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    Mailbox Alarm: Small Circuitscollection

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    Peeters Guy
    This document describes a small circuits collection project that uses a goldcap supercapacitor to power LED lights for an extended period of time after charging. It provides a formula to calculate how long the lights will remain illuminated based on the goldcap's capacity, voltage change, and total current draw of the LEDs. For example, a circuit with five 2mA LEDs and a 1F goldcap would illuminate the lights for about 5 minutes after charging from 5.4V to 2.5V. Larger capacity goldcaps can extend the lighting time significantly. The document also provides example calculations.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Mailbox Alarm: Small Circuitscollection

    Uploaded by

    Peeters Guy
    18 views1 page
    This document describes a small circuits collection project that uses a goldcap supercapacitor to power LED lights for an extended period of time after charging. It provides a formula to calculate how long the lights will remain illuminated based on the goldcap's capacity, voltage change, and total current draw of the LEDs. For example, a circuit with five 2mA LEDs and a 1F goldcap would illuminate the lights for about 5 minutes after charging from 5.4V to 2.5V. Larger capacity goldcaps can extend the lighting time significantly. The document also provides example calculations.

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    Mailbox Alarm

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    This document describes a small circuits collection project that uses a goldcap supercapacitor to power LED lights for an extended period of time after charging. It provides a formula to calculate how long the lights will remain illuminated based on the goldcap's capacity, voltage change, and total current draw of the LEDs. For example, a circuit with five 2mA LEDs and a 1F goldcap would illuminate the lights for about 5 minutes after charging from 5.4V to 2.5V. Larger capacity goldcaps can extend the lighting time significantly. The document also provides example calculations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    18 views1 page

    Mailbox Alarm: Small Circuitscollection

    Uploaded by

    Peeters Guy
    This document describes a small circuits collection project that uses a goldcap supercapacitor to power LED lights for an extended period of time after charging. It provides a formula to calculate how long the lights will remain illuminated based on the goldcap's capacity, voltage change, and total current draw of the LEDs. For example, a circuit with five 2mA LEDs and a 1F goldcap would illuminate the lights for about 5 minutes after charging from 5.4V to 2.5V. Larger capacity goldcaps can extend the lighting time significantly. The document also provides example calculations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    SMALL CIRCUITSCOLLECTION

    of time that the lights remain illuminated depends on the


    total current consumption and the size of the Goldcap. If
    you have enough space, don’t skimp, and instead select
    D1 D3 IC1
    D5
    one with a bit more capacitance. 78L06 1N4001
    You can experiment with the circuit to your heart’s content,
    R1 R2
    but note that the Goldcap cannot tolerate voltages greater

    1k5

    1k5
    D2 D4 C1 C2
    than 5.5 V. With a 6-V regulator followed by a voltage drop
    100n 100n
    of 0.6V across the diode, we have 5.4 V. 4x 1N4001
    C3

    To calculate how long the LEDs will remain illuminated, you GOLDCAP 1F
    D6 D7

    can use the formula time = (capacity) × (voltage change) ÷


    5V5

    (current). For example, suppose there are five LEDs draw-


    024110 - 11
    ing 2 mA each. When the Goldcap is fully charged, the
    voltage across it is 5.4 V. Once it has been discharged to
    2.5 V, the LEDs will scarcely generate any more light. The volt- minutes. With a 0.1-F capacitor the duration is half a minute, but
    age change is thus 3 V. The length of time that the lights with al value of 22 F the duration is 110 minutes, or nearly
    remain on is therefore (1 F) × (3 V) ÷ (0.01 A) = 300 s, or 5 two hours! (024110-1)

    Mailbox Alarm 014


    Pradeep G. +12V

    Here’s a 555-based project that can be used as mailbox alarm. R2 R2 R3

    1k
    4k7

    4k7

    By suitable mounting of the LED and the phototransistor, the cir-


    cuit is able to detect when a letter is dropped in your mailbox.
    4 8
    Our younger readers should know that a ‘letter’ is not the
    7 R
    DIS
    result of hitting any of the A-Z keys on the PC keyboard, but R4
    IC1 C3
    47k

    a precursor of the email message. For some mysterious reason, OUT


    3
    T1
    some people are still sending messages to each other using D1 6
    THR
    555 47µ LS1
    25V
    2 TR
    letters. In case you’ve never seen one, a letter is usually con- T2
    CV
    green
    BP103
    tained in an ‘envelope’, it takes ages to deliver and can some- or 5 1
    2N5777 C1 C2 ≥ 8Ω
    times be seen in the hands of a life form called ‘postman’, BC547
    500mW

    47n 100n
    which is an antediluvian version of the anonymous Postmas-
    ter at your ISP. 010077 - 11

    When the mailbox is empty, light emitted by the green LED


    is detected by the phototransistor. In this condition, the 555 IC The loudspeaker may also be mounted inside the mailbox, with
    is held disabled via its pin 4. When a letter is dropped in the a few holes drilled in the mailbox side panel acting as a grille.
    box, the disable condition is lifted and an alarm sound — not The LED and the phototransistor should be spaced a few
    remotely resembling the Windows You have New Mail sound centimetres apart.
    — is produced by the loudspeaker (min. impedance 8 ohms). (010077-1)

    Crystal Tester 015


    K.-H. Lorenz mental-mode crystals up to approximately 24 MHz. For over-
    This general-purpose crystal tester can be used to test and tone crystals, however, only the fundamental frequency can
    measure quartz crystals having frequencies from 30 kHz to be measured. For example, the counter will indicate a fre-
    100 MHz. It is suitable for use as a front-end accessory for a fre- quency of 20 MHz for a 5th-overtone crystal that oscillates at
    quency counter to directly measure the frequencies of funda- 100 MHz.

    12/2002 Elektor Electronics 31

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