THE FUN WAY TO LEARN ELECTRONICS

EVOLUME XVIII S3 95

LECTR'lflICS
Hiince WPS 36286
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IN CANADA á4E0

FUN -TO -BUILD PROJECTS FOR

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ELECTRONICS HOBBYISTS
IIRSTORR
A AN
SUpR
paeseextotscerou
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vsj VOIDS
ovs
BUILD A
R.U.S.HU RADIO
ROADTESTING THE
SINGMIN PCB

VARIABLE
BUILD A

SIGNAL
FRE6vEÉRATOR
CY
G TESTING AND
, Cj
REPLACING
DEFECTIpE
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7C989 36286 4 q IC S
There's No Easier Way to
TROUBLESHOOT AND REPAIR
Your Electronics! 900-PAGE,
MODULAR FORMAT
MANUAL
It's easy, fast and rewarding to do it yourself with the Electronics Repair Manual!
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TVIVCRs, SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS

Electronics Repair
HANDS-ON, DETAILED,
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. TROUBLESHOOTING
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Schematic Diagrams FREQUENCY
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 ELECTh a í1105
WIflDB' K
CONTENTS
'
VOLUME XVIII
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK 6
NEW BOOK REVIEWS 8
BUILD A R.U.S.H. RADIO 13
TESTING & REPLACING DEFECTIVE IC's 17
BUILD A GLOBAL ANTENNA DIRECTOR 22
CIRCUIT FRAGMENTS 26
STABILIZING RF OSCILLATOR DRIFT
JACK SOCKET TUTORIAL
METER OVERLOAD PROTECTOR
DOUBLE DUTY JACK-SOCKET POWER SWITCH
CAPACITANCE METER
CRYSTAL OSCILLATOR
9V TO 5V POWER SUPPLY
RC INTEGRATOR/DIFFERENTIATOR

ELECTRONIC DICE 32
ANTIQUE RADIO (RESTORE AN ALL-AMERICAN SUPERHET RADIO) 33
ROAD TESTING THE SINGMIN PCB 46
WORKBENCH PROJECTS 54
QUICK EMERGENCY FLASHER
TRANSISTORIZED SCHMITT TRIGGER
SOUND TO LIGHT MODULATOR
SIMPLE TREASURE LOCATOR
BLOWN FUSE INDICATOR
SIMPLE NICAD CHARGER
CARRIER OPERATED RELAY
6V TO 12VDC CONVERTER
SINEWAVE OSCILLATOR

BUILD A VARIABLE FREQUENCY AUDIO TEST SIGNAL GENERATOR 61

UBIQUITOUS DIODE (PART I) 70

IC TESTBENCH 75
HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSISTOR CHECKER
LOW FREQUENCY PULSER
CODE PRACTICE OSCILLATOR
TWIN SCANNER
SYMMETRICAL SCHMITT OSCILLATOR
GUITAR FUZZ EFFECT
SIMPLE SWITCH DEBOUNCER

SOLID STATE UPDATE 80

CLASSIFIED FLEA MARKET 84
THE CATALOG CORNER 85

2 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 5 BOOKS ólº $4..95
Electronics WHEN
YOU
JOIN
THE Book Club°
VALUES TO $ 158.30
The leading source of information for electronics hobbyists for over 30 years!
Home Ren ole_cwnroi
UPI Build Your Own
& Autonation Projects

RAMC MATNEMRTIC8
FOR ELECTRICITY
hicKvie
AND ELECTRONICS
LIN
SECURFTY.Y'
SYS[ `M
Basic
Electronics
Course
emulates

2790P $17.95 3795P $19.95 0044392 $12.95 26139 $19.95 37659 $21.95 41399 $16.95

Troublcshm1)01L
Troubleshooting and Repaving
tcGRAW HILL and Repairing
Computer Monitors
LECTRONICS Ste nd.bRcm
BC! ILA P en IS T ICTIONARY
0054088 42.95
0404348 -XX $49.50 Hardcover
4112H -XX 34.95 nl.ir,. Us MOHCr)\bzti
Counts as 2 Harr;
4227P $15.95
1604P $17.95

Easy PC Maintenance
end Repair

How to Read
Electronic Circuit
Diagrams 13711P $19.95 Designing. Building and Testing
now Own Speaker System
036432X $27.95:
2880P 15.95 Hardcover .:
mot

0717753 $19.95
3374P $17.95

MICROWAVE TV REPAIR
OVEN REPAIR BENCHTOP the ccreedete book of roe BEGINNERS
OSCILLOSCOPES
LECTRONICS
Reference Manual

lu (1n:m

0156778 $44.95 0673764-XX $54.95

3825P $19.95 0501149 $26.95 3627P $19.95 4179H $28.95
Hardcover Counts as 2/Hardcover
r Hardcover

As a member of the ELECTRONICS BOOK

GLIB ...
you'll enjoy receiving Club bulletins
-_ Electronics
every 3-4 weeks contdning exciting offers on the
latest books in the field at savings of up to 50% off
Book Club®
the regular publishers' prices. f you want the Main A Divisionof The McGraw-Hill Companies, P.O. Box 549, Blacklick, OH 43004-9918
selection, do nothing and it will be shipped YES! Please send me the books listed below, billing me just $4.95 plus shipping/handling & tax.
automaticdly. If you want another book, or no Enroll me as a member of the Electronics Book Club according to the terms outlined in this ad.
book at dl, simply return the reply form to us by the If not satisfied, may return the books within 10 days without obligation and have my mem-
date specified. You'll have at least 10 days to
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bership cancelled.
decide. If you ever receive a book you don't want
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it at our expense. Your only obligation is to pur-
chase 3 more books during the next 12 months, If you select a book that counts as 2 choices. write the book number in one box and XX in the next.
after which you may cancel your membership at
my time. And you'll be eligible for FREE BOOKS Name
through our Bonus Book Program.
A shipping/handing charge and sales tax will be
added to dl orders. NI books are softcover unless Address/Apt #
otherwise noted. R you select a book that counts as 2
choices, write the book number n one box and XX in City/State
the next. (Publishers' Prices Shown) 01995 EBC
eon If coupon is missing, write to: Zip Phone
Electronics Book Club, Valid for new members only, subject to acceptance by EBC. Canada must remit in U.S. funds drawn on U.S. I
A Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies banks. Applicants outside the U.S. and Canada will receive special ordering instructions. Publishers' prices I

P.O. Box 549, Blacklick, OH 43004-9918 I

shown. A shipping/handling charge & sales tax will be aded to all orders.

º J
CEHBI 195

PHONE: 1-614-759-3666 (B:30 am to 5:00 p.m. EST Monday -Friday) .%FAX: 1-614-759-3749 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
 ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK IS A SEMI-ANNUAL MAGAZINE
DEDICATED TO THE ELECTRONICS HOBBYIST AND THE
ELECTRONICS PROJECT BUILDER. ISSUES ON SALE IN THE
SPRING AND FALL EACH YEAR. WATCH FOR IT AT YOUR
FAVORITE NEWSSTAND. THE FUN WAY TO LEARN
ELECTRONICS.
ZINIMMMINIMMIIMIZMZINZIMIlfflfflIMMIIMMIIMfflMfflIMMIMMIIMM

BE A WINNER!
ENTER THE "SINGMIN PCB SWEEPSTAKES"
(Best project uses for the SINGMIN PCB)
WIN 5 SINGMIN PCB BOARDS (VALUE
$125.00)
C&E Hobby Handbooks and Singmin Enterprises announce a contest for
ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK readers to challenge their imagination and skill to
develop and describe an innovative electronic project that can be constructed
on a "Singmin PCB".
The design need not be complex. In fact, the simpler the better! Each entry
should be constructed from readily available parts that can be purchased from
recognized Electronics Parts Suppliers. The description of your "project"
should include a legible schematic with a "Parts List" and/or a B&W photo of
the prototype.
Use any of the circuits published in the ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK or any
other source with your description of how you used the "SINGMIN PCB" and
what you particularly liked about the new hobby board.
Entries will be judged on the originality of your project and the amount of
effort you have put into describing it.
All entries will be judged by "SINGMIN ENTERPRISES" and the competition
will be open for 6 months from the publication date of this issue of the
"Handbook".
Mail or FAX your entries to: Andrew Singmin Ph.D. SINGMIN ENTERPRISES, 9
Milne Crescent, Kanata, Ontario K2K 1H7, Canada. FAX (613) 592-3058.
DO NOT SEND US THE PROTOTYPE OF YOUR PROJECT IF WE WANT IT FOR
FURTHER INSPECTION, WE WILL LET YOU KNOW.
The winning entry will be published in a future issue of the ELECTRONICS
HANDBOOK.
IZZIIMMMIIIMMMIMMEMZIMBIZZIMMIMIIMIUM11111311
WANTED: PROJECTS
How would you like to find your own home-brew project in a future issue of the ELECTRONICS
HANDBOOK? It could happen. It's up to you! Build your project for yourself... It should have a real
purpose. Then, if you think that it is good enough to appear in the ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK, let
us know about it.
Write us a brief letter describing your project. Tell us what the project does. Provide us with a
legible schematic diagram and a few black -and -white photographs of the project...photos, with
good contrast are important. After we have read your letter describing your project, we'll let you
know, one way or the other, whether we would like to purchase your article describing the project.
If you would like some "Editorial Guidelines," send us a S.A.S.E. with your request...All ad-
dressed to DON GABREE, C&E HOBBY HANDBOOKS, P.O. BOX #5148, NORTH BRANCH, N.J.
08876.

4 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
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ISSN 0897-7631
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Second Class Entry applied for. Copyright C 1996
by C&E HOBBY HANDBOOKS, INC.
V18

VOLUME XVIII 5
FROM
THE EDITOR'S DESK
Got a question or a problem with a project- circuit design service. Write
he isn't offering a
ask The Editor. Please remember that The
Ask The Editor, Editors' column is limited to answering specific
to: The Editor
C&E HOBBY HANDBOOKS INC.
electronic project questions that you send to
He Knows! him. Personal replies cannot be made. Sorry,
P.O. Box #5148
North Branch, N.J. 08876

Used Parts, Cheap a series -connected stack of low - magazine, and had very good re-
bought a copy of Vol. XVI of
I
voltage devices. Consequently, the sults with it. I'd like to build some-
Electronics Handbook a few days forward voltage drop is the sum of thing like that again, only this time
ago. On page 31 you state that it is the individual forward voltage using a transistor instead of a tube.
hard to find some types of compo- drops-usually 15 volts or so. I Do you have any information on
would recommend replacing your such a circuit?
nents. Well, have a lot of compo-
I

nents that have reclaimed from old

I
high -voltage rectifier first, and if - Thomas Backus, Port Rowan,
TVs, stereos, radios, and other that doesn't do the trick, start look- Ont., Can.
electronic equipment, and will sell
I
ing at the magnetron and other It's quite feasible, Thomas, to use
components. Rectifiers and mag- a field-effect transistor as a regen-
these parts cheap. So, if you are in-
terested, let me know. netron tubes are available from erative detector. We haven't pub-
-
Steve Overton, Tazewell, TN
While I admire your zeal and ini-
MCM Electronics (650 Congress
Park Dr., Centerville, OH, 45459)
lished such a project in Electronics
Handbook, but have seen adver-
1

tiative, Steve, I suspect that most of and Parts Express (340 E. First St., tisements for a regenerative radio
our readers are interested in new Dayton, OH, 45402). When reas- kit from MFJ Enterprises (P.O. Box
sembling your microwave oven, be 494, Mississippi State, MS, 39762;
parts rather than used. Still, if we
get any inquiries, we'll let you know. certain to put everything back the telephone 601-323-5869). Although
way you found it, so that no leakage not as frequency selective as su-
of microwave radiation occurs. In perheterodyne circuits, regenera-
Microwave Meltdown fact, it would be a good idea to tive detectors have the advantage
My three -year -old microwave check for radiation leaks using one of simplicity. They also have a nos-
oven has begun emitting a bad of the low-cost testers available at talgic quality for a lot of readers.
smell when turn it on, and it does
I Radio Shack and other stores.
not heat things properly. A neighbor
who knows about such things says Ambitious Youth
Foreign Correspondent am 12 years old and just getting
that the problem is probably due to I

am a student of computer engi- started in electronics. Currently,

a bad magnetron tube, and that
I I
I

neering here in Cuba. would like to I

am putting together a computer and
can replace the tube myself without
calling a repairman. The problem is,
exchange ideas, projects, and rebuilding an old tube amplifier. am I

knowledge with other students or writing to inquire if you have any lit-
don't know where to find replace-
electronics hobbyists, and would
I

ment tubes. Can you help? erature on the construction of small

-
Ned Reilly, Overland, KS
appreciate it if you would publish my
name and address in your maga-
robots with feet or wheels.
-
Amos O'Connor, Ozark, AR
In cases like yours, Ned, the zine. By the way, your magazine is Slow down, Amos, or you'll be
problem is often not the magnetron a great help to any hobbyist. burned out by the time you're 15.
tube, which is a pretty rugged and
reliable device, but the high -volt-
- Victor Garcia20 Sarmiento
de Mayo y
Seriously, though, it's nice to hear
Prado 69e/ from a reader who's as enthusiastic
age rectifier. When you disassem- Revolucion about electronics as we are. I think
ble the microwave oven to check, Vista Allegre, Holguin, 80300 you'll find a lot of useful information
be certain to discharge the capac- Cuba in a pair of books from TAB/Mc-
itor in the high -voltage power sup- Consider it done, Victor, and Graw-Hill: Mechanical Devices for
ply before touching anything, and good luck in your studies. the Electronics Experimenter by
as always pull the AC line plug. A Britt Rorabaugh, and Build Your
bad high -voltage rectifier often Own Intelligent Mobile SPACE Ro-
shows no signs of burning or dete- Regeneration Revisited bot by Steven Montgomery.
rioration. The conventional diode - am currently 75 years old. Back
I

test function on your multimeter when was 13 or 14, built a one -

I I

won't be relevant either, because a tube regenerative detector radio Circuit -design Software
high -voltage rectifier is made up of from plans in Popular Mechanics Do you know of any inexpensive

6 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
software for IBM compatibles that Over Our Heads are already familiar with the more
could be used to draw schematic Could you tell me where can find
I common symbols. Anyone who
diagrams? the detailed information necessary has trouble reading schematics
- Larry King, Omaha, NE to build a complete computer -con-
trolled EPROM programmer or uni-
should pick up one of the many
books on electronic schematics
Let's put things into perspective
first, Larry. Circuit-design software versal IC programmer (for and study it carefully.
for professionals goes for about EPROMs, flash memories, PLDs,
$1,500 to $12,000 a copy, depend- and the like)? Are there any books PIP is a Pip!
ing on the features you need. Any- that fully explain the algorithms and am using a disk operating sys-
I

thing less than $1,500 would be the hardware needed to implement tem very much like CP/M and when
regarded as inexpensive in such them? I PIP (Peripherial Interchange Pro-
circles. I'm assuming that $1,500 is My goal is build a complete gram) from one disk to another I

a lot more than you're willing to pay. EPROM programmer and, if possi- place a V at the end of the com-
That being the case, you might be ble, a universal programmer, includ- mand between two square brack-
interested in Electronics Work- ing all the necessary hardware and ets. Yet, when do the same PIP
I

bench 3 from Interactive Image software. Thanks for your help, and procedure with this V or brackets,
keep up the good work. the results arethe same. What's
Technologies (908 Niagara Falls
Blvd., North Tonowanda, - Roberto Barnes, Panama City, happening that don't know about?
NY,
-
I

14120). This program sells for $299 Panama P.U., Denver, CO

and got a favorable review in Vol. You're talking about some heavy- What the V -option does is that
XVII of Electronics Handbook. The duty digital design tools, Roberto, provides an optional process
best bargains by far, however, are and that's out of our league (re- whereby the copy is verified to be
to be found in shareware. EditSch, member our motto: "the fun way to correct by comparing the memory
EEDraw, and Skem are three of the learn electronics"). However, there buffer with the newly created
better known shareware sche- is a magazine devoted entirely to file(s). This occurs only when the
matic -drawing programs, while the kind of advanced microproces- destination is a disk file, otherwise
EditPCB Intro will allow you to de- sor-based electronic projects you the option is ignored. Gary Kildall,
sign printed circuit boards. Share- seem to enjoy. It's called Circuit creator of CP/M, never uses the V-
ware and public -domain software Cellar Ink (4 Park St., Vernon, CT option, and members of the Digital
can be purchased from PC -SIG 06066). They're smarter than us, Research staff indicate that in over
(1030-D East Duane Ave., Sunny- but we're better looking. five years they have yet to see a
vale, CA, 94086); Discount Micro "verify" error. So, it is as useful as
(10881-B Portal, Los Alamitos, CA, a seat belt. My advise is buckle up
90720); and Public Brand Software No Reflection On Us and use the V.
(PO. Box 51315, Indianapolis, IN, like your magazine with its large
I

46251). print and pictures, and paper that

Red Alert
doesn't reflect the light. However,
would like to build a radar trans-
I'm a real beginner who sometimes
I

Reader Lacks Guts mitter and receiver. Do you know of

does not understand the schematic
Please tell me where can find any publications that would have
I
symbols you use. Additional expla-
just the "guts" of an infrared motion the kind of information need?
nation would be welcome. By the I

Thanks.
detector. am trying to design my
I

own type of alarm system. All I

way, am a machine mechanic and
I

would like to see some articles on

-
Bob Keener, Ashland, OH
You're not interested in simple
need is the motion sensor. DC power supplies, a demagnetizer
- David Goldberg, Fremont, CA
The type of sensor you seek, a
for grinding -machine magnets,
projects, are you, Bob? Nope, you
want radar. I'm not sure whether
readouts and how they work, etc. I

passive infrared (PIR) detector, is you mean relatively mundane stuff

could go on, but...
available from a wide variety of
vendors, David. Try Electronics 1-2-
-
Ted Jonak, Colonial Hts, MN
like police radar or sophisticated
navigation equipment for a yacht,
C'mon, Ted, our pages must be
3 (17921 Rowland St., Industry, reflecting some light, else how but in either case I'm stymied.
CA, 91748). Also check out the sur-
However, we don't give out prizes
could you read 'em? We do try to
plus market-for instance, Elec- for stumping the editor. All you get
be consistent in our use of sche-
is the personal satisfaction of hav-
tronic Goldmine (P.O. Box 5408, matic symbols and to explain the
Scottsdale, AZ, 85261). ing done so.
strange ones when they occur, but
we have to assume that our readers

VOLUME XVIII 7
 NEW
BOOK REVIEWS
The library of an electronics en- Forest Service, the U.S. Commerce
thusiast is not complete without Department, Transportation De-
some form of circuit reference book. partment, Veterans Affairs Depart-
The Encyclopedia of Electronic ment, General Services
Circuits is comprehensive and rea- Administration, Land Management
sonably priced, which makes it a Bureau, National Park Service,
good choice for the hobbyist as well Drug Enforcement Administration,
as the engineer. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Im-
Encyclopedia of Electronic Cir- migration Service, Marshal Service,
cuits, Vol. 5, 753 pages, softcover: Prisons Bureau, ATF Bureau, Cus-
$34.95. TAB/McGraw-Hill Inc., toms Service, Federal Law Enforce-
Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 17294- ment Training Center, Internal
0850. Telephone 800-822-8138. Revenue Service, and Secret Ser-
vice. All of this is augmented by
maps and a Master Resource File
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF which points the way toward other
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS, VOL. 5 MASTER books and organizations related to
by Rudolf F. Graf FREQUENCY monitoring.
and William Sheets FILE There is also some interesting
trivia to be gleaned from the book.
It's here, the latest volume (#5) of
For instance, learned that Henry
the Encyclopedia of Electronic I

Kissinger's code name during the

Circuits, one of the best-known cir-
Nixon years was "woodcutter." And
cuit reference books. Volume 5 is
there are some lengthy appendices
just like its predecessors, which
ixe,toger ..lu,di, devoted to the terrorist threat to po-
might sound bad, but is actually M..
lice and fire communications, en-
meant as a compliment. The au- roei
thors have a winning formula and
JAW,
samoan crypted voice communication, and
are sticking to it. There are 112 sep-
radio monitoring for earthquake
precursors. All in all, quite an inter-
arate sections in Volume 5, each of
esting book for the radio buff.
them devoted to a specific class of MASTER FREQUENCY FILE
circuit, such as amplifiers, oscilla- Master Frequency File, 530
by James E. Tunnell pages, softcover: $29.95. TAB/Mc-
tors, or comparators. Each entry and Robert Kelty
within a section consists of a sche-
Graw-Hill Inc., Blue Ridge Summit,
The purchaser of a scanner or PA, 17294-0850. Telephone 800-
matic diagram and a brief descrip-
shortwave receiver often finds him- 822-8138.
tion of circuit operation. If you need
more information, bibliographic ci- self in a quandary, because there is
tations tell you where to look. The so much activity to monitor that it's
circuits themselves are abstracted hard to know where to begin. How
from various popular magazines do you tell what is important from
and professional journals, though a what is not, and how do you know
few of them have been devised by when and where to listen? You
the authors. could answer these questions in the
At the back of Volume 5 you'll find time-honored way, through diligent
a comprehensive index covering listening and experimentation, or
not just Volume 5 but the preceding you could do it the easy way by
four volumes as well. Since similar picking up a copy of Master Fre-
circuits are found in all of the vol- quency File, the radio listener's
umes, each can stand on its own as equivalent of TV Guide.
a circuit reference. Thus, a hobbyist Master Frequency File is a di-
could buy just Volume 5 and feel rectory of U.S. government usage
comfortable knowing that he's not of the radio spectrum. It identifies
missing much by not having a com- the frequencies, callsigns, and user
IDs for a variety of U.S. government PAPERLESS PUBLISHING
plete set. On the other hand, engi- by Colin Haynes
neering libraries and those with agencies. The frequency range
deep pockets will want the whole covered is from 25 to 2110 MHz. For centuries now, the dissemi-
set. Agencies covered include the U.S. nation of words and ideas has been

8 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
a cooperative effort between two program that is compatible with Lo-
vastly different groups of people: tus 1-2-3; Wyndfields, an excellent
publishers and writers. The pub- database program; and RGB Tech -
lisher is the businessman whose writer, a scientific word-processing
job it is to see that writers are turn- program.
ing out script, printers are printing it, Anyone contemplating a plunge
and distributors are delivering it to into shareware/freeware pool would
the readers. From the writer's point be well advised to read Harley Bjel-
of view, this is all pretty dull stuff. land's book first. It will save you
The writer's job is to think and peck time and money-what better rec-
at a keyboard. Since the writer ommendation could a book have?
rarely shows signs of exertion, pub- Free & Low-cost Software for
lishers feel that writing is a fairly Scientists & Engineers, 367
simple job and pay accordingly. pages, softcover: $34.95. McGraw-
This cozy symbiotic relationship Hill Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, PA,
between writer and publisher may Most people who own a computer
17294-0850. Telephone 800-822-
now be in jeopardy thanks to the have heard the terms freeware and 8138.
emergence of new forms of elec- shareware. Freeware is software
tronic publishing. According to au-
that has been released into the
thor Colin Haynes, electronic public domain by its author. You can
publishing (either on disk, on CD- use it without paying the author
ROM, or over the Internet) allows
the writer to also act as publisher.
anything. Shareware is software
that is distributed under the honor
BiciiToP
Mr. Haynes goes on to describe
system. If you try a shareware pro-
multimedia publishing and some of gram and decide to keep it, you LECTRONICS
the software available for that pur- must pay a small registration fee Reference Manual
pose. He describes the impact of ($20-$30), which then entitles you
electronic publishing on in-house to future updates of the program. Sag Eotnoti
business communications. And he Human nature being what it is,
offers advice on marketing and dis- shareware authors don't earn much
tributing electronic books. Also dis- more than their freeware counter-
cussed are the packaging and parts most of the time. í( 8(7H U.i t E I
duplication of disks and CD-ROMs. Freeware and shareware have al-
Electronic publishing presents ways been a boon for the economy -
opportunities for photographers, minded computer user. The only THE BENCHTOP ELECTRONICS
artists, and musicians as well as problem is that freeware and share- REFERENCE MANUAL
writers, and the author briefly cov- By Victor E C. Veley
ware have proliferated to such an
ers some of the possibilities. He of-
extent that it's hard to know which The Benchtop Electronics Ref-
fers tips, tricks, and techniques to
program to try. Author Harley Bjel- erence Manual was conceived as
aid the would-be author/publisher, land saw the problem and decided a reference book for the working
and includes four well -regarded to solve it by writing a book that
shareware authoring programs on a electronics technician or for the stu-
separates the wheat from the chaff. dent of electronics. Two hundred
disk bound into the book. The pro- Free & Low-cost Software for
grams are Dart, Multimedia Work- and forty of the more common top-
Scientists & Engineers is a com- ics were selected from the fields of
shop, Softlock, and Writer's Dream.
pendium of the programs the author DC circuit theory, AC circuit theory,
Colin Haynes does a good job of feels are the best to be had in the
explaining the new forms of elec- solid -state -device physics, vacuum -
following categories: computer tu- tube theory, radio communications,
tronic publishing and how they can torials, computer utilities, personal/
be exploited. No doubt there are introductory mathematics, and digi-
professional advancement, word tal logic. Each topic is thoroughly
people who can function as both processing, engineering & science,
author and publisher, and they will explained, equations are derived,
databases, scheduling, graphics/ and the use of those equations is
relish the book, but have a feeling
CAD, telecommunications, com-
I

that most writers who also don the then illustrated by means of one or
puter programming, and games. more practical examples.
hat of publisher are likely to starve.
The features and system require- You might consider the book to
Paperless Publishing, 370 ments of each program are sum-
pages, softcover: $27.95. Wind- be a hybrid formed of parts of a
marized in a few descriptive conventional textbook and a set of
crest/McGraw-Hill Inc., Blue paragraphs. The author also tells
Ridge Summit, PA, 17294-0850. worked problems. When you need
where to obtain the programs to know more about a given topic,
Phone 800-822-8138.
(which, by the way, are all for IBM- this is the place to turn for a quick,
compatible systems). Bound into painless tutorial. I imagine you
FREE & LOW-COST SOFTWARE the book is a 3.5 -inch disk contain- could also use it as a textbook.
FOR SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS ing three programs to get you Practice problems accompany each
by Harley Bjelland started: AsEasyAs, a spreadsheet topic, and answers are to be found

VOLUME XVIII 9
NEW
BOOK REVIEWS
at the back of the book. ical baggage-too heavy a burden Guide from Analog Devices is a ref-
This is a very well written book for anyone who is not an engineer erence book made to order for any-
with an abundance of charts, or physicist. Well, there is a new one who needs a no-nonsense
graphs, and schematic diagrams. It book by Bruce Walker that looks introduction to the real -world appli-
will be a valuable reference for the like the perfect introduction to optics cations of linear integrated circuits.
electronics technician or student. for the mathematically challenged. Since it's published by Analog De-
Here are some highlights of the top- It's called Optical Engineering vices, the book features ICs made
ics covered: node and mesh analy- Fundamentals. by that company. Nevertheless, the
sis, Thevenin's theorem, magnetic The book begins with a thumb- principles discussed in most cases
flux, the motor effect, magnetomo- nail sketch of the history of optics, apply equally well to the products of
tive force, induction, time constants, and then delves into the nature of other manufacturers.
differentiator circuits, integrator cir- light (wavelength, frequency, refrac- More like an encyclopedia, the
cuits, the cathoderay oscilloscope, tion, diffraction, etc.). After that, it System Applications Guide cov-
inductive and capacitive reactance, discusses the theory of thin lenses ers an enormous range of circuit
resonant circuits, transformers, ze- and image formation. A few equa- applications: precision -sensor sig-
ner diodes, amplifiers, op amps, tions pop up here and there, but nal conditioning, multiplexing with
negative feedback, AM and FM nothing to make you shudder. analog switches, programmable -
transmitters, antennas, the Smith Next comes an introduction to gain amplifiers, sample -and -hold
chart, number systems, Boolean al- optical design using the computer circuits, voltage references, A/D
gebra, DeMorgan's theorems, and program known as OSLO MG. Sev- conversion, audio applications,
Karnaugh maps. eral examples are presented. The high-speed signals, high-speed
The Benchtop Electronics Ref- author then discusses primary lens amplification, video signal process-
erence Manual, 730 pages, hard- aberrations such as spherical aber- ing, high-speed ADCs, sigma -delta
cover: $54.95. TAB/McGraw-Hill ration, coma, and astigmatism. One ADCs and DACs, direct digital syn-
Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, PA, of the goals of lens design is to min- thesis, signal computing in com-
17294-0850. Phone 800-822-8138. imize these aberrations. munication, and motor control.
Mirrors and prisms warrant a
chapter of their own. Then we move
on to an interesting discussion of
basic optical instruments such as
the magnifier, the microscope, bin-
oculars, the riflescope, surveying
instruments, the periscope, the bo-
rescope, and the endoscope.
Lenses can be made of optical
glass or plastic. The author dis-
cusses the properties of each, and
the use of antireflection coatings on
the surface of a lens. Next we get
an introduction to one of the true
marvels of optics, the human eye.
The book concludes with several
To the authors' credit, the tone of
examples of practical lens design
using the principles presented this book is more practical than the-
previously. oretical. Thus, even though it deals
won't mince words here. This is with topics that are sometimes quite
OPTICAL ENGINEERING I

advanced, the presentation is con-

FUNDAMENTALS the best introduction to optics I've
cise and easy to understand. It's
By Bruce H. Walker seen yet. Grab it while you can.
also easy on the eyes, because the
A basic understanding of optics is
Optical Engineering Funda- type and diagrams are large.
mentals, 341 pages, hardcover:
mandatory if one is working with System Applications Guide, 8.5
$44.95. McGraw-Hill Inc., Blue
certain electronic systems such as x 11" format, 800 pages, softcover:
Ridge Summit, PA, 17294-0850.
projection TV, compact laser -disc $30 (price includes shipping). Ana-
Telephone 800-822-8138.
players, and fiber-optic transmis- log Devices Inc., One Technology
sion systems. But where do you ANALOG DEVICES Way, P.O. Box 9106, Norwood, MA,
gain such knowledge? Most books SYSTEM APPLICATIONS GUIDE 02062. Telephone 617-461-3392.
on optics are laden with mathemat- The new System Applications

10 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 the author does a fine job of ex-
CONTROLLING THE plaining the use of stepping motors COMMUNICATIONS
and DC servos. Part 4 deals with LICENSING AND
digital input signals, such as might
be obtained from optical sensors, CERTIFICATION
proximity switches, Hall -effect de- EXAMINATIONS
vices, and fluid detectors. Finally, THE COMPLETE
Part 5 deals with analog input sig-
nals and analog -to-digital
TAB REFERENCE
Grm, ïVdsw wyt b,,,pt 4 Rase

conversion.
KC
In all, forty useful projects are nCn
ll [I,
presented. Each consists of a few
pages of description followed by a
> PARI BERGSMA$ schematic and-get this-software
listings in three languages (Pascal,
C, and BASIC). Moreover, the book
CONTROLLING THE WORLD comes with a 3.5 DOS disk con- Communications Licensing
WITH YOUR PC taining all the source -code files as and Certification Examinations
by Paul Bergsman well as compiled (.EXE) files. was written to prepare you for the
What's your computer doing right According to his publisher, Paul following: General Radio Operator
now? Chances are that if you're not Bergsman has taught technology License, Global Marine Distress
and Safety Service certification,
using if for word processing, and mathematics in the Philadel-
spreadsheeting or some other stan- phia public schools for 21 years. Radio Telegraph Certificate, Radar
dard application, it's just sitting The clarity and thoroughness dis- Endorsement, Amateur Radio
there like a potted plant. Well, for played in this book suggest to me Technician Class License, Marine
shame. You should be putting that that he's a pretty good teacher. I'm Radio Operator Permit, Electronic
machine to better use, and you can giving his book an A+. Technicians Association certifica-
with the help of Paul Bergsman's Controlling the World With tion, International Society of Elec-
new book, Controlling the World Your PC, by Paul Bergsman, 8.5 x tronics Technicians certification,
With Your PC. 11" format, 257 pages, includes Society of Broadcast Engineers
The author assumes you've got 3.5" disk, softcover: $29.95 (plus $3 certification, National Association
shipping). HighText Publications, of Radio and Telecommunications
an IBM PC or compatible computer
equipped with a standard parallel P.O. Box 1489, Solana Beach, CA, Engineers certification, and others.
port, and that you possess basic 92075. Telephone 619-793-4141. This is not a textbook. It serves
circuit -building skills. He also as- as a review of the important princi-
sumes that you want your computer ples you will need to know in order
to do interesting things, like run a COMMUNICATIONS LICENSING to pass the various exams. Topics
model -railroad system, keep an eye AND CERTIFICATION covered include voltage, current,
on your house, or monitor the EXAMINATIONS resistance, components, passivé
weather. With the interface circuits by Sam Wilson circuits, signals, transmission lines,
and program examples he pres- and Joseph A. Risse antennas, and digital basics. The
ents, plus a little imaginationyou text is accompanied by quizzes that
One of the best ways of advanc- test your mastery of the material.
should be able to do all that and ing your career as an electronics
more. The book also includes some prac-
technician is by marrying the boss's tice exams similar to the ones you
The book is divided into five daughter. If that's not possible, how- will eventually have to take.
parts, the first of which deals with ever, you should seriously consider
In summary, this is must reading
display devices, like LEDs and taking one of the communications for the upwardly mobile technician.
LCDs, and circuits to interface them licensing and certification exams Communications Licensing
with your computer. Part 2 deals given by the Federal Communica- and Certification Examinations,
with the control of real -world de- tions Commission and other organ-
437 pages, softcover: $29.95. TAB/
vices using relays and optocou- izations. Passing such an McGraw-Hill Inc., Blue Ridge
plers. It also covers the generation examination shows your drive and
Summit, PA, 17294-0850. Tele-
of audio tones and speech. Motor initative, and may even be manda- phone 800-822-8138.
control is the topic of Part 3, where tory for securing some jobs.

