Hello to all,
I write this letter with my head held kind of low. it's that way because I feel that I failed in my task of building my kids a couple of cool toys for the summer. Designing, 3D printing weren't the issue. The problem has been creating the circuit that powers these things the way I want to is where the trouble is.

You see, I'm barely an electrician. As in half the time when I'm looking at a wiring schematic I have to go online to see what the symbols represent. I have all the tools to build whatever I want, just not quite the skill to design an electrical circuit properly.

I've been watching a lot of videos of 555 timers on Youtube. For some reason I just cannot get mine to work properly. I've even tried a couple of transistors with resistors, capacitors and was unable to do that as well. I see many other videos of it working. I do the exact same thing but it's not working for me for some reason.

What I'm hoping is somebody can help me out with the design for what I need. I think part of the problem is that all those flip flopping circuits are usually just powering LED's. My toys are going to need more than that. they're going to have a couple of little Motors in them. Size is an issue. I want to keep everything small. I want to use some coin batteries that are paralleled together and then in series, or is it the other way around?

I'm going to put what my needs are and the components current/voltage draw is. I hope you can help me with a schematic drawing.

I will be using Coin Batteries, rechargeable Lithium 3V 11MAH. I can use several in series or parallel. What the circuit needs I will supply,

I want to use a mini tactile switch for on off MAXIMUM VOLTAGE: 16 VDC MAXIMUM CURRENT DC: 50 mA DIELECTRIC STRENGTH: 250 VA C (1mn) CONTACT RESISTANCE: ≤ 500 mΩ INSULATION RESISTANCE: ≥ 100 MΩ BOUNCE TIME: ≤ 10 ms.

I want 1 circuit output to power an electrical motor rated at Voltage 3.7V,Current: about 150 ma. Run time from 2 seconds to 4 seconds.

The second output circuit will need to power 1 LED, 20ma 3 - 3.2 v.. I will also power an additional motor whole the led is running, Motor will need 2.7 - 3volts less that 100 mA

I would very much like after turning on the first output will run. Then shutoff when the second out turns on. After it turns off the system will pause for the same length as either output lines run for then start again.

Finally, I would like the system to have a delayed runt time or off delay. Total run time for 5 to 10 minutes.

Any help would be awesome!

Please contact me at <snip>. Please use PM to contact this user.
Thanks
Doug

Mod note : We highly discourage giving out personal info publicly. All forums have outside bots that harvest this info, In other words don't feed the low lifes. Wendy.

 

Hello to all,
I write this letter with my head held kind of low. it's that way because I feel that I failed in my task of building my kids a couple of cool toys for the summer. Designing, 3D printing weren't the issue. The problem has been creating the circuit that powers these things the way I want to is where the trouble is.

You see, I'm barely an electrician. As in half the time when I'm looking at a wiring schematic I have to go online to see what the symbols represent. I have all the tools to build whatever I want, just not quite the skill to design an electrical circuit properly.

I've been watching a lot of videos of 555 timers on Youtube. For some reason I just cannot get mine to work properly. I've even tried a couple of transistors with resistors, capacitors and was unable to do that as well. I see many other videos of it working. I do the exact same thing but it's not working for me for some reason.

What I'm hoping is somebody can help me out with the design for what I need. I think part of the problem is that all those flip flopping circuits are usually just powering LED's. My toys are going to need more than that. they're going to have a couple of little Motors in them. Size is an issue. I want to keep everything small. I want to use some coin batteries that are paralleled together and then in series, or is it the other way around?

I'm going to put what my needs are and the components current/voltage draw is. I hope you can help me with a schematic drawing.

I will be using Coin Batteries, rechargeable Lithium 3V 11MAH. I can use several in series or parallel. What the circuit needs I will supply,

I want to use a mini tactile switch for on off MAXIMUM VOLTAGE: 16 VDC MAXIMUM CURRENT DC: 50 mA DIELECTRIC STRENGTH: 250 VA C (1mn) CONTACT RESISTANCE: ≤ 500 mΩ INSULATION RESISTANCE: ≥ 100 MΩ BOUNCE TIME: ≤ 10 ms.

I want 1 circuit output to power an electrical motor rated at Voltage 3.7V,Current: about 150 ma. Run time from 2 seconds to 4 seconds.

