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THE 555 IC
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THE 556
The 556 is a DUAL 555. It contains two identical 555 timer circuits. The NE556/SE556 timers can be
directly replaced by the CMOS types MC3456/MC3556.
The following three pin-outs identify the 556 dual timer IC and the function of each pin.
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Discharge is "in-phase" with the Output. (both are low at the same time)
Threshold detects the high voltage on the capacitor and makes Discharge and Output go LOW
Trigger detect the low voltage on the capacitor and makes Discharge and Output go HIGH
Frequency (kHz)
Calculate Reset
Delay Sec
SUBSTITUTING A 555
A 555 (and the 556 varieties) can be replaced by low-power 555's such as TLC555, LMC555,
ICM7555. This has been covered above.
In this section we will show how to replace any of the 555 or 7555 devices with a building block
called a SCHMITT TRIGGER. The Schmitt Trigger chip we suggest is a 74c14 (40106 -CD 40106).
This chip contains six Schmitt Triggers. It allows up to 6 building blocks to be created, similar to the
capabilities of a 555.
This is a much-more economical and professional way to designing a circuit and two other very
important features are also provided.
The Schmitt Trigger consumes less current and battery designs can be created.
A Schmitt Trigger does not put noise on the power rails of a project and it can be used with other
digital blocks without creating interference problems.
Six gates in a single hex Schmitt trigger chip allows the designer to produce 6 different building
blocks and quite complex circuits can be produced.
The type of 555 circuit we are suggesting be replaced with a Schmitt design is one that meets one of
more of the following criteria:
1. A design that needs to be upgraded and improved in "professionalism."
2. A design that needs to be reduced in quiescent current,
3. A design that uses more than one 555
4. A design that employs 555 IC's with digital IC's.
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A simple 555 design for a car, for example, does not need to be converted.
The only difference between the two circuits is the Schmitt version will draw about 10mA -15mA
less.
The 555 draws about 10mA for its internal operation and about 1mA - 5mA will be "wasted" through
R2.
If the load is less than 25mA, the following circuits can be used:
The output of a single Schmitt Oscillator will drive a load up to 25mA, depending on the frequency of
oscillation and the voltage of the supply. As the voltage decreases, the load current reduces. At 5v,
the load will be a maximum of 10mA.
As the load current increases, the output will not rise to 66% of rail voltage and the oscillator will
"freeze."
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PULSE GENERATOR
Another name for "oscillator" is PULSE GENERATOR. The following circuit shows a 555 wired as a
square-wave oscillator called a MULTIVIBRATOR. The output waveform is adjustable and is ideal
for injecting into RF and IF stages. The square-wave is rich in harmonics and will pass through both
RF and IF stages to produce a tone or "buzz" in the speaker.
The diagram above shows MARK and SPACE durations of different lengths. Marks and spaces can
be any length and can change during the production of a waveform. If the length of the mark is equal
to the space, the waveform is said to have a 50:50 Mark:Space ratio, as shown below:
A waveform with a 50:50 Mark:Space ratio is produced by a 555 when the top resistor (called
the DISCHARGE resistor) is very small compared to the TIMING resistor. This is shown in the
diagram below:
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To increase the MARK, the Discharge resistor must be LARGE compared to the Timing resistor.
The MARK:SPACE ratio can be adjusted without altering the frequency by connecting two diodes as
shown in the diagram below:
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The two circuits above adjust the output from about 3% to 97% at a frequency of approximately
1kHz.
You can use either pin 3 or pin 7 as they are "in phase" with each other. Pin 7 needs a pull-up
resistor as the transistor connected to this pin is in an open-collector configuration.
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In the first circuit, the key is in the output and the chip draws current all the time. If the project is
battery operated, it will need an on-off switch. The second circuit uses the key as the switch and the
circuit will not need a switch. The difference is only 10mA but if the first circuit is left on, the battery
will be dead in a few weeks.
P 3
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