VOLUME XVIII 11
 A Shocking Offer!
Now you don't have to be enrolled at CIE to receive our introductory price includes all the benefits and assistance
introductory Electronic and Electricity Lesson Modules. CIE normally extends to its students. You'll be entitled to
This program is available for a limited time to non- unlimited access to CIE's faculty and staff to assist you in
students for the shockingly low price of only $99.50. your studies via a toll free 800 number six days a week, 24
With CIE's patented AUTO -PROGRAMMED method hour turn around on grading your submitted exams, CIE
of teaching you will quickly learn and then master the bookstore privileges, a patented learning method, refer-
basics of electronics and electricity and then move on ence library, access to CIE's electronic bulletin board and a
to... DC/AC circuit theories, fundamentals of bipolar free issue of CIE's school newspaper The Electron.
junction transistors (BJT), field And best of all, when you
effect transistors (FET), wiring, decide to continue your
diagram and schematic read- electronics education in any of
ings, component identification, CIE's programs you'll receive
soldering techniques... and full academic credit for suc-
much, much more. This cessful lessons submitted and
introductory offer includes the a $100.00 Tuition Credit
first 39 lessons in CIE's Associ- Certificate.
ate in Applied Science in All this knowledge and support
Electronic Engineering Technol- will put you on the road to
ogy Degree. understanding digital electronics,
Your commitment to CIE ends automotive and industrial
with your payment, but CIE's electronics, microprocessing
commitment to your success principals, computer systems,
just begins when you receive telecommunications and much,
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and equipment. This special .

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 THE RUSH. RADIO
By Robert L. Williams

The Challenge
Revered as The Doctor Of Democracy by the right-thinking
majority, loathed by the Feminazi and their long-haired, dope -
smoking FM crowd brothers, feared by the secretly
entranched bleeding-heart TV news and national print -press
establishment, Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is the hottest voice
on AM talk -radio today.
His three hour top -rated broadcasts reach multi -millions of
devotees daily through 630 commercial radio outlets.
However, many have recently recognized an insidious liberal
plot, apparently intended to stifle and impede the educational
intercourse so necessary between student and teacher, an
electronic surgical strike that cuts at the heart of participatory
talk -radio; I refer, of course, to those so cleverly cloaked
abridgements of the First Amendment called The Presidential
Press -conference Pre-emption and Taped Delay Programming.
But feaT not, O'yee loyal Head's O'Ditto, the conservative
underground has now perfected a technologically superior
weapon allowing you to successfully wage counter -electronic -
warfare against this dastardly leftist threat, a state-of-the-art
computer-generated, yet ultra -conservative, solid-state device
which, when energized with only three AA alkaline cells, will
allow you real-time access to the golden tones of the "Great
One", LIVE, via his 19 Meter Band Short Wave Excellence -In -
Broadcasting World -Service 15.420 Megahertz (Mhz) beacon
of freedom:
Da -Da Da -Da Da -Da Da -Da Da -Da Da-Daaaa...
Presenting The R. U. S. H.
(Receiving Uncensored the Superlative Hudson) Shortwave
Radio!!!
The Design So, we (a conservative -underground R&D team) de-
In considering an electronic counter-measure to this termined that a simple cost-effective home -built receiv-
hidden civil-rights attack, available quality commer- ing device, easy on the parts -count as well as near -
cial and hobbyist shortwave receivers capable of re- automatic in operation seemed the logical right-minded
ceiving 15.420 Mhz amplitude -modulated (AM) answer. And anyway, we are secure in our knowledge
broadcasting were considered. However, most seemed that the real Rush -enthusiast is a fun -loving self-start-
to be retailing at prices in excess of $100. Inexpensive ing do-it-yourselfer, so we guarantee that the moder-
I'm sure by Democratic Party Congressional Spending ately -skilled Ditto-Head will reap full measure in reward
standards, but then again, they never, ever, seem to having built and operated this "home -brewed"
spend their own money. equipage.

VOLUME XVIII 13
 Designed around the NE602 and LM386 ICs, using receiver components were selected so as to be both in-
a direct input single -conversion superhetrodyne princi- expensive and readily available to the builder.
ple with a series -diode -detector and tunable IF, popular Our prototype used a surplus military 15.000 Mhz
when The Ronald was still riding off into the celluloid mini -crystal. It was purchased at a swap -meet for 25
sunset, this simple crystal -controlled circuit will allow cents some years back but manufacture outlet and sur-
clandestine reception of EIB World -Service transmis- plus dealer prices well -under $2 for these crystals are
sions without the need of an external long-wire or tele- not too uncommon today.
scoping -whip antenna. The NE602, an oscillator and double -balanced mod-
ulator integrated RF circuit, is circuit -configured at pins
#6 and #7, using capacitors Cl, C2 and the 15.000
Mhz Crystal (XTAL), for simplified crystal -controlled

..
C6
oscillations.

LM386
Cl i-. XTAL C7 mC9

1-
MINIPHONE JACK

-LL I
1N34

NE602 C3T T2 C8i-. ¡OIL R1 SPST o% R1

'f II4.5 VOLTS

C5

T
Figure 1:
Using a minimum in parts-count and circuit com-
plexity, the R. U. S. H. Radio receives only worth-
while EIB World -Service Short -Wave transmissions.
The design uses the minimum in parts -count and cir-
cuit complexity, as can be seen schematically in Figure
1, while allowing ONLY the reception of worthwhile EIB
World -Service transmissions on 15.420 Mhz. A com- Figure 2:
plete listing of the radio's parts requirements is A top -view of the single -section SINGMIN-PCB-1
included. printed circuit board used In R. U. S. H. Radio
construction.
Preferring breadboard -style circuit building as the
quickest method to prototype a circuit and get it on the A possible oscillator circuit configuration option al-
air, we used a single 2 inch by 2.25 inch section of the lows you the choice of replacing the Crystal with an off -
newly available SINGMIN-PCB-1 printed circuit board the -shelf 3.3uH HI -Q mini -inductor and a 33pF series
as our R. U. S. H. Radio construction platform. A top - capacitor. Proper receiver tuning adjustment with this L/
view of the PCB is shown in Figure 2. Component lay- C option will also provide reception at 15.420 Mhz but
out and wiring diagrams of the R. U. S. H. Radio's we would recommend the use of a 15.000 Mhz Crystal
breadboard circuitry are shown. T-1 (RF) and T-2 (IF) for stable and automatic EIB-only receiver operation.
Transformer winding data is also referenced. The NE602's internal RF input circuit is a buffered -
This device was designed so as to make its con- input balanced signal mixer. Pin 1 and 2 on the NE602
struction as easy and painless as possible. However, are the chips RF input points. Transformer T-1 (sec-
the layout shown can be easily adapted to other con- ondary) and resonating capacitor C5 provides receiver
struction techniques if you choose. In either case, just input selectivity. 15.420 Mhz RF is taken from the Low-
Z headphone leads, the headphone's cable shielding
mimic the building diagram's component layout making
sure that you observe proper schematic circuit conti- functioning as the receiver's clandestine antenna.
nuity. If constructed using the component parts at the The NE602's mixer circuitry outputs at pins #4 and
values listed, while keeping component lead -lengths #5. This output signal is the difference between the os-
as short as possible, you should have no problems with cillation frequency present at pin #6 and the receiver
this simple receiver circuit. input at pins #1 and #2.
With NE602 15.000 Mhz oscillation and an AM RF
The Circuit 15.420 Mhz signal input on pins #1 and #2, this differ-
The R. U. S. H. Radio contains two 8 -pin plastic DIP ence frequency, or Intermediate Frequency (IF), is the
ICs (an NE602 RF system chip and an LM386 AF sys- received AM EIB Golden -Tones simply reduced in fre-
tem chip) and one Germanium small -signal diode. All quency to 420 Khz.

14 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 IF signal energy present at pins #4 and #5 is devel- sembled on a shielded audio cable of about 3 feet min-
oped across transformer T -2's primary and its resonat- imum in length, is required. The headphones' cable
ing capacitors C3 and C4. Adjustment of C3, a #7 to shielding will function as the antenna.
the 45pF trimmer capacitor, fine tunes the frequency - 4.5 Volt receiver power, provided by three series -con-
center of the IF circuit. T -2's secondary serves to cou- nected AA batteries, is applied to the NE602 at pin #8
ple the 420 Khz AM, IF signal to the 1 N34A Diode De- and the LM386 at pin #6. Ground return is obtained on
tector circuitry. the NE602 at pin #3 and on the LM386 at pin #4. AA
Cell life in this circuit should approach 100 hours in nor-
mal operation and at moderate volume levels.

Construction and Alignment

Start your R. U. S. H. Radio construction by "top -
loading" the jumpers shown in Figure 3 on to the SING -
MIN -PCB -1 universal hobby PC board. Next, load the
components as shown in the layout diagram, Figure 4.
Wind and install Transformers T-1 and T-2 at this time.
Double-check your progress to insure proper compo-
nent placement, remembering to keep the lead -lengths
above the board to a minimum.
Turning the PC board over, solder and clip the com-
ponents and jumpers. A 17 to 25 Watt iron is recom-
mended. Also, use ONLY Rosin -Core Electronic
solder. No acid -core plumber's stuff please!!!
Now, referring to Figure 5, "top -load" the NE602 IC,
the LM386 IC, the 1 N34A Diode and the Crystal. Make
sure the ICs are placed as shown in Figure 4 by cor-
rectly identifying the IC's notch. Turning the SINGMIN-
PCB board, over, solder -in these components.

Figure 3:
Start your R. U. S. H. Radio construction project by
"top -loading" these jumpers.

Note: Transformers T-1 and T-2 are the only receiver

components requiring hand -winding construc-
tion. These two transformers could be con-
structed as air -core types but we recommend
using toroid-core construction. Toroid-core
transformers have proven simpler to hand -
build to exacting values and are less suscepti-
ble to mechanically -induced resonate fre-
quency variations than air -core types. See the
Winding Data table for further information.
The detector circuit, the 1 N34A Germanium Diode
and C8, rectifies and filters the IF signal, re -producing
the audio information originally broadcast. This series -
diode -detected audio is developed across R1, a 100K
ohm audio -tapered variable resistor (potentiometer).
The wiper of R1 provides volume control and the au-
dio input to the LM386 IC Audio Amplifier. Note that R1
also includes the SPST switch necessary for powering
the receiver. Figure 4:
The LM386 IC is a 400mW Audio Frequency Ampli- Carefully load these components double-checking
fier and is circuit -configured, by capacitors C6 and C7,
your progress to insure proper placement. Keep
those lead -lengths as short as possible above the
to provide an audio signal amplification gain factor of board.
about 200 times its input. Audio can be input to the The project is now ready for the attachment the 4.5
LM386 on pins #2 or #3. Pin #2 is used in this circuit, Volt Battery Pack; positive to the free -side of the SPST
pin #3 being returned to ground. switch on R1 and negative to the circuit's ground. The
The LM386 IC outputs amplified audio on pin #5, other side of the switch on R1 should have been con-
through C9, to a miniature headphone Jack. A Low -Z nected to the circuit's +4.5 Volt bus.
Monaural Headphone set, with matching mini -plug, as- Now wire -in the monaural mini -headphone jack; cen-

VOLUME XVIII 15
 operation. As we stated, the R. U. S. H. Radio is almost
ter conductor to C9 and outside conductor to T -1's pri-
fully automatic, even from the front seat of your B'mer.
mary. Remember, the outer headphone cable
This nifty little device, if crystal controlled, requires no
conductor (shield) is actually the receiver s' antenna.
operation other than simply switching it on and adjust-
The headphone cable shielding must connect, through
ing the volume to a comfortably conservative level. If
the Jack and to T-1, if the receiver is to operate as
you have opted for the UC oscillator variant you may
engineered.
occasionally need to re -tune the #7 to the 45pF trim-
mer cap for proper on -frequency EIB operation.
But, once turned -on, simply check the time and then
sit back and listen to the Democracy Doctor, victorious
in the electronic battle field against those ever so clev-
erly cloaked abridgements of our Constitutional Right
to Life, Liberty, and of course,
Live-Limbaugh

PARTS LIST FOR THE R. U. S. H. RADIO

1-T-50-3 CORE
1-T-50-6 CORE
1- Spool #26 Magnet Wire
1-NE602 IC
1-LM386 IC
1-1 N34A Diode
1 -15.000Mhz Xtal
-or-
1-3.3uH Ind & 33pF Cap
1

1-100K ohm Pot w/SPST Switch (R1 & Switch)

1 -7-45pF Trimmer (C3)

3-47pF Caps (C1, C2 & C5)

3-.0047uF Caps (C4, C6 & C8)
1-10uF Cap (C7)
Figure 5: 1-470uF Cap (C9)
PCB construction is completed with the NE602 1-Miniature Headphone Jack
and LM386, the 15Mhz Crystal, the 1N34A Diode, the
Battery Pack and the Headphone Jack, wired as
1 -
Low -Z Monaural Headphone Set w/Shielded cable &
plug
shown here. 3-AA Batteries and Holders (Wired in series for 4.5
You can now plug-in the phones, turn on the switch Volts)
and fine-tune the trimmer -cap, the R.U.S.H. Radio was 1-Hobby PCB
designed to allow on -air IF alignment without the need 1-Hobby PCB Circuit Inclosure
of additional test equipment. 2-Transformers (T-1 & T-2)
**see winding data table for parts and information
Lastly, install the completed circuit board and the bat-
tery pack in the hobby -box of your choice. An el -cheep -
T-1 & T-2 WINDING DATA
0 99 cent 1 -inch by 2.5 -inch by 3.5 -inch clear plastic in -
closure will work fine. T-2 IF Transformer: The Primary of T-2 (IC side) is close -
The entire PC -board assembly can be front -panel wound, on a T-50-3 (Gray) core to a value of 30uH, 41
suspended in the hobby -box by the mounting hardware turns of #26 Enameled Magnet Wire so as to cover 75%
associated with the headphone jack and Rl. You might of the core. The Secondary is 10 turns, close -wound over
the remaining 25% of the core.
also want to consider painting your plastic inclosure
some inconspicuous color-like ours: T-1 RF Transformer: The Secondary of T-1 (IC side) is
a flame -proof high -gloss $2.98 spray can "Florida wound first, on a T-50-6 (Yellow) core to a value of 2.25uH,
(international) Orange". 22 turns of #26 Enameled Magnet Wire so as to evenly
cover 75% of the core. The Primary (Headphone Jack
Operation R. U. S. H.
Side) is 10 turns, close -wound over the remaining 25% of
Now fully complete, the R. U. S. H. Radio is ready for the core.

PERSISTENCE
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more
common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost
a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and
determination alone are omnipotent."

16 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 TESTING
AND
REPLACING
INTEGRATED
CIRCUITS
BY
Homer L. Davidson
The integrated circuit (IC) is a component made with various
parts connected together in one chip. The chip is a
semiconductor material constructed from silicon. IC's are
made up of capacitors, resistors, transistors, and connecting
wires in several circuits inside one component. Today, IC
components are found in radios, receivers, amplifiers,
telephones, CD and cassette players, computers, VCR's, TV
sets and other electronic devices.

The first linear IC's were used in the audio amplifier a single integrated circuit is designed around a micro -
section of the cassette player and TV chassis. compressor. You may find a separate micro -compres-
The first IC's were mounted in a round case, like sor and microcomputer component inside the tuning
the transistor, and now are found in flat packages, section of the TV chassis. (Fig. 1).
mounted vertically, horizontal and flat against the PC
board. IC Symbols
Later, digital, Op -Amp, COS, MOS, CMOS, PMOS, The IC symbol found in the schematic may appear as
DTL and TTL integrated circuits and microcompressors a rectangular box or a three cornered drawing. The IC
were introduced and are located in many electronic may have numbers around the component indicating
circuits. the terminal connections. Most schematics do not
A micro -compressor may have from 22 to 80 termin- show the internal components or stages, inside the IC,
als and are found in VCR's, camcorders, CD players connected together (Fig. 2). The integrated -internal
and the TV chassis. The microcomputer component in component block diagram can be found in universal

VOLUME XVIII 17
semiconductor replacement manuals.
NC
Usually, the operational amplifier (OP -Amp) is iden-
3
tified with a triangular shaped box with inputs and 2,1
VERTICAL OUTPUT
and output terminal. The Op -amp IC can be found in a VERTICAL INPUT TO YOKE ASSEMBLY
VERTICAL OUTPUT
round or flat package. You may find two or more OP - AN5512
IC402
Amps inside one component within the VCR, camcor-
.1uF
der and TV set (Fig. 3). Notice the OP -Amp has nega-
tive and positive input terminals. The OP -Amp is used
in amplifiers, linear control applications, and in motor
control circuits.

TO
CRT
BOARD

AN5512 SUB - NTE1674 -

ECG1674 & SK9325

AN5512
FRONT VIEW OR
NTE1674

UUUUUUUUU
i
Fig. 1. IC parts appear in many different sizes and shapes,
with flat or edge mounting. Z
o
co
A N
m

-n
W

ñ m
ó T
co
CJI
Cc
Q)

m
am

co
-4
m
2.3

O
Co

m
ó
D
(.D
<

Identification n
ó c
IC components can be mounted through holes in the 0° v v
PCB or surface mounted. Some are mounted or o
plugged into a socket (Fig. 4). Surface mounted IC's
(SMD) mount directly on the PC wiring, while other IC Fig. 2. A schematic of a vertical output IC402 (AN5512)
components are on the top side of the chassis. IC parts with corresponding numbered terminal pins.
in VCR's and the TV set may have SMD parts mounted may find no terminal pin numbers stamped on the IC
between the IC pins of a regular IC component, that is terminals, while in other circuits the pin terminal may be
mounted on the top side with SMD parts on the PC numbered at the corners of the PCB.
wiring. Locate terminal one with a white or black line at one
All terminals on the IC component, in the circuit, are end of IC, a white dot or circle, and an indent "U" shape
identified with different numbers on the IC. To deter- at one end of IC (Fig. 5). You may find only one of these
mine the input and output terminals, operating supply identifications on the body of IC or two or more identi-
voltage (Vcc), bias and ground terminals, the correct fying markings. Terminal #1 is always to the left side of
numbers maybe found on the top side of the IC. The the indent, white or dark line. A white or clear circle in-
supply voltage pin is always the highest measurable dicates terminal one is on top of the IC body. Notice that
voltage. Locate terminal #1 of the IC and count down in this 16 pin IC, terminal 9 is across from 8 at the op-
each side ford the correct pin terminal. Sometimes you posite ends.

ri
INDEX

NC1 14NC

A-INPUT STROBE A
INDEX
INDEX
.67
A+INPUT " GND
OFFSET NULL 1

OFFSET NULL 1 8 NC 7+V -V

-INPUT 2
6 OUTPUT
- INPUT 2 7 +VCC + INPUT 3 B +INPUT OUT

+ INPUT 3 6 OUTPUT 4 5 OFFSET NULL B-INPUT STROBE B

-VCC 4 5 NULL2
-VCC
AND METAL
CASE
NC7 MINIM 8NC

DUAL -COMPARATOR
S NGLE OP -AMP IC SINGLE OP -AMP IC OP-AMP IC
FLAT TYPE ROUND TYPE FLAT TYPE

Fig. 3. The OP -Amp semiconductor may be found inside a flat or round mounting with one or more circuits.

18 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 Flat vertical and horizontal mounting IC's can be plified and capacity coupled through a 220uF electro-
identified with a white dot, clear circle, "U" at one end, lytic capacitor to the PM speaker. Pin 6 is the voltage
and a slanted cut off corner at one end of IC (Fig. 6). supply pin connected to a 9 volt battery source (Fig. 8).
You will find this type of IC mounting in motor and con- The 220uF capacitor connected to pin 6 and ground
trol circuits of CD, camcorder and VCRs. The metal prevents oscillations occurring in the audio circuit.
flange or IC's with a metal back are found in power out-
put amplifiers and vertical output circuits within the TV
chassis. Lower signal or power IC's are mounted like
transistors, without a metal heat sink. All high powered
IC's are mounted on separate heat sinks. Most IC's can
be mounted directly into holes of the PC board and sol-
16 /
WHITE LINE
9

dered to the PC wiring. INDENT

CIRCLE 1 8

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IDENTIFICATION

JL L _... L_LJLiL Fig. 5. Identify pin number 1 with indent, circle or white and
dark line, on top, at one end of the IC.

-
Simple Tests
The IC component can be checked with an input-
output signal and voltage tests. Check the input signal
- - at the input terminal and then the output terminal of an
audio IC with another external audio amp or scope. If
2 13 the audio signal is found at the input and not at the out-
put terminal, suspect a defective IC, outside compo-
3 12 nents, or improper supply voltage. Then take voltage
4 11 and resistance measurements on the IC terminals, to
locate a defective IC or connecting part.
5 10

6 9

. 7 8 a

16 9

0 u).
1 8
Fig. 4. Notice where terminal one starts at the Indent, circle
and slanted edge mounted IC.

Simple Project IC Components

Today, you will find more IC components used in
electronic experiments and construction projects than
transistors (Fig. 7). A single shortwave receiver may
have a high gain AF IC to drive a pair of earphones.
The LM386 IC can be found in many audio circuits of
electronic projects. Here, a low audio signal can be am-
plified to drive earphones or a small speaker.
The LM386 IC can be identified with a white line or
circle. Notice the pin connections shown on the body of
the IC, while looking down on the IC component (top Fig. 6. Notice the slanted edge mounted IC for terminal #1.
view). The audio signal is coupled to input pin 3, am- Large power IC devices mount flat against a metal heat sink.

VOLUME XVIII 19
 Besides voltage and resistance tests on the IC ter-
minals, a defective IC can be located with the oscillo-
scope in the VCR, CD, and TV chassis. Waveforms
taken on the input and output terminals can identify a
defective IC or circuit. Critical waveforms taken on tran-
sistor and IC components within the vertical and hori-
zontal circuits of the TV chassis can determine what
stage is defective. The defective IC can become leaky,
open internal circuits, or have shorted terminals. Re-
member, the integrated circuit cannot be tested like a
regular transistor.

Fig. 9. Take critical voltage and resistance measurements on

the suspected IC to determine if the IC is defective.

the voltage supply source. A low voltage measurement

indicates improper low voltage source. Check for weak
batteries or low voltage power supply.
When taking a low resistance measurement that is
lower than shown on the schematic, suspect a leaky IC
Fig. 7. This small audio amplifier project is constructed component or part tied to that pin terminal. Remember,
around an 8 pin LM386 IC. these voltages may be less than 1 volt and should be
taken with a DMM. The supply voltage source is always
Voltage and resistance tests the highest voltage found at any IC pin terminal. In bat-
Critical voltage and resistance measurements on tery operated projects the supply voltage IC source
each terminal pin to common ground may determine if equals the total voltage of all batteries (Fig. 10).
the IC is defective. Start with the voltage pin and com- With a low voltage measurement on a certain pin
pare voltage measurements with those on the sche- number, take a critical resistance measurement to
matic (Fig. 9). If a diagram is not available, the supply chassis ground. Make sure a low ohm bias resistor or
voltage should equal the battery or low voltage supply ground IC terminal is found on the schematic. Check
source. Then check each voltage on the remainder of the resistance measurements of each pin terminal to
the pin terminals. ground, to determine if the IC is defective or a leaky
Often, a low DC supply voltage indicates a leaky IC component is tied to it. Bypass capacitors have a ten-
or improper battery or DC voltage source. Remove the dency to become leaky between pin terminals and
supply pin from the PCB circuit, with a soldering iron common ground. Likewise, resistors can become open
and solder wick. Make sure all solder is removed from or increase in value. Remove one terminal of the com-
pin terminal and pc wiring. Now take a voltage meas- ponent and take another resistance measurement.
urement at the pc wiring, where the pin terminal was Make sure all components tied to the suspected IC
connected. The IC is leaky if the voltage increases at are normal before attempting to remove the integrated

J-
i-.,10uF
10uF
O IC IC1
220uF
LM386

852
TOP VIEW 0.05uF
8 7 6 5
CIRCLE
-_`K-
0.1 u F

220uF
1052

= `I
+9V
1 2 3 4

Fig. 8. The 8 pin (LM386) amplifies the weak detected shortwave signal to drive a pair of low impedance earphones.

20 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
circuit (IC). If not, the IC may be good and you have Removing the Defective IC
gone to a lot of work removing and replacing the sus-
pected IC. When voltage and resistance measure- After making all tests and determining if the IC is de-
ments are normal with normal input and no output fective, remove it from the pc wiring. The best and
signal, install a new IC replacement. cheapest method is with a soldering iron and solder
wick. The copper or tinned mesh material picks up the
melted solder from the pins and the board wiring. Place
the solder wick braid along side the row of bottom pin
terminals. Place the iron tip on top of braided mesh and
slowly go down one side of IC pins as the solder melts.
Now go down each side of pin terminals to unsolder
each pin. Go over each pin to be sure the pin is loose
from the copper PC wiring. Be very careful not to apply
too much heat to pull or lift the foil from the PC board.
Also, be very careful not to damage other components
with the hot iron. Take a pocket knife or screwdriver and
flick each pin to make sure it is loose and no solder is
left around it.
Before lifting the IC out of the PCB holes, mark ter-
minal #1 on the PC board with a felt pen or a dab of
Fig. 10. In battery operated projects, the voltage supply pin
of the suspected IC should equal the total battery voltage in white correction fluid. Some chassis may have an in-
that circuit. dent or terminal one (1) marked on the PC board, while
others may have each pin at both ends marked on
Intermittent IC
chassis. Do not use the removed IC again.
In the stereo audio output circuit, one channel may
be normal and the other distorted and weak in a dual -
IC audio component. Usually, when both channels are
weak or distorted, suspect a common IC component. If
one channel is intermittent and the other normal, you
may find a defective IC or intermittent component tied
to the intermittent audio channel.
Check the audio output IC for an extremely warm
body by holding a few fingers nearby. If not, momentar-
ily touch the body of the IC. A red hot IC will show signs
of overheating, with white and brown stains on the body
of IC. Be careful not to burn your fingers with a red hot
IC. A normal IC may operate warm, but not be too hot
to touch.
Sometimes the intermittent IC can be located by ap-
Fig. 12. Check the unknown IC part nu
plying several coats of coolant on the IC. If the intermit- IC and refer to a universal semiconductor manual to deter-
tent condition does not exist again, give it another mine what stage It operates In, voltage and current ratings,
spray treatment with coolant. Replace the intermittent and what circuit each pin number ties to.
IC when cold spray makes the sound go up or down IC Replacement
(Fig. 11). In electronic projects, the IC part number can be
found within the part lists. Likewise, in all consumer
electronic products, the service manual provides a
parts list. If you do not have a schematic, and no part
list is found, check the letters and numbers on the top
side of IC (Fig. 12). This component number can be
looked up in universal replacement semiconductor
manuals for the correct replacement. Look up the part
number in an NTE Electronic (NTE), Sylvania Corp
(ECG), and Thomson Consumer Electronics (RCA SK
Series) replacement manuals.
Universal replacements can be replaced in most
commercial electronic products when the original part
is not available. Always, try to obtain the original part
from the place where the product was purchased, man-
ufacturers parts depot, or the manufacturer. Try to ob-
tain the part from a local electronics dealer or
Fig. 11. The intermittent IC can be located by spraying sev- wholesale distributor. Sometimes exact foreign or Jap-
eral coats of coolant on the body of the IC or anese IC components can be purchased from mail or-
microprocessor. der firms. Check with your local Radio Shack store.
(Continued on page 25)
VOLUME XVIII 21
 BUILD A
GLOBAL
ANTENNA
DIRECTOR
By Add a wire to a globe and you can tell the distance and direc-
tion to any point on Earth! Los Angeles, California, is the
Fred Blechman "home town" shown here, but you can make It anywhere on
Earth! The wire Is set to show the Great Circle path between
Los Angeles and Johannesburg, South Africa-or anywhere
In between.

Purists may take issue with my capitalization of terms like

Great Circle, East, North, Earth, etc. This was done for clarity
in highlighting some terms used in this article that have
particular significance to the subject.
If you're a radio amateur "ham" who likes to operate Using an inexpensive world globe, a short piece of
DX (long distance) stations, or you're a shortwave piano wire, a couple of simple calculations, and a
listener (SWL), you know that your best transmission small -hole punch, you can make your own custom
and reception path is a "Great Circle" bearing to the "Global Antenna Director." Follow the simple instruc-
station you're working. But just what is that bearing, tions in this article and you'll quickly be able to estimate
and what's a Great Circle? the bearing and distance to any spot on Earth from

Los Angeles, California, Is the station location In this clolseup view. The wire Is aimed at
Johannesburg, South Africa, and shows a Great Circle bearing of about 5 -degrees. North
of East. And you thought the bearing would be southeast! Distance markings could be
added to the wire.

22 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
your home town! Then just swing your beam antenna Goode's, Eckert, conic, Bonne, polyconic, azimuthal,
to this bearing, and you'll be working the cptimum sig- gnomonic, orthographic, and more. In any projection,
nal path (barring oddball atmospheric conditions.) only some lines are true (the same length as on a
And, just to give this project additional value, I'll be globe); all other lines are too long or too short.
describing things about maps and globes that can This is why maps, except for relatively small areas,
make you an "expert" on this subject compared to most give you erroneous bearings and distances between
folks. any two points on the Earth. In terms of the size of the
Flat Maps A Sphere Do Not Make! Earth, local maps (your city, for example) are ,very
small, so they are reasonably accurate. However, as
Most people are familiar with maps, especially road
soon as you try to map larger areas (your state, for ex-
maps. With these you travel point-to-point by roads.
ample) distance and bearing inaccuracies creep in.
You "navigate" by road signs that show route names or
specify cities ahead. You aren't concerned with "Great
Terminology
Circle" routes (the shortest distance between two
points on Earth), since you are confined to the roads When describing the Earth's coordinate system,
Similarly, those who traverse rivers in small boats sim- some special terms, not in the general vocabulary, are
ply follow the course of the river. used. Look at any globe for a better understanding of
Even if you travel long distances, by airplane for ex- the following discussion.
ample, it's up to the pilot to get you there. If you take off The Earth rotates around its "axis", which goes
from Los Angeles and fly directly to London, you prob- through the center of the Earth. The two axis end-
ably assume the pilot heads straight East, or maybe a points are called the "North Pole" and the "South Pole."
little North of East. That's because you're used to see- The line completely circling the Earth midway between
ing typical maps that show the entire spherical world the poles is called the "equator."
spread out on a flat piece of paper, and London seems The arc from either of the poles to the equator is di-
to be just a little North of East from Los Angeles. Actu- vided into 90 -degrees. The arc from the equator to any
ally, to fly the shortest distance-the Great Circle- point, North or South, is its "latitude," and circles of
from Los Angeles to London, the pilot would fly a true equal latitude are called "parallels." Each of these par-
compass heading of about 33 degrees from North, or allel circles are smaller and smaller in diameter as they
about 57 degrees North of East! are located further from the equator, finally disappear-
The Earth is a sphere (except for some minor flatten- ing completely at the poles.
ing at the poles.) Think of a rubber ball. Not the entire The equator is divided into 360 -degrees, with each
ball, or even a part of it, can be flattened without tearing degree further divided into "minutes" and "seconds"
or "stretching"-unless the part is very, very small. So (60 seconds of arc equals 1 minute, 60 minutes of arc
it is with trying to accurately represent parts of Earth on equals one degree.) The same applies to imaginary cir-
flat maps. cles going around the Earth from pole to pole. These
Mapping countries, continents, or the entire Earth, are called "meridians," with the "prime meridian" pass-
require "projections," of which there are many different ing through the Greenwich Observatory in London,
-
types Mercator, rectangular, sinusoidal, Mollweide, England. The arc from the prime meridian to any point

The other end of the wire, passing over Johannesburg, South Africa, ends at the antipodal
point-the point on the Earth exactly opposite Los Angeles. Note that the author made two
previous "eyeball" attempts to find the antipodal point before calculating lt.

