On Fri, 2007-10-19 at 20:54 +1300, Jinx wrote: > Can someone please suggest a fix to this problem. In the diagram, > the 220R 0.5W gate resistor keeps showing me how much smoke > it can blow out > > I plug this in, wait a couple of seconds, then press a pushbutton, > which makes a 12F675 send a 10us to the opto-triac. The pulse > is OK, checked that on a scope > > What will happen is that the flash will go off, then the 220R starts > slowly burning. The power gets turned off, maybe a second later, > before the resistor actually goes open > > I've tried a large-value resistor pull-down on the SCR gate, but > that makes no difference. It's presently 2 x 560k (some resistors > in this circuit are series pairs, for the voltage rating) > > Tried several values for a pull-down, from 1M to 5M, in the position > shown, but the 220R burns up just the same. I feel like General Haig > sending them over the top, poor little blighters > > Must be on the wrong track with a pull-down. Can't see where that > power is coming from. I figured that for all but a very brief time, the > resistor is isolated from any PD across it. Something is obviously not > turning off, and making it dissipate a lot more than it should need to. > The only candidates, AFAICS, are the tube, the SCR or the opto > > I don't think anything else is suffering. My logic being that the flash > will go off with a new 220R If what you've got is exactly what's in that schematic I don't see how it's possible for that resistor to smoke. So, either you've got a wiring problem, or perhaps your SCR is shot? TTYL -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist