Lamp/Lamp Control Electronic Circuits

Lamp / Light Control Circuits
Lamp Controls: #'s - B C - K L - M N - S T-Z

Last Updated: June 02, 2021 01:45 PM

Circuits Designed by Dave Johnson, P.E. :

1 Watt Fluorescent Lamp Night LightIf you are tired of replacing small night light lamps, try this circuit. The line powered circuit uses a long life cold cathode fluorescent lamp. A simple charge pump technique runs the lamp without any transformer. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-March, 1999

1.5v LED Flasher Version AMany published circuits that flash LEDs need 3 volts or more. This circuit uses only a single inexpensive C-MOS IC and flashes the LED for a full year on a single 1.5 volt AA alkaline battery cell. The circuit uses a charge pump technique to provide. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

1.5V Touch Activated SwitchA single 1.5v silver oxide button cell powers this complete touch activated switch circuit for 5 years. It features both a normally open and a normally closed set of solid-state switch thermals. It also has an adjustable sensitivity, which can be set for a touch capacitance change as small as 1 picofarad.. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-January, 2002

10 LED Sequential Flasher using Low PowrA while back I posted a flasher circuit which flashed 10 LEDs sequentially. That circuit was powered by four AA alkaline cells. The circuit below operates much the same way but has been modified to run from a single 3v CR2032 lithium coin cell. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-April, 2011

12 Volt Lite/Dark Lamp SwitchOften, for certain low voltage lighting systems; you would like to turn off the lights during the bright light of the day. Most commercial day/night switches are designed for AC lighting. The circuit below was designed for a 12v DC system. But, it could be modified for other voltage as well. It uses an inexpensive phototransistor as the light detector. . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-June, 2008

12v Light/Dark Lamp SwitchAt night, this circuit will route current to a 12v lamp, turning it on. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

12v Touch Switch Exciter CircuitThis circuit is designed to generate a 20KHz pseudo sine wave signal that can power about 50 remote touch activated switch circuits. It can support a cable length of about 2500 feet. A typical remote switch circuit is also shown as well as a receiver circuit for those switches.. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-February, 2002

14v LED AuxiliaryLamp with a 60 Watt LampThis circuit controls power to a standard 60 watt lamp plus generates an auxiliary 14v DC supply which can power an automotive style 12 LED array . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

1W White LED Night LightAs many of you know, I have a pet peeve with poorly made LED night lights. Often, the light from the LED quickly fades, so within months, the light is useless. I have posted several versions of modified night lights using higher quality components. This circuit is yet another version, which produces much more light than those other designs. . . . Hobby Circuit designed by Dave Johnson P.E.-November, 2008

3 Minute LED Closet LightThe circuit below is powered by three 1.5v alkaline AA cells. With a finger tap to the pushbutton trigger switch, a cluster of 6 wide angle white LEDs is turned on. The lights remain on for about 3 minutes, then will turn off. The circuit’s standby current . . . Hobby Circuit designed by Dave Johnson P.E.-November, 2010

3 Volt Low Battery Voltage FlasherThis circuit is designed to monitor two alkaline cells (3v) that form the battery often used in portable electronic equipment. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-January, 1998

3-Minute Closet LightI have a coat closet by my front door. The thing is very dark at night and really needs some kind of illumination inside. I could hire an electrician to install a light in the closet ceiling and then wire it to a toggle switch outside the door but that would cost me quite a bit of money. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-December, 2011

3-Minute Closet Light #2The circuit below is powered by three 1.5v alkaline AA cells. With a finger tap to the pushbutton trigger switch, a cluster of 6 wide angle white LEDs is turned on. The lights remain on for about 3 minutes, then will turn off. The circuit’s standby current is only a few microamps. A set of fresh batteries should last at least 200 light applications. The circuit uses a Schmitt trigger inverter and two transistors. When the pushbutton switch S1 is pressed, the 10uF capacitor C1 is discharged. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-November, 2010

3v Powered Super Bright LED FlasherI have posted several kinds of LED flashers over the years. This is yet one more flasher, designed to flash any high power LED of any color. It hits the LED with a 25ms 250ma pulse once every 2 seconds. This works out to an average current about 3ma. It . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-April, 2009

3v Universal LED FlasherThis low power LED flasher circuit draws about 100ua from any DC power supply ranging from 3 volts to 24 volts. The 1.0Hz 10ms LED pulsed current is held to a constant 10ma . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

5w Fluorescent Lamp Intensity ModulatorThe circuit was designed to experiment with using small fluorescent lamps as a broad pattern source of modulated light. The circuit hits the small lamp with narrow 1us pulses at a rate of 10KHz. Each pulse launches about 10 watts of visible light. The lamp. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

