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The
PumLantern
PumLantern
PumLantern
Charge all day & pulse all night with
a solar-powered night-light!
The PumLantern's SCC3733 solar cell stores
power all day to release it in pleasant
"pumms" of multicoloured light all night long!
Document Revision: May 21, 2009
®
®
Skill Level:
(Soldering Reqd.)
Ltd.
Beginner
2 hrs
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Summary of Contents for Solarbotics PumLantern
- Page 1 ® PumLantern PumLantern PumLantern Charge all day & pulse all night with a solar-powered night-light! The PumLantern’s SCC3733 solar cell stores power all day to release it in pleasant “pumms” of multicoloured light all night long! ® Skill Level: Beginner 2 hrs (Soldering Reqd.)
- Page 2 Solarbotics Ltd. reserves the right to make substitutions and changes to this product without prior notice.
- Page 3 PumLantern PCB ........
- Page 4 Bad & Good Solder Joints No flow from leg to pad Solder “bridge” across pads Good Flows from leg to pad á Remember to take your time. Don’t rush. It’s almost impossible to “burn up” these parts! www.solarbotics.com Page 4 1-866-276-2687...
- Page 5 2: T HE FINE ART OF RESISTOR SELECTION The way the PumLantern “Pums” is determined by resistors R1 and R2 - the bigger the resistor, the longer the time interval between Pums. Some people like frequent blips; others more sleepy longer intervals. Or mix ’em up for a more random light show.
- Page 6 CAPACITORS Four capacitors work with the R1 and R2 resistors to make the timing circuit that drives the PumLantern. The fifth capacitor works with the 100k R3 resistor’s “dark turn-on” circuit. These capacitors don’t care which way they are installed. Just snug them down to the PCB, solder them in, and clip off the extra leads.
- Page 7 LED Cup = Cathode ( – ) Cathode ( – ) Your PumLantern lights the LEDs up in pairs LED1 & LED3, and LED2 & LED4, so if you want to colour-arrange your LEDs, here is an easy way to check them.
- Page 8 See the stripe on the side? That’s the cathode, which should be easy for you to identify because you’re expert at identify-the-cathode-by-the-lead- length now. Step 6: Bend 1000µF capacitor leads over right next to capacitor body. One to the right, the other to the left. www.solarbotics.com Page 8 1-866-276-2687...
- Page 9 If you do, they cast strange shadows on the inside of your PumLantern. Make sure you install the capacitors correctly. The longer lead (anode +) is marked on the board with a “+”, and is also the...
- Page 10 Batteries charged? Chip in right-way around? LEDs in right-way around? There’s not much else that can go wrong, so if nothing else, re-touch up Step 9c: Inspect your handiwork! You should see 4 blinky lights! your soldering! www.solarbotics.com Page 10 1-866-276-2687...
- Page 11 If you are sure all is well with your pummer, then go ahead and snug the battery pack up to the back of the PCB. Solder it in and snip the leads. Step 11: Solder in and snip battery pack leads You’re ready to assemble the lantern, and install your pummer! www.solarbotics.com Page 11 1-866-276-2687...
- Page 12 Fold the vellum paper in half, then fold each end in 1/4 again. Not clear? Here’s some pictures: Fold side 1 to middle Fold side 2 to middle then unfold. Fold in half... Unfold until it holds a sorta box-shape www.solarbotics.com Page 12 1-866-276-2687...
- Page 13 OUNT THE SOLAR CELL Before you mount your cell, you might want to think about where your Pumlantern will live. It may be best for the solar cell to be attached to one side instead of the top, so it better catches sunlight from a window.
- Page 14 IRCUIT HEORY There’s two parts to the PumLantern. The “dark turn-on” circuit, and the actual Pum circuit. Let’s start with the Pum circuit! The Pummer is based around a very simple BEAM circuit called a “Bicore”, which is simply an oscillator that has two outputs that change voltage.
- Page 15 CHEMATIC Here’s the actual circuit diagram of the PumLantern’s circuit. It’s more useful for those of you who might want to modify your PumLantern, or build a second out of parts. Tab “S” Tab “B” SCC3733 LED2 LED4 74HCT240 0.47uF...
- Page 16 Liked the PumLantern? Want more? There are several more kits Solarbotics offers for any skill level! The SolarSpeeder 2 Kit is a very quick Solaroller that can cover 3 meters (10 feet) in under 40 seconds in direct sunlight. Simple to construct and...
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