Introduction: Build an Atari Punk Circuit on a Breadboard
If you're old enough to remember the Atari, then you probably remember all those "high tech" tones that it produced. Those beeps and whines were the very lifeblood of our favorite old school games. While a mint condition Atari may be hard to find these days you can easily recreate the sounds of an Atari using only a few parts stuck on a breadboard.
The Atari Punk circuit gets it's name because it produces similar sounds to the old Atari game systems. This design has been around since the 70s and often still goes by it's original name of a Stepped Tone Generator.
In this guide I'm going to run through how to make two different Atari Punk setups on a breadboard. One that uses variable resistors to control the sounds (turn style knobs) and one that uses light sensitive resistors (CDS Cells).
Step 1: Parts
The parts you need for this setup are rather common and decently cheap to buy.
Required Parts
Breadboard
Jumpers (You can make your own)
9V Battery
9V Battery Clip
556 Timer Chip (You can also use two 555 timers as well)
8 Ohm Speaker
1K Ohm Resistor
(2) 500K Ohm Variable Resistor (Potentiometer)
5K Ohm Variable Resistor (Potentiometer)
(2) 0.01uf Capacitors
Optional
(2) Light Sensitive Resistors (CDS Cells
(2) 0.22uf Capacitors
Blue LED
470 ohm resistor
Total Time: 20-30 minutes
Total Cost: $10 (More if you need a breadboard)
The optional parts are used if you want to make the circuit light sensitive, or if you want to add an LED for fun filled lighting. You could also ditch the 5K Ohm Variable Resistor and use a set resistor, but then you'd have no volume control.
Alternately you could always have one Variable Resistor and one Light Sensitive Resistor in the circuit. The nice thing is you can easily swap both types in and out, which is the nice thing about a breadboard.
Most of these parts can be found at any electronics hobby store. If possible, avoid Radio Shack and you'll pay three times as much as you really need.
All Electronics and Electronic Goldmine have most everything you need. If you'd like to save yourself some trouble and get everything in one nice little kit, why not try my fun filled website BrownDogGadgets.com. We have a ready to go Atari Punk Kit that even comes with some fancy knobs to impress your friends and family. 72% of all sales go to all natural doggie chew toys.
Step 2: 55 - What?
The 555 timer chip was the world's first integrated circuit. While nowadays this might not mean much to you or me, back in "the day" this revolutionized circuit building and began the miniaturization trend which continues today.
More or less the 555 chip took an entire circuit and put it all in one simple package. So small and handy was this design that it originally cost over $5,000 for a single chip! The US Military bought up all the chips for years in order to build missiles. Yes, that's right. The 555 chip was originally used to shoot at missiles at communists. (Feel the power...)
That was then. You can buy one for all of $0.10 now. They're common.
But wait a second... we're using a 556 chip...
The 556 is really just two 555 chips put together. Which is why if you happen to have a bunch of 555 chips in your home, or can't find a 556 chip, you can use them instead.
So now you know the a bit about the historical chip you're using. (Can you tell I was a history major?)
Step 3: The Circuit
If you're one of those smart people who knows how to read a circuit diagram, then you really don't need to read any further. Above is the diagram commonly used to build this circuit.
If you've never seen a diagram before follow these simples steps.
1) Take a deep breath.
2) Don't panic.
3) Get a hot cup of tea and a cat to pet.
4) Print off this picture.
5) Keep reading this guide.
Important!
Even if you don't plan on using the diagram to help you build the circuit you should familiarize yourself with the pin layout of the 556 chip. Notice how the top left pin is labeled "1" and the top right is labeled "14". I'm going to reference pin (leg) numbers a lot during this guide. Pay very close attention to which leg you're using.
At this point I should let you know that I managed to teach a group of 8th graders how to build this circuit in about half an hour. So if some 13 year olds can do it, so can you.
Step 4: Place the Chip and Variable Resistors
To start things out I like to lay the chip and variable resistors on the board.
Put the chip towards the top of the board, so that legs 1 and 14 at at the top. (The notch on the chip tells you which side is "up".)
Then place the two 500K Ohm variable resistors along the bottom left of the board.
