555 Timer Project - Signal and Sound Generator

Breadboard and test a simple 555 timer signal generator. Use diagram data in specification sheets to create your own circuits.
This is not just a video showing a project being bread boarded with no explanation of the circuit. This video shows how to breadboard and understand how how the circuit works.
Please like, share and subscribe if you like what you see.
Thanks.

[@SD_Marc]

As a rank beginner, that was the most informative video on 555 chips I've seen so far. The only one that has explained each pin's purpose. Thanks.

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Marc Arndt You're welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting. :-)

[@quaxiscorporationforresear5557]

Yeah man. I agree. Very simple, technical but understandable for us students.

[@tallpixels]

thanks mr knox

[@sy_chev]

I agree

[@vic20.19]

Marc Arndt amen.

[@DevinWatson]

Thank you so much for this video. I'm starting out with practical electronics and this was the easiest tutorial I could find on how to make this circuit. Your explanations were easy to understand and I liked that you went through everything step-by-step with a clear view of the breadboard while building it. Next step is the Atari Punk Console since this is essentially the first half of that.

[@stephenrobinson52]

This was one of my first circuit related projects, and I gotta say it was crazy hard. Learning how to read a schematic, and figuring out how to put it all together was a crazy learning curve, but was totally worth it. Thanks for the help man!

[@DorianMcIntire]

+52 Skillz You're very welcome. Glad you got the project going and I particularly appreciate you sharing your experience. ;-)

[@crazcfox1]

Excellent !!!! Thank you very much Dorian. I will put this circuit to the test within the next week. Refreshing to see KZbin members that are so helpful.

[@andymouse]

Oh! the "555" has been around for as long as the universe and we ALL still love that chip

[@liamjohnduncan7626]

I wish I had found this four years ago I have just now found the subscribe button on. This kindle device. I want more of this. Great tutor Thank You.

[@allangee]

This is an AWESOME video and explanation and I hope you're still doing them. You mentioned requests. I'd love to see this circuit used to inject a signal into a length of wire and then another simple circuit to detect when it comes across that wire -- just a no wire/found the wire result. It could then be used to set a perimeter for robots, etc. Thanks for the video!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thanks for the comment. Your request sounds useful I'll work on putting something together. Dorian.

[@Bareego]

Just built this and it works :) First step in building my own synth, haha

[@chemosis8259]

yes best video for beginner that ive seen. your actually a good teacher unlike most

[@outaspaceman]

Clear and concise step through.👍 I ran the circuit from a 5v wall wart with no problems.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Glad things went well from the start. Have fun!! BTW: love the knife-wielding tentacle.

[@tombradford7035]

Good tutorial, very straightforward and easy to follow with one of the most versatile chips ever, the good old 555.

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Tom Bradford Thanks. I'm currently working on a book and series of videos to help people learn electronics using the 555 timer. As you said it's about the most versatile IC ever built.

[@MyBigThing2010]

Best 555 explanation and thorough/clear and perfectly paced wiring example EVER! Great video! ...note I need to learn how to make a loud buzzer from 2 timers and a piezo buzzer n I'll be golden!

[@rammgarr]

Dorian..,thank you so very much.,now from all the tutorials i have study this is the only one that was so E Z to understand .,now i feel confident that i can start getting all the parts and pieces to start building timer ..thank you

[@DorianMcIntire]

+RAMM GARR Great! Glad you found the video useful. Thanks for commenting.

[@digitaloverdrivesystems]

Hello Dorian, This description is very well done. Good voice, good pace, good explanations with no BS. Great job. Thanks

[@vic20.19]

thanks for posting . I am a digital musician who seeks to understand how the basic audio waves are produced and generated. i am trying to build my own curcuit to gain full knowledge of how it all works...

[@Cinqmil]

Can't believe you don't have more subscribers. Some solid shit here. Great info. Thanks.

[@nadiarojas9903]

Thank you. I am also needing a simple square wave output at anywhere between 25 and 100hz for a false signal. This has been extremely informative -Sid

[@utkf16]

As per Marc Ardnt 1's comment below I too am a rank beginner and found this tutorial the best so far, thank you

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thanks. :-)

[@mauserman48]

Super informative..I'm retired and a fixed income.This is great. will building it very soon

[@DorianMcIntire]

Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for commenting, have Fun!

