555 timer Tone Generator

Thread Starter

DivadWaldoss

Joined Nov 16, 2011
37
what do you recommend i use instead of the greeting card speeker? Would a normal speaker from computer speakers work? I want something small.
Also, is there any way i can do this without a board, or a substitute to an actual board? Radioshack is closed on sundays and i'd really like to finish this thing. Plus im strapped for cash... :/
Thanks for the help guys
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
The very cheap speaker in a computer produces weak sounds as high as maybe 5kHz.
Hi-Fi tweeters are small because they are light weight and fragile to produce high audio frequencies.
Cheap tweeters do not produce sounds above 10kHz.
 

SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
Radio Shack used to carry several inexpensive tweeters that would have worked for this, but they don't appear to carry them any longer.
 

Thread Starter

DivadWaldoss

Joined Nov 16, 2011
37
I got everything wired together, and nothing. I followed the connections wookie said, and then made the rest of the connections that i thought were needed. I attached a photo. Let me know if you notice anything I need to fix. I need this working by this weekend. Thanks!
 

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Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,800
Uhhh, that cap should be parallel to the battery. You have it in series. It can never work that way, the cap is blocking the DC current.
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
You have a capacitor in series between the battery's red wire and the circuit.
The battery is supposed to supply DC current to the circuit but the capacitor blocks DC.

You have the negative wire from the battery to the switch the switch connected to the speaker instead of connecting the switch between the battery and the circuit.
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
I am also lost.

Your little speaker probably cannot produce high audio frequencies (maybe just telephone frequencies) and it is so small that it will probably smoke and burn up in your circuit.

You are trying to use a little 555 timer IC as a power amplifier but the high current applied to the low impedance speaker will overload it and might burn it.

You must learn the difference between series and parallel.
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
Most computer speakers have a low power built-in amplifier feeding a cheap speaker.
They are all different and might not produce the high audio frequencies you want.
 

SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
You have the battery negative lead connected to only one side of the speaker; the other side of the speaker has a 1uF cap in series with it. As a result, no current will flow once the 1uF cap has charged.

I don't know why you bought a circuit board; you have almost everything except the 555 timer itself dangling in space.

I guess you need some kind of help with a layout.
 

Thread Starter

DivadWaldoss

Joined Nov 16, 2011
37
one i got it all working i was going to put it on the board. That... and i didn't really know where to put stuff, haha. So how to I fix it so it works?

i already had that program installed... but there is no speaker.
I'm beyond lost at this point.
 
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