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Building The
Home Burglar Alarm

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 Now there’s a 100 MHz instantly to the slightest control of HP’s basic instruments the HP
digital scope that handles change. 54600 gives you all this perform-
just like analog. ance at avery affordable price.
But when it comes to trouble-
Digital oscilloscopes have shooting, the HP 54600’s digital So if you like the feel of analog
certain advantages that are performance leaves analog and control, you'll like the way our
hard to overlook. But for hybrid scopes far behind. At new digital scope handles
troubleshooting, many millisecond sweep speeds, the troubleshooting. To find out
engineers still prefer analog display doesn't even flicker. more call the Customer Inform-
scopes. Simply because they Low-rep-rate signals are easy to ation Centre on 008 033 821 or
like the way they handle. see without a hood. Melbourne 272 2555.
* The HP 54600 changes that. It It has all the advantages that
looks like a 100 MHz analog only a true digital scope can
scope. All primary functions provide. Like storage, high HEWLETT
are controlled directly with accuracy, pretrigger viewing, @Q. PACKARD
dedicated knobs. And itfeels hard copy output, and
like one. The display responds programming. And since it’s one A Better Way.

Just released: the HP 54602A scope with bandwidth up to 250MHz

JWT HTM125/A
 DESIGNED MAINLY for solar
power installations, this new
Vol.5, No.10. October 1992 24VDC to 240VAC inverter
produces a sinewave output &
can deliver 2kW on a continuous
basis. Turn to page 16
FEATURES

4 Manned Electric Flight Across The USA by Leo Simpson

A sun-powered glider with flexible solar cells
73 The Philips PM3394 Digital/Analog Scope by Leo Simpson
Versatile new design has both analog & digital modes

PROJECTS TO BUILD
16 A2kW 24VDC To 240VAC Sinewave Inverter by John Clarke
The heart of a solar power supply THIS BATTERY CHARGER has
22 A Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm, Pt.2 by Mike Zenere automatic voltage selection for
6V, 12V & 24Vlead-acid batteries
Construction, testing & operation
& is electronically regulated to
48 Build A Mini Amplifier For Personal Stereos by Darren Yates deliver just the right amount of
Enjoy the sound via loudspeakers current. Details page 56.
56 The Thunderbird Battery Charger by Herman Nacinovich
Electronically regulated design for 6V, 12V & 24V batteries
CONFESSION
is good for
SPECIAL COLUMNS the soul they
say & this
month the
~ 37 Vintage Radio by John Hill Serviceman
Vintage radio repairs made easy lays bare his
sins. His story
42 Serviceman’s Log by the TV Serviceman starts on
Confession is good for the soul
78 Amateur Radio by Garry Cratt
How to make transmitter measurements

88 Remote Control by Bob Young

Internal combustion motors for R/C models, Pt.3
92 Computer Bits by Byron Miller
The inside story on hard disc standards

DEPARTMENTS
2 Publisher’s Letter 98 Ask Silicon Chip
8 Circuit Notebook 100 Notes and Errata GAVE YOU EVER wanted to use
your personal stereo player with
32 Order Form 102 Market Centre loudspeakers instead of
83 Product Showcase 104 Advertising Index headphones. This mini stereo
96 Back Issues amplifier lets you do just that.
Turn to page 48.

OCTOBER 1992 1
 Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
Editor
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Robert Flynn
Darren Yates, B.Sc.
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Sharon Macdonald

Sales & Marketing Mgr.

Sharon Lightner
Phone (02) 979 5644
Mobile phone (018) 28 5532

Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
Marque Crozman
John Hill
Jim Lawler, MTETIA
Bryan Maher, M.E., B.Sc.
Solar power will come into its own
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY This month we are proud to present the first article in a series on building
Bob Young a 2 kilowatt sinewave inverter. We think it will be very popular with users
Photography of recreational vehicles, boats and those on farms and remote locations far
Stuart Bryce from any mains supply. It has been a marathon effort to produce and is
rivalled only by the 16 channel audio mixer we published during 1990 in
Editorial Advisory Panel the amount of time and resources we have had to devote to its development.
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
Norman Marks The 2kW sinewave inverter comes at a time when there is increasing
Steve Payor, B.Sc., B.E. interest in solar power and renewable energy sources and, in fact, the article —
on the Sanyo solar-powered plane in this issue emphasises the advances
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times that are being made with solar cells. The concept of a solar-powered plane
a year by Silicon Chip Publications is really intriguing and just shows what can be done in applying presently
Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All available technology. :
material copyright ©. No part of this
publication may be reproduced with-
In fact, while it would be a fairly costly exercise in terms of the required
out the written consent of the pub- solar panels and battery storage, it is now quite practical to have a continu-
lisher. ous 50Hz 240VAC sinewave supply on farms and other remote locations.
When you consider that it can cost $1000 a pole for mains supply to be
Printing: Magazine Printers Pty Ltd, brought to a remote property, then providing your own power becomes
Alexandria, NSW; Macquarie Print, quite an attractive proposition.
Dubbo, NSW. Furthermore, it would not surprise us if some city dwellers decided to
Distribution: Network Distribution take the plunge and provide their own AC supply and thus be completely
Company. independent of mains supplies. While it may not be strictly practical at the
moment, we think that many people would like the idea of running their
Subscription rates: $42 per year
own power supply and being super careful about their energy use. In doing
in Australia. For overseas rates, see
the subscription page in this issue. so, they would be minimising their contribution to greenhouse gases.
Liability: Devices or circuits de- Such a project could be done in stages, by first acquiring a few solar
scribed in SILICON CHIP may be panels, a modest number of batteries and a sinewave inverter to provide at
covered by patents. SILICON CHIP least part of the energy demand. This would have the benefit of providing
disclaims any liability for the infringe- power during blackouts and could be gradually extended to ultimately
ment of such patents by the manu- provide the full load.
facturing or selling of any such
Nor would you necessarily need to rely on solar panels in such a project.
equipment.
Many locations in Australia have good potential for wind generators and
Editorial & advertising offices:
they don’t have to be very big to pump out quite a lot of energy in a 24-hour
Unit 1a/77-79 Bassett Street, Mona
Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address:
period. Remember, when the sun is not shining, the wind is often blowing.
PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW
2097. Phone (02) 979 5644. Fax
Leo Simpson
(02) 979 6503.
ISSN 1030-2662

2 SILICON CHIP
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ae
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SS
RES

Manned electric flight

across the USA
Although not well publicised at the time, the firs long at all and may have to be re-
newed completely after just a few
solar powered electric flight across the whole of flights.
the USA was accomplished back in 1990. Manned flight places much more
stringent demands on the technology
Sponsored by Sanyo and using that company’s of batteries and motors. For a start,
flexible solar cells, the plane had enough power the motor must not only lift the mass
of the plane and its batteries into the
to take off and climb to considerable heights. air but must also carry the human
pilot.
By LEO SIMPSON
The plane
Battery powered electric model air- that time, such planes can climb to The plane is essentially a powered
craft have been around for quite a few considerable heights and achieve high glider with the electric motor and pro-
years but the difference in technology speeds. But when the batteries run peller mounted in the tailplane. All
required for a model and that for down, the flight must inevitably come the power for the plane came from the
manned flight is enormous. Typical to an end. : solar cells mounted on the wings. The
electric motor driven model planes Motors for electric powered mod- solar cell array was used to charge the
are powered by high discharge nickel els don’t last long either. Because they battery for a few hours so that the
cadmium batteries with enough ca- have such a high power input, their plane could take off and climb as high
: pacity to last only a few minutes. In brushes and commutators don’t last as necessary to take advantage of

4 SILICON CHIP
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Fig.1: the electrical system of the Sunseeker solar plane consists of a large array 62256
of flexible solar cells charging a 120V 4Ah nicad battery. The motor is a 628128
brushless DC type rated at 2.2 kilowatts.

thermals. The plane would then soar solar tents, window shades and roof-
for long distances while the solar cells" ing materials. 270512
continued to charge the battery. Dur- The output of the Amorton solar 2701001 .....$23.50
ing each day’s flight, the plane’s mo- cells is fed via a diode to a specially keEeRKEKKKEKKKRKE KK ES
tor and propeller would only be used fabricated nickel cadmium battery PRIME SPEC SEMIS
as necessary to regain height after soar- with a 4 amp-hour rating at 120 volts. —+= BARGAIN PRICES
ing for long distances or to increase Comparatively little information is
speed. available about the control electron- DYNAMIC RAMS TRANSISTORS
4164-10 BC547/8/9
ics or the motor which is rated at 2.2 41464-08 $2.75 BC557/8/9
Solar cells kilowatts (3hp). This is referred to as 41256-08 $2.75
414256-08 $7.95
Special flexible amorphous silicon a brushless DC motor by Sanyo engi- 411000-08 $7.95
solar cells were made by Sanyo for neers but the circuit of Fig.1 reveals it 256KSIM,SIP .$23.50
the record attempt. Called Amorton to be a 3-phase induction motor with IM,SIM,SIP .... $79.00 MJ15003
4M SIM,SIP . $335.00 MJ15004
cells, they have very low weight, mak- commutation controlled by Hall Ef- REGULATORS
ing them ideal for the purpose. The fect sensors. The efficiency of the 2N3055 $1.50
entire solar cell array, mounted on the motor and electronic drive system is LINEAR &
SPECIAL FUNCTION
wings and tailplane, has an area of quoted as 90%.
eight square metres and weighs just The battery capacity is sufficient to
1.5kg. The peak power output of the allow the motor to operate continu-
solar array is 300 watts. ously for about 15 minutes. 160450 $18.00
Amorton solar cell film is only Maximum speed of the plane is 160550 $29.50
0.12mm thick and is flexible enough quoted at 160km/h and cruising speed XR2206
10L7106
to form a tube only 10mm in dia- is 64km/h. Presumably, both these
meter. It can be shaped to conform to speeds apply during soaring. Takeoff
3-dimensional surfaces that would not and climbing speeds would be con-
be feasible for conventional flat solar siderably slower.
cells. Since it is very light, it yields a As the dimensions of the plane
power to weight ratio of 200 milliwatts show, it really is a glider, having a FREE PRICE LIST
per gram. Other possible applications wingspan of 17.5 metres and a length UPON REQUEST
of Amorton solar cell film are for solar of 7 metres. All up weight, without RAN! /¥/ tA
powered dirigibles, cars and boats, the pilot, was only 90 kilograms. (It — 5% OFF
ALL ORDERS
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OCTOBER 1992 5
 wed VE
fe 20

“~ “® Kitty Hawk
ce Jul 18 spedCarolina
Los Angeles @ ey osntre Le La Ory
11
San Diego ER _ julbi coe,

Fig.2: the route of record breaking solar flight across the

USA. Because the weather was not always sunny, the whole
journey took place over 7 weeks and a total of 23 flight
days. Total flying time was 121 hours.

was designed and built by Eric Raymond of Solar Bight

Research Co, USA).
Record flight
The record breaking solar powered flight was made
during the northern summer of 1990 across the United
States, from the west to the east. It started from Desert
Center in California on 16th July and, after flying across
10 states, finally reached its destination at Kitty Hawk in
Carolina on 3rd September. During this period, there
were some days on which the plane could not fly because
of poor weather. Thus, the transcontinental journey took
a total of 23 flying days. Total flight time for the 3967km
journey was 121 hours.
Several new world records were set for solar powered
flight:
(a) longest flight time without landing — 7 hours 35
minutes.
The Sunseeker solar plane has virtually all its horizontal
flight surfaces covered with Amorton amorphous silicon
(b) longest flying distance minus landing — 394.3 solar cells which give a total peak output of 300 watts.
kilometres.
(c) maximum altitude of 3963 metres (13,000 feet)
The previous world record for solar cell powered flight No doubt many more solar powered flights will be
was attained by an American scientist who travelled 322 made in future. Perhaps there will come a day when solar
kilometres while crossing the Dover Straits in 1981. powered planes become popular pleasure craft. SC

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Mail Orders add $5.00 min to cover postal charges. Geoff Wood Electronics Pty Ltd
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BANKCARD, MASTERCARD, VISA, CHEQUES or CASH Mail Orders to — P O Box 671, Lane Cove N S W 2066 SdlHD
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CHIPS...WOOD
FOR
WOOD GOOM
 Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from
readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates.

Automatic soldering ian oe TO

iron timer 240VAC
i= ———_—_____—_—__—_—_—__a
SOLDERING
IRON

Do you sometimes forget to turn +12V

your soldering iron off? This circuit

overcomes that problem by automati-
cally switching the iron off after a
preset period. It also briefly sounds a
buzzer at the end of the timing period
so that you can reset the circuit before
the iron goes cold.
The circuit uses two 555 ICs wired
as monostables, one to control a relay
and the other to set the buzzer period.
IC1 has a timing range of about 50
seconds to 20 minutes. When the start switches on, its NO contacts close pulse through to Q2 via a .01pF ca-
button (S1) is pressed, pin 3 of IC1 and the soldering iron turns on and pacitor. Q2 thus turns on briefly and
switches high, thus lighting LED 1 operates in the usual way. pulses pin 2 of IC2 low. This in turn
and turning on transistor Q1 and the At the end of the timing period (as initiates the timing period for IC2
relay. set by VR1), pin 3 of IC1 goes low which now sounds the buzzer for
The normally open (NO) relay con- again and the soldering iron turns off. about 0.25 seconds.
tacts are wired in series with the mains At the same time, Q1’s collector is Steven Merrifield,
Active line. Thus, when the relay pulled high and this couples a brief Newlyn, Vic. ($15)

Stutter trigger for an

audio strobe
An effect that can be easily cre-
ated with MIDI sound equipment
is to re-trigger a sample, either con-
tinuously, or a preset number of
times. This circuit creates the same
effect with a non-MIDI sampler.
The oscillator based on ICid is
EXTERNAL
normally held reset by a logic 0 on TRIGGER INPUT
OF SAMPLER
pin 12. When the SR flipflop (ICib
& ICic) is set by a press of the GO
button (S1), the oscillator is ena-
bled and clocks 4017 decade coun-
ter IC2. At the same time, the reset $1
is removed from the two 4017s. GO ig

IC2 divides the clock by 10 and

its first output turns on Q1, trigger-
ing the sampler. The divided pulse By leaving the clock running con- If your sampler doesn’t like an
is counted by IC3, and when the stantly, a stable pulse width is cre- open-collector trigger, a small re-
preset number of counts has elaps- ated but then the position of the lay can be connected between Q1’s
ed, resets the flipflop via IC1a. clock pulse relative to the GO sig- collector and the +12V rail. Don’t
IC2 was not initially used in the © nal resulted in a variable delay be- forget to install a diode across the
prototype but it was found that tween switch press and the first relay coil to shunt the back EMF
when the circuit started, the first sample being triggered. As a result, when Q1 turns off.
pulse from the clock was notice- the clock was sped up and IC2 G. Sheridan,
ably longer than subsequent pulses. joined the circuit. Ashfield, NSW. ($15)

8 SILICON CHIP —
 Self-contained autofire module
re
o for electronic games
Have you ever wanted to play “Revenge Of The
Sludge Monster” but couldn’t get past level one? Were
those Sludge Monsters coming at you so thick and fast
that your trigger finger couldn’t stand the strain? If so,
here is an inexpensive autofire circuit that does not
require batteries or disassembly of your (no doubt
expensive) joystick.
The circuit operates in four modes: Autofire Off
(normal fire); Machine Gun; Toggle Autofire (latch on/
latch off); and Non-Stop Autofire. These modes are
selected by pressing S1, which clocks the first four
outputs of decade counter IC1. The fifth output (Q4)
resets the counter, thus producing a wraparound ef-
fect.
Mode One (autofire off) passes the fire signal from
the joystick (pin 6 of the DB9 socket) through IC2a and
then out to the computer via IC4b (which acts merely
as a buffer). 7
_ Mode Two (machine gun) gates on the oscillato
formed by IC3a and IC3b for as long as the fire button
is pressed. The output from this oscillator then toggles
IC4b to produce the machine gun effect.
Mode Three (autofire on/off) allows the fire signal
to pass through IC2c and clock flipflop IC4a. Because
the set pin (7) is held low by IC2d, the flipflop toggles
the oscillator on/off. If another mode is selected, IC2d
turns off and the flipflop sets via the 10kQ resistor
between pins 7 & 16. This sends Q (pin 1) high,
thereby turning off the oscillator.
In Mode Four (non-stop autofire), the high from Q3
of IC1 is inverted by IC3d and the resulting low gates
the oscillator via D1. D1 prevents the normally high
state of IC3d from disabling the oscillator. This mode
is good if you tend to get over-excited and inadvert-
ently pull the trigger, only to find that you’ve turned
off the autofire just when you most needed it to oblit-
erate an oncoming Sludge Monster.
The rate of autofire is controlled by potentiometer
VR1 which should be easily accessible, as some games
may require a slower rate of autofire. IC3c buffers the
output to drive LED 5. This gives you some idea of the
signal going to the computer. (Remember, all joystick
signals are active low). | |
D2 is not really needed and may be replaced by a
wire link if you use the circuit with a Commodore 64.
This is because the Commodore 64 provides +5V on
pin 7 of each joystick port. If your computer does not
have +5V easily accessible, then you may run the
circuit off a 9V battery but be sure to include D2 to
prevent the +9V Q output from IC4b from blowing up
your computer. An on/off switch should also be added
if you use an external battery as the circuit draws
about 4-6mA.
The circuit is interfaced to the computer via the DB9
plug, while the joystick plugs into the DB9 socket. The
construction technique is not critical and the circuit
may be built up on a small piece of perf board using
point-to-point wiring techniques.
G. Cattley,
Sydney, NSW. ($25)

OCTOBER 1992 9g
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fre
JSON FY | [812K VGA CARD..650 1M VGA CARD..$100
= —————
fi
WANA 27?934
oo.
:| 85M HD add $120
:180386-33 CPU 64K CACHE ON BOARD
_ | MEMORY
[126M HD add $175 105M HD..$150
80386SX 25M CPU
1MEG RAM EXP TO 8 MEG '|1MEG RAM EXP T0116 MEG
Genuine _|200m HD add $595 170M HD..$495
_| EXTRA RAM ?
Australian, Fully
31Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST Genuine _]57Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST Upgradable
1.2M JAP F.D.D. 512K VGA CARD Australian, Fully :185 MEG HARD DISK DR DOS 6.0 =] 1M add $55 2M add $110 4M add §220|
85M HARD DISK DRIVE, Upgradable -|1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D supplied with
101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD | OR DOS6.0 :1101 EXTENDED “CLICK” KEYBOARD every system. =| WINDOWS 3.00.$69 WINDOWS 3.1.$159 |:
MINI CASE & 200W POWER SUPPLY supplied with -| SERIAL PARALLEL GAMES PORT DOS 5 $50-extra a8
SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR every system. -|MINI CASE & 200W POWER SUPPLY | SOUND COMMANDER...........cccccosscssssseees S149
1024 x 768 Res 0.28” D.P DOS 5 $50 extra SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP
SERIAL PARALLEL GAMES PORTS 512K VGA CARD (256 COLOURS) IBM* COMPATIBLE EA THUNDER BOARD........cccccsssssssssrsresseesees S199 |
4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY. IBM* 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY | SOUNDBLASTER IL..............ccccssessssssesseere S175 |
COMPATIBLE SPREADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & SPEADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & DATABASE “A SOUNDBLASTER PRO...........scssccsecsessesees $369 |
DATABASESOFTWARE TAX SOFTWARE INCLUDED. eA FLOPTICAL DRIVE adid.............scccsssesseeee S695 |
INCLUDED. INC. “SHAREWARE SOFTWARE TAX INC. |:| 21 M/BYTE DISC TO SUIT.............00.000006 839 |
* SHAREWARE SOFTWARE |ASSEMBLED & TESTED e| CD ROM SOUND BLASTER PACK............ $949 |
ASSEMBLED & TESTED $1229 taxex IN AUSTRALIA. $1,379 tax ex =| PARRADISE WINDOW ACCELERATOR.....$325 |

feAM 2 Yay _
i CTT
80386-40 CPU 64K CACHE ON Genuine
:
BOARD Australian, Fully '180486SX-20 CPU Australian, Fully 380486-33 CPU Genuine
1MEGRAM EXP TO16 MEG Upgradable 11MEG RAM EXP 1932MEG Upgradable 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 1 MEG OF RAM Australian, Fully
65 Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST DR DOS 6.0 _|75Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST DR DOS 6.0 2157Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST Upgradable
85 MEG HARD DISK 12ms ACCESS. _| SUPpPlied with "185 MEG HARD DISK supplied with 185 MEG HARD DISK DR DOS 6.0
TIME every system
'11.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.0.D 41.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D supplied with
1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D DOS 5 $50 extra 1101 EXTENDED “CUCK" KEYBOARD every system. 2 101 EXTENDED “CLICK” KEYBOARD every system.
101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD MINI CASE & 200W | MINICASE & 200w Power suppLy LCOS SSO extra "SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS
DOS 5 $50 extra
POWER SUPPLY SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS 14 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY 512K VGA CARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE
512K VGA CARDSUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS, 1MEG VGA CARD 3 SVGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Resolution) 0.28"DP
(1024 x 768 Res) 0.28” 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP cs MINI CASE& 200W POWER SUPPLY
WARRANTY SPEADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & : SPEADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & DATABASE | 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY |
DATABASE SOFTWARE INCLUDED. “SHAREWARE SOFTWARE |: SOFTWARE INCLUDED. *SHAREWARE SOFTWARE is SPREADSHEET, WORDPROCESSOR & DATABASE SOFTWARE. |
ASSEMBLED & TESTED IN AUSTRALIA. |

TAX
3 TAX
i WITH 200 MEG DRIVE |
INC.
any ) TAX INC. e renee $2,749 taxwc
: $1 5029 TAX EX. $2,339 TAX EX
$1 5399 TAX EX. $1 :909 taxex.

