Elenco LIGHT - Manual (Page 14)

-13-
DO’s and DON’Ts of Building Circuits
After building the circuits given in this booklet, you may wish to experiment on your own.
Use the projects in this booklet as a guide, as many important design concepts are
introduced throughout them. Every circuit will include a power source (the batteries), a
resistance (which might be a resistor, capacitor, motor, integrated circuit, etc.), and wiring
paths between them and back.
You must be careful not to create “short circuits” (very low-
resistance paths across the batteries, see examples at right) as this will damage
components and/or quickly drain your batteries.
Only connect the color organ (U22), strobe
IC (U23) and infrared module (U24) using configurations given in the projects, incorrectly
doing so may damage them. ELENCO
® is not responsible for parts damaged due to
incorrect wiring.
Here are some important guidelines:
ALWAYS USE EYE PROTECTION WHEN EXPERIMENTING ON YOUR OWN.
ALWAYS include at least one component that will limit the current through a circuit, such
as the speaker, capacitors, ICs (which must be connected properly), motor,
microphone, phototransistor, or resistors.
ALWAYS use LEDs, transistors, and switches in conjunction with other components that
will limit the current through them. Failure to do so will create a short circuit
and/or damage those parts.
ALWAYS connect capacitors so that the “+” side gets the higher voltage.
ALWAYS disconnect your batteries immediately and check your wiring if something
appears to be getting hot.
ALWAYS check your wiring before turning on a circuit.
ALWAYS connect the color organ (U22), strobe IC (U23) and infrared module (U24)
using configurations given in the projects or as per the connection description
on page 8.
NEVER connect to an electrical outlet in your home in any way.
NEVER leave a circuit unattended when it is turned on.
NEVER touch the motor when it is spinning at high speed.
For all of the projects given in this book, the parts may be arranged in different ways without
changing the circuit. For example, the order of parts connected in series or in parallel does
not matter — what matters is how combinations of these sub-circuits are arranged together.
Placing a 3-snap wire directly
across the batteries is a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
This is also a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
When the slide switch (S1) is turned on, this large circuit has a SHORT
CIRCUIT path (as shown by the arrows). The short circuit prevents any
other portions of the circuit from ever working.
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
Examples of SHORT CIRCUITS - NEVER DO THESE!!!
Warning to Snap Circuits ® owners: Do not use
parts from other Snap Circuits ® sets with this kit.
Other sets use higher voltage which could damage
parts.
You are encouraged to tell us about new programs and circuits you
create. If they are unique, we will post them with your name and state
on our website at:
www.snapcircuits.net/learning_center/kids_creation
Send your suggestions to ELENCO ® : [email protected].
ELENCO ® provides a circuit designer so that you can make your own
Snap Circuits ® drawings. This Microsoft ® Word document can be
downloaded from:
www.snapcircuits.net/learning_center/kids_creation
or through the www.snapcircuits.net website.
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_ WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD - Never connect Snap Circuits ®
to the electrical outlets in your home in any way!
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