Electronics PROJECTS VOL. A collection of creative construction projects.and Circuit ideas published in Electronics For You during 1989 [oer ~ “An EFY Enterprises PublicationContents ‘Section A: Construction Projects Electronic Temperature Controlled Soldering Iron... Circuits Using Pressure Sensitive Resistors Dot Yourself Number Finding Game.. Roman Alphabet Display... Overspeeding Preveater For Two- Wheelers Make Yourself This Dynamic Display. Conversion Of TV 1910 CRO en ‘Tell-Tale Clock Fot Industries... Solid State Power Controller. Versatile Digital Timer . wn + Sep By Step Design Of Econ Voitmeter Boolean Junction Emulator . An Electronic Organ ... 10. LL 12, 413. 14, ‘An Electronic Roulette Power Maze ms Universal Digital Junction Generator . Boosting Digitat Supply For Analogue Applications 1. Versatile 10-Digit Code Clock... + Light Meter nnn Automatic Emergency Light . ‘Musical UIT Organ ... FM Transmitter nn Digitel Probe With Duty ete Indian Morse Recorder Electronic Mimicer Quake Alarm Regula High Vohage Power Supiy ‘Multipurpose Burglar Alarm Automatic Porch Light... Electronic Multi-Way Switch Logic Tester Cordless FM : Wireless Automatic Torch15. ‘Tone Control For Guitar Amplifier 16, 4-Channel Sequential Lights nx 47. Date Indicator For Digital Clocks 18. Digital Melody ...... 19, Flasher With 741 nn 20, Gun Sounds Effect Generator 21. Match Box Size Voice Transmitter 22, Under/Over Voltage Protection Circuit With Delay... 23, Super Simple Graphic Equaliser ann 24, Ultra Simple Digital Probe 4] 25. Blectronic Letter Box... |] 26. Regulated Power Supply With Batiery Back-Up 27. Sound Operator Timer. || 28. Electronic Shooting Gam 29. Simple Electrodice ..... 30, Magical Alphabets... 31. Touch Switch Step Control... 32. Automatic AC Polarity Correet With A Tri-State Neon 33. Six-In-Oue Audio Cirevit : 34. Control 2 Loads With A Single Wie. 135. Transformers Power Supply 136. Avto Heat Limiter For Soldering 19 venous 37. Electronic Mosquito Destroyer snnnnn 38. Stair Case Sights aah 39. Hypnotic Spiral. : 40. voltage Drop Detector .. 41. Hi-Fi Intercom... 7 | 42. Economical Crystal Time Base . 43. Buoy Beacon... || 44. Substitute For Bar Graph IC. 445. Continuity Tester nn ©] 46. Sustain Control For Guitar 2147. Staircase Voltage Generator... 48. 8-Octave Electronic Organ 49. Musical 2-Tone Chime. $2) 50. Musical Horn For Cars 51. 3-Phase Voltage Tripper .. 52, Non-Trade Sequential Display. 53. More Ideas Using Chip 303 54. Day Date Computer rons 55. Ni-Cd Battery Charger 56. CMOS Pulse Monitor ... Soil Moisture Indicator ... . Musical In/Out Indicator . SOHz Oscillator Source Smoke Detector Alarm son . Capacitor Comparator Using Integrated Dual Timer Frequency Counter Using Multimeter : Bird Sound Emulator... Remoie TV Horizontal Bar Generator .. Logic Number Game ‘Man Machine Sound Generator |. Logic Tester With Digital Readout .. “179 Light Operated Toy Organ. 180 5. Electronic Lock . 181 Object Counter. 182 Professional Metronome ‘Telephone Answering Machine Short Cireut Indicator Cum Protector. . Telephone Top Indicator Mains Leakage DetAy PSN OS wry ghy i — May pSV! Ot paged y ball @1ph IS oj gy dL pol FAW OS pH fuail oo Ay orl 5 pale 2) pend yew 2239468 Sb 2221161-2451161 cite — (525 jlll els g lb — pyle - Ges E.mail:nazir@matni.com www.matni.comHALEOUNI, MOSALAMBAROUDI STR, DIAB BLDG. FL/1,P,.0.BOX. 12071 DAMASCUS - SYRIA ‘TEL:+963-11-2221 161 FAX4963-11-2239458 E-Mail: @ Importers / Exporters / Distributors / Retail ers / Mail orders : All kinds Electronic Components , Parts , Devices , .Electronic Temperature Controlled Soldering Iron he vast gnajority of soldering irons sold in India are still ther- ‘mal balance type soldering icons, which have remained more or less in the'same form since the very incep- tion of electronics in India. In those days, when components were intercon- nected by solid 16 SWG copper wire, these soldering irons were good enough. With today’s high density printed cir- cuit boards, soldering requirements have changed drastically, requiring sol dering irons for highly precision work ‘Thermal balance soldering irons are 0 called because their tip temperature is a balance between the power con- sumed by the heater and. losses through convection, radiation and conduction. Although the thermal balance sol dering irons are very economical price- wise, they have some disadvantages which make them unacceptable in the present operating conditions. ‘Thermal balance soldering. irons work fine, when: (a) The line voltage is 230V AC. () The soldering speed is constant, ie, there is very litle variation in the ELECTRONICS PROJECTS Joints made per minute (say, 10 joints er minute). (©) The room temperature is com stant (at about 30°C), (@) The solder used is 63 per cent tin and 37 per cent lead alloy with a low melting point of 1869C. While in today’s actual conditions: {(@) The supply voltage varies from F.A. Rehman 175 to 275V AC. (b) The room temperature varies from 15°C to 459C. (©) The speed of soldering is.rarety ‘constant as soldering is normally very variable. Hence the tip temperature isa constantly varying quantity, which hardly helps in getting good quality Joints! consmichen gp———_+ Fig. I: Block diagram of tempernture confrolled soldering iron. "(@) In India, the solder alloy availa- ble for use in electronics varies from 60/40 (tin/lead) alloy to 40/60 (tin- ead) alloy, which means that their melting points-vary from 186°C 10 260°C, The nornial soldering iron gives trouble when soldering the high gauge lead (sometimes you have no choice!), ‘All these factors contribute to make the tip temperature of the thermal sol- dering iron very unpredictable. On some days, the soldering iron is barely hhot enough to melt the solder while on ‘other days the tip is hot enough to delaminate the boards. A soldering iron to inherently eliminate all the above problems is the active or ther- ‘mostatically controlled soldering iron, aan advanced version of which is de cribed here. This soldering iron will (@) Give youa choice of operating tip ‘temperature adjustable from 100%C to 4250, (b) Maintain the selected tip termper= ature with line voltage from 175V to 2ISV AC. Oo (©) Maintain a selected tip tempere- ture from -1PC to 60°C at room temperature, (4) Maintain a set tip temperature under all normal load conditions. ‘The other advantages of this solder- ing iron are that it has a very long life, ‘even lasting over decades of normal use! Hence, in the long nun, they cost Jess than the number of thermal bal- ance soldering irons, which would be ‘normally consumed in the same period of use. The last, and sometimes very important, benefit is that these solder- eae Fig. 2: Girewit diagram. 2 ELECTRONICS PROJECTSing irons are very compact as well as very light in weight. “The ability to select the ip tempera- ture is very important as you can then! select any appropriate type of solder needed. Normally, thermal balance sol- dering irons in India run at a tip temperature of 2708, rising to 370°C in some cases. On the other hand, inter~ national soldering standards require an. average tip temperature of 360°C, as at this temperature there is a good bond between solder and the copper surface at the molecular level. ‘This soldering iron is designed such that the tip of the soldering iron will fluctuate only about 15° above and below the selected temperature. As this feature simplifies the circuit to an extent, it is easy to construct the solder- ing iron, “The soldering system given here con- sists of a commercially available solder ing iron, which is plugged into a circuit to be constructed. This controls the power applied to the soldering iron so that the tip temperature is maintained ut the desired level Inthe author's prototype. the solder- ing iron used had a 45-watt (at 230V AC) heater element assembly, which is ‘very compact. (Circuit deseription ‘The block diagram of the: circuit is ‘given in Fig. 1. The thermocouple sen- sor located in the heater assembly of the soldering iron connects to the signal conditioner and the comparator ICI, whose other input is connected to the wiper of the temperature selecting potentiometer. ‘The comparator compares the sen- sor output voltage against the reference voltage set by the potentiometer. Ifthe sensor voltage is lower, the compari to's output aso goes low, which makes the output of the schmit trigger go high. thus turning the thyristor on through the opto-isolator (IC3)and the zero crossing detector (R23, R24, T2 and 73) ‘This will apply power to the heating element which will heat up, increasing the output voltage of the sensor until t reaches a value which is higher than the ELECTRONICS PROJECTS set voltage across the ernperature sec tor potentiometer wiper. Now.the com parator’s output will go high, which in tur will force the output of IC2 to go low. ‘This will shut off the thyristor through the opto-isolator and the zero crossing detector. Power to the heater will thus be cut off and the soldering iron tip temperature will start deereas- ing, until the comparator’s output again goes low. This cycle is repeated continuously ata frequency of approxi- mately one cycl every 40 to $0 seconds The circuit diagram forthe soldering iron is given in Fig, 2. Here diodes DI. [os tee oO Za D2 along with the resistors RI, R2, R3 and Ré make up the signal conditioner between them. Resistors RS, VRI, R7 and R8 comprise the reference voltage generator. ‘RI also comprises the broken sen sor protection, by which, if for any rea- son the sensor continuity is broken, the power to the heater is immediately switched off, preventing the soldering iron from getting damaged. CI is wired as a comparator. Any general-purpose operational amplifier like the 741 or 1.M308 will work fine. (The author got very good results with 1308) Fig. 37 PCB for the temperature controled soldering Iron. Set eee era a3 =a ee te lk = EQ Ged 5 Tote —— Ika oo. Me oh em Pod Who Fig. 4: Components Inyout for the PCB. ors 21C2 (NESS) is used as an inverting Schmitt trigger in conjunction with Ril, R12, RIB and Cl. DiS and Ris indicate that power to the soldering iron heater is being tured on or off and, D16 and R25 is for continuous DC supply indication IC3 is the opto-isolator, necessary due to the necessity of isolating the mains connected power stage from the comparator circuit TC4 provides a constant S-volt DC regulated supply. ‘The power stage consists of a thyris- tor (SCR or triac) which operates through the four diodes D7, D8, D9 and D10 as shown, Transistors T2 and ‘Bare current émplifiers and transistor T4, R23, R24 form a zero crossing detector. This ensures thatthe thyristor turns on only diring that portion of PARTS LIST ‘Semiconductor: er 741 oF 908 operational ‘amplifier ez — NEBSS timer Ics = MCT 22 optoisoistor ict = 74055-olt, voltage regulator n = BOLSTE wip tramsntor T2Ts BOSD pop translator TR auov, ans Dib Dis Die Restor el 1/41 9%, carbon lene there specifi BR Och R = Gkchm Rana = Sooehm 45, RA RIT Rr 18, Rio, oy — ilo RY nia, Rup, Rad ~ 0014, coramic = uF, BV tantalum 2hOcE, 26V. electrolytic = Ozu. 1004" potventer Miscellaneras xt — 210V primary to 10V-0-10V (G00mA) X'2 secondary, ‘wanaformer st = Onvett switch A = UA tive = FB heii fon 14 Teas dering ron, verobox wai front panal Spin DIN socket, LBD holder. knob, fone bane ete, Note: RO isnot ued “4 the mains power eycle, where the instantaneous line voltage is less than 8 volts, minimising thyristor switching due to extemal radio frequency transients, Construction ‘The PCB for the circuit is given in Fig, 3. Allthe components are soldered ‘onto the printed circuit boards as per the component layout shown in Fig. 4 ‘and their leads trimmed, The boat then wired to all the off-board compo nents using good quality multistrand hookup wire. (The wite insulation quality must be good as some of the circuit works dinectly on 230V AC) When wiring the board to the off- board components be sure to observe the correct polarity of the thermocou- ple sensor as well as the potentiometer Jeads. Ifthe sensor lead connections are faulty, the power to the soldering heater will be either off or on continu- ously at any potentiometer setting. The circuit will work only ifthe thermocou- ple polarity is correct, ‘The soldering iron is provided with a 4-core screened cable, in red, black, yel- Tow. and purple colours and a S-pin DIN plug. It must be remembered that the red and black wires are the sensor Wiggs and the polarity is red for thermo- couple postive ‘The board is then mounted in the plastic case with the help of four sheet ‘metal screws. All the other components are mounted property. Testing After completing the wiring, check that all the wiring is correct. Connect the soldering iron to the circuit. Solder piece of wire across the base and emit- ter of T2 (BCS47B). This will prevent the thyristor from conducting, Now, tum the potentiometer to its minimum setting and, heat the solder- ing iron by puttingits barrel on any heat source like another hot soldering bar- rel. When the circuit is switched on, initially the heater LED DIS (red in colour) will light up. As the soldering heats up, DIS should turn off. increase the potentiometer setting. DIS should immediately light uj, as the soldering iron gets hotter. DIS should again tum off, Disconnect the jumper wire across 3, and switch on the circuit. DiS should stay on for a maximum ofatwo minutes at the. maximum temperature seiting. At the lower settings, DIS should light up for @ lower period of time, after which it should tur off, In normal operation, when the ci ‘uit switched on, DIS should light up- for a maximum of two minutes at the hhighest temperature setting, after Which it should remain off fora minute ‘or so and then turn on and off for 30-to 40-second period, cyeling continuously. If the circuit does not operate as above, there isa fault condition, If DIS is continuously on or off, then switeh off the circuit, Connect two 100-ohm resistors in series, and solder them across VRI. Now solder the wire from pin 3 of ICI to the center junction of both these resistors, Switch on the circuit and vary the potentiometer setting, Atsome point on the scale, DIS will tum on or off. Repeat this procedure, DIS should tum on or off only at one fixed point. If this does not happen, switch off. Desolder R11 from pin 6 of ICI, then switching the circuit on, touch the free fend of the resistor to the positive and then to the negative rail DIS should turn on when the resistor is touched to ‘the negative rail and should turn off when touched to the postive rail If this. is not so, 1C2 and its associated compo- nents are defective ‘The earth socket provided on the front of the cabinet enables the reader to add a plug and wire which can be sed to connect the tip of the soldering iron to the ground of circuit under con- struction when working with MOS deviees. This feature is ‘retained whether a 2pin or 3-pin power cord is used. If a 3-pin power cord is used, then the ground wire from the power cord (green wire) is soldered to the ground terminal on the front panel. The solder ing iron tip is connected internally to this ground terminal through a 47k resistor. a ELECTRONICS PROJECTSCircuits Using Pressure Sensitive Resistors he rubber pads under the caleu- lator keyboard can be very well utilised as pressure sensitive: resistors with litle modification. Var= fous, calculators use such pressure sensitive synthetic rubber pads for their switches. ‘The author used casio HIL-805 which he obtained from a junkshop for just Rs 10. Many others can also be utilise. While using running condition calcula- weraLuic FoLs Fig. 1(a: Construction of a pressure senaitive resitor. tors, one should take care not to dam- age keypad so that it could be reused aferwards. ‘The pressure sensitive resistivity of this material ies in its molecular struc- ture and that of its ingredients. When pressure on the material increases, its resistance decreases, and vice-versa “The construction of home-made res- istor is shown in Fig, 1(@), which is simply a sandwitch with rectangular metal foils on either sides of the rubber piece. The metallic foils may. be obtained by cutting the seal of food oF cil containers, Though soldering on | ELECTRONICS PROJECTS —_- foil-ends is difficult, it can be achieved by using good quality flax and solder. “This assembly should be tightly secured by covering it with a plastic adhesive tape which also provides insu- lation. The picture-of final resistor is shown in Fig. (0) This -pressuresensitive resistor can bbe utilised in various circuitry. A few basic and easy-to-make circuits are given below. Pressune sensrrve Rajesh E. Bawankule Schmitt trigger In the second circuit (Fig. 3)1C 555is, used as a schmitt trigger. When there isno pressure on resistor RI, the voltage across it is sufficiently more than 2/3 Vcc, and output is low. When pressure is applied so that vol- tage across it becomes Jess than 1/3 Voc, output goes high, turning the LED ‘on’. Afterwards, when pressure decreases, and voltage across R RNECTIONS Fig. 1(0): Final assembly of the home-made resistor, Pressure to frequency converter ‘The circuit for thisis shown in Fig. 2 This is a well known IC 555 astable multivibrator circuit, R1 isa frequency controlling resistor which is pressure Sensitive. It alters the frequency of the ‘multivibrator when pressure is applied on it. By increasing pressure on RI, the frequency is increased and vice-versa RI generally varies within the range of. tk to 100k, which in turn varies the frequency from about 150 Hz to 2500 Hz. The use of this type of circuit is limitless and depends upon the inge- nuity of the constructor. 8Increases just above 2/3 Vcc, output goes low, making LED ‘off. Thus it acts as a schmitt trigger. Fig. 3: Schmit criger, VRI is meant to vary the pressure ; level required to switch the output. Pressure controlled comparator This is a simple’ comparator circuit which can be constructed using any available operational amplifier. ‘The increasing pressure on Ri, the 16 Fig. 4: Presure controlled comparator. pressure sensitive resistor, causes the voltage across non-inverting terminal (pin 3 of IC 741) to increase above the voltage at inverting terminal (pin 2) set by VRI, Thus, the output goes high, which can be used to drive an LED or relay, as shown in Fig. 4, ‘The author has used pressure sensi- tive resistor along with the circuit in Fig. 4 asa weighing scale with moder- ate accuracy to weigh up to 2 kgs. For that VRI was calibrated using known ‘weights and it was moved to get desired LED indication. It is noteworthy that mechanical placement and application of pressure plays a vital role in this circuit The circuits shown in Figs 2and 3 can be used as a sensor stage of an ‘object counter or an intruder alarm, ‘The pressure-sensitive resistor can be kept hidden under carpets or matting ‘and output ofthe circuits ean be used t0 drive counters or alarms. a ELECTRONICS PROJECTSA Do-it-Yourself Number Finding Game -any electronic games are sold rupees. Here isa mumber find- Jing game which costs less than hundred rupees. Though diode is the only elec- tronic component used inthis circuit, it promises the same thrill and enjoyment as the other electronic games give. “The game can be played three ways: (a) outdoor, (b) indoor, and (c) as a ‘roe DIODES Fig. 1: Besie|creurt. ELECTRONICS PROJECTS A. Jeyabal Portable game by changing the display aie circuit which is not available in only. This is an important feature of 7Fig. 3: Outdoor mode, eeorow NE-NT0; 6Y, 300ma, BULBS Dy-D11—1Na007 OF evt27 Bone *“ Cf ecccoccces NOTE: SWITCH S17 1S GONGEALED. Fig. 4: Display and control sections of outdoor model The player is asked to find out an ‘unknown’ number (preset by a friend) in three ehances. The player should be informed the ‘three conditions, ic. whether the number chosen. by the player is less than or greater than the hidden number or equal to the hidden ‘number. If e findsit within three chan- ces he wins; Bese cireuit (Chametetstic of diodes to allow eur rent in one direction and block it in the ‘other direction 1s cleverly used here. ‘When switch SI in Fig. | is pressed, the positive half eyeks of.the alternating ‘current pass through diodes DI and D2 and the bulb’B1, which indicates that the selected number is ‘low’, ‘The negative hatf cycles pass through diodes D3 and D4 and the bulb B2 when switch $3 is selected. Thus the 18 Fig. a} Indoor model. player knows the sekcted number is “high’. With the depression of switch S2 both bulbs BI and B2 light up, indicat- ing that the hidden number has been found out. ‘Thus we have got the three level information which is necessary for the game. ‘The same idea can be extended 10 many numbers, as shown in Fig. 2. Outdoor model ‘The circuit shown in Fig. 2is modi- fied and the circuit elements are rear- ranged as shown in Fig. 3 for the outdoor model, The circuit is divided imo a display section and a control section, and the two are joined by leven wires as shown in Fig. 4 ‘The display board comprises bulbs BI and B2, diodes D10 and D1, and ten small bulbs NI through N10. The current rating of these small. bulbs depends on the wattage of bulbs BI and B2 used. For a 230V, 60W bulb it should be around 300 mA. ‘The small bulb lights up when the ‘corresponding switch is pressed and the spectator witnesses what number the player has chosen, ‘The display board should be fixed at 4 height for better visibility. This out- door model can be used in a party and ELECTRONICS PROJECTS |cn other odeasions, when many people are present, Tn the controt board switch SIT should be fixed in such a place that it cannot be seen by the player. Set the switch to a number and ask a guest to find out the hidden number, Indoor model In the indoor model (Fig. {a)) the ine candescent bulbs are replaced by 2- terminal bi-colour LEDs. Here the lower and the higher numbers selected Fig 6 Power supply for pormble mode. by the player is indicated by the red and green colour respectively, and the hid- den number by the combination of both the colours. So the identical leads of LEDs must be connected to the com- ‘mon points, ie. the supply terminal, and the other leads to the correspond ing switches. If itis difficult to procure the bi- colour LEDs then alternately one red and one green LED may be used as shown in Fig. 5(b). This way we can save the cost of 8/18 LEDs. Note all diodes are germanium type. Portable model As this eireuit rans on AC and only DC portable power source is avaiable ‘we have to obtain AC power source froin battery. Here a little bit of elec- tronics is required. ‘Aay AC power source capable of supplying 9 volts at 30 mA current (uch as a miltivibrator, complemen- tary outputs, sine wave generators) may tbe used. Ifthe frequency is 2 or3 Hzit will be more interesting, and the low, high indicators will flash at that rate The circuit shown in Fig. 6 is ELECTRONICS PROJECTS designed around two 355 ICs which sive complementary outputs at points A and B. This is a exible circuit and DC up to [6 volts can be applied when ‘you desire to increase the total hidden ‘numbers. Connect points A. B of Fig. PARTS LIST ro = SUF, 16V electric cc) OluPeeramie Sitch S1810— — Push-oen witch si One poig 10way ewitch (too tet) Onitt mitch Miscellaneous: xl — 9, S00 step-down tranafomer BL.B2 — Dov, OW bulb NENIO ‘6, So0mA bubs = Bulb heders, ecb wire, women o plasti cabinet Sta) or Sib) to A.B of Fig. 6 Construction No detailed instruction for construce tion is necessary as the circuit is very simple, Solder all diodes to switch SUT ‘or to switches Si through SIO, Use terminal blocks in both display and control boards and connect the corresponding terminal with flexible electrical wires. Wooden or plastic cabinet may be used, ‘Some hints ‘Ten numbers are shown in the cir- cuit, But this is not the limit. You can enlarge it to any number, keeping in mind the following points: 1. The power supply voltage must be more than twice the forward voltage drop of all the diodes in series in the case of indoor and portable models, and in the case of outdoor model suff- cient voltage must be applied for good brightness of bulbs BI and B2, 2, The rated voltage of bulbs BI and 82 (outdoor model) shoud not be less than the supply voltage, because these bulbs act as resistive load, 3. The PIV (peak inverse voltage) of diodes is twice the supply voltage and twice the current rating of the bulb or LED. 4, Small bulbs’ (NI-N10) current rat- ing depends on BI and B2 and should not be less than that of the latter. 