80486-33 CPU 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 4 MEG OF RAM |: 80486-50 CPU 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 4 MEG OF RAM =:180486-EISA CPU 256K ON BOARD CACHE. 4 MEG OF RAM
157Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST romper =] 200+Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST Genuine 3] 167 Mhz LANDMARK SPEED TEST Genuine
1200 MEG HARD DISK 12ms ACCESS Australian, Fully 1200 MEG HARD DISK 12ms ACCESS Australian, Fully
12ms ACCESS TIME Upgradable : :|TIME 1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D Upgradable 22] TIME 1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D Upgradable
1.2M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D DR DOS 6.0 213.5" 1.44M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D DR DOS 6.0 213.5" 1.44M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D DR DOS 6.0
3.5" 1.44M JAPANESE BRAND F.D.D atieplind with :1101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD supplied with 21101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD supplied with
101 EXTENDED "CLICK" KEYBOARD | Qvou ou! =| SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS every system. "= |SERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS every system.
ISERIAL, PARALLEL, GAMES PORTS — |Dog. $50 extra:-11 MEG VGA CARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE DOS 5 $50 extra £11 MEG VGA CARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE
11 MEG VGA CARD. IBM* COMPATIBLE "| TOWER CASE & 220W POWER SUPPLY 2] TOWER CASE & 220W POWER SUPPLY DOS 5 $50 extra
TOWER CASE & 220W POWER SUPPLY Bs SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP | SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP
SUPA VGA COLOUR MONITOR (1024 x 768 Res) 0.28" DP |: 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY 4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY
4 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY a SPEADSHEET, WORDPRCESSOR & DATABASE SPEADSHEET, WORDPRCESSOR & DATABASE
SPEADSHEET, é SOFTWARE. SOFTWARE.
WORDPRCESSOR & TAX INC. ASSEMBLED & TESTED TAX INC. ASSEMBLED & TESTED
DATABASE SOFTWARE. IN AUSTRALIA. IN AUSTRALIA ith vn
IDEAL CAD MACHINE! $3999 tax ex. IDEAL CAD MACHINE! $3999 TAXEX
ee STHALIA 6 992;095D ‘TAXING.
ASSEMBLED & TESTED

FREIGHT CHARGE BASED ON S5KG ||.

MAIL ORDER HOTLINE: 008 33 57 57. ORDER FAX LINE: (03) 543 4871 ENQUIRES (03) 543 7877
COMPUTER SYSTEM |
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MELBOURNE: 48 A’'BECKETT ST. MELBOURNE. PH. (03) 639 1640. FAX: 639 1641. Melb-Metro.$12.00 Vie country....$23.00 |:
OAKLEIGH: 240C HUNTINGDALE RD, OAKLEIGH. PH: (03) 562 8939 FAX: (03) 562 8940 Sydney....... $18.00 NSW country.$39.00 |: atererate ate
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NORTHCOTE 425 HIGH ST. NORTHCOTE, PH. 489 8866. FAX: 489 8131. Adelaide.....$18.00 S.A country...$39.00 |:
SYDNEY:74 PARRAMATTA RD, STANMORE. PH: (02) 519 3134. FAX: (02) 516 5024. QLD country.$55.00 |:
NEW STORE - ADELAIDE: 241-243 WRIGHT ST, ADELAIDE. PH(08) 211 7200 FAX: (08) 211 7273 W.A country..$75.00 |:
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| Tasmania....$55.00
ALL DISKS INCLUDE WRITE PROTECTS & ENVELOPES 1-9 boxes 10+ 1:8 Goked: 16; Subbues ta
BOXES OF TEN DISKS LIFETIME WARRANTY 3 1/2"DD $19.95 $18.95 |’ 3 4/o"DD $23.95 $22.95 3 1/2"DD $21.95 $19.95
Fe ee es i ee ee 3 1/2"HD $45.95 $42.95 | 3 1/2"HD $44.50 $42.50 | 3 1/2"HD $39.95 $37.95
5 1/4" DS/HD $8.50 $8.25 $8.10 $7.50 $6.60 5 1/4"HD $23.95 $22.95
5 1/4"HD $24.95 $22.95 | 5 1/4"HD $18.95 $16.95
31/2" DS/DD $7.90 $7.20 $6.90 $6.50 $6.00 ,
31/2" DS/HD $14.95 $12.90 $11.95 $10.50 $9.90

LX-400 80 Col, 9 Pin Dot $Q-2550 80 Col, 24 Nozzel loan ea - coe ene
r ink jet, 600 Cps Draft, 198 . ps Dra , Colour
repute ptaby mehLQ, Push Tractor, Standard,Push Tractor Smart Park
022054 cocccecceccecceseee $249 Smart Park Feature, Feature. C22073.....c.sccccsee $1095
©2209) :ssessccecoossneasessess $1995
LQ-1070 136 Col, 24 Pin Dot
LX-850 80 Col, 9 Pin Dot
Matrix, 240 Cps Draft k: a Matrix, 252 Cps Draft., 84 Cps
NLQ, Scalable Fonts, 8 to 32
48 Cos NLQ, Push Tractor, (~ 7, LQ-400 80 Col, 24 Pin Dot
point, 11 LQ Fonts, 360 x 360
Smert Park Feature Matrix, 180 Cps Draft, 60 NLQ
DPI, Top, Rear, Bottom, and
©22074vccccccscerecscesere $365 Pull Tractor Front Paper Feedpaths,
3 C22070 eoccsccescccceceneces $439 Convertable Push/Pull Tractor

FX- 1050 136 Col, 9 Pin Dot ine C2206 .neicrssconsccecusencsceses $775
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Cps NLQ, Push Tractor, ce LQ-570 80 Col, 24 Pin Dot :
Smart Park Feature. Matrix, 252 Cps Draft, 84 ar ! ve viae a oo.
AT ices as cccchsiaresens $925 Cps, NLQ Scalable Fonts Hegeshn, Paves B to a
8 to 32 points, 11 LQ Fonts ’ y
360 x 360 DPI, Top, Rear point, 11 LQ Fonts, 360 x 360
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eee ; Bottom and Front paper . y ?
ink jet, 600 Cps Draft, 198 gy Front Paper Feedpaths,
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ps LQ, Push Tractor, see ear Push/Pull Tractor Convertable Push/Pull Tractor
Smart Park Feature. ee 622068 575 "2554
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LQ-1060 136 Col, 24Pin Dot Matrix’
LQ-100 80 Col, 24 Pin Dot Matrix 292 Cps Draft, 98 Cps LQ, Colour
LQ-870 80 Col, 24 Pin Dot
200 Cps Draft, 72 LQ, Built-in sheet 3 Standard,Push Tractor, Smart
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feeder,8 fonts, 2 scalable fonts. Cps NLQ, Scalable Fonts,
BRAD Is snp csicwssckczosccnrenes $475 8 to 32 points, 11LQ Fonts, COORG aoni ccavvasasecivosscsssneses $1,395
360 x 360 DPI, Top, Rear,
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multimedia presentations. Video blaster supports lifelike lead which is fitted with a
colours on your standard VGA monitor. The way power board. Don't kis. Socket on one end and a
characteristics of Red, Green & Blue - brightness, youself by loading up the Piggy back double adaptor
contrast, hue - can be controlled: stereo audio volume power point with Double plug on the other. Turns
can also be individually mixed via the software. adaptors. This is the save your one point power point
With Video Blaster, video images can be digitized and and neat way to use 12 into two while giving you
captured through the Video Blaster for use with other appliances out of the one the benefit of an extension
programs for storage, presentation, and even socket. cord.
animation! Experience the thrills and ease of graphics Comes with a 1 metre fitted 1 Metre
overlayed with video sources through the Video
Biaster.Cropping, scaling, masking and zooming are
eae re ns ore 6 ONS a pond... seseens $5.95
ampe,
standard features supported by the Video Blaster. 2400 watts. Also has 2 Metre
Also included with Video Biaster “TEMPRA GIF” - An overioad protection. P18070............00.. $6.95

imaging tool that allows you to edit images with 256

colours - Aliso support 32767 Hicolour mode.
P18038......$34.95
TEMPRA SHOW - A tool for creating multimedia
presentation . Also includes Connection cables - VIDEO
KIT software > VBDEMO A simple demonstration
program for Video blaster
X17040........cssscescrcccercsensscsceseceee
799.00
 SSAA NAN IN NINN NN

ARRAN HANAN SNR

1000+ 10K
$0.03 $0.02 10 10-68 100+ 1K
000+
$0.04 $0.03 10140(R) $0.15 $0.12 $0.10 $0.08
As used in projects or $0.06 $0.05 $0.04 210141(G).. $0.20 $0.18 $0.15 $0.12
—jas replacement. Diecast boxes are excellent 1014XY).. $0.20 $0.18 $0.15 $0.12
for RF sheildingand
$0.07 $0.06 $0.05 1-8 104 10145(0).. $0.20 $0.18 $0.15 $0.12
$14050.... strength. : $0.11 2155 240V 6-15V 1A
M12155........ $8.95 $7.95
Screws are provided with
2156 240V 6-15V A2 '210150(R). $0.15 $0.12 $0.10 $0.08
each box. M12156.......$13.95 $12.95
H11451 10151(G). $0.25 $0.20 $0.18 $0.12
2881 240V 12-6V CT 250mA 101S2(Y).. $0.25 $0.20 $0.18 $0.12
100 x 50 x 25mm........ $8.95 M128S1......... $4.95 .. $4.50
H11452 6672 240V 15 30ve 1A tapped See
110 x 60 x 30mm........$9.50 M16672........ $12.95 $11.95
H11453
120 x 65 x 40mm.......$10.50
H11461 1-9 10+ 100+
{9 mm hole, available 120 x 94 x 53mm......$13.95 Save a small fortune on $1.10 $1.00 $0.80

=
3 colours H11462 these “Direct import” low
IS14030 Red......... $1.20 188 x 120 x 78mm....$15.95 XT PS 1g0W........... $139.00 profile IC sockets! PCB 80 x 80 x 25.4mm
H11464 FULL TOWER mounting solder tall. All tin 12V OC. 1.7 Watt 0.14 Amp
S14032 Green.....$1.45
$14034 Yellow....$1.45
188 x 188 x 64mm....$29.50 ZZOW P.S.....ccccerseesee $149.00 plated phosphor bronze or T12469....scccccscsors $18.95
MINI TOWER

y/
berryilium and dual wipe for 10+ fans, only $17.95
ZOOW PLS.....cccceseesere $89.00 reliability. 1-8 10¢ 1004 1K
BABY AT 1-8 10+ 100+ Quality fans for use in RED 20¢ 15¢ 12¢ 10¢
P.S 2OOW..,..crssseseeee $89.00 P10550 8 pin 15¢ 12¢ 10¢ power amps, computer GREEN 20¢ 15¢ 12¢ 10¢
SLIMLINE BABY AT P10560 14pin 20¢ 18¢ 15¢ hotspot cooling etc. YELLOW 20¢ 15¢ 12¢ 10¢
P.S. ZOOW......recreseoes $89.00

—
P10565 16pin 20¢ 18¢ 16¢ Anywhere you need plenty
P10567 18pin 30¢ 25¢ 22¢ of alr.
P10568 20pin 35¢ 30¢ 25¢ 240V 4 5/8" T12461..$16.95
P10569 22pin 35¢ 30¢ 26¢ 115V 4 5/8" T12463..$16.95
cat no. $/Mtr P10570 24pin 35¢ 30¢ 26¢ 240V 3 1/2" T12465..$16.95
W12614 14way $1.90 PN100: a NPN general P10572 28pin 45¢ 35¢ 30¢ 115V 3 1/2" T12467..$16.95
W12616 16way $2.20 purpose medium power 1-0 106 100+
W12620 20way $2.50 amp and switch with P10680 DESP $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
W12624 24way $2.90 continuous collector P10885 DESS $1.00 $0.70 $0.60
W12625 25way $3.20 current up to 500mA. This inexpensive range of P10881 DA1SS $1.00 $0.70 $0.60
PN200: a PNP general modular interlocking units P10882 DA1SC $1.00 $0.90 $0.60
W12626 26way $3.60 P10805 DA1SS $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
purpose amp at collector enables a quick easy way
W12634 34way $3.90 currents to 1 AMP. of experimenting with new P10902 DB25C $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
W12636 36way $3.90 Both are TO-82 plastic circiuts and ideas. There P10904 DB25P $1.00 $0.80 $0.60
These quality 3 level wire
W12640 40way $4.90 package. are two main unite P10005 DB25S $1.00 $0.80 $0.60

ey
wrap sockets are tin plated
W12650 50way $5.90 consisting of a terminal phosphor bronze. 1-9 10+
W12660 60way $6.90 PN2221, PN2222, PN2222A, strip or distribution and a P10579 Spin $1.50 $1.40 $11010 S.P.0.T $1.20 $1.10
PN3585, PN3568, PN3569, central plug in unit. P10580 14pin $1.85 $1.70 $11020 D.P.0.T $1.30 $1.20
PN3643, PN5133, 2N2219A, * 100 holes. P10585 16pin $1.95 $1.80
2N2222A, 2N3414, 2N3415, P10587 18pin $1.95 $1.80
2N3416, 2N3417, 2N3700, P10590 20pin $2.95 $2.75 ¥ 19 104+ 100+
2SJ49 $9.50 $8.00 $7.00

i)
2N3704, 2N3904, 2N4123, P10592 22pin $2.95 $2.70
2N4124, 2N4401, 2N5088, P10594 24pin $3.95 $3.50 2SJ56 $10.00 $9.50 $8.50
2N5210. P10596 28pin $3.95 $3.50 2SK134 $8.50 $8.00 $7.00
*2560 + 700 holes
P10598 40pin $4.95 $4.50 2SK176 $9.50 $8.90 $6.90
PN2907, PN2907A, PN3638,
2SJ50 $9.50 $8.50 $7.00
PN3638A, PN3640, PN3644,
© P11018............ $69.95
Description 1-8 104 1004 2SK135 $9.50 $8.50 $7.00
PN4121, PN4143, PN4248, 7805UC $0.50 $0.45 $0.40
Spectrol Model
PN4249, PN4250, PN4355, 7812UC $0.50 $0.45 $0.40
5341/4" shaft.
PN4916, PN4917, PN5910, 7815UC $0.50 $0.45 $0.40
Equivalent (Bourns 2N2905A, 2N3467, 2N3702, 7905UC $0.60 $0.55 $0.50 With pins for easy board
insertion. ©10170
3540S Beckman 7256) 2N3906, 2N4125, 2N4126, 7912UC $0.60 $0.55 $0.50

bl
1-9 10-68 100+ 1000+
Dials to suit 16-1-11, 2N4291, 2N4402, 2N4403, 7915UC $0.60 $0.55 $0.50
$1.20 $1.00 $0.90 $0.70
18-1-11, 21-1-11. 2N5086, 2N5087, 2N5447. 78LO5 $0.40 $0.30 $0.28
78L12 $0.40 $0.30 $0.28

=a
R14050 50R R14100 5K PN100......T90001
R14055 100R R14110 10K LM324 $1.00 $0.90 $0.80
PN200......T90002 « Six conductor shielded
555 $0.40 $0.38 $0.33
R14060 200R _R14120 20K computer interface cable.
R14070 500R R14080 1K
1-9 10+ 100+
W12670 -CIC6 6con. 741 $0.50 $0.45 $0.39
R14090 2K
$0.20 $0.18 $0.15 1-0M 10M+ 100Ms / r

1-9 10+ $1.30M $1.10M $1.00M ~ ~~

* DESP Spin plug
$12.95 $10.90 W12672 -CIC9 9con. P33 :

19M 10M¢ 100M+¢ P12166 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00

1-9 10¢ 1004
R14130 50K.......cccc00 $16.95 * DA15P 15pin plug
$1.60M $1.50M $1.20M
P12168 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00
BC 547 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
W12674 -CiC12 12 con.
* DB25P 25 pin plug
BC 548 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
1-9M 10M+ 100M+
P12170 $4.50 $3.95 $3.50 2 WAY....cceccecreees $59.95 BC 549 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
$2.50M $2.20M $1.90M 4 WAY.....cceceeseeee $69.95 BC 557 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
W12676 - CIC16 16 con. -
MONITOR & KEYBOARD BC 558 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
1-0M 10Me 100Me BC 559 $0.15 $0.10 $0.07
te
he -

SWITCH BOXES $69.50

$3.50M $3.20M $250M
BC 327 $0.20 $0.15 $0.12
« YELLOW........ 210148 W12678 - CIC25 25 con.
BC 337 $0.20 $0.15 $0.12
1-9 1-8M 10M+ 100Ms
10+
$3.90M $3.40M $3.00M BD 139 $0.75 $0.60 $0.50
$1.00 $0.90 BD 140 $0.75 $0.60 $0.50
Unencoded keypad, 10
digit keys plus two utility 1-8 104 100+ e Lever operated suc on
keys. Light grey in colour. * DESS 9 pin socket
base grip for instant
OUTPUT ARRANGEMENT: P12167 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00
* DA1SS 15 pin socket mounting & portability.
pen Pin No. Symbol ¢ Mounts on smooth
Coe SRI RAT N.A. P12169 $1.50 $1.20 $1.00
¢ DB2SS 15 pin socket non-porous surfaces
;ikiieisnodectoulbensih Shield plate Save a fortune on * Ideal for holding &
P12171 $4.50 $3.95 $3.50
Matisddapa bidennncaneones Column 2 (INTERLOCKING ENDS)
expensive throw away other small objects .
These terminals feature
| ORESENTS Row 1 batteries with these
Asssiabehaignendbbkiondé Column 3 interlocking ends to form
quality Nicads and any number of connections.
RTE RE TIES Row.1 Rechargers!
irisabsincodavwngnatd Column 1 1" SPACING Size AA 450mAH
_ TORE ara Row 2 P12060 10pin $3.95 $3.50 1-8 104 100+
i siisibcspnateveneneduad Row 3 P12062 20pin $4.25 $3.75 $2.95 $2.75 $2.50 Better than an
ee sicAdehibninnbievenite N.A. P12064 26pin $4.50 $3.95 SizeC 12AH 18 104 1004 extra pair of hands
Cat. C19030 P12066 34pin $4.95 $3.95 $9.95 $9.50 $8.95 * Plug P12200 A must for all PCB eork.
1-9 10+ 100+ P12068 40pin $5.95 $4.95 SizeD 12AH $3.95 $3.00 $2.95
$9.95 $9.50 $8.95 «Socket P12201 T12444........00000. $9.95
$2.95 $2.50 $1.95 P12070 SOpin $6.95 $5.95
 Combines Quick-Step lessons with end
of chapter questions & answers for Beginners will find just what they need to
Simple instructions show readers how
effective instruction. Explains functions, become proficient with 1-2-3 in this step-
to navigate, customize, & manage
commands, & installation of DOS. Also by-step guide. Provides a clear
Windows plus gain maximize
includes tips on file management & more presentation of program fundamentals.
performance with the Windows
advanced programming with the latest Offers practical, business-oriented
accessories. Learn how to use the
features of DOS version 5 ? examples, numerous screen shots, &
popular programs for Windows & run
B22008B........s.-czeseeecesseeonee$34.95 quick steps to frequently used procedures
standard DOS applications
Includes new Smarticon Tips that
highlight handy shortcuts B22002.cevesrererereeeeeeeeers
$34.95
B2200G............ccsccesesensseeneee
4.95

(| a
|WORDPERFECT | The First Book of |
>A | WORDPERFECT $t

|FOR WINDOWS |
,i

SNRs a wf

Hy

|
|sams |
|
The step-step style provides readers
with a quick, practical, approach to
Offers easy to read, consice introduction learning this popular spreadsheet for
for first time users as well as a handy Excellent beginner's guide for Wordperfect's
Windows. « Teaches users how to
reference for experienced users. It covers newest product. Easy-to-use quick step
implement the basics of the programs
all of the latest features of this newest lessons take the reader through the most
functions. « Covers setting up
release. Quick steps, key notesreference important functions.
spreadsheets, databases, & charts as
tables &reviews are included to help guide Users then move on to more advanced
well as including graphics. « Includes
subject, such as automating WordPerfect
the reader quickly through the text. FY Idea notes for using features in a
with macros & formatting style sheets.
B22000............00.ccsesesseesee-
34.99 new way. B22010................$34.95
version to 1.1. B22004..............$34.95

DR DOS 6

A compact & instant

Extensive reference reference for the most —
for all users of DR DOS. often used commands, options &
#4] The best selling quick grr ¢ Alpfabetized commands latest enhancements of this best
| guide to using Word for explain syntax, switches, and other selling utilities program. Become
E:| Windows 2. - Alphabetic listings mak = The quick guide to using Excel for
parameters familiar with the features & shortcuts
4 commands easy to find. « Provides an :1 Windows!
that can make file maintenance more
7 overview of Word for Windows Basics
* Includes the ViewMAX Shell =] « Provides alphabetical listings to make
command map. Provides common efficient & more effective
4 ¢ Includes tips on the draw feature and J commands easy to find
configurations files =4 ¢ Features a sections on Excel basics B21302..............0000919.95
4 graphic integrations
B23000............-.-s00000- 19.95
B23002...........0000000000619.95 <q ¢ Covers Worksheets and macro
“4 functions.
WINDOWS 3.1
B23004...........200.....19.95

oN Offers fast
information
that makes 1-2-3 speadsheets, graphs
and reports effeicient and effective.
¢ Create detailed worksheets
4 Alphabetic listing make information easy * Generate full featured graphs and
4 to find! - Covers EDIT, configuration The quick and easy reference to all reports
¢ Instant reference
| system, and batch commands Windows commands!
for vital operations
¢ Track your income and expences
| Helpe readers determine proper syntax Alphabetical listings are task oriented ¢ Enhance your worksheets with the
4 « Includes tips and cautions 24 ¢ Alphabetical listings
<4 and use of DOS commands Wysiwyg features.
xq ¢ Provides step-by-etep procedures for 4 make information easy iam :
=] + Inclues batch files and keyboard 24 to find.
* Speed up your 1-2-3 operations with
“4 shortcuts 166 pages. Ss major Windows features. Smarticons.
1 B21267...........$19.95 1 B21306.......ssccesoeeeeee6$19.95 4 B21268...........000000-4-.$19.95 B21264............00000.-.19.95
 CatNo. Type Price
)
U20550 2716......$11.75
z t

U20560 2732......$9.00
ran
xs

eke Learn what

SE, $

Solar power is. With this great

U20590 2764......$6.95
~
kit you can make an electrical U20540 27128....$7.50
circuit. Learn how to increase U20542 27256....$9.00
voltage, increase current. « Copy area 9 1/2" x 11" U20544 27512....$12.50
for 2 ‘'AA' size batteries 219040 * Sliding line glide
219056 mm - Flat metal base
1 C21060.....1..0.. a Cat.No. Type Price
These are ideal for simple solar U20591 27C32....$14.95
experimemts. Can be connected U20592 27C64....$5.50
with other solar cells. U20593 27C128..$7.50
Never be caught short of power U20594 27C256..$9.00
again. 4 power sources, Solar U20595 27C512..$11.50
dynamo by manual winding, DC U20546 27C010..$22.50
Never lose your keys again with and battery. Z19064....$49.95
this clever little device.
The solar powered keychain with Adjustable arms allows easy
light will let you find where you positioning
}:
| This is a great starter kit FL aeenssmans tne he -|
left your keys where you left 'e Copy area 9 1/2” x 11”
consisting of a 0.9V 400mA solar ee ener

them just by listening to music.

