Patrick Timlin's Electrical Engineering Stuff
One of my hobbies is Aquaria. One of my tanks is a small one gallon plastic tank which I keep a betta (aka Siamese Fighting Fish) in. Bettas like it warm even though they are often sold in pet shops in little bowls as room temp fish. While they will tolerate and survive at room temps, they really do best when kept warm. The problem was, a one gallon tank is very small and most commercial aquarium heaters are physically to large as well as being overkill in their heating capacity for such a small volume of water.
So I decided to build my own heater. The thermostat I made to control the heating element (a simple water proofed power resistor) is based on a comparitor circuit using an Analog Devices "temperature transducer that produces an output current
proportional to absolute temperature." While it seemed to work fairly well, I had troubles with the temp transducer but I think that was mainly due to not properly waterproofing it. I haven't had a chance yet to revisit that particular problem.
Anyway, for anyone who is looking for a thermostat controller, here is the circuit I used:
This is the original paper I designed the circuit on and it includes a few cryptic notes (such as full span temp range of this beast) that might be useful. Good luck reading my writing. Email if you want an explination of anything. Click on this thumbnail to see full size (roughly 82k) version:
EE related Web rings and other links follow...
LINKS
Vendor homepages
Connectors, cable, Wire, etc.
- 3M Electronics Manufacturing
- Alphawire
- AMP Home Page
- AMPHENOL
- Atronix Cable and Contract Assy
- Belden Wire & Cable Company
- BERG Electronics Corp.
- Burndy FCI Framatome Connectors
- General Cable - Highland Heights, KY
- KabelSchlepp America - cable and hose carrier systems, flexible conduit
- Lemo Circular Connectors
- Manhattan-CDT - Source for Electronic, Electrical Wire & Cable, Tubing, Insulation & Harnessing Products
- Molex
- Olflex Wire and Cable
- Panduit Corp. Home Page
- Panel Components Corporation - Interpower - Oskaloosa, Iowa - power systems components for electrical & electronic equipment
- PHOENIX CONTACT
- Quabbin Wire & Cable
- Weidmuller Inc. - DIN rail connectors, PCB T.B.s, etc
- Yamaichi Electronics
Relays & Switches
- Altech Corp Electronic & Control Components
- AROMAT CORPORATION HOME PAGE
- C&K Components, Inc.
- Carlingswitch--switches-breakers
- EAO-Deutschland
- E-SWITCH HOME PAGE
- Grayhill's Home Page
- LINEMASTER Switch Corporation - America's Foot Switch Leader for Air and Electric Foot Switch needs
- OMRON Home Page
- Siemens-Potter&Brumfield Electromechanical
- Weidmuller Inc. - DIN rail relays, etc.
Semiconductors manufactures
- Allegro Microsystems Incorporated, Worcester MA 01615
- AMD - Advance Micro Devices
- Analog Devices
- Dallas Semiconductor Corp.
- Diodes Incorporated Website
- Exar Corp.
- Fairchild Semiconductor
- Intersil Corporation - Harris semi
- IR - International Rectifier
- Linear Technology Corporation
- Linfinity Microelectronics
- Maxim Integrated Products
- Microchip Technology - PIC chips, serial EEPROMS
- Motorola Semiconductor Products Design-NET
- National Semiconductor
- Philips Semiconductors
- SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics
- SIEMENS_Infineon_Technologies
- TelCom Semiconductor, Inc.
- Texas Instruments
- Xilinx Home Page
Passive and Opto
- Capacitors by Aerovox ac, dc, energy storage, energy discharge, UPS, strobe, and traction train capacitors
- AVX Corporation
- BCcomponents formally Philips capacitors
- Bourns Incorporated
- Bussmann Worldwide Circuit Protection
- Chicago Miniature Lamp
- Clarostat Sensors & Controls, Inc. Homepage
- Corcom EMI-RFI Filters
- Dialight - The LED Applications Experts
- Eichhoff Electronics
- Filter Concepts - EMI Filters
- KEMET Electronics Home Page
- LITE-ON LED-Optoelectronics
- Littelfuse - Innovative Circuit Protection Solutions
- Lumex (LEDs)
- Mallory Products - North American Capacitor Co.
- Nichicon (America) Corporation
- NTE Electronics, Inc. Web Site
- OHMITE
- OMRON Home Page
- QT Optoelectronics
- Raychem-Circuit Protection Devices
- Riedon Power and Precison Resistors and Networks
- Spectrol Electronics Corporation
- Thermometrics Thermnisters & Sensors
- Vishay (Dale, Sprague, etc.)
Other vendors
- Banner Engineering Corp Home Page
- CASE Assembly Solution Inc.
- CLIPPARD - Miniature Pneumatics
- Data I-O - Device Programmers and Programmer Handlers
- Honeywell Solid State Electronics Center
- HP_Agilent Semiconductor Products
- Introduction To ExpressPCB - PC board layout software and low cost board manufacturing service.
- Parallax, Inc. (PIC Stamp, etc.)
- Pneutronics - Valve-solenoids
- PRI Home Page
- Varitronix International Limited
Distributors and Trade magazines
- ALL AMERICAN HOMEPAGE
- Allied Electronics
- ARROW.COM
- Avnet, Inc.
- Contact East
- Digi-Key
- Future Electronics
- Grainger
- Marshall
- McMaster-Carr Supply Company
- Newark Electronics, Catalog Distributor of Electronic Components
- Nu Horizons
- Sager
- All Electronics Corp.
- American Science & Surplus
- Electronix Express (A Division of R.S.R. Electronics, Inc.)
- Surplus Electronics Source List
- DataGalaxy.com
- Design News
- EDN Access
- EE Times on the Web
- ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
- Manufacturing Marketplace
- MOTION Magazine, Motion Control, Motion, Motion Control Buyer's Guide, Motor Control
- Nuts & Volts Magazine
- Product Design & Development
Other/misc.
- Annabooks Home Page
- Bad Science
- Carolina Biological Supply Co.
- Chip directory - Index
- ChipCenter The Web's Definitive Electronics Resource
- Don Lancaster's GURU'S LAIR home page
- Electric Code Links
- Electrical Engineering Circuits Archive
- IEEE History Center
- IEEE Home Page
- IPC Home Page
- Ivex Design Int-sch and pcb tools
- KissPIC and PICAsmMac
- Mark's Electronics - ISA and PCI bus info
- Nikola Tesla Page, Tesla Coils (Bill Beaty's Homepage)
- NOPPP, the No-Parts PIC Programmer
- Phone-Man's Home Page
- PIC PIC16C84 Compiler the SIL language v. 0.813
- Robotics Related Services on the Internet
- SCIENCE HOBBYIST
- SEMIOnLine
- Solectria Electric Vehicles
- The Why Files
- Underwriters Laboratories Inc.; global product certification and system registration
- VHDL PAGE
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Last modified: April 9th, 2001
© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 ptimlin@oocities.com
