Timers and logic
555 timers, clocks, counters and logic you can watch tick.
12 builds
VideoThe Stranger Things light wall, from two chips
Six coloured LEDs light one at a time in a loop, like the Christmas light wall in Stranger Things. A 555 timer and a counter.
13 parts · 28 wires
LightsTimers and logic
VideoA game show buzzer that knows who pressed first
Two players, two buttons: whoever presses first lights their LED and locks the other out. One flip-flop chip, no code.
13 parts · 25 wires
Games and toysTimers and logic
VideoA traffic light that counts to five
Red, yellow and green LEDs that cycle like a traffic light on their own. A 555 timer, a decade counter and four diodes.
15 parts · 27 wires
LightsTimers and logic
VideoThe most famous chip in electronics
The 555 timer doing its classic job: blinking an LED about once a second. A good first build.
9 parts · 14 wires
Timers and logicLights
VideoKITT's scanner from two chips
The sweeping eye from KITT in Knight Rider, from a 555 timer, a decade counter and two steering diodes.
12 parts · 25 wires
LightsTimers and logic
VideoI replaced three chips with one
The chaos lamp again, but one CD4093B chip replaces three 555s, blinking an RGB LED's colours at rates that never line up.
12 parts · 21 wires
LightsTimers and logic
VideoThree chips, three clocks, a color that never repeats
Three 555 timers blink the red, green and blue of one LED at unrelated rates, so the colour drifts for ages before it repeats.
12 parts · 27 wires
LightsTimers and logic
Premieres Oct 21A metronome you can see, and hear, from one 555
A metronome from one 555 timer: an LED flashes and a buzzer clicks on every beat, from about 36 to 206 beats a minute.
11 parts · 18 wires
Guitar and audioTimers and logic
Premieres Nov 5Why every button needs this resistor
Why a button input needs a pull-up: a 10k resistor holds the input high until you press, and an LED shows the state.
9 parts · 12 wires
Timers and logic
Premieres Nov 15Dice that roll themselves, from two chips
Hold the button and a seven LED die face flickers through faces. Let go and it stops on one. A 555, a counter and six diodes.
25 parts · 36 wires
Games and toysTimers and logic
Premieres Nov 17One resistor and one capacitor set every timer in electronics
Press a button and an LED stays lit for about 1.1 seconds, set by one resistor and one capacitor. Swap the resistor to change it.
9 parts · 15 wires
Timers and logic
Premieres Nov 27The clock every computer runs on, slow enough to see
A 555 timer ticking about once a second, one LED on the high half and one on the low half. A computer clock you can watch.
11 parts · 17 wires
Timers and logicLights
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