VOLUME XVIII 23
 is its "longitude," measured East or West, up to 180 - You may have access to charts that are centered
degrees. somewhere near you, or you may have a computer pro-
To specify any point on Earth, you simply state the gram that allows you to enter the latitude and longitude
latitude and longitude. For example, Los Angeles of any two points on Earth, and calculates the bearing
County is centered at 34 -degrees 20 -minutes North and distance between them.
and 118 -degrees 10 -minutes West. To convert the min- But if you already have a globe, and are willing to
utes to decimal parts of a degree, divide by 60. this poke a couple of small holes in it, it will only cost you
would make Los Angeles County 34.33N latitude and about 10 -cents to use the globe to provide relatively ac-
and 118.17W longitude. curate bearing and distance information from your
A "Great Circle" is the intersection on the Earth's sur- home town.
face with any flat plane passing through the center of
the Earth. Therefore, the equator and all meridians are
Great Circles. Also, the shortest distance between any
two points on the surface of the Earth is the arc of a
Great Circle between them.
It is also very handy to know that one-degree of an
arc on a Great Circle is exactly 60 "nautical miles"
(used for Earth navigation) or 69 "statute miles" (the
kind we're used to, where 5280 feet equals one mile.)
One nautical mile equals 1.15 statute miles, therefore,
you can multiply nautical miles by 1.15 to get statute
miles.

Figure 2. Determining opposite longitude

Making the Holes

The photos show the author's Global Antenna Direc-
tor centered on Los Angeles; it could just as well be
centered anywhere on Earth. To make your own An-
tenna Director, you'll need a world globe. This does not
have to be an expensive or particularly large one, just
so long as it is reasonably well made. The closer it is to
a perfect sphere, the better it will work.
Locate your home town as closely as you can, and
punch a small hole at this point with an ice -pick or awl.
Now for some simple calculation; you'll need to deter-
mine the "antipodal point"-the location diametrically
Figure 1. Determining opposite latitude opposite yours on the globe.
Determine (as closely as you can from the markings
Finding The Bearing on the globe, or from an atlas or encyclopedia) your lat-
All this is fine and dandy, but what has this got to do itude and longitude. The latitude is the number of de-
with finding the distance and direction from your home grees North or South of the equator; longitude is the
town to any point on Earth? And isn't this available in a number of degrees East or West of Greenwich, Eng-
book somewhere? land (0 degrees longitude.)
If you have been a "ham" for any length of time, you Figure 1 shows you how to find the point on the
probably have a copy of "The Radio Amateur Call - globe opposite your home town in latitude. This turns
book," which lists the names and addresses of Radio out to be exactly the same number of degrees on the
Amateurs by their call letters. My latest copy (Winter opposite side of the equator. What could be simpler?
1962-1963-about 30 years old!) has three tables that To find the point on the globe opposite your home
show the Great Circle bearings to countries throughout town in longitude, look at Figure 2. All you do is sub-
the world; perhaps more recent copies have additional tract your home town longitude from 180 degrees; the
tables. One table assumes you live at "the geographi- difference is the number of degrees of longitude of the
cal center of the United States," another is from New opposite point in the other hemisphere.
York City, and the third from San Francisco. But what if A typical case is shown in Figures 1 and 2. Say your
you live in Little Rock? Or what if you want contact with town is Denver, Colorado, located at 40 degrees North
a city or country not listed? latitude and 105 degrees West longitude on the globe.

24 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 BUILD A GLOBAL ANTENNA DIRECTOR
To find the opposite point in latitude, just locate the the calculated hole was right on target.
same number of degrees South latitude, below the The Final Touches
equator. To determine opposite longitude, subtract 105
from 180; the difference is 75, the number of degrees Marking increments of distance on the wire is an-
of longitude East of Greenwich. So the antipodal point other easy matter if you take advantage of the mark-
on the globe is 40S and 75E. ings on the globe-but you must first decide if you want
to mark the wire in nautical miles or statute miles. Since
Unce you have properly located the antipodal point,
punch another small hole there. Obtain some piano each degree of arc of a Great Circle (equator or longi-
wire about 1/32 in. diameter (not at all critical) from a tude lines) is equal to 60 nautical miles, then 16.67 de-
hobby shop, and gently form it into a semi -circle equal grees of arc is equal to 1000 nautical miles (1000
to the globe diameter. Leave about 1/4 in. of wire on divided by 60.) For statute miles, 14.49 -degrees of arc
each end to act as pivot points when the wire is equals 1000 statute miles (1000 divided by 60, then di-
snapped into the holes in the globe. Bend these ends vided by 1.15.)
at about a 120 -degree angle, toward the center of the Use a strip of paper or a string to measure the arc
arc, to keep the ends from popping out of the holes. equal to 1000 miles, blacken the piano wire with a felt
Now comes the moment of truth. Snap the wire ends marking pen, and put a dot of white ink or paint every
into the holes and swivel the wire. If you have been 1000 miles.
To determine bearings closely, you could put a "com-
careful in your calculation, measurements, and work-
manship, and your globe is spherical and accurately pass rose" showing headings under the hometown
marked, you will successfully have "girdled the globe." pivot, but that could be considered "gilding the lily with
If the wire won't fit in the holes, jams when swiveled, or
a rose."
is too sloppy, either adjust the wire or try a new antipo- Just swing the wire on the globe to the location of the
dal hole. station you're working. Estimate the bearing angle,
to that direction, put on your ears,
Until realized the ease of calculating the opposite swing your antenna
I

point, made two improperly located "eyeball" holes;

I
and enjoy!

TESTING AND REPLACING

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS dering iron. The battery soldering iron is ideal for tran-
Soldering Up
sistor or IC circuits. Make good soldered connections,
Check for terminal #1. Mount the IC replacement but do not leave the iron on the pin terminals too long.
from the top side of the chassis. If the IC is mounted Check each pin for a good connection with a magnify-
backwards, you can destroy the new IC and other ing glass. Inspect for excessive solder between two or
board components. Bend over two terminals at each more pin terminals. Remove excess solder with solder
end of the IC, so that when the chassis is turned over wick and iron. Check each pin terminal to the same PC
for soldering, it will not fall out. Make sure each pin is wiring with the low ohm range of DMM. Sometimes the
through the corresponding holes. Likewise, when foil will lift up or pull off when the IC is removed, break-
mounting the IC into a socket, make sure all pins are in ing the foil connection. Clean off wax and rosin flux with
the socket. a general purpose electronic cleaner/degreaser spray.
Solder all terminals with a low wattage (30 watts) sol-

ABBREVIATIONS
CDS-Complementary symmetry device
MOS-Metal-oxide semiconductor or Metal -
oxide silicon
CMOS-Complementary Metal -oxide
semiconductor
PMOS -P -channel Metal -oxide semiconductor
DTL-Diode-transistor logic
TTL-Transistro-transitor logic
The abbreviations of various transistor and IC
components.

VOLUME XVIII 25
 CIRCUIT
FRAGMENTS

STABILIZING RF
OSCILLATOR DRIiT
The quality of any RF based device (receiver, transmitter or signal generator) can be de-
fined by how stable the frequency of oscillation is. RF oscillators operating in the higher
frequency region (ten's of megahertz and upwards) will drift in frequency under some worst
case construction/layout conditions. At low frequencies, this drift in frequency might be tol-
erable, but for reliable long term operation, high frequency -operation drift is a no -no! The
popular low power license free FM transmitter design using a single transistor will operate
around 100MHz. Even a 1% drift of 1MHz either way is quite considerable. There are several
basic 'good' construction layout techniques to follow to minimize and control frequency
drift.
One of the most critical influences on frequency stability is temperature, particularly
1.
high temperatures and temperature variations. Therefore, physically locate the oscillator
away from any component that is generating excessive heat, such as regulators and power
transistors that consume high current.
2. Use an IC voltage regulator that supplies only the oscillator, so that its supply line is
not
affected by any of the other circuits components. A circuit block such as a power amplifier
feeding into a low impedance load, will cause the supply current, hence supply voltage, to
fluctuate as the load current changes. This change, if allowed to 'interfere' with the oscilla-
tor, will cause a frequency drift.
3. Keep the frequency controlling components firmly mounted. In the simple FM
transmit-
ter design, the frequency associated components are a capacitor and inductor. The capaci-
tor is generally a small trimmer and is not much of a problem. The inductor, generally a small
hand wound coil, will cause a change in frequency if the turns are allowed to move relative
to each other. Make sure the construction is firm-use epoxy if required to keep turns in
place and make sure the coil cannot move especially if the project is a portable device.
4. Insulate the RF oscillator with a 'box' made from a polystyrene sheet. Polystyrene
is an
excellent heat insulator. The sheets can be cut easily to shape with a hobby knife and glued
together with contact cement. The heat shielding properties with a 'poly' cover are quite
considerable.

26 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
JACK SOCKET TUTORIAL
Miniature jack sockets (1/E" size) are commonly used do-ground goes to 'a' and live goes to 'c'. Ignore pin
to couple an audio amplifier to headphones. For the be- 'b'. Radios, having earphone jack socket, that automat-
ginner, it is very likely that some confusion can arise ically disconnects the speaker when the earphone is in
when buying/using these apparently simple jack sock- use, utilize the 'normally closed' type. Pin 'a' goes to
ets. First of all, there are two different types, called 'nor- ground, 'b' goes to the internal speaker and 'c' comes
mally closed' and 'normally open'. For both types there from the amplifier output. As we've said earlier, 'b' and
are three connections, and when viewed from the side, 'c' are connected when there is no earphone con-
they as shown in the illustration. The upper terminal nected. When you insert the earphone, 'c' is discon-
('a') always goes to ground and the lowest terminal (`c') nected from 'b' and the live feed now goes from 'c'
always goes to 'live'. But here's where the two types dif- (coming from the amplifier output), through the jack
fer! With the 'normally closed' type, pins 'b' & 'c' are plug to the earphone. Take time to follow this through
shorted only when the jack plug is out. With the 'nor- and you shouldn't go wrong.
mally open' type, the ground goes to both 'a' & 'b' when Nothing beats actually seeing for yourself, the differ-
the jack plug is in. ences between these components. All you need are
So, which type should you use? If you only want a two jack sockets (one of each type, 1/9"), a jack plug
regular ground and live connection, then either type will (1/a") and a regular ohmmeter.

B NORMALLY CLOSED SOCKET

JACK OUT: B&C SHORTED
JACK IN: GROUND GOES TO
A, UVE GOES TO C
JACK PLUG
JACK SOCKET

LIVE

A
GROUND I

g NORMALLY SOCKET
OUT: B&C NOT
ACKK
SHORTED JACK IN:
C GROuUND GOES TO A&B
JACK PLUG E GOES TO C
UVE
JACK SOCKET

METER OVERLOAD PROTECTOR

D.C. analog meters can be very easily ruined, by ap-
plying too high an input voltage. To protect your meter
during circuit adjustments, use the circuit shown here.
The D.C. input voltage to be monitored is fed to resistor
(R1), a current limiter for silicon diode (D1). The output R1
is taken to your meter, (M1), through R2, a sensitivity
control. For low input voltages the signal is fed through D.C.
R1 and R2 to the meter. If a high overload occurs, diode INPUT
D1 conducts, limiting voltage, (V1), to about 0.6 volts, VOLTAGE
thus protecting M1.

PARTS LIST FOR THE

METER OVERLOAD PROTECTOR
R1-1 K resistor
R2 -10K potentiometer
D1 -silicon diode 1N914
M1-D.C. voltmeter

METER OVERLOAD PROTECTOR

VOLUME XVIII 27
 DOUBLE DUTY JACK -SOCKET
POWER SWITCH

There's nothing as neat as making a component do negative terminal of the battery to pin `b'. Hence, the
double duty and getting something for nothing! Here, only time a connection to the negative (or ground) ter-
we'll see how to get a jack socket to act both as a feed minal of the battery is made, is when the jack plug is
source into an amplifier and to also switch on the power inserted. Thus, we save having to use a separate
at the same time. By pulling out the jack plug you not switch. Where space is a premium, this tip could come
only disconnect the signal source but you also shut off in useful sometime. The illustration shows the `normally
the supply power-clever! This'll only work with what is open' jack socket connections and how it is used in the
called a `normally open' type of jack socket. This is a way described here.
'/a", three terminal jack socket. The input signal from You can also use the same trick with the larger 1/4"
the jack plug goes to pin 'c' and into the amplifier when jack socket/plug combo, as found with guitar amplifi-
the jack plug is inserted. The remaining two pins, 'a' ers. These components are actually much easier to ex-
and `b' are separated when the jack plug is not in. The amine, being physically much bigger. Although shown,
normal ground connection goes to pin 'a', made when connected to the input of an amplifier, the jack socket
the jack plug is inserted. But. in addition, pin 'b' is also can equally be connected to the output end. Just cou-
connected to 'a'. ple pin 'c' to the output as opposed to the input. The
So we make use of this feature by, connecting the rest of the pins stay the same.

POSITIVE

BATTERY

B
N.O.
7C
JACK SOCKET
NORMALLY OPEN SOCKET
JACK OUT: B&C NOT
SHORTED JACK IN:
GROUND GOES TO A&B
LIVE GOES TO C
GROUND j
-B
N.O. GROUND
C
`LIVE
JACK PLUG JACK SOCKET

28 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
CAPACITANCE METER
If you own a triggered -sweep oscilloscope or a output pulses on your scope or frequency counter. To
frequency counter capable of making frequency convert time to capacitance, use the relationship:
measurements, you can use this PUT (programmable CAPACITANCE (uF) = 10 x TIME. For instance, a
unijunction transistor) oscillator to measure capa- reading of 100 -micro -seconds (.0001 -sec.) indicates
citance. The practical range of measurement extends a capacitance of 0.001-uF (or 100-pF). (NOTE: 1-uF =
from 100-pF to about 10uF-wide enough to cover 1,000,000-pF). To calibrate the oscillator, hook a
most of your measurement needs. 1000-pF polystyrene capacitor across the binding
With an unknown capacitor connected across the posts, and adjust R1 until the time between out -put
binding posts, measure the time interval between pulses is exactly 100 -microseconds.

PARTS LIST FOR CAPACITANCE METER

B1-9 -volt transistor battery

BP1, BP2-binding posts
C1-100-uF, 10-VDC electrolytic capacitor
D1-1 N914 diode
D2-1 N752A, 5.6 -volt, 1/2 -watt zener diode
Q1 -2N6027 programmable unijunction transistor
Note: All resistors rated 5% tolerance
R1 -200,000 -ohm trimmer potentiometer
R2 -390,000 -ohms resistor
R3 -22 -ohms resistor
R4-1 megohm resistor
R5, R6 -2,200 -ohms resistor
R7 -560 -ohms resistor
Sl-SPST toggle switch

CRYSTAL OSCILLATOR
This JFET Pierce oscillator is very stable, very
simple, and can prove very useful. With a suitable
crystal, this oscillator can be the clock of a
microprocessor, a digital timepiece cr a calculator.
With as probe attached at the output, it can be used as
a precise injection oscillator for troubleshooting. You
can attach a small length of wire at the output to act as
an antenna and use this circuit as a micropower
transmitter. With suitable crystals it can then provide
reference marker frequencies for short wave
listening, receiver tuneup, tv repairs and more.
Transistor Q1 can be a Siliconix 2N5458, a Motorola
MPF102 or similar.

PARTS LIST FOR CRYSTAL OSCILLATOR

B1-6-15 VDC battery

C1-.001-.01-uF capacitor
C2-100-pF.001-uF capacitor
01-N -channel JFET (Junction Field Effect
Transistor) (2N5458 or equiv.)
R1-1-2.2 Megohm resistor, 1/2 -watt
RFC1-Radio frequency choke, 2.5-mH
S1-SPST switch
XTAL- Crystal

VOLUME XVIII 29
 9V TO 5V POWER SUPPLY
The common 9V battery, useful for powering most
PARTS LIST FOR THE 9V
transistor circuits, is too high for TTL logic. To power
TO 5V POWER SUPPLY
TTL logic, the 9V D.C. source can be lowered to a con-
venient 5.1 volts, using just two components. The pos-
itive 9V battery terminal is connected via switch S1, to S1-SPDT Switch
resistor Rl. R1 acts as a current limiter for reversed bi- R1 -100 ohm Resistor
ased zener diode, (D1), When S1 is closed, D1 stabi- D1 -5.1V Zener diode (1N4733)
lizes to a useful voltage of 5.1V-just what is needed
to power TTL logic.

S1 111

5.1V DC
9V D1 FOR TTL
BATTERY CIRCUITS

RC INTEGRATORJDIFFERENTIATOR
The 555 timer is a nice, easy to use, source for gen- and has several uses, either as a less harsh audio ver-
erating square waves when connected in the free run- sion of the square wave for use as a test signal'gener-
ning astable mode. There are two very simple ways to ator or as a ramp type signal (this is more useful when
'modify' the stock square wave shape to produce what the source signal is dropped down to the few Hz re-
is called the 'integrated' wave and the 'differentiated' gion), to monitor for threshold changes in comparator
wave-the terms come from maths calculus text origi- circuits.
nally, but for electronics purposes, the end result is The differentiator has the components reversed. The
more of use than the calculus association. Begin with a input signal is fed to capacitor, C2, followed by the load
stock audio frequency 10kHz square wave signal. The resistor, R2. The wave form here is totally different as
duty cycle does not have to be exactly 50%, i.e. the 'off' seen. At each point where the input voltage changes
to 'on' periods are approximately the same, as seen in state, a pulse spike is produced from the differentiator,
the diagram. first with one polarity then the opposite. These pulses
For the integrator circuit, the square wave feeds into can be used as trigger pulses or timing pulses and by
a resistor, R1 and then a capacitor, C1. The values are using a rectifier diode either polarity spike can be se-
chosen to 'match' the 10kHz signal. The output signal lected. Experiment with the values to see what the
from the integrator resembles a sawtooth waveform changes do to the output.
PARTS LIST FOR THE RC INTEGRATOR/DIFFERENTIATOR
R1-1 K ohm resistor C2-0.001 uF capacitor
C1-0.1 uF capacitor R2-1 K ohm resistor

10kHz INPUT
SQUARE WAVE

INTEGRATED
O
R1
:NS O
OUTPUT

C2

rr
DIFFERENTIATED
OUTPUT
r
30 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 THE AIN WAY
TO LEARN
CvE H)BgTeyyY7Wl'91i
atecTRONICs

ELÉCiiioiliCS fß0iliCs
Hf,111D800ki ñi1DB00ky
SUPERCONDUCTON
SPEED-UP

ALL A80UT
CDMIACYDBCS
AND CD ILAYAWs

$$$$$ SAVE-A-BUCK $$$$$

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VOLUME XVIII 31
 ELECTRONIC DICE
By Michael R. Ditz

Here is an interesting project for the hobbyist with a counter, the BCD outputs go directly to the seven
gambling spirit which, in varying degrees, probably LEDs to form the pictures of dice. Because no
applies to most of us. decoding chips were used to make perfect repre-
The author has constructed an "Electronic Dice" sentations of the dice, a result of two or three will be
that can be built in your workshop and be the source different than on normal dice. But for all practical
of much enjoyment for the hobbyist and friends. The purposes, and to save chips, the resulting display is
applications are innumerable and limited only by your fine.
imagination.
"ELECTRONIC DICE" is easy to operate. In order PARTS LIST FOR ELECTRONIC DICE
to roll the dice, just press S1. The dice will continue to
"roll" for a couple of seconds before it locks in on a R1 -22K -ohm resistor
R2, R5, R6 -10K ohm resistor
specific face. R3 -4.7K ohm resistor
The operation behind this circuit is very simple. R4 -150K ohm resistor
IC1, a 555 timer chip, sends a series of pulses to the R7 -R13-330 ohm resistor
counter IC once S1 is pressed. As indicated earlier, C1-1 uf, 16 VDC capacitor
the pulses will continue for a specified length of time C2-4.7uf, 16 VDC capacitor
after the button is released. When S1 is pressed, C2 IC1-555 timer integrated circuit
charges thru R3, enabling IC1. The chip will remain IC2-74LS192 4 -bit counter integrated circuit
enabled until C2 is done discharging thru R4. These IC3-74LS08 AND gate integrated circuit
Q1 -2N3904 NPN transistor
pulses cause IO2 to progress with counting.
Whenever IC2 reaches a count of seven, the AND
LED1-LED7-light emitting diode
D1 -1N4148 diode
gates in 103 cause IC2 to reset to its presettable value Sl-SPST normally open pushbutton switch
of one. The transistor acts as a simple inverter to pull All resistors are 1/2 watt, 10%
the parallel -load input on IO2 to low. From the

32 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 RESTORATION OF AN
ALL-AMERICAN FIVE -TUBE
AC -DC SUPERHET RADIO
By Lance Borden, WB5REX
When radio broadcasting began in 1919 with station KDKA in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, very few people had any idea of
how great an impact it would eventually have on the life of
every person on this planet. In the early 1920's, as radio
stations began to appear all over the United States, many
different manufacturers started making and selling radio
receivers for the general public. These radios were usually
very expensive because it was a new technology. Standard
circuits and parts had to be developed and the cost was
passed on to the consumer.
VOLUME XVIII 33
 Onthe cheaper end, crystal sets and simple tube well but had a tendency to "squeal" and "howl" when
sets were available that cost from $5.00 to not adjusted properly.
$50.00, which was still a lot of money when you The more expensive TRF sets employed five or six
consider that a good wage back then was about $20.00 tubes to amplify the R.F., and then detect and amplify
a week! These cheaper sets also lacked selectivity, the resulting A.F. signal, to drive a loudspeaker. This cir-
sensitivity, and would not drive a loud speaker, so they cuit eliminated the annoying howls and squeals of the
required the listener to use headphones. This made it regenerative and reflex sets, but was still very difficult
difficult for more than one person to listen. The higher - to adjust because the three R.F. amplifier stages had to
end sets, that had higher performance and allowed the each be tuned to the same station with three separate
whole family to listen with a speaker, were very expen- knobs.
sive. It was not unusual for a high quality set to cost
The superheterodyne circuit was the most expensive
$250.00 or more. A new Model 'T' Ford cost about circuit employed in the late 1920s, but its performance
$450.00 in those days. This shows just how expensive far exceeded its peers. The superheterodyne was in-
those radios were! vented by Major Edwin Armstrong, of the U.S. Army
Signal Corps, in the late `teens for use in military com-
munications. Armstrong was a phenomenal electronics
genius who was also credited with inventing the regen-
erative circuit and F.M. (frequency modulation.) The su-
perheterodyne circuit, which is shown in Figure 1,
mixed the incoming R.F. signal with the output of an os-
cillator, to produce a lower I.F. (intermediate frequency)
signal that was then amplified by I.F. amplifiers. The I.F.
signal was then detected and the resulting audio was
amplified and passed on to the loudspeaker. These
sets were very sensitive, selective, and loud. They were

Photo #1. The Majestic Model 5T10 before restoration.

By the mid 1920's the technology had progressed to

the point that radios were becoming more affordable
and sales started to increase dramatically because ev-
eryone wanted a radio. Tubes, components, and cir-
cuits were becoming more standardized and, because
of this, prices began to drop.
The standard tube radio circuits, in those days, were
the regenerative, the reflex, the TRF (tuned radio fre-
quency) and the superheterodyne. The inexpensive re-
generative and reflex circuits were ingenious devices Photo #2. Bottom view of the radio showing schematic
that forced one or two tubes to perform double duty by diagram and tube layout.
amplifying both the R.F. (radio frequency) and the A.F. also easy to tune, and didn't squeal. Very few people
(audio frequency) signals. These sets performed fairly could afford the superheterodyne because of its com-
plexity, which resulted in a very high price tag.
OUTSIDE
ANTENNA I.F. LOW-LEVEL
V SIGNAL AUDIO
LOUDSPEAKER

R.F. SIGNAL - MIXER

I.F.
AMPLIFIER DETECTOR
AUDIO
POWER
AMPLIFIER

1
GROUND f OSCILLATOR
SIGNAL HIGH-LEVEL
AUDIO

OSCILLATOR
BATTERY
POWER
SUPPLY

Figure 1. Armstrong's Superheterodyne Circuit of the 1920s

34 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 455 Khz I.F. LOW-LEVEL HIGH-LEVEL
INTERNAL SIGNAL AUDIO AUDIO
LOOP
ANTENNA

CONVERTER
I.F.
AMPLIFIER
DETECTOR
AVC
1ST AUDIO
AUDIO
POWER
AMPLIFIER
-{1
LOUDSPEAKER
R.F.
SIGNAL
AVC

AC TO DC
RECTIFIER
POWER
SUPPLY

115 VOLTS
AC OR DC

Figure 2. The Five Tube AC/DC Superhet Circuit

Another serious drawback of the 1920s radios was same thing) radios that could be sold cheaply. The
that they were nearly all powered by batteries! These most popular of these was the Philco Model 90 table
batteries were expensive to buy and required frequent superhet of 1931 that had a rounded top and Gothic
replacement. The reason for the batteries was that ra- styling that resembled an old cathedral. Because of
dios required, (and still do), pure D.C. (direct current) in this styling, these sets became known as "cathedral"
order to operate. Practical power supplies that could radios. Philco simply called them "midget" radios be-
convert the 110 volt 60Hz house lighting power to pure cause they were smaller than the more expensive floor
D.C. weren't developed until the late 20s. models they produced.
Radio manufacturers realized that the superhetero- People really liked the cathedral styling so Philco
dyne, with its superior performance and ease of tuning, and other companies built radios with this type of cab-
should become the standard circuit for broadcast re- inet throughout the 1930s. At the same time, radios in
ceivers. They also realized that batteries were undesir- rectangular cabinets and larger floor models were also
able for use in the home and that their new designs produced. The midget radios of the early 1930s were
should operate on A.C. About the same time that these
actually based on the circuits for more expensive con-
facts became apparent to the manufacturers, another
sole (floor) models but were cheaper because they had
event occurred that significantly influenced their de -
small speakers and smaller table -top type cabinets.
These sets were still not all that cheap because they
used complex power supplies with heavy, expensive
power transformers.
As the depression deepened, it became apparent

Photo #3. Top view of radio before cleaning.

signs and marketing strategies; the Stock Market
crashed in October of 1929, which ushered in the Great
Economic Depression of the 1930s. Photo #4. Cleaning the chassis with dust brush and
In order for radio manufacturers to survive, they had acetone solvent.
to be able to produce A.C.-powered superheterodyne
that the manufacturers would have to come up with an
receivers in mass quantities that the general public even cheaper alternative if they were going to be able
could afford to buy. Philco was one of the first manufac- to stay in business. The solution to the problem was to
turers to use automated assembly lines to make quality
design tubes that could be used in a superhet circuit
superhet (superheterodyne is kind of a long word, so that would operate without the expensive power trans-
the word "superhet" caught on long ago to mean the
former. The way this was done was to create a set of

VOLUME XVIII 35
tubes for a superhet circuit that had filament voltages gether in an efficient superhet circuit without the need
and current requirements that would allow them to be for dropping resistors or external antennas. (There were
connected in -series in order to drop the 110 volt house also some other compliments of tubes designed for this
power without a transformer. The tubes would also purpose, such as the "Locktal" variety. These func-
have to work efficiently with a lower high -voltage supply tioned the same as the octal types, but were less com-
than their predecessors, which often required 250 or mon. For the sake of brevity, we will only cover the
more common octal tubes at this time.) The rectifier
tube even had a tapped filament that was designed to
provide 6 volts to operate a pilot light. This set of tubes
consisted of (see Figure 2): the 12SA7 converter,
which acted as a combination oscillator and mixer for
converting the incoming R.F. signal to an I.F. signal; the
12SK7 I.F. amplifier that increased the level of the I.F.
signal from the 12SA7; the 12SQ7 detector/audio am-
plifier that detected (or rectified) the I.F. signal to extract
its audio and then amplified the audio to drive the next

Photo #5. Cleaning the radio tubes with Armor -All.

more volts, because there would be no power trans-
former to step up the voltage for their plate circuits.
The earliest sets to use series -connected tubes be-
gan to appear in late 1932. These radios were ingen-
ious compromises of design that employed a
combination of tubes and dropping resistors to allow
them to work without power transformers. Most of these
early transformerless sets had only four tubes and re- Photo #7. Cleaning the cabinet and knobs with acetone.
quired an external antenna because they were not very stage (this tube also produced a negative voltage that
sensitive. By the mid 1930s efficient five -tube sets were corresponded with the signal level that was used to
being made, but they still required hot dropping resis- control the volume on strong stations and was known
tors to reduce the house power voltage to a level that as "automatic volume control" or AVC); the 50L6 audio
could be used by their tube filaments. The dropping re- power amplifier that was used to amplify the audio to a
sistors were often built into the radios' power cords, level that would drive a loud speaker with plenty of vol-
which got warm to the touch when they were operating! ume; and the 35Z5 power rectifier that rectified, or
These radios were called "AC/DC" sets because they changed, the A.C. house power into D.C. to power the
did not have a power transformer, which requires A.C. plate circuits of the rest of the tubes, as well as provid-
in order to work. They would play just as well on 110 ing 6 volts A.C. for the pilot lamp from its tapped
filament.
This compliment of tubes became the standard for
most American -made five-tube AC/DC superhets built
between the late 1930s until the late 1940s. In the late
1940s an equivalent compliment of tubes was intro-
duced with 7 -pin miniature envelopes. They were the
12BE6 converter, 12BA6 I.F. amplifier, 12AV6 detector/
AVC/audio amplifier, 5005 audio power amplifier, and
35W4 rectifier. These tubes were electrically the same
as the octal types, just smaller. Five -tube AC/DC su-
perhets built between the late 1940s and into the 1960s
used these tubes.
These little radios were built by the millions by many
different manufacturers during the 1930s, 40s, 50s,
Photo #6. View of crack in bakelite cabinet of the radio.
a and 60s, until transistors took over the market. Be-
volts D.C. as they would on 110 volts A.C. Until the cause of their low price, they brought news, music,
1940s, many areas of the country had 110 volts D.C. comedy, drama, sports, weather, and market reports to
house power! homes and farms all over America. Because of their
immense popularity, they became known as the "All-
In the late 1930s a five -tube compliment of eight -pin
American Five -Tube AC/DC Superhets." These radios
(or "octal") tubes was designed that would work to- represent a significant part of our American radio hen -

36/ ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK

 tage, and because of this they have become highly col- CLEANING THE CHASSIS
lectible. Among radio collectors, they have become
The condition in which we find these old "Acky-Dacs"
affectionately known as "Acky-Dacs." varies a lot. The original owners may have kept the ex-
You can still find these radios in flea markets, antique
teriors clean and dusted, but they would have never
shops, garage sales, and Grandmas' attics all over the
thought of removing the chassis and cleaning it. Some-
country. Their prices range from $2.00 to several hun-
times these radios can be found after they have been
dred dollars for especially rare ones with catalin plastic
carefully stored away for many years in a box or cov-
cabinets. The usual price is around $35.00 for a nice
ered with a cloth. These sets are usually not too dirty,
one, in good, unrestored, condition.
but they will still require some cleaning because the in-
A well -restored, working, Acky-Dac makes a nice ad-
sides will have accumulated some dust and grime,
dition to the decor of any home. You see them being
even though they were well cared for when they were
used in movies and on TV as props all the time. Many
used. The hot, electrically -charged chassis acted like a
A.M. radio stations are now re -broadcasting old radio
"dust magnet" and could collect an amazing amount of
shows on Saturday and Sunday nights. It is really a fun,
crud over several years of use. Radios that were used
nostalgic, experience to spend an evening listening to
vintage radio shows on a real vintage radio that came in kitchens are the worst because they will not only
from the time when those shows were originally broad- have a lot of dust, it will be cemented to the chassis
cast. No solid-state radio from the present can produce with a thick greasy film.
the warm glow of the tubes and pilot light or exude the Often we find a set that was used in a dirty environ-
aroma (yes, these radios give off a faint, pleasant odor ment, such as a garage, and was never kept clean
when they warm up!) of a vintage Acky-Dac. when it was in use. These sets can be a real challenge
to clean up. The condition of most of the radios we find
is somewhere in between these two extremes. The Ma-
jestic radio shown in this article is typical of what we
find (see photo #3). It was probably used in, or near, a
kitchen, because its chassis had a moderate coating of
dust, that was held in place by a waxy film. The follow-
ing is a description of how to clean up a chassis, using
the Majestic as an example:

