",,,amor7g the very best kÍt speøkers thø't

sN 1 030-2óó2

PRINT POST APPROVED

- PP255003/01272
$8f,"0J NZ$9.:g

Model 260C
Specifications:
Model260
Frequency Range (on axis) 44Hz-40kïz
Effìciency 92.5d8 SPL @ 1m 2.83V rms @22"C averaged
Nominal lmpedance 4 ohms
Recommended amplifier power
Home Theatre Receiver 5 to 120W Unclipped program material
Stereo and Valve 5 to 120W Unclipped program material
Harmonic Distortion THD !0.3o/o @ lwatt 2.83Vrms lk{z
Relative Phase Coherence <130" 400H2 to 10kHz
44Hzto20kHz Hoz / Vert t45'
Crossover Printed Circuit Board : Fully finished includes all components, Velcro mounting tabs & wiring
(No Soldering required) Wiring cable : lnternal speaker cable high quality OFC 384 strand with push on connections
Speaker terminals : 4mm twin gold plated binding post
Filter : 2 way off set Bessel / Butterworth , linear phase
Freq : 3.8kHz
Order:2nd Lp, 3rd Hp
Components: High quality, Copper Air core inductors , SCR 400V metalized MKP capacitors
Non lnductive resistors
Bi-wiring: Option provided
Drivers
Bass 2 x Peerless 832873 Woofer 5" Nomex
Tweeter 1 x Fountek Jp3.0
Ribbon 3" (65mm)
lnput Terminals Gold plated 2way
Cabinet High quality enclosure supplied fully finished with pre drilled screw holes, port,
speaker mounting holes, grille panel, acoustic felt lined, mounting screws

KIT PRIGES
lnclude speakers, crossovers, all hardware and cabinets.
(Price per pair [except 260c] including GST).
260
Plain MDF ......... KlT260-MDF........................$1 299.00
Black vinyl ......... K|T260-BV $1399.00
260C (one unit only)
Plain MDF ......... K|T260C-MDF........................$649.00
Black viny| ......... KlT260C-8V...........................$71 9.00
360
Plain MDF ......... KlT360-MDF .......................$1 1 59.00
Black vinyl ......... K|T360-BV $'1299.00
ELECTBOTTIC SEBVTCES AUSTRALSIA
SPEAKER KITS (withoul cabinels)
rncrudespeakersandcrossoversbutn0cabinetsandhard- 138 Liverpggl Rd Ashfield NSW (LOCked Bag 30 Ashfield 21311
ware. (Price per pair [except 260C] including GST).
260Kit..............sPK260 .......$7ee.00 PH: 02-9798-9233 FAX: 02-9798-0017
260C kit....,.........SPK260C (one driver only)....$399.00
360 kit................sPK360 .......$6ee.00 Web: WWW.Wagner.net.aU
 iå,
ì

NEW 3OOW WIND GENE

Power: 300W
+ lcetanic
Unlike the Titanic this is really unsinkable. Floats
Wireless Colour LGD Weather Station
Wireless outdoor temperature and hygrometer Stocking Stuffers E Peak: 500W
Voltage:24VDC
around your pool and holds around l8 cans and sensors transmit data to the colour LCD receiver
enough ice to keep them cold for hours The lid which displays temperature, humidity, heat index & RG Miniature F430 Ferrari
NEW COMBINED Current:124
UP INVERTER AND
dew point levels, the time, barometric pressure and SHUNT REGULATOR i Start Speed: 2.5m/S
ì å
within the lid gives you easy Take the 1/64th scale F430 off its recharg¡ng
CHARGE CONTROLLER
access to your favour¡te bubbly o[ comfort index, and forecasts the weather through 5 base for a hot little model that you can race
KIT
Cut-in Speed: 3m/S
wine for your own floating weather ¡cons. around your desk lt is rear wheel drive and
. Full clock and calendar functions has an adjustable front steering bias to
Rated Speed: 12mlS
champagne bucket Around its
. Requires 3 x AAA baüeries ensure a straight and smooth ride Rated RPM 450
rim it even holds up to 6
drinks [w¡th stubby . Remote hidden in display box ,, Blades: Carbon fibre
. Requires 6 x AA batteries
. loyrs+ Blade span 1.5m
)
Pocket Sized Shocking Game This system is ideal for camp sites, sheds orfor remote locations where you need light Protection Level: lP54
Are you a shock-a-holic? Take this one on holidays, Connect ¡t to one of our many new led driver kits with new incredibly bright 1Vw LEDs is modern lightweight
on the train or to the pub Two games - Lighting It is designed to charge up to 3X7AH batteries via our new K2514 combined up inverter
Reaction and Shock Roulette. and shunt regulator/ charge conlroller kit. The battery can then be used to power one of
.2-4 players our new LED driver kits. This system inc I X 6V / 4W solar panel, 1 X up inverter / packaging weighs
controller kit, 1 X 12V I 7 APHbattery and all for just (SL1
153 Experiments in Electr¡c¡ty 18KG's!!: Cheap to Ship by Australia Post. Has a built
$7s.s5 rectifier/regulator and sliprings. lt is made from good
and Magnetism Kit Ê.,-"
Learn all the basic principles behind electriclty Will new materials. Available in 12V (AW12) and 24V (4W24).
Colour Changing Gift Boxes keep the junior mad scientist æ,' Much more info. on ourweb site: (AW24)$599

fr
Use this set of 3 colour-changing gift boxes with occupied for hours w¡thout
burning the house down
Note: The mast and other hardware is not supplied
satin ribbons to wrap those special presents or to Palm Games Computer
All the experiments require Plây one of e¡ght games against the Brand new small ma¡ns operated geared motor.
only a 9V battery or no
Christmas display.
. Continuous colour
computer or an opponent, Chess These are very strong and made for rotating microwave
teaching feature and l6 skill levels
morphing between red, . Requires 2 x AAA batteries turntables. Operates from 240VAC 50/60H2 and consumes
This 100W solar array includes 5 X 20W - 1 2V polycrystalline solar panels, a 12
green,white&blue . 125(HJ x 7B(W) x l4(DJmm
regulator k¡t + weatherproof kit box Why 5 X 12VI20W panels and not 1 X
3W. Output speed is 5/6RPM. Generates a high voltage
. Large: 170mm3
. Medium: 115mm3 $39.95
. l2yrs+
+ panel?...Loss of output due to damage or obstruction of a panel will result in a 2oo/o when turned. Measures 50mm diameter x 17mm high.
loss in output, not 100% loss. Air gaps between panels increase cooìing and thus Output shaft diameter is 7mm. (MAC2)4 motors for $'10
. Small: 75mm3
increases panel effìciency Much cheaper and less fragile to post. The wir¡ng can be
. Each box requires 3 x - Special for Decem
Massager Seat Cover with Heater changed for different voltages. Aluminum angle, r¡vets or wire not inc, all worth around
AAA batteries iPod6 Shuffle Speaker $'15 Specifications For each Panel: Peak Power: 20W Open Circuit Voltage: 21V,
R&R. ldeal gift for anyone Designed for the 2nd generat¡on iPod" Shuffle, this *' Short Circuit Current: '1 34, Voltage At Max. Power: 17 5V Current At Max Power:
- Colour Changing Bows spends hours in a vehicle stereo speaker is still ideal for use with âny ¡Pod¡ or 1 .14, Dim: 610 x 290 x 25mm 5 X 12Vl20W panels +regulator kit + weatherproof

¡.} Available in red or green the optical f¡bres create a . 6 Massage motors & 3 MP3 player. Produces quality sound, and its protective
colour changing focal point that wili make all other intensity levels cover makes ¡t fantâstic for use at the beach K256 - ACTIVE LOOP ANTENNA KITThis kit is designed to signìficantly
presents seem dull, dull, dull . Requires 4 x AAA batteries
- t . Mains adaptor and cigarette improve the reception of distant AM radio stations. Published in October 2007
socket plug included . Size 190)[Ð x 60(HJ x 20(D)mm issue of SC, but now improved with a Varactor diode We also supply
instructions in the notes on how to construct a simple loop antenna Kit is
supplied with PCBs, all on-board components, jiffy box and a weatherproof box

$4.95'
L; $49.s5
a
(antenna wire and mast not supplied) K256 $22

Sonic Grenade Coughing Lung Ashtray Mini Digital Camera Keyring

After a 20 second delay, ¡ts Desrgned to look like a pair of You won't miss any
-
Gool Down this Summer Record up to 120 seconds of vo¡ce/sound.
alarm shrieks until you replace lungs! Bursts ¡nto a disturbingly
Features include serial
the p¡n Great personal alarm or
use it to get the kids out of bed.
Has three pitch levels.
real¡stic coughing fit when a
cigarette is placed in it
. Requires 2 x AA batter¡es
. Measures 130M0 x 115[L] x
Sports Fan
ldeal to keep in the sports bag to use
after a big workout, Use as a normal t
record¡ng of multiple
messages, message
retent¡on without power and
selectable deletion of
ffi.'-rå'
fan by removing the water bottle unwanted messages. Module
45(H)mm .Requires2xAA measures 32mm X 18mm X
3.smm Kit includes: Module,
speaker and mic (depending
EW 8x10mm LED LAMP KIT on requirements it may
require external swìtches)
$te.s5 bright4W LED lamp K255 $1 1 .00
use software & cable $l9.95 employs 8 X 1l2W
. 2 speeds LED's driven by an NEW 0.5W1Omm LEDs
.Requires2xD licient switched mode
Desktop Bling Amazing new bright LEDs. More light for your
Golf Cart Pen Holder
These pink and white rhinestone desk accessories are the This miniature golf caddy pen .
batter¡es
130[WJ x 160(D] x 75[H]mm
ower supply: money and more light from the same space
perfect Chr¡stmas gift for the woman who has everything holder includes three pens in
than regular LEDs. Unlike LUXEON style
LEDs these LEDs do not require any
GH-1890 Bling Mouse W at 9-30V DC. Can
. USB powered 519.95 wh¡ch are cleverly
shaped as real
USB Fan
. USB powered
ì lso fit inside a common
additional heatsinking.
GH-l892 Bling Dual
Power Calculator
. Fixed or oscillating modes / dip jar to make a 25 Lumens @ 150m4 / 80,000 mcd @ 20m4.
. I digit LCD S17.95 . Base measures 1 00m (Dia ) ateftight housing for a
20 Lumens @ 150ma / 65,000 mcd @ 20m4.
GH-I894 Bling Stapler
. Fan casing measures l50mm [D¡a.]
ty bright Prawning
. Takes size 56 staples
#- ight!: Kit inc. PCB, LEDs 1 5 Lumens @ l50mA / 40,000 mcd @ 20m4.
sr495 all onboard parts. Green $2.40 Water clear lens.
20 Lumens @ 150m4 / 80,000 mcd @ 20m4.

Fgtrdr of kits and to hobbyists, experimenters, industry &

.COmSuppliers surplus electronics professionals.
Orders: Ph(02 ) 9584 3563, Fax9584 3561, [email protected], PO 9gx-8_9 Oqtle_y NSW2223
Better. More Technical FOR INFOBMATION AND ORDEBING zpted. Post & Pack tvp'icallv $7 Prices subiect to chanse without notice ACN 068 74O O81 48N18068 74O O81
SC DEC 07
Prices valid until 31-12-07 TELEPHONE¡ 1800 022 888 INTERNET. vuvuwjaycar.com.au
a-:l
 Do You Eat, Breathe and Sleep TECHNOLOGY?
nities for full-time and oart-time all over Australia & New Zealand
Why not do something you love and get paid lor it? Please
owned, ¡nternal¡onal reta¡ler w¡th more than 39 slores in write or email us with your details, along w¡th your C.V.
aland. 0ul aggressive expansion and any qualifications you may have. We pay a
ed in the need for dedicated compet¡t¡ve salary sales commissions and have great
team to ass¡st us ¡n achieving our benelits like a liberal staff purchase policy.
goals.
Send to:
We pride ourselves on the technical knowledge of our Reta¡l 0perations Manager - Jaycar Electronics Pty ltd
staff. Do you think that the follow¡ng statements descr¡be P0. Box 6424 Silverwater NSW 1811
you? Please put a tick in the boxes that do: Email: [email protected]

D Knowledge of electronics, particularly at conponent level,

E Assemhle proiecls 0r kits yourselffor car, computer, aud¡0, etc,
C Have empathy w¡th 0lhers who have the same ¡nlerest as you
D May have w0rked ¡n some retail alreadv (not ohl¡gatory),
20 Restoring A VintageTV Set
Idgtrar
- Have energy, enthusiasm and a personal¡ty that en¡oys
help¡ng people.
¡ Appreciates an 0pp0lunity for fulure advancement, What's it like to restore a 5)-year-old v¡ntage black-and-white TV set? Here's
E Have an eve for deta¡1.
how an old AWA Model 229 was brought back to life - by Timothy Stuart

44 Review: Rohde & Schwarz FS300 & SM300Test Gear

RFMA *5#,o-9#,4:.åy,fll.?ii?
Applications:
We take an in-depth look at Rohde & Schwarz'new FM300 Spectrum
Analyser and 5M300 Signal Generator - by Mauro Grassi

BlMl -151 .300-10 B¡M2A-433-64 Restoring AVintage AWA

Rural
VHF FM Transceiver TV Receiver - Page 20.
ln Stock NOW! Utilities
lndustrial
10 Signature Ser¡es Kit Loudspeaker System
Range:Skm+ Based on Fountek ribbon tweeters and Peerless drivers, these are the best kit
Power:100mW Commercial speakers we have ever heard - by Russell Storey & Leo Simpson
ì Data rate 'lOkbps Govemment
Also: 151 .275 & 151 .6MHz Meter Reading 33mmx23mmx4mm 30 lnfrared Audio Headphone Link ForTV
Do you have trouble understanding what's being said on the TV unless the
RADIOMETRIX: Low Power, Licence Exempt Radio Modules volume is cranked way up? This project lets you listen in without disturbing
anyone else - by Jim Rowe
RF Modules Australia. P.O. Box 1957 Launceston, TAS., 7250.
Ph : 03-6331-6789. Email : [email protected]. Web: tfmodules.com,au 64 An Enhanced 45-Second Voice Recorder Module
lmproved design can be easily set up to record two, four or eight different
messages for random-access playback or a single message for'tape mode'
MicroByte Electronics: PIC Micros playback - by Jim Rowe
- Development Board Development - 48- Hour
tools & Components. Phone: (03) 9378
78 PIG-Based Water-Tank Level Meter; Pt.2
4288. inlo @ microbyte.com.a
m¡crobyte.com.au
u ; s"
NSTA
Building the two versions (basic & telemetry) plus installation and calibration Audio Headphone
.Ph l( - by John Clarke
WANTED 90 Playback Adaptor For CD-ROM Drives; Pt.2
Assembling the PC board, assigning the remote control keys, testing and
CUSTOMERS: Truscotts Electronic D0IÍNl,OrtD Olltl üll)tl,OG AT troubleshooting - by Mauro Grassi
World - large range of semiconductors
and passive components for industry, WORTDWIDE ETECTBOilIG GOMPOIIEIITS
hobbyist and amateur projects includ- P0 Box 631, Hillarys, WA 6923
ing Drew Diamond.2TThe Mall, South Ph: (08) 9307 7305 Fax: (08) 9307 7309 48 Serviceman's Log
Croydon, Melbourne. (03) 9723 3860. It's all in a day's work - by the TV Serviceman
electron ¡cworld @ optusnet.com.au
72 Circuit Notebook
ltow (1) ln-Car Charger & Switcher For An SLA Battery;(2) Temperature-Controlled
Fridge Fan; (3) Simple Water Pump Controller; (4) Low-Current Stable
Recorder Module - Page 64.

AUAIlRBlE Clock Source; (5) Quiz Adjudicator Has No Pushbuttons; (6) Buck & Boost
Regulator; (7) Doorbell Circuit With Zero Standby Current
FROTI
97 Vintage Radio
j. limited Bac[ lssues
Kriesler 11-59 5-Valve Dual-Wave Mantel Receiver - by Bodney Champness

.r. limited One-Shots

lf you're looking for a proiect from ELECTRoNICS AUSTRAUA, you'll find ¡t al SIUCoN CHIP! We Gan
now offer reprints of all projects which have appeared in Electronics Australia, EAT, Electronics
Today, ETI or Radio, TV & Hobbies. Just decide on the proiect you want and then call, fax 0r email 2 Publisher's Letter 104 Ask Silicon Chip
us wilh the details and your credit ca¡d details. Reprint cost is $9.50 per arlicle (ie, 2-part projects 4 Mailbag 107 Notes & Errata
cosl $19.00). SlLlcoN CH|P subscribers receive a 10% discount.
We also have limited numbers of EA back issues and special publications. Call for details! 25 Order Form 1 10 Market Centre
CD-ROM Playback
visil www. si I iconchi p. co m. a u or emai I sil ico n@si I i conchi p. con. au 61 Product Showcase Adaptor- Page 90.
172 Sntco¡tt Cntp www. si I iconch ip. com. au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEN 2OO7
 ELNEC IC PROGRAMMERS VIDEO.AUDIO.PG
High quality
distribution amps splitters -
PuilisneF's Letter Realistic prices
Free software updates' 7.S
Large range of adaptors o Learn about
digital standards converters - tbc's
switchers - cables - adaptors
genlockers - scan converters
Windows 95/98/Me/NT I 2klXP engine manage- bulk vga cable - wallplates
Electric cars are viable ment systems

Puhl ishe r & Ed itor-in-Chi el right now

CLEVERSCOPE . Projects to DVS5o & DVS5S
H¡gh Performance
USB OSCILLOSCOPES control nitrous, Video / S-Video
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD and Aud¡o Splitters
Peter Seligman's articles on "How to Cut Your 2 x 1OOMSa/s 1Obit inputs + trigger fuel injection
Produclion Manager Greenhouse Emissions" in the July, August & Septem- and turbo boost
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) ber issues certainly stirred up some controversy. One systems
good thing about that is that it clearly demonstrated o Switch devices
Technical SlaÍÍ according
that the simplistic solutions often bandied about in the
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) to signal frequency, temp-
popular press are not workable. Making large cuts to Windows 98/Me/NT/2UXP
Ross Tester erature & voltage
greenhouse gases is neither easy nor simple.
Jim Rowe, 8.4., B.Sc, UKZZLO IMAGECRAFT C COMPILERS o Build test instruments to check fuel
Mauro Grassi, B.Sc.(Hons.) Much of the controversy stirred by Peter Seligman's ANSI C compilers, Windows IDE injector dug cycle, fuel mixtures and
articles revolved around his conclusion that electric cars were not a useful ap- AVR, TMS43O, ARMT/ARMg brake & temperature
Photography proach when most of the power stations are coal-flred, as they are in Australia. 68HC08, 68HC11, 68HC12
Ross Tesler Quite a few people disagreed,but went on to quote flgures drawn lrom overseas Mail order pr¡ces: Aust. $422.50 (incl.
sources where the power generation mix is quite different to here. Even so, there
GRANTRONICS PTY LTD GST & P&P); 0yerseas $426.00 yia a¡r-
Header Services www.grantronics.com.au ma¡|. See www.siliconchip.com.au for
have been disagreements about the estimated efficiency of electric vehicles. A
Ann Morris order¡ng details.
representative letter in that vein is included in the Mailbag pages this month. Come to tlre
Adverlising Enquiries For our part, we are very attracted to the concept of electric vehicles and do specialists"' @

Glyn Smith Ouest Elecronrcs'Pty Umited abn 83 003 æ1 282 Va Ouestronix

believe that a modern electric car employing similar technology to the much Pr0ducls, Specials & Pricelist at www.queslr0nix.com.au
Phone (02) 3939 3295 vaunted Tesla Roadster would be quite successful. In fact, we think such cars rax (04 a341 2795
Mobile 0431 7SZ 253 should be on Australia's roads in large numbers right now, in spite of the fact TV reception ¡n )rour e m a il : q uestav @ q ue strcn ¡x.c om.a u

g lyn@siliconchip. com. au that they would ultimately draw their electricity from mostly coal-fired power home is nowaffotdable.
stations. In any case, it is unlikely that any new power stations in Australia will
Regular Conlribulors
Brendan Akhurst
be coal-fired. They are far more ÌikeÌy to be gas-fired since they are much more
efficient ald put out considerably Ìess greenhouse gases for the electricity they
generate. So with future Australian electricity supplies likeìy to be much cleaner,
Ilon
Rodney Champness, VK3UG ruww.dontf onics. com has 300 selecÌed
we should be planning for electric vehicles,
Kevin Poulter hardware and software products avail-
Mike Sherilf, B.Sc, VK2YFK In the meantime, consider the potential advantages of electric vehicles if they able from over 40 world wide manufactur-
Stan Swan
were in Australia right now. In heavy traffrc or on the open road, they generate ers, and authors.
no pollution at all. They would not contribute to Australia's growing import bill More frequent updatæ - euery 2.5 seconds! Olimex Development Boards & Tools:
for oil and petrol. When stopped, they are silent, apart from the possibility of a More alarm settings over 70 paramelerc!
- ABM, AVR, MAXO, MSP430 and PlC.
SlLlCoN CHIP is published 12 times ventilation fan running. And when driving along the road, there is virtually no More highs, lows and graphs - over 80 in all!
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Atmel Programmers And Compilers:
noise at all, apart from that generated bv the t1,'res, suspension and any wind STK500, Codevision C, Bascom AVB,
Pty tld. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 noise. That is a pretty attractive proposition. More importantly, such a car would With the Vantage Pro2 Weather Slation
FED AVIDICY Pro, MikroElektronika Basic
003 205 490 All material copyright require virtually no regular maintenalce ald very few visits to the local garage you get incredibly detailed information on:
and Pascal, Flash File support, and boot
@. No pail of this publicalion may
be reproduced withoul the written
for costly service - no oil changes or engine service - just check the tyres and
the water level for the windscreen washers. Now that is attractive.
MSt20 Wind - direction and strength
Bainfall - current, recent patterns etc.
loaders.
PlCmicro Programmers And Compilersl
consent of the publisher. The wotld's lowesl cosl oonlroller Temperature - current, wind chill, etc.
Sure, batteries are an expensive component in al electric vehicÌe's first cost microEngineering Labs USB programmers,
Printing: Hannanprint, Noble Park, Baromelric pfessure - current and trends
but if NiMH or Lithium-ion batteries are used, they should last for many years. Humidity & dewpoint - current and 24 hrs
adaplers, and Basic Compilers, DIY (Kit-
Vicloria. srus) USB programmers, MikroElektronika
In fact, wear in the motor shouÌd be very low, so electric vehicles could be very o 12 digital I/O And your own local forecast. You'll be
Distribution: Network Dislribution Iong-lived. Basic, Pascal, DSpic Pascal Compilers,
Company. o 2line LCD more accurate than the weaiher bureau!
CCS C, FED C, Hi-Tech C, MikroElektronlka
Sadly, there are only a handful of electric cars on the road in Australia and to Available in wired or wireless models
o5 push buttons C, disassembler and hex tools.
Subscription rales: $89.50 per year our knowledge, virtually all of these have been built by enthusiasts. In fact, the (wireless transmission up to 300m!)
o Expandable CAN: Lawicell CANUSB, CAN232
in Australia. For overseas rales, see
the subscription page in lhis issue.
Australian EÌectric Vehicle Association (AEVA) had a recent fieÌd day in Sydney
and a number of such vehicles were on display. But sadly too, they were all far o EasY to Program S164 ECOlllr ÃTC E FTDI: USB Family of lC 's. FT232RL,
Editorialoffice: shy of what can be achieved with technology presently available in Australia. llnit 5, ll S0uthlor[ llre llilsyth, U¡c 3l3t FT2452RL, also BL and others.
Dereloper's K¡t 97 includes programming cable & software
For example, they aÌl used lead-acid batteries and DC motors (not brushless)
S I
Iel: l03l StGl t0l0 fax l03l SlSl I0E0 4DSystems LCD/Graphics: Add VGA
Unil1,234 Harbord Rd, Made in Australia - used world-wide
uwu.dau¡s¡nstruments.com.au
without regeneration. Significantly too, most of them would be dicey in a major monitor, or OLED LCD to your micro. Simple
Brookvale, NSW 2100.
coÌlision and none had air-conditioning. Serial l/F.
Postal address: P0 8ox 139,
By contrast, it would be possible to put together a consortium of Australian Heaps And Heaps Of USB Products:
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 3939 3295.
Fax (02) 9939 2648.
suppliers right now, to manufacture a world-class eiectric vehicle with good
performance and range, able to accommodate four people and their luggage and
ffimfteDdgnffiW
Do you have a good circuit idea? lf s0, skelch il out, wrile a brief description of ils
TTL, BS-232, RS-485, modules, cables,
analyzers, CRO's.
Popular Easysync USB To RS-232
E-mail: [email protected]
with full crash safety. I wonder if any of our ìocal car manufacturers is actually
operalion & send il to us. Provided your idea is workable & original, we'll püblish il in Cable: Works when the others fail. Only
working on such a project right now. I hope so.
Circuit Notebook & you'll make some money. We pay up lo $100 for a good circuit id€a one recommended by CBUS. Money back
ßst't 1030.2662
"Recommended and maximum price only.
Leo Simpson or you could wín some tesl gear. guarantee.

Silicon Chip Publications, P0 Box 139, Gollaroy, tlSW 2097. www.dontronics-shop. com

SntcoN Crutp siliconchip.com.au www. si I iconch ip. com. au DECEMBER 2OO7 1.1.7
 MARKET CENTRE Cash in your surplus gear. Advertise it here in Silicon Chip.
BítSc ope íxed sisno! osciiloscope
lnventing the future requires a lot of test gear'..
...or a BitScope
r-r--rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl
20 years experience!

HI.FI SPEAKER REPAIRS

YOUN EXPENT SPEAKEß NEPAIN SPfT'T¿'STS
I lo your classified ad, email the text to [email protected]
Ooot< and I Specialising ìn UK, US and Danish brands.
f include your credit card details, or fax (02) 9939 2648, or post to Silicon Chip ¡ Speakerbits are yourvintage, rare and collecta ble speaker
Classifieds, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW, Australia2OgT.
i I repair experts, Foam sunounds,voice coils, c0mplete
reconekitsandmore 0riginal 0EM partsforScan-Speak,
I - I
Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $ or my
^.--r---^i^L:¡-..
please debit Dynaudio,Tannoy, JBI, ElectroVoice and others!

i ¡ tel: 03 9647 7000 www.speakerbits.com BS100U Mixed Signal Storage Scope & Analyzer
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 May 2001: 1 2V Mini Stereo Amplifier; Two Wh¡te-LED Torches To Build; December 2003: PC Board Design, Pt.3t VHF Receiver For Weather Picile-Povi ered Thermostat & Temperature Display; Build A lMlDl Drum
PowerPak - A lMulti-Vollage Pov/er Supplyi Using Linux To Share An Satellites; Linear Supply F0r Luxe0n 1 W Star LEDst 5V Meter Calibrati0n Kit, Pt 4; Building The Ultimate Jukebox, Pt 3
lnternet Connect¡on, Pt 1; Te/eak¡ng Windov/s W¡th T\yeakUl Standard; PIC-Based Car Battery M0nitor: PiCAXE Pt.10.
March 2006: lhe Electronic Camera, Pt 1; PC-Controlled BurglarAlarm
June2001: Un¡versal BatteryCharger, Pt 1; Phonome-Call, L¡sten ln & January 2004: Studi0 350W Po$/er Ampl¡fier lvlodule, Pt 1; H¡gh-Ei System, Pt.2; L0w-C0st lnlercooler Waler Spray Conlroller: AVR ISP
Sw¡tch Devices 0n & Off; Lorv-CostAutomaticCameraSrv¡tcher; Using ficiency Power Supply For 1W St¿r LEDsi Antenna & RF Preamp For SocketB0ard: Build A Low-Cost L¿rge Display Anemometer.
L¡nux To Share An lnternet Conneclion, Pt 2; A PC ïo D¡e F0r, Pt f Weather Satelliles; Lapel Microphone Adaptor F0r PA Systems; PICAXE-
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Let- 1 8X 4-Chânnel Datalogger, Pt 1: 2 4GHZ Audio/Video Link o Series Remote Control
Ju¡y2001:The He¿rtMate Hearl Rate lMonil0r: DoNol D¡sturbTelephone el Audio/üideo Selector;
ters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may Timert Pic-Toc-AS¡mple Alarm Clock; Fasl Universal Battery Charoer, Febrüary 2004: PC B0ard Design, Pt 1; Supply Ra¡l fi4onitor For PCsl Pt.1 i Picaxe coes Wire-
edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This Pt 2; A PC To Die For, Pt 2; Backino Up Your Email Studi0 350W Power Amplifier l\¡0dule, Pt 2; Shorted Turns Tester For
Line 0utput Transf0rmersi PICAXE-1 8X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt 2
also applies to submissions to "Ask Strcor.r C¡rp" and "Circuit Notebook". Augusl 2001: Dl B0x For ¡ilusiciansi 200W lllosfet Ampl¡f¡er Module; May 2006: L ker; lJniversal
Headlight Reminder: 401!lHl 6-D¡git Frequency Counter Modulet A PC To March2004: PC Board Design, Pl 2; Bu¡ldThe QuìckBrake Forlncreased H¡gh-Energy lnjection (Dl)
Die FOr, Pt 3; Ljsing Linux To Share An lnternet C0nnection, Pt 3 Driving Safely; 3V-9V (or more) DC-DC Converteri ESR Meter l\4k 2, Box For l\¡us¡ ltage Monitori
Pt.1 i PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Dalalogger, Pt.3. Picaxe Goes lJsing Simple
Seplember2001: Makìng N4P3s; BuildAn [¡P3Juk€box, Pl'l; PC-C0n- Antennas, lmproving The S0und 0f Salvaqed Loudspeaker Systems
trolled Mains Swìtch; Pers0nal N0ise S0urce F0r Tinnitus; Directional April 2004:
Solar effectiveness your solar system supplies only 60% Micr0ph0ne; Us¡ng Linux T0 Share An lnternet C0nnection, Pt 4
PC Board Des¡gn, Pt 3t L0udspeakerLevel l\4eterF0rHome
Theatre Systems; DoO S¡lencer; Mixture D¡splay For Carst ESR Meter June 2006: Television-The Elus¡ve Goal, Pt'1 i Electr¡c-Powered Model
is regional of the energy, then a gas booster is N0vember2001: lJltra-LD l00WChannel StereoAmpl¡fier, Pt 1 | Ne0n
Mk 2, Pt 2; PC/PICAXE Intelace For UHF Remote Control Aircrall, Pl.2; Pocket A/V Test Påttern Generalor: Two-Way SPDlFlO-
Toslink Dig¡lal Aud¡o Convertert Build A 2.4GHr Wireless A/V Linki A
A number of readers have comment- appropriate, In Tasmania, most of the conclusion is only true if petrol car Tube lvlodulator For Cars; Audio/Vide0 Distr¡bution Amplifier; Build A
Sh0rt Message Bec0rder Player; lJseful Tips For Y0ur PC
May 2004: Amplif¡erTesting Without H¡gh-Tech Geart C0mp0nentVideo
To RGB Converter; Starpower Switching Supply F0r Luxeon Står LEDs:
High-Curent Battery Charger F0r Almost Nothing

ed that I appear to have condemned electricity is hydro and so even tlough effrciency is better thal 20% . I contend Wireless Parallel Port: P00r lMan's l\4etal L0cator July 2006: Television - The Elusive Goal. Pt.2; Mini Theremin l\4k.2.
December 2001: lB Transceiver For PCs; 100WCh Stereo Amplifier Pt.1: PrOqrammable Analoo 0n-off contr0ller: Studi0 Series Slereo
electric cars in my article "How to the solar fiaction is lower, electricity that petrol car efficiency is closer to Pl 2; Pardy Lights Colour Displayi PIC Fun - Learning About lvlicros June 2004: Dr V¡de0 l\4k 2 Video Stabiliser; Bu¡ld An RFID Security Preamplifier; Stop Those Zaps From Double-lnsulâted Equipment
lModule; Fridge-000r Alârm; C0urtesy Light Delay For Cars: Automa tinq
Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emis- produces the lowest greenÌrouse gas L20/o talher than the 25% that Peter January 2002: T0uch And/0r Remole-Controlled Light Dimmer, Pt 1 ; PC PoweFUpt [Jpgraded Software F0r The EPR0¡i Programmer August 2006: Video Projeclor Survey Televisi0n -The Elusive Goal.
A Cheap 'n'Easy Motorbike Alarm; 1 00W /Channel Stereo Ampl¡fier, Pt.3: Novel Picile-Based LFD Ch¿serClock: Build A l\¡agnelic CarlridOe
sions, Pt,3" (SirtcoN CHre, September emissions. claims. Pt 3: Build A Raucous Alarm; FAOS 0n The [/P3 Jukebox July2004:Silenc¡ngAN0isyPC;VersatileBatteryProtector;Appliance Preampl¡fier: An Ultr¿sonic E¿vesdropper: Multi-Throttle ConÌrol For
2OO7). Electric cars are quite advanta- If you live in the sunnier areas of In justification, a typical small car tehruary 2002: 10-Channel lR Bemote Control Receiveri 2 4GHz H¡gh-
Energy Meter, Pt 1; A PoOr lvlan's 0 l\¡eter; Regulated High-Voltage Sup-
piy F0r Valve Amplifiers; Remote C0ntrol F0r A l\,4odel Traìn Layout
PC Flight Simulators; Mini Theremin Mk.2, Pt.2.

geous in countries or regions where Australia, where the solar fraction can uses 7 litres/1OOkm at gokm/h on Power Audio-Video Link; Touch And/0r Remote-ContrOlled Light 0jm-
mer, Pl 2t Boot¡ng A Without A Keyboardi 4-Way Event Timer Augusl 2004: Vide0 Formats: Why Bother?, VAF's New DC-X Generation
-
September 2006: Th0mas Alva Ed¡son Genius, Pl.1; Transfeff¡ng
Your LPs To CDs & lVP3s: Turn an old Xbox lnto A $200 Multimed¡a
highway cycle and g.s litres/tookm
PC
the electricity produced generates be very high or lo}ok, again electric-
March 2002: Mighty Midgd Audi0 Ampl¡fier M0dulet 6-Channel
lV Loudspeakers; Video Enhancer & Y/C Separator; Balanced l\4¡cro-
phone Preamp; Appliance Energy l\4eter, Pt 2; 3-State Log¡c Probe
Player, Picile Net Server, Pt.1: Bu¡ld The Galâclic Voicet Aquarium
Temperature Alarm: S-Vide0 T0 C0mposite Video Converter.
less than about 0.9kg of CO2 per kWh. ity may be the best. So essentially the on city cycle. On highway cycle, this lR Rem0te Volume C0ntrol, Pt.1; RIAA Pre-Amplif¡er For l\4agnetic
-
Victoria averages about 1,4kg/kWh decision is based on solar insolation motor uses 1 litre of petrol (rokWh) to Cartridgesi 1 2/24V lntelligent S0lar POv/er Battery Charger Seplem ber 2004: Voice Over I P (Vo P) For Beginners; WiFry - Cooking
I

up 2.4GHz Antennas; Bed Wetting Aleit; Build a Programmable Robol;

oclober 2006: Th0mås Alva Edison
With Dual Displays, Pt.1; IJHF Presca
Genius, Pt 2; LEo Tach0meter
ln-

and the Australian average is about (how sunny your location is), your generate 1.7kWh at the wheels; ie, L70/o Apr¡l 2002:Aut0mat¡c Single-Channel Light Dimmer; Pt 1; Water Level Another CFL lnverter frâred Remote Control Extender: Picu
'l2V 0¡gilal Timer ¡/odulei Build A Su
uild
lndicatorI l\4ult¡ple-0utput Bench P0wer Supply; Versatile l\rult¡-lvlode
1.Okg/kWh, usage level and the "dirtiness" ofthe efficiency. On a city cycle, because Timert 6-Channel lB Remote V0lume Control, Pt 2 0ct0ber 2004: lhe Humble "Trann¡e" Turns 50: Sl\4S C0ntr0ller, Pt 1 i
RGB To Component V¡de0 Converter; USB P0wer lnject0r; Rem0te lpha 4100 Dig iew)ì
In the USA, the average is about electricity supply you would use to of frequent braking, its efficiency is May2002: 32-LED Knightrider: The BalteryGuardian (Cuts PowerWhen
the Battery V0llåge Dr0ps)i Stereo Headphone Ampl¡fier; Aulomat¡c
Controller For Garage Doors & Gates. You
Pt.1; Build
able Christmas
eflex
LED
0,7kglkWh, so electric cars would be heat the water. much lower at around 5-10%. As- Single-Channel L¡ghl Dimmer; Pt 2; Stepper l\¡otOr Controller November 2004: 42V Car Eleclrical Systems: IJSB-COntrolled Pover plays, Pt.2t Pic
Sw¡lch (Errala0ec.2004)t Charger F0r Deep-Cycle 12V Batteries, Pt.1:
better there than petrol. For Australia Peter Seligman, suming 60% city and 4oo/o highway August 2002: Digital lnstrumentati0n Software For PCs; Dig¡tal Storage Dr¡veway Sentry; SMS C0ntr0ller, Pt.2t PICAXE lR Remote Control. December 2006: Bringlng A Dead cordless Dr¡ll Back To Lifei cord-
L0gic Probe; Digital Therm /Thermostat; Sound Card lnteface For PC less Porver T0ol Charger Conlroller; Build A Radar speed Gun, Pt 2;
at present, gas-powered cars may be Essendon, Vic. usage, the average petrol efficiency is Test lnstruments: Direct Convers¡on Rece¡ver For Rad¡o Amateurs December 2004: Build A Windmill Generator Pt 1t 20W Amplifier Heårtbeat CPR Train¡ng Beeper; Super Speed0 Corecror, 12124V
the best option since, apart from being 1.2o/o so it only generates an average of September2002: l2VFluorescentLamp lnverter; 8-Channel lnfrared
Module: Charger F0r Deep-Cycle 1 2V Batter¡es, Pt 2; Solar-Powered
Wireless Weåther Stâtioni Bidirectional lvlotor Speed Controller
Auxiliary Battery C0ntroller; P¡caxe Net Server, Pt 3

relatively low in CO2 emissions, they Electric cars are r.2kWh/Iitre of petrol used. Remote Control: 5o-Watt DC Electronic L0ad; Spyware - An Update
January2005:WindmillGenerator, Pt 2; Bu¡ldAV8 Doorbell; lR Remote
January 2007: Versat¡le Temperalure Switch lntefligenl Car AirCon-
ditioning Conlr0lleri Remote Telltale For Garage D00rs; lntelligenl 1 2V
reduce our dependency on foreign cleaner than petrol Using Peter's CO2 equivalence fig- 0ctober 2002: Speed Controller For Universal lMotors; PC Parallel P0rt
Wizard; Cable Ìacer; AVR ISP Serlal Programmer;30 TV.
Control Checker; 4-lvlinute Shovi er Timer:
Gamei VAF 0C-7 Generation 4 K¡t Speakers
-fhe
Prawnlìtei Sinom Says Charger For SLA & Lead-Ac¡d Batteries

oil. I would Ìike to dispute Peter Selig- ures of 2.6kgll for petrol and 1.35kg/ February 2007: Remote Volume Control & Preamplifier l\¡odule. Pt.1:
N0vember 2002: Super0harger For NiCd/N¡MH Batteries, Pt 1; W¡n- February 2005: Windmill Generator, Pt3; UsB-Controlled Electro- Simp¡e Variable B00st Conlrol For furb0 Carst Fuel Cut Defeater for
In the case of solar hot water heating, man's conclusions in his article on kWh for mains-generated electricity, dov/s-Based EPB0M Programmer, Pt.1; 4-Dioit Crystal-Conkolled cardi0graphi Tw¡nTen Stereo Amplifier; lnductance & Q-Factor Meter, The Boost Control: L0w-Cost SolVlHz frequency lvleter. Mk.2' Bike
Tim¡ng Module; Us¡ng L¡nux To Share An 0ptus Cable Modem, Pt.1 .
there are several factors which deter- "How to Cut Your Greenhouse Emis- let us now compare the amount of CO2 Pt.1 ; A Yagi Antenna For UHF CB; $2 Battery Charger Computer T0 Digital Ammeter C0nvers¡0n

Decembel 2002: Beceiv¡ng TV FrOm Satellites; Pt 'l; The l\4icr0mitter

mine whether a booster is required sions" on page 20 of the September generated by a petroÌ car per litre used ndows-Based EPR0IM PrOgrammer, Pt.2i
March 2005: Windmill Generatot Pt 4, Sports Scoreboard, Pt 1; Sw¡m-
ming Pool Lap Counter; lnductance & O-Factor llleter, Pt 2, Shielded
March 2007: Pr0grammable lgnition Syslem For Cars, PI 1; Bemole
Volume Contr0l & Preamplilier Module. Pl.2: GPS-B¿sed l-requency
and what sort of booster is appropriate. 2007 edition. Peter claims that a and by an electric car generating the H Batter¡es; Pt.2: SimpleVHF FN4/AN4 Radi0i
ptus Cable l\4odem, Pt.2.
L0op Anlenna For Alll: Cheap UV FPR0M Fraser, Sending Picaxe Data
over 477MHz UHF CB: 510 Lathe & Drill Press Tach0meler.
Relerence, Pt.1; Simple Ammeler & Vollmeler.

To give some examples: if you live in mains-recharged electric car gener- equivalent power of r.zkWh. April 2007: The Pr0p0sedB ps, H¡gh-Power
January 2003: Receiving W From Satellites, Pt 2; SC480 50W Rl\rs April 2005: lnslall Your 0v/n ln-Car Video (Reversing Monitor)t Bu¡ld Speed
Reversible DC l\4Otor 's Ladder: GPS-
Victoria, with high CO2 per kWh and ates more CO2 than a petrol car, His In a petrol car, one Ìitre of petrol Am pl¡f¡er l\¡odule, Pt.1: Gear Indicator F0r Carst Act¡ve 3-Way Cr0ssover A MlDl Theremin, PÌ.1; Båss ËxÌender For Hili Systemsi Sp0rts Score- Based Frequency Reference, tion System For
For Speakers; Us¡ng L¡nux T0 Share An optus Câble l\/lodem, Pt.3. b0ard, Pt.2; S¡¡S Controller Add-0ns; A $5 Variable POwer Supply. lnÍr
Cars, Pt.2; Dual PICAXE n.

tebruary 2003: PortaPal System, Pt 1; SC480 50W RMS Amplif¡er

PA May2005: Getting lntoWi-Fi. Pt.1, BuildA45-Sec0ndV0iceRecOrder, Ma|l 2007: 20W Class-A Amplifier M0dule, Pt.1; Adjuslable 1 .3-22V Reg-
lvlodule, Pt.2i Windov/s-Bâsed EPR0M Programmet Pt.3; Using Linux W¡reless lvlicrophone/Audio L¡nk; MlDl Theremin. Pt.2: Sp0rts Sc0re- ulated Po\Ter Supply; Vu/Peak l\4eter W¡th LCD Bargraphs: Pr0gram-
To Share An optus Cable l\40dem, Pt.4t Fun With The PICAXE, Pt.1. board, Pt 3: Automatic St0pwatch TimeL mable lgnit¡on Syslem ForCars, Pt 3; GPS-Based FrequencyReference
Australia on the right oftop 40 music formats, talkbackra- Republic and France, while many March 2003: LED Lighting F0r Y0ur Carì PeltietrElfect Tinn¡e Cooler, June 2005: Wi-Fi, Pt 2; The Mesmer¡ser LED Clock; C00lmaster Fridge/
I\40difications; Throttle lnterface For The DC MOtor Speed C0ntrOller

wavelength with digital radio dio, pioneering live news and sports other countries including Canada, PorlaPal PA System. Pt.2: l2VSLA Battery Float Chargeri Little Dyna-
m¡le SubH00fert Fun With The PICAXE, Pt.2 (Shop Door l\tlinder).
Freezer Temperature C0ntrOller; Alternative PovJer Regular; PICAXE
Colour Recognit¡on System; AVR200 Single B0ård C0mputer, Pt.1.
June 2007: 20W Class-A Amplifier Module, Pt 2; Knock Detectqr For
The Prog rammable lgn¡l¡on; Versati¡e 4-l nput Mixer With Tone C0ntrolsl
I wish to comment on the letter reports from the scene, interactivit¡ Hulgary, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Apr¡ I 2003: VideO-Audi0 B0oster For Home Thealre Syslems; Telephone July 2005: W¡-Fi, Pt 3t Remote-C0ntr0lled Aulomatic Lamp D¡mmer;
Fun With The New PICAXE 14-lVl: Frequency-Activated Sv/¡tch F0rCars;
Simple Panel lMeters Rev¡s¡ted
conceflring DAB+ in tìe September streaming online and radio podcasts Malta, New Zealand and China are Dialler For Burglar Alarmst Three PIC Programmer Kitsi PICAXE, Pt 3 Lead-Acid Battery Zapper; Ser¡âl Stepper lvlotor Controller; Salvaging
(Heartbeat Simulator)i Electric Shutter Release For Cameras
2007 issue of SlI,rcot{ Crm. It's a are examples of the way radio has making preparations for trials and & lJsing ThermOstats; Unwired l\¡0dems & External Antennas July2007: HowToCutYourGreenhouseEmissions, Pt.1;6-Dig¡tN¡xie
Cl0ck. Pt.1t TankWaler Level lndicatort A PID Temperature Conlr0llerl
shame a letter writer has attacked continually evolved both its content launches. DAB+ is our opportunity May 2003: Widgybox Guitar Distoit¡on Effects Un¡t; 101\4Hz D¡rect
D¡gital Synthes¡s Generator; Big Blaster Subwoofer; Printer Port
August2005: lMudlarkA205 ValveStereo Ampl¡fjer, Pt 1; Programmable
Flexitimer; Carbon M0nox¡de Alert; Serial LCD Dr¡ver: Enhanced Sports
20W Clåss-A Stereo Amplifier; Pt 3: l\raking Panels F0r Projects

Australia's plans for digital radio and distribution overthe years. Dig- to move the industry forward and Simulator; PICAXE Pt4 (MotorController) Scoreboard; Sålvaging Washing lllaching Pressure Sv/itches Auqust 2007: How To Cul Your Greenhouse Em¡ssi0ns, Pt.2; 20W
Class-A Stereo Ampl¡lier; Pl.4; Adaptive Turbo Timer: Subwoofer
without the facts and without being ital radio is the next step. those who don't embrace this change June 2003: PICAXE, PtSi PICAXE-Controlled Telephone lntercom:
PICAXE-o8 P0rt Expansion; Sunset Svi¡tch tor Secur¡ty & Garden
Seplember 2005: Bu¡ld Y0ur own Seismograph; Bilge Sn¡ffer For Boats: C0ntroller; 6-Dig¡t N¡xie Clock, PÌ.2.
VolP Anal0g Ph0ne Adaptor; Mudlark 4205 Valve Stereo Amplifiet
prepared to put their name to their The decision to go with DAB+ was will most likely be left behind. If Lighting; D¡gital Reâction Timer; Adjustable DC-DC Converter For Cars; Pt 2t PICAXE in Schools, Pt 4 September 2007: The Art 0f Long-Distance W¡Fit Spectacular Bike
Long-Range 4-Channel UHF Remote Control Wheel POV Displav; Fast Charoer for Nil\¡H & Nicad BalÌeries:
opinion. not driven by "bureaucracy" but by our Étnonymous critic would like to 0cl0ber2005:ALookAtGoogleEarth;DeadSimplelJSBBreakoutBox; Simple Data-Logging Weather Stat¡on, Pt.1i 20W Class-A Stereo
Commercial radio broadcasters radio stations who understand what come out from behind the cloak of July 2003: Smart C er-up Auto lvlains Studio Ser¡es Stere0 Preamplif¡er, Pt.1; Video Reading Aid For Vis¡on Amplifier: Pt 5
Switch;A "Sm¿ rt"S Cont¡nuity Testerl lmpaired People: Simple Alcohol Level Meter; Cei¡ing Fan TimeL
have every confi dence that Australia listeners want. DAB+ technology al- anonymity then we cal make sure PICAXE Pt.6 - Data PIC Programmer -
october 2007: DVD Players How Good Are They For HiFi Audioì
& Checkerboardi R November 2005: Good 0uality Ca r Sound 0n The Cheapt Pt.1 ; l\¡icr0br¡c ElecÌronic Noughts & Cr0sses Game, PlCProbe L0gic Pr0be: R0lling
can successfuIly lead the way with lows us to offer exciting new features he or she is acquainted with the Augusl 2003: PC lnfrared Remote Receiver (Play DVDS & [4P3s 0n
-B0boticsForEveryone; PlCAXElnSchools, Pt.5;Studi0Ser¡esStereo
Headphone Ampl¡fieri Build A MlDl 0rum K¡t, Pt 1: Serial l/0 Controller
Code Secur¡ty System, Pt.1; Simple Dåta-Logging Weather Stati0n,
Pt 2; AIV Loop Antenna & Amplif¡el
digital radio. We have a long history and a multitude of content that just facts of digital radio, both here and Your PC Via Bemote Control)t Digital lnstrument Display FOr Cars, & Analog Sampler; Della XL02 Tower Loudspeaker System
Pt.1; H0me-Bre$/ Weatherpr0of 2.4GHz WiF¡ Antennas; PICAXE Pt.7. November 2007: Your own Home Recording Stud¡oì PIC-Based
of innovation tàat has seen radio isn't possible with AM and FM. globally, a¡rd will thus be equipped December2005: Good 0ual¡ty Car Sound 0n The Cheap; Pt.2; Building Water Tank Level lVeter, Pt.1 i Playback Adaplor For CD-R0lM Drives,
September 2003: Robot Wars: KryptOn Bike Light; PIC Programmer: The Ult¡mate Jukebox. Pt.l; Universal High-Energy lgnition System, Pt.'1; Roll¡ng Code Secur¡ty System, Pt.2; Build A UV Light Box For
adapt and flourish over the years We should be proud that Australia to make, in the future, an informed CurrentClampMeterAdaplerF0rD¡,4Ms:PICAXE Pt.8-ADataLogger: Pt.1; Remote LED Annunciator For oueue Controli Build A MlDl Drum l\4aking PC Boards
D¡0ital lnslrumenl D¡splav For Cars. Pt.2.
despite the advent of technologies was the first country in the world to comment. Kit, Pt 2:433MHz Wireless Data Communicati0n

such as TV CD players and the in- switch on a high power DAB+ test foan Warne¡ Des¡gn, Pt.1; JV80 L0udspeaker System; A
Porver Supply; Low-Cost 50MHz Frequency
January2006: PocketTENSUnitForPain Belief;"LittleJim"A¡/l Radi0
Transmittert Un¡versâl High-Energy ¡gniti0n System, Pt.2i Building The
PLEASE NoTE: issues not listed have s0ld out All listed issues are in

ternet. The development of portable - but we are far from alone. TTiaIs Chief Executive Officer, hannel Remote Control System. lJltimate Jukebox, Pt.2i MlDl Drum Kit, Pt.3i Picaxe-Based 4331\¡Hz
Wireless Thermometer; A Human-Powered LED Torch
and in-car listening, the introduction have been conducted in Italy, Czech Commercial Radio Australia. November2003:PCBoardDesign, Pt.2 12AX7ValveAudioPreampli-
lier; 0ur Best Ever LED Torcht Smart Badio ¡ilodem For lvlicroconlrollersi February 2006: Electr¡c-Powered Model Aircraft, Pt 1; PC-Controlled
PICAXE Pt 9t Progrâmmable PIC-Powered Timer Bur0larAlarm System, Pt 1: BuildAChargerForiPods & lllP3 Playersi

StucoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 1OS

 August 1998: Tr0ubleshooting Y0ur PC, Pt.4; l/0 Card With Data Log-
gin¡; Beat Triggered Strobe, 1sWCh Clåss-A Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2. Updated
SeDtember 1998: Tr0ubleshootino YOur PC Pt.5t A Blocked AirFilter Prawnlight
Alarmi Waa-W¿a Pedal F0r Guilars: Jacob's LaddeI, Gear Change lndica-
t0r For Carsì Capacity lndìcator tor Rechargeable Batteries I thought you might be JED has designed a range of
interested in my adaptation
January 1994: 3A 40V Vanable P0rver Supplyi S0lar Panel Switching Mayl996: H¡Oh Voltage lnsulationTesteri Knightrider LED Chaser; Sim-
0cl0ber 1998: AC N¡illivoltmeter, Pt 1i PC-C0ntr0lled Stress-0-Meteri
Versatile Electron¡c Guitar Limiter; 1 2VTrick¡e Charger For Float C0ndi- of the Prar,r'nlight featured
s¡ngle board computers and
BeoulatOr; Printer Status lndicator: ivlini Drill Speed Contr0ller: Slepper ple lntercom uses 0ptical Cable, Cath0de Bay Oscilloscopes, Pt.3. ti0ns, Adding An External Battery Pack T0 Y0ur Flashgun
in the January 2005 issue. modules as a way of using the
M0l0r C0rlroller: Active Filter Designi Engine l\4anagement, Pt.4.
June 1996: Slere0 Srmulat0r(usesdelaychip): R0pe Lighl Chaser: L0w November'1998: The Christmas Stari A TurbO T¡mer For Carsi Build
'1
A P0ker Mâchine, Pt i Fl\4 lransmitter F0r l\4usicians, Lab 0uality AC This was one of those AVR without SMT board design
Februarv 1994:90-Sec0nd l\¡essdoe Rec0rderi 12-24oVAC 200W ln- 0hms lesler lor Y0ur Dl\¡l\4t AuÌomalic 104 Battery Charget
proiects that I was going
verter; 0.5W Audio Amplifier 3440V Adjuslable P0wer Supply: Ingine M¡llivoltmeter, Pt 2; lmprOvinO A¡/ Radio Recepti0n, Pt 1
I\4anagement, Pt 5; Airbags ln Cars - HOly They W0rk July f996: VGA Digilal 0scillOscope, Pt.1; Remote C0ntrol Extender For

March 1994: lnlelligent lF Remote Conlr0llert 50W (L[I3876) Audi0

VCRsi 2A SLA Batlery Charger; 3-Band Parametric Equaliser;. December.1998: Eng¡ne lmmobiliser ¡/1k.2; Therm0couple Adaptor
For Dl\¡lMs; Beaulated 12V DC Pluqpack; Build A P0ker lvlachine, Pt.2l to do when a trip to the The new Prawnlight uses'atut-
Ampl¡fier l\40dule: Level Crossing DetectOr F0r lM0del Railvi¿ys: Voice
Activated Swilch I or FM l\¡icr0ph0nes: Engine Managemenl, Pt.6.
Auqusl 996: lntroducl¡0n to IGBTs; Electronic Slarter F0r Flu0rescent
1

Lanps; VGA 0scilloscope, Pl.2. 350W Amplifier l\40dule: Masthe¿d

lmproving AIM-Rad¡0 Rerepti0n. PL2; [¡ixer M0dule F0r F3B 0liders.
coast was looming. By the down trailer taillight assembly qr
Amplilier I or lV & Fl\4; Cathode Ray 0scill0sc0pes. Pt.4. January 1999: Hi0h-Voltage Meoohm lesTert A L00k Al lhe BASIC time that happened, Oat- and a LED auto lamp.
1994
April \?ay Level Cr0ssings, Dual Stamp:'Bargr¿ph Ammeter For Cars: Keypad Engine lmm0biliser
Supplyv0l Pre¿mplifieri Digitalwater Seplember 1996: VCA 0scill0srOpe, P1.3, lB Stere0 Headph0ne Link,
March 1999: Build A Di0¡tdl Anemomeler; DIY PIC Programmer, Build
ley Electronics were out of
lank Gåug Pt.1 ; HF Anìaleur Radio Receiver: Calhode Ray 0scill0sc0pes. P1.5.
An Audi0Compressortiow-Dist0rlion Audio S¡gn¿l G¡ner¿tor, Pt.2. stock of the kit so I found an alter- As you can see, the unit is virtual-
May 1994: Fast Charger I or Nicad Balteries, lnducti0n Balance lMelal
L0calor: Mult¡-Channel lnlrared Bemole Control; Dual Electr0nic Dice;
0ct0ber 1996: Send Vide0 Signals over Tv/ìsted Pair Cablet 600W
DC-DC Converter For Car Hif Systems, Pt 1; lR Stereo Headphone tence
ADr¡l 1999: Gettino SlartedWith L¡nuxi Pt.2: High-PO\YerElecLric native. Fortunately, newer bright ly the same as the fanuarv 2005 ver-
Simple ServO Driver Circuits; Engine l\4anagement, Pt I Link Pt 2; Multi-Channel Rad¡0 C0ntrol Transmitter, Pt I C0nlr0ller: Bass Cube SubwoOfert Pr0qrammable Therm0st¿L/Ther
LEDs have become available and sion n'ith the exception of the bright
mometert Build An lnlrared Sentry; Bev Limiter For Cars
June 1994: A Co0lant Level Alarm For Your Car, 8o-l\¡etre A|\4/CW N0vember 996: 8-Channel Stere0 l\¡ixer, Pt 1; Lo[¡COst Flu0rescenl by using a cut-down trailer tail-light LED assembly, which at around $20
The AVR570 module (above) is a way of
1

Tlansmitter For Amaleurs, Converting Phono lnputs T0 L¡ne lnputs; Lrght lnverter: Repåiring D0mestic LighL Dimmers; 600W DC-DC May '1 999: The I ine Dancer B0b0l: An X-Y T¿ble With Stepper lvlotor
PC-Based N¡cad Battery Nlonitor; Engine l\¡anagement, Pl I C0nverter F0r Car Hifi Syslems Pt.2 Control. Pt 1, Three Electric Fence Testers; Carb0n l\.40nOxide Alarm assembly, a similar Prawnlight soon is cheaper than the original kit. Care using an ATmega128 CPU on a user base
July 1994: Burld A4-Bay B0rr-Tie UHI- TVAntenna, PreChamp 2-Tran- 0ecember 1996: Act¡ve Filter F0r CW Reception; Fasl Clock June1999:FM Rad¡oTunerCardFOrPCs;X-YTableWithStepperl\4otor took shape. is needed when sawing/cutting off board without having to lay out the intricaie,
lor Railwav l\40dellers; Laser Pist0l & Electronic Tårget: Build C0ntrol, Pt 2; Pr0grammable lgniti0n Timing lvlodule F0r Cars Pt 1
sist0r Preamplifer: Steam Train Wh¡stle & Diesel Horn Simulator:6V
SLA Battery Charger; Electr0nic Engine l\¡anagement, Pt.10. A Sound Level Meter;8-Ch¿nnel Stere0 lMixer, Pl.2: lndex T0 V01.9. I tried this with just one of these the excess portion ofthe trailer light suñace-mounted surrounds of the CPU, and
Julv 1999: Build A D0q Silenceri l0!H l0 19.99mH lnductance l\4eler:
housing. then having to manufacture your board on
Augusl 1 994: H¡gh-Pov/er Djmmer F0r lncandescent Lights; Dual Diver January 1997: Contr0l Panel For ¡/ulhple Sm0ke Alarms, Pt. l: Build Audio-Vide0 Transm¡ner: Prooramm¿ble l0niti0n Timing M0dule For Superbright LED lights for cars and an SMT robot line. lnstead you simply layout
sity Tuner lor FM l\4icr0ph0nes. Pl.1: Nicad Zapper (l or Besutrecting A Pink Noise SOurce: C0mputer C0ntrolled Dual Power Supply, Pt.1:
D¡g¡-Temp Therm0meter (Mon¡t0rs Eight Temperatures)
Cars, Pl.2; XYZ Table W¡th Stepper M0t0i C0ntrol, Pt.3.
it is very bright. They have a direc- One thing different is that the a square for four 0.1" spaced socket strips
Nicdd Balleries): Electr0nic Engine l\¡anagement. Pl.1 1.
Augusl'1999: Remote lVì Runninglights For
tional beam of 15' which is fine for LED assembly is polarity-sensitive and plug in our pre{ested module The
SeDlember 1994: Autom¿tic Discharger F0r N¡cad Bafteries: l\¡tnivox February 1997: PC-C0nlr0lled l\4oving Message D¡splay: Compuler Can: Build A PC l\4onitO penture C0ntroller,
Voice 0peraled Relay. Al\4 Radi0 F0r Wealher Beac0ns: Dual Drversity Conlrolled Dual Power Supply. Pl.2: Alert-A-Ph0ne Loud Sounding XYZ Table With Stepper tric Lighting, Pt.l 4. a torch function. I also tried it as a whereas the incandescent is not. I module has the crystal, resetter, AVR-ISP
Tuner F0r Fl\4 lMics, Pt.2i Electr0nic Engine l\4anagement, Pt.1 2. Telephone Alarm: C0ntrol Panel For l\¡ultiple Sm0ke Alarms, Pt.2.
used a permanent marking pen to programming header (and an optional JTAG
Se0tember'1999: Aut0n0mouse l he Bob0t, Pt.1: Voice DirectSpeech replacement for overhead lights in
March 1997: 175W PA Amplif¡er; Signâlling & Lighting For Model Reò0qnilion l\¡0dulet D¡0¡t¿l Electr0lytic Capacilance N¡eter: XYZ Table ICE pad), as well as programming signal
0cl0be|1994: Hory Dolby Sur0und S0und W0rks; Dual Rail Variâble
With Stepper l\¡0t0r C0ntr0l, Pt.5, PeltieÊPor/ered Can C0oler a pop-top caravan but there's not label each end.
Povrer Supply: lalkìng Headlight Reminder; Electr0nic Ballast F0r Raillvays; Jumbo LED Cl0ck; Cathode Bay 0sc¡ll0sc0pes, Pt.7 switching For a little extra, we load a DS1 305
Flu0rescent Lights: ElectrOnic Engine Management, Pt 1 3
0ctober 1999: Build lhe Railpower l\.40del Train C0ntroller, Pt.1 ; Semi- enough side light which is a pity Nor,v all I need is a dark night and RTC, crystal and Li battery underneath,
ADril 1997: Simple Timer W¡th No lcs; Dtgttål VOltmele¡ For Cars:
November 1994: Dry Cell Battery BeJUVenat0r; N0vel Alphanumer Löudspeaker Protector F0r Stereo Ampliliers; l\¡0del Train Controller' c0nductor Curve Tracer: Aut0nomouse The R0b0t. Pt.2; XYZ Tåble With
Stepper lMotor Contr0l, Pt 6; lntroducing Home Theatre as they draw one-fifth the current an outgoing tide. Roll on summer. which uses SPI and port G
ic Clock: 80-l\4 DSB Amateur Transmitteri 2-Cell Nicad Discharger A L00k At Signal Tracingt Pt.1 : Cathode Ray 0scill0scOpes, Pt.8.
of incandescent globes and remain Murray Solomon, See JED's www site for a datasheet.
oecember 1994: Car Burglar Alarm; Three-Spot LOw Distort¡on May 1997: Neon Tube Modul¿t0r F0r Lighl Systems: Trafic Lights For November lggg: Setting [Jp An Email Servert Speed Alarm For Cars.
Sinevrave oscillator, Clifford -
A Pesky Electronic Cricket; Remote A l\¡Odel I ntersect¡on: Ihe Spacewriler - I t WriÌes Messages I n Thi n Ai r: PÌ.1: LED Christmas Treð; lritercom Sl¿tion Expa¡tder: Foldback L0ud- cool. Cheltenham. Vic.
Control System for Models, Pt 1; lndex to Vol 7 A L00k At Signal lracing; Pt.2t Cath0de Ray 0scill0sc0pes, Pt.9. speaker Systemt Ra¡lpoe/er l\¡0del Train Controller, Pt 2 AVR573 Single Board Gomputet
January 1 995: Sun Tr âcker l0r S0l¿r Panels: Eattery Saver F0r T0rches: Ju ne l 997: PC-C0ntrOlled Therm0meter/Thernostati TV Patle rn G en - December 1 999: Solar P¿nel Re0ulat0r: PC Pov/er h0use (gives - 1 2V.
Dual Channel UHt Remote Contr0l: Slere0 l\¡icr0ph0ne Preampl¡fier. eratOr, Pt 1; Audio/RF Signal Tracer: High-Curent Speed C0nkoller For +9V. r6V & +5V rails); Fortune Finder Melal L0cator: Speed Alarm F0r
Cars, Pt.2; Railpower lvl0del Train Controller, Pt.3; lndex T0 V01.12.
12Vl24V [4otors; lManual C0ntr0l Circùit For Stepper M0lors.
generates 2.6kg of CO2 and 1,2kwh CHIe magazine has been a major factor
February 1995: 2 x 50W Stereo Amplifier Module: D¡g¡tal Effects Unit
For lvlusiciansj 6-Channel LCD Thermometer; W¡de Bange Electlostatic Julv 1997: lnlrared Remote V0lume C0ntr0l, A I lexible lnterface Card
FoiPCs; Points Conlroller l0r l\40del Railv/¿ys, Coi0ur W Pattern
January 2000: Sprino Reverberati0n M0dule: An Audi0-Video Test Gen-
eraÌol Parallel Port lnterface Card: Telephone 0ff-H00k lndlcator.
of power at the wheels. With an elec- in our group's prosperity.
L0udspeakers Pt 1; Rem0te Control System For l\¡odels, Pl 2
GeneratOt Pt 2: An ln-Line lvlixer F0r Radio Control Beceivers tric car, assuming 90% efficiency of Please accept our best wishes. We
March'1995:2x50WStereoAmplifier,Pt 1;SubcatrierDecOderForFl\4 Februarv 2000: lvlulli-Sect0r Sprinkler Conlroller; A Digilal Voltmeter
Receivers; Wide Range Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Pt 2; lR llluminatol 0ctober 1 997: 5-Dig¡t Tachometer; Central Locking For Y0ur Cart PC- For Y0ui Cdr, S¿lety Sy/itch Checkeri Sine/Sqüare Wavè 0scillator. charger and 90% efficiency of control look forward to the same great relation-
FOr CCD Cameras: Remote Control System For I\¡odels, Pi 3 C0ntr0lled 6-Channel Voltmete( 500W Audio Power Amplifier, Pt.3.
March 2000: rrecting An 0ld Computer: 100W A[plifier electronics combined with dynamic ship for the next 20 years.
l\4odule, Pt.1: onic Wind Vane With 16-LED Display: Build A
April1995: Radio lrainer. Pt.1, Bal¿nced lVìic Preamp & Line Filter:
FIM
5oWiChånnel Stereo Amplilier. PÌ 2i Wide Range lectrostdtic L0ud'
November 1997: Heavy Duty 104 24oVAC Mot0r Speed Controller;
tasV-T0-Use Cable & Wirino fester: Build A M usical D0orbell: Replacing Glov/plug Driver braking, if we recharge the batteries Gary fohnston,
speakers, Pt 3: 8-Channel Decoder For Radio Remote C0ntr0l l-0am Speaker Surr0unds: Understanding Electric Lighting P1.1.
May 2000: Ultra-LD Slereo Amplifier. Pt.2: I ED Dice (With PIC ¡/licr0- lrom the mains, then 1.2kWh at the Silverwater, NSW. This board uses the AVR570 module and
May1995:GuitarHeadphOneAmplilier:I lMB¿dio lrainer.Pt.2:Transis- December'1997: Speed Al¿rm For Cars:2-Axis Robot With Gripperl controller)t 504 N4olor Spêed C0ntr0ller For l\.4odels.
wheel.s requires us to input 1,5kwh adds 20 An./Dig. inputs, 12 FET outputs, LCD/
tor/¡rosfetTesterF0rDMIMs:416-Channel DecoderforRadi0 Rem0te Stepper M0t0r Driver With 0nboard Buffer: P0\Ter Supply For Stepper
C0nk0l, lntroducti0n T0 Sat¡llite TV. l\iloior Cards; understand¡n0 Electric Lrqhting Pt.2: lndex To Vol.10. June 2000: Automatic Rain Gaugei Parallel Port VHF FIM Receiveri from the mains. So the electric car Congratulations on 20 years Kbd, 2xRS232, 1xRS4BS, 1 -Wire, power reg.
Switchmode P0wer Supply (1.23V t0 40V) Pt.1' CD C0mpressor
Congratulations on the 20th an- etc. See www.jedmicro.com.au/avr.htm
June.l995: Build A Satellite W Receiver; Train Detect0r F0r MOdel January l998:4-Channel 12VDC 0r l2VAC Lightshow. Pl.1 i C0mmdnd generates 1.35 x t.5 = zkg of CO2 for
ControiF0r l\40del Rail\?aVS. Pl.1; Pan C0ntrcller For CCD Cameras. Julv 2000: l\40vinq Message Displayt C0mpact Fluorescent L¿mp Driver:
Railv/ays,1 W Audi0 Ampllfier Trai ner; LovÊCost Vide0 Security System;
Musicjans' Lead Tester, Svilchm0de P0v/er Supply, Pt.2. 1.2kwh at the wheels. niversary of SucoN Cmp. Its obvious
lMulli-Channel Radi0 C0ntrol Transmitter For l\4odels, Pt.1 .
February 1998: Teleph0ne Exch¿nge Simulator F0r Test¡ng, Command
This is completely the opposite con- success is a credit to you and for your $330 PG-PR0M Programmer
July 1995: lectric Fence Controller: HOv To Rufl lwo Trarns 0n A Conlrol Tor ¡/10del Railriavs, Pl.2;4-Channel Lightshov¿. Pt.2. August 2000: Theremin; Spinner (trrites messages ¡n "thin-aii'); This programmer plugs into a PC printer
S¡ngle Track (lncl. Liqhts & S0und): Setting Up A Salell¡te TV Ground
Stali0n; Build A Reliable D00r Minder Aoril 1998: Automatic Garaoe Door Opener, Pt 1:40V 8A Adjustable
PrOximity Sv/itchi Slructured Cabling F0r C0mputer Netw0rks.
clusion to Peter Seligman's example foresight in launching the magazine port and reads, writes and edits any 28 or
Pbrver Supply, PÌ.1, Pc-Controlled 0-30kHz Sinewdve Gener¿l0r; SeDlember 2000: Slvimmino Pool Al¿rm: 8-Channel PC Relay Board:
Fuel lM¡xlure Display F0r Car S, Pt.1 : Protob0ards - l he Easy Way lnto
whereby he claims "Less CO2 is gener- originally. 32-pin PROM. Comes with plug-pack, cable
Augusl 1995: Fuel lniect0r Monit0r F0r Cars: A Gain Conlr0lled lJnderstandinq Eleclr¡c Lighting; Pt 6
Micr0ph0ne Preamp: ldenlifying IDE Hard Disk Drive Pârameters.
May 1998:3-LtD Loqic Probei Garage Door opener. Pt.2: Command
Eleclronics, Pt.1; Cybug The S0lar Fly. ated using a mains recharged electric I note that EPE magazine is now and software.
Seplember 1995: Railpor/er l\4k.2 Walkaround Throttle lor [¡odel C0ntrol Syslem. Pt.4:40V 8A Adiuslable Pov/er Suppl\/. PL2. 0ctober 2000: Guitar Jammer: Brealh Tester; Wand-M0unted lnspec- car compared with a petrol car." reproducing some of your construction
ti0n Camera, SublvOOfer For Cars: Fuel Mixture Display, Pt 2
Rail\rays, Pt.1; Keypad C0mbinati0n L0cki Build A Jacob's Ladder
Display June 1998: Troublesh00ting Y0ur PC, Pt.2i lJniversal High nergy Peter Kay, articles and this is sureÌy a compliment
N0vember 2000: Santa & Rudolf Chrissie D¡splay; 2-Channel Gu¡tar
0cl0ber 1995: 3-Way Loudspeaker System; Railp0wer lvlk 2 Walk-
lgnili0n Syslem, The R0adies'Friend Cable Testeri [Jniversal epper
l\¡otor C0ntroller; Command C0ntrol For lVodel Râilv/dys, Pt. Preamplilier, Pt.1; Message Bank & l\¡issed Call Alertl Protoboards Dromana, Vic, to you and your staff for your excel-
around Throttle For Model Ra¡lways, Pt 2i Nicad Fast Charger - The Easv Wav lnto Eleclr0nics. P1.3. lent projects.
July 1998: Troubleshoolinq Y0ur PC. Pt.3, 1sWCh Class-A Audio
N0vember 1995: Mixture D¡splay F0r Fuel lnjected Carsi CB Transverter
'l: PIR l\rOvement Detect0r
Amplifier. Pt.1; SimDleCharqerFor6V & l2VSl A Batlenes: Automatic
Semic0nductorAnalyser; [Jnderstanding Electric Lighting, Pt.8.
December2000: Home Netv/Orking ForShared lnternet Access; White
LED Torch; 2-Channel Guitar Preampl¡fjer, Pt.2 (D¡gital Reverb); 0riving
Best wishes for Keep up the good work!
For The 80lvl Amateur Band, Pt
An LCD From The Parallel Port; lndex To Vol 13 another 20 years Garth F. ]enkinson,
Januarv 2001: How To Transfer LP D0cÌor On behalf of all staff at ]aycar Elec- Emerald, Vic.
- Clean lJp Clicks & P0ps.Pt.l: Ar 0r: 2-Chan-
nel Guitar Preamplilier, Pt.3; PIC tronics, Electus and Soanar, I would
Also available is a multi-PROM UV eraser
Februarv 200'l: An Easv Wav T0 Make PC Boards; L'il Pulser Tra¡n sincerely like to congratulate you Possible error in Variable with timer, and a 3U32 PLCC converter.
Just fill in and ma¡lthe handy order form in this issue; controllér: A N4l0l lnterface For PCs: Build The B¿ss BlaTer:2-l\4eke
Groundplane Antennai LP Doctor - Clean Up Cl¡cks & Pops, Pt.2. and your staff on 20 years of "well Speed Drive circuit
or fax (02) 9939 2648; or call (02) 9939 3295 and quote your March 2001: l\4aking Phot0 Besist Pc Boards: Bio-Digit 12124 Hour
done". I don't know if I have this analysis JED Microprocessors Pty Ltd
cred¡t card number. Pr¡ce: $49.50 each (¡cl. GST) in Australia or Cl0ck; Parallel P0rt PIC Pr0grammer & Checkerboardi Protoboards - I am flattered thai you mention correct but I have gone through the 173 Boronia Rd, Boronia, Victotia, 3155
The Easy Way lntO Electronics, Pt.s; A Simple ¡rlDl Expansion Box.
$A13 each overseas. Prices include postage and pack¡ng. Email: laycar in your November editorial, It Variable Speed Drive circuit on page Ph. 03 9762 3588, Fax 03 9762 5499
ADril 2001: A GPS [4odule For Y0ur PC; Dr Video - An Easy-to-Build
silicon @siliconchip.com.au V¡de0 Stabiliser: Trem0l0 Unit For Musicians; Minim¡tter FM Slere0 must be said, of course, that SucoN 93 ofthe October 2007 issue and I am
Transmitter, lntelligent N¡cad Battery Charger www.¡ednicro.com.au

siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7

108 StucoN Cutp
 Mailbag: continued usually detect changes in radiation
the result is around 7,5V across the
motor. This is not a problem with the
specified 3V barbecue spit motor.
ffi&ffi
over a few seconds, so this may be Magnetic Cartridge Preamplifier, is wrong, It should read "When the
a challenge. Increasing airflow August 2006: for Table should
5, R1
be a link for the x1 gain position.
timer has completed countdown,
Movement timer wanted chair which detected flexing in the Charles Tivendale, RB5 goes low, which turns off Q7
for PC addicts chair could be used or a thermistor via email. for an oil heater Note also that the relative gain & Q5 and turns on Q6",
I frequently spend hours surfing embedded in the seat to detect body Comment: this general concept is im- I have been trying to locate a vari- values shouldbex2,xLL andx 101
the web and only when I get up, I heat (OK unless you have a cold portant; ie, people needto getup and able frequency device to enable the instead ofx1, x10 & x100. Subwoofer Controller, August
realise I'm abit stiff ald sore. Some- posterior!). Or perhaps a PIR sensor move about rather than being frozen variation of fan speed in a room oil 2OO7:, a 47kQ resistor in the input
times my legs are also a bit numb. could be used. to one spot in front of the computer. heater. I would like a device or kit Lightbox Timer, November 2007: circuit to the Speaker position of
Bearing in mind the recommenda- The circuit would have to detect HoweveL we don't think a hardware that would operate from 24OVAC SOHz CON5, the plug and socket shown the Source Select switch (S1J was
tion that PC users get up and walk a seated person being there for some project is the best or easiest solution. input with a 240VAC output with a for 240VAC mains connection to not included on the PC board and
around for a few minutes each hour, time and if there were no gaps (ie, Whatis needed is areminderwhich variable frequency or just the choice the PC board, is not mains-rated is not necessary.
I thought a detector/timer/alarm for not detected) for frve minutes or pops up on the screen to rcmind you of soHz and 6oHz, and should be replaced by a 3-way
people seated at a computer may more, activate tlre alarm after one to take an exercise break. Therc are My aim is to be able to increase the mains terminal block (eg, Altronics NiMH Battery Charger, September
be a useful project, As the sensor, I hour, Because of their high-tem- any number of free diary packages airflow fiom the heater. I am aware P2O37A). The published PC board 2007: The 100pF capacitor shor,rm
thought a microswitch attached to a perature coefflcient, PIR sensors which can be arranged to do this. these devices are available commer- pattern has been amended to reflect on the overlay diagram of Fig.3
cially for pumps, etc but I am looking the wider pin spacing required. adjacent to VR6 should be 10pF,
for a simple low-output device (around AIso the circuit description on to be consistent with the parts list
pretty certain there is an error. destroy the Mosfets. PIease correct me mean that the corresponding Mosfet 100W or so). (P.1., via email). p73, paragraph 4, righthand column, and circuit.
Going through the logic table, for if I am wrong. is turned on. o To be frank, ifyouneedto increase
example, when FWD command is Alan Mainwaring, This is due to the way the optocoû- the airflow through your heater, you
high and the PWM is high, Q1 should Koroit, Vic. plers in this circuit work. As you con would probably be better off checking spin freely by hand after reassembly its ability to detect the presence of
be on, Q2 off, Q3 off, Q4 on, which Comment: the circuit is correct, as far see from their schematic, when therc to see that the fan is actually operat- before attaching it to the fan. When water. It should have two smaÌl probes
is what should happen. My analysis as we can teLl. The point you may be is current JTowing in the optocoupler's ing properly. Typically, such fans are you now apply power you should be or metal plates that make contact with
shows that if one builds the circuit as missing is that two of the optocouplers input LED, the top transistor in the squirrel cage designs drivenby a small greeted by a blast of air. These things the coolant. When the sensor is dry it
shown, you will have a major problem, are acting as inverters and the other output stage is onwhile the bottom one shaded-pole motor and they are prone really do push a lot of air. After all, you should show a high resistance in the
in that when FWD is high and PWM two are not. In otherwords,whenthere is off .Whentherc is no currentflowing to being seriously clogged up with can be pretty sure that the heater was megohm range. When immersed in
level is high, Qr is ofl Q2 is off, Qs is is current flowing through the LEDs in through the input LED the reverse is dust and fluff. provided with a more than adequate water, it should be about 100kQ - the
on and Q+ is on, This condition would the optocouplers, it doesn't necessarily true, namely the bottom tuansistor is The motors are also prone to pro- fan when it was frrst manufactured. exact value is not critical.
gressively seize, as they are used in a
very hot environment. The solution:
pull the entire oil heater out of its Sensor for Source for potting
a cabinet and take it outside where you Coolant Alarm compound
can give all the air passages a thorough Do you know whether the later I need some potting resin for some
[hte new syslem
. Erery ¡ssue indiridually archired, by month and yeal
. Conplete w¡th inder for each yeal
clean out.
Do tlre same for the squirrel cage
model Falcon coolant level sensors
are suitable to use with the Coolant
projects I am working on. Is it only the
normal resin used for fibreglass work,
eircuit design, . A must-hâue fof eùeryone interested in electfon¡cs fan, making sure that all the vanes are Alarm project f¡om the lune 1994 is- in which case it won'tbe hard to flnd,
simulation & completely clean. The more thorough sue. The later model sensors use two or is it a special type? If it is special,
This remarkable collection of PDFs covers every you are with this aspect, the longer the
qAD/ CAM in one complele wires, probably because the sensor is could you tell me where I could obtain
package for your pc._:;É
issue of R & H, as it was known from the fan will stay unblocked. The whole mounted in a plastic tank and therefore some? (T. U,, Georgica, NSW).
beginning (April 1939 - price sixpence!) procedure is a messy job which is why o Perhaps the easiest approach would
not possible to directly earth. [D. D.,
right through to the final edition of R, TV we suggest that you do it outside. Kellyville, NSW). be to use a clear neutral-cure silicone
& H in March 1965, before it disappeared
forever with the change of name to
Next, pull down the motor arrd clean o The sensor should be useable but sealant such as Selleys Roof & Gutter
and oil the bearings. Make sure it will you would need to test it by verifying sealant. sc
Electronics Australia.
For the first time ever, complete and in 0ne
handy DVD, every article and every issue is covered.
lf you're an old timer (or even young timer!) into vintage radio, it
StLtcoN Cnte magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage.
doesn't get much more vintage than this. lf you're a student of
All such projects should be considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely.
history, this archive gives an extraordinary insight into the amazing
Readers are warned that high voltage wiring should be carried out according to the instructions in the articles.
Wmd breakthroughs made in radio and electronics technology following
the war years. And speaking of the war years, R & H had some of the
When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact w¡th
Wmd best propaganda imaginable!
Even if you're just an electronics dabbler, there's something here to
mains AC voltages or high voltage DC. lf you are not conf ident about working with projects employing mains voltages
or other high voltages, you are advised not to attempt work on them. Silícon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims
interest you.
any liability for damages should anyone be killed or injured while working on a project or circuit described in any
issue of StLtcoN Cute magazine. Devices or circuits described in SrLtcoN Cnte may be covered by patents. SrLlcoN
NB: Requires a computer w¡th DUD reader to view Cntp disclaims any liability lor the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such equip-
ment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant
-w¡ll not worl 0n a standard aud¡o/u¡deo DUD playel
government regulations and by-laws.
Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must con-
form to the Trade Practices Act 1974 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are
www. SS5electro n i cs. com. au applicable.

Stuco¡rt Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEq 2OO7 7O7

 NIþ@MWMW start-up currents are higher than the
normal running current. In addition,
the voltage rating of the contact can Is waveform sawtooth the standard usages of tìe terms. In
be important because relay contacts or triangular? particular, see:.
I built two of the Car Fuel Mixture these have been built without caus-
Display kits and have found that the ing problems. The specifications for
for low voltages (<32V) are not suited It may be a bit pedantic but I https://secure4.vivid-design.com.
We're told we make
to mains operation (240VAC). In addi- thought that a sawtooth waveform au/iaycar2005/images-uploaded/
LM3914 has a voltage of o.6V on the the LM3914 indicate that the input
tion, the contact ratings are different used to be a climbing ramp followed LMz9OO.PDF
signal input at pin 5. Of this, 0.3V current at pin 5 is typically 25nA but
is dropped across the 1MO resistor could be at a maximum of 100n4. for AC currents compared to DC. by a sudden return to zero (or vice Graham Goeby,
Greensborough, Vic.
the best speakers
If you want a low,coil current, then versa). The drawing on page 28 of
so therefore 0,3V is applied to the This would mean that the voltage Comment by the editor: I tend to
consider the solid-state relays that the April 2007 edition shows what
oxygen sensor. Because of this, it across the 1MQ input resistor to pin
only require a small current to ener- is referred to as a sawtooth but it is think of the terms triangular and in the world. . .
has damaged an old sensor and then 5 wouldbe typically 0.025V (25mV)
gise them. These tend to have just a drawn as a triangular waveforrn. sawto oth as being interchange able.
a new one, when connected to an oxygen sensor
normally-open contact. Is this an error or have definitions In fact,I would go further than that
Oxygen sensors will be damaged or to ground.
and say that using the word trian-
if you try to apply a voltage to them We are not sure why yourLM3914
A reverse-connected diode across changed? Orhas the youngergenera-
the relay coil is usually required gular to describe o continuously
and in fact, ifyou do your research produces a 0.6V output at pin 5. It
when a transistor is used to drive the
tion grown up with the "Jack" saws
which do have triangular teeth. Do rcpeating waveform is not quite logi- ow you can too
on these sensors, they warn against would suggest either a faulty IC or cal; the sswtooth is more pictorially
that there is severe leakage on the coil. This diode protects the transis- they therefore describe a triangular
using a multimeterset on "ohms" be- correct in the descriptive sense.
tor fromdamage by clamping the wave as a "sawtooth"?
cause the voltage used by the meter PC board. A multimeter set to read
back-EMF generated when the coil I noticed that page 1,5 of the April In any case, with a function gen-
will damage the oxygen sensor. "ohms" produces a current that eÍator, you can have a sawtooth
de-energises, 2007 issue also shows a triangular
If I am correct, then there may be could damage an oxygen sensor. We
waveform and calls it a sawtooth. waveform where you can vary the
"The besÍ sltcctlrera
people who have unknowingly dam- do not say to measure an oxygen seD-
positive and negative slopes, so at
sor resistance in any of our articles. Solar tracker does not This is foom same author and he's
aged their oxygen sensors without what stage do you have atriangular
realising it, I would be interested The 25nA (100nr\ max) from the give full voltage
not a youlgster!
National Semiconductor differen- waveform andwhen does itbecome
I hat,e eyer lteut'd"
to hear your comments. (T. G., via LM3914 will not cause damage to an DVD Now
I am in the process of making the So- tiates between the two and I believe sawtooth?
email). oxygen sensor. I¡ fact, the car's en-
lar Sun Tracker featured in the fanuary that they are an authority in tlre Hauing said, you will find other -<$
o We have produced several pro- gine management computer would
1995 issue. Iwouldlike to knowwhy it field. Their examples certainly are wfiters in Sa¡coN Cnn describing "Tlte besl buss
jects using the LM3914 to monitor cause the same order of current to
says that the Mosfets only have a7.5Y in accord with what I believe are such a waveþrm as triangular.
the oxygen sensor and thousands of flow in the oxygen sensor.
output. Are they not fully turned on? in îhe v'ot'ltl "
I thought that with the Mosfets fully Rolling Stone Magazine
turned on you would have 12V avail- on while the top one is off. Now the engine control boxes, PIC-based micro-
able. Could you explain this please? voltage at pin 5 of OPTOL is around controllers with al endless succession
resistances usually found with higher So there are many factors involved
in deciding the final relay coil resist- (c. C,, Rockhampton, Qtd). L2V since there is a voltage divider of PICAXE projects, and audiophile
"I['e Jtave )'el lo ltaat'
contact current relays of the same coil
voltage rating (so that the contact will ance. To choose a relay, first decide ¡ The reason that the circuit cannot formed by the 1kd2, 47Q and 1kdl resis- amplifier and loudspeaker construc- (ûlothet' st'slem llt oî
hold closed with more force). what type of contacts you require (ie, apply the full 12V is that the top Mos- toß ocross pins B ù 5 of optocouplers tion articles, etc.
If the relay has a normally-open just a single contact normally-open fets, Q2 and Q3, are acting as "soutce 1 t 2 rcspectively. Australia once had a vibrant abun- soun(ls as gooLl"
[NO) and a normally-closed [NC) con- type or one with normally-open and followers" and so they can nevet turn Q1 ù Q3 are P-channel Mosfets dalce of amateur radio and radio/wire- Best Buys Home The{re
tact, the coil resistance may be lower normally-closed contacts or a relay fully on, This is because their gate while Q2 and Q4 are N-channel Mos- less communications focused publica-
thal one that only has a normally-open with many contacts). You then select drive voltage cannot rise by 6V or more fets.When pin B of IC2 is high, it means tions that are all now defunct with the
contact. This is because the coil will be the current rating and the coil voltage above their source electrodes, that there is current flowing through notable exception being the enduring
required to overcome the extra spring (and whether a DC or AC coil). Furthermore, their gate voltages are the input LED of OPTOI. Hence, as WIA publicalion Amateur Radio.
force applied to keep the normally- Note that for any relay and espe- limitedbythe drive circuitto less than mentioned before, the top transistor in AIso conspicuous by their absence Seven models
closed contact together when the relay cially for heavy cutrents over 104, it 10V and so the maximum that can be the output stage of OPTOL is turned on is the parallel disappearance from
coil is de-energised. Then there is the is best to choose one that has a contact delivered from their source electrodes and hence pin 6 of OPTOI. is close to newsagent's and bookshop shelves from $769pr
speed at which the relay contact closes rating well in excess of the cunent will be around BV or less, Add in the 24V meaning that the conesponding throughout Australia of venerable
and opens when the coil is energised you expect to use. This is important if small voltage loss across Q4 or Q5 Mosfet Ql. is off, not on. international radio orientated maga-
or de-energised. switching a light bulb or motor where [both of which can turn on fuIly) and In other words, OPTOL and OPTO3 zines like Practical Wircless, CQ,
act as inverters while OPTO2 and and QST, In fact, SILICoN CHP seems
to be the only remaining electronics
AffiaryffiffiIHffiilþ@mprcAm OPTO4 act as buffers.

