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 BERRSBACK

Popular ElectroniCS
PUBUCmON

(516) 293 3115

_

(516) 293 30
_ p0 Fax:
N.Y. 11735
Boulevard Farmingdale,
500 Bi- County l it bring?
around ha\
The millennium
It upon us. The year
2000 right
is
- the magazine for the hands-on
thor r.
electronics activist!
etitive
for a variety of compdesign,
who
electronics marketplace stroomtho professionals who
Today's challenging the f electeonics activist our lives, the experimenters
aimed n gear that fills the activists
mputera l of the electronics the latest gear,
and repair who want to know what's in circuits and designs,
build, maintain, comp enthusiasts test
build projects, the audiophiles hew
are blond robots, want ate
communicate
who want to and what's out there
ham -radio operators
looking Electronics and
our two publications - Popular -thon you will
p
Publications is eons - Poptronics
That's why Ger new, exciting and itimely monthly
magazine
January - Po issue. What a way to
Now, into the it will be the 1, 2001.)
Electronics
be holding in your hands.
Coincidentally
the millennium actually starts January
soon (Yes know
enter the new millennium!
I

will become Pop Poptronics, the

Electronics
2000 issue Popular
i
Starting with the January activst!oactivists We've been here
It's evolution. 21st Centuiryele
magazine fo for the hands -on electronics Iwrl the
for all electronics with the first
ey2lur
Electrcs.tWe re
eg be the magazine
hen we began in April 1908 Elec ri its future
Poptronics
Poptronics
ing beginning, millennium, the year issue with
since of the next
still going to be
here for the start
descendant. magazines into Poptronics.
our existing mag
the eary best elements of we can assemble. We
brought Lover all
the very best editorial variety W
Robotics
We
to Gizm to you, our sea ndrs
Reports, Service ClictP rr nd editori-
lt is d parka e, Hands -on wrapped ro at'mpin
Gizmo, Prototype, key columns; and how it works and how to do it articles,
Workhop, Science and other
Workshop, Amazing lab reviews,
of construction projects, product
al package new world of electronics! index, an
to create a wonderful forums, searchable
will still be there
too. The
, se in other
signs areas. and
,

at www.gernsback.com of "under
u co. The more useful
Our web site find a lot that you will find it
even
stay as they are, but you may believe than
links will
up with what is happ
happening. I
of readers to exchange glean s
in to keep thousands great
fin forums thatdatesgon contents in the magazine.
i
the from the current
before. We will the latest up articles and artwork
answered, and and articles and to download current
for old
search th e index
issue, receive upcoming
Electronics, you will automatically is fulfilled. If you also
y
to Popular
If you are a
current subscriber January 2000) until your current subscription (if you have 10
more issues of
(starting with your subscriptions - you will receive the next
issues
to Electronics Now we will combine Now- ipr example
(if
subscribe
subsuribe of Electronics
to g o, and 5 issues
Popular Electronics
15 issues of Poptronics). the labels on the
just cut off or copy
next month, subscription is merged
and g et twoo copies of Poptronics
them to me. I'll see that your
If we goof magazines and send
front cover of botha single copy.
without you losing 2000 issue of Poptronics.
publishing g with theourJanuary
begins electronics industry
can be. We
new world of electronics see just how great
An exciting us and
ress. Stay with news as it app ens.
our partner progress. of the latest electronics
a
all
will be bringing you
will

Larry Steckler, EHF,CET

Publisher

www.americanradiohistory.com
 December 1999, Vol. 16, No. 12

Popular Electronics THE MAGAZINE FOR THE ELECTRONICS ACTIVIST!

FEATURES AND CONSTRUCTION

EMF METER
Rudolf Graf and William Sheets 29
Locate sources of potentially harmful electromagnetic radiation in your home
or office
ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION William Sheets and Rudolf Graf 38
Learn what causes EMF and find out what you can do to protect yourself
and others

PRODUCT REVIEWS
GIZMO
Holiday Gift Guide-everything they'll want at the turn of the millennium 20
PRODUCT TEST REPORT
48
Samsung Widescreen LCD Rear -Projection TV

COLUMNS
NET WATCH
Konstantinos Karagiannis 5
One -Stop Holiday Shopping
MULTIMEDIA WATCH
Marc Spiwak 7
CD- ROM -Then and Now
COMPUTER BITS
Ted Needleman 12
Scanner Software Basics
PEAK COMPUTING Andrew T. Angelopoulos 14
Adding Internet Filters
AMAZING SCIENCE
John /ovine 74
Voice Recognition, Part 1

ROBOTICS WORKSHOP
Gordon McComb 77
Building a Line - Tracing Robot
CIRCUIT CIRCUS
Charles D. Rakes 80
A Potpourri of Designs
COMM LINKS
Joseph J. Carr 83
Some EM//TV! Fixes
SCANNER SCENE
Marc Saxon 85
A Miscellany of "Point"ers

DEPARTMENTS
EDITORIAL
LETTERS 3
ELECTRONICS LIBRARY 4
POPULAR ELECTRONICS MARKET CENTER 28
51
NEW PRODUCTS
ADVERTISING INDEX 87
FREE INFORMATION CARD 90
90A

ropular electronics ASSN 1042- 170 -XI Published monthly by Gernsback Publications,
Inc. 500 Bi- County Boulevard, Farmingdale, NY 11735 Second
postage paid at Farmingdale, NY and at additional mailing offices. One -year, twelve -Class
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As a service to readers, Popular Electronics publishes available plans or information
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nological developments. Because of possible variances in the quality and condition
of materials and workmanship used by readers, Popular Electronics dis-
2 claims any responsibility for the safe and proper functioning of reader -built projects
based upon or from plans or information publishec in this magazine.
 Popular Electronics
Larry Steckler, EHF, CET,
editor -in -chief and publisher
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Konstantinos Karagiannis, editor
The Waves Around Us Robert Young, technical editor
Evelyn Rose, assistant editor
Teri Scaduto, assistant editor
that electromagnetic Janine Abitabile, editorial assistant
You can't feel them. You can't see them. But it doesn't mean Andrew T. Angelopoulos,
aren't permeating the room you're in right now. It's something we have to
waves contributing editor
accept -as technology and electronic devices proliferate, we'll come into contact Joseph J. Carr, K4IPV, contributing editor
with more and more EM fields each day. John !ovine, contributing editor
Gordon McComb, contributing editor
manner,
While the possible harmful effects of EMF can't be proven in a quantified Ted Needleman, contributing editor
per day you can safely Charles D. Rakes, contributing editor
just like no one can tell you exactly how many minutes
may be cause for worry. People living Marc Saxon, contributing editor
expose your skin to the sun's rays, there
for instance, seem to develop certain types of Marc Spiwak, contributing editor
dose to power-line transformers,
of the appli-
cancer in "greater than normal" numbers. And as it turns out, some PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
emitting smaller Ken Coren, production director
ances and gadgets we use and take for granted every day are
Kathy Campbell, production manager
doses of the same invisible EMF. Michele Mus prepress specialist
the field areas
Fortunately, these smaller doses can be avoided. By measuring ART DEPARTMENT
microwave perhaps Andre Duzant, art director
around electronic devices we can take precautions. Moving a
inches farther away from a computer mon- Russell C. Truelson, illustrator
a foot back on the counter, sitting a few
could drastically reduce the amount of EMF we
itor ... these and other adjustments CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
come into contact with. Gina L. Gallo, circulation manager
Christina M. Estrada, circulation assistant
To help you take such precautions and find those older devices
that are a bit too
REPRINT DEPARTMENT
our EMF Meter, a powerful "sniffer" circuit that will
radiation -leaky, we're presenting Janine Abitabile, Reprint Bookstore
frequent.
find any trouble spots in your home, office, or any other place you
more on these, check out
Complicated as field theories may be (for BUSINESS AND EDITORIAL OFFICES
38), the EMF Meter is only a modestly chal-
"Electromagnetic Pollution" on page Gernsback Publications, Inc.
lenging project to build. Use a PC board and a coil -winding trick we'll
show you, and 500 Bi- County Blvd.
Farmingdale, NY 11735
you could be scanning rooms in a couple of nights. Turn to page 29 to get started. 516- 293 -3000
Fax: 516-293-3115
Gernsback Publications. President: Larry Steckler
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Electronics in its
Now. to form a new, larg-
issue we'll have merged with our sister title, Electronics Advertising Sales Offices
er magazine: Poptronics. listed on page 90

for the entire

I'm excited to be taking the helm of this new project, and know speak
I I

ultimate magazine Cover by Loewy Design

staff in saying that we're determined to make Poptronics the
it's part of the future of electronics, it will be
for hands -on electronics enthusiasts. If
VISIT US ON THE INTERNET AT:
in this cutting-edge new title.
www.gernsback.com
be out. So
Inabout a month, in plenty of time for the 21st century, the first issue will
millennium madness, and join us for a sane look
do find a quiet spot amidst all the
hear what you think of the expanded coverage and new
at the future. We'd love to
Since some of the equipment and circuitry
features of Poptronics.
described in POPULAR ELECTRONICS may relate
to or be covered by U.S. patents, POPULAR
ELECTRONICS disclaims any liability for the
infringement of such patents by the making, using,
or selling of such equipment or circuitry, and sug-
gests that anyone interested in such projects con-
sult a patent attorney.
Konstantinos Karagiannis
3
Editor

www.americanradiohistory.com
 GUITAR DISTORTION sword fighting. Remember, there's a ing time output, where it belongs, and
CORRECTIONS neon tube in there. frees up the reset pin, which is not
I noticed that a few errors
crept into -Editor used.
my article: "Guitar Distortion Pedal"
Remove R1 and Cl from IC1 pin 4
(Popular Electronics, September POCKET METRONOME (reset) and place them on pin 14 (V +).
1999). On page 42, the text states IMPROVEMENTS This change supplies power to the
switch S2 is a "double-pole, single - had a great time building "The
I
pulse -generating timer, and it frees up
throw switch." It should be stated as a Pocket Metronome" (Popular Electronics, its reset pin, which isn't used either.
double -pole, double -throw switch, as October 1999). After some modifica- Run a jumper from IC1 pin 5 (pulse -
correctly described in the parts list. tions to the published schematic, was
I side output) to ICI pin 10 (tone -side
The parts-placement diagram (Fig. able to get it to perform flawlessly. reset). Doing so provides the control
4) and the printed -circuit foil (Fig. 3) do For other readers who may be link from the pulse generator to the
not include the marking of the pads "A," experiencing problems with this pro- tone generator.
"B," and "S" as stated in the text and ject, these are the changes suggest:
I D. V. Raymond
shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 4, potentiometer Remove R7 from IC1 pin 10 (reset) via e-mail
R4 is shown as connected to three and place it on IC1 pin 9 (output). This
unmarked pads. They should be desig- attaches the LED to the tone -generat-
nated (from left to right) as A, B, and S.
HAVES & NEEDS
have been a subscriber to your
I

Pad "A" goes to components C2,

D1, D2, R4, R8, and pin 1 of IC1. Pad
KEEP IN TOUCH magazine from way back in the
We appreciate letters from our 1950's. am seeking a tube tester
I
"B" goes to R2, and Pad "S" goes to
readers. Comments, suggestions, that will test old tubes, such as the
the common connection of jacks J1
questions, bouquets, or brickbats ... 7c7, etc. have a Heathkit Digital
I
and J2.
we want to hear from you and find Meter, Model IM -1202 that I would
Hope this clears up any confusion
out what you like and what you dis- like to give to anyone who can help
that may have resulted.
Juan Carlos Morales
like. If there are projects you want to
see or articles you want to submit
we want to know about them. And
- me with the tube tester.
I will be happy to pay for

and give the meter as a gift.

the tester
HALLOWEEN CONTEST now there are more ways than ever Thanks in advance for any help.
SAVIOR to contact us at Popular Electronics. Tony Gaik
My son is a big Star Wars fan, and You can write via snail mail to: 325 West Highway 89A #13
wanted my help in creating a Jedi cos-
tume for Halloween this year. He's
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
Letters e-mail: vitamins @sedona.net
excited about the costume contest his Popular Electronics
school will have. 500 Bi- County Blvd. Irecently saw a miniature wireless
Your October issue came just in Farmingdale, NY 11735 video transmitter. It seemed to have no
time for us to begin our plans. Neither
visible parts, except an antenna wire,
Billy nor particularly liked the plastic,
I
Please note the above address is one positive and negative connection
dim toy "lightsabers" on the market, the snail -mail way to get the quickest for a 9-volt battery, and a wire connec-
and decided to equip him with your response. Some readers send letters tion for video out.
Plasma Saber instead. to our subscription address, and All the components were hidden
Though Halloween hasn't come at although the mail is forwarded to our inside a black box, a bit smaller than a
the time of my writing this letter, we're editorial offices, it does increase the wooden matchbox, with all of the above
delighted by the way the Saber looks. time it takes to answer or publish wires soldered on one side of the box.
The kit made it a cinch! your letters.
I would like to ask your readers if
Thanks a million. Send e -mail to:
they could tell me what was looking at
I
K. Cannone
and the theory of its operation.
via e-mail [email protected]
My other question is, realize, a bit
I

general, but here goes: Does anyone

We're glad we could help. I realize Of course, e -mail is fast.
have any tips for making strong FM
that we didn't mention any of the Check the end of your favorite
transmissions or a powerful antenna to
Saber's Halloween possibilities in the columns, too. Many of them list indi-
pick up weak FM signals?
October issue. vidual e-mail addresses for their
Rommel Golianeh
Just a bit of advice: Your letter did- respective authors.
10223 -121 Street
n't say how old Billy is, but be sure that And don't forget to visit our Web
Edmonton, Alberta
4 he doesn't use the Saber for any play site: www.gernsback.com.
T5N 1K6 Canada
 KONSTANTINOS KARAGIANNIS

NET Ago
ONE-STOp Holiday SkoppiNq

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that it lets you select just how you want you'll undoubtedly need to hit a few
the information on your screen to other spots to get your shopping done Kmart.com
appear. Techno -savvy individuals will this year. Let's examine, in rapid -fire www.kmart.com
want their product specifications pre- fashion, your best bets.
sented as bulleted lists, but those For the kiddies, you'll do well to visit ToysRUs.com
uncomfortable with technical details www.toysrus.com
eToys. Right from the opening page,
will want warm, friendly paragraphs you're offered several browsing
describing a unit's pros and cons. A options that can speed up your shop- vidual that make perfect gifts. The site
mouse click lets you choose between ping time. Pick an age and get the rec- even has a Gifts Under $20 section,
the two. ommended items of the week, just in which links you to products, in the var-
There's even a virtual expert in case you're not quite sure what little ious categories, that fall in this magic
each category (TVs, cooking appli- Timmy or Tammy might be interested price range (magic for the majority of
ances, etc.) of whom you can ask a in. The site's even great for adults holiday shoppers, that is).
6 question. If the program on the Electric (your columnist bought his Phantom
(Continued on page 89)
 MARC SPIWAK
TECHNICAL EDITOR
COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS

MULTIMEDIA YO0

CD -ROM ThEN ANd NOW

About a year before Istarted TEAC 8X24 CD -R

CD Recorders are also getting
writing this column, I bought
faster, as evidenced by Teac's new
the fastest computer I could at the
8X24 SCSI drive that can burn CDs at
time-a 486 DX2 /50 that didn't even
speeds up to 8X and read discs at 24X
have a VESA local bus (VLB). It was
with a 150 -ms average access time. I

late '92 or early '93, and my machine

tested the 8X24, and sure enough it
didn't come with a CD -ROM drive that
can record at 8X. But ran into a funny
I

was at the time just an expensive 1X

problem where could copy a disc at
I

unit with little purpose. paid around

6X but not 8X. My system ran a check
I

$3000 for that computer, which came

on the reader and determined that a
with a 15 -inch color monitor and a
limitation in my reader drive kept direct
14.4 -Kbps modem.
copying to the modest 6X.
By '94, multimedia software on CD-
Now I'm not even sure what sort of
ROM started to bloom, with the advent Kenwood's 52X TrueX CD -ROM drive reads
CD -ROM drive is in my test system,
of 2X CD -ROM drives (I guess 1X, multiple tracks simultaneously, which leads to
but do know that it's a SCSI unit,
150 -KB /sec drives were much too slow
I

phenomenal performance gains.

probably rated at 24X or 32X. I'll have
to make anything interesting happen -a
at the outermost tracks; but for the to redo the test in the same system
from a CD). At some point, I contacted
inner tracks there's really no way to PII 450-but with the Kenwood TrueX
Media Vision and asked for a review
spin the discs much faster than 20X 52X CD -ROM drive installed. I'll bet
unit of the most deluxe 2X multimedia
without them wobbling and vibrating that can then copy discs with the
upgrade kit available at the time.
I
I

too much to be read. This is why so Teac 8X24 at 8X. This 8X24 CD -R
believe it was a $1200 package, which
many drives were variable- speed. But drive comes bundled with Adaptec's
included a $600 2X NEC CD -ROM
now there's a new CD -ROM drive Direct CD, Easy CD Creator, and CD
drive, a Pro Audio Spectrum sound
technology that gets around the RPM Copier Deluxe software.
card, and speakers. It also included
limit not by spinning faster but by read- The Teac 8X24 CD -R drive costs
discs such as Compton's Multimedia
ing more data at once. $449 for the internal version and $549
Encyclopedia, Where in the World is
Kenwood Technologies' new 52X for the external model.
Carmen San Diego ?, and a few oth-
ers. Soon after, Multimedia Watch was TrueX CD -ROM drive uses Zen
TrueX technology to achieve actual HP 8200i CD -RW
born.
performance levels up to 52X. How With CD -R blanks costing so little
A lot has changed since then. But
is that it lets the these days, the more expensive re-
since started this column because of Zen's TrueX works
recordable, CD-RW blanks are best
I

Kenwood 52X TrueX read multiple

CD -ROM, it makes sense that I've got
covered this tracks simultaneously, increasing the used for more specialized recording
a lot of CD -ROM drives
without increasing needs. CD -R is perfect for copying
month. Today, we can pull data off a data transfer rate
rotational speed. A quick and dirty discs, making music compilations,
CD at 52X, record at 8X on $1 blank
bit benchmark test did indicated a archiving data, and so on, where you
discs, re- record on discs that cost a I

high -res- speed of 46X, the fastest CD -ROM want to keep the data forever. But CD-
more, and watch full- screen,
read I've ever seen. The Kenwood RW makes more sense for short-term
olution movies on DVD.
52X TrueX CD -ROM drive has a archiving and backups where you
transfer rate ranging from 6.75 to don't necessarily want to hang onto
KENWOOD 52X TRUEX the data for very long. And regardless
A while back mentioned how CD- 7.8MB per second across the entire
of how long you must save the data,
I

ROM drives never really got much disc. Performance generally ranges
faster after 20X came along. Sure from 45X to 52X.
many drives are labeled as being The 52X TrueX CD -ROM drive has has a CD -ROM drive (well, almost -
you can still share it with anyone that

are sometimes a suggested retail price of $129. some drives can't read CD -RW discs).
much faster, and they

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Accredited B.S. Degree in
A new CD -RW drive from Hewlett-
Computers or Electronics Packard offers speed and conve-
by a UPS, or uninterruptible power
by studying at Home supply. A UPS is basically a battery
nience in an internal form factor. HP's backup power supply that sits between
Grantham College ofEngineering new 8200i CD-RW drive can write or your computer and the AC outlet,
offers 3 distance education programs: rewrite at 4X and read at speeds up to which is constantly charging the UPS
24X. This IDE drive lets you back up battery array. Under normal power
B.S.E.T. emphasis in Electronics 100MB of data in about three minutes conditions, a UPS will simply monitor
B.S.E.T. emphasis in Computers (like CD -ROM, CD -RW has a maxi- the line and pass the AC power
B.S. in Computer Science mum capacity of 650MB). Included through to the connected appliances.
with the 8200i is all the software you But when a power outage is detected,
-Electronics Workbench Professional 5.0 need to get the most from the drive. power is switched over to battery and
included in our B.S.E.T curriculums Adaptec's DirectCD and Easy CD an alarm on the UPS sounds.
-Approved by more than 200 Companies, Creator let you drag- and -drop files for Depending on how large or powerful a
VA and Dantes, (tuition assistance avail.) easy storage and access. HP's Simple UPS you have, you then have a cer-
Trax automatically backs up, indexes, tain amount of time to save your work
For your free catalog of our programs dial and finds files, while HP's Disaster and shut down the computer before
1- 888 -919 -8181 Recovery quickly restores hard drives
Ext. 15 and operating systems from a CD
anything is lost or the computer gets
damaged. Servers are set up so that
http://www.grantham.edu backup that you make. they shut down automatically when the
The drive and impressive software
GCE bundle costs $349.
UPS is triggered.
A UPS for a home computer is gen-
erally about as large as a shoebox and
Yourfirst step HP M820e PORTABLE weighs a surprising amount for its size.
to help yourself CD -RW It's heavy because of the batteries. After
better yourfuture! If you're looking for CD re- record- a while this dunky device starts to get in
ability in a more portable package, the way -it's amazing
how much floor
Grantham College ofEngineering consider Hewlett- Packard's much space they really take up. That's
all
34641 Grantham College Road smaller M820e Portable CD -RW drive. changed now, thanks to
a new style of
This little SCSI drive has a PC Card UPS from Guardian On Board.
Slidell, LA 70460 -6815
interface, and it writes and rewrites at The PowerCard UPS adds protec-
4X and reads at 20X. tion to your PC without taking up any
tut additional space. The "Card" is avail-
Some Say Watching Tropical able as just that, in either PCI or ISA
Fish Lowers Blood Pressure versions. PowerCard ISA is a full -
length ISA expansion card with a NiCd
& Relieves Stress... battery pack mounted right on the
card. PowerCard PCI is a half-length
PCI card that connects to a separate
battery pack, which mounts in the bot-
tom of the computer chassis. Either
one outputs 420 volt- amperes (VA) to
keep a computer and its monitor run-
ning for several minutes before shut
down. PowerCard not only provides
Hewlett -Packards M820e portable CD-RW battery backup, it also offers surge
They Could Be On To drive writes and rewrites at 4X and reads at suppression and EMI/RFI line noise fil-
Something. 20X. tering; and the card includes automat-
ic shutdown software.
Measuring 5 by 6.5 inches and less Either version of the PowerCard is
than 1 inch thick, the M820e weighs available for $199.
less than one pound. It's perfect for
packing in a briefcase or notebook COMPAQ AEROS
L/
IItn.R: .'
computer bag. Like HP's internal 8200i
CD -RW drive, this portable unit comes
with the same great package of CD -R
Windows CE is a powerful operat-
ing system for handheld computers,
and Compaq has just come out with
Discover the Caribbean aboard a Tall Ship. software. some interesting handheld units that
6 & 13 day adventures from $650. The ultra -portable M820e costs run the OS. Compaq's Aero 2100,
For more information call your travel agent sim-
$599. ilar to a Palm Pilot, lets you access
or 1$(x)-327-260I
your calendar, contacts, and e-mail, or
J:: Windjammer' POWERCARD UPS even browse the Internet offline in full
v Sartbot'Cra ises
t'.o. &,.
190120, Dept _55N3,Alianll,a36. FL 33119
Everyone knows how important it color. The high -resolution color
can be to have a computer protected screen, easy PC synchronization,
TFT
10-
CIRCLE 172 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD

www.americanradiohistory.com
 road. TDK Systems' new CyberExpress than a postage stamp. New Media
hour rechargeable battery, touch -sen-
5614 is a full- featured 56 -Kbps Technology Corporation offers these
sitive display, and one -handed opera-
fax /modem PC Card. The memory modules in higher capacities
tion make for a most useful instrument
CyberExpress 5614 supports both than what normally comes with a digi-
that fits in a shirt pocket. This gadget
K56flex and V.90 standards, and it tal camera, which means that you can
costs $449 with 8MB of memory and
works with Windows 95/98/NT/2000, store a lot more images.
$549 for 16MB.
Windows CE, and Apple PowerBook Check out New Media's Web site
If you want something that's more
notebook computers. The modem auto - for information on the complete line.
like a full -sized notebook computer but
senses between K56flex and V.90 stan- The products they sent me were a
less like one at the same time, then con-
dards. The 5614 includes standard sample 48MB CompactFlash module
sider Compaq's new Aero 8000 hand-
14.4 -Kbps send /receive fax, data com- that costs $152 and a 32MB
held PC. Like the Aero 2100, the Aero
pression, and error correction features. SmartMedia card that costs $84.
8000 runs Windows CE. But unlike the
Aero 2100, this model sports a full -size The CyberExpress 5614 has a sug-
gested retail price of $119. NEW SOFTWARE
keyboard and can drive a projector or
If you collect comic books, you'll
monitor. Unlike a notebook computer,
CAMERA MEMORY want to get your hands on a copy of
this Windows CE machine offers instant 4.0 from Human
There is more and more competi- ComicBase
turn -on- meaning that you push a but- ComicBase is a database
tion in removable media for handheld Computing.
ton, the screen lights up, and it's ready
devices, and New Media Technology of over 100,000 issues and almost
to use. The pocket Microsoft Office
Corporation is one player in the mar- 5000 titles, loaded with information in
applications are pretty much the equiva-
ket. New Media offers memory in both an interactive encyclopedia format.
lent of the bigger cousins, especially if
CompactFlash and Smart Media for- Offerings from over 300 publishers,
you -like me -don't use 99% of the
mats for use in digital cameras and from humor to super- heroes, are cov-
features they offer. This handheld unit
other equipment. ered -with up -to -date pricing informa-
costs $949.
For those not familiar with the for- tion. Price histories and value graphs
mats, CompactFlash is a matchbox - for the past four years are included. Of
TDK CYBEREXPRESS course, ComicBase features thousands
5614 size module (though only as thick as a
matchbook) while Smart Media cards of full -color illustrations, and even video
If you travel a lot, it pays to have a
consist of a flash memory chip embed- clips from related movies. The software
reliable modem so that you get the best
ded in a thin plastic card little larger will even calculate statistics on your col-
possible connection speeds on the

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CIRCLE 175 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD

www.americanradiohistory.com
 WHERE TO GET IT contribute to producing the mysterious
Compaq Computer Corporation Kenwood Technologies, Inc. cigars. Learn the Cuban cigar's history
P.O. Box 692000 from the experts, including the owner of
1701 Junction Court Suite 100
Houston, TX 77269 -2000 San Jose, CA 95112 one of the most prestigious cigar tem-
281- 370 -0670 408 -467 -7900 ples in Europe. This title costs $24.95.
www. Compaq. corn www. kenwoodtech. corn. Like all kids with access to cable
CIRCLE 60 ON FREE CIRCLE 66 ON FREE
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INFORMATION CARD
Nickelodeon, the animated show fea-
Electronic Arts turing a blue spotted dog named Blue
LucasArts Entertainment Company
209 Redwood Shores Parkway PO Box 10307 and a live actor character named Steve.
Redwood City, CA 94065 San Rafael, CA 94912 In the show, Blue and young viewers
650- 628 -1500 415-472 -3400 help Steve find clues to solve basic rid-
www.ea.com www.lucasarts. com dles. Humongous Entertainment's lat-
CIRCLE 61 ON FREE CIRCLE 67 ON FREE est title, Blue's 123 Time Activities, is
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Guardian On Board preschoolers practice early math and
Manga Entertainment/Palm Pictures problem -solving skills with Blue and her
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Chicago, IL 60610
Austin, TX 78759 strengthen math skills while helping
312- 751 -0020
512- 794 -1004 www. manga. com Blue win prizes. This title costs $19.99.
www guardia n-ups. corn www pa lmpictures. corn If you'd like to know more about the
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INFORMATION CARD INFORMATION CARD do, then you'll definitely want to check
out the Star Wars Episode I Insider's
Hewlett- Packard Company New Media Technology Corporation Guide from LucasArts. It's loaded with
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character profiles, cinematic secrets,
Irvine, CA 92618 interviews with George Lucas and the
800 -752 -0900 949 -597 -0888
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concept art, theatrical trailers, film
footage, audio clips, and so on. A glos-
Human Computing TDK Systems, Inc. sary contains over 500 entries. This
4509 Thistle Drive 136 New Mohawk Road neat disc costs about $30.
San Jose, CA 95136 Nevada City, CA 95959 I've always been a big fan of
408 -266 -6883 530-478 -8421 Electronic Arts' series of Need For
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Humongous Entertainment Teac America, Inc.
awesome. The graphics are unbeliev-
1500 Woodinville- Redmond Road 7733 Telegraph Road able and the action first -rate. You
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Another game in the series, Need For
lection's value and let you print lists and
Speed Ill: Hot Pursuit, lets you play on
a mix of sci -fi nightmares and relentless both sides of the law. You can try to
reports. If you sell comic books, action, this techno -thriller involves a outrun the cops in a number of differ-
ComicBase can help with printing price Tokyo businessman whose son is kid- ent super -fast cars or play the good
labels. The disc, which is compatible napped. He then undergoes a transfor- guys in hopped -up cruisers out to nail
with PCs and Macs, costs $129. mation into a half- man /half- machine the speeders. These games have a
New on DVD from Manga walking arsenal and begins to cause suggested retail price of $49.95.
Entertainment/Palm Pictures comes some serious trouble. Both of these
Tokyo Fist, which is one fighting festival titles are intended for mature audiences,
of a movie. An insurance salesman runs
into his old high -school classmate, now
and they cost $29.95 each.
The Fabulous Story of the Cuban
Don't lose sight
a boxing pro with problems. But the
trouble is just beginning. Tetsuo II: Body
Cigar, also on DVD from Manga
Entertainment/Palm Pictures, covers
of Glaucoma.
Hammer, is a follow -up movie to the
10 popular Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Featuring
the rich Cuban soil, special seed, and
famous tobacco -growing regions that
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 Irving M. 4atfHab Oscillator Circuits and Projects.
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A Textbook and project book for those
Many useful tests and measurements
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PROCEDURES of test and measurement setups are
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7 3/8 x 9 1/4", 249 pp, paperback. repair book available, with tips on how
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Learn everything you need to know Easy -to- build, useful circuits from Carr's
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above, calculate the total cost, include shipping charges, Claggk Inc.
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www.americanradiohistory.com
 TED NEEDLEMAN

