FIG. 1—FUNCTIONAL BLOCKS OF THE 555 TIMER wit its pinout identified. Learn to use the 555 and 556 timer IC in practical circuits to obtain accurate time delays and square waves those who know integrated cir- cuits. the three digits 555 will summon up the instant re- sponse "timer IC.” It's the short form generic designation for progeny of the NESS9.a popular monolithic tmer/oscillator IC first introduced by Signetics many years ago. Still widely sec ond-sourced because of its ver- satility, the 555 ranks as a standard “building block.” The 555 and its derivatives can be found in thousands of different circuits. and its pos- sibilities for further applica tions appear limitless. Al though classed asa linear IC. it is often used in digital or “quasi-digital” applications be- cause its inputs and outputs are essentially square waves rather than sine or other com: plex waveforms. This article ex plains how the 555 works and shows you how to apply the IC is practical control cir A.355/556 overview Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of the 555 show- ing its principal functional blocks: threshold comparator, trigger comparator. R-S flip flop, low-power complementary output stage. slave discharge transistor. and a voltage-refe~ ence potential divider. Both halves of a 5555 ona singlechip\. 556, have identical elec- trical characteristics, The 555,556 will run irom 4.5 to 16 volts DC, although a typical supply will be +12 volts DC or The outstanding features of the 5551556 include ¢ Timing adjustable from mi- croseconds to hours © Dury cycle adjustable of output to source (supply) or sink (dissipate) 200- mulliampere current © Output can drive TTL logic circuits © Temperature stability ex- ceeds 0.005 %/°C ©. Normally “on” and normally “off” output The 555 and 556 were de- signed for precision timing ap- plications. with the timing interval controlled by an exter nal resistor and capacitor (RC) network. The devices contain voltage dividers consisting ofthree 5000-ohm resistors in se- ries between the supply voltage and ground so that one-third of the Supply voltage is developed across cach resistor. The inter nal flip flop circuit provides a definite “on” or “off” response. Itstiming intervals are indepen- dent of the supply voltage. The 555 has two basic operat- ing modes: monostable (one- ‘shot—a single pulse is emitted). and astable (a stream of output pulses is generated). in the monostable mode when func- tioning as timers, time is pre- cisely controlled by the external RC network. In that mode the 355 produces output pulses with rise and fall times mea sured in microseconds, In the astable mode. the 535 can be an oscillator. It can main- tain an accurately controlled free-running frequency and duty cycle with only two exter nal resistors and one capacitor In either monostabie or astable ‘modes. timing accuracy is es- sentially independent of varia- tions in supply voltage or ambient temperature. The de- vice can be triggered and reset on falling waveforms. ical applications for the 595 include precision and se- quential timing. pulse genera- tion. pulse-width and puise- postion modulation. and linear Famp generation. Moreover, it can directly drive loads such as relays. solenoids, low-power lamps. and high-impedance speakei The 555 is packaged in plas- Uc and metal DIPS and 8-pin metal cans for operation in the commercial temperature range of 0°C to +70°C, Some plastic DiPs can operate in the 40°C to +85°C extended temperature range Aliernate-sourced 555 can usually be Identified by the in- qlusion of the numbers 55 or 555 in their designations. Ex amples include Harris’ CA555. Motorola's MC1455. and Nation- al Semiconductors’ LM555C. Other sources include Exar. Goldstar. Raytheon, Samsung. SGS-Thomson, and Sharp Elec: tronics. CMOS versions of the 355. suchas Texas Instruments) TLC5S5 are also available. In addition to their low power con- sumption compared to stan- dard 5555. their outputs are compatible with CMOS as well as TTL. ‘Table 1 presents some basic electrical characteristies for the 555, The 556 is housed ina 14- pin DIP package but the block Giagram of eact circuit is iden tical (o that of the S55 shown in Fig. 1. The 536 is aleo alternate- ‘sourced by many of the same firms that offer the 555. Exam- ples are Motorola’ MC3556 and ‘Texas Instruments TLC7556. How the 555 works. Figure 2 is a representative circuit schematic for the 555. It contains 21 transistors, + di- odes, and 15 resistors. The volt- age divider consisting of three ‘ohm resistors (shown int Fig. 1) appears to the right of TABLE ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS [Symbol] Min. Veo |. #5 up Mp | ve Vn | 04 QlOin the trigger comparator. It applies one-third of the supply voltage to the non-inverting in- put terminal of the trigger com parator and two-thirds of the supply voltage to the inverting input of the [C's threshold com- parator, ‘The output of the two com- parators controls the RS flip- flop. which in turn controis the states of the complementary output stage and the slave tran- sistor Q6. The fiip-flop’s state can also be set by signals at RESET pin 4. When organized as a mono: stable timer, the Triccer pin 2 is held high by external resistor R,, in series with the DC supply voltage. Under that condition, Q6 is saturated. shorting exter- fal timing capacitor Cp to ground, and oureut pin 3 ts driven low. Timer action is started by applying a negative- going trigger pulse to pin 2. As this pulse falls below one-third of the DC supply voltage. the output of the trigger com- parator changes state. That causes the R-S flip-flop to switch. turning Q6 off. and driving ourrur pin 3 high. ‘As Q6 turns off. the short is removed trom the external ca- pacitor Cp. The capacitor charges through the external resistor R,, until the voltage across C,, rises to two-thirds of the supply voltage. Then the threshold comparator changes state and switches the RS flip- flop back to its original state. turning Q6“on" and rapidly dis- charging Cy, At the same time. ourrur pin’ reverts to its low state. The timing cycle is then complete. A characteristic of the 395 1s that, once triggered, it cannot respond to additional triggering Until the timing sequence is complete. However, the se- quence can be aborted at any timeby feedinga negative-going pulse fo Reser pin 4. ‘The output pulse is a square wave whose duration (time de- lay} depends on the values of R and C. The formula for this is: tp (time delay) = 1.1 (value of R % value of C) stated, time delay is iy proportional to the naga ‘2a Joalinge pane nsnocasy SEB E sie FIG. 2—REPRESENTATIVE CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC FOR A 555 imer with external 1e- “Sistive and capacitive components. 1 thousand ohms to 10 megohms. Figure 4-2 is a simple fixed- period (approximately 50-sec- ond) manually-triggered time delay cireutt. and Fig. 4-b shows the waveforms as they would appear on an os- cilloscope. The sequence of events in Fig, 4-bis initiated by grounding TreceR pin 2 with Momentary starr switch Si ‘The CONTROL vourAGE pin 5 is decoupled by C2. and the out- put state can be determined by observing whether LED! 1s if luminated or not. A square out- Ut pulse (whose fixed-period is. determined by RI and C1) ap- pears at ourrvr pin 3, while an exponential sawtooth (with the same periods the square wave) appears at oiscHARce pin 7. TANCE yield arange of time _ The fixed.period output of the Gelays, The trigger pulse width must be less than the timing period. circuit in Fig. 4 can vary from 1.1 to 120 seconds by making Product of Rand C. Figure3isa family of time delaycurves with the changes shown in Fig. 5- Plot of time delay vs. resistance variations in Ry and Cy Delays Resistor Rl is replaced with a and capacitance based upon from 10 microseconds to 100 10K fixed resistor and 1- the time-delay formula where, seconds can be obtained by se- megohm potentiometer RS in is in milliseconds. R is in thou- _lecting suitable values of low. series. as shown. A reset feature sands of ohms, and C is in mi- leakage capacitors from 0.001 can be added by installing 6 crofarads. Figure 3 gives a uF to 100 uF and resistors from —_xeser switch $2. permittingFIG. $—FIXED-PERIOD TIMER produces a Si-second time delay (a). The wave- ‘forms at three pins are snewn (b ~a} FIG, S—YARIABLE-PERIOD TIMER CIRCUIT wih reset capabitty produces time de- lays from 1.1 te 129 seconds. aw f premature termination of the liming period The 555 timer can drive non- inductive loads directly from pin 3 with currents as large as 200 milliamperes. However. the circuit contains an induc- tive relay load. either of the schematics shown In Fig, 6 ap. ply. In Fig 6-a. the relay RVI is normally off. but it goes on only when ourpur pin 3 goes high during the timing interval; in Fig. 6-b. RY isnormally on, but ictums off during the uming interval, Diode D1 in both cir cuits protects the 558 against inductive-switching