DJ Delorie wrote: > I've been pondering the "your first board" chapter of the getting > started guide.
555? People still use them? They cost as much as a whole microcontroller these days..... But a microcontroller isn't a good first project, so a 555 has it merits -- you don't need a device programmer. I kind of like the idea of producing some useful piece of test equipment. How about another blast from the past: a very simple logic probe? Mainly just an LED and a buffer -- to modernized it you could make it work with both 3.3V and 5V logic :) A simple power supply board built around 3-terminal regulator also uses only a few commonly available components, and is useful enough that you might actually build more than one. How about a continuity tester? A 555-based beeper for output would make this a pretty useful tool. Once you get the first one to work, you can use it to find broken traces in your next board. Bit of a bootstrapping problem on your first one, though.... But anyway, it could be built on a long skinny board, solder a piece of wire to one end for probe, add a pigtail with ground clip, enclose the whole thing in some shrink tube, and you've got a handy tool. I guess you need to put some AAA's or something in the package too.... shrink tube would make changing batteries a pain, I guess. OK, I'll leave the packing issues up to you... Code practice oscillators are a moot point these days :( -dave _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list geda-user@moria.seul.org http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user