Help Please with a spirograph, DIY

[Krogith]

A little crude, but should be deciphrable ...

M are the motors.
D are the LEDs.
R are the resistors for the LEDs.
R with arrow are the pots for the motors.
S are the switches.
There are some wires from the switches to the LEDs resistors that "cross" over the wire
that feeds all switches. This is only a visual effect, those wires arenot meant to touch.

Here is basicly what I'm doing and I need a few bits of information please

1: For the LEDs I have 4 Blue and 1 Yellow that I'm going to use. I'm pushing 4.5 Volts through the whole thing, so what kind of Resistors should i get for the 2 differnt kinds of LEDs?
A: Do the Resistors go a certain direction? Or can I just solder them in line any way? Do I need to do anything else or just put them in line before the LEDs?

2: for the Potentinalmeaters I have seen more than 2 ways to connect them. Do I use all 3 pins or only 2 of them? How do I wire them up?

A: I'm adding another sitwch for evey motor that will change the direction of the motor, Do I just connect them in line after the ptentinalmeters and that will work just fine? Or do I need to wire something differntly?


I'm still learing this is my 1st sodering project and Every thing is new but im havei9ng fun learning it all, as that was the point of this project

Thanks For your Help.

 

[lasersbee]

You can use any 270 Ohm to 330 Ohm resistor in series with
any of your LEDs... If they look too bright increase the resistor
value.

Resistors in general do not have a position...

Take the center pin of your Potentiometer and connect it to one
side or the other of the remaining 2 pins... If the control works in
reverse then change to the other outside pin of the Pot.

I would start with what you have... motors turning in one direction.
Then read up on how to get them to turn in the opposite direction
correctly...

You may find that you will need large batteries to supply the current
for all your devices...


Jerry

 

[Krogith]

I got 3 D's each at 10,000mAh for power

I got the reverse sitwches figured out already and wired them up and they sitwch the motors so I think i got that part


Thanks a Ton for the help

So for the pots i just have wires comming off both outter ends and conect them to my cercit and one going from the middle pin to 1 of the outter pins? and thats it right?

 

[lasersbee]

You got it about the pots...
You should have lotts of power with those batteries...
The pots should go in series just before the motors..
This way the pots will work whether the motors turn
in one direction or the other...

Jerry

 

[Krogith]

You got it about the pots...
You should have lotts of power with those batteries...
The pots should go in series just before the motors..
This way the pots will work whether the motors turn
in one direction or the other...

Jerry

Does the end with 2 wires on the pot go to the motor? So it has one comming from the middle pin and to the outter and then thats the side that gos towards the motor?

 

[lasersbee]

You are getting me confused....:crackup:

Place a Pot in front of you with the 3 pins facing you...
We will call the left most pin "A" and the right most pin "C"
and the center pin will be "B".

(POT)
| | |
A B C

1) The power from your battery goes to pin "A"
2) Pin "C" goes to the Motor
3) Pin "B" goes to either the "A" pin or the "C" pin but not both.


Jerry

 

[Krogith]

LOL I spent all day wiring this up and I get it all together (except the mirrors "coming in the mail" and motors being set into place."

And I blow 2 LEDs it seems. Pice of crap Now I gotta buy more LEDs.... They were old from a computer but now I gotta buy new ones =(

 

[Krogith]

New information...

The LEDs didn't blow.... 2 of the Resistors did...

Why would that be? there brand new? is that normal? does that point out some problem I don't know of??

 

[anselm]

Are you sure they blew? Is there any visible damage on the outside?
So now they have, what, "inifinite" or just really high resistance?

Did you roast them with your soldering iron?

I once blew a (very small) resistor with what was essentially a short circuit
involving 2x18650 in series.

 

[Krogith]

Your right...


I just REALLY SUCK at soldering :cryyy::cryyy:

Is there any advice on soldering or just keep practicing? It keeps beading up and rolling off... I do get it to work but it sure is a mess ( has a Termite mount of Solder under what ever I'm doing Probably a 10% Solder 90% waste)... And Takes FOREVER...

Can't wait to show this mess.... lol Thank you Anselm and lasersbee

 

[Krogith]

Look at this mess... LOL

So far this is what I got, Just need the mirrors to cuts laser enter/exit and place the motors where they go and wire up the inside of the box

I'm having fun turning the lights on and off... this is my 1st real soldering project so I'm learning a lot


EDIT: Wow I can;t get these guys to stay on, Now Power is running through the LEDs but the Same 2 In the Center went out again Now...

