THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering

ELEC 1100
Laboratory 3
Pulse Generation (4%)
A) Objectives:
To generate DC pulses from a constant supply.
Get more familiar with circuit construction with Breadboard.
B) Pre-lab Assignments:
Read through this lab manual and those related topics from the lecture notes.
C) Hardware Requirements:

555 Timer
Resistors
Capacitors
Switches
Speaker

D) Experiment Procedures:
Experiment 1: Constructing a pulse generator with NE555 Timer.
(Estimated time: 30 minutes)
Step 1: Construct the given circuit on the
breadboard with the following
given component values (do not
connect the power supply when
you construct your circuit):
RA = 330k
RB = 330k
RS = 330
C1 = 1F
C2 = 0.01F
C3 = 0.01F
Step 2: Connect the power supply and
you should see the LED blinking.
Step 3: Use the oscilloscope to measure
the output voltage on pin-3 of the
IC.

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Q1: Sketch the waveform you see on the oscilloscope.

Q2: What is the frequency of the waveform?
Q3: What is the duty cycle of the waveform?
Note: For 555, you can calculate the various output characteristics using the following
equations.
T1 = Clock high time = 0.7 (RA + RB) C1
T2 = Clock low time = 0.7 (RB) C1
T = Clock period = T1 + T2 = 0.7 (RA + 2RB) C1
DC = Duty cycle =

R + RB
T 1 high time
=
= A
T
period
R A + 2 RB

Experiment 2: Electronic Piano (Estimated time: 60 minutes)

By using different resistor values in the 555 circuit, voltage pulses with different frequencies
can be generated. The frequency corresponding to different musical note is given below:

C2

C3

C4

C5

C6

C7

By sending the corresponding frequency pulse to a speaker, you can construct an electronic
piano. In this lab, you will be using the frequency range between 261Hz to 440Hz.

Step 1: With the equation of clock frequency =

1
, and assume RB = 1k,
0.7 ( R A + 2 RB ) C1

C1=1F, calculate the required values of RA to generate the required frequencies

corresponding to different music notes in the piano.

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Q4: Fill in the following table for the values of RA needed to generate the required
frequencies.
Tone
Frequency (Hz)
RA ()

D4
C4
261.63 293.66

E4
329.63

F4
349.23

G4
392.00

A4
440.00

B4
493.88

Step 2: Based on your calculated RA, construct the following circuit. Some resistor values
may not exist and you need to use parallel or series combination of the given
resistors to obtain the required values. All other component values are the same as
that in Experiment 1.

Q5: Demonstrate your circuit to your TA and obtain his/her signature.

Experiment 3: Pulse generator for your project

(Estimated time: 30 minutes)
Disconnect
your
piano
you
constructed and re-construct the
following circuit. Try to construct it
next to your voltage regulator you
constructed in Lab 3 and use the least
amount of space that it still looks tidy
(to save spaces for other components
later).
Use the following capacitor values
C1 = 0.1F
C2 = 0.01F
C3 = 0.1F

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Sample Photo:

Q6: Show your circuit to your TA and obtain his/her signature.

Important : Please keep all components on board and this circuit can be reused in Lab 4

That is all for the week!

You did a great job!

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THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering
ELEC 1100
Laboratory 3 Pre-lab (A)

Group Number: _____________

Name:_______________________
Lab Section:______________________
Lab Partner:______________________

Pulse Generation Prelab

Q1 For the NE555 picture on the right, circle pin #2.

Q2 What is the function of RS given in the circuit in Experiment 1?

_______________________________________________________________________

Q3. For the following waveform,

what is the duty cycle based on
the definition at the end of
Experiment 1?

3s

1s
______________________________

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THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering
ELEC 1100
Laboratory 3 Pre-lab (B)

Group Number: _____________

Name:_________________________
Lab Section:______________________
Lab Partner:______________________

Pulse Generation Prelab

Q1 For the NE555 picture on the right, circle pin #2.

Q2 What is the function of RS given in the circuit in Experiment 1?

_______________________________________________________________________

Q3. For the following waveform,

what is the duty cycle based on
the definition at the end of
Experiment 1?

2s

1s
______________________________

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THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering
ELEC 1100
Laboratory 3
Summary Sheet
Group Number: _____________
Member 1:___________________________

Member 2:___________________________

Personal contribution in this lab: _______ %

Personal contribution in this lab: _______ %

Hours spent: Prelab: ___ hrs, Post-Lab:___ hrs.

Lab Section:______________________

Pulse Generation
Experiment 1: Constructing a pulse generator with NE555 Timer
Q1: Sketch the waveform you see on
the oscilloscope.
Q2: What is the frequency of the waveform?
______________________________________
Q3: What is the duty cycle of the waveform?
______________________________________

Experiment 2: Electronic Piano

Q4: Fill in the following table for the value of RA need to generate the required frequency.
Tone
Frequency (Hz)
RA ()

C4
261.63

D4
293.66

E4
329.63

F4
349.23

G4
392.00

A4
440.00

B4
493.88

Q5: Demonstrate your circuit to your TA and obtain his/her signature. __________________

Experiment 3: Pulse generator for your project

Q6: Show your circuit to your TA and obtain his/her signature. ________________________

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