Week 4:

Electronics Production

For this week’s assignment I started with a simple analog circuit with input and output. We used breadboards as a starting point as this was a simple way to understand the concept. It uses: 470 ohm resistors (x2), 470 microfarad capacitors, LED, battery

 

I also cut 2 lengths of wire. A couple of times I cut the wire instead of stripping the end to create the connection in the breadboard which was quite frustrating. At first the circuit didn’t work so l did some error testing connections and placement of components. I eventually found that it was due to the wire not being on the top row, so was not connected to the battery. I was shown this when comparing my breadboard to others doing the task.

The capacitor stores energy meaning that once the button is added it fades once turned off. The button was harder to attach than any other component. However it did work first time around.

For the next circuit I chose to do a moisture detector (a PCB circuit). This board I soldered myself. I had practiced this a couple of times before this project so it was relatively simple. I used a guide to identify the transistors and place them in the correct places.

Tips for soldering:

• Make sure the tip is hot enough before you begin otherwise the solder will just ball
• You only need to dot it on once it is melted to create the correct cone shape

I connected this to a multimeter. This was useful in understanding the relationship between current, voltage and the brightness of the LED when reacting to moisture. I had not used this equipment in a very long time and had never done so in any great detail. After the session I looked online for some more information and the website seemed to give a clear overall view of what the capabilities of multimeters are, how it can be used and the equipment involved.