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 Vol.6, No.1; January 1993.

FEATURES
1 The Silicon Chip 5th Birthday Sweepstakes
Enter & you could win a car — lots of other prizes as well BASED ON HIGH-QUALITY
79 Panasonic’s Super-Quiet Dot Matrix Printer by Darren Yates Peerless drivers, these compact
It uses a revolutionary new print head to beat the noise - 2-way loudspeakers deliver big —
performance & will be just right
82 The Story Of Electrical Energy, Pt.22 by Bryan Maher for many hifi enthusiasts.
The Balmain & Ultimo power stati ons Construction starts on page 16.

PROJECTS TO BUILD
16 Peerless PSK60/2 2-Way Hifi Loudspeakers by Tom Manning | al #2me sh
AM MICROMITTER

Small in size but big on performance : , —T “i -— YF

26 Build A Flea-Power AM Radio Transmitter by Darren Yates | o , ae
VOLUME
Learn about
AM radio transmissions
40 High-Intensity LED Flasher For Bicycles by Darren Yates
Make sure you can be seen after dark
58 A 2kW 24VDC To 240VAC Sinewave Inverter, Pt.4 by John Clarke HAVE YOU EVER wondered how
Building the four main PC boards signals are transmitted to your
AM radio? Build this flea-power
AM transmitter & find out.
~ SPECIAL COLUMNS Details page 26.

32 Vintage Radio by John Hill THIS HIGH

Restoring a 1920s kit radio INTENSITY
LED flasher fits
44 Serviceman’s Log by the TV Serviceman inside a special
The customer is always right? bicycle tail light
66 Remote Control by Bob Young case & is much
Installing & adjusting the low-cost speed controller; Pt.3 more effective
than the
88 Amateur Radio by Garry Cratt standard unit. If
Remote monitoring of radio transmissions you’re quick,
you can even :
obtain a free PC board for this
project. See page 40.
DEPART MENTS
4 Publisher’s Letter 98 Ask Silicon Chip SPECIAL NOTICE: lack of space
6 Mailbag 100 Notes & Errata has prevented us from publishing
the constructional details on the
8 Circuit Notebook 101 Order Form
MAL-4 microcontroller this
57 Subscriptions Page 102 Market Centre © month. This article will be
70 Product Showcase 104 Advertising Index published in the February issue.

JANUARY 1993 3
 Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
; Editor
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Robert Flynn
Darren Yates, B.Sc.
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Sharon Macdonald

Sales & Marketing Mgr.

Sharon Lightner
Phone (02) 979 5644
Mobile phone (018) 28 5532

Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
Marque Crozman
John Hill
Jim Lawler, MTETIA
Bryan Maher, M.E., B.Sc.
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY
Bob Young
Photography
Stuart Bryce
Editorial Advisory Panel
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
Norman Marks
Steve Payor, B.Sc., B.E.
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All
material copyright ©. No part of this
publication may be reproduced with-
out the written consent of the pub-
lisher.
Printing: Magazine Printers Pty Ltd,
Alexandria, NSW; Macquarie Print,
Dubbo, NSW.
Distribution: Network Distribution
Company.
Subscription rates: $42 per year
in Australia. For overseas rates, see
the subscription page in this issue.
Liability: Devices or circuits de-
scribed in SILICON CHIP may be
covered by patents. SILICON CHIP
disclaims any liability for the infringe-
ment of such patents by the manu-
facturing or selling of any such
equipment.
Editorial & advertising offices:
Unit 1a/77-79 Bassett Street, Mona
Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address:
PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW
2097. Phone (02) 979 5644. Fax
(02) 979 6503.
ISSN 1030-2662
4 :
SILICON CHIP
Sound quality is not perfect in rack hifi systems
Have you surveyed the hifi scene lately? Over the last few years, the hifi
market has changed quite dramatically and is now divided in two broad ranges
of products: rack systems and “separate” components. Rack systems are widely
available from department stores and discount houses and typically range in
price from around $800 to $1500 or thereabouts. By contrast, “separate” hifi
components such as CD players, tuners, tape decks and loudspeakers are now
only available from specialist hifi stores and there the sky is the limit as far as
price is concerned.
Trouble is, the aforementioned rack systems are generally labelled as “hifi”
but most of them are not. While just about all rack systems these days incorpo-
rate a CD player and a dual tape player with Dolby B and perhaps C noise
reduction, these in themselves do not make a system hifi. The truth is, com-
pared to the sound quality available from even modestly priced “separate”
components, most rack systems are downright ordinary. They’re good enough to
satisfy Mr & Mrs Joe Average but a long way from what can be achieved.
Nor can you really expect a lot more. If you have a look at all the features that
are thrown into rack systems costing around $1000, you should realise that it is
not just the styling that is “well rounded” —a lot of corners have been cut inside
as well. If a system is advertised as having 400 watts PMPO (meaning “peak
music power output”) you would be downright naive if you expected it to have
a real power output of much more than 20 watts per channel. And take a look at
the speakers. If they have three drivers in each cabinet, have Masonite backs and
only weigh about 3kg, then you can hardly expect high quality. What you’re
getting for your money is gimcrack and not a lot more.
On the other hand, today’s rack systems do give good value in terms of
operating convenience (full remote control) and good reliability. That is a legacy
of the great improvements that have taken place in electronic componentry over
the last decade or so.
If you want to buy a rack system for convenience, compact size and low price,
by all means do so. But remember that you are not buying a hifi system. What
you are buying is an updated 1990s version of the old furniture styled stereogram.
The difference is that today’s rack system can be given an easy upgrade by
replacing the loudspeakers with a system purchased from a specialist hifi store.
Or you could build them yourself using the plans described in this issue.
Ultimately though, if you want a hifi system, there is no short cut. You will be
committing yourself to spend quite a lot of money to buy the very best that you
can afford. You will probably spend quite a few thousand dollars. But having
carefully considered and then spent your money, you can expect many years of
pleasure and satisfaction.
-Leo Simpson
 Blue Led’s
14mcd @ 20mA
3mm - $3.50 10+ - $3.15
5mm - $3.50 10+ - $3.15
a“12 volt 6.5 AHr
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only $ 49 9 5
Quality “Hand Made” Micron T2440 MK Il
Ethernet Cables by Soldering Station
Mr. Geoff Wood Esq.
(BNC male/BNC male 50-ohm)
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10 mtr $16.95
20 mtr $24.95 * Electronic Temperature Control.
* Low Voltage Ceramic Element.
an sath . * Adjustable Temperature Range,
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Plus FREE this month get a ||RGSS BNC crimp
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crimp plugs $2.50 * Zero Voltage Switching. * Programming Mode.
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Buy in bulk (10 or more) and Plus FREE this month recéive:- * 4000 count.
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* DB-25 or Centronics type - only $39.00
printer cable
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Total Value $29.40 only $195.00
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* Apc - Allen Bits. * Blow torch. «= NO Frustrated Callers
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 SILICON CHIP,
PO Box 139,
Collaroy Beach 2097.

Futile vintage radio story in the November 1992 issue the same job without polluting the
conversion > about the repair of a phone answer- sky. So I think it will be quite some
I have just finished reading John ing machine. R and T on the circuit time before councils will insist on
Hill’s article on “Converting A Bat- diagram simply means “Ring and lighting that protects people (safety)
tery Set to Mains Operation” in the Tip”. This is a leftover from the plug but avoids wastage. i
October 1992 issue of SILICON CHIP and cord days of yesteryear. “Southern Astronomy” gives the
and I am left with one overwhelm- I hope you find this information addresses of “The Association
ing question — why? helpful. Against Obtrusive Lighting”. There
Mr Hill starts his project with two R. Hill, are two branches, as follows: (1).
rough but authentic 1935 table model Brisbane, Qld. The Secretary, AAOL, PO Box 1023,
Radiola battery sets. At the end of Comment: Thanks for your letter re- Croydon, Vic 3136. Telephone (03)
his arduous labours he is the proud garding the R and T labelling. A 723 4356; and (2). The Secretary,
(?) owner of what might be called a number ofreaders have written to us AAOL, PO Box 363, Springwood, Qld
Frankenstein’s (Hill’s?) monster. This on this topic.Itshould have had an 4127. Telephone (07) 208 4321.
monster is part AWA, but with a “Editors Note” to explain the term I hope SILICON CHIP and other
largely Airzone circuit, a chassis but it was overlooked. The R and T magazines take up the challenge to
hacked away to fit a “Red Line” terminology is still used in semicon- highlight the savings that can be
power transformer, a non-original ductor data books on telecommuni- achieved by designing light fittings
dial mechanism and an under-chas- cations devices (eg, Motorola), even to protect all interests.
sis appearance that he is not game to though phone jacks have long since Dieter Kuenne,
show since “it would make any pur- disappeared. Ascot Vale, Vic.
ist throw up his hands in horror”. Comment: “Southern Astronomy”
What is so terrible about 700mW Fighting light pollution magazine has since published addi-
of audio output? Subjectively, it is a worthwhile cause tional material regarding obtrusive
would be adequate for most listen- It is a delight to see an electronics lighting in their July/August 1992
ing situations and even if greater magazine like SILICON CHIP high- issue. The addresses for the Asso-
volume was so vital there are other lighting the problem of light pollu- ciation Against Obtrusive Lighting”
- ways it could have been achieved tion. Having taken part in a little remain the same.
without destroying the authenticity astro-photography and being keen
of the set irredeemably. How about to. do more, I share your view en- Where to get
an outboard mains power supply to tirely. fuel flow sensors
provide the necessary “battery” The topic has received much at- I refer to the “Ask Silicon Chip”
voltages but also incorporating a tention in astronomy magazines and pages in the December 1992 issue
more powerful audio amplifier to I would like to refer you to anarticle regarding a source of fuel flow sen-
drive the loudspeaker? in the March/April 1991 issue of sors. | :
As_ it is, Mr Hill has effectively “Southern Astronomy” (Vol. 4, No. A number of Australian produced
destroyed his two sets as authentic 2, p.20-26). It describes how the prob- cars have fuel computers fitted and
antique radios. The end result can lems of energy conservation and light these have flow transducers. In par-
probably best be described as a valve pollution can be overcome by good ticular, Commodores from 1984 in
home-built radio (circa 1992) in an design. the Calais could be a source for non
AWA Radiola cabinet. I suppose what But with the current trend for more fuel-injected cars or later models if
Mr Hill does with his own gear is his light to combat violent crime, any fuel injection is used. I assume that
own business but I don’t think that a call for better designed lighting to the only difference is to accommo-
“conversion” such as this has any © achieve the same aims and still pro- date the higher fuel line pressure in
place in a column supposedly de- vide adequate public safety doesn’t an EFI car. I also recall that the VK
voted to vintage radio. rate. Besides, so many bad light fit- model specified a number of pulses
Clyde Witcombe, tings have been produced and we per measure of fuel in the owner’s
Belmore, NSW. need to use them up like any other handbook for calibration purposes.
commercial product, otherwise it I hope this helps. Keep up the
Ring & tip labelling costs too much! With the advent of good work in the magazine.
still applies the low energy bulbs, it is even Glen Percy, /
Iam involved in the repair of com- harder to justify on cost. Melbourne, Vic.
puter controlled telephone ex- The mentality is the brighter the Comment: thanks for the informa-
changes but I still find the “Service- better, as this gives the greatest psy- tion. It may be possible to obtain
man’s Log” articles very interesting. chological feeling of safety, even if these as new parts or from a wreck-
I am writing in response to your correctly designed lighting can do er’s yard. |

6 SILICON CHIP
 Sabah i WNacta ig
a

Hine
a
 Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from
readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates.

r +9V
1 LINK PINS
1 3 AND 9
FOR
' BARGRAPH
' DISPLAY

aE
100xLED

es
» ACA AAA
WAAAY A A ANN
WA AAACN
» ACA AACA AN
See
WAAAY AA
AAA A ER
SSEERERESco
XX AAA
+9V

100k

The circuit can drive the LED display in either dot or bargraph
mode. Note that the 4017 can be cascaded, which means that
the circuit can be expanded to include more LEDs.

LED VU
scanner display
This circuit provides an eye catch-
ing display, which can be described
as either a “time-scanned LED VU
meter” or as a low resolution solid
state audio oscilloscope.
The audio signal is fed into pin 5 of _1C3. This operates as an astable oscil-
an LM3916 dot/bar display driver
(IC1). However, instead of driving the
8 SILICON CHIP
conventional 10 LEDs, its outputs are
connected to a matrix of 100 LEDs,
arranged in 10 columns of 10. Each
column is driven by a separate output
from a 4017 CMOS decade counter/
decoder (IC2), so that only one col-
umn is operated at any one time.
The 4017 is clocked by 555 timer
lator, so that the column drive out-
puts cycle through continuously. VR1
varies the oscillator frequency and
thus the LED scanning rate, while VR2
acts as a brightness control for the
LEDs.
The circuit as shown produces a
“dot mode” display, rather like an
oscilloscope. For “bar mode”, pin 9 of
the 3916 should be connected to pin 3
and +12V.
S. Goebel,
Picnic Point, NSW. ($30)
 Parking lights LIGHTS
2
TO LIGHTS

reminder +#12V ees ok AC

Ever flattened the battery in

your car by leaving the parking IGNITION
$1 e
lights on? This circuit will save BUZZER
TO
you from this indignity by beep- IGNITION
ing a warning buzzer if you Di f
_switch the ignition off with the 1N4004
headlights or parking lights still
on. 10k

IC1 is a 4011 quad NAND

gate IC, with gates IC1a-IC1c
wired as a switched oscillator.
If the ignition is on (ie, S1
closed), Q1 is turned on via D1
and the 10kQ resistor. This pulls pin
1 of IC1a low, thereby disabling the
oscillator and holding Q2 and the
buzzer off.
When the ignition is switched off,
Q1 turns off. If the lights are still on,
_ pin 1 of IC1a is now pulled high viaa
10kQ resistor, thereby enabling the
oscillator and pulsing Q2 (and the
buzzer) on and off via inverter stage
ICid. The buzzer is disabled by
switching the lights off to remove
power from the circuit.
Finally, it’s possible to simplify the
circuit if you only want the buzzer to
emit a continuous tone. To do this,
(1). substitute Q2 for Q1 and link its
base and collector leads together; (2)
replace Q1’s 10kQ collector resistor
with the buzzer; and (3) omit Q1 and
IC1 (plus the 4.7kQ and 470kQ resis-
tors and the 2.2uF capacitor).
Darren Yates,
SILICON CHIP.

Simple tester for IR

remote controls

STEREO
JACK

MALE XLR
CONNECTOR
ACTIVE
SIDE

FEMALE XLR
CONNECTOR
STEREO
JACK

If you suspect that your remote con-

trol transmitter might be on the blink,
this simple circuit will provide a go/
no-go indication.
A properly working remote control
handpiece emits bursts of infrared
light whenever a function button is
pressed. This infrared light causes
photodiode IRD1 to conduct, thus
turning on Q1 and lighting LED 1. If
Cable tester with LED indicators no infrared light is present, IRD1 is
This circuit was designed to test microphone and instrument leads; reverse biased and Q1 is held off by
ie, XLR-XLR, XLR Male-Phone, XLR Female-Phone and Phone-Phone. the 100kQ resistor connected between
The circuit is very simple and uses four LED indicators to show the its base and ground.
test results. By plugging in the cable and pressing the appropriate Note that because there is no pream-
switches (S1-S4), each lead can be tested for a short or open circuit. If plifier stage, the circuit is not very
the circuit is OK, the corresponding LED will light; if the circuit is sensitive and the range is limited to
open, no LEDs will light; and if the lead is shorted, more than one LED just a few centimetres. This means
will light when each switch is pressed. that the transmitter should be held
D. Gardner, close to IRD1 during testing.
Castlemaine, Vic. ($20) Tim Gregory,
Alberton West, Vic. ($20)

JANUARY 1993 9
 ELECTRONICS

VK POWERMASITER MK 2 The new and improved Powermaster Mk2 kit gives you all the
power you'd ever want for transceiver or bench-top power
4 installations. Its flexible design allows you to choose the
| appropriate transformer for your desired power output level,
opening up many possibilities for customising your own
particular installation.
28'S. [Z|
For example: = CURRENT RATING:
TRANSFORMER = CONTINUOUS PEAK SURGE
(4 MINUTE) (PULSE)
M-2000 5A 10A 25A
M-2010 BA 20A 25A
UPGRADED
M-2010 15A 20A 25A
Cat K-3400
For those who remember the original Powermaster, the addition
DISCO of a 20A panel meter to the kit plus provision for an optional
STROBE KIT 12V cooling fan will make even higher power configurations
Cat K-3155 possible with perfect safety. On the cosmetic side, the supplied
case is now an attractive black powder-coated steel unit - an
109 000 7 advance over the previous bare aluminium box. Other
improvements include: A front-panel overload protection reset
Just the thing for your do-it-yourself disco outfit! This reliable kit provides a switch and a primary slow blow fuse with finger proof fuse
high-energy flash of white light which you can vary from 1-10 flashes / holder. The kit includes all components (excepting those that
second. It's triggered by either an external source or its own internal depend on your choice of transformer), hardware and a pre-
oscillator and has both input & output trigger connectors, so that any punched silk-screened chassis.
number of these units can be linked to flash in sychronisation. Comes with Jan’93 Cat K-3400
all components, hardware, PCB, deluxe plastic case, screened perspex
front panel, linear 100mm Xenon tube and a commercial high-efficiency
reflector.
Dec ‘92 ©
INO a
MINI STEREO
AMPLIFIER
Le a=
oO
Cat K-5008 2 SSS
DIESEL SOUND SIMULATOR Dec 92 71/7
$9995 Q Oct'92 You've got your model railway looking great, but there’s something
missing... ... well, here’s the solution to your problems: Our Diesel Sound
Sick of your personal stereo’s limitations? Why squash your earlobes with Simulator Kit is easy to build, fits inside most locomotives (speaker
a pair of headphones when this inexpensive kit can give you the flexibility included) and takes its power from the rails. What's more, using some very
of a home hi-fi on your desk! It uses your personal stereo as the ‘brains’ of Clever circuitry, the pitch reflects the loco motor’s speed - how's that for a
the operation and uses a tiny 8-pin DIL device which contains two realistic simulation! Supplied in Shortform with all components, PCB and
amplifiers and is capable of delivering 1 watt into 8 ohms at 9 volts. mini speaker.
What’s more, supply voltage can range from 1.8V to 12V. Comes complete Cat K-3030
with all components, PCB, hardware, front panel screened label and case.

- AUDIO SWEEPER
MOTOR SPEED CONTROLLER
Cat K-3085 :
Ihset t ™
Cat K-7352 YY?
*409
Here's a useful kit for audiophiles, sound experts, enthusiasts and anyone
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Circuits and room acoustics. It consists of a sweeping audio test signal
generator and a metering amplifier which measures the results. Comes
complete with a deluxe pre-punched front panel, plastic instrument case,
PCB, hardware (including dB meter), components, mic. insert and plug
pack.
Sept ‘92

10 SILICON CHIP
 piven
coe
.
ae
ae
ba
a
ee

|| ELECTRONIC
CIRCUITS
ae vane

THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA
|
} Rudolf
F Graf

ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
VOLUMES 2, 3 & 4
Essential reference material for
the professional (or amateur)
electronics technician. If you’re
looking for a circuit for a
particular application, it’s either
in here or there’s something very
Close. These volumes are also
Volume 3 Volume 4
$5295 Cat B-1760 +5 6° Cat B-1762
ideal as project idea-starters.

=
BY
1 Qt 4
THE ART OF SCIENCE
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CARDS AND SURFACE- ENCYCLOPAEDIA
OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT . Want instant access to more than.
MOUNT TECHNOLOGY 250 of the latest practical, ready-to-
A must for anyone getting into circuit use oscillator circuit designs? Then
card design or manufacture, this buy this book! Covers over 16 major
book lays it all out for you: From types of circuit including: Audio,
Standards to card layout, on to Burst, Sine-Wave, TTL, RF and
peep ponse
ies tee everything you need to
Crystal
Cat B-1620 $99%

$ 49° RADIO AMATEUR’S

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS HANDBOOK
AMPLIFIER CIRCUITS oe Interested in the high-speed world of
packet communications? Chances
‘Why go to the trouble of designing a are, if you haven't already bought
circuit from the ground up when the this book, you're probably a little
building blocks are already confused about the many modes
available? Whether you want and options available. Fear not -
complete, proven designs that are everything you need to know is
-feady to build, or a stepping-off contained in this one book - all the
point for your own original work, this popular techniques are explained in
is the book for you. Has over 250 plain English, even hints on
- designs for just about any equipment and software selection!
application you could ever need! Cat B-2405
RUDOLF F GRAF
Cat B-1744
$99" $999

B 1434 JANUARY 1993 11

 ELECTRON
Audiophile Quality Loudspeakers
FOR UNDER $400!
Assemble them in just minutes, then sit back & enjoy the best sound money can't buy!
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can tell you that you'd be hard pressed to find ready-made speakers this good for under $800!
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The kit's famous Peerless brand speakers’ superior performance and craftsmanship in design '
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if ra

Wy. BOTH KITS

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and manufacture have been recognised by frue Audiophiles and professionals throughout the
‘ at N e 5
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.

world for nearly 70 years. In fact, many of the top speaker manufacturers use Peerless drivers
in their top-end range.
The Peerless speaker kit consists of. ! l
HARDWARE KIT: ; FLAT-PACK CABINET KIT: WEAY COMBINED: j
Woofers: 2 174mm Polypropylene cone with soft 2x black woodgrain 2 way cabinets, 420mmH x ; |
foam surround and high temperature voice coil. 215mmW x 235mm, grille frames and cloth. Easy
. td) pea ieieus ees i; to assemble, no tools required.
weef'ers: mm Dome ers ‘ t A-2457
Crossovers: 2 2500Hz 2 way we $4 2995
Speaker filling, aja cool badges, glue, plus all

oP SELECT PEFREROMLESSOURSPEAEXKETERNSIVDREIVERRS:ANGE.
necessary screws and fasteners. ;
Cat A-2456 ‘269 :
Peerless Exclusive To Dick Smith Electronics!
Z :

~_ou/OF
250MM (10”) WOOFER 216MM (8”) WOOFER
specifications: specifications:
Impedance 8 ohms VAS 125 litres Impedance 8 ohms VAS 83 litres
Frequency Response 33-3000HzZ Magnet Weight 430g Frequency Range 32-3000HzZ Magnet Weight 235g
Resonance Frequency 33Hz Suggested Enclosure 30-70 litres Resonance Frequency 32Hz Suggested Enclosure 15-40 litres
Sensitivity (1w/1m) 91dB Cat C-2110 Sensitivity (1w/1m) 89.5dB Cat C-2108
Power-handling (RMS) 90 watts 95
$4 4 O95 Power-handling (RMS) 80 watts ‘$89
Total Q Factor 0.44 Total Q Factor 0.44

174MM (6.5”) WOOFER 400MM (4”) MID-RANGE

specifications: Specifications: .
Impedance 8 ohms Impedance 8 ohms
Frequency Range 48-3500Hz Frequency Range 1000-9000Hz
Resonance Frequency 48Hz Resonance Frequency §900Hz
Sensitivity (1w/ 1m) 88dB Sensitivity (1w/ 1m) 90dB
Power-handling (RMS) 60 watts Power-handling (RMS) 60 watts CatC-2104
Total Q Factor 0.55 Cat C-2106 Total Q Factor 1.3 $69"
VAS 22 litres a Magnet Weight 100g
Magnet weight 235g $ 7 95
Suggested Enclosure 8-20 litres

Ultra high performance!

25MM (41”) DOME TWEETER 25MM (4”) DOME TWEETER
specifications: specifications:
Impedance 8 ohms Impedance 8 ohms
Frequency Range 2000-20,000Hz Frequency Range 2200-20,000Hz
Resonance Frequency 1400Hz Resonance Frequency 1080Hz
Sensitivity (1w/Im) 90.5dB Sensitivity (1w/1m) 89dB
Siipterbesil (RMS) bee Wafts° Power-handling (RMS) 100 Watts’
agnet Weig g Magnet Weight 100
Cat C-2102 ‘5h9%> Cate 2101 : : ‘4995
* If used with 4000Hz, 12dB/octave crossover. * If used with 4000Hz, 12dB/octave crossover.

Data Sheets: Ful! Data Sheets on all our Peerless speakers are available
TIRRORRL
ED through your nearest Dick Smith Electronics store.

SILICON CHIP ~
 Building New Speakers Or Upgrading Your Old Set?
SEE US FOR THE BEST PRICES ON
Drivers and Accessories
Need More Input Jacks? speaker Box Lining
Stereo Audio/Video Bee tshentia EeHeteone yea
density for most speakers. Weighs
Switch Box approximately 300g/sq. m and is
25mm thick by 700mm wide.
This great-looking switch box solves the problem. It’s ideal Available cut to any length from
for CD, Video or any extra audio components you want to our bulk roll.
connect. Provides three inputs and one output. It’s well built Cat C-2500 — Cat C-2662
and the switches have a nice, positive feel. Get one and quit
swapping cables! q $3 O95 $B95 /m
Speaker Grill Cloth 3-WayCrossover °™ormore $5.06/m
Speaker enclosures looking a little
2-Way Crossover : .
li r Just the thing if you're building a A great crossover for three way
shabby? Thi systems; It’s a 2 inductor network Piezo Ceramic
cloth vein a oe ale new sacar syetent these mh
approximately 3kHz crossover with non-polarised capacitors, Tweeter
those old boxes looking like new in
minutes! In 1m x 1.5m pack. _ frequency and 8 ohms impedance. ong crossover frequencies of This amazing little tweeter handles
Cat C-2095 © . Cat C-2512 Lom clita
at C- a SKHZ. : up to 40 watts continuous. Its

15° 15%)
hig eva response is from 5kHZ
to 27kHz and it can be used
$4 9%» | pio nerwork | with or without a crossover. “
vow HE" won|
Out PUT
CarC-2005 g 4995

QUALITY HI-Fl SPEAKER DRIVERS always dreamt of, for less

Replacing or up-grading your speakers? Then see us first! Build that high quality speaker system you've
across the frequency range.
than you’d imagine possible. All have polypropylene cones and foam suspension for smooth response
300mm (12”) Woofer 250mm (10”) Woofer 462mm (6.5”) Midrange 25mm (1”) Dome
Nominal Specifications Nominal Specifications Nominal Specifications | Tweeter
Frequency Response 25-5000Hz ~~ Frequency Response 40-5000 Hz — Frequency Response 55-6000Hz
Nominal biameter 300mm Nominal biameter 250mm Nominal biameter 162mm di lr le Peet:
Piston Diameter 250mm Piston Diameter 210mm Piston Diameter 128mm Sensitivity 10088, W
277mm Baffle Opening 233mm Baffle Opening 142mm + /-3d
Baffle Opening
Nominal Impedance Znom 8 ohms Nominal Impedance Znom 8o0hms Nominal Impedance Znom 8o0hms He 0.5 .
d.c. Resistance Rdc 6.2 ohms d.c. Resistance Rdc 6.1 ohms d.c. Resistance Rdc 6ohms Magnet Weight 152q .
Resonant Frequency fs 25Hz Resonant Frequency fs 30Hz Resonant Frequency fs 60HZ . Cat C-204 Ap 9
Total Q Qts 0.45 Total Q Qts 0.45 Total Q Qts 0.87
Equivalent Compliance Vas 260litres Equivalent Compliance Vas 115 litres Equivalent Compliance Vas 16 litres
90GB SPL Sensitivity @ 1W @ IMS 90dB SPL Sensitivity @ 1W @ 1MS 87daB SPL $2 495
Sensitivity @ 1W @ IMS
Suggested Enclosures Suggested Enclosures Suggested Enclosures
Sealed Volume Vb 50-75 litres Sealed Volume Vb 50 litres Sealed Volume Vb 10-15 litres:
Vented Volume Vb N/A Vented Volume Vb 40 litres Vented Volume Vb N/A
Tuning fo N/A Tuning fb 26Hz Tuning fb N/A
Cat C-2040 $7 9° Cat C-2041 $69" Cat C-2042 $3995

Z7aeaenwvneheaeaeseuw

SHb&ea&eaebhnheaona @weaugaucaauene2) 8 eens eaennanadd

STEREO AMPLIFIER °

@) N P ) , ‘

+B aa a

Playmaster 30/30W Stereo Amp

Excellent performance and specifications have made the Playmaster series of amplifiers the popular
choice of kit-builders for years. This 30/30W stereo amp is no exception... ifs a classic piece of
equipment that will do most music systems proud. Construction is made easy by pce all

949
components (including heatsinks) on one PCB. Full form kif comes with all components, PCB, all

car00
hardware, pre-punched rack-mount case and silk screened front panel. cS
EA April ‘92

JANUARY 1993 13
 SILICON FILLED ees
vere weet
the
ver

SPLICE CONNECTORS oom OF CABLE as

. $495 Pre-tinned, it’s ideal hookup wire a0
ONLY 4 _ for most purposes other than
PACK OF 400 ges'prest
Cat W-2289
«= 4% OFF BREADBOARD KITS
Ideal for low voltage designs, breadboards are faster, easier and cleaner than
Normally $25 - working directly onto PCB's. All kits are mounted on a base-plate with non slip
iS feet and holes for binding posts and come with jump wires and binding posts.
This Month 20 BREADBOARD KITS:
500 Metre Roll small - 800 hole, 160 buses & 4 distrib. buses Cat H-4020 $39.95
Medium - 1260 hole, 256 buses & 6 distrib. buses -CatH-4040 $49.95
BARREL SWITCHES Large - 2520 hole, 504 buses & 14 distrib. buses Cat H-4042 $89.95
X Large - 3200 hole, 640 buses & 6 distrib. buses CatH-4022 $99.95
For home or vehicle alarm installations, these switches keep BREADBOARDS ONLY :
control of the alarm in the hands of the rightful owner. . i ge Pima onMisebaa aptondeoe Cat H-4035 $40.95
‘
Standard Keyed Switch Cat L-5290 $8.95
* : U |
Medium - 630 hole, 126 buses & 4 distrib. buses
. DU <! °
CatH-4045 $48.95
Small Keyed Switch Cat L-5295 $9.95 Large - 800 hole, 160 buses & 10 distrib. buses Cat H-4025 $49.95
Mini Tubular Key yeW Cat L-5296 $10.95 JUMP WIRE KIT - 140 jump wires in 10 colours &
Large Tubular Key yew Cat L-5291 $12.95 14 lengths, all with 90° bend at each end. In plastic divider box. CatH-4030 $9.95

5mm LEDs IN RED, GREEN,

BRIGHT RED AND EVEN BLUE! w NEW
Forget about boring LED arrays forever! Now
you can mix ‘em up with our range of brilliant
5mm colour
with diffused
LEDs including the new blue LED
white lens! .
BARGRAPH AND
V/U METER DRIVER IC
——— Drive your bargraph further! This new bargraph/array
driver IC with peak hold is the same as you'd find in
most quality commercial stereos. Exclusive to
Bright Red Dick Smith Electronics, it leaves an indicator lit to
Flashing indicate the most recent peak point.
5mm Cat Z-4040 Cat 2-6291 $4 95
Check For Availability
$4 95 NEW
Green Flashing ‘BLUE [2\ TWIN OUTLET EXTENSION LEAD .
DIFFUSED
5mm Cat Z-4042 q | It takes two! A 1.8m

45° EW LENS
extension lead with a heaw-
duty moulded double adaptor
on one end. The double
adaptor has a hanger hole
High Brightness Red 5mm Cat Z-4005 for added convenience. In
5mm Cat 2-4072 safety yellow. $ 95
eo 4 2
$995 NEW
MAJOR DICK SMITH ELECTRONICS AUTHORISED STOCKISTS:
NSW: ARMIDALE: New ae Electronics 711655 BALLINA: Ballina Electronics 867022 BATEMAN’S BAY: Baycity Sight & Sound 725030 BATHURST: Electronic
BOWRAL :Bowral Electrical ese 611861 BROKEN HILL: Hobbies & Electronics 884098 COOTAMUNDRA: Cootamundra Music & Lite 422561 COFFS HARBOUR: Coffs Frontiers 323933 BOURKE: Feed ap Services 722150
Harbour Electronics 525684 DENILIQUIN: Deni Electronics
8711 FORSTER: Forster Village Electronics 545006 GOULBOURN: Tunlive 22 1288 GRAFTON: ip & Spares
KATOOMBA: Niagara Photo & Sports 822800 KEMPSEY: P&K Richards 631134 LEETON: Leeton Audiotronic 532800 LIGHTNING RIDGE: aegc A oeSolar Power 29 1013 LISMORE: Decro Electronic Services 214137
LITHGOW: Dour Poy hea 513173 MACKSVILLE: Macksville Electronics 682 899 MOREE:: Moree Electronics i 522091 1MU MUDGEE: Headware 723895 MURWILLUMBAH: : Strings
Sti & tb i
Service 923274 NELSON BAY: Nelson Bay Elect & Hobbies 813685 NOWRA: Nowra Electronics 210722 PARKES: Strad Music Ctr 623366 PORT MACQUARIE: Hastinas Computer Service 723684 NARI RABRI: ; Namoi uter
Manning Electronics 512233 ULLADULLA: Coastal Electronics 553989 WAGGA WAGGA: Phillips Electronics 216558 WALGETT: Walgett Electronic 840255 RICHMOND: Silicon Crafts 784101
281111 WINDSOR: Hawkesbu ics 77 :
: Jerram ICS
Electrics 723773 COLAC: Colac Electronics 312847 ECHUCA: Gilmour Electronics 822956 MILDURA: Pullman Auto Pro 232882 MORWELL: Roylaine Pty Ltd 339458 ROSEBUD: Seatech Vic Pty Ltd 822225 SHEPPARTON:
Guyatt Electronics 219497 SWAN HILL: Nyah District TV Service 329303 ST. ARNAUD St. Amaud liances 951069 WARRAGUL: Roylaine 234255 WARRNAMBOOL: Koroit St Elec Services 627417 WONTHAGGI: South
Gippsland Photo Service 721411 : AYR: Delta Electrix 831566 BLACKWATER: Cool Tronics 825827 BOWEN: Pe ies 863477 BUNDABERG: Bob Elkin Electronics 521785 CALOUNDRA: Electro-mart 918533 DALBY:
Hobby & Electronics 625770 EM D: Cooltronics 825222 GLADSTONE: Electronic Enterprises 726660 GOONDIWINDI!: CTW Electronics 713411 INGHAM: Masons Electronics 763188 INNISFAIL: Innisfail Hi-Fi 612014
KINGAROY: MD & MM Siegle 624535 LONGREACH: Longreach Sound & Communications 583307 MACKAY: Stevens Electronics 511723 MARYBOROUGH: Keller
Electronics 214559 MOSSMAN: Mossman ics MT
ISA: Outback Electronics 433331 NAMBOUR: Nambour Electronics 411966 PIALBA: Keller Electronics 283749 STANTHORPE Granite Belt Communications 813333 TAS: BURNIE:
Electronic City 314760 DEVONPORT: Al

14 SILICON CHIP
 NIMROD SOLDERING KIT
This butane-powered, temperature-controlled (400-1300°C) soldering iron
comes with many accessories: Includes stand, solder (with dispenser), tip
cleaner, hot air tip, torch tip and hot knife tip. It’s ideal for outdoor work (no
power point required) and packs neatly into its own cushioned case.
Cat T- ] 395
sweescccs! —?

NEW
(nce

sees $7 495

“4 NIMROD*
__

COMPUMETER
Attention homebuyers, tradesmen,
architects, estate agents or anyone
else who needs to measure
distances and prepare quotes: The
Compumeter is an ultrasonic tape
measure that measures distances
from 55cm to 12.5m at the touch of
Q button! It displays both metric and
imperial measurements on its LCD
screen, adds, does area/volume
calculations and has a memory
function. S$ 95
ea
Requires 9V Battery
= tala MN
VILLI?
AC VOLTAGE FIN DER
Now there’s no need fo put yourself
at risk! This device detects the
With cassette player & timer!
45 MEMORY.
ALL BAND RECEIVER
Open your ears to the world via shortwave. The a
Sangean ATS-818CS is an easy to use digital A Pocket-Sized, Powerful Performer!
all-band world receiver, built to give you years 7OXLT SCANNING RECEIVER
of international HulSnina Hees sore Listen in to the radio-using community with this
AM/FM bands,
Shortwave frequencies and 62continuous
Longwavepetit ie3OMHz.
VHF/UHF hand-held scanner. It has 20 memory
channels for reli be favourite frequencies,
Features a built-in cassette deck, 45 memory 8-band coverage (66-88, 136-174 & 406-
| channels and a large digital display which 5 12MHz) and track tuning for improved
shows frequency, local/world times, memory reception. Complete with an inbuilt rechargeable
channel selection and more! Also has a large NiCad battery pack, AC charger, carry case and a
direct-entry frequency keypad and standby two-year warranty! Exclusive to
recording function. Dick Smith Electronics!
Cat D-2842 Cat D-2740

[£969 uniden.
electromagnetic field surrounding
cables, sensing any AC voltage “
above 120 volts and warns you with
both an LED and an audible ‘buzz’. At
this low price, there’s no excuse for
SANGEAN
NE
not having one!
Cat Q-1531 A WORLD Of LISTENING
—$—$———s

STOCK ARRIVING $4 6%
—
LATE JANUARY

Outside Sydney (FREE Call) 008 22 6610 Sydney And Enquiries - (02) 888 2105 ;
FAX: (02) 805 1986 or write to DS XPRESS, PO BOX 321 N/RYDENSW 2113 C (@) C
All Major Credit Cards Accepted. O/Nite Courier Available. ELE TR NI S

STORE LOCATIONS:
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¢ Campbelltown 27 2199 « Chatswood Chase 411 1955 © Chullora 642 8922 © Gore Hill 439 5311 * Gosford 25 0235 ¢ Hornsby 477 6633 © Hurstville 580 8622 © Kotara
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639 0396 ¢ Richmond 428 1614 © Ringwood 879 5338 © Springvale 547 0522 QLD ¢ Booval 282 6200 « Brisbane City 229 9377 Buranda 391 6233 ¢ Cairns 311 515 |
e Capalaba 245 2870 ¢ Chermside 359 6255 * Maroochydore 791 800 * Rockhampton 27 9644 ¢ Southport 32 9033 © Toowoomba 38 4300 © Townsville 72 5722
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STORES ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

B 1434 | JANUARY 1993 15

 Save money with this easy-to-assemble
kit :

Peerless PSK60/2
-way hifi loudspeakers
Based on high quality but well-priced Peerless line from Dick Smith Electronics. But
while it is good to see the famous
drivers, these compact loudspeakers will be Danish brand back on the market,
just right for many hifi enthusiasts. Despite there have been no current designs
using Peerless loudspeakers. That is
their small size, they deliver big performance! about to be remedied with the publi-
cation of this article.
By TOM MANNING* It is worth noting that while Peer-
less as a brand name has been more or
When you consider the high price design uses components from Peer- less absent from the Australian scene
of good quality commercial hifi speak- less, aname well known to many hifi for a few years, Peerless drivers are
ers, it is not surprising that kit speak- enthusiasts, as this Danish company used in many famous speaker brands,
ers are as popular as ever. You save has been manufacturing quality speak- such as Dali, Jamo, Richter, Jansson,
money as well as getting the satisfac- ers since 1926. Bang and Olufsen, Celef, Yamaha,
tion of building your own. This new Peerless speakers have been un- Vandersteen and Krix. If you were
a available for a number of years in able to look inside the cabinets of
*Scan Audio Pty Ltd, PO Box 242, Haw- Australia and only recently have re- these loudspeakers, you would find
thorn, Vic 3122. turned to the market as a regular stock that Peerless drivers turn up in some
16 SILICON CHIP

ClOOMAYOHS
HHL
bs
aouasajoy
apIny)
mi
very expensive and esoteric designs
indeed!
This first Peerless do-it-yourself
design will be an ideal match for the
Studio Twin 50 Stereo Amplifier pub-
lished in the March and April 1992
issues of SILICON CHIP. When driven
by an amplifier such as the Studio
Twin 50, the dynamic range from these
Peerless speakers will be more than
adequate for the vast majority of en-
thusiasts.
Designated the PSK 60/2, which
stands for Peerless Speaker Kit — 60
watt/2-way, these loudspeakers could
serve as the main pair of speakers in
your home, or as extension speakers
or rear speakers in a surround sound
system. They would be a good up-
grade of the speakers supplied with
many small rack hifi systems.
They are small enough to be placed
on your bookshelf, on stands or fixed
to the walls with adjustable brackets.
Woofer selection
There are many factors to be con-
when designing a new loud-
sidered
speaker. One of the most important is
the bass driver to be used in the sys-
Left: shown here on a bookshelf, the
Peerless PSK 60/2 loudspeakers will
perform equally well on stands or
when wall-mounted using adjustable
brackets.
The bass/midrange driver selected
for this design is the Peerless 174WF
woofer, a 165mm unit with a cone
made of polypropylene. This material
is used extensively these days because
of its rigidity and high degree of self-
damping. The cone has a soft foam
roll surround which ensures a low
frequency resonance and good damp-
ing. The 25mm high temperature voice
coil enables the driver to handle rela-
tively high power; up to 6(OW RMS,
depending on the design of the enclo-
sure.
Thiele/Small parameters
Most audio enthusiasts are aware
of the pioneering research done in
Australia during the 70s by Neville
Thiele and Richard Small. Thiele
documented the theory behind speak-
ers in vented boxes, which was later
expanded on by Small who analysed
sealed and passive radiator designs.
tem. At one time, the tendency was to All good modern bass speakers are
select the largest possible woofer, say now designed with this analysis in
a 12-inch (30cm) unit, and then try mind. The key factors are:
to design the enclosure around it. (1). The free air or natural reso-
These days, the approach is normally nance, F,, of the driver. This is the
to use much smaller woofers, in the low frequency at which the driver's
knowledge that a small driver in the impedance comes toa peak and where
correct size enclosure is a much bet- it exhibits the greatest cone excursion
ter choice than a large woofer in too for a given applied voltage;
small a box. (2). The total Q factor, Qi, of the
Specifications
Tweeter 25mm Peerless 80DT
60W RMS
Rated Power
Sensitivity
Frequency Response
Crossover Frequency
Tuning Frequency
Impedance
Internal Volume
Dimensions
JANUARY 1993 17
 Briel & Kjaer Potentiometer Range:.___29
dB Rectifier: ___RMS Lower Lim. Freq.: _
10H wr. Speed:__ 100 mm/sec. Paper Speed: _____
3 mm/sec.
.: _ 50°25
Measuring
174HF
Obi: sptael—t—f
26/72
<4}
Sn ae
fleet CA A
ee aescieeS a= Saas ie
7 fer. heuawt ows ORtaGae Soe
ye hm mG meen eeeGoes eanet
93 a net Tn BOE ea
Sa tan SeSS cmcaaa

___ 30/1 ES= ocd f- ES eee

‘SS Se Ae Sa ce eo nee aa
ae
ee Seec gs a ee a Se cE
, eee ee ee HA
Sa ec. No:__!_ es2" RORRRSUNS
SORES) ee a =s to
pate: 20.2.90
‘Sign: KT
| FA WEP ENS a a A EAN 0 3 Ss 9 acme
See ae 2 ean
eerste ee
ook. ok =A ht FE fF i
: 10 20 Hz 50 100 200 500° 1 kHz 2 5 10 _. 20 40 D A B C Lin.
‘QP 0124 ; Multiply Freq. Scale piri Seal AS vee Zero Level: __.. 70 dB (1612/2112 A B Clin

baffle. The smooth curve shows its impedance characteristic. Its free air cone resonance is 48Hz,
corresponding to the peak in the impedance curve.