5. Switch SI! abo depends on supply voltage and current rating of BI, B2 or LED. A 10-position decimal thumbwheel switch in place of S11 may be used in the portable model. a 9Design Yourself This Roman Alphabet Display nglish letters from A to Z are called Roman alphabets. While EFY readers are familiar with numerical display, Roman alphabet display is still not easily available ‘As shown in Fig this display has 14 segments designated ‘a’ to ‘n’. To light letter “A, segments a, b, ce, f.n andj of the display are required to be high, while for letter 'B' segments a, ij. e, f and n should be high. Similarly. a truth tables for all letters from C to Z can be designed. ‘Moving advertisement Microprocessor controlled moving woe displays are commonly used for adver- tising purposes. A simple advertise ‘ment display moving from let to right can be designed easily. For example, to display E, F and Y alphabets, moving from left to right, the truth table shown in Table Ican be used. Segments b,c, ‘cand m will not light at alin that case, so LEDs on those seginentsneed not be assembled. The a, ¢,f,j and n segments are similar, so these should be con- nected together. Table Il gives a simpli- 1 Fip.3 Amarjeet Singh Bajwa fied version of Table 1. ROM (read only memory) is an IC that can store several binary numbers (0, 1 oF high, low). Some of the smaller ROMs are used to implement the truth table. ROMs can also be replaced by diode switching circuit as pet Table Il as shown in Fig. 2 Ifone segment of the display is high in more than one mode, then connect the diode as shown in Fig, 2. Segments fj and nare high in two modes, ie. TABLET Segara of deplay Lettrstobediplayed 2b od cee tok tome E To orf?) 00010007 F tooo 116 oot 0001 Y ooo 00 ot oto Os OO ELECTRONICS PROJECTS *' oisruye ® bet a = ” ad ” * 2 = 2 x i Le tte ef + et Fig [aE |. For the movement of E, F and Y a letters, use at least four displays and aed Imunol sein Sama iinpey | diode switching circuit of the same | Tae ee apie 24 | type, Connect the output Q0 to Q3 of | 7 — tees ten E TEESE Eee rere eee eee |e os & & ‘ en anit ero! 3 @ a o | aie Bir pokons os dag | _$__@_@_Ov E and F, s0 diode has to be connected. ae Coes 8 rat pin 1 a TOUT ‘ TS TT ———_E—— By rotating switch from position I to 3. E, Fand Y letters can be displayed | ~ 1 = FY Fig. 3 as per Tables II and IV. Table on one display, This rotary switch can |? EF ¥- IIT shows different positions of letters be changel wih ebatrorie switch as | 3 + aaseah F | in different modes, while Table 1V shown in Fig. 3, dal shows the connection to Jetters, The a al la ata a4 RA a * ta x Fig. 5. ELECTRONICS PROJECTS NOTE:ALL DIODES ARE 1Ne001TABLE V TABLE VI bik ima Nea pete 3 To 11 6109 0070 0 0 7 ere we M or tor trot oo oo Tountay preety T 'o0000601ooo0100 Fay eee w or toi tooo ot ora) sei tte: F Hooot+rooo tooo ‘complete circuit for this purpose is shown in Fig 4. The PCB and compo- | __ u rent layout of diode ROM for E,Fand | Connect ef segments to Whe posi supply permaneny and da aot asembie TED oh ¥ letters as shown in Fig: 8, Sec tro the dary shi and m segments ‘This operation is very simple, since | 0 ort oo 0 0 0 8 0 Oo i youcan change these temarcording |? Pet ee ee eee a gaa to your requirements. 4 uot to nooo Daye of te ne ; oes iel et mete a 1 hone A second example will give more, il 2 ELECTRONICS PROJECTS’ Fig. (a)ee ee 5 Fie @) knowhow as regards designing In some modern electronic wristwatches, the days ofthe week like Sunday, Mon- day ete are displayed in Romanletters. This is also possible with this circuit. ‘The days ofthe week can be symbolised, as shown in Table V. ‘Truth table of the first and second letters of symbol of the week is shown in Tables VI and VII. As already des- cribed in the previous example, simpli- fied versions of these tables are given TABLI Fint i letiers of ‘ 1 feds came bh 3 T1o000 M toorro T ooo001 wooforiioe F ooniod TABLE IX, ‘Second iors Segments j of the days kedban v: orttoo ° orriio E oorord " orotot R Foor A ororid in Tables VIII and IX. The complete ireuit is shown in Fig: 5 Construction ‘The construction of discrete diode switching circuit is easy and simple if ELECTRONICS PROJECTS. double-sided PCB as shown in Fig.6sis used, However, a simple parallelcopper track PCB with jumper wire can also be used. Cut the copper track of the double-sided PCB according to requirement as shown in case of days diode switching PCB (Fig). For sim- plicity and ease of connection from diode switching-PCB to display, design the “out” terminal of diode switching itt of + tt “Hh Sei ° we 0 o73 S * oo oe =e 500 ong om OD 2a be ae, ooo ng “oF 18 0 “ 0S 0 om a vets = we SE gE GS z PCB according to the “in’ terminal of display. For the assembly of display, use a |4-segment display PCB as shown in Fig. 7. Solder the LEDs with proper alignment. Use rectangular Sm LEDs of any colour for this purpose. Care should be taken regarding the anode and cathode of LEDs during assem- bling as indicated in Fig. 7.Fig. a PCB layout of E, F and ¥ letters display 2s shown in Fig. 3, ‘oneouezwewre AW PMOF CLOCK Keto #1 oe, eee se wom {COLON OF cLOeK. Fig. Sb) Component layout of PCB. ‘Mount all the displays on a straight hard board with nut and bolts. The cireuit of Fig. 3 can be assembled on PCB as shown in Figs 9¢o? and 9 (3). ‘The type and number of transistors required for this circuit depend upon load and outputs required from Qo to Q. Use SLI00 transistor in case of days of the week PCB and connect the clock input of IC1 4017 to AM or PM ‘output of clock. No need to assemble ‘the oscillator comprising IC 555 and its associated components as shown in dotted line. Days of the week can be changed by changing clock input of ICI 4017 from AM/PM output to colon output of clock by I-pole 2-way switch as shown in Fig. 3 A 12V power supply provided with the filter ean be used for the eireuits, while the current of the transformer depends upon load, 500mA is opti- mum for days ofthe week PCB. A large display using miniature lamaps can also be designed for big advertisements, In that case change the transistor of circuit in Fig. 3 with relay or power transistor. Diode switching circuit can also be interfaced with @ microprocessor by using suitable circuit (with IC 74159 or TALS145). A ELECTRONICS PROJECTS,Readers’ comments: Inthe Roman Alphabet Display project a few discrepancies were noticed: 1. Onpages 115 and 118, the refer- cence of Figs 4 and 5 has been given re spectively but these two figures are not present. 2. In the last but one paragraph it hhas been mentioned ‘*No need 0 as- semble the oscillator comprising I@555 and its associated components as shown in dotted line"’ but why? Also, it-has been mentioned that “Days of the week.... Fig, 3”. In this reference please explain whéther the switch is to be operated everyday or only in case of emergency? 3. According to Table VII: (@) S is to be connected with seg ‘ments ¢, d, a, f, n but in Fig. 6(b) the horizontal line SU has been connected with the vertical lines ¢, 4, f,n, j with diode whereas with line d it is con- nected by jumper only. (b) Tis to be connected with seg- ‘ments I, b but in Fig, 6(b) TU has been ‘connected with segment 2 with diode but to segment I, h by jumper. Why? (©) Wis to be connected with seg- ments c,k,m, band g but in Fig. 6(b) it is connected to segments ¢, ¢, b, f with diode but to segment k, m by jumper. Why? It will be highly appreciated if a cireuit showing month is published. BIRESWAR NARAYAN KHAN Howrah ‘The author replies: Lam hereby clarifying the doubts se- rial-wise which Mr Khan has raised. 1, Fig. 4 has been indicated on the topof page 116. The second illustration ‘on page 116 is Fig. 5 2. Oscillator (IC55S and its associ- ated components) is not needed in case of day indicator because the input of IC4017, i.e. pin 14, is connected to ‘output of clock IC (AMIPM). 3. fone segment of the display is high only once in all modes then diode isnot needed but if itis high in more than one mode then diode is needed to stop reverse current to other segments. ‘Regarding the last point in Mr Kha a's letter, I have given an idea to design the different display, so that be may design according to his requirements. Overspeeding Preventer for Two-Wheelers overwhelming number of vehicle accidents occur due to overspeeding, many of which can usually be avoided. The circuit described here has been designed to prevent overspeeding of ‘two-wheelers. The cirewit automati- cally switches off the vehicle whenever it crosses a preset speed limit, The unit is compatible with almost any two- ‘wieler that uses 12 volts to power its ignition system, Operation ‘The main circuit of the overspeeding preventer is described in Fig. 1. Low- cost IC 741, used as a comparator. forms the heart of the circuit. ELECTRONICS PROJECTS {When a vehicle isin motion, the vol- “tage obtained from the dynamo changes in correspondence with speed. These changes are minute and may vary from 300 mV to about 2 votts. ICI senses these changes and alters its out- pput state in correspondence with the voltage at its inverting input terminal (pin 2). RI determines the gain of the op- amp, while R2 ensures the safety of the IC by limiting the power supply cu rent, R3 limits the bias current going to TI and Ré limits the current going to D6. VR1 is set for a specific speed (i. voltage) limit as explained later, Initially the voltage at the inverting input is less than the preset imitand the output remains high. As the output is Amrit Bir Tiwana PARTS LIST Semiconductor: ier 16741, operational amplifier Di INtot ade Das INGOT dade DB Red LED n ‘SKIOOB, pnp transistor Resiatora oll 1/4 wat, 25% unleas and until a a eee rae Sells tenes ee nn se iste ro ema Eiri en 82 = SPDT awiten older, cabinet, socket, ete 25Fig. 1: Clrcult for overspeeding preventer positive, itis unable to pass through DI and TI is unable to get the necessary bias, But as soon as the voltage at pin 2 Fig. 2: Power supply for the circuit exceeds the preset limit, the output goes Tow. Since the output voltage is nega- tive itis able to pass through DI, pro- viding the necessary bias to T1 throug! 