Blinking Nightlight (by request)

Step 1 Looking at the initial 555 circuit

The first step in creating the blinking nightlight was to analyze the original circuit, which can be found here.

There are a number of websites that will teach you everything you need to know about 555 timers, so I'll leave that to others. Here are a two of my personal favorite sites on 555 timers that will get you started:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/555/555.html

http://home.maine.rr.com/randylinscott/learn.htm

Basically, depending on what external components (resistors and capacitors) we use, we can change the rate of blinking.

Comments

[rappa]

Thanks for the write up. I have been interested in a doing something like an led throwie, but turns on at night and blinks to conserve power. It would be helpful to see the entire circuit (with photoresistor and npn).

[inventorjack]

I added an image in the last step which labels each component for easier identification. Hope that helps. Also, in step 4, the second image shows the entire schematic.