[GreenKeys] Eico EC 700 - Re: Loop supply, or are we still beating out wifes and kicking the dog

[Jones, Douglas W]

On May 29, 2016, at 7:23 PM, drlegendre . wrote:

> http://www.spoilsportmotors.com/Eico%20Electronic%20Mystifier%20kit%20from%206th%20grade.pdf

> Rather than just six identical neon / RC relaxation oscs. (6 pcs. each of R, C and NE-2) it has 3 additional caps. It looks like the caps are wired such that the discharge of one circuit prompts the discharge a second connected circuit, and so on down the line..? 

No, the wiring is such that the discharge of any lamp will turn off 2 or 3 of the others (or if they are off, do nothing to them).  For example, when NE-3 turns on, it turns off NE-1, NE-5 and NE-6.  When NE-1 turns on, it turns off NE-4 and NE-5.  When NE-5 turn on, it turns off NE-1 and NE-2.

I'm not convinced that it's fully deterministic, since the turn-on times of NE bulbs in relaxation oscillators are influenced by things like cosmic rays, and there are races in this circuit where multiple bulbs may come on at the same time.  The winning bulb in such a race may suppress the turn-on of the other.

However, not all sequences are possible, so I'd suggest that this is at most a semi-deterministic circuit.  Cute.

		Doug Jones
		jones at cs.uiowa.edu