frnFdocahlhclnulmtmol

(E/P)
MlcRo-PowERLEDFLASHER
A simpleLEDflashercan be builtwitha TLC7555Timerusedas a low-
frequency anddriveto an LED.lC1runsin a lowfrequency
oscillator deter-
minedbyR?R3andC1.Frequency is intherangebetween0.1and5 Hzbut
youcanalterit bychanging
Cl.Thiscapacitor canrangefrom1 to 10uF.
Dutycycleisdetermined inapplications
byR2/R3ratioandis important where
youneedreduction of energyconsumed.Though Figure1 showsfixedresis-
torsfor R2 and R3, you can usetrimmer potentiometers if you prefer.The
potentiometers,ofcourse,arehandyforalteringthefrequency anddutycycle
of theoscillator.
Rl valuesdependuponthe powersupplyvoltage. Withpowersuppliesbe-
tween5 and6 volts,R1is 470ohms.Withpowersuppliesbetween 6 and9
volts,Rl is 560or680ohms.Withpowersupplies intherangebetween9 and
12volts,Rl mustbe 1,000ohms.The circuitdrainsonly250uAfroma 6-volt
powersupply.
Figurel showstheschematic diagram LEDFlasher.
fortheMicro-Power At
theheartof thecircuitis lOl, a 555timer.
Usethe partsplacement diagramas a guidewhenassembling the Micro-
PowerLED Flasher.
Components placement,usinga terminal
stripas chas-
sis,is shownin Figure2.
Takespecialcarewithpositions
of polarized suchas the LED
components,
capacitor.
andelectrolytic
Afteryouaresurethatyouhavewiredallthecomponents putthe
correctly,
TheLEDshouldflash.
in thebatteryholder.
batteries
 H.lGtt@

R1
560s,

Dl Rg
1N914 4KT

c1
4.7pF

Figure I

l{"

Figure2

I
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I
I'
PartsList - Micro-Power
LEDFlasher
lC1 - TLC7555CMOSIntegratedOircuit- Timer

LEDI - Commonred,greenor yellowLED

D1 - 1N914generalpurposesilicondiode

Rl - 560 ohm, 114W,5%

resistor

R2 - 1,000,000
ohm, 114W,5%resistor

Rg - 4,700ohm, 114W,5%resistor

C1 - 4,7 uF,6IM/DC electrolytic

capacitor

C2 - 10 UF,12 W\/DCelectrolytic
capacitor

81 - 6 to 12VAA cells,9V batteryor powersupply

ldeasto Explore
learnmoreaboutthe circuitand devices:
o AlterR2andR3 (minimumvaluesare 1,000ohmsforboth)andsee
howthe flashingratechanges.Of course,if youwant,youcan replace
R2 and R3 with 1,000,000-ohmtrimmerpotentiometers.
o Explainhowthe astable555 worksin this circuit.

o AlterC1 in a rangebetween1 and 100uF andobserveflashingrate

alteration.Explainwhathappens.
o Whatis duty-cycle?
 FroFGtltlmPomrlMmficr

Scienceexperiments
withthe clrcuit:
o LED ls a monochromatic lightsource.Youcan performsome ex-
perimentsin opticsusingthiskindof lightsource.Chromaticfilterscan
be usedin someexperiments involvingLEDs.TrytouseLEDsof differ-
ent colors(red,yellow,greenand,if possible,blue).
. Lightflashes,as the onesproducedby this circuit,can be usedin
hypnoticexperiments.
o The circuitcan be used to indicateoperationof otherelectronic
devices.Wiredto the powersupplyof a monitoreddevice,the blinker
LEDwillindicateits operation.

Remember thatthetheoryin thisbookis specifically

relatedto the associated
experiments and projects.Thisbookis designedas an introduction, notas an
in-depthtreatmentof electronics.lf you are interestedin findingout more
aboutthe subjectstouchedon in this book,severaltextscan be foundfor
furtherreading.