Alt-BEAM Archive

Message #03149



To: beam beam@corp.sgi.com
From: James Anderson anderson@cfht.hawaii.edu
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 12:33:12 -1000
Subject: [alt-beam] Success!


List,

I'm very pleased to report that I've (finally) got a FLED SE to work (yay!). I
even managed to transfer it successfully from the breadboard to free-form
soldered first try, so I'm feeling very pleased with myself.

As far as advice for others working on this, I can point out the two things that
changed between when it wasn't working and when it was. First, I started using
transistors from digi-key instead of Rat Shack (I think the FAQs should be
amended with a "buy only capacitors and resistors from Radio Shack", and,
second, I followed Wilf's amazing step-by-step analysis. I would like to thank
you again, Wilf, as this little e-mail of yours is pure genius. Your method,
now, seems completely obvious and trivial, but I never would have thought of it
before.

Now all I have to do is buy a glue gun, and I should have a pathetic yet
functioning trimet by the end of the week.

Wondering Aimlessly,
James Anderson


For those who missed it, here's Wilf step-by-step instruction thingy:

> Here are some suggestions for checking each part/step along the way.
>
> 1. check the (illuminated) solar cell output (unconnected): 3-5V?
> 2. add the cap, charge and measure the voltage: 3-5V?
> 3. touch FLED across the cap: does it flash?
> 4. charge cap and touch motor across cap: does it turn?
> 5. connect 2N3904 and the motor across cap, charge cap, then touch a 330 ohm
> resistor between 2N3904 base and +V : motor turns/moves?
> 6. add the 2N3906 and resistor, then touch a 1K resistor between the 2N3906
> base and 0V : motor turns/moves?
> 7. add FLED, if circuit not working: touch 1K resistor between between the
> 2N3906 base and 0V : motor turns/moves?


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