Place the 5K Ohm variable resistor opposite them.
We're just leaving ourselves a lot of room here.
Step 5: Positive to Variable Resistor
I like to have the right vertical rail on my breadboard be positive and the left vertical rail be negative. You can honestly change things up as you see fit.
Use a jumper and go from the positive rail on the right (bottom in this picture) and run it to the middle leg of the variable resistor.
Step 6: Pin 1 to Variable Resistor
Use a jumper to go from Pin 1 to the outside leg of the variable resistor.
Step 7: Pin 1, 1K Ohm Resistor, Pin 6
Take your 1K Ohm resistor.
Put one side in Pin 1, and the other in Pin 6.
Step 8: Pin 6, 0.01uf Capacitor to Negative
Take your 0.01uf Capacitor and go from Pin 6 to the negative rail.
Step 9: Pin 2 to Pin 6
Take a jumper and connect Pin 2 to Pin 6.
Now you should have three things in the row with Pin 6.
1) A resistor leg
2) A capacitor leg
3) A jumper coming from Pin 2
If you have all three things lined up with Pin 6, give yourself a hug.
Go on. Hug.
Step 10: Pin 7 to Negative
Take a jumper and go from Pin 7 to the negative rail.
Step 11: Pin 14 to Positive
Turn the board around.
Take a jumper and go from Pin 14 to the positive rail.
Step 12: Pin 14 to Pin 10
Take a jumper and go from Pin 14 to Pin 10.
(You could just go directly from the positive rail to Pin 10 if you really wanted to.)
Step 13: Positive to Variable Resistor
Take a jumper and go from the positive rail over to the middle leg of the variable resistor.
Step 14: Variable Resistor to Pin 13
Take a jumper (a long one) and go from the outside leg of the variable resistor to Pin 13.
Step 15: Pin 13 to Pin 12
Take a jumper an connect Pin 13 to Pin 12.
Do a dance. You're almost done.
Step 16: Pin 12, Capacitor to Negative
We now need to somehow use a capacitor to connect Pin 12 to the negative rail. Only this is a long jump.
In the picture below I used a jumper to go from Pin 12 to the other side of the board. I then connect a 0.01uf capacitor to negative.
(You can do this several ways, I did this to keep the positive rail on one side and the negative rail on the other.)
Step 17: Pin 10 to 5K Variable Resistor
Take a jumper and go from Pin 10 to the outside leg of the 5K Ohm Variable resistor.
Step 18: Variable Resistor to Speaker, Speaker to Pin 9
Take your speaker and connect one wire to the middle leg of the variable resistor.
Then take a jumper and connect the other speaker wire to Pin 9.
Pin 10 -> Outside Leg -> Inside Leg -> Speaker-> Speaker -> Pin 9
Step 19: Pin 5 to Pin 8
Take a jumper and connect Pin 5 to Pin 8.
Step 20: Add Power
Connect the negative (black) wire of the 9V clip to the negative rail on the left.
Connect the positive (red) wire of the 9V clip to the positive rail on the right.
Step 21: If You Have Problems...
At this point your Atari Punk should be making some horrible sounds. If not....
a) Turn the knob on the 5K Ohm variable resistor. That's the volume control. It could just be set low.
b) You've messed up somewhere. It happens. Go back through the directions and make sure everything is in the right hole. If you've got even one mistake the entire circuit could fail.
If this didn't work right the first time don't fret! Just double check every connection. Make sure all the jumpers are in. Make sure your 9V is charged (you could always lick it).
Step 22: Adding Light Sensitive Resistors
Using knobs to control the setup is fun, but using the light sensitive resistors (CDS Cells) is really impressive.
To do this you just need to swap out 4 parts.
Take out the two 500k Ohm variable resistors.
In their place stick in the two light sensitive resistors.
Then, take out the two 0.01uf capacitors.
Replace them with the two 0.22uf capactiors.
We do this to drop the pitch of the tone. In many cases the light sensitive resistors cause a massively high pitched tone, and the capacitors just drops that down. You may or may not need to do this, but it's an easy swap.
To use them just wave your hands over the light sensitive resistors. You should hear a change.