- Briiel & Kjaer Potentiometer Range:___ 29 4B Rectifier:__RMS_ Lower Lim. Freq.: 10 Hz Wr. Speed: 100 mm/sec. Paper Speed:.2
‘ 3 min/ecc.
Mepeurta Pi ei ee eee sitiaae Sees =) (a See
50 | 8 | FF F fT P
IB ( es

aaa
8 wT Ty TT p—- je vie see
Sia GROOT wae me
eT as ed dm hl lL!
A
Sweeter fF
weeter ~
aaee Seas = ae )
ra
ees a eee
= aa _ — ay BEA. Sr {PE SE
+ —— cma sonoar Sn Sesad
sae AGoch lS Sc see Se a a
ee A SD
Sess
30F1
ee ea
PWS SORE am CR Sg
ae ae et
| ee ee ee eee en
i
cae)
ace a err Pe RRS SESE an

= a ee a ee ee
Bethe end

a
AS aes ous ag ae SoestSr ew re mane 2sa aaamteto bts RRR a Sa ma

ee 30.2. 90
bate: 20.2.9
Sign.:
— Sao antes a SM 2 ——
Sea soos
0
4
ee ae ek
2 ee oe a
ee
Falah SP? 9 ES P= A SSF ORICON GATE SSE BO IPGOP HR Cytaws tp} 4+ —4+ 4 4
10 20 Hz se 100 OO 500
QP 0124 Multiply Freq. Scale by: | Zero Level:___
1 kHz
70 _dB
2 5 10 > 20 40 D A B €C Lin.
(1612/2112) A BC Lin.
Fig.2: this diagram shows the frequency response of the Peerless 80DT tweeter. The smooth curve shows
its impedance characteristic. Its resonance is 1080Hz, corresponding to the peak in the impedance
curve.

driver. This is the “quality factor” at
resonance and indicates the combined
effect of the driver’s electrical and
mechanical damping.
(3) The equivalent volume, Vag,
which is the volume of air (in litres)
needed to obtain the same stiffness as
the driver’s suspension. Expressed
more generally, V,, is an indication of
the “springiness” of the suspension
system.
The Thiele/Small parameters for the
Peerless 174WF are F,, 48Hz; Q,, 0.55;
and Vas, 22 litres. Calculations with
the relevant formulas indicate that an
enclosure volume of 14 litres and a
tuning frequency of 45Hz are suitable
choices: _
The tuning frequency or box reso-
nance, fg, is the frequency at which
the air mass
18 SILICON Cup
nates with the air mass in the port. At at a minimum, but the output from
this frequency, the driver’s mechani- the vent (port) will be at its greatest.
cal excursion and impedance will be This can be seen from the impedance
plot of the system (Fig.8), where the
impedance dips to a minimum be-
tween the two low frequency peaks.
Tweeter selection
The choice of a suitable tweeter for
a 2-way speaker can present design-
: ers with problems. The tweeter needs
to be at least as efficient as the woofer
and its frequency coverage must com-
plement that of the woofer so that the
overall frequency response of the sys-
tem is as smooth as possible.
As can be seen from the chart dia-
gram of Fig.1, the 174WF woofer has a
reasonably smooth response over most
of its range, culminating in a small
of the enclosure reso- peak in the 2-3kHz region. Its effi-
ciency is quoted as 88dB at 1 metre,
for an input of 1 watt.
A suitable match is the Peerless
80DT dome tweeter. Its efficiency is
slightly higher, at 89dB, and as its
response plot of Fig.2 shows, it is
quite smooth over its bandpass, with
a resonance peak just above 1kHz.
Thus, it can be teamed with the Peer-
less 174WF woofer without using an
overly complicated crossover net-
work. |
The 80DT tweeter features a 25mm

This photo shows all the components for one loudspeaker
prefabricated cabinet & grille cloth frame, one woofer, one tweeter, one plastic
port, the crossover/terminal panel assembly & various self-tapping screws.
voice coil with an aluminium former
and a woven textile dome.
Crossover design
Selecting the woofer and its box
size and matching it with a suitable
tweeter is the relatively easy part. The
crossover design is the hard part and,
more than anything else, determines
the sound quality and tonal charac-
teristics of a speaker system.
In a 2-way system, low pass and
high pass filters are combined to di-
vide up the frequency spectrum. The
simplest low-pass filter consists of an
inductor in series with the woofer,
while the simplest high-pass filter is a
series capacitor with the treble driver.
This is illustrated in Figs 3(a) and 3(b)
respectively.
system: the oe:
quency response, we require each
driver’s output to be reduced to half
power (-3dB) at this frequency. The
Now, let us say we have a crossover values of the components in the
frequency of 2kHz, an arbitrary figure crossover network must be such that
but one that is used often enough. In their reactance equals that of the driv-
order to obtain an overall flat fre- ers at 2kHz. This should provide a flat
frequency response when the outputs
Ri
5.60
are added together.
5W In addition to inductive and resis-
tive effects, the mechanical and acous-
tical characteristics of the drive units
makes the task of building crossovers
INPUT
PEERLESS PEERLESS less than easy. If we applied the re- '
174WF
WOOFER
80 DT
TWEETER sults of the above example to our
speaker system, the frequency re-
sponse would probably exhibit an ex-
Fig.4: the complete crossover network cessive amount of output at around
has a 6dB/octave low pass filter for
2kHz, due to the fact that both drivers
the woofer and a 12dB/octave high have peaks in this region.
pass filter for the tweeter. The resistor
provides some attenuation to match The solution may be to roll off the
the tweeter sensitivity to that of the woofer below 2kHz, and then cut in
woofer. the tweeter at around 3kHz or so, ef-
JANUARY 1993 19
 Measuring Object _PS k= bo /XE-7 770 ah Bi
Measuring Conicdtiticss Sones Se, RAREST load drops by 6dB for each halving ir
‘55
, Level
es
Range: Op
Range: ie”. ek Ge
Zero
Zero’
Level
Level
(Fundameniai So ltcaeenenancy IB
(Harmonic). ErWERESie REY Pine AR
RS AS peel” 8 im seo frequency. This is why this type o:
sR» | Y Axis Upeed
crossover is referred to as a ‘6dB/oc-
mm/sec Shido
EEi La HELE Toe
SEE HT AAA a ist Hiinh iE A tk:
Hi i HAE fit i ae a e tte l 1HH tave’ filter.
be a
Hii!
iHtHi
Htob
Seay HHi TeHei
a BOSS tei teHTH A
a a The crossover network finally de-
100 50 : Hs ilia ii HAGE tit :
Ha SO SBECEEESESTLH I A i H 25 40 signed for this speaker system is
ct Te an|
4 fig |
iM47 it Ae ilTsti eT
i
il ae i Hh ie:! shown in Fig.4. It employs a 6dB/
al ial i| ale an> ct
Hn | ' | HA octave filter for the woofer but a 12dB/
Hi tinHeit i ail ie !
|
if
a octave filter for the tweeter, to pre-
a : ]iif i
if
will ; i 3 Bi a
vent it from receiving too much signal
ee
iLl 7 cy cn
at its resonance of just above 1kHz.
ee Uy ‘|A
ue
iaa:
a iysy3
' ie tk
i N
xe
i it
Hence, the tweeter is coupled to a
a

; a Ta Hed
bY ad
|:
qa IS nie network consisting of a 10uF capaci-
| tor and a 0.4mH inductor.
a ii
L f fhial i ng The 5.6Q in series with the tweeter

a
1 / iN : _ network provides a degree of attenua-
qi
f| | HtHi CEN LUTTE
tion in order to match the sensitivi-

ena
peeentn : an i ri :
ue
nal nvHALA i : aa HEH 5 ties of the two drivers and provide a
i ie fete i | i Aa good overall balance in the sound.

CEE
A | HestI i 4 UTE
| AU - Hill iHL te The electrical response of the cross-
ulyfF
Le Haut ii wa ‘i HE wise over network into 8Q loads is shown
+P on 1z in Fig.5.
VREGQUENG YOUN HER 7

Fig.5: this diagram shows the electrical response of the PSK 60/2 crossover Final design
network when connected to resistor loads. The reactive nature of the speakers The final design uses a box measur-
will modify this response. ing 420mm high, 215mm wide and
235mm deep, giving an internal vol-
ONLINE: Yented/35 dB Graph CAS) «= SRPE: Select Graph ume of 14 litres. The port isa slightly
tapered unit of 45mm internal diam-
Driver Brand/Model eter and 114mm in length. The com-
PEERLESS-DENMARK puter predicted bass response of the
[74WF 26/72 PPB 165 _ woofer has the -3dB (half power) point
at 55Hz, with a slight peak in the
Driver Parameters: response at 100Hz — see Fig.6.
Fs (Hz): 48 The measured frequency response
Cts: 55 of the Peerless PSK 60/2 loudspeaker
Vas (L): 22 system is shown in Fig.7. The response
is within +3dB from 100Hz to 20kHz.
Box Parameters: The slightly ragged response below
Ub (L): 14 500Hz is due to reflections in the
Fo (Hz):45 measuring room.
OL? The impedance plot of Fig.8 shows
a typical response, with a minimum
Filter Parameters: of close to 6Q at 45Hz (the tuning
Fp (Hz): NONE frequency) and a maximum of 24Q at
QNONE 85Hz. This means that it will cause
no problems at all with typical stereo
Cursor (Use Fi-F4): | 0 amplifiers.
tz: 1 so IDO : 500
dB: 2,26 Subjective i cs
Do you wish to save response graph? (Y/N) —
The subjective performance of the
PSK 60/2 is very good indeed. The
Date: 18-28-1992 (c) $05
: Fig.6: this is the computer predicted bass response of the Peerless 174WF speakers have a relaxed and neutral
woofer in a 14-litre enclosure. The response is 3dB down at 55Hz & slopes at sound quality, with smooth and tight
24dB/octave below that. bass performance. The midrange and
treble response is particularly detailed
and clean. Because of the relatively
fectively eliminating the peaks in each crossover frequency, the low pass sec- small cabinet size, stereo imaging is
driver. tion of Fig.3(a) provides a 6dB de- particularly good.
The simplest type of crossover is a crease in signal voltage across the load
first order type, providing a roll-off of with each doubling (an octave) in fre- Assembly procedure
6dB per octave beyond the crossover quency. For the high pass section of The PSK 60/2 is supplied as a com-
frequency. This means that above the Fig.3(b), the signal voltage across the plete kit, with cabinet woodwork and
20. SILICON CHIP
 Briiel & Kjaer Potentiometer Range: 25 dB Rectifier: ____. Lower Lim. Freq: a4 ae Hz Wr. Speed: mm/sec. Paper Shere: po We __.mm/sec.

Measuring Ob). dBrde

» Peerless:
7.0 ;
PSK 60/2
a |
Freq. Resp.
meen
3015 i Sad Ee ARIS Geiiar ay fae miee cae
ore :
A ae ae at
ee
ee ee
H
barre pH}

==
ik
a ee wOS
“eptiea 7

Sy 52Se lecestie
f
Rec. No:2l2 _10r 5 caoem

Sign ot o
20
OP 0124 Multiply Freq. Scale by: Zero Level: (1612/2112)

Fig.7: thisiis the measured frequency response of the Peerless PSK 60/2 loudspeaker system. The
response is within +3dB from 100Hz to 20kHz. The slightly ragged response below 500Hz is due to
_ reflections in the measuring room.
_.Hz Wr. Speed:. 0.2 mm/sec. Paper Speed: 3 mm/sec ae
. Briel & Kjaer Potentiometer Range: dB Rectifier: _____. Lower Lim. Freq-:
:| id

:
La ,|

cae
Peerless os =
ean vase species ——
EE: aes
sat
PSK 60/2 ara ca Po
<ane
OSes:
mee =a :
} NER

——— 3
Impedance mesen Sm

es 3, n Ae =f
‘ i a 4 +—

—_ pi ita f
eo fal
21 ees gant
Rec. No. Ped 4 Fr aL
BSCE
Date:28/ 10/92
sie
:
4
br
Bean Gregaey
FOREN

Hz
oer
2:
e we

50
aaaGl
20
A
| pitas

DA
10 20 A B
Zero Level: (1612/2112)
QP 0124 Multiply Freq. Scale by: ___—______________-

_. Fig.8: the impedance versus frequency characteristic of the Peerless PSK 60/2 loudspeakers. The minimum
impedance is just on 6Q so these speakers will not present any load Promiems to solid state amplifiers.

all components for two speaker boxes. - self. The general cabinet details are is quite straightforward. No wood-
The kits will be available exclusively given in the diagram of Fig.9. If you ~ working ability is necessary and you
through Dick Smith Electronics. The elect to make your own cabinets, you need only a Phillips head screwdriver
_ cabinets come as a flat pack which is will need reasonable woodworking and a roll of masking tape.
simply wrapped around the rear panel facilities. We think that most builders |
will use the cabinet kits as they are Making the cabinets
and glued.
Alternatively, you can seh all well made, relatively inexpensive and First, unpack and lay out all the
the hardware, drivers and crossovers, give a professional finish. various components (drivers, cross-
etc, and then build the cabinets your- Assembling the kit of the PSK 60/2 over parts and cabinets) and check
that you have everything. Don't fully
unpack the cabinets until you are
ready to assemble them, to avoid the
risk of getting them scratched. Tackle
the assembly of the cabinets one at a
time. The method of assembly is
shown in
Fig.10.
You'll need a large, flat area to work
on — the kitchen table or a hard floor,
for example. Put down newspaper or
plastic sheeting to protect both the
cabinet and your work area. The cabi-
net sides come as a continuous length
of vinyl coated 16mm-thick particle
board, with the four panels separated
by V-cut grooves — the viny! coating
holds the panels together.
Lay out the long continuous side
piece and note which are the two side
panels (the longer ones), and which
are the top and bottom. The bottom
panel is the short piece at one end.
When the cabinet is folded up, the
join is at the bottom.
The crossover networks are supplied fully assembled and attached to the
spring-loaded terminal panels. No soldering is is puta you just clip psa leads Run a generous. bead of the PVA
to the driver terminals. glue supplied in the hardware kit into
JANUARY 1993 21
 Fig.9: this diagram is included for
those who wish to build their own
cabinets.

107.5

70

150
HOLES: A = 146 DIA.
B = 63 DIA
C = 48 DIA.

420 TOP, SIDES, BOTTOM AND BACK

16mm HIGH DENSITY PARTICLE-
BOARD
BAFFLE 18mm HIGH DENSITY
PARTICLE BOARD

BAFFLE MOUNTED IN 8.5 x 18

REBATE MACHINED IN TOP,
BOTTOM AND SIDES

BACK HAS 50 DIA HOLE IN

CENTRE FOR CONNECTIOR.

MOUNT BACK IN 8.5 x 16

GROOVE MACHINED IN TOP,
BOTTOM AND SIDES 5.5 FROM
REAR EDGE OF ENCLOSURE

DIMENSIONS IN MILLIMETRES

PEERLESS PSK60/2 LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM

/

22 SILICON CHIP
 1. Lay out the wraparound side piece
on a flat surface & run PVA glue into
- the three V-cuts, the two ends & the
rear panel rebate channel.

~ 2. Wrap the sides around the rear panel

(finish side outwards).

3. Hold the final corner together with

masking tape.

4. Install the foam damping, run glue

around the front panel rebate & install
the front panel. Note: the small vent
port (not shown in this diagram)
should be next to the final join.

Fig.10: this diagram illustrates the procedure for assembling the cabinets. Make
sure that you install the front panel with the grey vinyl coating facing outwards high density polyurethane foam to
& so that the final join in the cabinet is towards the bottom. _ cover the rear panel only. This is sup-
plied with the kit. Cut a hole to clear
each V-cut and the rear panel rebate outside. You should now leave the the crossover and driver wires and
channel but not the front panel re- enclosure to dry for at least five hours. place it against the back panel. Be-
bate. Run a bead of PVA glue on the The next step is to fit the crossover cause it is cut slightly oversized, it
end V-cuts, too. Place the rear panel, and rear terminal panel assembly will sit firmly, otherwise you can glue
with the black (finish) side outwards, which is supplied as a complete unit it to the back panel.
into the rebated channel of the top with the kit. This is simply screwed |
panel. Now carefully wrap the sides into place on the rear panel with four Mounting the loudspeakers
- around the rear panel, taking care not countersunk screws. You can now terminate the cross-
to stress the corner joints. Press the Next fit the damping material — over wires to their respective drivers.
final side and bottom panel together you'll need a piece of 25mm ‘thick The tweeter leads (grey + grey with
and hold it in place with several strips
of masking tape run around the cor-
ner — see Fig.10.
If a little PVA glue oozes out of the
__ joints onto the veneer, you can wipe it
away with a damp cloth. Otherwise,
it is easily peeled off once the glue
has dried.
Now run a generous line of glue
into the channel for the front panel.
You can then push-fit the front panel
into position, making sure it goes in
-with the woofer hole downwards and
with the grey vinyl coating on the
JANuARY 1993 23
 PARTS SUPPLIED IN
HARDWARE KIT
2 Peerless 174WF woofers
2 Peerless 80DT dome tweeters
2 PSK-60/2 crossover networks
mounted on terminal panels
2 bass reflex ports, 45 x 114mm
2 foam pieces, 25 x 185 x 390mm
8 male/female grille clips
2 Peerless badges
2 Peerless specification labels
1 bottle 125m! PVA glue
2 fig.8 connecting wires
1 strip black rubber feet (8 pcs)
screws for drivers & terminals
Instruction manual
Tools you will need
Phillips head screwdriver
Hammer
Strong PVC or masking tape

black trace) should be pulled through

the tweeter hole and the woofer leads
(red + red with black trace) go to the
woofer. Carefully check the polarity
of each driver. The wire with the black
trace is positive for both the woofer
and tweeter. No soldering is required
— you simply push the wire clips onto
the relevant terminals on the speak-
ers.
Check your wiring once it’s finished,
then screw the two drivers in place
using the self-tapping screws sup-
plied. No gasket is necessary for the
woofer or tweeter as the vinyl] coating
This photo shows how the speaker cabinets should appear when they are
of the baffle does this job, as well as assembled. Note that the female grille clip sockets have been fitted to the front
being decorative. panel.
Now you can push the pre-cut port
assembly into place. This should be a and tap them into their four holes in run into clipping, even for a short
firm fit. the front panel. The grille cloth frame period, is capable of damaging the
can then be fitted over the front panel speaker voice coils.
Fitting the grille cloth frame and the speaker is finished. If the Peerless PSK 60/2 loudspeak-
While the kits will have the cloth Do..a final check. If you’re sure ers are used free standing, we strongly
fitted over the grille cloth frames, you everything is together correctly, hook recommend that they be placed on
will have to fit the plastic clips. The them up, select some music and sit stands so that the tweeters are at ear
baffle has four female clips while the back and enjoy your new loudspeak- level when you are seated in your
grille cloth frame has four male clips. ers. We're sure you'll be impressed usual listening position. Not only will
Fit the male clips first. These are with them. this allow you to better appreciate the
fragile and can be broken if treated treble but it will prevent the likeli-
incorrectly. The recommended way Don’t overdrive them hood of muddy and over-emphasised
to do it is to fit a female clip over each As noted above, the Peerless PSK bass which happens when speakers
male clip and then lightly tap the 60/2 loudspeakers can be used with are too close to the floor.
base of the female clip to drive the amplifiers with an output power of For the same reason, we recommend
male clip into its hole in the grille up to 60 watts per channel. Even so, it that you don’t place the speakers close
cloth frame. Do this for each of the is advisable never to turn your ampli- to the corners of the room; it may
four male clips. fier up to full volume, regardless of its boost the bass but the result will be
This done, remove the female clips power rating. An amplifier which is “muddy” sound. SC
24 SILICON CHIP
 ENCYCLOPEDIAS trom $160
THE NEW GROLIER ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
Why pay $1000’s Computer
for Requirements
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Learn stout AM radio transmission
Build a flea-power
AM radio transmitter
Have you ever wondered how music is
transmitted to your AM radio? Build this
experimental flea-power transmitter &
find out.
By DARREN YATES
Most of us are pretty blase about
AM radio these days but that doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t have some idea
of the basic principles involved. By
building this experimental AM radio
transmitter, you can learn how AM
signals are transmitted and have some
_ fun into the bargain.
We’ve christened the device the
“AM Micromitter” because of its “mi-
cro-power” output. This low power
The AM Micromitter can broadcast music or Morse code signals to an ordinary
AM radio receiver. It is an experimental device with a range of about 10 metres.
26 SILICON CHIP
R87 eB B
as well as Morse code signals. The
device uses one low-cost IC plus a
handful of other parts and can be as-
sembled in just a couple of hours.
Basic principles
So how does a simple transmitter
work? The block diagram of Fig.1
shows a simple Morse code transmit-
ter, which consists of a radio frequency
output has been deliberately designed (RF) oscillator, an RF amplifier and
in so that you cannot interfere with an antenna.
your neighbour’s radio reception. In The RF oscillator produces a high-
fact, the AM Micromitter only has a frequency signal (called the “carrier”)
line of sight range of about 10 metres, which is fed to the amplifier stage
in keeping with the experimental na- and thence to the antenna when the
ture of the device. key is closed. By opening and closing
Essentially, the AM Micromitter is the key, bursts of RF energy radiate
a complete AM radio transmitter that from the antenna and this can then be
can broadcast both speech and music picked up by a radio receiver. The
signals to an ordinary radio receiver, bigger the amplifier and the more
_ elaborate the antenna, the stronger
will be the signal received by the ra-
dio.
If we use a simple piece of wire for
the antenna, the radio waves radiate
with equal strength in all directions.
However, with more refined anten-
nas, it’s possible to concentrate the
RF energy in one direction and so
increase the range.
_A somewhat different technique is
necessary to transmit audio signals
(ie, speech and music). In a Morse
code transmitter, information is sent
by keying the carrier on and off as we ©
have just seen. By contrast, in an AM
transmitter, the carrier is transmitted
continuously but its amplitude is var-
ied (or modulated) to encode the sig-
nal. Hence the term “amplitude modu-
lation”, or AM for short. |
Fig.2 shows the block diagram of
an AM broadcast transmitter. As can -
be seen, the modulator stage is in-
serted between the RF oscillator and
RF amplifier stages, while the audio
input acts as the modulating signal. -
 ANTENNA

Fig.1: this block diagram shows a simple Morse code

transmitter. It consists of an RF oscillator, a key & an RF
dae
Sad
Slo
ol
tea
oegt
+ 3
amplifier which feeds an antenna.
'
' ;& =

'

ANTENNA '
ter
eal
!
'
'
|
'
'
'
4

r
etase*e
ree

Fig.2: the block diagram for an AM transmitter. In this

Sata
—

case, the carrier is transmitted continuously but is

C

amplitude modulated by the audio signal. eecoeseeetaeeeeveseee

'
Nee
®

be*usetene

By using this arrangement, the instan-
taneous amplitude of the carrier sig-
nal is varied in response to the ampli-
tude of the audio input. | lator/demodulator IC. This device
The resulting AM signal output
from the modulator is fed to the RF
amplifier and from there to the an-
tenna. It can then be picked up by any
standard AM radio receiver, such as a
personal radio, car radio or clock ra-
dio, provided it is within about 10
metres of the transmitter.
Fig.3 shows what a typical ampli-
tude modulated signal looks like when
displayed on an oscilloscope. In this
case, we have a 1kHz sinewave signal
modulating a 760kHz carrier signal.
Note that the top and bottom halves of
the signal are mirror images.
Circuit details
Let’s look now at the circuit details
of the Micromitter — see Fig.4.
Transistor Q1, diodes D1 and D2,
and their associated components form
an RC phase-shift oscillator which
produces a sinewave with a frequency
of about 760kHz. This frequency is.
determined by the three 1.5kQ resis-
tors and the three 330pF capacitors in
the feedback network.
Diodes D1 and D2 stabilise the gain
of the oscillator and thus virtually
eliminate unwanted variations in the
carrier signal. The 2Vpp sinewave | 1kHz sinewave signal (scope settings
output appears at Q1’s emitter and is 1V/div & 0.2ms/div).
fed via a 22kQ resistor and a .001pF EASY-PC
capacitor to pin 10 of IC1. Runs on PC/XT/AT/286/386 with
IC1 is an MC1496 balanced modu- Hercules, CGA, EGA or VGA.
forms the heart of the transmitter and Design Single sided, Double sided
functions as the modulator stage. So and Multilayer boards |
most of the hard work is performed by Provides Surface Mount support
this single chip. ia Standard output includes Dot |
The audio signal is fed to pin 1 of
Matrix/Laser/Inkjet printers,
IC1 via a 3.5mm jack socket and 50kQ
Pen Plotters, Photo-plotters and
potenticmeter VR1. This pot sets the
NC Drill
depth of the modulation that occurs
in the carrier wave. The greater the Award winning EASY-PC is in
signal into pin 1, the greater the depth use in over 12,000 installations in
of modulation and the greater the vol- 70 Countries World-Wide
ume from your radio. Superbly Easy to use
This circuit arrangement produces
Not Copy Protected
a clean AM signal at the output of IC1
(pin 12) and this is fed to transistor
Options: + 1000 piece Schematic
| symbol library
¢ Surface Mount symbol
library
¢ Gerber Import facility
Fig.3: this AM signal was produced by
modulating a 760kHz carrier with a
JANUARY 1993 27
 TOE OEE Pee iit Patcupreea

+12V
2x1N914

ANTENNA

10k

10 fm = C1 C2 C3
10k wr 330pF™™ 330pF 330pF

1k

NPS A VOLUME?
MODULATION
3 DEPTH VIEWED FROM
. VR1 50k BELOW i ah
= 10k

Li: 65T, 0.63mm DIA ECW

WOUND ON A 50mm LENGTH
12VDC OF 9mm DIA FERRITE ROD
300mA
PLUG-PACK

AM MICROMITTER
Fig.4: the final circuit uses a phase-shift oscillator based on Q1, D1 & D2 to
produce a 760kHz carrier signal. This signal is then fed into IC1, where it is 06112921. Fig.5 shows the parts lay-
modulated by an audio signal that’s fed in on pin 1. The output at pin 12 then out and the external wiring.
drives Q2 which in turn drives aerial coil L1 & the antenna circuit. Begin the assembly by installing
the wire links, then install the resis-
Q2. Q2 then directly drives antenna switch $1 and applied to 3-terminal tors and the MKT polyester capaci-
coil L1 and the antenna via a 2200pF regulator REG1 to derive a regulated © tors. Table 1 shows the resistor colour
capacitor to radiate the signal. +12V supply rail (note: a lightly- codes but it’s also a good idea to check
VR2 is used to adjust the modu- loaded 12V DC plugpack actually puts each resistor with your digital multi-
lated output at pin 12 for best results. out about 16V, which is ample for meter to avoid any confusion.
By connecting the output of pin 12 to correct operation of the regulator). The The electrolytic capacitors can be
an oscilloscope, it’s also possible to 100uF and 47uF capacitors provide installed next, followed by the two
produce what is called a double side- supply line filtering, while D3 pro- diodes, the IC and the transistors. Note
band suppressed carrier waveform tects the circuit against reverse polar- that these are all polarised devices, so
(DSBSC) by rotating VR2 to some- ity connection of the supply. make sure they are correctly oriented.
where near its centre position. The 3-terminal regulator (REG1) must
_ Power for the AM Micromitter Construction be installed with its metal tab facing
comes from a 12V DC plugpack sup- Most of the components for the AM towards the centre of the board.
ply. Its output is fed in via on/off Micromitter fit on a PC board coded The next task is to wind the coil

28 SILICON CHIP
 Fig.5: install the parts on the
PC board exactly as shown in
this parts layout diagram.
Inductor L1 is made by
winding 65 turns of 0.63mm
enamelled copper wire on a
50mm length of ferrite rod.
Check the supply polarity
before making the final
connections to the board.

-(L1). This consists of 65: turns of

- 0.63mm enamelled copper wire on a
50mm length of ferrite rod.
Before winding on the wire, wrap a
couple of layers of paper (about 40mm
long) around the rod and secure the
ends with adhesive tape. The 65 turns
of copper wire can then be close-
wound onto the rod. Keep the turns
tight and again use adhesive tape to
secure the ends of the winding.
By the way, the actual number of
turns is not critical. As long as it is
somewhere around 65, the transmit-
ter will work OK.
When the coil is completed, trim The PC board is secured inside the case using machine screws & nuts, while L1
the leads to about 100mm, then clean is fastened to the side of the case using plastic cable ties. Use light-duty hook-up
wire to complete the wiring between the PC board & all external components.
and tin them so that they are ready to
solder to the board. Don’t connect
bottom of the case, while the coil is and volume potentiometer. This done,
them to the PC board just yet though —
‘secured to one side using two plastic drill three mounting holes for the PC
that step comes a little later on.
cable ties (one at either end — see board plus four holes in the side of
Final assembly photo). | the case to accept the two cable ties.
Prepare the case by first attaching Finally, drill two holes in one end of
A plastic zippy case measuring 130
the adhesive label to the lid and drill- the case to accept the power socket
x 68 x 41mm is used to house the PC and the audio input socket.
board. The board is mounted on the ing holes to accept the on/off switch
JANUARY 1993 29
 pee: P
ARTS L
IST
4 PC board, code 0612921 , 102 x
150mm lengt nof 9mm diameter
_ 1 plastic zippy case, 130 x 68 x
1_2.3.5mm
12VDCjack
300mA plugpack Supply
sockets —
— 1 47uF 35VW electrolytic
| 1 SPST toggle switch _
_ 13-metre length of 0.63mm
enamelled copper wire
_ 1 50kQ log potentiometer (VR1)
~ 150kQ 5mm linear horizontal
“timpot(vA2)
1 MC1496N balanced modulator/
demodulator (IC1)
1 7812 3-terminal regulator (REG1)
When all the holes are drilled, se-
cure the coil using the cable ties and
solder its leads to the PC board. The
remainder of the wiring can then be
completed using light-duty hook-up
wire — see Fig.5. Make sure that the
supply socket is wired with the cor-
rect polarity.
The AM Micromitter assembly can
now be completed by securing the PC
board to the bottom of the case and
_ fitting the four rubber feet.
Testing
Now for the smoke test. Connect
your plugpack supply, set VR1 fully
anticlockwise, switch on and check
the voltage at the output of the 3-
terminal regulator (7812). If you don’t
get a reading of +12V, switch off imme-
Fig.8: this is the full-size etching pattern for the PC board. Check
your board carefully for defects before mounting any of the parts.
\
30 SILICON CHIP
2 BC548 NPN transistors (Q1,Q2)
2 1N914 signal diodes (D1 ,D2)
1 1N4004 rectifier diode (D3)
Capacitors
2 100uF 16VW electrolytic
1 22uF 16VW electrolytic
2 10uF 16VW electrolytic
_ 10.1F MKT polyester
1 .0022uF MKT polyester that is almost 100% modulated. This
is the limit for a distortion-free signal.
1 .001uF MKT polyester
3 330pF MKT polyester
Resistors (0.25W, 1%)
2 22kQ 6 1.5kQ
1 12kQ 4 1kQ
5S 10kQ 1 4700
2 3.3kQ 1 3900
diately and check for wiring errors.
Assuming that the supply rail is
OK, feed an audio signal into the in-
put, set VR1 to mid-position and tune Fig.7: a carrier wave that is over-
your receiver to about 760kHz. If the modulated results in a distorted
transmitter is working correctly, you output from the receiver.
should have little difficulty tuning
into the signal. VR2 can now be ad- quency close to 760kHz, you can
justed for best reception. change the values of the 1.5kQ resis-
Initially, you should position the tors or the 330pF capacitors in the
receiver about 30cm away from the — oscillator. This will shift the carrier
transmitter. Once you’ve tuned into frequency and so allow you to operate
the signal, you can test the range of on another part of the broadcast band.
the transmitter. You should be able to
obtain a relatively noise-free signal at Using the Micromitter
distances up to about 10 metres, while When the Micromitter is working
the maximum range will be about 15 correctly, you can experiment with
metres. different settings for VR1. As men-
If you have problems with a nearby tioned briefly before, by changing the
.Yadio station that operates on a fre- level of the audio source that’s fed
into the Micromitter, you’re changing
what’s called the modulation depth
of the carrier wave.
If the modulation depth increases
(ie, if the audio level fed into the
transmitter increases), then so does
the volume from the receiver. There is
a limit to how far you can go, how-
ever.
Fig.6 shows a carrier wave which is
close to 100% modulated, while Fig.7
shows a carrier that is over-modu-
lated. This is caused by too much
signal and results in a distorted out-
put from the receiver. If you have a
oscilloscope, you can observe these
effects for yourself by monitoring the
collector of Q2. SC
 ® Si
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Restoring a 1920s kit radio
Regenerative receivers from the 1920s can
provide quite a challenge when it comes to
restoration. This month, we look at the
restoration of a kit radio from that era.
I have made it quite clear in some
of my past stories that I am not par-
ticularly interested in those old re-
generative sets from the 1920s era.
Sure, they’re valuable and add inter-
est toa collection, but they’re not nice
to listen to. Five minutes is about
enough for me when it comes to those
toneless horn speakers. Well, that’s
what I have said in the past!
I have now changed my mind a
little in this regard and recently spent
a week or so of my spare time restor-
ing an old mid-1920s 3-valve regen-
erative receiver. Perhaps one of the
main reasons for my new interest in
these truly antique radios was the fact
This photo shows the headphone compartment in the receiver cabinet. Although
it did not contain a pair of headphones, there was an interesting assortment of
other odd bits and pieces.
32 SILICON CHIP
By JOHN HILL
that this one was in really excellent
condition, even if it was lacking its
original loudspeaker. Most radios from
the 20s are in an appalling state of
disrepair and do not generate much
enthusiasm as far as I am concerned.
I paid top dollars for this unit be-
cause it was bought from an antique
dealer. However, it is worth noting
that the price came down by $130
when I showed interest in buying it.
This goes to show that dealer prices
are sometimes grossly inflated and
one should never agree to buy with-
out a little bartering.
Although it looks factory made at
first glance, items such as the hand
wound coil and the screwed together
cabinet suggest that the set was origi-
nally packaged as a kit. Many early kit
radios were fairly basic and often con-
sisted of an open baseboard with a
front control panel. My latest acquisi-
tion was a much better kit — one that
came complete with quite a reason-
able cabinet (presumably in pieces).
The cabinet is unusual in that it has
a special compartment at the right-
hand end. Built-in compartments were
often provided for battery storage but
not so in this case. It appears as though
the space was provided to store a set
of headphones.
Phone jack
Although the set is capable of driv-
ing a loudspeaker, there is also a phone
jack on the front panel which cuts out
the output stage and taps the phones
into the B+ line of the second valve.
In other words: the set can be used as
a 3-valver with a loudspeaker or as a
2-valver with headphones.
The cabinet is in incredible condi-
tion for its age. It is structurally sound
and undamaged except for a few min-
or scratches. These responded well to
a touch up with a cloth soaked with
shellac. All things considered, it is
remarkable that something can sur-
vive so well for so long. According to
the “law of averages”, it should have
been thrown out 50 years ago.
Although there were no headphones
in the cabinet compartment, it did
contain a few other interesting items.
There was a push/pull switch of the
type used in the 1920s, a large open-
ended spanner, a selection of grid leak
resistors and an electoral card dated
1945. The back of the card had battery
connection instructions written on it,
so it seems as though the old 3-valver
had remained in service up until that
time at least.

Cleaning’& adjusting 0 the miethanical parts is just.as imputiont ;
electronic circuitry in a restoration of this nature. This phuto shows the
restored dial & its companion tuning capacitor.
The valves are of the 6V type: A609
regenerative detector, A609 first au-
dio, and C603 output. The audio stages
are transformer coupled. For reasons
that will be explained later, the C603
was replaced with a B605.
Initially, the set looked fairly origi-
nal but this was not really the case.
After a closer examination, it was ob-
vious that it had undergone quite a
few modifications over the years.
The on/off switch was not original
and neither were the reaction control
capacitor or the filament rheostat. In
i
as servicing the
_ The restoration job
addition, a replacement audio trans-
former had been incorrectly wired into
the circuit and its mate had an open
circuit primary winding.
One notable aspect of the set was
the fact that there was no provision
for a “C” (bias) battery. Negative grid
bias is essential for the correct opera- good start!
tion of amplifying valves. Without it,
signals are distorted, and the valve
will draw excessive plate current. So
why no bias battery?
The explanation is that the valves | headphone compartment. The fila-
were not totally without bias; there
was a source of bias but it was not
immediately obvious. This bias comes
from the filament supply and varies
along the length of the filament —
which is also the cathode; ie, there is
full battery voltage at one end and OV
at the other. The practical result is a
bias equal to half the filament supply
voltage. In some cases, particularly
where 6V valves were used, this would
be adequate, assuming a typical HT or
“B+” supply of no more than 90V.
In addition, the relatively high re-
sistance of the transformer and loud-
speaker windings would keep the HT
current within reasonable limits. Asa
result, “C” batteries received less at-
tention than might otherwise have
been the case. More about this later.
At a practical level, there was quite
a lot to do if this old set was to work
again. I had no choice other than to go
through it systematically, sorting out
the problems as they came.
My first step was to test all the
valves. As it turned out, they were all
in excellent condition so that was a
The control panel components were
next on the list. The on/off switch
was broken internally and was re-
placed with the one found in the
ment rheostat was then stripped and

This hand-wound coil, along with the screw-assembled
cabinet, the simple 3-valve format, and no maker’s
nameplate, gave the impression that the regenerative
radio was sold in kit form. Build your own was a popular
concept in the 1920s.
The defective interstage audio transformer was replaced
with a similar unit & the two serviceable transformers
then painted to give them a uniform appearance. Open
circuit audio transformer primaries are a common
problem when restoring a radio of this vintage.

JANUARY 1993 33

The broken on/off switch (left) was replaced with the switch (right) that was
found in the headphone compartment of the cabinet.
This close-up view shows the front panel controls. The filament rheostat, tuning
dial & reaction control make up the top row (from left to right), while below
them are the on/off switch & the headphone jack.
cleaned, as were the tuning and reac-
tion capacitors.
These variable capacitors are of the
plain bearing type and the bearings
required lubrication and adjustment.
I also took the opportunity to reverse
the moveable plates of the reaction
capacitor. As they were originally fit-
ted, the reaction increased as the con-
trol was turned anticlockwise. How-
ever, it seemed more logical to have a
clockwise action and reversing the
plates achieved this effect.
The next step was to dismantle and
clean the dial assembly, after which
all the components were re-assem-
bled on the control panel. The ebon-
ite circuit board was then stripped,
cleaned and polished with an auto-
34 SILICON CHIP
| replaced it needs only -18V bias, at
motive cut and polish compound.
This done, the valve sockets were
dismantled and adjusted so that there
was firm contact with the valve pins.
Some socket connections were loose
and would have given considerable
trouble if they had been left as they
were. A drill shank can be used to
check socket tension.
There were numerous holes in the
circuit board where the audio trans-
formers had been mounted, indicat-
ing several past replacements. Audio
transformers, with their fine windings,
were a common source of trouble in
the old days. Fortunately, I had about
eight good transformers to choose from
and one similar in appearance to the
set’s remaining good unit was:selected.
Because the audio transformers
were of different colours, they were
painted matt brown to give a uniform
appearance. They were then mounted
on the circuit board in positions that
covered up most of the holes.
Rewinding the coil
The original coil looked a bit sad.
There were loose windings and the
wire insulation was quite grubby in
places.
Each of the three windings was re-
moved and the wire strung out and
washed with hot soapy water. It was
then wound onto spools. The card-
board coil former was also cleaned
and given a fresh coat of shellac.
When the wire was rewound onto
the coil former, the aerial winding
was tapped in three places. Previously
it had been a 17-turn winding but all
three coils — aerial, tuning and reac-
tion — were now about two turns less
than in the original due to trimming
the kinked leadout wires. This had no
adverse affect on the set’s perform-
ance and the rewound coil worked
perfectly. It was finished off by rein-
forcing the aerial taps with glue and
giving the windings a coat of shellac
to hold them in place.
Bias battery
A number of alterations were also
made to the circuit. A radio frequency
choke was added and provision was
made for a “C” battery. This was the
reason for discarding the C603 output
valve. The C603 is supposed to have
-40V grid bias, whereas the B605 that
maximum plate voltage. One reason
for adding the bias circuit was a de-
sire to see just how well the set per-
formed at maximum HT voltage.
Two 9V transistor batteries were
used as a bias battery, with the centre
tap connection (-9V) biasing the A609
first audio valve. The bias battery was
attached to the circuit board using
double sided masking tape and is per-
manently wired in.
Getting the bias to work correctly
was a problem. The set functioned
OK on two valves but when the third
valve was brought into operation,
there was uncontrollable oscillation.
I believe that this may have been
caused by mounting the two audio
transformers in line with each other.
It probably would have been better to
have mounted them at right angles to
 iueanais cacao

These beautifully-made binders

will protect your copies of SILICON
CHIP. They are made from a dis-
tinctive 2-tone green vinyl & will
look great on your bookshelf.
A rear view of receiver after restoration. The wired in “C” battery (two 9V
transistor batteries) can be seen between the two audio transformers. Price: $A11.95 plus $3 p&p each
(NZ $6 p&p). Send your order to:
Silicon Chip Publications
PO Box 139
Collaroy Beach 2097
Or fax (02) 979 6503; or ring (02)
979 5644 & quote your credit card
number. |

To power the set, a small 6V motor-

The finished receiver is hardly a thing of great beauty but is fairly typical for
the mid 1920s. The nickname “coffin” was an apt description of early radio
cabinets.
each other, to minimise mutual inter-
ference between their surround elec-
tromagnetic fields. Positioning them
the way I did (to cover up unsightly
holes) was not the best way to install
them, at least not electrically.
However, the feedback problem was
easily solved by installing a 1MQ re-
sistor in the bias line to the first audio
valve. That simple remedy isolated
whatever it was that was causing the
trouble without altering the bias volt-
age. | substantially reduced.
According to a colleague, this cure
suggests another possible factor con-
tributing to the oscillation — coupling
between the two audio stages via the
common bias battery. Some ofthe au-
dio voltage applied to the grid of the
output valve could appear across the
bias battery and, in turn, at the grid of
the audio valve. ce
The added resistor provided a de-
gree of decoupling but a more elegant
approach might have been to add a
bypass electrolytic capacitor between
_ the resistor/transformer junction and
the negative HT rail. This would prob-
ably allow the resistor value to be
Once all the few minor bugs had
been sorted out, the old battery pow-
ered regenerative receiver worked re-
ally well.
cycle battery was used for the valve
filaments and a relatively modern “B”
battery eliminator for a high tension
supply.
It is interesting to note that many
old battery triode valves have the rec-
ommended plate voltage marked on
them. 20-150V is a common inscrip-
tion and the Philips valve manual
gives specifications at the full 150V. If
the valves are correctly biased, these
maximum plate voltages can give
power outputs of between 0.5W and
0.75W (quite high for their day).
So, casting caution to the wind, I
decided to find out just what they
could do. The result: these ancient
- receivers really fire up when the high
tension voltage is increased. Previ-
ously, I have run similar sets at a
conservative 90V but this time I have
opted for the valve manual’s 150V
maximum. The difference is unbe-
lievable!
Perhaps that is why I am now a
little more enthusiastic about battery
powered sets. Maybe some of these
old receivers are better than I pre-
viously thought! SC
JANuARY 1993 35
 vr Sie |
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Se LMU
Mea R EE ER Oe ap
OC Resistance 0.19-40MQ,
C1 Capacitance 1pF-40uF
C) Audible Continuity Test
C1 Diode Check
QO) Transistor hFE Gain
(1) Frequency Test 1Hz—4MHz
OC) Logic Level
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max resolution, +0.7%. DC Current: 200uA to 10mA
rs ar BANC:
B ehhrebete, PRETORIA Dia:§ Becks MSRATe Neb ea 8 ily ras 8 a SLE BSE BI BE BRE
SRR REI
ERS Bi BAe tH AONRA AN ROOR RE RS SEES er 7 ct

e Frequency measurement up to 40KHz

» 10 readings per second conversion rate
e Dimension: 162 x 80 x 30 (mm)
» Weight: appro. 200g :
» Overflow indicators: steady “OF”
e Polarity: Auto “—” sign on at minus input
e Overflow indication: “OF” sign on
e Measurement rate: appr. 10 readings per
second
canaon : 7mA.4
eDisplay area: 74.8 x 31.0 mm
e Function: indicators: “MAX” “MIN” “HOLD”
“BAT” a *ee i a bh dee13 #1))) 99: 86 2 ” “REL”
} ca 2S OTH
LEE LIRETs “M” “AT” “AGC” *— $3 “kK” “Hz” “mm” “yy”
VRS, MBX

» Range selection: Auto, manual ;

PIREST 24974 AUTO RANGE DMM
Low battery: “BAT” sign on below operating §
voltage
. Battery: 9V alkalin or carbon-zinc
3487A 3%/a DIGIT ANALOG BAR-_ At Segment analog bar graph
Accessories: test leads, instruction manual,
» Data hold
GRAPH DMM M0115 ® Max/Min stores the highest and lowest battery
' FEA NES jeacines Operating temperature: 0C to 40C _
3° digit large LCD DISPLAY e Relative display (offset) 80% RH)
(74.8mm x 31.0mm) : » Continuity beeper and diode check » Storage temperature : — 20°C to 60°C |
» Resolution of 4000 counts e Indicators of all functions and all ranges ‘All Escort DMM comes with 3 year warranty.
ax

41/2 DIGIT HI- PRECISION DPM

$0406
This precision digital meter is a stand-
alone voltmeter — ammeter or can interface
with a computer!
41/2 digit 0.55” LED display. Temperature
compensated to 100 PPM/°C. Operating
temperature range is 0°C to +70°C.
Outputs include BCD data, Busy and
strobe. Panel reading can be latched on hold.
SPECIFICATIONS
Range:
DC voltage: 1mV to 2000V
DC current: 1 microamp to 20 amps
Stability: +0.025%+2 digits _|
Power requirements: 5 to 6 volts DC at
200 ma
Dimensions: 4-5/16” (W), 31/4 (D),
13/4” (H).