Photo #8. Filling the crack with Dap Blend Stick after
repairing it with Super -glue.
The subject of this article is to describe how to re-
store a vintage Acky-Dac using simple techniques and
tools, and without the need for sophisticated test equip-
ment or know-how. The radio used as an example for
this article is a 1942 Majestic Model 5110. If the radio
you chose is in fairly good condition to begin with, and
has not been "butchered" by someone before you get
it, you should be able to use this method to return it to
its original appearance and operating condition in a Photo #9. Polishing out scratches with rubbing
compound.
couple of evenings work.
STEP 1.
WARNING!!! Begin the clean-up by removing the chassis from the
THE RESTORATION OF THESE RADIOS INVOLVES cabinet. Save the mounting screws and knobs in a
POSSIBLE CONTACT WITH DANGEROUSLY HIGH small dish or plastic bag, so they won't get lost. Re-
VOLTAGES. EXTREME CARE MUST BE USED move the tubes and draw a sketch of their locations, if
WHEN TESTING THESE RADIOS WITH POWER you don't have a tube layout drawing on the cabinet.
APPLIED TO PREVENT ELECTROCUTION!!
STEP 2.
CAUTION!! (See photo #4) Remove most of the dust and dirt
NEVER TRY TO PLAY AN OLD RADIO BEFORE from the chassis top with a brush. Dust the underside
REPLACING THE POWER CORD AND FILTER of the chassis, being careful not to disturb the compo-
CAPACITORS. DAMAGE TO THE SET AND RISK nents or to bend any wiring. An unused paint brush
OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK CAN RESULT FROM works well for this purpose, or you can employ a dust
THIS PRACTICE!! brush like the one in the photo. This brush was de-
signed for "detailing" car interiors and was purchased
at an auto parts store. Solvent is then used, on a rag,

VOLUME XVIII 37
(the blue paper shop towels sold in hardware stores a missing dial glass securing clip was replaced with a
work well) to remove the greasy scum from the chassis. clamp -type paper clip. (see photo #17)
If the build-up isn't too bad, a mild solvent, such as de-
CLEANING, REPAIRING, AND POLISHING
natured alcohol, can be used for this purpose. The THE CABINET
coating on the Majestic chassis was resistant to the
mild solvent, so a stronger solvent was needed. Acky-Dacs were produced with many types of cabi-
Acetone easily removed these deposits from the nets. Cabinet materials included wood, metal, and var-
metal surfaces. Be very careful if you use acetone and ious types of plastics. One of the most common cabinet
follow the manufacturer's instructions and warnings materials used for these sets was a form of urea plastic
printed on the container. Acetone is very flammable, known as bakelite. The cabinet and knobs of the Majes-
has dangerous fumes, and will dissolve paint and many tic radio described in this article are made from bake -
plastic parts. Unpainted bakelite is not affected by this lite. This is a durable plastic that has the characteristics
solvent. of being a good electrical insulator, able to withstand
high temperatures, and is easily molded into various
shapes. Bakelite has a pleasing appearance when it is
cleaned and polished. It isn't used much any more and
because of this, items made from it are becoming very
collectible. The single major drawback of bakelite is its
brittleness. Most radios with bakelite cabinets have at
least one or two cracks. These cracks are easy to re-
pair with super glue, but it is usually very difficult to hide
the repairs. The following is a description of how to re-
store a bakelite cabinet, using the Majestic as an ex-
ample. A simple method of disguising a crack repair is
also explained. Wood and metal cabinet restoration are
also interesting subjects that we may cover in future ar-
ticles. We won't go into their restoration this time be-
cause they would require too much space and are
separate subjects in their own rights.
Photo #10. Restoring the beautiful original finish with
paste wax.
STEP 3.
(See Photo #5) Clean the tubes with Armor -All. If
the glass parts of the tubes are loose in their bases,
then glue them with super -glue. A coating of Armor -All
on the chassis will help preserve its finish. This modern
cleaner and protectant will leave a dust-resistant coat-
ing on these parts.
STEP 4.
Spray tuner cleaner on the tube socket contacts
while wiggling a tube in the sockets to remove depos-
its. The volume control potentiometer should then be
cleaned by spraying tuner cleaner into the area where
the connection lugs emerge from the case. Turn the
volume control through its range while spraying the Photo #11. Underside view of chassis before restoration.
cleaner. This will remove deposits from the internal
STEP 1.
parts and will eliminate "scratchiness" in the audio Most old bakelite radios are dirty and can be easily
when the volume control is turned while the set is op-
cleaned with a rag and hand cleaner, such as GoJo or
erating. Repeat this operation on the tuning capacitor
Goop. After cleaning they should be polished with rub-
for the same reason.
bing compound and then waxed as described in Steps
STEP 5.
3 and 4.
The finishing touches of the chassis clean-up will
Photo #1 shows the Majestic before restoration be-
vary from radio to radio, but the approach is basically
gan. Some well-intentioned person had applied a var-
the same for all sets. Look the chassis over and correct
nish, probably tung oil, to the cabinet, sometime in the
any minor defects that you can. Sometimes you will
past. These radios never had this type of extra -shiny
have to use your imagination to come up with a clever,
finish when they were made and in order to restore the
creative solution for these types of problems. Spots of
set to its original subdued luster, it was necessary to re-
rust can be touched up with silver colored Testors
move the varnish with acetone (see Photo #7.)
model paint. Loose parts can secured with super glue
Sometimes, these sets are found with various, non -
and cracks in the speaker cone can be repaired with
original, finishes on them. These range from varnish,
radio service cement. The dial pointer on the Majestic
such as this one, to paint and shellac. Acetone will re-
was faded badly and was re -painted with white Testors
move these finishes without damaging the bakelite. Be
enamel. The dial glass was cleaned with Armor -All and

38 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
careful if you use acetone and follow the manufacturer's The dull appearance of the unpolished bakelite is
cautions and warnings. This is quite a bit of work, but caused by thousands of tiny cracks and scratches.
will be worth the effort. Some bakelites did have origi- Rubbing the cabinet with the abrasive rubbing com-
nal painted finishes and if your set is one of these, it is pound will "grind" these anomalies away and will ex-
easy to sand them down with fine steel wool and re- pose a "new" smoother surface that can be waxed and
paint them with Krylon spray enamel. K-ylon is avail- polished to a beautiful luster.
able in many colors at hardware stores. The way to perform this is to use a damp cloth to ap-
ply the rubbing compound and rub the cabinet surface
with a firm, but not hard, pressure. The amount of rub-
bing required will depend on how badly scratched the
cabinet is. Sometimes, for a particularly badly
scratched cabinet, it can take a lot of rubbing in order
for the fine grit in the rubbing compound to remove all
of the defects. Rub the entire cabinet so that it is evenly
polished. If you concentrate in one area, it will end up
having a different appearance from the rest of the sur-
face. Extremely deep gouges and scratches cannot be
removed in this manner and will have to be filled with a
furniture scratch stick as described in step 4 for dis-
guising a crack repair.

Photo #12. Tools and supplies used for the electrical

restoration.
STEP 2.
After the cabinet is cleaned, it will be necessary to
repair cracks, if there are any, with super glue. Photo
#6 shows one such crack in the Majestic's cabinet. Al-
low the super glue to harden for about fifteen minutes
and then scrape off any excess with a razor blade or
Exacto knife. Step 4 explains a method for disguising
the crack repair after the cabinet has been polished.
STEP 3.
Now that the cabinet is clean, and cracks, if any, have
been repaired, it is time to polish out the dullness and
scratches with automotive rubbing compound. Rubbing
compound comes as a liquid or as a paste, and is avail-
able at auto parts stores, etc. It is a fine -textured abra-
sive mixture that is designed for polishing away fine
scratches and oxidation from car finishes. Fortunately
for us, it can do the same thing for our old bakelite radio Photo #14. Underside view of electrically restored chassis,
cabinets. Photo #9 shows the Majestic's cabinet in the showing old parts that were removed.
process of being polished using this method.
STEP 4.
Photo #8 shows a Dap Blend Stick being used to fill
in and cover the crack after it was repaired with super
glue. Dap Blend Sticks are a wax and pigment mixture
and are intended for filling in scratches in wood furni-
ture. They come in many colors and shades and are
available in hardware stores.
Purchase a blend Stick in a shade that is quite a bit
darker than the bakelite you intend to repair. Apply the
material by rubbing it over the defective area and then
heat it with a Bic lighter or match to begin to smooth it
out. Finish the smoothing process by rubbing the repair
spot with your finger until it tapers smoothly to the level
of the surrounding bakelite. A black or brown felt pen
can then be used to give the repaired spot the same
"marbleized" appearance of the original bakelite. Don't
worry if your first attempt fails because the wax will not
harden and can be scraped off with a razor blade if it
doesn't look right. It may take some practice to get the
Photo #13. Parts needed for the electrica restoration.

VOLUME XVIII 39
appearance that you desire. Once you are satisfied diodes, etc., in that part of the set. After that he would
with the repair, apply just enough clear acrylic spray power it up and see if it worked. This is why this method
lacquer (Krylon Brand clear acrylic spray lacquer is is called the "shotgun" approach, because you "shoot"
sold in hardware stores) to lightly cover the wax. This is an area with several new parts, instead of targeting the
necessary because the Blend Stick wax is fairly soft individual component that failed.
and will never fully harden. The clear acrylic will protect
the repair from damage and will provide a hard surface
for the paste wax that will be applied in the next step.
STEP 5.
The last step in restoring the cabinet is to apply a fine
automotive paste wax, such as Simonize, and then to
polish it to the beautiful subdued luster it had when it
was new. Simonize is a formulation of carnauba wax
which comes from a form of tropical palm tree. It is the
hardest natural wax in existence and is used by classic
car restorers. Photo #10 shows the cabinet being pol-
ished in this way.
Begin by applying the wax with a soft cloth using a
circular motion. Before the wax dries, búff it well with a
shoe brush. Then, polish the wax to a hard shine with
a soft dry cloth. The wax will fill in the fine scratches
that the rubbing compound did not remove and will Photo #16. Adjusting an I.F. transformer using an Insulated
leave a hard protective coating on the bakelite. tuning tool.
If the first attempt didn't fix the set, then the techni-
cian "shotgunned" the next most -likely area. Eventually
the bad part, or parts, would be replaced and the unit
would function correctly. At first, this method may seem
wasteful, but the cost of a few capacitors and resistors,
etc., is cheap in comparison to the time it would take to
locate the failure using conventional troubleshooting.
The "shotgun" method, when used with old radios,
has several advantages. The first advantage is that ev-
erything in the old radio is old and because of this, if
it hasn't failed yet, it eventually will fail. The second
reason is that the old sets often have multiple failures,
and even if you replace a part and get the set working,
it won't perform as good as when it was new and will
probably quit in a short period of time because some-
thing else will fail. A third advantage is that "shotgun-
ning" an old radio will protect expensive parts, such as
I.F. and audio transformers, coils, speakers, and tubes
from damage caused by shorted capacitors or resistors
being out -of -tolerance.

Photo #15. Testing a tube with a multimeter and clip -leads

ELECTRICALLY RESTORING THE CHASSIS
The approach to electrically restoring the chassis is
similar to the method used today in modern TV, VCR,
and computer repair shops where troubleshooting is
only taken down to the circuit board level. Once the de-
fective circuit is found, the whole board is replaced and
the old one is discarded. The reason for this is that it is
cheaper to buy a new board than it is to spend expen-
sive troubleshooting time to find the defective
component.
The "old-timers" called this approach the "shotgun"
method of repair. With this procedure, the technician
would check for physical damage, such as burned or
broken components, test all of the tubes, fuses and
bulbs, and then, if the trouble wasn't found, he would Photo #17. View of the completely restored chassis.
try to narrow down the problem to the most likely circuit. The parts that usually need "shotgunning" are ca-
He would then replace all of the capacitors, resistors, pacitors, resistors, power cords, and some intercon-

40 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 necting wiring. Sometimes, terminal strips may tect the circuit. If the bulb burns dimly, or not at all, then
become carbonized, or other parts, such as switches there aren't any major shorts. Once the receiver
and volume pots may be bad. These are not usually re- passes this test, remove the bulb and apply full power.
placed unless it has been determined that they are bad At this point most radios will play. If the set doesn't
after testing the set. play, then go into more intensive troubleshooting. This
As for capacitors, you should replace all electrolytic, is usually fairly easy because most of the high -failure
tubular, ceramic disc, and other capacitors in the Micro - items have been replaced. This leaves only a few com-
farad range. The electrolytics are chemical capacitors ponents, such as I.F. and audio transformers, potenti-
that eventually will fail because of the electrolyte leak- ometers, and coils to check. Once the radio is playing,
ing or drying out, or by causing corrosion. An open align the R.F. section, oscillators, and I.F. amplifiers.
electrolytic filter capacitor will cause the set to have ex- The following is a description of the electrical resto-
cessive A.C. hum. A shorted filter can cause resistors, ration of the Majestic Acky-Dac that is the subject of
speaker field windings, and rectifiers to burn out. Elec- this article. Your Acky-Dac will probably differ some-
trolytic capacitors are limited -life items and should al- what in layout from this one, but the circuitry in all of
ways be replaced if they are old. The tubular and them is basically the same, with a few minor differ-
ceramic disc capacitors also age and become electri- ences. You should be able to restore your radio by fol-
cally "leaky". These should also be replaced to ensure lowing these steps. taking into consideration any
optimum performance. Mica or ceramic capacitors in differences.
the Micromicrofarad (Picofarad) range don't usually
PLATE
need replacing because they have extremely long life - (ANODE)
spans and seldom fail, unless they have been exposed
to severe conditions. Only replace these if the radio
fails to operate properly after replacing the other, higher GRID #3
SUPRESSER GRID)
failure -rate, components.

100 WATT
GRID #2 GRID #1

t
LIGHT (SCREEN GRID) (CONTROL GRID)
BULB

ATHODE
LIGHT GLASS *Jr
SOCKET ENVELOPE

POLAR¢ED EXTENSION CORD

FILAMENT
O O Figure 4. A Typical Vacuum Tube (50L6)
RADIO
UNDER Parts, supplies, and schematic diagrams for most ra-
TEST
dios built from the 1920s until the 1950s are available
Figure 3. 100 Watt Light Bulb Test Set-up from the sources listed at the end of this article. Photo
#2 shows the schematic diagram and tube layout that
Old carbon resistors with values above about 10K came attached to the bottom of the Majestic, many ra-
ohms will often be out -of-tolerance in the high direction. dios will have these diagrams, but in a lot of cases they
The higher the original resistance, the higher the out -of - will be missing or unreadable. Diagrams aren't really
tolerance condition will be. Very often 100K ohm resis- necessary unless you run into difficulty after doing all
tors will measure in the megohms, and megohm resis- of the normal restoration steps described below.
tors will read infinity. The most probable cause of this is Photo #11 shows the underside of the chassis be-
that the binders in the carbon composition dry out and fore restoration. It is a good idea to draw a sketch of
separate from age and heat, thus raising the where all of the capacitors and resistors are connected
resistance. before removing any of them. Photo #12 shows the
Many of the high resistance value resistors are used tools and supplies used for the electrical restoration.
to set bias voltages for the tubes. If these resistors are Solder "wick" is used to "suck" up the old solder when
out -of -tolerance, and are left in the set, they will cause removing old components. "spaghetti' tubing is used to
the tubes to operate out of the desired portion of their insulate the leads of components in areas where they
characteristic curves. This will result in poor sensitivity, can come in contact with other parts of the circuit.
distorted audio, inoperative oscillators, and sometimes Hook-up wire is used on components to extend their
overheating of certain tubes caused by over -conduc- lead length in cases where they are too short. The radio
tion. You should replace all resistors above about 10K service cement is used to repair cracked speaker
ohms without even testing them. They are very cheap cones. The Testors white enamel was used to touch-up
and this "shotgun" replacement saves troubleshooting the dial pointer. "Tie -wraps" are used to secure the new
time and will extend the life of the set. electrolytic capacitors in place. Super -glue is used
After all of the above components have been "shot- wherever necessary. Photo #13 shows the new com-
gunned", power up the set with a 100 watt light bulb in ponents before installation. The new capacitors and re-
series with the power cord and ensure that there aren't sistors look a lot different than the old ones, but are of
any shorts (see Figure 3). If the radio contains any sig- the same (or near the same) values. Photo #14 shows
nificant shorts, the lamp will burn brightly and will pro- the underside of the radio with all of the new parts in-
stalled.
VOLUME XVIII 41
 50L6GT
12SQ7GT AUDIO
12SA7GT 12SK7GT DETECTOR/AVC/ 35Z5GT POWER
I.F. AMPLIFIER AUDIO AMPLIFIER RECTIFIER AMPLIFIER
CONVERTER

OCTAL TUBES
5005
12AV6 AUDIO
12BA6 DETECTOR/AVC/ 35W4 POWER
12BE6
I.F. AMPLIFIER AUDIO AMPLIFIER RECTIFIER AMPLIFIER
CONVERTER

MINIATURE TUBES
Figure 5. Common Tubes Used in AC/DC Superhet Radios

STEP 1. STEP 3.
Begin the electrical restoration by replacing the Replace the remaining capacitors and resistors.
power cord. Use a cord with a polarized plug as a As previously mentioned, it is not usually necessary
safety precaution. because these radios have one side to replace mica or ceramic capacitors in the Micromi-
of the power line connected to chassis ground, either crofarad (Picofarad) range, or resistors below about
directly or indirectly via a large capacitor. Most of these 10K ohms, unless they are burned. It is best to replace
sets have the on -off switch in the ground side of the cir- these components one -at -at -time, if possible, to pre-
cuit. Connect the power cord lead that goes to the big clude connecting them up to the wrong place. Use
pin on the polarized plug to the connection in the circuit hook-up wire and spaghetti where necessary. Capacitor
where the old cord went to chassis ground (usually values are generally not extremely critical as long as
through the switch.) Connect the other new lead to you replace them with ones that have at least the volt-
where the other old lead went. Connecting the power age rating of the old capacitors. For example, in this set
cord in this manner ensures that the low side (big pin) a .008 Mfd 400 WV (Working Voltage) tubular paper
of the house power will be connected to the chassis of capacitor was replaced with a .01 Mfd 600WV Mylar
the radio and will prevent it from being electrically "hot" capacitor. The modern Mylar capacitors are far superior
in respect to other grounded objects. to the old paper ones and should last for many years in
this application. Resistors used in these radios usually
STEP 2.
have a tolerance of 20%. What this means is that they
Replace the filter capacitors.
The electrolytic filter capacitors in most of these old could be within plus or minus 20% of the specified
radios will be in a combination unit that will have two, value. You can use this as a guide when replacing re-
or more capacitors built into one container. Exact re-
sistors, as long as you replace them with ones that
have at least the wattage rating of the originals. Most
placements for these are hard to find. It is usually nec-
resistors in these radios were rated at 1/4 to 1/2 watt. Re-
essary to replace the old filters with individual
capacitors. The values of these are not critical as long sistor values and sometimes capacitor values are
marked with color bands that conform to a standard
as you are careful to replace the capacitors with ones
that have at least the voltage rating of the old ones. It color code. Figure 7 shows how to read the color
is also a good idea to install new filters that are the
codes for resistors and capacitors. Most of these sets
have the capacitor values printed on the tubular paper
same capacitance, or more than the old capacitors. In
capacitors and don't use color codes for these compo-
the case of the Majestic, the original filter had a 20 Mfd
nents. Some later models do have color coded tubular
and a 40 Mfd capacitor, both rated at 150 volts, in the
same case. These were replaced with two 40 Mfd, 160
paper capacitors (the "paper" is the internal insulation,
the external insulation is usually plastic.) The capacitor
volt capacitors. It is not usually recommended to re-
place filter capacitors with new values larger than about
color code shown is the most common one used in
these radios, if the capacitors are color coded. Other,
150% of the original ones because of the extra current
less common capacitor color codes can be found in the
they draw when the set is first turned on. Tie -wraps are
books referenced at the end of this article. Resistors
used to hold the new filter capacitors in place.
and capacitors are available from the parts sources

42 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 listed at the end of this article. dio. Next check the pilot lamp bulb for continuity. It
STEP 4. should read only a few ohms. If it is bad, it will read in-
Test the tubes and pilot lamp and insert them in their finity. Sources for tubes and bulbs are listed at the end
sockets. It is common to find that all of the tubes in an of this article, in case you find a bad one. These com-
old radio are still good, even after many years of stor- panies sell "new -old -stock" (NOS) tubes at very rea-
age. It is also common to find that a radio works per- sonable prices.
fectly with tubes that indicate "weak" on a tube tester. STEP 5.
Tube testers are rare items these days, and if you don't
WARNING!!
have one, you can still perform a couple of simple tests
Be extremely careful not to touch the metal chas-
on your tubes with a multimeter that will make you 99%
sis of an AC/DC receiver while it is plugged in. The
sure whether they will work or not. Figure 4 shows the
internal connections for a typical octal tube, the 50L6
chassis is connected to one side of the power line
and can cause dangerous electrical shocks!
audio power amplifier. Pins 2 and 7 are connected to
Power your radio up using a 100 watt lamp in -series
the filament, which should read only a few ohms if it is
with the power cord to ensure that there aren't any sig-
good. As the drawing shows, the filament should not
nificant shorts.
show any continuity with any of the other elements. The
Plate (or anode) is connected to pin 3 and grids (grids Figure 3 shows how this is done. If the 100 watt bulb
control the electron flow in the tube) one and two are burns brightly, then a short circuit exists in your set. Go
connected to pins 5 and 4, respectively. Grid number back and check your work to find where the short is lo-
three is internally connected to the cathode which is cated. If the bulb burns dimly, or not at all, then you
then hooked to pin 8. None of these other pins should don't have any shorts and it is safe to plug the radio in
show continuity to each other. If they show continuity, directly. If your radio was in good shape to begin with,
then the tube is shorted and is bad. Figure 5 shows the and there aren't any unexpected failed components, it
diagrams of the most common tubes used in Acky- should play at this point, after warming up. If the set
Dacs. The diagrams are shown with the tubes upside- doesn't play, then further troubleshooting is necessary.
down, looking at the bottoms. Figure 6 shows how the Check your work to be sure you got everything hooked
pins are numbered, one-through -eight for octal tubes, up correctly. Most problems at this stage are human in-
and one -through -seven for miniature tubes, counting duced. If the set still doesn't play, then you will need
clockwise with pin number one being just clockwise of help from the experts. A couple of good books on radio
the guide "key" on octal tubes and on miniature tubes electrical restoration are listed at the end of this article.
it is the first pin clockwise of the space in the pins. Sources for ordering these books are also listed. Also,
Some octal tubes will have missing pins and in this the author would be glad to answer any questions you
case you count their empty positions as pins. First, may have regarding antique radios. Just write C/O The
check the continuity of the filament using clip -leads to Editor, ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK, at the address
connect your multimeter to the filament pins. Photo listed in the front of this magazine.
#15 shows this being done. Filaments should read just STEP 6.
a few ohms. If the filament is open it will read infinity.
Align the I.F. transformers. (See Photo #16)
If your radio plays after performing all of the preceed-
PI #5 PIN #4 PIN #5
#6
PIN #4
PIN
ing steps, then you can perform a minor, "touch-up"
N #7
PIN # PIN #6
alignment without the need of expensive test
equipment.
PIN #3
PIN #2 N #7 The first step is to adjust the I.F. transformers. These
PIN #8
come in two basic versions. Version one is found on the
PIN #2
PIN #1 SPACE
older radios. There will be access holes on the top, and
PIN #1
GUIDE KEY sometimes, the bottom of the I.F. transformer cans.
Trimmer capacitors will be under these holes that can
be adjusted using an insulated alignment tool. An in-
sulated tool is necessary because these screws may
.1' have high voltages on them that can be shorted to the
I.F. can, which is grounded, causing damage to the ra-

OCTAL SEVEN -PIN MINIATURE dio and possibly electrical shock to YOU! The second
version found on newer radios, will have ferrite slugs in-
Figure 6. Octal and Seven -Pin Miniature Tube Bases side the I.F. transformer coil forms. These slugs should
be adjusted with a plastic alignment tool designed for
Next, check the tube for shorts by setting your multi - this purpose. Never use a metal tool, such as an Allen
meter to its highest ohms scale and connecting it be- wrench, because it will not only affect your adjustment,
tween the various grids, plates, cathodes and filaments it can break the fragile ferrite slugs.
to make sure that none of these, that aren't supposed Begin the alignment by tuning to a very weak station.
to be connected, are reading any continuity. Some of This is necessary because a strong station will activate
the elements are supposed to be connected together in the AVC and make it difficult to find the point where the
some tubes, as shown in the tube diagrams. If your I.F. transformers "Peak." Adjust the I.F. transformers for

tubes are not cracked or broken and pass these two a point where there is an increase in volume, followed
simple tests they will almost assuredly work in your ra- by a decrease. Leave the adjustment at the point where

VOLUME XVIII 43
the signal is the loudest. This point is called the "Peak." you can get between the two ends of the dial. Remem-
Sometimes the peak won't be very distinct and this is ber to use a plastic tool for this alignment, because a
O.K. as long as it is there. If peaks can't be found in less metal tool will affect the oscillator's tuning.
than two turns, then there is something else wrong that
will require further attention, and possibly, help from the MULTIPLIER
experts. 2ND . IGIT TOLERANCE
1ST DI IT VOLTAGE RATING
2ND DIGIT TOLE' ANCE
1ST DIGIT MULT PLIER

NEWER RESISTORS
RESISTOR COLOR CODE
1ST 'IGIT 1ST 2ND
2ND DIGIT DIGIT DIGIT MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE
TOLE ANCE MULTIPLIER COLOR
BLACK 0 0 1

BROWN 1 1 IO
RED 2 2 100
ORANGE 3 3 1,000
YELLOW 4 4 10,000
GREEN 5 5 100,000
OLDER RESISTORS BLUE 6 6 1,000,000
VIOLET 7 7 10,000,000
GRAY 8 8 100,000,000
TUBULAR PAPER CAPACITOR COLOR CODE
WHITE 9 9 -
1ST 2ND VOLTAGE
GOLD - - 0.1 +/- 5%
COLOR DIGIT DIGIT MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE RATING, VDC
+1-20: SILVER - - - +/- 10%
BLACK
BROWN
0
1
0
1
1

10 - 100 NONE - - - +/- 20%

RED 2 2 100 200
ORANGE 3 3 1,000 +/-30% 300 EXAMPLE: YELLOW/VIOLET/YELLOW =
YELLOW 4 4 10,000 400 4 / 7 / 10,000 =
GREEN 5 5 500 47 X 10,000 = 470,000 OHMS
BLUE 6 6 600 OR 470K OHMS
VIOLET 7 7 700
GRAY 8 8 800 Figure 7. Resistor and Tubular Paper Capacitor Color
WHITE 9 9 900
GOLD - - - 1,000 Codes
SILVER - - +/- 10%
STEP 8.
CAPACITANCE IS IN PICOFARADS (Pf OR Mmf) Adjust the R.F. section.
1 Mfd = 1,000,000 Pf OR Mmf The adjustment for the R.F. section is a small trimmer
EXAMPLE: YELLOW/VIOLET/ORANGE/YELLOW = capacitor that is on the side of the large section of the
4 / 7 / 1,000 / =
47 X 1,000 = 47,000 PICOFARADS =
tuning capacitor.
47,000 + 1,0.00,000 = To adjust the R.F., tune to a weak station at the high
.047 MICROFARADS @ 400 VOLTS DC frequency end of the dial and adjust the trimmer for a
peak in the signal level.
Figure 7. Resistor and Tubular Paper Capacitor Color
Codes STEP 9.
This completes the alignment of the radio. If every-
STEP 7. thing has gone well for you, then your set should be op-
Adjust the oscillator. erating as good as new. If you have had problems, then
The oscillator determines the frequency that the ra- you may need help, as mentioned earlier. If your set
dio receives. The adjustment for the oscillator is a small works well, then reinstall it in its cabinet and enjoy it for
trimmer capacitor that is on the side of the small section years to come!
of the tuning capacitor.
To adjust the oscillator, tune to a known local station CONCLUSION
at the high frequency end of the dial and check to see In conclusion, you can apply this simple method to
if the dial reads the correct frequency. If it reads cor-
restore your radios and bring them back to like -new op-
rectly then check a known station at the low frequency erating condition. Remember to clean the set first and
end of the dial. If it also reads correctly, then the oscil- to use a good contact cleaner to spray the potentiom-
lator doesn't need adjusting. If either station reads in- eters, switches, and tube sockets to remove films and
correctly, then alternately tune to the higher station and oxidation. The next step is to test all of the tubes and
then the lower station while taking out as much error as lamps, and then to replace the power cord and any
possible with the oscillator adjustment. It may not be other wiring that is frayed, brittle, or cracked. After this
possible to get both ends of the dial to read exactly, and is complete, you should replace the capacitors and re-
if this is the case, then adjust for the best compromise
sistors as already mentioned. The last step is to align

44 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 SOURCE
the set to bring it back to optimum performance.
Remember that your radio was inoperative because Frankenstine's Radio Laboratory
one or more of the parts failed, at least partially, be- 4010 Fairmont Parkway
cause they were OLD! Now that you have replaced all Pasadena, TX 77504
(713) 998-0130
of the OLD high -failure parts with NEW modern parts,
your set should operate as good as new for many years Ask for their catalog.
ITEM
to come.
Resistors, spaghetti, hook-up wire, polarized power
cords, pilot light bulbs, tuner spray, alignment tools, sol-
der wick, tie-wraps. Radio Shack does not carry the
higher voltage capacitors needed for vacuum tube
equipment.
SOURCE
Radio Shack or other electronics supply
ITEM
Krylon spray paint, Dap Blend Sticks, Armor -All, ace-
tone, super glue, Testors model paint, 100 watt light
bulb, lamp socket, polarized extension cord.
SOURCE
Local Hardware Store
ITEM
Rubbing compound, Auto paste wax, Armor -All, car de-
tailing brush.
SOURCE
Photo #18. The completely restored Majestic model 5T10.
REFERENCES Local Auto Parts Store
OLD TIME RADIOS! RESTORATION AND ITEM
REPAIR
Copyright 1991 Antique Radio Classified is a monthly publication for
By Joseph J. Carr radio collectors that has articles on the hobby and
Published by TAB BOOKS many ads from collectors, clubs, and dealers on all as-
Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0850 pects of antique radio. They also sell books on antique
ISBN 0-8306-7342-3 radio. A.R.C. is a must for anyone interested in antique
Available from Antique Electronics Supply (See parts/ radio. Subscription is $34.95 a year by second class
source list for address) mail or ask for free sample copy.
ANTIQUE RADIOS-RESTORATION AND PRICE SOURCE
GUIDE Antique Radio Classified
Copyright 1982 P.O.Box 2
By David and Betty Johnson
Carlisle, MA 01741
Published by Wallace -Homestead Book Company
(508) 371-0512
1912 grand Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50305 ITEM
Available from Antique Electronics Supply and Antique Schematic diagrams for antique radios.
radio Classified (See parts/source list for address)
SOURCE
PARTS AND SOURCE LIST FOR RESTORING AN Antique Radio Schematic Service
ALL-AMERICAN FIVETUBE AC/DC SUPERHET 13911 Kensington Place
RADIO Houston, TX 77034
ITEM
Capacitors, resistors, spaghetti, hook-up wire, polarized Copies of schematics for most radios built from the
power cords, vacuum tubes, pilot light bulbs, tuner 1920s to the 1950s. Send make & model needed
spray, alignment tools, solder wick, radio service ce- and business size self-addressed stamped (32 cent
ment. AES also sells books on antique radio restora- for USA) envelope with $2.00. If schematic is una-
tion and collecting. vailable, money will be refunded.
SOURCE
Antique Electronic Supply NOTE TO READERS
6221 S. Maple Avenue Back issues of ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK that
Tempe, AZ 85283 have other articles by this author on crystal sets
(602) 820-5411 and antique radio can be obtained from the pub-
Ask for their catalog. lisher. Look in this issue of ELECTRONICS HAND-
ITEM BOOK for information on ordering these
Capacitors, resistors, polarized power cords, vacuum magazines.
tubes, pilot light bulbs.
VOLUME XVIII 45
 ROAD TESTING
THE NEW
SINGMIN PCB By Tony Lee
Let's face it! There's nothing more annoying than when you
connect the battery to your project in excited anticipation
and nothing happens! And although faults can often be
-
traced to poor solder joints and minor wiring errors, many
problems are exacerbated by the shortcomings of
commercially available circuit boards. And unless you enjoy
making your own custom designed printed circuit boards,
and handling messy etching solutions, etc., it hardly seems
worth the effort for that one-off project.

