3 v / 6 LED chasing

[tinkerunique]

I'm building a couple simple 'home projects' that will use 2 AA or AAA batteries and 6 LED's. I want them : 1. to chase in a circle, and 2. to flash on/off at the same time. I have a 555 IC. What else do I need ?

 

[panic mode]

add CD4017 which is decade counter with decoded outputs. use first 6 outputs to drive LEDs connected to resistor...
if you want to make LEDs flash at a same time, add another 555 operating 4-5 times faster than first one and connect it's output mentioned resistor.
you will get one led flicker few times, then next one, then next one etc. use output 7 of CD4017 to reset it, otherwise you will see 4 blank periods.

 

[audioguru]

Two aA battery cells produce 3V only when brans new and the voltage drops slowly to less than 2V.
The MINIMUM supply voltage for an ordinary 555 is 4.5V so it probably will not work.
The minimum supply voltage for an ordinary CD4017 is 3.0V then its output current is extremely low so it probably will not work when the voltage is less.

I designed and built 3V chasers that use two AA alkaline cells. They work for about 6 months when the brightness is at maximum and the speed is fairly slow. The Cmos oscillator runs and the red LEDs still light when the battery is less than 2V.
The chase runs for about 3 or 4 circles then there is a dark pause before the chasing resumes, and each blink is for only about 30ms, to save battery power.
I used 74HC14 and 74HC4017 high speed Cmos ICs that are spec'd to work with a supply as low as 2V. There is plenty of current from the 74HC4017 IC.