Elenco Circuit Maker Sound Plus 200 - Manual (Page 9)

DOs and DON’Ts of Building Circuits
After building the circuits given in this booklet, you may wish to experiment on
your own. Use the projects in this booklet as a guide, as many important design
concepts are introduced throughout them. Every circuit will include a power
source (the batteries), a resistance (which might be a resistor, capacitor, speaker,
integrated circuit, etc.), and wiring paths between them and back. You must be
careful not to create “short circuits” (very low-resistance paths across the
batteries, see examples at right) as this will damage components and/or quickly
drain your batteries. Only connect the ICs using configurations given in the
projects, incorrectly doing so may damage them. ELENCO ® is not responsible
for parts damaged due to incorrect wiring.
Here are some important guidelines:
ALWAYS USE EYE PROTECTION WHEN EXPERIMENTING ON YOUR
OWN.
ALWAYS include at least one component that will limit the current through a
circuit, such as the speaker, lamp, ICs (which must be connected
properly), motor, photoresistor, or resistor.
ALWAYS use the LED, NPN transistor, and switches in conjunction with other
components that will limit the current through them. Failure to do so
will create a short circuit and/or damage those parts.
ALWAYS disconnect your batteries immediately and check your wiring if
something appears to be getting hot.
ALWAYS check your wiring before turning on a circuit.
ALWAYS connect capacitors so that the “+” side gets the higher voltage.
ALWAYS connect ICs using configurations given in the projects or as per the
connection descriptions for the parts.
NEVER connect to an electrical outlet in your home in any way.
NEVER leave a circuit unattended when it is turned on.
NEVER touch the motor when it is spinning at high speed.
For all of the projects given in this book, the parts may be arranged in different
ways without changing the circuit. For example, the order of parts connected in
series or in parallel does not matter — what matters is how combinations of these
sub-circuits are arranged together.
Placing a 3-snap wire directly
across the batteries is a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
When the slide switch (S1) is turned on, this large circuit has a SHORT
CIRCUIT path (as shown by the arrows). The short circuit prevents any
other portions of the circuit from ever working.
NEVER
DO!
Examples of SHORT CIRCUITS - NEVER DO THESE!!!
Warning to Circuit Maker owners: Do not connect
additional voltage sources from other sets, or you
may damage your parts. Contact ELENCO ® if you
have questions or need guidance.
WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD - Never connect Circuit Maker
Sound Plus 200 to the electrical outlets in your home in any way!
!
!
-8-
This is also a SHORT CIRCUIT.
NEVER
DO!
!
NEVER
DO!
!
NEVER
DO!
!
CAUTION: Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc), or
rechargeable (nickel-cadmium) batteries.
!
CM-200_Manual_031914.qxp_CM-200_Manual_031914 4/2/14 12:04 PM Page 9