Just want a pulsing led

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Thejcnr

New Member

I'm an electrician but not great with small electronics so I could use some help designing a circuit. This is what I would like to accomplish: When a thermistor temp is raised by my hand an LED slowly increases brightness. When my hand is removed the LED dims to off. I measured the thermistor. At room temp it is 10k ohms, when touching my hand it lowers to 7k. The LED has a forward V of 3-3.2V.
I believe the schematic would work but I can't figure out the appropriate resistor values. I would prefer it runs on a 9V battery but that can change
 


This seems to work with some added features.
When it starts to blink at a slow heart rate speed, it speeds up as it gets warmer.
 

Hi

Suggestion...

Its up to you....but it seems like it would be difficult to see the difference of intensity. Wouldn't it be more useful if the LED turned steady on, or steady off, or blink, when some temperature threshold was reached?

eT
 
It is not clear from your schematic which part represents the thermistor, or what the function of the left-facing transistor is.

ak
 
eTeck - I think you may be right. There may be a small amount of fading just because the nature of a thermistor and transistors anyway. I assume I can just make a voltage divider circuit to trigger the transistor?
 
AnalogKid - the thermistor is the potentiometer and 10k resistor in the top left. Doing the best I can with my program. The backwards transistor is to fade out the LED. Otherwise the cap discharges too quickly to notice the effect
 
Tony Stewart - thank you for the time spent designing that. I think the not gates may be beyond my ability to create. Unfortunately I'm also limited on supplies and space. The circuit needs to fit in a 1" copper pipe. And I'm in Small Town Iowa. There isn't an electronics store for 100 miles.
 
Thejcnr said:
eTeck - I think you may be right. There may be a small amount of fading just because the nature of a thermistor and transistors anyway. I assume I can just make a voltage divider circuit to trigger the transistor?
Click to expand...

Perhaps we can change the design and use a comparator as level detector to light an LED. The LED could be a one that flashes on its own, or lights steady on. Your choice.

How do you plan to build the circuit?

eT
 
Uh oh. Looks like I'll be googling comparator. The circuit is to light up the head of a cane when my hand is on it. So I would prefer the light to be steady on
 
Thejcnr said:
Uh oh. Looks like I'll be googling comparator. The circuit is to light up the head of a cane when my hand is on it. So I would prefer the light to be steady on
Click to expand...

Hi

This is a first pass just to show the concept.
The comparator does what it sounds like.. It compares a voltage on the (+) terminal with the voltage on the (-) terminal.
When the voltage on the (+) terminal is less than the (-) terminal, the output turns "on" (meaning it "grounds" the output).
The LED turns on when the output of the comparator is at "ground".
Potentiometer P1 sets the threshold for turning on the LED. Its set to about 3.7 volts so as to turn on the LED when the thermistor resistance decreases to below 7k. The threshold is adjustable.

Let me know what you think..

eT
 
Last edited:
Re-reading your posts, things might have changed. What do you mean by "pulsing"? Do you want the LED brightness to

a) ramp up and down with changes in temperature

b) snap on and off as the temperature crosses a threshold

c) go from dark to flashing as the temperature crosses a threshold

d) other

ak
 
AnalogKid said:
Do you want the LED brightness to

a) ramp up and down with changes in temperature

b) snap on and off as the temperature crosses a threshold

c) go from dark to flashing as the temperature crosses a threshold

d) other

ak
Click to expand...

See post #11
 
AnalogKid- ideally I want the light to fade on when the temp is above a threshold and fade off when it is below the threshold. However I'm a beginner when it comes to electronics and I'm limited on the parts I can get. So I'm looking for something simple. A light that simply turns on above a temp threshold is good enough for now.
 
eTech. Thank you. That's simple and adjustable. Perfect. Couple questions. I'm assuming "RTH" is the thermistor? What is "RS"?
 
Thejcnr said:
eTech. Thank you. That's simple and adjustable. Perfect. Couple questions. I'm assuming "RTH" is the thermistor? What is "RS"?
Click to expand...

Rs is a current limiting resistor. It prevents the thermistor from overheating which would affect its accuracy.
Do you have a part number for the thermistor your using?

eT
 
eTech said:
Rs is a current limiting resistor. It prevents the thermistor from overheating which would affect its accuracy.
Do you have a part number for the thermistor your using?

eT
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I do not. It came with another kit I got quite a while ago. Is it safe to solder directly to the LM339N or should I get a socket for it?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
Hall effect sensor circuit. I have a need to produce a simple liquid flow LED Display
Replies
5
Views
294
ZipZapOuch
J
  • Question
Want to understand
Replies
3
Views
3K
Roff
  • Question
How to Create a 12V Breathing/Fading LED Circuit with My Current Components?
2
Replies
34
Views
5K
Audrey2026
A
  • Question
Tyre inflator modification. Currently powered by cigarette lighter, want to add mains power option.
Replies
14
Views
7K
ChrisP58
K
  • Question
led after glow
Replies
14
Views
4K
Tony Stewart
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…