Ya Recue1 I will definitely be careful. And to reply to things, Yes the switch is plastic, actually it is all plastic from what I can tell except for the two metal prongs.

Also, I don't know how it would be done because I am a beginner but I think it would be sick to be able to have an LED light up while the capacitor(s) are charging. And if so, stay lit while the capacitor's are charged but I believe that would be a bit more difficult, if even possible. If I could just make an LED light up while charging I think it would be cool.

This also leads me to another question that has nothing to do with anything we have talked about. I have recently bought the book electronics for dummies which I have begun reading and it talked about energy flowing from electrons (negative) to protons (positive). And then a little bit further in the book it showed a simple breadboard circuit which consisted of 4 AA batteries a resistor and an LED. Which makes perfect sense to me how it all works, but then, when it showed how to read it on schematics, It had the positive side of the battery shown to go through the resistor and then to the LED. But since energy flows from negative to positive, it would appear that the voltage would go through the LED first and then hit the resistor. I guess what I am trying to ask is does the symbol for the battery in schematics not represent the actual direction the terminals need to be wired in. This is kinda hard to explain, but is the schematic symbol for the battery always the same, like would they never flip it upside down to show which way the terminals should be connected? If you are confused by this, I will try to take a picture of it from the book and upload it.

 

Ok, I will post it anyways to clarify.



Shouldn't the negative charge be on top? Or am I just being a retard? Or does the actual direction of the schematic symbol not reflect the real direction?

 

yeah i just recently found out that electrons flowed - to +, actually it was a thread on here somewhere. it's kinda hard to explain, but you can put a resistor on any side of the led, and it'll still work the same, but i don't really know how that works?? hmmmm, maybe something to think about??? for your led question, doesn't the camera already have a led or neon indicator on it??oh, i see, you want it to show when it is charging???maybe you could wire an led to the batteries to show when the whole circuit is on?

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oh, you posted before me

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2. If it's mushy, It's biology.
3. If it doesn't work, It's physics.
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www.laserchat.org IRC chat for laser and electronic related stuff.

 

Wow, lol just when I was starting to understand electronics a bit more that whole resistor on any side thing really threw me off... So your saying you can put a resistor on either side of the LED and it will work, even if though it flows from negative to positive and its on the positive side? confused... lol...

Ummm, about the LED, if I wired it to the battery, it would always be on, even if it wasn't charging or charged. Wouldn't it? Well, thats if I did it straight to the battery, but if I did it to the metal prongs that touch the battery, that should work right? Like the metal battery holder? Also, that would only be for charging, which I have no problem with, but if there is a way to have the LED stay lit while it is charged that would be sick. I guess I know how I could do it, but I guess it would be better to only be lit while charging so I know when its done charging.

Now I just need to find a case.

 

yep, you can put the resistor on any side of the led, and it will still work the same. does the camera already have an indicator to tell you when it is charged?

__________________
The 3 laws of science....
1. If it smells bad, It's chemistry.
2. If it's mushy, It's biology.
3. If it doesn't work, It's physics.
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www.laserchat.org IRC chat for laser and electronic related stuff.

 

Well, no it doesn't. It has a red LED on it, but it doesn't make any light when i charge it, when its charged, or when I shock with it... So I don't know what it is for.

And one more thing, It just started happening but once I release the charge and shock something it sparks where the alligator clip is connected the capacitor... Wait nvm... its just one of the alligator clips sparks where the wire is connected to it.

 

hmmmm, i wonder why the led won't light??? does it spark between the alligator clips on the capacitor????????? it's only 300 volts????

__________________
The 3 laws of science....
1. If it smells bad, It's chemistry.
2. If it's mushy, It's biology.
3. If it doesn't work, It's physics.
www.laserpointerforums.com A forum for disscusion of lasers and laser shows!
www.laserchat.org IRC chat for laser and electronic related stuff.

 

oh, right

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The 3 laws of science....
1. If it smells bad, It's chemistry.
2. If it's mushy, It's biology.
3. If it doesn't work, It's physics.
www.laserpointerforums.com A forum for disscusion of lasers and laser shows!
www.laserchat.org IRC chat for laser and electronic related stuff.

 

I don't know what is up with the LED... I think it lights up on auto charge flash circuit... But idk.