Manual Part 2

58
DO’S AND DON’TS OF BUILDING CIRCUITS
Placing a 3-snap wire directly
across the batteries is a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
This is also a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
When the slide switch (S1) is turned on, this large circuit has a SHORT
CIRCUIT path (as shown by the arrows). The short circuit prevents any
other portions of the circuit from ever working.
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
!
NEVER
DO!
!
Warning to Snap Circuits
®
owners: Do not connect
additional voltage sources from other sets, or you may
damage your parts. Contact ELENCO
®
if you have questions
or need guidance.
Examples of SHORT CIRCUITS - NEVER DO THESE!!!
WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD - Never connect Snap Circuits
®
to the electrical outlets in your home in any way!
After building the circuits given in this booklet, you may wish to experiment
on your own. Use the projects in this booklet as a guide, as many important
design concepts are introduced throughout them. Every circuit will include a
power source (the batteries), a resistance (which might be a resistor, melody
IC, LED (which has an internal protection resistor), motor, lamp, etc.), and wiring
paths between them and back. You must be careful not to create “short circuits”
(very low-resistance paths across the batteries, see examples below) as this
will damage components and/or quickly drain your batteries. Elenco
®
is not
responsible for parts damaged due to incorrect wiring.
Here are some important guidelines:
ALWAYS USE EYE PROTECTION WHEN EXPERIMENTING ON YOUR OWN.
ALWAYS include at least one component that will limit the current through a
circuit, such as a resistor, melody IC, an LED (which has an internal
protection resistor), lamp, or motor.
ALWAYS use switches in conjunction with other components that will limit
the current through them. Failure to do so will create a short circuit
and/or damage those parts.
ALWAYS disconnect your batteries immediately and check your wiring if
something appears to be getting hot.
ALWAYS check your wiring before turning on a circuit.
NEVER connect to an electrical outlet in your home in any way.
NEVER leave a circuit unattended when it is turned on.
For all of the projects given in this book, the parts may be arranged in different
ways without changing the circuit. For example, the order of parts connected
in series or in parallel does not matter — what matters is how combinations of
these sub-circuits are arranged together.
3D Construction: Motors or other parts that produce motion (which you may have
from other snap Circuits
®
sets) should only be mounted overhead or on walls with
great care, as the vibrations they produce could cause them to fall. The circuits in
this set have been checked with the parts shown in them.
You are encouraged to tell us about new circuits you create. If they are
unique, we will post them with your name and state on our website at
www.elenco.com/showcase.
Send your suggestions (with photos) to [e-mail].
Elenco
®
provides a circuit designer so that you can make your own
Snap Circuits
®
drawings. This Microsoft
®
Word document can be
downloaded from www.elenco.com/for-makers.