31/2 MULTIFUNCT IONAL LCD specifications. Instructions are included to

use this instrument as a voltmeter, ammeter,
DPM (WITH HOLD FUNCTION) temperature meter, frequency meter and
$0408 $5: capacitance meter.
$0408 Digital Panel Meter which employs The accuracy of this meter is +0.1%, +1
high quality A/D converter IC as a main digit.
device. The IC drives the 31/2 digit of LCD Input impedance is 100 megohms. It has
digital display directly. By connecting one or high vibration resistance and so can be used
two resistors to produce all range of in a mobile or portable environment. Resets
voltmeter, ohmmeter and currentmeter. to zero automatically. The meter is
Besides, this unit has detail circuit diagram temperature compensated so that is can be
on temperature meter. Frequency meter...etc . used from 0 to +150 degrees fahrenheit.
for reference. . SPECIFICATIONS
Being of high impedance due to FET DC Voltage Range: 1mV to 1000V
input, and low bias current, the digital panel AC Voltage Range: 1mV to 1000V
meter SM series is furnished with the Thermometer Range: 0°C to 100°C
automatic zero adjustment circuit and DC Current Range: 1 microamp to 2 amps
automatic polarity transfer, with 100 PPM/°C Capacitance Range: 1 pf to 2 microfarads
temperature compensated voltage Sahictiadincs Frequency Counter: 10 Hz to 20 KHz
high reliable within 0°-50°C. Display: 314 digit 0.5” high LED
Input sensitivity of S0408 Digital Panel Maximum Indication: -1999 or +1999
Meter is DC+199.9mV for full scale display. Power Supply: 5 to 6 VDC, 200 ma
Input impedance: 100M ohm. Working voltage Dimensions: 33/4” (W) x 17/8” (H) x
of $0408 is DC 9V, 1.8mA. In order to upset 4-1/6” (D). 31/2 DIGITAL PANEL METER
the meter’s stability and accuracy, a This Case meets Germany DIN standard. $0402 :
100ppm/°C temperature Compensated $0404
Voltage Reference Diode is employed, to
make this meter work, in the best way within 41/2 DIGIT HI-PRECISION DPM These meters use a Teledyne A/D
0-50°C. WITH DIN CASE $0407 ) converter integrated circuit. The display is a
This is essentially our very popular S0406 0.6” LED for high visibility. These kits are easy;
SPECIFICATIONS to assemble and the instructions provide
DC Voltage Range: 1mV to 1000V digital panel meter but in a standard DIN
case. Like the $0406, it has a large 0.55” LED information on how to use the meter as a
AC Voltage Range: 1mV to 1000V
readout. It is also temperature compensated voltmeter, ammeter, ohmmeter, thermometer,
Thermometer Range: 0°C to 100°C
to 100 PPM/°C. Operating temperature range frequency counter or capacitance meter.
DC Current Range: 1 microamp to 2 amps
is 0° to +70°C. A red plastic face is provided to enhance
Capacitance Range: 1 pf to 2 microfarads
A MEMORY SYSTEM can HOLD the input viewing contrast.
Frequency Counter: 10 Hz to 20 KHz
reading for comparison and monitor. This The S0404 has a HOLD FUNCTION, so
Display: 31/2 digit 15mm high
is a sensitive unit. An input of 1.9999 volts the last readout can be held!
LCD
Maximum Indication: -1999 or +1999 results in full scale display. The unit operates | SPECIFICATIONS
Power Supply: DC9V+5% on 5 VDC at 200ma. DC Voltage Range: 1mvV to 100V
Power Consumption: 16mW AC Voltage Range: 1mV to 1000V
SPECIFICATIONS
Outline Dimensions: 33/4” (W) x 17/8” (H) x Rear outputs: BCD data, Busy, Strobe Thermometer Range: 0°C to 100°C
4-1/16” (D). Range: DC Current Range: 1 microamp to 2 amps
DIN standard DC voltage: 1mV to 2000V Capacitance Range: 1 pf to 2 microfarads
This Case meets West German DIN standard. DC current: 1 microamp to 20 amps Frequency Counter: 10 Hz to 20 KHz
Accuracy: +0.025% +2 digits Display: 31/2 digit 0.5” high LED
Power requirements: 5 to 6 volts DC at Maximum Indication: -1999 or +1999
31/2 MULTIFUNCTIONAL LED 200 ma Power Supply: 5 to 6 VDC, 200 ma
DIGITAL PANEL METER Dimensions: 33/4”(W) x 17/8”(H) Dimensions: 4.75” (W) x 1.75” (H) x
$0405 4-1/16” (D). 1.56” (D).
This is a high quality device with excellent This Case meets Germany DIN standard.
 A |. S. YY =” /%

+/-0-50V 6A REGULATED PSU _—C +/- 0-35V 2.5A DUAL REGULATED PSU 0-30V 20A HEAVY-DUTY REGULATED
$0010 $0007 PSU $0006
Output voltage: +- 0-50V DC (+- 0-35V Output voltage: + 0-35V/0-70V Output voltage: 0-32V
- 5ARMS Regulated) Current: 2.5A Current: 20A MAX
Current: . 2A, +2A=4A, +2+2=6A Overload Indicator: LED Overload Protection
Overload Indicator: Current Limit Protection method: Current Limited Ranges: CL/SC .
Sharp cut out I/P Transformer: 18-24Vx2/6-8A Overload Induced Sharp Cutting Method (SC).
Output reset turn the selector to current limit Recommended: 22+22V/225VA Overload Induced Current Limiting Method (CL).
point. : Limiting Range: (Basic) 5A+5A+5A+5A
I/P Transformer: 30-35Vx2 15A 500VA wigs Total 20A
Recommended: 30+30V/500VA (TO221) mma. \/P Transformer: 18V-24Vx2/30A
| tipteagygaial Recommended: 24+24V/800VA

0-20V 20A REGULATED PSU 6.5V TO 18V DC REGULATED PSU 0-50V 3A PRECISION PSU $0001 ¢
$0005 $0011 Output voltage: 0-50V
Output voltage: 0-20V Output voltage: 6.5V to 18V DC (25V Max) = Current: 0.5 to 3A
Current: 20A Max Fully adjustable Overload Indicator: LED
Overload Protection Output Current: 20A Max Protection method: Auto shut on overload;
Ranges: (CL/SC) Current limit control:4 Steps (5A,10A,15A,20A) and short circuit
(Basic) 5A+5A+5A+5A Total 20A Switch Ripple and noise: 15 mV I/P Transformer: 22V-36Vx2/3A —
Setting. Line Regulation: 0.08% + 20mV SOVx2/3A for High O/P
|/P Transformer: 12V-18Vx2/30A Load Regulation: 0.08% + 20mV Recommended: 36+36V/160VA —
Recommended: 18+18V/500VA Input Power: 18 to 20V AC 45+45V/160VA High O/P
50-60HZ, 20-30A
Recommended 18+18/500VA
Transformer: (T0238-Parallel Secondary)

100W CLASS ‘A’ MAIN AMPLIFIER 120W MOSFET POWER AMP(MONO) 100W DYNAMIC CLAS ‘A’ MAIN POWER |
(MONO) $0313 | $0329 $179.00 AMP (MONO) $0310 $7:
Power Output: 100W 8 OHM Power Output: 120W RMS into 8 OHMS Power Output: 100W RMS into 8 OHM
Frequency Frequency A5OW RMS into 4 OHM
Response: ~ 0-100KHz Response: 8Hz to 20KHz, Frequency
Input Impedance: 22K. +0 to 0.4db Response: 10Hz to 20KHz
Input Sensitivity: 0.8V Input Sensitivity: 1V RMS for 120W Output 1.PD:: Less than 0,008%
Supply Voltage: DC+/-30 -42V(MAX) Power Requirement: +/- 45 to 55 VDC at TID: Less than 0.008%
Current: 5A 3A Mono Input Sensitivity: 0.75V -— 1V
Power Bandwidth: 5-50KHz 40Vx2/3A/160VA for S/N Ratio: Better than 80db
THD 1KHz 1W: 0.001 % MONO Power Supply: +/-35V TO +/-45V DC
Transformer: 28Vx2/5A 40Vx2/6A/300VA for Power
Recommended STERO Consumption: 3.5A per channel.
Transformer: 30+30V/160VA. Recommended Recommended
(T0209) MONO Transformer: 40+40V/160VA. Transformer: 30+30V/160VA
Recommended (T0212) MONO (T0209) Mono
Transformer: 30+30V/300VA. ! 40+40V/300VA. Recommended
_ (T0217) STEREO (T0219) STEREO Transformer: ~ 30+30V/300VA
(T0217) STERFO
[)C FET SUPER CLASS ‘A’ PRE!-AMP FULL COMPLIMENTERY SYMMETRY FET 300W HI-FI POWER AMP(MONO)
$0:330 $145.00 STEREO PRE-AMP $0308 $459.00 $0331 $175.00
F-requency Frequency Power Output: 300W RMS into
Overall (AUD¢ to pre Response: 10 to 100KHz 8 OHMS
l'2esponse:
+0.5db -1db 500W Music Power into
output)
T.H.D. (From AUX): 0.005% at/below rated 8 OHMS
(at rated ouput) 10 to
100,000HZ +0.5-1db : O/P Frequency
Response: 10Hz to 20KHz
TH.D.: Overall (From AUX) Less Channel Separation (at rated O/P 1KHz)
T.H.D.: Less than 0.05%
than 0.01% Phono: Better than 70db.
HUM & Noise (IHF) |.M. Distortion: Less than 0.05%
Input Sensitivity (1,000HZ four rated
Phono: Better than 70db. Input Sensitivity: 1V RMS at 47K .
& Impedance: output)
AUX: Better than 90db. Power +/- 60 to 75 VDC at
Phono: 47K OHMS3.2mV
Rated Outydut Input Sensitivity & IMP. (1KHz for rated Requirement: 8A Mono
Output Level:
Phono 47K OHM,2mV 48-53x2/6-8AMP AC
(0.01% THID) output):
1.3V (20V MAX. Output Level: Rated O/P(0.01% THD). Recommended
Pre-AMP Output:
Pre-AMP output 1.5V Transformer: 50+50V/500VA.
0.1% THD)
Max Output: (0.1% THD) (T0225) MONO
Recording Output: 130mV
Input Power: 36+36V/0).2A Pre-AMP output 15V.
Recommended Input Power Vol: AC 30V x 2 400mA
Transformer: 30+30V/15VA. Power
(T0231) Consumption: 12W
Recommended
Transformer: 30+30V/15VA (T0231)

NF-CR BI-FET PREAMP/3-WAY

TONE CONTROL
Frequency
Response:
$0307 $72.01)
-DC to 100KHz +- 0.5dB
-ONE
ELECTRONICS PTY LTD
T.H.D.: 0.005% at/below rated 432-434 Kent Street,
Sydney NSW 2000.
O/P
|.M. Distortion: 0.005% at/below rated

Power
O/P
Phone: (02) 267 4819.
Requirements:
Input Sensitivity:
+-15 VDC, 0.2A MAX
Phono-2.5mvV. Tuner, Fax: (02) 267 4821.
AUX and Tape-100mV
aR a SRA
Input Impedance: Phono-47_ K. Tuner,
AUX and Tape-100K MAIL ORDERS WELCOME:
Output Voltage: 1V CHEQUE, MONEY ORDER,
Tone Control Range: BASS,+-10 db at 50Hz
MID, +-5db at 1Hz AMERICAN EXPRESS,
TREBLE, +-10db at 15K: Hz BANKCARD, MASTERCARD
RIAA Equalization: +-0.2db from
20Hz to 20KHz AND VISA.
S/N Ratio: Phono,75db. Tuner, AU.)< TH OPE RAL AAA SE LE AEE SE ETA NES

and Tape, 90db. Phone or write to us for a copy of your

price list. Shop hours Mon-Fri 9-5.
Sat 9-1. All prices include sales tax.
 Special offer: 500 PC boards to give away

A high intensity
LED flasher for bicycles
Have you joined the 2-wheel enthusiasts, cycling the purpose of flashing LEDs.
Normally, the LM3909 is used with
for fitness and enjoyment? If so, you’ll want this a single 1.5V battery but our circuit
high-intensity LED flasher to make sure you can runs off a 3V supply to provide extra
be seen after dark. This one uses four high light as well as longer battery life. The
2200uF and 470uF electrolytic capaci-
brightness LEDs and draws very little current. tors are used to provide a charge res-
ervoir and to provide the flash timing.
By DARREN YATES The result is that the circuit only
consumes ar average of around 6mA
LED flashers for bicycles are a great bi: confined to use as a bicycle tail yet the light from the four 2-candela
idea. Because they flash and are so ligght. We’re sure that our readers will (2000mCd) I.EDs is bright enough to
bright, they are much more visible come up with other applications. be clearly seen at night from a dis-
than ordinary incandescent tail lamps. We are presenting this project as a tance of several hundred metres.
They also consume far less current cheap and brighter alternative to units The four 1:8Q resistors provide cur-
than an incandescent lamp and so the you can buy ready-made. With this Trent limiting and ensure that each
batteries last a great deal longer — urit, you have the option for going to LED only take's its share (one quarter)
_maybe up to 100 times longer. su.per bright LEDs and bigger batter- of the current.
Of course, a low-power high-bright- ies. The circuit runs from two C cells,
ness flasher such as this one need not with alkaline types giving about 1000
Tlie circuit hours of continuous operation. Nicad
“\s you can see from Fig.1, the cir- cells are not recommended for this
cuit uses only one 8-pin IC, plus four application, as these should not be
higjh-brightness LEDs and a handful discharged below a certain voltage.
of other components. The IC is a Na-
tional Semiconductor LM3909 LED Construction
flassher/oscillator which, as its name Before you be:gin soldering any com-
sug jzests, was specifically designed for ponents to the IPC board, it’s always a

The PC board fitted neatly inside a

Basta No. 660 bicycle tail light case,
which we obtained from K-Mart. We
simply removed the standard 3V —
incandescent lamp & its reflector, &
: installed the flasher PC board instead.

| 40 SILICON CHIP
 ALEX
Fig.1: the
circuit uses an
LM3909 flasher
IC to drive four
high brightness
LEDs.
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11111921

Fig.2: imstall the parts on the PC board ©
_as showin in this wiring diagram.
good idea to check the copper side for
any shorts or breaks in the tracks.
You ca.n do this by comparing your
etched board with the published pat-
tern. If you find any errors on the
board, use a sharp utility knife to
scrape away any shorts, or use your
soldering iron and a small blob of
solder to join any broken tracks to-
gether.
Fig.2 shows the parts layout on the |
PC board. 3egin the assembly by in-
_ stalling the resistors, then install the
470uF capacitor and the four LEDs.
Note that the capacitor and LEDs are
polarised de:vices, so take care with _ proud of the board so that is can be
their orientation. It’s easy to identify bent ov er to clear the diffuser lens.
the LED leadis, since the anode lead is
always the lo:nger of the two. Initially,
the LEDs should be soldered at full
lead length, since they will need to be
adjusted later on.
Fig.3: the PC board is coded 11112921
& measures 47 x 33mm.
The 2200uF capacitor is mounted
The IC can now Phe iastiiiee on the ©
board, again taking care to ensure that
it is correctly oriented. Don’t take too
long when soldering each pin, other-
40 Wallis Ave, East lvanhoe 3079.
Phone (03) 497 3422, Fax (03) 499 2381
Old Reprinted Electrical Books
Build a 40,000 Volt Induction Coil
Short Wave Radio Manual (1930)..
High Power Wireless Equipment (1911) $16
High Frequency Apparatus (1916)
Build Short Wave Receivers (1932)
Vision By Radio (1925)
~ 1936 Radio Data Book
~ Television (1938)
Shortwave Coil Data Book (1937) .
1928 Radio Trouble-Shooting
101 Short Wave Hook-Ups (1935)...
Vacuum Tubes in Wireless’s
Construction of Induction Coil
~ Tesla: Man Out of Time (biography) ...... $22
~ Tesla Said, articles by Tesla 292pp
My Inventions, by Nikola Tesla 111pp ... $27
Dr. Nikola Tesla - Complete Patents ..... $93
Tesla Coil Secrets

Allow 15 weeks for delivery of some items.

Payment can be made by cheque made
out to Plough Book Sales, PO Box 14,
Belmont, Vic. 3216. Phone (052) 66 1262.

JANUARY 1993 41

Protect your valuable issues
Silicon Chip Binders
These beautifully-made binders
will protect your copies of SILICON
CHIP. They feature heavy-board
covers & are made from a
distinctive 2-tone green vinyl.
They hold up to 14 issues & will
look great on your bookshelf.
* High quality
* Hold up to 14 issues
* 80mm internal width
* SILICON CHIP logo printed in
gold-coloured lettering on spine &
cover
Price: $A11.95 plus $3 p&p each
(NZ $6 p&p). Send your order to:
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Or fax (02) 979 6503; or ring (02)
979 5644 & quote your credit card
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_ Use this handy form y
Enclosed is my cheque/money order for
$ or please debit my
(J) Bankcard (J Visa ( Mastercard
Card No:
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P/code
42 SILICON CHIP
‘wise the heat will destroy the insides
iof the chip.
Finally, install the 2200uF capaci-
tor with its base about 10mm proud of
the board, as shown in the photos.
This is done so that the capacitor can.
later be bent across the PC board, so
that it clears the diffuser lens of the
recommended case.
Testing
Before switching on, go over the PC
board carefully and check for possi-
ble wiring errors. When you are satis-
fied that the assembly is correct, con-
inect a 3V DC supply to the board and
‘switch on. Within a second or so (this
iis while the 2200uF capacitor charges
vp), the LEDs should all begin flash-
img in unison at a 2Hz rate (ie, twice
joer second).
If they don’t flash as expected, dis-
(connect the battery and check that the
LEDs are correctly oriented and that
the supply polarity is correct.
Housing
If you are going to use this flasher
on your bike, you will really want a
_ case that is designed for just that pur-
pose and fortunately there is at least
one available. We obtained ours from
the local K-Mart store.
The unit in question is a Basta No.
660 bicycle tail light and at the time
of writing it was available for $11.95
(includes two C-size cells). As sup-
plied, the unit comes with a 3V
incandescent lamp ancl red diffuser
lens.
To disassemble the unit, first. slide
off the battery compartment lid and
then unclip the red diffuser lens. This
reveals the lamp reflector and the The on/off switch was mouinted on the
lamp. To remove the reflector, un- rear panel, behind the dififuser lens.
screw the lamp. Make sure that the switch. does not
To make room for thie PC board, we intrude into the mounting: bracket are
of the case.
removed the integral lamp socket and
the brass contacts associated with the
integral on/off slide switch. We then ing. Adjust the LEDs so ‘that when the
mounted a miniature toggle switch red diffuser lens is in place, they sit
on the back panel of the unit, as shown just behind its rear surfeice. Make sure
in one of the photos. The board itself that the LEDs are perperadicular to the
was held in place using a suitable diffuser lens, to obtain the best light
adhesive. transmission. |
You will need to run short hook-up Just as a matter of intezrest, we meas-
wires between the battery contacts, ured the current constimption of the
the toggle switch and the PC board. supplied 3V lamp. It pulled about
As noted above, you will need! to pos- 215mA. Compare that ‘with the under
ition the 2200uF capacitor so that it 6mA current of the LIED flasher cir-
lays flat over the board. cuit. At that rate, the batteries will
You will find that the PC board sits possibly last 100 time:s longer when
at an angle in the Basta tail light hous- powering the flasher circuit. SC
 OFFERING
EXTRA SIZES
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LOWER PRICES
NATURAL or BLACK
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FOREST GREY or
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READER INFO NO. 6

THE UNIQUE ZIP-RACK DESIGN SIMPLE,FAST & EFFECTIVE THATS ZIP-RACK
Twelve lengths of ZIP-RACK hollow section aluminium extrusion are interconnected using black ABS plastic corner
connectors. This requires only a rubber mallet or similar tool. The assembly is self aligning and can be further strengthened
by ‘pop’ riviting the overlapping flanges at each corner.

TYPE 46 RACK DATA: RACK WIDTH 540mm. RACK DEPTH 460mm. 1U (RACK UNIT) =44.45mm OR 1 3/4".
FOR EQUIPMENT/PANEL CAPACITY DEDUCT 90mm FROM TOTAL RACK HEIGHT
7 ACCESORIES PRICE $
M6 PACK
12 M6 Clip Nuts ©
12 M6 Ph. Screws
~ 12 Nyl Washers
As 6/01 in Black
100 M6 Clip Nuts
100 M6 Screws
100 M6 Screws Black
100 M6 Washers
100 M6 Washers Black
Cantilever Tray 2U
Cantilever Tray 3U
Cantilever Tray 4U

ZIP-RACK is made by "The ZIP-RACK Company" Factory 2, 7 Michellan Court, Bayswater Victoria 3153. Australia.
Under licence to AUTOTRON AUSTRALIA P/L. The ZIP-RACK Designers
Beware of illegitimate copies without the ZIP-RACK name. For product sales, wholesale pricing & product literature

Phone: (03) 729 7255 orrax: (03) 729 6017

 SIOAM LOLA NE SEMale
The customer is always right?
In this business, one not only has to deal with
technical malfunctions, which by themselves |
are bad enough, but with the customers as
well. I sometimes wonder which are the
worst.
As Ihave mentioned before in these
notes, one of my regular customers is
a local motel owner who has about 30
Samsung TV sets spread amongst his
guest rooms. Most of these sets are
50cm CB15F units and were purchas-
ed a little over three years ago. It is
one of these sets that is the main sub-
ject of this story.
At the time of purchase, the sets
carried a 3-year warranty and the
owner used to call me in whenever
one gave trouble. There was no con-
tract between us; each job was treated
on its merits and the charge depended
on the warranty situation. If the set
was still under warranty, I simply
made the necessary claim, Samsung
re-imbursed me, and there was no
charge to the customer
If, on the other hand, it was a set
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44 SILICON CHIP
that was out of warranty, I charged the
customer accordingly.
I have presented this brief back-
ground because it does have a bearing
on the sequence of events, although
not in a technical sense. Basically, the
story involves a complaint by the
motel owner to Samsung, with yours
truly as the meat in the sandwich.
In greater detail, not long after these
sets were originally installed, several
of them developed the same fault.
This fault involved several compo-
nents in a front corner of the main
board: inductor L401, capacitor C414
and resistor RHO1 — the latter de-
scribed as a safety resistor. Any or all
of these components could have dry
joints to the copper pattern and, as I
later found out, this could cause arc-
ing and damage to the board. | The warranty period had now expired
And to digress here for a moment,
the resistor type number (RH01)
causeda good deal of confusion. While
it was so designated on the PC board,
it did not appear at all on some early
circuits and nor did its companion
component, diode DH1. And when it
eventually did appear, it was as RH1.
It might be worth making a note of
that.
_ Anyway, after the first two or three
encounters, I realised that this was
something to watch out for on a rou-
tine basis. From then on, as other sets
came in for attention over the next
two years, Imadea point of resoldering
all the connections in this area, re-
gardless of their appearance. In fact,
all but one, as I recall, appeared to be
quite OK but I wanted to be sure.
Eventually, the time came when
there was only about six months of
warranty period left. Ihad a full list of
serial numbers for these sets and, on
checking my own records, I realised
that six sets had never been serviced,
so this potential problem remained.
More to the point, if Murphy had any-
thing to do with it, there would be a
faulty one in this group.
At the first opportunity, I drew the
owner's attention to this, emphasis-
ing that these sets should be checked
now, while still under warranty. Fur-
thermore, as this was an off-season
for the motel, it would be a good time
to take them out of service.
He said, “Yeah, sure mate”, but that
was as far as it went. I subsequently
prodded him a couple of times but
again there was no result. I then went
off on a few weeks holiday and by the
time I returned, the warranty had vir-
tually run out. I did make one final
plea but nothing happened and so
that was the end of it.
Or so I thought until a couple of
months later when the owner ap-
proached me to have the work done —
under warranty!
Naturally, I had to knock him back.
and I was in no position to break the
rules. Had I done so, I could have
been left holding the financial baby.
On the face of it, he seemed to accept
the situation and went off to think
about it.
Call to Samsung
What, in fact, he did do was ring
Samsung and complain — not about
me directly, but about the strictness
imposed on the warranty period. To
give Samsung their due, they didn’t
muck about. If this customer was dis-
satisfied then, regardless as to who
might be at fault, they weren’t going
_to haggle over a few weeks beyond the
warranty period. I was instructed to
go right through the system and make
whatever repairs I considered neces-
sary, all under warranty.
At the same time, they made it clear

bat \Vo ip
THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED & I was
IN NO POSITION TO BREAK THE RULES...
that this was a one-off situation, so was back on the phone, complaining
there could be no misunderstanding. that, “The set in room so-and-so is
It was not to establish a precedent still playing up”. It was the word
and that was fair enough.. “still”, spoken with some emphasis
So I went to work. Apart from the and with a bit of an edge to it, that
aforementioned routine problem, most upset me somewhat. It implied that I
of the sets needed little or no atten- knew about a fault in the set and
tion. A few did, however, require mi- hadn’t fixed it, whereas I could not
nor adjustments and I did what was recall that my attention had been
necessary to bring the whole system drawn to any particular set or fault.
up to first class condition. I assumed that the most likely ex-
It thus came as rather a shock when, planation was that it was an intermit-
a few weeks later, the motel owner tent fault and I had no intention of
aggravating what was already a deli-
cate situation. In this situation, some
diplomacy was called for. So, without
showing any reaction to the implied
aspersion, I simply asked what the
problem was.
This brought a more conciliatory
response; apparently the set was drift-
ing off channel after prolonged use
and was also delivering a snowy pic-
ture. Well, one thing was certain; I
wanted to see these faults in-situ. The
snowy picture, at least, could be an
antenna distribution problem, so that
point had to be cleared first.
Back to the workshop
Well, he was right; it was snowy. A
second set plugged into the same out-
let cleared the antenna system, so it
was back to the workshop with the
set. I set it up on the bench, checked
the adjustment of each channel, and
let it run. This confirmed the snowy
picture but I wanted to check out the
drift problem first. If it was drifting, a
new tuner would be quickest solu-
tion, and this might also sweep away
the snow, killing two birds with the
one stone.
I let it run for a couple of hours but
there was no noticeable drift during
that time. However, I wasn’t going to
be caught that easily; I’d been there
before and a few comments by the
owner had put me on alert. switched
to another channel, which I knew was
correctly tuned, but the AFC wouldn’t
pull it in. I then switched back to the
first channel — same thing, it wouldn’t
lock in.
I don’t know why it happens but it
has caught me out before. The set can
run OK on a particular channel for
hours but, as soon it is switched to
another channel, everything goes hay-
wire. The only practical cure is to
change the tuner. |
So I fitted a new tuner, set the chan-
nels up again and let it run. And that
cured the drift problem; the tuner was
now as steady as a rock.
But it had done nothing for the
snowy picture. Based on experience,
I went first to VR151, a 10kQ pot on
pin 12 of IC101. This pot is the AGC
delay adjustment and is a common
offender. But not this time; my checks
and adjustments achieved nothing.
Next I checked the UHF reception
against the VHF reception and estab-
lished that it was just as noisy on
either. So, with the tuner cleared, it
JANUARY 1993 45
 ER103 2.™% |.

$0101-$0103
KSA $39
2SA 1015

Fig.1: the tuner & IF circuitry of the Samsung CB15F. The IF output from the tuner (TU001) is fed to IF amplifier
stage Q161 and this, in turn, drives SAW filter Z101 & the IF processing chip (IC101) at bottom right.

had to be something further down the that the voltages were reasonable. So, didn’t fancy replacing it if there was
line. 3 as a last resort I pulled the transistor an easier way and so I resorted to a
out and fitted a replacement. Alas, no trick that I have used in the past.
Signal tracing joy from that either; the picture re- As mentioned on a number of occa-
The signal from the tuner goes to mained snowy. sions, I have a self-contained tuner
the ist IF amplifier (Q161, 2SC388), So where did that leave me? I’d unit, made up from an old turret tuner
then to SAW filter Z101, and subse- cleared the tuner, 1st IF amplifier and and a small power supply assembled
quently to pins 9& 10 of IC101. the SAW filter, all by replacement. So from junkbox parts. It has proved
So what to test next? From experi- the next suspect was chip IC101. I invaluable in tricky cases like this,
ence, my best suspect was the SAW because it delivers a known good IF
filter, because I’ve had several faulty _ signal.
ones in the past. Fortunately, it is easy At this point, the reader should re-
to change, involving only five sol- fer to the accompanying drawing,
dered connections, and I had a spare which the SILICON CHIP draughtsman
on hand. A few minutes later I had has prepared from my rough sketch —
the answer — it wasn’t the SAW filter; see Fig.2. It shows the copper side of
it was still snowing. the PC board around the tuner, the
OK, so what about Q161? One of | tuner itself being mounted on the com-
the weak points of these Samsung ponent side. What we are looking at
circuits is that they carry no voltage here are four tuner mounting lugs and
values. So I spent some time checking eight tuner connection pins.
associated components around this 4 For the sake of clarity, the top seven
stage, then measuring the voltages on pins are neither identified nor shown
This photo shows the replacement
_ the transistor, and doing some mental component pack issued by Samsung connected. The eighth pin, at the bot-
gyrations in an effort to decide for the CB515F/CB515Z TV receivers. tom of the drawing and hemmed in by
whether they were reasonable. The parts involved are C414, L401 & the main copper pattern, is the IF
In the event, I found no obviously RHO01. A detailed instruction sheet OUT pin. This is connected to a small
faulty components and finally decided accompanies the component pack. copper track which forms part of an
46 SImicon CHIP
 inverted “T” pattern. Capacitor C161
then connects to the bottom of the
inverted “T” and feeds the base of
—Q161.
With me so far? Right. I fired up the
substitute tuner and clipped its ouput
lead onto C161’s pigtail where it was
soldered to the copper track. The re-
sult: a perfect picture, with not a snow-
flake in sight. This cleared the IF sys-
tem, along with the following sec-
tions of the set.
So what was going on? The exter-
nal tuner gave a perfect picture where-
as the set’s internal tuner, which was
known to be OK, gave a snowy pic-
ture. It just didn’t make sense. | operation. So everything ended hap-
As far as I could see, the only differ-
ence between to two
10mm length of copper track between
the IF OUT pin of the set’s tuner and
the lead from C161 (which was fed
directly by the substitute tuner).
There was only one way to resolve
the situation. I soldered a short length
of wire to the IF OUT pin, clipped the
substitute tuner lead to it, and tried
again. Result: it was snowing again.
So the fault was somewhere on that
10mm length of copper track.
I fished out the jeweller’s loupe, set
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up a good light, and moved in close.
= Sure enough, there it was — the finest
of hairline cracks about halfway along
TUNER
MOUNTING the strip. And a continuity check con-
LUGS
firmed what was now obvious — the
track was open circuit. : |
After that, the cure was simple; a
run of solder along the strip put every-
thing back to normal. So the set was
returned to the motel owner, with my
TERMINALS
TUNER <<. TUNER assurance that this latest fault had
now been fixed — under warranty.
By now, the atmosphere had thawed
somewhat and the owner actually ex-
pressed his gratitude for my efforts,
and his appreciation of Samsung’s co-
pily.
setups was a But how did that hairline crack oc-
sag why did it show up after the
set/had been running for over three
years? Well, I don’t think that it was a
recent happening. The set had not
been dropped or otherwise abused
Fig.2: this drawing gives some and my bet is that the crack had al-
idea of the layout around the
ways been there, from the time the
tuner. It shows the copper side of
the board, with the tuner (shown
board was made or while it was being
dotted) on the component side. fitted with parts.
Note that the connections to seven My theory is that, in spite of the
of the tuner terminals have been crack, there was, initially, some bridge
omitted for the sake of clarity. across it; a tiny area perhaps, but ad-
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JANUARY 1993 47
 TE
"TT eR; Se Ss
ec SP
al Te eT
~AND THIS MIGHT ALSO SWEEP
Awe THE SNOW, KILLING
TWO BedDS With THE. ONE STONE...
equate for a signal path. But copper, It was to be a forlorn hope because
by its very nature, will eventually suc- © it wasn’t long before another customer,
cumb to corrosion. So the tiny contact one of my regulars, fronted up with
area was eventually destroyed. another computer monitor. This time
Coincidentally, as I started to write there was no image at all and the
these notes, Samsung issued a recall customer, rightly, thought that the
notice concerning the dry joints monitor was at fault. — one following the bridge rectifier was
around C414, L401 and RH01. Appar- This was a different brand; an Acer,
ently I wasn’t the only one to report model MM211, marketed by Dick
this problem. As a result, I and other Smith Electronics. This was a helpful
accredited service organisations have aspect; it’s always reassuring to know
been issued with a detailed instruc- that there is someone to turn to for
tion sheet and kits containing replace- © spare parts or technical advice, if
ments for all three components. needed.
Samsung is not taking any chances. © _ Undoing four screws released the
plastic cover and revealed a very
Computer repairs neatly laid out board. It also revealed
Now for a change of scene. In the the immediate cause of the failure; a
December 1992 issue, I detailed how I blown fuse. And, significantly, there
was conned into repairing a compu- was a second fuse nearby which was
ter — or, more accurately, a computer — still intact. So where did they both fit
monitor. As it turned out, the fault in?
was relatively simple but, even so, I By pulling off some plugs fitted to
expressed the hope that it would be the board and removing some screws,
my last computer repair.. I was able to juggle the board clear
48 SILICON CHIP
and turn it over. This enabled me to
make a quick assessment of the power
supply circuit and even to make a
rough drawing of it.
In many respects, the circuit was
very similar to that used in the previ-
ously mentioned MAGIC model. It
consisted of a transformer, with a fuse
in the primary circuit, that delivered
about 20VAC to a bridge rectifier. This
was then followed by another fuse, a
filter capacitor, and a 12V voltage regu-
lator — just about as ordinary as one
could get.
It was the fuses that pinpointed the
culprit. The blown fuse was in the
transformer primary circuit, while the -
intact. That indicated that either the
rectifier or the transformer was at fault.
It took only a few minutes of check-
ing with the ohmmeter to find a dead
short across one of the 1N5401 bridge
rectifier diodes; and only a few min-
utes more to clear the small capacitor
across it. So that was it; whereas the
MAGIC model had an open circuit
diode, this unit had a diode that was
shorted. a,
As before, a new diode and fuse —
restored everything to normal. The
biggest job had been getting things
apart and finding my way around the
innards. There’s nothing to this com-
puter business; so far, it’s been-a snack.
But don’t tell anybody. SC
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Ref: Silicon Chip January 1993 Ref: Silicon Chip February 1993
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SOwrms 60wrms 40wrms Cat. QM-1450
WAS $49.95 WAS $39.95 WAS $27.95 WAS $14.95 NORMALLY
NOW $34.95 NOW$27.95 NOW$18.95 NOW $9.95 $199.50 20h A COM wor

SAVE $12 SAVE $9 SAVE $5 ONLY $169.50

SAVE $15
Cat. CW-2128 Cat. CW-2120 Cat. CW-2110 Cat. CM-2086 SAVE $30
 IA AD CICRTON 7 av ~ - COTDOAIICOG LAVCPAD CICPTDOAAICOC TAVPAL —
y \ } { . ee! NMWit SN of \YCAR FI ae RONICS J y {

We’ve made a scoop purchase of a quantity of

8" woofers. It is a quality woofer with foam roll ie 471
surround, black dust cover and ribbed WARRANTY
cardboard cone.
Brief Specifications are: Another first for Jaycar.
Power Handling 40 watts The Bellmate PIR is a high quality
Resonant Frequency approx 45Hz unit directly imported by Jaycar. It
Frequency response 45 - 4000Hz has pulse count triggering which up
Impedance 8 ohm until now was only found in units of
Suitable Enclosure 20 - 80 litres sealed $80 or more.
The Bellmate has switchable pulse
Cat. CW-2112
count operation with single pulse
NOT $25 each ONLY $14.95 ea trigger and three pulse trigger. When
set to three pulse the unit requires
three movements before the alarm is
triggered. This will virtually eliminate
false alarms.
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
This book is a must for every user, builder or technician of alternate energy systems. e Incorporates S.S.C. (slide seal
This book explains how to store, produce and use alternate energy effectively. chambers) @ 24 element zones in 3
Subjects discussed include: How TO PRODUCE ENERGY ® battery chargers @ alternators layers ¢ Wide angle 90° coverage ¢
e generators © solar panels © wind/water generators HOw TO USE ENERGY ® 50% Coverage 15 x 15 metres @
discharge rule @ alternating days rule ¢ DC to AC invertors © How To STORE ENERGY Operating voltage 9 - 16V DC
© conventional batteries © sealed batteries How TO REFRIGERATE ® Continuous cycle Tamper switch for 24 hour zone
DC refrigeration © engine driven compressors © intermittent cycle DC refrigeration. Pulse count switchable, normalor 3 =e
| An invaluable reference for the energy systems you need to live without mains power. pulse
© Sensitivity adjustment ¢ LED indicator Sliding PC board
Softcover 344 pages 230 x 152mm. Cat. BC-1160 $39.95 © Size 110(H) x 70(W) x 55(D)mm @ N.C. terminals
e 1 year warranty
cat.LA-5016 $49.95 | installers - contact us for
This book explains how to wire 12 volt electrical systems. It covers: KNOW THE LOADS @
lighting ¢ pumps & motors refrigeration ¢ DC-AC inverters furnaces ¢ wholesale prices
entertainment devices KNOW THE SOURCES @ battery chargers @ alternators © solar
panels ¢ wind/water generators KNOW THE BATTERIES © deep cycle @ liquid electrolyte e
sealed batteries KNow How To © instrument the system @ wire the circuits © 4
troubleshoot © tools needed.
This book is chock full of wiring “How to” with schematics for many circuits. An ideal This is the brightest light that we have ever seen. It’s equivalent to
companion for “Living on 12 Volts”. : : 750,000 candlepower. It’s a hand held spotlight that operates from 12
: peril ion volts. It has 20 feet (7 metres) of cable terminated to a cigarette lighter
SORED VEL 2 Fee a coeur teees earn $29.95 mace plugs. A unique feature of this light, is its abilkkity to stand up on its
own. The handle unscrews to form a tripod which allows the light to
stand upright and the head can then be adjusted to point in just about
96 plug to Cantronies pig lead. 1:8 metres ion any angle. We've seen lamps like this with the same output for $99.
Cat. PL-0854 of; ; & Ideal for shooters, night bushwalks, and anybody who wants to see well
YOU WON’T BEAT | at night.
Normally $18.95 THIS PRICE 76 Q Cat. ST-3035
SPECIAL ANYWHERE? ey WAS $59.95 NOW $39.95
ONLY $8.95 SAVE A MASSIVE $10 SAVE $20
92 THE JAPANESE TRANSISTOR
AS REVIEWED IN ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 1992 : bk BENE
If you work with Japanese transistors you need this book. It gives FULL specifications on foe
approx. 11,500 transistors.
The specifications listed are:- Manufacturer, application, maximum ratings, other main
items, item, characteristics, measurement condition, complementary, shape and
terminations remark. What more could you want. Transistors covered are 2SA, 2SB,
2SC, 2SD, AA---, B----, D----, E-- etc. Also includes connection diagrams and
manufacturers address. Softcover, 208 x 149mm, 412 pages. Cat. BM-4572
$19.95
Many of these transistors can be substituted for each other despite differences in wo
w-
=~~
their part numbers. The reader can easily identify these transistors from 8 major
manufacturers with different type numbers but identical performances.
Cat. BM-4570 $17.95
JAYCAR WILL NOT
Two brand new volumes give comparison on transistors and FETs. Each page is divided
into three sections:-
BE UNDERSOLD
@ Description - with type, material, polarity and description of application
@ Data - with the most important ratings, divided into clear columns and a drawing of
eo], Mejele]
oi we)=
the corresponding case with the connection sequence @ Alternative - type part, listing
as far as possible, the most suitable alternative types
THE SAME
A = Z Contains more than 11,000 different transistors and FETs. 270 pages Cat. BM-4584 $18.95 QUALITY
O = Lt Contains more than 15,000 different transistors and FETs. Includes 2N, 2SA, B, C, D, 2SK MOSFETs etc.
‘ 430 pages Cat. BM-458 10.7 =
 SS a
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ELECTRONICS
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JAYCAR ELECTRON

KITS KITS AND

_ KA-1109 Electric Fence $24.95 KA-1741 Dolby Surround Sound $39.95 KC-5099 ~— PC Voice Recorder $32.95
—KA-1115 — 300W amp module $89.95 ~ KA-1742 — Sine/Square Wave Generator $55.00 KC-5100 Talking Voltmeter $42.95
~ KA-1116 300W power supply $115.00 KA-1743 1MHz Pulse Generator $89.50 KC-5101 Steam Sound Mk2 $19.95
- KA-1117 300W speaker protector $19.95 KA-1744 Audio Sweeper - Low Cost $99.00 KC-5102 — Solar Batt Charger $34.95
KA-1119 Transistor tester $21.50 KA-1745 Flexible Speaker Protector $29.95 KC-5103 ~—«rTV Pattern Gen $110.00
~ KA-1390 ‘Freq counter 50MHz $169.50 KA-1746 Inductive adaptor for DMM $39.95 KC-5105 = Baby Monitor $24.95
_ KA-1550 ~— Deluxe car alarm $59.50 KA-1747 Multimedia Amp S/F $24.95 KC-5106 —_ Light Beam Relay $34.50
_KA-1556 —_—Ultrasonic move detector $34.95 KC-5012 — Car radio power supply $28.95 KC-5107 ~— Guitar Mixer - 4 Channel $49.95
_ KA-1574 — 30V 1A power supply $99.50 KC-5013 ~—-16GHz Digital Freq meter $249.00 KC-5108 = 12-240V 40W Inverter $99.00
~ KA-1630 = 12V lamp flasher $12.95 KC-5019 100W amp module $45.95 KC-5109 Power Supply 0-45V 8A $399.00
KA-1660 Electric fence $64.95 KC-5021 Protector car alarm $49.50 KC-5110 50W + 50W Stereo Amp $329.00
KA-1675 —— Screecher car alarm $39.95 KC-5028 ‘Train controller $89.00 KC-5111. ~~‘Telephone Call Timer $29.95
KA-1682 Dual track power supply $149.95 KC-5030 — High Energy Ignition $55.00 KC-5112 Substation Intercom PSU $84.95
KA-1683 Battery monitor $14.95 KC-5031 Optical tacho $49.95 KC-5113 Substation Intercom $59.95
KA-1690 — DI box $39.95 KC-5032 — Disco Light $169.50 KC-5114 ~— VHF TV Transmitter $89.50
KA-1692 Voice operated relay $24.95 KC-5038 — Universal power supply $12.95 KC-5115 — Thermostatic Switch $37.95
KA-1693 Metronome $19.95 KC-5039 Vader Voice $19.95 KC-5116 — Video Switcher $129.95
KA-1696 — Econ. Temp probe DMM $19.95 KC-5041 ~—-Mini Mitter $34.95 KC-5117 =: 12-240 15W Inverter $49.95
$44.95 KC-5042 ~— Knightrider LEDs $17.95 KC-5118 Off Hook Telephone Timer $17.95 A
KA-1699 — Bench amp-signal trace
KA-1702 50MHz Dig Freq meter $79.00 KC-5051 CD Compressor $49.50 KC-5119 ——-12V Gel Battery Charger $24.95
Cheap capacitance meter $21.95 KC-5052 = Touch Lamp Dimmer $34.95 KC-5120 — NiCad Battery Discharger $27.95 |
KA-1706
KA-1717 Subwoofer Adaptor $29.95 KC-5058 — Multimeter Kit $38.95 KC-5121 = 240V 6/12V Gel Battery Charger $69.50
KA-1718 Auto NiCad charger $39.95 KC-5059 —-Radfax decoder $44.95 KC-5122 ~=—-1.5V - 9V DC Converter $13.95
KA-1719 NiCad discharger $29.95 KC-5072 Digital voice recorder $79.50 KC-5123 5A Drill Speed Control $39.95
KA-1720 RGB to PAL encoder $49.95 KC-5075 = CAP meter 1pF - 9999uF $89.00 KC-5124 ~— Mini Stereo Amp $22.95
Volt up 1.5V to 9V $19.95 KC-5076 —_-Reluctor high energy $46.95 KC-5125 FM Radio Receiver $29.95
KA-1724
Pro series 1 power amp $599.00 KC-5077 ~— Stereo PRE AMP $32.95 KC-5126 — Diesel Sound Simulator $12.95
KA-1725
$47.95 KC-5079 +~— Sine/Square Wave Gen $149.50 KE-4023 Signal Speaker protector $22.50
KA-1726 Pro module less mosfets
$52.50 KC-5080 —_ Horace the cricket $18.95 KE-4029 — NiCad battery charger $14.95 )
KA-1728 VHF powermatch
$7.50 KC-5083 = 3 Digit counter $23.95 KE-4050 ET1480 50W amp module $27.50
KA-1729 RF probe - suit above
$329.00 KC-5084 VCR Remote control ext $32.95 KE-4052 — ET1480 100W amp mod $34.50
KA-1730 — Pro series 2 pre-amp
$32.00 KC-5085 —_Discolight dimmer $39.95 KE-4048 — ETI480 power supply $29.50
KA-1731 _. Transistor/Fet tester
$17.95 KC-5089 — Two Tone Siren $9.95 KE-4698 4 sector house alarm $34.95
KA-1732 Flexi timer
$24.95 KC-5090 Sinewave Oscillator $16.95 KE-4711 Mini FM transmitter $11.95
KA-1733 CRO adaptor
$69.95 KC-5091 20W Fluoro Inverter $32.95 KE-4724 Parametric equaliser $26.95
KA-1734 Quad DI box
$159.50 KC-5092 =:12V Light chaser $21.95 KE-4729 Guitar preamp $45.00
KA-1735 CRO Adaptor for Monitors
$79.95 KC-5094 —— Stereo Audio Expander $39.95 KE-4730 Solar Generator $13.95
KA-1736 18V 1A Bench Supply
$29.95 KC-5095 DITMF Decoder $79.95 KM-3050 — Workhorse amp $37.95
KA-1737 Speech Proc for Transceiver
$27.95 KC-5096 § 4ChLighting Desk $329.00 KM-3065 —_RS true 232 interface $27.95
KA-1738 Karoake Box
$22.95 KC-5097 ~~ Masthead Amp $49.95 KM-3068 | FM minder bug $12.95
KA-1739 — Low Voltage Cutout
KA-1740 240V Power Relay $49.50 KC-5098 Digital Tacho $34.95

This product is designed to clean computer screens. It’s anti-static

and is supplied in a bottle with a pump action spray, simply spray on
Designed for CD’s. Comfortable and lightweight. Compatible with all stereo and then wipe off. 250mi bottle.
equipment.
20-16kHz cat. NA-1030 WAS $7.50 NOW $4.95
Frequency Range
Impedance 32Q +3%
SAVE $2.55
Max Input Power 100mW
Sensitivity 105dB SPL

ae This product is specifically designed to clean computer keyboards,

Length of Cord
cord +3% cases, cabinets, etc. Supplied in a pump action plastic bottle. Spray

Adaptor Plug 3.5mmof to on an d wipe off.