60 Watt Lamp with Auxiliary 14v LED LampThis circuit controls power to a standard 60 watt lamp plus generates an auxiliary 14v DC supply which can power an automotive style 12 LED array. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

6V to 24V DC Day/Night SwitchUsing an inexpensive phototransistor, this circuit switches 12v to 24v power to a load, whenever the sun goes down. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

9v Powered Xenon Photoflash ControllerThis 9v battery powered circuit is designed for remote control flash needs. A charge control circuit turns off the high voltage generator when the photoflash capacitor is fully charged. A neon lamp is included to indicate when the system is ready to flash. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Advertising Badge #1 with Flashing LEDI have seen numerous flashing light badges at trade shows and conventions. They are often handed out as gifts to promote some business. The devices often use inefficient circuits, which cause the battery power source to be quickly depleted. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Advertising Badge #2 with Flashing LEDThis circuit uses a CD4013 dual D Flip/Flop IC. A single lithium battery will provide months of continuous LED flashing. It also has a tiny push-button switch to turn on and off the light flashing. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Amplifier for a Xenon Lamp Flash Detector - This circuit has a very low standby current requirement yet has very high sensitivity toward the light flashes from a xenon lamp. When connected to a flip/flop it can serve as an on on/off Controller. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-February, 2002

Battery Free LED FlasherLED flashers have been used for a wide variety of applications. Some flasher units have been used in food and hardware stores, to draw attention to sale items and are often attached to boxes which dispense product discount coupons. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-December, 2010

Battery-Powered LED Flashing Advertising #2This circuit is similar to flashing LED advertising badge #1. It uses a CD4013 dual D Flip/Flop IC. The 74HCT74 IC in #81 does not always work. As in #81, a single lithium battery will provide months of continuous LED flashing. . . . Hobby Circuit designed by Dave Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Links to electronic circuits, electronic schematics and designs for engineers, hobbyists, students & inventors:

2 Transistor Flasher - The basic two-transistor flasher shown below has found its way into dozens of applications due to its simplicity and versatility. Applications have included such diverse circuits as a micropower low battery indicator, a lightning detector, a off-line. __ Contact: Charles Wenzel of Wenzel Associates, Inc.

2 Transistor LED Flasher - This 1.5 volt led fasher runs more than a year on a single 'd" cell and alternately flashes 2 LEDs at about a 1 second rate. The circuit employs a 74HC14 CMOS hex inverter that will operate at very low voltages (less than 1 volt) . One section is used as a squarewave oscillator (pins 1 and 2) , while the others are wired to produce a short 10mS pulse on alternate edges of the square wave so the LEDs will alternate back and forth. The output sections each use a capacitor charge pump to increase the voltage for the LEDs __ Designed by Bill Bowden

2 Transistor LED Flasher - This circuit will flash a bright red LED as an attention getting device or fake care alarm. __ Designed by Bill Bowden

2 Transistor LED Flasher - This is a classic 2 transistor astable multivibrator. Many other NPN small signal or switching transistors can be used, including 2N4401, PN2222 or 2N2222 using the circuit on the left. The circuit can also be inverted using PNP transistors. __ Designed by Bill's Electronics Reference Library

2 Transistor LED Flasher - Classic astable multivibrator using 2 transistors. Transistor is not critical. Try these: 2N4401, 2N2222, NTE123A, NTE123AP, NTE159, TUP/TUN and those in your junk box, you may find that most of them will work. __ Designed by Tony van Roon VA3AVR

2 Transistor LED Flasher 1 - Circuit Only __ Designed by Tony van Roon VA3AVR

2 Transistor LED Flasher 2 - This circuit will flash a super-bright LED (5000+ mcd) . Good for fake car alarm or other attention getting device. Component values are not critical, try anything else first from your junkbox. Obviously, the 470 ohm resistor (R3) determines the LED's brightness and limits the current flow to about 20mA.390 ohm can also be used as a save value. If you decide to go with a green or yellow led, which draw more current, you may want to replace the 470 ohm with an appropriate value. Flash rate is determined by R2 and C1 __ Designed by Tony van Roon VA3AVR

2 transistor lights LEDs - 04/09/09 EDN-Design Ideas A previous Design Ideasdescribes a circuit that uses an astable multivibrator to drive an LED (Reference 1]. The circuit in Figure 1 uses a simpler alternative approach. The circuit uses a 2N3904 NPN transistor and a 2N3906 PNP trans Design by Barry A Tigner, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