The demise of
journal left!
Bookshops have become a waste-
a discipline? land in respect of technical books, www.vaf.com.au
I have built the 12124V auxiliary of the auxiliary battery? way of switching the latching relay While SILICoN Crm is a commend- the classic ARRL Handbook for Radio
battery controller (Sntcorv CHp, De- The challenge withthis conceptis off after a pre-determined length able electronics and technology mag- Amateurs being impossible to find FreeCall 1800 818
cembér in my car but it seems to to stop the auxiliary battery charg- of time charging. (,t. E., Knoxfreld, azine endeavouring to cater for awide anywhere. Coincidentally, amateur
me that the design of the circuit is ing when it no longer requires it. Vicl' variety of reader interests, an important radio equipment and associated com- [email protected]
around the wrong way. You couldn't set it up so that when o Your comment is interesting but topic and whole technical discipline ponents and hardware have all but
Would it not be better for fhe cir- the auxiliary battery reaches a cer- you would need two comparators in Iargely conspicuous by its absence is vanished from the public conscious-
cuit to work in the following way: tain voltage the latching relay will the circuit to do what you propose:
that of RF and radio communications ness.
whenthevoltageoftheauxiliarybat- switch off because the ci¡cuit will .onetomonitorthemainbatteryand
projects and articles. Projects in recent This rather surprising demise and
tery drops below a preset level, the be continually turning on and off, I one to monitor the auxiliary and years seem excessively dominated by almost extinction of an importantfield
tatching relay is triggered, complet- would think. I thought that usinþ a then some logic to decide how to automotive electronic gadgets and of electronics no doubtmirrors the par-
ing the circuit and enabling charging 5 5 5 timer circuit could be a possible switch the relay.

siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7

StLtco¡rt Cutp
 Mailbag: continued cupation ald over emphasis on com-
SC4BOs. It appears to me that the
Speaker Protector will be powered by
just one of the amplifiers with its 0V
@mffiSdm
puters in the home and our schools, return. Won't it be necessary for the I am having problems getting the the buzzing sound that is mentioned
effectively displacing electronics and two amplifiers to be joined together via Radar Speed Gun kit (Sucou Crrp, in the article a¡d there seems to be
its many speciality fields as a hobby a common 0V return for this Protector
November & December 2006) run- a lot of background hum.
Pulsed LEDs can ing lights with a "tail" extending pursuit. to operate effectively withboth ampli- ning. The main board seems OK; it Any suggestions would be grate-
cause strobing effects beyond the end of the trailer. The ranks of amateur radio have in fiers? (G. K., via email). counts and displays OK and the os- fully received. (T, S., via email).
As you are no doubt very well Where I live there are some elec- the past provided Australian indus- o It is true that the Loudspeaker Pro- cilloscope measurements Iook OK. o The voltages onyourRadar Gun's
aware, the humble light emitting tronic speed limit signs outside the try a richly-skilled pool of hands-on tector will be powered from only one I think the microwave head sec- front-end board and microwave os-
diode (LED) has advanced in leaps schools that can be switched to show and sawy technicians, engineers and power amplifier in a separately pow- tion is the problem. The DC voltages cillator do seem a little low but not
and bounds in the last decade and a lower speed limit during school scientists. Sadly these talented folks ered stereo amplifier pair. However, are low - about 6.BV into the board to a serious extent. The loud hum
is now used in many applications arrival and departure times. I find are quickly becoming-a rarefied and since all such systems will already and about 1.65V at the emitter of Q1 you get on power up may be due
which 10 years ago could be only these signs are very bright at night almost extinct breed. There's a need have a common earth reference via (the oscillator). When using head- to the lighting on your workbench.
dreamed about. The automotive field and if I blink as I drive past, the for an urgent resurgence in young the stereo program source, that should phones I get a fairly severe hum on This canproduce quite abit of 100H2
has benefited greatly both in use on number showing (eg, B0) seems to folks pursuing technical careers stem- not present any operational problems. power up. hum, especially if fluorescent tubes
cars and trucks a¡rd also on road fix- dance in front of my eyes. I wonder if ming from their passionate hobby However, it is also true that a power When I wave my hald near the are being used,
tures such as signs and signals. But anyone else has noticed the strobing interests. supply failure in one amplifier, would antenna I get a series ofvery low fre- From your description ofthe clicks
have readers noticed that while somè a-ffects that these pulsed LEDs cause? Perhaps Sucox Crm could take a cause bqth speaker channels to be quency clicks - under 30H2. When you get when you wave your hand
ofthese bright LEDs are run on a con' Perhaps they are simply fed with a proactive role in helping restore the disabled by the Loudspeaker Protector. I move my hand it's more of a click, near the antenna, it does sound as if
tinuous culrent, others are powered pulse frequency that is too low? lost balance in the radio and wireless Again, that is not really a problem. click, click sound then a buzz - but tlte microwave oscillator is working,
by a pulsed current source? Ray Chapman, technologies and RF/microwave com- By the way, the power supply it does seem to vary according to especially if the click foequency in-
It is these pulsed ones which Ifind Pakenham, Vic. munication fields by stimulating the suggested for a single SC4S0, in the how fast I move my hand, The boa¡d creases when you increase the speed
can be quite distracting, especially Comment: your obsewations about young formative reader's interest in I'ebruary 2003 issue, would be quite is very "tap" sensitive and it almost of hand movement towards or away
at night arrd when they are in my pulsed LEDs and strobing are right these imp ortant technical disciplines. adequate for powering a stereo system seems to act like a microphone as tlre from the antenna.
peripheral vision. I ûrst noticed this on the money. In fact, it is easy to ob- It was heartening to see the simple in most situations. There is no real taps are clearly reproduced in the If the oscillator board seems very
when I was at an intersection one serve these effects, if the light source "AM Loop Antenna & Amplifier" need for separate power supplies for headphones (this worries me.) I've microphonic, we wonder if you
night and a semi-trailer went past is moving rapidly with respect to project in the October 2007 issue. It each channel. been over the board checking for dry have glued down the 1¡rF tantalum
on the intersecting road. The marker your position or by blinking. No would indeed be nice if that kind of joints but nothing is obvious. capacitors. If these are not glued
lights down the side of the trailer, doubt some of these effects could be project was a taste of greater things to Simulator for My RF circuit knowledge is very down, they can vibrate in the air
instead of justbeing four or five small much reduced if the multiplexing or come in this neglected field of techni- and tlis will produce microphony.
red lights were a flickering strip of switching was performed at a much cal endeavour, ignition waveforms scant so I've been struggling to debug
this kit with just
a multimeter and a This can also happen with the 10kf)
what seemed to be a hundred jitter- higher ftequency. Leigh Turner VKSKLI I would like to simulate various 40MHz oscilloscope. Ireplaced all of oscillator base bias resistor (the one
Adelaide, SA. car ignition waveforms on the bench the SMD active devices on the board that'floats'), so you can also reduce
so I can test various automotive kits (Q1, IC1 & D1) in case I had smoked microphony by gluing this down as
MP3 sound effects ând circuits before having to go to a them and carefuIly monitored the well, with a dob of epoxy cement.
allel elimination of creditable training The dominant technical fields on Readers interested in the use of MP3 vehicle, I would like an oscillator with voltages as each was added. IC1 Basically, any physical vibration
courses at the universities and techni- offer in recent years are courses in IT players and similar devices to provide independent frequency (revs), mark/ was the device that seems to drop inside the microwave oscillator box
cal colleges whereby motivated folks and computers. Where will the future background sounds for model railways space ratio [dwell angle) adjustments the voltage the mostbut it looks like will produce microphony, because
with the inclination and appropriate technical competencies to operate and or other displays (see Circuit Note- and amplitude (volts output). a simple case of biasing it with the the vibration affects the standing
science ald maths talent cal gain a maintain complex communications book, page 42,May 2007) may find the I have made a PICAXEOB PWM with resistor (looked up the data sheet), wave pattern inside tlle box and
solid education and training. systems, radio transmitters and broad- following observations helpful. two control pots (revs ald mark/space but hard to determine if a low voltage hence produces its own Doppler
Formal TAFE-based training forthe casting equipment come from? Numetous sounds can be down- ratio) but the responsiveness to chalg- would impact it. signal.
traditional radio broadcast and televi- One is also hard-pressed to find loaded from the Internet, ripped from es on the pots was not quick enough.
I suspect the oscillator may be to Finally, apart from the micro-
sion broadcast operators certificate of good RF engineering and radio com- sound effects CDs or digitised lrom Do I need to string a couple of sss ICs blame. I don't understand this part phony, your Radar Gun unit is prob-
proficiency seems to have vanished munications subjects in any university analog recordings. Âudiograbber is a together or something? of the circuit but I gather the 10nF ably working. Have you actually
off the planet, so where is the next syllabus nowadays so where are the fteebie that works well both as a CD Are there existing solutions or can caps and tlre micro-strip determine tried it or have you delayed doing
generation of broadcast engineers next generation of RF and radio com- ripper and as a Line In sampler. With you provide aly suggestions ofa solu- the frequency, My gut feeling is that this so you could get to the bottom
and radio technicians going to receive munication engineers coming from? Algorithmix's Easy Tools plug-in in- tion? (D. C., via email). it is notru¡ning at 2.6GHz. I don'tget of the microphony problem?
their specialist training? Gone are the This serious problem should be a stalled, clicks and other noises ca¡r be o A 555 timerwouldbe idealbecause
once-traditional training schools for major concern for all high-technol- attenuated on the fly. the charge and discharge periods can
electronics apprentices and techni- ogy and R&D companies in Australia Once desired sounds have been be adjusted independently if a diode
cians operated by our former PMG as they struggle to address the skills captured as wovfiles, al audio editor is used between pin 7 (discharge) and  PICAXE would be too slow be- will run off a 12V
the relay coils, as it
and Civil Aviation Departments, the shortage and compete for the dearth can be used to manipulate the left and pins 2 & 6 (triggers) with anode to pin cause it needs to read the pot and computer power supply. Do I need a
ABC, Weapons Research Establish- of adequately trained and experienced right tracks either as a stereo pair or 7. This would mean that in the free- change the PWM and has to wait until safe diode with the relay? (P. ,t., Wo-
ment/DSTO, etc. Afterthe demise and professionals, independently of each other. Audacity, running astable configuration, the ca- the PWM counterresets before the new donga, Vic).
restructuring ofthese once great insti- All of the above afflictions seem another freebie, cal do some of this but pacitor at pins 2 & 6 would charge via value for PWM starts. ¡ The resistance of a relay coil de-
tutions, this para-professional training symptomatic and commensurate with GoldWave provides more features and the resistor to the supply and discharge pends on several factors. Firstly, it
was palmed offand handed over to the a general dumbing down of many better interfaces, via the resistor between pins 7 atd2 &
How to depends on the coil voltage and how
TAFE colleges but such electronics technical fields of endeavour across For operation in quiet environments 6. These can be variable to adjust the well it can operate at voltages that
vocational courses are nowhere to be all education levels. The dilemma it may weÌl be satisfactory to retain lrequency and "dwell". specitr relays are lower than its specifled voltage.
found today. undoubtedly also links back to a preoc- the dynamics of the original record- A 555 can also be used to invert the I am building a relay box and I need Other factors are the contact current
signaÌ ifrequired. to know about the likely resistance of rating for the relay, with lower coil
SntcoN Catp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 105
 ASK SILICON CHIP ers
exhibitions there can
sion as commercial
aring- aid manufactur-
well u¡rderstand, Both Audacity ald GoldWave have
simple compressors built in and both accept plug-ins'
Audiostocker is a simple-to-use ftee WinAmp plug-in that
works in GoldWave but not in Audacity.
sensing the correct number of pulses/ tive battery) or kit that can be further Slim Slow Slider's c3 multi-band compressor is a
Class-A power supply rev. I set the rotary switches Ío -75o/o modified to give me the following more versatile fteebie that works with both Audacity and
& BOV capacitors to get two pulses output from the B- values approximately: 1^2Y DC inPut GoldWave, although Audacity unfortunately reduces its
I am excited about the Stt-IcoN pulse input. [automotive battery supply) and out- interface to a daunting stack of sliders, Kiaerhus's Classic
CHIP 20W Stereo Class-A Amplifier The ECU has a 200km/h default put up lo 4BY-72Y at up to 204. (E. VST Compressor is another simple freebie that works in
but I have a quick question, I have speed limit but is cutting in at about P., via email), GoldWave and which appears to be better engineered and
o Wehavenotpublishedsuchahuge therefore more reliable than Audiostocker or c3. 3.5" Smoll TFr LCD
two beautiful and new 33,000PF BOV 100kmih. I tried lots of settings, even
electrolytic capacitors. Can I use them up to -99% which only increased the suppty. To obtain 72Y at 2oA would Ots Turntables'DJ software also includes compression
in the 20W Stereo Class-A Amplifier limit by about 3Okm/h. mean that the 12V battery would need facilities. Unfortunately, Ots's free edition doesn't allow
power supply or is the rating BOV Am I missing something? How can I to deliver more than 1204 to the DC- audio files to be saved but audio recorders with Line In
rating too high lor the capacitors to easily measure the pulses, both input DC converter. In fact, the actual cur- sampling facilities, such as Audiograbber or Nero Media
be effective? The capacitors have an and output? I have a multimeter and rent would probably be cl.oser to 1 50,t Player, can capture the audio streaming from it.
ESR [equivalent series resistance) of a LED test light. Any suggestions? (M. when efficiency is considered. Much more sophisticated software processors costing
5 milliohms. (L.L,, via email). T,, via emailJ. A standard automotive batterY several hundreds of dollars are also available' iZotope's
o You can certainly use your BOV o The Speedo Corrector does not would be destroyed in a short time Ozone-3, for exampì,e, includes a -band dynamics proc-
capacitors. In general, having a higher provide for more than a 50% reduc- under these conditions. Even the essor (compressor/expander/limiter) as weII as many
than specified voltage rating is never tion, so setting it to -99% will reduce vehicle's alternator could not deliver other featurès designed to "sweeten" or otherwise modify
a problem unless there is a limitation the speedometer pulses by a factor of such a high output, sounds, The graphical interface is far more than mere f Full Colour TFT LCD
eye-candy (skin) as it displays processor transfer func- .r NTSC &PAL Compotible
on physical size. almost 2. An B-pulse/rev signal will
therefore be only reduced to almost tions, albeit for iust one fìequency band at a time, which / With Picture QuolitY Conlrol
Powering the can be invaluable when carrying out multiple operations / DV 12V OPerotion
four pulses/rev,
Vehicle speed sensor This range of variation is more than Loudspeaker Protector simultaneously, ,/ Simple Wíre Harness Connection
for a Valiant adequate for correcting speedometers I am building your Speaker Protector Ozone-3 is available'as aDirectXplug-in well as other
(as

I have fitted EFI (electronic fuel and so this is not the solution to your & Muting circuit featured in the July formats) and thus works in GoldWave but would probably
injection) to my 1962 Valiant. The problem. Instead, you need a divide- 2007 issue of Suco¡¡ Crm. I am inter- be overkill for background sounds. A much simpiified and
Delco "808" ECU requires an input of by-4 circuit which couldbe built using ested in it because it has anti-thump cruder version is available as a WinAmp plug-in for $29 or
two pulses/rev, two D-flip-flops (ie, a CD4013). The capabilities as well as muting and it for free cted to Presets,
I have sourced a VSS fvehicle speed divider would also give the required operates directly from the amplifier Thre er Processors that
sensor) from another Chrysler which phasing of the signal for EFI. power supply, feature work in GoldWave
fits in-line in the speedo cable and pro- Some of your stereo amplifiers use are: Audioware's dB-D dynamics processor, Coyote's
duces eight pulses/rev, so I purchased just the one transformer whereas the Compressor 1.1 and FASoft's Compréssor 1,1. These cost
Huge DC power SC4B0 uses a sepatate Power trans- between $US20 and $US40 but generally outperform the
a MkII speedo correctot (Sntcol Crur,
December 2006J and fitted that to re- supply wanted former for each amplifier. May I point freebies.
duce the number of pulses. I would like io know if there is a out just one small thing in using your In some cases it may be convenient to retain the origi-
All seemed well but the ECU is not DC-DCpower supply [from an automo- Speaker Protector for use with two nal recording as the left track and to save a compressed
' version as the right track, ,{ simple switch could then be
used to select either one.

@mSmmmoZffm[oaß A hardware compressor inserted between the MP3

player and the speakerfs) allows for a variety of effects to
will also need to leave out be controlled in real time without the need for a compu-
Is it possible to add high-current the MIE3a0i350s to drive them? I'd You .[ 2 Video Ch fnput Reol time clock
the Polyswitch output protection ter, Designs for simple hardware compressors intended 'r
output devices to make the SC480 really like to see an article on how
for home construction have been published in Srucot'¡ I NT5C & PAL / Dofe & time slomp
amplifier fSu,tcox CHIe, January & you draw the reactive load lines uP devices. Instead, we would recom- ,f Alorm output / PTP, OSD
Crup (June 2000J and elsewhere. The Su,IcoN Cnn design I Trigger inpul /
February 2003) stable into 2-ohm when you design amplifiers. mend the Loudspeaker Protector With keyboord
I am currently using two of the from the JuIy 2007 issue. is available as kitset KC5291 from laycar Electronics. If / 5D cord ,/' RCA connections
loads? The power supply is no issue
April 1996 modules athome; they're For interest, you can Plot the 2- desired, this compressor could readily be repackaged and / On Boord Flosh I DC input (9V to 12V)
as I am using a 50kHz switcher for a .r
great. (S. P., Carrum Downs, Vic). ohm load line on the load-line graph incorporated into a sound system such as that described t JPG & AVTfile formot Kif ovoiloble
car amplifier,
. In fact, just changing the output for the April 1996 modules and then in the May 2007 issue of SIrtcoN CHtp,
I realise I would need to redo More complexhardware compressors are available from
the PC board and make the high pairs on the SC4B0 to MJL21-L9314 take an approximation of the equiva-
lent 1.4 + j1.4-ohmreactive load line music stores and recording studio and broadcasting sup-
cunent tracks a bit thicker. Could should make it OK to drive 2-ohm
on the same graph to demonstrate pliers. These range upwards in price from $US40 and are
it work with +40V rails and with loads. No other changes should be
available in a myriad of models (one New York City store,
three pairs of M1L21193/4 (two less necessary although we would prefer that two pairs of M1L21193/94 tran-
sistors should comfortably handle a BHphotovideo, sells around 100 different types).
than the Studio 350) and something to see heavier copper tracks for the NZ. sc
2-ohm load. Iiugh T. Middleton, Lower Hutt,
with more collector current than main current paths.

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEN 2OO7

't04 SILICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au
 l0o/o
0tf! FON T II* DI¡GOUTT OT

ROBOT BUIIDER'S COOKBOOK AC MACHIIIES ay lim Lowe Published 2006

By Owen Bishop Published 2007 Applicable to Australian trades-level courses including NE1 0 AC
lntroducing, through hands-on project work, the Machines, NE12 Synchronous Machines and the AC part of
mechanics, electronicsand programming involved NE30 Electric Molor Control and Proteclion. Brings together
in praclical robot design and construction. The use up-to-date aspects of the field, covering polyphase induction E
of the PIC microcontroller throughout provides motors, single-phase motors, synchronous machines

new speakers øre among the ver a painless introduction to programming. lt's
a book for first-time robot builders, advanced
and polyphase motor starting. 160 pages in paperback

Foun robot builders and those studying at higher

education levels in this fascinating field.
Has companion website to download
programs. 374 pages in paperback ment on this book and he said "wow! This one is right up to
date". A lol of it is pretty in-depth but, according to Jack, if
you want to learn all about Zigbee you'd go a long way to find
I{EWIIES GUIDE TO TETEVISIOil
a betler reference than th¡s one. 336 pages in paperpback.
AI{D VIDEO TECHI¡OLOGY
By KF lbrahim 4th Edition (Published 2007) THE PRACTICAT GUIDE
It's back! This very popular book now in a new T(¡ SATEILITE TV
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of video and television technology including the
By Garry Cratt - 6th Edition 2007
We've had other satellite W books in the past but they have
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all had a lot of useless (to this part of the world) overseas
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tions by one of Australia's foremost satellite TV experts.
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lf there is anything you wanted to know about setting up
has a number of useful appendices covering a wide
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The latest guide to RF design for engineers, technicians, stu- focus on design i$sues and pitfalls, maintenance and repair.
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propagation & antennas. 279 pages in paperback.

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384 pages, soft cover 16F84 12F508 and 12F675. 226 pages in paperback.
 At far right is the 260 tower system and its resistance was detected so it was still
dimensions while below is its centre channel
variant, the 260C. The 360, at right, uses a
in good order.
As can be seen from one of the
Photo Gallery: 1934 Emmco "little Jewelo'
6.5-inch woofer. The pick of the two systems
photos, the wiring in the set is rather
is the 260 because ofits considerably higher
efficiency: S2.5dBl7Ír/7W. Both systems produce untidy with bits and pieces added here
commendably low harmonic distortion, and there in any available space. This
is probably due to the fact that the
same chassis was also used for a vari-
ety of broadcast-band sets. That said,
556
the set isn't difficult to work on.

444
Testing
Having determined thatno obvious
faults were present, the set was con-
nected to the mains and switched on.
Unfortunately, it wasn't working, there
being no audible output.
Because the audio amplifier input is
at the back of the chassis, it was easy
for me to place my finger on the link.
A healthy "blurt" immediately came
from the speaker which meant that the
audio amplifier stages (68D7 & 6,\Q5)
¡[^l rrucn wE CoMeLETED our description of the 20W audio signal from the amplifier is passed directly through were OK. The problemwas therefore in
\ Class-A Stereo Amplifier a few months ago, readers the ribbon a¡d the interaction of the current with the the RF section of the set so I initially
\J have been asking us^ for a kit speaker system to match strong magnetic field deflects the ribbon back and forth to decided to try replacing the two valves
its performance. produce sound. in that section. Replacing the 6AN7 PRODUCED BYTHE ELECTRICITY METER MANUFACTURING CO.,Waterloo,
As it happens, the Signature Series have been in devel- Incredibly, such an apparently flimsy system can produce had no effect but when I replaced the NSWthe"Little Jewel"was anotherexample of a small wooden mantel set ¡n
opment for over a yeil now and we are very pleased to deafening sound Ìevels and with unsurpassed fidelity, 6NB, the set burst into life. a style that was popular at the time.The set is a s-valve autodyne superhet
present a complete set of speakers which can be used in transient response and so on. Alignment of the receiver was and was manufactured in 1934.
stereo or home theatre systems. Ribbon tweeters have been around for a long time but quite routine and was along the lines The valve line-up was as follows: 57 autodyne mixer; 58 lF amplifier; 57
They provide excellent stereo sound stage ald definition until recently they have been largely confined to very ex- described in the December 2oO2 ar'd anode bend detector; 245 aud¡o output and 80 rectif¡er. Photo: Historical
ald have a very wide and smooth frequency response with pensive esoteric loudspeakers systems and their reliability January & February 2003 issues. The Radio Society of Australia,lnc.
very low harmonic distortion. And while they are eminently and ruggedness was always a little suspect. sensitivity of the receiver is quite good
suitable for our Class-A amplifier, they can be matched up In the particular Fountek 1P3.0 ribbon tweeters featured and shortwave stations are quite eas-
to any amplifier with a power output up to 120 watts per here, the aluminium ribbon weighs a mere 11 milligrams ily heard,
channel, when running normal program material. and is just I microns thick - much thinner than the pro- As with most dual-wave receivers tuned. This indicated that the local that someone could be electrocuted.
The heart of each of these speaker systems is the very verbial human hair! of the era, tuning on shortwave is oscillator wasn't working. I then op- As a result, the 2-core lead was re-
high performance Fountek ribbon tweeter. F or those who The aluminium ribbon is 66mm long and Bmm wide extremely touchy and care is needed erated the band-change switch and placed with a 3-core lead so that the
are not familia¡ with ribbon tweeters, consider them as and suspended between the poles of a Neodymium magnet to accurately tune stations in. Perhaps the set worked but with quite a bit of chassis could be earthed.
an extremely light filament of aluminium foil suspended with a gap flux of 0.6 Tesla. this is one of the reasons why these "crackling". The best way of obtaining a 3-core
between the poles of an extremely strong magnet. The As you might expect, such a short piece of aluminium sets were not used to any great extent The cure was quite simple. First, the lead is to buy a low-cost 3-metre ex-
on shortwave. By contrast, sets that chassis was removed ftom the cabinet tension cord. It's then just a matter of
lmpedance vs Freq lmoedance vs Freq had bandspread shortwave bands and the band-change switch sprayed cutting the socket off and wiring the
were much easier to tune and were with Inox to clean the contacts. That cable in to the equipment.
more popular. done, the non-operative dial lamp was
tightened down in its socket fit had Summary
Postscript come slightly loose). The 11-59 is a good performer, its
Having restored this receiver around Once those simple steps had been main drawback being that the tuning
15 years ago and not using it since, I completed, the set burst into life as on shortwave requires critical adjust-
wondered how it would go after such soon as power was re-applied. It just ment. There's no noticeable backlash
Initially, I
a long period of inactivity, goes to show that, having restored in the tuning though and although a
once again reformed the electrolytic these old radios, they require little better tuning mechanism would have
capacitors by turning the set on for maintenance and will keep going with been nice, the set was designed for the
around 30 seconds, then offfor a short reasonable care. low-cost end of the market.
period and then repeating this proce- Like most sets of the era, this set Finally, the components are all
I I dure several times. No overheating or had a 2-core power lead, so the chas- run well within their ratings and this
any other untoward things occurred sis wasn't earthed. That said, I have would contribute to a long operational
I
I I but one dial lamp was not working and never encountered a fauÌty power life for the set. In summary, the 11-59
the set refused to operate correctly. transformer that had shorted between was a fine example of Kriesler's design
tnsii., I ¿=!=- I JãtJ- l¡La
l!-l\E4R.x utffi- I Æ5:!- I #--.i- l:f- |!-L\E4R-:! There was plenty of noise from its primary and metal frame. and and manufacturing expertise. It's
The impedance curves for both the Signature Series speaker systems show the classic "double hump" at the bass end, due the set on the broadcast band, which However, there's always a possibil- a set I am happy to have in my col-
to the tuning provided by the bass reflex port. increased as lower frequencies were ity of this occurring, with the danger Iection, sc

72 Stttco¡rt Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBE7 2007 7o1.

 #
t¡Ë!

ru
ffi
iÍË

This under-chassis view shows the rather untidy nature of the wiring, The original z-core mains lead has been replaced
by a 3-core lead, so that the chassis could be earthed for improved safety.
are made
This series of photos show the line-up of the drivers used in the signature series speaker systems. The woofers
(ie, at the junction of RlB and the 6AQ5 output stage. Note that feedback tors with polyester types. The only one by Fãuntek and incorporates a very high
btp";;ú;r ànã ¡oth hurre .rgged die'cast chassis. The ribbo r tweeier is made
transformer's HT secondary centre from the voice coil of the loudspeaker I didn't replace was the tone control qíality matching transformei"Note the fine mesh protecting the ribbon from curious fingers,
tap). Note that 235V of HT is applied is applied to the cathode of the 6BD7 capacitor (CrS), as even quite high
to the 6AQ5's plate, while 200V is to lower distortion. This feedback leakage here would have little effect
represents t cannot be driven Depending on your budget, you may decide to build
applied to its screen and to the plate network also acts as a tone control in on the operation of the set.
The electrolytic capacitors aÌl prov- diiectly by Hence, the tweeter eithei the 260s or 360s for a high-performance stereo
circuits of the two RF valves (6,\N7 conjunction with potentiometer R15.
ed to be in good order and reformed has an int with a frequencY system, -A.lternativeÌy, for high-end home theatre A/V
& 6NB). The 6BD7 has a plate voltage The audio quality from the Rola 5-7H
response fo lr2}kl{z. This results in a very flat tweeter im- system, you may decide on a mix of the 260 [front) and
of just 70V. loudspeaker is quite good. readily (the techniques used to reform
pedance of 7Q from lkHz to 4okHz. The basic tweeter is e-Oo (reai), together with the 260C for the centre-front
Following the detector, the extracted electrolytic capacitors were discussed
audio signal is applied to a plug and Power supply in the October 2006 issue). The resis- ãlso extremely efficient and in fact, is used with resistive channel.
attenuation to match the Peerless woofers used here. ake, you can be sure that
socket arrangement on the back of the The power supply is quite conven- tors were then checked and were aLl al speaker sYstem. Make no
tional and is based on a 6V4 rectifier. found to be within tolerance, which Two separate stereo pairs ofloudspeakers are presented,
chassis. This allowed the setto be used the finest tweeters we have
as a normal radio receiver or simply as This is driven by the centre-tapped is within around 1ook oT the marked the Signature Series 260 and 360 systems' In addition, a
centre channel valiant of the 260, the 260C was designed ever heard. They are so clean in their definition and their
an audio power amplifier (mono) for a secondarl, of the mains transformer value.
Next, the speaker transformer wind- to complement the 260 and 360 for high-end home theatre pin-point localiìation of instruments in a stereo spread
turntable. I'm not sure how often this and delivers a nominal 25OVDC of HT.
A/V systems. has to be heard to be believed.
facility was used in the real world but Capacitors C17 & C1B and resistor R1B ings were checked for continuitY,
On top of that, these speakers have very low distortion
it was probably rarely used. Basically, provide the necessary filtering. as was the power transformer' The
- measuied at around 0.3% THD at lkHz and 1 watt'
itwas a handy sales gimmick that power transformer was also tested
didn't cost much to provide. Overhauling the circuit using my 1000V insulation tester for 260 & 360
Two stages of audio amplification are My first step in overhauling the any breakdown between the PrimarY
The 260 is a slimline speaker using the Fountek ribbon
provided, first by a 6BD7 and then by a circuit was to replace the paper capaci- and the chassis. No discernible leakage
tweeter and two Peerless HDS 832873 S-inch mid/range
woofers, This uses a Nomex paper cone, a very large fer-
260
and
CutP

Completely tEW projects - the result 0f two years research & development The 260 is aMTM (midrange-tweeter-midrange) arrange-
o ment (also known as D'Appolito) with a rear bass reflex
Learn how engine management systems work
port. The 260C cent ìn every respect
o Build projects to control nitrous, fuel injection and turbo boost systems
åxceptthatthetwee 0', sothatitwill
a Switch devices on and otf on the basis of signal frequency, temperature and voltage th
be vertical when side'
a Build test instruments to check fuel injector duty cycle, fuel mixtures and brake & temperature The smaller 360 bass reflex system uses the Fountek
Mail order pr¡Ges: Aust. $422.50 (incl. GST & P&P); Overseas $426.00 via a¡rma¡1. Otder by ribbon tweeter and a Peerless B30B83 6'5-inch midrange
phon¡ng (02) 9939 3295 & quot¡ng your cred¡t card number; 0r fax the details to (02) 9939 woofer, also with a rear port. Its efficiency is somewhat
The overall frequency response ofthe Signature Series 260
2O¿g; ol mait your order w¡th cheque or cred¡t card deta¡ls to Silicon Chip Publications, lower but still quite respectabìe at B7.5dB/1m/1W'
and 360 speakeis is commendably flat to below 50H2, This
P0 Box 139, Gollatoy, llSW 2097. is the response ofthe 260. Both speaker enclosures were developed using LEAP 5

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 73

100 Stuco¡¡ Cutp siliconchip.com.au
 Both crossover networks are built onto
the same PC board and are presented as
shown here. There is no assembly work to be
done. You just install them in the cabinets and connect 'em up.

wave diffraction analyser and FFT vibration analysis soft- a front port a form of speaker (low-frequency) distortion and
ware. The resulting enclosures have an EBS (extendedbass cross modulation is generated by the compressed air exiting
shelfJ low-pass filter response to ensure optimum bass and the port out of phase with the woofer, creating (modulation)
transient response. interference of the woofer cone. This interference occurs at
While the enclosures are relativeiy small, they are very medium to high playback levels (port veÌocity) and is one The parti oq the top of the chassis are all easy to access. Note
strong and rigid to ensure very lorn'panel resonances, They of the factors reducing overall dynamic range or head-room .thatth- e chassis was used for several similar models, which

are made fiom l8mm MDF (medium density fibreboard) of the transducers and speaker system. .eccu¡nts for 'be.spare holes.
while the baffle is made from two thicknesses (36mmJ, The port itself is 63mm in diameter with smail flared
to allow the ribbon tweeter to be flush-mounted and still ends. ,A.ll this is done to keep distortion at a minimum.
provide maximum rigidity. ,\s a result, the set's metalwork hasn't a coat ofgold-coloured spray paint and The converter's output is fed via
In addition, the inside edges of the woofer holes are Crossover networks shown any obvious increase in rust it came up looking quite good. an IF transformer to the pentode sec-
chamfered to prevent diffraction effects at midrange fre- Using the best drivers and a carefully designed cabinet since it was obtained 1992. tion of a 6NB valve which acts as an
quencies and aÌl models have internal bracing of the large would be a waste of time without an equal standard in the Iwas fortunate to have a cabinet Circuit details IF amplifier stage. A diode inside the
side and top panels. crossover networks. In the Signature Series, the crossover from another receiver that I could The circuit is similar to many other 6NB acts as the detector, while a sec-
networks are quite complex (Linkwitz Riley with Bessel/ use for the set. It responded well to 5-valve dual-wave sets of the 1950s. It ond diode is used to provide delayed
Rear bass port Butterworth response). They were developed to enable automotive cut and polish compound covered the broadcast band from 540- AGC.
Both enclosures employ a rear port to ensure a reduction good linear phase and minimum distortion through the to get rid of some small scratches and 1650kHz and a shortwave band fiom The gain of the IF amplifier is appar-
of overall driver distortion a¡d cross-modulation which can passband and overlap regions of both the woofer and rib- the cabinet now looks quite present- 6-1BMHz. Fig.1 shows the details. ently high enough to cause the IF stage
be generated by front ports, According to the designer, with bon tweeter. able. I had three knobs that were in As shown on Fig.1, a 6AN7(,{) is to be regenerative, so the secondary of
good order but the fourth was slightly used as the converter valve. This stage the first IF transformer has a 470kf)
g.2a damaged and I have so far been unable converts the incoming signal (either resistor across it to improve stability.
3.9o 3.9¡rF lOpF 8.2pF lO¡rF 3.9O
to get a suitable replacement. broadcast band or shortwave band) The cathodes of both RF stages are
The felt washers that go between to the intermediate frequency (IF) of earthed and -1.5V of bias is applied
+
JP3.O JP3.O the knobs and the front of the cabinet 4551<112. to these stages via a back bias auange-
TWEEIER TWEEIER
tNPtrTs
50pH RIBBON
INPUTS
RIBBON were missing so I had to cut sorne out, A 3-pole, 2-position switch is used ment consisting of resistors R11 and
TWEETER TWEFTER
The felt sheetwas obtained from a craft to switch the aerial and oscillator R16. This -1.5V also sets the delay
shop and two hollow hole punches coils. The untuned windings on the for the AGC system, so a reasonable
were used to cut out the centre and coils are wired in series with one an- amount of output is obtained before
(
the outer edge of each washer. other in such a way that operation on any AGC is applied to the front-end
Another problem was that the paint- either band is not compromised, This of the receiver.
832573
5.ó¡rF work on tlle front panel behind the dial method of wiring saves using a bigger In addition, a bias voltage of -12V
WOOFER
BASS/M|D escutcheon had faded. This was given switch to achieve the band changes. is derived for the 6AQ5 output valve
INPI.JTS )r.' SPEAKER 830883
WOOFER 50pH BASS/MID
INPUTS SPEAKER
tes
(REMOVE r.rNKS rKr AND r.K2 FOR Bt-WrRtNG)
8.2a e

Fig.l: these are the crossover networks for the 260 (above) (
and the 360 (right). Both use an l8dB/octave rolloffbelow Available Aust, only. Price: $413.95 plus $7 p&p per order (¡ncludes GST). Just fill in
(REMOVE UNKS rKr AND tK2 FOR BLWTRTNG)
the crossover frequency to the tweeter and a 12dBloctave and ma¡l the handy order form in this issue; or fax (02) 9939 2648; or call (02) 9939
slope above the crossover frequency to the woofer. 3295 and quote your cred¡t card number. \

L4 Stttco¡rt Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 99

 6AN7

hf
F
H
rrl
u, Making the connections to the woofer. The terminals are
F colour-"coded and differently sized so that you cannot make
a mistake.
FI
C I CAPACITOR
2.
50 FF
3r
M lcA arh ltç'. R r RESTSTOR ?Z r.rzw CÀnôON
Z oh.t .
.
47k^ Ya "
! l0l
Ð This photo shows the crossover network installed in the
3c-b I TFIMMER HY-O 5-5OpF 3 ?7kn.l .
A]áIÀ, L'GE Z GANG 4 ob . 4t0k
^.r¿
.
|Fr base ofthe 360 enclosure.
5 ob . Tf,IMMER wlRE o-3OpF
6. 435 pF MlcA 4\L
.O09pFGûov. PAPER t5'.
H!
8r
9"
¿5OÞF Mlc¡
.o3 yF {00ú PAPER
EZ S
3
. .ç . r¡OT. C, hwfTsÞ.'
. l0 " ^, l'¿ür, caRBoN crl They have been developed with bi-wiring in mind so
lO4b .
¡l .
.OSpF 200v.
25 pF MlcA
l0
ll
'
.31
¡'t0 ^,
d..
rfæ (o the tweeter and woofer fi.lter networks are essentially quite
tZr looFF' . l? ^,.
" 270kn,'lW separate, as shown in the diagrams of Fig.1'
t3. .0o¿rF l¡ .. l¿k Â. þ¿W
600v. PAPER
ll . z¿On..
ii s*z . ãt i, st*porc,tu.w'c'tr 1l0t' sp sz-¡t
6.3 Y -,- 3 a. M.ES. Bolt
the tweeter is fed with a third-order high pass (redB/
t5.
15. 16 ' ¿10 [. Y¿w Ww. ÀLLVOL'rAGÊS TO EARTH : ?0.000 e/v oñ D c., 1.000 È/v. AC.
FREAUEilgY BANGE: B/C 54ó-1650 KC'S, Svú ¡- 18 MC',S.
öctave) filter and the woofer is fed with a second-order
17" l'I cb ' 6d kÂ- I W CAR BoN
(12dBloctave) low pass filter. In the case of the 260, the
t8i T t POWERTRÄils. lg-6¿. l2r OPnANS tulaD&*,1I4-'5Ã
t9,
z0
.oo6yF60Ov PAPSF:l5i
.csyF Áooa ' 119%
rFl IITRANS.¿ssKc¿s.2n.qd.
sxl Sw.WAVE.CHANGE.?PôsE,3Pol¿
?J'tg
l7-¿l crossover frequency is 3.BkHz and 3.2kIIz in the 360.
Both crossover networks are based on the same PC board
Fig.l: the circuit of the Kriesler 11-59 dual-wave receiver._It's a fa!1!V conventional s-valve superhet receiver with a
but there are differences. Each crossover network employs
6ÀN7 converter, a 6NB IF amplifier and 6BDZ & 6AQ5 audio amplifier stages. A 6V4 is used as the rectifier. air-cored inductors, non-inductive wirewound resistors
and SCR 400V metallised polypropylene capacitors. High
quality components are used throughout.
with decent shortwave performance some duds too, such as the dual-wave were also different, to suit particular
4-valve sets, The latter just didn't models. Building them
included aradio frequency (RF) stage.
However, the introduction of valves have enough gain to be useful on I obtained my Kriesler 11-59 dual-
Fit the woofer carefully and do not touch the cone at this
such as the 64N7, 6AEB, 6A18 and shortwave. wave teceiver back in 1992 as just a
point, otherwise you may damage it. It is secured to the
other triode-hexode valves for the By the mid-1950s, most Australians dirty, greasy chassis with no cabinet. bafle with six Allen screws'
converter stages made itpossible to ob- were no longer interested in listening I initially thought that I would scrap
tain good performance without an RF to shortwave. The average dual-wave the set and use the parts as spares for
stage, thus further reducing receiver set was probably tested on shortwave a other sets. However, when I looked
cost. These valves are low-noise con- few times during its life but generally, at it more closely, it was plain that it for another time.
verters, whereas valves like the 6BE6 the wave-change switch was left in the was a dual-wave model, which I didn't This very fine attention to detail on the part of the de-
broadcast position, have. As a result, I decided to clean signer has made the task difficult for the kit supplier but it
and similar pentagrid converters are
inherently noisy by comparison. That said, there was a niche market it up, restore it to fulI working order mè"ns that you, the ultimate kit-builder, will have an easy
An additional feature of shortwave for dual-wave receivers lrom the late and scrounge a cabinet from a similar time putting them together.
1940s right through to the early 1960s, broadcast-band only Kriesler set. The loudipeaker cabinets are supplied fully assembled
broadcasting during that period was
that tlre tra¡rsmitter powers were being due to ,A.ustralia's expanding migrant in two forms, unfi.nished MDF or black vinyl. In the case
population, Many were homesick and The clean-up of the unfinished MDF cabinets, it is up to you as to how
increased, as were the antenna gains.
Today, Radio Australia at Shepparton shortwave radio broadcasts gave them Most of the cleaning was done us-
uses transmitters of 100kW output. the opportunity to listen to news from ing rags and kitchen scouring Pads d in this article were
soaked in household kerosene, To ard, If you have access
These feed antennas with gains that home,
get into the awkward sPots, I used a spray booth, so much
give an effective radiated power in
the favoured direction of up to 10MW. Kriesler LL-59 screwdriver to push a kerosene-soaked the better,
No wonder an RF stage is no longer During the 1950s, Kriesler built a rag around. This proved effective and Alternatively, if you intend painting them, we recom-
needed! number of different mantel receiver the majority of the muckwas removed
In fact, I know of one listener in models on a common chassis and ftom the chassis and the components.
Rockhampton who carr listen on gMHz mounted them in the same cabinet. It certainly wasn't pristine but it cer-
to Radio Australia (Shepparton) on a The main difference in the appearance tainly looked a lot better than when Making the connections to the tweeter' Do it exactþ as the
crystal set. of these sets was the ftont escutcheon, I started. photo ãepicts.,Don't over-tighten the-nuts on the tweeters
which had provision for either two Note thatbecause kerosene is slight- I it woulã be â shame to damage such a magnificent
Some very good dual-wave receiv-
ly oily, it also acts as a rust inhibitor. grille cloth frames. performer.
ers were manufactured but there were or four control knobs. The dial scales
siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.?u DECEMBER 2OO7 15
9B StLtcoN CntP
 No special tools are required to assemble the kits and cabinets, in case you ever want to run the speakers with
no soldering is required. You will need a Phillips head conventional amplifier drive (ie, not bi-wired).
screwdriver, a 3mm Âllen key to install the speakers to ,\ final step is to connect a 1 .5V battery across the termi-
the baffle and an adjustable wrench to attach the crossover nals of the completed loudspeaker. With the battery positive
connections to the terminals of the tweeters. to the red terminal, the woofer cone should move forward.
The fully assembled crossover networks even include the If that's OK, you can fit the grille cloth frames.
wiring to the speaker terminal panels - as we said, there You are now almost ready for a listening session, When
is no soldering at all! positioning your speakers in the room, make sure that they
are not in the room corners and are out fiom the walls by
Order of assembly around a metre or so.'Ideally, they should be placed on
The order of assembly is the same, regardless of whether
you are putting together the 260s, 360s or 260C (centre
speaker). The first step is to install the crossover network
stands so that the tweeters are at your ear level, when you
are seated.

Making your own enclosures

Kr[esflor fl,fl-5 5- ü

Du¡a[-
in the base of the cabinet. Check the back of the cabinet
to make sure you do not have it upside down - the rec- If you want to save some money by buiÌding your own
tangular hole for the terminal panel should be below the
circular bass port,
enclosures, all the necessary dimensions and other infor-
mation are accessible on the designer's website at www,
arlü08 @c@ü tr
Fit six Velcro tabs to the underside of the crossover PC stonessoundstudio,com. au.
board and then pass it through the lower woofer hole and If it was our choice, we would pick the complete kits
secure it to the felt on the base of the cabinet. Pass the rather than going to all the trouble to make the cabinets.
Like many manufacturers, Kriesler built broadcasts were mainly nationalistic
programs loosely disguised as general
terminal panel out through the rear of the cabinet, making Sure, you will save some money but there is a great deal numerous 5-valve, dual-wave receivers entertainment.
sure that you do not disturb the felt which covers the rec- of work involved. Consider that the front baffle needs to be EventuãÌÌy, various segments of
tangular hole. Then secure the panel with four countersunk laminated from two lBmm sections and you need to make with quite good performance. The 1L-59 the shortwave balds were allocated
MDF wood screws, the bass port with its carefully flared ends. receiver was aimed at the low-priced end by international agreement for these
Bring out the wires for the woofer(s) through their There are really no short cuts to making the cabinets broadcasters. These bands became
respective holes in the flont baffle. Fit the push-on con- and if you don't follow the diagrams very closely, you of the market but its performance was still known as the 120, 90,75,60,49,4L,
nectors from the crossover speaker cables to the woofer(s).
The wires are colour-coded (red for positive and black for
will prejudice the sound quality. The above site has all the quite acceptable, with good reception on the 31,25,19, 16, 13 and 11-metre bands,
information on these speakers so if you want to check any with a 23-metre (13MHzl band added
negativeJ and differently sized so that you cannot make a aspect ofthe design, you can readily do so. st shortwave stations. at a later date.
mistake when you do the connections. Like millions of others throughout
Carefully place the woofer into its hole in the front baffle Dual-wave and multi-band receiv- less for long-range radio operation. As the world, Australians grasped the op-
and secure it with six Allen head screws using a 3mm Allen Kit Availability ers were quite popular during the late a result, they decided to allow amateur portunity to listen to shortwave radio
key. It is important that you do not over-tighten these screws Fountek ribbon speakers, Peerless speakers and all of 1930sthroughtothemid1950s. These radio operators to use wavelengths broadcasts, particularly the direct test
otherwise you will strip the holes in the MDF panel. the kits for the Signature Series are exclusive to Wagner sets covered both the broadcast band shorter than 200 metres in the belief cricketbroadcasts from England. There
Electronics, 138 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, NSW 2131. and a selection of shortwave bands that they would be able to do no more was nothing like listening through the
Mounting the tweeter Phone 029798 9233; fax 029798OO17 between 1.5MHz and 30MHz. than "get over the back fence". static and fading while Bradman com-
Now is the time to mount the highly prized Fountek Initially, multi-band receivers cov- In practice, the amateurs quickly piled another century!
ribbon tweeters. Importalt: do not remove the protection ered just the medium-wave band of demonstrated that shortwave was
label from the fiont of the tweeter until you have completed COMPLETE KITS 550-lS00kHzandthelong-waveband the best to use for long-range com- Multi-band receivers
the assembly. lnclude speakers, cr0ss-overs, all hardware and cabinels. of around 150-400kH2. In the early munications. That, in turn, soon led Multi-band receivers, like the AWA
First, check that the felt cover is fltted behind tweeter (Price per pair Iexcept 260c] including GST) days of wireless, it was considered by to the authorities (having wiped the 6-valve 7-banders (see March & April
cutout hole. That done, bring out the tweeter wires from "the powers that be" (ie, government egg from their faces) allowing various 2OO2) were used by many keen short-
260
the crossover. These are fitted with colour-coded (red authorities) that wavelengths shorter broadcasting stations to use the short- wave listeners during the late 1930s
for positive, green for negative) ring terminals to suit the Plain MDF . K|T260-MDF .... .....$1299.00 than 200 metres (1500kH2) were use- wave balds, These early shortwave and into the 1950s. However, the cost
Black vinyl .. ... ... K|T260-BV ................ $1399.00
threaded posts of the tweeter. of these radios was quite high due to
Make the connections and tighten them with a small the complexity of the switching that
260C (one unit only)
adjustable wrench - do not over-tighten them! Hint: angle was necessary in order to tune the
the connector lugs to allow enough room between the felt Plain MDF K|T260C-MDF . ........... $649.00
various bands,
cover and back of the ribbon magnet when installing the For this reason, many manufacturers
tweeter, produced sets with just one shortwave
360
Next, install the tweeter to the front baffle with four band. The international broadcast
Allen head screws, ,\gain - do not over-tighten them. You .
Plain MDF ........... K|T360-MDF . .. .. $1159 00
bands of most interest were in the 6-
can then carefuIly remove the protection label from the Black vinyl .... K|T360-BV $1299 00
1 BMHz range or |he 7 -22MHz range. By
tweeter faceplate. only tuning one or the other of these
SPEAKER KITS (Without Cabinets)
ranges, it was practical to have just
Bi-wiring option lnclude speakers and crossovers but n0 cab¡nets and hard\,vare.
one shortwave bald plus the broadcast
moment - if you intend running (Price per pair Iexcept 260C] including GST).
Just back-tracking for a band installed in the set.
these speakers bi-wired, then the instalÌation procedure is This drastically reduced the com-
slightly different. You need to cut links LK1 and LK2 on plexity and the price of the receiver
the crossover PC boards and then remove the gold plated and opened up a new market for such
links fiom the 4-terminal panels. radios.
Keep the plated links - in fact, it's a good idea to put Up until the late 1940s and even into
them in a small plastic bag and tape them to the rear of the the 1950s, most dual-wave receivers
16 Sntco¡¡¡ Crtrp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 S7
 For all those innovative, unique, interesting, hard to find products

Cat.
2405-7
2402-7
No.
Expressoard to Serial
Express0ard to Gigabit LAN
Description Price
$1
$119
39 What's New?
2401-7 Express0ard to eSATA - 2 Port $1 19
2403-7 Express0ard to Firewire (13944) $1 29
2404-7 Express0ard to Firewire & USB Combo $1 39
2457-7 PCle to Expresscard Adapter $1 og
Cordless Pen Mouse with Laser Pointer
2408-7 USB to Expresscard Adapter $1 29
Remote Control - Vo¡ce Activated &
2407-7 Express0ard into PCMCIA SlotAdapter $7e

1008265-7 Wireless VGAAdapter (802.1 1 g based)

17115-7 LGA775 Motherboard with ISA S¡ots
.l
Cat. No. Descrìptìon Pr¡ce 51 56-7 USB to VGA Adapter

2729-7 USB to Parallel - DB25 $59 Temperature Logging

2685-7

gF
USB to Parallel - Centronics $35 18211-7 Slandalone Temperature Logger - Sofhvare & Reader
2920-7 USB to Serial (RS232) 1 Port $5s
2929-7 USB to Serial (RS232) I Port $45s
2853-7 USB to RS422/485 1 Port $249
2907-7 USB to RS422l485 4 Port Cat 23025 $560
23025-7 USB to 5.1 Sound Adapter $45

6988-7 SATA 2.5' HD t0 eSATA & USB C0mbo Enclosure

1 1 333-7 5 Port 1 0/1 00 6913-7 SATA 3.5' HD to eSATA & USB Comb0 Enclosure
11334-7 I Port l0/100 1 00831 9-7 SATA to eSATA Bacþlano - 2 Port
11323-7 16Port10/.100 Cat11334 1008241-7 eSATA Cablè 1 m
Ilere's another view of the assembled prototyl¡e PC board, this 11324-7 24 Port 1 0/1 00
time hooked up to an Lfl) module that wq happencil t 11435-7 5 Port Gigabit Dlgibl lltlcmscopes ,r'-\.
3626-7
hand. Ñote thit after.'the rinit has beenbuilt, you have
11436-7 I
11535-7 l6PortGigabit
Port Gigab¡t
cutrrsz+Q 3685-7
USB Microscope Basic
USB Microscope with M¡crotouch
the remotè control functions - see text. 3686-7 USB Micr0srtpe wih MicrotouchTrigger
3687-7 IJSB M¡crosc-lpe PLUS with Measurement

Description 3688-7 USB M¡croscope wih Micmtouch & Measure

Cat. No. cat 23000 Price
23000-7 3 Port Switch -Toslink
23001-7 3 Port Switch - l\ilin¡ Plug
Of course, you won't be able to play I
23002-7
|È - ,1
4 lnput, 2 Output Sw¡tch - Toslink
Fower SuppW a CD and watch your TV simultane- 23006-7 Toslink to S/PDIF Converter
23005-7 S/PDIF to Toslink Converter ; I
ously using the same remote but this
feature can keep costs down. It means
-7 ODtical Extender to 25m í' \ É Cat 23007
LAST MONTH, we stated that one of the supply options for the board was
to plug a computer power supply into either CON4 or CON5. We have since that you don't have to purchase a sepa-
decided to scrap that option and now recommend that you stick to powering rate universal remote control, although
you can if you wish.
Not sure what product you need? Call us today for friendly advice!
the board from a 9-12V DC plugpack.
The disk drives can be powered directly from a computer power supply. Alter-
1800 625777 www.mgram.com.au [email protected]
0peration
natively, if you don't want the fan noise of a computer power supply, you can
The user interface has been kept
use a mains adaptor like the Jentec JTA0202Y. This unit supplies +12V and
quite simple. Occasionally, issuing Cat. No. Description Price
+5V rails at 2A each which is enough to power two drives and comes with Price
a command will result in an error 3655-7 USB EPR0M Programmer $4eg
the correct, plug (you'll need a Y-splitter cable to power two drives).
screen, This is perfectly OK as the $799 1 1 68-7 -
Car PC 12v l Ghz 51 2lvlb 80Gb WinXP $1 659

At the moment, you will have to purchase this adaptor via eBay but it may be flrmware has been designed to be $sss 3527-7 USB 2 0 Analog TV Tuner & Video Capture $119
3102-7 VGA to Video Converter with VGA Passlhrough $1 49
available from Altronics and Jaycar in the near future. quite tolerant of errors. If it happens, $269
$1 89 2726-7 PCN4CIA 2 Port Serial Adapter
simply try the command again but if $359 ztJt-| PCMCIA to Paralleì AdapteÍ $269

the problem persists, it may indicate $599 6741-7 IDE to Compact Flash Adapter - Front Access $se
2874-7 lndependent RAID Server - Dual IDE HD with Hot Swap $569
you can program the keys to be used for spare RC5 remote and defrne the keys an incompatibility or fault with your 8264-7 lvlagnelic Card Reader Track 1, 2 & 3 -Pslz $1 39 2559-7 lndependent RAID Server - Dual SATA HD with Hot Swap $s99
the project, The device will guide you as you see fit. The "Power" button is drive. 5839BLK-7 Thermal Receipt Printer - Parallel $569 1248-7 Windows CE Based Terminal with Wyse Emulati0 $699

through the set-up, and the keys that deliberately unused for this project The "Error" screen typically looks 9512BLK-7 CashDrawer-8J12(Connectstoreceiptprinter) $179 1171-7 -
7" Touchscreen LCD I 2v DC cat 31 02
$470
5551-7 - Wide $23s 1173-7 -
8" Touchscreen LcD 1 2v DC $579
you define will be stored in EEPROM and this lets you control the device like that shown in Fig. 2 last month but 5751-7
l\4ini Label Printer 54mm
Wide Key Programmable $1 99
ZebøLP2844 Label Printer - 1 04mm $659 15141-7 USB Macro Stick -'16
for later use. with your TV remote control, for may have different numbers which S338-7 Cheque Beader - PS/2 $71 I 6885-7 USB to PCMCIA for Wireless Broadband Cards 32-bit $29s

For example, when the screen dis- example. are used for debugging purposes. The i¿ñi*e,::êÈ-
-

plays "Press Vol Up" (see Fig.6), you In otherwords, because the "Power" hexadecimal numbers give an indica- cat 1oog178 :,ì-- '/- car5751 2874

simply press the "Volume Up" but- button is unused, you can have your tion of the state of the AT,\ registers Cat 1 51 41
ton on your remote. It's just a matter TV off and use its remote to control the and the state machine when the error
of cycling through all the options CD-ROM Player Adaptor, Then, when occurred, N

until the button assignment has been you are finished with the adaptor, you If the errors consistently re-occur, E
É
this information will help to diagnose o
completed, can switch it off and use the remote to =
Õ
This means that you can use any control your TV again. the problem. sc

96 Stuco¡,t Cmp siliconchip.com.au

All prices subject to change without current pricing are indicative only.
 Table 3: C0N2 Pin Assignments

Pin Pin Name Description

Supply railfor module; 1 PC board, code 07112071, 214-pin lC sockets
vss
typically GND 136 x 97mm 1TO-220 mini heatsink (Jaycar
Supply rail for module; 1 16x2 backlit LCD module HH-8502, Altronics H-0630)
typically +5V (Jaycar QP-5516 or QP-5518, 1 7.3728MH2 crystal (X1 )
Altronics Z-7013) 1 1okQ horizontaltrimpot (VR1)
Set LCD contrast
1 PO-mount 40-pin IDC header 1.5m tinned copper wire for links
RS = 0 selects ¡nstruct¡on; (CON1) (Jaycar PP-1 114, 1 M3 x 1Omm machine screw
RS=1 selectsdata
Altronics P-5040) 1 M3 nut
R/W
1 PC-mount 90'16-pin IDC
header (CON2) (Jaycar PP- Semiconductors
1 1 22, Allr onics P-5066) 1 ATMega 8515 microcontroller
6E E= 1 selects the LCD
module 1 PC-mount DB9 female RS- programmed with CDATA.hex
700 Data bus bit 0 232 socket (CON3) (Altronics (rc1)
P-3050, Jaycar PS-0804) 1 741500 quad NAND gate (lC2)
801 Data bus bit 1
(optional for programming) 1 74L504 hex inverter (lC3)
9D2 Data bus b¡t 2 1 28-pin or 40-pin SIL header 2 M AX232 RS-232 transceive rs
strip (Jaycar HM-3211, (lC4,lC5) (optional for
10 D3 Data bus bit 3
Altronics P-5430) programming)
11 D4 Data bus bit 4 1 16-way IDC ribbon cable (to 1 infrared receiver module
connect LCD module, length (lRD1 ) (Jaycar ZD-1952,
12 D5 Data bus bit 5
to suit) (Jaycar WM-4502, Altronics Z-1611)
13 D6 Data bus bit 6 Altronics W-2616) 1 7805 3-terminalregulator (REG1)
14 D7 Data bus bit 7
1 40-way IDE HDD cable (to 1 1N4004 silicon diode (D1)
connect CD-ROM drives) 23mm green LEDs
154 LED backlight anode 1 16-way IDC line socket (Jaycar (LED1,LED5)
16K LED backlight cathode PS-0985, Altronics P-351 6) 2 3mm red LEDs (LED2,LED4)
2 3.5mm stereo sockets, PO-mount 1 3mm orange LED (LED3)
(CON8,1 0) (Altronics P-0094)
and plug in the micro. Make sure that 1 2.5mm DC socket, PO-mount Capacitors
this device is oriented correctly and (CON6) (Jaycar PS-0520, 2 47¡t"F 16V electrolytic
that all its pins go into the socket. In Altronics P-06214) 1 1o¡rF 16V electrolytic
particular, take care to ensure that 1 PO-mount micro tactile switch 10 1pF 63V electrolytic (optional
none ofthe pins are folded back under (S3) (Jaycar SP-0600, Altronics for programming)
the device. s-1120) 4100nF monolithic
That done, set trimpot VR1 to mid- 2 SPDT 90' PC-mount toggle 222pF ceramic
range and switch on again. Check that switches (Altronics S-1 325)
the LCD module initialises correctly, 1 40-pin lC socket Resistors (0.25W, 1%)
then adjust VR1 for optimum display 2 16-pin lC sockets (optionalfor 1 1kO 1 100c¡
contrast. programming) 5 470f2 1 51O
Remote contfol functions
The firmware has an option that
allows you to use any RCS protocol
remote control. That means that you
can use virtually any universal remote
control plus most of the remotes that
are commonly used with TV sets, VCRs
and DVD players
The first step is to assign the buttons
that will control the various functions. )
To do this, you flrst need to press and
hold the "Remote Program" button
(S3) while the device resets. To get
the device to reset, you toggle switch
51 so that the orange LED lights and
then toggle it again to turn the LED Whoops! - we inadvertently left the contrast trimpot (VRl) offthe circuit
off (ie, you hoÌd 53 down while you for the CD-ROM Player Adaptor (Fig.3, p42, NovOT) and offour prototyl¡e
toggle S1 twice). PC board. This diagram shows the arnended circuit section. Note also that
This resets the micro and takes you there should be two 47uF capacitors across the output ofREGl, not one as
to the "Setup Remote" screen. Here shown on the circuit (the PC board is correct).

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 95

 I r\ I \ I
I I' lt \^l I
JAYCAR AP.55I ó, APJsI 8 I.CD MODUTE Fig.S: connect
the ]aycar LCD
modules as
I
shown in this Fig,6: assigning the buttons on the Price perft )r nrance breakthrough!
wiring diagram, remote for the various functions is
Note particularly easy - just follow the prompts on the G
that the wires LCD readout. This is the prompt for ti Colour ost :il 0sc0pes w¡th USB & PC Software,
frompinsl&2 assigning the "Volume Up" button.
ofheader CON2 Prices s tart from {
NOTE THAT WIRES FROM PINS I & 2
OF CON2 ARE TRANSPOSED
are transposed at
the LCD module
(ie, pin 1. goes to
module, where pin 1 is 0V and pin
is +5V
2
a Ior úl / $895 !*o" Snnrtcal
AND CONNECT TO PINS 2 & I *Education al discount available.
RESPECTIVETY OF JAYCAR MODUI"E
pin 2, while pin
2 goes to pin 1). Testing & troubleshooting
wtREs FROM P|NS l5 & I ó Great care has been taken to ensure
ARE CUf SHORT & NOT USED that the firmware is free from bugs but
we cannot guarantee that it will work
with every CD-ROM drive. We did test
the board with six different CD-ROM SOMETHING TO DO 6V6 Stereo Valve AmPlilier Kit
drives and it worked well.
The only problem was that two
of the drives did not respond to the OVER THE HOTIDAYS? $799 inc Gst
volume change command. However, lf you have time to play with (or even if you don't!) have a
we are not sure that these two drives
were actually functioning correctly all
of the time, as they appeared to have Fflêft¡tF
intermittent faults. t¡âLd
Whichever drive you want to use for
this project, make sure it is an ATAPI ûæ
device (check that the IDC connector
'sû61Vn
LCD module and this is terminated and QP-S518 LCD modules each have
at the other end in a 16-way IDC line a 2 x 7-pin arrangement at one end; on the back of the drive has 40 pins, Rola rbnowÁusttalia's aulifioriscd QUAD
socket, with the red stripe on the cable ie, there are only 14 connections. The as opposed to 50 pins for a SCSI con-
witl help you understand what all the fuss is about! Glassic sparc rølrß and rePir Genfre
going to pin 1. This end then plugs backlight connections are made on the nectorJ. Note also that the adaptor
directly into the 16-way IDC header module itself, so pins 15 & 16 of CON2 will not work with some smaller form Painless Wireless Data
on the PC board. are not connected in this case. Fig.5 factor CD-ROM drives which have 44- ¡. Need to send/receive dala over
Fig,4 shows the connections to the shows the wiring connections for the pin connectors (akin to the 2.5-inch I wireless? The mighty MU-1 long-
Altronics 2-7013 LCD module. This specified ]aycar modules. notebook hard drives). range 433MHz embedded low-
device has 16 pins all in one line along In particular, note that pin 1 on the Before plugging in the micro (ICl), power radio modem from Circuit
the bottom edge of the board (although the first thing to do is to check the Design Inc is designed to suit your
]aycar modules is the +5V connection, Hßeur 0ffilßll,lllt,
pins 15 & 16 are adjacent to pin 1), while pin 2 is the 0V connection. It's power supply rails. To do this, first needs: exactly!
Alternatively, the Jaycar QP-5516 the other way around on the Altronics connect a 9-'1,2Y DC plugpack to the What ever you need in wireless technology, talk to
DC socket (CON6) and switch on. That
done, check that the OUT terminal of 01fi0101
REG1 is at +5V with respect to ground.
Similarly, you shouldbe able to meas-
ure +5V on pin 40 ofthe 40-pin socket, Iel (07) 4934 0413 RolaAustralia
while pin 20 should be at 0V, Fax (07) 4934 031 1 web: www.telel¡nk.com.ou m OW27O3| 75 wuw.¡otanet-au
If these checks are OK, switch off
\
I
I
I I itr
I
I i{lltltíN'.¡Ì \

3.5M/\A STEREO
JACK SOCKET

Fig.7: 4-way headers CONT &

audio ouþut ritthe back of a CD-ROM CON9 are connected to the two
drives can be connected to CONT or CONO via 3.5mm stereo iack sockets. This
a standa¡d 4-way cable fitted with matching makes it easy to connect to the
headers. These cables are readiþ available from CD-ROM drive audio outputs via
computer stores or you can make your own. a standard stereo jack plug.

s4 Sn,rcow Cntp siliconchip.com.au

I t /\ t /\ T
t! r \r/ I
I
 I.ED4 IED3 I.ED2 I.ED] IED5

ËHH I ßHH

-l;)
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Å.
(9 .3728ìÁHz
}.
(9
a s3l
With Australia celebrating 50 years of television last year, I thought D
I should celebrate the occasion and restore a TV set that was around ö
,,rrÖl
not long after it started. But like the hare in Mrs Beaton's cookbook, ö
I first had to catch my set . .
e a.a
coNl0
a

Tn mv ro
Fig.3: after the links are in, install the remaining parts on the PC board as
I restór in shown here. Take care to ensure that all polarised parts, including the IDC
Imind m headers, are correctly oriented - see text.
around 1958. My grandparents had
owned one back then; in fact it was
their very first television. They were
the second house in the street to have pin and 4o-pin IDC headers. Pin 1 of
a TV set and early on they had made each ofthese is indicated b)r an arrow
ALTRONICS Z-7013 LCD MODULI
many new friends thanks to that tel- on the side of the header and this cor- Fig.4: this diagram
evisionl responds to the square pad on the PC shows how to connect
Back then television was still magic board. Be sure to get them the right the Altronics Z-7o1,3 LCD
and somewhat of a mystery to most way around, module to the 16-pin IDC
people, Crowds used to gather on In each case, it's a good idea to socket. Note that pins
the footpaths outside retailers just to initially solder just two pins of the 15 & 16 (the backlight
watch the TV sets in t}re window (often header and then check that it is sitting connections) are adjacent
to pin 1. Pin 15 is the
with no sound!). flat against the PC board. After that, anode connection, while
I had an old black and white picture it's a routine job to solder the rest of pin 16 is the cathode,
of the AWA, so knew what to Ìook for, the pins.
When one turned up on eBay, I just had Finally, complete the PC board as-
to have it. One problem: I'm in Sydney sembÌy by instalÌing lhe 7,372BMHz
and it was in Melbourne. So having crystal (it can go in either way), the
won the auction, I arranged to have it lwo 22ptr capacitors, the DBO serial
freighted to Sydney. This cost nearly port connector (CON3), the two stereo
three times as much as the set. jack sockets (CONB & CON10), the two IDC SOCKET 8X2

4-way SIL pin headers (CON7 & CON9)

What have I done? and the two toggle switches.
The set duly anived about a week
later. It was as described on eBay and Connecting the LCD module MAIN CDROM
P|ÁYER BOARD
bearing that in mind, I knew it would The LCD module to use must con- /./
take a fair amount of work befole this fornr to the HitacÌri HD447BO industly
would be a working clean example of standard. This has an interface consist-
a 1950s television. ing ofto or 14 lines, depending on how
The set, while all there, was dirty, the LED backlight is connected.
The set had apparently been stored This old, grainy photograph was the picture that started it all. I wanted one of A 16-way (or 14-way) ribbon cable
in a damp location as much of the these AWA Model 229s, just like my grandparents had back in 1958 is used to make the connection to the

20 Sucot¡ Cntp siliconchip,com.au siliconchip.com.au DECENIBER 2OO7

 By Timothy Stuart

This view shows the fully assembled prototype PC board. Note that the two M,{X232 ICs and the DB9 socket veneer on one side had lifted; some
(CONS) are only necessarry if you inte-nd prógrarrming the microcontroller on the board. If You brr.y_a kit, the - - _
corrosion on the chassis was evident
microcontroltei witl be súppHed pre-prolrañmed. Nõte also tlrat trimpot VR1 and several wire links were added
to the board after this photo was taken.
and other components had suffered,
which I'II mention later. And not
least were the many bugs that over
the last few decades had taken their
The correct procedure here is to the 100nF capacitor immediately to Take care to ensure that the LEDs lastbreathbetween the screen and the
first bend the regulator's leads down the Ieft of IC1. It straddles a couple all go in the right way around. lust re- safety glass, = -i<

though g0", exactly 5mm from its body. of wire links and should be mounted member that the anode lead is always Before starting any type of repair I
That done, the device and its heatsink proud of the board so that its leads the longer of the two, like to clean the dust off the chassis,
are fastened to the PC board using an don't short against these links. IRDl can be mounted so that its lens remove all the valves and check for I

M3 x 10mm screw and nut, The leads The other 100nF capacitors can be Iines up withthe centres of the LEDs. It anything that's obviously missing. This is how it arrived from Melbourne after the successful eBay bid. It looks
are then soldered. pushed all the way down onto the must be oriented so that its lens faces Having removed the chassis from to be in pretty good eondition but notice the peeling veneer (lower right). Ând
Don't solder the leads before bolt- board. out from the PC board. the cabinet and then getting rid of there wás a rãii ¡it of damage inside. This photo doesn't do justice to the legion
ing the device to the PC board. If you The flve LEDs (LEDs1-5) and the the dust using some paint brushes, ofdead bugs between the screen and safety glass!
do, you could stress and break the PC infrared receiver module (IRD1) can lnstalling the headers a vacuum cleaner and a damp cloth,
I then washed all the valves, being to repair again for a long time, terminals on the old capacitors as tie
tracks as the device is tightened down now be installed. As shown in the The next job is to solder in the 16-
on the board. photos, the LEDs all go in with their careful notto rub off the delicate valve I use tubular metallised polyester points.
number markings. capacitors for the paper replace- Some restorers go to the trouble
Trimpot VR1 can go in next, fol- leads bent at right angles and are
lowedbythe 2.SmmDC socket (CON6) mounted about 5mm proud of the PC ffibæ @aoffibr@odæ One valve in the tuner (a 6UB) was ments which, while smaller than the
originals, don't look too out of place
of removing the "innards" of the old
can electros and mount a modern one
and the electrolytic capacitors. The board. A cardboard spacer cut to 5mm obviously gassy (a white/grey look
Value pF Gode IEC Code EIA Code inside) ald was replaced with a new under the chassis, as compared to inside the can. But not me!
latter are polarised, so make sure they makes a handy gauge when it comes
100nF 0.1pF 100n 104 one, I next turned my attention to its the more common'orange drop'type Spending a few hours rePlacing
go in the right way around, to bending the LED leads and spacing
capacitors. these components is very worthwhile
Now solder in the 100nF bypass them evenly off the board, so that they 22pF NA 22p 22 underside.
Following the paper caps, I replace and often a TV wiII be brought back
capacitors. Take particular care with all line up.
Lots of paper and wax all the electrolytics, Most high voltage to life just by replacing all the capaci-
With all vintage televisions and electrolytics in vintage TVs are of the tors,
ffib Ís Ræffir Gotbü Godæ radios that I restore, I tend to favour chassis-mount (can) type, I leave these
in place on the chassis but disconnect Resistance is futile!
a complete replacement of the paper
tr No. Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Gode (1%) and electrolytic capacitors. While them, This mea¡rs there are no holes in Following the capacitor rePlace-
brown black red brown the chassis, where there would have ment, I then turn mY attention to
tr 1 1kO brown black black brown brown there is some argument from the pur-
been had I removed them. the higher value resistors in the set,
tr S 47OA yellow violet brown brown yellow violet black black brown ists about doing this (polyester capaci-
tors weren't invented in the 1950s!), I Modern electrolytics are very much Experience has shown that replacing
tr 1 l OOA brown black brown brown brown black black black brown
alL resistors 100kO and over will also
find I end up with a much more reli- smaller and can be easily wired in
tr 1 51O green brown black brown green brown black gold brown under the chassis, often using the greatly enhance the chances of the
able set and hopefuIly one Iwon't have

SILIC)N CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 27

television working as it should when
first switched on.
Many old resistors over this value
'go high'with age and cause strange
effects on tìe picture ald ineffective
contrast, brightness, volume controls.
Moreover, old high value resistors
tend to go even higher in value as they
warm up, causing all the settings to
drift as the set warms up,
In undertaking the resistor replace-
ment, I found a number to be burned E

out, no doubt due to increased current ei5

flow caused by the old paper capaci- C'

o
GI
tors being'leaky'. .lt
G
Check those fuses! GI
@'
Another thing I always do is check N
GI
that the correct fuse values are fit- rô'
N
ted, Many times I've found they've N

been replaced by a nail, paperclip or Ju,

r¡¡
something like a 15,t fuse where it o
should be a 1,t. o uti
"41
Next comes the "smoke test" - pow- d f¿
tt
I

t¡¡
ering up the old set for what could be
the first time in decades. U J..[
o
u¡ 'ù Fig,2: the first job in the assembly is to install all the wire links as shown here,
d.
Use a variac Make sure that these links are straight, to prevent shorts - see text.
z
To power a set up for the first time, I2
I always use a variac, This allows me
r¡¡
to detect anything wrong before it fails Jl¡¡ e!s
I
catastrophically and causes damage to
other components.
I always power a set up in four
i IFYOU PURCHASE a kit, then the microcontroller will be supplied pre-pro-
grammed. lf not, then you will have to program it yourself.
stages. The first stage is with no valves t-
D To do this, you will need to install both lC4 & lOs (MAX232), as well as
installed, which checks that the power o the other two logic lCs. You then load the hex file into Pony Prog 2000 and
transformer is OK a¡rd that all second- É,
wr¡te to flash. lf you don't already have this program, it is available as a
ary voltages ale present and correct, o don't short together. f ree download f rom www.lancos.com/ppw¡n95.html.
The second stage is to gradually The best way to straighten the link
increase the input voltage to 240V, In wire is to stretch it slightly by clamp- You will need to first flick switch 51 and make sure ihe orange LED lights
the case of the old AWA, having run ing one end in a vice and pulling on up. The micro is then ready to be programmed. We should also mention
the set for an hour the transformer the other end using a pair of pliers. that if you are using Pony Prog 2000, you must change the setting under
was warm but showing no signs of Each wire link can tìen be cut to length Setup -> lnterface Setup and make sure that the only box that is ticked is
distress, and its ends bent down at right-angles the "lnvert Reset'box. Then select the correct device by going to Device ->
Note also that old television sets using needle-nose pliers before mount- AVR -> Atmega8515.
usually had transformers with many ing it on the PC board, Prior to programming, Pony Prog 2000 needs to be calibrated for correct
input (primary) voltage taps. To in- Once you've completed this task, timing. To do this, simply go to Setup -> Calibration. This only needs to be
crease the tube brightness, unscrupu- you're ready to install the remaining done the first time you run Pony Prog 2000 on a new computer.
lous servicemen would often change parts. Fig,3 shows the parts layout on Now choose File -> Open Program (FLASH) File and select your hex file.
the tap from 240V to 22OV, increasing the board, Go to Command -> Program (FLASH) and Pony Prog 2000 should start
the secondary voltages in turn to levels Start with the resistors, taking care programming your micro. Once programming is complete, you should flick
far above the design voltage. So this
I was lucky: I had a complete service manual and circuit diagram to help me.
to ensute that the correct value is sw¡tch 51 so that the orange LED goes out and then the firmware should
is another thing to check before you used at each location, Table 1 shows start running.
power up the set. the resistor colour codes but it's also
indicated that all appeared well. powering up yet again, resulted in a a good idea to check each one using a
Valves go back in Next check is with all valves in- more or less completely working set. digital multimeter before soldering it
Stage 3: having passed the trans- stalled with the exception of the high to the PC board. pin IC socket for the microcontroller, sure that the sockets a¡e all oriented
former test, it was time to plug in the voltage rectifier, damper diode and It works! Next, solder inprotection diode D1, plus the two L4-pin and two 16-pin correctly - ie, with their notched ends
valves. Initially, I start with just the horizontal output valve. ,A.gain, the With an antenna connected, I could making sure that it is oriented correct- DIP sockets for the other ICs. Note that oriented as shown on Fig.3,
rectifier valve(s), Slowly powering up set passed this test, Finally, with the now see a picture on the screen and ly, then install the small tactile switch only IC1, IC2 and IC3 are required for The TO-220 regulator is next on
the set again revealed nothing smoking remainder of the valves installed, the had audio as weII. However, there (S3). The latter only fits correctly if it normal operation, while IC4 and IC5 the list. As shown, this part is fltted
or otherwise in distress. Measuring the chassis returned to the cabinet and the were a few problems still to resolve, is the right way around. are required only ifyou are planning to with a small heatsink and is mounted
rectified high tension (HT) voltages picture tube and speakers connected, The picture needed alignment, the The next step is to solder in the 40- program the micro via tllis board. Make horizontally on the PC board,
22 sntcoN cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 91.
 in vintage televisions is usually rela-
tively simple and I quite easily located
the problem in a low value HT feed
resistor. Replacing it with a new one
completely removed the crackle from
the audio,
After having done the picture align-
ment and centring, it was time to
watch television, 1950s style.

The pretty parts

While I had been busy working on
the electronics, a friend had been busy
with the cabinet. It was in generally
good condition, so I felt there was
no need to do a full restoration. The
veneer was re-glued and the interior
of the cabinet vacuumed, brushed and
wiped with a damp cloth,
An oiling inside and out makes the
timber look like new and moisturises
the dry wood at the same time.
The cleaned-up cabinet, although
not brand new looking by any means,
is very presentable and is still very
T-Ìr
C] originaL

Polishing and cleaning

While the picture tube was out, the
tube and safety glass were thoroughly
cleaned and many expired bugs re-

Õ rlr--r c fl f_l
moved.
The screen mask was also carefuÌIy
cleaned. In this set it was made of plas-
tic so had to be treated very carefully.
The difference this made to the look of
The accumulation ofseveral decades ofdust. The first step in restoring any the front of the set was amazing. It was
old TV set is to get it as clean as possible without doing any (further?) damage, starting to look nearly new again!
Contrast this photo with the cleaned (and restored) version overleaf,

vertical hold and volume pots were

very noisy, there was a noisy crackle
in the audio and one of the speakers
wasn't working. I put most of these
faults down to the television having
in a damp environment.

CD.ROM d
been stored
Fortunately I had an almost direct
replacement in stock for the faulty
speaker, so I attached the speaker
transformer to the new one and it fit-
ted nicely into the original mounting
to be installed. Before installing any holes and speaker opening.
Last month, we published the circuit details parts though, it's a good idea to inspect The verticaÌ hoid pot was replaced
of our new CD-ROM Player Adaptor and the PC board for hairline cracks in the but the volume put was a different
tracks or shorts. Some of the tracks are matter. Being a dual gang, concentric,
described its operation. This month, w€ very flne and quite close together, so switched type, repÌacements are al-
show you how to build it. check these carefully. most impossible to find these days and
so removal, taking apart and cleaning
tTrO KEEP COSTS DOWN, we've aplastic case or mini-tower computer lnstalling the wire Iinks is the only option. So far this seems to
I designed a single-sided PC board case, aì.ong with the power supply. Fig.2 shows the locations of the wire have been very successful.
for this project. This board is coded Because it's single-sided, the PC links and these should all be installed
07LL207L and measures 136 x 97mm. board is somewhat larger than a dou- first. Because some of these links are Snap, crackle, pop! some may argue the modern polyester capacitors (yellow) look out of place in a
The complete board and the CD-ROM ble-sided board would be and there quite close together, it's essential that The last problem to fix was the loud vintage sét ¡ut you simply cañnot trust thã original paper capacitors. I make it
drives could optionally be encased in are quite a few wire links that have they be perfectly straight so that they crackle in the audio. The audio circuit a rule to replac-e themãnd high voltage electros and it has paid off every time.