6.5mm type cat. NA-1032 WAS $10.95 NOW $6.95
NOW $16.95 $
SAVE A
We now have our own brand Butane
MASSIVE $7
gas suitable for every gas soldering
iron including our new Hot-Sol range.
‘
And the good news is that, because
we've got our own brand and cut out
36 compartments designed to accept 1/4 or 1/2 watt resistors.
the middleman WE CAN REDUCE
Space beside each compartment to write there is space to write the
THE PRICE.
value of the component. They stack inside each other - so you can
find a resistor, capacitor, nut, bolt or what have you in a jiffy. To Can size 1509.
Cat. NA-1020 WAS $7.50
store our popular RR-1697 resistor pack you will need 3 trays &
still have 23 compartments left over. Size 395 x 260 x 20mm deep.
cat. 18-6340 $6.50 each NOW $5.95

EW JAYCAR 180 PAGE CATALOGUE OUT IN MARG

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4R ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECT
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*R ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR FIFCTRONICS JAYCAR FI FCI
=R ELECTR
RELECTR(
°R ELECTRI END OF AN ERA! GLASS BREAK DETECTOR
=R ELECTRO At last, a reasonably priced, quality Glass Break Detector. The LA-5195 is an acoustic glassbreak detector
R ELECTR( RT ELECTROLYTICS NO designed to listen for specific sonic frequencies of breaking glass. It’s equipped with multi-level discriminating
R ELECTR(
R ELECTR( LONGER AVAILABLE circuitry to maximise its response and minimise its response to normal environmental noises. It will not alarm in
response to a slamming door, or even a tap on the case. Also incorporated is a sensitivity adjustment
=R ELECTR(
RELECTR( Our two major capacitor suppliers have discontinued the RT (axial) potentiometer. It will cover a room up to 10m x 10m and is priced well below others of the same cpaltly,
R ELECTR( range of electrolytics. So, we have made up some unbelievable Specifications Sees
=R ELECTR( packs of these. So, grab yourself a pack for when you will need Voltage input 6-26 V DC
-R ELECTR that RT. The capacitors used in these packs are mostly from our Supply Ripple 1V P-P max
R ELECTR( standard stock, so we've listed what you will approximately Current 20mA max (12V DC)
=R ELECTR(
“R ELECTR( receive. We've added up the prices and found that they total Operating Temp. -10 to +50°C r
=R ELECTR( $101.00 if bought at normal prices. The pack contains 100 electros Alarm Duration 1 second [
=R ELECTR( at at $19.95 represents an absolute bargain. Grab a pack while Coverage
=R ELECTRO we've got them. Max Sensitivity 10m x 10m (35' x 35’)
aR ELECTR(
"R ELECTR( This is approximately what’s in the bag, we reserve the right to Min Sensitivity 60cm x 60cm (2' x 2')
sR ELECTR( make changes if shortages occur. Colour White
“R ELECTR( 1uF/63v x 3, 2.2/63 x 3, 4.7/63 x 4, 10/63 x 4, 10/160 x 4, 25/25 x Output Terminals N/C
"R ELECTR( 3, 25/63 x 5, 47/16 x 11, 47/25 x 7, 47/63 x 1, 100/25 x 3, 100/63 x Size 75(w) x 63(h) x 21(d)mm
=R ELECTRO
=R ELECTR(
8, 100/450 x 1, 220/25 x 6, 470/16 x 7, 470/25 x 4, 470/50 x 13,
1000/12 x 1, 1000/25 x 2, 1000/35 x 1, 1000/63 x 1, 2500/16 x 2,
Cat. LA-5195 $79.95
SR ELECTRO
=“R ELECTR(
R ELECTRO
2500/25 x 3, 2500/35 x 1, 3300/16 x 1, 4700/35 x 1
100 RT ELECTRO’s - over $100 value
REMOTE CONTROL SWITCH
=R ELECTR(
"R ELECTR( Cat. RE-6290 O as
LY 95 (Wireless Receiver/Transmitter)
=R ELECTR( Why build a kit when you can buy a built unit for only $10 more and it’s guaranteed
*"R ELECTR( At last a quality Remote Control unit with two transmitters for under $100!
R ELECTR(
*R ELECTR( THE TRANSMITTERS
"R ELECTR(
=R aly, The keyfob has two buttons on them, one LOCK and |
"R ELECTR( one UNLOCK with a LED to show unit has
sR ELECTR( transmitted. Size is normal keyfob size 60 x 35 x |
*R ELECTR( 14mm and has a keyring. |
SR ELECTR( |
THE RECEIVER
"R ELECTR
eR ELECTR NEW PRODUCTS |
|
It's a black box with a 4 way terminal block for
*RELECTR |
RELECTR HIGH QUALITY AUDIO CABLE external connections. These are for +12V, -12V, |
RELECTR LOCK and UNLOCK. |
1R ELECTR lf you wanted better quality audio cable than our standard range, it’s
"RELECTR been a problem up til now. Our new high quality audio cable is ideal
FEATURES |
|
‘R ELECTR for wiring up amplifiers, making audio leads, etc., etc. Made in There are separate outputs for lock and unlock which |
-RELECTR Australia. are both momentary (approx. 0.5 seconds). There are a ie |
“*R ELECTR |
sR ELECTR¢ Specifications two separate relays one for lock and the other for unlock, which will switch currents up to 2 amps. which is
iR ELECTR( Single Fig 8 adequate for most applications. There is also a switch which allows the output relays to switch either to
sR ELECTR( Nearest AWG size 25 27 ground or to +12V to an external control circuit. Both transmitters and receiver have DIP switches for coding. |
“R ELECTR( No/dia wire mm 14/0.122 14/0.122 There are 6,561 different codings available. Remote control range is 28 metres. Ideal for controlling central |
sR ELECTR( Insulation thickness 0.38 0.38 door locking, car alarms, etc., etc. Supplied with two transmitters and one receiver. |
"R ELECTR(
aR ELECTRO Nominal OD mm Ie S| Bx 2:5
Spiral lapped tinned copper
Cat. LR-8822 $79.95
“RELECTR Screen
“RELECTR Insulation Polythene — Polythene EXTRA TRANSMITTERS NOW AVAILABLE cat. LA-8823 $19.95
‘RELECTR Colour Black Black
RELECTR
SINGLE Fig 8 "HIGH POWER SUBWOOFER KIT l
“R ELECTR
‘RELECTR Cat. WB-1506 Cat. WB-1507 in Electronics Australia January 1993
‘RELECTR
iR ELECTR( $2 metre $3.95 metre ; Build a 200W rms subwoofer. After the June subwoofer article which
"RELECTR $125/100mt roll $245/100mt roll featured our 8" subwoofer, EA was beseiged with requests for a higher
RELECTR power unit. They have used our Re/Sponse 12" driver and we have had
RELECTR BNC TERMINATOR PLUG J cabinet kits made to suit.
-RELECTR
"RELECTR To terminate BNC sockets with a 502 resistor. | SPEAKER Re/Sponse 12" driver cat. cw-2145
“R ELECTR Cat. PP-0655 $3.95
RELECTR 1$199
RELECTR
R ELECTR
LEAD ACID BATTERY CABINET KIT
RELECTR CHARGER ; The cabinet is not cheap, but we found that there is an enormous amount
RELECTR
RELECTR This handy charger will deliver 450mA to trickle of work for the home constructor to line up all the wood, drill and screw. F
RELECTR charge lead acid batteries. Will charge a 4.5Ah Our cabinet kit is made from 18mm MDF customwood, as recommended eer 2 a ae rE ET,
R ELECTR battery in 10-15 hours, longer for higher current | in the article. There are 64 holes pre-drilled to fix the 32 x 50mm screws sipped and 3 needed for strong
R ELECTR(¢ batteries. I assembly. The baffle has been routed and the T nutsockets are in place to mount the driver. There is a
R ELECTR( 240 volt operated, has colour coded output lead i 50mm round hole to mount the rear termina! whichiIssupplied. The MDF customwood !s supplied in a F
R ELECTR¢ natural state with a view to painting it.
F
R ELECTRC with terminals for quick connect to batteries. F
R ELECTR( Cat. MB-3508 $19.95
R ELECTR(
Cat. CS-2485 $189 wali Jane)" [3 F
F
R ELECTR CLEAR HEATSHRINK TUBING F
R ELECTRO All our current sizes of heatshrink are now available in clear. Ideal LARGE HEAT- TURN YOUR SURPLUS BWW Aer-\ F
R ELECTR( SHRINK TUBING STOCK INTO CASH! DEALER F
R ELECTR( where you need to see under what has been heatshrunk. Shrinks to
R ELECTR( 1/2 size. The size shown is before shrinking. OF Now available, Heatshrink
Jaycar will purchase your
Contact our
F
F
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Price
$1.85
Clear
WH-5550
Red Black Fiadlogwitia aanm.ci 2, SUPE stocks ofcomponents, Comnetls F
F
WH-5530 = WH-5540 1/4") diameter. Ideal for Sub Cede tia ’
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R ELECTR( , 02) 743 5222 F
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R ELECTR( 7mm $2.50 WH-5554 WH-5534 ~~WH-5544 enaake " ms tee Call Mark Harris or BUY IN
R ELECTR( 10mm $3.00 WH-5555 WH-5535 =»WH-5545 Br Routl
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: 'NEW FROM |
Is your 486 running too hot? Do 1 I
you live in the hotter areas of | JAYCA ae _ The Comma Fax/Modem will
L 4 turn your PC (or Macintosh)
Australia? Many CPU’s run too Es into both a fax machine which
hot. With our new CPU cooler Fe can transmit faxes up to 9600
you can forget all that. baud, as well as a Modem
The CPU cooler is easy to which supports both 1200 and
mount, you don’t need to remove 2400 baud.
the CPU. It incorporates a The Comma Fax/Modem uses
heatsink which clips over the | the latest technologyin digital
CPU and is held there by a signal processing to ensure
special clip. It's supplied with a lasting trouble free operation.
piggyback plug arrangement for The Comma Fax/Modem is a fully featured fax machine similar to units costing over $1000,
power. Simply unplug the power which will transmit and receive faxes at up to 9600 baud. :
connector inside and plug the ~ Your faxes can now be sent directly from your PC without having to print them first. Programs
CPU cooler in-line. Installation supported such as Ventura Publisher, WordPerfect, Windows, TIFF and Dr Halo to name but a
should take all of about 3
; BF they few.
ures 40 & 3: You can view incoming faxes on-screen or print them using a standard dot matrix printer.
Incoming files can also be exported in either TIFF or PCX formats for use in popular graphic
ONLY $39.95 packages.
Only print the faxes you want to keep--just think of the savings on expensive fax paper.
The Comma Fax/Modem will also receive faxes in background while you continue to work.
When faxing out, the Fax/Modem will redial an engaged number so you can be sure your faxes
are sent. The software also automatically keeps a complete log of both incoming and outgoing
faxes. :
Also supported are cover pages, broadcast faxes, and scheduling. The software keeps a
Ref: SC December 1992 database type register of regularly used fax numbers for easy retrieval.
This project is virtually identical to our steam The Comma Fax/Modem is a fully AT command compatible modem. Features include
sound simulator kit, and is designed to mount V22/V/22bis standards both 1200 and 2400 baud rates are supported as well as auto answer,
inside the loco, providing scale is HO or larger. ; si dialling and disconnect. You will find it compatible with all popular communication software.
Measuring just 102 x 25mm this diesel sound kit ‘ ee FREE Software
will compliment any layout with diesel locos. PCB : 7 | With each modem you will receive the QL2 Fax/modem software featuring both pull -down and
mylar speaker and all electronic components ae mouse support.

