T&L Publications

http://www.marktechopto.com/index.cfm?a=138
That's the link to the voltage/current plot I tried to picture. Sorry.

Here's a typical LED voltage/current plot.
Note it doesn't draw any current until the applied voltage reaches 1.8 volts.
www.solarworld.com has a great collection of solar cells.

Thanks Al, but "buying cable" is what I'm avoiding. $40/mo for dozens of channels that I wouldn't watch. My local (50 miles) UHF staions are free for the grabbing off the air! Did you know that when David Sarnoff (RCA)swindled Philo out of his television patents, the media giant didn't eve...

Anybody have good success with an amplified UHF TV antenna? Lots of brands to choose, but which is a good one?
John

In general, Edwardo-no.
Typical led's require 2 volts, and more than 5 ma. to light.
You'll need a bigger solar cell.

Hook up your 12v and 5v so they fight it out!
12-5=7!<p>Sorry. Couldn't resist!

Kindly dispose of properly! Better yet, donate it to a school. Maybe some young budding technician will discover a way to make it live again!

Metal roof, metal chimney? Sounds like a lightning magnet to me! So, add a lightning rod, and copper cable as directly down to earth as possible. Concrete is a poor conductor! Do not rely on it for a "suitable ground"!
John

I see your point Mike!
Try a look in the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Handbook for loads of info on transmitters and receivers.

The VCR has the date/time info in it, but I'd like to see it added on the recorded video.

Any slick chip that would add the current date and time to a VCR recording permanently, like survelliance cameras do? I hope to modify a standard VCR to have this feature.

Try Radio Shack, Mike.
For $25, you get a TX and RX that would power up your voice chip (also available from RS)($5?).
John