More, Do’s and don’ts of building circuits – Elenco Upgrade Kit SC500 to SC750 User Manual

Page 6

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MORE

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, lamp, 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 below) as this
will damage components and/or quickly drain your batteries.

Only connect the IC’s

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, lamp, whistle chip, capacitors, ICs (which must be
connected properly), motor, microphone, photo resistor, or fixed resistors.

ALWAYS

use the

7-segment display

, LED’s, transistors, the high frequency IC, the

SCR

, the antenna, 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 the adjustable resistor so that if set to its 0 setting, the current will
be limited by other components in the circuit.

ALWAYS

connect position 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

ICs

, the

FM module

, and the

SCR

using configurations given

in the projects or as per the connection descriptions for the parts.

NEVER

try to use the high frequency IC as a transistor (the packages are similar, but
the parts are different).

NEVER

use the 2.5V lamp in a circuit with both battery holders unless you are sure
that the voltage across it will be limited.

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.

Examples of SHORT CIRCUITS -

NEVER DO THESE!!!

You are encouraged to tell us about new circuits you create. If they are
unique, we will post them with your name and state on our website at
www.snapcircuits.net/kidkreations.htm. Send your suggestions to
ELENCO

®

.

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/SnapDesigner.doc

or through the

www.snapcircuits.net web site.

WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD

- Never connect Snap Circuits

®

to

the electrical outlets in your home in any way!

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!

Warning to Snap Rover owners: Do not connect your parts to the
Rover body except when using our approved circuits, the Rover
body has a higher voltage which could damage your parts.

!

!

NEVER

DO!

!

!

!

NEVER

DO!

NEVER

DO!

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