90 StttcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 23

 o incred¡ble GDs with over 1000 classic projects
from the pages of Scientific American,
Gouering every field of science...
Arguably THE most IMPOKIANT collection of
scientific projects ever put together!
INCLUDES
This is version 3, Super Science Fair Edition
BONUS SCIENCE from the pages of Scientific American.
soE
LIB

Inside and outside the restored AWA. Above is the fully ¡ SCIENTIFIC,
\ ''il P $t Pecl anü Post
cleaned out a¡d repaired (where necessary) chassis - though N
\ AMERICAN,,¡
I was quite lucky with the relatively small amount of work
necessary. You can't see the repaired veneer in the photo at \
right but looks every bit as good as the rest of the set.
\\ "A must for every science student, science
The final touches
teacher, icience íab . . . or simpty jor those
small 17" screen, one has to sit rela- diagram for this set, which made the
The final touches included cleaning tively close for comfortable viewing, restoration a lot easier.
\
all the front panel control knobs, the Still, maybe that's not such a bad Lastly, although I've heard many \ with an enquiring mind . . :'
aluminium front panel and finding
some suitable replacement screws and
bolts to hold the chassis in properly
thing. Bring back 1958 I say!
The end (or is it the
stories about hard-to-find parts like
line output transformers for vintage
televisions I must have been lucky.
\
\
ffi T;he Complete
3i
.
Just a tiny selection of the incredible range of projects:
Build a seismograph to study earthquakes. Make soap bubbles that last for months.
and the back cover on. beginning?) Of all the televisions I've restored Super Scien Fair Monitor the health of local streams . Preserve biological specimens . Build a carbon
To conclude, although this restora- I'm yet to come across any with faulty dioxide laser. Grow bacteria cultures safely at home . Build a ripple tank to study wave
What's on the box? ; Instrusti6ns fo perform oVèr'li
tiontookpÌace over anumber of weeks transformers or picture tubes. phenomena. Discover how plants grow in low gravity. Do strange experiments with
Finally it was all back together and and was somewhat time intensive, I'm That has been very good for me, as \ exp,erim-entç from every fi sound. Use a hot wire to study the crystal structure of steel. Extract and purify DNA
I could settle back to watch TV 1950s very pleased with the final result, restoring a set with such faulty parts in your kitchen.Create a laser hologram. Study variable stars like a pro. lnvestigate
style. This must have been a cosy I should also point out that I had would require another one to scavenge vortexes in water. Cultivate slime moulds. Study the flight efficiency of soaring birds
family experience back then, With its access to a service manual and circuit parts fiom. .How to make an Electret. Construct fluid lenses. Raise butterflies as experimental
animals. Study the physics of spinning tops. Build an apparatus for studying chaotic
systems. Detecl metals in air, liquids, or solids. Photograph an ant's brain and
nervous system . Use magnets to make fluids into solids. Measure the metabolism of
ffiL*;Mir--.:¡ r ¡¡
-_":
4' ¡É.' 4r: _ an insect... o âÍìd many, many more (athousand more, in fact!)
These binders will protect your copies of Sl-rcoru CHrp.
They feature heavy-board covers & are made from a
See the V2 review in 2004. . . or read on line at siliconchip.com.au
No:
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t,Address
Use the order lorm at right or call (02) 9939 3295; or fax (02) 9939 2648 and quote your credit card number. I
(Binders are only available in Australia and sent to an Australian address). I P/code I
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small variations will be seen and so Order FormÆax lnvoice
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(6) If practical, remove the tubing from pensation, you can correct the reading this. The indicated compensation Signature where applicable).
the tank again and shake the water out. by momentarily linking TP6 to TP2 to level follows the same colour pattern
Adjust trimpot VR3 (offset) for a read- set a new calibration temperature. as for water level, with red indicating
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the tank and readjust VRZ to give the pressure sensor inside the tank instead - see Fig.16.
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TP4 & TP2). tion from the current setting, you will
Temperature compensation have to cycle through the colours to
Calibration temperature Having set the calibration tempera- return to the wanted colour.
The next step involves setting the ture, check the water tank level read- You will need to experiment to ar-
current calibration temperature, so that ings over a wide temperature range rive at the best compensation setting.
the readings can be corrected for any during the day. You probably ',n ill not As a guide, fulÌ compensation gives
subsequent temperature changes. Note, notice any variations with the basic a variation of about 10% for a 30oC
however, that if you intend mount- version because the graduations are range in temperature. Don't forget to
ing the pressure sensor inside the tank, in 1oo/o steps and so there is no need remove the link between TP5 & TP2
this procedure is not required. to apply temperature compensation. after you are finished.
Setting the caliblation temperature Conversely, when using the unit with Finally, note that the solar ceÌÌ will
is easy - simply connect a short jumper not recharge an NiMH (or Nicad)
lead between test points TP2 and TP6. ceÌI if the cell voltage drops below
For the telemetry version, ihe RGB LED 1W Fig.16: this chart about 1.0V. That's because the step-
should immediately flash green three 88% shows the LED up voltage converter circuit (based
times. lf it doesn't, try removing the 77Y.
colours produced on IC1) draws excessive current from
jumper at LK1, then wait a few seconds for the temperature the rechargeable cell in an attempt to
66*
compensation Subscriþe to Stucùn Cnp on-line at: www.sil¡conch¡p.com.au
and reconnect the jumper again. For maintain outputbut the solar cell
a 5V
the basic version, S1 must be pressed
55% adjustnent.
cannot match this current. Both printed and on-line versians availaþle
44X
for the LED to flash when the jumper In that case, you can recharge the
is connected. 33%
cell by removing jumper LK1, so that
Note that if the tank ever runs dry, 22%
the cell is disconnected from the cir-
then the air trapped in the tube when
the water subsequently rises again may
t1%

Nll.
cuit while it charges,
That's all for now, Next month, we'll
rO P1RGE Phone (02) 9939 3295
9am-5pm Mon-Fri oR iãäf|Lifåi.t" oB Mail this form, with your
cheque/money order, to:
be at a different temperature to that set describe the LCD Base Station. SC YOUR Please have your credit with your credit card details Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd,

BB StucoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au

ORIIER card details ready 24 hours 7 days a week PO Box 139, Collaroy, NtfV>.
Austratia 2oe? (46)
9Snç, srk SE, COM

DIEGM_¡ÏF
ÑE e -7

Bench Style Function Generator

The FG-30 is a multi-purpose, highly
reliable and low-cost 3MHz sweep
funct¡on generator. While being
easy to use, it also provides many
convenient features, which make it
g¡"É
an ideal instrument for electron¡cs,
education, production, and research
æ and development laboratories.
Features include ó output waveforms,
a pulse generator and a sweep
generator. Supplied with adjustable tilt
handle, mains lead, and a detailed Above: this view of the in-tank sensor assenbly shows the
¡nstruction manual. 0182ó inside the box before the epory resin and silicone was applied
SPECIFICATIONS to waterproof the connections. Note that the pressure sensor is
Soldering Station Frequency: 0.5H2-3MHz (2.5MHz for Ramp and
mounted upside down here compared to its orientation on the PC
Ouality soldering station, slim 48W Pulse) in six steps
soldering pencil with heat resistant cabling, Output waveform: Sine, Square, Triangle, board (see Figs.9 & 11). The view at right shows tle completed unit
'I ómm long-life plated tip and cleaning Positive Pulse and Negative Pulse with the weight attached so that it sinks to tle bottom of the tank.
sponge. Adjustable 1 50'C - 450'C M¡n output: No Load 0 1V p-p; 50 ohms
temperature with front panel metering. load 0.05V p-p
1 2200 Other outputs: Synchronous, sweep synchronous

sensor with epoxy resin and then f illing the with neutral-cure silicone (use a type
box with neutral-cure silicone sealant. that's suited to wet area use). This pro-
Note that the epoxy resin used must vides added protection and also prevents
be suitable for use in wet conditions and any lead movement that may cause the lD brass pipe end-cap for this weight (or
must adhere to both PVC and thermoset- resin to crack. you can use galvanised steel). This can
ting plastics; eg, J-B Weld (paft No.B270) First, applythe silicone so that it reaches be secured to a mounting eyelet at the
and Bostik Titan Bond Plus. lt should be to top of the box but do not ovedill. That end of the specified box using a Nylon
mixed according to the instructions and done, allowthe siliconeto cure withoutthe screw and nut.
D|êGMIÏF
EÉ@ applied to totally cover the attachment lid in place. During this period, the tubing Alternatively, the box can be attached
10x Pocket Magnifier Magnifying Desk Lamp points where each sensor lead enters the should be held in place at the exit points to a length of 25mm PVC conduit tube,
ldeal for checking surface Work with small items more sensor body. using cable ties or bulldog clips. as before.
mount components, PCB tracks, easily with the magnified and
or the quality of solder joints. illuminated view provided by
ln addition, you should apply resin Be sure not to let any silicone get inside
This well-made pocket magnifier Personal Visor Magnifier this magnì!ing desk lamp. around the central seal between the two the shorltube connected to port P1 during l{o temperatute compensat¡on
with l5mm diameter glass lens Selectable 1.8x, 2.3x and Uses 2 x 10W halogen bulbs, halves of the sensor. Note that you will the above procedure. Another advantage of the in-tank sensor
provides 10x magnification, and 4.8x magnifi cation, adjustable quality glass magniling lens,
need to temporarily remove the sensor It will take some 24-72 hours for the installation is that tem peratu re compensa-
rotates back into a plated brass headband and integral flexible gooseneck, and
frame for safer storage. illuminating lights (batteries removable AC adaptor. from the box in order to access the whole silicone to cure, depending on the type tion is not required (although temperature
T4595 requ¡red). T4598 T4599
underside section. used. Once it has cured, apply additional calibration is still carried out). This means
Next, use epoxy resin to coverthe whole silicone all around the edges of the box so that if the compensation has already been
length of the lead connections up to where that the lid can be sealed. set (eg, if you are converting to the in-tank
they enterthe outer sheath and around the Note that the specified box has two sensor set-up), then it will need to be
end of the sheath itself. You should also outlet slots at one end and one outlet slot adjusted to the no compensation setting
lightly coat the gland in the box where the at the other, with matching flanges on the (see main text).
cable exits, s0 that the cable will be aff ixed lid. Each slot can be held closed with a Finally, the calibration procedure is
uereFMirF in position. cable tie around the exposed flanges. the same as for the in-tube method - ie,
That done, remount the sensor and These cable lies will crimp the tubes a little the sensor is inserted into the tank and
DiõreFM_iÏE. 32-Piece Super-Hard
d¿æ clamp the 4-way cable in place on its gland but not enough to close them. trimpot VR2 adjusted to set the calculated
Security B¡t set
1ó-Piece Slim Bit Set These bits are made from super-hard 101-Piece Bit Set until the resin cures. Once it has cured, calibration voltage on TP4 (see main text).
with Ratchet Handle 52 grade steel alloy with a hardness with Cary Case check the coating for any gaps and re-coat Weighing it down That done, the sensor is removed from the
Solder 0.8mm 1ü)9 Roll Uses 45mm long super-hard rating of HRC58-ó2 and will provide a ldeal for the handyman '1V
General-purpose electronics- much longer useful life than standard or elestronics enthusiast. if necessary. A weight must be attached to the bottom tank and VR3 is ad justed for a reading
52 grade 4mm hex bits that
grade flux-cored ó0l¿10 (tin/lead) are thinner than standard bits, bis, especially in heavy-duty appl¡cations. An enormous collection of of the box, so that it sinks to the bottom at TP4. The sensor is then reinstalled and
solder suitable for
most projects
allowing access to recessed The set includes: torx set bits, security screwdriver bits, including Filling the case with silicone of the tank. VR2 again re-adjusted to set the calibration
screws in a wider range hex bits (metric & imperial), tr¡-wing b¡ts, tox, pozidrive, tri-wing
and repair work. of equipment. lnclud bits bits a The inside of the box must now be filled As shown in Fig.14, you can use a 25mm voltage at TP4.
stze, a revereible direction le, all
ratchet driver handle gg.d
and bh storage
holder. Tó333 14
siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 87

\l!
n from 28/11/O7 Io 27 /12/07
 EtECIvR0Ntcs
BulllljdllnU liho AÏlte live¡ lJ u=TJanlk F? nessu rjs Semso
CABIETIES. 1-
ENSURE THAT END OF 3mm VINYL
4WAY 3mm VINYI VENT TUBE IS FACING DOWN
TEI.EPHONE TUBING FOR
CABLE Lab Power Supply
RE
(coNNECTTONS
TO METER)
0-30V 2.s p
dþ Digital Display
Laboratory grade linear
CABI.E TIE AutomotÍve
COAT I.IBERAIIY
WITH EPOXY Muhimeter
RESIN SEAI-ANT Multimeter and aútomotive
tester in one. Measure separate voltage and current
MARK WIRE low battery indicator, RPM, DWELL angle, metering, overload protection
MOUNT SENSOR capacitance readings plus current, temperature
COLOURS USED and high/low current front
ON 9mm M3 a sleep mode to reduce and more, Incl. inductive panel terminals. Solidly built
FOR SENSOR
TAPPED NYI.ON pick-up, temperature
CONNECTIONS battery ëonsumption. chassis, measures 150mm
SPACERS USING probe, rubberised
ON OUTSIDE Supplied with test leads (W) x 235mm (D, inc knobs)
M3 NYLON WATER I.EVEt
and rubberised edge edge protection
OF BOX
METER
x 145mm (H, inc feet).
SCREWS {l5mm
(1.E., I- RED,
TONG AT
protection. 04139 and testleads. 01585 41770
2= BLUE ETC.)
SENSOR END, PRESSURE SENSOR
ómm IONG AT INSIDE TANK
BOX ENDI
ABS
BULKHEAD BOX
Fig,15: here's how the in-tank pressure sensor
(ó5x38x27mm) - is installed ald connected to the Water Level
3mm VINYI
TUBING
Meter. The end of the tube connected to port Pl
CURVE
AROUND (PRESSURE should sit level with the bottom of the tank's
WTH INPUT) outlet pipe, 40pc Hobby
GENTLE Rotary Tool Kit
RADIUS This 1 30W high-speed
4.8V Rechargeable 4.8V Rechargeable
Fig.14: follow this diagram to build the in-tank pressure Cordless Screwdriver Cordless Screwdriver with
mains powered rotary tool
CABLETIE is a multi purpose unit that
BRASS PIPE CAP FASTENED sensor, Make sure that all electrical connections are Durable metal gearbox Metal storage Case is able to cut, drill, polish,
TO BOX FTANGE sealed with epoxy resin and that the box is filled with with extra strong moulded Strong moulded body,
- grind, sand and engrave
$lzss
:ífldiïi,f"ff: $lsss
NYTON SCREW AND NUT silicone sealant, as described in the text. durable metal gearbox, lncludes storage case, pencil
(USED AS SINKER + SPACER) Forward/reverse control, grip extension shaft, collets,
,i,1,,if.",0, 3 4hr mains charge¡ grinding, engraving, sanding,
reverse direction switch, accessory bits, metal drilling and buffing attachments
and AC charger T4831 storage case and instructions
N ALTERNATIVE to mounting the stated, the air inside this tube isolates the result, the pin designations run in ditfer- 2yr warânty 14846
Variable speed. approx 8,000
to 30,000rpm T4823
pressure sensor on the PC board is to water f rom the sensor. This air will remain ent directions. Be sure to match the pins
mount it in a separate small box and place in the tube unless the assembly is inverted correctly.
this at the bottom of the tank. The sensor's in the water tank. Fortunately, if you do get the connec-
leads are then connected back to the PC The snorkel tube has to be long enough tions to the sensor reversed, it is unlikely
board via a 4-wire telephone cable fitted to reach beyond the top 0f the tank. lt can to be damaged. That's because the sensor
with a 4-way header plug. exit either via a hole in the insect screen comprises piezo resist¡ve elements that
The big advantage of this scheme is or the tank's lid and must be positioned to act just like resistors. However, it will not digitor
that the sensor now directly measures keep out both rainwater and any run-off operate unless it is connected correctly.
18V Rechargeable ' r!!
18V Dual Speed
the water pressure. This eliminates the from the tank itself. Note that the 4-way header that plugs Cordless Drill Rechargeable Cordless Drill
problems associated with air-pressure ln practice, this means that the tube into the PC board will not fit through the Ouality 18V cordless drill with 17 torque Dual speed gearbox, electronic
variations within the connecting tube due must be bent so that the end faces down- cable gland. This means that the lead sett¡ngs, variable speed, 10mm keyless speed control wìth br¿ke, thr mains speed gearbox,
chuck, AC adaptor, NiCd powered fast charqe¡ electronic speed
to temperature. wards after it exits from the tank - see must be passed through the gland first,
szgs$ å8jru{}, i*!, *5$*
control,90 min fast
ln practice, a short air-tube is fitted
to prevent direct water contact to the
Fig.15. This can be done by gluing the
tube down the side of the tank (eg, using
before making the final connection to the
4-way header.
3ñjl;1ü::5¡å'Ji^",,"
cut-off plus carry case. T48ó8
:::::î;:}:l':Å:ä:t s6gsr charger, 24V NiCd
battery pack, front
handle and ruqqed carry câse T4875
sensor's element but this has little effect silicone). Make sure that the radius of the The next step is to check that the un¡t ls
on the readings. That's because it is very bend is large enough to prevent the tube operating correctly by blowing gently into
short (just 40mm long) and because of from kinking. the shofi tube (ie, the one going to port
the more stable temperatures inside the When installing the wiring, be sure to P1). The RGB LED should immediately light
rxGLllsluÉ ÛtltY
water tank. make a note of the wire colour used for up to a colour higher than red (depending
s0tllllffitll
Fig.14 shows the assembly details for each sensor connection. This will make it on the pressure) when the LED display is
the "bottom of the tank" sensor. As shown, easy when it comes to making the connec- activated (eg, by pressing switch 51).
the sensor is mounted on two M3 x 9mm tions to the 4-way pin header that plugs lf it doesn't, check the wiring con-
tapped Nylon spacers and has a "snorkel" into the sensor's socket on the Water Level nections and check that the sensor port
attached to its P2 port which vents to the Meter's PC board. connections are correct.
dlg
atmosphere. Bythe wa¡ the pressure sens0r in Fig.14 lf it works 0K, the connections are ready DVR+I000
Complete Surveillance Kit
The short tube attached to the P1 port is depicted from the rear whereas Figs.9 to be sealed. This involves coating allof the crimp style terminals and a standard 4 channel DVR & 4 indoor/outdoor
just exits from the bottom of the box. As & 11 show the sensor from the front. As a exposed wire and lead connections to the crimp tool, all stored in a plastic component (weatherproo0 CCTV cameras.
case. See www.dse.com.au for a list of Móniþr & record from all 4 cameras

StLtco¡tt Cntp siliconchip.com.au

included terminals. xso¿1
$ls* simultaneously, back-up via USB,
includes mounting hardware &
massive 1ó0GB hard drive. Ló1'11

WWW.dSE.COM,OU
 W Fig.13: the 3mm
PVC tubing
PROTECT TUBE WITH
FI.EXIBI.E PVC CONDUI
CABLE GLAND
OR CABI.E TIE
STRAINER
Table 3: TPS Voltage vs Temperature
Temperature ('G) TPS Voltage
that runs to the 10 2.83
pressure sensor

t 11
WAÏER TANK
@ is installed as
2.84
Mechanical Boat shown here. 12 2.85
Bot Kit
3mm PVC
( 13
q. Construct a boat that floats &
The 25mm PVC
pipe is used to
TUBING
TO METER 14
2.86

Em¡nrlsronms moves in water, the rudder is 2.87

NXT Robot System fully functional, see how gears keep this tubing
CABI.E TIES
15 2.88
Choose from four amazing robot
and cogs work, suitable age 8+. vertical in the 16 2.89
K181ó
designs, all based on the intelligent tank. Note that
Lego NXT "brick", a 32 bit the end of the 17 2.90
microprocessor with a large display,
3mm tube should 18 2.91
re[rliH' seven input-output ports, plus
Bluetooth and USB communications.
.-. sit level with the 19 2.92
Mini Massagerc Four sensors (Ultrasonic, Light, Sound
')r't base of the tank's 20 2.93

iä?'i#
ln assorted styles and & Touch) plus 3 interactive servo outlet. 21
colours. Purchase any
Homedics product and enter the draw $878 Flight School
Build a high peformance glider, CABI.E TIES 22
2.94
2.95
to win one of 5 elounger Massâging
Recliners worth $999. Details in store-
great desig
elements supplied. K1487
launched by hand or tow rope,
take the pilots exam included in
23' 2.96
M40381, MA0382, MA0384, M40383, M40273 the instructions. K1074 END OF 3mm 24 2.97
TUBE TEVEL
WITH
25 2.98

OF OUTI.ET 26 2.99
27 3.00
28 3.01
29 3.02
F-qsø ñlnnvrouunATIE$ts install it in the tank. Complete the in-
30 3.03
Note that if the access hole in t}re top 31 3.04
One Hour N|MH Fast
of the tank is some distance away fTom stallation by replacing the inlet screen
Battery Charger
Fast one hour charger the screened inlet, it may be necessary filter or manhole cover on the tank.
32 3.05
with 4 x AA 2500 mAh
to pull the 3mm tubing through using a Note that it is always necessary to
33 3.06
Batterv Charoer w¡th 4 x AA
NiMH batteries plus 12V
adaptor. 54423 Readyio Usã Rechargeable Batteries draw wire. Similarly, if you ever need lower the tube assembly into the tank 34 3.07
High capacity, Eneloop 4 x AA rechargeable NiMH
to remove the assembly, then you may after connecting it to the pressure sen- 35 3.08
batteries with Sanyo NiMH
battery charger Charges AA & have to retrieve it using a pole with sor. If this not done, the water will not 36 3.09
AÁuA rechargeable batteries a hook. pressurise the air inside the tube. 37 3.10
s441 5
As stated previously, it's important 38 3.11

to route the tubing between the tank Calibration 39 3.12

and the Level Meter so that it is not Basically, it's simply a matter of 40 3.13
exposed to direct sunlight. If neces- calibrating the Level Meter to the cur-
sary, it can be protected from the sun rent water level in the tank. If the tank
by covering it in flexible PVC tubing. is full, then the meter is calibrated to involves dividing the actual water
At the Level Meter, the tubing runs read 100%. Similarly, if it's half-fuIl, height by the full water height.
through the cable gland in the side of the meter is set to read 50%, (a) Use this ratio to calculate the cali-
the box and fits over the Porl L nozzle Note, however, that to ensure ac- bration voltage. This is done by first
Portable Audio Battery of the pressure sensor. In most cases, curacy, it's best to calibrate the meter multiplying the ratio value by 2 (this
to suit iPod Mini you will have to gently heat the end when the tank is at least 25% 1ûIl. converts it to the 2V range that the
digitor 3,óV 5ó0 mAh Li-lon, includes 2000 mAh capacity, the tube using a hot-air gun so that it The step-by-step calibration proce- meter uses for water level rneasure-
NiCd/NiMH Battery Charger tools and instructions for rechargeable over
battery replacement 53239 500 t¡mes s3158 will slide over the r.ozzle, dure is as follows: ment) and then adding 1 (since the
Mains powered charging cabinet
This should form an airtight con- (1) Determine the water height that calibration voltage is 1V when the
¡i¿'må ;!;"?,,11'rå" $lgss nection butif you have any doubts, represents 100% fuII. This is done tank is empty).
batteries.
apply some silicone sealalt around the by measuring the vertical distance For example, if the tank is half full,
connection behind the nozzle flalge. between the outlet hole at the bottom the full-height ratio is 0.5. This value is
Clamping the tube with a cable tie can of the tank and the overflow pipe at then doubled (0.5 x 2 = 1) andthen t is
also heÌp prevent air leaks. the top. If there's no overflow pipe, added to give a result of 2V Similarly,
The rest of the tubing and its weight then measure to the bottom of the if the tank is two thirds full, the result
can now be lowered into the water inlet strainer. is 0.66 x2 + L = 2.32Y. And if the tank
tank until it sits in the conect position. (2) Measure the actual depth of the is full, the result L x 2 + 1 = 3V.
DORCY LED (5) Calibrate the meter by adjusting
D¡rnamo Flashlight That done, wait for at least an hour for water (ie, the distance between the
Simply wind handle to'POWER the air temperature inside the tube to top of the water and the outlet pipe). trimpot VR2 so set the voltage at TP4 to
UP' light, renewable energy stabilise. This is necessarybecause the You can easily calculate this depth the calculated calibration value. Note
- altemative to power light. cooling effect of the tank water can by measuring the distance to the top that switch 51 wiII have to be pressed
ideal for emergencies at home,
Dorcy LED Headlamp camping and cars. No more Compact Mini affect calibration. of the water and then subtracting this while you do this.
ldeal for use when your hands bulbs or batteries required. Pockêt Scales At the end of this 1-hour period, from the full water height. Note also that for the basic ver-
are not free, 3 super bright Y1277 Lightwe¡ght, large LCD
remove the tube from the tank, shake [3) Calculate the water level in the tank sion, powerwill only be applied to
LEDs, adjustable headlight

$150
rreen witl backlight,
calibration function,
selectable weighting
$s0* it so that all water runs out, then re- as a ratio of fuÌl capacity. This simply continued on page BB

(included). Y1253
from grams to ounces.
Y5'139
siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 85

Promotion from 28/11/07 Io 27 /12/07

 Finally, the microphone cable itself
can be secured using silicone, espe-
cially around the entry grommet. A
W
plastic cable tie can also be fitted to the
cable, to prevent it from being puìled
Ught Duty Fig.8 Speaker Cable
back through the grommet.
At the other end, the microphone
cable passes through the cable gland
in the box and its leads soldered to the
solar cell PC stakes. Orygen Free Copper Fig.8 gen Free Copper Fi9.8
DC 5A Fie'8 so6o
Installing the tubing
In most cases, the plastic tubing
that goes into the tank can be inserted
through a small hole in the inlet screen
- especially if it isn't exposed to the
sun. If it is exposed, we recommend
shielding the tubing with some white
flexible conduit to prevent excessive
solar heating.
Alternatively, with a steel or plastic ErereFMFF
ffi
tank, the tube ca¡ be inserted through a
hole drilled in the top of the tank, in a Dual Shield 75 Ohm Dual Shield 75 Ohm TV Air-Cell Ouad Shield 75 Ohm
RG-59U ¡¡
Coaxial C-able Spaced W Coaxial Cable TV Coaxial Cable
position that's shaded from the sun.
Before installation, you will first
suits sood reception area' w2e'r îi"ïJ:ìt"^',',X#î:'""*:ffit"": îJ;:Tì'"1tti":g:illü:ïå:;t'"'
The solar cell is salvaged from a garden light and can be left in its original receptionareas w2e82
housing to facilitate mounting. have to remove the insect screen or
manhole to gain access to the inside of
f./4|Jn szgo $8So
the tank, If the tank isn't full, measure
the distance from the full position
down to the current level and record
this for later use. :.s
To support the pressure sensor
tubing, a length of 25mm PVC tub- 'nodo.
ing wedged between the base and PRO50 Br¡tane
the roof of the tank can be used - see Soldering lron
Fig,13, The top of this pipe can later Cordless, dmple
and safe operation.
be secured to the roof of the tank using Read to use 2Osecs
silicone sealalt or builders' adhesive after ¡gnition, tank
(ie, after calibration). As shown, the holds butane fuel for

3mm sensor tubing is attached to the åTtr'J;ffS:* irodo.

25mm PVC tubing using cable ties. Rotary Coax Stripper T1102 PRO-7OK Br¡tane Soldefro Kit
Strips both the outerjacket and inner Cordless, quick ignition, 70W butane
Alternatively, a weight could be insulation of your coax in one easy powered soldering iron kiL lndudes
attached to the end of the tubing to 1mm soldering tip plus hot knife, 'heat
hold it down but don't use anything blo¡ve/ and blow torch tips, as well as
solder and a tip cleaning sponge,
that will contaminate the water, such all stored in a hand carry case. T1105
as lead. This weight needs to be about
150g per metre of tubing in the water. A
2.54cm (or larger) galvanised steel wa-
ter-pipe end-stop is recommended.
The best way to attach this weight
J
is to first drill a 6mm hole through -
the top, so that the tube can protrude
The connections to the solar cell are coated with neutral-cure silicone sealant to
a little way inside the end stop. This
make them waterproof and to anchor the leads in position (see text),
hole should be large enough to let
water pass around the outside of the
feed this lead through to the cell. A are easily damaged, so take care here. tube. The tube is then secured to the
rubber grommet should then be fitted In practice, it's best to use neutral-cure weight using cable ties on either side
to this entry hole, to prevent damage silicone sealant to first secure the leads of the hole.
Vùe|/c:r/præol $þlkr D¡ereæilm
@@

to the cable, that are already attached to the cell. Whichever method you use, the
Butane Soldering lron Kit 11 erv Powered Adiustable Temoerature
lncl. a quality butane-powered So lrãn Soldering Station
Use the core wire for the positive The microphone cable is then soldered assembly should be adjusted so that soldering iron and carry case, Use where mains power is not Lightweight handle whh bum resistant from your local Dick Smith Electronics
plus blowtorch, hot blower and store. Umited stock per month.
connection to the cell and the shield directly to these leads and the con- when it is later placed inside the tank, available, provides up to 510"C cable, 45W power, 250"C to 450"C temp
Offer exteneded to þril 2008 issue.
hot knlfu tips. tip temperature, range, 2zl0V powered,
for the negative connection but note nections anchored and waterproofed the end of the 3mm tube is level with 't1374 conical plated tip, with 1.6mm tip and May not be
that the connections to the solar cell using additional silicone. the bottom of the tank's outlet pipe. lead-íree soldet cleaning sponge. available at DSE
protect¡ve cap, 11976 Franchise or
Reseller stores-
84 StLtcoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au
1 year warranty.
-t2æ7 85020

conditions: Offe6 staft 28111/07 aîd

No rainchecks. No laþy. Offer may rct be available in ome reæller orfianchiæ stores. WWW dSE COM,OU
 x
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ó
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o
Þ
4
fd
q
ì
I
E
l2mm Dl,Àlv{EIER o
HOIE FOR,CABIE U
GIáND FORTUBING
ô
INÍO PI OF SENSORI

lnfrared Audio Link Tnnsmitter

ooo c
FOWER
eec
I
23+J
¡
I
IUPPER PART OF BOXI

lig,72t follow this diagram to

mark out and drill the holes in
the plastic case. Alternatively, you
cal photostat the diagram and use
the various sections as drilling
Do you have trouble understanding what's being said on the TV? rf¡D To sot¡R cEus
templates. The holes are best made
by first using a small pilot drill and
Do you need the volume cranked up too loud for everyone else? Do then carefully enlarging them to
you have a hearing aid as well? If you said yes to any other these IrowER END OF LOWER PART OF BOXI
size using a tapered reamer.

questions, here is your answer: an infrared transmitter and receiver

to let you listen to the TV sound via headphones. That way, you can
listen as loudly as you like, without disturbing anyone else. anywhere in a concrete tank, as this
can cause cracks that can leak. By
screws into the timber (make sure that
these screws are short, so that they
should face north towards the midday
sun, to ensure best performance.
contrast, plastic and steel tanks cal cannot possibly go all the way through In practice, this means tilting the
TT HAPPENS all the time. One of the the street and people washing up the The result is comfortable listening have mounting holes drilled in the top the timber and into the tank). cell away fiom the horizontal (in a
Iolder members of the household is dishes, to list just a few irritations. at a volume level that's right for you, cover but not the sides, Plastic tanks northerly directionJ by about your
getting a bit deaf and needs the TV The real answer is to listen via where you can hear ald understand also generally have lifting attachment Solar cell mounting latitude plus 15'. The tilt angles for
sound turned well up. But then it is headphones - preferably good "sur- everything that's being said. points and you can either drill into In most cases, you can use the major Australian and NZ cities are
too loud for everyone else. It's worse round your ears" muff-type head- these sections or use the existing lift- stainless steel surround supplied as follows: 27" ft Darwin, 42" lor
at night when people go to bed but phones which not only deliver the Headphone jack ing hole for mounting. with the solar-powered garden light Brisbane, 46" for Perth, 49o for Sydney
one family memberwants to watch the wanted sounds directly to your ears Some TV sets do have earphone If you want to mount the box on t}le as its mounting bracket, A convenient and Adelaide, 51o for ,\uckland, 52'
Iate-night movie - or whatever, and hearing aid[s) but also cut back jacks, so you could simply fit a pair side of the tank, the best approach is mounting location is on top of the for Melbourne, 56o for Wellington and
The problem can be even worse if the competing sounds at the same of stereo headphones with their own to first secure two 19 x 19 x 120mm water tank itself, provided it receives 57o for Hobart.
you have a hearing aid because it also time. And if you pick the right kind volume control (if necessary), plus a hardwood batons to the tank using adequate sunlight. The lead between the solar cell and
tends to pick up extraneous noises - of headphones with some acoustic long cord and plug to mate with the builders' adhesive or silicone sealant. Alternatively, you can mount the the Water Level Meter should be run
coughs, heater fans, a radio in another damping in the earmuffs, they don't jack on the TV, But many sets do not These should be spaced to match the solar cell on the house (or shed) roof, using single-core microphone cable,
room, toilets flushing, planes flying cause your hearing aid(s) to feed back have a headphone jack and many that box's mounting holes. The box can or even install it on the ground using In most cases, you will have to drill a
overhead, cars and trucks passing in and whistle either. do have it wired so that when head- then be attached using short wood the garden light fittings. Note that it hole in the stainless steel housing to

30 stucoN cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 B3

 bing wiÌl have to be removed where the
I.INE
nut for the pressure sensor cable gland TEVET
is located, so it can sit flat against the INPUTS
side of the box. You can use a sharp
chisel or a file to remove these. For
the telemetry version, an extra cable
gland is required for the solar ceÌl Ìead
and this can be mounted on the end
of the box. 90kHz
A small hole must also be drilled in SAUARE
the box to allow the air pressure inside WAVE

to vary in line with the atmospheric

pressure (this air pressure is applied
to the P2 port ofthe pressure sensor).
The exact hole position will depend on
your particular installation. Basically,
it must be located on the lowest face SET-TOP TRANSMITTER
of the box, so that rainwater cannot Fig.l(a): how the transmitter works. The left and right channel audio
enter it. A hole with a diameter of just signals are converted to mono, amplified and fed to comparator stage IC5
1.Smm is required. where they are compared to a 90kHz triangle wave (the sampling sígrral).
Finally, a diffuser should be at- The resulting P\4IM signal then drives transistor QL to pulse a string of
tached to the inside top of the lid infrared (IR) LEDs,
above the RGB LED. This makes the
colours more obvious by blending the HEADPHONES

Here's another view of the assembled PC board. Don't get the individual red, green and blue spots
mixed up and be sure to orient them correctly. of colour from the RGB LED.
A suitable diffuser can be made
using a translucent strip cut from a
at the wire ends using a sharp hobby (3J Switch on, press 51 and adjust plastic A4 folder, This can be afflxed
knife and tin them with solder. trimpot VR3 for a reading of 1.0V on inside the lid using clear silicone seal-
L1 should now be secured in place the multimeter. ant. Alternatively, you can diffuse the
using two cable ties, as shown in the (4) Connect the multimeter between inside area of the lid just above the LED Fig.l(þ): at the receiver, the transmitted signal is picked up by an IR
layout diagrams. Once it's in posi- TP2 & TP5 and adjust trimpot VR4 for by using some flne-grade sandpaper to diode and the resulting current pulses converted to voltage pulses (and
tion, solder its leads to the adjacent amplified) by IClb & ICLa. This amplified pulse waveform is then fed
a reading of z,gBV when the ambient roughen up the transparent surface, through a limiter and filtered to recover the audio waveform. This is then
PC stakes. temperature is 25'C degrees, You can thereby making it translucent. fed via volume control VR1 to an audio output amplifier (IC4).
Next, for the basic version, connect also make this adjustment at any ambi-
switch 51 to the 2-pin header. Alter- ent temperature by setting VR4 so the Installation
natively, for the telemetry version, reading is 2.73Y plus the temperature The Water Tank Level Meter can
instaÌl a jumper shunt over the 2-pin divided by 100. either be attached directly to the tank phones are plugged in, the speakers and/or their headband, so it can't be most of these extraneous sounds, mak-
header ald connect switch S1 between For example, if the ambient tem- or mounted on a nearby wall. Which are disabled. used with any other headphones. That ing the speech much easier to discern,
TP1 and TP3. perature is 15"C, the voltage should be ever method you choose, it must be That's fine for you but no good means you're stuck with the ones you In addition, we have applied a small
adjusted to 2.73V plus 0.15V or 2.BBV. mounted so that it is always out of the for everyone else. In any case, being get and in most cases, they are not the amount of treble boost to the audio
Testing Table 3 provides all the values, to save direct sun. This is necessary to prevent hooked up to the TV via a long cable "surround-your-ears" muff type. Nor signal which further improves intel-
To test the unit, first insert a charged you doing the calculations yourself, the temperature sensor reading exces- has its own problems: you can forget do they have any acoustic damping. ligibility on speech - see Fig.6.
NiMH (or Nicad) or alkaline cell into (5) Remove the cell and disconnect sively high and producing incorrect to take 'em off when you get up for a As a result, you not only have to There's one more bonus with using
the holder and connect a multimeter the short between TP1 & TP3 for the temperature compensation. comfort break or someone else cal trip throttle back your hearing aid to stop mono sound - it also simplifies the
between test points TP1 arrd TP2. That basic version. The positioning also depends on on the cable when they move about it from whistling but the headphones circuit considerably.
done, set the multimeter to read volts (6) Install IC3 into its socket, making your tank and whether you have buiÌt the room, allow quite a lot of competing sounds
and press switch 51 if you built the sure it is oriented correctly, then re- the basic or the telemetry version. For to enter as well. How it works
basic version (pressing S1 is not neces- insert the cell. the telemetry version, the unit also Cordless headphones So that's the reasoning behind the The method of transmission is
sary for the telemetry version), (z) Check that the RGB LED now lights needs be positioned so that the base A much better solution is to use development of this project-bybuild- simple and effective. Basically, the
Now adjust trimpot VR1 for a read- for two seconds when switch 51 is station can receive the transmitted sig- "cordless" headphones, either via a ing it, you get to choose the best type signal is transmitted using pulse-
ing of S.0V. When that's correct, check pressed with either version. If this nal. In this case, we suggest you build UHF or infoared link. This means that of headphones. However, there is one width modulation (or PWMJ. This
that 5V is also present between pins does not happen, check that the RGB the Base Station to be described next you have a transmitter or sender unit more feature - it works in mono only. converts the audio signal directly into
14 & 5 of IC3's socket. LED is oriented correctly. month before deciding on a mounting that sits on the top of the TV, plus This has been done deliberately be- a pulse stream of constant frequency
You now need follow this step-by- position for the'meter. a small battery-operated receiver to cause stereo sound is a real drawback but with the pulse width varying with
step set-up procedure: Final assembly Note that the box has four mount- drive the headphones at your end. to those who have troubÌe making out the instantaneous amplitude of the
(1) Switch off a¡rd insert IC3 into socket If you buy a kit for this unit, then ing points that are effectively outside Of course, IR-linked cordless head- speech from the TV. audio signal.
(make sure it's oriented conectly). the box will be supplied with all the the box's sealed section but which are phones are available commercially This applies particularly to those Fig.1(al shows the method, First, the
(2) Connect a multimeter between test holes drilled. If not, you wiII have to covered by the lid. It's simply a mat- and these can give you some improve- films, documentaries and sportcasts left and right stereo signals a¡e mixed
points TP2 & TP4, drill the holes yoursetf, Fig.12 shows ter of removing the lid to access these ment, But there are drawbacks, the where there is a lot of background mu- together to give a mono signal. This
(3) If you have the basic version, con- the drilling details. mounting holes, main one being that the receiver unit sic or other sounds. By using a mix of signal is then passed through an input
nect a link between TP1 and TP3. Note that some of the internal rib- By the way, do not drill holes is built into the actual earphones the left and right channels, we cancel amplifier stage (IClb) and then via a
BZ Sntco¡tt Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 31
 output current is then through a cur-
AUDIO rent-to-voltage (I/V) converter and am-
SIGNAT
plifier stage (IC1b & ICla) to boost its
level. The resulting pulse waveform is a
then fed through a limiter stage [IC2) to
90kHz
TRIANGUI.AR
produce a stream ofclean, rectangular
WAVE pulses of constant amplitude.
Next, the pulses are fed through
a multi-stage low-pass filter (IC3b &
IC3a) to remove all traces of the 90kHz
PWM
OUTPUT
sampling/modulating signal. This
simply leaves the audio signal which
was carried in the average signal level
(AVERAGE of the pulses.
vAtuEl
From there, the recovered audio
passes to a volume control pot and
Fig.2: this diagram illustrates how the audio signal that's fed into the finallyto a small audio amplifier (ICa)
tra¡rsmitter is compared to a 00kHz triangular waveform (the sampling to drive the headphones.
signal) to produce the pulse width modulated (PWM signal). As shown,
Power for the receiver circuit comes
the PWM ouþut is high when the audio signal level is higher than the
sampling signal. from four AA cells, which can be of ei- 1. Tri-colour LED
ther alkaline or NiMH rechargeables.
2.433MH2 transmitter
Circuit description 3. Encode/update switch
4-pole low-pass filter (IC1a & IC4a), rator, while the higher frequency red Refer now to the full circuit for the 4. Tank select switch
which sharply rolls off the response triangular wave shows the sampling transmitter - see Fig.3. As shown, the
5. Pressure sensor
just above L2kllz. signal fed to the comparator's nega- incoming line level stereo signals are
This is done for two reasons, First, tive input, mixed together using two 47kO resis- 6. N|MH or NiCd cell
ifyou are partially deaf, signals above In operation, the comparator's out- tors, while trimpot VR1 sets the level.
1.2k}lz are not much use anyway. put is highwhen the audio signal level The resulting mono signal is then fed o
And second, it prevents any spurious is higher than the 90kHz sampling to op amp stage IClb which operates
"alias" signals lrom being generated signal. Conversely, the comparator's with a gain of 23, as set by the 22kÇ)
during the digital modulation proc- output is low when the sampling sig- and tkQ feedback resistors,
ess - which is equivalent to digital nal's level is the higher of the two. A Next, the signal is passed through
sampling. We are using a fairly high switching transition occurs when ever op amps ICla and IC4a which form a
sampling frequency of about 90kHz the two waveforms cross. 4-pole low-pass filter [or two 2-pole The in-tank tube from the pressure sensor emerges through a cable gland
which tends to reduce aliasing but the The resulting PWM output wave- active filters in cascade, to be more in the side of the case, while the solar cell cable ru¡s through a second
ìow-pass filtering is also worthwhile form ftom the comparator is shown precise). Together, these roll off the cable gland in the botton ofthe case.
because it ensures that virtually no as the lower black waveform. response above 12kHz. T}'e filtered
signal frequencies above 15kHz are Note that the comparator output is a signal then emerges from pin 1 of IC4a
fed to the modulator. stream of 90kHz pulses, with the pulse and is fed directly to the non-inverting
widths varying in direct proportion to input of comparator IC5. the 50kCl trimpot (VR1) may have a be secured in place using two M3 x 15 board, so be sure to match them up.
90kHz sampling signal the audio signal amplitude. The aver- The 1B0kHz "twice sampling clock" "503" marking, the 10kç¿ trimpots screws and nuts. The a¡rtenna is made using a 17Omm
Next, the audio is fed directly to age value ofthe pulse stream is directly signal is generated by IC2b, a 40938 (VR3 & VR4l may be marked as "103" The,\A cell holder can be instaÌled length of hookup wire which is sol-
the non-inverting input of a compara- proportional to the instantaneous CMOS Schmitt NAND gate wired and the lkO trimpot may be marked now. It's secured to the PC board using dered to the antenna PC stake (im-
tor (IC5) where it is compared with a value of the incoming audio, as shown as a simple relaxation oscillator. A as "1,O2". two No.4 self-tapping screws, That mediately to the left of the transmit-
90kHz trialgular wave "sampling" sig- by the dark blue dashed curve. 12kQ resistor and 6B0pF capacitor done, wire the ceII holder's leads to ter module). As shown, it's then fed
nal on the inverting input. This 90kHz Referring back to Fig.1, this PWM set the operating frequency. This is Installing Sensor 1 the adjacent PC stakes, through three holes in the PC board
triangular wave signal is generated by pulse stream is fed to a PNP switch- not particularly critical, although for Sensor 1 can either be installed to hold it in position.
feeding a 1BOkHz clock signal into a ing transistor which drives a string of best performance it should be between directÌy on the PC board or it can be Telemetry version parts AÌternatively, for long-range trans-
D-type flipflop. This then produces a IR-emitting LEDs. As a result, the digi- 16OkHz and 200kHz (corresponding to mounted in a separate box and sub- If you are building the telemetry missions over 50m, the altennashould
very symmetrical square-wave signal tised audio is converted into a stream a sample frequency of eo-rookHz). mersed in the water tank (see Fig.1a). version, the next step is to install the be made using a 17Omm-long length
at half the clock frequency, or 90kHz. of IR light pulses, directed towards the Flipflop stage IC3a is used to divide In the latter case, it's connected back BCD switches. Note that these have of 1mm enamelled copper wire. This
This 90kHz signal is buffered and receiver unit. the clock pulses by two and generate to the PC board via a 4-way cable. an orientation dot that must be posi- wire is stripped of insulation at one
fed through an active integrator stage the symmetrical 90kHz sçluare wave. If you elect to install it on the PC tioned as shown. In addition, be sure end a¡rd soldered to the antenna PC
which converts it into a linear and very Receiver block diagram Its output at pin 1 is then passed board, you first have to bend the leads to install the 0-9 position switch in the stake. It then protrudes through a small
symmetrical triangular wave. The receiver is even simpler than through Schmitt NÁ.ND gates IC2a, down through g0' so that they can BCD1 position and the 0-F switch in hole in the side of the box.
But how does the comparator use the transmitter because of the fact that IC2c & IC2d which are connected in be inserted into the 4-way SIL socket the BCD2 position. '
this 90kHz triangular wave to convert the average value of the PWM pulse paralÌel as a buffer. The buffer output strip. However, take care to orient the Once these parts are in, install the Finishing up
the audio signal into a PWM stream? stream varies in direct proportion to is then coupled via a 100nF capacitor sensor correctly. It must be installed 433MHz transmitter module (it goes in Inductor L1 is made by winding 27
To see how this works, take a look at the audio modulation. to op amp IC4b. with its notched pin to the right and just below the RGB LED). Make sure turns of 0.Smm enamelled copperwire
the waveforms of Fig.2. Here the green As shown in Fig.1.þ), a silicon PIN IC4b is configured as an active in- with the type markings for the sensor this part is correctly oriented - the onto an iron-powdered toroid core.
sinewave represents the audio signal photodiode is used to detect the IR tegrator to convert the 90kHz square- (MPXZ01ODP) visible on top. pin designations are labelled on both Wind the turns on evenly around the
fed to the positive input of the compa- pulse stream from the transmitter. Its wave into a linear symmetrical trian- Once the sensor is in position, it cal the transmitter PC board and the main toroid, then scrape away the enamel

32 StucoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 81.

 u>- ô
<q4 3a 8a t.\_ zo'
Õd
U:
¡õ8
q9E
,Zã\ VR3 I OK
iÉ aã
d ñ-Ë b

POWER
r;êr
c-+ roo ËÞF
.ôñ 3:
LEADS l
EXIT VIA o
CABI.E
GIAND ôa
\ -
.â¡FE
>h !e

õA U: zo
q:
HOÞ*

\ JAYCAR 3= =H: e
ã¡ Eã
xn
^1>
oo
TO zD4o\2 õN cÉÅ.^ø
sotAR RGB
i: u |.:
cEt-Ls tTD JH'' Éä
u:>
H

N
@
i> Jl ø É- X
t.\ åã
6
o u - É,t
433MHz 3 <à
.IRANSMIT U l
ô Êì Ë-*Ëx
3 r.=
o
.ltlo MODUI.E
ã
N\
I\ \$ õ iri
lô :I o\
ô\ ='=
:l- o v\ 6^:È oo
I ts
TUBE TO
l0k o-l
WATER TANK @ VENT IANK rD] IENCoDE)
C.Fi

E.9d
fENTERS VIA o
CABI.E GLAND) ñrÉQ
tr!93
- ó.= *
N
Fig,11: this is the parts layout for the telemetry version of the Water Level Meter. It basically adds the 433MHz O!!
transmitter module, two BCD switches, diode D2, jumper shunt LK1, a 1kQ resistor and two 100nF capacitors
<- b: bE
b x >'-
oo:
l_lr oo?oõ -q
while IC3 (the PIC micro) should be oc
This is the fully-assembled installed using a socket. Take care \> oi'-ê 5
PC board. Note how the
YÀ
.IËF..
with the orientation of each IC and Eco;cy
pressure sensor is mounted
the socket. !âo!o
and the method used to EEb.9
attach the l7Omm-long Don't plug IC3 onto its socket
oØ>Ø
¡r'- cË tr(É
antenna. vet - that step comes later, after c0¡ >
the power supply has been ø9! tË
checked. r!= cd p
î^,Á = >
.=¡í
A 4-way single-in-line (SIL) M'n
socket is used for the pressure
sensor connection. This can be È 9cf. õ
l_lr fdiâÐri
made by cutting off one side of an
B-pin IC socket to obtain the 4-way
c
:?U Ê
E
: ä-:¿¡i
U iri F(Ð -
socket stlip. f h inõ0J!
The capacitors are next on the list.
ø
U lr "¡ o,Æ P
ãÊ:È
Note that the electrolJ¡tic types must be
I
'ãã3ç
oriented as shown. Note also that there
U
o
-cD Fo-i
:È- u o:i
are two types of 100nF capacitors: ^u
!fl
Lô
- L:
>ô
the rectangular MKT types and the ù
ã ô< É .Ê !äg
ceramic disc-shaped types. Be sure to ts t.
ìo F _, oJ=¿
install the 10OnF ceramic capacitor(s) è
= fi() ct E.iù=
in the positions shown.
Follow these with transistor Q1, the
-N
O-Ã
a
- ãE Pä
! d ø=
LM335Z temperature sensor (Sensor 2) -_ô
I
() -- ijooØ
and trimpots VR1-VR4. Note that it's a o
O-+
o!!
zz E
E
: irò!E L
-È.^Ø oô:
good idea to orient the multi-turn trim- ià
points for inductor L1. That done, in- sion, install an additional PC stake to pots as shown (ie, screw adjustments
>n v:
ôu
-l
Ê o+
.o.= : F
stall a couple ofPC stakes at top right terminate the antenna lead - this goes to the right) so that the sensor signal
U> T* É
E
to terminate the leads fol switch 51 in immediately to the bottom left of the from IC2c increases the adjustments
as I' O*
@
e
(basic version only). Alternativelv, fit transmitter mo dule.
43 3}.llHz (wipers) are turned cLockwise. -
I OJ -* >õ
HË
a 2-way pin header to these PC stakes Follow these parts wiih diode D1 Be sure to use the correct value H ÉË E 3
if you are building the telemetry ver- (and Dz for the telemetry version), trimpot in each position. Trimpots are c¡Þ
sion (see Fig.11). then install the ICs. IC1 & ICZ can usually marked with a code instead Y-
o
o
CâÑ ó.iñE
=-
If you are building the teÌemetry ver- be directly soldered to the PC board, of the actual value. This means that

BO SILIcoN CruIp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 33

 ,,ã\ \R3 l0k
Fig.10 (below): this diagram shows
@ F.l the board layout ifyou use an RGB
LED with a different pin-out to the
|aycar ZD-OO1,2. Note the changes to
two of the 1kf) resistors,

É
AMPTIFIER

L zzoo"r
róv
4.7¡[ Ik T STEREO
PHONE
I 470ú JACK

WATER TANK

I.OW.PASS FITTER 47Opt Fig.9: follow this parts layout diagram to build the basic version of the Water
Table 2= Eapacitor Codes
ï ï Level Meter. The pressure sensor is shown mounted on the board here but Value pF Gode IEC Code EIA Code
could also be in installed in a separate box that sits on the bottom ofthe tank.
100nF 0.1pF 100n 104
AUDIO OUTPUT
10nF .01trF 10n
#, IIITRAREII AUIII|| RECEIUER 103

Fig.4: the receiver circuit. Photodiode PD1 picks up the incoming PWM IR signal and IClb converts the resulting
current pulses to voltage pulses, ICla then amplifies these voltage pulses, while IC2 is the limiter, The resulting Table 1: Resistor Colour Codes
PWM signal from the limiter is then fed to low-pass filter stages IC3b & IC3a and finally to audio amplifier stage IC4.
tr N0. Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Code (1%)
tr 1 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown
gular waveform of the same frequency. then fed to 3-terminal regulator REGL fed directly to pin 3 of IC2.
tr 3 22kA red red orange brown red red black red brown
This triangular wave is then fed direct- to produce a 12V DC supply rail. IC2 is an LM311 comparator and is tr 2 10kO brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
ly to the inverting input of comparator used here as the limiter. Note that its tr 1 2.2kA red red red brown red red black brown brown
IC5, to sample and convert the audio Receiver circuit non-inverting input (pin 2) is biased tr 1 1.8kO brown grey red brown brown grey black brown brown
signal into ihe PWM pulse stream. OK, so much for the transmitter to half the suppÌy voltage using the tr 7 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
ICS's PWM output appears at pin circuit. Let's take a look now at the same voltage divider (2 x 22kQ resis- tr 1 330Cl orange orange brown brown orange orange black black brown
7 and is used to drive transistor Q1 receiver circuit - see Fig,4, tors) that's used to bias ICla and IC1b.
(BC32Bl. This in turn drives series- In operation, the transmitted PWM This ensures that the pulses from ICla
connected infrared LEDs (LEDs1-3 infrared signals are picked up by PIN are compared with a voltage level cor-
& LEDss-7), along with LED4 (green) photodiode PD1 (8P104). This device responding to their own average DC
which serves as a"power on" indica- produces output current pulses in level. And that in turn ensures that the Once that's done, you can remove sor 1 and holes for the cable ties that ing the six wire links, then instaìl the
tor, The 47Q resistor in series with the response to the incoming IR signals limiter "squares up" the pulse stream the solar cell, the rechargeable -AÂ are used to secure inductor L1, That resistors. Table 1 shows the resistor
LED string limiis the peak pulse cur- and these are then fed to the invert- in a symmetrical fashion. cell and the 1N5819 Schottky diode done, check that the PC board is cut colour codes but you should also use a
rent to around 45m4, resulting in al ing input (pin 6) of op amp IClb. The In addition, the 2.2MO feedback (or equivalent). and shaped to size so that it flts into digital multimeter to check each resis-
average current drain for the complete non-inverting input (pin 5) of IClb resistor and the 1OkO resistor in series the box. torbecause the colours can sometimes
transmitter circuit of about 25m4. is biased to half-suppÌy (ie, a,5V) by with the bias for IC2 together provide a Board assembly Fig.9 shows the parts layout diagram be difficult to decipher.
two 22kQ resistors connected in series small amoult of positive feedback hys- Begin construction by checking for the basic version, while Fig.11 Note that if you are using the faycar
Transmitter power supply across the 9V supply rail. teresis, to ensure clean switching, the PC board for any defects such as shows the PC layout for the telemetry RGB LED, then the 1kQ resistors im-
Power for the transmitter circuit IClb operates as an active I/V Because the LM311's output (pin shorted tracks or breaks in the tracks. version. It's just a matter of following mediately to the left of the cell holder
is derived from a 12V AC or 15V DC (current-to-voltage) converter. In op- 7) is an open collector, it must be It's rare to frnd such defects these days the diagram for the version you are are installed as shown in Figs.9 & 11.
plugpack. This feeds diode bridge D1- eration, it converts the input current provided with a resistive pull-up but it's always a good idea to make sure building. However, if you are using a different
D4 which rectifies the output from an pulses to voltage pulses which appeaÌ Ìoad. This is provided by power-on as it's usually easier to spot aly defects Note that if you build the basic ver- RGB LED that has the alternative pin-
AC plugpack. Alternatively, the bridge at its pin 7 output. These pulses are indicator LED1, together with its 390O before the parts are installed. sion, this can later be upgraded to the out, the resistors must be connected
rectifier allows a DC plugpack to be then coupled via a 2.2nF capacitor to series resistor. Check also that the hole sizes are telemetry version simply by adding the as shown in Fig.10,
used with either polarity, op amp stage ICla which operates with The restored PWM pulse stream correct, The four corner mounting extra parts, The software for the PIC Next, install PC stakes at test points
The output from the bridge rectifier a gain of -10. The resulting amplified appears at pin 7 of IC2 and is then holes should all be 3mm in diameter, micro is the same for both versions. TP1-TP6, at either end of the ceil
is filtered using a 1000pF capacitor and output pulses appeil at pin 1 and are fed through the receiver's Ìow-pass as should the mounting holes for Sen- Begin the board assembly by install- holder position and at the termination
34 StttcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEî 2OO7 7S
 filter circuitry. This comprises pas-
sive 4TkQlLBopF and lookQ/1oopF
RC filter stages, voltage follower IC3b,
active low-pass filter stage IC3a and Sourcel
finally, a4.7¡tF coupling capacitor and GB
a 1kQ/1OnF passive fiìter connecting to cH3
the top of volume control VR1.
0perator
As a resuÌt, the signaJ. appearing
across VR1 is a very clean replica of
the original audio signal fed into the
transmitter unit.
Source2
IC4 is the audio amplifier output
stage and is based on an LM3B6N. It
amplifies the signal from the volume cH4
controÌ (VR1) and drives a stereo
t)
!)-t
phone jack via a pair of 33Q current
limiting resistors (one to the tip and Â:fD Fra(uriil(;y {1. U94kl-lz

one to the ring). rl:fD RHc l.Zil!

FinaÌly, the receiver is powered from
c:€È Rtls tì. :l0v
D:ãê | r (ì(tuerìoy tìu. ti?kt1z
a 6V battery consisting of four A,\ cells Edge i
connected in series, These cells can be
ct Ha
either standard alkaline primary cells fs -3. fs -13.1
or rechargeable NiMH (or Nicad) cells l?:36:5?
ifyou prefer, The average current drain
is typically around 2omA, so everl
ordinary alkaline cells should give at
least B0-100 hours of listening.

Construction
Building the SntcoN Csp Infrared
Audio Link is straightforward, with
all the parts mounted on ti,t'o PC
boards - one for the transmitter (code
01.1.1.2071) and one for the receiver
(code 01112O72). The transmitter
boa¡d fits inside a standard Ìow-profile
ÄBS instrument box measuring 140 x
110 x 35mm, whiie the receiver board
goes inside a standard UB3-size jiffy
box [130 x 68 x 44mm), along with its
4xAA cell battery pack.
Fig.7 shows the assembly details for
the transmitter unit. Begin by install-
ing the resistors ald diodes D1-D4, tak-
ing care to ensure that the latter are all
correctly oriented. An accompanying
obtain the soLar cell and you also will table shows the resistor colour codes
Last month, we published the circuit of the have some spare parts such as a white but you should also check each resis-
Water Tank Level Meter and described how LED driver, a white LED and garden tor using a digital multimeter before
light hardware components. instalìing it, just to make sure.
it worked. This month, we show you how to Typically single soÌar $arden lights Next, install the small ceramic and
build both the basic and telemetry versions cost around $10. Don't be tempted to
get the multi-pack solar garden lights
monolithic capacitors, then install
trimpot VR1, transistor Q1 and the
.40

and detail the installation. that sell for around $5 or less per light. electrolytic capacitors. Make sure that 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k

Fig.6: this graph plots the audio frequency response of the system. Note that a
These generally use lower quality the electrolytics and transistors all go
Both the basic and telemetry ver- small amount of treble boost is applied from about lkHz (rising to a maximum
a 433MHz transmitter module and solar cells. in the right way around.
of zdB at BkHz) to improve intelligibility on speech.
sions of the Water Tank Level Meter two BCD rotary switches. It also uses Before removing the parts, it's a Follow these parts with the five ICs.
usethesamePCboard(code 041'1'1'071', parts that are salvaged from a soÌar good idea to first charge the NiMH or Be sure to use the correct IC type ai
104 x 79mm). This is housed in a 115 iurd.n light, These Include the solar NiCd cell by placing ihe garden light each location ald again check that they ReguJ.ator REG1 is next on the list. bend the regulator's leads down by
x 90 x 55mm sealed polycarbonate ãell, a single AA NiMH or NiCd cell in the sun for a few hours. Don't forget are all oriented correctly. IC sockets As shown, this is fitted with a small 90o about Smm from the device body
enclosure with a clear lid. and the Schottky diode which is used to remove the insulation tab from the were used on the prototype but we U-shaped heatsink and mounted flat (use a pair of needle-nose pliers to grip
Basically,thetelemetryversionuses for diode D2. battery before doing this, otherwise it suggest that you solder the ICs directly board.
against the PC the leads while you bend them). That
a handful of extra parts, among them This is by far the cheapest way to wiÌ1 never charge. to the PC board. Thecorrectprocedurehereistofirst done, the regulator and its heatsink

78 StLtcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 35

 @aerer@ffi@"D
Value pF Code IEC Code EIA Code
220nF 0.22¡tF 220n 224
100nF 0.1pF 100n 104
10nF .01pF 10n 103
3.3nF .0033¡rF 3n3 332
2.2nF .0022¡tF 2n2 222
nF .001¡rF n0
1 1 102 I
ø
c)
Ø
680pF NA 680p 681 ,Ù ôA
OJ

470pF NA 470p 471

OJ
Ø

!)
are secured to the PC board using an <l
M3 x 6mm machine screw, nut and o
lock washer.
6

Mounting the LEDs € à

o
As can be seen on Fig.7 and in the Ef N-É
photos, LEDsl-7 are all mounted with <i
:
t..t
F

LEDs tTD¿ \-/ their leads bent down through 90", = vQ)

î fìA KÎf'lA Bc32s This is done so that the LED bodies

later protrude through their matching
hoies in the front panel.
In each case, it's simply a matter of
Fig.7: install the parts on the transmitter board as shown here, taking care to bending the leads down through g0'
6
ensure that all polarised parts are correctly orientated. Below is a full-size exactly Smm from the LED's body,
photo ofthe assembled PC board. then installing the LED with its leads
Bmm above the PC board (see photo).
(Y)
Make sure that each LED is conectly o
orientated - the anode lead is the
ì.onger of the two. v)

The easiest way to get the LED à

lead spacings correct is to cut two Ø
o
- one 5mm wide
cardboard templates Ê
and the other Bmm wide. The Smm c)
template is then used as a lead bend- a
ing guide, r¡'hile the Bmm template is .d
used to correctÌy space the LEDs off Ø

the board. F
ô
The transmitter board assembly can \ N.:
now be completed by installing the ô
N
E: two RCA connectors (CON1 & CON2)
F (Éã
and the DC power socket (CON3).
-(]r
Receiver board assembly ö-€ o;
Fig.B shows the assembly details for E=rå
iO c>
C> N> Ëtr
-- r.\ > ô.-:
the receiver board. Once again, begin {- Nh
by soldering in the resistors and the
srnall non-polarised capacitors, then Y >ã
install the larger electrolytics and F\
o -6)
the ICs. Note that the large 22OO1.F
o
.o
x ßE t!D
electrolytic capacitor is mounted on I oc)
ô Ø'15
its side. with its leads bent down
through g0'. øZ
Note also that the ICs are all differ- 'gá
'= <í
ent, so don't mix them up. Take care to gãä
ensure they are correctly orientated. o0)
Once the ICs are in, install the voì- Ftr
ume pot (VR1), the headphone socket

36 StLtcoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 77

 switchmode regulator, and it drives vides a voltage at pin B for compari-
Buck & boost Mosfet Q3 in the step-down mode son with the reference at pin 15 of
regulator while Mosfet Q4 is used in the step- the TL494 for current limiting. The
This circuit accepts 1,2Y or 24V up mode. output current limit is set at 2.54,
from a vehicle's electrical system Q3 is held hard on during the mainly restricted by the maximum
and delivers 13.8V to the load. It step-up function while Q4 is held current through the MAX471. The
consists of step-up and step-down off during the step-down mode. The zener diodes are placed to protect
switchmode circuits. The change 74HCO2 quad NOR gate controls the circuit from voltage transients in
between the two modes is controlled both these Mosfets and directs the the input electrical system. TO-22o
by op amp IC1 which is connected switching signals from the TL494 flag heatsinks are sufficient for D1,
as a comparator. Trimpot VR1 sets accordingly. Q3 and Q4.
the changeover point. The MAX471.,IC4, is a high-side Gregory Freeman,
The heart of the circuit is IC2, the current monitoring chip and pro- Mount Barker, SA. ($60)

Doorbell circuit with ment. This charges

a 1O¡rF capacitor via
zero standby current a 22OÇl resistor and MELODY
This circuit allows the use of a the resultant voltage BUZZER

melody buzzq with a pushbutton applied to the gate of

switch, Normally, a melody btzzer FET Q1 turns it on
is not suitable for a pushbutton so that power is ap- QI
2N7000
switch because the switch has to plied to the melody añf-âr-d Llñk .D-
^udaê
be closed for the entire duration of t¡:uzzet.
the meÌody. This circuit solves that The 1MQ resistor 2N2000
ö
problem by using a FET with a delay gives a time-con-
network in its gate circuit. stant of 10s and the Ð The completed transmitter PC board is installed in a low-profile instrument case and secured using four self-
Powered by a 9V battery, the resultant on time of about 15s is ¡(4 tapping scre*s that go into integral mounting posts in the base. We used IC sockets for the prototype but you
circuit draws no cunent until the suffrcient to allow the melody to be T. A. Babu, can solder the ICs directly to the PC board.
pushbutton is pressed for a mo- played right through, Chennai, India. (gaOì

and power switch S1. Follow these by Fig.B). Be sure to instaìl this part the Finally, LED1 can be mounted in
t installing PC pins at the A & K posi- right way around. Its cathode lead has position. This part must be mounted
tions for PD1 (the 8P104 photodiode) a small tag, as shown on its pin-out with 13mm lead lengths, so that it
and at the power suppÌy inputs. diagram in Fig.4. will later protrude through the lid
The 8P104 photodiode can now It's also vital to install this device of the case. A 13mm wide cardboard
be installed by soldering its leads to with its sensitive front side facing out template makes a handy spacer when
its PC pins (see side-view diagram in from the PC board. mounting this LED. Be sure to orientate

hffiGdbffi@otuffita@
tr No, Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Code (1%)
I 2 2.2Ma red red green brown red red black yellow brown
E 2 100kO brown black yellowbrown brown black black orange brown
tr 4 47kA brown
yellow violet orange yellow violet black red brown
tr 2 22kA red red orange brown red red black red brown
tr 1 20kO red black orange brown red black black red brown
E 1 12kO brown red orange brown brown red black red brown
Ltd www.peakelec.co.uk
So now you have even more reasons
tr 1 5.6kO green blue red brown green blue black brown brown
bution published will entitle the author to
choose the prize: an LCR40 LCR meter, to send that brilliant circuit in. Send it
tr 1 4.7kA brown
yellow violet red yellow violet black brown brown

As you can see, we pay good money a DCA55 Semiconductor Component to SrLrcoN CHrp and you could be a tr 1 2.4kA red yellow red brown red yellow black brown brown

for each of the "Circuit Notebook" items Analyser, an ESR60 Equivalent Series wtnner.
tr 1 2.0kO red black red brown red black black brown brown
published in Srucoru CHIp. But nowthere Resistance Analyser or an SCR100 You can either email your idea to tr 3 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
are four more reasons to send in your Thyristor & Triac Analyser, with the [email protected] or post it to tr 1 270A red violet brownbrown red violet black black brown
circuit idea. Each month, the best contri- compliments of Peak Electronic Design PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. tr 2 47A brown
yellow violet black yellow violet black gold brown

76 sil,tcoN cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 37

 Quiz adjudicator has no
Fig.B: here's how pushbuttons
to assemble the t\
receiver boa¡d. This is a basic 4-station quiz adjudicator with c Nt
a difference. Instead of the usual four pushbut- Ë (tû
Note how the BP1O4 ó
diode is mounted by tons which inevitably get a hammering from
soldering its leads to the contestants, this button has four holes in a
two PC pins. Make palel. All the contestants have to do is hold a
sure it's installed the finger over their respective hole in the panel.
right way around. Under each hole is a phototransistor about the
size of a 3mm LED. Hence, the holes can be
quite small,
Possibly the contesta¡rts won't get the same
adrenalin rush as when they bash a large push-
BPI04 IEADS button but at least tlere will be little chance of
SOIDERED TO
rc BOARD physical damage to the adjudicator. To make
.IERMINAI.
PINS a bid, the contestant merely has to cover their
hole in the panel, cutting off light to the photo-
transistor.
The circuit depends on a 4093 quad NAND
Schmitt trigger package. Each Schmitt trigger
gate monitors the emitter of one phototransistor,
NOTE SIDE TAG ON When all holes are uncovered, the outputs of all
BPIO4 CATHODE 1EAD
four gates are low and transistors Q5-QB a¡e all
off and their respective LEDs are off.
When a finger cuts off light to phototransis-
itwithits anode lead (the longer of the entire assembly is then slipped into the tor Q1, the transistor stops conducting and pin
two) towards IC2. bottom section ofthe case and secured 2 of IC1. is pulled low by the 2.2MQ resistor.
ne uoc'dlqcuoo¡¡ls trwrn
using four self-tapping screws that go This sends pin 3 high to turn on transistor Q5
Final assembly - transmitter through the PC board and into integral and lights LED1. At the same time, it forward
The final assembly involves little matching stand-offs in the base. biases three diodes (D1-D3) to hold pins 6, 9 &
more tha¡r installing the PC boards If you are not building from a kit, 13 high and thus prevent those gates from be-
inside their respective cases. then you will have to drill these panels ing triggered.
if you are building the unit from yourself. Fig,10 shows the drilling de- The other three gates work in exactly the same
a kit, the transmitter's front and rear tails. The best approach is to photostat way, so that the first contestalt to cover a hole in
panels will be come pre-drilled (and these diagrams ald then attach them the panel wins a¡rd blocks tlre other contestants,
with screen-printed lettering). In this to the panels so tlat they can be used The sensitivity of the circuit can be reduced if
case, it's just a matter of first slipping as drilling templates. Note that hole necessary, by reducing the 2.2MO resistors in
these panels over the LEDs and input "D" is the adjustment access hole for value. The phototransistors were L-32PC from
sockets on the PC board. That done, the trimpot VR1, Prime Electronics,
A. J. Lowe,
Bardon, Qld. ($40)

J be running at full speed. Calculations show that

C waking a fast micro for a short period uses less
power than waking a slow micro for a longer pe-
O¡- riod, given that the same number of instruction
=o cycles is needed to perform the task it was woken
@
I
for. Some tasks, like sending a burst of data, will z
=
+H be over much quicker with a fast micro a¡d will ñ
Ed
rú
therefore save more power over a¡rd above the
instruction time savings.
I
ô
¡-
The remains of the clock can also be re-used;
s After the d¡iver PC board has been removed, the
coil and gearbox can be driven by a micro, using
two reciprocating outputs. One application might
be for a big stopwatch.
foe Colquitt,
New Lynn, ,{,uckland, NZ.

38 StLtco¡rt Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEï 2OO7

 WemGodæ@,0
Value pF Code IEC Code EIA Code
+¿.5V 100nF 0.1pF 100n 104
47nF .047¡tF 47n 473
10nF .01pF 10n 103
2.2nF .0022¡t"F 2n2 222
1nF .001pF 1n0 102
47OpF NA 470p 471
180pF NA 180p 181
100pF NA 100p 101
15pF NA 15p 15

Once the panels have been drilled,

they can be dressed by attaching
the relevant artworks (the files can
lppn - 60/2= 30 - 0Oo0 00Ol II l0 be downloaded from the Sucott
Crm website and printed out on a
colour printer). These artworks are
attached using double-sided adhe-
sive tape. Once they are attached,
MICROCONTROLLER
they can be protected by covering
them with clea¡ self-adhesive frlm
(eg, wide sticky tape) and the holes
cut out with a shary utility knife.

Final assembly - receiver

Now for the final assembly of
the receiver. Once again, kit ver-
lpph-3ó00,/2= ì80O sions will come with a case that's
- 0l l l @O0 l0O0 pre-drilled and screen printed, If
you're not using a kit, use Fig,11
as a drilling template and attach
the front panel artwork as described
above. Iid, while the PC board is secured using nuts is frtted to the top ofthe threaded
As shown in the photos, the PC four M3 x 6mm pan-head screws. ferrule, to help hold everything se-
board is mounted on the underside The power LED (LED1) and toggle curely together.
of the lid on four M3 x 15mm tapped switch (Sr) both protrude through The two holes in the side of the box
spacers. Four M3 x 6mm countersink- matching holes in the lid. Once the accept the shaft of the volume control
A clock driver has alternating nanowatt PIC head screws secure the spacers to the PC board is in place, one of the switch (VR1J and the collar of the headphone
Low-current stable outputs driving a coil. These outputs is used, the
clock source pulse on alternate seconds, each quiescent current
Although most microcontrollers pulse reversing the coil field, turning of the whole circuit MGdroGodcs@eofu@
have a-low power 32WIz oscillator a magnetic escapement to move the can be very low. A
that ca¡ be used as a timebase, they second hand. 72F675, for instance, uses a miserly tr No. Value 4-Band Code (1%) S-Band Code (1olo)
are generally not accurate for long A CMOS divider is used to count 10nA when asleep. tr 1 2.2MA red red green brown red red black yellow brown
periods. A 1.Hz deviation amounts the 0.5H2 output and generate a The only significant increase in tr 4 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown
to a 3-seconds per day error. It also pulse on a longer timebase; for ex- consumption is for the brief time tr 1 4VkA yellow violet orangebrown yellow violet black red brown
takes some power for the oscillator ample, 60 seconds or 60 minutes. (1Oms per 2s) the transistorturns on.
block to run, anywhere from 4pA The Q outputs are ANDed together, It is possible to use the other output
tr 2 22kA red red orange brown red red black red brown

to 10p4. according to the binary value for as well for a 1Hz timebase. Although
tr 1 20kA red black orange brown red black black red brown
By using the coil driver from a each, 1000mAh AA cells will power even tr 2 10kO brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
sta¡rdard quartz clock movement, In the 60-second example, when a 100¡rA circuit for a long time, tr 1 2.0kO red black red brown red black black brown brown
the accuracy is increased and the Q1, Q2, Q3 and Qa all go high (a lowering the circuit drain does give tr 1 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
curtent decreased. Even a reason- count of 30), a short positive pulse one the option of using smaller tr 1 390e) orange white brown brown orange white black black brown
able-quality clock can keep time to results, which is both the Reset for cells. tr 1 100f¿ brown black brown brown brown black black black brown
a few minutes per year while the the 4040 and a wake-up/inte¡rupt One other advantage is that the tr 2 47A brown
yellow violet black yellow violet black gold brown
current consumption of the driver for a micro or a trigger for another woken micro doesn't have to be tr 2 33O orange orange black brown orange orange black gold brown
is around 1oonA. device. If a low-power micro like a using a slow clock. In fact, it can tr 1 10O brown black black brown brown black black gold brown

siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 39

74 Stttco¡rt Cntp
 I tonrl zzopr

+STOPS FAN
WHEN FRIDGE DOOR OPENED

ITHERMISTOR THI IS PIACED INSIDE FRIDGE)

Temperature- or 4oC, with very quick recovery feedback resistor ald it determines
time from the door being opened. how quickly the fan speeds up with
controlled fridge fan A single 12V BOmm computer fan a rise in temperature, A lower feed-
This circuit is intended to assist is mounted towards the back on an back resistance wiII make it adjust to
fridges that ca¡r't cope during hot angle to circulate the air. temperature more slowly. The pulse-
days when the door is frequently The circuit uses a sawtooth wave- widthmodulated output signal ftom
opened and which then tend to form generator based on a 555 timer IC2b drives the Mosfet and the fan.
freeze up at night! It is a tempera- (IC1) which is fed to pin 6 of op amp The Mosfet generates very little heat
Here's another view inside the completed bansmitter. Note tle lead dress on the infrared LEDs and the green ture-controlled fan that speeds up IC2b set up as a comparator. Pin 5 of and doesn't need a heatsink.
indicator r.ED, so that they protrude through tleir matching holes in the front panel. as temperature increases, then slows IC2b is driven by op amp IC2a which The reed switch is included to
down as the temperature decreases, amplifies the voltage variations stop the fan when the door is open-
helping to maintain a consta¡rt level caused by thermistor TH1 which is ed. It is positioned on the side of the
of about 3oC or whatever you wish. placed inside the refrigerator. fridge with a high-power magnet on
This worked well in a "moist Thermistor TH1 has a nominal the door. This prevents the fan from
cold" fridge that uses a large cold value of 100kç¿ a¡rd is connected blowing out all the cold air when the
plate at the back. The extra fan in a voltage divider with trimpot door is opened.
converted it from an ice-covered VR1 and a 10kQ resistor, The gain Darren Kirkegard,
veggie death trap to a constant 3oC of op amp IC2a is set by the B2kÇ) Runcorn, Qld. ($45)

+l2Y
Simple water pump control ler I
This simple circuit automatically
switches apump on and offto maintain r0k
the water level in a tank between two
52 UPPER r
pre-defined levels.
Two float sensors, 31 & 52, are used, st towER
The rear panel of the receiver has clearance holes for the two RCA ¿¡¡fli6 inFut sockets, plus access holes for the eachbeing an assembly of a plastic float, -ì
"Set Level" bimpot and the power socket. Power cân come from a 12V AC or L5V DC (regulated) plugpack. a reed switch and a small magnet. As- I
PUMP PUMP
PU/
sume the water level is below sensor 51.
MOTOR SUPPTY
SUP
It closes to bias on transistor Q1 which Èfí&, al
8C337
energises the relay to run the pump.
socket [CON1). Another hole at one improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the F'or the prototype, the hood was
When the water level subsequently 12k
end of the box provides the "window" Iink when you are using it in a fairly made using a 15mm length of 16mm
rises to sensor 52, Q1 turns off and the
for photodiode PD1. large room that's lit with compact OD PVC conduit, This was glued to
relay opens, thereby shutting off the
As shown in the photos, a short fluorescent lamps (CFLs) - ie, when the box end [concentric with the hole)
pump. The pump runs again after the
length of PVC conduit was fitted there's a long linkpath. CFLs produce using fast-setting epoxy cement.
water level goes below sensor Sl-.
Dl:1N4004
around this hole, on the end of the a significant amount of noise at lR The battery holder, with its 4 x AA ------------I-t:---==_
T. A. Babu, AK
box, to make a light shield "hood", wavelengths and the hood stops most cells, is mounted at the other end of
Chennai,India. ($a0)
,A.Ithough not strictly necess¿üy, it does of this noise foom reaching PD1. the box. This can be held in place us-

40 Stttco¡rt Catp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEN 2OO7 73

 Farts L[st
Transmitter Unit 1 22¡tF 16V RB electrolytic 4 M3 x'lSmm tapped spacers
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from 1 low profile ABS instrument 1220nF MKT metallised 4 PC board terminal pins, 1mm
readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates. case, 140 x 110 x 35mm polyester diameter
1 PC þoard, code 01 112071, 3 100nF MKT metallised 1 1OkO log pot,9mm square PC-
117 x 102mm polyester mount (VR1)
2 PC-mount RCA sockets 3 100nF multilayer monolithic
(coN1, coN2) ceramic Semiconductors
1 2.5mm PC-mount DC socket 1 0nF metallised polyester 1 LM833 dual low noise op amp
(coN3) 3.3nF metallised polyester (rc1)
1 19mm square heatsink,6073 2.2nF metallised polyester 1 LM311 comparator (lC2)
type 1 nF metallised polyester 1 LM358 dual low power op amp
3 8-pin DIL lC sockets (optional) 2 680pF disc ceramic (rc3)
D3
I N400t 214-pin DIL lC sockets (optional) 1 470pF disc ceramic 1 LM386N audio amplifier (lC4)
1 M3 x 6mm machine screw, pan 1 8P104 lR sensor diode (PD1)
head Besistors (0.25W 1%) 1 3mm green LED (LED1)
47k
VEHICTT
1 M3 nut with star lockwasher 22.21{iA 14.7kA
BATÎERY 4 self-tapping screws, 49 x 6mm 2 100kc¡ 12.4k4 Capacitors
RTI RXI85
long 4 47kA 1 2.0ko 12200¡tF 16V RB electrolytic
3 PC board terminal pins, 1mm 222kA 3 1kO 1 470¡t"F 16V RB electrolytic
diameter 1 20ko 1 270A 2220¡tF 16V RB electrolytic
1 50kO verticaltrimpot, Smm 1 12kA 2 47A 1 47¡tF 16V RB electrolytic
(vR1) 1 5.6kO 1 1OpF 16V RB electrolytic
1 4.7¡tF 25V tag tantalum
Semiconductors Receivel unit 1 100nF MKT metallised
cse 1 LM833 low-noise op amp (lC'l) 1 UB3-size jiffy box, 130 x 68 x polyester
1 40938 quad CMOS Schmitt 44mm 1 47nF MKT metallised
NAND (rC2) 1 PC board, code 01 112072,57 polyester
I N5820 N400t N4t48 a4 tRF3Zl I 1 40138 dualflipflop (lC3) x 84mm 2 1)nF metallised polyester
#
I I

5Iþ- -----------q--
AK
1fLO72 dual op amp (lC4)
1 LM311 comparator (lC5)
1 battery holder, 4 x AA cells
(square)
2.2nF metallised polyester
47OpF disc ceramic
17812 +12V regulator (REG1) 1 SPDT minitoggle switch (S1) 180pF disc ceramic
fn-car charger & switcher for an SLA battery can further protect tlre battery. 1 8C328 PNP transistor (Q1) 1 PC-mount 3.5mm stereo jack 2 100pF disc ceramic
Lastly, to protect the SLA battery 6 Smm lR LEDs (LED1-LED3, socket (CON1) 1 15pF disc ceramic
This circuit was devised to switch will cause Mosfet
bias, which in turn from deep discharge, a low voltage LED5-LED7) 4 8-pin DIL lC sockets (optional)
power to a Peltier cooler in a vehicìe. Q2 to fully saturate, This positive disconnect is included. This is cen- 1 3mm green LED (LED4) 1 small knob, push-on (forVRl) Besistors (0.25W 1%)
Power to the load from the vehicle's feedback creates a clean transition tred around REG1, a voltage refer- 4 1N4004 1A diodes (D1-D4) 1 1Smm length of 16mm OD 12.2MA 1ko
battery is switched by a SPDT relay between the two states and prevents ence configured as a comparator. Its PVC tubing (optional) 4 100ko 390e¿
while the ignition switch is turned Q2 from over-dissipating by being reference (nnr) input is connected to Capacitors 4 M3 x 6mm machine screws, 222kA 100o
on and from the SLA auxiliary bat- partially on. The current then will avoltage divider, as long as "enable" 1 1000pF 25V RB electrolytic CSK head 1 20ko 2 47f2
tery when tlre ignition is off. ramp down until the battery is only switch 51 is closed. 1220¡tF 16V RB electrolytic 4 M3 x 6mm machine screws, 2 10ko 2 33O
The SLA battery is charged from receiving a trickle charge and the Whenever the voltage at REGl's 2100¡rF 16V RB electrolytic pan head 1 2.0ko 1 10O
the vehicle's battery. When the en- voltage drop across the paralleled reference terminal exceeds 2.5V, its
gine is running, the voltage remains resistors is only a few dozen mil- anode will be pulled low, biasing on
fairly constant, which greatly simpli- livolts. Schottky diode D1 prevents PNP transistor Q3. Q3 provides posi-
fies the charging circuit. If the SLA the SLA battery from discharging tive feedback via the 27Okl2 resistor ing a strip ofelectrical insulation tape. leads and applying power. However, if In practice, a value of oaopF (as
battery is fully charged, any further into the vehicle's accessory circuits and diode D2 to turn on N-channel It's then wedged flrmly in position by you have an oscilloscope or a frequen- shown on the circuitJ should be suit-
charging current from the vehicle when the engine is off. Mosfet Q4, which allows the load to the end of the PC board when the lid cy counter, it's a good idea to check able if a Motorola MC140938 device is
battery is limited by a 3.3O 5W Two safety devices are included be powered up. Soes on. the frequency of the clock oscillator used for IC2. However, if an ST Micro
resistor (R1). If the SLA battery is in the circuit, the first being in-line If the SLA battery voltage drops Note that the lid
assembly must be before you close up the case. 40938 is used, this capacitorwill prob-
deeply discharged, the voltage drop fuse F1 which will prevent serious below 10V the reference terminal introduced into the box at an angÌe, This is easiest done by checking ably have to be reduced to 47opF or
across this resistor will be enough damage in case of shorts. tn addition, will fall below 2.5V and the anode so VR1's shaft and the headphone the frequency of the tiiangular wave 390pF, Conversely, for aPhilips 40938,
to bias on PNP transistor Q1. This a PTC resettable thermistor (RT1) of REG1 will go high, thereby re- socket can enter their matching holes. signal at test point TP2 (just behind the capacitor may need to be increased
will turn on P-channel Mosfet Q2 protects the battery from sustained moving bias from Q3 and turning It's then swung down and fastened to IC5). The frequency here should be to 82OpF or even 1nF.
and it will provide further charging overcurrents during the charging off Q+ to disconnect the load a¡rd the box using the self-tapping screws between B0kHz and tookHz. If it's well The basic idea is that you increase
current via R2, effectively becoming phase. It is a 1.854 hold, a.zoa trip prevent deep discharge. LED1 indi- supplied. outside this range, then you'll need to the capacitor's value to lower the
a 2-step charger. device at 23oC. Since it has a posi- cates when power is being applied change the value ofthe 6BOpF oscilla- clock frequency, and reduce its value
Since the paralleled resistors (R1 tive temperature coefñcient, at 70"C, to the load. Set-up & adjustment tor capacitor to correct it. to increase the frequency,
& R2) have a lower combined voLt- these ratings decrease to 1A and 2A Fernando Garcia, Getting the transmitter unit going The capacitor concerned is easy to If you don't have a frequency coun-
age drÒp, Q1 will receive lowerbase for hold and trip respectively, which Brownsville, Texas, USA. ($45) is straightforward. Basicaìly, it's just a find on the transmitter board - it's just ter but have a modest uncalibrated
matter of connecting the audio input to the right of IC2. oscilloscope, you can still check and

72 StucoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 41

 FRONT PANET

10.2sI l0 I 20.2s 20.25 I l0 t10.25

HOIE DIAÀ,1FÍERS:
HOLES A: 5.0mm
HOE B: 3.0mm
HOLES C: l0.0mm
HOIE D: 4.0mm
HO["E E: 8.0mm

ÀI.L DIMENSIONS IN
MIIilMETRES

REAR PÀNEI. lJliu¡Wrecmæcf üþuîodHbffi

Fig.10 (above); these are the drilling diagrams for the front and rear panels of the transmitter case. They can be læ@o ryh-n md}frnereüs =' fu ffift[þ
photostated or downloaded from our website and directly used as drilling templates if required.
&il Wfiroo db : búMe@ rrem7 erîd
g MÐe-r¡O Wnfln db @qz a FnEtr
@sffienúomreNGm:
\nßoEtËFdÞæ dffi
-
r¡îF-gFFftW offer valid only in Auslralia. lf you ale already
a subscriber this can be made a 0ifl subscription

52A Dlllltlll!

Resolulion ; 50000 counts

BasicD0Vaccuracy ...0.025%
Displays(50,000count) . ...Dual
TrueRMS .....AC+DC
Capacitance ... .10nFto100pF
Resistance .....500MO
Current ......104
Frequency 0.5H2 to 500kHz
MalhFunctions .... .........6
Frequency Gounter . . . 0.5H2 to 20MHz
AII DIMENSIONS IN
MIII.METRES Programmable square wave generalor . . 0.5H2 to 4800H2 i

'100 points (manual)

Data logger i

HOI.E DIAMETERS:
HOES A: 3.0mm, CSK
ïïihii:iËiì
HOII B: 3.5mm 0perating temperalure . . . -20 C to +55 C
HOTESC: ó.5mm
HOIE D: 7.Omm Safetycompliance .....Catlll 1000V
Battery . . . . N|MH Rechargeable with power adapter
l/0 inteúace . . lR to USB(optional)
Dimensions 203.5 x 94.4 x 59.0mm

Fig.ll: here are the drilling details for the receiver case. It's important to get all holes in their correct locations, so
Approximateweight.... ...5279
that everything lines up correctly when the receiver board is installed.

CT, NSW, OLD, TAS & VIG:

adjust the clock frequency fairÌy eas- about 10.5V and onÌy avery tiny "pip" that the clock oscillator's frequency is
ily by using the waveform at TP2 as a on each positive and negative peak. too high. To fix this, simply increase
guide. The waveform here should be a If you find that the waveform is a the value of ihe 6B0pF capacitor.
very linear and symmetrical sawtooth,
with a peak-to-peak amplitude of
clean sawtooth but much lower in
amplitude than 10.5V p-p, this means
On the other hand, if the waveform
does have an ampì.itude of 10.5V p-p
300 853 407 tA)(:1300 853 409 Pll0llE:08 9437 2550 FA)(:08 9437 2551

42 StLtcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au

trytry,tr¡oslnartcal,colll,atl trytrytrr,
 At this stage neither of the LEDs or more but is clipped or truncated
should light but you may hear a small Fig. : Staying rather than being a clean sawtooth,
turn-on 'plop' from the speaker con- with the model this means that your clock oscillator's
rail theme, you Irequency is too low, That's fixed
nected to the external amplifier. If you could use reed A cordless audio headphone link for the hard of hearing.
wish you can use a digital multimeter relays or other
by reducing the value of the 6B0pF
Provides a single channel audio link via infrared (lR) light, using pulse-
to confirm that the supply voltage at switches to play capacitor.
width modulation (PWM).
pin B ofIC2 is very close to +5V rela- back the sound Ifyou don't have a counter or an os-
tive to the module's earth terminal. grabs when the cilloscope, leave the capacitor's value OVerall frequency response restricted lo 2OHz - 12k{z, with a small
Now switch the external toggle train triggers at 6B0pF and wait to see if the link's amount of treble boost (maximum of 7dB at about SkHz).
switch on, pulling the RecEnable-bar them or they performance is satisfactory. We'lI dis- Signal-to-noise ratio approximately 50d8.
Iine down to earth potential. This are switched cuss this option shortly.
should switch the module into Record by the operator. The receiver unit needs no adjust- Transmitter Unit
mode, so LED2 shouldbegin glowing. If the sound ments; all you have to do to get it going
grabs played Smalt set-top box accepts line level audio (either mono or stereo) from a
(If it doesn't begin glowing, you either is to plug in your headphones, switch TV receiver, VCR or DVD player, etc.
in different
have the DC power polarity reversed, locations you will
it on and point it towards the transmit-
lnput impedance:47kO.
or LED2 fitted to the board the wrong need additional ter. The small green power LED should
way around.) light and it's then simply a matter of PWM output via six infrared LEDs
speakers and
Next, press one of the message relays to switch adjusting the volume control for a Range: about five metres.
select pushbuttons - say MSG1 in them to the comfortable listening level. Power supply: 12V AC or 15-18V DC, with an average current drain of
Fig. . Holding it down, begin talking amplifier, approximately 25m4.
into the electret mic to record your Testing the link
test message. link, first connect the left
To test the
Receiuer Unit
Âs you speak, you'll notice that the & right channel audio signal leads to
{oN = RECORD) A small portable box which responds to the modulated lR light beam
green Strobe LED (LED1) is flashing. (HOLD MSG BUTTONS DOWN FOR RECORDING) the transmitter's inputs. These signals
from the transmitter, demodulates the audio and drives a standard pa¡r of
Keep talking until you reach the end can come from the stereo line outputs
stereo headphones (2 x 32A impedance).
of your message or until LED1 stops on your TV. You cal also use the line
flashing (which indicates that record- narrower/wider audio bandwidth. and MSG2, along with the Record/Play outputs on your VCR or DVD player Power supply: four AA cells (either alkaline or rechargeable NiMH).
ing has stopped automaticalÌy, because For example, if you change the re- toggle switch. but only if you are actually using this Average current drain: approximately 20mA, giving a battery service life
you have reached the end of that seg- sistor value to B2kQ, this will lower If you want to record and play four equipment. of 80-100 hours or more.
ment of the HKB2B's memory), Then the sampling rate to about 4200 sam- messages, remove the jumper shunt Note that piggyback RCA socket Controls: local volume control and a power on/off switch, plus a power/
release the pushbutton. ples/second and give a total recording from LK2 and place one on LK3 in- leads may be required to make these signal indicator LED.
To replay the recorded message, time of just on 60 seconds. However stead. You'll now need four external connections if the audio outputs are
turn the toggle switch off to swing the the audio bandwidth will also drop pushbuttons as well as the Record/ already in use (eg, Jaycar WA-7090),
module into Play mode and briefly to around 2kHz, so the played-back PÌay toggle switch: MSG1, MSG2, Next, use a small screwdriver to
press the message pushbutton again, message(s) will sound rather 'muf- MSG3 and MSG4. Note that in this case adjustthe "SetLevel" trimpot (VR1) at TV sound. If so, your link is flnished means that your clock frequency is ei-
but this time only briefly because in fled'- a bit like talking through a wet each message will be able to use one the rear of the transmitter to mid-posi- and ready for use. ther too high or too low. This can occur
Play mode, the message buttons only sock! quarter of the HKB2B's memory. tion. That done, position the transmit- If the sound is overly loud and if you weren't able to previously check
trigger the replay operation. On the other hand, if you lower Leave the jumper shunts off both ter (eg, on top of the TV) so that it faces distorted, even when the receiver's the transmitter's oscillator frequency
Your recorded message should the resistor value to 24kÇ2, this will LK2 and LK3 if you want to record towards your viewing position and volume control is down near zero, - eg, if you don't have a counter or a¡r
then be replayed through the exter- increase the sampling rate to about and play any of eight short messages apply power. The transmitter's green it's probable that the audio input sig- oscilloscope.
nal amplifier and speaker. If it does, 8000 samples/second and drop the (each using one eighth of the HKB2B's centre LED should immediately light nals from the TV are overloading the In this case, try altering the 6B0pF
your Multi-Message Voice Recorder recording time to just on 32 seconds. memory). You'll now need all eight (assuming an audio signal is being transmitter. In that case, try adjusting capacitor's value one way or the other,
is working correctly and should now But the recording quality will improve, external pushbuttons MSG1 - MSGB, applied) but the IR LEDs will remain trimpot VR1 anticlockwise using a to see if the distortion gets better or
be ready for use. as the audio bandwidth will increase along with the Record/Play toggle dark to your eyes. small screwdriver, to lower the input worse. If it gets worse, go back the
to about 4kHz, switch. It's now just a matter of checking level. This should allowyouto remove other way. If it gets better, keep chang-
Changing message length So experiment by all means, and The last option is to tit jumper that the link actually works. To do any audible distortion and bring the ing the value in that direction.
As mentioned earlier, the total mes- settle on the resistor vaÌue you decide shunts to both LK2 and LK3, which this, initially set the receiver's volume volume down to a comfortable level. In practice, you shouldn't need to
sage length stored in the HKB2B chip's gives the best combination of total sets the moduÌe for "tape mode" op- control to minimum, then plug the If you find that distortion is still increase the capacitor value above 1nF
memory is determined by the sampling message length and acceptable audio eration. headphones in a¡rd switchthe receiver present even when the audio level or reduce it below 390pF in order to
rate which is set by the resistor con- quality for your application. In this mode you normally only on, The receiver's green power LED is turned well down, this probably remove all audible distortion. SC

nected from pin 7 of the chip (OscR) need one external pushbutton (MSGI), should either blink briefly (if you're
to ground. Changing message mode because the HKB2B records and plays not pointing the receiver towards the
The 47kQ value shown for this As noted earlier, header links LK2 back either one message or a sequence transmitter) or light steadily if PD1 is
resistor in the circuit and overlay and LK3 on the board can be used to of messages, using all of its memory able to "see" the infrared signal.
diagram gives a sampling rate of 5800 change the module's message access space. The idea now is to place the receiver o Learn about engine management systems
samples/second, resulting in a total mode. That's it then - an easy-to-build in a convenientposition so that it gets o Projects to control nitrous, fuel injection and turbo boost
message length of 45 seconds a¡d an For example with a jumper shunt solid state Multi-Message Voice Re- an unobstructed "view" of the trans- systems
audio bandwidth of about 2.9kHz. fitted to LK2 but removed from LK3, corder module that can be used for mitter. In most cases, it can simply be o Switch devices on and off
We picked this as a reasonable com- the module will be able to record and all kinds of applications, especially positioned on an armrest, an adjacent accord¡ng to signal frequency, temperature & voltage
promise between message length and play two messages (each using half those involving sending pre-recorded coffee table on even on the back of o Build test instruments to check fuel injector duty cycle,
recording quality but you can experi- the HKB2B's memory space). You'll messages over an amplifier or PÂ the sofa. fuel mixtures and brake & temperature
ment with the value of this resistor to only need two external pushbuttons system under the control of a PC or Now turn up the volume control and Mail order prices: Aust. 5422.50 (incl. GST & P&P); Overseas
try Ìonger/shorter recording times and to select one of these messages: MSG1 microcontroller. st you should be able to clearly hear the 5426.00 via aimrail. See www.siliconchip.com.au for ordering details.

70 SLICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 43

 JOIN THE TECHNOLOGY
aÍ1(
) l' \--l
AGE NOW
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Tatos PICAXE
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Rft ) ,r,
Developed as a teaching tool,
the PICAXE is a low-cost "brain"
for almost any project
Team this little module with a small audio
amplifier, to provide a great range ofsound effects
Easy to use and understand,
for a model railway layout, for example. It has the
ability to store up to eight different "sound grabs" which could be switched to profess¡onals & hobbyists can
different parts ofthe layout as trains pass through stations. be productive within minutes.
Free software development
PC board. This is coded 8C8271., the diagram carefully as a guide to system and low-cost in-circuit
and measures LO7 x 57mm. It can be their orientation. Fit diode D1 first,
programming.
mounted inside a staldard UB3 size then transistor Q1 and the two LEDs,
jiffy box. As all of the terminals and followed by regulator REG1. Variety of hardware, project
connectors are along one side the Then flt the electret mic insert, boards and kits to suit your
board, they will all be accessible via This has only two wire leads, but it is application.
a slot or series ofholes along that side polarised, so make sure you check the Digital, analog, RS232,
of the box. Only three holes will be back of the insert to make sure which 1-WirerM, SPland l2C.
needed in the box lid: two 5mm holes lead connects to the metal body of the PC connectivity.
for LEDI and LED2, and a larger hoÌe insert, This is the negative lead, which
to allow sound to reach the electret must be connected to the earthy outer
mic insert. pad under the board. The other lead is Applications include:
The location and orientation of the positive lead. Datalogging
all components on the board cal be Finally, plug the LM35B op amp Robotics
seen in the overlay diagram of Fig.3, IC2 into its B-pin socket and the larger Measurement & instruments
and also in the matching photo of the HKBZB chip ICl into its 2B-pin socket, Motor & lighting control
module. Make sure they're both orientated as Farming & agriculture
Start board assembly by fitting the shown in Fig.3. Your Multi-Message
lnternet server
four screw terminal blocks, then t}re Voice Recorder should now be com-
DC input and audio output sockets, plete and ready to go. Wireless links
Follow these with the two IC sockets, Colour sensing
Trying it out Fun games
Mauro Grassi takes an ¡n-depth loolr at Rohde & Schwarz' new the three 2-pin headers for LK1-LK3
and the short wire link which fits just To check that your recorder is work-
ing correctly, first decide on which
FM500 Spectrum Analyser and SMõ00 Signal Generator neaÌ the end of the 28-pin IC socket.
After this you can fit the resistors and message mode you want to use it in,
smaller non-polarised capacitors. and then place jumper shunts on link
Next come the 4,7pF taltalum and headers LK1, LK2 ard LK3 to set the
fTlhe FS3 e the rre- At the rear of the units lie a host of connectors. From the electrolytic capacitors, which are module for that mode of operation.
I quency matching a monitor output, USB host port (for connecting a USB all polarised, so make sure you fit (Use the table in Fig.2 as a guide.)
I Sl,¿¡oo same set flash drive), USB device port (for connecting to a PC), a them with their orientation as shown Then connect a small toggle switch
of frequencies. keyboard port (for attaching an external keyboard) and in the diagram. and one pushbutton switch for each
In fact, the FS300 and SMS00 look almost identical face various BNC connectors for accepting an external trigger Now you'Il be ready to fit the semi- message you want to select to the
on, Both housed in robust cases; the only difference in a¡rd reference signals. conductor parts. These are again all appropriate screw terminals of the Distributed in Australia by
the front panels is that the signal generator has an extra polarised, so make sure you follow module, as shown in Fig.4. For the
LF (low frequency) output, Menus present switch the toggle switch off, Microzed Computers
Apart ftom that, both have a rotary knob, a numeric key- Both the FS300 a¡rd SM300 have intuitive and easy-to-use which corresponds to message play- Pty Limited
pad, some soft buttons fmeaning their use varies according on-screen menus. The layout of the menus is very similar
Capacitor Codes back mode,
to the selected sub menu) and some keys for navigating in both units, making the interface rather uniform. ValuepF Code IEC Code EIA Code The audio output of the module can Phone 1300 735 420
through their on-screen menus. In the user screen there is a horizontal row of menu now be connected to the line input of Fax 1300 735 421
The screen is a quarter-VG,{ (320x200J TFT LCD. Both items, each of which has a vertical set of submenus. Thus
220n
220nt 0.22¡:"F 224
any suitable audio amplifier, Then you
the Spectrum Analyser and Signal Generator will fit snugly it is easy to navigate through the menus by moving across
100nF0.1pF 100n 104 can connect its DC power input to a www.microzed.com.au
side-by-side in a single 19inch rack. horizontally to the desired menu and then selecting the 150pF nla 150p 151 source of 9-14V DC.