damage The contacts of relay RY1 can control external circuits. Figure 7 shows how a rela and a 555¢an form a simple 1.1- to 120-second timer in two switch selected decades. How- ever. the general-purpose cir- cuit has several drawbacks. First. it draws current continu- ren When the timer is off. Second. because of the wide tolerance variations in the elec- trolytic timing capacitors C1 and C2, potentiometer R4 needs two custom calibrated scales. ‘The schematicin Fig. Sshows how te overcome these draw- backs. The reset switch S2 and the setof relay contacts in paral- lel with the starr switch SI, which are both normally open (N.O.) keep the cirenit off so there 5 no current drain. The timing cycle is started by press- ing momentary pushbutton switch Si, which connects power to the 535, At the instant Of St closure, C3 is fully dis- charged. It therefore sends a start pulse to TRiGcER pin 2 through R4 and initiates a tim- ing cycle As the timing cycle starts, RY1 is energized. The contacts in parallel with Si close and keep the 555 powered even when 52 is released. At the end of the timing cycle RY is de-energized and its contacts re-open. dis- connecting power from the 555. ‘The timing of the circuit in Fig. 8 is principally controlled by the values of resistor RI and potentiometer RS. andeitherC] or C2. which are switch-se- lected by S3-a. Note. however, 13 ear wqWOHKoSthat timingis also influenced by the setting of potentiometers R6 and R7. They are selected with switch S3-band connected to CONTROL voltage pin 5 of the IC. Those potentiometers effec tively shunt the internal voltage of the 555. thereby altering tim- ing periods. ‘That feature allows thecircult to produce precise timing peri- ods even when capacitors with Joose-tolerance values arr in the circuit. It also allows a single calibrated timing scale to cover the two switch-selecied timing es, To set up the Fig. 8 circui first set potentiometer RS 10 tS maximum value, set switch 53 to position 1 and push starr button SI. Then adjust potensi- ‘meter R6 for a precise period of 10 seconds, Next, set 3 10 posi- Uon 2, push start switch Sl, and adjust potentiometer R7 for precise period of 100 seconds. With those adjustments com- plete. the Uming scale can be calibrated over its full 100-sec- one range. ‘Timers for car lights gure lem cult hat eto matically delavs the turn-off of an automobiles headlights. per- mitting them to function as safety lights at night alter the ignition switch is tured off. It 45 @ useful circuit if you want ‘your cars headlights to remain ‘on for 50 seconds after vou have parked, tured off the ignitior locked ‘the doors. and walked The headights will stay on long enough to illuminate your route until you can reach the safety of your home. The ¢: ‘cuit does not interfere with nor- mal headlight operation. When the cars ignition switch $2 is turned “on,” RY]is energized (through diode D3} dlosing its contacts and con- necting the 12-volt battery to the 555 and headlights switch SI. In this state the headlights operate normally. However, be- cause both sides of capacitor C2 are connected to the positive Supply, itis fully discharged. When S2 is turned “off.” the voltage across R3 goes to zero. de-energizing the relay. How: ever, at that time C3 applies a Fic. 6—PRECISION (COMPENSATED) TIMER with a elay output has two ranges: 0.9 ‘to 10 seconds and 9 10100 seconds. 3 (uss) FIG. S-HEADLIGHT TURNOFF CONTROL with automatic delay for automobiles. Hesousers On SPoTUGHT OF FIG. 10—HEADLIGHT SPOTLIGHT TURNOFF CONTROL for automobiles is manually scusied. negative-going trigger pulse to TRIGGER pin 2, initiating a 50- second timing cycle that applies current to the relay coil through DL. Relay RY1's contacts remain closed for about 50 seconds after $2 ts turned off, keeping the positive battery supply con- nected to $1 during this period. That keeps the headlights on if Sl is in its ox position, At the end of that 50-Second time de- lay, RY1 de-energizes, its con-“They wil be tamed on fora pre- ‘set 50-second period as soon as momentary pushbutton starr ‘switch Sl is pressed. When the delay period Limes out. the lights will be tumed off again etornaticaly The Fig, 10 circuit includes relay RY1 with two sets of nor- mally-open contacts. The tim- ing sequence is stared with the momentary closure of pushbut- fon switch 61. Normally both St ‘and the relay contacts are open. So the mer circuit ta at FG. 1}PORCH LIGHT CONTROL AUTONATICALLY ture on ight fr a pret Powered and the lights are off period only when tragered at nigh. oe Capacitor C3 is discharged un- der this condition. When 91 is momentarily closed. RYT coll 1s energized ‘That action closes lts first set contaria: apphying power the car lights while also closing its second set of contacts. appiving power to the 355. However, Fniocee pin of thelC isbrielly grounded through C2. 90.2 Regative trigger puise ta fed to it'and a tinting epee te begun, Consequently. output pin 3 of the 555 switches high when the relay contacts close, locking the Felay into its "on" state (re- _ as a _ garulessof thesubsequent state A Laer earl «i rgoere by recanglar input gals: ol es OL ue oe ne of the timing eyele, pin 3 of the IC switches to its low state, de-en- +5T0+6¥ ergizing RY1. Then both sets of relay contacts open. discon- Automatic porch light Figure [1 is an automatic con- tol circuit for a porch light. It will tum a poreh light on auto- matically for a preset 50-second period when its sensor detects the presence of a person. How- ever. it performs that function only at night or under condi- tions of reduced visibility such FIG. 1S-MODIFED ADD-ON PULSE GENERATOR can be triggered by any king of #5 "ght occur during a storm. beaten ashaticurae heels switch SI, which can be a jacts open. and battery supply ever. thecireuit shown in Fig. 10 microswitch triggered by a por- is disconnected from the 855 _is applicable to older vehicles ch gate. it might also be a pres- and Si whose headlights or spotlight sure-switch nidden under a The circuit in Fig. 9 is com- are independent of the ignition porch mat and triggered by a pauibiewith modern practicefor switch. The circuit illustrates a person weighing perhaps 50 powering the headlights switch manual delayed turn-off Hight pounds or more. Si with ignition switch $2 so control Cireuit operation depends on that headlights work onlywhen That circuit works if thevehi- a negative-going pulse that falls the ignition switch is on. How. cle is parked with its lights off. below the internally controlled 3 won Savona 64 soass Now, Soplontber 1992 Blea — Ca e output 3 ova ! FIG. 16—ADD-ON DELAYED PULSE GENERATOA can be triggered by any input wave- ‘orm (a) Wavetorms at input C1 and those atthe outputs of 102 andC3 based on Gitfernt values of Rane C(O) one-third supply voltage being under reduced visibility, caus- fed to rricceR pin 2 of the 555. ing alow voltage toappearat the If the trigger pulse does not fall R4-R5 junction. Under that below that value, the timing cy- condition. closing SI generates les cannot be initiated a voltage pulse that pulls pin 2 In Fig. 11. the photocell (re- below the one-third supply volt- sistorR4) andpocentiometer RS age value. triggering the timer are in series a5 0 light-depen- ‘The cadmium-sulphide (CdS! dent voltage divider. Oneside of photocell (resistor R4) should SI is connected to the junction have a resistance of 1000 to between R4 and R5. and the 47.000 ohms under “dark” other side is connected to pin2 turn-on conditions. Potentiom. through a the network of C2 eter R5 can beadjusted to preset and RS. in normal daylight the the minimum “dark” level for photocclls resistance is iow.soa circuit triggering. The uigger high voltage appears at the signal is fed to pin 2 of the 555 Junction of R4 and RS. Asare- through the C3 and R3. a net sult, closing SI sends a voltage work that shapes the trigger pulse io pin 2 whose value is too pulse and effectively isolates the low to pull pin2 below one-third DC component of the photocell- of the supply voltage. Thus, the potentiometer network from timer cannot be triggered with pin 2. SI under those conditions. However. the photocell resis- Pulse generators tance value increasesat nightor _Inall of thecircuits presented 30 far. the 555 functions as « monostabie (one-shot) pulse generator Suitable trigger sig- nalsare fed toTRiGceRpin 2 and output pulses are taken from ourrur pin 3. The 555 can gen- erate well formed output pulses with periods from 5 microse- conds to hundreds of seconds. ‘The maximum usable pulse re- pitition frequency is approx mately 100 KHz. ‘The signal reaching TRIGGE pin2 must bea carefullvshaped negative going pulse. Its ampli- tude must switch from an “off” value greater than two-thirds of thesupply voltage to an “on’ val ue less than one-third of the supply voltage. (Triggering ac- tually occurs as pin 2 drops through the one-third supply voltage value.) Trigger pulse width must