Monostable Circuits

This circuit was designed to detect when a call is incoming in a cellular phone (even when the calling tone of the device is switched-off) by means of a flashing LED. The device must be placed a few centimeters from the cellular phone, so its sensor coil L1 can detect the field emitted by the phone receiver during an incoming call. The signal detected by the sensor coil is amplified by transistor Q1 and drives the monostable input pin of IC1. The IC`s output voltage is doubled by C2 & D2 in order to drive the high-efficiency ultra-bright LED at a suitable peak-voltage...

The circuit in Figure 1 satisfies all these criteria. The circuit delivers a unipolar (adjustable from 0 to 12V) pulse with adjustable frequency and pulse width. The first half of a dual, retriggerable monostable multivibrator, IC1A, generates the frequency of the pulse train. The 100-k potentiometer, R1, along with R2 and C1, sets the adjustable frequency. R3, R4, and C2 set the adjustable pulse width in the second section of the multivibrator, IC1B...

An [...] idea is to use the 555 as a monostable, and trigger it with a fixed frequency clock. Duty cycle will be proportional to capacitance. The ON time for the monostable is about 1.1RC, so component values that should work would be a 50 Hz clock, say a 1 Hz low-pass filter on the output, and R = 9.09K, 1%. That combination will give an output of one volt per microfarad. Switch R in decades for smaller capacitors. Trim R for calibration...

The µC-based, digitally programmable, monostable multivibrator in Figure 1 has more accurate timing than a conventional RC-based device because a 20-MHz crystal controls the µC. The PIC16C54 is a low-cost, high-speed, 18-pin µC. At a full speed of 20-MHz and using the accompanying program, this µC can generate programmable pulses of 10 µsec to 100 sec per step...

By combining the responses of an Analog Devices (www.analog.com) AD590 temperature sensor and a Humirel (www.humirel.com) HS1101 humidity sensor, you can generate a single TTL-level signal containing information from both sensors (Figure 1). This design uses a 74HC123 monostable multivibrator, IC1, to form a free-running oscillator...

This circuit was designed to detect when a call is incoming in a cellular phone (even when the calling tone of the device is switched-off) by means of a flashing LED. The device must be placed a few centimeters from the cellular phone, so its sensor coil L1 can detect the field emitted by the phone receiver during an incoming call. The signal detected by the sensor coil is amplified by transistor Q1 and drives the monostable input pin of IC1. The IC`s output voltage is doubled by C2 & D2 in order to drive the high-efficiency ultra-bright LED at a suitable peak-voltage. # Stand-by current drawing is less than 200µA, therefore a power on/off switch is unnecessary. Sensitivity of this circuit depends on the sensor coil type. L1 can be made by winding 130 to 150 turns of 0.2 mm. enameled wire on a 5 cm. diameter former (e.g. a can)...