Matt circuit

When turning a computer on and off, various peripherals (such as printers, screen, scanner, etc.) often have to be turned on and off as well. By using the 5-V supply voltage from the USB interface on the PC, all these peripherals can easily be switched on and off at the same time as the PC. This principle can also be used with other appliances that have a USB interface (such as modern TVs and radios). This so-called ‘USB-standby-killer’ can be realized with just 5 components. The USB output voltage provides for the activation of the triac opto-driver (MOC3043) which has zero-crossing detection. This, in turn, drives the TRIAC, type BT126. The circuit shown is used by the author for switching loads with a total power of about 150 W and is protected with a 1-A fuse. The circuit can easily handle much larger loads however. In that case and/or when using a very inductive load a so-called snubber network is required across the triac. The value of the fuse will also need to be changed as app...

This programmable timer is usefu for domestic, commercial as well as industrial applications. It automatically turns the appliance on/off after a preset time. The time period can be varied from 8 seconds to 2 hours with the help of rotary switches S2 and S3. The circuit works in two modes: off mode and cyclic mode. Slide switch S4 is used for mode selection. In the off mode, the appliance turns on after a preset time (set by rotary switch S2), remains on for another preset time (set by rotary switch S3) and then turns off. In the cyclic mode, this process repeats again and again. The circuit is built around three quad two-input NAND gate ICs CD4011 (IC1, IC3 and IC5), two 14-bit binary ripple counters CD4020 (IC2 and IC4) and a relay driver transistor (T1). It works off a 12V DC, 500mA power supply. You can also power the circuit from mains by using a 12V DC, 500mA adaptor in place of the 12V DC power supply. Let’s assume that you want an appliance to turn on after two minutes and keep...