Parts/Plan for November 10th Holiday Lighting Workshop

[Jeremy]

I know I said I would get this out last night, but time worked against
me and I had to wait till this morning to post it.

The basic plan is going to follow what I have posted at
http://makekc.org/projects/Holiday%20Lighting with the exception that
I think I'll stay away from wire builds for the most part this time
around (time, safety, etc). If we have time we will build a simple
flasher circuit that and show off some other types of action or
control you can add to your project (if your looking for computer/
micro control, don't worry that's my plan for December).

Best things to bring to follow along:
1-3 strands of lights (LED or Incandescent doesn't matter)
2x2 or larger piece of building material (thick plastic, "cardboard"
plastic, 1/4 or 8mm ply, STIFF wire, etc)

I'll be going through my parts box to see how many of each of these I
have and will hold them on a first come first serve basis. I'll
update as I know more of what I have and don't have.

Single Gang Bluebox (single outlet electrical box like you have in
your house)
Outlet
Extension cord for parts (we will be cutting it up, so don't bring
your good ones)
5-9v wall wort (higher values up to 15v may work but then we will need
to adjust the circuit resistances)

4.7k ohm resistor
1k ohm resistor
10 uF electrolytic cap
0.01 uF ceramic cap
100k ohm pot

NE555 timer
Transistor (just about any should do, 2N3904, 2N3906, etc)

SPDT Relay rated at least 1/2 amp at 120 volts
(Schematic at: http://makekc.org/members/media/2)

NOTE: I'll be updating the links above on the makekc site as I get
documentation complete and using them as references during the
workshop.

Any questions let me know and Thanks,
- Jeremy

[Sharon]

Questions on supplies:
1) how many lights on a strand or how long of a strand
2) 2x2 is that inches or feet?    (cardboard plastic is coreplast or corrugated plastic...we have bought at Hobby Lobby and at sign stores)
3) extension cord for parts?  could we use an old one that is only a 2 prong connection?   length needed?
4) Outlet...can you give more specifics?
5) what is a wall wort?
6) where do we buy the resistors and caps?
7) will be taking apart the timer?
8) SPTD relay...is that something we build or buy?  where?

HELP!!!

Any other hints on where to buy the parts?

Sharon

[Jeremy Darling]

1) how many lights on a strand or how long of a strand

2 strands should be enough since our circuit will only really control that many.

2) 2x2 is that inches or feet?    (cardboard plastic is coreplast or corrugated plastic...we have bought at Hobby Lobby and at sign stores)

Feet would be better :).  This is what you will build the lawn decoration out of, so it really depends on what size you want it to be.

3) extension cord for parts?  could we use an old one that is only a 2 prong connection?   length needed?

Length is again up to you, you can use a 2 prong (in fact I will be) but a 3 prong gives you proper wiring and the ground for the outlet.

4) Outlet...can you give more specifics?

Get this and the blue box at your hardware store.  Look for an outlet that looks like it belongs in your wall (it will actually have 2 outlets built into the same "outlet") and will fit nicely into the single gang blue box.  Just about anyone in the hardware store should be able to show these to you.  The cheepie $0.39 ones are just fine.  Nothing fancy needed.

5) what is a wall wort?

A wall transformer (should have brought this to the group as well last week) its going to supply power to your timer circuit so 5-9v DC output would be best.  Don't grab one you don't mind tearing up.  Again I'll bring several of these just in case.

6) where do we buy the resistors and caps?

Radioshack is unfortunately the only place I know of right now :(.  I have plenty of the Ceramic caps (0.01uF) but not enough of the electrolytic ones (10uF) so make sure you get a 10uF electrolytic cap.  * Larger values are ok, but will result in longer toggle times between the two strands of lights.

7) will be taking apart the timer?

The 555 timer is an IC you can purchase at Radioshack.  Search the web for NE555 data sheet and you can get more information than you ever wanted to know about it.

8) SPTD relay...is that something we build or buy?  where?

I have managed to find about 6 of these so I think we will be safe.  You can buy them at Radioshack though (at least they still had some when I was up there).  You want one rated at 120V 0.5A if you plan on using LED lighting and 120V 2A if you plan on using incandescent (old style) lighting.

The other thing I forgot to mention was a PCB (printed circuit board) its a silicon board with copper etches on it.  You can get these at Radioshack (I feel a bit repetitive here, but again its the only big chain I know of in most areas that has this stuff).  Ideally you want one that will fit into your blue box.

Actually thinking about this, we could do two build sessions this month if anyone wants.  One showing everything off and getting started and another to complete the circuit.  Really I don't know if we will run out of time before we get to the circuit or not, it will be one of those if we have time types of things.

