t i o n s .

R e s i s t o r RE4
to test a n infrared LED
pulls u p t h e comwith a fluorescent
parator's output for a
phosphor card, you'll
near rail-to-rail voltage
be happy to know that
swing for IC2-a. LED1
there's a better way.
and current-limiting
This project, called the
resistor R7 indicate
infrared logic probe,
the presence of steadycombines a n infrared
state infrared and also
photodiode s e n s i n g
function with pulsed
circuit a n d a logicemitters, if the dtl.5cyprobe pulse detecting
cle is appropriate.
circuit. The device is
Monostable multih a n d y for checking
vibrator IC2-a condijust about any infrared
tions pulse trains with
emitting source.
any period shorter
T h e infrared logic
than the time consta-nt
probe consists of two
of R9 and C1 into a lowsections: a probe and a
frequency waveform
PC board containing
with a very high duty
t h e electronics. T h e
cycle. Monostable IC2probe is packaged in a
b triggers on the wavefelt-tip pen case. The
form from IC2-a. This
electronics are packprovides p u l s e s for
aged in a plastic case
LED2 t h a t a r e cona n d connected to the
stant in frequency and
probe through a thin
duty cycle, regardless
coaxial cable. The cirof the high input frecuit will detect 0.3-milquency to IC2-a. Any
liwatt continuous levfrequency i n p u t to
els a n d pulses a s
IC2-a with a period
narrow a s 40 microselonger than the time
conds at a frequency of
constant of R 9 and C1
7.1 kilohertz. The
creates IC2-b o u t p u t
probe's tip is small
pulses with the same
enough to fit in a slotwidth as before at the
ted o ~ t i c a switch
l
and
inout freauencv. Reothe; hard-to-reach
sis'tor 1310Lande2 set
opticalsensingdeHere:'sadevbtohelpyou theoutputpulsewidth
vices. Sensitivity to
for IC2-b.
ambient light is not a
t~.o~bleshoot
infrared
Tricolor LED2 ( a
problem, but the probe
dual red/green device)
c a n b e sensitive to
emitters, YOUca~t't~ U itV
functions a s a ~ i l o t
sunlight or incandeslamp and indicat6r for
anywhereyou have
cent light that is rich
pulsed infrared
i n infrared. The phosources. LED2 will alto build it yourself!
todiode is packaged in
ways glow red a n d
a visible-light rejecting
pulse amber (recase with a peak specd f g r e e n ) when in
ALEXANDER D. FlRMANl
tral response of 925
frared pulses are denanometers and a usatected. Transistor Q1 is
b l e r a n g e of 7 2 5 t o 1150
nector J 1 provides a n output to a n emitter-follower buffer that
nanometers.
an oscilloscope for the display of allows IC2-b to drive the green
the amplified photodiode sig- diode. Resistors R11 a n d R12
Circuit description
nal. This is handy when check- limit current for LED2.
The schematic for the IR logic
ing the pulsed emitters found in
The power source for the cirprobe is shown in Fig. 1. Inmost remote controls.
cuit is a 9-volt battery. Diode D l
frared light detected by phoVoltage comparator IC1-b protects the circuit from accitodiode D2 is amplified by IC1-a,
squares up signals from IC1-a to dental voltage reversals when
half of a n LM392N op-amp. Redigital logic levels for IC2-a. Re- you install the battery. Power
sistors R1 and R2 set the voltage
sistors R4 and R5 set the refer- supply noise is decoupled by C 3
gain of IC1-a. The value of R2
ence voltage at the non-invertand C4. Alkaline batteries will
can be changed to decrease the
ing input to one half of the provide many hours of operasensitivity of the circuit if your
tion, because the circuit h a s
supply voltage, and R6 provides
application demands it. Conhysteresis to prevent oscilla- low-power integrated circuits
IF YOU HAVE EVER TRIED

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place of S2 for most emitters (remote controls) found on consumer electronic equipment.
For certain devices such a s slotted optical switches, CD laser
diodes, and reflective sensors,
more sensitivity might be desirable. If you plan to use the probe
for LEDS that operate below 0.5
milliwatts, install S2 and R13if not, you can install a wire
jumper on the board instead of
the switch.