cell and a small motor with a 48"
The solar powered light will
* Sliding line glide SINGLE
wire. Great for beginner or just
always let you find that illusive « Clamping Mounting P10536.....$5.95 _:

ithe curious! keyhole in the dark. A very OZ TOG 2 iivissnencidvencencs $39.95 shrpmagamanl

handy idea and all run on FREE

power! DOUBLE
Z19060........0sece00 294.95 P10538............ $6.95
o- | These are good quality SIMM
sockets with metal clips at the
Black, White & Grey- ends and not the plastic ones
which tend to break.
Emulation scanner with « Attaches to the top your
powerful Photo/Image monitor
Automatically turns on & off at
night & day.
Editor & Multilingual - Put your copy right where
you need it.
¢ Detachable solar panel for Never worry about your car Omnifont OCR. ¢ Spring clip to hold paper
indoor & outdoor use. battery going flat when left Three grey emulation modes « Velcro at mount for easy * Holds 5 disks
e Unique protection for low without being used over a allows you to bring excellent removal Comes in 6 different
voltage discharge circuitry prolonged period of time. reproductions of pictures
makes charging quick & easy colours
Simply place the solar power
-Easy to install, equipped with
into your reports, brochures, C16050 Red C16054 Yellow
unit on your dash or near a
accessories for easy assembly. window in your garage and plug etc.Perfect for scanning line C16052 Orange C16056 Green
Place it beside the house - art. Scan objects in C16058 Biue C16060 Grey
it into your car cigarette lighter.
ONY woosceccesceees $3.50 Each.
inumber, pathway, or in the The unit consists of solar celis resolutions from 100 to 400
garden, 51/4" PLASTIC <¢:
in a housing with 1 metre of dpi.
S PEEDY CHARGING : cable and cigarette lighter plug. DISK HOLDER
ONLY 6 HOURS OF CHARGING GO-CR * Holds 6 floppy
Z19054.. grcmsigs «0929.95
WILL GIVE 12 HOUR OF USE AT ae This package includes the disks
NIGHT. GO-CR Optical Character pocket sized inverter with
Z19060..........ce0eee0 $39.95 Recognition (OCR) program. punch. It will power a 5 1/4" DISK
GO-CR scans text images myriad of appliances STORAGE
into computer readable text including TV's, Video's, CASES
files. The multilingual * Made of Sturdy
drills, lights, laptops and
KEYCHAIN BATTERY capabilities allows you to
recognize documents in any
computers, just to name a
few! Continuous power
olack flexible plastic.
¢ Holds 10 or more
ANALYZER FOR one of 80 languages.
5 1/4" disks.
rating is 140 watts, However ¢ Display positions
TESTING ALL SIZES OF GO-CR is the supreme PC it will run most appliances 1-8 104 1004

Build great littie solar powered

BATTERIES typist! with a name plate rating of C12820......0.02 $3.95 $3.50 $3.00
wooden models with this kit! ZQOG 2siscmsryosesennce $4.95 Edit, enhance and design 200 watts. Surge ratingisa | MEMOREX
There are 3 different models to professional-quaility images 3.5"Plastic disk
very real 400 watts .
choose from a helicopter with holder
with iPhoto Deluxe. * Holds 10 Disks
working motor, aeroplane with
Combine images from
working motor and gramophone
several scans. It can even
DON'T PAY $198-00. C12840.....$3.95
that plays music.
convert your black & white DEALER & WHOLESALE
Each kit contains a set of precut
plywood, PVA cement, assembly photos to true greyscale ENQUIRES WELCOME.
instruction sheet, solar cell format. The ease of it's
module, musical IC or small DC 12V. Voc 16V (max) 18V Windows based operation
motor, wire and sand paper. Isc 400mA (max) 500mA makes the power of this
219044 WAS $99.00 professional utility
| Aeroplane........... $17.95 Z19028....NOW $89.00 accessible to everyone.
Z19046 seibaa eouailepe io de $299.00
Gramophone......$17.95
Z19048
$17.95 12V Voc 16V (max) 18V
Isc 800mA (max) 1000mA
WAS $199
Z19036....NOW.$179.00

Cat No. Type Price

12V 16V (max) 18V U21841 287XL $210.00
Isc 1200mA (max) 1500mA U21851 387DX $459.00
WAS $299 U21854 387SX-16 $310.00
Z19050....eeoreesesereee$12.95 Z19038.......... NOW .$259.00 U21855 387SX-25 $335.00
 For recreational vehicles & farms

A 2kW 24V/240V.
This high power inverter can deliver for powering all appliances and may
result in the appliance overheating or
2000 watts (continuous) at 240VAC. It malfunctioning.
To understand why this can: hap-
operates from a 24V battery supply to pen we need to examine the differ-
ences between a sinewave with an
produce a sinewave output - the same RMS value of 240VAC and a square
as from the 50Hz AC mains supply. wave with the same RMS value of
240VAGC. For the sinewave, the peak
of the waveform is just under ’340V
while for the square wave itis only
The availability of 240VAC mains verter is completely silent and causes around 240V. As an improvement on
power is almost a prerequisite for mod- no pollution. It can operate from a this, the modified square wave is of-
ern living. We rely on it for powering battery bank which is charged by a ten used to provide a higher peak
such items as refrigerators, washing solar cell array. voltage. To maintain the 240VAG out-
machines, microwave ovens, power Up till now though, there have been put, the duty cycle ofthe waveform is
tools and hifi and video equipment. few high power inverters available decreased.
In fact, just about all domestic appli- and most have not had sinewave out- The lower peak cottage from the
ances are designed to operate from put. To our knowledge, this is the first square wave inverter can be a disad-
mains power. really high power inverter to be de- vantage when powering appliances
It is only when mains power is una- scribed in any magazine throughout which rely on the peak voltage being
vailable that its importance is fully the world and it is certainly the first at 340V. Any appliance which uses a
realised. At remote building sites, do-it-yourself design to produce a rectifier and filter to obtain a DC volt-
mains power is required for circular genuine sinewave output. age for its internal power supply usu-
saws, drills and sanders, while many ally depends on the peak voltage for
farm houses and sheds are unserviced Basic waveforms correct operation. Examples of these
by mains power simply because the Fig.1(a) shows the sinewave output appliances are hifi equipment, TVs,
cost of bringing the power in from the of the new inverter. It has a peak out- VCRs and microwave ovens.
national grid can be prohibitive. put of close to 340V, similar to that On the other hand, many TV sets
The only practical alternatives to from a normal 50Hz mains supply. and most computers use switchmode
mains power are either motor genera- Most commercial and kit inverter de- power supplies and most of these can
tors or a solid state inverter. Motor signs on the market provide only a function satisfactorily with the lower
generators work well but they are ex- square wave or a modified square peak voltages provided by square wave
pensive to run, cause air pollution wave output (Fig.1b & Fig.1c). This inverters. The reason they do so is
and can be noisy. By contrast, an in- type of waveform may not be suitable simply because they are designed to

RIOR

16 SILICON CHIP
 seat ere OO EE TF eS

By JOHN CLARKE

Sinew ave Inverter

This project sponsored by Rod Irving Electronics, 1992.

The 2kW sinewave inverter will power fridges, washing machines, microwave
ovens, power tools, lights & video/hifi equipment. It runs from 24V DC &, used washing machines, vacuum cleaners,
in conjunction with a solar panel array, could form the basis of an electricity TVs, VCRs, lights, microwave ovens,
supply system on farms & in other remote locations where no mains supply power tools and video and hifi equip-
system is available. ment. We would not normally expect
it to be used to power appliances such
function over a large range of mains cause the motor will be drawing sub- as electric jugs, frypans or radiators
voltages. stantial current when the drive tran- since it would be far more efficient to
Electric motors can also present sistors are being switched. use natural gas or LPG for heating and
problems when driven by square wave While lagging power factor in in- cooking.
inverters. The high harmonic content duction motors still presents prob-
can lead to higher power dissipation lems for sinewave inverters, this new Physical dimensions
in the motor and more buzz from the design has enough power to start and The new sinewave inverter is not a
windings and laminations. In com- run just about any domestic appli- small package and nor could you ex-
mutator motors, the low peak voltage ance using an electric motor (apart pect it to be since it delivers such
can result in a lower top speed, while from airconditioners). high power. It is large and bulky. It
the lagging power factor can cause In normal use, we expect that this measures 452mm wide x 170mm high
problems for induction motors be- inverter will be used to power fridges, x 400mm deep and weighs 12kg. On

OCTOBER 1992 17
a Pe peter ee Set reg

the lefthand side of the front panel is

the DC power switch, LED power in-
dicator and fuseholder while at the
right is the double general purpose
output (GPO) socket.
At the rear of the fabricated alu-
minium enclosure are the heavy duty
cables for connection to the 24V bat-
tery. These carry DC currents of more
than 100 amps at full load.
- Both the left and righthand sides of
the case carry large vertical heatsinks
to dissipate the heat from the switch-
ing devices in the inverter circuitry.
Not only is the inverter case large
and bulky but the circuitry inside is
heavy duty. As already noted, it draws
input currents of more than 100A at
24V and this is used to generate volt-
ages as high as 370V DC. This high
voltage means that this inverter must _ Fig.2: the block diagram of the 2kW sinewave inverter shows that it involves
be treated with the same caution and two processes; DC to DC conversion and DC to sinewave conversion.
respect as the 240VAC mains supply.
Fig.2 shows the basic arrangement the 365V DC to form a pulse train tially clean 50Hz sinewave. So in ef-
of the inverter circuitry. 24V DC from with a duty cycle calculated to give fect, there are two processes: DC to
the battery is stepped up to around the same RMS value as a 240VAC DC inversion and then DC to AC sine-
365V DC in a transformer driven DC 50Hz sinewave. wave conversion.
to DC converter. This high voltage This varying duty cycle pulse train Because the DC to DC inverter runs
then feeds a switchmode sinewave is then fed to a filter to remove all the at a high frequency, as does the sine-
converter which essentially chops up high frequencies, leaving an essen- wave conversion process, there is no

Fig.3: this more detailed block diagram of the 2kW inverter illustrates the
isolated voltage feedback system and the bss output drive which provides
the sinewave conversion.

18 SILICON CHIP
 Re
ROS SHH OSH ® OBS BF

SRKHSK
SH

This inside view of the prototype 2kW inverter was taken at a late stage of its development. In
the lower section of the chassis is the large high-frequency transformer which is driven by the
circuitry immediately below it. In the top lefthand corner is the high voltage rectifier & filter
capacitor & the sinewave filter circuitry, while at top right is the PROM-based sinewave
generator circuitry. Note the 100-amp cartridge fuse in the bottom lefthand corner of the chassis.
| The vertical board at the top of the photograph carries the H-pack switching devices.

OCTOBER 1992 19
 provides us with an accurate and pre-
4 cise 50Hz sinewave.
Ln
Ve“——~ AVERAGED
The way in which points X and Y
‘VALUE are switched is depicted in the wave-
forms of Fig.4. The top waveform
shows the voltage at point X (Vx) while
the second waveform shows the volt-
age at point Y (Vy). The difference
between these two waveforms is the
AVERAGED voltage between points X and Y and
VALUE
I 1
LPNS when this voltage (Vxy) is filtered by
the output filter consisting of L1, C1
and L2, the result is a 240VAC 50Hz
sinewave.
In effect, Fig.4 shows point Y being
held high for the first 10ms while
point X is rapidly switched between
365V and OV. For the next 10ms, point
~ sorteFILTERED X is held at 365V while point Y is
SINEWAVE
rapidly switched between 365V and
-365V
OV.
Fig.4: the switching process used in the H-pack drive circuit. The ; Notice that the series of switchings
switching sequence for half the sinewave is stored in memory and the between 365V and OV varies from very
resulting difference between Vx and Vy is Vxy which becomes a 50Hz narrow OV going pulses at the start
sinewave after filtering. and end of the sinewave half cycle to
being at OV for almost all of the time
at the peak of the sinewave.
The switching sequence stored in
large and heavy 50Hz 2kW transformer nals to provide full high-voltage iso- the PROM actually only gives half the
employed. Such a transformer could lation. This isolation is provided by sinewave but when the difference is
be expected to weigh 25kg or more. the insulation between the primary taken between the voltages at points
The DC to DC inverter does employ a and secondary windings of the trans- X and Y we get the full sinewave.
transformer but it is a high- frequency former and the optically coupled volt- To make the waveform diagrams of
design weighing less than 3kg. age feedback. This prevents the bat- Fig.4 easier to read, we have shown
tery terminals from being at a high only 10 switchings for each 10ms
Detailed block diagram and lethal voltage above ground period whereas there are actually 40
Fig.3 shows a more detailed sche- should a fault occur in any equip- switchings per 10ms halfwave inter-
matic arrangement of the inverter. ment powered by the inverter. val, or 80 switchings per 50Hz cycle.
Here the 24V battery voltage is fed to In other words, the four switches of
the just mentioned high frequency Sinewave converter the H-pack circuit are switched at
step-up transformer which is driven Across the 365V DC supply rail are 4kHz, with a constantly varying duty
by power Mosfets in a push-pull con- connected four switches, in an H-pack cycle.
figuration. The step-up ratio is x18 configuration. Switch 1 is in series Full high-voltage isolation is pro-
and the resulting AC voltage is recti- with switch 3 and switch 2 is in series vided between the sinewave genera-
fied by a full-wave bridge and filtered with switch 4. The junction between tor outputs at A, B, C and D and
with a high voltage capacitor. switch 1 and switch 3 is point X and switches 1, 2,3 and 4 across the 365V
The optically-isolated voltage feed- the junction between switch 2 and DC supply. This is achieved by using
back circuit adjusts the duty cycle of switch 4 is point Y. : fast optocouplers for the signals and
the Mosfet switching so that the DC If switch 1 is turned on and switch miniature transformers to supply the
voltage from the inverter remains more 3 is off, point X is pulled up to 365V. necessary power required for each of
or less constant regardless of the load Conversely, if switch 3 is on and the switches.
current. switch 1 is off, then point X is pulled Switches 1, 2, 3 and 4 are high
Readers may be wondering why the down to OV. Similarly, point Y can be power insulated-gate bipolar transis-
transformer step-up ratio is x18 when pulled up to 365V or down to OV, tors (IGBTs). These have a very high
this multiplied by the 24VDC input depending on the closure of switch 2 voltage and current rating and are su-
will give 67V more than the required or switch 4 respectively. perior in this application to power
365VDC. The extra leeway is needed The switchmode sinewave genera- Mosfets. Only four of these devices
to make up for losses in the inverter, tor has four outputs which drive are used in the H-pack circuit and
the rectifier diodes and the filter so switches 1, 2, 3 and 4. The duration they provide the full 2 kilowatt out-
that we can still obtain around 365V and sequence of switching are stored put from the inverter. |
at the full 2kW load. in a Programmable Read Only Memory Next month we shall continue the
The 365V supply rail is floating (PROM) which is driven by counters circuit description and feature the full
with respect to the 24V battery termi- clocked by a crystal oscillator. This parts list. sc

~ 20 SILICON CHIP
 Gnd
£ ekpk= 240m
fFf° & i mr
= chit
3 4 | fatefH si

&
eh

| \] \f|
|\\——pos neg

Whether you speak 01010011 or analog, Philips provides - eee Sag} —‘he powerful DSO specifications
you with a complete analog and digital oscilloscope in one | give you extensive trace storage
MTG 30Gns
instrument. With a sampling rate of 200 megasamples per possibilities. And processing ca-
second and a bandwidth up to 200 MHz our easy- to-use 4-channel”
oscilloscopes represent state-of-the-art technology. With direct access
functions. Innovations like a probe mounted button which allows you to
recall set ups. Perform Autoset. Freeze display as well as display You'll measure better performance
measured results.
In the analog mode, extremely fast update and infinite display For further information please contact your local
resolution allow you to see three dimensionally. For instance, the Philips Test & Measurement Organisation:
SYDNEY (02) 888 0416 BRISBANE (07) 844 0191
distribution of time-jitter. . MELBOURNE (03) 8813666 ADELAIDE (08) 348 2888
The digital mode is impressive. Logic triggering creates a true PERTH (09) 277 4199 AUCKLAND (09) 89 4160
WELLINGTON (04) 88 9788
4-channel logic analyzer. It is prepared for HDTV triggering.

PHILIPS
PHILIPS
Build a multi-sector
burglar al arm, Pt.2
Last month, we described the features of this Second, the user can now select
whether or not the unit beeps when
versatile home burglar alarm & gave the an entry is detected, prior to sound-
circuit details. In this article, we show you ing the main alarm. If you’re the sort
of person who always remembers to
how to build & operate it. turn an alarm off, the warning beeps
‘
can be disabled. The choice is yours.
By MIKE ZENERE There’s also been a slight change to
the main circuit (Fig.2) that was pub-
Because it’s built around a micro- to the remote keypads during a mains lished last month. First, a larger relay
processor and relies on software, the failure. Previously, the user had no with higher-rated contacts has been
circuit uses relatively few components choice; if the mains failed, the remote substituted for the original unit and
for such a versatile unit. In fact, by keypads could not be used and the this has necessitated the addition ofa
making some slight software changes, backup battery only supplied power simple 1-transistor driver circuit — see
two more features have been added to to the main keypad. You can now Fig.5.
the unit since last month. elect to maintain power to the remote Second, a LED (LED 1) and a 1kQ
First, the user can now select keypads, although this will decrease series resistor has been connected to
whether or not power is maintained the battery back-up time. pin 28 of IC1. This LED is used to
22 SILICON CHIP
confirm that the oscillator based on supply circuit. To do this, connect the
IC2e is operating correctly before the 16VAC plugpack supply to the board
MCU (IC1) is plugged in, but other- with a 10Q 1W resistor in series with
wise plays no part in the circuit op- one of its leads. This resistor will
eration. limit the current if there is.a short on
The necessary changes have been the board. Apply power and check for
made to the relevant PC board. the following DC voltages:
Most of the assembly simply in- (1). Positive terminal C1 = 20V
volves installing parts on the PC (approx).
boards; there is very little interboard ). Output of REG1 = 5V.
wiring involved. However, it is im- (3). Output of REG2 = 15V.
portant to follow the procedure out- (4). Pin 7 of TB1 = 15V.
lined below, as certain sections are (5). Pins 3,6 & 7 of IC1 =5V
assembled and tested before moving (6). Pin 14 of IC2 = 5V.
on to the next stage. (7). Pin 20 of IC3 = 5V.
(8). Pin 14 of IC4 = 5V.
Processor board assembly If all of the above are OK, switch off (13). Collector of Q4 = OV.
Construction begins with the proc- the power and install R3, R4 (mounted (14). Pin 1 of TB3 = 15V (approx).
essor board (Fig.6) and its numerous 10mm above the board), R5-R13 (but Now connect the leads to the bat-
individual circuits. not R8), R20-R22, R62-R65, C6, C7, tery with your multimeter in series
First, install all the links, PC pins Q1-Q4, Q11, Q12, D1, D4-D8, ZD3 with one leg of the circuit and check
and terminal blocks. This done, in- and the battery leads. Now install tem- the charging current. It should be
stall the following parts: BR1, C1, C2, porary links between (1) the +5V out- somewhere between OmA and 35mA.
C31, C32, R1, R2, R3, R8 (mounted put of REG1 and the anode of D4; and If this checks out, remove the meter
10mm above the board), D17, ZD4, (2) the output of REG1 and pin 19 of from the circuit, reconnect the battery
D2, D3, D16, FC1, FC2, FC3, FC4, IC1. This will enable you to check the and check that the following voltages
FC5, FC6, FUSE 1, FUSE 2 & FUSE 3. battery charge circuit. Apply power are correct:
When all these parts are in, attach and check for the following voltages: (15). TB1 pins 11 and 12 = 12V.
REG1 and REG2 to their heatsinks as (9). Positive lead of battery = 14V (16). Output terminal of REG1 = 5V.
shown in Fig.7 and then mount the (approx). (17). Pin 7 of TB1 = 12V.
two regulators on the board (be care- (10). Voltage across R4 = OV. (18). Pin 1 TB3 = 12V.
ful not to transpose them). (11). Collector of Q1 = 19V (approx). Assuming these values are OK, re-
You are now ready to test the power (12). Cathode of ZD3 = 14V (approx). move the 5V temporarily applied to

Fig.6: parts layout for the processor board. It should be assembled & tested exactly as described in the text.

OCTOBER 1992 23
 board and that the LEDs should all be sistor on each of the sector inputs (ie,
mounted above the board so that they between each sector input and the
will later protrude through the front input ground).
panel — see Fig.9. Apply power and check the follow-
Check that all LEDs are correctly ing on the processor board:
oriented; the anode lead is always the (1). LED 1 should be flashing on and
longer of the two. : off at around 2Hz.
The keypad is mounted flush (2). Pin 2 of IC1 should have a wave-
against the board by removing its form on it of 50Hz at 2V p-p (check
mounting tabs and securing it with a using an oscilloscope), while pin 6 of
small amount of adhesive. Short IC2 should be oscillating at a high
lengths of tinned copper wire are then frequency.
used to make the connections. This (3). Pins 3,4, 10 & 11 of IC4 should all
done, locate the two 16-way IDC con- be at 5V.
nectors and crimp both plugs on to Now short out all four of the 10kQ
the ribbon cable as shown in Fig.10. end-of-line resistors in turn and check
Make sure that pin 1 of the first that pins 3, 4, 10 & 11 of IC4 are all at
D4 and pin 19 IC1 and do the follow- connector is terminated to pin 1 of the OV. If one of the outputs does not go to
ing checks: second connector, as a wrong termi- OV, check the circuitry around the
(19). Collector of Q3 = 12V (approx). nation will cause disaster on the dis- relevant gate carefully. If everything
(20). Collector-emitter voltage of Q2 play board. The two IDC connectors is OK, remove the shorts from the
= 1V (approx). can now be soldered to the processor resistors.
(21). Voltage across R4 = 11V and display boards.
(approx). : Now power up and check for 5V at Installing the MCU
(22). Pin 1 TB3 = OV. the following points on the display Switch off the plugpack and make
If all of the above are correct, switch board: pin 8 of J1; pin 20 of IC1 & IC2; sure that the battery is disconnected.
off, remove the temporary links, and and pins 3, 5, 9 & 18 of DISP1. You are now ready to plug in the
complete the board assembly. A socket If all is OK, switch off and solder in MCU (IC1) but make sure that it is
is used for IC1 but before this is sol- the ICs and the display, noting that correctly oriented.
dered in, make sure that D4 is in place, pin 1 of this device is as shown in Apply power again and check that
as it sits under the socket. Fig.11. Be careful — there are no sec- the reset status LED (LED 1) now stays
ond chances with this chip. on. If it does, this indicates that the
Display board assembly © Before plugging in the MCU, it’s processor is correctly servicing its in-
Fig.8 shows the assembly details advisable to take a few extra moments terrupt routine once every 20ms. At
for the display board. Initially, all of to test the rest of the circuit. To do the same time, the alphanumeric dis-
the parts can be soldered into place, this, first install 10kQ resistors be- play on the display board should flash
except for the display and the three tween the 12V outputs of TB1 and the the message “UNIT OK”, while all the
ICs. Note that the beeper (BEEP1) is siren and strobe light outputs. This LEDs on this board should be off.
soldered to the copper side of the done, install a 10kQ “end-of-line” re- If the reset status LED continues to

24 SILICON CHIP
Fig.8: the display board accommodates the keypad, the alphanumeric display &
a handful of other parts. J1 accepts one end of the 16-way header plug.

flash, check the watchdog circuit for pre-punched for easy assembly. First,
mistakes. If none are found, you can peel the backing off the label and care-
temporarily disable the watchdog cir- fully affix it to the front panel.
cuit by placing a 1kQ resistor in paral- The display board is now mounted
lel with R14. This will cause the proc- on the back of the lid on 6mm stand-
essor to come out of the reset state offs and secured using seven M3 x
and you will be able to test for the
following:
(1). On the processor board: (a) con-
tinuous data on pins 8-11 and 20-27
of the MCU; and (b) data on pin 19 of
IC3. | Mt Waverley, Victoria 3149.Tele-
phone (03) 803 1831.Allowupto15 —
(2) On the display board: (a) data on
_ working days for delivery. Alterna- —
pins 2-9 and 11 of IC1 and IC2; and (b) _ tively, kits and assembled units may _
data on pins 1, 2, 6-8 and 11-17 of purchased greety ee "
DISP1.
e address. a
Mounting the boards
ociated with this projectiis
i.:
The two PC boards can now be in- 7 bias
theBute =
stalled in the case. This is supplied

OCTOBER 1992 25
 and solder one lead of each LED only.
This done, remove the cardboard and
align the LEDs before soldering the
remaining leads.
The second line of LEDs can now
be installed in the same manner.
_ Once the LEDs are in, the remain-
ing parts can be installed on the board.
Bend the leads of the regulator (REG1)
so that it lies flat against the PC board
(see photo). A 28-pin socket is used
for the MCU (IC1) but don’t insert the
IC just yet. Note that because parts
must be mounted under the IC, the
socket will have to be cut into two
single rows — see Fig.12.
The wiring can now be completed
by running seven 8cm-long leads be-
tween the board and the keypad. The
eighth terminal on the keypad (adja-
cent to the “3” button) is not used.

