t e of reality.

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40W-284274
 Vol.7, No.9; September 1994

: FEATURES oe RID YOUR NICAD batteries of

the dreaded memory effect with
6 How To Use The TEA1100 Fast Nicad Charger IC by Leo Simpson this automatic discharger. It will
Versatile chip features switchmode or linear operation discharge the pack to its correct
endpoint voltage so that it can
16 Electronic Engine Management, Pt.11 by Julian Edgar then be recharged to full
Fueltronics’ Turbo Control Centre capacity — see page 18.
87 Review: Metex M3850 Digital Multimeter by Marque Crozman
All the usual features plus a PC interface

PROJECTS TO BUILD |
18 Automatic Discharger For Nicad Battery Packs by John Clarke
Rids your batteries of the dreaded memory effect THIS VOICE OPERATED RELAY
(or VOX) is built on a compact PC
31 Build The MiniVox Voice Operated Relay by Darren Yates board. It has almost no turn-on
Fast-acting unit fits on a small PC board delay & a 3-second release time.
Details page 31.
34 An Image Intensified Night Viewer by Leo Simpson
Lets you see by just the light of the stars

54 An AM Radio For Aircraft Weather Beacons by Darren Yates

Picks up airport weather beacons in the longwave band
66 Dual Diversity Tuner For FM Microphones; Pt.2 by John Clarke
Construction & alignment details
HERE’S A NIGHT VIEWER that’s
ideal for wildlife observations or
SPECIAL COLUMNS any other activity where you
need to.see in the dark. It uses a
40 Serviceman’s Log by the TV Serviceman 3-stage image intensifier tube so
Lightning strikes thrice that you don't need a separate
infrared light source. Details
63 Amateur Radio by the TV Serviceman page 34.
Using 2-line Keplerian elements to track satellites
80 Vintage Radio by John Hill
Building a classic crystal set,
84 Remote Control by Bob Young
Modellers with dedication; Pt.2

DEPARTMENTS YOU CAN USE THIS simple

radio to receive up-to-the-minute
2 Publisher’s Letter 87 Product Showcase reports from airport weather
4 Mailbag _ 90 Back Issues beacons. It uses two ICs &
operates in the longwave AM
24 Circuit Notebook 92 Ask Silicon Chip band -— turn to page 54.
53 Order Form 94 Market Centre
73 Bookshop 96 Advertising index Cover concept: Marque Crozman

SEPTEMBER 1994 1
 Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
Editor
PUBLISHER'S LETTER
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
| Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Where to now for
‘Robert Flynn
Darren Yates, B.Sc.
satellite TV?
Reader Services Over the last few months, there has been
Ann Jenkinson a flurry of developments in the pay TV/
_ Sharon Macdonald ~ satellite TV saga and many people must be
Advertising Enquiries
wondering what comes next. When will
Leo Simpson they be able to actually start subscribing to
Phone (02) 979 5644 pay TV services? After all, most, if not all,
of the satellite and cable licenses have
been snapped up and people could be
Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst forgiven for thinking that actual services will start “real soon now”. Well the
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX truth is that some very limited services are about to start and may well have
Marque Crozman, VK2ZLZ started by the time this issue goes to press but note the word “limited”. Very
John Hill _ few people will be able to take advantage of them.
Jim Lawler, MTETIA For the vast majority of people, pay TV is many years away, as in “turn of
Bryan Maher, M.E., B.Sc. the century” or well after that. It is significant that potentially the biggest
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW player in the pay TV arena, the so-called PMT (Packer/Murdoch/Telecom)
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY syndicate, sat on its hands during the recent licence sales. Clearly, they are
Bob Young not interested in satellite TV and if you hark back to my Publisher’s Letter in
Photography the August 1993 issue, you can see why. With Telecom’s vast phone networ
Stuart Bryce open to it, it has no need for satellites. !
And while little may appear to be happening on that front, much is
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times happening behind the scenes. Telecom has let some huge contracts for its
a year by Silicon Chip Publications. CATV project for the major residential areas of Brisbane, the Gold Coast,
Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All Sydney and Melbourne. As part, of that, Telecom Australia has awarded a
material copyright ©. No part of this $160 million plus contract to Philips to provide the technical equipment
publication may be reproduced with- and know-how to deliver full interactive television to Australian audiences.
out the written consent of the pub- Telecom has also chosen the Digital Equipment (DEC) Wizard Subscriber
lisher.| Management System, while Scientific Atlanta has been chosen to supply
customer set-top units. |
Printing: Macquarie Print, Dubbo, Philips will play a major role in the network upgrade which will involve
NSW. a rollout of more than 10,000 kilometres of cable. And nor is optical fibre the
Distribution: Network Distribution only part of the story. Philips also has been developing the capability of
Company. sending cable TV via twisted wires, so much of the existing network might
also be able to be used eventually. Clearly, Telecom is in the box seat for pay
Subscription rates: $49 per year TV and all the other services to come in the future.
in Australia. For overseas rates, see So things are happening but if you want to watch overseas source
the subscription page in this issue. programming right now and for quite a few years to come, there is only one
Editorial & advertising offices: way to get it: install your own dish and satellite receiver. There is a large
Unit 34, 1-3 Jubilee Avenue, Warrie- variety of programs available, beamed into Australia, and more are coming
wood, NSW 2102. Postal address: as time goes on. And this plethora of programming is certain to be available
PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW even after pay TV is up and running. So if you have a hankering for satellite
2097. Phone (02) 979 5644. Fax TV, get into it now. Otherwise, you could be waiting for many years to come.
(02) 979 6503.
ISSN 1030-2662 Leo Simpson

WARNING!
SILICON CHIP magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage. All such projects should be
considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely. Readers are warned that high voltage wiring should be carried out according to the
instructions in the articles. When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact with mains
AC voltages or high voltage DC. If you are not confident about working with projects employing mains voltages or other high voltages, you are
advised not to attempt work on them. Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims any liability for damages should anyone be killed or injured while
working on a project or circuit described in any issue of SILICON CHIP magazine. Devices or circuits described in SILICON CHIP may be
covered by patents. SILICON CHIP disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such
equipment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant government regulations
and by-laws.
Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must conform to the Trade Practices Act 1974
|
or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are applicable.

2 SILICON CHIP
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**\Illustrations are representative only

Colour video fader the humble OA90 series germanium
works well diodes! , tage radios. For example, if I were to
I wrote to you sometime ago regard- I have heard all the old arguments
ing an apparent fault I had with a kit about “we only stock what the cus-
for the Colour Video Fader featured in tomer wants ... etc” but I am afraid
the August 1993 issue of SILICON CHIP. that this is not good enough. In Eng-
It was fading/wiping to mid-grey land and America, you can still buy
rather than black. That letter was a — things like 415pF metallised variable
trifle premature. In a moment of in- capacitors and pre-wound aerial coils
spiration, I decided to replace the straight from the factories in those
two ICs that had come withthe kit. countries.
The fault then disappeared and all is In all fairness to the importers and |
now OK. One of the ICs was obviously retailers of these products, I can see
faulty. their point in not stocking their ware-
Incidentally, I used to work in the houses with useless products that no
non-technical side of television and one wants to buy. But what about the
radio, both in several Australian cit- next generation of enthusiasts who
ies and overseas in London. In those have never ever laid eyes on the most
days, the apparatus to enable a broad- basic of electronic components,
cast studio to fade to black took up have been in the hobby for
considerable space in the racks, with several years, and still don’t know
its valves, transformers, large power one end of acrystal set from the other?
supply and all. And it must have cost _ I will admit that this all
a bomb. To think that a handful of pretty much like a storm in the elec-
small components in a little black box tronic teacup but I detect a trend in
can now do the same thing is mind- the larger suppliers and a dangerous
boggling. Congratulations to the chap one wherein we may see the
who designed it. they simply go out of the most
Barry Freeman, lines altogether.
Morphett Vale, Vic. I believe that this situation requires
an explanation and perhaps some ac-
Thanks for tion on the part of suppliers
reader response | eral. If I were them, and I had prod-
Just a short note to thank you for ucts that weren’t selling well, I think
publishing my letter in the “Ask SILI- that I would like to know why. So
CON CHIP” pages of the June 1994 perhaps some kind of customer
issue, asking for a diagram for the vey is warranted before we all have
BWD539D scope. The response has start junking circuits to get parts that
been great and to date I have received we could have if the retailers had the
about 10 replies. foresight to ask their customers
The oscilloscope has been fixed and questions, instead of their marketing
the fault was a transistor in the trigger managers.
circuit that feeds the timebase. Austin Hellier,
Bob Riding, Alice Springs, NT.
Fingal Bay, NSW.
Vintage style
Basic components fabrics available
in short supply | I am a weaver of interesting and
Iam writing to you with some con- different fabrics. Recently a friend who
cern over the fact that some of Aus- is a restorer of vintage radios noticed
tralia’s major electronic retail suppli- a particular piece of my woven fabric
ers are going out of some of the most and commented that it quite accu-
basic components. While I am speak- rately resembled radio cloth of 1950-
ing mainly of basic radio parts such as 60 vintage. He suggested that I write
variable capacitors and ICs such as to you asking whether I may be able to
the ZN414, some are even going out of supply other radio enthusiasts with
4 SILICON CHIP
SILICON CHIP,
PO Box 139,
Collaroy, NSW 2097.
reproductions of fabric used in vin-
receive a sample of fabric, I would
analyse the types of yarns used and
the pattern and then reproduce the
fabric accordingly.
Ms N. Moore, |
PO Box 171, Kyogle, NSW 2474.
Series wanted on
telephone technology
Please allow me to offer special con-
gratulations for the excellent series
on the “Evolution of Electric Rail-
ways” and “The Story of Electric En-
ergy”. |am sure that I am not the only
reader who has learnt a great deal
from these series.
who May I suggest that you consider a
perhaps similar series on the Telecommunica-
tions Network. As a Technical Officer
with Telecom I can assure you that
sounds the vast majority of people, including
those involved with or interested in
electronics, have no idea how com-
plex the modern system is, or that
day that Australia has a very extensive fibre
basic optic cable network.
The recent proposal to lower the
mains voltage to 230VAC seems to be ~
a recipe for disaster. From my experi-
in gen- ence it seems that many items of equip-
ment can barely cope with the fluctua-
tions in mains voltage currently expe-
rienced and surely the lower mains
sur- voltage would be either on the lower
to limit or outside the original design
tolerance, thus making this equipment
even more unreliable.
some A. Christie,
Boronia, Vic.
Comment: a series on telephone tech-
nology could be worthwhile. Any vol-
unteers to write it?
Valve technology
still relevant to some
When I read your Publisher’s Letter
concerning valve amplifiers in the July
1994 edition, I was flabbergasted.
While most of it was fair and bal-
anced, the last line was, I feel, over
the top. Let’s put the valve versus
transistor amplifiers debate in per-
spective, at least from my point of
view.
 Why do valves sound different to and individual major parts for a 20 ments (SILICON CHIP, July 1994) and
transistors? The human ear is more watts per side amplifier. whilst in general agreement, I am dis-
tolerant of even harmonics as com- The cost of a valve amplifier runs appointed that we are advised to “ac-
pared to odd harmonics. Valves pro- into many hundreds of dollars some- cept the inevitability” of European
duce predominantly even harmonics times, but it can be spread out to make conversion.
as a by-product of the amplification it a bit easier. Besides, the thrill of the Yes our imported/dumped elec-
process and transistors produce pre- chase only makes the final product tronic equipment may well be de-
dominantly odd harmonics. This is more satisfying. signed for 230VAC, but for truly
why they do sound different. I must admit that these are my 230VAC sensitive equipment, how
I prefer the sound of a valve ampli- thoughts only, but I am sure many about we don’t import it in the first
fier. Now I realise that valves do have other people probably feel the same place? That would then create a whole
some shortcomings. When compared way, and I don’t think that valve am- new market or a conversion after-mar-
to a transistor amplifier, large power plifiers should be just brushed off as ket that could be well supported by
valve amplifiers are expensive to build having “no place in modern technol- our own local electronics industries,
but let’s face it, I and probably many ogy”. and heavens knows, we need that sort
other people do not require powerful Keep up the otherwise good work. of employment producing enterprise
amplifiers to enjoy listening to music. D. Haddock, here at the moment.
Most modern speakers are efficient Kamerunga, Qld. No, Mr Badham, please consider
enough to produce plenty of volume Comment: as far as the production of the bigger picture. |
with only modest power inputs. My harmonics is concerned, transistor May I also ask you all to consider
first amplifier produced only 3.5 watts amplifiers have a big advantage in one last but very important aspect:
per channel, for example, andI found that they can have far more negative the humble GPO (general purpose
this to be enough for my needs, so an feedback applied to correct the dis- outlet) plug. Since time. immemorial
amplifier of only 20 watts would, I | tortion. The very best valve amplifiers or whenever, we have had in Aus-
feel, be enough for most music listen- _ could only have about 20dB of nega- tralia one common, standard design
ers. tive feedback because of the phase for a 240VAC GPO plug and socket
I realise there are people who feel limitations brought about by the out- arrangement, available from Cairns to
that they have to have at least 100 put transformers. Today’s transistor Marble Bar, Darwin to Hobart. Whether
watts or more per channel and the amplifiers start with pretty linear per- by good luck or good judgement it has
biggest possible speakers but I think formance even in open loop and may stood the test of time. Next time you
this is just hype, or a keep up with the have 60dB or more of negative feed- visit England, just count up the
Jones next door type attitude. The back. That is one reason why they are number of different variations of this
quality of sound from a reasonably so much better. wee beastie. _
well-designed amplifier is good My point is this: who is to say that
_ enough for me to enjoy and probably Lowered mains voltage every X number of years or so the
many others as well. is a lost cause British Government, whether an EEC
With life in general getting busier I have read with interest your re- partner or in post partnership disar-
and busier most people don’t get a lot cent passionate editorials on the sub- ray, might not change their voltage
of timeto sit down and do some seri- ject of the national grid voltage de- standards yet again, like the design of
ous music listening; most people just bate. lam rarely moved to print but on their GPO plugs?
have some pleasant music running as this occasion you have you lost the Surely we can be as independent of
they go about their busy life. I know I plot! C’mon now, where on earth do our former colonial masters as the
do. So reasonable quality sound is all you expect to find commonsense — in Americans? Or shall we wait for a
I require and most valve amplifiers a politicians’ mind? future (and probably somewhat short)
are capable of that task. Now even Blind Freddy.knows that Australian Fearless Leader to pass a
Valve amplifiers are certainly more to reduce the grid voltage would cost very sensible law to lower the height
expensive to build than transistor us all very dearly and would have the of every doorway in Australia by 10%.
amplifiers. Parts for a valve amplifier same meaningless effect as passing a They were too high anyway.
are not commonly available here in law to raise the height of every door- C. O’Donnell,
Australia but they are there if you way in Australia by 10%. However, Hoppers Crossing, Vic.
look for them in the right places. There the thin veil of the average Austral- Comment: our much admired GPO
are a growing number of shops spe- ian politician’s mind is only known to socket will be modified in the not-too-
cialising in valves and related compo- cover their personal ego, opportunis- distant future, as determined by the
nents. I have always found Arthur tic political gain and the securing of a same people who want to bring about
Courtney of Resurrection Radio very firm grip on their superannuated the reduction in mains voltage. Fu-
helpful andfriendly. golden egg. No, I think we have a ture GPO sockets (ie, mains power
If you have any problems in finding difficult problem here and believe me, points) will have a circular recess
' Circuits or parts, try looking in some commonsense, the favourite, will be which will make most presently used
of the English electronics magazines, the last runner. AC & DC plugpacks obsolete and un-
as one of them recently released a kit I noted P. Badham’s Mailbag com- usable.

SEPTEMBER 1994 5
How to use the _
TEA1100 fast nicad
charger IC
The TEA1100 nicad charger IC, as used in our ~ awkward supply voltage range, which |
is between 5.65V and 11.5VDC. This
recent Fast Nicad Charger project, has a number makes it not quite suitable for car
of interesting features which put it out in front. operation without supply regulation
circuitry and not low enough to per-
These include digital voltage sampling and. mit operation from a 5VDC regulator.
filtering as well as switchmode or linear However, a 7808 or 7809 regulator
will be more than adequate and, in
operation. We look at these in detail and go fact, you can even get away with just a
through some design examples. standard zener diode/transistor buffer
voltage stabiliser such as that used in
the Fast Nicad Charger design pub-
By DARREN YATES & LEO SIMPSON lished in the May 1994 issue of SILI-
_ CON CHIP.
The Philips TEA1100 Battery The TEA1100 has three methods of
charger IC is a 16-pin DIP package guarding against over-charging: tem- Linear or switchmode
which contains everything to produce perature detection, clock timeout and ~ As we mentioned in the introduc-
a simple yet highly integrated battery an advanced form of voltage detec- tion, the TEA1100 IC can run in linear
charger for nickel cadmium (NiCd) tion referred to as “dV sensing”. or switchmode operation. The benefit
and the new nickel metal hydride of the switchmode option is the effi-
(NiMH) batteries which have a higher Supply voltage ciency which can be gained by charg-
capacity than nicads. Unfortunately, the chip has a fairly ing lower voltage cells from a higher

Vin+O

aa

Cl

e 4

Fig.1: this circuit using the TEA1100 in switchmode was the basis for the Fast Nicad Charger published in
the May 1994 issue. The design example in the text will enable you to tailor the circuit to your application.
6 SILICON CHIP

Fl
A TI
240VAC |
voltage supply rail. This feature was
used in our Fast Nicad Charger project.
If you’re wanting to charge Nicads
in a noise sensitive application then
you can easily set the IC up to charge
in linear mode, greatly reducing the
circuit noise. The linear circuit uses
_ less components than the switchmode
circuit but has considerably more heat
dissipation, as you would expect. Fig.1
shows a sample switchmode circuit,
very similar to that featured in our
May 1994 issue. Fig.2 shows a linear
charge circuit, powered from the
240VAC mains supply. And finally, to
give some idea of the chip complex-
ity, Fig.3 shows the block diagram of
the TEA1100. . The PWM (pulse width modula-
dV sensing
Instead of comparing the voltage of
the battery being charged to a static
voltage reference, the TEA1100 uses a
dynamic process called “dV sensing”.
The “dV” term comes from calculus
and refers to the process of looking for
a very small change in battery voltage.
The TEA1100 compares the present
battery voltage to the previous sam-
pled voltage and checks for a 1% drop.
The theory behind this is that when a
nicad is being charged, its voltage rises
very gradually towards full capacity
but once past this point, the battery
voltage begins to drop slightly. If a
battery charger circuit does not look
for this voltage drop, it will never give
an optimum charge — it will either
under or over-charge. Either way, the
battery life will ultimately be reduced.
Fig.4 shows the characteristic rise in
battery voltage during charge and the
slight droop as it reaches full charge.
The TEA1100 ends the charge cy-
cle upon sensing a 1% drop in the
battery voltage. That amounts to about
16mV for a typical nicad cell. Now
you might be wondering how they
manage to reliably detect 16mV when
the circuit lines could be subject to all
sorts of noise and switching frequen-
cies, if the chip is being operated in
switchmode. The answer lies in the
method of sampling the battery volt-
age.
tion) is disabled for 10 clock cycles,
after which the sample and hold am-
plifier takes a measurement of the bat-
_ tery voltage. This way, the noise gen-
erated by a “ringing” or decaying sup-
ply rail is removed and a much greater
degree of accuracy maintained.
The 10-cycle delay gives sufficient
time for the inductor to stop ringing
but it does mean that the inductance
must lie within a particular range — it
must be high enough in value so that
it will perform its job as an inductor
| in a switchmode circuit but it must be
small enough in value so that the sup-
ply rail is quite stable by the time 10
clock periods have passed. We’ll talk
about this more a little later.
The dV sensing comes under the
block entitled “battery full detection”
Fig.2: this linear version of the
TEA1100 circuit could be used
in RF-sensitive applications. In
this case, the output of the chip
is taken from pin 2 rather than
the PWM output of pin 1.
in the diagram of Fig.3.
As already noted, the TEA1100 does
not compare the battery voltage to a
static reference. Because it is a dy-
namic process, the monitored input
voltage need only be between 0.385V
and 3.85V. This is fed to pin 7 which
is labelled. “VAC” for Voltage ACcumu-
lator.
The way it works is like this: The
VAC voltage is sampled at a rate equal
to the clock frequency divided by 216,
Each VAC voltage sample is digitised
and stored in a register with a quoted
resolution of 12.5 bits. At the time of
the next sample, the stored value is
converted back to an analog voltage
and compared with the voltage on the
VAC pin.
If the VAC voltage is higher than
the stored value, then this new value
is digitised and stored in the register,
overwriting the previous value. If not,
the previous value remains in the reg-
ister. The circuit then checks for a 1%
drop as we mentioned before and if
found, switches the circuit to trickle
mode and flashes the LED (connected
to pin 15) to indicate that the batteries
are fully charged.
This clever mix of analog and dig-
ital circuitry results in a dynamic proc-
ess which takes the battery’s physical
characteristics into consideration.
Since no two nicads charge up to ex-
actly the same voltage, this relative
method provides accurate “full” de-
tection for all cells, regardless of their
SEPTEMBER 1994 7
 GND
16

TION
Se
ao

VAC LED
15

13 8 14
OSC PR SYNC

Fig.3: the block diagram of the TEA1100. This complex chip senses the small lytic capacitor, the output voltage will
drop in voltage which occurs at the end of charge for nicad & NiMH batteries, rise until pin 7 reaches +4.25V where-
so that the charger can be automatically switched off. upon the circuit will switch off.
In fact, the circuit of May 1994 does
final voltage. Incidentally, much the uses the dV voltage detection method not even need the switch to select
same monitoring method was used in to determine the charge state; and fi- between two and four cells. The switch
the “Fast Charger for Nicad Batteries” nally, above 4.25V, the IC assumes setting for two cells can be omitted
featured in the January and February open circuit or no batteries present and then circuit will happily charge
1991 issues of SILICON CHIP. and switches off. The impedance of | two, three or four cells in series with-
The beauty of the dV sensing sys- this input is greater than 200MQ. out further modifications. :
tem is that the VAC input (pin 7) can Note too that for charging just one In admitting this mistake, we can
be anywhere between +0.385V and or two cells, the VAC input (pin 7) can only plead that it only become obvi-
+3.85V. This means that the VAC re- be connected directly to the cell(s). ous after close reading of the copious
sistor divider network can be the same application information which Philips
whether you wish to charge two or 10
Output voltage has made available on the TEA1100.
cells, or any number of cells in be- This brings us to an important fea-
in the ture of the Fast Nicad Charger pub- 0.5% detection
tween. To satisfy this condition
circuit of Fig.1, R14 should be 47kQ . lished in May 1994 and one which In some cases, such as “fast-charge”
while R15 should be 10kQ.. C8, the has caused confusion to many con-— nicads and NiMH cells, a dV of 0.5%
input filter capacitor, can be 10yuF structors of this circuit. Since the cir- is more appropriate due to the higher
16VW. Note that to satisfact orily cuit relies on dV sensing to end the level of input charge current they can
charge 10 cells, you will need an in- fast charging mode, it goes without tolerate. This IC can provide charge
put voltage of at least 22V DC when in saying that it will not work unless it is rates up to an incredible five times the
switchmode because the maximum actually charging cells. If you attempt battery capacity or “5C”. An example
pulse duty cycle is 78%. to test the circuit without a nicad bat- of this would be charging a racing
The above is based on an overvolta ge tery load, it will switch off. pack in about 15 minutes.
level of 1.7V/cell and a nominal bat- Our testing instructions for the This increased sensitivity can be
tery voltage of 1.2V/cell. above circuit would have added to easily achieved by inserting a zener
The VAC input has four voltage this confusion by referring to an open diode of about half the battery voltage
thresholds which determine the chip’s circuit output voltage test. The point into the sensing resistor string. An
behaviour. Firstly, below 0.3V, the IC is that you cannot test the charger’s example of this can be seen in Fig.5.
assumes a short circuit (crook) battery output voltage unless cells are con- The zener diode is selected to be about
and switches to trickle charge mode; nected. If you attempt to simulate the half of the fully charged battery volt-
above 0.385V and below 3.85V, the IC presence of cells with a large electro- age, based on alevel of 1.7V/cell.

8 SILICON CHIP
 For example, for a 6 cell pack, the
maximum voltage is 6 x 1.7V = 10.2V,
so a zener diode of 5.1V would be
suitable. The maximum voltage level
the VAC input will now see is 5.1V, so
the input resistor divider must now
be recalculated accordingly. R14 on
Fig.1 could then be reduced to 22kQ.
Protection
Apart from the active protection fea-
tures already mentioned, the TEA1100
features under-voltage shutdown and
temperature sensing with a thermistor
input circuit.
The first of these, the under-voltage
shutdown, activates when the supply
voltage falls below 5.25V. In this case,
the IC goes into a “power down” mode
in which it becomes non-active and
draws around 35uA (45uA maximum).
The second form of protection in-
volves a negative temperature coeffi-
cient (NTC) thermistor to monitor the
temperature of the battery during
charging. This feature wasn’t included
in our May 1994 project to keep the
construction simple. In practice,
where this feature is used, the therm-
istor is incorporated into the battery
pack and is automatically connected.
when the battery is put on charge.
The temperature monitoring feature
is recommended for batteries which
need to be recharged as soon as they
have been removed from their load.
The classic example of this is
1200mA.h racing packs for electric
model aircraft.and cars. The drain on
these batteries is very high - often tens
of amps or more — and so they will be
quite hot (or even stinking hot!) when
they are removed from the load.
The danger is that if you fast-charge
a hot nicad battery, you can damage it.
The temperature protection provided
by the TEA1100 prevents fast charg-
ing from occurring while the battery
temperature is outside the specified
range. The NTC thermistor is featured
on the circuit of Fig.1 and is con-
nected to pin 3. If the thermistor is not
required, it can be omitted from the
circuit, together with R11.
Timeout counter
Finally, there is the backup protec- ©
tion of a timeout counter, which auto-
matically shuts down the charger af-
ter a time equal to 226 times the clock
period, has expired. The clock period
is determined by the reference resis-
tor connected to pin 10 and the timing
VOLTAGE
(V)
CHARGE TIME (MINS)
capacitor connected to pin 13.
This timeout period is usually set
to about 125% to 150% of the ex-
pected fast charge time but in critical
high charge rate applications, you can
set it to the expected charge time
(100%).
In practice, the timeout period
should only be set by adjusting the
capacitor (C at pin 13), as varying the
reference resistor will change other
circuit parameters.
Design example
The easiest way to understand how
to use this IC is to go through a design
example, using the circuit of Fig.1.
This way, you'll get an idea of what
has to be done and the order in which
you have to do it. | now needs to be 12.4kHz (ie, Tos, =
Let’s say we wanted to design the
timeout circuit to run a charger which
will charge up a set of four nicad cells
in one hour. If we use the 150% rule,
as
BATTERY
awk
Fig.5: a zener diode equal to half
the fully charged battery voltage
can be added to the circuit to
enhance the dV sensing
capability so that it will detect a
drop of 0.5%.
Fig.4: the
voltage
characteristic
of a 2-cell
nicad battery
pack during
charge. If
_ charging
continues
beyond the
droop in —
voltage, cell
damage can
occur. |
then our timeout period, tro, will be
1.5 x 60 mins = 90 mins.
The timeout period is determined
by the following formula:
to 228 x Tage XD.
where Tg, is the clock period and p is
a prescaling factor which you can pro-
gram to be either 1, 2 or 4, depending
on how you connect pin 8. By leaving
pin 8 open, you set the prescaling
factor to 2. Connecting it to pin 6 sets
it to 1 and pulling pin 8 to ground sets
it at 4. The beauty of this system is
that it allows you to have three differ-
ent charge periods without having to
change the timing components.
For our example, let’s connect pin 8
to pin 6 to set the prescaling factor (p)
to 1. The oscillator frequency (1/T9.,)
(90 x 60)seconds/22°). As mentioned
before, this frequency is set by the
time constant formed by the reference
resistor Rye (R13) and the oscillator
capacitor C,,, (C7) based on the fol-
lowing equation:
Tose = 0.93(Rret X Cose)
Now Rref is chosen to be within the
range of 12.5kQ and 125kQ based on
the necessary charge current. In our
example, let’s assume that the resistor
is 27kQ. Plugging this value into the
above equation gives a value for Co.,
of .0032uF which we can quite hap-
pily round to .0033uF.
Charge current settings
OK. Let’s say that we wish to charge
our batteries at.a fast rate of 700mA.
R4 and R8 are used to set the current.
R4 should be a 5W type. You have
some leeway in picking the value of
this resistor, so long as its value re-
SEPTEMBER 1994 a

Using the TEA1100 fast nicad charger IC
sults in a voltage drop of between
50mV and 200mV when the circuit is
in fast charge mode. You can work out
a suitable value for R4 from the fol-
lowing equation:
Ves = lfast X Res
where Is, is the fast charge current
and R,, is R4. In our design example,
0.12 will give us 70mV which is
within the desired range. R8 is re-
ferred to as the fast charge current set
resistor Rs, and it can be calculated
from the following equation:
Réc= (Itc X Rret X Res)/1.25
where I, is the fast charge current
rate, Rrof is the 27kQ reference resistor
R13, and R,, is the 0.1Q current sens-
ing resistor R4.
By using this equation, we get a
value for Rg, of 1.512kQ, so a 1.5kQ
1% resistor will be perfect for R8.
What inductor?
Earlier on, we mentioned that with
switchmode operation, you have to
be careful in selecting the value of the
inductor — too low a value will result
in the circuit not working efficiently
and too high a value will result in the
dV sensing circuitry picking up rem-
nants of the switching voltage due to
the “ringing” effect of the inductor.
For this dV sensing to work, the induc-
tance current should have decayed to
zero within nine clock cycles. So the
maximum inductance is set by the
following equation:
Lax = 9 X Tosc X (Vo + Vo)/Io
where Toc is the period of the clock
frequency,V, = the flat battery voltage
(around 1V per cell) plus the voltage
drop across the fast recovery diode D2
(usually taken as 0.8V) plus the volt-
age across the current sensing resis-
tor. I, is the average current through
the inductor which is a fast charge
current. | Having calculated the number of
In the example we’ve been working
through, this would give us a maxi-
mum inductance of:
Lmax = (9 x 80ps x 4.8V)/700mA
= 5mH.
This assumes four cells with a flat
voltage of 1V each, plus the 0.8V drop
for the fast recovery diode, D2. The
80us figure is the clock period at
12.4kHz.
The minimum inductance value is
10 SILICON CHIP
determined by the worst case ripple
current at the trickle current setting
and follows this equation:
Lmin = Vo’max(1-delta)T os¢/2Iay
where Vo’max is the maximum battery
voltage plus the forward diode volt-
age drop. For four cells, this works
out to be 6.8V + 0.7V = 7.6V. This is
based on the fact, that the maximum.
voltage per cell will be 1.7V; “delta”
refers to a charge current duty cycle of current. Typically, the pulse current
50%.
So, using the above equation, we
get a minimum inductance value of:
Lmin = 7.6 x (1-0.5) x 80 x 10°°/2
x 0.35
= 434uH.
Hence the inductor can be anywhere
between 5mH and 434uH. Why not go
for the perfect compromise and settle
upon 2mH?
Winding an inductor
Winding an inductor presents many
constructors with a problem since they
don’t have access to the necessary
information involving readily avail-
able toroids. Indeed, a comprehen-
sive article on this subject alone could
take many pages. However, to keep it
simple, we’ll just deal with the three
readily available iron powder toroids
made by Neosid and available from
Altronic Distributors and jeycet Elec-
tronics.
The general formula for indumearee
using mee toroids is:
= 1000 v(L/AL)
where n isvihte number of turns, L is
the inductance in millihenries (mH)
and AL is the inductance factor of the
particular core. For the smallest core,
Neosid 17-732-22, 14.8mm OD, AL is
44; for the medium core, Neosid 17-
742-22, 33mm OD, AL is 59; and for
the largest core, Neosid 17-745-22,
44mm OD, AL is 116.
turns to obtain the required induct-
ance on the core of your choice, you
then must check whether it is likely to
be saturated at your proposed operat-
ing current. To do this, we calculate
the core energy with the following
formula: |
E=LE
where E is measured in joules, L is the
inductance in henries and I is the
current in amps. For the three cores
under discussion, the maximum
stored energy levels are 0.71mjJ for the
14.8mm OD core; 5.1mJ for the 33mm
OD core; and 16m] for the 44mm OD
core (OD stands for outside diameter).
If the core you have chosen will
saturate at the required current and
inductance, then you will have to use
_a bigger core.
One final point must be covered
here before we leave the subject of
inductors and that is that the actual
current flowing in the inductor re-
ferred to in the formulas above is the
pulse current; it is not the charging
will be twice the average charging
current.
Trickle charge
When in trickle charge mode, the
TEA1100 continues to pulse the bat-
tery with the fast charge current but at
a much lower duty cycle. As it seems
with just about everything else on this
IC, you have a choice of one of two
ways to set the trickle current, de-
pending on how you connect pin 11,
designated the “Rn” input.
The first method is to leave pin 11
unconnected. In this case, the repeti-
tion and duration of the trickle cur-
rent pulses is determined by the chip
itself.
The repetition rate is set as 2°14 x
tro = 330ms in our example. The du-
ration time is set to 0.75 x 29 x Tose,
where Toc is the clock period. In our
example, this works out to be 31ms.
This also gives us a duty cycle for the
trickle current of 9.4%.
The average trickle charge current
based on this duty cycle is set by the
following equation:
lrrickle = Ip./2 x duty cycle = 30mA.
The second method is to set the
average trickle current yourself by con-
necting a resistor Rn to pin 11. The
rule for this resistor is that it must be
within the range of 25kQ to 250kQ
and must be greater than the reference
resistor Ryef.
The new trickle current equation
looks like this:
trickle = Ifc X (Rref/Rn) x duty cycle
With R, equal to Ref (27kQ), the
trickle current is 60mA and 7mA with
Ry equal to 250kQ.
Linear design example
Let’s say that we want to charge
three “AA” cells in one hour, using
the circuit of Fig.2. The required cur-
 TABLE 1
Number of cells to Transformer
secondary voltage
be charged
V RMS, full load
rent is based on the following equa-
ee
Tout= (A.h x 60 x 1.4)/charge time
(mins)
So for a 600mA.h battery, the cur-
oe would need to be:
Iout = (600mA.h x 60 x 1.4)/60
= 840mA
In case you’re wondering why it
just isn’t 600mA, the reason is that
there are substantial losses in the bat-
tery when charging takes place, so
you need to increase the charge cur-
rent by 40% to make up for these
losses (ie, heat etc.)
At this current, the main pass diode
D5 can still be a 1N4004 but the tran-
sistor will have to be something like a
TIP32C, a device which can handle
the current and the power dissipa-
tion. And it will need a heatsink.
Power dissipation
Table 1 gives the required trans-
former secondary voltage and the sug-
gested capacitance per amp of required
current and voltage rating of the filter
capacitor. Now for our design exam-
ple, to charge up three cells, we need
a transformer secondary voltage of
9.1V. The power dissipation can be
found from the following equation:
Padiss = 1.3 X Iout X (Vsec - 2.0)
= 1.3.x 0.84A x (9.1 - 2.0)
= 7.8W | _ Now this may be too high, in which
Basing this on a maximum tem-
perature rise of 55°C above ambient,
the required heatsink will have to be
better than 55°C/7.8W or 7°C/W.
| Now obviously, this is quite a bit of
_ power being wasted so you will have
to decide whether the need for a lin-
ear charger outweighs the benefits of
the switchmode alternative.
OK, so we’ve determined the cur-
Capacitor value Capacitor voltage -
rating (VDC)
rent we require and now we have to
tell the TEA1100 what we want. To do
this, we again start with a reference
resistor of 27kQ, just as for the
switchmode version. Next, we have
to choose the main current sensing
resistor (R1) and again, for our charge
current of 840mA, a 0.1Q 5W resistor
will give us 84mV which is good
enough. Remember that this resistor
doesn’t set the current on its own.
This is done by resistor R3 on the
circuit.
This resistor is determined by the
following equation:
Rf = (Rret X Reg X Ifc)/1.25
and in our design example, R3 be-
comes:
R3 = (27kQ x 0.10 x 0.84A)/1.25
= 1.814kQ
A value of 1.8kQ will be close
enough.
Trickle charge
As with the switchmode version,
the trickle charge current can be set to
just about anything you want. By con-
necting the prescaling pin (pin 8) to
pin 6 and leaving resistor R7 open
circuit, the TEA1100 will automati-
cally set the trickle charge current to
1/20th of the fast charge rate. In our
example, this would work out to be
42mA. > let’s say that we’re happy witha trickle
case, you can change the trickle cur-
rent by connecting resistor R7 from
pin 11 to ground. The relationship
between this resistor and the trickle
charge current is set by the following
equation:
R7 = (1.25 x Rgc x 0.094)/(Itrickle X
Res X p)
Let’s say we wanted the trickle cur-
rent to be 15mA instead of 42mA. By
working through the above equation,
resistor R7 would need to be:
R7 = (1.25 x 1.8kQ x 0. 094)/(15mA x
X
0.12 x 4) = 35.2kQ.
A 36kQ 1% resistor will get you
fairly close to the mark.
You should note a couple of things
here. Firstly, we’ve had to change the
prescaling factor to four. Now the rea-
son for this is that the prescaling fac-
tor not only works on the timing cir-
cuitry but also on the charge current
ratio; that is, the ratio of the fast charge
current to the trickle charge current.
With a prescaling factor of one (pin
8 to pin 6), the maximum ratio is 20:1.
For a prescaling factor of two (pin 8
open circuit), it is 40:1 and for four
(pin 8 to ground), it’s 80:1. Now for
our design we want a ratio of 840mA/
15mA = 56:1. Setting the prescale to
either one or two won’t get us this
value so we have to go to a prescale
factor of four.
The reason for the change’is that if
resistor R7 is greater than twice the
reference resistor R6, then the IC au-
tomatically selects half of the fast
charge reference current. This gives
us Our maximum 20:1 with a prescale
of one, 40:1 with p set to two and 80:1
with p set to four.
In most situations, resistor R7
should not be less than the reference
resistor. If by working through the
equations, you find that R7 is less
than R6, either change the prescaling
factor or remove the resistor from the
circuit altogether.
Timeout counter settings
The last thing to do is to set the
timeout period and since we have al-
ready set the reference resistor R6 to’
27kQ, the only component value
which affects the time is capacitor C4
and this can be determined by the
following equation:
C4= (60 x timeout)/0.93 x Ryer
xp
x 278
Getting back to our design example,
current of 42mA and we want the
timeout period to be 60 minutes. Ca-
pacitor C4 then works out to be:
C4 = (60 x 60)/(0.93 x 27kQ x 1 x 278)
= .00213uF
(.0022uF will be close enough).
Note too that this capacitor value
will change if you change the pre-
scaling factor as in the above example
where we looked at a trickle current
of 15mA. SC
SEPTEMBER 1994 11
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Rated at 25W 240V, this general-purpose Scope iron comes complete Pearl Catch
with resin-core solder, iron stand, cleaning sponge, and two screwdrivers.
Cat T-1652 IC Extractor

$3995 Cat T-4843

ARRL
Antenna
Handbook
SIDE CUTTERS (1.3291) VALUED AT $9.95 16th Edition
Comprehensive discussions and principles on
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SEPTEMBER 1994 13
 unidem, Uniden 220XLT Scanner FRG-100 Communications Receiver
Super Fast
Scanning!
The new Twin Turbo 220XLT
hand-held scanning receiver provides
ten-band VHF/UHF coverage including
airband, 200 memories, and improved
super fast scan and search features
(scan up to 100 channels/sec, search at
100 or 300 steps/sec). Also features
pre-programmed channel steps to suit
Australian conditions, including 800MHz. A highly sensitive professional receiver for the discerning shortwave
Complete with NiCad batteries, AC listener. This model provides extended receiver coverage of the
charger and detailed instructions. 50kHz to 30MHz range in AM, SSB, CW and FM (optional) modes,
as well as a host of new features.
The FRG-100 provides the user with easier access to most receiver
functions, with receiver modes and the most-used features instantly
S4 AD accessed at the push of a button. A back-lit LCD screen shows the
frequency down to 10Hz resolution as well as an impressive array of
Cat D-2755 status indicators so you can see at a glance what receiver functions
53 are being used. New features include: User-programmable tuning
te Radio recs steps, 50 tunable memories (which store frequency, mode and filter
sae setting), sharp IF filters for improved SSB reception, a special
memory group scanning mode, and IF bandwidth selection by mode.