3, which in turm operates the relay. ‘When the relay operates, the nor- mally closed contacts open and discon- rect the vehicie’s power supply fromthe ignition system. Cl prevents the relay from de-energising instantly, thus pro- viding enough time for the vehicle to stop. The voltage involved in most of the -{ seooters and mopeds is 12V AC. So, in order to operate the control circuit, itis necesary to convert this voltage into De. A suitable power supply is shown in Fig. 2. Diodes D2 to D5 form a bridge rectifier, while C3 provides filteration ‘A socket (SK1) is also provided for operating other DC equipment (like electronic horns etc.) Construction As’ the cireuit uses few compo- nents, it ean be built on a general-pur- pose PCB. The top view of ICI is shown in Fig. 4. Care must be taken while soldering to prevent overheating ‘of components. ‘The use of a-socket is recommended for ICI. No heatsink is required for T| Connections with the relay contacts must be made with @ thick insulated copper wire. The whole circuit can be enclosed in a heat resistant cabinet. we Fig. 3: Wiring diagram, Installation and setting ‘The circuit must be placed such that itis safe from the heat of the engine. ‘The connections between the circuit ‘and the vehicle must be made as shown in Fig, 3 using thick copper wires. orrser nou 7] on wwineur | ry now wv nour] Le Joureur | Te Jocrser Fig. 4: Pin configuration of TC 741 (top view). To set the limits, start the vehicleand increase the speed, keeping SI pressed, Adjust VRI by comparing it with the speedometer. The: adjustment should be made to energise the relay assoonas the vehicle over-steps the desired speed limit, Operating sequence ‘Whenever the vehicle isto be started, the following sequence must be adopted (@) S2 should be Kept in position A. (0) SI should be kept pressed. (©) Now the vehicle may bestarted as normal (€)SI should be released 3-4 seconds after the vehicle starts. The starting of the vehicle is indicated by D6. The ‘automatic speed limiting fait can be bypassed by keeping S2 in postion B. ‘Useful hints 1. The circuit can be used with vehi- cles using 6V supply after replacing RLI with a 6, 300-ohm relay and appropriately reducing the resistor values. 2. The circuit can also be used with ‘ars, after increasing the value of R210 560 ohms (but as the battery willalso be connected, the accuracy of speed limit- | ing will be affected), 3.'If only an audible overspeeding indication is required then the normally open relay contacts may be wired in series with @ hom or hooter. The total cost of the unit would be about Rs 0. o ELECTRONICS PROJECTS,Readers’ comments: The article ‘Overspeeding Preventer for Two-Wheelers’ is practically not feasible, The article states that a com parator compares the voltage generated by the dynamo witha reference voltage and this generated voltage increases as speeds of the engine shaft and dynamo shaft increase, “Kawasaki” engine running at 60k. hrbas dynamo shaftspeed of 5400 spm. in the top gear. Let the voltage gener- ated be X. Let the overspeed limit be Oknv/br at dynamo shaft speed of 6300 pm. And let the voltage generated be ¥. ‘The same Kawasaki engine running in third gear bas a dynauno shaft sped ‘0f 8500 rpm when goingata maxinum possible speed of 4Sknv/hr. When climb- ing a bill we prefer a lower gear (third gear). The top speed in third gear under the above condition will be 15 020kn/ hr at the dynamo shatt speed of 6300 pm. So, by keeping the above system in mind, the voltage generated in the dynamo should not be referred, ‘Therefore, instead of measuring the dynamo voltage, a voltage correspond- ing to the wheel speed should be com pared. An opto-coupler may be used in the wheel bub to generate a voltage corresponding to the speed and then compared. E, RAMAKRISHNAN Coimbatore The circuit diagram (Fig. 1) forthe project captioned ‘Overspeeding Pre- Venter for Two-Wheclers" is not cor- rect, soem Saco The circuit wired around IC741 may be alright, but there is ¢ serious mistake in the relay driving circuit. The transistor given for T1 is SKIOOB. We know that itis pnp tra.sistor. Butinthe " ELECTRONICS PROJECTS diagram it is shown as an npn transis tor! Lam herewith sending the correct circuit for it PRADEEPG, Alleppey 1 T have some views on the article which I hope I may share with your readers. The following fundamental points seem to have been overlooked by the author: @) The article presumes that the vollage generated by the dynamo is proportional to thespeed of the vehicle. AAs the dynamo is driven directly (or through a belt in case of cars) by the engine, the voltage is in fact propor tional to the engine speed. Thus the relay is likely to actuate when driving low gears, when the engine speed may be bigh, and vehicle speed low. ()Itis very dangerous to cut-off ig- nition supply when any powered ve- hicie isin motion on the road. A good many of us who have experiencd sud- den engine stops because of various reasons will testify to the panicky situ- ation that might arise, ranking next to say brakes/steering failures! (©) On the verge of overspeed the relay actuates, ignition cuts off, the ‘engine stops, and the speed of the ve- hile falls. When the speed has suffi- ciently dropped to a low value, the relay drops and the ignition circuitry is again elosed. Now in this period, enough fuel would have accumulated in the ‘engine, resulting ina Dooded situation A sudden ignition after this stage may result in engine knocking and unpleas- ant jerky movements ‘Then there are some mistakes in iagrams as well. SKLOOB is shown as an npn transistor (Fig. 1) and in the parts listas npn transistor. Fig. 3 refers to Fig, 1 and Fig, 2, where there are ‘mix-ups of terminals A, B,C and D. Experienced hobbyists normally ean ‘read! the entire article by only looking, atthe figures, and therefore accuracy in, diagrams is vital. ‘The purpose of this letter is not to criticise the author, but to balance the creative construction ideas with limita fi ions, especially When published on the print-media. 1 appeal to the authors as well as BFY to der the following: (@ Sufficient care should be taken to ensure safety to the hobbyists; there should be minimum risk of injury in building any published project. If nec- essary, suitable warnings may be is- sued. 5 ii) The author should preferably have tried out the project before send- ingittoEFY tor publishing, along with enclosed comments and limitations. (This may be seen in some foreign magazines), (il) Accurate diagrams and figures, will go a long way in increasing the confidence of the reader for EFY as well as for the athor, G.P.SHEKAR Madras Q ‘Overspeeding Preventer for Two- Wheelers’ is very interesting and use= ful, However, press-to-on switch $1 in the circuit is not needed. One slide switch will do as both starting and running EARTH OF VERIGLE 7 (B¢-LiGHTs UP ONLY TO INDICATE ON PREVENTER W AeTION ‘Breecocxs Wien VOMICLE RUNS IN NORMAL CONOTTION amode selector. While starting the ve- hicle, the slide switch should be placed + in *N* position and after starting the switch may be pushed to “P* position to fet overspeed preventer in action, A sual break in ignition circuit will not effect the vehicle. For system indication two diodes may be connected as shown here. ‘Care’should be taken to ensure that ‘the circuit’s negative terminal does not touch the body (ground) of the vehicle, because in all vehicles one lead of supply is grounded to body and one-wire sys- tem is used. If circuit's negative gets comnecfed to ground, then the bridge will not be effective HM. MARUTHI RAO RAYKAR : Bhadravati ‘The author replies: 11am glad to see the keen interest taken by the readers in my article. First ofall I would like to bring a few printing errors to the notice of the readers: {Inthe fourth line ofthe last para- graph in the first columnn on page 118, C1 should be read as C2. 2. In Fig, 3, Fig. Lshould be read as Fig. 2nd Fig. 2as Fig. 1. “The complete circuit has been de- signed such that the same common circuit “ean be used with a wide variety of vehicles. For extremely high accuracy and specific applications (such as rac~ ing vehicles) certain modifications may be required, “The circuit has beon successfully tested with “Bajaj Super’ make scooter and ‘Maruti? make car ‘The queries of the readers are an- swered below. ‘Mr Raykar suggests that SI need notbe used, When the vehicle isstarted, voltage surge high enough to activate the relay is generated. SI is used to ‘bypass the relay contacts which will ‘otherwise prevent the vehicle from stasting under such 2 condition. So, limination of Si will make the process of starting the vehicle rather cumber- some. ‘The indication using two diodes, as suggested by him, serves the same purpose-as the single LED indication the original circuit. The rectifier diode (D7) connected in his circuit converts the AC voltage into DC which might ‘hamper the smooth functioning of cer tain Vehicles. I thank him for including, some valuable precautions which will surely benefit the readers. Regarding the doubt expressed by ‘Mr Pradeep G. about the connection of relay. I would like to confirm that the circuit worked perfectly when used with ‘an AC188 pup transistor and a SK100 ‘pnp transistor If any trouble is experi- enced intriggeringthe circuit, therelay drivermay be modified as described by him. “The condition explained by Mr E. ‘Ramulerishnan was also considered while designing the circuit. The remedy sug- gested by him is appropriate. But an fopto-coupler and the associated Cs ‘would require a regulated power sup- ply and a complex opto-mechanical sensing system. The cost, size and complexity would also be increased. All this will make the circuit and its installation too complex and rather tnpractical. As the circuit was basi- cally designed for general-purpose applications, due consideration was given to maintain a good balance between operative efliciency and cost. All eas- ily available components, have been used. So, the optically coupled version was tot included in the circuit dia- ‘grams, But such a thing may soon find its way in one of the coming issues of EFYI ELECTRONICS PROJECT:Make Yourself This Dynamic Display cost readers will have seen advertising displays in which the characters light up in a ‘certain sequence. Such displays attract more attention than static ones and hence are preferred by companies until they come to know of the cost involved. The ‘Dynamic Display’ described here is a cost-effective alternative. This article describes the construction of a display controller for advertising dis- plays. Facilites such as rolling display and keyboard entry of characters are not provided in this controller as they will mean the use of microprocessors. ‘The present circuit was designed with low cost being one of the main criteria. ‘The characters are simply hard wired, Even 90, it hs two modes of operation to suit most needs. In the first mode, the characters light ‘up one by one and go off simultane- ously. This kind of display is common and can be found almost anywhere. The second mode is slightly different; the characters come up one by one and ‘20 off one by one, in the same direction, starting from the one that cante up fist. Figs. 1(@) and. 1(b) explain these two modes. Here, the word ‘STOP’, is dis- played in both modes. Obviousiy, the ‘characters that make up the message to be displayed have to be constructed ELECTRONICS PROJECTS using some source of light. Depending upon the size of the characters, one mayeither use LEDs or lamps. In order to make the controller versatile, two models are described. Mode] 1 uses LEDs while model II uses normal lamps. Both work off the mains, Contro} circuit “The main control section isthe samme for both models as they differ only in the driving section, The control section is shown in Fig. 2). ICI is an astable multivibrator whose frequency is varied by means of potentiometer VRI. The frequency of ICI determines the delay