be greater than 100 nanoseconds but less than that of the desired output pulse. ‘That condition assures trigger pulse removal by the time the monostable period times out. Suitable trigger signals for the555 in the monostabie mode can be formed by converting the input signal to a good square wave that swilches between the full positive supply voltage and ground. The square wave is then coupled to pin 2 with are sistorcapacitor differentiating network having a short time constant. That network con- ‘TABLE 2—CAPACITOR VALUES FOR PULSE-WIDTHS, Capactors C3 Pulse With Range (Microtarade) (Time in Seconds) 700 90 ms- 12, 10 ‘3 ms- 120 ms Ox 900 us - 12 ms oot M0 jis -12me ‘0.001 Sus -120us verts the leading or trailing edges of the square wave into suitable trigger pulses, igure 12 shows a timing ci cuit that accepts input signais already in the form of square waves or pulses. Transistor Q1 converts a rectangular input signal into a form that switches between the positive supplyand ground. The output signal isFiG.15 THREE-STAGE SEQUENTIAL TIMER or pulse generator (a) and waveforms at {ree different output pins (b) then fed to TRIGGER pin 2 through differentiating net. work C2-R4. The circuit can be- come an add-on pulse generator in combination with a separate square-wave or pulse generator. Variable-amplitude output pulses can be obtained {rom po- tentiometer R7, ‘The output pulse widths of the Fig. 12 circuit can be varied over more than a devade range with potentiometer R6, and they can be switched in overlap- ping decade ranges with the va ues of C3 listed in Table 2. With the component values shown. output pulse width is variable from 9 microseconds to 1.2 sec- ‘onds. Capacitor C4 decouples CONTROL VOLTAGE pin 5 to im- prove circuit stability Figure 13 shows a modifica- tion of the circuit in Fig. 12 that can be triggered by any kind of nput wavelorm. including sine waves. Here the tirst 955 (ICI) is configured as a Schmitt trigger to convert all input signals into square-wave output signals. Those square waves trigger the second 555 (IC2) in the mono- stable mode in the same way as described earlier, The circuit can also become an add-on pulse generator in combination with any kind of stand-alone waveform generator that pro- duces output signals with peak- to-peak amplitudes greater than one-half the ICs supply voltage. Figure L4-a shows how two monostable circuits can be con- nected in series to make a de- layed-pulse generator. As in Fig. 13, the first 555 (ICI) 's contig ured as a Schmutt trigger The second 555 {IC2) controls time delay width. while the third 555 (103) determines the output pulse width. AS shown in Fig. 14-b, the output pulse at pin of IC3 ap- pears at a time interval after the {initial application of the trigger signal. This time delay width To is determined by the prod- uct of the value of capacitor C3 and the sum of the values of re- sistor RS and potentiometer RB. in accordance with the time de- lay formula given earlier. Sim- ilarly, output pulse width toa is determined with the values of C7. and RB and R9. ‘This circuit can become part ofa stand-alone pulse delay gen- erator by building it into a square-wave generator case. ‘The square-wave generator will provide the initial trigger sig- nals needed. ‘A number of monostable pulse generators can be piaced In series to operate in sequen- ual form, Figure 15-a, for exam- ple. shows a three-stage se Quential generator eireuit. It can control lamps or relays in a pre-programmed time sequence after pushbutton switch S1 is, pressed to give the sTarT command. Note that the RESET pins (pin 4) ofall three 595 are Shorted together and positively biased by RB. Those pins canbe shorted to ground with set switch $2. When power is ap- plied, Si should be closed, en. Suring that none of the 555 in the circuit are falsely triggered. Figure 14-b shows the ware- forms from the output pins of all three 555% (ICI to IC3). The time delay te, 1s determined by the values of Cl and R2. tps Is determined by the value of C4 and R4 and tp, is determined by the values of C7 and R7 when inserted in the time delay for mula given earlier Finally. three or more mono- stable circuits can be connected with capacitor C9 (shown in 2 dashed connection line) be: tween SI and pin 3 of the third 555 (IC3). This loop feeds a sig. nal back from the ouTPuT pin of IC3 to the input TecceR pin of IC1, permitting infinite repeti- tion of pulse sequence. The cir- cuit can drive LEDS and digital logic, The circuit also has the reset capability provided by S2 that clears the circuit when power is first applied. RETHE 555: A VERSATILE OSCILLATOR monostable mult cluded a functional blo - . operation i in the monostable multi- matic of the chip. You ut. This or cireuit in Fig. 2, oureuT want to refer back to those fig he : piscHarce pin 7, and lures if you want more deta contre ou pin 6 are held low Information about how the 555. ast rs sreuit is quiescent. A 1s organized. Figure 1 is a pin- \ sk ° timing period can out diagram of the 555s pack- “and no external a driving TRIccER aged in the most common 8-pin pushoutton Die It was pointed out in the last article that, although a ma- ture device, the 555 remains one of the most popular ICs available today ‘At least five major semlcon- ductor firms in the U.S. and Ja- pan make the 555. There is also 2 dual version, the 596, thathas two identical S555 on a single chip. The device is usually pack-_ trigger is necessary to ‘agcdinal4-pinDIRAquadver cuit oscillation: it is said Sion, the 558. has four inden- _ self-triggering. This cireui tical 5558 on asinge chip. and figuration is also called am iis packaged in a 1é-pin DIP oscillatér, signal generator. The alternate source suppliers pulse generator or & rectangle- usually include the numerals wave generator. 55, 56 or S8inthelrowndesig- _ As long as power is applied to nations for those devices. the astable cireuit, the output ‘The 555 occupies @ strange continually switches back and position in the universe of inte- forth between the high and low grated circuits. Classed as alin- states at_a regular rate or fre- eer IC because it can be quency. The time in the high triggered either by lmearordig- state (pulse width) and the time ilalsignals, Us output is always in the low state (space length) digital—in the form of ree dependon the selection of exter tangular or square waves or _nalresistorsand capacitors. Be- pulses cause of its relatively high voltage. Eventually t ‘The585 inamonostablemul- output, the 585 in an astable at pin 7 rises to two- tivibrator cireuit (also called a circuit can drive LEDS, speak- the supply voltage, ané timer, time dela. of one-shot) ers, and'meters direct) stable action ceases withElectronics Naw, October 1992 a 6 and 7 grounded by the inter nal circuitry of the 555 Examine the astable circuit shown in Fig. 3-a. In this circuit qniccER pin 2 is shorted to ‘THRESHOLD pin6. and timing re- sistor R2 is wired between pin 2 and piscaRce pin 7. When power is applied to the circuit, Capactior Cl charges exponen- tially (as it did in Fig. 1) through resistors RI and R2 until the voltage on Cl reaches two- press-to-turn- fon” operation, a, and waveforms at out- put af pin 3 and serose Ci, B R2. Both circuits oscillate at about 1.2 kHz with the value of C1 shown, Precision astable circuit In the description of astable muluvibrator operation given earlier in this article. it wes stated that in the first half cycle of oscillation timing capacitor Cl charges from zero volts to two-thirds of the supply voltage. but in all subsequent half-cy- cles it either discharges from two-thirds to one-third of the supply voltage or charges from one-third to two-thirds of that voltage. Consequently. the first half cycle of oscillation has a far longer period than all subse- quent half cycies. Saraos > FIG, 14—ALTERNATIVE GATED 1-kitz OSCILLATOR offering “press-to-turn- ofr la and waveforms at out- ut of pin 3, In applications calling for a low-frequency clock signal. this large differential in period can ‘cause a timing problem. How- ever, this problem can be aver- ted by adding an external voltage divider and diode as chown in Fig. 10. Those compo- nents bias Ci to a point slightly below one-third of the suppl voltage (rather than zero volts) at the moment of switch-on. Here, RI rapidly charges CI to ‘one-third of the supply voltage through D1 at switch-on. and all ofthe Cl charge is subsequently controlled by R3 and/or R4 only: ON et As soe Sa ore FIG. 15—PRECISION YERSION OF THE OSCILLATOR in Fig. 12, 2, and wave- formsat output ofpin Sand across C1,b. Astable gating The 555 in the astable muiti- vibrator mode can be triggered ow and orF in many different ways with either an elec- tromechenical switch or an electronic signal. The most pop: ular way to trigger the 555 is through reset pin 4. Figures Ila and 12.a show alternative ways of triggering the 555 with this pin and pushbutton switch SI. The 655 