Challenge honors and celebrates 50 years of innovation starting with the first 555 Timer

element14, an Avnet community, has launched the 555 Timers Madness Competition in honor of the release of the first 555 timer IC (555 oscillator). Members of the element14 Community can participate in the challenge by submitting projects that utilize a 555 timer to win free swag or parts to use in future projects. Applicants are encouraged to produce something special or unusual using 555 timers given their versatility for use with a variety of circuits.

The 555 timers were first released 50 years ago and quickly became one of the most affordable and helpful precision timing devices that can act as a simple timer to generate single pulses or long-time delays, or as a relaxation oscillator producing a string of stabilized string waveforms of varying duty cycles, ranging from 50 to 100%.

“The 555 timer defied expectations when it was released 50 years ago and has become the largest quantity sold of any IC,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community. “We are thrilled to celebrate this incredible milestone for the 555 timers by flexing the creative minds of our community. All of us at element14 are excited to see what innovative products the community will produce.”

The 555 timer is extremely adaptable and can be used to create Schmidt triggers, egg timers, continuity times, Morse code timers, beeping prank devices, security trip alarms, music synthesizers and more.

Submissions will close October 18, 2022. To enter the challenge and learn more, community members can visit: https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/project14/555timermadness/.

Participants who are looking for submission inspiration can review recent creative projects developed by community members to spark inspiration, including: Magic Potion Bottles | Flashing LED Headband |LED Dominos. To learn more about the 555 timers, read the eBook, The Fundamentals of 555 Timers.