44 StLtcoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 69

details for the new Multi-Message relevant vertical item with its dedicated "soft" button.
Voice Recorder. Any further submenus appeil on the vertical panel and
As shown, signaJ.s from the electret are easy to navigate.
microphone insert are coupled into Inbothulits, anumber of automatic settings are provided
the Micln input of the HKB2B (pin which are adequate for most routine measurements, with a
17) via a 100nF coupling capacitor. manual override available for custom measutements.
,\nother 100nF capacitor is used to
tie the preamp's second 'MicRef' The FS300 Spectrum Analyser
input (pin 18) to ground, to provide Let's begin by looking at the FS300 Spectrum Analyser
maximum gain. in more detail and what can be done with it.
The 4.7¡tF capacitor and 220kO re- The noise level is exceptional at better than -110d8m,
sistor connected between pin 19 and so very weak signals - of the order of microvolts - can be
ground are used to optimise the chip's detected. This is outstanding for a device in this price range.
AGC attack and decay characteristics There are 16 digitally-selectable resolution bandwidths
for speech. The amplified audio from from 200H2 to lMHz with an accuracy of 5"/o.
the mic preamp and AGC circuit ap- RE CE MI M2 M3 M4 M5 Mó M7 M8 EARTH 9-',t4V DC The frequency menu allows start and stop frequencies
pears atpin 21 (Aout) which is coupled to be entered via the numeric keypad, These set the range Fig. 1: the amplitude in the frequency domain from BBMHz-
Fig,3: the same-size component overlay matches
directly to pin 20 (Ain) via another the photograph at right - between the two there AUDIO OUT
of frequencies whose amplitudes wiII be displayed on the L0BMHz (the FM radio band) obtained with a makeshift
100nF capacitor. should be no construction problems. SCIEEN, aerial (a length ofwire). The peaks correspond to the carrier
As mentioned above, the internal Alternatively, one may set the centre frequency and the frequency ofradio stations in the Sydney area,
sampling oscillator frequency is set to span, with the range of resulting frequencies being the cen-
5. BkHz by the 47kO resistor connected pulled down again for about 400ms, when a message is actually being tre flequency minus half the span to the centre frequency
to ground from pin 7 (OscRl. The playback audio emerges in played or recorded, plus half the span.
Setting the HKB2B into record or push-pull (ie, anti-phase) fashion from There's one remaining point which The amplitude menu allows the amplitude axis to be
playback modes is achieved by an pins 14 and ts of the HKB2B, the SP+ should be mentioned about the cir- set for the relevant measurement, Either a relative or an
external switch or logic signal con- and SP- pins and is connected to a cuit, absolute scale can be selected. In relative mode, a percent-
nected to the RecEnable-bar terminal, 100f) load resistor, The signals are fed You'llnote that the HKB2B chip is age scale is used while in absolute mode, the unit can be
which connects to the chip's RE-bar via 100nF capacitors to a bala¡rced-to- provided with a ChipEnable-bar pin chosen Îrom among dBM, dBmV dBpV, mV or mW
pin (27). unbalanced matching stage using IC2b, (pin 23), which in this circuit is pulled
The terminal is pulied to ground one half of an LM35B dual op amp, down to earth via a47kQ resistor - so A Simple Radio Test
for record mode or allowed to rise to This effectiveiy adds the two signals the chip is enabled by default, How- We connected an antenna (simply a random length of
logic high level (+sV) for playback together, ald cancels out the 'common ever the ChipEnable-bar line is also wireJ to the input of the I'S300 Spectrum analyser. We set
mode. Note that when the terminal mode pedestal' signal that appears brought out to a terminal, to allow the starting frequency at BBMHz and the end Irequency at
is pulled down to ground for Record with them on both outputs, you to apply a logic high (+5V) to this 1OBMHz. The result we obtained is shown in Fig,1.
mode, this also allows transistor Q1 As a result the output audio sig- Iine if you want to disable the chip for The resulting spectrum shows the FM radio stations in
to draw base current and turn on - al- nal at pin 7 of op amp IC2b is clean any reason. Sydney with each peak corresponding to a radio station.
Iowing current to flow through LED?, and 'glitch fiee'. This is then passed You might walt to do this if you Fig.2 shows what happens when we zoomed in on the inter-
the Record Mode indicator. through op amp IC2a, connected as a have a microcontroller or PC control- val between lo4lllllJzand 10 7MHz, showing in more detail Fig. 2: the amplitude in the frequency domain from
LinkLKl is used to enable or disable voltage follower/buffer and then fed to ling anumber of the modules, in which the peaks of RF detected, corresponding to the stâtions at aolil'fIlz to 107MHz (part of the upper FM radio band). The
the HKB2B's mässage starting 'beep', the line-level audio output socket. case it will need to be able to select 1O 4JMHz, 1O ßM}lz, 1.O5.7MHz and 1 06, 5MHz. peaks (from left to right) correspond to the equally spaced
by changing the logic level at pin 11 All of the part of the circuit operates between them using their ChipEn- FM radio stations transmitting at 104.1MH2, 104.9MH2,
f"Beep Enable"). Similarly LK2 and from +5VDC foom RnG1, an LM7BL05 able-bar lines. Signal Tracking LO'.7 lvftlz and t0 6. 5MHz.
LK3 are used to set the desired mes- regulator. We are able to use a low The FS300 Spectrum Analyser has an option called
sage recording and playbackmode, as power regulator because the total cur- Construction "Signal Tracking", When enabled, the effect is that the
shown in the small table on the circuit rent drain is quite low: about 4mA in All of the components used in the frequency with the greatest amplitude is set to be the centre
diagram, standby mode, rising to about 45mA Voice Recorder module on a compact frequency. This is useful for analysing passband filters, for
To record a message in one of the example, where one very narrow range of frequencies is
random access modes, all that needs Resistsr 0olnur todes predominant.
to be done is to pull down the RecEn-
able-bar line to force the chip into Level Display Ranges
recording mode, and then pull down No. Value 4-Band Gode (1%) 5-Band Gode (1%) The vertical scale range can be adjusted foom a choice
one of the message-select lines (M1E- tr 1 470ka brown
yellow purple yellow yellow purple black orange brown of five ranges. Four ranges ftom BdB to BOdB a¡rd a linear
nable-bar, M2Enable-bar etc) using an tr 1 220ka red red yellow brown red red black orange brown scale 0% to 100% are available.
external pushbutton or a logic signal tr 2 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown In linear scale mode, 0% corresponds to a 0V or OW
reading, whereas 100% corresponds to the level offset.
from a PC or microcontroller,
The message select line mustbe held
tr 8 47ko yellow purple orange brown yellow purple black red brown
Moreover, up to 30000 sweeps can be averaged to reduce
down for the duration of the message tr I 22ko red red orange brown red red black red brown interference and obtain an overall impression of the am-
recording; recording ends when the tr 2 1Okc¿ brown black orange brown brown black black red brown plitude of a frequency.
line is allowed to rise high again. tr 2 1ka brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
To play the recorded message, the tr 2 680fi blue grey brown brown blue grey black black brown
Markers Fig.3: the main screen
and amplitude of the "carrier" signal. The horizontal
RecEnable-bar line is allowed to rise tr 1 100C¿ brown brown black black black brown Markers can be used to measure the amplitude at a
brown black brown row of menus can be seen, with the vertical column of
high again, and the message select line particular frequency. The reading of the marker is shown
for the message you walt to replay tr 1 47o. yellow purple black brown yellow purple black gold brown at the top of the display, and the marker cal be varied by
menu items corresponding to sub-menus of the selected
horizontal menu item.
68 SILIC)N CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEÈ 2OO7 45
 the rotary knob. Up to two markers are available on the
screen at any one time. !sssHssssH
Measuring the FM radio spectrum using the marker
revealed that the signal at LO4.1lllHz (corresponding to
222i
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a
9 p,2ã==ã=ããü
2DAY-FMradio station) was around 6nW (nanowatts). Two o
È\
markers can operate in "delta" mode, where the value meas-
ured is the difference in level between the two markers.
Io
A very useful feature allows the reference level (am- o
plitude) and centre frequency to be set according to the zI I,
current value of a marker.
ã ëi
Noise power density and signal bandwidth =
measurements
Using an on-screen marker and moving the rotary knob l"
allows a particular frequency to be singled out. The FS300
can then measure the Noise Power density for that fie- U u U
quency. Moreover, by setting two markers the FS300 can u
(J
(,)(J
(J (J
Fig.4: this shows the output of the SM300 signal generator U
in FM mode (þlue). The carrier frequency is 200kHz. measure the signal bandwidth. That is particularly useful ô
Notice the signal frequency measured by the oscilloscope when working wiih filters.
o = =
o o
ô = I
ô u
ô
o z z z o
=
is not exactly 2Dûl<flz, as expected. The green trace is the zË =
square wave modulating source of around 2okflz, Display Lines vi
U øt
u øi
u
u
u o o o É
Activating a display line on the FS300 allows you to de- d
o
tect whether a particular frequency exceeds a certain level U u U

of amplitude. You simply change the display line with the =

N = =
o{
rotary knob. The reading is displayed above the line. This o F
l z 5 z oa)!-:
Y o o E,i¿
È(Ë
feature can be considered a vertical cursor. Ê0)
c.l
Y
z otsl 5
o z
Frequency counter ÈE
A built-in 6-digit frequency counter allows exceptionally êô
precise fiequency measurements to be made, with resolu- :i.qõ
u.t

<.ã ecÉ
tion from lkHz down Io LHz. Ø- OL
ôfi ¡i o)
All in all the FS300 is an impressive Spectrum Analyser ÈÀ
UU
UT
with quite a fast response. @ó
il¡t
zÈ
-trÊ
.+.9 H
The SM300 Signal Generator ..o 'ÉEo
v 9=
!¿
Let's now turn to the SM300 SignaÌ generator. This is
a robust and exceptionally precise signal generator with
z
= i.Ë;
(!ôG
fr(Jr
a range of modulation options. It can produce digitally ;E
øcJ-
(!
Fig.5: by contrast, the output in AM mode (þlue). The c9!
modulated signals in the continuous spectrum between
carrier frequency is 200kHz. Notice the signal frequency gkHz and 3GHz. oJ-o)
measured by the oscilloscope is exactly 200kHz, as Ë
E > q:
expected. The green trace is the square wave modulating Frequency, amplitude, phase, pulse and IQmodulations
source of around 2okJla are possibÌe, For IQ (in-phase/quadrature) modulation, the Ê N
co?É
=-
Ê l¿OCE
SM300 accepts the I and Q components fiom external BNC
connectors on the back of the unit, meaning virtually any
e
CÐ :oa
kind of modulation is possible, g ''+ C)'!
-ÉÈ
The SM300 can produce a stable source of test signals Ê Éõ3
o:i
applicable to diverse areas such as mobile radio and video H õaB
CÐ ãø
equipment. And its high IQbandwidth allows it to be used ?
for testing wifi and other wireless digital streams, A typical -€ rE"
o üE
-yo0)
screen shot of the signal generator is shown in Fig.3. = .!: h .or
H
Modulation CÐ
OÉ(!
Either an internal LF (low frequency) generator or an aD dEø
external signal can be used as the modulation source. U'
E
We connected a 2OkJfz square wave as the modulation
I dJ:c
source and set a carrier lrequency of around 200kHz. We
then tried in turn amplitude, frequency and IQ modula-
r=¡
h e€
Èw o
i
i:; r -:r ::: i' J (* 1O _É
O(Y)Èj
tìr)tHo DfìtHQ 0ûil{o DctHo tion and the resulting waveforms were captured using an
I ilr'ty ¡ nr)ty of5 ?:l t¡n!ilfs
l0krìnirìlc
?40nv
RfC:200?/10/lfÌ l3:0tì:ln oscilÌoscope, - ãàE
Fig,6: the signal output in IQ modulation mode. The blue Fig.4 shows the result of frequency modulation, Fig.5 = ày,^
trace is the signal output, which is IQ modulated with a amplitude modulation and Fig.6 IQ modulation, U ,erÞ ñas
ù-ô! v
carrier frequency around 2oolrJIz. The green trace is the I We should clarifythatthe I componentwas a square wave =
C'I,F

component, a square wave at around 160kHz. at around 160kHz while the Q component was shorted out

46 StLtcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEI 2OO7 67

 pin, it needs to pass these signaÌs fore of a compromise: the lower the 11U L-r !t] l'11, 1** kH¡ ¡ ::; ;:;i
UITIT FS3[fl
L'11

Parts List - Enhanced through a low-pass filter before the sampling, rate the longer the recording 5û hH¡ l1!, -- llH¡ ¡ -- dEni

Uoice Recorder sampling. This is done to prevent time but the lower the audio band- Fohde & Schwarz, Munich
distortion caused by sampling aliases, width. Conversely, the higher the sam- Thu0ct lE l2:51 :55 2007
hence the "anti aliasing" filterbetween pling rate the higher the bandwidthbut Vereion I .44
1 PC board, code EC8271,119 the "Ain" input and the sample and the shorter the recording time, from 08.1 1.2004
x 57mm
hold circuit block. The HKB2B chip has an internal
1 electret microphone insert Now although the audio is sampÌed sampling rate clock osciliator, as well
CEH TER
SPHH
1.0ÊÊÊÊÊÊ llHz
2.0Ê00Ê6Ê llHz
(AM-4011) STHRI LEÊÊ0Ê8Ê I'lH¡
inside the HKB2B, this is done using as an input for an optional externaÌ ï0F Ê.0Ê080ÊÊ llHz
3 3-way terminal blocks, PC
an anaÌog sample-and-hold system clock. Either clock signal can be fed
5
CF-s TEPS I ZE
REF LEUEL 1
185. 92009ÊÊ I'lll¡
1Ê. Ê pll
board mtg REF LEUEL OFFSET 0.Ê
rather than the more common digital to the sample and hold circuit via the dB
1 2-way terminal block, PC
sampÌing system. It stores the samples multiplexer (MUX), to control the
RF ÊTÏEH
RBII
Ê
kHz
5Ê
dB /t'tHu
/HUT0
board mtg uEu ltHz
20Ê /HUT0
3 2-pin sections of SIL header in an array of 26z1qq (256K) Flash sampling. SI{EEF T I I1E 5Ê.Ê n= /ÊUTO
IRfiCE cL,/l¡R
EEPROM analog storage cells, each of The frequency of the internal oscil- TRÊCE E
T
BLÊHK
strip
which can store any of 256 different lator is set by varying the value of an IIHRI{ER OH
3 jumper shunts
1

OFF

TÞ'-''í
I'IÊRKER 2 /OELTÊ

1 28-pin DIL lC socket,

15.24mm spacing
1 8-pin DIL lC socket, 7.62mm
voltage levels. This gives the equiva-
Ient of B-bit digital recording.
The capacity of the storage array
externaÌ resistor connected between
the'OscR'pin and ground, Our circuit
uses a 47kf2 resistor, which sets the
IKK ÏRI GËER FREE RUH

means that the HKB2B can store a total sampling rate to about 5800 sampÌes/ This shows the screen shot of the FS300 Spectrum Analyser displaying harmonics of a 145kHz square wave. On the right
spacing second. This gives a message recording is the data recorded with the screen shot by the PC software - very handy for future reference.
of 256K sampÌes. How long a recorded
1 2.Smm concentric DC power message this gives depends on the time of about 45 seconds and a band-
plug, PC board mtg (CON1) width of about 2.9kHz, for reasonable with a 1kÇ) resistor. ports (rev 1.1) for connection to a PC. This allows screen
sampling rate that's used,
1 RCA audio socket, PC board For example, if the sample rate voice-quality recording. shots and data to be acquired directly from the device,
mtg (CON2) is 8000 samples per second, 256K As shown in Fig,1, the recording Frequency Sweeps The device can also be controlled by the software, As
Semiconductols samples will correspond to a total and playback of samples in the storage A powerful feature of the SM300 signal generator is its well as this, an external keyboard and monitor can be
1 HK828 voice recorder lC message length of just over 32 sec- array is controlled by analog write and frequency sweep. The frequency can be varied gradually connected.
(rc1) onds (2az,t+4/8000). However if you read circuits, along with the message from a start to a stop frequency in user-selectable steps.
1 1M358 dualop amp (lC2) sample aT 42OO samples/second, the control and message decoding circuits, The dwell time (ie, the time between steps) canbe set ftom Conclusion
1 78105 +5V regulator (REG1) 256K samples will give a totaÌ mes- When a message is being played back micro seconds to seconds. The FS300 and SM300 are a compatible, complete fre-
1 PN200 PNP transistor (Q1) sage Ìength of just over 62 seconds the signals pass through another low- This feature is useful for measuring the frequency re- quency domain solution for testing and d iagnostics.
1 Smm green LED (LEDI) (262 ,1,44/ 42OO), pass filter to remove sampling noise, sponse of a piece of equipment, including (for example) For more information on pricing and availability, contact
1 5mm red LED (LED2) The recording bandwidth or 'fidel- and are then fed to the inbuilt output a filter, the Australian distributorsr
1 1N4004 1A diode (D1) ity' is directly proportional to the amplifier. The SM300 signal generator is exceptional and well
sampling rate. So if you sample at 4200 The rest of the circuitry inside the suited to a vast range of testing applications. Rohde & Schwarz Australia
Capacitots samples/second, the recording band- HKB2B chip is used for overall device Unit 2, 75 Epping Rd, North Ryde NSW 2113.
22OO¡tF 16V RB electrolytic width will be just over 2kHz, whereas control, mode switching and so on. PC connections Tel (02) BB74 5100
220¡tF 16V RB electrolytic sampling at 8000 samples/second Both the FS300 and SM300 have standard USB device Website: www.rohde-schwarz.com.au st
22¡t"F 16V RB electrolytic gives a bandwidth of just on 4kHz. Circuit details
1OpF 16V RB electrolytic Choosing the sampling rate is there- Fig.2 shows the complete circuit I
4.7¡tF 25V tag tantalum I
ll
22OnF 100V MKT metallised I
polyester I
5 100nF 100V MKT metallised
polyester
1 100nF multilayer monolithic
ceramrc
1 150pF disc ceramic
Besistors (0.25W 1%)
1 470kA 1 220kA
2 100ko I 47ka Keep Your CopiæSale
I 22kA 2 10kO With fhæ Handy Binderc
2 1kA 2 680c¿
1 100c¿ 1 47A Price: Just $13.95 plus
$7.00 p&p per order (buy five
Where from, how much? and gel them poslage free).
This kit is only available from Available only in Australia. bution published will entitle the author to (f ind them at wwÌv.peakelec.co.uk)
Jaycar Electronics, who also hold Just fill in lhe handy order choose their prize: an LCR40 LCR meter, So now you have even more reasons to
the copyrighl on the design and PC form in this issue; or fax As you can see, we pay good money a DCA55 Semiconductor Component send that brilliant circuit in. Send it to Slt-l-
(02) 9939 2648; or phone for each of the "Circuit Notebook" items Analyser, an ESR60 Equivalent Series coru CHrp and you could be a winner.
board.
Kits will be available from Jaycar (02) 9S39 3295 and quole published in Srucoru CHrp. But now there Resistance Analyser or an SCR100 You can either email your idea to sil-
Electronics stores and resellers your credit card number. are four more reasons to send in your Thyristor &Triac Analyser, with the com- chip @ siliconchip.com.au or post it to PO
(Cat no KC-5454). circuit idea. Each month, the best contri- pliments of Peak Electronic Design Ltd Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097.
Silicon Ghip Publications, P0 Box 139, Collaroy ilSW 2097. tl rr-

66 StttcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 47

 rest of the circuit designed to alÌow or logic signals. This makes it easy to

SBRVICEW'SLOG proved to be very popular. It has been

used in all sorts of applications where
more flexibility in terms of message
storage and to provide much cleaner
and click-free pÌayback audio. Finaliy,
the new circuit can run from any
record or play back messages using a
set of pushbuttons and a switch or un-
der the control of a PC, microcontroller
or security system if you prefer.

It's all in a dav's work messages or sounds needed to be re-

corded and played back reliably under
either manual or micro control.
But it had limitations - one of which
source of DC between 9V and 14V.
The HKB2s chip has the ability to
store single or multiple messages with
a total iength of between 40 and 60
By the way, since the HKB2B voice
recorder chip iÈ only available from
Jaycar Electronics in Australia and
New Zealand, kits for the new recorder
was that it could onlybe used to record seconds, depending on the sampling module will only be available from
I could now see the sled motor move and play back one long message or a rate and the voice quality you want. )aycar and its deaÌers.
This month, I've got rather a mixed bag, as the spindle motor spun and also the number of short messages in sequen- In this new recorder module the
ranging all the way from a car stereo CD laser beam Ìens trying to focus, tial 'tape recorder' fashion. chip is again teamed up with a low- How it works
Next, I ejected the CD and cleaned This was despite the fact that the cost electret microphone to alìow easy Because HKB2B chip forms the func-
player to an Apple iMac monitor and on to the laser lens with a cotton bud before recorder chip we used was capable plus an LM35B
message recording, tional heart of the recorder module,
widescreen plasma TV sets. It's all in a day's repeating the play function, It still of recording and playing back up to dual op amp IC which allows the you need to have at least a rough idea
wouldn't play and was still displaying eight messages in 'random access' recorded messages to be played back of what goes on inside this chip in
work. the E6 error. mode. The module needed a fair bit as a line level audio signal available order to understand how the recorder
The upshot of all this was that either of 'hacking' to make the chip work in for feeding an external amplifier and works. Fig.1 shows the chip's basic
A Mitsubishi Clarion PE 2527KA car pressing each successive preset button the Ìaser was low emission and/or the this mode. speaker. architecture.
stereo was brought in by a mechanic from 1-4 the prescribed number of spindle motor was worn out. In fact, I Another limitation was that the A suitable small amplifier for use First, the chip includes a high-gain
from my Ìocal garage. Its CD player times, according to the Security Code have been caught out too many times playback sound quality of the module with the module would be "The microphone preamp so that it can be
wasn't working and although I don't digit allocated to that button. quoting for just the laser only to find was fairly noisy and each message Champ", as described in the February driven directly by a low cost electret
usually do this sort of work. I agreed When I finally had the number fulÌy out later on that the motor was on its played back was accompanied by an 1994 issue of SILICON CHIP. This is microphone insert. An automatic
to have a look at it when I saw that dispÌayed, I pressed the DISP button way out too, so I tend to err on the side irritating 'click' at the start and fin- available at low cost (95.95) from Jay- gain control (AGC) circuit follows the
he had gone to the trouble of bringing again to activate it. of caution here. ish. With the benefit of hindsight this car Electronics as KC-S152. preamp, to ensure that good quality
in the correct wiring harness (Aerpro I then put a CD in and you could hear The problem was that the cost of was due to the way we had chosen We've given the new module a set recordings can be made without any
71701.L). it try to spin before quickly stopping a new mechanism plus the labour to to couple the output audio from only of 'jumper links' so it can be easily need fo¡ manual gain adjustment, de-
Anyway, I connected the red (pin with the display showing E_ _6. This instalÌ it was about the same as a new one side of the recorder chip's push- configured to record and pÌay back spite input signal level variations.
11) +1.2Y ACC and yellow (pin 10) meant that the laser was unable to read cheap generic car stereo (incidentally, pull output. messages in any of four modes: either The output of the AGC circuit is
+12V Constant BAT leads together at the TOC (table of contents). the radio also needed a new set of 10 Hindsight also revealed a third two, four or eight messages in random not connected directly to the chip's
my +12V supply and connected the Disassembling this radio requires x 9V 6.Sm,A. lamps), I thought that the limitation: the 2005 moduÌe had been access mode or one or more messages recording circuitry but is brought out
chassis to the negative. I then switched the removal of a fair bit of hardware client wouldn't go for it but the garage designed to operate from a 6V battery, in sequential access 'tape mode'. An- to the 'Aout'pin instead. This is linked
the radio on and pressed the DISP but- and also involves desoldering the PC pointed out that fitting a new stereo whereas many people wanted to use it other link allows the HK-B2B chip's to the 'Ain' pin by the user, to record
ton until the display showed "0000", board from the case. Having done that, meant a lot more labour on their part from a nominal L2V DC source. message start 'beeps'to be enabled or messages from the microphone. This
after which I punched in the security I then propped the CD player up at an when it came to installing it, rather It was with these limitations in mind disabled, as you wish. arrangement allows the chip to be
code I had been given. This is done by angle so that I could inspect the laser. than just putiing the old one back in. that we decided to develop the new All message selection, record and used to record from line level signals
In addition, the original car stereo and improved sound recorder module play functions are controlled exter- in other applications.
matched the rest of the car. described here. nally, by connections to arow ofscrew Since the main part of the HKB2B
Having been given the go-ahead, I It's based on the same HKB28 chip terminals aÌong the side of the module. records by a process of sampling the
ordered the parts from Clarion and used in the 2005 module but with the AII functions are enabled by switches audio signaìs fed into it via the Ain
they arrived promptly. I fitted the
lamps first. This was a fairly fiddly
job and I managed to break one of
lhe 22nF capacitors that looks like
a resistor connected to the volume
control switch. I had to choose a very
thin replacement, as there is very little
room for it.
Next, I fitted the CD servo to the new
Fig.1: at right is the block
mechanism, taking care not to break
diagram of the HKB2B voice
the flexible cable to the laser. I then recorder chip. While the
plugged it back into the main chassis, recording process relies on
reassembled it all and switched on. audio sampling, the audio is
To my ftustration, the CD displayed not stored digitally but using
exactly the same fault - an E6 error! an analog sample-and-hold
Now my excuses forbeing a diII are system. The analog samples
as follows: (11 I am a semi-senile TV are stored in the cells of a
technician; (2) I had had a hard week; 256K flash EEPROM. Each
and (s) I hate audio repairs. Clearly, I analog storage cell can store
any of 256 different voltage
needed help.
NfH, Í'vâ Gof levels, making it equivalent
It took an emergency help call to to an B-bit digital recording.
RAÍI{ÉR, A MIXÉÞ BÃOOOO Clarion to find out what I had done

48 SILIC)N CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 65

 ming circuitbut even applying abias of my first repÌacement zener diode by
Items Govered This Month 0.6V to Q617b didn't switch the front connecting it to a variable power sup-
Here's an improved version of the very popular voice recorder design lights on, yet the transistor measured ply and found that it was actually a
we published in May 2005. It can now be set up easily to record two, o Mitsubishi Clarion PE 2527K4 OK. However, it didn't come in for this 15V type. My parts supplier had put
car stereo player fault and I had run right out of time, the wrong zener diodes in a bag they
four or eight different messages for random-access playback so I had to Ìeave it as it was - at least had cleariy marked as "5.6V zener".
or a single message for 'tape mode' playback. o Onkyo fXD5777 AV receiver
the rest now worked correctly. In the end, I tracked down a 5.6V
Also, it now provides cleaner and o Apple G5 iMac computer zener diode and fitted that. None of
Onkyo AV receiver this improved my temper because
glitch-free line-level audio o NEC PX42VP4G plasmaTV To compound my bad week, an On- what I haven't told you is that access
output suitable for o Hitachi 52-inch plasma TV kyo TXD5777 AV receiver also came was rather difficult and this is not the
in with the complaint that it wouldn't sort of job you like to do repeatedly,
feeding an amplifier turn on, When I tried it, I could hear especially when the component is
or PA system. It can the reÌay clicking but nothing else. surface mounted.
wrong. With infinite patience the tech- My initial diagnosis was that the
be powered from nical officer first politely asked wheth- electrolytic capacitors had gone leaky TV sets & fires
any source of er I really was a technician and then in the por rer supplies, especially on Recently, one Sydney TV channeÌ
g-L4v DC. went on to explain the cause! Appar- those rails feeding the 10O-pin surface- got its knickers in a twist and made
ently, nearly all laser assemblies are mount microcontroller (Q8007) in the a big song and dance about the dan-
shipped with an anti-static solder bowels of the amplifier. The relay is gers of your new LCD or plasma TV
short installed. I should have known controlled by pin 63 and the power catching fire and burning your house
this and removed it as a matter of failure detection input is pin 20. If down.
course. there isn't 5V on this pin, the micro- Now although it is true that plasma
In mitigation, all the ones I have controÌÌer turns the reiay off. TVs in particular consume a lot of
been sent by other companies in the Unfortunately, I was wrong (again) power (and thus contribute to green-
past didn't have this solder short in- because changing the electros made house gases), they do have their plus
stalled but then I only do about half a no difference and all the rails meas- points. For example, because of the
dozen such repairs a year. In fact, the ured OK. heat they radiate, they can double
Grundig stereos I repair use Sanyo Next, I took a look at the 13V rail up as heaters in winter! Of course,
lasers and these just have a plastic which is fed via 5.6V surface-mounted the downside to this is that they con-
hood clipped over the lens. Anyway, zener diode D8003 to the cathode of tribute to the air-conditioning load in
removing the short finally fixed the CD D8005. The anode is connected to pin summer.
player function. 20 via R8002 [10kO), thus keeping it Plasma sets are stiÌl cheaper and
I was a little disappointed with the at +5V. The zener diode had failed so perform better (in some respects) in
six panel lights, as I couldn't quite see I fitted a new one but it still didn't fix the ì.arger sizes (>101cm) than LCDs,
By JIM ROWE although the latter are rapidly catch-
how those were meant to come on. the fault. However, by now, I was sure
With the orange DIM-IN lead discon- that this was the source of the problem, ing up and are better in the smaller
nected, the three LCD backlights came so I figured that the replacement was sizes. Both are a problem for the planet
on. The DIM-OUT lead to pin I wasn't also faulty. when it comes to disposal because of
connected to the wiring harness. I changed the zener again and this the dangerous chemicals used in their
There was a complicated 3-transis- time fitted a 5.1V type. The set now construction.
tor (Q607, Q615 & Q617) light dim- came on and stayed on. I then checked When it comes to standby power

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Danish Engineered Speaker Drivers for
Astonishing Sound Reproduction with
Clarity & Outstanding Performance

Available fiom:
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138 Liverpool Road,
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vifa innovation lives on
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Fax: 02-9798-001 7
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StucoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7
 Senvfloemnamos [,og : wffiM They should always be installed
where there is pÌenty of ventilation
Lightweight handsfree LED head torch from RS
LED produce flood beam Ìighting
and shouÌd not be covered with mats
or other materials which can restrict with a long burn time.
airflow and which themselves are . The lighting level can be adjusted
flammable. to help conserve battery life, batter-
ies last up to 150 hours on regular
My impoverished son settings and up to 400 hours on
My son is an impoverished student intermittent mode
studying medicine at university. He Lamp articulates with new tilt fea-
has a job in the evenings to make ture- The beam can be easily aimed
ends meet a¡d even managed to save where needed,
enough money to buy a beautiful 20- Single compartment contains LED
inch Apple G5 iMac computer which and batteries making this light-
he uses for his studies.
This lightweight, water-resistant weight head torch only 7B g includ-
LED head torch has three brightness
Unfortunately, after using the com- ing batteries.
puter for a couple of years, it devel-
settings, maximum, optimum a¡rd eco-
Âll Petzl headlamps are individu- StJcorv Cæ, Ar:streli a's on$r
nomic and an intermittent mode. electronics ma€azine, is looking
oped an annoying habit of cutting ally tested and guaranteed for three
Features of the Petzi Tikka Plus, for a tech¡rical alL-rou¡rder to
off after a period of time. This period years. They are water resistant for
now available from RS Components, join the ¡sam in 2OO8.
progressively became shorter and all-weather use.
include:
shorter, until it eventually got down . Bright illumination along with You'll need good electronics
to Ìess than 10 minutes or so. Contact:
lightweight, efficient and comfort- design and prototJ¡ping skills
Getting it fixed by an Âpple ,\u- RS Components P$ Ltd
thorised Service Agency was going
able design 25 Pavesi St, Smithfield NSW 2164 - as a s¡r.rcor Gnr reader,
<i|6ÍRæZER.,lrOLÞ h\É fh{ÀÎ . Adjustable elastic headband giving Ph: (02) 9681 8558 Fax: (02) 9681 8614 you'll have seen (and ahnost
^¡ANÞ
fH6 SENS\ÍIVÉ?AGTS WEßÉOOO
to be expensive and this particular stability and comfort cerbainly built!) the t¡¡pe of
model didn't qualify for the repair : www.rsauslfal¡a.c0m
^AÕRÉ extended warranty scheme being of- projects which appear in the
consumption, the LCDs and plasmas surrounding components. However, fered by Apple on the power supply. Altronics Classy Class-A Kit ma,gazine so you'Il know what
ale no worse than CRT TVs. The main plasmas and LCD sets use massive And so I volunteered to have a squiz Altronics have released their superb we are looking for.
problem with standby power supplies heatsinks on just about anything that at it fo¡ him. CIass-A Amplifier kit which follows But you'Jl also need to be able
is that they are fitted into alÌ sorts of gets warm on their PC boards. The first thing to do was to identify the series of articles earlier this year
to write very well; to describe
appliances, all consuming power for in
your projects jn the Sr¡.¡corc
Thebiggest danger is if a component the model. This is done by reading the SILICON CHTP,
24 hours a day, flike a capacitor) faiÌs in a spectacu- EMC number which in our case was The kit is true to the original design
CRT TVs for the last 20 years or so lar fashion, in such away as to ignite 2008, making it a Series 1 or first gen- and includes remote volume control, Gæ style, ready for publica-
have used plastic cabinets which in- neighbouring parts. That's unÌikeÌy eration model. In addition, it carried speaker protection and muting, low tion with minimal editing.
corporate flre retardants. In fact, these in plasma and LCD sets though, since a marketing number (M9250X/A), a noise power supply, transformer and Of course, you'd be very
are made to various world standards. the circuits are generally designed to model number (,t1076) and, of course, all components required to construct computer literate, perhaps
The result has been an extremely low handle three or four times their aver- the seriaÌ number. a fully built up amplifier - with a with some experience in web
incidence of fire due to TVs, age loads without failure. In addition, Access to the inside is very easy professionally punched, screened and
development and web software
Of course, if there is a house fire, dry joints and poor plug and socket - just place the lront down on top of powder-coated steel chassis. very hard to find any which compare
skil-ls. A workingf knowledge
then the TV cabinet will be badly connections can sometimes melt two telephone books and loosen three And what an amplifier! With 2x20W - at any pricel
melted and the CRT will often im- pÌastic support brackets and cables screws along the bottom. The back and output at an almost unmeasurable of popular PC-based packages
Contact: (eg, word processing, glaphics,
plode. However, it is extremely rare in CRT sets but that doesn't seem to stand then swing up quite easily. 0.0006% THD, this is one for the true
believers in state-of-the-art audio. Altlonics (Peflh, Melboume, Sydney) photo and desktop publishing)
for the TV itself to be the actual cause be a problem in plasmas and LCD sets Situated in the middle of the main
P0 Box 8350, Perth Busn. Centre WA 6849
of the fire. which have solder joints as good as on logic board are four diagnostic SMD Retail price of the complete kit is rvou-ldn't go astray.
Ph:1300 797 007 Fax:'1300 789777
In fact, fires due to TV sets would computer boards. In fact, I have yet to LEDs, three of which glow when the $599.00. It's hard to compare this with Sub-editing experience?
Website:
be in the region of less than one per see a dry joint in any of them. computer is running. LED 4 is only on commercial amplifiers because it's Ttrat's a bonus too!
year for the whole country. Instead, The whole electronics industry when the computer overheats, LED 3
This is a full-time position,
fires caused by faulty plug packs and works very hard to ensure that alÌ com- only goes off in the sleep mode, LED 2 Are the days of cheap flash disks about to end?
the improper use of power boards are ponents are fireproof or fire-retardant, indicates full power and LED 1 shows
located at Brookvale on Syd-
much more common. and considering the huge quantities that there is +5.1V standby voltage. SanDisk Corporation, the inventors demonstrate their long-term commit- ney's Northern Beaches. For
Ironically, one of the adverse ef- of electronic products out there, they In our case though, all the LEDs of flash storage cards, is getting tough ment to enforcing its patents, both to the right person, this position
fects of fire retardant in TV cabinets have to be amongst the safest. would go out and after 10 minutes or with companies that manufacture, sell protect their investment in research and could lead to a fuüure maJla€e-
is that they tend to suffer from plastic According to the National Coroners so, LED 1 would come on again and and import into the USA, removable development by obtaining a fair return ment role.
cancer. After many years, they some- Information System (NCIS), there the computer could be rebooted. flash storage pfoducts including USB on that investment and out of fairness
mul-
flash drives, CompactFlash cards, to third-parties that participate in their
In flrsü instance, email your
times fracture and collapse of their were 458 deaths due to house fires in My first step was to check the power Pesume (includinél detailed
own accord. Australia between 2001-2006, NSW supply rails and all were correct with and
timedia cards, MP3/media players patent licensing program
Plasma and LCD sets mainly use having 169. OnÌy two of those fires the exception of the +5.1V rail which other variations on the theme. Their goal to resolve the matters by experience and references) to
metal backs and f¡ames and as yet, I were attributed to TV sets over that feeds LED 1 (or LED 7o2) vla R7'J.O They have filed three patent inf ringe- offering the opportunity to participate in Leo Simpson, S orGæ Edi-
haven't heard of any being the cause S-year period. Battery chargers pose (330f)) to LED 1. This started off as ment actions against 25 companies. thepatentlicensingprogram,othenruise torlPublisher:
of a house fire. The only way that a much greater risk of fire, 5.1Vbut then gradually dropped until And there are some pretty well-known they will be seeking damages, obtain-
electronic items can catch fire is Of course, common sense is also the computer died. names included ín those 25. ing injunctive relief and banníng the
when there is sufficient heat to ignite necessary when it comes to TV sets. Unfortunately, the Chinese-made SanDisk said that the legal actions importation of infringing products.

50 Stuco^t Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEî 2OO7 63

|aycar's solar-powered and rechargeable tED Christmas lights set
Just in time for Christmas comes this 5m string of LED
lights. But this set from faycar are no ordinary Christmas
lights: they are are solar-powered so (a) require no connec-
tion to any form of power and (b) can be safely used outdoors
because there is no mains voltage involved!
All you do is put the solar cell in direct sunlight for a day
or so and the unit's rechargeable batteries are automatically
charged, Jaycar claim up to eight hours of Ìights per charge
but sorry, Jaycar - we have to disagree: in our test we were
able to achieve just a wee bit longer - a massive 52 hours
straight (no recharging) before the LEDs gave up the ghostl
There are eight patterns to choose fiom
and the LEDs automatically turn on at
fr -o
ù
night and extinguish at sunrise. You can o tto
.c2
leave them on alÌ nightbecause they're not o2 oo ..) a
Òê-u2
costing you even one cent in powerl "2
At $79.95 they are significantly more Contact:
expensive than those bargain store Christ- Jaycat Electronics (all stores)
MY TIRSÍ BIê I.{URÞLT
mas Ìights - but just think: you will never 10'0 Silverwater Rd, Silverwater NSW 2128 SrZú RqJ=fß.AIN\fs.."
have to track down that infernal blown
globe againl (Cat SL-2828).
Ph: (02) 9741 8555 Fax: (02) 9741 8500 -
tv\ANv ar lÅ€ ll$çes FIAD
Website: www.iaycar. com. au
VÉRY SMÀLI- FOOÍ?F.:INÍS, 80 countries, 20 years of expertise:
Hydrogen Fuel Cells from Emona Legacy converters
power supply (Part No. 6L4-0279 orAP13 PC97) is not The driving force in
hardly exceeds 15 bar, 50 times lower than Many new PCs and especially note- available as a consumer replaceable item from Apple.
conventional pressurized bottles. books no longer come with connec- Instead, you have to take the computer into an Apple spectrum analysis
Products in the Heliocentris range in- tions for older devices, such as serial, Authorised Service Provider (AASP) and pay a quote
clude demonstration systems such as the parallel, or PS/2 (known as legacy fee. They will then arrange for an exchange power
"Professional" and the "lnslructor". The devices). However, with a suitable supply which you then pay them to install.
"Professional" is an entry level unit for converter, most of these can be run Rather that take that route, I decided to persevere.
demonstrating all aspects of a single-cellfuel through a USB port, saving the user Removing the power supply easy - it has three screws
cell. lt includes an electrolyser for hydrogen ftom buying new equipment. and a connector which you loosen off, after which it
generation and comes complete with four USB is "folds" out towards you.
comprehensive lesson volumes covering 25 designed Inside is a high-density and rather complex switch- I Spectrum analysis for every application and budget
experiments. The "lnstructor" is ideal as a to accept mode power supply with five ICs arranged on either
2nd or 3rd undergraduate-year system with all of the side of the PC board. However, I thought I had a pretty
i The largest product portfolio on the market

a range of auxillíary components that allows thingsthat good idea as to what was wrong from the symptoms. I Short innovation cycles and utmost investment security
Emona lnstruments students to learn about integrating fuel cells presently First, I decided to replace all 13 electros until I came
has been appointed the into a system. pÌug into across my first big hurdle - size restraints. Many of the I Maximum integration of functions ìn each ìnstrument
Australian distributor of the Finally, the "Nexa lntegration Kit" is a serial and electros fitted had very small footprints, For example, i Excellent service worldwìde: We serve you wherever
Berlin-based manufacturer of hydrogen system for electrical engineering students parallel the main B+ electros were two B2¡tF 45OY 105'C types
fuel cell teaching and research equipment, working to integrate a fuel cell stack into a and oth- which had dimensions of just 31 x lBmm and obtain-
Heliocentris. variety of applications investigate how the er (key- ing exact replacements was impossible.
Established in 1995, Heliocentris is the stack interacts with auxilliary comp0nents. board, for instance) ports and run In the end, I managed to replace 10 of these capaci-
recognised world leader in hydrogen fuel It is very popular for building into a fuel them all from one interface usin only tors. I then used extension leads to external electrolytic
cells for education and R & D markets having cell-powered motor vehicles in alternative one IRQ and I/O range, no matter how capacitors to confirm that the problem Ìay elsewhere
sold more than 35,000 fuel cells worldwide. energy projects and competitions, as wellas many devices are connected (up to a and that the three remaining capacitors on the board
Heliocentris has comprehensive cu rriculum commercial applications including station- maximum of 127). And if that's not could be left where they were.
and course materials which allow quick and ary power supply systems, back-up power enough, USB Hubs are available to Next, I hit the components inside the power supply
easy integration of fuel cell technology into generators and other poftable products. multiply the number of ports, with freezer and found that the most temperature-sen-
existing courses or for integration into R & The Nexa Power Module is licensed ex- MicroGram has a range of USB I/O sitive parts were around M6, a TNY2ô7P IC. I replaced
...
D projects. clusively to Heliocentris for the education converters to suit legacy devices, in- the IC and the symptoms improved immediately,
Heliocentris use metal hydride canisters to sector by Ballard Power Systems, the world's cÌuding USB to RS232 (serial) devices, though the computer would still close down after a
power their fuel cells. These are a very safe first volume producer of pr0t0n exchange USB to RS422l4B5 (industrial), USB period of time and the standby LED never went out.
way of storing hydrogen in solid form and membrane fuel cell technology. to parallel and USB to PS/2 It was now time for some voltage checks and this
make the units independent of the hydrogen showed that the 5,1V rail was droppingfo 4.45Y, at www.rohde-schwarz.com.au
supply and safe to operate anywhere, i.e. Contact: Contact: which point the computer would crash. This meant
laboratories, lesson theatres and perfect for Emona lnstruments Pty ttd Microgram Gomputerc that ihe problem was confined only to this power sales@rsa us.rohde-schwarz.com
mobile applications. P0 Box 15, Camperdown NSW 1450 P0 Box 8202, Tumbi Umbi, NSW 2261 source.
Metal hydride canisters can store up to Ph: (02) 9519 3933 Fax: (02) 9550 1378 Ph: (02) 4389 8444 Fax: (02) 4389 8388 The TNY267P is a 7-pin DIP-BB IC which is part
940 litres of hydrogen, but the pressure Website: Website: www. microgram.com.au of the TinySwitch-Il family of Enhanced Low-Power &scHwARz
62 Sn.rcoN Cnrp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEI 2OO7 51
 Senrfleemnamos tog : @ffinaú else up in the circuit.
I trawled the web for secondhand
power supplies but can only get 110V
versions from the States, The UK
refurbished ones cost $374.4O so un-
less inspiration plays a hand, I might
have to eat humble pie and finance Got broadband? Want to set up a Hotspot?
the computer's trip to an AASP (Apple
Authorised Service Agency). Freenet Antennas, a leader in wire- on any standard office printer.
less networking (WiFi) solutions, has Simplicity: the easyHotspot
Postscript released the most cost effective WiFi designed to be a plug-and-play ap-
Well, the foregoing was all written Hotspot-in-a-box in Australia - the pliance. There is no user configu-
about a month ago. And then, finally, easyHotspot. It is designed as a plug- ration. In most cases, where a site
inspiration did play its part - it was and-play way of adding controlled already has broadband Internet,
just a matter of looking outside the Internet access for motels, caravan the installation is a simple do-it-
square. parks, corporate networks, etc. yourself process,
Most hotspot solutions work in Customisable: the standard easy- off when his time limit expires; data
D10 is situated in the power supply
muchthe same way as the easyHotspot. Hotspot comes with a generic (un- volume - the user is logged off after
across the primary of the transformer
The user connects using the normal branded) login page and generic ticket he has downloaded a given number of
with one end [Â) going to the Drain bytes; and data rate - while the user
and the other [K] to the main B+. Yet wireless interface in their laptop, design, The easyHotspot can be cus-
open their browser and are redirected tomized with customer logos or other is online, he has a maximum possible
the notes on the TinySwitch-Il ap- download speed.
plications do not show this, In fact, it to a 'login' page. After entering their information. This is normally done
login/password, theyhave access to the before the unit is shipped. Full product details are available
shows a diode in se¡ies with a capaci-
Internet for web browsing, email, etc. Remotely upgradeable: an easy- at:
tor and resistor in parallel. So I tried a
This is a 1992 Kenwood KR-VS040 Dolby Pro Logic 100W AV Surround Sound UF4007 diode in series with a 2.2nF The features that make the easy- Hotspot unit that has already been
Receiver which was caught up in a fire described in last month's Serviceman. 2kV capacitor and a 100kfl resistor Hotspot standout are - Cost: from $200 installed can be remotely customised/
Out of curiosity, I cleaned away the soot, removed the front panel (as the including GST, it is the most cost-effec- upgraded if needed, Contact:
across the capacitor.
switches had all buckled and melted) and tested it. And would you believe it? tive product on the market in Australia Freenet Antennas
I switched it on and this time the FlexibÌe ticket profiles: when a user
- it still worked! Resistors R196 (1000) and R3z (4zQ) gave way a little later PSU delivered 5.tV constantly and today. In addition, ongoing costs for the logs in, he is then subject to zero ot Barker Plaee, Bicton, WA 6157
because I hadn't been thorough enough removing the caustic fire retardant but Ph: (08) 6262 3333 Fax: (08) 9319 3275
even then it was still working. Unfortunately, there are no parts available for it was running quietly, which it wasn't easyHotspot owner are minimised as more limitations. Those limitations can
the user tickets can be printed locally be any mix of time - the user is logged www.f teenet-antennas.c0m
but I'm not proud. However, if there is anyone out there who has one of these before. Now I haven't messed about
that is being wrecked for whatever reason, I would be most appreciative if I can with different values but I am pretty.
recycle the leftovers! confident that this fixes the whole eLabtronics ezGircuit Designer unlocks creative talents
problem.
Off-line Switchers, It uses a power The HER diodes are high efficiency Now to track down the real part. If ez0ircuit Designer (ezCD)f rom eLabtron- drivers that are formatted into test micro- Prebuill USBP Chip Programmer with
FET to do the switching and only four GPP types [whatever that means) it isn't a diode what is it? That's when ics enables students and professionals controller programs for the user. USB cable
of its seven pins are actually used: and I couldn't flnd anything at all on I found a German on-line forum with to rapidly design and program innovative Projecttemplates are available to help with A lite version of ezCircuit Designer and
Source, Drain, Bypass and Enable TzD44. I reverted to the notes on the some bloke trying to get one for his LG microchip applications. the design 0f microchip applicati0ns. CoreChaft software.
Under Voltage. TinySwitch-Il circuits and noted they plasma set! The only trouble is that he Released this month, ezCD Professional Hands-on example projects: Flash, Line
Contact:
Unfortunately, the circuit isn't avail- were using 1N4005s for diodes in this hasn't given the correct model number includes all the PIC chips in CoreChart Pro- Follower Robot, Reaction Game, Micro-
able to the general public and Apple's location as a drain clamp, and I do not speak German. Anyway, fessional covering PlC10F, 12F, 16F and switch C0unter, LCD Display, Fan/Globe
51 Byron Place, Adelaide, SA 5000
website mentions the problem but The 1N4005 is just a normal stand- I am still working on it, PlC18F families. Thermostat, Light Level Display and Relay
Ph: (08) 8231 5966 Fax: (08) 8231 5266
doesn't nominate the specific compo- ard-recovery diode. The trouble is, ezCD curriculum resources for high control, Sounds, Music, Servo Motor con-
Website: www. elâbtronics.Gom
nent that's responsible, However, Iwas there are just too many different types Faulty power supplies schools have been developed for systems lrol, Stepper Motors + more.
determined to find the cause, of diodes with special functions to de- We had an NEC Plasma PX42VP4G engineering in Victoria and science studies ezCircuit Designer (ezCD) Stafter Pack
Though the TinySwitch-Il is a come in that would work fine until
simple circuit, this power supply
had fully optioned it with additional
cide what sort to use for an equivalent
in this particular circuit. a signal was fed into it and then the
picture would go green ald shut dornm.
in South Australia.
ez0ircuit Designer has three maj0r out-
puts: the documents, the hardware schemat-
i ncl udes:
eLabl6m re-usable mini controller board
with cD
TOII0IDAI
features, making it far more complex. Disaster strikes Until then, the OSD menu worked flne. ics and the CoreChart graphical Assembler Prebuilt lnputs and 0utputs: Buzzer, 2 rDOryBR I'tùlNSl()nMDBS
Basically, the 5.1V was fed back via It was about now that disaster flnally The fault turned out to be the power program for the microcontroller. LEDs, Push Button, LDR, Thermistor, Fan,
SMD optocouplers M7 and M11 us- struck. When I removed diode D10 supply. Formatted documentation structures are Microswitch, Relay, LCD Display
ing shunt regulator ICs MB and M5 (T2D44) and measured it, I discov- This setwas followedby a 3-year old given to help with specif icat¡on, management
(TL431). I replaced these parts, along ered that I had damaged it and it was 52-inch Hitacn'i plasma set that came and design documentation. Pin settings,
with SCR1. The latter is an MCR100-3 now completely open circuit, And in dead. We soon found that there was parts lists and test procedures are automati-
but I substituted a BRYS5-4. that meant I was snookered as there no standby 5V rail coming out of the cally generated and updated, while an overall
It made no difference and the is absolutely no information avail- extremely complex power supply. project summary shows all the project files
fieezer told me that the more sensi- able on ltre T2D44.I tried a UF4007, This supply in fact consists of currently contained in the project folder.
tive parts were the TNY267P, D1B a 1N4007 and a B,\159 as substitutes multiple switchmode power supplies The final hardware diagrams can be Manufactured in Australia
(HER105G6) , Dlo (r2D44) and opto- but the circuit refused to fire up and I and has enough feedback networks to exportedto Proteus Lite schematics in a Comprehensive data available
coupler TCLT1006. I managed to get am now left wondering whether it is a choke a horse. A replacement power single step or graphic files of the circuit can
ch ElecttofliGS ptyu¿
replacements for just about everything diode across the primary of the chop- supply will cost around $S00 fitted, be generated. Printing is flexible with tick
options to print each section. 9/40 Leighton Pl. HORNSBY 2077
except the diodes and that's where I per transformer T2 that's the problem The client is still recovering from a
Ph (02) 9476-5854 Fax (02) 9476-3231
or whether I have blown something
ran into problems.
52 StucoN Cutp
choking frt,
6t -> sc

siliconchip.com.au
<5¿
Each of the circuits comes with software

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 61

 ü *f. o -lÉ
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rÉ 'rÉ # #'lf'
.r.r

Bluetooth GPS Receiuer w¡lh 6.6MP Mini DU Gameta Lisht ¡t Up!

SlRt lll Ghipset a

This high performance 20 channel

lncludes an MP3 player, webcam, digital
voice recorder, and 4 x digital zoom The
EGonomy Head Ionh
Light, compact, very efficient on
...
-*
receiver sends locat¡on data to your unrl has a colour TF I ì 5' batteries and comes with a fully l.
Bluetooth enabled PDA, notebook LCD screen. t-
computer or mobile phone Works with . 12 LEDs . 4 l¡shtins modes tl-,,
TomTom Navrgatot Destinator and other . Requires 3 x AAA batteries
$9.95 ¡
'.t
free and commercial software including
Google Maps Position accurate to
. ST 3287 1 7 LED head torch also available 'wI
)-
,s l)
approximately 5m RÞcharged vta
Solal Pot'Jered lorch
ililro-Fueled 4WIl Remole Gontrolled Gats Solar Poweted tED
'#
rn-car charger (included)
Featurrng'10 high
brrghtness LEDs and íf RGB
internal rechargeable One smell from the h¡-octane Ropelights
t/ -:-t- te nes
batteries that are charged by the
solar panel on the handle
ìÉ'"' fumes will be enough to prove
these cars go like crazy.
Great Chrìstmas llghting! Attach the solar .F
Digital Hand-Held Anemomelet $299.00 . Torch 21Omm long :','+
ã' - ' r These are stal.e o[-the-art machines
panel in direct sunlight, select 1 of
the 6 lightrng modes and away you
llynamo lorch with Badio, that wrll leave the competitron eating
.ì
",8
go. Turns on automatically at night.
i Glock and Emer0ency A¡am your dust
.{
:',x','":?"J J:Á JXiåi'à'ju"!
",n,".
Measure the speed of wlnd in r
Kils for Eueryone With full alarm clock
f unctions. AM/FM radio,
I .
.
Strong, lightweight aluminium chasis
O 1Bcubic inch high speed pull stari
. 11 RGB LED lamps per metre
. Fully sealed
km/h, m/s or knots, dis
¡- . Replaceable $79.95 T
LED display with a Bea LED torch, reading lamp and I Taiwanese engine
battery source
sraph. a siren for emergency situatrons . 28,000 rpm .
wind scale bar = Refer Silicon Chip December '1994 . 5 m¡nutes hand cranklng will at . 12yrs+ 1 8m lead t
I Clittord hides in the dark and chirps rf, from solar
annoyingly until a light is turned
on - just like a real cncket
full charge the internal battery Two models avallable
. GT 3610 400mm long panel to
control box
).-
24W Hlll Bechargeable lorch off-road 4WD buggy
Clifford is created on a we have ever
This is one of the brightest torches
't . GT3612 360mm long sleek . SL-2826 5m
small PCB, measur¡ng just . SL 2828 10m
seen lt uses the same Hi-lntensity Discharge black 4WD Lamborghini
'!1, 40 x 35mm and has cute (HlD) technology that is used rn expensive *' ¡l
t:i This clock has a modified movemenl little LED insect eyes that flash as it s¡ngs Just JÉ{
that ìs synchronised to the tidal European ìuxury car headlights to produce a
ri like a real cricket, it waits a few seconds after
l,lew Kil of the Monlh
effects of the moon Simply set darkness unt¡l it begins chirping, and stops
staggeringly bright beam that seems to go forever
Several models are available See our websrte for
RG Apache Attack Choppet 5.8GHz AU Sendet
the clock to co¡ncide with high instantly when a light comes back on Enhanced Uoiee Recorder l(il
tide in your area and start it up full details Twin rotors with buckets of powet, 3 channel radio Beat the congestion and enjoy the reliability and
¡ PCB, prezo buzzet LDR plus all Refer Silicon Chip December 2007
. Clock face 15O(Dia)mm Specif ications: conl.rol unit wilh throttle, rudder and assured picture quality a 5 SGHz transmitter and
. Bequires 1 x AA battery electronic components supplied . Drmensions: l2lDia ) x 380(L)mm Here's an improved versron of the very popular
trim controls Finished in receiver provides Hassle-free sharing of audio
. Light output: 1800 Lumens voìce recorder design published by Silicon Chip in
matl olive lìvery and video signals all over your house, offìce,
l¡eluxe Solar Educalional l(il . Burn time with f ull charge: 12Omins May 2005 This versìon can now be set up easrly
A series of do it yourself with twin rocket factory or shop without the inconvenience and
o Mains and car charger supplied to record two, four or eight different messages for
pods cost of running wires

l
experiments to acqurre the . Battery, lanyard and filter lens supplied random-access playback or a single message for
'tape mode' playback Also, rt now provides
. Around 20 . 90m range clear line of sight
basic knowledge of solar
energy lncludes Solar cell minutes flyinq
cleaner and glitch free line-level audio output
Packs of 4 Ni-MH rechargeable batteries

f suitable for feeding an amplifier or PA system lt

module, musical unit,
. SB-1735 2400mAh AA $15.95 . Fìequires 8 x AA batteries
plastic lamp, motor can be powered from any source of I 14V DC
. SB-1737 2000mAh AA $13.95 . Suitable for ages 1 Oyrs+
. accessories and plastic Supplied w¡th silk screened
SB-1738 2500mAh AA $19.50
. and solder masked PCB
SB-1739 900mAh AAA $11.95
$4ss.00 T" Uideo Piclure Frame w¡lh AU Inpul
This ls a fantastìc way to show off your digÌtal
ìmages or movies You can have multiple images in
a slide show, a srngle
0utdoor Communications ¡mage, or thumbnails
You can also play a
38 Channel UHt GB n{in Pack 38 Channel UHt Pockel CB Rad¡o 3W UHt CB llansceiYer
backing music track t
This 2 pack of mini UHF CB Keep in touch while hìking, Up to 1Okm transmission range This unit gives full coverage of all 56 $39.95 or show video clips
communicalors can keep you clearly in
touch up to 3km They feature electron¡c
fishing or bushwalking
Hands free k¡t also
Maximum output is 3 watts with 1W
battery saver mode All 38 legal
internat¡onal VHF marine channels lt
features a removable antenna,
. Power adaptor I
t
volume control, monitor f unctions channels are utilised as well as adjustable squelch, belt clip, Science Time Kil I included
. Resolution: 480 x
and an integrated blue LED torch LCD CTCSS sub channel calling, high/low outpul selection and Economical and easy to assemble educatronal krts 234 pixels
automatic muting, and scrambling is suÞplìed w¡th a charging with over 25 to choose froml Kits are supplied with . Supports SM, SD, XD,
Supplied with a high gain cradle and 1 2VDC plugpack everything you need to construct the projects MS & MMC card
. Scan channel, call tone (168mm) antenna f¡tted with an . Frequency range : 1 56MHz Chemistry, physics, robotics, opt¡cal electrical and formats
and monitor functions SMA connector to allow the use 162MHz crystal sc¡ence fields are covered in this great range
of external antennas I
suitable from Syrs+
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s49.95
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lncluded
$1ss.00 K-8850 Liquid-powered CIock
. Electrical energy and basic
BG Rechargeable Dfilt Gats .ç
Get trackside with the latest ¡n RC drift cars.

batteries
-. Syrs+
We have two fantastic licensed 1:18 scale
models to race with.
The inside wheel locks up when you execute a
r
turn to enable a skid and the full function
remote control has sound effects Each car
comes with a rechargeable Ni Cd battery pack
ilEW SÏflRE and plugpack charger
. Suitable for ages 1 2yrs+ )
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Amazing Parly lleals Aulo Kils Rear Uiew Miror TFT Monitol wilh Gamela
A complele rear-view safety package including a TFT LCD
Set the Mood Badr Speed Gun M[2 monitor an 4C3452 camera lt has adjustable spring
lf you re into any kind of racing like cars, bikes,
INCLUDES: CAT, RRP Party Oeal Purpose designed for professional DJ work it has
all the features of more expensive turntables, boats or even the horses, this kit is for you lt reads
loaded brackets to fit different sized mirrors and includes a
2 x Pafty Speakers INCLUDES: CAT slimline remote control Composrte video input lncludes
RRP plus a few extras of its own Push button reverse, speed in km/h or mph up to 250 km/h or 'l55
15" 120WRMS CS-2515 $358 00 1 x Fog Machine AF-1214 $79 95 pitch adjustmenl, & track lighting, etc Even mph The electronics are mounted in the supplied
5m video/power camera cable
1 x Stereo Amp 1 x Fog Juice AF-1212 $1 1 95 Jiffy box and the radar gun assembly can be made
2 x 1OOwRMS wirh remote AA-0470 S199 00 1 x Pârty Lighting Set
Total Value $557.00 MÌrror Ball & motor, PAR 36
simply with two coffee tins fitted end to end The
circuit needs 1 2 VDC at only 1 30mA so you can $
Spot & coloured gels SL-2978
1 x Moondot Revolving
$69 95 output
. Mains
E ¿-feerr--*- use a small SLA or rechargeable battery pack Kit
includes PCB and all specified components tt
powered
flBD ll IGD Scan Tool Digital ïachometer
= lf you have a late model car, it will probably have Measures up to
an OBD (On Board Diagnostics) connector lf il 99,999RPM and can
.rt was manufactured after 1996, ¡t will support also count revolutions
{ the OBD ll prolocols This OBD ll Scan Tool Large LCD screen,
can be used to d¡agnose engine codes laser pointer and
Wireless Miclo0hone t and turn off check engrne |ghts, erase ..1 min/max recall Great

UHF llual Ghannel dìagnostic trouble codes and reset

OBD ll monitor status etc Also
for mechanics or

retrieves VIN code from post 2002 .

Car Air Gonditioner Controller Kit
Refer: Silicon Chip January 2007.
W¡-t¡ lntemel Radi 1950s Slyle CD Player This kit stops the air conditioner in your car from
taking engine power under acceleration Allows
& ïumtable the compressor to run with low throttle even
Replace rf Genuinely Fauity
radio stat¡ons. when the cabin temperature setting has been
Simply plug it in and lvlodern features with 50s
reached and will automatically switch the
styling lncludes automatic
#
this radio links into
existing Wi-Fi turntable, AM/FM radio and
compressor off at idle Features an override switch Great AmRlifiers
and LED f unction indicator Kit supplied with PCB
networks and uses MP3 compatible remote
system supports two separate microphones. with overlay and all electronic components Boom Box 8" Wooler lvilh AmL Precision Besponse Car Amp Sesponse Cal Am!
I your broadband to control CD player
. Recommended box U83 H8-6013 Class 0 800WfiftlS
¡ 31Smm wide Each channel has ô separate balanced XLR Xover and GaIinel
bring you the world of radio, literally! oulput A single unbalanced (mixed) lÌne output Ís
. Uses 802 1 1b & 802 1 1g Wi-Fi connectivity . 33 & 45 RPIV1
o Mains powered also available. The system includes
e Unit measures 250(L) x '130(W) x 140(H)mm

tf,
2 microphones and batieries,
t- . Note - This product requ¡res an receiver unit and plugpack.
existing wireless network via a
I
broadband router A high
Other Models

Three Golour Laser [ight Show

Available. See ¡n-store
or on our website. 12" Subwoolel -r incorporates an 8" subwoofer,
channel amplìfier for the drive multiple subwoofers wired at
4ohms, 2ohms or even lohm, and is
¿D-. enthusrast Winner of Car Stereo
H¡gh performance - 75WRMS amplifier with Austral¡a's product of the year a great choice for either sound
Our top of the line laser show with 500 subwoofer. ïwo Way Paging Gar Alam crossover in a ported wooden award 2005 quality or SPL applications
effect patterns, 10 line
modes, and 3 colours,
Bubble Machine Finished in durable enclosure Great for small cars .2x150WRMS@4ohms .1x400WR|V1S@4ohms
.1x700WBMS@2ohms
heavy vinyl, the This alarm has it all, including two way paging (up where space and werght are ¡2x255WRMS@2ohms
-, the possibilities are Create instant,
continuous bubbles
cabinet houses a to 3km) Features include remote arm and disarm, AN ISSUE .1x500WRMS@4ohms o1x820WFMS@1ohm
endless, 12" 4 ohm silent arm¡ng mode, car park locator function, auto {
with this affordable subwoofer rated at rearming, antiburglary and anti-hrjacking, shock
pofta ble 3OOWRMS sensor, ìgnition cut-out relay, rechargeable remote

l¡ bubble
machine! Great
o Enclosure sìze
480(W) x 580(H) x I
!t special effect for
kids parties,
weddings or just for funl
440(D)mm RG Gar Central locking System
Upgrade to a remote keyless car entry
Four lnput ln-Gar IFï Golour
Uideo Monitor
¡
I
. Mains adaptor included with this system On rainy or This stylish four input monitor is
. Approx 280mm long windy days where you an excellent choice for in-car
-a . Requires 2 x C bâtteries to sta '
.1.r need a quick entry, unlock applications from DVDs to game
AB-1222 Bubble Machine Liqurd Vour doors as Vou approach - E, -) consoles or reversing cameras
laser tighl Show the car The system is easy to
.-' '.' and GPS navigation
rnstall and comes wrth two remote

Slocking Sluflers
Generate a dazzling
laser display using our
key fobs. :5Ì:i';'å"" $249.00
new laser module
Manlle Radio toldable Speakers Cat. ST-3115. Using
These foldable speakers are Takes all the two speed adjustable Stocking Stuffers
compatible with all iPods"'and bits and motors that are f itted
with mirrors, patterns similar to Wireless lllPS tM 12U Gar l{etlle Work [ighl tryllh lri!od Sland UB Wireless llooûell
most other
devices a spirograph toy can be projected Modulalor Simply plug into your car's cigarette This might just be the ultimate battery lf you love cars you'll love
onto a wall Great for parties! Use any ordinary USB lighter socket and boil away Holds up to powered portable work light available 11 this fantaslic wireless
and they $39.s5
t. ¡ç
cabinet r:
forms a vented bass
reflex enclosure that produces ô
:l::i::,
:â:;;" '
lô'
¡.\-/.
take to g¡gs
It has ample room for leads,
Operating voltage is 6VDC PCB
size 100 x 74mm K¡t supplied with silk-screened
gold plated PCB, 2 motors and mirrors plus all
flash drive to store your
favourite MP3 files and
play them through your
550m1 and is suitable for tea, coffee, features an adjustable head that can be
pointed up or down to direct the
light where you want it Every
doorbell Choose
between a thumping V8,
a Formula-1 racet or
,n
)
rich clear sound no matter what .2xSOmm4ohmspeakers manuals, tools, spare strings etc, electronic components car's FM radio J . 2 cups, strainer and home and car should have motor bike and get your
. Laser available separately Was $59.95 :
one of these beauties heart pumping every time the doorbell rings lf
When folded 90(L) x 65{H) x and is foam lined to provide
ST-3115 1MW 4.5V laser module w¡th sw¡tch. o 63 high brightness LEDS that gets too exciting you can swrtch to a
FM- 88 to 60(W)mm protection for spare valves Solid
. . Mains and car charger sedate ding-dong while you recover
Requ¡res4xAAA pintle hinges and c
. Mains . Dimensions: 520 . 30m range
batteries or 6V DC
adaptor x 428(W)
. 100(W) x 300(H) . Requires 3 x AAA batteries
$34.s5 . x 120(D)mm . Mains adaptor included
t 3,5"8 ohm speaker iPod: not included x 200(D)mm

2 lagtrar Befter- More rechnicat FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING

TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar,c0m,au

FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING

TELEPHONE> 18OO 022 888 I NTE RN ET> wwwjaycar.com. a u

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Safe and Secure thcse Holidays
¿
f Pool Accessor¡es BBQ Accessor¡es
2.4ûHz ilini Wireless C0l0ür Uide0 Gamera tloaling llilnk Coolel Solar Pol¡Jefed Pool lighls
ll¡q¡lal Suneillance Evenl lecoder Weaüerur00l Bellbox SireilStroüe tishl l2U
Features an internal Lithium-lon rechargeable battery The best pool companion this An interesting ìight ball that charges through the
Surveillance on a budget lt works Designed for outdoor alarm
that can operate the camera for up to 5 hours per charge summer Shaped like a mini day and switches on at night
by recording ìmages to an SD applications, this unit has a strobe . 1 10(Dra)mm grime with this handy BBO
Channel selectable to use wÌth OC-3588 inflatable boat, this handy cooler
memory card as JPEG or vrdeo AVI light and two piezo sirens Both lhe o 3 colours available separately cleaner lt even has a built
receiver, see websrte for details comes complete with a f reezer
when motion is detected View the strobe and the siren operate on . in scraper and LED Iight for
block to keep your tinnies or soft ST-31 20 Red
events on a monitor or any media 12VDC from an external alarm . those hard to see dark
17" Acl¡ye ftlatrix Itr Security tl0nil0r '.n drinks frosty while you're in the pool ST-3122 Blue
player that accepts SD cards Two source Termination is by 600mm . Holds up to 6 cans . ST-3124 While corners Requires I x AA batteries
cameras are ìncluded with lR LEDs flying leads Suitable for caravans, These rugged, high performance TFT monìtors are purpose-built ) . Measures: 295(L)mm
for security applications and include a toughened front panel to o Size: 360 x 470mm
for night use Mains adaptor boats, garages etc
included . Siren SPL: 105d8(A) protect the TFT panel from damage They can display up to the
maximum resolution def ined by CCIR standards l12O x 576 / 525 x
í Stainless Sleel BBQ longs
!*
. Accepts up to 4 cameras . Strobe energy: 1Ws
. 195{L) x 135(W) x 45(H)mm . Dimensions: 105(L) x 105(W) x 39(Dlmm 625TV Lines) via the incorporated l/P (interlaced to progressive with LED Lisht
scan) converter These stainless steel BBO tongs

3,5" Secüilù Canera lnslallen il0nitol

See website for f ull specs
Two models available:
ì $19.95 with in-built LED light allow you
to see all your cooking delights
Take the hard work out ol camera OM-3419 17" Version evenI ilint the
uvct complete
U rc tur ilprúru udr
darkñ
installation with this portable video Pockel UU Melel . 400mm long
monitor The unit connects to the
camera berng installed and lets you
\ . lP67 rated so Ìt can be submerged up to 1 m Protect yourself from harmful UV . Bequires 2 x AAA battteries
rays with this excellent detector lt
adiust and align the camera on your I
Hand-Held pH Melsl reads UV index, mW per cubic
own, while you are still up lhe ladder Checks pH levels in your pool or fìsh tank metre or a bargraph meter of low Stainless Steel
Very handy d,
r'¡
simply and easily Supplied with buffer to very high UV râdiation Battery, tlexible Glamp lisht $29.s5
solution and calibrat¡on tool l\r1ore It is tifted with 25mm
accurate than messy chemic¿ls clamping jaws and
. +l 0 2 pH accuracy $59.95 $24.95 480mm gooseneck so
'a
that it can be attached to
,. ,/! whatever is handy be it
".t
¡.
Power Professionals a'r. Solar [EIl Outdoot Folding Nylon Utilily Bag table, fence or BBO
. Requires 4 x AA batteries
,J
tast il¡-tlH Banery Charger l(il 1/2 llour Rapid Ciaruer 3,5AmD Uniremal l{ole[00k Powe] Supply Umbrella tight It has an aluminium frame and
Accepts both 1 10 & 240 VAC ¡nput and can
Ref: Silicon Ch¡p Sept. 2007
Capable of handling up to 1 5 of the same
Fast charge 4 x AA or AAA Ni-Cd/N¡ MH
batterìes in lust 30 minutesl Mercury & cadmium free be used almost anywhere in the world
.#r.,
.11 The solar panel screws onto the top of the pole to
¡s made of durable Nylon with
a reinforced floor There's also
BBQ Tan W¡Ih AM/FM
l'p type of Ni-MH or NiCd cells Microprocessor controlled with LED sB-2331 AAA 24 Pk - $1 2 95 Selectable output for most popular brands . ll'¡ charge during the day and connects into the l¡ght
a srde pocket for odds and Badio and [E0 Totch
Build it to suit any size cells or cell capacity charge indicators, fan assisted cooling, sB-2330 AA 24 Pk - S1 2 95 including Apple, Dell, Compaq, Acet HP and fixture via the 1m power lead included Also has a timer wrth alarm
. Dimensions 200(Diâ )x 59(H)mm ends ênd it folds up flat when
tr and set your own fast or tr¡ckle chari]e rate sB-2332 AA 40 Pk - $1 I 95 h
not rn use clock, clamp and flexible
It also has overcharge protection including
. Suitable for umbrella poles 35-50mm (Dia ) . Dimensions: 480(L) x gooseneck for easy placement
J* )Jf
. Supplied with d, 280(W) x 250(D)mm
.Fequires4xC&1xAG10
uÃioL¿"¿
f';'
automotrve crgarette battery
514.95
lighter adaptor
Was S59.95

[Gll Wine ïhemometer Be Your flwn Weatheman!

$49.95
(' Drink your wine at the optimum temperature
WirelessWealherSlalion ffi"
.i I lzu 7AH SIA Battery 12UDC lo 230UAG lnveflets I
Celsius, Fahrenhert and preset with 16 popular
varieties
.Fequ¡res2xAAA
Measures and displays inside
and outside temperature, air
pressure, rainfall, humidity, wind
a speed, direction and chill factor
lnverters are available from 150W to a massive 1500W All have a LED power indicator, electrical isolatìon batter¡es . Indoor display unit 140(W) x
:, I
Use as an emergency power source for security
alarms or as a portable power source for VCRs or between the battery and secondary voltages for safety, and the higher power inverters feature fan assisted . 245mm long 'I70(H) x 40{D)mm
with solar panels for remote power cooling.24V inverters also available
.=={6ç--. Ml_5102
jÈMr-stt2 : . Outsrde temperature
. Leak proof Cat No Power Price YJj::1i :ff iiåi3,.,.. $1 4s'oo

trJ .
.
High discharge
capac¡ty
See in-store or
Mt-5102 150W $48.95
Ml-5104 300w szs.ss-'\84-ZlLl
Mt-5106 400w s139.95
Mt-5108 600W $229.00
I

Pest Free living

.
.
Rainfall sensor 170(W) x'140(H) x 120(D)mm
Connecting cable for wind & rain sensors 10m

website for Wealher Slali0n wilh Wireless Sens0ls and l¡ooftell

Mr-s110 800w s269.00 Iq ì I Easy to install- no wìres, no fuss Displays full clock
discharge |¡/l.t-5,112 rooow
Mr-br12 1000w s3ss.oo
s359.00 | ffi- I ilegacalc]l ilosquilo ïa0 and calendar f unctions, humidìty, temperature
tt,l cha racteristics Ml-5114 1s00W $529.00 ¡y¡¡-5119 q![ .t' This trap uses an electron¡cally It is a spring powered gun that kills flìes and readìngs, barometric changes as well as an audio
controlled LED lighting and heating mosquitoes! lt's fun, safe, and easy to use and visual indication when the doorbell is pressed

't, USB Rechargeable Batlery l2V P0wertech Polycrystall¡ne Solal Panels ar coil which produces intermittent light . Free standing or mountable
. lndoor display (not including
t_ Õ, sensitivìty peaks of many
They feature tempered glass protection to 'l¡ stand):
Plug into any powered USB port to charge
ensure they are not easily damaged in the mosquito spec¡es :
2251W) x 260(H) x 27(D)mm
Mains Power Meler lncorporated LED charge status indicaror and
can also be recharged by any 250m4 NiMH
harsh environment which solar panels exist in.
Each solar panel has
f a, T. . 300mm lall
Was S199.00
'æ-[ frff l.
Outdoor sensors: b5(W) x 83(H)

Simply plug into a normal charger.

. 1450mAh AA an ¡ntegrated u., $99.00 :-rÉ. $99.95
power point (GPO) and it .a ,Was
tufns rnto a real-time power- ..Pk2
waterproof
junctìon box
I Solar Powered Sonic Pesl ReIcller Personal Sonic lnseGl ReIeller Illemal lnsect Bile Reliever Wealher Slali0n w¡lh Wireless RF Sensot
monitoring outlet Enter the # Thìs sonic pest repeller helps keep Keep the mozzies awayl With Reduces pain and inflammation f rom
with cable
price of electr¡city and the undesirables at bay Three a range of 6 metres, it's minor insect st¡ngs and bites Simply
meter will lell you how
much the appliance is
.+ diff erent frequencies for dìff erent perfect for camping, picnics apply directly to the bite area for relief ¡*
I costing to run Also useful
zM-9071 5 $99.95 )
,¡ pests - mozzìes & fleas, mice & fishing etc lt also has a
pocket or belt clip to keep it
from mosquito bites, sand flies and
ants
for on-selling electr¡city in LÌke the Sanyo eneloop batleries, ¡rñ . Measures: 120(L) x
short term rental these feature ultra-low self-
2M.9073
zM-9074
10
20
s149.00
s239.00
.& il'* handy
. Bequires 1 x AA battery 26(dia)mm . Supplìed with the unit is an external
situations such as share
houses or caravan parks
discharge technology so they can
be used immediately after
zM-9076 65 $549.00 ã' . Measures: 75(L) x .Requires2xAA transmitter to meâsure outdoor
etc 104 max rating purchase 85% charge retentron zM-9078 80 $699.00 r-¡\ batteries temperature, pressure and humidity S{g.gs
2M.9079 120 Caution: Use for reliel . Free standing or wall mountable
after 1 year, case included
$10s0.00
. lndoor display: 1 10(W) x 110(H) x
-l-
.SB-1752A A12V800mAh 2 year manufactufer warranty
$39.s5 . s29.95 . External sensor: 55(W) x 83(H) x
SB-1750 AA 1 2 V2000mAh and a 20 year warranty on efficiency!

Befter. More rechnical

FOB INFORMATION AND ORDERING FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING
Be
6 ]dgtrdf TELEPHoNE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> wwwiaycar.com.au TELEPHONE> 18OO 022 888 I NTERNET> lvlvwjaycar.com.au
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Science Pfo¡ects & D.l.Y. Kits fol Kids
Keep the kids entertained over the school holidays learning something useful
ar'-. PCtlClA tingerpr¡nl lD l0r [aptoDs
Fingerurinl Secufily
P0ilaDle Had 01¡re wilh tingenrinl Security USB
Stocking Stuflets
Ches Game
while having fun. Jaycar has an extensive range of Kits for Kids covering all i- It slides into the PCMCIA slot rn your laptop and
utilises brometrc technology to rdentrfy authonsed
Portable hard drives allow easy mobile data storage Play against the computer or
a real opponent The game
science fields starting from only $9.95 with some suitable from as early as Syrs+. but can make confrdential information vulnerable to
users of the computer. Marnly intended for laptops, embarrassrng drsclosure This drive case prevents
All materials are supplied except some common household items such as sticky
rt can be used on any computer wrth a PCMCIA thÌs by using onboard fingerprint recognit¡on and and hints rf you need a btt ol
tape, scissors and batteries. See in-store or our website for the full range. slot Soflware included help SoiÌware
nelp boTlware tncluoeo
rncluded
encryption software to secure the
KJ-880* K¡t Proiects for Kids KJ882* Experimental Cubes . Dimensrons: 90(L) x 54(Wi -áf,æ dalâ on the drive 125mm long . Windows 2000 or XP compatible '.+'
. 8 different Kits sold separately . 6 different krts sold separately USB powered Hard dnve I ¡ 3 skill levels
KJ-8806 Lights & Colours
. Learn about the sun and how
KJ-8822 Rules of Nature
. Make a bôrometer. sundial,
not rncluded
. Enclosure
measures 75(W)
. Board 260mm square
USB Roll-u! llrum Kil
#
fountain, rain gauge or even a
Eight different drum sounds from African to jazz
KJ-884* Kit Exper¡ments for Kids and dozens of different rhythm
. 5 different kits sold separately tternsYou can also record and
KJ-8848 Finger Print Kit
è back your grooves for later
. Find out how experts in the field collect, reveal and identrfy
fingerprints. The kit includes, ìnk pad, blower dusting powder,
magnifier transparent stickers and fingerprint cards
BilÏorent Client and Hard llfiue Enclosule
Everything you would expect from a modern network attached
\ ìúá,:1fu#,:::" . Dimensions: 340(W) x
z5utHlmm

storage device and more! lncludes a buill-in BitTorrent client that

-lL can be used to download and share files over the BitTorent
USB Roll-up Piano
For the muso who can't stand to be away from
RG Helicoplers tour Piece BG Ghristmas Band Greal Kits network without lhe need to have Vour computer lurned on
. Hard drive not rncluded the Steinway, thrs keyboard can be used
Each f igurine features their own musical . Compatible w¡th 3 5' IDE and SATA HDDs anywhere there's a computer handy lt has four
Each has a twin rotor design making them very Sioil Circuils Uolume lll
instrumentand octave range, membrane keys and full polyphonic
easy to fly and very stable - lust hit the throttle ând
iff they go! they can be placed
+ *l: Building the projects described in
Volume 3 will provide you with the
capâbility lt also has 1 35 sounds built in includìng
. Two models available separately in any location with ^ confidence needed to tackle more
piano, organs, strings, horns, woodwind plus
. SuÌtable for Syrs+ sound effects
therr jingle bell complex projects such as those
. Throttle, rudder and stability trim controls . Compatible with Windows 2000 or XP
tunes controlled by described rn the various elecrronics
o Each requires 6 x AA batter¡es the included remote control. hobby magaz¡nes Dual layout ( USB DUII MaKeT
. Requires 15 x AAA batteries . Over 30 hot electronic projects Turn your video tapes into
o Each figurine 130mm hrgh Folding eyboard exoting video productions or
Irain Sound IX Nil Thrs dual layout (OWEFTY/DVORAK) keyboard record live video strarght to your
Authentic sounding train whistle arrd has a folding cover that protects ¡t when not rn DVD or CD burner Editing
horn sound effects for your use ¿nd doubles as a resl for your wrists as you software lets you add effects as well
mod.el railway. type The best value for money dual layout we as sound r.r
s & lrtles to vour worl to a spreadsheel or other jmage that looks
Tough enough for whizzing around the backyard
. Kit includes PCB, speaker have seen ! ¡ Requires w¡th suitable burner :Sgg.00 like real work Use one of the rmage files
and electron¡c components ', . Windows 95/98/2000/XP¡/istâ
The plane is charged from the BC unit in around 1 5 . 12VDC power required included on the CD or your own screen
compatible shot
. Recommended box U82 >. UGA to Ul0E0 Conueiler . Software and imaqe files included
BG ilini t[osquilo llelicopler H8-601 2 $5 95ea
¡ Green LED eyes Use your TV as a computer monitor ¡ Dimensions: 90(L) x 48(W) x 52{H)mm
. 170mm long Great for watch¡ng DVD
cr3262 / . Wingspan 260mm Güilar Praclice Amplilier l(il movies, PC gaming, USB 0eskloD Bouncel
This low cost amplifier allows you to presentation, educational
rtable tor Syrs+
applrcatrons or lnternet
I This tough looking guy with a Cockney accent will
$49 95 practlce your guilar w¡thout turn away any would be punter Lrytng to
annoying the viewrng on TV ¡nterfere with your desktop stuff He'll
neighbours lt has a . No software requrred warn them off with one of his srx -!¡l
guitar type input
socket, small speaker
ì tough-guy quotes rncluding "You're
cruisrn' for a bruisin'1" and 'You're
and volume 4 Ghannel SAIA PG link for Aulomatic Gonlrol not welcome here l"
o Kit supplied with PCB, Aulomate your house & show . 1 2m USB lead included
RC lllini lll*A*S'H* llelicopler speaker, socket and electronic $14.50 Hard Disk Conlrollel your friends how clever you o Stand alone requires 3 x AAA
components are! By using our parallel port
, o Transmission range 1
.12VDC power required
Supports four SATA hard drives and
comeswith RAI D software The controller, Vou can switch up .
battenes
batteries
Stands 2'1Omm high
. Recommended box U83 HB 6013 $3 50ea controller cân be set to eight separate devices on or off via your
. Requires 2 x AA batteries -
upasaRA.l D0or l1t computer's printer port Each SPDT relay can
'1
sub-system to provide handle 1 0 amps and has an on/off LED ìndrcatron USB tllissile launcher ilk ll
enhanced data security ATA
. Software provided Fire at someone up to 7m away with all the fun and
1.0 compliant Supports data
. Kit includes PCB, relays, software, sound effecls of a real missile launcher
transfer rates up to 1.5Gbps. and all electronic components
These 1/10 scale faclory endorsed Ferrari replicas wrll amaze you i ì . 8 - 1 2VDC required - use plugpack lvlP 3008 . Full directional movement
The detail is fantastic They have operating (LED) headliohts and I -- -: -
femole Conlrol Hel¡coplers - Combat Pair
tail lights and independent front and rear suspension.
Create your own dogfight with this pair of battling
helicopter gunshrps Each is equipped with a 280- . High Oualily HDMI, Digital 2.4ÊHz AU Sender
$5s.95
round lR 'gun to blow your opponent away When . Software compatible with
you register a hit, your enemy's chopper falls out of Uideo Gables Transmit your cable TV or Wrndows XP
the sky until revived 20 minutes charge grves
9V battery and marns charger other AV signals all over .120mm high
. Suitable for ages 'lOyrs+ HDMI is the emergrng standard for hrgh end
about 8 minutes flight trme Safe for indoor use home-theatre video connectivily and is backwards the house You can even
. Approx 170mm long . GT32'1 0 Ferrat Enzo 27NAHz use the remote control in Glassic Bike Engine USB with 3 Hubs
. compatible with DVI signals Cables are available
. Suitable for Syrs+
.
GT-3211 Ferrari F430 GT 40MHz
Gf 3212 Ferrari F430 40M Hz in three standard lengths and feature gold plated the remole location It looks like a Norton twin from the '60s and when
you hit the kick starter
¡+
.Requires6xAA connectors f or superior performance Additional receivers
. GI-3214 Ferrari 599 GTB 2ll,AHz available for mulli-room all the right noises, cy'mplelg.\prth gear )
batteries WO 7400 Male to male 1 5m $39 95 .Ir
. Sold as a pair WA-14O2 Male to male 3 0m $49 95 entefta rnment
(AR-1845) missing is the oil
WA-1404 Male lo male 5 0m 564 95 .3xUSB20ports r
. Mains powered
. Approx 1 17mm tall . Measures: 115(L) x 85(W)
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Science Pfo¡ects & D.l.Y. Kits fol Kids
Keep the kids entertained over the school holidays learning something useful
ar'-. PCtlClA tingerpr¡nl lD l0r [aptoDs
Fingerurinl Secufily
P0ilaDle Had 01¡re wilh tingenrinl Security USB
Stocking Stuflets
Ches Game
while having fun. Jaycar has an extensive range of Kits for Kids covering all i- It slides into the PCMCIA slot rn your laptop and
utilises brometrc technology to rdentrfy authonsed
Portable hard drives allow easy mobile data storage Play against the computer or
a real opponent The game
science fields starting from only $9.95 with some suitable from as early as Syrs+. but can make confrdential information vulnerable to
users of the computer. Marnly intended for laptops, embarrassrng drsclosure This drive case prevents
All materials are supplied except some common household items such as sticky
rt can be used on any computer wrth a PCMCIA thÌs by using onboard fingerprint recognit¡on and and hints rf you need a btt ol
tape, scissors and batteries. See in-store or our website for the full range. slot Soflware included help SoiÌware
nelp boTlware tncluoeo
rncluded
encryption software to secure the
KJ-880* K¡t Proiects for Kids KJ882* Experimental Cubes . Dimensrons: 90(L) x 54(Wi -áf,æ dalâ on the drive 125mm long . Windows 2000 or XP compatible '.+'
. 8 different Kits sold separately . 6 different krts sold separately USB powered Hard dnve I ¡ 3 skill levels
KJ-8806 Lights & Colours
. Learn about the sun and how
KJ-8822 Rules of Nature
. Make a bôrometer. sundial,
not rncluded
. Enclosure
measures 75(W)
. Board 260mm square
USB Roll-u! llrum Kil
#
fountain, rain gauge or even a
Eight different drum sounds from African to jazz
KJ-884* Kit Exper¡ments for Kids and dozens of different rhythm
. 5 different kits sold separately tternsYou can also record and
KJ-8848 Finger Print Kit
è back your grooves for later
. Find out how experts in the field collect, reveal and identrfy
fingerprints. The kit includes, ìnk pad, blower dusting powder,
magnifier transparent stickers and fingerprint cards
BilÏorent Client and Hard llfiue Enclosule
Everything you would expect from a modern network attached
\ ìúá,:1fu#,:::" . Dimensions: 340(W) x
z5utHlmm

storage device and more! lncludes a buill-in BitTorrent client that

-lL can be used to download and share files over the BitTorent
USB Roll-up Piano
For the muso who can't stand to be away from
RG Helicoplers tour Piece BG Ghristmas Band Greal Kits network without lhe need to have Vour computer lurned on
. Hard drive not rncluded the Steinway, thrs keyboard can be used
Each f igurine features their own musical . Compatible w¡th 3 5' IDE and SATA HDDs anywhere there's a computer handy lt has four
Each has a twin rotor design making them very Sioil Circuils Uolume lll
instrumentand octave range, membrane keys and full polyphonic
easy to fly and very stable - lust hit the throttle ând
iff they go! they can be placed
+ *l: Building the projects described in
Volume 3 will provide you with the
capâbility lt also has 1 35 sounds built in includìng
. Two models available separately in any location with ^ confidence needed to tackle more
piano, organs, strings, horns, woodwind plus
. SuÌtable for Syrs+ sound effects
therr jingle bell complex projects such as those
. Throttle, rudder and stability trim controls . Compatible with Windows 2000 or XP
tunes controlled by described rn the various elecrronics
o Each requires 6 x AA batter¡es the included remote control. hobby magaz¡nes Dual layout ( USB DUII MaKeT
. Requires 15 x AAA batteries . Over 30 hot electronic projects Turn your video tapes into
o Each figurine 130mm hrgh Folding eyboard exoting video productions or
Irain Sound IX Nil Thrs dual layout (OWEFTY/DVORAK) keyboard record live video strarght to your
Authentic sounding train whistle arrd has a folding cover that protects ¡t when not rn DVD or CD burner Editing
horn sound effects for your use ¿nd doubles as a resl for your wrists as you software lets you add effects as well
mod.el railway. type The best value for money dual layout we as sound r.r
s & lrtles to vour worl to a spreadsheel or other jmage that looks
Tough enough for whizzing around the backyard
. Kit includes PCB, speaker have seen ! ¡ Requires w¡th suitable burner :Sgg.00 like real work Use one of the rmage files
and electron¡c components ', . Windows 95/98/2000/XP¡/istâ
The plane is charged from the BC unit in around 1 5 . 12VDC power required included on the CD or your own screen
compatible shot
. Recommended box U82 >. UGA to Ul0E0 Conueiler . Software and imaqe files included
BG ilini t[osquilo llelicopler H8-601 2 $5 95ea
¡ Green LED eyes Use your TV as a computer monitor ¡ Dimensions: 90(L) x 48(W) x 52{H)mm
. 170mm long Great for watch¡ng DVD
cr3262 / . Wingspan 260mm Güilar Praclice Amplilier l(il movies, PC gaming, USB 0eskloD Bouncel
This low cost amplifier allows you to presentation, educational
rtable tor Syrs+
applrcatrons or lnternet
I This tough looking guy with a Cockney accent will
$49 95 practlce your guilar w¡thout turn away any would be punter Lrytng to
annoying the viewrng on TV ¡nterfere with your desktop stuff He'll
neighbours lt has a . No software requrred warn them off with one of his srx -!¡l
guitar type input
socket, small speaker
ì tough-guy quotes rncluding "You're
cruisrn' for a bruisin'1" and 'You're
and volume 4 Ghannel SAIA PG link for Aulomatic Gonlrol not welcome here l"
o Kit supplied with PCB, Aulomate your house & show . 1 2m USB lead included
RC lllini lll*A*S'H* llelicopler speaker, socket and electronic $14.50 Hard Disk Conlrollel your friends how clever you o Stand alone requires 3 x AAA
components are! By using our parallel port
, o Transmission range 1
.12VDC power required
Supports four SATA hard drives and
comeswith RAI D software The controller, Vou can switch up .
battenes
batteries
Stands 2'1Omm high
. Recommended box U83 HB 6013 $3 50ea controller cân be set to eight separate devices on or off via your
. Requires 2 x AA batteries -
upasaRA.l D0or l1t computer's printer port Each SPDT relay can
'1
sub-system to provide handle 1 0 amps and has an on/off LED ìndrcatron USB tllissile launcher ilk ll
enhanced data security ATA
. Software provided Fire at someone up to 7m away with all the fun and
1.0 compliant Supports data
. Kit includes PCB, relays, software, sound effecls of a real missile launcher
transfer rates up to 1.5Gbps. and all electronic components
These 1/10 scale faclory endorsed Ferrari replicas wrll amaze you i ì . 8 - 1 2VDC required - use plugpack lvlP 3008 . Full directional movement
The detail is fantastic They have operating (LED) headliohts and I -- -: -
femole Conlrol Hel¡coplers - Combat Pair
tail lights and independent front and rear suspension.
Create your own dogfight with this pair of battling
helicopter gunshrps Each is equipped with a 280- . High Oualily HDMI, Digital 2.4ÊHz AU Sender
$5s.95
round lR 'gun to blow your opponent away When . Software compatible with
you register a hit, your enemy's chopper falls out of Uideo Gables Transmit your cable TV or Wrndows XP
the sky until revived 20 minutes charge grves
9V battery and marns charger other AV signals all over .120mm high
. Suitable for ages 'lOyrs+ HDMI is the emergrng standard for hrgh end
about 8 minutes flight trme Safe for indoor use home-theatre video connectivily and is backwards the house You can even
. Approx 170mm long . GT32'1 0 Ferrat Enzo 27NAHz use the remote control in Glassic Bike Engine USB with 3 Hubs
. compatible with DVI signals Cables are available
. Suitable for Syrs+
.
GT-3211 Ferrari F430 GT 40MHz
Gf 3212 Ferrari F430 40M Hz in three standard lengths and feature gold plated the remole location It looks like a Norton twin from the '60s and when
you hit the kick starter
¡+
.Requires6xAA connectors f or superior performance Additional receivers
. GI-3214 Ferrari 599 GTB 2ll,AHz available for mulli-room all the right noises, cy'mplelg.\prth gear )
batteries WO 7400 Male to male 1 5m $39 95 .Ir
. Sold as a pair WA-14O2 Male to male 3 0m $49 95 entefta rnment
(AR-1845) missing is the oil
WA-1404 Male lo male 5 0m 564 95 .3xUSB20ports r
. Mains powered
. Approx 1 17mm tall . Measures: 115(L) x 85(W)
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products in-store
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Safe and Secure thcse Holidays
¿
f Pool Accessor¡es BBQ Accessor¡es
2.4ûHz ilini Wireless C0l0ür Uide0 Gamera tloaling llilnk Coolel Solar Pol¡Jefed Pool lighls
ll¡q¡lal Suneillance Evenl lecoder Weaüerur00l Bellbox SireilStroüe tishl l2U
Features an internal Lithium-lon rechargeable battery The best pool companion this An interesting ìight ball that charges through the
Surveillance on a budget lt works Designed for outdoor alarm
that can operate the camera for up to 5 hours per charge summer Shaped like a mini day and switches on at night
by recording ìmages to an SD applications, this unit has a strobe . 1 10(Dra)mm grime with this handy BBO
Channel selectable to use wÌth OC-3588 inflatable boat, this handy cooler
memory card as JPEG or vrdeo AVI light and two piezo sirens Both lhe o 3 colours available separately cleaner lt even has a built
receiver, see websrte for details comes complete with a f reezer
when motion is detected View the strobe and the siren operate on . in scraper and LED Iight for
block to keep your tinnies or soft ST-31 20 Red
events on a monitor or any media 12VDC from an external alarm . those hard to see dark
17" Acl¡ye ftlatrix Itr Security tl0nil0r '.n drinks frosty while you're in the pool ST-3122 Blue
player that accepts SD cards Two source Termination is by 600mm . Holds up to 6 cans . ST-3124 While corners Requires I x AA batteries
cameras are ìncluded with lR LEDs flying leads Suitable for caravans, These rugged, high performance TFT monìtors are purpose-built ) . Measures: 295(L)mm
for security applications and include a toughened front panel to o Size: 360 x 470mm
for night use Mains adaptor boats, garages etc
included . Siren SPL: 105d8(A) protect the TFT panel from damage They can display up to the
maximum resolution def ined by CCIR standards l12O x 576 / 525 x
í Stainless Sleel BBQ longs
!*
. Accepts up to 4 cameras . Strobe energy: 1Ws
. 195{L) x 135(W) x 45(H)mm . Dimensions: 105(L) x 105(W) x 39(Dlmm 625TV Lines) via the incorporated l/P (interlaced to progressive with LED Lisht
scan) converter These stainless steel BBO tongs

3,5" Secüilù Canera lnslallen il0nitol

See website for f ull specs
Two models available:
ì $19.95 with in-built LED light allow you
to see all your cooking delights
Take the hard work out ol camera OM-3419 17" Version evenI ilint the
uvct complete
U rc tur ilprúru udr
darkñ
installation with this portable video Pockel UU Melel . 400mm long
monitor The unit connects to the
camera berng installed and lets you
\ . lP67 rated so Ìt can be submerged up to 1 m Protect yourself from harmful UV . Bequires 2 x AAA battteries
rays with this excellent detector lt
adiust and align the camera on your I
Hand-Held pH Melsl reads UV index, mW per cubic
own, while you are still up lhe ladder Checks pH levels in your pool or fìsh tank metre or a bargraph meter of low Stainless Steel
Very handy d,
r'¡
simply and easily Supplied with buffer to very high UV râdiation Battery, tlexible Glamp lisht $29.s5
solution and calibrat¡on tool l\r1ore It is tifted with 25mm
accurate than messy chemic¿ls clamping jaws and
. +l 0 2 pH accuracy $59.95 $24.95 480mm gooseneck so
'a
that it can be attached to
,. ,/! whatever is handy be it
".t
¡.
Power Professionals a'r. Solar [EIl Outdoot Folding Nylon Utilily Bag table, fence or BBO
. Requires 4 x AA batteries
,J
tast il¡-tlH Banery Charger l(il 1/2 llour Rapid Ciaruer 3,5AmD Uniremal l{ole[00k Powe] Supply Umbrella tight It has an aluminium frame and
Accepts both 1 10 & 240 VAC ¡nput and can
Ref: Silicon Ch¡p Sept. 2007
Capable of handling up to 1 5 of the same
Fast charge 4 x AA or AAA Ni-Cd/N¡ MH
batterìes in lust 30 minutesl Mercury & cadmium free be used almost anywhere in the world
.#r.,
.11 The solar panel screws onto the top of the pole to
¡s made of durable Nylon with
a reinforced floor There's also
BBQ Tan W¡Ih AM/FM
l'p type of Ni-MH or NiCd cells Microprocessor controlled with LED sB-2331 AAA 24 Pk - $1 2 95 Selectable output for most popular brands . ll'¡ charge during the day and connects into the l¡ght
a srde pocket for odds and Badio and [E0 Totch
Build it to suit any size cells or cell capacity charge indicators, fan assisted cooling, sB-2330 AA 24 Pk - S1 2 95 including Apple, Dell, Compaq, Acet HP and fixture via the 1m power lead included Also has a timer wrth alarm
. Dimensions 200(Diâ )x 59(H)mm ends ênd it folds up flat when
tr and set your own fast or tr¡ckle chari]e rate sB-2332 AA 40 Pk - $1 I 95 h
not rn use clock, clamp and flexible
It also has overcharge protection including
. Suitable for umbrella poles 35-50mm (Dia ) . Dimensions: 480(L) x gooseneck for easy placement
J* )Jf
. Supplied with d, 280(W) x 250(D)mm
.Fequires4xC&1xAG10
uÃioL¿"¿
f';'
automotrve crgarette battery
514.95
lighter adaptor
Was S59.95

[Gll Wine ïhemometer Be Your flwn Weatheman!