isorganized so that if pin 4 is biased above about 0.7 volts, the astable mode ts abled. But if it is biased below 0.7 volts by a current greater than 0.1 milliampere (by grounding pin 4 with a resi tance less than 7 kilohms, for example) the astable mode is disabled. and the 5558 output 1s biased low. For example. the circuit in Fig. La is normally turned off byR3, butitcan be turned on by closing pushbutton switch SI, which biases pin 4 high. Figure 12-a shows an astable circuit that is normally on. but it can be turned off by closing push- button switch SI. which shorts pin 4 to ground. The circuits in Figs. 11 and 12 can also be trig gered by applying suitable elec fronic signals directly to theirssvTo stg SPACES DUAL FIG. 16—CIRCUIT FOR APPLYING AC- ‘COUPLED FM or PPM to 2 $55 contig- lured as an oscillator a, nd waveforms st output of pin 3, osv10 2150 FIG: 17 CIRCUIT FOR APPLYING A DC- COUPLED FM or PPM to a S55 config. red as an asctlator. Reset pins. In Fig. 11-b. the precise cir- cult waveforms at ourrut pin 3 and across Cl are shown. It can be seen that the duration of the frst half-cycle of oscillation ts considerably longer than the succeeding half cycles because of the time for Cl to charge to two-thirds of the supply voltage. Also, note that when the astable mode is turned off, the Cl volt: tion of Cl and Ra close to zero volts through R2 preventing os- cillation. When pushbutton switch SI is closed. QI is biased off, and the astabie circuit is free to oscillate normally. Refer to Fig, 13-b for the wave- forms of the circuit in Fig. 13-2. When the astable response is, triggered on, the first half cycle is again considerably longer than in succeeding half cycles, and that the voltage on C1 de- cays rapidly to nearly zero volts when the trigger {s off. Also notice that ourur pin 3 ishigh in the oF state Figure 14 shows how the cir- cuit in Fig, 13-acan be modified to give press-to-turn-off oscilla- tion simply by replacing QI with a pushbutton switch. A digital signal can trigger this circuit if a diode is connected as shown in the diagram and the push- button S1 is deleted. With SI re- moved, the circuit will be tumed off when the input sig- nal voltage is reduced below one-third of the supply voltage. The waveform is shown in Fig 14d. Finally. to complete this look at triggering techniques, Fig. siavTo rise FIG. 20—CIRCUIT GENERATES 800-Hz PULSED-TONE ALARM. age decays slowly to zero: the output at ourput pin 3 is zero volts in the orF condition. The waveform characteristics of Fig. 12-aare similar as shown in Fig, 12. Figure 13-a shows an alter native method for triggering the 555 in the astable mode. Here transistor QI is normally biased on by RI, so it acts like a closed switch, which pulls the junc- 15-a shows how the Fig. 13-actr. cuit can be modified so that the duration of its first half-cycle ts almost equal to that of all suc- ceeding half-cycles. thus giving precision operation. In the Fig’ iS-a circuit. when pushbutton switch 81 iS open. QI Is satu- rated. so the voltage divider made up of R2 and R3 pulls the junction of R5 and CI to slightly below one-third of the supply ‘oni s9)0012013 "2661 090120I Boctonics Now, Ostaber 1902 na weey FIG. 21—CIRCUIT GENERATES WARBLE ALARM of Europaan emergency vehicles sym FIG. 23. CIRCUIT GENERATES PENETRATING ALARM of Star Tek spacechip. voltage through diode Di. thus the circuit is then free to oseil- turning the circuit off. When $1 late normally. SSO°E9. G1 tums off. Di is re. Notice in Fig. 15-b that when Neme Placed through 2, and SI is first closed. Cl starts to charge from an initial value of almost a third of the supply volt- age rather than from zero volts. Therefore, the duration of the initial haif cycle ts similar to that of all the succeeding half cycles. Modulation tec! All of the 555 astable circuits reviewedsofar can befrequency or pulse-position modulated (FM or PPM) by feeding a suit- able modulation signal to CONTROL VOLTAGE pin 5. which is connected to part of the internal voltage divider chain of the 555. ‘The AC modulation signal is ted to pin 5 through a blocking ca- pacitor, as in Fig. 16-a, or the DC modulation signal can be fed directly to pin 5. as shown in Fig. 17. 1¢ voltage on pin 5 of the Fig. 15-a circult alters the width of the pulses in each uming cy- cle of the 555, but it has almost no effect on the space duration. The signal at pin 5 changes the PPM pulse width position, af- fecting the total cycle period so italso influences the output fre- quency, as shown in Fig. 16-D. Theo doing, pin $ provides a fre ‘Those characteristics of the 555 are useful for generating special waveforms. Alarms and sirens Some of the most popular ap- plications for the 555 organized as an astable multivibrator are as waveform generators for loudspeakers. ‘They can pro- duce alarm and siren sounds. Figures 18 to 28 show different ‘ways to create those sounds. All of the circuits in those figures are triggered by making or breaking their supply-voltage connections. Figure 16 shows an 800-Hz monotone alarm-call generator cireuit, which can be powered by any'5- to 15-volt DC supply. The speaker SPKRI can have any impedance value. Note. however, that Ry must be wired in series with any speaker whose total impedances is less than 75 ohms. Select a resistor to give a total series resistance with the speaker of 75 ohms. continued on page 94VERSATILE OSCILLATOR continued from page 74 That resistance value will keep the peak speaker currents with- in the 200-milliampere output limit of the 555. The output power of this alarm circuit de- pends on speaker impedance and supply voltage. but it can be as high as 750 milliwatts with a 75-ohm speaker and 2 15-volt supply: Notice that C3 ia an clec- trolytie capacitor. Figure 19 shows how the out- ut power of the circutt in Fig. 18 can be boosted to several watts with buffer transistor Ql. The resulting high speaker out. put current can introduce a sig- nificant ripple voltage to the power source. Diode D1 and electrolytic capacitor C3 protect the 555 from the effects of that ripple. Diodes D2 and D3 clamp the Inductive switching spikes from the speaker and protect Q1 st damage. The circustsin Figs. 20 to 23 have a similar output s Figure 26 shows how a pair of 555 organized as astable mul- lvibrators form an 800-Hz pulsed-tone alarm generator. In this circuit ICL is wired as a 300-Hz alarm generator, and IC2 ts wired as a I-Hz oscillator that triggers IC] on and off through diode Di once per sec- ond, thus generating the pulse- tone alarm. The circuit in Fig. 21 gener- ates the penetrating two-tone “he-haw” sound of European ‘emergency vehicles. Here. IC1is also wired as an alarm gener- ator, and IC2 is wired as a 1-Hz oscillator, But in this case the ‘eutput of IC2 frequency modu- lates C1 through resisior R5. ‘The output frequency of IC1 al- ternates symmetrically between 500 Hz and 440 Hz in one-sec- ond alternating cycles. Figure 22 shows circuit that generates the wailing noise of a police siren. Here ICZis wired as low-frequency oscillator witha vele period of about 6 scconds. The slowiy varying ramp wave form of IC2, buffered by emitter follower transistor Ql. frequen- cy modulates alarm generator ICI through resistor RS. In this circuit ICI has a natural center frequency of about 500 Hz. The alarm output signal starts at a low frequency, rises for three seconds to @ high frequent then decays over a period of three seconds to a low-frequen- cy before repeating itself as long as power is applied. Finally, the circuit in Fig. 23 generates an alarm that simu- tes the"RedAlert’ that isoften heard n the Star Trek TV series. The sound starts at a low fre- queney and rises to a high fre- quency in about 1.15 seconds. ceases for about 0.35 seconds. and then starts rising again from a low frequency. Here again, the sound patiern re- peats as long as power Isapplied to the cireuit. The 555 labeled IC2 is wired as anon-symmetrical oscillator. Capacitor Ci alternately a through Rl and diode D1. and discharges through R2. The results arapidiyrising and slowly falling “sawtooth” wave- form across C1. After buffering by Ql. this waveform frequency modulates pin 5 of ICI through R7, causing the output frequen- © of IC] to rise siowly durin; the decay part of the sawtooth waveform and to collapse rapidly during the rising part of the sawtooth waveform. ‘The rectangular waveform at pin 3 of IC2 turns ICI off through common-emitter am- Plifier Q2 during the decay phase of the alarm. Therefore. only the rising parts of the sound pattern are heard which sound very much like the Star ‘Trek Red Alert. The outputs of most of the cir- cuits in this article have been taken from output pin 3, but many of the figures haven shown triangular waveforms developed across the timing ca- pacitor (e.g Figs. 3b, 11b, 13b and 15b). There might be occa- sions when you will find those sawtooth (or ramp) waves useful. You can obtain a saw- tooth by tapping