Table of Contents - Shopify · PDF fileTable of Contents Build an Atari Punk circuit on a breadboard ... While a mint condition Atari may ... Step 2:€55 - What? The 555 timer chip

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-an-Atari-Punk-circuit-on-a-breadboard/

Build an Atari Punk circuit on a breadboardby JoshuaZimmerman on December 7, 2011

Table of Contents

Build an Atari Punk circuit on a breadboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Build an Atari Punk circuit on a breadboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: 55 - What? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: The Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4: Place the Chip and Variable Resistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 5: Positive to Variable Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 6: Pin 1 to Variable Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 7: Pin 1, 1K Ohm Resistor, Pin 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 8: Pin 6, 0.01uf Capacitor to negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 9: Pin 2 to Pin 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 10: Pin 7 to Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 11: Pin 14 to Positive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 12: Pin 14 to Pin 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 13: Positive to variable resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 14: Variable resistor to Pin 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 15: Pin 13 to Pin 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 16: Pin 12, Capacitor to Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 17: Pin 10 to 5K Variable Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 18: Variable Resistor to Speaker, Speaker to Pin 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 19: Pin 5 to Pin 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 20: Add Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 21: If you have problems... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 22: Adding Light Sensitive Resistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 23: Add and LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Step 24: Adding a Line Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Step 25: Dance Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

http://www.instructables.com/member/JoshuaZimmerman/?utm_source=pdf&utm_campaign=title


Author:JoshuaZimmerman BrownDogGadgetsI'm a middle school science teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I like making random things and then teaching my students how to do the same. I also run alittle website where I sell some of the things I make in order to pay for more things for me to make.

Intro: Build an Atari Punk circuit on a breadboardIf you're old enough to remember the Atari, then you probably remember all those "high tech" tones that it produced. Those beeps and whines were the very lifeblood ofour favorite old school games. While a mint condition Atari may be hard to find these days you can easily recreate the sounds of an Atari using only a few parts stuck ona breadboard.

The Atari Punk circuit gets it's name because it produces similar sounds to the old Atari game systems. This design has been around since the 70s and often still goes byit's original name of a Stepped Tone Generator.

In this guide I'm going to run through how to make two different Atari Punk setups on a breadboard. One that uses variable resistors to control the sounds (turn styleknobs) and one that uses light sensitive resistors (CDS Cells).

Step 1: PartsThe parts you need for this setup are rather common and decently cheap to buy.

Required Parts

BreadboardJumpers (You can make your own)9V Battery9V Battery Clip556 Timer Chip (You can also use two 555 timers as well)8 Ohm Speaker1K Ohm Resistor(2) 500K Ohm Variable Resistor (Potentiometer)5K Ohm Variable Resistor (Potentiometer)(2) 0.01uf Capacitors

Optional(2) Light Sensitive Resistors (CDS Cells(2) 0.22uf CapacitorsBlue LED470 ohm resistor

Total Time: 20-30 minutesTotal Cost: $10 (More if you need a breadboard)

The optional parts are used if you want to make the circuit light sensitive, or if you want to add an LED for fun filled lighting. You could also ditch the 5K Ohm VariableResistor and use a set resistor, but then you'd have no volume control.

Alternately you could always have one Variable Resistor and one Light Sensitive Resistor in the circuit. The nice thing is you can easily swap both types in and out, whichis the nice thing about a breadboard.

Most of these parts can be found at any electronics hobby store. If possible, avoid Radio Shack and you'll pay three times as much as you really need.

All Electronics and Electronic Goldmine have most everything you need. If you'd like to save yourself some trouble and get everything in one nice little kit, why not try myfun filled website BrownDogGadgets.com . We have a ready to go Atari Punk Kit that even comes with some fancy knobs to impress your friends and family. 72% of allsales go to all natural doggie chew toys.

http://www.browndoggadgets.com

http://allelectronics.com/

http://www.goldmine-elec.com/

http://www.browndoggadgets.com

http://www.browndoggadgets.com/store/circuitry-kits/atari-punk-circuit-kit/


Image Notes1. Light Sensitive Resistors (CDS)2. Variable Resistors (Potentiometer)3. Capacitors

Image Notes1. 556 Timer Chip2. A bunch of jumpers.