Remote keypad testing

At this stage, it is a good idea to do
a preliminary test of the board. This is
done by applying 10-15V to the termi-
nal block and checking for the follow-
ing voltages:
(1). Pins 3,6 & 7 of IC1 = 5V.
(2). Pins 1 & 2 of IC1 = OV.
(3). Pins 20, 21 & 22 of IC1 = 5V.
If these checks are OK, disconnect
the power and install IC1. Now re-
apply power and check that the green
LED lights (all other LEDs off). Test-
ing of the keypad is now complete
sen
and the unit may be installed in its
Bae
plastic case.
Take great care with the orientation of the alphanumeric display (DISP1) when The plastic case is supplied par-
installing this part on the PC board (see Fig.11). The keyboard is secured to the tially drilled; all you have to do is
PC board by its connecting links & a small amount of adhesive.
make the hole for the keypad. This is
quite straightforward since the shape
12mm countersunk screws and nuts. for the remote keypads. Start the as- of the hole is scribed into the plastic
This job will be easier if you install sembly by installing the parts that go on the inside of the lid. To make the
the middle standoff and mounting under the MCU. These include the hole, drill a series of small holes
screw assembly first. crystal (XTAL1), resistors R7,R8 & RY, - around the inside perimeter of the
The four 10mm tapped standoffs and capacitors C3 & C5. marked area, then knock out the cen-
are used to mount the processor board When this has been done, the seven tre piece and file for a smooth finish.
on the rear panel and are secured to LEDs can be installed. These are in The four 10mm tapped spacers can
the case using four M3 x 6mm coun- two rows. The top row consists of now be secured to the bottom of the
tersunk screws. This done, use four three LEDs and these are, from leftto case using M3 x 6mm countersunk
M3 x 6mm panhead screws to secure right: green, orange and red. The bot- screws — see Fig.13. This done, attach
the board to the spacers, then install tom row, from left to right, consists of the keypad (via its tabs) to the inside
the 6.5mm rubber grommet in the three orange LEDs and one red LED. of the case using superglue (top to-
power entry hole. Run the plugpack The LEDs must all be mounted ex- wards the three LEDs). Finally, secure
cable through this grommet, clamp actly 15mm above the board (ie, so the PC board to the spacers using four
the cable so that it cannot be pulled that their tops are about 20mm above roundhead M3 x 6mm screws and
out, and solder the wires to the PC the board). To do this, cut a 15mm clip the two halves of the case to-
pins. Finally, attach the battery leads wide cardboard strip about 40mm long gether.
to the battery and close the lid. and thin enough to fit between the
legs of the LEDs. Position this strip of Setup & operation
Keypad construction cardboard edge-on along one line of As well as turning the unit on or
Fig.12 shows the assembly details LEDs, then install the LEDs over it off, the front panel keypad is used to
26 SILICON CHIP
Introducing the Tektronix 2212

Real Analog — Real Digital Storage

No Compromise |
60 MHz Bandwidth 20MS/sec Maximum Digitizing Speed

Analog wad Digital Storage Operation On - Screen Parameter Readout

Auto setup 4K Record Length

Parallel Printer Interface (STD) B 2 10x Probes Included

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For further information on Tektronix 2212 Portable Oscilloscope

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Tektronix
Test and Measurement

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*Price does not include sales tax.
 The 0-9 buttons are used in conjunc-
tion with the (*) button to select the
16-WAY IDC variable to be viewed.
CONNECTOR At the very first power up, the on/
off code is set to 6805. This code will
PIN 1 also allow you to modify the preset
variables. These variables and their
initial settings (in brackets) are listed
16-WAY IDC
CONNECTOR
in Table 1.
Note that the variables are locked
in and cannot be changed unless the
PIN 1 user knows the current on/off code.
Fig.10: wire the IDC pin connectors to | This was done for obvious security
the 16-way cable exactly as shown reasons. The five locked codes are the
here. This cable connects the display entry delay, exit delay, siren duration,
board to the processor board. on/off code and the soft switches.
HPDL2416 DISPLAY
Let’s assume that the unit has never
been powered up. In this case, all the
MANS se=| Lx L246 sectors will all be off; the entry delay,
PIN 1 exit delay and siren duration times
Fig.11: pin 1 of the HPDL2416 display will be set to 30 seconds, 3 minutes
is adjacent to the type number that’s and 3 minutes respectively; the on/
printed along one side. off code will be 6805; and the soft
switches will be set to 019X (ie, the diagram to build the keypad board.
select, view and modify a number of keypads will be disabled during mains
variables, and to perform the various failure; the unit will beep on entry; Once these are programmed in, you
test functions. There are two main and the alarm can sound up to 9 times can forget about them unless of course
buttons used to call up the different in one 12-hour period). you wish to change them again. In
options and these are the function The user now can decide which everyday use, you’ll only change the
button (*) and the return button (#). options, if any, are to be changed. sector settings and turn the alarm on

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 KEYPAD

TERMINAL
BLOCK
ee MICROPROCESSOR a M3x5mm
| SCREWS

PC BOARD

B M3x10mm CSK SCREWS

TAPPED
SPACERS

Fig.13: this sectional view & the

accompanying photo show the
assembly details for the remote
transmitter. The keyboard tabs are
glued to the top of the case using a
suitable adhesive.

or off using the 4-digit code.

The test function will also be used
occasionally to check the siren, strobe
light and on-board relay.
In most cases, you can use the de-
fault settings although you will want
to change the on/off code. To do this, Enter the new code (eg, 5739), then sectors 1 and 2 on. We’ll also assume
press buttons (*) (8), note that the press the (#) key to store the new code that, initially, all sectors are off and
display flashes ****, and enter the and exit the code setting function. that on/off code is 5739. The proce-
current code on/off (initially 6805). To show you how quick and easy dure is as follows:
The display will now show the cur- the alarm is to use, let’s assume that First, activate the two sectors by
rent code with the first digit flashing. you wish to activate the alarm with pressing (*) (1) (2) (#) — the two LEDs

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 TABLE 1: ALARM PANEL OPERATION

[Butons | __Funcion | italtus| nsructons

| 2) | Sector2onottswicn | Of |Press)(2)(#)totogglesector oncrof
| (8) |Sector3onvoftswitch | on Press ((*) (3) (#) to toggle sector 1 on or off.

Press (*) (4). Display flashes to show current setting (first

two digits = minutes; last two digits = seconds). To
(*) (4) Entry delay setting 30 seconds
change, enter on/off code. Unit now flashes first digit.
Enter new entry delay period (0959 max.), then press (#).

Press (*) (5). Display flashes to show current setting (first

two digits = minutes; last two digits = seconds). To
(*) (5) Exit delay setting
change, enter on/off code. Unit now flashes first digit.
Enter new exit delay period (0959 max.), then press (#).

_ Press (") (6). Display flashes to show current setting (first

two digits = minutes; last two digits = seconds). To
(*) (6) Siren duration setting
change, enter on/off code. Unit now flashes first digit.
Enter new siren period (0959 max.), then press (#).

Digit 1: Remote keypad on or Press (*) (7). Display now shows the current state of the
off during mains failure three soft switches (initially 0191). To alter, enter the
on/off code. Set the first digit to 0 to disable the keypads
during mains failure, or to 1 to maintain power during
Digit 2: Beep on/off during mains failure. Set the second digit to 0 to disable the
entry delay beeps during the entry delay, or to 1 to enable the beeps.
(*) (7) 3 The third digit designates the number of times the alarm is
allowed to sound in one 12-hour period (range 1-9).
Digit 3: Alarm lockout count Entering 0 allows the alarm to sound every time an
intrusion is detected. Set the fourth digit to 0 so that the
alarm is not triggered by cutting the siren or strobelight
Digit 4: alarm tamper setting lines, or to 1 to trigger the alarm for one cycle if a line is
cut. Press (#) when all settings are correct.

Press (*) (8). Display flashes * * * *. Enter current on/off

(*) (8) On/off code setting code (initially 6805). Unit now shows code with first digit
flashing. Enter new code, then press (#)..

If the alarm has sounded, the memory LED on the front

panel will be on. Turn off the alarm & press
(*) (9) - hold the (9) button down. The LED(s) for the
(*) (9) Past status indication = sector(s) that tripped will come & the display will indicate
how many times the alarm tripped (up to 99 times). This
feature is useful for tracking down a sector that
intermittently false triggers.
Press (*) (0). The display flashes the word TEST to
indicate the test mode. Hold down button (1) to test the
| Test mode: (1) Siren test; (2)
siren (the display will flash the letters SIRN & the siren
(*) (0) Strobe light test; (3) Relay
should sound); hold down button (2) to test the strobe
test
light; hold down button (3) to test the on-board relay.
Press (#) when testing is complete.

General notes: :
(1). The alarm panelis turned on or off by entering the current 4-digit on/off code (sectors can be left on when alarm is off).
* (2). Variable settings can only be altered when the alarm panel is turned off & by entering the current on/off code.
(3). If the on/off code is forgotten, it can be viewed as follows: (a) Remove battery power & then the AC power; (b) Hold down
the (1) key & apply AC power to the unit; (c) Release the (1) key & reconnect the battery; (d) Press (*) (8) - the display will
now show the current on/off code; (e) Press (#) to exit. After this, pressing (*) (8) will display the usual ****.
(4). If the function (*) key is pressed, the next key must be pressed within 5 seconds for the function to be selected.

30 SILICON CHIP
 associated with these sectors should PLUG-PACK

light. Next, arm the alarm by pressing

240VAC |a
(5) (7) (3) (9). The ON LED should
light and, assuming that the default
exit delay setting is unchanged, you BATTERY cy
now have three minutes to leave the
12V 2.6A - _eto
-house.
To re-enter the house, you simply
enter (5) (7) (3) (9) to turn the alarm
off again before the entry delay period SIREN DRIVER
PROCESSOR PC BOARD
expires. The ON LED should now turn GND FOR PERIPHERALS
off but note that the sector LEDs re- STROBE LIGHT DRIVER
main lit unless you toggle the sectors PASSIVE
INFRARED « +15V 400mA
off again. In most cases, you'll leave DETECTOR
the sectors on, so that you don’t have (SUPPLY CONNECTIONS ONLY) SECTOR 3 INPUT
to activate them again the next time GND FOR INPUTS
you leave the house.
24 HOUR SECTOR INPUT
SECTOR INPUTS
Installation (SEE Fig. 1) SECTOR 2 INPUT
The location of the main alarm box GND FOR INPUTS
will depend on whether or not remote SECTOR 1 INPUTS TB3
keypads are used. If the remote
keypads are not used, then the box
must be accessible to the user, so that
TO REMOTE KEYPADS
the alarm can be turned on and off.
Even so, it should be mounted in a Fig.14: follow this wiring diagram when linking external devices & peripherals
to the processor board. Note that the sector inputs must be terminated using
concealed area, such as a linen press 10kQ end-of-loop resistors, as shown last month in Fig.1.
or kitchen cupboard.
The remote keypads should be
mounted inside the premises, as they that the alarm still functions if the various beep signals from the unit.
are not weatherproof. first is disabled by a determined thief. There are four different patterns: (1)
Fig.14 shows how external devices Generally, a horn speaker is mounted the unit beeps once each time a key is
are connected to the processor board. under the eaves inside a metal cover pressed; (2) the main unit and remote
Don’t forget the end-of-loop resistors and this serves as the main siren. The keypads beep four times every sec-
for the sector inputs (see Fig.1 in last second siren can be a piezo type and ond during the entry delay; (3) the
month’s issue). should be mounted out of Rigel in tsthe main panel beeps three times if you
Fig.15 shows how up to two remote roof cavity. try to enter an illegal setting; and (4) if
keypads can be connected to the sys- there is a fault in the system, the main
tem. In particular, note how TX on Deciphering the beeps unit and remote keypads beep twice
the remote keypads is connected to Finally, a word on deciphering the every 15 seconds. C
RX on the processor board and vice
versa. Be very careful here — it’s all PROCESSOR PC BOARD
+15V. OV. TX RX
too easy to get these connections
mixed up. 183}

Passive infrared sensors

A large range of passive infrared OK TO ON
OK To @ @ @MEMoRY
detectors (PIRDs) is available on the
market and these can be purchased
from about $50.00 upwards. However,
some of the cheaper units are prone to REMOTE KEYPAD 1 REMOTE KEYPAD 2

false triggering, so it’s worth paying a

+15V
few dollars more for good quality sen- ov
sors. TX
RX
The PIRDs listed in the panel are
both very reliable units. When install-
ing them, make sure that they do not SECTOR@ @ @ @oetecity NOTE THIS CONNECTION
RX TO TX, TX TO RX
face towards windows to avoid false
SECTOR SECTOR
triggering. They should also be posi- 2 3
tioned so that are not in a direct line Fig.14: connections between the remote keypads & TB3 on the processor board
with sunlight. are run using 4-way cable. In particular, note how TX on the keypad boards
It’s also a good idea to have a sec- connects to RX on the processor board & vice versa. The LED functions are
ond siren connected to the system, so indicated on the remote keypad at left.

OCTOBER 1992 31
 een eae
2 aR ae
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— 32 SILICON CHIP
 ¢:
OCTOBER SPECIALS FROM JAYCAR
(Wireless Receiver / Transmitter)
At last a quality Remote Control unit with two transmitters for
under $100! Another scoop purchase. About 1/2 price.
Magnavox 12J is a 12" woofer with a black cardboard cone
The keyfobs have two buttons on them, one LOCK and one 7 vestheig
UNLOCK with a LED to show unit has transmitted. Size is normal mi . tt 60W RMS
keyfob size 60 x 35 x 14mm and has a keyring. dabble cis seh
Resonant Frequency 30Hz rs.
Frequency Response 30 - 6000Hz Ps
It's a black box with a 4 way terminal block for external Voice Coil Dia. 25mm /
connections. These are for +12V, -12V, LOCK and UNLOCK. ground or to +12V to an external control circuit.-Both transmitters Sensitivity 87dB 1W imt //
and receiver have DIP switches for coding. There are 6,561 Magnet Weight 190 grams 4. ]
There are separate outputs for lock and unlock which are both different codings available. Remote control range is 28 metres. Cat. CW-2126 Yi
momentary (approx 0.5 seconds). There are two separate relays, \deal for controlling central door locking, car alarms, etc., etc.,
etc. Supplied with two eee and one receiver.
BARGAIN PRICE $25 ea
one for lock and the other for unlock, which will switch currents
up to 2 amps which is adequate for most applications. There is Cat. LR-8822
also a switch which allows the output relays to switch either to $79.95
By Mark Long and Jeff Keating Bhatsmelaleme)i
This book provides everything you'll need to know about selecting, installing, operating, and SATELLITE TV
maintaining your own Satellite TV system. DBS, digital video compression, HDTV, and other
innovations coming your way are also presented :in a down-to-earth style that is accessible to
everyone. The World of Satellite TV, with its maps, charts, and satellite “footprints” should serve
as a valuable addition to the library of both newcomers and experienced satellite TV viewers.
Also included is information on satellite TV in Australia, and footprint maps and transponder
allocation charts for all satellites in the region.
222 pages, softcover 246 x 187mm. Cat. BC-1145

We've bought a quantity of quality 75Q coax from a large

company because their purchasing dept ordered white instead
of black. This coax is basically the
Save 20% on 6.4MHz CRO same as our WB-2004 heavy duty
coax which sells for $1 metre or
Cat. QC-1910
$70 per 100mt roll. Because it’s
Normally $399 white we've halved the roll price.
SPECIFICATIONS
OCTOBER $319.20 Conductor - solid 1/0.70mm.
Overall diameter - 7.3mm.
Save 10% on 20MHz CRO Screening A1/Polyester/A1 tape
0.05mm. Braiding 0.16mm PACW.
Cat. QC-1900 Resistance - 44.8Q/Km.
Capacitance at 1kHz 67pF/m.
Normally $699 OCTOBER $629.10 Attenuation -13dB/100m max.
See catalogue for full details. Probes are extra. Cat. QC-1910 use QC-1912 $45. Cat. QC- Cat. WB-2005
Cat. QC-1900 t
1900 use QC-1902 $39.50 ea. ONLY $35 per 100 metre roll
60¢ per metre insmaller than roll quantities.

By M. Brotherton REF: SC JULY 92. This battery discharger is specifically designed

This book is a nuts and bolts primer on 12 volt electrical systems for video camera or mobile telephone batteries. It can be set for
for boat owners who are not skilled Serine Itsalso ideal for different types of
anybody interested in 12 volt batteries from 6-12V and
power systems. Chapters will save you money by
include: Basic Theory of reviving that dud battery.
Electricity, Electric Circuits, This circuit is powered
The Battery, Wiring, Controls by the battery under TES Multimeter
(switches, fuses, meters, etc) discharge and, therefore, 3.75 digit
Transducers (lights, motors, doesn't require a 4000 count, 39 range.
pumps, fridges, plugpack, making it Inductance, capacitance,
consumption, etc.), completely portable. The frequency, temperature,
Recharging the Battery, Jaycar kit is supplied logic, peak hold, data
Troubleshooting. | with diecast box, PCB hold, 20A
174 pages, softcover, 147 x and all specified Cat. QM-1475
230mm components.
Cat. BT-1342 Cat KC-5120 WAS $169
$28.95 $27.95 NOW
$144
Dolby Surround Sound Decoder Kit
Ref: EA January 1992. Experience cinema sound in your own lounge room. The Dolby “Surround Sound” process increases the sensation of “being there” by producing an effects channel to create
surround sounds which a conventionals stereo system can’t produce. Hook this simple kit in conjunction with your Hi Fi VCR or stereo TV and take full advantage of movies recorded with Dolby encoding.
Short form kit - includes PCB, and all on board components. Cat. KA-1741 $39 95
SAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS. JAYCAR ‘ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELEC
AR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELEC}
AR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELEC
CAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELEC!
CAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAY-CAR ELEC
CAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELEC TRONS pile aa ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS reek ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELEC
pAR ELECTR LANZA AD ‘ malay" VAKM Ki CATOOnAI AD Cl CeTDOAnNIC AD Ci CCTDONICC IAVCAD FI CCTOONICSG JAVCAR CI CCTROANUICS IAVCAR E| eC)

