Hero999

Yes the lights should get dimmer when more current is drawn..I don't know, perhaps the tap changer inside the transformer supplying your house switched to a higher voltage tap to compensate for the voltage drop created by the surge.

No you can't skimp on the switching feature which is required for the transformer to work. The switching regulator converts the DC to high frequency AC (30kHz to 300kHz) to power the transformer which will not work on low mains frequencies (50 to 60Hz). If you connect the transformer directly to the mains, a huge current will flow causing a fuse to blow.

Good decision, many people are scared of MCUs for some reason. It's possible to do this with a couple of 555 timers or some comparators but it won't be anywhere near as simple as with a MCU. The problem is the long 10 minute delay which isn't easy with a 555 timer because the RC values need to be high and large capacitors have poor tolerance and the leakage current becomes an issue. I've never used PBasic before. I've dabbled a bit in MCUs a bit though using assembler and the simple PIC509. It shouldn't be hard to do. The lamp can be switched with a MOSFET or BJT depending on its power requirements. Google for some tutorials on PWM with PIC microcontrollers.

Why torture yourself? Use a simple microcontroller such as the PIC12F508 or one which has a built-in PWM module such as the PIC12F683, if you want simpler code.

This has got to be one of the funniest threads ever. :D

It depends on the 9V battery, a little PP3 battery isn't large enough to provide enough power for very long.

All I can say is do your own homework. The simplest way is to see the waveform is simulate it using LTSpice otherwise build it, although the latter isn't possible as there will be some resistance in the circuit.

Care to provide more information? What do they look like? Do you have a picture? My guess is they're power transistors, just replace the M with 2N and Google, see example linked below: http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=2N3501&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest

So why not just buy it? If you spent the amount of time you've spent trying to come up with an inferior design yourself working you'd have the money to buy it by now. Anyway for educational purposes I'll take a look at what you want. So you need the output to go high after 15 seconds from pressing the button and remaining on until the button is pressed again. The easy way of doing this would be to simply program a microconteroller but you could use a flip-flop and a timer.

THey don't, you have to build your own by connecting two in series. Fortunately you can buy dual D cell holders. I don't know, 3.6V might be too much, and if you're talking about a Li-ion cell which is 4.2V when fully charges, then it almost certainly is. The only way to know for sure is to seek advice from the manufacturer.

You need a DC-DC converter to get 3V from the higher input voltage. Have you measured the current drain of the camera? If it drains two AAs in 2 hours 1A is probably a good estimate but the peak current demand could be higher. Perhaps you should use a couple of D cells instead? It should last three to four times as long. If you use rechargeable D cells make sure they have a capacity of over 8500mAh, some cheap rechargeable D cells are really C or AA cells with extra padding.

Why have you got a battery with the voltage set to 0V wired in series with a 24V battery? The intensity of the LEDs is not the same because the current flowing through them is different. Google for the formula to calculate the series resistor for the forward current you desire. The 555 timer has a maximum voltage of 15V to 18V depending on whether it's TTL or CMOS so won't last very long running off 24V. You could use a voltate regulator to power the 555 but that would mean it couldn't switch the PNP transistor off. There are other circuits which can flash LEDs alternately and can be powered directly off 24V, e.g. an astable multivibrator built from a couple of transistors, see Wikipedia lnk below. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astable_multivibrator

Assuming the minimum operating voltage is 10V and the current is 100A, the 93,000

Why are you using a transformer, rectifier and capacitor to power a 6V relay? It's a silly idea, get rid of the transformer and use a relay with a 240VAC coil.

You haven't provided enough information such as voltage, temperature, contract duration, deadlines and cost.

The capacitor doesn't actually increase the voltage, it just allows current through the filaments which heats them up to help initiate the discharge. Once the arc has struck the voltage and frequency falls (the Royer converter circuit normally used to power fluorescent tubes will produce a hitgher frequency unloaded than when loaded) so less current passes through the filaments and their temperature is maintained by the arc. The voltage is obviously not a problem, though the smaller value might be. All I can say is give it a go, nothing bad will happen, the tube just might not start so easily.

You can asnwer that yourself, if you actually bother to read the description on the website.

What do you mean? If you can't read the part numbers use your browser's zoom function..

Then that's easyly done with a constant current source powering the LED from the high voltage side.

It's a really badly drawn circuit which shows ICs as DIPs and resistors with colour codes rather than the propper symbols. The resistor values can be deturmined by reading the colour code which can be found using Google.

It's still not clear what you want to do. Do you simply want to detect the presence of a voltage or do you want to measure the actual voltage? Just Google for constant current source if you don't know what it is. I was suggesting building one from transistors to limit the current through the optocoupler's LED to replace the series resistor. Measuring such a wide range of voltages using an ADC is harder. To change ranges you need an attenuator or amplifier with a programmable gain. For AC you ideally need a bipolar power supply or a virtual earth. The best way to achieve isolation is probably to use an isolated DC-DC converter to power the measuring circuit which is directly connected to the potentially dangerous voltage and transmit the data digitally via an opto coupler or a pulse isolation transformer.

You should use a constant current source rather than a load of relays, that way there's not need to switch ranges.

I don't have Livewire so I can't view the schematic. You'll get more help if you post the schematic in a format which everyone can read.

How good is your programming? You need to use a microcontroller. That's what the Velleman kit uses anyway, except it's already comes programmed for you. That kit has very little educational value apart from soldering practice. You'll learn nothing about electronics by assembling it. Children who have no electronic knowldege working in Chinese sweatshops assemble more complicated kits on a daily basis.

Care to post the schematic? It's a power transistor which is totally overkill for a preamplifier and might have too higher gate capacitance anyway. You can probably use a small signal transistor such as the 2N7000 but without seeing the schematic, I can't be sure.