Step 2: 55 - What?The 555 timer chip was the world's first integrated circuit. While nowadays this might not mean much to you or me, back in "the day" this revolutionized circuit buildingand begin the miniaturization trend which continues today.

More or less the 555 chip took an entire circuit and put it all in one simple package. So small and handy was this design that it originally cost over $5,000 for a single chip!The US Military bought up all the chips for years in order to build missiles. Yes, that's right. The 555 chip was originally used to shoot at missiles at communists. (Feel thepower...)

That was then. You can buy one for all of $0.10 now. They're common.

But wait a second... we're using a 556 chip...

The 556 is really just two 555 chips put together. Which is why if you happen to have a bunch of 555 chips in your home, or can't find a 556 chip, you can use theminstead.

So now you know the a bit about the historical chip you're using. (Can you tell I was a history major?)

A


Step 3: The CircuitIf you're one of those smart people who knows how to read a circuit diagram then you really don't need to read any further. Above is the diagram commonly used to buildthis circuit.

If you've never seen a diagram before follow these simples steps.

1) Take a deep breath.2) Don't panic.3) Get a hot cup of tea and a cat to pet.4) Print off this picture.5) Keep reading this guide.

Important!

Even if you don't plan on using the diagram to help you build the circuit you should familiarize yourself with the pin layout of the 556 chip. Notice how the top left pin islabeled "1" and the top right is labeled "14". I'm going to reference pin (leg) numbers a lot during this guide. Pay very close attention to which leg you're using.

At this point I should let you know that I managed to teach a group of 8th graders how to build this circuit in about half an hour. So if some 13 year olds can do it, so canyou.

Step 4: Place the Chip and Variable ResistorsTo start things out I like to lay the chip and variable resistors on the board.

Put the chip towards the top of the board, so that legs 1 and 14 at at the top. (The notch on the chip tells you which side is "up".)

Then place the two 500K Ohm variable resistors along the bottom left of the board.

Place the 5K Ohm variable resistor opposite them.

We're just leaving ourselves a lot of room here.


Step 5: Positive to Variable ResistorI like to have the right vertical rail on my breadboard be positive and the left vertical rail be negative. You can honestly change things up as you see fit.

Use a jumper and go from the positive rail on the right (bottom in this picture) and run it to the middle leg of the variable resistor.

Image Notes1. This vertical rail is negative2. This vertical rail will be positive.

Step 6: Pin 1 to Variable ResistorUse a jumper to go from Pin 1 to the outside leg of the variable resistor .


Image Notes1. Pin 1

Step 7: Pin 1, 1K Ohm Resistor, Pin 6Take your 1K Ohm resistor .

Put one side in Pin 1 , and the other in Pin 6.

Step 8: Pin 6, 0.01uf Capacitor to negativeTake your 0.01uf Capacitor and go from Pin 6 to the negative rail.


Step 9: Pin 2 to Pin 6Take a jumper and connect Pin 2 to Pin 6 .

Now you should have three things in the row with Pin 6 .

1) A resistor leg2) A capacitor leg3) A jumper coming from Pin 2

If you have all three things lined up with Pin 6, give yourself a hug.

Go on. Hug.

Step 10: Pin 7 to NegativeTake a jumper and go from Pin 7 to the negative rail.

Step 11: Pin 14 to PositiveTurn the board around.

Take a jumper and go from Pin 14 to the positive rail.


Step 12: Pin 14 to Pin 10Take a jumper and go from Pin 14 to Pin 10 .

(You could just go directly from the positive rail to Pin 10 if you really wanted to.)

Step 13: Positive to variable resistorTake a jumper and go from the positive rail over to the middle leg of the variable resistor.


Step 14: Variable resistor to Pin 13Take a jumper (a long one) and go from the outside leg of the variable resistor to Pin 13.

Step 15: Pin 13 to Pin 12Take a jumper an connect Pin 13 to Pin 12.

