» MAKE: NOISE — Discuss this article

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• trimet woes
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  I put together the trimet on a protoboard, and the voltage in the system keeps going up, past 2.3V past 3.0, 4.0, ... Are there some troubleshooting ideas? Is there a way to determine if the voltage trigger is bad? or one of the transistors?
  
  

  Posted by superalloy on May 24, 2006 at 21:14:00 Pacific Time

• trimet woes
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  Same here. Did you ever find the cause?

  Posted by yambu on July 13, 2006 at 06:24:20 Pacific Time

• trimet woes
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  If you look at the schematic, there are several ways you can troubleshoot the circuit. In the charging stage there is no voltage on the output side of the trigger. If the trigger is working, as soon as you get to the proper voltage, there wii be voltage there. If you are getting that, then the trigger is good. You will also want to check your circuit in relation to the schematic to make sure you have all your connections in the right place and you don't have the transistors mixed up. There are other places you can check for voltage drop across the component such as the motor. You should be able to narrow it down to a component from there.

  Posted by Johnmon on January 04, 2007 at 14:30:31 Pacific Time

• trimet done
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  Finished my trimet.... here're pictures.

  Posted by nospam@phyro.com on June 02, 2006 at 13:13:37 Pacific Time

• trimet done
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  doh, pictures here http://www.phyro.com/beambot

  Posted by nospam@phyro.com on June 02, 2006 at 13:15:52 Pacific Time

• 1381-G: which output type?
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  I've found the 1381 here:
  
  http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T062/0768.pdf
  
  but I'm not sure which output type to select. The charge/discharge picture here:
  http://makezine.com/images/06/beamdischarge.jpg
  
  makes me suspect that the open-drain type is needed, and the fact of no base resistor between the 1381 and the 3904 seems to support that.
  
  Does anyone know for sure? How about posting the full part number from your 1381 in a working circuit?

  Posted by omino5 on June 05, 2006 at 09:54:20 Pacific Time

• 1381-G: which output type?
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  Where can I purchase this 1381-G voltage trigger? I've found all of the other parts. I checked the site you posted and no luck. Thanks.

  Posted by jmcf on July 21, 2007 at 15:34:45 Pacific Time

• trimet
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  I'm quite pleased with my trimet, though mine spins in circles rather than traveling in a straight line. I think it really needs to make contact on two edge points (the capacitors?) in order to do more travel.
  
  In bright sunlight, I get about one second of charge time, and one second of discharge.
  
  Pictures:
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/33689749@N00/sets/72157594168145120/
  
  Video:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXq9jz1Z8xw

  Posted by drinkumbrella on June 17, 2006 at 15:19:41 Pacific Time

• trimet issues
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  Hi
  
  Iseem to have a similar problem. Have you ever resolved yours?
  
  After building mine, it discharges abour every 2 seconds and makes about one quarter of a revolution.
  
  I have chcked all the connections and they seem correct and secure.
  
  However I need to buy an idiot's guide to sodering circuits. This was a bit more complicated than anything I've tried before and I need to learn the basics. It is still a very cool looking paperweight !
  
  Thanks
  
  Scott
  homemail47@gmail.com

  Posted by Scott47 on May 27, 2007 at 16:13:25 Pacific Time

• trimet issues
  You must be logged in to reply.
  
  
  Hi
  
  Iseem to have a similar problem. Have you ever resolved yours?
  
  After building mine, it discharges abour every 2 seconds and makes about one quarter of a revolution.
  
  I have chcked all the connections and they seem correct and secure.
  
  However I need to buy an idiot's guide to sodering circuits. This was a bit more complicated than anything I've tried before and I need to learn the basics. It is still a very cool looking paperweight !
  
  Thanks
  
  Scott
  homemail47@gmail.com

  Posted by Scott47 on May 27, 2007 at 16:13:27 Pacific Time

• UK suppliers?
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  Has anyone found a UK supplier for this type of solar cell? I'm new to this sort of thing, so apologies if I'm being an idiot.

  Posted by iamphil on June 29, 2006 at 12:03:52 Pacific Time

• UK suppliers?
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  I've found one
  http://www.totalrobots.com/acatalog/Total_Robots_Solar_Cells_32.html just in case anyone else wanted to know.

  Posted by iamphil on June 29, 2006 at 12:27:26 Pacific Time

• Solar Trimmet
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  Has anyone tried using Radio Shack solar cells (Catalog #: 276-124)? Delivers about 0.3-amps at 0.55VDC in full sunlight. Could one of these be used with a 2.6V trigger or do I need to chain 5 or 6 together? Thanks!
  

  Posted by nmckenzie on July 01, 2006 at 13:26:13 Pacific Time

• Solar cells
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  If you break/crack a solar cell, you can superglue it back together to perserve functionality.

  Posted by nmckenzie on July 05, 2006 at 08:41:52 Pacific Time

• Capacitor voltage?
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  How does the farad and voltage ratings of any given capacitor relate its usage in a beambot? If a description would be long winded a link to a decent article would be appreciated.
  Cheers,
  Etienne

  Posted by Etienneb on August 12, 2006 at 21:49:56 Pacific Time

• Capacitor voltage?
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  I think my question is the same as this question. am an absolute MAKE beginner and know very little about these things. I am not an enginneer but love these kinds of project and would really like to know more about how they work.
  
  I could not find the 4700µF 6.3V capacitors from my local part/junk store. So my questions is what would happen if a 470µF 6.3V capacitor is used OR a 4700µF 35V capacitor. I do not have all the parts yet or i would try it and just see. Can anyone tell me

  Posted by preacherman on September 05, 2006 at 14:12:49 Pacific Time

• Capacitor voltage?
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  a farad is a unit of capacitance (coulombs per volt, ie if 1 C of charge causes 1 volt to appear across the terminals or v/v, then the capacitor has 1 F of capacitance). a 4700 uF capacitor will hold 10 times more charge for the voltage you put across it than a 470 uF capacitor, but a 470 uF capacitor is still fairly large so i don't forsee too much of a problem. if you can get a hold of more 470's, put them in parallel with the others to compensate.
  
  the voltage rating is the most voltage they can hold across them before the dielectric insulating the insides of the capacitor breaks down and arcs, so your 470's are good for quite a bit more than the 4700's recommended.

  Posted by wellsmotron on September 30, 2006 at 18:23:49 Pacific Time

• Capacitor voltage?
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  Look at old motherboards. They are common around the cpu to clean and stabilize the power going to and from the cpu. There are usually around 10 of them. Also old video cards have them.. Old winmodems have them. Pretty much anything with a cpu or dsp.

  Posted by Astinsan on May 31, 2008 at 14:06:20 Pacific Time

• Capacitor voltage?
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  Look at old motherboards. They are common around the cpu to clean and stabilize the power going to and from the cpu. There are usually around 10 of them. Also old video cards have them.. Old winmodems have them. Pretty much anything with a cpu or dsp.

  Posted by Astinsan on May 31, 2008 at 14:06:43 Pacific Time

• resistor
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  Can someone post the ratings of the resistor used in the Miller engine?

  Posted by Johnmon on January 04, 2007 at 14:32:51 Pacific Time

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  Hello, guys.
  
  I was able to make a Zener-based solar engine with these schematics, however it doesn't seem to work properly. My 3904 transistor heats up like crazy whenever voltage is applied to the circuit.
  
  Any ideas how to remedy the problem? Any help would be appreciated.

  Posted by redwinedrummer on May 10, 2007 at 18:33:13 Pacific Time