2 Wire Lamp Flasher - This circuit was designed to provide that continuous light lamps already wired into a circuit, become flashing. Simply insert the circuit between existing lamp and negative supply. __ Contact: Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

200W Lamp Flasher - 200W Lamp Flasher kit is used to flash lamps, bulbs and halogen lamp to give your product that attracting look. __ Designed by Rajkumar Sharma

20mA LED Ballast - (corrected text) I use this circuit for general use to power white LEDs, like a headset light I use on my desk and a keyboard light for my computer. I built it into a tiny Radio Shack project box (270-288) , which y no longer sell. I put heat-shrink tubing __ Designed by Andrew R. Morris

220v AC Powered Blinking Led - I needed a pulsating light for a certain signaling. Voltage was 230V. So I decided to make a simple circuit, consisted of a LED diode, two capacitors, two resistors, a diac and a diode. Activity of the circuit is extraordinarily simple. The capacitor charges by the diode and the resistor. When the voltage on the

220V Blinking LED - This is a simple blinking led circuit powered from 220V that can be used to mark special places or as voltage indicator. The voltage from the mains charges the capacitor through R1 resistor and D1 diode.

220V Non Dimming Ballast - Efficient fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts have been the standard lighting fixture in commercial and industrial lighting for many years. Several lamp types, rapid start, high output, and others are available for cost effective and special applications. This user guide covers operation and development details of the non-dimmable version of our fluorescent ballast for operating a variety of lamps that are available today. __ Designed by AT89RFD-10 / EVLB002

220V Solid State Flashing Lamp with 555 - This 220V mains operated solid state flashing lamp circuit uses a 555 timer IC to control the ON and OFF times of a TRIAC which controls power to the load. The power supply for the IC is obtained by half wave rectifier (D1) , a stabilizer circuit (D2 and R1) and filter capacitor C1. The lamp stays ON for about 1 second and OFF __ Designed by Popescu Marian

230 Volt Dimmer - Find out how to put together a simple but efficient PWM dimmer circuit for LEDs. __ Designed by REUK-Renewable Energy UK website

230 Volts Flashing Lamps - This circuit is intended as a reliable replacement to thermally-activated switches used for Christmas tree lamp-flashing. The device formed by Q1, Q2 and related resistors triggers the SCR.__ Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

230V Blinking LED - This design can be of some interest for those wanting striking light signs, as it can drive up to three 230V lamp strings in three operating modes. The 15V dc supply is obtained from a nominal 230/24V center tapped ac transformer (T1) and a full wave rectifier __ Contact: Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

230V Dimmer - A reliable and efficient all-around performer. I boughtkit because it didn't cost me much more thancomponents were worth and I also got a nice professional-made PCB inside. As you can see, this is a tried-and-true diac & TRIAC combination that offers both simplicity and high performance. With a load up to 3.5A, power rating is 750W at 230V. A heat sink onTRIAC is a must!__ tomzi.geo page

230V Rotating & Blinking LED - This design can be of some interest for those wanting striking light signs, as it can drive up to three 230V lamp strings in three operating modes. The 15V dc supply is obtained from a nominal 230/24V center tapped ac transformer (T1) and a full wave rectifier __ Contact: Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

230VAC Lamp Toggle Switch - Compact, transformerless circuitry; No relays employed __ Contact: Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

25 LED Chaser (Sequencer) - A Fairly Simple C-Mos Circuit. __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

25 Light Sequencer using Xmas Lamps - This circuit above can drive 25 small Xmas lights. The lights operate at about 200mA and 3 volts. The supply voltage is set to 5 volts and the 4017 counter output will drop about a volt using the 2N3053 transistors. The voltage on the emitters of the rows transistors will be about 0.7 volts less than the base so the lamp voltage will be about 3 volts. You can __ Designed by Bill Bowden

250ksps 16-Bit Micropower ADC offers an Excellent Combination of Size Power & Speed - DN294 Design Notes__ Linear Technology/Analog Devices

2-wire DC Lamp Dimmer replaces Rheostats - 10/23/97 EDN-Design Ideas Originally for use in commercial trucks, a low-cost dc lamp dimmer (Figure 1) can control more than 100W of incandescent panel lighting and replaces a high-power rheostat, whose heating darkensinstrument panel. Design by Kevan O'Meara, KO Systems, Chatsworth, CA

2-wire Lamp Flasher - This circuit was designed to provide that continuous light lamps already wired into a circuit, become flashing. Simply insert the circuit between existing lamp and negative supply. __ Contact: Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

3 Channel Color Organ for a Car - An Active Filter Design. __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

3 Channel-Color Organ - An old ideabut I've had numerous requests for a good design for this __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