[@davidofthemeadow]

This is the first and only video of yours that I have seen. I have seen many electronics tutorial videos on youtube. This is one of the best videos that I have seen. I like that you kept it simple, used an actual schematic and actual breadboard and components and jumped back and forth on how you were putting it together because I see the schematic have an idea of what's going on (ok thats a resistor, thats a capacitor, thats a transistor, that black dot on crossing lines mean that they connect...etc.) But I have a hard time translating that to the breadboard. Other people make vids by drawing out whats going on or making animations, or they make rapid short scenes on what is getting done with little and rapid explanation. Im really interested in dabbling with electronics, as mentioned before I have seen many videos. I went to radio shack and bought an assortment of resistors, of disk capacitors, diodes, a breadboard And now im like now what? what can I do with this? on that note this video gave me insight on what the 555 timer can do But now what? how can I utilize this circuit if I Build it?

[@ajw6715]

I got the 100 khz I need. Thanks for this circuit. Now I can build the high frequency circuit I want to build.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Have fun

[@elmunita]

Muchas gracias!!! thanks Dorian! This is a great video, well explained. I made theproject and really works! Trying to put various circuits like this in a box to make good noise on stage!! Congrats and thanx

[@guitar_playing_and_gear_mods]

does is posible to input an audio signal to mix it with the squere wave signal that changes with the pot? it is an amazing explanation.

[@fishbrick2949]

That was such a good explanation with no bullshit. Exactly what I needed, thankyou.

[@rodneykadadi2462]

thank you very much...you have explained well about why its not neccessary to use the capacitor connected to pin 5

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Rodney Kadadi Thank you for watching and commenting. I'm pleased that you found the video useful.

[@olamiart]

Hi and thank You, this is the first tutorial that actually worked for me :) Great explanation and step-by-step wiring.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Great! Hope you have fun with the project. Thanks for commenting.

[@robertbess5601]

Excellent explanation and presentation. Will certainly look for more. Love that little chip.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video.

[@joverstreet24]

Once at 60hz, measure resistance of pot, add it to the resistor you bridged across and replace both with a resistor of that new value. Now you have a 60 cycle generator. This is for the beginners.

[@quaxiscorporationforresear5557]

Thanks a lot I understand what the pins on the 555 do. Now I am going to make a resistance based piano courtesy of RadioShack lol. Thanks for the video.

[@DorianMcIntire]

+JP Aldama Good. Please keep me posted on how it goes.

[@ebuyuto]

Yes, this circuit is useful. In class, I achieved building an astable & monostable circuit.

[@DorianMcIntire]

I'm very glad you liked the video. I hope you plan to be a future engineer. Thanks for commenting.

[@SpeedDeamon95]

Great explanation!!! You should do a video with the 555 and a latching switch made with diodes.

[@JulianGrayMedia]

building a dual oscillator synthesizer based on two of these circuits in parallel. Its going well! only question I have is what rating is that pot you are using? 10k ohms?

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Julian Gray Media I believed I used a 50K pot. I wanted a value of resistance large enough so it did not substantially change the frequency when I put it in parallel with the 15K resistor. If you put a 10K pot in parallel with this resistor it will almost double the frequency. It never hurts to experiment however with resistors and pot values this high. Hope you have success and fun with your project.

[@JulianGrayMedia]

+Dorian McIntire What if I were to scrap the parallel resistor and use only a pot? Is that a bad idea? And thank you for the immediate response!

[@JulianGrayMedia]

+Julian Gray Media also, if I wanted to add a volume pot where would i put it in this circuit

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Julian Gray Media Just using a pot would be fine but try to guard against letting the pot resistance going to "zero" since the circuit will freeze up but won't be damaged.

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Julian Gray Media Adding a volume pot can be a little complicated. The pot should have a low resistance and high wattage if you want to put it in series with the speaker. The best way to hook up a volume control however is to use the pot to couple the signal to an amplifier. Pin 3 to one side of pot ground to other side of pot and center of pot to amplifier.

[@JohnSmith-nw2ls]

Great video! Thank you so much for putting this together for us, it was very helpful to me, I put one together and it works perfectly, now I'll expand on it.

[@NamanJain0612]

I really appreciate your work. NIce Job! I will be really glad to know how do you think on a project, I mean the design and the components and everything.

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Naman Jain I've been designing and building for so long its just natural. There are so many ideas and so little time especially for the 555 timer. I could and should do a series on the 555 timer because its such a great way to build interesting projects and learn electronics at the same time. Let me know if this sounds like a good idea. Please subscribe and follow.