the charge voltage across the timing capac- itor. By charging the capacitor with a constant current source instead of 2 simple resistance the ramp can be made quite lin- ear. REIts use in aceura oscillator circuits This third arti discussing the 535 4 component in a Sehmil circuit. It goes on Wex role of the 586 in various as multivibrator or oscillator cults with many practical ap plications. Those circults in: clude light- and dark- as well as hot- and cold-actuated alarms. Other circuits are a code prac- tice oscillater. a door buzzer. a continuity tester a signal gener ator. and a metronome. Various light-actuator and relay-driver circuits are included. Schmitt trigger Figure 1's the pinout and functional block diagram for the 555 timer IC. In previous articles it was pointed out that for a 555 1n the time-delay oper. ation mode. timing can be pre- cisely controlled by one extemal resistor and one capacitor. For astable operation as an os- cillator. the free-running fre- quency and duty cycle can be accurately controlled with two external resistors and a single capactior. {eis worth recalling that the 555 can be triggered and reset on falling waveforms. and the output circuit can source or sink up to 200 milliamperes, or arive TTL circuits. The 585s features include normally on and normally aif outputs Figure 2a illustrates the 555 1Cas the active component ina Schmitt trigger circuit, Notice that the3358 rmicces pin2 and THRESHOLD pin 6 are connected ‘0 form an input terminal. Ex- ternal input signals are applied directly at that point, The ouput pin 3 becomes the out pui terminal. Internal comparators A and B (see Fig. 1) are biased with an on-chip voitage divider. That di- vider biases comparator A at FIG. 1—PINOUT AND FUNCTIONAL BLOCK alagram of the two-thirds of the supply voltage, and the non-inverting terminal of comparator B at one-third of the supply voltage. Comparator A drives the R input and com- parator B drives the 5 input of the on-chip R'S Mtp-flop. When the input voltage of the circuit in Fig 2-a rises above two-thirds of the supply voltage. the 585 output switches to its low state. It remains there until the input voltage falls below one-third of the supply voltage. work as a Schmitt of light and Then the output and remains high put rises above the’ supply level again. The difference betwe two trigger levels is call hysteresis value. It 1s one- of the supply in Fig. 2-a large hysteresis makes the ci cult useful in signal con. ditioning where noise and ripple must be rejected. as shown in Fig. 2-b. Figure 3 shows how the cir 61a i 2 i 5 i 8 FIG. 2A SCHMITT TRIGGER CIRCUT formed witha 555 timer IC. cuit in Fig. 2-a can be modified into a high-performance sine- to square-wave converter useful at input frequencies up toabout 150 kHz. The voltage divider formed by RI and R2 biases the input terminal (pins 2 and 5) of the 555 at its quiescent vale of ‘one-half the suppiy voltage li.e. midway between the upper and lower trigger values) The sine-wave input signal is superimposed on this point with capacitor Cl. Square-wave ‘output signals are taken from pin 3 of the IC. Resistor R3 is wired in series with the mput terminal to ensure that the sine-wave signal isnot distorted when the 555 switches. Figure 4 shows how the Schmitt trigger circuit can be made into a dark-activated relay. actuator by wiring the light-de- pendent voltage divider consist- ing of potentiomenter RI and photocell R2 to the input termi- nhal of the IC. The potentiome’ and photocell resistance values are nearly equal at the middle of the light-aetivation range The inherently high input backlash or hysteresis of the Schmitt trigger limits the usefulness of this eircurt tovery speciclized light-sensing ap- plications. A more useful relay driving, dark-activated switch ing circuit is shown in Fig 5. tt acts as a fast comparator rather thana true Schmitt trigger, The THRESHOLD pin 6 to internal comparator A of the 555 is tied permanently high by resistor RS. while the output of the light-sensing potentiometer RI and photocell R2 voltage divider 1s applied to TRIGGER pin 2 of comparator B. ‘The photoresistive element for this circuit can be any cad mium.sulfide photocell whose resistance is between 470 ohms and 10 kilohms et the desired tum-on light level. The circuit in Fig. 5 can also function as a ight (rather than dark-) acu- vated switch by exchanging the positions of the potentiometer and photocell. as shown in Fig 6 FIG, 3A SCHMITT TRIGGER SINE- AND SQUARE: wave generator formed with 2 58516. FIG. ¢—OARK-ACTIVATED RELAY SWITCH BASED on the 5E5 hae alot of hnysteresi ‘The cireuti can also function as a temperature-activaied switch by substituting a ther mistor with a negative tempera ture coefficient for the pho- tocell, as shown in Figs. 6-b and 6-¢. (A thermistor with a nega- Uve temperature coefficient de- creases in resistance as temper ature Increases.) The tner- mistor for this appiication must have a resistance value between 470 ohmsand 10 kilohmsat the desired turn-on temperature. Thermistors are typically pack- aged as radial-leaded disks, and their resistance values are Spec- ified at 25°C. Stable of oscillators ‘The 555 in the astable multi. vibrator or oscillator mode has three outstanding advantages over other Kinds of oscillators: # Excellent frequency stability with variations in supply volt age and temperature * Frequency variable over a ‘wide range with a single poten- tometer control. © Low Impedance output Ukat can source or sink currents up {© 200 milliamperes. Figure 7 shows the 555 as the semiconductor IC in 2 Morse: code practice oscillator. The cit- cuit 15 an oscillator with its fre- quency variable from 300 Hi to 3 idiz by adjusting tone contro! potentiometer RS. The sound volume of headphone Z1 can be varied with potentiometer R4. and the headphones can have any DC resistance [rom a iew ohins up toa few anegohms. The oscillator circuit draws no quiescent current until the nor mally-open Morse key connects the circuit to the 5- to 15-xoli supply. Figure 8 shows the 355 as the semiconductor device in a sim- ple clectronically actuated door buzzer. Pushbutton switeh S1 connects the 555 to the 4-volt battery. and the output of the IC 's coupled to speaker SPKRI through capacitor C4. Capaci- or CI produces 2 low supply line impedance. ensuring ade- FIG. 5—MINIMUN-BACKLASH, DARK- ‘ACTIVATED relay based on ine 355,FIG. $—ALTERNATIVE SENSOR CIR- CCUITS for Fig. 5 provide actuation by light (a). under-temperature (b). and over-temperature}. quate output drive current to i= speaker when SI is closed ne circuit generates a monoto ‘Suzzing sound set by poten tometer R2 gure § shows the 555 as the miconduetor component in a continuity tester that generates an audible tone only ifthe resis- ace between the (est probes 1s 55 than a few ohms, The cir “its operation depends on an utput tone that sounds only if he aeser (pin 4) is biased sositive to about 600 millivolts or greater by sensitivity potenti- omecer RS. Pin 4 ts normally pulled to ground by resistor R2 Sono tone is heard. For the buzzer in the cirenit of & 9 t0 sound, the two probe must touch. connecting R2 © Output of the reference sensitivity potentiometer R Potentiometer R5 must be care. fully adjusted so that a buzzing sound is barely audible. Con- sequently. if the resistance be- ween the probe tips exceeds a ‘y ohms when a continuity ‘st 13 being made, the buzzing ‘ne will not be heard. The cir cuit draws several milliamperes whenever SI Is closed. even if ‘Re probe tips are not touchi Figure 10 shows the 535 func. tioningasa signal generator for esting both audio and radie Inequeney circuits. The efreuit ‘scillates at a frequency of a few ndred hertz when S1 is esed. Its square-wave output ~ very rich in harmonics. and those can be detected at fre Wencies up to tens of mega- hertz with a radio receiver. The signal level can be varied by ad- \usting potentiometer R3. In Fig 11 the 355 is the active component of a metronome with a beat rate variable from 0 to 120 beats per minute. The beat rate can be set by adjusting potentiometer R3. and the beat level can be set by adjusting po- tentiometer R4. This circuit isa modified version of the stan- Bi Senet = FIG. § ELECTRONIC DOOR BUZZER base on the $55. dard astable multivibrater in which the main timing network is driven from ourput pin 3 of the IC When the output switches high. Cl charges rapidly through diode DI and resistor RI in series te generate a beat pulse only a few milliseconds long When the output switches low again. C1 discharges through potentiometer R3 and resistor R2 in series to provide an off period of up to two sec- onds (30 beats per minute). The output pulses are fed tospeaker SPKRI through level-control po- tentiometer R4 and buffer tran- sistor Ql. LED flashers and alarms. Figures 12 (o 14 show the 555 in LED flasher applications in which the LEDs have equal on and off switching times. With the component values shown. each circult flashes at a rate of about one flash per second. ‘The circuit in Fig 12 hasa sin- gle-ended output, Either a sin- Gle LED (or LEDs in series) can be connected between the OUTPUT pin3 and exounn pin | of the 555. and all LEDs turn on and off together. Resistor R3 Sets the on current of the LEDS. The circuit in Fig. 13 is sim- ilar to thatofFig. 