 - Jeremy

[Sharon]

Thank you for all the explanations!   So... are we going to put these lights in an arrangement... i.e. are we going to want a SHAPE cut out of the corrugated plastic?   ...or will the lights ultimately determine the shape?  

Just as an FYI on our family...the only nights we have "open" are Tuesday and Wednesday nights...and Saturday evenings if we aren't totally drained.  lol   We have Robotics 4x a week through our Regionals competition the first weekend in December!

This sounds like fun!  I should have both Tony and Brian at these meetings building.  Not sure if they will each do a project or one together...will talk to dh tonight and see what he thinks.

Sounds like a VERY educational project...and FUN for the kids too!

Sharon

[Vince Thompson]

Jeremy,

I checked with Carol about the second session and Tuesday Nov. 24 will be ok.

Vince

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 10:26 AM, Jeremy Darling <jeremy....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Jeremy Darling]

Yep, we will be building shapes from the materials.  Though, if you wanted to do say a package (gift, whatever you call it) you could leave them square and use wireform to make the bow.  All of this will be covered, I promise :)

The idea is that its a very simple first project and then through Nov and Dec we will make it into a more complex one :)  Can't wait to see you there.

 - Jeremy

[Jeremy Darling]

That sounds great.  It's amazing how much material there is to cover on this one.  In the past I've done quickie's but I'd really like to get into the details and reasons for doing things (both the right and wrong ways) so the extra session almost makes perfect sense.  That and it lets me show the complete circuit, all the parts needed, and etc before we try and tackle building it out.

[Sharon]

How far do you anticipate us getting through the project Tuesday?  dh says we have Christmas lights but they are in the far reaches of the garage at the moment and he is on his way to Robotics meeting.  Everything is torn up here and in the garage with our carpet being replaced last week.  lol

Just wondering if I need to go buy them for Tuesday or if we won't get that far...

Also dh says to ask INDOOR or OUTDOOR cord...and what if the part that plugs into the house is OK...but the other end is NOT...is that useable?  (I'm doubting) ....how long does it need to be?

[Jeremy Darling]

I think we will get through to the circuit but I don't know if we will have enough time to complete the circuit.  Having the parts wouldn't be a bad idea, but it is the last thing I plan on doing.  We will be using the lights at the minimum, making our forms, drilling the holes, and mounting the lights.  Then depending on time we will work on the cirucits, worst case I'll just show it off, talk about the parts, and see how many people are interested in building it.

As far as indoor or outdoor, the lights themselves should be safe for use outdoors.

The parts (including sacrificial cord) for the circuit can be indoor as the way we are building this it would need some modification for outdoor usage.  The idea is to introduce basic concepts of lighting control and later expand on those to build an actual outdoor control circuit.  I'll be covering why this particular circuit is not well suited to outdoor usage (as is) over long periods of time, the differences in indoor and outdoor circuits, and how to safely convert from an indoor to an outdoor circuit.

I apologize for the vagueness of this all, but two days sick and 2 new jobs starting up have really closed in on my time so I'm not quite as far with my planning as I wanted to be.

 - Jeremy

[Sharon]

I just got back from Radio Shack...here are the questions the manager wanted me to ask you...

1) What parts of the extension cord are being used? 
          a) male end...female...both ends?
          b) how long does it need to be? 
          c) outdoor if we plan on using it outdoors...right??

2) 5-9v wall wort....what current needed?

3) Will this work for the SPDT Relay.....
     Radio Shack part #275-217   DPDT 10A 120v

4) Outlet....like you would use indoors to plug into?

I'll go by Radio Shack and buy everything before we come tonight ... just wanted to check before we purchase it...

I hope you are feeling better Jeremy!

Thanks so much...

Sharon

P.S.  You KNOW this is all greek to me!  The manager was recommending GETTING STARTED IN ELECTRONICS book part #62-100 so the boys could look things up and understand what the colors on a transistor (?) stood for, etc.    Think this is a good idea?

[Jeremy Darling]

1) male end to plug into the wall and supply power to the actual lights (actually it will be wired through the relay to the outlet)
2) just about any will do, the circuit drains so little current it isn't worth worrying about.
3) I have a few relays so don't worry about this.
4) Get it from the hardware store along with a bluebox (contractors existing construction single gang outlet box) to put it in.

 - Jeremy

PS: Sorry for the late reply, its been a day of meetings and no INet.

[Sharon]

No problem...thanks for checking in!   We're at bowling right now (thank you mom for the Mi-Fi!)...we'll be stopping back at the Radio Shack on the way home and getting everything.

Sharon