[jackdoud]

I'm having trouble finding the dual shift register and the timer? Any suggestions on where I could possible find them?

Timer can be found at most radioshacks. The shift register you'll have to get from an electronics website like Digikey, Mouser, Jameco, or Allelectronics.

[HeslimedMe24]

Has anyone ever done this project on a soderless breadboard?

[mikegbfan2009]

Here's a mockup of this schematic I did on a breadboard. I only had red clear LEDs on hand so those will eventually be swapped for blue frosted LEDs on the power supply bar. I added a voltage regulator and am using a wall wart to power it while building and testing the circuit. I've also swapped the LM555 chip for the more modern ICM7555. I didn't do specific calculations on the chips, LEDs, and transistors used so there may be some modifications to the resistor values once I've finished. At some point I'd like to put together something more detailed for those that are interested in the lower-level IC circuits as opposed to using PIC/AVR microcontrollers. I'm a programmer by trade, but I have to admit the low level electronics end of things is a ton of fun!



Mike

[jogi82]

Has anyone here tried working from the plans? What were the results?

I did about three years ago. They are still going strong in my pack... The only thing I didn't like was that the cyclotron lights hold for a split second before they continue their pattern (they light up: 1, 2, 3, 4, hold, 1, 2, 3, 4, does that make sense?) . But other than that, they are accurate.

I should probably mention, that doing all that soldiering was a bitch. I don't care to do that again.

i have the same problem! does ur powercell light work? mine doesnt work and i did it corectly (im an electrician and can read plans like this) what i also found out is that when u use the preresistors for the cell-lights the 6volt bulbs are not as bright as they should, so i did it without the resistors, but i cant get them work properly! im also a human and may have some misstakes in it! ill try again!


edit:
now i got all my powercell lights working, but they are all flashing very fast at the same time! what did i do wrong?

[jogi82]

I agree with AJ. Mine work fine and ofcource My pack is the first to use this design.

Your hold is because the reset wire is connected to the wrong pin.

On U4 make sure you have pin 15 connected to pin 10

Keith

yeah, i did it! but have the same troubel! by a look at "shematic_large", pin 8, 10, 13, 15 on U4 ar linked together and are going on ground!
but what is the reason of c1 on U3 (555 timer)? and is this correct that the "nagative in" on pin 4 is linked to pin 8 on +9V?

[CPU64]

Is anyone integrating the FC2 boards like the ones used on the props?
It looks like the schematics here for the light bar are similar to the original board design. Is that correct?

[jogi82]

now i have got it! im so........! i forgot to connect the written things! (pin 8 and 16 on U1, U2)
but still having that time-gab problem on the cyclotron lights! what reset-pin are u talking about? pin 4 on U3?
pin 10 and 15 on U4 are linked together along with 8 and 13 and ground as the shematic shows!
please help!

btw. her are some diagrams:
4017:
http://www.led-depot.co.uk/WebRoot/Stor ... 17_01a.JPG
555 timer:
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/LM555IC.GIF
4015:
http://premiumorange.com/daniel.robert9 ... s/4015.GIF

now i have it right!
sorry Keith, but ur shematic is wrong! on U4 the connections between ground, Pin8, 10, 13, 15 are wrong!
u have to do it this way:
power (+9V) on pin 16
ground on pin 8
reset on pin 14 from U2 pin 14 or pin 2

jumper between pin 10 (output 4) and pin 15 (reset input)
jumper between pin 7 (output 3) and pin 13 (enable input)
otherwise output4 - output +10 would also run through and that produces the time-gap!

the bulbs on output 0-3 (pin 3,2,4,7) are o.k.

but now there are 2 other problems!
i did the conections to the lights for the powercell like the shematic shows.
the leds lit up like the should, but led 4 freezes the sequence! unless i disconnect led 4 from pin 10 on U1!
the the powercell works correct ( but wo led 4) until led 8 lites up! the same thing! also happened with led 11 and 14!
when i do it wo the named leds the powercell works correct, only with 9 instead of 14 leds!
the other problem is that when i put in an led/bulb for the cyclotron light the powercell doesnt workt as long as this light is lit up! whenn doing all 4 lights the powercell wont work all the time!

i came to this conclusion:
by counting all this errors, wrong pins and all that stuff, i might have been working with an other generation of this ic units as they were used to create this shematics!
maybe some one which lights are working correctly could compare theyre 555, 4015, 4017 with the uploaded diagrams in this post!

[cyberfez]

Has someone created a pcb board layout using leds and resistors based on keiths design?

[jackdoud]

Has someone created a pcb board layout using leds and resistors based on keiths design?

Nope. Generally not worth having a PCB made up unless you're going to be producing kits. Much easier and cheaper to either breadboard it or do a one-off perfboard build.

[cyberfez]

I make/etch pcb's it is no big deal. Surely someone has already edited that pic to create a board using leds or maybe someone else has a different design completely ....anyone?

[Tyrael]

I've had this thread bookmarked since long before I actually joined this site, and I can say that the five times I tried to build the circuit in the OP (replacing the bulbs with LEDs), the cyclotron lights worked just fine but the power cell ones were all cycling at once at a high frequency (that is, the potentiometer being dialed all the way down was the only way to actually see them turn off!).

I took the picture that mikegbfan2009 posted of his breadboard and noticed several changes, most notably being that pins 10 and 15 on the 4017 are connected, but are not connected to ground with pins 13 and 8, as the OP's circuit diagram suggests. I'm trying to get it printed out in EAGLE but as I am new to this program, it's not quite done yet. I'll post the hand-drawn circuit diagram once my phone emails it to my computer.

