Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
555 timer, whats the use? — Parallax Forums

555 timer, whats the use?

jakjrjakjr Posts: 88
edited 2004-08-17 17:07 in BASIC Stamp
I bought a 555 timer ic chip and was wondering what all uses there are for it.

To tell you the truth, I dont even know why I bought it confused.gif . I had seen something about having to use it in order to make your BS2 function as a tv remote but I dotn know how t do that.

So anyways, what all can I use it for?

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-08-10 20:35
    jakjr said...
    I bought a 555 timer ic chip and was wondering what all uses there are for it.
    To tell you the truth, I dont even know why I bought it confused.gif . I had seen something about having to use it in order to make your BS2 function as a tv remote but I dotn know how t do that.
    So anyways, what all can I use it for?
    Hello Jakjr,

    ·· The 555 is a general purpose timer IC, and has literally thousands of circuits to it's credit, not the least of which is timing circuits.· As for the TV Remote application, the chip can be used to generate the "carrier" signal that IR remotes send data over (Around 40Khz).· Other uses are a one-shot timer for trigger events, a pulse strecher (I know I used the wrong terminology there) or even as a simple oscillator.· I think Radio Shack has a "Mini Engineer's notebook" covering the 555 timer.· The chip has been around for a long time, and is very handy to have around.· Hope this helps.


    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    ·
  • jakjrjakjr Posts: 88
    edited 2004-08-11 00:18
    Thanks, Ill look for that book.

    EDIT- I just checked their website...no dice sad.gif. Ill check instore (although I doubt they'll have it), have to ask my dad as well, He has a number of books like that.

    Post Edited (jakjr) : 8/11/2004 12:30:36 AM GMT
  • macmanmacman Posts: 20
    edited 2004-08-11 00:32
    Hi Chris, saw your post on the 555 timer, you mentioned a one shot timer, is that a simple enough circuit to build?
    I ask only that it would fit well into a problem I have encountered recently.

    Regards Nigel

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Regards Nigel

    Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
    Winston Churchill
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-08-11 00:39
    macman said...
    Hi Chris, saw your post on the 555 timer, you mentioned a one shot timer, is that a simple enough circuit to build?
    I ask only that it would fit well into a problem I have encountered recently.
    Regards Nigel
    Nigel,

    ·· Yes, the 555 is great for "one-shot" projects...Only needs a resistor and a capacitor, as I recall.· Maybe one or two more parts, it's been a while.· But yeah, definately check out the book I mentioned.


    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    ·
  • KenMKenM Posts: 657
    edited 2004-08-11 02:30
    Just search 555 timer in google, there are a plethora of circuits, calculators for timing etc.

    ken
  • jakjrjakjr Posts: 88
    edited 2004-08-11 06:43
    Thanks for the tip, it is quite a bit of info for it on google.

    Seems as if it has many many more uses than I had expected, I would have never guessed it could be used to controll the blink speed of an LED (as shown on this site.... http://www.doctronics.co.uk/555.htm )
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2004-08-11 07:07
    AND....
    you might find yourself wanting to buy the 556 (which has two timers) because it allows one timer to trigger the second one in one package.

    It is likely that you will find the 556 more useful that just one 555 [noparse][[/noparse]and more compact].

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    G. Herzog in Taiwan
  • jakjrjakjr Posts: 88
    edited 2004-08-11 07:09
    Yeah, Ill probobly get it next time I go to radioshack (if they have one that is), or at least after I figure out how to work my 555 freaked.gif


    By the way, If anyone has or knows of a document or at least a schematic that shows how to send Ir signals with the BS2 using the 555 timer as the 40khz oscillator please let me know. I found a schematic that shows how to make a 40khz IR oscillator but its pretty much useless since the schematic is for a stand alone module that does nothing but send out IR at 40 khz.

    FWIW heres the schematic

    Post Edited (jakjr) : 8/11/2004 8:59:22 AM GMT
    555timer40khzir.jpg
    14K
  • KenMKenM Posts: 657
    edited 2004-08-11 14:28
    A 4528 is variant of the 556, as it is a retriggerable one shot....
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2004-08-11 14:32
    The 555 can be quite useful as a "helper" to the BASIC Stamp or other micros. For example, it can be used in one-shot mode to stretch an input. But using the 555's reset pin, the BASIC Stamp can clear that input after it has been dealt with. Yes, it takes two pins, but still can be useful in certain applications.