“ee 'NEW FROM| = | cat. xM-5000 ONLY $349

$12.95 | JAYCAR |

Ref: EA December 1992 This new pack contains a handy assortment of quality PVC tubing.
Measuring the inductance of wire-wound components has not been easy until Sizes vary from 90mm to 3m in length and 1mm to 9mm in diameter,
now, but here’s a handy adaptor unit which allows the job to be done with a in up to six different colours. This pack is ideal for hobbyists as spaghetti tubing is becoming
standard digital multimeter. Operating from a single 9V battery and will measure increasingly difficult to obtain in these sizes. Grab one for the ‘junk box’!
virtually any of the inductances used in audio and similar circuitry with values in Cat. WS-5502 $3.96
the micro Henry - milli Henry range. Kit includes PCB, case, all components. 9V
battery required Cat. SB-2370. Pe Neale ST
Cat. KA-1746 $39.95 iNEw 7 .
F ROm ! Great for parties. It's an incandescent lamp with ultra violet coating. Will fit any
L =
JA
= =
CA R Hi240V AC standard globe socket. Rated at 75 watts.
sit
~~~.1\Cat. SL-2760 $9.95

Ref: EA December 1992

This project was originally designed to be used with
computer sound-cards, and CD-ROM players to bring
games and other software ‘to life’. It can also be used
with portable CD players and video equipment. Just
the shot for improving the sound from your computer
or CD player! The kit is supplied in short form, i.e. no
speaker (use Cat AS-3011), box, transformer (use Cat | -
MM-2006) or hardware. PCB and all electronic components supplied.
Cat. KA-1747
This is one subject that is very difficult to find any information on. , FERRITE
Magnetic cores are the foundation for transformers, inductors and > APPLICATIONS
chokes used in so many of our electronic projects. This book is ]
intended to be used by persons who want to (or have to) work with
ferrite materials, but are not well versed in magnetics or ferrites and
3 cannot justify outside consultation.
$24.95 Some of the problems addressed are:-
* How to select the right type of material
¢ How to identify an unknown material
¢ How to measure material properties and
much more ;
Written in 1991 by A. K. Johnson. This book is due to arrive
sometime in January - hopefully, the first half. Softcover, ringbinder. 82 pages 212 x 132mm.

Increase your top end response for band PA

Cat. BC-1125 $18.95
bins or even your own home Hi-Fi speakers.
This bullet provides a new high tier look with
outstanding accoustic performance. The TD
ie ae ee Oe
ee ee ee eeeo
bullet is rated at 99dB (1m/1w) with exceptional -Canberra ITEC
smoothness over the operating range 3.5kHz to
20kHz. Power handling is 100 watts. Bradfield/Melba Streets, Downer ACT 2602
cat. cT-192e $39.95 maale)alcean (Ole) x. aimolo 1010)
Fax: (06) 241 6244

\YCAR FL
Stock up now on these amazing speaker bargains. They are quality woofers with foam roll
surrounds, silver dust cover and ribbed grey cardboard cones.
Brief specifications - 10" and 12"
Impedance 8Q * power handling 10" 60 watts 12" 80 watts * resonant frequency (approx.) 10"
38Hz, 12" 35Hz * frequency response 10" 38 - 3000Hz, 12" 35 - 2000HZz * suitable enclosure
size (sealed cabinets) 10" 25 litre or more, 12" 40 litre or more.
Please note - these are the only specifications we have available.
10" SPEAKER cat. cw-2117 ONLY $20 ea
12" SPEAKER cat. cw-2122 ONLY $27.50

These clamps are made of stainless steel and can be locked on to the
If you don’t need 300 watts then this brand new 100 watt
item they are holding. They are 130mm long,
version may just do the job. Made by the same company
SO are ideal to reach into hard-to-get-at
that makes our 300 watt and 500 watt units, we found this
places. Also great for holding components.
inverter to work exceptionally well. It has good overload
etc., whilst soldering.
cat tHizss ONLY $8.95 a)
protection and the circuit breakers will trip if 110 watts is
exceeded over a long time. It has a Hi/Lo voltage switch,
efficiency is 82% Hi and 86% Lo. It is not suitable for -
Mee a th hee See
refrigeration, motor, compressor, phase shift control
equipment (e.g. electric blanket).
Supplied with lead and cigarette lighter plug. SAVE $60 Yes, that’s right Jaycar now stocks a high quality stethoscope!! Its
OVER PREVIOUS MODELS. acoustic response is remarkable. Unlimited uses, een to your heart!!
Use with our blood pressure ——_— il
cat. mi-so3s ONLY $129.50 meter, even listen for nasty
knocks in your cars engine.
Japanese made.
j Cat. QM-7255
1 $19. 95
‘ER Ga
The ATD 1800 is a very popular answering
machine. All the big stores and discounters
Did.you know that you can return your old Telecom phone
sell it for $99. Because so many are sold,
to any Telecom office and receive $30 off your phone bill
ATD get a quantity back from retailers
“EVERY” year! So, this phone will pay for itself in four
which have been declared faulty. These
months. We’ve made a huge purchase of one piece
are checked by ATD, and many are found
phones and can sell them for 1/2 of what other companies
to be O.K. The faulty ones are fixed. They
sell them for. This phone is black, has last number redial,
can’t be sold as new because they may
mute button, on/off ringer, pulse dialling system, easy
have a scratch on them, or marks where
push button operation and a wall bracket supplied. Grab
the power lead has been wrapped around
one today - and save.
the unit.
All units are supplied with instruction cat. YT-70600 AN AMAZING $9.95
manual, phone lead and power plug pack.
They have a3 MONTH REPLACEMENT WARRANTY. Save 40% on new
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Cat. YT-7028 ONLY $59.95 Cheapest in Australia?
23 Element |
cat. LT-3178 $38.95
The ATD MP250 Cordless Telephone is used daily by thousands of people in 43 Element
Australia. It must be the most common Cordless Phone. These units, like the Cat. LT-3181
answering machine above were repaired if they needed to be, and can't be sold $54.95
as new because they may have a mark on them. All units supplied with manual,
leads and power plug pack. They have a 3 MONTH REPLACEMENT 91 |
WARRANTY. These units sell new for between $99 and $129. Limited quantity
of these available.
Element +
Cat. LT-3182
Cat. YT-7026 ONLY $69.95 $89.50

$10 - $24.99 $3.75

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Mon-Fri 8.30 - 5.30 Thurs 8.30pm - Sat 9 - 4 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30
IM—

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_ JANUARY 1993-57
A 2kW 24V/240VAC
sinewave inverter; Pt.4 |
This month, we will begin construction of the Check each PC board for shorted
tracks, open circuit tracks and other
2kW inverter by presenting the assembly details faults which may be evident on a
for the four main PC boards. Each PC board can visual inspection. Repairs can be made
to shorted tracks by cutting away cop-
be tested so that any faults can be fixed before per with a sharp utility knife, while
they are wired into the chassis. open circuit tracks can be repaired by
soldering a length of tinned copper
By JOHN CLARKE wire across the break.
Look at the overlay diagrams and
Make no mistake, this is a major pane torch will be necessary for sol- check that-the holes in the PC boards
construction project and should not dering lugs to 150A cable unless an are the correct size for mounting the
be attempted unless you are an expe- hydraulic crimping machine is avail- components or hardware. Most of the
rienced constructor. You will need able. component holes should be 1mm dia-
access to a dual trace oscilloscope, a We will begin by discussing the meter while the PC board mounting
digital multimeter, an adjustable assembly of the four PC boards. These and regulator tab mounting holes
power supply capable of 24V at1A,a are the DC-DC Inverter Board, the H- should be 3.5mm diameter. Holes for
crimping tool, plus light and heavy Pack Board, the Sinewave Generator the 4mm screws (for the cable lug
duty soldering irons. Also a small pro- Board and the Rectifier Board. connections) should be 4mm in dia-

58 SILICON CHIP
 * SOLDER 4mm NUT TO COPPER SIDE

Fig.12: parts layout on the DC-DC Inverter Board. Install all the parts as shown
_ except for the Mosfet transistors and the 1MQ resistor marked “see text”. This __
_ ICs, taking care with their orienta-
resistor is installed later only if it is necessary to increase the “dead-time”. tion. When soldering, check that ad-
jacent pins are not bridged except
where dictated by the copper pattern.
meter. Drill or ream out any holes verter Board which is coded 11309921 This can easily happen with a me-
which need to be enlarged before you and measures 204 x 157mm. The com- dium size soldering iron tip.
install any of the components. ponent overlay is shown in Fig.12. The capacitors can now be all in-
Most of the links and all low watt- Note the 12 large pads, six on each stalled, followed by trimpot VR1, tran-
age resistors for these PC boards are. side of the board. These are drilled to sistors Q1-Q4, the diodes and zener
spaced on 12.7mm (0.5 inch) centres accept a 4mm machine screw. You diodes. Make sure that these compo-
and it may be expedient to make up a will need to solder a brass nut to each nents are all installed the right way
small jig so that the resistor leads and of these large copper pads. around. The 82Q 5W wirewound re-
the link leads can be bent to match This is best done by fitting all the sistor should be mounted so that its
these centres. 3 screws and nuts in position on the body is about 1mm above the PC board
board. Each nut is then soldered to to allow the air to circulate beneath it
Do not use IC sockets the copper pad using a heavy duty for cooling.
We do not recommend using IC iron. It is also a good idea at this stage Finally, install the inductor (L1).
sockets for any of the ICs in this to tin the Gate, Source and Drain pads Do not insert the Mosfets at this stage
project. Apart from the fact that qual- for the Mosfets (Q5-Q16). — that step comes later.
ity types can cost more than the ICs Now insert the nine PC stakes and
themselves, they can reduce the reli- solder them in place. The 3-terminal H-pack board
ability of the circuit. Readers may no- regulator (REG1) is mounted flat on Fig.13 shows the parts layout on
tice from the photographs that we used the PC board and secured with a screw the H-Pack Board. It measures 204 x
a socket for IC23; ie, the OTP-ROM and nut. Bend the leads first so that 157mm and is coded 11309922.
(One Time Programmable ROM. How- they fit precisely into the IN, GND and Assembly of the H-Pack Board be-
ever, this was only so that we could OUT pads when the regulator is se- gins in the same way as the previous
easily remove and replace the OTP- cured in place. board; ie, by soldering the brass nuts
ROM during the circuit development. The links and low wattage resistors to the large pads on the copper side.
_ can now be soldered in place but omit There are 16 insulated links on the
DC-DC inverter board the 1MQ resistor marked “see text” at _ board and these are made using 15A
Let’s now start with the DC-DC In- this stage. This done, install the three mains-rated cable. These wires carry

JANUARY 1993 59
Q17 |
(1)
Qi9
(3)
CURVED LINKS 15A MAINS WIRE
Fig.13: parts layout for the H-Pack Drive Board. Note that the 16 curved links
must be run using 15A insulated mains wire. The four IGBTs & the four diodes
are mounted on the underside of the PC board (see Fig.15).
the heavy current from the IGBTs and
diodes to the H-drive terminals
(+365V, OV, X and Y).
Once these leads are in, the 14 PC
stakes can be installed, followed by
the links, resistors, ICs, diodes and
zener diodes. The capacitors and
varistors (the S14K275
then be installed, followed by the
BOBBIN
12T CLOSEWOUND
10T CLOSEWOUND
1 ;
T2-T4 WINDINGS
WRAP WITH INSULATING TAPE
Fig.14: here are the winding details
for transformers T2-T4. Use 0.125mm
enamelled copper wire & make sure
that there is at least 5mm clearance
between the two windings.
60 SILICON CHIP
* SOLDER 4mm BRASS NUTS TO COPPER SIDE
MOVs. The latter can be oriented ei-
ther way but the electrolytic capaci-
tors must be oriented as shown
Fig.13.
Winding the transformers
Transformers T2, T3 and T4 are
devices) can wound using 0.125mm enamelled
copper wire — see Fig.14. Each trans-
former bobbin is wound in the same
way. The windings are 10 turns be-
tween pins 1 and 4 for the primary
and 12 turns between pins 5 and 8 for
the secondary, on a Philips EFD 15/8/
5 bobbin.
Wind the turns as close together as
possible and solder the leads to the
outside pins. The actual direction that
each winding is wound is not critical
4
but the completed bobbin should have
at least a 5mm clearance between the
primary and secondary windings to
provide high voltage isolation. Com-
plete the job by winding a couple of
layers of insulation tape around the
bobbin to keep the turns in place.
Once the bobbins are wound, insert
Q18
(2)
the two ferrite core halves and secure
- them in place with the spring clips.
The three finished transformers can
then be installed on the PC board,
taking care to ensure correct pin ori-
entation.
in The four IGBTs (Q17-Q20) and the
four diodes (D10-D13) are mounted
on the underside of the PC board as
shown in the mounting detail dia-
gram of Fig.15 (this diagram also ap-
plies to Mosfets Q5-Q16 on the DC-
DC Inverter Board).
To install these devices, first bend
their leads at right angles 3mm from
their bodies as shown in Fig.15. This
done, attach four 9mm standoffs to
the PC board, then install and solder
each device so that its face sits flat
against the resting surface (ie, the
workbench).
Sinewave generator board
The Sinewave Generator Board
measures 181 x 131mm and is coded
11309923. Its component overlay dia-
gram is shown in Fig.16.
You can begin this board by install-
ing the 17 PC stakes, followed by the
wire links. The remaining parts can
then be installed.

HEATSINK
Note that the 7805 regulator (REG2)
is fitted with a finned heatsink and is
secured to the PC board with a screw
and nut. Smear the metal tab of the
regulator with heatsink compound
before bolting the assembly together.
The 150Q 5W resistor is mounted
about 1mm above the PC board to
_allow the air to circulate beneath it for
cooling.
Rectifier PC board
This board mainly functions as an
assembly platform for the two high
voltage capacitors (680nF 400VW &
25uF 370VAC), the three large toroids
(L2, L3 & L4), and a terminating panel.
Apart from that, it incorporates the
fast rectifiers (D3-D6) and the opto-
coupled feedback circuitry for the DC-
_DC inverter, involving IC4 and IC5.
The board measures 214 x 162mm
-and is coded 11309924.
The first step is to solder the seven
4mm brass nuts to the relevant pads
on the copper side of the PC board.
The heavy current links must be run
using 15A mains-rated wire. Keep
Fig.15: the IGBTs & diodes are |
installed on the underside of H-
pack board as shown in this
diagram. Make sure that the
mounting face of each device is
exactly 9mm below the bottom
of the PC board. ul
these links as short as practicable.
Now install the fuse clips, the
tinned copper wire links, the resis-
tors and zener diode and, finally, the
two ICs.
The DC filter choke toroid, L2, is
wound with six turns of 2mm enam-
elled copper wire spread evenly
around the core. Strip the enamel in-
sulation from the wire ends, tin them
with solder and then solder them to
the PC board. The finished toroid is
anchored to the PC board using two
small cable ties.
Solder in the four fast recovery di-
odes (D3-D6) but do not trim their
leads under the board yet since their
tabs have to be aligned with matching
holes in chassis when the board is
finally installed.
Inductors L3 and L4 and the two
high voltage capacitors are not in-
stalled at this stage.
Testing
DC-DC Inverter Board: to test the in-
verter board, you will require a power
supply capable of delivering 24V DC
at 0.5A. You will also need a dual
trace oscilloscope and a multimeter.
Bridge the pins for the thermal cut-
outs and connect your DC power sup-
ply to the +24V and GND IN pins.
Connect your scope probes to the 4.7Q
resistors at the emitters of Q1 and Q2
and the emitters of Q3 and Q4 respec-
tively. Now apply power; the oscillo-
scope should show two 20kHz square
waves with an amplitude of 15V peak.
The waveforms are as shown in Fig.9
which is on page 30 of the November
1992 issue.
If no waveforms are present, you
will have to backtrack through the
circuit to find the malfunction. First
check the outputs of inverter IC2 and
then the outputs of IC1 (pins 9 & 10).
If nothing still, check that the 15V
supply is present at the relevant pins
of IC1 and IC2.
Now switch off the power and
switch on again to observe the soft
start feature. Each waveform should
start off with a low duty cycle and
increase to the maximum duty cycle
of slightly less than 50% in about one
second.
Check the “dead time” between
each waveform. This is measured as
the time between the falling edge of
one waveform and the rising edge of
the other. It should be about 5us. If the
dead time is less than ips, then the
1MQ resistor between pins 4 & 14 of
Fig.16: parts layout on
the Sinewave Generator
Board. Make sure that all
polarised parts are
correctly oriented & use —
PC stakes for the 17
external wiring
connections. Don’t use
_ sockets for any of the ICs.
JANUARY 1993 61
 CURVED LINKS ARE 15A MAINS WIRE * SOLDER 3mm BRASS NUTS TO COPPER SIDE

Fig.17: parts layout for the Rectifier PC Board, minus L3, L4 & the two high
voltage capacitors. As on the H-Pack Board, the curved links must be run using VR1 slowly to check that the duty
15A mains-rated cable. cycle can be varied from maximum tc
minimum. :
IC1 should be installed. This will in- supply, the circuit should stop oper- Note that maintaining a steady duty
crease the dead time. ating. cycle with VR1 is very difficult but
Test the under voltage cutout by The feedback control is tested by this test will confirm that the contro]
‘winding down the power supply. Ata connecting a 100kQ resistor between circuitry is operating.
voltage of around 20V from the power the “A” pin and the +15V pin. Adjust Finally, the Mosfets (Q5-Q16) can
be installed. These are mounted at
right angles on the underside of the
PC board as shown in Fig.15.
Bees Sinewave Generator Board: connect
a DC supply set to 15V between the
GND and +15V pins on the PC board.
Connect your oscilloscope probes to
the A and B pins and check that these
two waveforms are 180° out of phase
and operating at about 1MHz. |

Similarly check that the E & F out-

puts and the C & D outputs are also at
1MHz and 180° out of phase. If there
is a fault here, check for correct sup-
ply voltages on IC14, IC15 and IC16.
By the way, the supply rail for these
three ICs was incorrectly shown as
+5V on the circuit of page 70 in the
This close-up view shows the H-Pack Board. The 1F 500VAC filter capacitor December 1992 issue. It should be
that straddles the centre of the board will be added next month when the $LG Ve.
chassis wiring is described. Disconnect the supply from the

62 SILICON CHIP
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Fig.18: these 5V p-p waveforms should be present on the Fig.19: check for these 15V p-p waveforms at the
collectors of Q21 (top) & Q23 (bottom). collectors of Q18 (top) & Q20 (bottom)

+15V pin and then bridge the Gand H the power supply (ignore the GND 8) of IC7, across ZD9 and the supply
pins, the K and L pins and the M and OUT on the DC-DC Inverter Board at pins of IC9, and across ZD11 and IC11
N pins respectively. Now connect a this stage). and the supply pins of IC13.
24V supply to the +24V pin and GND Connect your scope’s probes to the Unfortunately, the Rectifier PC
pins. Check that +5V is present on the gates of Q18 and Q20, with the earth Board is not easily tested until com-
relevant pins of IC17-IC23. clips on the Y terminal and on.the 0V pletely wired into the inverter chas-
To check the signals present on the rail. Switch on the power. The wave- sis. After that, we can do some further
collectors of Q21 and Q23, you will forms should be as shown in Fig.19; tests to check that the circuits are
need to trigger your oscilloscope ex- ie, with an amplitude of 15V. Similar functioning correctly before we finally
ternally using the 50Hz signal present waveforms should be obtained on the switch on full power and drive
at pin 1 of IC17. You should obtain gates of Q17 and Q19 with the earth 240VAC loads.
signals similar to those shown in clips on the OV rail and on the X Next month, we will describe the
Fig.18. The top trace shows the signal terminal. construction of the DC-DC transformer
at the collector of Q21 while the lower If these waveforms are incorrect, and the terminal board, and show how
trace shows the signal at the collector check that there is a +15V supply the PC boards and other components
of Q23. across ZD7 and the supply pins (1 & are wired into the chassis. SC
A similar waveform should be seen
at the collectors of Q22 and Q24 when
the external trigger is set to the oppo-
site trigger polarity (see Fig.18)
Note that these waveforms show
only the active 10ms half of the 20ms
period. For the other 10ms period, the
collector of Q21 is low and the collec-
tor of Q23 is high. The same remarks
apply to Q22 and Q24.
H-Pack Board: this board can only be
tested when wired to the Sinewave
Generator Board. You will need to cut
14 x 250mm lengths of hook-up wire
and connect them between the A-N
pins on the Sinewave Generator Board
and the A-N pins on the H-Pack Board.
An additional DC supply or the DC-
DC Inverter Board will be needed to
provide +15V to the Sinewave Gen-
erator Board.
Connect 24V to the DC-DC Inverter
Board and to the Sinewave Generator
Board and connect the +15V rail from The Rectifier PC Board serves mainly as an assembly platform for the two high
the Inverter Board to the +15V pin of voltage capacitors (680F 400VW & 25uF 370VAC), the three large toroids (L2,
the Sinewave Generator Board. The L3 & L4), & a terminating panel. It also incorporates the fast rectifiers (D3-D6)
GND pins should also be connected to and the optocoupled feedback circuitry (IC4 & IC5).

JANUARY 1993 63

Brand new Hitachi LM215XB,
480 x 128 dot displays at a
small fraction of their real
value. $39
Item No. 0132
Controller IC (surface mount)
$5. 28 pages of data $3.
A very small but complete IR
tele- scope which only needs
an EHT power supply, which
is provided in kit form.
279
Item No. 0121A
Includes a "Free" 75mm IR
Brand new 5mW-670nM laser
diode, plus a collimating lens,
plus driver kit, plus, hardware,
plus instructions,
$89
Item No. 0164
“ee Whi nat
Sane sicher ORE
Two used 3mW Siemens He-
Ne visible red laser tubes,
and one of our efficient 12V
universal laser supply kits.
$129 $99
Item No. 00105X
The second tube is a
Bonus till end of January
1993 only.
Brand new 6 volt 1 watt
amorphous solar panels. Two
of these in series make a
great 12V battery maintainer/
charger. Incredible pricing.
0 ea for 10 for $85.
Item No. 0130
Brand new large precision TV
projection lenses: 117mm
diameter, 107mm long, has
adjustable focussing. Will
project bright images at close
; proximity onto walls/screens.
filter.
The whole assembly can be
easily unscrewed to obtain
three large lenses: Two
plastic and one glass. Use it
for projection, magnification,
or a very low light lens for
night viewers! Experimenters
delight at ONLY
30
Item No. 01 37
A high quality military grade deep
infra red (IR) filter. Used to filter
the IR spectrum from medium
and high power incandescent
pith pth: ib,
spotlights and flood lights. It's
glass base makes it capable of §
withstanding high temperatures.
Approx. 130m diameter and
6mm thick. Can be used in
conjunction infra red night viewers
and IR responsive CCD cameras: Many colour video cameras
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Check by viewing the LED's in an TV or VCR infra red remote
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ON SPECIAL AT ONLY:
Each one of these identical PCB
filter assemblies contains six three
terminal tuning fork filters (IN-GND-
OUT), at different frequencies in the
audio range: 1.8-3.1 Khz.
These high quality dial fork filters
have vary narrow bandwidths, and
could be used as the basis of a
selective call system, high stability
oscillators etc.
NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ggg
seven segment, Common
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ye
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Used air cooled ARGON laser (See E.A. July 92): ON
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Item No. 0109
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These industrial quality
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Coming soon is our new 12 channel UHF
remote control channel that is easily
expandable to 16 channels. The system
features a SAW resonator locked transmitter,
prealigned and assembled receiver "front
end" which solders onto the main receiver
PCB, and a very compact 2 channel relay
driver PCB which can be used in multiples:
Up to eight units. As a price indicator, we will
be offering a package deal consisting of
2 transmitter kits, plus one receiver kit, plus
three relay driver kits, for a total cost of
Based on a brand new, very
compact modern EHT flyback
transformer which includes an
EHT diode rectifier. We supply the
transformer, a very simple circutt,
and the components to suit. All
you need to make a very simple
EHT, DC or pulsed AC supply.
Powered from 12V DC supply.
Great for EHT experiments, EHT
testing, plasma displays, etc. Total
price for the transformer and the
components is ONLY:

Based on an IC with 20aB of Coming soon is our easy to

gain, a bandwidth of 2Ghz
and a noise figure of 2,8db
this amplifier kit out performs
many other IC's, andis a
fraction of their cost. The
complete kit of parts for the
masthead amplifier PCB and |
components, and the power
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components, is priced at an
incredible:
‘novel, extremely popular, and
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design which employs this
amplifier: MIRACLE TV
construct electric fence kit. It
features very low power
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indicating circuit, and it can be The first generation (XX1080)
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masked) and all components A 5mW gunsight at an when used with a very low ligh
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$50 useful images under almost as
little as sub-moonlight
Item No. 0108 illumination. Cal also be IR
Includes one "Free" rifle or assisted. We will supply a
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Lens, plus a kit of parts for an
EHT power supply (PCB and
components only) for a total
‘1 price of |
Small PCB Assembly based on a ULN2232I1C. _. Re
This device has a built in a Se
light detector, filters, timer, woos
narrow angle lens, and \
even a siren driver circuit
that can drive an external -
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Brand new units. Diameter

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circuit $9.
 BY BOB YOUNG

Installing & adjusting the

low-cost speed controll er; Pt.3
Installing the speed controller is a matter of coupling in speed controllers is largely
a result of poor installation practices
connecting it to the motor & receiver, & wiring regarding this point. There is no need
the all-important suppression components across for optocoupling if the installation is
carried out correctly.
the motor. The speed controller must then be Antenna range tests carried out with
fine-tuned to match the transmitter & receiver. diodes fitted in various places in the
installation, and with the varistor fit-
ted and deleted, all indicated quite
Last month, we ended by saying The laws of physics were written clearly the importance of fitting these
that the spark suppression compo- by a much higher authority than Bob items directly at the motor terminals.
nents must be mounted directly on Young and these laws state that the The range decreased as the varistor
the motor terminals despite the fact radiation from a spark gap transmitter was moved further away from the
that this is usually not very conven- (commutator) must be killed at the motor terminals. Leaving the diode
ient, due to space restrictions in the source. If this radiation is allowed to off results in the FETs running ex-
model. Also, soldering three or four reach the motor interwiring, then it is tremely hot very quickly and some or
leads to each motor terminal can be all over. Marconi transmitted across all of the FETs being damaged.
difficult and frustrating at times, so the Atlantic with a spark gap trans- Make sure that the diode is installed
why do it when some commercial mitter and remember, you have a re- with its banded end towards the posi-
speed controllers have these compo- ceiver antenna within just a few cen- tive battery lead. The varistor and cap-
nents built right into the speed con- timetres of this spark source. acitor are non-polarised. If by chance
trol module? Much of the commotion over opto- the motor spins in the wrong direc-
tion for your prop or application, re-
verse the wiring at the motor termi-
nals and don’t forget to reverse the
diode! Finally, keep all of these com-
ponent leads as short as possible.
One point not mentioned so far is
that the suppression diode must be a
fast recovery type capable of opera-
tion at the full motor current. A
Schottky MU810 or similar will do
the job nicely.

Fine tuning
We now come to the interesting bit:
fine tuning the motor/speed control/
radio combination using VR1, VR2
and VR3. You will need a tachometer
(eg, the optical tachometer described
in the May 1988 issue), a moving coil
ammeter and a voltmeter (multimeter).
n engine It is also desirable although not essen-
controllers were mounted as close as possible to the motors, while still being tial to have access to an oscilloscope
housed in the main fuselage. and a frequency counter.
66 SILICON CHIP
=
_ (Editor’s note: you cannot use a dig-
tal multimeter to monitor the current
~
inless you know that it has a response
vhich is flat to 3kHz or more on the
~)C current range. Nor will a moving
ron ammeter do the job since its re-
ponse tapers off quite rapidly above
00Hz. That leaves a conventional
10ving coil meter as the only choice.
such a meter will respond to the aver-
ge value of the current and not the
‘MS value but, for the purpose of this
est, this should not be a problem.
You can distinguish a moving iron
neter from a moving coil meter by the
act that it does not have a linear scale
-ie, it is cramped towards zero — and
t has no polarity markings).
Due to the fact that not all radios
ise a standard pulse neutral, pulse
vidth variation or pulse frame rate,
‘ome adjustment must be made in the
‘peed control to match these factors.
“or example, the old Futaba 2-chan-
1el sets used a 1.3ms neutral, 0.7-
..9ms pulse width variation, and a
-4ms frame rate. The new Futaba and
. R. PPM sets use a 1.5ms neutral, 1-
‘ms pulse width variation and a 20ms
rame rate. The standard unit as de-
ivered is set to 1.5ms neutral, with
variation between 1-2ms.
The frame (repetition) rate will of-
en vary’ with the number of channels
ind some sets use swinging frame
‘ates which keep the sync pause con-
stant and thus deliver the fastest pos-
sible system response time. All of
hese factors influence the speed con-
roller performance to some extent.
“or example, the frame rate will have
3ome affect on the voltage tripler.
Throttle settings
That said, let us proceed. First, the
ravel direction and the OV DC condi-
‘ion must be set with the throttle stick
at the low throttle position. This is
isually done with the trim lever in
‘he mid position to allow for small
variations over time. Switch on the
‘ransmitter and set the throttle to low,
with the trim lever in the mid point.
The usual convention in Australia
is for full throttle to be applied by
pushing the throttle stick forward (to
the top of the Tx case). If you have an
old transmitter with no servo reversing
switch, the flexible wire jumpers be-
tween J1A, J1B, J2A and J2B need to
be correctly connected. If your radio
gives an increasing pulse length with
pacroasing throttle, connect J1A to J1B
PP eect eaeanaratesetatetanatatataceteeeMteenitienetees
This photo shows the test setup used to measure the change in efficiency at part
throttle for various switchmode frequencies. No definitive answer emerged to
give a best frequency for all conditions. Instead, there tends to a broad range of
frequencies that will best suit a particular motor.
and J2A to J2B as shown in Fig.2 and a host of other factors, the motor
(p.41, Dec. 1992). If your radio gives a will start to turn slowly. From that
decreasing pulse length with increas- point on, the throttle response is very
ing throttle, connect J1A to J2B and smooth and linear, giving excellent
J1B to J2A. control over motor revs.
If you haven’t the slightest idea what
your radio does, jumper the pins as Throttle sensitivity
shown in Fig.2 or use itas delivered — Now push the throttle all the way
you'll have a 50-50 chance that this is forward, listening to the prop noise or
correct. If the throttle works back- observing the instruments to ensure
wards, you’ve got it wrong and the that after about 7/8ths of the stick
leads should be swapped over. travel, there is no further increase in
With the speed control connected, motor RPM or voltage at the gates. Ifa
restrain the model and switch on the scope is being used, the gate pulse
Rx, making sure that you are well width should increase to the point
clear of the propeller. If the motor where it is pure DC (about 14V) by
leaps into life, check to see if moving 7/8th throttle. :
the throttle to full power slows the If this is not the case, and full stick
motor. If this is the case, reverse the travel still leaves the gate voltage in
direction of the throttle with the Tx the switching mode, VR3 must be ad-
switch or the PC board jumpers J1 justed to increase the sensitivity of
and J2. the throttle range control. Alterna-
All being well, the motor will sit © tively, if the throttle range control is
quietly, eagerly awaiting your first too sensitive, VR3 must be adjusted to
command. Adjust VR1 until the mo- soften the range control.
tor begins to emit a tone and then By the way, while VR3 is shown on
back off VR1 slightly, until no noise is the overlay diagram in last month’s
heard. If your scope is hooked up to _ issue, it did not appear on the circuit
the common gate line (ie, emitter of diagram in the November 1992 issue.
Q2), very narrow voltage spikes will This was a late change, made in re-
appear just before the motor noise is sponse to requests from a number of
heard. Set VR1 to deliver a dead flat enthusiasts, and has been included to
trace, with no sign of switching. give optimum throttle response. The
As the throttle lever is gradually change has been made by altering the
advanced, the gate pulses will become value of R2 to 10kQ and then connect-
wider and current will begin to flow. ing VR3 (50kQ) in series with it.
At some point, depending on the num- The smoothest results are obtained
ber of poles in the motor, the resist- by using the full stick travel to achieve
ance of the windings, motor loading full throttle. Using VR1 and VR3 in
JANUARY 1993 67

Another view of the twin-engine model (shown here partially completed) that
was used as a test bed for the Speed 1B speed controller. A critical function in
twin-engine models is that the prop speeds must be matched over a wide range.
conjunction with each other will give
end point adjustment.
Switchmode frequency
Having completed the above, we
are now ready for the fine tuning of
the speed control switching rate. This
is the most important part of the whole
project.
As you may recall, the rationale
behind the design of Speed 1B was to
allow it to be matched to the motor
parameters. It was my belief that maxi-
mum efficiency would be obtained at
a particular switching rate, depend-
ing on a myriad of variables in the
motor design and application require-
ments. Such factors as winding in-
ductance, motor capacitance and com-
mutation speed (which in turn is in-
fluenced by prop or gearbox loading)
all contribute to a complex and highly
interactive chain that determines sys-
tem efficiency.
At the time, this was only a hunch
and I had seen nothing in previously
Sw ishingRate : Gate PeakVolts _
~ BUK455-60A
—BUK455-60A | controller is the component count.
BUK455-60A |
BUK455-60A | oeékHz
68 SILICON CHIP
published work to confirm this feel-
ing. After extensive testing, I can now
publish the results confirming this
premise. In this regard I owe a very
large debt of gratitude to Barry Younger
who worked flat out to provide the
test facilities and who did much of
the actual testing and tabulation of
the final results.
Put briefly, improvements of up to
25% in efficiency can be obtained by
careful selection of the operating RPM
and switching rate. This result will
vary from motor to motor and with
RPM on any one motor.
The process of selecting a switch-
ing rate is divided into two distinct
phases: (1) full throttle (DC mode);
and (2) partial throttle (switchmode).
The first step is to push the throttle
to full power and monitor the RPM
while swinging VR2 through its full
range. According to theory, the RPM
should not vary over the full range of
VR2, as at full throttle the Mosfet gates
are being fed pure DC. However some
speed control/motor/radio combina:
tions we have tested have exhibited <
best switching rate at full throttle anc
this is a puzzle.
The only explanation I can offer i:
that the voltage tripler is peaking ir
output at some frequency, yet the gate
voltage does not appear to vary to any
appreciable level that I can detect. As
stated many times in this series o.
articles, the subtlety of the various
interactions between system compo:
nents is quite confusing.
The second and more understand-
able phase is tuning the mid-throttle
ranges. Here the switching rate, at
least according to theory, will have <
very definite effect.
There is a trap to be careful to avoid
in the partial throttle test and it threw
me off-track for some time during early
testing. Part of the reason for the long
delay in this project was that I could
not decide what was the best fre-
quency to use and even now [ still
cannot give a definitive answer to this
question, for the simple reason that
there is no best frequency for all ap-
plications. Each application has its
own ideal rate, hence the need for a
variable switching rate.
What we are trying to establish here
is the point of maximum efficiency of
the motor/speed control/radio com-
bination in the mid-throttle ranges;
ie, in the switching mode. Once again
I must point out that once the throttle
is fully advanced, the whole argu-
ment about switching rates becomes
academic, because the speed control-
ler moves out of switching mode and
into DC mode. The switching rate then
has absolutely no bearing, or at least it
should have no bearing, on gate volt-
age — apart from the anomaly noted
above.
For those who missed the earlier
articles, there is a long-standing argu-
ment in electric power modelling cir-
cles over the merits of 50Hz or 2.5kHz
switching rates. The argument runs
that controllers using the 2.5kHz
switching rates are less damaging to
the motor magnets, use less current
and run cooler. They are also much
smoother in use and the 50Hz con-
trollers are disparagingly referred to
as “rattlers”.
The main problem with the 2.5kHz
This is much higher than in a 50Hz
controller which uses the receiver in-
put pulse as the master clock. Thus, a
 oe — = aeaaininin Leeann ae 4

triangle of 3.1V and the FETs were

2.5kHz controller is more bulky and
more expensive and so the argument
rages on, with both schools quite
vocal about their point of view. To
complicate matters, the microproces-
sor controller arrived, reducing the
component count but introducing soft-
ware and service problems.
After months of testing in the early
days of researching this project, I be-
came more and more confused as I
went deeper and deeper into the argu-
ment. To make matters worse, I could
never seem to obtain a repeatable set
of results. : particular set of FETs. By 12.6kHz,
What I did find was that the inter-
actions between the switching rates,
FET gate input capacitance, motor
commutation rate, motor loads and a
host of other factors were so compli-
cated that a logical analysis was al-
most impossible. In the end, I de-
cided that the answer was a variable
switching rate design which would
allow the user to fine tune the unit to
his combination. Table 1 gives some
idea of the parameters of the Speed
1B with various switching rates.
Notice that the peak gate voltage is
starting to roll off at 2.2kHz with this
the gate input waveform was a virtual
starting to heat badly at 3/4 throttle —
they weren’t being turned on hard
enough.
Interestingly enough, the unit still
worked well, with a very smooth throt-
tle response. There was no heating in
the tests conducted up to 3.5kHz, de-
spite the fact that the peak gate volts
had dropped below 6V at this point.
To return now to the trap mentioned
above, it involves the method of test-
ing. If we regard the real measure of
efficiency as the ability to move a
given load with the minimum of en-
ergy, then testing should proceed as
follows.
Set the throttle at some given point
(half way, for example) and measure
the RPM and note this figure. Now,
while monitoring RPM, tune VR2
through its complete range, looking
for the lowest possible source/drain
current that will deliver this RPM.
In fact, at some point the RPM may
increase at the same current draw,
and this is what makes this test so
confusing. In this case, back off the
throttle until the target RPM is once
again obtained and note the new cur-
rent, which will of course be lower
due to the reduction in duty cycle. On
one unit tested, this point occurred at
about 1200Hz. Most units tested ex-
hibited a minimum 5% increase in
efficiency at the best frequency, a use-
ful figure.
Finally, do a range test before flying
the plane. The radio should not be
significantly affected by running the
motor at any speed. SC

JANUARY 1993 69
Intelligent nicad
battery charger
Using a microprocessor-based smart
algorithm, the System 90 range of
battery chargers, analyse, discharge,
charge & condition nicad batteries at
the press of a button.
The System 90 is suited for batter-
ies used in 2-way radio equipment,
cellular phones or video equipment.
A liquid crystal display gives infor-
mation on the capacity and voltage of
the pack under test.
The System 90 allows testing of up
to six batteries at the same time, ei-
ther of the same type or all different
types. Unlike dedicated chargers
which can become obsolete as mod-
els change, the plug-in adaptor mod-
ules of the System 90 will enable new
battery models to be charged.
New modems have
16-bit processors
Netcomm has announced a new
range of SmartModems which have
16-bit processing and a surface mount
board. This has enabled more features
to be included while maintaining the
present size.
The new design combines V.42 er-
Panasonic now has.
cells which are guarantee
free of pee and t jus
electrical nate Te’ ilers . _ a _.
70 SILICON CHIP
The unit is available in single, three
or 6-unit modules and can analyse
any nicad battery in the range from
4.8V to 14.4V (up to 7Ah). A univer-
sal clip lead adaptor is also available
ror correction and V.42 data compres-
sion as specified in CCITT standards,
thus allowing effective data through-
put rates of up to 57,600 bps. Netcomm
is offering hardware upgrades to ex-
isting users of SmartModem models.
For further information, contact
Netcomm (Australia) Pty Ltd, Block
A, 25 Paul St North, North Ryde, NSW
2113. Phone (02) 888 5533.
~PWM motor controls.
- measurement with an audible indica-
to connect unusual batteries.
For further information, contact Pre-
mier Batteries Pty Ltd, 9/15 Childs
Road, Chipping Norton, NSW 2170.
Phone (02) 755 1845.
New FET has high
avalanche rating
Motorola has released the
MTP50NO5E N-channel enhancement
mode Mosfet which is designed to
withstand high energy in the ava-
lanche and commutation modes. The
MTP50NO5E is designed for low volt-
age high speed switching applications
in power supplies, converters and
Since the new FET has a drain-to-
source diode with a fast recovery time,
it is well suited to bridge circuits
where diode speed and commutating
safe operating areas are critical.
For more information, contact David
Segal at VSI Promark Electronics Pty
Ltd, 16 Dickson Ave, Artarmon, NSW
2064. Phone (02) 439 4655.
Digital insulation tester
has bargraph display
Yokogawa has announced the re-
lease of the 2426 digital insulation
tester which has digital and analog
bargraph displays and “one touch”
tor to allow fast repetitive testing.
The bargraph display circuitry has
 Jamo Concert. |
2a ar

It runs in the family. Hear what the

a sampling rate of 20 times/second to
provide a rapid response, while a
moving average filter technique is
used to reduce flicker on the last digit
of the 314-digit display.
_ Two models are available, covering
voltages from 100V to 1000V and re-
sistance ranges from 20MQ to 2000MQ
full scale. Standard accessories
clude ground and line probes and a
soft carrying case.
For further information, contact
First Concert VII voted test panel had to say
‘Loudspeaker of The say about Concert II:
Year’. Now the smaller "On audition it didn't
model Concert II take long to establish
winning hands down that the Jamo was
in a group test with 8 something special.
other loudspeakers The-speaker simply
in the UK magazine sounded more trans-
"High Fidelity”. parent and revealing
The conclusion of than the other speak-
the test was: "The ers in the test.... They
speaker that resolved imaged better....A
the problem was the deep, tangible bass
dark horse Jamo. Very and crystalline mid
much an unknown and treble clarity...
in- quantity in the UK, it Imaging was virtually
was nothing less than a holographic..."
revelation when put to With 24 years ex-
the test. It was the one The test winner perience having pro-

CONCERT II
speaker here with duced more than 10
Yokogawa Australia Pty Ltd, Unit D3
genuine grip and grace million loudspeakers,
Centrecourt, 25-27 Paul St North,
and, as such, ended up |System: 2-way bass reflex Jamo is today
North Ryde, NSW 2113. Phone (02) 170mm Polypropylene
805 0699.
the overall winner." — Europe's preferred
weeter: 25mm soft dome
When a Danish Power Handling: 80 watts RMS loudspeaker brand.
loudspeaker is the Timber Finishes: epee
Walnut and Mahogany - To experience
128Mb removable preferred choice in RRP: (Timber finish) pair) why Jamo is winning
optical disc drive the UK over such (Black Ltd. Edition)
all ih and time again,
brands as B&W, Mission, Heybrook, call into your nearest authorized
Viva Computer Products has re- Castle and Tannoy, it must be of Jamo specialist or contact Scan
_leased a new disc drive based on the
outstanding design. And this is Audio for more information and
3.5-inch ISO rewritable optical for- exactly what Jamo's Concert II is. the name of your nearest dealer.
mat. Providing an on-line capacity of

JQ [NO-
128Mb from its compact disc cartridge,
the Matsushita LF-3000E employs
_ Split optics and very thin actuators to AWARD WINNING LOUDSPEAKERS

allow the complete drive to be con-
tained within a standard PC case.
The LF-3000E can be easily incor-
porated into an existing PC or PS-2
enclosure, allowing for simple up-
grades, or it can stand alone as an
external drive. With the disc spinning
at 3000 RPM, very fast data transfer
_ rates are available. A sustained rate of
640Kb per second is routine across
the disc and a built-in SCSI-2 inter-
face provides burst transfers of up to
4Mb/s in synchronous mode. Average
seek time is less than 48ms, with an
average latency of only 10ms. It also
reads OROM (Optical Read Only
Memory) discs.
The LF-3000E is priced from $2,500
SCAN AUDIO, 52 Crown St, Richmond
for the internal drive. For further in-
formation, contact Viva Computer
Products Pty Ltd, 144 Pacific High-
way, North Sydney, NSW 2060. Phone
(02) 954 0622.
Large screen
colour monitor
Trace Technology has released the
Barco “Megagraphics”, a large screen
colour monitor.
Covering the sweep frequency range
between 30kHz and 80kHz, the unit
has a resolution of up to 1600 x 1200
VIC 3121. Phone: (03)429 2199. Fax (03)429 9309
dots and allows the full display of
two A4 pages.
The Megagraphics is also available
in a chassis:version and can easily be
integrated into an industrial console.
An Invar shadow mask guarantees
the purity of the image and also im-
proves contrast by using a 52% low
transmission filter. This means the
Megagraphics will display bright and
readable pictures, even under harsh
lighting conditions. A flat square tube
equipped with dynamic focus, to-
gether with access to a nine-zone
convergence control, ensures picture

JANUARY 1993 71

Power capacitors
with plastic dielectric
Siemens Matsushita Components
has released a new range of “dry”
plastic power capacitors offering a
15% weight saving over equivalent
types.
The new capacitors are intended
for use in traction systems, as in
mainline and subway trains, or in
stationary converters. Their capaci-
tance range is from 370uF to
10,500uF, with a voltage range from
900-2900V DC. Their life expect-
sharpness over the entire screen area.
An “Ambient Light Controller”
adapts the output of the Megagraphics
automatically as surrounding light-
ing conditions change. This provides
more comfort and better readability
for the operator and may increase the
life of the CRT by up to 30%.
For further information, contact
Trace Technology Pty Ltd, Unit 4, 265
Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne,
Vic 3207. Phone (03) 646 5833.
Flexible image
processors
A new range of image processors
from Data Translation has just been
released. The DT3851 and DT3852
