Rolling Shutter Motor Control Circuit

This is a circuit for an electrically operated rolling shutter usually has a standard control panel with a three-position switch: up, down and stop. If you would like to automate the opening and closing with a time controlled switch, a few additional wires will have to be connected. Typically, the controls are implemented as indicated in the schematic ‘Normal Situation’. This is the figure of the circuit;

If this is indeed the case, then you can see in ‘New Situation’ how the shutter can be automated with a timer. There is only one method to determine the actual schematic of your control circuit, and that is to open the control box and using an ohmmeter, pencil and paper to check out and draw the circuit. Make sure you turn the power off first though! Connect a 230-V relay (with both the contacts and the coil rated 230 VAC) to the timer. The changeover switch between automatic and manual control needs to be rated 230 VAC as well and may not be a hazard for the user. The relay and switch are preferably fitted in a plastic mains adapter enclosure with built-in plug, which is plugged into the timer. It is a good idea to check first if this will actually fit. Because of the manual/automatic-switch, the operation is completely fail-safe and misunderstandings are out of the question. The switch prevents the issue of conflicting commands (with disastrous consequences) when, for example, the shutter is being automatically raised and manually lowered at the same time.

Mains Manager Circuit

Very often we forget to switch off the peripherals like monitor, scanner, and printer while switching off our PC. The problem is that there are separate power switches to turn the peripherals off. Normally, the peripherals are connected to a single of those four-way trailing sockets that are plugged into a single wall socket. If that socket is accessible, all the devices could be switched off from there and none of the equipment used will require any modification. Here is a mains manager circuit that allows you to turn all the equipment on or off by just operating the switch on any one of the devices; for example, when you switch off your PC, the monitor as well as other equipment will get powered down automatically. You may choose the main equipment to control other gadgets. The main equipment is to be directly plugged into the master socket, while all other equipment are to be connected via the slave socket. The mains supply from the wall socket is to be connected to the input of the mains manager circuit. The unit operates by sensing the current drawn by the control equipment/load from the master socket. This is the figure of the circuit;

On sensing that the control equipment is on, it powers up the other (slave) sockets. The load on the master socket can be anywhere between 20 VA and 500 VA, while the load on the slave sockets can be 60 VA to 1200 VA. During the positive half cycle of the mains AC supply, diodes D4, D5, and D6 have a voltage drop of about 1.8 volts when current is drawn from the master socket.

Diode D7 carries the current during negative half cycles. Capacitor C3, in series with diode D3, is connected across the diode combination of D4 through D6, in addition to diode D7 as well as resistor R10. Thus current pulses during positive half-cycles, charge up the capacitor to 1.8 volts via diode D3. This voltage is sufficient to hold transistor T2 in forward biased condition for about 200 ms even after the controlling load on the master socket is switched off. When transistor T2 is ‘on’, transistor T1 gets forward biased and is switched on. This, in turn, triggers Triac 1, which then powers the slave loads. Capacitor C4 and resistor R9 form a snubber network to ensure that the triac turns off cleanly with an inductive load. LED1 indicates that the unit is operating. Capacitor C1 and zener ZD1 are effectively in series across the mains. The resulting 15V pulses across ZD1 are rectified by diode D2 and smoothened by capacitor C2 to provide the necessary DC supply for the circuit around transistors T1 and T2. Resistor R3 is used to limit the switching-on surge current, while resistor R1 serves as a bleeder for rapidly discharging capacitor C1 when the unit is unplugged. LED1 glows whenever the unit is plugged into the mains. Diode D1, in anti-parallel to LED1, carries the current during the opposite half cycles. Don’t plug anything into the master or slave sockets without testing the unit.

GFI Ground Fault Interrupter Circuit

I always wondered what was inside one of these clever devices, so I found one in my junk box and popped the lid—it was from a defunct blow hair dryer—never throw one of these away because the GFI unit long outlives the hair dryer and has many experimental uses. To get it apart, I had to make a special screw driver bit to remove the tamper resistant screws. Here’s the figure of the design circuit;

You will notice that the parallel power leads make a single turn through the primary of the current transformer (CT). The flux field of the source lead is cancelled by the flux field in the return lead so the net result is zero and the CT sees no primary current. Should these currents ever become unequal (as in a ground fault condition), the CT senses this difference and induces current into the 1000 turn secondary. The secondary current is low, but the load resistance is 1M, so it develops significant voltage. This voltage is sufficient to exceed the comparator threshold voltage of the IC and fire the SCR. When the SCR fires, it energizes the solenoid coil and jerks an iron slug toward the center of the coil. Attached to this iron slug is a stainless steel pin that actuates the mechanical release for the electrical contacts. When the contacts are open, the ground fault current is interrupted and the appliance is off-line. It remains off until the mechanical reset button is pressed.

Atmel AVR ISP Reset Circuit

This is a design circuit that Atmel recommend that a diode is fitted between Reset and Vcc as shown here, but we have not found it necessary in practice. Note their recommended resistor and capacitor values are slightly different, but these values are not critical. A capacitor between 10nF and 100nF and a resistor between 4K7 and 10K will be fine. This is the figure of the circuit;

22 Watt Car Subwoofer Amplifier Circuit

This is a design amplifier that intended to be connected to an existing car stereo amplifier, adding the often required extra "punch" to the music by driving a subwoofer. As very low frequencies are omni directional, a single amplifier is necessary to drive this dedicated loudspeaker. The power amplifier used is a good and cheap BTL (Bridge Tied Load) 13 pin IC made by Philips (now NXP Semiconductors) requiring a very low parts count and capable of delivering about 22W into a 4 Ohm load at the standard car battery voltage of 14.4V. This is the figure of the circuit;

The stereo signals coming from the line outputs of the car radio amplifier are mixed at the input and, after the level control, the signal enters the buffer IC1A and can be phase reversed by means of SW1. This control can be useful to allow the subwoofer to be in phase with the loudspeakers of the existing car radio. Then, a 12dB/octave variable frequency Low Pass filter built around IC1B, Q1 and related components follows, allowing to adjust precisely the low pass frequency from 70 to 150Hz. Q2, R17 and C9 form a simple dc voltage stabilizer for the input and filter circuitry, useful to avoid positive rail interaction from the power amplifier to low level sections.

Parts:

P1_____________10K Log Potentiometer
P2_____________22K Dual gang Linear Potentiometer
R1,R4___________1K 1/4W Resistors
R2,R3,R5,R6____10K 1/4W Resistors
R7,R8_________100K 1/4W Resistors
R9,R10,R13_____47K 1/4W Resistors
R11,R12________15K 1/4W Resistors
R14,R15,R17____47K 1/4W Resistors
R16_____________6K8 1/4W Resistor
R18_____________1K5 1/4W Resistor
C1,C2,C3,C6_____4µ7 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
C4,C5__________68nF 63V Polyester Capacitors
C7_____________33nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C8,C9_________220µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitors
C10___________470nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C11___________100nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
C12__________2200µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
D1______________LED any color and type
Q1,Q2_________BC547 45V 100mA NPN Transistors
IC1___________TL072 Dual BIFET Op-Amp
IC2_________TDA1516BQ 24W BTL Car Radio Power Amplifier IC
SW1____________DPDT toggle or slide Switch
SW2____________SPST toggle or slide Switch capable of withstanding a current of at least 3A
J1,J2__________RCA audio input sockets
SPKR___________4 Ohm Woofer or two 8 Ohm Woofers wired in parallel