A square wave generator is useful in a test environment, and often the harmonic content of a simple square wave signal is advantageous. With an ever widening range of specialized integrated circuits it is now a simple job to build a high quality generator without too much expense. Add to that a display to indicate the signal output frequency and amplitude, and you have a useful piece of test gear.
 
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A universal signal generator is a useful addition to any workbench. They are ideal for squirting signals into electronic circuits and checking to see if the circuit behaves in the way you had anticipated. Of course for any generator it’s useful to be able to select the frequency of interest and to adjust the output to give the appropriate signal level. For testing digital circuits it would also be useful to output a TTL compatible signal. All of these criteria are fulfilled with this design. With a potential frequency range extending from 10 kHz to 140 MHz its spectrum is so wide that it really does deserve the title ‘universal’.