Electronic Circuits and electronic circuits, electronic schematics plus an extensive resource for hobbyists, inventors and engineers

DiscoverCircuits.com, has 45,000+ electronic circuits, cross-referenced into 500+ categories.
We have searched the web to help you find quick solutions & design ideas.

Got Designs?
Please eMail
if you want me to link to and/or post your original design
NOTE:  We make every effort to link to original material posted by the designer. 
Please contact us if our link is not to your site!  Thanks.


Waveform Generators

Waveform Generator Circuits:  #'s     A - B     C - E    
F - K     L - O     P - R     S     T    
U - Z

 

Last Updated: November 22, 2021 02:42 PM

Circuits Designed by Dave Johnson, P.E. :

LC Oscillator Medium Power 125Khz -  This circuit is similar to MEDiUM POWER 125KHZ OSCiLLATOR but adds even more inverters in parallel to deliver yet more power.  The values shown are for 125KHz . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

LED Test Signal Generator-40Khz -  This 40KHz crystal controlled oscillator circuit drives an infrared LED with powerful 40ma pulses.  The circuit can be used to test optical communications circuits, designed to receive 40KHz modulated light signals . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-February, 2002

Low Frequency Oscillator draws only 2 Nanoamps -  if you have hundreds of touch switches that need an excitation signal, then this circuit is what you need.  its 20KHz 20v peak to peak output signal can supply up to 3 watts of touch switch excitation power. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

Medium Power 125khz Oscillator -  This circuit adds even more inverters in parallel to deliver yet more power.  The values shown are for 125KHz. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Medium Power 125khz Oscillator #2 -  This circuit is similar to MEDiUM POWER 125KHZ OSCiLLATOR but adds even more inverters in parallel to deliver yet more power.  The values shown are for 125KHz.. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Micropower CMOS Oscillator, Draws Only 0.5ua -  if truly low power oscillators interest you, this circuit draws a mere 2 microwatts (500nA) from a 6v battery.  it uses a very inexpensive C-MOS IC to produce a frequency of 2Hz.  However, by changing the component values you can push it to 300Hz. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Oscillator Draws 2 Nanoamps -  if you have hundreds of touch switches that need an excitation signal, then this circuit is what you need.  its 20KHz 20v peak to peak output signal can supply up to 3 watts of touch switch excitation power . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

Oscillator with Ultra Low Current -  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 resist . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2009

Capacitance Proximity Switch
Draws very low power - Ideal for battery-powered applications
6 Models Available - Call 806-778-8407




Links to electronic circuits, electronic schematics and designs for engineers, hobbyists, students & inventors:

LC Oscillator has 1% THD -  03/31/94 EDN Design Ideas:  At the heart of many oscillators is a parallel-resonant LC tank circuit whose impedance is infinite at the resonant frequency of 1/2[pi]ÖLC Hz.  infinite impedance implies an absence of parallel damping resistance, so once an ideal tank circuit Design by Gary Sellani, Maxim Integrated Products, Sunnyvale, CA

LC Oscillator has stable Amplitude -  10/27/05 EDN Design Ideas:  Simplified design offers low distortion, self-adjustment Design by Julius Foit, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic

LC Oscillator Medium Power 125Khz -  This circuit is similar to MEDiUM POWER 125KHZ OSCiLLATOR but adds even more inverters in parallel to deliver yet more power.  The values shown are for 125KHz . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Linear ramp generator uses one op-amp -  EDN Design Ideas:  01/26/2015    Get integrator-like ramps that know when to stop Design by Einar Abell

Linkwitz Cosine Burst Generator -  Based on work done by Siegfried Linkwitz (reproduced with his permission)  __ Designed by Rod Elliott  ESP

LM324 Pulse Width Modulator -  Schematic only, no circuits description.   __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Load Pulser Tests Supply's Transient Response -  04/11/96 EDN Design Ideas:   Modern µPs place severe demands on the transient response of the power source.  For example, intel's P6 specification stipulates an output-current capability of at least 30A/µsec while maintaining output-voltage regulation within specified limits Design by Chester Simpson, National SemiConductor, Santa Clara, CA

Low Battery Voltage Flasher -  This circuit is designed to monitor two alkaline cells (3v) that form the battery often used in portable electronic equipment. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-January, 1998

Low Frequency Oscillator draws only 2 Nanoamps -  if you have hundreds of touch switches that need an excitation signal, then this circuit is what you need.  its 20KHz 20v peak to peak output signal can supply up to 3 watts of touch switch excitation power. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

Low Frequency Sine Wave Generator -  The two circuits below illustrate generating low frequency sine waves by shifting the phase of the signal through an RC network so that oscillation occurs where the total phase shift is360 degrees.   __ Designed by Bill Bowden

