Waveform Generators
Continuing on from our first look at the operation of the 555 timer, this second tutorial about the 555 Timer looks at some practical uses and circuits we can build when using the 555 as an astable multivibrator. We recall from the our previous tutorial about the 555 timer that to get it…
The 555 Timer IC can be connected either in its Monostable mode thereby producing a precision timer of a fixed time duration, or in its Bistable mode to produce a flip-flop type switching action. But we can also connect the 555 timer IC in an Astable mode to produce a very stable 555…
We have seen that Multivibrators and CMOS Oscillators can be easily constructed from discrete components to produce relaxation oscillators for generating basic square wave output waveforms. But there are also dedicated IC’s especially designed to accurately produce the required output waveform with the addition of just a few extra timing…
We have seen in the last few tutorials that the 555 Timer can be configured with externally connected components as multivibrators, oscillators and timers, with timing intervals ranging from a few microseconds to many hours. As the 555 timer is one of our favourite, cheapest and easily configurable chips, let’s look at…
In the previous tutorials we have looked in detail at the three different types of basic transistor multivibrator circuits that can be used as relaxation oscillators to produce either a square or rectangular wave at their outputs for use as clock and timing signals. But it is also possible to…
Regenerative switching circuits such as Astable Multivibrators are the most commonly used type of relaxation oscillator because not only are they simple, reliable and ease of construction they also produce a constant square wave output waveform. Unlike the Monostable Multivibrator or the Bistable Multivibrator we looked at in the previous tutorials that…
The Bistable Multivibrator is another type of two state device similar to the Monostable Multivibrator we looked at in the previous tutorial but the difference this time is that BOTH states are stable. Bistable Multivibrators have TWO stable states (hence the name: “Bi” meaning two) and maintain a given output state indefinitely unless an…
Multivibrators produce an output wave shape resembling that of a symmetrical or asymmetrical square wave and as such are the most commonly used of all the square wave generators. Multivibrators belong to a family of oscillators commonly called “Relaxation Oscillators“. Generally speaking, discrete multivibrators consist of a two transistor cross…
In the Oscillators tutorials we saw that an oscillator is an electronic circuit used to generate a continuous output signal. Generally this output signal is in the form of a sinusoid at some predetermined frequency or wavelength set by the resonant components of the circuit. We also saw that there are many…