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Waveform Generators

Waveform Generator Circuits:  #'s     A - B     C - E    
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Last Updated: November 22, 2021 02:41 PM

Circuits Designed by Dave Johnson, P.E. :

 

Cheap Low Power 3v 2hz Oscillator -  This is yet another method to generate low frequency output pulses.  The circuit uses an inexpensive under-voltage monitor IC and a couple of cheap MOSFETs.  it could easily be modified to produce pulse frequencies from about one cycle per minute to a maxim . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

CMOS Inverter 125khz LC Oscillator -  This circuit uses a single CMOS inverter to form a series resonant LC oscillator.  The values shown set the oscillation at about 125KHz but the other frequencies are possible by changing the main LC values. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

 

CMOS Inverter forms a Resonant LD Oscillator  -  This circuit uses a single CMOS inverter to form a series resonant LC oscillator.  The values shown set the oscillation at about 125KHz but the other frequencies are possible by changing the main LC values . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Inverter Parallel LC Oscillator -  I have used this parallel resonant LC oscillator circuit countless times.  The oscillator frequency is determined by the inductor and capacitor values.  I have shown an adjustable inductor to make it easy to set the frequency to a specific value. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Inverters Form 125Khz Oscillator -  This circuit inverts the LC components so the inductor is grounded.  Two inverters are needed to produce the needed oscillation.  Again, the values shown set the frequency at 125KHz but can be changed to produce other frequencies . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Nand Gate Forms Gated 125Khz Oscillator -  This circuit is uses a NAND gate as an inverter.  The gate allows the oscillator to be gated on and off.  Again, the values shown set the frequency at 125KHz but can be changed to produce other frequencies. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Oscillator, Draws Only 0.5ua -  if truly low power oscillators interest you, this circuit draws a mere 2 microwatts (500nA) from a 6v battery.  it uses a very inexpensive C-MOS IC to produce a frequency of 2Hz.  However, by changing the component values you can push it to 300Hz . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

CMOS Schmitt Trigger IC Makes VCO -  By changing the supply voltage fed to a classic 4584 Schmitt trigger type oscillator, the oscillator frequency can be changed over a range of 50:1.  A 74HCU04 inverter is used at the output of the 4584 to maintain a constant TTL logic level signal. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-December, 2002

Crystal Controlled 1KHz Signal Generator -  A while back I got an email from a Discover Circuits visitor.  He needed a way to calibrate a RPM display for a big diesel engine.  The engine had a tachometer output which produced 12 pulses per rotation with an amplitude of about 5v RMS.  The full scale reading on the engine’s RPM speed display dial was 5, 000. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-May, 2012

Delayed Pulse Generator -  This circuit generates a short 10ms pulse 15 minutes after a “start” pushbutton switch is activated. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-October, 2005

D-Flip/Flop One Shot Circuit -  Yes you can use cheap D flip/flop logic circuits as nice one-shot pulse generators.  This schematic shows how the popular CD4013 and the CD74HC74 can be used to generate pulses ranging from nanoseconds to seconds. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

ELC signal between 200Mhz-400Mhz -  if you need a clean emitter coupled logic (ECL) type signal between 200MHz and 400MHz this circuit works fine.  it uses four voltage-controlled capacitors to change the frequency . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-March, 1999

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Links to electronic circuits, electronic schematics and designs for engineers, hobbyists, students & inventors:

CD4093 Pulse Width Modulator -  The IC used is a CMOS type MC14093, a quad 2-input NAND Schmitt trigger.  if you wish, it can be directly interchanged with the CMOS MC14011 but this type is noisy.  The speed is adjustable from 0-max.  Max rpm is 2/3 the supply voltage __ Designed by Tony van Roon  VA3AVR

Cheap Low Power 3v 2hz Oscillator -  This is yet another method to generate low frequency output pulses.  The circuit uses an inexpensive under-voltage monitor IC and a couple of cheap MOSFETs.  it could easily be modified to produce pulse frequencies from about one cycle per minute to a maxim . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

 