[@noestoes2686]

Very informative and straight forward video, thank you!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thanks! Glad you found it useful.

[@davincheetv5159]

Great video with great explanations,thanks

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thank you for your positive comment.

[@1MCFOX1]

I got there! a proper dub siren with lights...thanks again.

[@danemx5]

You helped me build my first successful oscillator! thanks so much!!! What would you reccomend to get more range out of the pitch? What resistors/capacitor and pot should i use?? Thanks!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Play with resistor/capacitor combinations. A lower resistor, pot or capacitor value will create a lower pitch. A higher resistor, pot or capacitor value will create a higher pitch. I have other 555 timer projects if you search for "dorian+mcintire+555 timer in KZbin.

[@danemx5]

Thanks so much! @@DorianMcIntire

[@danemx5]

@@DorianMcIntire If I wanted to have this thing powered by eurorack (12v power) What would I need. An op amp circuit to lower the incoming signal?

[@DorianMcIntire]

It will run just fine with 12 volts DC.

[@jonflores7010]

Out of curiosity, can you power multiple copies of this circuit off the same 9v power supply on one bread board?

[@Sarahbuildsstepsequencers]

Jon Flores absolutely!

[@j.clowers7223]

Exactly what i was looking for.

[@ssamicco]

thank you for very informative video tutorial. i have LM555 and NE555 and was wondering it would make a difference. Also was wondering it would sound different if i use different ohms of speakers. Thanks!!!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Both the LM-555 and NE-555 are equivalent and you should not have a problem with either of these chips. I like the LMC555 version the best since it is uses MOSFET transistors instead of BJTs. I would use a 8 ohm speaker or greater to avoid overloading the chip. If the speaker is in an enclosure (small box) it will sound much better and louder. Thanks for watching and commenting. Have Fun!

[@deemsteraaa2690]

I extremely appreciate your wizdom, this information helped me a lot, thank you

[@ebuyuto]

Now, I want to build more circuits with the 555 timer IC.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thanks for commenting. Sounds like I need to get busy creating more videos.

[@seanchauvier811]

Hey I'm a student and am doing an assignment on 555-timer chips and producing musical notes using them for year 11 physics and I was just wondering where you got the graph you used for the Capacitance and Resistance vs Frequency? Also thank you this video really helped me put together my own circuit.

[@DorianMcIntire]

The graph comes from a 555 datasheet available at the following URL: www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm555.pdf Anytime you are working with a device you can usually find a data sheet for the device using a Google search.

[@seanchauvier811]

+Dorian McIntire thank you very much

[@Reelworthy]

interesting that 60Hz signals do not produce 60Hz sound waves, which would be the lowest subwoofer sound the human ear could (maybe) hope to hear. I wonder if the offset between the electrical freq and the audio freq is linear or what.

[@norbac]

Great stuff! Very enlightening indeed! Thank you very much!

[@JamesTrue]

I hooked this up to a speak but no sound. I hooked it up to my oscilloscope but i wasn't sure what to look for. I wish you could have hooked up an LED so we could test it. I tried the led positive at pin 3 and it's ground to ground but no luck. i don't have a 15k resistor so i wired a 10k with a 4700k resistor. Other than that, followed to the letter. Doesn't seem like that would be a factor though.

[@DorianMcIntire]

James, You can test with an LED but you must slow down the repetition rate by using a much larger capacitor such as 100uf or more. Common causes for malfunctions are: miswiring issues, capacitor polarity issues, faulty components - particularly a bad 555 timer. If your using an LM555 timer connect a capacitor from pin 5 to ground also make sure your speaker is 8 ohm or more. Its tedious but those who have problems inevitably get back with me to tell me it works fine after rewiring or discovering a problem with a component Good luck.

[@jeyosman1]

Thanks, it is clearly explained. Pls let me know the multimeter to measure the frequency your are using from RadioShack

[@DorianMcIntire]

Jeylani Osman I don't think they sell this meter anymore but I found several meters, with the same capability, on Amazon. www.amazon.com/Mastech-MS8261--MS8268-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000JQ4O2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435501136&sr=8-1&keywords=multimeter+frequency www.amazon.com/AideTek-VC97-Multimeter-Capacitor-Frequency/dp/B008GTEZPI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435501170&sr=8-2&keywords=multimeter+frequency Just search for the keywords "Multimeter" and "Frequency". Many of these are very inexpensive. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@jeffpara9113]

Dorian, Im actually looking to just generate a single triggered beep noise around 490hz. But Id like something clean - which would be more of a sine wave that this square wave from the 555 - any recommendations for a quick and easy circuit? Thanks!