are software compatible PC AT boards
which combine a precision frame grab-
ber, processor, and display circuitry
to acquire, digitise and display stand-
ard and non-standard video signals
72 SILICON CHIP
ancy at full load is at least 100,000
hours.
Internally, the capacitors consist
of metallised plastic windings with
no oil impregnant. They incorpo-
rate self healing and over voltage
protection. As well, the capacitors
incorporate an internal over-pres-
sure disconnector which operates
in the event of a fault.
For further details, contact
Malcolm Evans, Electronic Com-
ponents Department, Siemens Ltd,
544 Church St, Richmond, Vic
3121. Phone (03) 420 7716.
on a high resolution VGA monitor.
Windows graphics can be mixed
with images and images can be ac-
quired while non-interlaced video is
being displayed. The boards’ dual
buffers allow images to be scaled and
placed anywhere in the display with-
out corrupting the image data, thus
providing true single monitor opera- _ ware, an expanded version of Logi-
tion.
Both the Windows graphics and the
processing of images, including frame
averaging, convolutions and morpho-
logical operations, are accelerated by scans.
the on-board Texas Instruments
TMS34020 Graphics System Proces-
sor. DT-connect ports add 32-bit float- trast and tone, and software control of
ing point digital signal processing
when connected to the optional
DT2878 Advanced Processor board.
Input and display resolution, ac-
quire and display rates are controlled formation, contact B. J. E. Enterprises,
through software. Input (spatial) reso- 124 Rowe St, Eastwood, NSW 2122.
lution is software programmable to
1K x 512 using the DT3851 and to 1K
x 1K using the DT3852. |
The DT3851 series hardware sup-
ports image placement and scaling
anywhere on the screen, within a win-
dow. The Windows 3.1 interface is
fully implemented to increase flex-
ibility for programmers and non-pro-
grammers.
For further information, contact
TCG, 30 Balfour St, Chippendale,
NSW 2008. Phone (02) 699 8300.
24-bit handheld
colour scanner
Logitech Inc has introduced the
ScanMan Color, a 24-bit handheld
scanner for the Microsoft Windows
environment.
ScanMan Color’s hardware captures
up to 16.8 million colours and fea-
tures a proprietary white fluorescent
light that permits consistent scanning
brightness without a warm-up period.
With its 24-bit capacity, ScanMan
Colour is able to capture true 256-step
greyscale data without the need to
convert colour information, a process
necessary with all 12 and 18-bit mod-
els.
ScanMan Color comes bundled with
FotoTouch colour image editing soft-
tech’s FotoTouch application. A key
component of FotoTouch is Logitech’s
“AutoStitch” capability, which allows
the user to easily merge multiple
Additional features include slider
controls for adjusting brightness, con-
colour balance and transparency ef-
fects.
The suggested retail price for the
ScanMan is $1,323.00. For more in-
Phone (02) 858 5611. >
 ‘

APPA
1 CHIPS...WOOD FOR CHIPS...WOOD FOR CHIPS...WOOD FOR CHIPS...WOOD FOR CHIPS... WOOD FOR CHIPS...WOOD FOR CHIPS...WOOD FOR CHIPS...

Silicone Test Leads &

Accessories
Sick of those stiff plastic test leads that come with most
multimeters? You know the ones that kink and produce
pungent smoke when you touch them with a hot soldering
iron? Well chuck them out and look at our super quality Looking for Value
4mm est Leads (cont)
HCK Silicone Rubber leads. You wouldn't believe that a
1000V/16A cable could be so flexible. And Bey te
soldering iron proof to 300°C. So give your es HCK-S102. 4mmRed16A1.01U Lead $11.80 in Multimeters?
instruments a new lease of life. HCK-S103. 4mmBlu16A1.0ULead $11.80
We stock one of the largest ranges of test leads and yeK-si04 4mm Yel 16A 1.0m Lead $11.80 Then take a close look at these
APPA multimeters. Look familiar?
accessories available. : HCK-S105 4mmGm16A1.0mLead $11.80 That’s because they’re sold under
SerialTest Cable
HCK-7062-1/5M 0.25mm Silivolt Cable
HCK-S106
$10.95 HCK-S201
4mmVio16A1.0mLead
= 4mm BIk16A 2.0m Lead
$11.80
$15.80
different brand names.
It's called ‘Badge Engineering’ —
Appa makes the multimeter, but it's
HCK-7062-2/5M 0.25mm Silivolt Cable $10.95 HCK-S202 4mmRed16A20mLead $15.80
PC-based HCK-7062-1/100M. 0.25mm Silivolt Cable $141.25 HCK-S203 4mm Blu 16A 2.0m Lead $15.80 © sold with someone else's. name on
it. And that means you could pay a
Protocol Analyser & HCK-7062-2/100M 0.25mm Silivon Cable
HCK-7066-1/5M 0.75mm Silivolt 5m
$141.25 HCK-S204
$21.85 HCK-S205
4mm Yel 16A 2.0m Lead
4mmGrn16A2.0mLead
$15.80
=$15.80 lot more than you need to. We've
seen the top of the line model selling
HCK-7066-2/5M 0.75mm Silivolt 5m $21.85 HCK-S206 4mm Vio16A 2.0m Lead $15.80
Data Line Monitor HCK-7066-1/100M 0.75mm Silivolt100m $360.85 HCK-S151 4mm Blk 16A 1.5m Lead $13.75
at around $150 more than our price.
SO you're paying that much extra
The new version of Serialtest HCK-7066-2/100M 0.75mm Silivolt 100m $360.85 HCK-S152 4mmRed16A1.5mLead $13.75 just for the brand label!
turns ANY PC into a full-featured HCK-7008-1/100M 1.00mm Flexivolt Cable $121.00 HCK-S153 4mm Blu 16A 1.5m Lead $13.75 It's also an indication of how
serial data protocol analyzer —even HCK-7008-2/100M 1.00mm Flexivolt Cable $121.00 HCK-S154 = 4mm Yel 16A 1.5m Lead $13.75 good Appa meters are that other
laptop and notebook computers — HCK-S155 4mm Grn 16A 1.5m Lead $13.75 peor want to put their names on
for both synchronous and async em!
data. Serialtest unleashes the power HCK-S156 4mm Vio 16A 1.5m Lead $13.75
of your PC for data communications 2mm Test Leads
testing with a simple, user-friendly HCK-MS101 2mm Blk 1.0m Lead $10.20
interface! The new ComProbe plugs
into your printer port. With Senaltest
HCK-MS102 2mm Red 1.0m Lead $10.20 2mm to 4mm Adaptors
HCK-9227-1 4mm/2mm Blk Adaptor oe
and your PC, there is no longer any bay's HCK-9227-2. 4mm/2mm Red Adaptor 2.65
need to buy or rent expensive, 2mm Test Fittings :
dedicated protocol analyzers.
_ . The Serialtest package HCK-8234-1 2mm Blk Hook Grip $4.20 rae:
includes Serialtest software and HCK-82342-2 2mm Red Hook Grip $4.20 4mm Test Fittings
Frontline’s RS-232 ComProbe™ HCK-9217-1 2mm Blk Stackable Plug $1.60 HCK-9120-1 4mm Bik Clamp Grip 50mm $14.30
adapter. The ComProbe connects HCK-9217-2 2mm Red Stackable Plug $1.60 HCK-9120-2 4mm Red Clamp Grip 50mm $14.30
to your computer via the parallel HCK-9225-1 2mm Bik Test Prod $3.25 HCK-9123-1 4mm Blk Coupling XHK $2.20
printer port (no need for plug-in HCK-9225-2 2mm Red Test Prod $3.25 HCK-9123-2 4mm Red Coupling XHK $2.20
cards) and allows Serialtest to work HCK-9229-1 2mm Blk Test Tweezers $14.05 HCK-9295-1 4mm Bik Crocodile 34A $5.05
with both synchronous and
asynchronous devices. HCK-9229-2 2mm Red Test Tweezers $14.05 HCK-9295-2 4mm Red Crocodile 34A $5.05
Serialtest’s monitor mode HCK-9209-1 4mm Blk Crocodile 2A $2.80
shows you exactly what information HCK-9209-2 4mm Red Crocodile 2A $2.80
is flowing between any two serial 4mm Test Leads HCK-9206-1 4mm Blk Hexagonal Probe $3.60
devices — both data bytes and HCK-9014-1 4mm Blk Stght 1.0m Lead $12.95 HCK-9206-2 4mm Red Hexagonal Probe $3.60
control signals. Source mode allows HCK-9014-2 4mm Red Stght 1.0m Lead $12.95 HCK-9112-1 4mm High Voltage Prod $4.95
you to interactively simulate either HCK-9014-3 4mm Blu Stght 1.0m Lead $12.95 HCK-9112-2 4mm Red High Volt Prod $4.95
he DTE side or DCE side of the @ Extra tough for industrial users
communications link. : HCK-9014-4 4mm Yel Stght 1.0m Lead $12.95 HCK-9113-1 4mm Blk High Volt Prod $5.55
_ Serialtest Async is similar to HCK-9016-1 4mm Blk R/A 1.0m Lead . $13.80 HCK-9113-2 4mm Red High Volt Prod $5.55 @ High energy fuse and PTC
Serialtest, but is limited to async- HCK-9016-2 4mm Red R/A1.0m Lead $13.80 HCK-9116-1 4mm Blk Hook Grip $12.85 rotection against overloading
only testing. ; HCK-9024-1 4mm Blk Stght 1.0m Lead $14.20 HCK-9116-2 4mm Red Hook Grip $12.85 e O-ring sealed case, switch and
Anyone who works with serial jacks against dirt and moisture
HCK-9024-2 4mm Red Stght 1.0m Lead $14.20 HCK-9119-1 4mm Blk Jaw Grip $19.95
data communication needs @ Protective holster and tilt
HCK-9026-1 4mm Blk R/A 1.0m Lead $14.65 HCK-9119-2 4mm Red Jaw Grip $19.95
Serialtest. Field service engineers HCK-9026-2 4mm Red R/A 1.0m Lead $14.65 HCK-9124-1 4mm Blk Adaptor XSA $4.45 stand with lead storage
and system integrators will @ Test hap have finger
2 png the portability and ease- HCK-9023-1 4mm Blk Sfty 1.0m Lead $11.80 HCK-9124-2 4mm Red Adaptor XSA $4.45 shields and sleeved plugs
of-use. Communication specialists HCK-9023-2 4mm Red Sfty 1.0m Lead $11.80 HCK-9214-1 4mm Blk Panel Mount Socket $4.35 @ Thick walled ABS case and
and network supervisors will enjoy HCK-9025-1 4mm Blk Sfty R/A 1.0m $12.25 HCK-9214-2 4mm Red Panel Mount Socket $4.35 shock mounted LCD
the power and flexibility.Nomatter HCK-9025-2 4mm Red Sfty R/A1.0m $12.25 HCK-9132-1 4mm Blk Panel Twin Socket $4.70 withstands 2m drop on to
what the reget Serialtest will HCK-S051 4mmBik16A 0.5M Lead $9.80 HCK-9132-2 4mm Red Panel Twin Socket $4.70 concrete floor
prove to be an indispensable tool. HCK-S052 4mm Red 16A 0.5M Lead $9.55 HCK-9205-1 4mm Blk Square Probe $3.20 @ Unique rotary switch with
SerialTest Sync/Async with berylium copper contacts and
ceniprobe $2480.00 {er tax HCK-S053. 4mm Blu 16A 0.5M Lead $9.80 HCK-9205-2 4mm Red SquareProbe $3.20
HCK-S054 4mmYel 16A 0.5M Lead $9.80 HCK-9203-1 4mm Blk Stackable Phg $3.25 gold plated pcb
2536.00 (inc tax). Allow $15 P&P.
Plug Pack $24.95. SeriaiTest Async HCK-S055 4mm Grn 16A0.5M Lead $9.80 HCK-9203-2 4mm Red Stackable Plug $3.25
is still $480.00. Demo disk $10.00 HCK-S056 4mm Vio 16A 0.5M Lead $9.80 HCK-9230-1 4mm.Blk Test Tweezers $13.70 Model 103 & 105
refundable on purchase HCK-S101 4mm Blk 16A 1.0m Lead $10.60 HCK-9230-2 4mmRed Test Tweezers. $13.70 @ 4000 count
e Digital update twice/second,
analog 20 times/sec
Electronic Workbench DIC SC-7000 DeSoldering Tool - @ 8 Functions - Vdc, Vac, Adc, Aac,
Ohms, Diode, Continuity,
The Electronics Lab you keep in your PC!
Frequency, Capacitance —
YES you can now build, simulate e@ Dual Trace Oscilloscope ESD* Protected <= e Data hold & Relative functions
and test Analog and Digital Circuits @ SPICE, transient and steady-state @ Now with 100W ceramic heater . ei 5 @ 0.5% dc accurac
without laying your hands onasingle simulation - @ Sensor feedback digital e@ Work on up Shae $298.80 $249.00 ex tax
component with Electronics Digital Module includes temperature contro to 12 layer
~<a
Ranges
Workbench®. Do it all with the @ Comprehensive parts bin with @ * Special antistatic housing and boards Vdc 400mV, 4V, 40V, 400V, 1000V
mouse — drag new parts from the ates, flip-flops, half adders, zero crossover switching to @ Optional Vac 4V, 40V, 400V, 750V
arts bin, drop them onto the isplays etc bp sensitive components surface ‘Adc 4-400mA, 10A
readboard and click to run wires. @ Word Generator up to 16x8-bits @ Suction/Hot air blow switch - mount kit Aac 4-400mA, 10A
Editing circuits is easy as wires are e 8 ch. Logic Analyser suck for desoldering, blow for Ohms 4002, 4kQ, 40kQ, 400kQ,
re-routed automatically. It’s much 4MQ, 40MQ
faster than building real circuits . No
faulty parts!
@ Logic Converter SMD removal
$482.50 Frequency 100Hz, 1kHz, 10kHz,
ex tax 100kHz, 1MHz
Analog Module includes Professional version has inhanced Personal Plus Version is _ $579 inc tax Capea 4nF, 40nF, 400nF, 4uF,
@ Comprehensive parts bin includes colour interface, supports maths monochrome. Requires PC/XT/
AT or PS/2 , 2 floppiesor hard
Op-amps, zeners, transistors etc
@ Function Generator with sine,
co-processor. Requires IBM AT
or PS/2 with 286 or greater, hard disk, 512kB RAM, Microsoft Check our range of Model 105 has similar specs but
with improved accuracy of
square, triangle etc disk, 640kB RAM, Microsoft mouse, CGA/EGA/VGA/Hercules Hako Irons for 0.1% typ on Vdc and 0.5% at
@ Bode Plotter for frequency mouse, EGA/VGA and DOS 3.0. graphics adaptor and DOS 3.0 or Zz
responses and phase shift $429.00 greater. $299.20 great value! $358.80 $299.00 ex tax

8.30am to 5.00pm Mon to Fri. 8.00am to 12 noon Saturday.

Mail Orders add $5.00 min to cover postal charges. Geoff Wood Electronics Pty Ltd
Next day delivery in Sydney add $8.00.
All prices include Sales tax unless stated otherwise.
and Semtech (inc in NS W)

Tax exemption certificates accepted if the line value 229 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove West
_exceeds $10.00.
BANKCARD, MASTERCARD, VISA, CHEQUES or CASH NS W 2066 (Corner Beatrice Street) “SdIHO
“SdiIHO
YO
'SdiIHO
SdiIHD
GOOM"
HOA
GOOM
HOI
"'SdlHO
"’SdlH
HOS
GOOM"
YO
GOOM
HOI
HO
GOOM"
cheerfully accepted. Telephone : (02) 428 4111 Fax : (02) 428 5198
GOOM
 kit. This includes the soldering and
accessory tips, including a hot air tip
for heat shrinking, and a small stand.
All this goes for $64.95 which is a
very good price. Both packages are
available from your nearest Jaycar
Electronics store.

Butane soldering irons
at a low price
Jaycar has two new butane solder-
ing irons which are selling at an at-
tractive price.
If you have not used a butane sol-
dering iron before, you will find that
they are very useful and convenient.
For example, if you working in the
back of a TV set or other confined
space where you don’t want trailing
power cords, they are a boon. For iron by itself which has a 2.4mm tip
service technicians working on air-
conditioning control panels or secu-
_ rity panels, they are great. They are
~ also very handy to use if you are work- can refill it quite simply. This unit is
ing on your car — no need to have
trailing leads from the battery.
By the way, although they use bu-
tane (ie, cigarette lighter fluid) as the
fuel, they do not have a flame. In-
stead, the tip itself has a catalytic
burner which produces the heat. The
iron is adjustable so that you can have
the equivalent of an iron rated any-
where between 10W and 60W and a
tip temperature up to 400°C — equally
handy for those delicate or heavy duty
soldering jobs.
You can buy this new soldering iron
in two packages. First, there is the
and a built-in gas lighter (in the cap).
The case is transparent so you can see
how much fuel is available and you
priced at just $38.95.
Better still, you can go the whole
hog and buy the complete carry case
Compact soldering
station from DSE
This new temperature controlled
soldering station represents a big sav-
ing on conventional soldering stations.
It is quite small and is intended mainly
for soldering components on PC
boards. The soldering iron tip tem-
perature is fixed at 310°C and the
power consumption is low — 6W at
idle and 12W when the element is
continuously energised (eg, during
temperature recovery after soldering).
The soldering tip has an iron clad-
ding which stops erosion (due to cop-
per being dissolved in the hot solder),
so you should seldom need to dress
the tip.
There is one small point that we
think should be fixed and that relates
to the exit point of the mains cord

ANTRIM
TOROIDAL TRANSFORMERS

a toC1871 series,
ion Ly toa rated load

®@ Now made in Australia.

@ Standard range 15 VA to 2kVA.
@ Large ex-stock quantities available.
® Competitive pricing available for OEMs & resellers.
@ Simply the best transformers all round.

HARBUCH ELECTRONICS PTY LID

90 George Street, Hornsby NSW 2077.
Telephone (02) 476 5854. Fax (02) 476 3231.

74 — SILICON CHIP

from the case. This is a little close to the integral solder-
ing iron holder which will normally be quite hot. We
suggest that the mains cord be strapped away from this
point, for long term safety.
Apart from that point, this new soldering station is
selling at the very low price of just $49.95. It is available
from all Dick Smith stores.
Mitsubishi training seminar
to be held at Wrest Point
The Electronic Technicians Institute of Australia
(TETIA) has arranged with Mitsubishi Electric AWA to
hold a training seminar at the Wrest Point Hotel Casino.
To be held on the 13th and 14th March 1993, the seminar
will include sessions on servicing CD players, fax ma-
chine theory and servicing, TV and VCR servicing, mi-
crowave ovens, and cellular phone theory and practice.
Normally, this seminar would only be open to TETIA
members from Tasmania but on this occasion it is open to
service technicians from all states. According to the
organisers, an enquiry to the Taxation Department has
indicated that attendance at the seminar is tax deduct-
ible as a training expense, includinf travel, accommoda-
tion, meals and registration fees. You will need to check
with your accountant on this aspect.
For further information on registration and travel
arrangements, contact Cliff Townsend, 27 Alma Rd,
Orford, Tasmania 7190. Phone (002) 571 266.
First High-Speed IEEE 488.2
Controller for Notebook PCs
lOtech
The Personal488/NB is a compact external IEEE 488.2 inter-
face that enables 170 Kbyte/s IEEE 488.22 control of up to
fourteen IEEE instruments from a notebook PC via its parallel
port.
A virtual PC plug-in board in terms of speed and performance,
the Personal488/NB is compatible with both IOtech’s DLL
driver for Microsoft Windows and with its DOS subroutine-
style and device driver software. The Personal488/NB also
supports third-party data acquisition software packages, such
as DADiSP and Labtech Notebook.
The Personal488/NB uses FPGA (field programmable gate
array) technology to permit simultaneous instrument-control
and printer transactions via its connectionto a notebook PC’s
parallel port. The unit can draw power from a notebook PC’s
keyboard port, a 7 to 15 VDC voltage source, or a standard A/
C voltage source via an included power supply.
Portable and Remote Applications. As notebook PCs de-
crease in price and increase in functionality and power, many
engineers are finding them practical, easily transportable alter-
natives to cumbersome desktop PCs. The Personal488/NB
enables engineers to use notebook PCs in IEEE instrument
control and data acquisition. It is well suited for vehicle
testing, such as aircraft and automobile testing, where physical
space is at a premium, and is also ideal for users who require a
portable computer, such as test-instrument sales engineers,
who can now use notebook PCs to demonstrate IEEE 488
instruments on customer calls.
The Personal488/NB is also useful for engineers who need to
analyse acquired data away from the test site because it ena-
bles the same notebook PC to be used both on-site for data
acquisition, and in the lab for subsequent data analysis. This
eliminates the time-consuming data transfer processes and
cross-platform incompatibility problems sometimes associ-
ated with using one desktop PC for testing and another for
analysis.
SCIENTIFIC DEVICES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Melbourne (03) 579 3622
Fax (03) 579 0971
Sydney (02) 344 5200
Fax (02) 349 2602
Adelaide (08) 281 3788
SCIENTIFIC DEVICES Fax (08) 281 4194
Product names listed are trademarks of their respective manufacturers’ company.
SC
JANUARY 1993 75
 ALTRONIC @ AUSTRALIA
COMPONENTS WIDE
Yet another year has passed us and now it is 1993.
Once again we all at ALTRONICS thank you - our valued customer
for your continuous support throughout 1992.
Already this new year is promising to be bigger and better with the
arrival of many new products in the coming weeks ahead. February
marks the arrival of ALTRONIC’S 1993 catalogue which is supplied
FREE inside this magazine, so be sure to get your copy.
Multi-Station Headset Intercom Kit
This multi-station headset intercom is designed to provide
Exchange Kit clear communication in high noise environments such as at
race tracks and rock concerts. It is designed to operate with
This great unit allows you to place calls on
a headphone and mic combination. Each headset requires a

Z
hold, intercom other extensions, answer calls
station module. Stations are simply connected in a daisy-
from any extension and transfer calls. It is chain fashion. Up to 12 units (stations) can operate from the
expandable up to 10 extensions, and is com- power supply. Features low noise circuity and compares

C
patible with all DTMF (touch tone) telephones. equivalents. Mics can be switched on continuously at one
Operation is as simple as pressing ‘* ’ to place time for hands free operation of all stations. Also includes
a call on hold and press the extension number (0.9) and the respective station rings. Once visual and audio call function. Ideally suited to our C 9055 headset mic and the C 9070 noise
answered you have a two way intercom with which you can announced call. To pick up the attenuating Aviation Headset.
incoming call from hold press #. A neat feature is that all extensions will ring when an incom- 95 95
ing call is placed on hold for 30 seconds so that it won’t be forgotten. The basic kit is complete |K 5250 Station Module $74: K 5255 Power Supply $64:

oF
with power supply, case and facilities for 3 extensions. Extra extension boards allow expan-
sion in multiples of 3. Fantastic for home or small office. No more shouting from room to
Beat Triggered Strobe [Drill Speed x 60 $39”

°
room. Not Austel approved.

;U
K 1430 Basic Kit $189 K 1435 Expansion Board $79 Kit K 5790 $79 . : Controller Kit
- - Flashes in time with the Variable
? Way A ctive K 5570 $19 ¢ iscolite Chaser & music or can run on speed con-
ss own oscillator (variable troller for
Crossover Kit olour Organ Kit speed). Output can be 240V power
increased with two tube
(EA Jan 92) option.

This great new kit enables you to customise power saws,

your sound sys- engravers

Y
tem in your car etc suitable for brush type tools up to 5A. Not
or at home. The suitable for globes or radiator heaters.
circuit simply
(SC July/Aug ‘88)
connects
between the Add some colour to your next party. Great for Great little : |Flexible Loudspeaker
kit that con-
audio source and the amplifiers. There are parties, shop displays and special lighting
nects up to
two outputs one for bass and another pro- effects. The Discolite flashes party lights on
vides signal for the upper range. Thus each and off in beat with the music 4 light chan-

/
amp is dedicated to a frequency range (i.e.
one for bass, one for midrange and treble).
Because no passive crossover is required in
the speaker one per channel is required.
Operates on + and - 15V rails. The result is
nels. Forward reverse and auto-reversing
chaser patterns. Inbuilt microphone for beat
triggering or audio modulation of lights.
Front panel LED’s mimic light display. “| damage due to an
amplifier fault or i
K 5805 $1 59: RPM. Requires only 3 connections (two to

é
much better sound with less distortion. overdrive. Includes an intelligent ‘de-thump
power and one terminal of the coil)
Digital Storage C.R.O. Capacitance | circuit the unit can run off your amplifiers
K 4320 $31” supply rails or stand alone with an additional
power supply. K 5052 $ 99:
Adaptor for P.C.’s Kit Meter Adaptor
.
This great kit
° . °
Kat (sc nov's7)
.5 Digit
, ‘
LCD Panel Ni-Cad Battery
perp toccghetie:
user cap- si
Hl Simply plugs into your multi- eter Kit «252934 D iS ch arger K i:
meter. Two ranges of .0022yF and 2.2uF. Ideal addition s
ture a wave-
form and 95 to power sup- Designed to rid your nicad batteries of the
zoom in to ate $24 plies, voltage memory effect and regain =

.
meters, cur-
segments of
interest then Karaoke’ Adaptor Kit rent, meters
4] correctly to enable a full
save them to disc. The unit has 32K of storage A fun gift for
memory and a sampling rate of over 600K |jrecharge. Suits most bat-
Christmas. With tery packs. Great for
samples per second. Input level of up to 2.5 this project you 2mV, 2V, 200V. Requires 9 volt power supply. mobile phones, battery

<
Volt. Full sampling rate between 15K s/s to can remove the
over 600K s/s. Input impedance of 1M ohm. Programmable decimal point. drills, toys etc.
lead vocals from
«2205 $63
K 2806 PC Software to Suit $1 9:
almost any
recording. Great
k 1640 $24"
Module for Stereo Sub-Woofer Adaptor

¢
way to liven up a
party. Requires 2 x 9V batteries.
4 Digital Amps Kit Kit «5560 $29-
Combo Door Strike With this circuit it is possible to quadruple the] Get an amazing bass
output of your stereo amplifier by turning it improvement from your
Lock Kit This device easily connects into one high powered mono amplifier. It uses} Stereo system. This fan-
up to the combo lock kit one I.C. and is easily connected to any exist- tastic adaptor simply
This great kit is giving security and key- ing two channel ai “samples” your stereo
ideal for security applications such as an igni- less easy access to your amplifier. ||amp output and pro-
tion killer for cars. With an additional really
room. Comes supplied Harmonic distor- vides a single channel
it easily connects up to either a fuel solenoid
with two facial plates. tion. Less than output to feed a separate
or your car coil. A good way to protect your
~ Requires 12V DC. 0.001% @ 8V RMS. sub-woofer amp.
| S 4390 $39 K 5565 $16”
K ee $44
 AUSTRALIA ALIERONIC
14'4§ BJS COMPONENTS
slectronic Controlled Variable Temperature 9g Multiple De-Solder Tool
soldering Soldering Iron set chiaie tenn If you need
An excellent companion to

to de-solder you need one of

station these.
he micro T 2440 00
sidering Station bcs. $45
fers the ultimate in
ontrolled hand sol-
ering with a range
The next best thing to our soldering station is our temper- De-solder Pump
ature adjustable handheld soldering iron. Temperature is Self cleaning plunger.
'pre-selected tem- regulated via a screw driver adjustment on the handle. Long life teflon tip. Double
2ratures. Zero crossing switching protects your com- (Range 250°C to 450°C). Ask about our range of tips to suit. diaphragm
onents with a 24V element. Excellent soldering
‘sults with our earthed chrome plated iron clad tip. T 2446 NORMALLY $49 T 1240 $11
Excellent Value
2440 NORMALLY $159.” This Month Only $39-% T 1241 Spare Tips $2.35
his Month Only $139

” ‘ :
Switches
SPST chassis mount.
Tuning New Altronics Gas
Je solderin
sizes available. All Braid With built
Neon light.in 240VAC
QQ ¢ Meters
Panel Mount 93°45 Soldering $ Iron
«aa a S 3218 o Q 0600
1234. 3mm
oth $3°° ne
solder Electrical Tester . The latest in
- This fantastic gadget will test a myriad of electrical portable gas soldering irons would have to
0g rolls. Multicore. and electronic components. It is simple to operate be this iron.This great new model is excel-
4200 1.0mm $7 and is sure to amaze you with it's uses. Best of all, lent value Uses standard butane gas as fuel.
it's priced to make it a must for every technician, Easy to use. Easy to refill.
1202 0.7mm $8: electrician and enthusiast. It is not much larger than Replacement Tips
: a fat pen and fits easily into your pocket. It tests continuity /resistance (with 100MQ,50MQ | T 2481 1mm Tip $5.95
and 5MQ ranges), with buzzer and/or LED indication. Ingenious design uses your hands T 2482 2mm Tip $5.95
and body to check continuity - by a metal tab imbedded into the handle (for one point of T 2483 3mm. Tip $5.95
veeneainahat5me a body contact), placing the probe tip onto the component being tested and touching the other | T 2484 4mm Tip $5.95
idditions for extra cooling Lm side of the component with your other hand! Dead easy to use. Will check fuses, light bulbs, | T 2485 Tip Wrench $3.50
¥poet supplies,amps | 9 wiring, elements, speakers, diodes/LEDS, transistors, transformers and the list is endless. T 2486 Cutter Tip $5.95
‘a Add to this a high voltage AC test (by touching the contact with the probe tip) and a non- T 2487 Hot Blower $5.95
}
"1020 240V 80mm? $25 contact high voltage test (check for wires etc. behind or inside a wall/cable etc etc.) this T 2488 Blow Torch Head $5.95
*1030 240V 120mm’ sp"is would have to be one of the most versatile and value for money electronic tester available! T 2448 Gas Refill $6.95 wae
* 1040 24VDC 120mm? : 9
71050 12VDC 80mm? $17" 3K Q 1250 Amazing Low Price $17 ; T 2480 $34°° f\

High-Tech ssemote Car Alarm

Over 3000 now in service throughout Australia - Our customers
‘Famous Labtech 20MHz include Universities, Research Establishments and Industry

This amazing model

Dual Trace Oscilloscope features just about
“his model is a dual trace 20MHz oscilloscope everything you
ising high brightness CRT. The vertical amplifiers could imagine!
rave high sensitivity of 5mV/div and a frequency Multi-function
characteristic response with smooth roll off keyring remote con-
‘xceeding 20MHz. The TV sync. signal operator trol will arm and dis-
ircuit is provided to ensure stable observation of arm alarm (and acti-
rideo signals. Triggering is obtained by sampling vate central locking
‘he AC power waveform, external waveform or if fitted), chirp the horn, turn on the car headlights, panic and even open the |
nternally generated trigger. Requires Probes. boot (if actuator fitted). One remote can control two alarms (in two cars).
eeere ustralia Other features include starter inhibit, valet mode, central locking interface,
2 0156 $649” At Anyw : flashes car indicators when tripped, auto reset, user programmable options
Free Frets h this CRO plus much more.
Included wit Door Alarms S 5230 $249”
With this simple device you can monitor any
Cr oO P r obes
deally Suited to Q 0156 (2
door in your house. This two piece alarm
consists of a control box and a
Satellite Siren sssssi oes
magnet. The magnet simply This self contained and
‘equired). Superb quality DC to
onto the door frame while the compact unit can deliver
30MHz. Max 600 volts DC. Lead
control box is mounted on the a massive 120dB. It con-
ength approx. 1.5m.
nects via 3 wires to any
door, so that they are opposite
2 0175 $49-% ea when the door is closed. Easy alarm system that has an
to use on/off switch. Built-in output which is normally
negative. Will sound if
AM/FM PLL Tuner beeping buzzer sounds when
tripped. Requires 9V battery. the wires are cut.
his great tuner is the ideal add on Includes built-in batter-
r up-grade for your sound sys-
S 5315 NORMALLY $19 ies, charging circuit and arm/disarm keyswitch.
2m. Features auto station seek
This Month Only $7
nd 10 memories.
300 Watt Inverter
, 2210 NORMALLY $229” This nifty
‘his Month Only $1 99” 17 Range Economy Digital inverter con-
verts 12 Volts
Multimeter
62
SLN
DC to 240 Volts |:
Auto-Ranging Digital A great meter just for basic use. N AC. Includes |:
an on/off
Multimeter fancy bits and
use.
pieces that you won’
switch and a
‘his neat digital multimeter has all the most used ranges. : Includes: DC Volts ¢ AC Volts ¢ light & heavy
' Extra large LCD display * Auto ranging * Continuity DC Amps °¢ Resistance * Diod load switch
heck ¢ Diode test ¢ Overload beeper indication ¢ Range : Check’ Load test on battery check with metered
nnunciation ¢ High impact case * One easy to use con- : etc. etc. output. Works
:ol ¢ Low battery indication * DC Voltage * AC Voltage | well with most electrical equipment.
Q 1056 NORMALLY $53 M 8120 NORMALLY $249
? 1072 $89:
This Month Only $49-°5 : [This Month Only $229
2 1065 Carry Case to Suit $12.50

PHONE ORDER - FREECALL 008 999 007

 AUSTRALIA~ ee ALTRONIC
WIDE SOV ION SINE RS

Uni-Directional Palm-Grip Series Hand Tools Hole Punch Set

4 A must for all toll boxes. $995
Microphone T 2710 Flat Nose Pliers ALL NORMALLY ea
T 2720 Needle Nose Pli 95
ofoaoe Te fe T 2730 Curved Needle Nowe Pliers This SOR peiy $7- si

and enter- Bargain Priced!

tainment
mic. 6002.
sine am Super Large Instrument Cases
aie Kepie! Designed to house amplifiers, inverters, power supplies micro-processor memae etc. Cuts holes in metal up to 1.6mm (16 gauge).
nok inichathed) Built-in mounting posts for PCB's, transformers ppp Set of 5 punches and tapered reamer. Punch
a etc. Ventilated for efficient air-flow cooling. sizes, 16mm, 18mm, 20mm, 25mm and
C 0360 NORMALLY $39: Extra tough, Super finish front and rear panels. 30mm.
95 3 colours available 00 CGgum am eT
,
This Month Only $29 H 0490 Grey Case All T 2360 NORMALLY $97 off Chassis
H 0491 Black Case NORMALLY This Month Only $69 and
A Wj H 0492 Blue Case $395 Prototyping

uto ire : $29. Massive 355x250x122mm

S e This Month Only Fantastic for Power Supplies/Amps etc.
trippers 1

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= ?

Automatically adjusts to
Freight i
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insulation and wire diame- 1 GHz Frequency Counter s

plwon’t
You
Free With this Product
ter. This multiple-function 10Hz to 1GHz believe this one.
T 1520 NORMALLY $10: counter model features 8 digit LED read- As we have moved out of the
out, small size, light weight and highly Vifa speakers, we have limited
This Month Only $8 stabilised crystal oscillator for accurate stocks of the SA 100 Speaker
measurement. and cabinet kit sets. Once these
Q 1535 NORMALLY $499 kits have gone that is it. No
CD Cleaner more stocks, You will need to
We are clearing out our This Month Only $449 move fast at this price. This
CD Cleaners. These ported two way system now

Round Piezo Tweeter |Rectangular Piezo

cleaners use the correct offers even better value for
motion for removing money.
small surface scratches 00
and general dirt and 95.3mm in diameter Tweeter C 3270 NORMALLY $799 gh
grime. si Piezo Speaker with a Outside diameter : 00 |

A 9220 NORMALLY $17°3—< ius’, frequency response of size of 144mm x This Month Only O99 be
¢ 7 95 \ aoe 3KHz to 40KHz. 67mm. Rated to
” °
This Month Only :
ris NOBLLALEY
Great Value
ideo
15 Watts.
6.5” Carbon Fibre
aad
”
8” PECC Woofer $19 50 oofer
A high grade speaker with fibre impregnated This Month Only C 6120 NORMALLY $19 A lightweight cone helps to produce a more
paper cone, aluminium voice coil and vented accurate reproduction of the signal. These dri-
This Month Only $1 0”
magnets. vers also use a kapton voice coil which disap-
pears heat faster than conventional speakers.
Rated Power....60W RMS Motorola Power Line Series Rated Power......30W RMS
Impedance.......8 ohm The new power line series of motorola 2KHz horn speakers incorporates protection circuitry Impedance........8 ohm
RES Frequency 60Hz which allows them to be used safely with amplifiers rated as high as 400 watts. This results RES Frequency .65Hz
Sensitivity ........98dB in a product that is a practically blow out proof. Sensitivity ......... 97dB/W (0.5m)
OMS ioieiisccasies 1.81 Frequency Response.......1.8KHz -30KHz COMA iis csscsccsecncdsns 3.99
[|9 RE Rp Se 0.38 Average Sensitivity Beis 92dB @ 1m/2.83V CIES seciciciacgscolioits 0.43
Ce ate 0.31 Max Power Capacity... 400 TS 2h eit 0.39
VAS (LY .2:.. 8.8 27.8 Max Temperature............ 80°C ae a VAS wevvssentesenntes 6.00
669% Horn Size -.scsssssssesssssssssssee 367mm x 112mm | | 1c 3034 NORMALLY $82
C 3024 NORMALLY ; ee
95 * or "9 ges This Month Onty$59®
This Month only $54: ss

¥:
allow 7 days for delivery. $12.00 to 10kgs. $15.00 over 10kgs.
--INSURANCEZ-AS with virtually every other Australian supplier, we send goods at con-
signee's risk. Should you require comprehensive insurance cover against loss or damage
STANDARD & PACKING
DELIVERYWIDE-We CHARGE ; $3.50 to 500gms, $5.50 500gms -1 ks,$8 a
ikg-5kg AUSTRALIA process your order the day received and despatch via, Please add $1.00 per $100 of order value (minimum charge $1). When phone ordering please
Australia Post. Allow approx 9 days from day you post order to when you receive goods. request “Insurance”.
OVERNIGHT JETSERVICE Up to 3kg is $10.00, 3kg to 5kg is $23.00—We try to process TOLL FREE PHONE ORDER -Bankcard, Visa, Mastercard Holders can phone order toll free
your order the day received and despatch via. Overnight Jetservice Courier for delivery up to 4pm Eastern Standard Time. Remember with our Overnight Jetservice we deliver next
next day Country areas please allow additional 24-48 hours. day.
ALTRONICS RESELLERS Chances are there is an Altronic Reseller right near you—check this list or phone us for details of the nearest dealer. Hive Ribbon Dealers are highlighted A
with a @ These dealers generally carry a comprehensive range of Altronic products and kits or will order any required item for you.
m NTR BAIRNSDALE LH & LM Crawford ............... (051) 525677 ENFIELD AZ ORICS Dos .c.eisescsicesesssaceee (08) 3496340
etn OU” BP bcinirs Dihiicciets (098) 412681 BALLARAT Ballarat Electronics................. (053) 311947
Micro Electronics............::..66.. (098) 412077 MILDURA Pullmary Aiton: iis. ccoiseccss. 0.6838(050) 232882 COUNTRY 5
BUNBURY Micro Electronics ......s.sssesses (097) 216222 SHEPPARTON Andrew Guyatt Elect............ (058) 219497 WHYALLA Eyre Electronics ........sssssssss0 (086) 454764
Esperance Comm... ......s...ssss0 (090) 713344 WARRNAMBOOL Koroit Electronics..............+. (055) 627417 yAS
ESPERANCE
MANDURAH Lance Rock Retravision......... (09) 535 1246 QLD - CITY HOBART George Harvey @.............004 (002) 342233
Ivan Tomek Electronics......... (091) 732531 Delsound P/L. ceccccsccsssecscssesess (07) 8396155 LAUNCESTON _ Georee Harvey @ (003) 316533
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ROCKINGHAM = TV Joe’S...ssssssssssessssssosseeesseeenses (09) 5271806 WEST END BAS Audtotrodite: oc (07) 8447566 8
NT WOODRIDGE ___ David Hall Elect.@ ................ (07) 8082777 NSW - CITY
ALICE SPRINGS Farmer Electronics ............:4+. (089) 522388 -OUNTRY A-One Electronics «...........000.+ (02) 2674819
DARWIN VeNETONICS ......cseceseceeseseceenenees (089) 853 622 GLADSTONE Gladstone Elect. Services.......(079) 724459 David Reid Elect. @................ (02) 2671385
VIC -CITy Electronic Enterprises Lee OR, (079) 726660 SMITHFIELD Chantronics ..............ccscccceseseeee (02) 6097218

All Electronic Comp.........:.:+ (03) 6623506 MAROOCHYDORE Mals Electronics @ ................ (074) 436119 GO UNTRY
TOWNSVILLE Super Solex Qis..5 cc cineetsiceies (077) 724466 COFFS HARBOUR Coffs Habour Elect (066) 525684
Sey aacaideieiear os ms 5
ay Cross Electronics @........ zi " Sages rere
BORONIA
Force Electronics @ ........c.....6. (08) 2125505 NEWCASTLE No voresthian Elect.Supplies (049) 621358
2ues Disteibestors inc. (049) 566792
CHELTENHAM Ta king Electronics................. (03) 5842386 SA crry

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CROYDON Truscott Electronics @............ (03) 7233860 CHRISTIES Force Electronics @ .....:-:..s (08) 3823366 WINDSOR M & E Elect. and Comm........(045) 775935
FOOTSCRAY G.B. Telespares .........+.s1s00 (03) 3266035 Force Electronics @ .............. (08) 3471188 WOLLONGONG.
FINDON Newtek Electronics @........... (042) 271620
PRESTON Preston Electronics @............. (03) 4840191 HOLDENHILL Force Electronics @ ................ (08) 2617088 Vimcom Electronics .......0....:. (042) 284400
COUNTRY LONSDALE Force Electronics @ ................ (08) 3260901 WOY WOY Alphatran Electronics........... (043) 434919

PHONE ORDER - FREECALL 008 999 007

Panasonic’s super-quiet
dot-matrix printer
If you thought dot-matrix printers were all noisy, printer is still the only choice. Other
applications where the dot matrix
then think again. Panasonic’s newly released KX- printer is the first choice would be for
P2624 dot matrix printer is a great deal quieter the printing of adhesive address la-
bels with tractor feed backing, for fixed
than its competitors & rivals the noise levels of layout forms or where forms larger
many ink-jet & laser printers. than the A4 format are required.
However, dot matrix printers have

By DARREN YATES always been noisy. So much so that in

With the inroads that laser and ink
jet printers have made into the mar-
ket, you could be forgiven for think-
ing that the humble old dot matrix
printer was in its last days. But there
is plenty of life left in dot matrix
technology. Not only is the dot matrix
printer generally cheaper to run then
other printers, it can also be faster to
print out a single page than most laser
models.
When it comes to printing out mullti-
part forms such as invoices, state-
ments, delivery dockets and any other
application where duplicates or trip-
licates are required, the dot matrix
most offices large dot matrix printers
are generally installed in a separate
room or underneath a sound reducing
hood. This new model from Panasonic
is so quiet that it can sit right next to
the computer, just like a laser or ink
jet model.
The Panasonic KX-P2624 is a wide
carriage 24-pin printer which has
multiple fonts and flexible paper
JANUARY 1993 79

One big benefit of a dot matrix printer is low running cost. The only part that
needs to be replaced on a regular basis is the ribbon cartridge, pictured here.
This one is rated for three million characters.
handling. The improvement in noise
level comes from the new diamond
shaped print head and the way in
which the pins print each character.
With conventional 24-pin print
heads, each character is printed as a
matrix of dots which is produced a
column at a time. The 24 pins are
actually arranged in a zigzag column
and the characters are produced as a
number of columns of dots.
For example, a 24-pin dot matrix
. printer operating in draft mode may
produce characters as a 12 x 24 dot
matrix with the print head taking four
or five sequential hits. Now while
this process of hitting the paper four
or five times for every character is not
as noisy as with daisy wheel printers,
it is still very noisy. And when the
printer is running at 300 characters
per second or more, it amounts to
quite a racket.
The difference with the KX-P2624
is that the 24 pins ofits print head are shows the printer’s ON LINE status
not arranged as a staggered column
but as a diamond array. This means
that instead of having groups of pins
hitting the paper four or five times,
the pins hit the paper in a wave like
sequence as the print head moves
along the carriage. The result is a lot
less noise.
Operating features
So what else does it do? As with
many printers these days, the operat-
80 SILICON CHIP
ing features of the KX-P2624 are se-
lected from menus displayed on a 16-
character LCD screen on the front
panel. This forms part of the Easy Set
Operator Panel which enables con-
trol of all printer functions.
The front panel has seven mem-
brane switches, most of which per-
form dual functions. The first three
are “Super Quiet”, “P.Cut”, and “TOF
SET”. These are manual control
switches which set the printer into
Super Quiet mode, advance the paper
to the perforation cut mark, and set
the Top of Form mark on the page.
The other four membrane switches
are the standard ‘On Line’, ‘Form Feed’
and ‘Line Feed’ controls. The final
switch is the FUNCTION control.
When this is pressed, the printer then
enters its menu selection mode.
Three LEDs in the centre of the
panel are used to indicate the status
of the printer. The top green LED
and flashes when it is in function
mode. The second green LED indi-
cates when the Super Quiet mode is
on, and the third red LED indicates
power and when the printer is out of
paper.
Function mode
This mode allows you to set up all
the printer’s parameters before you
start printing. The first message that
appears on the LCD is MACRO MODE.
In this menu, you can save the cur-
rent settings in one of four memories
and select any one of these four to be
loaded when the printer is turned on.
To thumb your way through a sub-
menu, the P.Cut switch doubles as the
ITEM switch. Pressing this allows you
to go down a sub-menu step by step.
The FF and LF switches also permit
this but in both directions; ie, down
(LF) and up (FF) the menu.
Making a selection in any one of
the sub menus is done by pressing the
TOF SET/SELECTION switch. This
takes you through the possible choices
with an ‘=’ sign appearing next to the
current selection. To make a new se-
lection, go through the selection
choices until you get to the one you
want and then press the ON LINE/SET
menu. The printer will then beep to
acknowledge that the selection has
been made.
Printer emulation
The second of the main menus is
Emulation. The KX-P2624 can emu-
late either an Epson LQ-1050 or an
‘IBM Proprinter XL24E. This allows
you to work with either printer’s com-
mand (ESC sequence) set. The default
setting is Epson emulation but to
change this you simply hit the ITEM
switch and then change the selection
by pressing the SELECTION switch.
You then press the SET switch and
the new selection has been made.
Print styles
This menu controls the font and
the pitch of the type. You can choose
from Draft, Bold PS, Courier, Orator,
Prestige, Roman, Sans Serif, Script
and Super LQ (Letter Quality) rang-
ing from 5. to 20 cpi (characters per
inch). Text enhancement can be added
to any font, including bold, double
high, double strike, double wide, ital-
ics, outline, shadow and zero slash.
Print mode
This menu controls such functions
as the print direction for both graph-
ics and text, as well as the print width,
which can be set to either 8 or 13.6
inches (ie, 136 columns at 10 cpi).
There is also a PANEL LOCK sub-menu.
This determines whether or not the
Function mode settings for pitch, font
and other functions override software
derived settings. This is useful when
you wish to print from a word process-
ing package in say, SLQ mode, and

Panasonic KX-P2624 Dot Matrix Printer: Sound
_ the package doesn’t support it with
software controls.
Page parameters such as lines/inch,
page length and top, bottom, right
and left margins are controlled using
the Page Format menu. The number
of lines per inch can be varied from 1
to 12 in steps of 0.5 in most positions.
Page length is variable from 0.1 to
14.9-inches in 0.1-inch steps, the top
margin from 0 to 2.5-inches in 0.5-
_ inch steps, bottom margin from 0 to
4.9-inches in 0.05-inch steps, left hand
margin from 0-134 cpi in 1 cpi steps,
_ and the right hand margin from 2-136
Cpi in 1 cpi steps. You can also select
the centre position for the print head
from 10 to 80.
The Character Set menu allows you
to select one of 14 mainly European
language character sets, as well as
from the three resident special sets
(Italics, GRAPH1 and GRAPH2).
Install menu
The Install menu sets up initial par-
ameters including: (1) alternative
_ graphics mode for IBM emulation, on
or off; (2) auto carriage return for IBM
mode, on or off and (3) auto line feed,
on or off. | through to the perforation mark at the
You can turn the internal beeper on
or off, while other parameters include
setting the data length to either 7 or 8
bits, turning off the paper out detec-
tor, quiet mode and reverse line feed
in pull mode, on or off.
The paper’s perforation can also be |
made to move to the tear-off position
manually or automatically and there
are options for a sheet feeder and a
Levels
tions in place ready to go. How do
you do it?
This is actually quite simple. You
simply set up the printer as you wish,
going through the various menus and . single sheet using friction feed.
their selections. Once you’ve done
that, you go back to the MACRO MODE
menu and select the SAVE MACRO
option. This will store the current
settings in one of four memories. You
then go to the POWER ON MACRO.
selection and cycle through until you
get to the memory where your setup
parameters are stored and then press
the SET button.
The printer will now come up with
these options each time it is turned
on from now on until you change the
POWER ON MACRO.
Paper feeding
The KX-P2624 has a number of ways
of feeding in paper. You can feed pa-
per from the rear using the tractor
push option or from the front using
the tractor pull option. Push tractor
feed is usually used where the paper
is single sheet. It also gives you the
option of auto tear-off.
This allows you to feed the paper
finish of printing, tear off the page,
and then feed back the paper to the
top of form mark. This is great for
minimising waste but when multi-
part forms are being printed it is often P2624 or any of the range of Panasonic
better to use pull mode to reduce the
possibility of a paper jam (this can be on (02) 986 7629.
quite a problem if you are printing out
an invoice run, for example.
Single sheet paper and envelopes
are accommodated by raising the pap-
er bail and setting the paper feed se-
lector to the friction position.
Paper parking
One very useful feature is automatic
paper loading and parking. This does
away with the need to unload tractor
feed paper when you want to print a
Upon setting the paper bail release
lever to park/load, the printer reverses
the tractor feed paper back to the park
position. If you then set the paper
feed lever to friction feed, the tractor
feed is disabled and a single sheet of
paper can be loading in for printing. ~
Once the page has been printed, the
paper feed selection lever is returned
to tractor feed and the paper bail lever
returned to load/park. The tractor feed
paper then returns to the previously
set top of form. While not unique to
the Panasonic KX-P2624, this feature
is very handy.
The instruction manual is well laid
out and describes all operations of the
printer and the IBM and Epson es-
Cape sequences.
Conclusions
In summary, the Panasonic KX-
P2624 is proof that there is a great
deal of life yet in dot matrix printers.
As well as being a highly flexible
printer, it is very quiet in operation —
what more recommendation could
you want? Its recommended retail
price is $1299.00.
For more information on the KX-
printers, contact Panasonic Australia
SC

VIDEO & TV.

32K RAM package.
Like all impact printers, the KX-
P2624 has a manual print head gap
adjuster lever which allows you to SERVICE PERSONNEL
vary the gap between head and platen TV & VIDEO FAULT LIBRARIES
(roller) for different paper thicknesses — ; AVAILABLE AS PRINTED MANUALS $85 +P/H
paper, up to the 0.013-inch maximum. | BOTH MANUALS T.V. & VIDEO $145 +P/H
This is important if you are printing
in duplicate or triplicate. _
APPLICATION PROGRAM FOR D-BASE Ill PLUS
Using the macro mode FOR MORE INFO. CONTACT TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS
So what if you wanted the printer PO BOX 137 KENMORE 4069 OR FAX/PHONE (07) 378 1064
to come up in your own defined mode
with margins, fonts and other selec-

JANUARY 1993 81
The Story Of
Electrical Energy, Pt.22