ASINGMIN-PCB-1 ASINGMIN-PCB-1 A.SINGMIN-PCB-1 ASINGMIN-PC8-1

en.. ..-.. .... e .. .... .-.-..

11111111111111111 11111111111i1111i

iliiiiiiiiiiiiiii 11111111111111111
ea..* --- --.-.
MPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA MPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA
..............
MPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA
.o... e.-. ...-.
.e.............
UPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA
ASINGMIN-PCB-1 ASINGMIN-PCB-1 A.SINGMIN-PCB-1 ASINGMIN-PCB-1

11111111111111111 11111111111111111

UPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA UPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
.-..+++«++
MPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA
Mai .....++++
UPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA

Figure 1. A new concept In Circuit Board design-The SINGMIN PCB.

The Singmin PCB. View at left shows
track markings on front of board. At right, the under-side of board showing
the solder -track pattern.

0 f course, there will never be a universal board

on the market that is perfectly suited to the
thousand and one circuits that interest us as
hobbyists, but if you've ever used an experimental
plug-in breadboard to try out projects before building
This brings us back to those annoying projects that
fail when the power is switched on. If, however, the cir-
cuit board used for the project facilitates assembly,
there is less likelihood of error. An initial examination of
the Singmin PCB appears to do just that. You can see
them, you might wish there was something like it in sol- at a glance the location of components and what they
der boards. are connected to.
Well, now there is-the Singmin PCB, shown in Fig. But, before evaluating its degree of effectiveness, it
1. You will see that the track pattern does resemble the might be a good idea to review briefly, some of the bet-
breadboard shown in Photo 1. In fact, the components ter known assembly systems available to the hobbyist.
plugged into the breadboard (which took all of two min- A once popular method of assembly for small, simple
utes to assemble) are in a similar location to those in circuits was to mount the components on a tag strip, as
the layout on the Singmin board shown in Fig. 7. illustrated in Fig. 2. This, of course, was okay before

46 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
the advent of integrated circuits (chips), but it can still be `broken' in places where continuity cannot be toler-
be resorted to for jobs involving half -a -dozen discrete ated, for example, between the inline pins of an 8 -pin
IC, as indicated in the illustration. The breaks àre
made
components. does call
with a small drill bit, and although not difficult,
for some care in its execution and in selecting the cor-
rect locations.

Photo 2. The Op -Amp Sensor Switch mounted on Perfboard.

Components are anchored by soldering them to each other
under the board.
Another type of printed circuit board has all the pre -
punched holes encircled with unconnected donut -
shaped or square copper pads, which the writer has
Figure 2. Simple Tag Strip assembly. tried but with very limited success.
Finally, small dedicated PCBs are available to take
one or two ICs only. Tracks run from each pin to wide
solder lands around the edge of the board for connec-
tion to off -board components. Useful in some
applications.

ooo 0000.00000S
o o
0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o o o
o
o

00o O0
000000 000000O
o o o
O
.000.0000
o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0
00
0000o 00000000
o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0
Photo Breadboarding the 555 Sensor Switch. The practical
1.
Singmin PCB track pattern resembles the breadboard
system.
0

o
0 0 0 0
00000000
0000
0
O. 0 0 0
0 o 0 0p0
0 O
0
0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 Ó
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
00 0

The most basic of all boards with pre -punched holes

spaced in a grid -like pattern to take ICs and discrete
components, is the well-known Perfboard marketed by
o
o
oLio O O O
o o o O O
o o o o o 0L0
o
O O O O
o o o
O

Radio Shack and which may be described as matrix Figure 3. Strip Board showing "Breaks" in solder tracks.
board by other stockists. It is a tough phenolic material
and ideal for simple proto -typing, but being a plain non - Evaluating the Singmin PCB
printed board, the components are only held in place
Volume XVI of the Electronics Handbook featured a
by soldering them to each other under the board. The
new concept in circuit board construction-tl-e Sing -
IC socket seen in Photo 2 is held in position by the
min PCB. The article focused particular attention on its
leads of the other components connected to its pins-
not a workmanlike procedure for the serious suitability for op -amp circuitry in which a split voltage is
often needed to allow for positive and negative voltage
constructor.
swings. This involves a dual supply, either two batteries
A far more practical board, popular in Europe and
or preferably, a voltage divider network which is ade-
downunder, but perhaps not so well know in the U.S. is
quately catered for on the Singmin board.
the printed strip board, consisting of continuous, paral-
But what of those countless circuits that don't use
lel copper tracks as shown in Fig. 3. All components
op -amps or, for that matter, any ICs at all? The only way
are mounted vertically as indicated by the arrow. How-
of determining the adaptability of the Singmin board
ever, although a very flexible system, the tracks need to
VOLUME XVIII 47
 would be to assemble circuits on it of totally different
lights the fact that not all op -amp circuits require a dual
configuration and weigh up the advantages and
power supply, is shown in Fig. 4. This simplifies the lay-
disadvantages.
out. Readers will recognize a conventional bridge at the
To give added impetus to what might be a workaday
input, comprising R1, R2, VR1 and the thermister, TH1,
lab report. it was decided to choose an interesting pro- which, while in balance, produces no output at pin six.
ject that could be built in totally different ways and with In the circuit shown, an increase in temperature will turn
totally different components-the popular Sensor on the transistor and operate the relay. TH1 and VR1
Switch. This practical device can warn of fire or frost, or can be easily transposed to work in the opposite mode,
rain or flooding, or switch on a porch light or serve as a
ie, a drop in temperature will again energize the relay.
light beam detector, or...the applications are endless

i
The thermister can be exchanged for a photo cell (light
and only limited by the constructor's imagination. The dependent resistor) or any other sensing device. These
only feature in common with all the sensor switch cir-
comments apply to all the sensor switch circuits dis-
cuits discussed below is the voltage divider, which cussed in this article.
comprises the sensor and a variable resistor (trimpot).
Otherwise, each circuit works on an entirely different
principle.
A. SINGMIN - PCB -1
The first thing the writer did was draw one section of
the Singmin board twice full size for the purpose of pre-
planning the layout. This was considered essential.
- ._
*e
r s
%W
!!or a
+POS.RAIL

The layout drawing can be used over and over by lay-

ing a piece of tracing paper over it using adhesive tape
and sketching the components in various locations un-
til an acceptable arrangement is achieved. The layouts
¢
chosen for this lab report are functional and represen- o
tative. Remember, as they say in the classics, there's o
more than one way of killing a cat! o ó 00
One of the objectives was to design a layout with the O G 0 O
minimum number of connecting links-it being consid- O 0 o o
ered an important measure of performance of a printed 00 00
circuit board. The first discovery was, contrary to the O 0 00
o o
advice given in Andrew Singmin's article on how to NEG.RAIL
separate the four sections of the board (with a small oG-6-0 o O -é-6 o A-9Er-0
hacksaw), the four quadrants could be easily sepa-
rated by scoring along the scribe holes on both sides
0000000000-9--e--0 o
using a steel rule and a hobby knife, and snapping NOTE: STAND RI, R3, R4 & R5 UPRIGHT: L= LINK
them apart with the aid of long -nose pliers aligned with
the scribe line. The sections snapped apart cleanly and Figure 5. Op -Amp layout of sensor switch.
without fuss.
And now we turn to the layout shown in Fig. 5 and
Only brief mention will be made of the circuit theory
Photo 3. The first requirement was to establish the
for a basic understanding, the object of this article be-
positive and negative rails, and this wasn't difficult to
ing the evaluation of a new product.
do with the continuous tracks at the top and bottom of
the board. Reference to the layout will identify these
rails.

Figure 4. Op-Amp sensor switch circuit.

The Op -Amp Sensor Switch

Photo 3. The Singmin PCB -mounted Op -Amp Sensor Switch.
The first sensor switch to be discussed, which high-

48 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 Initially, some concern was felt at the emphasis or lead. Beginners, though should beware of excessive
heat. It will lift the solder lands off the board, although

;
placed on making provision for dual supply compo- a com-
nents for op -amps in Andrew Singmin's article which it is more likely to happen if you have to remove
might lead one to conclude that the board design was ponent for some reason.
largely influenced by this requirement. The writer, how-
ever, was pleased to discover the top section of the A. SINGMIN - %C'
board used for his biasing components was well suited
for other arrangements, as an alternative to the higher
O 0_0_0_0
GO0 0000 in
e
::° o+POS.RAIL
o L o O
P

c a o
_
priority area surrounding the IC. .s ::_ _

00 .fl].eo tl 0 °O od
You will observe that the Perfboard op -amp sensor
switch in Photo 2 has a trimpot (VR1) mounted on the 00 9 O
. 0 .,,
,
oa000
o 0 0 o 0
¢
o
left hand edge of the board. This was not possible on 9 0 .. o .. .
S.
w
Oo. I 8Q "OOoo N

..::.
the Singurin board owing to the smallness of the holes 0 00
r O 0O "
and solder lands. Leads, therefore, had to be soldered
to it for connection to an off -board trimpot. Care must
be taken when soldering joints that the soldering iron is
e
p
.. ` - -
87
_
Ict
6 5A
, :
,.
- :
,.
,
p
Ñ

!
g e e
held at 45 degrees to avoid clogging other holes with o
!f=w-t'e.
*
. . III

-
solder. This can easily happen to the less experienced °9 0
%
.

constructor, particularly, if a very fine soldering tip is not

Ó
e . o
MaMilan

*
O A I
being used. 1 1
O
N .1 . U Q
1 ! ! S _ .. - " O

1
I_ e e e:!
0--9-"6-O
e - e : a e
u
-NÊG.RAIL

Figure 7. 555 Timer layout of sensor switch.

555 Timer Sensor Switch

Let's look at the next Sensor Switch circuit shown in
Fig. 6. Again we use an 8 -pin IC, much cherished by
hobbyists, but it couldn't be more dissimilar in the way
it works. It is the 555 Timer IC, so-called because its
main function is as a timing device or an oscillator, but
constructors have found many other uses for it, the
Sensor Switch being a case in point.
It requires fewer components than the op -amp cir-
cuit, in fact, even the output transistor and its base re-
sistor are hardly necessary for most applications, but in
this case, a spare pair of contacts in the relay were
used to latch on the circuit after being activated, by wir-
Figure 6. 555 Timer sensor switch circuit.
ing them across the transistor. We'll be looking at latch-
Care must also be taken not to inadvertently turn the ing methods a little later.
board upside down during assembly or testing which The way the circuit in Fig. 6 has been drawn, it op-
can easily occur due to its symmetrical shape. Sea- erates as a dark -activated switch. While sufficient light
soned constructors may scoff, but the writer can vouch falls on the photo cell (LDR), trigger pin 2 is held at or
for it being a common occurrence with beginning stu- below 1/3 of the supply voltage, which holds off transis-
dents. It's a good plan to mark the top of the board with tor 01. As the light intensity reduces, at a certain level
a red fiber -tip pen to denote the positive rail. the voltage will rise above 1/3 and change the state of
In passing, a very useful tool for assembly work of an internal comparitor. This enables output pin 3 to sink
this nature is a pair of jeweler's tweezers which work in a current and turn on the transistor. The output current
reverse to normal tweezers (they open when you of the 555 can source or sink up to 200mA in its own
squeeze them). They hold a component firmly in posi- right. The unused threshold pin 6 is tied high with Rl.
tion during soldering and also act as a heat sink. The layout shown in Fig. 7 and Photo 4 hardly needs
The track markings on the front of the board proved comment. The location of the transistor and its associ-
invaluable, enabling the insertion of component leads, ated components in the central section is an alternative
etc. in their correct locations without the need to turn to the peripheral tracks at the top and bottom of the
the board over to check their position. Mistakes are vir- board when there is adequate room for them. The only
tually impossible. criticism-if it warrants so strong a term is the need -
The three connecting links were pre -formed with at times to bend component leads and connecting links
eyebrow tweezers in the shape of a staple. Their size is at right angles to connect to the positive and negative
easy to estimate after a little practice. Soldering was a rails. It was found necessary in this and the previous
joy! Joints took no longer than two seconds to solder, layout. More will be said of this in the summing up of
and the solder flowed readily around the protruding pin the board's overall performance.
VOLUME XVIII 49
 Figure 8. Quad NOR Gate sensor switch circuit.

Quad Nor -Gate Sensor Switch , duce an output (high) when either or both input pins re-
So far, we have been dealing with simple circuits in-
ceive an input voltage (we talk in 'highs' and 'lows').
volving linear ICs and Conversely, a NOR gate output will go low when one or
a few other components, for
which the Singmin PCB is ideal. How will it perform with both input pins goes high. This is the effect needed for
a digital logic IC, and more discrete components and
this circuit. A NOR Gate is denoted by a bubble (not) at
its output as shown in the gate symbols.
links crowding the board?
The circuit shown in Fig. 8, apart from its many other During daylight, there is a low at both inputs of IC1a
applications, is drawn for use as an automatic light (or and a high at its output. And consequently, a high at the
other appliance) which switches on at dusk and inputs of IC1 b and a low at its output. As light fades, the
switches off at daybreak. It also has provision for man- increase in resistance of the LDR causes the input at
IC1 a to go high, thereby inverting the two gates and
ual push-button operation which does not interfere with
the automatic feature. The previous two circuits do not producing a high at the output, pin 11. Resistor R3 is
lend themselves to this added benefit, although any- necessary to obtain the Schmitt effect and maintain the
thing's possible. gates in their new state, regardless of small changes in
light level.
The Schmitt trigger circuit is connected to a flip-flop
circuit via capacitors 01 and C2. The flip-flop is made
up of the two remaining NOR gates, IC1 c and IC1 d, the
logic of which is as follows: pins 1 and 6 are held low
by R4 and R5. Output pin 4 and input pin 2 are, there-
fore, high, thereby putting a low on output pin 3 and
holding the transistor off.
Now, here's the interesting part: When pin 6 goes
high, either by pressing S1 or when pin 11 goes high,
pin 4 goes low and, of course, so does pin 2. Now, both
input pins 1 and 2 are low, thus producing a high at pin
3 and switching on the transistor. Pin 5, as a conse-
quence, goes high, too, thus keeping pin 4 low and
locking the flip-flop in that state. Only by pressing reset
button S2 or the Schmitt trigger reverting to its former
state at daybreak, will the flip-flop change state and
switch off the transistor and the relay.
For the layout, shown in Fig. 9 and Photo 5, the
Photo 4. The Singmin PCB -mounted 555 Sensor Switch. oversize drawing of the circuit board and its tracing
overlay proved invaluable. Pre -planning is essential.
The circuit is economical in that it utilizes all four Few problems were encountered in placing the ten dis-
NOR gates in the one IC Package. For those not too crete components on the board, and it would appear
familiar with digital circuitry, a basic OR gate will pro- that one section of the Singmin PCB is comfortable
50 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 popular negative temperature coefficient (NTC) type,
with up to a dozen small components, plus the
IC.
links, though, was time that is, its resistance falls as the temperature rises, and
The number of connecting
to be excessive. This aspect vice versa.
consuming and thought
in all, it is a
again will be dealt with in the summary. All
room for the
neat symmetrical layout, with adequate
eight connecting leads to off -board components.
S2 (RESET) S1 (SET)

A. SIJ'MIN PCB

S. RAIL VR1

Dt

9-9-9-0
O O
p o
LDR
O O
O 0
00 Photo 5. The Singmin PCB -mounted Quad Nor -gate Sensor
O 0-NEG.
RAIL Switch.
0--e--6-0
R5 During normal conditions, 01 is off and Q2 is on as
0 0 o o o will be indicated by the illuminated LED, D1. As the
temperature falls, so the resistance of the thermister
NOTE: rises until it reaches the critical level as determined by
STAND R1, R3, R4
& R5 UPRIGHT
L= LINK
S2 S1 the setting of VR1. At that point, 01 snaps on, depriv-
ing the base of Q2 of current. D1 switches off. Now that
Figure 9. NOR Gate layout of sensor switch. current can no longer flow through Q2, it takes the al-
ternative path and switches on 03 via R4 and R5, thus
Transistorised Sensor Switch energizing the relay. Once again, we have the Schmitt
Now we are on the home stretch. The final test is to effect which is achieved with R6 in the emitter line of
01 and 02. The circuit is, therefore, prevented from re-
determine how adaptable the Singmin board is for cir-
verting to its original state by any small increase in tem-
cuits comprised of discrete components only. But first,
perature. This circuit, in other words, is an electronic
a description of the circuit shown in Fig. 10.
latch. The latch can be reset with push-button S1.
A. SINGMIN - PCB -1

oe

o
Z

,11

o w a o

w . '11
, t!:
u O n u n

, ou
:,

V. J.1 ., O o
Lo c o o o -NEG. RAIL
_121-3,1o OA o e y y y
0--6-6-0 0--9-6-9
O
NOTE:
RELAY PINS 162 ARE
COIL CONNECTIONS
STAND R1, R2, R4 8 R6
UPRIGHT. L= LINK

Figure 11. Transistorized layout of sensor switch.

Figure 10. Transistorized sensor switch circuit. It was decided to make better use of the board by in-
It is drawn in the `frost' mode, but like the previous stalling a PCB type relay on it as shown in Fig. 11 and
circuits, the potential divider network at the left of the Photo 6. This created a problem. Unlike ICs, other
diagram can be transposed to obtain a `fire' mode. We components could not be placed around the relay, and
will assume that the thermister we are using is the more the relay commandeered half the board. But apart from

VOLUME XVIII 51
that, because the positive and negative rails are at the required. No mounting holes are provided, it being left
top and bottom of the board, it necessitated positioning
to the constructor to choose his/her own by drilling out
the components from top to bottom rather than the pre-
any of the pre -punched holes.
ferred left to right as you would read a well -drawn sche-
matic. This makes it difficult to identify the components
on the board against the circuit diagram. And once
again, it was necessary to turn a component at right
angles to connect it to the positive rail.
No doubt the layout could have been improved to
some extent if more time had been spent on it. Mean-
while, the writer can see little advantage using the
Singmin PCb for transistorised circuitry over other
systems.

Figure 13. Assembly of the NOR Gate sensor switch on the

composite circuit board.
.... Positive and negative rails can be located at the top
and bottom of the board, thus avoiding the need to
bend component leads at right angles. There is more
..... e .. opportunity to lie resistors horizontally and in contact
with the board for better heat dissipation. Also, assem-
bly can be completed with fewer connecting links. And
Figure 12. The "perfect" composite Circuit Board.
finally, there are sufficient tracks above and below the
IC to avoid breaking continuity as for strip board.
Summing up The circuit board in Fig. 12 shows the solder track
pattern on the underside of the board. Guide marks on
It can be stated, without hesitation, that a segment of
the front of the board may be helpful, but not essential.
the Singmin PCB is superior to most other systems
Using the above concepts, a layout was drawn for
when used for circuitry comprising one or two 8 -pin
the NOR gate Sensor Switch circuit as shown in Fig.
ICs, or one 14 or 16 pin IC, and up to a dozen small
13. All components are fitted vertically, including the IC.
discrete components (not large electrolytic capacitors).
The trimpot is mounted at the top r/h corner of the
Furthermore, it is ideal for beginners or those enthu-
board. Assembly was achieved with four fewer con-
siasts with an elementary knowledge of electronics and
necting links and two less connecting leads. A straight-
limited experience in circuit board assembly. They
edge may be placed horizontally on the layout to find
should find the assembly of any of the foregoing pro-
out what connects to which.
jects enjoyable, and the Sensor Switches very useful.
As previously observed, there will never be a univer-
sal circuit board system free of all criticism. Each sys-
tem has its good points and its drawbacks.
But what if we could take the best features of each
and incorporate them in one circuit board?
An attempt to do this resulted in the circuit board
shown in Fig. 12. It is 2 inches wide by 8 inches long.
It has wide, continuous solder tracks similar to strip
board that won't lift off with excessive heat when you
want to remove a component. It has large pre -punched
holes (say .040" dia.) like Perfboard that will accept
trimpots and other components with thick pins, leads
and multi -strand wiring which obviates the need for
connecting leads to off -board components. The large -
size holes are almost impossible to clog with solder.
Photo 6. The Singmin PCB -mounted Transistorized Sensor
Provision is made for an IC at two inch intervals and the Switch.
board can be split to any length simply by scoring But to the writer's knowledge, this circuit board
along the appropriate vertical row of holes in the man- doesn't exist and in the meantime,
he commends the
ner previously explained. The board can, therefore, be use of the Singmin PCB
wholeheartedly for hobby
left in its entirety or split into a number of sections as projects.

52 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
ROAD TESTING THE NEW SINGMIN PCB
PARTS LIST FOR THE OP -AMP SENSOR SWITCH
R1, R2 -15K resistor
R3, R4 -1.5K resistor
VR1 -47K nominal variable resistor (see note below)
IC1-741 OP Amp IC
01-BC548 NPN transistor, or similar
D1 -1N40Ó2 diode, or similar
TH1 -NTC thermister or other sensing device
RL1 -9-12V relay with adequate contact rating
PARTS LIST FOR THE 555 TIMER SENSOR SWITCH
R1 -10K resistor
R2 -4.7K resistor
VR1 -47K nominal variable resistor (see note below)
IC1 - 555 timer IC
01- BC558 PNP transistor, or similar
D1 -1 N4002 diode, or similar
LDR-light dependent resistor or other sensing device
RL1 -9-12V relay with adequate contact rating

PARTS LIST FOR THE QUAD NOR GATE SENSOR SWITCH

R1-270 Ohm resistor
R2 -1 Meg
resistor
R3-3.3Meg resistor
R4, R5 -100K resistor
-
R6 4.7 K resistor
Cl, C2-0.1 capacitors
VR1 -47K nominal variable resistor (see note below)
IC1 -4001B quad NOR gate IC
-
01 BC548 NPN transistor, or similar
D1 -1 N4002 diode, or similar
-
LDR light dependent resistor or other sensing device
RL1 -9-12V relay with adequate contact rating
S1, S2-push-button N.O. switches

PARTS LIST FOR TRANSISTORISED SENSOR SWITCH

R1 -1K resistor
R2 -10K resistor
R3 -4.7K resistor
R4-470 Ohm resistor
R5 -100K resistor
R6-100 Ohm resistor
VR1-47K nominal variable resistor (see note below)
01, 02, 03-BC548 NPN transistor, or similar
D1 - light emitting
red diode (LED)
D2-1 N4002 diode, or similar
TH1 - NTC thermister or other sensing device
PCB relay or off -board type relay as
RL1 -9-12V
required
S1 -push-button N.O. switch

NOTE
The resistance of VR1 must be sufficient to balance
the sensing device used which may vary from 10K to
100K. However, VR1 resistance should not be unnec-
essarily excessive as to diminish sensitivity adjust-
ment. 47K may be found suitable for most situations.

VOLUME XVIII 53
 WORKBENCH
PROJECTS
eMIZIIIIBMWMMIIMINZOI

By Darren Yates

If you're looking to get started in electronics but don't want to

spend up big, then why not have a look at these simple but
useful circuits. They use easy -to -get and cheap transistors
and can be built in next to no time.
There's nothing like turning lumps of plastic, silicon and
carbon into living and breathing electronic projects. The only
problem these days is that many of these lumps of plastic can
be rather expensive, fragile and difficult to replace.
Transistors on the other hand are about the most common
component you can get. If you walk into your favorite parts
store, you'll probably even find them in discount "grab" bags
as well. There are many thousands of circuits that use one or
more of these little guys to do many useful things.
To get you started, we've come up with a selection of circuits
that are cheap, fun and interesting to build. You'll even learn
a bit about the components along the way.
How you build these projects is up to you. We suggest that you
use some perfboard or European style Veroboard or even one
of our Singmin PCBs, advertised elsewhere in this issue. All
that you have to do is make sure that all the connections are
soldered neatly and that you don't have any dry joints that
can cause problems.
All of these projects use low voltage power supplies, which
can come from most power pack (transformer style) sources.

54 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 6V TO 12VDC CONVERTER
This next circuit is a little more complicated and uses The coil L1 is made up of about 80 turns of 0.5mm
quite a few more components. Its job is to convert a 6V diameter enamelled copper wire wound around a toroi-
into 12V. One place where a circuit such as this could dal ring core (40mm outside diameter).
be used is to drive a 12V car radio from a 6V The important thing to remember about this circuit is
Volkswagen. that it doesn't just generate voltage from thin air but
Looking at the circuit, transistors 01 and Q2 form an rather converts current into voltage. Because we are
astable multivibrator or square wave oscillator. The di- doubling the voltage, the current from your 6V power
ode, D2, improves the rise time of the waveform (or, supply will be more than double that consumed by your
more simply, makes sure that the jump from a low volt- 12V gismo. If .this circuit was perfect, it would be exactly
age to a high voltage level is as quick as possible). The double but because it is not perfectly efficient, the cur-
output is taken from the collector of transistor, 02, and rent will be around 2.5 times more than the 12V gismo
fed via a 1.5Kft resistor to 03. This a Darlington NPN is using. What it loses in efficiency, it more than makes
type. If you don't have a BD679 handy or can't happen up for in rugged reliability.
to locate one, you could use just about any Darlington This circuit can provide up to around 800mA max. to
NPN type so long as it can withstand around 20W of your circuit and you'll need to use heavy duty hook up
power and 4 amps of current. It also has to have a Vice wire for the high current paths, (ie: from your 6V power
(maximum collector -emitter voltage) rating of around supply to the inductor 121, to diode D3 and from D3 to
80V. the output connection). A heatsink for Q3 wouldn't go
This transistor is used to switch the coil L1 in and out astray either.
of the circuit. The job of the coil is to act as an inductor.
Inductors are strange circuit components in that when
they are charged up, and the charging current is inter-
rupted, they try to maintain the level of energy stored by PARTS LIST FOR THE 6V TO 12VDC CONVERTER
increasing the voltage. Cl, 2-0.1uF mylar capacitor
What you end up getting is a high voltage spike at C3-470uF 25VW, electrolytic capacitor
the collector of 03 when it is switched off. This spike L1 - see text
can go as high as 40 or 50V but only for avery minute ZD1 (D1) -12V, 400mW, zener diode
length of time. Diode D3 is a special type of diode D2-FR104, amp, fast -recovery diode
1

D3 -1N914 signal diode

known as a fast recovery diode. It is designed for this 01, 2, 4-BC547, NPN, transistor (or equivalent)
type of work where it can handle very fast switching 03-BD679, NPN, Darlington transistor
currents. This diode ensures that the high voltage R1, 4-2.2K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
pulse is dumped into the 470uF reservoir capacitor C3. R2, 3-4.7K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
To ensure that the voltage doesn't rise above 12V, a R5 -1
K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
12V zener diode is connected to the output of the cir- R6 -1.5K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
cuit. Once the voltage reaches 12V, the diode begins to R7 -33K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
conduct and switches on transistor 04. This pulls the R8 -10K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
base of Q3 to ground, making sure that it can't switch Extras -6V battery or power supply
on.

i +6V

L1
text
R2 R3 li

R1 4.7kl 4Jk 1R4 R51 __

2.2k 1k
2.2k C2 R6 FR104
drik
0.1
D2W 1.5k ZD1
o+12V
OUT
QI 1N914
Q3
BC547 Q2 C,4 BD679
QOV
BC547 12V
400KW jz-

Q4 470uF
BC547 25VW
33k C3
R7
10k
R8

VOLUME XVIII 55
 SINEWAVE OSCILLATOR
If you've been tinkering around for a little while with The transistor is running in emitter -follower mode
electronics, you'll probably by now have found lots of which means that it has a voltage gain of around 0.99.
references to sinewave oscillators. A sine wave is the When you multiply 1.12 x 0.99 you get an overall
most pure waveform you can generate. While it doesn't close -loop gain of more than 1, which is what we need
sound particularly interesting to listen to, it is used in to make the circuit oscillate.
just about every piece of test equipment to measure the The two back-to-back diodes and the 22K9 resistor
performance of CD players, tape decks and audio provide some crude but useful amplitude stabilization.
amplifiers. Without this, the signal would continue to amplify until
This little circuit could form the basis of your own low- it was so large that it ran into both the positive supply
cost test equipment. It produces a very clean sinewave and the ground. These three components ensure that
(with less than 0.05% distortion) at a frequency of once the amplitude gets to a certain level, the diodes
around 130Hz. What's more, you can use just about begin to turn on and reduce the amplitude.
any NPN small -signal transistor here (just about any- The 10uF capacitor joined to the junction of the two
thing lying around in your junk box will do the trick) and 10K(2 bias resistors ensures that the bias point is free
its quite easy to get going. from noise and allows the circuit to produce a very
Looking at the circuit, two 10Kí2 resistors set up the clean signal. '
DC voltage bias for the circuit as well as the emitter Since this circuit doesn't use very much current, you
voltage of transistor Q1 to around 3.3V. The three could quite easily run it from a 9V transistor radio bat-
1.5Kg resistors and 0.1 uF capacitor form a phase -shift tery or some penlites. To test that the circuit is working,
network which has a small amount of voltage gain at you can connect the output directly to a small loud-
the frequency of resonance (ie: around 130Hz). This speaker amplifier. Make sure it has a volume control,
voltage gain is roughly 1.12V. otherwise the tone will be deafening!

PARTS LIST FOR THE ONE -TRANSISTOR SINEWAVE OSCILLATOR

Cl, C3-0.1 uF mylar capacitors
C4-10uF 16VW electrolytic
D1, D2 -1 N914 signal diodes
R1, R2 -10K ohm, 0.25W 5% resistors
R3 -R5 -1.5K ohm, 0.25W 5% resisto -s
R6 -22K ohm, 0.25W 5% resistor
R7-1 K ohm, 0.25W 5% resistor
Qi -BC547 NPN, small signal transistor (or equivalent)
Extras -9V battery or power supply

0+9V
D1
1N914

R6
22k
01
R1 BC547
10k

R3 R4 L2 1N914
R5
C04= 1.5k 1.5k 1.5k
R2 116V

10k
0.1 O.l 0.1
Cl C2T C3T
T o OUTPUT
130Hz
1k
R7

56 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
QUICK EMERGENCY FLASHER
There is nothing worse than getting a flat tire when
you're on the freeway except getting one at night. It can PARTS LIST FOR THE EMERGENCY FLASHER
be quite dangerous if you're unable to pull off the side
of the road. What you need in this situation is to have C1-10uF, 16VW, electrolytic capacitor
an emergency flasher/beacon further back up the road
R1 -4.7K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
R2-100 ohm, 0.5W, 5% resistor
to warn other drivers of problems ahead and get them
R3 -150K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
to slow down. 01- BC557, PNP, transistor (or equivalent)
This circuit uses just two transistors, three resistors 02- BD139, NPN, power transistor (or equivalent)
and a capacitor. Looking at the circuit, the 10uF capac- GL1-12V, 5W, globe
itor, Cl provides the impetus for the circuit to start. Ini- Extras -12V battery or power supply
tially when the power is first switched on, Cl is
discharged but it now begins to charge up slowly via
the current flow through the globe GL1, the 4.7KS2 re- +12VDC
sistor and the 150K9 resistor.
Eventually, the current causes the capacitor to
charge to a point where 01 begins to switch on. At this
stage, Q1 turns on, which turns on Q2 and lights the
globe. With transistor Q2 turning on, the capacitor now
begins to discharge, as the current flows from Cl
through the 4.7KS2 resistor and through Q2.
This causes Q1 to switch off which in turn switches
off Q2 and the globe. Once this stage is reached, the 150k
capacitor begins to charge up again and the process R3
continues indefinitely.
This flasher is ideal to run from a lantern battery or
even from your car battery itself. There are a number of
low -voltage lamp assemblies on the market and the cir-
cuit is small enough to build inside one of these to
make a self-contained unit.