Dick Smith's Registers

Convenience features such as twin 12/24 hour clocks, a
programmable on/off timer and 16 pre-programmed international
Australian wide or state- oe shortwave bands are provided, while an SSB carrier offset function
allows you to customise the receiver’s audio performance. Complete
Frequency radio frequencies, § with detailed instructions and a DC cable
including: ES for connection to an external power supply.
“Handbook ambulance, Police, State
Cat B-9601 Emergency Services, Aviation Cat D-2790
S$1 995 and hundreds of commercial
F . :
a frequencies. Includes an =
F expanded repeater list. Listening In Auetralicn
;
NSW Cat B-4140 $24.95 Magazine V2 ‘ eee
An essential book for anyone into. VIC Cat B-4142 $24.95 Anstraiia's frat Railway Renee
scanning, containing information |
WA Cat B-4144 $24.95 ustraila S Ts Frequencies
on using your scanner, as wellas
understanding codes & marine QLD CatB-4146 $24.95 book for scanner q
bands, plus a glossary of scanner ae ee aed Re on enthusiasts! It Handbook
terms, a basic frequency directory ad : includes a Railway enthusiasts 2
and more! selection of and avid scanner
fascinating =e ® fanatics will love this one! It gives
up-to-date articles including how a complete listing of Australian
Listening Into Aircraft Radio tolistenintodruglaw = = —_ (and New Zealand) railways radio
The most comprehensive monitor's guide to air enforcement communications In frequencies, glossary of railway
traffic frequencies, terminology and procedures South America, plus a choice of _ terms, an explanation of radio
available! Tells you where to find air traffic exciting frequencies to tune in terms, track and gauge data,
control, military aircraft, commercial and domestic to. locomotive rosters and system
aircraft, aeronautical beacon stations
Gai b-ar00 SI MRE cat p-411e SU”
salcale se Cat B-4112 $24
MAJOR DICK SMITH ELECTRONICS AUTHORISED STOCKISTS:
725 030 BATHURST: Electronic Frontiers
NSW ARMIDALE: New England Electronics 711 655 BALLINA: Ballina Electronics 867 022 BATEMAN‘S BAY: Baycity Sight & Sound
098 COOTAMUNDRA: Cootamundra
323 933 BOURKE: Countrywide Services 722 150 BOWRAL: Bowral Electrical Suppliers 611 861 BROKEN HILL: Hobbies & Electronics 884
& Spares 421 911 GRIFFITH:
Music & Light 422 561 DENILIQUIN: Deni Electronics 813 672 DUBBO: Chris’s Hi Fi 828 711 GOULBURN: Tunlive 221 288 GRAFTON: Repairs
22 1 821 KEMPSEY: P & K Richards 631 134 LEETON: Leeton
Miatronics 624 534 GUNNEDAH: Carter's Sportscene & Electronics 42 2230 INVERELL: Infolink Computer Systems
Douroy Photographics 513 173
Audiotronic 532 800 LIGHTNING RIDGE: Lightning Ridge Solar Power 291 013 LISMORE: Decro Electronic Services 214 137 LITHGOW:
Strings & Things 723 684 NARRABRI: Namoi
MACKSVILLE: Macksville Electronics 683 368 MOREE: Moree Electronics 522 091 MUDGEE: Headwear 723 895 MURWILLUMBAH:
Music Centre 623 366 PORT MACQUARIE:
Computer Service 923 274 NELSON BAY: Nelson Bay Elect. & Hobbies 813 685 NOWRA: Nowra Electronics 210 722 PARKES: Strad
Electronics 545 006 ULLADULLA: Coastal Electronics
Port Electronics 841 594 RICHMOND: Silicon Crafts 784 101 TAREE: Manning Electronics 512 233 TUNCURRY: Tuncurry
776 722 YASS: Warmington Electrical
553 989 WAGGA WAGGA: Phillips Electronics 216 558 WALGETT: Walgett Electronic Centre 281 111 WINDSOR: Hawkesbury Electronics
677 BENALLA: North East Electronics 622 710
226 1411 YOUNG: Keith Donges 821 279 VIC ARARAT: Jerram Electronics 522 345 BAIRNSDALE: Green Gage Services 525
Burgess Camera House 824 680 LEONGATHA:
CASTLEMAINE: Inspect Electrics 723 773 COLAC: Colac Electronics 312 847 ECHUCA: Gilmour Electronics 822 956 HORSHAM:
Vic Pty Ltd 822 225 SHEPPARTON:
Leongatha Photographics 623 227 MILDURA: Pullman Auto Pro 232 882 MORWELL: Roylaine Pty Ltd 339 458 ROSEBUD: Seatech
Roylaine 234 255 WARRNAMBOOL:
Andrew Guyatt Electronics 219 497 SWAN HILL: Nyah District TV Service 329 303 ST. ARNAUD: Whartons Appliances 951 069 WARRAGUL:
Electronics 863 477 BUNDABERG:
Koroit St. Elect. Services 627 417 WONTHAGGI: South Gippsland Photo Service 721 411 QLD AYR: Delta Electrix 831 566 BOWEN: Plaza
Enterprises 726 660 GOONDIWINDI:
Bob Elkin Electronics 521 785 CALOUNDRA: Electro-mart 918 533 DALBY: Hobby & Electronics 625 770 GLADSTONE: Electronic
612 014 MACKAY: Steven's Electronics 511 723 MARYBOROUGH: Keller Electronics
CTW Electronics 713 411 INGHAM: Masons Electronics 763 188 INNISFAIL: Innisfail Hi-Fi
Granite Belt Communications
514 559 MOSSMAN: Mossman Electronics 982 200 MT. ISA: Outback Electronics 433 331 PIALBA: Keller Electronics 283 749 STANTHORPE:
250 400 PORT LINCOLN:
813 333 TAS BURNIE: Electronic City 314 760 DEVONPORT: Al Electronics 248 322 SA MT. GAMBIER: Hutchesson’s Communication
Electronics 216 222 GERALDTON:
Basshams TV & Comp. World 830 075 WHYALLA: Eyre Electronics 454 764 WA ALBANY: Micro Electronics 412 077 BUNBURY: Micro
CPA Electronics 573 888 PORT HEDLAND: Ivan Tomek Electronics - Retail 732 531
Angora Lighting 211 278 MANDURAH: Mandurah Hi Fl 581 2206 MARGARET RIVER:

14 SILICON CHIP
 We Keep You Up With The Latest!
Greencell Battery Headlight Alarm The Latest In Audio Design Technology!
Regenerators
Sick Stereo Pre-Amplifier With
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10 Times More Getting A Flat
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batteries’ state of charge, will also charge reminder alarm!
NiCads and are available in It can be After you build this kit you can really sit back and enjoy the
two handy sizes: installed in finished product. You won't have to leave your chair once you
Maxi (charges 4 x D, C, minutes and have the remote control in your hand! Use it to adjust volume
AA or AAA size) comes and balance or to select the program from 6 signal sources
complete with (phono, CD, Tuner, VCR, Aux 1 and Aux 2 and tape deck).
:
Cat M-9511 9 89%
The front panel of the amplifier features green LEDs to
a three year indicate settings made via the remote control as well as the
warranty. selected program source. Comes complete with all
Mini | Cat L-5420 components, hardware, PCBs, deluxe pre-punched case,
(charges 4 x AA or AAA
$1295 pre-punched screened front panel and a
deluxe remote control case and front
S fl G
panel to suit: Cat K-5550 4
Cat M-9509 5 59%
The kit is supplied with:
Including Mystery Bonus
Valued At $40 i All components Remote control unit with
anodised, punched and
180W Per Channel i Case:Pre-punchedand powder screened front panel
Stereo Amp V0 Front Panel: Punched anodised
& screen
: Microprocessor chip plus
IC socket to suit
The latest and greatest in build-it-yourself hi-fi
power amps, this clever design packs a real (7 Rear case section: Screened (7 Mystery bonus
wallop for the price! Nevertheless, the massive heatsinks at each end
plus its well-tried design philosophy will ensure an ultra-reliable result. * Not available at all stores but ELA E
The kit comes complete with everything you need - all required may be ordered. === Sept/Oct/Nov ‘93
components: PCBs, case, heatsinks, transformers and all hardware.
The kit is supplied with: €s) February/March ‘94

i Mystery Bonus valued at over $40 Heatsinks drilled and tapped to suit PHONE, FAX & MAILORDER SERVICE
front & case panels
i Metal work pre-punched &
anodised matt black Quality Australian made Outside Sydney (FREE Call) 008 22 6610
i Front Panel pre-punched, anodised toroid transformers Sydney and Enquiries - (02) 888 2105
matt black & silk-screened DSE Prototype built & tested Fax: (02) 805 1986 or write to Dick Smith Electronics,
al Supplied with original heatsinks as i It’s the best value in town! Mail Orders, Reply Paid 160 PO Box 321
used by Electronics Australia * Notavailable atallstores butmaybeordered.
NORTH RYDE NSW 2113
Specifications: . All major Credit Cards accepted. Overnight
Power Output (per channel, with both channels driven):
4 ohms 8 ohms Courier Available.
Continuous: 255W RMS 185W RMS
IHF (short term): 380W RMS 240W RMS
Distortion (THD)
0.005% at 100W RMS into 8 ohms
0.009% at 100W RMS into 4 ohms
Frequency Response: 3dB points: 10Hz to 100kHz
Signal To Noise Ratio (unweighted): >100dB with respect to 100W RMS
Input Sensitivity/Impedance: 0.8V/33k for 100W into 8 ohms
Activated if output THD exceeds
ELECTRONICS
Overload Indicator: é & 4 9
approx 0.05% (regardless of load
Cat K-5570 impedance)

NSW =: Albury 21 8399 + Bankstown Square 707 4888 + Blacktown 671 7722 * Bondi 387 1444 * Brookvale 905 0441 « Burwood 744 7299 « Campbelltown 27°2199
* Chatswood Chase 411 1955 * Chullora 642 8922 + Gore Hill 439 5311 » Gosford 25 0235 » Hornsby 477 6633 + Hurstville 580 8622 + Kotara 56 2092 « Liverpool
600 9888 +Maitland 33 7866 - Mid City Centre 221 0000 » Miranda 525 2722+ Newcastle 61 1896 * North Ryde 878 3855 North Sydney (Greenwood Plaza) 964 9467
* Orange 618 400+ Parramatta 689 2188 - Penrith 32 3400+ Railway Square 211 3777 * Sydney City 267 9111 * Tamworth 66 1711 « Wollongong 28 3800 ACT -
Belconnen (06) 253 1785 Fyshwick 280 4944 VIC - Ballarat 31 5433 + Bendigo 43 0388 + Box Hill 890 0699 - Coburg 383 4455 » Dandenong 794 9377 East Brighton
592 2366 - Essendon 379 7444 + Frankston 783 9144 * Geelong 232 711 * Highpoint 318 6300 » Melbourne City 399 Elizabeth St 326 6088 & 246 Bourke St 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° Capalaba
245 2870 * Chermside 359 6255 +» Maroochydore 791 800 » Mermaid Beach 785 600 * Rockhampton 27 9644 « Southport 32 9033 » Toowoomba 38 4300 + Townsville
72 5722 * Underwood 341 0844 SA » Adelaide City 232 1200 + Elizabeth 255 6099 + Enfield 260 6088 - St Marys 277 8977 * Westlakes 235 1244 WA » Balcatta
240 1911 » Cannington 451 8666 + Fremantle 335 9733 * Perth City 481 3261 + Midland 250 1460 + Northbridge 328 6944 TAS + Glenorchy 732 176 » Hobart 31 0800
¢e Launceston 344 555 NT « Darwin 81 1977 NEW STORE OPEN AT Unit 2, Cnr Gibberd & Erindale Roads BALCATTA, WA Ph: 240 1911
STORES ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND * STORES IN RED ARE OPEN SUNDAYS.

SEPTEMBER 1994
Electronic
Engine
_ Management
Pt.12: Fueltronics’ Turbo Control Centre by Julian Edgar

Australian company Fueltronics has minium box, and a dashboard mount- side of which sees manifold pressure.
recently released an automotive turbo- ed liquid crystal display with control As boost pressure rises, the diaphragm
charger boost control unit. Called the knobs. deflects and the connecting rod opens
“Turbo Control Centre”, the device the exhaust turbine wastegate valve.
undercuts its competitors in price Conventional control
while also providing more features. It Conventional turbocharger boost Electronic control
uses a Signetics 80C575 microcon- pressure control is by a wastegate — a The Turbo Control Centre makes
troller and sophisticated software to valve which diverts exhaust gas use of this conventional mechanical
control the turbo boost in modified around the turbocharger’s exhaust tur- control but changes the pressure seen
cars. . bine when the appropriate manifold by the wastegate actuator by bleeding
The unit consists of two solenoid- supercharging pressure has been air from the pressure line connecting
operated valves, an electronic control reached. The wastegate is operated by the diaphragm to the manifold. A
unit (ECU) housed in a diecast alu- a rod connected to a diaphragm, one pulsed solenoid valve is used to do
this and the greater the pulse-width
used, the higher the boost pressure
experienced. In order to allow rela-
tively small valves and plumbing to
be used, a restricting orifice is placed
upstream of the bleed valve T-piece.
There are several advantages in us-
ing electronic control of the wastegate.
First, “wastegate creep” — where the
rate of boost increase starts to taper off
_ before the required level is reached —
is avoided. With electronic control,
the boost level can rapidly rise to the
specified level before wastegate open- |
ing occurs. This means that quicker
acceleration is enjoyed.
Second, electronic management al-
lows greater driver control over boost
levels. The Turbo Control Centre uses
two preset levels of boost, which are
$3 :
initially set with internal potentiom-
eters. These preset levels are selected
The Turbo Control Centre uses a microcontroller & sophisticated software to
modulate turbocharger boost pressure. Note that the board in this photo is not using a pushbutton switch. Alterna-
totally populated, with the output transistors & some ICs still to be added. tively, the user can select the manual

16 SILICON CHIP
 blow-off valve opens is adjustable with
an internal pot.
Shown on the dash-mounted LCD
screen is the boost level in either nu-
merical or bargraph form, and the se-
lected boost control (Preset 1, 2 or
Manual). In addition, the word
“Blow!” is indicated when the blow-
off valve is open. The display is also
used during the setting-up procedure.
The two signal inputs come from
the pressure sensors, both of which
are mounted within the ECU and are
fed by small bore rubber hoses. The
microprocessor and output drive cir-
cuitry is also within this box, with
just the display electronics and input
switches located in the dash-mounted
unit. |
Turbocharger control is achieved using two solenoid-operated valves. The
smaller valve on the left is used as a pulsed bleed valve & reduces the pressure Hardware & software
seen by the wastegate actuator. The larger valve at right is used as a throttle-
closed pressure-relief valve & is designed to give better driving response. Running at a clock speed of 12MHz,
the Signetics 8051-family 80C575
microcontroller has a tough job to do,
especially in preventing boost oscilla-
tion around the selected boost level.
The 8.5Kb program — which is written
in 805X assembler language with ‘C’
805X cross-compiler language used —
required the greatest design effort in
allowing boost to rapidly rise without
over-shooting the preset value. Inad-
vertent excessive boost can cause en-
gine-destroying detonation.
The program uses a differential
equation for convergence, which al-
lows the rising hadet level to approach
the preset level in a manner which
allows system damping. The boost
control valve remains closed until the
boost level reaches a “window” set at
75% of the preset value. When this
occurs, the control valve starts clos-
ing, with the software setting its pulse
width on the basis of the rate of ap-
Electronics engineer Jiri Bruderhans was responsible for the hardware proach or the distance to the preset
development of the boost controller. The unit has been designed so that it value. When the boost level reaches
can be interfaced with engine management software. 95% of the preset value, the valve
operation changes again, with a dif-
boost setting, which allows control system senses air pressure both up- ferent feedback loop being employed.
over the supercharging level via a stream and downstream of the throt-
dash-mounted 10-turn potentiometer. tle valve using electronic pressure sen- Engine management
The other valve used by the Turbo sors. When the pressure being experi- Finally, since Fueltronics also re-
Control Centre works as a throttle- enced before the throttle blade is write software chips for factory en-
closed blow-off valve. Conventionally, greater than after the butterfly, the gine management systems, the Turbo
when the throttle is quickly closed large (25mm plumbing) valve is Control Centre has been designed to
following acceleration (eg, during gear opened and this air is bled back to the interface with new engine manage-
changes), the rapid pressure build-up turbo air intake. This allows the turbo ment software. This means, for exam-
upstream of the turbo’s compressor to keep spinning at a high speed so ple, that when the high boost preset is
slows the turbo. A slight lag in boost that the boost quickly rises when the selected, an engine management pro-
build-up then occurs when the throt- throttle is next opened. The differ- gram with the appropriate fuel and
tle is opened again. ence required in the pressures either ignition maps can be automatically
The Turbo Control Centre blow-off side of the throttle butterfly before the brought on-line. SC
SEPTEMBER 1994 17
 If you own equipment
which uses nicad
batteries, then this
discharger is for you.
Used correctly, it will
maintain the full
capacity of your
battery pack & extend
its useful life. It can
even rejuvenate an
old battery pack
that’s suffering from
_ the memory effect.

-Automatic discharger
_ for nicad battery packs
While nicad batteries are designed
to provide reliable power over many
charge/discharge cycles, most people
find that their new battery pack starts
to give trouble after only a few such
cycles. This problem is particularly
prevalent in mobile telephone battery
packs. The pack provides a reason-
able “talk-time” when new but this
quickly diminishes after a few weeks
of use.
When this happens, many people
assume that the battery pack is crook
and buy a new one. But that’s nor-
mally a complete waste of money. As
a general rule, the battery will still be
quite OK and just needs to be revived.
18 SILICON CHIP
By JOHN CLARKE
The problem can usually be attrib-
uted to the so-called “memory effect”.
This is a characteristic of the nicad
cell whereby it ceases providing cur-
rent when it has discharged to the
level from which it was last charged.
Thus, if a nicad battery pack is repeat-
edly recharged with half its capacity
still remaining, it will eventually stop
delivering power at half capacity.
This means that, for the example
given above, the battery’s capacity is
effectively halved. Of course, if the
battery is continually recharged from
its 75% level, the problem is exacer-
bated. It will now only provide 25%
of its capacity. With that in mind, it’s
not hard to understand why mobile
telephone batteries “run out of steam”
so quickly from new.
The only solution to this problem is
to ensure that the nicad pack is fully
discharged before recharging com-
mences. This will ensure that the pack
can deliver its full capacity every time.
That’s where this Nicad Discharger
comes in. It discharges the nicad pack
until it reaches its full discharge volt-
age of 1.1V per cell, at which point it
automatically switches off. The pack
can then be removed and recharged to
its full capacity on a charger. By adopt-
ing this technique, the dreaded mem-
ory effect is avoided.
 2xIN4004
D2 D3

LED2 J
+
REVERSE
33k LEDI
POLARITY CELLS
DISCHARGING A UNDER |
DISCHARGE |

be, 2
1.5k 6802

9102
$1
NOMINAL
6V5 BATTERY
5602
VOLTAGE

430

3300

4302
PLASTIC
SIDE E eX _(-42)a03

ADJUST VIEWED FROM sod

1.8k VR1 FOR 2.70 E-B BELOW
0.49V

3-10 CELL NICAD DISCHARGER

Fig.1: the circuit is powered by the battery under discharge. When the START
switch (S2) is pressed, Q1 turns on & the battery voltage is fed to a resistive
larity. No damage to the Nicad Dis-
divider. The voltage selected by S1 is then compared with a reference voltage charger (or to the pack) will occur if
using IC1a, which turns on Q2 to maintain power when S2 is released. IC1b & you do this — just reverse the connec-
Q3 form a constant current source which discharges the battery to an end point tions to correct the problem.
of 1.1V per cell. When this point is reached, Q2 turns off & the discharge cycle In fact, this design is based substan-
ceases. tially on the Nicad Discharger pub-
lished in July 1992. This was a popu-
Note, however, that several full dis- nicad cells maintain a virtually con- lar unit but, following publication,
charge/charge cycles may be neces- stant 1.2V output until they are al- we received many requests for two
sary to fully rejuvenate a battery pack most fully discharged. extra voltage ranges below 6V. This
that is already suffering from the The unit is very easy to operate — all new circuit adds these ranges and can
memory effect. This technique is you have to do is connect the positive now handle nicad packs ranging from
called “deep cycling”. Provided that and negative leads to the battery pack, 3.6V to 12V over seven ranges.
the pack is OK in other respects, this set the range switch to the rated bat- In addition, the new design includes
treatment is usually completely effec- tery voltage, and press the START but- the aforementioned automatic switch-
tive and leads to a dramatic increase ton. The rest all happens automati- off feature and the reverse polarity
in battery life and performance. And, cally and you simply wait until the indicator — items that were missing
of course, you will save money — nicad DISCHARGE LED goes out before re- from the previous design.
batteries are expensive. moving the pack for recharging.
A second LED on the front panel Circuit details
Discharge rate lights to warn you if the pack is acci- Fig.1 shows the circuit details of
Our Nicad Discharger discharges dentally connected with reverse po- the Nicad Discharger. It’s based mainly
batteries at anominal 200mA rate until
the end point voltage of 1.1V per cell
is reached. During this time, a LED on \follam mele cos
the front panel glows to indicate that
the pack is discharging. When the end
point of 1.1V per cell is reached, the
discharger switches itself off and the
LED goes out to indicate the end of
the discharge cycle.
Thus, for a 7.2V battery pack, the
end point voltage is 6.6V. That’s be-
cause there are six cells in a 7.2V pack
(ie, each cell is at 1.2V when fully
charged). Similarly, the end point volt-
age for a 12V pack is 11V. Note that
SEPTEMBER 1994 19

Fig.2: install the parts on the PC board as shown in this wiring diagram. Make
sure that all polarised parts are correctly oriented & mount the 27Q 5W resistor
slightly proud of the board to allow the air to circulate beneath it for cooling.
t
=
14306941
Fig.3: check your PC board against this full size etching pattern
before installing any of the parts.
on dual op amp IC1, transistors Q1-
Q3, and voltage reference REF1. The
op amp is an LM358 which can oper-
ate from a supply rail as low as 3V.
This allows the circuit to operate cor-
rectly while discharging a 3.6V bat-
tery pack to an end point of 3.3V.
Initially, when a battery pack is con-
nected, no current flows in the circuit
since all transistors are off. The cir-
cuit is turned on simply by pressing
momentary pushbutton switch S2.
When this happens, base current for
20 SILICON CHIP
Q1 flows via its 4.7kQ base resistor,
the base emitter junction itself and
the 27Q emitter resistor. Q1 thus turns
on and applies power to pin 8 of IC1,
to voltage reference REF1 via a 1.8kQ
resistor, and to a resistive divider
string (33kQ - 1.8kQ).
REF1 is an LM336-2.5 voltage refer-
ence and this device provides a con-
stant 2.5V output over a wide current
range from 400uA to 10mA. This volt-
age is fed to trimpot VR1 which is
adjusted to provide a 0.49V reference
sew]
FRONT PANEL
INSULATING
WASHER
Q3 C—
WASHER —
PCB
Fig.4 (above): here are the mounting
details for Darlington transistor Q3. It
must be isolated from the front panel
using an insulating washer & its leads
bent at right angles to mate with the
pins on the PC board - see photo at
left.
for the inverting input (pin 2) of com-
parator stage IC1a.
IC1a compares the voltage at the
wiper of switch S1 with the 0.49V
reference on pin 2. If the voltage on
pin 3 is greater than 0.49V (ie, the
battery is not fully discharged), pin 1
of IC1a switches high and turns on
transistor Q2 via a 10kQ base resistor.
This in turn ensures that Q1 remains
on and that the circuit remains pow-
ered up when S2 is released.
At the same time, LED 1 (the DIS-
CHARGE indicator) turns on, since
there is a path to ground via the 680Q
resistor and Q2.
ICib and Darlington transistor Q3
form a constant current source which
discharges the battery at a nominal
180mA. The non-inverting input of
IC1b (pin 5) is set at 0.49V (the refer-
ence voltage from VR1), while the in-
verting input (pin 6) monitors Q3’s
emitter voltage. IC1b’s output appears
at pin 7 and drives Q3 via a 470Q
resistor. — |
As a result, a voltage of 0.49V is
maintained across Q3’s 2.7Q emitter
resistor and this sets the current
through Q3 to about 180mA. This cur-
rent flows via diode D4 to discharge
the cells. In addition, some discharge’
current also flows through LED 1 and
IC1, so that the total discharge current
adds up to a nominal 200mA.
The resistive divider network sets
the cutoff voltages for the various bat-
tery packs. This network is tapped off
using switch S1 and the sampled bat-
tery voltage then fed to pin 3 of IC1a
which operates as described previ-
ously.
In practice, the resistor values were
selected so that, for each range, the
voltage on S1’s wiper is at 0.49V when
the pack has discharged to 1.1V per
cell. These resistor values take into
account the fact that the voltage across
the 27Q5W resistor increases by about
30mV for every volt applied to the
circuit.
When the voltage at S1’s wiper sub-
sequently drops just below 0.49V (ie,
when the battery pack drops just be- »
low its end point voltage), pin 1 of
comparator [Cia switches low and
removes the drive to Q2. Q2 thus turns
off and so Q1 also turns off and inter-
rupts the power to the circuit.
This also turns off the DISCHARGE
LED and transistor Q3 (since there is
no longer any drive from IC1b), and so
the battery ceases discharging.

This view shows how the fully-assembled PC board appears
panel has been removed. Note that Darlington transistor Q3 should be mounted
on the front panel before soldering its leads to the stakes on the board.
Reverse polarity protection for the
circuit is provided using diodes D1-
D4 and the 27Q resistor. If the battery
is connected with reverse polarity, D1
clamps the-voltage across IC1a to just
0.6V, D2 and D3 conduct to prevent
destructive reverse breakdown of Q1,
and D4 prevents reverse current flow
through Q3.
The 27Q resistor provides current
limiting under reverse polarity condi-
tions. This device dissipates about
3.4W when a 12V battery is incor-
rectly connected, hence its 5W rating.
Finally, LED 2 is forward biased
under reverse polarity conditions and
so lights to provide a visual warning.
Board assembly
The Nicad Discharger circuit is built
on a PC board coded 14306941. Fig.2.
PARTS LIST
1 PC board, code 14306941,
101 x 49mm
1 plastic case with aluminium lid,
115 x 65 x 40mm
1 front panel label, 64 x 126mm
2 alligator clips (1 red, 1 black)
1 150mm-length of red hook-up
wire ;
1 150mm-length of black hook-
up wire
1 small cordgrip grommet |
1 knob to suit ,
1 single-pole 7-position rotary
switch
1 momentary pushbutton switch
1 TO-126 mica or silicone
insulating washer
1 3mm screw & nut to mount Q3
shows the wiring details. 1 100kQ vertical trimpot (VR1)
Begin the construction by install- 5 PC stakes
ing PC stakes at the external (plus & Semiconductors
minus) lead positions and at the BCE 1 LM358 dual op amp (IC1)
positions for Q3. This done, install 1 LM336-2.5 reference (REF1)
the resistors, taking care to ensure 1 BC327 PNP transistor (Q1)
that you have the correct value in 1 BC338 NPN transistor (Q2)
each position. Table 1 shows the re- 1 BD679 NPN Darlington
sistor colour code but it’s also a good transistor (Q3)
idea to confirm each value using a 4 1N4004 1A diodes, (D1-D4)
digital multimeter, as some of the col- 2 3mm red LEDs (LED 1,LED 2)
ours can be difficult to decipher.
The 27Q 5W resistor should be Resistors (0.25W, 1%)
mounted about 2mm above the PC — 2 33kQ 2 6800
board so that the air can circulate 1 10kQ 1 5602
beneath it for cooling. 1 4.7kQ 1 470Q
Now install the IC, the diodes and 1 2.7kQ 2 4302
transistors Q1 & Q2. Make sure that 2 1.8kQ 1 3300
these components are all correctly ori- 1 1.5kQ 1 27Q 5W
ented — pin 1 of the IC is adjacent to a 1910 12./32
small notch in one end of its plastic

TABLE 1: RESISTOR COLOUR CODES

4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Code (1%)
orange orange orange brown orange orange black red brown
brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
yellow violet red brown _ yellow violet black brown brown
red violet red brown red violet black brown brown
brown grey red brown brown grey black brown brown
brown green red brown brown green black brown brown
white brown brown brown white brown black black brown
blue grey brown brown blue grey black black brown
green blue brown brown green blue black black brown
yellow violet brown brown yellow violet black black brown
yellow orange brown brown yellow orange black black brown
orange orange brown brown orange orange black black brown
AD
COU
st
S|
|A
|
—
|
=
— red violet gold brown
rELrcCctcCLECCUUCCOOCCL red violet black silver brown

SEPTEMBER 1994 21
body. Note that Q1 is a PNP transistor the lid of the case — more on this later.
SYofTedpifer- 1ire) ats)
while Q2 is an NPN type, so don’t get Begin the case assembly by attach-
Range End Point | Discharge
these two transistors mixed up. (Batt. Voltage) Voltage Current ing the label to the lid, then drill holes
Trimpot VR1 and REF1 can be in- to accept the two 3mm LEDs, switches
12V
stalled next (watch the orientation of S1 and S82, and a 3mm mounting screw
REF1) but leave Q3 off for now since it 9.6V

1 5 co
for Q3. Note that it’s best to drill small
must be mounted on the metal lid of 8.4V pilot holes for the two switches and
the case. Switches S1 and S2 are sol-
dered directly to the PC board — see
7.2V
6.0V
iL ER then slowly enlarge them to the cor-
rect size using a tapered reamer.

av | dav
Fig.2 and the photos. Deburr all holes after drilling and
The two LEDs can now be installed
x6
pay particular attention to the area
in the respective locations but don’t around the transistor mounting hole —
solder their leads yet. That step comes Turn-off accuracy: within 10mV per cell. it must be perfectly smooth and free
later, after they have been pushed Leakage current after discharge: <2uA at of metal swarf to avoid punch through
through their mounting holes on the 11V; <0.25uA below 6V. of the insulating washer used later to
front panel of the case. Be sure to Reverse battery polarity current: 370mA @ isolate the transistor from the lid. A
orient the LEDs correctly — the anode -12V; 140mA @ -6V; 70mA @ -3.6V.
hole should also be drilled in one end
lead of each LED is the longer of the of the case to accept a cordgrip grom-
two (see pinout diagram on Fig.1). measuring 64 x 126mm or you can met for the battery leads.
make your own label from the pub- As supplied, the rotary switch will
Final assembly lished artwork — see Fig.5. Because it have 12 positions, so you will have to
The unit is housed in a plastic util- handles most of the current, Q5 re- adjust the selector ring to change it to
ity case which has an aluminium lid. quires a modest amount of heatsinking a 7-position type. To do this, simply
This is fitted with an adhesive label and this is achieved by mounting it on remove the nut and lockwasher from
the threaded bush, then lift the
selector ring and rotate it so that
the locating pin goes in slot
seven. Check that the switch
> does indeed now have seven
= positions, then trim the length
oc
a§ of the shaft to suit the knob.
oH Fig.4 shows the mounting
O
o.
REVERSE al
details for transistor Q3. It must
Lu be electrically isolated from the
.o) START front panel using a mica washer.
oc PRESS
TO Make sure that the mounting
<I
= area is perfectly smooth and
O
” BATTERY
VOLTAGE smear both sides of the mica
NICAD
DISCHARGER
a) washer with heatsink com-
pound (not necessary if a sili-
cone washer is used) before bolt-
ing the assembly together. The
Fig.5: this full-size artwork can be used as a drilling template for the front panel. leads of the transistor are then
22 SILICON CHIP
bent at right angles so that they mate Ee
] ; : a
with the BCE PC stakes on the board. | ev woe
The front panel can now be attached — : 1
to the PC board by fitting the match- 3 7 )
ing holes over the switch bushes and 7 |
doing up the locking nuts. Note that
S1 is fitted with a large star washer,
while S2 has a flat washer fitted to its
bush (these washers all go behind the ‘Now available: the complete index to
—— ee

front panel). This done, the two LEDs

SRRDIECTE ENDER:

all SILICON CHIP articles since the first SILIGOM CHIP PUBLISHED PROJECTS
can be pushed into their front panel issue in November 1987. The Floppy |
SUBJECT INDEX

holes and their leads soldered.
The assembly can now be completed
by attaching the battery leads to the ~
- PC board (red for positive, black for
negative). These leads pass through
the cordgrip grommet in one end of
the case and are terminated with alli-
gator clips or with some other suit-
able connector for your battery pack.
Test & adjustment
To test the unit, you will need to
drill a small access hole through the
front panel immediately above VR1.
Alternatively, you will have to tempo-
rarily remove the front panel.
Next, connect a 6V battery pack (or
variable supply) to the circuit and
wind VR1 fully anticlockwise to en-
sure that the discharge transistor (Q3)
ste ea see sae
Index comes with a handy file viewer (gg
that lets you look at the index line by line
or page by page for quick browsing, or (gMiiy
you can use the search function. All ji
commands are listed on the screen, SO. i
you'll always know what to do next. chee cna tintia
Notes & Errata also now available: ~
this file lets you quickly check out the Notes & Errata (if any) for all articles
published in SILICON CHIP. Not an index but a complete copy of all Notes & —
Errata text (diagrams not included). The file viewer is included in the price, so
that you can quickly locate the item of interest.
The Floppy Index and Notes & Errata files are supplied in ASCII format on a 3.5-
inch or 5.25-inch floppy disc to suit PC-compatible cCompuigls. Note: the File
Viewer requires MSDOS 3.3 or above.
ORDER FORM
Fy | fil 7
Cl: Boppy incendie, ile viewer): oe
(J Notes & Errata (incl. file viewer): $A7
LJ Alphanumeric LCD Demo Board Software (May 1993): SA7 Eee

discharger. Check that there is now = Stepper Motor Controller Software (January 1994): $A7 Peta
6V between pins 8 & 4 of IC1 and
SAG across REF1 when S2. is’ ree Printer Status Indicator Software (January 1994): $A7 ee,

leased. The DISCHARGE LED (LED 1) = Switchers Made Simple—Design Software (March 1994): $A12
should also be alight. ob — : |
If everything checks out so far, con- {_} Bytefree.bas /obj / exe (Computer Bits, May 1994): $A7 |

_nect your multimeter across the 2.72 | —y Gamesbvm.bas /obj /exe (Nicad Battery Monitor, June 1994): $A7
resistor (next to Q3) and adjust VR1
for a reading of 0.49V. This adjust- [j Keyrep.bas /exe (Keyboard Repeat Rate Utility, July 1994): $A7
ment sets the reference voltage ap- |” posTaGe& PACKING: Aust., NZ &PNG add $A3 per order; elsewhere $A5
plied to IC1a and ensures correct op-
eration of the constant current source Disc size required: [3 3.5-inch disc © (3 5.25-inch disc TOTAL $A
(ICib & Q3). Switch off immediately
after making this adjustment and re- . |
attach the front panel (if necessary). Enclosed is my cheque/money order for$A_____—_ or please debit my
If you have a variable power sup- C} Bankcard (I Visa Card = © MasterCard
ply, check that the discharger switches
off at the correct voltage for each range Card No. | | | | | | | | | | Baas Pe ||
selected (see specifications). The re-
verse polarity indicator circuit can be signature_ Card expiry date /
tested by reverse connecting the power
and checking that LED 2 lights. Name
Finally, always be sure to set S1 vara!
(the range selector switch) to the nomi- Street
nal voltage of your battery pack before )
SUDUFO WE 7 Postcode
pressing the START switch to begin
the discharge cycle. For example, if to: SILICON CHIP, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097; or fax your order
Send your order
your nicad pack has a nominal output to (02) 979 6503; or ring (02) 979 5644 and quote your credit card number
of 7.2V when fully charged, then set. (Bankcard, Visa Card or MasterCard). |
S1 to the 7.2V range. SC
SEPTEMBER 1994 23
 CIRCUIT NOTEBOOK
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.

EXTERNAL
INPUTS

D4-D7
4xIN4004

SI: : DUSK TO DAWN

: 3 HOURS
Vcc : 4 HOURS
: 5 HOURS
: 6 HOURS
—
WP
®&
Om : 7 HOURS

Timer for
security lights
This timer can be used to turn on
security lights from dusk until dawn
or for a preset period ranging from 3-7
hours. It also has provision for con-
nection of a PIR sensor.
LDR1 is connected to the non-in-
verting input of op amp IC1 which
24 SILICON CHIP
functions as a Schmitt trigger. When
darkness falls, the output of IC1
switches low. During daylight, IC1’s
output is high and this is fed via NOR
gates IC3c & IC3d to hold counters IC4
and IC5 reset. When IC1 goes low, the
reset is removed from IC4 and IC5.
IC2d’s output now goes high which
sets the flipflop consisting of IC3a
and IC3b. Pin 3 of IC3a now goes high
and turns on Q1 and relay RLA. This
turns on the lamps. :
IC4 is clocked by Schmitt trigger
oscillator IC2a and provides a divi-
sion of 2048. Pin 1 of IC4 clocks dec-
ade counter IC5. Trimpot VR1 is ad-
justed so that one pulse per hour is
fed to IC5. As IC5 clocks, each of its
Outputs goes high in turn. When the
output that is selected by S1 goes high,
flipflop IC3a/b will be reset which
means that pin 3 will go low. This will
turn off the relay. Nothing more hap-
pens now until night falls again. When
it does, the process will repeat itself.
The 555 timer, IC7, provides for PIR
sensor or light beam relay sensor con-
trol. When a positive going pulse is
Tester for radio
control servos
This circuit can be used
to check servos for their
maximum throw, direc-
tion of travel, current con-
sumption, jitters or glitch-
es, as well as being used
for linkage adjustments in
models without the need
to use a transmitter.
In a radio control sys-
tem the receiver sends
down to each servo a train
of pulses corresponding to the stick
positions on the transmitter, where
the width of each pulse determines
the position of a particular servo. The
pulse width usually varies from 1-
3ms with a repetition rate of about
40Hz. The pulses are positive in ra-
dios such as JR, Sanwa, Futaba and
Multiplex.
These pulse width commands can
be simulated by a variable-duty cycle
oscillator built around two gates of a
Automotive
voltage regulator
This automotive voltage regula-
tor is based on a circuit sent in by
Bevan Paynter of Williams, SA.
The original version was used to
replace the electromechanical reg-
ulator in his car, although this re-
vised version has not been built
and tested.
An automotive voltage regulator
works by controlling the current
in the field of the alternator, which
in turn controls the stator output.
In this circuit, ZD1 conducts when
the alternator output reaches 14.2V,
turning on Q3. This turns off Dar-
lington pair Q1 & Q2, which were
completing the field circuit.As the
voltage drops below 14.2V, ZD1
ceases conducting, Q3 turns off,
and Q1 & Q2 turn back on again.
applied to either external input, pin 4
of IC2b will go low. This triggers the
555 monostable. Its pin 3 goes high to
turn on transistor Q3 and relay RLB,
for a time period determined by the
components at pin 6 of IC7. Q2 makes
the 555 retriggerable so that further
pulses to the external inputs will re-
| ~25ms
4011 quad 2-input NAND gate IC. The
0.22uF capacitor and 150kQ resistor
at pin 2 set the ON-period of the oscil-
lator to about 25ms (ie, 40Hz rate),
while the .047uF capacitor at pin 3
together with the associated 18kQ re-
sistor and 50kQ potentiometer (VR1)
allow the pulse width to be varied
from 0.8-3ms.
The resulting negative pulse train
from pin 3 of ICia is buffered and
inverted by IC1id, with pin 11 con-
This switches the field
current back on again
and so the output volt-
age settles at 14.2V.
D1 protects Q1 from
spikes and transients
generated by the field
coil switching action.
It is absolutely criti-
cal to obtain a 12.8V
zener diode for ZD1,
to obtain a 14.2V
charging voltage. All
zener diodes vary from
their nominal rating,
so you will have to test
a number of 13V zeners to obtain
the correct value. Note: for zero
temperature coefficient of the zener
voltage, use two 400mW zener di-
odes (6.2V and 6.8V nominal) in
series. This will give much im-
proved temperature stability.
set the circuit for another period.
A kit comprising all components,
relays and rotary switch but not in-
cluding the mains transformer or the
boxes is available for $49.95 plus $5
for postage & packing. Contact CTOAN
Electronics, PO Box 211, Jimboomba,
Qld 4280. Phone (07) 297 5421.
|
nected to the positive signal input of
the servo being driven.
ICic further inverts the signal train
to provide a negative pulse train. A
cheap VU-meter shunted by two 12
resistors provides current monitoring
with a full scale sensitivity of 5|00mA.
Diodes D1 & D2 and switch S1 make
the circuit able to provide pulse trains
to suit various receiver voltages.
Manfed Schmidt,
Edgewater, SA. ($20)
TO CATHODE-ANODE
JUNCTIONS OF STATOR
DIODES ALTERNATOR
LIGHT
Finally, for a 9-diode alternator,
discard diodes D2-D4 (since these
diodes will already be present in
the alternator). Note that transistor
Q3 should be mounted on a heat-
sink.
SILICON CHIP.
SEPTEMBER 1994 25

This tiny board is a voice-operated switch designed
to fit into the tightest space: It uses a single IC
and includes a SPDT 12VDC relay. It almost has
no tirr-on delay & a 3-second release time. Great
for hands-free" communication such as amateur
transceivers, mobile radios and public address.
Users simply speak to activate microphone.
S.C. Sept’94
K10610.....917.95
CHOCO COCORCCH DAD
Pick up airport weather beacons in the
LW band and receive up-to-the-minute
weather report. This simple reciever uses
only two IC and runs off a 9V battery and
is easy to build.
S.C. Sept'94
Use this kit to maintain the full capacity
of your battery pack & extend its useful
life. It can even rejuvenate an old
battery pack that’s suffering from the
memory effect - a common problem
experienced by NICAD battery users.
S.C. Sept’94
K10620.....$29.95
A SIMPLE GO/NO-GO
CRYSTAL CHECKER
This simple circuit helps you
to diagnose crystals. If the
LED lights up then your
crystal is still alive! Best part
of all - the components you
need to built this circuit
already exist in your junkbox.
S.C. Aug’94
We always have the latestin-
components and products.
ERRORS
NEWKITS4 & OMISSION EXCEPTED. PRICES CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
Description RAP
SOLAR VOLTAGE REGULATOR................ $13.95
ETI 480 50W AMP... ccccccsccsscscssssecseen $27.95
ETI 480 100W AMP... .cccccscccccsssccssse $34.95
ETI 480 POWER SUPPLY......--sccssosssoose $28.95
GENERAL PURPOSE PRE-AMPLIFIER...... $14.95
BALANCED MICROPHONE AMPLIFIER... $12.95
GENERAL PURPOSE AMPLIFIER............. $14.95
BALANCED INPUT :
DIFFERENTIAL PREAMP. .......-.cccocseccooe $19.95
FLOAT NICAD CHARGER. .........-cccccc00000 $14.95
TRANSISTOR TESTER. .ose--cccsosessssssseeese $22.95
300W PLAYMASTER AMP........-....-.0... $119.00
QOTONE ALARM. oo sococsscinecsscxsccecasche $9.95
1.5VTO 9V DC CONVERTER................ $13.95
3 DIGIT COUNTER. ...--sccccecssssscseessseoee, $23.95
ELECTRIC FENCE ......cssessccssseesssvseeessnoe $23.95
ELECTRIC FENCE CONTROLLER.............. $61.95
TV PATTERN GENERATOR............0......... $109.00
UNIVERSAL POWER SUPPLY................. $12.95
DISCO LIGHT <o.6.si.deicd ovowersnKascsy $165.00
LED SCANNER 5c ccc<ssscescsicececiesscoan $17.95
RECR DED CERRO OEOCOCOECRGS LOW FUEL INDICATOR For CAR................ $11.95
SCREECHER CAR ALARM .........cc.000... $36.95
12/24V LIGHT CHASER ......sccsececssecseee $21.95
K10155 LOW VOLTAGE CUTOUT FOR CAR /BOAT. $22.95
K10200 50 MHz DIGITAL FREQUENCY................. $1495
K10205 VHF POWERMATCH......sscccscsesessoeeessneee $74.95
K10215 TEMPERATURE PROBE
FOR MULTIMETERS ....-sccssscccoseccceseeee $19.95
K10225 18V /{AMP BENCH TOP
POWER SUPPLY........cscccssecocssssecscesseee $79.95
K10295 LOW OHMS METER oo.cscccsccevsoscsscsnsosssve $29.95
K10300 TEMPERATURE ADAPTOR ......-cccccsso00.. $24.95
K10305 VOICE OPERATED RELAY........cceesscsoso-. $19.95
K10310 IGNITION KILLER....ccscsccccsssssevvsssssvnee $22.95
K10315 HEADPHONE AMP......cccccccssssscccsssssece $34.95
K10320 VIDEO RF MODULATOR. ......ccccsccsssesee $17.95
K10325 5OW AUDIO AMPLIFIER «.......--ssssoo00.-. $54.95
£10325 PLC.B FOR K10325...-ccscssssesssssseessssseeeec $19.95
K10330 RS232 FOR COMMODORE 64 $24.95
K10335 RGB TO PAL ENCODER MODULE............ $49.95
K10615.....$49.50 K10340
K10345
CAMCORDER MIXER......scccssscccsssccccsses $29.95
KMPAOKE BOX sc sscsessssl ecsccscenst cacy $27.95
K10350 REMOTE CONTROL EXTENDER.............. $32.95
K10355 HIGH ENERGY IGNITION........00-....000-.. $55.00
©@eeeee02808006e@e080088080
K10360 LOUDSPEAKER PROTECTOR................ $29.95
K10365 NICAD BATTERY DISCHARGER............... $27.95
K10370 PORT, 12V LEAD ACID BATTERY se
K10380 ‘GiteDIGITAL FREQUENCY COUNTER.... $147.
K10390 LOW COST QUIZ GAME ADJUDICATOR... $34.95
K10395 MESSAGE RECORDER................cesceeeee $65.95
10400 WOGFER STOPPER: «<5 .cissscsscissncasiesneecan $55.95
K10405 COLOUR VIDEO FADER................ccscsceeee $32.95
K10455 PRINTER ae INDICATOR
PUGS PRET oii Scvsicecctvescisearsnercuecet $65.95
K10465 LOW COST 25W AMPLIFIER MODULE.... $18.95
K10460 aries 40V/ i LAB
POWER SUPPLY- Deicke aha $165.95
K10445 IMPROVED DECODER
FOR ACS SIGNALS =1.0...cccccsscccsssccssee $19.95
K10415 PC-CONTROLLED EPROM
PROGRAMMER........cssccssssesessesesrersseee $98.95
K10450 A SIMPLE LOW VOLTAGE SPEED
CONTROLLER. ...scssccssssscssscvssseccneeeee $13.95
K10470 CHAMP 0. 5 WaitAMPLIFIER............... $9.95
K10475 90 SECOND MESSAGE HOLDER............. $98.00
K10480 CONTROL STEPPER MOTORS
K10485
WITH YOUR PC..u.....sccccsscscsecceecseeeness
EGO TESTER KIT sc. csess scssetccceeezeccoutes
$65.95
$19.95
K10490 LOW COST MIDI BREAKOUT BOX........... $13.95
K10500 VOICE OPERATED AUDIO SWITCH.......... CALL
K 10420 AN IMPROVED DSO ADAPTOR
POPES bidicsissessitcsnrnajestaeyseosvinogiowateh CALL
K10510 LEVEL CROSSING DETECTOR
FOR MODEL RAILWAYS..................00000 $22.95
K10515
K10525
SOUNDS & LIGHTS
FOR LEVEL CROSSING................c.c00 $37.95
WEEKLY REMINDER TEMP.....;................ $19.95
K10530 L/NOISE UNI. STEREO PREAMP.............. $19.95
K10540 SOW AUDIO AMPLIFIER................ccc0e CALL
K10545 IND. METAL BALANCE DETECTOAR.......... $58.95
K10550 ~ FAST CHARGER FOR NICAD................0.. $42.95
K10555 ELECTRONIC DICE. on. icii.ccssscccnenctivacicons $24.95
K10560 DIGITAL STORAGE CRO..............ecseeseeens $229.00
K10565 HIGH SPEED K10550 DSO................ $249.00
K10570 COOLANT LEVEVL DETECTOR................ $29.95
K10575 STEAM TRAIN WHISTLE &
DIESEL HORN SIMULATOR................... $29.95
K10580 BUDGET PRICED
TEMPERATURE CONTROL...........:...00005 $29.95
K10585 HIGH-POWER DIMMER FOR
INCANDESCENT LAMPG...............:c0 $69.95
K10590 DUAL DIVERSITY TUNER
K 10600 $19.95 K10595
FOR FM MICROPHONEG................:.00000 CALL
RIGAD ZAPPER oi iss.s.scsssorsneesonseecVossseeres $29.95
K10600 GO/NO-GO CRYSTAL CHECKER............... $19.95
K10605 CHAMP PRE-AMP.................cccscsssesseeseees $9.95
K10610 MINIVOX VOICE OPERATED RELAY......... $17.95
K10615 LONG-WAVE AM RECEIVER FOR
K10620
AIRCRAFT WEATHER INFORMATON........ $49.50
AUTOMATIC DISCHARGER FOR
NICAD BATTERY PACKS..............ccseeees $29.95
 IN STOCK FOR EE Push on- Puch off power Sspel ~ on a PCB HEADER,
COMPUTER CASE [ 7 £ switch assembly a
Curved Rocker Switch “hte. ASE eScrew mounted (@ 3) switch e to
Tough nylon insulators are polarised
ensure correct mating.
e Attractive snap in panel mounting 4 assembly DPST
e Current ratung 6 way max 8A
DPST Rocker switch. Connection eConnection is by 6mm Black
e Contact resistance 10mQ max
is by 6mm blade terminals, Cat No. $11005 terminals suitable for crimp
e Insulation resistance >10°MQ min
suitable for crimp connectors. 1-9 10+ connectors ' Beep ON
e Panel cutout 25 x 25mm © Mounting centres 20mm Cat No. $11002 e PCB pitch 3.96mm (0.156") Suitable Co nig. P910004
@ Max panel thickness 3mm $6.95 $5.95 | e switch rating SA@1SOVAC 1-9 10+ for computer motherboards $4.95
e Switch rating 10A@150VAC. e Suitable for power switches in 7 9 q.
minitowers and new baby AT casing, $ ae 5 $6.95
a.

