We will go over how to build a voltage comparator circuit the simplest way using the LM311 comparator IC.
The LM311 is a single comparator. This means it is composed internally of one comparator.
It compares these voltage inputs and determines which is the larger value. Based on this, electronic decisions can be made based on which input is greater and which is smaller. Thus, a comparator is very useful in circuits where we measure levels and want our circuit to act a certain way based on whether the level of an input is greater or smaller than a certain threshold.
Before we actually build our comparator circuit, we first must go over in detail the pinout of an LM311 comparator IC, so that you know what each pin is and what each pin does.
An LM311 is a 8-pin chip.