100uwilltakeabout10secondstochargetoapointwherethebaseis1.7v+0.6v
=2.3vabovethe0vrail.Whentheelectrochargestothisvoltage,theLEDstartsto
comeon.
Thetransistoreffectivelybecomesa2k3resistorandthat'swhynoadditionalcurrent
limitingresistorfortheLEDisneeded.Thetransistoristhecurrentlimitingdevice!

toIndex
FERRETFINDER:
Thiscircuitproducesabeepbeepbeepatapprox190kHzonaLongWaveBandradio.
Thetransformer(coil)iswoundon10mmdiaferriterod10mmlong.Thesecondarywinding
is0.25mmwire.The135tis0.01mmwire.
 ThePCboardis16mmx14mm.
Thesecrettothecircuitworkingisthe
"transformer."Theferritemustbeveryshort
sothefluxproducedbythecircuitsaturates
thecoreandtheexcessispassedtothe
surroundings.
AkitfortheFerret Finder isavailable
fromtalkingelectronicsfor$5.00plus
postage.

toIndex
FLASHINGLIGHTSFORMODELRAILWAYCROSSING:
AflashingLEDisusedtocreatethetimingfortheflash
rateandthetransistorprovidesthealternateflashforthe
secondsetofLEDs.

toIndex
FADEONFADEOFFLED
TheLEDsiniscircuitfadeonwhenthepowerisappliedandfadeoffwhenswitchedoff:
IfyoujustwantfadeONandfadeOFF,thiscircuitisallyouneed.TheDarlingtontransistorhas
internalresistorsbetweenthebaseandemitterofeachtransistorandthesewillreducetheinput
impedanceofthetransistorconsiderably.That'swhyyoumayhavetousefairlylowvalueresistors
onthedelaysection.Usingtwoseparate(normal)transistorswillallowtheresistorvaluestobe
100k.

Youcanalsodrive"ropelights."
ThesecanbesurfacemountLEDsortotallysealedLEDsandgenerallyhavetwowiresconnected
tooneendforthe12vsupply.
ThreeLEDsaregenerallyconnectedinseriesinsidethe"rope"withadropperresistorandsome
"ropes"canbecutaftereachsetofthreeLEDsasshowninthediagrambelow:

EachsetofthreeLEDsdrawsabout20mAsoaropeof24LEDstakesabout160mA.Adjustthe
firsttwo100kresistorsand100utosetthefadeINandfadeOUTfeature.

toIndex
3SECONDDELAY:
Whenthiscircuitisconnectedtoasupply(from3vto12v),theLED
turnsonandgraduallyfadesafterabout3seconds.

toIndex
REPLACINGA"POWERPOT":
APowerPotentiometer(alsocalledarheostat)isapotentiometerwith
aratingof1wattormoreandthesecanbeveryexpensive.A10wattpot
cancostasmuchas$25to$35.
Thistypeofpotcanbereplacedverycheaplybyusinganordinary500R
potandapowertransistor.
Thepowerpotgenerally"burnsout"whenitisatleastresistanceand
thiscircuitreplacesthepotwithoneslightexception.
Thecircuitdoesnotdeliverfullrailvoltage.Theoutputisabout0.9v
belowrailvoltage.Aswitchhasbeenincludedtoproducefullrailoutput:

10wattPOWERPOT
IfthePowerPotisarheostat,itwillhavetwoterminals.Oneterminal
called"A"willgotorailvoltageandtheotherterminal(thecentre
terminalcalledthewiper)wewillcall"B,"willgototheload.
BuildthecircuitaboveandtakeAandBtothesamepointsasbefore
and"G"goestoGroundor"earth"or"Chassis."
toIndex
CHANGING24vto12v:
Thiscircuitallowstoyouchargea24vprojectfroma12vcharger.Itconverts
thetwo12vbatteriesfromseriestoparallel:

toIndex

ZENERDIODETESTER
AlldiodesareZenerdiodes.Forinstancea1N4148isa120vzenerdiodeasthis
isitsreversebreakdownvoltage.
Andazenerdiodecanbeusedasanordinarydiodeinacircuitwithavoltage
thatisbelowthezenervalue.
Forinstance,20vzenerdiodescanbeusedina12vpowersupplyasthevoltage
neverreaches20v,andthezenercharacteristicisneverreached.
Mostdiodeshaveareversebreakdownvoltageabove100v,whilemostzeners
arebelow70v.A24vzenercanbecreatedbyusingtwo12vzenersinseriesand
anormaldiodehasacharacteristicvoltageof0.7v.Thiscanbeusedtoincrease
thevoltageofazenerdiodeby0.7v.
Totestsazenerdiodeyouneedapowersupplyabout10vhigherthanthezener
ofthediode.Connectthezeneracrossthesupplywitha1kto4k7resistorand
measurethevoltageacrossthediode.Ifitmeasureslessthan1v,reversethe
zener.
Ifthereadingishighorlowinbothdirections,thezenerisdamaged.
Hereisazenerdiodetester.Thecircuitwilltestupto56vzeners.