EDIT: Yay, it finally sent!

[cyberfez]

I am working in eagle as well.

[belldandy4087]

has any one figured out how to successfully modify the circuit to run leds? or am i going to have to go down to the local tech college and ask a teacher?

[Tyrael]

The circuit I drew uses LEDs for all lights.

[Tyrael]

Someone asked me for a parts listing on the circuit I drew up, so here you go:

LED resistors: 1k ohm (brown black red)
Resistor running from 555 pin 7 to ground: 51k ohm (green brown orange)
Resistors running from cyclotron transistors to ground (not linked to LEDs): 22 ohm (red red black)
Resistor running from 1st 4015B pin 7 to ground: 1k ohm (brown black red)
Potentiometer ranges from 0 to 50k ohm
19 NPN transistors (2N4401); 15 for power cell lights, 4 for cyclotron
10 microfarad capacitor (555 pin 4 to ground)
1 microfarad capacitor (555 pin 2 to ground)
0.1 microfarad capacitor (555 pin 5 to ground)

All integrated circuits are the same as from the OP of this thread.

[zappa1971]

Ok, I tried building this thing using the EXACT part listed, except I used LED's, which it seems someone said would work just fine. When I got it all wired up, nothing. I mean NOTHING came on. Did those that built it and got it to work use the exact parts listed? And which diagram did you follow? The circuit board one or the... non-circuit board one. Also, when building this on a perf board, how do you solder the connections? Jumpers or actually try and run solder from point to point? I am having no trouble building the pack. I have some carpentry and modeling skills, but these electronics? I'm lost. Please help

[jackdoud]

Also, when building this on a perf board, how do you solder the connections? Jumpers or actually try and run solder from point to point?

With perfboard you have to either get the parts close together or use wires to connect them. Soldering the dots together is possible but not the best nor easiest way. Here's some examples of circuits I've made with perfboard:

Thrower lights


Trap lights:

[zappa1971]

Ok, I got a new perfboard and am gonna give this thing another crack. Only this time, I am NOT soldering to the perfboard, but using wiring instead. I've noticed on one of the boards built that there are TWO resistors per LED. What is the deal with that? And Jack Doud... Thanks for the input. I am gonna try to do the thrower lights after I get these things cracked!!

[jackdoud]

I've noticed on one of the boards built that there are TWO resistors per LED. What is the deal with that?

Not entirely sure as I haven't really looked at the circuit but my guess is this:

The 100oms are the current limiting resistors for the LEDs that keep them from burning out. The 10Kohm resistors between the 4015s and the NPN transistors are there to ensure clean high/low values to the transistors to prevent currentl leak and LED flash.

[zappa1971]

Ok, one more thing here. I looked back at what I ordered and instead of a 4015, I ordered a 74HC595 8 bit Shift Register. I'm thinking this may be the problem as these two items, although both shift registers, seem to operate differntly. Would using the 74hc595 cause this to not work?

[jackdoud]

Ok, one more thing here. I looked back at what I ordered and instead of a 4015, I ordered a 74HC595 8 bit Shift Register. I'm thinking this may be the problem as these two items, although both shift registers, seem to operate differntly. Would using the 74hc595 cause this to not work?

I really can't say without looking into how the 4015 operates but going off the diagram above I'd say the 595 probably wouldn't work. You need latch, clock and datapins for the 595 and while the 4015 seems to have a similar design the circuit as shown won't properly drive a 595.

[zappa1971]

Well of all the circuits that have been built from this site, how many used the ORIGINAL plans and got it to work and how many had to tweak it a bit? I'm just curious because I don't want to build this a second time only to not have it work a second time. Ha ha.

[jackdoud]

Well of all the circuits that have been built from this site, how many used the ORIGINAL plans and got it to work and how many had to tweak it a bit? I'm just curious because I don't want to build this a second time only to not have it work a second time. Ha ha.

If you follow the plans and use the exact parts you should be fine. Your problem was using a non-identical shift register.

[CPU64]

How about the method used here for the power cell? I wanted to build a kit in the same way but can't even find good closeups.

[Vincenzo330]

Chris, there were other pictures from that same thread that show the board up close.

[CPU64]

I'm still looking for that thread.. Would be nice if they were in the reference section

[jackdoud]

I wanted to build a kit in the same way but can't even find good closeups.

Trust me, you don't want to copy that setup. The powercell is all wire wrap craziness. mburkit replicated the perfboard part of it with a real FC2 effects board, wouldn't be hard to power up if you really wanted to.

[CPU64]

I have the FC2 board as well. I actually want to build that crazy powercell wire nest. Its just that neither one of the pictures are clear enough to follow every wire. And the fact they're all yellow doesn't help at all.. lol
Has anyone made (or knows how to) any schematics for that circuit? At least that way I could follow that when building it.

I only have the closeup of the front side with the ICs. I remember seeing the back side but I forgot to save it.

[jackdoud]

So I finally got around to making my own pack lights. I followed the diagram on the first page but changed it to use LEDs. Here's an updated version of the schematic that also fixes the missing connection from the original:



And here's my prototype:



I'll be point-to-point soldering a one-off on perfboard as I have no interest in selling kits. I'll post pics of the finished circuit when it's done.

[jackdoud]

And here's the finished circut:







Not as pretty as an etched PCB but it works and cost me under $30.