FIG. 1-SCHEMATIC FOR THE IR LOGIC PROBE. Infrared light detected by photodiode
D2 is amplified by IC1-a, half of an LM392N op-amp.

(OPTIONAL, SEE TEXT)

FIG. 2-PARTS-PLACEMENT DIAGRAM. Sockets for mounting the integrated circuits

are recommended.

and high-efficiency LEDs.

Switch S2 (and R13) is op-

tional. The probe will operate

properly with a wire jumper in

Construction
The circuit can be built on a
PC board or point-to-point
wired. You can make your own
PC board from the foil pattern
provided here, b u t point-topoint wiring is practical because of the low component
c o u n t . T h e photograph a n d
parts placement diagram within this article will help. Sockets
for the ICS are recommended.
Figure 2 is the parts-placement
diagram.
If you are using the same case
as the prototype (see the Parts
List), place the unpopulated PC
board on the bottom half of the
enclosure, centered a n d positioned about 5/16-inch from the
b a t t e r y c o m p a r t m e n t wall.
Mark the four mounting holes
and then drill them for 2-56
hardware.
Mount the components on
the board, taking care not to
make any solder bridges or poor
connections. Note that R9 must
be mounted vertically Again, if
you are using the recommended
case, cut the leads on the LEDs
to approximately %-inch, a n d
solder t h e m to t h e board
straight up. (If you are using a
case with a different height, cut
the LED leads to a length so that
they will just extend through
holes drilled in the top of the
case after the board is mounted
in the case.) Next solder 6-inch
lengths of No. 24 wire for the
switch/switches (remember
that S2 is optional),jack J1, and
the negative lead of the battery
snap, to the points indicated in
Fig. 2. Do n o t connect t h e
switches and jack now. Mount
the board to the bottom of the
case with short 2-56 machine
screws and nuts.
Drill two holes i n the en-

Next use the drill guide in Fig.

3 to mark and drill the holes in
the enclosure's top. (The drill
guide matches the PC board
layout, so it can be used for any
case.) Remember, S2 is optional, so don't drill holes for
TOP

FIG. +DRILL GUIDE. S2 is optional, so

don't drill holes for mounting it if you're
not using it.

closure's removable end plate:

one %-inch hole for the probe's
cable and one %-inch hole for
phono jack J1. Install J1 in the
end plate and place the plate
into the enclosure. Solder the
wires fo the jack, observing polarity a n d taking care not to
melt the plastic end plate.

mounting it if you're not using

it. The rectangular holes for the
switches can be made by drillingapilot hole in the center and
carefully cutting away the plastic with a sharp hobby knife.
Mount the switches and solder
the wires to them. Fieure 4
shows the inside of thz completed unit.
The IR probe
The prototype's photodiode
probe case was made from a
fine-point (not extra-fine point)
Sanford Sharpie felt-tip marker
pen. Figure 5 shows a cutaway
view of the probe. To disassemble the pen, first pull out the
writing tip with pliers. Grasp
the pen's tapper portion ( t h e
part that is the same color as
the ink) and the pen's gray barrel. Then pull the pen apart with
a twisting, bending motion.
Wear rubber gloves to improve
your grip on the pen. Discard
the ink cartridge and wash the
pen's interior with denatured alcohol to remove any remaining
ink. Denatured alcohol will also
remove the embossed lettering
on the outside of the pen's barrel.
To make the "light pipe" that
conducts light into the probe's
interioG cut a small piece of s o inch thick clear Plexiglas, %inch wide and 1%-inches long.

FIG. &THE INSIDE OF THE COMPLETED UNIT. You can use the same case (see the
Parts List) or any other that will accept the board and a 9-volt battery.

felt-tip marker pen.

