How to Make a Pulsing/Fading LED Circuit
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ธ.ค. 2011
- A tutorial on how to connect the proper components for a fading LED circuit to a breadboard. Ask any questions if you need any answers, and feel free to request another tutorial.
Link to page with the schematic: (I modified it a little)
3.bp.blogspot.com/-8dh2sGOARuM... - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Finally! I have been searching for a video like this that would help me to understand how to create a fading LED for a lighthouse project I want to build. THANK YOU!
I wanted the light to appear to "rotate" as it shines in any direction. I will be adding a solar panel to this project though. Hopefully you might make that addition in the future?
Thanks again!
Nice to see someone do this the simplest way. These days Too many people would have said I can do that using an arduino
I messed up building this and accidentally used 1,200 ohm resistors for both, it actually turned out quite nicely using 2,500uF of capacitance instead (I have a feeling that the LED that I used was very low draw in comparison to the one in the demo). The fade is ultra smooth and cycles around 3 seconds up/down. Thanks for the great how-to video!
This is exactly what I've been looking for to customize my turn signals. Thanks!
samerickson89 did you so it? Can u upload a video on how you did it?
I am quite impressed with the smoothness of the fading effect. There are a lot of other circuits out there that try and fail.
thank you so much for posting up this easy-to-follow tutorial! Great job, and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the video and link to schematic. Nice how the output pin 3 back-routed to pins 2 and 6 by a resistor, and how pin 7 is not used, capturing the output of the 'ramp' timing internal of the chip. Congratulations on yet another unique wiring of the amazing 555. The 555 can do so much, even voltage to frequency (via pin 5 modulation). One of the most versatile chips of all time and its been around for ages. I'm looking forward to bread-boarding this circuit soon. Thanks again.
Thanks, I changed it around a little bit, and got to work for what I needed!
Just what I was looking for, a simple DIY auto on-off switch for grounding. Thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tutorial! I was wondering (hoping actually) if you would do a video for a "wig-wag" type circuit (like a railroad crossing signal) but where each of the LEDs fade in and out instead of just turning on and off.
Nice one mate, this helped me a lot
Thanks for making this video. I've followed it carefully and I'm using it to make a few strings of LED lights "breath" for my Halloween UFO display.
Great step by step video.
I am making a hard-wired version of this tonight in an enclosure.
This is a great video, keep going !
Nice clock, man. Nothing beats analogue.
Can you make the Fade Stop at its 100% brightness with a switch or push button and the opposite with the same ?
@1AppleMaker Sure. I tried already but haven't managed to take a solid take yet. I'll try some more tonight.
The transistor usage is NOT CORRECT. It's an NPN transistor, so the emitter should go AWAY from B+. Connect the collector to B+, and the emitter to the resistor to the LED. It is part of a specifically designed "emitter-follower" mode of the transistor. The voltage on the emitter tracks the voltage on the base which ramps up and down as the capacitor is cyclically charged and discharged through the high value resistor from the output of the 555.
Here is a link to the proper circuit:
www.555-timer-circuits.com/up-down-fading-led.html
It sort of works if you hook the transistor in backwards because transistors are somewhat symmetrical but you're damaging the transistor and not getting the proper functioning of the circuit.
You don't need a huge 1000uF capacitor, either. The gain of the transistor takes very little charge off the capacitor, so you can get away with a much smaller 100uF capacitor. Just use a proportionally smaller resistor on pin 3 of the 555 and adjust to get the desired cycle time.
Since the gain of the transistor is on the order of 100 so to run 10 or 20 mA through the LED, you'll only draw 100 or 200uA (microamps) through the base of the transistor. Blue LEDs are very bright by nature so you can use a higher value resistor, like 330 ohms or 470 ohms with a 5V source, or even 1K ohms with a 12V source.
Putting a PNP in that location completely ruins the circuit design. it's not only NOT an emitter-follower voltage-tracker any more, but it creates a forward-biased diode connected to B+ and the 555 won't discharge the capacitor, and wouldn't cycle, I would predict.
Thank you all. Will this work if I use 50 3mm (3v) leds in parallel?? Using a power supply
@@Custom3dPrinting4U only if you include 50 current limiting resistors, one in series with each of them, with the common tie point being at the emitter of the transistor. You can't put raw LEDs in parallel directly.
