Doddling in Instructables, need help - Page 3

Zambini · June 21st, 2007

Hmm. Do you think its possible to have fried the 555 timer chip? For some reason it doesn't seem to work anymore.

But it shouldn't be fried, because on the package it says it can handle up to 600 mA, and I have been using a 6v big-ol' honkin battery (the one used for those lanterns) and it puts out something between 300 and 400 mA. (Not sure of the exact, I haven't measured it)

Hmm....Besides something getting jiggled out of position, what could have gone wrong?

**Reloadron** · June 21st, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zambini

Hmm. Do you think its possible to have fried the 555 timer chip? For some reason it doesn't seem to work anymore.

But it shouldn't be fried, because on the package it says it can handle up to 600 mA, and I have been using a 6v big-ol' honkin battery (the one used for those lanterns) and it puts out something between 300 and 400 mA. (Not sure of the exact, I haven't measured it)

Hmm....Besides something getting jiggled out of position, what could have gone wrong?

I think the maximum output current on a 555 is about 200 mA (milli Amps)? I believe the power dissapation on the chip is something like 600 mW (milli Watts)?

Either way, a typical single LED draws about 20 mA so that should be fine. Check your components, make sure your LED is not shorted. Feel the 555 and is it warm to the touch or hot?

Ron

Zambini · June 21st, 2007

well I tried the LED with just the (battery)->Resistor->LED->(battery) and it works fine, so I don't think its the LEDs.

And the 555 wasn't hot when I touched it after running the blinker for a long time.

Hmm.. Maybe the battery is low on juice?
Whats a good way to tell if a battery is low on power? Check the mA it produces? or is there another way on my multimeter?

**Reloadron** · June 21st, 2007

In theory that battery should last just short of forever. However, since you have a multimeter set the meter to measure DC Volts and look at the battery voltage under load (running or connected to the circuit). Minimum voltage you want to see is about 5 Volts. Actually if I recall correctly 5 Volts is about the minimum acceptable voltage to see results with the 555.

Nice quick job of checking the LED!

Ron

Zambini · July 9th, 2007

to re-spawn this thread:
I just bought ~15 Superbright LEDs from Dragonmodz (ridiculous pricing..... its 15% the cost of the LEDs at Fry's and the shipping is less than how much I pay for the gas I use to go to Fry's!)

So I am probably gonna do some cool drilly-thing in my case or something.
Maybe I can dig up those schematics that someone posted a long time ago and do some cool blinky thing.

Maybe if I am feeling extra l33t I can buy their Military style switch for the thing :)

**Reloadron** · July 9th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zambini

to re-spawn this thread:
I just bought ~15 Superbright LEDs from Dragonmodz (ridiculous pricing..... its 15% the cost of the LEDs at Fry's and the shipping is less than how much I pay for the gas I use to go to Fry's!)

So I am probably gonna do some cool drilly-thing in my case or something.
Maybe I can dig up those schematics that someone posted a long time ago and do some cool blinky thing.

Maybe if I am feeling extra l33t I can buy their Military style switch for the thing :)

Well as creativity spawns, just post with any questions.

Ron

June 21st, 2007	#21
Zambini Level 2 College Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: St. Mere du SantaCruz Posts: 2,111 Blog Entries: 1	Re: Doddling in Instructables, need help Hmm. Do you think its possible to have fried the 555 timer chip? For some reason it doesn't seem to work anymore. But it shouldn't be fried, because on the package it says it can handle up to 600 mA, and I have been using a 6v big-ol' honkin battery (the one used for those lanterns) and it puts out something between 300 and 400 mA. (Not sure of the exact, I haven't measured it) Hmm....Besides something getting jiggled out of position, what could have gone wrong?

June 21st, 2007	#23
Zambini Level 2 College Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: St. Mere du SantaCruz Posts: 2,111 Blog Entries: 1	Re: Doddling in Instructables, need help well I tried the LED with just the (battery)->Resistor->LED->(battery) and it works fine, so I don't think its the LEDs. And the 555 wasn't hot when I touched it after running the blinker for a long time. Hmm.. Maybe the battery is low on juice? Whats a good way to tell if a battery is low on power? Check the mA it produces? or is there another way on my multimeter?

June 21st, 2007	#24
Reloadron Helper Person In General Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,530	Re: Doddling in Instructables, need help In theory that battery should last just short of forever. However, since you have a multimeter set the meter to measure DC Volts and look at the battery voltage under load (running or connected to the circuit). Minimum voltage you want to see is about 5 Volts. Actually if I recall correctly 5 Volts is about the minimum acceptable voltage to see results with the 555. Nice quick job of checking the LED! Ron

July 9th, 2007	#25
Zambini Level 2 College Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: St. Mere du SantaCruz Posts: 2,111 Blog Entries: 1	Re: Doddling in Instructables, need help to re-spawn this thread: I just bought ~15 Superbright LEDs from Dragonmodz (ridiculous pricing..... its 15% the cost of the LEDs at Fry's and the shipping is less than how much I pay for the gas I use to go to Fry's!) So I am probably gonna do some cool drilly-thing in my case or something. Maybe I can dig up those schematics that someone posted a long time ago and do some cool blinky thing. Maybe if I am feeling extra l33t I can buy their Military style switch for the thing :)