$49.95
(' Drink your wine at the optimum temperature
WirelessWealherSlalion ffi"
.i I lzu 7AH SIA Battery 12UDC lo 230UAG lnveflets I
Celsius, Fahrenhert and preset with 16 popular
varieties
.Fequ¡res2xAAA
Measures and displays inside
and outside temperature, air
pressure, rainfall, humidity, wind
a speed, direction and chill factor
lnverters are available from 150W to a massive 1500W All have a LED power indicator, electrical isolatìon batter¡es . Indoor display unit 140(W) x
:, I
Use as an emergency power source for security
alarms or as a portable power source for VCRs or between the battery and secondary voltages for safety, and the higher power inverters feature fan assisted . 245mm long 'I70(H) x 40{D)mm
with solar panels for remote power cooling.24V inverters also available
.=={6ç--. Ml_5102
jÈMr-stt2 : . Outsrde temperature
. Leak proof Cat No Power Price YJj::1i :ff iiåi3,.,.. $1 4s'oo

trJ .
.
High discharge
capac¡ty
See in-store or
Mt-5102 150W $48.95
Ml-5104 300w szs.ss-'\84-ZlLl
Mt-5106 400w s139.95
Mt-5108 600W $229.00
I

Pest Free living

.
.
Rainfall sensor 170(W) x'140(H) x 120(D)mm
Connecting cable for wind & rain sensors 10m

website for Wealher Slali0n wilh Wireless Sens0ls and l¡ooftell

Mr-s110 800w s269.00 Iq ì I Easy to install- no wìres, no fuss Displays full clock
discharge |¡/l.t-5,112 rooow
Mr-br12 1000w s3ss.oo
s359.00 | ffi- I ilegacalc]l ilosquilo ïa0 and calendar f unctions, humidìty, temperature
tt,l cha racteristics Ml-5114 1s00W $529.00 ¡y¡¡-5119 q![ .t' This trap uses an electron¡cally It is a spring powered gun that kills flìes and readìngs, barometric changes as well as an audio
controlled LED lighting and heating mosquitoes! lt's fun, safe, and easy to use and visual indication when the doorbell is pressed

't, USB Rechargeable Batlery l2V P0wertech Polycrystall¡ne Solal Panels ar coil which produces intermittent light . Free standing or mountable
. lndoor display (not including
t_ Õ, sensitivìty peaks of many
They feature tempered glass protection to 'l¡ stand):
Plug into any powered USB port to charge
ensure they are not easily damaged in the mosquito spec¡es :
2251W) x 260(H) x 27(D)mm
Mains Power Meler lncorporated LED charge status indicaror and
can also be recharged by any 250m4 NiMH
harsh environment which solar panels exist in.
Each solar panel has
f a, T. . 300mm lall
Was S199.00
'æ-[ frff l.
Outdoor sensors: b5(W) x 83(H)

Simply plug into a normal charger.

. 1450mAh AA an ¡ntegrated u., $99.00 :-rÉ. $99.95
power point (GPO) and it .a ,Was
tufns rnto a real-time power- ..Pk2
waterproof
junctìon box
I Solar Powered Sonic Pesl ReIcller Personal Sonic lnseGl ReIeller Illemal lnsect Bile Reliever Wealher Slali0n w¡lh Wireless RF Sensot
monitoring outlet Enter the # Thìs sonic pest repeller helps keep Keep the mozzies awayl With Reduces pain and inflammation f rom
with cable
price of electr¡city and the undesirables at bay Three a range of 6 metres, it's minor insect st¡ngs and bites Simply
meter will lell you how
much the appliance is
.+ diff erent frequencies for dìff erent perfect for camping, picnics apply directly to the bite area for relief ¡*
I costing to run Also useful
zM-9071 5 $99.95 )
,¡ pests - mozzìes & fleas, mice & fishing etc lt also has a
pocket or belt clip to keep it
from mosquito bites, sand flies and
ants
for on-selling electr¡city in LÌke the Sanyo eneloop batleries, ¡rñ . Measures: 120(L) x
short term rental these feature ultra-low self-
2M.9073
zM-9074
10
20
s149.00
s239.00
.& il'* handy
. Bequires 1 x AA battery 26(dia)mm . Supplìed with the unit is an external
situations such as share
houses or caravan parks
discharge technology so they can
be used immediately after
zM-9076 65 $549.00 ã' . Measures: 75(L) x .Requires2xAA transmitter to meâsure outdoor
etc 104 max rating purchase 85% charge retentron zM-9078 80 $699.00 r-¡\ batteries temperature, pressure and humidity S{g.gs
2M.9079 120 Caution: Use for reliel . Free standing or wall mountable
after 1 year, case included
$10s0.00
. lndoor display: 1 10(W) x 110(H) x
-l-
.SB-1752A A12V800mAh 2 year manufactufer warranty
$39.s5 . s29.95 . External sensor: 55(W) x 83(H) x
SB-1750 AA 1 2 V2000mAh and a 20 year warranty on efficiency!

Befter. More rechnical

FOB INFORMATION AND ORDERING FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING
Be
6 ]dgtrdf TELEPHoNE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> wwwiaycar.com.au TELEPHONE> 18OO 022 888 I NTERNET> lvlvwjaycar.com.au
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Amazing Parly lleals Aulo Kils Rear Uiew Miror TFT Monitol wilh Gamela
A complele rear-view safety package including a TFT LCD
Set the Mood Badr Speed Gun M[2 monitor an 4C3452 camera lt has adjustable spring
lf you re into any kind of racing like cars, bikes,
INCLUDES: CAT, RRP Party Oeal Purpose designed for professional DJ work it has
all the features of more expensive turntables, boats or even the horses, this kit is for you lt reads
loaded brackets to fit different sized mirrors and includes a
2 x Pafty Speakers INCLUDES: CAT slimline remote control Composrte video input lncludes
RRP plus a few extras of its own Push button reverse, speed in km/h or mph up to 250 km/h or 'l55
15" 120WRMS CS-2515 $358 00 1 x Fog Machine AF-1214 $79 95 pitch adjustmenl, & track lighting, etc Even mph The electronics are mounted in the supplied
5m video/power camera cable
1 x Stereo Amp 1 x Fog Juice AF-1212 $1 1 95 Jiffy box and the radar gun assembly can be made
2 x 1OOwRMS wirh remote AA-0470 S199 00 1 x Pârty Lighting Set
Total Value $557.00 MÌrror Ball & motor, PAR 36
simply with two coffee tins fitted end to end The
circuit needs 1 2 VDC at only 1 30mA so you can $
Spot & coloured gels SL-2978
1 x Moondot Revolving
$69 95 output
. Mains
E ¿-feerr--*- use a small SLA or rechargeable battery pack Kit
includes PCB and all specified components tt
powered
flBD ll IGD Scan Tool Digital ïachometer
= lf you have a late model car, it will probably have Measures up to
an OBD (On Board Diagnostics) connector lf il 99,999RPM and can
.rt was manufactured after 1996, ¡t will support also count revolutions
{ the OBD ll prolocols This OBD ll Scan Tool Large LCD screen,
can be used to d¡agnose engine codes laser pointer and
Wireless Miclo0hone t and turn off check engrne |ghts, erase ..1 min/max recall Great

UHF llual Ghannel dìagnostic trouble codes and reset

OBD ll monitor status etc Also
for mechanics or

retrieves VIN code from post 2002 .

Car Air Gonditioner Controller Kit
Refer: Silicon Chip January 2007.
W¡-t¡ lntemel Radi 1950s Slyle CD Player This kit stops the air conditioner in your car from
taking engine power under acceleration Allows
& ïumtable the compressor to run with low throttle even
Replace rf Genuinely Fauity
radio stat¡ons. when the cabin temperature setting has been
Simply plug it in and lvlodern features with 50s
reached and will automatically switch the
styling lncludes automatic
#
this radio links into
existing Wi-Fi turntable, AM/FM radio and
compressor off at idle Features an override switch Great AmRlifiers
and LED f unction indicator Kit supplied with PCB
networks and uses MP3 compatible remote
system supports two separate microphones. with overlay and all electronic components Boom Box 8" Wooler lvilh AmL Precision Besponse Car Amp Sesponse Cal Am!
I your broadband to control CD player
. Recommended box U83 H8-6013 Class 0 800WfiftlS
¡ 31Smm wide Each channel has ô separate balanced XLR Xover and GaIinel
bring you the world of radio, literally! oulput A single unbalanced (mixed) lÌne output Ís
. Uses 802 1 1b & 802 1 1g Wi-Fi connectivity . 33 & 45 RPIV1
o Mains powered also available. The system includes
e Unit measures 250(L) x '130(W) x 140(H)mm

tf,
2 microphones and batieries,
t- . Note - This product requ¡res an receiver unit and plugpack.
existing wireless network via a
I
broadband router A high
Other Models

Three Golour Laser [ight Show

Available. See ¡n-store
or on our website. 12" Subwoolel -r incorporates an 8" subwoofer,
channel amplìfier for the drive multiple subwoofers wired at
4ohms, 2ohms or even lohm, and is
¿D-. enthusrast Winner of Car Stereo
H¡gh performance - 75WRMS amplifier with Austral¡a's product of the year a great choice for either sound
Our top of the line laser show with 500 subwoofer. ïwo Way Paging Gar Alam crossover in a ported wooden award 2005 quality or SPL applications
effect patterns, 10 line
modes, and 3 colours,
Bubble Machine Finished in durable enclosure Great for small cars .2x150WRMS@4ohms .1x400WR|V1S@4ohms
.1x700WBMS@2ohms
heavy vinyl, the This alarm has it all, including two way paging (up where space and werght are ¡2x255WRMS@2ohms
-, the possibilities are Create instant,
continuous bubbles
cabinet houses a to 3km) Features include remote arm and disarm, AN ISSUE .1x500WRMS@4ohms o1x820WFMS@1ohm
endless, 12" 4 ohm silent arm¡ng mode, car park locator function, auto {
with this affordable subwoofer rated at rearming, antiburglary and anti-hrjacking, shock
pofta ble 3OOWRMS sensor, ìgnition cut-out relay, rechargeable remote

l¡ bubble
machine! Great
o Enclosure sìze
480(W) x 580(H) x I
!t special effect for
kids parties,
weddings or just for funl
440(D)mm RG Gar Central locking System
Upgrade to a remote keyless car entry
Four lnput ln-Gar IFï Golour
Uideo Monitor
¡
I
. Mains adaptor included with this system On rainy or This stylish four input monitor is
. Approx 280mm long windy days where you an excellent choice for in-car
-a . Requires 2 x C bâtteries to sta '
.1.r need a quick entry, unlock applications from DVDs to game
AB-1222 Bubble Machine Liqurd Vour doors as Vou approach - E, -) consoles or reversing cameras
laser tighl Show the car The system is easy to
.-' '.' and GPS navigation
rnstall and comes wrth two remote

Slocking Sluflers
Generate a dazzling
laser display using our
key fobs. :5Ì:i';'å"" $249.00
new laser module
Manlle Radio toldable Speakers Cat. ST-3115. Using
These foldable speakers are Takes all the two speed adjustable Stocking Stuffers
compatible with all iPods"'and bits and motors that are f itted
with mirrors, patterns similar to Wireless lllPS tM 12U Gar l{etlle Work [ighl tryllh lri!od Sland UB Wireless llooûell
most other
devices a spirograph toy can be projected Modulalor Simply plug into your car's cigarette This might just be the ultimate battery lf you love cars you'll love
onto a wall Great for parties! Use any ordinary USB lighter socket and boil away Holds up to powered portable work light available 11 this fantaslic wireless
and they $39.s5
t. ¡ç
cabinet r:
forms a vented bass
reflex enclosure that produces ô
:l::i::,
:â:;;" '
lô'
¡.\-/.
take to g¡gs
It has ample room for leads,
Operating voltage is 6VDC PCB
size 100 x 74mm K¡t supplied with silk-screened
gold plated PCB, 2 motors and mirrors plus all
flash drive to store your
favourite MP3 files and
play them through your
550m1 and is suitable for tea, coffee, features an adjustable head that can be
pointed up or down to direct the
light where you want it Every
doorbell Choose
between a thumping V8,
a Formula-1 racet or
,n
)
rich clear sound no matter what .2xSOmm4ohmspeakers manuals, tools, spare strings etc, electronic components car's FM radio J . 2 cups, strainer and home and car should have motor bike and get your
. Laser available separately Was $59.95 :
one of these beauties heart pumping every time the doorbell rings lf
When folded 90(L) x 65{H) x and is foam lined to provide
ST-3115 1MW 4.5V laser module w¡th sw¡tch. o 63 high brightness LEDS that gets too exciting you can swrtch to a
FM- 88 to 60(W)mm protection for spare valves Solid
. . Mains and car charger sedate ding-dong while you recover
Requ¡res4xAAA pintle hinges and c
. Mains . Dimensions: 520 . 30m range
batteries or 6V DC
adaptor x 428(W)
. 100(W) x 300(H) . Requires 3 x AAA batteries
$34.s5 . x 120(D)mm . Mains adaptor included
t 3,5"8 ohm speaker iPod: not included x 200(D)mm

2 lagtrar Befter- More rechnicat FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING

TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar,c0m,au

FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING

TELEPHONE> 18OO 022 888 I NTE RN ET> wwwjaycar.com. a u

Better. More
 ü *f. o -lÉ
'¡r. 'I* o *É #
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rÉ 'rÉ # #'lf'
.r.r

Bluetooth GPS Receiuer w¡lh 6.6MP Mini DU Gameta Lisht ¡t Up!

SlRt lll Ghipset a

This high performance 20 channel

lncludes an MP3 player, webcam, digital
voice recorder, and 4 x digital zoom The
EGonomy Head Ionh
Light, compact, very efficient on
...
-*
receiver sends locat¡on data to your unrl has a colour TF I ì 5' batteries and comes with a fully l.
Bluetooth enabled PDA, notebook LCD screen. t-
computer or mobile phone Works with . 12 LEDs . 4 l¡shtins modes tl-,,
TomTom Navrgatot Destinator and other . Requires 3 x AAA batteries
$9.95 ¡
'.t
free and commercial software including
Google Maps Position accurate to
. ST 3287 1 7 LED head torch also available 'wI
)-
,s l)
approximately 5m RÞcharged vta
Solal Pot'Jered lorch
ililro-Fueled 4WIl Remole Gontrolled Gats Solar Poweted tED
'#
rn-car charger (included)
Featurrng'10 high
brrghtness LEDs and íf RGB
internal rechargeable One smell from the h¡-octane Ropelights
t/ -:-t- te nes
batteries that are charged by the
solar panel on the handle
ìÉ'"' fumes will be enough to prove
these cars go like crazy.
Great Chrìstmas llghting! Attach the solar .F
Digital Hand-Held Anemomelet $299.00 . Torch 21Omm long :','+
ã' - ' r These are stal.e o[-the-art machines
panel in direct sunlight, select 1 of
the 6 lightrng modes and away you
llynamo lorch with Badio, that wrll leave the competitron eating
.ì
",8
go. Turns on automatically at night.
i Glock and Emer0ency A¡am your dust
.{
:',x','":?"J J:Á JXiåi'à'ju"!
",n,".
Measure the speed of wlnd in r
Kils for Eueryone With full alarm clock
f unctions. AM/FM radio,
I .
.
Strong, lightweight aluminium chasis
O 1Bcubic inch high speed pull stari
. 11 RGB LED lamps per metre
. Fully sealed
km/h, m/s or knots, dis
¡- . Replaceable $79.95 T
LED display with a Bea LED torch, reading lamp and I Taiwanese engine
battery source
sraph. a siren for emergency situatrons . 28,000 rpm .
wind scale bar = Refer Silicon Chip December '1994 . 5 m¡nutes hand cranklng will at . 12yrs+ 1 8m lead t
I Clittord hides in the dark and chirps rf, from solar
annoyingly until a light is turned
on - just like a real cncket
full charge the internal battery Two models avallable
. GT 3610 400mm long panel to
control box
).-
24W Hlll Bechargeable lorch off-road 4WD buggy
Clifford is created on a we have ever
This is one of the brightest torches
't . GT3612 360mm long sleek . SL-2826 5m
small PCB, measur¡ng just . SL 2828 10m
seen lt uses the same Hi-lntensity Discharge black 4WD Lamborghini
'!1, 40 x 35mm and has cute (HlD) technology that is used rn expensive *' ¡l
t:i This clock has a modified movemenl little LED insect eyes that flash as it s¡ngs Just JÉ{
that ìs synchronised to the tidal European ìuxury car headlights to produce a
ri like a real cricket, it waits a few seconds after
l,lew Kil of the Monlh
effects of the moon Simply set darkness unt¡l it begins chirping, and stops
staggeringly bright beam that seems to go forever
Several models are available See our websrte for
RG Apache Attack Choppet 5.8GHz AU Sendet
the clock to co¡ncide with high instantly when a light comes back on Enhanced Uoiee Recorder l(il
tide in your area and start it up full details Twin rotors with buckets of powet, 3 channel radio Beat the congestion and enjoy the reliability and
¡ PCB, prezo buzzet LDR plus all Refer Silicon Chip December 2007
. Clock face 15O(Dia)mm Specif ications: conl.rol unit wilh throttle, rudder and assured picture quality a 5 SGHz transmitter and
. Bequires 1 x AA battery electronic components supplied . Drmensions: l2lDia ) x 380(L)mm Here's an improved versron of the very popular
trim controls Finished in receiver provides Hassle-free sharing of audio
. Light output: 1800 Lumens voìce recorder design published by Silicon Chip in
matl olive lìvery and video signals all over your house, offìce,
l¡eluxe Solar Educalional l(il . Burn time with f ull charge: 12Omins May 2005 This versìon can now be set up easrly
A series of do it yourself with twin rocket factory or shop without the inconvenience and
o Mains and car charger supplied to record two, four or eight different messages for
pods cost of running wires

l
experiments to acqurre the . Battery, lanyard and filter lens supplied random-access playback or a single message for
'tape mode' playback Also, rt now provides
. Around 20 . 90m range clear line of sight
basic knowledge of solar
energy lncludes Solar cell minutes flyinq
cleaner and glitch free line-level audio output
Packs of 4 Ni-MH rechargeable batteries

f suitable for feeding an amplifier or PA system lt

module, musical unit,
. SB-1735 2400mAh AA $15.95 . Fìequires 8 x AA batteries
plastic lamp, motor can be powered from any source of I 14V DC
. SB-1737 2000mAh AA $13.95 . Suitable for ages 1 Oyrs+
. accessories and plastic Supplied w¡th silk screened
SB-1738 2500mAh AA $19.50
. and solder masked PCB
SB-1739 900mAh AAA $11.95
$4ss.00 T" Uideo Piclure Frame w¡lh AU Inpul
This ls a fantastìc way to show off your digÌtal
ìmages or movies You can have multiple images in
a slide show, a srngle
0utdoor Communications ¡mage, or thumbnails
You can also play a
38 Channel UHt GB n{in Pack 38 Channel UHt Pockel CB Rad¡o 3W UHt CB llansceiYer
backing music track t
This 2 pack of mini UHF CB Keep in touch while hìking, Up to 1Okm transmission range This unit gives full coverage of all 56 $39.95 or show video clips
communicalors can keep you clearly in
touch up to 3km They feature electron¡c
fishing or bushwalking
Hands free k¡t also
Maximum output is 3 watts with 1W
battery saver mode All 38 legal
internat¡onal VHF marine channels lt
features a removable antenna,
. Power adaptor I
t
volume control, monitor f unctions channels are utilised as well as adjustable squelch, belt clip, Science Time Kil I included
. Resolution: 480 x
and an integrated blue LED torch LCD CTCSS sub channel calling, high/low outpul selection and Economical and easy to assemble educatronal krts 234 pixels
automatic muting, and scrambling is suÞplìed w¡th a charging with over 25 to choose froml Kits are supplied with . Supports SM, SD, XD,
Supplied with a high gain cradle and 1 2VDC plugpack everything you need to construct the projects MS & MMC card
. Scan channel, call tone (168mm) antenna f¡tted with an . Frequency range : 1 56MHz Chemistry, physics, robotics, opt¡cal electrical and formats
and monitor functions SMA connector to allow the use 162MHz crystal sc¡ence fields are covered in this great range
of external antennas I
suitable from Syrs+
.
s49.95
AC/DC charger
lncluded
$1ss.00 K-8850 Liquid-powered CIock
. Electrical energy and basic
BG Rechargeable Dfilt Gats .ç
Get trackside with the latest ¡n RC drift cars.

batteries
-. Syrs+
We have two fantastic licensed 1:18 scale
models to race with.
The inside wheel locks up when you execute a
r
turn to enable a skid and the full function
remote control has sound effects Each car
comes with a rechargeable Ni Cd battery pack
ilEW SÏflRE and plugpack charger
. Suitable for ages 1 2yrs+ )
NflW flPEN . Two models available:
. GT-3250 Mazda RX-8 -271'/tHz
. GI-3252 Subaru lmpreza WRX 40MHz t
100 Aerodfome Rd . Bemote control requires: 3 x AA batteries r
Iugtrdr MarooGhydofe
|lld 4558
Ph: (071 5479 3511
*
: .t

Jlautrar
Better.fr'ort rechnica,
8 ldgtrdr Befter- More rechnicat, FOR INFOBMATION AND ORDERING

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Prices valid until December

INTERNET>
31

vurirrwjaycar,com.au
st 2007 FOR INFOBMATION AND ORDERING

TELEPH0NE> 1800 022 888 INTERiIEÏ> m J ¡nfi

1
 Senrfleemnamos tog : @ffinaú else up in the circuit.
I trawled the web for secondhand
power supplies but can only get 110V
versions from the States, The UK
refurbished ones cost $374.4O so un-
less inspiration plays a hand, I might
have to eat humble pie and finance Got broadband? Want to set up a Hotspot?
the computer's trip to an AASP (Apple
Authorised Service Agency). Freenet Antennas, a leader in wire- on any standard office printer.
less networking (WiFi) solutions, has Simplicity: the easyHotspot
Postscript released the most cost effective WiFi designed to be a plug-and-play ap-
Well, the foregoing was all written Hotspot-in-a-box in Australia - the pliance. There is no user configu-
about a month ago. And then, finally, easyHotspot. It is designed as a plug- ration. In most cases, where a site
inspiration did play its part - it was and-play way of adding controlled already has broadband Internet,
just a matter of looking outside the Internet access for motels, caravan the installation is a simple do-it-
square. parks, corporate networks, etc. yourself process,
Most hotspot solutions work in Customisable: the standard easy- off when his time limit expires; data
D10 is situated in the power supply
muchthe same way as the easyHotspot. Hotspot comes with a generic (un- volume - the user is logged off after
across the primary of the transformer
The user connects using the normal branded) login page and generic ticket he has downloaded a given number of
with one end [Â) going to the Drain bytes; and data rate - while the user
and the other [K] to the main B+. Yet wireless interface in their laptop, design, The easyHotspot can be cus-
open their browser and are redirected tomized with customer logos or other is online, he has a maximum possible
the notes on the TinySwitch-Il ap- download speed.
plications do not show this, In fact, it to a 'login' page. After entering their information. This is normally done
login/password, theyhave access to the before the unit is shipped. Full product details are available
shows a diode in se¡ies with a capaci-
Internet for web browsing, email, etc. Remotely upgradeable: an easy- at:
tor and resistor in parallel. So I tried a
This is a 1992 Kenwood KR-VS040 Dolby Pro Logic 100W AV Surround Sound UF4007 diode in series with a 2.2nF The features that make the easy- Hotspot unit that has already been
Receiver which was caught up in a fire described in last month's Serviceman. 2kV capacitor and a 100kfl resistor Hotspot standout are - Cost: from $200 installed can be remotely customised/
Out of curiosity, I cleaned away the soot, removed the front panel (as the including GST, it is the most cost-effec- upgraded if needed, Contact:
across the capacitor.
switches had all buckled and melted) and tested it. And would you believe it? tive product on the market in Australia Freenet Antennas
I switched it on and this time the FlexibÌe ticket profiles: when a user
- it still worked! Resistors R196 (1000) and R3z (4zQ) gave way a little later PSU delivered 5.tV constantly and today. In addition, ongoing costs for the logs in, he is then subject to zero ot Barker Plaee, Bicton, WA 6157
because I hadn't been thorough enough removing the caustic fire retardant but Ph: (08) 6262 3333 Fax: (08) 9319 3275
even then it was still working. Unfortunately, there are no parts available for it was running quietly, which it wasn't easyHotspot owner are minimised as more limitations. Those limitations can
the user tickets can be printed locally be any mix of time - the user is logged www.f teenet-antennas.c0m
but I'm not proud. However, if there is anyone out there who has one of these before. Now I haven't messed about
that is being wrecked for whatever reason, I would be most appreciative if I can with different values but I am pretty.
recycle the leftovers! confident that this fixes the whole eLabtronics ezGircuit Designer unlocks creative talents
problem.
Off-line Switchers, It uses a power The HER diodes are high efficiency Now to track down the real part. If ez0ircuit Designer (ezCD)f rom eLabtron- drivers that are formatted into test micro- Prebuill USBP Chip Programmer with
FET to do the switching and only four GPP types [whatever that means) it isn't a diode what is it? That's when ics enables students and professionals controller programs for the user. USB cable
of its seven pins are actually used: and I couldn't flnd anything at all on I found a German on-line forum with to rapidly design and program innovative Projecttemplates are available to help with A lite version of ezCircuit Designer and
Source, Drain, Bypass and Enable TzD44. I reverted to the notes on the some bloke trying to get one for his LG microchip applications. the design 0f microchip applicati0ns. CoreChaft software.
Under Voltage. TinySwitch-Il circuits and noted they plasma set! The only trouble is that he Released this month, ezCD Professional Hands-on example projects: Flash, Line
Contact:
Unfortunately, the circuit isn't avail- were using 1N4005s for diodes in this hasn't given the correct model number includes all the PIC chips in CoreChart Pro- Follower Robot, Reaction Game, Micro-
able to the general public and Apple's location as a drain clamp, and I do not speak German. Anyway, fessional covering PlC10F, 12F, 16F and switch C0unter, LCD Display, Fan/Globe
51 Byron Place, Adelaide, SA 5000
website mentions the problem but The 1N4005 is just a normal stand- I am still working on it, PlC18F families. Thermostat, Light Level Display and Relay
Ph: (08) 8231 5966 Fax: (08) 8231 5266
doesn't nominate the specific compo- ard-recovery diode. The trouble is, ezCD curriculum resources for high control, Sounds, Music, Servo Motor con-
Website: www. elâbtronics.Gom
nent that's responsible, However, Iwas there are just too many different types Faulty power supplies schools have been developed for systems lrol, Stepper Motors + more.
determined to find the cause, of diodes with special functions to de- We had an NEC Plasma PX42VP4G engineering in Victoria and science studies ezCircuit Designer (ezCD) Stafter Pack
Though the TinySwitch-Il is a come in that would work fine until
simple circuit, this power supply
had fully optioned it with additional
cide what sort to use for an equivalent
in this particular circuit. a signal was fed into it and then the
picture would go green ald shut dornm.
in South Australia.
ez0ircuit Designer has three maj0r out-
puts: the documents, the hardware schemat-
i ncl udes:
eLabl6m re-usable mini controller board
with cD
TOII0IDAI
features, making it far more complex. Disaster strikes Until then, the OSD menu worked flne. ics and the CoreChart graphical Assembler Prebuilt lnputs and 0utputs: Buzzer, 2 rDOryBR I'tùlNSl()nMDBS
Basically, the 5.1V was fed back via It was about now that disaster flnally The fault turned out to be the power program for the microcontroller. LEDs, Push Button, LDR, Thermistor, Fan,
SMD optocouplers M7 and M11 us- struck. When I removed diode D10 supply. Formatted documentation structures are Microswitch, Relay, LCD Display
ing shunt regulator ICs MB and M5 (T2D44) and measured it, I discov- This setwas followedby a 3-year old given to help with specif icat¡on, management
(TL431). I replaced these parts, along ered that I had damaged it and it was 52-inch Hitacn'i plasma set that came and design documentation. Pin settings,
with SCR1. The latter is an MCR100-3 now completely open circuit, And in dead. We soon found that there was parts lists and test procedures are automati-
but I substituted a BRYS5-4. that meant I was snookered as there no standby 5V rail coming out of the cally generated and updated, while an overall
It made no difference and the is absolutely no information avail- extremely complex power supply. project summary shows all the project files
fieezer told me that the more sensi- able on ltre T2D44.I tried a UF4007, This supply in fact consists of currently contained in the project folder.
tive parts were the TNY267P, D1B a 1N4007 and a B,\159 as substitutes multiple switchmode power supplies The final hardware diagrams can be Manufactured in Australia
(HER105G6) , Dlo (r2D44) and opto- but the circuit refused to fire up and I and has enough feedback networks to exportedto Proteus Lite schematics in a Comprehensive data available
coupler TCLT1006. I managed to get am now left wondering whether it is a choke a horse. A replacement power single step or graphic files of the circuit can
ch ElecttofliGS ptyu¿
replacements for just about everything diode across the primary of the chop- supply will cost around $S00 fitted, be generated. Printing is flexible with tick
options to print each section. 9/40 Leighton Pl. HORNSBY 2077
except the diodes and that's where I per transformer T2 that's the problem The client is still recovering from a
Ph (02) 9476-5854 Fax (02) 9476-3231
or whether I have blown something
ran into problems.
52 StucoN Cutp
choking frt,
6t -> sc

siliconchip.com.au
<5¿
Each of the circuits comes with software

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 61

|aycar's solar-powered and rechargeable tED Christmas lights set
Just in time for Christmas comes this 5m string of LED
lights. But this set from faycar are no ordinary Christmas
lights: they are are solar-powered so (a) require no connec-
tion to any form of power and (b) can be safely used outdoors
because there is no mains voltage involved!
All you do is put the solar cell in direct sunlight for a day
or so and the unit's rechargeable batteries are automatically
charged, Jaycar claim up to eight hours of Ìights per charge
but sorry, Jaycar - we have to disagree: in our test we were
able to achieve just a wee bit longer - a massive 52 hours
straight (no recharging) before the LEDs gave up the ghostl
There are eight patterns to choose fiom
and the LEDs automatically turn on at
fr -o
ù
night and extinguish at sunrise. You can o tto
.c2
leave them on alÌ nightbecause they're not o2 oo ..) a
Òê-u2
costing you even one cent in powerl "2
At $79.95 they are significantly more Contact:
expensive than those bargain store Christ- Jaycat Electronics (all stores)
MY TIRSÍ BIê I.{URÞLT
mas Ìights - but just think: you will never 10'0 Silverwater Rd, Silverwater NSW 2128 SrZú RqJ=fß.AIN\fs.."
have to track down that infernal blown
globe againl (Cat SL-2828).
Ph: (02) 9741 8555 Fax: (02) 9741 8500 -
tv\ANv ar lÅ€ ll$çes FIAD
Website: www.iaycar. com. au
VÉRY SMÀLI- FOOÍ?F.:INÍS, 80 countries, 20 years of expertise:
Hydrogen Fuel Cells from Emona Legacy converters
power supply (Part No. 6L4-0279 orAP13 PC97) is not The driving force in
hardly exceeds 15 bar, 50 times lower than Many new PCs and especially note- available as a consumer replaceable item from Apple.
conventional pressurized bottles. books no longer come with connec- Instead, you have to take the computer into an Apple spectrum analysis
Products in the Heliocentris range in- tions for older devices, such as serial, Authorised Service Provider (AASP) and pay a quote
clude demonstration systems such as the parallel, or PS/2 (known as legacy fee. They will then arrange for an exchange power
"Professional" and the "lnslructor". The devices). However, with a suitable supply which you then pay them to install.
"Professional" is an entry level unit for converter, most of these can be run Rather that take that route, I decided to persevere.
demonstrating all aspects of a single-cellfuel through a USB port, saving the user Removing the power supply easy - it has three screws
cell. lt includes an electrolyser for hydrogen ftom buying new equipment. and a connector which you loosen off, after which it
generation and comes complete with four USB is "folds" out towards you.
comprehensive lesson volumes covering 25 designed Inside is a high-density and rather complex switch- I Spectrum analysis for every application and budget
experiments. The "lnstructor" is ideal as a to accept mode power supply with five ICs arranged on either
2nd or 3rd undergraduate-year system with all of the side of the PC board. However, I thought I had a pretty
i The largest product portfolio on the market

a range of auxillíary components that allows thingsthat good idea as to what was wrong from the symptoms. I Short innovation cycles and utmost investment security
Emona lnstruments students to learn about integrating fuel cells presently First, I decided to replace all 13 electros until I came
has been appointed the into a system. pÌug into across my first big hurdle - size restraints. Many of the I Maximum integration of functions ìn each ìnstrument
Australian distributor of the Finally, the "Nexa lntegration Kit" is a serial and electros fitted had very small footprints, For example, i Excellent service worldwìde: We serve you wherever
Berlin-based manufacturer of hydrogen system for electrical engineering students parallel the main B+ electros were two B2¡tF 45OY 105'C types
fuel cell teaching and research equipment, working to integrate a fuel cell stack into a and oth- which had dimensions of just 31 x lBmm and obtain-
Heliocentris. variety of applications investigate how the er (key- ing exact replacements was impossible.
Established in 1995, Heliocentris is the stack interacts with auxilliary comp0nents. board, for instance) ports and run In the end, I managed to replace 10 of these capaci-
recognised world leader in hydrogen fuel It is very popular for building into a fuel them all from one interface usin only tors. I then used extension leads to external electrolytic
cells for education and R & D markets having cell-powered motor vehicles in alternative one IRQ and I/O range, no matter how capacitors to confirm that the problem Ìay elsewhere
sold more than 35,000 fuel cells worldwide. energy projects and competitions, as wellas many devices are connected (up to a and that the three remaining capacitors on the board
Heliocentris has comprehensive cu rriculum commercial applications including station- maximum of 127). And if that's not could be left where they were.
and course materials which allow quick and ary power supply systems, back-up power enough, USB Hubs are available to Next, I hit the components inside the power supply
easy integration of fuel cell technology into generators and other poftable products. multiply the number of ports, with freezer and found that the most temperature-sen-
existing courses or for integration into R & The Nexa Power Module is licensed ex- MicroGram has a range of USB I/O sitive parts were around M6, a TNY2ô7P IC. I replaced
...
D projects. clusively to Heliocentris for the education converters to suit legacy devices, in- the IC and the symptoms improved immediately,
Heliocentris use metal hydride canisters to sector by Ballard Power Systems, the world's cÌuding USB to RS232 (serial) devices, though the computer would still close down after a
power their fuel cells. These are a very safe first volume producer of pr0t0n exchange USB to RS422l4B5 (industrial), USB period of time and the standby LED never went out.
way of storing hydrogen in solid form and membrane fuel cell technology. to parallel and USB to PS/2 It was now time for some voltage checks and this
make the units independent of the hydrogen showed that the 5,1V rail was droppingfo 4.45Y, at www.rohde-schwarz.com.au
supply and safe to operate anywhere, i.e. Contact: Contact: which point the computer would crash. This meant
laboratories, lesson theatres and perfect for Emona lnstruments Pty ttd Microgram Gomputerc that ihe problem was confined only to this power sales@rsa us.rohde-schwarz.com
mobile applications. P0 Box 15, Camperdown NSW 1450 P0 Box 8202, Tumbi Umbi, NSW 2261 source.
Metal hydride canisters can store up to Ph: (02) 9519 3933 Fax: (02) 9550 1378 Ph: (02) 4389 8444 Fax: (02) 4389 8388 The TNY267P is a 7-pin DIP-BB IC which is part
940 litres of hydrogen, but the pressure Website: Website: www. microgram.com.au of the TinySwitch-Il family of Enhanced Low-Power &scHwARz
62 Sn.rcoN Cnrp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEI 2OO7 51
 Senvfloemnamos [,og : wffiM They should always be installed
where there is pÌenty of ventilation
Lightweight handsfree LED head torch from RS
LED produce flood beam Ìighting
and shouÌd not be covered with mats
or other materials which can restrict with a long burn time.
airflow and which themselves are . The lighting level can be adjusted
flammable. to help conserve battery life, batter-
ies last up to 150 hours on regular
My impoverished son settings and up to 400 hours on
My son is an impoverished student intermittent mode
studying medicine at university. He Lamp articulates with new tilt fea-
has a job in the evenings to make ture- The beam can be easily aimed
ends meet a¡d even managed to save where needed,
enough money to buy a beautiful 20- Single compartment contains LED
inch Apple G5 iMac computer which and batteries making this light-
he uses for his studies.
This lightweight, water-resistant weight head torch only 7B g includ-
LED head torch has three brightness
Unfortunately, after using the com- ing batteries.
puter for a couple of years, it devel-
settings, maximum, optimum a¡rd eco-
Âll Petzl headlamps are individu- StJcorv Cæ, Ar:streli a's on$r
nomic and an intermittent mode. electronics ma€azine, is looking
oped an annoying habit of cutting ally tested and guaranteed for three
Features of the Petzi Tikka Plus, for a tech¡rical alL-rou¡rder to
off after a period of time. This period years. They are water resistant for
now available from RS Components, join the ¡sam in 2OO8.
progressively became shorter and all-weather use.
include:
shorter, until it eventually got down . Bright illumination along with You'll need good electronics
to Ìess than 10 minutes or so. Contact:
lightweight, efficient and comfort- design and prototJ¡ping skills
Getting it fixed by an Âpple ,\u- RS Components P$ Ltd
thorised Service Agency was going
able design 25 Pavesi St, Smithfield NSW 2164 - as a s¡r.rcor Gnr reader,
<i|6ÍRæZER.,lrOLÞ h\É fh{ÀÎ . Adjustable elastic headband giving Ph: (02) 9681 8558 Fax: (02) 9681 8614 you'll have seen (and ahnost
^¡ANÞ
fH6 SENS\ÍIVÉ?AGTS WEßÉOOO
to be expensive and this particular stability and comfort cerbainly built!) the t¡¡pe of
model didn't qualify for the repair : www.rsauslfal¡a.c0m
^AÕRÉ extended warranty scheme being of- projects which appear in the
consumption, the LCDs and plasmas surrounding components. However, fered by Apple on the power supply. Altronics Classy Class-A Kit ma,gazine so you'Il know what
ale no worse than CRT TVs. The main plasmas and LCD sets use massive And so I volunteered to have a squiz Altronics have released their superb we are looking for.
problem with standby power supplies heatsinks on just about anything that at it fo¡ him. CIass-A Amplifier kit which follows But you'Jl also need to be able
is that they are fitted into alÌ sorts of gets warm on their PC boards. The first thing to do was to identify the series of articles earlier this year
to write very well; to describe
appliances, all consuming power for in
your projects jn the Sr¡.¡corc
Thebiggest danger is if a component the model. This is done by reading the SILICON CHTP,
24 hours a day, flike a capacitor) faiÌs in a spectacu- EMC number which in our case was The kit is true to the original design
CRT TVs for the last 20 years or so lar fashion, in such away as to ignite 2008, making it a Series 1 or first gen- and includes remote volume control, Gæ style, ready for publica-
have used plastic cabinets which in- neighbouring parts. That's unÌikeÌy eration model. In addition, it carried speaker protection and muting, low tion with minimal editing.
corporate flre retardants. In fact, these in plasma and LCD sets though, since a marketing number (M9250X/A), a noise power supply, transformer and Of course, you'd be very
are made to various world standards. the circuits are generally designed to model number (,t1076) and, of course, all components required to construct computer literate, perhaps
The result has been an extremely low handle three or four times their aver- the seriaÌ number. a fully built up amplifier - with a with some experience in web
incidence of fire due to TVs, age loads without failure. In addition, Access to the inside is very easy professionally punched, screened and
development and web software
Of course, if there is a house fire, dry joints and poor plug and socket - just place the lront down on top of powder-coated steel chassis. very hard to find any which compare
skil-ls. A workingf knowledge
then the TV cabinet will be badly connections can sometimes melt two telephone books and loosen three And what an amplifier! With 2x20W - at any pricel
melted and the CRT will often im- pÌastic support brackets and cables screws along the bottom. The back and output at an almost unmeasurable of popular PC-based packages
Contact: (eg, word processing, glaphics,
plode. However, it is extremely rare in CRT sets but that doesn't seem to stand then swing up quite easily. 0.0006% THD, this is one for the true
believers in state-of-the-art audio. Altlonics (Peflh, Melboume, Sydney) photo and desktop publishing)
for the TV itself to be the actual cause be a problem in plasmas and LCD sets Situated in the middle of the main
P0 Box 8350, Perth Busn. Centre WA 6849
of the fire. which have solder joints as good as on logic board are four diagnostic SMD Retail price of the complete kit is rvou-ldn't go astray.
Ph:1300 797 007 Fax:'1300 789777
In fact, fires due to TV sets would computer boards. In fact, I have yet to LEDs, three of which glow when the $599.00. It's hard to compare this with Sub-editing experience?
Website:
be in the region of less than one per see a dry joint in any of them. computer is running. LED 4 is only on commercial amplifiers because it's Ttrat's a bonus too!
year for the whole country. Instead, The whole electronics industry when the computer overheats, LED 3
This is a full-time position,
fires caused by faulty plug packs and works very hard to ensure that alÌ com- only goes off in the sleep mode, LED 2 Are the days of cheap flash disks about to end?
the improper use of power boards are ponents are fireproof or fire-retardant, indicates full power and LED 1 shows
located at Brookvale on Syd-
much more common. and considering the huge quantities that there is +5.1V standby voltage. SanDisk Corporation, the inventors demonstrate their long-term commit- ney's Northern Beaches. For
Ironically, one of the adverse ef- of electronic products out there, they In our case though, all the LEDs of flash storage cards, is getting tough ment to enforcing its patents, both to the right person, this position
fects of fire retardant in TV cabinets have to be amongst the safest. would go out and after 10 minutes or with companies that manufacture, sell protect their investment in research and could lead to a fuüure maJla€e-
is that they tend to suffer from plastic According to the National Coroners so, LED 1 would come on again and and import into the USA, removable development by obtaining a fair return ment role.
cancer. After many years, they some- Information System (NCIS), there the computer could be rebooted. flash storage pfoducts including USB on that investment and out of fairness
mul-
flash drives, CompactFlash cards, to third-parties that participate in their
In flrsü instance, email your
times fracture and collapse of their were 458 deaths due to house fires in My first step was to check the power Pesume (includinél detailed
own accord. Australia between 2001-2006, NSW supply rails and all were correct with and
timedia cards, MP3/media players patent licensing program
Plasma and LCD sets mainly use having 169. OnÌy two of those fires the exception of the +5.1V rail which other variations on the theme. Their goal to resolve the matters by experience and references) to
metal backs and f¡ames and as yet, I were attributed to TV sets over that feeds LED 1 (or LED 7o2) vla R7'J.O They have filed three patent inf ringe- offering the opportunity to participate in Leo Simpson, S orGæ Edi-
haven't heard of any being the cause S-year period. Battery chargers pose (330f)) to LED 1. This started off as ment actions against 25 companies. thepatentlicensingprogram,othenruise torlPublisher:
of a house fire. The only way that a much greater risk of fire, 5.1Vbut then gradually dropped until And there are some pretty well-known they will be seeking damages, obtain-
electronic items can catch fire is Of course, common sense is also the computer died. names included ín those 25. ing injunctive relief and banníng the
when there is sufficient heat to ignite necessary when it comes to TV sets. Unfortunately, the Chinese-made SanDisk said that the legal actions importation of infringing products.

50 Stuco^t Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEî 2OO7 63

 ming circuitbut even applying abias of my first repÌacement zener diode by
Items Govered This Month 0.6V to Q617b didn't switch the front connecting it to a variable power sup-
Here's an improved version of the very popular voice recorder design lights on, yet the transistor measured ply and found that it was actually a
we published in May 2005. It can now be set up easily to record two, o Mitsubishi Clarion PE 2527K4 OK. However, it didn't come in for this 15V type. My parts supplier had put
car stereo player fault and I had run right out of time, the wrong zener diodes in a bag they
four or eight different messages for random-access playback so I had to Ìeave it as it was - at least had cleariy marked as "5.6V zener".
or a single message for 'tape mode' playback. o Onkyo fXD5777 AV receiver
the rest now worked correctly. In the end, I tracked down a 5.6V
Also, it now provides cleaner and o Apple G5 iMac computer zener diode and fitted that. None of
Onkyo AV receiver this improved my temper because
glitch-free line-level audio o NEC PX42VP4G plasmaTV To compound my bad week, an On- what I haven't told you is that access
output suitable for o Hitachi 52-inch plasma TV kyo TXD5777 AV receiver also came was rather difficult and this is not the
in with the complaint that it wouldn't sort of job you like to do repeatedly,
feeding an amplifier turn on, When I tried it, I could hear especially when the component is
or PA system. It can the reÌay clicking but nothing else. surface mounted.
wrong. With infinite patience the tech- My initial diagnosis was that the
be powered from nical officer first politely asked wheth- electrolytic capacitors had gone leaky TV sets & fires
any source of er I really was a technician and then in the por rer supplies, especially on Recently, one Sydney TV channeÌ
g-L4v DC. went on to explain the cause! Appar- those rails feeding the 10O-pin surface- got its knickers in a twist and made
ently, nearly all laser assemblies are mount microcontroller (Q8007) in the a big song and dance about the dan-
shipped with an anti-static solder bowels of the amplifier. The relay is gers of your new LCD or plasma TV
short installed. I should have known controlled by pin 63 and the power catching fire and burning your house
this and removed it as a matter of failure detection input is pin 20. If down.
course. there isn't 5V on this pin, the micro- Now although it is true that plasma
In mitigation, all the ones I have controÌÌer turns the reiay off. TVs in particular consume a lot of
been sent by other companies in the Unfortunately, I was wrong (again) power (and thus contribute to green-
past didn't have this solder short in- because changing the electros made house gases), they do have their plus
stalled but then I only do about half a no difference and all the rails meas- points. For example, because of the
dozen such repairs a year. In fact, the ured OK. heat they radiate, they can double
Grundig stereos I repair use Sanyo Next, I took a look at the 13V rail up as heaters in winter! Of course,
lasers and these just have a plastic which is fed via 5.6V surface-mounted the downside to this is that they con-
hood clipped over the lens. Anyway, zener diode D8003 to the cathode of tribute to the air-conditioning load in
removing the short finally fixed the CD D8005. The anode is connected to pin summer.
player function. 20 via R8002 [10kO), thus keeping it Plasma sets are stiÌl cheaper and
I was a little disappointed with the at +5V. The zener diode had failed so perform better (in some respects) in
six panel lights, as I couldn't quite see I fitted a new one but it still didn't fix the ì.arger sizes (>101cm) than LCDs,
By JIM ROWE although the latter are rapidly catch-
how those were meant to come on. the fault. However, by now, I was sure
With the orange DIM-IN lead discon- that this was the source of the problem, ing up and are better in the smaller
nected, the three LCD backlights came so I figured that the replacement was sizes. Both are a problem for the planet
on. The DIM-OUT lead to pin I wasn't also faulty. when it comes to disposal because of
connected to the wiring harness. I changed the zener again and this the dangerous chemicals used in their
There was a complicated 3-transis- time fitted a 5.1V type. The set now construction.
tor (Q607, Q615 & Q617) light dim- came on and stayed on. I then checked When it comes to standby power

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Astonishing Sound Reproduction with
Clarity & Outstanding Performance

Available fiom:
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138 Liverpool Road,
Ashfield, NSW,213l
vifa innovation lives on
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Fax: 02-9798-001 7
Ema¡l: [email protected]
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StucoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7
 rest of the circuit designed to alÌow or logic signals. This makes it easy to

SBRVICEW'SLOG proved to be very popular. It has been

used in all sorts of applications where
more flexibility in terms of message
storage and to provide much cleaner
and click-free pÌayback audio. Finaliy,
the new circuit can run from any
record or play back messages using a
set of pushbuttons and a switch or un-
der the control of a PC, microcontroller
or security system if you prefer.

It's all in a dav's work messages or sounds needed to be re-

corded and played back reliably under
either manual or micro control.
But it had limitations - one of which
source of DC between 9V and 14V.
The HKB2s chip has the ability to
store single or multiple messages with
a total iength of between 40 and 60
By the way, since the HKB2B voice
recorder chip iÈ only available from
Jaycar Electronics in Australia and
New Zealand, kits for the new recorder
was that it could onlybe used to record seconds, depending on the sampling module will only be available from
I could now see the sled motor move and play back one long message or a rate and the voice quality you want. )aycar and its deaÌers.
This month, I've got rather a mixed bag, as the spindle motor spun and also the number of short messages in sequen- In this new recorder module the
ranging all the way from a car stereo CD laser beam Ìens trying to focus, tial 'tape recorder' fashion. chip is again teamed up with a low- How it works
Next, I ejected the CD and cleaned This was despite the fact that the cost electret microphone to alìow easy Because HKB2B chip forms the func-
player to an Apple iMac monitor and on to the laser lens with a cotton bud before recorder chip we used was capable plus an LM35B
message recording, tional heart of the recorder module,
widescreen plasma TV sets. It's all in a day's repeating the play function, It still of recording and playing back up to dual op amp IC which allows the you need to have at least a rough idea
wouldn't play and was still displaying eight messages in 'random access' recorded messages to be played back of what goes on inside this chip in
work. the E6 error. mode. The module needed a fair bit as a line level audio signal available order to understand how the recorder
The upshot of all this was that either of 'hacking' to make the chip work in for feeding an external amplifier and works. Fig.1 shows the chip's basic
A Mitsubishi Clarion PE 2527KA car pressing each successive preset button the Ìaser was low emission and/or the this mode. speaker. architecture.
stereo was brought in by a mechanic from 1-4 the prescribed number of spindle motor was worn out. In fact, I Another limitation was that the A suitable small amplifier for use First, the chip includes a high-gain
from my Ìocal garage. Its CD player times, according to the Security Code have been caught out too many times playback sound quality of the module with the module would be "The microphone preamp so that it can be
wasn't working and although I don't digit allocated to that button. quoting for just the laser only to find was fairly noisy and each message Champ", as described in the February driven directly by a low cost electret
usually do this sort of work. I agreed When I finally had the number fulÌy out later on that the motor was on its played back was accompanied by an 1994 issue of SILICON CHIP. This is microphone insert. An automatic
to have a look at it when I saw that dispÌayed, I pressed the DISP button way out too, so I tend to err on the side irritating 'click' at the start and fin- available at low cost (95.95) from Jay- gain control (AGC) circuit follows the
he had gone to the trouble of bringing again to activate it. of caution here. ish. With the benefit of hindsight this car Electronics as KC-S152. preamp, to ensure that good quality
in the correct wiring harness (Aerpro I then put a CD in and you could hear The problem was that the cost of was due to the way we had chosen We've given the new module a set recordings can be made without any
71701.L). it try to spin before quickly stopping a new mechanism plus the labour to to couple the output audio from only of 'jumper links' so it can be easily need fo¡ manual gain adjustment, de-
Anyway, I connected the red (pin with the display showing E_ _6. This instalÌ it was about the same as a new one side of the recorder chip's push- configured to record and pÌay back spite input signal level variations.
11) +1.2Y ACC and yellow (pin 10) meant that the laser was unable to read cheap generic car stereo (incidentally, pull output. messages in any of four modes: either The output of the AGC circuit is
+12V Constant BAT leads together at the TOC (table of contents). the radio also needed a new set of 10 Hindsight also revealed a third two, four or eight messages in random not connected directly to the chip's
my +12V supply and connected the Disassembling this radio requires x 9V 6.Sm,A. lamps), I thought that the limitation: the 2005 moduÌe had been access mode or one or more messages recording circuitry but is brought out
chassis to the negative. I then switched the removal of a fair bit of hardware client wouldn't go for it but the garage designed to operate from a 6V battery, in sequential access 'tape mode'. An- to the 'Aout'pin instead. This is linked
the radio on and pressed the DISP but- and also involves desoldering the PC pointed out that fitting a new stereo whereas many people wanted to use it other link allows the HK-B2B chip's to the 'Ain' pin by the user, to record
ton until the display showed "0000", board from the case. Having done that, meant a lot more labour on their part from a nominal L2V DC source. message start 'beeps'to be enabled or messages from the microphone. This
after which I punched in the security I then propped the CD player up at an when it came to installing it, rather It was with these limitations in mind disabled, as you wish. arrangement allows the chip to be
code I had been given. This is done by angle so that I could inspect the laser. than just putiing the old one back in. that we decided to develop the new All message selection, record and used to record from line level signals
In addition, the original car stereo and improved sound recorder module play functions are controlled exter- in other applications.
matched the rest of the car. described here. nally, by connections to arow ofscrew Since the main part of the HKB2B
Having been given the go-ahead, I It's based on the same HKB28 chip terminals aÌong the side of the module. records by a process of sampling the
ordered the parts from Clarion and used in the 2005 module but with the AII functions are enabled by switches audio signaìs fed into it via the Ain
they arrived promptly. I fitted the
lamps first. This was a fairly fiddly
job and I managed to break one of
lhe 22nF capacitors that looks like
a resistor connected to the volume
control switch. I had to choose a very
thin replacement, as there is very little
room for it.
Next, I fitted the CD servo to the new
Fig.1: at right is the block
mechanism, taking care not to break
diagram of the HKB2B voice
the flexible cable to the laser. I then recorder chip. While the
plugged it back into the main chassis, recording process relies on
reassembled it all and switched on. audio sampling, the audio is
To my ftustration, the CD displayed not stored digitally but using
exactly the same fault - an E6 error! an analog sample-and-hold
Now my excuses forbeing a diII are system. The analog samples
as follows: (11 I am a semi-senile TV are stored in the cells of a
technician; (2) I had had a hard week; 256K flash EEPROM. Each
and (s) I hate audio repairs. Clearly, I analog storage cell can store
any of 256 different voltage
needed help.
NfH, Í'vâ Gof levels, making it equivalent
It took an emergency help call to to an B-bit digital recording.
RAÍI{ÉR, A MIXÉÞ BÃOOOO Clarion to find out what I had done

48 SILIC)N CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 65

 pin, it needs to pass these signaÌs fore of a compromise: the lower the 11U L-r !t] l'11, 1** kH¡ ¡ ::; ;:;i
UITIT FS3[fl
L'11

Parts List - Enhanced through a low-pass filter before the sampling, rate the longer the recording 5û hH¡ l1!, -- llH¡ ¡ -- dEni

Uoice Recorder sampling. This is done to prevent time but the lower the audio band- Fohde & Schwarz, Munich
distortion caused by sampling aliases, width. Conversely, the higher the sam- Thu0ct lE l2:51 :55 2007
hence the "anti aliasing" filterbetween pling rate the higher the bandwidthbut Vereion I .44
1 PC board, code EC8271,119 the "Ain" input and the sample and the shorter the recording time, from 08.1 1.2004
x 57mm
hold circuit block. The HKB2B chip has an internal
1 electret microphone insert Now although the audio is sampÌed sampling rate clock osciliator, as well
CEH TER
SPHH
1.0ÊÊÊÊÊÊ llHz
2.0Ê00Ê6Ê llHz
(AM-4011) STHRI LEÊÊ0Ê8Ê I'lH¡
inside the HKB2B, this is done using as an input for an optional externaÌ ï0F Ê.0Ê080ÊÊ llHz
3 3-way terminal blocks, PC
an anaÌog sample-and-hold system clock. Either clock signal can be fed
5
CF-s TEPS I ZE
REF LEUEL 1
185. 92009ÊÊ I'lll¡
1Ê. Ê pll
board mtg REF LEUEL OFFSET 0.Ê
rather than the more common digital to the sample and hold circuit via the dB
1 2-way terminal block, PC
sampÌing system. It stores the samples multiplexer (MUX), to control the
RF ÊTÏEH
RBII
Ê
kHz
5Ê
dB /t'tHu
/HUT0
board mtg uEu ltHz
20Ê /HUT0
3 2-pin sections of SIL header in an array of 26z1qq (256K) Flash sampling. SI{EEF T I I1E 5Ê.Ê n= /ÊUTO
IRfiCE cL,/l¡R
EEPROM analog storage cells, each of The frequency of the internal oscil- TRÊCE E
T
BLÊHK
strip
which can store any of 256 different lator is set by varying the value of an IIHRI{ER OH
3 jumper shunts
1

OFF

TÞ'-''í
I'IÊRKER 2 /OELTÊ

1 28-pin DIL lC socket,

15.24mm spacing
1 8-pin DIL lC socket, 7.62mm
voltage levels. This gives the equiva-
Ient of B-bit digital recording.
The capacity of the storage array
externaÌ resistor connected between
the'OscR'pin and ground, Our circuit
uses a 47kf2 resistor, which sets the
IKK ÏRI GËER FREE RUH

means that the HKB2B can store a total sampling rate to about 5800 sampÌes/ This shows the screen shot of the FS300 Spectrum Analyser displaying harmonics of a 145kHz square wave. On the right
spacing second. This gives a message recording is the data recorded with the screen shot by the PC software - very handy for future reference.
of 256K sampÌes. How long a recorded
1 2.Smm concentric DC power message this gives depends on the time of about 45 seconds and a band-
plug, PC board mtg (CON1) width of about 2.9kHz, for reasonable with a 1kÇ) resistor. ports (rev 1.1) for connection to a PC. This allows screen
sampling rate that's used,
1 RCA audio socket, PC board For example, if the sample rate voice-quality recording. shots and data to be acquired directly from the device,
mtg (CON2) is 8000 samples per second, 256K As shown in Fig,1, the recording Frequency Sweeps The device can also be controlled by the software, As
Semiconductols samples will correspond to a total and playback of samples in the storage A powerful feature of the SM300 signal generator is its well as this, an external keyboard and monitor can be
1 HK828 voice recorder lC message length of just over 32 sec- array is controlled by analog write and frequency sweep. The frequency can be varied gradually connected.
(rc1) onds (2az,t+4/8000). However if you read circuits, along with the message from a start to a stop frequency in user-selectable steps.
1 1M358 dualop amp (lC2) sample aT 42OO samples/second, the control and message decoding circuits, The dwell time (ie, the time between steps) canbe set ftom Conclusion
1 78105 +5V regulator (REG1) 256K samples will give a totaÌ mes- When a message is being played back micro seconds to seconds. The FS300 and SM300 are a compatible, complete fre-
1 PN200 PNP transistor (Q1) sage Ìength of just over 62 seconds the signals pass through another low- This feature is useful for measuring the frequency re- quency domain solution for testing and d iagnostics.
1 Smm green LED (LEDI) (262 ,1,44/ 42OO), pass filter to remove sampling noise, sponse of a piece of equipment, including (for example) For more information on pricing and availability, contact
1 5mm red LED (LED2) The recording bandwidth or 'fidel- and are then fed to the inbuilt output a filter, the Australian distributorsr
1 1N4004 1A diode (D1) ity' is directly proportional to the amplifier. The SM300 signal generator is exceptional and well
sampling rate. So if you sample at 4200 The rest of the circuitry inside the suited to a vast range of testing applications. Rohde & Schwarz Australia
Capacitots samples/second, the recording band- HKB2B chip is used for overall device Unit 2, 75 Epping Rd, North Ryde NSW 2113.
22OO¡tF 16V RB electrolytic width will be just over 2kHz, whereas control, mode switching and so on. PC connections Tel (02) BB74 5100
220¡tF 16V RB electrolytic sampling at 8000 samples/second Both the FS300 and SM300 have standard USB device Website: www.rohde-schwarz.com.au st
22¡t"F 16V RB electrolytic gives a bandwidth of just on 4kHz. Circuit details
1OpF 16V RB electrolytic Choosing the sampling rate is there- Fig.2 shows the complete circuit I
4.7¡tF 25V tag tantalum I
ll
22OnF 100V MKT metallised I
polyester I
5 100nF 100V MKT metallised
polyester
1 100nF multilayer monolithic
ceramrc
1 150pF disc ceramic
Besistors (0.25W 1%)
1 470kA 1 220kA
2 100ko I 47ka Keep Your CopiæSale
I 22kA 2 10kO With fhæ Handy Binderc
2 1kA 2 680c¿
1 100c¿ 1 47A Price: Just $13.95 plus
$7.00 p&p per order (buy five
Where from, how much? and gel them poslage free).
This kit is only available from Available only in Australia. bution published will entitle the author to (f ind them at wwÌv.peakelec.co.uk)
Jaycar Electronics, who also hold Just fill in lhe handy order choose their prize: an LCR40 LCR meter, So now you have even more reasons to
the copyrighl on the design and PC form in this issue; or fax As you can see, we pay good money a DCA55 Semiconductor Component send that brilliant circuit in. Send it to Slt-l-
(02) 9939 2648; or phone for each of the "Circuit Notebook" items Analyser, an ESR60 Equivalent Series coru CHrp and you could be a winner.
board.
Kits will be available from Jaycar (02) 9S39 3295 and quole published in Srucoru CHrp. But now there Resistance Analyser or an SCR100 You can either email your idea to sil-
Electronics stores and resellers your credit card number. are four more reasons to send in your Thyristor &Triac Analyser, with the com- chip @ siliconchip.com.au or post it to PO
(Cat no KC-5454). circuit idea. Each month, the best contri- pliments of Peak Electronic Design Ltd Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097.
Silicon Ghip Publications, P0 Box 139, Collaroy ilSW 2097. tl rr-

66 StttcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 47

 the rotary knob. Up to two markers are available on the
screen at any one time. !sssHssssH
Measuring the FM radio spectrum using the marker
revealed that the signal at LO4.1lllHz (corresponding to
222i
=óóé44óóó2-
urEruuu:
!JoN€h{oN=u
a
9 p,2ã==ã=ããü
2DAY-FMradio station) was around 6nW (nanowatts). Two o
È\
markers can operate in "delta" mode, where the value meas-
ured is the difference in level between the two markers.
Io
A very useful feature allows the reference level (am- o
plitude) and centre frequency to be set according to the zI I,
current value of a marker.
ã ëi
Noise power density and signal bandwidth =
measurements
Using an on-screen marker and moving the rotary knob l"
allows a particular frequency to be singled out. The FS300
can then measure the Noise Power density for that fie- U u U
quency. Moreover, by setting two markers the FS300 can u
(J
(,)(J
(J (J
Fig.4: this shows the output of the SM300 signal generator U
in FM mode (þlue). The carrier frequency is 200kHz. measure the signal bandwidth. That is particularly useful ô
Notice the signal frequency measured by the oscilloscope when working wiih filters.
o = =
o o
ô = I
ô u
ô
o z z z o
=
is not exactly 2Dûl<flz, as expected. The green trace is the zË =
square wave modulating source of around 2okflz, Display Lines vi
U øt
u øi
u
u
u o o o É
Activating a display line on the FS300 allows you to de- d
o
tect whether a particular frequency exceeds a certain level U u U

of amplitude. You simply change the display line with the =

N = =
o{
rotary knob. The reading is displayed above the line. This o F
l z 5 z oa)!-:
Y o o E,i¿
È(Ë
feature can be considered a vertical cursor. Ê0)
c.l
Y
z otsl 5
o z
Frequency counter ÈE
A built-in 6-digit frequency counter allows exceptionally êô
precise fiequency measurements to be made, with resolu- :i.qõ
u.t

<.ã ecÉ
tion from lkHz down Io LHz. Ø- OL
ôfi ¡i o)
All in all the FS300 is an impressive Spectrum Analyser ÈÀ
UU
UT
with quite a fast response. @ó
il¡t
zÈ
-trÊ
.+.9 H
The SM300 Signal Generator ..o 'ÉEo
v 9=
!¿
Let's now turn to the SM300 SignaÌ generator. This is
a robust and exceptionally precise signal generator with
z
= i.Ë;
(!ôG
fr(Jr
a range of modulation options. It can produce digitally ;E
øcJ-
(!
Fig.5: by contrast, the output in AM mode (þlue). The c9!
modulated signals in the continuous spectrum between
carrier frequency is 200kHz. Notice the signal frequency gkHz and 3GHz. oJ-o)
measured by the oscilloscope is exactly 200kHz, as Ë
E > q:
expected. The green trace is the square wave modulating Frequency, amplitude, phase, pulse and IQmodulations
source of around 2okJla are possibÌe, For IQ (in-phase/quadrature) modulation, the Ê N
co?É
=-
Ê l¿OCE
SM300 accepts the I and Q components fiom external BNC
connectors on the back of the unit, meaning virtually any
e
CÐ :oa
kind of modulation is possible, g ''+ C)'!
-ÉÈ
The SM300 can produce a stable source of test signals Ê Éõ3
o:i
applicable to diverse areas such as mobile radio and video H õaB
CÐ ãø
equipment. And its high IQbandwidth allows it to be used ?
for testing wifi and other wireless digital streams, A typical -€ rE"
o üE
-yo0)
screen shot of the signal generator is shown in Fig.3. = .!: h .or
H
Modulation CÐ
OÉ(!
Either an internal LF (low frequency) generator or an aD dEø
external signal can be used as the modulation source. U'
E
We connected a 2OkJfz square wave as the modulation
I dJ:c
source and set a carrier lrequency of around 200kHz. We
then tried in turn amplitude, frequency and IQ modula-
r=¡
h e€
Èw o
i
i:; r -:r ::: i' J (* 1O _É
O(Y)Èj
tìr)tHo DfìtHQ 0ûil{o DctHo tion and the resulting waveforms were captured using an
I ilr'ty ¡ nr)ty of5 ?:l t¡n!ilfs
l0krìnirìlc
?40nv
RfC:200?/10/lfÌ l3:0tì:ln oscilÌoscope, - ãàE
Fig,6: the signal output in IQ modulation mode. The blue Fig.4 shows the result of frequency modulation, Fig.5 = ày,^
trace is the signal output, which is IQ modulated with a amplitude modulation and Fig.6 IQ modulation, U ,erÞ ñas
ù-ô! v
carrier frequency around 2oolrJIz. The green trace is the I We should clarifythatthe I componentwas a square wave =
C'I,F

component, a square wave at around 160kHz. at around 160kHz while the Q component was shorted out

46 StLtcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEI 2OO7 67

details for the new Multi-Message relevant vertical item with its dedicated "soft" button.
Voice Recorder. Any further submenus appeil on the vertical panel and
As shown, signaJ.s from the electret are easy to navigate.
microphone insert are coupled into Inbothulits, anumber of automatic settings are provided
the Micln input of the HKB2B (pin which are adequate for most routine measurements, with a
17) via a 100nF coupling capacitor. manual override available for custom measutements.
,\nother 100nF capacitor is used to
tie the preamp's second 'MicRef' The FS300 Spectrum Analyser
input (pin 18) to ground, to provide Let's begin by looking at the FS300 Spectrum Analyser
maximum gain. in more detail and what can be done with it.
The 4.7¡tF capacitor and 220kO re- The noise level is exceptional at better than -110d8m,
sistor connected between pin 19 and so very weak signals - of the order of microvolts - can be
ground are used to optimise the chip's detected. This is outstanding for a device in this price range.
AGC attack and decay characteristics There are 16 digitally-selectable resolution bandwidths
for speech. The amplified audio from from 200H2 to lMHz with an accuracy of 5"/o.
the mic preamp and AGC circuit ap- RE CE MI M2 M3 M4 M5 Mó M7 M8 EARTH 9-',t4V DC The frequency menu allows start and stop frequencies
pears atpin 21 (Aout) which is coupled to be entered via the numeric keypad, These set the range Fig. 1: the amplitude in the frequency domain from BBMHz-
Fig,3: the same-size component overlay matches
directly to pin 20 (Ain) via another the photograph at right - between the two there AUDIO OUT
of frequencies whose amplitudes wiII be displayed on the L0BMHz (the FM radio band) obtained with a makeshift
100nF capacitor. should be no construction problems. SCIEEN, aerial (a length ofwire). The peaks correspond to the carrier
As mentioned above, the internal Alternatively, one may set the centre frequency and the frequency ofradio stations in the Sydney area,
sampling oscillator frequency is set to span, with the range of resulting frequencies being the cen-
5. BkHz by the 47kO resistor connected pulled down again for about 400ms, when a message is actually being tre flequency minus half the span to the centre frequency
to ground from pin 7 (OscRl. The playback audio emerges in played or recorded, plus half the span.
Setting the HKB2B into record or push-pull (ie, anti-phase) fashion from There's one remaining point which The amplitude menu allows the amplitude axis to be
playback modes is achieved by an pins 14 and ts of the HKB2B, the SP+ should be mentioned about the cir- set for the relevant measurement, Either a relative or an
external switch or logic signal con- and SP- pins and is connected to a cuit, absolute scale can be selected. In relative mode, a percent-
nected to the RecEnable-bar terminal, 100f) load resistor, The signals are fed You'llnote that the HKB2B chip is age scale is used while in absolute mode, the unit can be
which connects to the chip's RE-bar via 100nF capacitors to a bala¡rced-to- provided with a ChipEnable-bar pin chosen Îrom among dBM, dBmV dBpV, mV or mW
pin (27). unbalanced matching stage using IC2b, (pin 23), which in this circuit is pulled
The terminal is pulied to ground one half of an LM35B dual op amp, down to earth via a47kQ resistor - so A Simple Radio Test
for record mode or allowed to rise to This effectiveiy adds the two signals the chip is enabled by default, How- We connected an antenna (simply a random length of
logic high level (+sV) for playback together, ald cancels out the 'common ever the ChipEnable-bar line is also wireJ to the input of the I'S300 Spectrum analyser. We set
mode. Note that when the terminal mode pedestal' signal that appears brought out to a terminal, to allow the starting frequency at BBMHz and the end Irequency at
is pulled down to ground for Record with them on both outputs, you to apply a logic high (+5V) to this 1OBMHz. The result we obtained is shown in Fig,1.
mode, this also allows transistor Q1 As a result the output audio sig- Iine if you want to disable the chip for The resulting spectrum shows the FM radio stations in
to draw base current and turn on - al- nal at pin 7 of op amp IC2b is clean any reason. Sydney with each peak corresponding to a radio station.
Iowing current to flow through LED?, and 'glitch fiee'. This is then passed You might walt to do this if you Fig.2 shows what happens when we zoomed in on the inter-
the Record Mode indicator. through op amp IC2a, connected as a have a microcontroller or PC control- val between lo4lllllJzand 10 7MHz, showing in more detail Fig. 2: the amplitude in the frequency domain from
LinkLKl is used to enable or disable voltage follower/buffer and then fed to ling anumber of the modules, in which the peaks of RF detected, corresponding to the stâtions at aolil'fIlz to 107MHz (part of the upper FM radio band). The
the HKB2B's mässage starting 'beep', the line-level audio output socket. case it will need to be able to select 1O 4JMHz, 1O ßM}lz, 1.O5.7MHz and 1 06, 5MHz. peaks (from left to right) correspond to the equally spaced
by changing the logic level at pin 11 All of the part of the circuit operates between them using their ChipEn- FM radio stations transmitting at 104.1MH2, 104.9MH2,
f"Beep Enable"). Similarly LK2 and from +5VDC foom RnG1, an LM7BL05 able-bar lines. Signal Tracking LO'.7 lvftlz and t0 6. 5MHz.
LK3 are used to set the desired mes- regulator. We are able to use a low The FS300 Spectrum Analyser has an option called
sage recording and playbackmode, as power regulator because the total cur- Construction "Signal Tracking", When enabled, the effect is that the
shown in the small table on the circuit rent drain is quite low: about 4mA in All of the components used in the frequency with the greatest amplitude is set to be the centre
diagram, standby mode, rising to about 45mA Voice Recorder module on a compact frequency. This is useful for analysing passband filters, for
To record a message in one of the example, where one very narrow range of frequencies is
random access modes, all that needs Resistsr 0olnur todes predominant.
to be done is to pull down the RecEn-
able-bar line to force the chip into Level Display Ranges
recording mode, and then pull down No. Value 4-Band Gode (1%) 5-Band Gode (1%) The vertical scale range can be adjusted foom a choice
one of the message-select lines (M1E- tr 1 470ka brown
yellow purple yellow yellow purple black orange brown of five ranges. Four ranges ftom BdB to BOdB a¡rd a linear
nable-bar, M2Enable-bar etc) using an tr 1 220ka red red yellow brown red red black orange brown scale 0% to 100% are available.
external pushbutton or a logic signal tr 2 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown In linear scale mode, 0% corresponds to a 0V or OW
reading, whereas 100% corresponds to the level offset.
from a PC or microcontroller,
The message select line mustbe held
tr 8 47ko yellow purple orange brown yellow purple black red brown
Moreover, up to 30000 sweeps can be averaged to reduce
down for the duration of the message tr I 22ko red red orange brown red red black red brown interference and obtain an overall impression of the am-
recording; recording ends when the tr 2 1Okc¿ brown black orange brown brown black black red brown plitude of a frequency.
line is allowed to rise high again. tr 2 1ka brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
To play the recorded message, the tr 2 680fi blue grey brown brown blue grey black black brown
Markers Fig.3: the main screen
and amplitude of the "carrier" signal. The horizontal
RecEnable-bar line is allowed to rise tr 1 100C¿ brown brown black black black brown Markers can be used to measure the amplitude at a
brown black brown row of menus can be seen, with the vertical column of
high again, and the message select line particular frequency. The reading of the marker is shown
for the message you walt to replay tr 1 47o. yellow purple black brown yellow purple black gold brown at the top of the display, and the marker cal be varied by
menu items corresponding to sub-menus of the selected
horizontal menu item.
68 SILIC)N CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEÈ 2OO7 45
 JOIN THE TECHNOLOGY
aÍ1(
) l' \--l
AGE NOW
?l.L, |t !
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Tatos PICAXE
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LED2l-\o R"
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Developed as a teaching tool,
the PICAXE is a low-cost "brain"
for almost any project
Team this little module with a small audio
amplifier, to provide a great range ofsound effects
Easy to use and understand,
for a model railway layout, for example. It has the
ability to store up to eight different "sound grabs" which could be switched to profess¡onals & hobbyists can
different parts ofthe layout as trains pass through stations. be productive within minutes.
Free software development
PC board. This is coded 8C8271., the diagram carefully as a guide to system and low-cost in-circuit
and measures LO7 x 57mm. It can be their orientation. Fit diode D1 first,
programming.
mounted inside a staldard UB3 size then transistor Q1 and the two LEDs,
jiffy box. As all of the terminals and followed by regulator REG1. Variety of hardware, project
connectors are along one side the Then flt the electret mic insert, boards and kits to suit your
board, they will all be accessible via This has only two wire leads, but it is application.
a slot or series ofholes along that side polarised, so make sure you check the Digital, analog, RS232,
of the box. Only three holes will be back of the insert to make sure which 1-WirerM, SPland l2C.
needed in the box lid: two 5mm holes lead connects to the metal body of the PC connectivity.
for LEDI and LED2, and a larger hoÌe insert, This is the negative lead, which
to allow sound to reach the electret must be connected to the earthy outer
mic insert. pad under the board. The other lead is Applications include:
The location and orientation of the positive lead. Datalogging
all components on the board cal be Finally, plug the LM35B op amp Robotics
seen in the overlay diagram of Fig.3, IC2 into its B-pin socket and the larger Measurement & instruments
and also in the matching photo of the HKBZB chip ICl into its 2B-pin socket, Motor & lighting control
module. Make sure they're both orientated as Farming & agriculture
Start board assembly by fitting the shown in Fig.3. Your Multi-Message
lnternet server
four screw terminal blocks, then t}re Voice Recorder should now be com-
DC input and audio output sockets, plete and ready to go. Wireless links
Follow these with the two IC sockets, Colour sensing
Trying it out Fun games
Mauro Grassi takes an ¡n-depth loolr at Rohde & Schwarz' new the three 2-pin headers for LK1-LK3
and the short wire link which fits just To check that your recorder is work-
ing correctly, first decide on which
FM500 Spectrum Analyser and SMõ00 Signal Generator neaÌ the end of the 28-pin IC socket.
After this you can fit the resistors and message mode you want to use it in,
smaller non-polarised capacitors. and then place jumper shunts on link
Next come the 4,7pF taltalum and headers LK1, LK2 ard LK3 to set the
fTlhe FS3 e the rre- At the rear of the units lie a host of connectors. From the electrolytic capacitors, which are module for that mode of operation.
I quency matching a monitor output, USB host port (for connecting a USB all polarised, so make sure you fit (Use the table in Fig.2 as a guide.)
I Sl,¿¡oo same set flash drive), USB device port (for connecting to a PC), a them with their orientation as shown Then connect a small toggle switch
of frequencies. keyboard port (for attaching an external keyboard) and in the diagram. and one pushbutton switch for each
In fact, the FS300 and SMS00 look almost identical face various BNC connectors for accepting an external trigger Now you'Il be ready to fit the semi- message you want to select to the
on, Both housed in robust cases; the only difference in a¡rd reference signals. conductor parts. These are again all appropriate screw terminals of the Distributed in Australia by
the front panels is that the signal generator has an extra polarised, so make sure you follow module, as shown in Fig.4. For the
LF (low frequency) output, Menus present switch the toggle switch off, Microzed Computers
Apart ftom that, both have a rotary knob, a numeric key- Both the FS300 a¡rd SM300 have intuitive and easy-to-use which corresponds to message play- Pty Limited
pad, some soft buttons fmeaning their use varies according on-screen menus. The layout of the menus is very similar
Capacitor Codes back mode,
to the selected sub menu) and some keys for navigating in both units, making the interface rather uniform. ValuepF Code IEC Code EIA Code The audio output of the module can Phone 1300 735 420
through their on-screen menus. In the user screen there is a horizontal row of menu now be connected to the line input of Fax 1300 735 421
The screen is a quarter-VG,{ (320x200J TFT LCD. Both items, each of which has a vertical set of submenus. Thus
220n
220nt 0.22¡:"F 224
any suitable audio amplifier, Then you
the Spectrum Analyser and Signal Generator will fit snugly it is easy to navigate through the menus by moving across
100nF0.1pF 100n 104 can connect its DC power input to a www.microzed.com.au
side-by-side in a single 19inch rack. horizontally to the desired menu and then selecting the 150pF nla 150p 151 source of 9-14V DC.

