The 74HC595 is a very handy IC used in many microcontroller projects. You clock in 8 bits of data (like, on/off settings for 8 LEDs) via two lines, and when you toggle a third line, it pops these settings out on 8 outputs on the IC. So you trade 3 valuable lines on your microcontroller for 8 outputs. Â This is called “Shifting data out” of the microcontroller by “synchronous serial communication”. This is the serial part of the deal, where each bit is “shifted in” one at a time, then BOOM, they all appear at once (in parallel) on the chips output. There are some great tutorials on how to use a shift register. Here’s one for the Arduino microcontroller, but the technique holds true for pretty much all microcontrollers! Here’s the basic specifications: 8-bit Logic Family : HC Logical Function : Shift Register
Operating Supply Voltage (Typ) : 5V
Output Type : 3-State
Package Type : DIP Propagation
Delay Time : 265ns
Operating Temp Range : -40C to 125C
Operating Supply Voltage (Min) : 2V
Operating Supply Voltage (Max) : 6V