555 Timer Circuit

SAN MIGUEL, Reimark M.

1200 323 6400
BSECE

INTRODUCTION

The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit used in a variety of timer, pulse generation,
and oscillator applications. The 555 can be used to provide time delays, as an oscillator, and as
a flip-flop element. Derivatives provide up to four timing circuits in one package.

Introduced in 1971 by Signetics, the 555 is still in widespread use due to its ease of use,
low price, and good stability. It is now made by many companies in the original bipolar and also
in low-power CMOS types. As of 2003, it was estimated that 1 billion units are manufactured
every year.

In this circuit, we will produce a scream, depending on the amount of light being
detected by the Light Dependent Resistor. Light dependent resistor engineering is a technique
of making several electronics circuits following the logic of a simple light and dark sensor using
transistors, 555 IC and 741 IC. Out of several optical sensors, light dependent resistor can
be used

for

making

light/dark

sensors.

dark

sensor

switches

on

transistor

or LED whenever the incident light intensity is decreased, whereas a light sensor works in
opposite way. In LDR Engineering, we first understand the working principle of any circuit using
LDR, and then we replace the LDR with a fixed resistor or some other electronic component
that makes the simple automatic light/dark sensor work as a completely different device. Making
automatic light/dark sensor circuits using different methods can make you observe several
electronics components. On the other hand, modifying those automatic light/dark sensor circuits
to some functionally different circuits like touch switch,water level indicator, clap switch, etc. can
make you understand about those circuits. In this article, we will see how we can use the
concept of a dark sensor to make a touch and a clap switch.

MATERIALS
555 Timer IC (NE555P)
Light Dependent Resistor
100nf Capacitor
10mf Capacitor
100k ohms resistor
8ohms Speaker
6v Battery
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

This simple Screamer 555 Timer Circuit works mainly with a 555IC and a Light
Dependent Resistor. Each of the pins of the 555IC was in control to be able to produce a
screaming sound created by the speaker. Here are the functions of each of the eight pins of the
555IC:

Figure 1: Arrangement of the eight pins in a standard 555 IC.

Figure 2: Pin positions in a Schematic Diagram

Ground: Pin 1 is connected to ground.

VCC: Pin 8 is connected to the positive supply voltage. This voltage must be at least 4.5
V and no greater than 15 V. It's common to run 555 circuits using four AA or AAA batteries,
providing 6 V, or a single 9 V battery.

Output: Pin 3 is the output pin. The output is either low, which is very close to 0 V, or
high, which is close to the supply voltage thats placed on pin 8. The exact shape of the

output that is, how long it's high and how long it's low, depends on the connections to the
remaining five pins.

Trigger: Pin 2 is the trigger, which works like a starters pistol to start the 555 timer
running. The trigger is an active low trigger, which means that the timer starts when voltage
on pin 2 drops to below one-third of the supply voltage. When the 555 is triggered via pin 2,
the output on pin 3 goes high.

Discharge: Pin 7 is called the discharge. This pin is used to discharge an external
capacitor that works in conjunction with a resistor to control the timing interval. In most
circuits, pin 7 is connected to the supply voltage through a resistor and to ground through a
capacitor.

Threshold: Pin 6 is called the threshold. The purpose of this pin is to monitor the
voltage across the capacitor that's discharged by pin 7. When this voltage reaches two
thirds of the supply voltage (Vcc), the timing cycle ends, and the output on pin 3 goes low.

Control: Pin 5 is the control pin. In most 555 circuits, this pin is simply connected to
ground, usually through a small 0.01 F capacitor. (The purpose of the capacitor is to level
out any fluctuations in the supply voltage that might affect the operation of the timer.)

Reset: Pin 4 is the reset pin, which can be used to restart the 555s timing operation.
Like the trigger input, reset is an active low input. Thus, pin 4 must be connected to the
supply voltage for the 555 timer to operate. If pin 4 is momentarily grounded, the 555
timers operation is interrupted and won't start again until it's triggered again via pin 2.

The circuit is powered by a 6V battery connected at pins 4 and 8 of the 555 timer IC or
the NE555P. Voltage will enter across the pin 8 of the IC and pin 2 triggers the circuit once the
light dependent resistor takes the action. As the LDR detected the absence of light or simply
darkness, the resistance of LDR becomes high providing the output at pin 3. In the presence of
light, the resistance gets low causing the screamer to lower the volume depending in the value
of light detected by the LDR.