How to make a 100watt 20v 5.5amp Solar Panel

A homemade panel outputs 5.5A very rarely, only on very sunny summer days. In winter is only puts out 40 Watts at 20V. On average it puts out 3.9A on a normal day. These cells are linked in series, using tabbing wire and bus wire, connection them using solder, flux pen and a soldering iron. This panel uses 36 cells which each outputs 0.55V at 4-5 amps. These cells are hooked up like button cell batteries, where top of cell of negative and bottom is positive, and because of this you connect positive to negative and so on.

Below shows how they are hook up.

Micro-controller mosfet switch/ Led Christmas light flasher

Micro-controller MOSFET switch/ Led Christmas light flasher
 The above circuit is an attachment for any type of microcontroller, but I used it with a homemade atmega88p microcontroller chip. This board/ circuit allows the chip to turn on and off things like led lights acting like solid state relays. This circuit uses 4 IRF 540 n-channel MOSFETs, switching on and off the negative side of the LEDs.

Below shows the pinout of IRF540.

Below shows the Micro-controller controlling LED Lights

Automatic Power outage light

Automatic power failure light
The circuit above is for use of lighting a certain area in a house or workshop when a power failure occurs. The circuit uses leds(red, green and white(for lighting) ), a n-channel mosfet, lm317, diodes, various resistors, and pnp transistor. The circuit is for either modifying a old power failure light to be more reliable and efficient or just building the circuit from scratch and to be used in needed places. This circuit is better and efficient because it uses leds instead of the incandescent lights and uses nickel-metal hydride (Ni-Mh) batteries. This light will run longer than standard incandescent, won't overcharge its batteries because of the constant voltage from the lm317 and no need for replacing batteries every 5-6 months like the 6v lead acid batteries in the old standard lights. With 6 Ni-Mh batteries, it gives about 7.8v with a capacity of 2200Mah, you can get a run time of 7-8hours if the leds are 3watts on each side(total of 6 watt light output from Leds 400-500 lumens).
This light works by when the pnp transistor base senses the 9v supply from the 120v-9v transformer, the transistor switches off and when there is no 120v power, the transistor turns on, conducting and turns on the n-channel mosfet which turns on the light.

I do not recommend using this light in businesses, buy standard emergency lights than would be approved by an inspector!
Do this at your own will!

Different LED characteristics for 5mm LEDs

This chart shows the differences between different types of 5mm leds. These measurments are the average numbers for theses types of leds, but other companies led's characteristics may be different.

You may want to look at the manufacturer's specs before trying to use this for 5mm leds.

Simple automatic lead acid charger/maintainer using LM317

Automatic Lead acid charger
The circuit above is a simple circuit that can charge or just maintain a 12v lead acid battery. This circuit uses a Lm317 and the circuit can only supply up to maximum of 2 amps but with a big heatsink. To use the circuit you would connect the power side to a 14 to 18v power supply and the green led turns on. Then you would connect the 12v lead acid battery to the battery side and the red led turns on. Use and turn the 5k potentiometer, so that the output voltage matches 13.3v (which is a fully charged 12v battery).  When the battery charges the battery will take in a lot of current causing the transistor to switch on and light the led, but as it continues and gets charged up, the battery takes in less current, causing the transistor and led to turn off.
To increase the current capability to charge larger batteries, parallel another 2 or 3 Lm317 regulators.
 On the left shows the pinouts of the Lm317.

Disclaimer: This is just a DIY charging circuit for a lead acid battery, this circuit may not be that reliable,  and it can create a lot of heat from the Lm317 which is a fire risk. So do this at your own sake and i suggest buying a proper battery charger, this is just a cheap solution.

Solar buck converter using NE555 timer

Solar buck converter
The circuit above is a buck converter which can boost or buck(decrease the voltage). This circuit uses the Ne555 timer and is the same circuit as the pwm dimmer circuit but modified with a inductor, extra diode and a 7812 linear regulator. The inductor rating is a trial and error, i would est a 40 to 60 uH cored inductor. To use the circuit you would turn the potentiometer on the top left either left or right so that it either increases the voltage or decreases the voltage.
As the voltage decreases, the current output should be higher and as voltage increases, current output should increase. The input voltage of the circuit should be at least 13-30v as long as you have the 7812 regulator.On the left shows which the gate, drain and source of the n-channel mosfet diagram. Below shows the pinouts of a IRF540 n-channel mosfet.

Note: The output wattage will never exceed the input wattage.

