LDR circuit.. no luck :(

[KrisBlueNZ]

That looks pretty good!

I'm not sure about the blue trimpot. Its wires should go straight into the holes. It looks like it's not sitting flat.

Also you might want to connect the LDR through a length of cable, unless you're going to extend the three wires from the other PCB.

It's easier to cut the tracks before you solder any nearby connections.

I'm going to sleep now, so I won't be able to answer for a while.

 

[PhiLep]

the trimpot is different from the drawing. I adjusted it so that it fits into the right co-ordinates.

If I leave it sitting flat it has two empty holes between the legs (no pun intended )

 

[PhiLep]

Hi Kris, I bought the extra parts I missed and soldered them on, I also did all of the track cuts.

I've been trying to connect the wires in different places and have only been able to get a dim light from connecting the two pcbs together.

 

[PhiLep]

Figured it out! Soldering it all together now! It works!

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Great! Good work.

 

[PhiLep]

Actually I partly figured it out. When the third cable (K14) is connected to the positive terminal of the battery pack, the lamp is still illuminated (though very dimly), when I put something over the LDR it fully illuminates.

Is it suppose to be dimly lit when idle? or is this an issue somewhere with my soldering or something else?

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

The LEDs shouldn't light at all when the LDR is in the light. Can you post a photo of the underside of the existing PCB with the wires soldered onto it, so I can check that you connected them to the right places?

Also could you upload a few photos of the top and bottom sides of the stripboard? I'll try to check it for mistakes.

 

[PhiLep]

I'll upload some in a second when I get on the computer but just to confirm I have all of wires in the right places..

A14 > Red switch wire
D14 > Black switch wire
K14 > Positive terminal of battery pack


Is that correct?

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

The wire from A14 should go to the negative terminal of the battery pack.
The wire from D14 should go to the middle pin of the transistor marked A2.
The wire from K14 goes to the positive terminal of the battery pack, yes.

 

[PhiLep]

Ah okay makes sense now, I'll give that a try in a bit (have to recharge the batteries).

 

[PhiLep]

Hi Kris, it turned out to work as expected however the client changed his mind and ended up wanting a switch on it for full control. Nevertheless I learned a lot about electronics through your help. Thank you and this community for all the help!

 

[hollidayp1]

Schematic and PCB programs

I tried the other stripboard layout programs and none of them are any good, for various reasons. Does anyone have a recommendation?

I am using ExpressSCH (for schematics) and ExpressPCB (for PC board layout) and they are both free. You can draw the schematic and then it will let you layout the PCB. Not the the most robust schematic programs but they work, are simple, and free. Google it or go to http://www.expresspcb.com/expresspcbhtm/download.htm. 131122-1