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Button Cells and LEDs

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JackBlood

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Hello, I'm completely ignorant about electronics. I tried learning about mAh and button cell volts and the like, but it just does not compute. I am hoping someone here could point me in the right direction or even make a diagram/schematic for me.

There is a toggle switch, and 4 boxes. They are all in a line about 20 feet apart from each other connected by insulated wire. The switch is 20 feet from Box 1. Box 1 is 20 feet from Box 2, and so on. I don't know what gauge wire it needs or what size button cell battery/batteries it needs. Each box contains a toggle switch of it's own, an LED bi-pin, and a button cell battery/batteries. And circuit board if needed.

When you flip the stand-alone toggle switch, Box 1 lights up. If you then flip the switch back down, Box 1 turns off. But, if you go to Box 1 while it's lit up and then flip the switch on it, Box 1 turns off and Box 2 lights up. If you go to Box 2 while it's lit up and flip the switch on it, Box 2 turns off and Box 3 lights up. Go to Box 3 while it's lit up and flip the switch, Box 3 turns off and Box 4 turns on. If you go to Box 4 while it's lit up and flip the switch, Box 4 turns off and nothing else turns on.

If when you are at, for example, Box 2 while it is lit up and flip the switch, it will turn off and Box 3 lights up, but if you flip that switch again, Box 3 turns off and Box 2 turns back on. The same for Box 1 and Box 3.

Box 4 is like a house light, flipping the switch back and forth turns itself on and off and does nothing else. The original toggle switch is the same way, meaning that it turns Box 1 on and off.

If the light on Box 2, Box 3, or Box 4 is on and you flip the original toggle switch, whichever of those boxes is on, it will turn off and Box 1 will light up again.

I'm not sure if all of this is poorly explained or if this kind of circuit or contraption is possible. It all needs to run on button-cell batteries unless there is a better alternative that will last a long time. The boxes will contain the batteries and be watertight. The design does not need to be capable of leaving any of the lights on for a long period of time. I don't know if this plan would require a circuit board or not, but if it does, that is okay too. I can design the box and fabricate it with heat sinks if needed, but the lights won't be on for too long so I don't know if that's really necessary.

Is this possible? :eek: Please let me know if something is not clear in the design plans. Any help will be greatly appreciated.


Here is a recap of exactly what each Box and the original switch can do:

Original Toggle Switch: Can turn Box 1 on and off. Can shut off any of these, Box 2, Box 3, and Box 4 simultaneously turning Box 1 on.

Box 1: Can turn itself off simultaneously turning Box 2 on. Can turn Box 2 off simultaneously turning itself on.

Box 2: Can turn itself off simultaneously turning Box 3 on. Can turn Box 3 off simultaneously turning itself on.

Box 3: Can turn itself off simultaneously turning Box 4 on. Can turn Box 4 off simultaneously turning itself on.

Box 4: Can turn itself on and off.

Thank you so much in advance! :)
 
It sounds like the original switch is nothing more than a power switch and the circuits startup state is box one on. The other four switches are possiblyy all connected to the same two wires and trigger a clock cycle of a 4017 decade counter (with the circuitry needed to span 20ft. per box). If you can in fact repeatedly switch number four on and off that somewhat blows a hole in my theory but doesn't make it incorrect.
 
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