FIG. &THE COMPLETED PROBE. Use the pen's original cap to protect the light pipe
from breakage.

IR PROBE FOIL PATTERN.

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This c a n be accomplished by
deeply scribing t h e sheet o n
both sides a n d clamping the
piece to be cut off in avise. Snap
the piece off and cut it to length
with diagonal cutters. File one
end to a screwdriver-shaped tip,
and then dress also clean u p the
To make the "light pipe" that
conducts light into the probe's
interior, cut a small piece of s o inch thick clear Plexiglas, Y8inch wide and 1Y4-inches long.
This can be accomplished by
deeply scribing the sheet on
both sides a n d clamping the

piece to be cut off in avise. Snap

the piece off and cut it to length
with diagonal cutters. File one
end to a screwdriver-shaped tip,
and then dress up the sides
with the file.
Tap the light pipe into the
hole in the pen's upper portion
where the writing tip was. The
screwdriver point should be
outside, a n d t h e light pipe
should extend about %-inch.
Mix some five-minute epoxy and
seal the gaps where the rectangular light pipe enters the
round hole in the pen's upper

portion.
Prepare one end of the probe's
coaxial cable by stripping about
an inch of the jacket off and separating the braid with a n awl.
Place a length of heat-shrink
tubing over the cut jacket for a
neat appearance. Drill a hole in
the end of the marker's gray barrel large enough to admit the
coaxial cable.
The photodiode's leads must
be bent to extend from the center of the device. Mark the photodiode's cathode lead (it's the
shorter lead), and then cut both
leads down to a ?&inch length
from the back of the device. Solder the leads of the coaxial cable
to the leads of the photodiode;
use the cable's braid for t h e
cathode and the center conductor for the anode. Make sure the
leads cannot short together!
Mix about an ounce of clear
casting resin (available at a n art
supply store) according to the
directions on the package. (Alternatively, you can use clear
RTV silicone sealant.) Place the
probe's upper portion in a vise
with the open end facing upwards. Insert the photodiode in
the open end, and push it down
until its lens touches the light
pipe. Pour the resin (or RTV silicone) in the open end and completely fill the void, encapsulating the diode in the marker's
upper body. The coaxial cable
should be positioned in the center of the upper body while the
resin hardens overnight.
When the resin (or RTV silicone) h a s cured, apply black
paint to the resin around the
cable. This prevents infrared
light from entering through the
probe's gray barrel. When the
paint dries, slide the barrel over
the cable, and push the two sections of the probe together.
Sand the light pipe with 400grit sandpaper to finish the surface. Use the pen's original cap
to protect the light pipe from
breakage when it is not in use.
Figure 6 shows the completed
probe.

Final assembly 81 testing

P a s s t h e f r e e e n d of t h e
probe's coaxial cable through
the hole in the enclosure, and
Continued o n page 87

the 'bin-T is imperfectly balanced, it gives a feeble output at

its center frequency, and its output phase depends on the direction of the imbalance. In other
w o r d s , if t h e i m b a l a n c e is
caused by low values of R3 + R5,
the output phase is inverted
with respect to the input.
The twin-T network in Fig. 13
can be adjusted by R5 so that a
small phase-inverted output at
a center frequency of 1 kHz can
b e produced. Consequently,
overall phase inversion takes
place around the feedback loop,
and the circuit oscillates at 1
kHz. Potentiometer R5 can be
adjusted so that oscillation is
barely sustained. Under this
condition, sinewave amplitude
is limited to about 5 volts RMS
by the onset of operational amplifier clipping. The output has
less than 1%THD.
Figure 14 is a schematic for a
simple twin-T oscillator that
will have lower output distortion. Diode D l provides distortion-generated automatic gain
control. To organize this circuit,
set the wiper of potentiometer
R7 to the output of the operational amplifier, and adjust R6
so that oscillation is just sustained. A sinewave output of
about 500 millivolts, peak-topeak, will be produced.
n

