External Trigger for Stop Watch

This instructable will show how to add an external trigger to a stop watch so that it can be used for event timing from circuits. It's designed to accept from 1.5 - 50 VDC, though I've only tested it from 1.5 - 9 VDC.

Take the watch apart.

Add wires to the start/stop switch. Check the polarity of these wires and mark them with a sharpie to keep track.

Solder the following circuit. Here's how it works:

When there are 0V across RED-BLK, the transistor is non-conducting.
When there are > 0.6V across RED-BLK, the transistor conducts.
When there are < 0.6V across RED-BLK, the diode protects the transistor from reverse breakdown.
The 10K resistor limits current into the base.

Transistor turn-off speed isn't critical in this case, but if it was, I'd recommend adding a 1K resistor in front of the 10K resistor and a 10-100nF capacitor in parallel with the 10K resistor. This would help to quickly add to, and remove base charge to the transistor.

**Extra**

The flash card with the transistor on it shows how to figure out the pinout of an unknown NPN transistor. Using a multimeter in diode test mode, you'll find that the base-emitter junction has a higher potential than the base-collector junction.

In this step, add some screw prongs by drilling holes slightly smaller than the machine screws you will be using. After, reassemble the watch.