While Sydney Council generated its own power incomplete in 1913. This promptec
calls for a slowing-down of suburbar
from 1904, the Railways & Balmain power work. 3
station provided a big share of the load in years In the midst of.these delays, th
long-established Redfern Municipal
to come. The privately owned Balmain station ity Electric Supply undertaking wa:
was particularly innovative & continued to run actively pursuing business. But ther
came an entirely new challenge. h
until 1973. 1908, a brand new private enterprise
the Balmain Company, was formed
By BRYAN MAHER with the full title of “The Electric
Light and Power Supply Corporation”
Sydney Council’s electricity sup- streets, homes and businesses. Long This was no small amateur competi
ply undertaking got off to an auspi- distance transmission to Long Bay tor but was a large, professional engi
cious start in 1904, but it soon had a Gaol prompted the council’s first rise neering organisation, a fierce com
battle on its hands. The first real ex- in transmission voltage to 11kV and mercial adversary.
pansion into suburbia took place in this was completed in 1911. Newtown Council rejected Sydney
1910. The councils of Annandale in So busy was the Council Electricity City Council’s overtures and opted tc
the west, Mascot to the south and Department with suburban extensions buy electricity from Balmain. In quicl
Woollahra and Randwick in the east that the work of replacing the remain- succession, Leichhardt, Ashfield anc
all agreed to supply electricity to ing city gaslights lagged and was still Petersham municipalities gave th
82 SILICON CHIP
 }

eft: a classic photo of Ultimo power

tation taken in 1915. Six turbo-
ilternators are pictured here but the
iginal 1.9MW Parsons turbine is out
vf the picture.

3almain Company exclusive rights to

ilectrify their suburbs. At the same
ime, the North Shore councils sought
o set up their own power stations.
sydney Council’s dream of a huge
lectricity system was in grave dan-
ser of being boxed in by competitors!
Fast expansion or extinction seem-
:d the only choices. By 1913 the Red-
ern Electricity enterprise and the re-
naining city generating company sold
yut to the City Council. But the Bal-
nain Company was to remain in the
victure for years to come.
Cungsten filament lamps
The original incandescent lamps of
swan and Edison used carbon fibre
ilaments operating at bright red heat.
Chese were very wasteful, giving
nostly heat and little light. The ad-
rent of tungsten wire filaments in 1910
illowed a much higher operating tem-
derature, giving more light output per
watt. One candlepower per watt of
slectricity was achieved. This was 13
imes more efficient than the old car-
yon filament lamps.
Despite the reduction in electricity
sonsumption per lamp, the load on
he council power station continued
oO increase. By 1914, Pyrmont’s out-
jut had increased fifteenfold to over
*2MW and 10,000 customers.
Norld War I
The war years created grave prob-
ems for the council’s electricity un-
lertaking. In June 1914, a new Ger-
nan-made turboalternator of 5MW
capacity failed after just three months
service. The A.E.G. turbine suffered
Jamage to one blade wheel, requiring
‘eplacement parts from Germany but
war broke out before they could be
shipped. Therefore a replacement tur-
Jine was ordered from the British
Westinghouse Company and delivery
dromised within a year. 3 ers and two rotary converters from
In the meantime the spare blades
or the German machine turned up in
sydney Harbour aboard a Swedish
ship, Sweden being neutral in the con-
‘lict. The Westinghouse order was
promptly cancelled by agreement. But
the new German turbine blades ran
for only 10 days and again failed, the
rotor blades hitting the stator blades
when on load.
Desperateto keep the system going,
the council engineers took an unu-
sual step. They simply removed the
offending blade wheel and let the tur-
bine run with one less set of blades.
Though 15% less efficient, it worked.
No new generators were installed at
Pyrmont until 1921.
Railways to the rescue
So critical was the power shortage
that in 1916 the City Council asked
the Railway Commissioner to supply
electricity from the Ultimo power sta-
tion. A 2-year contract was eventually
signed for the supply of up to 4MW of
power. Initially, a 6.6kV 25Hz cable
was run from the tramway substation
in Jamison Street to the City Council‘s
substation almost next door at Lang
Park.
To make use of this railway power,
the City Council purchased transform-
the USA. These changed the railway’s
3-phase 25Hz AC supply to 480/240V
DC for use in city shops and apart-
ments. | more power at greater efficiency than
By April 1919 increasing quantities
of 25Hz AC power from the railways
power stations was supplied to a new
City Council substation in Castlereagh
Street. The city and suburbs were be-
coming increasingly dependent on
electricity generated at the Ultimo rail-
way power station.
Indeed, the then minister for local
government preferred the railway de-
partment to supply bulk electricity to
outlying suburban councils, who in
return would reticulate power to
homes and industries. The reasoning
was logical — tramway current load
occurred mostly in the morning and
evening peak hours. During the day
and at night, the railway power sta-
tion at Ultimo was only lightly loaded,
just when domestic and industrial
load was at its peak. Sharing power
seemed sensible.
Steam turbines introduced
Fortunately, when one technology
reaches its limit, it sometimes coin-
cides with the practical realisation of
the next. This situation occurred in
1904, with steam reciprocating en-
gines reaching their zenith and steam
turbines appearing on the scene.
Because of their much higher speed,
steam turbines could produce much
their reciprocating counterpart. Also

JANUARY 1993 83

Waygood Ltd & were commissioned in 1923. Each machine produced 2.5MW
3-phase power at 50Hz for signals, lighting and bulk supply.
Taken in 1905, this photo shows the first Parsons turbine installed in Australia,
at the Ultimo power station. It was a great deal smaller but much more
powerful than the huge reciprocating steam engines which preceded it.
because of the higher revolutions, the
alternator produced more megawatts
for a given size machine.
The Parsons works at Newcastle on
Tyne, England, produced the first
steam turbine used for electricity gen-
eration in the southern hemisphere.
This 3000hp (2.24MW) turboaltern-
ator set was installed in Ultimo power
station in 1904 and was in service by
9th January, 1905. This unit ran at
84 SILICON CHIP
NP OP AM ES ARR
1500 RPM to drive a 2-pole 25Hz al-
ternator, producing 1.875MW of elec-
tricity at 6.6kV. It became the precur-
sor of all future designs in power sta-
tions. Never again would engineers
think in terms of reciprocating en-
gines.
The continuing rapid expansion of
Sydney’s tramway system led to more
Parsons turboalternator sets being in-
stalled at Ultimo. Two SMW machines
were purchased, designed to run ¢
50% overload during peak hours. Rur
ning at 750 RPM, they were direc
coupled to 4-pole 25Hz alternator
Both were running by 1909, thoug.
one machine had to survive a shi,
wreck on the way out from England
Continued demand for both trar
way and city power led to a furthe
5MW turboalternator being installe
in October 1911. This Willan Robinso:
turbine was called a “disc and drum
type, being a combined impulse an
reaction machine. The 4-pole alterné
tor was manufactured by Dick Ke1
and Co.
The installation of these three turbc
alternator sets more than trebled th
output of the station, from 7MW i:
1903 to over 23MW by 1911, makin
Ultimo the most powerful electricit:
generating station in the souther:
hemisphere.
First Sydney Harbour Tunnel
The idea of tunnels under Sydne-:
Harbour is not new and you may b
surprised to learn that the recentl
opened traffic tunnel is not the firs
tunnel under the harbour. So fast dic
the North Shore tramway system ex
pand between 1902 and the followin;
decade, that difficulties were soon en
countered in keeping enough 6.6k\
submarine cables in service.
The cables originally laid on thi
floor of the harbour were of 3-cor¢
construction, each core having 3:
strands of 16SWG copper. The leac
and jute sheathing was not entirel1
successful in preventing the ingres:
of sea water and a few cables were
also destroyed by ship’s anchors.
Therefore, the Railways Departmen
dug a cable tunnel under the harbour
from Longnose Point to Greenwich
The construction of the tunnel wa:
commenced from a point near Louis
Road in Birchgrove, close to Snail’s
Bay. Simultaneously, a complemen.
tary dig was begun on the north side
of the harbour at Greenwich neal
Manns Park. The two digging teams
met in the middle below the harbour.
Leaky tunnel
An expensive construction, this
tunnel was large enough for a few
men to walk abreast and was linec
throughout its length. The walls were
fitted with racks in which rested many
3-phase 6.6kV cables. By this means
AC high tension supply was providec
 for all tramway substations on the
north shore.
_ The under harbour passage was
electrically lit but electricians who
worked down in the depths found it a
foreboding place. The sound of boats’
propellers in the water above could
be clearly heard as could the shud-
dering thud of a ship’s anchor being
dropped.
Many more 6.6kV cables were laid
in this tunnel between 1924 and 1925
to supply the new 1500V DC substa-
tions at St Leonards and Gordon for
the electrification of the north shore
railway.
However, water seepage in the tun-
nel was always a problem and so it
needed to be continuously pumped
to prevent flooding. Once the Har-
bour Bridge was opened, the under-
water cable crossing was no longer
needed. Eventually, the Railways De-
partment abandoned the tunnel to the
invading seawater.
50Hz generation at Ultimo
The 25Hz current used by the tram-
way rotary converters and induction
motors was unsuitable for lighting,
due to the obvious low frequency
- flicker. By 1915, the Sydney tramway
system was so complex that electric
lamp signals were necessary. In that
year, a Bellis-Norcom 75kW turbo-
alternator was installed at Ultimo.
This generated a 2.2kV 50Hz 3-phase
supply, coming on line on 15th July
1916. At vital points in the city and
inner suburbs, small transformers re-
duced this to 120VAC single phase
for lighting signals and waiting sheds.
Further 50Hz generators were
quickly added, one of 120kW and two
of 220kW capacity. So fast did the
system grow that by 1921 those four
machines were scrapped, to be re-
placed by four turboalternators each
of 2.5MW 50Hz rating, including two
units made in Sydney by Standard
Waygood Ltd.
Later, between 1925 and 1928,
‘White Bay power station had installed
four much larger 50Hz 11kV genera-.
tors, taking over the bulk supply role
to Sydney City Council, municipal
councils and outlying towns. Thus,
high frequency generation at Ultimo
was no longer needed and all four
50Hz machines were removed.
White Bay power station had been
opened by the Railways Department
in 1913, initially as a 25Hz supply
Ultimo power station included an AC/DC sclabelini with five iMWV rotary
converters. This converted the 25Hz AC supply to 600V DC for trams in the
Ultimo area.
source. The Standard Waygood works Street and the water, the station build-
also turned out larger steam turbines ings soon became a well-known land-
and alternators for that plant. The No.4 mark.
and No.5 turboalternators for White Later Balmain supplied power as
Bay, both 18.75MW units, were under far afield as the Parramatta, Granville
construction during 1925/27. and Dundas areas, taking over from
These machines were designed by an earlier generating station at Parra-
English Electric through their Aus- matta.
tralian counterpart, Associated Gen-
eral Electric Industries. The heavy Risky shipping
casting and machining was shared Because Balmain’s service area in-
between Standard Waygood Ltd and cluded many industrial and shipping
Cockatoo Island Dockyard. The alter- facilities, continuity of supply during
nators were also wound in Sydney. World War 2 was vital. Coal and coke
Both were 6.6kV 25Hz units, the larg- were burned, originally supplied by
est low frequency machines. ever in- ship from the Newcastle coal fields.
stalled at White Bay. Throughout the war years of 1942-45,
little colliers such as the William Mac-
Independent Balmain arther and Hexham Bank dodged at-
The Electric Light and Power Cor- tacks by Japanese submarines. |
poration, an independent private com- The technique was for the coal ships
pany, secured the franchise to supply to ply between Newcastle and Syd-
the borough of Balmain in 1906. Con- ney so Close inshore that enemy sub-
sequently, two small reciprocating marines were not game to follow. The
steam engine driven generators were smallest of these colliers had such.
installed on the eastern bank of Iron low freeboard that they were almost
Cove. Operation commenced in 1908, impossible to spot. The view through -
beginning one of the longest-lived pri- _ an enemy periscope was confused by
vate generating concerns in Australia. the background hills of the shoreline,
The service area was soon extended preventing a clear silhouette for tor-
to include Newtown, Petersham, Ash- pedo aiming at the slow moving col-
field and Leichhardt and so the gener- liers.
ating system was quickly enlarged to By 1942, Balmain was running tur-
become the Balmain A power station. bines rated at 18.75MW, 12MW and
By 1923, Balmain A was a well engi- Q9MW. All of these turbines were
neered 10MW system of turboaltern- driven by steam at 225psi (1550kPa)
ators and boiler equipment. Situated and 370°C. The total installed turbo-
immediately north of the Iron Cove alternator capacity was 39.75MW but
bridge on Victoria Road, between Terry _ boiler capacity totalled only 27MW.
JANUARY 1993 85
 tor. Instead, the secondhand unit was
transferred to one of the railway’s

nl atl in oe
smaller power stations to extend its
service life. The inevitable result was
that Newcastle used mostly second-
hand generators, rotary converters and
tN e - aval ’ —
so on.
08 aL 408 |000 LL
‘al nf 60) O88) 0 From 1928 onwards, Ultimo power
Beecop free tre da rret ere
ee
|Cer
a

tr
ESET
.

hy £
:
CEP
:
station only had 25Hz alternators. To
cuit Pea] Be
provide a standby system, a frequency
|
bi
tee re
per
beh bee

fateiLMIN tilrT
tda my changer was installed at Ultimo in
1937. This 2MW unit consisted of a
6.6kV 25Hz synchronous motor di-
rectly coupled to an 11kV 50Hz alt-
ernator. A belt-driven DC generator
supplied the rotor fields of both units.
This frequency changer was also
secondhand. It had previously served
to link the 25Hz and 50Hz systems at
Zatra Street power station from 1922
Balmain |power ‘station was ‘Australia’ S largest privately owned slactriclty. to 1936, until replaced there by amuch
generating station. It began operations in 1906 in the building at extreme left & larger 7.5MW machine.
progressively expanded to 100MW capacity. It ceased operation in 1973.
The ultimate Ultimo
Clearly more boilers were needed but The purpose of the Balmain scheme By 1950, Ultimo had reached its
the company took an approach new was twofold: to increase plant capac- greatest output of 83MW, generated
to Australia for that time. ity and to improve efficiency by ena- by just four turboalternators. They oc-
In a bold step, Balmain installed bling old steam turbines to operate cupied the large turbine hall which
the highest pressure boiler then seen within a higher. temperature steam had originally been built to house six
in Australia, generating steam at 1250 cycle. The combined high and low huge low-speed vertical reciprocat-
psi (8600kPa) and 490°C. The huge temperature turbines achieved a 50% ing steam engines and alternators.
boiler towered 26 metres high, with increase in power output using only These would have generated a total of
the 25-tonne drum of forged chrome 8% more fuel. only 9MW.
molybdenum steel mounted 16 me- Three more 25MW high pressure Ultimo was closed by the newly
tres above the firing floor. The first turboalternator sets and more boilers formed Electricity Commission in
new 9.375MW turboalternator went were later installed at Balmain. The 1963 at the same time as trams were
into service‘in 1946, the first “back total capacity in 1956 was just over phased out, leaving White Bay to carry
pressure” machine ever installed in 100MW and it continued supplying the railways and the bulk supply load.
Australia. electricity until 1973. The 65-year history of Ultimo was
This machine received steam at an accurate reflection of the develop-
1250psi from the high-pressure boiler Railway alternator swaps ment of electric power generation. At
and exhausted spent steam at 225psi Meanwhile, back at the railway’s various stages, Ultimo included nearly
and a temperature of 370°C. The ex- power stations, further modernisation every type and class of electricity gen-
haust steam, the so-called back pres- was in progress. Of the four 50Hz eration equipment. And on many oc-
sure, was used to drive one or two of generators running at Ultimo since casions, it lead the way in size, capac-
the old turbine sets. 1921/23, the two Willan-Robinson- ity and technology. Thus, it is fitting
Dick Kerr units were scrapped in 1928 for this station to now be the Power-
High efficiency but the two Australian-made alterna- house Museum. Sadly, little of the
The efficiency of any steam engine tors were reinstalled elsewhere. No.1 equipment remains today.
depends on the difference in tempera- went to Zarra Street power station in
ture between inlet and exhaust. In the Newcastle in November 1925, where Acknowledgements
multiple turbine scheme, the inlet to it helped supply that city until 1930. Grateful thanks to the SRA Archives
outlet temperature difference is meas- After that, the turbine was removed and the Trustees of the Sydney Mu-
ured right across the high and low and reinstalled at Lithgow power sta- seum of Applied Arts and Sciences
pressure machines. Thus, the effi- tion. for the photographs used in this arti-
ciency of both machines is quite high. The No.2 machine became the in- cle. Acknowledgements also to Don
Taken together, the 9.375MW high augural generator at the new Lithgow Godden et al in “Ultimo Power House;
pressure and 18.750MW low pressure power station which was opened in Report on its History and Technol-
units generated a total of 25.5MW. 1928. These are examples of the mu- ogy”; also to Victor Poljanski, Arthur
The condensate water from the low sical chairs played by the Railways Perry, W. H. Myers, G. F. Anderson, P.
pressure machine condenser was then Department. Their philosophy was not Smythe, P. Tweedie, J. Brearley, Pa-
pumped back into the high pressure to scrap an old machine when it was cific Power and the Public Works De-
boiler to be converted to steam. to be replaced by a new, larger genera- partment of NSW. ) SC

86 SILICON CHIP
 IAN J. TRUSCOTT’S ELECTRONIC WORLD
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JANuaRY 1993 87

Radio signal monitoring from
all over the world |
Imagine this scenario: you are the manager of
Radio Australia and you want to monitor your
signal in Tokyo or any other designated target
area. Now with a new remote monitoring system
developed in Australia, you can do this task
merely by picking up the phone.
One of the major problems experi-
enced by HF commercial and ama-
teur users alike, located in a typical
high density urban environment, is
overcoming the massive amount of
man-made noise masking HF recep-
tion. Apart from aligning antennas to
minimise this effect (often reducing
the optimum signal level), there ap-
pears little the HF operator can do to
eliminate this problem, other than
move the location of the receiving
station, a rather inconvenient propo-
sition. 3 software options and interface boards
If the problem is difficult for ama-
teur radio operators, consider it from
the point of view of an operator such
as Radio Australia, the BBC or Voice
of America.
The Radphone 2000
Recently, after several years of de-
velopment, a practical answer to this
problem was devised by Philip Collins
and Associates Pty Ltd, a Sydney
based electronics engineering group
having a close association with Codan,
one of Australia’s prominent manu-
facturers of HF radio equipment.
The considerable RF experience
they had gained from the develop-
ment of earlier generations of intelli-
gent telephone interconnects for the
RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor service)
and outback business users allowed
88 SILICON CHIP
BY GARRY CRATT, VK2YBX
ers and amateur receivers, including
Yaesu, Kenwood and Icom models,
The communications equipment is
connected to the Radphone 2000.
which in turn is connected to the
telephone line. Users are then able tc
phone into the Radphone 2000 anc
control receiver or transceiver func-
tions using the keypad of any DTMF
telephone.
them to develop the Radphone A typical station consists of one o1
2000DX, the latest in a series of intel- two LF, MF, HF, VHF or UHF commu-
ligent interconnect units. It is capable nications receivers, together with the
of being located in any area offering appropriate antennas, installed at <
good RF reception and provides dial suitable site and connected via a Rad-
up access via a telephone line. This phone 2000 to a telephone line. Ac-
unit allows radio receivers (or trans- cess to the system is restricted to au-
ceivers) to be located in a rural envi- thorised users with a 7-digit PIN. It is
ronment, free of RF interference and possible to select between two receiv-
chosen to provide optimum service ers, enter a receive frequency and
area Coverage. mode, and then step the frequency up
The Radphone 2000 interconnect or down in various increments, change
can be configured with a variety of IF bandwidth, change sideband, etc.
A digital speech synthesiser advises
to suit various commercial transceiv- the user of the current frequency,
mode, signal level and so on.
1
Select
3 Wide System operator
Mode| T/Rxt | Narrow
T/Rx2 Upper
Lower
One local user is designated as a
sysop (system operator) and has full
a
4
4
5
~n™
6
ae access to all the system features. The
p
Coarse Medium Fine
;
sysop can change the system configu-
ration, add or remove user PIN num-
Tune 7 8 g
bers, and change system default val-
Coarse Medium Fine ues. This can all be done from a re-
Function |« 0
mote location using a DTMF telephone
+ one ENTER Transmit and voice synthesiser prompts. No
other |Frequency Selcall
key |[Readback & VOX PC or modem is required.
For on-site parameter verification,
Fig.1: the Radphone 2000 is the Radphone 2000 is equipped with
controlled using a standard DTMF
telephone keypad. This diagram a 40-character, 2-line LCD and a 16-
shows the functions of the various button keypad. A logging printer can
buttons. A digital speech synthesiser also be connected to record system
advises the user of the current use. In addition, the on-board micro-
frequency, mode, signal level & so on. processor provides the necessary

housekeeping functions for auto ring
detection for call connection, detec-
tion of loss of telephone line current, © identification number”. Our user en-
and detection of service tones for call
disconnection.
There are two important functions
to which the Radphone 2000 can be
put, which are not immediately obvi-
ous. Firstly, the unit can be used to
provide real-time signal evaluation of
shortwave broadcasts directly from the
target country, allowing international
broadcasters to immediately assess
reception or interference on existing
or proposed frequencies.
Secondly, in the “electronic news
gathering” role, users can listen to a
local broadcast station from a remote
location to obtain instant local news
on current events. There are other
applications, such as use of the sys-
tem by law enforcement agencies as
an RF surveillance aid, and remote
spectrum monitoring by statutory au-
thorities.
The system has already been pur-
chased by various overseas broadcast-
ers such as the BBC and Voice of
America, foreign embassies, and RF
-monitoring organisations.
Typical scenario
For those still not convinced, imag-
ine the following scenario: a user di-
als the phone number for the Rad-
phone 2000 service. The system an-
swers the call and announces “enter
ters his personal 7-digit PIN, using
his DTMF keypad.
The Radphone 2000 announces
“Welcome to Radphone 2000, receiver
one, eight decimal eight six seven
megahertz, upper sideband”. At this
point, the user hears several trans-
Pacific airliners advising Hawaii air
control of their positions, mid-Pacific,
between Australia and Los Angeles.
This default frequency has been pro-
grammed by the sysop.
Our user wants to listen to Radio
Australia on 11,800kHz, so he keys in
“11800”. The Radphone reads back
the frequency as “one one decimal
eight zero zero megahertz, upper
sideband”. In order to select AM, our
user presses the “2” digit repeatedly,
to cycle through AM, SSB and FM
modes. Following each key depres-
sion, the speech synthesiser advises
the receiver mode. Having selected
AM, our user depresses the “3” key to
toggle from wide to narrow IF band-
width. Reception is good and our user
listens to Radio Australia for several
minutes. | and Associates, phone (02) 416 8799
Our user then decides to scan the
20-metre band, to check on any activ-
ity. Having selected 14.100MHz USB
as his starting point, he repeatedly
This photo shows the
Radphone 2000DX‘/T in a
typical monitoring setup
with two receivers. The
Radphone can be called
up by phone from any
part of the world for a
report on signal
reception & can be used
to remotely control a
local transmitter.
presses the “4” key, incrementing the
receiver frequency by 1kHz. Scanning
his preferred segment, and hearing a
group of familiar stations, our user
keys “0”, then “*”, activating the trans-
mitter VOX circuit. Announcing his
callsign, he converses with several
stations during the next 10 minutes.
Signing off, our user then decides
to check for UHF activity. By depress-
ing the “1” key, he commands the
Radphone 2000 to select receiver 2, a
Yaesu FRG9600. Knowing the output
frequency of his local UHF CB re-
peater, he listens to several truckies
discussing weather conditions as they
pass through his home town on the
Hume Highway. :
After monitoring the frequency for
several minutes, our user arrives at
Los Angeles airport, terminates the
call to Australia, switches off his cel-
lular mobile phone, and walks to the
Qantas check-in for his return flight
home.
Despite our fictitious situation, the
Radphone 2000 is capable of all the
functions described above and more.
For further information on this
amazing system, call Philip Collins
or fax (02) 416 8761. The company
operates several remote sites in Aus-
tralia and can arrange on-air demon-
strations to interested parties. SC
JaANuARY 1993 = 89
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200 Cps Draft, 72 LQ, Built in sheet, Convertable Push/Pull Tractor yCombines a Filan
feeder 8 fonts. 2 scalable fonts C2E a $1,249 !semiconductor ~ : abot ae ex f /

CPOs $449 slaser with

LQ@-2550 136 Col, 24Pin Dot Matrix’ telectrophotographic
400 Cps Draft,133 LQ Colour itechnology to A
LQ-870 80 Col, 24 Pin Dot Standard,Push Tractor, Smart Igive you high quality printing that
Matrix,330 Cps Draft, 110 Park Feature. tis both fast and quiet. The EPL-4000 |
Cps NLQ, Scalable Fonts, COQOG Bisicsskecidaidsscscisce $1,995 'can compose an entire page in its internal!
8 to 32 points, 11LQ Fonts, memory before printing. It has the ability |
360 x 360 DPI, Top, Rear,
Bottom, & Front paper Feed
Ito mix text graphics, create pre defined
paths Convertable Push/Pull iforms and print with a range of fonts
Tractor. Inormally associated with i
ee sdaued enon $1 495.00 {
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PRICES ARE WITHOUT PADDLE CARDS & BRACKETS MEMORY 1-9 10-99 100+ Oe
41256-08.....$2.95 $2.75 $2.50 erin
44256-07.....$7.50 $6.50 $5.90 09
SIMMS 1-9 10-24 25+ 100+
256K-60 $29 $27 $26 $25
Manat 256K-70 $23 $21 $19 $17
Genese 256K-80 $21 $19 $17 $15
126M HD 6ms T.T ACCESS. VOICE COIL. 1Mx9-70 $69 $67 $65 $64
2 YEAR WARRANTY..........cccccssssssssssescrescesees $539 1Mx9-60 $79 $77 $75 $64
170M 6ms T.T ACCESS jnisbue $629 $269 $265 $263 $260 _,
212M HD 5ms T.T ACCESS. VOICE COIL.
2 YEAR WARRANT Y...........cscccsccscssscsescreeseees $729 1Mx9-80 $99 $95 $89 $85 ““@
NEW 340M H.D 5ms T.T ACCESS saver $1295
256K-60 $29 $27 $26 $25

16M HD CACHE CARD OK RAM... $495

HDD IDE /FDD.n ccc cccccccccccccccoccco
|] 286-16/21.........ccccc
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conditions & comes with a 3 year warranty.
SPECS: cte: 14” 90° deflection, dark tint, non-glare.
Display size: 245+/5mm x 180+/-5mm x 180+/-5mm
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Resolution: (max): 1024 x 768. Dot Pitch: 0.28”
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only $439.00

SUPERVGA NEW
MULTISCAN
PARADISE ACCELERATOR........... 486-66 256K CACHE COLOUR MONITOR 0.28" p.p
PARKEET ACCELERATOR............. 486-33 EISA............ccccsccccccccsesssecsscsccsseeses NON-INTERLACED 1024 x 76s... $599
 *etatatatatatatatatetetetetatalstetetetetatetetatstctstatehatatet it tie heeelaly

|| DR DOS 6.0 ADD ............875.00 /

|MS DOS 5.0 ADD ............$95.00
= 1MS DOS & WINDOWS 3.1 $169.00
|80386SX 25M CPU :|80386-33 CPU 64K CACHE ON 2] 1M VGA CARD............+0+.-8100.00
2MEG RAM EXP TO 8 MEG | BOARD MEMORY
|31Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST '{2MEG RAM EXP TO 16 MEG 185M HD add $100
1.2M JAP F.D.D. 512K VGA CARD
40M HARD DISK DRIVE,
:]57Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST
“140 MEG HARD DISK
126M HD add $210 105M HD..$175
101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD |1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D | ]|200m HD add $450 170M HD..$275
MINI CASE & 200W POWER SUPPLY 21101 EXTENDED “CLICK” KEYBOARD 1TEXTRA RAM
SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR : SERIAL PARALLEL GAMES PORT |] 1M add $69 2M add $138 4M add $276
1024 x 768 Res 0.28" D.P : |MINI CASE & 200W POWER SUPPLY
SERIAL PARALLEL GAMES PORTS | SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP
4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY IBM‘ 512K VGA CARD (256 COLOURS) IBM* COMPATIBLE | [SOUND COMMANDER FX.........cseeereesee-00-
8159 |
COMPATIBLE SPREADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY | SOUNDBLASTER II with speakerz........... $149 |
DATABASESOFTWARE INCLUDED. SPEADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & DATABASE Bi SOUNDBLASTER PRO: ievdn deikadvcvnawedicueecss $369 ;

* SHAREWARE SOFTWARE TAX SOFTWARE INCLUDED. “| PLOPTICAL DRIVE add..........eceecceeseeeseeeee 8649 |

ASSEMBLED& TESTED “J inc. |:| “SHAREWARE SOFTWARE TAX INC. | Sousideg
INAUSTRALIA. UNS
Add $40 for a 386SX-33/41 $1099 tax ex
|| ASSEMBLED
&TESTED TOE Len ROMBGUND-BLARTER ORC oe = eee |
A crhahbca co $1,165 tax ex e PARRADISE WIN DOW ACCELERATOR..... $325
Sastre stse telatetal tates atest eats eb a otsteasthe lattes atetatatet alstata eed tats asst Metccaatatesslatatetat at
platitetarate! statates atetatetatalstatatitatalitate nts tolatat Mabenahatotatal satsedeatatatatatseatahins teceti Meet stmt ons ices ahaha tates ha let tte sb eereseh eter teeetst to. 9.4 tyecsege tMyeeatesbidle heasere, Sse Oooh erusbePebialecncuserararduyie tvacbivesstiacasmrvvt tralaegssterererarseatsrateverotetatacatorerivity

80386-40 CPU 64K CACHE ON

BOARD _|80486SX-20 CPU £180486-33 CPU
2MEG RAM EXP TO16 MEG {2 MEG RAM EXP TO 32 MEG /:1256K ON BOARD CACHE. 2 MEG OF RAM
65 Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST | 75Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST ::1157Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST
40 MEG HARD DISK 12ms ACCESS {40 MEG HARD DISK E140 MEG HARD DISK
TIME :|1.2M JAPANESE. BRAND F.D.D 211.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D
1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D 1101 EXTENDED “CLICK” KEYBOARD 21 101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD
101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD MINI CASE & 200W 4 MINI CASE & 200W POWER SUPPLY “— - SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS
POWER SUPPLY SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS “14 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY °1512K VGACARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE
512K VGA CARDSUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR | SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS, 512K VGA CARD =) SVGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Resolution) 0.28"DP
(1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP ES MINI CASE & 200W POWER SUPPLY
WARRANTY SPEADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & B SPEADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & DATABASE cf 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY
DATABASE SOFTWARE INCLUDED. *SHAREWARE SOFTWARE |: SOFTWARE INCLUDED. ‘SHAREWARE SOFTWARE Be SPREADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & DATABASE SOFTWARE.
ASSEMBLED & TESTED IN AUSTRALIA.
TAX WITH 200 MEG DRIVE WITH 200 MEG DRIVE
TAX WITH 200 MEG DRIVE
INC. $1,899 taxinc. nda $1 5919 taxinc. E een $2, 699 taxwic
$1,210 waxex =$1,585 taxex L $1 870 TAX EX. $2,245 TAX EX

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AUWAWY a "tidy

80486-33 CPU 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 4 MEG OF RAM ||:: 80486-50 CPU 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 4 MEG OF RAM [:::|80486-EISA CPU 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 4 MEG OF RAM
157Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST ‘1 200+Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST ea 167 Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST
200 MEG HARD DISK 4 200 MEG HARD DISK 12ms ACCESS Si 200 MEG HARD DISK 12ms ACCESS
12ms ACCESS TIME "| TIME 1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D US| TIME 1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.0.D
1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D 13.5" 1.44M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D 253.5" 1.44M JAPANESE BRAND F.0.D
3.5” 1.44M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D 21101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD 21101 EXTENDED “CLICK” KEYBOARD
101 EXTENDED “CLICK” KEYBOARD & TOWER [|SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PoRTS | & TOWER | }::/SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS & TOWER
SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS CASE 1 MEG VGA CARD. 1BM* COMPATIBLE CASE e1 MEG VGA CARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE
1 MEG VGA CARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE es TOWER CASE & 220W POWER SUPPLY iS TOWER CASE & 220W POWER SUPPLY CASE
“{ TOWER CASE & 220W POWER SUPPLY “]:] SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP_ [| SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.26" DP
SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP | 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY BE 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY
4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY fe SPEADSHEET, WORDPRCESSOR & DATABASE oS SPEADSHEET, WORDPRCESSOR & DATABASE
SPEADSHEET, es SOFTWARE. ae SOFTWARE.
WORDPRCESSOR & TAX INC, [:| ASSEMBLED & TESTED TAXING, [| ASSEMBLED & TESTED ani
DATABASE SOFTWARE. IN AUSTRALIA. Be IN AUSTRALIA
ASSEMBLED& TESTED $9 57Q tax inc, | | IDEAL CAD MACHINE! $9945 tay ex. _ |IDEAL CAD MACHINE! g4150 tax Ex
IN AUSTRALIA.

MAIL ORDER HOTLINE: 008 33 57 57. ORDER FAX LINE: (03) 543 4871 ENQUIRES (03) 543 7877 COMPUTER SYSTEM
HEAD OFFICE: 56 RENVER RD, CLAYTON. PH: (03) 543 2166. FAX (03) $43 2648
MELBOURNE: 48 A'BECKETT ST. MELBOURNE. PH. (03) 639 1640. FAX: 639 1641. Melb-Metro.$12.00 Vic country....$19.00 | Ompute
OAKLEIGH: 240C HUNTINGDALE RD, OAKLEIGH. PH: (03) 562 8939 FAX: (03) 562 8940 Sydney....... $17.00 NSW country.$39.00 | f: @
NORTHCOTE 425 HIGH ST. NORTHCOTE, PH. 489 8866, FAX: 489 8131. Adelaide.....$17.00 S.A country...$39.00 Nase MAREN Rae
SYDNEY:74 PARRAMATTA RD, STANMORE. PH: (02) 519 3134. FAX: (02) 516 5024. $24.00 OLD country.$55.00
NEW STORE - ADELAIDE: 241-243 WRIGHT ST, ADELAIDE. PH:(08) 211 7200 FAX: (08) 211 7273 Canberra....$18.00 W.A country..$74.00 |}:
BLUESTAR COMPUTERS: Darwin : Insurance:-
MELBOURNE: 271 MAROONDAH HWY, RINGWOOD, PHONE: (03) 870 1800 FAX: (03) 879 3027 $1 / $100 Value.
SYDNEY: 115 - 117 PARRAMATTA RD CONCORD. PH: (02) 744 5526 FAX: (02) 744 5405. Tasmania....$53.00
 DISCOUNT COMPONENTS
10 10-00 100+ 1K
1000+
Z10140(R) $0.15 $0.12 $0.10 $0.08
As used in projects or 1210141(G).. $0.20 $0.18 $0.15 $0.12
as replacement. Diecast boxes are excellent 10143(Y).. $0.20 $0.18 $0.15 $0.12
for RF sheildingand 1-8 104 1210145(0).. $0.20 $0.18 $0.15 $0.12
strength.
M12155S......... $8.95 $7.95
Screws are provided with
2156 240V 6-15V A2
each box. 210150(R). $0.15 $0.12 $0.10 $0.08
M12156........$13.95 $12.95 210151(G). $0.25 $0.20 $0.18 $0.12
H11451 2851 240V 12-6V CT 250mA 2101S2(Y).. $0.25 $0.20 $0.18 $0.12
100 x 50 x 25mm........ $8.95 M12851......... $4.95 .. $4.50 a
H11452 6672 240V 15 30ve 1A
ES
110 x 60 x 30mm........ $9.50 M16672....... $12.95 $11.95
H11453
120 x 65 x 40mm.......$10.50
H11461 RED 5mm 1-9 10+ 100+
9mm hole, available a
120 x 94 x 53mm......$13.95 Save a small fortune on 210159 $1.10 $1.00 $0.80

_
3 colours H11462 these “Direct import” low
188 x 120 x 78mm....$15.95 XT P.S 1g6W...........$139.00
$14030 Red......... $1.20 profile IC sockets! PCB 80 x 80 x 25.4mm
H11464 FULL TOWER mounting solder tall. All tin 12V DC. 1.7 Watt 0.14 Amp.
$14032 Green.....$1.45 Z2OW P.S....coreceeceres $149.00
188 x 188 x 64mm....$29.50 plated phosphor bronze or T12469.......c0scssere $18.95
$14034 Yellow....$1.45 MINI TOWER

y
berryilium and dual wipe for 10+ fans, only $17.95
ZOOW P.S....csceseeseeee $89.00 reliability. 1-8 104 100+ 1K
BABY AT 1-8. 104 100¢ Quality fans for use In RED 20¢ 15¢'12¢.
10¢
P.S ZOOW......ccesereee $89.00 P10550 8 pin 15¢ 12¢ 10¢ power amps, computer GREEN 20¢ 15¢ 12¢ 10¢
SLIMLINE BABY AT P10560 14pin 20¢ 18¢ 15¢ hotspot cooling etc. YELLOW 20¢ 15¢°12¢ 10¢
P.S. 2OOW....ceceseeees $89.00 P10565 16pin 20¢ 18¢ 16¢ Anywhere you need plenty
P10567 18pin 30¢ 25¢ 22¢ of alr.
P10568 20pin 35¢ 30¢ 25¢ | 240V 4 5/8" T12461..$16.95
P10569 22pin 35¢ 30¢ 26¢ 115V 4 5/8" T12463..$16.95
; $/Mtr P10570 24pin 35¢ 30¢ 26¢ 240V 3 1/2" T12465..$16.95
{W12614 14way $1.90

tf
PN100: a NPN general P10572 28pin 45¢ 35¢ 30¢ 115V 3 1/2” T12467..$16.95
W12616 16way $2.20 purpose medium power
ESERTELSIT 1-90 104 100+
1W12620 20way $2.50 amp and switch with P10880 DESP $1.00 $0.80 $0.60

h &
W12624 24way $2.90 continuous collector P10885 DEsS $1.00 $0.70 $0.60
W12625 25way $3.20 current up to 500mA. This inexpensive range of P10881 DA1SS $1.00 $0.70 $0.60
P10892 DA1SC $1.00 $0.90 $0.60
W12626 26way $3.60 PN200: a PNP general modular interlocking units
enables a quick easy way P10805 DA15S $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
purpose amp at collector
W12634 34way $3.90 currents to 1 AMP. of experimenting with new P10902 DB25C $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
W12636 36way $3.90 Both are TO-82 plastic circiuts and ideas. There P10904 DB25P $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
These quality 3 level wire
W12640 40way $4.90 package. are two main units P10005 0B25S $1.00 $0.80 $0.60

ax
wrap sockets are tin plated
W12650 50way $5.90 consisting of a terminal phosphor bronze. 1-9 10+
W12660 60way $6.90 PN2221, PN2222, PN2222A, strip or distribution and a P10579 Spin $1.50 $1.40 $11010 S.P.0.T $1.20 $1.10
PN3585, PN3568, PN3569, central plug in unit. P10580 14pin $1.85 $1.70 $11020 D.P.0.T $1.30 $1.20
PN3643, PN5133, 2N2219A, - 100 holes. P10585 16pin $1.95 $1.80
2N2222A, 2N3414, 2N3415, P10587 18pin $1.95 $1.80
2N3416, 2N3417, 2N3700, P10590 20pin $2.95 $2.75 1-9 10+ 100+
2N3704, 2N3904, 2N4123, P10592 22pin $2.95 $2.70 2SJ49 $9.50 $8.00 $7.00 |
2N4124, 2N4401, 2N5088, P10594 24pin $3.95 $3.50 2SJ56 $10.00 $9.50 $8.50 |
2N5210. P10596 28pin $3.95 $3.50 2SK134 $8.50 $8.00 $7.00 |
P10598 40pin $4.95 $4.50
PN200 REPLACES: 2560 + 700 holes
2SK176 $9.50 $8.90 $6.90
PN2907, PN2907A, PN3638, 2SJ50 $9.50 $8.50 $7.00
© P11018........000. $69.95 2SK135 $9.50 $8.50 $7.00

\
PN3638A, PN3640, PN3644, Description 1-8 10¢ 1004
PN4121, PN4143, PN4248, 7805UC $0.50 $0.45 $0.40
Spectrol Model
PN4249, PN4250, PN4355, 7812UC $0.50 $0.45 $0.40
5341/4" shaft. 7815UC $0.50 $0.45 $0.40
PN4916, PN4917, PN5S910,
Equivalent (Bourns 2N2905A, 2N3467, 2N3702, 7905UC $0.60 $0.55 $0.50 With pins for easy board
insertion. C©10170
3540S Beckman 7256) 2N3906, 2N4125, 2N4126, 7912UC $0.60 $0.55 $0.50
1-8 10-68 100+ 1000+
Dials to suit 16-1-11, 2N4291, 2N4402, 2N4403, 7915UC $0.60 $0.55 $0.50
$1.20 $1.00 $0.90 $0.70
18-14-11, 21-1-11. 2N5086, 2N5087, 2N5447. 78LO5 $0.40 $0.30 $0.28
78L12 $0.40 $0.30 $0.28
1R1405050R R14100 5K
R14055 100R R14110 10K
PN100..4..T90001
PN200......T90002 ¢ Six conductor shielded
LM324 $1.00 $0.90 $0.80 =—s
computer interface cable. 555 $0.40 $0.38 $0.33
R14060 200R R14120 20K 1-9 10+ 100+
W12670 -CIC6 6con. . 741 $0.50 $0.45 $0.39
}R14070 500R R14080 1K
$0.20 $0.18 $0.15 1-0M 10M+ 100M+s
R14090 2K
$1.30M $1.10M $1.00M 1-8 106 100+
1-9 10+ eal ° DESP Spin plug
W12672 -CIC9 9con.
i $12.95 $10.90 ad 10M 10Me 100M¢ P12166 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00
1-9 10¢ 1004
——— $1.60M $1.50M $1.20M ¢ DA15P 15pin plug
BC 547 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
W12674 + CiC12 12 con.
P12168 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00 BC 548 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
¢ DB25P 25 pin plug
19M 10M+ 100M+s P12170 $4.50 $3.95 $3.50 2 WAY........cses00e8 $59.95 BC 549 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
$2.50M $2.20M $1.90M 4 WAY.......ree0e00 $69.95 BC 557 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
W12676 -CIC16 16 con. MONITOR & KEYBOARD BC 558 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
© REGS iii ckects 210146
« GREEN........... Z10147
1-0M 10M+ 100M+¢
$3.50M $3.20M $2.50M SWITCH BOXES $69.50 BC
BC
559
327
$0.15
$0.20
$0.10
$0.15
$0.07
$0.12
e YELLOW........ 210148 W12678 - CIC25 25 con. mao BC 337 $0.20 $0.15 $0.12
1-9 10+ 1-92M@ 10Me 100M¢
BD 139 $0.75 $0.60 $0.50
$3.90M $3.40M $3.00M
$1.00 $0.90 BD 140 $0.75 $0.60 $0.50
Unencoded keypad, 10
digit keys plus two utility 1-0 10% 1004 « Lever operated suction
keys. Light grey in colour. * DESS 9 pin socket base grip for instant
OUTPUT ARRANGEMENT: P12167 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00
* DA15S 15 pin socket
mounting & portability.
Output Pin No. Symbol ¢ Mounts on smooth
P12169 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00
4 ccssiduimiebetolsedans N.A. non-porous surfaces
- DB25S 15 pin socket
Disobanehavennier Shield plate Save a fortune on P12171 $4.50 $3.95 $3.50 ¢ Ideal for holding &
EER ea ANIA IColumn 2 (INTERLOCKING ENDS)
expensive throw away other small objects .
MBvccccndadcassectaiicied Row 1 These terminals feature
batteries with these interlocking ends to form
Bo Si ccccieddeasnnios Column 3 quality Nicads and
Gocictcnisintasisicicuas Row 1
any number of connectione.
Rechargers! Standard 5mm spacing
Fissobaaunecabenaee Column 1 A" SPACING 1-47 tef Size AA 450mAH
Bixicspssosesnakedvésens Row 2 P12060 10pin $3.95 $3.50 1-9 104 100+
2way ;
Digoiccsecctlektacticcce Row 3 P12062 20pin $4.25 $3.75 $2.95 $2.75 $2.50
1-9 10_ 100+.
Wydsiisdertsivdsatyoe N.A. P12064 26pin $4.50 $3.95 SizeC 12AH 19 10¢ 100+
$9.95 $9.50 $8.95 ¢ Plug P12200 'S $0.70 $0.60
Cat. C19030 P12066 34pin $4.95 $3.95 SizeD 12AH
A must for all PCB work.
P10521 3 way
1-9 10+ 100+ P12068 40pin $5.95 $4.95 $3.95 $3.00 $2.95 T12444.......cc0000- $9.95
$9.95 $9.50 $8.95 * Socket P12201_— $0.90 $0.80
P12070 S0pin $6.95 $5.95
 ROU IRVING ECEUCTHONIUS HOU THVING ECEUIRUNILS RUUTAVING CLEUTRUNILS NUUIAVINGTLEUINUNIVS NUU INVING CLOUIRUNILS MUU IAVING WAV
NICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING
NICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVINGELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING
ICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD JAVING
=ONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
"WONG
INTRODUCING OUR NEW RANGE OF MULTIMETERS AND TEST EQUIPMENT! 5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
Small & - 5 ROD IRVING
light for 5 ROD IRVING
your top 5 ROD IRVING
pocket. 5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
5 ROD IRVING
> ROD IRVING
ANALOGUE D IRVING
WORKHORSE D IRVING
D IRVING
HUNG CHANG e Fuse and Diode protection
m D IRVING
DIGITAL MULTIMETER ehFE measurements 0 - 1000
DIGITAL MULTIMETER ( By x 10 range)
IT 5 iavinc
HC-3500T D IRVING
HC-31 e Mirror scale for more accurate D> 0 IAVING
The HC-3500T is completely * Custom designed 80-pin LS! chip reading. C2 IRVING
portable, pocket sized 3 1/2 digit to achieve a low overall component RANGES D IRVING
multimeter designed for use by the count, ensuring long term stability « DC Voltage: 0 - .1, 0.5, 2.5, 10, 50, A 0 IRVING
engineer, technician, and hobbiest and accuracy. 250, 1000V. D IRVING
who demand an instrument, that is ¢ New LCD display with (20k ohm/v) oo D IRVING
accurate, reliable and always ready POCKET PERSONAL annunciators for functions, unit ¢ AC Voltage: 0 - 10, 50. 250, "UJ D IRVING
for use. Equipped with nine DIGITAL MULTIMETER polarity, decimal and low battery. 500V, 1000V (8kohm/V) C) D IRVING
functions and 28 ranges, each test ¢ Rotary pencil type DC Current: 0-0.05, (50uA) D IRVING
position is quickly and easily
Model HC-32 nlD IRVING
« Auto ranging and auto polarity. 2.5, 25, 250mA
selected with a simple turn of the
single selector switch. Small
« Custom designed 80-pin LSI chip
to achieve a low overall component « Convenient one hand operation by e Resistance: 5IRVING
count, ensuring long term stability connecting the alligator clip. 0-2K, 20K, 2M 20M ohm] Tool box Bi,2 IRVING
enough to fit in attach cases and * Measurement ranges (DCV, ACV, e Load Current: > IRVING
and accuracy. .
equipped with a multi-position tilt Resistance and Continuity Check, 0-150uA, 15mA, 150mA\ have one > IRVING
stand. The instrument is equally
¢ New LCD display with anniniators > IRVING
Diode Check). « Load Voltage:0-3V
for functions, unit, polarity, decimal > IRVING
suited for design engineering, « Data hold switch to fix the reading. « Volume Level:
point and low battery indicator. > IRVING
production testing, field servicing SPECIFICATIONS: -10- + 22dB - + - 62dB
and industrial maintenance
e Rotary pocket type. © 9 IRVING
Operation system: Integration ¢ DC Current Amplification Factor: > IRVING
applications.
¢ Auto ranging polarity.
« Display: 3 1/2 digit LCD (hFE) 0-1000 > IRVING
¢ Overranging indication on all
* Display: 3 1/2 digit « Range Selection: Full auto ranging ACCURACY rsD IRVING
ranges
« Basic Accuracy 0.5% DC
e Measurement ranges (DCV, ACV, system : - DC Voltage & Current: > IRVING
« DC Voltage: 0-100V ¢ Sampling Time: 0.5 seconds Within +/-3% f.s D IRVING
Resistance & Continuity Check,
« DC Current: 0-20A ¢ Power requirement: 1.5V (A.A.A) x e Resistance: Within =/-3% Of arc. D.IRVING
Diode Check 200mA DC/AC) < D IRVING
« AC Voltage: 0-20A 2 batteries e Battery: 1.5V (um-3) 2pcs.
« Resistance: 0-20M ohms |
« Data hold switch to fix the reading. IT 5 iavinc
« Operating Environment: 0° ~ 40°C 9V (006p) 1 pe
* Temperature: -20°C - 1200°C
SPECIFICATIONS: D IRVING
« Dimensions: 170mm x 35mm x e Fuse: 0.5A, 50 x 20mm
« Operation System: Integration D IRVING
« Continuity test, Diode test, 21mm. ¢ Diode: 4148 x 2
Temperature, Capacitance,
* Display: 3 1/2 digit LCD D IRVING
¢ Range Selection: Full autoranging . Included with the HC-31: °C.C: 0.04uff x 50V G7 D IRVING
Frequency, hfe Test, Data hold. ° 1 Alligator crp e Size: 147 x 99 x 57mm
system * D IRVING
Q13000............ ssseeeeee$149.00 ¢ Sampling Time: 0.5 seconds ¢ Long Pin tip ¢ Weight: 400g approximately © op iavinc
Lu « Power requirement: 1.5V (A.A.A) x * Carrying Case Q11020...........002000+4259.95 D IRVING
2 battery °2A.A.A batteries D IRVING
ro ¢ Operating environment: 0°C~40°C «Instruction manual
LOGIC PROBES
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a 1.5cm (d). C] i MY in |= -}ty EO) D IRVING
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“TID IRVING
« Useful for TTL or CMOS has high
LL. DMM HC-889 *T] 0 IRVING
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and low indicator leds and also with D IRVING
pulse memory. LlD IRVING
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autoranging BAR-GRAPH DMM
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~hobbiest or serious technician for
D IRVING
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annunciation on LCD. HUNG CHANG
tracing those hard to find faults on S¢ 0 IRVING
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MULTI-TESTER
logic boards.
29099 w= OD IRVING
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measurements. UW D IRVING
<eo. « Extended 20M ohm range, hFE DM301 D IRVING
diode checker ° 3 1/2 Digit, Basic Accuracy DMM
D IRVING
Ww ” D IRVING
gcontinuity detection with 4KHz ¢ Low Cost, Amazing Quality, Vane D IRVING
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audio drive signal pocket size. = DIRVING
LL [+ Low battery detection & display
RONI(warning annunciator.
RONIG+ Convenient 9V battery operation
¢ Safety Designed-Compiled to
UL1244, VDE 0411
« Overload protection
ANALOGUE / DIGITAL
MULTIMETER
= Onn
bd D IRVING
RONIG- Full scale of 40 pes Bar display. « Diode Check e HC - 505DB 3 1/2 DIGIT e DIRVING
RONIG SPECIFICATIONS: « Basic accuracy: 0.5%DC ROO IRVING
RONIG DISPLAY:3 1/2 DIGIT Display: 3 1/2 digit LCD. 0.5 height, * DC Voltage: 0 - 1000V ROD IRVING
fond OC VOLTAGE: 0-1000V with polarity. ¢ DC Current: 0-10A ROD IRVING
RONIC DC CURRENT: 0-10A * AC Voltage: 0 -750V ROD IRVING