DAR ELECTR At

Deckecr
SAR ELECTR UNIQUE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY te
CAS
DreLecta
DAR ELECTR SCRAMBLER PHONE SELLOUT if
‘AF
DAR ELECTR J "AF
KAR ELECTR aycar has made a scoop purchase of Telecom approved telephones that scramble your message so that it can be deciphered only on a AE
SAR ELECTR similar unit. The phone (faun in colour) is housed in a standard Telecom set. There are no dial out facilities. You use by simply Al
DAR ELECTR connecting in parallel to another telephone. Dial out on the standard phone and once the line is connected, pick up the scrambler. (The PAE
Ae a Bere party on the other line must have a scrambler phone as well.) You can talk with relative security (we can't guarantee that ASIO or the CIA Ad
Be cl ecta would not be able to decode the conversation). S %
SAR ELECTR These units once sold for $299. Another famous Jaycar scoop buy - far far below manufacturers cost - enables you to own a sophisticated AF
SAR ELECTR scrambler phone at an unheard of price. You can own a scrambler phone for the ridiculously low price of $39.95 each! Remember, you will AF
SAR ELECTR need at least two though. The stock is brand new, in cartons and has a 3 month warranty. STOCKS ARE AF
DAR ELECTR K AF
gAR ELECTR
DAR ELECTR
Unitrequres SV DC to oper.“ Were $299/$39.95 RUNNING OUT [F:
ei
PAR ELECTR PLUGPACK MP-3007 $15.95 AF
Be ctecih Cat YT-7000 Now only© ea ‘AF
v AF
DAR ELECTR AF
can ccectel PULSE COUNT PASSIVE INFRARED The Ultimate Resistor Pack - Back Again My
SAR ELECTR 3 Sina AieTY That's exactly whjat this pack is - The Ultimate. This pack gives you every resistor in AR
vAR ELECTR $ si the E46 range from 0.5 ohm to 9.1 Meg. The E46 ranges goes like this: 10, 11, 12, LAR
aia DETECTOR UNDER $50 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, 33, 36, 39, 43, 47, 51, etc. So, you get 10 of every an
SAR ELECTR 2 WW 700" value, a total of 170 values, 1700 resistors in all and they are bandoleered for easy LAR
YAR ELECTR UNBELIES ABLE i sorting. They are top quality, guaranteed 1/4 watt 5% miniature size. In fact they /AR
ere
>AR
ELECTR The Bellmate PIR is a high quality unit directly imported by Jaycar. It
look like 1/8 watt they are so small. Buy this pack and you will NEVER be short of LAR
»AR ELECTR has pulse count triggering which up until now was only found in units any resistor again. To buy all those resistors on an individual basis (i.e. 5¢ each) it
SAR
ass ELECTR
cE of $80 or more. would cost you $85.
’ LECTR ; pene This pack costs well under 1/2 that price and there is a limited quantity. Less than
“aR ELECTR [he Bellmate has switchable pulse count operation with single pulse
DAR ELECTR trigger and three pulse trigger. When set to three pulse the unit 2¢ each!
AR ELECTR requires three movements before the alarm is triggered. This will Cat. RR-200 $29.95
oa eal virtually eliminate false alarms.
Sap eLectrig FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS CAR ALARM VIBRATION SENSOR
“AR ELECTRE ® Incorporates S.S.C. (slide seal chambers) @ 24 element zones in 3 The Elesen vibration sensor is top quality and is made in Europe. It features a LED which
>>AR ELECTR layers © Wide angle 90° coverage © Coverage 15 x 15 metres @ illuminates when the sensor detects vibration, which makes it extremely easy to set the sensitivity.
oA yeh Operating voltage 9- 16V DC © Tamper switch for 24 hour zone Supplied with instructions. Well below normal price. Size: 56(L) x 20(W) x 18(H)mm. Connections
‘
SAR ELECTR e Pulse count switchable, normal or 3 pulse © Sensitivity adjustment via spade lugs.
sar ELECTR © LED indicator © Sliding PC board© Size 110(H) x 70(W) x :
SAR ELECTRA 55(D)mm e N.C. terminals © 1 year warranty Cat. LA-5063 WAS $9.95
“AR ELECTAM Cat LA-SOIE AQ Q5
DAR ELECTR
NOW $3.95 SAVE $6
3 cerned
Av ccectef | __ Installers - contact
YAR ELECTR
usfor wholesale prices =
UHF WIRELESS BURGLAR ALARM
ZAR ELECTR : Hi quality Zeus brand directly importedbyJaycar. Why wait until after you are robbed to install the alarm. Do
can eecTall |Pathway Garden | it cow : en
SAR ELECTR Lights . . . | | See catalogue forfull details. Normally $699 OCT $599
Thisgarden
AB ccecrafg |light light kithas 5 tube lights, anda eachaN [er
. : panel noludes:
x Controloon
|1orc .
SAVE “ $100
YAR ELECTR has 6 globes. All 5 lights are prewired with 1 x passive infra red detector/TX
>AR ELECTR 2.3mt of cable between each one, with an 1 x Door/window Reed detector/TX
AR ELECTR additional 10mt to go to the mains adaptor. The 1 x Hand held remote control/TX
ae Erect lights operate ona sale 24 volts and each kit is = ___ | 1¥Horn speaker - 10 watt/wired
*AR ELECTRI supplied with a mains plugpack. Current draw — 1 x 240V AC adaptor
PAPELECTRN OF aio 1S SOMA, ee | 1x 1.2An back-up battery
na eLecTai | Cat SL-2840 . WAS $39.95 : | 1 x Set of batteries for all TX
ar ccectRa | NOW $29.95 ; | Cat LA-5200
a Seer SsAV $1 O | | OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
‘AR ELECTR« Door/Window Reed Wireless Passive Wireless Remote Hand Held Remote
Lnadpabageas tity ‘ Switch - wireless Infra Red Detector Keypad Control - wireless
areectail The Best Passive Infra-Red Cat LA-5210 Cat LA-5205 Cat LA-5215 Cat LA-5208
‘ar ecectry Detector We've Ever Seen ne a Normally $69 Normally $129.95 Normally $129 Normally $59
‘AR ELECTRIM@ We have made yet another scoop purchase of an SELLOU | NOW $59 NOW $1 19.95 NOW $1 15 NOW $49
“AR ELECTR
}AR ELECTR
extremely high quality ‘National’ (Panasonic) Japanese :
AR ELECTR PIR. Quite frankly we have never seen a PIR built as well. Three lens configurations are
‘AR ELECTR Offered: :
‘AR ELECTR 1) Ceiling mount, 360° coverage. This is the only unit that we know that can do this.
‘AR ELECTR
AR ELECTR CatLA-5028 WAS $149.50 NOW $79.50
AR ELECTRM 2) Wall/ceiling mount long range. Will detect intruders up to 30 meters away, with
eo creeynig anarrow beam angle. Ideal
forhallways, yp aoe
AR ELECTRA [ooking down rows of shelving, etc. ier
‘AR ELECTR(
AR ELECTR CatLA-5030 was $99
: oe
LED) Display Bargain Bargain Bags
AR ELECTR 7 segment red LED display, ; same as those in our ; od ve

arccectas NOW $69 catalogue . No ZD-1803. Common cathode. Connection Back Again she:
AR ELECTR 3) Wall/ceiling mount, wide angle (80°) up to
AR ELECTRUM
AR ELECTRi
46 metre range. Ideal corner mount unit, Be a ek ores. vy
$3.50 ea.
Normally We haven't had these: available for some
AR ELECTR( COVEFS aN ENOFMOUS area. Cat ZD-1803 Pe; = months now, as we've been accumulating the
Ae CTR Cat LA-5032 was $99 ‘JUNK’ to go in them. Each bag contains
AR ELECTR NOW $79
1-9 $1.75 ea approx 2kg of assorted electronic goodies.
AR ELECTR
AR ELECTR NC Tamper Circuit, N.O./N.C. alarm output.
25-99 $1.00 ea This run also includes its own bag of
AR ELECTR Power requirement 6-18V DC or AC. 10-25 $1.20 ea semiconductors. Unfortunately, due to
AR ELECTRGM |IMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE massive weight, P & P is normal rates plus $5.
AR ELECTR
AR ELECTR(
AR ELECTR(
100+ ./0
¢ ea
cal 8-5000 $14.95
AR ELECTRON Jo unt om CELUI UATUAT LLCUAUINIVG JATUAR ELEUINUNICG JATUAN CLEUINUNIVS JAYUAM ELEUINUNILS JAYCAR ELECTRUNICS: NAYCAR ELECTRONICS NAYCAT ELECTIF
JAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS jJAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTF
AR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTF
Ty EO ee Nee ae a a ee ee Ta a a VA re a a ao oar ena an rie
nN a ee en nie las ee aul ek ekCal LANG ee amie aege
 That's correct, this is a high quality alarm system that is so cheap you can buy two, and keep one as a spare.
The company we bought these from has a new model out now, and they have asked us not to mention their name. We can tell you though, that they sell and install their own brand of burglar alarms and
intercoms.
The quality is unsurpassed andifyour home hasn't a burglar alarm now, then this is the time to buy one.

The LA-5050 is a versatile micro-processor controlled system with memory analysis which is displayed on the unit. It is housed in
an attractive grey ABS box, which incorporates all the control functions, including the access buttons, digital status display, panic
button, etc. It will mount in a wall just inside the front door and requires a cutout hole 300 x 140mm. The control panel can be mounted ©
in the ceiling, etc., if the optional remote keypad is purchased. There is also a small quantity of telephone diallers available.
The alarm has many features - some of which include - a clock, automatic mode - which enables you to program the system to arm and »
disarm itself at preset times, 4 zones including some 24 hour zones (for arming the perimeter of the house at night leaving the inside
PIR's off), alarm activation recall - the unit will record the time of day the system was activated together with the zone number that
triggered the alarm.
What can be connected? ¢ Remote keypad © telephone dialler © strobe © panic switch © 4 zones i.e. 4 PIR’s etc @ 2 horns
e backup battery
The system is supplied with a very comprehensive, easy to follow 22 page instruction manual. Overall front panel size 400(W) x 210(H)
x 100(D)mm
Also required:- plugpack to run from 240 volt Cat. MP-3021 $22.50. Backup battery 1.2Ah Cat. SB-2480 $26.50
PANEL cat. LA-5150 a

$199.50/ Mj
iy
ov" 2AD
ee A-5151
$59.50 pam cat 5152 $129.50 Was seLLING ia
WAS $242 FOR $428 cay

Another surplus deal. These are Clarion brand Japanese made 5" twincone high power speakers complete with quality black grill. Power
handling is a massive 40 watts maximum and they sound amazing. Impedance is 4 ohms. They will work in small enclosures and we
were staggered at how good they sound. Ideal for cars, or simply use one or two together in a box for Hi Fi extension speakers. Features: These speakers were purchased from Philips, manufactured in
e 40 Watt power handling © Japanese Clarion brand Asia and designated for a stereo system that never happened.
e High quality ¢ Complete with grill We are happy to pass on the savings we made to you.
Dimensions: Grill 126mm sq The speakers are a twincone widerange unit with a foam roll
Mounting holes 124mm diagonal surround. The cone is black, with the twincone’s white. Their
Spk frame 120mm sq impedance is 4 ohms.
Depth including grill 50mm These would be ideal for use in car stereos or extension
speakers for Hi Fi. Most stereos will happily accept 4 ohm
loads. Power handling is 50 watts RMS.
Full Specifications
Power Handling 50W RMS
impedance 4 ohms
Resonant Freq. 38Hz
Freq. Response 38 - 20kHz
SPI 90dB 1 watt
Thissata is basically
fas an Arlec Charger 4 Car Magnet Weight
i 17.7 grams
Battery Chargeless the rsntene and | Total Weight 1,500 grams
cutout you can build yourself a charger for | Cat. CE-2330
& A about half price. 2
See 1992 catalogue page 63. What you get is: S 0 see
ALARM SYSTEM 1 The box. This is featured in other
electronic catalogues and sells for $15.95
1 - control unit 1 - door 2 Two car battery clips with cable attached
protector1 ui ive
- passive infrar
infrared detector 3 2 core cenit
power lead ah abc
2 - remote controls cat. LA-5230 WAS $259 Limited quantity - grab one while
NOW $199 SAVE $60 CatHE-508
Optional extras Wireless PIR ONLY $12.95
Cat LA-5232 WAS $49.50 NOW $39.50 “e
SAVE $10
Window protector cat. LA-5234 WAS This pack includes approximately 75 high quality capacitors.
They are mostly Philips and Wima brand high quality
European made capacitors.
Capacitance values include: 270pF, 0.0015, 0.015, 0.022,
JAYCAR - ONE STOP ELECTRONICS 0.033, 0.047, 0.068
0.15, 0.18, 0.22,
0.27, 0.33, 0.39,
0.47, 0.56, 0.68,
This is a high quality terminal strip with 20 screw down connectors. All screws have a wire protector under them which holds and 0.82uF in voltages
protects the wire. Each of the 20 connectors has a PC pin for easy soldering to a PC board. Pin spacing is about 7.5mm. Made with including 50V, 63V,
ABS black plastic. Dimensions length 155mm width 12.5mm. Height excluding pins 12mm. Cat. HM-3204 100V, 250V, 400V.,-
630V, and 1000V.
$1. 00 ls
4od vess a om
a a me e es = ee ernie) 75 pieces for $10
Be a a meee eee | ‘epresentsan
=| absolute bargain. Ca
\RG-5195 $10
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Vintage radio repairs made easy

Old valve radios should be carefully checked years standing compete with the
knowledge of a radio/TV serviceman
for faults before power is applied to them after who has a lifetime of experience to
years of neglect. Often, they have multiple draw on?
I might add, in my defence, that it
faults & these must all be tracked down to is damned hard trying to fix a radio
that someone else has had a go at
restore the set to working order. beforehand. If there are missing com-
ponents and lots of disconnected
A few weeks ago,ayoung lad came at one end. Replacing the cracked wires, then the hobbyist hasn’t much
to visit me with an old pre-war re- component restored the receiver to hope unless he really knows what he
ceiver that was much in need of re- working condition and I was indeed is doing. Enthusiasm is no substitute
pairs. He had collected several valve pleased with myself. i for experience.
radios which he had been able to re- Over the years, I have been con- On the other hand, if an old valve
pair himself simply by replacing a fronted with numerous problems, receiver is complete and has not been
burnt-out valve. But this particular some of which were consigned to the tinkered with, it is not hard to track
set had him tossed because there was “too hard basket” for quite a consider- down a fault. However, what some
nothing visually wrong with it. His able time. Eventually, often through novice repairers fail to realise is that
repair techniques had not developed sheer determination and cussedness, there is often more than one fault and
beyond that level. the problem is usually solved — but a systematic check of the whole re-
Looking back, I saw myself in ex- not always. | ceiver is necessary if all the problems
actly the same situation when I started As much as J hate to admit it, there are to be isolated. The receiver may
collecting back in 1984. My first re- have been a few occasions when I require the replacement of many com-
pair was successful only because I _ have had to seek the services of some- ponents, not just one.
could see a capacitor with a big split one else. How can a hobbyist of a few I believe that an extensive know-
ledge and understanding of radio
theory is not necessary to repair vin-
tage radios — but it sure helps. If a_
collector can correctly identify the
individual components and respect
the dangers of 240V AC, then there is
a good chance of finding and correct-
ing most faults.
In this particular article, I hope to
discuss various common radio com-
ponents and their likely problems.
Checking through a receiver in a sys-
tematic manner will reveal most of
the faults that lurk in the maze of
wiring that makes a chassis look so
imposing to the inexperienced.

Switch-on blues
In many cases, particularly in very
old receivers, I initially avoid turning
them on to see if they will work. Age
This old TRF chassis is nearly 60 years old. It is unreasonable to expect it to can do terrible things to ancient elec-
work from scratch & it should be thoroughly checked before switching it on. tronic parts and I always prefer to
OCTOBER 1992 37
 a little time checking out the likely
trouble spots before switching on.
Initial check list
In the interests of more successful
vintage radio repairs, here is my pre-
-. switch on check list.
Power transformer: check power
cord from plug to transformer, plus
the on/off switch if the set has one.
The wiring should be safe and secure.
Check the continuity of the trans-
former primary winding, the centre-
tapped high tension winding and the
low tension windings. If all are intact,
the transformer will most likely work
OK. Replace the transformer if any
windings are open.
A more difficult transformer fault
These tubular, chassis-mounted electrolytic capacitors dried out ages ago. They to check is the shorted turn (or turns).
will have to be replaced with modern units to restore the set to working order. A The most obvious symptom is over-
good trick is to house the new capacitors in the old cans, in order to maintain heating, to the point of self-destruc-
an authentic vintage appearance. tion ifallowed to continue. Other com-

Mice can totally wreck old radio

components. This particular capacitor
would cause a high tension short if
power were to be applied and would
seriously overload numerous
components.

os ad
POO So

Perished 240V power cords can be lethal. The dangers of using this one are
plain to see but less obvious cord damage can be a trap for the unwary. To avoid
problems, it’s always a good idea to replace the power cord.

check a set out before plugging it in. I have seen receivers with short cir-
Of course many old receivers can cuits in 240V power cords and plugs.
be plugged in without damage. They I have seen rectifier valve anodes
may work; they may not. Even if they glowing red hot, which is something
do not work there is no reason to they are not supposed to do. I have
suspect that the set will totally self- also observed boiling wax running
destruct in 30 seconds. However, in out of power transformers and high
some instances, plugging in a faulty tension chokes, a hot electrolytic
receiver for a prolonged period (which spewing out its overheated contents,
can be as short as a couple of minutes) internal arcing inside valves and
can overload a particular component This 240V power transformer is
smoke pouring off overloaded resis-
typical of those used in valve radios.
to the point of no return. tors and other components, Continuity checks on the primary &
My reluctance to switch on an un- These potentially dangerous and high tension windings will give some
known receiver has been brought damaging situations can be avoided indication as to whether or not the
about by a number of bad experiences. almost entirely if the restorer spends transformer is in working order.
38 SILICON CHIP
 base connections — two for the pri-
mary and two for the secondary. Odd
transformers have a centre-tapped
winding or windings with additional
connections. Check for continuity.
Don’t forget that the grid cap connec-
tion is one end of the secondary wind-
ing. Open windings will stop the re-
ceiver and the offending coil will need
to be repaired or the transformer re-
placed with a similar unit.
Aerial & oscillator coils: once again,
these units usually have two windings
and four connections, although some
coils have series connected multiple
windings with taps. Check for open
circuits. Any breaks in the windings
will either prevent the set from work-
ing or adversely affect its perform-
ance. Repairs to broken wires or com-
plete replacement will solve the prob-
The radio frequency choke (bottom) would also require checking for continuity.
lem.
Resistors: check each resistor for
ponent faults can overheat a trans- If a replacement is not immediately both open circuit and correct value
former but, if it overheats with no available, a resistor of suitable value according to its colour code. It is com-
load across it, then it has a shorted and rating may be substituted tempo- mon for old resistors to increase their
turn. Short of a total rewind, there is rarily, at least to get the rest of the set value with age. Values above 1MQ are
no cure. working. However, this will give less particularly susceptible, often increas-
Loudspeaker: assuming that the effective filtering and usually an un- ing in value by two or three times. If
loudspeaker is an electrodynamic acceptable hum level. The long term they do not exceed 20% tolerance,
type, check both the field coil and the solution will depend on what can be they are OK.
speaker transformer primary for con- salvaged from other sets. Check all wirewound resistors and
tinuity. The transformer secondary Alternatively, a choke and resistor the tapped high tension dropping re-
and the speaker voice coil are un- combination may be used, the resis- sistor — the voltage divider — if the set
likely to cause trouble. Speakers with tor value being chosen to bring the has one. Voltage dividers frequently
open field coils must be replaced or total resistance to that of the original fail at the taps.
the field coil rewound. Faulty output field coil, typically 1.5kQ. Resistor Volume and tone controls also come
transformers must be replaced. wattage ratings must be adequate. As under the heading of resistors and
High tension choke: not all receiv- an extreme example, a 1.5kQ resistor, these should be checked for smooth
ers have these as a separate unit, the carrying 80mA, would dissipate 10W. ‘operation. An open circuit volume
speaker field coil sometimes doubling And a safety margin of 50% would be control can stop a receiver from work-
in this role. A burnt-out choke or field advisable. ing. Particularly troublesome are the
coil will effectively cut the high ten- Intermediate frequency transform- old wirewound potentiometers from
sion supply. ers: IF transformers usually have four the 1930s.

Power transformers from the early 1930s were large and Voltage dividers are another troublesome component.
robust. However, they can still give trouble and should be Often the taps must be removed and cleaned so as to re-
checked before putting them into service. establish a good connection.

OCTOBER 1992 39
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Modulation Int. 1KHz(30%) Square: 10Vp-p
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CALL OR FAX US NOW

40 SILICON CHIP
 Vintage Wireless Specialists
Repairs — Restoration — Sales
Our skilled technicians offer QUALITY re-
pairs and restoration.
We also have a large stock of bakelite and
timber radios fully restored and for SALE.
Parts are available for the enthusiast, in-
cluding over 900 valve types, high voltage
a

Aerial and oscillator coils often fall victims to mice, particularly coils that are Capacitors, transformers, dial glasses,
wax coated. Checking the base connections with an ohmmeter will quickly knobs, grille cloth etc. ©
establish their serviceability. Circuit diagrams for most Australian makes
and models.
Capacitors: ageing capacitors cause polarity of the ohmmeter test leads is Send SAE for our catalog.
many of the troubles found in. old important. It is often opposite to that WANTED: Valves, Radios, etc.
valve radios. Although the mica types for the other ranges. And capacitors Purchased for CASH
are relatively trouble free, the same that test OK on an ohmmeter may
break down at higher voltages. Call in to our showroom at:
cannot be said for paper capacitors
and electrolytics. The tuning capacitor should also 51 Chapel Street (PO Box 1116),
be checked. Scraping plates will cause Windsor, Vic 3181. :
For reliable restorations, it isa good
idea to make a clean sweep and re- trouble and objectionable noise. Phone: (03) 529 5639; Fax (03) 510 4486
place all paper capacitors with mod- Valves: it is advisable to remove
ern polyester types. This in itself can the valves and check the heater pins
solve many receiver problems that for continuity. Better still, test the If all the foregoing seems a bit ex-
would perhaps be difficult for the valves in a working receiver (ora valve treme or unnecessary, then consider
novice repairman to locate. (The pur- checker), as this will remove or con- the following.
ist may elect to hide the modern types firm any doubts as to their condition. It is not uncommon to be confronted
in the cases of the old units, to give Cleaning the base pins and the valve with a 50-60 year old receiver that has
the chassis an authentic appearance). socket connections will also help to not worked for the past 30 years or
Old electrolytics should be checked minimise valve problems. It only re- more and has been stored in a damp
for shorts, leakage and capacitance to quires one base pin to have a faulty garage for that period of time.
determine whether or not they are contact and the receiver will not work. A typical check out of such a re-
serviceable or in need of replacement. ceiver will often reveal that the loud-
Since electrolytics are polarised, the Obscure faults speaker field coil and output trans-
If a receiver passes all the checks former are open circuit, that the elec-
just described, it can be plugged in trolytics are shot, and that the paper
with reasonable confidence and there capacitors have been chewed by mice.
is every chance it will work. If it It may also have a burnt-out resistor, a
doesn’t, it will be due to some rather gassy rectifier valve and corroded ©
obscure fault that could be quite diffi- valve socket connections. In addition,
cult to track down. all the rubber insulation on the inter-
Some of these faults could be: an nal wiring will have perished. There
internal break in a length of wire (pos- is no easy single cure for these prob-
sibly the speaker cord), a dry solder lems.
joint, a joint that has never been sol- The restoration of most old radios
dered, a loose blob of solder shorting is not a simple process involving the
a connection, a faulty replacement repair of one particular fault. In most
part, a replacement part that has been cases, there are many faults and all
This photo shows an old-style
wirewound potentiometer, as used for wrongly installed, a corroded or loose must be found before the restoration
volume controls in early superhets chassis connection (particularly com- can be considered successful. If a sys-
and TRF receivers. An open circuit mon on aluminium chassis), or maybe tematic fault finding routine is fol-
winding will prevent the set from a broken valve socket connection in lowed, it must ultimately improve the
working. the socket itself. novice repairman’s success rate. SC

OCTOBER 1992 41
 we) OF AS 6) OY Fe OTe:
Confession is good for the soul
Confession is good for the soul, they say. And as a Phased Locked Loop, Split Vision
IF & Sound IF IC. Video comes out on
this story is basically a confession, so let’s pin 3, goes to emitter follower Q130,
hope that my (technical) soul will benefit then passes through resistors R152
and R150 to pin 3 of IC2501. This is
appropriatelyif I lay bare my sins. No doubt, described as a TV/AV Control IC and
someone will suggest a suitable penance. is mounted on the B board.
I fed in a standard staircase pattern
and checked it at pin 3 of IC101, at
The set involved was a Panasonic along to give me hand to load it into
© test point B15 (ie, the emitter of Q130),
68cm colour TV set, model TC-2969, the van. Checked in situ, there was no and at pin 3 of IC2501. And every-
and the complaint was a double bar- doubt about the rolling problem; it thing appeared to be normal. As will
relled one; a “wishy washy”’ picture was quite bad and nothing as simple be evident from the IC2501 diagram
and a tendency for the picture to roll. as a hold control setting. (Fig.1), this is basically a switching
It belonged to one of my regular cus- The “wishy washy” complaint IC. This type of device is now quite
tomers but the call actually came via wasn’t quite so clear cut. I had to common in video recorders and is
my antenna installation colleague. admit that there was something also finding increasing use in TV sets
He had installed the customer’s an- © strange about the picture but I couldn’t as they become more elaborate and
tenna and the customer had called pinpoint it. The closest description offer more features.
him in, believing that it was an an- would be that of a weak picture tube
tenna problem. My colleague quickly but that didn’t seem likely, or tie in Switching function
cleared the antenna and passed the with the rolling. (With hindsight there In this case, there is a switching
problem on to me. Because the cus- may be a better explanation). function between pin 3 and pin 5,
tomer was in an excellent location for Its performance was much the same with pin 5 connected to a video-in
_ TV signals, I realised that it had to be on the workbench and I gave some terminal on the back of the set. But,
an internal fault. thought as to how best to tackle the regardless of the signal source, the
I decided to visit the customer’s problem. The picture quality was a switch sends the video signal out on
home, check the performance there, rather nebulous symptom to work on; pin 12. I check this point and every-
then bring the set back to the work- I was convinced that it was real thing still seemed to be normal. Un-
shop. My antenna colleague went enough but without some idea of how fortunately, there are no oscillograms
it was wrong, it was hard to know in the manual for this part of the cir-
what to look for. cuit but I was seeing a standard stair-