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Jeff Para Sine waves are a whole different animal. You can filter a square wave and get close but such filtering will require quite a few additional components. After filtering you'll need a driver circuit to boast the signal enough to drive a speaker. You'll have to wire the circuit to activate the sine wave for only a short duration by driving the reset pin low for a short time.

[@MrMarvin3671]

Excellent video!!!! Thank you for your detail. Do you have a video or can you provide info on how to invert the output frequency? I want to be able to select between the non - inverted and the inverted output signal...... Thank you.

[@z1catfish]

GREAT video explaining the setup and triggers, and the second is great too. Can the 555 be used to trigger second 555, so you would have a ..|.|.....|.|..... pattern on the scope, and adjust the timing between the two?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Yes, this would not be a problem.

[@Sarahbuildsstepsequencers]

Terry Martin I think you would connect pin 3 of the first 555 to the Trigger input of the second 555. You could probably just make two of the above circuits and connect them as I mentioned. Try it and see what your result is. You can't harm anything by experimenting.

[@hammadfareed3334]

hey ! excellent work you have done ! i wanna produce a frequency of 23,000 Hz and i have calculated my resistors and capacitor.there is one problem ..how much power speaker i should use to produce sound ?

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Hammad Fareed 23,000 Hz is almost beyond the range of human hearing. Most speakers will have problem reproducing this frequency. You should use a high frequency tweeter and will probably need to pass the signal through a high frequency amplifier to reproduce it well.

[@hammadfareed3334]

+Dorian McIntire thanks for helping but i am doing a project "cat repeller" for the purpose i have to generate ultrasonic frequency above 20 KHz that's why i am producing 23 Khz .. but i have no idea which speaker suits fine ? i have 2 w and 0.5 w speaker ! will it help ?

[@vintageelectronicsandamate4521]

How would I go about controlling the pitch with a small amount of variable voltage? Like the voltage used to drive a meter on a Geiger counter.

[@jhill8016]

thanks for the video; what i want to do is have two of these circuits playing at the same time through just one speaker --- how can i safely connect the two so they still generate sound individually but have only one output?

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Jen Hill This can be done but you'll need two transistors to act a digital mixer. I will find a way to supply a schematic.

[@CRRollyson]

Thanks a ton man, this was great √

[@artursspiridonovs4771]

Really lovely video, very helpful, correct me, if I`m wrong, but this can also be used as a pulsed audio generator as well, right? Also, is it possible to connect an audio input to this bad boy?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Yes you can pulse the device by taking the reset pin from High to Low. For audio input do you want to modulate the tone? If so can do this by applying a signal to pin 5. See the following video for details kzbin.info/www/bejne/bni6nZycgrempNU. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@artursspiridonovs4771]

Well I wanted to input an audio and output it at the frequency of the chip whilst it pulses at a rate, that`s below the perceivable range- less than 1/10 of a second. Honestly-LOVE, how big of a help this has been!:)

[@DorianMcIntire]

You should be able to do this using the reset input if I understand correctly. Have fun!

[@artursspiridonovs4771]

Just checking, it is possible to input an audio for this circuit, right?

[@DorianMcIntire]

You can input an audio signal but it will really just turn the output on and off at an audio rate. Make sure the audio signal does not exceed the power supply voltage for the 555.

[@SuperPurpleFunk]

Thank you so much for your explanation! I am using this circuit for a project, but the signal is much quieter that yours. Is there a resistor I could change to make the signal stronger?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Chance Noble I used a pretty large speaker for the video you can see it in another 555 timer video I made: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5vZlmmHZ7Z6j9k Use as large a speaker as you can find for low frequencies an put the speaker in an enclosure, like stereo speakers, for best performance. Sounds like another video opportunity to show people how to do this ;-) Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@SuperPurpleFunk]

Dorian McIntire Wow! Thanks for your speedy reply!! I am using a fairly large speaker as well. Not sure what happened here, but I replaced the 555 chip I was using with another one from a different supplier and it became much louder.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Great!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Dorian McIntire Please consider subscribing. Thanks.