COMPUTER Igy llyg

SCANNER SOFTWARE BASICS

Last time, we started talking

about scanners, how they oper-
ate, and what many of the terms asso- Mode Shope Fged Sise ire Rinds)
Optons Add
...

ciated with them mean, all in hopes of 1, jIHZ[tenle -i r -1111 ^I

helping you choose the right machine t^..x

to start out with. This time around, we'll

J
(- I.S.I ''I" -I:I ) Ti.. Mmn rt620ul
concentrate on some of the things Paper SILe

you'll need to know to actually get

Threshold
some use out of your purchase, and
we'll start looking at some basic soft-
ware applications. Our coverage of the
Ce amen
topic will wind up next month with a
Test Scannar
look at some more advanced stuff you
can do with your scanner. Lest Scanner I Calibration

Most scanners come with a bun- Copyright CANON MC .99 &l 999
Ad Re2les Reserved
dled collection of software. In truth,
CanoSeanF8620U Ferm.ere v1.00
many of these bundled applications Commemcenon Mode uSB
are so -so, fine for learning with, but
often quickly run out of steam when
you need to put them to actual use. 'Black end 300dg 85P .11 00 lit)

That's usually not a problem, as

Fat Hgip, press
there's lots of great scanner -oriented Sien
software available, and much of it at :3: - 5r AM

very affordable prices. The exception Here's a simple TWAIN- driver control panel that has some advanced controls like the ThreshohLslicl-
is the TWAIN driver that your scanner er, but lacks some of the others discussed in this column.

vendor provides.
low a simple scan of a photograph into an device to look at for the image you are
TWAIN CONTROL image -editing application. Some of these trying to acquire. For example, the
As we mentioned last column, programs, such as Adobe PhotoDeluxe, Compaq Presario 5600s that frequently
TWAIN is an acronym for Technology which is often bundled in with scanners,
I

use to test hardware and software, cur-

Without An Interesting Name. Tongue - have a button that you click on to perform rently has a Vision -eer scanner and an
in -cheek as this piece of software's a scan. Others, such as Photoimpact 4.0, Intel PC Camera connected to it. Both
name may be, it is far from being unim- a package from Ulead Software that fre- I are TWAIN devices, so when go to
portant. The scanner's TWAIN driver quently use, have both a scanner icon
I

scan, need to specify the scanner as the

I
provides two very significant functions. that can be clicked, and separate com- TWAIN source. Fortunately, the applica-
The first role TWAIN plays is that of mands available from drop -down menus. tion "remembers" the last setting, so
the software interface between the scan- Windows applications that are TWAIN -
I

usually don't need to keep setting the

ner hardware and the Windows (or Mac compatible have an Acquire command, source.
OS) application that's receiving the usually listed under the File heading on With a photo placed on the scanner
scanned image. The TWAIN driver has the top horizontal menu bar. platen, hitting the scanner icon in the
controls that allow you to pre -scan a doc- Before you can acquire an image application (or the button on the scanner,
ument; set the size, resolution, and type from a scanner, you must first select the if you've programmed it to launch a scan)
of scan to be performed; and then actu- scanner as the TWAIN source. This is brings up the TWAIN driver window.
ally perform the scan and send the data necessary because you may have sever- When you click on the pre -scan button,
to the desired application. al TWAIN devices on your computer, and the scanner actually performs a quick
12 To illustrate how this works, we'll fol- the application needs to know which scan and shows you the image of the
 lion colors).
cg.,p ee emy.s We mentioned earlier that the
51e Toole Help

Icona Small Icons LW Datale TWAIN J

driver has two important func-
tit Cep), Fecal Neale Ptopanles L

addition to providing the basic

Up

cure es;
tions. In
scanner -control functions we've just
am.; Computer
discussed, most TWAIN drivers also
My Documents iJ provide more complex controls. These
Internee
may not be obvious and are frequently
orer
Finances
th Network Neighborhood
Past's Inboc
accessed by clicking on a button
n

Business Matenells

labeled "Advanced" or something sim-

Finances
Nome
Magazine Albdes
ilar. There is no universal or standard
J

j
Photography
Recipes
Recycle Bin ILI set of advanced controls really -it
!omega Beckop 99
Phologre Recipes
depends both on the particular vendor
J Online Senecas

and at what market the scanner is tar-

inne Pegissemplel
geted. Most casual users never see
these advanced controls, which can
include: the ability to adjust the
response histogram to bring out or
subdue shadows; individual controls
for brightness and contrast; and, often,
reelfeeffilnetetin
Pe, ,nn pin)
04.
sliders for red, blue, and green
ten. 5aAwr 00.n he ebd :
Wad tetea Yee..v
response. These advanced controls let
,.: 957AM'.
de StanI re Photoicpnct Cie"; II As
Ezploring - Pages_ '11
you tweak the image before it ever
thumbnails of scanned documents are gets to the application.
Pagis Pro 3.0 Scanner Suite ha.s a "desktop" onto which
thumbnails to the appropriate application
placed. You can then just drag then these
WHERE TO FIND IT
document located on the platen. The Which one you choose depends on the
TWAIN driver allows you to specify the original document, and what you will use Adobe Systems, Inc.
the scan for. For example, scanning a 345 Park Avenue
area to be scanned by dragging the
signature so that it can be included on the San Jose, CA 95110
edges of the total platen image over to 800 -833 -6687
where the edge of the document starts. bottom of letters you send is usually per-
www.adobe.com
You can also set the resolution and the formed in line -art mode. This mode is
type of scan to be performed. Most also used for scanning a document that
ScanSoft, Inc.
TWAIN drivers give you the option of will be subject to OCR (optical character 9 Centennial Drive
scanning line -art (1 -bit black and white), recognition). An image for use on an Peabody, MA 01960
grayscale (generally 8 bits for 256 artist's Web site, however, would benefit 978 -977 -2000
shades), and color in various bit depths. from 24 -bit color (that's more than 16 mil- www. scansoft. com

Ulead Systems, Inc.

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Scan To

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lets "fine- tune" your scans. (Continued on page 89) 13

Once your scanner is set up in Pagis Pro 3.0, the software
V011

www.americanradiohistory.com
 ANDREW T. ANGELOPOULOS

PEAKU

Iis doubtful that Guttenberg fore w

saw the effect his printing press Q&ste:
would have on mankind and the
changes it would wreak- sometimes
softly with a caress and sometimes
violently through revolution. Without it,
America would never have been born;
ADL HateFilterT"

. Access to specific services

Full None Filtered per CyberNOT
a.'

r
f r
r C.
I$C Chat
#
list
ChatGard
WNW, FTP & Other
I

the Declaration of Independence, the

6 r thews Groups I

Constitution, and Thomas Paine's

"TO SURF AND PROTECT" r C Games 8 Appi's

Common Sense would not have been Categories

Pre -alert Mips: 10
published or distributed. It wouldn't be Save Settings cancel #
# Hrslcalendar Weak: 10:45

an exaggeration to say Guttenberg did

Mid. 1 2 3 4 B 6 7 9 101112 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 Permitte
as much for us as our ancestors did , Hr .
Sun C
when switching from four legs to two. 1t7:45
Mon C
Now, with the dawn of the Internet, fl4:tNi
Tue C
and the technologies it has spawned, 04:t0
Wed C
the reach of the power of publishing 043)0
Thu
has been greatly extended, allowing 04:00
most anyone to "print" most anything. 0401
And that's the problem. Both tech- A4:fl0
nologies have, from their inception,
been attacked. Their ability to easily
transmit information (for good or evil) With Cyber Patrol installed on your computer, you can vigilantly
block inappropriate sites and even
has always been somewhat under control which times and days each user can access the Net.
scrutiny. We have nearly solved the
ongoing problem with print, by taking be the best choices for consumers.
responsibility for the information that Now, on to our roundup. We looked
While there isn't a single one among at three programs -Cyber Patrol, Net
we and our children read and control- them that we can call perfect, they
ling the sale of certain books and mag-
Nanny, and WinGuardlan -and one
work well enough to satisfy their posi- service, called Dotsafe.
azines. However, in order to retain tions in the market.
control of what we are allowed to see Installation of each is accomplished
and what we wish our children to see,
CYBER PATROL
easily. This is truly a light upgrade task One of the most robust and cus-
we must also take responsibility for the and is no more difficult than running a tomizable filtering products is The
data streams that enter our homes as setup program and answering a few Learning Company's Cyber Patrol. It
well. questions. As you'll find, a couple offer lets parents block access to Web
That's why we're devoting this more individual user "tailoring" and
installment of Peak Computing to an pages, newsgroups, Internet Relay
settings that could take up as much Chat (IRC), and file downloads, based
upgrade that can make a computer a time as you're willing to devote to on a broad variety of criteria, such as
little safer for the little ones and more them, but even minimal customization sex, violence, drugs, gambling, and
immune to data that some grownups will yield satisfactory results and good most morally ambiguous behavior.
find offensive. We're talking about degree of parental control. Cyber Patrol works primarily through
Internet filtering-a technology that's Incidentally, because kids can be the use of regularly updated lists main-
still developing and becoming more quite clever in getting around things on tained by The Learning Company. The
and more effective. computers, the programs we look at "No" list sets up a use paradigm where
After looking at several products, this month are impossible to uninstall all sites except the ones in the list can
14 we came across a few that seemed to without a password. be accessed. The "Yes" list is safer, but
 to work with older children. As effective pressing Ctrl -Alt-Del), create any
more restrictive, allowing only the use of Desktop or Start menu icons or show up
the sites in the list. as it is, WinGuardian blocks nothing. It
in the Control Panel's Install /Uninstall
What makes this product so lovely works on a different principle.
WinGuardian ought to be called utility. WinGuardian also buries itself
is the amount of control parents have quite nicely in the file structure, lest
over surfing habits. Parents can modi- WinSpy. It very quietly records key-
strokes, program and window open- someone be casually searching for it. To
fy the lists and add blocked or access the program's password- protect-
approved sites of their own. ings, and can even take timed screen -
shots. Webroot calls this a child- and ed control console, you need to use a
Additionally, they can provide different four-key keystroke, which you can set.
levels of access to different children. employee- monitoring program. Users
have the option of warning those sit- Why are we including this program?
Another interesting customization Consider the effect that you'd achieve
available is the ability to set the total ting at the PC of the program's exis-
tence, or not. if you let your child know that you can
number of surfing hours allowed each see everything that he or she does. It's
user each week or each day, as well After installing the program we had a
hard time finding it. It didn't show up in probably enough to put any kid on his
as when they are allowed to surf. You or her best behavior.
can even set different schedules for the Close Program window (invoked by
each day of the week, if desired.
Cyber Patrol has an initial cost of
$29.95 for the program and for the
three-month list subscription. List sub-
scriptions are $19.95 for six months or
gel ready!
$29.95 annually after that.

NETNANNY
gei Sei!
Net Nanny, from Net Nanny
Software International, is a solid product
fin!
that blocks the sites that parents want
blocked, all with minimal configuration. Design a board with the EAGLE
There are no individual users to config-
free ware version, and see how
EAGLE 3.5
ure -the program is either on or off, as Schematic Capture Board Layout
determined by password access.
fast you will be productive. Autorouter

Like Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny is a Boards designed under EAGLE are found in patient
list -based program. However, unlike its monitoring equipment, chip cards, electric razors, for Windows9g/NT
hearing aids, automobiles and industrial controllers.
competitor, Net Nanny offers users They are as small as a thumbnail or as large as a PC and Linux
free updates to lists. Parents can also
make additions to the list to block
access to specific Web and chat sites
motherboard. They are developed in one -man
businesses or in large
industrial companies.
a..:'t ..'A1 1
'.p.HYf&tx..r .-.
n
atcamaoll Gapaa^
is,a
EAGLE is being used in xi IIPaQIf"..-.'1 L,oux n. registered
that might not be blocked. Another many of the top companies. mg i :a .
option users have is that they can The crucial reason for
selecting EAGLE is not
block all sites, and only allow children usually the very favorable
to visit parent-designated sites. Again, price but rather the ease of
this is similar to Cyber Patrol. use. On top of that comes
the outstanding level of
Net Nanny also has the interesting support, which at CadSoft is
ability to block outgoing information. always free of charge, and
For instance, you can set it up to not is available without
restriction to every customer.
allow the little ones to offer an address,
hest are the real cost killers!
telephone, or credit card number over
the Net. ig^ Is ' r.
Finally, should you want to know Y EAGLE Light for testing and for
just what the PC's users have been up non-c 3mmercial applications without charge. The Freeware
Versicn is restricted to boards up to half Eurocard format.
to, the program lets you generate an with a maximum of two signal layers and one schematic Prices Standard Professional
sheet All other features correspond to those of the
activity log of visited sites. Professional Version. Download it from our Internet Site
Layout 199$ 399$

The best part of this program is the or orcer our free CD. La o +
398$ 798$
If you decide in favor of the Commercial Light
Version. you Schematic
cost: $26.95, with the aforementioned
also cet the reference manual and a license for commercialin Layout
free list updates. The one greatest
+ 798$
398$
applications. The Standard Version is suitable for boards Autorouter
Eurocard format with up to 4 signal layers (max. 99 schematic
drawback of Net Nanny, at press time, sheets). The Professional Version has no such limitations.
Layout r
49$ 597$ 1197$
Schematic +
was that the program did not support Autorouter

the broadly used AOL 4.0. http://www.CadSoftUSA.com Pa the difference or Upgrad

WINGUARDIAN S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach, FL 33483

WinGuardian from Webroot (561) 274 -8218, E -Mail info @cadsoffusa.com
Hotl ne (561) 274 -8355, Fax :

Software is possibly the scariest prod-

uct listed here, and the one most likely CIRCLE 174 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD

www.americanradiohistory.com
 I1L1.r4. :[:ttl
WinGuardian costs just $39.95.

DOTSAFE
Now here is an interesting solution to
the filtering problem. How would you like Current Status
to stop offensive content before it even Net Nanny is Instatled OK
has a chance to get to your computer? Administrator PW is Setup
Net Nanny is Turned ON
There's an Internet service provider
(ISP) that makes this possible.
Hit Lists
Dotsafe is a full- service ISP dedi-
Active
cated to pro -viding safe con -tent by Words and Phrases R1
using server -based filtering. It provides Internet WEB Sites 1

an e-mail box for each member of a

household (up to 10 mailboxes total),
local access numbers nationwide, and
a monthly log of all Internet activity
(free for the first two mo -nths, then $5
a month afterwards).
According to Dotsafe, subscribers are
pro-tected from most content that would
not be found in a "PG movie." Dotsafe's
list of banned sites is constantly up- 46111147.11141118,,

dated, and parents can also suggest Perhaps the simplest filter program to use is Net Nanny,
which has easy On/Off functionality, and
sites to block. When a site does get even offers free monthly updates of its banned -site
lists.

ATTENTION. through its filtering programs, Dotsafe's

Internet activity report can alert parents to
ports). Priced at $19.95 per month,
Dotsafe is competitive with most other
unsafe surfing and sites that took place,
providers (note that Dotsafe does have a
ELECTR9I `
so it won't happen again.
The great-
one-time $20 setup fee).

est drawback
with Dot-safe is
that there are
EATEN some sites that Wthro s
B.S.E.E.
DEGREE
may not be
objectionable to
adults in the
WinGuardian
Child & Fnnployee Monitoring Utility
house, but which
THROUGH HOME STUDY will be blocked
Our Highly Effective Advanced -Placement
Program for experienced Electronic by the ISP. In Track Window Activity 11111111
Technicians grants credit for previous [i Track User Visited Websites
Schooling and Professional Experience, and
can greatly reduce the time required to
com-
plete the program and reach graduation. No
residence schooling required for qualified
this instance, a
second ISP would
be required for
Enable Screen Shot Capturing
Secure Windows
am
Electronic Technicians. Through our Special
Program you can pull all of the loose ends
your electronics background together and
of
older members
of the house-
0 Auto Start WinGuardian When Windows Boots
earn your B.S.E.E. Degree. Upgrade your
status and pay to the engineering level. hold (and the E mail out logs 111111
Advance rapidly! Many finish in 12 months password for
or
less! Students and graduates in all
50 states Max. Activity Entries (before rollover)
and throughout the world! Established
Over
that account kept
50 Years! Write or call for free Descriptive
Literature. (601) 371 -1351
secret). Max. Keystroke Files (before rollover)
A benefit to
COOK'S INSTITUTE the se Vice, though,
is that it requires Mirror Log Files
OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
the least effort
CIEE 4251 CYPRESS DRIVE
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39212
on the part of
parents. Furth-

-I
CIRCLE 173 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD er, if Dotsafe is
your only ISP,
you won't be
ynX spending any-
HOME AUTOMATION KIT thing extra (un-
Software Included
Use Existing Wiring less if you want Not a filter, WinGuardian lets parents see everything that
16 Simple Inexpensive kids or other users
the monthly re- are up to on a machine, no doubt keeping all on their best behavior.
1 -800- 928-5299 www.marrickltd.corn
 ive a Friend
Year of
I-1ectronics
Tun this Christmas:
Does fighting the crowds at Christmas short-cir- SAVE MONEY...A great gift to receive, Popu-
cuit your holiday fun? Don't blow a fuse this lar Electronics is also a great gift for you to
give! The Special Holiday Rate saves you
project- oriented electronics -
year...for the friend who shares your love of
or a youngster $41.89* off the newsstand price on each gift.
You can save another $41.89*when you start or
interest -
who may need only a spark to ignite a life -long

Electronics.
give a gift subscription to Popular extend your own subscription at the same time.
It's our "thank -you" for sharing Popular Elec-
tronics with a friend at Christmas.
Popular Electronics readers get the know how
they need to build exciting, educational, and Send no money, unless you prefer. We'll be glad
useful projects like these...a professional -qual- to bill you in January, 2000. Just take a brief
ity home -security system...an autoranging fre- moment to go over your gift list and make sure
quency counter...a nine -band shortwave re- you haven't forgotten anyone who might ap-
ceiver...a radio -controlled car...a telephone preciate the many benefits of Popular Elec-
scrambler...an aviation receiver...and even a tronics. Then write the names on the attached
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paid reply envelope ... we'll take it from there!
PLUS...Gizmo, our honest and straight- shoot-
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gear...Market Center, featuring mail -order nouncement card signed with your name just
merchants that are ready to help you in all your before Christmas. And all through the new year
they'll remember and appreciate your thought-
hobby activities...articles and columns cover -
ng every aspect of the electronics hobby
including antique radio, shortwave listening,
- ful gift! So don't blow a fuse...take it easy and
enjoy the holidays. Give Christmas gifts of Pop-
ham radio, computers, scanners, circuit de- ular Electronics!
sign, and more!

Popular 'Basic sub rate - 1 yr/$24.99

www.americanradiohistory.com
 GIZIWO
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
As the last holiday season of the 20th century quickly approaches,
here are some forward -looking gift suggestions
to see you into the new millennium.

ON THE HOME - tal video processor that performs VHS tapes, stereo CDs, and mono TV
"video -scaling" picture enhancement. broadcasts the impact of full five -
THEATER FRONT The high- speed, pixel-based process speaker "surround" sound.
Prices for entertainment venues are results in a progressive -scan image that
soaring sky -high, and trend forecasters contains 1260 lines per NTSC frame for
are predicting that Americans will turn excellent image detail and accurate
more and more to home entertainment color. There are dedicated jacks on the
in the coming years. Here are some gift projector and the external processor for
ideas to help you get your family hap- connecting the two pieces, and the sys-
pily ensconced around a state- of-the- tem provides inputs for composite, S-
art home theater. video, and component video formats.
With eight aspect-ratio options avail-
HDTV Projector able, the projector is ready to display cur-
rent and future formats, including
For the ultimate in home -theater NBC- standand 1.33:1, widescreen 1.85:1,
entertainment, experience the startling DVD anamorphic, and HDTV 16:9. The Consisting of a silver music center,
clarity of high -definition TV (HDTV) system's 32 memory settings can be used an RF remote control, five small cube
on a large -screen projection system for one -touch access to any aspect ratio speaker arrays, and an Acoustimass
such as Runco's DTV-863 Super HDTV setting and to store preferences for any bass module that can be hidden out of
projector ($16,995). The detailed combination of inputs, convergence, and sight, the Lifestyle 30 fits easily into
image created by three powerfully processor adjustments.
any decor. The tiny Jewel Cube speak-
accurate 7 -inch CRT tubes is preserved ers, which measure just 4 X 2 X 3
and projected by a color -corrected, inches each, unobtrusively deliver
multi- layered -coating, hybrid lens sys- Digital With A mid- and high frequency sound. The
tem. An auto -assisted convergence fea-
ture saves installation time and makes Difference patented Acoustimass design, which
launches sound into the room on an
it easy for the consumer to properly The Lifestyle 30 Series II digital sur- air mass rather than from a vibrating
maintain the projector's convergence. round -sound system ($3000) from speaker cone, delivers pure, deep bass
The DTV-863 uses an outboard digi- Bose combines conventional digital
without audible distortion.
surround -sound decoding with a pro- The music center includes a six-disc
prietary technology called Videostage magazine -style CD changer, an AM/FM
5. Dolby Digital decoding delivers 5.1 tuner, and inputs for additional sources
discrete audio channels from any (of which two are video sources).
Dolby Digital- encoded source materi- Multi- source, multi-room capability
al, whether it's from a DVD player, means that, with the addition of an
satellite system, or HDTV. Bose extra set of powered speakers, two dif-
Videostage 5 decoding technology ferent sources can be played in different
ensures that you will hear five inde- rooms at the same time. The radio -fre-
pendent channels of audio from five quency remote provides control of the
speakers even if the source material is entire system, through walls or floors,
20 mono or two-channel stereo, giving without pointing or aiming.
 formance analog televisions to display
A/V Receiver DVD /CD Changer down -converted digital programming,
With HDCD enhancing both video and audio quali-
Onkyo's TX-DS575 A/V receiver
ty. The DTR -HD 1 allows you to take
($529.95) provides built -in Dolby Processing advantage of the increasing amount of
Digital DTS (Digital Theater Sound)
According to Toshiba, its SD4- free, over - the -air digital programming
and digital- domain Pro Logic sur- now available, without buying a digital
round -sound decoding. 109X six -disc carousel DVD changer
($699.99) is the world's first to TV or projector.
The TX -DS575 delivers 70 watts to
each of its five speaker outputs. All include High-Definition Compatible
five channels are rated for an honest Digital (HDCD) processing for high -
70 watts: 20 Hz-20 kHz at <0.08% resolution CD audio playback. The
THD. This full- bandwidth power to HDCD process extends the resolution
all five main channels is particularly of HDCD- encoded CDs to a 20 -bit
important in a digital A/V receiver level, and it is said to exceed the stan-
because discrete 5.1- channel digital dard 16 -bit CD format and result in a
surround recordings often make rig- warmer, more natural sounding
musical presentation, greater dynam- When used with an analog televi-
orous dynamic demands on all chan-
ic range, and a wider and deeper sion, the DTR -HD I will down -convert
nels simultaneously.
soundstage. On -board digital filtering digital broadcast signals to analog sig-
is said to also improve the sound of nals and pass them through to the TV's
standard CDs by reducing harmonic analog tuner. Dolby Digital 5.1 sur-
-=
round sound can also be heard by con -
PP..
FN
distortion and increasing dynamic
range. necting a Dolby Digital decoder to the
_
unit's optical digital output.
When the decoder is hooked up to
a front -projection display that's
equipped with the necessary inputs
A powerful 24 -bit DPS processor
(R/G /B /HV sync) to receive high -
implements both Dolby Digital and
definition images, the DTR -HD 1
DTS discrete 5.1- channel surround
allows a high- definition signal to be
sound, as well as digital- domain Pro
The changer uses advanced digital passed through to the display or
Logic combined with refined music -
technologies- including 10 -bit video upgrades a standard definition signal
and video- surround DSP modes. The
processing, Dolby Digital and DTS to "virtual HD quality."
receiver's 96- kHz /24 -bit D/A con-
version technology is fully compatible compatibility, ColorStream compo-
with current and forthcoming nent -video outputs, and 96- kHz /24- Color(ful) Television
"96/24" DVD titles. Three digital bit audio capability-for improved
picture and sound quality. The Of course, not all at -home televi-
inputs accept Dolby Digital, DTS, or
SD4109X's 10 -bit video D/A con- sion viewing is done on large- screen
PCM bitstreams, while three audio
verter and 27 -MHz high- resolution or projection sets integrated into a
and four A/V input choices include a
digital filter produce a resolution home -theater system. Sometimes we
full input /output tape -loop for a
greater than 500 lines. The built -in just want to watch TV, perhaps in a
recording component. There's even a
phonograph input served by a quali- Dolby Digital decoder features on- bedroom or the kitchen.
screen control of key surround - Philips' new "color" televisions
ty phono-preamp. A discrete 5.1-
sound performance parameters, look good even when they're not
channel input, offered via a
six - RCA -jack grouping, will accept including speaker management, bass,
an outboard surround decoder of any and system gain. If you don't have
current or future format up to six surround -sound speakers, Spatializer
channels, allowing for upgrades N -2 -2 Virtual Surround Sound cre-
down the road. ates a multi -channel environment,
with well -proportioned stereo, dia-
log, and sound effects, from just two
Gizmo is published by Gernsback speakers.
Publications, Inc., 500 Bi -County Blvd.,
Farmingdale, NY 11735. Senior Writers: DTV Nowl
Christopher Scott and Teri Scaduto.
Copyright 1999 by Gernsback Publica- Sony's DTR -HD ($1599) is a set -
tions, Inc. Gizmo is a registered trade- top digital television (DTV) receiver/
21
mark. All rights reserved. decoder that allows today's high -per-

www.americanradiohistory.com
 IZMO
turned on. The 13 -inch 13PT30L
offers portable solutions in the form
($249), shown here, sports an innov-
of three -ring storage albums. The
ative ultra -modern cabinet design in
DVA -10 ($24.99) has a 10 -disc
metallic ice blue. The set's glowing
capacity, while the DVA -20 ($29.99)
translucent feet serve as nightlights in
holds 20 DVDs. Both albums allow
a kitchen or bedroom. On the face of
you to insert the DVD title /chapter
the set is a built -in, round, analog
notes into the front and the DVD disc
clock display that's backlit to match
into the back of each sleeve.
the set's feet. The set itself can be
The sleeves are made of patented
used as a wake -up alarm, or you can ProSleeve material, which protects
choose to be awakened by the sounds
both sides of the DVD surface.
of a harp, a xylophone, or even a fions of a multi- channel home -the-
Removable sleeves allow you to
crowing rooster. The I3PT30L pro- ater system, with sound moving from
rearrange the DVDs in the album
vides MTS stereo sound, auto volume the front to the rear or the left to right
without removing them from the
leveling, a headphone jack, and A/V with the on-screen action. With
a sleeves.
input jacks for convenient connection subwoofer output, you'll even feel the
of a video game console, VCR, DVD, bass in explosions and other low -fre-
or Internet television device. quency sound effects (which might Digital AM/FM
not be too pleasant for the driver). Car Tuners
YOU CAN TAKE IT
The in -dash "digital tuners" that
WITH YOU have been sold in recent years merely
IND
No matter how appealing your have digital displays and use ICs to
home and home theater -might be, generate analog reference signals.
you still can't stay there all the time. Blaupunkt's DigiCeiver, on the other
Whether you're going on vacation, hand, is the first consumer radio to
heading for the mall, or just driving The processor can be mounted in actually digitize incoming AM and
to work, here are some electronic giz- the trunk or any hidden spot, along FM radio signals so that they can be
mos designed for travel. with three amps to drive front- and manipulated by a powerful digital
rear -speaker pairs, a center speaker, signal processor.
Car Theater and a subwoofer. The flat, 7 -inch
diagonal LCD monitor can be
The drive -in theater might be a installed between the front seats,
in
thing of the past, but the drive- an overhead panel, or elsewhere for
back -seat viewing.
The family will be entertained on
long or short trips by DVD movies
with nearly 500 lines of horizontal Available in the Alaska ($369.95)
resolution and clean digital audio. A model shown here, as well as Nevada
wireless remote control allows view- ($329.95) and Florida ($289.95)
ers to navigate disc menus and make models, the DigiCeiver is said to
ren-
playback choices. der obsolete most of the circuitry
used in a conventional radio.
around theater is just beginning to
rn catch on. The latest car-theater gear Portable DVD Storage Everything after the antenna and
"front end" circuits has been
is the in -dash DVD player, such as So where do you keep your library replaced