FRACARRO
The rolling problem, on the other case pattern, with no sign of sync
hand, was much more tangible. Along pulse compression or other obvious
with the poor picture quality, it sug- distortion. ©

DELIVERS...
gested some form of distortion of the From pin 12, the signal goes di-
video signal, involving the sync rectly to pin 2 of plug/socket combi-
pulses. This should be easy to track nation B2 on the extreme right of the
...best television antenna down. diagram. The signal is then taken
performance for less cost. I fished out the manual and started across to the E board, where it goes to
tracing the video path. This proved emitter follower Q302 and then to pin
4 rather awkward because the circuit is 15 of the Video/Chroma Jungle IC
spread over two sheets, each folding (IC601).
4, out to about 75 x 50cm, and the par- Unfortunately, after tracing the sig-
ticular path one wishes to follow of- nal through this circuitous path, I was
ten shuttles back and forth between no closer to a solution. As far as I
them. This also makes it difficult to could see, the signal pattern held up
Fracarro 10BL4, 10BL5, 10BL45, illustrate these notes with anything all the way. So what now?
10 element yagi's that really work.
more than a small section. Colleagues At this point, Icame up with what I
Peter C. Lacey Services Pty. Ltd. who have a circuit should be able to thought was a smart idea. Why not
P.O. Box 678 (74Fulton Rd.) Mount Eliza 3930
Tel:03 787 2077 Fax:(03) 787 3460 ACN006893438
pinpoint the components I nominate. feed a video signal from the colour
I started at IC101. This is described bar generator directly into the system
42 SILICON CHIP
 i l

R2520 eit !
ee100 100K 1! | fa
4): AUDIO OUT-F | TUBITESS
: —$$__—, = Mee a i
= = SSS SSS ee sel NPIS ~~ ~~ = 12) AUDO WL | Gyogg
ee VI {

oo. n° OY PECRO ==
--- |
8 11C250!
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3---OPEN

C2st?
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Fig.1: this diagram shows the relevant part of the video chain in the National
TC-2969 TV set. The video line comes in at lower left & goes to pin 3 of IC2501.
A loss of 3dB instead a gain of 6dB
It then comes out on pin 12 & goes to pin 2 of the B2 socket at right. meant that the circuitry beyond pin
12 of the IC was being fed with 9dB
less than it needed. And, in simple
via the appropriate video-in terminal around IC2501. But I was all out of terms, the system didn’t like it. In
on the B board and thus into pin 5 of bright ideas. It was time to ask for fact, that probably oversimplifies the
IC2501? help, so I rang my contact at Pana- situation and I'll expand on thatiin a
Unfortunately, the result of this was sonic. Having established that I had moment.
inconclusive. On the positive side, it the circuit in front of me, he directed The cure, of course, was simple. I
had cured the rolling fault — no doubt me immediately to IC2501. ordered a replacement IC, fitted it,
about that at all. But the picture qual- He then proceeded to draw my at- and everything came good — includ-
ity was another matter. It seemed to tention to the signal levels at pins 3 ing the “wishy washy” picture. Sig-
be better but it can be very difficult to and 12, pointing out that the signal at nificantly, it was only when it did
make a precise subjective assessment pin 12 should be 6dB up on the level come good that I appreciated just how
in this type of situation. At best, it on pin 3. And suddenly I realised bad it had been.
seemed to be better but it still wasn’t. how I had slipped up; the IC diagram So what was happening to the pic-
right. contains a small amplifier symbol, ture? I’m still not sure; all I can sug-
I decided to try another tack. This marked 6dB, which I had completely gest is that the amplifier failure in the
time, I decided to take the video sig- overlooked. IC involved more than a simple loss
nal out of the set via the video output And I had made a further mistake of gain. Almost certainly there was
socket (effectively the signal out of by not comparing the two signal pat- also a serious degree of non-linearity,
pin 12 of IC2501 via Q2504) and feed terns closely enough. Thinking in producing an odd scale of video tonal
it into the video-in terminal of an- terms of unity gain, I had “assumed” values. This probably involved com-
other receiver. that the pattern at pin 12 was close pression of the highlights, thus rob-
This time the result was more tan- enough to the one I had seen at pin 3 bing the picture of its “sparkle”.
gible; it was virtually identical with — particularly as there was no obvious And another question. Why did my
that of the set in its original condition distortion — and that this was all I attempt to feed a video signal into pin
— except that, if anything, the rolling _ Should expect. In fact, subsequent 5 of IC2501 cure the rolling problem?
was marginally worse. measurements showed that it was The answer, I feel, is almost certainly
about 3dB down on the pin 3 level. that I fed in a somewhat higher ampli-
What did it mean? Again I should have noted this, but tude signal from the generator than
So what did it all mean? The best 3dB means a voltage ratio of only 1.4 was normally available from off-air
construction I could put on it was to 1, and I took less notice of it than I signals. This lifted the sync pulse
that it was somewhere on the B board, should have. amplitude but could do nothing about

OCTOBER 1992 43
 the picture, looked wise, shook his
head, and pronounced the problem as
being due to the “poor signal condi-

ven
tions”.
Nobody was really satisfied with
this excuse and after tolerating it fora
few more weeks, they called the dealer
in again and applied a little more
pressure. Only then did he concede
that all was not well but he then opted
CONCLUSIONS out again on the basis that it wasn’t
his problem and that they should con-
sult the local serviceman — ie, yours
truly.
And so it was that I received a call
from the daughter, who outlined the
above events, and tried to give me
some idea of the problem. This proved
(aS ae
difficult initially but, by careful ques-
Yo
ry preeee
tioning, I gained the impression that
veo
there were coloured patches on the
screen, a suggestion which she latched
onto immediately. She also added that
they felt that the fault had been there
from day one, at least in some degree.
Naturally, it sounded like a classic
purity error and I quizzed her about
the possibility of any magnetic de-
vices, such as hifi loudspeakers, be-
ing located near the screen at any
time. But no; she was quite adamant
that there was no possibility of this.
At this point, I suggested that they
bring the set in and, if the fault was as
I expected, I could fix it on the spot.
And so the set duly turned up in the
_ shop.
——s
Red raster, blue patches
I set it up immediately and fed ina
CONFESSION \S Paes blank red raster. Sure enough, it dis-
FOR THE SOUL, THEY SATicc played a classic purity error. There
was a big patch of blue on the left
any non-linearity in the IC amplifier. The mother lives alone, a few kilo- hand side, about half way up the
And that’s the nearest I can get to metres from her daughter, and in a screen, plus a few lesser patches on
explaining what happened and why. rather poor reception area. At this the right and along the bottom. All in
But an explanation is not an excuse. location, TV signals are weak and all, it was quite severe and I won-
The simple fact is I goofed and I’ve somewhat ghost ridden. This situa- dered how the set had ever been de-
learned a lesson from it. | tion caused some initial confusion, livered to the customer in that condi-
frustration, and delay. tion.
A very rare fault The story as told to me was that, Anyway, I reached for the degauss-
My next story is about another Na- shortly after the set had been installed, ing wand, plugged it in, and waved it
tional Panasonic colour set, a model the owner felt that there was some- across the face of the tube. This will
TC-48R60 with a very rare fault. (Inci- thing not quite right about the pic- normally have some effect on even
dentally, the “48” in that type number ture, although she couldn’t really pin- the most serious cases, even if follow-
indicates 48cm, the makers having point it. She raised the matter with up is needed at the back of the tube.
finally converted to the metric sys- her daughter and son-in-law and they But this time it had no effect whatso-
tem). both agreed that there was something ever. Nor did additional passes with
The job involved one of my regular “funny” about it but, similarly, they the wand around the back of the set.
customers, or at least indirectly, in were at a loss to pin it down. This was a setback but I was not all
that the set belonged to her mother. Eventually, they approached the that worried. I envisaged that I would
The set was only a few months old dealer from whom the set had been need to go through a full purity and
and, of course, still under warranty. purchased. He came out, examined convergence routine and explained

44 — SILICON CHIP
 that the set had better
be left with me but lan J. Truscott’s
that I should have it
ready later in the day. ELECTRONIC WORLD
30 Lacey Street, Croydon, 3136
Problem No.2 Phone (03) 723 3344 Fax: (03) 725 9443
The daughter ac- Mail & Credit Card Orders Welcome
cepted this readily
enough but, before **** NOW ALSO AT COLLINGWOOD ****
** 200 Smith St (near PQ) **
she left, she raised an-
** Phone: (03) 419 8208 **
other matter; appar-
—" i\— Pi
ently the set also had »
Ty) |= | We stock an extensive range of semicon-
a nasty habit of
“wt,

ductors, FETs & Mosfets, power & zener

switching itself off, diodes, SCRs, Triacs, Linear ICs, 74LS/HC
for no apparent rea- & 4000 series IC’s, high-intensity LEDs and
son. Typically, it displays.
would do this a cou-
Accessories inc. pots, trimpots, RF chokes,
ple of times a night
voltage regulators, relays, fuses, globes &
_ but could be turned heatsinks, as well as a comprehensive range
on again quite read- oolht MOTHER LivES ALONE of many popular switches, knobs, plugs &
_ ily. I made a mental IN A RATHER POOR RECEPTION
sockets. We offer a huge range of resistors
note to follow this up AREA~TV SIGNALS ARE WEAK & capacitors and popular parts at competi-
after the main prob- & SOMEWHAT GHOST RIDDEN tive prices.
lem had been fixed. |
I moved the set from the shop coun- More importantly, I have had prob- Rechargeable batteries, both regular,
ter to the workbench, pulled the cabi- lems with the metal frame of my work- tabbed, rapid charge and back-up types are
net back off, and switched it on again. bench and make it a point to degauss available ex stock. Ring for a price on our
this before attemting any serious pur- sealed lead-acid, video, cellular phone and
And the first thing I noticed was that
watch batteries.
the pattern of the purity error had ity or convergence adjustments. I went
changed. The main patch was now a through this routine again, then at- We now offer a speedy, courier delivered,
different shape and a slightly differ- tacked the set with the degaussing mail order service.
ent colour. , wand again. Result — no improvement
I didn’t pay much attention to this. in any shape or form. HI-FI & PA SPEAKERS
I had turned the set through 90 de- So it looked like the full treatment. Huge variety of all common hitfi replace-
grees (ie, from east-west to north-— This involves moving the deflection ment speakers, crossovers, speaker cloth
south) when I moved it and this can yoke back and resetting it for purity & grilles. Call for a price on our great range
sometimes have an effect on purity on a green raster (as used for in-line of speakers, microphones, cables, audio
problems, though seldom on the fin- gun tubes, where green is the centre leads & adaptors — we'll send you a cata-
gun), then going through the full con- logue.
ished job.
vergence check. All this was a bit ofa 2-way crossovers (pair) from $9
bind and, although I knew it had to be 3-way crossovers (pair) from $16
done, I decided to leave it until after —
SWF12 12" 100 watt RMS woofer $75
lunch so as to have a clear run at it.
When I came back and switched SWF8 8" 60 watt RMS woofer $39
the set on again, I was sure that the Redford PECC 6.5" 60 watt woofer $38
purity error had changed yet again. Redford PECC 12" 160 watt woofer $114
This simply didn’t make sense and I
DM40 4"50 watt RMS midrange =—s_-«$16
was becoming very suspicious.
DT30 1" 35 watt RMS dome tweeter $11
Horizontal streaks Ferro Fluid 30 watt (60 max) tweeter $13
And there was another effect; one Piezo tweeters from $16
that I had noticed before but which
had then vanished and come back Speaker wall mounts from $39
again. This was a series of black 2-way speaker switch boxes $18
horizontal streaks flitting through the 3-way speaker switch box
raster. It looked for all the world like
(impedance matching) $49
external electrical interference but this
was hardly likely in a bench gener- Don’t forget our disposals store at Sth.
ated raster pattern. In the light of all Croydon. There’s plenty of hard-to-find
this, I decided to have a bit of a poke _ parts and help you won’t get elsewhere!
around the deflection components
before going any further. Phone 723 2699 (ask for Mal)
So, armed with my favourite sledge-
OCTOBER 1992 45
 tion sheet setting out typical spacing
SERVICEMAN'S LOG — CTD dimensions for the two yokes. As a
precaution, I had supplemented this
information by measuring these dis-
tances on the old tube with a pair of
callipers before I pulled it out. They
were within a millimetre or so of the
given dimensions. ~ 7
I re-assembled everything, switch-
ed on, and was presented with a near
perfect picture. Only a few minutes’
work was needed to touch it up. I
then let it run for several days, just to
make sure.
It ran perfectly with no purity prob-
lems or black streaks and, signifi-
cantly, no tendency to spontaneously
switch-off. In fact, lam now convinced
that all the problems were related.
The faulty weld in the tube was al-
lowing two metal surfaces to rub to-

THE OLD SLEDGEHAMMER TRICKa.

gether and, due to the high voltage
field around the tube, this caused
sparks. This in turn produced the
hammer (the plastic butt end of a _ the supporting welds had failed. streaks on the screen, along with in-
screwdriver), I began tapping any From there on it was largely rou- terference pulses that caused the re-
likely components, while watching tine, although there was still a lot to mote control microprocessor to shut
the purity pattern in a mirror. This be done. First, the owner’s daughter the set down.
had no effect until, more or less in was contacted and the situation ex-
desperation, I gave a light tap — a very plained. She was rather shocked to Crystal frequency
light tap — on the back of the picture learn that they had a crook picture To finish off, I’d like to acknowl-
tube. tube but I quickly put her mind at rest edge a letter from a Mr P. Maljevac, an
And bingo! The purity error and by explaining that the set was still engineer with OTC in Sydney. He has
the black streaks vanished completely, under warranty and would cost them very kindly supplied the answer to a
just like that. I tapped the tube again; nothing. technical point I raised in these notes
and the purity error was back — in a I then rang Panasonic and ordered for June 1992. While looking for a
different form — and I had a pattern of a new picture tube. It arrived in a colour fault, I suspected (correctly)
black streaks far more prolific than couple of days and I wasted no time that the reference oscillator crystal
before. fitting it. This is relatively easy — the had failed and replaced it with one
I tapped several more times and single board on the bottom of the cabi- from stock. However, the faulty crys-
every time I tapped there was a differ- net is slipped out; the neck board, tal was marked 8.86MHz instead of
ent purity error. It was sometimes bet- convergence yoke, and deflection yoke the more usual 4.43MHz and I won-
ter than before, sometimes worse, and are removed; and the four corner nuts dered why.
there were similar variations in the holding the tube are unscrewed. Well, Mr Maljevac provides the an-
black streak pattern. Fitting the new tube is essentially ' swer and his letter was reproduced in
I gave it away then. There was little the reverse procedure, followed by Mailbag for the August issue (p.5). If
doubt in my mind what the problem the setting-up routine for purity and you haven’t already seen it, I suggest
was. The shadow mask was adrift in- convergence. This has been simpli- you make a point of referring to it
side the tube, probably because one of fied by means of a technical informa- because it gives a very succinct expla-
nation. |
Deflection Yoke How had I missed out on that de-
Fig.2: the convergence
(TLY26311F) ;
yoke assembly for the velopment? Well, it’s hard to keep up
National TC-48R60 TV with every advance these days and, in
set. It shows the the service scene, one tends to ignore
suggested spacings for those parts of a set that don’t nor-
the deflection & mally cause problems. It’s only when
convergence yokes for a section fails that one starts asking
CRT minimum setting-up questions about it. And, unfortunately,
(A51JSY61XHR) adjustments. It turned I don’t encounter many Philips sets;
out to be almost spot on. they don’t seem to break down very
|_D : Convergence Yoke often in my area.
(TLC2047)
Anyway, thanks to Mr Maljevac, I
now know the answer to my query.
_ 46 — SILICON CHIP
We have a limited supply of Small black
some 18mm fibre optically anodised metal
coupled 2nd generation image Scoop purchase! High
quality “Murata” 40kHz body. Removable
intensifier tubes. These are pressure switch.
ex-military and may have some minor blemishes, but all ultrasonic transducers.
Vertical and
produce full gain. With low light lenses these wil per pair horizontal adjust-
produce useful images with as little as starlight Ring for higher quantity ments. Battery
illumination. Can also be IR assisted with IR LED’s or pricing life more than 10
low power torches, in rare situations where this may be hours |
required. The tubes require a 3V battery and a switch to continuous. 5mW
make them operational. The viewer illustrated uses one 670nM class IIIA
of these tubes. It was constructed using some low cost laser. Range is about 150m, some would claim three Contains mainly 8 modern
plastic tubing and matching fittings for the case, a times more. Shock tested to 2000g. One year warranty. ferrite transformers which
camera lens, and a low cost eyepiece. $ are very easy to
Plastic jewellers eyepieces can be used. Sa Ki a A
ON SPECIAL AT $249 disassamble and rewind.
FOR THE TUB AND THE SPECIFICATION SHEET Ferrite halves are clipped
Price includes one rifle or pistol mount. together and no
adhesives are used
between them or in coil
winding. There are four
identical small
Sx |PCB assembly based on transformers and four
| a 7910 CF LSI music indentical larger
enerator IC. Plays transformers. The
reenslieeves or Home on transformers can be
the Range, with a sound rewound for use in
ssembly quality which is hard to inverters,
based on a ULN2232 IC. believe. Full chords and inductors, filters, etc.
This device has a built in accompaniment. Also
light detector, filters, timer, produce two different Brand new large Hitachi ea
narrow angle lens, and alarm sounds. Apply LM215XB display, as used Brand new large precision
even a siren driver circuit 1.5-12V across two of in some laptop projection lenses, which
that can drive an external connector pins to obtain computers. Yellow-green were originally intended
speaker. Will detect music. Copy of E.A. LCD reflective type, 480 X for big screen TV
humans crossing a project (Dec. 80) 128 dot display, effective projection systems. Will
narrow corridor at employing this IC is display area of 242 X 69 project images at close
distances up to 3 metres. provided. mm, has 14 LSI ICs proximity, onto walls and
Much higher ranges are mounted on the rear of screens and it has
ea.
possible if the detector is the PCB. Includes four These matching adjustable focussing.
illuminated by a remote pages of data sheets. components were Main body has a diameter
visible or IR light source. Limited stock at a small removed from brand new of 117mm and is 107mm
Can be used at very low fraction of their IR tank viewers. They long. The whole assembly
light levels, and even in real value. $39 ea. include a large low light can be easily unscrewed
total darkness with IR Controller kit available for objective lens, a large to obtain three very large
LED. Full information $25 including instructions. prefocussed IR image lenses: two plastic and
converter tube, a power one glass. The basis of Very small tube and
provided. The IC only is inverter to suit; suit long
worth $16! Our price for supply or power supply kit the cheapest large
to suit the tube and an magnifier or projection range gunsights, laser
the assembly is: pointers. Incredible value
adjustable eyepiece system? Experimenters
$6 ea. or 5 for $25 assembly.
Make a professional infra
delight at
* $150
red night viewer ONLY $28 Includes tube, supply and
at a ridiculous $ 1 99 (Item No, 0137) ballast resistor
price of:
Brand new 6 volt 1 watt For the set.
You can hear the amorphous solar panels,
difference with these 150m x 150mm, will
premium quality 90 min. deliver one watt whilst These are brand new units,
pure metal cassettes. charging 6-8V batteries. main body has a diameter of
These were recorded on Two of these in series 58mm and a height of 25mm.
once, never played, and make a great 12V battery Will operate from 5V, has 7.5
then bulk erased. The maintainer/charger. Have deg. steps, coil resistance 6.6
record tabs have been weather protection, and ohm and it is a two phase
removed. terminating clips are type. Six wires.
provided. Incredible
$6 ea or 10 for $50 pricing: Based on a brand_new,
very compact modern
$10 ea or 10 for $85 EHT. flyback transformer
which includes an EHT
diode rectifier. We supply
Famous “‘high-spec”’ the transformer, a very
Gates brand dual cell simple circuit, and the We have accumulated a
batteries, enclosed in a The writing of these pens components to suit. All good supply of some new
plastic moulding. 4V-5AHr is only visible under UV Suit teachers, doctors,
you need to make a very businessmen, and other and used tubes and
per pack. Connect 3 “Black Light”. simple EHT or DC or heads with powers in the
packs in series to obtain a professionals. Improve
ea or 5 for $18 pulsed AC supply. and enhance all your range of 0.5-2mW. These
12V/SAHr battery. Brand Powered from 12V DC may have some small
new, fresh stock, fully presentations. Not a kit,
supply. Great for EHT but a.complete beam pooreny problems.
charged. Limited stocks at experiments, EHT testing, The tubes and the heads
a giveaway price of: commercial pen sized
plasma displays (large laser pointer at an || are guaranteed for one
or 3 packs for $45 light bulbs can be used) incredible price! vy"! year! You can purchase
etc. Ese price for the ON SPECIAL AT Brand new, large MIL- : one of these tubes/heads
transformer and the with our Universal 12V
components is only:9 47 $180 SPEC guages. Overall
diameter approx. 130 mm. laser inverter kits for the
price of the inverter only!
Small pen sized body. Pressure guage reads
Runs on two small AAA from 0-16 bar.
battery. Battery life: 2-10 Temperature guage reads
hours. Visible 5mW red from —20 to 80 deg C
Stock up on this limited (670nM) laser. Projects a and has a remote sensor
stock surplus item. Brand visible red spot at more
new, 6-12V (6V/5O0mA,
attached to a 2m lead.
than 50 metres. As used
12V/150mA). Giveaway at: for medical treatment by
doctors and
Pressure guage
Temperature
$32 | We have heaps of lasers
and night vision
ea or 5 for $25
acupuncturists. guage $29 equipment.

