What can i do with cd4050 ?

jean bender · Joined: Feb 21, 2010 Posts: 139 Location: france

Hi !
i've found a huge stock of cmos stuff ( cd4029, 4072, 4012, 4075, 4025, and 4050).
I'll try to make something with the logic gates, but i've no idea how to use cd4050, and this unit doesn't seem to be an often used one..

Thanks for your support ! Wink

JingleJoe · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:24 am Post subject:

This 4050?
http://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/50859/FAIRCHILD/CD4050.html
It's really boring, sorry to break it to you Sad

It's probably not used much for that reason.
however combined with the filter/synth drum thing described in this recent thread: http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-52786.html you may get some interesting bloops and bleeps, but by itself this chip doesn't do anything very musical.

jean bender · Joined: Feb 21, 2010 Posts: 139 Location: france

yep, it's this unit... Pff, i have 90 of them, and i don't know what i'll do with it. I can't eitherway understand for what they have been produced, so... I won't throw them, maybe one day i'll get it...

Well, i've got 500 cd4029, hope i'll be luckier !

mrmrshoes · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 11:05 am Post subject:

you can use the 4049 as a gain stage.

if the 4050 works in the same way (??????) you can make Mixers, pre-amps, analog 2 digital converters and distortions.

check out NicK Collins book for 4049 examples.

http://www.nicolascollins.com/texts/originalhackingmanual.pdf

jean bender · Joined: Feb 21, 2010 Posts: 139 Location: france

yep, i know, but as 4050 doesn't invert, i don't think it'll be ok for mixer or osc... Evil or Very Mad

JingleJoe · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:16 pm Post subject:

richardc64 · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:25 pm Post subject:

skifflefella · Joined: Jul 09, 2023 Posts: 1 Location: uk

Very late reply. I have a couple on the way. I have been after buffers for my growing lunetta modular for a while, especially to build buffered multiples. Hopefully this will work out well. They are dull, but dull can be useful - maybe

okelk · Joined: May 08, 2014 Posts: 71 Location: Vienna

...well...I wouldn't say that they are useless...but I can't think of any way to misuse the in a useful way...

They can sink more current than most 4000 series chips so they can be useful as LED drivers.
Or you can use them as High-to-Low logic level converters. For instance if you want to use some 5V chips in a 9V or 12V lunetta (there are other ways tpo do that thogh)

ianbax · Joined: Apr 20, 2022 Posts: 42 Location: Sheffield, UK

Seen as this topic floated to the top - I've used 4050s a few times

I had this weird thing where my 4093 based clock would change tempo when I patched it (never really got to the bottom of it but assumed I was loading down the output somehow), I put a 4050 buffer on the outputs and it sorted the problem - without inverting the signal (a transistor might have sufficed but I had 4 outputs from the 4093 so made sense to use an IC for neatness)

At some point I'm planning to make a utility module with a lunetta version of a 'buffered mult' so if a clock signal is being split and sent to several places it takes advantage of the 4050s better fan-out.

I think it can't be used to replace 4049/4069 in filters etc as there's no 4050UB unbuffered version.

They can be used an a LED driver although I haven't found that necessary. Interesting vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_spbp3Kyfd4

okelk · Joined: May 08, 2014 Posts: 71 Location: Vienna

zaphod betamax · Joined: Nov 27, 2020 Posts: 62 Location: sarnia

I bought a bunch of 4050 buffers but the pinout is so whack