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Project 3 Breadboard - Electronics Club

Breadboard Workshop 2 introduces projects using a 4017 decade counter and diodes to create LED sequences, including a Lighthouse, Traffic Light, and Chaser Lights. Each project includes specific instructions for building circuits, emphasizing the importance of proper connections and component placement. Additional parts and resources for building these projects are also provided.

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100 views7 pages

Project 3 Breadboard - Electronics Club

Breadboard Workshop 2 introduces projects using a 4017 decade counter and diodes to create LED sequences, including a Lighthouse, Traffic Light, and Chaser Lights. Each project includes specific instructions for building circuits, emphasizing the importance of proper connections and component placement. Additional parts and resources for building these projects are also provided.

Uploaded by

Tanya Pathak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Breadboard Workshop 2

These projects introduce a 4017 1-of-10 counter and diodes to produce LED sequences.
Projects: Lighthouse | Traffic Light | Chaser Lights | parts
Also see: Breadboard | Circuit Diagrams | 555 Astable | 4017 counter
Next page: Breadboard Workshop 3

Project: Lighthouse
Remember to switch off (or disconnect) the battery before you start.
This circuit introduces diodes (connect the right way round, they have a black band at one end) and a second IC, a 4017 decade
counter, to produce the lighthouse flash sequence.
The 555 timer section is very similar to the Alarm Box Light of Breadboard Workshop 1 but notice how a 1kΩ resistor is used to
connect the variable resistor speed control to pin 6 of the 555 timer IC. This 1kΩ resistor ensures the pulses from the 555 timer are
never too fast for the 4017 counter.

Using diodes to combine outputs


IC outputs must never be directly connected together but diodes can be used to combine outputs as here.
Breadboard Layout for Lighthouse:

Circuit Diagram:

Build a similar project by soldering: Model Lighthouse on stripboard


Project: Traffic Lights
Remember to switch off (or disconnect) the battery before you start.
If you are continuing after building the previous Lighthouse project you must remove the diodes, white LED and its resistor but leave
the 4017 IC and its wire links on the breadboard.

Yellow or amber?
The official UK traffic light colours are red, amber and green. Amber LEDs are difficult to obtain so it is generally best to use
yellow as a substitute.
Breadboard Layout for Traffic Lights:

Circuit Diagram:

Build a similar project by soldering: Traffic Light on stripboard


Project: Chaser Lights
Remember to switch off (or disconnect) the battery before you start.
If you are continuing after building the previous Traffic Lights project: remove the diodes, traffic light LEDs and their resistors. Also
remove the black wire links to pins 13 and 15 of the 4017 IC, those pins have different connections in this project.
Building this project is quite difficult because space is limited and diodes have relatively short leads. It is best to add the diodes last
and note that the diodes from 4017 pins 3 and 4 need to take a shorter route than shown, over the top of other diodes and resistors,
so your finished circuit is unlikely look as neat as the picture!
Before you switch on: make sure that none of the diode and resistor leads are touching each other, this is often a problem on
breadboards and it is wise to check before switching on any project.
Set the variable resistor 'speed control' to a middle value so you can see the lit LED 'chasing' from left to right and back again. Turn
the control to increase the speed until the chasing looks smooth.

Trim leads and use pliers


This is a challenging project to build with many diode and resistor leads on the right. You can make it a little easier by trimming
the leads of the three 330Ω resistors to the right of the 4017 so they sit low on the board. Snipe-nose pliers can help bend leads
and place them in tight spaces.

Resetting the counter


The blue wire link from pin 9 to pin 15 of the 4017 resets the counter to zero on the 9th step. This makes a 1-of-8 counter which
is needed for the 8 steps in the chaser sequence.
Breadboard Layout for Chaser Lights:

Circuit Diagram:
Parts for Breadboard Workshop 2
Use parts from Workshop 1 plus:
resistors: 330Ω ×4 more (total 6)
1N4148 diode ×6
LEDs: red, ×3 more (total 5), yellow, white
4017 counter IC

If you wish to use a 9V PP3 battery:


Change the 330Ω resistors for the LEDs to 470Ω. You will also need a battery clip.

Parts from Rapid Electronics


If you ordered parts from Rapid for Workshop 1 you will already have enough extra resistors and red LEDs in the packs and will just
need to order:
diode 1N4148 (pack of 100)
yellow LED (pack of 100)
white LED (pack of 5)
4017 decade counter IC (pack of 5)
Most parts are supplied in packs but the extras are likely to be useful for other projects and it is good to have spares. Also see advice
for building up a starter kit of parts.

Next page: Breadboard Workshop 3

electronicsclub.info © John Hewes 2025

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