High quality military bin-

ocular IR viewer. Self
powered, and originally A complete nicad battery
intended to be mounted power pack that was
on a helmet. Focus is intended to be used in
adjustable from 1 metre to emergency lighting A very small but complete
infinity. Requires some IR application. Contains 17 IR telescope which only
illumination. Powered by “D” size 1.2V/4 AHr needs an EHT power
one single 1.5V battery. batteries which can be supply, which is provided
Original fibreglass carry easily separated into in kit form. PCB and all
case provided. individual cells. New on board comp’s only.
Limited stock. packs in their original Limited stock at a
ON SPECIAL packing. reduced special price.
$75 per pack
 Build this mini amplifier
_ for personal stereos
Have you ever wanted to use your personal problem have been found, including
mounting a couple of LM386 audio
stereo player with speakers instead of those tiny amplifier ICs on a board to drive a
and annoying headphones? This little project couple of small loudspeakers. The
only problem with this approach is
allows you to do just that. It uses only one that you have to use two ICs and these
low-cost IC and a few external components. inevitably take up a fair amount of
board space.
By DARREN YATES “Well, what about stereo amplifier
chips?” I hear some of you ask. There
Personal stereos have revolution- 3-way graphic equalizer and Dolby are a few of these around, some of
ised the way we listen to our favourite noise reduction. Some even feature which have already been used in pre-
music and radio stations. Not only auto-reverse for the cassette deck as vious projects.
can we now listen to Beethoven on well. In the Portable AM Stereo Radio
the train going to work but also while About the only thing the personal project published in September 1989,
jogging, studying for exams and dur- stereo lacks is a couple of pint-sized we used a TA7376P chip, which was
ing those tedious hours at work (oops.. speakers that plug in when you've a single in-line (SIL) package, but it
not that it happens here, Boss!) — in had enough of those tiny earphones was physically a bit on the fragile
fact, just about anywhere we want. poking holes through your noggin. side if you weren’t careful.
If you stop and think about it, you These days, there are a few ampli- The next chip we used was Na-
can now buy a. sensitive FM stereo fied speakers available but most of tional Semiconductor’s LM831. This
receiver with a stereo cassette deck these come with an equally amplified time the package was a 16-pin DIL,
that fits easily into the palm of your price-tag to boot! but it didn’t have the same output
hand — and many now come with a Of course, many solutions to the power as the LM386. Its main prob-

48 SILICON CHIP
 STEREO
INPUT

L1, L2 AND L3 = 6T, 0.68mm ENCW, AIR CORED —

WOUND ON A 5mm DIA. MANDREL

MINI STEREO AMPLIFIER

Fig.1: the circuit is based on the TDA2822M stereo amplifier chip from SGS.
Inductors L1, L2 & L3 ensure that the RF signal picked up by the input leads is
not shunted away by the amplifier inputs, since this signal is used by the tuner.

lem is that NS has now discontinued left. The gain of both amplifiers is set
it — strike out one IC. internally to 100 (40dB), while the
Then we came across a tiny 8-pin low frequency roll-off is set by the
DIL device, the same size as the old 100uF capacitors at pins 5 & 8. The
LM386, but with two amplifiers output is coupled to the speakers by
packed inside, capable of delivering two 470uF capacitors (pins 1 & 3) and
1W into 8 ohms at 9V. each amplifier has a Zobel network more than 100 milliwatts per channel
Delving into the specs a bit more consisting of a 0.1uF capacitor and a into 4Q, which is quite adequate for
revealed that it would also work down 10Q resistor, which prevents any high personal listening.
to 1.8V — a definite plus over most frequency instability from occurring. And that’s about it as far as the cir-
other ICs — and that it has only 0.2% The supply voltage can be anywhere cuit workings are concerned. As we
distortion, which is pretty good for from 1.8V to 12V, with obvious im- said before, there’s very little to it.
such a tiny package. The device in provements in sound quality and out-
question is the TDA2822M. put power available at the higher Construction
voltages. At 3V, the IC will put out All of the components for the Mini
Circuit diagram
Let’s take a look at the circuit dia-
gram in Fig.1. As you can see, there’s
ral
$1
very little to it. The input signal comes
direct from your stereo player into the
two volume pots VR1a and VR1b. No- tL
=]

tice that it also comes via three air-

core inductors.
The reason for these is that if your
personal stereo has an AM/FM radio gvDC
built in, it uses the headphone leads PLUGPACK
as the antenna. The inductors prevent
the RF signal from being shunted away as
by the amplifier inputs. STEREO A : aaa ie LEFT
INPUT HL —— os
A dual-ganged potentiometer pro-
vides the volume control for both
channels and we have omitted a bal-
ance control. This saves a little money it RIGHT
4 OUTPUT
on acontrol which is very rarely used
on any stereo amplifier. Fig.2: mount the parts on the PC board & install the wiring as shown in this
The stereo signal passes into IC1a diagram. Inductors L1, L2 & L3 are made by winding six turns of 0.8mm
for the right channel and IC1b for the enamelled copper wire on a 5mm former (eg, the shaft of a drill bit).

OCTOBER 1992 49
 Once the coils are in, you can sol-
der in the resistors and the capacitors.
Again, follow the wiring diagram care-
fully to make sure that each part is
correctly located and take care with
the polarity of the electrolytic capaci-
tors.
The last item to be mounted on the
board is the TDA2822 IC. Note that
pin 1 of this device is adjacent to a
notch or dot in one end of the plastic
body.
Once the board is complete, check
it thoroughly for any errors such as.
solder splashes across tracks or be-
tween IC pins. When you’re happy
with it, you can begin work on the
case.
Installing the board
Before installing the board into the
zippy case, you will have to drill holes
for the volume control, the power
switch and the four 3.5mm sockets.
We suggest that you drill some small
guide holes first and then use a tap-
ered reamer to enlarge the holes to.
The PC board is secured to the bottom of the case, using machine screws & nuts,
with extra nuts used as spacers. Use rainbow cable or light duty hook-up wire suit. :
for the wiring connections & take care to ensure that the supply is wired with When you go to fit the 3.5mm sock-
the correct polarity. ets, you will probably find a small
problem. The threaded bush of each
Amplifier (except for the volume con- bit and wind on six turns of 0.8mm socket isn’t quite long enough to pro-
trol, on/off switch and sockets) fit onto enamelled copper wire. trude sufficiently through the plastic
a small PC board measuring 60 x Make sure that you wind the turns case and hence you won’t be able to
37mm (code SC01110921). close together and reasonably tightly, secure the nut. The solution is to use
Before you begin construction, but don’t make the turns too tight an 8mm drill bit and slightly counter-
check the PC board carefully for any otherwise you won't be able to get sink each hole by hand. This will
shorts or breaks in the copper tracks. them off the drill bit. provide more access to the thread and
If you find any, use a small artwork When you’ve wound all three coils, allow you to get the nuts on.
knife or some wire links as appropri- scrape the enamel off the ends and Once all the hardware has been
ate to fix the problem. solder them to the board. Check the mounted, the wiring can be completed
Next, you can wind the three coils. overlay wiring diagram (Fig.2) to make using light-duty hook-up wire or rain-
This is really quite easy. All you need sure you insert them into the right bow cable — see Fig.2. Finally, the
to do is get a 5mm (or 7/32-inch) drill holes. board can be secured to the bottom of

a
$C01110921

MIN MAX
VOLUME

Fig.3: the front panel & PC board artworks. Check the board for etching defects before installing any of the parts.

50 SILICON CHIP
the case using 3mm machine screws
and nuts, with extra nuts used as
spacers.
Connecting plugs
The next step is to wire up the
connecting cables. Let’s start with the
signal cable that connects your per-
sonal stereo player to the amplifier.
This needs to be a 1-metre length of
figure-8 shielded cable fitted at either
end with a 3.5mm stereo plug. You
can either purchase two stereo plugs
and wire them together or you can
save time by buying the complete lead;
eg, Arista Cat. No. AL161 for $3.95.
Next, you can work on the speaker
cables. Alternatively, you could buy a
pair of small speakers which already Here’s what the PC board looks like close up. Scrape away the enamel from the
have the cables connected. leads of the inductors before soldering them to the board & make sure that all
If you're “rolling your own”, make polarised parts are correctly oriented.
sure that you connect the positive
and negative speaker terminals to the amplifier’s current drain by connect- the speakers are connected, the “no
same terminals on each of the two ing your multimeter (set to the 200mA signal” current should still be the
3.5mm mono plugs. You should use range) in series with the 9VDC supply same, at about 10mA.
some light duty (figure-8) speaker ca- and one of the supply rails. Next up, plug in your personal
ble for this. With no input signal, you should stereo receiver and set the volume
find that the current drain is about control on it to about halfway. Now
Testing 10mA or so. If it is any more than this, increase the volume on the stereo am-
The test procedure is quite simple. switch off and check that you have plifier and you should be able to hear
First, it’s a good idea to check the the circuit wired up correctly. When the fruits of your labour. Sc

Emona LAB4 Electronics Workbench®

Four instruments in one 2 pacage The electronics lab in a computer!
Fert | ST ile

Siew
The LAB4 has four full with neatly laid out and labelled A simple, intuitive and very THREE VERSIONS
function test instruments: front panel controls. Also, the powerful teaching tool, Electron- e Professional Version: EGA/VGA
LAB4 is compact and only takes ics Workbench lets students and colour display; unlimited components
mw DC POWER SUPPLY up a small space, compared to hobbyists design and test both e Personal Plus Version: Mono-
Triple output; 5V, 15V, 0-50V four bench-top instruments. analog and digital electronic chrome display; unlimited components
e Personal Version: Monochrome
m DIGITAL MULTIMETER circuits, without the delays and display; limited to 20 components per
Full function, auto-ranging LAB4 expense of a laboratory. circuit
m FUNCTION GENERATOR EWB
Test Instrument Package FEATURES
0.02Hz-2MHz, with SWEEP $722 (excl. tax) @ Quick and simple circuit entry Professional single user
mw FREQUENCY COUNTER @ Digital and Analog Modules $429 (plus $7 p&p)
1Hz-100MHz input range included, complete with all compon-

INDEPENDENT INSTRUMENTS
EMONA ents @ Simulated instruments: dual
trace scope, spectrum analyser, EMONA
INSTRUMENTS function generator, multimeter, digital
Each instrument in the LAB4 is word generator and logic analyser
INSTRUMENTS
completely independent and can be NW sc cessctaicnsessndesshaks (02) 519 3933 .. (02) 519 3933
VIC csesinsisdessnkbehsnnnye «+» (03) 889 0427 @ Complete control over all
switched ON or OFF as required. CD icssscosiassapniaxeninacas (07) 397 7427 component values and parameters ce setsstsssessasesses (03) 889 0427
The LAB4 has only one 240V mains @ Print: circuit schematics, parts list, (07) 397 7427
input, saving on multiple power DISTRIBUTORS instrument readings, macros @ Logic
points. (09) 244 2777 conversion — truth table to Boolean (09) 244 2777
(08) 362 7548 formula to logic gates @ Custom- (08) 362 7548
Each instrument is clearly defined (002) 342233 isable hypertext help system (002) 34 2233

OCTOBER 1992 51
 er

tits bas .

DICK, SMI
ELECTRONICS

MINI 4.5V TO 9V weW af

UNIVERSAL MOTOR SPEED 9 [#! DC CONVERTER €
CONTROLLER Here’s an easy way to replace those expensive
This easy to build kit is designed for regulating the speed on 9 volt batteries with cost-efficient 1.5 volt cells.
heavy-duty power tools. It’s ideal for circular saws, electric This easy to build kit uses just 3 components
drills, lawn edgers, jig-saws, grinders and other appliances and allows any type of 1.5V cell (AA,C,D,N or
which are rated at 5 amps and have a ‘brush type’ motor. This AAA) to replace a more expensive 9V battery.
new improved design has a higher current rating and uses a _ What’s more, the PCB measures just
Triac rectifier instead of a SCR. As well, it monitors the ‘back- 17 x 43mm and fits easily inside a 9V.
EMF’ voltage from the motor, so though the drill speed is battery compartment. Cat K-3231
controlled, it won’t bog down when the going gets tough.
Complete with deluxe pre-punched screened front panel,
components, PCB and flush mounted mains socket. $o95 |
AUDIO SWEEPER 22 [4!
= 5 @ HO A buget-priced kit for audiophiles, sound experts, enthusiasts...
in fact anyone involved or interested in sound. This affordable
FOR BRUSH
MOTORS UP
TO 5 AMPS
audio test system analyses the performance (mid, treble &
bass) of speakers, speaker enclosures, filter circuits and room
acoustics. It consists of a sweeping audio test signal generator
Cat K-3085 and a metering amplifier which measures the results. The kit
comes complete with a deluxe pre-punched front panel, plastic
instrument case, PCB, hardware (including dB meter) and all
—fy-SPEED CONTROLLER
ecrs0nics S46 ° components.

Also Available Individually

Insulated Triac (BTA 10-600B)
As used in K-3085 $595
Cat Z-4515

314 DIGIT ¥
PANEL METER weW
An easy to build kit which is perfect for
SOE K

“04 $er {%
monitoring voltages, including
anything from power supplies to car
batteries. This general purpose panel
can be built to read voltage up to +/-
200V DC or current up to 2A (or both
with suitable switching). It’s ideal for
the hobbyist, student and any
application where you need to monitor
voltage or current accurately and
Semiconductor Of The Month! :
precisely. Complete with LCD screen,
all components, PCB and a 9V battery TDA 41514A 50 WATT/RMS HIGH
snap. (Requires 9V battery)
POWER AMP As used in K-5600 .
Cat K-7502 : on This new hybrid module semiconductor has an inbuilt
SOAR (safe operating area) protection and
extremely quiet operation. Data sheets available in

$4995
all stores.

Cat Z-6117
Also Available Individually
Liquid Crystal Display with data sheet.
As used in K-7502 ’ Please contact your nearest store
for availability |
Cat Z-4175 $4 495

52 SILICON CHIP
SCANNER BOOKS
Register of Government Radio Frequencies NSW & ACT B-4100
B-4102 SI00KS BOOKS
OOKS BOOKS
Scanner Fanatics Frequency Register of NSW
Scanner Fanatic Frequency Register of Vic B-4104
Australian Radio Frequency Handbook B-9601

DATA & REFERENCE BOOKS

Towers International Transistor Selector
Resistor Colour Code Chart
Philips Linear Databook
B-4600
B-1000
B-5553
HOOKS BOOKS
Philips IC & Semiconductor Reference Guide B-5552
SGS-Thompson CMOS 4000 Databook B-5560
SGS-Thompson SCR & TRIACS Databook B-5564
SGS-Thompson DIODES Databook B-5566
SGS-Thompson Small Signal Transistor Databook B-5568
Motorola RF Devices Databook B-5400
Motorola RAMs & EEPROMS Databook B-5402
Motorola Thyristors Databook B-5404

ELECTRONICS & HOBBY BOOKS

Electronics Tips & Techniques B-1600
Mastering IC Electronics B-1612
Home Remote Control Projects B-1614
Basic Electronics Theory B-1615
101 Opto Electronics Projects B-1617

BOOKS BOOKS
Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits Vol.3 B-1760
Introductory Electronics B-3635
Aviation & Space Science Projects B-6702
Electronics for Model Railways B-3642

BOOKS BOOK:
14 FM Bugs fo Build B-3650
Data Sheet on PCB Making B-6005
Guide to NiCad Batteries B-6040

BOOKS BOOK:
Wire & Cable for Electronics B-1618
RF Interference Handbook B-2401

SHORTWAVE RADIO BOOKS

Shortwave Listening Guidebook B-2040 COMPUTER BOOKS
Passport to World Band Radio B-2050 The Complete PC Memory Manager $39.95
World Radio & TV Handbook B-2092 RS232 Made Easy. 2nd Ed. $49.95
Radio In Australia B-2300 PC Architecture & Assembly Language $28.95
‘GW BASIC Primer Plus $59.95
AMATEUR BOOKS DOS 5.0 User's Guide $39.95
Yaesu Amateur Radio Log Book B-2029 IBM PC Configuration Handbook $59.95
Yaesu Ham Operators World Map B-2030 The 486 Book $69.95
ARRL YAGI Antenna Design B-2105 Quickstart Works For Windows $24.95
ARRL Antenna Handbook 16th Ed. B-2209 Quickstart Windows 3. ] $24.95
ARRL Radio Handbook, 1992 Ed. B-2225 Quickstart WordPerfect for Windows $29.95
Secrets of RF Circuit Design B-2311 WordPerfect for Windows By Example $59.95
Your Gateway to Packet Radio B-2402 WordPerfect 5.1 Quick Reference $19.95
AX-25 Packet Radio Protocol B-2403 Microsoft Word 5 Quick Reference $19.95
W.I.A. Into Electronics B-2313 MS.DOS 5 Quick Reference $19.95
W.I.A. Novice Electronics : B-2317 Norton Ultilities 6.0 Quick Reference $19.95
W.I.A. 1000 Questions for Novice Candidates B-2316 Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.1 Quick Reference $19.95
W.I.A 500 Questions for AOCP Candidates. B-2318 Hard Disk with DOS 5.0 Quick Reference $19.95
PC Tool 7.0 Quick Reference $19.95
Guide To XTREE Quick Reference $19.95
SATELLITE TV BOOKS Windows 3.1 Quick Reference — $49.95
Satellite TV - Pacific Region B-2321 $19.95
QUATTRO PRO 4 Quick Reference
ARRL Satellite Antology _B-2400 The Complete DOS 5 with Batch File Disk $69.95
Atari Portfolio Guidebook $39.95
CB RADIO BOOKS A Kid’s Guide to Computers $19.95
The Screwdriver Experts Guide B-2324
CB International PLL Data Book B-2326 GAMES BOOKS
Understanding CB Radio B-2327 Leisure Suit Larry Bedside Companion $22.95
CB EPROM Data Book B-2329 Beyond the Nintendo Masters $19.95
Mastering Nintendo Video Games $18.95
LEARN ELECTRONICS THE FUNWAY Tricks of the Nintendo Masters $19.95
Funway Into Electronics Vol.1 B-2600 The Complete Nintendo Video Games Guide $19.95
Funway Into Electronics Vol.2 B-2605 Winner's Guide to GAME BOY $18.95
Funway Into Electronics Vol.3 B-2610 _ Winner's Guide to SEGA $18.95

OCTOBER 1992 53
 FPLUKE |!
oo by industry Porvsstenals as the most forgiving multimeters ever+ made!”=

With a 3 % digit (4000-count) display A tough and dependable multimeter designed

and a V-check which automatically changes for true one-hand operation. It has a 3 3/4
modes. What's more, it has continuity digit (4000 count) display, as well as auto
capture which records intermittant opens and = and manual ranging. With AC/DC voltage
shorts as brief as 250mS. In addition, the measurements (fo 600 volts), continuity
min/max record and time stamp lets you beeper, Ohms & diode tester, digital display,
capture precisely what occurred and when. and overload protection. The Fluke 10,
Hook it up, walk away, then come back and a new generation in speed, versatility
find out what happened... it’s that easy! and value.
Cat Q-1612 a Cat Q-1611

2 YEAR WARRANTY! 2 YEAR WARRANTY!

Specifications Specifications
DCV: 4000mvV, 4V, 40V, 400V, 600V DCV: 4000mvV, 4V, 40V, 400V 600V
Accuracy: (0.9% +2 for 4000mvV& 4V Accuracy: (1.5% +2 for 4000mvV& 4V
| el a 0.9% +1 for 40V, 400V & 600V ranges) (1.5% +1 for 40V, 400V & 600V
Se ranges
= ACV: 4000mvV, 4V, 40V, 400V, 600V ACV.4000mvV, 4V, 40V, 400V, 600V
| Resistance: 400 Ohm, 4K Ohm, 40K Ohm, Resistance: 400 Ohm, 4K Ohm, 40K Ohm,
400K Ohm, 4M Ohm, 40M Ohm 400K Ohm, 4M Ohm, 40M Ohm
Capacitance: luf, 10uf, 100uf, 1000uf,
10, 000uf

Industrial Test Lead Set Right-Angle Test Leads

Silicon insulated test leads (63’’ long). With Shrouded input plugs which will not pull out of
shrouded right-angle connectors, interchangeable meter during use. Single piece construction.
Stainless steel test probes and safety . a=. _| ‘metre long.
Al alligator clips. 7 Cat Q-1650
=a , ax ieee Deluxe Test Lead Kit
Tye Alligator Clips Everything in a handy soft carry pouch. Comes with
) 3 interchangeable tips- 2 alligator clips, 2 spade
: <jeanene reg Baaysol ialred’ slip-onag for lugs, 1 retractable hook tip &2 standard pointed
; we , be 0-1 bn DS tips. Includes shrouded banana plugs. « p= «
Cat Q-1658
Fluke 10 & 12 Holster
snap your meter into this yellow holster
and it will absorb shocks and protect it
mss oilseeds _ eb vi a i
mou anger loop which can be used as : :
a probe holder High Voltage Saas /
Cat Q-1614 Probe be.
Fluke 10 & 12 Softcase Measuring high voltages made easy | :
The best way to keep your Fluke series 10 and safe. Division ratio is 1000:1.
meter safe and organised. There’s room for Measures up to 40kV or 28kV RMS AC. Has
leads and small accessories as well. 95 1000Mohm input resistance.
Cat Q-1616 rl Cat Q-1690

Also Avalialable!.... Fluke 73 Series Il

3 | Cat Q-1603
The all new Series II Fluke professional quality multimeters give you Fluke 75 Series ll
better value, better performance and more features than ever before. Cat Q-1605
All of the ‘70 Series’ meters now have ‘Touch Hold’, Diode Test,
Continuity beeper, Automatic Self Test, Sleeper Function and Fluke 77 Series Il
exceptionally long battery life as standard features. Cat Q-1607

MAJOR DICK SMITH ELECTRONICS AUTHORISED STOCKISTS:

