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Oscillators:  Astable Circuits, Page 3
#'s - D       E - S      T - Z

Oscillator Circuits -- Main Page
Last Updated on: Friday, June 04, 2021 01:53 PM


Circuits Designed by Dave Johnson, P.E. :
  • Three Volt Low Battery Voltage Flasher
    This circuit is designed to monitor two alkaline cells (3v) that form the battery often used in portable electronic equipment.  It use an inexpensive IC from Panasonic that is connected to an efficient LED flashing circuit.  When the battery voltage drops below a certain point the circuit flashes the LED.  In the off state the circuit draws only 1uA, while in the active flashing state it draws 20uA.   Published in EDN, Jan 2, 1997

  • Ultra Low Current Oscillator  February 17, 2009
    Here is a challenge.  Design an astable oscillator which draws only a few nanoamps of current from a +3v supply.  I gave this some thought and came up with the circuit below.  I used some pretty standard parts except for three surface mounted 1000M resistors I had on hand.  The oscillator frequency measured a low 1Hz frequency and the average current was a very low 3 nanoamps.  If I had some higher resistors values handy, I think I could have gotten the current down below one nanoamp. 
  • Ultra Low Power Astable Multivibrator
    Taking advantage of some new voltage comparators, this circuit can produce a nice square wave signal while drawing only 1.6 microamps.  With the inclusion of a diode, the circuit can also produce short pulses instead of a square wave signal.  (added 12/04)

Links to electronic circuits, electronic schematics and designs for engineers, hobbyists, students & inventors:
Three Volt Low Battery Voltage Flasher - This circuit is designed to monitor two alkaline cells (3v) that form the battery often used in portable electronic equipment.  It use an inexpensive IC from Panasonic....[Designed by David A. Johnson]
Turn a set/reset latch into an astable/monostable multivibrator -  3-Sep-09 Issue of EDN  Use latches with either active-high or active-low inputs.... [Design Idea by Luca Bruno, ITIS Hensemberger Monza, Lissone, Italy]
Ultra Low Current Oscillator -  Here is a challenge.  Design an astable oscillator which draws only a few nanoamps of current from a +3v supply.  I gave this some thought and came up with the circuit below.....[Designed by David A. Johnson]
Ultra Low Current Oscillator #4  -  The circuit below was inspired by a programmable unjunction transistor (PUJT) circuit sent to me by Karl Isbrecht.  In Karl’s circuit, the unijunction circuit made click sounds in a speaker and consumed very little power.  His circuit reminded me that a PUJT circuit could be made using a couple common transistors wired in a configuration like a SCR.  In the circuit below, the output of the two transistor pulse generator is connected to a CD4013 dual flip/flop.  One flip/flop is configured as a non-inverting buffer.  The second is wired as conventional divide by two counter.  The result is a nice low frequency square wave generator, which draws only 2ua from a 9v supply.  The circuit will also work with a DC supply voltage ranging from 3v to 15v.... [Designed by Karl Isbrecht]
Ultra Low Power Astable Multivibrator -  Taking advantage of some new voltage comparators, this circuit can produce a nice square wave signal while drawing only 1.6 microamps.  With the inclusion of a diode, the circuit can also produce short pulses instead of a square wave signal.  (added 12/04) …. [Designed by David A. Johnson]
Very Low Power Astable Multivibrator -  This classic circuit draws only 200 nanoamps from a 1.5v supply.... [Designed by David A. Johnson]
 
Oscillators:  Astable Circuits:  #'s - D       E - S      T - Z

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