JAM OR PLAY TO |
. REAL-LOUD
SOUND.
Now you can really turn up
that special sound effects
from your games or e Tough nylon insulators, 6 way
polarised to mate with P91000

$9.95
multimedia stuffs. It will
@ No crimp contacts
rock you and sends shiver
up your spine!
Specification: :
Power: DC6V (four batteries or one
AC/DC power adaptor) ~t
OUTPUT: 2W per speaker Cat No. C10188
Frequency: 50 -15,000 Hz
ae A Onin bes Speaker §x g & 5 © Bandoliers of 10, Tin plated
; e brass
Size: 150mm x 92mm x 100mm e Will accept 0.5 - 1.5mm wires

Zr. Sy
Cat No. X18041
This revolutionary new |SPECIFICATIONS: $99.00
powerboard design has 4 vertically ra Sarl Rr: COM1 or COM3
a placed plugs outlets. Comes with | @1 Printer port: COM2 or COM4 e716 way socket with 6
er. power overload protection. % :ane Serial port COM2 or contact Bandoliers S
e Al ; Suitable for computer power ™
aes lets jets tobe used eSupport Serial Port Address 3F8, 2F8, supplies
y. . 2E8, 3E8 and 5 interrupts: IRQ 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
@ Accepts transformers, timersamd | @ Support 3 Printer Port Address 3BC, 378,
most 3 pin plug configurations. 278 and 2 interrupts: IRQ 5 or IRQ 7
@ All ports can be disabled independently
Does your shed/workshop resemble a tornado-
striked disaster area? Well, with this nifty toolrack RERRR RRR RRR RRR RRP RRR RARER RE RRR RRR RER ER R RODE ORO RR
there’s no excuse! Simply screw it on to any wood NS Ss a AE ER Ny Se
frame and finding the right tool becomes kid’s play.
Has different sized-holes/siots to fit any tools$
that you may have in your shed.
TAKES ONLY TWO MINUTES TO BE
I AND PLUGGED!!

Vv BUDGET 30 WATT
A new red-hot item. Perfect Budget-priced soldering iron.
addition for the electronic Features include:
workshop. Features include:
; | @ Super quick heat up &
@ Heating temperature of up to
319 degrees Celsius. draeibeah ALD se
@ 30 watt power.
@ PTC (Positive Temperature Co-
efficient)controlled to maintain @ Lightweight design
consistent tip temperature. for high work rate
@ Fast warmup time. : ;akc
@ Heating temperature of up to ong tip ire -
319 degrees Celsius. replaceable.
@ Longer Tip Life | e sserlinl ay Ui
egree Celcuis.
Solder Station plugs into any This soliein rae Blas
240VAC/50Hz mains socket to into any 240 ee

fenclionsbigrarBVAC 6W. mains socket to operate.

TIP REPLACEMENT

195
sms | T12698.....$9.95 ee \
VALUE OF PURCHASE POSTAGE $ The rates shown here
$1 - $9.95 .75 _apply to Australia Post 8
$10 - $24.95 $4.00 surface mail within 54 4
$25 - $49.95 $4.95 Australia only. Orders TI 2566. eoccee @
$6.50 containing fragile parts ; ]4 q 5
$50 - $99.95
$100 - $199
SWITCFES $7.50 will be sent by road Stock/Tip replacement- T12697..... & e
- $500 $8.00 freight at out discretion
et FREE andchargedtoyou. | reRoRs & OMISSION EXCEPTED. PRICES CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
 The powerful booster. The (Reena Economical 24 bit §
IntelDX2TM (DX2-50)€@4“M9 py true colour scanning §
7 V/y ¢ (+e

without the big 4

price tag for DTP @™
and presentations. #8: 486DX2-66........ $699
performance booster. It increases the performance of your @ Brilliant colour - add
486DX2-50
16-, 20-, or 25-MHz Intel 486 SX PC by up to 70%. The Intel the power of brilliant OverDrive Chip..$499
DX2 Overdrive processor accelerates all DOS, Windows, OS/ 24 bit true colour
2, and UNIX applications - from AutoCAD to Wordperfect. images to your,
Window-based DTP
The Intel DX2 OverDrive processor is a cost effective method and presentation
to upgrade your Intel 486 SX CPU-based system to the next packages. PENTIUM 60MHz ;
generation of CPU technology. Drop it in and put your system @ Powerful image software - PhotoFinish 3.0 software
into OverDrive Speed! Comes with lifetime warranty. provides 87 tools to satisfy your demands and realize PENTIUM 66MHz AVAILABLE ON ORDER
DX2-50 OverDrive Chip........ your Creativity. sight ashairnigeeaadets THROUGH
DX2-66 OverDrive Chip........ a Highoe - up to 800 dpi for the best image quality PENTIUM 90MHz OUR STORES OR BY
available. sia cistppauge Myers uaates MAIL ORDER
@ TWAIN compliant - expands scanner capabilities with
Turn your PC monitor into a TV. Great for compatible applications.
those who need to keep up to date with @ Power OCR - optional Recognita Plus OCR means you'll
————S—— current news that relates to their work! never have to re-key data again. DESCRIPTIONS
@ Tuner On Board - Receives UHF/
VHF or cable TV signals. Available Include Interface Card, PhotoFinish 3.0, MediaMate Presentation software, 1meg Trident/Cirrus VESA
in NTSC, PAL-I, PAL-BG, or DK SmartPAge Direct OCR software, TWAIN complaint software & User's manual. 512K TRIDENT VEGA
systems. IDE/SPG
@ TV Remote Control - Software IDE
@ High resolution
controls for channel preset, fii
selection, fine tuning, and for aaa ADAPTEC SCSI 16bit 1522A
volume, treble, bass and stereo *X18160 8bit ETHERNET 79
modes. Think of it as your TV
remote control.
@ Smooth Tracking *X18161 16bit ETHERNET $99
X18169 16bit NE2000+ oy
© Excellent Output - Video output to
VCR or HiVideo/PRO frame capture
@ Stylish & Ergonomic X18151 S.PG. )
card to watch TV programs. Two
watts per channel stereo output.
@ High Quality Switches X18030
X18047
2xRS232 STD
1xRS232 High Speed Serial
$39
=
@ Software - Bundled DOS and
Windows TV control programs.
HiTuner needs HiVideo/PRO or
other video card to display TV | $ q 9.98 \ X18041 . 2xRS232 High Speed serial 99
video signal on your monitor. X18017 Printer Port Lpt 1 Card $19
X18189 Printer Port Sict Lpt 1-2 Card Sg
X18190 Printer Port Sict Lpt 1-2-3 Card 9

486 VESA MAINBOARD X18019

C14260
X18177
Games Card
SMART GAMES Cont
CDROM Controller
$19
i
5
DX4-100 MOTHERBOARD *X19936 ISA Scanner Card GS4500 $99
THE MOTHER OF ALL MOTHERBOARD THAT IS X17071 ISA VGA Accelerator Pro $275
COMPATIBLE WITH EVERY CHIP FROM 486DX2/
4 ’

2.88 FDD Controller Card

DX/SX/SL ENHANCED 486, P24T, P24D, DX4 TO * oe, - i

THE CYRIX M6/M7 CPUs.

4 oe ;

S - .
Se iwfese oe ~ whl
‘oa PalFen
FEATURES: oe
~ Ms ’ a a

: ~ ~

@ Fully AT compatible. Supports 486DX2/DX/SX/SL ' ie . ~

CAT. DESCRIPTION
4 ° . as . ,

Enchanced 486, P24T, P24D, 486DX4 (P24C) and Cyrix es

* . .

ry
M6/M7 CPUs. 1 X18002 IDE SUPER 1/0 $39
X18099 VESA 1 Meg TRIDENT $139
@ Supports internal cache (CPU) write-back (P24T, P24D, SIMM modules. Uses one 30-pin and two 72-pin
X18100 VESA CIRRUS 5428 $199
M6/M7) systems DRAM modules in multiple configurations
X18184 VESA PARADISE 1Meg $299
@ Memory configuration from 1 MB to 96MB using @ Seven 16-bit slots, two master VESA slots, and X18186 VESA IDE Cache Cont $349
combinations of 80ns 256K, 512K, 1M, 2M, 4M and 16M one slave VESA slot X17071 VESA SCSI 2, IDE,

LOUR SCANNINGF
Floppy, Multi 1/O $299
X18087 VESA WD Accelerator Video Card $209
Ol le range of colour scanners wit AsTae REST OE NS on
CAT. DESCRIPTION PRICE
X17900 PCI 1M VGA $299
1200 dpi flatbed scanner X17910 PCI IDE CONTROLLER $99
Have your DTP efforts been deterred @ TWAIN compliant
or limited by high-cost colour expands scanner capabilities
scanners? Wait no more. Here’s a with compatible
couple of high-end colour scanners applications. % An entry level Inkjet Printer that output at 360dpi,
at prices we all can afford to pay! with economically priced ink cartridge and a low price
tag! Print speed - 144 characters per second (12 cpi)
@ Brilliant colour - add the power OPTIONAL: Features include:
of brilliant 24 bit true colour @ Power OCR - optional @ 48-nozzzle ink jet.
images to your Window-based aa jos Plus OCR means @ 80 column
DTP and presentation packages. you'll never have to re-key @ 100 paper sheet
@ High resolution - up to 1200 dpi data again. @ Parallel port standard
(ColorPage-I)/2400 dpi @ Compact, streamlined
(ColorPage II), get scanned Includes: design. Small footprint. Bo
ictures that are clear and Interface card, PhotoFinish 3.0, @ Economy mode to
ee iy MediaMate _ Presentation conserve ink =
@ Powerful image software -
PhotoFinish 3.0 software
software, TWAIN driver,
User's manual, Auto-Document
2400 dpi flatbed ‘scanner @ Epson ESC/P 2™. with scalable fonts Uses
@ Driver disk included
thesame
ae the Stylus
provides 87 tools to satisfy. your Feeder (ADF-I) and
demands and realize your transparency unit (TMA-I).
creativity. =

ERRORS & OMISSION EXCEPTED. PRICES CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

 000

A RANGE OF DIGITISERS THAT YOU CAN USE WITH PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT FREEHAND DRAWING.

NEWSKETCH 1212) aermag

Draw and paint in natural |
freehand movements on paint |
programs or graphic programs
that support freehand drawing.
@ Freedom drawing - here's your chance to
exercise your creativity without being
limited by the mouse.
@ Painting program - bundled PC
Paintbrush has all the natural paint tools
to start you painting!
@ Complete utilities - included WINTAB
Windows driver, DOS driver, advanced
ADI driver let enjoy your favourite
applications in a snap!
@ Stylus power - stylus pen for free-hand
rendering in DTP and graphics programs.
Designed for engineers and
artists who demand precise
cursor control.
@ KeyCAD Software - KeyCAD for
Windows offer the best precision drawing §
software. :
@ 12 x 12 inch work space - optimizes for
quick preoduction of precision drawings.
Summagraphics MM Series compatible. SSUES a
Keyboard adaptor, 25-9 pin adaptor ®@ Complete utilities set- ADI drivers, DOS Puck, Power adaptor, AutoCAD
& User’s guide Included tablet driver, WINTAB Windows drivers; R 10, R12 compat ble templates,
gives you full freedom to work in DOS or Utilities Disk & User's manual
Windaws Included X19939
X19937 ® Stylish - Ergonomically designed puck and |
stylus for flexibility.

Now you can control that

Control your software on
notebooks without packing a
mouse! . aa
® Total compatibility - the smart
choice for notebooks. Attach with @
included clamps and clips.
® Total flexibility - easily adjustable #
for right or left handed use.
@ Total freedom -use from any angle. %
Simply set the trackball to "up"
position from a menu.
@ Total versatility - not just for
ortables. Use it with you desktop
C as well.
9/6 PS/2 adaptor, Extension cable, Driver,
Mediamate presentation software & User’s
guide Included.
cursor without being tied
down to the mouse! Active up
to two meter away.
e Freedom of movement - use it
from two meter away. No strings
| attached!
e@ Saves Energy - automatically
: powers down when not in use.
Receiver unit always has two
batteries recharged and is ready to
use instantly.
e Graphic User’s Interface
(Mousemate) - lets you personalize
X19932 the mouse cursor on screen.
e Powerful image software - PC
User’s guide Included
Paintbrush for Windows offers
plenty of drawing tools.
e Presentation Experts - the bundled
Mediamate Presentation software
makes it more attractive than ever.

Ergonomically
LASER POINTER
Combination of Get to the point! Great for pin-
designed to click buttons and pointing out exactly what you are
fit all types of trackball mouse. $ explaining about in presentations.
hands and @ Lock-on function - &
also gives move only the ball §
while freezing the
you precise buttons for unlimited
control at the fingers movement.
= Same time. @ Space saver - save
precious desk space
without sacrificing
mouse convenience. @ Capture attention - Attracts
e@ Maximum comfort - raised center fits the hollow of
your palm for incredible comfort. @ Easy to use - trackball for any application including audience attention during
Windows and DOS programs. Easy to install, too. presentations
e Graphical User’s Interface (Mousemate) - Lets you
personalize the mouse cursor on screen. @ Extra value - included PC Paintbrush for Windows @ Easy to carry - Just pop it in your
offers plenty of drawing tools for increased creativity. shirt pocket.
e Software included - PC Paintbrush for creative
drawing & MediaMate Presentation for multimedia @ Durability - Run continuously for
creations with audio, text , video and textual three hours
capabilities. Mediamate Presentation software, Mousemate
@ Long Distance - Effective up to
driver & User’s guide Included
PC Paintbrush for Windows, Mediamate presentation 50 meters.
software, Mousemate driver, Pad Pocket and User’s guide
C14234
Included X19938
User’s guide Included

PAINTER ERRORS & OMISSION EXCEPTED. PRICES CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. — _

 STUDENT FULL
ACT!Windows V1.1............ we $399
AMIPronWindows v3.01 ate $579
Borland Pascal V7.0". 00 Sgn. |This is a true 486 machine, not a 486SX machine sold by "The Big Stores”.
Corel Draw V4 (CD ROM)... $619 | What you get from our system is the latest poner ins and the most complete
a6 at ‘0 heres
399 |DUNdle you will ever find. Don’t settle for sb iple ess than fast graphics &
IBM OS/2 & Windows 3.11... $250 | Superb sound system! 486DX4-100 upgradable motherboard fitted.
Lapiink aeay iad lo oo
in ro eM esaccnuecacdeccesesces
Lotus i23va.oieecnedid tions $179 $519 VESA LOCAL BUS components, including:
Lotus pod Freelance
driven V4.................
yy epee $599 I/O Card, ; Video Card & Motherboard. wit
LotusOrganisersehy Reneeaes i $149 4MB of SIMM RAM exp to 128MB
otus Smartsuite V2.1............ $985 i ;
Microsoft Access V2........... $595 Sr Hard. Disk Drive
Microsoft Access V2 Up...... $200 1.44 Floppy Disk Drive
Microsoft Encarta’94...... $189 14" Supa VGA Monitor-1024 x 768 brosoft Book shelf - Packed with
animation, illustration,
Microsoft Money. =$175 $505
Microsoft Word rrr $e. |. The
Tesolution
popular Microsoft Ergonomic Mouse
GPU Oetions with above comtguraton: tote conde
486DX2-50...... 2699 Tax INC and book Cou Enojopd Eleni Thesauri,Wor Amana
of facts, Hammond Atlas, The American Heritage Dictionary,
ia hove pe oe Pe aoe 101 Enhanced Keyboard 350 Tax EX Bartiet’s Familiar Quotations & The Concise Columbia Dictionary of
: MS Powerpoint... $230 $505 486DX-40........ nt Taxine Quotations. —
| MS Publisher Vio
Microsoft Works/Win........... Sti0 $165
$125
$149 |® which
InternalwillDouble Speed Photo CD, CD ROM drive
play the latest video software.
Facpy PhOnedisC - rhetctestin Ausra DirectorAsitanc,Allow
you
is ceekeee ene Tee cnecekeeee ‘.
Noite Unites Be gas ee 16 Bit Sound Card (Sound Blaster compatible) = *FREE MS WORKS FOR WINDOWS preinstalled, «
Ceoetncn Ver.Diccieeuirsts $460 4108 Magnetically shielded Speakers —— ® $1 ,000 of value! Easy to learn with text & illustrated °
PrintShop Deluxe... $125 Joystick for those shoot-em-up games |Go=———I} 5" in-built tutorial. Great way to teach yourself easy functional .
a3‘"errr hieee ciawdsaunt = a : Spreadsheets, Database, Wordprocessing and Mailing Lists, =
icke IV Sisseccessnsecsccecsces
QUICRTEWI $59 a 6.2be
.
Sei Be preinstalled.
: j
5p haltrat your own pace tithe comfortofyour own-hamel ©s
QuickLneWin
c NUN sss canscceinevess
$73 meatal This system is designed to cater for HIGH SPEED
$199 GRAPHICS and CD ROM, especially the latest Video
Quattro Pro V5.0/Win............ $125 $195 Pentium P24T upgradable motherboard WARRANTY Software. Buying anything less will mean that you
arcane sie REE ie 6 pL Augat Zero force socket set your system up for will miss out on the latest Video on PC revolution.
Win Fax Pro V4.0..........cscsssee: $195 future DX4-100MHZ or Pentium CPU upgrade.
WordPerfect 6.0/Win............ $179 $530 + |
X-Tree Gold/Win V2.5........... $185

ee ee ee All this superb monitors on 20 PIN DIL ae re is

: display
atallStores | 44256-70 $12.95 $12.50 $11.00 an aaa Windows & QuickTax
.44 Mb 312" F.D.D. $79.00 | « 14" Super VGA —— WO BEST oeners in one
1.2 Mb 5%" F.D.D. $89.00 1024 x768 (0.28" Dot Co) 1Mx9-60 $79 $77 $75 pareaee |4sie Price!
562B CD ROM D RIVE DOUBLE
OUB SPEED ° 10241768 (0oe Dot pitch) aM x9-70 $259 $249 $245 painlessly
e
with software drivers.............cscseceee $269 | « 4 onanv ened ee 32Kx8 20nS Static RAM for Cache -The Easiest Way to ATO
do |:=.
Upgrades $10.95 $9.95 $9.50 | your Taxes. Support
563B CD ROM DRIVE DOUBLE
SPEED oo ee 72 PIN SIMM FOR PENTIUM M.B
works with all Sound Blaster Cards.......$289 |* 18)XGADigital IMX9-70 $109 $105 $99
electronic lodgement.
|$@r.00
ew
Cece ee eeeecereereeeeeeeereoeeneeveueesees 4M X 9-70 299 $295 289 s '

e 15" XGA Digital MPRII 8M X9-70 $598 578 |

BBGSX-40*
386DX-40* 8KLM Internal
47 .eccccccccccssssssssesesseesee $139
Cache LMG63........$189 | 17° QED % W024 sicsicctinasssissacrseiziraocopeasevnt
XGA Digital MPRI.............. $1395 16M X 9-70 $1179 $1159
:
$1129
|EPSON PRINTER — WAS $349
386DX-40" 128K Internal Cache LMS8.......$209 | 15-417 Digital Monitors LQ-100 80 Column, 24 pin Noy
486SX-25 256K Cache. Upgradeable CPU socket ||_ HARD BR mew Found Bisster pro VALUE EDI c
ANd 3 LOCA! BUS SlOt......cccccsccccssccssssssecese $339 Cap AvAccess eae e pe id li Y HD rwrerecvrereors
486SX-33 256K Cache. Upgradeable CPUsocket& | 212M 16ms
. rR ind ee $180 | Narrow carriage,
3 Local BUS SlOtS.......cssseesneensernsetnsees $379
CRN SEHK | SYUMETS DOGSUSE
chet
TU WiC cccscccccccscccscscccccce
ASP Chipioiscscccieosecoonrevcccccccccocscseree $99
ir adable,

486DX-33 256K Cache. Upgradeable CPUsocket &

iGhepecidoiremn pie
345M 12ms ki: Video Blaster SE... eseceseees $495 | oo-pin impact dot matrix AS
3 Local Bus Siots........... sqtansebdsoeduesvateerbocbe $599 420M 12 Video Blaster FS200...........:s.::tecsssseee $649 | 6 264 cps draft (12 cpi) Ge,
486DX-40* 256K Cache LB... essen $495 aioe doma Game Blaster CD16 Pack PRICE py tedd See
486DX2-50* 256K Cache L.B......seccseseve $559 25 7 CD THl©S.....sssesescseesosseeeee AOA... $799 e@ 3 standard fo fonts 6 mi
ABGDX-50 256K Cache L.B.....cssccsnseen $899 rer eitien
810M 12ms
$1069 $885 | TY CODER .nerncsrnnncd S200 Ee siertPark
486DX2-66* 256K Cache LB... $595 SCSI DRIVE altar tne Bh ae a So79 |©Detachable push
486DX4-100 256K Cache L.B.......cccccsseue $1295 | 14GByteSCSIHD
NEW PENTIUM 60MHz/512
$1395 $1153 ne cee tors een /pull tractorfrictionfeed osur upgradeoption $89
Cache 1.7 G e scsi HD $1795 $1 483 (With Zork) een covccvccccecccecssessecen’ $579 e Parallel, serial ports standard Complete Package a $369

PARI 5 sesccdssecct sc siaccisinssdscnseibscheareects $1599 105MB SYQUEST REMOVASE 7 | “Tig

MORTAR sv ssi tvswig dtineca vigstninRanntpcavassncd $1499 Drive Mechanism an ane :
:
AMD CPU. Without Asterisk- INTEL CPU Cortridge105MB 121 $100
ry level Inkjet Printer
that output
at 360dpi, with economically priced ink
A48-NOZZLE INKJET ;
compliant software, User’s j
cartridge j tag!/
and a low price Features include :
manuals. -it- Features include: ~ M @ 360 DPI text &
ScanMate/256" — reatunes Fon wot Drive’
captures images in full janet metune: Drive &&Sound.
Sound Syetem| e48-nozie
System) 80 coiumn ink jet. [Pant speed 144 Me
haract rs ae |© 48-nozzzle
goesinkjet.
256 grayscales and black Powerful image Software - |“/!---Pertect addition to your |,
199 paper sheet Se Quiet printing
& white...... $2 PhotoFinish 3.0 software has pomi a system | « Paralport standard ee SF © we holy (12 cpi)
OQ Tw liant -Lets you image auto-enchancement | Contiguration. “p J @ Compact, streamlined’ <A> Sua @
S aaah oneae with all functions and 87 tools to $ 4 ee design. Small footprint. oN > bbl te,
ScanMate/32 TWAIN compatible meet all your creative needs. es 9 sEonbaty mode to YY, Ry footgrnt m
offers Black & White rograms.
eae: High Resolution
ot rial lt- up to ee 7, eEpson
conserveESC/P
in 2™. with SC© <in cartridge
cartri
rage se e Drop-in prints up
scanning with 32 aterface Card, PhotoFinish Quality available. Includes:
Wearnes CDD-110CD-ROM Drive,
y scalable fonts to 700 pages at 1000 character/page.
halftones at a very 3.0 Media Mate presentation Powerful OCR - SmartPage e Driver disk included $49 @ Epson ESC/P 2™. Enhanced printer control language
economical software, SmartPage Direct Direct to convert scanned 16 bit Sound Card & Microsoft wen tae. \ adds scalable fonts and improved graphics capability.

smat BULK DISK PRICES "Raa

Bookshelf CD to get you up and
PCE. .:....04 $17 9 OCR software, TWAIN text page to text files.

Protects and

386SX 40 380DX 40 486SX 25 MOS ae BS Sea Detailed RIE $349

$1 070 $1 3 4 5 DESCRIPTION 1-9boxes 10+ nl hee installation * pope
die erageee $1295 Mteagiotond “4 I/D $4.50oa $4.50$4.30$5.85instructions jo™ newdouble
ax Inc Tax ince $1569 ax Inc 5M D $7.95 $7.75 $7.5 d 6. br lading tone i ae
a56DX 40 WP sseDo an 3/2 DS/DD $7.95 $6.95 $6.75 $6.50 $6.25 pAMApnAEH tit
7 ; 486DX 50 BALSA RACER AAU APS andspinaway! ui /session
$1400 $1465 $1892
Tax Inc $1675 / \ Tax ine $1773 Tax Inc $2290
ae
Rad
HEAD OFFICE:56 Renver Rd Clayton, Victoria, 3168 Ph: (03) 543 7877
PENTIUM MELBOURNE: 48 A’Beckett St. City. Ph:(03) 663 6151. Computers (03) 639 1640
{86DX2 66 | 486DX4 100 60MHz OAKLEIGH: 240C Huntingdale Rd. Ph: (03) 562 8939. —-Fax:(03) 562 8940
$ 1 500 $2 1 5 External 512K Caché NORTHCOTE: 423 High St. Ph: (03) 489 8866. Fax:(03) 489 8131
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Tax inc $1815 |. Tax inc $2599 2 ADELAIDE: 241-243 Wright St. Ph. (08) 2117200. — Fax:(08) 211 7273
Ab Glalomcyasiey4 SYDNEY: 74 Parramatta Rd, Stanmore. Ph: (02) 519 3888. Fax:(02) 516 5024
BLUESTAR COMPUTERS: 271 Maroondah Hwy. Ringwood Ph: (03) 870 1800
TRADING HOURS: Mon / Fri Yam - 5.30pm.Sat 9am - 1pm
Tax Exempt sales: RITRONICS WHOLESALE Ph.(03) 543 2166 Fax.(03)543 2648
MAIL ORDER: Ph:(03) 543 7877 Fax:(03) 543 8295
Mail Order Hotline 1-800 33 5757 SCGG2894
 O WHAT IS A VOX? Well, VOX
This tiny board is stands for voice-operated relay
possible so that you could install the
VOX almost anywhere. It runs from a
a voice-operated or switch. They’re most often
used in “hands-free” communication
12VDC supply and current drain is
low, about 5 to 7mA quiescent and
switch designed to such as amateur transceivers, mobile |
radios and some public address ap-
around 35mA when the relay is actu-
ated.
fit into the tightest plications. The idea behind a VOX is
Circuit description
that instead of the user pressing a
space. It uses a button on the microphone to speak The circuit for the MiniVOX is

single IC & (ie, the press-to-talk switch), the sound

of the voice is used to activate it in-
shown in Fig.1. As you can see, it is a
“bare-bones” design involving an
includes a SPDT stead. This leaves the user with an
extra hand free to sit back with scones
LM358 dual op amp (IC1), one tran-
sistor, the relay and a few other com-
12VDC relay. It and a nice cup of tea.
Our circuit uses one IC and a tiny
ponents. Voice signals are picked up
by the electret microphone and fed to
has almost no SPDT (single-pole double-throw) re- op amp IC1a. This is connected as a
non-inverting amplifier with a gain of
lay which can be used to switch on or
turn-on delay & a off just about anything you like (but 151 or +43.6dB. The 100pF capacitor
not 240V equipment). The relay we’ve across the 150kQ feedback resistor
3-second release used comes from Altronics (Cat.S- rolls off the high frequency response
time. 4140) and measures only 16 x 11 x
16mm — pretty tiny for a mechanical
above 10kHz so that there is no chance
of the circuit responding to spurious
relay with a contact rating of 2A. RF signals. |
In keeping with this, we’ve made — The output of op amp [C1a at pin 1
By DARREN YATES the rest of the circuitry as small as feeds two diodes, D1 and D2, which

Build the MiniVO

voice operated relay
function as a half-wave voltage dou-
bler. These rectify the audio signal to
produce a DC voltage across the 2.2uF
capacitor which is directly propor-
tional to the loudness of the sound
fed to the microphone.
This DC voltage is fed to the re-
maining op amp in the package (IC1b)
and this is connected as a comparator.
The DC voltage from the rectifier is
fed to pin 5 while a resistive voltage
divider applies about +2V to pin 6.
Once the DC voltage across the 2.2uF
capacitor rises above the voltage at
pin 6, pin 7 of IC1b pulls high, which
turns on transistor Q1, a BC548 NPN
type. This turns on the relay and lights
up LED 1. Q1 remains on and the
All the parts except for the electret microphone are mounted on a small PC relay is actuated while ever the DC
board. Keep the microphone well away from the board, otherwise the relay voltage at pin 5 is above the voltage at |
noise will repeatedly trigger the VOX circuit. The circuit is suitable for
pin6. Because of the high gain of op
switching low voltage equipment only (up to about 30V).

SEPTEMBER 1994 31
 »
C7 -* pa
10 PLUGPACK
10k 10k
: : 2xIN914
D2
La C
mic{ 2 ie, «¢ Ql
Die aya M “a BC548
= 100pF T 4
= = = 2.2k ~

150k :
B

Ik Ojo ba C I
K
VIEWED FROM BELOW
2.2 %
ap |
MINIVOX VOICE OPERATED RELAY
Fig.1: the circuit is based on dual op amp IC1. IC1a functions as a microphone
preamplifier & this drives a diode charge pump based on D1 & D2. When the a small PC board coded 06109941 and
voltage across the 2.2uF capacitor on D2’s cathode exceeds a preset level, pin 7 measuring 47 x 44mm. Before you
of Schmitt trigger stage IC1b switches high & turns on Q1 & the relay. begin any soldering, check the board
thoroughly for any shorts or breaks in
amp IC1a, together with the additional the copper tracks. These should be
PARTS LIST gain in the half-wave voltage doubler, repaired with a small artwork knife or
the circuit has a very fast response to a touch of the soldering iron where
1 PC board, code 06109941, audio signals. On the other hand, the appropriate.
code 47 x 44mm “release” time (the time taken for the When you're happy that everything
1 electret microphone insert relay to drop out) takes about three appears to be OK, you can start con-
1 2A SPDT relay (Altronics Cat seconds, as determined by the time struction by installing the wire link,
S-4140) constant comprising the 2.2uF capaci- followed by the resistors, diodes, ca-
Semiconductors tor shunted by the 1MQ resistor and pacitors, IC, the transistor, the LED
1 TLO72, LM358 dual op amp the threshold voltage of IC1b, as set at and finally the relay. Note that to make
(IC1) pin 6. the board as small as possible, all of
1 BC548 NPN transistor (Q1) Diode D3 is connected across the the resistors and diodes are mounted
2 1N914, 1N4148 small signal coil of the relay to protect the transis- on their ends. Each component has a
diodes (D1,D2) tor when it switches off. If the diode spacing of 0.2-inch or 5mm between
2 1N4004 rectifier diodes (D3, was not there, the inductive kickback its pins. Use the overlay wiring dia-
D4) from the relay coil when the current is gram to ensure that each component
1 red light emitting diode switched off could destroy the tran- goes into the correct position.
(LED1) sistor. You will find that the circuit works
Power for the circuit can come from best with the microphone connected
Capacitors any 12VDC source; eg, car battery, DC to the circuit via a pair of flying leads
1 10uF 25VW PC electrolytic plugpack, SLA battery — whatever you about 50mm long. Don’t make them
2 2.2uF 16VW PC electrolytic like. Diode D4 prevents reverse polar- too long otherwise the leads may pick
1 100pF ceramic ity connections from damaging the up hum. Because the relay switching
Resistors (1%, 0.25W) circuit. itself makes noise, it’s quite easy for
1 1MQ 1 2.2kQ the circuit to “chatter” because of the
Construction relay sound being picked up by the
1 150kQ 2 1kQ
3 10kQ All of the components, including mike. So keep the microphone away
the LED and the relay are installed on from the relay.

RESISTOR COLOUR CODES

J 4-Band Code (1%) 9-Band Code (1%)
=) brown black green brown brown black black yellow brown
J brown green yellow brown brown green black orange brown
J brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
QO red red red brown red red black brown brown
I brown black red brown | brown black black brown brown

32 SILICON CHIP
 Another place for experi-

Fig.2 (left): some of the parts on the PC board are mounted “end-on” to save space, as
shown on this wiring diagram. Fig.3 at right shows the full-size PC etching pattern.
Don’t forget to include the PC stakes
as well. These will make it much easier
for you to solder the connecting leads
to the board.
Installation
You can easily install the board in
existing equipment wherever you can
find enough room and a suitable
12VDC supply. | the circuit to one which should suit
When the unit is powered up, the
quiescent current should be around
5-7mA, increasing to around 35mA
with the relay in action. If it is sub-
stantially more than this, switch off
oe
mentation is in the threshold
resistors. By adjusting the
10kQ and 2.2kQ resistors, you
can adjust the threshold or
more importantly, the on and
off delay times. Having a higher
threshold voltage will mean
06109941 that the circuit takes longer to
switch on for some sounds and
will switch off sooner whereas
a lower threshold voltage
(achieved by reducing the
2.2kQ resistor) would result in
a very quick on time and a
longer release time.
immediately and check your circuit You could also use this circuit as a
against the overlay diagram for possi- very simple front door light whereby
ble errors. | a sound triggers the relay to switch on
a 12VDC light globe for say 30 sec-
Experimentation onds. You could adapt the circuit to
This circuit provides plenty of pos- do this by simply replacing the 2.2uF
sibilities for experimentation. By us- capacitor with a 10uF capacitor and
ing a 150kQ feedback resistor with increasing the 1MQ resistor to around
IC1a, we have fixed the sensitivity of 3.3MQ. The light globe connects to
the relay outputs.
‘most people. Alternatively, you could Again, you can adjust the sensitivity
replace this feedback resistor with a so that the circuit picks up sounds
200kQ logarithmic pot which will al- close to your front door and ignores
low you to vary the sensitivity over a cars passing in the street. Why not
wide range. give itatry? SC

ANTRIM
TOROIDAL TRANSFORMERS
Rush into David Reid's for
a heartstopping deal !

» Like a20MHzCro for under

$400
Ci1-118A 2OMHz 2 channel Crowith Probes
Bandwidth: DC to 2OMHz
Deflection: 5mYto 10V/DIV.
Time Base: O.2us to 50me/DIV.
Includes 2x 1:110:1 Probes.
12 months warranty.*
Made in USSR.
@ Now made in Australia.
® Standard range 15VA to 2kVA.
@ Large ex-stock quantities available.
Only $399
Plus $10.00 P+P for Mailorders
® Competitive pricing available for OEMs & resellers.
®@ Simply the best transformers all round.
David Reid 127 York St, Sydney 2000
HARBUCH ELECTRONICS PTY LTD Electronics °©80x 0103, Sydney 2000
ACN: 001372372 py. Ph: (02) 267 1385 Fax: (02) 261 8905
40 Leighton Place, Hornsby NSW 2077 * Warranty clalrns aredealtdirecttoVideotron P/L(Adelaide). Dataits given upon purchase. Receipt must accompany goods forwarranty claim.
Phone (02) 476 5854 ‘Fax (02) 476 3231

SEPTEMBER 1994 33
Night viewers are not new but those
presented in magazines in the
past have really needed an
infrared source to enable
them to see well in the
dark. With the design
presented here, it is

possible to see just by the

light of stars. In fact, you

can even use the tubes

featured here for astronomy.

By LEO SIMPSON

Lift the veil of darkness with an

Image Intensified
Night Viewer
This project employs a 25mm or
40mm 3-stage fibre optically coupled
image intensifier tube. The resultant
cascaded tube has a typical luminous
gain of over 50,000. If all that seems a
mouthful it is because it embraces
some pretty fancy technology which
is still not available to some coun-
tries.
Image intensifier and image con-
verter tubes operate on the same prin-
ciple. An image is focused by an ex-
ternal lens onto the photocathode tar-
get of the tube and this cathode emits
electrons in response to the incident
photons. The electrons are then accel-
erated by a cone-shaped electrode to
strike a luminescent screen. Because
each photon landing on the photo-
cathode target ultimately gives rise to
many photons from the luminescent
screen, the result is a gain in lumi-
nous intensity.
In the tubes being discussed for this
project, the photocathode responds to
the infrared region of the spectrum
while the luminescent screen has
TOP OF PAGE: at night, vegetation
which is in complete darkness can be
seen in intricate detail on the green
screen of the Night Viewer. This
simulated shot does not show the
distortion at the edges of the screen
which is really only apparent as you
pan the Night Viewer across the scene.