44 StLtcoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 69

 At this stage neither of the LEDs or more but is clipped or truncated
should light but you may hear a small Fig. : Staying rather than being a clean sawtooth,
turn-on 'plop' from the speaker con- with the model this means that your clock oscillator's
rail theme, you Irequency is too low, That's fixed
nected to the external amplifier. If you could use reed A cordless audio headphone link for the hard of hearing.
wish you can use a digital multimeter relays or other
by reducing the value of the 6B0pF
Provides a single channel audio link via infrared (lR) light, using pulse-
to confirm that the supply voltage at switches to play capacitor.
width modulation (PWM).
pin B ofIC2 is very close to +5V rela- back the sound Ifyou don't have a counter or an os-
tive to the module's earth terminal. grabs when the cilloscope, leave the capacitor's value OVerall frequency response restricted lo 2OHz - 12k{z, with a small
Now switch the external toggle train triggers at 6B0pF and wait to see if the link's amount of treble boost (maximum of 7dB at about SkHz).
switch on, pulling the RecEnable-bar them or they performance is satisfactory. We'lI dis- Signal-to-noise ratio approximately 50d8.
Iine down to earth potential. This are switched cuss this option shortly.
should switch the module into Record by the operator. The receiver unit needs no adjust- Transmitter Unit
mode, so LED2 shouldbegin glowing. If the sound ments; all you have to do to get it going
grabs played Smalt set-top box accepts line level audio (either mono or stereo) from a
(If it doesn't begin glowing, you either is to plug in your headphones, switch TV receiver, VCR or DVD player, etc.
in different
have the DC power polarity reversed, locations you will
it on and point it towards the transmit-
lnput impedance:47kO.
or LED2 fitted to the board the wrong need additional ter. The small green power LED should
way around.) light and it's then simply a matter of PWM output via six infrared LEDs
speakers and
Next, press one of the message relays to switch adjusting the volume control for a Range: about five metres.
select pushbuttons - say MSG1 in them to the comfortable listening level. Power supply: 12V AC or 15-18V DC, with an average current drain of
Fig. . Holding it down, begin talking amplifier, approximately 25m4.
into the electret mic to record your Testing the link
test message. link, first connect the left
To test the
Receiuer Unit
Âs you speak, you'll notice that the & right channel audio signal leads to
{oN = RECORD) A small portable box which responds to the modulated lR light beam
green Strobe LED (LED1) is flashing. (HOLD MSG BUTTONS DOWN FOR RECORDING) the transmitter's inputs. These signals
from the transmitter, demodulates the audio and drives a standard pa¡r of
Keep talking until you reach the end can come from the stereo line outputs
stereo headphones (2 x 32A impedance).
of your message or until LED1 stops on your TV. You cal also use the line
flashing (which indicates that record- narrower/wider audio bandwidth. and MSG2, along with the Record/Play outputs on your VCR or DVD player Power supply: four AA cells (either alkaline or rechargeable NiMH).
ing has stopped automaticalÌy, because For example, if you change the re- toggle switch. but only if you are actually using this Average current drain: approximately 20mA, giving a battery service life
you have reached the end of that seg- sistor value to B2kQ, this will lower If you want to record and play four equipment. of 80-100 hours or more.
ment of the HKB2B's memory), Then the sampling rate to about 4200 sam- messages, remove the jumper shunt Note that piggyback RCA socket Controls: local volume control and a power on/off switch, plus a power/
release the pushbutton. ples/second and give a total recording from LK2 and place one on LK3 in- leads may be required to make these signal indicator LED.
To replay the recorded message, time of just on 60 seconds. However stead. You'll now need four external connections if the audio outputs are
turn the toggle switch off to swing the the audio bandwidth will also drop pushbuttons as well as the Record/ already in use (eg, Jaycar WA-7090),
module into Play mode and briefly to around 2kHz, so the played-back PÌay toggle switch: MSG1, MSG2, Next, use a small screwdriver to
press the message pushbutton again, message(s) will sound rather 'muf- MSG3 and MSG4. Note that in this case adjustthe "SetLevel" trimpot (VR1) at TV sound. If so, your link is flnished means that your clock frequency is ei-
but this time only briefly because in fled'- a bit like talking through a wet each message will be able to use one the rear of the transmitter to mid-posi- and ready for use. ther too high or too low. This can occur
Play mode, the message buttons only sock! quarter of the HKB2B's memory. tion. That done, position the transmit- If the sound is overly loud and if you weren't able to previously check
trigger the replay operation. On the other hand, if you lower Leave the jumper shunts off both ter (eg, on top of the TV) so that it faces distorted, even when the receiver's the transmitter's oscillator frequency
Your recorded message should the resistor value to 24kÇ2, this will LK2 and LK3 if you want to record towards your viewing position and volume control is down near zero, - eg, if you don't have a counter or a¡r
then be replayed through the exter- increase the sampling rate to about and play any of eight short messages apply power. The transmitter's green it's probable that the audio input sig- oscilloscope.
nal amplifier and speaker. If it does, 8000 samples/second and drop the (each using one eighth of the HKB2B's centre LED should immediately light nals from the TV are overloading the In this case, try altering the 6B0pF
your Multi-Message Voice Recorder recording time to just on 32 seconds. memory). You'll now need all eight (assuming an audio signal is being transmitter. In that case, try adjusting capacitor's value one way or the other,
is working correctly and should now But the recording quality will improve, external pushbuttons MSG1 - MSGB, applied) but the IR LEDs will remain trimpot VR1 anticlockwise using a to see if the distortion gets better or
be ready for use. as the audio bandwidth will increase along with the Record/Play toggle dark to your eyes. small screwdriver, to lower the input worse. If it gets worse, go back the
to about 4kHz, switch. It's now just a matter of checking level. This should allowyouto remove other way. If it gets better, keep chang-
Changing message length So experiment by all means, and The last option is to tit jumper that the link actually works. To do any audible distortion and bring the ing the value in that direction.
As mentioned earlier, the total mes- settle on the resistor vaÌue you decide shunts to both LK2 and LK3, which this, initially set the receiver's volume volume down to a comfortable level. In practice, you shouldn't need to
sage length stored in the HKB2B chip's gives the best combination of total sets the moduÌe for "tape mode" op- control to minimum, then plug the If you find that distortion is still increase the capacitor value above 1nF
memory is determined by the sampling message length and acceptable audio eration. headphones in a¡rd switchthe receiver present even when the audio level or reduce it below 390pF in order to
rate which is set by the resistor con- quality for your application. In this mode you normally only on, The receiver's green power LED is turned well down, this probably remove all audible distortion. SC

nected from pin 7 of the chip (OscR) need one external pushbutton (MSGI), should either blink briefly (if you're
to ground. Changing message mode because the HKB2B records and plays not pointing the receiver towards the
The 47kQ value shown for this As noted earlier, header links LK2 back either one message or a sequence transmitter) or light steadily if PD1 is
resistor in the circuit and overlay and LK3 on the board can be used to of messages, using all of its memory able to "see" the infrared signal.
diagram gives a sampling rate of 5800 change the module's message access space. The idea now is to place the receiver o Learn about engine management systems
samples/second, resulting in a total mode. That's it then - an easy-to-build in a convenientposition so that it gets o Projects to control nitrous, fuel injection and turbo boost
message length of 45 seconds a¡d an For example with a jumper shunt solid state Multi-Message Voice Re- an unobstructed "view" of the trans- systems
audio bandwidth of about 2.9kHz. fitted to LK2 but removed from LK3, corder module that can be used for mitter. In most cases, it can simply be o Switch devices on and off
We picked this as a reasonable com- the module will be able to record and all kinds of applications, especially positioned on an armrest, an adjacent accord¡ng to signal frequency, temperature & voltage
promise between message length and play two messages (each using half those involving sending pre-recorded coffee table on even on the back of o Build test instruments to check fuel injector duty cycle,
recording quality but you can experi- the HKB2B's memory space). You'll messages over an amplifier or PÂ the sofa. fuel mixtures and brake & temperature
ment with the value of this resistor to only need two external pushbuttons system under the control of a PC or Now turn up the volume control and Mail order prices: Aust. 5422.50 (incl. GST & P&P); Overseas
try Ìonger/shorter recording times and to select one of these messages: MSG1 microcontroller. st you should be able to clearly hear the 5426.00 via aimrail. See www.siliconchip.com.au for ordering details.

70 SLICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 43

 FRONT PANET

10.2sI l0 I 20.2s 20.25 I l0 t10.25

HOIE DIAÀ,1FÍERS:
HOLES A: 5.0mm
HOE B: 3.0mm
HOLES C: l0.0mm
HOIE D: 4.0mm
HO["E E: 8.0mm

ÀI.L DIMENSIONS IN
MIIilMETRES

REAR PÀNEI. lJliu¡Wrecmæcf üþuîodHbffi

Fig.10 (above); these are the drilling diagrams for the front and rear panels of the transmitter case. They can be læ@o ryh-n md}frnereüs =' fu ffift[þ
photostated or downloaded from our website and directly used as drilling templates if required.
&il Wfiroo db : búMe@ rrem7 erîd
g MÐe-r¡O Wnfln db @qz a FnEtr
@sffienúomreNGm:
\nßoEtËFdÞæ dffi
-
r¡îF-gFFftW offer valid only in Auslralia. lf you ale already
a subscriber this can be made a 0ifl subscription

52A Dlllltlll!

Resolulion ; 50000 counts

BasicD0Vaccuracy ...0.025%
Displays(50,000count) . ...Dual
TrueRMS .....AC+DC
Capacitance ... .10nFto100pF
Resistance .....500MO
Current ......104
Frequency 0.5H2 to 500kHz
MalhFunctions .... .........6
Frequency Gounter . . . 0.5H2 to 20MHz
AII DIMENSIONS IN
MIII.METRES Programmable square wave generalor . . 0.5H2 to 4800H2 i

'100 points (manual)

Data logger i

HOI.E DIAMETERS:
HOES A: 3.0mm, CSK
ïïihii:iËiì
HOII B: 3.5mm 0perating temperalure . . . -20 C to +55 C
HOTESC: ó.5mm
HOIE D: 7.Omm Safetycompliance .....Catlll 1000V
Battery . . . . N|MH Rechargeable with power adapter
l/0 inteúace . . lR to USB(optional)
Dimensions 203.5 x 94.4 x 59.0mm

Fig.ll: here are the drilling details for the receiver case. It's important to get all holes in their correct locations, so
Approximateweight.... ...5279
that everything lines up correctly when the receiver board is installed.

CT, NSW, OLD, TAS & VIG:

adjust the clock frequency fairÌy eas- about 10.5V and onÌy avery tiny "pip" that the clock oscillator's frequency is
ily by using the waveform at TP2 as a on each positive and negative peak. too high. To fix this, simply increase
guide. The waveform here should be a If you find that the waveform is a the value of ihe 6B0pF capacitor.
very linear and symmetrical sawtooth,
with a peak-to-peak amplitude of
clean sawtooth but much lower in
amplitude than 10.5V p-p, this means
On the other hand, if the waveform
does have an ampì.itude of 10.5V p-p
300 853 407 tA)(:1300 853 409 Pll0llE:08 9437 2550 FA)(:08 9437 2551

42 StLtcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au

trytry,tr¡oslnartcal,colll,atl trytrytrr,
 Farts L[st
Transmitter Unit 1 22¡tF 16V RB electrolytic 4 M3 x'lSmm tapped spacers
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from 1 low profile ABS instrument 1220nF MKT metallised 4 PC board terminal pins, 1mm
readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates. case, 140 x 110 x 35mm polyester diameter
1 PC þoard, code 01 112071, 3 100nF MKT metallised 1 1OkO log pot,9mm square PC-
117 x 102mm polyester mount (VR1)
2 PC-mount RCA sockets 3 100nF multilayer monolithic
(coN1, coN2) ceramic Semiconductors
1 2.5mm PC-mount DC socket 1 0nF metallised polyester 1 LM833 dual low noise op amp
(coN3) 3.3nF metallised polyester (rc1)
1 19mm square heatsink,6073 2.2nF metallised polyester 1 LM311 comparator (lC2)
type 1 nF metallised polyester 1 LM358 dual low power op amp
3 8-pin DIL lC sockets (optional) 2 680pF disc ceramic (rc3)
D3
I N400t 214-pin DIL lC sockets (optional) 1 470pF disc ceramic 1 LM386N audio amplifier (lC4)
1 M3 x 6mm machine screw, pan 1 8P104 lR sensor diode (PD1)
head Besistors (0.25W 1%) 1 3mm green LED (LED1)
47k
VEHICTT
1 M3 nut with star lockwasher 22.21{iA 14.7kA
BATÎERY 4 self-tapping screws, 49 x 6mm 2 100kc¡ 12.4k4 Capacitors
RTI RXI85
long 4 47kA 1 2.0ko 12200¡tF 16V RB electrolytic
3 PC board terminal pins, 1mm 222kA 3 1kO 1 470¡t"F 16V RB electrolytic
diameter 1 20ko 1 270A 2220¡tF 16V RB electrolytic
1 50kO verticaltrimpot, Smm 1 12kA 2 47A 1 47¡tF 16V RB electrolytic
(vR1) 1 5.6kO 1 1OpF 16V RB electrolytic
1 4.7¡tF 25V tag tantalum
Semiconductors Receivel unit 1 100nF MKT metallised
cse 1 LM833 low-noise op amp (lC'l) 1 UB3-size jiffy box, 130 x 68 x polyester
1 40938 quad CMOS Schmitt 44mm 1 47nF MKT metallised
NAND (rC2) 1 PC board, code 01 112072,57 polyester
I N5820 N400t N4t48 a4 tRF3Zl I 1 40138 dualflipflop (lC3) x 84mm 2 1)nF metallised polyester
#
I I

5Iþ- -----------q--
AK
1fLO72 dual op amp (lC4)
1 LM311 comparator (lC5)
1 battery holder, 4 x AA cells
(square)
2.2nF metallised polyester
47OpF disc ceramic
17812 +12V regulator (REG1) 1 SPDT minitoggle switch (S1) 180pF disc ceramic
fn-car charger & switcher for an SLA battery can further protect tlre battery. 1 8C328 PNP transistor (Q1) 1 PC-mount 3.5mm stereo jack 2 100pF disc ceramic
Lastly, to protect the SLA battery 6 Smm lR LEDs (LED1-LED3, socket (CON1) 1 15pF disc ceramic
This circuit was devised to switch will cause Mosfet
bias, which in turn from deep discharge, a low voltage LED5-LED7) 4 8-pin DIL lC sockets (optional)
power to a Peltier cooler in a vehicìe. Q2 to fully saturate, This positive disconnect is included. This is cen- 1 3mm green LED (LED4) 1 small knob, push-on (forVRl) Besistors (0.25W 1%)
Power to the load from the vehicle's feedback creates a clean transition tred around REG1, a voltage refer- 4 1N4004 1A diodes (D1-D4) 1 1Smm length of 16mm OD 12.2MA 1ko
battery is switched by a SPDT relay between the two states and prevents ence configured as a comparator. Its PVC tubing (optional) 4 100ko 390e¿
while the ignition switch is turned Q2 from over-dissipating by being reference (nnr) input is connected to Capacitors 4 M3 x 6mm machine screws, 222kA 100o
on and from the SLA auxiliary bat- partially on. The current then will avoltage divider, as long as "enable" 1 1000pF 25V RB electrolytic CSK head 1 20ko 2 47f2
tery when tlre ignition is off. ramp down until the battery is only switch 51 is closed. 1220¡tF 16V RB electrolytic 4 M3 x 6mm machine screws, 2 10ko 2 33O
The SLA battery is charged from receiving a trickle charge and the Whenever the voltage at REGl's 2100¡rF 16V RB electrolytic pan head 1 2.0ko 1 10O
the vehicle's battery. When the en- voltage drop across the paralleled reference terminal exceeds 2.5V, its
gine is running, the voltage remains resistors is only a few dozen mil- anode will be pulled low, biasing on
fairly constant, which greatly simpli- livolts. Schottky diode D1 prevents PNP transistor Q3. Q3 provides posi-
fies the charging circuit. If the SLA the SLA battery from discharging tive feedback via the 27Okl2 resistor ing a strip ofelectrical insulation tape. leads and applying power. However, if In practice, a value of oaopF (as
battery is fully charged, any further into the vehicle's accessory circuits and diode D2 to turn on N-channel It's then wedged flrmly in position by you have an oscilloscope or a frequen- shown on the circuitJ should be suit-
charging current from the vehicle when the engine is off. Mosfet Q4, which allows the load to the end of the PC board when the lid cy counter, it's a good idea to check able if a Motorola MC140938 device is
battery is limited by a 3.3O 5W Two safety devices are included be powered up. Soes on. the frequency of the clock oscillator used for IC2. However, if an ST Micro
resistor (R1). If the SLA battery is in the circuit, the first being in-line If the SLA battery voltage drops Note that the lid
assembly must be before you close up the case. 40938 is used, this capacitorwill prob-
deeply discharged, the voltage drop fuse F1 which will prevent serious below 10V the reference terminal introduced into the box at an angÌe, This is easiest done by checking ably have to be reduced to 47opF or
across this resistor will be enough damage in case of shorts. tn addition, will fall below 2.5V and the anode so VR1's shaft and the headphone the frequency of the tiiangular wave 390pF, Conversely, for aPhilips 40938,
to bias on PNP transistor Q1. This a PTC resettable thermistor (RT1) of REG1 will go high, thereby re- socket can enter their matching holes. signal at test point TP2 (just behind the capacitor may need to be increased
will turn on P-channel Mosfet Q2 protects the battery from sustained moving bias from Q3 and turning It's then swung down and fastened to IC5). The frequency here should be to 82OpF or even 1nF.
and it will provide further charging overcurrents during the charging off Q+ to disconnect the load a¡rd the box using the self-tapping screws between B0kHz and tookHz. If it's well The basic idea is that you increase
current via R2, effectively becoming phase. It is a 1.854 hold, a.zoa trip prevent deep discharge. LED1 indi- supplied. outside this range, then you'll need to the capacitor's value to lower the
a 2-step charger. device at 23oC. Since it has a posi- cates when power is being applied change the value ofthe 6BOpF oscilla- clock frequency, and reduce its value
Since the paralleled resistors (R1 tive temperature coefñcient, at 70"C, to the load. Set-up & adjustment tor capacitor to correct it. to increase the frequency,
& R2) have a lower combined voLt- these ratings decrease to 1A and 2A Fernando Garcia, Getting the transmitter unit going The capacitor concerned is easy to If you don't have a frequency coun-
age drÒp, Q1 will receive lowerbase for hold and trip respectively, which Brownsville, Texas, USA. ($45) is straightforward. Basicaìly, it's just a find on the transmitter board - it's just ter but have a modest uncalibrated
matter of connecting the audio input to the right of IC2. oscilloscope, you can still check and

72 StucoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 41

 I tonrl zzopr

+STOPS FAN
WHEN FRIDGE DOOR OPENED

ITHERMISTOR THI IS PIACED INSIDE FRIDGE)

Temperature- or 4oC, with very quick recovery feedback resistor ald it determines
time from the door being opened. how quickly the fan speeds up with
controlled fridge fan A single 12V BOmm computer fan a rise in temperature, A lower feed-
This circuit is intended to assist is mounted towards the back on an back resistance wiII make it adjust to
fridges that ca¡r't cope during hot angle to circulate the air. temperature more slowly. The pulse-
days when the door is frequently The circuit uses a sawtooth wave- widthmodulated output signal ftom
opened and which then tend to form generator based on a 555 timer IC2b drives the Mosfet and the fan.
freeze up at night! It is a tempera- (IC1) which is fed to pin 6 of op amp The Mosfet generates very little heat
Here's another view inside the completed bansmitter. Note tle lead dress on the infrared LEDs and the green ture-controlled fan that speeds up IC2b set up as a comparator. Pin 5 of and doesn't need a heatsink.
indicator r.ED, so that they protrude through tleir matching holes in the front panel. as temperature increases, then slows IC2b is driven by op amp IC2a which The reed switch is included to
down as the temperature decreases, amplifies the voltage variations stop the fan when the door is open-
helping to maintain a consta¡rt level caused by thermistor TH1 which is ed. It is positioned on the side of the
of about 3oC or whatever you wish. placed inside the refrigerator. fridge with a high-power magnet on
This worked well in a "moist Thermistor TH1 has a nominal the door. This prevents the fan from
cold" fridge that uses a large cold value of 100kç¿ a¡rd is connected blowing out all the cold air when the
plate at the back. The extra fan in a voltage divider with trimpot door is opened.
converted it from an ice-covered VR1 and a 10kQ resistor, The gain Darren Kirkegard,
veggie death trap to a constant 3oC of op amp IC2a is set by the B2kÇ) Runcorn, Qld. ($45)

+l2Y
Simple water pump control ler I
This simple circuit automatically
switches apump on and offto maintain r0k
the water level in a tank between two
52 UPPER r
pre-defined levels.
Two float sensors, 31 & 52, are used, st towER
The rear panel of the receiver has clearance holes for the two RCA ¿¡¡fli6 inFut sockets, plus access holes for the eachbeing an assembly of a plastic float, -ì
"Set Level" bimpot and the power socket. Power cân come from a 12V AC or L5V DC (regulated) plugpack. a reed switch and a small magnet. As- I
PUMP PUMP
PU/
sume the water level is below sensor 51.
MOTOR SUPPTY
SUP
It closes to bias on transistor Q1 which Èfí&, al
8C337
energises the relay to run the pump.
socket [CON1). Another hole at one improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the F'or the prototype, the hood was
When the water level subsequently 12k
end of the box provides the "window" Iink when you are using it in a fairly made using a 15mm length of 16mm
rises to sensor 52, Q1 turns off and the
for photodiode PD1. large room that's lit with compact OD PVC conduit, This was glued to
relay opens, thereby shutting off the
As shown in the photos, a short fluorescent lamps (CFLs) - ie, when the box end [concentric with the hole)
pump. The pump runs again after the
length of PVC conduit was fitted there's a long linkpath. CFLs produce using fast-setting epoxy cement.
water level goes below sensor Sl-.
Dl:1N4004
around this hole, on the end of the a significant amount of noise at lR The battery holder, with its 4 x AA ------------I-t:---==_
T. A. Babu, AK
box, to make a light shield "hood", wavelengths and the hood stops most cells, is mounted at the other end of
Chennai,India. ($a0)
,A.Ithough not strictly necess¿üy, it does of this noise foom reaching PD1. the box. This can be held in place us-

40 Stttco¡rt Catp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEN 2OO7 73

 WemGodæ@,0
Value pF Code IEC Code EIA Code
+¿.5V 100nF 0.1pF 100n 104
47nF .047¡tF 47n 473
10nF .01pF 10n 103
2.2nF .0022¡t"F 2n2 222
1nF .001pF 1n0 102
47OpF NA 470p 471
180pF NA 180p 181
100pF NA 100p 101
15pF NA 15p 15

Once the panels have been drilled,

they can be dressed by attaching
the relevant artworks (the files can
lppn - 60/2= 30 - 0Oo0 00Ol II l0 be downloaded from the Sucott
Crm website and printed out on a
colour printer). These artworks are
attached using double-sided adhe-
sive tape. Once they are attached,
MICROCONTROLLER
they can be protected by covering
them with clea¡ self-adhesive frlm
(eg, wide sticky tape) and the holes
cut out with a shary utility knife.

Final assembly - receiver

Now for the final assembly of
the receiver. Once again, kit ver-
lpph-3ó00,/2= ì80O sions will come with a case that's
- 0l l l @O0 l0O0 pre-drilled and screen printed, If
you're not using a kit, use Fig,11
as a drilling template and attach
the front panel artwork as described
above. Iid, while the PC board is secured using nuts is frtted to the top ofthe threaded
As shown in the photos, the PC four M3 x 6mm pan-head screws. ferrule, to help hold everything se-
board is mounted on the underside The power LED (LED1) and toggle curely together.
of the lid on four M3 x 15mm tapped switch (Sr) both protrude through The two holes in the side of the box
spacers. Four M3 x 6mm countersink- matching holes in the lid. Once the accept the shaft of the volume control
A clock driver has alternating nanowatt PIC head screws secure the spacers to the PC board is in place, one of the switch (VR1J and the collar of the headphone
Low-current stable outputs driving a coil. These outputs is used, the
clock source pulse on alternate seconds, each quiescent current
Although most microcontrollers pulse reversing the coil field, turning of the whole circuit MGdroGodcs@eofu@
have a-low power 32WIz oscillator a magnetic escapement to move the can be very low. A
that ca¡ be used as a timebase, they second hand. 72F675, for instance, uses a miserly tr No. Value 4-Band Code (1%) S-Band Code (1olo)
are generally not accurate for long A CMOS divider is used to count 10nA when asleep. tr 1 2.2MA red red green brown red red black yellow brown
periods. A 1.Hz deviation amounts the 0.5H2 output and generate a The only significant increase in tr 4 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown
to a 3-seconds per day error. It also pulse on a longer timebase; for ex- consumption is for the brief time tr 1 4VkA yellow violet orangebrown yellow violet black red brown
takes some power for the oscillator ample, 60 seconds or 60 minutes. (1Oms per 2s) the transistorturns on.
block to run, anywhere from 4pA The Q outputs are ANDed together, It is possible to use the other output
tr 2 22kA red red orange brown red red black red brown

to 10p4. according to the binary value for as well for a 1Hz timebase. Although
tr 1 20kA red black orange brown red black black red brown
By using the coil driver from a each, 1000mAh AA cells will power even tr 2 10kO brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
sta¡rdard quartz clock movement, In the 60-second example, when a 100¡rA circuit for a long time, tr 1 2.0kO red black red brown red black black brown brown
the accuracy is increased and the Q1, Q2, Q3 and Qa all go high (a lowering the circuit drain does give tr 1 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
curtent decreased. Even a reason- count of 30), a short positive pulse one the option of using smaller tr 1 390e) orange white brown brown orange white black black brown
able-quality clock can keep time to results, which is both the Reset for cells. tr 1 100f¿ brown black brown brown brown black black black brown
a few minutes per year while the the 4040 and a wake-up/inte¡rupt One other advantage is that the tr 2 47A brown
yellow violet black yellow violet black gold brown
current consumption of the driver for a micro or a trigger for another woken micro doesn't have to be tr 2 33O orange orange black brown orange orange black gold brown
is around 1oonA. device. If a low-power micro like a using a slow clock. In fact, it can tr 1 10O brown black black brown brown black black gold brown

siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 39

74 Stttco¡rt Cntp
 Quiz adjudicator has no
Fig.B: here's how pushbuttons
to assemble the t\
receiver boa¡d. This is a basic 4-station quiz adjudicator with c Nt
a difference. Instead of the usual four pushbut- Ë (tû
Note how the BP1O4 ó
diode is mounted by tons which inevitably get a hammering from
soldering its leads to the contestants, this button has four holes in a
two PC pins. Make palel. All the contestants have to do is hold a
sure it's installed the finger over their respective hole in the panel.
right way around. Under each hole is a phototransistor about the
size of a 3mm LED. Hence, the holes can be
quite small,
Possibly the contesta¡rts won't get the same
adrenalin rush as when they bash a large push-
BPI04 IEADS button but at least tlere will be little chance of
SOIDERED TO
rc BOARD physical damage to the adjudicator. To make
.IERMINAI.
PINS a bid, the contestant merely has to cover their
hole in the panel, cutting off light to the photo-
transistor.
The circuit depends on a 4093 quad NAND
Schmitt trigger package. Each Schmitt trigger
gate monitors the emitter of one phototransistor,
NOTE SIDE TAG ON When all holes are uncovered, the outputs of all
BPIO4 CATHODE 1EAD
four gates are low and transistors Q5-QB a¡e all
off and their respective LEDs are off.
When a finger cuts off light to phototransis-
itwithits anode lead (the longer of the entire assembly is then slipped into the tor Q1, the transistor stops conducting and pin
two) towards IC2. bottom section ofthe case and secured 2 of IC1. is pulled low by the 2.2MQ resistor.
ne uoc'dlqcuoo¡¡ls trwrn
using four self-tapping screws that go This sends pin 3 high to turn on transistor Q5
Final assembly - transmitter through the PC board and into integral and lights LED1. At the same time, it forward
The final assembly involves little matching stand-offs in the base. biases three diodes (D1-D3) to hold pins 6, 9 &
more tha¡r installing the PC boards If you are not building from a kit, 13 high and thus prevent those gates from be-
inside their respective cases. then you will have to drill these panels ing triggered.
if you are building the unit from yourself. Fig,10 shows the drilling de- The other three gates work in exactly the same
a kit, the transmitter's front and rear tails. The best approach is to photostat way, so that the first contestalt to cover a hole in
panels will be come pre-drilled (and these diagrams ald then attach them the panel wins a¡rd blocks tlre other contestants,
with screen-printed lettering). In this to the panels so tlat they can be used The sensitivity of the circuit can be reduced if
case, it's just a matter of first slipping as drilling templates. Note that hole necessary, by reducing the 2.2MO resistors in
these panels over the LEDs and input "D" is the adjustment access hole for value. The phototransistors were L-32PC from
sockets on the PC board. That done, the trimpot VR1, Prime Electronics,
A. J. Lowe,
Bardon, Qld. ($40)

J be running at full speed. Calculations show that

C waking a fast micro for a short period uses less
power than waking a slow micro for a longer pe-
O¡- riod, given that the same number of instruction
=o cycles is needed to perform the task it was woken
@
I
for. Some tasks, like sending a burst of data, will z
=
+H be over much quicker with a fast micro a¡d will ñ
Ed
rú
therefore save more power over a¡rd above the
instruction time savings.
I
ô
¡-
The remains of the clock can also be re-used;
s After the d¡iver PC board has been removed, the
coil and gearbox can be driven by a micro, using
two reciprocating outputs. One application might
be for a big stopwatch.
foe Colquitt,
New Lynn, ,{,uckland, NZ.

38 StLtco¡rt Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEï 2OO7

 switchmode regulator, and it drives vides a voltage at pin B for compari-
Buck & boost Mosfet Q3 in the step-down mode son with the reference at pin 15 of
regulator while Mosfet Q4 is used in the step- the TL494 for current limiting. The
This circuit accepts 1,2Y or 24V up mode. output current limit is set at 2.54,
from a vehicle's electrical system Q3 is held hard on during the mainly restricted by the maximum
and delivers 13.8V to the load. It step-up function while Q4 is held current through the MAX471. The
consists of step-up and step-down off during the step-down mode. The zener diodes are placed to protect
switchmode circuits. The change 74HCO2 quad NOR gate controls the circuit from voltage transients in
between the two modes is controlled both these Mosfets and directs the the input electrical system. TO-22o
by op amp IC1 which is connected switching signals from the TL494 flag heatsinks are sufficient for D1,
as a comparator. Trimpot VR1 sets accordingly. Q3 and Q4.
the changeover point. The MAX471.,IC4, is a high-side Gregory Freeman,
The heart of the circuit is IC2, the current monitoring chip and pro- Mount Barker, SA. ($60)

Doorbell circuit with ment. This charges

a 1O¡rF capacitor via
zero standby current a 22OÇl resistor and MELODY
This circuit allows the use of a the resultant voltage BUZZER

melody buzzq with a pushbutton applied to the gate of

switch, Normally, a melody btzzer FET Q1 turns it on
is not suitable for a pushbutton so that power is ap- QI
2N7000
switch because the switch has to plied to the melody añf-âr-d Llñk .D-
^udaê
be closed for the entire duration of t¡:uzzet.
the meÌody. This circuit solves that The 1MQ resistor 2N2000
ö
problem by using a FET with a delay gives a time-con-
network in its gate circuit. stant of 10s and the Ð The completed transmitter PC board is installed in a low-profile instrument case and secured using four self-
Powered by a 9V battery, the resultant on time of about 15s is ¡(4 tapping scre*s that go into integral mounting posts in the base. We used IC sockets for the prototype but you
circuit draws no cunent until the suffrcient to allow the melody to be T. A. Babu, can solder the ICs directly to the PC board.
pushbutton is pressed for a mo- played right through, Chennai, India. (gaOì

and power switch S1. Follow these by Fig.B). Be sure to instaìl this part the Finally, LED1 can be mounted in
t installing PC pins at the A & K posi- right way around. Its cathode lead has position. This part must be mounted
tions for PD1 (the 8P104 photodiode) a small tag, as shown on its pin-out with 13mm lead lengths, so that it
and at the power suppÌy inputs. diagram in Fig.4. will later protrude through the lid
The 8P104 photodiode can now It's also vital to install this device of the case. A 13mm wide cardboard
be installed by soldering its leads to with its sensitive front side facing out template makes a handy spacer when
its PC pins (see side-view diagram in from the PC board. mounting this LED. Be sure to orientate

hffiGdbffi@otuffita@
tr No, Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Code (1%)
I 2 2.2Ma red red green brown red red black yellow brown
E 2 100kO brown black yellowbrown brown black black orange brown
tr 4 47kA brown
yellow violet orange yellow violet black red brown
tr 2 22kA red red orange brown red red black red brown
tr 1 20kO red black orange brown red black black red brown
E 1 12kO brown red orange brown brown red black red brown
Ltd www.peakelec.co.uk
So now you have even more reasons
tr 1 5.6kO green blue red brown green blue black brown brown
bution published will entitle the author to
choose the prize: an LCR40 LCR meter, to send that brilliant circuit in. Send it
tr 1 4.7kA brown
yellow violet red yellow violet black brown brown

As you can see, we pay good money a DCA55 Semiconductor Component to SrLrcoN CHrp and you could be a tr 1 2.4kA red yellow red brown red yellow black brown brown

for each of the "Circuit Notebook" items Analyser, an ESR60 Equivalent Series wtnner.
tr 1 2.0kO red black red brown red black black brown brown
published in Srucoru CHIp. But nowthere Resistance Analyser or an SCR100 You can either email your idea to tr 3 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
are four more reasons to send in your Thyristor & Triac Analyser, with the [email protected] or post it to tr 1 270A red violet brownbrown red violet black black brown
circuit idea. Each month, the best contri- compliments of Peak Electronic Design PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. tr 2 47A brown
yellow violet black yellow violet black gold brown

76 sil,tcoN cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 37

 @aerer@ffi@"D
Value pF Code IEC Code EIA Code
220nF 0.22¡tF 220n 224
100nF 0.1pF 100n 104
10nF .01pF 10n 103
3.3nF .0033¡rF 3n3 332
2.2nF .0022¡tF 2n2 222
nF .001¡rF n0
1 1 102 I
ø
c)
Ø
680pF NA 680p 681 ,Ù ôA
OJ

470pF NA 470p 471

OJ
Ø

!)
are secured to the PC board using an <l
M3 x 6mm machine screw, nut and o
lock washer.
6

Mounting the LEDs € à

o
As can be seen on Fig.7 and in the Ef N-É
photos, LEDsl-7 are all mounted with <i
:
t..t
F

LEDs tTD¿ \-/ their leads bent down through 90", = vQ)

î fìA KÎf'lA Bc32s This is done so that the LED bodies

later protrude through their matching
hoies in the front panel.
In each case, it's simply a matter of
Fig.7: install the parts on the transmitter board as shown here, taking care to bending the leads down through g0'
6
ensure that all polarised parts are correctly orientated. Below is a full-size exactly Smm from the LED's body,
photo ofthe assembled PC board. then installing the LED with its leads
Bmm above the PC board (see photo).
(Y)
Make sure that each LED is conectly o
orientated - the anode lead is the
ì.onger of the two. v)

The easiest way to get the LED à

lead spacings correct is to cut two Ø
o
- one 5mm wide
cardboard templates Ê
and the other Bmm wide. The Smm c)
template is then used as a lead bend- a
ing guide, r¡'hile the Bmm template is .d
used to correctÌy space the LEDs off Ø

the board. F
ô
The transmitter board assembly can \ N.:
now be completed by installing the ô
N
E: two RCA connectors (CON1 & CON2)
F (Éã
and the DC power socket (CON3).
-(]r
Receiver board assembly ö-€ o;
Fig.B shows the assembly details for E=rå
iO c>
C> N> Ëtr
-- r.\ > ô.-:
the receiver board. Once again, begin {- Nh
by soldering in the resistors and the
srnall non-polarised capacitors, then Y >ã
install the larger electrolytics and F\
o -6)
the ICs. Note that the large 22OO1.F
o
.o
x ßE t!D
electrolytic capacitor is mounted on I oc)
ô Ø'15
its side. with its leads bent down
through g0'. øZ
Note also that the ICs are all differ- 'gá
'= <í
ent, so don't mix them up. Take care to gãä
ensure they are correctly orientated. o0)
Once the ICs are in, install the voì- Ftr
ume pot (VR1), the headphone socket

36 StLtcoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 77

 filter circuitry. This comprises pas-
sive 4TkQlLBopF and lookQ/1oopF
RC filter stages, voltage follower IC3b,
active low-pass filter stage IC3a and Sourcel
finally, a4.7¡tF coupling capacitor and GB
a 1kQ/1OnF passive fiìter connecting to cH3
the top of volume control VR1.
0perator
As a resuÌt, the signaJ. appearing
across VR1 is a very clean replica of
the original audio signal fed into the
transmitter unit.
Source2
IC4 is the audio amplifier output
stage and is based on an LM3B6N. It
amplifies the signal from the volume cH4
controÌ (VR1) and drives a stereo
t)
!)-t
phone jack via a pair of 33Q current
limiting resistors (one to the tip and Â:fD Fra(uriil(;y {1. U94kl-lz

one to the ring). rl:fD RHc l.Zil!

FinaÌly, the receiver is powered from
c:€È Rtls tì. :l0v
D:ãê | r (ì(tuerìoy tìu. ti?kt1z
a 6V battery consisting of four A,\ cells Edge i
connected in series, These cells can be
ct Ha
either standard alkaline primary cells fs -3. fs -13.1
or rechargeable NiMH (or Nicad) cells l?:36:5?
ifyou prefer, The average current drain
is typically around 2omA, so everl
ordinary alkaline cells should give at
least B0-100 hours of listening.

Construction
Building the SntcoN Csp Infrared
Audio Link is straightforward, with
all the parts mounted on ti,t'o PC
boards - one for the transmitter (code
01.1.1.2071) and one for the receiver
(code 01112O72). The transmitter
boa¡d fits inside a standard Ìow-profile
ÄBS instrument box measuring 140 x
110 x 35mm, whiie the receiver board
goes inside a standard UB3-size jiffy
box [130 x 68 x 44mm), along with its
4xAA cell battery pack.
Fig.7 shows the assembly details for
the transmitter unit. Begin by install-
ing the resistors ald diodes D1-D4, tak-
ing care to ensure that the latter are all
correctly oriented. An accompanying
obtain the soLar cell and you also will table shows the resistor colour codes
Last month, we published the circuit of the have some spare parts such as a white but you should also check each resis-
Water Tank Level Meter and described how LED driver, a white LED and garden tor using a digital multimeter before
light hardware components. instalìing it, just to make sure.
it worked. This month, we show you how to Typically single soÌar $arden lights Next, install the small ceramic and
build both the basic and telemetry versions cost around $10. Don't be tempted to
get the multi-pack solar garden lights
monolithic capacitors, then install
trimpot VR1, transistor Q1 and the
.40

and detail the installation. that sell for around $5 or less per light. electrolytic capacitors. Make sure that 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k

Fig.6: this graph plots the audio frequency response of the system. Note that a
These generally use lower quality the electrolytics and transistors all go
Both the basic and telemetry ver- small amount of treble boost is applied from about lkHz (rising to a maximum
a 433MHz transmitter module and solar cells. in the right way around.
of zdB at BkHz) to improve intelligibility on speech.
sions of the Water Tank Level Meter two BCD rotary switches. It also uses Before removing the parts, it's a Follow these parts with the five ICs.
usethesamePCboard(code 041'1'1'071', parts that are salvaged from a soÌar good idea to first charge the NiMH or Be sure to use the correct IC type ai
104 x 79mm). This is housed in a 115 iurd.n light, These Include the solar NiCd cell by placing ihe garden light each location ald again check that they ReguJ.ator REG1 is next on the list. bend the regulator's leads down by
x 90 x 55mm sealed polycarbonate ãell, a single AA NiMH or NiCd cell in the sun for a few hours. Don't forget are all oriented correctly. IC sockets As shown, this is fitted with a small 90o about Smm from the device body
enclosure with a clear lid. and the Schottky diode which is used to remove the insulation tab from the were used on the prototype but we U-shaped heatsink and mounted flat (use a pair of needle-nose pliers to grip
Basically,thetelemetryversionuses for diode D2. battery before doing this, otherwise it suggest that you solder the ICs directly board.
against the PC the leads while you bend them). That
a handful of extra parts, among them This is by far the cheapest way to wiÌ1 never charge. to the PC board. Thecorrectprocedurehereistofirst done, the regulator and its heatsink

78 StLtcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 35

 ,,ã\ \R3 l0k
Fig.10 (below): this diagram shows
@ F.l the board layout ifyou use an RGB
LED with a different pin-out to the
|aycar ZD-OO1,2. Note the changes to
two of the 1kf) resistors,

É
AMPTIFIER

L zzoo"r
róv
4.7¡[ Ik T STEREO
PHONE
I 470ú JACK

WATER TANK

I.OW.PASS FITTER 47Opt Fig.9: follow this parts layout diagram to build the basic version of the Water
Table 2= Eapacitor Codes
ï ï Level Meter. The pressure sensor is shown mounted on the board here but Value pF Gode IEC Code EIA Code
could also be in installed in a separate box that sits on the bottom ofthe tank.
100nF 0.1pF 100n 104
AUDIO OUTPUT
10nF .01trF 10n
#, IIITRAREII AUIII|| RECEIUER 103

Fig.4: the receiver circuit. Photodiode PD1 picks up the incoming PWM IR signal and IClb converts the resulting
current pulses to voltage pulses, ICla then amplifies these voltage pulses, while IC2 is the limiter, The resulting Table 1: Resistor Colour Codes
PWM signal from the limiter is then fed to low-pass filter stages IC3b & IC3a and finally to audio amplifier stage IC4.
tr N0. Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Code (1%)
tr 1 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown
gular waveform of the same frequency. then fed to 3-terminal regulator REGL fed directly to pin 3 of IC2.
tr 3 22kA red red orange brown red red black red brown
This triangular wave is then fed direct- to produce a 12V DC supply rail. IC2 is an LM311 comparator and is tr 2 10kO brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
ly to the inverting input of comparator used here as the limiter. Note that its tr 1 2.2kA red red red brown red red black brown brown
IC5, to sample and convert the audio Receiver circuit non-inverting input (pin 2) is biased tr 1 1.8kO brown grey red brown brown grey black brown brown
signal into ihe PWM pulse stream. OK, so much for the transmitter to half the suppÌy voltage using the tr 7 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
ICS's PWM output appears at pin circuit. Let's take a look now at the same voltage divider (2 x 22kQ resis- tr 1 330Cl orange orange brown brown orange orange black black brown
7 and is used to drive transistor Q1 receiver circuit - see Fig,4, tors) that's used to bias ICla and IC1b.
(BC32Bl. This in turn drives series- In operation, the transmitted PWM This ensures that the pulses from ICla
connected infrared LEDs (LEDs1-3 infrared signals are picked up by PIN are compared with a voltage level cor-
& LEDss-7), along with LED4 (green) photodiode PD1 (8P104). This device responding to their own average DC
which serves as a"power on" indica- produces output current pulses in level. And that in turn ensures that the Once that's done, you can remove sor 1 and holes for the cable ties that ing the six wire links, then instaìl the
tor, The 47Q resistor in series with the response to the incoming IR signals limiter "squares up" the pulse stream the solar cell, the rechargeable -AÂ are used to secure inductor L1, That resistors. Table 1 shows the resistor
LED string limiis the peak pulse cur- and these are then fed to the invert- in a symmetrical fashion. cell and the 1N5819 Schottky diode done, check that the PC board is cut colour codes but you should also use a
rent to around 45m4, resulting in al ing input (pin 6) of op amp IClb. The In addition, the 2.2MO feedback (or equivalent). and shaped to size so that it flts into digital multimeter to check each resis-
average current drain for the complete non-inverting input (pin 5) of IClb resistor and the 1OkO resistor in series the box. torbecause the colours can sometimes
transmitter circuit of about 25m4. is biased to half-suppÌy (ie, a,5V) by with the bias for IC2 together provide a Board assembly Fig.9 shows the parts layout diagram be difficult to decipher.
two 22kQ resistors connected in series small amoult of positive feedback hys- Begin construction by checking for the basic version, while Fig.11 Note that if you are using the faycar
Transmitter power supply across the 9V supply rail. teresis, to ensure clean switching, the PC board for any defects such as shows the PC layout for the telemetry RGB LED, then the 1kQ resistors im-
Power for the transmitter circuit IClb operates as an active I/V Because the LM311's output (pin shorted tracks or breaks in the tracks. version. It's just a matter of following mediately to the left of the cell holder
is derived from a 12V AC or 15V DC (current-to-voltage) converter. In op- 7) is an open collector, it must be It's rare to frnd such defects these days the diagram for the version you are are installed as shown in Figs.9 & 11.
plugpack. This feeds diode bridge D1- eration, it converts the input current provided with a resistive pull-up but it's always a good idea to make sure building. However, if you are using a different
D4 which rectifies the output from an pulses to voltage pulses which appeaÌ Ìoad. This is provided by power-on as it's usually easier to spot aly defects Note that if you build the basic ver- RGB LED that has the alternative pin-
AC plugpack. Alternatively, the bridge at its pin 7 output. These pulses are indicator LED1, together with its 390O before the parts are installed. sion, this can later be upgraded to the out, the resistors must be connected
rectifier allows a DC plugpack to be then coupled via a 2.2nF capacitor to series resistor. Check also that the hole sizes are telemetry version simply by adding the as shown in Fig.10,
used with either polarity, op amp stage ICla which operates with The restored PWM pulse stream correct, The four corner mounting extra parts, The software for the PIC Next, install PC stakes at test points
The output from the bridge rectifier a gain of -10. The resulting amplified appears at pin 7 of IC2 and is then holes should all be 3mm in diameter, micro is the same for both versions. TP1-TP6, at either end of the ceil
is filtered using a 1000pF capacitor and output pulses appeil at pin 1 and are fed through the receiver's Ìow-pass as should the mounting holes for Sen- Begin the board assembly by install- holder position and at the termination
34 StttcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEî 2OO7 7S
 u>- ô
<q4 3a 8a t.\_ zo'
Õd
U:
¡õ8
q9E
,Zã\ VR3 I OK
iÉ aã
d ñ-Ë b

POWER
r;êr
c-+ roo ËÞF
.ôñ 3:
LEADS l
EXIT VIA o
CABI.E
GIAND ôa
\ -
.â¡FE
>h !e

õA U: zo
q:
HOÞ*

\ JAYCAR 3= =H: e
ã¡ Eã
xn
^1>
oo
TO zD4o\2 õN cÉÅ.^ø
sotAR RGB
i: u |.:
cEt-Ls tTD JH'' Éä
u:>
H

N
@
i> Jl ø É- X
t.\ åã
6
o u - É,t
433MHz 3 <à
.IRANSMIT U l
ô Êì Ë-*Ëx
3 r.=
o
.ltlo MODUI.E
ã
N\
I\ \$ õ iri
lô :I o\
ô\ ='=
:l- o v\ 6^:È oo
I ts
TUBE TO
l0k o-l
WATER TANK @ VENT IANK rD] IENCoDE)
C.Fi

E.9d
fENTERS VIA o
CABI.E GLAND) ñrÉQ
tr!93
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N
Fig,11: this is the parts layout for the telemetry version of the Water Level Meter. It basically adds the 433MHz O!!
transmitter module, two BCD switches, diode D2, jumper shunt LK1, a 1kQ resistor and two 100nF capacitors
<- b: bE
b x >'-
oo:
l_lr oo?oõ -q
while IC3 (the PIC micro) should be oc
This is the fully-assembled installed using a socket. Take care \> oi'-ê 5
PC board. Note how the
YÀ
.IËF..
with the orientation of each IC and Eco;cy
pressure sensor is mounted
the socket. !âo!o
and the method used to EEb.9
attach the l7Omm-long Don't plug IC3 onto its socket
oØ>Ø
¡r'- cË tr(É
antenna. vet - that step comes later, after c0¡ >
the power supply has been ø9! tË
checked. r!= cd p
î^,Á = >
.=¡í
A 4-way single-in-line (SIL) M'n
socket is used for the pressure
sensor connection. This can be È 9cf. õ
l_lr fdiâÐri
made by cutting off one side of an
B-pin IC socket to obtain the 4-way
c
:?U Ê
E
: ä-:¿¡i
U iri F(Ð -
socket stlip. f h inõ0J!
The capacitors are next on the list.
ø
U lr "¡ o,Æ P
ãÊ:È
Note that the electrolJ¡tic types must be
I
'ãã3ç
oriented as shown. Note also that there
U
o
-cD Fo-i
:È- u o:i
are two types of 100nF capacitors: ^u
!fl
Lô
- L:
>ô
the rectangular MKT types and the ù
ã ô< É .Ê !äg
ceramic disc-shaped types. Be sure to ts t.
ìo F _, oJ=¿
install the 10OnF ceramic capacitor(s) è
= fi() ct E.iù=
in the positions shown.
Follow these with transistor Q1, the
-N
O-Ã
a
- ãE Pä
! d ø=
LM335Z temperature sensor (Sensor 2) -_ô
I
() -- ijooØ
and trimpots VR1-VR4. Note that it's a o
O-+
o!!
zz E
E
: irò!E L
-È.^Ø oô:
good idea to orient the multi-turn trim- ià
points for inductor L1. That done, in- sion, install an additional PC stake to pots as shown (ie, screw adjustments
>n v:
ôu
-l
Ê o+
.o.= : F
stall a couple ofPC stakes at top right terminate the antenna lead - this goes to the right) so that the sensor signal
U> T* É
E
to terminate the leads fol switch 51 in immediately to the bottom left of the from IC2c increases the adjustments
as I' O*
@
e
(basic version only). Alternativelv, fit transmitter mo dule.
43 3}.llHz (wipers) are turned cLockwise. -
I OJ -* >õ
HË
a 2-way pin header to these PC stakes Follow these parts wiih diode D1 Be sure to use the correct value H ÉË E 3
if you are building the telemetry ver- (and Dz for the telemetry version), trimpot in each position. Trimpots are c¡Þ
sion (see Fig.11). then install the ICs. IC1 & ICZ can usually marked with a code instead Y-
o
o
CâÑ ó.iñE
=-
If you are building the teÌemetry ver- be directly soldered to the PC board, of the actual value. This means that

BO SILIcoN CruIp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 33

 output current is then through a cur-
AUDIO rent-to-voltage (I/V) converter and am-
SIGNAT
plifier stage (IC1b & ICla) to boost its
level. The resulting pulse waveform is a
then fed through a limiter stage [IC2) to
90kHz
TRIANGUI.AR
produce a stream ofclean, rectangular
WAVE pulses of constant amplitude.
Next, the pulses are fed through
a multi-stage low-pass filter (IC3b &
IC3a) to remove all traces of the 90kHz
PWM
OUTPUT
sampling/modulating signal. This
simply leaves the audio signal which
was carried in the average signal level
(AVERAGE of the pulses.
vAtuEl
From there, the recovered audio
passes to a volume control pot and
Fig.2: this diagram illustrates how the audio signal that's fed into the finallyto a small audio amplifier (ICa)
tra¡rsmitter is compared to a 00kHz triangular waveform (the sampling to drive the headphones.
signal) to produce the pulse width modulated (PWM signal). As shown,
Power for the receiver circuit comes
the PWM ouþut is high when the audio signal level is higher than the
sampling signal. from four AA cells, which can be of ei- 1. Tri-colour LED
ther alkaline or NiMH rechargeables.
2.433MH2 transmitter
Circuit description 3. Encode/update switch
4-pole low-pass filter (IC1a & IC4a), rator, while the higher frequency red Refer now to the full circuit for the 4. Tank select switch
which sharply rolls off the response triangular wave shows the sampling transmitter - see Fig.3. As shown, the
5. Pressure sensor
just above L2kllz. signal fed to the comparator's nega- incoming line level stereo signals are
This is done for two reasons, First, tive input, mixed together using two 47kO resis- 6. N|MH or NiCd cell
ifyou are partially deaf, signals above In operation, the comparator's out- tors, while trimpot VR1 sets the level.
1.2k}lz are not much use anyway. put is highwhen the audio signal level The resulting mono signal is then fed o
And second, it prevents any spurious is higher than the 90kHz sampling to op amp stage IClb which operates
"alias" signals lrom being generated signal. Conversely, the comparator's with a gain of 23, as set by the 22kÇ)
during the digital modulation proc- output is low when the sampling sig- and tkQ feedback resistors,
ess - which is equivalent to digital nal's level is the higher of the two. A Next, the signal is passed through
sampling. We are using a fairly high switching transition occurs when ever op amps ICla and IC4a which form a
sampling frequency of about 90kHz the two waveforms cross. 4-pole low-pass filter [or two 2-pole The in-tank tube from the pressure sensor emerges through a cable gland
which tends to reduce aliasing but the The resulting PWM output wave- active filters in cascade, to be more in the side of the case, while the solar cell cable ru¡s through a second
ìow-pass filtering is also worthwhile form ftom the comparator is shown precise). Together, these roll off the cable gland in the botton ofthe case.
because it ensures that virtually no as the lower black waveform. response above 12kHz. T}'e filtered
signal frequencies above 15kHz are Note that the comparator output is a signal then emerges from pin 1 of IC4a
fed to the modulator. stream of 90kHz pulses, with the pulse and is fed directly to the non-inverting
widths varying in direct proportion to input of comparator IC5. the 50kCl trimpot (VR1) may have a be secured in place using two M3 x 15 board, so be sure to match them up.
90kHz sampling signal the audio signal amplitude. The aver- The 1B0kHz "twice sampling clock" "503" marking, the 10kç¿ trimpots screws and nuts. The a¡rtenna is made using a 17Omm
Next, the audio is fed directly to age value ofthe pulse stream is directly signal is generated by IC2b, a 40938 (VR3 & VR4l may be marked as "103" The,\A cell holder can be instaÌled length of hookup wire which is sol-
the non-inverting input of a compara- proportional to the instantaneous CMOS Schmitt NAND gate wired and the lkO trimpot may be marked now. It's secured to the PC board using dered to the antenna PC stake (im-
tor (IC5) where it is compared with a value of the incoming audio, as shown as a simple relaxation oscillator. A as "1,O2". two No.4 self-tapping screws, That mediately to the left of the transmit-
90kHz trialgular wave "sampling" sig- by the dark blue dashed curve. 12kQ resistor and 6B0pF capacitor done, wire the ceII holder's leads to ter module). As shown, it's then fed
nal on the inverting input. This 90kHz Referring back to Fig.1, this PWM set the operating frequency. This is Installing Sensor 1 the adjacent PC stakes, through three holes in the PC board
triangular wave signal is generated by pulse stream is fed to a PNP switch- not particularly critical, although for Sensor 1 can either be installed to hold it in position.
feeding a 1BOkHz clock signal into a ing transistor which drives a string of best performance it should be between directÌy on the PC board or it can be Telemetry version parts AÌternatively, for long-range trans-
D-type flipflop. This then produces a IR-emitting LEDs. As a result, the digi- 16OkHz and 200kHz (corresponding to mounted in a separate box and sub- If you are building the telemetry missions over 50m, the altennashould
very symmetrical square-wave signal tised audio is converted into a stream a sample frequency of eo-rookHz). mersed in the water tank (see Fig.1a). version, the next step is to install the be made using a 17Omm-long length
at half the clock frequency, or 90kHz. of IR light pulses, directed towards the Flipflop stage IC3a is used to divide In the latter case, it's connected back BCD switches. Note that these have of 1mm enamelled copper wire. This
This 90kHz signal is buffered and receiver unit. the clock pulses by two and generate to the PC board via a 4-way cable. an orientation dot that must be posi- wire is stripped of insulation at one
fed through an active integrator stage the symmetrical 90kHz sçluare wave. If you elect to install it on the PC tioned as shown. In addition, be sure end a¡rd soldered to the antenna PC
which converts it into a linear and very Receiver block diagram Its output at pin 1 is then passed board, you first have to bend the leads to install the 0-9 position switch in the stake. It then protrudes through a small
symmetrical triangular wave. The receiver is even simpler than through Schmitt NÁ.ND gates IC2a, down through g0' so that they can BCD1 position and the 0-F switch in hole in the side of the box.
But how does the comparator use the transmitter because of the fact that IC2c & IC2d which are connected in be inserted into the 4-way SIL socket the BCD2 position. '
this 90kHz triangular wave to convert the average value of the PWM pulse paralÌel as a buffer. The buffer output strip. However, take care to orient the Once these parts are in, install the Finishing up
the audio signal into a PWM stream? stream varies in direct proportion to is then coupled via a 100nF capacitor sensor correctly. It must be installed 433MHz transmitter module (it goes in Inductor L1 is made by winding 27
To see how this works, take a look at the audio modulation. to op amp IC4b. with its notched pin to the right and just below the RGB LED). Make sure turns of 0.Smm enamelled copperwire
the waveforms of Fig.2. Here the green As shown in Fig.1.þ), a silicon PIN IC4b is configured as an active in- with the type markings for the sensor this part is correctly oriented - the onto an iron-powdered toroid core.
sinewave represents the audio signal photodiode is used to detect the IR tegrator to convert the 90kHz square- (MPXZ01ODP) visible on top. pin designations are labelled on both Wind the turns on evenly around the
fed to the positive input of the compa- pulse stream from the transmitter. Its wave into a linear symmetrical trian- Once the sensor is in position, it cal the transmitter PC board and the main toroid, then scrape away the enamel

32 StucoN Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 81.

 bing wiÌl have to be removed where the
I.INE
nut for the pressure sensor cable gland TEVET
is located, so it can sit flat against the INPUTS
side of the box. You can use a sharp
chisel or a file to remove these. For
the telemetry version, an extra cable
gland is required for the solar ceÌl Ìead
and this can be mounted on the end
of the box. 90kHz
A small hole must also be drilled in SAUARE
the box to allow the air pressure inside WAVE

to vary in line with the atmospheric

pressure (this air pressure is applied
to the P2 port ofthe pressure sensor).
The exact hole position will depend on
your particular installation. Basically,
it must be located on the lowest face SET-TOP TRANSMITTER
of the box, so that rainwater cannot Fig.l(a): how the transmitter works. The left and right channel audio
enter it. A hole with a diameter of just signals are converted to mono, amplified and fed to comparator stage IC5
1.Smm is required. where they are compared to a 90kHz triangle wave (the sampling sígrral).
Finally, a diffuser should be at- The resulting P\4IM signal then drives transistor QL to pulse a string of
tached to the inside top of the lid infrared (IR) LEDs,
above the RGB LED. This makes the
colours more obvious by blending the HEADPHONES

Here's another view of the assembled PC board. Don't get the individual red, green and blue spots
mixed up and be sure to orient them correctly. of colour from the RGB LED.
A suitable diffuser can be made
using a translucent strip cut from a
at the wire ends using a sharp hobby (3J Switch on, press 51 and adjust plastic A4 folder, This can be afflxed
knife and tin them with solder. trimpot VR3 for a reading of 1.0V on inside the lid using clear silicone seal-
L1 should now be secured in place the multimeter. ant. Alternatively, you can diffuse the
using two cable ties, as shown in the (4) Connect the multimeter between inside area of the lid just above the LED Fig.l(þ): at the receiver, the transmitted signal is picked up by an IR
layout diagrams. Once it's in posi- TP2 & TP5 and adjust trimpot VR4 for by using some flne-grade sandpaper to diode and the resulting current pulses converted to voltage pulses (and
tion, solder its leads to the adjacent amplified) by IClb & ICLa. This amplified pulse waveform is then fed
a reading of z,gBV when the ambient roughen up the transparent surface, through a limiter and filtered to recover the audio waveform. This is then
PC stakes. temperature is 25'C degrees, You can thereby making it translucent. fed via volume control VR1 to an audio output amplifier (IC4).
Next, for the basic version, connect also make this adjustment at any ambi-
switch 51 to the 2-pin header. Alter- ent temperature by setting VR4 so the Installation
natively, for the telemetry version, reading is 2.73Y plus the temperature The Water Tank Level Meter can
instaÌl a jumper shunt over the 2-pin divided by 100. either be attached directly to the tank phones are plugged in, the speakers and/or their headband, so it can't be most of these extraneous sounds, mak-
header ald connect switch S1 between For example, if the ambient tem- or mounted on a nearby wall. Which are disabled. used with any other headphones. That ing the speech much easier to discern,
TP1 and TP3. perature is 15"C, the voltage should be ever method you choose, it must be That's fine for you but no good means you're stuck with the ones you In addition, we have applied a small
adjusted to 2.73V plus 0.15V or 2.BBV. mounted so that it is always out of the for everyone else. In any case, being get and in most cases, they are not the amount of treble boost to the audio
Testing Table 3 provides all the values, to save direct sun. This is necessary to prevent hooked up to the TV via a long cable "surround-your-ears" muff type. Nor signal which further improves intel-
To test the unit, first insert a charged you doing the calculations yourself, the temperature sensor reading exces- has its own problems: you can forget do they have any acoustic damping. ligibility on speech - see Fig.6.
NiMH (or Nicad) or alkaline cell into (5) Remove the cell and disconnect sively high and producing incorrect to take 'em off when you get up for a As a result, you not only have to There's one more bonus with using
the holder and connect a multimeter the short between TP1 & TP3 for the temperature compensation. comfort break or someone else cal trip throttle back your hearing aid to stop mono sound - it also simplifies the
between test points TP1 arrd TP2. That basic version. The positioning also depends on on the cable when they move about it from whistling but the headphones circuit considerably.
done, set the multimeter to read volts (6) Install IC3 into its socket, making your tank and whether you have buiÌt the room, allow quite a lot of competing sounds
and press switch 51 if you built the sure it is oriented correctly, then re- the basic or the telemetry version. For to enter as well. How it works
basic version (pressing S1 is not neces- insert the cell. the telemetry version, the unit also Cordless headphones So that's the reasoning behind the The method of transmission is
sary for the telemetry version), (z) Check that the RGB LED now lights needs be positioned so that the base A much better solution is to use development of this project-bybuild- simple and effective. Basically, the
Now adjust trimpot VR1 for a read- for two seconds when switch 51 is station can receive the transmitted sig- "cordless" headphones, either via a ing it, you get to choose the best type signal is transmitted using pulse-
ing of S.0V. When that's correct, check pressed with either version. If this nal. In this case, we suggest you build UHF or infoared link. This means that of headphones. However, there is one width modulation (or PWMJ. This
that 5V is also present between pins does not happen, check that the RGB the Base Station to be described next you have a transmitter or sender unit more feature - it works in mono only. converts the audio signal directly into
14 & 5 of IC3's socket. LED is oriented correctly. month before deciding on a mounting that sits on the top of the TV, plus This has been done deliberately be- a pulse stream of constant frequency
You now need follow this step-by- position for the'meter. a small battery-operated receiver to cause stereo sound is a real drawback but with the pulse width varying with
step set-up procedure: Final assembly Note that the box has four mount- drive the headphones at your end. to those who have troubÌe making out the instantaneous amplitude of the
(1) Switch off a¡rd insert IC3 into socket If you buy a kit for this unit, then ing points that are effectively outside Of course, IR-linked cordless head- speech from the TV. audio signal.
(make sure it's oriented conectly). the box will be supplied with all the the box's sealed section but which are phones are available commercially This applies particularly to those Fig.1(al shows the method, First, the
(2) Connect a multimeter between test holes drilled. If not, you wiII have to covered by the lid. It's simply a mat- and these can give you some improve- films, documentaries and sportcasts left and right stereo signals a¡e mixed
points TP2 & TP4, drill the holes yoursetf, Fig.12 shows ter of removing the lid to access these ment, But there are drawbacks, the where there is a lot of background mu- together to give a mono signal. This
(3) If you have the basic version, con- the drilling details. mounting holes, main one being that the receiver unit sic or other sounds. By using a mix of signal is then passed through an input
nect a link between TP1 and TP3. Note that some of the internal rib- By the way, do not drill holes is built into the actual earphones the left and right channels, we cancel amplifier stage (IClb) and then via a
BZ Sntco¡tt Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 31
 x
o
ó
L
o
Þ
4
fd
q
ì
I
E
l2mm Dl,Àlv{EIER o
HOIE FOR,CABIE U
GIáND FORTUBING
ô
INÍO PI OF SENSORI

lnfrared Audio Link Tnnsmitter

ooo c
FOWER
eec
I
23+J
¡
I
IUPPER PART OF BOXI

lig,72t follow this diagram to

mark out and drill the holes in
the plastic case. Alternatively, you
cal photostat the diagram and use
the various sections as drilling
Do you have trouble understanding what's being said on the TV? rf¡D To sot¡R cEus
templates. The holes are best made
by first using a small pilot drill and
Do you need the volume cranked up too loud for everyone else? Do then carefully enlarging them to
you have a hearing aid as well? If you said yes to any other these IrowER END OF LOWER PART OF BOXI
size using a tapered reamer.

questions, here is your answer: an infrared transmitter and receiver

to let you listen to the TV sound via headphones. That way, you can
listen as loudly as you like, without disturbing anyone else. anywhere in a concrete tank, as this
can cause cracks that can leak. By
screws into the timber (make sure that
these screws are short, so that they
should face north towards the midday
sun, to ensure best performance.
contrast, plastic and steel tanks cal cannot possibly go all the way through In practice, this means tilting the
TT HAPPENS all the time. One of the the street and people washing up the The result is comfortable listening have mounting holes drilled in the top the timber and into the tank). cell away fiom the horizontal (in a
Iolder members of the household is dishes, to list just a few irritations. at a volume level that's right for you, cover but not the sides, Plastic tanks northerly directionJ by about your
getting a bit deaf and needs the TV The real answer is to listen via where you can hear ald understand also generally have lifting attachment Solar cell mounting latitude plus 15'. The tilt angles for
sound turned well up. But then it is headphones - preferably good "sur- everything that's being said. points and you can either drill into In most cases, you can use the major Australian and NZ cities are
too loud for everyone else. It's worse round your ears" muff-type head- these sections or use the existing lift- stainless steel surround supplied as follows: 27" ft Darwin, 42" lor
at night when people go to bed but phones which not only deliver the Headphone jack ing hole for mounting. with the solar-powered garden light Brisbane, 46" for Perth, 49o for Sydney
one family memberwants to watch the wanted sounds directly to your ears Some TV sets do have earphone If you want to mount the box on t}le as its mounting bracket, A convenient and Adelaide, 51o for ,\uckland, 52'
Iate-night movie - or whatever, and hearing aid[s) but also cut back jacks, so you could simply fit a pair side of the tank, the best approach is mounting location is on top of the for Melbourne, 56o for Wellington and
The problem can be even worse if the competing sounds at the same of stereo headphones with their own to first secure two 19 x 19 x 120mm water tank itself, provided it receives 57o for Hobart.
you have a hearing aid because it also time. And if you pick the right kind volume control (if necessary), plus a hardwood batons to the tank using adequate sunlight. The lead between the solar cell and
tends to pick up extraneous noises - of headphones with some acoustic long cord and plug to mate with the builders' adhesive or silicone sealant. Alternatively, you can mount the the Water Level Meter should be run
coughs, heater fans, a radio in another damping in the earmuffs, they don't jack on the TV, But many sets do not These should be spaced to match the solar cell on the house (or shed) roof, using single-core microphone cable,
room, toilets flushing, planes flying cause your hearing aid(s) to feed back have a headphone jack and many that box's mounting holes. The box can or even install it on the ground using In most cases, you will have to drill a
overhead, cars and trucks passing in and whistle either. do have it wired so that when head- then be attached using short wood the garden light fittings. Note that it hole in the stainless steel housing to

30 stucoN cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 B3

 Finally, the microphone cable itself
can be secured using silicone, espe-
cially around the entry grommet. A
W
plastic cable tie can also be fitted to the
cable, to prevent it from being puìled
Ught Duty Fig.8 Speaker Cable
back through the grommet.
At the other end, the microphone
cable passes through the cable gland
in the box and its leads soldered to the
solar cell PC stakes. Orygen Free Copper Fig.8 gen Free Copper Fi9.8
DC 5A Fie'8 so6o
Installing the tubing
In most cases, the plastic tubing
that goes into the tank can be inserted
through a small hole in the inlet screen
- especially if it isn't exposed to the
sun. If it is exposed, we recommend
shielding the tubing with some white
flexible conduit to prevent excessive
solar heating.
Alternatively, with a steel or plastic ErereFMFF
ffi
tank, the tube ca¡ be inserted through a
hole drilled in the top of the tank, in a Dual Shield 75 Ohm Dual Shield 75 Ohm TV Air-Cell Ouad Shield 75 Ohm
RG-59U ¡¡
Coaxial C-able Spaced W Coaxial Cable TV Coaxial Cable
position that's shaded from the sun.
Before installation, you will first
suits sood reception area' w2e'r îi"ïJ:ìt"^',',X#î:'""*:ffit"": îJ;:Tì'"1tti":g:illü:ïå:;t'"'
The solar cell is salvaged from a garden light and can be left in its original receptionareas w2e82
housing to facilitate mounting. have to remove the insect screen or
manhole to gain access to the inside of
f./4|Jn szgo $8So
the tank, If the tank isn't full, measure
the distance from the full position
down to the current level and record
this for later use. :.s
To support the pressure sensor
tubing, a length of 25mm PVC tub- 'nodo.
ing wedged between the base and PRO50 Br¡tane
the roof of the tank can be used - see Soldering lron
Fig,13, The top of this pipe can later Cordless, dmple
and safe operation.
be secured to the roof of the tank using Read to use 2Osecs
silicone sealalt or builders' adhesive after ¡gnition, tank
(ie, after calibration). As shown, the holds butane fuel for

3mm sensor tubing is attached to the åTtr'J;ffS:* irodo.

25mm PVC tubing using cable ties. Rotary Coax Stripper T1102 PRO-7OK Br¡tane Soldefro Kit
Strips both the outerjacket and inner Cordless, quick ignition, 70W butane
Alternatively, a weight could be insulation of your coax in one easy powered soldering iron kiL lndudes
attached to the end of the tubing to 1mm soldering tip plus hot knife, 'heat
hold it down but don't use anything blo¡ve/ and blow torch tips, as well as
solder and a tip cleaning sponge,
that will contaminate the water, such all stored in a hand carry case. T1105
as lead. This weight needs to be about
150g per metre of tubing in the water. A
2.54cm (or larger) galvanised steel wa-
ter-pipe end-stop is recommended.
The best way to attach this weight
J
is to first drill a 6mm hole through -
the top, so that the tube can protrude
The connections to the solar cell are coated with neutral-cure silicone sealant to
a little way inside the end stop. This
make them waterproof and to anchor the leads in position (see text),
hole should be large enough to let
water pass around the outside of the
feed this lead through to the cell. A are easily damaged, so take care here. tube. The tube is then secured to the
rubber grommet should then be fitted In practice, it's best to use neutral-cure weight using cable ties on either side
to this entry hole, to prevent damage silicone sealant to first secure the leads of the hole.
Vùe|/c:r/præol $þlkr D¡ereæilm
@@

to the cable, that are already attached to the cell. Whichever method you use, the
Butane Soldering lron Kit 11 erv Powered Adiustable Temoerature
lncl. a quality butane-powered So lrãn Soldering Station
Use the core wire for the positive The microphone cable is then soldered assembly should be adjusted so that soldering iron and carry case, Use where mains power is not Lightweight handle whh bum resistant from your local Dick Smith Electronics
plus blowtorch, hot blower and store. Umited stock per month.
connection to the cell and the shield directly to these leads and the con- when it is later placed inside the tank, available, provides up to 510"C cable, 45W power, 250"C to 450"C temp
Offer exteneded to þril 2008 issue.
hot knlfu tips. tip temperature, range, 2zl0V powered,
for the negative connection but note nections anchored and waterproofed the end of the 3mm tube is level with 't1374 conical plated tip, with 1.6mm tip and May not be
that the connections to the solar cell using additional silicone. the bottom of the tank's outlet pipe. lead-íree soldet cleaning sponge. available at DSE
protect¡ve cap, 11976 Franchise or
Reseller stores-
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 W Fig.13: the 3mm
PVC tubing
PROTECT TUBE WITH
FI.EXIBI.E PVC CONDUI
CABLE GLAND
OR CABI.E TIE
STRAINER
Table 3: TPS Voltage vs Temperature
Temperature ('G) TPS Voltage
that runs to the 10 2.83
pressure sensor

t 11
WAÏER TANK
@ is installed as
2.84
Mechanical Boat shown here. 12 2.85
Bot Kit
3mm PVC
( 13
q. Construct a boat that floats &
The 25mm PVC
pipe is used to
TUBING
TO METER 14
2.86

Em¡nrlsronms moves in water, the rudder is 2.87

NXT Robot System fully functional, see how gears keep this tubing
CABI.E TIES
15 2.88
Choose from four amazing robot
and cogs work, suitable age 8+. vertical in the 16 2.89
K181ó
designs, all based on the intelligent tank. Note that
Lego NXT "brick", a 32 bit the end of the 17 2.90
microprocessor with a large display,
3mm tube should 18 2.91
re[rliH' seven input-output ports, plus
Bluetooth and USB communications.
.-. sit level with the 19 2.92
Mini Massagerc Four sensors (Ultrasonic, Light, Sound
')r't base of the tank's 20 2.93

iä?'i#
ln assorted styles and & Touch) plus 3 interactive servo outlet. 21
colours. Purchase any
Homedics product and enter the draw $878 Flight School
Build a high peformance glider, CABI.E TIES 22
2.94
2.95
to win one of 5 elounger Massâging
Recliners worth $999. Details in store-
great desig
elements supplied. K1487
launched by hand or tow rope,
take the pilots exam included in
23' 2.96
M40381, MA0382, MA0384, M40383, M40273 the instructions. K1074 END OF 3mm 24 2.97
TUBE TEVEL
WITH
25 2.98

OF OUTI.ET 26 2.99
27 3.00
28 3.01
29 3.02
F-qsø ñlnnvrouunATIE$ts install it in the tank. Complete the in-
30 3.03
Note that if the access hole in t}re top 31 3.04
One Hour N|MH Fast
of the tank is some distance away fTom stallation by replacing the inlet screen
Battery Charger
Fast one hour charger the screened inlet, it may be necessary filter or manhole cover on the tank.
32 3.05
with 4 x AA 2500 mAh
to pull the 3mm tubing through using a Note that it is always necessary to
33 3.06
Batterv Charoer w¡th 4 x AA
NiMH batteries plus 12V
adaptor. 54423 Readyio Usã Rechargeable Batteries draw wire. Similarly, if you ever need lower the tube assembly into the tank 34 3.07
High capacity, Eneloop 4 x AA rechargeable NiMH
to remove the assembly, then you may after connecting it to the pressure sen- 35 3.08
batteries with Sanyo NiMH
battery charger Charges AA & have to retrieve it using a pole with sor. If this not done, the water will not 36 3.09
AÁuA rechargeable batteries a hook. pressurise the air inside the tube. 37 3.10
s441 5
As stated previously, it's important 38 3.11

to route the tubing between the tank Calibration 39 3.12

and the Level Meter so that it is not Basically, it's simply a matter of 40 3.13
exposed to direct sunlight. If neces- calibrating the Level Meter to the cur-
sary, it can be protected from the sun rent water level in the tank. If the tank
by covering it in flexible PVC tubing. is full, then the meter is calibrated to involves dividing the actual water
At the Level Meter, the tubing runs read 100%. Similarly, if it's half-fuIl, height by the full water height.
through the cable gland in the side of the meter is set to read 50%, (a) Use this ratio to calculate the cali-
the box and fits over the Porl L nozzle Note, however, that to ensure ac- bration voltage. This is done by first
Portable Audio Battery of the pressure sensor. In most cases, curacy, it's best to calibrate the meter multiplying the ratio value by 2 (this
to suit iPod Mini you will have to gently heat the end when the tank is at least 25% 1ûIl. converts it to the 2V range that the
digitor 3,óV 5ó0 mAh Li-lon, includes 2000 mAh capacity, the tube using a hot-air gun so that it The step-by-step calibration proce- meter uses for water level rneasure-
NiCd/NiMH Battery Charger tools and instructions for rechargeable over
battery replacement 53239 500 t¡mes s3158 will slide over the r.ozzle, dure is as follows: ment) and then adding 1 (since the
Mains powered charging cabinet
This should form an airtight con- (1) Determine the water height that calibration voltage is 1V when the
¡i¿'må ;!;"?,,11'rå" $lgss nection butif you have any doubts, represents 100% fuII. This is done tank is empty).
batteries.
apply some silicone sealalt around the by measuring the vertical distance For example, if the tank is half full,
connection behind the nozzle flalge. between the outlet hole at the bottom the full-height ratio is 0.5. This value is
Clamping the tube with a cable tie can of the tank and the overflow pipe at then doubled (0.5 x 2 = 1) andthen t is
also heÌp prevent air leaks. the top. If there's no overflow pipe, added to give a result of 2V Similarly,
The rest of the tubing and its weight then measure to the bottom of the if the tank is two thirds full, the result
can now be lowered into the water inlet strainer. is 0.66 x2 + L = 2.32Y. And if the tank
tank until it sits in the conect position. (2) Measure the actual depth of the is full, the result L x 2 + 1 = 3V.
DORCY LED (5) Calibrate the meter by adjusting
D¡rnamo Flashlight That done, wait for at least an hour for water (ie, the distance between the
Simply wind handle to'POWER the air temperature inside the tube to top of the water and the outlet pipe). trimpot VR2 so set the voltage at TP4 to
UP' light, renewable energy stabilise. This is necessarybecause the You can easily calculate this depth the calculated calibration value. Note
- altemative to power light. cooling effect of the tank water can by measuring the distance to the top that switch 51 wiII have to be pressed
ideal for emergencies at home,
Dorcy LED Headlamp camping and cars. No more Compact Mini affect calibration. of the water and then subtracting this while you do this.
ldeal for use when your hands bulbs or batteries required. Pockêt Scales At the end of this 1-hour period, from the full water height. Note also that for the basic ver-
are not free, 3 super bright Y1277 Lightwe¡ght, large LCD
remove the tube from the tank, shake [3) Calculate the water level in the tank sion, powerwill only be applied to
LEDs, adjustable headlight

$150
rreen witl backlight,
calibration function,
selectable weighting
$s0* it so that all water runs out, then re- as a ratio of fuÌl capacity. This simply continued on page BB

(included). Y1253
from grams to ounces.
Y5'139
siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 85

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 EtECIvR0Ntcs
BulllljdllnU liho AÏlte live¡ lJ u=TJanlk F? nessu rjs Semso
CABIETIES. 1-
ENSURE THAT END OF 3mm VINYL
4WAY 3mm VINYI VENT TUBE IS FACING DOWN
TEI.EPHONE TUBING FOR
CABLE Lab Power Supply
RE
(coNNECTTONS
TO METER)
0-30V 2.s p
dþ Digital Display
Laboratory grade linear
CABI.E TIE AutomotÍve
COAT I.IBERAIIY
WITH EPOXY Muhimeter
RESIN SEAI-ANT Multimeter and aútomotive
tester in one. Measure separate voltage and current
MARK WIRE low battery indicator, RPM, DWELL angle, metering, overload protection
MOUNT SENSOR capacitance readings plus current, temperature
COLOURS USED and high/low current front
ON 9mm M3 a sleep mode to reduce and more, Incl. inductive panel terminals. Solidly built
FOR SENSOR
TAPPED NYI.ON pick-up, temperature
CONNECTIONS battery ëonsumption. chassis, measures 150mm
SPACERS USING probe, rubberised
ON OUTSIDE Supplied with test leads (W) x 235mm (D, inc knobs)
M3 NYLON WATER I.EVEt
and rubberised edge edge protection
OF BOX
METER
x 145mm (H, inc feet).
SCREWS {l5mm
(1.E., I- RED,
TONG AT
protection. 04139 and testleads. 01585 41770
2= BLUE ETC.)
SENSOR END, PRESSURE SENSOR
ómm IONG AT INSIDE TANK
BOX ENDI
ABS
BULKHEAD BOX
Fig,15: here's how the in-tank pressure sensor
(ó5x38x27mm) - is installed ald connected to the Water Level
3mm VINYI
TUBING
Meter. The end of the tube connected to port Pl
CURVE
AROUND (PRESSURE should sit level with the bottom of the tank's
WTH INPUT) outlet pipe, 40pc Hobby
GENTLE Rotary Tool Kit
RADIUS This 1 30W high-speed
4.8V Rechargeable 4.8V Rechargeable
Fig.14: follow this diagram to build the in-tank pressure Cordless Screwdriver Cordless Screwdriver with
mains powered rotary tool
CABLETIE is a multi purpose unit that
BRASS PIPE CAP FASTENED sensor, Make sure that all electrical connections are Durable metal gearbox Metal storage Case is able to cut, drill, polish,
TO BOX FTANGE sealed with epoxy resin and that the box is filled with with extra strong moulded Strong moulded body,
- grind, sand and engrave
$lzss
:ífldiïi,f"ff: $lsss
NYTON SCREW AND NUT silicone sealant, as described in the text. durable metal gearbox, lncludes storage case, pencil
(USED AS SINKER + SPACER) Forward/reverse control, grip extension shaft, collets,
,i,1,,if.",0, 3 4hr mains charge¡ grinding, engraving, sanding,
reverse direction switch, accessory bits, metal drilling and buffing attachments
and AC charger T4831 storage case and instructions
N ALTERNATIVE to mounting the stated, the air inside this tube isolates the result, the pin designations run in ditfer- 2yr warânty 14846
Variable speed. approx 8,000
to 30,000rpm T4823
pressure sensor on the PC board is to water f rom the sensor. This air will remain ent directions. Be sure to match the pins
mount it in a separate small box and place in the tube unless the assembly is inverted correctly.
this at the bottom of the tank. The sensor's in the water tank. Fortunately, if you do get the connec-
leads are then connected back to the PC The snorkel tube has to be long enough tions to the sensor reversed, it is unlikely
board via a 4-wire telephone cable fitted to reach beyond the top 0f the tank. lt can to be damaged. That's because the sensor
with a 4-way header plug. exit either via a hole in the insect screen comprises piezo resist¡ve elements that
The big advantage of this scheme is or the tank's lid and must be positioned to act just like resistors. However, it will not digitor
that the sensor now directly measures keep out both rainwater and any run-off operate unless it is connected correctly.
18V Rechargeable ' r!!
18V Dual Speed
the water pressure. This eliminates the from the tank itself. Note that the 4-way header that plugs Cordless Drill Rechargeable Cordless Drill
problems associated with air-pressure ln practice, this means that the tube into the PC board will not fit through the Ouality 18V cordless drill with 17 torque Dual speed gearbox, electronic
variations within the connecting tube due must be bent so that the end faces down- cable gland. This means that the lead sett¡ngs, variable speed, 10mm keyless speed control wìth br¿ke, thr mains speed gearbox,
chuck, AC adaptor, NiCd powered fast charqe¡ electronic speed
to temperature. wards after it exits from the tank - see must be passed through the gland first,
szgs$ å8jru{}, i*!, *5$*
control,90 min fast
ln practice, a short air-tube is fitted
to prevent direct water contact to the
Fig.15. This can be done by gluing the
tube down the side of the tank (eg, using
before making the final connection to the
4-way header.
3ñjl;1ü::5¡å'Ji^",,"
cut-off plus carry case. T48ó8
:::::î;:}:l':Å:ä:t s6gsr charger, 24V NiCd
battery pack, front
handle and ruqqed carry câse T4875
sensor's element but this has little effect silicone). Make sure that the radius of the The next step is to check that the un¡t ls
on the readings. That's because it is very bend is large enough to prevent the tube operating correctly by blowing gently into
short (just 40mm long) and because of from kinking. the shofi tube (ie, the one going to port
the more stable temperatures inside the When installing the wiring, be sure to P1). The RGB LED should immediately light
rxGLllsluÉ ÛtltY
water tank. make a note of the wire colour used for up to a colour higher than red (depending
s0tllllffitll
Fig.14 shows the assembly details for each sensor connection. This will make it on the pressure) when the LED display is
the "bottom of the tank" sensor. As shown, easy when it comes to making the connec- activated (eg, by pressing switch 51).
the sensor is mounted on two M3 x 9mm tions to the 4-way pin header that plugs lf it doesn't, check the wiring con-
tapped Nylon spacers and has a "snorkel" into the sensor's socket on the Water Level nections and check that the sensor port
attached to its P2 port which vents to the Meter's PC board. connections are correct.
dlg
atmosphere. Bythe wa¡ the pressure sens0r in Fig.14 lf it works 0K, the connections are ready DVR+I000
Complete Surveillance Kit
The short tube attached to the P1 port is depicted from the rear whereas Figs.9 to be sealed. This involves coating allof the crimp style terminals and a standard 4 channel DVR & 4 indoor/outdoor
just exits from the bottom of the box. As & 11 show the sensor from the front. As a exposed wire and lead connections to the crimp tool, all stored in a plastic component (weatherproo0 CCTV cameras.
case. See www.dse.com.au for a list of Móniþr & record from all 4 cameras

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DIEGM_¡ÏF
ÑE e -7

Bench Style Function Generator

The FG-30 is a multi-purpose, highly
reliable and low-cost 3MHz sweep
funct¡on generator. While being
easy to use, it also provides many
convenient features, which make it
g¡"É
an ideal instrument for electron¡cs,
education, production, and research
æ and development laboratories.
Features include ó output waveforms,
a pulse generator and a sweep
generator. Supplied with adjustable tilt
handle, mains lead, and a detailed Above: this view of the in-tank sensor assenbly shows the
¡nstruction manual. 0182ó inside the box before the epory resin and silicone was applied
SPECIFICATIONS to waterproof the connections. Note that the pressure sensor is
Soldering Station Frequency: 0.5H2-3MHz (2.5MHz for Ramp and
mounted upside down here compared to its orientation on the PC
Ouality soldering station, slim 48W Pulse) in six steps
soldering pencil with heat resistant cabling, Output waveform: Sine, Square, Triangle, board (see Figs.9 & 11). The view at right shows tle completed unit
'I ómm long-life plated tip and cleaning Positive Pulse and Negative Pulse with the weight attached so that it sinks to tle bottom of the tank.
sponge. Adjustable 1 50'C - 450'C M¡n output: No Load 0 1V p-p; 50 ohms
temperature with front panel metering. load 0.05V p-p
1 2200 Other outputs: Synchronous, sweep synchronous

sensor with epoxy resin and then f illing the with neutral-cure silicone (use a type
box with neutral-cure silicone sealant. that's suited to wet area use). This pro-
Note that the epoxy resin used must vides added protection and also prevents
be suitable for use in wet conditions and any lead movement that may cause the lD brass pipe end-cap for this weight (or
must adhere to both PVC and thermoset- resin to crack. you can use galvanised steel). This can
ting plastics; eg, J-B Weld (paft No.B270) First, applythe silicone so that it reaches be secured to a mounting eyelet at the
and Bostik Titan Bond Plus. lt should be to top of the box but do not ovedill. That end of the specified box using a Nylon
mixed according to the instructions and done, allowthe siliconeto cure withoutthe screw and nut.
D|êGMIÏF
EÉ@ applied to totally cover the attachment lid in place. During this period, the tubing Alternatively, the box can be attached
10x Pocket Magnifier Magnifying Desk Lamp points where each sensor lead enters the should be held in place at the exit points to a length of 25mm PVC conduit tube,
ldeal for checking surface Work with small items more sensor body. using cable ties or bulldog clips. as before.
mount components, PCB tracks, easily with the magnified and
or the quality of solder joints. illuminated view provided by
ln addition, you should apply resin Be sure not to let any silicone get inside
This well-made pocket magnifier Personal Visor Magnifier this magnì!ing desk lamp. around the central seal between the two the shorltube connected to port P1 during l{o temperatute compensat¡on
with l5mm diameter glass lens Selectable 1.8x, 2.3x and Uses 2 x 10W halogen bulbs, halves of the sensor. Note that you will the above procedure. Another advantage of the in-tank sensor
provides 10x magnification, and 4.8x magnifi cation, adjustable quality glass magniling lens,
need to temporarily remove the sensor It will take some 24-72 hours for the installation is that tem peratu re compensa-
rotates back into a plated brass headband and integral flexible gooseneck, and
frame for safer storage. illuminating lights (batteries removable AC adaptor. from the box in order to access the whole silicone to cure, depending on the type tion is not required (although temperature
T4595 requ¡red). T4598 T4599
underside section. used. Once it has cured, apply additional calibration is still carried out). This means
Next, use epoxy resin to coverthe whole silicone all around the edges of the box so that if the compensation has already been
length of the lead connections up to where that the lid can be sealed. set (eg, if you are converting to the in-tank
they enterthe outer sheath and around the Note that the specified box has two sensor set-up), then it will need to be
end of the sheath itself. You should also outlet slots at one end and one outlet slot adjusted to the no compensation setting
lightly coat the gland in the box where the at the other, with matching flanges on the (see main text).
cable exits, s0 that the cable will be aff ixed lid. Each slot can be held closed with a Finally, the calibration procedure is
uereFMirF in position. cable tie around the exposed flanges. the same as for the in-tube method - ie,
That done, remount the sensor and These cable lies will crimp the tubes a little the sensor is inserted into the tank and
DiõreFM_iÏE. 32-Piece Super-Hard
d¿æ clamp the 4-way cable in place on its gland but not enough to close them. trimpot VR2 adjusted to set the calculated
Security B¡t set
1ó-Piece Slim Bit Set These bits are made from super-hard 101-Piece Bit Set until the resin cures. Once it has cured, calibration voltage on TP4 (see main text).
with Ratchet Handle 52 grade steel alloy with a hardness with Cary Case check the coating for any gaps and re-coat Weighing it down That done, the sensor is removed from the
Solder 0.8mm 1ü)9 Roll Uses 45mm long super-hard rating of HRC58-ó2 and will provide a ldeal for the handyman '1V
General-purpose electronics- much longer useful life than standard or elestronics enthusiast. if necessary. A weight must be attached to the bottom tank and VR3 is ad justed for a reading
52 grade 4mm hex bits that
grade flux-cored ó0l¿10 (tin/lead) are thinner than standard bits, bis, especially in heavy-duty appl¡cations. An enormous collection of of the box, so that it sinks to the bottom at TP4. The sensor is then reinstalled and
solder suitable for
most projects
allowing access to recessed The set includes: torx set bits, security screwdriver bits, including Filling the case with silicone of the tank. VR2 again re-adjusted to set the calibration
screws in a wider range hex bits (metric & imperial), tr¡-wing b¡ts, tox, pozidrive, tri-wing
and repair work. of equipment. lnclud bits bits a The inside of the box must now be filled As shown in Fig.14, you can use a 25mm voltage at TP4.
stze, a revereible direction le, all
ratchet driver handle gg.d
and bh storage
holder. Tó333 14
siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 87

\l!
n from 28/11/O7 Io 27 /12/07
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the tank and readjust VRZ to give the pressure sensor inside the tank instead - see Fig.16.
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TP4 & TP2). tion from the current setting, you will
Temperature compensation have to cycle through the colours to
Calibration temperature Having set the calibration tempera- return to the wanted colour.
The next step involves setting the ture, check the water tank level read- You will need to experiment to ar-
current calibration temperature, so that ings over a wide temperature range rive at the best compensation setting.
the readings can be corrected for any during the day. You probably ',n ill not As a guide, fulÌ compensation gives
subsequent temperature changes. Note, notice any variations with the basic a variation of about 10% for a 30oC
however, that if you intend mount- version because the graduations are range in temperature. Don't forget to
ing the pressure sensor inside the tank, in 1oo/o steps and so there is no need remove the link between TP5 & TP2
this procedure is not required. to apply temperature compensation. after you are finished.
Setting the caliblation temperature Conversely, when using the unit with Finally, note that the solar ceÌÌ will
is easy - simply connect a short jumper not recharge an NiMH (or Nicad)
lead between test points TP2 and TP6. ceÌI if the cell voltage drops below
For the telemetry version, ihe RGB LED 1W Fig.16: this chart about 1.0V. That's because the step-
should immediately flash green three 88% shows the LED up voltage converter circuit (based
times. lf it doesn't, try removing the 77Y.
colours produced on IC1) draws excessive current from
jumper at LK1, then wait a few seconds for the temperature the rechargeable cell in an attempt to
66*
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and reconnect the jumper again. For maintain outputbut the solar cell
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cannot match this current. Both printed and on-line versians availaþle
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for the LED to flash when the jumper In that case, you can recharge the
is connected. 33%
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Note that if the tank ever runs dry, 22%
the cell is disconnected from the cir-
then the air trapped in the tube when
the water subsequently rises again may
t1%

Nll.
cuit while it charges,
That's all for now, Next month, we'll
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 o incred¡ble GDs with over 1000 classic projects
from the pages of Scientific American,
Gouering every field of science...
Arguably THE most IMPOKIANT collection of
scientific projects ever put together!
INCLUDES
This is version 3, Super Science Fair Edition
BONUS SCIENCE from the pages of Scientific American.
soE
LIB

Inside and outside the restored AWA. Above is the fully ¡ SCIENTIFIC,
\ ''il P $t Pecl anü Post
cleaned out a¡d repaired (where necessary) chassis - though N
\ AMERICAN,,¡
I was quite lucky with the relatively small amount of work
necessary. You can't see the repaired veneer in the photo at \
right but looks every bit as good as the rest of the set.
\\ "A must for every science student, science
The final touches
teacher, icience íab . . . or simpty jor those
small 17" screen, one has to sit rela- diagram for this set, which made the
The final touches included cleaning tively close for comfortable viewing, restoration a lot easier.
\
all the front panel control knobs, the Still, maybe that's not such a bad Lastly, although I've heard many \ with an enquiring mind . . :'
aluminium front panel and finding
some suitable replacement screws and
bolts to hold the chassis in properly
thing. Bring back 1958 I say!
The end (or is it the
stories about hard-to-find parts like
line output transformers for vintage
televisions I must have been lucky.
\
\
ffi T;he Complete
3i
.
Just a tiny selection of the incredible range of projects:
Build a seismograph to study earthquakes. Make soap bubbles that last for months.
and the back cover on. beginning?) Of all the televisions I've restored Super Scien Fair Monitor the health of local streams . Preserve biological specimens . Build a carbon
To conclude, although this restora- I'm yet to come across any with faulty dioxide laser. Grow bacteria cultures safely at home . Build a ripple tank to study wave
What's on the box? ; Instrusti6ns fo perform oVèr'li
tiontookpÌace over anumber of weeks transformers or picture tubes. phenomena. Discover how plants grow in low gravity. Do strange experiments with
Finally it was all back together and and was somewhat time intensive, I'm That has been very good for me, as \ exp,erim-entç from every fi sound. Use a hot wire to study the crystal structure of steel. Extract and purify DNA
I could settle back to watch TV 1950s very pleased with the final result, restoring a set with such faulty parts in your kitchen.Create a laser hologram. Study variable stars like a pro. lnvestigate
style. This must have been a cosy I should also point out that I had would require another one to scavenge vortexes in water. Cultivate slime moulds. Study the flight efficiency of soaring birds
family experience back then, With its access to a service manual and circuit parts fiom. .How to make an Electret. Construct fluid lenses. Raise butterflies as experimental
animals. Study the physics of spinning tops. Build an apparatus for studying chaotic
systems. Detecl metals in air, liquids, or solids. Photograph an ant's brain and
nervous system . Use magnets to make fluids into solids. Measure the metabolism of
ffiL*;Mir--.:¡ r ¡¡
-_":
4' ¡É.' 4r: _ an insect... o âÍìd many, many more (athousand more, in fact!)
These binders will protect your copies of Sl-rcoru CHrp.
They feature heavy-board covers & are made from a
See the V2 review in 2004. . . or read on line at siliconchip.com.au
No:
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Card
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Buy fiue and get them postage fiee! I * Please have your credit card handy! # Don't lorget lo include your name, address, phone no and credil card details. ^ You will be ptompted fot required infotmation
Price: $413.95 plus $47 p&p per order. I Name I fhele's also a handy order form inside this issue (see Srucoru Cnp Booltshop pagesl.
t,Address
Use the order lorm at right or call (02) 9939 3295; or fax (02) 9939 2648 and quote your credit card number. I
(Binders are only available in Australia and sent to an Australian address). I P/code I
Silicon Ghip Publications, P0 Box 139, Gollaroy NSW 2097 L ,-- J
StLtco¡rt Cmp siliconchip.com.au

www.srlrconcnl
 in vintage televisions is usually rela-
tively simple and I quite easily located
the problem in a low value HT feed
resistor. Replacing it with a new one
completely removed the crackle from
the audio,
After having done the picture align-
ment and centring, it was time to
watch television, 1950s style.