Do a dance. You're almost done.

Step 16: Pin 12, Capacitor to NegativeWe now need to somehow use a capacitor to connect Pin 12 to the negative rail . Only this is a long jump.

In the picture below I used a jumper to go from Pin 12 to the other side of the board. I then connect a 0.01uf capacitor to negative .

(You can do this several ways, I did this to keep the positive rail on one side and the negative rail on the other.)


Image Notes1. From 12 to here, and then from here to the negative via the capacitor.

Step 17: Pin 10 to 5K Variable ResistorTake a jumper and go from Pin 10 to the outside leg of the 5K Ohm Variable resistor .

Image Notes1. Outside leg!

Step 18: Variable Resistor to Speaker, Speaker to Pin 9Take your speaker and connect one wire to the middle leg of the variable resistor .

Then take a jumper and connect the other speaker wire to Pin 9 .

Pin 10 -> Outside Leg -> Inside Leg -> Speaker-> Speaker -> Pin 9


Step 19: Pin 5 to Pin 8Take a jumper and connect Pin 5 to Pin 8 .

Image Notes1. 5 to 8

Step 20: Add PowerConnect the negative (black) wire of the 9V clip to the negative rail on the left.

Connect the positive (red) wire of the 9V clip to the positive rail on the right.


Image Notes1. Positive2. Negative

Step 21: If you have problems...At this point your Atari Punk should be making some horrible sounds. If not....

a) Turn the knob on the 5K Ohm variable resistor. That's the volume control. It could just be set low.

b) You've messed up somewhere. It happens. Go back through the directions and make sure everything is in the right hole. If you've got even one mistake the entirecircuit could fail.

If this didn't work right the first time don't fret! Just double check every connection. Make sure all the jumpers are in. Make sure your 9V is charged (you could always lickit).

Step 22: Adding Light Sensitive ResistorsUsing knobs to control the setup is fun, but using the light sensitive resistors (CDS Cells) is really impressive.

To do this you just need to swap out 4 parts.

Take out the two 500k Ohm variable resistors.

In their place stick in the two light sensitive resistors .

Then, take out the two 0.01uf capacitors .

Replace them with the two 0.22uf capactiors .

We do this to drop the pitch of the tone. In many cases the light sensitive resistors cause a massively high pitched tone, and the capacitors just drops that down. You mayor may not need to do this, but it's an easy swap.

To use them just wave your hands over the light sensitive resistors. You should heap a change.

Image Notes


1. Light sensitive resistor.

Step 23: Add and LEDAdding and LED gives your project is easy. It's completely pointless to the function of the circuit, but sometimes you just gotta look cool for the ladies.

Use a 470 ohm resistor to go from the positive rail to the other side of the board. Then connect the LED from that spot (with the positive long leg) to the negative rail (withthe negative short leg).

Done.

Image Notes1. 470 ohm

Step 24: Adding a Line OutMany people build this circuit with an audio out jack. This isn't too tough to do. Just look at the circuit diagram for guidance.

Parts :10uF Capacitor10K Ohm Resistor4.7K Ohm resistor

Audio out jack of your choice.

Step 25: Dance PartyOh yes, dance party time.

I hope this guide walked you step by step through the painless process of making an Atari Punk circuit.

So what now?

Well a lot of people build a permeant version of the circuit via soldering and stick it in a cute container. The internet is full of really funky retro designs, a quick googlesearch turns up many a project.

Soon to come from me will be a guide as to how to build this circuit into an Altoids tin. Oh yes, it is possible.

If you've enjoyed this guide why not check out my website BrownDogGadgets.com . We do in fact have an Atari Punk kit available if you're in need of parts. 53% of allsales goes to buying doggie treats.

http://www.browndoggadgets.com/store/circuitry-kits/atari-punk-circuit-kit/


Documents

Table of Contents - Shopify · PDF fileTable of Contents Build an Atari Punk circuit on a breadboard ... While a mint condition Atari may ... Step 2:€55 - What? The 555 timer chip