[@sminkly]

Hi, really helpful, quick question though, what determines the min and max frequency of the output ?(my electronics knowledge is a bit rusty)

[@DorianMcIntire]

+sminkly The min/max resistance of the potentiometer determines the min/max frequency for a given capacitor value. Another value of capacitor will give a different range of frequencies. You can look at the 555 timer data sheet graph for more information.

[@sminkly]

+Dorian McIntire Thanks for quick reply, I'll look at a data sheet.

[@mod_el]

Hi Dorian! I'm trying to make a little synthesizer with a 555 timer, and your video is perfect for me. I have only one question: what is the value of the potentiometer? Thank you! ;-)

[@DorianMcIntire]

A 10K potentiometer will work fine. Let me know if you have problems. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@mod_el]

I tried with a 10K pot, but the circuit seemed to be overloaded: it produces a strange whistle and the timer became hot. I solved the problem with another 4.7 uF capacitor connected to the negative pole of the speaker and to the ground; but in your video the same circuit works without this capacitor. Is the resistance of the potentiometer too low? Thanks.

[@Diego612010pd]

What kind of speaker did you use ? Can you use a buzzer?

[@DorianMcIntire]

I used an electromagnet speaker. While you can use a piezo speaker (sometimes referred to as a buzzer) it will not sound good or have much volume. Make sure you don't use a actual buzzer which can only make a sound at one frequency and will make a sound by just applying power.

[@walshgeo]

I built a morse code oscillator using a 555 timer. I would like to amplify the output from pin 3 going to a speaker and would also like to add a head phone jack on the output. Do you have any ideas for me ? Thanks in advance

[@oprahwinfrey878]

Wonderful video! I had just two questions. The first being how many mh does this thing use? And second, I'm trying to make a "Binatural" sound wave generator. Is it possible for you to make a video on a very simple sinewave Generator??

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Patrick Are you asking how much current the circuit uses. It's possible to build a sinewave generator but not with the 555.

[@SheltonDCruz]

very nicely done - thanks.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Thanks!

[@ssamicco]

one more question: i have a pot that ranges from 0 to 20M. which values of resistor and transistor should i use?? thank you!!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Do you mean resistor and capacitor? It depends on what frequency you want to produce. For a 20M pot any resistor you use will essentially provide a 50% duty cycle so you can use the same resistor used in the video. Using the same capacitor valued will give a timer with a very long time period so you may want to reduce the capacitance to compensate. Experimenting is OK as long as don't use resistor values that are not too low.

[@ssamicco]

Thank you !!!!!!!!!

[@luchoperetti182]

Hi! I've been trying for so long to build a circuit that uses a 555 to make a Led flash and use a potentiometer to regulate the blink of the Led. The thing is I can't make it work properly, I'm using the exact same circuit as you only I replace the 10k resistor for a 10k pot and in the pin 3 I use a 1k resistor and a Led. Which you think it could be the problem? Maybe the value of the capacitor? I'm using a 100 uF. Thanks!

[@DorianMcIntire]

***** Your blink rate should be approximately 1 Hz (1 blink per second) with the values you specified. If you're using the NE-555 timer connect a 0.01 uf capacitor between pin 5 and ground. Also make sure you hook the negative terminal of the capacitor to ground to get the polarity correct. Good luck.

[@maxskamo]

Thanks. Well explained.

[@brendacorrea4580]

It really works thnx!!

[@DorianMcIntire]

Great! Have fun with it.

[@vishwakbabu4440]

can we use other capacitors instead of it

[@DorianMcIntire]

You can use any capacitor values that give you a sound. Experiment, you won't hurt anything.

[@antonior.3790]

great circuit man. and also short and good explanation. can you tell me how to make short beeps or pulses to be random separated in time? i want the pulses to be 10 or 20 miliseconds long and to happen from 2 to 20 pulses or beeps per second. is that possible? most important i want the pulses to be short and Random... thank you

[@DorianMcIntire]

Antonny A. Sorry for the delay - no pun intended. Random is difficult to do with the timer - after all - it is a timer ;) There are some tricks however that might produce a quasi-random effect. Let me get back to you.

[@antonior.3790]

thanks for answering, i will be waiting for the quasi random circuit 555

[@ajw6715]

I would like to build this circuit to go from 1 hrz to 500,000 hrz and run to different hrz to 2 different speakers and be an on off signal. Can it be done with one 555 ic?

[@DorianMcIntire]

The timer can produce signals beyond 1 Mhz. If you are connecting it to a speaker the speaker cannot produce frequencies much beyond 18 Khz and such frequencies are not audible anyway.

