DIY Very Simple 60-Hertz Oscillator With A Quartz Circuit

A simple do-it-yourself 60 Hertz quartz oscillator won't be simple if you try to build it with a 60 Hertz quartz crystal, because there aren't quartz crystals that will generate a 60 Hertz frequency. When designers want to create a non-standard frequency, such as 60 Hertz, they use a high-frequency quartz crystal and a frequency divider. One very simple DIY implementation is to use a 3.58 MHz crystal and a 3.58 MHz to 60 Hz frequency converter chip.

Step 1

Insert the ELM 440 3.58-to-60 Hertz frequency converter chip into your electronic breadboard. Wire the supply voltage (pin 1) of the ELM 440 to the breadboard's power bus. Wire the ground pins (pins 5 and 8) of the ELM 440 to the breadboard's ground bus.

Step 2

Insert the 3.58 MHz quartz crystal into the breadboard. Wire one end of the crystal to pin 2 of the ELM 440 and the other end to pin 3.

Step 3

Insert a 27 picofarad capacitor into the breadboard. Wire one end to pin 2 of the ELM 440 and the other end to the breadboard's ground bus.

Step 4

Insert another 27 picofarad capacitor into the breadboard. Wire one end to pin 3 of the ELM 440 and the other end to the breadboard's ground bus.

Step 5

Insert a 1 microfarad capacitor into the breadboard. Wire one end to pin 1 of the ELM 440 and the other end to the breadboard's power bus.

Step 6

Connect the power supply's positive terminal to the breadboard's positive supply bus and the power supply's negative terminal to the breadboard's ground bus.

Step 7

Turn on the power supply and adjust the power supply's voltage level knob until the power supply display reads 5 volts.