between the Tor IN MODE ON UL BLAN Eee Gael 8 Tm sire seco § TO EL gt Oe se 1 0 Fig 1(a) ‘STOP’ in mode 1. C. Sanjay lighting up of two consecutive charac- ters, ICI clocks the three &-bit shift reg- isters synchronously. These are serial-in parallel-out types that keep moving the logic state present.on its input, with each clock pulse, into the cight parallel outputs. The circuit can be understood better by considering the modes separately. When in mode I, the seria input is connected to the positive, which means that a logic one will be shifted into IC2.1C8 (74LS164) with each clock sro wwoDe2 os FF satan peer eet sore east st 0 > |8SE PE rEero tHe. stm [Bret s 1 oo FF — 1 0 F Fig. (Oy STOP" in mode 2 2ig. ay The control cru. pulse. Also, the reset inputs of IC2 to ICé are connected to the collector of transistor TI, which will conduct momentarily when Q24 becomes high. This facility is provided so that the whole circuit is reset when Q24 ig, 20: Driver creult for driving LEDs. becomes high. This happens only when QI to Q23 are all at high logic When Q24 becomes high with the next clock pulse, the whole circuit is reset and all the Q outputs become low. This is exactly what is required in mode 1. Q24 is not used to drive a display ‘because this will remain ‘on’ only for @ few microseconds. The. circuit shown is for a 23- character display and is only an exam- ple, For different number of characters, different Q outputs can be connected to sl. In mode 2, the serial input is con- nected to the collector of transistor T! ‘TODAWING CIRCUIT OF Fa. Beh, OR FG 2 ‘Also, the circuit is eset only while switching on. After switching on, all Q ‘outputs will be low while serial input will be high. This logic one will be shifted into QI to Q23 with the next 23 ‘lock eyeles. With the 24th clock cycle, (Q24 will become high. The serial input will now become low. : So, for the next 24 clock pulses, a logic zero will be shifted into the shift registers, starting from QI. This isthe effect required in mode 2. The Q out- puts will become high, starting from QI, and will then go off in the same way. Driving clreuits ‘There are two drive circuits—one for use with LEDs and the other for AC lamps. Fig. 2b) shows the driving cir- cuit required to operate LEDs. Transis- tors T2 to T24 (BCS46B) are npn type mapas: cockeaep navy Soweto ‘OF NEON Chanacrens 5 Fig. Yeh Trine diving clreutt to drive which now functions as an inverter. | lampt of‘neon characters. ae Batre ra.st64 * Fes sors Bato ee set Tom) which are driven into saturation by the Q outputs of the 74LS164 ICs serial in-parallehout shift registers. The col- lector of each transistor willcontain the LEDs that make up one character as shown in Fig, 2(b). When a character's made using LEDs, a large number of them will be needed. These will have to, beconnected in series anda high supply voltage will be required. ‘A separate 5SV. supply is provided for this purpose. With this supply, 30 LEDs can be connected in series. Since ‘the collector of each transistor has two segments (Fig. 2(b)), 60 LEDs can be used with this power supply. The value of R depends on the number of LEDs used in that particular segment, and is Fig. 3: Character‘O' with 60 lampe of 12 each. ELECTRONICS PROJECTS3: 14003 OR 4007 DIODES, ‘NOTE~GROUNDS SHOWN ARE NOT TO BE EARTHED Fig. 4: Power supply. setter) given by the formula given in Fig. (b). The formula assumes that red LEDs are used. If green LEDsare used,*I.6n in the formula nuust be changed t0°2n', because green LEDs can drop 2V. The LED current is set at 10 mA. Fig. 2c) shows the triac driving cir- cuit for model 2. The triacs are driven by the transistors which get their bias from the Q outputs of ICs (7418164) The transistors are necessary because the Q outputs cannot drive the triacs directly. The transistors are now ordi- nary BCI47 types instead of the costly | BC546. Opto-couplers are not used since the circuit is not going to be handled frequently once itis fitted in place. There is no separatesupply inthe case of model | asthe triacs drive the lamps from the mains, Some, important advantages of above model are that no series resistorsFig. 6: Component layout for PCB shown in Fig. 5. fare required, and as many lamps as required can be connected in different combinations like eres, parallel seres- parallel, ete. Another advantage is that ‘gon characters that operate on 230V ‘AC can be controlled by this model. The triacs can handle up to 4 amps. Fig. 3 shows how 60 lamps of 12V each are used to make the character*O". The power supply circuit is shown in Fig. 4. It is important that in model 2 the ‘combination of lamps that make a character in no way requires more than , 230V and 4 amps. The number of amps does not matter, The output of the triacs can be considered as the out- puts of switches connected to the mains. Construction This should not be a problem at allif the suggested PCBs are used. Fig. 5 shows the PCB required for model 1 ‘This contains the complete circuit including the $5V supply. Figs 7 and 9 show the boards required for the con- trol and triac sections. Note that the triac board shown in Fig. 9 holds eight triacs only. Three such boards should ‘be used with the last board containing: only seven triacs. The components layouts for the three PCBs (as shown in, Figs 5, 7 and 9) are shown in Figs 6, 8 and 10. bape a va Tessa Use a well insulated switch for SI ‘The regulator will need a heatsink which i easily made by bending a 3.5om * 6em * 0.15em aluminium plate ‘as shown in Fig. 6. Solder the jumpers (on the control board first because the TC sockets wil be placed above them. If the load is going to be less than | amp, zno heatsinks are required forthe triacs. For higher currents, a small heatsink is made by bending @ 4em * 3.5em * ‘O.1em plate as shown in Fig. 10. ‘Adjustments and setting up Check the connections, completely after wiring. Wrong connections to S1 | can be made very easily. After ensuring ELECTRONICS PROJECTS| PUSLLILTITLTTTTELT TTT TTS Fig. 7: Control board for model Il. Bg é e WD oh .os oe ED Ew or ESe="| | eG | ‘roma 90MR018) Fig. 8: Component layout for PCB shown in Fig, 7. ELECTRONICS PROJECTS.Fig. 9: Trine board for model 11, u ° ° ni) a8 + | 38 388 ge8d ° | I Bee ro rc 8 26 9 869 262 r 28 2 & oo mange Fig. 10: Component layout for PCB shown in Fig. 9. : ELECTRONICS PROJECTSings. This is 10 provide the extra ELECTRONICS PROJECTS 6,correct connections, switch on only the ‘control board without connecting the lights (LEDs or the triac board and lamps). Check for a square wave at the ‘output of ICI. This can be done very easily with a multimeter or an oscillo- scope. The multimeter needle will vibrate at | Hz ores, while the oscillo- scope will show a square wave of 1Hz frequency. If the mode switch is in mode 2, ‘switch it to mode | and back tomode 2. Kfitis in modet, just switch it to mode 2, Measure the voltage at QS. Itshould be around 3V or soa few seconds after the mode was switched. If it does (usu ally it wil), the circuit is correct. If it does not, check for wrong connections around ICI and the reset inputs of 1C2 to ICs, If you are using model 2, switch off the supply and connect the triac board and wire the connections between the boards, Check the triac circuit by con- necting a 230V lamp to any one fo the tiacs. ‘Waming: Remember that mode! 2 Readers’ comments: Lam facing some difficulties in getting, triacs. So please send me the numbers ‘of the triacs and their manufacturers ‘names if possible. NITESHVASANT. Bombay - (a The cireuit ‘Dynamic Display’ was ‘ery interesting. Inthe second inode of operation the power-on reset circuit ‘was given as below: Pd ‘works off the mains and that it is dan- gerous to touch any part of the circuit While the circuits powered. Tis advisa- ble to enclose the whole circuit ina well insulated metal box which is grounded properly. ‘This circuit can handle up to 23 dis- plays. Ifthe circuit is never going to be tused in mode 1, Q24 can alsa be used to ‘drive a character, You will probably fnot need more than 23 characters for a simple display. Ifyou require ess char- acters, make a connection from the required Q output of a suitable point (nthe control board to SI in place of (Q24. If, for example, you need only 14 characters, connect QI5 to SI. ‘When you need more than 23 char- acters, two control boards should be used (withthe required number of trac boards). You need not, however, soldér ICI, RI to RS, Cl to C4and DI onthe second board. Simply connect Q24 of board I to pins | and 2 of IC2 of board 2. Connect the common reset and clock lines together and the-power supply. Connect the required Q output of But in any TTL design the power- ‘on reset will be as shown below which ‘will work effectively. Please clarity. ‘A. SARVESWARA RAO Hyderabad [am interested in knowing more about Dynamic Display.Can youplease indicate the cost of a unit both models separately) VUAY NAGRANEE Lacknow ‘The author replies: Astriacsare usually bought by their rating, no type number was given However, TIC206 and TIC216 can be sed, ‘As for the doubt expressed by Mr Sarveswara Rao, it is essential for the ICs, IC2 to IC4, to be reset each time the circuit is switched to mode 1. Ifthe ‘circuit suggested by him were used, the ICs would be reset only once. C3 will get charged and will remain so after- wards. Changing S1 to mode 2 and board 2 to S1. Q24 of board I"can now bbe used to drivea character. Thisis why space for an additional driving circuits provided on the control board, near ‘T24, The process is illustrated in Fig. 11 If youconnecta particular Q output to SI and use a lesser number of char acters, the delay between cycles will be increased corresponding to the unused characters. If more than 60 LEDs re required in ‘model 1, some changes will have to be ‘made in the components’ ratings. First, calculate the required supply voltage ‘and usea suitable TR2. The driver tran- sistors must be changed to high voltage types like C1L621 or CTL622. Tis not necessary that the Q outputs bbe connected to the displays in increas- ing order of outputs. You can connect any Q output to any character. The sequence in which the lamps light up will, of course, change. This can some- times lead to interesting effects. The best configuration for various purposes can thus be selected. a ‘back to mode 1 will not reset the ICs.In ‘case ofthe original circuit (the one used in the article), C3 will get discharged every time $1 is changed to mode 2 ‘This will ensure that the ICs are reset when S1 is changed back to mode 1. R3 is provided to discharge C3. It gets charged through the interna! pull up (active) in the ICs (es they are TTL LSTTL). With referenceto the letter from Mr ‘Vijay Nagranee, I would like to inform him that the LED model costs around Rs 450 (excluding the LEDs) while the triacmodel costs about Rs 600 (exclud- ing the lamps). q ELECTRONICS PROJECTSConversion of TV into CRO athode ray oscilloscope (CRO) is a Nersatile instrument which any professional hobbyist will ike to use for measurements. Unfortu- nately, the price of a CRO is so high that only professionals can have access toi, while hobbyists and others have to be satisfied with a multimeter to mea~ sure voltages. Every black-and-white TV is equipped with all the necessary parts of ‘a CRO, so that with a few connections fone can make a CRO out of a TV ‘without disabling any of its functional features. : In the conventional CRO, the defiec- tion ofthe eiectron beams achieved by the eletrostati field between two sets of plates, The input signal is amplified and fed to the vertical deflection plates. ‘The saw-tooth signal is given 0 the X-plates