Syncing music and lights (Leds) Version #1

Light and music Syncing
The circuit above is a lighting circuit where it flashes and syncs the led lights with the music. This circuit is the first version of my 3 versions of light syncing. This version is really simple, this circuit uses the simple NPN transistors (2N2222) as switches. The circuit allows lights to sync with the music and being able to hear the music as well using the audio out. To use the circuit you would hook up power to the collector of the transistors and to the ground pin. Then plugging in a headphone plug in to the computer from the Audio in.
Above is the circuit that i made, where i used 6 leds where 3 leds are on each channel. The circuit works well and is pretty sensitive, but this circuit can only react to high bass beat sounds. Stay tuned to look at the other 2 versions of this light syncing. Below is the link to a video where I synced the lights to a song which was suggested by a friend: ( In the video, i added an extra 5 watt light which i'll show next post)
https://www.facebook.com/yixing.qie/videos/1588927561372053/?l=3173977460942610656

How to make temporary heat-sink compound (Works for 1-3 watt leds or highpower mosfet and transistors) Project #29

Temporary heat-sink compound (Thermal Grease/Thermal compound/Thermal Paste)

This thermal grease is made up of toothpaste, preferably mint (I used Colgate toothpaste) and petroleum jelly. The ratio should be around 3/4 toothpaste and 1/4 petroleum jelly. This compound is only a temporary thermal compound where it is not as effective as transferring heat from chip to heat-sink like thermal pastes with synthetic silver compounds. You can use this Diy paste until you get your proper paste, or just use this paste only on low power devices. I would warn NOT TO USE THIS CPU OR SENSITIVE DEVICES, AS THIS MAY RUIN THE DEVICE. I've only used this on power Mosfets, transistors and high power 1-3 watt leds, and it works fine.

Above, in the picture, is what the compound would look like, it doesn't look pleasant, but its going to be covered by the device or IC.

When finding a heat-dink compound for CPU's or sensitive devices, use high quality compound like 

Arctic Silver 5 or other compounds, don't use this Diy compound.

I AM NOT LIABLE, IF YOU DAMAGE YOUR SENSITIVE DEVICE WITH THIS DIY THERMAL COMPOUND. DO IT AT YOUR OWN COSTS/RISKS.

Brightness light sensor for Micro-controllers Using an LDR

Brightness Light Sensor for Micro-controllers
This circuit senses the brightness levels in the surroundings and converts it into a analog signal which the micro-controller converts and displays the brightness that it senses. This circuit works with Atmel Atmega device, Arduino and other micro-controllers. This circuit is basically a variable voltage divider. If the LDR senses more brightness, the voltage from the output decreases, the darker the LDR is in, the output voltage increases. Stay tuned for the code that I used for this light sensor with my Atmega micro-controller.
Above is what an LDR used in the circuit looks like.

Temperature sensor for micro-controller using an NTC thermistor

Temperature sensor for Micro-controllers

This temperature sensor is used for micro-controllers to measure a range of temperatures. This sensor uses the
( NCPppXH103) NTC surface mount thermistor. You can use any thermistor, but you must have the datasheet for that specific thermistor to get the thermistor resistance ratio in order for your micro-controller to be able to calculate the voltage into a temperature unit. This circuit above is basically a variable voltage divider, where the voltage on the output changes depending on the temperature. There is a ratio between the temperature and the resistance of the thermistor. This is how the micro-controller can calculate the temperature. The voltage that comes out from the output goes out to the ADC in the micro-controller. This sensor can be used with an Arduino or an Atmega chip or other micro-controller.

On the above left i have the surface mount thermistor on a piece of perf board which can be detached from my micro-controller.
In a later post i will show you how to make your own microcontoller and show the specs of my microcontoller.
On the left you can see the senor detached.
I have used the sensor, and its pretty accurate, but you have to do trial and error with the code. Stay tuned for the code with the sensor, where it can display the temperature on to a LCD display, but the this code is used with an Atmega chip and programmed with an Atmel Studio. I will post the code with arduino, later on.

10 led random pattern flashing using Arduino (Uno)

//Multi LED Blink

int led1Pin = 13;
int led2Pin = 12;
int led3Pin = 11;
int led4Pin = 10;
int led5Pin = 9;
int led6Pin = 8;
int led7Pin = 7;
int led8Pin = 6;
int led9Pin = 5;
int led10Pin = 4;

void setup() {  
  //initialize the led pins as an outputs
  pinMode(led1Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led2Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led3Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led4Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led5Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led6Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led7Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led8Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led9Pin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led10Pin, OUTPUT);

}

void loop() {
  //pick a random color
  analogWrite(led1Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led2Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led3Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led4Pin, random(250));
  analogWrite(led5Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led6Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led7Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led8Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led9Pin, random(256));
  analogWrite(led10Pin, random(256));
  delay(300);//wait one second



/*  digitalWrite(led1Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led1Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);

  //do the same for the other 3 LEDs
  digitalWrite(led2Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led2Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);

  digitalWrite(led3Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led3Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);

  digitalWrite(led4Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led4Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);


  digitalWrite(led5Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led5Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);


  digitalWrite(led6Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led6Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);


  digitalWrite(led7Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led7Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);


  digitalWrite(led8Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led8Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);


  digitalWrite(led9Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led9Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);


  digitalWrite(led10Pin, HIGH);//turn LED on
  delay(100);
  digitalWrite(led10Pin, LOW);//turn LED off
  delay(100);
  */
}

Above is the code that i wrote which will randomly light colored leds at different times and different brightness. You can use this light code and these lights to light up a part and, if you expanded the code and light, you can light your room in different colored variation. In the circuit with the arduino, you would use pins 4 to 13. These are the pins that i used in the code. It doesn't matter which type of led goes where, but make sure to put a 100 to 200 ohm resistor in series with the led, unless you want to burn out your leds.

