hehe. Got a desk covered in wires at the moment. Used a simple Maplins led chaser running a 555 timer and a 4015 shift register(I sound confident but have little knowledge how they work!- i have read up a bit - high/low state etc). The LEDs are supported with 3k resistors. I bypassed the resistor on one channel and got about 10volts accross it when the LED should have lit.
Great I thought, so I whacked an ignitor accross instead. Nothing :-( and the sequence stops until I reset it (lack of resistance back to the IC I guess). So then I tried amplifying the signal, but soon realised I need to learn a lot (like I need an NPN as well as a PNP transistor).
The sims sound cool. will take a look. Currenty using Croc clips and livewire.
One thing that would help me no end... On this link, under "Interfacing 5 volt CMOS to 12 volt/ 25 Watt Loads" - what does the "51" mean - looks like a resistor to me. 51ohm resistor?. Trying to steal the amplifier and apply it to my circuit.
**broken link removed**
One more thing, on the same page, under the heading "16 Stage Bi-Directional LED Sequencer" - what are the trianges? diodes? and why is one part of the circuit floating unconnected? Sorry if I sound like a dullard, but I'm used to circuits, that, well, form circuits!
The idea (bmculla) with the Caps and FETS sounds very good. Would give the clout to run fast sequences I guess. Way beyond my current abilities
Looks like I need to trawl through my phone book and find an old pal with an oscilloscope
Will keep trying!