Clapper

These instructions are to build an easy to use clapper circuit. The following lists detail all of the parts
that are required for this project. Parts can be varied due to availability but need to stay within the
same general specification as listed below to ensure correct operation of the circuits. Please feel free to
experiment with different parts to determine which ones work best.

Parts
1-Switch Resistors
1-10kΩ Potentiometer 3-1kΩ
1-47uF Capacitor 2-10kΩ
4-100nF Capacitor 1-100kΩ
1-Microphone 1-1MΩ
1-9volt Battery and connector 1-2.2kΩ
1- Single pull double throw relay 1-4.7kΩ
1-555 Timer (ex LM555) 1-18kΩ
1-Dual D-Flip-flop (ex SN74LS74AN)
1- 741 op-amp (ex LM741)
4- LEDs

Breadboard
Assorted Wires

555 Timer – Any type of 555 timer will work for this application. I used a LM555 which is directly
interchangeable with most other 555 timers.

Microphone – Any microphone will work however depending on the microphone you may need to
change the feedback loop connected to the 741 Op-amp to get a proper gain

Capacitors – All caps are +/- 10-20% and rated for 20V

Resistors - All resistors are +/- 5% and ¼ watt

9volt battery and housing – Power supply can be exchanged for a permanent power supply if available.
One good source for a power supply would be an adjustable DC power supply from Radio Shack that
can provide at least 9 V.
Schematic
9 Volts

5 Volts

2
U1 R6
MC7805C 1Meg
1 2
GND

IN OUT R11 1
1 2
R5
3

MK1 2.2k
2 1
MICROPHONE
+
100k
V1
2 DC = 9
1
2

U5B 2 -
R7
10k U2 12 9 R3
D Q 8
2 1k
C4 1 7 3 11 Q
100n DSCHG OUT CLK 1
7

U4 5 13
1 3 5 4 CV 10 CLR
V+

+ OS2 C1 RST PRE

6
6 1 2 2 THR LS1 D3
OUT TRG SN74ACT11074
2 1 100n 8 5
V-

- OS1 VCC 3
LM741 4 LED
4

LM555 U5A 1 D4
R10 R1 2
1 2 2 2 5
D Q 6 R2
18k 10K Q
R9 3 1 2 Q1 RELAY SPDT LED
CLK 2N3904
2 2 2 4.7k 2 1k
1
R8 C2 C3 1 4 CLR R4
PRE
10k 100n 100n 1k
1 1
1 D2 SN74ACT11074 1
LED D1
LED
Ground

Building the Circuit

The circuit is as follows and can be built on a normal breadboard. The pin numbers for the 555 timer,
op-amp, relay, BJT transistor, and d-flip-flops may have to be adjusted depending on the parts that you
use. The following instructions will help you set up a working circuit without the hassle of decoding
circuit diagrams. The instructions reference the circuit diagram in Figure 1. Make sure that you take
your time on this part and wire everything correctly so you do not have any burned components.

Figure 1 - IR PFM Transmitter

Steps:
1. Attach all chips and major components to the breadboard
2. Attach the output of the voltage regulator to the positive rail
3. Attach everything that needs to be connected to 5 volts or ground to the appropriate rails
4. 5volts
a. SN74LS74AN - Pin 10, Pin 13, Pin 14
b. LM555 - Pin 8, Pin 4
c. Relay - Pin 1
5. Ground
a. MC7805 Regulator - Pin 2
b. LM741 op-amp - Pin 4
c. SN74LS74AN - Pin 7
 d. LM555 - Pin 1
e. LM741 - Pin 4
f. Microphone – Pin 1
g. Transistor – Emitter
6. Next connect together any pins that are directly connected pins with wires
a. SN74LS74AN
i. Pin 6 to Pin 12
ii. Pin 3 to Pin 11 to Pin 3 on LM555
iii. Pin 10 to Pin 13
iv. Pin 2 to Pin 9
v. Pin 1 to Pin 4
b. Relay
i. Pin 2 to Transistor collector
c. Pot
i. Connect 1 outside Pin to the middle Pin
ii. Connect the remaining Pin to Pin 2 of 741 Op-amp
7. Connect Capacitors
a. Place the 47uf capacitor between where you will connect the battery and ground
b. Place one of the 100nf capacitors between Pin 5 of 555 and ground
c. Place another between Pin 6 of 555 and ground
d. Place a third between Pin 2 of 555 and Pin 6 of the 741 op-amp
e. Place the last one between the Pin 2 of the Microphone Pin 2 of the 741 op-amp
8. Connect the 1nF cap between pin 2 and ground
9. Place a wire between pin 2 and pin 6
10. Place a 10kΩ resistor between pins 2 and 7
11. Place the 100kΩ pot and connect the center pin to 6V and either the left or the right pins to pin
7 of the 555 timer
12. Place the 100nF cap between pin 5 and your audio input. Make sure you know which of the 3
wires of the audio input should be grounded and ground it. The other two wires are your left
and right channel. You need to select which channel you want (either one will work) and
connect it to the 100nF cap. The other wire should just be placed in an empty row of the
breadboard.
13. You should now be ready to test your circuit. Make sure all of connections are correct and begin
the testing phase.
How it works
The basics of how this circuit works are fairly simple after it are explained to you. The claps are detected
by the microphone which is basically picking up any noise that it hears and sending it to the 741 op-amp.
It is being sent through the capacitor to help reduce noise. Once at the amplifier the signal is boosted to
a usable level and sent to the 555 counter once again through a capacitor for noise reduction and to
remove any kind of DC component from the signal.

Once at the 555 if the signal is strong enough the 555 timer will send out a single pulse of width
determined by the resistor and capacitor network around it. The 555 also acts to de-bounce the signal
so that if it goes back and forth across the threshold only one pulse is sent. The led that is connected to
pin 3 of the 555 timer through a resistor shows this pulse by flashing when a loud enough sound is heard

Next is the D-Flip-flops. The D-flip-flops are basically there so that the circuit will hold its state and be
able to count the pulses so that one clap is on and two claps is off. The led connected through a resistor
here acts to help show that count

The next part in the circuit is the transistor which helps source enough current to switch the relay back
and forth. A simple on off mechanism could be done with jus the transistor but the relay would allow
this circuit to be connected to wall power a run a desk lamp or something similar.

Understanding the LED’s

All LED’s have a polarity involved with them which basically means that they need to be inserted in the
correct direction or they wont turn on. They also all have what is called a turn on voltage what this
means is that they don’t really turn on until there is a particular voltage across them a graphical
representation of this is shown below where the sharp up turn is where the LED is actually turning on so
this LED turns on at about 1.75 volts this information can typically be found on spec sheets for your
LED’s

Testing the Circuit

In order to tune the circuit, you are going to need an oscilloscope. I would suggest using a Mobile Studio
board from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute because it is user friendly and easily acquired.

For all my tests I replaced the microphone with an infrared led and used a blinking led for input so I
could get a good repeated process

The first step in testing is the infrared led and 741 op-amp the scope captures of these should look like
this on a Mobile Studio board

Shown is the output of the infrared led in green and pin 6 of the op-amp in blue
Next get a scope capture of the 555 timer output and the output of the 741 op-amp

Shown is pin 3 of the 555 in green and pin 6 of the op-amp in blue

The second to last capture I took was of two different pins on the D-flip-flop chip shown below

Pin 2 and Pin 6 of flip-flop shown

The last capture is off the emitter of the transistor and shows what the 2 led’s show where high is when
one led is lit and low is the other