JACOBr.SLADDER

continuedfrom page 59

to those found on the schematic

Fig. 1. The cores and bobbins
for this transformer are from
Philips (Ferroxcube) Compon e n t s , Saugerties, NY). The
cores are No. El87 made from
3E2A ferrite material. The plastic molded bobbins are Part No.
E187PCB1-8. These parts are
available from the source given
in the Parts List.
Transformer T1: Wind t h e
first 3 0 t u r n s trifilar (three
wires in parallel) from No. 30
AWG magnet wire and the remaining 30 turns as single wire
turns. Solder the ends of the
windings to the pins, insert the
E-core, and tape the assembly
together securely.

Transformer T2: The core of

transformer is No. 41623 from
Samhwa USA, Chatsworth CA,
with matching seven-segment
bobbin, cup and primary bobbin. These parts are also available from the source given in
the Parts List.
Start winding the secondary
bobbin by securing the magnet
wire to a pin insulated on the
bobbin end and wind between
300 and 400 t u r n s of No. 3 7
AWG magnetic wire on each of
seven segments. Snap the cup
in place and solder the output
leads. Fill the cup with epoxy or
RTV silicone when you are satisfied that the transformer h a s
been wound correctly.
Wind eight t u r n s of No. 30
twisted wires on the primary
bobbin and tape the windings
in place. Form the air gap of the
primary section with 0.005inch thick Milar tape and form
the air gap for the secondary
section with 0.010-inch thick
Milar tape. Tape or clamp the
two sections together with a
heavy rubber band.
n

Digital Camcorders Here

If you have a couple or three thousand dollars to spend on really topnotch video reproduction, you now
can buy a digital camcorder using the
standard D V (digital video) format
from either Sony or Toshiba, with
JVC waiting in the wings. In this column we've carried a lot of information
about that DVC format (now called
DV). T h e available camcorders pro:
duce breathtaking pictures and are
ideal for professional or "prosumern
videographers.
Panasonic's model has three C C D
pickups, while Sony has two models,
one with three pickups and one with a
single CCD. T h e Sony model has a
digital interface and utilizes an optional feature of the D V system-a cassette with a built-in chip that stores
data on tape specifications and records
the date of recording and provides
Ril
easy access to any scene.

prepare the cable ends i n the

same manner a s before. Solder
the leads of the cable to the circuit board as shown i n Fig. 2.
Attach a 9-volt battery to the
connector a n d t u r n o n t h e
power. The knit can be tested
with a n infrared remote control
or a n infrared LED and currentlimiting resistor connected to
the output of a pulse or function
generator. (The IR LED can be
coupled to the probe's tip with a
length of ?&inch heat-shrink
tubing for test purposes.)
The tricolor LED should glow
red; if not check Dl and the battery or its polarity. Point the IR
LED at the probe's tip and make
sure both LED indicators are
functioning. If there is no indication, check t h e photodiode's polarity, IC1, and its
associated components. If the
tricolor LED does not flash amber, check IC2 and its associated components. Connect a n
oscilloscope to J1, a n d verify
that a waveform is present.
Once the circuit h a s been
checked out, join both halves of
the enclosure. Be sure that the
battery wires d o n o t tangle
around the LED indicators. A
piece of foam rubber cut to fit
the bottom of the battery compartment will keep the battery
from rattling a r o u n d i n the
case.

Using the probe

If light from windows and incandescent lamps interferes
with the probe's operation, either remove the source of interference or move the work area.
Ambient room light should not
create problems, especially if its
source is florescent fixtures.
The probe's plastic light pipe
is most sensitive at the screwdriver-shaped tip. The light reflects within the walls of the
light pipe (as in fiber optic cable), conducting the light to the
photodiode. The probe will indicate if high-frequency pulsed IR
LEDs are working, but the photodiode will integrate the pulses
to a steady-state level.

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87