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A simple and efficient PWM lamp dimmer using timer IC NE555 is discussed in this article. Yesterdays linear regulator based dimmers can only attain a maximum efficiency  of 50% and are far inferior when compared to the PWM based dimmers which can hit well over 90% efficiency. Since less amount of power is wasted as heat, the switching elements of PWM dimmers require a smaller heat sink and this saves a lot of size and weight. In simple words, the most outstanding features of the PWM based lamp dimmers are high efficiency and low physical size. The circuit diagram of a 12V PWM lamp dimmer is shown below. We recommend 3 very good books to learn the basics and applications of the 555 timer IC. These books have been thoroughly reviewed and they can be purchased by clicking on this link:- 3 Great Books to Learn 555 Timer Circuits and Projects Fig 1 : PWM lamp dimmer using NE555 As you can see, NE555 timer IC which is wired as an astable multivibrator operating at 2.8KHz forms the heart ...

We all know what a motor is and what it does. The simplest way to run a motor is to just connect it to a power source. For a DC motor, that would mean, just connecting the motor to the DC voltage that the motor was rated for (or less). But, can you control the speed? Yes. The simplest method is to control the speed of the motor by controlling the voltage the motor runs off. Imagine we have a 12V motor. If you run it off 12V, you get maximum speed (you can get more at higher voltage, but let's not go over rated specifications!). So, simple logic dictates that as we decrease the voltage to the motor, the speed must decrease. You can use a simple LM317 regulator to adjust the voltage to the motor and thus the speed. But, this method of speed control has one huge disadvantage - inefficiency when using a linear regulator (and you may find the motor not running at all at lower voltages). Let's talk about the inefficiency. If we use a linear regulator to give 6V output from 12V input,...