Strobe/Flasher circuit

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 8:42 am

For those who know way more than I do. I purchased a single LED Flasher circuit from the Fiber Optic Store. This product here: http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/store ... ts_id=1264
And it comes pre-wired to a 9v battery clip. I wanted to hard wire it to a permanent 9v power supply so I cut off the battery clip and connected the circuit to my breadboard to perform a test run. Of course I'm using a 9v wall adapter plugged in to my breadboard and when I plug the adapter in nothing happens. Why is this? When I touch the neg/pos ends to the battery the circuit blinks, yet nothing when hooked up to the breadboard. I'm baffled. Any suggestions or is it a case of you get what you paid for? The circuit is only $8.50 so I'm not crushed, just disappointed.
Any suggestions on where to purchase a more reliable circuit?

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:34 am

Are you sure your adapter is working and that its connections to your breadboard are solid?

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 11:45 am

Joe I hooked up several other LED's to the breadboard and they light up just fine. I'm so perplexed. (Can I say that?) I switched out adapters, wire...in case of a short, different slots on the breadboard because some just don't connect (and use slots that are known to connect) I'm at my wits end.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 2:02 pm

What happens when you touch the adapter directly to the circuit's leads that you snipped, bypassing every potential problem in the breadboard?

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 2:55 pm

I tried that, nothing. That's why I'm stumped. Did that with two different adapters and still the circuit didn't light. Yet at the battery it does. I'm thinking that the circuit is safe guarded at 9v and adapters actually give off a bit above 9v. That's why the circuit lights at the battery and not the adapter. The thing is that there looks like there's nothing to this chip. I can't see it having any type of voltage protection....not for $8.50.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 5:38 pm

It should run on just about any voltage from 6 to 12 because all it looks like is a simple 555 circuit. Do you have a multimeter to test the adapters and see what their true outputs are?

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 7:39 pm

I don't have a voltmeter but both adapters work well on other projects that I've used them on. Strange.

Bellerophon · Post by **Bellerophon** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 6:12 pm

Make sure the board still works by hooking it up to a good 9V battery.

If the board's okay, make sure the adapter is wired to the board with the correct polarity. If that's right, the problem is probably that the adapter is putting out something other than steady DC, like rectified AC. This makes your 555 chip reset 60 times a second. A big enough capacitor across the power inputs could fix that. Or get a better adapter.

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 6:51 pm

Bellerophon wrote:Make sure the board still works by hooking it up to a good 9V battery.

If the board's okay, make sure the adapter is wired to the board with the correct polarity. If that's right, the problem is probably that the adapter is putting out something other than steady DC, like rectified AC. This makes your 555 chip reset 60 times a second. A big enough capacitor across the power inputs could fix that. Or get a better adapter.

I just ordered a better adapter this morning and a back up circuit chip, from Ngineering, in case I send this one to the lumber yard.

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:27 pm

Problem was the adapter. All is well.