Low Power 100khz Light Receiver -  By starving a high speed logic inverter for current, this circuit can produce a sensitive 100KHz light receiver circuit, which is immune to ambient light, but only drawing 100 micro amps from a 3 volt supply. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-April, 2005

Low-Cost PWM ramp generator in switch-mode power supplies -  04/08/10 EDN Design Ideas:  include this circuit in a switching-power-supply design.   Design by Dwayne Reid, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Low-distortion Audio-range Oscillator -  Generates very low-distortion sine waves up to 1V RMS No thermistors required No settling time __ Contact Flavio Dellepiane, fladello @ tin.it

Low-Distortion Oscillator Starts Fast -  05/26/94 EDN Design Ideas:  Unlike a Wien-bridge oscillator, the phase-shift oscillator in Fig 1 starts up quickly.  Also, the circuit does not require that you adjust several trimming resistors just to tune the oscillator to a given frequency.  Experiments show that the circuit's total harmonic distortion (THD]measures Design by Mika Maaspuro, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland

Low-Frequency Crystal Controlled Oscillator -  The RF engineer sometimes has to look for an instrument that will check a low frequency quartz crystal unit reliably and rapidly.  This is a difficult piece of equipment to find and the engineer often has to consult an electronic circuits handbook for the schematic of a circuit that will perform the task.  Unfortunately __ Designed by Ramon Vargas

Low-Pass Filter RFI Filter -  Circuit ideas for Designers App Note__ Advanced Linear Devices, Inc

Measure Button Battery Cell's Internal Resistance  -  The open cell voltage of a small silver oxide button cell battery remains very close to 1.5 volts over most of the life of the cell.  However, there is a relationship between battery health and the internal resistance of the cell.   This circuit when used . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

Medium Power 125khz Oscillator -  This circuit adds even more inverters in parallel to deliver yet more power.  The values shown are for 125KHz. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Medium Power 125khz Oscillator #2 -  This circuit is similar to MEDiUM POWER 125KHZ OSCiLLATOR but adds even more inverters in parallel to deliver yet more power.  The values shown are for 125KHz.. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

Micro Power 40Khz Burst Laser Diode Driver -  Some laser tag or simulated combat games can use this circuit to send short bursts of modulated laser light at the opponent's vest, equipped with a matching light receiver.  The circuit operates from three 1.5v cells (4.5v) that should provide enough energy. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Micro-power Band-pass Network -  Circuit ideas for Designers App Note__ Advanced Linear Devices, Inc

Micropower CMOS Oscillator, Draws Only 0.5ua -  if truly low power oscillators interest you, this circuit draws a mere 2 microwatts (500nA) from a 6v battery.  it uses a very inexpensive C-MOS IC to produce a frequency of 2Hz.  However, by changing the component values you can push it to 300Hz. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Minimize the Short-Circuit Current Pulse in a Hot-Swap Controller -  27-May-04 EDN Design Ideas:  Because of internal circuit-breaker delay and limited MOS-gate pulldown current, many hot-swap controllers do not limit current during the first 10 to 50 µsec following a shorted output.  The result can be a brief flow of several hundred amperes.  A simple external circuit can counter this problem by minimizing the initial current spike and terminating the short circuit within 200 to 500 nsec Design by Jim Sherwin and Thong Huynh, Maxim Integrated Products, Sunnyvale, CA

Minimum Mass Waveform Capture & Display -  The result was a project that includes a waveform capture circuit, a graphic LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a control panel with LED indicators.  The details of the Graphic LCD display unit, composed of the LCD module, a serial interface, and bias supply were published earlier on this site,  __ Designed by Dick Cappels

Monostable Flip Flops (One Shot) -  The two circuits below illustrate using the 555 timer to close a relay for a predetermined amount of time by pressing a momentary N/O push button.  The circuit on the left can be used for long time periods where the push button can be pressed and released before the end of the timing period.  For shorter periods __ Designed by Bill Bowden

Motorized Duck Decoy Timer -  I received a nice email from a duck hunter.  He uses some motorized decoys to lure ducks into his line of fire.  However, the battery powered decoys only have an on/off switch so once turned on; the decoy flaps its wings or paddles around continuously.  The hunter wanted a more realistic motion, which would power the motor for say 10 seconds, then stop for another 10 seconds before starting up again.  The simple circuit below should work well for his application . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-September, 2011

Multiple Pulse Generator -  I used this circuit to ring my doorbell rapidly three times when a car pulled into my driveway.  R2 and C2 set the output frequency.  Use a diode and resistor to change the duty cycle, if desired.  R1 and C1 set the cycle time which sets the number of pulse __ Designed by Andrew R. Morris

Negative-To-Negative Switch-Mode Converter Offers High Current & High Efficiency -  11/12/09  EDN Design Ideas:  Don't let variations in input voltage affect the output voltage Design by Budge Ing, Maxim Integrated Products Inc, Sunnyvale, CA

