555 IC timer

The 555 IC timer is an integrated circuit. I used an ST (SGS Thompson Microelectronics) NE555 timer IC to build a multivibrator. A multivibrator is a circuit used for two state systems. I built my circuit to control a motor polarity. But it did not work. This is the first time I experimented with a 555 timer. I used a digital circuits reference book and studied multivibrators. I tried building a astable multivibrator. It switches from off to on by itself without any external trigger. Find more about multivibrators in my next post.

switched-mode power supply

We needed to test the motor to which I had soldered wires. My old PC had a working SMPS(switched-mode power supply). So I pulled it out of the PC and used the floppy power cable as the source. I connected two wires each into the floppy red and yellow power cable. Then I fixed these wires to the breadboard. I took the motor’s wires and completed the circuit and switched on the power supply. The motor was succesfully working, also confirming that I could use the unregulated power supply as my source.

After this my friend and I got on to testing LEDs and switches using the SMPS. We connected each component and tested it. We are planning to make a Regulated Power Supply using C program and parallel port.

gujarati gulli

17°23'9"N, 78°29'0"E is its location and its one of the most important locations for the Engineers in Hyderabad. Located along the Koti Women's Hostel road, Gujarati Gulli consists of all the electronic stores with almost everything from spare parts to basic circuits to CRTs.

I was on a hunt for various sensors and motors. I was in almost every store and found out about the costs of most spare parts. Roland Electronics is the best store with everything I needed for my project available here. Out of the things I bought were IR sensors, 555 IC timers, LEDs (red and green), shafts and a 12V DC motor. All of these costed me less than Rs. 150. There is still more stuff to buy for my project and these are yet to be listed.