34 SILICON CHIP
This is a 25mm version of the Night Viewer, with all components sprayed black.
Note that the Night Viewer must only be used in the dark.
green phosphor (much like the screen
of an oscilloscope) and so the image is
green. Hence, this sort of tube is also
referred to as an “image converter”.
The photocathode is actually spheri-
cal in section, deposited on the inside
face of the window. Ideally, the lumi-
nescent screen should have the same
radius of curvature as the photo-
cathode but in practice, a flat screen is
used. This results in image distortion
(stretching) at the edges of the screen.
The cone shaped electrode is held at
the same high voltage as the screen
and the voltage between the photo-
cathode and the screen is typically
12kV to 15kV.
Typical single stage image convert-
complexity of the cascaded tube con-
struction, small blemishes were ac-
ceptable even in new tubes. | eyepiece is removed, the screen of the
Several different tubes are available.
for this project, 25mm and 40mm in
screen diameter. Whichever one is
used, an input lens fits at the front of
the case, arranged so it focuses the
scene onto the cathode of the imaging
tube. Therefore, the lens serves the
same purpose as in a camera and the
type of lens is chosen for the applica-
tion, just as it would be for a camera.
You can have a wide-angle lens for
close-up work, a telephoto lens for
distance viewing or even a zoom lens.
In order to maximise the light being
transferred from the scene to the tube,
fast (large aperture) lenses should be
used. The prototype unit pictured in
this article employs a 100mm f2 lens.
The prototype unit also employs a
low cost dual lens magnifier. If the
imaging tube can be photographed or
videotaped.
These tubes don’t need much light
to operate. 100 millilux (one tenth ofa
lux) is the maximum recommended
exposure. The life of a tube is reduced
with prolonged exposure to this light
level. The tube can produce a useful
output down to 500 microlux (0.0005
lux). Starlight is about 0.001 lux. In
comparison, modern colour TV cam-
eras need about 2 lux and most sensi-
tive monochrome TV cameras need at
least 0.1 lux.

Cs
ers give a luminous gain of about 75
and in practice, if they are to be used SCREENS
for effective night time viewing, they PHOTOCATHODE
need an infrared light source to illu-
minate the scene. For an image con-
verter to be really effective, it needs
two or three stages, as depicted in
Fig.1. Here, the screen of the first con-
Wi
tT]
iiitirrmennnn
verter is used as the image input to the
photocathode of the second converter
and so on. The coupling between
CEN
BETSAe ae,
stages is in the form of plano-concave CONE-SHAPE FIBRE-OPTIC
ELECTRODE WINDOWS |
fibre optic lenses.
Fig.1: a 3-stage image converter tube has each section linked
The tubes supplied for this project together by fibre optic couplings to markedly increase the
are used and may have some small luminous gain. :
but negligible blemishes. Due to the
SEPTEMBER 1994 35
 C3-C14 220pF-.001 5kV
hot wh at ee ee eB D3-D14 BY509
|
|
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C13 Zee
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ee
Cae

RI
1502
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|
DI2, A dil 10

2 |

$1
|
l +13.5kV
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ny 0000
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| IN4148 NC
-13.5kV
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TES NOP ara PLA iss ee RD
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GND

VIEWED FROM PASSIVE NIGHT VIEWER POWER SUPPLY

sis KAG
Fig.2: the EHT supply for the Night Viewer has three sections: a ringing choke
inverter involving transformer T1, a capacitor discharge converter involving The resulting AC voltage at the pri-
SCR1 & transformer T2, & the voltage triplers. mary of T1 is stepped up by the sec-
ondary and is rectified by diode D2.
Just to give some idea of how sensi- of about 12-15kV but the current This diode charges capacitor C2 via
tive these tubes are, we used the pro- needed is low, less than 10 microamps. the primary winding of transformer
totype to look at the night time sky The circuit for the supply produces T2. When the voltage across C2 ex-
and found that it really accentuated an EHT voltage of around +13.5kV ceeds the breakdown voltage of the
the detail in the Milky Way! | when powered from a 9V battery. Cur- two series-connected neon lamps, NE1
65mm plastic tubing is used to rent drain is about 14mA, giving a and NE2, (around 150V) the neons
house the 25mm image converter useful life of around 20 hours from a turn on. This triggers the C106D SCR,
tubes, while 90mm stormwater plas- standard battery or about 60 hours and C2 is quickly discharged through
tic tubing is used for the 40mm units. from an alkaline battery. the SCR via the primary winding of
These plastic tubes, their matching The circuit. of Fig.2 has dives SeC- T2. Once the capacitor is discharged,
joiners and end caps, are readily avail- tions: the inverter, the converter and the neons go out, the SCR turns off
able from plumbing suppliers. the voltage triplers. The inverter sec- and the charge cycle starts again.
The resultant dimensions of the tion is a ringing choke oscillator con- During the discharge cycle of C2, a
fully constructed night viewers are sisting of transformer T1, R1, D1 and high-voltage pulse with a peak-to-peak
approximately 70mm outer diameter transistor Q1. Resistor R1 provides voltage of 4.5kV is produced at the
and 180mm long for the 25mm ver- bias current to make the oscillator secondary of trigger transformer T2.
sion, and 90mm diameter and 280mm start, and also supplies feedback to This pulse is applied to two separate -
long for the 40mm version. maintain oscillation. Diode D1 pro- 3-stage Cockroft-Walton voltage tripler
tects the base-emitter junction of Q1 circuits. The tripler made up by di-
Required circuitry when the base voltage swings nega- odes D4-D9 and capacitors C4-C9 pro-
As already noted, an image con- tive. The oscillator operates at around duces -13.5kV. Another tripler made
verter requires a high voltage supply 120Hz, set mainly by the transformer. up by diodes D10-D15 and capacitors —

cuc ) ci3( ci) Fig.3: everything

[SBOP
except the voltage
triplers is mounted on
a small PC board
measuring 50 x 28mm.
. mm cio( ) co) The triplers are hard-
wired & then potted in
neutral-cure silicone
sealant although this
ae or Cele step does not take
place until after the

xOOvy
ES sm
circuit is tested &
connected to the image
converter tube.
hoevsce)

GND

36 SILICON CHIP
This photo of the Night Viewer shows the wiring inside the plastic case before
the triplers are potted.
C1i0-C15 produces +13.5kV. Voltage
regulation is achieved by the neons,
as the voltage applied to the primary
of T2 is constant at 150V peak. The
circuit will produce a relatively con-
stant output for a DC input voltage
from 7-12V.
Circuit construction
Everything except the voltage
triplers is mounted on a small PC
board measuring 50 x 28mm. The wir-
ing diagram is shown in Fig.3. This
board is mounted, together with the
triplers, in a standard plastic utility
box measuring 130 x 68 x 43mm. The
triplers are hard-wired and then pot-
ted in neutral-cure silicone sealant
although this step does not take place
until after the circuit is tested and
connected to the image converter tube.
Several points must be watched
during assembly of the PC board: (1)
Make sure the metal side of the SCR
faces towards the centre of the board;
(2) Make sure that the polarity of di-
odes D1 and D2 and capacitor C1 is
correct; and (3) Resistor R1 is installed
“end-on”.
The two triplers are hard-wired as
shown in Fig.3. Their wiring should
be kept as compact as possible. A lead
length of 5mm for all components is
OK. Note that the polarity of the di-
odes is different in the two triplers.
With the circuitry complete you can
proceed to a test, before any connec-
tions are made to the image converter
tube. The test can be done before the
tripler sections are potted but note
that only one tripler section can actu-
ally be connected at a time in this no-
load condition. Having a supply pro-
duce +13.5kV is possible in free air
but a total of 30kV is not.
When you switch on the power with
either of the triplers connected, it is
most likely that there will be some
corona discharge around the tripler
diodes.. This won’t damage anything
but keep a safe distance from this part
of the circuit. The current drawn from
the battery should be about 14mA. Ifa
wire connected to the circuit earth is
placed close to the relevant EHT out-
put lead, you should be able to obtain
sparks up to about 5mm long. After
the battery is disconnected, you
The 3-stage image tube is sup
metalwork is connected to the EHT supply and therefore must be fully isolated
so that no user contact is possible in the finished Night Viewer.
should connect the earth wire directly
to the EHT output in order to dis-
charge all the capacitors.
Note that when the circuit is work-
ing, you will not see the neons light.
This is because of the short duty cycle
— you will only see the neons glow
when you look at them in the dark.
Ifthe circuit does not work try meas-
uring the AC voltage at the base of Q1;
it should be around 0.45V RMS meas-
ured with a digital multimeter. The
AC voltage measured at the cathode
of D2 is about 45V RMS measured
with a digital multimeter. Don’t try
measuring the EHT voltages unless
you have a suitable EHT probe, other-
wise you will damage your meter.
If all is well with the preliminary
tests, you can proceed to finish the
project.
As supplied, the image converter
comes prewired. You will need to
mount the image converter in the plas-
SEPTEMBER 1994 37
 PARTS LIST
1 prewired 3-stage image
intensifier tube
1 objective lens (see text)
1 eyepiece lens (see text)
1 PC board coded OATLEY JM
2 neon lamps (NE1, NE2)
1 inverter transformer (T1)
1 trigger transformer (T2)
1 9V battery and snap connector
1 miniature SPDT toggle switch
3 22kQ 0.25W 5% resistors
This little jig, made of two pieces of scrap PC board, simplifies the hard-wiring 1 150Q 0.25W 5% resistor
of the two triplers. The hot melt glue is used to pot the tripiers after they are
Semiconductors
wired into circuit.
1 2N2219 NPN transistor (Q1)
1 C106D SCR (SCR1)
1 1N4148 signal diode (D1)
1 1N4007 1A diode (D2)
12 BY509 or equivalent 8kV
3mA diodes (D3-D14)
Capacitors
1 100uF 25V electrolytic
1 0.47uF 350V polyester
12 220pF to .001u.F 5kV ceramic
Miscellaneous
Silicone sealant, epoxy
adhesive, hot melt glue, hook-up
wire, solder, plastic tubing &
fittings, galvanised steel tubing.

A close-up view of the completed EHT supply, showing how the triplers are prevent any user contact with exposed
potted with hot melt glue in a compartment at the end of the plastic box. metal which is connected to the out-
puts of the triplers.
tic tube, as shown in Fig.4. This shows used for gluing plastic sewer and However, before you do any work
the image converter tube suspended stormwater fittings). with glues or sealants, you must drill
in the plastic tube which is fitted with At the ends of the plastic tube, the holes in the plastic tubing, the metal
a sleeve of galvanised steel, held in image converter tube should be sealed sleeve and the plastic case, to allow
place with the plastic fittings. These into place using hot melt glue or sili- the three wires to pass through and
fittings will ultimately be glued into cone sealant. This will do two things: connect to the outputs of the triplers.
place using plumbers’ PVC glue (as support the tube mechanically and Naturally, these holes must line up
precisely.
After the holes have been drilled,
the plastic box is glued to the plastic
Where to buy a kit ring at the objective lens end of the
This project is available in kit form from Oatley Electronics, PO Box 89, Oatley, tube housing. You can use plumbers’
NSW 2223. Phone (02) 579 4985; Fax (02) 570 7910 PVC glue for this job but the box will
A kit comprising a 25mm prewired 3-stage image converter tube, plastic pipe need to be held in place temporarily
and fittings for the tube case, metal X-ray shield sleeve and the EHT power with strong adhesive tape. After the
supply kit is available for $290 plus $10 for postage and packing. The same kit PVC glue has set, some hot melt glue
for a 40mm image converter is $390 plus $10 for postage and packing. Also can be used to fill the join between the
available is a suitable eyepiece lens for $18 and an objective lens for $75. The plastic box and the metal sleeve.
plastic box for the power supply is $4. Payment may be made by cheque, postal That done, connect the triplers and
money order or credit card. mount them at one end of the plastic
Oatley Electronics also have cheaper kits with single stage image intensifier box and partition it off with a piece of
tubes. For further details, contact Oatley Electronics. plastic as shown in one of the photos.
Note: copyright of the PC board for this project is owned by Oatley Electronics. Then fill the tripler compartment with
hot melt glue.

38 SILICON CHIP
 2mm FOR
PROTOTYPE —

40mm FOR
PROTOTYPE
No.2032-10
OBJECTIVE
LENS
65mm STORM "PEAK"
10x
PLALUPE
PROTOTYPE
EYEPIECE
WATER PIPE

65mm STORM WATER SHORT TUBE CUT METAL X-RAY SHIELD an5mm STORM WATER
PIPE END CAP FROM A 66mm STORM PIPE END CAP
WATER PIE JOINER
Fig.4: the image converter tube is suspended in a plastic tube which is fitted with a sleeve of galvanised steel which
functions as an X-ray shield. OPI
Ss
8fees
Re
Tn
ea
RE
IE

-13.5kV GND +13.5kV

TUBE 1 TUBE 3

CATHODE
END END
ANODE
SCREEN
OF
END
TUBE
OBJECTIVE
LENS
OF
END
TUBE

Fig.5: this diagram shows how the tube sections are wired to the EHT supply. —

Mount the PC board and the battery

in the plastic box — they can each be
secured simply by pressing them into
a small blob of Bostik Blu-Tack adhe-
sive. Remember to connect the switch
in series with the 150Q resistor and >
the battery snap before mounting these
_two components.
Finally, you will need to glue your
objective lens and eyepiece lens to.
the PVC end caps and these can be
secured to the c mpleted tube assem- —
bly with small self-tapping screws.
You are now ready to use your com-
pleted Night Viewer. Remember to
avoid the temptation to test or use the
Night Viewer during the day time.
Using it under daylight or in brightly
lit rooms will damage the tube. Keep a
lens cap on the objective lens when >
not in use as this will also protect the
lens from damage. The prototype was
sprayed with black paint to finish it
off. SC

SEPTEMBER 1994 39
A popular superstition when I was a youngster
was that various calamities — natural or man-
made — always happened in threes. Well, that
was according to the adults who knew all about
these things. I never did believe it but a recent
experience does have me wondering a little.
The story is really about video re- fered lightning strikes. See what |
corders; and I use the plural term de- mean! : the way he spoke that he firmly be-
liberately because it involves no less The first one was a Panasonic NV-
that four machines, all of the same J1A, a run-of-the-mill model now
brand — but different models — which about four years old and no longer in
turned up on the bench in quick suc- production. It is owned by one of my
cession. And three of them had suf- regular customers who, incidentally,
t ‘
gf. -° ‘
a vl ai \\
a Rta Bd,
hoe
HE DIDN'T ARGUE...
40 SILICON CHIP
is something of a computer buff, a
point of some interest as it transpired.
He came into the workshop one
morning, pushed the machine across
the counter with the cover removed
and said, “Will you put a fuse in it. It’s
stopped and the fuse is blown”, point- —
ing to the offending component.
Well, he wasn’t wrong; one glance
at the blackened glass was enough to
confirm that. But it was obvious from
lieved that the fuse was the only thing
wrong. And when I gently suggested
that this was an effect, rather than a
cause, he was quite reluctant to ac-
cept the idea.
There is only one answer in such
cases. I fished out an appropriate re-
placement, fitted it and applied power.
Splat! — one fuse destroyed. After that,
he didn’t argue. But it was only then
that he told me about the storm and
the fact that his power main had ap-
parently been struck.
And so he agreed to leave the ma-
chine with me. But I warned him that,
if he was lucky, the damage would be
confined to the power supply. If he
wasn’t, it could be a lot more serious.
I didn’t attack it immediately. There
were other jobs ahead of it, the owner
had indicated that he was not in a
hurry, and I was not at all familiar
with this power supply. I had a manual
but had not had occasion to service
this section before. All I knew was
that it appeared to be fairly conven-
tional switchmode supply.
Strike two
In any case, before I could get it on
the bench, what should turn up but
another Panasonic recorder; an NV-
FS90A. This is a very much up-mar-
ket Super VHS model, with all the
bells and whistles one can imagine —
and a price tag to match. But for all
that, its power supply is almost iden-
tical with the NV-J1A. | }
And it had also suffered a lightning
strike; not from the same storm but
 Pl orxf
BmSec 6Vp-p
AC INLET
P1102
¥JS2625
F1101
Cil09, 400V1
250VT1.6A A 1102
ELF I8D290A R1102
56K §2.0
©
R1103

3
|
470K
56K
L1101 A
ELFI80221F RY
(200V) wv
0.22
C1101 5
Ss
“1
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1¢1101 STROBO08x

330K
R1101 01107
¥ MALES

Fig.1: the power supply circuit for the Panasonic NV-FS90A video recorder. The components to be checked out
included the mains fuse (F1101), the bridge rectifier (D1102), the starter circuit across the output of the bridge
rectifier, the auto voltage selector IC (IC1101), and safety resistor R1125. |

from one a couple of days later. In this
case, however, there were no obvious
symptoms and the fuse was still in-
tact. Its owner was anxious to get it
fixed as quickly as possible.
In all these circumstances, I decided
to let the FS90A jump the queue. Af-
ter all, Ihad to familiarise myself with
the power supply on one machine or
the other, so it mightas well be on the
more urgent one.
The power supply is a self-con-
tained unit which is housed in a metal
box. It sits in the rear lefthand corner else could have been damaged? The
and is easily removed by undoing a
few screws. The box itself measures
about 150 x 50 x 65mm and the bot-
tom cover can be sprung off quite
_ easily, although the top can present
problems.
Not all models have the same top.
- Some, including these two models,
cover all the box and are quite easy to
remove. In other models, they are only shown within the IC, I suspected that
about 50mm long and are quite tricky
to remove. To make matters
there is nothing in the manual cover-
ing this procedure. | Like the NV-FS90A, it would almost
The secret liesunder a small plastic
label, marked “AC IN”. This can be
peeled off and it is then possible to
see how the cover and body are slot-
ted together. In all models, the con-
struction is quite compact and this
makes them a little difficult to work
on but not seriously so.
As I have already noted, the mains
fuse (F1101) was intact and there were
no other visible signs of damage. Well,
it didn’t take long to establish that
bridge rectifier D1102 was open cir-
cuit; a rather strange fault in the cir-.
cumstances — I would have expected
a short circuit.
Anyway, that’s how it was. And,
since I didn’t carry this item in stock,
it would have to be ordered. But what
next major component after the bridge
rectifier is a small IC (IC1101), which
is described as an auto voltage selec-
tor — more about this later.
There was no conclusive way to
test this IC without a new rectifier but
I made a few resistance measurements
across the appropriate pins and, judg-
ing by the transistor configurations
it may be faulty also. So that was
worse, added to the order list.
So what about the NV-J1A machine?
certainly need some replacement
parts. Closer examination revealed one
important difference between the
FS90A and the J1A; the J1A was fitted
with a protective thermistor (D1101)
across the mains, a refinement the
FS90A lacked, in spite of its up-mar-
ket price tag. I hoped that this might
have prevented further damage.
And yes, this had broken down and
taken out the fuse. So maybe that was
all that was needed. I had a replace-
ment on hand, fitted it, and tried again.
No joy; another fuse for the garbage
bin.
I moved on to the bridge rectifier
and confirmed that this was the real
culprit — it had broken down. So an-
other bridge was added to the order.
Next to consider was the auto voltage
selector IC, which was a different type
from that in the FS90A. Because the
J1A had apparently suffered a heavier
wallop than the FS90A, I also ordered
a replacement for this IC, just in case.
So the order was duly despatched
and a couple,of days later I had the
spares on the bench. Naturally, I went
straight to the FS90A and fitted the
new rectifier. I made a quick check
but no joy. Well, I’d suspected the
auto voltage IC anyway and it was
easy to fit the new one, so that was the
next step. In fact, when I pulled the
old one out and compared measure-
ments with the new one, my suspi-
cions were confirmed.
Unfortunately, when the new one
was fitted there was still no response,
so it was back to basics. Measuring

SEPTEMBER 1994 41

I BEGAN DIGGING
WTO THE CIRCUIT...
across the bridge rectifier showed
300V plus, which seemed logical, and
so I moved on to pins 3 and 4 of the
auto voltage selector IC, which should
have had essentially the same voltage
between them. In fact, it was zero.
From there it was no great effort to
find the culprit. R1125, a 2.2Q safety
resistor in the negative line from the
rectifier, was open circuit. Well, that
was no great problem; 2.2Q safety re-
sistors are a readily available compo-—
nent and I always have stock on hand.
A new one was fitted and the ma-
chine came to life. A thorough workout
confirmed that all functions were per-
forming correctly and I gave the ma-
chine the usual clean and lube rou-
tine before ringing the owner with the
good news. | “You fit a Panasonic type and you
A nasty bounce
He came in the following morning,
which was a Saturday, and collected
it. And I naturally assumed that that
was end of that story. Not so — he was
on the phone first thing Monday morn-
ing with the bad news. The thing was
dead at first switch-on.
It wasn’t a good way to start the
week. All I could do was ask him to
bring it back in and assure him that I
would sort it out.
Back on the bench, it didn’t take
long to find the reason; the 2.2Q safety
resistor I had fitted had failed. I could
find no obvious reason for this, so I
fitted another one, switched on, and
the machine came good. | put it
through several on/off cycles — the
previous failure had obviously oc-
curred at switch-on — and it came
good every time.
42 SILICON CHIP
DEEPER.
I left it for a while to attend to other
jobs, then tried again. Bingo! It was
completely dead. And yes, it was the
2.2Q. resistor. But why?
With no obvious clues I realised I
needed help. I could spend a week
trying to puzzle this out and more
than likely be no further advanced at
the end of that time. I rang one of my
contacts at Panasonic and put the
problem to him.
His reaction was immediate. “What
kind of safety resistor are you using?”
I replied that it was a standard 2.2Q
1W type such as one buys at the (elec-
tronic) lolly shop; the kind of thing
everyone uses.
“But not from Panasonic?”
“No — does that matter?”
wont have any more trouble.”
Sensing a certain amount of incre-
dulity on my part, he went on to spell
out the difference (more on that in a
moment). In any case, I had little op-
tion; I ordered the type he nominated
— several, in fact — and when they
came to hand fitted one to the FS90A.
And that really was the end of it; the
machine has given no further trouble.
The crucial difference
So what is so magical about the
Panasonic component? It is a wire
wound type, as distinct from the more
usual metallised types. And, although
it is rated at only 1W, as are the other
types, it is capable of withstanding a
much heavier switch-on surge. And
this particular power supply does have
a heavy switch-on surge. This, in turn,
is a byproduct of the auto voltage se-
lector system.
So that was something I had learned
— the hard way — and is well worth
jotting down for future reference. It
could save an embarrassing bounce.
Back to the JiA
In the meantime, I had gone back to
the J1A. I had already replaced the
thermistor, established that the bridge
rectifier had failed, and suspected that
the auto voltage selector IC might be
faulty. In fact, this latter suspicion
proved to be correct.
So the rectifier and IC were replaced
and, on a hunch, I checked the 2.2Q
safety resistor. Iwasn’t really.surprised
to find it had failed and was grateful
that I had the correct replacement type
on hand. 7
And with all that attended to, the
machine came to life. More impor-
tantly, it operated in all modes — an
important point, because lightning
strikes don’t always stop at the power
supply. They can pick on odd compo-
nents anywhere in the system and
create faults which can be very diffi-
cult to track down.
So the owners of both the FS90A
and the JiA were lucky; the damage
in either case could have been much
more serious.
Strike three
Machine number three was an NV-
FS65A. It had also suffered a light-
ning strike and, as it transpired, had
suffered more damage that the other
two. And, of course, with the first two
under my belt, I was feeling pretty
cocky about this one, the power sup-
ply being essentially the same.
But pride goes before a fall. I went
through the same routine: the fuse,
the rectifier, the safety resistor and
the IC, all of which needed replace-
ment. But it still wouldn’t deliver volt-
age and I began digging deeper into
the circuit.
I didn’t have much luck initially.
Panasonic suggested some likely com-
ponents to be either tested or replaced,
as did a colleague who was also famil-
iar with these units. But none of the
' suggestions helped.
So I was at a temporary dead end. I
say temporary, because I was quite
confident that I could track down the
trouble, given time.
But the owner had other ideas. He
called in to see how things were going
and I told him quite frankly that the
job had proved far more difficult than
 AC INLET
P1102
rio. A
250VT1.68
D110!
E>
£nB461D-05A
A
il
C1104
¥CCO019
Fig.2: the power supply for the
Panasonic NV-J1A video recorder is
basically similar to that in the FS90A
but also features a surge protection
thermistor (D1101).
I had originally anticipated.
“Well,” he said. “What about fitting
a new power supply?”
This was the last thing I would
have suggested. I told him that yes, I
could do that, but it would prove pretty
expensive.
He shrugged his ‘shoulders. “Hang
the expense. If that will solve the prob-
lem, go ahead and fit it”.
So that’s what was done. In fact,
Panasonic didn’t supply a complete
replacement; just a new board to fit in
the metal case. And that put the ma-
chine back in operation. ; think.
But while having the machine fixed
was gratifying in one sense, it was
somewhat frustrating in another. I was
still keen to know what the problem
really was and anticipated that I could
probably retain the old board and solve
the puzzle at my leisure. But that was
not to be either. Before I could even
raise the matter the owner indicated
that he wanted to take it and, since it
was his property, there was nothing I
could do about it.
So that one must remain a mystery.
Surge protectors
Still on the subject of lightning
strikes, I mentioned earlier that the circuits used in TV sets. And a com-
owner of the J1A was a keen computer - mon fault is an open circuit or high
‘buff. The significance of this is that he value resistor.
had become more than usually aware
of the risk of power line surges, of
whatever origin, to his precious com-
puter equipment.
As a result, he had fitted surge pro- and checked it, I could get no reading
tectors to most of his power outlets,
including the one normally used for
the video recorder. So the recorder
had two levels of protection; its own
thermistor across the mains and the
SATELLITE
surge protector at the power point.
Yet it was still damaged.
On the other hand, nothing else in
the house was damaged, nor was there SUPPLIES
any indication that any of the surge
protectors had been activated. And by
“activated” I mean destroyed because,
Aussat systems
as far as I know, all these surge protec- from under $850
tors are sacrificial devices; once acti-
vated they have to be replaced. SATELLITE RECEIVERS FROM $280
LNB’s Kur FROM cesesscsssssssssssssseesnens $229
Machine number 4
LNB?s C FROM cccessossssscesessssscsnscers $330
Machine number four was a model
NV-L20 and it came in shortly after FEEDHORNS Ku BAND FROM ..... $45
the first three. It was completely dead FEEDHORNS C.BAND FROM ....... $95
also but there was no suggestion of a
lightning strike. On the other hand,
the failure did look as though it might
be linked to a mains shut-down, at
least indirectly.
As the owner explained, the ma-
chine had been operating normally
immediately prior to a planned main-
tenance shut-down by the supply au-
thorities. All householders had been
| warned and there was no great hassle
involved.
However, when power was restored
a couple of hours later, the machine
was dead. I didn’t attach much impor-
tance to this initially, writing it off as
mere coincidence. And it might have
been too but what I found made me
RAO ARO
O ARE se ctenmsdnamnns
init
| —?
With the previous jobs still fresh in
my mind I went through the power LOTS OF OTHER ITEMS
supply in short order; the fuse, safety FROM COAXIAL CABLE,
resistor, and rectifier were all intact, DECODERS, ANGLE ME-
with the usual 300V plus out of the TERS, IN-LINE COAX AMPS,
rectifier. Nor could I find anything PAY-TV DECODER FOR
obviously wrong with the voltage se- JAPANESE, NTSC TO PAL
lector IC. TRANSCODERS, E-PAL
With all those items cleared, suspi- DECODERS, PLUS MANY
cion fell on the starter network. This MORE
consists of four resistors (R1102,
R1103, R1123, and R1124) across the For a free catalogue, fill in & mail
rectifier output and a ipF 400V or fax this coupon.
electrolytic capacitor from the junc-
tion of R1103 and R1123. The arrange-
ment is broadly similar to many starter o Please send me a free catalog
on your satellite systems.
j Name:
In this case, however, all the resis- Street:
tors checked out OK, leaving the ca-
Suburb:
pacitor as the prime suspect. And so
it proved to be. When I pulled it out P/code Phone
at all on the capacitance meter. L&M Satellite Supplies
So that was an easy one; a new 33-35 Wickham Rd, Moorabin 3189
capacitor and the machine came good. Ph (03) 553 1763; Fax (03) 532 2957 |
I gave it a routine clean and lube and
SEPTEMBER 1994 43
 SERVICEMAN’S LOG - CTD

returned it to the customer.

But where did the mains shut-down
come into this? I have no doubt that
the capacitor was on its last legs any-
way and it is important to appreciate
that power is applied to this part of
the circuit at all times, whether the
machine is being used or not. Only
when power is turned of at the mains
is the voltage across the capacitor re-
moved.
My theory is that this voltage con-
tributed to a certain amount of “form-
ing” of the capacitor — enough to main-
tain a small amount of capacitance
which was sufficient to allow the sys-
tem to start. Removing this voltage for
a couple of hours was the last straw
that sank the camel’s hump. But, of
course, it’s only a theory.

Auto voltage selector

Finally, this might be as good a time
as any to expand on the auto voltage
selector system. It is designed to al-
low the machine to work on a very
wide range of voltages, although there
is no mention of this in the manual.
The specifications simply say “230-
240V, AC, 50-60Hz.”
However, a practical test confirmed
that it can be plugged into 110V (which
I have available in the workshop) and
still operate quite normally, without
any adjustments.
There is nothing especially new
about this concept; it has been around
in many TV sets for several years now,
although the particular circuit con-
figuration was new to me. Also, it is
- not something we think much about
THE LAST STRAW THAT
SANK THE CAMEL’S HUMP...
in this country, being blessed with a
240V 50Hz standard which is used
virtually everywhere throughout the
continent.
But from a manufacturing and mar-
keting pointof view, the advantages
are obvious. Not only does the one
power supply suit all countries but it
is even useful within some countries.
This would be particularly so in coun-
tries like Japan, which has a variety of
power supply systems in different ar-
eas. While the 110V 60Hz system is
the one most commonly used, many
areas use 220V 50Hz.
Talso understand that there aresome |
220V 60Hz and 110V 50Hz systems. It
all adds up to a real nightmare, not
only for manufacturers and distribu-
tors but also for consumers who wish
to move from one area to another. And
to further complicate matters, the same
type of power outlets are often used
for both voltage systems. It doesn’t
take much imagination to visualise
the problems this can cause. Sc

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44 SILICON CHIP
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The principle of this system is known as “volumetric”. If this is the first you have heard of the term, it
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The Castle Keeper is the easiest home alarm to install we have ever sold. There are no wires to
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Full details will be released next month. These speakers will be on demonstration in all Jaycar stores.
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Speakers/crossovers - pair Speakers/crossovers - pair
Cat. CS-2530 $399.00 Cat. CS-2520 $229.00
Cabinets - built - pair Cabinets - built - pair
Cat. CS-2532 $290.00 Cat. CS-2522 $170.00
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These boxes are made in the UK. They are made from | SAV
ABS and have a precision fitting moulded lid with $SSS$§
anrelui(el-cem iam olur-igics-mco me:|.¢cmbalcit-lmtalecr-(emerelelaliciecieiald We have made a massive scoop
screws. There are slots in the sides to take PCBs. These are - purchase, and bought all the stock from g
much less than normal price. Normal prices : the old Crusader Electronics. Presented here is a range of
listed are approximates. : = UK made quality instrument cases, and multipurpose
SIZE 1 - 100(L) X 50(W) X 25(D)mm , boxes. There is only small quantities of some of the sizes
2 SO be quick. In some cases there are mixed colours of the
Colours - white and orange Cat. HB-5500 same box under the one catalogue number. You can
NORMALLY $5.50 NOW $2.95 4 request a colour, but if it is not available we will supply
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Colours - grey Cat. HB-5501
NORMALLY $6.00 Ne) $3.95 : — ABS boxes with aluminium front panels.
SIZE 3 - 120(L) X 65(W) X 40(D)jmm - A - 170(W)x143(D)x3 2(HF)x56(HB)mm
Colours - white & orange Cat. HB-5502 J} {Colours - orange, blue and grey Cat. HB-5510
NO) VER AYA LOIN)ACY Oye) _ NORMALLY ABOUT $12 NOW $7.95
SIZE 4 - 150(L) X 80(W) X 50(D) mm : B - 170(W)x214(D)x32(HF)x82(HB)mm
Colours - white Cat. HB-5503 | Colours - grey Cat. HB-5511
NORMALLY $8.00 NOW $5.50 _ ~ BINORMALLY ABOUT $17 NOW $12.95
SIZE 5 - 190(L) X T110(W) X 60(D)mm C - 161(W)x96(D)x39(HF)x57(HB)mm
White, blue, orange & grey Cat. HB-5504. : Colours - orange, blueand grey Cat. HB-5512
NORMALLY $12.00 NOW $7.95 NORMALLY ABOUT $10 NOW $5.95 [aa
SIZE 6 - 190(L) X 110(W) X 90(D)mm — §]D - 215(W)x130(D)x47(HF)x73(HB)mm
Colours - white, blue & grey Cat. HB-5505 _ weell |Colours - orange and blue Cat. HB-5513
NO
SIZE 7 - 190(L) X TIO(W) X 90(D)mm - with a clear fey)
NORMALLY ABOUT $15 NOW $9.95
Colours- white, blue & orange
Cat. HB-5506 NORMALLY $14.00 NOW $8. oa
SIZE 8 - 250(L) X 200(W) X 65(D)mm If you ever dub from one video to another with
Colours -grey differing machines, this kit is a must. It even includes
| : | Scart plugs. The kit includes: ¢2 - Scart plugs with 6
Cat. HB-5507 NORMALLY $23.00 NOW $14.95 pin Din sockets on the back (one audio/video in, the
other out) °1 - 6 pin Din to Din lead - length 1.5
DISCO TURNTABLE BARGAIN metres : -6 sin Dinaber to 3 x RCA plugleads -
We have an eyccs AIUALel MeUo melme malelame Wellinvmeltyeewe length 200mm #2-5 pin Din plugs to 2x RCA
UvTialrele)(-Mem olcoliomealPm Rolple
fo pwataaoltaame lelelui
taijimmm sockets-length 200mm +1 - 6 pin Din socket to 8
The l(-weme dealers!
le Colada alemeselaiselel-me
Normal
lela murei meiZolllelel elgg
price about $500. 00.
pin mini Din plug - length 200mm +2 - adaptors BNC
plug to RCA socket. Supplied in handy video cassette sized plastic case.
CAT AM-4210... $229°00. eee Cat. AV-6540 ONLY $29.95 Save $$$ on normal price
 AUDIOPHILE
This block will accept one
4GA wire in, and distribute
to four 8GA out. Size
includes mounting bracket
- 63(L)x50(W) x25(H)mm
Cat. HC-4020
GOLD BATTERY TERMINALS
BBaltcmcciaaeliarlmiomaarelelc
from brass, and is
fe[o)(ome)r-kclemeban aretoms|
6mm bolt, and wing
alulaxe)am'ial(eaielelarece)ie!
olgaaliareliomerslalmele
(exo)alalsyei coremcom aula
forete}iare mcomsre (el)elaatoia
Cat. HC-4040
These terminals will
accept two 8GA (thin)
cables and two 4GA
(thick) cables. One of the
4GA can be used for the
existing vehicles electrical
connections.
POSITIVE Cat. HC-4042 $24.95
NEGATIVE Cat. HC-4043 $24.95
CLEAR SILICON COVER FOR ABOVE
Cat. HC- 4045
TWO WAY GOLD FUSED _—sCN
POWER DISTRIBUTION BLOCK SHIELDED AUDIO CABLES
i
Malisme)leres eal | m-lerer=)oye
fo}atomr-57AW Gial(ed.¢merslo)(<:
from one of 3 -
foligstead(o)atcram Malomcyielarelt
passes through fuses,
allem com-areleiselei cme)¢
8GA (thin) cable. Size
102(k) x 51(W) x
32(H)mm - accepts 5AG fuses - fuses
Cat.$Z-2070
This block will accept three [-
4GA thick cables, through
fuses to four 8GA outputs.
Size 102(L) x 77(W) x
33(H)mm - accepts 5AG
fuses - fuses are extra.
Cat. SZ-2072
GOLD POWER TERNS
Nietctoiom (cignaliarclicmatchas)
lame) anjan mace)(=mce)¢
aerelelaitigre melam-melelimels
folamelel ale) mores-y
battery terminal to run
thick cables to equipment. Lengt
8GA - Cat. HC-4060
4GA - Cat. HC-4062
CAR Hi Fi ACCESSORIES
These have gold contacts lf you thought our Monitor OFC Speaker
cable (cat WB1735 $3.95m) was flat, —@
and screw together. There
then check this out. It will hardly be
is an.“O” ring seal to keep
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Ae ssee ec sa specifications are excellent. Beware of
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Cat. $SZ-2060 : $12.95 fyour amps etc. Specifications:
¢Conductor Material: OFC eInsulation Material: PVC
eStranding: 7 x 95/0.12mm_ eWire Diameter: 4.05mm
These fuses suit our fuseholders Total Diameter: 6.5mm ¢Current Capacity: 56A
shown here. They have gold Resistance @ 20°C: 0.0025202/M*Conductivity: 98%
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$29.95 eStranding: 45/0.12mm «Braid Stranding: 96/0.10 + Alum
¢Conductor Resistance: 0.0365Q/M *Capacitance: LARGE EYE TERMINALS - 8GA
66.8pf/1M elmpedance: 652@1m Colour: Black SUITS THINNER CABLE (8GA)
BLACK CAT. WB-1508 Hole size - 8.4mm. Cable hole dia
$1.75 per METRE $140 per 1OOM ROLL Pemeuauim ccurelamireltrelaremetnZ-1aes
TRIPLE 42mm. Metal thickness 1.0mm.
SHIELDED
WITH CENTRAL MEW 4RED, Cor Press mew $138
FIGURE 8 OFC
5 = De @C0|PaloddFar So fo 2 $1.25
This cable is ideal for
aUlalaliavem=tece (tomiiarsm (onic
cables from one end of the | SUITS LARGE CABLE (4GA) Hole size -
ferclan Com tateMolialcloam Natcmaale)(- 8.4mm. Cable hole dia 8mm. Length in
eTaltertellaresial(cirekm[Ursiarclorele) cover 50mm. Metal thickness 1.5mm
all interfaces and is the recommended cable RED Cat. PT-4554 $2.00
iatsiecll (ciecelioMMalMecialic-lmicclemWUic me conommmm BLACK Cot, PT-4555 $2.00
_remotely turn amplifiers on'from the tape |
deck/CD player. FORKED SPADE TERMINALS
Specifications:
Promina eicaelee) zene) victim VElCarlF
SUITS THINNER CABLE (8GA)
| (0) (-clh
4s MoMA galane @r-1e)(smale)(cme|te!
PPE ¢Stranding: 45/0.12mm_ Braid Stranding:
4.8mm. Length inc cover - 33mm
16 x 6/0.12mm ¢Conductor Resistance:
0.036602/N @ 20°C. eCapcitance: 67.0pf/1M Metal Cat.
RED thickness 1.0mm.
PT-4556. $1.00 B
elmpedance: 6522 @ 1mHz
RED CAT. WB-1509 BLACK Cat. PT-4557 NEW $1.00
$3.50 per METRE $250 per 100M ROLL
Standard quick connect lugs that fit speaker
WIRE SIZES terminals etc. Cable hole diameter - 3.7mm.
le Nexeticye Mel Commelina RED Cot, PT-4558 $0.65
8GA - Outside dia of 6mm ~ actual cable is 8mm? BLACK Cat. PT-4559 $0.6

This book explains the principles of
speakers and discusses alternative
drivers such as electrostatic, push
pull, piezo and more. It discusses
cabinets from infinite baffle, sizes,
damping, enclosure design, to horns,
transmission line, resonances and
materials. It explains about crossover
networks and which parameters
really matter. A very informative book, which should be
owned by anyone interested in speakers.
SOFTCOVER, 148 PAGES, 110 X 176MM. CAT BB-7032, $8.95
LOUDSPEAKERS FOR MUSICIANS
This. book contains all that a working musician needs to
know about loudspeakers; the
different types, how they work, the
most suitable for different
instruments, for cabaret work, and
for vocals. It gives tips on
constructing cabinets, wiring up,
using wadding, finishing, how to
ensure they travel well, how to
connect multi speaker errays and = audio circuits, filters, common op-
more. There is also 10 practical enclosure designs.
SOFTCOVER, 164 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7030, $11.50
Feedback is the bane of all PA
systems. Many things can be done to
reduce it. This book discusses
problems with microphones,
speakers, the hall itself, the way units
are positioned. Electronic aids such
as equalizers, frequency shifters and
notch filters are looked at. Special
requirements for live group concerts
are looked at to save you time. A circuit for a twin notch
filter is included.
SOFTCOVER, 92 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7031, $11.50
A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO MIDI
MIDI stands for musical instrument digital interface. With
the aid of this book, those with no
previous knowledge of MIDI will learn
how to....connect up a MIDI system,
exploit MIDI modes and channels,
understand all avout MIDI messages,
use MIDI timing and synchronisation
facilities, exploit filtering & trans-
position, interpret a MIDI imple-
mentation chart, avoid problems with
MIDI “choke”, & just about everything else you need to
know to put together a system and use it effectively.
SOFTCOVER, 102 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7401, $13.95
NE
Every so often a device appears that ars
is So useful that one wonders how
life went on before it. The 555 timer S25
is such a device. The projects include
basic circuits (15), car circuits (9),
model railway (4), general (20),
noisemakers (11), variations,
practical notes and fault finding. An
invaluable addition to the library of all
those interested in electronics.
SOFTCOVER, 167 PAGES, 110X178MM, CAT. BB-7011, $8.95
SIMPLE SHORT WAVE RECEIVER
CONSTRUCTION
This book contains everything you
need to know to get into this exciting
hobby. Topics covered include......
broadcast and amateur bands and
their characteristics, propagation of
radio signals, simple aerials, making
an earth connection, short wave
crystal set, simple tuned radio freq
receivers, single side band reception, i
direct conversion receiver. All the receiverss described in the
book can be built at low cost with a bit of DIY, require
simple aerials & don’t need complex setting up procedures.
SOFTCOVER, 88 PAGES, 110 X 178MM. CATBB-7017,
The operational amplifier is probably the most versatile IC
available, and forms the building
block for applications from audio to
industrial control. This book serves
both as a source book of circuits and
a referee book for design
calculations. It is divided into the
following chapters........ meet the op-
amp, basic circuits, ocscillators,
sa
amps, power supplies, notes and fault finding.
SOFTCOVER, 154 PAGES, 110X178MM, CAT. BB-7013,
ELECTRONIC PROJECTS FOR YOUR PC
PC’s internal expansion slots provide full access to the
computers’ buses and permit a
number of add-ons to easily be
installed. This book provides a
number of useful PC add on circuits
including the following....digital
in/out ports, Ato Dconvertor, DtoA | covered in the book include the basic
converter, voltage and current = aspects of the hobby, such as
measurement circuits, resistance and bee
capacitance meters, temperature
measurement interface, model train controllers, position
sensors, relay and LED drivers etc.
SOFTCOVER, 102 PAGES, 110X178MM, CAT BB-7402,
The first part of this book covers standard op-amp based
“building blocks” (integrator,
precision rectifier, function generator,
amplifiers etc) and considers the
ways in which modern devices can
be used to give superior performance
in each case. The second part
describes a number of modern
practical circuits, including.....low
noise tape and RIAA pre-amps, audio ba.
amps, DC controllers, video fader, audio signal generator,
audio millivolt meter and more!
SOFTCOVER, 120 PAGES, 110X178MM CAT. BB-7012,
50 SIMPLE LED CIRCUITS
Contains 50 interesting and useful 38 Simple
circuits and applications based
ereuiks
around the famous led (light emitting
diode). Circuits include testers,
timers, indicators, displays etc. There
is also circuits for the 707 common
anode display.
SOFTCOVER, 62 PAGES, 110 X 178MM,
CAT. BB-7014, $5.95
- — i ow cn
This book is5 especially written for
those who wish to participate in the
intricacies of electronics more
through practical construction than
by theoretical study. It is designed for
all ages upwards from the day when
One can read intelligently and handle
simple tools. A book highly
recommended for all newcomers to
the fascinating hobby of electronics.
SOFTCOVER, 71 PAGES, 110 X 178MM. CAT BB-7016, $5.50
$11.50
POWER SUPPLY PROJECTS
This book firstly explains about power supplies and the
different types including unregulated, gevssmegesssmes
full wave, bridge rectifiers, then satin
discusses rectifier ratings,
transformers, fuses, zener diodes,
regulators and battery eliminators.
The rest of the book has power
supply circuits including fixed voltage
regulated, variable voltage and
miscellaneous circuits. so <a ——
A very handy book indeed.
$8.95 SOFTCOVER, 91 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7024, $7.50
Amateur radio isis a fascinating and unique hobby. This
book gives the newcomer a compreh-
ensive and easy to understand guide
through the subject. It then remains
an essential reference volume to be
used time and time again. Topics
Operating procedures, jargon and
setting up a station. Technical topics
covered include propagation, receivers, transmitters and
aerials, etc.
$11.50 SOFTCOVER, 150 PAGES, TIOXI78MM, CAT. BB-7018, $9.95
PUBLIC ADDRESS LOUDSPEAKER
SYSTEMS
If you ever get involved in PA
systems, you need this book. The
first chapter discusses the moving
coil speaker and how it works. It then
explains about baffles, PA system
requirements, sound patterns, line
source speakers, horn speakers, line
source ceiling array, low impedance
matching, 100V line systems,
transmission lines and finally hearing-aid induction loops.
$13.95 SOFTCOVER, 114 PAGES, TIOXI78MM, CAT BB-7033, $11.50
> Fe fare
L.ED.
This book startsbyexplaining basic
theory about aerials and feeders. It
describes; types of aerials, those
Suited for hi fi / scanners / radio
amateurs, measurement, advantages
of different types, how to get the best
results, practical aspects of erecting
aerials and how to position them
correctly to get the best performance.
SOFTCOVER, 104 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7021, $13.95

