ALTERNATING ON-OFF SWITCH

1 CIRCUIT IDEAS – ALTERNATING ON-OFF SWITCH

 TONY VAN ROON
M
urphy was at work
again. The old error
slipped back into the
newly made batch of printed
circuit boards. This error fix refers
to the Led/R4. Both sides were
connected to ground and so will
never work.
The circuit is otherwise functional,
just the led is not working. The
anode of the Led needs to be
connected to the pad where the
cathode of the 1N4001 diode is.
If you connect the led with wires
instead of soldering it onto the
PCB it is easy enough to make this
change. The Printed Circuit Board
and new layout shown below the
Parts-List are already updated. I
apologize again for this error.
Please note that neither PCB nor
Layout is drawn to scale!
PCB measures approximately 3-
3/4 x 1-1/2 inches (70 x 39mm or
207 x 123 pixels).
Use this circuit instead of a
standard on-off switch. Switching
is very gentle. If you don't use the
Printed Circuit Board, connect
unused input pins to an appropriate
logic level ('+' or '-').
2 CIRCUIT IDEAS – ALTERNATING ON-OFF SWITCH
Unused output pins *MUST* be
left open! On the PCB this is
already done. First 'push' activates
the relay; another 'push' de-
activates the relay.
IC1, the MC14069 (or 4069) is a
regular Hex-inverter type and is
constructed with MOS P-channel
and N-channel enhancement mode
devices in a single monolithic
structure. It will operate on
voltages from 3 to 18 volts, but
most applications are in the 5 to 15
volts. Although the 4069 contains
protection circuitry against damage
from ESD (Electro Static
Discharge), use common sense
when handling this device.
Depending on your application you
may want to use an IC-socket with
IC1. It makes replacement easy if
the IC ever fails. The IC is CMOS
so watch for static discharge!
You can use any type of 1/4 watt
resistors including the metal-film
type.
The type for D1 in not critical,
even a 1N4148 will work. But,
depending on your application I
would suggest a 1N4001 (or
similar) as a minimum if your
relay type is 0.5A or more. Any
one in the 1N400x series diodes
will work.
Any proper replacement for Q1
will work, including the European
TUN's. Since Q1 is just a driver to
switch the relay coil, almost any
type for the transistor will do.
PN100, NTE123AP, BC547,
2N3904, 2N2222, 2N4013, etc.
will all work for the relays
mentioned here. For heavier relays
you may need to change Q1 for the
appropriate type.
For C2, if you find the relay acts
not fast enough, you can change it
to a lower value. It is there as a
spark-arrestor together with diode
D1.
For the relay I used an 8 volt type
with the above circuit and a 9 volt
battery. Depending on your
application, if the current-draw is
little, you can use a cheap 5V reed-
relay type. Use a 8V or 9V relay
type if your supply voltage is 12V.
Or re-calculate resistor R3 for a
higher value.
The circuit and 9V will work fine
and will pull the relay between 7
and 9 volt, the only thing to watch
for is the working voltage of C2;
increase that to 50V if you use a
12V supply.
The PCB was designed for an
Aromat/Omron relay, 12V/5A,
#HB1-DC12V. You can easily re-
design the relay pads on the PCB
for the relay of your choice. If you
3 CIRCUIT IDEAS – ALTERNATING ON-OFF SWITCH
scale up of down until a hardcopy
PARTS LIST: fits the IC perfectly.
Resistors are 1/4 Watt, 5%
The Led is nice for a visual circuit
R1,R3 = 10K (brown-black-

indication of being 'on'. For use
orange)
 R2 = 100K (brown-black- with 12V supply try making make
yellow) R4 about 330 ohms. The LED and
 R4 = 220 Ohm (optional)
(red-red-brown) R4 are of course optional and can
 C1 = 0.1uF, (100nF, 104) be omitted. Your application may
 C2 = 0.01, (10nF, 103)
 D1 = 1N4001 (see text)
already have some sort of indicator
 Led1 = Led, 3mm, red and so the LED and R4 are not
(optional)
needed.
 Q1 = PN100, NTE123AP,
2N4401, 2N2222, 2N3904 etc.
(see text)
Copyright © 1995 -- Tony Van Roon
 IC1 = 4069, CMOS, Hex
Last updated: January 27, 2009
Inverter (MC14069UB), or
wish to use something you already
have, and you don't want to re-
design the PCB, you can glue the
relay up-side-down on the pcb and
wire the relay contacts manually to
the PCB-holes or directly to your
application.
Use a 2N2222 transistor for Q1 if
your supply voltage is higher than
9V and/or your relay is heavy duty,
or doesn't want to pull-in for any
other reason.
Again, the PCB drawing is not to
scale. Use 'page-setup' to put the
scale to 103% for a single pcb,
vertically, and your scale should be
correct. I use a laser printer and so
I don't know if this scale of 103%
is for all printers. To check, print a
copy onto regular paper and see if
the IC pins fit the print. If so, your
copy is correct. If not, change the