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LED blinker design

WHAM

Apr 13, 2015
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Apr 13, 2015
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Hello everyone!

Couldn't find a forum section for "complete newbie questions" so I posted here.

I am new, as in new to the forums AND new to electronics, so try to bear with me as I get started. I studied some bare basics of electronics over a decade ago and wanted to get started on a new project, starting with something small and fairly simple, yet not just something I can pick up readymade from the store.

Here is a very simple image of what I want to do (this is for a miniature model project)

Capture.PNG

As you can see, the plan calls for a controller circuit that will cause 2 groups (A and B) of LED's to blink in turn in a specific pattern. Can you guys point me in the right direction as to where I could find tutorials or materials I would require? As I am thinking of it, I would just need a single blinker that turns the LED's on and off, and a way to alternate between which group of LED's is lit and which one is not.
 

Harald Kapp

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Nov 17, 2011
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Welcome to electronicspoint.

An LED chaser like this can be used for your circuit. The one shown in the link uses 8 LEDs. As you require only 2 groups of LEds, you can easily modify the circuit as follows:
  • remove the connection from pin 9 to 15 of the 4017
  • add a connection from pin 10 to 15 of the 4017 - this will make the chip count to
  • use only the LEDs from pins 2 and 7 of the 4017, remove all other LEDs. The 2 remaining LEDs are your "A" and "B"
This datasheet explaind the operation of the counter 4017. The 555 is explained in lots of tutorials on the internet. As the LED chaser article states, the frequency (period) is defined by R1, VR1 and C1. A coarse adjustment can be made by changing C1, a fine tuning is possible by varying VR1's position.

If you need to drive more LEDs, read this ressource in our forum.
 

WHAM

Apr 13, 2015
2
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
2
Cool beans! Thanks for that, Harald.
I'll study the schematic and components and will start gathering some materials come payday.
If it's ok, I'll post back in this thread if I come up with problems or questions, or maybe with a video of the final product in action. :)
 
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