I don't think these switches will work for both fans. Radio Shack .3A 2P6P $2.99 Fans 2.8 watts each Watts = Amps x Volts 5.6 /12 = .46 amps Guess I need to get the other ones.Digi-Key 2.5A 2P6P $6.47
Those digikey ones have nice specs, but they don't have the same amazing description as the radio shack ones: Seriously though, i don't believe the 2.5a rating, especially not @125v! That would be around 220w, so i'm guessing that's a peak rating. Seeing you're only gonna be using .46a, you'll be fine
Well good then. I can save a few bucks/shipping cost and go with the "specialty switch for your special project" rotary switch from Radio Shack.
I actually meant that allthough i don't believe the 2.5a, the digikey ones should handle .46a easily! The radio shack ones might not have a problem handling .46a, and .3a does seem conservative, but i can't say that they will handle .46a! The .3a rating would scare me enough into getting the digikey ones.
I am going to go with the Digikey ones now just because I don't know how long the other ones will last because they are open. Well I did order some LEDs so far. Aqua and red last night. And a few of these for messing around with. RGB color changing LEDs that I am going to stick into some silicone caulk for a weird accent light.
I ordered the rest of the stuff for this. The LEDs already came. Hopefully I can turn them down, 7000 and 8000mcd are a bit bright. Just one aqua LED can light a room. Ill put a few pictures of the fan controller here when I'm done and more pictures when I finally start my project log. Thanks for the help.
I ordered the wrong resistors I thought I was ordering 1/4 watt. Now I have 1/6 watt for every resistor instead. Am I OK with the 1/6 or will I have to reorder and get the 1/4 watt ones. Also to ordered Friday received Monday that was quick.
Well with 12v supply, the transistor will drop about .7v, the leds 3.6v, so the resistor is dropping about 8.1v > 8.1v/470ohm = 17ma > 8.1 x 0.017 = .14w Divide 1 by .14 and you get just over 7... so the resistors have just under 1/7 of a watt flowing through them, so long story short, i'd expect 1/6w resistors to get warm at the very least, possibly hot? The resistors will work ok, and if they only get a little warm then you can leave them like that, the resistors should last ages, but if they run hot, then i'd expect a limited lifespan. Worst case scenario if the resistor dies is that it goes open circuit and the led doesn't get damaged, just no power. So even longer story told shorter would be to get some 1/4 watt resistors, unless you feel like experimenting.
OK I looked at my calculations again and looked at ledcalc.com Im running the LEDs at 12ma it is showing 1/8 for the aqua and red LEDS.
You could just mock up one led and resistor, leave the led running for at least 10 minutes, and periodically check on the resistor. If it only gets a little warm or less, then feel free to use them, but if they get hot, then get 1/4 watt ones.
OK. I built 2 fan controllers using the diodes and they work fine, but I only built one LED bar graph so far and it does not work right. So far I have been able to say that it is the Schottky diodes 1N5817 are leaking enough to trigger the transistors when the capacitors have some power left and now the LEDs never fully turn off. To help fix that I just removed the capacitors. Now the leaked voltage from the 1N5817 now just keeps the LED very dim but still on and now turning the switch makes the bar graph. I am no longer doing trying to fade the LEDs on and off. This is how I am running it now and will most likely do the same for the other circuit controller.
Rob, do you mean that the LED on switch position 7 is always on, or all of them are? From my experience building a similar circuit, 7 will always be lit. If the other LEDs are lit while you're at position 7, I'd look to your wiring on the switch and check to make sure that no unwanted contacts are happening. Do you have any pics of how you've wired the switch up so we can see? As I understand what you wrote, you've now got the capacitors out of the circuit, and the bargraph works fine (lighting up at each position.) Why do you have resistors before and after the LED (not that this should affect whether or not they stay lit.)
**fixed the screen shot** The 470K resistor was used to limit the charge of the capacitor now it is just there. The diode between 7-8 needs to be removed. I forgot to when I did the screen shot. My problem was when I first applied power and position 8 was on 9,10,11,12 the LED would have a faint glow. If I switched all the way to 12 then back to 8 then 9,10,11,12 would still stay bight even after a few minutes (more like 10-15)and not slowly fade like they were suppose to. As for pictures I have 2 from my phone that do not show that much and a web cam video I did of doing the diodes only. This was before the diodes for the board. LEDs go counter clockwise around the center. Power is in the middle and the two big solder areas on the side are grounds.
I still awake now, so I will post this. I am using one of the controllers right now for my computer. This is the case. Yes it is bad. The case originally just had a 60mm fan for an exhaust, but a nipper and 4 and half hours later clipping through 1.5mm steel. I have room for 3 120mm fans ACryan Blackfire fans. The LEDs on all 3 fans are about faded completely and don't match. They will get replaced later. The 2 fans on the side are on the diode fan controller. The the fan on the top is at full power and is fairly noisy. When I put my hand over the top fan, I can bairly hear the 2 side fans at low speed. The Lowest speed is about 8 volts or from high to low 12v, 10.6v, 9.2v, 8.5v, 7.8v, 0v. Wiring it for the diodes no diode for full 12v, then 2, then 2, then 1, then 1, then no connection for 0v. Just letting you guy know for when i finally finishing editing my video.
hey rob, I'm at a loss here. Noob that I am, the only thing I can think of is that there's some voltage leaking along the traces to the leds. I'm also checking this out from my phone, so I can't see the pics all that well. let's send out a call for mvagusta-man!
blind leading the blind Hey Rob, I've been spending the last few hours trying to get a flasher circuit built out of old leds, and salvaged caps and resistors, along with a potentiometer, and can finally take a break. Trying to figure out resistor values when you're partially colorblind is a real b@#$h, and add an iffy analog multimeter along with a noob, and you've got hours of frustration. Funny thing is, the web says the 555 circuit is an easy build! Depends on your experience I guess. Got it kinda working, though the resistors aren't evenly matched so the leds don't match, but the adjustable flashing is working great! I took the opportunity to drink a couple beers, have a smoke or too, and see what I could do to help (see post title) :lol So I'm still confused why the resistors are coming in before the ground... seems like they wouldn't serve any useful purpose there. Regardless, I don't see how that would affect whether or not the leds are on or off depending on position. That's a function of the switch position and whether or not voltage is let through the diodes to the resistors and then leds. I don't know why you would remove the diode between 7 and 8, either. What's the rationale? I still can't make out much from the pics, though tis better than seeing it on my phone. Can you get some sharper images up of how it's wired up now? I really think you've got some sort of bypass going on at the switch where a loose connection or stray solder is connecting it when you're not wanting power through. Here's the circuit diagram I used for the bargraph portion (for what it's worth): I may be way off here, and don't want to lead you astray, but it seems that you should look at the switch connectors (before the perf board), and if all looks clean and solid. Then I'd recheck your perf board soldering making sure it's laid out so that no stray connections are being made... That's all I got for you... mvagusta must have gotten a life! I haven't seen his posts up recently, and he's usually a great guy for helping out noobs like us. BTW, I like the case. It's got whattya call it, potential. Using a nibbler sounds like a long hard road to cut case holes. I've found that late nights wreck my brain the next day, now that I'm older, get some sleep! Edit- did you take out the transitors along with the caps?
I just have some really quiet days at work sometimes, and sometimes i'm just tired, on the couch, watching tv while surfing, because i've been working and/or modding/scratch building too hard. Now, as for the problem... it doesn't sound like there is a problem, other than replacing the old fans with new ones. It sounds like his electrics are working fine!