TRANSISTORIZED SCHMITT TRIGGER

This circuit is for those who have had some experi- The difference between these two voltage thresh-
ence in electronics. It's a transistor equivalent of the fa- olds is known as the hysteresis level. This makes the
mous Schmitt trigger circuit which is often used in logic circuit particularly useful in removing noise of digital
ICs. The only problem with these ICs is that they come signals, or more accurately, removing the ability of the
in packs of six which isn't always useful, particularly if circuit to switch at input voltages within the hysteresis
you only need one. area.
Looking at the circuit, when the input signal is low, Again, you can experiment with this circuit and adjust
transistor 01 is switched off. This enables Q2 to be the supply voltage and the hysteresis threshold volt-
switched on via the current flowing through resistors ages by changing the resistor values.
R1, R2 and R3. The collector output of 02 is at around
1.3V. +5V
If we now start to increase the input voltage, 01 be-
gins to turn on, which robs current from the base of Q2. R1 RS
Because the two emitters of these transistors are con- 3.3k 10k
nected together, as we increase the input voltage fur-
ther there is a sudden snap action which takes the Ol DUT
output from low to high. This `high' level is 5V. R5 BC547
Bringing the input voltage back down again provides 10k Q2
a similar result except at a different voltage threshold IN BC547
which is set up by the 2.2KS2 resistor R2 and the 3.3KS2
emitter resistor R4.
PARTS LIST FOR THE SCHMITT TRIGGER
R4 R3
C1-0.01uF, mylar capacitor 3.3k 3.3k
01, 2-BC547, NPN, transistor (or equivalent)
R1, 3, 4-3.3K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
R2 -2.2K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
R5, 6-10K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
Extras -5V, power supply

VOLUME XVIII 57
SOUND TO LIGHT MODULATOR
Have you been to parties where there's been a strobe DC for the rest of the circuit comes via diode D1 and
or disco light that flashes in time with the music? Well, the 470uF filtering capacitor C3. Capacitor C4 will also
its a pretty simple task to build a low-cost version of make the flashes more intense as well.
your own using this circuit. The important thing to remember with this circuit is
It simply takes the sound from your audio amplifier or not to use it near people who suffer from migraines or
personal stereo, converts it into a DC voltage which epilepsy, as it can bring on attacks to both sufferers.
then drives a globe to switch on and off. The globe used in this circuit is a 12V 5W type however
Looking at the circuit more closely, transistor Q1 is it could be a 12W type provided your AC power supply
connected up as a simple audio buffer. It provides a bit can deliver the current required. Remember to make
of protection for your personal stereo from being over- sure that the wire carrying the current to the globe is
loaded. From the emitter of 01, the signal is then heavy duty, otherwise it may melt under the strain.
passed onto Q2, a PNP transistor. The 10Kí pot, VR1,
PARTS LIST FOR THE SOUND TO LIGHT MODULATOR
is used to adjust the intensity of the flash and can be
adjusted from fully on to fully off. At just the right spot, C1-0.1 uF, mylar capacitor
C2 -1 uF, 25VW, electrolytic capacitor
the light will flash at the same rate as the drum beat of
C3-470uF, 25VW, electrolytic capacitor
the music.
C4-see text
What we're technically doing is trying to get the tran- D1-1 N4004, rectifier diode
sistor Q2 to be just short of turning on. At that point, the D2-1 N914, signal diode
music itself turns the transistor on, providing small volt- Q1 -
BC547, NPN transistor (or equivalent)
age bursts to diode D2 and the SCR. This last compo- Q2-BC557, PNP transistor (or equivalent)
nent is known as a silicon -controlled rectifier and is GL1 -12V, 5W, globe
basically a controllable diode. SCR1 -C106D, silicon -controlled rectifier
When a voltage pulse is applied to the gate via diode VR1 -10K ohm linear pot
D2, the SCR turns on and lights up the globe. The only R1, 2-100K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
R3 -10K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
way to turn the globe off is to interrupt the power to the
R4-1 K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
SCR. By using an AC power supply, this happens au- Extras-12VAC power supply
tomatically 60 times a second.

DI
R1 1N4004
100k
012VAC

0.1
From o-HI SCR1
personal Cl C106D
stereo Q
R2
100k C2 D2
R3
Ok lk
R4
1N914
see
C4
text
I GL1
12V
5W

SIMPLE TREASURE LOCATOR

If you dream of striking it rich, like most people, then hear a whistle come from your radio which will change
this circuit will probably interest you. It's a simple metal pitch when you vary the tuning capacitor, VC1.
or treasure locator. But this is only half of the project- Here's how the circuit works. What this oscillator
the other half is a common AM broadcast -band radio. does is mix or beat with the signal that's coming from
Actually, it's unlikely that you're ever going to strike it the long-distance radio station. Your radio converts this
rich with this circuit but it will detect large iron -based or demodulates the RF signals to produce the audible
objects under the ground and can even be used to find whistle in your radio.
nails in walls etc. L1 is the search coil which is made up of 20 turns of
The circuit, shown, is actually an RF (radio fre- 0.3mm enamelled copper wire wound around a 10cm
quency) oscillator which is tuned to the same fre- plastic former (You can use a sturdy plastic plate for
quency as a weak radio station on your AM radio. You'll this.)
know when it's tuned in because you'll, all of a sudden. When the coil is brought near an iron -based metal, it
hear a whistle come from your radio which will change changes its inductance fractionally but enough to

58 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
change the frequency of the oscillator. The radio picks vrt
160pF
up this change and changes the tone of the whistle
coming from your radio.
Try it first with a few 4 -inch nails just lying on your
work bench and run the search coil over the top of
them. You'll soon see how far away you can get from 47k
111
them before the oscillator no longer detects them. With
a circuit as simple as this, the bigger the object you
+ 9V
C2 C3
wish to detect the better. It will detect smaller objects so 00uF
long as they are closer to the search coil.
TLF9
o.001uF 15k
This circuit is ideally run from a 9V transistor battery Cl R2
which should last about 40 hours or so-try it out the 1k
next time you're at the beach. Who knows what you R3
might find.

PARTS LIST FOR THE LOW-COST TREASURE LOCATOR

C1-0.001 uF, ceramic, capacitor
C2-100pf, ceramic, capacitor
C3-100uF, 16VW, electrolytic capacitor
VC1 -160pF, tuning capacitor
Q1 - BC547 NPN transistor (or equivalent)
R1 -47K ohm 0.25W 5% resistor
R2 -15K ohm 0.25W 5% resistor
R3-1 K ohm 0.25W 5% resistor
Extras - 9V battery
BLOWN FUSE INDICATOR
This last circuit could save you quite a bit of hassle PARTS LIST FOR THE BLOWN FUSE INDICATOR
when you're trying to figure out just what happened to
that favorite project. It's a simple circuit but has proven
LED1-5mm, red LED
C1, 2-47uF, 16VW, electrolytic capacitor
itself very useful many times over. R1 -4.7K ohm, resistor
Looking at the circuit, this simple "Blown Fuse Indi- R2, 5-470 ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
cator" uses just a transistor and a resistor as the main R3, 4-10K ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistors
detection elements-the rest of the circuit is used to Q1-BC557, PNP, transistor (or equivalent)
flash the LED on and off to indicate that the fuse has 02, 3-BC547, NPN, transistors (or equivalent)
blown. Extras-existing circuit with current usage of 10mA or
The emitter of Q1 is connected to the power supply more
side of the fuse while the base is connected to the other in -line fuse
side of the fuse via a 4.7K12 resistor Rl. While the fuse supply side
is in working order, it appears as a short circuit, ensur-
ing that Q1 remains off. Since Q1 is supplying the
power to the flasher circuit of Q2 and Q3, if Q1 is off, so
Rl
is the rest of the circuit. 01
When the fuse blows, the base of Q1 is now pulled to BC557
ground by the remainder of the circuit, even though 47k
there is no main current flowing and for all intents and
purposes appears as though it's off. 01 now turns on
and supplies current to the flashing circuit of 02 and
Q3.
These transistors work in a simple oscillator mode, R2 R3 R4 R5
with Q2 used to shunt the current away from the LED. 470 10k 10k 470
The frequency, or rate of flashing, is set by the 47uF ca-
Cl C2
pacitors and 10KS2 resistors. By varying either or any of 47uF 47uF
these components, you vary the flash rate.
Again, this is a simple circuit which could be incor-
porated into just about any existing DC -powered pro-
ject, provided that it normally pulls at least 10mA.
I hope that gives you plenty to think about as well as 02 03
spurring you onto some project ideas of your own. Next LEDI BC547 BC547
time, we'll take a look at some more useful and simple
electronic circuits.
VOLUME XVIII 59
SIMPLE NICAD CHARGER
The first project although being very simple, could type that can handle around 500mA of current and dis-
save you lots of money. Think about how many dry cells sipate about 2W-oh! a heatsink would be a good idea
you use in a year and then think how much you could too.
save with a single set of Nicad batteries. The Nicad The circuit as is will charge a set of AA' cells in
battery charger uses a single PNP transistor to pro- around 14 hours and can be run from your car battery
duce a constant current source-exactly what Nicads or from a power pack as we mentioned earlier.
need to recharge correctly. PARTS LIST FOR THE NICAD BATTERY CHARGER
Looking at the circuit, diodes D1 and D2 provide a
constant voltage drop of 1.2V between the base of D1, D2 -1 N914 signal diodes
R1-10 ohm, 0.25W, 5% resistor
transistor Q1 and the positive supply. Since the Vbe R2-330 ohms, 0.25W, 5% resistors
voltage drop between the base and emitter is a fixed Q1-BC557 PNP transistor (or equivalent)
0.6V, we know that we have a constant 0.6V across the Extras -9V battery or power supply
10# emitter resistor. Thanks to Ohm's Law, we know +9V
that we're left with a constant current of 60mA by sim-
ply dividing the voltage across the resistor by its D1
resistance. 1N914 R1
The output is then a constant 60mA regardless of the 10
load connected to it. This circuit can be easily used to
charge up a bank of up to four AA' size cells in series. D2
1N914
Most engineers recommend that you charge each cell
01
on its own (ie: building four of these circuits, one for BC557
each cell) but if money is a bit tight, you can easily do
quite well with just the one circuit.
For higher currents drop the 33052 resistor down to R2
2209 and drop the 1052 emitter resistor down to 69 for 330 Iout=60nA
a 100mA current flow. At this current, you'll need to
change the transistor as well to just about any PNP T

CARRIER OPERATED RELAY

Scanner/CB radio enthusiasts usually have a num- cal, Cl can vary from 10pF to 1000pF-experiment
ber of receivers operating simultaneously, monitoring with different values.
emergency, law enforcement, amateur etc. traffic. PARTS LIST FOR THE CARRIER OPERATED RELAY
When a CB radio (4W to 10W range) is keyed i.e. run- Resistors are 1/4 watt, 5%
ning in the transmit mode, the interaction can cause Electrolytics are 25-WVDC
havoc through acoustic feedback. A simple single tran- Cl -100pF ceramic capacitor
sistor carrier operated relay can serve as a very useful C2 -10uF electrolytic capacitor
controller for attenuating or shutting down your moni- R1 -5.6K resistor
tors during the transmit period. Using the COR is left up R2 -4.7K resistor
to your ingenuity. The circuit operation is described R3 -1K resistor
below. D1 -1 N914 silicon diode
D2 -1N914 silicon diode
The CB radio output (normally coupled to the an-
tenna) is routed through a T-splitter connector (typi-
D3-1 N914 silicon diode
Q1-general purpose NPN switching transistor, 2N2222
cally a SO -239 type of connector) thus providing a K1 -9v, 2A SPDT mini relay (500 ohm), RS 275-005
drive signal to the COR. Input capacitor Cl is fed with
this signal, which then goes to resistors R1 and R2,
providing loading impedance and current limiting & iso-
lation features respectively. Silicon diodes D1, D2 and
capacitor C2, form a voltage doubler rectifying circuit,
converting the carrier AC to a DC signal. Resistor R3
limits current to the base input of switching transistor
Q1. A suitable relay, K1, in the collector lead can be
used to attenuate or silence a monitor receiver. Diode
D3 serves as a protection device for the transistor when
the relay is de -energized.
Every time the CB is keyed, the relay is turned on
and the contacts can thus be used as a trigger signal.
The supply voltage is a 9v battery. Values are not criti-

60 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 VARIABLE FREQUENCY
AUDIO TEST SIGNAL
GENERATOR
USING THE
SINGMIN PCB
By Andrew Singmin
USE THIS VERSATILE AUDIO TEST SOURCE FOR VERIFI-
CATION OF THE CORRECT OPERATION OF AN UNLIM-
ITED NUMBER OF AUDIO FREQUENCY DEVICES,
RANGING FROM SIMPLE (SPEAKERS) TO COMPLEX (AU-
DIO SOUND SYSTEMS)!

This is the third project in a set of three using the SINGMIN

PCB, and together they offer a formidable array of test gear
units. By now, readers following the previous two articles
(`Audio preamp', Vol. #16 & `Audio power amp', Vol. #17 of
the Electronics Handbook) will have a pretty good idea on
what to expect here. If you've started to use the SINGMIN PCB,
and judging from the orders received, some of you are
already doing this, then you'll know what the `flavor' of this
project will be like. In keeping with the philosophy of using
only readily available components and keeping designs as
simple as possible we present this very useful audio test
signal generator project. This particular project will be more
comprehensive than the previous two and will include controls
for varying the frequency and the amplitude of the output
signal.
The familiar 555 timer IC (integrated circuit) is units. By connecting them individually or in conjunction
used here. This device, when configured in what with each other, we can test a huge, almost endless
is called the `astable' or free -running mode, pro- number of audio devices, for example, speakers, rec-
duces a nice clean looking square wave. To get you in ord players or phonographs, recorders, radios and so
the mood for firing up that soldering iron, let's see what on). Just three of the many possible situations are
types of tests can be carried out with all three project shown in Fig. 1, 2, 3. In the text, the following abbrevi -

VOLUME XVIII 61
ations are used:
APR: Audio Pre -Amp (from Vol. 16)
APO: Audio Power Amp (from Vol. 17)
ASG: Audio Signal Generator (Vol. 18)
By using an assortment of 1/8" mono miniature jack
plugs and sockets, together with several of Radio
Shack's plastic project boxes, you should be able to
build up an impressive array of test' units, that can be
easily connected into each other. If you are going to do
this, the plug/socket requirements are as follows:
APR: lx input socket, lx output socket
APO: lx input socket, lx output socket
ASG: lx output socket

1111 I IIIIIII IIIII Photo 1. A signal generator and oscilloscope, similar to the
ASG type seen here are certainly useful to have and are neces-
sary for critical measurements and signal analysis-but the
high cost is a drawback. There could be little change left
AUDIO SIGNAL STEREO AMPLIFIER from a $1000 bill! By building this project, you'll have fun,
GENERATOR UNDER TEST learn quite a bit about electronics and have plenty of change
left and best of all have one of the most versatile test instru-
Figure 1. Inject low level test signal into stereo amplifier to
ments ever!
check for defective channel or input. Design Philosophy
MINIO -r As with any design there are always compromises to
be made when one first starts to list the most important
features needed. In general, adding more features
ASG APO means making the circuit more complex, and with
added complexity we have more components. With
more components the chances of error increases and
AUDIO SIGNAL AUDIO POWER
AMPLIFIER the risk of having a hobbyist beginner holding a 'use-
GENERATOR
less' PCB is too great! Personally, prefer building cir-
I

cuits that can be completed in an evening, having no.

Figure 2. Speaker testing with audio generator and power
amplifier. more than a handful of components and with a pretty
good chance of working the first time switch on. Hav-
I

ing said all that lets look at the factors influencing this

o
PHONOGRAPH
APR

AUDIO
PRE -AMP
AUDIO POWER
AMPLIFIER
APO
z
SPKR
design.

UNDER TEST

Figure 3. Testing phonograph output with pre -amp, power

amp speaker.

The interconnecting patch cords can be short

lengths (e.g. about 6" to 12") of twin flexible small di-
ameter lamp cord wire, terminated with jack sockets at
each end. There are no high frequencies involved so
you don't really need the expense of shielded cable,
but if you already have the shielded cable by all means
use it. Many of my own units are made up like this. An Figure 4. Audio Signal Generator schematic.
additional interface cord for the APO is to make up a
similar length with miniature crocodile clips on the ends 1. The ever popular 555 timer used is the workhorse
to make connections to speakers, when testing. Minia- integrated circuit. It has some limitations though, such
ture crocodile clips are much easier to use, especially as the duty cycle (which is the ratio of `on' period to `to-
when attempting to make connections to the tiny ter- tal cycle' period for a square wave) varying when the
minals on the back of small transistor radio replace- frequency is varied. This is not a serious issue and in
ment type speakers. As is common with this series of any case the design can be tailored to have a reason-
design projects, only a single 9 volt battery is used for ably symmetrical shape, by selecting an appropriate
the power requirements, thus conserving valuable value of resistor connected to pin #7. In order to see
space in the project cases. the wave shape symmetry, you have to have an oscil-

62 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
loscope available. For the applications described here Audio Frequency Signal Generator (ASG)
though, it is not a matter of great concern. Specifications:
Signal Amplitude: Variable from 0 to 'several' volts
(approximately, depending on frequency selected)
Signal Frequency: 580Hz to 6kHz and 64Hz to
680Hz (approximately)
Signal Waveform: Triangular (approximately)
Signal Amplitude
The ASG has a potentiometer control to adjust the
level of the output signal from millivolts to volts. Since
there are many different factors (most notably fre-
quency and supply voltage) affecting the absolute volt-
age level, the control knob is not calibrated and in any
case for simple applications it is of no major impor-
tance. Rotate the potentiometer clockwise for the max-
imum signal output. Although the maximum signal level
Photo 2. Collect a bunch of your favorite electronics hobby is only a few volts, this is more than sufficient for testing
magazines (ours naturally), clean up that soldering iron, purposes.
stick in your favorite country tape (Lorrie Morgan, Tanya
Tucker, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis...), crank up the volume Signal Frequency
and let's begin!
The frequency of the output signal is adjusted with a
2. The normal output (pin #3) from the 555 is a
potentiometer and in conjunction with a two way selec-
square wave. For audio testing applications a less
tor switch, a low' and 'high' band of frequencies can be
harsh signal is preferable and this is done by convert-
obtained.
ing the square wave into a triangular wave for a
The 'high' range extends from about 580Hz to 6kHZ
smoother sound. A very basic resistor/capacitor net-
and the 'low' band from 64Hz to 680Hz. The change in
work is used and for our purposes this is quite satisfac-
frequency band is simply done by changing the value
tory. The amplitude of the converted signal will however
of the timing capacitor (C1a or b) for the 555. The ca-
increase or decrease as the original signal decreases
pacitors used are 0.01 uF (for the 'high' band) and 0.1 uF
or increases. The advantage of only needing a simple
(for the 'low' band). Since the capacitors vary by a fac-
two component convertor outweighs this anomaly. The
tor of '10' so too will the frequency band. By using dif-
voltage amplitude is attenuated by the addition of the
ferent capacitor ratios, different frequency bands can
convertor network but again this is not an issue as we,
be obtained, as seen below.
in any case, only need low amplitude signals for test
purposes.
3. The output signal amplitude can be varied through
use of a potentiometer. Since the absolute signal am-
plitude is dependant on the frequency, there is no point
in calibrating the amplitude knob.
4. Frequency can be varied over the most useful part
of the audio frequency band, about 64Hz to 6kHz. This
frequency range is determined purely by the choice of
two timing components (a resistor and a capacitor) for
the 555 (pins #2, 6). My preference is to use (where
possible) components with 'regular' values e.g. values
of 1K, 10K, 100K for resistors and 0.01 uF, 0.1 uF for ca-
pacitors, since these are most readily obtainable. That
is how we land up with the above frequency band.
5. Since the 555 timer is spec'd to work down to 5
Photo 3. The SINGMIN PCB measures a mere 2" x 2.25" for
volts (supply voltage) and the design has been simpli- one of the mini sections and although only about half the
fied to not have calibrated controls, we can, therefore, size of a regular cassette, it still can accommodate four 8 pin
increase the operating life -time of the battery, by not DIL integrated circuits-more than enough space for any of
having a voltage regulator in the supply line. This the beginner projects you'll see featured here.
means that as the battery voltage decreases, so too
will the output signal level. It is unlikely that this will be Using a timing resistor of 100K:
much of a concern. a. With timing capacitor = 0.01uF: High Frequency
Band = 580Hz to 6kHz.
ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK will always be aimed b. With timing capacitor=0.1uF: Low Frequency
at helping the beginner in electronics to learn and suc- Band = 64Hz to 680Hz.
cessfully build these and other hobby projects, and,
therefore, my projects design philosophy will always be R1 and R2 in total make up the timing resistor and
to place 'simplicity of design' before 'performance'. C1 a or b is the timing capacitor.

VOLUME XVIII 63
 Signal Waveform volts, there should be plenty of 'life' even from a fairly
run down battery. The mechanical components used
The original signal from the 555 is a square wave but here are a 100K potentiometer (R1) for the frequency
for audio applications a smoother sound is preferable.
control, a switch (S1) for the frequency range selection
Where, for example, you are testing loudspeakers, it is
and another 100K potentiometer (R6) for the amplitude
important to use a sound source that itself is not dis- control and a supply switch S2.
torted. A sine wave would be ideal but a triangular There are three optional components: Capacitor (C5)
wave is nevertheless a good compromise. Hence we
placed across the power supply, LED (D1) and its as-
have converted the square wave here into a triangular
sociated current limiting resistor (R7). These are op-
wave to eliminate some of the harsher sounding har-
tional because they do not affect the working of the
monics. A very simple resistor -capacitor network is all
circuit and you can choose to include/omit them. The
that is needed to accomplish the conversion.
schematics show them but they have not been in-
cluded in the photographs.

Construction Details
Stage 1

The circuit will be constructed in two stages. We will

first build the basic 555 timer circuit to produce a
square wave. Once that has been checked to be work-
ing, the rest of the circuit will be built. In that way if an
error does occur with construction, we have fewer com-
ponents to deal with. In the course of building numer-
ous projects, have found that the most common
I

construction errors are always due to:

Connections going to the wrong point
Missed connections
Photo 4. As you can see the IC socket (on the left) and the Solder splashes between adjacent pins (because
integrated circuit occupy a very small amount of space and of using too much solder)
the clear board markings make component positioning easy.
Once you start using the SINGMIN PCB, perfboard will seem
like going back to the dark ages!

Circuit Description
The circuit schematic for the audio signal generator
is shown in Figure 4. IC1 is the 555 timer integrated
circuit. Pins #4, #8 go to the supply line (9 volts) and
pin #1 is the ground connection. The output is taken
from pin #3. Capacitor Cl a, b and resistor R1 (100K
potentiometer) are the frequency controlling compo-
nents. Capacitor Cl a or Cl b is selected with a two way
switch (S1) and allows either a `high' or 'low' frequency
band to be available. If either of these components are
reduced, the frequency increases and vice versa. Re-
sistor R2 is added to prevent the resistance from pin Photo 5. Yes, that's true! Most of what you need to get the
#6 to pin #7 going to zero. The duty cycle, which is the first part of the circuit working is seen here. Going from left
ratio of 'on' to 'on +off' period, is set to approximately to right, there's the 8 pin integrated circuit, capacitors, resis-
tor, capacitor, resistor, capacitor and IC socket.
50% by the value for resistor R3. With these compo-
nent values, the output from pin #3, is a square wave Circuit malfunctions because of defective compo-
with voltage amplitude that is close to the supply volt- nents has never occurred!
age value. Begin by preparing one of the mini circuit boards
The next two components, resistor R4 and capacitor (Singmin PCB). Firmly grasp the large 4 -section Sing -
C3, act together as an integrator and convert the min PCB and break it into two and then once more into
square wave into a triangular wave. The triangular a single piece. The printed circuit board is very robust
wave is reasonably close to a sine wave in shape, thus and can be easily broken by hand.
sounds smoother than the harsher square wave. A po- Smooth over the sharp edges with emery paper or a
tentiometer, R6, is used to vary the output voltage. Fur- smooth file. The edges will smooth over very easily. Po-
ther components, resistor R5 and capacitor C4, are sition the board as shown in Figure 5 with the
needed to buffer the triangular output from the potenti- A.Singmin PCB -1' legend at the top and place the 8 pin
ometer R6. A final capacitor, C6, takes the feed signal IC socket as shown, approximately in the center. Note:
from the center tap of the potentiometer.
Capacitor C2 is needed for decoupling the 555. The
If you do make an error and it is not exactly as shown
don't worry. There is a lot of space on the board and
-
supply voltage is obtained from a regular 9 volt battery components can be placed anywhere around the po-
and since the 555 device is spec'd to work down to 5 sitions shown. Do make sure, however, that the `notch'

64 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 siderable chore to remove the solder and start again!
Pin #5 is chosen so that the four corners of the socket

o --_
A.

MI 1.1
S I N QM I N
MI
PCB -1
1111/4
-
- -
+ o
GND
are done in sequence. Repeat as before with Pins #8
and #4. After that, the rest of the pins can be done in
any order. When you have finished, remove the mask-
ing tape and examine all the solder joints very carefully
with a magnifier. Check that each hole in the board has
SHORTING ROW
been covered in solder and there are no solder
L,8 7 6 5
OMITTED 4.- IC1
ri 2 3 4
splashes or bridges between pins. It is infinitely more
FOR CLARITY
advisable to examine solder joints as you go along,
r rather than wait till the very end. The chances of miss-
ing a joint are very high (I speak from experience!)
It is a good idea also to mark the board (use a pencil)
- GND as shown in Figure 5 with the +' and `ground' rails at
o o the top and bottom of the board. It is again very easy to.
MPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA make a solder connection to the wrong rail if there are
no polarity marks made.

Figure 5. Start with the IC socket and shorting wire links.

A. S I N ß M I N P C B- I

0_:::'P::::= O C2
on the IC socket faces to the left as shown. This is im-
portant, as by convention, pin 1 of the IC is always the
pin closest to the notch, on the `bottom' of the socket-
J;)v _______
______
- GND

when the `notch' faces left. find that a small piece of

I

i
masking tape placed over the top of the IC socket will
firmly hold it in place. Have your soldering iron warmed
up before hand and with a clean tip, apply the iron to
OMMITTED -
SHORTING ROW

FOR CLARITY
IC1
6 7
1
6 5
2 3 4

pin #1, heat, add solder, remove the iron and allow to TO 51
cool without moving the socket. Turn the board over
and look at the socket. It should be straight (preferably) 4
and flush with the board. If it appears to be sitting up in
the air, re -heat the joint while pressing firmly on the
top of the socket. You should feel the socket move to- MPC CIRCUITS INC. CANADA
wards the board. Hold firmly in place while the solder
cools. The socket should now be flush.
Figure 6. First set of capacitors Installed.

For the next stage, add the solid wire links running
from pins #8, #4 to the + line and pin #1 to the ground
line. For this part of the work, use solid hook up wire
with the insulation removed. Any gauge will do, prefer-
ably lightweight, so long as it goes through the holes in
the board. If it resembles, the lead from a 1 /2W or
1 /4/W resistor in thickness, that's
fine. You can add the
wires in one of two ways. Either solder one end first,
allow to cool and then bend the length to fit the second
hole of solder, and bend to length first, insert both ends
and solder in turn. Use whichever is easier for you. Add
the linking wire next, joining pin #2 to pin #6. Finally,
add the ground linking wire running from top to bottom
as shown in Figure 5. We will need this connection
since it is easier to have a ground rail at both ends of
the board, for soldering purposes. Excess wire from the
underside can be cut off. Allow just a tiny length (about
1 /10th inch) of wire to protrude rather
than cutting flush
with the board, so as not to damage the solder joint.
Photo 6. The fully populated SINGMIN PCB test signal gen- Capacitors
erator. Notice how there is plenty of space between compo-
nents, so that you can really make sure everything's going to Locate capacitor C2 (0.01 uF), a disc ceramic type,
the correct location. What could be simpler to use? and place it from pin #5 to ground as shown in Figure
Go across to pin #5 and solder as before. The time 6. Solder in place, allow to cool and cut off the excess
to correct any errors is before this pin is soldered. If leads. Verify that components are in the right place (be-
more than one pin has been soldered, it can be a con- fore cutting) in case you need to remove it to the correct

VOLUME XVIII 65
 spot. Incidentally, components can be removed with ei-
ther a solder sucker or solder braid. The solder sucker
works by sucking up the molten solder through a spring SINOMIN PCB4 t
loaded piston arrangement, whereas the solder braid oQ_ß_ R3 C2

works by soaking up the excess molten solder. usually 3

use a combination of the two depending on how much

I
OR1 .R2 nk
space is available. SE TERMINALS
1&2
The next capacitors to be inserted are C1 a (0:01 uF)
SHORTING ROW 7 6 5
and C1 b (0.1 uF), both disc ceramics. They both go to OMMITTE IC1
2 3 4
ground and 'free' node points. The selector switch (S1) FOR CLA

will later couple either of these capacitors to pin #2. TO SI

a C1b`
There are three connections needed for the selector
switch and hence three flying leads come off the board
GND
as shown. For these three leads use any form of flexi-
ble stranded wire (smallest gauge possible). With care
O O
MPC CIRCUITS INC, CA ADA \ ¡;ND
the stripped, flexible wire ends can be twisted together
and threaded through the board holes. Wire lengths of
around 6" to 12" can be used for initial testing and later UTPUT

trimmed to size for the final layout.

Figure 7. Install resistors, battery clip and switch.

the IC fits more easily into the socket. Check that all the
IC pins have entered the socket correctly. Do a final test
for correct connections on the top side and error free
solder joints on the underside. For testing purposes
you only need a small speaker. Couple the output from
pin #3 to the speaker input using a length of wire
through a 1K. The 1K resistor is used to increase the
usual 8 ohm speaker load value presented to the 555
IC output. The exact value is not critical and can be an-
ywhere from a 100R to 1 K. The ground return wire goes
to the ground rail on the board. Figure 9 shows you ex-
actly how this is done.
Set the potentiometer R1 midway. Connect a fresh 9
volt battery (alkaline preferably) and switch on. All be-
ing well you should hear an audio tone (very low vol-
Photo 7. The rest of the mechanical
components
ume because of the 1K resistor) from the speaker.
battery clip and 2 potentiometers) complete (2 switches, Rotate the potentiometer and the frequency will in-
Note the capacitor coming from the wiper
your project.
terminal of the am- crease or decrease. The frequency should increase as
plitude control potentiometer. That's a
bona fide signal gen-
erator you see in front of you-pop in a
9v battery and it's
ready to roll!

Resistors
Resistor R3 (1K) can easily be inserted between pin
#7 and +9V and soldered. Next, resistor R2 (10K)
goes from pin #7 to an isolated node point to which a
flying flexible lead is connected. This will be one of the END
connections to potentiometer R1 (100K). The other
connection to R1 comes from pin #6. Potentiometer R1
has the center terminal soldered to one of the end ter-
minals (see Figure 7). The resistance decreases be-
tween pins #1 & #2 as the control is rotated clockwise. PIN #8 PIN #1 START
Finally bring out a wire from pin #3 for the output sig- PIN NUMBERING
nal. Solder a 9 volt battery terminal clip in place-the SCHEME
black/negative end goes to the ground rail and the red/ ID CIRCLE
positive end goes to switch S2. The other end of S2
#1: GROUND
CLOSEST #2: TRIGGER
goes to the ' +' rail on the board. TO PIN #1 #3: OUTPUT
Gently insert the 555 IC into the socket making sure #4: RESET
that it goes in as shown in Figure 8. There is a dot on #5: CONTROL
the IC itself positioned closest to pin #1. When looking #6: THRESHOLD
at the IC socket with the notch facing the left, the 555 #7: DISCHARGE
IC should have the dot positioned to the lower left hand #8: Vcc
side. Often the leads to the IC will appear wider than
the IC socket. Gently bend the rows of leads inwards so Figure 8. Connections for the 555 IC.

