Brightness Controller Circuit For Small Lamps and Leds

Description 

 This device was designed on request; to control the light intensity of four filament lamps (i.e. a ring illuminator) powered by two AA or AAA batteries, for close-up pictures with a digital camera. Obviously it can be used in other ways, at anyone's will.IC1 generates a 150Hz square wave having a variable duty-cycle. When the cursor of P1 is fully rotated towards D1, the output positive pulses appearing at pin 3 of IC1 are very narrow.

Bulb LP1, driven by Q1, is off as the voltage across its leads is too low. When the cursor of P1 is rotated towards R2, the output pulses increase in width, reaching their maximum amplitude when the potentiometer is rotated fully clockwise. In this way the bulb reaches its full brightness.

Circuit Diagram:

Parts:

• P1 = 470K
• R1 = 10K
• R2 = 47K
• R3 = 1.5K
• C1 = 22nF-63V
• C2 = 100uF-25V
• D1 = 1N4148
• D2 = 1N4148
• Q1 = BD681
• B1 = 2xAA cells in series
• IC1 = 7555 or TS555CN
• LP1 = 1.5V 200mA Bulb
• SW1 = SPST Switch 

Notes: 

• LP1 can be one or more 1.5V bulbs wired in parallel. Maximum total output current allowed is about 1A.
• R2 limits the output voltage, measured across LP1 leads, to 1.5V. Its actual value is dependent on the total current drawn by the bulb(s) and should be set at full load in order to obtain about 1.5V across the bulb(s) leads when P1 is rotated fully clockwise. 

 Source http://www.extremecircuits.net/2009/08/brightness-controller-circuit-for-small.html  

07:17 0 comments

Line Powered White LEDs

Description 

The LED circuit below is an example of using 25 white LEDs in series connected to the 120VAC line. It can be modified for more or less LEDs by adjusting the resistor value. The exact resistance will depend on the particular LEDs used. But working out the resistor value is a bit complicated since current will not continously flow through the resistor. In operation, the output of the bridge rectifier will be about 120 DC RMS or 170 volts peak. If we use 25 white LEDs with a forward voltage of 3 volts each, the total LED voltage will be 75 volts. The peak resistor voltage will be 170- 75 or 95 volts but the resistor voltage will not be continous since the input must rise above 75 before any current flows. This (dead time) represents about 26 degrees of the 90 degree half wave rectified cycle, (asin) 75/170 = (asin) .44 = 26 degrees. This means the resistor will conduct during 90-26 = 64 degrees, or about 71 percent of the time.

Next we can work out the peak LED current to determine the resistor value. If the LED current is 20mA RMS, the peak current will be 20*1.414 or 28mA. But since the duty cycle is only 71 percent, we need to adjust this figure up to 28/0.71 = 39mA. So, the resistor value should be 95/.039 = 2436 ohms (2.4K) and the power rating will be .02^2 *2400= .96 watts. A two watt size is recommended.

Now this circuit can also be built using 2 diodes and resistor as shown in the lower drawing. The second diode in parallel with the LEDs is used to avoid a reverse voltage on the LEDs in case the other diode leaks a little bit. It may not be necessary but I thought it was a good idea.

Working out the resistor value is similar to the other example and comes out to about half the value of the full wave version, or about 1.2K at 1 watt in this case. But the peak LED current will be twice as much or about 78mA. This is probably not too much, but you may want to look up the maximum current for short duty cycles for the LEDs used and insure 79mA doesn't exceed the spec.

Circuit Diagram 

Source http://www.bowdenshobbycircuits.info/

09:22 0 comments

16 Stage Bi-Directional LED Sequencer Circuit

Description 

The bi-directional sequencer uses a 4 bit binary up/down counter (CD4516) and two "1 of 8 line decoders" (74HC138 or 74HCT138) to generate the popular "Night Rider" display. A Schmitt Trigger oscillator provides the clock signal for the counter and the rate can be adjusted with the 500K pot. Two additional Schmitt Trigger inverters are used as a SET/RESET latch to control the counting direction (up or down). Be sure to use the 74HC14 and not the 74HCT14, the 74HCT14 may not work due to the low TTL input trigger level. When the highest count is reached (1111) the low output at pin 7 sets the latch so that the UP/DOWN input to the counter goes low and causes the counter to begin decrementing. When the lowest count is reached (0000) the latch is reset (high) so that the counter will begin incrementing on the next rising clock edge. The three lowest counter bits (Q0, Q1, Q2) are connected to both decoders in parallel and the highest bit Q3 is used to select the appropriate decoder. The circuit can be used to drive 12 volt/25 watt lamps with the addition of two transistors per lamp as shown below in the section below titled "Interfacing 5 volt CMOS to 12 volt loads" 

Circuit Diagram

 Source -http://www.bowdenshobbycircuits.info/

09:14 0 comments

Smooth Flasher Circuit Diagram

Circuit Diagram:

Description

Ordinary LED flashers turn the LED on and off abruptly, which can get a little irritating after a while. The circuit shown here is more gentle on the eyes: the light intensity changes very slowly and sinusoidally, helping to generate a relaxed mood. The circuit shows a phase-shift oscillator with an adjustable current source at its output. The circuit is capable of driving two LEDs in series without affecting the current.

The frequency is set by three RC networks, each of which consists of a 100 µF capacitor and a 22 kO resistor. Operation is largely independent of supply voltage, and the average LED current is set at about 10 mA. The circuit adjusts the voltage across the emitter resistor so that it matches the base voltage of the first transistor (around 0.6 V). The phase shifting network gives rise to the oscillation around this average value. In the prototype of this circuit we used an ultra-bright red LED. 

Author: Burkhard Kainka, Elektor Electronics 2008
Source http://www.extremecircuits.net/2010/05/smooth-flasher-circuit-diagram.html

08:18 0 comments

18 Stage LED Sequencer Circuit

Description 

The question sometimes comes up of how to cascade 4017 decade counters for more than 10 sequencial stages. The LED sequencer below shows a possible solution using a few extra parts.

When power is applied, the 15K resistor and 10uF cap at pin 15 will reset the counters to the zero count where pin 3 is at +12 and all other outputs are at zero. The 2 diodes (1n914) and 15 resistor form a AND gate so the clock pulse will be passed to the right side counter when the sequence starts. When the right counter reaches the 10th count, pin 11 will move high enabling the AND gate on the right to pass the clock pulse to the left side counter. As the left side counter advances, pin 3 will be low so that clock pulses cannot advance the right counter. When the left counter turns over and pin 3 again moves high, the sequence will repeat. Thus we get 18 total counts, 9 from the first counter, and 9 from the second.

Circuit Diagram

 Note that the 4017 counter will not deliver much current, and so the LED current is set to about 6mA using a 1.5K resistor in series. For more current, you could use transistors on each output as shown in the drawing above, (10 Channel LED Sequencer). But some of the newer bright LEDs are fairly bright at 6mA.

06:14 0 comments