EDIT 2: These resisters stink... They keep acting funny, I got them back on now... For now it seems....



EDIT 3: I'm about to just cut out the resisters and do straight LEDs and just let em blow


EDIT 4: I am finding out that hot gluing over a solder connection Can melt the solder and ruin your connection... I still decided to wire the LEDS straight for now....


EDIT 5: added last question if someone could give any soldering advice I could use a lot...

Your right...


I just REALLY SUCK at soldering :cryyy::cryyy:

Is there any advice on soldering or just keep practicing? It keeps beading up and rolling off... I do get it to work but it sure is a mess ( has a Termite mount of Solder under what ever I'm doing Probably a 10% Solder 90% waste)... And Takes FOREVER...

Can't wait to show this mess.... lol Thank you Anselm and lasersbee

 

[anselm]

LOL that doesn't look soooo bad *cough*.
Electronics Primer: How to Solder Electronic Components
http://technologyinterface.nmsu.edu/fall97/electronics/solder.html
You have to heat the components you are soldering together, instead of melting the tin
and letting it drip onto the parts to be soldered.
0. pre-tin each component to be soldered together.
1.Get a little bit of soldering tin onto the tip of the iron.
2.Touch the wire and/or LED pin with the iron, heating it up.
3.Touch the connection to be made (hot by now) with the soldering tin.
Don't melt the soldering tin you are about to apply directly with the iron.
4.Remove tin.
5.Remove iron.

If you have done everything right, the solder should melt and cover up the connection
nicely, and leave a silver shiny surface.

If the hot glue breaks the soldering you made, you had crappy "cold joint"
to begin with.

 

[Krogith]

LOL that doesn't look soooo bad *cough*.
Electronics Primer: How to Solder Electronic Components
http://technologyinterface.nmsu.edu/fall97/electronics/solder.html
You have to heat the components you are soldering together, instead of melting the tin
and letting it drip onto the parts to be soldered.
0. pre-tin each component to be soldered together.
1.Get a little bit of soldering tin onto the tip of the iron.
2.Touch the wire and/or LED pin with the iron, heating it up.
3.Touch the connection to be made (hot by now) with the soldering tin.
Don't melt the soldering tin you are about to apply directly with the iron.
4.Remove tin.
5.Remove iron.

If you have done everything right, the solder should melt and cover up the connection
nicely, and leave a silver shiny surface.

If the hot glue breaks the soldering you made, you had crappy "cold joint"
to begin with.

Yeah I bet i have a lot of "Crappy" connections :crackup:

I'm Learning, Thanks My friend This info should help with all the connections from here on out... (I might have to re solder the whole thing in a few weeks if to much crap keeping messing up...) So Far It's working and not any more issues Yet... :thinking:

I was kinda doing in between the 2 ideas but I was doing more than just dripping it onto it.

I appreciate your Help man.


Once it's done tho I should be able to screw it together and never open it again and I hope sense nothing will be moving except the motors I shouldn't make anything else loose. The batteries open by them selfs so I shouldn't have to open it unless a mirror breaks off and a wire gets loose


EDIT: So it's bugging the crap outta me and I'm going take it all down and solder it right...So it wont be done for awhile... I haven't started yet I put it up and going take a break and solder some other stuff and then dive back into it when i have the motors all read and The box cut, then I'll de solder and see whats going and what I need at that point...

Thanks for all the information It will make the new job alot cleaner because I pre solders leads on things before I kew how to hook them together and that made a bigger mess in the end, so I hope to clean it up some for the final project, I can't leave it half done the solder issue you taught me makes me want to fix that 1st

 

[lasersbee]

You can touch up any bad solder joint...
The trick is to use some Rosin Flux.. to help the solder flow..
either in paste or liquid form..

We exclusively use Rosin Core Solder in the shop...
Every joint gets just the right amount of flux automatically...

I wouldn't worry about your construction.... I've seen a lot
worse from...
And you can always get better at it with practice..

Jerry

 

[Krogith]

You can touch up any bad solder joint...
The trick is to use some Rosin Flux.. to help the solder flow..
either in paste or liquid form..

We exclusively use Rosin Core Solder in the shop...
Every joint gets just the right amount of flux automatically...

I wouldn't worry about your construction.... I've seen a lot
worse from...
And you can always get better at it with practice..

Jerry

Thanks, I got that same Solder you mentioned i looked it up before I just striped everything down and found a lot of really bad joints i am going do it right the 1st time... hopefully...

 

[dfhrace]

Krogith-

where did you find the knobs for those pots? i love em' they look like the ones i have on my guitar