Forget making a LED blink. how do you even get it to turn on?
This is a walkthrough for making an LED turn on and off at will, in a small beacon for a robot's sensors to see
See Beacon.JPG
This is a small enclosure that works like a flashlight. It takes 5 minutes to build.
See Beacon Guts.JPG
The materials are all available at your local radioshack. You need a AAA battery holder, a small circuit board or breadboard, an led, a resistor, and a switch. The box is optional.
the circuit goes like this:
see Circuit.jpg and Circuit Close Up.jpg
the battery's black wire goes in anywhere. then the resistor is attached to it. on the other end of the resistor is the short leg of the LED. the long leg goes to the switch's negative pole. the red wire from the battery pack attaches to the other one.
you now have a small LED flashlight or beacon for your robot.
You do have to go out and get the components, and if he doesn’t have a car, I’d say by bike, that about an hour trip…plus lunch, maybe read up on how leds work and how resistors work just to get the right ma, mmmm, maybe a little homework in there…
EDIT: plus taking pictures, and writing any documentation on this…
The result is quite cool, i The result is quite cool, i like it encased like that. I agree on what Krumlink says, you could integrate a 555 timer, since having a modulated beacon is better than a standard one (eg: reduces noise).
benbo might i give a little contstructive criticism? the whiteboard diagram is a little hard for me to read!! maybe even a little too complicated… is there any possible way to simplify the whiteboard!!
P.S. I know with my good acting you thought I was serious… I am not. Good little project by the way.
Im new to this what could this light, or even adding the 555 circuit and upgrading to modulated light, be used for. Also description of how to add the 555 would be useful.
IR light can be used for distant finding and beacon or area location. Modulating the light at a known frequency means you can prevent the IR that comes naturally from the sun and room lighting from interfering with your readings.
Circuit diagrams for 555s can be found all over the net. Here, here and here specifically.