Projects included are; MW & SW radios(5), 27MHZ FS
meter, radio TX/RX, 2 amplifiers,
preamps, noise/rumble/scratch filters,
4 channel mixers, intercom, metal
detector, rain alarm, power controller,
high imp voltmeter, transistor/
continuity testers, power supply, AF
signal generator, flash slave unit and
more. 27 projects in all are described.
SOFTCOVER, 135 PAGES, 110 X 178MM,
CAT. BB-7028, $7.50
HOW TO DESIGN AND MAKE YOUR
OWN PCBS
The emphasis of this book is placed
on the practical aspects of PC board
design and construction. Chapter 1
deals with simple methods of
copying PCB designs from
magazines and books. Chapter 2
covers photographic methods of
producing PCBs. Chapter 3 deals
with most aspects of designing your
own PCB layouts.
SOFTCOVER, 66 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7023,
PRACTICAL ELECTRONIC FILTERS
This book reviews the main types of filter, explaining-in
- simple terms how each type works
and how it is used. Chapter headings
include: introducing signals and
filters, resistors / capacitors &
frequency, passive filters, low / high
pass active filters, band pass filters,
notch and other filters, format
filtering, voltage controlled filters,
digital filtering and practical filter
designs.
SOFTCOVER, 188 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7026,
How to This book is primarily aimed at
GBesign and Make
Your Own PCBs beginners, and those with a limited
knowledge of electronics. Chapter 1
covers the basics of analogue and
digital multimeters. In chapter 2
various methods of component
checking are described, including
tests for transistors, thyristors,
resistors, capacitors and diodes. —
Circuit testing is covered in chapter 3, where dubiacts such
$7.50 as voltage, current and continuity checks are discussed.
SOFTCOVER, 102 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7034,
This book provides circuits and background information
for a range of preamps, tone controls,
filters and mixers etc. Low noise OP
AMPS and audio preamp IC's have
enabled low cost circuits to have
excellent performance. The preamp
circuits include; mic cartridges,
crystal/ceramic, guitar and tape head.
Other circuits include tone controls,
filters, mixers and volume controls.
SOFTCOVER, 92 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT, BB-7027, $11.50
$13.95
PRACTICAL ELECTRONIC TIMING
This book outlines the ways in which electronics is applied
to the measurement of time. As well
as theory, there are projects for the
beginner and also the advanced
constructor, covering many fields of
interest including basic time keeping,
laboratory data recording, high
precision timing, sports and games,
music and others. All the circuits can
be powered by battery and use
common devices.
SOFTCOVER, 164 PAGES, 110 X 178MM, CAT. BB-7025, $13.95
$8.95

DOS - ONE STEP AT A TIME

Revised Edition - Published 1994
This book explains; how to use the
Quickbasic environment and editor,
how to format print statements and
use the input / read / data statements,
how to control program flow with the
‘for...next / do / while...when" loops,
how to write modular programs, how
to use sequential and random access
files and more. Companion disc
available by mail order from the UK.
SOFTCOVER, 168 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7421, $13.95
UNDERSTANDING PC SPECIFICATIONS
The main difficulty for the uninitiated when purchasing a
computer is deciding on the
specification that will best suit his or
her needs. This book explains PC
specifications in detail, and the
subjects covered include; differences
between types of PC (XT, AT, 386,
486, etc), maths co-processors, input
devices (keyboards, mice etc),
memory, RAM, floppy disc drive
formats, hard disc drives, display adaptors (CGA, super
VGA etc) and more.
SOFTCOVER, 120 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7424, $13.95
This book assumes no previous
knowledge is known. The routines
described here will help you get the
most out of Wordperfect 5.2, and of
your computer, in terms of efficiency,
productivity and enjoyment. The book
explains; the hardware requirements,
how to benefit from the built in help
system, how to enter, edit and how to
Start at the beginning and go to the end.
Companion disc available mail order from the UK.
SOFTCOVER, 159 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7418, $16.95
If you want to know enough about DOS so that yon do not
panic when confronted with the DOS r common use, this book will help you
prompt, want to keep your system
running efficiently and keep your
programs and data secure, then this
book is.for you. This book is written
for the non-expert, busy person in
mind. The book explains; how the
DOS system works, how to format a
floppy disc, how to manage disc files,
how to use the system configuration files etc, etc.
SOFTCOVER, 83 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7427, $11.50
Chapters 1-3 deal with basic C statements which control
program flow & allow the user to
manage with most aspects of the
language. Chapters 4-5 introduce the
concepts of string arrays, numeric
arrays & function subprograms which
expand the programming capabilities
of the user beyond the beginners
level. Chapter 6 deals entirely with
data-file handling, while chapter 7
deals with unique C structures, both of which should be of
interest to all those who need to process large quantities of
data. Companion disc available by mail order from the UK.
SOFTCOVER, 127 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7425, $13.95
A CONCISE INTRODUCTION TO
MS-DOS
lf you want to get the most out of
your computer you must learn its
MS-DOS operating system. The book
explains; how the DOS system is
structured, how to use the DOS
commands, how to use the EDLIN
line editor, directories and sub
directories, how to write batch files
and more.
SOFTCOVER, 93 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7406, $8.75
oe eee, tee RE | SOFTCOVER, 141 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7403,
lf your are unfamiliar with the various types of software in
to understand their basic functions,
and how they are used. It then
becomes fairly obvious which types
are of use to you. The types of
software covered include: word SE
processors and spelling checkers, | <
CN
G05
graphics programs - CAD / 3D or CAD
/illustration, paint programs/
business graphics, desktop publishing, databases,
spreadsheets and utilities.
SOFTCOVER, 131 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7423, $13.95
MAKING MS-DOS WORK FOR YOU
lf you use MS-DOS operating system, this book could help
you improve your system setup and
provide you with a simple to use, but
professional looking menu system.
The book was written with the "busy'
person in mind, and is based on
“what you need to know first; appears
first’. Its also designed to be circular,
which means you don't have to start
at the beginning and go to the end.
Companion disc available mail order from the UK.
SOFTCOVER, 111 PAGES, 130 X 198MM, CAT. BB-7419, $13.95
This book will help you come to grips
with Word for Windows. It explains:
hardware requirements, how to
benefit from the built in tutorial, how
to become familiar with the Word
environment, how to enter - edit and
enhance text, become comfortable
with document page layouts etc
including drawing tables and
graphing. An excellent book for anyone who wants to get
the most out of Word for Windows.
Companion disc available mail order from the UK.
$16.95

TTL chips are very widely used
devices. This book covers the basic
theory of digital electronics and the
use of TTL ICs. The topics covered in
this book include: basic concepts of
logic circuits, the functions of gates
and inverters, TTL logic IC
characteristics, oscillators and
monostables (timers), flip flops,
binary dividers etc, decoders, latches, buffers and more.
Softcover, Size: N10xI78mm, 150 Pages, Cat. BB-7010 $13.95
- Beginners Guide to ae
Building Electronic
Projects
The purpose of this book is to enable
the complete beginner to tackle the
practical side of electronics, so that
they can confidently build the
electronic projects that are regularly
featured in magazines. Subjects such
as component identification, tools,
soldering, construction methods,
cases etc are covered in detail.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 107 Pages, Cat. BB-7007 $5.95
This book explains the basic
functions of an oscilloscope, gives a
detailed explanation of all the
standard controls, and provides
advice on buying one. There are
plenty of example waveforms, a
chapter on fault finding on linear and
logic faults. The function and use of
other pieces of test equipment is
covered, including signal generators,
logic probes, logic pulsers and crystal calibrators.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 104 Pages, Cat. BB-7022 $9.95
This book contains information a
hobbyist is likely to regularly need. It
covers: component colour codes,
characteristics and pinouts for...ICs,
OP AMPS, transistors, FETs, UJTs,
diodes, SCRs, DIACs, TRIACs,
regulators, SMDs etc. It has many
useful circuits, such as timers, S accelerator / accoustic feedback /
oscillators, audio amps, filters, power supplies etc. AD
includes circuit symbols, interface details, amateur and CB
frequency allocations etc. All useful data for engineers,
designers, students and hobbyists.
Softcover, Size: 195 x 263mm, 88 Pages, Cat. BB-7303 $13.95
How many times have you spent
hours looking for a snippet of
information? An ASCII code perhaps
or a printer port connection details.
This book provides a range of useful
reference material in a single source
so it can quickly and easily be
located. The subjects include:
microprocessors and there register sets, interfacing serial,
parallel, monitors, games and MIDI ports, numbering
systems, MIDI codes, operating systems and computer
graphics. There is also a glossary of computer terms.
Softcover, Size: 263 x 194mm, 120 Pages, Cat. BB-7404 $16.95
We always seem to have various kits
for model railways in our range. This
book provides a number of useful
projects including controllers,
signals and sound effects with
stripboard layouts provided for each
project.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 96 Pages,
Cat, BB-7009 $8.75
If you have built a project and found
that it doesn’t work correctly, or not
at all, then this book should help. It
will help you overcome problems by
indicating how and where to look for
many of the common faults. Chapter
1 looks at mechanical faults, chapter
2 deals with linear analogue circuits,
chapter 3 looks at testing components and chapter 4 looks
at TTL and CMOS logic circuits.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 81 Pages, Cat. BB-7006 $8.75 Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 166 Pages, Cat. BB-7002 $11.50
A reference book for practically
everyone concerned with electronics.
This book explains some of the more
important fundemental (over 700)
with easy to understand explanations.
Its more than just a dictionary,
through its systems of references
each term is backed up by a list of
other relevant terms, so that a chosen
subject can be studied to any depth required.
Softcover, Size: 130 x 198mm, 474 Pages, Cat. BB-7304 $16.95
This book is a companion to the
previous book. It gets down to
fundementals, it explains many of the
underlying electronics features of
practical devices. Follows is some of the
terms headings.... absorbtion
wavemeter / accelerating electrode /
accoustic wave device / active load /
afterglow / air gap / alkaline cell /
alternator
/ ASCII /ampere hour
/ A-D conversion / antenna
/ Appleton layer / arc lamp etc etc etc.
Softcover, Size: 130 x 198mm, 442 Pages, Cat. BB-7302 $16.95
A vast increase in running speed can
be obtained when using programs
written in assembly language, whic
essence entails direct programming of
the computer without using a high
level built in language, such as basic.
However, this can only be undertaken
by someone who has a reasonable
understanding of the microprocessor
and some of the other hardware used
in the computer, but it is not as difficult as one might think
and this book tells the story.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 102 Pages, Cat. BB-7400 $8.75
This book describes over 60 modular
electronic circuits - how they work,
how to build them and how to use
them. The modules may be wired
together to make hundreds of
electronic systems both analogue
and digital. These cover widely
differing applications as timing, home
security, measurement, audio, games
and remote control. An excellent book for beginners.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 200 Pages, Cat. BB-7008 $11.50
Its easy for newcomers to electronics
to become confused by the wide
range of components currently
available. This book explains the
following: resistors, pots, capacitors,
inductors, diodes, transistors,
thyristors, opto devices, Op Amps,
logic ICs, speakers, microphones and
meters. The basic functions of the
components are described, but more
practical aspects are looked at
including colour codes, suitability of components for given
applications etc. Essential reading for enthusiasts.
Satellites are here to stay. Hundreds
are up there already, and more are
following all the time. We should
know what they are and how they
work. This book is written for the
enthusiast. Chapter headings include
setting the scene, getting them up,
staying up, antennas, transmission,
telephony and data systems, TV
broadcasting, other services, the
future?, glossary, frequency band
Classification, transmission formulae and lots more.
Softcover, Size: 130 x 198mm, 230 Pages, Cat. BB-7301 $16.95
This book is basically a workshop
manual for the enthusiast. It will bridge
the gap between complicated technical
theory, and “cut and dry” methods that
get the project working. Therefore there
is a strong technical bias with lots of
data tables. The book is divided into six
sections: units and constants, direct
Current circuits, passive components,
alternating current circuits, networks and theorems and
measurements. An excellent reference book.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 249 Pages, Cat. BB-7003 $11.50
This book gives you everything you
need to know in order to produce
successful PC add ons, including: a
detailed description of the lines present
on the PC expansion BUS, a detailed
discussion of the physical
characteristics of PC expansion cards,
the 1/O map and details of the areas
where your ad-ons can be fitted, a discussion of address
decoding techniques, practical address decoder circuits,
TTL 8 input ABD output ports, details of using the 8255,
D/A converter circuits, A/D converter circuits and more.
Softcover, Size: 110 x 178mm, 86 Pages, Cat.BB-7426 $11.50
 NEW COMPUTER ACCESSORIES | = #§fNEW KITS
Nally MINITO WERCASE = [a MINIVOX VOICE-OPERATED RELAY KIT
This case includes a 200 watt power supply, REF: SC SEPT 1994
and has a TURBO pushbutton, three digit display | MialtmUaNaciaicme(csyielarcrem Comiiaiaicomials
and a security keylock. It will hold two 5.25” and two 3.5” |: | tightest spaces, and has almost no
drives. Colour -fawn. Size: 178(w) x 330(h) x 400(d)mm. : turn-on delay and a 3 second release
Cot. XC- 4635 $99.95 : f time. Kit is supplied with PCB, relay,
= = — , Parma 7 aal(omlatsicia arctalemr- lim>1(s1ea age)plies
: rere) aa}ele)al-iaitce
Cat. KC-5172 $14.95
; seis
CotXC.4620.
$79.95 | LW AM RECEIVER KIT FOR AIRCRAFT
itsumi brand -

WEATHER INFO
REF: SC SEPT 1994
Cat. XC-4630 $7.95 This simple receiver picks up weather
° — leXer-\exe)alom talclanegelalyagiiale) ba (eratalon
minute weather and visibility
Talco)aaarshd(elammm gore[6(-1aen\mereh<16-(e[—)
Microsoft mouse gives you fingertip control
extends from below 200KHz to
and pinpoint accuracy with resolution of 400 580KHz. Kit is supplied with PCB,
points per square inch. This mouse outpoints them all, and
case, label, speaker and all electronic components.
has won virtually every major design and user award in the :
industry. The one which all others are judged by. Serial- bulk =& : _) | Cat. KC-5169 $32.95
packed- with unique contoured shape that comfortably sits in the hand. cums agate
Cat. XM-5120 ONLY $69.95 | IMPROVED NICAD DISCHARGER KIT
at eee a seins : REF: Sc SEPT 1994

WMaltcwre lO)co)aarcua(ome| -vear-lae|-1mmer-lamar-lalel(=

We’ve made a surplus distress stock purchase of some quality leads. Bere FOni) fe hoes Airis a
selectable ranges. It is fully self-
Some of the leads have small quantities so be quick, and grab a bargain. pewiosed arid leaves Gute ouch
NO 1 - Mini 8 Pin VHSC Camcorder Plug to 6 Pin Din Plug off, elale Mmachiicl aaicmelel aac all protection

Length - 2 metres. For connecting JVC video with discharge LED. Kit is complete
cameras to VCR’s. Normal price $25.95 eo] Ih men GE
S with case, PCB, label, plus all
Cat. AV-6526 ONLY $12. 95 electronic components. .
maiciinoteiui Cat. KC-5171
NO 2 - Mini 8 Pin VHSC Camcorder
Plug to Scart Plug
Length- 2 metres. For connecting JVC video Q = ——
cameras to VCR’s and TVs with Scart
sockets. Normally around $24.95
Cat. AV-6527 ONLY $11.95
NO 3 - Video Lead BNC Plug to UHF Plug —t*”
Length -1.5 metres. For recording from one
VCR to another. Normally $7.95
Cat. AV-6528 ONLY $2.95 _ as
NO re ‘Scart to 4 x RCA + 2 x BNC Plugs
Length -1.5 metres. Video and audio lead. Normally $29.95
Cat. AV-6522 ONLY $19.95
NO5 - 5 Pin Din Plug to 2 x RCA Sockets
Length -200mm. Audio lead with earth wire.
Record input to amp (play out from cassette ¢% i ———{—“"sae
deck - pins 3 & 5 connected on DIN plug).
Cat. WA-1010_ ONLY $2.95, iin
NO 6 - 5 Pin Din Plug fo 2 x RCA Sockets
Length -200mm. The opposite to the one
above - record out from amp.
Cat. WA-1011 ONLY $2.95

lf you want to be seen at night, you need this light. Its not
much bigger than a box of matches (actual size 46 x 65 x
20mm) and has 3 high brightness LEDs which are visible up 4 DELUXE CRIMPING TOOL
to 800 metres away. The LEDs will either stay on, or strobe erick ” These tools are about half normal price. We
for greater visibility. Se 2 purchased them from a tool importer who ordered
Its ideal for walkers, workers, joggers, pushbike riders, car 4| ihe incorrect one.
emergency etc. It is supplied with a clip to mount on a belt, This tool will crimp coaxial connectors used with the following
pocket etc and a strap to hold onto your arm andabracket to mount onto . cables -RG58, RG59 and RG62. Actual sizes are 8.1mm, 6.5mm,
a pushbike. Requires 2 x AA batteries - not supplied. 5.4mm, 2.35mm and 1.72mm. There is also a pressure acernent
Cat. ST-3040 ONLY $9.95 fofelalige) mmmitariccie melOrclaliaac\Zclitclelice
Cat. TH-1882
BULK USERS - CONTACT OUR WHOLESALE $49.95
DEPARTMENT FOR SPECIAL PRICING ON
(WAL key yy, NEW
 UY)
@) Sd =a |"a" a =| @1 @) ae NEW KIT.
ACTIVE CROSSOVER FOR
SUBWOOFERS REFER EA SEPT 1994
Nicad batteries are used everywhere these days. fatere)g ele)e-\t-m-m-16] e\|Velelicl minicom (elelm->. <i> tare]
This is the first book we have seen that is totally system with this crossover. It features 3
dedicated to the subject. selectable crossover frequencies (70Hz, 90Hz or
Chapter 1 discusses their characteristics, 140)4 Perelao mal(elacser-tst-mele]10l0)tomcomm iarcmaarelial
construction and important fact and figures. Flan) olililsimurclare m=lale-(e) 101-1f-10)(-m aalelalom (oniveof-(st-olUj
a010) aie)aitale) o)\Vfele)i-iar-l 10] oF
The Jaycar kit includes case, punched and screened front panel, PC boards,
Chapter 2 is devoted to simple charger circuits.
celal) (elaaal-lemr-ll marelge lie lgomr-(ale) elclenlilcre moxe)anlele)alcyalice
Chapter 3 talks about elements of constant
current source. Chapter 4 covers 14 basic current CAT. KA-1764 $69.95
sources, which are essentially circuit blocks for
designing chargers. Chapter 5 describes 41 different charger circuits.
Chapter 6 discusses fast chargers. Chapter 7 provides guidance for charging
and upkeep of nicads. Chapter 8 has more kits and chapter 9 shows how to
convert battery eliminators to nicad chargers.
SOFTCOVER, 308 PAGES, 180 X 235MM, ste This handy kit incorporates a T bar screwdriver with
CAT. BM-2485 $22.95 cushion grip for extra torque. It has a powerful magnetic
chuck which accepts any of the metric bits. There are 11
bits included in the pack - Philips No 1, 2 or 3. Slotted No}
3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 / Torx No T15, T20 and T30. An ideal tool
set for any tool box, glove box, kitchen cupboard etc.
lf you wish to increase NEW
your general knowledge of
CAT. TD-2022 only $5.95 |
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basically for the Indian market, it still gives the
reader a good overview of the subject. It talks This amazing chuck will allow you to use mini
about satellites, C-band satellite reception, dish drills from 0.6mm up on your normal drill /cordléss
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amplifiers, receivers, modulators, equalizers, standard hex bits. WHAT A GREAT PRODUCT!!!
filters, cable TV, testing equipment, scrambling CAT. TD-2010 only $6.95
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CAT. BM-2486 $22.95
We've found a
This pocket screwdriver new supplier and
set consists of 6 bits ina been able to
plastic case. The case reduce the price.
lf you like the idea of taking the lid off a VCR and You can
becomes the handle of
having a dabble, and need a book to give you the screwdriver, and it magnetize all your
some help, then this is the book. It explains how works surprisingly well. screwdrivers with
a VCR works, and gives clues on electrical and The bits included are 3 this tool in
mechanical adjustments and troubleshooting. Philips Nos 1,2 &3-- seconds.
SOFTCOVER, 106 PAGES, 230 X 178MM, Slotted 4mm, 6mm & 7mm. An ideal emer- TD-2042
gency screwdriver set for the car, home, boat, |was $9.95
CAT. BM-2487 $17.95 toolbox etc. Note: Unit supplied is all black.
MULTITURN POTS Size: 80 x 50 x 12mm. Case also has belt clip. now $4.95
We've made a scoop purchase of a range of CAT. TD-2020 _ only $4.95 |save 50%
Japanese made Sakae brand multiturn pots. These
are top quality, and normally sell for around $14.

BUY 10
These are 10 turn, glass filled with phenolic base.
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Some values are in small quantities. some 1.2AH 6 volt Sealed Lead

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POST & PACKING

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SEPTEMBER 1994 53
 A long-wave AM
receiver for aircraft
weather information
J

This simple receiver uses two ICs & will pick Beacons. They often contain Morse
code information along with a re-
up airport weather beacons in the LW band. corded message about the current tem-
_ Use it to receive up-to-the-minute weather perature, visibility and cloud levels
and current usage of a particular air-
reports. It runs off a 9V battery & is easy to port. The weather beacon at Sydney
International Airport even has a com-
build. puterised voice broadcasting this in-
formation.
By DARREN YATES This band is located below the AM
broadcast band and extends from
If you’re interested in aircraft or tion of the recent NSW fires was broad- around 190kHz up to 450kHz. This
flying then you’ll no doubt already cast by pilots back to ground bases low-cost long-wave receiver is de-
have a receiver that taps into the air- and to nearby airports on this band. signed to pick up this band and the
port frequencies around the country. However, there is another band bottom of the AM broadcast band,
You can always pick up interesting which gives up-to-the-minute weather enablingit to pick up Sydney’s ABC
information, particularly during air- and visibility information and these Radio National station at 576kHz. Its
craft emergencies and bushfires. In- stations can be found on the LW (long- frequency coverage extends from be-
formation on the strength and direc- wave) band and are known as Weather low 200kHz up to 580kHz. It uses just

54 SILICON CHIP
 DI
Ql IN4004 sg]
BC548
C .
)
0 ¢
16VW 5
“a
:

- A
470

+ -

:
VOLUME —p pt
VR2
10k 4 100k
RF GAIN
VRI
- L 10k

L1 = 200T, 0.2mm DIA ENCU WIRE

I
WOUND ON A 10mm DIA FERRITE ROD ae
a beg
85mm LONG

WEATHER RADIO cnt.”

eoncon our fe
VIEWED FROM BELOW
Fig.1: the circuit is essentially
a TRF (Tuned Radio Frequency) design based
on a ZN414 radio IC. This tunes over the long-wave band & feeds the recovered and two complementary transistors.
audio to VR2. The audio stages comprise IC2a & IC2b which drives a pair of The first op amp (IC2a) is connected
complementary emitter followers (Q2 & Q3). | as an non-inverting amplifier with a
gain of 101, as set by the 100kQ feed-
two low-cost ICs and three transis- Q1 and LED 1 form a simple voltage back resistor from pin 1 to pin 2. Pin 1
tors. regulator which provides a constant of IC2a then drives IC2b. This op amp
Sensitivity of the receiver is very 1.3V output across the 10uF capacitor drives complementary transistors Q2
good — Sydney’s beacon could be to power IC1 (via the OUT pin). and Q3 directly and they operate in
picked up without an external an- From the 470Q resistor, the output class B mode, without any quiescent
tenna from the author’s home in signal is AC-coupled to the 10k vol- current to minimise crossover distor-
Penrith and Richmond Air Base was ume potentiometer, VR2, and then to tion. However, the resulting harmonic
no problem at all. the audio amplifier. This consists of distortion is low since the transistors
an LM358 (or TLO72) dual op amp are included in the feedback network
Circuit description
Let’s take a look at the circuit of the
Weather Radio, as shown in Fig.1. As
you can see, it’s quite straightforward,
using a ZN414 TRF receiver in the 1 PC board, bois 06107941,
front end and an audio amplifier to 102 x 44mm
drive the loudspeaker (TRF stands for 1 57mm 8Q loudspeaker —
Tuned Radio Frequency). ~ 2 10kQ log potentiometers
Looking at the circuit, the ferrite (VR1,VR2) a
rod antenna L1 and variable capacitor 1 60-160pF tuning gang (VC1)
gang VC1 form a parallel resonant cir- 1 85mm length of ferrite rod
cuit which tunes the frequency of in- 6 metres of0.2mm enamelled
terest. The tuned frequency is fed to copper wire
IC1, the ZN414 . This IC contains more 3 knobs —
than a dozen transistors which am- 4 100mm piestic cable ties |
plify and detect the RF and then am- 1 plastic utility case, 158 x 99 oe ,
plify the recovered audio. 53mm | :
The output appears across, and is 1 front panel artwork |
filtered by, a .033uF capacitor. The 1 miniature SPDT switch 1) |
10kQ pot VR1 applies DC via a 100kQ ~ 1 9V battery snap connector —
resistor to the tuned circuit which 1 9V alkaline ee |
enables the IC to vary the RF gain.
IC1 only requires about 1.3V at very :iseinicanductors -
low current to work, so the 470Q re- -4.2ZN414 TRF radio (IC1) “Miscellans ous |
sistor provides the load for the circuit 1 LM368, TLO72 oevols ioe | Screws, nuts,wee, solder.
as well as supplying the power to it.
ee 1994 55
 BATTERY
NEGATIVE

BATTERY
POSITIVE

Fig.2: install the parts on the PC board as shown here & take care with IC1 as it ing 102 x 44mm. This is then mounted
looks identical to a TO-92 transistor. VC1 has its two sections connected in
inside a standard plastic case measur-
parallel to give a range of 0-220pF, while the leads to the ferrite rod antenna
must be kept well away from the loudspeaker & the rest of the circuit. ing 158 x 99 x 53mm. The PC board is
mounted on one side of the case (be-
hind the front panel), as shown in the
of the op amp and since the overall larity protection. Note that since IC1 photographs. —
gain of this stage is a minimum; ie, requires only a low voltage and be- Before you begin any soldering,
100% negative feedback and there- cause the supply voltage to the audio check the board thoroughly for any
fore, unity gain. | amplifier is not critical, you could shorts or breaks in the copper tracks.
To maintain high frequency stabil- easily run the circuit from a 6V sup- These should be repaired with a small
ity in the complementary emitter fol- ply. However, to do this you would artwork knife or a touch of the solder-
lower output stage (comprising tran- need more space to fit the batteries ing iron where appropriate.
sistors Q2 & Q3), a Zobel network into the case. When you're happy that everything
consisting of a 10Q resistor and a0.1pF appears OK, you can solder in the
capacitor is connected across the loud- Construction resistors and diodes, followed by the
speaker. Most of the components for the capacitors. This done, install the tran-
Power is supplied from a 9V battery Weather Radio are installed on a PC sistors and IC1 and IC2. Note that IC1
with diode D1 providing reverse po- board coded 06107941 and measur- has three leads and looks identical to
the transistors, so check this compo-
nent carefully when installing it on
the board.
Tuning gang
The tuning gang is a plastic dielec-
tric type with two sections of 0-60pF
and 0-160pF. These two sections are
connected in parallel on the PC board
to produce a variable capacitor of
0-220pF, as shown on the circuit of
Fig.1. | |
06108941 The capacitor is secured to the PC
board with two 2.5mm screws and
Fig.3: this is the full-size etching pattern for the PC board. then its three tags are soldered to short
lengths of tinned copper wire which
56 SILICON CHIP
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The ferrite rod antenna is attached to the rear of the case using plastic cable
ties. Additional cable ties should be used to lace the wiring to the pots, switch, The tuning coil L1 is wound as |
loudspeaker & LED to maintain a tidy appearance & to prevent tuning drift. single layer of 200 turns of 0.2mn
enamelled copper wire on an 85mn
length of ferrite rod 10mm in diam
are passed through the associated bly is turned upside down so that the eter. If you need to cut the rod to thi:
holes in the board and soldered in loudspeaker faces up. length, the way to do it is as follows
place. You will need to drill holes for the File a nick around the rod at the poin
loudspeaker grille, the PC mounting you wish to cut it and then snap it off
Drilling the case pillars, the knob shafts, power switch If you try cutting it in any other way i
Before you go much further, you and the LED. The latter two items are is sure to shatter.
will need to do some work on the mounted on one end. Perhaps the easi- Start off by winding one turn arounc
plastic case. The board is mounted on est approach to drilling the case is to the rod about 13mm from one end anc
one side of the case, as mentioned use the front panel artwork (included anchor it with some sticky tape. Thi:
above, along with the RF Gain and with this article) as a template. You done, continue by winding on the 20(
Volume control potentiometers (VR1 will need to drill a circular pattern of turns. It doesn’t need to be exactly
& VR2). The loudspeaker is mounted holes for the loudspeaker and four 200 turns so if you’re out by a few
in the bottom of the case and when holes to mount the ferrite rod antenna turns either way, it won’t matter toc
the lid is attached, the whole assem- which we will now discuss. _ much.

RESISTOR COLOUR CODES

= No. Value 4-Band Code (1%) o-Band Code (1%)
= 4 100kQ2 brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown
J 1 1.5kQ brown green red brown brown green black brown brown
CJ 1 1kQ brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
@ 1 470Q yellow violet brown brown yellow violet black black brown
J 1 10Q brown black black brown brown black black gold brown

58 SILICON CHIP
 eS

This close-up view shows the PC board after all the parts have been installed drain. Select a low current range
& the wiring completed. Note that shielded audio cable must be used for all (200mA) on the multimeter, then con-
connections between the pots (VR1 & VR2) & the PC board. The loudspeaker nect the battery and check the current
can be secured inside the case using super-glue. reading.
Depending on where the tuning
Make sure that the turns are tight butted together and then put to one gang is sitting, and with the volume
and close to each other. Once you’ve side to allow the glue to dry. This control well down, you should hear
wound the turns, anchor the other method works surprisingly well. some low-level static coming through
end with some more sticky tape and Mount the PC boaru using metal the speaker. The current consump-
then carefully cover the whole wind- pillars, screws, nuts and lockwashers. tion should be about 10mA. Any more
ing with tape. This done, strip the Finally, wire in the two pots and the than 20mA and you should switch off
enamel from both ends of the coil and speaker and then fit knobs to the shafts immediately and check for errors.
tin them with solder. The rod is at- of the pots and the tuning gang. The Now advance the volume control to
tached to the side of the case opposite LED and speaker can be mounted (per- about half way and then advance the
the PC board, as shown in the photos, manently) with super-glue, while the RF gain control as well. The static
and is secured using two plastic cable battery can be held in place using should rise markedly and the loud-
ties. double-sided sticky tape. Alterna- speaker may even squeal, depending
Before the PC board can be mounted tively, you can make up a metal bracket on the setting of the tuning gang.
in the case, you will need to fit a to hold the battery in position. If everything is OK, you should be
suitable shaft to the tuning gang, to able to tune across the long-wave band
enable a knob to be fitted. We did this Testing and pick up one or two low frequency
using a fairly crude but effective Before testing the receiver, check AM broadcast stations as well. The
method — super-glue. First, we rough- your work thoroughly for any possi- weather beacons will be below these.
ened the end of the tuning gang shaft ble errors. Once everything is correct, Adjust the RF gain control to increase
with a file and did the same to a connect your multimeter across the the signal level until the circuit starts
15mm long tapped metal spacer. A On/Off switch. This places the multi- to oscillate (squeal) and then wind it
dab of super-glue was then applied to ‘meter in series with the supply to back a little. Next increase the volume
the tuning shaft and the two were allow you to measure the current until it is at a comfortable level. SC

Fig.4: this full-

size front-panel
artwork can be
used as a drilling
template for the
RF gain
various controls
& the indicator
LED.
Weather Radio
Volume —t-

Tuning Frequency (kHz)

SEPTEMBER 1994 59
 \LTRONIC ¢ Overnight Deliverys AUSTRALIA
COMPONENTS WIDE
Altronics Commitment to Quality
Our customers throughout Australia are constantly amazed at our efficiency
and quality products. With services like.a minimum 6 month warranty on all
products, overnight jet courier service (to capital cities and suburbs) and the
recent installation of a computerised mail order system, ALTRONICS is
setting standards for others to follow. I invite you to try our fast mail-order
service. Just phone your order on 1-800 999 007 by 4.00pm EST and in most
cases we can deliver to your door step the next working day!
Regards Jack O'Donnell

200W Mosfet Amp FM Stereo Dual Diversity Tuner Kit for FM

Module Kit Transmitter Kit Microphones
See EA Dec ‘89) (See SC Oct ‘88) Simply connect your CD (See SC Aug ’94) Users
? One mono mod- player or any of FM Microphones
ule -no power | other line are familiar with
supply or level source 2 signal dropout
"case. to the mini ' caused by a body @&
» Fantastic | transmitter blocking the signal or by metallic objects in the vicinity. The solution is to”
or use in | which con- have two receivers separated by several wavelengths and then lock onto the strongest sig-
i stage verts the nal, hence dual diversity. This kit features low distortion, high sensitivity, excellent signal
5 amps, Juke boxes, audio signal Be to noise ratio, test switch, AGC, Automatic muting and has a range of up to 60 metres.
amplifier racks (multi- to an FM signal. Tn ur CD Housed in a sturdy rack mount case. Operates on the standard FM band 88 to 108Mhz.
amplifier setups) discos etc. Requires +69V | This FM signal Player Into a Mini N.B. microphone transmitter not included.
DC power supply. can then be tuned M Transmitter.
Specifications: in via any FM radio. | K 1110 $1 79”
Output Power:.....1440W RMS into 8Q Great for listening to your favourite CD ow Voltage Cut-Ou
200W RMS into 4Q while washing the car, mowing the lawn or 40 Volt 3 Amp
Power Supply:.....+69V DC doing the vacuuming etc, without blasting for Cars and Boats
Distortion............. 0.007% @ 140W the neighbours. Variable Power
K 5170 $85” K 1120 $34°5 Kit
_ (See SC
200W Switch Mode Jan ‘92)
= Build this
Inverter Kit
(See SC Feb 94) This compact 200W Inverter
sa, can drive many mains power appliances
including power tools, fluorescent and 18
caught out with
cD incandescent lights, TV’s etc, using a 12V
a flat battery
power source. It is ideal when camping, on building sites, on farms or as part of a solar
during your hol-
power installation. This inverter, uses high frequency switching techniques which elimi-
idays. It simply
nates the need for bulky, heavy transformers enabling a very light weight compact unit.
Features: ¢ Small physical size « Very low standby current * Modified square wave output Automatic or Ppime connects into a
V adjustable power supply is designed for voltage Reset Fe 12V accessories
¢ Peak-peak voltage equal to mains sine wave * Low battery voltage shutdown ¢ 30A -
heavy-duty work. It uses a high efficiency power line, and shuts off the
over current limiting * Fuse protection ® Fully isolated output for safety * 2kg mass
switching regulator circuit. Features preset flow if the battery voltage drops to a dan-
K 6740 $199” voltage and current limiting, full overload gerously low level. Ideal for battery pow-
protection (with indicators) and an LCD ered camping fridges etc.
panel meter for precise voltage and current
K 4328 $24
High Efficiency Fluoro Inverter Kit readouts, Includes pre-punched front and
rear panels. Professionally screen printed
(See SC Nov 93) front panel, all housed in a sturdy instru-
ment case.
Induction Balance
K 3330 $2395
Metal Detector Kit
nifty circuit will
drive a standard 40 Watt fluoro tube from a 12 volt source. Fluoro lights, are miles more Simple Driver Kit (See SC May ’94) What a great kit. This is
efficient than incandescent globes. Features flicker free starting /running, reverse polarity a simple to build metal detector. It is suit-
protection and faulty tube protection circuitry. Globe and housing not included. Requires For Servo Motors able for wet & dry
11 to 14V DC power source. Suitable for 18, 20 36 and 40W globes. Fuse protected for ground, includes
reverse polarity or faulty. tube. Low EMF radiation. Two
adjustments to
Versions eliminate ground
K 6370 $49 Supplied! effects, has a sensi-
tivity control and
Midi Breakout Box Kit audible indicator. It

-ALTRONICS
328
(09)
FAX
©
3487
©(See EA Feb 94) To make
use of the Midi facilities
on your “Soundblaster
can detect a small
metal objects such as
a coin at a distance
of about 20cm.
” card on your PC you
(See SC May 94) If
you have ever wanted Please note this kit is
will require a breakout
to experiment with servo <= supplied in
box. This kit plugs into short form.
motors but not known where to start, then
the joystick port of the
Soundblaster card and gives 2 midi this kit is for you. Servo motors are used in ie. does not idLost Jewellry,
out ports, 1 midi in and 1 midi though port. Included is a pass a remote controlled cars, planes, remote mir- include PVC Coinsetc!
rors etc. The article explains servos and piping (standard
through socket which allows a joystick to remain attached. The kit
how they are driven. The kit can be used to electrical or plumbing pipe
is fitted with the standard 5 pin din sockets.
either test or direct control servos where a available from hardware
Does not include synthesiser software
radio link is not required. It is a simple cir- stores) nor the plastic
required. plate for the coils.
cuit to construct with minimal components.
K 2840 $34 K 6050 $16” K 1250 $59

FREECALL 1-800 999 007 PERTH (09) 328 1599

Doc.012 Rev.JH0O1
AUSipe *@ Overnight Delivery ALTRONIC
COMPONENTS
Polypropylene Speakers 4 Piece Screwdriver Sets
These fantastic speakers are ideal replacement Versatility with a Minimum of Tools!
speakers or for your own speaker design. The Save 25% These quality flat and cross blade type screwdriver sets are an _
lightweight plastic cones offer levels of per- ee ideal addition for anyone’s toolbox. Sturdy design with <i
formance above that of conventional card- ips:bons al moulded plastic handles, and incorporate finger ie"
board cones. The cone is more rigid and does cape al8ecifications grips. The 4 different sizes of each type make
not “break-up” (flex) as much as its counterparts. them fantastic for general purpose use.