Panasonic's Model CX- DV1500 of on- the -road DVDs? Case Logic converter by a very -high -speed A/D
($1400). Sized at 7 X 2 X 6'/8 inch - and a sophisticated DSP.
The DSP suppresses radio interfer-
pa es to fit in any DIN -size car -stereo
ence and extracts high- quality audio
o slot, it delivers the video and audio
from the airwaves. It also accommo-
benefits of the DVD format and does dates a wide array of audio and radio
double duty as a CD player.
cu features, including RDS (Radio Data
LT, For the ultimate in "car theater,"
System), reception management, tone
you might want to add the CY- controls, volume, and turn -on levels.
VM1500 Car Monitor ($1000) and On the Alaska, it also manages the
- the CY-AC300 Dolby Digital /DTS SHARX automatic IF bandwidth
Processor ($800). The three Panasonic
switching, which holds weak stations
22 components can emulate the sensa- when there is strong interference
 directions to the driver at each tion that provides multi- directional pro-
from adjacent stations, and a two -
approaching turn. The instructions tection from laser guns. In addition, the
band digital equalizer.
also include the distance to and direc- Memo -Set function remembers the set-
All three models debut a CD trans-
tion of the next turn as well as the tings of dim, muting, and city/highway
port with a "hologram" CD pickup,
which, along with proprietary Double name of the street. A backlit 4.1 -inch modes.
V Spring suspension, is said to offer LCD screen offers a choice of moving
superior disc tracking, better vibration map, route information, or a graphic Digital Video Camera
resistance, and greater reliability than display of the next two turns.
The handheld device also includes a Record your holiday memories and
conventional pickups. The players can
points -of- interest database, a personal special events the digital way, with
be mounted at almost any angle,
address book, a calculator, and a calen- JVC's GR-DVL9500 Mini DV camera
including face up in a console. The
dar. There are more than 30 points -of- ($1999), which offers progressive-
three units also have 4 X 40 -watt
power amplifiers, high - voltage (3V) interest categories, including restaurants,
four -channel preamplifier outputs, hotels, gas stations, tourist attractions,
and RDS. They also have detachable banks, and ATMs. The user can find a
anti-theft faceplates. site by searching either within a five -
mile radius of the vehicle's current
position or an entire city.
Personal Navigator
For the directionally challenged Talking Radar Detector
person on your gift list, the PN- 100
Personal Navigator ($1250) from Cobra's ESD -6700 ($239.95) adds
Audiovox can simplify travel. Based a human touch with its Voice Alert
on Global Positioning System (GPS) feature, which speaks up to alert dri-
vers of road hazards detected by the scan imaging and high -band process-
satellites, the PN -100 also features
unit's built -in Safety Alert Traffic ing technologies. A high - performance
detailed digital maps to generate
Warning System. The Safety Alert progressive -scan CCD image sensor
turn -by -turn directions to any loca-
band warns of nearby emergency creates the equivalent of a 760,000 -
tion in its database. The Personal
vehicles, stationary road hazards, pixel conventional interlace -scan
Navigator uses advanced text -to-
CCD. Proprietary progressive color
speech technology to provide voice
filter and high -band processor imag-
ing components help the image sen-
sor deliver a high resolution of 480
lines (vertical) and 500 lines (hori-
zontal).
The progressive mode setting
allows the progressive -scan CCD to
record an entire frame in one scan at
a rate of 30 frames per second,
resulting in excellent slow- motion
playback and the ability to freeze and
grab any frame in a full- motion
construction sites, and railroad inter- sequence. Because individual frames
sections that are equipped with Safety freeze sharp and clear, a single Mini
Alert transmitters. If a fire truck is DV cassette can yield more than
approaching, for instance, the ESD- 100,000 high- quality still pictures.
6700's text display will read A high -speed recording mode cap-
"Emergency Vehicle," and its Voice tures action at 120 images per sec-
Alert will say "Emergency vehicle ond-twice the speed of traditional
approaching." camcorders, and twice the number of
The six -band detector is designed to images on the same amount of tape as
pick up all four speed- monitoring sys- traditional recordings. The high
tems in use by law enforcement agen- recording density allows the use of Pro
cies-X, K, Superwide Ka, and laser -as Slow mode, which provides broadcast -
well as Safety Alert signals and VG -2 level smoothness during slow -motion
Alert warnings. The VG -2 band is invis- (1/10 normal speed) playback.

ible to other radar- detector detectors. Pro snapshot mode allows photogra-
Another feature is LaserEye laser detec- phers to take full-frame, high- resolution
 ZMO
still shots at the touch of a button. More attaches the image or video to an e-mail.
than 600 stills, with the option of six The PictureBook eliminates the need for
seconds of audio, can be recorded on a separate devices, cables, or other data -
single cassette. A range of photographic exchange steps for transmitting images.
effects, including 4- and 9 -frame snap-
shots, frame pin -ups, and color- reversal
photos, are available. Auto flash pro- THE GIFT OF SOUND
Pacific Microsystem's PMD -100
vides four flash modes. Today's audio products come in all HDCD decoder /digital filter not only
An i.Link in /out (IEEE 1394- based) shapes and sizes, and several differ- ensures accurate playback of the
terminal and direct PC connection via ent formats. There's sure to be an many HDCD -encoded discs that are
a JLIP terminal make it easy to create item below to please the music -lover now available, but it also provides
multimedia video productions. JLIP on your list. advanced digital filtering for conven-
Video Capture uses a single cable con-
tional discs. HDCD's "double- ended"
nection to grab selected still frames for
direct downloading to a PC for conver- CD /MD Car Stereo technique starts by analyzing the psy-
chodynamics of the music, encodes it
sion to .BMP or JPEG files. Once files According to JVC, its KD-MX3000 to preserve all the relevant character-
have been downloaded, image process- ($749.95) is the world's first single - istics, embeds a continuous set of
ing is simplified with the Presto! soft- DIN receiver capable of playing both playback instructions, and then plays
ware suite. For professional -quality CDs and MiniDiscs. The single -pick- back the disc through a decoder /fil-
video editing, the GR- DVL9500's JLIP
ter that dynamically changes opera-
Video Producer links the CyberCam
tional modes for optimum music
with a PC and VCR to create an reproduction.
advanced editing suite with exact time The RCD 971's linear motor trans-
code settings for linear video -to -video
port has sufficient overscan capabili-
editing.
ty to retrieve data from any disc, even
those discs that exceed the "maxi-
up feature of the receiver is shared by mum" 74 minutes of music. The
Notebook Camera both formats, and a "swing traverse heavily damped, center -mounted disc
Sony's VAIO C 1 X PictureBook mechanism" with double spindles is drawer provides excellent mechani-
($2299) combines a micro -notebook said to hold MDs and CDs securely in cal isolation.
computer with a digital camera, place. Hybrid elastomer dampers
making it easy to capture, manipu- float the entire mechanism whenever
late, and share both still and motion a disc is played, protecting them Colorful Speakers
images. About the size of a personal against shocks while in a moving car. The B&W LM 1 Leisure Monitor
planner and weighing just 2.2 When in tuner or changer mode, the ($350 /pair) is an ultra- compact two -
pounds, the PictureBook is a full mechanism reverts to fixed status for way speaker that's available in five
Windows 98, 266 -MHz Pentium increased stability and safety. A 10- high -tech color schemes, including
second MD shockproof memory lets two -tone treatments in black, pearl
the disc keep playing even if the unit white, silver, burgundy, and
is jostled. turquoise. Ready to take its place in
The receiver also boasts a CD- the multichannel, multimedia era,
changer control with direct disc the LM 1's contemporary, industrial
select, a tuner with 18 FM and 6 AM design is highly visible, yet subtle.
presets, an amplifier with sound -con- Standing less than a foot tall, with
trol memory, and 40 watts X 4 power a 5.5- X 7.5 -inch footprint, the LM 1
output terminals (two pair). can serve as a desktop speaker in

HDCD Player
MMX system that's designed to meet Rotel's RCD 971 single -disc CD
the demands of traveling executives player ($699.99) with High-Definition
who need to add images to their elec- Compatible Digital (HDCD) capabili-
tronic communications. ty features vibration- resistant trans-
A built -in CCD camera housed in the ports, sophisticated anti jitter circuits,
top bezel of the display swivels to cap- 20 -bit D/A converters, and carefully
ture a still shot or record up to 60 sec- crafted analog stages to provide out-
onds of video. Click on a button to standing performance from today's
24 launch a program that automatically premium CDs.
 GTZMO4
MANUFACTURERS
JVC Company Of America Runco International
Audiovox Corporation
1700 Valley Road 2463 Tripaldi Way
150 Marcus Boulevard
Wayne, NJ 07470 Hayward, CA 94545
Hauppauge, NY 11788
973 -3- 5 -5000 510- 293 -9154
516- 231 -7750
www, vc. corn www. runco. corn
wwwaudiovox.com
CIRCLE 107 ON FREE CIRCLE 114 ON FREE
CIRCLE 100 01 FREE
INFORMATION CARD INFORMATION CARD
INFORMATION CARE

Lego Mindstorms Sony Electronics Inc.

Blaunpunkt
1 Sony Drive
Robert Bosch Corp. 555 Taylor Road
Enfieli, CT 06082 Park Ridge, NJ 07656-8002
2800 South 25th Avenue
800 -510 -5773 800- 222 -SONY
Broadview, IL 60153
www egomin ds torms. corn www.sony.corn
800-950 -BLAU :

CIRCLE 108 ON FREE CIRCLE 115 ON FREE

www.blaupunkt.com
INFORMATION CARD INFORMATION CARD
CIRCLE 101 05 FREE
INFORMATION CARD
Lucasarts Entertainment Company Thomson Consumer Electronics
P.O. Eox 10307 10330 North Meridian Street
Bose Corporation
San Rafael, CA 94912 Indianapolis, IN 46290-1024
The Mountain
www..ucasarts.corn 317 -587 -3000
Framingham, MA 01 701 -31 68
CIRCLE 109 ON FREE www. rca- electronics. corn
800- 444 -BOSE
INFORMATION CARD CIRCLE 116 ON FREE
www.bose.com
INFORMATION CARD
CIRCLE 102 O\ FREE
INFORMATION CARD Onkyp USA Corporation
200 Williams Drive Toshiba America Consumer
Ramsey, NJ 07446 Products, Inc.
B &W Loudspeakers of tarnerica
201 -825 -7950 82 Totowa Road
54 Concord Street
CIRCLE 110 ON FREE Wayne, NJ 07470
North Reading, MA 01864 -2699
INFORMATION CARD 800-631 -3811
800 -370 -3740
www. toshiba. corn
www.bwspeakers.com CIRCLE 117 ON FREE
CIRCLE 103 ON FREE Panasonic Consumer
Electronics Company INFORMATION CARD
INFORMATION CARD
One Panasonic Way
Secaucus, NJ 07094 Uniden America Corporation
Case Logic, Inc.
800-21 -PANA 4700 Amon Carter Boulevard
6303 Dry Creek Parkway 1

wwwpanasonic. corn Ft. Worth, TX 76155

Longmont, CO 80503
CIRCLE 111 ON FREE 817 -858 -3300
800 -925 -8111
INFORMATION CARD www. uniden. corn
www.caselogic.com
CIRCLE 118 ON FREE
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Philips Consumer Electronics INFORMATION CARD
INFORMATION CARD
Company
64 Perimeter Center East Yamaha Corporation Of America
Cobra Electronics Corp[ ratios
Atlanta, GA 30346 -6401 3445 East Paris Avenue, S.E.
6500 W. Cortland Street
800 -531 -0039 PO Box 899
Chicago, IL 60707
www.philips.com Grand Rapids, MI 49518 -0899
773- 889-8870
CIRCLE 112 ON FREE 714 -522 -9011
www.cobraelec.com
INFORMATION CARD www. yamaha. corn
CIRCLE 105 O+4 FREE
CIRCLE 119 ON
INFORMATION CARD
Rotel Of America INFORMATION CARD
HarmoniKardon P.O. Box 8
250 Crossways Park Drie_ 54 Ccncord Street
Woodbury, NY 11797 North Reading, MA 01864-000 co

800-422 -8027 800 -370 -3741

www. harmonkardon, com www.;'otel.corn
CIRCLE 106 OV FREE CIRCLE 113 ON FREE
m
INFORMATION CARD INFORMATION CARD
m

multimedia computer setups, and is LM I is fully magnetically shielded. versatile integral mounting system
as well -suited for five -channel duty The drivers, enclosure, and electrical consists of a smoothly contoured 2
in matched surround- sound systems components are weather -resistant for floor or tabletop stand that swivels to
as in discrete stereo installations. The use in a bath, pool, or Jacuzzi area. Its convert to a wall- or ceiling-mount - 25

www.americanradiohistory.com
 GIZMO.
ing bracket. organized by a home computer. The
The two -way LM 1 uses a long - player features a digital signal
throw, high- output, five -inch bass/ processor that allows upgradable
midrange driver that exploits its vent- software to support future compres-
ed enclosure to achieve bass extension sion formats.
to 65 Hz. The driver simultaneously Out of the box, the device comes
promotes detailed, musical midrange with enough memory on a removable
reproduction and a cohesive transi- card to play about an hour of music.
tion to the LM l's one -inch dome Lyra can be upgraded easily with
tweeter, permitting airy, detailed additional plug -in Type I or Type II
sound to 20 kHz. B&W's signature CompactFlash and microdrive mem-
discrete- mount -tweeter "pod" design ory, expanding its music playback
is said to promote smooth off -axis time to several hours.
treble for more natural and spacious Lyra will be shipped with RCA based operating system centralizes all
ambiance and to eliminate diffraction Personal Music Manager software, controls in a single window in which
effects. Despite its specified sensitivity which incorporates the RealJukebox information is displayed as needed.
of 91 -dB SPL (measured at 1 meter core from Real Networks. It also "Smart Key" technology automatical-
with 1 watt input), the LM 1 is rated comes with all the necessary comput- ly reconfigures control keys accord-
to handle a full 100 watts of power. er connections to allow you to man- ing to the function or source. The
age your own music collection. buttons for each source illuminate
Personal Digital About the same size as a deck of when that source is selected, and all
cards, Lyra weighs just 5.2 ounces controls are arranged in a logical
Audio Player with two AA batteries installed. fashion.
Unlike a CD player, the device has no Setup has also been simplified. The
With the ability to decode digital moving parts, which means the music
music files in various music -com-
control console, CD changer, and 35
won't skip if users are participating watts -per- channel stereo amplifier
pression formats, the RCA Lyra per- in sports, hiking, or rollerblading. link together via a single cable with
sonal digital audio player ($199) The backlit six -line alphanumeric
from Thomson offers the best of MP3 connectors designed for fool -proof
display includes a table of contents hookup. The speakers connect using
Internet audio and the RealNetworks for all of the songs stored on the
RealJukebox music -management sys-
the supplied color -coded speaker
memory card and also shows song wire.
tem. The Lyra delivers digital -quality title, artist, and elapsed time when in The Festival 60 comes with a pair
music from a palm -sized device that playback mode. Songs can be orga- of two -way loudspeakers featuring
reads data from a CompactFlash card nized into root directories and sub - an innovative one -inch flared -dome
and plays compressed music files folders to easily locate favorite tracks. tweeter and a six -inch woofer. The
The basic model comes with head- speakers operate in conjunction with
phones, software, a CompactFlash an active equalization circuit to pro-
reader/writer attachment for the PC, vide a frequency response of 50 Hz to
a 32MB removable memory card, 20 kHz.
and two batteries.
THIS `N' THAT
In -House Music
Got someone on your list who's
Festival impossible to please? Here are some
unique ideas that just might strike the
Harmon Kardon's Festival 60 right note.
intelligent music system ($799) is
compact and distinctively elegant,
provides excellent sound quality, and The Sounds Of Silence
offers a logical user interface. The Equally pleasing to the budding
system includes a seven -disc CD musician and his parents and neigh-
changer, an AM/FM tuner, a stereo bors, Yamaha's Silent Series of musi-
amplifier, and two speakers. With its cal instruments will permit completely
gracefully curved control console, private practice sessions and perfor-
angular front panels, and contoured mances, using headphones. The series
speaker grilles, the Festival 60 is as includes the Silent Electric Cello, the
pleasing to the eye as to the ear. Silent Electric Violin, the Silent Brass
26 The unit's intelligent software- Personal Studio, and the DTX Silent
 GIZMO'
modular building system allows kids
to mix and match subassemblies to
create dozens of different droids
that can move, chirp, and respond
to their environment.
The Droid Developer Kit is pow-
ered by LEGO's smallest microcom-
puter. Dubbed the Micro- Scout, it has
a built -in light sensor, a built -in
motor, and seven behaviors from
which to choose. The set contains
more than 600 LEGO pieces, includ-
ing the unique shapes required to
create R2 -D2's distinctive look.
Although the kit does not require the
automatically selects the clearest use of a PC, it does come with a CD-
channel, and noise - reduction tech- ROM that provides additional build-
nology eliminates background noise. ing tips.
Up to ten phone numbers can be
Session Drum (starts at $1995) stored in memory for quick dialing, Podracing Fever
shown here. and three one -touch speed-dial keys
The DTX electronic percussion are provided. Did you manage to withstand your
system can play articulate buzz rolls,
kids' whining, begging, and pleading
rim shots, double -bass, percussion, Droid Maker
and cymbal chokes, all previously
possible only on acoustic drums. Anakin Skywalker built C3 -PO
Percussionists can layer up to five out of spare parts, and your young
notes on one surface to play stacks of Jedi - wannabe can fashion his own
notes or alternating patterns, trigger R2 -D2 astromech, Battle Droid, or
keyboard sounds from the pads, or other Star Wars -type robot using
practice with the on -board training the LEGO Mindstorms Droid
functions. Developer Kit ($99). Aimed at kids
The DTX module provides a total nine years and older, the set offers
of 1056 on -board voices. That total three distinct levels of building dif-
includes 880 drum and percussion ficulty: Apprentice, Jedi Knight, and
voices and effects as well as 48 brass, Jedi Master. The easiest project takes
brass and strings, and mallet voices, about an hour to complete. The set's when LucasArts' Star Wars: Episode I:
and 129 General MIDI-compatible Racer for Nintendo 64 ($69.95) was
keyboard sounds, all produced using released around the time of the
Yamaha's Advanced Wave Memory movie opening? They'll be happy to
technology. A built -in five -track find it under the tree this Christmas.
sequencer lets MIDI data from the Podracer drivers compete by flying
DTX system and from external MIDI across various Star Wars landscapes
keyboards be recorded. at speeds of up to 600 miles per hour.
The vehicles each consist of a small
cockpit tethered to dual jet engines
Harley Phone held together by a glowing magnetic
Looking for a gift for a biker? beam. The competing racers include
Uniden's cordless Harley Phone young Anakin Skywalker and a host
($79.95) is modeled after the Harley
Davidson "teardrop" gas tank. The the galaxy. The reigning champion-
of alien creatures from all parts of

the cheating Sebulba-appears along

base comes with chrome knobs that
resemble gas caps, and there's an with more than 20 others, some not
authentic -looking speedometer on seen in the Phantom Menace film.
Each character pilots its own person-
the handset.
The 900 -MHz phone provides alized podracer with variable accel-
extended range and superior voice eration, technique, and top -speed
quality. Its 40- channel autoscan attributes. 27
 ELECTRON /CS LIbRARy
`99/2000 CATALOG
as well as 40 magazine ads and exam-
from C&S Sales POWER ples of company literature.
ELECTRONICS Collectors and historians alike will appre-
This full -color 64 -page catalog is a one-
date this entertaining way of visiting the early
stop source for electronic products. B &K NIRAL KULARATNA days of electronics. A helpful introduction to
Precision, Elenco, Fluke, Forefront,
dating and identifying old tubes is provided.
Hitachi, OWI Kits, Tekk, Tektronics,
Radio Tubes and Boxes of The 1920's
Xcelite, and Weller are some of the com-
costs $26.95 and is published by Sonoran
panies represented. Products covered
Publishing, 116 N. Roosevelt, Suite 121,
include meters; function -, audio -, and sig-
Chandler, AZ 85226 Tel. 480 -961 -5176.
nal- generators; IC testers; radios; robotic
and solar kits; logic probes; trainers;
INTELLIGENCE THROUGH
oscilloscopes; books and videos.
SIMULATED EVOLUTION
by Lawrence J. Fogel
CBsS
'99/2000
SALES C A T A L O G
This book is a unique, one -stop refer-
conditioners and ICs, and UPS. ence to the history, technology, and
The author, an expert in the field, inte- methods of machine learning -from
grates component and system theory 1970 to the present. The author, who is
with practical applications, particularly one of the inventors of evolutionary
energy- saving low -power applications. programming, traces all the develop-
Many chapters contain sections on future ments in the field, providing compre-
developments. There are also references hensive coverage of this approach to
for further research and more in -depth simulated evolution.
technical reading.
Power Electronics Design Handbook
costs $59.95 and is published by
Newnes, Butterworth Heinemann, 225
Full specs, color photos, and price Wildwood Avenue, Wobum, MA 01801; Intelligence Through
information accompany each product list- Tel. 800 -366 -2665 or 781-904-2500; Simulated Evolution
ing. Among the products featured in the Web: www.bh.com/newnes. FORTY YEARS AI
EVOLUTIONARY PROGRAMMING
catalog are Tekk family radios and the
XK -700 deluxe digitaVanalog trainer from RADIO TUBES AND BOXES OF
Elenco. In addition, there are 20 pages of THE 1920's
kits, books, and videos. by George A. Fathauer
The `99/2000 Catalog is free upon
request from C&S Sales, 150 W. On November 2, 1920 radio station
Carpenter Ave., Wheeling, IL 60090; Tel. KDKA of Pittsburgh began regular broad -
800 -292-7711; Web: www.cs- sales.com. casts-a new era of radio had begun.
This book illustrates that exciting first
POWER ELECTRONICS DESIGN decade of home radio. It features over
HANDBOOK 360 color photos of early vacuum tubes, Clear, up-to -date explanations are fea-
by Nihal Kularatna
tured that show how the simulation of evolu-
tionary processes allows machines to learn
The basics of power electronics theory are
to solve problems in new ways. The infor-
covered in this handbook. Modem low-power
mation discussed helps readers understand
components and applications are discussed
methods of generating intelligent systems.
in detail, including power semiconductors,
Engineers and computer scientists in all
converters, power supplies, batteries, power
areas of machine learning will gain insight
from this useful resource and learn more
To order books in
about neural networks, fuzzy logic, and
this magazine or, genetic algorithm development.
any book in print. Please call anytime day or
night: (800) BOOKS -NOW (266 -5766) or (801)
Intelligence Through Simulated
261 -1187 ask for ext. 1456 or visit on the web Evolution costs $79.95 and is published by
at http://www.BooksNow.com/popularelec- Wiley- Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 605
tronics.htm.
Free catalogs are not available.
Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158, Tel:
28
212-850-6366; Web: www. wileycom.
 THE EMF METER

Ifyou are concerned about the possible side effects of long -term exposure to
electric and/or magnetic field radiation, and you would like to seek out, identify,
and perhaps eliminate the sources of that possible health hazard, why not put
this "radiated-field bloodhound" to work for you.

RUDOLF F. GRAF, KA2CWL and WILLIAM SHEETS, K2MQJ

strengths present around all oper-

S ince the latter half of

this century, there have
been several published
reports concerning the possible
health and environmental hazards
While data supporting the possi-
bility of the negative side effects of
electric and magnetic fields is
inconclusive, it's always wise to err
on the side of caution. Although it is
ating electrical devices, and,
where practical, reduce or elimi-
nate the possible health risks.

resulting from long -term exposure impossible to eliminate all the possi- About the Circuit. A complete
to electric and magnetic fields (as
discussed in "Electromagnetic
ble sources of electric- and mag-
netic -field radiation, there are a
schematic diagram of the EMF
-
Meter is shown in Fig. 1. The circuit
comprised of three integrated cir-
Pollution" appearing elsewhere in number of precautions that can be
taken at little or no cost, among cuits, a pair of 10-segment bar-
this issue). Such fields are generat-
ed largely by man -made devices, them simply shutting down unused graph displays, a few diodes, three
such as power and telephone lines, equipment or a change in lighting hand -wound coils, and a batch of
radio-frequency transmitters, mili- fixtures. support components -has three
tary and commercial aircraft power In this article, we'll show you how functions, "H relative (Ha)," "H," and
to build and use a simple electric - "E," selectable via S4 (a 3- position
systems, TV sets, fluorescent lighting,
(E) and magnetic -field (H) detec- slide switch). The circuit also allows
computers, microwave ovens, elec-
tric blankets, and many other gad- tor-the EMF Meter-that allows you to select from three sensitivity
gets that we've come to depend on. you to measure the relative field (gain) settings: x 10, x 1, and x .1
29

www.americanradiohistory.com
 R2 R1
9.1K 91K
1= SI
X, Y, Z
DISP2
R3
1K X
o
Y Z F 8

J1
a o EXTERNAL
PICK UP
COIL
o ry
L2* I L3*
o L1
0
O

l
I
IC2
R6 LM3914N
1 MEG
1- )1 +
C2
VN
R5
Atik
4.7 10K

+/ IC1-a
1/4 TL084N

AAA, 10

= R4 8
7
1 MEG IC7-b
ANTI' 6
1/4 TL084N

e-N1h --
R7 4 3 010
C3 R20
10 MEG 10
.0027
1N914B
D1
R12
1K
1 )F-
D2 1 MEG
1N914B R8
10 K R23
10K
R21
C4 Wh
00 T 1K
O

O
H -10
0

0
0 +

+ E
S3
GAIN
IC1-c
4.7
6 3 9 DISP1

R10
R22
10K
1.2K
VVk- VW
R11 R9 C9
22K 100K 220pF

IF-- E
o
H HR
S4 0
O 4,r
+ I1 B1' l'
FUNCTION "4-0-
I 6-9V o o
R25 IC3
Oo ,I 1K C5 LM3914N
S5 B2' .047
POWER 6-9V

11 C6 D6 R18
4Ak 1 1N914B 22K
R13
1 MEG
IC1-d D4
C8
1/4 TL084N T1N914B M
I
1
R15 D3 D5
R14 100K 1N914B 1 1N914B
100K 7/yk
CALIBRATION
-1 NM
R16 -.- C7 R19
2.2 MEG R17 1
330K
10K
R24
'SEE TEXT 330

Fig. 1. As shown by this schematic diagram, the EMF Meter is comprised of three integrated
cir-
cuits, a pair of 10- segment har-graph displays, a few diodes, three hand -wound coils, and a batch
30 of support components.
 I1

"blip" in the reading due to the

earth's magnetic field. Reducing
the cutoff frequency to Hz defi-
1

nitely causes this effect to be

noticeable.
Electric fields are sensed with a
short probe connected to a FET op-
amp, and the induced pickup is
again rectified and displayed on a
bar -graph display in the same
manner. Calibration could be done
but is so subject to error it would be
meaningless. The circuit will easily
detect the presence of 120 volts
AC in a wire (i.e., a lamp cord) sev-
eral inches away, and it can be
used to find "hot" wires without a
direct connection. Due to using a
short E field probe, sensitivity is pro-
portional to frequency of the field.
Frequency response in the HR and E

positions is about 5 kHz, with usable

sensitivity to well over 50 kHz for use
In the author's prototype, the three pickup coils were mounted as shown here to the inside of
the in checking VDTs and TV sets.
enclosure so as to provide complete coverage of all three axis -X, Y, and Z- regardless of the The meter uses one quad op-
meter's orientation. As shown, one coil is affixed flush to the upper portion of the case (up/down amp (TL084), a display driver
axis); another is secured flush to the right side wall of the enclosure (left/right axis); and the final (LM3914), and has three pickup
unit is mounted flush to the inside front wall of the housing (forward/backward axis). coils orthogonally oriented (X, Y,
and Z) that have 350 turns of wire
When S4 is placed in the HR posi- age, but be amplified half as much. each The coil to be used is select-
tion, the meter measures magnetic That function can be calibrated to ed via a 3- position slide switch. This
fields by sensing the voltage give a reading of magnetic field avoids having to hold the meter at
induced in one of its pickup coils. strength. Fields as low as milligauss 1 awkward angles. Battery supply
The induced voltage in any coil is can be detected using the built -in can be either 6 or 9 volts sup-
equal to N 4 /dt, where N is the coils; using an external pickup coil, plied by AA cells or two nine volt
number of turns and 4)/dt is the rate the meter is able to detect fields as batteries.
If an external coil mounted on a
of change of flux per unit time pass- small as 0.01 milligauss.
ing through the coil (axial compo- We are concerned with weak probe separate from the meter is
nent), Since flux is equal to B x A AC magnetic fields around gauss 1 desired, one of the coils (the X -axis
(magnetic field strength multiplied or less. The earth's magnetic field is coil) is disconnected from the cir-
by the area of the coil), knowing around 0.5 gauss and is a steady cuit by a closed circuit jack (J1)
the number of turns in the sensing (DC) field. That type of field won't when a 1/8-inch plug is inserted. A
coil, its area, and the frequency of induce any voltage in a coil that Is length of shielded wire is used to
the magnetic field (60 or 120 Hz), stationary, but can in a coil that is connect the coil to the meter. That
the induced voltage can be mea- moved so that lines of force (flux) allows a larger coil with more area
sured. That allows you to determine are cut. For that reason, the ampli- and /or turns to be used with a cor-
the strength of B or H, since B = H, fier used to boost the voltage responding increase in meter sensi-
where p, is the permeability of free induced in the pickup coil should tivity. If the number of turns is dou-
space (47r x 10 -7 henries /meter). not have a response down to DC. bled and the coil area is increased
The induced voltage is amplified It's best to use an amplifier that cuts by a factor of five for example, the
and rectified, and then used to out at a frequency that is 25-30 % meter sensitivity will be doubled
drive a 20- segment LED bar -graph of the lowest frequency to be mea- due to doubling the turns and
display. sured. The lowest power frequency increased by another five times
The H position performs the same currently in use, as far as the due to the larger coil area for a
function, except the amplifier is authors know, is 162/3 Hz, which Is total of ten times increase. (In this
configured for a 1/f frequency used by European electric railways case we have double the number
response ( -6 dB /octave). The for powering traction motors used of turns enclosing five times as
amplifier produces an output volt- in locomotives. This would suggest much flux, leading to ten times the
age that's proportional to flux den- using a low frequency cutoff of induced voltage at a given field
sity and independent of frequency, around 4 -5 Hz. This has proven satis- strength and frequency). The sug-
since doubling the frequency factory in practice, as moving the gested external coil in this article
would double the induced volt- meter does not result in a large has about one third the number of 31
 turns but 150 times the area of an
internal pickup coil, giving up to
fifty times the sensitivity. That allows
detection of very weak fields, as
low as .02 milligauss.

