i give up

willthiswork89

everyone says these 555 timers are supposed to be easy and ive tried getting the stupid thing to flash a LED and ive tried about 30 times literally and not once did it do anything.. i cant even read the stupid schematic so either somthing isnt clicking in my brain or this isnt as easy as you guys say it is.

Rong

I would hazard a guess that if you can't read the schematic, then your circuit is not properly configured. What exactly is it about the schematic that you "can't read"? Are you experienced at schematic drawings?

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Ron Giuntini

San Francisco

willthiswork89

lol im NEW like 3 weeks old still very green to the entire subject. everybody says "oh its the most simple thing there is" well i cant even begin to fathem how many wires and resistors and capacitors theres are its all confusing and i feel like im missing somthing because people say i should be able to do it

Rong

I think you would have much better luck building this from a picture or drawing, and then looking at the schematic to see what it refers to. Where did you get the schematic diagram you are trying to build?

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Ron Giuntini

San Francisco

willthiswork89

just about everywhere i see your new also [noparse]:)[/noparse]...yes i thought so too but nobody seems to have a decent picture of it being built which sucks!

Kevin Wood

Maybe you could post a copy of your schematic, or tell us what you are using for reference materials?

What hardware are you using? A Board of Education? Are you using a "What's a Microcontroller" parts kit?

If you haven't looked at the "What's a Microcontroller" manual, you might want to download it and study the wiring diagrams, and how they relate to the circuit schematics shown.

You might also want to check out a book called Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers.

Here are some sites related to the book. Look for the basic electronics links on the pages:

tigoe.net/pcomp/intro-pcomp-syllabus.shtml
itp.nyu.edu/~dbo3/physical/physical.html
itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/

Bruce Bates

WillThisWork -

You may find that purchasing the following book by Forrest Mims is the best $13.00 you ever spent, insofar as learning about the 555 timer:
http://tinyurl.com/ll8qt

It's also written at the beginner level.

Regards,

Bruce Bates

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Peter Verkaik

Here is an example with pictures and full description.
At the bottom is a link to a 555 tutorial.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/circ/555test.htm

regards peter

willthiswork89

ok im using all the parts that come with the WAM book and i went buy that diagram and if i count right i have... 12 connector wires 2 leds, 2 capacitors 4 resitors to do somthing that i dont even get whats happening... which is basically nothing because the only thing that hapens is one LED lights up....

SSteve

willthiswork89 said...
lol im NEW like 3 weeks old still very green to the entire subject. everybody says "oh its the most simple thing there is" well i cant even begin to fathem how many wires and resistors and capacitors theres are its all confusing and i feel like im missing somthing because people say i should be able to do it

"Simple" is relative. People who've been doing electronics for years can make a 555 circuit in their sleep. For people like you and me, it's not so obvious. That's no reason to give up. Just take advantage of the resources that are available. Last month I finally managed to build a 555-based circuit that blinks a 12V light when our clinic's back door is open and I was pretty proud of myself. There are some 555 circuits here: ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/homepage.htm#menu and every time you read the data sheet (www-s.ti.com/sc/ds/ne555.pdf) you'll learn something new. And you can always get help on this forum if you post your schematic.

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OS-X: because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows

links:
My band's website
Our album on the iTunes Music Store

steve_b

willthiswork89:

in another couple months, you'll progress to more advanced circuits....THAT's when you'll look back and think that the 555 is one of the simpler things you worked with.

I honestly don't worry about such devices in how they work internally....just that if I hook things up it does work.
You need to connect one wire at a time.
Are you reading from a schematic (with symbols for the components)? or are you trying to copy from a picture (a view of the resistors/caps/etc sticking in to a breadboard)?
Do some googling on schematic reading....it can get confusing.

What I do is print out the schematic and cross off each component as I install it in my circuit.
This may not be the most efficient way to do it, but it allows me to keep track of large component counts!

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·

Steve

"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."

