The Blinkie LED Guy

Haven't you always wanted a blinking friend that is powered by a USB port? Ok maybe not, but the Blinkie LED Guy is a fun project none the less. This is good for someone who can solder in a small footprint (PCB or Dead bug). The Blinkie LED Guy is a different use of an astable 555 Timer circuit and make a nice gift. Building instructions are after the break.

- Difficulty Level: Beginner - Intermediate (You need to be comfortable soldering in a small footprint. If you are not comfortable, find someone to help you out)


- Notes:
-> If you don't have the exact values for the 47μf capacitor, 1k resistor, and 10k resistor, feel free to replace them with something you have. These components control the blinking of the LED. By changing the values you can speed up or slow down the blinking. If you change the values, try the combination on a breadboard to see if you like the speed before building your Blinkie LED Guy.
-> The Blinkie LED Guy is based on this circuit and this image.
-> Higher quality images & a few extra pictures not on this post can be found here: Download

0) Parts Needed
- 555 timer chip
- 5mm LED
- 47μf Capacitor
- 1K Resistor
- 10K Resistor
- 470 ohm resistor
- 8x14 piece of perfboard
- Male USB connector (Mine came from an USB cable. This can be replaced a 9V battery or 4 AA/AAA Batteries)



1) Attach the USB plug
If you are using a battery, you will want to feed the leads for the battery holder into the perfboard. The silver wire that is wrapped around the USB plug and perfboard is a paperclip. It keeps the USB plug stable. Hot glue would work as well.



2) Bend 555 timer pins & clip pin 5 off
Bend the pins of your 555 timer out. We won't be needing pin 5 on the 555 timer, so go ahead and cut it off. It is the pin diagonally opposite the dot on the chip.


3) Solder 10K resistor to pins 6 & 7 on the timer
The 10K resistor is the right arm to the LED Guy. It gets soldered to pins 6 & 7 on the 555 timer.


4) Solder 470 ohm resistor to pin 3
Solder one end of the resistor to pin 3. Do not solder the other end to anything.(Second picture) It will connect to the LED in a future step.



5) Connect Pins 2 & 6
Run a wire between pins 2 & 6.


6) Connect Pins 4 & 8
Attach a wire between pins 4 & 8. It maybe helpful to use the wire between pins 2 & 6 to hold this wire in place while soldering.


7) Solder the 1K resistor
Solder one end of the 1K resistor to pin 7 on the timer. This will be the right leg.


8) Solder the LED
Solder the anode (+ positive) of the LED to the unattached end of the 470 ohm resistor. Solder the cathode (- negative) to pin 1 of the timer.



9) Attach wire to pin 8
Add a wire to pin 8. This will be connected to positive on the USB plug, hence the use red wire.


10) Attach wire to pin 1
Add a wire to to pin 1. This will be connected to ground.


11) Attach wire to pin 2
Add a wire to pin 2 on the timer. This will connect to the anode (+ positive) on the capacitor.


12) Place LED Guy & capacitor on the perfboard
The LED Guy is starting to come together.


13) Solder LED Guy & capacitor
Connect the red wire from the LED Guy and 1k resistor to the positive wire from the USB plug or battery. Connect the black wire from the LED Guy and the cathode (- negative) on the capacitor to the ground wire from the USB plug or battery. Connect the yellow wire to the anode on the capacitor.


14) You're done!
After checking for electrical shorts and fixing all them, plug it into an USB port and watch your little friend blink away.

If you have any problems or questions, please email me.

Disclaimer: I and/or this site are not responsible for any damage (e.g. Personal, environmental, property...) that may occur from any circuits or their variations found on this site.