How It Works. The TL084 quad FET

op -amp performs all the amplifica-
tion functions needed in this circuit.
Switch S1 is used to connect one of
three identical 350 -turn pickup coils
(Ll -L3, which correspond to the cir-
cuit's X, Y, and Z axis) to the input of
the amplifier system corresponding
to three axes. The three coils allows
the meter to perform without hav-
ing to reorient it in a possibly awk-
ward position. The three compo-
nents (HR, H, and E) can be read; the 4 INCHES
total field vector is the square root
of the sum of the squares of the
Fig. 2. The EMF Meter was assembled on a printed- circuit board, measuring 4 by
three readings. 21/2 inches. A full -
size template of the board's foil pattern is shown here.
Some designs sum the readings
arithmetically using diodes, but
that does not provide an accurate amplified only half as much. The dB (100x) is held out to 20 kHz or
reading; the results can be mis- output will then ideally be indepen- better with 40 kHz typical. This is
leading. In practice, the strongest dent of frequency (H position). more than adequate for detecting
reading is used as the significant Using two separate amplifiers higher frequency fields from VDTs,
one for further investigation. makes it possible to interpret flux TV sets, switching regulators, and
The output of the selected coil is readings in two ways. One theory electronic ballasts used in lighting
fed to a voltage divider, comprised claims that it is the induced voltage (compact fluorescent) operating
of R1 -R3, which is tapped at the in the human body that causes at 10 to 100 kHz. Op -amp IC1 -a is
junctions formed by those resistors. problems. That is proportional to typically used for this function (HR
Those taps, corresponding to 100%, both flux and frequency. Another position) as IC -b is operating at
1
10%, or 1% of the pickup coil out- claims that it is flux alone, indepen- less than unity gain above about
puts, are connected to GAIN switch dent of frequency up to about 1 6000 Hz.
S2. The selected signal is fed to the kHz, that is harmful. So, we are cov- Op -amp ICl -c is used with an
common inputs of two separate ered either way by having both active -field probe to sense E fields.
E
amplifier stages, IC -a and IC -b.
1 1 measurements available. Both ANTI is a short 2 -3 inch (or 5-9 cm)
IC -a has a gain of 100 (40 dB) and amplifiers have the same gain at 60
1
pickup wire mounted above the PC
has a 3 dB response of 4 Hz to 20 Hz, the most common power fre- board. Strong E fields of 100V /meter
kHz or better. The output of the IC 1- quency in the US and Canada. or so will induce enough voltage on
a amplifier is proportional both to Error at 50 Hz used for power in this wire to produce an indication on
flux in the pickup coil and also to Europe and Asia is less than dB, 1 the meter. Components R12, D1, and
the frequency of the magnetic flux and this error can be safely ignored D2 provide bias and input voltage
in the pickup coil (HR position). as no exact limits or standards have protection for IC -c. Resistor R9,
1
Amplifier IC -b has a gain start-
1
been found as of yet. C3 can be along with R10 and R11, as selected
ing at 60 dB at around 6 Hz and increased to 0.0033 F to make by GAIN switch S4, set the voltage
falling -6 dB per octave (or 20 dB IC -a and IC l -b equal in gain at
1
gain of IC -c to 0, 10, or 20 dB.
1

per decade) with a nominal gain 50Hz rather than 60 Hz if desired. Capacitor C9 limits response to 7000
at 60 Hz equal to 40 dB, the same Components R5 and C2 set the Hz, which is the typical upper limit of
as IC1-a. Op-amp IC1 -b has a 1/f fre- low frequency response of IC -a, 1 the audio range. However, useable
quency response that compen- together with C and R4, while R8
1 response is available to well over 100
sates for the fact that the induced and C4 set the LF limit of IC -b. 1 kHz, since the E-field pickup probe
voltage in a coil is proportional to Components R7 and C3 set the has a rising response directly propor-
frequency. The output of IC -b is, 1 gain and frequency response of tional to frequency. The E field from a
thus, theoretically proportional to ICI-b and are chosen for +40 dB at typical TV set can be sensed as far
flux in the pickup coil and constant 60 Hz. R6 sets the gain of ICI -a to 40 as two feet away from the circuit,
with frequency. For example, a dB. HF response is limited by the and 60 Hz fields from 120V wiring are
given flux density at 120 Hz will gain bandwidth product of the op detected at a distance of six inches
induce twice the voltage in the coil amp and this is typically 2 MHz or from the pickup antenna.
32 that 60 Hz will. However, it will be better, so the closed loop gain of 40 A fluorescent lamp usually gives
 .1 41. 44 , 1 11141

an indication at two feet. The meter obtain a linear meter indication remembered that all LEDs are dri-
can also be used to tell if the case versus AC input to the input of ICl- ven with the same DC current lev-
of an appliance is grounded or not. d. Overall gain is such that 20 to 40 els. Individual LEDs can be substitut-
A properly grounded appliance will microvolts of AC input signal from ed for the bar -graph modules.
the pickup coils produces a full - Resistors R20-R22 set up IC2 and
show little E -field indication, while
one not grounded will show a scale deflection, which corresponds IC3 for cascaded, dot -mode oper-
strong indication even if turned off. to a 10- to 20- milligauss full -scale on ation. Bar -graph mode operation
The outputs of IC1 -a, ICl -b, and the highest gain scale. We recom- could be used, but battery drain
IC1 -c are fed to E -GAIN switch S3: mend using a 20- milligauss full -scale when 20 LEDs are lit (full scale)
Switch S3 is used to select one of calibration. would approach 200 milliamps. Dot
the three amplifiers (HR, H, or E) and If greater sensitivity is needed, mode prevents premature battery
feeds its output into stage IC -d, 1 use a Larger pickup coil mounted drain, since only one or two seg-
which has a gain of about 34 dB externally to avoid AC feedback ments are lit at a time. Resistor R23
that is adjustable via R14 to cali- and to allow lower amplifier gain. cuts off a segment of DISP1 when
brate the meter circuit. Components The total gain can exceed 80 dB, any of the segments of DISP2 are lit.
C5 and R13 pass signal to IC1 -d and this is pushing things as far as Components C10 and R33 form a
whose gain depends on R16, R15, stability is concerned, due to the filter network that is used to sup-
and the setting of R14. The output use of a single -sided board, an press a tendency for the display to
IC -d is fed to a voltage doubler/
1 unshielded case, and high- imped- be unstable due to possible RF
rectifier circuit, comprised of C6, ance FET circuitry. oscillation. In addition, R23 limits
D5, D6, and 07. Components R18, The meter consists of IC2 and maximum possible LED current in
C8, and R19 are used to reduce AC IC3, a pair of LM3914 LED dot /bar case of a short circuit avoiding
signals on the rectified DC and set display drivers and two 10- segment damage to individual segments. S5
the LED meter ballistic characteris- LED bar -graph modules, which serves as an on-off switch for the
tics to resemble an analog mech- were cascaded to give a 20 -seg- circuit. Batteries BTl and BT2 are six
anical meter. ment meter. That's sufficient resolu- to nine volts each.
The meter has a full -scale deflec- tion (5% full scale) for our purposes. Power is supplied for the circuit
tion of around 3 volts. Components Red LEDs were used, but any other using two six- or nine -volt batteries.
D3, D4, and R17 are used as a non- color or combinations of colors A voltage divider or active splitter
linear feedback network so as to could be used as long as it is using an op-amp could have been
used so that there was only one
battery, but it was not worth the
extra parts as large decoupling
DISP1 R23' DISP2
capacitors would be needed. Only
a few milliamps of negative supply
are needed; thus battery life
IC2 IC3 approaches its shelf life. The posi-
NOT USED
tive supply must handle 10 to 20 mil-
-R22- -R20- +
liamps. We used two sets of four AA
-R21 -R19-C10 batteries, cheap and simple, and
+
J1
C8+-R18- they fit our case perfectly. Two nine -
-R13- C71 ()Ri4
D6
R24
volt batteries could also have been
-05- -104-- used. With a larger pickup coil,
D5 C6
-V fields of less than
1 milligauss can
R6 S4
-R15- +V be detected and measured if
FUNCTION
-R16- D3 S5 desired, but the usefulness of doing
-OF this is dubious. Magnetic fields of 60
L1' C20
-R17-POWER
-1-/R5- R25 and 120 Hz of this level exist any-
-R7- 03- IC1

i Dl T+ where electrical devices are used.

-R8- Currently there is no evidence to
-14- D2
04I+ -R4- -R12- suggest levels that low are suspect.
-C1- R10
And there is no real evidence that
R1 stronger fields are harmful either, so
R11
a level of 3 milligauss is a practical
R2
lower limit. This level may be present
several feet from an appliance that
R3I

uses a transformer or coil.

S1
X-Y-Z
S2
H GAIN
S3
E GAIN
Jack J1 is used to connect an
external coil to the meter. The coil is
`SEE TEXT made from # 24 to #30 magnet wire
Fig. 3. Once you've etched your board (or purchased one) and obtained all of the components list- and is six inches square. It is wound
ed in the Parts List, assemble the printed-circuit board guided by this parts placement diagram. on a simple jig made from a scrap 33
 CUT INTO SEPARATE COILS
(ALONG DOTTED LINE)
age of all three axis-X, Y, and Z-
#10 MACHINE INSERT PIPE AFTER WINDING regardless of the meter's orienta-
SCREW INTO END
1/8 -INCH n tion. One coil is affixed flush to the
WITH NUT CAP PVC PIPE
upper portion of the case
(up /down axis); another is secured
flush to the right side wall of the
enclosure(leff /right axis); and the
final unit is mounted flush to the
inside front wall of the housing (for-
ward /backward axis). A dab of sili-
DRILL
1/2 -INCH con cement (or hot -melt glue) can
CHUCK
END CAP /COIL 1
be used to secure the pickup coils
CARDBOARD WASHERS (6) in place. After that, the pickup coils
GLUE WASHERS TO PVC PIPE
are connected to the printed -cir-
MAGNET WIRE cuit board at the points indicated
in Fig. 3.
INSULATED
LEADS Make sure the coils do not come
contact with the other board -
in
PVC
mounted components. When fin-
PIPE ished, carefully check your work for
CUT FLUSH all of the most common construc-
tion errors, which include cold sol-
CARDBOARD der joints, shorted components,
WASHER incorrectly placed or misoriented
FINISHED
components, etc. If you spot any
COIL construction errors, correct them
immediately. Once the accuracy
Fig. 4. The three pick -up coils for the EMF Meter were fabricated from a total of about 360 feet of construction has been verified, it
(110 feet for each coil) of magnet wire and homemade bobbins (coilforms) manufacturedfrom PVC is time to move on to the next
pipe and cardboard or fiber board. Details of the construction of those components are shown here.
phase of construction.
of wood and four nails. A length of R23 and L1 -L3, followed by the non - Internal Pickup Coil Fabrication.
audio shielded cable is used to socketed semiconductors (diodes), The internal pickup coils were
connect this coil to the meter cir- saving the ICs and bar -graph dis- wound on home -brewed forms
cuitry. The coil can be wrapped plays for later. The three coils are that were fabricated from a 3- to fl-
with electrical tape and fitted with hand -wound units that have yet to inch length of /2 -inch (ID) diameter
a wood handle. The meter sensitiv- be fabricated. plastic pipe; the outside dimension
ity is multiplied 50 times with the After all the passive components (OD) of the pipe is close to 5/8 inch-
external coil, allowing fields of 0.2 have been installed on the top side es. Figure 4 outlines the fabrication
milligauss or less to be measured. of the board, mount R23 on the of the internal pickup coils.
bottom of the board. When Fabricate the three bobbin -like coil
Construction. The EMF Meter was installing the polarized compo- forms by placing six cardboard or
assembled on a printed circuit nents (electrolytic capacitors, fiber washers approximately -inch
board measuring 4 by 21/2 inches. A
1

diodes, and other semiconductor in diameter on the 3 -inch length of

full -size template of the printed -cir- devices), make absolutely certain pipe, spacing each pair of washers
cuit board's foil pattern is shown in they are properly oriented. Installing about '/8 -inch apart, as shown in
Fig. 2. That template can be liffed any polarized component incor- Fig. 4, and glue them in place.
from the page and used to etch rectly can cause the circuit to func- Once the glue has cured, the coil
you own printed circuit board. The tion erratically, or not at all, and can form is ready to accept the coil
board is supplied with the kit from lead to total component failure. wire.
the supplier given in the Parts List. Before installing S5, solder bare, The easiest way to wind the coils
Once you've obtained all of the tinned leads to its lugs and then is to mount the piece of pipe in
parts listed in the Parts List, con- insert the leads into the board. some type of jig where the pipe
struction can begin. Assemble the That's done so that the mechanical can be rotated by crank or motor.
printed- circuit board guided by the mounting height of S5 matches S1 The authors used a hand drill to
parts -placement diagram shown in through S4. rotate the forms during the coil -
Fig. 3. Start by installing DIP sockets In the author's prototype, the winding process. To that end, a hole
for the ICs and bar -graph displays. three pickup coils (L1 -L3; we'll get was drilled into a '/2 -inch end cap,
After that, follow the usual con- to their assembly in a moment) a #10 machine screw threaded
struction sequence, installing all the were mounted separately to three through the hole, and the screw
passive components (resistors, inner walls of the meter's enclosure secured in place by a nut. The shaff
34 capacitors, switches, etc.) except so as to provide complete cover- of the machine screw was then
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35

www.americanradiohistory.com
 PARTS LIST FOR THE E-H FIELD METER
remove.
SEMICONDUCTORS
ICI- TL084N quad op -amp, integrated L1 -L3- 350 -turn pickup coil (see Using the nails as a square form,
text) wind 114 turns (approximately
circuit J1-'/8 -inch, closed-circuit, phone 240 -250 feet ) of 24 to 30 gauge
IC2, IC3- LM3914N dot/bar -graph dis-
jack wire, plus or minus 5 percent, onto
play driver, integrated circuit Printed- circuit materials, IC sockets,
Dl D6- 1N914B or 1N4148 general- the form. Make sure to leave a
wire, solder, hardware, etc. length of wire at each end of the
purpose, small -signal, switching diode Note: A kit of parts-consisting of
DISPI, DISP2- 10- segment, light-emit- winding for making connections to
an etched and drilled printed -cir- the cable. Try to leave a little space
ting diode, bar-graph display cuit board; three pre -wound, 350-
turn pickup coils; all board - between the wood and the coil
RESISTORS
mounted components; J1; two windings so that a piece of tape
(All fixed resistors are' /4 -watt, 5% units.) can be slipped beneath the coil
bar-graph displays; a suitable
R1- 91,000-ohm plastic case; and complete docu- and wrapped around it to keep the
R2-9100 -ohm mentation for assembly and test- windings from unraveling. Carefully
R3, R20, R21, R25 -1000 -ohm
is available for $59.95 from North remove the finished coil from the
R4, R6, R12, R13- 1-megohm
Country Radio, PO Box 53, form. Removing one of the nails
R5, R8, RIO, R17, R23- 10,000 -ohm
Wykagyl Station, New Rochelle, from the wooden coil -form base
R7 -10- megohm
NY 10804-0053; e-mail: makes it easier to remove the coil.
R9, R15- 100,000 -ohm [email protected]; Web:
R 14- 100,000 -ohm potentiometer Solder the ends of the coil's
www. northcountryradio. corn.
R11, R18- 22,000 -ohm
Please include $4.50 for shipping magnet wire to a 3- to 5 -foot piece
R 16- 2.2- megohm and handling within the US; $10 of good quality RF or audio shield-
RI 9-330,000-ohm for shipment outside the US. NY ed cable. Use a cable that is flexi-
R22 -1200 -ohm State residents, please add $4.50 ble enough to bend easily, and still
R24-33 -ohm sales tax. For a catalog of many stand up to everyday use without
other kits, please send $2 and a breaking. Connect one lead to the
CAPACITORS stamped ($0.70) self-addressed shield, the other to the center con-
C1-0.1 -RF, 50 -WVDC, Mylar envelope to North Country Radio ductor. The polarity of the winding
C2, C'I 4.7 p.F, 35 -WVDC, electrolytic at the address above.
C3-0.0027 -p,F, 100 -WVDC, Mylar does not matter. Solder and tape
Note the materials for the remote the connections to prevent shorts.
C5- 0.047 -F, 50 -WVDC, Mylar sensing coil are not included and
-1
C6 C8 -1.LF 50 -WVDC, electrolytic can be purchased locally. Batteries With that done, wrap the whole
C9-220 -pF NPO, ceramic -disc and battery holders are also not assembly with several layers of PVC
C 10- 10 -F, 16 -WVDC, electrolytic tape to protect it. Bring the cable
included as these are at the discre-
tion of the builder and are also out at right angles to one side of
ADDITIONAL PARTS best purchased locally. Try elec- the coil, making sure it is secured so
AND MATERIALS tric motor repair shops as a source the connections won't be broken.
S1- S4 -2P3T slide switch of magnet wire. Install a '/8 -inch phone plug on
S5 -DPST toggle switch
the other end of the cable. The
plug mates with the 18 -inch closed
clamped into the drill chuck. The check each unit's DC resistance circuit jack on the field meter. Test
to the coil for continuity and to make
drill was then activated as 350 turns make sure the coil is OK. The three sure the cable and/or jack is not
of #36 AWG enameled magnet coils should each have a resistance
were fed onto each bobbin. The of approximately shorted. Take a resistance reading
27 ohms, 3 of the coil: it should read between
number of turns can be counted ohms; but more important,
all read- 4 and 25 ohms depending on the
manually. As an alternative, provid- ings should closely
agree. wire size used to wind the coil. The
ed that a lathe is accessible, the
pipe can be clamped into the External Sensing Coil Construction, actual DC resistance of the coil is
lathe's chuck, and the lathe run at The external sensing unimportant as long as the coil's
coil is little impedance is less than 5000 ohms.
low speed as the coil wire is fed more than approximately
250 feet An optional handle for the coil
onto the forms. If available, a of enameled wire formed into
a 6- can be fashioned from an 18 -inch
mechanical turns counter can be by 6-inch square and then
mount- length of 3/4- by '/1 -inch wood or
used to keep track of the windings. ed to an 18 -inch long piece of 3/4- plastic. The coil can then be fas-
Be sure to leave a little extra mag- by '/2 -inch wood. A temporary coil
net wire at each end of the coils. tened to the handle using plastic
form was fabricated from a 7 -inch cable clamps or tie wraps. Do not
Once all the coils have been square, '/2 -inch thick piece
of wood use metal for the handle, as it may
wound, 26- or 28 -gauge stranded by first drawing a 6- x 6 -inch
square short the windings or cause prob-
insulated wire should be connect- on the surface of the
wood and lems. When all the coils have been
ed to each coil lead. Each joint then driving a 6 or 8 penny
finishing wound and checked, it's time to
should be insulated with a thin layer nail into each corner of the
square test the unit.
of Mylar or scotch tape, and then drawn on the wood. Be sure
to
the entire coil wrapped in electri- drive the nails deep enough
so that Test Procedure. Connect three
36 cal tape. After winding the coils, they are secure, but
easy to wires to the circuit -board power
 produced by

supply traces as shown in Fig. 3. It's m

a good idea to use three different
colors (red, black, and white, for
Electronics CD ROMs
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-based
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con program via your printer port. The institution version (designed

tion and repeat step 4; you may or colleges and mdustry)

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 Get the facts on electric- and
magnetic-field radiation and
learn what you can do to combat
this possible health hazard.

WILLIAM SHEETS, K2MQJ and

RUDOLF F. GRAF, KA2CWL

Since the 1970s, a number of

articles have been pub-
lished concerning the possible
health and environmental damage
resulting from exposure to electric
and magnetic fields. Those fields
emanate largely from man -made
sources, such as power and tele-
phone lines, and radio -frequency
transmitters, or from devices oper-
ated by electrical power.
Power frequencies range from a
low of 162/3 Hz used for some railway
fectromagnetic
systems to 400 Hz and higher used
in military and aircraft power sys-
tems. Those frequencies are offen
accompanied by harmonics caused
by either waveform distortions in
Poitution
the power as generated or else
due to the effects of loads and sys-
tem unbalances.
However, there is a lot of misun-
derstanding about EMFs and
other fields, which can lead to
erroneous assumptions and falla-
cious ideas, tending towards pseu-
do science. Because field theory is
a very big and complex subject,
there will be only a simplified
explanation here to facilitate
understanding the issues. Purists
and perfectionists will have to
excuse the simplifications.

Basic Field Concepts. There are

two types of fields that are of imme-
diate concern. The first is the elec-
-a
tric field vector quantity (having (volts) along one of those lines for a along X or some other reference
both magnitude and direction) specific unit of distance (usually
originating from a definite source meters) is called the field strength
and ending at a definite sink. An a quantity usually expressed in volts
- axis. The electric intensity is the
potential (voltage) with respect to
a point at infinity or in practice, a
example would be a charged wire per meter and given by:
point far enough away so the field
or body above a ground plane.
is close to zero or ground reference
Lines of force (actually a fictitious E = -V/OX (see Fig. 1).
way of visualizing magnitude and
A charged body having a
direction) would originate on the where E represents the field
charge of Q coulombs would pro-
charged body and end on the strength in volts and -AV/AX sym-
duce a field intensity of
ground plane. The gradient of the bolizes the derivative or slope of
38 field or the change in potential the electric intensity at a point E = Q/(4Tre)r2
 EQUIPOTENTIAL was investigated by Coulomb (for
_- `.
i
/
// , ,
/
//
-- \
,,6', ---(\ 1--- E= ev
`
CIRCLES
OR
SURFACES

AV = POTENTIAL
whom the unit of charge is named)
in 1785. What he discovered is that
force is proportional to the magni-
tude of the charges and inversely
I
DIFFERENCES
\ \.__/ AX AX = DISTANCE (r OR RADIUS) proportional to the distance

/
\ 1

. , / between them. That effect is also

\\. `_ IN THE LIMIT linear-the field from a number of
-- ,, =eV _ Q
separate charges being the linear
' ---
E
ex arrs,r
sum of the individual fields from
Q = POINT CHARGEeach charge.
A coulomb is the amount of
Electric-field intensity is a measure of the strength of an electric field in volts per
meter.
Fig. 1.
charge crossing the surface of an
where Tr (pi) is 3.14159, e is 8.85 x Since two like charges repel each
object when one ampere flows for
one second across the same sur-
10- 12, and r represents the radius or other, the effect can be compared
face. Actually, the ampere is
distance from center. The charged to releasing a compressed spring.
In addition, the electric field is defined as one coulomb of charge
body is an infinitely small point that
that flowing across a surface for one
can be a sphere or cylinder com- conservative, which means
to move a second, the coulomb being the
pared to the distance (r) from it. the work needed
fundamental unit.
Potential is defined as the amount charged body is the same regard-
a of path. one charged body is All physical objects have capaci-
of work required to bring less If
tance associated with them. The
charged body in from infinity to a released, it tends to fly away from body has 50 to 100 pF. A 50-
force. The human
specified distance from another the others with some that is charged to
of two charged bodies pF capacitor
charged body. That energy is effects would have to have
one coulomb
referred to as potential energy. attracting or repelling each other
a potential of 20 billion volts. That's
because the definition of capaci-
tance is the ratio of charge to volt-
age (C = Q /V).
ELECTRIC A law known as Gauss's Law
FLUX states that the total electric flux
LINES
crossing a closed surface must
equal the charge contained within
that surface. Therefore, we can
replace the point charge with a
GAUSS' LAW
charged spherical body of arbi-
THE TOTAL ELECTRIC FLUX trary radius. At all points outside
EMANATING FROM A SURFACE
EQUALS THE CHARGE WITHIN
that sphere, the effect of the
charged sphere will be the same as
JDN ds = JQdv an equivalent point charge at the
CLOSED CHARGES ARE MEA
center of the sphere (see Fig. 2).
VOLUME

SURFACE INSIDE, SHOWN IN

(SPHERE, ETC.) CUTAWAY VIEW D = ELECTRIC FLUX = e,E VECTOR A sphere -meter in diameter
1

charged to one coulomb would

A C, = PERMITTIVITY
produce an electric field intensity
THIS CONDUCTING Q = CHARGE
of 900,000 volts per meter at 100
SPHERE OR OTHER SURFACE meters from the sphere and 9000
HAS SAME CHARGE Qv = CHARGE DISTRIBUTION volts per meter at km. Two large 1
AS INSIDE (A)
metal plates -meter square that 1

AT ANY DISTANCE OUTSIDE THE

SURFACE, THEREFORE A & B were spaced 10 cm apart would
PRODUCE THE SAME EFFECT form a parallel -plate capacitor
(see Fig. 3A). If 120 volts AC were
ELECTRIC
FLUX
applied between the plates, an AC
LINES field of 1200 volts per meter would
exist between the plates. By the
CHARGE

DISTRIBUTED
ON SURFACE same reasoning, the field directly
below a 230 -kV power line 40 -feet
high (12.2 meters) would be
CLO SED approximately 18,850 volts /meter
SURFACE
B (see Fig. 3B). Of course, the actual
field intensity would be a function
Fig. 2. Gauss's theorem, an expression for determining the intensity of a magnetic
field depending
of the surroundings and rather
on the charge, states that the total electric flux crossing a closed surface
must equal the charge con-
complex geometry, but a "straight- 39
tained within in that surface.
 or any other shape can act like a
capacitor. Anyone who has been
10CM
shocked by static electricity after
walking across a carpet and
E FIELD
120V/12CM = 1200V/METER
touching a doorknob has experi-
enced that phenomena. The shock
A
is produced by the charge accu-
mulated and stored on the body
and then rapidly discharged onto
POWER LINE
FIELD another body or ground. The body
islike a 50 or 100 pF capacitor
charged to several kilovolts.
POWER LINE A sphere with a -meter radius, in
1

