Beginner Concepts: 555 Push Button Toggle

February 2, 2010 by Mike Szczys 29 Comments

PIC, AVR, and Arduino are ubiquitous in projects these days and a lot of the time it’s easy to over-complicate things with their use. In this case, [Tod] wanted to use a momentary tactile switch to turn something on and off. Instead of going with a microcontroller he built the circuit around a 555 timer. What he really needed in this case is a flip-flop but lacking a chip for that he went with the 555 because it has one built-in. Three resistors and a capacitor later he’s in business, adding another resistor and a transistor to deal with the load switching. We’ve embedded video of the circuit controlling an LED after the break. This IC ends up in a lot of projects so dig through your parts bin and give this circuit a try.

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Simplest Most Useless Machine

December 30, 2009 by Mike Szczys 42 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z86V_ICUCD4]

[Brett] posted about his most useless machine build. His project gives us a chance to massacre the language in the title because it uses the lowest parts count we’ve see with these machines. The logic is controlled by our friend, the 555 timer. Add to that just one servo motor, two switches, three resistors, two caps, a diode, and a battery pack and you’re in business. The hardest part to find locally is the servo but check at a hobby/RC store. If you don’t have to put in a parts order this can be your next impulse project.

Add A Key-fob Opener To Your Door

October 14, 2009 by Mike Szczys 27 Comments

key-fob-door-opener

It seems like creating an automatic dorm room door opener is a rite-of-geek-passage each fall. [Adam], a student at Vassar, passed with flying colors by creating this clean setup. We’ve got video, more pictures, and a description after the break. Continue reading “Add A Key-fob Opener To Your Door” →

Tesla Coil Tuner

June 24, 2008 by Will O'Brien 5 Comments

Here’s one more use for the insanely handy LM555 chips. [Terry] put together a Tesla coil tuner around one. The 555 is used to generate a range of frequencies while a simple double LED arrangement indicates the presence of an output spike from a coil due to the resonance.