This circuit will be particularly useful to those hobbyists who use a ‘breadboard’ to try out ideas and who also use a simple ‘home-made’ DC power supply consisting of a transformer, rectifier, smoothing capacitor and protective fuse, that is, one without over current protection! In this circuit, the detecting element is resistor R6. Under normal conditions, its voltage drop is not high enough to switch on transistor T1. The value of R6 can be altered to give a different cut-off current, as determined by Ohm’s Law, if required. When a short circuit occurs in the load, the voltage rises rapidly and T1 starts to conduct. This draws in the relay, switching its contacts, which cuts off power to the external circuit, and instead powers the relay coil directly, latching it in this second state. The circuit remains in this state until the primary power supply is switched off. Capacitors C1 and C2 hold enough charge (via D3, D4 and D6, which prevent the charge from being lost to the rest ...