230 KV AC 500 AMPS theory, has a capacitance of 111.2

pF. A sphere the size of the earth
would have 142 microfarads
capacitance with respect to the
universe. It is also a fact that there
exists a total current flow of about
1500 amperes or more between
18.5 KV/METER
r
MAGNETIC
40 FT E FIELD the plates of the capacitor formed
DUE TO VOLTAGE by the earth and the conducting
FIELD DIFFERENCE
DUE TO layers of its atmosphere over the
CURRENT entire surface of the earth.
(500 AMPS)
That sounds like a lot of current,
but when the area of the earth is
calculated (197 million square
miles), it's only around 7 microamps
per square mile. We mention that to
B make the reader aware of natural-
Fig. 3. If 120 volts AC were applied to a capacitor -comprised of two 1 -meter square ly occurring fields that have been
metal plates
spaced 10 cm apart (see A) -an AC field of 1200 volts per meter would exist between the around a lot longer than the
plates. By
the same reasoning, the field directly below a 230 -kV power line 40 feet
high (12.2 meters) would
human race. If they were harmful,
be approximately 18,850 volts/meter (see B). you wouldn't be reading this arti-
cle. We could not, therefore,
escape electric fields even if we
line approximation" would give an capacitance in farads. returned to the days of antiquity,
idea of the magnitude of the field. For simplicity, assumethe earth is ages before electricity was known.
It is also known that a natural one plate of a spherical capacitor However, electric fields termi-
electric field -which may be a few and that the other plate is a con- nate at a conducting surface,
hundred volts per meter in fine ducting layer of air located about 10 since for a perfectly conducting
weather to several thousand volts km above the earth's surface. If that surface the magnitude of E tan-
per meter during electrical storms were true, the capacitance gential to that surface must be
-exists between the earth and its between that layer and the earth zero. In other words, the conductor
upper atmosphere. That's because (radius = 12800 km) would be about "shorts out" the field, as zero volt-
at any given point in time, there are 18 farads-imagine the size of such a age exists at a short circuit.
thunderstorms occurring some- capacitor (huge to say the least). Of Therefore, electric fields are easily
where on earth, and the upper course, that's an idealized case, and contained by enclosing the con-
atmosphere and the surface of the the actual capacitance is smaller, ductors inside a shield or a metal
earth form a charged capacitor but still pretty large. case as most electronic apparatus
with a large capacitance. The Note that if B is extremely large does. Electric fields also penetrate
capacitance between two con- compared to A, the A x B /(B -A) non- conducting surfaces. Partially
centric spheres of radius A and B part of the expression approaches conducting surfaces won't provide
respectively in air or a vacuum is AB /B and becomes simply A. We complete shielding, but can
given by: mention that fact to show that a reduce field intensity to some
spherical capacitor with an infinite- degree. Almost all metals and con-
C = ((111.2 x 10-12)(Ax ly large radius outer conductor (the ductive plastics do a pretty good
B))/(B - A) entire universe; see Fig. 4) becomes: job, however.
where A is the radius of the Inner C = (111.2 x 10-12) (A) Magnetic Fields. Things are some-
sphere In meters, B Is the radius of
what different for a magnetic field.
ao the outer sphere in meters, and C Is That shows that an isolated sphere The magnetic field is a solenoidal
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www.americanradiohistory.com
 rent than is drawn by a 100 -waf,
120 -volt light bulb. An AC field of 20
EQUIVALENT
CAPACITANCE
milligauss is present around a wire
BODY carrying that current. However,
(SPHERE, CYCLINDER THE since most AC wiring is of the two-
OR ANYTHING REST OF
ELSE) THE UNIVERSE conductor type and the current in
(OTHER PLATE OF THIS CAPACITOR each wire flows in opposite direc-
IS AT INFINITY) tions with respect to each other,
the fields nearly cancel each other.
r'
CHARGED
The magnetic field surrounding a
CAPACITANCE = CHARGE (COULOMBS%
BODY (FARADS) VOLTAGE (VOLTS)
wire is a set of concentric circles on
a plane normal to the axis of the
Fig. 4. Almost any isolated object can act like a capacitor, as demonstrated
by the shock that occurs wire (see Fig. 6). The direction of the
after walking across a carpet and touching a doorknob.
field is taken as that which a right -
hand screw would rotate as the
field, having no lines that originate space, so the value of p, is 12.56 x screw is turned, so it advances
or terminate at a source or sink. The 10 -7. along the wire in the direction of
magnetic field is inherently present The magnetic induction (B) is current flow. That's known as the
around any current-carrying con- generally given in webers. However "right-hand rule." Therefore, two
ductor (see Fig. 5). For a long that's much too large, so the unit of wires in parallel and in close prox-
straight wire, magnetomotive force magnetic induction used is the imity carrying equal currents in
(MMF), denoted by the symbol H, is gauss, which is 1/10,000 of a weber. opposite directions produce mag-
a function of the current in that Therefore 10,000 gauss = weber. 1 netic fields that cancel each other.
conductor: In this article, we're concerned with Wires that carry AC currents are
fields of 100 gauss or less. The offen twisted or bonded together
H = I/(27rA) earth's magnetic field is about 0.5 to produce the field-cancellation
gauss. As an example, the magnet- effect. However, the wires used for
where H is magnetomotive force, A ic field strength around a wire car- overhead AC distribution may be
is the distance from wire, and is the rying one ampere of current 10
I
separated by several feet, so com-
current in wire centimeters (about 4 inches) from plete field cancellation may not
Ampere's Circuital Law states the wire is: occur, as one wire is closer to the
that the magnetomotive force (H) ground than the other.
around any closed path is equal to H = /27rA = 1/6.28(0.1) = 1.59
I
Also, while currents at 60 Hz may
the current crossing the surface of amps/meter be opposite in phase and tend to
which this path is a boundary. The
cancel, their harmonics may not
magnetic induction, denoted as B, B =H= 12.56x 10 -7x 1.59 be. A 3 -phase AC line consists of
is related to H by the following
amp- henries /m2 three lines with currents and volt-
equation:
ages 120 degrees apart. But when
B = 19.97 x 10 -7 webers two frequencies are multiplied by
B=H N, their phase difference is also mul-
B = 19.97 x 10 -3 tiplied by N. In that case, ideally the
where H represents magnetomo-
third harmonic currents are 360
tive force, and indicates perme- or about 20 milligauss.
degrees apart, which is the same
ability. One ampere is a little more cur- as 0 degrees, and are therefore in
The permeability of a substance
or medium is a measure of how
easily magnetic lines "flow" through
it-in essence, the magnetic ana-
log of conductance in an electri-
cal circuit. Iron, steel, and certain SWITCH

other ferrite materials exhibit high

permeability, while air, water, and ELECTRIC ELECTRIC
FIELD FIELD
nonferrous metals have a much (ALWAYS WHEN
lower permeability. The permeabil- 120V EXISTS) SWITCH
AC IS ON
ity of free space is 12.56 x 10 -7 60 Hz MAGNETIC
henries per meter and is generally FIELD
(EXISTS WHEN CURRENT FLOWS)
designated as "go." The permeabil-
ity of ferrites and ferrous materials is
generally 10 to several thousand
times that of free space and is Fig. 5. A magnetic field is inherently present
around any current carrying conductor. The magneto -
sometimes referred to as p,. For this motive force around any closed path is equal to the current crossing the surface
of which the path is
42 discussion, we're assuming free a boundary.
 MAGNETIC MAGNETIC the induced voltage is multiplied
FIELD FIELD
LINES
by the number of turns. Therefore, if
LINES
we have a coil of known size (area)
and number of turns, measuring the
AC voltage induced in the coil
MAGNETIC FIELDS allows us to calculate the magnet-
GENERATED BY
WIRES CARRYING ic induction (B) that is present
CURRENT along the axis of the coil.
Field frequency must also be
known, since the induced voltage is
proportional to frequency. Usually
CROSS SECTION
the frequency is taken as 60 Hz, the
CROSS SECTION
OF WIRE OF WIRE power-line frequency in the US or
(CURRENT FLOWING (CURRENT FLOWING
OUT OF PAGE)
Canada. However, bear in mind
INTO PAGE)
that other frequencies and har-
TWO WIRES
CLOSE TOGETHER
monics may be present as well. If
SOURCE that's the case, a separate mea-
CURRENT surement and calculation must be
FLOW
performed for each frequency
involved, or else they can be
AEW--PAGE
summed and a peak worst -case
MAGNETIC FIELDS TEND TO reading determined. Therefore, E
CANCEL IF CURRENTS
WIRES
FLOW IN OPPOSITE (electric) fields are generally easily
PERPENDICULAR
TO PAGE
L OAD
DIRECTIONS controlled through shielding, but H
(magnetic) fields are more difficult,
normal to the
Fig. 6. The magnetic field surrounding a wire is a set of concentric circles on a plane with iron or other magnetic materi-
axis of the wire. al needed to do the job.
Components made from ferrous
sources or sinks. If a bar magnet materials are heavier, more expen-
phase. Under those conditions, they
with a North and South poles were sive, and generally not as "pleas-
can reinforce and produce a
broken in half, the two new mag- ing" to the eye as plastics-which
strong 180 -Hz field.
Harmonics originate from non - nets will still have N and S poles. You are available in wide range of col-
cannot have two magnets with ors and can be molded into
linearities in any system, such as
stand alone North (N) or South (S) shapes impossible to duplicate in
core and magnetic saturation in
poles no matter how many times metals at reasonable cost. In addi-
transformers, motors, and rectifiers.
AC generators often produce they are broken in half. tion, plastics reduce or eliminate
Magnetic lines of force exist only electrical shock hazards. Unfortunately,
imperfect sinewaves containing
as closed loops. When a wire is such plastics do not shield against
harmonics. Non -linear effects and
non-linear loads (such as the half- coiled on itself, the magnetic inten- magnetic fields and are not usually
sity (H) generated is multiplied by very effective against electric fields
wave rectifiers used in inexpensive
the number of turns in the coil: for either. Thus, many everyday electri-
radio receivers and TV sets and
thyristor devices used in light dim- example, a 100 -turn coil of wire car- cal household appliances can be
mer switches) are other sources of rying amp is the same as a -turn
1 1 sources of sometimes strong and
coil carrying 100 amp. The number possibly harmful magnetic and elec-
unwanted harmonics.
The magnitude of B drops off of "ampere- turns" determines the tric fields. Computer monitors, TVs,
inversely with distance and is pro- magnetic intensity. Placing a mag- radio receivers, hair dryers, coffee
portional to the current in the wire. netic material, such as iron or fer- makers, shavers, electric blankets,
(We'll refer to magnetic fields rite, inside the coil greatly increases clocks, even the common "wall
henceforth as H fields even though the coil's magnetic induction (B), wart" transformers are strong pro-
ducers of electromagnetic fields (EMFs),
the magnetic intensity is given by since B equals H; permeability (p'),
B). In free space, B and H are relat- in this case, may be several hun-
ed by a constant. When ferrous dred times that of air or free space. The Presumed Dangers of Field
materials are in the field, things Magnetic flux through a coil is Exposure. Years ago (during the
1970s), concern about the effects
become more complex, but most the amount of magnetic induction
non -ferrous materials offer little (B) passing along the axis of the coil of power frequency EMFs arose. For
years, it had been observed that
shielding against H fields at power - multiplied by the area (A) of the
line frequencies. Since AC magnet- coil. Flux is designated by the Greek
electrical workers who were in
ic fields are produced by AC cur- letter phi (6). Note that 6 = B A.
x close proximity to very strong mag-
rents, turning off a circuit reduces The voltage induced in a loop of netic or electric fields sometimes
the time varying field to zero (unless wire is equal to the rate of change "saw" flashing lights or patterns
moving magnets are present). of the flux enclosed by that loop believed to be due the effect of
Magnetic -field lines have no per unit time. For a multi-turn coil, those fields on the nervous system. 43

www.americanradiohistory.com
 That was obvious evidence tha t
EMFs affect human beings directly BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EMF BOOKS AND ARTICLES
However, little attention was paid
Annals of Radiation -The Calamity The ELF in Your Electric Blanket
other than curiosity. on Meadow Street
A blow on the head, an electric Cover story by Dixie Farley
Paul Brodeur FDA Consumer, December 1992,
shock, or even a momentarily New Yorker; July 9, 1990 p 14
painful sensation such as stubbing
a toe would similarly cause a per- Annals of Radiation -The Cancer Fields of Fear
son to "see stars." So this effect was at Slater School Gary Taubes
probably dismissed. After all, the Paul Brodeur Atlantic Monthly; November 1994,
nervous system is known to operate New Yorker,' December 7. 1992 p 94
with electrical currents, and it was
logical to expect that strong EMFs Another Way Electromagnetic The Great Power Line Cover -up
Fields May Damage Tissues Paul Brodeur
could induce currents there. In turn, Science News; February 19, 1994, ISBN # 0-316 -10909 -6
these currents could act as stimuli V145, n8, p 127 Little, Brown & Co., 1993
of some kind, producing such visu-
al effects. Closing The Book: Are Power Line Power Play
Life evolved in an environment Fields a Dead Issue? David Noland
wherein some magnetic and elec- Gary Stix Discover, December 1989, p 62
tric fields have always been pre- Scientific American; March 1998,
sent. The earth's magnetic field p 33 Rising Tension Over High Tension
might be used by birds for naviga- Unes
tion over oceans, out of sight of Department of Amplification Pam Black
Paul Brodeur Business Week, October 30, 1989,
land, or during nights when star New Yorker; November
patterns are not visible. Electric eels
19, 1990, p 158
p 134
use electric fields for sensing their
Study Finds Possible Link Of
surroundings as well as for self - Electromagnetic Fields May Cancer And Power Lines
defense. The point is that some ani- Damage Hearts New York Times; November 30,
mals may have evolved organs to Janet Roloff 1989, V139, p B26(L) col 1

use naturally occurring EMFs for Science News; January 30, 1999,
sensing. No one thought that weak V155, p 70 Utilities agree: The EMF Issue is
EMFs had any effect on the human "very serious"
body. Then, it was noticed that Electromagnetic Fields: The Electrical World; September 1991,
Biological Evidence p 14
some electrical workers and other Robert Pool
persons exposed to EMFs appar- Science; September 21, 1990,
ently were experiencing certain of V249, n4975, p 1378
health problems. The problems,
whether real or imagined, were
occurring at a greater frequency ovens, electric blankets, etc. -that one should not become an
when compared with statistics from generated all manner of EMF that alarmist or scare -monger.
the general population. The prob- had never been encountered Actually, many of the EMFs gen-
lems ranged from fatigue and before. erated by appliances and com-
minor headaches to cases of can- Few were aware of or even puters thought to be hazardous are
cer and heart attacks. thought that the 60- and 120-Hz AC magnetic in nature and disappear
However, the correlation was fields from electric clocks, hair dry- when the equipment is switched
found to be weak or non-existent ers, and fluorescent lighting ballasts off. The practice of simply turning
when studies were made. Some would be a problem. Higher fre- off appliances when not in use
studies claimed a definite link; oth- quency fields of 15-50 kHz generat- would be sufficient. For example, do
ers revealed none. There were con- ed by video displays, compact flu- not leave computers turned on
tradictory results, and the studies orescence, or switching supplies when not in use, since there is no
were largely discredited. However, were generally not thought about. evidence turning them off shortens
a nagging doubt remained. In the Today, the average home or office there lives. Yes, the semiconductors
1970s, electric power had been is literally full of field -producing have to go through a warm up and
used for barely four generations, devices. While the jury is still out on cool down cycle, but there is less
but in the years before World War ll, the biological effects of these wear on the fans and drive motors.
it was not uncommon to find fields, there's still sufficient evi- Anyway, many computers today
homes without electricity, especial- dence, both observed and anec- have a "green" feature, which
ly in rural areas. The postwar years dotal, that there may be significant removes power from certain com-
brought explosive use of electrical problems. It might be wise to take ponents (hard drives, etc.) after so
power with the appearance of some precautions to minimize EMFs many minutes of keyboard or
new appliances -TV sets, fluores- in new designs, and to check exist- mouse inactivity. For every reason
44 cent lighting, computers, microwave ing equipment for EMFs. However, you should leave the computer on,
 the "bad guys" is currently in vogue. cause other problems not yet
EIVIF RELATED WEB SITES However, if you look at the equa- determined. So far, the evidence is
tions of field theory, time variance inconclusive.
BioElecifrroMagnetcs In order to reach a credible con-
www.emfinterface.com of the fields is not the only way cur-
rents are induced in objects. If an clusion, it would be necessary to
Bridlewood Electromagnetic object is moved in a steady mag- take a large enough group of peo-
Fields netic field, a current will be induced ple of all ages (preferably a good
www: ncf. carieton. ca in it. As we move about our planet, mix representative of a cross -sec-
we are moving through the earth's tion of humanity to eliminate any
California EME Program Home magnetic field, which is about 0.5 possibility of genetic bias) and split
Page gauss -100 times stronger than a 5 it into two groups. One group would
wwwdnai.com/ emf/ milligauss time -varying field, a level be the control group and have little
some would claim is hazardous. or no exposure to EMFs. The other
t:LECTROMAGNETiCS Forum (study) group would be exposed to
Yet, we do not all move at a
www.tassie.net.oulemfocts1 controlled levels for a specified
steady pace. The instantaneous
EiectrosenstHYity velocity of various parts of the period of time. Medical checkups
www:feb.se body when walking, doing tasks, or on all participants would be con-
even from nervous tremors will ducted at intervals and at the end
EMFRAPID Home have some "AC" components. The of a period of time the differences
www.nlehs.nlh/govjernfraPid/ AC components can be broken in incidence of diseases, etc.
down into sinusoidal components, between the two groups could be
EMFs in The Workplace just like an electrical waveform can studied.
www.cdc,gov/Nosh/ be broken into a series of sine and The experiment could be
cosine waves. A body vibrating at repeated several times; only then
infoventures could conclusions be drawn. But,
60 cycles per second (cps or Hz) will
have a 60 -Hz component induced that's obviously inhuman and
Note: These Web sites were in it-that applies to any frequency unethical for any society that con-
accessible as of July 20 1999, but of vibration. That's also the principle siders itself civilized. So we would
be advised that URLs may behind the operation of a dynamic have to use laboratory animals.
change during or offer the time microphone. So the argument that Such an experiment would proba-
of publication. the earth's steady magnetic field bly take years, and animal results
does not cause any harm because may not apply to humans. So we
it can't induce any current in the may have to rely on studies and
you can come up with a reason to
shut it down. You might as well save body may not be correct. True, the case histories, and never really get
frequencies are lower than power results from which a reliable deter-
electricity, and energy conserva-
tion is not a bad idea. Furthermore, frequencies, but it is not known if mination can be made.
you'll be helping to reduce the the frequency of the induced volt-
"electromagnetic smog" that's so ages and currents is a factor. News Flash. An interesting news
prevalent today. Electromagnetic Remember, the motion of any body item appeared during the writing
smog will undoubtedly become an in a steady magnetic field can of this article -in The New York
have the same effect as a time - Times on July 24, 1999-that had a
environmental problem in the
future, and it is already a problem varying field on a stationary body. If headline stating "Data tying can-
in our cities and crowded suburbs. that were not true, every loud- cer to electric power found to be
The authors are old enough to speaker and dynamic microphone false." That broad, sweeping gener-
remember that when AM radios in existence would be in big trouble. alization could lead those prone to
were tuned between stations, knee -jerk reactions to conclude
you'd hear mainly light back- Possible Hazards and Observations. that all data found so far is false.
They might not even bother to read
ground atmospheric noise and dis- The exact mechanism by which
tant stations -not a loud, raucous EMFs cause damage to the cells of the rest of the article. What actual-
living organisms is not really known, ly happened was that two papers
60 -Hz buzzing -and AM reception
sounded quite good. Possibly that except for the obvious destruction published by one scientist were
pervasive racket has contributed by electrolysis, or heating from resis- biased by the elimination data that
to the decline of AM and short- tive losses. The induced currents did not support his conclusions. It's
wave radio. In fact, the RF levels of from weak ( <1g) magnetic fields a pretty safe bet that in the near
the smog might get bad enough to are not sufficient to cause heating. future another study will refute that
be hazardous just by themselves. It is possible that the induced cur- finding with data to back up claims
As a matter of fact, magnetic rents and voltages may in some that EMFs are in fact hazardous.
jewelry and bodywear that emit way interfere with the transmission What is needed is to examine all
those things objectively.
steady magnetic -field energy are of nerve impulses; or in cell division
First, suppose that EMFs were sci-
popular today. Such items are said or in ion transport across cell struc-
to cure many Ills. The notion that tures during chemical reactions; or entifically proven to cause prob-
lems. A lot of big money interests 45
time -varying magnetic fields are could damage DNA; or could

www.americanradiohistory.com
 would get hurt. New restrictive leg-
islation would eventually be passed,
Nancy Wertheimer and physicist Ed
Leeper published a study that
life times -a long time is needed to
compile statisticcaly sufficient amounts
requiring shielding, modifications to showed a link between some child- of data.
existing equipment, and placing hood cancers and power-line prox- A great many factors are
severe restrictions and code imity to homes. involved that must be considered.
requirements on power line place- A 1982 study in the state of In light of those facts, a "play -it-
ment, as well as many other Washington showed that leukemia safe" approach may be the best
bureaucratic nightmares. Just think rates were elevated in 10 out of 11 course of action. Take the action
of what might be: new wiring occupations studied where work- that, based on best available
codes; mandatory relocation of ers were exposed to low- frequency knowledge (which may turn out to
power lines; even condemnation of EMFs. In 1988, a Maryland be incorrect), has the fewest risks
some buildings, such as factories, Department of Health and Hygiene and /or greatest rewards. However,
schools, offices, malls, and who study noted a higher than normal remember you could be wrong.
knows what else. rate of fatal brain cancers in men In the case of EMF, there are
Naturally, power companies employed in electrical occupa- several approaches, which would
would like the problem (not to tions. Johns Hopkins University in reduce exposure yet not impact
mention the critics) to just dry up 1989 found an elevated cancer risk too severely on your lifestyle. Those
and blow away. It could be quite in New York Telephone Company approaches may reduce energy
expensive to upset the status quo. cable splicers. But, the articles in consumption; lower your electric
And don't think it's above big busi- New Yorker and books by Paul bill; reduce electromagnetic smog,
ness to cover up and lie about Brodeur appearing in the early noise, and environmental pollution;
public hazards. It is a sad fact that it 1990s (see bibliography) probably and even improve radio and TV
is cheaper to let a few people die were the ones that caught the reception. They won't be harmful or
and simply pay off the victim's fam- attention of the public. unsafe and can easily be changed,
ilies (in or out of court) than to fix A study in 1991 in Los Angeles added to, or eliminated, based on
the problem- witness the automo- found significant associations future evidence.
tive and the tobacco industries. To between childhood leukemia, There is one test you can make
top it off, governments have lied to which is a form of cancer, and very easily in your own home: Take
the people throughout history as power -line proximity. Studies in a small portable AM radio and
well. So, form your own opinions Mexico and Sweden between 1992 tune it to a frequency below 550
and don't always believe the and 1993 also showed increased kHz where no station is received.
"hype." Quite a few studies have incidence of leukemia in children You should hear just a hiss or light
been done that claim to have def- that lived near power lines. Studies crackling noise due to atmospheric
inite proof both ways. made in Denmark in 1993 found a static. If you hear buzzing, a hum, or
correlation between increased a loud raspy noise that sounds like
Study This. The following paragraph incidences of childhood cancers bacon in a hot skillet, you've got
mentions some of those studies, and proximity to power lines, but some work to do. Much equipment
observations, and claims. References not specifically leukemia. A Finnish that generates possibly hazardous
will be given elsewhere in this arti- study found an association with EMFs also generates enough har-
cle for further reading. It is impossi- nervous system tumors in boys. monic energy at AM -radio frequen-
ble to go into any details, as space There were eight studies made cies to be easily detectable on an
does not permit such an excursion. examining cancer risk for adults liv- AM radio as noise. Passing that test
However, several Web sites will be ing near power lines, two of which is no proof that there are no strong
mentioned where interested read- found significant risk. Facts con- fields present, as it will not detect
ers can go; from those sites, many cerning those studies can be found magnetic fields, but a failure almost
other links can be found. The at the Web site of Information guarantees that they are there.
amount of information is enormous Ventures Inc., as well as the Most homes in suburban or city
and often conflicting. National Institute for Occupational areas fail the test.
In 1972, some reports from the Safety and Health (NIOSH): those Further investigation requires a
Soviet Union referred to various sites have links to many other sites. field meter, such as the test gear
health problems noted among described in the "E -H Meter" article
those exposed to EMFs. The prob- Reducing Exposure. What can be found elsewhere in this issue. If you
lems were not generally serious: done to reduce exposure? As men- build the project discussed in that
fatigue, headaches, and general tioned before, no exact cause and article, you'll be able to find many
malaise. Then, in 1977, Dr. Robert effect relationship has, as of yet, of the sources of these fields in your
Becker and biophysicist Andrew been shown, nor have any exact
Marino testified before the New levels been established. That's true The authors would like to thank Mr.
York State Public Service Commission of a lot of things in every day life, Walter J. Hagen, WA2ALV, Librarian at
about some experiments that were where definite cause and effect Adirondack Community College,
made on the effects of low-fre- answers are not available, only Queensbury, NY for his valuable assis-
quency magnetic fields on health. trends and correlations. Answers tance and contributions in researching
46 Two years later, epidemiologist probably won't be available in our material for this article.
 appliances such as table lamps or Do not leave "wall warts"
home or office, offen in very unex-
pected places. Unless you own the where furniture must be moved to plugged in when not in use. They'll
gain access to a wall outlet. Cords last longer and not burn out from
business, you probably won't be
able to do very much about fields can be kept as short as possible by power surges or lightning hits. Get
coiling the excess length, Three - rid of light dimmers in your home.
around the office. If you live in an
conductor grounding cords can The high -peak current spikes can
apartment, you have little control
over what is coming from adjacent also be installed on appliances generate more intense magnetic
with metal parts, in some cases. In fields since the resistance of a cool-
apartments. However, you certainly
addition, cords can be routed er (dim) filament is lower, drawing
can correct some situations at
away from areas that are occu- high instantaneous currents. Yanking
home. Most of the fields generated
by household devices are confined pied for long periods of time, such the dimmers is sure to improve
to within a few feet (1 meter) of as beds, desks, and chairs. radio reception, since few dimmers
their sources, dying off at greater Magnetic fields can be reduced incorporated adequate RFI sup-
or eliminated by turning off power pression, with many low -end units
distances. Microwave ovens can
be an exception, however, and to the offending appliance. Magnetic containing no RFI suppression at all.
fields at 60 and 120 Hz arise largely If you have track lighting or low -
electric ranges may also be
exempt, as their coils carry large from AC current flow, and if the cur- voltage halogen lamps, be aware
currents. A list of some offenders rent is zero, there is, obviously, no that some low- voltage lighting may
magnetic field. However, some of use high- frequency inverters to
found in one of the authors, homes
is given in Table 1. That listing is not the worst offenders are items that reduce weight and cost, powering
meant to be complete. are constantly energized, such as the lamps with high- frequency AC.
In practice, electric fields are wall transformers and chargers Such light fixtures may radiate EMF
easier to reduce or eliminate. (commonly called "wall warts "), much like a poorly shielded com-
However, they are present around appliance and light timers, bell puter monitor. Use lamps that oper-
anything connected to a 120- or transformers, and 120 -volt clocks. ate directly from 120 or 240V when
Another source of magnetic possible, so no transformer is
240-volt source, even if the device is
fields are so called "leaky" appli- required.
turned off. That's because the hot
ances -those that consume some Replace fluorescent lighting in
lead of the 120 -volt line is brought
power even when turned off. living areas and kitchens with old
into most items and connected to
a switch. There is some capacitive Remote -controlled TV sets, stereo fashioned incandescents. Incan-
coupling to the device or appli- receivers, fan and light controls, descent lamps are generally easier
ance housing, plus the 6- or 8 -foot etc. contain receivers that must be on the eyes, and generate no RFI
cord is a good "radiator" if plugged powered at all times in order to and very little EMF. Of course,
into an outlet. Of course, grounding process a turn -on command. In they're not very energy efficient;
the device's chassis through a 3- fact, attention has been called by but look on the bright side, the heat
conductor cord reduces the level some critics to the energy-wasting they generate is not always wast-
of the electric field. However, many characteristics of those appliances. ed, particularly during the winter
It would not be surprising to find in months when the heat from incan-
common small appliances, such as
table lamps and clocks, are pow- an average home 100 wafts of descent lamps can actually con-
ered through two -wire cords and electricity used by appliances that tribute somewhat to heating the
are supposedly turned off. And house, thereby, reducing the load
contain many metallic parts that
are left floating, depending solely those appliances have 60 -Hz trans- on the furnace.
on insulation. While that protects formers that are constantly ener- Because of the lower energy
from electric shock, it does nothing gized, constantly generating mag- consumption of fluorescent light-
for E -field reduction. netic fields. ing, people are encouraged to
Many older appliances that Several things could be done in leave them on, resulting in the con-
have only a 2 -wire cord are still in the average home to help the situ- stant generation of strong electric
use. In addition, many individuals ation. For example, make sure all and magnetic fields. The magnetic
live in older homes or apartment appliances are properly grounded. fields from fluorescent ceiling fix-
Use power outlet strips with a mas- tures can easily penetrate the ceil-
buildings that still have obsolete 2-
prong AC outlets. People living in ter switch on all remote-controlled ing, producing a strong field near
such residences often cut the equipment. Of course, doing so the floor above the ceiling. You
grounding pin off 3-prong plugs so means giving up the remote turn - should not see much difference in
they'll fit the old 2 -prong sockets. on function (but the exercise might your electric bills after going to
That dangerous practice is quite be good for you). It also makes it incandescents if you acquire the
common, and there's no protec- easy to unplug things during vaca- habit of turning off the lights when
tion at all against E- fields in such tions or lightning storms. Besides, the not in use.
VCR clock can be fairly useless, Stay away from compact fluo-
instances. The best way to reduce
electric -field exposure is to unplug since power interruptions will likely rescents. They, like regular fluores-
appliances when not in use. wipe out the time settings, unless cents, generate strong fields, plus
However, that's not very practi- the unit is equipped with a backup - they're expensive, do not work well
battery feature. (Continued on page 50) 47
cal in the case of frequently used

www.americanradiohistory.com
 PRoducT TEST REPORT
Samsung Widescreen LCD STEPHEN A. BOOTH

