Figure 9: Astable

square wave one complete cycle.

The period (time to complete one cycle) of the square wave is the sum of the output high
(Th) and low (Tl) times. That is:

T = Th + Tl

where T is the period, in seconds.

You can calculate the output high and low times (in seconds) using the following formulas:

Th = 0.7 * (R1 + R2) * C1

Tl = 0.7 * R2 * C1

or, using the formula below, you can calculate the period directly.

T = 0.7 * (R1 + 2*R2) * C1

To find the frequency, just take the reciprocal of the period or use the following formula:

  1              1.44           

f=   =  
T (R1 + 2*R2) * C1

Where f is in cycles per second or hertz (Hz).

For example, in the astable circuit in figure 7 if R1 is 68K ohms, R2 is 680K Ohms, and C1
is 1 micro Farad, the frequency is approximately 1 Hz:

                       1.44                        
=    = 1.00 Hz
 (68000 + 2 * 680000) * 0.000001 

The duty cycle is the percentage of time that the output is high during one complete cycle.
For example, if the output is high for Th seconds and low for Tl seconds then the duty cycle
(D) is:

    Th     
D =   Th +   * 100
Tl 

However, you really just need to know the values of R1 and R2 to calculate the duty cycle.

D =      R1 + R2   * 100
  R1 + 2*R2 

C1 charges through R1 and R2 but discharges through R2 alone so duty cycle will be
greater than 50 percent. However, you can obtain a duty cycle very close to 50% by
choosing a resistor combination for the desired frequency such that R1 is much smaller
than R2.

For example if R1 is 68,0000 ohms and R2 is 680,000 ohms the duty cycle will be
approximately 52 percent:

    68000 + 680000    

D=    * 100 = 52.38%
 68000 + 2 * 680000 

The smaller R1 is compared to R2 the closer the duty cycle will be to 50%.

To obtain a duty cycle that is less than 50% connect a diode in parallel with R2.

Choosing RC components for Astable operation

1. Choose C1 first.
2. Calculate the total value of the resistor combination (R1 + 2*R2) that will produce the
desired frequency.

  1.44  
(R1 + 2*R2) =
 f*C1 

3. Select a value for R1 or R2 and calculate the other value. For example, say (R1 + 2*R2)
= 50K and you select a 10K resistor for R1. Then R2 must be a 20K ohm resistor.

For a duty cycle close to 50%, select a value for R2 that is significantly higher than R1. If R2
is large relative to R1 you can initially ignore R1 in your calculations. For example, assume
the value of R2 will be 10 times R1. Use this modified version of the above formula to
calculate the value of R2:

  0.7  
R2 =  
 f*C1 

Then divide the result by 10 or greater to find the value for R1.

For standard 555 timers use timing resistor values between 1K ohms and 1M ohms.

Astable Circuit Example

Figure 10 shows a 555 square wave oscillator with a frequency of approximately 2 Hz and a
duty cycle of approximately 50 percent. When SPDT switch S1 is in the "Start" position the
output alternates between LED 1 and LED 2. When S1 is in the "Stop" position LED 1 will
remain on and LED 2 will remain off.