555 Timer - Frequency and Duty Cycle Calculator

Enter values for R1, R2, and C and press the calculate button to solve for positive time interval (T1) and negative time interval (T2). For example, a 10K resistor (R1) and 100K (R2) and 0.1 uF capacitor will produce output time intervals of 7.62 mS positive (T1) and 6.93 mS negative (T2). The frequency will be about 70 Hz. R1 should be greater than 1K and C should be greater than .0005 uF. Scroll down page for basic 555 information (pinout and two basic circuits). Positive Time Interval (T1) = 0.693 * (R1+R2) * C Negative Time Interval (T2) = 0.693 * R2 * C Frequency = 1.44 / ( (R1+R2+R2) * C) R1 (K Ohms)
4,7k

R2 (K Ohms)
100k

C (Microfarads)
4,7uf

Calculate

T1 (Milliseconds) T2 (Milliseconds) Frequency (Kilohertz)

Reset

The 555 Timer

F i r s ti n t r o d u c e db yt h eS i g n e t i c sC o r p o r a t i o na st h eS E 5 5 5 / N E 5 5 5a b o u t1 9 7 1 . P i nc o n n e c t i o n sa n df u n c t i o n s :( S e es c h e m a t i cb e l o wf o rb a s i cc i r c u i t s ) P i n1( G r o u n d ) -T h eg r o u n d( o rc o m m o n )p i ni st h em o s t n e g a t i v es u p p l yp o t e n t i a l o ft h ed e v i c e ,w h i c hi sn o r m a l l yc o n n e c t e dt oc i r c u i tc o m m o nw h e n o p e r a t e df r o mp o s i t i v es u p p l yv o l t a g e s . -T h i sp i ni st h ei n p u tw h i c hc a u s e st h eo u t p u tt og oh i g ha n db e g i n t h et i m i n gc y c l e .T r i g g e r i n go c c u r sw h e nt h et r i g g e ri n p u tm o v e s f r o mav o l t a g ea b o v e2 / 3o ft h es u p p l yv o l t a g et oav o l t a g eb e l o w 1 / 3o ft h es u p p l y .F o re x a m p l eu s i n ga1 2v o l ts u p p l y ,t h et r i g g e r i n p u tv o l t a g em u s ts t a r tf r o ma b o v e8v o l t sa n dm o v ed o w nt oa v o l t a g eb e l o w4v o l t st ob e g i nt h et i m i n gc y c l e .T h ea c t i o ni s l e v e ls e n s i t i v ea n dt h et r i g g e rv o l t a g em a ym o v ev e r ys l o w l y .T o

P i n2( T r i g g e r )

a v o i dr e t r i g g e r i n g ,t h et r i g g e rv o l t a g em u s tr e t u r nt oav o l t a g e a b o v e1 / 3o ft h es u p p l yb e f o r et h ee n do ft h et i m i n gc y c l ei nt h e m o n o s t a b l em o d e .T r i g g e ri n p u tc u r r e n ti sa b o u t0 . 5m i c r o a m p s . P i n3( O u t p u t ) -T h eo u t p u tp i no ft h e5 5 5m o v e st oah i g hl e v e lo f1 . 7v o l t sl e s s t h a nt h es u p p l yv o l t a g ew h e nt h et i m i n gc y c l eb e g i n s .T h eo u t p u t r e t u r n st oal o wl e v e ln e a r0a tt h ee n do ft h ec y c l e .M a x i m u m c u r r e n tf r o mt h eo u t p u ta te i t h e rl o wo rh i g hl e v e l si s a p p r o x i m a t e l y2 0 0m A . -Al o wl o g i cl e v e lo nt h i sp i nr e s e t st h et i m e ra n dr e t u r n st h e o u p u tt oal o ws t a t e .I ti sn o r m a l l yc o n n e c t e dt ot h e+s u p p l y l i n ei fn o tu s e d . -T h i sp i na l l o w sc h a n g i n gt h et r i g g e r i n ga n dt h r e s h o l dv o l t a g e sb y a p p l y i n ga ne x t e r n a lv o l t a g e .W h e nt h et i m e ri so p e r a t i n gi nt h e a s t a b l eo ro s c i l l a t i n gm o d e ,t h i si n p u tc o u l db eu s e dt oa l t e ro r f r e q u e n c ym o d u l a t et h eo u t p u t .I fn o ti nu s e ,i ti sr e c o m m e n d e d i n s t a l l i n gas m a l lc a p a c i t o rf r o mp i n5t og r o u n dt oa v o i d p o s s i b l ef a l s eo re r r a t i ct r i g g e r i n gf r o mn o i s ee f f e c t s .

