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Starting electronics<br />

Figure 8.12<br />

A circuit to test a transistor with a varible base current<br />

Figure 8.13 A breadboard layout for the circuit in Figure 8.12. The preset<br />

should be turned slowly with a fine screwdriver<br />

Now, connect the battery and slowly (with a small screwdriver)<br />

turn the preset clockwise. Gradually, as you turn the<br />

preset, the LED should light up: dim at first, then brighter,<br />

then fully bright. What you’ve built is a very simple lamp<br />

dimmer.<br />

So, the other use of a transistor is as a variable control element.<br />

By controlling the transistor’s tiny base current we<br />

can control the much larger collector current, which can<br />

be the driving current of, say, a LED, an ordinary lamp, a<br />

motor, a loudspeaker — in fact just about anything which is<br />

variable.<br />

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