Free power for your projects!

The first in a four-part series that includes eight "perpetual" projects, all of which will continue to run indefinitely without attention. All are based on one small p.c.b. called a Uniboard. Each project is powered around the clock – perpetually – by a one Farad "Goldcap" capacitor (memory backup) and a small solar cell (no battery). Each is designed for continuous operation with a maximum of thirty minutes sunlight a day – in fact just five minutes sunlight with the specified 300mW solar panel.

Before we undertake the construction of the first practical circuit of our Perpetual Projects for this series (next month) we must consider the power supply requirements and construct a suitable unit that will cater for all the various circuit designs. All the projects are built on a low-cost Uniboard (printed circuit board – one required for each project), which also includes the Solar-Powered Power Supply and Voltage Regulator circuit described here.