The pretty parts

While I had been busy working on
the electronics, a friend had been busy
with the cabinet. It was in generally
good condition, so I felt there was
no need to do a full restoration. The
veneer was re-glued and the interior
of the cabinet vacuumed, brushed and
wiped with a damp cloth,
An oiling inside and out makes the
timber look like new and moisturises
the dry wood at the same time.
The cleaned-up cabinet, although
not brand new looking by any means,
is very presentable and is still very
T-Ìr
C] originaL

Polishing and cleaning

While the picture tube was out, the
tube and safety glass were thoroughly
cleaned and many expired bugs re-

Õ rlr--r c fl f_l
moved.
The screen mask was also carefuÌIy
cleaned. In this set it was made of plas-
tic so had to be treated very carefully.
The difference this made to the look of
The accumulation ofseveral decades ofdust. The first step in restoring any the front of the set was amazing. It was
old TV set is to get it as clean as possible without doing any (further?) damage, starting to look nearly new again!
Contrast this photo with the cleaned (and restored) version overleaf,

vertical hold and volume pots were

very noisy, there was a noisy crackle
in the audio and one of the speakers
wasn't working. I put most of these
faults down to the television having
in a damp environment.

CD.ROM d
been stored
Fortunately I had an almost direct
replacement in stock for the faulty
speaker, so I attached the speaker
transformer to the new one and it fit-
ted nicely into the original mounting
to be installed. Before installing any holes and speaker opening.
Last month, we published the circuit details parts though, it's a good idea to inspect The verticaÌ hoid pot was replaced
of our new CD-ROM Player Adaptor and the PC board for hairline cracks in the but the volume put was a different
tracks or shorts. Some of the tracks are matter. Being a dual gang, concentric,
described its operation. This month, w€ very flne and quite close together, so switched type, repÌacements are al-
show you how to build it. check these carefully. most impossible to find these days and
so removal, taking apart and cleaning
tTrO KEEP COSTS DOWN, we've aplastic case or mini-tower computer lnstalling the wire Iinks is the only option. So far this seems to
I designed a single-sided PC board case, aì.ong with the power supply. Fig.2 shows the locations of the wire have been very successful.
for this project. This board is coded Because it's single-sided, the PC links and these should all be installed
07LL207L and measures 136 x 97mm. board is somewhat larger than a dou- first. Because some of these links are Snap, crackle, pop! some may argue the modern polyester capacitors (yellow) look out of place in a
The complete board and the CD-ROM ble-sided board would be and there quite close together, it's essential that The last problem to fix was the loud vintage sét ¡ut you simply cañnot trust thã original paper capacitors. I make it
drives could optionally be encased in are quite a few wire links that have they be perfectly straight so that they crackle in the audio. The audio circuit a rule to replac-e themãnd high voltage electros and it has paid off every time.

90 StttcoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 23

television working as it should when
first switched on.
Many old resistors over this value
'go high'with age and cause strange
effects on tìe picture ald ineffective
contrast, brightness, volume controls.
Moreover, old high value resistors
tend to go even higher in value as they
warm up, causing all the settings to
drift as the set warms up,
In undertaking the resistor replace-
ment, I found a number to be burned E

out, no doubt due to increased current ei5

flow caused by the old paper capaci- C'

o
GI
tors being'leaky'. .lt
G
Check those fuses! GI
@'
Another thing I always do is check N
GI
that the correct fuse values are fit- rô'
N
ted, Many times I've found they've N

been replaced by a nail, paperclip or Ju,

r¡¡
something like a 15,t fuse where it o
should be a 1,t. o uti
"41
Next comes the "smoke test" - pow- d f¿
tt
I

t¡¡
ering up the old set for what could be
the first time in decades. U J..[
o
u¡ 'ù Fig,2: the first job in the assembly is to install all the wire links as shown here,
d.
Use a variac Make sure that these links are straight, to prevent shorts - see text.
z
To power a set up for the first time, I2
I always use a variac, This allows me
r¡¡
to detect anything wrong before it fails Jl¡¡ e!s
I
catastrophically and causes damage to
other components.
I always power a set up in four
i IFYOU PURCHASE a kit, then the microcontroller will be supplied pre-pro-
grammed. lf not, then you will have to program it yourself.
stages. The first stage is with no valves t-
D To do this, you will need to install both lC4 & lOs (MAX232), as well as
installed, which checks that the power o the other two logic lCs. You then load the hex file into Pony Prog 2000 and
transformer is OK a¡rd that all second- É,
wr¡te to flash. lf you don't already have this program, it is available as a
ary voltages ale present and correct, o don't short together. f ree download f rom www.lancos.com/ppw¡n95.html.
The second stage is to gradually The best way to straighten the link
increase the input voltage to 240V, In wire is to stretch it slightly by clamp- You will need to first flick switch 51 and make sure ihe orange LED lights
the case of the old AWA, having run ing one end in a vice and pulling on up. The micro is then ready to be programmed. We should also mention
the set for an hour the transformer the other end using a pair of pliers. that if you are using Pony Prog 2000, you must change the setting under
was warm but showing no signs of Each wire link can tìen be cut to length Setup -> lnterface Setup and make sure that the only box that is ticked is
distress, and its ends bent down at right-angles the "lnvert Reset'box. Then select the correct device by going to Device ->
Note also that old television sets using needle-nose pliers before mount- AVR -> Atmega8515.
usually had transformers with many ing it on the PC board, Prior to programming, Pony Prog 2000 needs to be calibrated for correct
input (primary) voltage taps. To in- Once you've completed this task, timing. To do this, simply go to Setup -> Calibration. This only needs to be
crease the tube brightness, unscrupu- you're ready to install the remaining done the first time you run Pony Prog 2000 on a new computer.
lous servicemen would often change parts. Fig,3 shows the parts layout on Now choose File -> Open Program (FLASH) File and select your hex file.
the tap from 240V to 22OV, increasing the board, Go to Command -> Program (FLASH) and Pony Prog 2000 should start
the secondary voltages in turn to levels Start with the resistors, taking care programming your micro. Once programming is complete, you should flick
far above the design voltage. So this
I was lucky: I had a complete service manual and circuit diagram to help me.
to ensute that the correct value is sw¡tch 51 so that the orange LED goes out and then the firmware should
is another thing to check before you used at each location, Table 1 shows start running.
power up the set. the resistor colour codes but it's also
indicated that all appeared well. powering up yet again, resulted in a a good idea to check each one using a
Valves go back in Next check is with all valves in- more or less completely working set. digital multimeter before soldering it
Stage 3: having passed the trans- stalled with the exception of the high to the PC board. pin IC socket for the microcontroller, sure that the sockets a¡e all oriented
former test, it was time to plug in the voltage rectifier, damper diode and It works! Next, solder inprotection diode D1, plus the two L4-pin and two 16-pin correctly - ie, with their notched ends
valves. Initially, I start with just the horizontal output valve. ,A.gain, the With an antenna connected, I could making sure that it is oriented correct- DIP sockets for the other ICs. Note that oriented as shown on Fig.3,
rectifier valve(s), Slowly powering up set passed this test, Finally, with the now see a picture on the screen and ly, then install the small tactile switch only IC1, IC2 and IC3 are required for The TO-220 regulator is next on
the set again revealed nothing smoking remainder of the valves installed, the had audio as weII. However, there (S3). The latter only fits correctly if it normal operation, while IC4 and IC5 the list. As shown, this part is fltted
or otherwise in distress. Measuring the chassis returned to the cabinet and the were a few problems still to resolve, is the right way around. are required only ifyou are planning to with a small heatsink and is mounted
rectified high tension (HT) voltages picture tube and speakers connected, The picture needed alignment, the The next step is to solder in the 40- program the micro via tllis board. Make horizontally on the PC board,
22 sntcoN cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 91.
 By Timothy Stuart

This view shows the fully assembled prototype PC board. Note that the two M,{X232 ICs and the DB9 socket veneer on one side had lifted; some
(CONS) are only necessarry if you inte-nd prógrarrming the microcontroller on the board. If You brr.y_a kit, the - - _
corrosion on the chassis was evident
microcontroltei witl be súppHed pre-prolrañmed. Nõte also tlrat trimpot VR1 and several wire links were added
to the board after this photo was taken.
and other components had suffered,
which I'II mention later. And not
least were the many bugs that over
the last few decades had taken their
The correct procedure here is to the 100nF capacitor immediately to Take care to ensure that the LEDs lastbreathbetween the screen and the
first bend the regulator's leads down the Ieft of IC1. It straddles a couple all go in the right way around. lust re- safety glass, = -i<

though g0", exactly 5mm from its body. of wire links and should be mounted member that the anode lead is always Before starting any type of repair I
That done, the device and its heatsink proud of the board so that its leads the longer of the two, like to clean the dust off the chassis,
are fastened to the PC board using an don't short against these links. IRDl can be mounted so that its lens remove all the valves and check for I

M3 x 10mm screw and nut, The leads The other 100nF capacitors can be Iines up withthe centres of the LEDs. It anything that's obviously missing. This is how it arrived from Melbourne after the successful eBay bid. It looks
are then soldered. pushed all the way down onto the must be oriented so that its lens faces Having removed the chassis from to be in pretty good eondition but notice the peeling veneer (lower right). Ând
Don't solder the leads before bolt- board. out from the PC board. the cabinet and then getting rid of there wás a rãii ¡it of damage inside. This photo doesn't do justice to the legion
ing the device to the PC board. If you The flve LEDs (LEDs1-5) and the the dust using some paint brushes, ofdead bugs between the screen and safety glass!
do, you could stress and break the PC infrared receiver module (IRD1) can lnstalling the headers a vacuum cleaner and a damp cloth,
I then washed all the valves, being to repair again for a long time, terminals on the old capacitors as tie
tracks as the device is tightened down now be installed. As shown in the The next job is to solder in the 16-
on the board. photos, the LEDs all go in with their careful notto rub off the delicate valve I use tubular metallised polyester points.
number markings. capacitors for the paper replace- Some restorers go to the trouble
Trimpot VR1 can go in next, fol- leads bent at right angles and are
lowedbythe 2.SmmDC socket (CON6) mounted about 5mm proud of the PC ffibæ @aoffibr@odæ One valve in the tuner (a 6UB) was ments which, while smaller than the
originals, don't look too out of place
of removing the "innards" of the old
can electros and mount a modern one
and the electrolytic capacitors. The board. A cardboard spacer cut to 5mm obviously gassy (a white/grey look
Value pF Gode IEC Code EIA Code inside) ald was replaced with a new under the chassis, as compared to inside the can. But not me!
latter are polarised, so make sure they makes a handy gauge when it comes
100nF 0.1pF 100n 104 one, I next turned my attention to its the more common'orange drop'type Spending a few hours rePlacing
go in the right way around, to bending the LED leads and spacing
capacitors. these components is very worthwhile
Now solder in the 100nF bypass them evenly off the board, so that they 22pF NA 22p 22 underside.
Following the paper caps, I replace and often a TV wiII be brought back
capacitors. Take particular care with all line up.
Lots of paper and wax all the electrolytics, Most high voltage to life just by replacing all the capaci-
With all vintage televisions and electrolytics in vintage TVs are of the tors,
ffib Ís Ræffir Gotbü Godæ radios that I restore, I tend to favour chassis-mount (can) type, I leave these
in place on the chassis but disconnect Resistance is futile!
a complete replacement of the paper
tr No. Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Gode (1%) and electrolytic capacitors. While them, This mea¡rs there are no holes in Following the capacitor rePlace-
brown black red brown the chassis, where there would have ment, I then turn mY attention to
tr 1 1kO brown black black brown brown there is some argument from the pur-
been had I removed them. the higher value resistors in the set,
tr S 47OA yellow violet brown brown yellow violet black black brown ists about doing this (polyester capaci-
tors weren't invented in the 1950s!), I Modern electrolytics are very much Experience has shown that replacing
tr 1 l OOA brown black brown brown brown black black black brown
alL resistors 100kO and over will also
find I end up with a much more reli- smaller and can be easily wired in
tr 1 51O green brown black brown green brown black gold brown under the chassis, often using the greatly enhance the chances of the
able set and hopefuIly one Iwon't have

SILIC)N CHIP siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 27

 I.ED4 IED3 I.ED2 I.ED] IED5

ËHH I ßHH

-l;)
'
Å.
(9 .3728ìÁHz
}.
(9
a s3l
With Australia celebrating 50 years of television last year, I thought D
I should celebrate the occasion and restore a TV set that was around ö
,,rrÖl
not long after it started. But like the hare in Mrs Beaton's cookbook, ö
I first had to catch my set . .
e a.a
coNl0
a

Tn mv ro
Fig.3: after the links are in, install the remaining parts on the PC board as
I restór in shown here. Take care to ensure that all polarised parts, including the IDC
Imind m headers, are correctly oriented - see text.
around 1958. My grandparents had
owned one back then; in fact it was
their very first television. They were
the second house in the street to have pin and 4o-pin IDC headers. Pin 1 of
a TV set and early on they had made each ofthese is indicated b)r an arrow
ALTRONICS Z-7013 LCD MODULI
many new friends thanks to that tel- on the side of the header and this cor- Fig.4: this diagram
evisionl responds to the square pad on the PC shows how to connect
Back then television was still magic board. Be sure to get them the right the Altronics Z-7o1,3 LCD
and somewhat of a mystery to most way around, module to the 16-pin IDC
people, Crowds used to gather on In each case, it's a good idea to socket. Note that pins
the footpaths outside retailers just to initially solder just two pins of the 15 & 16 (the backlight
watch the TV sets in t}re window (often header and then check that it is sitting connections) are adjacent
to pin 1. Pin 15 is the
with no sound!). flat against the PC board. After that, anode connection, while
I had an old black and white picture it's a routine job to solder the rest of pin 16 is the cathode,
of the AWA, so knew what to Ìook for, the pins.
When one turned up on eBay, I just had Finally, complete the PC board as-
to have it. One problem: I'm in Sydney sembÌy by instalÌing lhe 7,372BMHz
and it was in Melbourne. So having crystal (it can go in either way), the
won the auction, I arranged to have it lwo 22ptr capacitors, the DBO serial
freighted to Sydney. This cost nearly port connector (CON3), the two stereo
three times as much as the set. jack sockets (CONB & CON10), the two IDC SOCKET 8X2

4-way SIL pin headers (CON7 & CON9)

What have I done? and the two toggle switches.
The set duly anived about a week
later. It was as described on eBay and Connecting the LCD module MAIN CDROM
P|ÁYER BOARD
bearing that in mind, I knew it would The LCD module to use must con- /./
take a fair amount of work befole this fornr to the HitacÌri HD447BO industly
would be a working clean example of standard. This has an interface consist-
a 1950s television. ing ofto or 14 lines, depending on how
The set, while all there, was dirty, the LED backlight is connected.
The set had apparently been stored This old, grainy photograph was the picture that started it all. I wanted one of A 16-way (or 14-way) ribbon cable
in a damp location as much of the these AWA Model 229s, just like my grandparents had back in 1958 is used to make the connection to the

20 Sucot¡ Cntp siliconchip,com.au siliconchip.com.au DECENIBER 2OO7

 I r\ I \ I
I I' lt \^l I
JAYCAR AP.55I ó, APJsI 8 I.CD MODUTE Fig.S: connect
the ]aycar LCD
modules as
I
shown in this Fig,6: assigning the buttons on the Price perft )r nrance breakthrough!
wiring diagram, remote for the various functions is
Note particularly easy - just follow the prompts on the G
that the wires LCD readout. This is the prompt for ti Colour ost :il 0sc0pes w¡th USB & PC Software,
frompinsl&2 assigning the "Volume Up" button.
ofheader CON2 Prices s tart from {
NOTE THAT WIRES FROM PINS I & 2
OF CON2 ARE TRANSPOSED
are transposed at
the LCD module
(ie, pin 1. goes to
module, where pin 1 is 0V and pin
is +5V
2
a Ior úl / $895 !*o" Snnrtcal
AND CONNECT TO PINS 2 & I *Education al discount available.
RESPECTIVETY OF JAYCAR MODUI"E
pin 2, while pin
2 goes to pin 1). Testing & troubleshooting
wtREs FROM P|NS l5 & I ó Great care has been taken to ensure
ARE CUf SHORT & NOT USED that the firmware is free from bugs but
we cannot guarantee that it will work
with every CD-ROM drive. We did test
the board with six different CD-ROM SOMETHING TO DO 6V6 Stereo Valve AmPlilier Kit
drives and it worked well.
The only problem was that two
of the drives did not respond to the OVER THE HOTIDAYS? $799 inc Gst
volume change command. However, lf you have time to play with (or even if you don't!) have a
we are not sure that these two drives
were actually functioning correctly all
of the time, as they appeared to have Fflêft¡tF
intermittent faults. t¡âLd
Whichever drive you want to use for
this project, make sure it is an ATAPI ûæ
device (check that the IDC connector
'sû61Vn
LCD module and this is terminated and QP-S518 LCD modules each have
at the other end in a 16-way IDC line a 2 x 7-pin arrangement at one end; on the back of the drive has 40 pins, Rola rbnowÁusttalia's aulifioriscd QUAD
socket, with the red stripe on the cable ie, there are only 14 connections. The as opposed to 50 pins for a SCSI con-
witl help you understand what all the fuss is about! Glassic sparc rølrß and rePir Genfre
going to pin 1. This end then plugs backlight connections are made on the nectorJ. Note also that the adaptor
directly into the 16-way IDC header module itself, so pins 15 & 16 of CON2 will not work with some smaller form Painless Wireless Data
on the PC board. are not connected in this case. Fig.5 factor CD-ROM drives which have 44- ¡. Need to send/receive dala over
Fig,4 shows the connections to the shows the wiring connections for the pin connectors (akin to the 2.5-inch I wireless? The mighty MU-1 long-
Altronics 2-7013 LCD module. This specified ]aycar modules. notebook hard drives). range 433MHz embedded low-
device has 16 pins all in one line along In particular, note that pin 1 on the Before plugging in the micro (ICl), power radio modem from Circuit
the bottom edge of the board (although the first thing to do is to check the Design Inc is designed to suit your
]aycar modules is the +5V connection, Hßeur 0ffilßll,lllt,
pins 15 & 16 are adjacent to pin 1), while pin 2 is the 0V connection. It's power supply rails. To do this, first needs: exactly!
Alternatively, the Jaycar QP-5516 the other way around on the Altronics connect a 9-'1,2Y DC plugpack to the What ever you need in wireless technology, talk to
DC socket (CON6) and switch on. That
done, check that the OUT terminal of 01fi0101
REG1 is at +5V with respect to ground.
Similarly, you shouldbe able to meas-
ure +5V on pin 40 ofthe 40-pin socket, Iel (07) 4934 0413 RolaAustralia
while pin 20 should be at 0V, Fax (07) 4934 031 1 web: www.telel¡nk.com.ou m OW27O3| 75 wuw.¡otanet-au
If these checks are OK, switch off
\
I
I
I I itr
I
I i{lltltíN'.¡Ì \

3.5M/\A STEREO
JACK SOCKET

Fig.7: 4-way headers CONT &

audio ouþut ritthe back of a CD-ROM CON9 are connected to the two
drives can be connected to CONT or CONO via 3.5mm stereo iack sockets. This
a standa¡d 4-way cable fitted with matching makes it easy to connect to the
headers. These cables are readiþ available from CD-ROM drive audio outputs via
computer stores or you can make your own. a standard stereo jack plug.

s4 Sn,rcow Cntp siliconchip.com.au

I t /\ t /\ T
t! r \r/ I
I
 Table 3: C0N2 Pin Assignments

Pin Pin Name Description

Supply railfor module; 1 PC board, code 07112071, 214-pin lC sockets
vss
typically GND 136 x 97mm 1TO-220 mini heatsink (Jaycar
Supply rail for module; 1 16x2 backlit LCD module HH-8502, Altronics H-0630)
typically +5V (Jaycar QP-5516 or QP-5518, 1 7.3728MH2 crystal (X1 )
Altronics Z-7013) 1 1okQ horizontaltrimpot (VR1)
Set LCD contrast
1 PO-mount 40-pin IDC header 1.5m tinned copper wire for links
RS = 0 selects ¡nstruct¡on; (CON1) (Jaycar PP-1 114, 1 M3 x 1Omm machine screw
RS=1 selectsdata
Altronics P-5040) 1 M3 nut
R/W
1 PC-mount 90'16-pin IDC
header (CON2) (Jaycar PP- Semiconductors
1 1 22, Allr onics P-5066) 1 ATMega 8515 microcontroller
6E E= 1 selects the LCD
module 1 PC-mount DB9 female RS- programmed with CDATA.hex
700 Data bus bit 0 232 socket (CON3) (Altronics (rc1)
P-3050, Jaycar PS-0804) 1 741500 quad NAND gate (lC2)
801 Data bus bit 1
(optional for programming) 1 74L504 hex inverter (lC3)
9D2 Data bus b¡t 2 1 28-pin or 40-pin SIL header 2 M AX232 RS-232 transceive rs
strip (Jaycar HM-3211, (lC4,lC5) (optional for
10 D3 Data bus bit 3
Altronics P-5430) programming)
11 D4 Data bus bit 4 1 16-way IDC ribbon cable (to 1 infrared receiver module
connect LCD module, length (lRD1 ) (Jaycar ZD-1952,
12 D5 Data bus bit 5
to suit) (Jaycar WM-4502, Altronics Z-1611)
13 D6 Data bus bit 6 Altronics W-2616) 1 7805 3-terminalregulator (REG1)
14 D7 Data bus bit 7
1 40-way IDE HDD cable (to 1 1N4004 silicon diode (D1)
connect CD-ROM drives) 23mm green LEDs
154 LED backlight anode 1 16-way IDC line socket (Jaycar (LED1,LED5)
16K LED backlight cathode PS-0985, Altronics P-351 6) 2 3mm red LEDs (LED2,LED4)
2 3.5mm stereo sockets, PO-mount 1 3mm orange LED (LED3)
(CON8,1 0) (Altronics P-0094)
and plug in the micro. Make sure that 1 2.5mm DC socket, PO-mount Capacitors
this device is oriented correctly and (CON6) (Jaycar PS-0520, 2 47¡t"F 16V electrolytic
that all its pins go into the socket. In Altronics P-06214) 1 1o¡rF 16V electrolytic
particular, take care to ensure that 1 PO-mount micro tactile switch 10 1pF 63V electrolytic (optional
none ofthe pins are folded back under (S3) (Jaycar SP-0600, Altronics for programming)
the device. s-1120) 4100nF monolithic
That done, set trimpot VR1 to mid- 2 SPDT 90' PC-mount toggle 222pF ceramic
range and switch on again. Check that switches (Altronics S-1 325)
the LCD module initialises correctly, 1 40-pin lC socket Resistors (0.25W, 1%)
then adjust VR1 for optimum display 2 16-pin lC sockets (optionalfor 1 1kO 1 100c¡
contrast. programming) 5 470f2 1 51O
Remote contfol functions
The firmware has an option that
allows you to use any RCS protocol
remote control. That means that you
can use virtually any universal remote
control plus most of the remotes that
are commonly used with TV sets, VCRs
and DVD players
The first step is to assign the buttons
that will control the various functions. )
To do this, you flrst need to press and
hold the "Remote Program" button
(S3) while the device resets. To get
the device to reset, you toggle switch
51 so that the orange LED lights and
then toggle it again to turn the LED Whoops! - we inadvertently left the contrast trimpot (VRl) offthe circuit
off (ie, you hoÌd 53 down while you for the CD-ROM Player Adaptor (Fig.3, p42, NovOT) and offour prototyl¡e
toggle S1 twice). PC board. This diagram shows the arnended circuit section. Note also that
This resets the micro and takes you there should be two 47uF capacitors across the output ofREGl, not one as
to the "Setup Remote" screen. Here shown on the circuit (the PC board is correct).

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 95

 For all those innovative, unique, interesting, hard to find products

Cat.
2405-7
2402-7
No.
Expressoard to Serial
Express0ard to Gigabit LAN
Description Price
$1
$119
39 What's New?
2401-7 Express0ard to eSATA - 2 Port $1 19
2403-7 Express0ard to Firewire (13944) $1 29
2404-7 Express0ard to Firewire & USB Combo $1 39
2457-7 PCle to Expresscard Adapter $1 og
Cordless Pen Mouse with Laser Pointer
2408-7 USB to Expresscard Adapter $1 29
Remote Control - Vo¡ce Activated &
2407-7 Express0ard into PCMCIA SlotAdapter $7e

1008265-7 Wireless VGAAdapter (802.1 1 g based)

17115-7 LGA775 Motherboard with ISA S¡ots
.l
Cat. No. Descrìptìon Pr¡ce 51 56-7 USB to VGA Adapter

2729-7 USB to Parallel - DB25 $59 Temperature Logging

2685-7

gF
USB to Parallel - Centronics $35 18211-7 Slandalone Temperature Logger - Sofhvare & Reader
2920-7 USB to Serial (RS232) 1 Port $5s
2929-7 USB to Serial (RS232) I Port $45s
2853-7 USB to RS422/485 1 Port $249
2907-7 USB to RS422l485 4 Port Cat 23025 $560
23025-7 USB to 5.1 Sound Adapter $45

6988-7 SATA 2.5' HD t0 eSATA & USB C0mbo Enclosure

1 1 333-7 5 Port 1 0/1 00 6913-7 SATA 3.5' HD to eSATA & USB Comb0 Enclosure
11334-7 I Port l0/100 1 00831 9-7 SATA to eSATA Bacþlano - 2 Port
11323-7 16Port10/.100 Cat11334 1008241-7 eSATA Cablè 1 m
Ilere's another view of the assembled prototyl¡e PC board, this 11324-7 24 Port 1 0/1 00
time hooked up to an Lfl) module that wq happencil t 11435-7 5 Port Gigabit Dlgibl lltlcmscopes ,r'-\.
3626-7
hand. Ñote thit after.'the rinit has beenbuilt, you have
11436-7 I
11535-7 l6PortGigabit
Port Gigab¡t
cutrrsz+Q 3685-7
USB Microscope Basic
USB Microscope with M¡crotouch
the remotè control functions - see text. 3686-7 USB Micr0srtpe wih MicrotouchTrigger
3687-7 IJSB M¡crosc-lpe PLUS with Measurement

Description 3688-7 USB M¡croscope wih Micmtouch & Measure

Cat. No. cat 23000 Price
23000-7 3 Port Switch -Toslink
23001-7 3 Port Switch - l\ilin¡ Plug
Of course, you won't be able to play I
23002-7
|È - ,1
4 lnput, 2 Output Sw¡tch - Toslink
Fower SuppW a CD and watch your TV simultane- 23006-7 Toslink to S/PDIF Converter
23005-7 S/PDIF to Toslink Converter ; I
ously using the same remote but this
feature can keep costs down. It means
-7 ODtical Extender to 25m í' \ É Cat 23007
LAST MONTH, we stated that one of the supply options for the board was
to plug a computer power supply into either CON4 or CON5. We have since that you don't have to purchase a sepa-
decided to scrap that option and now recommend that you stick to powering rate universal remote control, although
you can if you wish.
Not sure what product you need? Call us today for friendly advice!
the board from a 9-12V DC plugpack.
The disk drives can be powered directly from a computer power supply. Alter-
1800 625777 www.mgram.com.au [email protected]
0peration
natively, if you don't want the fan noise of a computer power supply, you can
The user interface has been kept
use a mains adaptor like the Jentec JTA0202Y. This unit supplies +12V and
quite simple. Occasionally, issuing Cat. No. Description Price
+5V rails at 2A each which is enough to power two drives and comes with Price
a command will result in an error 3655-7 USB EPR0M Programmer $4eg
the correct, plug (you'll need a Y-splitter cable to power two drives).
screen, This is perfectly OK as the $799 1 1 68-7 -
Car PC 12v l Ghz 51 2lvlb 80Gb WinXP $1 659

At the moment, you will have to purchase this adaptor via eBay but it may be flrmware has been designed to be $sss 3527-7 USB 2 0 Analog TV Tuner & Video Capture $119
3102-7 VGA to Video Converter with VGA Passlhrough $1 49
available from Altronics and Jaycar in the near future. quite tolerant of errors. If it happens, $269
$1 89 2726-7 PCN4CIA 2 Port Serial Adapter
simply try the command again but if $359 ztJt-| PCMCIA to Paralleì AdapteÍ $269

the problem persists, it may indicate $599 6741-7 IDE to Compact Flash Adapter - Front Access $se
2874-7 lndependent RAID Server - Dual IDE HD with Hot Swap $569
you can program the keys to be used for spare RC5 remote and defrne the keys an incompatibility or fault with your 8264-7 lvlagnelic Card Reader Track 1, 2 & 3 -Pslz $1 39 2559-7 lndependent RAID Server - Dual SATA HD with Hot Swap $s99
the project, The device will guide you as you see fit. The "Power" button is drive. 5839BLK-7 Thermal Receipt Printer - Parallel $569 1248-7 Windows CE Based Terminal with Wyse Emulati0 $699

through the set-up, and the keys that deliberately unused for this project The "Error" screen typically looks 9512BLK-7 CashDrawer-8J12(Connectstoreceiptprinter) $179 1171-7 -
7" Touchscreen LCD I 2v DC cat 31 02
$470
5551-7 - Wide $23s 1173-7 -
8" Touchscreen LcD 1 2v DC $579
you define will be stored in EEPROM and this lets you control the device like that shown in Fig. 2 last month but 5751-7
l\4ini Label Printer 54mm
Wide Key Programmable $1 99
ZebøLP2844 Label Printer - 1 04mm $659 15141-7 USB Macro Stick -'16
for later use. with your TV remote control, for may have different numbers which S338-7 Cheque Beader - PS/2 $71 I 6885-7 USB to PCMCIA for Wireless Broadband Cards 32-bit $29s

For example, when the screen dis- example. are used for debugging purposes. The i¿ñi*e,::êÈ-
-

plays "Press Vol Up" (see Fig.6), you In otherwords, because the "Power" hexadecimal numbers give an indica- cat 1oog178 :,ì-- '/- car5751 2874

simply press the "Volume Up" but- button is unused, you can have your tion of the state of the AT,\ registers Cat 1 51 41
ton on your remote. It's just a matter TV off and use its remote to control the and the state machine when the error
of cycling through all the options CD-ROM Player Adaptor, Then, when occurred, N

until the button assignment has been you are finished with the adaptor, you If the errors consistently re-occur, E
É
this information will help to diagnose o
completed, can switch it off and use the remote to =
Õ
This means that you can use any control your TV again. the problem. sc

96 Stuco¡,t Cmp siliconchip.com.au

All prices subject to change without current pricing are indicative only.
 No special tools are required to assemble the kits and cabinets, in case you ever want to run the speakers with
no soldering is required. You will need a Phillips head conventional amplifier drive (ie, not bi-wired).
screwdriver, a 3mm Âllen key to install the speakers to ,\ final step is to connect a 1 .5V battery across the termi-
the baffle and an adjustable wrench to attach the crossover nals of the completed loudspeaker. With the battery positive
connections to the terminals of the tweeters. to the red terminal, the woofer cone should move forward.
The fully assembled crossover networks even include the If that's OK, you can fit the grille cloth frames.
wiring to the speaker terminal panels - as we said, there You are now almost ready for a listening session, When
is no soldering at all! positioning your speakers in the room, make sure that they
are not in the room corners and are out fiom the walls by
Order of assembly around a metre or so.'Ideally, they should be placed on
The order of assembly is the same, regardless of whether
you are putting together the 260s, 360s or 260C (centre
speaker). The first step is to install the crossover network
stands so that the tweeters are at your ear level, when you
are seated.

Making your own enclosures

Kr[esflor fl,fl-5 5- ü

Du¡a[-
in the base of the cabinet. Check the back of the cabinet
to make sure you do not have it upside down - the rec- If you want to save some money by buiÌding your own
tangular hole for the terminal panel should be below the
circular bass port,
enclosures, all the necessary dimensions and other infor-
mation are accessible on the designer's website at www,
arlü08 @c@ü tr
Fit six Velcro tabs to the underside of the crossover PC stonessoundstudio,com. au.
board and then pass it through the lower woofer hole and If it was our choice, we would pick the complete kits
secure it to the felt on the base of the cabinet. Pass the rather than going to all the trouble to make the cabinets.
Like many manufacturers, Kriesler built broadcasts were mainly nationalistic
programs loosely disguised as general
terminal panel out through the rear of the cabinet, making Sure, you will save some money but there is a great deal numerous 5-valve, dual-wave receivers entertainment.
sure that you do not disturb the felt which covers the rec- of work involved. Consider that the front baffle needs to be EventuãÌÌy, various segments of
tangular hole. Then secure the panel with four countersunk laminated from two lBmm sections and you need to make with quite good performance. The 1L-59 the shortwave balds were allocated
MDF wood screws, the bass port with its carefully flared ends. receiver was aimed at the low-priced end by international agreement for these
Bring out the wires for the woofer(s) through their There are really no short cuts to making the cabinets broadcasters. These bands became
respective holes in the flont baffle. Fit the push-on con- and if you don't follow the diagrams very closely, you of the market but its performance was still known as the 120, 90,75,60,49,4L,
nectors from the crossover speaker cables to the woofer(s).
The wires are colour-coded (red for positive and black for
will prejudice the sound quality. The above site has all the quite acceptable, with good reception on the 31,25,19, 16, 13 and 11-metre bands,
information on these speakers so if you want to check any with a 23-metre (13MHzl band added
negativeJ and differently sized so that you cannot make a aspect ofthe design, you can readily do so. st shortwave stations. at a later date.
mistake when you do the connections. Like millions of others throughout
Carefully place the woofer into its hole in the front baffle Dual-wave and multi-band receiv- less for long-range radio operation. As the world, Australians grasped the op-
and secure it with six Allen head screws using a 3mm Allen Kit Availability ers were quite popular during the late a result, they decided to allow amateur portunity to listen to shortwave radio
key. It is important that you do not over-tighten these screws Fountek ribbon speakers, Peerless speakers and all of 1930sthroughtothemid1950s. These radio operators to use wavelengths broadcasts, particularly the direct test
otherwise you will strip the holes in the MDF panel. the kits for the Signature Series are exclusive to Wagner sets covered both the broadcast band shorter than 200 metres in the belief cricketbroadcasts from England. There
Electronics, 138 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, NSW 2131. and a selection of shortwave bands that they would be able to do no more was nothing like listening through the
Mounting the tweeter Phone 029798 9233; fax 029798OO17 between 1.5MHz and 30MHz. than "get over the back fence". static and fading while Bradman com-
Now is the time to mount the highly prized Fountek Initially, multi-band receivers cov- In practice, the amateurs quickly piled another century!
ribbon tweeters. Importalt: do not remove the protection ered just the medium-wave band of demonstrated that shortwave was
label from the fiont of the tweeter until you have completed COMPLETE KITS 550-lS00kHzandthelong-waveband the best to use for long-range com- Multi-band receivers
the assembly. lnclude speakers, cr0ss-overs, all hardware and cabinels. of around 150-400kH2. In the early munications. That, in turn, soon led Multi-band receivers, like the AWA
First, check that the felt cover is fltted behind tweeter (Price per pair Iexcept 260c] including GST) days of wireless, it was considered by to the authorities (having wiped the 6-valve 7-banders (see March & April
cutout hole. That done, bring out the tweeter wires from "the powers that be" (ie, government egg from their faces) allowing various 2OO2) were used by many keen short-
260
the crossover. These are fitted with colour-coded (red authorities) that wavelengths shorter broadcasting stations to use the short- wave listeners during the late 1930s
for positive, green for negative) ring terminals to suit the Plain MDF . K|T260-MDF .... .....$1299.00 than 200 metres (1500kH2) were use- wave balds, These early shortwave and into the 1950s. However, the cost
Black vinyl .. ... ... K|T260-BV ................ $1399.00
threaded posts of the tweeter. of these radios was quite high due to
Make the connections and tighten them with a small the complexity of the switching that
260C (one unit only)
adjustable wrench - do not over-tighten them! Hint: angle was necessary in order to tune the
the connector lugs to allow enough room between the felt Plain MDF K|T260C-MDF . ........... $649.00
various bands,
cover and back of the ribbon magnet when installing the For this reason, many manufacturers
tweeter, produced sets with just one shortwave
360
Next, install the tweeter to the front baffle with four band. The international broadcast
Allen head screws, ,\gain - do not over-tighten them. You .
Plain MDF ........... K|T360-MDF . .. .. $1159 00
bands of most interest were in the 6-
can then carefuIly remove the protection label from the Black vinyl .... K|T360-BV $1299 00
1 BMHz range or |he 7 -22MHz range. By
tweeter faceplate. only tuning one or the other of these
SPEAKER KITS (Without Cabinets)
ranges, it was practical to have just
Bi-wiring option lnclude speakers and crossovers but n0 cab¡nets and hard\,vare.
one shortwave bald plus the broadcast
moment - if you intend running (Price per pair Iexcept 260C] including GST).
Just back-tracking for a band installed in the set.
these speakers bi-wired, then the instalÌation procedure is This drastically reduced the com-
slightly different. You need to cut links LK1 and LK2 on plexity and the price of the receiver
the crossover PC boards and then remove the gold plated and opened up a new market for such
links fiom the 4-terminal panels. radios.
Keep the plated links - in fact, it's a good idea to put Up until the late 1940s and even into
them in a small plastic bag and tape them to the rear of the the 1950s, most dual-wave receivers
16 Sntco¡¡¡ Crtrp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 S7
 6AN7

hf
F
H
rrl
u, Making the connections to the woofer. The terminals are
F colour-"coded and differently sized so that you cannot make
a mistake.
FI
C I CAPACITOR
2.
50 FF
3r
M lcA arh ltç'. R r RESTSTOR ?Z r.rzw CÀnôON
Z oh.t .
.
47k^ Ya "
! l0l
Ð This photo shows the crossover network installed in the
3c-b I TFIMMER HY-O 5-5OpF 3 ?7kn.l .
A]áIÀ, L'GE Z GANG 4 ob . 4t0k
^.r¿
.
|Fr base ofthe 360 enclosure.
5 ob . Tf,IMMER wlRE o-3OpF
6. 435 pF MlcA 4\L
.O09pFGûov. PAPER t5'.
H!
8r
9"
¿5OÞF Mlc¡
.o3 yF {00ú PAPER
EZ S
3
. .ç . r¡OT. C, hwfTsÞ.'
. l0 " ^, l'¿ür, caRBoN crl They have been developed with bi-wiring in mind so
lO4b .
¡l .
.OSpF 200v.
25 pF MlcA
l0
ll
'
.31
¡'t0 ^,
d..
rfæ (o the tweeter and woofer fi.lter networks are essentially quite
tZr looFF' . l? ^,.
" 270kn,'lW separate, as shown in the diagrams of Fig.1'
t3. .0o¿rF l¡ .. l¿k Â. þ¿W
600v. PAPER
ll . z¿On..
ii s*z . ãt i, st*porc,tu.w'c'tr 1l0t' sp sz-¡t
6.3 Y -,- 3 a. M.ES. Bolt
the tweeter is fed with a third-order high pass (redB/
t5.
15. 16 ' ¿10 [. Y¿w Ww. ÀLLVOL'rAGÊS TO EARTH : ?0.000 e/v oñ D c., 1.000 È/v. AC.
FREAUEilgY BANGE: B/C 54ó-1650 KC'S, Svú ¡- 18 MC',S.
öctave) filter and the woofer is fed with a second-order
17" l'I cb ' 6d kÂ- I W CAR BoN
(12dBloctave) low pass filter. In the case of the 260, the
t8i T t POWERTRÄils. lg-6¿. l2r OPnANS tulaD&*,1I4-'5Ã
t9,
z0
.oo6yF60Ov PAPSF:l5i
.csyF Áooa ' 119%
rFl IITRANS.¿ssKc¿s.2n.qd.
sxl Sw.WAVE.CHANGE.?PôsE,3Pol¿
?J'tg
l7-¿l crossover frequency is 3.BkHz and 3.2kIIz in the 360.
Both crossover networks are based on the same PC board
Fig.l: the circuit of the Kriesler 11-59 dual-wave receiver._It's a fa!1!V conventional s-valve superhet receiver with a
but there are differences. Each crossover network employs
6ÀN7 converter, a 6NB IF amplifier and 6BDZ & 6AQ5 audio amplifier stages. A 6V4 is used as the rectifier. air-cored inductors, non-inductive wirewound resistors
and SCR 400V metallised polypropylene capacitors. High
quality components are used throughout.
with decent shortwave performance some duds too, such as the dual-wave were also different, to suit particular
4-valve sets, The latter just didn't models. Building them
included aradio frequency (RF) stage.
However, the introduction of valves have enough gain to be useful on I obtained my Kriesler 11-59 dual-
Fit the woofer carefully and do not touch the cone at this
such as the 64N7, 6AEB, 6A18 and shortwave. wave teceiver back in 1992 as just a
point, otherwise you may damage it. It is secured to the
other triode-hexode valves for the By the mid-1950s, most Australians dirty, greasy chassis with no cabinet. bafle with six Allen screws'
converter stages made itpossible to ob- were no longer interested in listening I initially thought that I would scrap
tain good performance without an RF to shortwave. The average dual-wave the set and use the parts as spares for
stage, thus further reducing receiver set was probably tested on shortwave a other sets. However, when I looked
cost. These valves are low-noise con- few times during its life but generally, at it more closely, it was plain that it for another time.
verters, whereas valves like the 6BE6 the wave-change switch was left in the was a dual-wave model, which I didn't This very fine attention to detail on the part of the de-
broadcast position, have. As a result, I decided to clean signer has made the task difficult for the kit supplier but it
and similar pentagrid converters are
inherently noisy by comparison. That said, there was a niche market it up, restore it to fulI working order mè"ns that you, the ultimate kit-builder, will have an easy
An additional feature of shortwave for dual-wave receivers lrom the late and scrounge a cabinet from a similar time putting them together.
1940s right through to the early 1960s, broadcast-band only Kriesler set. The loudipeaker cabinets are supplied fully assembled
broadcasting during that period was
that tlre tra¡rsmitter powers were being due to ,A.ustralia's expanding migrant in two forms, unfi.nished MDF or black vinyl. In the case
population, Many were homesick and The clean-up of the unfinished MDF cabinets, it is up to you as to how
increased, as were the antenna gains.
Today, Radio Australia at Shepparton shortwave radio broadcasts gave them Most of the cleaning was done us-
uses transmitters of 100kW output. the opportunity to listen to news from ing rags and kitchen scouring Pads d in this article were
soaked in household kerosene, To ard, If you have access
These feed antennas with gains that home,
get into the awkward sPots, I used a spray booth, so much
give an effective radiated power in
the favoured direction of up to 10MW. Kriesler LL-59 screwdriver to push a kerosene-soaked the better,
No wonder an RF stage is no longer During the 1950s, Kriesler built a rag around. This proved effective and Alternatively, if you intend painting them, we recom-
needed! number of different mantel receiver the majority of the muckwas removed
In fact, I know of one listener in models on a common chassis and ftom the chassis and the components.
Rockhampton who carr listen on gMHz mounted them in the same cabinet. It certainly wasn't pristine but it cer-
to Radio Australia (Shepparton) on a The main difference in the appearance tainly looked a lot better than when Making the connections to the tweeter' Do it exactþ as the
crystal set. of these sets was the ftont escutcheon, I started. photo ãepicts.,Don't over-tighten the-nuts on the tweeters
which had provision for either two Note thatbecause kerosene is slight- I it woulã be â shame to damage such a magnificent
Some very good dual-wave receiv-
ly oily, it also acts as a rust inhibitor. grille cloth frames. performer.
ers were manufactured but there were or four control knobs. The dial scales
siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.?u DECEMBER 2OO7 15
9B StLtcoN CntP
 Both crossover networks are built onto
the same PC board and are presented as
shown here. There is no assembly work to be
done. You just install them in the cabinets and connect 'em up.

wave diffraction analyser and FFT vibration analysis soft- a front port a form of speaker (low-frequency) distortion and
ware. The resulting enclosures have an EBS (extendedbass cross modulation is generated by the compressed air exiting
shelfJ low-pass filter response to ensure optimum bass and the port out of phase with the woofer, creating (modulation)
transient response. interference of the woofer cone. This interference occurs at
While the enclosures are relativeiy small, they are very medium to high playback levels (port veÌocity) and is one The parti oq the top of the chassis are all easy to access. Note
strong and rigid to ensure very lorn'panel resonances, They of the factors reducing overall dynamic range or head-room .thatth- e chassis was used for several similar models, which

are made fiom l8mm MDF (medium density fibreboard) of the transducers and speaker system. .eccu¡nts for 'be.spare holes.
while the baffle is made from two thicknesses (36mmJ, The port itself is 63mm in diameter with smail flared
to allow the ribbon tweeter to be flush-mounted and still ends. ,A.ll this is done to keep distortion at a minimum.
provide maximum rigidity. ,\s a result, the set's metalwork hasn't a coat ofgold-coloured spray paint and The converter's output is fed via
In addition, the inside edges of the woofer holes are Crossover networks shown any obvious increase in rust it came up looking quite good. an IF transformer to the pentode sec-
chamfered to prevent diffraction effects at midrange fre- Using the best drivers and a carefully designed cabinet since it was obtained 1992. tion of a 6NB valve which acts as an
quencies and aÌl models have internal bracing of the large would be a waste of time without an equal standard in the Iwas fortunate to have a cabinet Circuit details IF amplifier stage. A diode inside the
side and top panels. crossover networks. In the Signature Series, the crossover from another receiver that I could The circuit is similar to many other 6NB acts as the detector, while a sec-
networks are quite complex (Linkwitz Riley with Bessel/ use for the set. It responded well to 5-valve dual-wave sets of the 1950s. It ond diode is used to provide delayed
Rear bass port Butterworth response). They were developed to enable automotive cut and polish compound covered the broadcast band from 540- AGC.
Both enclosures employ a rear port to ensure a reduction good linear phase and minimum distortion through the to get rid of some small scratches and 1650kHz and a shortwave band fiom The gain of the IF amplifier is appar-
of overall driver distortion a¡d cross-modulation which can passband and overlap regions of both the woofer and rib- the cabinet now looks quite present- 6-1BMHz. Fig.1 shows the details. ently high enough to cause the IF stage
be generated by front ports, According to the designer, with bon tweeter. able. I had three knobs that were in As shown on Fig.1, a 6AN7(,{) is to be regenerative, so the secondary of
good order but the fourth was slightly used as the converter valve. This stage the first IF transformer has a 470kf)
g.2a damaged and I have so far been unable converts the incoming signal (either resistor across it to improve stability.
3.9o 3.9¡rF lOpF 8.2pF lO¡rF 3.9O
to get a suitable replacement. broadcast band or shortwave band) The cathodes of both RF stages are
The felt washers that go between to the intermediate frequency (IF) of earthed and -1.5V of bias is applied
+
JP3.O JP3.O the knobs and the front of the cabinet 4551<112. to these stages via a back bias auange-
TWEEIER TWEEIER
tNPtrTs
50pH RIBBON
INPUTS
RIBBON were missing so I had to cut sorne out, A 3-pole, 2-position switch is used ment consisting of resistors R11 and
TWEETER TWEFTER
The felt sheetwas obtained from a craft to switch the aerial and oscillator R16. This -1.5V also sets the delay
shop and two hollow hole punches coils. The untuned windings on the for the AGC system, so a reasonable
were used to cut out the centre and coils are wired in series with one an- amount of output is obtained before
(
the outer edge of each washer. other in such a way that operation on any AGC is applied to the front-end
Another problem was that the paint- either band is not compromised, This of the receiver.
832573
5.ó¡rF work on tlle front panel behind the dial method of wiring saves using a bigger In addition, a bias voltage of -12V
WOOFER
BASS/M|D escutcheon had faded. This was given switch to achieve the band changes. is derived for the 6AQ5 output valve
INPI.JTS )r.' SPEAKER 830883
WOOFER 50pH BASS/MID
INPUTS SPEAKER
tes
(REMOVE r.rNKS rKr AND r.K2 FOR Bt-WrRtNG)
8.2a e

Fig.l: these are the crossover networks for the 260 (above) (
and the 360 (right). Both use an l8dB/octave rolloffbelow Available Aust, only. Price: $413.95 plus $7 p&p per order (¡ncludes GST). Just fill in
(REMOVE UNKS rKr AND tK2 FOR BLWTRTNG)
the crossover frequency to the tweeter and a 12dBloctave and ma¡l the handy order form in this issue; or fax (02) 9939 2648; or call (02) 9939
slope above the crossover frequency to the woofer. 3295 and quote your cred¡t card number. \

L4 Stttco¡rt Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 99

 #
t¡Ë!

ru
ffi
iÍË

This under-chassis view shows the rather untidy nature of the wiring, The original z-core mains lead has been replaced
by a 3-core lead, so that the chassis could be earthed for improved safety.
are made
This series of photos show the line-up of the drivers used in the signature series speaker systems. The woofers
(ie, at the junction of RlB and the 6AQ5 output stage. Note that feedback tors with polyester types. The only one by Fãuntek and incorporates a very high
btp";;ú;r ànã ¡oth hurre .rgged die'cast chassis. The ribbo r tweeier is made
transformer's HT secondary centre from the voice coil of the loudspeaker I didn't replace was the tone control qíality matching transformei"Note the fine mesh protecting the ribbon from curious fingers,
tap). Note that 235V of HT is applied is applied to the cathode of the 6BD7 capacitor (CrS), as even quite high
to the 6AQ5's plate, while 200V is to lower distortion. This feedback leakage here would have little effect
represents t cannot be driven Depending on your budget, you may decide to build
applied to its screen and to the plate network also acts as a tone control in on the operation of the set.
The electrolytic capacitors aÌl prov- diiectly by Hence, the tweeter eithei the 260s or 360s for a high-performance stereo
circuits of the two RF valves (6,\N7 conjunction with potentiometer R15.
ed to be in good order and reformed has an int with a frequencY system, -A.lternativeÌy, for high-end home theatre A/V
& 6NB). The 6BD7 has a plate voltage The audio quality from the Rola 5-7H
response fo lr2}kl{z. This results in a very flat tweeter im- system, you may decide on a mix of the 260 [front) and
of just 70V. loudspeaker is quite good. readily (the techniques used to reform
pedance of 7Q from lkHz to 4okHz. The basic tweeter is e-Oo (reai), together with the 260C for the centre-front
Following the detector, the extracted electrolytic capacitors were discussed
audio signal is applied to a plug and Power supply in the October 2006 issue). The resis- ãlso extremely efficient and in fact, is used with resistive channel.
attenuation to match the Peerless woofers used here. ake, you can be sure that
socket arrangement on the back of the The power supply is quite conven- tors were then checked and were aLl al speaker sYstem. Make no
tional and is based on a 6V4 rectifier. found to be within tolerance, which Two separate stereo pairs ofloudspeakers are presented,
chassis. This allowed the setto be used the finest tweeters we have
as a normal radio receiver or simply as This is driven by the centre-tapped is within around 1ook oT the marked the Signature Series 260 and 360 systems' In addition, a
centre channel valiant of the 260, the 260C was designed ever heard. They are so clean in their definition and their
an audio power amplifier (mono) for a secondarl, of the mains transformer value.
Next, the speaker transformer wind- to complement the 260 and 360 for high-end home theatre pin-point localiìation of instruments in a stereo spread
turntable. I'm not sure how often this and delivers a nominal 25OVDC of HT.
A/V systems. has to be heard to be believed.
facility was used in the real world but Capacitors C17 & C1B and resistor R1B ings were checked for continuitY,
On top of that, these speakers have very low distortion
it was probably rarely used. Basically, provide the necessary filtering. as was the power transformer' The
- measuied at around 0.3% THD at lkHz and 1 watt'
itwas a handy sales gimmick that power transformer was also tested
didn't cost much to provide. Overhauling the circuit using my 1000V insulation tester for 260 & 360
Two stages of audio amplification are My first step in overhauling the any breakdown between the PrimarY
The 260 is a slimline speaker using the Fountek ribbon
provided, first by a 6BD7 and then by a circuit was to replace the paper capaci- and the chassis. No discernible leakage
tweeter and two Peerless HDS 832873 S-inch mid/range
woofers, This uses a Nomex paper cone, a very large fer-
260
and
CutP

Completely tEW projects - the result 0f two years research & development The 260 is aMTM (midrange-tweeter-midrange) arrange-
o ment (also known as D'Appolito) with a rear bass reflex
Learn how engine management systems work
port. The 260C cent ìn every respect
o Build projects to control nitrous, fuel injection and turbo boost systems
åxceptthatthetwee 0', sothatitwill
a Switch devices on and otf on the basis of signal frequency, temperature and voltage th
be vertical when side'
a Build test instruments to check fuel injector duty cycle, fuel mixtures and brake & temperature The smaller 360 bass reflex system uses the Fountek
Mail order pr¡Ges: Aust. $422.50 (incl. GST & P&P); Overseas $426.00 via a¡rma¡1. Otder by ribbon tweeter and a Peerless B30B83 6'5-inch midrange
phon¡ng (02) 9939 3295 & quot¡ng your cred¡t card number; 0r fax the details to (02) 9939 woofer, also with a rear port. Its efficiency is somewhat
The overall frequency response ofthe Signature Series 260
2O¿g; ol mait your order w¡th cheque or cred¡t card deta¡ls to Silicon Chip Publications, lower but still quite respectabìe at B7.5dB/1m/1W'
and 360 speakeis is commendably flat to below 50H2, This
P0 Box 139, Gollatoy, llSW 2097. is the response ofthe 260. Both speaker enclosures were developed using LEAP 5

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 73

100 Stuco¡¡ Cutp siliconchip.com.au
 At far right is the 260 tower system and its resistance was detected so it was still
dimensions while below is its centre channel
variant, the 260C. The 360, at right, uses a
in good order.
As can be seen from one of the
Photo Gallery: 1934 Emmco "little Jewelo'
6.5-inch woofer. The pick of the two systems
photos, the wiring in the set is rather
is the 260 because ofits considerably higher
efficiency: S2.5dBl7Ír/7W. Both systems produce untidy with bits and pieces added here
commendably low harmonic distortion, and there in any available space. This
is probably due to the fact that the
same chassis was also used for a vari-
ety of broadcast-band sets. That said,
556
the set isn't difficult to work on.

444
Testing
Having determined thatno obvious
faults were present, the set was con-
nected to the mains and switched on.
Unfortunately, it wasn't working, there
being no audible output.
Because the audio amplifier input is
at the back of the chassis, it was easy
for me to place my finger on the link.
A healthy "blurt" immediately came
from the speaker which meant that the
audio amplifier stages (68D7 & 6,\Q5)
¡[^l rrucn wE CoMeLETED our description of the 20W audio signal from the amplifier is passed directly through were OK. The problemwas therefore in
\ Class-A Stereo Amplifier a few months ago, readers the ribbon a¡d the interaction of the current with the the RF section of the set so I initially
\J have been asking us^ for a kit speaker system to match strong magnetic field deflects the ribbon back and forth to decided to try replacing the two valves
its performance. produce sound. in that section. Replacing the 6AN7 PRODUCED BYTHE ELECTRICITY METER MANUFACTURING CO.,Waterloo,
As it happens, the Signature Series have been in devel- Incredibly, such an apparently flimsy system can produce had no effect but when I replaced the NSWthe"Little Jewel"was anotherexample of a small wooden mantel set ¡n
opment for over a yeil now and we are very pleased to deafening sound Ìevels and with unsurpassed fidelity, 6NB, the set burst into life. a style that was popular at the time.The set is a s-valve autodyne superhet
present a complete set of speakers which can be used in transient response and so on. Alignment of the receiver was and was manufactured in 1934.
stereo or home theatre systems. Ribbon tweeters have been around for a long time but quite routine and was along the lines The valve line-up was as follows: 57 autodyne mixer; 58 lF amplifier; 57
They provide excellent stereo sound stage ald definition until recently they have been largely confined to very ex- described in the December 2oO2 ar'd anode bend detector; 245 aud¡o output and 80 rectif¡er. Photo: Historical
ald have a very wide and smooth frequency response with pensive esoteric loudspeakers systems and their reliability January & February 2003 issues. The Radio Society of Australia,lnc.
very low harmonic distortion. And while they are eminently and ruggedness was always a little suspect. sensitivity of the receiver is quite good
suitable for our Class-A amplifier, they can be matched up In the particular Fountek 1P3.0 ribbon tweeters featured and shortwave stations are quite eas-
to any amplifier with a power output up to 120 watts per here, the aluminium ribbon weighs a mere 11 milligrams ily heard,
channel, when running normal program material. and is just I microns thick - much thinner than the pro- As with most dual-wave receivers tuned. This indicated that the local that someone could be electrocuted.
The heart of each of these speaker systems is the very verbial human hair! of the era, tuning on shortwave is oscillator wasn't working. I then op- As a result, the 2-core lead was re-
high performance Fountek ribbon tweeter. F or those who The aluminium ribbon is 66mm long and Bmm wide extremely touchy and care is needed erated the band-change switch and placed with a 3-core lead so that the
are not familia¡ with ribbon tweeters, consider them as and suspended between the poles of a Neodymium magnet to accurately tune stations in. Perhaps the set worked but with quite a bit of chassis could be earthed.
an extremely light filament of aluminium foil suspended with a gap flux of 0.6 Tesla. this is one of the reasons why these "crackling". The best way of obtaining a 3-core
between the poles of an extremely strong magnet. The As you might expect, such a short piece of aluminium sets were not used to any great extent The cure was quite simple. First, the lead is to buy a low-cost 3-metre ex-
on shortwave. By contrast, sets that chassis was removed ftom the cabinet tension cord. It's then just a matter of
lmpedance vs Freq lmoedance vs Freq had bandspread shortwave bands and the band-change switch sprayed cutting the socket off and wiring the
were much easier to tune and were with Inox to clean the contacts. That cable in to the equipment.
more popular. done, the non-operative dial lamp was
tightened down in its socket fit had Summary
Postscript come slightly loose). The 11-59 is a good performer, its
Having restored this receiver around Once those simple steps had been main drawback being that the tuning
15 years ago and not using it since, I completed, the set burst into life as on shortwave requires critical adjust-
wondered how it would go after such soon as power was re-applied. It just ment. There's no noticeable backlash
Initially, I
a long period of inactivity, goes to show that, having restored in the tuning though and although a
once again reformed the electrolytic these old radios, they require little better tuning mechanism would have
capacitors by turning the set on for maintenance and will keep going with been nice, the set was designed for the
around 30 seconds, then offfor a short reasonable care. low-cost end of the market.
period and then repeating this proce- Like most sets of the era, this set Finally, the components are all
I I dure several times. No overheating or had a 2-core power lead, so the chas- run well within their ratings and this
any other untoward things occurred sis wasn't earthed. That said, I have would contribute to a long operational
I
I I but one dial lamp was not working and never encountered a fauÌty power life for the set. In summary, the 11-59
the set refused to operate correctly. transformer that had shorted between was a fine example of Kriesler's design
tnsii., I ¿=!=- I JãtJ- l¡La
l!-l\E4R.x utffi- I Æ5:!- I #--.i- l:f- |!-L\E4R-:! There was plenty of noise from its primary and metal frame. and and manufacturing expertise. It's
The impedance curves for both the Signature Series speaker systems show the classic "double hump" at the bass end, due the set on the broadcast band, which However, there's always a possibil- a set I am happy to have in my col-
to the tuning provided by the bass reflex port. increased as lower frequencies were ity of this occurring, with the danger Iection, sc

72 Stttco¡rt Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBE7 2007 7o1.

 sEtF-flil Aulllo AUIIIO POWER AMPTIFIER IIESIGI{
b HA]|DB0OK by Douslas Self
T design guru. A Beduced in pilce Írom previous edition! From one of the
c offering a depend- world's most respected audio authorities. New 4th edition is
able methqdology for designihg audio power amplifiers in more comprehensive lhan ever - now with new chapters on
a way that improves performance at every point without Class D amplifiers and DC servos, Now even bigger - 465
significantly increasing cost. lncludes compressors/limiters, pages in paperback. See the review in Seplenber 2006
hybrid bipolar/FET ampb, electronic sw¡tching and more.
474 pages in paperback. !r AUDIO ETEGTROTICS
By John Linsley Hood. Second edition 1999.
Piactical Uatiable Speed Dilves and For anyone involved in designing, adapting and using analog
Powel Electlonics and digital au ent. Covers tuners
by Malcolm Barnes. 1st Ed, Feb 2003. andreceivers ers, voltage o Power

An essential reference for engineers and anyone who wishes amplifiers, oo technology test &
to design or use variable speed drives for induction motors. measurement, loudspeaker cr0ssover systems, power sup-
plies and noise reduction systems. 375 pages in soft cover.
in SlL|C0N CHIP September 2003. 288 pages.
A]{AIOG ELEGTRO]I¡CS
Microconttollet Ptoiects in G for the By lan Hickman. 2nd edition 1999.
Essential reading for electronics designers and students
8051 by Dogan lbrahim. Published 2000. alike. lt will answer questions about core analog theory and
Through graded proiects introduceslhe fundamentals of
design principles as well as offering practical design ideas.
microelectronics, the 8051 family, programming in C and
Many of the circuits taken from lan Hickman's
the use of a C compiler. Provides an interesting, enjoy-
afticles. 294 pages in soft cover.
able and easily mastered alternâtive to more theoretical
textbooks.'178 pages in paperback.
Power Supply Cookbsok
!¡p:¡----¡y Marty Brown.2nd edition 2001.
0p Amps fot Eueryone An easy-to-follow, step-by-step text for a wide variety of
power supplies. All described in simple language. Anyone
Edited by Ron Mancini Published 2003
with a basic knowledge of electronics can create a very com-
Compiled by Texas lnstruments, this is the closest thing
plicated power supply design. 265 pages in paperback'
to a "bible" on op amps. This is an engineer's reference
with lÒts of theory, plenty of maths and right up-to-
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worth every cent. 478 pages, soft covers. FOR SATEIIITE & CABI.E TV
by Graf & Sheets -2nd Edition
Ever wondered how they scramble video on cable and sat-
lnteÍacing W¡th G by Howard Hutchings
ellite TV? This book tells you! Encoding/decoding systems
Revised by Mike James. 2nd edition 2001. (analog and digital systems), encryption, even schematics
Anyone interesled in ports, transducer interfacing, analog to dig- and details of several encoder and decoder circuits for ex-
¡tal conversion, convolution, filters or digital/analog conversion perimentation. For both the hobbyist and the professional.
will benefit from reading this book. The principals precede the 290 pages in paperback.
applications to provide genuine understandinO and encourage
further development. 302 pages in paperback.
IIUII PLAYERS A]III IIRIVES
PRACTICAL RF HAIIDBOOI( by K.F. lbrahim. Published 2003.
- by lan Hickman ilEW 4TH EDlTl0N 2006 A guide to DVD technology and applications, with particular
The latest guide to RF design for engineers, technicians, stu- focus on design i$sues and pitfalls, maintenance and repair.
dents and enthusiasts. Covers key topics in RF: analog design ldeal for engineers, technicians, students of consumer
principles, transmission lines, couplers, transformers, ampli- electronics and sales and installation staff' As reviewed in
fiers, oscillators, modulation, transmitteis and receivers, Silicon Chip February 2004. 319 pages in paperback'
propagation & antennas. 279 pages in paperback.

Af{AtOG TECH]IIQUES WITH PIC lll

PRAGTIGE by D w smith.
IIIGITAT I]ITERFACIIIG New 2nd Edition - published 2006
byT H Wilmshurst- Published 2001.
Covers all the analog electronics needed in a wide range of
pr00rams: lirst degrees in electronic engi-
ental science course, MSc electronics and
for HNDs. Supported by numerous worked
examples and experimental exercises. 312 pages paperback,

ETEGTRIG MOTORS A]III IIRIUES PIG M¡CROCOTITROLTER -

PERSO]IAI II{TRODUGTORY COURSE
By John Morton NEW: 3rd edition 2005.
for non-specialist users of electric motors and drives, filling A unique and practical guide t0 oetting up and running
the gap between academic texts and general 'handbooks". with the PlC. lt assumes no knowledge of microcontrollers
Explores all of the widely-used modern types of motor and - ideal introduction for students, teachers, technicians
and electronics enthusiasts. Revised 3rd edition focuses
flrive including conventional & brushless DC, induction
otors, steppers, servos, synchronous and reluctance. entirely on re-programmable flash PlCs such as 16F54,
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 l0o/o
0tf! FON T II* DI¡GOUTT OT

ROBOT BUIIDER'S COOKBOOK AC MACHIIIES ay lim Lowe Published 2006

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lntroducing, through hands-on project work, the Machines, NE12 Synchronous Machines and the AC part of
mechanics, electronicsand programming involved NE30 Electric Molor Control and Proteclion. Brings together
in praclical robot design and construction. The use up-to-date aspects of the field, covering polyphase induction E
of the PIC microcontroller throughout provides motors, single-phase motors, synchronous machines

new speakers øre among the ver a painless introduction to programming. lt's
a book for first-time robot builders, advanced
and polyphase motor starting. 160 pages in paperback

Foun robot builders and those studying at higher

education levels in this fascinating field.
Has companion website to download
programs. 374 pages in paperback ment on this book and he said "wow! This one is right up to
date". A lol of it is pretty in-depth but, according to Jack, if
you want to learn all about Zigbee you'd go a long way to find
I{EWIIES GUIDE TO TETEVISIOil
a betler reference than th¡s one. 336 pages in paperpback.
AI{D VIDEO TECHI¡OLOGY
By KF lbrahim 4th Edition (Published 2007) THE PRACTICAT GUIDE
It's back! This very popular book now in a new T(¡ SATEILITE TV
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of video and television technology including the
By Garry Cratt - 6th Edition 2007
We've had other satellite W books in the past but they have
latest developments - HDW and DVD. lt starts with
all had a lot of useless (to this part of the world) overseas
fundamentals so is ideal for students but covers in-
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tions by one of Australia's foremost satellite TV experts.
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lf there is anything you wanted to know about setting up
has a number of useful appendices covering a wide
a satellite TV system, (including what you can't do!) it's
variety of subjects. 600+ pages in paperback
sure to be covered in this 176-page paperback book

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This remarkable archival collection spans nearly three decades of Many thousands of copies now sold. Two incredible CDs
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tr POWER SUPPLY C00KB00K ...., ., .,,. .. .$109,00 Charge my credit card Visa Card Master0ard

il PRACTICAL GUIDE T0 SATELLITE W (6th edition) ..,..,.$49 00

il PRACTICAL RF HANDBOOK $80 OO
No:

E PRACT, VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES/POWER ELECI $94 00

il RADIO, TV AND HOBBIES ON DVD-ROI\¡ .,, $62 00
Í ROBOT BUILDER'SCOOKBOOK $63 OO

tr SELF 0N AUDI0 (2nd_ edition) ,..,.,..,,.., .,,..,..,... $83,00

B00K TOTAL: $ ORDER TOTAL$

.ALLTITLES
SUBJECTTO AVAILABILITY. PRICES VATID FOR MONTH OF IVIAGAZINE ISSUE ONLY ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST
 ASK SILICON CHIP ers
exhibitions there can
sion as commercial
aring- aid manufactur-
well u¡rderstand, Both Audacity ald GoldWave have
simple compressors built in and both accept plug-ins'
Audiostocker is a simple-to-use ftee WinAmp plug-in that
works in GoldWave but not in Audacity.
sensing the correct number of pulses/ tive battery) or kit that can be further Slim Slow Slider's c3 multi-band compressor is a
Class-A power supply rev. I set the rotary switches Ío -75o/o modified to give me the following more versatile fteebie that works with both Audacity and
& BOV capacitors to get two pulses output from the B- values approximately: 1^2Y DC inPut GoldWave, although Audacity unfortunately reduces its
I am excited about the Stt-IcoN pulse input. [automotive battery supply) and out- interface to a daunting stack of sliders, Kiaerhus's Classic
CHIP 20W Stereo Class-A Amplifier The ECU has a 200km/h default put up lo 4BY-72Y at up to 204. (E. VST Compressor is another simple freebie that works in
but I have a quick question, I have speed limit but is cutting in at about P., via email), GoldWave and which appears to be better engineered and
o Wehavenotpublishedsuchahuge therefore more reliable than Audiostocker or c3. 3.5" Smoll TFr LCD
two beautiful and new 33,000PF BOV 100kmih. I tried lots of settings, even
electrolytic capacitors. Can I use them up to -99% which only increased the suppty. To obtain 72Y at 2oA would Ots Turntables'DJ software also includes compression
in the 20W Stereo Class-A Amplifier limit by about 3Okm/h. mean that the 12V battery would need facilities. Unfortunately, Ots's free edition doesn't allow
power supply or is the rating BOV Am I missing something? How can I to deliver more than 1204 to the DC- audio files to be saved but audio recorders with Line In
rating too high lor the capacitors to easily measure the pulses, both input DC converter. In fact, the actual cur- sampling facilities, such as Audiograbber or Nero Media
be effective? The capacitors have an and output? I have a multimeter and rent would probably be cl.oser to 1 50,t Player, can capture the audio streaming from it.
ESR [equivalent series resistance) of a LED test light. Any suggestions? (M. when efficiency is considered. Much more sophisticated software processors costing
5 milliohms. (L.L,, via email). T,, via emailJ. A standard automotive batterY several hundreds of dollars are also available' iZotope's
o You can certainly use your BOV o The Speedo Corrector does not would be destroyed in a short time Ozone-3, for exampì,e, includes a -band dynamics proc-
capacitors. In general, having a higher provide for more than a 50% reduc- under these conditions. Even the essor (compressor/expander/limiter) as weII as many
than specified voltage rating is never tion, so setting it to -99% will reduce vehicle's alternator could not deliver other featurès designed to "sweeten" or otherwise modify
a problem unless there is a limitation the speedometer pulses by a factor of such a high output, sounds, The graphical interface is far more than mere f Full Colour TFT LCD
eye-candy (skin) as it displays processor transfer func- .r NTSC &PAL Compotible
on physical size. almost 2. An B-pulse/rev signal will
therefore be only reduced to almost tions, albeit for iust one fìequency band at a time, which / With Picture QuolitY Conlrol
Powering the can be invaluable when carrying out multiple operations / DV 12V OPerotion
four pulses/rev,
Vehicle speed sensor This range of variation is more than Loudspeaker Protector simultaneously, ,/ Simple Wíre Harness Connection
for a Valiant adequate for correcting speedometers I am building your Speaker Protector Ozone-3 is available'as aDirectXplug-in well as other
(as

I have fitted EFI (electronic fuel and so this is not the solution to your & Muting circuit featured in the July formats) and thus works in GoldWave but would probably
injection) to my 1962 Valiant. The problem. Instead, you need a divide- 2007 issue of Suco¡¡ Crm. I am inter- be overkill for background sounds. A much simpiified and
Delco "808" ECU requires an input of by-4 circuit which couldbe built using ested in it because it has anti-thump cruder version is available as a WinAmp plug-in for $29 or
two pulses/rev, two D-flip-flops (ie, a CD4013). The capabilities as well as muting and it for free cted to Presets,
I have sourced a VSS fvehicle speed divider would also give the required operates directly from the amplifier Thre er Processors that
sensor) from another Chrysler which phasing of the signal for EFI. power supply, feature work in GoldWave
fits in-line in the speedo cable and pro- Some of your stereo amplifiers use are: Audioware's dB-D dynamics processor, Coyote's
duces eight pulses/rev, so I purchased just the one transformer whereas the Compressor 1.1 and FASoft's Compréssor 1,1. These cost
Huge DC power SC4B0 uses a sepatate Power trans- between $US20 and $US40 but generally outperform the
a MkII speedo correctot (Sntcol Crur,
December 2006J and fitted that to re- supply wanted former for each amplifier. May I point freebies.
duce the number of pulses. I would like io know if there is a out just one small thing in using your In some cases it may be convenient to retain the origi-
All seemed well but the ECU is not DC-DCpower supply [from an automo- Speaker Protector for use with two nal recording as the left track and to save a compressed
' version as the right track, ,{ simple switch could then be
used to select either one.

@mSmmmoZffm[oaß A hardware compressor inserted between the MP3

player and the speakerfs) allows for a variety of effects to
will also need to leave out be controlled in real time without the need for a compu-
Is it possible to add high-current the MIE3a0i350s to drive them? I'd You .[ 2 Video Ch fnput Reol time clock
the Polyswitch output protection ter, Designs for simple hardware compressors intended 'r
output devices to make the SC480 really like to see an article on how
for home construction have been published in Srucot'¡ I NT5C & PAL / Dofe & time slomp
amplifier fSu,tcox CHIe, January & you draw the reactive load lines uP devices. Instead, we would recom- ,f Alorm output / PTP, OSD
Crup (June 2000J and elsewhere. The Su,IcoN Cnn design I Trigger inpul /
February 2003) stable into 2-ohm when you design amplifiers. mend the Loudspeaker Protector With keyboord
I am currently using two of the from the JuIy 2007 issue. is available as kitset KC5291 from laycar Electronics. If / 5D cord ,/' RCA connections
loads? The power supply is no issue
April 1996 modules athome; they're For interest, you can Plot the 2- desired, this compressor could readily be repackaged and / On Boord Flosh I DC input (9V to 12V)
as I am using a 50kHz switcher for a .r
great. (S. P., Carrum Downs, Vic). ohm load line on the load-line graph incorporated into a sound system such as that described t JPG & AVTfile formot Kif ovoiloble
car amplifier,
. In fact, just changing the output for the April 1996 modules and then in the May 2007 issue of SIrtcoN CHtp,
I realise I would need to redo More complexhardware compressors are available from
the PC board and make the high pairs on the SC4B0 to MJL21-L9314 take an approximation of the equiva-
lent 1.4 + j1.4-ohmreactive load line music stores and recording studio and broadcasting sup-
cunent tracks a bit thicker. Could should make it OK to drive 2-ohm
on the same graph to demonstrate pliers. These range upwards in price from $US40 and are
it work with +40V rails and with loads. No other changes should be
available in a myriad of models (one New York City store,
three pairs of M1L21193/4 (two less necessary although we would prefer that two pairs of M1L21193/94 tran-
sistors should comfortably handle a BHphotovideo, sells around 100 different types).
than the Studio 350) and something to see heavier copper tracks for the NZ. sc
2-ohm load. Iiugh T. Middleton, Lower Hutt,
with more collector current than main current paths.

siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEN 2OO7

't04 SILICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au
 Mailbag: continued cupation ald over emphasis on com-
SC4BOs. It appears to me that the
Speaker Protector will be powered by
just one of the amplifiers with its 0V
@mffiSdm
puters in the home and our schools, return. Won't it be necessary for the I am having problems getting the the buzzing sound that is mentioned
effectively displacing electronics and two amplifiers to be joined together via Radar Speed Gun kit (Sucou Crrp, in the article a¡d there seems to be
its many speciality fields as a hobby a common 0V return for this Protector
November & December 2006) run- a lot of background hum.
Pulsed LEDs can ing lights with a "tail" extending pursuit. to operate effectively withboth ampli- ning. The main board seems OK; it Any suggestions would be grate-
cause strobing effects beyond the end of the trailer. The ranks of amateur radio have in fiers? (G. K., via email). counts and displays OK and the os- fully received. (T, S., via email).
As you are no doubt very well Where I live there are some elec- the past provided Australian indus- o It is true that the Loudspeaker Pro- cilloscope measurements Iook OK. o The voltages onyourRadar Gun's
aware, the humble light emitting tronic speed limit signs outside the try a richly-skilled pool of hands-on tector will be powered from only one I think the microwave head sec- front-end board and microwave os-
diode (LED) has advanced in leaps schools that can be switched to show and sawy technicians, engineers and power amplifier in a separately pow- tion is the problem. The DC voltages cillator do seem a little low but not
and bounds in the last decade and a lower speed limit during school scientists. Sadly these talented folks ered stereo amplifier pair. However, are low - about 6.BV into the board to a serious extent. The loud hum
is now used in many applications arrival and departure times. I find are quickly becoming-a rarefied and since all such systems will already and about 1.65V at the emitter of Q1 you get on power up may be due
which 10 years ago could be only these signs are very bright at night almost extinct breed. There's a need have a common earth reference via (the oscillator). When using head- to the lighting on your workbench.
dreamed about. The automotive field and if I blink as I drive past, the for an urgent resurgence in young the stereo program source, that should phones I get a fairly severe hum on This canproduce quite abit of 100H2
has benefited greatly both in use on number showing (eg, B0) seems to folks pursuing technical careers stem- not present any operational problems. power up. hum, especially if fluorescent tubes
cars and trucks a¡rd also on road fix- dance in front of my eyes. I wonder if ming from their passionate hobby However, it is also true that a power When I wave my hald near the are being used,
tures such as signs and signals. But anyone else has noticed the strobing interests. supply failure in one amplifier, would antenna I get a series ofvery low fre- From your description ofthe clicks
have readers noticed that while somè a-ffects that these pulsed LEDs cause? Perhaps Sucox Crm could take a cause bqth speaker channels to be quency clicks - under 30H2. When you get when you wave your hand
ofthese bright LEDs are run on a con' Perhaps they are simply fed with a proactive role in helping restore the disabled by the Loudspeaker Protector. I move my hand it's more of a click, near the antenna, it does sound as if
tinuous culrent, others are powered pulse frequency that is too low? lost balance in the radio and wireless Again, that is not really a problem. click, click sound then a buzz - but tlte microwave oscillator is working,
by a pulsed current source? Ray Chapman, technologies and RF/microwave com- By the way, the power supply it does seem to vary according to especially if the click foequency in-
It is these pulsed ones which Ifind Pakenham, Vic. munication fields by stimulating the suggested for a single SC4S0, in the how fast I move my hand, The boa¡d creases when you increase the speed
can be quite distracting, especially Comment: your obsewations about young formative reader's interest in I'ebruary 2003 issue, would be quite is very "tap" sensitive and it almost of hand movement towards or away
at night arrd when they are in my pulsed LEDs and strobing are right these imp ortant technical disciplines. adequate for powering a stereo system seems to act like a microphone as tlre from the antenna.
peripheral vision. I ûrst noticed this on the money. In fact, it is easy to ob- It was heartening to see the simple in most situations. There is no real taps are clearly reproduced in the If the oscillator board seems very
when I was at an intersection one serve these effects, if the light source "AM Loop Antenna & Amplifier" need for separate power supplies for headphones (this worries me.) I've microphonic, we wonder if you
night and a semi-trailer went past is moving rapidly with respect to project in the October 2007 issue. It each channel. been over the board checking for dry have glued down the 1¡rF tantalum
on the intersecting road. The marker your position or by blinking. No would indeed be nice if that kind of joints but nothing is obvious. capacitors. If these are not glued
lights down the side of the trailer, doubt some of these effects could be project was a taste of greater things to Simulator for My RF circuit knowledge is very down, they can vibrate in the air
instead of justbeing four or five small much reduced if the multiplexing or come in this neglected field of techni- and tlis will produce microphony.
red lights were a flickering strip of switching was performed at a much cal endeavour, ignition waveforms scant so I've been struggling to debug
this kit with just
a multimeter and a This can also happen with the 10kf)
what seemed to be a hundred jitter- higher ftequency. Leigh Turner VKSKLI I would like to simulate various 40MHz oscilloscope. Ireplaced all of oscillator base bias resistor (the one
Adelaide, SA. car ignition waveforms on the bench the SMD active devices on the board that'floats'), so you can also reduce
so I can test various automotive kits (Q1, IC1 & D1) in case I had smoked microphony by gluing this down as
MP3 sound effects ând circuits before having to go to a them and carefuIly monitored the well, with a dob of epoxy cement.
allel elimination of creditable training The dominant technical fields on Readers interested in the use of MP3 vehicle, I would like an oscillator with voltages as each was added. IC1 Basically, any physical vibration
courses at the universities and techni- offer in recent years are courses in IT players and similar devices to provide independent frequency (revs), mark/ was the device that seems to drop inside the microwave oscillator box
cal colleges whereby motivated folks and computers. Where will the future background sounds for model railways space ratio [dwell angle) adjustments the voltage the mostbut it looks like will produce microphony, because
with the inclination and appropriate technical competencies to operate and or other displays (see Circuit Note- and amplitude (volts output). a simple case of biasing it with the the vibration affects the standing
science ald maths talent cal gain a maintain complex communications book, page 42,May 2007) may find the I have made a PICAXEOB PWM with resistor (looked up the data sheet), wave pattern inside tlle box and
solid education and training. systems, radio transmitters and broad- following observations helpful. two control pots (revs ald mark/space but hard to determine if a low voltage hence produces its own Doppler
Formal TAFE-based training forthe casting equipment come from? Numetous sounds can be down- ratio) but the responsiveness to chalg- would impact it. signal.
traditional radio broadcast and televi- One is also hard-pressed to find loaded from the Internet, ripped from es on the pots was not quick enough.
I suspect the oscillator may be to Finally, apart from the micro-
sion broadcast operators certificate of good RF engineering and radio com- sound effects CDs or digitised lrom Do I need to string a couple of sss ICs blame. I don't understand this part phony, your Radar Gun unit is prob-
proficiency seems to have vanished munications subjects in any university analog recordings. Âudiograbber is a together or something? of the circuit but I gather the 10nF ably working. Have you actually
off the planet, so where is the next syllabus nowadays so where are the fteebie that works well both as a CD Are there existing solutions or can caps and tlre micro-strip determine tried it or have you delayed doing
generation of broadcast engineers next generation of RF and radio com- ripper and as a Line In sampler. With you provide aly suggestions ofa solu- the frequency, My gut feeling is that this so you could get to the bottom
and radio technicians going to receive munication engineers coming from? Algorithmix's Easy Tools plug-in in- tion? (D. C., via email). it is notru¡ning at 2.6GHz. I don'tget of the microphony problem?
their specialist training? Gone are the This serious problem should be a stalled, clicks and other noises ca¡r be o A 555 timerwouldbe idealbecause
once-traditional training schools for major concern for all high-technol- attenuated on the fly. the charge and discharge periods can
electronics apprentices and techni- ogy and R&D companies in Australia Once desired sounds have been be adjusted independently if a diode
cians operated by our former PMG as they struggle to address the skills captured as wovfiles, al audio editor is used between pin 7 (discharge) and  PICAXE would be too slow be- will run off a 12V
the relay coils, as it
and Civil Aviation Departments, the shortage and compete for the dearth can be used to manipulate the left and pins 2 & 6 (triggers) with anode to pin cause it needs to read the pot and computer power supply. Do I need a
ABC, Weapons Research Establish- of adequately trained and experienced right tracks either as a stereo pair or 7. This would mean that in the free- change the PWM and has to wait until safe diode with the relay? (P. ,t., Wo-
ment/DSTO, etc. Afterthe demise and professionals, independently of each other. Audacity, running astable configuration, the ca- the PWM counterresets before the new donga, Vic).
restructuring ofthese once great insti- All of the above afflictions seem another freebie, cal do some of this but pacitor at pins 2 & 6 would charge via value for PWM starts. ¡ The resistance of a relay coil de-
tutions, this para-professional training symptomatic and commensurate with GoldWave provides more features and the resistor to the supply and discharge pends on several factors. Firstly, it
was palmed offand handed over to the a general dumbing down of many better interfaces, via the resistor between pins 7 atd2 &
How to depends on the coil voltage and how
TAFE colleges but such electronics technical fields of endeavour across For operation in quiet environments 6. These can be variable to adjust the well it can operate at voltages that
vocational courses are nowhere to be all education levels. The dilemma it may weÌl be satisfactory to retain lrequency and "dwell". specitr relays are lower than its specifled voltage.
found today. undoubtedly also links back to a preoc- the dynamics of the original record- A 555 can also be used to invert the I am building a relay box and I need Other factors are the contact current
signaÌ ifrequired. to know about the likely resistance of rating for the relay, with lower coil
SntcoN Catp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 105
 NIþ@MWMW start-up currents are higher than the
normal running current. In addition,
the voltage rating of the contact can Is waveform sawtooth the standard usages of tìe terms. In
be important because relay contacts or triangular? particular, see:.
I built two of the Car Fuel Mixture these have been built without caus-
Display kits and have found that the ing problems. The specifications for
for low voltages (<32V) are not suited It may be a bit pedantic but I https://secure4.vivid-design.com.
We're told we make
to mains operation (240VAC). In addi- thought that a sawtooth waveform au/iaycar2005/images-uploaded/
LM3914 has a voltage of o.6V on the the LM3914 indicate that the input
tion, the contact ratings are different used to be a climbing ramp followed LMz9OO.PDF
signal input at pin 5. Of this, 0.3V current at pin 5 is typically 25nA but
is dropped across the 1MO resistor could be at a maximum of 100n4. for AC currents compared to DC. by a sudden return to zero (or vice Graham Goeby,
Greensborough, Vic.
the best speakers
If you want a low,coil current, then versa). The drawing on page 28 of
so therefore 0,3V is applied to the This would mean that the voltage Comment by the editor: I tend to
consider the solid-state relays that the April 2007 edition shows what
oxygen sensor. Because of this, it across the 1MQ input resistor to pin
only require a small current to ener- is referred to as a sawtooth but it is think of the terms triangular and in the world. . .
has damaged an old sensor and then 5 wouldbe typically 0.025V (25mV)
gise them. These tend to have just a drawn as a triangular waveforrn. sawto oth as being interchange able.
a new one, when connected to an oxygen sensor
normally-open contact. Is this an error or have definitions In fact,I would go further than that
Oxygen sensors will be damaged or to ground.
and say that using the word trian-
if you try to apply a voltage to them We are not sure why yourLM3914
A reverse-connected diode across changed? Orhas the youngergenera-
the relay coil is usually required gular to describe o continuously
and in fact, ifyou do your research produces a 0.6V output at pin 5. It
when a transistor is used to drive the
tion grown up with the "Jack" saws
which do have triangular teeth. Do rcpeating waveform is not quite logi- ow you can too
on these sensors, they warn against would suggest either a faulty IC or cal; the sswtooth is more pictorially
that there is severe leakage on the coil. This diode protects the transis- they therefore describe a triangular
using a multimeterset on "ohms" be- correct in the descriptive sense.
tor fromdamage by clamping the wave as a "sawtooth"?
cause the voltage used by the meter PC board. A multimeter set to read
back-EMF generated when the coil I noticed that page 1,5 of the April In any case, with a function gen-
will damage the oxygen sensor. "ohms" produces a current that eÍator, you can have a sawtooth
de-energises, 2007 issue also shows a triangular
If I am correct, then there may be could damage an oxygen sensor. We
waveform and calls it a sawtooth. waveform where you can vary the
"The besÍ sltcctlrera
people who have unknowingly dam- do not say to measure an oxygen seD-
positive and negative slopes, so at
sor resistance in any of our articles. Solar tracker does not This is foom same author and he's
aged their oxygen sensors without what stage do you have atriangular
realising it, I would be interested The 25nA (100nr\ max) from the give full voltage
not a youlgster!
National Semiconductor differen- waveform andwhen does itbecome
I hat,e eyer lteut'd"
to hear your comments. (T. G., via LM3914 will not cause damage to an DVD Now
I am in the process of making the So- tiates between the two and I believe sawtooth?
email). oxygen sensor. I¡ fact, the car's en-
lar Sun Tracker featured in the fanuary that they are an authority in tlre Hauing said, you will find other -<$
o We have produced several pro- gine management computer would
1995 issue. Iwouldlike to knowwhy it field. Their examples certainly are wfiters in Sa¡coN Cnn describing "Tlte besl buss
jects using the LM3914 to monitor cause the same order of current to
says that the Mosfets only have a7.5Y in accord with what I believe are such a waveþrm as triangular.
the oxygen sensor and thousands of flow in the oxygen sensor.
output. Are they not fully turned on? in îhe v'ot'ltl "
I thought that with the Mosfets fully Rolling Stone Magazine
turned on you would have 12V avail- on while the top one is off. Now the engine control boxes, PIC-based micro-
able. Could you explain this please? voltage at pin 5 of OPTOL is around controllers with al endless succession
resistances usually found with higher So there are many factors involved
in deciding the final relay coil resist- (c. C,, Rockhampton, Qtd). L2V since there is a voltage divider of PICAXE projects, and audiophile
"I['e Jtave )'el lo ltaat'
contact current relays of the same coil
voltage rating (so that the contact will ance. To choose a relay, first decide ¡ The reason that the circuit cannot formed by the 1kd2, 47Q and 1kdl resis- amplifier and loudspeaker construc- (ûlothet' st'slem llt oî
hold closed with more force). what type of contacts you require (ie, apply the full 12V is that the top Mos- toß ocross pins B ù 5 of optocouplers tion articles, etc.
If the relay has a normally-open just a single contact normally-open fets, Q2 and Q3, are acting as "soutce 1 t 2 rcspectively. Australia once had a vibrant abun- soun(ls as gooLl"
[NO) and a normally-closed [NC) con- type or one with normally-open and followers" and so they can nevet turn Q1 ù Q3 are P-channel Mosfets dalce of amateur radio and radio/wire- Best Buys Home The{re
tact, the coil resistance may be lower normally-closed contacts or a relay fully on, This is because their gate while Q2 and Q4 are N-channel Mos- less communications focused publica-
thal one that only has a normally-open with many contacts). You then select drive voltage cannot rise by 6V or more fets.When pin B of IC2 is high, it means tions that are all now defunct with the
contact. This is because the coil will be the current rating and the coil voltage above their source electrodes, that there is current flowing through notable exception being the enduring
required to overcome the extra spring (and whether a DC or AC coil). Furthermore, their gate voltages are the input LED of OPTOI. Hence, as WIA publicalion Amateur Radio.
force applied to keep the normally- Note that for any relay and espe- limitedbythe drive circuitto less than mentioned before, the top transistor in AIso conspicuous by their absence Seven models
closed contact together when the relay cially for heavy cutrents over 104, it 10V and so the maximum that can be the output stage of OPTOL is turned on is the parallel disappearance from
coil is de-energised. Then there is the is best to choose one that has a contact delivered from their source electrodes and hence pin 6 of OPTOI. is close to newsagent's and bookshop shelves from $769pr
speed at which the relay contact closes rating well in excess of the cunent will be around BV or less, Add in the 24V meaning that the conesponding throughout Australia of venerable
and opens when the coil is energised you expect to use. This is important if small voltage loss across Q4 or Q5 Mosfet Ql. is off, not on. international radio orientated maga-
or de-energised. switching a light bulb or motor where [both of which can turn on fuIly) and In other words, OPTOL and OPTO3 zines like Practical Wircless, CQ,
act as inverters while OPTO2 and and QST, In fact, SILICoN CHP seems
to be the only remaining electronics
AffiaryffiffiIHffiilþ@mprcAm OPTO4 act as buffers.