12. butithasa double-ended output connec- Uon. The LEDS above pin 3 are won 654 OqUIAON von 5 aFIG. 12—LED FLASHER WITH SINGLE. ENDED output. FIG.13—LED FLASHER WITH DOUBLE- ENDED output. on when the LED’ below pin 3 are ofl, and vice versa. Resistor R3 sets the on currents of the lower LEDs, and resistor R4 sets the on currents of the up- per LEDs. Figure Id shows how to modi- fy the cireuit in Fig. 12 for auto- maticdark actuation. Resistors R3 and Ra. photocell RI, and potentiometer Kz forma light- sensitive Wheatsione bridge that riggers the 385 through bridge balance-cetector Ql and the Reser pin 4 of the IC ‘The oscillator is normally dis- abled by resistor R6, which pulls KESeT pin 4 close to zero volts. The circuit oscillates only when pin 4 is pulled to a positive voltage greater than 600 millivolts. That can be achieved only by turning on QI ‘Asone arm of the Wheatstone bridge. resistors Ra and R5 ap- pla fixed half-supply voltage to the emitter of Q1. The photocell and potentiometer form the other arm that applies a light- dependent voltage to the base of transistor Ql Under bright light. the pho- tocell offers low resistance. As a result. the base-emitter junc- tuon of 1 is reverse biased. and the circuit docs not oscillate. By contrast, under dark condi tions. the photocell resistance is high, so QI and the oscillator are biased on. Normally. poten- Uometer R2 ts adjusted 80 the 555 1s triggered at the desired dark level, The photocell should have a resistance between 470 ohms and 10 kilohms under this condition. The precision gating method described can trigger a variety 01555 oscillator circuits to form, useful audible alarms and relay drivers, By interchanging the photceell with the potentiome- ter. or replacing the photocell with a thermistor having a negative temperature coelfi- clent. those cireutts can be trig- gered by increases or decreases bevond preset values in either light or temperature. Figures 15 10 17 illustrate practical exam- pies of such circuits. Figure 15 shows an automatic heai- of light-actuated relay driver. The circuit works with any 12-tolt relay having a coil resistance greater than about 60 ohms. When actuated, the circuit triggers the relay RY1 on and off about once per second. ‘A heat-or light-activated mo- notone alarm is shown in Fig, 16. When triggered. this eireuit FIG. 15—HEAT. OR LIGHT-ACTUATED relay pulserG.16HEAT OR UGHT-ACTUATED mecumpower a0: sam, hes a ae © = - . 3 = vad 10% 10K es e « ws oe aise oe el is ‘a ri Lid a bo oe eee — FIG. 17 ALTERNATIVE SENSOR CIRCUITS for Figs. 140r 1 for actuation by darkness (a), light (b), under-temperature(c), or over-temporature (a). a= ma >ima. FIG. 18A 60-MINUTE TIMER based on the 585, generates a buzzing sound at switching spikes of the speaker, about 800 Hz. Several watts of protecting Q2 against damage wer are drawn from speaker "Alternative sensor circuits SPKRI through buffer tran- that can automatically activate sistor 92. The resulting high che circutts of either Figs. 15 or speaker output current could 18 are shown in Fig. 17. if light transfer ripple voltage to the actuation is desired. the sensor Power suppiv so diode Dl and should be a cadmium-sulfide capacitor C3 protect the circuit photocell. if the circuit is to be from that interference. Diodes triggered when light level falls to Deand D3 clamp the ductive a preset value (dark actuation), the circuit of Fig 17-a should be used. If the circuit is to be trig gered when the light intensity Fises to a preset value {light a tuation). the eireuit of Fig 17-5 should be used. Ifyou want temperature actu- ation, use a thermistor with a negative temperature coeffi- Glen as the sensor, For under- temperature operation. use the circuit of Fig. 17-c: for over-tem erature operation. use the ei Cuit of Fig. 17-d. Regardless of the kind of operation desired. the sensor element must have a Fesistance value between 470. ohms and 10 kilos at the de- sired trigger level. Long-period timers A $55 can function as a su- perb manually-triggered relay- Gnving timer when it is con. nected in the monostabie or pulse generator mode, In prac. Hal applications, sucha circuit will not generare accurate th Ing signals of more than a few minutes because they require an electrolytic capacitor with a high capacitance value. Elec- srolytic capacitors typically have wide tolerance values (50 to 100%) and large and unpre- dictable leakage currents. If the 555 is to be the active componeat in long-period tmers, the external circuitry must include a capacitor other than an electrolytic. Figure 16 shows. a5 a block diagram. the principles behind a design for a 80-minute relay-driving timer. In this case. the 585 is orga: alzedin the astable mode. It has its output connected to the relay driver through a I¢-stage bin- ary divider [C That configura. tion gives an overall division ratio of 16.384. If the output of the 535 1s set {0 zero at the start of an input count. the output will switch high upon receiving the 8192nd input pulse. The circuit will re- main high until the 16.382nd pulse arrives. At that time. the output will switch low again. completing the normal operat ing sequence. Ih Fig. 18. the timing se- quence is initiated by closing Sl. which connects the supply to the cirewit. simultaneouslytriggering the oscillator and set- Ung the counter to zero through capactior C2 and resistor RS. ‘That drives the counter ouput low and turns the relay’ on. The contacts of RY] maintain the power supply connection once SLs released. ‘This condition is maintained until the 8192nd oscillator pulse errives at the input of the counter. Then the counter out- put switches high and turns the Telay off. As the relay turns off. the contracts of RYI open. dis- connecting the supply from the circuitand completing the oper- ating cycle. In this circuit, the oscillator must operate with a cycling period that is /8192nd of the ee = required timing period (0.44 FIG.1S—TWO-RANGE RELAY OUTPUT TIMER providing to 10 minute and 0-10 100- Second for this circut). That sie orsat can be achieved with a1 micro- farad polyester capacitor and a resistor of about 300 kilohms. Figure 19 shows how the de- sign in Fig. 18 is implemented to form a practical relay-output timer circuit useful for one to 100 minutes in two overlapping decade ranges. That circuit is red from a 12-volt supp, ‘The relay must have a coll resis- tance of 120 ohms of more. Figure 20 illustrates how the time delay of the circuit in Fig 19 can be extended by con- necting an additional divider stage between the output of the ‘595 and the input of the relay- Ea driving output state. In this cir- FIG. 20—EXTRA-LONG PERIOD RELAY OUTPUT TIMER provides 100-minvie to 20- cuit a divide-by-ten 4017B hour ierals. CMOS IC is connected between the output of the 555 and the 40208 14-stage binary counter ‘The arrangement in Fig, 20 gives an effective overall divi- Sion ratio of 81,920, thus mak- ing delays from 100 minutes to 20 hours available from this ‘single range timer Notice that both of the divider ICs are auto- matically reset by the series combination of capacitor C3 and resisior R3 when switch $1 is closed Figure 21 shows to modify the circuit in Fig. 20 9 make a wide-range general-purpose timer that covers one minute to 20 hours in three decade-based : Tanges, The divide-by-ten stage FIG. 71—WIDE-RANGE TINER COVERING f-minute 1o 20-rour intervals in three de- is active only when switch Sl-a cade ranges. 4s at position 3 RE Electonics Now Nove 8Use the 555 to THE generate sawtooth mangnaces VERSATILE 555 convert DC to AC, boost DC voltage and more. RAY M. MARSTON THE POPULAR 555 TIMER IC HAS bbeen the star of three previous Electronics Now articles (Sep- tember 1992. page 58. October 1982, page 69 and November 1982, page 61.) Just when you thought that all possible ap- plications for that versaule 535 had been exhausted—surprisc! ‘This article takes the 555 into Fig. }-FUNCTIONAL BLOCK DIAGRAM ane pinout for the bipolar 555 timer IC new territory—a sawtocth gen- = trator a ramp generator a time-base generator, a frequen- | cymeter andevenatachometer |= for your car. But that not all—there 1s a missing pulse detector, and DC voltage doubler, tripier and quadrupler. There are also negative and high-voltage gen: eralors anda DC to AC inverter! If youve been following the previous articles and (we hope) building some or all of the cir- cuits presented in them, youll be all set for the circuits pre- sented here. Who said the mi- croprocessor was the most versatile IC. anyway’ ‘The last three artides on the 595 explained its basic operat- principles. You would have Isarned or refreshed your mem: ory] about how to piace external component so the timer func- tions either as a monostable or astable muitivibrator. You hit want to reread the intro- ductory sections of those arti- _FG.2—TRIGGERED SAWTOOTH GENERATOR based on the 555,a, andtypicsl output cies tobrush upon the unusual waveform, features of the 555. A complete schematic of the circuitry con- rangement of functional blocks Sawtooth-wave generators sort s8y tained in the 555 isgiven asFig. than the others given earlier, - _ The S55 withexternal compo. 