Rear -Projection TV
It seems appropriate that for this
final lab -test of the current millen-
nium we examine a TV display format
for the 21st century. Samsung's
PLH403W is novel and unique: It's the
first LCD -based rear-projection TV
available to consumers.
It's also a coup of sorts for the
Korea -based innovator. The smart
money would have bet that LCD -pow-
erhouse Sharp would be first- to -mar-
ket with such a set. Indeed, Sharp has
shown LCD rear projectors in proto-
type, but to date has "choked" at the
-in
plate baseball parlance -while
sassy Samsung pulled a squeeze -play
and got home first.
Not content to be a me -too provider
of commodity TVs, Samsung some
time ago put the afterburners on R &D
programs to develop next- generation
audio, video, and PC products-espe-
cially LCD. Samsung now is a major
producer of those flat -screen displays
and is giving the folks in the land-of-
the- rising -sun a run for the money.
So, what's the big deal, you say.
Bragging rights are swell, but what's in
it for consumers?
Here's what-and why Samsung's
gambit is right on the money.
The PLH403W is a widescreen
(16:9 aspect ratio) TV that's just 14
inches deep with an honest avoirdu- same
pois of 65 pounds. That means it takes for the trimmest of
up no more real estate, moving away so- called "tabletop" CRT rear -pro-
rn from the wall, than a typical 13 -inch jection sets (41- to 46 -inch diagonal). promise?
cathode ray tube (CRT) N. In other But each of these max-out at 4:3 Here, we refer you to the accompany-
words, for anyone who has ever aspect ratio -which means ing charts on performance measure-
despaired of having a large- screen widescreen programs from DVD or ments, provided as always by the
display for the Super Bowl or World satellite get "letterboxed," thereby rob- Bethel, CT-based Advanced Product
; Series, it's the big- screen set for small bing the buyer of about 25% of vertical Evaluation Laboratory- reputed among
E rooms. Meanwhile, weight -wise, it resolution. Comparably, the 16:9 ratio manufacturers as the rock -solid reef
j probably could be lifted or shifted by
w the daintiest, 100 -pound mortal.
Samsung delivers the
widescreen movie edge -to -edge, and
whole where badly -launched products go to
die.
Comparably, a 32 -inch direct -view all of the possible 484 lines of vertical -
CRT display weighs in at about 180 scan resolution viewable in the 525- EVALUATION
a pounds and has a front -to -back girth line scanning NTSC format (the set Savvy readers will look at the test
around 23 inches. Meanwhile, the tale - has a resolution of 760,000 pixels). data and realize that Samsung's
48 of-the -tape- measure reads about the So, you rightly ask, what's the corn- PLH403W concedes nothing to CRT-
 based direct view or rear -projection
TABLE 1- PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS TVs in video performance-except in
The following test results were furnished by the Advanced Product Evaluation one key parameter: Maximum Usable
Laboratory (APEL), an independent testing facility located in Bethel, CT. Luminance, a.k.a'Brightness" Secondarily,
horizontal resolution (at 400 lines) isn't
BRAND Samsung up to what you'd expect from many
MODEL Tantus PLH403W Widescreen LCD Rear-Projection TV
direct -view sets, but the PLH403W's
PRICE $2499
480 -line progressive scanning makes
VIDEO SECTION up for this shortcoming by doubling the
Maximum Usable Luminance (in ft. /lamberts @ 36.5% white window): vertical resolution of interlaced sources
On Axis (HorizontalNertical) such as broadcasts, videocassettes,
55.3 ft/L. (Standard Mode) and even DVD and satellite TV.
58.5 ft/L. (Maximum Brightness/Contrast) The lower brightness is to be
Off Axis (Horizontal -only, Standard Mode) expected from an LCD projection unit,
18.6 ft./L. (45 degrees)
given its dependence on an outboard
05.0 ft. /L. (60 degrees)
400 lines
fluorescent or halide -bulb backlight,
Horizontal Resolution
5.0 MHz compared with the light -gun that's inte-
Frequency Response
gral with CRTs.
Overscan (by Picture Mode):
For the same reason, Color Quality

Normal
Vertical
0%
Horizontal
0% as saturated) as with CRT monitors -
in the LCD rear projector is softer (not

Wide 0% 0% and Color Temperature is not user -

Panorama 0% 0% adjustable. It's 10,150 degrees Kelvin
12% 0%
Zoom -1 in standard mode, veering toward the
Zoom -2 24% 0%
"cool" or blue end of the spectrum, not
Convergence (Center and Corners) 100%
the "warm- looking" NTSC- standard
Geometric Distortion (Pincushion Type) 0.5%
6500 degrees K that purist videophiles
Transient Response Excellent
prefer. Even so, the PLH403W is less
Black Level Retention (10-step linearity pattern) 100%
Excellent blue and more "cinematic" than most
White Uniformity
Soft-good, but not vibrant LCD PC- monitors and some TVs.
Color Quality
Nonetheless, the PLH403W delivers
Color Temperature (degrees Kelvin, by Kelvin Temp. Mode): very well -balanced color-an attribute
Normal 10,150 deg. K of LCDs.
Wide 10,500 deg. K Bottom line: This is not a TV that
Others 10,400-10,700 deg. K. you'd want to watch with windows wide
Reception Quality (Antenna Input @ Fair (snowy, at fringe area
open in bright daylight. It's more suited
100 microvolt/Meter) 50 mi. from Xmitter)
to home -theater conditions, viewed in
subdued light.
AUDIO SECTION
But increasingly, even for sports
Audio Output:
20 Hz-20 kHz fans, "subdued lighting" is how most
Frequency Response
Signal -to -Noise Ratio ( "A" weighted) 77.9 dB TV is viewed these days.
Total Harmonic Distortion (1 kHz CO 10 dB) 0.38% The Super Bowl, most post- season
baseball games, and all pro- or colle-
TV Stereo Section: giate basketball matches are broad-
Frequency Response ( -20 dB re 100% channel modulation) 38 Hz -14 kHz cast after dark, when you don't have to
Channel Separation (@ 1 kHz, 20
dB re 100% channel modulation) 26 dB
worry about glare from unshuttered
Signal -to -Noise Ratio (100% modulation @ 1000 mV, "A" weighted) 57.0 dB
windows (at least in the Eastern time -
Total Harmonic Distortion (1 kHz @ 20
dB) 0.49%
zone, and it's near -dark on the West
Coast). As for the kids viewing TV in
S.A.P. Mode:
Frequency Response (re 100% channel modulation) 20 Hz-8 kHz daytime hours, most of what they
Signal -to-Noise Ratio (100% modulation @ 1000 mV, "A" weighted) 78.1 dB watch is heavily saturated animation
Total Harmonic Distortion (1 kHz @ 20
dB) 0.50% and shouldn't suffer from the relatively
low luminance of the PLH403W. In any
Monaural Mode: event, most parents probably trim the
Frequency Response (re 100% channel modulation) 28 Hz -3 kHz
blinds anyway to avoid washout on
Signal -to -Noise Ratio (100% modulation @ 1000 mV, "A" weighted) 56.2 dB
any TV.
Total Harmonic Distortion (1 kHz @ 20
dB) 0.52%

WONDERFUL INNOVATION
ADDITIONAL DATA
40 in. (diagonal) Absolute positives for Samsung's
Picture Size (16:9 aspect ratio)
Power Requirements 175 watts innovation:
Dimensions (HWD, inches) 29 x 39.5 x 13.75 The TV has a 3D digital comb filter
Weight 65 lbs. and two -tuner PIP (picture in picture). 49

www.americanradiohistory.com
 designed to bring to life, the set can once -a combination that has a the CMOS setup or the operating
handle four display modes, from stan- tendency to produce oscillation system.
dard 4:3 ratio through Cinemascope. due to feedback. If you are building a new house,
The screen's even scratch -resistant to Ifthe amplifiers are not the prob- use metal conduit for all wiring if
ensure viewers can still enjoy multiple lem, check the bar -graph display you can. Some codes require it in
video sources for years to come. circuitry for wiring or assembly new construction. Also use metal
We like the convenient side -and errors. If no indication occurs and rather than plastic boxes. Steel
rear -component and S -Video inputs. the bar graph is known to be work- affords some magnetic shielding as
The latter are the most important con- ing then check IC and associated
1 well as complete E -field protection.
nectors, of course, as DVD and other components. Install an underground service
high -quality video sources deliver sig- Mount the board in a suitable entrance. While no protection
nals of higher quality than RCA -type plastic enclosure and connect the against magnetic fields, it gets rid of
composite video. pickup coils and battery pack to E fields and an unsightly wire. Make
Keeping up on the audio side, the board as illustrated in Fig. 3. Hot sure all wiring carrying heavy cur-
there's a 13- watt- per -channel amplifi- glue can be used to be used to rents is kept as far as possible from
er. As Table 1 shows, sound quality hold the pickup coils and wiring in areas that are occupied for long
was better than average. In fact, this place. If no external coil is to be periods, such as bedrooms. If you
TV stands up well to any of the best used, J1 can be eliminated. The are buying a home, avoid proper-
direct -view types we've tested. For pri- meter can also be assembled, if ties in close proximity to high -volt-
vate listening, there's even a head- you prefer, with only one pickup age power lines and power
phone output (although it's placed on coil. But be aware that if the meter substations.
the rear panel). is configured in that manner, it must With the exception of the last
If you've longed for a big- and wide- be properly oriented to pick up the paragraph, those measures are just
screened display and have the bucks field being measured. prudent energy- saving measures
but not the real estate, Samsung's Remember that the EMF Meter is requiring only a little effort. The use
PLH403W could fit your available essentially a highly sensitive AC volt- of incandescent lighting is admit-
space and, possibly, your budget. meter that only measures the voltage tedly a step backwards in energy
For more information on the induced in the pickup coil (H Field) or conservation, but it eliminates possi-
Samsung Tantus PLH403W Wide - on a voltage probe (E field). You can bly hazardous EMFs from ballasts.
screen LCD Rear -Projection TV, con- also assemble custom coils or probes Ignoring health hazards to save
tact Samsung Electronics America, designed to suit your specific needs. energy is not a wise move.
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, In any event, keep in mind that the In conclusion, it would be wise to
NJ 07660; Tel. 201 -229 -4000; Web: high gain of the circuit requires that minimize exposure to electric and
www.sosimple.com; or circle 50 on the the circuit be properly shielded and magnetic fields by taking some sim-
Free Information Card. grounded. ple measures to reduce their levels
in the home if possible. Unfortunately,
EM POLLUTION it'll probably take some form of leg-
EMF METER (continued from page 47) islation to institute controls over the
(continued from page 37) other field sources such as power
at low temperatures (<10C), and lines and industrial equipment. And
are rather inefficient for outdoor to accomplish that will likely require
may contain harmonics, so a good applications in colder climates. valid data gleaned from years of
audio generator is the best way to Incandescent lamps, which can last scientific research.
go. Make sure that the only signal for 1000 hours and are 20 cents or A bibliography of articles for fur-
that reaches the meter comes less (US), can be purchased at bar- ther reading is supplied in the
from your source and not from stray gain prices from many discount boxed copy entitled "Bibliography
pickup. stores. That in and of itself diminishes of EMF Books and Articles," which
If the LED display seems to "stick" the appeal of a $15 compact fluo- appears elsewhere in this article.
to the right, especially when S4 is rescent that may last 5000 hours at
set to the position, try operating
E best, especially considering the
the meter from a battery supply EMFs and RFI they produce.
and physically moving it to a loca- Replace electric motor-driven
tion away from noise sources. If that clocks with battery- powered units.
helps, then the meter was simply They are just as accurate, do not
picking up noise. That effect is most need resetting after a power inter-
troublesome when S4 is in the field
E ruption, and they generate negligi-
position. On the other hand, if that ble EMF. Place monitors and TV
doesn't help, adjust R14, or move screens at least 2 -3 feet from view-
the -field pickup wire closer to Sl,
E ing positions. Use a larger monitor if
S2, and S3 and /or shorten it a little. needed. Most of the newer monitors
The amplifiers provide high gain have improved shielding against
50 and present a high -input imped- EMFs. Enable the "green" feature via
 Supplement to Popular Electronics
Fspu1ar Electronics DECEMBER 1999

or et litter
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 OSCILLOSCOPE
A device programming system
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Overall dimensions: 8-1/2" W x 12' L x 3 -1/2" D includes removable steel mesh grills, built -in mounting demands higher
Hole size: 7 -1/4" x 10-3/4" Fits into standard 2' x bracket, hardware, and installation instructions. performance than usual of a standard iron, but with-
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#300 -036 $89.9011 -3 Pas) $79.50(4 PRS.uPI 30 watts RMS/45 watts max. *Sensitivity: 89 dB iron. UL approved. Net weight: 1 -3/4 lbs. Replace-
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Lighted component keys which In addition to functions found

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 AMAZ /NCB SC /ENGE
Speech Recognition, Part I
JOHN !OVINE

This column begins a two -part trol external devices with a minimum of LEARNING TO LISTEN,
exploration of speech recogni- external hardware. THEN TO HEAR
tion. We'll build a speech- recognition Before we go further into the fea- We take our abilities to hear for
circuit this month. Next month, we will tures of the speech- recognition circuit, granted. We realize how much so as
interface the circuit to the outside let's take a quick overview of speech - soon as we try to implement hearing in
world to create speech -controlled recognition terms that will help in our artificial systems. For instance, we can
devices. understanding. listen to one person speaking among
The speech- recognition circuit fea- several ongoing conversations. We
tured is user-programmable, in the SPEAKER - can tune into that one person's speech
sense that you choose and program DEPENDENT/SPEAKER- and tune the others out. Speech -
the words (or vocal utterances) for the INDEPENDENT recognition systems, on the other
circuit to recognize. The circuit allows Speech recognition is classified into hand, have not evolved to the point
you to experiment with many facets of two processing categories- speaker where they are capable of separating
speech- recognition technology. In dependent and speaker independent. and filtering out what should be con-
addition, the circuit may be embedded Speaker- dependent speech- recogni- sidered extraneous noise.
into existing products to create tion systems are trained by the person Speech recognition is not speech
speech -controlled devices. who'll be using the system. Such sys- understanding. Because a computer
There are a few key points that sep- tems achieve a high command count can respond to a vocal command does
arate this speech- recognition circuit and better than 95% accuracy for word not mean it understands it. Future
from other products on the market that recognition. The drawback to this voice -recognition system may be
may at first appear similar. Primarily, approach is that the system responds endowed with the ability to distinguish
this circuit is always listening. accurately only to its individual trainer. nuances and meaning of words, to "Do
Whenever it hears a word that it rec- However, the advantage is that the cir- what mean, not what say!"
I I

ognizes, it activates the appropriate cuit can be trained to recognize any

output code. Many other speech - language. In some cases, language RECOGNITION STYLE
recognition products require the user itself isn't a necessity -a series of Speech- recognition systems deal
to first press a button to have the cir- grunts and whistles (as long as they with another factor in the style of
cuit recognize a word. Pressing a but- are accurately repeatable) can be speech they can recognize. There are
ton to activate speech recognition is used in place of words. That's helpful three distinct styles of speech recogni-
counter -intuitive to the whole idea of to people who through accident or ill- tion: isolated, connected, and continu-
speech recognition. ness have lost the ability to speak. ous. Isolated speech -recognition schemes
For instance, suppose you built a On the other hand, speaker-inde- can only handle words that are spoken
voice-activated VCR using that type of pendent systems attempt to recognize separately. That's the most common
speech- recognition circuit. Imagine words regardless of the speaker. To form of speech recognition available
needing to press a button before issu- do so, the system must respond accu- today. In such schemes, the user must
ing each verbal command; why not just rately to a large variety of speech pat- pause between each word spoken
press the command button, such as tems, inflections, and to the enunciation (much like the vocal computer in the
PLAY, STOP, REWIND, etc. -to begin with. of every command word. Because of movie "War Games "). Ideally the word
That type of "push- the -button -first" the extra processing power and mem- will be "isolated" by a moment of
speech recognition may be useful for ory requirements, the recognition word silence before and after it is spoken.
voice security and identification, but count is lower than that available Connected -speech recognition is
not for speech- activated products. from speaker- dependent systems. halfway between isolated -word and
The circuit that we'll build can rec- Industrial applications more often continuous -speech recognition. Conn-
ognize, in stand -alone mode, up to require speaker- independent voice - ected- speech allows the user to speak
forty words or phases lasting up to 1 recognition systems, such as the sys- multiple words. The speech- recogni-
second each. When a word is recog- tems used by AT &T and other tion circuit that we'll discuss can be
nized, the circuit outputs a BCD (bina- telephone companies. modified to recognize verbalizations of
ry-coded decimal) number corresponding Our speech- recognition circuit is up to 2 seconds long. However, that
to the word. The output lines associat- speaker -dependent. That's the approach limits the number of word the circuit
ed with the BCD number are brought used in speech- recognition software can recognize to twenty.
74 high. That signal can be used to con- for personal computers. Continuous speech is the natural,
 14 12
14 12

KEYPAD DISP2
DISP1
MAN74 MAN74
1 2 3

+ 5V +5V
4 5 6

7 8 9

XTAL1 4

0 TRN 3.57 MHz

CLR
--10E- C3

_. 36 IC3 IC5 100 T

37
\ 7448 7448 6
2
2
38 1

40 7

39
N
41

42
48

31 2 19

23 16
30
5
29 21

IC2 28 24
HM2007 27 25 IC4
24 3 74LS373 HEADER
6
23 4
9
22 5 IC6
12
8K x8
21 6 SRAM 15
R1
20 7
26 100K
11
19 8 AAA.

18 9 Cl
.0047
17 10 IC1
27 7805
35 28
N 3V
34 22 D1
1N4001 BACKUP
16 20
N o +5V
D2 VaN o SOURCE
1N4001

Fig. 1. The speech -recognition circuit is comprised of six integrated circuits, a pair
of 7- segment
display modules, a homemade 12 -key keypad, and several support components.

conversational speech we are used to ed virtual reality. Speech recognition is and word length with a 20 word vocab-
in everyday life. It is extremely difficult gaining popularity as chips and system ulary will be discussed next month.
for a recognition system to sift through prices decrease. At its most basic Some features of our circuit are a
speech, since the words tend to merge level, speech control allows the user to self- contained, stand -alone, speech -
together. For instance, "Hi, how are perform parallel tasks, (i.e., hands and recognition circuit, user-programmable
you doing ?" sounds like "Hi,how -r -u- eyes are busy elsewhere) while work- words, and a 40 -word vocabulary
doing?" Continuous- speech -recogni- ing with the tool, toy, or appliance. (again each 0.96 second in length). It
tion systems are on the market and is multi -lingual, has a non -volatile
are under continual development. CIRCUIT CONSTRUCTION memory backup, and is easy to inter-
Regardless of the recognition style, The heart of our circuit is the face to some device, allowing it to con-
there are several major areas for appli- HM2007 single-chip speech- recogni- trol external circuits and appliances.
cation of voice -recognition technolo- tion system. That IC can recognize 40 A schematic diagram of the speech-
gy- speech -controlled appliances, words, each word with a maximum recognition circuit is shown in Fig. 1.
games, and toys; speech- assisted length of .96 seconds. An optional fea- The components for the system can be
computer games; and speech -assist- ture that allows you to switch to 2 -sec- purchased separately or in a kit with all 75

www.americanradiohistory.com
 ing the "1" key and then the "TRN" key. PARTS LIST FOR THE
You can continue training new SPEECH-RECOGNITION
words into the circuit in the same man- SYSTEM
ner, incrementing the word number as
you continue. Press "2" then "TRN" to SEMICONDUCTORS
train the second word, and so on. The IC1 -7805 5 -volt, 1 -amp, fixed -volt-
circuit will accept and recognize up to age regulator, integrated circuit
forty words (numbers 1-40). IC2- HM2007 speech-recognition
system, integrated circuit
It is not necessary to use all forty
IC3, IC5 -7448 BCD-to- seven -seg-
word spaces. If you only require five or
ment decoder /driver, integrated
ten target words, then that's all the circuit
training the circuit needs. It is also not IC4- 74LS373 octal TRI -state trans-
necessary to train words in any parent D -type latch, integrated
sequence. You can train four words circuit
PIN 6 PIN 5 PIN 4 with the numbers 7, 2, 13, and 29, for IC6-8K x 8 (80ns) static RAM,
instance, without any problem. integrated circuit
Fig. 2. The keypad for the speech -recognition D1, D2- 1N4001 1 -amp, 50 -Ply,
system was fabricated from 12 individual nor- rectifier diode
mally -open, pushbutton switches laid out in a TESTING
DISP1, DISP2 -MAN74 seven-
matrix configuration, as shown here, and con- Speak a trained word into the
segment LED display
nected to the speech -recognition circuit microphone. The corresponding num- LED1- Light -emitting diode
through 3- to 4 -inch lengths of insulated wire. ber of the word will be shown on the
display. For instance, if the word RESISTORS
"directory" was trained as word num- (All resistor are Ys-watt, 5% units,
the components and a printed- circuit ber 25, saying the word "directory" into unless otherwise noted.)
board for $100 from the supplier listed the microphone will cause the number R1- 100,000-ohm, 1/8 -watt, 5%
in the Parts List. If you're not a kit per- 25 to be shown on the display. R2-6800 -ohm
son (preferring to purchase the com- The speech- recognition chip also R3-22,000-ohm
ponents separately), there is nothing provides the following error codes: If R4, R5-220-ohm x 7 DIP resistor
critical about putting the system the display shows "55," it means that
CAPACITORS
together -the circuit can be assem- word is too long; 66 means the word is
bled on a solderless breadboard, perf-
C1-0.0047 -F, ceramic-disc
too short; and 77 means the word has C2-0.1 -1F, ceramic -disc
board, or on protoboard. no match stored in memory C3- 100 -1..LF, 16 -WVDC, electrolytic
The keypad for the system is com- To erase a word, press the word
prised of 12 individual momentary- number and then press "CLR ". To ADDITIONAL PARTS AND MATERIALS
contact pushbutton switches wired in a erase all the words at once, press "99" XTAL1- 3.57 -MHz crystal
matrix configuration, as shown in Fig. then "CLR." The numbers will quickly Keypad -12 PC- mounted momen-
2. Once the keypad has been assem- scroll by on the display as the memory tary contact switches
bled, connect three- to four-inch is erased. Retraining and changing
MIC1- Microphone
lengths of wires between the keypad Printed-circuit or perfboard materials,
words is no more difficult that erasing
and the main speech- recognition header, battery and battery clip,
them. The circuit allows you to retrain wire, solder, hardware, etc.
board. and change individual words without Note: A kit of parts, containing all of
affecting the status of any other word the components listed above
USING THE SPEECH - held in memory. To retrain or change, (except D1 and D2), is available
RECOGNITION CIRCUIT press the word number, then press from Images Company (PO Box
The keypad and display are used to "TRN." Say the word into the micro- 140742, Staten Island, NY 10314;
program and test the speech- recogni- phone, and the word is changed (or Tel. 718-698 -8305) for $100. IC2
tion circuit. When power is applied to retrained). (HM2007 speech- recognition sys-
the circuit, the display comes up show- tem) only is available separately
for $25. The printed- circuit board
ing "00," and LED1 (READY) lights, as NON -VOLATILE MEMORY with keypad is available for $30.
the circuit awaits your command. At BACK-UP
that point, press button "1" on the key- Whether you build the circuit from
pad. That causes the display to scratch or assemble it from the kit With the back -up supply in place, the
change from "00" to "01" and LED1 to offered in the Parts List, provisions word patterns in IC6 (the static RAM) are
turn off. Next, press the "TRN" button have been made in the circuit for a retained when the circuit is turned off.
to enter training mode; LED1 turns back -up power for the memory. If you That alleviates having to retrain the circuit
back on. Speak the target word into are building the circuit from scratch, whenever it is turned off. The 3 -volt sup-
the microphone. If the word is accept- the memory back -up supply connects ply-a pair of "AA" batteries connected in
ed by the circuit, LED1 will flash off to the anodes of D1 and D2. If, on the series -makes the static RAM non-
momentarily. The word you just trained other hand, you're building it from kit, volatile. The current drain on the batteries
(entered) is now identified as the "01" the board has two solder holes where- is so low, that the lifetime of the batteries
word. If the LED did not flash, repeat by you can add the secondary 3 -volt will approach their shelf life.
76 the word louder or start over by press- power supply. (Continued on page 79)
 Roborics WoRks ho
Building a Line -Tracing Robot GORDON McCOMB

I is easy to make your robot navi-

gate through space. No, not the
"outer- space" kind of space, but the
space between two chairs in your liv-
ing room or the space between your
bedroom, the hall bathroom, and the
closet. Or the space outside your yard
by the pool.
Robots suddenly become useful
once they can master their surround-
ings, and endowing them with the abil-
ity to wend their way through their LEFT RIGHT
LED-PHOTOTRANSISTOR LED -PHOTOTRANSISTOR
surroundings is the first step towards
that mastery. The techniques used to WHITE OR REFLECTIVE
provide navigational abilities are var- STRIP ON GROUND
ied, and covering them all would or rollers are
require several large volumes. So, for Fig. I. The line - tracer robot uses two powered wheels for locomotion (two casters
front of the robot for balance). For line detection, emitter/detector pairs (IR LED and
this month's column, we'll examine just added to the
phototransistor) are located on the underside of the robot.
one fairly low -tech approach that will
get you started experimenting with
robotic self- navigation systems. Intro- The so- called line- tracing feature can detector pairs. In Fig. 1, the two emit-
ter/detector pairs are placed a little fur-
ducing the "Line- Tracing" robot -an be the robot's only means of semi -
intelligent action, or it can be just a part ther apart than the width of the tape. I

automaton that uses IR emitters and

of a more sophisticated machine. You used 1/4 -inch art tape in the prototype
detectors to navigate.
could, for example, use the tape to and placed the sensors ' inch from
help guide a robot back to its battery- one another. A cone of black electrical
CREATING THE LINE -
charger nest. For the purposes of this tape can be wrapped around each
TRACING ROBOT
In some industries, robots are used column, however, we'll look at just the LED /phototransistor pair to prevent
as a direct replacement for human basic line- tracing function and leave stray light from activating the photo -
workers. Most of those robots are the more automated features for transistor. Be sure that the tape does
another time. not fold back over either the LED or
secured to the ground and are able to
For best results, the floor used with the phototransistor, or else the line -
perform perfect single-function opera-
tions, such as spot -welding various a line- tracing robot should be hard- tracing function may be impaired.
points on car doors. The other robots, wood, concrete, or linoleum -not car- Figure 2 shows the emitter/detector
which aren't secured to the ground, peted. One or more emitter/detector pair incorporated into a comparator cir-
pairs -comprised of an IR LED and a cuit that forms the basis for the line -
are given "errand" type work, such as
phototransistor-are placed on the tracing system. Potentiometer R2 (a
delivering mail or sweeping or waxing
robot. In operation, the IR LED emits 10,000 -ohm unit) is used to set sensi-
the floor.
Mobile robots that work in factories radiation, which is then reflected back
or deliver mail in large buildings use to the robot by the tape. When infrared
tracks to keep them on course. (Think radiation emitted by the IR LED and
of it as guiding a dog on a leash.) The reflected by the tracking (art) tape is
track can be a groove in the floor, a detected by the phototransistor, it turns
strip of reflective tape stretched out on on. Obviously, the darker the floor the
the concrete, or a wire buried in the better, because against a dark back-
carpet. The reflective tape method is ground the white tape provides a bet-
preferred because the track can easily ter contrast.
be removed or the path altered without When building the line- tracing Fig. 2. The line- tracer robot uses an LM339
ripping up the floor. robot, the LEDs and phototransistors quad comparator as a form of digital on -off
You can easily incorporate a tape - must be mounted to the bottom of the switch, based on the amount of IR radiation from
the LED that strikes the photodetector. 77
track navigation system in your robot. robot, as shown in Fig. 1, in emitter/

www.americanradiohistory.com
 +5V
robot from simply backing up when it
R1 veers off course.
2702
Let's see how that works. Assume
that Q1 has detected no reflected IR
radiation, so the output of IC1 -a
Of +5V
remains low, and that IR radiation
14 detected by Q2 has caused the output
of IC1 -b to go high. The low output of
IC2 -a
+5V IC1 -a is fed to pin 5 of IC3 -a, while the
/4 7488
R4 R5 high output of IC1 -b is fed to pin 5 of
270f2 10K IC3-b. At the same time, a portion of
the two comparator output signals is