If you expand the output in this way, you will draw 50x rhe current through the transistor, and even if the power supply and transistor can take the current, remember that you're drawing 50x the base current which may require a larger capacitor (and corresponding adjustment of the resistor) because m ore charge will be bled off as current through the transistor base.
I had to reverse the transistor indeed. If I connected everything as instructed the led would just continuesly light up.
@@jrhaggis I put 5 LED's in parallel and it worked fine. I haven't tried it for blinking effects though.
Awesome! Exactly what I needed for a small music box I’m building, it turned out great. Thanks!
Hello, great work!
Is there a chance to build this or a similar circuit to be fed with 1.5v or 3v max?
Thanks.
Thank you for the vid. I used a 2.5ohm potentiometer for variable speed and 2 pairs of 2 led's in a series and it works great. Need to print a board for the circuit though.
@TheMegalucian Are you sure you have the leads of the transistor connected properly?
comment if there is another tutorial of this beacause im gonna build it without capacitors and transistors and can be the chip be looking any direction?
Mines works! Thank you! Great tutorial!
simple and easy to follow.
thanks
555 timers will take up to 14 volts, so an input of 12 volts could be used without harm. This will kick up the output voltage, as removing the 150 Ohm resistors shown in the schematic will also do. I've messed around with this circuit for a while, and I have had some trouble powering 12V 200 mA lighting strips. I'm not sure if the output voltage was quite enough, however. If you can't supply 14 Volts to the circuit to account for Voltage drop, there is a way to amplify it with a transistor.
I love the clock sound in the background ! ...tic ... tac... tic ... tac
another way to control the rate of fading is getting a higher value capacitor and then connecting a variable resistor just before you connect everything else to the positive side of the capacitor.
Here's a question. How would you set it up so the LED doesn't go all the way off? What I'm thinking of is a way to go from 100% and then fade down to about 25% and then back up to 100%.
Thank you for this video very informative. My question; Are you able to connect 2 or LEDs to this circuit with one 555 Timer? Or Do you need separate 555 Timers for each LED you are connecting?
i have one question, i want to bild this with a really bright LED and i'm wondering, what is the brightest i can use?
Thanks brother :) Liked and subbed
Awesome tutorial, gonna go out tomorrow( hopefully) and get me one-o-dem 555 timers since I've already got everything else and use it to create a beacon for an underwater camera mount I just built for some night creature watching :D
Thank you for putting this into basic terms. can you tell me if i could use thos for a car with about 12volts and a strip of LED's.
can this effect be done without a 555 somehow? Thanks!
I'm trying to add a soothing dim on-hold-dim off effect into the inside of a battery operated LED flicker candles to supplement the flickering led flame effect. ...I think this would not only look awesome but might also help me fall asleep on those nights I can't sleep...
Thankyou for sharing this, is it easy to do this to an 10W LED chip?
I too, am greatful for the video! I'm using it for a pulsing heart for my Halloween costume as well. :)
When I first played with 555s really didn't know what I was doing just playing astable and monostable I ran into fading in and out like this had no idea how but thank U I really need this
nice work someone 7089
well done :)
That was a well done video,that I like.
Please help me set this up with a 12v battery. I have been changing my circuit for more than a month (almost every day) now and still can't figure out how to make the led strip pulse with 12v. It seems to work fine with 9v, but it won't pulse with 12v. I added a 10k Ohm resistor for pin 8 + 4 directly from the 12v battery.
I can't find any good tutorials out there. Yours is the only one that works as I want! Would like your help in this thing :)
@1AppleMaker Well, it might be a while before I get the video out. Still having trouble recording the video without making mistakes...
Nice! I'll try to get all the parts and do it. Was wondering the lowest possible voltage for efficiency.
The leds need at most 3.2v... and the transistor needs like .7v... what's the lowest voltage needed by the 555 chip?
Thanks
Would it be possible to set this up as a string? Like the LED fades into another one next to it turning on? I wanna make a wave-ish effect.
Hey. I want to make pulsing veins on my arms out of LEDs and silicone skin. I watched this video thinking it would tell me how to make LED strips fade in and out (how to program for that)....do you have any idea how i would make strips of blue LEDs fade in and out one after eachother?? To simulate blood being pumped through a vein
I like it! I need this function for vacuum tubes fake filament led instead! When I switch on 12V it should light up just as slowly when you disconnect the voltage it should turn off just as slowly! Easy?
how to fade 12v led strip using external power supply 12v? I had try it using TIP31 mosfet but not sync fade time, must be decrease brightness led strip to sync it.
if I add a full wave rectifier to use ac power to a bunch of leds in series can I use just one circuit to make them all flicker? would they all flicker at the same rate?
