CSS555(C)- a 555 with attitude!

M

manuka

Senior Member
While pondering compact low voltage micropower circuitry (~single AA & µA stuff) Custom Silicon Solution's ~US$2 CSS555(C) came to mind. This 2009 era sweetie retains normal 555 pinouts and function, BUT 4 pins double for -gasp!-simple external programming,settings are retained in EEPROM,the (adjustable) timing capacitor is inbuilt,timing delays run for days AND it sips just ~5µA at ~1.2V. Sure - not far off normal PICAXE-08M2 performance, but cheaper & a lower supply.

Evaluation & programming kits are available (costly),but see this parallel port programmer , which no doubt the PICAXE brains trust could readily enhance.

Has anyone used these CSS555(C)? Any opinions & experiences? Stan.
 

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hippy

hippy

Ex-Staff (retired)
Looking at the CS555 / CS555C datasheet and programming application note it seems it would be easy enough to program those from a PICAXE.
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
I'd forgotten about them.
Someone pointed them out to me last year and I was bursting to try one out... then forgot.
Let us know if you try one out. They certainly are a horse for a course.
And-splutter!- they look ~good for the money.
 
fernando_g

fernando_g

Senior Member
Another small, innovative, and very interesting semiconductor company....... yet with a very narrow product portfolio.
Call me a pessimist, but it will eventually be acquired -devoured- by a larger company.
 
TinkerJim

TinkerJim

Member
I have been working with the CSS555 chip for maybe 2 years in various battery and solar powered projects. It is incredible for such gadgets - just sipping around 4uA to keep itself in operation. I've used it on timers, both in standard astable configuration as for a blinking Electronic Paperweight (http://www.instructables.com/id/Electronic-Paperweight/) and in programmed astable mode for a battery powered toy streetcar which runs around under the Christmas tree - scooting around for 12 seconds between 3 minute pauses (or reprogrammed to go for about 2 minutes every half hour!).

With a Picaxe project, the CSS555 in the standard one-shot mode can serve as an ultra low power sentry. One of my projects was to operate a servo triggered from a motion sensor. Being battery powered, and only called into action once or twice a day, to conserve battery energy, the picaxe would nap for about 0.6 seceonds and then check for a high on Pin 3, and take another nap if it saw a low. The motion sensor used meager power (about 12 uA I think) and it would trigger the CSS555 (4 uA) to send a one-second high (via a transistor) to Pin 3. Then the Picaxe would turn on power to the servo (via a NDT452AP), carry it through its routine, and then return to napping mode.

If I were doing the same project now, i would simply use the Latching Circuit described on this Forum and have the CSS555 turn on the Picaxe too !

Working Picaxe Latch.JPG

BTW, Custom Silicon Solutions have excellent data application sheets on their CSS555 and has recently come out with a "EZ Programmer" which is self-contained and quite reasonable in cost.

TinkerJim
 
M

manuka

Senior Member
TinkerJim: Many thanks for posting your CSS555(C) experiences- appreciated. I'd seen your well presented Instructable in fact. That ~US$30 EZ Programmer you've mentioned is pictured below. Stan.
 

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