Hr PnhG[slorl[c

milmmt

DC LAMPDIMMER(E,P)
Thiscircuitcanbe usedto controltheamountof currentin an incandescent
lamp andalsoa DC motor.lf youchangethe amountof currentthrougha
lampyou changeits brightness. And if youchangethe amountof current
througha DCmotoryouchangeitsspeed.lnputvoltagecanrangefrom6 to
12 voltsandcurrentdrainin the outputis up to 2A.Youcan alsousethis
circuitin the outputof a 6V or 12Vfixedpowersupply,converting it intoa
variable 0 to 6 voltor 0 to 12voltsupply.
Thepowertransistorshouldbe mountedon a heatsink.Thecircuitcan be
fixedon the
withthetransistor
housedina smallplasticboxandtheheatsink
outside.
Thecircuitcanbe usedto controlbrightness of a car'spanellampsandin
robotics to controlDCmotorspeedalonga widerangeof values.Also,sev-
eralexperiments currentflowcontrolcan be performed
involving usingthis
circuit.
Thecircuitactsas a variableresistoror rheostatwiththe principal
current
andthe
flowingthroughthetransistor control currentflowingthroughthe po-
Currentthroughthepotentiometer
tentiometer. is onlya fewmilliamperes.

diagramof the DC dimmeris shownin Figurc t. Ql is an

The schematic
andtheprincipal
NPNpowertransistor componentusedin thisproject.

Components doesnot showon

layoutis shownin Figure2. Thetransistor
the heatsink,however.
Equivalent canbe used,buttakecarewiththe maximum
transistors current
theycan control.Typessuchas TlP31andTlP41can be usedto control
lampsup to 2 amperes. in Rl valuemustbe
Also,a furthermodification
madeto ensurethat,whenP1is set nearits minimum value,thatcurrentis
flowingthroughthelamP.
areused,takecarewiththeirterminalpositions,
transistors
lf equivalent as
theycanbe ditferent.

-
AD
 Prrfoct12 DG
hmr Iilmmu

F1 Q1
5A 2N3055
+12V

IN

oul
I:

Figure I

Figure2

t3
Hr]||Fc0tffimDculmffir

PartsList - DCLampDimmer
Q1 - 2N3055 SiliconNPNpowertransistor

P1 - 4,700ohm potentiometer

R1 - 470ohm,2W,.5"/"resistor
:
F1 - 5A fuse

ldeasto Explore
Tolearnmoreaboutthecircuitor to getbetterperformance:
o Youcan usea PNPpowertransistor, inputpolarization.
inverting
ExplainwhythiscircuitcanonlycontrolDCcurrents.
o A Darlington canbe usedto reducecurrentflowthrough
transistor
the potentiometer.
Replace P1witha 100,000ohmcommonpotenti-
ometerand Rl witha 10,000ohm,1/4wattresistorwhenusinga
powertransistor.
Darlington TlPl10canbe usedin thiscase.
o Whatis a rheostat?
Scienceanduncommon
applications:
o Youcan usethiscircuitto controlbrightnessof microscopelight
A 6V lampcanbe usedfor thattaskandthiscircuitwillbe
sources.
wiredbetweenthe lampand a 6V powersupply.The 6V regulated
powersupplydescribed
in thisbookis idealforthisapplication.
o Experiments in electrolysis canbe current-flow
andelectroplating
by usingthiscircuit.
controlled
a Thiscircuitcan be usedto controlsmallmotorsin roboticsor in
physics
experiments.

tl
 ffi|m n mllmDllmmei

o The amountof currentin currentfieldscan be controlledby using

this circuitand a DC powersupply.Experimentsinvolvingelectrotro-
pismcan be attempted. Try to put plantswithina coil to observethe
influenceof the magneticfield on theirgrowthand development. Re-
memberthat there is a magneticfield arounda coil of wire that is
carryinga current.

Figure3 showshowthis experimentcan be arranged.

The coil is formedby 10 to 50 turnsof commonNo.1I to 22wirearounda

cardboardboxor woodform.An ammeterin serieswiththe coilcircuitcan be
usedto controlthe amountof currentusedin the experiment.

Rememberthat too much currentwill causethe coil and the transistorto

overheat.lt is a good ideato add a lampin serieswith the coil circuit.The
lampwill add resistanceto the coil circuit,reducingcurrentflow to a safe
level.

Figure 3

t5