and serves as the time base. If we opt for a magnetic field, we have to use a coil for deflection. The ‘coil has the property of producing a ‘magnetic field whenever a current passes through it. Here we need the current rather than a high voltage, The resultant interaction between the mag- netic field will also reproduce the input signal on the screen, whichis the princi- ple of converting a TV into CRO. ‘Method of conversion Production of high current is done by power amplifiers. Here approxi- mately 40.5 ampere current is nesded for full scale deflection of the electron beam, ELECTRONICS PROJECTS. Prof. P.S. Srinivasan, \V. Subramanian, Fig. 1: Circuit diagram. D. Champion Christdoss Selvakumar and MNT. Dhananjeyan stenenoryig ‘The time base signal, ie, the conven- tional saw-tooth signal is taken from the vertical saw-tooth signal and given to the horizontal deflection coils. This coil is fitted to the neck of the picture tube. The input signal is also power ‘amplified and given to the vertical deflection coils. The complete circurt diagram of the ampiiier along with the connections to be made is shown in Fig. 1. In the TV itself, there are both veri- cal saw-tooth and horizontal saw-tooth generators, The horizontal sawtooth has a frequency of 15,625 Hz while the vertical saw-tooth has a frequency Hz, both of which can be slightly var- ‘ed. The wave pattern on the screen for the frequency of 70 Hz is given in the Fig. 2. ‘The impedance of the coil increases with increase in the applied frequency. This, in turn, affects the current flowing ‘through the col, thereby decreasing the amount of deflection, Thus. limitation js imposed on the input frequency. So this can be used for demonstration pur- poses and to sce the waveforms in a limited range of frequencies ‘Though this is nota calibrated CRO, hobbyists can use itto se voltage wave forms. The cost of the additional cit- cuits (amplifiers) isaround Rs 100 only. ‘The power supply for these circuits is a +212V DC power supply. This circuit provides the advantages of having a CRO in each lab. In high schools with a TV set, adding this sim- le circuit will provide large-size dem- ‘onstration CRO. This circuit cin be attached to 2 colour TV also. In the case of a colour ‘TV, the colour of the waveform can be selected by properly biasing/grounding the appropriate electron gun, ELECTRONICS PROJECTS ,A Tell-Tale Clock for telltale clock is a device with which a watchman or any per son can record the time of his presence at various places in a factory for elsewhere, Such a clock can also be ‘used t0 record the time of arrival and Industries departure of different people in an establishment. In many factories and institutions, even today, the old mechanical clack with a paper dial is used and punches ‘on the paper are made at various times by the watchman or other staff N.V. Gopalakrishnan ‘members. Winding the clock, fixing the paper dial and checking the punches daily are tedious and time-consuming jobs. An electronic clock which can replace this old mechanical system is described here Fig. 1: Clock eteult, ELECTRONICS PROJECTSFig. 2a: Control eect Clock ‘A conventional digital clock is shown in Fig. 1. (This circuit is similar to the digital clock project published carlier in EFY's Electronic Projets, Vol. 3). In actual practice. the timer ‘oscillator can be replaced by a crystal ‘oscillator for better accuracy of time, (The frequency accuracy of timer 555 used is 05 per cent (typica), Hence the error can be 0.5 minute in 100 min- utes.) It is easy to extend the clock 10 days and-years, but not essential for w telltale clock. In this case only hours and minutes are displayed and recorded ‘Control system and recording systems Here the Figs 2, 3(a) and 3(b) are described in detail. Fig. 2a) shows the controls, Fig. 2(b) shows the driving circuitry for display DL704, while Figs 3a) and 3(b) show the recording system, First of all, the system has to be reset. For this, the operator has to press the pushbutton switeh S1,(Fig. a)). Then fone input of AND gate [C18(b) 7408 ‘goes low (initially both high and the ‘output of this AND gate, ie. pin 6 of 1C18(b) is also high) which will make the output of this AND gate 7408 low. This, in turn, will clear the shift regis- ter as the output is connected to clear point, ie. pin 16 of IC16, 7496 a 5-bit shifi-register. This output of 1C18(b) is also connected to the CLR pine. 30 IC1a(b), 7474, Hence the Mip-Mlop ICI4(b) also gets reset aw ler 4 hs ATA LiT| | 708, Fig. 200} Drive clrcultry for DL7O4 display. ELECTRONICS PROJECTSa ini 4 aoe oe 7 E 1 ©) (a: Bock diagram of recording system; 3b): circu of recording system. + 3 * fe [> i‘The input pin 4 of IC18(b). whic rounded hy pressing the switch $1 also going to one input of the 1C18(a), 7408, thereby making its output low at its pin3 as wellas pin | of IC14a), which is CLR pin of IC14(a). As a result the flip-flop ICl4a) gets reset. So. the pressing of switch $1 once resets all the cireuit Now suppose a watchman has to check seven different rooms in a fac- tory at certain times and if this clock is to be used to check whether he is doing. his work properly, then seven switches have to be installed in seven different rooms. Let us say $3 (Fig. Xa)) is installed in room no, 1, by taking a wire from point X in Fig. a), S4 is to be installed in room no. 2by taking a wire from Y, and Shisto be instaled in room no. 3 by taking two wires from X and Y to X’ and Y’, as shown in Fig. Xa). ‘Similarly, let's say S7 isto be installed in room no. 4 by taking a wire from Z 10 2”, and so on. The four bits of each of the four digits, E, F, Gand H from ICs 5 to 8 all 7490 in Fig. | (hoursand minutes) are connected as shown in Fig 3a). in the normat condition all these data are disabled, because the shift reg- ister IC16 outputs QI t0 QS, whichare low. will disable the 20 NAND gates of Fig, 4a). So, in the normal course, the outputs of the 20 open collector NAND gates, ie. the data bus, are high. ‘The initialisation is done by pressing the pushbutton switch S1. Then the ‘operator, say @ watchman, has to press the pushbutton switch S2 once. This action grounds the input ofthe inverter IC17(a) 7404, thereby making its out- put high which, in tur, provides a high clock pulse for the flip-flops IC 1a) and IC14{b) because the output of the inverter ICI7(a) is connected to the Fi Xe) 2 clock inputs, ic. pins 3 and 11 of ICl4(a) and 1C14(). The D input, i. pins 2 and 12 of IC14(e) and 1C14(b), are permanently high. At the rising edge of the clock, pulse Q output at pin $ of ICt4(a) goes high and Q output at pins 8 of IC14(b) goes low. Q output of IC14a) is also ‘connected to the serial input pin 9 of ICI6, a 7496 (S-bit shift register), and henee it goes high. Simultaneously, ‘when Q outpat of IC14(b) goes low, the transistor TI (2N2369) which was ear Jier conducting, goes to cut-off. Hence the collector of the transistor, which is ‘connected to the trigger pin 2ofIC15,a 585 timer, goes high. So the timer cire cuit consisting of ICIS oscillates. The ‘output of the oscillator circuit at pin 3 ‘of ICIS goes from high to low, and ‘when it goes from low to high i.e. at the rising edge of the CLK input of the shift register IC16, 7496), the high logic at serial input s transferred to QI output of IC16 at its pin 15. The output of inver- ter IC17(b) goes low. The CLR pin I of IC14(@) was at high logic by the high inputs of AND gate of IC18(a. [Now the rising edge of QI (falling edge ‘of output of inverter IC17(b), also far ling edge of output of IC18(a) at its pin 3) resets the flip-flop 1C14(a), There- fore, the Q output of 1C14a) at pin 5 (Ge. the serial input of IC16 at its pin 9) ‘oes low. The high Ql enabks the four NAND gates and, depending on the switch positions, the high or low of a particular bit is transferred to the dato lines (bus) (Fig. 3a)). ‘The QI output of 1C16(749) remains high until the rising edge of the next clock pulse at pin 1. Then the high evel ‘of QI (at pin 15) goes to Q2 (at pin 14). ‘So Q2 goes high and Qi goes low. Now Q2 will enable the MSD (most signifi cant bit) of the hour of the clock. Sim- ilarly the rising edge of the third CLK use will shift the high level logic of Q2 to Q3. Then Q3 will enable the LSD. (east significant bit) of the hour digit, ‘and so on. All the five digits, room ‘numbers, hours, minutes, ete are put in high. This output may be used 10 energise a relay (through a transistor which in turn can control any electrical gadget. Operation as a stopwatch Mode: SI: As required (refer Table I} 'S2: Timer/ Stopwatch 83: Up Press the RESET switch, The display should read 000, The counter will start counting upwards on releasing the TABLET Podtion Frequency Range Resohiion ast aay a0 om95 als a r 0% Is C10 098805 tas BD 1/60 0559 min. 1 min E ‘60009990 min, 10 min, F 173600 0.990 nes Har ‘wrongly written within brackets: as components side and track side respec- tively. Fig, 2is for track side while Fig. 3s for components side. S. RAMESH BABU Madras ‘The author repli Regarding Mr Dubey’s enquiry, since the circuit comprises only CMOS ICs, the overall power consumption is quite ow, and the current drain amounts to justa few mA with the displaysooff. The [ALL DIODES ARE 14001 RESET switch. The display may now be frozen at any instant by simply pressing the LATCH/LAP switch. ‘Counting will however continue unin- hibited till the maximum count of 999 is reached, Counting will now stop. Operation as an event counter Mode:S1: Any (not used) 2 Counter 83: Up ‘The timer will now operate as an ‘event counter and can count a maxi mum of 999 events. The input pulses should be digital and should have an amplitude ss than Vp (Vpp may range from +5V to +15V). The event counter may be reset to 000 at any instant by simply pressing the RESET switch, For the sake of brevity, the descrip ‘tion as well as operation of the various ICs have not been included inthis arti- le. The reader is therefore directed to the various CMOS databooks availa- ble in the Indian market in this regard o circuit of Fig. 2 here uses six Ou/Zn or alkaline, dry cells which should not require frequent replacement and is thus adequate. Fig. 1 shows the circuit of « regu- lated power supply with built-in Ni-Cd charger, as requested by Mr Dubey. ‘The charger circuit uses the DC charg- ing technique as opposed to the more favourable-PCR technique for the sake of simplicity. ‘The 7805 functions as a constant yee te J=s0av quam)source. The charging current isle = (5/ Rélo) = 41mA where lo = 8mA is the current drawn by the IC itself. ‘The IC metitioned by Mr Dubey is. probably the CMOS up/down counter IC type IC M7217 from Intersil. This IC contains # 4-digit presettable up/ down counteranda 4-digit multiplexed display driver. This IC accepts 4-bit [BCD data from our thumbwheel switches and directly drivesa 4-digit display ina ‘multiplexed mode. The IC operates off xy 2307 AC Pa wos ob oF Ice cous. Fig.2 an external clock. IC M7217 however is not casily available in our country. ICs of the 74C92X series cannot be used in the design of down-count tim- cers since these are up counters. I thank Mr Ramesh Babu for point- ing out the error in labelling of Figs 2 and 3, As mentioned by him, Fig, 2 shows the track side and Fig. 3 the ‘components side of the PCB. ‘The PCB forthe timerwas designed by the design staff of EFY and re- checked by me. The error probably crept in during printing. Step by Step Design of a Simple Electronic Voltmeter high impedance voltmeter A finds its importance whenever voltage is to be measured in a high impedance electronic circuit. For example ifthe potential difference that exists across resistor