Conrad Course material 3964 14 years and over 3964 User Manual

 

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Fig. 1: The experimental board (B_Steckbrett.jpg)

 

 
The patch panel has 230 contacts in the middle area which are each electrically connected by vertical strips with five 
contacts. In addition, there are 40 contacts at the edge for the power supply, consisting of two horizontal contact 
spring strips with 20 contacts. The patch panel thus has two independent supply bars. Fig. 2 shows all internal 
connections. You can see the short contact rows in the middle area and the long supply bars at the edge. 

 

 

 

 
Fig. 2: The internal contact rows (Kontakte.gif)

 

 
Inserting components requires a fair amount of force. The connection wires easily snap. It is important that the wires 
are inserted exactly from above. A pair of tweezers or a small calliper helps. A wire is held as short as possible over 
the patch panel and pushed downward vertically. Sensitive connection wires such as the tinned ends of a battery clip 
can also be used. 

 

 
For the experiments you need short and long pieces of wire which you have to cut to fit from the hook-up wire that is 
included. For stripping the wire ends, it is practical to cut the insulation all the way around with a sharp knife.

 

 
Battery 
The following overview shows you the components as they really look and the schematic symbols as they are used in 
the circuit diagrams. A plug-in power supply unit, e.g., could be used instead of a battery. 

 

 

 

 
Fig. 3: The battery as it really looks and as schematic symbol (B_Batterie.gif)

 

 
Do not use alkaline batteries or rechargeable batteries, but only simple zinc-carbon batteries. The alkaline battery has 
a longer service life, but if there is a fault, e.g., a short circuit, it delivers (just like a rechargeable battery) very large 
currents up to more than 5 A. They can severely heat thin wires or even the battery itself. By contrast, the short circuit 
current of a zinc-carbon battery is usually smaller than 1 A. Thus sensitive components can already be destroyed, but 
there is no danger of fire. 

 

 
The battery clip included has a connection cable with a flex. The cable ends are stripped and tinned. They are thus 
stiff enough that you can plug them into the contacts of the patch panel. But they can lose their shape through 
frequent plugging in. It is thus recommended that the battery connections are always left connected and that only the 
clip is removed from the battery.

 

 
A single zinc-carbon cell or alkaline cell has an electric voltage of 1.5 V. In a battery, several cells are connected in 
series. Accordingly, the schematic symbols show the number of cells in a battery. With higher voltages, it is customary 
to indicate the cells in the middle by a dotted line.