Over at Tiny Transistor labs, [Robo] took it upon himself to reproduce the classic 555 timer in discrete transistor form. For bonus points, he also managed to put it in a package that’s the same basic ...

Whenever I use the 555 timer, it seems that the output polarity is invariably incorrect, and the way the 555 functions, it normally cannot generate a duty cycle of less than 50% — 90% yes, 10% NO!

With so much analog-circuit design being done by automated tools and circuit-performance analysis done with tools such as Spice, it may seem anachronistic to actually go through a basic circuit in ...