Circuit Detects Current Pulse -  01/06/94 EDN Design Ideas:  The pulse detector provide as a visible indication of positive and negative current pulses.  The pulses amplitudes can vary from20 to150 mA.  The pulses durations can range from10 to40 msec, and their repetition rate can span40 to180 pulses/minute Design by Richard McGillivray, Grey Bruce Regional Health Centre, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada

Circuit generates clean sine waves -  06/19/97 EDN Design Ideas:  Generating a square wave at a particular frequency is fairly simple.  Many techniques for doing so exist, using counters, flip-flops, and--everyone's favorite--the venerable 555 timer.  Generating a sine wave, however, is not nearly as simple or inexpensive.  Figure 1 shows a technique for generating a high-quality sine wave from a square-wave source Design by Med Dyer, Jabra Corp, San Diego, CA

Circuit samples Derivative of a waveform -  09/14/00 EDN Design Ideas:  Basic derivative (differentiating) circuits use a lowpass filter or an active operational-amplifier implementation.  These circuits need a large-value capacitor when differentiating a slowly varying signal.  Moreover, the circuits  Design by Joaquin Garcia

CMOS hex inverter generates low-distortion sine waves -  06/09/05  EDN Design Ideas:  Audio signal source uses hex inverter and handful of passives Design by Al Dutcher, West Deptford, NJ

CMOS Inverter 125khz LC Oscillator -  This circuit uses a single CMOS inverter to form a series resonant LC oscillator.  The values shown set the oscillation at about 125KHz but the other frequencies are possible by changing the main LC values. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Inverter forms a Resonant LD Oscillator  -  This circuit uses a single CMOS inverter to form a series resonant LC oscillator.  The values shown set the oscillation at about 125KHz but the other frequencies are possible by changing the main LC values . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Inverter Parallel LC Oscillator -  I have used this parallel resonant LC oscillator circuit countless times.  The oscillator frequency is determined by the inductor and capacitor values.  I have shown an adjustable inductor to make it easy to set the frequency to a specific value. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS inverter VCO tunes octave to UHF -  11/19/98 EDN Design Ideas:  NOTE:  File contain several designs.  Scroll to find this one.  A robust and versatile vco provide as a stable output to 300 MHz (Figure 1).  The circuit's simplicity, unconditional stability, and consistent high-drive capability over an octave make the oscillator ideal for many applications, such as synthesized sources, local oscillators, and transmitters.  The AHC logic family (Texas instruments, www. Ti.com) makes the circuit's performance possible.  AHC is a relatively new line of CMOS logic whose high speeds and good noise performance allow oscillator operation into regions in which bipolar-junction-transistor and FET designs prevail. Design by Shawn Stafford, AM Communications Inc, Quakertown, PA  

CMOS Inverters Form 125Khz Oscillator -  This circuit inverts the LC components so the inductor is grounded.  Two inverters are needed to produce the needed oscillation.  Again, the values shown set the frequency at 125KHz but can be changed to produce other frequencies . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Nand Gate Forms Gated 125Khz Oscillator -  This circuit is uses a NAND gate as an inverter.  The gate allows the oscillator to be gated on and off.  Again, the values shown set the frequency at 125KHz but can be changed to produce other frequencies. . . Circuit by Dave Johnson P.E.-March, 2002

CMOS Oscillator, Draws Only 0.5ua -  if truly low power oscillators interest you, this circuit draws a mere 2 microwatts (500nA) from a 6v battery.  it uses a very inexpensive C-MOS IC to produce a frequency of 2Hz.  However, by changing the component values you can push it to 300Hz . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David A. Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

CMOS Schmitt Trigger IC Makes VCO -  By changing the supply voltage fed to a classic 4584 Schmitt trigger type oscillator, the oscillator frequency can be changed over a range of 50:1.  A 74HCU04 inverter is used at the output of the 4584 to maintain a constant TTL logic level signal. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-December, 2002

CMOS Toggle Flip Flop using Push Button -  The circuit below uses a CMOS dual D flip flop (CD4013) to toggle a relay or other load with a momentary push button.  Several push buttons can be wired in parallel to control the relay from multiple locations.  A high level from the push button is coupled to the set line through a small (0.1uF) capacitor.  The high level from the Q output __ Designed by Bill Bowden