Overrange Indication; 3 least
ronidAC VOLTAGE: 0-750V ¢ AC Current: 0-10A LOGIC PULSER ROD IRVING
significant digits blanked. ROD IRVING
RONid RESISTANCE: 0-20M OHMS Maximum Common mode Voltage: ¢ Resistance: 0 - 20M ohms ¢ Can be used directly to Inject ROD IRVING
RONK|CONTINUITY TEST, DIODE TEST, 500V peak «DC AC DMS:-45dB - +50dB a signal into logic circuits without ROD IRVING
RONIqDATA HOLD, TR HFE GAIN, Operating environment: 0 to 50°C ¢ Temperature: -20°C -1200°C removing IC ROD IRVING
RONIVAUTO RANGE DMM WITH BAR Power: 9V alkaline or carbon zinc * AC Freq Spread: 50 Hz - 2KHz | ¢ Compatible with TTL, OTL, RTL, ROD IRVING
RONIGGRAPH cells Continuity Test, Diode Test. HTL, MOs and CMOS. ROD IRVING
BONG Q)13040....ecsereeseeeeeeee-$89.95
RONIVQ)Y Dimensions: 128mm x 75 x 24mm Q13020............$169.00 Q11274. .....ccsccssveeeeees$49.95 s ROD
ROO
IRVING
IRVING
‘TRONIG Q13050........200000+0049.9 ROO IRVING
RON! HOLD IRVIN
= 16) %
HOU IRVIN RON AUU IRVIN AUN ~ AUL TARVIN HONICS ROU IRVING HONT ROD IRVING
RONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING
RONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS ROD IRVING

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 Silicon Chip
Si
May 1989: Electronic Pools/Lotto Selector; Syr
thesised Tom-Tom; Biofeedback Monitor For You
PC; Simple Stub Filter For Suppressing TV Inte:
ference; LED Message Board, Pt.3; Electronic
For Everyone — All About Electrolytic Capacitors

BACK ISSUES
June 1989: Touch-Lamp Dimmer (uses Siemen
SLB0586); Passive Loop Antenna For AM Rac
i
ios; Universal Temperature Controller; Undei
standing CRO Probes; LED Message Board, Pt.<

July 1989: Exhaust Gas Monitor (Uses TGS81)

July 1988: Stereo Control Preamplifier, Pt.2; Fit-
ting A Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid To Your Car; Booster
For TV & FM Signals; The Discolight Light Show,
Pt.1; Tone Burst Source For Amplifier Headroom
Testing; What Is Negative Feedback, Pt.3.
August 1988: Building A Plasma Display; Univer-
sal Power Supply Board; Remote Chime/Door-
bell; High Performance AC Millivoltmeter, Pt.1;
Discolight Light Show, Pt.2; Getting The Most Out
Of Nicad Batteries; Data On Insulated Tab Triacs.
December 1988: 120W PA Amplifier (With Bal-
anced Inputs), Pt.1; Diesel Sound Generator; Car
Antenna/Demister Adaptor; SSB Adaptor For
Shortwave Receivers; Why Diesel Electrics Killed
Off Steam; Index to Volume 1.
January 1989: Line Filter For Computers; Ultra-
sonic Proximity Detector For Cars; 120W PA Am-
plifier (With Balanced Inputs) Pt.1; How To Serv-
ice Car Cassette Players; Massive Diesel Elec-
trics In The USA; Marantz LD50 Loudspeakers.
Gas Sensor); Extension For The Touch-Lam
Dimmer; Experimental Mains Hum Sniffers; Con
pact Ultrasonic Car Alarm; NSW 86 Class Electri
Locomotives.
September 1989: 2-Chip Portable AM Stere
Radio (Uses MC 13024 and TX7376P) Pt.1; Alarm
Triggered Telephone Dialler; High Or Low Flui
Level Detector; Simple DTMF Encoder; Studi
Series 20-Band Stereo Equaliser, Pt.2; Auto-Zer
Module for Audio Amplifiers (Uses LMC669).

September 1988: Hands-Free Speakerphone;
Electronic Fish Bite Detector; High Performance
AC Millivoltmeter, Pt.2; Build The Vader Voice;
Motorola MC34018 Speakerphone IC Data; What
Is Negative Feedback, Pt.4.
February 1989: Transistor Beta Tester: Minstrel
2-30 Loudspeaker System; LED Flasher For Model
Railways; Build A Simple VHF FM Monitor (uses
MC3362), Pt.1; Lightning & Electronic Appliances;
Using Comparators to Detect & Measure.
October 1989: Introducing Remote Control; Fh
Radio Intercom For Motorbikes Pt.1; GaAsFe
Preamplifier For Amateur TV; 1Mb Printer Buffe:
2-Chip Portable AM Stereo Radio, Pt.2; Installin
A Hard Disc In The PC.

October 1988: Stereo FM Transmitter (Uses
Rohm BA1404); High Performance FM Antenna;
Matchbox Crystal Set; Electronic House Number;
Converting A CB Radio To The 28MHz Band;
Queensland’s Powerful Electric Locomotives.
November 1988: 120W PA Amplifier Module
(Uses Mosfets); Poor Man’s Plasma Display;
Automotive Night Safety Light; Adding A Headset
To The Speakerphone; How To Quieten The Fan
In Your Computer; Screws & Screwdrivers, What
You Need To Know; Diesel Electric Locomotives.
March 1989: LED Message Board, Pt.1; 32-Band
Graphic Equaliser, Pt.1; Stereo Compressor For
CD Players; Amateur VHF FM Monitor, Pt.2; Sig-
netics NE572 Compandor IC Data; Map reader
For Trip Calculations; Electronics For Everyone —
Resistors.
April 1989: Auxiliary Brake Light Flasher; Elec-
tronics For Everyone: What You Need to Know
About Capacitors; Telephone Bell Monitor/ Trans-
mitter; 32-Band Graphic Equaliser, Pt.2; LED Mes-
sage Board, Pt.2.
November 1989: Radfax Decoder For Your P(
(Displays Fax, RTTY & Morse); Sensitive FM Wire
less Microphone; FM Radio Intercom For Motor
bikes, Pt.2; 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo Radic
Pt.3; Floppy Disc Drive Formats & Options; Th
Pilbara Iron Ore Railways. .
December 1989: Digital Voice Board (Record
Up To Four Separate Messages); UHF Remot
Switch; Balanced Input & Output Stages; Dati
For The LM831 Low Voltage Amplifier IC; Insta
A Clock Card. In Your PC; Index to Volume 2.

Use this handy form to order your back issues

Please send me a back issue for: 4) July 1988 Ly August 1988 ) September 1988
1 October 1988 _} November 1988 1 December 1988 1) January 1989 LY February 1989
Ly March 1989 4 April 1989 1) May 1989 (3 June 1989 i July 1989
1 September 1989 October 1989 Ly November 1989 1 December 1989 1} January 1990
J February 1990 1 March 1990 (I April 1990 lL} May 1990 1) June 1990
Ly July 1990 (y August 1990 1 September 1990 (1 October 1990 1 November 1990
1 December 1990 1) January 1991 lL} February 1991 L) March 1991 () April 1991
1) May 1991 (J June 1991 -Q July 1991 1) August 1991 Ll September 1991
1) October 1991 1 November 1991 1 December 1991 Ly January 1992 [J February 1992
J March 1992 Q April 1992 1) May 1992 Ly June 1992 July 1992
1 August 1992 11 September 1 992 (3 October 1992 (3 November 1992 0 December 1992

Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $ or please debit my: OU Bankcard Visa Card (Master Card

Card Nol As ob cde Dh dees pe PaO Beg $5.00 each (includes p&p). Overseas
orders add $1 each for postage. NZ
orders are sent air mail.
Signature Card expiry date /
Detach and mail to:
Name SILICON CHIP PUBLICATIONS
PO BOX 139
Street COLLAROY BEACH NSW 2097
Or call (02) 979 5644 & quote your
Suburb/town Postcode credit card details. Fax (02) 979 6503. d

96 SILICON CHIP
—anuary 1990: High Quality Sine/Square Oscilla-
or; Service Tips For Your VCR; Speeding Up
‘our PC; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs; Ac-
ve Antenna Kit; Speed Controller For Ceiling
‘ans; Designing UHF Transmitter Stages.
‘ebruary 1990: 16-Channel Mixing Desk; High
Quality Audio Oscillator, Pt.2; The Incredible Hot
vanaries; Random Wire Antenna Tuner For 6
fetres; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs, Pt.2;
>C Program Calculates Great Circle Bearings.
flarch 1990: 6/12V Charger For Sealed Lead-
\cid Batteries; Delay Unit For Automatic Anten-
as; Workout Timer For Aerobics Classes; 16-
yhannel Mixing Desk, Pt.2; Using The UC3906
SLA Battery Charger IC.
\pril 1990: Dual Tracking +50V Power Supply;
{OX With Delayed Audio; Relative Field Strength
Aeter; 16-Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.3; Active CW
ilter For Weak Signal Reception; How To Find
/intage Radio Receivers From The 1920s.
flay 1990: Build A 4-Digit. Capacitance Meter;
digh Energy Ignition For Cars With Reluctor Dis-
ributors; The Mozzie CW Transceiver; Waveform
zeneration Using A PC, Pt.3; 16-Channel Mixing
Jesk, Pt.4.
June 1990: Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm;
-ow-Noise Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Load
?rotection Switch For Power Supplies; A Speed
Mlarm For Your Car; Design Factors For Model
‘Aircraft; Fitting A Fax Card To A Computer.
July 1990: Digital Sine/Square Generator, Pt.1
‘Covers 0-500kHz); Burglar Alarm Keypad & Com-
ination Lock; Simple Electronic Die; Low-Cost
Jual Power Supply; Inside A Coal Burning Power
Station; Weather Fax Frequencies.
August 1990: High Stability UHF Remote Trans-
nitter; Universal Safety Timer For Mains Appli-
ances (9 Minutes); Horace The Electronic Cricket;
Jigital Sine/Square Wave Generator, Pt.2.
september 1990: Music On Hold For Your Tel-
»phone; Remote Control Extender For VCRs;
ower Supply For Burglar Alarms; Low-Cost 3-
Digit Counter Module; Simple Shortwave Con-
verter For The 2-Metre Band.
October 1990: Low-Cost Siren For Burglar
Alarms; Dimming Controls For The Discolight;
Surfsound Simulator; DC Offset For DMMs; The
Dangers of Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Using The
NE602 In Home-Brew Converter Circuits.
November 1990: How To Connect Two TV Sets
To One VCR; A Really Snazzy Egg Timer; Low-
Cost Model Train Controller; Battery Powered La-
ser Pointer; 1.5V To 9V DC Converter; Introduc-
tion To Digital Electronics; Simple 6-Metre Ama-
teur Transmitter.
December 1990: DC-DC Converter For Car Am-
plifiers; The Big Escape — A Game Of Skill; Wiper
Pulser For Rear Windows; Versatile 4-Digit Com-
bination Lock; 5W Power Amplifier For The 6-
‘Metre Amateur Transmitter; Index To Volume 3.
January 1991: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries,
Pt.1; The Fruit Machine; Two-Tone Alarm Mod-
ule; Laser Power Supply; LCD Readout For The
Capacitance Meter; How Quartz Crystals Work;
The Dangers When Servicing Microwave Ovens.
February 1991: Synthesised Stereo AM Tuner,
Pt.1; Three Inverters For Fluorescent Lights; Low-
Cost Sinewave Oscillator; Fast Charger For Nicad
Batteries, Pt.2; How To Design Amplifier Output
Stages; Tasmania's Hydroelectric Power System.
March 1991: Remote Controller For Garage
Doors, Pt.1; Transistor Beta Tester Mk.2; Synthe-
sised AM Stereo Tuner, Pt.2; Multi-Purpose 1/O
Board For PC-Compatibles; Universal Wideband
RF Preamplifier For Amateurs & TV; A Look At
The Config.Sys & Ansi.Sys Files.
April 1991: Steam Sound Simulator For Model
Railroads; Remote Controller For Garage Doors,
Pt.2; Simple 12/24V Light Chaser; Synthesised
AM Stereo Tuner, Pt.3; A Practical Approach To
Amplifier Design, Pt.2; Playing With The Ansi.Sys
File; FSK Indicator For HF Transmissions.
May 1991: Build A DTMF Decoder; 13.5V 25A
Power Supply For Transceivers; Stereo Audio
Expander; Fluorescent Light Simulator For Model
Railways; How To Install Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.1;
Setting Screen Colours On Your PC.
June 1991: A Corner Reflector Antenna For UHF
TV; 4-Channel Lighting Desk, Pt.1; 13.5V 25A
Power Supply For Transceivers; Active Filter For
CW Reception; Electric Vehicle Transmission
Options; Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.1.
July 1991: Battery Discharge Pacer For Electric
Vehicles; Loudspeaker Protector For Stereo Am-
plifiers; 4-Channel Lighting Desk, Pt.2; How To
Install Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.2; Tuning In To
Satellite TV, Pt.2; PEP Monitor For Transceivers.
August 1991: Build A Digital Tachometer; Mast-
head Amplifier For TV & FM; PC Voice Recorder;
Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.3; Installing Win-
dows On Your PC; Step-By-Step Vintage Radio
Repairs.
September 1991: Studio 3-55L 3-Way Loud-
speaker System; Digital Altimeter For Gliders &
Ultralights, Pt.1; Build A Fax/Modem For Your
Computer; The Basics Of A/D & D/A Conversion;
Windows 3 Swapfiles, Program Groups & Icons.
October 1991: Build A Talking Voltmeter For
Your PC, Pt.1; SteamSound Simulator Mk.II; Mag-
netic Field Strength Meter; Digital Altimeter For
Gliders & Ultralights, Pt.2; Getting To Know The ©
Windows PIF Editor.
November 1991: Colour TV Pattern Generator,
Pt.1; Battery Charger For Solar Panels; Flashing
Alarm Light For Cars; Digital Altimeter For Gliders
& Ultralights, Pt.3; Build A Talking Voltmeter For
Your PC, Pt.2; Error Analyser For CD Players
Pt.3; Modifying The Windows INI Files.
December 1991: TV Transmitter For VCRs With
UHF Modulators; Infrared Light Beam Relay; Solid-
_ State Laser Pointer; Colour TV Pattern Genera-
tor, Pt.2; Windows 3 & The Dreaded Unrecov-
erable Application Error; Index To Volume 4.
January 1992: 4-Channel Guitar Mixer; Adjust-
able 0-45V 8A Power Supply, Pt.1; Baby Room
Monitor/FM Transmitter; Automatic Controller For
Car Headlights; Experiments For Your Games
Card; The GPS Satellite Navigation System; Re-
storing An AWA Radiolette Receiver.
February 1992: Compact Digital Voice Recorder;
50-Watt/Channel Stereo Power Amplifier; 12VDC/
240VAC 40-Watt Inverter; Adjustable 0-45V 8A
Power Supply, Pt.2; The Mobile Telephone Rev-
olution; Designing A Speed Controller For Electric
Models.
March 1992: TV Transmitter For VHF VCRs; Stu-
dio Twin Fifty Stereo Amplifier, Pt.1; Thermostatic
Switch For Car Radiator Fans; Telephone Call
Timer; Updating The Resistor/Capacitor Scene;
Coping With Damaged Computer Directories;
Valve Substitution In Vintage Radios.
April 1992: Infrared Remote Control For Model
Railroads; Differential Input Buffer For CROs; Stu-
dio Twin Fifty Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; Understand-
ing Computer Memory; Switching Frequencies in
Model Speed Controllers; Aligning Vintage Radio
Receivers, Pt.1.
May 1992: Build A Telephone Intercom; Low-
Cost Electronic Doorbell; Battery Eliminator For
Personal Players; Infrared Remote Control For
Model Railroads, Pt.2; A Look At Large Screen
High Resolution Monitors; OS2 Is Really Here;
Aligning Vintage Radio Receivers, Pt.2.
June 1992: Multi-Station Headset Intercom, Pt.1;
Video Switcher For Camcorders & VCRs; Infrared
Remote Control For Model Railroads, Pt.3; 15-
Watt 12-240V Inverter; What’s New In Oscillo-
scopes?; A Look At Hard Disc Drives.
July 1992: Build A Nicad Battery Discharger; 8-
Station Automatic Sprinkler Timer; Portable 12V
SLA Battery Charger; Off-Hook Timer For Tele-
phones; Multi-Station Headset Intercom, Pt.2;
Understanding The World Of CB Radio; Electron-
ics Workbench For Home Or Lab.
August 1992: Build An Automatic SLA Battery
Charger; Miniature 1.5V To 9V DC Converter;
The Interphone Digital Telephone Exchange, Pt.1;
Dummy Load Box For Large Audio Amplifiers;
Internal Combustion Engines For Model Aircraft;
Troubleshooting Vintage Radio Receivers.
September 1992: Multi-Sector Home Burglar
Alarm; The Interphone Digital Telephone Ex-
change, Pt.2; General-Purpose 3%-Digit LCD
Panel Meter; Track Tester For Model Railroads;
Build A Relative Field Strength Meter; Internal
Combustion Engines For Model Aircraft, Pt.2.
October 1992: 2kW 24VDC To 240VAC Sine-
wave Inverter; Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm,
Pt.2; Mini Amplifier For Personal Stereos; Elec-
tronically Regulated Battery Charger (Charges 6V,
12V & 24V lead-acid batteries); Internal Combus-
tion Engines For Model Aircraft, Pt.2.
November 1992: MAL-4 Microcontroller Board,
Pt.1 (Uses 68HC705C8); Simple FM Radio Re-
ceiver; Infrared Night Viewer; Speed Controller
For Electric Models, Pt.1; 2kW 24VDC To 240VAC
Sinewave Inverter, Pt.2; Automatic Nicad Battery |
Discharger; Modifications To The Drill Soeed Con-
troller.
December 1992: Diesel Sound Simulator For
Model Railroads; Easy-To-Build UHF Remote
Switch; MAL-4 Microcontroller Board, Pt.2; Speed
Controller For Electric Models, Pt.2; 2kW 24VDC
To 240VAC Sinewave Inverter, Pt.3; High Volt-
age Probes — Beware The Dangers; Index To
Volume 5.
PLEASE NOTE: All issues from November 1987
to June 1988 plus the August 1989 issue are now
sold out. All other issues are presently in stock.
For readers wanting articles from sold-out issues,
we can supply photostat copies (or tearsheets) at
$5.00 per article, including postage. When sup-
plying photostat articles or back copies, we auto-
matically supply any relevant Notes & Errata at no
extra charge.
JANUARY 1993 97
 Got a technical problem? Can’t understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we'll answer your question. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
3-phase power from a
single phase supply
I refer to your reply to P. L. in the
October issue regarding the possibil-
ity of generating 3-phase power from
a single phase supply. The humble 3-
phase induction motor has other uses:
(1) as a synchronous alternator; and
(2) as a rotary transformer.
In the latter mode, a star connected
3-phase motor driven at synchronous
speed, with one winding excited from
* the single phase supply, will generate
3-phase power from its windings. This
arrangement was used in French trains
supplied from one phase of the Na-
tional Electricity Grid, to provide 3-
phase power for auxiliaries such as
air-conditioning, fans, etc.
I used a similar set up about 30
years ago to provide 3-phase power
for a small workshop. Strictly speak-
ing, the motor should have unequal
windings to allow for losses but I
found that putting power factor ca-
pacitors across the other windings
provided adequate balance. (B. J.,
Hahndorf, SA).
e Thank you for your comments re-
garding the running of 3-phase mo-
tors from a single phase supply. A
number of readers have written in
:‘Noi
oise
e cancelling
‘ for microphones |
I am looking for a noise cancel-
ircuit for a microphone. It is
Loewinside a nee hel-
Heh noise.tore frontthe motor
- and wind roar. Can you help me?
_ (M.K., Richmond, Vic).
__e Any noise cancelling system for
microphone must employ two
rophones, one to pick up the
ited signal plus noise and the
: other to pick up noise alone. When
_ thetwo signals are electrically sub-
tracted, mostt of the noise should
98 = SILICON CHIP
with further information on this sub-
ject and some of the schemes are re-
ally quite crude, such as one docu-
mented from Simpson Pope whereby
a 415V delta 3-phase motor was con-
nected with one winding across 480V
single phase. However, the scheme
must have worked otherwise it would
not have been documented.
Plugpack supply for
SLA charger
I have been following your articles
on SLA battery chargers which have
been very good. For my use, the
charger described in the July 1992
issue would be suitable. What I would
like to know is what size battery could
be used with the portable charger?
You say to use a 9V DC plugpack
but what would be wrong with using
the Eliminator circuit described in
the May 1992 issue of SILICON CHIP?.
It could be set to provide a 12V output
and thereby overcome the high open
circuit voltage of a 12V DC plugpack.
You also note that the peak current
through the inductor is about 650mA
so why specify a 2A fuse?
Do you have any up to date charg-
ers for lead-acid and nicad batteries?
Also what is the largest size available
disgugaas At least, thet is.ah .
theory. In practice, the gain levels ~
of the two microphones must be |
carefully adjusted to suit the par-
ticular situation, oes oe
back is likely to occur. —
Actually, we have Srabably pro
duced a circuit which will mee
your needs exactly. It is the “F)
Radio Intercom For Motorbikes
as published in the October and
November 1989 issues of SILICON
CuIP. This used two electret mic-
rophones in each helmet an
gain for each electret was a
able. We have stocks of these
sues at $5 each, including postag:
in AA nicads above 600mAh? (G. O
Berriedale, Tas).
e The portable SLA battery charge
circuit can be used with any 12V SL:
battery with a rating of 1.2Ah or more
The charge time will be proportior
ately longer for the larger batteries.
In the testing procedure, we cat
tioned against using a 12V DC plug
pack because its unloaded output volt
age of about 17V will be more tha
enough to cause the 15V zener diod
(ZD1) to conduct and maybe blow :
or the fuse. If you want to perme
nently power the charger circuit fror
a 12V DC 1A plugpack, all you nee
do is to remove the 15V zener fror
the circuit.
You could also use the Eliminate
project from May 1992 provided yo
make the necessary modifications t
change its output voltage to 12VDC
You can not use it with a battery o:
the charger though, as this will be to
heavy a load for a 12VDC 300m/
plugpack. The fuse can be 1A or 2A; i
is not critical.
We have not published any nica
chargers recently but have featured |
lead acid battery charger in the Octo
ber 1992 issue. To our knowledge, th
largest capacity AA nicads currentl
available are 6(00mAh.
Instability in the
Twin Fifty Amplifier
My most recent project was th
power amplifier section of your Stu
dio Twin Fifty Stereo Amplifier, a
described in the March and April 199.
issues of SILICON CHIP. The assembl:
was not a problem and the voltage
appear to be normal during testing
The quiescent current was set to jus
below 22V across the 560Q test resis
tors; if I tried to get any closer, }
would jump to 36V.
Initially, I did not consider this |
major problem as one channel worker
perfectly when tested with music
However, the other has a diabolice
problem — it does not work.
When put back into test mode, wit
 Speed controller gate
drive modifications
I would like to present what I
believe to be an improvement for
the MOSFET gate drive in the Speed
Controller circuit in the November
1992 issue.
As you know, to turn a MOSFET
off quickly, charge must be ex-
tracted from the gate to bring the
gate-source voltage to zero. This
requires a negative current from
the gate and there are no gate-source
resistors to allow Vgs to fall ex-
ponentially. My suggested changes
are:
(1). Reduce the 100kQ pullup re-
_ sistor at pin 2 of IC2a to 10kQ The
extra current of 1.5mA is well
- within capability of the LM339 and —
_ speeds up the turn-on transition;
(2). Add a current buffer with
_ source/sink capability. The BD139
and BD140 are ideal for this duty.
_ My suggested drive circuit has a
0.1p.F ceramic capacitor close to
the buffer. For best speed, the en-
tire gate current path length and
_ enclosed area must be minimised.
_ (3). Lalso suggest the addition of
a 19kQ resistor between the gate
and source of each MOSFET. This
speeds turn-off and should be
placed as close as physically possi-
ble to the MOSFETs. Then, in the
- event of a wire or track break, the
MOSFETs will revert to a failsafe
_ off state. | 7 In addition, the extra components by the battery and its heavy duty |
(4). Adequate supply filtering
should be placed across the motor
supply, and the loop comprising
the MOSFETs, D8 and the supply
capacitors must be minimised. The
Jl inputs and outputs disconnected,
t was found that the faulty channel
‘uffers from high frequency oscilla-
ion, as seen ona scope. Being a feed-
yack type circuit, I cannot isolate its
source. I have replaced transistors Q1,
42, Q4, Q5 & Q6 without success.
Jan you suggest possible causes and/
yr remedies for this problem? (A. H.,
*alcon, WA). : network (ie, L1, etc), and the 0.22uF
It is true that the quiescent current
idjustment is quite critical but you
should be able to go beyond 22V across
‘he 560Q resistors without suddenly
loop containing the motor does not
need to be minimised, as the motor
has so much inductance as to swap
any stray lead inductance.
(5). Capacitor C9 should not be
connected directly across the
MOSFET drain-source connections.
This simply leads to excessive
stress at turn-on. High frequency
ringing in the Vps waveform can
be damped by either reducing the
gate-drive speed (increasing gate
resistance) or by placing an RC
snubber across the paralleled
MOSFETs. (F. B., Kensington, NSW).
e Your modified gate drive circuit
for the Speed Controller would be
considerably better; there is no ar-
gument there. However, the volt-
age tripler could not supply the
extra current drain required by the possible and have a high current
improved circuit and therefore the
improvement in switching would
probably be marginal.
required would increase the size of
the board quite a bit and that would proved by any practical combina-
not be desirable. The author, Bob _ tion of bypass capacitors since their
Young, is quite aware that the gate
drive circuitis less than ideal but
going all the way to 36V.
It is unlikely that replacing any of
the transistors will solve the problem
of supersonic instability. The compo-
nents which should be checked are
the 68pF capacitor between the base
and emitter of Q5, the 2.2pF capacitor
between the base and collector of Q2,
the components in the output Zobel
supply bypass capacitors. The most
critical of these is components is the
68pF capacitor.
You should also check that the OV
it is a good compromise consider-
ing the relatively low component
count. | .
C9, the capacitor across the
MOSFETs, should be omitted as you
point out. It is covered by the notes
& errata in this issue.
We disagree with your comments
regarding the bypassing of the mo-
tor supply. Diode D8, capacitor C14
and varistor V1 must be placed di-
rectly across the motor to minimise
the motor loop. The reason is that
the leads from the motor will oth-
erwise radiate commutator hash
and this will cause interference to
the receiver.
Nor is extra filtering required
across the motor supply. The bat-
tery leads should be as short as
rating, as discussed at some length
in the articles. The resulting very
low impedance source presented
connecting leads will not be im-
internal impedance is likely to be
higher.
and supply connections to that side
of the board have been properly sol-
dered. A poor OV connection could
lead to instability.
Equaliser thumping»
the speakers
I have built my music system from
SILICON CHIP kits, consisting of the
Studio 200 Control Unit, Studio Se-
ries Half Octave Equaliser, 140W +
140W MOSFET Power Amplifier and
Studio 3-55L Loudspeaker System.
JANUARY 1993 99

Ford Telstar ignition
loses its spark
I have recently had the misfor-
tune of having my car’s factory
fitted ignition module fail. My car
is a 1983 AR Ford Telstar that is
fitted with a Mitsubishi reluctor
distributor as standard. After
checking the price of a new mod-
ule ($265 plus tax), I decided to
replace the old module with the
reluctor based high energy igni-
tion system in the May 1990 issue
of SILICON CHIP.
I assembled and installed the
kit in accordance with the instruc-
tions supplied. Unfortunately, the
car does not run properly. The en-
gine runs well for a minute but
then stalls. The Darlington tran-
sistor gets very hot and even with
just the ignition on it gets hot ina
few minutes. Also, the light inten-
sity of my timing light reduces
when the transistor is hot.
The Telstar’s ignition does not
have a ballast resistor so I was able
to connect the circuit to the +12V
side of the coil. The reluctor polar-
ity is correct (the LED blinks off)
and the engine timing was correct
before the circuit failed. I have had
the circuit checked a couple of
times to make sure the components
are in the right positions and are
connected the right way around.
Can you please. give me some
advice on what to look for and
check? Has anyone else had simi-
They give excellent performance,
when they behave.
_ The first problem I noticed is a big
“thump” while turning on and off the
power of the equaliser. Turning off
fluorescent lights in the house also
makes a big thump. I suspected the
problem was in the power supply of
the unit. I tried connecting a .047uF
capacitor across the mains switch but
it didn’t help. I also checked. the
voltages of power rails and to pins of
ICs. They all showed OK.
The second problem is intermittent.
Sometimes the output from the left
channel of the equaliser drops to a
level that is nearly inaudible. I
checked the voltages to the ICs and
100 SILICON CHIP
lar problems? I would like to get
the circuit working just in case my
replacement secondhand ignition
module ($90 and many phone
calls) fails sometime in the future.
(G. L., Emerald, Vic).
e We suggest that you set up your
ignition system on the bench, to-
gether with the reluctor distribu-
tor and HT coil. Place a bent paper
clip in the HT electrode of the coil
and bend it so that there is a small
gap between the paper clip and
one of the primary terminals of the
coil — that then works as a spark
gap.
Rotate the distributor shaft by
hand and note that a spark is gen-
erated each time a reluctor tooth
passes the pickup coil. Now, with
the reluctor stationary and the LED
on, measure the voltage between
collector and emitter of the
Darlington transistor. This voltage
should be around 2V or less. If it is
more, then either the Darlington
transistor or IC1 is malfunctioning
and that is why the Darlington gets
hot. By the way, the voltage at the
base of the Darlington should be
about 1.8V.
Normally, the Darlington tran-
sistor should run warm to the touch
although the coil itself can be ex-
pected to run hot.
We have had very little corre-
spondence from readers regarding
this project and certainly none
have listed the problem you have
experienced.
these are OK. Is it likely to be a ther-
mal problem when I stack the preamp
on the equaliser, then on the power
amplifier? Iwould appreciate it if you
can help me to solve these two prob-
lems. (T. T., Sydney, NSW).
e It seems likely that the problems
are all involved in the equaliser unit.
We suggest that you first remove the
unit from the hifi system and check
that the system operates properly
without it.
There should be no thump from the
equaliser when it is turned on. The
fact that you appear to have a thermal
problem in the equaliser points to a
fault either in its power supply or in
one of the op amps. Do the supply
voltages in the equaliser change whe
the cabinet becomes warm. If so, sus
pect the power supply. If not, w
would suspect the LM833s.
As a general rule, we advise agains
stacking equipment on top of bi
power amplifiers. It may reduce th
ventilation to the amplifier and ma
also cause hum induction from th
large power transformer. This can hay
pen even if the power transformer is
toroidal type which generally hav
low flux leakage.
Notes & Errata
Automatic Nicad Battery Discharge:
November 1992: the circuit on pag
41 shows a 1uF capacitor across D
and a 10uF capacitor across LED ©
while the component overlay on pag
42 shows these capacitors swapped
The circuit is correct. —
Low-Cost Speed Controller, Novem
ber 1992: two changes have been mad
to the circuit and these will be imple
mented on the PC board supplied witl
the kit. First, C9, across the source
drain connections of the parallelec
FETs, will be omitted. Second, VR3, i
50kQ trimpot has been added in se
ries with R2 which is now changec
from 47kQ to 10kQ.
Also, the text of the article on pags
43 of the December 1992 issue make.
, reference to the Rps figures for sev
eral FETs as being 18MW, 15MW anc
23MW. These figure should be 18mW
15mW and 23mV;; ie, milliohms no
megohms.
High-current 0-20V power supply
December 1992: the circuit on page
35 shows the bridge rectifier, BR1
connected the wrong way around.
Stereo AM Tuner; Feb-April 1991: <
small piece of PC track may be miss:
ing from some boards. This missing
track is in the right channel twin-1
filter and causes two symptoms: (1,
the notch in the right channel canno’
be adjusted; and (2) this channel wil.
burst into high frequency oscillation
The missing track is to the left of the
‘K’ ground connection pin on the PC
board, as viewed on the wiring dia-
gram (Fig.1) in March 1991. Find the
second 270pF capacitor to the left o:
this ‘K’ pin and join the copper pac
on the side which runs to a 100pI
capacitor to the adjacent 68kQ anc
1.8MQ resistors. A blob of solder bet-
ween these two points will be suffi:
cient since the gap is small. s¢
 MONTH YEAR

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 | ANTIQUE RADIO
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES
| ANTIQUE RADIO restorations. Your
| Advertising rates for this page: Classified ads: $10.00 for up to 15 words plus 40
cents for each additional word. Display ads (casual rate): $20 per column one-stop radio repair shop. Specialising
| centimetre (Max. 10cm). Closing date: five weeks prior to month of sale. in restoring vintage radios, including
| To run your classified ad, print it clearly in the space below or on a separate sheet chassis rewiring, re-condensing, quality
| of paper & send it with your cheque or credit card details to: Silicon Chip new parts, valves, valve sockets,
| Classifieds, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Or fax the details to (02) speakers, power & audio transformers.
979 6503. Secondhand radio dials & parts for most
brands & models. About 400 radios in
| stock for sale, restoration & parts. Every
restored wireless is covered by a 2-
year warranty on parts. & labour. We
restore damaged woodwork & cabinets
& French polish (approx. 40 coats).
ee

Vintage car radios available for sale or

restoration. Repairs done on tape decks.
Open Sat. 10am-5pm; Sun. 12.30-5pm.
109 Cann St, Bass Hill, NSW 2197.
Phone (02) 645 3173 BH or (02) 726
1613 AH. ae

FOR SALE
FRANCHISED TV VCR REPAIR CEN-
TRE with small TV/VCR hire and anten-
na installations. Central North Brisbane
location. 1991/92 turnover $212,000
(tax returns and trading statements
available). Currently operated by two
technicians. Premises available for sale
or long lease. Room for expansion; eg,
computer repair, fax, mobile phones,
etc, etc. Forced sale for family reasons.
Enjoy the benefits of successful Qld
t
ET
i trades and services franchise. Get set-
tled in before pay TV arrives. Enquiries
to Fixzit, PO Box 672, Lutwyche 4030.
Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $ or please debit my Phone (07) 857 6296.

O)Bankcard © Visa Card (J Master Card WEATHER FAX programs for IBM XT/
ATs *** “RADFAX2” $35 is a high reso-

dwn GEET TLC) Cer lution, shortwave fax, Morse & RT TY

receiving program. Suitable for CGA,
EGA, VGA and Hercules cards (state
which). Needs SSB HF radio & Radfax
Signature Card expiry date / decoder. *** “SATFAX” $45 is a NOAA,
Meteor & GMS weather satellite picture
Name receiving program. Needs EGA or VGA
plus “WEATHER FAX” PC card. ***
Street “MAXISAT” $75 is similar to SATFAX
but needs 2Mb expanded n. ‘mory
Suburb/town Postcode . _ (EMS 3.6 or 4.0) and 1024 x 768 SVGA
Ge
SS
eee
eee
eee
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ee
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ose
a
Ge
card. All programs are on 5.25-inch or

102 SILICON CHIP


.5-inch disks (state which) & include
ocumentation. Add $3 postage. Only
om M. Delahunty, 42 Villiers St, New
PRICES AT OCTOBER 19TH, 1992
arm, Qld 4005. Phone (07) 358 2785. SIMM IBM PS.2
1Mb x 9 50/55/70
1Mb x 3 70/35
EW Z80 SINGLE BOARD COMPU- 1Mb x 8 90/95
4Mb x 9
ER: designed for the 1990s. Also mod- 4Mb x 8 TOSHIBA
orn kits. Local SAE for details. DIY Elec- T2000SXe
T3200SX
ronics, GPO Box 904, Hong Kong. DRAM DIP T44/6400
1x 1Mb T5200
256 x 4 $5
41256 MAC
NEW NOTEPAD Computer by Amstrad 1Mb x 4 (stat) 2Mb SI & LC
iS advertised on TV. Z80B micro, Built- 4Mb P’Book
n Standard Parallel, Serial, Basic, Word DRIVES BOARDS & PTRS
SEAG 89Mb 14M $320 8Mb AT
rocessor, Dictionary, Calendar, Diary, SEAG 107Mb 15M $350 8MbPS2. = W2MB $234
\ddress/Telephone book, World time SEAG 130Mb 12M $430 4MbHP Laser W2MB $155
SEAG 245Mb 12M $780 1MbTI
slock/alarms, Calculator, PC File trans-
Sales tax 20%. Overnight delivery. Credit cards welcome.
er. $390 inc post & ins. For more info Ring for Latest Prices
3end a 45c stamp to Don McKenzie, 29
zllesmere Crescent, Tullamarine 3043. 1st Floor, 100 Yarrara Rd, PO Box 382, Pennant Hills, 2120.
Tel: (02) 9606968 DT ETAM
>hone (03) 338 6286. Fax: (02) 980 6991
2AY ASIAN PRICES for common elec-
onic components. No minimum. Ask
about hard to get items. Local SAE for TRANSFORMER REWINDS
Jetails. DIY Electronics, GPO Box 904, ALL TYPES OF TRANSFORMER REWINDS
dong Kong. TRANSFORMER REWINDS
Reply Paid No.2, PO Box 438, Singleton, NSW
“OR SALE: we have a number of 2330. Ph: (065) 76 1291. Fax: (065) 76 1003.
?lessey 2001 B-MAC satellite receiv-
2rs for sale. This model is currently
‘etailing at over $2200.00. These are in nent packs $12 ea plus $5 p&p. Japa-
Jood going condition and complete with nese transistor pack with two each of
‘emote controls and handbooks. If in- 2SA1069, 25C923, 28C1826,
‘erested, please make a cash or Bank- 2503157, 2SD381, 2SD667, $15 per
card offer to: Longridge Electronics, PO pack. Electronic component pack, 400
30x 290, Norfolk Island 2899, or fax to items including ICs, transistors, diodes,
(0011) 6723 22833. resistors, trimpots, capacitors, relays,
fuses etc. All new components, $25 per
fHE HOMEBUILT DYNAMO: (plans) pack, plus $8 p&p. Valves, CV3998,
drushless, 1000 watt at 740 revs. $A85 12AX7, 12AY7, 12BY7A, 3A4, 6AM5,
_Jostpaid airmail from Al Forbes, PO 6J7G, all $8 each or 10 for $70 (can be
Box 3919 - SC, Auckland, New Zeal- mixed). Open Thursday, Friday 4pm-
and. Phone Auckland (09) 818 8967 8pm, Saturday 9am-4pm, 143 Grays
anytime. Rd, Enoggera, Qld. Ph (07) 355 1314
or (07) 855 1880 AH. Fax (07) 855
ON SALE NOW: First Edition Vintage 1014. Visa, Bankcard, Mastercard avail-
Radio Calendar, in full colour. Featur- able for fax or phone orders over $20.
ing a selection of Australia’s most pho- Secontronics, PO Box 2215, Brookside,
togenic radios. Ideal Christmas gift for Qld 4053. : RCS RADIO PTY LTD
friends and collectors overseas. Avail-
able from Resurrection Radio, 51 16-CHANNEL UHF REMOTE CON-
Chapel Street, Windsor, Victoria, Aus- TROL: EA Nov 88-Jan 89. One trans-
tralia 3181. Phone (03) 529 5639. mitter kit, one receiver kit, & one 4-
$18.95 plus $2 postage. channel relay driver kit, priced to clear
at a total price of $99. Ref XXJAN9401.
COMPONENT PACKS, 30 trimpots, * 1-INCH CRO TUBE: new 1-inch CRO
Bourns, Beckman etc, mixed values tube, plus a connecting diagram, plus a
and types including multiturn. 400 metal simple experimental circuit. Very lim-
film “4W resistors, most are 1% or 2% ited quantities: $30. Ref XXJAN9402. *
Beyschlag, mixed values including FIBRE OPTIC CABLE: high quality
some E96 and E192 series. 200 car- fibre optic cable, single fibre @ $2/
bon film “eW and 1W resistors, most metre or 10 metres for $15, dual fibre
are Beyschlag 1% or 2%. All compo- @ $4/metre or 10 metres for $30. Ref
Siisdhat di cna taatiaaunaldtn
eee >eackdia an
aeeeneene
aE I nea Sat So 9 Se al a Sa i me
Cure
\ t
Plans Kits and PCBs
TOOW Valve AMD:POB icc ii sc i sccssdcotomvsncaneesdgsianees
WEIN: AID Fee PUB tics; csoyviaeostassanenthconsasr eesneste
Universal PSU (+5/+12V) Dual Supply ..............:.00+-.
2Mb Digi 125 100W amplpaiir .............cecsecseesceseesesseeaeseenees $
4Mb ETL TGZS PIA fOr POS ‘iam iciscyivertaneglantheabaltopatCoueans
4Mb WE VOTO AIG 3s Sec dunia teria eiablinarnoewin
ENMI00:3,5 amp-PCB \ccdicsicativacs dep iccrealialle
4Mb
2Mb PEM SOW GUNS Kt 5a scccsssceks csvecarededes Woepleartetbpsbcoie
4Mb ETI Audio Toolkit PCB o.oo... ecseecsecssesseesesseeseesesseeees
2Mb PANG POND BOD 6.5.55. 2iectisipeittehuaden beaenatiaketeete
Z-80 Miniprocessor PCB ............ccsssscessecsersesessesesseens
6502 Miniprocessor PCB ...........c.scssscseesecseseseeseeseesees
6809 Miniprocessor PCB ..........cccscssessesseesesseessesvesneses $50
8048/8049 Developers board complete B&T ...........
IBM PO Prototype PCB co ocinciisccnicessnssenesscearsossoncesens $
WeMB $232 EPROM Programmer .........ccssccssecsseeseesssesecsuessesseenes
ESL-1 Electrostatic speaker kit/pair inc manual ......
ESL-1 Assembly Manual ............cccsccsscseessesesseeseeressens $50
WiMB $80
P.C. Computers (08) 332 6513
36 Regent St, Kensington SA.
FIX-A-KIT
KIT REPAIR & CONSTRUCTION
3 MONTHS WARRANTY ON REPAIRS
12 MONTHS WARRANTY ON CONSTRUCTION
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
HYCAL ELECTRONICS
Design, Manufacture & Repair of Electronic
Equipment
(02) 633 5477
XXJAN9403. * SWITCHED MODE
POWER SUPPLIES: compact enclosed
ex-Telecom supplies. Dimensions: 300
x 90 x 180mm. Unregulated input 30-
SOV, regulated output of 12V @ 6A or
5V @ 40A. Two different units. Limited
stocks @ $28 ea. P&P $7 (heavy!).
Specify type when ordering. Ref
XXJAN9404. * SOLAR POWERED
MOTOR KIT: a 6V 50mA solar panel
with terminating clips, a very efficient
motor to suit, and instructions. Great
for education and experimenting. Only
$7 per set, or 5 sets for $28. Ref
XXJAN93101. * SOLAR LIGHTING
BARGAIN: (EA Nov 92) this kit has
RCS Radio Pty Ltd is the only com-
pany that manufactures and sells
every PC board and front panel
published in SILICON CHIP, ETI and
EA.
RCS Radio Pty Ltd,
651 Forest Rd, Bexley 2207.
Phone (02) 587 3491
JANUARY 1993 103
 JV Tuners — Repairs
* Tuner repairs for TVs & VCRs *
® Shorted Turns Tester
® High Voltage Probe
® Degaussing Wand
® Remote Control Tester
(2) 7741154 Fax (02) 7741154
Ian J Truscott’s
Electronic World
For service & repair work
Mail or credit card facilities
(03) 7233344 Fax (03) 4192808
T. A. Mowles
Printed circuit boards for the
hobbyist.
For service & enquiries contact:
(08) 3265590
three separate sections that are con-
tained on one PCB, but can be sepa-
rated: (1) a crystal locked ultrasonic
movement detector; (2) a fluorescent
tube inverter (4-20W) with logic circuitry;
(3) a solar battery charging regulator
and an incandescent lamp switcher-
pulser which employs a Mosfet switch.
As a package special we are offering
the complete kit for the three sections
plus six 6V/1W solar panels for a total
cost of only $99! Ref XXJAN93104. *
SWITCHES: high quality miniature en-
closed, Italian (FEME) 1, 2, 3 and 5-
pole, 12-position switches: $2.80 ea or
10 for $20. Ref XXJAN93105. * MYS-
TERY LASER: includes a 12V univer-
SILICON CHIP BINDERS
These beautifully-made binders will protect your
copies of SILICON CHIP. They feature heavy-board
covers, are made from adistinctive 2-tone green viny|
& have the SILICON CHIP logo printed in gold-coloured
lettering on the spine & cover.
104 SILICON CHIP
Transformer Rewinds
For all types of
transformer rewinds.
(065) 761291 Fax (065) 761003
EEM Electronics
Printed circuit board assembly,
switchmode power supplies repaired.
Design work from start to finish.
Ring anytime 9am-9pm Mon-Sun.
(03) 4011393
Silicon Chip
To advertise your products or
services, please call Sharon on
(02) 9795644 (018) 2835332
sal power supply kit, plus a very small,
modern, brand new 0.5mW laser tube
to suit. To top the bargain, we will in-
clude a diverging lens (holography etc)
with the deal, for a total price of $79!
Ref XXJAN93106. Major cards ac-
cepted with phone and fax orders. Total
cost of certified p&p: Australia $5, NZ
(airmail) $10. Oatley Electronics, PO
Box 89, Oatley, NSW 2223. Phone (02)
579 4985. Fax (02) 570 791.
MAGAZINES: approx. 300 various elec-
tronics magazines for sale from /5c
each plus postage. SILICON CHIP Nov.
1987 & Dec. 1987, $10 ea incl. p&p.
Phone Terry on (08) 326 5590.
To order, just fill in & mail the form
on page 101, or phone or fax your
order to:
Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box
139, Collaroy Beach, 2097. Phone
(02) 979 5644. Fax: (02) 979 6503.
PUIOMMES ee iii
ccccncescneeeee 76-78
Antique Radio Restorations..... 102
A-One Electronics ................ 36-39
Autotron Australia ................:0 43
PV AGOMAITV:coscishcosssececeeacnessesteonees 69
Breakthrough Computers .......... 27
David Reid Electronics ................ 5
Dick Smith Electronics.......... 10-15
EEM Electronics ...............:06 104
Electronic World ................. 87,104
Emona Instruments .................. 47
Ford Motor Company ............ OBC
Geoff Wood Electronics ............. 73
Harbuch Electronics ................. 74
Hycal Instruments ...............08 103
Jaycar Electronics ......... 49-56,IBC
UV: FUNGIS icceekiscdpcccedisgessssessesene 104
PEON ck eaiek boda uag thcnoasasiibnseecsdes 41
Oatley Electronics ......... 64-65,103
PC Computer's .............:::::0000e 103
PPV Gsik cdcccctiseecd Mcdnensctuns 25,103
Peter C. Lacey Services ............ 44
Philips Test & Measurement ...... 31
Plough Book Sales ................0. 41
FS FRI) oof ovnctseccccdescnuarooectes 104
Resurrection Radio................. 87
Rod Irving Electronics .......... 90-95
SCAN: AUGIO® 2.0. ci.cgescscccetedecssseies 7,71
Scientific Devices ................2 79
Silicon Chip Binders ........... 42,104
Silicon Chip Back Issues ...... 96-97
T. A. MOWIES ........ccscececeeeeeeeeeees 104
Technical Applications ............... 81
Transformer Rewinds .............. 104
PC Boards
Printed circuit boards for SILICON
CHIP projects are made by:
e Jemal Products, 5 Forge St,
Welshpool, WA 6106. Phone (09)
350 5555.
e Marday Services, PO Box 19-189,
Avondale, Auckland, NZ. Phone 88
5730.
e RCS Radio Pty Ltd, 651 Forest
Rd, Bexley, NSW 2207. Phone (02)
587 3491.
 NEW FROM JAYCAR
HOT-SOL GAS
SOLDERING IRONS
Jaycar Electronics proudly announce a new force in gas = @ Fully portable, always ready to use.
Soldering irons. Heavy duty, tip temperature up to 400°C.
The Hot-Sol needs no cords or gas bottles. All you need + @ Hard working, one fill will last over an hour. Gala,
is standard Butane cigarette lighter gas which is available @ Refills in seconds. =
everywhere. Low cost. Q 7 <
The Hot-Sol has adjustable temperature control, you No leakage current to sensitive circuits.
can vary it from the equivalent of 10 to 60 watts. Spare tips available, and they are not expensive.
Features include: Hot blow tip available. Supplied with 2.4mm tip.
@ Built in gas igniter. 1 year warranty on unit.
@ Totally see through case — see how much gas you have _Hot-Sol Gas Soldering lron ONLY
left at a glance.
@ Supplied with protective cap with Pocket Clip.

tones

Cat. TS1700

HOT-SOL SERVICE
This kit includes the same soldering iron, but comes
KIT
Optional Extras: @ 1mm Soldering tip with catalyst. Cat. TS1704. $9.95.
with a ran f accessor! nd its all in i @ 2.4mm Soldering tip with catalyst. Cat. TS1705. $9.95. © Hot air tip
ee ela! Housed InIls own for heatshrink. Cat. TS1708 $9.95. @ Small stand to suit soldering iron.
case. Includes: Cat. T$1720 $8.95. Flame Torch Tip Cat TS1710 $3.95.
@ Hot-So! Butane Gas Tool.
@ Protective cap and pocket clip.
@ Non slip stand with sponge.
@ Torch Tip which gives a flame. ? si
@ 2.4mm Soldering Tip. ie. debe’ SL-168
@ Hot blow tip for shrinking heatshrink tubing. |
@ Scoop for feeding tubing to hot blow tip.
@ Hot knife tip.
@ Roll solder. , Cat. 151702
@ Case which holds everything. =

‘MAIL ORDER VIA “a POST & PACKING

$10- $24.99 $3.75 MAIL ORDERS HEAD OFFICE :
FREE CALL FOR ORDERS ONLY $25-$49.99 $4.50 P.O. Box 185 Concord 2137 6 Leeds Streets Rhodes 2138. aVC eh r
(008) 022 888 $50-$99.99 $6.50 | ROAD FREIGHT ANYWHERE IN Telephone (02) 743 5222.
si es (02) 743 6144. OVER $100 $8.00 _|AUSTRALIA (up to 20kg) $13.50 —Fax (02) 743 2066. ELECTRONICS
ADELAIDE SA 190 Wright St (Cnr Selby St) (08) 231 7355. Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Fri 8.30-Sat 9-12. BURANDA QLD 144 Logan Rd (07) 393 0777
Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Thurs 8.30-Sat 9-4. COBURG VIC 266 Sydney Rd (03) 384 1811. Mon-Fri 9-5.30. Fri 8.30-Sat 9-4.
MELBOURNE CITY Shop 2, 45 A’Beckett St City (03) 663 2030. Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Fri 8.30-Sat 9-2.
SPRINGVALE VIC 887-889 Springvale Rd eee (03) 547 1022. Nr Cnr. Dandenong Rd. Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Fri 8.30- Sat 9-2.
SYDNEY CITY 129 York St. (02) 267 1614. Mon-Fri 8.30-5.30 Thurs 8.30pm- Sat 9-4.
BANKSTOWN 363 Hume Hwy Cnr Meredith St (02) 709 2822. Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Thurs 8.30pm- Sat 9-4 - Sun 10-4pm.
GORE HILL 188 Pacific Hwy (Cnr. Bellevue Ave) (02) 439 4799. Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Thurs 8.30- Sat 9-4pm.
PARRAMATTA 355 Church St (Cnr. Victoria Rd) (02) 683 3377 Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Thurs 8.30pm- Sat 9-4pm. Sunday 10am--4pm.
PENRITH 199 HighSt. (047) 21 8337 Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Thurs 8.30- Sat 9-4pm Sun 10-4pm. RHODES 6 Leeds St. (02) 743 5222. Mon-Fri 9-5.30.
 FORD. THE FUTURE APPROACHES.
Today, Ford designers in Australia and overseas are using state of the art Computer V8 engine with Sequen-
tial Multipoint electronic

Assisted Design techniques and advanced modelling procedures to design both cars fuel injection and the
EEC 4 engine manage-
ment system that moni-
and components for the next century. In the designs they’re shaping anything is
tors and controls the
engine’s vital functions
possible. Cars with sleek and beautiful bodies that contain breath-taking aerodynamic for optimum perform-
ance and efficiency.
properties. While concealed beneath those shapely panels is automotive engineering at

Anti Lock Braking.

computer-controllc
load and speed sen
tive system design
to provide maximui
control and safety
under even the mos
extreme braking
conditions.

Advanced steering and

Ghia Via. Four door 2+2
sports coupe featuring
computer controlled
spoiler, fibre-optic
lighting and psycho-
ergonomically
designed interior to
comfort all the senses.
suspension with
the cutting edge of technology. And whilst Ford in Australia
optimised geometry,
rigid rack mountings,
can call on technical resources from around the world, it’s polyurethane bushes
and nitrogen-charged
proud of the advances it is making locally. Such as our gas pressurised
shock absorbers.
involvement in the design, development and construction

of a four-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission now available on

the EB Falcon, Fairlane and LTD range. The future arrives one day at a time.
Four-speed electro
cally controlled aut
So automotive advancement is a process of evolution rather than revolution. matic transmission
with lock up torque
Already refinements such as those illustrated here are finding their way into the Ford convertor and powe
and economy modes
range. And future technologies Ford in Australia is exploring, include engines that Incredible smoothn
and quietness of
use alternative fuels and produce ecologically low-impact emissions. Not everything operation.

Ford designs makes it onto the showroom floor. But everything Ford does,

goes towards building better cars for the future. The promise of tomorrow is one

of enormous potential. And in driving technology into new and exciting areas,

it’s a promise Ford is already delivering. HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD...LATE!

FC