Negative-to-negative switch-mode converter offers high-current & high efficiency -  12-Nov-09 EDN Design Ideas:  Don't let variations in input voltage affect the output voltage Design by Budge Ing, Maxim Integrated Products Inc, Sunnyvale, CA

One Hz Pulse Frequency Generator -  Here is a 1Hz pulse/frequency generator using the popular timer IC 555 which is wired as an Astable Multivibrator.  The output pulses can be indicated visually by the LED.  An Astable Multivibrator, often called a free-running Multivibrator, is a rectangular-wave generating circuit.  Unlike the Monostable Multivibrator, this __ Designed by D Mohankumar

Op Amp as a Set/Reset Flip-Flop -  05/24/12  EDN Design Ideas:  Eliminate a flip-flop package by using a spare op amp for an SR latch function.  You can make a set/reset flip-flop from two NAND or NOR gates or use readily available set/reset flip-flop IC s, such as the 74HC279 quad-set/reset latch.  The drawback of these methods is that they require a large amount of space to form the flip-flop.  Even if you need only one flip-flop, you must use a large IC package with this approach.  However, you can use a spare rail-to-rail op amp to perform the needed latch function (Figure 1).   __ Circuit Design by Aruna Rubasinghe

Op Amp Triangle-Wave Generator & SPICE simulation files -  This signal generator gives you two waveforms for the price of one: a triangle-wave and a square-wave. What is the central component of this circuit? The integrator capacitor Ci__ 

Op-Amp Oscillators Simplify RF Design -  10/10/96 EDN Design Ideas:  Figure 1 shows a novel circuit that uses a low-cost, high-speed op amp as a crystal-controlled RF sine-wave oscillator.  An op-amp oscillator offers several advantages.  Because an op amp is a complete amplifier with a high-impedance input Design by Charles Kitchin, Analog Devices, Wilmington, MA

Oscillator Draws 2 Nanoamps -  if you have hundreds of touch switches that need an excitation signal, then this circuit is what you need.  its 20KHz 20v peak to peak output signal can supply up to 3 watts of touch switch excitation power . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-July, 2006

Oscillator keeps THD BeLow One PPM -  11/10/94 EDN Design Ideas:  The Wien-bridge sine-wave oscillator uses a light bulb to stabilize its amplitude.  The circuit doesn't have a light bulb; it sports several enhancements that lower its distortion Design by Jeff Smith, Analog Devices, Wilmington, MA

Oscillator Lowers Distortion & Phase Noise -  08/18/94 EDN Design Ideas:  in addition to its normal role of controlling oscillation frequency, the crystal in Fig 1 also acts as a high-Q, self-tuned output filter, which rejects the noise and harmonics of its input voltage, VB.  The result is a clean output-frequency spectrum.  With a Design by Giovanni Stochino, Ericsson Telecommunicazioni Spa, Rome Italy

Oscillator meets three requirements -  12/03/98 EDN Design Ideas:  Three common requirements for a clock source are a wide frequency range, a variable duty cycle with independently adjustable TON and TOFF  times, and the ability to synchronize with an external signal.  The.      FILE
has several circuits, scroll to this one Design by A Gallerani, IRA, CNR, Bologna, Italy

Oscillator phase noise -  Phase noise serves as an important oscillator parameter and some amateur radio enthusiasts seem confused about what it is, how it’s measured, and most importantly, how it might affect what they’re working on __ Contact Vasily Ivanenko

Oscillator Sawtooth & Square Wave Output -  Simple, Single Supply and Works Very well with Minimum Parts Count.   __ Designed by G.L. Chemelec

Oscillator Turns On Instantly, Off Synchronously -  05/23/96 EDN Design Ideas:  The oscillator in Figure 1 has several desirable features.  You can adjust the oscillator frequency from approximately 500 kHz to 4 MHz, it is fairly stable for an RC type, and it uses inexpensive standard components.  Also, you can easily control the oscillator Design by Raymond Scott, SOR Inc, Lenexa, KS

Oscillator with Ultra Low Current -  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 resist . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2009

Got Designs?
Please eMail
if you want me to link to and/or post your original design Thanks.


Waveform Generator Circuits:  #'s     A - B     C - E     F - K     L - O     P - R     S     T     U - Z


HOME Schematics Index Hobby Corner Dave's Circuits Contact Info
Imagineering Ezine Dave Johnson, P.E. Faraday Touch Switches


 About Us   |  Advertise on DiscoverCircuits.com   |   Report Broken Links  |   Link to DiscoverCircuits.com  |  Privacy Policy

Copyright  January, 1998 - November, 2021     David A. Johnson  All Rights reserved. 

 COPYING any content or graphics to your web site is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED!