Specialization: Electronic Instrument Maintenance Department: Electronics Engineering

Course: Fundamental Digital

Level: Two Course code: EECIM1203
Electronics and Circuits
Date: 12 / 03 / 2023 - 16 / 03 / 2023 Week: Eleventh

SEQUENTIAL LOGIC CIRCUIT: 555 TIMER CIRCUITS Worksheet 9

Student Name: ……………………………………………………………………………..

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this session the student should be able to:
1. To measure the frequency and duty cycle of an astable 555 timer
2. To measure the pulse width out of a monostable 555 timer
3. To examine the signal out of a voltage-controlled oscillator
4. To build a sawtooth generator using a 555 timer
Introduction:
The basic 555 timer gets its name from the fact that there are three internally connected 5kΩ resistors
which it uses to generate the two comparators reference voltages. The 555 timer IC is a very cheap,
popular and useful precision timing device which can act as either a simple timer to generate single
pulses or long time delays, or as a relaxation oscillator producing a string of stabilized waveforms of
varying duty cycles from 50 to 100%.
555 Timer Block Diagram

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NE555 Timer Pinout:
• Pin 1. – Ground, The ground pin connects the 555 timer to the negative (0v) supply rail.
• Pin 2. – Trigger, The negative input to comparator No 1. A negative pulse on this pin “sets” the
internal Flip-flop when the voltage drops below 1/3Vcc causing the output to switch from a “LOW”
to a “HIGH” state.
• Pin 3. – Output, The output pin can drive any TTL circuit and is capable of sourcing or sinking
up to 200mA of current at an output voltage equal to approximately Vcc – 1.5V so small speakers,
LEDs or motors can be connected directly to the output.
• Pin 4. – Reset, This pin is used to “reset” the internal Flip-flop controlling the state of the
output, pin 3. This is an active-low input and is generally connected to a logic “1” level when not
used to prevent any unwanted resetting of the output.
• Pin 5. – Control Voltage, This pin controls the timing of the 555 by overriding the 2/3Vcc level
of the voltage divider network. By applying a voltage to this pin the width of the output signal can
be varied independently of the RC timing network. When not used it is connected to ground via a
10nF capacitor to eliminate any noise.
• Pin 6. – Threshold, The positive input to comparator No 2. This pin is used to reset the Flip-flop
when the voltage applied to it exceeds 2/3Vcc causing the output to switch from “HIGH” to “LOW”
state. This pin connects directly to the RC timing circuit.
• Pin 7. – Discharge, The discharge pin is connected directly to the Collector of an internal NPN
transistor which is used to “discharge” the timing capacitor to ground when the output at pin 3
switches “LOW”.
• Pin 8. – Supply +Vcc, This is the power supply pin and for general purpose TTL 555 timers is
between 4.5V and 15V.
Apparatus and Materials Required

Quantity Materials .No

1 NE555 Timer 1
1 IDL-800 Prototyping Board 2
As required Capacitor 3
As required Resistor 4
As required Wire connectors 5

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 PART 1: Astable 555 Timer
Procedure
1. Prepare the equipment on your bench. Calculate the frequency and duty cycle in Fig. 1 for the
resistances listed in Table 2. Record the results under fcalc and Dcalc.
2. Connect the circuit of Fig1 with RA = 10kΩ and RB = 100 Ω. Use Fig1 as guidance.
3. Turn on the power. Measure T1 and T. Work out the frequency and duty factor.
4. Record under fmeas and Dcalc in Table 2.
5. Look at the voltage across the capacitor (pin 6). You should see an exponentially rising and falling
wave between 5 and 10 V.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for the other resistances of Table 2.

Circuit Diagram

Figure 1

Results:

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Formulas:
Unit Formula Parameter
Seconds 0.693 × (Ra+Rb) × C1 Time High (T1)
Seconds 0.693 × Rb × C1 Time Low (T2)
Seconds 0.693 × (Ra+2×Rb) × C1 Time Period (T)
Hertz (Hz) 1.44 / (Ra+2×Rb) × C1 Frequency (F)
Percentage (%) (T1/T)×100 Duty Cycle
Table 1
Dprac Fprac Dcalc Fcalc RB (kΩ) RA (kΩ)
100 10
10 100
10 10
Table 2

Part 2: Monostable 555 Timer

1. Figure 2 shows a Schmitt trigger driving a monostable 555 timer. Calculate the pulse width for each R
listed in Table 3. Record the results under Wcalc.
2. Turn off the power. Connect the circuit of Fig. 2 with an R of 33 kΩ.
3. Turn on the power. Look at the output of the Schmitt trigger (pin 6 of the 741C).
4. Set the frequency of the sine-wave input to 1 kHz. Adjust the sine-wave level until you get a Schmitt-
trigger output with a duty cycle of approximately 90 percent.
5. Look at the output of the 555 timer. Measure the pulse width. Record this value under Wmeas in
Table3.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 3 for the remaining R values of Table 3.

Circuit Diagram

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 Figure 2
Formula : W= 1.1×R×C

Multisim Wmeas Calculated Wcalc R (kΩ)

33
47
68

Table 3

Part 3: Voltage-Controlled Oscillator

1. Turn off the power. Connect the VCO of Fig. 3.

2. Turn on the power. Look at the output with an oscilloscope.
3. Vary the 1-kΩ potentiometer and notice what happens. Record the minimum and maximum
frequencies here:
fmin = __________________
fmax = __________________

Figure 3

Part 4: Sawtooth Generator

1. Turn off the power. Calculate the charging current in Fig. 4 for each value of R shown in Table 4.
Record the values.
2. Calculate the slope of capacitor voltage in volts per millisecond. Record under Scalc in Table 4.
3. Connect the circuit of Fig. 4 with an R of 10 kΩ. This is almost the same as Fig. 2 except for the PNP
current source. Use Fig. 4 as guidance.

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 4. Set the AC generator to 1 kHz. Adjust the level to get a duty cycle of approximately 90 percent out of
the Schmitt trigger.
5. Look at the output voltage; it should be a sawtooth. Measure the ramp voltage and time. Then work out
the slope in voltages per millisecond.
Record the value under Smeas in Table 4.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for the remaining values of R in Table 4.

Figure 4

Results:
Smeas (v/ms) Ich (mA) RV1 (kΩ)
5
7.5
10

Table 4

Instructor: Mehrez Saafi Head of Department: Mrs Carla Mendoza

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