Learning how to use the CD4060 14-Stage Ripple Carry Binary Counter by building a music/LED-effects kit.
Here's a quick demo of the LED sequence in action..
This is a pretty common kit widely available from sellers on aliexpress, ebay and other outlets. It comes in a few variations, but essentially all the same circuit.
It is an interesting demonstration of the CD4060 14-Stage Ripple Carry Binary Counter.
The kit includes a potted sound chip that plays "Happy Birthday". The music circuit runs completely independently of the CD4060-driven LED circuit.
This is the same kit covered by Julian Ilett:
The CD4060 is a 14 stage ripple counter constructed of RS flip-flop units - see the functional diagram from the datasheet:
The CD4060 in this circuit is configured as a free-running counter, driven by an RC oscillator. I investigated this technique in more detail in LEAP#293 CD4060/RCOscillator.
As the oscillator triggers the CD4060, the outputs cycle/ripple. The circuit only uses three significant outputs: Q5, Q6, Q7. These are steered with diodes to drive the three LED combinations. Q7 also triggers reset on the CD4060 to restart the sequence.
The music chip included in my kit is marked "H823" and plays "Happy Birthday". This appears to be a different chip from the one included in Julian Ilett's build, and doesn't suffer from the same problem of needing an extra base resistor for the transistor output.
However the piezzo speaker included in the kit sounds terrible; it works much better with a speaker. But since there is no room on the board for a speaker, I decided not to build the music circuit in this kit.
Instead I've tested the H823 chip in a separate project - LEAP#292: AudioEffectsChips/H823.
| Ref | Item | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| IC2 | CD4060 | 1 |
| LED1-4 | Red 5mm LED | 4 |
| LED5-8 | Yellow 5mm LED | 4 |
| LED9-12 | Green 5mm LED | 4 |
| D2,3,4 | 1N4148 | 3 |
| Q2,3,4 | S9012 PNP Transistors | 3 |
| R5-15 | 200Ω | 12 |
| R3 | 200kΩ linear pot | 1 |
| R4 | 220kΩ | 1 |
| R2 | 10kΩ | 1 |
| R1 | 1.5MΩ | 1 |
| C1 | 1µF electrolytic | 1 |
| Piezzo Buzzer | 1 | |
| H823 Music Chip | 1 | |
| DPDT Switch | 1 | |
| mini USB socket | 1 | |
| XH2.54 2 pin socket | 1 | |
| C1815 NPN | 1 |
This is the schematic available from most vendors:
- CD4060 Dream Music Light DIY Kit - from a seller on aliexpress
- C1815 datasheet
- S9012 datasheet
- CD4060 datasheet
- 1N4148 datasheet
- LEAP#292 AudioEffectsChips/H823 - testing the music chip that came with this kit
- LEAP#293 CD4060/RCOscillator - testing an CD4060 driven by an RC oscillator
- ..as mentioned on my blog