Step 23: Add and LED
Adding an LED to your project is easy. It's completely pointless to the function of the circuit, but sometimes you just gotta look cool for the ladies.
Use a 470 ohm resistor to go from the positive rail to the other side of the board. Then connect the LED from that spot (with the positive long leg) to the negative rail (with the negative short leg).
Done.
Step 24: Adding a Line Out
Many people build this circuit with an audio out jack. This isn't too tough to do. Just look at the circuit diagram for guidance.
Parts:
10uF Capacitor
10K Ohm Resistor
4.7K Ohm resistor
Audio out jack of your choice.
Step 25: Dance Party
Oh yes, dance party time.
I hope this guide walked you step by step through the painless process of making an Atari Punk circuit.
So what now?
Well a lot of people build a permeant version of the circuit via soldering and stick it in a cute container. The internet is full of really funky retro designs, a quick google search turns up many a project.
Soon to come from me will be a guide as to how to build this circuit into an Altoids tin. Oh yes, it is possible.
If you've enjoyed this guide why not check out my website BrownDogGadgets.com. We do in fact have an Atari Punk kit available if you're in need of parts. 53% of all sales goes to buying doggie treats.
52 Comments
Question 7 weeks ago on Step 23
Just a question about the 8 ohm speaker. What wattage speaker should I use?
2 years ago
You should make one about using the Cem3340 voltage controlled oscillator. The chips are only $12 or so and when finished, you can easily attach the circuit to any pro grade volt/Oct synth. Very fancy and really cheap.
Reply 2 months ago
i agree with this comment completely. if you want to make a proper synth look here -
https://www.lookmumnocomputer.com/cem-3340-diy-sim...
2 months ago
i had to comment again, after reading this utter nonsense. -
"More or less the 555 chip took an entire circuit and put it all in one
simple package. So small and handy was this design that it originally
cost over $5,000 for a single chip! The US Military bought up all the
chips for years in order to build missiles. Yes, that's right. The 555
chip was originally used to shoot at missiles at communists. (Feel the
power...)"
every 'fact' mentioned here is completely wrong, look -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_timer_IC
Question 6 months ago on Step 8
What direction do the capacitors go? Does it matter???
Answer 2 months ago
depends what sort they are. if marked yes, if not no.
2 months ago
"The 555 timer chip was the world's first integrated circuit"
no it wasn't.The concept of integrated circuits, where multiple electronic components are fabricated on a single semiconductor substrate, dates back to the late 1950s. The first operational integrated circuit is generally attributed to Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments, who developed a simple IC in 1958.
However, the 555 timer IC was introduced by Signetics (now part of ON Semiconductor) in 1972 and quickly became popular due to its versatility and wide range of applications. It's often regarded as one of the most successful and enduring IC designs, but it was not the very first integrated circuit.
3 years ago on Step 25
This instructable is fantastic! In a pickle tho... so I'm trying to add a switch between the speaker and lineout circuit. I've done the circuit successfully now with both independently. Do you know what I would need to do to insert a switch in the schematic between the speaker and lineout so I can have both options and switch to just lineout with speaker off when i need to? I know it is in the realm of near possibility! I'm just a newb! ha! Cheers and thank youuuuuuuuuuuu for this instructable:)))
Reply 2 years ago
What connector are you using for your line out?
I was thinking about doing a 1/4" female that switches. when a plug/cable is inserted.
No additional switch needed. When no plug is inserted signal will flow to the speaker, and when a cable is plugged in signal flows through the line out.
Reply 2 years ago
If you were just switching between the 2 outputs, a SPDT ( single pole double throw) switch would do fine. Place the switch between pin 9 of the 555 and the 2 output type. You could sum (or connect) the two outputs via one side of the switch and have the other side of the switch go to just the line out.. just an idea
Reply 2 years ago
Oops I didn’t see the other output on the other pin... that does complicate things a little
2 years ago on Step 18
This was all great but then I became incredibly confused when it got to the speaker. In the schematic, the speaker is connected to the middle pin of the pot, and to pin 10. In the instructions, it's connected to pin 9 and the middle pin. Which is it? Does it even matter??