Thanks!
Hey great video, can you do a video on how to utilize a button to switch on the power. All I want is the light to brighten, then fade off completely.
holly cow.. i been video for this kinda video.. niceee
does anyone know if this will work with led strips? im trying to get this effect on a display for my tvs inside a mall
wow, that is dope! i would like to try a 2k pot in place of the resistor, that should allow me to adjust the rate of pulse on the fly. do you think i will have to change out the cap? i want a very slow breath-like pulse. also do you do have the circuit diagram. thank you
Hey bro i want this effect on the led of my gamecube but im new to anything electricity related lol, how can i downsize this circuit board? Any help please!
I've been fiddling myself as well, with the schematics on the link here, and managed a soft fade in but, it cuts off without a fade out....
Hi,
I would like to make something like this for my car. What i want to do is have around 50 led's light up around a raised logo in the carpet of a sub woofer box.
I would like to have it turn one once i open the trunk. That is I would like the lights to slowly fade on once the trunk opens.
Would this be possible?
Thank you!
Dude!!!! I have been looking for a video to do this that was straight forward and it actually worked!! I have a question tho, I need to do this to two 3vdc 300mA led filaments, your circuit works for them, but the voltage is slightly low to fully power the leds.. any ideas would be super appreciated!
Question - Im trying to make a pulsing led for a Tardis prop from Dr.Who. The unit im making cant fit a 9 volt but it can fit a lithium watch battery. What would need to be changed, aside from the LED's resistor, for it to use a 3.7v circuit? Im assuming the capacitor. Is there a formula to figure out what mF I would need to switcu it with?
Is there a way to adjust it so the led doesn’t completely dim to off, maybe by adding a constant small voltage to the led?
@Someone7089 It is okay. =) I am just so anxious to see how you do it so good... besides, I am not as technical as you are with electronics, but I'm learning.
What if I want it to fade out it only half and get back to 100% is it possible ?
I am curious. I am into electronics also. But do others like the guy on this video get this circuit from some other source or did he just simply think up the circuit inside his head and then try it and it worked?
Great tutorial. did not work at first and then i realized i had the timer the wrong way around. I also connected 3 led's in parallel and it still worked. I used a 1k and 220 ohm resistor with a bc547 transistor.
If you don't want to calculate the resistor value use 1k ohm.
can i power this with 3v ? also couldn't you use a variable resister pot to control speed of fading ?
Can you break down the disposable flash camera circuit?I would like to know how to replicate that!
Great Tutorial! Probably a simple question, but how could I add a push button that would make this fade on and off for 10 seconds then stop until button is pushed again?
What if i want to use 12-16v? Do I need to change the cap or resistors?
How would you do this with a 5mm RGB Tri-Color (Red Green Blue Multicolor) 4Pin?
Great, how can I do this with an rgb led and randomly go through different colours?
nice project, but I want to make led strips of 75 cm do the same thing. any idea on how to do that?
Just add a buzzer instead of led coming different siren i made its working. Thanks man
Can you tell me which transistors you have used ....???
I liked this a lot, bit confusing using mostly the same colour wires but well impressed, Now the big question, do you know how to make a flicker led circuit on startup then stay on constant , until it’s turned of then flicker on start then remain constant ?
Where to conNect? The 9v battery? I can't see it on your schematic. Sir..
Where to connect ? The
(-) & (+) wires of 9v battery?
And can i use 13001
Transistor?
Thank you.
Hi.. could you do a video making one that is with out the push pins board and sardar the wires together? I want to build a working light for my full size TARDIS. Thanks.
Hi !
Can you please add complete part list for this project?
Thanks before!
i got the led to light up with this circuit, but it did not keep on flashing? where could i have gone wrong?
Mohamed Yamani Like John Haggis mentioned above, the transistor was wired up inproperly in the video. Take a look, he also mentioned how to fix it.
