MIB J2 Kit Electronics Help Needed Please

[neilo1]

Hey RPF, I need some help with this awesome kit I got from another member here in the junkyard.

The body itself seems straightforward enough but I have a few questions for anyone who's built one of these.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the electronics they could share? I've only ever wired up 1 LED in a HAL 9000, not this number. How does the electronics fit in there?

Does anyone know what the 8 button magnets are for or the long spring next to them?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'll turn this into a build thread if anyon's interested, once I get get started.

Cheers,
Neil.

 

[masterjedi322]

Re: MIB J2 help needed

Can't answer the wiring diagram question.

The magnets go into the dial-looking piece, which then goes at the base of the barrel. Another magnet goes on the gun side. This allows the barrel to rotate in defined step sizes as opposed to using a more mechanical mechanism.

 

[neilo1]

Re: MIB J2 help needed

Thanks masterjedi322, I thought that round bit was for the LEDs.

Can't anyone help with a wiring diagram:cry

 

[praetor]

Im new here to RPF, but I've been dabblin' in basic electronics and I'm a machinist enthusiast. Looking over the plans and your parts [assembly] regarding your LEDs, are those the LEDs used for the gun? Are they red? why not use these types of leds: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4grByVjKHOI/S7M9_JjdE3I/AAAAAAAAFac/UUEg6tedtIY/ledrc.jpg

I have a few you can start off with, it seems you can drill the side othe gun where the lights go, use needle files (found at local hardware stores) to make the drilled holes squared to slide the LEDs into, then use a 3/4" 3 volt button cell found at your local pharmacy and connect your lights is series or parallel using a switch, momentary, SPST, or otherwise...

 

[neilo1]

Hey prateor, there are eight LEDs to wire, 2 red in the pistol body and 6 green in the rotating barrel. I'd like to use all the pieces supplied with the kit.

 

[nomuse]

Hrm. Odd. You've got two switches...I'm assuming the slider is power, and the other one must be a momentary that sits under the trigger. So my guess would be the six green LEDs in the barrel light up with a trigger pull, and the other two are either on the trigger or always on (aka they come on when you flip the power switch.)

If I'm seeing the colors correctly in your picture, those are 1/4 watt 340 ohm resistors. That's pretty close to what the wizard spits out for a ballast resistor of a single LED: LED calculator for single LEDs

So the greens are pretty obvious; each has one resistor in series with it, and all of those are wired in parallel. Lemme see if I can do that in ASCII:


340 ohm LED
------------\/\/\/\/\/\ -------------D|-----
| 340 ohm LED |
|-----------\/\/\/\/\/\ -------------D|---- |
| 340 ohm LED |
|-----------\/\/\/\/\/\ -------------D|----|
| |
| + 9V - |
---------------|i|i|i-----------------------

However, I'm not seeing the two red LEDs anywhere. Those ballast resistors are in the ballpark for reds, at least -- that does mean the reds are being driven harder than the greens, but not by much and LEDs have a fair amount of leeway.

Incidentally, according to the array wizard you could simplify soldering by putting the greens in two series of three LEDs each, and using a 120 ohm in each series; that's four less resistors to solder and more power efficient, too.

However, IANAE (I Am Not An Engineer) and I didn't calculate these myself. I'd go with the safe and simple; one resistor per LED, and gather all the like ends together and send one to button and the other to battery. Or, if you want the power switch to disable the trigger too, one end to battery and one to button and the button goes to the switch with the two red LEDs, and finally back to the battery.

I don't remember the movie. Do they blink or chase or do anything else besides shine?

 

[neilo1]

WOW thanks nomuse, your explanation actuall makes sense to me!

Basically 1 resistor for each LED, wired in series. :facepalm

I think there are 2 switches as a choice for the back of the gun to control all the LEDs, there's no room in the body for either.

I can't tell from the movie if the trigger does anything. i think the gun justs lights up and looks cool :cool