toIndex
LEDFADER
Thiscircuitwasrequestedbyatheatrical
grouptoslowlychangethecolourofa
setofLEDsoveraperiodof12
seconds.

toIndex
POINTMOTORDRIVER
Oneofthefirstthings(youwillwant)whenexpandingamodel
railwayisasecondlooporsiding.
Thisneedsasetofpointsandiftheyaredistantfromtheoperator,
theywillhavetobeelectricallyoperated.Thereareanumberof
controllersonthemarkettochangethepointsandsomeofthem
takeaveryhighcurrent.(YoucangetalowcurrentPointMotor).
Thehighcurrentisneededbecausetheactuatingmechanismis
veryinefficient,butitmustbeappliedforaveryshortperiodoftime
topreventthepointmotorgettingtoohot.
Sometimesanormalswitchisusedtochangethepointsandifthe
operatorforgetsuseitcorrectly,thePointMotorwill"burnout"after
afewseconds.
Topreventthisfromhappeningwehavedesignedthefollowing
circuit.ItoperatesthePointMotorfor5mSto10mS(averyshort
time)andpreventsanydamage.
YoucanuseaPecoswitch(PL23about$10.00!!)oranordinary
toggleswitch(changeoverswitch).
YoucanconnecttoeithersideofthePointMotorandbothcontacts
oftheothersidegoto14vto22vrail.

PointMotormounted ThePointMotorshaftmoves
underthetrack. leftrighttochangethepoints.
 toIndex

COINCOUNTER
Thiscircuitwasdesignedforareaderwhowantedtochangehisamusement
machinefrom3coinsto4coins.
Thecircuitcanbemodifiedto"divideby"anyvaluefrom2to10:

toIndex

HEADLIGHTEXTENDER
Thiscircuitextendsthe"ONTIME"forheadlightsandthecircuitdoes
nottakeanycurrentwhenthetimehasexpired.
WhentheheadlightsareswitchedOFF,thecircuitkeepsthelightsON
for30seconds.
Theelectronicsneeds3connections.Thediagramaboveshowsthese
connections.Thefirstconnectionistothe12vsideofthebattery.The
outputofthecircuitistheemitteroftheBD679transistorandthis
connectstotherelaywherethewirefromtheheadlightswitchis
connected.Finallythecircuitconnectstothechassisofthecar.
The"delaytime"isdeterminedbythe100uand100kresistor.The
resistorcanbeincreasedto470kandthecapacitorcanbeincreasedto
470u.Foranadjustabletimedelay,usea500kminitrimpotforthe
100kresistor.
toIndex

TURNINDICATORALARM
Manyturnindicatorsincars,motorbikesandgolfcartsarenotveryloud.
That'swhytheygetleftON.
Hereare2circuitsforyoutoexperimentwithandworkoutwhichisthebest
foryourapplication.
Theyalluseapiezobuzzerthathasanoscillatorcircuitinsidethecaseand
producesa3kHzannoyingtone.Wehavelistedtwodifferenttypes.TypeA
producesaconstant3kHztonethatincreaseswithloudnessasthevoltage
increases.
TypeBiscalledaREVERSINGBUZZERandproducesabeepbeepbeep
whenaconstantDCvoltageisapplied.Theoutputincreasesinvolumeas
thevoltageincreases.

CircuitAturnsonafter15secondstoletyouknowtheturnindicatoris
active.
YoucanusePiezoTypeAtogetabeepwhentheturnlightisONandsilence
whenthelightisOFF.
PiezotypeBwillproduceabeepbeepbeepwhenthelightisONandsilence
whenitisOFF.

Beepsafter15seconds

CircuitBturnsonafter15secondsandthepiezowillincreaseinloudness.