66 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
the potentiometer is rotated clockwise. If this is not the will be to convert the square wave to a triangular wave
case, switch off the power and solder the wire from re- (for a cleaner sounding signal) and add a means of
sistor R2 to the other outer terminal of the controlling the signal amplitude (or volume). Add the
potentiometer. two components, R4 and C3 as shown in Figure 10.
If there is no sound, then switch off and check thor- These go to pin #3 of the 555 IC. Next add the resistor
oughly for errors. The most common cause for the cir- R5 and capacitor C4 as shown. Resistor R4's 'odd'
cuit not working could be: value of 15K is needed to get the cleanest looking tri-
angular wave. Resistor R5 is used as a buffer to isolate
Is the 555 IC in the correct way? the signal from the load of the following components.
Are all the components going to the correct C4 blocks any DC signal. The final component is po-
locations? tentiometer R6 which is our volume control. The termi-
Is the solder side free from shorts? nal connections are also shown in the same figure. The
Is the battery clip connected properly? output signal comes from the center tap or wiper ter-
Are all the leads intact? minal through another DC blocking capacitor, C6 that is
If all is well, switch off and let's move on to stage 2 of soldered directly onto the center terminal. Since the po-
the construction. tentiometer will be mounted in a project case, connec-
tion to the Singmin PCB is made with three flexible
lengths of connecting wire.
BATTERY CLIP

INPUT TO POWER AMP

COMPLETED SIGNAL
GENERATOR PER FIG. 10
r
BOARD LAYOUT
PER FIG. 7
J
9V BATTERY

GROUND
R6I
-2
NS
C6

SMALL TEST
SPEAKER
/)/ POWER AMP
AND SPEAKER
1K RESISTOR
Figure 11. Connections for testing the signal generator with
the audio power amplifier.
FROM PIN #3
If you have already built the `power amplifier' from
Vol. #17 of the Electronics Handbook, then this will
be an ideal time to use it. Alternatively, any suitable
power amplifier will do. The hook up connection is
Figure 9. First test set-up. Check that the sound output shown in Figure 11. You will need a small speaker to
changes in frequency as R1 and S1 are checked. couple to the output of the power amplifier. Connect a
suitable lead to the input of the amplifier and couple the
Stage 2 other end to C6. Make sure that the ground lead is also
What we have done so far is to construct a variable
connected between the two units. Turn R6 fully anti-
audio frequency square wave source. The next stage
clockwise i.e. to the minimum setting. R1 is set to about
halfway and switch S1 can be in either position. Switch
A SINGMIN PCB -1 on the power amplifier first, with its volume control

-
- - - -O
--- -- -----
- GNn
turned about a quarter way up, then switch on the sig-
nal generator. Turn the volume (R6) up slowly. You
should hear a tone coming from the speaker. Adjust the

--- - -
6
-
5
....... R5
volume controls of both units to suit and vary the fre-
quency control (R1). The tone will change up or down
in frequency. Switch S1 to the other position. Again you
should get a different frequency range as R1 is rotated.

...
IC1
. --- -
-
-
-
-- -
... - - - ...
--
---.R4.n-Ç3-
- - -- --
- -
Troubleshooting guide
If you're not getting the right signal, go back carefully
and check that the components are going to the correct
- - MM - - - points. If your amplifier input cable is terminated with a
- - - - pair of crocodile clips you can check the following test
- - - - - - GND
points. Keep the ground end connected to the ground
o - M. - - - --- - o line of the signal generator. Keep the amplifier volume
MPC CI NADA GND control about a quarter way up. Switch on the amplifier
2- and switch on the signal generator. Momentarily touch
the flying end of the crocodile clip to pin #3 of IC1. The
t& 3
Có output amplitude is very high so be ready to turn the
OUTPUT
volume control down quickly! If there is too little space,
Figure 10. Only new components are shown for clarity. use a small length of solid hook up wire as a wire probe

VOLUME XVIII 67
 (coupled to the crocodile clip). There should be a loud moved for changing the battery. like to mount input
I

signal (though probably discordant, as it is a high level sockets to the left and output sockets to the right. The
square wave) as we have already verified in stage 1, Singmin PCB can be mounted with nuts, screws and
that everything works up to this point. Move the probe spacers so it looks nice and neat. The lid can of course
now to the junction of R4 and C3. The sound should be have the two potentiometers, the two switches and the
much clearer and softer. Adjust the power amplifier vol- LED mounted on it as another alternative. The options
ume to suit. If there is no sound then the problem lies are endless. Check as you go along to make sure that
around R4 and C3. If all is OK, move to the junction of wires or components have not been mechanically
R5 and C4. Again there should be an audible signal damaged. Allow generous wire lengths initially, to
here. Continue doing so to the next junction of C4 and check out the signal generator during final testing.
R6. What you have been doing here is called signal Eventually, you can trim the wires down to size for a
tracing, i.e. tracing back along the circuit to see where neater look
the faulty area lies.

R71

LED (D1) HAS A

'FLAT ON THE
SIDE GOING TO
POS. VOLTS

Figure 12. Overall layout of major components.

will assume that at some stage all is well and every-
I

thing works. Your Singmin PCB should look something

like that shown in Figure 12. There are three flexible Photo 8. The final shot, with real life messy wires coming off
wires coming off and leading to R1, three more flexible the board. Use flexible wires (thin gauge) for the interconnec-
wires leading to R6, two flexible wires going to S1 and tions to the board. Finally trim to length when you've chosen
one to S2 (the other end of S2 goes to the positive end a project case to your liking.

of the battery terminal). Two wires also go off to the in-

dicator LED, Dl. Be aware that current will be drawn by PARTS LIST FOR THE VARIABLE FREQUENCY
the LED. IF you are going to use it, then connect the AUDIO TEST SIGNAL GENERATOR
resistor R7 to the end of the LED that has not got a flat All resistors are 5%, 1/4W, electrolytic capacitors,
edge closest to it. The flat edge is used by the manu- 25V rating.
facturer to identify the end of the LED that goes to the IC1- LM 555 timer IC
negative supply. If you're not sure, then use this simple R1 -100K potentiometer
trick. Solder R7 to either of the leads. Place the flying R2 - 10K resistor
end of the resistor and the unsoldered end of D1 onto R3 -1K resistor
a 9 volt battery. Then reverse the connections. With R4 -15K resistor
one way, the LED will light up. Make a note of which R5 -47K resistor
end goes to the positive and negative terminals re- R6 -100K potentiometer
R7 -4.7K resistor (optional)
spectively. When you solder the LED later to the board,
C1a-0.1 uF disc ceramic capacitor
the identified positive end can go to any spare solder
C1b-0.01uF disc ceramic capacitor
hole in the positive rail and the identified negative end C2 -0.01 u F disc ceramic capacitor
can go to any spare solder hole in the ground rail. For C3-0.1uF disc ceramic capacitor
a brighter light, reduce the resistor to 1K but remember C4-0.1uF disc ceramic capacitor
that more current is drawn and the battery will run down C5-100uF electrolytic capacitor (optional)
quicker. Go to a higher value resistor to conserve bat- C6-0.1uF disc ceramic capacitor
tery life further e.g. towards 10K. D1-Light emitting diode (optional)
S1 -single pole double throw miniature switch
Choosing a project case S2-single pole double throw miniature switch
Here are some tips for mounting your signal genera-
Miscellaneous:
tor in a case. Plastic is a good choice as it is much eas-
ier to work with than metal. Choose a size that gives Singmin PCB (1/4 mini section)
9 volt battery clip
you plenty of space to work with (larger is always better 8 pin IC dual in line IC socket
I find, than trying to cram everything in a tiny case). mounting hardware (nuts, screws, spacers)
Don't forget that the 9 -volt battery takes up a fair 1/6" miniature jack socket
amount of space. Most probably, your case will not control knobs
have a special 9 -volt battery compartment (as these 9 volt alkaline battery
are difficult to find) so four case screws have to be re- project case

68 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 VARIABLE FREQUENCY AUDIO TEST SIGNAL
PCB
GENERATOR USING THE SINGMIN with the figures to help
The potentiometers will need their shafts cut down to can use these in conjunction
size and knobs attached. Measure, before hand, the with identifying the solder points. Hobby projects are
length of shaft needed for the knobs chosen before cut- meant to be enjoyable and constructive, so take your
ting the excess length off. The battery can be mounted time with each stage, checking as you go along and in
with double sided tape to keep it from rattling around. that way you'll improve your chances of having an error
A series of photographs show the construction of the free board. The Singmin PCB is available through
Singmin PCB at various stages of progression. You C&E Hobby Handbooks. Look for the advertise-
ment in this issue.

THE SINGMIN PCB

A NEAT, FLEXIBLE, PURPOSE -DESIGNED SOLDER
ASSEMBLY BOARD FOR THE ELECTRONIC HOBBYIST
THE SINGMIN PCB IS AN IDEAL SOLUTION FOR THE
HOBBYIST WANTING A NEAT ASSEMBLY PLATFORM FOR
THEIR FIRST-TIME PROJECT. CLEAR MARKINGS ON THE
FRONT OF THE BOARD ENABLES THE HOBBYIST TO BE
SURE THAT ALL COMPONENTS ARE PLACED
CORRECTLY.

SPECIAL FEATURES
1. PURPOSE -DESIGNED SOLDER ASSEMBLY BOARD FOR ELECTRONIC HOBBYISTS
2. DEDICATED AREA FOR LOCATION OF Vcc/2 BIAS COMPONENTS
3. GENEROUS SOLDER CONTACT POINTS FOR IC PINS
4. PRE -DRILLED SCRIBE LINES FOR EASY SUBDIVISION OF BOARD
5. FOUR MINI -BOARDS PER MAIN UNIT
6. SIZE, APPROXIMATELY 4" X 4'/2" FOR FULL BOARD
7. SIZE, APPROXIMATELY 2" X 2h/4" FOR EACH MINI -BOARD
8. FOUR MOUNTING HOLES ON EACH MINI -BOARD
9. 4 X 8 PIN IC's CAN BE LOCATED ON EACH MINI -BOARD
10. CAN BE CUT INTO DIFFERENT SHAPES TO FIT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
11. VERY FLEXIBLE LAYOUT CAN ACCOMMODATE ALMOST ANY PROJECT
12. CAN BE USED AS A SOLDER PRACTICE BOARD FOR BEGINNERS
13. CLEAR IDENTIFICATION MARKINGS ON TOP OF BOARD
14. DESIGNED BY AN ELECTRONICS HOBBYIST FOR ELECTRONIC HOBBYISTS
.
11131 . . IIIMI 113
1111131 1MI ffll MZ
31111 MI IIIII fflI MM1 . 111111 13111

UNIT PRICE (4 MINI -BOARDS): $25.00 (U.S. FUNDS)

-------------
(Includes Shipping & Handling U.S.A.

Yes! I would like to purchase

& Canada) Foreign orders add $5.00 per unit for Postage & Handling.

Singmin PCB's. My check or money -order is enclosed.

Payable to C&E Hobby Handbooks, P.O. Box #5148, North Branch, N.J. 08876 (U.S. FUNDS
ONLY).
Please ship my PCB boards to the address below: (Please print) My check or money -order
for S (U.S. Funds) is enclosed.

NAME:

STREET ADDRESS:

CITY & STATE: ZIP

(Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery) V18 .11

IV

VOLUME XVIII 69
 THE
UBI6WITOUS
DIODE By Darren Yates
PART

Ounce for ounce and for the relative low cost, diodes are
probably the most useful component ever produced and they
can certainly do more than just make your power supply
function.
If you visit your local electronics supply store and invest the
pocket change necessary to purchase a 1N4004 or whatever
diode, you're buying a lot more than just a rectifier diode.
Diodes have been used for years as power rectifiers for power
supply but they can also be made to do other jobs including
voltage multiplying, digital logic functions, amplitude
modulation and detection, audio signal expansion and
compression and a few other things we'll observe along the
way.
Ok. so where do we start? Perhaps it would be a near one end of the diode there is a single colored bar
good idea to take a close look at this tiny two - that runs around it. The end furthest from this is called
lead device and see what makes it tick. the ANODE and the end closest is called the
A diode has two leads, just like a resistor and often CATHODE.
looks like that shown in figure 1. The biggest difference Current always flows only from the anode to the cath-
between the diode and the resistor, however, is that a ode. An easy way to remember this is that "A" (for an-
diode will only allow current to flow in one direction. ode) comes before "C" (for cathode) in the alphabet
and current always hits the anode before the cathode
as it flows through the diode.
Above the physical diagram in figure is the graphi-
1

cal symbol for a diode, which is a triangle pointing in

one direction, with a bar at the end of it. This symbol-
ises that the current flow is in the direction of the arrow
but that it doesn't flow back the other way.

ANODE CATHODE
p -type n -type

Q SILICON SILICON o
+ + + +
+ + + +

FIGURE 1: PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF A DIODE

FIGURE 2: PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF A SILICON
Unlike a resistor, there has to be some way to identify DIODE
which end of a diode is which, otherwise we'll end up A diode, however, is more than just a one-way piece
with all sorts of problems. As you can see in figure 1, of wire. It is the simplest semiconductor junction that

70 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 voltage begins to drop that is most important.
The reason for this is that the diode must have a volt-
age across it before it will conduct a current, but as it
approaches about 0.6V, the current flowing through it
will increase enormously for very little change in the
voltage across it. This is because the voltage acts like
a "step" to lift up the energy level of the p -type region
so that current flows.
OK. So we've established that a diode only conducts
in one direction, namely, from the anode to the cathode
FIGURE 3: BASIC CIRCUIT TO TEST HOW A DIODE and that there is a "voltage drop" of about 600mV (or
WORKS 0.6V) across the diode when it is conducting.
can be produced, and is called a "pn junction". If you
take a look at figure 2, you'll see the reason why.
Back in the early days of semiconductors, diodes
and transistors used to be made from a poisonous sub-
stance called Germanium, but now they are all made
out of the much safer, silicon.
Without going into unnecessary detail, the n -type sil-
icon is a thin wafer of silicon material which has an ex-
cess of electrons and the p -type silicon has an excess
of what we can call "holes". These are really gaps in D1-04: 1N4004 OR EQUIV.
microscopic atoms where electrons would normally be. C: 470 uF, 16VW
These holes are produced by a method called "dop-
ing" (seriously!), which is the controlled addition of im- FIGURE 5: FULL WAVE RECTIFIER
purities into the silicon. The most important thing here, CIRCUITS
practically -speaking is that the amount of current flow That's enough of the boring stuff! Let's see how we
between the two silicon regions, from the positive re- can make the diode do different things!
gion to the negative region, is determined by the volt-
age across the two regions. HALF -WAVE RECTIFIER
Figure 4 shows the most common and basic circuit
for a diode. This is a simple half -wave rectifier, a "bread
and butter" circuit for the diode.
The idea of the circuit is to turn the AC power coming
J
--L---- from your wall outlet into DC that your Walkman, video
g 6V recorder, CD and thousands of other items can use.
SECONDARY p D1 -D4: 1N4004 OR EQUIV.
AC power is a sinewave with a frequency of 60Hz
J C: 470 uF, 16Vw
and has a voltage of 115V (in Australia, the frequency
N --f l is 50Hz and the voltage is 240V). Your Walkman only
requires about 3VDC so we must change the type of
FIGURE 4: HALF WAVE RECTIFIER voltage as well as drop it down a long way.
To drop the voltage down, we use a device called a
This may sound a bit confusing but we'll explain it by transformer, which as its name suggests, transforms
giving an example. If you look at the circuit in figure 3, the voltage to another value. Transformers can be
we've made a little test jug so you can have a go your- made to make the voltage higher (called a "step-up
self and see what happens. transformer") or lower (called a "step-down trans-
If you can get hold of two multimeters (they don't former"). What we need for our job is a step-down
need to be digital ones and it would probably be better transformer. You won't be able to see the difference be-
if they weren't), select one of them on the 0-2mA range tween the two from the outside.
(or similar) and the other on the 0-1V range. Underneath the layers of tape you can see, are two
Connect the mA multimeter in the circuit as shown fairly large coils, which are just windings of wire. The
and connect the volt multimeter across the diode. Now amount of voltage you get at the output depends on the
if you connect up the 1.5V battery, we're ready to go. ratio of turns between the two coils.
Start with the variable resistor so that there is maxi- For example, for our simple circuit, we'll have
mum current flowing through the diode. You should find 115Vrms (we'll explain the "rms" a little later) on the in-
that there is about 0.8mA of current flowing through the put and we'll need 3VDC at the output. Jumping ahead
multimeter and that there is about 0.6 or 0.7V or so a little, using our single diode power supply circuit, the
across the diode. Now if you rotate the variable resistor, output in DC voltage is about half the RMS voltage.
the current should start to drop but when the voltage Since we need 3VDC, that means we need about
across the diode drops below 0.5V or so, you should 6Vrms at the output end of the transformer. Remember
see the current start to drop off dramatically. that a transformer just changes the voltage level: it
The current will drop anyway when you start to turn doesn't turn AC power into DC! So, for our transformer,
the variable resistor around, but it's when the diode we need 115V going in and 6V going out. Now remem-

VOLUME XVIII 71
 ber how we said that the voltage depended upon the The filter capacitor also boosts the voltage up to
number of turns in each winding, well, the ratio of the about 6VDC. This is because the capacitor acts like a
number of turns of the "primary winding" (that's where storage cell, provided the load current is not too large,
the 115V goes) and the "secondary winding" (that's to provide a more constant level of voltage. As the load
where the 6V comes out of) needs to be 115/6 whch is current increases, the voltage will drop down. This is
nearly 20:1. because the load current is being taken from the ca-
A "turn" is simply a complete circle of wire, usually pacitor continuously, but the capacitor itself, is only be-
enamelled, around the transformer. ing topped up for half the time i.e. when there is a pos-
That means any transformer with either 40 turns on itive current flow.
the primary winding and 2 turns on the secondary or
FULL -WAVE RECTIFIER
any multiple (up to a point) of these will be suitable.
OK, we've got off the track a little but it is important Although the half -wave rectifier is simple, it wastes
to know how everything works otherwise you'll miss out half the power we could use if we had the right circuit,
on the important bits. and as we've just shown it cannot consistently supply a
Now that we have our 6V coming out of the trans- constant voltage under heavy load currents.
former, we still have the problem of turning it into DC. Figure 5 shows a full -wave rectifier. It's so named be-
Since it is still AC at the moment, the voltage keeps cause it turns both halves of the wave so that the cur-
changing polarity. If we look back to figure 4, let's con- rent continually flows in the one direction.
sider what's happening at both sides of the diode. Half The four diodes are connected so that they form a
the time, the anode voltage will be positive and the diamond shape with each diode pointing from left to
cathode end will be negative, but the other half of the right. This configuration is called a "diode bridge".
time, it swaps around! Every point on the bridge has two diodes connected to
If you connected this changing voltage to your Walk- it. Notice that there are two points on the bridge where
man, it would give up and die in a second! Now you can a diode is pointing to it and another diode pointing
probably see the reason for the diode. Remember we away from it. The secondary winding of the transformer
said that a diode will only conduct current one-way? is connected to the points. The other two points have
We also said that this only happens when the anode both diodes pointing away from it or pointing to it.
end is positive with respect to the cathode end. Our DC voltage is taken from these points: the point
What simply happens in our circuit is that for half the where both diodes are pointing away from it is zero
time the anode is positive, the diode allows a current to volts or ground and the other end is the positive end.
pass through, and when it is negative, it stops the flow. The operation of this type of rectifier is not obvious so
If you were to look at the waveform of the power coming we'll explain it in detail.
out of the diode, it would look that drawn in figure 4. Remember how we said before that the voltage
Even though it does look a little sick, the current flow is across the secondary winding changes polarity, one
only in one direction, i.e. we have DC. If you measure it minute one is positive and then next, the other end is?
with a voltmeter, it would be around 3VDC even though This voltage is applied to the bridge, which works like
we have 6Vrms coming out of the transformer. this:
"RMS" stands for Root -Mean -Squared which is a Looking at figure 6, if we assume to start with, that
way of describing the absolute voltage level of an AC the end of the transformer connected to diodes D1 and
power line. Since our diode chops off the negative half D2 is positive and the other side of the transformer is
of the sinewave, we only end up with half the voltage, negative, then current flows through D2, out through
hence the 3V. the load you have connected to the circuit, then back
The DC we end up with coming out of the diode is through the ground line, through diode D3 and to the
still pretty awful, so we add a filter capacitor which transformer.
smoothes the waveform a bit more. Now we have a At this stage, no current flows through diodes D1 and
quite acceptable power supply! D4 because they are reversed biased i.e. the cathode

FIGURE 6: CURRENT FLOW DURING BOTH HALVES OF THE SINEWAVE

72 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
ends are at a higher voltage than the anode ends of T = 1.1 x R x C, where R is in ohms and C in farads.
both diodes.
Now, when the voltage across the transformer If we wanted to generate a 20 second delay, we
changes polarity, the point connected to diodes D3 and would need a 1M resistor and 22uF electrolytic capac-
D4 is now more positive than the point connected to di- itor (or thereabouts). That's OK in theory, but in prac-
odes D1 and D2. tice, electrolytic capacitors are renown for their high
This time, current flows through D4 to the load, then leakage current. This results in the time delay being in-
back through the ground line and then to the trans- accurate, depending on how much leakage current
former via diode Dl. Also, diodes D2 and D3 are now there is.
reversed biased so no current flows through them. The circuit in figure 7 fixes this problem and also en-
The filter capacitor at the output shown in figure 5 ables the generation of time delays up to about 40 min-
does the same job as that shown in the half-wave rec- utes with a high degree of accuracy.
tifier circuit, but in this case the capacitor is being Furthermore, it uses diodes to do two totally different
topped up by every half cycle instead of every second things, both of which are vital for the circuit's operation.
one. This means that it can supply a much larger cur- The operation of the 555 is as usual except that when
rent to the load while still maintaining its output voltage. the trigger is applied to IC1, the capacitor is no longer
charged up from the power supply as in the usual way,
+5V but instead, from a pulsed output coming from IC2c.
Before we go any further, we should explain how this
is possible.
TRIGGER
Capacitor C3, diode D3 and resistor R3 form what is
OUTPUT
o 2
ICI
7
1
IC3 known as a "charge pump". Figure 8 shows how this
o works.
NORMALLY In figure 8a, the capacitor is charged up through the
LOW
#R3 resistor and the diode by a DC voltage. In this circuit the
1
diode doesn't do anything.
IC2A If we say this circuit has a time constant of R x C, we
mean that it takes R x C seconds to reach a certain
1D3 point. It isn't important for the moment what that certain
voltage is, since the capacitor charges up at a logarith-
5 mic rate. What is important is this rate or speed at
IC2B which the capacitor charges.
6 If we now take a look at figure 8b, instead of feeding
the charge pump with straight DC, we use a square
wave. This is where the diode comes into action. A
R2
DiT
R1
ÄD2 squarewave as its name suggests-is high for half the
time and low for the other half.
If we place a diode in series with the RC circuit, we
stop the capacitor from discharging through the resistor
FIGURE 7: LONG DELAY TIMER CIRCUIT when the input goes low again. Therefore, we get a se-
LONG DELAY TIMER ries of positive pulses which charge up the capacitor,
but because the pulses only occur for half the time, we
Let's depart from power supply circuits for a while get a DC voltage for only half the time.
and look at a different use for the diode. This means that it takes twice as long for this circuit
Most of you would probably know how a 555 timer IC to charge the capacitor up to the same level it would if
works, in fact, you probably have one or two lying charged up with the circuit in figure 8a.
around on your bench or in your "junkbox;'.
They are a vey useful IC, particularly as a "one shot" If we look at figure 8c, the input signal is a 10% duty
or monostable. This is where the IC is triggered by a cycle pulse. To explain this, "10% duty cycle" means
negative -going pulse, which produces a high output for that the positive pulse occurs for 10% of the time. No-
a particular length of time, determined by an external tice this is regardless of the frequency. If we consider
resistor and capacitor. DC as a 100% duty cycle then it should be clear that if
The problem occurs, however when trying to create we feed the charge pump in figure 8c with a 10% duty
delays of 10 seconds or more. The equation for the cycle that it must take 10 times longer to charge up the
time delay is as follows: capacitor to the same level as that in figure 8a.

FIGURE 8: THE CONSTANT OF A CHARGE.PUMP CAN BE VARIED BY USING A PULSE TO CHARGE

THE CAPACITOR
VOLUME XVIII 73
 The threshold input of the 555 is when the capacitor The diodes make sure that the curret flow is split into
voltage is 2/3rds of the supply voltage. Thus by using two paths depending on which way it's flowing. If the
pulses to charge up the capacitor rather than DC, we current is flowing from the output of IC2c, it passes
can vary the time it takes to reach this point. through diode D2 and resistor R2, and if it's flowing
OK. Now we have to find some way of producing the back to the output, it passes through resistor R1 and
pulses when we want them. diode Dl.
When a negative trigger is applied to pin 2 of the 555 If both resistors are made the same value, then the
timer, the output at pin 3 goes high. We can use this to output of IC2c will be a square wave, but if we make
turn on an oscillator which can then be used to fill up one resistor bigger or smaller than the other, then the
our charge pump. pulse width will depend on the ratio of the two resistors.
If we make R1 ten times as big as R2 then we'll get
If you look back to the circuit in figure 7, IC2 is a
a 10% duty cycle (very narrow) pulse. If we make R2
CMOS 4001 quad 2 -input NOR gate IC package. The
ten times as big as R1 then we'll get a 90% duty cycle
first gate, IC2a, is connected as an inverter to the out-
(very wide) pulse.
put of the 555 timer. The output of IC2a is then used to
As an example, if we make R1 equal to 1 Mohm and
turn off and on, the pulse generator made up of IC2b
R2 equal to 1 Kohm, then the circuit will give us an "on
and IC2c.
time" of approximately 37 minutes. You could use this
Before we go any further, we should explain a couple
circuit to turn your Walkman on, and then it will auto-
of things. The reason we used a 4001 is because when
matically turn itself off after that time has expired.
the pulse generator is turned off, we want the output to
Or, if you're very careful, you could use this as a
be held low. If it is held high, which is what would hap-
power appliance time, say for an iron, so that it turns
pen if we used a 4011 NAND pulse generator, the
itself off after the desired time interval. Anyway, the
charge pump would fill up too fast as normal and defeat
choices are only left up to your imagination!
the purpose of the circuit.
Next time, we'll have a look at audio applications of
To make a NOR pulse generator work, we must
diodes including signal compression and amplitude
make the control input low and then make it high to stop
modulation. See you then!
it at the appropriate time.
Resistor R1 and R2, and diodes D1 and D2 deter-
mine the pulse width and hence the time delay.
The diagram in figure 9 will help explain how this PARTS LIST
works. Looking at the first half of the diagram, let's as-
sume that the output of IC2c is high, and it's filling up
the charge pump (D3, R3 and C3). This means that the Cl -0.01 uF Mylar Capacitor
output of IC2b is low, because it, too acts as an inverter, C2-0.1 uF Mylar Capacitor
so capacitor Cl is charged up from the high output of C3-2.2 uF, 25 VW Tantalum Capacitor
IC2c, through diode D2 and resistor R2. D1 -D3 -1N4001 Diodes or similar
Looking now at the second half of the diagram, once
the voltage across this capacitor reaches the threshold
IC1 -LMC555 CMOS Timer
IC2-4001 CMOS Quad 2 -input NOR Gate
level of the input to IC2c, the output will drop low. Ca-
pacitor Cl will now discharge through resistor R1 and R1, R2 -See text
diode D1 to the low output. R3-1 M ohm, 0.25W Resistor

FIGURE 9: OPERATION OF A PULSE GENERATOR

74 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 IC TESTBENCH

HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSISTOR CHECKER

For experimenters into building single transistor VHF used to allow transistors to be quickly and easily
FM transmitter circuits, this circuit idea could save you checked. Resistor (R1) biases the transistor under test
wasting hours of time trying to debug an apparently (reverse) with capacitor (C1) coupling the noise signal
dead circuit. Common general purpose NPN transis- out to the input pin #2 of the LM386. R2 is the signal
tors are often specified as being suitable for FM trans- load. Capacitor (C2) AC couples the output to the
mitters in the 88 to 108 MHz region. Sometimes these speaker. C3 is required for the LM386 to operate cor-
transistors can be purchased in bulk with perhaps no rectly. C4 boosts the IC's gain.
identifying part number. Through trial and error it has To use, plug a transistor into the test socket, taking
been found that not alliof these `unmarked' devices will care that the emitter and base are connected as
oscillate at around 100 MHZ. shown. Use only NPN devices. Good transistors will
The circuit shown below checks transistors for noise generate a noise output, rejects are silent!
emission, since it has been empirically found that de- PARTS LIST FOR THE
vices which are good noise emitters also make good HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSISTOR CHECKER
VHF oscillators. Devices which emit no noise at all,
have been found not to oscillate at all. Although transis- IC1 - LM386 audio power amp
tors can be DC checked, this might not be good R1 -1M resistor
Cl -0.01 uF capacitor
enough to verify their `oscillatory' capability. R2 -100K resistor
IC1 is an LM386 audio power amp, configured in a
C2 -10uF capacitor
very basic mode, since it is only intended to amplify C3 -100uF capacitor
short term duration noise. There is no need, therefore, -
C4 10u F capacitor
to waste time building a high quality audio amp. The Spkr-8 ohm mini -speaker
speaker is a small 8 ohm unit. An 8 pin DIL IC socket is Skt-8 pin DIL IC socket
+9V

R1
C1

SKT

SPKR

EMITTER
PIN
BASE
PIN

VOLUME XVIII 75
 LOW FREQUENCY PULSER 77777
For the newcomer to digital electronics, a slow pulse operation of the 555.
train source, is a very useful circuit to build. The slow
speed will allow you to easily watch the high to low tran- PARTS LIST FOR THE
sitions taking place. The 555 timer is shown in the ast- LOW FREQUENCY PULSER
able mode. Approximately similar "on" and "off" IC1-555 timer
periods are obtained with the values given. Duration in
either the "on" or "off" state is a few seconds. The out-
R1 -
10K resistor
R2 -100K resistor
put LED (D1), fed through current limiter (R3), turns on R3 -1
K resistor
when the output goes high. Timing components (R1, Cl -22MFD capacitor
R2, & C1) control the pulse frequency and "on" to "off" C2-0.01 MFD capacitor
periods. C3 is a standard required capacitor for correct D1 - LED, (any type)
+9V

78 4

R3
555 3
6
ON OFF
2
5

C21 D1 /if
T
LOW FREQUENCY PULSER

CODE PRACTICE OSCILLATOR 777717I

PARTS LIST FOR THE
CODE PRACTICE OSCILLATOR
Here is a simple code practice oscillator you can IC1-Audio amplifier LM 386
build. It consists of an amplifier and a three stage RC
R1 -10K potentiometer
R2, R3 -10K resistors
feed back phase shift network R1, Cl, R2, C2 and R3, Cl, C2, C3-0.01 microfarad capacitors
C3 designed to produce an 180 degree phase shift at C4-4.7 microfarad capacitor
655 Hz. This network couples the output of the ampli- C5-3.3 microfarad capacitor
fier to the inverting input of the amplifier integrated cir- J1- Phone jack
cuit. The gain of the amplifier is greater than the SPKR-8 ohm speaker
approximately 29 required for oscillation. Capacitor C4
increases the gain of IC1 from 20 to 200 which is +12 VOLTS
greater than the required 29 to produce oscillation.
The frequency may be changed by solving the rela-
tionship f = 1/(15.3 R C). The values computed are for
one of the three stages of the network and apply to the
other two stages as well. The output is coupled to a
small speaker in series with the code key. Capacitor C5
adjusts the volume to a listening level less than the 400
milliwatts possible.
Adjust R1 for oscillation and good tone and keying SPKR
characteristics. All of the components are available
from Radio Shack.
( if
Cl C2 C3
R2 R3

76 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
TWIN SCANNER MONITOR 77717
Dedicated scanner radio enthusiasts are more likely ume control R1. Buffer components, R2, Cl, R3 com-
to own more than one scanner (unlike the casual scan- ing off the wiper terminal feed into Pin #2 of IC1. The
ner listener). Late night monitoring through head- second scanner #2, feed, comes from potentiometer
phones limits you to one scanner only. Here's a neat R4. Similar buffer components, R5, C2, R6 feed the
circuit for monitoring, quietly and privately, through signal also to pin #2. Capacitors C3 and C4 are
headphones, two scanners or a scanner and ham band needed across the supply line for the IC. Finally, capac-
radio. We use as the main integrated circuit, the LM 386 itor, C5 ac couples the output to headphones. There's
audio power amp. Since there is a ton of audio power plenty of drive for regular 8 ohm or 32 ohm
available from the source scanners, the gain for the IC headphones.
is set to x20 only. Two separate volume controls give Set both volume controls, R1 & R4, say 1/2 way up,
you much more versatility. Current drawn in minimal and then adjust both scanner volumes to give about the
(less than 10 mA) from a 9 volt battery. same sound output. Now, both channels can be individ-
IC1, is the audio power amplifier IC, driving a pair of ually controlled, without having to go back to the scan-
headphones. The input from scanner #1 goes to vol - ners every time.

