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  1. abador1

    DC Potentiometer in AC circuit to control DC output.

    I'll see what I can do about the schematic, I'll have to draw it up. Could you please explain the impedance of the potentiometer a little bit? I know about the impedance from a coil of wire but never from a potentiometer.
  2. abador1

    DC Potentiometer in AC circuit to control DC output.

    I finally finished a power supply last night after finally finding a working step down transformer. I put the 5K audio DC potentiometer in one of the AC legs from the transformer (series) and was amazed to find that I could get anywhere from about 18.6V to 3.6V. More recently I tried to charge a...
  3. abador1

    electric fish zapper

    I'm not sure if something like this would work. If you put a positive and negative pole in water it will produce hydrogen. Maybe if you have them close together on a rod of some kind then touch it to the fish (without scaring it away) maybe it would work. Maybe a higher voltage could work better...
  4. abador1

    120V shorted out, why did the lights get brighter?

    ok thanks for all the input, it was very helpful.
  5. abador1

    How to hook up a transformer

    Thanks everyone for the input. I guess I will need a different transformer for what I am trying to do. Until I find one that will work batteries are always a good substitute for a DC power power supply, but it is also nice to not have to replace them.
  6. abador1

    120V shorted out, why did the lights get brighter?

    How do I check the voltage at the circuit breaker box? Is there an opening somewhere I could put the probes to my multimeter or do I need to remove a circuit breaker to get at it?
  7. abador1

    120V shorted out, why did the lights get brighter?

    I checked the voltage in a few of the outlets in the house. Some were at 118 V and others (including the outlet that was shorted out) were at 125V. Could this be an indicator that the loads are not balanced in the service box and could that have influenced the thing with the lights?
  8. abador1

    120V shorted out, why did the lights get brighter?

    That's actually the only thing I could think of. Do you think it could also be the result of faulty wiring or bad components in the household wiring? My Grandpa did the wiring about 20 or 30 years ago and there are a lot of fluky things that he did such as having two items like a plug and light...
  9. abador1

    120V shorted out, why did the lights get brighter?

    I must have been tired and wasn't thinking at the time but I thought I'd try to make the GFCI that I had plugged into the wall trip by shorting out the connections. I know it was dumb and quite dangerous but I have one big question that came to mind, when it was shorted out the lights went...
  10. abador1

    How to hook up a transformer

    Is there a way to rectify the signal then put it through the transformer and use a less complex circuit? I don't mind skipping on the switching feature if it won't hurt the transformer or circuit. All I really need is for the transformer to step down the voltage to a workable level but I don't...
  11. abador1

    How to hook up a transformer

    Hey, I am trying to make a variable power supply and found that transformers are hard to find in working order when salvaging them. I finally found one that I think will work but the circuit that it was in was complex and even seemed to rectify the signal before sending it through the primary...
  12. abador1

    Where to find solder tips

    I ended up buying a $5 iron from Walmart instead. I hope it will last at least a year and serve me well (despite the price.) Thanks for your input.
  13. abador1

    Where to find solder tips

    The size was too big but as I later found out, the wattage was too high as well. (40 watts)
  14. abador1

    Where to find solder tips

    I have been looking for a solder tip but after buying one at radio shack then returning it because it was too big, stopping at two stores and calling a third one I have not found one that works. I would prefer to not pay a large shipping fee, one or two dollars at most but free shipping would be...
  15. abador1

    current spike

    Is there any way to get the circuit to delay without the transistor? In the simulation I noticed that it would turn the LED on for a certain amount of time then the circuit would turn off when the chip timed out which is the opposite effect that I wanted.
  16. abador1

    current spike

    I was trying to use LTSpice to design a circuit and it showed a spike at the transistor which was way above the power rating that I needed to accomplish. I added resistors at the base and the collector to try and limit this spike and ran another simulation of the wattage at the transistor and...
  17. abador1

    Good job!

    After reading some of the other threads I have compared the responses with the experience that I have had in my use of this site and I have not had much trouble at all with it. In the posts I have posted and viewed I have not seen any spam and I have not had any trouble with a virus threat...
  18. abador1

    Can you imagine that?

    This really is cool. I am constantly amazed how far technology has come.
  19. abador1

    Spice software recommendations?

    I want to download a spice simulation program but was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to which they like to use. Also what are your thoughts on LTSpice? I have had someone recommend it but I would like to hear input from others on about it. Thanks.
  20. abador1

    Importance of resistor values

    Hey, I don't have a large variety of resistors so I have used what I have. I have a 10 ohm, 20 ohm, 33 ohm, 1 Kohm and a 10 Kohm. Is this a good starting point? How close should the resistor value be to the value stated in a schematic?
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