Watts RMS WattsMax Normally This Month racer Type premninenss ave ) Bonus!
C3045 6.5” Midrange 30W 50W $27.50 $20.50 Ne eae 1x tam OE Order Both the Flat
C3055 6.5” Woofer/Midrange 30W 50W $29.95 $22.50 tk Seen X215mm 1x 6min x-185eanh S777 and Cross Blade Sets and
ene Set paula lid wee vat88 1xSmmx185mm 1x 5mmx 155mm Li IA Receive a 6 Piece Flat Blade
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C3070 12” Woofer 100W 150W $99.00 $73.95 50 50 | Valued at $4.50
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In-Line RS-232 Breakout Box |© Piece Screwdriver Set

Includes 3 flat blades and 3 cross head screw-
Designed for circuit testing, mounting and patching. It has
drivers. The screwdrivers have long shafts
10 signal powered LED’s, as well as 2 spares to indicate
which make them ideal for reaching recessed
which lines are in use at any one time. It also has 24 switch-
screws. Handles are made from moulded plas-
es as well as jumper leads to allow you to breakout circuits
tic, and incorporate finger grips. Shafts are
_or re-configure and patch all of made from nickel chrome molybdenum.
i... the 24 active lines. Ideal for Testing & Sizes Included for Flat and Cross Blade
@° D 1540 Normally $89, (BYR eer eae Types:
Wiring etc! 24x75mm 3.0x100mm 3.8x 150mm
This Month Only $69: si
T 2195 $10
Universal Testlead Set Mini Bench Infra-Red Movement Nylon Cable Tie:
This great set includes just about
everything you would need. Vice Detector
Supplied with 2 leads which are Diecast alloy. Incorporates Pulse
ready to accept a range of screw- Clamps. to any Count Triggering |
on fittings. Includes: ¢ 4 x Croc surface up to Made in
Clips ¢ 2 x Fork Connectors ¢ 2 x 25mm thick. Jaws open a Australia!
Pin Plugs ¢ 2 x Hand Probes ¢ 4 to 50mm.
x Banana Plugs
Features:
¢ Small size - only
Up to 50% Cheaper than
P 0413 $6* 65w x 80h x 45d
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Competitors’ Pricing,
These are Very Strong
©-
SOUI
24 Range Digital | selectable
Pulse Count
and Long Lasting!
On-Off ¢ Dual
Multimeter Element
Strong white nylon type.
Ideal for most types of electrical and elec:
With Frequency Measurement and Capacitance Pyroelectric Sensor tronic work. A must for any electronic
Meter. ¢ True 15m x 15m 90° angle Detection enthusiast, electrician and the handy per-
Includes frequency and capaci- Pattern ¢ Surface or corner mounting son.
tance ranges. With the Thi (Interior use only) ¢ Wide operational volt- 100mm
addition of a built in is Mone, Receive age range 9-15V DC e Architecturally attrac- H 4010 Pk 25 $2.70
logic probe and screen ‘a Free Carry Case tive ¢ Interfaces with most alarm panels H 4012 Pk 100 $4.95
hold button it would & Protect;ive Hol . ¢ N.C. Alarm contacts in standby condition | yy 4914 Pk 1000 $17.95
have to one of the most Vallued at O; cule ¢ N.C. Tamper switch ¢ Adjustable Beam 200mm
useful DMM’s available ver $28, 00 Height Angle © User selectable walk test H 4020 Pk 25 $3.95
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00 triple count modes ¢ User selectable range H 4024 Pk 1000 59.95
Q 1035 $1 69 control ¢ Low standby current - only 15mA id
e ee es ¢ Exceptional RFI and ESD immuni , ‘ter
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S 5305 Amazing Low
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This incredible multimeter would have to be one of B all-Nose Length 113mm.
the most comprehensive on the market today. It is a T 2753 $1 9.9
capable of doing all the normal voltage, current and Pliers > A £3
resistance readings, as well as capacitance, frequen- 1O4%
cy, minimum and maximum sampling, omnes serrat- P recision
relating measurements, storing ed jaws. . .
previous readings, limit set- Suitable for holding and Pliers
ting, signal transistor gain griping. Also features flush # Generalelec- 0
checking and is full auto- cutters oeecon inre a tronic use. rleagth: 1130mm.
: nents. Spring loaded insulated handles.
ali de ei T 2740 $12: 7
Q 1038 $199” T 2797 $8.

CADIK Micro Jet Gas Blow Torch (6O)

©
Z8Vv
8cE
xv
Budget Pocket Multimeter Powered by a common disposable type gas lighter (not supplied), this
unique blow torch burns at 1300°C, making it ideal for all types of
2000 Ohms-Volt sensitivity. Overload protected. Mirror back scale
braising and heavy duty soldering. With it’s ergonomic design, the
helps prevent parallax error. Complete with test leads and instruc- |
Micro Jet can be ignited and used simply with one hand. It has an in-built
tions. Uses 1 x AA Battery (supplied).
piezo electronic ignition system which
Specifications: light . Ideal
DC Voltage Ranges........... 10V, 50V, 250V, 1000V - Rane eat Bi: any rtd realest - As Rey
AC Voltage Ranges:.......... 10V, 50V, 250V, 500V
ba
oe ee etre, ae apy Woe
bench etc. Suitable for Heavy Duty iis
lewed b
eG ies ocr 10 to 22dB Adan: Beadetts gesGilek Boole con Chip
DC Current Ranges........... 0.5mA, 50mA, 250mA rayway sae ilver Soldering, Magazine Ma
Resistance Ranges:............ Rx1, Rx10, Rx1k obbies,. Model Construcnon etc. y 94

Q 1013 Normally $21, This Month $1 0igs

T 2490 $29

FREECALL 1-800 999 007 PERTH (09) 328 1599

Doc.012 Rev.JHO1
 ALTRONIC ¢ Overnight Deliverys AUSTRALIA
_COMPONENTS WIDE
|I Wireless Diversity Microphone Systems Inner Ear Phones Electronic Projects
_ |] These professional wireless microphone systems are as used by the industry for stage and
__ |] studio productions. Featuring stylish good looks and the latest microchip technology they supe
In our opin-
for Guitars
'

fi] offer outstanding performance and sound reproduction both for voice and instrumental very rugged, By RA Penfold. Make
| applications. True Diversity Reception means two receivers with separate antennae are brilliant your own guitar effect
employed. An on-board microchip monitors the signal strength and reception fidelity of reproduction pedals from commonly
‘\ either A or B receiver and automatically outputs the highest quality signal. Each sys- earphones’ ff available component.
‘4 tem includes a receiver unit and a hand held microphone. compare very Ideal for both those wh
The receiver operates from favourably are experienced and
# 240V AC and simply con- with the Sony: beginners alike. It’s a
_ nects to an amplifier yet at a fraction of the price. The set
s comes collection of 16 guitar
with a line level complete with gold plated right angle and general purpose effect units. Each pro-
input. The 3.5mm plug and “wind up” carry case. ject has an introduction, a circuit diagram
-_ microphone Fantastic for personal stereos, video cameras and complete instructions.
Peas aa’9V battery (not supplied). etc.
| TwoF ies Available: B 2230 21"
pth atsn ain As Used by Professionals for C 9005 Normally $1 ear This Month $15
System 1 - 202.5MHz
Stage and Studio Productions!
System 2 - 202.9MHz

Each System Normally $744, This Month Only $544 Complete System New Maestro External Fax/Modem
This Maestro Fax/Modem will
Breadboards turn your PC or Mac into
a Fax machine in just
Standard 0.1 inch spacings. Accepts all LSI's minutes! ;
semis, transistors, diodes, leds and passives. Using the latest in
_H| Uses 22-30 gauge solid hook up wire for inter- digital signal pro- |
| connections. Boards are “keyed” to enable easy cessing this modem _
]| expansion. will give you years of service. Feahines
100 Holes $4.65 new sleek and good looking case and is supplied with
P 1005 640 Holes $14.95 Winfax software. Backed with full support by Maestro.
| P 1007 740 Holes (100 + 640) $19.95 Winfax offers some great features like sending faxes to
eS | P 1009 840 Holes (640 + 200) $21.50 several numbers simultaneously, viewing incoming
and outgoing faxes on-screen, receiving faxes in the
Mounted on Aluminium base with Receive 20m of
background while using other programs, scheduling
rubber feet with binding post termi- Multi-Colour faxes, and much more! Modem data and fax baud rate up
nals. Cable Free with to a speedy 14,400bps. Includes the latest hardware compression
P 1012 1680 Holes (1280 + 400) $49.95. BMtlelm sigartleleliige and error correction protocols.
P 1015 2420 Holes (1920 +500) $69.95 Ideal for Wire Specifications:
Links! Data Modes............... CCITT V.42bis, V.42, V.32bis, V.32, V.22bis, V.23, V.22, V.21
Data Baud Rates:......14400, 12000, 9600, 1200/75, 1200, 300 bps
Fax Modes.................. V.17, V.29, V.27ter, V.21
Motorola Piezo Motorola KSN1165A Fax Baud Rates.......... 14400, 9600, 4800, 2400, 300 Save Over $150 on the
Previous Model!
Error Correction........ MNP Class 2-4
Ceramic KSN1141A Bullet Data Compression: ..MNP Class 5 D 1626 Only $499
.00

| Piezo Horn speaker

|| suited to Hi Fi, PA Tweeter 2 Way Squeeky Phone
328
(09)
FAX
@
3487
H] and sound rein-
| forcement.
Incorporates special “
Piezo Horn speaker
suited to Hi Fi, PA and Clean Mains Filters | Extension
oon Bell
S. re-
audio protection circuit
| to enable speaker to han-
[| dle 400W maximum power expensive Simply plugs into
|| Virtually “Blow up Proof”. 90° computer a standard
in-built protection. hardware telephone
Dispersion Angle. Dimensions: .....110 x 110mm
Dimensions................... 177.8 x 82.6mm and hi-fi etc wall socket.
Frequency Response: ..1.8kHz-30kHz from the Supplied
Frequency Response: ..1.9K to 40KHz ~|i Sn on ee ere93dB (2.83V/1m) power surges, with 10m
BE nd vsossivvsianseneeisectesets 92dB (2.8V /1m) Rated Power Input: .....75w nom, 400w max
| Rated Power Input:......75w nom, 400w max
spikes, and lightning. lead. Austel
C 6160 $45 P8150 Only $140 erproved:
c 6150 $45 P 0996 $29
Insurance: As with virtually every other Australian supplier, we send goods at consignee's
"Phone (09) 328 1599, Fax (09) 328 3487 risk. Should you require insurance cover against loss or damage please add $1.00 per $100
yea ORDERS C/- P.O. Box 8350 of order value (minimum charge $1). When phone ordering please request “Insurance”.
_ Perth Business Centre, W.A. 6849 | Altronics Resellers: Chances are there is an Altronics Reseller right near you—check this
Standard Delivery & Packing Charge: $4.00 to 500gms, $5.50 500gms-1 kg, $8.00 1kg-5kg. list or phone us for details of the nearest dealer. Blue Ribbon Dealers are highlighted with a
Where possible we process your order the day received and despatch via Australia Post. @. These dealers generally carry a comprehensive range of Altronic products and kits or
will order any required item for you.
Allow approx 9 days from day you post order to when you receive goods.
© Altronics 1994. All possible care has been taken with the preparation of this advert and
Overnight Jetservice: Up to 3kg is $10.00, 3kg to 5kg is $18.00—We will process your order the information contained herein is correct at the time of going to press however specifica-
the day received (if placed before 2.00PM WST) and despatched for delivery the next day. tions and particulars in relation to products referred to herein are subject to change without
Country areas please allow an additional 24-48 hours. notice. Altronics takes no responsibility for any loss or damage howsoever caused suffered
Heavy Service: All orders of 10kgs or more must travel Express Road—Please allow up to 7 | by a reader with respect to any matter or thing referred to herein. Prices stated herein are
days for delivery. $12.00 to 10kgs. $15.00 over 10kgs. only valid for the current month or until stocks run out.
NT

ALTRONICS
©-
WA - COUNTRY COUNTRY
ALBANY BP Electronics @ (098) 412681 BAIRNSDALE Green Gage Services (051) 525677 ALICE SPRINGS Farmer Electronics (089) 522388
ics Hic: (098) 412077 BALLARAT Ballarat Electronics (053) 311947 SA - CITY
BUNBURY Micéo Elecitionics (097) 216222 BENDIGO Sumner Electronics (054) 431977 Force Electronics @ (08) 2125505
MILDURA Truscott Electronics @ 050) 238138 BRIGHTON Force Electronics @ (08) 3770512
ESPERANCE E C (090) 713344 ru onics (050) 8 :
MANDURAH . ‘Forun‘Blectronics (09) 5813466 SHEPPARTON Andrew Guyatt Elect. (058) 219497 ENDON Fo ico’ (08)aarp
PORT HEDLAND Ivan Tomek Electronics (091) 732531 OLD -cI Delsound PL® (07) 8396155 one als satan @ (08) 2617088
' 09) 5271806 orce Electronics @ (08) 3260901
hee ae i. oy NEWSTEAD E.C.Q. (07) 2541153 SALISBURY Force Electronics @ (08) 2830755
WEST END B.A.S. Audiotronics (07) 8447566 NSW - CITY
All Electronic Comp. (03) 6623506 WOODRIDGE _ David Hall Elect.@ (07) 8082777 David Reid Elect. @ (02) 2671385
TECS @ (03) 6706474 COUNTRY SMITHFIELD Chantronics (02) 6097218
|| BORONIA Ray Cross Electronics & (03) 7622422 GLADSTONE Gladstone Elect. Services (079) 724459 bLpcetpnioe” Delta Components (02) 7962888
CHELTENHAM _ Talking Electronics (03) 5842386 MAROOCHYDORE Mals Electronics @ (7A) SSIS Oe vasemo Codle Liber isd. ‘
CLAYTON TECS @ (03) 5629501 TOWNSVILLE Super Solex @ (077) 724466 NEWCASTLE Novoecartrian Elec (066) 525684
ovocastrian Elect.Supplies (049) 621358
CROYDON Truscott Electronics @ (03) 7233860 "TAS WARNERS BAY _ Vilec Distributors (049) 566792
FOOTSCRAY G.B. Telespares (03) 3266035 HOBART George Harvey @ (002) 342233 WOLLONGONG Newtek Electronics @ (042) 271620
|PRESTON Preston Electronics @ (03) 4840191 LAUNCESTON _ George Harvey @ (003) 316533 Vimcom Electronics (042) 284400

_FREECALL 1-800 999 007 =PERTH (09) 328 1599

Doc.012 Rev.JH01
 AMATEUR RADIO
Using 2-line Keplerian elements
to track amateur satellites
Several low-cost computer programs are now
available to accurately keep track of satellites.
This article explains the origin of this data &
shows how easy it is to put it to use.
Considering the increasing interest
in satellite reception by amateurs, it is
not surprising that the demand for 2-
line orbital elements to predict the
location of a satellite at any particular
time is also increasing. In addition,
the proliferation of personal comput-
ers makes the calculation and display
of satellite data in real time a rela-
tively simple matter.
Fortunately, Keplerian data is freely
available to amateurs, primarily
through computer bulletin boards.
However, in order to properly under-
stand Keplerian elements, some his-
tory is in order. Orbital mechanics, as
applied to artificial earth satellites, is
based largely on celestial mechanics,
Space Shuttle and Satellite Orbit
Version 9Y&0S
Ei = HELP
tracking program.
BY GARRY CRATT, VK2YBX
initially founded on the work of James
Kepler and Issac Newton and ex-
panded on by mathematicians during
the 18th and 19th centuries. Eventu-
ally, the theory became so accurate
that when astronomers observed dis-
crepancies between their observations
and the theoretical results, they were
able to determine that the errors were
caused by variations in their astro-
nomical timescales.
In 1956, astronomers changed the
time scale from one based on the rota-
tion of the Earth (universal time) to a
new scale based on the orbital motion
of the Earth around the Sun (ephem-
eras time). With the advent of atomic
timekeeping, astronomical timescales
Simulation
ENIER =
were eliminated completely and the
ability to predict orbital locations be-
came supremely accurate.
Computer programs
One of the spin-off products of the
US space effort was the creation of the
computer program known as
“STSORBIT PLUS”, designed and used
by NASA to track satellites, including
the Space Shuttle. There is now a
public domain version of this pro-
eram available on many computer
bulletin board services. In addition,
AMSAT offer their own program, “IN-
STANT TRACK”.
By “plugging in” the latest data sets
or Keplerian elements, it is possible
to very accurately predict the location
of a satellite at any particular time.
This is very useful for tracking ama-
teur satellites in polar orbits and sat-
ellites used for rebroadcasting televi-
sion programs that are not located in
geostationary orbit.
In theory, the centrifugal force re-
sulting from the speed of a satellite is
balanced against the gravitational pull
of the Earth and this keeps a satellite
orbit constant. In practice, however,
gravitational forces from the Sun and
the Moon, plus atmospheric drag (ap-
plicable to satellites at an altitude of
1000km or less), have the effect of
degrading the orbit. For this reason, it
is important to use current elements.
Moreover, some satellites are delib-
erately launched into low Earth or
polar orbits, in order to provide cover-
age over all major land masses. These
satellites might orbit the Earth once
every 90 minutes or so, so a computer |
“prediction” for future passes is of
paramount importance to amateur
operators.
Table 1 shows the primary orbital
SEPTEMBER 1994 63
 parameters used in satellite data ele-
Table 1: Keplerian Elements
ments, while Table 2 shows actual 2-
Data for each satellite consists of 3 lines in the following format: line data elements for a few popular
Name satellites.
1 NNNNNU NNNNNAAA NNNNN.NNNNNNNN +.NNNNNNNN +NNNNN-N N NNNNN In order to make use of these
2 NNNNN NNN.NNNN NNN.NNNN NNNNNNN NNN.NNNN NNN.NNNN NN.NNNNNNNNNNNNNN Keplerian element sets, which can be
downloaded from their international
COLUMN DESCRIPTION source on a weekly basis, it is first
LINE 1 advisable to obtain a copy of a suit-
able tracking program such as
“TRAKSAT", “INSTANT :TRACK”,
“STSORBIT PLUS” or “PC-TRACK”’. As
: ™]

Not used
elements are distributed, they are allo-
cated a incremental number such as
TLE428 (the last three numbers sig-
nify the set). Of course, downloading
10-11 | ( ) Keplerian elements from computer
- International designator (launch number of the year)
bulletin boards does require some
level of computer literacy; ie the abil-
- International designator (piece of launch) ity to create directories, download
data, etc.
RMNo
fe
—s
Oo;
Oo;
oO; |-
“N
S
© Epoch year (last 2 digits of year) Running STSORBIT PLUS
21-32 Epoch day (Julian day & fractional portion of the day) STSORBIT PLUS has the ability to
oOo
cei
—f
oa
|
Po
©);
2 track multiple satellites in real time.
Fig.1 shows the menu page for
) STSORBIT PLUS.
At initial installation, create a di-
rectory called “STS”. After instaiia-
tion, the program will issue a prompt
for local UTC time offset (eg, Sydney
54-61 Radiation pressure co-efficient has +10 hours difference). After
completing this, the main menu of
STSORBIT PLUS will present a variety
3 Ephemeras type (specifies ephemeras theory used)
of options.
4 The first and most important step is
65-68 Element number to set the Earth station location. F10
from the main menu gives a sub-menu
where F2 allows the user to set new
LINE 2 local co-ordinates. The user can then
Line number of element data (ie 2 for line 2) insert a capital city location, which
gives the program a base for position
calculations. To do this, the program
- Satellite number searches its internal database of over
Blank 1500 locations for a match.
F6 selects the map type used to
Inclination in degrees

;
view the world and satellite orbits.
Toggling the F6 key allows selection
-nN
op)on Right ascensions of the ascending node in degrees of either World, Ortho, Quad or Zoom.
For slow PCs, the World map is the
—|
hoi
co
mi
ow)
—|a}
co
Am= Blank
best selection as the program draws a
no~ ooa) Eccentricity in tenths of units very impressive and complex map of
4 Blank the world, complete with city names
and rivers.
35-42 Argument of perigee in degrees
After this initial setup, current
3 ee ee ee Keplerian elements must be down-
loaded from an accurate source. These
44-51 Mean anomaly in degrees
should be downloaded into the same
2 ue iss AA oes ee eid directory as STSORBIT PLUS. To im-
93-63 Mean motion in revolutions per day port the 2-line elements in order to
64-68 Revolution number at epoch track a satellite, select F2 from the
main menu, then enter the 2-line ele-
ment filename and the satellite name.
ip)4 SILICON CHIP
The program will then display rel-
evant data on the selected satellite. By
Table 2: Sample 2-Line Elements
now simply keying ENTER, the pro-
gram will draw a map of the world Optus B1
and display the orbital position of the 1 22087U 92054A 94191.61718487 -.00000112 00000-0 10000-3 0 4146
2 22087 0.0916 108.4637 0002995 329.9719 232.0275 1.00270935 18457
selected satellite in real time; eg, the
track taken by polar orbiting satellites Intelsat 5 F-8
can easily be seen. By selecting F3 1 14786U 84023A 94190.52379876 .00000053 00000-0 00000+0 0 6425
from the main menu, a “pass predic- 2 14786 2.7646 69.4432 0046903 321.8887 264.9499 1.00275209 1695
tion” will be displayed for the se- Oscar 10
lected location. 1 14129U 83058B 94176.41110075 -.00000306 00000-0 10000-3 0 2893
2 14129 27.0856 321.0039 6024383 189.2195 150.8337 2.05882336 54986
Where to buy software UoSat 2
Other features of this and similar 1 14781U 84021B 94190.56754595 .00000133 00000-0 30431 -4 0 7063
programs are beyond the scope of this 2 14781 97.7855 204.2441 0011153 193.8486 166.2415 14.69228336553597
article. For those interested in obtain- Noaa 10
ing registered copies of the software 1 16969U 86073A 94193.01550214 .00000098 O0000-0 60319- 4 0 7694
mentioned in this article, the follow- 2 16969 98.5052 201.2581 0012183 257.8226 102.1588 14.24897002406033
ing will be of interest: RS-10/11
¢ TRAKSAT is available from the au- 1 18129U 87054A 94191.83829016 .00000023 00000-0 90572- 5 0: 9258
thor: Paul E. Traufler, 111 Emerald 2 18129 82.9253 311.3579 0011286 326.8723 33.1722 13.72339043353150
Drive, Harvest, AL 35749, USA. A
non-registered version costs $US10,
while a laser-printed operations man-
ual will cost an additional $US15. A
registered version costs $US25 (add
$US5.00 for shipping and handling to
Australia). Commercial licenses are
also available from $US50.
¢ PC TRACK version 3.0 can be ob-
tained from: Thomas C. Johnson, 9920
S Palmer Road, New Carlisle, Ohio
45344, USA. It costs $US45 + US15
for shipping and handling.
¢ STSORBIT PLUS is available from
the Satcom BBS (phone 02 905 0849)
or from the author: David H. Ransom
Jr, 7130 Avenida Altisima, Rancho
Palos Verde, CA 90274, USA (check
costs with author before ordering). An
additional map database is also avail- Fig.2: this diagram shows the major orbital parameters of a satellite: a =
able from the author for $US10. Al- semimajor axis; b = semiminor axis; r, = apogee radius; Ip = perigee radius; F1
low 3-6 weeks for delivery. SC = focal point 1; F2 = focal point 2.

19400. B82 nM
-9.93°S
~164. ae W
20986 ;

SYONEY : AUSTRALIA

MOGRAR 23175 PANAMSAT 2

334 VIS 0.0427" 19400.92 nm SBS eee OR
apnea ss4. 69:21:26 UTC SAU
BY, 1994-99. 4416 Bit 5S: ne
077271994 19:44:16 LCL hc: eer ‘ane FS fia

Fig.3: STSORBIT PLUS can display data iin several map map as shown at right. Note that the displays are in
formats, including World map as shown at left & Ortho colour & are not shown to best advantage here.

SEPTEMBER 1994 65
Dual diversity tuner for
FM microphones; Pt.2
Construction & alignment of the Dual Diversity earthing purposes. Unlike the main
PC board, all components in the RF
Tuner does not require any special equipment or preamplifier are mounted on the track
tools apart from an alignment tool & a tuning side of the board.
wand which can be easily made. There is little Main board assembly
wiring involved since most of the parts are Fig.7 shows the overlay diagram for
assembled onto PC boards. the main PC board. Begin construc-
tion by inserting PC stakes at all exter-
nal wiring points and at test points
By JOHN CLARKE TP1 & TP GND. This done, install all
the low profile components such as
The prototype for the SILICON CHIP directly on the main PC board. the links, resistors and ICs. Table 2
Dual Diversity Tuner was built into a Begin construction by comparing shows the resistor colour code but it’s
1-unit high black anodised rack case your PC boards against the published also a good idea to check them on
with screen printed front and rear pan- patterns to verify that all tracks are your multimeter as some of the col-
els. Two PC boards are used to accom- intact and that there are no shorts ours can be difficult to decipher.
modate the components: (1) a main between tracks. Some holes may need Take care to ensure that the ICs are
board coded 06307941 and measuring to be enlarged to accept the relevant all oriented correctly and that each is
207 x 161mm; and (2) a satellite board components; eg, the mounting holes mounted in the correct location: The
coded 06307942 and measuring 28 x for L10, T1, T2, VC2 and for the PC 5W resistor is mounted about 1mm
49mm. The latter carries the RF pream- stakes. The hole used to secure the tab proud of the PC board to allow the air
plifier components and is shielded by of REG1 to the PC board may also to circulate beneath it for cooling.
a boxed section made from 15mm- need to be enlarged to accept the Mount the diodes next but again be
high single-sided PC board. A further mounting screw. sure to use the correct type at each
strip of single-sided PC board divides Note that there are only four holes location. Diodes D1-D4 are marked
this box into two sections, to provide in the RF preamplifier board. These with the BA482 type number and are
additional shielding for the RF pream- allow short lengths of tinned copper smaller than the 1N4148 diodes used
plifier components. wire to pass through from the track for D6-D8. D5, the BB119 varicap,
Following assembly, the shielded (top) side of the board and through looks very similar to a 1N4148, so be
RF preamplifier module is mounted the main board for both mounting and sure to check its type number care-

66 SILICON CHIP

fully before installing it on the board.
Take care with the orientation of each
diode and note particularly that D2
and D3 face in opposite directions.
The capacitors can now be installed.
. There are several different types used
on the PC board, so make sure that
you always use the correct type at
each location. Ceramic capacitors are
mostly used in the FM tuner section
of the board, while MKT and electro-
lytic capacitors are used throughout
the remainder of the circuit. Table 1
lists the relevant capacitor codes and
their corresponding values. Make sure
that the electrolytics are correctly ori-
ented.
Note particularly that the 10uF elec-
trolytic and 0.1uF MKT capacitors
near IC3 are installed with their bod-
ies flat against the PC board. You will
need to bend their leads through 90°
to do this, however. The capacitors
are mounted in this way so that the
leads to LEDs 1-3 in the bargraph dis-
play can pass over the top of them —
see photo.
Similarly, the 4700uF capacitor near
REG1 is also installed lying down —
see Fig.6. Its body should be secured
to the PC board using silicone rubber
compound to prevent possible lead
damage due to vibration.
The 3-terminal regulator (REG1) is
mounted on a small heatsink. Smear
the mating surfaces with heatsink com-
pound before bolting the assembly to
PC board.
Coils
Fig.6 shows the coil winding de-
tails. L1-L4 are wound onto a balun
O Ge)
PN
O O. © L1-L4
6T, 0.5mm DIA ENCU WIRE ON
1 2-4 PHILIPS 4313 020 40031 BALUN COR
BASE DIAGRAM
TOP VIEW
4 5 6 6 1
TI L10
WINDINGS: PINS 4 AND 6, WINDING: PINS 6 AND 1,
3.5T, 0.5mm DIA ENCU WIRE T2 (10.5T, 0.5mm DIA ENCU WIRE
PINS 3 AND 2, 2T, 0.5mm WINDINGS: PINS 1, 2 AND 3,
ENCU WIRE 3T, BIFILAR 0.25mm DIA ENCU WIRE
NOTE: WIND COILS IN SAME PINS 5 AND 4, 4T, 0.5mm DIA
SENSE AS ABOVE ENCU WIRE
COILS Tl, T2 AND LI10 WOUND ON NEOSID TYPE 'A' COIL ASSEMBLY
99-007-96 (BASE, FORMER, CAN AND F29 SLUG)
L5 L6 L7
1.5T 6.5T . B.5T
L5-L9 WOUND ON 4mm DIA MANDREL
USING 0.6mm DIA ENCU WIRE
Fig.6: this diagram shows the winding details for all the coils in the Diversity
Tuner. Be sure to use the wire diameter specified for each coil & make sure that
each winding is wound in the direction shown. A complete description on
winding each coil also appears in the text & this should be closely followed.
former (six turns of 0.5mm-dia. ECW), Neosid coil formers. Begin by insert-
while L5-L9 are air cored and are made ing the coil formers into the bases,
by winding the appropriate number then wind T1 using 0.5mm ECW ex-
of turns of 0.6mm ECW onto a 4mm actly as shown. Note that the two
(5/32-inch) mandril. You can use a windings are wound in opposite di-
drill bit for this. rections and should be immediately
Note that L5, L6 and L7 are wound adjacent to each other. Make sure that
in a clockwise direction, while L8 you get the winding phases (direc-
and L9 are wound anticlockwise. — tions) correct, otherwise the local os-
Wind each turn close to the previous ’ cillator won’t work.
turn as shown in the diagram. Note that the enamelled copper wire
T1, T2 and L10 are wound on the is easily terminated on the base pins
SEPTEMBER 1994 67
 LEDII LED12
Fig.7: install the parts on the main PC board as shown in this wiring diagram. sa GREEN
The RF preamplifier board (top, left) is also mounted on the main board & is
enclosed in a shield made from single-sided blank PCB material (see Fig.9).
Note that the parts in the RF preamplifier are installed on the copper side of
the board, with connections to the main board made via feedthrough
capacitors & wire links.

68 SILICON CHIP
Keep all component leads as short as possible when assembling the PC board,
particularly around the FM tuner stages at the top of the PC board. The 4700pF
electrolytic capacitor at bottom right should be secured to the board using
silicone rubber compound to prevent its leads from breaking. TABLE 1: CAPACITOR CODES
Value IEC EIA
by heating the wire with your solder- sake of clarity. In practice, the turns 0.33nF 330n 334
ing iron until the enamel melts and should all be close-wound (ie, imme- 0.1uF 100n 104
then applying solder. diately adjacent to each other), while 033uF — 33n 333
T2 must be wound with extreme the top winding should be immedi- .018uF 18n 183
care. To wind this coil, first take the ately adjacent to the bifilar winding.
Coil L10 (the quadrature coil) con-
O1nF 10n 103
250mm-length of 0.25mm ECW, cut it
in half and twist the two wires to- sists of just a single winding. Wind it 0068uF 6n8 682
gether using a hand drill and a vyce in the direction shown and terminate 001ur == ind 102
until there is about one twist per mil- the top and bottom leads to pins 1 & 6 560pF 560p (n56) 561
limetre. This done, solder one wire respectively. 390pF 390p (n39) 391
end (S1) to pin 3 of the base and the ~Once wound, the coils can all be 47pF 47p _ AT
adjacent end (S2) to pin 2. Wind on installed on the PC board. Mount L8 &
three turns as shown, then use your L9 so that they sit about 1mm above
33pF 33p 33
multimeter to identify the other end the board surface. 27pF 20
of the wire connected to pin 3. Solder T1, T2 and L10 can only be in- 15pF 15p 15
this end (F1) to pin 2 and connect the stalled one way on the PC board since 6.8pF 6pe i (i«;‘éCS
remaining end (F2) to pin 1. their middle pins are offset, but make 3.9pF —-.3p9
The other winding between pins 4 sure that you don’t get them mixed
1.8pF 1p8 128
& 5 uses four turns of 0.5mm ECW. It up. A metal can is then fitted over
must be wound in the opposite direc- each coil and is secured by soldering
tion to the bifilar winding. its lugs to the earth pattern of the
Note that Fig.6 shows a gap be- board. Finally, the ferrite slugs can be electronic parts retailer). Do not use a
tween each turn for the bifilar wind- screwed into the formers using a plas- screwdriver for this job since this will
ing but this has only been done for the tic alignment tool (available from your crack the ferrite.

SEPTEMBER 1994 69
 GROMMET
CORD
GRIP

PANEL
FRONT

Fl INSULATING
WITH
SLEEVING
COVER
WIRING
AND
S1
OF

PANEL
REAR

See.
8S NinhSI -—{_

| [cotCaratach
B PAL
ANTENNASOCKET

0000F SJO0~ M.0

i
— e 6° e —"
LEDS1-10
A PAL
TW) og el
ANTENNASOCKET
je> () Se
> => +}
lollle
Fig.8: use 240VAC-rated cable for all mains wiring & insulate all exposed terminals on the fuseholder &
switch S1 using heatshrink tubing (see text) to prevent any possibility of accidental shock. The mains
cord earth lead (green/yellow) must be soldered to an earth lug which is securely bolted to chassis.
70 SILICON CHIP
 The LED bargraph display and LEDs
11-12 can be installed now. The 3mm
LEDs used for LED 11 and LED 12 are
installed with their leads untrimmed,
so that the LEDs can later be bent over
and pushed through matching holes
_in the front panel. Watch the polarity
of the LEDs — the anode lead is the
longer of the two.
The bargraph (LEDs 1-10) must be
mounted so that the front of the dis-
play is 14mm from the edge of board.
This is done to ensure that it will later
sit flush with the front panel — see
Fig.8. To achieve this, it will be neces-
sary to extend each lead using a short
length (about 25mm) of tinned copper
wire. Bend the leads at right angles
about 6mm above the board before
soldering the bargraph in position. This photo ‘shows the method used to mount the bargraph LEDs (LEDs1-10).
As before, take care with the polar- The lead lengths must all be extended using short lengths of tinned copper wire
ity of this device. As with individual & the leads must all be bent through 90° after soldering so that the bargraph
LEDs, the anode lead of each LED in mates with its front panel cutout.
the bargraph is the longer of the two
and it is a good idea to mark the anode mounting any of the parts, it must be secure the two boards together.
end of the device before extending the mounted copper side up on the main This done, the parts can be mounted
lead lengths. PC board and secured by passing short onto the preamplifier board by solder-
wire links through the four mounting ing their leads directly to the undrilled
RF preamplifier points (indicated by solid dots on copper lands (ie, the parts are mounted
The RF preamplifier board can be Fig.6). Solder these links at each end _on the copper side of the board). Keep
assembled now -— see Fig.7. Before to the surrounding copper pattern to all leads as short as possible and take

5-Band code2 (1%)

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orange black black black brown
yellow violet black gold brown
_ brown black black gold brown

SEPTEMBER 1994 71

Solder the shield pieces to the RF preamplifier board as shown in this photo &
note that the internal shield piece is installed with its copper side facing L5 &
L6 (to the right). The ceramic feedthrough capacitors are connected to the main
board & to the RF preamplifier board using short lengths of tinned copper wire.
care with the orientation of Q1 — its
label should face upwards and the
longest lead should be adjacent to L7.
Do not install the .001uF ceramic
feedthrough capacitors yet, since these
mount into the shield pieces. Instead,
install vertical tinned copper wire
links at each capacitor position so
that these can later be soldered to the
capacitor leads.
The two longest shield pieces can
now be drilled to accept the four
feedthrough capacitors and the two
feedthrough links. Fig.9 shows the
drilling details. Clean away the cop-
per from around the two link holes
using an oversize drill to prevent any
possibility of the links shorting to the
copper. The copper surrounding the
capacitor feedthrough holes should
be left intact and tinned with solder.
You are now ready to install the
feedthrough capacitors. These should
be pushed through so that their flanges
are on the copper side of the shield
pieces — see photos. This done, the
metal bodies of the capacitors should
be soldered to the surrounding cop-
per.
72 SILICON CHIP
COPPER SIDE AT REAR OF PANELS
ALL HOLES 3mm DIA.
REMOVE COPPER AROUND HOLES 'A'
DIMENSIONS IN MILLIMETRES
Fig.9: here are the drilling details for
the two long shield pieces used in the
RF preamplifier.
Once all the feedthrough capaci-
tors are in, the shield pieces can be
soldered to the perimeter of the pream-
plifier board to form a complete en-
closure. Use a fine-tipped soldering
iron for this job and run generous
fillets of solder along the joints to
hold the shield pieces in position. It is
not necessary to solder along the com-
plete perimeter; just solder the boards
together where you can.
The internal 38 x 12mm -board
should be installed with its copper
side facing L5 and L6. Note that the
bottom edge of this board sits about
2mm above the preamplifier board, to
provide clearance for one of the tran-
sistor leads.
With the shield assembly com-
pleted, the leads of the ceramic
feedthrough capacitors can be con-
nected to the main board and to the
RF preamplifier board using short
lengths of tinned copper wire. The
exception here is the .001uF feed-
through capacitor that’s connected to
Q1’s source; it only has one end con-
nected to the RF preamplifier board.
The lead at the end of the capacitor on
the outside of the shield is simply
snipped off.
The two link connections are made
using 0.6mm ECW.
Final assembly
The completed board assembly is
now ready for installation in the case.
To simplify the description, we will
assume that you are building the unit
from a kit which has pre-punched
holes and screen-printed front and
rear panels. If you are building the
unit from a short-form kit, you will
have to drill the holes yourself using
the PC board and wiring diagram as a
guide.
Assuming that the holes have all
been drilled, assemble the case and
attach the four rubber feet to the base.
This done, install the various items of
hardware on the front and rear pan-
els, then mount the PC board onto the
baseplate using 5mm standoffs and
3mm screws and nuts. Check that the
LED bargraph display fits neatly into
the slot provided in the front panel
and insert the two 3mm LEDs into
their respective holes.
The transformer can be mounted
next; it is secured using 4mm screws
and nuts. The earth lug is secured
using a 4mm screw, nut and star
washer. Tighten this assembly firmly,
so that there is no possibility of the
earth lug coming adrift. Important:
scrape away the paint or anodising
from around the earth lug mounting
hole before installing the earth lug
 “Sa

SILICON CHIP
NEW NES GUIDE TO
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This view clearly shows the three feedthrough capacitors & the feedthrough
link on one side of the shield box. Note that the feedthrough capacitor on the
other side of the shield box is not directly connected to the main PC board.
assembly to ensure a good earth con-
tact.
Fig.8 shows the final wiring details
for the tuner. Exercise extreme care
with the mains wiring. Begin by strip-
ping back the outer mains cord sheath
so that the leads are free to reach from
the back panel to the mains switch
(S1) on the front panel. This done,
push the mains cord through the en-
try hole until about 40mm of the outer
sheath is inside the case and clamp it
securely using a cordgrip grommet.
The Neutral (blue) mains lead goes
directly to power switch S1, while the
Active (brown) lead goes to S1 via the
fuse. The transformer primary con-
nections go to the remaining switch
contacts, while the secondary leads
are twisted together and connected to
the 12.6V AC input on the PC board.
Note that the lead from the centre tap
of the transformer is not used and can
be cut off.
Use heatshrink tubing to insulate
the bare fuse and switch contacts to
prevent accidental shock. This is done
by sliding some heatshrink tubing over
the leads before soldering them. After
the connections have been made, the
tubing is pushed over the switch and
74 SILICON CHIP
OI
fuse bodies and shrunk into place us-
ing a hot air gun.
The green/yellow lead from the
mains cord is soldered directly to the
earth lug. Leave a loop in this lead so
that it will be the last lead to come
adrift if the mains cord is wrenched
out of the grommet.
Be sure to use shielded audio cable
for the wiring to the pot and to the
output RCA socket — see Fig.8. This
shielded audio cable should be kept
well away from the power transformer
to prevent hum injection into the au-
dio signal.
The antenna test switch (S2) can be
wired using 3-way rainbow cable. Note
that some switches do not have the
same Common, Normally Open, Nor-
mally Closed (C NO NC) pin arrange-
ment as shown in Fig.8, so check your
switch before making the connections.
The PAL sockets are wired with 50
RF cable.
Finally, use cable ties to secure the
wiring as shown in the photographs.
Note that the mains leads should be
laced together so that if one lead comes
adrift, it cannot come into contact with
the case.
Before applying power, it is a good
idea to check your work carefully for
wiring and component placement er-
rors. In particular, check that the mains
wiring is correct, that all parts are
correctly oriented, and that there are
no vacant holes on the PC board.
Note that there are two test points
on the PC board: TP1 and TP GND.
You can connect the negative lead of
your multimeter to TP GND for all
subsequent measurements.
Voltage checks
Apply power and check that +12V
appears at the output of REG1. If it is
below this, switch off immediately
and check the regulator circuit and
for shorts on the +12V rail. If the volt-
age is correct, check that +12V is
present on the supply pin of each IC
(ie, pin 15 of IC1; pin 1 of IC2; pins 3
& 9 of IC3; pin 8 of IC4, IC5, IC6, IC9 &
IC12; pin 14 of IC7, IC8 & IC10; and
pin 16 of IC11).
The source of Q1 should be at about
4V, which sets the quiescent current
through the device at about 10mA.
You should also be able to measure
4V at G1 of Q1 (and on the other side
of the 220kQ gate resistor). G2 of Q1
should be at about +12V unless the
tuner happens to be tuned to a very
strong signal. This is very unlikely at
this stage since the tuner has not been
aligned and no antenna is attached.
Lace the internal wiring together using cable ties & note that the mains leads
should be laced together so that if one lead comes adrift, it cannot come into
contact with the case. The shielded audio cable should be kept well away from
the power transformer to prevent hum injection into the audio signal.
The drain of Q1 should be close to coil and increases the inductance
+12V. when the ferrite core is introduced
At this stage, one of the active an- into the coil.
tenna LEDs should be lit or they may During alignment, the multimeter
be alternately flashing at about a 1- is used to monitor the signal level at
second rate. In addition, check that TP1, while the wireless microphone
the Neon lamp in the on/off switch is is used as the signal source. The step-
glowing but do not expect the signal by-step alignment procedure is as fol-
level LEDs to light at this stage. As- lows:
suming that all is well so far, you can (1). Connect a simple antenna to
now move on to the alignment proce- the antenna A input. A 300mm length
dure. of copper wire plugged into the an-
tenna socket will do the job.
Alignment (2). Adjust VR1 so that the first LED
Alignment of the tuner requires only in the bargraph is just extinguished or
a few simple tools. You will need a is very dim (FM microphone off). This
screwdriver-type alignment tool, a tun- will set the meter signal output range.
ing wand, a multimeter and an FM Adjust VR2 and VR3 so that the wiper
wireless microphone. of VR2 is at 0.8V and the wiper of VR3
An alignment tool has a plastic han- is at 0.3V.
dle and a small tip made of either (3). Connect the multimeter be-
brass of tough plastic. It must be used tween TP1 and TP GND and set it so
because an ordinary screwdriver that it will read a 0-3V range.
would detune the coil being adjusted (4). Switch on the FM microphone
and, as previously mentioned, could and place it close to the antenna. Now
easily crack the ferrite cores. | press and hold the antenna test switch
The tuning wand (see photo) is used to select antenna A and adjust the
for aligning the RF preamplifier stage. slug in T1 using the alignment tool
It consists of a short length of plastic until a voltage appears on the multi-
tubing with a ferrite core at one end meter.
and a brass screw at the other. This Depending on the initial state of
tool can easily be made as shown in tune, the signal strength meter will
the accompanying photograph. It de- either show full scale or only a few
creases the inductance when the brass LEDs will be lit. Adjust T1 for a maxi-
end is introduced into an ‘air-cored mum voltage reading.
Note: this maximum voltage must
be less than 2.5V, otherwise the meter
circuit may overrange and a false maxi-
mum may be obtained. To overcome
this problem, simply move the FM
microphone further away from the
receiving antenna.
(5). Adjust T2 for a maximum read-
ing, then adjust L10. This done, ad-
just T1 again (this is necessary since
adjustments to L10 retune the local
oscillator due to the AFC).
(6). Repeat step 4 to obtain the maxi-
mum signal. Note that it is difficult to
tune L10 if the slug is adjusted too
quickly — tune the slug slowly to avoid
missing the signal peak. Note also that
all three coils may have a small range
over which the signal remains at maxi-
mum. In each case, find the centre of
this adjustment range and set the slug
to this position.
(7). L6 and L9 can now be adjusted
for maximum signal. Begin by spread-
ing L6 and L9 so that there is about
0.5mm between each winding turn
and adjust VC1 and VC2 for maxi-
mum signal.
(8). Insert the brass end of the tun-
ing wand into L6. If the signal level
decreases, try the ferrite end of the
wand. If the signal decreases again,
then the coil is correctly tuned. More
than likely, the coil will not be tuned
and will need to be stretched or closed
slightly so that both ends of the tun-
ing wand produce a drop in signal
strength.
If the signal goes down with the
brass end of the wand and increases

