User Manual

-9-
DOs and DON’Ts of Building Circuits
Placing a 3-snap wire directly
across the batteries is a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
This is also a
SHORT CIRCUIT.
When the slide switch (S1) is turned on, this large circuit has a SHORT
CIRCUIT path (as shown by the arrows). The short circuit prevents any
other portions of the circuit from ever working.
!
!
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
NEVER
DO!
!
NEVER
DO!
!
You are encouraged to tell us about new programs and circuits you create.
If they are unique, we will post them with your name and state on our
website at: www.snapcircuits.net/learning_center/kids_creation.
Send your suggestions to ELENCO
®
: [e-mail].
ELENCO
®
provides a circuit designer so that you can make your own Snap
Circuits
®
drawings. This Microsoft
®
Word document can be downloaded
from: www.snapcircuits.net/learning_center/kids_creation or through
the www.snapcircuits.net website.
Warning to Snap Circuits
®
owners: Do not connect
additional voltage sources from other sets, or you may
damage your parts. Contact ELENCO
®
if you have questions
or need guidance.
!
Examples of SHORT CIRCUITS - NEVER DO THESE!!!
WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD - Never connect Snap Circuits
®
to the electrical outlets in your home in any way!
After building the circuits given in this booklet, you may wish to experiment on
your own. Use the projects in this booklet as a guide, as many important design
concepts are introduced throughout them. Every circuit will include a power
source (the batteries), a resistance (which might be a speaker, LED (which has
an internal protection resistor), motor, integrated circuit, etc.), and wiring paths
between them and back.
You must be careful not to create “short circuits” (very
low-resistance paths across the batteries, see examples below) as this will
damage components
and/or quickly drain your batteries. Only connect the ICs
using configurations given in the projects, incorrectly doing so may damage them.
Only connect the programmable fan (M8) using the configurations shown in the
projects, otherwise you may damage it or unintentionally erase all messages.
Elenco
®
is not responsible for parts damaged due to incorrect wiring.
Here are some important guidelines:
ALWAYS USE EYE PROTECTION WHEN EXPERIMENTING ON YOUR OWN.
ALWAYS include at least one component that will limit the current
through a circuit, such as the speaker, an LED (which has an
internal protection resistor), ICs (which must be connected
properly), or motor (disco motor or programmable fan).
ALWAYS use switches in conjunction with other components that will
limit the current through them. Failure to do so will create a
short circuit and/or damage those parts.
ALWAYS disconnect your batteries immediately and check your wiring
if something appears to be getting hot.
ALWAYS check your wiring before turning on a circuit.
ALWAYS connect ICs and the programmable fan (M8) using configurations given
in the projects or as per the connection descriptions for the parts.
NEVER connect to an electrical outlet in your home in any way.
NEVER leave a circuit unattended when it is turned on.
NEVER touch the programmable fan when it is spinning at high speed.
For all of the projects given in this book, the parts may be arranged in
different ways without changing the circuit. For example, the order of
parts connected in series or in parallel does not matter — what matters
is how combinations of these sub-circuits are arranged together.