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This is a selection of simple self-contained transistor based alarm circuits - complete with photographs. They are designed around the Complementary Latch. All may be triggered by both normally-open and normally-closed switches. They have a very low standby current - and are ideal for battery operation.... [read more]

This circuit will emit an intermittent beep (or will flash a LED) when the water contained into a recipient has reached the desired level. It should be mounted on top of the recipient (e.g. a plastic tank) by means of two crocodile clips, acting also as probes. If a deeper sensing level is needed, the clips can be extended by means of two pieces of stiff wire (see pictures).... [read more]

This NiCd battery Charger can charge up to 7 NiCd batteries connected in series. This number can be increased if the power supply is increased with 1.65V for each supplementary battery. If Q2 is mounted on a proper heatsink, the input voltage can be increased at a maximum of 25V. Unlike most of comercial NiCd chargers available on the market, this charger has a reverse polarity protection. Another great quality is that it does not discharge the battery if the charger is disconnected from the power supply.... [read more]

All miniature electronic devices operate off batteries. Some of them need higher than the standard battery voltages to operate efficiently. If the battery of that specific voltage is unavailable, we are forced to connect additional cells in series to step up the DC voltage. Thus, the true meaning of miniaturisation is lost. A simple way to overcome this problem is to employ a voltage doubler, if the device under consideration can operate at a small current.... [read more]

This circuit uses an LM11 to form a voltage follower with 1G ohm input resistance built using standard resistor values. With the input disconnected, the input offset voltage is multiplied by the same factor as R2; but the added error is small because the offset voltage of the LM11 is so low. When the input is connected to a source less than 1G ohm, this error is reduced. For an ac-coupled input a second 10M resistor could be connected in series with the inverting input to virtually eliminate bias current error; bypassing it would give minimal noise.... [read more]

When the water-level is below the steel rods, no contact is occurring from the metal can and the rods, which are supported by a small insulated (wooden) board. The small circuit built around IC1 draws no current and therefore no voltage drop is generated across R5. IC2A, IC2B and Q1 are wired as a window comparator and, as there is zero voltage at input pins #2 and #5, D3 will illuminate. When the water comes in contact with the first rod, pin #13 of IC1 will go high, as its input pins #9 to #12 were shorted to negative by means of the water contact.... [read more]