The bipolar NE555 timer IC is widely used in inductorless dc-dc converters, most frequently in doubling and inverting converters. However, another very popular IC, the LM386 audio amplifier, may ...

Lacking a simple Arduino board to toss at it, and with a Smoothieboard being absolute overkill, [Chris] figured that a humble NE555 timer IC ought to do the job just as well.