Beating Heart

I made this good looking beating heart (.. Accidently invented near the valentines day. ;)).The device has 20 LED`S that blink at a hardware specified rate. Unlike the conventional approach of using micro-controllers i though using a simple 555 Timer would be great ..adding to it ..it would simplify the design and make it less cuber-some for those who either have no prior knowledge or dont want to waste time gathering the same.
Here`s the thing you might get after going thru the rest of the instructable.

Step 1: Getting the supplies

Things that are required:
1 x NE555 Timer 
2 x 10k Resistances
1 x 100uF Electrolytic Capacitor (25V)
1 x 10uF Electrolytic Capacitor (25V)
1 x 9V Battery / 3 x CR2032 Li-ion
1 x Through hole board
1 x 9V Battery connector
1 x  IC Base (8 pin)
1 x  Push Switch ( to avoid ur heart beats in front of everyone:D)
20 x  "identical" Red LED ( Identical is the catch in here.. as if they are sourced differently u might end up having uneven brightness..which will be disappointing) 
Wires as required..( it goes to like " Salt to taste")\
And lastly  "Spare Time"

Other Things that might be available at hobbyists are:
soldering Iron, Solder, Flux, Tweezers, wire cutters, Helping Hands ( Clamp tool)and hot glue gun.

Comments

[HammE]

That's cool! I'll have to build it!

[steniooliv]

one question, how many watts is the resistance? I noticed in the video that the LEDs light up very fast, I just put a 200uF capacitor without changing anything else?

[indiantinker]

Thanks for trying my instructable..
All the resistors are 1/4 Watt since the current is not enough to blow any of them..I guess u have used a 200uF capacitor in place of the 100uF one..If that`s the case then the reason why your LED`s are beating slowly is as follows:
In the Astable state of operation of a 555 timer the capacitor (100uF) is used for timing and decides the On Time and the Off Time. It appears in both the equations. So doubling the value will double the time constant and hence they beat slowly..I would suggest that you shud replace it with a 100uF one only..If you have another 200uF spare the connect them in series..To get a net capacitance of 100uF..
The other capacitor is to not let CV terminal pick any stray voltages!

Happy Tinkering!

[steniooliv]

Thanks, I did and really got the show, will be allowed to create a post explaining how it does and of course keeping your credits, I made a change to create a gift for Valentine's Day. Sorry for the english, I am Brazilian.

[cc67]

I guess a 555 timer Ic is the most awesome IC ever invented. I will make this

[Robot Lover]

This is cool. If you want to get a better heartbeat, make this circuit instead. It is supposed to be like a bomb but if you substitute the LEDs for the speaker, it will look much cooler.