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


Last Updated: June 02, 2021 01:45 PM

Got Designs?
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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

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


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

4 Channel CAR Color Organ -  Back in the 1970's these were popular for use in homes and the colored bulbs were typically place in a box with a sheet of "rippled/bubbled" Plastic in front to break up the light patterns.  Some units gave very impressive light patterns.   __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

4 Channel Dimmer Rack -  Note: This document describes my light dimmer project I have made.  This document is not ment to be a full construction project and it might lack some details.  The document is designed as an example those who might think to design and build their own dimmer circuit.  If you are plannign to take such project then I must warn you that you must know quite a bit of safetu issues before even thinking of building this kind of device which is connected directly to mains and controls lots of power    (mistakes might mean electrical safety and fire safety dangers) .   __ Designed by Tomi Engdahl

4 Channel, 12 Volt Color Organ for a car -  Back in the 1970's these were popular for use in homes and the colored bulbs were typically place in a box with a sheet of "rippled/bubbled" Plastic in front to break up the light patterns.  Some units gave very impressive light patterns.   __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

4 DIPs provide as many as 80 sequential-LED outputs -  08/21/08 EDN-Design Ideas A simple circuit uses HCMOS parts and adds one 74HC540 to multiplex the outputs of two 4017 counters for as many as 80 outputs Design by Greg Carkner, Cobourg, ON, Canada

40 LED Bicycle Light 555 Timer 6 Volt -  The 555 circuit below is a flashing bicycle light powered with four C, D or AA cells    (6 volts) .  Two sets of 20 LEDs will alternately flash at approximately 4.7 cycles per second using RC values shown    (4.7K for R1, 150K for R2 and a 1uF capacitor) .  Time intervals for the two lamps are about 107 milliseconds    (T1, upper LEDs) and 104 milliseconds    (T2 lower LEDs)  __ Designed by Bill Bowden

40 Watt Fluorescent Lamp Inverter -  This40W fluorescent lamp inverter allows you to run40W fluorescent tubes from any12V source capable of delivering3A.   __ Designed by Aaron Cake

42 Watt Compact Fluorescent Ballast -  CFL-2 is an electronic ballast design for driving a 42 watt compact fluorescent lamp from a 120 or 230 volt AC line.  circuit was designed usingIR2156 Ballast Driver IC.  main features of circuit are programmable frequency, preheat time, over-current threshold and dead time.  

5 Channel Dimmer Rack -  Note: This document describes my light dimmer project I have made.  This document is not ment to be a full construction project and it might lack some details.  The document is designed as an example those who might think to design and build their own dimmer circuit.  If you are plannign to take such project then I must warn you that you must know quite a bit of safetu issues before even thinking of building this kind of device which is connected directly to mains and controls lots of power    (mistakes might mean electrical safety and fire safety dangers) .   __ Designed by Tomi Engdahl

4 Channel Dimmer Rack -  Note: This document describes my light dimmer project I have made.  This document is not meant to be a full construction project and it might lack some details.  The document is designed as an example those who might think to design and build their own dimmer circuit.  If you are plannign to take such project then I must warn you that you must know quite a bit of safetu issues before even thinking of building this kind of device which is connected directly to mains and controls lots of power    (mistakes might mean electrical safety and fire safety dangers) .   __ Designed by Tomi Engdahl

4 Channel HOME Color Organ -  FOUR Channels.  All Channels are Active Band Pass Filters.   __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

50W White LED Automotive Headlamp Driver -  The LT3755, LT3755-1 and LT3755-2 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

555 Christmas Lights -  This 555 flasher project is an exception.  This is a take-off on the previous Firefly Lights Circuit posting.  I had a strip of four tiny PCB’s remaining, so I built them up before __ Designed by Jim Keith

555 LED Flasher -  This is a small size led flasher built with the 555 timer IC that is powered from 2 x 1.5V batteries.  The circuit can be used as a flashing metronome, dark room timer, memo-reminder or other similar applications.   __ Designed by Popescu Marian

5w Fluorescent Lamp Intensity Modulator -  The 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

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

60 Watt Lamp with Auxiliary 14v LED Lamp -  This 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 Switch -  Using 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

6V to 24V DC Day/Night Switch -  Using 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

6V ultra-bright LED chaser using 74HC4017 -  This is a spectacular but completely useless project.  It lights Ultra-Bright LEDs in a sequence and each LED flashes brightly very briefly.  The LEDs light-up going around and around since they are mounted in a circle    (on a CD) , then they pause __ Designed by Audioguru

7 Channel Auto Reverse Sequential Disco Running Lights -  From 230 V AC a DC supply of + 5 V is obtained.  The power supply is given to the other blocks.  The pulse generator at a particular frequency generates the clock pulses.  The clock pulses are counted by a counter and gives output after every 10 pulses  __ Contact: IQ Technologies

7 Component Regulated LED Lamp -  This is a minimal parts lamp made with four white LEDs.  It features regulated light output from 10V to around 20V and works well as a flashlight.   __ Designed by G. Forrest Cook

75 MHz Hallogene Lamp Radio-Controlled -  This circuit is a 73 MHz Hallogene Lamp Radio-Controlled.  The purpose of it is to control the power state of a hallogene lamp by a remote control.  When we press the push botton of the remonte control, the power state of the lamp will be changed, so, if the lamp was turned on, it will turned off and if it was turned on, it will turned off.  If we press to the button another time, the same action will be occured.  When the button is pressed, a LED indicator lights on the remote control __ Designed by Serge Saati

81-LED Chaser Light using CD4 017 -  This is a simple 81-LED chaser light using two CD4017 decade counters.  NE555 timer is used for clock generation for CD4017.  We have used only two CD4017 ICs to construct the...__ Electronics Projects for You

8W Fluorescent lamp driver -  Here is the schematic of a simple fluorescent lamp driver circuit based on two transistors.  The circuit uses capacitive ballasting for driving the tube.  An 8 W standard fluorescent tube can be efficiently driven using the circuit.  The two __ Designed by Radio LocMan

8x8 Animated LED Signboard -  The firmware supplied incurrent sourcecode archive is VERY BASIC.  I do intend to draw more patterns.  However, a vast workload coupled with possible emigration has putfinished firmware on hold.  Please do go ahead and build this circuit thoughsupplied firmware is fully functional.  You can have hours of fun designing your own patterns and effects!UsesPIC16F84 __ Designed by Lewin A.R.W. Edwards

9 Second LED Relay Timer -  This circuit provides a visual 9 second delay using a 7 segment digital readout LED.  When the switch is closed, the CD4010 up/down counter is preset to 9 and the 555 timer is disabled with the output held high.  When the switch is opened,  __ Designed by Bill Bowden

94% Efficient 25W White LED Automotive Headlamp Driver -  The LT3956 is a DC/DC converter designed to operate as a constant-current source and constant-voltage regulator.  It is ideally suited for driving high current LEDs.  It features an internal low side N-channel power MOSFET rated for 84V at 3.3 A and driven from an internal regulated 7.15V supply.  The fixed frequency, current-mode __ Linear Technology/Analog Devices App Note, Jul 20th 2010

9v Powered Xenon Photoflash Controller -  This 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

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