3 Minute LED Closet Light - The circuit below is powered by three 1.5v alkaline AA cells. With a finger tap to the pushbutton trigger switch, a cluster of 6 wide angle white LEDs is turned on. The lights remain on for about 3 minutes, then will turn off. The circuit’s standby current . . . Hobby Circuit designed by Dave Johnson P.E.-November, 2010

3 Volt Low Battery Voltage Flasher - This circuit is designed to monitor two alkaline cells (3v) that form the battery often used in portable electronic equipment. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-January, 1998

3 Xenon flashings found in flash for disposable cameras - You are going to like this project. It costs less than $3.00, contains six BUI - LDING BLOCKS, re-cycles a disposable flash camera and you are going to learn a lot about electronics.
Everyone has seen a disposable flash camera. __ Contact: Collin Mitchell

30W White LED Automotive Headlamp Driver with Thermal Derating - The LT3756, LT3756-1 and LT3756-2 are DC/DC controllers designed to operate as a constant-current source for driving high current LEDs. They drive a low side external N-channel power MOSFET from an internal regulated 7.15V supply. The fixed frequency, current-mode architecture results in stable operation over a wide range of __ Linear Technology/Analog Devices App Note, Jul 20th 2010

36 LED Chaser - example of multiplexed display to produce a chaserled's were mounted in a circle __ Contact: P. Townshend EduTek Ltd

3-Minute Closet Light - I have a coat closet by my front door. The thing is very dark at night and really needs some kind of illumination inside. I could hire an electrician to install a light in the closet ceiling and then wire it to a toggle switch outside the door but that would cost me quite a bit of money. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-December, 2011

3-Minute Closet Light #2 - The circuit below is powered by three 1.5v alkaline AA cells. With a finger tap to the pushbutton trigger switch, a cluster of 6 wide angle white LEDs is turned on. The lights remain on for about 3 minutes, then will turn off. The circuit’s standby current is only a few microamps. A set of fresh batteries should last at least 200 light applications. The circuit uses a Schmitt trigger inverter and two transistors. When the pushbutton switch S1 is pressed, the 10uF capacitor C1 is discharged. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-November, 2010

3rd Brake Light - This circuit is NOT a pulser or flasher! What's so special about this circuit? Well, the first third-brake light I installed I had to pull a wire from the Third Brake Light all the way underneath the carpet to the brake-pedal-switch and I thought it would be easier to pluck the signal of both brakelights via the trunk. Bench-test your circuit first and apply power to the circuit, __ Designed by Tony van Roon VA3AVR

3rd Brake Light Pulser - Several years ago these flashers were introduced in the automotive industry as part of the third brake light and contained strobe lights (and strobing continuously for the duration of pressing the break pedal) but got abandoned almost immediately sometime later because of the 'strobe' effect it has on some people. This circuit has become obsolet since much better circuits are available these days without the 'lag' in between brakes caused by R4 and C3. One of the circuits is listed below __ Designed by Tony van Roon VA3AVR

3V LED Chaser - There are many 9V chaser circuits that seem to waste about 7V when driving LEDs that are only about 2V. This project is unique, because it uses only two inexpensive alkaline battery cells totaling 3V for power. Since most of the waste is eliminated, the cells last a long time. Unlike the other circuits, this one flashes the LEDs for only about 30ms each, further extending the battery life. For user convenience, it has a stepper speed control and a brightness control. At slower speeds and with reduced brightness, __ Contact: IQ Technologies

3V LED chaser using 4017 - There are many 9V chaser circuits that seem to waste about 7V when driving LEDs that are only about 2V. This project is unique, because it uses only two inexpensive alkaline battery cells totaling 3V for power. Since most of the waste is eliminated, the cells last a long time. __ Designed by Audioguru

3v Powered Super Bright LED Flasher - I have posted several kinds of LED flashers over the years. This is yet one more flasher, designed to flash any high power LED of any color. It hits the LED with a 25ms 250ma pulse once every 2 seconds. This works out to an average current about 3ma. It . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-April, 2009

3v Universal LED Flasher - This low power LED flasher circuit draws about 100ua from any DC power supply ranging from 3 volts to 24 volts. The 1.0Hz 10ms LED pulsed current is held to a constant 10ma . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

3-Way Dimming CFL Ballast - 3 way dimming system widely adopted inUS with conventional filament lamps consists of a light bulb that has a modified Edison screw type base which allows 3 connections to be made to a special lamp socket that also has 3 connections.

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Lamp Controls: #'s - B C - K L - M N - S T-Z