CMOS 555?

[lightningfingers]

so ive been playing with my uglyface clone, for a few days, but now my electronics teacher wants his 555 back :evil:

i cant get a CMOS one, will the circuit accept a regular 555 timer, and if not, then why?

[Ansil]

mine works with ther regular one.. of course keep in mind i didint' build the exact version on tims site. i kind of took bits and pieces of it to make it do what i wanted it to do.  check out the radioshack 555 handbook. theres a great section in there on timers and opamps and stuff. i got my book for like 1.99 one of those forrest Mimm books.. i think thats his name

[gez]

i cant get a CMOS one, will the circuit accept a regular 555 timer, and if not, then why?

Even if it does it'll suck a battery dry in no time.  You're not looking hard enough, loads of places sell CMOS 555s!  

Try ESR  

www.esr.co.uk

I think Rapid do them.  Christ, even Maplin do!

[lightningfingers]

Maplin do?!

I went there and the guy said they didnt sell them. He didnt even know what CMOS meant!! I AM SO SICK OF THESE PEOPLE!!! :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:

[gez]

Maplin do?!

I went there and the guy said they didnt sell them. He didnt even know what CMOS meant!! I AM SO SICK OF THESE PEOPLE!!! :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:  :evil:

They sell the TS555 which is a low power CMOS 555.  They also sell the 7556 which is two 555s in one package (both CMOS).

ESR sell these cheaper.

Maplin codes RA76H for the single, CP96E for the double.

Craplin are hopeless, just burn down your local store and do us all a favour...

[Tim Escobedo]

A regular 555 might work if the 555 is configured as a cookbook oscillator. That means it's a little different than the Uglyface circuit.

I use TS555s mostly now. There are many CMOS 555s out there from many different manufacturers. The old 555 was OK in 1972, but is just obsolete these days.

Funny about Maplin. I was in the UK about 12 years ago for a month. I picked up a Maplin catalog at a WH Smith store, and was almost brought to tears at the things in there. Put just about ANY U.S. store to shame with a selection that would NEVER be found here. I picked up stuff in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, as I travelled and saw more and more stuff in the catalog I wanted. I always found the components I needed, with the catalog handy for reference. Perhaps things have gone way downhill since then. I'd kill to have a Radio Shack that was as well stocked over here.

[gez]

Up until 3 years ago Maplin still sold exotic things like BBD and Switched Cap filter chips, but sadly no more.  Their semiconductor section seems to get smaller every year.  They’re better at discrete actives, but their stores are so badly stocked it’s almost impossible to get hold of anything.  

Mail order is hit or miss as you either get sent the wrong thing, they no longer sell it (though they don’t tell you this at the time of ordering!) then you get a crappy credit note instead of a refund, or they don’t have it in stock and you have to wait ages.  

In all fairness, they’re not too bad on things like resistors and caps and that’s all I use them for these days (especially as they have a branch about 2 mins from my doorstep).  They seem to be concentrating more on computer/audio accessories.  Fair enough, but I wish they didn’t pretend to be an electronics store.  I was told by one clueless member of staff that I should be grateful for their crappy, overpriced, limited range as ‘these things are hard to get nowadays’.  Only in your store mate!

Sorry about the rant, I’ve had a tiring day….

[lightningfingers]

Ah yes, the computer says we have 38 of those in stock, oh wait no, actually we dont, probably because we havent updated our computer inventory since 1993, but not to worry you can order it from head office, it only takes 3-5 weeks and you can almost guarantee we;ll send you the wrong stuff, and.......

im off to Rapid.....

[gez]

Rapid are a good firm.  You have to set up an account with them but all this entails is giving them your details so they can key it into their computer.  They then give you an account number and it speeds up the process when you next order.

Delivery is usually the next day.  Between them and ESR I get most of what I need.