.
Beepsafter15secondswithincreasingvolume

Apiezobuzzerrequiresabout15mAandoperatesfrom3vto12v.
ReversingbuzzersareavailablefromTalkingElectronicsfor$4.50each.
Theyarealsoavailableonthewebfor$20.00

toIndex
SUPPLYVOLTAGEMONITOR:
Thesecircuitswillmonitorsupplyvoltagesof5vand12v.Theyarenot
intendedtoindicatetheleveloftheinputs.TheLEDwillonlyilluminate
whenallthevoltagesarepresent.

toIndex
SOLARCHARGER
ThisisasimplecircuittokeepasetofNiCadsfullychargedviaasolar
panel.
Themathematicsandthecircuitisthesamefora6vor12vsolarpanel.
ThemathematicsrevolvesaroundCURRENTandnotVOLTAGE.
Remember:NiCadcellsare1.2vandyouwillneed5cellstoproducea
6vsupply.
NiMHcellsare1.2vandcomein1,700mAHrand3,000mAHr(andother
capacities).
Youcanrechargeordinaryalkalinecells(1.5v)about50times.Ithas
aboutthesamecapacityasNiCadafterthesecondrecharge.
1.MEASURETHECURRENTTAKENBYTHEPROJECT
Firstlymeasurethecurrenttakenbytheproject.Ifitisaconstant10mA,
youwillneedtochargethebatterieswith40mAfromthesolarpanel,if
weassumethesunshinesfor8hoursperday.
Ifthecircuittakes1ampfor1hour,weneedtochargethebatterieswith
150mAfor8hoursofsunshine.
Ifthecircuittakes500mAfor15minuteseachhour,thisisequivalentto
aconstant125mAandthechargingwillhavetobe500mAfor8hours
eachday.(Eventhoughthisisequalto3Ahrperday,thecharging
occupies8hoursandthusthestorageonlyneedstobe2Ahrand
2400mAHrcellscanbeused).
Ourmathematicstakesintoaccount80%efficiencyinchargingthe
cells.
IftheNiCadcellsare600mAHr,themaximumchargingcurrentis
100mA.
Ifthecellsare2,400mAHr,themaximumchargingcurrentis500mA.
Thischargingcurrenttakesintoaccountthefactthatthecellswillbe
fullychargedtowardstheendofeachdayandthat'swhythecurrent
shouldnotbetoohigh.
2.MEASURETHECHARGINGCURRENT
Buildoneofthecircuitsbelowandusea100ohm(1watt)resistorforthe
currentlimiting.
Connectamultimeter(select0500mAor02Amprange)asshown
andmeasurethecurrentduringtheday.Takeafewreadingsandwork
outandaveragecurrentandapproxthelengthofeachday.
Everysolarpanelwilldeliveradifferentcurrentanditisnotpossibleto
specifyanyvalues.That'swhyyouhavetotakereadings.Ifthecurrent
istoohigh,addanother100ohmresistorinseries.Ifthecurrentistoo
low,placea100ohmresistoracrossthefirst100ohmresistor.


toIndex
WHITENOISEGENERATOR:
Thebasisofawhitenoisegeneratoristhereverseconnectionofthebaseemitterjunctionofa
transistorasshowninfigA.
Whenthejunctionseesavoltageaboveabout5v,itbreaksdownandthiscausesthevoltage
toreduce.Thejunctionceasestobreakdownandtheconditionrepeats.Theresultisa
waveformofafewmillivoltstoover2v,dependingonthevalueoftheresistorsupplying
currenttothejunction.
Thisnoisesoundslike"ssssssssss"andcanbeaddedtoanamplifiertoproduceallsortsof
soundeffectsincludingSteamSoundforamodelrailway.
ThewaveformcontainsallamplitudesandfrequenciesfromaudibleuptoAMbroadcastband.
Trythefollowingcircuitsandseehowtheywork.Thesupplymustbeover5vandpreferably
morethan8v.That'swhymanyofthecircuitsspecify12vandhigher.