RDL2004

Try looking around at this site. There are some good beginner tutorials.



http://www.play-hookey.com/

DigitalMan

Whoa, that sounds exactly like when I started out. 555's are indeed simple, for the most part, but the components and associated calculations can be intimidating. It took me several tries and a few trips to Radio Shack to make a 555 work. I think that's actually why I got my first·Basic Stamp, working with components was too complicated. Now whenever I need such a chip, I usually just drop in some larger chip that I can program to do exactly as I say. And you can never have too much overkill...

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/555/555.html is a good place to start. I have no idea what the schematic you have says, but try to remember you only need three parts to make it work (plus the LED or whatever you wish to turn on and off). Don't give up; some day, probably quite soon, not only will you be able to make a 555 work, but you'll be able to confuse the heck out of average·people by explaining how it works!

Edit: Oh! Quick note. If possible, add a second LED in parallel to the first, but reverse it. This way, you can see both sides of the timing cycle, and you'll know if the normal "on" cycle is just too short to see (which was my problem originally). If neither LED lights up, you have a larger problem with the power·connection.

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Chicks dig nerds... but not until after the prom.

Post Edited (DigitalMan) : 6/29/2006 1:14:19 PM GMT

stamptrol

It can be frustrating learning any new subject, particularly if you're trying to do it by yourself.

All the previous posts offer good suggestions on how to get further along the learning curve. Give yourself some time. Its been almost 50 years since I first got involved with electronics and there's still hardly a day goes by that I don't learn something new.

The greatest thing you can do for yourself is let people know you want to learn. Find a local school tech instructor, a radio-tv guy, a university instructor, R/C airplane club member and ask for help. You will find electronics people more than willing to help you.

Cheers

willthiswork89

sorry i was in florida,yesi know i cant playwith it asof now butisthere atechnique? (ex all positives firstthen go do all negatives)

PJAllen

You just have to develop your own style.· In just getting something going I tend to be generous with wires and so on and when I need to incorporate more circuitry then I'll consolidate my existing work (trimming things up and so on) to make room for more.· Don't paint yourself into a corner, it's your deal.

SSteve

Some people take a highlighter and highlight each wire as it's placed.

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OS-X: because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows

links:
My band's website
Our album on the iTunes Music Store

CLG/BLT

Hello, I am new. Try the new summer special "What's a Microcontroller?" kit. Or, if you have one of Parallax's software downloaded from the internet? Go to the help menu for topics. Maybe you have the program instructions wrong or you don't have enough confidence. If you don't understand schematics, this is all I know:

resistor: a zigzag line. There is imformation about resistance, or resisstance...or..whatever, `_`?, in ohms, read the correct resistance of the resistor in the manual. The resistor are color coded, the color code meanings should be in the manual. If not, get a paper, pen, and your resistor and go to your local Radio Shack Store, go to a drawer that says resistors and look for the same color code on a resistor your resistor have. The same color-coded resistor should say the resistance. If you are a good memorizer, you don't have to bring a paper and pen, just memorize the imformation on the package.

LED: an arrow surrounded by a circle and a line blocking the arrow's path. The arrow point is the cathode (the direction where the line is). The anode is the back of the arrow. on a real LED the wire shorter than than the other is the cathode.

I know eight more, but these are the one you need to know to make the LED blink.

Matt White

I'd·also highly recommend the "What is a microcontroller?" kit as well.· I bought this kit at Radio Shack earlier this year and started working through it with·son.· We've have great success in learning about electronics.· Parallax has done a great job on documentation and there are tons of resources availible on their website and other places.·

I haven't spent much time·working with 555 timers as I'm relatively new to electronics myself.··This is·probably the simplest diagram I could find.· I've included both the diagram·and·a picture of the circuit on my Board of Education.· The only difference between the diagram and the circuit in the picture is I added·a resistor and an LED.

Best of luck!
Matt

T Chap

pin 4 needs to go somewhere high or low depending

here are some great notes on 555

http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/LM555.html#5

Rong

Willthis work seems to be having a problem with configuring a 555 timer. If you are using the WAM book, just do what the book shows you to do. These books are very clear and tested. If you rush through it and just get discouraged, it is best to take a breath, step away from it, and try from scratch when you are rested and have a positive attitude towards the project. If you assemble circuits like you type, I think there is the problem. Do every step carefully and it will work.

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Ron Giuntini

San Francisco