76 SILICON CHIP
 with the ferrite end, close the coil
slightly by squeezing it gently with
your fingers. Repeat the above test to
see if the coil is now tuned.
Conversely, if the signal goes up
with the brass end and down with the
ferrite end, then the coil will need to
be stretched slightly. Retest the coil
with both ends of the wand after each
adjustment until the tuning is correct
(ie, both ends of the wand cause the
signal level to decrease).
(9). Repeat step 7 for coil L9, then
repeat the entire alignment procedure
again to make sure that everything is
spot on.
(10). Switch offthe FM microphone
and set VR2 (the mute threshold
trimpot) fully clockwise. Now adjust
VR2 anticlockwise until pin 7 of IC5a
just goes low.
Antenna installation
The antenna requirements for the
SILICON CHIP Dual Diversity Tuner are
not particularly difficult. You can use
commercial FM dipole antennas, TV
“rabbit ears” or 1/4-wave whip anten-
nas. It is not necessary to use anten-
nas with gain such as multi-element
Yagis.
Dipole and rabbit ear antennas usu-
ally have a characteristic impedance
of 300Q, so you will need to use a
balun transformer (for TV sets) to
This home-made tuning wand is used for aligning the RF preamplifier stage &
consists of a short length of plastic tubing with a ferrite core at one end & a
brass screw at the other. It decreases the inductance when the brass end is
introduced into an air-cored coil & increases the inductance when the ferrite
core is introduced into the coil.
match these antennas to the 75Q in-
put sockets on the rear panel of the
tuner. TV balun transformers are avail- YOU CAN
able for a few dollars from your local
parts retailer. NOW AFFORD
A 1/4-wave whip is simply a 300-
400mm length of wire which plugs YOUR OWN
into the rear of the tuner. You
make one up by connecting a suitable
can
SATELLITE
length of stout enamelled copper wire
to the centre pin of a PAL plug. The TV SYSTEM
second antenna must be separated
from the first by at least three metres For many years you have probably
and this is best done using a PAL plug looked at satellite TV systems and
to PAL socket extension lead. thought “one day”.
When installing the tuner, the an-
tennas should be mounted above the
stage or the audience to minimise sig- Your own
nal attenuation due to people and K-band system
room objects. Adjust the audio level from only:
pot so that the signal output level
matches the mixer or amplifier re-
quirements.
After each setup, always test the
unit by having somebody move around
HERE'S WHAT YOU GET:
with the FM wireless microphone. The
signal strength meter on the tuner will ¢ Prime focus or offset dish
give you a good indication of the sig- configured for your location.
nal strength from each antenna. Use ¢ Super low noise LNB/feedhorn.
the test switch to select the second e 25m low loss coaxial cable.
antenna to verify its performance and
¢ DYNALINK 50 channel stereo
check that the Diversity Tuner au-
satellite receiver, with remote
tomatically switches between the two
control. Pre-programmed to
antennas as the microphone is moved
Optus frequencies.
around. SC
¢ Pointing co-ordinates for
your location.
Ask about our regular
newsletters and —
Customer BBS. Send
coupon for your free
info pack, listing
all items and prices.
CALL FOR
YOUR NEAREST
._ RE-SELLER
Direct Importer: AV-COMM PTY. LTD.
PO Box 225, Balgowlah NSW 2093
Tel: (02) 949 7417 Fax: (02) 949 7095
*YES GARRY, please send me more
information on K-band satellite systems.
Address:
P'code:
ACN 002 174 478
isaSS
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SEPTEMBER 1994 res
 SPRING CLEAN UP
ONE DAY SALE
In early November, we will open our shop
at 5 Lansdowne Pde, OATLEY for a ONE
DAY SALE. Genuine clearance prices will
apply to some items! Many other items/
kits will have their prices greatly reduced.
Strictly ONE DAY ONLY, 10AM - 5PM on
the 5/11/94. Interstate customers need not
miss out. “Poll” our fax (02) 579 3955 on
the 4th and 5th of November.
IEC LEADS
Heavy duty 3-core (10A) 3-metre leads
with IEC plug on one end and a European
plug at the other.
$ 1.50 Ea or 10 for $10
MOTOR SPECIAL
We have reduced the price of two of our
larger DC motors, which can also double
up as generators.
M9: 12V, | No load = 0.52A; 15,800 RPM
at 12V; main body 36mm dia; 67mm long
. $5
M14: Made for slot cars; 4-8V; | No load =
0.84A at 6V; at max efficiency | = 5.7A;
7500 RPM; main body 30mm dia; 57mm
long ... $6
EPROMS
270512, 512K (64K x 8), 150ns access ,
CMOS EPROMS. Removed from new
equipment, need erasing, guaranteed.
$4 Ea.
MAINS POWERED GAS LASER
Includes a professional potted mains
power supply and a new 3mW red tube to
suit. One catch: this supply requires a 4-
6V (TTL) enable input which is optically
isolated, to make the unit switch ON.
Very low consunption from a 4.5V bat-
tery.
$100
For a new 3mW tube plus a TTL mains
power supply to suit.
GREEN TUBES
Back in stock! The luminous output of
these 1-1.5mW GREEN laser diode heads
compares with a 5mW red tube!
$490 Ea.
Includes a 1-1.5mW Green head and a
12V operated universal laser inverter kit.
SUPER DIODE POINTERS - HEADS
These pointers probably represent the
best value when you compare them on a
78 SILICON CHIP
“brightness per dollar’ basis. They are
about 5 times brighter than 5mW/670nm
pointers! They have an output of 2.5mW
at 650nm, which is about equal in bright-
ness to a 0.8mW HE-NE tube!! SPECIAL
INTRODUCTORY PRICE:
$150
We will also have available some of the
3V diode modules used in these pointers
at approximately $125, and also some
2.5mW/635nm laser diode modules with
special optics at approximately $280.
VIDEO TRANSMITTERS
Low power PAL standard UHF TV trans-
mitters. Have audio and video inputs with
adjustable levels, a power switch, and a
power input socket: 10-14V DC 10mA
operation. Enclosed in a small metal box
with an attached telescopic antenna.
Range is up to 10m with the telescopic
antenna supplied but can be increased to
aproximately 30m by the use of a small
directional UHF antenna. INCREDIBLE
PRICING:
$25
40 x 2 LCD DISPLAY
Brand new 40-character by 2-line LCD
displays with built in driver circuitry that
uses Hitachi ICs. Easy to drive “standard”
displays, brief information provided. Big-
ger than normal character size: The ac-
tual effective area of the display is 154 x
50mm!
$30 Ea. or 4 for $100
RS232 INTERFACE PCB
A brand new and complete PCB assem-
bly that appears to be an interface be-
tween a telephone line/computer/tel-
ephone. PCB assembly includes a stand-
ard telephone 4-way modular connector
socket, 25-pin D type connector and a
25-way ribon cable with connector.
Amongst many parts there are two
INTERSIL ICL232 ICs: RS232 Tx - Rx
ICs. Limited quantity at below the price of
the RS232 ICs:
$8
MODULAR TELEPHONE CABLES
High quality 4-way modular curled cable
with plugs fitted at each end, as typically
used between a telephone and a hand-
set. Also an 8-way modular flat cable with
plugs fitted at each end, 4m long.
$2
For one of each of the cables.
HIGH POWER ARGONS
The real thing! Draw pictures on clouds,
big buildings etc, with a multi-line Argon
laser with a few watts of output. We have
two units available: one 4 watt and one 7
watt. Both have very low hours of opera-
tion. Purchasers will have to have
acreditation from the appropriate govern-
ment department. “Ring” for more details.
TDA ICs/TRANSFORMERS
We have a limited stock of some 20-watt
TDA1520 HIFI quality monolithic power
amplifier ICs: Less than 0.01% THD and
TIM distortion, at 1OW RMS output! With
the transformer we supply we guarantee
an output of greater than 20W RMS per
channel into an 8-ohm load, with both
channels driven. We supply a far overated
240V-28V 80W transformer, two
TDA1520 ICs, and two suitable PCBs
which also include an optional preampli-
fier section (only one additional IC), and a
cicuit and layout diagram. The combina-
tion can be used as a high quality HIFI
Stereo / Guitar / PA amplifier. Only a
handful of additional components are re-
quired to complete this excellent stereo/
twin amplifier! Incredible pricing:
$25
For one 240V-28V (80W!) transformer,
two TDA1520 monolythic HIF! amplifier
ICs, Two PCBs to suit, circuit diagram/
layout. Some additional components and
a heatsink are required.
HIGH POWER LED IR ILLUMINATOR
This kit includes two PCBs, all on-board
components, plus casing. Switched mode
power supply plus 60 high intensity 880nm
IR (invisible) LEDs. Variable output power,
6-20VDC input, suitable for illuminating
IR responsive CCD cameras, IR night
viewers etc. Professional perfomance at
a fraction of the price of the commercial
product: COMPLETE KIT PRICE:
$60
MARINE SEARCHLIGHTS
These BRAND NEW 1/2 metre diameter
search lights were made by LUCAS in the
UK. They are painted grey and are al-
most totally made of brass, except for a
few stainless steel screws and nuts, a
mirrored glass parabolic reflector, and a
glass cover plate. They have a detach-
able grey mounting pillar which is also
made of brass and brings the total height
of the spotlight and the pillar to 2 métres.
Fully adjustable positioning and focusing.
Supplied with 1000W 240V quartz halo-
gen lamp (T11): 23,000 Lumens. Approx-
imate weight of pillar and spotlight is 60kG.
CLEARANCE:
$490
INTENSIFIED NIGHT VIEWER KIT
See in the dark! Make your own night
scope that will produce good vision in
sub-starlight illumination. We supply a 3-
stage fibre optically coupled image inten-
sifier tube, EHT power supply kit, and
sufficient plastics to make a monocular
scope.
$290 for the 25mm version
$390 for the 40mm version
We can also supply the lens (100mm f2:
$75) and the eyepiece ($18) which would
be everything that is necessary to make
an incredible viewer!
LASER POINTER SPECIAL
Not a kit, but a complete commercial
5mW 670nm pen-sized pointer at an in-
credible SPECIAL PRICE:
$99 ITEM No. 0101
12V FANS
High quality, brand new 80mm 12V 1.6W
DC fans. These are IC controlled and
have four different approval stamps. Big
quantity available at very low prices:
$10 Ea. or 5 for $40
LIGHT MOTION DETECTORS
Small PCB assembly based on a
ULN2232 IC. This device has a built in
light detector, filters, timer, narrow angle
lens, and even a siren driver circuit that
can drive an external speaker. Will detect
humans crossing a narrow corridor at
distances up to 3 metres. Much higher
ranges are possible if the detector is illu-
minated by a remote visible or IR light
source. Can be used at very low light
levels and even in total darkness with IR
LED. Full information provided. The IC
only is worth $16! OUR SPECIAL PRICE
FOR THE ASSEMBLY IS:
$5 Ea. or 5 for $20. ITEM No. 0163
LENSES
A pair of lens assemblies that were re-
moved from brand new laser printers.
They contain a total of 4 lenses which by
different combinations/placement in a la-
ser beam can diverge, collimate, make a
small line, make an elipse etc.
$8
For the two assemblies. ITEM No. 0236
POLYGON SCANNERS
Precision motor with 8-sided mirror, plus
a matching PCB driver assembly. Brand
new matching components, out of laser
 printers. Will deflect a laser beam and
generate a line. Needs a clock pulse and
DC supply to operate. Simple information
supplied. ITEM No. 0237.
$25
PCB WITH AD7581LN IC
This PCB was removed from used but
working late model equipment. Amongst
many other components the PCB con-
tains a MAXIM AD7581LN IC: 8-bit, 8-
channel memory buffered data acquisi-
' tion system designed to interface with
microprocessors. This high perfomance
CMOS IC contains an 8-bit successive
approximation A-D converter, 8-channel
multiplexer, 8 x 8 dual port RAM, address
latches and microprocessor compatible
control logic. The complete PCB assem-
bly is priced at a small fraction of the price
of the AD7581LN IC:
$29 ITEM No. 0240
EHT POWER SUPPLY
These EHT power supplies were designed
to deliver -600V, -7.5kV and +7kV ina
laser printer, whilst powered from a 24V
800mA DC supply. They were removed
from brand new equipment and are con-
tained in a plastic case with overall di-
mensions of 100 x 85 x 80mm. The elec-
tronics inside these supplies actually con-
tains three seperate supplies on two
seperate PCBs. The output connections
are easy to access and a prewired input
power connector is also provided. Con-
necting up information is provided. Great
for experienced experimenters. BARGAIN
PRICED. ITEM No. 0222NS.
$16
GAS LASER SPECIAL
We have a good supply of some HeNe
laser heads that were removed from new
or near new equipment, and have a power
output of 2.5-5mW - very bright! With
each head we will supply a 12V universal
laser power supply kit for a ridiculous
TOTAL PRICE of:
$89
INDUCTIVE PROXIMITY SWITCHES
Detect ferrous and non-ferrous metals at
close proximity, some are DC powered
(10-30V), some are mains AC powered,
and all will switch loads directly. All have
three wires for connecting into circuitry:
two for the supply and one for switching
the load. These also make excellent sen-
sors for rotating shafts etc.
$22 Ea. or 6 for $100. ITEM No. 0192.
STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER KIT
SPECIAL
This kit will drive two stepper motors (4,
5, 6 or 8-eight wire stepper motors) from
an IBM computer parallel port. A sepa-
rate power supply is required to run the
motors. A detailed manual on the COM-
PUTER CONTROL OF MOTORS plus
circuit diagrams/descriptions are provided.
Note that no stepper motors are provided
with this kit. We also provide the neces-
sary software on a 5.25" disc. Great “low
cost” educational kit.
$35
THE SPECIAL??: we will include one of
our $14 (5V, 6-wire, 7.5-deg.). stepper
motors “FREE” with this kit!
MORE KITS-ITEMS
Single Channel UHF Remote, SC Dec.
92. 1 x Tx plus 1 x Rx $45, extra Tx $15.
Garage/Door/Gate Remote Control Kit:
Tx $18; Rx $79.
1.5-9V Converter Kit (PCB included) $6
Ea. or 3 for $15.
Laser Beam Communicator Kit: Tx, Rx,
plus IR laser $50.
Plasma Ball Kit: PCB and components
kit, needs any bulb $25.
Masthead Amplifier Kit: Two PCBs plus
all on board components. Low noise, cov-
ers VHF-UHF, excellent price! $18.
BRAKE LIGHT INDICATOR KIT
60 LEDS, two PCBs and 10 resistors,
makes for a very bright 600mm long high
— intensity red display, similar to one’s in-
stalled on late model vehicles.
On SPECIAL for $30
IR LASER DIODE
SURPLUS SPECIAL
BRAND NEW 780nm LASER DIODES
(barely visible), mounted in.a professional
adjustable collimator-heatsink assembly.
Each of these assemblies is supplied with
a CONSTANT CURRENT DRIVER kit
and a suitable PIN DIODE that can serve
as a detector, plus some INSTRUC-
TIONS. Suitable for medical use, perim-
eter protection, data transmission, IR illu-
mination, etc. Exerimenters delight at a
SPECIAL PRICE. ITEM No. 0223NS.
$28
5mW VISIBLE LASER DIODE KIT
Hitachi 6711G 5mW-670nm visible laser
diodes, plus an APC driver kit, plus a
collimating lens - heatsink assembly.
That's a complete 5mW collimated laser
diode kit for a TOTAL PRICE OF:
$75. ITEM No. 0164A
BIGGER LASER
We have a good but LIMITED QUAN-
TITY of some “as new” red 6mW+ laser
heads that were removed from new equip-
ment. Head dimensions: 45mm diameter
by 380mm long. With each of the head
we will include our 12V Universal Laser
power supply. BARGAIN AT:
$170 for 6mW+ head/supply.
ITEM No. 0225B
We can also supply a 240V-12V 4A/5V
4A switched mode power supply to suit
for $28.
SPECIALS BY FAX
‘iin ’Lo)e] amt: amar: lor:mele) iiiave mmieiavei rela mame (-)
(02) 579 3955 and press your POLLING
fo]Ujaco)alm comme (=) qmol| aml-](=1-) mm)ol-\e1t-]
(yam e)[OTs
voll amic=lanm-lalem di amiiiiiave mmOleler-i(-lemyaeliamey
each month.
12V 2.5-WATT SOLAR PANEL tube emloyed is probably the most sensi-
SPECIAL tive IR responsive tube we ever supplied.
These US made amophorous glass solar The resultant viewer requires low level IR
panels only need terminating and weather illumination. Basic instructions provided.
proofing. We provide terminating clips ITEM No. 0228UTS.
and a slightly larger sheet of glass. The $120
terminated panel is glued to the backing For the tube, lens, eyepiece and the power
glass, around the edges only. To make supply kit. When ordering specify prefer-
the final weatherproof panel look very ence for a wide angle or a telescopic
attractive some inexpensive plastic “L” Objective lens.
angle could also be glued to the edges
with some silicone. Very easy to make. SOLID STATE “PELTIER EFFECT”
Dimensions 305 x 228mm; Vo-c 18-20V; - COOLER
- HEATER
Is-c 250mA. SPECIAL REDUCED PRICE These are the major parts needed to
_ until the end of 94!: make a solid state thermoelectric cooler/
$20 Ea. or 4 for $60. ITEM No. 0226 heater. We can provide a large 12V 4.5A
Each panel is provided with a sheet of Peltier effect semiconductor, two thermal
backing glass, terminatig clips, an isolat- cutout switches, and a 12V DC fan for a
ing diode, and the instructions. A very total price of:
efficient switching regulator kit is avail- $45 ITEM No. 0231
able for $27. Suits 12-24V batteries, 0.1- We include a basic diagram/circuit show-
16A panels, $27. Also available is a sim- ing how to make a small refrigerator/
ple and efficient shunt regulator kit, $8. heater. The major additional items re-
quired will be an insulated container such
CCD CAMERA as an old “Esky”, two heatsinks and a
Monochrome CCD camera which is to- small block of aluminium.
tally assempled on a small PCB and in-
cludes an Auto Iris lens. It can work with RUSSIAN NIGHT VIEWER
illumination of as little as 0.1 Lux and it is We have a limited quantity of some pas-
IR responsive. Can be used in total dark- sive monocular Russian-made night view-
ness with infrared illumination. Overall ers that employ a 1st generation image
dimensions of camera are 24 x 46 x 70mm intensifier tube and are prefocussed to
and itweighs less than 40 grams! Can be infinity. CLEARANCE:
connected to any standard monitor or the $180
video input on a video cassette recorder.
$239. ITEM NO. 0227 MAINS CONTACTOR RELAY
Approved mains contactor that has a 24V
IR “TANK SET” \ 250-ohm relay coil and four separate
ON SPECIAL is a set of components that SPST switch outputs. Two of the output
can be used to make a a very responsive contacts are rated at 20A and the other
infrared night viewer. The matching lens two at 10A. Removed from new equip-
tube and eyepiece sets were removed ment, Omron brand, connection is by
from working military quality tank view- spade connectors (provided), mounting
ers. We also supply a very small EHT bracket provided, relay body dimensions:
power supply kit that enables the tube to 60 x 60 x 35mm. ITEM No. 0219NS.
be operated from a small 9V battery. The $8
OATLEY ELECTRONICS
PO Box 89, Oatley, NSW 2223
Phone (02) 579 4985. Fax (02) 570 7910
Bankcard, Master Card, Visa Card & Amex accepted with
_ phone & fax orders. P & P for most mixed orders: Aust.
$6; NZ (airmail) $10.
SEPTEMBER 1994 79

Building a classic crystal set
Building a classic crystal set can be a lot of
fun. This unit is based on an old navy design
& offers excellent performance considering —
the circuit simplicity.
I recently joined a radio collectors’
club—The Vintage Radio Club of North
East Victoria Inc. This group meets at
various locations around the Sheppar-
ton, Benalla and Wangaratta region
and has a membership of about 40.
The North East Club is a fairly ac-
tive group. Not only do they meet ona
regular monthly basis but they also
put out a monthly newsletter which is
a remarkable effort in itself and a credit
to those concerned. And every year,
the club presents to one of its mem-
bers a special achievement award
called the “Hellier Award”.
Les Hellier was a radio pioneer in
the Wangaratta district in the early
1920s. His family were happy to have
his name used by the club for their
annual award and have supplied a
shield for use as a perpetual trophy.
Last. year, everyone who wished to
80 SILICON CHIP
By JOHN HILL
participate in the award activity built
a Little General receiver. This year’s
effort centres around the building of a
crystal set. Personally, I think the crys-
tal set project is a great idea as it
allows members with little practical
experience to participate in the event.
There are two award categories this
year — vintage and open — so the award
will have joint winners.
Classic crystal set
Anyway, this preamble is simply a
lead up to explain why I have just
finished building a crystal set. I am
pleased to say that my home-made
receiver has turned out to be an out-
standing performer and it has been
well worth the effort. What’s more, |
found building this simple little radio
to be an interesting and rewarding
project. | navy circuits. The Super Crystal Set,
To be perfectly honest, I cannot take
much credit for my crystal set. be-
cause it has been built to a well-proven
design. It is a home-made version of
the Technicraft-cum-Orpheus “Super
Crystal Set”, without the spiderweb
coils, plus a few minor modifications
of my own. I also decided on a name
change to distinguish my version and
it is now the “Classic Crystal Set”.
The receiver is of elaborate design
(for a crystal set), having three coils, a
10-position stud switch, two variable
capacitors and four controls on the
front panel. As the set is to be entered
in the vintage category, it has been
built to look like a 1920s production,
complete with a catswhisker type crys-
tal detector, black bakelite panels and
vintage style control knobs.
The cabinet also follows this pat-
tern; it has a lift up lid and is made of
solid blackwood timber. |
Design origins
The previously mentioned Super
Crystal Set was originally designed
by David Whitby and is based on early
as well as several other vintage radio
kits, were quite popular about 10 years.
ago. In fact, it was these Technicraft
kits that started me in vintage radio. If
they had not come along at the right
time, I would most likely be doing
something else for a hobby today.
David eventually sold his vintage
radio department to Richard Wilson
who then sold the kits through the
Orpheus Radio Museum in Ballarat. _
When Richard eventually decided to —
get out of the vintage radio business,
the production of Technicraft kits sud-
denly came to an end. No doubt this
range of receivers will become quite
collectable. |
Retailing at $89, the Super Crystal
Set kit was not cheap and many would-
Bi css ta aS aC SS a SSR See SSR SS
These ancient aerial and earth terminals are just the thing when building a
1920s style crystal set. The parts used in vintage construction should be from
the right era, or at least look as though they are.
This photo shows the two old style variable capacitors used in the crystal set.
The one on the left has a range of about 0-100pF & the larger one a range of
about 0-500pF. Both are plain, single bearing types & both required cleaning &
adjustment before they could be used.
be builders were discouraged by the
price. If you now want to build this
remarkable crystal receiver, simply do
as I have done; build it using conven-
tional coils and utilise what odd bits
and pieces you may have available.
Whether or not the receiver is made to
look like a vintage set or not is en-
tirely up to each individual construc-
tor and the components available. Be-
AERIAL
a ee
The Classic Crystal Set’s coils were
wound on old (& very rare) 2-inch
diameter black bakelite tubing. A thin
piece of wood has been used to isolate
the coil taps.
really is a bit more to it than that.
Sure it is a tapped loading coil but
my design improvement incorporates
a variable capacitor so that the reso-
‘nance peak can be accurately obtained.
Without this trimmer capacitor, the
eight turns between the taps is much
too coarse if the resonance point of a
particular station is midway between
taps. |
As far as I’m aware, a loading coil is
nothing but a tapped coil in series
with the aerial. It is often mounted on
a separate board and operates inde-
pendently of and outside the crystal
cause my receiver has been built as a set.
vintage replica, the rename to Classic On the other hand, the accurately
Crystal Set seemed appropriate. tuned RF coil in the Classic Crystal
Set is inductively coupled to the de-
Design points tector stage by a variable coupling coil
I like to think of this particular re- arrangement. That seems like a tuned
ceiver as being a TRF (tuned radio non-amplified RF stage to me.
frequency) crystal set. While some Anyway, whether you agree with
would argue that the RF section is me or not, you would have to admit
nothing other than a loading coil, there that a TRF Crystal Set sounds intrigu-
ing and gives the receiver a bit of
80T Fig.1: the circuit class. If anything ever needed its im-
TAPPED 20,10,10 age lifted in this day and age, it would
10,10,20 CRYSTAL for the Classic
DETECTOR Crystal set uses a have to be the humble crystal set. Soa
tapped loading TRF it is!
_ coil which is
accurately tuned Collecting the parts
with a trimmer It is surprising just how long it takes
HIGH VU capacitor. to bring a simple crystal set project to
wee IMPEDANCE
‘PHONES completion. Just finding all the neces-
sary bits and pieces was a.major op-
eration and quite a few hours were
spent locating the required parts.
Knowing that you have something and
knowing where to find it are two dif-
SEPTEMBER 1994 81

A pair of Browns type F high-impedance headphones was used with the Classic
crystal Set. Also shown is an adapter which allows phones with standard lead
tips to be used with a quarter-inch phone jack.
The variable coupling coil setup was installed in one end of the detector coil. It
is mounted on a hardwood shaft & the coil connections run through the shaft to
the outside. Note that the coil is bound with thread to keep it together.
ferent things. Cleaning and repairing
these parts took up a considerable
amount of time too.
Mention should also be made of the
convenience of having a lathe in one’s
workshop. The variable coupling coil
control, in particular, would have been
difficult to incorporate without the
lathe.
The big advantage of a crystal set of
this design type is that it is so selec-
tive, yet it seems to produce this se-
lectivity without loss of volume which
is contrary to what one would expect.
Selectivity is something that is re-
ally important in my locality because
of a local 5kW station, 3CV (Central
82 SILICON CHIP
Victoria) on 1071kHz. Not only is 3CV
a mere 6km away from my location
but it also occupies a central position
on the dial. Most single coil crystal
sets cannot handle such a situation
and provide only single station recep-
tion — the strong local.
However, the Classic Crystal Set
with its two tuned circuits, variable
coupling coil and tapped detector coil
enables the operator to tune out the
local station to a remarkable degree.
3CV can be suppressed sufficiently to
receive about eight other stations on
those special nights when reception
is particularly good.
Using an aerial that can only be
described in crystal set terms as being
mediocre (20 metres long and 6 me-
tres high), this remarkable little re-
ceiver can even pull in interstate sta-
tions. Adelaide and Sydney stations
(5CL, 5AN and 2BL) sometimes come
in at surprisingly good volume levels.
Of course, they often fade to nothing
for lengthy periods too. I must also
stress that these interstate stations are
in the 50kW class and this fact allows
them to be received at great distances
— even on a crystal set.
However, the most incredible re-
ception feat that the Classic has man-
aged so far is 4QD in Emerald, Queens-
land — 1500km as the crow files. Once
again, this is a powerful 50kW sta-
tion. The original Technicraft Super
Crystal Set will also receive 4QD.
It would appear that I’m in a good
reception area for these particular
transmissions. I might also add that
listening to these distant stations is
not damaging my hearing to any ex-
tent and nor are the headphones be-
ing greatly overstressed. They are loud
enough to identify and that’s about
all.
Detector stage
Looking at the circuit (Fig.1), one
can say that the detector stage of the
receiver is just about as standard as a
crystal set can be. There are no special
techniques involved and attaching the
antenna to the top of the detector coil
would produce a fairly basic crystal
set. .
The secret of the set’s brilliant per-
formance must therefore be in the RF
section ahead of the detector stage.
The tuned RF coil and its accompany-
ing variable coupling coil is where
the performance comes from. This
particular circuitry produces good se-
lectivity without any significant loss
in volume.
Tuning the receiver is a two-handed
job and it takes a while to pick out
those elusive stations. When a station
is located, it needs to be logged on a
chart so that it can be found again.
This is where it helps if the controls
have numbered dials. In the case of
the Classic, the tuning dial is num-
bered, the RF coil trimmer is num-
bered, the stud switch is numbered
and the coupling coil control knob
arrow operates best at around the 12
o'clock position. It is therefore easy to
return to a station once these control
positions have been accurately logged.

The finished receiver successfully captures the vintage loo
crystal detector was mounted high on the back of the front panel where it is out
of harm’s way.
Another stud switch for the detec-
tor coil taps would have been a good
idea but there really wasn’t room to
accommodate it on the front panel.
Instead, an internal wander lead and
alligator clip is used. Once set for best
results, it seldom needs moving.
The crystal used in the detector is
not the usual lead sulphide natural
galena type but a genuine “Neutron”
crystal. These special man-made crys-
tals have a surface which contains
hundreds of small sparkling facets and
good spots abound.
The Neutron crystal was actually
a
ly
: Repairs — Restoration — Sales
broken in half with a pair of side
cutters so that the catswhisker oper-
ates on a freshly exposed surface of
the crystal. When set on a good spot,
the Neutron crystal performs equally
as well as a germanium signal diode,
although an ohm meter indicates oth-
erwise.
Alternate switching from crystal to
diode produced no difference in re-
ception quality or sensitivity. How-
ever, the signal diode is a bit more
convenient to use.
If you have an interest in simple
radio receivers, then this particular
VALVES — 1200 types in stock
EL34/BCA7 matched $30 ea.
6L6GC matched $28 ea.
Parts are available for the enthusiast, in-
cluding over 900 valve types, high voltage
capacitors, transformers, dial glasses,
knobs, grille cloth etc.
Circuit diagrams for most Australian makes
and models.
Send SAE for our catalog.
Call in to our NEW showroom at:
242 Chapel Street (PO Box 2029),
Prahran, Vic 3181.
Phone: (03) 510 4486; Fax (03) 529 5639
circuit will not only test your con-
struction skills but will also reward
you with a top performing crystal re-
ceiver. Whether it is operated in the
city or in some remote country area, it
will give a surprisingly good account
of itself.
So it’s off to the Hellier Award meet-
ing at the weekend. I’ll tell you how it
all went next month. sc

SR teeny

NON.

The parts visible in this This view shows the variable coupling coil setup & the
the rear of the stud switch & the trimming capacitor. The drive shaft to the front panel. Note the brass “clock spring”
alligator clip at the left is used for selecting the detector connectors on the shaft. Rotation of the coupling coil is
coil taps & once set rarely needs shifting. restricted to half a turn.

SEPTEMBER 1994 83
 O N T R O I , ¢
R E M O T E C
Modellers with dedication; Pt.2
This month, we will look at the work of one
of the most dedicated, versatile & highly
skilled modellers I have ever had the
pleasure to make the acquaintance of, in a
lifetime of active modelling.
For personal reasons he has asked
me to withhold -his name so I will
henceforth refer to him only as John.
I first met him when I was operat-
ing out of my father’s newsagency at
Tempe back in the mid 1960s. At that
time, he purchased a 10-channel reed
system from me for a model yacht.
Over the years our business relation-
ship grew into one of those friend-
ships that thrives for a time only to
This model racing semi-trailer tractor, built to a scale of 1:12, has an incredible |
range of radio-controlled functions, including windscreen wipers, all lights &
the horns.
84 SILICON CHIP
BY BOB YOUNG
intensity with which he pursues them.
When he decides upon a course of
action it is carried out to the most
unbelievable levels of achievement
and excellence. The photographs ac-
companying this article attempt to
show how diverse are his interests
but they don’t do full justice to the
excellence of his workmanship and
diverge for a period and then comes that is a great pity for the final prod-
back to life, and always with the feel- ucts are a joy to behold.
ing that no real time has elapsed since
our last meeting. Model railroads
During those years I have watched Possibly his most abiding interest
his interest in modelling grow and is in model railroads. His home is a
mature, with his work now at what I stunning testimony to a lifetime of
consider to be the level of a master non-stop modelling work. His HO
craftsman. (1:87) scale layout, on which he has
The staggering thing about John is been working for over 25 years (in
the diversity of his interests and the between other projects), occupies a
large building dedicated to this lay-
out alone. It is the only model railroad
layout I have seen which features an
electrical storm complete with a se-
quence of lightning, thunder and (get
this) torrential rain, over a section of
the track.
My close involvement with John
came about as a result of our mutual
interest in model and full size avia-
tion. Again, he never did things by
halves and John’s Airforce, as we jok-
ingly referred to it, featured over thirty
very elaborate R/C aircraft, mostly true
to scale and all built to a level of
excellence that would put most R/C
modellers to shame.
Our midweek flying sessions live
on in my memory as some of the most
interesting and enthusiastic periods
in my modelling career. The energy of
the man was infectious and all of us
in the group at that time worked like
demons, constantly competing to turn
out better and better models.
However, by the early 1980s busi-
ness life was becoming very tough
and family and business commitments
pulled us apart once more. During
this time the airforce was retired and
sold off and John’s son developed into
a world class R/C car driver and thus
lured John into the international world HEAD
of competitive high performance R/C
cars.
Again, nothing was done by halves
and during this time John set up an
engineering section home workshop
that is enough to dumbfound even the
most blase modeller. Actually, I have
seen professional engineering shops
that were nowhere near as well
equipped as John’s playpen. They cer-
tainly are not as neat, as well lit or as
well laid out.
The work that comes out of this
workshop is first class. Possibly my A close-up view of the 16-channel radio control transmitter built by Silvertone
favourite is his model of a semi-trailer, for control of a racing model semi-trailer. It looks as though it might be easier to
complete with working everything! drive the full size machine!
Constructed totally from scratch from
aluminium stock and sheet, this model
really is a work of art. It is powered by
an O.S. 40 4-stroke engine and really
has to be seen to be believed.
Essentially, it is a model of a racing
car transporter, the trailer being fitted
with working model racing cars and a
workbench complete with a working
model vice, a 44 gallon oil drum with
working pump anda contingent of
mechanics, drivers and various tyre-
kickers.

Racing truck cab

In his spare time as a lark, John
built a racing truck cab but the con-
cept of model truck racing has never
really caught on. Shown in one of the
accompanying photos is the custom
reveal some of the radio control gear.
16-channel Silvertone transmitter
which I built especially for the Semi
Trailer project. The channel logos give
some idea of the complexity of the
finished model: steering, forward and
reverse gear shift, throttle, brakes,
blinkers, horn, fog lights, high and
low beam headlights, parking lights,
hazard lights, windscreen wipers, en-
gine sound and one spare auxiliary
control.
I had to design and build a relay
switching unit which worked directly
from the receiver servo outputs for
the lighting circuits, the receiver be-
ing a custom built Silvertone 16-chan-
nel AM unit. This racing truck was
demonstrated several times at model
gatherings but now holds pride of
place in a static collection of models
that range from HO scale tableaus, The engine assembly of the model semi -trailer has a radiator & a belt-driven
through to R/C models of yachts, bat- fan. Note the servos at the rear for forward/reverse selection of the gear box.
SEPTEMBER 1994 85
 tleships, tanks, cars, trucks and air-
craft.
However, the piece de resistance in
his home modelling complex is his
garden layout. Here is a backyard de-
signed to give the maximum pleasure
to John and his modelling friends.
The centrepiece of the layout is an
R/C car racing circuit with 1:22 scale
cars around which runs an LGB rail-
road layout.

Battery power
LGB rolling stock is built to Scale 1
(1:32) and has a track gauge of 44.5mm.
The locomotives are battery powered
(essential for outdoor operation) and
operated by radio control, as are the
Radio controlled models coupled together with sound effects have a heightened sound systems. The latter are housed
sense of realism. The R/C racing circuit has crowd sounds coming from the in enclosed wagons along with a fair
pavilion & merry-go-round sounds from the fairground behind. sized speaker to give good bass repro-
duction. The sound system responds
to the locomotive speed and throttle
settings, and horns and whistles are
included.
The overall effect of the entire lay-
out is breathtaking when fully pow-
ered up. I have never fully appreci-
ated sound effects in models, particu-
larly model trains, but used skilfully
they add a new dimension to model-
ling and to my mind they are now a
must in any good modelling installa-
tion.
John uses sound effects in a way
that I have never encountered before.
They include the sound of a helicop-
ter warming up on the helipad, the
roar of the crowd in the stands, music
from the merry-go-round in the fair-
ground, the chuff of the steamer climb-
This general view of the layout shows the car racing track in the centre ing an incline and the burble of a
surrounded by the LGB (1:32) scale railway layout. The locomotives are battery diesel loco waiting at the level cross-
powered & radio controlled. ing. All of these effects add a sense of
life and drama to a model complex
that is busy in the extreme.

Future plans
John’s one complaint with his lay-
out is that the points are manually
operated at the moment, so true to
form he has commissioned Silvertone
to design and build a 20-channel R/C
points control system. I hope to
present the details of this system in a
future column.
However, enough of my account.
The photographs presented tell the
story more effectively than any amount
of prose. Next month I will present
| # the story of John and his son and their
A view inside on of the goods wagons coupled to a diesel locomotive. The wagon _ successes in the field of national and
contains the battery packs & radio controlled sound system. international R/C car racing. SC
86 SILICON CHIP
 PRODUCT SHOWCASE
Metex M-3850 digital multimeter
has PC interface
As well as all the
common features you
would normally expect
to find on a current
auto-ranging digital
multimeter, this Metex
-3850 has frequency,
capacitance &
temperature measure-
ment, transistor testing,
dual display & the
ability to store data for
later analysis.
The M-3850 has a large back-lit dual
liquid crystal display. The main dis-
play is a 4000 count array with 15mm
high digits and it is supplemented
with a smaller 4000 count display in
the top right-hand corner. Small icons
show the current operating mode
while a bargraph provides analog in-
dication of the measurement. Press-
ing the function button scrolls through milliamp terminal is used for current 20A (one range only). The meter can
the various modes. measurements on the 40mA and be set to measure AC or DC using the
The secondary display can be used 400mA ranges while the Amp termi- DCQ/AC button.
as a data hold facility, to keep account nal is used for measurements up to For voltage measurements, the
of a measured maximum, minimum
or a value relative to a preset value, CALLING ALL HOBBYISTS
while the main display shows the cur-
rent reading. In dual mode, it allows We provide the challenge and money for you to design and build as many
two measurements to be displayed at simple, useful, economical and original kit sets as possible.
once. For instance, the primary dis-
We will only consider kits using lots of ICs and transistors.
play can show a DC supply voltage
while the other displays the frequency If youneed assistance in getting samples and technical specifications while
of the ripple on the supply, or the building your kits, !et-us know.
temperature can be displayed in Cel- YUGA ENTERPRISE
sius on the main display and Fahren-
heit on the secondary display.
705 SIMS DRIVE #03-09
As with most DMMs, there are sepa- SHUN LI INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
rate terminals for the current ranges SINGAPORE 1438
which are used in conjunction with TEL: 65 741 0300 Fax: 65 749 1048
the large rotary selector switch; the
SEPTEMBER 1994 87

ranges run in the following sequence:
400mV, 4V, 40V, 400V and a maxi-
mum of 1000 volts DC or 750 volts
AC. The meter is fully autoranging
but has the facility to lock onto a
single range when needed. This is
done by selecting the R-H (Range Hold)
ETCH TANKS mode and then stepping through the
@ Bubble Etch ®@ Circulating ranges using the Up or Down button.
When it comes to measuring fre-
LIGHT BOXES quency, the Metex M-3850 really
@ Portuvee 4 @ Portuvee 6 shines. Most DMMs that measure fre-
@ Dual Level quency are hard put to measure up to
TRIMMER 1MHz but this unit can go to 40MHz.
@ Ideal Input sensitivity is quoted as better
than 100mV RMS for frequencies up
PCB DRILL ‘to 30MHz to over 300mV for frequen-
@ Toyo HiSpeed
cies above 30MHz. It has good capaci-
MATERIALS tance ranges too: 4nF, 40nF, 400nF,
@ PC Board: Riston, 4uF, 40uF and 400uF (1nF = .001pF).
Dynachem The resistance ranges run as fol-
@ 3M Label/Panel Stock lows: 400Q, 4kQ, 40kQ, 400kQ, 4MQ
@ Dynamark: Metal, Plastic and 40MQ. The meter provides an
%* AUSTRALIA’S NO.1 STOCKIST * audible continuity alarm for resist-
ances below 30Q and the diode test
ALE bonkvcard
range will light most LEDs. Maximum
open circuit voltage for the diode test
is 2.5 volts.
Another good feature of the Metex
40 Wallis Ave, East lvanhoe 3079.
Phone (03) 497 3422, Fax (03) 499 2381
is the auto-off switch. It turns the me-
ter off if none of the pushbuttons or
88 SILICON CHIP
the selector switch has been touched
for 10 minutes. Without this feature,
most DMMs become battery eaters and
that becomes frustrating when the bat-
tery dies just as you are about to take a
crucial measurement.
For transistor. hrz measurements,
the maximum reading is 4000 which
will allow the Metex to measure many
Darlington transistors. However, the
instruction manual warns that some
Darlingtons have internal resistors (be-
tween base and emitter) and these can
give rise to misleading results.
An interesting mode is the ‘Com-
parison’ function. The icon ‘CMP’ ap-
pears on the display and the meter
uses two memories as high and low to
test the current reading against and
displays ‘Hi’, ‘Low’ or ‘Pass’ depend-
ing on the value. All told, the Metex
has 10 memories for storing data and
these can be stepped through using
the Function button. ‘i
Datalogging
Where the Metex is outstanding is
in its ability to be transformed into a
datalogger. It can be connected to a PC
or compatible with an optional serial
interface which is accompanied with
software. This enables measurements
to be stored away with time stamping.
Values can be graphed either in real
time or replayed later.
The software is mouse driven and
has pull-down menus. Two serial ports
are therefore needed to get the soft-
ware running, one for the mouse and
another for the meter. Collected data
can be viewed in three modes: a line
graph that autoranges its Y axis (as the
meter does); a time-stamped history
of collected values; and a large mim-
icked display of the meter itself. Col-
lected values are stored in ASCII files
that can be replayed by the software
or loaded into other software for fur-
ther analysis.
All told, the Metex M-3850 digital
multimeter is an attractive package
with lots of features. It is supplied in a
vinyl case with separate sections to
store the meter and test leads. Recom-
mended retail price is $229.50 while
the computer interface and software
is a further $18.95. Other options in-
clude a rubber holster and an external
temperature probe.
For more information on the Metex
M-3850, contact your local Jaycar Elec-
tronics store or reseller. Phone (02)
743 5222,
 Celestion SRA series
power amplifiers
Celestion’s new SRA series
power amplifiers feature the com-
pany’s dual rail soft-switch output
stage, employing linear, output-
derived class G amplification. The
soft-switch design means that the
switch to the upper rail is inaudi-
ble. It provides the advantages of
dual rail operation, with a big in-
crease in efficiency and a corre-
sponding reduction in the genera-
tion of heat, without the distortion outputs only when the amplifier latching XLRs for daisy-chaining,
generated by fast-attack rail switch- has settled. Outputs are continu- heavy duty binding posts and
ing. ously monitored and are disabled Neutrik Speakon connectors.
Built to survive the rigours of in the event of operation outside Presently, two SRA models are
touring, all SRA series amplifiers specified tolerances. Output pro- available: (1) the SRA1000 with
feature a heavy-gauge steel chassis _ tection status is provided on the 510 watts into 4-ohms or 1020 watts
coupled to a transverse heatsink to front panel. bridged into 8-ohms; and (2) the
add rigidity. A continuously vari- All operational controls, the fan, SRA1600 with 815 watts into 4-
able cooling fan temperature con- filter and tamper-proof bridging ohms or 1620 watts bridged into 8-
trolled from the heatsink is an- and ground lift switches are acces- ohms.
other feature. sible from the front panel, without For further iifermation contact
Heavy duty output relays are the need to remove the amplifier Amber Technology Pty Ltd, Unit
employed to protect the loud- _ from its rack. The rear panel has B, 5 Skyline Place, Frenchs Forest,
speaker load and a logic-control- provision for a variety of mating NSW 2086. Phone (02) 975 1211 or
led power-up sequence enables the — connectors, including narallel fax (02) 975 1368.

