Constant Current Source LED Drive

This is a Constant Current Source LED Driver, When the LED driver Upper-NPN is driven by a voltage thru 4.7K the LED lights up. Assume that the Lower-NPN at bottom is absent. The current via LED and NPN is limited by R. 20mA may be ok 15mA even better. Or LED blows even transistor goes.

LED Voltage Level Indicator

BC547 is like 100mA-40V-200b, Limit collector current to 60mA, use it at less than 25V and depending on the individual transistor you may get a DC current amplification of 200 times. That is 1uA of base-emitter current could give a whooping 200uA of collector-emitter current.



Still Thinking we do not have the Lower-NPN we calculate the resistor. Vcc - ( 2 LEDs * 1.7) - Vce = Vr that is the voltage across the resistor. You know ohms law and the current needs to be 15mA for a bright and long lasting LED. Lastly 1.7 the forward drop of a green LED and 0.6 a saturated or Turrned-On NPN Vce.

Mains Voltage Current LED Indicators

Now you use the Lower-NPN, The above calculations do not hold anymore. Let us think a small current is flowing in the LED. Then the voltage across R is less than 0.7V, that means base-emitter diode of the Lower-NPN will not get to conduct. The Collector does not draw any current away. Now think that more current flows in LED, the voltage across R builds up above 0.7V the Lower-NPN is biased. The collector of Lower-NPN starts drinking current from the base of the Upper-NPN. So The Upper-NPN starts losing its bias. This lowers the LED current and contains, regulates or controls the LED current as shown in the formula.

High Resistance LED Meter

I don't remember if this circuit worked properly. But a few were made and i might not have shown the modifications that were done to make it work. This was meant to be a portable, low cost, insulation tester for an electrician. If you try it out and debug it it may work well.

High Resistance Insulation Materials

A negative voltage is derived by shifting gnd with two diodes, i feel this did not work very well. Two pins of CD4028 pins are also used to boost the reference to get two extra ranges as 4051 has a 100E on resistance.



The 555 clock makes 4029 counter count. But the clock can be clamped to gnd by a TL062 window comparator. The clock is frozen when the input value to comparator pin 5-2 is within a lower limit and upper limit "window" pin 3-6.

Insulation Tester

The 4029 counter BCD is decoded to decimal by 4028 which drives the LEDs, keep LED drive within 3mA or chip will be loaded. Use high efficiency extra-bright LEDs.

The 4029 BCD also controls a shunt resistor array with CMOS switches 4051. The voltage across shunt is a sample of leakage current. This is compared in the window comparator to freeze the Clock and LED display to give a reading of the leakage current or Insulation Resistance.

2N2646 based Voltage controlled SCR Pulser

A Center tap 50Hz Step Down Transformer with two diodes is used to get a train of Positive Sine Pulses at 100Hz which is applied to Q6 base via R51.

2N2646 is a unijunction transistor(UJT) in a TO-18 metal package. The control voltage or voltage proportional to error is fed to R56-Q3, The UJT drives a pulse transformer which provides isolation from the Load which the SCR bridge is controlling.



This phase angle control gives a near Linear closed loop control for a SCR bridge which may be used in Electroplating or a Preregulator of a big power supply.

High Energy Circuits

MOSFET and IGBT based systems are now more in use than Thyristor - Triac - SCR based designs in power electronics. Thyristors are more robust than many power devices.