Circuit Box – Starter Pack Lesson

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This is a somewhat living document and will continue to be updated as new ideas come to mind or new items are included with the starter pack.

Lesson One – Using a Breadboard

We’ll learn what all of the components are and use the breadboard to light some LEDs.

Materials:

  • 2 coin cell batteries or 4 AA or AAA batteries and a battery holder
  • 400 hole solderless breadboard
  • 2 Alligator to male jumper wires
  • 2 male to male jumper wires
  • Some LEDs in different colors and sizes
    • IMPORTANT: 5mm ones only. 6volts will blow out the 3mm ones. Or use single coin cell or 2 AAs. I’ll be adding that note to the video in a week or so
Lesson Two – Resistors

We’ll find out what resistors do and also make some sound.

Materials

  • 2 coin cell batteries or 4 AA or AAA batteries and a battery holder
  • 400 hole solderless breadboard
  • 2 Alligator to male jumper wires
  • 2 male to male jumper wires
  • Some LEDs in different colors and sizes
  • Some resistors ranging from 100ohm to 2.2k ohm
  • A buzzer with built in driver circuit

Lesson Three – 555 Timer

We’ll use a 555 timer to make our lights blink and use a speaker without a driver circuit.

Materials

  • 2 coin cell batteries or 4 AA or AAA batteries and a battery holder
  • 400 hole solderless breadboard
  • 555 Timer
  • 6 male to male jumper wires
  • One LED
  • Speaker[s] (for part 2)
    • One piezo speaker with an overridable driver circuit.
      — OR —
    • One piezo speaker with built in driver circuit.
    • One piezo speaker without built in driver circuit.
  • Resistors
    • 2x 2.2 kΩ
    • 470 Ω
    • 220 Ω
    • 2x 100 Ω
  • Capacitors
    • 2200 μF
    • 220 μF
    • 33 μF
    • 0.1 μF

555 Timer – Part 1 – LEDs

Ideas for Expansion

  • Switch out the resistors and capacitors.
  • Use the 2200μF capacitor to see how two resistors work in combination.
  • Add a stopwatch into the mix to time how long the LED stays on and off.
  • How fast can you make the light blink? How slow?
  • How “lopsided” can you make it in each direction? Can you get it to blink on real quick before shutting off for a longer time?

555 Timer – Part 2 – Sound

The speakers I found are circuit driven but can be overridden by an AC current. That changes the way they behave a bit. This video is still accurate, but I’ll probably redo it in the next month with the updated speakers.

Ideas for Expansion

  • Switch out the resistors and capacitors.
  • How high can you make the sound? How low?
  • Does making the resistors “lopsided” change the sound?

Learn More

https://learn.adafruit.com/getting-to-know-the-555/overview
https://makezine.com/2017/12/08/555-timer-intro/

Lesson Four – Photo Resistors

A photo resistor can be used to change the pace of the 555 timer and make your speaker change its frequency.

Materials

  • Everything for your 555 timer
  • Photo resistor

Ideas for Expansion

  • Switch out the resistors and capacitors.
  • Use the 2200μF capacitor and and LED to see how the photo resistor works differently based on which resistor you replace and which resistors you pair it with.
Lesson Five – Ideas for your Puppet

Your puppet can run on a coin cell battery or you can plug it into your breadboard to make it blink.

Materials

  • 1 coin cell battery
  • 2 3mm LEDs
  • Wooden puppet
  • Popsicle stick
  • 12″ copper tape
    Plus
  • 4 AA or AAA batteries and a battery holder
  • 400 hole solderless breadboard
  • 1 male to male jumper wires
  • 2 alligator clip to male jumper wire
  • 220 Ω resistors

Ideas for Expansion

  • Use your 555 Timer to make the bot blink!
  • Add a resistor to the popsicle stick to save the LEDs from too much battery power.
  • Swap the LEDs with different colors from your starter pack.