Click here to view a PDF of all the Design Ideas from this issue. Using a CMOS 555 timer and a single NPN transistor, you can drive as many as seven LEDs using a minimal amount of voltage and power ...

This voltage-booster circuit for driving one or more white LEDs uses a 555 timer as its main element (see the figure). The timer, IC1, functions as a resettable astable multivibrator where R1, R2, and ...

LEDs find their way into applications that range from high-end video displays to low-end lighting applications. Designers often need only some of the functions of a dedicated LED driver but can’t ...

Semtech has introduced an analogue timer chip that runs from 0.9V, but can drive LEDs at over 3V. Called SX8122, to the timer it adds: a simple battery charger, a boost converter, and a power-down ...

Regular readers may recall we recently covered a neat Arduino trick that allowed you to “blow out” an LED as if it was a candle. The idea was that the LED itself could be used as a rudimentary ...

The realities of wearing a mask when you go out, from forgetting the thing in the car to dealing with fogged up glasses, have certainly taken some getting used to for most of us. But not every issue ...