COMPONENTS - SIMPLY EXPLAINED

Breadboard

This is the base for prototyping and testing circuits. 

Follow this link to learn more about how breadboards work.

 Picaxe Microcontroller Chip

This is the 'brain' and controls the inputs and outputs through its legs (digital pins).

LED (Light Emitting Diode)

LED lights are polarised which means they only allow electric current to flow in one direction.
​They have a positive leg (anode) and a negative leg (cathode). The positive leg is the longer leg on an LED.

Buzzer

This is the speaker device used to transmit sound. It is not polarised so it does not have negative and positive legs.

Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

This detects changes in light levels and can be used as an input device.
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Thermistor

This is a sensor which measures temperature and is an input device.

Battery Pack

The battery pack holds 3 x 1.5V batteries which equates to 4.5V.

​The Picaxe will run on a minimum of 3V.