Below, is a video of the code lighting lights using the arduino uno and  10 leds with colors of  red, green and yellow.

Using ohms law

An easy way to remember ohms law ( the orientation of voltage, current and resistance) is the ohms law triangle.  Below is what the triangle looks like:

V=Voltage, I=Current, R=Resistance

Just remember V over I equals R.
This triangle can help you remember ohms law and make it easier to calculate each value.
Ohms law states the potential difference (voltage) across a conductor is proportional to the current flowing through the conductor.
To calculate ohms law in a circuit with the triangle, you would cover the variable that you want to find and input the other 2 variable and calculate, either multiply or divide. You divide the numbers when one is on top of the other like V/I or V/R. You multiply when the numbers are beside each other like I*R.

For example:
To calculate R, you'd cover R and you'd have V/I, so input the voltage and current from the circuit and divide to get the resistance.
To Calculate I, you'd cover I  and you'd have V/R, so you input  the voltage and current from the circuit and divide voltage by current.
To calculate V, you'd cover V and you'd have I*R, so you input the current and resistance from the circuit and multiply current (I) by resistance (R).

How to read Surface Mount resistor

To read and calculate a SMD resistor, you must find out what code the resistor is using, in order to calculate it. There are 3 categories which are shown below:

Has an R,K or M between the numbers                                                                        

To calculate a 3 digit code resistance, Find the 3 digit code on the resistor, the first and second numbers are the significant number/ first 2 digit of resistance, the 3rd digit is the multiplier. The multiplier is an exponent of 10, so on the left you see i have 131, so the first 2 digits is 1,3 and the multiplier is 1 which is 10^1. To calculate the resistance, you multiply 13 by 10^1 which is 13 x 10^1 =130 ohms. So the resistors resistance is 130 ohms.

To calculate a 4 digit code resistance, locate the 4 digit code on the resister. The first, second and third number on the resistor are the significant number/ first 3 digits of the resistance  and the 4th number is the multiplier. The multiplier is an exponent of 10 , so on the left i have a resister with a code of 4450, so the first 3 digits are 4,4,5 and the multiplier is zero which is 10^0. To calculate the resistance multiply 445 by 10^0 which is 445 x 10^0 =445 ohms. So the resistors resistance is 445 ohms.

To calculate a resistor with a Radix point. Locate the 3 or 4 digit code with an R,K or M in the middle. The letters act as a decimal, so you just replace the location of the letter with a decimal point. In this resistance code, there is no multiplier. The letters also represent the unit of the resistance in the resistor so R represents ohms, K represents kilo-ohms and M represents mega-ohms.  For example on the left i have 45R3, so you replace R with a decimal which would look like 45.3 and since R is ohms, the resistance is 45.3 ohms. Another example is 4k3 which would be 4.3k. Another example is R33 which would be .33 ohms.

How to read color coded resistor values

4 Banded resistor

Reading color banded resistor values
This post shows how to read a resistors value by using the chart above. I don't recommend just using this chart to only calculate the resistance of a resistor, I suggest using a multimeter to double check or to check the resister's values. To calculate the value, first locate the first band, it is in the area where the colors bands are closer together like seen on the left picture. The first band of the color band cluster is the first band.
Start calculating the value by matching the first and second or third (three bands if the resistor is a 5 banded resistor) band colors to the chart, the numbers you get are the first 2 or 3 digits or the significant numbers. then find the 3rd or 4rth (4rth band for 5 banded resistor) band color in the chart in the multiplier column. The number you get is the multiplier,  you would multiply the first 2 or 3 digits by the multiplier to get the resistance value. For the fourth or fifth (fifth band for five banded resistor) band, it is not really needed, but after you match the color with the number, it tell you how accurate, the resistance is of the resistor.
Look below at how I find the resistance:

What glows under a real UV light Part 2

These are the things that glow under UV light below:
The sets of pictures are ordered by the picture on top is before and the picture below is after.

A Lanyard's printed words.

a green screwdriver.

tonic water

an led (phosphorus)

visa card logo

a printed stamp

Uncracked glow sticks

a used glowstick

Page 14-15 of new canadian passport

Page 16-17 of new canadian passport