Fun project. I tried a 9V battery and found it was a little too much power and the circuit leaked a little -- the LED would fade slightly but not go completely out. I put a resistor on the negative lead from the battery (I think I used a 1000 ohm) to reduce the input voltage and it worked fine. Thanks for the tutorial.
now how can i make leds breath when i rev my motorcycle? the higher the revs, the brighter i want it to be. any ideas?
Hi i am looking for a sort of heart rate pulse small led, battery driven i want to use this in a resing craft idea i am working on can you help or advise
Amazing....wonderful!!!!....I was looking all over TH-cam about this kind of circuit...
I want to make a lighthouse for my son....is there any chance to list each component and Specs. usted to build this circuit??
Thank You so Much from argentina!!!
Would you happen to know how to make and LED fade on with a duration of four seconds.
I'm attempting to make the LED's fade on while in the background sound emits for four seconds.
If you can help me out that would be awesome!
hi how can i make a Random pulse generator circuit with a 555 ic?
say i want the pulses to be 10 mseconds long and to produce randomly between 2 to 10 pulses each second. how to do that? the circuit.
help needed .do you have any cicuits that make the led blink without ic using at votlage of 5 to 6 volts? thkls ,
Hi Neo. The 2222A Transister is a NPN, the Collector, Base and Emitter are all placed in different tracks. Hope this helps.
On your diagram what is tha PNP on the left (transistor?) and the LED that is connected directly above, will that LED blink as well or how does that work. i am just learning this stuff so my question may be lacking in a lot of background.
How can I make 16 LED to pulse quickly, fade and go on slowly and shine constant, with one circuit and I can choose option with a button maybe or wireless?
Is it possible to make the LED just fade on, then turn off, then fade on again? Or are we limited to fade on, fade off like in this circuit you built? Just curious =)
is there a way to make fading pulse time change with voltage change?
im really interested in one since i can`t find it in market
What ohms range potentiometer would I need if I wanted to adjust either the brightness and/or the rate of the pulse?
If I added 2 mini- pots what size (range of max ohms) would I need so I could have the fastest pulse to the slowest pulse. I guess my cap would dictate my max range either my Maximum fastest and/or my Maximum slowest, but by adding pots I could adjust my LED to somewhere/anywhere in between those 2 max-range valies.... right?
If I have a separate POT that would adjust the voltage going to the LED put inline just before the LED but after all the other components in this circuit, that would handle the brightness adjustment. A pot before the cap or before the 555 timer chip should adjust the pulse rate I'm hoping... yes?
Thanks so much for posting this!!
You've made me want to get some of those test punch down boards. So I can experiment around with stuff and be less apt to blow stuff up! 💥 🔥🔥
Thanks man!!!!
I used a B500kohm linear pot and a 2.2uf capacitor
Question: You're using a single LED and probably powering with 4.5~6.0 V. What if I wanted to do this with a Tail-Light LED made for automobiles powered by 12V. What would be different in the circuit? Thanks for this video.
hi im a beginner on this love what u did here. i buy some rgb 12v strip that i want to connect a 555 timer on but dont know where to start please help
NPN 3904 transistors should also work, they are slightly different, but same pins.
Will it work if the input voltage is the same as the forward voltage of the LED?
what would happened if u unplug the batterie, when the led is at its brightest? would it just go off, or would it still dimm out?
how can control volt from 0...to 12v and same time can control plus (flash
if i have light controlling volt and on...off like flash same time by 555
What is the voltage value of the capacitor you use?
I need to make a circuit that makes a light blink and the light runs on 9v what do I do and i need it to be on a breadboard
do you have a circuit diagram of the "I modified it a little" mods? I notice only 1 transistor in the video, but there are two in the diagram. rather than crawling through the video and transcribing it, that would be pretty helpful...
I have tricky question and I'm hoping you could answer it for me. I am working on this project and I'm using 150+LEDs. I am remaking my tron themed deadmau5 head. The tron design will be lit up by blue LEDs. Here's the thing. I want the LEDs to fade in at POWER ON, starting from the back of the head and work it's self around the head to the eyes and mouth part. I want the LEDs to do the opposite when POWER OFF; have the LEDs fade out starting from the eyes and mouth and work it's self around to.
Do you need 1 555 timer for every led if i were hooking the up to a picaxe 28x1?
Very nice video, I am looking to build this circuit on a veroboard. Is there a schematic anywhere that you know of for it? Thank you.