3 years ago
The 555 is nowhere near being the first IC. ICs where already around for over 10 years when the 555 was introduced. The 555s claim to fame is that its the worlds most produced ic, with over a billion units being made per year.
And while i cant see how much it actually cost in the year that it came out, i can say that the reason it became so wide-spread is because it was easy to use and CHEAP. And considering the atari 2700 came out only 5 years after the 555 ic and also some models used a 555 timer in them and didnt cost anywhere near 5k, so id say thats probably not right either.
Actually, correction, i found out how much it originally cost, it was 0.75$ a piece, so your claim has a margin of error of 666667%, which is kinda like when i drive from new york to washington and end up on the moon. (Happens every time)
I also cant find anything on the military using the chip for missiles or not, i can say that they definitely didnt buy up all of the chips. The chip was being manufactured by 12 different manufacturers after being on the market for a year, and i know the US had a lot of missiles, but not that many.
Now is this important for the actual circuit? No. Its not. You could say that the design for the 555 was brought to us by aliens in order to help our technology advance faster, but as long as the actual tutorial is good, it doesnt really matter. However, it does make me trust everything else you say a whole lot less if you manage to he this mistaken before you even get to the actual tutorial. If you wanna talk about the history of the 555, type “history of 555 IC” into google and look it up for 2 minutes like i did (i spent more time typing this than to research it) instead of just inventing something that sounds cool.
As for the rest of the instructable? I didnt get that far. Step 2 managed to trigger every single alarm bell in my head and told me “there is something very wrong here”. The other comments seem to be positive, so im willing to assume that this tutorial is good, but im personally going to go look somewhere else.
And if anyone made it to the end of this comment, i applaud your patience and wish you a good day and good luck with your project.
4 years ago
Made this once following the schematic and didn't work so I put it down for a month, came back and followed your steps and it worked, turns out the schematic has the speaker and pot connections swapped, it should be as you describe in your steps.
Reply 4 years ago
Well after some more testing it works either way so I guess I was doing something else wrong the first time.
8 years ago on Introduction
Nice job putting together this very clear Instructable. I too am working with a group of middle school students to build circuits using the 555-timer. How would you adjust this circuit to utilize two 555-timers instead of the 556?
Reply 4 years ago
You can look up the datasheet for each chip, and, knowing that the 556 is two consecutive 555 timers that share positive and ground, calculate which pin on Set A or Set B you need to be on. Attached you'll see a handy conversion chart. In my first attempts, it worked better for me to start with the 556 timer and then later move onto the variation of using two 555.
4 years ago
Oi Oi peeps,
Can someone pleaaase explain to me why this happens...
So i made this circuit... kind of .. i made http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-37770-0.html&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
so..image this, just the apc without the sequencer and on a breadboard :p .. litteraly everything checks out BUT THEN.....: out of nothig , and i think its something with the second ic when you turn it up it starts to pitch and pitch and higher and higher until... NOTHING anymore...
sometimes i plug out my positive output wich is connected to the 10uF and then its back to normal for some reason, other times nothing works but always when i turn a bit wrong on one of my pots ... it is pitch ++++++++ STOP.... someone plz help me..
i managed for now to not throw everything against the wall.. but i am sure that if this doesnt stop it will be the only solution to make me feel satified.
Grtz Nick :)
4 years ago
Thanks for the great instructions! This was a really fun project. I had some figuring out to do as I used two 555s, but with a little research I was able to make a handy diagram. Would it be possible for you to talk about how/why this circuit does what it does? I'm sort of new to this and I don't understand what purpose most of the components serve, and I'm not sure how I'd find out.
4 years ago
Excellent instructable, LOVE the 555, 556 and the Atari Punk Console. One grain of pedantry though, the 555 was not the first integrated circuit. Jack Kilby patented the first IC in 1959, consisting of several transistors on a germanium substrate. The 555 wasn't invented until twelve years later in 1971 by Hans Carmenzind, and released in 1972 by Signetics. In the intervening years, several developments had improved on Kilby's design, including the use of silicon substrates. By 1970 the first CMOS ICs had been developed, and shortly thereafter the first single-chip CPU. Carmenzind built on this work to develop the 555.
Great instructable though, made the APC a very easy build!!