The demise of
journal left!
Bookshops have become a waste-
a discipline? land in respect of technical books, www.vaf.com.au
I have built the 12124V auxiliary of the auxiliary battery? way of switching the latching relay While SILICoN Crm is a commend- the classic ARRL Handbook for Radio
battery controller (Sntcorv CHp, De- The challenge withthis conceptis off after a pre-determined length able electronics and technology mag- Amateurs being impossible to find FreeCall 1800 818
cembér in my car but it seems to to stop the auxiliary battery charg- of time charging. (,t. E., Knoxfreld, azine endeavouring to cater for awide anywhere. Coincidentally, amateur
me that the design of the circuit is ing when it no longer requires it. Vicl' variety of reader interests, an important radio equipment and associated com- [email protected]
around the wrong way. You couldn't set it up so that when o Your comment is interesting but topic and whole technical discipline ponents and hardware have all but
Would it not be better for fhe cir- the auxiliary battery reaches a cer- you would need two comparators in Iargely conspicuous by its absence is vanished from the public conscious-
cuit to work in the following way: tain voltage the latching relay will the circuit to do what you propose:
that of RF and radio communications ness.
whenthevoltageoftheauxiliarybat- switch off because the ci¡cuit will .onetomonitorthemainbatteryand
projects and articles. Projects in recent This rather surprising demise and
tery drops below a preset level, the be continually turning on and off, I one to monitor the auxiliary and years seem excessively dominated by almost extinction of an importantfield
tatching relay is triggered, complet- would think. I thought that usinþ a then some logic to decide how to automotive electronic gadgets and of electronics no doubtmirrors the par-
ing the circuit and enabling charging 5 5 5 timer circuit could be a possible switch the relay.

siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7

StLtco¡rt Cutp
 Mailbag: continued usually detect changes in radiation
the result is around 7,5V across the
motor. This is not a problem with the
specified 3V barbecue spit motor.
ffi&ffi
over a few seconds, so this may be Magnetic Cartridge Preamplifier, is wrong, It should read "When the
a challenge. Increasing airflow August 2006: for Table should
5, R1
be a link for the x1 gain position.
timer has completed countdown,
Movement timer wanted chair which detected flexing in the Charles Tivendale, RB5 goes low, which turns off Q7
for PC addicts chair could be used or a thermistor via email. for an oil heater Note also that the relative gain & Q5 and turns on Q6",
I frequently spend hours surfing embedded in the seat to detect body Comment: this general concept is im- I have been trying to locate a vari- values shouldbex2,xLL andx 101
the web and only when I get up, I heat (OK unless you have a cold portant; ie, people needto getup and able frequency device to enable the instead ofx1, x10 & x100. Subwoofer Controller, August
realise I'm abit stiff ald sore. Some- posterior!). Or perhaps a PIR sensor move about rather than being frozen variation of fan speed in a room oil 2OO7:, a 47kQ resistor in the input
times my legs are also a bit numb. could be used. to one spot in front of the computer. heater. I would like a device or kit Lightbox Timer, November 2007: circuit to the Speaker position of
Bearing in mind the recommenda- The circuit would have to detect HoweveL we don't think a hardware that would operate from 24OVAC SOHz CON5, the plug and socket shown the Source Select switch (S1J was
tion that PC users get up and walk a seated person being there for some project is the best or easiest solution. input with a 240VAC output with a for 240VAC mains connection to not included on the PC board and
around for a few minutes each hour, time and if there were no gaps (ie, Whatis needed is areminderwhich variable frequency or just the choice the PC board, is not mains-rated is not necessary.
I thought a detector/timer/alarm for not detected) for frve minutes or pops up on the screen to rcmind you of soHz and 6oHz, and should be replaced by a 3-way
people seated at a computer may more, activate tlre alarm after one to take an exercise break. Therc are My aim is to be able to increase the mains terminal block (eg, Altronics NiMH Battery Charger, September
be a useful project, As the sensor, I hour, Because of their high-tem- any number of free diary packages airflow fiom the heater. I am aware P2O37A). The published PC board 2007: The 100pF capacitor shor,rm
thought a microswitch attached to a perature coefflcient, PIR sensors which can be arranged to do this. these devices are available commer- pattern has been amended to reflect on the overlay diagram of Fig.3
cially for pumps, etc but I am looking the wider pin spacing required. adjacent to VR6 should be 10pF,
for a simple low-output device (around AIso the circuit description on to be consistent with the parts list
pretty certain there is an error. destroy the Mosfets. PIease correct me mean that the corresponding Mosfet 100W or so). (P.1., via email). p73, paragraph 4, righthand column, and circuit.
Going through the logic table, for if I am wrong. is turned on. o To be frank, ifyouneedto increase
example, when FWD command is Alan Mainwaring, This is due to the way the optocoû- the airflow through your heater, you
high and the PWM is high, Q1 should Koroit, Vic. plers in this circuit work. As you con would probably be better off checking spin freely by hand after reassembly its ability to detect the presence of
be on, Q2 off, Q3 off, Q4 on, which Comment: the circuit is correct, as far see from their schematic, when therc to see that the fan is actually operat- before attaching it to the fan. When water. It should have two smaÌl probes
is what should happen. My analysis as we can teLl. The point you may be is current JTowing in the optocoupler's ing properly. Typically, such fans are you now apply power you should be or metal plates that make contact with
shows that if one builds the circuit as missing is that two of the optocouplers input LED, the top transistor in the squirrel cage designs drivenby a small greeted by a blast of air. These things the coolant. When the sensor is dry it
shown, you will have a major problem, are acting as inverters and the other output stage is onwhile the bottom one shaded-pole motor and they are prone really do push a lot of air. After all, you should show a high resistance in the
in that when FWD is high and PWM two are not. In otherwords,whenthere is off .Whentherc is no currentflowing to being seriously clogged up with can be pretty sure that the heater was megohm range. When immersed in
level is high, Qr is ofl Q2 is off, Qs is is current flowing through the LEDs in through the input LED the reverse is dust and fluff. provided with a more than adequate water, it should be about 100kQ - the
on and Q+ is on, This condition would the optocouplers, it doesn't necessarily true, namely the bottom tuansistor is The motors are also prone to pro- fan when it was frrst manufactured. exact value is not critical.
gressively seize, as they are used in a
very hot environment. The solution:
pull the entire oil heater out of its Sensor for Source for potting
a cabinet and take it outside where you Coolant Alarm compound
can give all the air passages a thorough Do you know whether the later I need some potting resin for some
[hte new syslem
. Erery ¡ssue indiridually archired, by month and yeal
. Conplete w¡th inder for each yeal
clean out.
Do tlre same for the squirrel cage
model Falcon coolant level sensors
are suitable to use with the Coolant
projects I am working on. Is it only the
normal resin used for fibreglass work,
eircuit design, . A must-hâue fof eùeryone interested in electfon¡cs fan, making sure that all the vanes are Alarm project f¡om the lune 1994 is- in which case it won'tbe hard to flnd,
simulation & completely clean. The more thorough sue. The later model sensors use two or is it a special type? If it is special,
This remarkable collection of PDFs covers every you are with this aspect, the longer the
qAD/ CAM in one complele wires, probably because the sensor is could you tell me where I could obtain
package for your pc._:;É
issue of R & H, as it was known from the fan will stay unblocked. The whole mounted in a plastic tank and therefore some? (T. U,, Georgica, NSW).
beginning (April 1939 - price sixpence!) procedure is a messy job which is why o Perhaps the easiest approach would
not possible to directly earth. [D. D.,
right through to the final edition of R, TV we suggest that you do it outside. Kellyville, NSW). be to use a clear neutral-cure silicone
& H in March 1965, before it disappeared
forever with the change of name to
Next, pull down the motor arrd clean o The sensor should be useable but sealant such as Selleys Roof & Gutter
and oil the bearings. Make sure it will you would need to test it by verifying sealant. sc
Electronics Australia.
For the first time ever, complete and in 0ne
handy DVD, every article and every issue is covered.
lf you're an old timer (or even young timer!) into vintage radio, it
StLtcoN Cnte magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage.
doesn't get much more vintage than this. lf you're a student of
All such projects should be considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely.
history, this archive gives an extraordinary insight into the amazing
Readers are warned that high voltage wiring should be carried out according to the instructions in the articles.
Wmd breakthroughs made in radio and electronics technology following
the war years. And speaking of the war years, R & H had some of the
When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact w¡th
Wmd best propaganda imaginable!
Even if you're just an electronics dabbler, there's something here to
mains AC voltages or high voltage DC. lf you are not conf ident about working with projects employing mains voltages
or other high voltages, you are advised not to attempt work on them. Silícon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims
interest you.
any liability for damages should anyone be killed or injured while working on a project or circuit described in any
issue of StLtcoN Cute magazine. Devices or circuits described in SrLtcoN Cnte may be covered by patents. SrLlcoN
NB: Requires a computer w¡th DUD reader to view Cntp disclaims any liability lor the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such equip-
ment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant
-w¡ll not worl 0n a standard aud¡o/u¡deo DUD playel
government regulations and by-laws.
Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must con-
form to the Trade Practices Act 1974 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are
www. SS5electro n i cs. com. au applicable.

Stuco¡rt Cntp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEq 2OO7 7O7

 August 1998: Tr0ubleshooting Y0ur PC, Pt.4; l/0 Card With Data Log-
gin¡; Beat Triggered Strobe, 1sWCh Clåss-A Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2. Updated
SeDtember 1998: Tr0ubleshootino YOur PC Pt.5t A Blocked AirFilter Prawnlight
Alarmi Waa-W¿a Pedal F0r Guilars: Jacob's LaddeI, Gear Change lndica-
t0r For Carsì Capacity lndìcator tor Rechargeable Batteries I thought you might be JED has designed a range of
interested in my adaptation
January 1994: 3A 40V Vanable P0rver Supplyi S0lar Panel Switching Mayl996: H¡Oh Voltage lnsulationTesteri Knightrider LED Chaser; Sim-
0cl0ber 1998: AC N¡illivoltmeter, Pt 1i PC-C0ntr0lled Stress-0-Meteri
Versatile Electron¡c Guitar Limiter; 1 2VTrick¡e Charger For Float C0ndi- of the Prar,r'nlight featured
s¡ngle board computers and
BeoulatOr; Printer Status lndicator: ivlini Drill Speed Contr0ller: Slepper ple lntercom uses 0ptical Cable, Cath0de Bay Oscilloscopes, Pt.3. ti0ns, Adding An External Battery Pack T0 Y0ur Flashgun
in the January 2005 issue. modules as a way of using the
M0l0r C0rlroller: Active Filter Designi Engine l\4anagement, Pt.4.
June 1996: Slere0 Srmulat0r(usesdelaychip): R0pe Lighl Chaser: L0w November'1998: The Christmas Stari A TurbO T¡mer For Carsi Build
'1
A P0ker Mâchine, Pt i Fl\4 lransmitter F0r l\4usicians, Lab 0uality AC This was one of those AVR without SMT board design
Februarv 1994:90-Sec0nd l\¡essdoe Rec0rderi 12-24oVAC 200W ln- 0hms lesler lor Y0ur Dl\¡l\4t AuÌomalic 104 Battery Charget
proiects that I was going
verter; 0.5W Audio Amplifier 3440V Adjuslable P0wer Supply: Ingine M¡llivoltmeter, Pt 2; lmprOvinO A¡/ Radio Recepti0n, Pt 1
I\4anagement, Pt 5; Airbags ln Cars - HOly They W0rk July f996: VGA Digilal 0scillOscope, Pt.1; Remote C0ntrol Extender For

March 1994: lnlelligent lF Remote Conlr0llert 50W (L[I3876) Audi0

VCRsi 2A SLA Batlery Charger; 3-Band Parametric Equaliser;. December.1998: Eng¡ne lmmobiliser ¡/1k.2; Therm0couple Adaptor
For Dl\¡lMs; Beaulated 12V DC Pluqpack; Build A P0ker lvlachine, Pt.2l to do when a trip to the The new Prawnlight uses'atut-
Ampl¡fier l\40dule: Level Crossing DetectOr F0r lM0del Railvi¿ys: Voice
Activated Swilch I or FM l\¡icr0ph0nes: Engine Managemenl, Pt.6.
Auqusl 996: lntroducl¡0n to IGBTs; Electronic Slarter F0r Flu0rescent
1

Lanps; VGA 0scilloscope, Pl.2. 350W Amplifier l\40dule: Masthe¿d

lmproving AIM-Rad¡0 Rerepti0n. PL2; [¡ixer M0dule F0r F3B 0liders.
coast was looming. By the down trailer taillight assembly qr
Amplilier I or lV & Fl\4; Cathode Ray 0scill0sc0pes. Pt.4. January 1999: Hi0h-Voltage Meoohm lesTert A L00k Al lhe BASIC time that happened, Oat- and a LED auto lamp.
1994
April \?ay Level Cr0ssings, Dual Stamp:'Bargr¿ph Ammeter For Cars: Keypad Engine lmm0biliser
Supplyv0l Pre¿mplifieri Digitalwater Seplember 1996: VCA 0scill0srOpe, P1.3, lB Stere0 Headph0ne Link,
March 1999: Build A Di0¡tdl Anemomeler; DIY PIC Programmer, Build
ley Electronics were out of
lank Gåug Pt.1 ; HF Anìaleur Radio Receiver: Calhode Ray 0scill0sc0pes. P1.5.
An Audi0Compressortiow-Dist0rlion Audio S¡gn¿l G¡ner¿tor, Pt.2. stock of the kit so I found an alter- As you can see, the unit is virtual-
May 1994: Fast Charger I or Nicad Balteries, lnducti0n Balance lMelal
L0calor: Mult¡-Channel lnlrared Bemole Control; Dual Electr0nic Dice;
0ct0ber 1996: Send Vide0 Signals over Tv/ìsted Pair Cablet 600W
DC-DC Converter For Car Hif Systems, Pt 1; lR Stereo Headphone tence
ADr¡l 1999: Gettino SlartedWith L¡nuxi Pt.2: High-PO\YerElecLric native. Fortunately, newer bright ly the same as the fanuarv 2005 ver-
Simple ServO Driver Circuits; Engine l\4anagement, Pt I Link Pt 2; Multi-Channel Rad¡0 C0ntrol Transmitter, Pt I C0nlr0ller: Bass Cube SubwoOfert Pr0qrammable Therm0st¿L/Ther
LEDs have become available and sion n'ith the exception of the bright
mometert Build An lnlrared Sentry; Bev Limiter For Cars
June 1994: A Co0lant Level Alarm For Your Car, 8o-l\¡etre A|\4/CW N0vember 996: 8-Channel Stere0 l\¡ixer, Pt 1; Lo[¡COst Flu0rescenl by using a cut-down trailer tail-light LED assembly, which at around $20
The AVR570 module (above) is a way of
1

Tlansmitter For Amaleurs, Converting Phono lnputs T0 L¡ne lnputs; Lrght lnverter: Repåiring D0mestic LighL Dimmers; 600W DC-DC May '1 999: The I ine Dancer B0b0l: An X-Y T¿ble With Stepper lvlotor
PC-Based N¡cad Battery Nlonitor; Engine l\¡anagement, Pl I C0nverter F0r Car Hifi Syslems Pt.2 Control. Pt 1, Three Electric Fence Testers; Carb0n l\.40nOxide Alarm assembly, a similar Prawnlight soon is cheaper than the original kit. Care using an ATmega128 CPU on a user base
July 1994: Burld A4-Bay B0rr-Tie UHI- TVAntenna, PreChamp 2-Tran- 0ecember 1996: Act¡ve Filter F0r CW Reception; Fasl Clock June1999:FM Rad¡oTunerCardFOrPCs;X-YTableWithStepperl\4otor took shape. is needed when sawing/cutting off board without having to lay out the intricaie,
lor Railwav l\40dellers; Laser Pist0l & Electronic Tårget: Build C0ntrol, Pt 2; Pr0grammable lgniti0n Timing lvlodule F0r Cars Pt 1
sist0r Preamplifer: Steam Train Wh¡stle & Diesel Horn Simulator:6V
SLA Battery Charger; Electr0nic Engine l\¡anagement, Pt.10. A Sound Level Meter;8-Ch¿nnel Stere0 lMixer, Pl.2: lndex T0 V01.9. I tried this with just one of these the excess portion ofthe trailer light suñace-mounted surrounds of the CPU, and
Julv 1999: Build A D0q Silenceri l0!H l0 19.99mH lnductance l\4eler:
housing. then having to manufacture your board on
Augusl 1 994: H¡gh-Pov/er Djmmer F0r lncandescent Lights; Dual Diver January 1997: Contr0l Panel For ¡/ulhple Sm0ke Alarms, Pt. l: Build Audio-Vide0 Transm¡ner: Prooramm¿ble l0niti0n Timing M0dule For Superbright LED lights for cars and an SMT robot line. lnstead you simply layout
sity Tuner lor FM l\4icr0ph0nes. Pl.1: Nicad Zapper (l or Besutrecting A Pink Noise SOurce: C0mputer C0ntrolled Dual Power Supply, Pt.1:
D¡g¡-Temp Therm0meter (Mon¡t0rs Eight Temperatures)
Cars, Pl.2; XYZ Table W¡th Stepper M0t0i C0ntrol, Pt.3.
it is very bright. They have a direc- One thing different is that the a square for four 0.1" spaced socket strips
Nicdd Balleries): Electr0nic Engine l\¡anagement. Pl.1 1.
Augusl'1999: Remote lVì Runninglights For
tional beam of 15' which is fine for LED assembly is polarity-sensitive and plug in our pre{ested module The
SeDlember 1994: Autom¿tic Discharger F0r N¡cad Bafteries: l\¡tnivox February 1997: PC-C0nlr0lled l\4oving Message D¡splay: Compuler Can: Build A PC l\4onitO penture C0ntroller,
Voice 0peraled Relay. Al\4 Radi0 F0r Wealher Beac0ns: Dual Drversity Conlrolled Dual Power Supply. Pl.2: Alert-A-Ph0ne Loud Sounding XYZ Table With Stepper tric Lighting, Pt.l 4. a torch function. I also tried it as a whereas the incandescent is not. I module has the crystal, resetter, AVR-ISP
Tuner F0r Fl\4 lMics, Pt.2i Electr0nic Engine l\4anagement, Pt.1 2. Telephone Alarm: C0ntrol Panel For l\¡ultiple Sm0ke Alarms, Pt.2.
used a permanent marking pen to programming header (and an optional JTAG
Se0tember'1999: Aut0n0mouse l he Bob0t, Pt.1: Voice DirectSpeech replacement for overhead lights in
March 1997: 175W PA Amplif¡er; Signâlling & Lighting For Model Reò0qnilion l\¡0dulet D¡0¡t¿l Electr0lytic Capacilance N¡eter: XYZ Table ICE pad), as well as programming signal
0cl0be|1994: Hory Dolby Sur0und S0und W0rks; Dual Rail Variâble
With Stepper l\¡0t0r C0ntr0l, Pt.5, PeltieÊPor/ered Can C0oler a pop-top caravan but there's not label each end.
Povrer Supply: lalkìng Headlight Reminder; Electr0nic Ballast F0r Raillvays; Jumbo LED Cl0ck; Cathode Bay 0sc¡ll0sc0pes, Pt.7 switching For a little extra, we load a DS1 305
Flu0rescent Lights: ElectrOnic Engine Management, Pt 1 3
0ctober 1999: Build lhe Railpower l\.40del Train C0ntroller, Pt.1 ; Semi- enough side light which is a pity Nor,v all I need is a dark night and RTC, crystal and Li battery underneath,
ADril 1997: Simple Timer W¡th No lcs; Dtgttål VOltmele¡ For Cars:
November 1994: Dry Cell Battery BeJUVenat0r; N0vel Alphanumer Löudspeaker Protector F0r Stereo Ampliliers; l\¡0del Train Controller' c0nductor Curve Tracer: Aut0nomouse The R0b0t. Pt.2; XYZ Tåble With
Stepper lMotor Contr0l, Pt 6; lntroducing Home Theatre as they draw one-fifth the current an outgoing tide. Roll on summer. which uses SPI and port G
ic Clock: 80-l\4 DSB Amateur Transmitteri 2-Cell Nicad Discharger A L00k At Signal Tracingt Pt.1 : Cathode Ray 0scill0scOpes, Pt.8.
of incandescent globes and remain Murray Solomon, See JED's www site for a datasheet.
oecember 1994: Car Burglar Alarm; Three-Spot LOw Distort¡on May 1997: Neon Tube Modul¿t0r F0r Lighl Systems: Trafic Lights For November lggg: Setting [Jp An Email Servert Speed Alarm For Cars.
Sinevrave oscillator, Clifford -
A Pesky Electronic Cricket; Remote A l\¡Odel I ntersect¡on: Ihe Spacewriler - I t WriÌes Messages I n Thi n Ai r: PÌ.1: LED Christmas Treð; lritercom Sl¿tion Expa¡tder: Foldback L0ud- cool. Cheltenham. Vic.
Control System for Models, Pt 1; lndex to Vol 7 A L00k At Signal lracing; Pt.2t Cath0de Ray 0scill0sc0pes, Pt.9. speaker Systemt Ra¡lpoe/er l\¡0del Train Controller, Pt 2 AVR573 Single Board Gomputet
January 1 995: Sun Tr âcker l0r S0l¿r Panels: Eattery Saver F0r T0rches: Ju ne l 997: PC-C0ntrOlled Therm0meter/Thernostati TV Patle rn G en - December 1 999: Solar P¿nel Re0ulat0r: PC Pov/er h0use (gives - 1 2V.
Dual Channel UHt Remote Contr0l: Slere0 l\¡icr0ph0ne Preampl¡fier. eratOr, Pt 1; Audio/RF Signal Tracer: High-Curent Speed C0nkoller For +9V. r6V & +5V rails); Fortune Finder Melal L0cator: Speed Alarm F0r
Cars, Pt.2; Railpower lvl0del Train Controller, Pt.3; lndex T0 V01.12.
12Vl24V [4otors; lManual C0ntr0l Circùit For Stepper M0lors.
generates 2.6kg of CO2 and 1,2kwh CHIe magazine has been a major factor
February 1995: 2 x 50W Stereo Amplifier Module: D¡g¡tal Effects Unit
For lvlusiciansj 6-Channel LCD Thermometer; W¡de Bange Electlostatic Julv 1997: lnlrared Remote V0lume C0ntr0l, A I lexible lnterface Card
FoiPCs; Points Conlroller l0r l\40del Railv/¿ys, Coi0ur W Pattern
January 2000: Sprino Reverberati0n M0dule: An Audi0-Video Test Gen-
eraÌol Parallel Port lnterface Card: Telephone 0ff-H00k lndlcator.
of power at the wheels. With an elec- in our group's prosperity.
L0udspeakers Pt 1; Rem0te Control System For l\¡odels, Pl 2
GeneratOt Pt 2: An ln-Line lvlixer F0r Radio Control Beceivers tric car, assuming 90% efficiency of Please accept our best wishes. We
March'1995:2x50WStereoAmplifier,Pt 1;SubcatrierDecOderForFl\4 Februarv 2000: lvlulli-Sect0r Sprinkler Conlroller; A Digilal Voltmeter
Receivers; Wide Range Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Pt 2; lR llluminatol 0ctober 1 997: 5-Dig¡t Tachometer; Central Locking For Y0ur Cart PC- For Y0ui Cdr, S¿lety Sy/itch Checkeri Sine/Sqüare Wavè 0scillator. charger and 90% efficiency of control look forward to the same great relation-
FOr CCD Cameras: Remote Control System For I\¡odels, Pi 3 C0ntr0lled 6-Channel Voltmete( 500W Audio Power Amplifier, Pt.3.
March 2000: rrecting An 0ld Computer: 100W A[plifier electronics combined with dynamic ship for the next 20 years.
l\4odule, Pt.1: onic Wind Vane With 16-LED Display: Build A
April1995: Radio lrainer. Pt.1, Bal¿nced lVìic Preamp & Line Filter:
FIM
5oWiChånnel Stereo Amplilier. PÌ 2i Wide Range lectrostdtic L0ud'
November 1997: Heavy Duty 104 24oVAC Mot0r Speed Controller;
tasV-T0-Use Cable & Wirino fester: Build A M usical D0orbell: Replacing Glov/plug Driver braking, if we recharge the batteries Gary fohnston,
speakers, Pt 3: 8-Channel Decoder For Radio Remote C0ntr0l l-0am Speaker Surr0unds: Understanding Electric Lighting P1.1.
May 2000: Ultra-LD Slereo Amplifier. Pt.2: I ED Dice (With PIC ¡/licr0- lrom the mains, then 1.2kWh at the Silverwater, NSW. This board uses the AVR570 module and
May1995:GuitarHeadphOneAmplilier:I lMB¿dio lrainer.Pt.2:Transis- December'1997: Speed Al¿rm For Cars:2-Axis Robot With Gripperl controller)t 504 N4olor Spêed C0ntr0ller For l\.4odels.
wheel.s requires us to input 1,5kwh adds 20 An./Dig. inputs, 12 FET outputs, LCD/
tor/¡rosfetTesterF0rDMIMs:416-Channel DecoderforRadi0 Rem0te Stepper M0t0r Driver With 0nboard Buffer: P0\Ter Supply For Stepper
C0nk0l, lntroducti0n T0 Sat¡llite TV. l\iloior Cards; understand¡n0 Electric Lrqhting Pt.2: lndex To Vol.10. June 2000: Automatic Rain Gaugei Parallel Port VHF FIM Receiveri from the mains. So the electric car Congratulations on 20 years Kbd, 2xRS232, 1xRS4BS, 1 -Wire, power reg.
Switchmode P0wer Supply (1.23V t0 40V) Pt.1' CD C0mpressor
Congratulations on the 20th an- etc. See www.jedmicro.com.au/avr.htm
June.l995: Build A Satellite W Receiver; Train Detect0r F0r MOdel January l998:4-Channel 12VDC 0r l2VAC Lightshow. Pl.1 i C0mmdnd generates 1.35 x t.5 = zkg of CO2 for
ControiF0r l\40del Rail\?aVS. Pl.1; Pan C0ntrcller For CCD Cameras. Julv 2000: l\40vinq Message Displayt C0mpact Fluorescent L¿mp Driver:
Railv/ays,1 W Audi0 Ampllfier Trai ner; LovÊCost Vide0 Security System;
Musicjans' Lead Tester, Svilchm0de P0v/er Supply, Pt.2. 1.2kwh at the wheels. niversary of SucoN Cmp. Its obvious
lMulli-Channel Radi0 C0ntrol Transmitter For l\4odels, Pt.1 .
February 1998: Teleph0ne Exch¿nge Simulator F0r Test¡ng, Command
This is completely the opposite con- success is a credit to you and for your $330 PG-PR0M Programmer
July 1995: lectric Fence Controller: HOv To Rufl lwo Trarns 0n A Conlrol Tor ¡/10del Railriavs, Pl.2;4-Channel Lightshov¿. Pt.2. August 2000: Theremin; Spinner (trrites messages ¡n "thin-aii'); This programmer plugs into a PC printer
S¡ngle Track (lncl. Liqhts & S0und): Setting Up A Salell¡te TV Ground
Stali0n; Build A Reliable D00r Minder Aoril 1998: Automatic Garaoe Door Opener, Pt 1:40V 8A Adjustable
PrOximity Sv/itchi Slructured Cabling F0r C0mputer Netw0rks.
clusion to Peter Seligman's example foresight in launching the magazine port and reads, writes and edits any 28 or
Pbrver Supply, PÌ.1, Pc-Controlled 0-30kHz Sinewdve Gener¿l0r; SeDlember 2000: Slvimmino Pool Al¿rm: 8-Channel PC Relay Board:
Fuel lM¡xlure Display F0r Car S, Pt.1 : Protob0ards - l he Easy Way lnto
whereby he claims "Less CO2 is gener- originally. 32-pin PROM. Comes with plug-pack, cable
Augusl 1995: Fuel lniect0r Monit0r F0r Cars: A Gain Conlr0lled lJnderstandinq Eleclr¡c Lighting; Pt 6
Micr0ph0ne Preamp: ldenlifying IDE Hard Disk Drive Pârameters.
May 1998:3-LtD Loqic Probei Garage Door opener. Pt.2: Command
Eleclronics, Pt.1; Cybug The S0lar Fly. ated using a mains recharged electric I note that EPE magazine is now and software.
Seplember 1995: Railpor/er l\4k.2 Walkaround Throttle lor [¡odel C0ntrol Syslem. Pt.4:40V 8A Adiuslable Pov/er Suppl\/. PL2. 0ctober 2000: Guitar Jammer: Brealh Tester; Wand-M0unted lnspec- car compared with a petrol car." reproducing some of your construction
ti0n Camera, SublvOOfer For Cars: Fuel Mixture Display, Pt 2
Rail\rays, Pt.1; Keypad C0mbinati0n L0cki Build A Jacob's Ladder
Display June 1998: Troublesh00ting Y0ur PC, Pt.2i lJniversal High nergy Peter Kay, articles and this is sureÌy a compliment
N0vember 2000: Santa & Rudolf Chrissie D¡splay; 2-Channel Gu¡tar
0cl0ber 1995: 3-Way Loudspeaker System; Railp0wer lvlk 2 Walk-
lgnili0n Syslem, The R0adies'Friend Cable Testeri [Jniversal epper
l\¡otor C0ntroller; Command C0ntrol For lVodel Râilv/dys, Pt. Preamplilier, Pt.1; Message Bank & l\¡issed Call Alertl Protoboards Dromana, Vic, to you and your staff for your excel-
around Throttle For Model Ra¡lways, Pt 2i Nicad Fast Charger - The Easv Wav lnto Eleclr0nics. P1.3. lent projects.
July 1998: Troubleshoolinq Y0ur PC. Pt.3, 1sWCh Class-A Audio
N0vember 1995: Mixture D¡splay F0r Fuel lnjected Carsi CB Transverter
'l: PIR l\rOvement Detect0r
Amplifier. Pt.1; SimDleCharqerFor6V & l2VSl A Batlenes: Automatic
Semic0nductorAnalyser; [Jnderstanding Electric Lighting, Pt.8.
December2000: Home Netv/Orking ForShared lnternet Access; White
LED Torch; 2-Channel Guitar Preampl¡fjer, Pt.2 (D¡gital Reverb); 0riving
Best wishes for Keep up the good work!
For The 80lvl Amateur Band, Pt
An LCD From The Parallel Port; lndex To Vol 13 another 20 years Garth F. ]enkinson,
Januarv 2001: How To Transfer LP D0cÌor On behalf of all staff at ]aycar Elec- Emerald, Vic.
- Clean lJp Clicks & P0ps.Pt.l: Ar 0r: 2-Chan-
nel Guitar Preamplilier, Pt.3; PIC tronics, Electus and Soanar, I would
Also available is a multi-PROM UV eraser
Februarv 200'l: An Easv Wav T0 Make PC Boards; L'il Pulser Tra¡n sincerely like to congratulate you Possible error in Variable with timer, and a 3U32 PLCC converter.
Just fill in and ma¡lthe handy order form in this issue; controllér: A N4l0l lnterface For PCs: Build The B¿ss BlaTer:2-l\4eke
Groundplane Antennai LP Doctor - Clean Up Cl¡cks & Pops, Pt.2. and your staff on 20 years of "well Speed Drive circuit
or fax (02) 9939 2648; or call (02) 9939 3295 and quote your March 2001: l\4aking Phot0 Besist Pc Boards: Bio-Digit 12124 Hour
done". I don't know if I have this analysis JED Microprocessors Pty Ltd
cred¡t card number. Pr¡ce: $49.50 each (¡cl. GST) in Australia or Cl0ck; Parallel P0rt PIC Pr0grammer & Checkerboardi Protoboards - I am flattered thai you mention correct but I have gone through the 173 Boronia Rd, Boronia, Victotia, 3155
The Easy Way lntO Electronics, Pt.s; A Simple ¡rlDl Expansion Box.
$A13 each overseas. Prices include postage and pack¡ng. Email: laycar in your November editorial, It Variable Speed Drive circuit on page Ph. 03 9762 3588, Fax 03 9762 5499
ADril 2001: A GPS [4odule For Y0ur PC; Dr Video - An Easy-to-Build
silicon @siliconchip.com.au V¡de0 Stabiliser: Trem0l0 Unit For Musicians; Minim¡tter FM Slere0 must be said, of course, that SucoN 93 ofthe October 2007 issue and I am
Transmitter, lntelligent N¡cad Battery Charger www.¡ednicro.com.au

siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7

108 StucoN Cutp
 May 2001: 1 2V Mini Stereo Amplifier; Two Wh¡te-LED Torches To Build; December 2003: PC Board Design, Pt.3t VHF Receiver For Weather Picile-Povi ered Thermostat & Temperature Display; Build A lMlDl Drum
PowerPak - A lMulti-Vollage Pov/er Supplyi Using Linux To Share An Satellites; Linear Supply F0r Luxe0n 1 W Star LEDst 5V Meter Calibrati0n Kit, Pt 4; Building The Ultimate Jukebox, Pt 3
lnternet Connect¡on, Pt 1; Te/eak¡ng Windov/s W¡th T\yeakUl Standard; PIC-Based Car Battery M0nitor: PiCAXE Pt.10.
March 2006: lhe Electronic Camera, Pt 1; PC-Controlled BurglarAlarm
June2001: Un¡versal BatteryCharger, Pt 1; Phonome-Call, L¡sten ln & January 2004: Studi0 350W Po$/er Ampl¡fier lvlodule, Pt 1; H¡gh-Ei System, Pt.2; L0w-C0st lnlercooler Waler Spray Conlroller: AVR ISP
Sw¡tch Devices 0n & Off; Lorv-CostAutomaticCameraSrv¡tcher; Using ficiency Power Supply For 1W St¿r LEDsi Antenna & RF Preamp For SocketB0ard: Build A Low-Cost L¿rge Display Anemometer.
L¡nux To Share An lnternet Conneclion, Pt 2; A PC ïo D¡e F0r, Pt f Weather Satelliles; Lapel Microphone Adaptor F0r PA Systems; PICAXE-
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Let- 1 8X 4-Chânnel Datalogger, Pt 1: 2 4GHZ Audio/Video Link o Series Remote Control
Ju¡y2001:The He¿rtMate Hearl Rate lMonil0r: DoNol D¡sturbTelephone el Audio/üideo Selector;
ters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may Timert Pic-Toc-AS¡mple Alarm Clock; Fasl Universal Battery Charoer, Febrüary 2004: PC B0ard Design, Pt 1; Supply Ra¡l fi4onitor For PCsl Pt.1 i Picaxe coes Wire-
edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This Pt 2; A PC To Die For, Pt 2; Backino Up Your Email Studi0 350W Power Amplifier l\¡0dule, Pt 2; Shorted Turns Tester For
Line 0utput Transf0rmersi PICAXE-1 8X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt 2
also applies to submissions to "Ask Strcor.r C¡rp" and "Circuit Notebook". Augusl 2001: Dl B0x For ¡ilusiciansi 200W lllosfet Ampl¡f¡er Module; May 2006: L ker; lJniversal
Headlight Reminder: 401!lHl 6-D¡git Frequency Counter Modulet A PC To March2004: PC Board Design, Pl 2; Bu¡ldThe QuìckBrake Forlncreased H¡gh-Energy lnjection (Dl)
Die FOr, Pt 3; Ljsing Linux To Share An lnternet C0nnection, Pt 3 Driving Safely; 3V-9V (or more) DC-DC Converteri ESR Meter l\4k 2, Box For l\¡us¡ ltage Monitori
Pt.1 i PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Dalalogger, Pt.3. Picaxe Goes lJsing Simple
Seplember2001: Makìng N4P3s; BuildAn [¡P3Juk€box, Pl'l; PC-C0n- Antennas, lmproving The S0und 0f Salvaqed Loudspeaker Systems
trolled Mains Swìtch; Pers0nal N0ise S0urce F0r Tinnitus; Directional April 2004:
Solar effectiveness your solar system supplies only 60% Micr0ph0ne; Us¡ng Linux T0 Share An lnternet C0nnection, Pt 4
PC Board Des¡gn, Pt 3t L0udspeakerLevel l\4eterF0rHome
Theatre Systems; DoO S¡lencer; Mixture D¡splay For Carst ESR Meter June 2006: Television-The Elus¡ve Goal, Pt'1 i Electr¡c-Powered Model
is regional of the energy, then a gas booster is N0vember2001: lJltra-LD l00WChannel StereoAmpl¡fier, Pt 1 | Ne0n
Mk 2, Pt 2; PC/PICAXE Intelace For UHF Remote Control Aircrall, Pl.2; Pocket A/V Test Påttern Generalor: Two-Way SPDlFlO-
Toslink Dig¡lal Aud¡o Convertert Build A 2.4GHr Wireless A/V Linki A
A number of readers have comment- appropriate, In Tasmania, most of the conclusion is only true if petrol car Tube lvlodulator For Cars; Audio/Vide0 Distr¡bution Amplifier; Build A
Sh0rt Message Bec0rder Player; lJseful Tips For Y0ur PC
May 2004: Amplif¡erTesting Without H¡gh-Tech Geart C0mp0nentVideo
To RGB Converter; Starpower Switching Supply F0r Luxeon Står LEDs:
High-Curent Battery Charger F0r Almost Nothing

ed that I appear to have condemned electricity is hydro and so even tlough effrciency is better thal 20% . I contend Wireless Parallel Port: P00r lMan's l\4etal L0cator July 2006: Television - The Elusive Goal. Pt.2; Mini Theremin l\4k.2.
December 2001: lB Transceiver For PCs; 100WCh Stereo Amplifier Pt.1: PrOqrammable Analoo 0n-off contr0ller: Studi0 Series Slereo
electric cars in my article "How to the solar fiaction is lower, electricity that petrol car efficiency is closer to Pl 2; Pardy Lights Colour Displayi PIC Fun - Learning About lvlicros June 2004: Dr V¡de0 l\4k 2 Video Stabiliser; Bu¡ld An RFID Security Preamplifier; Stop Those Zaps From Double-lnsulâted Equipment
lModule; Fridge-000r Alârm; C0urtesy Light Delay For Cars: Automa tinq
Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emis- produces the lowest greenÌrouse gas L20/o talher than the 25% that Peter January 2002: T0uch And/0r Remole-Controlled Light Dimmer, Pt 1 ; PC PoweFUpt [Jpgraded Software F0r The EPR0¡i Programmer August 2006: Video Projeclor Survey Televisi0n -The Elusive Goal.
A Cheap 'n'Easy Motorbike Alarm; 1 00W /Channel Stereo Ampl¡fier, Pt.3: Novel Picile-Based LFD Ch¿serClock: Build A l\¡agnelic CarlridOe
sions, Pt,3" (SirtcoN CHre, September emissions. claims. Pt 3: Build A Raucous Alarm; FAOS 0n The [/P3 Jukebox July2004:Silenc¡ngAN0isyPC;VersatileBatteryProtector;Appliance Preampl¡fier: An Ultr¿sonic E¿vesdropper: Multi-Throttle ConÌrol For
2OO7). Electric cars are quite advanta- If you live in the sunnier areas of In justification, a typical small car tehruary 2002: 10-Channel lR Bemote Control Receiveri 2 4GHz H¡gh-
Energy Meter, Pt 1; A PoOr lvlan's 0 l\¡eter; Regulated High-Voltage Sup-
piy F0r Valve Amplifiers; Remote C0ntrol F0r A l\,4odel Traìn Layout
PC Flight Simulators; Mini Theremin Mk.2, Pt.2.

geous in countries or regions where Australia, where the solar fraction can uses 7 litres/1OOkm at gokm/h on Power Audio-Video Link; Touch And/0r Remote-ContrOlled Light 0jm-
mer, Pl 2t Boot¡ng A Without A Keyboardi 4-Way Event Timer Augusl 2004: Vide0 Formats: Why Bother?, VAF's New DC-X Generation
-
September 2006: Th0mas Alva Ed¡son Genius, Pl.1; Transfeff¡ng
Your LPs To CDs & lVP3s: Turn an old Xbox lnto A $200 Multimed¡a
highway cycle and g.s litres/tookm
PC
the electricity produced generates be very high or lo}ok, again electric-
March 2002: Mighty Midgd Audi0 Ampl¡fier M0dulet 6-Channel
lV Loudspeakers; Video Enhancer & Y/C Separator; Balanced l\4¡cro-
phone Preamp; Appliance Energy l\4eter, Pt 2; 3-State Log¡c Probe
Player, Picile Net Server, Pt.1: Bu¡ld The Galâclic Voicet Aquarium
Temperature Alarm: S-Vide0 T0 C0mposite Video Converter.
less than about 0.9kg of CO2 per kWh. ity may be the best. So essentially the on city cycle. On highway cycle, this lR Rem0te Volume C0ntrol, Pt.1; RIAA Pre-Amplif¡er For l\4agnetic
-
Victoria averages about 1,4kg/kWh decision is based on solar insolation motor uses 1 litre of petrol (rokWh) to Cartridgesi 1 2/24V lntelligent S0lar POv/er Battery Charger Seplem ber 2004: Voice Over I P (Vo P) For Beginners; WiFry - Cooking
I

up 2.4GHz Antennas; Bed Wetting Aleit; Build a Programmable Robol;

oclober 2006: Th0mås Alva Edison
With Dual Displays, Pt.1; IJHF Presca
Genius, Pt 2; LEo Tach0meter
ln-

and the Australian average is about (how sunny your location is), your generate 1.7kWh at the wheels; ie, L70/o Apr¡l 2002:Aut0mat¡c Single-Channel Light Dimmer; Pt 1; Water Level Another CFL lnverter frâred Remote Control Extender: Picu
'l2V 0¡gilal Timer ¡/odulei Build A Su
uild
lndicatorI l\4ult¡ple-0utput Bench P0wer Supply; Versatile l\rult¡-lvlode
1.Okg/kWh, usage level and the "dirtiness" ofthe efficiency. On a city cycle, because Timert 6-Channel lB Remote V0lume Control, Pt 2 0ct0ber 2004: lhe Humble "Trann¡e" Turns 50: Sl\4S C0ntr0ller, Pt 1 i
RGB To Component V¡de0 Converter; USB P0wer lnject0r; Rem0te lpha 4100 Dig iew)ì
In the USA, the average is about electricity supply you would use to of frequent braking, its efficiency is May2002: 32-LED Knightrider: The BalteryGuardian (Cuts PowerWhen
the Battery V0llåge Dr0ps)i Stereo Headphone Ampl¡fier; Aulomat¡c
Controller For Garage Doors & Gates. You
Pt.1; Build
able Christmas
eflex
LED
0,7kglkWh, so electric cars would be heat the water. much lower at around 5-10%. As- Single-Channel L¡ghl Dimmer; Pt 2; Stepper l\¡otOr Controller November 2004: 42V Car Eleclrical Systems: IJSB-COntrolled Pover plays, Pt.2t Pic
Sw¡lch (Errala0ec.2004)t Charger F0r Deep-Cycle 12V Batteries, Pt.1:
better there than petrol. For Australia Peter Seligman, suming 60% city and 4oo/o highway August 2002: Digital lnstrumentati0n Software For PCs; Dig¡tal Storage Dr¡veway Sentry; SMS C0ntr0ller, Pt.2t PICAXE lR Remote Control. December 2006: Bringlng A Dead cordless Dr¡ll Back To Lifei cord-
L0gic Probe; Digital Therm /Thermostat; Sound Card lnteface For PC less Porver T0ol Charger Conlroller; Build A Radar speed Gun, Pt 2;
at present, gas-powered cars may be Essendon, Vic. usage, the average petrol efficiency is Test lnstruments: Direct Convers¡on Rece¡ver For Rad¡o Amateurs December 2004: Build A Windmill Generator Pt 1t 20W Amplifier Heårtbeat CPR Train¡ng Beeper; Super Speed0 Corecror, 12124V
the best option since, apart from being 1.2o/o so it only generates an average of September2002: l2VFluorescentLamp lnverter; 8-Channel lnfrared
Module: Charger F0r Deep-Cycle 1 2V Batter¡es, Pt 2; Solar-Powered
Wireless Weåther Stâtioni Bidirectional lvlotor Speed Controller
Auxiliary Battery C0ntroller; P¡caxe Net Server, Pt 3

relatively low in CO2 emissions, they Electric cars are r.2kWh/Iitre of petrol used. Remote Control: 5o-Watt DC Electronic L0ad; Spyware - An Update
January2005:WindmillGenerator, Pt 2; Bu¡ldAV8 Doorbell; lR Remote
January 2007: Versat¡le Temperalure Switch lntefligenl Car AirCon-
ditioning Conlr0lleri Remote Telltale For Garage D00rs; lntelligenl 1 2V
reduce our dependency on foreign cleaner than petrol Using Peter's CO2 equivalence fig- 0ctober 2002: Speed Controller For Universal lMotors; PC Parallel P0rt
Wizard; Cable Ìacer; AVR ISP Serlal Programmer;30 TV.
Control Checker; 4-lvlinute Shovi er Timer:
Gamei VAF 0C-7 Generation 4 K¡t Speakers
-fhe
Prawnlìtei Sinom Says Charger For SLA & Lead-Ac¡d Batteries

oil. I would Ìike to dispute Peter Selig- ures of 2.6kgll for petrol and 1.35kg/ February 2007: Remote Volume Control & Preamplifier l\¡odule. Pt.1:
N0vember 2002: Super0harger For NiCd/N¡MH Batteries, Pt 1; W¡n- February 2005: Windmill Generator, Pt3; UsB-Controlled Electro- Simp¡e Variable B00st Conlrol For furb0 Carst Fuel Cut Defeater for
In the case of solar hot water heating, man's conclusions in his article on kWh for mains-generated electricity, dov/s-Based EPB0M Programmer, Pt.1; 4-Dioit Crystal-Conkolled cardi0graphi Tw¡nTen Stereo Amplifier; lnductance & Q-Factor Meter, The Boost Control: L0w-Cost SolVlHz frequency lvleter. Mk.2' Bike
Tim¡ng Module; Us¡ng L¡nux To Share An 0ptus Cable Modem, Pt.1 .
there are several factors which deter- "How to Cut Your Greenhouse Emis- let us now compare the amount of CO2 Pt.1 ; A Yagi Antenna For UHF CB; $2 Battery Charger Computer T0 Digital Ammeter C0nvers¡0n

Decembel 2002: Beceiv¡ng TV FrOm Satellites; Pt 'l; The l\4icr0mitter

mine whether a booster is required sions" on page 20 of the September generated by a petroÌ car per litre used ndows-Based EPR0IM PrOgrammer, Pt.2i
March 2005: Windmill Generatot Pt 4, Sports Scoreboard, Pt 1; Sw¡m-
ming Pool Lap Counter; lnductance & O-Factor llleter, Pt 2, Shielded
March 2007: Pr0grammable lgnition Syslem For Cars, PI 1; Bemole
Volume Contr0l & Preamplilier Module. Pl.2: GPS-B¿sed l-requency
and what sort of booster is appropriate. 2007 edition. Peter claims that a and by an electric car generating the H Batter¡es; Pt.2: SimpleVHF FN4/AN4 Radi0i
ptus Cable l\4odem, Pt.2.
L0op Anlenna For Alll: Cheap UV FPR0M Fraser, Sending Picaxe Data
over 477MHz UHF CB: 510 Lathe & Drill Press Tach0meler.
Relerence, Pt.1; Simple Ammeler & Vollmeler.

To give some examples: if you live in mains-recharged electric car gener- equivalent power of r.zkWh. April 2007: The Pr0p0sedB ps, H¡gh-Power
January 2003: Receiving W From Satellites, Pt 2; SC480 50W Rl\rs April 2005: lnslall Your 0v/n ln-Car Video (Reversing Monitor)t Bu¡ld Speed
Reversible DC l\4Otor 's Ladder: GPS-
Victoria, with high CO2 per kWh and ates more CO2 than a petrol car, His In a petrol car, one Ìitre of petrol Am pl¡f¡er l\¡odule, Pt.1: Gear Indicator F0r Carst Act¡ve 3-Way Cr0ssover A MlDl Theremin, PÌ.1; Båss ËxÌender For Hili Systemsi Sp0rts Score- Based Frequency Reference, tion System For
For Speakers; Us¡ng L¡nux T0 Share An optus Câble l\/lodem, Pt.3. b0ard, Pt.2; S¡¡S Controller Add-0ns; A $5 Variable POwer Supply. lnÍr
Cars, Pt.2; Dual PICAXE n.

tebruary 2003: PortaPal System, Pt 1; SC480 50W RMS Amplif¡er

PA May2005: Getting lntoWi-Fi. Pt.1, BuildA45-Sec0ndV0iceRecOrder, Ma|l 2007: 20W Class-A Amplifier M0dule, Pt.1; Adjuslable 1 .3-22V Reg-
lvlodule, Pt.2i Windov/s-Bâsed EPR0M Programmet Pt.3; Using Linux W¡reless lvlicrophone/Audio L¡nk; MlDl Theremin. Pt.2: Sp0rts Sc0re- ulated Po\Ter Supply; Vu/Peak l\4eter W¡th LCD Bargraphs: Pr0gram-
To Share An optus Cable l\40dem, Pt.4t Fun With The PICAXE, Pt.1. board, Pt 3: Automatic St0pwatch TimeL mable lgnit¡on Syslem ForCars, Pt 3; GPS-Based FrequencyReference
Australia on the right oftop 40 music formats, talkbackra- Republic and France, while many March 2003: LED Lighting F0r Y0ur Carì PeltietrElfect Tinn¡e Cooler, June 2005: Wi-Fi, Pt 2; The Mesmer¡ser LED Clock; C00lmaster Fridge/
I\40difications; Throttle lnterface For The DC MOtor Speed C0ntrOller

wavelength with digital radio dio, pioneering live news and sports other countries including Canada, PorlaPal PA System. Pt.2: l2VSLA Battery Float Chargeri Little Dyna-
m¡le SubH00fert Fun With The PICAXE, Pt.2 (Shop Door l\tlinder).
Freezer Temperature C0ntrOller; Alternative PovJer Regular; PICAXE
Colour Recognit¡on System; AVR200 Single B0ård C0mputer, Pt.1.
June 2007: 20W Class-A Amplifier Module, Pt 2; Knock Detectqr For
The Prog rammable lgn¡l¡on; Versati¡e 4-l nput Mixer With Tone C0ntrolsl
I wish to comment on the letter reports from the scene, interactivit¡ Hulgary, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Apr¡ I 2003: VideO-Audi0 B0oster For Home Thealre Syslems; Telephone July 2005: W¡-Fi, Pt 3t Remote-C0ntr0lled Aulomatic Lamp D¡mmer;
Fun With The New PICAXE 14-lVl: Frequency-Activated Sv/¡tch F0rCars;
Simple Panel lMeters Rev¡s¡ted
conceflring DAB+ in tìe September streaming online and radio podcasts Malta, New Zealand and China are Dialler For Burglar Alarmst Three PIC Programmer Kitsi PICAXE, Pt 3 Lead-Acid Battery Zapper; Ser¡âl Stepper lvlotor Controller; Salvaging
(Heartbeat Simulator)i Electric Shutter Release For Cameras
2007 issue of SlI,rcot{ Crm. It's a are examples of the way radio has making preparations for trials and & lJsing ThermOstats; Unwired l\¡0dems & External Antennas July2007: HowToCutYourGreenhouseEmissions, Pt.1;6-Dig¡tN¡xie
Cl0ck. Pt.1t TankWaler Level lndicatort A PID Temperature Conlr0llerl
shame a letter writer has attacked continually evolved both its content launches. DAB+ is our opportunity May 2003: Widgybox Guitar Distoit¡on Effects Un¡t; 101\4Hz D¡rect
D¡gital Synthes¡s Generator; Big Blaster Subwoofer; Printer Port
August2005: lMudlarkA205 ValveStereo Ampl¡fjer, Pt 1; Programmable
Flexitimer; Carbon M0nox¡de Alert; Serial LCD Dr¡ver: Enhanced Sports
20W Clåss-A Stereo Amplifier; Pt 3: l\raking Panels F0r Projects

Australia's plans for digital radio and distribution overthe years. Dig- to move the industry forward and Simulator; PICAXE Pt4 (MotorController) Scoreboard; Sålvaging Washing lllaching Pressure Sv/itches Auqust 2007: How To Cul Your Greenhouse Em¡ssi0ns, Pt.2; 20W
Class-A Stereo Ampl¡lier; Pl.4; Adaptive Turbo Timer: Subwoofer
without the facts and without being ital radio is the next step. those who don't embrace this change June 2003: PICAXE, PtSi PICAXE-Controlled Telephone lntercom:
PICAXE-o8 P0rt Expansion; Sunset Svi¡tch tor Secur¡ty & Garden
Seplember 2005: Bu¡ld Y0ur own Seismograph; Bilge Sn¡ffer For Boats: C0ntroller; 6-Dig¡t N¡xie Clock, PÌ.2.
VolP Anal0g Ph0ne Adaptor; Mudlark 4205 Valve Stereo Amplifiet
prepared to put their name to their The decision to go with DAB+ was will most likely be left behind. If Lighting; D¡gital Reâction Timer; Adjustable DC-DC Converter For Cars; Pt 2t PICAXE in Schools, Pt 4 September 2007: The Art 0f Long-Distance W¡Fit Spectacular Bike
Long-Range 4-Channel UHF Remote Control Wheel POV Displav; Fast Charoer for Nil\¡H & Nicad BalÌeries:
opinion. not driven by "bureaucracy" but by our Étnonymous critic would like to 0cl0ber2005:ALookAtGoogleEarth;DeadSimplelJSBBreakoutBox; Simple Data-Logging Weather Stat¡on, Pt.1i 20W Class-A Stereo
Commercial radio broadcasters radio stations who understand what come out from behind the cloak of July 2003: Smart C er-up Auto lvlains Studio Ser¡es Stere0 Preamplif¡er, Pt.1; Video Reading Aid For Vis¡on Amplifier: Pt 5
Switch;A "Sm¿ rt"S Cont¡nuity Testerl lmpaired People: Simple Alcohol Level Meter; Cei¡ing Fan TimeL
have every confi dence that Australia listeners want. DAB+ technology al- anonymity then we cal make sure PICAXE Pt.6 - Data PIC Programmer -
october 2007: DVD Players How Good Are They For HiFi Audioì
& Checkerboardi R November 2005: Good 0uality Ca r Sound 0n The Cheapt Pt.1 ; l\¡icr0br¡c ElecÌronic Noughts & Cr0sses Game, PlCProbe L0gic Pr0be: R0lling
can successfuIly lead the way with lows us to offer exciting new features he or she is acquainted with the Augusl 2003: PC lnfrared Remote Receiver (Play DVDS & [4P3s 0n
-B0boticsForEveryone; PlCAXElnSchools, Pt.5;Studi0Ser¡esStereo
Headphone Ampl¡fieri Build A MlDl 0rum K¡t, Pt 1: Serial l/0 Controller
Code Secur¡ty System, Pt.1; Simple Dåta-Logging Weather Stati0n,
Pt 2; AIV Loop Antenna & Amplif¡el
digital radio. We have a long history and a multitude of content that just facts of digital radio, both here and Your PC Via Bemote Control)t Digital lnstrument Display FOr Cars, & Analog Sampler; Della XL02 Tower Loudspeaker System
Pt.1; H0me-Bre$/ Weatherpr0of 2.4GHz WiF¡ Antennas; PICAXE Pt.7. November 2007: Your own Home Recording Stud¡oì PIC-Based
of innovation tàat has seen radio isn't possible with AM and FM. globally, a¡rd will thus be equipped December2005: Good 0ual¡ty Car Sound 0n The Cheap; Pt.2; Building Water Tank Level lVeter, Pt.1 i Playback Adaplor For CD-R0lM Drives,
September 2003: Robot Wars: KryptOn Bike Light; PIC Programmer: The Ult¡mate Jukebox. Pt.l; Universal High-Energy lgnition System, Pt.'1; Roll¡ng Code Secur¡ty System, Pt.2; Build A UV Light Box For
adapt and flourish over the years We should be proud that Australia to make, in the future, an informed CurrentClampMeterAdaplerF0rD¡,4Ms:PICAXE Pt.8-ADataLogger: Pt.1; Remote LED Annunciator For oueue Controli Build A MlDl Drum l\4aking PC Boards
D¡0ital lnslrumenl D¡splav For Cars. Pt.2.
despite the advent of technologies was the first country in the world to comment. Kit, Pt 2:433MHz Wireless Data Communicati0n

such as TV CD players and the in- switch on a high power DAB+ test foan Warne¡ Des¡gn, Pt.1; JV80 L0udspeaker System; A
Porver Supply; Low-Cost 50MHz Frequency
January2006: PocketTENSUnitForPain Belief;"LittleJim"A¡/l Radi0
Transmittert Un¡versâl High-Energy ¡gniti0n System, Pt.2i Building The
PLEASE NoTE: issues not listed have s0ld out All listed issues are in

ternet. The development of portable - but we are far from alone. TTiaIs Chief Executive Officer, hannel Remote Control System. lJltimate Jukebox, Pt.2i MlDl Drum Kit, Pt.3i Picaxe-Based 4331\¡Hz
Wireless Thermometer; A Human-Powered LED Torch
and in-car listening, the introduction have been conducted in Italy, Czech Commercial Radio Australia. November2003:PCBoardDesign, Pt.2 12AX7ValveAudioPreampli-
lier; 0ur Best Ever LED Torcht Smart Badio ¡ilodem For lvlicroconlrollersi February 2006: Electr¡c-Powered Model Aircraft, Pt 1; PC-Controlled
PICAXE Pt 9t Progrâmmable PIC-Powered Timer Bur0larAlarm System, Pt 1: BuildAChargerForiPods & lllP3 Playersi

StucoN Cutp siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBER 2OO7 1OS

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as 5mm Agilent (HP) [EDs. These
I are fantastic, bright brand-name qual-
effective test and measurement package to give you the tools you need to
navigate this exciting new frontier.
I Street I ity LEDs at Chinese LED prices! Also
I I Osram sudace mount range and other
NOS standard and superbright brand
I Suburb/town Postcode I name LEDs from just a few cents each.
I I Also Cree X-Lamps, 5 and 10 watt power
I Phone: Fax: Email:
I LEDs, LED drivers, kits and all sorts of
Bit5cope

L---rrrrrrr-rr-rrrrrr other stuff . www.ledsales.com.au

--J F-¡9. É20 @þ'ÉÈÞ
PCB CARBIDE DRILLS $3.50ea (new).
Riston coated Laminate. PCBs made,
great prices. acetronics@acetronics. Standard 1tl/20pF BNC inputs Smart POD Connector Opto-isolated USB 2.0 12VDC with low power modes
com.au Phone (02) 9600 6832.
BitScope DSO Software for Windows and
RCS RADIO/DESIGN is at 41 Arlewis BS100U includes BitScope DSO the fast and
Keep youf cop¡es safe wi St, Chester Hill 2162, NSW Australia intuitive multichannel test and measurement
and has all the published PC boards
these handy binders from SC, EA, ETl, HE, AEM & others. Ph
software for your PC or notebook.
Capture deep buffer one-shots, display waveforms
These binders will protect your (02) 9738 0330. sales@ rcsradio.com.
and spectra real-time or capture mixed signal data
copies of SrLrcoN CHIP.They au, www.rcsradio.com.au to disk. Comprehensive integration means you can
feature heavy-board covers view analog and logic signals in many different
& are made from a distinctive PCBs MADE, ONE OR MANY. Any ways all at the click of a button.
2-tone green vinyl.They hold 12 format, hobbyists welcome. Sesame The software may also be used stand-alone to
issues & will look great on your Electronics Phone (02) 9593 1025. share data with colleagues, students or customers.
bookshelf. [email protected]
Waveforms may be expoded as podable image
www.sesame.com.au
StLtcoN Cxre logo printed on files or live captures replayed on another PC as if a
ine & cover I NEW NICH¡A 5mm C0 white, 22-30cd
BS100U was locally connected.

* Buy five and get them LEDs @ 1.50 ea; new Sansen Smm
postage free! white 25', 18-22cd LEDs @ 0.80 ea;
Available Aust. only. Price: $413.95 plus $7 p&p per order (includes Osram SMD PLCC4 60' 3.5-4.5cd red
GST). Just fill in and mail the handy order form in this issue; orlax(O2l
& yellow LEDs 0.60 ea. Go to wvvw.
9939 2648; or call (02) 9939 3295 and quote your credit card number. lazer.com.au
continued page 104
Ph:
71,O StLtco¡,¡ Cntp www. si I iconch ip. com. au BitScope Þesígns
(Oz) 9436 2955
Fox: (02) 9436 3764 www. bits coPe. com
 ELNEC IC PROGRAMMERS VIDEO.AUDIO.PG
High quality
distribution amps splitters -
PuilisneF's Letter Realistic prices
Free software updates' 7.S
Large range of adaptors o Learn about
digital standards converters - tbc's
switchers - cables - adaptors
genlockers - scan converters
Windows 95/98/Me/NT I 2klXP engine manage- bulk vga cable - wallplates
Electric cars are viable ment systems

Puhl ishe r & Ed itor-in-Chi el right now

CLEVERSCOPE . Projects to DVS5o & DVS5S
H¡gh Performance
USB OSCILLOSCOPES control nitrous, Video / S-Video
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD and Aud¡o Splitters
Peter Seligman's articles on "How to Cut Your 2 x 1OOMSa/s 1Obit inputs + trigger fuel injection
Produclion Manager Greenhouse Emissions" in the July, August & Septem- and turbo boost
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) ber issues certainly stirred up some controversy. One systems
good thing about that is that it clearly demonstrated o Switch devices
Technical SlaÍÍ according
that the simplistic solutions often bandied about in the
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) to signal frequency, temp-
popular press are not workable. Making large cuts to Windows 98/Me/NT/2UXP
Ross Tester erature & voltage
greenhouse gases is neither easy nor simple.
Jim Rowe, 8.4., B.Sc, UKZZLO IMAGECRAFT C COMPILERS o Build test instruments to check fuel
Mauro Grassi, B.Sc.(Hons.) Much of the controversy stirred by Peter Seligman's ANSI C compilers, Windows IDE injector dug cycle, fuel mixtures and
articles revolved around his conclusion that electric cars were not a useful ap- AVR, TMS43O, ARMT/ARMg brake & temperature
Photography proach when most of the power stations are coal-flred, as they are in Australia. 68HC08, 68HC11, 68HC12
Ross Tesler Quite a few people disagreed,but went on to quote flgures drawn lrom overseas Mail order pr¡ces: Aust. $422.50 (incl.
sources where the power generation mix is quite different to here. Even so, there
GRANTRONICS PTY LTD GST & P&P); 0yerseas $426.00 yia a¡r-
Header Services www.grantronics.com.au ma¡|. See www.siliconchip.com.au for
have been disagreements about the estimated efficiency of electric vehicles. A
Ann Morris order¡ng details.
representative letter in that vein is included in the Mailbag pages this month. Come to tlre
Adverlising Enquiries For our part, we are very attracted to the concept of electric vehicles and do specialists"' @

Glyn Smith Ouest Elecronrcs'Pty Umited abn 83 003 æ1 282 Va Ouestronix

believe that a modern electric car employing similar technology to the much Pr0ducls, Specials & Pricelist at www.queslr0nix.com.au
Phone (02) 3939 3295 vaunted Tesla Roadster would be quite successful. In fact, we think such cars rax (04 a341 2795
Mobile 0431 7SZ 253 should be on Australia's roads in large numbers right now, in spite of the fact TV reception ¡n )rour e m a il : q uestav @ q ue strcn ¡x.c om.a u

g lyn@siliconchip. com. au that they would ultimately draw their electricity from mostly coal-fired power home is nowaffotdable.
stations. In any case, it is unlikely that any new power stations in Australia will
Regular Conlribulors
Brendan Akhurst
be coal-fired. They are far more ÌikeÌy to be gas-fired since they are much more
efficient ald put out considerably Ìess greenhouse gases for the electricity they
generate. So with future Australian electricity supplies likeìy to be much cleaner,
Ilon
Rodney Champness, VK3UG ruww.dontf onics. com has 300 selecÌed
we should be planning for electric vehicles,
Kevin Poulter hardware and software products avail-
Mike Sherilf, B.Sc, VK2YFK In the meantime, consider the potential advantages of electric vehicles if they able from over 40 world wide manufactur-
Stan Swan
were in Australia right now. In heavy traffrc or on the open road, they generate ers, and authors.
no pollution at all. They would not contribute to Australia's growing import bill More frequent updatæ - euery 2.5 seconds! Olimex Development Boards & Tools:
for oil and petrol. When stopped, they are silent, apart from the possibility of a More alarm settings over 70 paramelerc!
- ABM, AVR, MAXO, MSP430 and PlC.
SlLlCoN CHIP is published 12 times ventilation fan running. And when driving along the road, there is virtually no More highs, lows and graphs - over 80 in all!
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Atmel Programmers And Compilers:
noise at all, apart from that generated bv the t1,'res, suspension and any wind STK500, Codevision C, Bascom AVB,
Pty tld. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 noise. That is a pretty attractive proposition. More importantly, such a car would With the Vantage Pro2 Weather Slation
FED AVIDICY Pro, MikroElektronika Basic
003 205 490 All material copyright require virtually no regular maintenalce ald very few visits to the local garage you get incredibly detailed information on:
and Pascal, Flash File support, and boot
@. No pail of this publicalion may
be reproduced withoul the written
for costly service - no oil changes or engine service - just check the tyres and
the water level for the windscreen washers. Now that is attractive.
MSt20 Wind - direction and strength
Bainfall - current, recent patterns etc.
loaders.
PlCmicro Programmers And Compilersl
consent of the publisher. The wotld's lowesl cosl oonlroller Temperature - current, wind chill, etc.
Sure, batteries are an expensive component in al electric vehicÌe's first cost microEngineering Labs USB programmers,
Printing: Hannanprint, Noble Park, Baromelric pfessure - current and trends
but if NiMH or Lithium-ion batteries are used, they should last for many years. Humidity & dewpoint - current and 24 hrs
adaplers, and Basic Compilers, DIY (Kit-
Vicloria. srus) USB programmers, MikroElektronika
In fact, wear in the motor shouÌd be very low, so electric vehicles could be very o 12 digital I/O And your own local forecast. You'll be
Distribution: Network Dislribution Iong-lived. Basic, Pascal, DSpic Pascal Compilers,
Company. o 2line LCD more accurate than the weaiher bureau!
CCS C, FED C, Hi-Tech C, MikroElektronlka
Sadly, there are only a handful of electric cars on the road in Australia and to Available in wired or wireless models
o5 push buttons C, disassembler and hex tools.
Subscription rales: $89.50 per year our knowledge, virtually all of these have been built by enthusiasts. In fact, the (wireless transmission up to 300m!)
o Expandable CAN: Lawicell CANUSB, CAN232
in Australia. For overseas rales, see
the subscription page in lhis issue.
Australian EÌectric Vehicle Association (AEVA) had a recent fieÌd day in Sydney
and a number of such vehicles were on display. But sadly too, they were all far o EasY to Program S164 ECOlllr ÃTC E FTDI: USB Family of lC 's. FT232RL,
Editorialoffice: shy of what can be achieved with technology presently available in Australia. llnit 5, ll S0uthlor[ llre llilsyth, U¡c 3l3t FT2452RL, also BL and others.
Dereloper's K¡t 97 includes programming cable & software
For example, they aÌl used lead-acid batteries and DC motors (not brushless)
S I
Iel: l03l StGl t0l0 fax l03l SlSl I0E0 4DSystems LCD/Graphics: Add VGA
Unil1,234 Harbord Rd, Made in Australia - used world-wide
uwu.dau¡s¡nstruments.com.au
without regeneration. Significantly too, most of them would be dicey in a major monitor, or OLED LCD to your micro. Simple
Brookvale, NSW 2100.
coÌlision and none had air-conditioning. Serial l/F.
Postal address: P0 8ox 139,
By contrast, it would be possible to put together a consortium of Australian Heaps And Heaps Of USB Products:
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 3939 3295.
Fax (02) 9939 2648.
suppliers right now, to manufacture a world-class eiectric vehicle with good
performance and range, able to accommodate four people and their luggage and
ffimfteDdgnffiW
Do you have a good circuit idea? lf s0, skelch il out, wrile a brief description of ils
TTL, BS-232, RS-485, modules, cables,
analyzers, CRO's.
Popular Easysync USB To RS-232
E-mail: [email protected]
with full crash safety. I wonder if any of our ìocal car manufacturers is actually
operalion & send il to us. Provided your idea is workable & original, we'll püblish il in Cable: Works when the others fail. Only
working on such a project right now. I hope so.
Circuit Notebook & you'll make some money. We pay up lo $100 for a good circuit id€a one recommended by CBUS. Money back
ßst't 1030.2662
"Recommended and maximum price only.
Leo Simpson or you could wín some tesl gear. guarantee.

Silicon Chip Publications, P0 Box 139, Gollaroy, tlSW 2097. www.dontronics-shop. com

SntcoN Crutp siliconchip.com.au www. si I iconch ip. com. au DECEMBER 2OO7 1.1.7
 Do You Eat, Breathe and Sleep TECHNOLOGY?
nities for full-time and oart-time all over Australia & New Zealand
Why not do something you love and get paid lor it? Please
owned, ¡nternal¡onal reta¡ler w¡th more than 39 slores in write or email us with your details, along w¡th your C.V.
aland. 0ul aggressive expansion and any qualifications you may have. We pay a
ed in the need for dedicated compet¡t¡ve salary sales commissions and have great
team to ass¡st us ¡n achieving our benelits like a liberal staff purchase policy.
goals.
Send to:
We pride ourselves on the technical knowledge of our Reta¡l 0perations Manager - Jaycar Electronics Pty ltd
staff. Do you think that the follow¡ng statements descr¡be P0. Box 6424 Silverwater NSW 1811
you? Please put a tick in the boxes that do: Email: [email protected]

D Knowledge of electronics, particularly at conponent level,

E Assemhle proiecls 0r kits yourselffor car, computer, aud¡0, etc,
C Have empathy w¡th 0lhers who have the same ¡nlerest as you
D May have w0rked ¡n some retail alreadv (not ohl¡gatory),
20 Restoring A VintageTV Set
Idgtrar
- Have energy, enthusiasm and a personal¡ty that en¡oys
help¡ng people.
¡ Appreciates an 0pp0lunity for fulure advancement, What's it like to restore a 5)-year-old v¡ntage black-and-white TV set? Here's
E Have an eve for deta¡1.
how an old AWA Model 229 was brought back to life - by Timothy Stuart

44 Review: Rohde & Schwarz FS300 & SM300Test Gear

RFMA *5#,o-9#,4:.åy,fll.?ii?
Applications:
We take an in-depth look at Rohde & Schwarz'new FM300 Spectrum
Analyser and 5M300 Signal Generator - by Mauro Grassi

BlMl -151 .300-10 B¡M2A-433-64 Restoring AVintage AWA

Rural
VHF FM Transceiver TV Receiver - Page 20.
ln Stock NOW! Utilities
lndustrial
10 Signature Ser¡es Kit Loudspeaker System
Range:Skm+ Based on Fountek ribbon tweeters and Peerless drivers, these are the best kit
Power:100mW Commercial speakers we have ever heard - by Russell Storey & Leo Simpson
ì Data rate 'lOkbps Govemment
Also: 151 .275 & 151 .6MHz Meter Reading 33mmx23mmx4mm 30 lnfrared Audio Headphone Link ForTV
Do you have trouble understanding what's being said on the TV unless the
RADIOMETRIX: Low Power, Licence Exempt Radio Modules volume is cranked way up? This project lets you listen in without disturbing
anyone else - by Jim Rowe
RF Modules Australia. P.O. Box 1957 Launceston, TAS., 7250.
Ph : 03-6331-6789. Email : [email protected]. Web: tfmodules.com,au 64 An Enhanced 45-Second Voice Recorder Module
lmproved design can be easily set up to record two, four or eight different
messages for random-access playback or a single message for'tape mode'
MicroByte Electronics: PIC Micros playback - by Jim Rowe
- Development Board Development - 48- Hour
tools & Components. Phone: (03) 9378
78 PIG-Based Water-Tank Level Meter; Pt.2
4288. inlo @ microbyte.com.a
m¡crobyte.com.au
u ; s"
NSTA
Building the two versions (basic & telemetry) plus installation and calibration Audio Headphone
.Ph l( - by John Clarke
WANTED 90 Playback Adaptor For CD-ROM Drives; Pt.2
Assembling the PC board, assigning the remote control keys, testing and
CUSTOMERS: Truscotts Electronic D0IÍNl,OrtD Olltl üll)tl,OG AT troubleshooting - by Mauro Grassi
World - large range of semiconductors
and passive components for industry, WORTDWIDE ETECTBOilIG GOMPOIIEIITS
hobbyist and amateur projects includ- P0 Box 631, Hillarys, WA 6923
ing Drew Diamond.2TThe Mall, South Ph: (08) 9307 7305 Fax: (08) 9307 7309 48 Serviceman's Log
Croydon, Melbourne. (03) 9723 3860. It's all in a day's work - by the TV Serviceman
electron ¡cworld @ optusnet.com.au
72 Circuit Notebook
ltow (1) ln-Car Charger & Switcher For An SLA Battery;(2) Temperature-Controlled
Fridge Fan; (3) Simple Water Pump Controller; (4) Low-Current Stable
Recorder Module - Page 64.

AUAIlRBlE Clock Source; (5) Quiz Adjudicator Has No Pushbuttons; (6) Buck & Boost
Regulator; (7) Doorbell Circuit With Zero Standby Current
FROTI
97 Vintage Radio
j. limited Bac[ lssues
Kriesler 11-59 5-Valve Dual-Wave Mantel Receiver - by Bodney Champness

.r. limited One-Shots

lf you're looking for a proiect from ELECTRoNICS AUSTRAUA, you'll find ¡t al SIUCoN CHIP! We Gan
now offer reprints of all projects which have appeared in Electronics Australia, EAT, Electronics
Today, ETI or Radio, TV & Hobbies. Just decide on the proiect you want and then call, fax 0r email 2 Publisher's Letter 104 Ask Silicon Chip
us wilh the details and your credit ca¡d details. Reprint cost is $9.50 per arlicle (ie, 2-part projects 4 Mailbag 107 Notes & Errata
cosl $19.00). SlLlcoN CH|P subscribers receive a 10% discount.
We also have limited numbers of EA back issues and special publications. Call for details! 25 Order Form 1 10 Market Centre
CD-ROM Playback
visil www. si I iconchi p. co m. a u or emai I sil ico n@si I i conchi p. con. au 61 Product Showcase Adaptor- Page 90.
172 Sntco¡tt Cntp www. si I iconch ip. com. au siliconchip.com.au DECEMBEN 2OO7
 iå,
ì

NEW 3OOW WIND GENE

Power: 300W
+ lcetanic
Unlike the Titanic this is really unsinkable. Floats
Wireless Colour LGD Weather Station
Wireless outdoor temperature and hygrometer Stocking Stuffers E Peak: 500W
Voltage:24VDC
around your pool and holds around l8 cans and sensors transmit data to the colour LCD receiver
enough ice to keep them cold for hours The lid which displays temperature, humidity, heat index & RG Miniature F430 Ferrari
NEW COMBINED Current:124
UP INVERTER AND
dew point levels, the time, barometric pressure and SHUNT REGULATOR i Start Speed: 2.5m/S
ì å
within the lid gives you easy Take the 1/64th scale F430 off its recharg¡ng
CHARGE CONTROLLER
access to your favour¡te bubbly o[ comfort index, and forecasts the weather through 5 base for a hot little model that you can race
KIT
Cut-in Speed: 3m/S
wine for your own floating weather ¡cons. around your desk lt is rear wheel drive and
. Full clock and calendar functions has an adjustable front steering bias to
Rated Speed: 12mlS
champagne bucket Around its
. Requires 3 x AAA baüeries ensure a straight and smooth ride Rated RPM 450
rim it even holds up to 6
drinks [w¡th stubby . Remote hidden in display box ,, Blades: Carbon fibre
. Requires 6 x AA batteries
. loyrs+ Blade span 1.5m
)
Pocket Sized Shocking Game This system is ideal for camp sites, sheds orfor remote locations where you need light Protection Level: lP54
Are you a shock-a-holic? Take this one on holidays, Connect ¡t to one of our many new led driver kits with new incredibly bright 1Vw LEDs is modern lightweight
on the train or to the pub Two games - Lighting It is designed to charge up to 3X7AH batteries via our new K2514 combined up inverter
Reaction and Shock Roulette. and shunt regulator/ charge conlroller kit. The battery can then be used to power one of
.2-4 players our new LED driver kits. This system inc I X 6V / 4W solar panel, 1 X up inverter / packaging weighs
controller kit, 1 X 12V I 7 APHbattery and all for just (SL1
153 Experiments in Electr¡c¡ty 18KG's!!: Cheap to Ship by Australia Post. Has a built
$7s.s5 rectifier/regulator and sliprings. lt is made from good
and Magnetism Kit Ê.,-"
Learn all the basic principles behind electriclty Will new materials. Available in 12V (AW12) and 24V (4W24).
Colour Changing Gift Boxes keep the junior mad scientist æ,' Much more info. on ourweb site: (AW24)$599

fr
Use this set of 3 colour-changing gift boxes with occupied for hours w¡thout
burning the house down
Note: The mast and other hardware is not supplied
satin ribbons to wrap those special presents or to Palm Games Computer
All the experiments require Plây one of e¡ght games against the Brand new small ma¡ns operated geared motor.
only a 9V battery or no
Christmas display.
. Continuous colour
computer or an opponent, Chess These are very strong and made for rotating microwave
teaching feature and l6 skill levels
morphing between red, . Requires 2 x AAA batteries turntables. Operates from 240VAC 50/60H2 and consumes
This 100W solar array includes 5 X 20W - 1 2V polycrystalline solar panels, a 12
green,white&blue . 125(HJ x 7B(W) x l4(DJmm
regulator k¡t + weatherproof kit box Why 5 X 12VI20W panels and not 1 X
3W. Output speed is 5/6RPM. Generates a high voltage
. Large: 170mm3
. Medium: 115mm3 $39.95
. l2yrs+
+ panel?...Loss of output due to damage or obstruction of a panel will result in a 2oo/o when turned. Measures 50mm diameter x 17mm high.
loss in output, not 100% loss. Air gaps between panels increase cooìing and thus Output shaft diameter is 7mm. (MAC2)4 motors for $'10
. Small: 75mm3
increases panel effìciency Much cheaper and less fragile to post. The wir¡ng can be
. Each box requires 3 x - Special for Decem
Massager Seat Cover with Heater changed for different voltages. Aluminum angle, r¡vets or wire not inc, all worth around
AAA batteries iPod6 Shuffle Speaker $'15 Specifications For each Panel: Peak Power: 20W Open Circuit Voltage: 21V,
R&R. ldeal gift for anyone Designed for the 2nd generat¡on iPod" Shuffle, this *' Short Circuit Current: '1 34, Voltage At Max. Power: 17 5V Current At Max Power:
- Colour Changing Bows spends hours in a vehicle stereo speaker is still ideal for use with âny ¡Pod¡ or 1 .14, Dim: 610 x 290 x 25mm 5 X 12Vl20W panels +regulator kit + weatherproof

¡.} Available in red or green the optical f¡bres create a . 6 Massage motors & 3 MP3 player. Produces quality sound, and its protective
colour changing focal point that wili make all other intensity levels cover makes ¡t fantâstic for use at the beach K256 - ACTIVE LOOP ANTENNA KITThis kit is designed to signìficantly
presents seem dull, dull, dull . Requires 4 x AAA batteries
- t . Mains adaptor and cigarette improve the reception of distant AM radio stations. Published in October 2007
socket plug included . Size 190)[Ð x 60(HJ x 20(D)mm issue of SC, but now improved with a Varactor diode We also supply
instructions in the notes on how to construct a simple loop antenna Kit is
supplied with PCBs, all on-board components, jiffy box and a weatherproof box

$4.95'
L; $49.s5
a
(antenna wire and mast not supplied) K256 $22

Sonic Grenade Coughing Lung Ashtray Mini Digital Camera Keyring

After a 20 second delay, ¡ts Desrgned to look like a pair of You won't miss any
-
Gool Down this Summer Record up to 120 seconds of vo¡ce/sound.
alarm shrieks until you replace lungs! Bursts ¡nto a disturbingly
Features include serial
the p¡n Great personal alarm or
use it to get the kids out of bed.
Has three pitch levels.
real¡stic coughing fit when a
cigarette is placed in it
. Requires 2 x AA batter¡es
. Measures 130M0 x 115[L] x
Sports Fan
ldeal to keep in the sports bag to use
after a big workout, Use as a normal t
record¡ng of multiple
messages, message
retent¡on without power and
selectable deletion of
ffi.'-rå'
fan by removing the water bottle unwanted messages. Module
45(H)mm .Requires2xAA measures 32mm X 18mm X
3.smm Kit includes: Module,
speaker and mic (depending
EW 8x10mm LED LAMP KIT on requirements it may
require external swìtches)
$te.s5 bright4W LED lamp K255 $1 1 .00
use software & cable $l9.95 employs 8 X 1l2W
. 2 speeds LED's driven by an NEW 0.5W1Omm LEDs
.Requires2xD licient switched mode
Desktop Bling Amazing new bright LEDs. More light for your
Golf Cart Pen Holder
These pink and white rhinestone desk accessories are the This miniature golf caddy pen .
batter¡es
130[WJ x 160(D] x 75[H]mm
ower supply: money and more light from the same space
perfect Chr¡stmas gift for the woman who has everything holder includes three pens in
than regular LEDs. Unlike LUXEON style
LEDs these LEDs do not require any
GH-1890 Bling Mouse W at 9-30V DC. Can
. USB powered 519.95 wh¡ch are cleverly
shaped as real
USB Fan
. USB powered
ì lso fit inside a common
additional heatsinking.
GH-l892 Bling Dual
Power Calculator
. Fixed or oscillating modes / dip jar to make a 25 Lumens @ 150m4 / 80,000 mcd @ 20m4.
. I digit LCD S17.95 . Base measures 1 00m (Dia ) ateftight housing for a
20 Lumens @ 150ma / 65,000 mcd @ 20m4.
GH-I894 Bling Stapler
. Fan casing measures l50mm [D¡a.]
ty bright Prawning
. Takes size 56 staples
#- ight!: Kit inc. PCB, LEDs 1 5 Lumens @ l50mA / 40,000 mcd @ 20m4.
sr495 all onboard parts. Green $2.40 Water clear lens.
20 Lumens @ 150m4 / 80,000 mcd @ 20m4.

Fgtrdr of kits and to hobbyists, experimenters, industry &

.COmSuppliers surplus electronics professionals.
Orders: Ph(02 ) 9584 3563, Fax9584 3561, [email protected], PO 9gx-8_9 Oqtle_y NSW2223
Better. More Technical FOR INFOBMATION AND ORDEBING zpted. Post & Pack tvp'icallv $7 Prices subiect to chanse without notice ACN 068 74O O81 48N18068 74O O81
SC DEC 07
Prices valid until 31-12-07 TELEPHONE¡ 1800 022 888 INTERNET. vuvuwjaycar.com.au
a-:l
 ",,,amor7g the very best kÍt speøkers thø't
sN 1 030-2óó2

PRINT POST APPROVED

- PP255003/01272
$8f,"0J NZ$9.:g

Model 260C
Specifications:
Model260
Frequency Range (on axis) 44Hz-40kïz
Effìciency 92.5d8 SPL @ 1m 2.83V rms @22"C averaged
Nominal lmpedance 4 ohms
Recommended amplifier power
Home Theatre Receiver 5 to 120W Unclipped program material
Stereo and Valve 5 to 120W Unclipped program material
Harmonic Distortion THD !0.3o/o @ lwatt 2.83Vrms lk{z
Relative Phase Coherence <130" 400H2 to 10kHz
44Hzto20kHz Hoz / Vert t45'
Crossover Printed Circuit Board : Fully finished includes all components, Velcro mounting tabs & wiring
(No Soldering required) Wiring cable : lnternal speaker cable high quality OFC 384 strand with push on connections
Speaker terminals : 4mm twin gold plated binding post
Filter : 2 way off set Bessel / Butterworth , linear phase
Freq : 3.8kHz
Order:2nd Lp, 3rd Hp
Components: High quality, Copper Air core inductors , SCR 400V metalized MKP capacitors
Non lnductive resistors
Bi-wiring: Option provided
Drivers
Bass 2 x Peerless 832873 Woofer 5" Nomex
Tweeter 1 x Fountek Jp3.0
Ribbon 3" (65mm)
lnput Terminals Gold plated 2way
Cabinet High quality enclosure supplied fully finished with pre drilled screw holes, port,
speaker mounting holes, grille panel, acoustic felt lined, mounting screws

KIT PRIGES
lnclude speakers, crossovers, all hardware and cabinets.
(Price per pair [except 260c] including GST).
260
Plain MDF ......... KlT260-MDF........................$1 299.00
Black vinyl ......... K|T260-BV $1399.00
260C (one unit only)
Plain MDF ......... K|T260C-MDF........................$649.00
Black viny| ......... KlT260C-8V...........................$71 9.00
360
Plain MDF ......... KlT360-MDF .......................$1 1 59.00
Black vinyl ......... K|T360-BV $'1299.00
ELECTBOTTIC SEBVTCES AUSTRALSIA
SPEAKER KITS (withoul cabinels)
rncrudespeakersandcrossoversbutn0cabinetsandhard- 138 Liverpggl Rd Ashfield NSW (LOCked Bag 30 Ashfield 21311
ware. (Price per pair [except 260C] including GST).
260Kit..............sPK260 .......$7ee.00 PH: 02-9798-9233 FAX: 02-9798-0017
260C kit....,.........SPK260C (one driver only)....$399.00
360 kit................sPK360 .......$6ee.00 Web: WWW.Wagner.net.aU