toIndex

INTERCOMorTELEPHONEHANDSET
Youcanmakeyourownintercomorreplacecircuitryinoldstylehandsetswitheitherofthese
circuits.
Telephoneamplifiercircuitsarecompletelydifferenttonormalamplifiercircuits.
Forastart,theyhaveveryhighnegativefeedbacktoprevent"whistle"andintelephone
speakthecircuitisdesignedsosoundsfromtheearpiece(receiver)arenotpickedupbythe
mouthpiece(microphone)andamplifiedtocrateawhistle.
Secondly,theloadfortheamplifierisactuallytherelayattheexchangeandthesignalis
pickedoffatthepointwheretheamplifierconnectstotherelayandsenttotheother
telephone.
Thismeansthesupplyforboththepreamplifierandtheoutputstageareonthesamewireas
thesignaltotheotherphone.
Thevoltageacrossthefirstcircuitisgeneratedbythe150kturningONthefirstBC547
transistorandit"pullsup"thesecondtransistor(apartialemitterfollower).
Thiscreatescurrentthroughthe150Randavoltageisdevelopedacrossthisresistorsothat
avoltageofapprox15visdevelopedacrossthewholecircuit.

Herearetwocircuitsforthehandset:

toIndex

38KHzInfraredLink:
ThiscircuitisanIRtransmitterandIRreceiverwitha38kHzdetectorTSOP1738inthe
receiver.Thismeansthecircuitwillbeimmunetoambientlight.Themotorisactivated
whenthetransmitteristurnedON.

toIndex

FRIDGEALARM
Thiscircuitwillstarttoproduceasoundabout15
secondsaftertheLightDependentResistor
detectslight:
 toIndex

FRIDGEALARMMkII
Thiscircuitdrivesanactivepiezobuzzerandthecircuittakesnocurrentwhen"sitting
around."
Itwillstarttoproduceasoundabout15secondsaftertheLightDependentResistor
detectslight.
Theminipiezobuzzercontainsatransistorandinductortoproduceahighamplitude
oscillatortodrivethediaphragmandproducealoudsquealfromasupplyof3vto5v.It
willnot"turnon"fromaslowlyrisingvoltagesothecircuitmustbedesignedtorise
rapidlywhenlightisdetected.That'sthepurposeofthe2ndand3rdtransistors.They
formahighgainamplifierwheretheoutputrisesquicklyduetothepositivefeedback
providedbythe100n.
Assoonasthesecondtransistorstartstoturnon,itturnsonthe3rdtransistorandthe
collectorvoltagerises.Therightplateofthe100nrisesandsincethe100nisuncharged,
theleftplate(lead)risesandincreasesthevoltageandalsothecurrentintothebaseof
thesecondtransistor.Thismakesitturnonmoreandtheactioncontinuesveryquickly
untilbothtransistorsarefullyturnedon.Theystayturnedonbythevoltage(andcurrent)
providedbythefirsttransistor.
Eventhoughwenormallyseethesecondtwotransistorsusedasanoscillator,wecan
usethe"rapidturnon"featureto"kickstart"thepiezoandifthemiddletransistoris
providedwithtoomuchvoltage(current)onthebase,theoscillatorfeaturewillnotoccur
becausethecurrentintothebaseistoohighandthe100ncannotremovethiscurrent
duringtheturnoffperiodofthecycle.Theonlyunusualfeatureofthiscircuitisthe
oscillatorsectionstartstooscillateatverylowamplitudewhenthefirsttransistorturns
off(whentheLDRceasestobeilluminated)anda10uhasbeenaddedtostopthis
oscillationsoittakesnocurrentwhenatrest.
Alltheotherdesigns(usingachip),takeasmallcurrentwhenatrestandtheworst
circuitcomesfromFutureKit,aThailandbasedkitcompany.Youcanseethe
discussioninSpotTheMistakePage17underFRIDGEALARM.

toIndex

BATTERYLOWBEEPER
Ifyouwantasimplercircuitusingtransistors,thefollowingdesignwill
produceaconstantbeepwhenthebatteryvoltagefallsbelow10v.
TheactualvoltagecanbeadjustedbyusingLEDsanddiodesinplaceof
thezener.

