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Maxitronix Electronics Lab 300 in 1, BROKE ON THE FIRST DAY??

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Discussion in 'General Electronics Discussion' started by IanPSwift, Oct 25, 2011.

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  1. Oct 25, 2011 #1
    IanPSwift

    IanPSwift

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    Sep 17, 2011
    I purchased the Maxitronix Electronics Lab 300 in 1, (I'd seen recommendations for it on some forum or another). I did the first experiment and was up in arms with what I had created. It was everything I had been looking for in an electronics kit, and more. I skipped ahead a few experiments and got to the introductory ones (how a resistor works, etc). When I realized that applying a higher voltage would make the LED brighter, I was senselessly tempted to see how bright I could make it. I plugged the 9V chord directly into the LED.

    It flashed and went blank.

    Since then I haven't been able to get a light in not only that LED but ANY of the LEDs. It would make no sense that LEDs that aren't connected to that one would get fried too. What happened? The batteries are fine, because I've tested on the speaker. Could anyone tell me what is going wrong???
     
  2. Oct 25, 2011 #2
    alfa88

    alfa88

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    Dec 1, 2010
    Steps

    With a suggested series resistor selected, connect up a LED. The positive goes to the Anode. Anodes are usually identified by being the longer of the 2 leads, a flat on the rim or by looking at the inards of the LED. The Anode is the smaller of the 2 segments. If you still don;t get a light then change the battery. If after that you don;t get a light you need to buy some new LEDs.
     
  3. Oct 25, 2011 #3
    IanPSwift

    IanPSwift

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    Sep 17, 2011
    The speakers are still working. It's not the battery. Also the LEDs are built in to the kit.
     
  4. Oct 25, 2011 #4
    davelectronic

    davelectronic

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    Dec 13, 2010
    Electronics lab kit

    Hi there. You have either done what Alfa88 says, or you might have damgaged rails or tracks on the prototype board, but i would think your first reply is whats happened, you can get led's brighter to some extent by dropping resistance, but not beyond the current the led functions at, or at best it wont last long, and at worst die as soon as power is applied. Dont give up on it, we have all had misfortune at some time or other, try to follow the components needs in the circuit, results will be better.
    Dave.
     
  5. Oct 25, 2011 #5
    alfa88

    alfa88

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    Dec 1, 2010
    It takes very little power to make a speaker make a popping sound. A test you could do without the aid of a voltmeter would be to touch the battery on your tongue. Seriously. A good battery will produce a very unpleasant .'buzz' a weak one only a tingle. By the way putting a battery across a speaker is another bad practice. Get yourself a multimeter.
     
  6. Oct 25, 2011 #6
    KJ6EAD

    KJ6EAD

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    Aug 13, 2011
    If you connected any of the LEDs to the power in reverse polarity, that would destroy them without flashing. They can only handle 5 volts or so in reverse. They shouldn't be difficult to replace and they certainly don't cost much.
     
  7. Oct 25, 2011 #7
    BobK

    BobK

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    Jan 5, 2010
    Maybe a fuse?

    Bob
     
  8. Oct 25, 2011 #8
    daddles

    daddles

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    Jun 10, 2011
    Ian, don't get discouraged -- we've all had things like this happen and it's part of the learning process.

    As alfa88 said, you need to get yourself a multimeter, as that's the tool that can help you diagnose what's wrong. The $3 Harbor Freight multimeter would be a suitable tool if that's available to you. It's listed as $5 on the website, but you can usually find it for less money in the store. This is a valuable tool to learn about, as it will help you figure out what's gone wrong.
     
  9. Oct 26, 2011 #9
    (*steve*)

    (*steve*) ¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd Moderator

    25,448
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    Jan 21, 2010
    Another thing is that all of the "xxx in 1" kits I've seen have had pretty easily replaced components in them.

    I'm actually quite amazed I didn't blow components up when I was using them (far too many years ago). Of course LEDs didn't exist at that time :-o
     
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