A timing circuit to help me help a sick kid?

[salty joe]

A close friend has a 12 year old son who was recently diagnosed with cancer. He's looking at alternating a week of chemo in the hospital with a week at home for the next year. Cody is smart and creative. I offered to talk science with him when he is home.
I'd love to have him build a timing circuit that makes a LED blink and maybe with a trimmer to adjust the blink. I can solder and follow a schematic, but don't understand electronics well enough to write a schematic.
I could show him the symbols for the different parts, how to follow the plan, what the parts do, how to solder-in short I could use the magic of a timing circuit to introduce him to electronics. If anyone is willing, I'd like to use a 12V wall wart from my junk collection. That way, Cody can keep the whole rig.

 

[MikeMl]

Blink rate is approx 1 per second. Change R3 to get other blink rates. Allowed range from 5K to 5meg. Yes Martha, C2 and C3 are in parallel.

 

[killivolt]

Blip.

 

[killivolt]

Self Edit: After reading Salty Joe's post history, They know how to blink an LED?

Mike posted before me and his looks so much better, Like

 

[killivolt]

Again, Self Edit:

 

[salty joe]

Thanks Mike, I think I have most of those parts except for the 555. Should be fun.

 

[Jaguarjoe]

1 week is 604,800 seconds. A 555 by it self ain't gonna get there from here.

I suffered through 11 months of chemo. There is a group that wants chemo listed as cruel and unusual punishment.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Radio Shack usually has the 555 timer. https://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062596&locale=en_US There is also a dual version called the 556, so only one section could be used. You probably don't want the CMOS or Low power version of the timer in this case.

 

[Menticol]

Hello Salty Joe!

I think this book will give you some ideas about what to buy and how to teach him. My father gave it to me when I was 10 years old and I love it.

It's written in Spanish but I don't think that will be a problem for you because all the graphics are self explanatory. It includes the classical blinking LED project, a sound generator, a traffic light and other cute stuff. All the experiments are done in breadboard, so Cody will be able to assemble and disassemble them to reuse the parts.

PS: About copyright concerns, the book is pretty old and the publisher doesn't exist anymore.

 

[killivolt]

It's in spanish, I'm going to have to learn spanish to use it.

 

[Menticol]

Nah, believe me, keep scrolling down. The component names and symbols are the same in English and Spanish.

I've been told that there's an improved full color version of that book. Give me a sec.

EDIT: Yep, here is it. The updated graphics are much easier to understand

 

[salty joe]

Thanks very much everyone. With a special thanks to MikeML.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

hey Joe:

There are a few cheap LED projects here: https://allelectronics.com/index.php?page=seek&id[m]=pattern&id[q]=kits&x=0&y=0

Also Ramsey Electronics has some as well. **broken link removed** I just searched for LED. Usually on the website, the manual is missing the schematic, but the actual kit has the schematic included.

Both companies are easy to deal with.

I'm not necessarily suggesting this https://www.xump.com/science/130ElectronicsKit.cfm?SID=54 kit, but a kit like this allows one to build a number of projects/ I had something similar when I was a kid. The big springs are easy to attach wires to.

Breadboards https://www.radioshack.com/product/...gclid=CPDh5ISj8rkCFQecKgodkTQAAA&gclsrc=ds.ds are ways of prototyping circuits as well.

They get to be a royal, pain sometimes. Now with the DIP package being obsolete the breadboard gets harder to use.

Now, it MAY be possible to teach some digital logic stuff. Something like use a Spice simulator (What Alec has been drawing and simulating your pump stuff with) and then build the circuit, but you will have to learn too. Logic gates aren't that hard.

Maybe even try some microcontroller programming. e.g. **broken link removed**

Building a kit is definate a challenge. The Heathkit and the Eico kits are long gone.

The real way to learn is to have a project. In EE courses, you don't even get to pick up a soldering iron.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks for chiming in KISS. You're probably thinking this is the blind leading the blind. There'd be some truth to that.
I'll check out those links after work today. My approach with Cody will be pretty much nuts and bolts. I'll teach him what little I know, get him to follow a schematic, arrange components and solder. That should be enough for a session or two, maybe three. If the magic of a timing circuit hooks him, he can pursue it.
I plan to go over a lot subjects with him in a similar manner. Probably leave him with more questions than answers, hopefully giving his mind a good place to wander.

 

[large_ghostman]

12 is a year younger than me! thats really upsetting, please can i help? why cant we as a group get a box of stuff together to send, like a big experiment kit, i have loads of stuff i can give, send it to a central location then onto joe (saves postage), then on a bi weekly basis come up with simple fun projects!!
there is also a book full of 555 timer projects i have it somewhere i will look it out.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks Ghostman, that's very kind. I don't think a group box is neccesary-I have no idea if Cody will get hooked on electronics. I just want to use electronics as 1 of many subjects to keep him occupied and from falling too far behind in school. Thanks though. If you find that book, I'd liketo know the title.

 

[alec_t]

Good luck with this new venture, Joe.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks Alec. I'm bound to learn quite a lot along the way.

 

[large_ghostman]

https://www.555-timer-circuits.com/ is a pretty good site for 555 timer stuff.

the book i was thinking off is this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integrated...UTF8&qid=1380570081&sr=1-2&keywords=555+timer

but there are loads.
as a kid of nearly same age a flashing led is cool for a short time, but then to be realy cool you need something like a decade counter to do the knightrider effect!
or another realy realy cool circuit to grab attention is a joul burgler as you can try and light a led with a 1.5v bat and nothing happens but when you use that circuit with a dead bat and the led lights then to us kids thats really neat and clever.
also get a bread board makes life easier.
spoke to mum and dad and if you change your mind i really would like to send some stuff,

 

[alec_t]

when you use that circuit with a dead bat....

Rather ghoulish. Sounds like a Halloween project .