I wired the NE555 timer as an astable multi vibrator and have this output, is this the best I can expect as a square wave from this chip, or is there a fault? I have checked the calibration of my probe and it's fine.

 

I wired the NE555 timer as an astable multi vibrator and have this output

Schematic? Picture of the output?

 

I wired the NE555 timer as an astable multi vibrator and have this output, is this the best I can expect as a square wave from this chip, or is there a fault? I have checked the calibration of my probe and it's fine.

Show the circuit and an image of the output.

 

I wired the NE555 timer as an astable multi vibrator and have this output, is this the best I can expect as a square wave from this chip, or is there a fault? I have checked the calibration of my probe and it's fine.

How can anyone possibly tell you if "this output" is the best you can expect if you won't show us what "this output" looks like?

Our crystal balls just aren't that good.

 

I wired the NE555 timer as an astable multi vibrator and have this output, is this the best I can expect as a square wave from this chip, or is there a fault? I have checked the calibration of my probe and it's fine.

Sorry i forgot to attatch the schematic.

 

I changed the timing capacitor and it cleaned up nicely.

thanks for all your replies people.

 

Sorry i forgot to attatch the schematic.

That doesn't help much. You don't tell us what values you used for the various components, what frequency you are trying to achieve, and -- most importantly -- an image of the waveform you are actually seeing, since you are asking us to tell you if that waveform is reasonable.

People here will bend over backwards to help you, but you've got to throw us some kind of bone to work with.

 

I changed the timing capacitor and it cleaned up nicely.

thanks for all your replies people.

I'm glad you got it working. If you tell us what values you used before -- and perhaps what kind of capacitor -- and what you changed it to, we might be able to give you some idea of why you see such a difference. That might help you in the future avoid a similar problem. And, again, an image of the actual waveform, preferably before and after, would really help that along.

 

I enclosed the schematic in post #5

 

I enclosed the schematic in post #5

As I said before, the schematic does us very little good. You asked if the waveform you are seeing is the best that you can expect. How does the generic schematic, without even any component values, have ANY possibility of giving us enough information to evaluate whether the waveform you are seeing is reasonable or not?

This would be like asking an auto mechanic whether your car's gas mileage is as good as it can get without telling them what mileage you are getting, and then when they ask for that information, you give them a generic flyer for that make and model that lists the EPA estimated mileage and still without telling them what mileage you are actually getting.

 

Sorry i forgot to attatch the schematic.

That's useless without component values and a picture of the output.

 

Ok here is the waveform I was getting

 

I can't attach it.....

 

I changed the timing capacitor and it cleaned up nicely.

Changing the cap value also changes the timing.

is this the best I can expect as a square wave

A square wave has a 50% duty cycle. That's not possible to do with the schematic you posted. You can get close to a square wave, but it's still not a square wave. To get a square wave you put a flip flop on the output or fiddle with diodes.

I can't attach it.....

What error are you getting? What format is the file?

 

Cross-posted from Electotech....with diagrams attached.

 

ok suffice to say i am happy with the circuit i have breadboarded now.

thankyou all....that is it for this thread as far as i am concerned.