[@KiR_3d]

Hello, Dorian! I've repeated this circuitry with a different set of resistors (22k and 100k - bigger values) and the capacitor is ceramic (also 4.7mF). It works but for a very short time. The chip goes OVER-HEATED. The frequency drops down when the chip goes hotter. If I let it to rest a bit it does the same. And if it wasn't cooled enough then it starts to "drop down" with a less delay:) I've touched the chip - it's about 100C probably. It is marked NE555P, 91M, DN1519 - some Chinese. I have some others but also NE555P. The sound wasn't stable from the beginning. Sounded like something "jagged". It's like the frequency is modulated by some noise source. Can this different set of resistors be a problem? Or can it be a speaker? It's magnet part is about 45mm in diameter. Impendance is 6-7oM (approx.). The power source is the 9v Robiton 200 maH accumulator. I've got that the sound is very loud so I've made a voltage divider with two 22k resistors but then it gives too low voltage somehow. The connection exists but the voltage seems too low if I try this (I've checked with the multimeter). Then the chip doesn't makes a sound. So I think that I've "checked" something... Maybe that the chip will not work with lower volts... Not sure. P.S. I want to repeat this setup with a good success. So after this I can go further and try something more complex.

[@DorianMcIntire]

I believe you're having a problem with a speaker with an impedance that's too low. The speaker should be a minimum of 8 ohms or more. You can put a 100 ohm resistor in series with a low impedance speaker but it won't be loud. Also make sure your supply voltage is not more than around 9 volts. Let me know how it goes.

[@KiR_3d]

I'll check tommorow, thanks! The output voltage was around 9.3 - 9.5 volts. When the accumulator was charged it was even about 9.8 or 10v. BTW, I've tried to insert 50k potentiometer between +9v and the + power rail. That was a mistake I think. The potentiometer started to "smell burned" after a while. Also I've found that it "eats" all volts and I've got sound only when the knob was on zero. I've thinked that this will make the scheme sounding lower. But I guess it's not the right logic.

[@KiR_3d]

It's about 4.40 of morning here... So I've hidden all my stuff. Not a good time to make loud buzzy sounds )

[@KiR_3d]

Hello, Dorian! I've bought almost all necessary details today. Just did what you've told me. Instead 100ohm I've used 120ohm. Everything else is the same. 1st I've made a voltage divider but it worked not for a long time. After trying the same with a less charged accumulator I've reverted back (it's 9.6 we must count here generally). Then it refused to work with the divider. I guess it did gone lower than 6v (6-9v is a working range as I've got). So I've proceeded without the voltage divider. The results: Pros: sound is very good almost stable (it's a breadboard! :) ) Cons: 120 ohm R on the output (leg 3) goes warming quickly. About 1C in a second (roughly). I've stopped at ~50C. Next I've decided to retry without 120ohm R. I've placed a jumper wire from 3 to my output line. The sound become crazy! I was "pierced" in a stomach :)) High... about 5-10khz and very unstable. Sounded like a very-very angry mosquito from a nightmare. I've didn't measured if the chip was hotter. The sound was above my nerves )) I'll try a better voltage divider tomorrow. BTW 120ohm R didn't made the volume too much quiter. The divider did. Maybe I need a good (but small) DC PSU for this "genre".

[@KiR_3d]

cloud.mail.ru/public/MtQY/1dZwrsGLZ a little test

[@1MCFOX1]

thanks most people do a bad job of explaining.Dub siren build in progress.

[@DorianMcIntire]

+SI.C.O. MC FOX Great! Thanks for commenting.

[@rodneykadadi2462]

can you kindly help me on the applications of this type of circuit.....or the use or purpose of it

[@meghjitmajumder3468]

Wow, nice informative video!! by the way, I'm wondering how can I use it to make a cell-phone jammer?

[@handmade_resin_shop1426]

does this circuit work for controlling a switch in a dc/dc buck converter ?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Yes, you can use this circuit to generate any square-wave waveform from .001 Hz to 100,000 Hz. Have fun.

[@ajw6715]

Well I have been doing some testing with your circuit and found if I use a car radio size speaker it blows out the 555 time IC using my power supply. I did get 24khz on my frequency counter. Would like to get it to 100khz for testing. Any ideas how to do that?