Theminipiezobuzzercontainsatransistorandinductortoproducea
highamplitudeoscillatortodrivethediaphragmandproducealoud
squealfromasupplyof5vtoabout10v.Itwillnot"turnon"froma
slowlyrisingvoltagesothecircuitmustbedesignedtoriserapidlywhen
thevoltagedropdowntothe"detectionpoint."
That'sthepurposeofthe3rdand4thtransistors.Theyformahighgain
amplifierwheretheoutputrisesquicklyduetothepositivefeedback
providedbythe100n.
Assoonasthethirdtransistorstartstoturnon,itturnsonthe4th
transistorandthecollectorvoltagerises.Therightplateofthe100nrises
andsincethe100nisuncharged,theleftplate(lead)risesandincreases
thevoltageandalsothecurrentintothebaseofthethirdtransistor.This
makesitturnonmoreandtheactioncontinuesveryquicklyuntilboth
transistorsarefullyturnedon.Theystayturnedonbythevoltage(and
current)providedbythefirsttransistor.
Eventhoughwenormallyseethesetwotransistorsusedasanoscillator,
wecanusethe"rapidturnon"featureto"kickstart"thepiezoandifthe
thirdtransistorisprovidedwithtoomuchvoltage(current)onthebase,
theoscillatorfeaturewillnotoccurbecausethecurrentintothebaseis
toohighandthe100ncannotremovethiscurrentduringtheturnoff
periodofthecycle.Theonlyunusualfeatureofthiscircuitisthe
oscillatorsectionstartstooscillateatverylowamplitudewhenthe
secondtransistorturnsoff(whenthebatteryvoltagerises)anda10uhas
beenaddedtostopthisoscillationsoittakesnocurrentwhenthebuzzer
isnotproducingatone.Theonlystagesthattakeanyquiescentcurrent
arethezenerandthe1Mcollectorloadresistor.

Thiscircuitwillbuzzwhenthevoltagedropstoapresetlevel.
Toadjustthecircuit,getasmany10,000uelectrolyticsaspossibleand
usetheminplaceoftheLiioncell.
ChargetheelectrolyticswiththeLiIoncellandremoveit.
Thecircuittakesaveryamountofcurrentandthevoltageacrossthe
electrolyticswillgraduallydrop.Monitorthiswithadigitalmeterandset
the100kpottotherequiredvoltage.
toIndex

4PHONESECURITY:
Seefullarticleon:http://www.electronicsmaker.info
 toIndex

SOLARTRACKER:

Clickcircuitforlargeimage
toIndex

SIMPLESONICDETECTOR:
Thisisasimplefeedbackcircuitthatproducesawhistlecalleda
FEEDBACKWHISTLE.
Thisterriblesoundwasverycommoninoldamplifierswhenthe
microphonewasplacedtoonearthespeaker.
Allyouneedisahighgainamplifierandamicrophone.Wehaveuseda
piezodiaphragmforboththemicrophoneandspeaker.
Thecircuitworksbeston12vbutwillproducegoodresultson6vor9v.
Varythedistancebetweenthetwopiezosandturnoneoverandliftitoff
thebenchtoseethedifferenteffectsandrange.Moveyourhandcloser
tothepiezosandseehowthefrequencychanges.Thisisduetothe
lengthofthewaveandifyouarelocatedatadistancewherethewave
doesnotaddtothevibrationofthereceivingdiaphragm,yougetsilence.

TheCircuitproducesaFEEDBACKWHISTLE
toIndex

MAGNETICDOORLOCKDELAY:
ThiscircuitturnsOFFtheMagneticDoorLockfor10secondto30secondstoallowyou
toenter.ItturnsONafter10secondsto30seconds.
toIndex

5SECONDALARM:
Thiscircuitoperatesthealarmfor5seconds,eveniftheswitchiskeptclosed:

Theoriginalreedswitchcanbeusedbutthebottomconnectiontotheboardmustbeisolated
andrewired.
Thereedswitchcannotbedesolderedasitwillfallapart.Changethevalueofthe4u7
electrolytictoincreasethetime.Closingtheswitch(inthecircuitdiagramabove)operatesthe
alarm.
Whenthevoltagebetweenthemiddleterminaloftheslideswitchandthelowerterminalis
reducedto0v,thecircuitoperates.AverysmallcurrentcomesfromtheCOBmoduleviathe
middlepinoftheslideswitchandthiscurrentchargesthe4u7to4.5vandthecircuitturns
OFF.
Atthesametimethetwo22uarefullydischarged.
Whentheswitchisclosed,the4u7isdischargedviathetwo22uelectrolyticsandthealarmis
activated.Iftheswitchisimmediatelyreleased,the4u7takestimetochargeviatheCOB
module.
Iftheswitchiskeptclosed,theCOBmodulechargesthe4u7andthe22uelectrolyticsand
eventuallyturnsOFF.Iftheswitchisnowopened,the22uelectrolyticsdischargeviathe1M.
Thistakesaconsiderabletimeandthealarmcannotbereactivatedforafewseconds.
toIndex

