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  1. flippineck

    Dimmable mains LEDs

    It wouldn't be hard to try a triac dimmer & change one of the bulbs for a small incandescent.. just a trip to asda and 10 minutes with a screwdriver so I'll give it a go. Worth the extra wattage if it keeps the missus happy, she's doing her nut about "it's all too bright now"
  2. flippineck

    Dimmable mains LEDs

    Just doing some reading around on it; it seems the most commonly used power supply in these lamps consists of a bridge rectifier across the AC input, with the rectifier's DC side feeding a storage capacitor. The LED is connected across the capacitor and draws it's current from there. Page I was...
  3. flippineck

    Dimmable mains LEDs

    Referring here to the sort of LED lamp which is commonly available in supermarkets etc, usually with a Bayonet or Edison Screw type connection, for domestic 240V AC use, and using a multitude of small discrete LEDs (rather than 'LED filament' or other new fangled technology) I guess similar is...
  4. flippineck

    Why does my amp do this?

    I once had someone ask me to fix an xbox - type game console. After googling the issue it turned out that most likely the cause of the problem was dry joints on the main chip. On this particular piece of kit, the 'main chip' was a massive great big affair which soldered to the board by way of a...
  5. flippineck

    Repair NASA Marine Echo sounder

    Could you try a highish value potentiometer wired up as a rheostat, and try the units behaviour whilst gradually dropping the resistance? as a last ditch attempt
  6. flippineck

    Bread Boards & Wishful Thinking?

    To actually stop procrastinating and buy one would be a good start for me. Went and stood in Maplins with my bank account just filled up by the monthly paycheque.. and didn't buy anything on account of food bills, mortgage and car repairs. One day I'll just do it & buy the shop :-)
  7. flippineck

    Solar panels in series

    Thanks chaps. Since the panels open circuit max voltage is around 20V, I'm figuring I can use P=IV =5ish x (20x6) = roughly 600 Watts as the maximum output power? Should I add 20% on top of that or is it more the case, when the clouds depart I'll maybe get the 600W briefly if I'm lucky then...
  8. flippineck

    Solar panels in series

    ok so, if I had six of these panels in series, and their individual short circuit max current was listed in the specs as 5.3A, I could safely assume that the current generated by the whole array on a good sunny day would not exceed 5.3A (give or take manufacturing tolerance etc)? I would not...
  9. flippineck

    Solar panels in series

    Let's say I have 2 identical solar panels, both illuminated the same, and connected in series. Let's say each panel is generating 17 Volts, and the + & - ends of the whole array are connected together through a 10 ohm resistor. Let's say at the same level of illumination, one single panel...
  10. flippineck

    Good basic breadboarding kit?

    Long time ago I used to collect all kinds of components.. used to strip down circuit boards etc & painstakingly store them all away in drawer cabinets etc. And I had a nice collection of tools, some bought new, some secondhand, even some hand built.. oscilloscope, capacitance meter, logic...
  11. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    Thanks Harald. Very interesting :-)
  12. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    Thanks Steve, I missed that diode, aye. High time I ordered a new breadboard and a stock of parts to experiment with.. Anyone suggest transistor part numbers that would be likely fits for the circuits discussed? I'll order a good selection of resistors and capacitors anyway, but the range of...
  13. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    If I used a dual-coil latching relay like this; Schneider Electric / Magnecraft 755XBXCD-12D http://datasheet.octopart.com/755XBXCD-12D-Magnecraft-datasheet-8469450.pdf Would a circuit like the attached, do the trick do you think? Hopefully that kind of setup would remove any ambiguity about...
  14. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    Would it be safe to connect my digital multimeter to the PWM's load output, allow the output to drop, then switch the multimeter to it's resistance ranges? To try and check the impedance? edit.. hmm, just looked at the PWM's load output on the multimeter's voltage range, toggling the output...
  15. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    Yes I can see that might be a problem. Maybe not a simple way to prevent that, but certainly something to think about :-) What would the schottky diode do?
  16. flippineck

    Fixed! PS3 disc

    If the scratches are deep but on the other side, I find a good long hard rub with metal polish, finished off with a really good wash in hot soapy water, thorough drying & finally a polish with a silicone furniture polish works well. Try and keep the polish and soap away from the hole in the...
  17. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    (would I need a diode in series with that capacitor..?)
  18. flippineck

    Lead-Acid temperature compensation in charging

    Thanks chaps. According to met office data the average temperature round here swings between 0 deg C & 20 deg C, with winter low extremes down to -19 deg & summer high extremes up to 32 deg.
  19. flippineck

    run start capacitor

    good stuff. deffo put a new protection device in though, same type and rating.. I've tried 'getting away without' in the past with disastrous results. something has caused it to blow, hopefully just a power transient or a temporary jam, but maybe it's a fault that's still in there ;-)
  20. flippineck

    Missing feature - voltage level monitor

    If I put a capacitor C2, equal to C1, across the collector and emitter of Q1.. would that allow a short pulse to flow through the load on application of input power without disturbing the existing operation of the circuit?
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