R2 in Fig measured with a voltmeter having an internal impedance of even 50 kilohms, the measured potential difference would be 2.727 volts—far away from the actual potential difference of 3V. ‘An example of sbunting effect (we This is due to shunting effect produced by the voltmeter impedance, In order to reduce this discrepancy a voltmeter of much higher sensitivity is required for measurement. Normally, I megohm per volt is high enough for faithful measurements in mos elee- tronic circuits. Since ordinary moving coil instruments of such high sensitivity cannot be made because of well-known practical difficulties, help of electronics is sought. A vacuurn tube or its semi- conductor counterpart FET is used as an active device to raise the voltmeter impedance to the level required. The circuit ofa simple FET input voltmeter is shown in Fig. 2. Circuit If we look carefully at the voltmeter cireuit, it would be apparent that-the Arup Kumar Sen voltmeter is essentially functioning om the wheatstone bridge principle, with Fig. 2: A simple FET voltmeter cireult. the FET's drain-to-source static resist- ance (Rs) as one of its arms. The other arms are RS, RI and R2 respec- tively. Resistors RI and R2 are so selected that with the gate shorted to ‘ground (ero input voltage), no current flows through M. The requisite condi- tion is ELECTRONICS PROJECTSRos RI Rs R2 Now. if « voltage is applied at the input, due to transfer action, Ros ‘changes, and the bridge departs from its balanced condition, producing a proportional output of balance current to flow through M. Designing Now, let us try to design this simple voltmeter circuits in steps. Step I: Selection of Rs. As the volt- meter should have least dependence on ambient temperature variations, the FET should be biased at ‘zero temp drift drain current for best results. To do this, we have to know Vp and Ins of the FET that has been used. ‘A simple experiment can be done for ‘measurement of these two parameters. Fig. 3: Cireuit for the measurement of FETs Vp and Iss. Construct a circuit as shown in Fig. 3 Inerease the drain-to-source voltage slowly from 0 to +12 vols, keeping an eye on the milliamnmeter. In doing this, a draintosoure voltage would be reached after which further increase in drain voltage would not produce any appreciable change in drain current. This voltage is VP and the correspond- ing drain current is'Ipss. The power supply and the milliammeter may need to be changed to suit the FET if any FET other than the BFWI0 is used. ‘Now "zero temperature drift drain current IDQ may be found from the relation Ipg= Inss* ( ve Here T = 273°C plus room tempera- ELECTRONICS PROJECTS ture in °C at which Vp and Ipss are measured, Units used for Vp and Ipss. ae volt and mA. respectively “Tobias the FET at 1bg, the required gate-to-source voltage VGsq is to be found from the relation, Voso-VeVe. J Toginss tng and Vasg may also be found gra- phically by plotting the Vas-Ip transfer curves of the FET to be used forat least two different temperatures. The cros- sover point of these curves gives the Fig. 4: Determination of Ing and Vos of the FET graphically. required data. Fig. 4 example ; ‘fier finding the Ing and Vasg, the selPbiasing source resistor Rs’ could casily be found from the relation Vosq (Volts) in gilohms Te (my Since Vp and IDss both vary greatly from one device to the other, even of the same type number, RS may need to be changed each time a new device is used. But once set, the circuit works in a very stable manner, Step 2: Selection of Rg. As the input voltage to be measured is applied across Re, the impedance thats offered to the voltage source is almost equal to Re when its value is far less than the FETs own high input impedance If the sensitivity we require is T megohm/volt, Rg should be made equal to IM as the meter is to be deflected to full scale with an input of volt DC. Step 3: Selection ofthe active device. ‘Any FET having low VPand Iss may be used. Power handling capacity, too, need not be high. But Vss should be high for good sensitivity. The easily available indigenous FET BFW10/ BFWII pony be used effectively shows an Rs= Step 4: Selection of Vp. The maxi- mum value of VDD required is Vaso + 1 yo, assuming maximum input vol- tage is | volt. The maximum value of Vpp would be limited by the device's draintosource breakdown voltage and maximum power handling capac- ity, Without going into complications, ‘a value of Vosg +2 volts may safely be used for Vb to serve our purpose. Step 5: Selection of RI and 2. Itis already indicated that the voltmeter cir- cuit works in the wheatstone bridge principle and, for balance, the requisite condition is Ros RL Rs RD If we select R2= RS then RI = R2 * Vop-Vasq/ Vos since ROS . _Voo-Voso RS Vaso From the above relation RI could easily be found. A low value potenti- ‘ometer VRI (zero adjustment) may be inserted in between RI and R2 to get the exact point of balance. ‘Step 6: Selection of M. The maxi- ‘mum meter current for ‘ull scale deflec- tion’ should be as low as possible to achieve good sensitivity of the bridge ‘and, hence, of the voltmeter. Again, since the FETs °Q’ point should not drift duc to loading, the current to be ‘drained by the meter for full scale deflec- tion is to be kept in the microampere region. So, an easily available 50iA or 100KA meter may be used for M. Step 7: Selection of Real. Since, for large values of RI and R2, the source voltage remains almost at a constant value, the current that would flow through M for an input of | volt, = Lvolt/RI*R2/RI*R2 4 A. While source follower voltage gain = 1, and RI and R2 are in megohms. If this current becomes greater than the current needed for FSD (full scale deflection), a resistor Real is to be inserted in series with M forcalibration Purposes, whose value may be obtained from Ra= 1 — _(RIR2) FSD RIRZ ‘7Fig. S: Cirealt fora voltmeter having 10V range. where FSD is in microamperes, and all resistor values are in megohms. For practical purposes a potentiome- ‘ter having a value slightly greater than this should be used: Step 8: Calibration. Short circuit Rg and adjust “zero adjust” pot. for zer0 current through M with Real at min- imum value. Apply a L-volt DC across Rg with positive side to ‘gate’ terminal. ‘Adjust Real to get full scale deflection of M. Step % Extension of range. Although the voltmeter is designed 10 measure a voltage of 1 vot maxi- ‘mum, the range may be extended just by adding resistances in series with the ‘gate’ lead. For example, if the range is to be extended to measure 5 volts maxi- ‘mut, the value of the series pesistor (keeping the sensitivity fixed at 1: megohm/volt) = (5-1) * 1, ie, 4 ‘megohms, Fi. 6: The slmple electronic voltmeter circuit with automatic range selector. ‘The new range should be calibrated by. applying a known potential at the input and adjusting the series resistor to set proper deflection. For accuracy and stability all resist- ances should have least tolerance and thinimum temperature coefficient. A. compketely designed circuit having a range of 10V is shown in Fig. 5. ‘An arrangement can be accomp- lished for automatic changeover from J-volt range to S-volt range by using digital circuitry. Dotted line area in Fig. 6 shows the circuit, Cireuit details A quad SPST transmission gate ICI, (4066) is used to connect the input voltage to the proper range. Decade counter 1C2 (4017B) controls these ‘gates in sequence. This MOS counters, again controlled by the comparator ‘op-amp ICA (741) tracking the source voltage'continuously At the initial state, when mo input ELECTRONICS PROJECTS ,ier 1cz rot Te n Thr > BCLS npn transistor 1% = BC147 npo transistor DID( = light emitting dieder DB. IN40oT diode Resistors alt 1/4W, +58 carbon, unl otheruse) ci 2.cs = GolaF ceramic ce Taha, 36V electrolytic ‘Miscellaneour: a —-Onvoft wie 82 = Pushbutton ewiteh Tab A ammeter ELECTRONICS PROVECTS voltage is applied for measurement, transmission gate TG! connects the input line directly to the ‘gate’ terminal of FET BEWIO. In other words, the voltmeter is now at I-volt range. Thisis done by momentarily pressing the reset button $2. The counter is held in this position (Cp input at logic 1) by the ‘comparator whose output (pin 6) goes high when, and only when, its-non- inverting terminal pin 3) receives vol- tage greater than the quiescent source voltage (here =3 volts) by | volt. This limit is. set by potentiometer VR2. ‘Comparator output is inverted and is drawn to CMOS logic level by tran- sistor T5(BCI47), Now, as soon as a voltage is applied at the input, the comparator receivesan additional voltage over the 3V quies- cent source voltage, and if this addi- tional voltage is greater than 1 volt, the comparator toggles—allowing the ‘counter to count up with the clock fre= quency, to switch on TG2, TG3 sequen- tially. In other words, a choice of S-voit and 10-volt range becomes available in sequence. In doing this, the voltage at the source reduces continuously, and as soon as it becomes 1 volt or less; the counter stops, proper range is selected, and the selected range is indicated by the glowing of a range LED. Adjustment of VR2 For proper operition of the range selector, VR2 should be preadjusted. To do this, apply a I-volt DC signal at the input with reset button S2 pressed. Adjust and set VR2 to a position just below the toggling point. Togeling ‘would be indicated by the glowing of LED DB. Application ‘The circuit is very useful in studying ‘the characteristics of high input impe- dance electronic devices like op-amps, FETs, MOS FETs and darlington amplifiers. In other words, whenever there is a chance of loading a source through a low-impedance meter, this voltmeter comes t0 the rescue. aDew Guard fume of antes have been | published in the past showing sensors, surface dryness testers, liquid level detectors, skin dryness testers (alias lie detectors), touch sensors ete. ‘The general circuitry is simple enough for the anticipated degree of sensitivity but *he bugbear seems to be corrosion of the electrode and subsequent failure. ‘Th: direct current present on the elee- trodes is responsible for accumulation of dirt which is sensitive to polarised potential. This project was originally conceived as a simple replacement for those sensors which had ceased opera tion after a bout of unreliable service due to above stated problems, It was clear from the manner by which these devices failed that a perio dic source was an economical way of retarding probe failures up to a certain extent. An AC coupling can prevent electrolysis of the probe metal. How- cever,the source cannot be the AC sige nal delivered from the line supply which may be picked up by the probe everywhere. To circumvent ths difficulty asepar- ate source of 2 to 3kHr frequency is | selected by trial and error. This cam | produce a distinct tone of variable pitch which can be differentiated with the line hum, Ifthe probe surface is bridged with a conductive medium, such as a liquid metal, wet wood or human skin, ihe device produces an audible note and its intensity increases with the con- ductivity of the bridging material While it is not a new psychoacoustic ‘effect generator, one can assess the nature of the bridged material, of course by tral and error, from the tone it generates. ‘The question which now anses is regarding the nature of the periodic wave and the type of source, Square ‘waves or pulses are too much to man- age due:to their harmonics. A single frequency sinusoid, produced by a source of comparative stability, can produce the best acoustic effec in Var- ious situations with relatively easy cir- cuit management on the PCB. When a twin-T