MOTOROVERRUN
Thiscircuitallowsthemotortoslowdownslowlywhenithitsthelimit
switch.Selectthevalueofthecomponentstosuitthemotor.
 toIndex

MORECIRCUITSTOBEADDEDHERE:

toIndex

CircuitSymbols
The list below covers almost every symbol you will find on an electronic circuit diagram. It allows you to identify a symbol
and also draw circuits. It is a handy reference and has some symbols that have never had a symbol before, such as a
Flashing LED and electroluminescence panel.
Once you have identified a symbol on a diagram you will need to refer to specification sheets to identify each lead on the
actual component.
The symbol does not identify the actual pins on the device. It only shows the component in the circuit and how it is wired
to the other components, such as input line, output, drive lines etc. You cannot relate the shape or size of the symbol with
the component you have in your hand or on the circuitboard.
Sometimes a component is drawn with each pin in the same place as on the chip etc. But this is rarely the case.
Most often there is no relationship between the position of the lines on the circuit and the pins on the component.

Thats what makes reading a circuit so difficult.

This is very important to remember with transistors, voltage regulators, chips and so many othe r components as the
position of the pins on the symbol are not in the same places as the pins or leads on the component and sometimes the
pins have different functions according to the manufacturer. Sometimes the pin numbering is different according to the
component, such as positive and negative regulators.
These are all things you have to be aware of.

You must to refer to the manufacturers specification sheet to identify each pin, to be sure you have identified them
correctly.

Colin Mitchell

CIRCUIT SYMBOLS
Some additional symbols have been added to the following list. See Circuit Symbols on the index of
Talking Electronics.com

 toIndex

ICPINOUTS
The following list covers just a few of the IC's on the market and these are the "simple" or "basic" or "digital" or "opamp" IC's
suitable for experimenting.
When designing a circuit around an IC, you have to remember two things:
1. Is the IC still available? and
2. Can the circuit be designed around a microcontroller?
Sometimes a circuit using say 3 or 4 IC's can be redesigned around an 8pin or 16pin microcontroller and the program can be
be kept from prying eyes due to a feature called "code protection." A microcontroller project is more uptodate, can be
cheaper and can be reprogrammed to alter the features.
This will be covered in the next eBook. It is worth remembering as it is the way of the future.
 toIndex
Alltheresistorcolours:
Thisiscalledthe"normal"or"3colourband"(5%)range.Ifyouwantthe4colourband(1%)series,referto
TalkingElectronicswebsiteandclick:Resistors1%ontheleftindex.Oryoucanusethetablebelow.
 toIndex
MAKEANYRESISTORVALUE:
Ifyoudon'thavetheexactresistorvalueforaproject,don'tworry.Mostcircuits
willworkwithavalueslightlyhigherorlower.
Butifyouwantaparticularvalueanditisnotavailable,hereisachart.
Use2resistorsinseriesorparallelasshown:

Required Series/ Actual

R1 R2
Value Parallel value:
 10 4R7 S 4R7 9R4
12 10 S 2R2 12R2
15 22 P 47 14R9
18 22 P 100 18R
22 10 S 12 22
27 22 S 4R7 26R7
33 22 S 10 32R
39 220 P 47 38R7
47 22 S 27 49
56 47 S 10 57
68 33 S 33 66
82 27 S 56 83

Thereareotherwaystocombine2resistorsinparallelorseriestogeta
particularvalue.Theexamplesabovearejustoneway.
4R7=4.7ohms

toIndex
MAKEANYCAPACITORVALUE:
Ifyoudon'thavetheexactcapacitorvalueforaproject,don'tworry.Most
circuitswillworkwithavalueslightlyhigherorlower.
Butifyouwantaparticularvalueanditisnotavailable,hereisachart.
Use2capacitorsinseriesorparallelasshown."p"is"puff"butcanbe"n"
(nano)or"u"(microfarad).

Required Series/ Actual

C1 C2
Value Parallel value:
10 4p7 P 4p7 9p4
12 10 P 2p2 12p2
15 22 S 47 14p9
18 22 S 100 18p
22 10 P 12 22
27 22 P 4p7 26p7
33 22 P 10 32p
39 220 S 47 38p7
47 22 P 27 49
56 47 P 10 57
68 33 P 33 66
82 27 P 56 83

Thereareotherwaystocombine2capacitorsinparallelorseriestogeta
particularvalue.Theexamplesabovearejustoneway.4p7=4.7p

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