Compensation Extends Oscillator's Range -  12/05/96 EDN Design Ideas:  A simple technique provide as phase compensation for the oscillator in Figure 1a.  in this circuit, a tungsten lamp regulates the amplitude of a crystal bridge oscillator.  This type of oscillator produces a very low-distortion output at a very stable frequency.  The op amp must have a negligible phase shift at the operating frequency, which Design by Israel Schleicher, Green Spin, Bakersfield, CA

Convert any signal to exactly 50% duty cycle -  06/25/13  EDN Design Ideas:  How would you process a variable frequency signal to always maintain a 50% duty-cycle? Here's one way Design by Jim McLucas

Convert periodic waveforms to square waves -  08/16/01 EDN Design Ideas:  Converting periodic waveforms to square waves is an integral part of extracting a clock signal from data, creating waveform generators, and making timing-pulse generators.  Any square-wave-conversion circuit isvaluable when the square wave's duty cycle is variable and controllable.  Figure 1 shows a circuit that has these attributes and can drive several TTL-compatible loads Design by Ron Mancini, Texas Instruments, Bushnell, FL

Crystal Controlled 1KHz Signal Generator -  A while back I got an email from a Discover Circuits visitor.  He needed a way to calibrate a RPM display for a big diesel engine.  The engine had a tachometer output which produced 12 pulses per rotation with an amplitude of about 5v RMS.  The full scale reading on the engine’s RPM speed display dial was 5, 000. . . Circuit by David Johnson P.E.-May, 2012

Crystal-Oscillator Is Ultralow Power -  EDN-Design ideas -- 09/24/12    Build a crystal-oscillator circuit that draws only about 5 μA of current. Design by Thomas Mathews, Texas Instruments

Current-Feedback Amp Yields Simple Circuit Oscillator -  06/08/95 EDN Design Ideas:  Using a current-feedback op amp, you can generate high-frequency sine waves with larger amplitude than conventional op-amp-based designs.  The circuit in Fig 1 uses four passive components, connecting one capacitor to the compensation node (another op amp that has this pin a Design by Celma and P A Martinez, University of Zaragoza, Spain

DDS & converter form signal generator -  20-Feb-03 EDN Design Ideas:  Polarity protector outperforms Schottky diodes - Many applications require low-frequency signal generators that can deliver high-performance, high-resolution signals.  This design idea presents a circuit that generates frequencies of 0 to 1 MHz.  Sinusoidal, triangular, and square-wave outputs are available.  You can achieve frequency resolution of better than 0 Design by Colm Slattery, Analog Devices, Limerick, Ireland

DDS based Signal Generator that runs from 1Hz to 60MHz in 1Hz steps -  A DDS based Signal Generator that runs from 1Hz to 60MHz in 1Hz steps.  During the building of the SDR unit, I ran into the problem of not having anything that would generate a signal below 10MHz.  Before anybody goes "well, why not run one of your rigs into a dummy load?", Neither of them are running yet (well, they weren't when I wrote this). __ Designed by VK5TM

DDS Device Produces Sawtooth Waveform -  10-Jul-03 EDN Design Ideas:  Ramp or sawtooth waveforms are useful for a broad range of applications, including automatic-test equipment, benchtest equipment, and actuator control.  Discrete components typically set the waveform frequency.  Unfortunately, drift in these component values over time and temperature limits the accuracy of the output frequency Design by Niamh Collins, Analog Devices, Limerick, Ireland

DDS Generates Precise PWM Waveforms -  10/02/03  EDN Design Ideas:  Pulse-width modulation is a simple way to modulate, or change, a square wave.  in its basic form, the duty cycle of the square wave changes according to some input.  The duty cycle is the ratio of high and low times in the square wave Design by Colm Slattery Analog Devices, Limerick, Ireland

