Why NE555?

Initially created on

Why is this site called NE555.io? NE555 has been my goto username. As you are probably not aware, NE555 is a popular integrated circuit. The 555 timer IC can be used to time things, create pulses, delays and oscillations. It is the most sold IC in the world:

To this day the 555 has been the best-selling IC every year, copied by numerous companies.

page 143, chapter 11 "Timers and Oscillators" in "Designing Analog Chips" from Hans Camenzind

Together with a close friend1, I started tinkering with electronics2. We build circuits, flashed ATtiny and ATmegas and of course used the NE555 quite a lot. It was the same time we build Tesla coils, RC controlled vehicles and rockets.

Long exposure of high voltage sparks on a foil ball. The high voltage was reached by using voltage multipliers, if I remember correctly. I used this image for many years as my primary avatar online.

Long exposure of high voltage sparks on a foil ball. The high voltage was reached by using voltage multipliers, if I remember correctly. I used this image for many years as my primary avatar online.

With its beautiful name and being “the master of time”, NE555 stood out. Furthermore, the characters are special for me too:

  1. This friend now owns a space rocket startup that even holds a contract with ESA and SpaceX. He’s an amazing engineer and human being. ↩︎

  2. I wrote my final school assignment on electronics, simulated the circuit and then built it. ↩︎