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Circuits of this kind are intended to drive LED Arrays in order to create more visibility and conspicuity when a
vehicle is stopped or stopping. This circuit, in particular, will emit a visual alerting signal of 4 short flashes,
followed by a steady on light that remains steady on as long as the brakes are applied.
Circuit operation:
IC1 internal oscillator generates a square wave whose frequency is divided 64 times by the flip-flops contained in
the chip in order to obtain about 1 to 4Hz at pin #4: this is the LED Array flashing frequency and can be set to the
desired value by means of R3. A positive signal at D1 Cathode stops the oscillator after 5 pulses are counted. C2
and R1 automatically reset the IC whenever the brakes are applied. Q1 is the LED Array driver: LEDs will be on
when pin #4 of IC1 goes low.
Parts:
Note:
The transistor type suggested for Q1 will drive LED Arrays at currents up to 500mA. To drive Arrays
requiring higher currents (up to 1A and even more) use a BD436 (32V 4A PNP Transistor) for Q1 and a 1K
resistor for R4.