PARTS LIST FOR THE TWIN SCANNER MONITOR +9V

Resistors are 5% 1/4 w and electrolytics are 25V rating

IC1- LM 386 audio IC
R1 -100K potentiometer SCANNER #2
R2 -100K resistor INPUT
-
R3 100K resistor
R4 - 100K potentiometer C5
R5 -100K resistor HEADPHONE
R6 -100K resistor OUTPUT
Cl -0.1 uF ceramic disc capacitor
C2-0.1 uF ceramic disc capacitor SCANNER #1
C3 -100uF electrolytic capacitor INPUT
C4-0.1 uF ceramic disc capacitor
C5 -100uF electrolytic capacitor

SYMMETRICAL SCHMITT OSCILLATOR 777

To get a pretty good approximation to a 50% duty cy-
cle square wave oscillator, the Hex Schmitt Invertor will PARTS LIST FOR THE
take some beating. Apart from the IC itself, there are
only two other components! Even the ever popular 555
SYMMETRICAL SCHMITT OSCILLATOR
timer needs more than 2 components to do a similar IC1 -SN74HC14 hex Schmitt invertor
task. The frequency is controlled by the component R1 - 10K uFresistor
values for the resistor, R1 and the capacitor, Cl and the C1=0.01 capacitor
frequency set by f=1/CR (approximately). When you
change the frequency, by varying either R cr C, the duty +4.5 VOLTS
cycle remains constant. This is a real advantage over
the 555 which irritatingly (in spite of all its good points),
changes its duty cycle as the frequency changes. Duty
cycle is the ratio of either the 'on' or 'off' period to the
total period.
The supply voltage has to be kept to +4.5 volts. If
you're using a stock 9 volt battery, then a simple poten-
tial divider will produce 4.5 volts (e.g. two 10K resistors
across the supply line). There are 6 identical devices in
this IC and all unused inputs must be grounded to keep
the operation reliable. Leave the output pins as is. The
device used here is the SN74HC14 and the pinouts re- PINS 3, 5, 9, 11, 13
GROUNDED
fer to this IC. There are other hex Schmitt types, but
check for pin compatibility and supply requirements be-
fore using an alternative. For the components values
given, R1 =10K and Cl = 0.01 uF, the frequency is 10K
with a duty cycle close to 50%.

VOLUME XVIII 77
GUITAR FUZZ EFFECT
If you're a guitar player and electronics hobbyist at input resistor has a low value, 1K, in order to produce a
the same time, chances are you've most likely built a very high gain of 1000. Normally, of course if a clean
guitar amplifier, using something like the ever popular sound was needed, the gain would be nowhere as high
LM 386 audio power integrated circuit. To add some as this-more like around 10. The excessive gain of
gusto to the basic sound, fuzz or distortion can be very 1000 causes the signal to clip heavily. The balance of
easily achieved. Commercial guitar amplifiers always the fuzz effect is produced by the shunt silicon diodes,
have a fuzz option, as guitar players consider this effect D1 and D2. These go across the feedback resistor, with
a `must'. The Rolling Stones `Satisfaction', is often opposite polarities and cause the output signal to clip
named as one of the best examples of the first use of at 0.6 volts in each direction.
fuzz in the swinging mini -skirted 60's. The fuzz circuit
produces heavy distortion by boosting the input signal PARTS LIST FOR THE GUITAR FUZZ EFFECT
by a huge amount. Typically a gain of 1000 will be suf-
-LM 741, op-amp
ficient to generate the desired distortion.
IC1 is a regular ac op -amp pre -amplifier, running off
R1 - 100K resistor
R2 -100K resistor
a single 9v battery, with a split resistor bias supply. R1 R3 -1
K resistor
and R2 are equal in value, hence provide the Vcc/2 R4 -1
M resistor
bias. Capacitor Cl, decouples the ac signal path to C1-100uF electrolytic
ground. Regular coupling capacitors C2 and C3, ap- C2-0.47uF ceramic disc capacitor
pear at the input and output. Gain, for this non -inverting C3-0.47 ceramic disc capacitor
mode amplifier, is given by the ratio of R4/R3. R4 is the D1-1 N4148 silicon diode
feedback resistor and is given a high value of 1 M. The D2-1 N4148 silicon diode

SIMPLE SWITCH DEBOUNCER

figure 1. To eliminate any bounce, we use a SPDT
By C. R. Fischer
momentary switch to set or reset a flip-flop. Since the
While the speed of digital electronics makes it state of the flip-flop is set by the positive edge of the
possible to do things that the relatively slow human signal, any other noise is ignored. When the switch is
being can't touch, sometimes this quickness can be a depressed, the flip-flop is set high, and when the
problem. For example, if we were to hook up an switch is released, the output goes low again (See Fig.
everyday pushbutton to the clock input of a counting 2).
circuit, we would find that the counter would jump Since the chip is a dual flip-flop, we can use the
through random numbers rather than counting one other half for a second switch, or for an alternating
step at a time as we would want. output by wiring it as shown. The top half is
The problem is not with our counter, but is actually connected as a binary divider, which goes high and
within the switch itself. Whenever the switch is low on subsequent clock pulses. This allows us to use
opened or closed, the contacts may make and break a momentary pushbutton as a regular on/off switch,
several times before coming to rest. This phenome- with a minimum of hardware. By using the IC to drive
non is known as contact bounce, and it causes a relay or SCR, we can control loads much greater
problems when digital circuitry interprets each than the small amount of current we would put
bounce as a separate switch closure. though a small pushbutton.
One simple and inexpensive solution is shown in This is a very simple circuit, and it can be powered

78 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
from DC supplies of 3 to 15 VDC. If the chip is not
being used to drive an active part like an LED, it can be
powered from batteries with very low power PARTS LIST
consumption. This would make the circuit attractive
for remote controls and similar applications, IC1-CD 4013 Dual D Flip -Flop
Finally, note that the IC is a CD 4013, and is a CMOS S1-SPDT momentary switch
device. For this reason, be sure to use a socket and
avoid handling the IC until the circuit is finished. For
R1, 2-100k 1/4W resistors
now, give it a try and see how many uses you can find Misc.-14 pin socket or Molex Soldercons,
for it! breadboard or perfboard, hookup wire, Etc.

ALTERNATING OUTPUT
MOMENTARY OUTPUT

+3 TO 15V>

IC1

J I b
RI R2

NC NO
SI +V
0
IN914
\ EITHER OUTPUT
IK 2?

VISUAL INDICATOR
O-- TO LOAD

ETHER OUTPUT

FIGURE 1) SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM RELAY DRIVER

FOR BOUNCELESSE1)WITCH. (CHOOSE RELAY FOR SUPPLY VOLTAGE
USED AND LOAD TO BE SWITCHED).

CONTACT BOUNCE

-il
INPUT AT R1

-
INPUT AT R2

+
MOMENTARY
OUTPUT

I ALTERNATING
OUTPUT

FIGURE 2 -TIMING DIAGRAM

FOR BOUNCELESS SWITCH

VOLUME XVIII 79
 SOLID STATE
UPDATE
Each month, the manufacturers of solid state
components release literally hundreds of new devices.
While we cannot report on all of these, we do intend to
feature some of these devices that are most likely to
interest our readers. For further information on any of
these solid-state components, write directly to the
manufacturers. They can provide you with data sheets
and application notes at no charge.

1995 IC MASTER
Hearst Business Publishing presents the 22nd an-
nual edition of its IC Master catalog, a comprehensive
source of information on all kinds of integrated circuits.
IC Master contains data on over 108,000 commercially
available ICs in a three -volume, 3,000 -page set. Vol-
ume 1 includes Master Selection Guides that organize
ICs by type, function, and key electrical parameters. Sr[ccrio,r
Volume 2 is devoted to part -number identification, GUidtsAnd
FUNCTION
military parts, and alternate sources. Included in Vol- Irdri
ume 3 are hundreds of data pages and a complete
Manufacturers & Distributors Directory with contact in-
formation for all manufacturers, distributors and sales
reps serving the IC industry. The cost of an annual sub-
scription is $185 plus tax plus $10 shipping. To order,
contact Hearst Business Publishing/UTP Division,
645 Stewart Ave., Garden City, NY, 11530. Telephone
(516) 227-1314.

80 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 POWER PRODUCTS GUIDE
SGS-Thomson Microelectronics has compiled 1292
pages of application notes into its Designer's Guide to
Power Products. In this case, power products include
bipolar power transistors, power MOSFETs, and vari-
ous integrated circuits capable of handling high voltage
and/or high current. This handy guide concerns itself
with both the theory of how these devices operate and
the practical applications in which they can be used.
The Designer's Guide to Power Products is, for the
most part, organized according to application. Thus we
have the following major divisions: technology and ba-
sics, smart power development system, stepper mo-
tors, DC and brushless motors, drivers and ntelligent
power switches, power supplies, power MOS and
IGBTs, SCRs and triacs, monitors and TV circuits, and
thermal management. Contact SGS-Thomson Micro-
electronics, 1000 E. Bell Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85022.

MOTOROLA POWER MOSFETs

Motorola has announced the availability of a broad
range of power MOSFETs using a patented high -volt-
age power technology. The key to this advanced design
lies in multiple rings that provide proper shaping of the
electrical field near the edges of the MOSFET die. This
new design offers substantially enhanced voltage -
blocking capability. Motorola's entire 400-600 volt line
of power MOSFETs has been upgraded, and new 800 -
and 1000 -volt devices using this technology have been
added.
Designed for high -voltage, high-speed switching ap-
plications in power supplies, converters, and pulse -
width -modulated (PWM) motor controls, these devices
are particularly well -suited for bridge circuits, where
switching speed and safe -operating area are critical
concerns. Contact Motorola Semiconductor Prod-
ucts, 5005 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85018.

UNITRODE IC DATA BOOK

Unitrode Integrated Circuits manufactures a variety
of specialized and general-purpose ICs, the specifica-
tions of which you'll find carefully documented in the
company's Product and Applications Handbook.
The major divisions of the handbook (and some rep-
resentative devices) are as follows: automotive prod-
ucts (high -side FET drivers, thermal monitors); power-
supply circuits (linear and switchmode regulators); in- Product &
telligent motion controls (step -motor drivers, brushless APPacations
DC motor controllers); and interface circuits (solenoid
Handbook
1993-94
drivers, Ethernet interfaces). Furthermore, for those
who might be curious about how these integrated cir-
cuits can be used, Unitrode includes over 500 pages of
detailed application notes.
For a copy, write to Unitrode Integrated Circuits, 7
Continental Blvd., Merrimack, NH, 03054.

VOLUME XVIII 81
 NEW MOTOROLA PUBLICATIONS
Motorola has released two new pieces of technical
literature describing its RF products and technology.
The annually issued RF Selector Guide and Cross Ref-
erence (SG46/D, Rev. 13) and a new RF Application
Reports Handbook (HB215/D) are now available.
The RF Selector Guide and Cross Reference has
been updated to reflect new and current products, in-
cluding integrated circuits in the 1.8-2.4 GHz range.
The brand new RF Application Reports Handbook con-
tains 92 application notes, article reprints, and engi-
neering bulletins authored by Motorola employees in
various Motorola semiconductor product groups relat-
ing to the RF industry.
To obtain a free copy of either the RF Selector Guide
and Cross Reference (SG46/D) or the RF Application
Reports Handbook (HB215/D), write to Motorola Inc.,
Literature Distribution Center, P.O. Box 20924,
Phoenix, AZ, 85063.

BURR -BROWN HANDBOOK

One of the best ways of acquiring knowledge about
integrated circuits is by reading what their manufactur-
ers have to say about them. These pronouncements
are made in the form of application notes, which are
usually available free of charge. Every once in a while,
a manufacturer will gather up a batch of these applica-
tion notes and publish them in book form. That's just
what Burr-Brown has done. The Burr -Brown Applica-
tions Handbook contains 426 pages of valuable infor-
mation on the company's broad line of products.
Topics covered include analog -to-digital converters,
instrumentation amplifiers, isolation amplifiers, opera-
tional amplifiers, power op amps, multiplexers, refer-
ences, special -function circuits, and voltage -to -
frequency converters.
To obtain a copy, write to Burr -Brown Inc., 6730 S.
Tucson Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85706.

EMBEDDED CONTROL HANDBOOK

The PIC family of microcontrollers from Microchip
Technology has enjoyed spectacular success. There
are two reasons for this. First, these RISC -based mi -
controllers are fast; second, they're cheap.
If you'd like to jump on the PIC bandwagon, you'll
need the information contained in Microchip's Embed-
ded Control Handbook, a compendium of detailed
application notes that discuss hardware and software
issues pertaining to PIC microcontrollers.
Covered are the PIC16C5X family and the
PIC17C42. In addition, you'll find information on how to
interface a PIC with a serial EEPROM, a description of
the PIC development tools available from Microchip,
and some article reprints (in German, French, and Jap-
anese no less).
To obtain a copy of the Embedded Control Hand-
book, direct your inquiry to Microchip Technology
Inc., 2355 West Chandler Blvd., Chandler, AZ,
85224.
82 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 FIBER OPTIC NETWORK
Engineers at Motorola have developed a new tech-
nology that allows an inexpensive fiber-optic assembly
to link computer systems over distances of up to 30
meters, with data -transfer rates of 1.5 billion bits per
second. This new OPTOBUS technology will provide
low-cost solutions to the problem of transferring image,
text, video, and voice data at ever-increasing rates.
Modular design makes the OPTOBUS link easy to
use. The optical link assembly consists of two identical
transceiver modules at the ends of a pair of 10 -fiber rib-
bon cables. The designer, who needs no optoelectronic
expertise, merely provides a suitable set of connectors
and level -shifting circuitry at each end of the cable.
Contact Motorola Inc., 2200 W. Broadway, Mesa,
AZ, 85202.

MANIFOLD PRESSURE SENSOR

A new family of solid-state pressure sensors de-
signed specifically for automotive applications has
been developed by Motorola. The initial product offer-
ing in the MPXM4000 family is a manifold absolute
pressure (MAP) sensor module. The device has a sin-
gle -chip, temperature -compensated, amplified sensor
and an o -ring sealed package. The single -chip sensor,
combined with an internal EMI filter, makes this the
smallest MAP sensor currently available. Devices have
been fully characterized for EMI susceptibility at the
200 volt -per -meter level and found to be very resistant
to ambient and cable -borne noise.
"This technology represents a new direction in auto-
motive pressure sensor modules," said Jerry Curtis, VP
and general manager of Motorola's Sensor Products
Division. For more info, contact Motorola Inc., 5005 E.
McDowell Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85008.

PRESSURE SENSORS
Motorola has announced a new family of differential,
integrated, high-pressure sensor devices ideally suited
for microprocessor- or microcontroller-based applica-
tions with A/D inputs. These signal -conditioned, tem-
perature -compensated, and calibrated devices
combine advanced micromachining techniques, thin-
film metallization, and bipolar semiconductor process-
ing to provide an accurate, high-level analog output sig-
nal that is proportional to the applied pressure.
Available in epoxy -molded unibody elements, the
new family of devices comprises the MPX5500D sen-
sor, the MPX5700D (available in durable ported pack-
ages), and the MPX5999D. The maximum pressure
that these devices can sustain is 150 psi. The unit price
is $10.00 in high -volume quantities. Contact Motorola
Inc., 5005 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85008.

VOLUME XVIII 83
 2s ''CLASSIFIED
FLEAMARKET

SPACE ENERGY RECEIVERS-Power from the ATTENTION DESIGNERS! PC Board development

Wheelwork of Nature Send $6.50 plus $1.00 (P&H) software with schematic capture feature. Updatable
to Simplified Tech. Service, P.O. Box 2140A, parts library. Three 3.5 in. floppies (requires EGA/
Champaign, IL 61825. Space energy receivers may VGA Card), $9.00 Suncoast Technologies, P.O.
be defined as a class of devices, which apparently Box 5835, Spring Hill, FL 34606 VISA/MC Ac-
collect electrical energy from the surrounding space cepted. Voice/Fax 904-596-7599
without applied force, by some process other than
chemical or mechanical action. This book describes Learn electronics by building kits! Lasers, voice
eight inventors and their devices, covering the years changers, gas sensors, and more! Catalog: $1.00.
1901 to 1945. LNS TECHNOLOGIES, 20993 Foothill Blvd, Suite
LOOK INSIDE YOUR PROJECT! We sell used elec- 307H, Hayward, CA 94541-1511.
tronic equipment. (Oscilloscopes, 8Mhz, $99.00)
(Digital Volt Meters, $35.00) Shipping and Handling Design Tesla Coils! Any size, any power, quickly
is extra. PRO -AM Electronics, Rt. 6, Box 587, and easily on your IBM computer. Fantastic, fully
Guthrie, OK 73044-(405) 282-8573-CompuSery graphic program! Only $29.95. W.C.N., 3283 Belve-
71344-1440. dere, Riverside, CA 92507
TELEPHONE CONTINUITY TESTER Instructional SHOCK BOX! FM BUG! TV JAMMER! 3 sets of plans,
guide to building your own. Indispensable for the elec- $3.00. Gallimore Electronics, P.O. Box 70150-A, San
trical enthusiast: for trouble -shooting, communications
Diego, CA 92167
and much more! $4.95 MCG ADVANCED, P.O. Box
#155, Waterville, ME 04901.

ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
Box #5148, N. Branch, N.J. 08876
P.O.
D Yes. Enter my subscription -4 issues ONLY $15.00

p
Ge
\.a`p ß`
0O
óJ,Se
(Canada $18.00...Foreign Postage add $10.00 U.S. Funds)
D Payment enclosed. (Payable to: C&E Hobby Handbooks)

Fot PLEASE PRINT

NAME.
ADDRESS
CITY-
STATE. ZIP
V18

84 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 THE CATALOG
CORNER
If you live in a relatively remote area that doesn't have
ready sources for electronic parts, you can send away to
numerous supply houses, who have good catalogs of
electronic parts and assemblies...many of them real
bargains.
Following are several catalogs that we have recently
received in the mail, with brief descriptions and comments.
Most of these suppliers send out new catalogs every four to
six months, with many of the items repeated and new ones
added, plus some new "specials"...usually on the first
couple pages and the last few pages of each issue.

LNS TECHNOLOGIES
Kits are a great way to get started in electronics. You
get all the parts you need together with an etched
printed -circuit board and instructions. After a few hours'
worth of work with a soldering iron and screwdriver, you
end up with a working device that you can point to with
pride and say, "I made that."
Lots of companies offer kits, but few have as inter-
esting a lineup as that of LNS Technologies. Their new
mini -catalog features a spy microphone disguised as a
marker pen, a laser pointer, a secret voice disguiser, a
solid-state laser and laser light show, a solid-state mes-
sage recorder, a combustible -gas alarm, a talking
clock, a talking IR motion detector, and various com-
puter components. LNS charges $1.00 for their cata-
log, but you get the buck back when you place an order.
Sounds fair to us. Write to LNS Technologies, 20993
Foothill Blvd., Suite 307, Hayward, CA, 94541.

VOLUME XVIII 85
 EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CO.
After forty years in business, the Edmund Scientific
Co. is probably familiar to most people with an interest
in science and technology. Edmund's latest general
catalog is a 235 -page treasure trove of all kinds of sci-
ence -oriented products. Some of these items are in-
tended for the professional, and are thus relatively
expensive, but there is also a wealth of modest -cost
equipment that will appeal to the student, hobbyist, and
experimenter.
You can take your pick of lenses, microscopes, tele-
scopes, binoculars, prisms, and other optical equip-
ment. Edmund also has lasers, labware, magnets, and
tools. There's more, too, and you can check it out for
yourself because the catalog is free. Just write to Ed-
mund Scientific Co., 101 E. Gloucester Pike, Bar-
rington, NJ 08007. Telephone (609) 573-6250.

SPECIALIZED PRODUCTS CO.

If you build electronic projects, you need tools to cut,
grind, drill, and file. You can find all the tools you need
in the new 320 -page full -color catalog from Specialized
Products Co.
Their tool lineup includes such things as power drills,
screwdrivers, wrenches, hammers, saws and files. A
variety of pre-packaged tool kits is also available. Test
gear goes hand -in -hand with tools, and Specialized
Products offers a wide array of multimeters, 'scopes,
power supplies, signal generators, EPROM
programmers, and telecom testers.
The company stocks all the products it sells, and is
thus able to offer next -day delivery of any order for a flat
fee of $9.95. Their catalog can be obtained by writing
to,. Specialized Products Co., 3131 Premier Dr., Ir-
ving, TX, 75063. Or call (800) 866-5353.

OLD COLONY SOUND LABORATORY

If you're interested in building your own audio equip-
ment, you'll want to get your hands on the latest catalog
from Old Colony Sound Laboratory. What do they sell?
Well, first and foremost they've got kits for such things
as high -quality power amplifiers, preamplifiers, elec-
tronic crossovers, audio test microphones, audio filters,
vacuum -tube amplifiers, and audio test gear. In addition
to that, they've got a huge selection of audio -related
books covering everything from psychoacoustics to
amplifier and speaker design.
Want more? How about integrated circuits, transis-
tors, vacuum tubes, audio -test CDs and cassettes, and
speaker -design software. You'll be hard pressed to find
such a collection of do-it-yourself audio products any-
where else, so if you'd like to try your hand at audio
construction, write to Old Colony Sound Laboratory,
P.O. Box 243, Peterborough, NH, 03458.

86 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 RAG ELECTRONICS
When buying an expensive item like a car, you have
the option of buying either a new one or a used one.
That's true of electronic test equipment as well. The lat-
est catalog from RAG Electronics contains a mix of
both the new and the used. The company carries
power supplies, oscilloscopes, calibrators, signal gen-
erators, spectrum analyzers, multimeters and other
common instruments. RAG also is a purveyor of some
very uncommon equipment such as environmental test
chambers, network protocal analyzers, RF impedance
meters, and the like.
In case you're wondering, all of the used equipment
is fully calibrated and certified, traceable to the NIST,
and comes with all manuals, standard accessories,
and a six-month warranty. Write to RAG Electronics,
2450 Turquoise Circle, Newbury Park, CA, 91320.
Telephone (800) 670-3457.

HOME CONTROL CONCEPTS

Home automation seems to be all the rage these
days, and not just among the rich. Home automation
equipment is relatively inexpensive, but unless you live
in a big city, chances are slim that you'll find much of a
selection close to home. As usual, mailorder shopping
is the answer. The latest catalog from the folks at Home
Control Concepts contains a wide variety of products
designed to put your homestead under electronic
command.
You'll find wireless controllers from X-10 and Leviton,
as well as wireless security systems. Home Control
Concepts also carries video equipment such as cam-
eras, monitors, lenses, and distribution amplifiers.
They've even got devices that will open and close your
drapes automatically. You can get all the details by writ-
ing to Home Control Concepts, 9520-108 Padgett
St., San Diego, CA 92126. Or call (619) 693-8887.

MARLIN R JONES & ASSOCIATES

The name Marlin P. Jones & Associates sounds like
it might belong to an accounting firm, but in fact MPJA
is one of the better purveyors of surplus electronic
goods. In addition to surplus, the company also carries
a variety of brand-new electronic items, all reasonably
priced.
Some highlights of the MPJA product lineup: video
cameras and monitors, linear and switching power sup-
plies, fans, switches, relays, motors, the Parallax "Ba-
sic Stamp" computer modules, pressure gages,
electronic kits, speakers, cabinets, tools, meters, test
gear, magnets, LCD displays, semiconductors, con-
nectors, lenses, and lasers.
You can get a free copy of their 104 -page catalog by
writing to Marlin R Jones & Associates, P.O. Box
12685, Lake Park, FL, 33403. Or call (407) 848-8236.

VOLUME XVIII 87
 KORG PROVIEW
Korg, as many of you with a musical bent probably
know, is one of the big names in the electronic music
industry. Their publication Korg Proview is part catalog
and part magazine. In it you'll find ads for the latest
Korg products, such as keyboards, sound processors,
distortion processors, music workstations, pianos, syn-
thesizers, tuners, and multimedia equipment. All this
equipment is digital; hence, you'll find the ads filled with
familiar terms like RAM, ROM, hard drive, and the like.
In addition to the ads, Korg Proview features articles
on such topics as famous musical artists, reviews of
new musical equipment (all of it Korg's, naturally), and
tutorials on how to get the most out of your musical
gear. Those of you not afflicted with a tin ear may wish
to subscribe to Korg Proview by writing to Korg USA
Inc., 89 Frost St., Westbury, NY, 11590.

ALLTRONICS
Anyone who's read this column for a while knows we
just love surplus electronics because of the bargains to
be found. Case in point: recently acquired some
I
wire -
wrap boards studded with thousands of goldplated
pins. The current distributor's price for these items is
over $300, but paid just $20. Sure, the boards were
I
a
little dusty and probably spent the past decade in a
warehouse, but at $20 apiece, who cares?
Bargains of all kinds can be found in the Alltronics
catalog. With the exception of a few kits, all of the mer-
chandise is surplus. They have motors, ICs, books,
cabinets, switches, tools, toys, vacuum tubes, radios,
lasers, lenses, fans, computers, connectors, wire, and
lots of unique stuff that just can't be categorized. For
a
copy, contact Alltronics, 2300 Zanker Rd., San Jose,
CA, 95131. Telephone (408) 943-9773.

JDR MICRODEVICES
JDR Microdevices used to offer two separate cata-
logs-one devoted to electronic components, the other
to computers and computer accessories. guess it fi-
I

nally dawned on them that the same people who buy

electronic components also buy computers, because
their latest catalog is a fusion of both the electronic
component and computer offerings of the company.
JDR's got an impressive lineup of integrated circuits
and discrete semiconductors, augmented by such ne-
cessities as resistors, capacitors, pots, connectors,
books, solder, tools, test instruments, and do-it-yourself
kits. As for computers, they feature reasonably priced
machines with '486 and Pentium processors, as well as
computer boards, power supplies and cases. Contact
JDR Microdevices, 1850 S. 10th St., San Jose, CA,
95112. Phone (800) 538-5000.

88 / ELECTRONICS HANDBOOK
 AMAZING Infinity Transmitter ++
Electronic and
Scientific Products
Mystery
TV & FM
Levitating Joker /
Device! Jammer
Remember War of the Worlds? Objects float in air and move to
Shirt pocket device allows you to totally control and remotely
the touch. Defies gravity, amazing gift, conversation piece, magic
disrupt TV or radio reception. Great gag to play on family or
trick or great science project.
friends. Discretion required.
ANT1K Easy to Assemble Kit / Plans $19.50
EJKIKM Easy to Assemble Electronic Kit $24.50

Telephoñ ine Gra ber/

Room Monitor / Controller ATTENTION:
All New - The Ultimate in Home/Office Security & Safety! High Voltage Fans!
Simple to use! Call your home or office, push a secret tone 4,000 volts in the palm of your hand! Experiment
on your telephone keypad to access: On premises sounds with and -gravity, hovercraft, ion guns, force fields,
Laser Ray Gun and voices Ongoing phone conversation wibreak-in capability plasma guns, shock devices, wireless energy and
Up to 10 external electrical functions, lights, TV, alarms, coffee electrical pyrotechnics. Input: 9-14VDC.
MINIMAX4 Ready to Use $ 19.50
DANGER pots, heater, etc. CAUTION! Check legality with your state's
INVISIBLE USER RADIATION attorney general's office before use for monitoring of voices.
AVOID EYE ORSKIN EXPOSURE
TELECON1K Kit, includes PC board $149.50
TO DIRECTOR SCATTER RADIATION
CLASS IV LASER PRODUCT TELECON10 Ready to Use $199.50
Advanced project produces a burst of light energy capable of
burning holes in most materials. Hand-held device uses Visible Beam Laser ,
rechargeable batteries. 500 joules of flash energy excite either a Easy to build, RED Beam, visible for miles. Use for light oser Bounce" Listener System
neodynium glass, yag or other suitable 7 laser rod. This is a shows, window bounce holography, cloud illumination and much
NEW - Latest Technology! Allows you to hear sounds from a
dangerous CLASS IV project (individual parts/assemblies more! LAS1KM Kit w/lmw Laser Tube, Class II. $69.50
premises without gaining access. Aim at room window and listen
available). LAGUN1 Plans $20.00 LAS3KM Kit w12.5mw Laser Tube, Class IIIA $99.50
to sounds from within via reflected laser light. Not for illegal use.
LAGUNIK Kit / Plans Price on Request
Requires video tripods.

Extended
Playuee
Telephone Recording System
Life is Precious
PROTECT IT!
Hard hitting, crackling, sizzling
-

HIGH VOLTAGE plasma! Stuns and immobilizes most attackers

*
LWB3K
LWB30
5mw Laser and Receiver Kit
Ready to Use

5mw Visible Red Pocket Laser

Utilizes our touch power control!
$149.50
$199.50

}
STUN200 Ready to Use, 200,000V $69.50 VRL5KM Kit / Plans $ 74.50
READY TO USE! Automatically controls and records on our X-4 STUN120 Smaller Unit, 120,000V $39.50
extended play recorder, taping both sides of a telephone Fes; t Electronic
conversation. Intended for order entry verification. Check your
local laws as some states may require an alerting beeper.
20tiO Hypnotism
TAP2OX Ready to Use System $129.50 I7-71 Puts subjects under control using highly effective electronic
stimuli. Intended for parties and entertainment but must be used

>%Za NEW High Power with caution Includes valuable text book reference and plans.
EH2 Plans and Text Book $19.50
Ion Ray Gun
Shocker Force Field/ Projects charged ions that induce shocks in people and objects
Automotive
Vehicle Electrifier without any connection! Great science project as well as a h'gh
Plans
tech party prank. 10G7 $15.00
Neat little device allows you to make hand and shock balls, shock 10G7K Kit/Plans $99.50
wands and electrify objects, charge capacitors. Great payback
for those wise guys who have wronged you! Invisible Pain NEON
-
SHK1K Easy to Assemble Electronic Kit

Electric
$29.50
Field Generator
Shirt pocket size electronic
Easy -to -Install
4Tube Kit
for Cars, Trucks, Vans!
` (
=1` Charge device produces time variant Available in Pink, Purple, Blue or Green
ti complex shock waves of intense directional acoustic energy, - please specify color when ordering.
! ,4. Gun capable of warding off aggressive animals, etc. RG4K (Specify Color) $ 129.50
License Frame Kit
IPG7 Plans $8.00 IPG7K Kit/Plans ...$49.50
irFlash -To -Music Option for above (Specify Color)
All New IPG70 Assembled $74.50
kit FMU1 $ 29.50 LIC1K $ 24.50
oo(
Technology!
Stuns/immobilizes attackers up to 15 feet away! 1000 Ft++ 3 Mi FMWireless
Legal in most state (not in NY, NJ, MA, WI) More knoc -down
power than most handguns No permanent injury ID coded otato Cannon Microphone
Free 80KV stun gun with every purchase. \\ NOTA TOY. Uses electronic or piezo Subminiature! Crystal clear, ultra sensitive pickup transmits
ECG1 Data Packet, Creditable toward purcase $10.00 ignitron. CAUTION REQUIRED! voices and sounds to FM radio. Excellent for security, monitoring
ECG10 Charge Gun, Ready to Use, w/Free 80KV Gun $249.50 POT) Plans of children or invalids. Become the neighborhood disk jockey!
(Dangerous Product) $10.00 FMV1 Plans FMV1K Kit and Plans ....... $39.50
$7.00
Homing / Tracking Transmitter
Beeper device, 3 mile range. Telephone Transmitter - 3 Mi
HOD1 Plans $10.00 HOD1K Kit / Plans $49.50 FireBall Gun Automatically transmits both sides of a telephone conversation to
Shoots flaming ball - two shot capacity an FM radio. Tunable Frequency Undetectable on Phone
Listen Through Walls, Floors Great for special effects and remote Easy to Build and Use Up to 3 Mile Range Only transmits
Highly sensitive stethoscope mike. fire starting. CAUTION REQUIRED! during phone use. VWPM7 Plans $7.00
STETH1 Plans $8.00 STETH1K Kit/Plans $44.50 FIREBALL Plans (Dangerous Product) $10.00 VWPM7K Kit/Plans $39.50

CATALOG Order by Mail

Dept EH -19, Box 716, Amherst, NH 03031 With many or by 24 Hour

..
INFORMATION
UNLIMITED
Phone: 603-673-4730 FAX: 603-672-5406
MC, VISA, COD, Checks accepted Please add $5.00 Shipping & Handling
more items!
Free with Order
or send $1 P&H
Orders -Only Phone
800-221-1705
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