SUMMER CIRCUITSCOLLECTION

to maintain the maximum transistor temperature and to you insight into the relationship between the heatsink and the
remain below the maximum heatsink temperature. In addition, temperature of the transistor.
you will see the internal temperature of the transistor, the tem- The spreadsheet is available from the Download section of the
perature of the heatsink and a suggestion for a suitable Elektor Electronics website at
heatsink (type and length), such as ‘SK85, 75 mm’. Several dif- http://www.elektor-electronics.co.uk
ferent suggestions may be displayed in a row, as in the illus- If you want to modify the program, you will first have to dis-
tration. This is only a very limited suggestion, but it does give able the protection and make the invisible columns visible. We
you a quick impression. Furthermore, you are always depend- (and other readers) would enjoy hearing about any improve-
ent on what your dealer has in stock, and he can work with ments you make.
the calculated value of degrees per watt. You will see that it’s (004084-1)
fun to play around with various input values, and this will give

005 Precision Electroscope

P. Lay U+
This circuit can precisely measure electrostatic charge. The * see text

charge to be measured is stored on C1 (a high quality MKT * zie tekst

capacitor with a value of 1-2 µF). The voltage (U) across the 2 7
S2: open 0 - 2000V
capacitor (C1) is related to its charge (Q) by the equation U = IC2
6 3 7
closed 0 - 4000V
Q/C1. Operational amplifier IC2 buffers this very high imped- 3
IC3
6
2 R1 R3 R7
ance source. An input lead is connected to one side of capac- 4
*

100k

100k
4
itor C1 and terminated with a test probe. The other side is con- MAX4322
MAX4322
nected to an earth lead and to a convenient earth point. IC3
amplifies the low voltage level at the output of IC2 and drives S2

the moving coil meter M1 (±100 µA to ±1 mA centre zero).

M1
Switch S2 allows selection between two measurement ranges. R2 - 100µA 100µA
C1 C2
With S2 closed the amplification factor is 5 and when open the

10k
amplification factor is 10. The internal impedance of P1 is * 1µ
GND 16V
2.2 kΩ. Alternatively a digital multimeter can be used in place
of P1, in this case resistor R7 (2-20 KΩ) can be omitted. Low
Current LED D2 indicates that the electroscope is on. U–
The operational amplifiers used here are MAX4322 from
Maxim. The common mode input voltage for these devices can
U+
go to the supply rails; likewise the outputs will drive from rail C3
R4 R6 R8

560Ω
100k

5k6

to rail. The maximum supply voltage is 6.2 V, hence the need for
zener diode D1 to limit the supply voltage. A full data sheet 1µ
16V 3...5mA
can be obtained from www.maxim-ic.com. 7 3
The operational amplifier IC1 produces a symmetrical sup- 6 C6
D1 S1
IC1
ply with a centre rail (earth) from the 9-V battery. The supply 2
current for the electroscope is in the order of 5 mA, most of 4 4µ7 6V2
BT1
16V
which is used by the zener diode D1. Alternatively, the oper- MAX4322
ational amplifiers can be replaced by a type that can operate at 9V
a higher supply voltage. For example IC2 and IC3 can be R5 D2
replaced by a single (dual op-amp) TLC272 (see the DIL out- C4 C5
100k

line for this device to assign the new pins). IC1 can be 1µ 1µ
red
16V 16V rood
replaced by a TLC271 (pin 8 should in this case be connected U–
to earth and pins 1 & 5 left unconnected). The maximum sup- 004011 - 11

ply voltage for these IC’s is 16 V so zener diode D1 can be

omitted which will bring the supply current down to 3 mA.

Operation of the precision electroscope is simple:

1. Switch on S1, LED D2 lights.

2. The test probe is touched to the earth lead to discharge TLC271 TLC272
capacitor C1 before a measurement is made. Alternatively
a small push button switch can be wired in parallel to C1 OFFSET BIAS V DD
N1 1 8 SELECT OUT1 1 8
to discharge it.
– IN 2 7 V DD – IN1 2 7 – IN2
3. The test probe is now touched onto the charged part.
4. The meter will show any charge, its polarity and its value. + IN 3 6 OUT + IN1 3 6 + IN2
5. After use, turn off to save the batteries. GND OFFSET GND OUT2
4 5 N2 4 5

(004011)

7-8/2000 Elektor Electronics 21