Project 130 morse code, Project 131 fiber shut-off – Elenco Snap Circuits® Deluxe Sound & Light Combo User Manual

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Project 130

Morse Code

Morse Code: The forerunner of today’s telephone system

was the telegraph, which was widely used in the latter half

of the 19th century. It only had two states - on or off (that is,

transmitting or not transmitting), and could not send the

range of frequencies contained in human voices or music.

A code was developed to send information over long

distances using this system and a sequence of dots and

dashes (short or long transmit bursts). It was named Morse

Code after its inventor. It was also used extensively in the

early days of radio communications, though it isn’t in wide

use today. It is sometimes referred to in Hollywood movies,

especially Westerns. Modern fiber optics communications

systems send data across the country using similar coding

systems, but at much higher speeds.

MORSE CODE

A . _

B _ . . .

C _ . _ .

D _ . .

E .

F . . _ .

G _ _ .

H . . . .

I . .

J . _ _ _

K _ . _

L . _ . .

M _ _

N _ .

O _ _ _

P . _ _ .

Q _ _ . _

R . _ .

S . . .

T _

U . . _

V . . . _

W . _ _

X _ . . _

Y _ . _ _

Z _ _ . .

Period . _ . _ . _

Comma _ _ . . _ _

Question . . _ _ . .

1 . _ _ _ _

2 . . _ _ _

3 . . . _ _

4 . . . . _

5 . . . . .

6 _ . . . .

7 _ _ . . .

8 _ _ _ . .

9 _ _ _ _ .

0 _ _ _ _ _

Project 131

Fiber Shut-Off

Black

Clear

Build the circuit as shown. Place the clear cable holder on the red

LED (D1) and the black cable holder on the phototransistor (Q4),

then place the fiber optic cable into the holders as far as it will go.

For best performance the fiber optic cable should stand straight

up in the holders, without bending them.Turn on the slide switch

(S1), then push the press switch (S2) several times to send secret

messages between the circuits using Morse Code. If your fiber

optic cable was a lot longer, you could use this circuit to send

messages to your friends in different cities. The speaker is used

to help limit the current through the red LED, and will not make

noise.
If desired, you can swap the locations of the red and white LEDs

(D1 & D6).
Note: If the white LED (D6) does not light or is dim, replace it

with the color LED (D8). The white LED can be brighter and won’t

change colors, but requires higher voltage to activate.

Use the preceding circuit but swap the locations of the phototransistor (Q4) and the 100kW resistor (R5), keep the “+” side of Q4

in the same direction. Now pushing the press switch will turn off the LED in the right half of the circuit.

SCC-350_Manual_Part_B.qxp 7/25/14 2:05 PM Page 16

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