Were it a 4017, it could have been useful. However, it is a 145017, which is really mostly useful as a main component of a smoke detector.

I hope you didn't throw the rest of the smoke detector away. You really shouldn't take those things apart. They need to be disposed of properly. In the county where I live, the fire department accepts old/broken smoke detectors so that they will be properly recycled/disposed of.

Smoke detectors contain radioactive material. If the innards are disturbed, it can cause a health hazard. That is why you should not throw it in the trash.

A Google search will give you many "hits":
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Smoke+detector+disposal

Check with your fire department on what to do with it since you have taken it apart. Normally, they should be returned to the manufacturer or other recycler, but since you've opened it up, it may now be classified as too hazardous to ship. That's why I suggest you contact the fire department.

 

Oh, I'm not too worried about being contaminated. I knew there was a small amount of Americium 241 in it. It's gone. However, I am not too sure that the lingering effects of the DU we fired in Iraq are gone though.

 

Wow, you're hijacking your own topic.

Well really - things like a 4017 IC, 555 timer or 4093 NAND Schmitt trigger or 40106 Schmitt inverter for an astable multivibrator, a few resistors, diodes and capacitors aren't too expensive to play around with. That might help you decide if you want to try building this project out of discrete ICs or start playing around with microcontrollers, the latter having a learning curve, but much more flexible.

It's your call.

 

You're right. I will go the 4000 series route and read more . Thanks again for your insight. You really are a credit to this site and to all that you help. I'll let you know how it goes.

I just came across a real descriptive site: http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/cmos.htm

 

Hey Guys, I just got my 4 4017's in the mail today and I have several 555 timers already. What I'd to recreate is the sequences seen in this light bar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEni_PPV88

Appears to have some chasers aspects but others I am unsure about how to achieve...

Off to work now for the night..thanks for looking.