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Admittedly, this is kind of a dorky, lame, ridiculous project, and built purely for amusement and aesthetics, to which I am addicted. In fact, I can't imagine anyone but me wanting to make this thing, but ...
Having said that, I love Snap Circuits - they are an elegant teaching tool, because of the practical and visual representation of a schematic. But not always the most attractive projects emerge from the box, and the complete sets themselves are ridiculously expensive and perhaps even overpriced. I discovered, though, that one can buy replacement units at a fairly "reasonable" price.
I also love the simplicity and elegance of the Joule Thief, and while most of the designs that take advantage of its power are clever and attractive, I wanted to make something both useful and pretty, So, I decided to combine Snap with Joule.
Here we go.
Having said that, I love Snap Circuits - they are an elegant teaching tool, because of the practical and visual representation of a schematic. But not always the most attractive projects emerge from the box, and the complete sets themselves are ridiculously expensive and perhaps even overpriced. I discovered, though, that one can buy replacement units at a fairly "reasonable" price.
I also love the simplicity and elegance of the Joule Thief, and while most of the designs that take advantage of its power are clever and attractive, I wanted to make something both useful and pretty, So, I decided to combine Snap with Joule.
Here we go.
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Signing UpStep 1What you need
A Joule Thief as about everyone knows is the simplest of circuits, requiring few parts that cost pennies or can be salvaged for nothing. This is way more expensive, duh.
Tools:
Hands
Hot glue gun
Wire Stripper
Diagonal Cutter
Razor knife to get the %#*$ blister pack on the light open
Materials:
From Elenco Electronics www.cs-sales.net/sncirepa.html
(3) 2 spring socket: #6SC 1 @ 2.95
(1) 1K ohm resistor #6SC R2 @ .95
(1) NPN transistor #6SC Q2 @ 2.50
(3) single snap conductor 6SC 01 @ .25
(4) two snap 6SC 02 @ .50
1 three snap 6sc 03 @ .70
1 4 snap 6sc 04 @ .90
1 jumper wire 6" 6sc3 j3e .75
mini base grid 6sc bgm 2.75
(1) Slide switch: #6SC-S 1 @ 1.25 (optional)
Total: $23.40 plus S&H
Cigar or other box with lid,
$1- ?
Gooseneck LED lamp or LED setup of choice. I got mine at
BigLots: $3.00
Wire (salvaged, free)
Toroid (salvaged, free)
Optional:
From www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/searchall.asp
(1) ziotek battery upsizer @ $3.95
(1) D cell holder .99 radioshack
Grand total: $31.34
And lots and lots of dead batteries. FREE. Maybe someone will even pay you to take them.
I think that's it.
Tools:
Hands
Hot glue gun
Wire Stripper
Diagonal Cutter
Razor knife to get the %#*$ blister pack on the light open
Materials:
From Elenco Electronics www.cs-sales.net/sncirepa.html
(3) 2 spring socket: #6SC 1 @ 2.95
(1) 1K ohm resistor #6SC R2 @ .95
(1) NPN transistor #6SC Q2 @ 2.50
(3) single snap conductor 6SC 01 @ .25
(4) two snap 6SC 02 @ .50
1 three snap 6sc 03 @ .70
1 4 snap 6sc 04 @ .90
1 jumper wire 6" 6sc3 j3e .75
mini base grid 6sc bgm 2.75
(1) Slide switch: #6SC-S 1 @ 1.25 (optional)
Total: $23.40 plus S&H
Cigar or other box with lid,
$1- ?
Gooseneck LED lamp or LED setup of choice. I got mine at
BigLots: $3.00
Wire (salvaged, free)
Toroid (salvaged, free)
Optional:
From www.x-tremegeek.com/templates/searchall.asp
(1) ziotek battery upsizer @ $3.95
(1) D cell holder .99 radioshack
Grand total: $31.34
And lots and lots of dead batteries. FREE. Maybe someone will even pay you to take them.
I think that's it.
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Great to find out where to get replacements for all the Snap Circuit components my kids have broken and lost too.
Now I'll have to look at your other instructables and see if they make me laugh as much.
I see CRTs at thrift stores all the time. Or free on craigslist. Anyway, thanks for the ONLY comment!