What Everybody Ought to know about Basic Circuits in Electronics?

For all you eager to build your electronic projects, the first thing you need to know is the basic electronics. There are many components in electronics that are used for applications like generating pulses, as an amplifier, etc. We often require basic circuits for our electronic projects. These basic circuits can be a pulse generating circuit, an oscillator circuit, or an amplifier circuit. Here I am explaining a few electronics circuits. It is very useful for beginners. This article lists the basic electronic circuits and their working.

Basic Electronic Circuits used in Projects

The list of basic electronic circuits used in projects is discussed below with appropriate circuit diagrams.

• Astable Multivibrator using 555 Timer:

The 555 timer generates the continuous pulses in astable mode with a specific frequency that depends on the value of the two resistors and capacitors. Here the capacitors charge and discharge at a specific voltage.

When the voltage has applied the charge of the capacitor and through resistors continuously and the timer produces continuous pulses.  The pin 6 and 2 are shorted together to re-trigger the circuit continuously.  When the output trigger pulse is high, it remains at that position until the capacitor is completely discharged. A higher value of the capacitor and resistors are used to attain a longer time delay.

These types of basic electronic circuits could be used in switching the motors ON and OFF at regular intervals or for flashing lamps / LEDs.

• Bistable Multivibrator using 555 Timer:

The bi-stable mode has two stable states which are high and low. The high and low of the output signals are controlled by the trigger and reset inputs pins, not by the charging and discharging of capacitors. When a low logic signal is given to the trigger pin, the output of the circuit goes into the high state and when a low logic signal is given to the reset pin low the output of the circuit go into low sate.

These types of circuits are ideal for use in automated models such as railway systems and motor push to ON and push to the off the control system.

• 555 Timers in Mono Stable Mode:

In the monostable mode, the 555 timers can produce one single pulse when the timer receives a signal at the trigger input button.  The duration of the pulse depends on the values of the resistor and capacitor. When the trigger pulse is applied to the input through a push-button, the capacitor is charged and the timer develops a high pulse and it remains high until the capacitor completely discharges. If more time delay is required, the higher value of the resistor and capacitor are needed.

• The Common Emitter Amplifier:

The transistors can be used as amplifiers where the amplitude of the input signal is increased. A transistor connected in common emitter mode is biased in such a way that its base terminal is given an input signal and the output is developed at the collector terminal.

For any transistor operating in active mode, the base-emitter junction is forward biased, thus having a low resistance. The base-collector region in reverse biased, having high resistance. The current flowing from the collector terminal is β times more than the current flowing into the base terminal. Β is the current gain for the transistor.

In the above circuit, current flows to the base of the transistor, from the AC supply source. It gets amplified at the collector. When this current flow through any load connected at the output, it produces a voltage across the load. This voltage is an amplified and inverted version of the input signal voltage.

• The Transistor as a Switch:

The transistor acts as a switch when it is operated in a saturated region. As the transistor is switched ON in the saturation region, the emitter and collector terminals get short-circuited and the current flows from collector to emitter in an NPN transistor. The maximum amount of base current is given which results in a maximum amount of collector current.

The voltage at the collector-emitter junction is such low such that it reduces the depletion region. This causes the current to flow from collector to emitter and they appear to be shorted.  When the transistor is biased in the cut-off region, both the input base current and the output current are zero. The reverse voltage applied to the collector-emitter junction is at its maximum level. This causes the depletion region at that junction to increase such that no current flows through the transistor. Thus the transistor is switched OFF.

Here we have a load that we wanted to turn ON and OFF with a switch. When the ON / OFF switch is in the closed state, current flows in the base terminal of the transistor. The transistor gets biased such that the collector and emitter terminals are shorted and connected to the ground terminal. The relay coil gets energized and the contact points of the relay close such that the load gets the supply being connected in series through this contact acting like an independent switch.

• Schmitt Trigger:

The Schmitt trigger is a type of comparator, which is used to detect whether the input voltage is above or below a certain threshold. It produces a square wave such that the output toggles between two binary states.  The circuit shows two NPN transistors Q1 and Q2 connected in parallel. The transistors are switched ON and OFF alternatively based on the input voltage.

The transistor Q2 is biased through a potential divider arrangement. With the base being at a positive potential compared to the emitter, the transistor is biased in the saturation region. In other words, the transistor is switched on (the collector and emitter terminals are shorted). The base of the transistor Q1 is connected to ground potential through the resistor Re. Since there is no input signal given to the transistor Q1, it is not biased and is in cut off mode.  Thus we get a logic signal at the collector terminal of the transistor Q2 or the output.

An input signal is given such that the potential at the base terminal is more positive than the voltage across the potential divider. This causes the transistor Q1 to conduct or in other words the collector-emitter terminals are shorted. This causes the collector-emitter voltage to drop and as a result, the voltage across the potential divider reduces such that the base of the transistor Q2 doesn’t get enough supply. The transistor Q2 is thus switched off.  Thus we get a high logic signal at the output.

• H Bridge Circuit:

An H bridge is an electronic circuit that enables a voltage to be applied across a load in either direction. The H bridge is a very effective method for driving motors and it finds a lot of applications in many electronic projects especially in robotics.

Here four transistors are used which are connected as switches. The two signal lines allow running the motor in different directions. The switch s1 is pressed to run the motor in forwarding directions and s2 is pressed to run the motor in a backward direction.  Since the motor needs to dissipate the back EMF, the diodes are used to provide a safer path for the current. The resistors are used to protect the transistors as they limit the base current to the transistors.

In this circuit, when the switch S1 is in ON state, the transistor Q1 is biased to conduction and so is the transistor Q4. The positive terminal of the motor is thus connected to ground potential.

When switch S2 is also ON, the transistor Q2 and transistor Q3 are conducting. The negative terminal of the motor is also connected to ground potential.

Thus with no proper supply, the motor doesn’t rotate. When S1 is OFF, the positive terminal of the motor gets a positive voltage supply (as the transistors are cut off). Thus with S1 OFF and S2 ON, the motor is connected in normal mode and starts rotating in the forward direction. Similarly, when S1 is ON and S2 OFF, the motor gets connected to reverse supply and starts rotating in the reverse direction.

• Crystal Oscillator Circuit:

A crystal oscillator uses a crystal to develop some electrical signals at a certain frequency. When mechanical pressure is applied to the crystal, it produces an electrical signal across its terminals with a certain frequency.

The crystal oscillators are used to provide stable and accurate radio frequency signals.  One of the most common circuits is used for crystal oscillators is the Colpitts circuit. They are used in digital systems to provide clock signals.

The crystal operates in parallel resonant mode and generates an output signal. The capacitor divider network of C1 and C2 provide the feedback path. The capacitors also form the load capacitance for the crystal. This oscillator can be biased in common emitter or common collector modes. Here the common emitter configuration is used.

A resistor is connected between the collector and source voltage. The output is obtained from the emitter terminal of the transistor through a capacitor. This capacitor acts as a buffer to ensure that the load draws minimum current.

So these are the basic electronic circuits you will encounter in any electronic project. I hope this article has given you ample knowledge. So there is this little task for you. For all the circuits I have listed above, there are alternatives. Kindly find that and post your answer in the comment sections below.