[sdiy] Single vs Dual Op Amp Supplies

[Matthew Smith]

Hi Folks

Could someone explain to me the pros and cons of using op amps that work 
with split or single rail supplies?

Consider the following:

I have an oscillator that is essentially a microcontroller outputting a 
square wave between 0-ish and 5-ish Volts.  I want the option of a 
triangle wave, so this signal is fed into a) a buffer and b) an 
integrator, both op amps in a common package.

In my spares box, I have a rail of uA324 quad op amps (same as LM324) 
which are designed to work from a single supply.

As my signal is not going either side of a zero voltage - it is always 
positive - is there any reason not to use such a device?

There will be at least two such oscillators, all receiving the same note 
data but detunable.  The square/triangle waves will then be mixed. 
(Note: I'm not having switchable square/triangle, both of these signals 
will be available to the mixer.)

Can this be done with a single 5V supply?  If not, how do I get half of 
my 0-5V signal "below the line" to go into a split supply op amp?

Cheers

M

-- 
Matthew Smith
Smiffytech - Technology Consulting & Web Application Development
Business:      http://www.smiffytech.com/
Blog/personal: http://www.smiffysplace.com/
LinkedIn:      http://www.linkedin.com/in/smiffy
Skype:         msmiffy
Twitter:       @smiffytech