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Dumping ground for notes on whatever ICs I encounter. Being able to make something like a timed LED without code is interesting, but as a hobbyist I think it makes more sense to work with microcontrollers, especially since quality clones can be obtained so cheaply.
100 IC Circuits looks like a good resource.
Use a small screwdriver to lift the chips off the breadboard without bending the legs. I belatedly learned you can get IC sockets to hold the chips, and then if you need to replace the chip you simply lift it out of the socket.
NE555N
NE555N is a timer chip used to provide time delays, oscillations, and flip-flop. This is the bipolar chip, there is a CMOS variant that consumes less energy. Pin numbering is counter-clockwise from top left corner.
1 GND 2 TRIG - When voltage drops below #5 voltage the pin goes high and the timer starts. 3 OUT - Push/Pull LOW/HIGH 4 RESET - Reset timing interval 5 CTRL - internal voltage divider (2/3 VCC), often not used so a 10nF ceramic or film cap can connect to ground to reduce noise 6 THRESH - When voltage is higher than CTRL timing ends 7 DISCH - open-collector used to discharge a capacitor between intervals 8 VCC
First experiment is a simple flashing LED from 555 LED Flasher. Switching out the electrolytic capacitor, 10uF blinks more quickly and 220uF is more slow. This is the first circuit tutorial I’ve seen that actually shows you how to set up the breadboard step by step, so I was able to learn how to read circuit diagrams using this.
GND > GND TRIG > THRESH / 100uF > GND OUT > 2.2k Ohm > LED > GND RESET > PWR VCC > PWR DISCH > 5.6k Ohm > GND THRESH > TRIG / 10k Ohm > DISCH C VOLT > 10nF > GND
Next, add a pentometer. A 10k pentometer can replace the 10k Ohm resistor so the blink speed can be set that way. See Timer Basics - Astable Mode and 1 Minute Timer Circuit.
4017
CD4017BEE4 is a counter/divider with 10 stages. I picked it up for electronic dice but discovered I needed a larger breadboard, among other things.
1 Q5 2 Q1 3 Q0 4 Q2 5 Q6 6 Q7 7 Q3 8 GND 9 Q8 10 Q4 11 Q9 12 CARRY OUT - For cascading additional chips 13 CLOCK INHIBIT - Enables clock at low 14 CLOCK - Clock input 15 RESET - Resets IC at high 16 VCC
https://circuitdigest.com/electronic-circuits/digital-dice-circuit-using-ic-555 http://www.mallinson-electrical.com/555-dice
74HC595
74HC595 is a commonly used shift register that is used to expand output ports. It allows us to power 8 (or more) LEDs using only 3 GPIO. You can daisy chain these ICs, though I didn’t have room on my board to do so. Data, clock, and latch can utilize any free GPIO pin. Beginner�s Guide To The 595 Shift Register was the most helpful article I read. For this project I used the SN74HC595.
QB ~ VCC - 3.3V QC ~ QA - Connects to first LED chain QD ~ DS (Serial Data) - PA12 QE ~ OE (Enable Output) - GND QF ~ RCLK (Latch) [I connected this to SRCLK] QG ~ SRCLK (Clock) - PA6 QH ~ SRCLR (Reset) - 3.3V GND ~ QH (Serial Output) - Used to chain multiple shift registers
Code modified from 170pt Projects Part 3: The Humble Shift Register.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pyA20.gpio import port
from pyA20.gpio import gpio
from time import sleep
DATA_PIN = port.PA12 ## DS
CLOCK_PIN = port.PA6 ## SRCLK, shifts byte register when high
gpio.init()
gpio.setcfg(DATA_PIN, gpio.OUTPUT)
gpio.setcfg(CLOCK_PIN,gpio.OUTPUT)
def shift(byte):
for x in range(8):
gpio.output(DATA_PIN, (byte >> x) & 1)
gpio.output(CLOCK_PIN,1)
gpio.output(CLOCK_PIN,0)
for x in range(1000):
shift(x)
sleep(0.001)