Ql R6
10K
fed to IC2 -a at pins 1 and 2. Recall that
an XOR gate produces a high output
only when one input is high and the
LED2
other is low; all other input combina-
tions produce a low output. With pin 2
of IC2-a high and its other input low
Fig. 3. Shown here is the heart of the robot's tracking- control system. Follow
this schematic dia- (no reflected signal detected), the out-
gram when assembling the line- tracing robot. The outputs of the 7403 (IC1 -a and IC1 -b) are rout-
put of IC2 -a goes high. That high sig-
ed to the relay configuration shown in Fig. 4.
nal divides along two paths, feeding a
high to pins 2 and 4 of IC3 -a and IC3 -
tivity of the transistor, thus determining comparator (IC1 -a, '/4 of an LM339) at b, respectively. Because the output of
the minimum reflected IR intensity to pin 4 is equal to or greater than the IC1 -a is low and the output of IC2 -a is
which the robot's navigation system threshold (or set point) voltage (as high, the output of IC3 -a remains high
responds. determined by the setting of R3) (recall that the output of a NAND gate
applied to pin 5 (the non -inverting goes low only when both inputs are
HOW IT WORKS input of IC1 -a). That causes the output high). At the same time, because both
The robot is placed so that the tape of IC1 -a to remain unchanged. And so, inputs to IC3-b are high, its output
track is centered between the robot's the robot continues on its merry way, goes low.
two emitter/detector pairs. When the making no course corrections. The outputs of the two halves of the
robot is set in motion, as long as no On the other hand, when the robot Fig. 3 circuit are fed to the motor con-
light is reflected off the tape, the tran- veers off- course, IR radiation from one trol relays shown in Fig. 4. Because
sistor remains in the cutoff state. or the other IR LED strikes the tape the input to RY1 in Fig. 4 is high, its
Under that condition, the voltage and is reflected back to its companion connected motor (MOT1) continues to
applied to the inverting input of the detector, causing the transistor to go rotate in the forward direction. But
into saturation (switch full on). If R3 since the input to RY2 is low, the relay
(the sensitivity control) has been toggles, causing MOT2 to reverse
adjusted properly, the voltage at the direction and seek a spot where
+5V.
pin 4 (inverting) input of IC1 -a drops reflected IR radiation is no longer
below the threshold (reference) volt- detected. Obviously, the line- tracer
age, causing its output to toggle high, robot is designed so that when both
triggering the motor relay. A double - phototransistors "see" the background,
FROM pole, double -throw (DPDT) relay is the wheels roll straight ahead. If the
DETECTOR 1
connected so that when actuated, the robot strays off to the left, the right
motor turns in the reverse direction. sensor sees the tape, so the right
The schematic diagrams shown in motor reverses to place the robot back
Figs. 3 and 4 constitute a complete on course.
line-tracing system, suitable for use Before using the robot, block the
with most any small two -wheeled phototransistors so that they don't
robot. Figure 3 is an expanded version receive any light. Adjust R3 and R6
of the circuit in Fig. 2, in which the pre- until their respective relays kick in,
vious circuit is duplicated twice. In that then back off again. You may have to
configuration, the outputs of the two experiment with the settings of R3 and
comparators (IC1 -a and IC1 -b) are fed R6 as you try out the system. De-
to separate NAND gates (IC3 -a and pending on the motors you use, and
FROM IC3-b, respectively). At the same time, the switching speed of the relays, you
DETECTOR 2 RY2 taps on the comparator outputs route a may find your robot waddling its way
portion of the two signals to a single down the track, over-correcting for its
Fig. 4. This simple switching arrangement XOR gate (IC2 -a). The job of IC2 -a is to errors every time. You can help mini-
allows two small relays to be used to control prevent both motors from reversing at mize that tendency by using faster act-
78 motor direction. the same time, thereby preventing the ing relays (which usually means

www.americanradiohistory.com
 +5v +5V the meantime, if you have any ques-
tions or comments pertaining to the
R1 R2 material presented here or the robotic
27052 10K 3 hobby in general, please feel free to
IC1-a send them to Robotics Workshop
1!4 LM339
Popular Electronics, 500 Bi- County
5 2
R3 +5V Blvd., Farmingdale, NY 11735.
Ef
12
10K

LEDI AMAZING SCIENCE

+5V +5V (continued from page 76)
1
R R5
# 27052
4 10K THINKING ABOUT
IC1-b
APPLICATIONS?
1/4 LM399
Next month, we will build an inter-
Or Q2
R6
10K
face to control devices with our
speech- recognition circuit. I'm sure
LED2 many people are already planning
their own speech -controlled applica-
tion. My advice is to consider applica-
tions carefully; there have been a few
Fig. 5. The electronics circuitry for the guidefence robot shown here differs only slightly from that
commercial blunders. For instance,
of the line -tracking unit illustrated in Fig. 3. Use this circuit configuration in conjunction with the
one company blundered by requiring a
motor-control relay arrangement shown in Fig. 4 when assembling the guidefence robot.
user to visually confirm an oral corn -
mand. They quickly found, as did the
smaller units). The so- called "over- strips are placed any distance apart. consumer, that mixing oral and visual
shoot" effect can be minimized by You could, for example, construct a information did not work reduced-it
carefully adjusting potentiometers R3 six- or seven -inch wide "roadway" for efficiency. Products that can recognize
and R6. Another approach to correct- your robot. When one of the lines is commands when given in an unstruc-
ing erratic behavior is to vary the gap struck, the robot counters by moving in tured format will better survive the
between the two sensors. By making the opposite direction. You can also market place.
the gap wide, the robot won't be turn- use this system to keep your robot Till next month.
ing back and forth as much to correct from entering a protected area.
for small errors. Take note: You'll hardly ever see a Great consumer information is a
shoe -in with our free Catalog.
You can also build a line- tracing railroad track that has a turn tighter Call toll -free 1 (888) 8- PUEBLO or
robot to detect a black line on a large than about eight degrees. There is go to www.pueblo.gsa.gov.
piece of white paper. Simply switch the good reason for that. If the turn is
two input connections to IC1 -a and made tighter, the train cars can't stay
a:fllz,f2;ITFL;
IC1 -b, and the system will work in on the track, and the whole thing
MULTIMEDIA
reverse. You can also cause the same derails. There is a similar limitation in
change by reversing the connections line-tracing robots. The lines cannot be on the PC!
on the relays. And, try reversing the tighter than about 10 to 15 degrees, What is Multimedia? What can
it do for you? It can do lots
connections to just one of the com- depending on the turning radius of the of nice things! This 184 -page
parators and placing the sensors so robot, or the thing can't act fast book helps you create your own
that one works normally when it sees enough when it crosses over the line. multimedia presentation. Mul-
The robot will skip the line and go off timedia applications by people like you can
the line, and the other works normally revolutionize educational and business applications as
when it doesn't see the line. When R3 course. well bring more FUN, FUN, FUN into your leisure
and R6 have been set up correctly, the If your robot has a brain, whether it computer activities.
be a computer or central microproces-
robot will turn in a circle when it loses
the line, but straighten out when the sor, you can use it instead of the direct rMail coupon to: 1
line is picked up again. That setup has connection to the relays for motor con- Electronics Technology Today, Inc.
the effect of picking up a lost line aftertrol. The output of the comparators, P.O. Box 240
when used with a +5 volt supply, is Massapequa Park, NY 11762 -0240
a few spins around the floor. With the
previous method, the robot just goes compatible with computer and micro- Please send me my copy of Multimedia on the PC
(PCP120). enclose a check or money order for $18.45 to
processor circuitry. The emitter/detec-
I

on its way after it loses the guide path. cover the book's cost and shipping- and -handling ex-
tor pairs require only two bits of an penses. NY state residents must add local sales tax.

STAYING BETWEEN THE eight -bit port. Name

LINES Sadly, that's about all the time and Address

The line- tracing robot is one space allotted to us for this month. Be City State ZIP
approach to optical navigation. Another sure to join us again next time around, All orders must be paid in U.S. funds only. Sorry, no
approach is the "guidefence" robot, when we'll discuss more robotic cir- orders accepted outside of USA and Canada. Please allow

using the slightly modified comparator cuitry and hardware. Until then, try out L6-8 weeks for delivery. ma02 ' 79
circuit shown in Fig. 5. Here, two white the circuits that we present so far. In
 CIRCUiT CIRCUS
A Potpourri of Designs CHARLES D. RAKES

Welcome back, Circuiteers, for

PARTS LIST FOR THE
another installment of the
ELECTRONIC TOUCH SWITCH
Circus. Get ready for a little circuit
(FIG. 1)
diversity this time around, as we stir up
the old electro -pot and see what floats SEMICONDUCTORS TOUCH
CONTACTS
to the surface. Q1-2N5089 high -gain NPN silicon
So often it seems that when we transistor (Digi -Key)
start to design a circuit to perform a Q2- 2N3906 general -purpose PNP
particular function, the end result silicon transistor
doesn't always live up to expectations. LED1- Light -emitting diode (any
In some cases, we miss the mark com- color)
pletely and have to start over, while, on Fig. 3. The basic touch- switch circuit outlined
rare occasions, we end up producing a RESISTORS in Fig. 1 can he easily bans %ormeel into a latch
circuit that really shines. What I'm try- (All resistors are 1/4-watt, 5% units.) and hold touch switch with the addition of only
ing to say is don't be too quick to abort R1- 1000-ohm three components -DI. R5, and SI.
a good circuit just because it isn't R2-3300 -ohm
exactly what you originally had in R3 -4700 -ohm PARTS LIST FOR THE LATCHING
mind. Such circuit designs should be R4- 10,000-ohm TOUCH SWITCH (FIG. 3)
filed away, for that discarded circuit R5- 22- megohm
may turn out to be ideally suited to SEMICONDUCTOR
some future project. That's pretty Q1-2N5089 high -gain NPN silicon
much what this month's column is all transistor
about -circuits that on the surface 02 Q2-2N3906 general -purpose NPN
seem to offer little to your present pro- Ql
2N3904 silicon transistor
2N3904 D1 -1N914 general -purpose, small -
ject, but may come in handy in the
future. signal, silicon switching diode
LED1- Light- emitting diode (any
Fig. 2. The input sensitivity of the Fig. 1 circuit color)
ELECTRONIC TOUCH can he greatly enhanced by substituting a
SWITCH Darlington pair, comprised of two general -pur-
RESISTORS
Our first offering this month is an pose 2N3904 transistors, for Ql.
(All resistors are 1/4 -watt, 5% units.)
Electronic Touch Switch that came
R1-1000-ohm
about in response to the request of a 2N5089 NPN unit,Q1 (which has an
friend who needed a simple bridging
R2- 3300 -ohm
hFE gain figure of 450 and is used as R3 -4700 -ohm
touch circuit that would produce a posi- the sensing device); and the very pop- R4, R5- 10,000 -ohm
tive-going output pulse that could be ular 2N3906 general -purpose transis-
used to turn on an LED. The outcome of
R6-22- megohm
tor, which has a gain figure of 100. The
that request -acircuit that performed as operation of the touch circuit is very ADDITIONAL PARTS AND MATERIALS
required -isshown in Fig. 1. simple. When power is applied to the S1- Normally closed switch
That simple circuit is built around a circuit but the touch contact remains
pair of transistors: one a high-gain unbridged, no bias current is applied to ing it to conduct and to produce a pos-
the base of Q1. That keeps Q1 at cut- itive pulse at its output.
off, forcing its collector voltage to rise The circuit's input sensitivity can be
to near the supply rail ( +9 volts). That greatly enhanced by connecting two
voltage is applied to the base of Q2, 2N3904 NPN transistors (see Fig. 2) in
TOUCH
causing it to remain in the cutoff state. a Darlington configuration and substi-
CONTACTS With Q2 at cutoff, the output of the cir- tuting them for Q1. The hFE gain for
cuit (at the collector of Q2) is low (near the Darlington pair is near 10,000.
zero potential). That would be a good modification to
However, when the touch contacts make to the circuit if the bridging resis-
are bridged, a bias current is fed tance source is extremely high.
through R2 to the base of Q1, causing The design process of the
Fig. 1. The Electronic Touch Switch is a simple it to turn on. That, in turn, pulls the Electronic Touch Switch also led to a
circuit built around a pair of transistors and a base terminal of Q2 to ground poten- pair of expanded touch circuits that fall
80 few support components. tial; thereby, forward biasing Q2, caus- into the orphan category.
LATCHING TOUCH terminal, releasing the latch. If both
SWITCH PARTS LIST FOR THE inputs are bridged at the same time,
Figure 3 shows the first derivative LATCH /UNLATCH TOUCH the output function is determined by
of the basic touch -switch circuit out- SWITCH (FIG. 4) whichever touch contacts are the last
lined in Fig. 1. By incorporating only to be released (unbridged). If the latch
three additional components -D1, R5, Q1, 03- 2N5089 NPN high gain input is last to be released, the circuit
and S1 -the Fig. 1 circuit becomes a transistor remains latched on; and if the unlatch
latch- and -hold touch switch. The oper- Q2- 2N3906 general -purpose PNP input is the last to be unbridged, the
ation of this circuit is essentially the silicon transistor circuit's output unlatches.
same as the Fig. 1 circuit, except for D1 -1N914 general -purpose small -
the extra function provided by the signal silicon switching diode FULL-WAVE
three additional components. As LED1- Light-emitting diode (any DUAL -POLARITY
before, when the touch contacts are color) POWER SUPPLY
bridged, Q1 turns on, pulling the base Our next candidate, a quick and
of Q2 to ground potential. That causes RESISTORS cheap Dual- Polarity Power Supply, is
Q2 to turn on, producing a positive out- (All resistors are 11, -watt, 5% units.) shown in Fig. 5. That circuit, com-
put voltage at its collector. R1-1000-ohm prised of a switch, a fuse, a trans-
That voltage is fed through S1, R5, R2, R3-3300 -ohm former, a couple of capacitors, and
and D1 to the base of Q1, latching it in R4-4700-ohm four diodes that form a full -wave bridge
the saturated (fully on) condition. Once R5, R6- 10,000 -ohm rectifier, can be built for a few bucks. It
the circuit is in the hold or latched con- R7, R8-22-megohm does an excellent job of powering
dition, the touch input has no effect on most op-amp circuits that do not
the circuit's operation or output condi- in Fig_ 4. Components Q3, R3, and R8 require a regulated source. Just about
tion. The circuit remains latched until make up the unlatching circuitry for the any 12 -volt transformer with a center
S1 is opened or power is completely present incarnation of the touch tap will work.
switch. To ensure a clean, relatively rip-
removed from the circuit.
The latching circuit could be used in Once the circuit is latched on, bridg- ple-free output voltage, the filter
a manufacturing process to set a pro- ing the unlatch contacts turns Q3 on, capacitors (C1 and C2) should be
duction line in motion and maintain pulling its collector to ground potential. 5000 -F or larger electrolytic units.
operation until a reset signal is given. That removes the bias from Q1's base If you have difficulty finding 5000-1.LF
There are probably dozens of applica-
tions to which such a circuit might be -oy S1
Cl
IN
D1
F1
well suited. But, since it is classified as 117V CT
5000 1N4002
O +9V
an orphan circuit, I'll let you decide its AC r
fate.
T1'
N
D2
LATCH/UNLATCH TOUCH 12.6V 1A 1N4002
SWITCH N
04 D3 0 9V
Incorporating three additional com- 'SEE TEXT 1N4002 1N4002
ponents into the latching touch switch N C2
in Fig. 3 transforms that circuit into the 5000 +
Latch /Unlatch Touch Switch illustrated

Fig. 5. There is nothing unconventional about this Dual- Polarity Power Supply, which is comprised
of a switch, a fuse, a transformer, a couple of capacitors, and four diodes that form a full-wave
bridge rectifier

units, several 1000 -F or greater

PARTS LIST FOR THE capacitors can be connected in par-
FULL -WAVE DUAL -POLARITY allel to produce the equivalent
POWER SUPPLY (FIG. 5) capacitance. For example, if three
1500 -F and one 500 -F capacitors
Dl D4- 1N4002 or similar 1 -amp, (or any other combination that adds
100 -PIV, silicon rectifier diode up to 5000 F) are connected in par-
C1, C2- 5000 -1,F, 15 -WVDC elec- allel, they form a 5000 -p.F equiva-
trolytic capacitor lent unit.
T1- 12.6 -volt CT, 1 -amp, step -down, Because the current requirement in
power transformer (see text) most op-amp applications is usually
Fig. 4. This latch/unlatch touch switch is anoth- S1- Single -pole, single-throw, tog- very low, just about any 1 -amp silicon
er derivative of the Fig. I touch switch. In this diode with a peak-inverse (or reverse)
gle switch
case, the addition of three additional compo-
F1 -114-amp fuse voltage (PIV or PRV) rating of 50 volts
nents-Q3, R3, and R8-gives the circuit 81
unlatching function. or more will do.

www.americanradiohistory.com
 T1 R1 IR LATCHING CIRCUIT
6.3V -
1052 4752
An IR interrupter module is the
1A +9V
S1 F1 D1 heart of the unlatching circuit shown in
117V
AC
.25A 1N4002 Cl ' Tc Fig. 7. This type of IR module is
D2 _ R2 designed to detect the presence of an
1 N4002 1052 - 4752 opaque vane or object that comes
'SEE TEXT 9V
between its IR emitter and photodetec-
tor. The module produces an output
when the IR beam is interrupted.
When power is first applied to the cir-
Fig. 6. The Half-Wave Dual-Polarity Power Supply-which is really two half wave circuits, one cuit in Fig. 7, no current flows any-
negative output and the other positive-has a considerably higher ripple content than the full-wave
where in the circuitry. The cathode end
circuit shown in Fig. 5.
of the module's IR emitter diode is con-
nected to the collector of Q1, which is
turned off. The module's photodetector
PARTS LIST FOR THE PARTS LIST FOR THE IR is not picking up any IR light so it
HALF -WAVE DUAL -POLARITY LATCHING CIRCUIT (FIG. 7) remains off as well. Momentarily clos-
POWER SUPPLY (FIG. 6) ing S1 allows current to flow through
SEMICONDUCTORS the module's IR emitter diode, which
D1, D2- 1N4002
-amp, 100 -PIV
1 IC1- H21A1QT -ND (Digi -Key) or sends a strong IR signal to the pho-
general- purpose silicon rectifier similar IR interrupter module todetector. The photodetector closes
diode Q1- 2N3904 general -purpose NPN like a switch turning on Q1, latching
C1 C4 -1000 to 5000 -F, 15- silicon transistor the circuit in the on state.
WVDC electrolytic capacitor LED1- Light- emitting diode (any As long as the power continues to
T1-6.3 -volt, 1 -amp, step -down, color) flow through ICI's emitter diode, the IR
power transformer (see text) light source between the IR emitter
S1- Single -pole, single -throw toggle ADDITIONAL PARTS AND MATERIALS and detector remain unbroken, caus-
switch R1- 1000 -ohm, t/. -watt, 5% resistor ing the circuit to remain in the latched
F1 -'/4 -amp fuse R2, R3- 10,000 -ohm, '14 -watt, 5% state. Interrupting the IR source turns
resistor the photodetector and Q1 off, allowing
S1- Normally open pushbutton the circuit to unlatch.
HALF -WAVE switch
DUAL -POLARITY
POWER SUPPLY An Introduction
previous circuit, is actually comprised
If you are building the circuit from of two half-wave circuits; one providing
to Light in Electronics
junkbox parts and the only thing avail- a negative output and the other provid- Taken for granted by
able is a 6 -volt transformer, you might ing a positive output voltage. Because An Introduction to us all perhaps, yet this
consider building the dual -polarity Light in book could not be read
the output of that type of circuit has a Electronics without it, light plays
power supply shown in Fig. 6. This considerably higher ripple content, it such an impressive role
dual -polarity power supply, unlike the requires additional filtering. in daily life that we may

The values of R1 and R2 are deter- be tempted to consider

just how much we
mined by the power supply's load cur- understand it. This book
rent. A 47 -ohm, '/4 -watt resistor can be makes a good start into
used for load currents of 0.025 amps this fascinating and
enlightening subject. It
or less; for currents of no greater than
has been written with
0.1 amp, a 10 -ohm, 1/4 -watt resistor will the general electronics
do. The circuit is not suited to applica- enthusiast in mind.
tions requiring currents much higher To order Book #BP359 send $6.99 plus $3.00 for
than 0.1 amp because the ripple factor shipping in the U.S. and Canada only to Electronics Technology
Today Inc., P.O. Box 240. Massapequa Park, NY 11762 -0240.
increases rapidly as the current Payment in U.S. funds by U.S. bank check or International
demand goes up. Money Order. Please allow 6 -8 weeks for delivery.
ET08
Both circuits can be converted to
dual regulated 5 -volt supplies by
adding a 7805 regulator at the positive Get your copy of the
output and a 7905 regulator at the CRYSTAL SET HANDBOOK
Go back to antiquity and build the
negative output. A 0.1 -p.F, 50 -WVDC radios that your grandfather built.

Fig. 7. At the heart of this unlatching circuit is capacitor should be included across Build the "Quaker Oats' type rig.
wind coils that work and make it
an IR interrupter module, a device whose the outputs of both the IC regulators. look like the 1920's! Only $10.95
Our next circuit is an orphan simply plus $4.00 for shipping and han-
design is similar to that of conventional
dling. Claggk Inc., P.O. Box 4099,
optoisolator/couplers. The module produces because it was assembled just for the Farmingdale, NY 11735. USA
an output when the IR beam linking its two fun of it and not to serve in some spe- Funds ONLY! USA and Canada- -
ri Ili If N no foreign orders. Allow 6-8 weeks
82 active internal components is interrupted. cific application. for delivery. MA01
 COMM LINI(5
JOSEPH J. CARR
Some EMI/TVI Fixes
Everywhere you look today, elec-
tromagnetic interference (EMI)
is proliferating for one simple reason:
electromagnetic devices and products
sensitive to electromagnetic interfer-
ence are proliferating. Let's look at ANTENNA
SHORT
CIRCUIT
some fixes for this problem. RADIATOR
The EMI emissions that play havoc ELEMENT

with communications can originate

from a variety of sources. There are
both natural and man -made sources of
noise, so much so that one might won-
der how cell phones, two -way radios,
broadcast receivers, or ham radios
work at all! One clinical engineer in a
hospital told me that solving EMI prob-
lems is a major portion of his work.
The hospital uses a wide range of
electronic devices, many of which OPEN
TO
cause or are susceptible to noise. CIRCUIT TRANSMITTER
If you enter a hospital building,
you'll see signs demanding that you
not simply refrain from using your ana-
log or PCS cellular telephone, but turn
it off completely! The reason is the
phone might interfere with radio GROUND OR GROUND
PLANE SYSTEM
telemetry (which is used in coronary
care units (CCUs)) and wireless local Fig. I. Here is a method of harmonic suppression that :s based on the properties of a quarter
-wave-
area networks (W -LAN) used all over length stub. This method, widely used for VHF/UHF transmitters, is well suited to suppressing third -
the hospital. I witnessed a security harmonic radiation and can be implemented with only a little bit of coaxial transmission line.
guard confiscating a cellular telephone
from one guy who refused to heed the sponding agencies in other countries) shortwave bands place a low -pass fil-
admonition of an emergency room requires that harmonics and other spu- ter (LPF) between the antenna output
rious emissions be suppressed by a of the transmitter and the antenna.
nurse to turn off his phone.
specified amount. Depending on the Those filters have a -3 dB cut -off fre-
HARMONIC ELIMINATION service the transmitter is licensed for, quency between 30 and 40 MHz, and
There is no such thing as a perfect- the second and higher harmonics must so provide a huge amount of loss at
linear amplifier (although some be suppressed -40 dBc (decibels 54 -60 MHz (Channel 2) and higher.
ly
types work better than others). Nor is below carrier), -50 dBc, or -60 dBc. The idea is to permit operation at fre-
there any such thing as a perfectly In some instances, a higher standard quencies as high as the 10 -meter
pure oscillator. In all such circuits, the may be required, especially at band without putting out too much
repeater sites where multiple high - energy in the lowest VHF television
supposedly pure sinewave actually
contains at least some distortion. The powered transmitters and sensitive channel.
receivers share the space. A suppres- The problem for other users is a bit
result is that harmonics are generated
at frequencies that are integer multi- sion specification that protects receivers different. If the transmitter and receiver
ples of the fundamental frequency. For 500 feet away may be totally insuffi- operate in the VHF /UHF bands
cient when the receiver shares an (including both commercial and ama-
example, if f is the frequency, the har-
monics are 2f, 3f, 4f, 5f, and so forth. antenna mast with the transmitter, and teur radio), then the problem is that a
Of those, the most common offenders the pair are located a few feet apart. simple LPF or high -pass filter (HPF)
The classic method for eliminating may not adequately protect the other
are the second and third harmonics
because they are the largest. harmonics is to place a filter at the out- users. That's because the other sys-
The Federal Communications put of the transmitter. Ham -radio oper- tems may be above or below your
Commission in the US (and corre- ators using the high- frequency (HF) operating frequency. It would be easy 83
 SHORT
CIRCUIT

AS SHORT AS
POSSIBLE

4.1
OPEN
CIRCUIT
o
TO
ANTENNA

GROUND OR GROUND
PLANE SYSTEM

Fig. 2. Suppression methods used to prevent transmitters from spewing interference

are also effec-
tive in combating its reception. Here is how the stubs are placed for this purpose.

if all other users were either above or harmonic, and so (because it is in series velocity factors. For example, trans-
below, but that's not usually the case. with the transmission line) suppresses mission lines with polyethylene as the
One solution is to place a relatively the harmonic. dielectric have a velocity factor of 0.66;
narrow, bandpass filter (BPF) at the The second quarter -wavelength polyfoam- dialectic cables have a
output of the transmitter. Such filters stub is the open- circuited stub con- velocity factor of 0.80, and Teflon
severely attenuate frequencies above nected between the antenna feed dielectrics have a 0.70 velocity factor.
and below certain cut -off limits, pass- point and ground (or the ground plane For the physical quarter wave-
ing only those signal frequencies right in the case of some antenna designs). length, we would find length by:
around the transmitter's carrier. Whichever is the case, it is across the '-INCHES
= 2952 /fMHZ. But with the velocity fac-
feed point of the antenna. The open - tor considered the proper expression
TUNED -STUB SOLUTION circuited stub presents a low imped- is:
Figure 1 shows a method of har- ance to the resonant frequency, so it
monic suppression that is widely used provides additional suppression of the
for VHF/UHF transmitters that can be LINCHES = 2952V/fMHZ (1)
offending harmonic.
implemented with only a little bit of
coaxial cable transmission line. That
The combined effect of the two har-
monic suppression stubs is that they
where L,s is the length of the stub in
inches, fMHZ is the frequency in mega-
approach, which is based on the prop- act like a voltage divider with a hertz, and V is the velocity factor of the
erties of a quarter -wavelength stub, is high /low ratio at the resonant frequen- transmission line. For example, suppose
well suited to suppressing third -har- cy of the stubs, and a low/high ratio at a transmitter is operating at 146.91 MHz
monic radiation, and is used in appli- other frequencies. As a result, the third and must not interfere with a receiver
cations where one particular harmonic harmonic is seriously suppressed. operating near its third harmonic of
is the problem.
146.91 MHz x 3 = 440.73 MHz. Find the
In this approach, two quarter -wave- STUB PHYSICAL SIZE physical length of a quarter wavelength
length stubs are connected at the base The quarter -wavelength stub is not stub at the third harmonic frequency if
of the antenna. Both stubs are tuned to a physical quarter -wavelength long polyfoam coaxial cable is used.
the third -harmonic of the transmitter fre- because of the velocity factor (V) of
quency (or whichever harmonic is caus- the transmission line. The velocity fac-
ing offense). A shorted stub is placed in LINCHES = 2952V/fMHz
tor is the percent (expressed as a dec-
series with the transmission line going to imal) of the speed of light at which the
the transmitter. That shorted line pre - LINCHES = (2952)(0.80)/440.73MHz =
signal propagates in the line. Different 2361.6/440.73MHz = 5.36 inches
84 Bents a high impedance to the offending types of coaxial cable offer different (Continued on page 86)
 SCANNER SCENE
A Miscellany of "Point "ers
MARC SAXON