network is perfectly balanced it acts asa frequency depend- cnt attenuator giving zero output at a central periodicity of 6.28RC and finite ‘output at all other frequencies, «An automatic amplitude control is AV. Jacob obtained from the generator ‘ise ‘because of the progressive non- linearity of the op-amp as the ourput signal approaches the clipping level. The amplitude remains sable up to @ load current of 20 mA, Even if the probe Ieads are directly shorted for a Jong duration, the generator cannot produce an apparent distortion ‘As important as the periodic source selection and its frequency is the con- struction of the probe. A stethoscopic model, the model finally selected for the project, is developed using a brais ‘outer ring with an external diameter of 2 ems and internal diameter of 1 cm (Fig, 2). ‘The input terminal to the amplifier C4 (741) is placed at the centre of the probe with a head diameter of 0.5 cm. ‘The outer and inner conductors are well shiekded and insulated. A thick rubber sleeve serves as the insulated handle for stethoscopic type of appear- ance. The end surfaces of the inner and ‘outer rings are polished and levelled. Twisted wires of 2m length would be ‘sufficient for a majority of applications. A stethoscopic probe is found to be convenient in finding the surface dry- ness of"flat materials like wood, plas- ELECTRONICS PROJECTSFig. t: Creult dingram of the dew guard. tic, working table, wall surface etc. When itis combined with an audio- scopic effect (no meter please), the test procedure becomes extremely simple. Flood guards and overflow detectors in the laboratories need no modifica- tion to the probe shape. However, in liquid level detectors two thin rods well insulated from each other would suf- fice. Foams which are capable of absorbing moisture or forming dew on it are often placed between the probe leads, Two parallel plates with or with: ‘oon paren 1, Fig. 2: Probe with dimensions, ELECTRONICS PROVECTS (requeney! {C7slohe potentiometer (Gheeshold) Capacitors: Circa — atour, WY electrotrse BE cw = Beak sv dcnie & cr {BaF ow 6oPin paralscan ‘leo be used) — Bel ch Aur, BV electrolyte Giz,c18 = lar cu T 0pF, 40V electrolytic Miveloncons x ‘Step-down transformer 2907 pena BV Oa, eA BR = ETT dae rctiser RL 12V, 00ohm relay Probe. rin og, ie = Shee aaed Pos Baelooare te ‘out absorbent foam between them can also serve as probes. In all these cases the net capacitance presented by the probe decides the detector sensitivity, Capacitor Cx has to be selected in such a way that inthe absence of the conduc- tive medium between the probe leads, the audio output should be insignifi- ‘cant, On an average the value of Cx may not excced 0.22HF. The purpose of the oscillator-probe set-up and the sensor amplifir is to interface the sensor information with the circuitry of the acoustic section, ‘The probe provides inputimpedance to amplifier (G4 which controls its gain, It acts like a parallel RC combination When its outer ring is bridged with the inner one through a conductive medium, ‘At the selected oscillator frequency, the effective input impedance 10 the sensor amplifier increases with the decrease in conductivity of the medium present between the sensing elements. If only the inner lead_of the probe is touched, simplifier 1C4 picks up only the line hum which will be distinctly different from the tone duc to the ridg- ing of the sensor leads through a con- ductive medium, Of course, sensor amplifir 104 | alone cannot really decide anything eoFig. 3: PCB layout for circuit in Fig. 1. about the nature of interruption on the probe surface except the generation of 1 proportional signal. However, two different decision making tools can be derived from its output. The first is an audio tone generator which willbe trig- gered only on an interruption on the probe. For this, the output of 1C4 has to be boosted so that a speaker can function the performance of the dew guard isthe addition of a comparator stage. This section will provide a visual indication ‘or switching action tocontrolany other apparatus based on the findings of the ‘dew guard, Often, it would be convenient only to receive a warming when a certain maxi- mum level is reached. For this, a por- tion of the signal from the amplifier is bie] + bel] wh es eed pet lert eke Ol Es e be i Be byte . OR the Phe jl seed se Pe & cmp net br PR from it. A bidirectional boosting is achieved using transistors T] and T2. ‘An 8-ohm, 7.60m speaker would suf- fice but better results can be expected from a tweeter, The distortion caused by the booster stage is not critical ‘A very convenient way of improving 62 tapped and rectified to produce a pro- portional DC control voltage. The cir- cuit around ICS (741) functions as a comparator whose output can be used to drive a relay or an indicator lamp through drive transistor T3, Usually, the operating voltage of the relay will be higher than the regulated supply ail, hence itis convenient to drive the relay from an unregulated supply. ‘Asa precaution against the develop- ‘ment of spurious signals, the earth line is connected to the circuit ground as well as the transformer core. If any other circuit is attached to the dew guard requiring a power supply of +5 volts or 45 volts and 100mA current, F the same can be taken from the dew guard power supply. The unregulated supply can be fed to an additional pair of 3-terminal regulators such as 7812: and 7912 depending on the require- ments of the additional circuits. 4 o ELECTRONICS PROJECTS:Electronic Tug of War his is an interesting electronic fees can test their reflex time besides spending “several pleasurable hours together. It has been named “tug-of- ‘war due to its similarity with the actual game. However, here only the quick- ness of action is required and not phy cal strength. ‘The two players get ready for the game and when the Go signal is dis- played automatically, the players simultaneously depress their PLAY but- tons. Only one LED ina row of 11 will be lt and the person who has actually pressed his PLAY button firs, willcause the lit LED to move towards him. ‘Thus, the tit LED will be pulled” by the players, depending on who presses his PLAY button first in consecutive plays. When ‘the lit LED finally moves towards one end, that particular ‘stronger’ player wins. Even though both players think they have pressed their buttons together, a delay of evena few microsecondscan be sensed by the circuit to distinguish who has actually played first After the game is over, it can be reset and the game is automatically restarted again. A ‘pull’, ice. pressing the play button before the G0 signal is considered as a foul, which is sensed and displayed against the cor- responding player. Rules of the game A set of rules have been formulated for this game. The electronic cireuitry has been designed based on these rules. the rules are to be modified, the cor- ELECTRONICS PROJECTS responding modifications must also be made in the circuitry. ‘The game hasa row of 11 red LEDs, which gives a visual indication of the players’ movements by the position of ‘one lit LED amongst 11, Every time a play is made, the lit red LED goes off and the adjacent red LED is fit up, giving an effect of a moving lit red LED. The direction of movement is decided by the player who plays first after the Go signal is given, ‘On energising the circuit, the various LEDs may be at some arbitrary cond tion, Thus the RESTART button must be pressed to get the circuit ready for a game, immediately, the middle LED of the row of II red LEDsislit, indicating a central or neutral position, About 7 seconds later, Go LED lights up, indi- cating that the circuit is ready and the players can go ahead. Now, both players have access to individual PLAY buttons and depress them as quickly as they can, Whoever depresses his PLAY button first, causes the lt red LED to shift towards hisside. After the first PLAY button has been depressed, further pressing of any PLAY button does not make any change. The ‘Go LED iis also blanked out on press- ing the first PLAY button and will light ‘up automatically after about 7 seconds, indicating when the circuit is ready for the next play. The players push their PLAY buttons again: and the lit red LED will move from its last position towards the position ofthe person who thas now pressed first and will remain there till the next play. In this manner, after each Go signal, ‘Sujit K, Biswas cach player tries to pull the red LED towards him, In this process, the.lit LED may move back and forth along the row, finally reaching the end towards the ‘stronger’ player. ‘At this point, the game is over and becomes latched with an END LED lit up, while the Go signal is no longer displayed. A WIN LED is itautomati- cally in favour of the player who has ‘won while the last LED of the row of 11, to which the lit position has moved, stays lighted. ‘The game can be restarted again by pressing the RESTART button. Since the players will be trying to beat each other PARTS LIST Semiondctare TECHS" a ua inp NAND 12 og 7 ung zim aD awe hie 2 HOSE c° rs = The gend eT Ont ter — WE ul reaperale Tonto ae rosicr— Tibet Binet nivel oki roar pipe Bigp:7 eniaiors (oll 1/4 wath, 45% carbon, sae stated orate] fins ect Ben — ¢ivoha fa fotllom BS = 27Khhm Capacitors: eres Jo dae a ste & [ge so minima ee |= Sgt SV elacrtyic Grou = ala due ‘Miscellaneous: SUS8 — SPDTewitehee * Capacitors O6-Cl1 are used for power supply line decoupling on PCB and they ary: not shown in the eireue diagram.“bund seu 30 ey onogp Jo waddep ymoHE) 1 ia ELECTRONICS PROJECTSFig. 2: PCB layout of circuit shown in Fig. 4 (track side). in the time of playing, it will often | happen that a player presses his PLAY ‘bution before the Gosignal has actually | been given. This is considered a foul and the circuit is designed not to allow any movement ofthe lit LED bya foul attempt. ‘The foul play, rather attempt, isindi- | cated by a Fou LED lighting up | ELECTRONICS PROJECTS against the player who has committed the fou! serving asa waming. However, ‘once the Go signal is given, the game ‘can continue asa normal one, while the FOU. indication will go off inthe next play, provided no foul play is commit- fed. If @ certain number of points. is allocated for winning the game by a player, some points aan be deducted for every foul, if the players decide so before starting the game, Circuit description The heart of the circuit as shown in Fig. I consists of an IT stage presetta- ble, bidirectional shift —_regis- ter. The I red game LEDs are connected fo its 11 outputs and a preset 6coo eo ° ° [Pade oy Fig. 3: PCB layout of circuit shown in Fig. 1 (components sie). pattem is loaded such that only the LED in the centre is lit, This preset pattern is now shifted towards the ion of the player who plays first, so that the lit LED moves along. The | shift register stages are made up of three 74194 ICs, each being a 4-stage bidirectional presettable shift register. | ce the tps are fo drive LEDs | directly, the registers are selected to ‘operate in the active low mode, ie. an ‘output low state will ight a red LED ‘connected to it. Thus, the 12-stage shift register made by cascading the three 74194 ICs is preset with a data of HINONULE and only the first 11 Stage outputs are utilised. Hence, upon loading of data when reset, the sixth register from the left will activate the LED, ie, the central LED of the row of n ‘Sand St are the two mode controls for the 74194 ICs, If both are high, the outputs are preset to the data at the preset inputs, upon receiving a low to high transition of the clock pulse. If SO is high while SI is low, right ELECTRONICS PROJECTS '