New range of low-cost

snap-fitting cases
This new
High Power 2.5 Watt Transmitter Kit FMTX1 $69
line of poly- This kit uses a Single transistor to provide up to 2.5 watts into a 50-ohm load. It can be
styrol cases all set on the FM band from 88-108MHz. Audio is 500mV P-P with Australian pre-
emphasis. Power supply from 12-24 volts DC. Range up to 100 miles. Leaky coax
have moulded distribution can be used with any of our transmitters, terminate up to 2km of coax with
pillars for. a 50-ohm resistor and no radiation occurs. Use a 150-ohm WW pot and you can set the
level of radiation up to 300 metres from the coax. You can use this method to comply
mounting PC with DOTC schedule 3.
boards. The XTAL Locked 30mW Transmitter (The best quality kit transmitter
larger cases all in Australia) FMTX2B $49
have ventila- This transmitter is XTAL-locked on 100MHz (XTAL supplied) and is the most stable kit
transmitter on the market. It features a 3-stage design with only two tuned circuits and
tion slots and a clean output. This design can be used as the basis of a station exciter.
separate plas- Digital Stereo Coder (All Digital Design With Australian
tic front and Pre-emphasis) FMTX2A $49
This is a universal stereo coder able to be used with all of our transmitter designs and
rear panels. many others. Its performance is superior to domestic encoder single chip designs.
Sizes available are 207 x 68 x 179mm, 151 x 58 x 139mm Dozens have been sold to FM stations as a standby stereo coder or with the FMTX2B as
an exciter. ,
and 94x 47x 134mm (W xH xD).
Both FMTX2A and FMTX2B on 1 PCB as a complete stereo transmitter FMTX5 $99
The smaller cases in the range do not have separate
front and rear panels but have moulded slots, as well as MAX 1/0 Board for PCs (Talk To The Outside World) $169
This kit features 7 relays, ADC, DAC, stepper motor driver with sample software in Basic
pillars for PC board mounting. There are two different and connects to a PC’s parallel port. Now also available 1/0 bits software for MS
sized case halves and these may be mixed and matched Windows so you can program functions without being a programmer. Call relays by a
name like stop relay, assign its own icon - uses a simple VISUAL interface to make your
to build cases of three different heights. The half case own PLC. Full developer’s version has DOS runtime so you do not require Windows and
sizes are 71 x 24 x 123mm and 71 x 15x 123mm (WxH optional support for LCD displays. Data logging ADC and DAC boards and more. MAX
version $169.
x D).
FM Band Linear Amplifier Kits (All Imported Kits)
A baby case is also available but is not snap-fitting and New 30mW to 1 watt linear coming in September 1994 (advance orders taken) $99
is sized 70 x 47 x 40mm. All cases are available in black 500mW to 5 or 10 watts $199 250mW to 25 watts $249
15 watts to 110 watts $599 40 watts to 300 watts $999
and a grey-white. Power supplies and heatsinks not included in short form kit price.
For more information on these cases, contact Anton’s Other kits available. Call for a list or see Silicon Chip April-June 1994 or
Trains, Cnr Prince & Mary St, North Parramatta, NSW the Silicon Chip Model Railway Book.
2151. Phone (02) 683 3858.

SEPTEMBER 1994 89
 Bs Silicon Chip|
Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.2; Using The UC3906
SLA Battery Charger IC. ;

April 1990: Dual Tracking +50V Power Supply;

VOX With Delayed Audio; Relative Field Strength

= BACK ISSUES
Meter; 16-Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.3; Active CW
Filter For Weak Signal Reception; How To Find
Vintage Radio Receivers From The 1920s:

June 1990: Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm;

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.
November 1988: 120W PA Amplifier Module
(Uses Mosfets); Poor Man’s Plasma Display;
Automotive Night Safety Light; Adding A Headset
To The Speakerphone.
April 1989: Auxiliary Brake Light Flasher; What
You Need to Know About Capacitors; Telephone
Bell Monitor/ Transmitter; 32-Band Graphic Equal-
iser, Pt.2; LED Message Board, Pt.2.
!
May 1989: Electronic Pools/Lotto Selector; Build
A Synthesised Tom-Tom; Biofeedback Monitor
For Your PC; Simple Stub Filter For Suppressing
TV Interference; LED Message Board, Pt.3; All
About Electrolytic Capacitors.
June 1989: Touch-Lamp Dimmer (uses Siemens
SLB0586); Passive Loop Antenna For AM Raa-
ios; Universal Temperature Controller; Under-
standing CRO Probes; LED Message Board, Pt.4.
July 1989: Exhaust Gas Monitor (Uses TGS812
Gas Sensor); Extension’ For The Touch-Lamp
Dimmer; Experimental Mains Hum Sniffers; Com-
pact Ultrasonic Car Alarm; NSW 86 Class Electric
Locomotives.
September 1989: 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo
Radio (Uses MC 13024 and TX7376P) Pt.1; Alarm-
Triggered Telephone Dialler; High Or Low Fluid
Level Detector; Simple DTMF Encoder: Studio
Series 20-Band Stereo Equaliser, Pt.2; Auto-Zero
Module for Audio Amplifiers (Uses LMC669).
October 1989: FM Radio Intercom For Motor-
bikes Pt.1; GaAsFet Preamplifier For Amateur
TV; 1Mb Printer Buffer; 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo
Radio, Pt.2; Installing A Hard Disc In The PC.
November 1989: Radfax Decoder For Your PC
(Displays Fax, RTTY & Morse); FM Radio Inter-
com For Motorbikes, Pt.2; 2-Chip Portable AM
Stereo Radio, Pt.3; Floppy Disc Drive Formats &
Options; The Pilbara Iron Ore Railways.
December 1989: Digital Voice Board (Records
Up To Four Separate Messages); UHF Remote .
~ Switch; Balanced Input & Output Stages; Data
For The LM831 Low Voltage Amplifier IC; Install-
ing A Clock Card In Your Computer; Index to
Volume 2.
January 1990: High Quality Sine/Square Oscilla-
tor; Service Tips For Your VCR; Speeding Up
Your PC; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs; Ac-
tive Antenna Kit; Speed Controller For Ceiling
Fans; Designing UHF Transmitter Stages.
February 1990: 16-Channel Mixing Desk; High
Quality Audio Oscillator, Pt.2; The Incredible Hot
Canaries; Random Wire Antenna Tuner For 6
Metres; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs, Pt.2.
March 1990: 6/12V Charger For Sealed Lead-
Acid Batteries; Delay Unit For Automatic Anten-
nas; Workout Timer For Aerobics Classes; 16-
Low-Noise Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Load
Protection Switch For Power Supplies; A Speed
Alarm 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-
bination Lock; Simple Electronic Die; Low-Cost
Dual Power Supply; Inside A Coal Burning Power
Station; Weather Fax Frequencies.
August 1990: High Stability UHF Remote Trans-
mitter; Universal Safety Timer For Mains Appli-
ances (9 Minutes); Horace The Electronic Cricket;
Digital Sine/Square Wave Generator, Pt.2.
September 1990: Music On Hold For Your Tele-
phone; Remote Control Extender For VCRs;
Power 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.

ORDER FORM By
Noy e. 106
< :

Sez
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Note: all prices include post & packing

Card No. | , | | L | | |
Australia (by return mail)
NZ & PNG (airmail)
Signature Card expiry date / Overseas (airmail)

Name Phone No (__) Detach and mail to: .

PLEASE PRINT Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139,
Street Collaroy, NSW, Australia 2097.
Or call (02) 979 5644 & quote your credit card
Suburb/town Postcode details or fax the details to (02) 979 6503.

90 SILICON CHIP
 January 1991: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries,
Pt.1; Have Fun With The Fruit Machine; Two-
Tone Alarm Module; LCD Readout For The Ca-
pacitance 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 I/O
Board For PC-Compatibles; Universal Wideband
RF Preamplifier For Amateurs & TV.
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.
| May 1991: 13.5V 25A Power Supply For Trans-
ceivers; Stereo Audio Expander; Fluorescent Light
Simulator For Model Railways; How To Install
Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.1.
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; Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.1.
July 1991: Battery Discharge Pacer For Electric
Vehicles; Loudspeaker Protector For Stereo Am-
lifiers; 4-Channel Lighting Desk, Pt.2; How To
nstall Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.2; Tuning In To
Satellite TV, Pt.2. , ter; High Intensity LED Flasher For Bicycles; 2kW
August 1991: Build A Digital Tachometer; Mast-
| head Amplifier For TV & FM; PC Voice Recorder;
Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.3; Step-By-Step Vin-
tage 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 & Ultrali ts, 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; 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 enera-
tor, Pt.2; 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; Restoring 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; Designing A Speed Control-
ler For Electric Models.
March 1992: TV Transmitter For VHF VCRs;
Studio Twin Fifty Stereo Amplifier, Pt.1; Thermo-
static Switch For Car Radiator Fans; Telephone
Call Timer; 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; 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; 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; A Look At Hard Disc Drives.
~ July 1992: Build A Nicad Battery Discharger; 8-
Station Automatic Sprinkler Timer; Portable 12V
SLA Battery Charger; Multi-Station Headset In-
tercom, Pt.2.
August 1992: Build An Automatic SLA Battery
Charger; Miniature 1.5V To 9V DC Converter;
Dummy Load Box For Large Audio Amplifiers;
Internal Combustion Engines For Model Aircraft;
Troubleshooting Vintage Radio Receivers.
September 1992: Multi-Sector Home Burglar
Alarm; Heavy-Duty 5A Drill speed Controller (see
errata Nov. 1992); General-Purpose 32-Digit LCD
Panel Meter; Track Tester For Model Railroads;
Build A Relative Field Strength Meter.
October 1992: 2kW 24VDC To 240VAC Sine-
wave Inverter; Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm,
Pt.2; Mini Amplifier For Personal Stereos; Elec-
tronically Regulated Lead-Acid Battery Charger.
January 1993: Peerless PSK60/2 2-Way Hifi
Loudspeakers; Flea-Power AM Radio Transmit-
24VDC To 240VAC Sinewave ‘Inverter, Pt.4;
Speed Controller For Electric Models, Pt.3.
February 1993: Three Simple Projects For Model
Railroads; A Low Fuel Indicator For Cars; Audio
Level/VU Meter With LED Readout; Build An Elec-
tronic Cockroach; MAL-4 Microcontroller Board,
Pt.3; 2kW 24VDC To 240VAC Sinewave Inverter,
Pt.5; Making File Backups With LHA & PKZIP.
March 1993: Build A Solar Charger For 12V Bat-
teries; An Alarm-Triggered Security Camera; Low-
Cost Audio Mixer for Camcorders; Test Yourself
On The Reaction Trainer; A 24-Hour Sidereal
Clock For Astronomers.
April 1993: Solar-Powered Electric Fence; Build
An Audio Power Meter; Three-Function Home
Weather Station; 12VDC To 70VDC Step-Up Volt-
age Converter; Digital Clock With Battery Back-
Up; A Look At The Digital Compact Cassette.
May 1993: Nicad Cell Discharger; Build The
Woofer Stopper; Remote Volume Control For Hifi
Systems, Pt.1; Alphanumeric LCD Demonstra-
tion Board; Low-Cost Mini Gas Laser; The Micro-
— soft Windows Sound System.
June 1993: Windows-Based Digital Logic Ana-
lyser, Pt.1; Build An AM Radio Trainer, Pt.1; Re-
mote Control For The Woofer Stopper; A Digital
Voltmeter For Your Car; Remote Volume Control
For Hifi Systems, Pt.2
July 1993: Build a Single Chip Message Re-
corder; Light Beam Relay Extender; AM Radio
Trainer, Pt.2; Windows Based Digital Logic Ana-
lyser; Pt.2; Quiz Game Adjudicator; Programming
The Motorola 68HC705C8 Microcontroller — Les-
son 1; Antenna Tuners — Why They Are Useful.
rey 1993: Low-Cost Colour Video Fader; 60-
LED Brake Light Array; A Microprocessor-Based
Sidereal Clock; The Southern Cross Z80-based
Computer; A Look At Satellites & Their Orbits;
Unmanned Aircraft — Israel Leads The Way.
September 1993: Automatic Nicad Battery
Charger/Discharger; Stereo Preamplifier With IR
Remote Control, Pt.1; In-Circuit Transistor Tester;
A +5V to +15V DC Converter; Remote-Controlled |
Cockroach Servicing An R/C Transmitter, Pt.1.
October 1993: Courtesy Light Switch-Off Timer
For Cars; Wireless Microphone For Musicians;
Stereo Preamplifier With IR Remote Control, Pt.2;
Electronic Engine Management, Pt.1; Program-
ming The Motorola 68HC705C8 Microcontroller —
Lesson 2; Servicing An R/C Transmitter, Pt.2.
November 1993: Jumbo Digital Clock; High Effi-
ciency Inverter For Fluorescent Tubes; Stereo
Preamplifier With IR Remote Control, Pt.3; Siren
Sound Generator; Electronic Engine Management,
Pt.2; More Experiments For Your Games Card.
December 1993: Remote Controller For Garage
Doors; Low-Voltage LED Stroboscope; Low-Cost
25W Amplifier Module; Peripherals For The South-
ern Cross Computer; Build A 1-Chip Melody Gen-
erator; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.3; In-
dex To Volume 6.
January 1994: 3A 40V Adjustable Power Supply;
Switching Regulator For Solar Panels; Printer Sta-
tus Indicator; Mini Drill Speed Controller; Stepper
Motor Controller; Active Filter Design For Begin-
ners; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.4; Even
More Experiments For Your Games Card.
February 1994: 90-Second Message Recorder;
Compact & Efficient 12-240VAC 200W Inverter;
Single Chip 0.5W Audio Amplifier; 3A 40V Adjust-
able Power Supply; Electronic Engine Manage-
ment, Pt.5; Airbags: More Than Just Bags Of
Wind; Building A Simple 1-Valve Radio Receiver.
March 1994: Intelligent IR Remote Controller; |
Build A 50W Audio Amplifier Module; Level Cross-
ing Detector For Model Railways; Voice Activated
Switch For FM Microphones; Simple LED Chaser;
Electronic Engine Management, Pt.6; Switching
Regulators Made Simple (Software Offer).
_ April 1994: Remote Control Extender For VCRs;
Sound & Lights For Model Railway Level Cross-
ings; Discrete Dual Supply Voltage Regulator;
Low-Noise Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Build A
Digital Water Tank Gauge; Electronic Engine Man-
agement, Pt.7.
May 1994: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries;
Induction Balance Metal Locator; Muilti-Channel
Infrared Remote Control; Dual Electronic Dice;
Two Simple Servo Driver Circuits; Electronic En-
gine Management, Pt.8; Passive Rebroadcasting
For TV Signals.
June 1994: 200W/350W Mosfet Amplifier Mod-
ule; A Coolant Level Alarm For Your Car; An 80-
Metre AM/CW Transmitter For Amateurs; Con-
verting Phono Inputs To Line Inputs; A PC-Based
Nicad Battery Monitor; Electronic Engine Man-
agement, Pt.9
July 1994: SmallTalk — a Tiny Voice Digitiser For
The PC; Build A 4-Bay Bow-Tie UHF Antenna;
PreChamp 2-Transistor Preamplifier; Steam Train
Whistle & Diesel Horn Simulator; Portable 6V
SLA Battery Charger; Electronic Engine Manage-
ment, Pt.10. 7
August 1994: High-Power Dimmer For Incan-
descent Lights; Dual Diversity Tuner For FM Mi-
crophones; Build a Nicad Zapper; Simple Crystal
Checker; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.11;
Philips’ Widescreen Colour TV Set Reviewed.
PLEASE NOTE: all issues from November 1987
to August 1988, plus October 1988, December
1988, January, February, March & August 1989,
May 1990, and November and December 1992
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 tear-
sheets)at $7.00 per article (incl. p&p). When
supplying photostat articles or back copies, we
~ automatically supply any relevant notes & errata
at no extra charge.
SEPTEMBER 1994 91
 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.

Multiple coil version be a problem but still comparable or have a LED display module which
even cheaper in some cases than a counts up by 1, with a negative pulse
of transistor ignition fully electronic system, without the to the input. I intend testing it to find
I would like to suggest a redesign of need to also fit a crankshaft sensor, the number of pulses per litre flowed,
your Transistor Assisted Ignition as with whatever mechanical difficulties then to use a counter/divider to con-
described in the May and June 1988 that may present with some vehicles. vert to one pulse per litre to trigger the
issues of the magazine. It has occurred I hope you can envisage the advan- LED counter to count up by 1. Have
to me that it would be possible to fit tages of retrofitting a fully electronic you published a suitable counter/di-
multiple ignition coils, connected di- “distributor-less” system to an older vider interface which I could use for
rectly to each spark plug, thereby ef- vehicle, and at first glance it would this purpose? (P. C., Dundas, NSW).
fectively bypassing the distributor, seen simple and ideal if the existing ° You are proposing a very expensive
with its inherent losses through car- distributor can be used as the “crank- conversion. You would need a com-
bon tracking, moisture, rotor to plug shaft position” sensor, thereby avoid- plete transistor assisted ignition cir-
lead contact, etc. Fully electronic sys- ing the losses involved in routing the cuit, including the MC3334P chip, to
tems such as on the Commodore uti- high tension current by this means, drive each ignition coil.
lise a sensor to detect crankshaft angle also allowing full coil current to reach Actually, with a “dwell-extended”
and determine the firing point for each — the plugs by close positioning and design such as our transistor assisted
cylinder. short leads with regard to the ignition ignition, the coil is conducting for
My proposal is to use the existing coils. virtually all of the time so that its
distributor for this purpose, which Vacuum and centrifugal advance of dissipation is moreor less constant,
would no longer be a “distributor” as the ignition could still be preserved regardless of the spark rate. Thus, the
such, but more of a rotary switch. as with present electronic trigger modi- coils would not run cooler. This brings
Using four opto or Hall-Effect sensors fications to points type distributors. us to a real problem with your pro-
(for a 4-cylinder vehicle) within the Additionally, each coil would be op- posed multi-coil system and that is
distributor, these would ultimately erating at only a fraction of normal the total current drain. |
trigger, in correct order, the appropri- requirements, extending its operating Typically, the current drain in a
ate coil for each spark plug. I accept life due to cooler running, with the “dwell extended” system is much
there may be difficulties in fitting sen- added advantage of a much greater higher than in a Kettering system with
sors for 6 or 8-cylinder vehicles but I period between firings, allowing each the dwell set by the points. For a
am aware that some opto sensors are coil a much longer period to build up single coil, the current can be expected
quite small and some 8-cylinder dis- current before it is required. | to be around four or five amps and so
tributors quite large, so I ‘believe it One other question if Imay. I have a for a 6-coil system the current would —
would be possible. Also, the cost of fuel flow sensor, impeller type, speci- be around 30 amps. This is too much
multiple coils at around $35 each may fication 22Hz @ 10 litres/hr. I also for the typical car alternator to handle
when the headlights are on — the cur-
rent drain would simply be too much.
Lastly, while the distributor may
seem like a clumsy mechanical de-
vice, it is actually a very efficient high
voltage switch and the losses are of
little importance in a transistor as-
sisted ignition system. That is why
the vast majority of cars, one excep-
tion being the Holden Commodore,
use a distributor. In fact, it is a para-
dox that the Holden Commodore has
gone to the refinement of a multi-coil
ignition system when its V6 engine is"
such a harsh running beast — a legacy
of its 90° angle between the cylinder
banks. es
We published a 3-digit counter in
the September 1990 issue. This may
be suitable for your fuel flow sensor.
92 SILICON CHIP
 Using Polyswitches for
loudspeaker protection
I wanted to build the 50W audio
amplifier published on the March 1994
issue and I figured the 2-way book-
shelf speakers published in January
1993 issue would be an excellent
match. I would like to protect the
speakers using Polyswitch protectors
but the thing is, how would I connect
the Polyswitches on the crossovers
and what sort of Polyswitches do I
need? I also want to know what kind
of Polyswitches would suit a “Nippon
America” 10-inch 100W RMS sub-
woofer with an impedance of 40? I
would like to run it with the 50W
amplifier. One last question: can
Polyswitches be connected in parallel
to double their maximum current rat-
ing? (M. C., Yarraville, Vic).
We featured Polyswitches in the
50W and 100W amplifier designs pub-
m lished in the December 1988 issue of
| SILICON CHIP. Suitable devices are
_ stocked by Jaycar Electronics. You can
insert them individually in series with
the tweeter and woofer or just have
one to protect each system. For the
latter approach, we would suggest the
Cat. RN-3415 from Jaycar. These could
also be used to protect your 10-inch
speakers.
You cannot connect Polyswitches
in parallel as they will not share the
current equally.

Another vote for a

signal strength meter
In reference to the letter from B. P.,
of Port Macquarie, in the April 1994
issue, I too would be blessed if you
would design a signal strength meter
and present it as a project. As he states,
commercial units are expensive and
no doubt this is due to their flexibility
and accuracy; a design based around
a tuner/front end from a VCR should
be just as good.
I have included with my letter the
circuit of a tuner/front end which is
made by Sanyo and are easy to come
by secondhand— most of their Beta
machines are fitted with them. The
beauty of this unit is that it only re-
quires +12V for the supply and 0-12V
to tune across the entire band. Band-
switching is achieved by taking one of
three lines high as required.
This makesit an ideal choice for a
portable unit as it can then be pow-
ered by eight 1.5V cells ora 12V sealed
lead acid battery. In designing the
meter, the following should be taken
into account: (1) It needs to be able to
detect and display signal strength from
1yV up to 2-3V (via a switched attenu-
ator); (2) It should have a large, easy to
read display, either a moving-coil
meter or a digital readout (if not both);
(3) It should be easy to calibrate with-
out the use of expensive test equip-
ment and have optional outputs at the
rear for IF (to use the meter as a substi-
tute tuner) and Video/Audio to feed
to a monitor for picture ee evalu-
ation.
Judging by the comments I have
had from others, a project like this
would be extremely popular, as most
commercial units start around $1500.
There have been other designs pre-
sented before but in general they were
uncalibrated or involved lengthy con-
struction. (S. W., Hamilton, NZ).
¢ The problem with designing such
an instrument is not so much the tuner
front end but that of calibration. With-
out calibration, such instruments are
fairly useless. Tuners do not respond
equally over their band and therefore
it is necessary to produce a calibra-
tion curve for each individual instru-
ment if the results are to be accurate.
This really does make it difficult for
us to produce a useful product unless
we can come up with a simple cali-
bration procedure. At the moment,
we don’t have a solution. SC

SEPTEMBER 1994 93
 | CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES VINTAGE RADIO
| Advertising rates for this page: Classified ads:
$10.00
| cents for each additional word. Display ads (casualfor rate):
up to 12 words plus 50
$25 per column
VINTAGE RADIO SWAP meet/fair. Inc.
military, amateur radio and antique
| centimetre (Max. 10cm). Closing date: five weeks prior to month of sale. sound. Sunday 23rd October, 1994
| Torun your classified ad, print it clearly in the space below or on a separate sheet
10am to 5pm. Glenroy Technical School
of paper, fill out the form & send it with your cheque or credit card details to:
|
| Silicon Chip Classifieds, PO Box:139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. Or fax the details to
Hall, Melbourne. Bookings: R. Howarth,
(02) 979 6503. PO Box 9, Junortoun 3551. Phone (054)
49 3207.
|
| FOR SALE
REAL TIME ICE!!! The only way to go.
MOTOROLA 6805 EMULATOR and
programmers. Prices and data from
Graham Blowes, Mantis Micro Prod-
ucts, 38 Garnet Street, Niddrie 3042.
Phone (03) 337 1917 (a/h), (03) 575
3349 (b/h). Fax (03) 575 3369.

WEATHER FAX programs for IBM XT/

Als *** “RADFAX2” $35 is a high reso-
lution, shortwave weather fax, Morse &
Rtty receiving program. Suitable for
CGA, EGA, VGA and Hercules cards.
Needs SSB HF radio & Radfax de-
coder. *** “SATFAX” $45 is a NOAA,
Meteor & GMS weather satellite picture
receiving program. Needs EGA or VGA
plus “WEATHER FAX” PC card. ***
“MAXISAT” $75 is similar to SATFAX
but needs 2Mb expanded memory (EMS. _—
3.6 or 4.0) and 1024 x 768 SVGA card.
All programs are on 5.25-inch or 3.5-
inch disks (state which) & include docu-
mentation. Add $3 postage. Only from
| M. Delahunty, 42 Villiers St, New Farm,
| Qld 4005. Phone (07) 358 2785.
| Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $ or please debit my
lo Bankcard J Visa Card J Master Card
| |
A meg
|cardNo. ETP] Te)
ivnc-ll
eRe Te Lak
|
| Signature Card expiry date /
RCS Radio Pty Ltd is the only com-
| Name pany that manufactures and sells
every PC board and front panel pub-
|Street lished in SILICON CHIP, ETI and EA.
RCS Radio Pty Ltd,
| Suburb/town Postcode 651 Forest Rd, Bexley 2207.
Phone (02) 587 3491
EAE ea eee Ee eR ee ee ee cei Se
SILICON CHIP
 350 Watt Power MOSFET MEMORY & DRIVES
wy Zelcon Technic Pty Ltd
Amplifier Module PRICES AT AUGUST 1ST, 1994
PCB Supplier As published in the June 1994 issue SIMM (all 70ns) DRAM DIP
Photoplotting Services of Silicon Chip. Kit price $159.00. Parity/No Parity 1Mbx 1 70ns $7
SMT/Through-Hole Assembly 1Mb 30-pin $60/54 256x4 70ns Ss $8
Postage and handling $8.00.
CAD facilitites Payment by M/C, B/C, Visa, Cheque 2Mb 72-pin $135 55x65 SXVP 4Mb $298
PO Box 149, Glenorchy, Tas 7010 or Money Order. 4Mb 72-pin
8Mb 72-pin
—$235/212
$470/415
L4oN33_ Mb «$280
Ph: (002) 71 8120, Fax: (002) 71 8182 3kg O/N Air Bag $10.00 16Mb 72-pin $900/765 bial a ee
32Mb 72-pin $1690/1590 TOSHIBA
BBS: (002) 73 0799 Computer & Electronic Services Pty Ltd
MAC
2000SX 8Mb —-$460
27 Osborne Avenue, Trevallyn — 44/6400 4Mb $280
6Mb P’BOOK $350
Launceston, Tasmania 7250 SUN
‘CO-PROCESSORS SPARC 10/20 16Mb $975
Phone 003-34 4218; Fax 003-31 4328 387S/DX to 40 $90 SPARC 10/20 64Mb $4080
TRANSFORMER REWINDS LASER PRINTER
HP DRIVES - SEAGATE
with 2Mb_ 261Mb 16ms 2yrw $315
ALL TYPES OF TRANSFORMER REWINDS COMPAQ 528Mb 12ms 2yrw $480
TRANSFORMER REWINDS ~— Circuit Board oe PROLINEA 8Mb $476 1052Mb 9ms 5yrw $1170
Best Prices on Prototypes and Sales tax 21%. Overnight delivery. Credit cards welcome.
Reply Paid No.7, PO Box 1058, Production Quantities. 5-Year warranty. Ring for latest prices.
St Marys, NSW 2760. INSTANT PCB's
Ph: (02) 833 1146. Fax: (02) 623 5559. > POBox 448 Avalon Beach 2107 “of
Ph (02) 974 1189 Fax (02) 974 5491

SATELLITE TV DX SUPER RX re- size). MicroZed Computers, PO Box

ceiver. Threshold 2.5dB. Also digital pic-
ture, sound, synchron, resolution proc-
essors. Mobile DX receivers, pay TV
decoders. TV, radio, picture, sound mod-
ulators. Digital, analog signal meters.
Send $5 for info and catalog/refundable
to John Papp, PO Box 472, Sanderson,
NT 0812. Fax/Ph:(089) 27 4985.
SUBSTITUTE FOR A HANDFUL OF
ICs: Parallax “BASIC STAMP”. A gen-
eral purpose small circuit module, it is
really a 25 x 50mm board with a compu-
ter chip (4MHz PIC 16C56), EEPROM,
8 I/O pins, board space includes
prototyping area. Program it on a PC
(only 33 instructions) with development
kit which includes one “BASIC STAMP”
($249 plus S/T & post), extra modules
_ ($66 plus S/T & post). Send 45c stamp
for more information. Parallax distribu-
tor and technical support in Australia: ~ INTELLIGENT INFRARED RECEIVER
MicroZed Computers, PO Box 634,
Armidale, NSW 2350. Facsimile (067)
72 8987.
634, Armidale 2350.
FLUORESCENT INVERTER KIT (SC,
Feb 91) (Soft Technology No. 46): 12V,
24V or 48V/16W version. Secondary
wind, board plus components $30 plus
$4 p&p. SOLAR BATTERY CHARG-
ING REGULATOR: short form kit 12V
or 24V (SC, Jan 94) 10A $54 plus $4
p&p. Additional Mosfet $8 and Schottky
diode $5 to make 20A regulator.
With every kit ordered FREE used LEAD
SEALED BATTERY 12V/4Ah or 6Ah
while stocks last. Good condition but no
warranty. Only p&p is charged for bat-
tery. Ring for postage cost. Cheques
and postal money orders accepted with
mail orders. Send orders to: Otakar
Priboj, PO Box 362, Villawood, NSW
2163, Australia. Phone (02) 724 3801. grammed PIC16C57-XT chip, board,
(ref SILICON CHIP, March 94). Now with
8 outputs. Use your TV or VCR infra-
red remote control transmitter to control
your TV or hifi appliances with an intel-
ligent infrared receiver kit. Also avail-
able infrared transmitters, prepro-
grammed and learning models. For de-.
tails call BENETRON P/L (018) 20 0108.
MANIPULATE MODELS, Machines,
Men or Mice from the serial port (9600,
N, 8, 1) of your PC using my PICEX
Controller. It’s a tiny computer with its
own Operating System controlling 16 1/
O lines. Very simple programming lan-
guage. You can even drive it from any
VDU or terminal. Has 3 LEDs, 26-pin
MAD bus and 34-pin RELAY8 bus. Up
to 256 boards can be driven from 1
serial port. Short form kit includes pro-
4MHz Xtal, and MAX-232 $70, A&T
$130. Promo disk $2. Don McKenzie,
29 Ellesmere Crescent, Tullamarine
3043. Phone (03) 338 6286.

EPROM & SRAM EMULATOR: 2K x 8

(or 16) to 64K x 8 (or 16). Download and SILICON CHIP BINDERS :
verify via standard PC printer port. Sup- These beautifully-made binders will protect your
:
ports Binary, Intel and Motorola hex copies of SILICON CHIP. They feature heavy-board :
formats. Including Binary Editor. For covers, are made from a distinctive 2-tone green j
more information, contact Northern vinyl & have the SILICON CHIP logo printed in gold-
Eastern Digital, PO Box 1252, coloured lettering on the spine & cover. ;
Collingwood, Vic 3066. Fax (03) 484 i
To order, just fill in & mail the order
5133/432 1063; Phone (03) 432 1699. form on page 79, or phone or fax i
your order to: d
MICASOFT Electronics and Comput- i
ing tutor program, written in UK, ideal Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box
for TAFE, schools, or individual use. 139, Collaroy Beach, 2097. Phone i
Now available in Australia. Send $1.80 (02) 979 5644. Fax: (02) 979.6503. I
in stamps for demo disk (tell us what
SEPTEMBER 1994 95
 Microprocessor For SmallTALK for PCs: voice
Advertising Index
Stereo Preamplifier digitiser for 286's and up
see Play speech on your PC's PIPORICS .c5.5.icccivepecesssoertacherdees
Now back in stock: the 68HC705-
C8P pre-programmed micropro- minute version
DD version
cessor for the Infrared Remote
Controlled Stereo Preamplifier
(SILICON CHIP, Sept.-Oct. 1993). “Send your cheque/order to: Computer & Elect. Services ......
Also suits the Remote Volume
Control (May & June, 1993). PO Box 641, David Reid Electronics ..............
Penrith, NSW 2750
Price: $45 + $6 p+p Electronics
AUSTRALIA
Ph: (047) 77 4745 Dick Smith Electronics. .........
Payment by cheque, money order | Fax: (047) 77 4745
or credit card to: Silicon Chip Ee PR AUGO i 3c ences ntti.
Publications, PO Box 139, Collaroy,
NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9795644;
Fax (02) 979 6503. ELECTROSTATIC
LOUDSPEAKERS
3-PANEL FULL RANGE DESIGN,
THE HOMEBUILT DYNAMO: (plans) AVAILABLE IN KIT FORM OR FULLY
brushless, 1000 DC watt at 740 revs. ASSEMBLED. |
$A85 postpaid airmail from Al Forbes, LOCALLY DESIGNED & MANUFACTURED.
PO Box 3919 - SC,Auckland, NZ. Phone FOR INFORMATION BROCHURE, MACSEIVICS ohcen ccaccccodcccecececvececncdct

Auckland (09) 818 8967 any time. Ro-
tor magnets (3700 gauss) kit now avail-
able.
VALVE AMPLIFIERS: Australian made.
Mono, stereo, guitar using 2A3, 211,
6L6 or 807 valves. Williamson repro-
ductions. Parts available for DIY con-
structors. Circuit diagrams and construc-
tion details for many types of valve
amplifiers. Valve equipment repairs.
Lancroft Pty Ltd, PO Box 439, Bexley
2207. Phone (02) 567 5390.
THE 8051 MICRO-COMTROLLER
book includes a simulator disk ($40).
ROMLoader EPROM Emulator (EA Jan/
Feb 92, EA June 94) (PCB $30). 8051
Proto-Boards (EA Feb 93) (PCB $30).
Tantau Australia, PO Box 1232, Lane
Cove, NSW 2066. Phone AH (02) 878
4715.
PHONE/FAX (09) 397 6212 OR WRITE TO:
E.R. AUDIO, —
119 BROOKTON HWY, ROLEYSTONE,
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6111. -
UNUSUAL BOOKS: Electronic De-
vices, Fireworks, Locksmithing, Radar
Invisibility, Surveillance, Self-Protection,
Unusual Chemistry and more. For a
complete catalog, send 95 cents in
stamps to Vector Press, Dept S, PO
Box 434, Brighton, SA 5048.
PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS for the
hobbyist. For service & enquiries con-
tact: T. A. Mowles (08) 326 5590.
2.2kVA VARIAC unenclosed $200.
110V 1kVA transformer enclosed $100. -
Phone (047) 87 8968.
Oatley Electronics .......00:......
PC. Computers iii. 25i cc gieeeciead
FOUN ANT ogc docsecccoceciecccosetcce
lecsecess
Rod Irving Electronics ..........
Silicon Chip Back Issues ...... 90-91
Silicon Chip Binders ..............0. 95
Silicon Chip Bookshop .............. 73
Silicon Chip Projects Book ...... IBC
Silicon Chip Software .............0.. 23
NOMI OWN oer sie ceedussanvstedloliacce:
VOKMOQAWA 38 sassivesssidecscvbacedse
Yuga Enterprise .............cccccee 87
ZeICON TECHNIC .............cccccceeeeeeee

SILICON CHIP FLOPPY INDEX

WITH FILE VIEWER PC Boards
Printed circuit boards for SILICON
Now available: the complete index to all SILICON CHIP articles CHIP projects are made by:
since the first issue in November 1987. Now you can search
e RCS Radio Pty Ltd, 651 Forest
through all the articles ever published for the one you want. The index comes as
Rd, Bexley, NSW 2207. Phone (02)
an ASCII file on a 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppy disc to suit PC-compatible
587 3491. |
computers and you can use any word processor or our special file viewer to
search for keywords. Simply enter in the keyword(s) and the index will quickly e Marday Services, PO Box 19-189,
find all the relevant entries. All commands are listed on the screen, so you'll Avondale, Auckland, NZ. Phone (09)
always know what to do next. 828 5730.
Price $7.00 + $3 p&p. Send your order to: Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139, e H. T. Electronics, 35 Valley View
Collaroy 2097; or phone (02) 979 5644 & quote your credit card number; or fax the Crescent, Hackham West, SA 5163.
details to (02) 979 6503. Please specify 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch disc. Phone (08) 326 5590.

96 SILICON CHIP
 Or Order
Direct From
SILICON CHIP

Please send me copies of 14 Model Railway Projects

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

Card No. ee
Signature Card expiry date. /_-

Name Phone No (__)

PLEASE PRINT
Street

Suburb/town Postcode
 lhnree Firsts tor Yokogawa!
First handheld DMM First pocket DMM with
with a safety shutter! 3200 count display and
True RMS Reading for Vac & Aac,
bargraph!
up to LOOkHz
@ Super multi-functions include © Ultra compact size for one-hand operation
Temperature, Relative, Frequency, dBm, @ Data Hold function
Data Hold, MIN/MAX Hold, Average and @ High speed auto-ranging
Auto Power Off @ High speed sampling: approx. 12 times/
® Automatic alternate display every 3 sec. for 32 segment bargraph display
seconds of Vac and Hz for convenience
@ Auto Power Off — doubles battery life
@ Unique shutter mechanism prevents mis-
connection of test leads — Leads can only
Brief Specifications
be connected for current measurement Digital Display : 3.5 digit LCD reading of approx. 3200 and
when meter is switched to current ranges annunciators
@ Rugged case and circuitry designed to Bar graph display: 32 segments
Ranges : Auto ranging
withstand industrial conditions Vdc: 300mV, 3, 30, 300, 450V
@ ADP mode for use with optional plug-in Vac : 3, 30, 300, 450V
Adaptors covering Temperature, AC/DC Ohms : 300Q, 3, 30, 300k2, 3, 30MQ
Auto Power-Off The meter is powered off 10 minutes after last
Current, Capacitance and Transistor h,,,/ operation

First AC/DC digital clamp

Iy¢, Measurements

meter with 4000 count

display and bargraph!
@ High speed auto-ranging or manual
ranging
® High speed sampling for 40 segment bar
graph display
@ Average, Temperature test, Max hold,
Peak hold functions
@ Sleep mode to reduce battery consumption
@ Continuity beeper, Data hold, Diode test
and analog signal output functions
@ Battery or AC adaptor operation
Brief Specifications
Functions : AC current, DC current, AC voltage, DC voltage,
Resistance, Continuity check, Diode test,

1936
Frequency, Temperature, Data hold, Peak hold, Max
hold, Average, Sleep mode, Analog signal output
Display : LCD 3.5 digits, max. reading of 4000 (Hz: 9999)
and annunciators
Bar Graph Display : 40 segments
Ranges : Auto or manual ranging
Brief Specifications Aac, Adc : 400, 1000A
Safety: Based on IEC 348 class II Vac, Vdc : 40, 400, 650V
Display 49999 count LCD Ohms/Continuity : 400Q, 4kQ Yokogawa Instrument Corporation
Vde : 500mV to 1000V (0.07%) Diode Test : 2V
Vac (trms) : 500mV to 750V (0.7%) Frequency : 10.0-99.99Hz, 100.0-999.9Hz
Adc : 500uA to 10A (0.3%) Temperature: -50.0 to +150°C (with optional probe)
Aac (trms) ; 500uA to 10A (1.0%)
Ohms : 500Q to 50MQ (0.2%)
Jaw Opening Capability: 55 mm @ or 65 x 18 mm busbar Lloyd’s Register

1944
Withstanding Voltage: 2.5kVac, 1 minute
Frequency: 10Hz to 999.9kHz (0.05%)
Temperature : -50.0 to 150.0°C (option)
Quality Assurance
to ISO-9001
Series 2343 Series
Some of the NEW Generation of Multimeters from New South Wales Yokogawa (02) 805 0699

YOKOGAWA >
Tech Fast (02) 988 3865
Wollongong L, becds (042) 72 1115
Victoria Yokogawa (03) 819 1500
Queensland LE Boughen (07) 369 1277
S. Australia T & M Instruments (08) 269 1561
W. Australia Leda Electronics (09) 361 7821
Tasmania Temptrol P/L (003) 43 2244
Auckland N. Z. Paklog NZ (AKL) 634 2732