2 on page 64 of the September —_lusiratingyet another manufac- nents can become a trigdered 1992 issue. turer's preferred data book nonlinear (exponential) Figure1 is another functional presentation. Neither diagrams — sawtooth waveform generator. Block diagram and pinout ofthe —_nordata sheets on the S5Shave as shown in the schematic Fig. 62 bipolar 555 with adifferent ar- been standardized, 2a. The eireuit is a modifiedrecut ov = 3 FIG. {OSCILLOSCOPE TME.BASE GENERATOR circutt based on the S55. a. and ‘emp and ramp brightness pulse waveforms for an oscilloscope’ X and Z axes. monos‘able multivibrator that ts triggered by an external square wave TRioceR pin 2 ob- tained through capacitor C2 from the collector of transistor Ql. Note that ourrut pin 3 of the 555, used in most of the based circuits presented earlier is unused here. The voltage across C4 (the timing component) is normally zero, but whenever thecircuit is triggered. C4 charges exponen- tially through resistor RS and PeRioD potentiometer R6 to two- thirds Of the supply voltage. At that time, the monostable period ends and the voltage Across C4 drops abruptly 10 zero. The output sawtooth waveform (Fig. 2-b) ts taken across capacitor C4 through bulfer transistors Q2 and G3 and LeveL potentiometer R7. The period of the sawtooth or width can be varied from 9 mi- croseconds to 1.2 seconds with the capacitance values for C+ listed in Table 1. The circuit's maximum usable repetition fre- quency is approximately 100 KHz, The generator must be trig- gered by rectangular input waveforms with short rise and fall times. Potentiometer R6 controls the sawtooth period over a decade, and potentiome- ter R7 controls the amplitude of the output waveform. Figure 3-a shows 4 triggered linear sawtooth or ramp wave- form generator. Capacitor C4 is charged by a constant-current generator that includes Ql. The Output waveform (Fig. 3-b) is taken at the wiper of teveL potentiometer RS, which is cou- pled to the voltage across C4 through Q2. Note that the curved ramps of Fig. 2-b have been flattened. ‘When a capacitor is charged from a constant current source. its Voltage rises at 3 predictable linear rate that can beexpressed Voitsisecond = amperesifarad By introducing more practical values, alternative expressions for the rate of voltage rise are: Vins = Auf. or Vims = mA/eF Those formulas state that voltage rate-of-rise can be in-lastonice Now, Dacomber 1992 z FIG. 5 TRIGGER SELECTION CIRCUIT tor the Fig. circuit FIG. 7—VEHICULAR TACHOMETER CIRCUIT based on the S56. ing the capacitance value. -+51T0s18y ‘The charging current in the #3 Fig. S-a circuit can be varied oy ‘over the range of about 90 mi- croamperes to | milliempere with FERIOD potentiometer RS thus giving the 0.01 microfarad sone timing capacitor rates-of rise of wate ~ @ volts per millisecond to 100 ee Res wn volts per millisecond ‘eer Each one-shot or monosiable eyele of the 555 ends when the Voltage across C4 reaches two- FIG. s“ALTERNATIVE ANALOG TA- thirds of the supply voltage. As CHOMETER CIRCUTT to Fig. 6. shown in Fig. 3-a, the supply is Svolts, so two-thirds of Ovoltsis creased either by increasing the 6 volts. the amplitude of the charging current or by decress- ramp waveforms in Fig. 3-b The sawtooth cycles of the cl cuit have periods variable from 666 microseconds (2/3 millise- cond) to 60 microseconds (61100 millisecond), Periods can be increased beyond those values by increas- ang the value of C4. or reduced by reducing the value of C4. In this circuit. stable timing peri- ods depend on a stable voltage Fig. 4.a shows how the circuit in Fig. 3-2 can be modified to become an oscilloscope time- base generator. It can be trig- gered by external square waves through a suitable trigger selec- tor circuit. The ramp output waveform (top of Fig. 4-b is fed tothe X plates of an oscilleseope with a suitable amplifier stage. The pulsed ourrut from pin 3 of the 555 (shown in the lower half Of Fig. +-b) ts fed (0 the CRTS Z axis to trace the ramps with © brightness he shortest useful ramp period that can be obtained fromthe circuit inFig. 4-2 (with 20.001 microfarad capacitor C3) is about 5 microseconds. ‘That value, when expanded to Eive full deflection on an os- Cilloscope with 2 ten-division graticule, vields a maximum timebase rate of 0.5 microse- cond per division. ‘The timebase circuit of Fig. 4- a can synchronize signals at trigger frequencies up to about 150 KHz. At higher frequencies. the input signals must be divid- ed by a single- or multi-decade frequency divider. With that ap- proach, the timebase can be Used to view input signals at megahertz frequencies Figure § illustrates a simple ‘but versatile trigger selector cir- cult forthe tmebase ge in Fig. 4-a. Operational fier 1C1 (@ pAv4i) has a rete ence voltage fed to its non- inverting input pin 3 by TRIGGER LEVEL potentiometer R&. The signal voltage is then fed to IC's inverting pin 2 through switch SI. resistor RE and seNsitivy potentiometer RS. ‘Switch S1 selects either in- phase or out-ofphase input siz- nals from the ¥riving ampli- fier of the oscilloscope. permit-ting the selection of either the plus or minus trigger modes. ‘The output of the circuit in Fig 5 is coupled directly to the Ci input of Fig. 4 Analog frequency meters Figure 6 shows the 555 IC or- ganized asa linear-scale analog frequency meter with a full- scale sensitivity of 1 kHz. The circuit's power is obtained from a regulated 6-voit supply. and its ‘input signals can be pulses or square-wave signals with peak- ‘o-peak amplitudes of 2 volts or greater. Transistor Q] amplifies this input signal enough to trig ger the S65" The output from pin 3s fed to the l-milliampere full-scale deflection moving-coil meter M1 through offset-cancel- ing diode D1 and multiplier re- sistor R5. Each time the monostable multivibrator is triggered, it generates a pulse with a fixed duration and amplitude. Ifeach generated pulse has a peak am- plitude of 6 volts and a period of 1 millisecond. and the multi- vibrator is triggered at an input frequency of 500 Hz, the pulse will be high (at 6 volts) for 500 milliseconds in each 1000 milli- seconds. Moreover. the mean value of output voltage mea- sured over this period is 500 ‘milliseconds/1000 milliseconds % 6 volts = 3 volts or half of 6 voits. Similarly. if the input fre quency is 250 Hz, the pulse is high for 250 milliseconds in each 1000-millisecond period. Therefore. the mean output voltage equals 250 millise- conds/ 1000 milliseconds x 6 volts — 1.5 volts or one quarter of 6 volts, Thus. the circuits mean value of output voltage. measured over a reasonable total number of pulses. 1s di- rectly proportional to the repeti- tion frequency of the monosta- ble multivibrator. Moving-coil meters give mean readings. In the circuit of Fig. 6 a Lmilliampere meter is con- nected in series with multiplier resistor R5. which sets meters sensitivity at about 3.4 volts full-scale deflection. The meter is connected to give the mean output value of the multt FIG. 10-DC VOLTAGE-DOUSLER nased on the 55. S50TO 4 I8Y FIG. 11—DC VOLTAGE-TRIPLER based on the 55. FIG. 120C VOLTAGE-QUADAUPLER baced on the £55, ony soqompora 2601 oquH80—vibrator, and its reading 1s di- rectly proportional to the input frequency With the component values shown, the circuit is organized to read full-scale deflection at 1 kHz. To set up the eircuit int tially. @ I-kHz square-wave sig- nal is fed to its input, and full- seale-adjust potentiometer R7 (it controls pulse length) is set to give a full-scale reading on the meter. ‘The full-scale irequency of the circuit in Fig. 6 can be varied from about 100 Hz to 100 kHz by selecting the value of C3. The circuit can read frequencies up to tens of megahertz by intro- ducing the input signals to the monostable multivibrator through either asiagle or mult: decade digital divider. The di- viders can reduce the input fre quencies to values that can be read on the meter. Figure 7 shows how the cir. cutt in Fig. 6 can be modified to become an analog.tachomerer or revolutions per minute (rpm) meter for motor vehicles. The ireuit is powered by a regulated 8.2 volts derived from the vehi- dle’ 12-volt battery with resistor RI, Zener diode D1. capacitor (Cl.and the ignition switch. The 555 is triggered by a signal from thevehicles breaker points con- ditioned by the network of re- sistor