Kerry Wong published a new build: I had wanted to make a spot welder for a while. Most of the DIY spot welders use a momentary switch the primary side of the microwave oven transformer (MOT). Due to the simplicity of this design, it is very simple to make. This design however, has some inherent […]
Tag Archives: 555
Hacking your mouse for rapid firing
Kerry Wong has written an article detailing a simple hardware hack to make your mouse capable of doing rapid firing: In this blog post, I will show you a simple hardware hack to make your mouse capable of rapid firing (or automatic continuous clicking). Of course you can always resort to software mods to achieve […]
DIY automatic water timer
Kyle wrote an article detailing his DIY automatic water timer: Now that I have power and output figured out, I need to work on the control aspect. 555 timers are great for simple applications requiring up to a few minutes of delay. At 10 minutes, the RC values needed would boarder the danger zone of the timer not functioning […]
DIY CNC pendant
A DIY CNC pendant made by Bob Davis. He wrote a post on his blog detailing it’s assembly: Last night I finished building my DIY CNC pendant and tested it out. I still need to add a manual jogger to it someday. It is made out of an old Zenith TV remote control. The key is […]
555 as a push-pull level shifter
psmay writes: Wanting to prototype something with an oddball push-pull 3.3V-to-13V switch led me to concoct an experiment using only stuff available at a reasonably well-stocked Radio Shack[3], with particular attention to ICs that provide push-pull outputs. So far I’ve tried configurations based on the original 555 timer[4] and the TL082 op amp. My first […]
Magical music box using CMOS and 555s
Justin Giles-Clark shows off his magical music box using CMOS and 555s: Simple circuit using 555s for a 3minute monostable oscillator to time the clockwork spring. Another 555 provide a astable oscillator with about an 1 hertz period clocking a 4017 decimal ring counter for 6 counts. Created in 2002. Via contact form. Check out the […]
VFD filament driver using 555
Kerry Wong documented his VFD filament driver built: I recently salvaged a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) from a piece of old test gear. The VFD is a 13 digit 7-segment multiplexed display and I thought it would look great in a custom digital clock or something similar. While it has the model number FUTABA 13-MT-54NA, […]
555 based constant current lead-acid battery charger
Kennith needed a 1A constant current lead-acid battery charger for his HAM radios. He augmented the 555 contest winning battery charger circuit by replacing the relay with an LM317 in constant current mode. Since the SLAs are relatively small, and I only need them charged between radio outings, I opted to build a 1A constant […]
RIP Hanz R. Csmenzin – Inventor of the 555 timer
Hans R. Camenzin the inventor of the famous 555 timer IC died at the age of 78: Hans R. Camenzind was an electronics engineer best known for inventing the 555 timer IC in 1970. He was an inventor on 20 US patents. During his career he wrote three textbooks, designed the first integrated class D […]
Simple optical theremin
Here’s a simple theremin-like device designed by Sacred and presented by Jameco. Unlike other theremins which vary the sound based on the user’s proximity to stationary antennae, this project uses two phototransistors and a 555 timer. The theory of operation is the variation of the sound based upon the amount of IR light reflected by […]
555 timer Easter egg?
What’s in a name? David L. Jones of EEVBlog thinks he’s found an Easter egg in the performance characteristics of the 555 timer chip which reveals the basis of the “555” in its name. Build his circuit (schematic at video 13:25), fire up the scope and see if you agree!
555 based FPGA/CPLD debugging oscillator
Randomgarfield from fromorbit posted the above video, depicting his use of a 555 timer as a small oscillator tο clock CPLDs whіƖе debugging a small state machine. I needed a variable slow speed clock to help me debug a design I’m creating with a bunch of CPLDs. Given the current focus on the venerable 555 […]
$20 fuel injector tester
If you’re into DIY auto maintenance, here’s a project for you. Fuel injectors are made up of a coil of wire which opens a valve when energized, basically an electronic solenoid valve. These can wear out and to diagnose them properly requires more than just applying 12 volts and listening for a click. Dino, a […]
555 based AM radio transmitter
Rtty21 has posted an Instructables project using the 555 timer to build an AM radio transmitter. By adding just a transistor, several capacitors, resistors and a 5K pot you will be on the air in the 600 kHz portion of the AM dial. While the range of this transmitter is relatively short, you could possibly […]