[@DorianMcIntire]

You won't be able use a 4 ohm speaker without using a power transistor driver. The timer can produce signals above 1 Mhz with the proper capacitor and resistor combination. The timer cannot produce currents much above 100mA

[@ajw6715]

@@DorianMcIntire I changed caps and got over 250 khz no problem.

[@FrankLopezx]

can i use this setup to control the brightness of an led? or speed of a motor?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Frank Lopez No, The duty cycle for this circuit is fixed at about 50%. This means that an LED will look about half as bright as normal. You can however make a variable duty-cycle circuit using a 555 timer to do exactly what you're asking.

[@FrankLopezx]

nice, one last thing do you know of any digital pot that i can use to play with those 555x'ers output val? rather then me manually turn the wiper on the pot i can maybe have arduino do this for me using this digital potentiometer ?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Frank Lopez You can build one using an optical isolator. See the following link: www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Voltage-Controlled-Resistor-and-Use-It/ You can also buy a chip like the one at the following link: www.newark.com/microchip/mcp4161-502e-p/digital-potentiometer-5kohm-257step/dp/77M2746?ost=77M2746&mckv=Gucgj0Yu&CMP=KNC-GUSA-GEN-SHOPPING-MICROCHIP&CAGPSPN=pla&gclid=CjwKEAjwueytBRCmpOyZ2L-xrG8SJADwH5c6D3pRxpUhnaVRj9TfUTuARc18VS5b3dWybU6exma8KBoCk8vw_wcB&CAWELAID=120185550001183961 If you drive it with an Arduino you will have to smooth out the PWM signal on the analog out pin used to drive the digital pot since these would require a DC voltage.

[@FrankLopezx]

do you think something like a triac may do the square wave formation or something like a Wheatstone bridge ? maybe a cap in line to smooth out or a op amp ? thanks for the links tho what is the main diff between that digital pot at 5kohms ? im dealing with hight 12v+ and running multi dc gear motors and servos so im not sure about 5kohm

[@dejannikolic2663]

Hi Dorian, I am planning to make a hi pitch sound device to trace conduit. Any chance you have a drawing and part s available. My plan is to attach device speaker to one end of the conduit and sound should travel to other end. Sound like smoke alarm. ThanksDejan

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Dejan Nikolic Interesting idea. You want to send a sound down and empty conduit? or are you using it trace wires in a conduit?

[@shanewilliams5443]

Could you show how to build a IC1 simple ignitor by Bruce Simpson this is a very similar version of your component you have here

[@DorianMcIntire]

Shane, I'll take a look if you send me the link. Thanks.

[@timothydang6654]

So I used all the right parts and finished the whole thing but mine will not make the noise. My capacitor looks a little different but that's it. I can't get it click and I'm also wondering where I would plug in a speaker if need be. Thanks

[@DorianMcIntire]

Timothy, It will not make a noise without a speaker. The speaker is connected between pin 3 and ground. Check your wiring carefully since all the problems I've ever seen are typically due to either incorrect or faulty components or incorrect wiring. The circuit works well if everything is done correctly. Good Luck.

[@timothydang6654]

Thank you so much. I will try this during class on Monday.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Hope things go well. Please let me know when you get your project working.

[@timothydang6654]

So I tried it and when I finished, it starts clicking the speaker at small intervals only when I remove a wire and put it back in but it wouldn't continuously click. I am also using 2 4 ohm speakers wired as a series circuit. Can you please tell me why?

[@DorianMcIntire]

All I can tell you is to check your connections carefully and make sure you are using the proper components and component values. The circuit is pretty simple and works well when everything is correct. Try replacing the 555 timer to be sure it has not been damaged while testing. I have no way of knowing what is wrong when there are so many possibilities.

[@AbdullahRahhal]

great video ! thank you

[@DorianMcIntire]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@julianhorma96]

Hi there I have a question. What's the potentiometer resistance?

[@DorianMcIntire]

50kohm

[@dejannikolic2663]

Thanks will let you know how it works.

[@rock-afire-fan]

can you make a decoder that reads the tone and activate a relay? I want to use this to program an animatronic by sending the signal to the cassette on one track and use the other track for music, on the track with the signal i want to put a tone generator on it to detect the signal and activate a relay, a tone will be sent to the input jack of the cassette recorder and a signal reader on the output

[@DorianMcIntire]

***** The best best way to decode a frequency is by using the LM-567 tone decoder chip. s154.photobucket.com/user/terrypin999/media/Electronics/567ToneDecoder.gif.html Good luck and thanks for commenting.

