In this Exploration you are going to make your first simple circuit. The goal is to make an LED glow.
Some of you are going to shoot straight to the video and get building. IF that’s your tactic — make sure you also come back and complete the Building Blocks listed below, if you have not already done so.
Before you begin
Before you start this build you should have reviewed the following Building Blocks:
I suspect some of you will just dive right in — if that’s your plan, make sure you come back and review the info above — it will really help you to understanding this build — and all that follow.
Parts you will need
- battery holder
- 6 ‘AA’ batteries
- wire battery clip
- LED-single color — your choice, Red or Green or Yellow.
- fixed resistors – 1kΩ ( what are the color bands ) ?
- alligator clips
Video :: First Circuit – Alligator Edition
Troubleshooting :: I didn’t glow 🙁 YET)
Some ( ok, a lot, or most, maybe all ) of the time, circuits just don’t work on your first try. This is not a give up moment — this is a check your work moment!
The single biggest skill you will need to master in the world of tangible making is troubleshooting. Circuits fails are not because I have evilly planned to give you something dysfunctional (tho we may do that together live) — but because electronics is often an all or nothing event — either you build it right, or you don’t. When you are starting out lots of things can go wrong. That is OK. Check the video below to see how you can solve your circuit and get your glow on.
The take away — tenacity matters.
Still stuck ? Reach-out — hit discord, come to hackNight, ask in class.
Going Further
Reflect: Which side of your LED faced ground when it successfully glowed?
Did you try all the LED colors in your kit?
Can you make a version of this that uses ALL of your alligator clips to make a giant circuit-hoop?