Monthly Archives: February 2011


555 Contest Entry: Automatic hair drier

Here’s another entry for the 555 contest. This project is about an automatic hand dryer that turns on when the hands are brought close to the dryer. It uses infrared diodes and a photo diode sensor to detect the presence of hands. The optical sensor mechanism then triggers the 555 timer which is configured in a monostable mode. The 555 output activates a relay switch that turns the fan on. The duration of the monostable output (fan on time) is defined by the resistance and capacitance connected to 555.

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555 Contest Entry: AM radio

555 timer based AM radio receiver published on Tube Time is one of many entries for the currently running 555 contest. This project uses a 555 timer as AM demodulator plus amplifier to drive the speaker. The radio signal is tuned with an LC tank circuit. The 555 timer is configured as a PWM where a ramp signal is created with a capacitor and a potentiometer. The radio signal picked by the LC circuit is superimposed on the ramp signal which varies the duty cycle of the output PWM wave. The variation in the duty cycle corresponds to the audio

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2-Wire Keypad Interface Using a 555 Timer

Keypads are a very commonly used input device in microcontroller-based systems. In a keypad, multiple switches are arranged in rows and columns so that they could be interfaced to a microcontroller with a minimum number of I/O pins. For example, a 12-key keypad is arranged in a 4×3 format, which allows to interface the 12 keys to a microcontroller with only 7 connections. The location of each key on the keypad is defined by two coordinates: the row and the column. When a key is pressed, it connects its row with its column. The microcontroller must scan all the rows

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Radio frequency identification (RFID) with a microcontroller

RFID is a technology that uses radio waves for transmitting the identity (unique serial number) of an object or a person. If you have an electronic key to access your office building, it probably uses the same technology. An RFID system has a reader and a transponder (also called tag). The reader transmits electromagnectic waves in its surrounding through an antenna system, and when a tag passes passes through the zone, it is activated and the reader can read the identification data stored inside the electronic tag.

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