[@furulevi]

can this go up to... let's say 1 MHz?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Yes, with the right capacitor and resistor combination it will work up to several megahertz.

[@furulevi]

can the 555 make sine wave also?

[@DorianMcIntire]

furulevi No. The 555 timer can only make rectangular waves (square), saw-tooth waves or triangular waves which can approximate a sine wave.

[@furulevi]

thanks!

[@Inquire98]

"Thank You", thank you very much....

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Inquire98 You're welcome and thanks for watching.

[@crazcfox1]

It looks a 25k resistor for Rb will produce aprox 60hz signal? Does that sound right to you?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Sounds about right. I can check the resistance when I get back to the shop. I neglected to provide the exact for Rb thinking you might want adjustibility.

[@crazcfox1]

Dorian McIntire Yes, adjustability will be helpful. If I can go from 40hz to around 80hz, that would be nice. I will find the appropriate pot. Again, thank you very much for all your help.

[@DorianMcIntire]

Michael Fox I used a 5K pot. Radio Shack carries these.

[@crazcfox1]

Dorian McIntire I mocked this circuit up, but it is erratic. The part number I have is a ne555n. Is it possible I need the .01 microFarad cap from pin5 to ground?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Michael Fox For the NE-555 you will probably need the 0.01 cap on pin 5. It produces a large output spike that can feed back into this pin.

[@techwizpc4484]

can you use 555 to generate frequency for a dc booster?

[@DorianMcIntire]

Yes.

[@techwizpc4484]

Thanks, now I know what to buy.

[@kevinhoney1385]

i would like to build a circuit that stay on for 3 min. and cut off, is that possible?

[@DorianMcIntire]

+Kevin honey (kg) Yes. Google Monostable and 555 timer for instructions on how to build a delay circuit using the 555 timer.

[@kevinhoney1385]

Thank you very much.

[@harshithm2756]

very good

[@sarrah6473]

Hi will you help me build the 30-40 hertz generator on the breadboard ?

[@DorianMcIntire]

A 30-40 hertz generator would use R2 resistor values roughly twice as large as the 60 HZ unit.

[@brokensolarpanel2649]

what is the voltage rating on the capacitor?

[@DorianMcIntire]

It just has to be more than the battery voltage. A 16 volt rating will work fine.

[@mcb187]

Oh man, the wiring made my inner neat freak cry; but I guess that is a con of watching Ben eater’s vids lol

[@DorianMcIntire]

Nothing wrong with neatness but many of us enjoy exploration and immediate gratification. There is really no choice however with complicated digital circuits. If you had to watch someone wire such circuits you would be viewing for hours ;-)

[@mrdcnk]

Thank you very much

[@DorianMcIntire]

+mrdcnk Thank you for this comment.

[@fayazmohamed3490]

Can u suggest me values for RA, RB and C to produce 1Hz Clock Signal? Actually I need to design a 3 Bit Gray Code Counter (with LED). Will 1Hz produce a desired Counter with LED so that its state change is humanly visible? Waiting for your response..........

[@DorianMcIntire]

+fayaz mohamed The graph on page 11 of the following spec sheet will with this: www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm555.pdf Looks like Ra=1k Rb=50k and C=20 uf will get you close.

[@fayazmohamed3490]

+Dorian McIntire thanks man realy helpful

[@Mj-jq5fk]

Is it a sine wave or a square wave?

[@DorianMcIntire]

It is a square wave. Definitely not as pleasing to hear as a sine wave.

[@Kennynva]

Hi...is there a reason I dont see a square wave on my oscilloscope???

[@DorianMcIntire]

Is it plugged in. :-)

[@DorianMcIntire]

Please be more specific. Are you probing from pin 3 to ground and are you driving a strange load such as a speaker? If you drive a purely resistive load (carbon resistor) you should see a square wave.

[@Kennynva]

I am connecting to pin 3 and ground...

[@Kennynva]

I am new to using a scope and using a old Hitachi analog..

[@paulgoodier3777]

can you show how to make a small boom sound like a small explosion please?

[@mauriciomendoza9912]

Hi, if i want to produce a 880 Hz frequency which values i should look for in my resistors and capacitor ?

[@DorianMcIntire]

A capacitor OR resistor value approximately 15 times less than that used in the video will work (880 Hz /60 Hz)

[@AlexanderWeurding]

tnx! great data.