    Another use of the 555 is as an analog-to-digital converter. The 555 is hooked up in astable mode and the BASIC Stamp analyzes its output by using PULSIN.

    The 555 is often unfairly maligned. When used within its known limitations, it can be a very useful tool.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
    Dallas Office
  • jakjrjakjr Posts: 88
    edited 2004-08-17 02:56
    I hooked it up to a solderless breadboard along with a few caps, jumpers, resisters etc. and can succesfully make a LED flash at different speeds.

    Seems like a alot work/parts for what the stamp can do with a single resitor and LED.
  • frasencifrasenci Posts: 34
    edited 2004-08-17 12:27
    maybe you can take a look here ...... an interesting tutorial....



    http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/555/555.html

    yeah.gif

    Greetings



    Francisco
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-08-17 15:14
    jakjr said...
    I hooked it up to a solderless breadboard along with a few caps, jumpers, resisters etc. and can succesfully make a LED flash at different speeds.
    Seems like a alot work/parts for what the stamp can do with a single resitor and LED.
    Yes, it may seem like a lot of work and/or parts, but it can save precious I/O Pins and/or code in many BS2 projects.· For example, I mentioned as a 40khz carrier generator for IR...Instead of having the BS2 waste it's resources on this, you use the 555, and leave the BS2's resources available for other things.

    Also as Jon Williams mentioned a pulse stretcher for input...Instead of putting the BS2 into a tight loop trying to snag a short pulse, this simple chip can make the input pulse last longer so that the BS2 can service more things while checking the input.

    I guess it boils down to resources versus extra parts/work.· Sometimes if a project is really small and simple, like my Better Mouse Trap, and I have an LCD Display, I have extra pins and resources, so I hang the LCD Display right off the I/O pins and talk to the display directly.· If I am short of code space and/or pins though, I will add a Serial-to-Parallel LCD Chip (Usually PIC-an-LCD) so that I only need one I/O line and a SEROUT command to use the Display.· To see this project, go here:

    http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris/mousetrap.htm

    I will try to get the code up for it soon...Been busy...eyes.gif ...Note that, even on this project I used a comparator on the input, just to simplify things...Took a few more parts, but then again I have them lying around in parts cabinets not earning their keep anyway!


    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    ·
  • frasencifrasenci Posts: 34
    edited 2004-08-17 15:34
    very interesting Chris ...

    what you say is SO right and true.... Many times , a product can be " better " than that from the competitors NOT only because of better hardware OR software but from a " better " and clever combination of both. And getting accuainted with specialized chips like these can help a lot.

    cya
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2004-08-17 16:33
    You can use the 555 or 556 to produce very simple sound effects that are triggered by the BasicStamp.· You have a lot of choices of the kind of sound you want and it allows you get get something beside a simple beep or the touch tones with just a few components.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    G. Herzog in Taiwan
  • jakjrjakjr Posts: 88
    edited 2004-08-17 17:01
    Yeah, Im still gonna work with it some more, I found some stuff about it in teh stampwoks manual among others.

    By the way chris, I checked out your mousetrap, looks pretty neat. I noticed one of your dates reads 06-07-2003 was this a typo or has it been in service that long?
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-08-17 17:07
    jakjr said...
    Yeah, Im still gonna work with it some more, I found some stuff about it in teh stampwoks manual among others.
    By the way chris, I checked out your mousetrap, looks pretty neat. I noticed one of your dates reads 06-07-2003 was this a typo or has it been in service that long?
    No, it's not a typo...Some of the projects are old...In fact, I have an Old Projects page too, although I cannot seem to locate all my pictures.· I've been an engineer for about 10 years, as well as a computer technician, however I have been a hobbyist in electronics since around 1980 or so...

    The Mousetrap was one of those things were it was a fine line between something I needed, something my wife wanted, and a gag (Hence the quote, Build A Better Mousetrap).· A Mousetrap does not need an LCD Display.· Heck it doesn't need a BS2!· But again, hobbyist first...I grabbed a bunch of stuff, including a hobby servo and set out to prove that technology can overcome!
    smilewinkgrin.gif

    If you saw the root page, we're working on a few projects...Some are further along than the pages indicate, I just simply haven't had the time to update them.· But since these are all Hobbyist projects there's no rush, and all the information will be there for anyone who wants to duplicate it.· A dozen or more people that saw the Mousetrap said I should build a cheaper version and market it, but I have no desire or ambition to do this.


    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    ·
Sign In or Register to comment.