The second output circuit will need to power 1 LED, 20ma 3 - 3.2 v.. I will also power an additional motor whole the led is running, Motor will need 2.7 - 3volts less that 100 mA

I would very much like after turning on the first output will run. Then shutoff when the second out turns on. After it turns off the system will pause for the same length as either output lines run for then start again.

Finally, I would like the system to have a delayed runt time or off delay. Total run time for 5 to 10 minutes.

Any help would be awesome!

Please contact me at 725-267-4095, douglassba@gmail.com.
Thanks
Doug

I can’t answer your question right now, but…

You should never post your email (and phone) in a public forum. It attracts hackers. All responses should be done through the forum. I suspect you’re not familiar with forum etiquette so I’m trying to be helpful.

 

For a start, your motor requirements will need a LOT of your tiny batteries. One battery will run the motor (at lower than optimal voltage) for 11mAH / 150 mA = about almost no time at all. Those are meaty motors for a small toy. You need smaller motors and larger capacity cells for your toy.

 

I’ll be the guy who brings this up. Have you ever tried programming? This problem begs for a microcontroller.

Just for reference more than a recommendation, you could do this with an 8 pin microcontroller (like an ATTiny series). Then a couple of resistors and a transistor (like a 2N7000 MOSFET). Even with through-hole components, you could fit everything (except batteries) in a 1/2” x 1/2” space. The microcontroller would be the largest component at 1/4” x 3/8”. Hopefully this would be small enough to fit 4 AAA batteries. You can get creative by tucking the batteries into corners and not on the circuit board.

All the actions you want would be done in the program AND could be modified in the future to change things up

 

Welcome to AAC!

No person can become a star auto mechanic, plumber, welder, electrician, heart surgeon, or electronics engineer in a weekend.
Imagine that it takes 3-4 years of college/university courses plus years being an apprentice in order to acquire knowledge and experience designing electronic circuits.

For starters, you should master the difference between a series circuit and a parallel circuit.

Having said that, we are here on AAC to guide you along this fascinating and rewarding hobby or career, whichever way you want to approach it.

Your first stop is to master Ohm's Law.

Current = Voltage / Resistance

i.e.

I = V / R

I = Current (amps)
V = Voltage (volts)
R = Resistance (ohms)

This is vitally important because you will be using it frequently.

The next stop is Power.

Power = Current x Current x Resistance

W = I x I x R
W = Power (watts)

If you are proficient in math, you can substitute for I or R.

W = (V/R) x (V/ R) x R = (V x V ) / R
or
W = I x I x V/I = I x V

When you are designing with any load such as LED or motor, you need to have an estimate of the current drawn.
You need to match the battery capacity to the load current.
Hence calculate current (amps) x time (hours) and make sure that the battery you select will give you sufficient run time.

A flashing LED circuit is an excellent way start off in the world of electronic circuits.
Build a 555-timer circuit and experiment and observe the effects of changing C and R values in the circuit.

Finally, have a look at the Education tab at the top of this page or click on this link.

Good Luck!

 

Just a thought, be a little more definate what you're trying to build. For starters, think 3x AAA batteries as the power source,you'll need more oomph than you realize for motors. I love to 3D print myself.

I also love do nothing circuits. I'll try to help where I can.

 

How about a diagram to show what activates each motor/LED, how long they run for, and what makes them stop?

 

The circuit you describe would take at least a handful of chips and a fairly complex circuit if done with discrete logic. No one would do it that way except as an academic exercise. As @djsfantasi has said it would be far easier with a microcontroller.

Then there is the problem of building it. If you have not been successful duplicating any simple circuits from the web, you are likely missing something very basic. I think that is what we should concentrate first.

Pick one of those simple circuits you have failed to build. Give us a link to the the instructions you are following and pictures and description of your attempt. I sure we can diagnose the problem.

 

I see many other videos of it working. I do the exact same thing but it's not working for me for some reason.

Go back to redo those simple projects that did not work for you.
I agree with Bob on this. Failure is an opportunity to learn. You must discover why simple circuits don't work for you before you can advance to more complex projects.

We on AAC are here to help you. Many times, simply posting photographs of your breadboard or setup will reveal simple yet common mistakes.

Every mistake you make is a stepping stone to becoming better at creating your own successful projects.

 

Something yet to be discussed, how's your soldering skills?

 

Lots of nice answers. Too bad the TS has not looked at them.