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When my friend and I tried to blink a street lamp

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When my friend and I tried to blink a lamppost

I was 15, and I had just shown off a blinking light to my friend.

It was a circuit with two relays that alternately turned each other on and off.

My friend was impressed. We lived in the quiet small town of Lillehammer, and there wasn't much going on. So we started playing around with the idea that it would be fun to do something "more" with the blinking light circuit.

I am not sure who got the idea, but we decided it would be fun to connect this to one of the big street lamps in the street to make it blink!

So one night, we snuck out late to avoid anyone seeing us.

My friend had borrowed a screwdriver from his dad's garage with the right bit to open the street light cover. This was a screwdriver with interchangeable bits, and the bit at the end of the screwdriver was a small one.

We went to the lamp post we had targeted, and I positioned the screwdriver to unscrew the lid.

But suddenly the screwdriver slipped...

"Chiiiing!"

And the little screwdriver bit shot into the air and fell into a field of long grass.

We searched and searched. But we couldn't find it!

Eventually, we gave up and walked home.

We could have returned some other day to try again, but we never did. Maybe we both knew deep inside that this was not really a good idea.
​

Looking back now, I know it's a terrible idea!

The thing is that we knew nothing of basic electronics. I understood the logic behind how my blinking light circuit worked. But I knew nothing about voltages, currents, and how components need to be chosen based on these things.

The 12V relay we were using would have been fried right away from the 230V in the street lamp. Which would probably have scared us.

And then we would probably have shocked ourselves and/or destroyed the lamp trying to disconnect things in a rush to get away. Neighbors would have called the cops. And we would have received a heavy bill for repairs.

​
Knowing the basics of electronics can save you from stupid mistakes. But it can also help you build cool things that are safe, fun, and even useful!

Want to learn the basics and build fun projects along the way? Join us for a 4-week intensive course on getting started with electronics in February:

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Keep On Soldering!
Oyvind @ build-electronic-circuits.com

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