R2, capacitor C2. and Zener diode D2. ‘The50-microampere moving- coll meter Mi, the rpm indica- tor is activated from oureuT pin of the 555 through diode D3. Current is applied to the meter through series-connected re- sistor R5 and ca.iprare potentiometer R6 from the power supply when the 555s curput is high. But current is cropped near'y to zero by diode when the 555 output is low. Both the circuits of Figures 6 and 7 are powered from regu- lated sources to ensure a con- stant pulse amplitude and provide accurate, repeatable Teadings from the meter. The meter is actuallya current indi- cating device. but it is con- nected as a voltage-reading meter with suitable multipiying resistors. They are R6and R7in Fig. 6 and RO and Ro in Fig, 7. FIG. 15_DC-to-AC INVERTER based on the S55. The diagram of Fig. 8 shows the outline schematic for an al- ternative analog frequency meter that requires neither a multiplier resistor nor a regu- lated power supply: In this cir ‘cult. ovrptr pin 3 of the 555 is connected to the meter through JFET transistor QI. Configued as aconstant-current generator through potentiometer R3, It sends a fixed-amplitude pulse to the meter regardless of varia~ tions in the supply voltage. Missing-pulse detector Pau Mlustancs how the 585 can become the key compa- fient in a missing-pulse det tor that closes a relay or illuminates a LED if a normally expected event falls (0 occur. The B58 1s connected as a monostable multivibrator ex cept that QI is placed across timing capacitor Cl. and its base 15 connected to TRIGGER pin 2 of the IC through RI A series of short pulse- or switeh-derived clock input sig nals from the monitored event issent to pin 2. The values of R3 and Cl were selected so that the natural monostable period ofFIG. 16-FUNCTIONAL BLOCK DIAGRAM and pinout ofthe CMOS 7535. the IC is slightly longer than the repetition period of the clock i- put signals, ‘Thus. each time ashort clock arrives, Cl is rapidly dis- charged through Ql. andsimul- taneously a one-shot timing period is initiated through TRIGGER pin 2 of the IC, forcing ourput pin 3 high. Before cach monostable period can termi- nate naturally, however, a new clock pulse arrives and starts a new timing period. Therefore oureur pin 3 remains high as Tong as clock-input pulses con- UnUe to arrive within the presct ume limits. Ifa clock pulse is missing or its period exceeds the pre-set limits, the monostable period will end on its own. If that hap- pens. pin 3 of the IC will go low anc drive etther thereiayor LED “on.” Asa result, the circuit be- comes a missing pulse detector. Ie will produce a pulse output when an input pulse fatis 10 oc- cur within the timer delay. Missing-pulse detectors like this can automatically warn of gaps or one or more missing pulses in a stream of pulses at the input. They areusedincom- munications systems. con- inuity testers, and security systems. With the component iues shown, the timer has a natural period of bout 30 sec: onde. This period can be changed by changing R3 or Cl to satisty specific needs. Voltage converters. ‘The 995 1C can be instrumen- talin converting aDC voltage to a higher DC voltage. reversing the polarity of a DC voltage or converting it to an AC voltage. Figures 10to 15 show variations of those circuits. Figure 10, forexample, shows how the 585 functions in a DC voltage doubler. The 555 is orga- nized as a free-running astable multivibrator or square-wave generator that oscillates at about 3 kHz. |The oscillation frequency is set by the values of RI, R2 and C2.) The cireuit’s ‘output is sent to the capacitor’ diode voltage-doubler network made up of C4. Di. C5. and D2. That network produces a volt- e that is about twice the sup- piy voltage. Capacitor C1. across the supply, prevents the 3-idHlz ‘outputor the 535 from being fed ack to the (C, and C3 stabilizes the circuit. The voltage-doubler circuit of Fig. 10 will operate from any DC supply offering from 5 to 15 volis. As a voltage doubler it can provide outputs from about 10 to 30 volts. Higher output volt- ages can be obtained by adding more multiplier stages to the cireuit circuit. Figure 11 is the schematic for a DC-voltage trt- pler that can supply from 15 to 45 volts, and Fig, 12 is the sche- matie for 2 DC voltage quad- rupler that supplies from 20 to 60 volts. ‘The DC negative-voltage gen- erator Is 0 particularly useful 585-based converter circuit. It supplies an output voltage that 1s almost equal in amplitude ‘but opposite in polarity to that ofthe IC supply: This circuitean provide both positive and nega- live voltages for powering op- amps and other ICS with dual power requirements from a positive supply. The DC nega- livevoltage generator in Fig. 13. like that shown in Fig. 10, 18a 3- kHz oscillator that drives a volt- age-doubler output stage made up of C4, C5, D1. and D2. Figures L4-a and 15 show DC to AG inverters that change in- put DC voltage to output AC voltage by meansof transformer coupling The AC voltage ‘rom these inverters needs no further conditioning, and it can be con- verted bacis into higher DC volt- ‘with the addition of only a hrall- wave rectifier and a capaci- tor filter. ‘The inverter shown in Fig. 14- can drivea neon lamp with its AC output. If the lamp and rc- ‘sistor Ré are replaced by the di- ede and capacitor filter as shown in Fig. 14-b, the AC out- put can be converted back to a jow-current, high-voltage DC output. For example. with a 5- (© 15-vOlt DC input, the inverter can produce an output of sev- eral hundred volts DC. ‘The 585 in Fig. 14-a is config: ured as a 4-KkHz oscillator and its: wave output from pin 3 1s fed back to the input of au- dio transformer Ti through re- sistor RS. Transformer Ti has the necessary ratio of primary to secondary turns to produce the desired output voltage. For ex: ample. with 2 10-volt supply and a 1:20 turns ratio on TL. the un- loaded output of T1 will be 200 volts, peak. The DC-to-AC inverter sche- matic of Fig. 15 produces an AC output at line frequency and voltage. The 555 Is Configured as a low-frequency oscillator, tunable over the frequency range of 50 to 60 Hz by FREgueNcy potentiometer R4. ‘The 555 feeds its output (ampll- fied by QI and Q2) to the input turns of transformer Tl, a re- verse-connected filament trans- mony souonnsia 66! BqUB2C92 tw Now Dex Ect former with the necessary step- up tums ratio. Capacitor C4 and coil L1 filter the mput to TL assuring that it is effectively a sinewave, A.CMOS version of the 555 ‘The standard bipolar 555 timer IC is still one of the most popular and versatile ICs today; ‘but it has some drawbacks that were overcome by 2 CMOS ver- sion. For example. the 535 will not operate from voltages less than about 5 volts. Moreover. It typically draws 10 milliamperes of quiescent current when run from a 5-volt supply. This rather large current drain makes it unsatisfactory for ‘most battery-powered circuits In addition to those shori- comings, the 555 produces a massive 400-milltampere rent spike from the supply output is switched from one slate to the other. A spike. last- ing only a fraction of a microse- cond, can cause lost bits in digital circuits near the 555 or Powered from the same suppl The CMOS version of the 555 timer, also eble to operate in both monostable and astable modes, is known generically as the 7555. Figure 16 shows the functional block diagram and pinout of the 7555. This can be compared with the functional block diagram of Fig 1. Note that the pinout is identical Harris Semiconductor's ver- sion of the 7555. for example. 1s designated the IOM7555, In common with all other 75555. it will run froma =2- to ~ 18-volt DC supply. Notice that the re- sistors in its internal voltage di- vicer are 50 K rather than the 5K of the 555. Other sources of the 7555 are Maxim {ICM7555) and Sanyo (LC7555 ‘Supply current to the 7555 is typically only 60 microamperes when run from an 18-volt sup- ply In addition, typical zruocen. Teesnoun, and RESET currents are 20 picoamps. orders of mag- nitude lower than those of the bipolar 555. Those low currents permit the use of higher imped- nce timing elements fer longer RC time constants. The 7555 can be organized to time out in periods from microseconds to hours, ‘Table 2 compares the charac teristics of the 7555 to those of the 555. The 7555 permits, ¢ Lower supply current © Wider supply voltage range # Lower power dissipation # Lower current spikes in out- put transitions: # Higher switching frequency performance These improvements must be balanced against the higher cost of the 7555. The 7555 should be specified only if: # Tr is to be used in a batte: powered circuit where pow economy is critical Available power is 5 volts or Jess (too low for the 555) # It ts to be in digital circus whose signal output could be degraded by noise ‘The 7356 is the dual CMOS counterpart of the bipolar 556. ‘The 7555 can directly replace ‘any 559 in all the circuits pre- sented in this series, RE