Sometimes the best inspiration is limitation. The 555 timer does “one thing” — compares a voltage to a couple thresholds and outputs a signal accordingly. It’s two comparators, a voltage ladder, and a ...

Most switch-mode power supplies rely on a PWM (pulse-width-modulated) output that is controlled via voltage feedback. A 555-timer IC can inexpensively perform PWM. The circuit in Figure 1 shows how to ...

What is the point of reviewing a cheap timer module, especially if it is based on the ubiquitous 555 timer chip? Recently I got an ‘updated’ version of the common 555 timer relay module. This time it ...

You can use a microcontroller to build a clock. After all, a clock is just something that counts the passage of time. The only problem is that microcontrollers can’t track time very accurately. They ...