DDS using AD9835 -  The purpose of this project is to learn about DDS circuit.  The AD9835 combines the Numerical Controlled Oscillator (NCO) , COS Look-Up Table, Frequency and Phase Modulators, and a Digital-to-Analog Converter on a single integrated circuit __ Contact maxit91 @ hotmail.com

Delayed Pulse Generator -  This circuit generates a short 10ms pulse 15 minutes after a “start” pushbutton switch is activated. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-October, 2005

D-Flip/Flop One Shot Circuit -  Yes you can use cheap D flip/flop logic circuits as nice one-shot pulse generators.  This schematic shows how the popular CD4013 and the CD74HC74 can be used to generate pulses ranging from nanoseconds to seconds. . . Circuit by David A. Johnson P.E.-June, 2000

Digital Signal Controls Sine Generator -  05/15/03 EDN Design Ideas:  The circuit of Figure 1 produces an accurate, variable-frequency sine wave for use as a general-purpose reference signal.  it includes an eighth-order elliptic, switched-capacitor lowpass filter, IC 3, which uses a 100-kHz square-wave clock signal that microcontroller IC 2 generates. (Any other convenient square-wave source is also acceptable Design by Simon Bramble, Maxim Integrated Products, UK

Digital signals produce pure sine waves -  10/09/97  EDN Design Ideas:  Analog oscillators produce excellent sine waves but are temperamental and hard to design.  They also require extensive redesign every time you change the oscillation frequency.  Digital oscillators.       Design by Ronald Mancini, Harris Semiconductor, Melbourne, FL

Digital waveform generator provides flexible frequency tuning for sensor measurement -  17-Dec-04 EDN Design Ideas:  Variable-resistance sensors convert a fixed dc excitation voltage or current into a current or voltage that's a straightforward function of the quantity undergoing measurement.  in another class of sensors, moving objects or fluids produce a sensor signal by altering an LC circuit's inductance or capacitance Design by Colm Slattery, Analog Devices, Limerick, Ireland

Dramatically Increase the Frequency Range Of RC-Based Voltage-Controlled Oscillators -  09/21/12 EDN Design Ideas:  Add a varactor to a voltage-controlled oscillator to increase the tuning range.  A typical voltage-to-frequency converter—also known as a VCO (voltage-controlled oscillator) —IC  has a simple linear tuning characteristic relating input voltage to output frequency.  it is usually of the form F=kV/RC, where RC is the time constant of the associated timing resistor and capacitor.  The output frequency range of these parts varies, but few, if any, tune over the entire range with one set of RC timing components.  if you change the timing ratio as the input voltage changes, however, you can magnify the tuning range to take advantage of nearly the entire frequency range in one implementation.   Design by Shawn Stafford, Pittsburgh, PA

DTMF Coder Makes Low-Cost Sine-Wave Generator -  10/13/94 EDN Design Ideas:  A telephone DTMF IC produces, by design, two tones if you connect a single intersection of the IC 's 4[x]4 keypad matrix (Fig 1]. (Telephones commonly have 3×4 keypads but, unknown to many people, the applicable standard allows for a fourth row of four keys.   ]But, if you connect two key inputs at once, the IC produces a single-frequency,  Design by Criscuolo Anna Rita, Labtec Telecommunications, Nichelino, Italy

Edge Detector runs off of single supply -  12/04/97 EDN Design Ideas:  You can use a single-supply circuit to generate a pulse on both the rising and the falling edges of a signal for use with counters or similar devices that require only a rising edge to trigger (Figure 1a).  R1 and C1  form a differentiator that converts rising edges to positive spikes and falling Design by Joe Meloche, Ingersoll-Rand Fluid Products Division, Bryan, OH

ELC signal between 200Mhz-400Mhz -  if you need a clean emitter coupled logic (ECL) type signal between 200MHz and 400MHz this circuit works fine.  it uses four voltage-controlled capacitors to change the frequency . . . Hobby Circuit designed by David Johnson P.E.-March, 1999

Got Designs?
Please eMail
if you want me to link to and/or post your original design Thanks.


Waveform Generator Circuits:  #'s     A - B     C - E     F - K     L - O     P - R     S     T     U - Z


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