Uniden's new BC248CLT desk-

top scanner takes a novel
approach. This unit combines a 10 -band,
50- channel scanner (with the channels
arranged in five memory banks) with
an alarm clock, emergency weather
alert, and an AM/FM radio that allows
for 20 presets. Here's a scanner
designed for both general household
news and entertainment purposes, for
staying ahead of weather emergen-
cies, and for scanning a number of
area two -way communications.
Among the features are police,
fire /EMS, aeronautic, maritime, and
weather -service search capabilities.
The BC248CLT also has channel lock-
outs and delays. It can scan the mem-
ory channels in ascending or descending
The Uniden BC248LCT takes a novel approach to scanning, by combining a 50-
channel scanner
order. Those channels may also be
stepped through manually. with an alarm clock, an emergency weather alert. and an AM /FM radio.
At the time this was written, no
price information or additional specs those for specific cities, states, and they've gone a long way towards virtu-
provinces; for trunking buffs; for those ally replacing the old 160 -MHz VHF
were available. You can see the new
seeking technical reviews of equip- marine operators. The 160 -MHz
BC248CLT at any Uniden dealer.
ment: and so on. Another excellent list marine operator service usually offers
MAILING LIST UPDATE host can be found at URL: only one active channel per area, limit-
www.qth.net, which offers scanner lists. ing the number of calls that can be
A few months ago we mentioned
online scanner -related mailing lists, Those interested in a list providing handled at a time. Not only that, but
and we have received requests for general scanner news will probably waiting for the live operator to get
additional information. These are free like SCAN -L. Request subscription around to responding and processing
information by e- mailing the person a call often results in a lot of wasted
services available to all who own corn -
puters capable of accessing the Web. who runs SCAN -L at: owner-scan- time. Still, in the pre -cell phone era,
Numerous lists currently exist, each Iuafsysb.uark.edu. Lastly, a service boaters relied upon this system. But
called The Scanner WebRing has even convenient cell phones, with no
dedicated to a specific monitoring
interest or geographic area. When you direct links to nearly 250 great scan- waiting for a clear channel or alert
subscribe to a list, you are able to ner- related Web sites such as clubs, operator, never offered the ability to
send /receive daily e-mail postings that dealers, etc. It's a wonderful resource. communicate from as far offshore as
could include frequencies and other The URL is: www.webring.org/cgi- the 160 -MHz radios,
bin /webring ?ring= radioscanner &list. Looks as though the 160 -MHz ser-
useful information specific to that list's
However, here are a few cautionary vice is getting a new lease on life. A
subscribers. Many mailing lists require
words about online mailing lists. Some company called MariTEL has contract-
the list's owner to approve each new
applicant seeking a subscription. All of them will provide you with dozens of ed the Harris Corp. to join them in
e -mails daily. Unless you want to establishing a new $55- million national
these lists will require potential sub-
scribers to provide a little relevant speed a lot of time reading the mail, maritime communications network
information, such as name, e-mail you'll want to restrict your subscrip- known as MariTEL. Offering 100 -mile
address, etc.; and most of them tions to no more than two or three at a communications range from each of
reserve the right to kick out members time You can always unsubscribe to a 300 coastal stations, it will process
who become disruptive. list that turns out to be of no value to calls to /from the public phone network
One of the largest online hosts of all you, and add a new one in its place. automatically, and without the need for
types of mailing lists is Onelist.com. operators. The service will be available
Go to URL: www.onelist.com and SHIP -TO -SHORE along navigable inland waterways and
Cellular phones have become so all coastal areas. MariTEL will handle
search through their scanner -related
lists. You'll find more than 50, including popular aboard small boats that phone calls, faxes, and e- mails. 85

www.americanradiohistory.com
 At least nine shore /ship channel specified, and nothing to cause you to
pairs will be available from each shore lose any sleep. Standard NFM trans- Second -Order f, f2
station: 161.80/157.20, 161.825/157.225, missions and scanners are broad
161.85/157.25, 161.875/157.275, 161.
2f
enough to permit monitoring any trans-
90/157.30, 161.925/157.325, 161.95/ missions on your desired channel, 2f2
157.35, 161.975/157.375, and 162.00/ regardless of it being tuned 2.5 kHz off
157.40 MHz.
Third-Order 2 f, f2
center. You'll never notice any differ-

POINT OF ORDER
ence from being tuned in exactly. 2f2 f
Be aware that the new FCC chan-
Many times when speaking with 3f,
nel setup going into effect on the
scanner enthusiasts, have noticed
I 152 -162 MHz VHF high band has 3f2
the tendency to state frequencies (for channels spaced at 7.5 -kHz intervals.
example, 154.37 MHz) as one five four When stations become active on chan-
Fifth -Order 3f, 2 f2
DOT three seven. Far be it from me to nels that closely spaced, current scan-
stifle free expression, but that's incor-
3f2 2f
ners will not be capable of adequately
rect. A dot is something in a computer tuning in the desired frequencies, nor 5f
address or maybe in the design of your of blocking interference from stations 5f2
Aunt Clara's scarf. The popularity of using adjacent frequencies. The same
computers has caused some newer problem will be noted with forthcoming
scanner owners to misidentify the UHF assignments when those stations Whenever an amplifier or receiver
symbol used in frequencies. When it become spaced at 6.25 -kHz intervals is overdriven, the second -order con-
comes to frequencies we deal with instead of the present 12.5 kHz. tent of the output signal increases as
decimal points, not dots. the square of the input signal level,
A typical scanner frequency, therefore, COMM LINKS while the third order responses
would properly be said aloud as one five (continued from page 84) increase as the cube of the input signal
four POINT three seven, or alternately, one level. . which can cause serious
.

five four DECIMAL three seven.

problems. As a result, when trou-
In a related topic, there has always RECEIVER APPLICATIONS bleshooting a problem with interfer-
been some user confusion relating to Quarter -wavelength stub system ence, you must sometimes look for
programming a specific type of VHF can be used to eliminate incoming sig- completely unrelated frequencies that
high -band frequency into the memory of nals that are causing interference. will satisfy equation 2 and, thereby,
certain scanner models (especially hand- Figure 2 shows a receiver application land on your frequency. When trou-
helds). No problem if you program fre- based on that premise. The stub sys- bleshooting that type of problem, it is
quencies such as 155.67 MHz or even tem can be placed at the antenna. In necessary to place the notch on the
154.385 MHz. But there might be a prob- Fig. 2, however, it is placed as close as frequency of one of the two offenders,
lem trying to force feed in something with possible to the receiver in order to preferably the strongest.
four digits beyond the decimal point, such eliminate any radiated interference The IMD problem occurs because
as 165.2875 MHz. Even if those digits that is picked up on the line. The the combined strength of the two sig-
show up on the LCD as you press the lengths for the stubs in Fig. 2 are cal- nals drives the receiver's RF amplifier
programming keypad, when you hit culated to remove the frequency that is or first mixer into a deeper region of
<ENTER>, you may be dismayed to learn causing the interference. It might be non -linear operation. If the applied RF-
the scanner simply will not accept that the third -harmonic of a nearby trans- signal levels are low enough, then no
exact frequency. You might end up with mitter or a completely different frequency. problems occur. Of course, all mixers
165.285 or 165.29 MHz on the scanner One of the major problems associ- operate non -linearly, so we look to the
display. You didn't want either of those ated with a multi- system site is inter - third -order intercept point (called either
frequencies! Some scanner owners modulation distortion (IMD) interference. TOIP or IP3). The TOIP is usually
panic because they're afraid they won't When two or more signals are present specified in terms of dBm (decibels
be able to monitor certain desired fre- at the input of the receiver, there's above one milliwatt).
quencies. Not to worry. always a good chance of generating When evaluating receivers, a TOIP
Some scanners are simply not additional frequencies (especially if at of +5 to +20 dBm usually represents
designed to accept VHF high band least one of them is a strong signal). excellent performance, while up to
federal (162-174 MHz) frequencies The frequencies generated are: +27 dBm is relatively easily achiev-
with 12.5 -kHz spacing. A frequency able, and +35 dBm is been achieved
such as 165.2875 MHz indicates one nf2
fNEw = mfi (2) with good design; anything greater
of those channels. Your attempt to pro- than +50 dBm is close to miraculous
gram in one of these frequencies where fNEw is a new frequency gener- (but, if manufacturer ads are believed,
causes some scanners to automatical-
ly round off your choice to the nearest
ated by the nonlinear combination of f at least attainable). Receivers are still
and f2. The order of the product is regarded as good performers in the 0
point based upon the regular VHF high given by the sum of the integer coeffi- to +5 dBm range and middling per-
band's (152 -162 MHz) 15 -kHz chan- cients to f1 and f2 (i.e., m + n). Given formers in the -10 to 0 dBm range.
nel spacing. But that's a mere 2.5 kHz input signal frequencies of f1 and f2, Anything below -10 dBm is not usual-
86 away from the exact frequency you the main IPs are: ly acceptable.
 NEw PROdUCTS
play for memory- channel naming. remote sensing terminals and remote
SINE -WAVE AND CLOCK
This powerful radio covers the six - programming. The availability of RS-
GENERATOR
meter, two- meter, and 440 -MHz bands 485 and RS -232 programming options
Combining a direct -digital- synthesis
at 5 watts output power and the 1.2- makes them versatile systems -test
(DDS) circuit with a multi -stage ampli-
GHz band at 1 -watt output. With the instruments.
fier, the PCI -305 Sinewave and Clock
Generator provides a convenient and IC -T81A, listeners can go beyond the
low -cost method to generate 25 -MHz ham bands to monitor wide -band
sine waves and 50 -MHz TTL clock sig- FMNHF band communications -hear-
nals in a PC -based test system. The
PCI -305 also performs smooth ampli-
tude, offset, and frequency changes.
The sine-wave output supports wave-
form summing and is protected against
reverse -power situations.

Their digital voltmeters and amme-

ters provide full- rated, accurate volt-
age or current readings without the
need of external DVMs. Measuring
only 4.5 by 8 by 14 inches, the models
include maximum voltages of 6 -, 10 -,
20 -, 40 -, 60 -, 100 -, 200 -, and 400 -volts
ICC?;v DC. The voltage and current levels are
pd'JlT1OAMO
fully adjustable by means of 10 -turn
-,*a
It isdesigned for test engineers to
:;

controls.
The HWD Series of Constant
use in ATE systems, impedance ana-
Voltage /Current Linear Power Supplies
lyzers, loop- stability analysis, and in
has a range in price from $950 to
communications systems. Unlike box
$1200. For more information, contact
function generators, the PCI -305
Mid -Eastern Industries, 100 School
doesn't need an IEEE -488 interface
St., Bergenfield, NJ 07621; Tel. 201-
card and interface cable. The half -slot
385 -0500; Web: www.mideastind.com.
ISA card fits into PCs and comes com- CIRCLE 82 ON FREE
plete with BenchCom and BenchTop ing everything from a ball game on the
INFORMATION CARD
Lite software packages for Windows radio or TV audio broadcast to air traf-
NT, 98/95, 3.X, and DOS applications. fic control, or even to scan for police
The PCI -305 Sinewave and Clock activity. Slim, compact, and durable, CALIBRATION SOFTWARE
Generator costs $995. For more infor- the transceiver measures 2.3 by 4.2 by MET/CAL Plus Calibration Software
1.1 inches, weighs 9.9 ounces, and extends workload coverage to include
mation, contact PC Instruments Inc.,
boasts water- resistant construction. RF and microwave instruments like sig-
526 S. Main Street, Akron, OH 44311;
The IC -T81A costs $479. For more nal generators. This software also
Tel. 330 -762 -8500; Web: www.pcin
information, contact Icom America, meets new international standards for
struments. corn.
CIRCLE 80 ON FREE Inc., 2380 116th Avenue, NE, Bellevue, calculating and reporting measurement
INFORMATION CARD WA 98004; Tel. 425 -454 -8155; Web: uncertainties, and it adds synchroniza-
www. icomamerica. corn. tion and Web -server options. Version 6
CIRCLE 81 ON FREE supports RF power meters, counters,
MULTIBAND TRANSCEIVER INFORMATION CARD signal generators, modulation analyz-
A small, handheld, four -band radio, the
ers, measurement receivers, and dis-
IC -T81A features clear wide -band
LINEAR POWER SUPPLY tortion and spectrum analyzers from
reception, 124 memory channels, and
Designed for use on the lab bench or Hewlett- Packard, Marconi, and Rhode
simplicity of design. Function keys can
for a systems application, the HWD & Schwarz -more than 82 instruments
be confusing, so the IC -T81A doesn't
Series of Constant Voltage /Current are directly supported.
use any. Instead, the radio offers a
Linear Power Supplies are single -out- At the heart of the system is
five -position "joystick" for easy control
put, 200 -watt, full- range, adjustable MET /BASE, a powerful industry-stan-
of operating band, scanning, and
instruments. All the units feature dard SQL server that provides secure, 87
more, as well as an alphanumeric dis-

www.americanradiohistory.com
 dependable storage for calibration monitor. The VGA -801 uses a three- ture with the platinum RTD or select
information. The system is scaleable way switch that allows the monitor to from five thermocouple types. Measure-
and can be installed on anything from be used with a computer, a standard ments are displayed on a 4% -digit
a laptop to a multi -mode, multi -site net- video source (such as a security cam- (19999 count) LCD with Data Hold and
work. More than 2000 procedures for era), or a special Sony S-Video input. Max /Min /Relative readings. Basic
more than 600 makes and models of A wall -mount regulated power supply accuracy is -0.1% full scale.
test and measurement instruments are is included. A front -panel pushbutton allows the
shipped with the software. The VGA-801 PC Monitor Converter user to select the input sensor type.
starts at $69. For more information, Other features include selectable
contact MATCO, Inc., 830 East Higgins C /F temperature units, the choice of
Road, Suite 111 -P, Schaumberg, IL 1 resolution or 0.1 resolution, and an
60173; Tel. 800 -719 -9605; Web: www. RS -232 PC interface. The thermome-
mat-co. corn. ter, which measures 7.1 by 8 by 1.3
CIRCLE 84 ON FREE inches and weights only 10 ounces,
INFORMATION CARD
comes complete with a rubber holster
and a 9 -volt battery.
WIRELESS WEATHER STATION
The full- featured model WS2010 G t
Wireless Weather Station includes
readings of wind speed and direction,
a rain gauge, and indoor /outdoor tem-
perature and humidity. It provides min-
imums and maximums of all readings
with time and date recorded, a 24 -hour
pressure history bar graph, weather
forecast, and pressure trend indicator
The MET /CAL Plus Calibration with storm alarm.
Software has a list price of $3800. For
more information, contact Fluke Corp.,
P.O. Box 9090, Everett, WA 98206; Tel.
888 -492 -7554; Web: www.fluke.com.
CIRCLE 83 ON FREE
INFORMATION CARD

The RTD /Thermocouple Thermo-

PC MONITOR CONVERTER meter, Model 407917 costs $219. For
The VGA -801 PC Monitor Converter more information, contact Extech
provides an easy, low -cost way of dis- Instruments Corp., 335 Bear Hill Road,
playing B/W or standard NTSC /PAL
Waltham, MA 02451; Tel. 781 -890-
color video directly on any existing 7440; Web: www.extech.com.
VGA/SVGA computer monitor. With CIRCLE 86 ON FREE
24 -bit, 16 -7 million true-colors pro- INFORMATION CARD
cessing, it triples the resolution of a Outdoor sensors are solar powered
standard TV in B/W and doubles the with back -up Lithium batteries, and the CHEST HARNESS
resolution in color mode. The built -in display unit uses 4 AA batteries. Ideal for emergency radio operators
audio amplifier has a true frequency Measuring 8% by 11/8 by 6 inches, the and hams on the move, the rugged
response from 100 Hz to 31.5 kHz and WS2010 comes with mounting brack- Ham Gear Tactical Chest Harness
provides for headphone use. ets for all sensors; and the display can holds a handheld radio or cellular
be desk- or wall- mounted. phone snugly to the chest for hands -
The WS2010 Wireless Weather free and worry-free operation. Made of
Station has a suggested retail price of durable, heavy-duty twill burlap that's
$499. For more information, contact water- resistant, the chest harness
Speedtech Instruments, 10413 Deerfoot
Drive, Great Falls, VA 22066; Tel. 800-
760 -0004; Web: www.speedtech.com.
CIRCLE 85 ON FREE
INFORMATION CARD

RTD/THERMOCOUPLE
THERMOMETER
This standalone device, with overall With this heavy -duty precision RTD/
dimensions of 4% by 2% by 3/< inches, Thermocouple Thermometer, Model
88 plugs directly into any VGA/SVGA 407917, users can measure tempera-
 Instruments, 15720 Mill Creek Blvd., Ste. photos, and other images can become
cushions the radio from scrapes and
100, Mill Creek, WA 98012; Tel. 800 -426 - a full -time job. Many scanners come
blows. It holds the radio vertically to
9265; Web: www.huntron. corn. with software suites or document man-
improve reception, and it has twin
CIRCLE 88 ON FREE ager for this purpose. There are also
elastic antenna holders for short and INFORMATION CARD many of these applications on the mar-
long HT antennas.
ket, some better known than others.
The shoulder straps and elastic belt
NET WATCH the two that have the most experi-
are fully adjustable to fit any size radio
I

(continued from page 6) ence with both come from ScanSoft, a

and any size person comfortably. In
division of Xerox.
addition, there's a 5 -inch by 7-inch
PaperPort, which was originally
cargo pocket to hold another radio,
Now, for those of you looking to hit a produced by scanner vendor Vision -
maps, or tools; as well as a pen pouch.
more traditional department store, eer, was purchased by ScanSoft a bit
The Ham Gear Tactical Chest
check out JCPenney. Although we over a year ago. ScanSoft has its own
Harness (MFJ -18) costs $29.95. For
contact MFJ don't recommend buying gifts of product, called Pagis, and continues to
more information,
clothes online (you're almost guaran- sell both. Different scanner vendors,
Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 494,
teed to have to do a few mail returns), including Visioneer, Canon, Epson, and
Mississippi State, MS 39762; Tel. 800-
some people on your list might have others often include versions of Paper-
647 -1800 or 601 -323 -5869; Web:
set -in -stone sizes (such as a dress Port or Pagis with their scanners.
www. mfjenterprises. corn.
CIRCLE 87 ON FREE shirt or socks) that you're pretty safe PaperPort was one of the first scan-
INFORMATION CARD relying on. For these and other pur- ning utilities to incorporate a desktop
chases such as jewelry or accessories, metaphor. A thumbnail -sized represen-
you'll find JCPenney to be a handy site tation of the document, when scanned,
TROUBLESHOOTING TOOL
to visit. In fact, of all the sites so far appears on the application's "desktop"
Designed to work with any oscilloscope
mentioned, this one probably has the panel. From there, you simply drag the
that can be operated in an X/Y mode,
most items available in each category. thumbnail over to the application in
the Tracker 200 is a quick and effective
Don't let the seemingly small menu on which you want to use it. You can store
tool for power -off, component-level
the first page fool you. Each of those the document in a folder by dragging it
troubleshooting of printed circuit
offerings, such as Men's or Women's, over to an image of a file cabinet, or
boards. The oscilloscope displays the
opens up to about a dozen subdivi- automatically launch OCR software by
current -voltage "analog signature" gen-
sions with many products in each. dropping the document icon on that of
erated by the Tracker 200 of a device
There are even a couple of categories a word processor.
under test. With the combined
of "perfect gift ideas," should you be in Pagis Pro 3.0 Scanning Suite is
scope/Tracker capabilities, engineers
a real rush. If you've been to the real - very similar in appearance and func-
and technicians are able to go from
world version of Penney's or have tion. There's a quick action toolbar, for
basic circuit analysis to comprehensive
seen its catalog, you know just how when you want to make a color copy
component -level diagnosis.
much the chain carries. And most of it (scan a document and send the image
seems to be online now-nice. to a color printer), or scan and fax.
Finally, music to every shopper's There's also a desktop, where the
ears around this time of year is the thumbnail of the scanned document
concept of saving money. If you'd like can be maneuvered as discussed
to get free online coupons for most of above. Pagis calls this the Pagis Inbox.
the sites we've looked at, as well as The latest version of Pagis Pro is a ter-
several others, be sure to visit rific utility and can be purchased at
Coolsavings.com. You'll have to fill out most computer stores for about $120.
some demographic info, but it will be It incorporates the next -to- the-latest
well worth the money you'll save. version of ScanSoft's TextBridge Pro
Until next time, happy shopping. OCR software and a copy of Adobe's
Here's hoping that you use those PhotoDeluxe Business Edition image -
hours or days you save to actually editing and project software. The OCR
This unit features four test ranges,
enjoy the holidays! has a utility that coverts scanned doc-
plus an additional low- voltage (3 -volt)
As always, you can contact me via uments into forms that can be elec-
range for low -power surface -mounted
snail -mail at Net Watch, Popular tronically filled -in, and you can even
devices. Three of the test frequencies
Electronics, 500 Bi- County Blvd., search your document database of
allow for the testing of capacitors and
Farmingdale, NY 11735, or e-mail at scanned pages for text strings and
inductors, while a variable DC level
netwatch @gernsback.com. keywords.
tests gate -fired devices. For quick
Next time, we'll put Pagis Pro 3.0 to
diagnostic troubleshooting, the instru-
use on a couple of projects -see you
ment can be operated in a two -chan- COMPUTER BITS then. In the meantime, as always, I
nel comparison mode where it can be
(continued from page 13) value your comments and input. You
switched between a "known- good" sig-
can reach me at [email protected].
nal and the signal being tested.
quickly come to realize that keeping And a Happy Holiday season to you
The Tracker 200 sells for $995. For
and yours. 89
more information, contact Huntron track of your scanned documents,

www.americanradiohistory.com
 ADVERTISING INDEX ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES
Popular Electronics does not assume any responsibility for errors that may Gernsback Publications, Inc.
appear
In the Index below. 500 Bi- County Blvd.
Free Information Number Page Free Information Number
Farmingdale, NY 11735.3931
Page
Tel. 516-293-3000
Alfa Electronics 55 Lindsay Publications 70
Fax: 516-293-3115
- All Electronics 65
Larry Steckler, EHF /CET
Lynxmotion 67
President (ext. 201)
Allison Technology 55 e -mail:
advertising C@ gernsback
161 MCM electronics 69
Amazon Electronics 62 139 Mendelson's 68
Adria Coren
Vice President (ext. 208)
- Andromeda Research 55 Modern Electronics 68 Ken Coren
- Antique Radio Classified 60 Mondo-tronics 68
Vice -President (ext. 267)
Arrow Electronics 54
For Advertising ONLY
165 Mouser 54
Tel. 516-293-3000
32 C &S Sales, Inc. 56 Fax: 516.293.3115
156 Parts Express 59
174 Cadsoft, Inc 15 PCS, Inc.
Larry Steckler
70
Publisher
176 Circuit Maker CV2 Pioneer Hill Software 64 Marie Falcon
Circuit Specialists 63 150 Prairie Digital Inc Advertising Director (ext. 206)
66
CLAGGK, Inc 11, 37
Adria Coren
143 Print 64
Credit Manager (ext. 208)
Cleveland Inst. of Electronics ....35 Print
142 60 Subscription/
Command Productions 52 153 Print Products Int'l.
Customer Service/
54
Order Entry
Conitec 70 Tel. 800 -827 -0383
ProPlanet 67
Connecticut microComputer 7:30 AM - 8:30 PM CST
67 Robotikits Direct 51
173 Cooks' Institute 16 Science Fair Electronics
ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES
62
164 Dalbani 53 School of Electronics 67 EAST /SOUTHEAST
EDE Spy Oultet 68 Securetek 62
Megan Mitchell
9072 Lawton Pine Avenue
Electronic Tech. Today 41,60 175 Sencore, Inc. 9 Las Vegas, NV 89129 -7044
EMAC Tel. 702 -240 -0184
52 - Sescom Inc. 60, 62
Fax: 702 -838 -6924
- Engineering Express 62 Technological Arts 70
e -mail: [email protected]
Foley- Belsaw 71 137 Telulex
MIDWEST/Texas/Arkansas/
66
Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona
Galaxy Electronics 60 Test Equipment Depot 58 Ralph Bergen
- General Device Instruments 68 UCANDO Videos 66
One Northfield Plaza, Suite 300
Northfield, IL 60093 -1214
Grantham College of Eng. 8 Ultima Associates 70 Tel. 847 -559 -0555
Grich RC Inc. 70
Fax: 847-559 -0562
Unbound Tech 52
e -mail: bergenrj @aol.com
Home Automation Systems 67 163 Velleman Inc. 61 PACIFIC COAST/ Mountain States
Information Unlimited 58 Anita Badman
Vision Electronics 64
Intelligence I2 Corp. Hutch Looney & Assoc., Inc.
62 172 Windjammer Cruises' 8 6310 San Vicente Blvd.
26 Interactive Image Technologies ..CV4 Suite 360
World Wyde 62
Los Angeles, CA 90048 -5426
International Hanbai Co., Ltd. .CV3 XX Box 68 Tel. 323 -931 -3444 (ext. 227)
Intronics, Inc 70
Fax: 323-931-7309
Zagros Robotics 70
e -mail: anita @hlooney.com
KNS Instruments 54
90
 r

11 -_,) 1Jv J-/J J .d eJ _lividJ Ile

H
jrf.;L 7

CTD1047
10.4 -inch color TFT

CTD5741
5.7 -inch color STN
Model ,n photograph enclosed In case. (CTD5741
CTD5741 is 100% conpatible with uTD4141.

5.7 -inch monochrome

Development Support Too

For Windows 98/95
$150

I New Features
Personalized Color Pallets
You can personalize the tone of the built -in 16 -color
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Copyin
Areas of the screen can be selected and copied onto
other screens.
---
Specification
Model uTD4141 CTD5741 CTD1047
I Expanded Flash Memory LCD 5.7 -inch, monochrome 5.7 -inch, color STN 10.7 -inch, color TFT
640 X 480
Resolution 320 X 240 320 X 240
Ima e Mani ulation sMaximum digits 40 columns X 30 lines 40 columns X 30 lines 80 columns X 60 lines
Images imported from digital cameras or other Effective display area (mm) 116 X 87 116 X 87 211 X 158
sources can be easily bitmapped and registered on 10 X 6 13 X 10 (640 X 480)
Key matrix input 10 X 6
screens or keycaps. (The demonstration fish was x 14 15 X 15
Key size (mm) 12 X 14 12
created with the Development Support Tool.)
;Power supply 5V DC 0.8A 5V DC 1A 5V DC 1.2A
x
Screen -to- Screen Group Move Dimensions (mm) W189 X D112 X H32 W189 X D112 H32 W272 X D205 X H43

Screen data can be selected, grouped and moved to Standard price $555 $740 $1225
other screens. x Escutcheons and cases available for all models.

A wide array of characters can be displayed including kanji, kana, alphabet,

Via RS -232C communications, simple commands let you easily display
characters, draw graphics or collect key-input information. numerals and special patterns.

i
The built -in display memory can hold 4 full screens, making paging and Key -input can be selected between polling and interrupt.
other screen operations more convenient. (Up to 54 screens can be added Equipped with buzzer ON/OFF and backlight ON /OFF commands.
with the Expanded Flash Memory.) Characters can be displayed as large as 64 x 64 dot.
Expansion features can be easily used with the Development Support Tool Easy backlight replacement (for color LCD models).
optional software. Portrait monitor and RS485 model are available as special specification.

URL = http:llwww2.dango.ne.jp/onomichi/inh/ International Hanbai Co., Ltd

22 -30 Kanda -cho, Onomichi, Hiroshima, 722-0016, Japan
E-mail = [email protected]

www.americanradiohistory.com
 The worlds most popular
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Fast Auto routing Multi -layer autorouter with configurable options for
customized performance.
Real -Time DRC Automatic Design Rule Check prevents costly errors by
monitoring the size and clearance of pads, vias and traces.
Ideal for all Boards Built -in board editor to create any shape board up to
50" X 50" in size, with as many as 32 layers.

Multiple Output Formats Outputs to the formats you need including

Gerber, DXF, plotters, printers, and more.

Tight Integration with Multisim Supports forward and back annotation

with Multisim, so that the programs share important design information.

UltiBOARD$399 Flexible Editing Full support of power and ground planes, with or without
thermal relief 'Reroute while move' to move copper without losing connectivity.

For a FREE demo visit www.eleCtrolnicsworkbench.com

Call 1- 800 -263 -5552

Save $100 when you order the Personal Design Solution
(Includes Multisim and Ultiboard

Electronics
).

WORKBENL
DESIGN SOLUTIONS FOR EVERY DESKTOP
CIRCLE 26 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD