Make: Electronics by Charles Platt (read me a book .TXT) 📕

Q1: 2N6027

Assemble this circuit on a breadboard, and compare the results when you include R4 or bypass it with a plain piece of jumper wire. It softens the pulse a bit, but we can work on it some more. On the output side of the PUT, we can add another capacitor. This will charge itself when the pulse comes out of the PUT, and then discharge itself gradually through another resistor, so that the light from the LED dies away more slowly.

Figure 3-76 shows the setup. C2 is large—220 µF—so it sucks up the pulse that comes out of the PUT, and then gradually releases it through 330Ω resistor R5 and the LED. You’ll see that the LED behaves differently now, fading out inside of blinking off. But the resistances that I’ve added have dimmed the LED, and to brighten it, you should increase the power supply from 6 volts to 9 volts.

Remember that a capacitor imposes a smoothing effect only if one side of it is grounded to the negative side of the power supply. The presence of the negative charge on that side of the capacitor attracts the positive pulse to the other side.

I like the look of this heartbeat effect. I can imagine a piece of wearable electronic jewelry that pulses in this sensual way, very different from the hard-edged, sharp-on-and-off of a simple oscillator circuit. The only question is whether we can squeeze the components into a package that is small enough to wear.

Figure 3-76. The second step toward a gentler flashing effect is to add another capacitor, C2, which charges quickly with each pulse and then discharges slowly through R5 and the LED below it.

Same components as before, plus:

R5: 330Ω

C2: 220 µF electrolytic

Power supply increased to 9 volts

Figure 3-77. On a dark night in a rural area, the heartbeat flasher may be attractive in unexpected ways.

Resizing the Circuit

The first step is to look at the physical components and imagine how to fit them into a small space. Figure 3-78 shows a 3D view of a compact arrangement. Check this carefully, tracing all the paths through the circuit, and you’ll see that it’s the same as the schematic. The trouble is that if we solder the components together like this, they won’t have much strength. All the little wires can bend easily, and there’s no easy way to mount the circuit in something or on something.

Figure 3-78. This layout of components replicates their connections in the schematic diagram while squeezing them into a minimal amount of space.

The answer is to put it on a substrate, which is one of those terms that people in the electronics field like to use, perhaps because it sounds more technical than “perfboard.” But perforated board is what we need, and Figure 3-79 shows the components transferred onto a piece of board measuring just 1 inch by 0.8 inch.

Figure 3-79. Perforated board can be used to support the layout of components. Their leads are soldered together under the board to create the circuit. The middle diagram shows the wires under the board as dashed lines. The bottom diagram shows the board from underneath, flipped left to right. Orange circles indicate where solder joints will be necessary.

The center version of this diagram uses dotted lines to show how the components will be connected with each other underneath the board. Mostly the leads that stick out from underneath the components will be long enough to make these connections.

Finally, the bottom version of the perfboard diagram shows the perfboard flipped left-to-right (notice the L and the R have been transposed to remind you, and I’ve used a darker color to indicate the underside of the board). Orange circles indicate where solder joints will be needed.

The LED should be unpluggable, because we may want to run it at some distance from the circuit. Likewise the power source should be unpluggable. Fortunately we can buy miniature connectors that fit right into the perforated board. You may have to go to large online retail suppliers such as Mouser.com for these. Some manufacturers call them “single inline sockets and headers,” while others call them “boardmount sockets and pinstrip headers.” Refer back to Figure 3-29 and check the shopping list for more details.

This is a very compact design that will require careful work with your pencil-style soldering iron. Because a piece of perforated board as small as this will tend to skitter around, I suggest that you apply your miniature vise to one end to anchor it with some weight while still allowing you to turn it easily.

When I’m working on this kind of project, I like to place it (with the vise attached) on a soft piece of polyurethane foam—the kind of slab that is normally used to make a chair cushion. The foam protects the components from damage when the board is upside-down, and again helps to prevent the work from sliding around unpredictably.

Step by Step

Here’s the specific procedure for building this circuit:

1. Cut the small piece of perfboard out of a sheet that has no copper traces on it. You can cut the section using your miniature hobby saw, or you may be able to snap the board along its lines of holes, if you’re careful. Alternatively, use a small ready-cut piece of perfboard with copper circles on it that are not connected to one another. You’ll ignore the copper circles in this project. (In the next experiment, you’ll deal with the additional challenge of making connections between components and copper traces on perforated board.)

2. Gather all the components and carefully insert them through holes in the board, counting the holes to make sure everything is in the right place. Flip the board over and bend the wires from the components to anchor them to the board and create connections as shown. If any of the wires isn’t long enough, you’ll have to supplement it with an