P i n4( R e s e t ) :

P i n5( C o n t r o l )

P i n6( T h r e s h o l d )-P i n6i su s e dt or e s e tt h el a t c ha n dc a u s et h eo u t p u tt og ol o w . R e s e to c c u r sw h e nt h ev o l t a g eo nt h i sp i nm o v e sf r o mav o l t a g e b e l o w1 / 3o ft h es u p p l yt oav o l t a g ea b o v e2 / 3o ft h es u p p l y . T h ea c t i o ni sl e v e ls e n s i t i v ea n dc a nm o v es l o w l ys i m i l a rt ot h e t r i g g e rv o l t a g e . P i n7( D i s c h a r g e )-T h i sp i ni sa no p e nc o l l e c t o ro u t p u tw h i c hi si np h a s ew i t ht h e m a i no u t p u to np i n3a n dh a ss i m i l a rc u r r e n ts i n k i n gc a p a b i l i t y . P i n8( V+ ) -T h i si st h ep o s i t i v es u p p l yv o l t a g et e r m i n a lo ft h e5 5 5t i m e rI C . S u p p l y v o l t a g eo p e r a t i n gr a n g e i s+ 4 . 5v o l t s( m i n i m u m )t o+ 1 6 v o l t s( m a x i m u m ) .

T h ep i nc o n n e c t i o n sf o rt h e5 5 6w h i c hi sad u a l5 5 5t i m e r( 2i no n ep a c k a g e )a r e s h o w ni nt a b l eb e l o w .F o re x a m p l e ,t h et w oo u t p u t sf o rt h et w ot i m e r so ft h e5 5 6a r e o np i n s5a n d9w h i c hc o r r e s p o n dt ot h eo u t p u tp i n3o ft h e5 5 5 . 5 5 5 5 5 6t i m e r# 1 t i m e r# 2 G r o u n d 1 7 7 T r i g g e r 2 6 8

O u t p u t 3 5 9 R e s e t 4 4 1 0 C o n t r o l 5 3 1 1 T h r e s h o l d 6 2 1 2 D i s c h a r g e 7 1 1 3 +P o w e rV c c 8 1 4 1 4 T h es c h e m a t i c sb e l o ws h o wt h et w ob a s i cc i r c u i t sf o rt h e5 5 5t i m e r .

Below is a pictorial view of the 555 timer wired as a LED flasher and powered with a 9 volt battery. The LED will turn on during time T1 and off during time T2.

The 555 circuit below is a flashing bicycle light powered with three C or D cells (4.5 volts). The two flashlight lamps will alternately flash at a approximate 1.5 second cycle rate. Using a 4.7K resistor for R1 and a 100K resistor for R2 and a 4.7uF capacitor, the time intervals for the two lamps are 341 milliseconds (T1, upper lamp) and 326 milliseconds (T2 lower lamp). The lamps are driven by transistors to provide additional current beyond the 200 mA limit of the 555 timer. A 2N2905 PNP and a 2N3053 NPN could be used for lamps requiring 500 mA or less. For additional current, a TIP29 NPN and TIP30 PNP could be used up to 1 amp. A PR3 is a 4.5 volt, 500 mA flashlight bulb. Two diodes are placed in series with the PNP transistor base so that the lower lamp turns off when the 555 output goes high during the T1 time interval. The high output level of the 555 timer is 1.7 volts less than the supply voltage. Adding the two diodes increases the forward voltage required for the PNP transistor to about 2.1 volts so that the 1.7 volt difference from supply to the output is not enough to turn on the transistor. You can also use an LED in place of the two diodes as shown in the lower schematic.

40 LED Bicycle Light

The 555 circuit below is a flashing bicycle light powered with four C,D or AA cells (6 volts). Two sets of 20 LEDs will alternately flash at approximately 4.7 cycles per second using RC values shown (4.7K for R1, 150K for R2 and a 1uF capacitor). Time intervals for the two lamps are about 107 milliseconds (T1, upper LEDs) and 104 milliseconds (T2 lower LEDs). Two transistors are used to provide additional current beyond the 200 mA limit of the 555 timer. A single LED is placed in series with the base of the PNP transistor so that the lower 20 LEDs turn off when the 555 output goes high during the T1 time interval. The high output level of the 555 timer is 1.7 volts less than the supply voltage. Adding the LED increases the forward voltage required for the PNP transistor to about 2.7 volts so that the 1.7 volt difference from supply to the output is insufficient to turn on the transistor. Each LED is supplied with about 20 mA of current for a total of 220 mA. The circuit should work with additional LEDs up to about 40 for each group, or 81 total. The circuit will also work with fewer LEDs so it could be assembled and tested with just 5 LEDs (two groups of two plus one) before adding the others.

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