okay, well then I guess my first Idea wouldn't matter... hooking up a component on a breadboard horizontally is a no-no, it'd be like making a PCB with wiring like this ---0----0--- and we all know that doesn't work
anyway, just keep messing with it, and 1K is Brown/Black/Red fourth stripe is the tolerance if yours has one, if not, doesn't matter.
Looking at the transistor from the TOP-its shaped like a D right... So, you hold it looking at the top so the arc is too the right or as the letter D is written, the Emmiter wire would be thetop wire correct ?? The Middle is the base obviously, and the collector would be the bottom wire...... Im just makin sure I didnt hook up the transistor backwards... if I did would it have blown the transistor ?? I am using a 9 volt battery by the way -
Feels great ! I am a happy camper. I was not about to give up ! The application I am using it for works very well and the circuit is perfect although the only problem is the tip of the conductor probe is getting eaten away a little at a time so that makes for constant adjusting.... If I lowered the voltage requirement can I still make it as sensitive ? Now the Darlington would be a good canidate right ? Doesnt it help increase the voltage so I could drop the voltage going into the probe...... I wonder if it would still get eaten up as bad ? I started turning it off as soon as it contacted the water and I got a reading.... that helps.
As far as the water level I made... Its a little crude but accurate over a 10' distance to about .002"-.003". I took multiple readings and averaged out the differance measuring with calipers, and it could be improved to a consistant .002" if I tighten everything up so measuring can be more consistant....
Use stainless steel probes. They won't have any problem of rusting or other reactions. I have used in my water level controller and its still working since past 6 years.
Or you could use aluminum, it's already got an oxidized coating and water doesn't damage it, that's why it works so well with soda, I mean hell, soda is basically a weak acid and it doesn't even scratch aluminum, and even if it does get a scratch in the aluminum past the oxide coating, exposing it to air for roughly 30 seconds will put a new one over the scratch.