User Manual

-4-
About Your Snap Circuits
®
Parts
(Part designs are subject to change without
notice).
BASE GRID
The blue snap wires
are wires used to
connect components.
They are used to
transport electricity and do
not affect circuit performance.
They come in different lengths to
allow orderly arrangement of connections
on the base grid.
The jumper
wires (red,
black, orange,
& blue) make
flexible connections for
times when using the snap
wires would be difficult. They also are used to
make connections off the base grid.
Wires transport electricity just like pipes are used
to transport water. The colorful plastic coating
protects them and prevents electricity from
getting in or out.
BATTERY HOLDER
The base grid is a platform for mounting parts
and wires. It functions like the printed circuit
boards used in most electronic products, or like
how the walls are used for mounting the electrical
wiring in your home.
SNAP WIRES & JUMPER WIRES
The batteries (B3) produce an electrical voltage
using a chemical reaction. This “voltage” can be
thought of as electrical pressure, pushing
electricity through a circuit just like a pump
pushes water through pipes. This voltage is
much lower and much safer than that used in
your house wiring. Using more batteries
increases the “pressure”, therefore, more
electricity flows.
Battery Holder (B3)
The selector (S8) is a more complex switch that
will often be used with the LED MC (U29).
Selector (S8)
Slide &Press
Switches
(S1 & S2)
SLIDE&PRESS SWITCHES
The slide & press switches (S1 &S2) connect
(pressed or “ON”) or disconnect (not pressed or
“OFF”) the wires in a circuit. When ON they have no
effect on circuit performance. Switches turn on
electricity just like a faucet turns on water from a pipe.
For people familiar with schematic diagrams, the
schematic for the selector looks like this:
The speaker (SP2)
converts electricity into
sound by making
mechanical vibrations.
These vibrations create
variations in air
pressure, which travel
across the room. You
“hear” sound when your
ears feel these air
pressure variations.
SPEAKER
Speaker (SP2)