NSW: ARMIDALE: New England Electronics 711655 BALLINA: Ballina Electronics 867022 BATEMAN’S BAY: Baycity Sight & Sound 725030 BATHURST: Electronic Frontiers 323933 BOWRAL: Bowral Electrical Supplies 611861
BROKEN HILL: Hobbies & Electronics 884098 COOTAMUNDRA: Cootamundra Music aLite 422561 COFFS HARBOUR: Coffs Harbour Electronics 525684 DENILIQUIN: Deni Electronics 813672 DUBBO: Chris's HiFi 828711
FORSTER: Forster Village Electronics 545006 gyreeak Tunlive 22 1288 GRAFTON rs & Spares ire 1 GRIFFITH: Miatronics 624534 INVERELL: Inverell Electronics 221821 KEMPSEY: P&L Leonard 631134 LEETON:
Leeton Audiotronic 532800 LIGHTNING ir! rrhtni eed Power 29 1013 LI THOW: Dour icS 513173 LISMORE: Decro Electronic Services 214137 MOREE: Moree Electronics 522091 MUDGEE: Headware
723895 MURWILLUMBAH: Strings & Th NARRABRI moi Computer Service 923274 NELSON AY:NelsonBay Elect & Hobbies 813685 NOWRA: Nowra Electronics 210722 PARKES: Strad Music Ctr 623366 PORT
MACQUARIE: Hastings Computer Service Qos RICHMOND: iieon Crafts 784101 TAREE: Manning Electronics 51 512233 ULLADULLA: Coastal Electronics 553989 WAGGA WAGGA: Phillips Electronics 216558 WALGETT:
Walgett Electronic Centre 281116 WELLINGTON: Welli Service 452325 WINDSOR: Hawkesb 6722 YASS: Warmington Electrical 261116 YOUNG: Keith s Electronics 821279 VIC: ARARAT: Jerram
Electronics 522345 BAIRNSDALE: LH & LM Crawford 525677 BENALLA: North East Electronics 622710 CASTLEMAINE: In Electrics 723773 COLAC: Colac Electronics 312847 ECHUCA: Gilmour Electronics 822956
MILDURA: Pullman Auto Pro 232882 MORWELL: Roylaine Pty Ltd 339458 SHEPPARTON: Andrew Guyatt Electronics 219497 SWAN HILL: Nyah District TV Service 329303 ST. ARNAUD St. Amaud Appliances 951069 WARRAGUL:
laine 234255 WARRNAMBOOL: Koroit St Elec Services 627417 WONTHAGGI: South Gippsland Photo Service 721411 QLD: AYR: Delta Electrix 831566 BLACKWATER: Cool Tronics 825827 BOWEN: Delpro Agencies 86 3477
DABERG: Bob Elkin Electronics 521785 CALOUNDRA: Electro-mart 918533 DALBY: Hobby& Electronics 625770 DYSART: Dysart Videotronixs 582107 GLADSTONE: Electronic Enterprises 726660 INGHAM: Masons
Electronics 763188 INNISFAIL: Innisfail Hi-Fi 612014 KINGAROY: MD & MM Siegle 624535 LONGREACH: Longreach Sound & Communications 583307 MACKAY: Stevens Electronics 511723 MARYBOROUGH: Keller Electronics
214559 MT ISA: Outback Electronics 433331 NAMBOUR: Nambour Electronics 411966 PIALBA: Keller Electronics 283749 STANTHORPE Granite Belt Communications 813333 TAS: BURNIE: Electronic City 314760 DEVONPORT:
Al Electronics 248322 SA: MT GAMBIER: Hutchesson’s Communication 250400 PORTLINCOLN: Basshams TV & Comp World 830075 WHYALLA: Eyre Electronics 454764 WA: ALBANY: Micro Electronics 412077 BUNBURY:
Micro Electronics 216222 GERALDTON: Batavia Lighting & Electrical 211278 KALGOORLIE: Today's Electronics 215212 KARRATHA: Pilbara Office Supplies 854836 MANDURAH: Mandurah Hi Fi 5812206 PORT HEDLAND: Ivan Tomek
! Electronics 732531

04 SILICON CHIP
 SANGGEAN
With Cassette Player!
All-Band World Receiver
Open your ears to the world with the stunning Sangean ATS-81 8CS.
This fantastic receiver covers Longwave and continuous shortwave
frequencies from 1.62 to 30MHz and local AM/FM stations (FM stereo
with optional headphones). What's more, with an inbuilt BFO (beat
frequency oscillator) it can receive many HF SSB transmissions
including marine, aircraft, amateur and commercial broadcasts. An
inbuilt tape deck even allows you to play your favourite tapes and pre-
set it to record broadcasts. Top features include five-way tuning, 45
station memories, a full function digital display, dual time and alarm
clock. A dual conversion receiver design offers switchable filters and an
- pert RF gain control to provide optimum reception. It's simply
a : rilliant!
eee Cat D-2842

Shorlwave Listeners Passport To World Band : TV Handbook

World Radio
week henry Heirs Radioamen1992 1992
Learn how fo fap into the
exciting and ‘live’ the Prccpory Ts A valuable guide on how g One of the most sought
world of shortwave! This iRL) BAND) Rin) to get started with your after books among
valuable book tells you shortwave receiver. It's shortwave enthusiasts.
how to get the best EE packed with useful - With up to date and
programs, news and Ls information, with everything complete listings of
broadcasts from around from what's on, to the international radio and
the world. As well, there's best (& worst) SW radios. TV stations. Provides

aniemn, condivons
affecting reception,
If you've just discovered
shortwave radio, are just
Starting out, or want to keep
age
oui, ieee
yer
international & domestic up with the latest world B-2092
~ broadcasting and more. sees changes, this book is a :
oP ged ade te~~ Cat B-2040
$4
. 1
F
95 definite must-have!
CatB-2050

Easy To Use
Easy Etch Engraver
A quick and effective way to make sure your tools
don’t get mixed up with others. This reliable
engraver lets you quickly mark tools, stereo Quick and Easy!
equipment and household valuables with a Heat "nN
permanent identification or serial number. It’s : —
easy to handle and has steel bits so you can =—-Strip Gun oe Ke
engrave on metal, plastic, wood and most Cut K Hens by helt | 2 iy
materials. Complete with 12V plug pack and long Ul YOUT WOrK TIM Dy NaH: | Ideal for PCB work!
cord. This handy tool is ideal for :
Cat 7.4763 heatshrink work, removing od a> Super Tool
paint, removing vinyl tiles, : A must for any hobbyist or enthusiast! This
loosening rusted or over-tightened nuts, drying... extremely higheel tool is perfect for PCB
and hundreds of other uses. It's lightweight, and other precise work. It sands, polishes, drills
mains operated and has a dual temperature range engraves, and mills. What's more, it comes
(400 & 600°C). with a wire brush, milling cutters, grinding wheel,
Cat T-4845 | high speed drills, chuck collets, eraser sticks
and mains adaptor. Complete with handy,
go-anywhere plastic case.
Cat T-4754
y* ao
,

DS XPRESS PHONE & MAILORDER SERVICE

Outside Sydney (FREE Call) 008 22 6610 Sydney And Enquiries - 888 2105
FAX: (02) 805 1986 or write to DS XPRESS, PO BOX 321 N/RYDE NSW 2113

ELECTRONICS
All Major Credit Cards Accepted. O/Nite Courier Availabie.
24 HOUR DESPATCH OF ALL ORDERS

NSW « Albury 21 8399 © Bankstown Square 707 4888 ¢ Blacktown 671 7722 © Brookvale 905 0441 © Bondi 387 1444 ¢ Campbelitown 27 2199 © Chatswood Chase
411 1955 © Chullora 642 8922 © Gore Hill 439 5311 © Gosford 25.0235 © Hornsby 477 6633 ¢ Hurstville 580 8622 © Kotara 56 2092 © Liverpool 600 9888 © Maitland 33 7866
e Miranda 525 2722 © Newcastle 61 1896 * North Ryde 878 3855 © Orange 618 400 e Parramatta 689 2188 © Penrith 32 3400 © Railway Square 211 3777 © Sydney City
267 9111 © Tamworth 66 1711 © Wollongong 28 3800 ACT ¢ Beiconnen (06) 253 1785 ¢ Fyshwick 280 4944 VIC ¢ Ballarat 31 5433 ¢ Bendigo 43 0388 © Box Hill 890 0699
¢ Coburg 383 4455 © Dandenong 794 9377 « East Brighton 592 2366 « Essendon 379 7444 © Footscray 689 2055 © Frankston 783 9144 © Geelong 232 711 © Melbourne City
399 Elizabeth St 326 6088 & 246 Bourke St 639 0396 ¢ Richmond 428 1614 © Ringwood 879 5338 © Springvale 547 0522 QLD « Booval 282 6200 © Brisbane City 229 9377
¢ Buranda 391 6233 ¢ Cairns 311 515 © Capalaba 245 2870 « Chermside 359 6255 © Rockhampton 27 9644 © Southport 32 9033 © Toowoomba 38 4300 © Townsville
72 5722 © Underwood 341 0844 ¢ $A ¢ Adelaide City 232 1200 © Beverley 347 1900 © Elizabeth 255 6099 © Enfield 260 6088 © St. Marys 277 8977 WA ¢ Cannington
451 8666 ¢ Fremantie 335 9733 © Perth City 481 3261 © Midland 250 1460 © Northbridge 328 6944 TAS ¢ Hobart 31 0800 © Launceston 344 555 NT ¢ Stuart Park
81 1977

B1374
OCTOBER 1992 55
 The Thunderbird |
Battery Charger
This charger has automatic voltage selection _0Mostimo,of the
us have experienced, at
frustration of trying to
| for 6V, 12V & 24V lead-acid batteries & is =__—*#t a car only to find that the battery
was flat. Apart from the annoyance of
. 4 : this situation, Murphy’s Law practi-
electronically reg ulated to deliver j ust the cally guarantees that when it does
right amount of current. It features output Eero wile ce 60.8t tie worst
possible time. The best way to avoid
short-circui t & reverse battery protection & this kind of situation is to have a good
; ‘ oe battery charger on hand and to use it
has LEDs to indicate the state of the battery. _ regularly, not just for charging a bat-
tery after it has gone flat but to keep
the battery fully charged during peri-
| 3 ods when it is not in use.
Of course, lead-acid batteries are
By HERMAN NACINOVICH | used not only in cars but in a wide

56 SILICON CHIP :
range of other applications as well,
such as ride-on mowers, emergency
lighting systems and portable trans-
ceivers. Battery maintenance is just
as important in these applications as
it is for the battery in your car. In
some cases, the battery is used on an
infrequent basis and requires regular
recharging to keep it in good condi-
tion.
Regardless of the application, a good -
charger, correctly used, will ensure
maximum performance from your bat-
tery (or batteries) when needed. It may
also save money by ensuring maxi-
mum battery life. Lead-acid batteries
are not cheap, so it makes sense to
take care of them by investing in a
good charger.
Unfortunately, many battery charg-
ers on the market are built to a price.
They are relatively cheap but lack
features that ideally should be in-
cluded in any charger worthy of the
name. One of the worst aspects of
some cheap battery chargers is that,
incorrectly used, they can damage a The two power transformers used in the unit are mounted on an L-shaped
aluminium bracket which also serves as a heatsink. The remaining electronic
battery and shorten its life expect-
circuitry performs voltage, current & temperature regulation.
ancy.
Most battery chargers provide a
“fast” charge rate, typically 4-6 amps. expensive because of the extra cir- for charging sealed (gel) type lead-
Some chargers also provide a much cuitry that’s involved compared to acid batteries which have different
lower “trickle” charge rate which is conventional (unregulated) battery charging requirements. Its main fea-
selected by a switch. The idea is that chargers. This project, however, uses tures include electronic output volt-
the “fast” charge rate is selected when low-cost, readily available compo- age regulation, output current limit-
charging a flat battery and the “trickle” nents to minimise the overall cost but ing, output short circuit protection
charge rate is selected to keep the without compromising on perform- and protection against reversed bat-
battery topped up once it has become ance. In addition, it offers a combina- tery connections. |
fully charged. tion of features that are difficult to A LED display on the front panel
The main problem with this type of find in commercial chargers. indicates the level of battery charge —
charger occurs if it is inadvertently either LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH. This
left on the “fast” charge setting for Main features eliminates the need for a more expen-
prolonged periods after the battery This charger will charge 6V, 12V sive, and mechanically more fragile,
has fully charged. In this situation, and 24V automotive type lead-acid moving coil ammeter or voltmeter.
the battery will be overcharged, re- batteries. However, it is not intended The heart of the battery charger is
sulting in gassing and drying out of the electronic regulator circuit. This
the electrolyte inside the battery. Per- uses an SCR which operates in a
manent damage to the battery can re- switching mode to control the output
sult with consequential shortening of current. This type of regulator circuit
battery life. There could also be a is much more efficient than the linear
serious safety hazard due to the highly regulator circuits used in some bat-
explosive gases generated when a bat- tery charger designs.
tery has been overcharged. In practical terms, this higher effi-
The solution to this problem is a ciency translates into a higher output
battery charger which monitors the current capability for a given size of
battery voltage and automatically re- input transformer and a smaller heat-
duces the charging current as the bat- sink for the output regulating element
tery approaches full charge. This is (SCR). And, in case the heatsink gets
the principle behind a regulated bat- too hot, the circuit also incorporates
tery charger and is the basis for this thermal shut-down to protect the SCR
project. from damage. 7
Commercially-built regulated bat- Unlike conventional battery charg-
tery chargers are hard to find and are ers, this unit does not require a bat-

- OCTOBER 1992 57
 YSDYVHO AYSLLVE GSaLVINOSAY ¥ITIOULNOD
AW134
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 tery selector switch. Instead, it auto-
matically sets the output voltage to
suit the battery being charged. This
7 eet
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feature makes this charger more con-
venient to use than ordinary battery
chargers — all you have to do is con-
nect the leads to the battery. It also os es |
prevents the possibility of damage to
the charger or to a battery that might Fig.2; this diagram shows how the sampled battery voltage (Vg) on pin 4
otherwise result if a switch was set to of IC1a interacts with a reference voltage (Vpgr) on pin 5 at intermediate
the wrong voltage. battery voltages. As the battery voltage rises, IC1a’s output (Voy) goes"
high later during each mains half cycle and thus the SCR turns on for
How it works shorter periods of time.
The circuit for the battery charger
is shown in Fig.1. Let’s see how it battery voltage is compared with a _ waveform is synchronised to the half
works. reference voltage to derive an error cycles of the AC mains waveform.
Power for the circuit is obtained signal. This error signal is then used When the battery voltage is low, the
from the mains via a pair of trans- to control the SCR. When the battery voltage at pin 4 of IC1a is less than the
formers, T1 and T2. Each transformer voltage is low, SCR1 turns on early in reference voltage at pin 5. IC1a’s out-
has a pair of tapped 15V secondary each half-cycle of the mains AC wave- put is therefore high and this turns on
windings which can be connected in form, so that a large current flows into Q2, Q1 and SCR1 so that current is
various configurations for different the battery (see Fig.7). At the end of supplied to the battery. Conversely,
output voltages. Relay RLY1 connects each AC half-cycle, the unfiltered DC when the sampled battery voltage ex-
the secondary windings of T1 and T2 voltage to the SCR drops to zero, al- ceeds the reference voltage, IC1a’s
in a parallel configuration for charg- lowing the SCR to turn off in readi- output goes low and Q2, Q1 and SCR1
ing 6V and 12V- batteries, and in a ness for the next half cycle. turn off. .
series configuration for charging 24V As the battery voltage approaches At intermediate battery voltages, the
batteries. The transformers are each the value set by the reference voltage, voltage on pin 4 intersects the ramp
rated at 100VA, giving a total input SCR1 is progressively turned on later waveform on pin 5 to give a pulsed
rating of 200VA. in each half-cycle so that the average waveform at the output of IC1a — see
For those who may be wondering, current is reduced. When the battery Fig.2. As the battery voltage rises, the
the main reason for using two trans- voltage reaches the set value, SCR1 is output of IC1a goes high later in each
formers instead of one is that high off for most of each half-cycle so that half cycle and SCR1 is turned on fora
power transformers are quite expen- only sufficient current flows into the proportionately smaller fraction of the
sive. It was cheaper to use two smaller battery to maintain its charge. time.
transformers than a single transformer A voltage divider (R13 & R34) be-
with the same total VA rating. tween the positive and negative ter- Current limiting
Diode bridge BR1 converts the AC minals is used to sample the battery Current limiting is achieved using
output voltage from the transformers voltage and is adjustable by means of Current sense comparator IC1ic. Dur-
to an unfiltered DC voltage which is VR1. Op amp IC2a acts as a voltage ing operation, the charging current
applied to the anode of SCR1. This follower and buffer but, due to the flows through a resistance of 0.015Q
DC voltage is also fed to a voltage effect of C4, ignores the ripple voltages (formed by a copper track on the PC
divider and filtered by capacitor C1 to generated across the battery terminals board). This resistance is in series
derive a supply rail (Vcc) for the regu- by the battery charging current. This between the negative battery terminal
lator circuit. Diode D1 isolates the ensures a smooth regulating charac- and ground and so the voltage across
filtered DC voltage from the unfiltered teristic and avoids some of the ad- ~ it will be proportional to the charging
DC voltage applied to SCR1. verse affects that can occur with more current. The resulting voltage is then
During operation, a sample of the conventional circuits. filtered by R19 and C7 and applied to
Voltage regulation is accomplished pin 6 of IC1c for comparison with a
by IC1a which is part of an LM339 reference voltage on pin 7.
quad comparator IC with open collec-— This reference voltage is derived
tor outputs. In this type of compara- from the bottom tapping of voltage
tor, a pull-up resistor must be fitted to divider R12, R17 & R18 and again
Fig.1 (left): the circuit uses op amp get a high output. carries a superimposed ramp wave-
comparators IC1a, ICib & IC1c to IC1a compares the sampled battery form which is derived from IC1id. As
phase control SCR1 to provide voltage voltage on its pin 4 input with a refer-
& current regulation. [C1a generates the voltage across the 0.015Q resistor
the voltage control signal; IC1ib the ence voltage applied to its pin 5 in- rises, it interacts with the ramp volt-
temperature control signal; & IC1c the put. This reference voltage is derived age and IC1ic narrows its output
current control signal. IC2b & IC2c from 5V regulator IC4 (via a voltage pulses. This proportionately reduces
provide the automatic voltage © divider consisting of R12, R17 & R18) the on-time of SCR1 during each mains
selection feature (6V, 12V or 24V), and carries a superimposed ramp half-cycle, thus limiting the average
while IC3b, IC3c & IC3d drive the waveform voltage which is generated current into the battery. _
three indicator LEDs. by ICid and capacitor C5. This ramp Temperature limiting is achieved

‘OCTOBER 1992 59
 a 6V or 12V battery, the normally
closed (NC) relay contacts connect
the transformer secondary windings
in parallel. If a 24V battery is con-
nected, the output of IC3a goes high
and turns on Q3. This, in turn, acti-
vates the relay, which then connects
the transformer secondary windings
in series.

LED indicators
Comparators IC3b-IC3d control the
LED indicators. The inputs of IC3b
are in parallel with the inputs of IC1a.
For low and high battery voltages, the
output of IC3b swings close to OV and
+5V, respectively. For intermediate
battery voltages, the output of IC3b is
a pulse waveform with a duty cycle
that increases with battery voltage.
This waveform is smoothed by R28
and C6 and applied to the non-invert-
ing inputs of IC3c and IC3d.
IC3c and IC3d form a window com-
parator. When the battery voltage is
high, the output of comparator IC3c
Use plastic cable ties to keep the wiring tidy & check all wiring before applying turns off and Q4 turns on (via R31)
power. The relay on the regulator board switches the transformer secondary and lights LED 2. At the same time,
windings ‘in parallel for 6V/12V batteries & in series for 24V batteries. the current through LED 1 is bypassed
since there is insufficient forward bias
using IC1b and this works in a similar The resulting voltages on pins 10 & to turn the LED on due to the pres-
manner to IC1c. In this case, however, 8 are then compared with a +5V refer- ence of D5. Similarly, when the bat-
the sensing device is a thermistor ence on pins 11 & 9. If a 6V battery is tery voltage is low, the output of IC3d
(RTH1) which is mounted next to connected, the outputs of IC2b & IC2c turns off and Q5 turns on and lights
SCR1 on a heatsink. It forms part of a will both be off and the output of IC2a LED 3.
voltage divider network (along with is fed directly to pin 4 of the voltage For intermediate battery voltages,
R24) and varies its resistance accord- sense comparator (IC1a) via R7. How- both comparator outputs are low and
ing to the temperature. The resulting ever, ifa 12V battery is connected, the LEDs 2 and 3 are off. LED 1 is now no
voltage developed across R24 is then output of IC2b will go low. This effec- longer bypassed by either of the other
applied to pin 8 of ICib and com- tively connects one end of R10 to two LEDs and consequently turns on.
pared with a ramp voltage on pin 9. ground and so R7, VR2 and R10 now
At low temperatures, the voltage form a voltage divider on pin 4 of Construction
on pin 8 will always be below the IC1a to set the correct charging volt- This project is housed in a moulded
ramp voltage and so ICib has no ef- age for a 12V battery. plastic case which consists of a base
fect on the output current. If, how- If a 24V battery is connected, the and cover. The transformers and 240V
ever, the heatsink temperature rises, output of: IC2c also switches low and wiring components are mounted on
IC1b progressively increases the phase pulls R11 to ground, thus setting the an aluminium L-shaped plate which
angle of SCR1 to reduce the output correct voltage divider ratio for charg- also serves as a heatsink for the SCR
current. This means that the current ing a 24V battery. and bridge rectifier.
is reduced smoothly rather than Comparator IC2d sets the output Most of the remaining parts are
abruptly as the heatsink temperature current limit when charging 24V bat- mounted on two PC boards. The larger
approaches the set limit. teries. When a 24V battery is con- board is used for the regulator cir-
nected, the output of IC2d goes low. cuitry and relay, while the smaller
Voltage selection This pulls resistor R9 to ground and board carries the LEDs.
Comparators IC2b & IC2c provide thus halves the reference voltage on Before commencing the assembly,
the automatic voltage selection fea- pin 7 of ICic. This, in turn, reduces use a piece of wet-and-dry sandpaper
ture. As previously stated, IC2a gen- the current limit to half that used for to smooth the mounting areas for the
erates an output voltage that’s propor- 6V/12V batteries. rectifier bridge and SCR on the verti-
tional to the battery voltage. Its out- Comparator IC3a controls relay cal face of the aluminium plate. This
put at pin 2 is then connected directly RLY1 and this, in turn, switches the is especially important in the case of
to pin 10 of IC2b and to pin 8 of IC2c secondary windings of the mains the SCR because it must be insulated
via a voltage divider consisting of R14 transformers in series or in parallel, from the metal plate with a thin insu-
& R15. depending on the battery voltage. For lating washer. If there are metal burrs,

60 + SILICON CHIP
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Fig.3: install the parts on the PC board & run the wiring as shown in this
diagram. The external wiring connections to the board are made using quick- using a suitable crimping tool.
connect spade terminals. Be sure to use heavy-duty (10A) cable for all wiring Important: all the quick-connect
connections on the secondary side of the transformer.
spade terminals used for the 240VAC
connections should have plastic in-
they may cut through the insulating fore they are soldered. This way, if the sulating sleeves, to minimise the pos-
washer and cause a short circuit be- solder joints come loose for any rea- sibility of human contact. with live
tween the SCR and the plate. son, the wire ends will not come away terminals. For the sake of your own
Fig.3 shows the wiring details. Start from the terminals. safety, do not use non-insulated ter-
the assembly by mounting the 240V _ Now bolt the two transformers and minals.
fuseholder and terminal block on the the earthing connector lug to the alu- Connect the primary leads of the
base of the aluminium plate. This minium plate. Run the wires from the transformers to the terminal block as
done, solder a length of 240V 2-core fuseholder and the primary windings follows: blue wire to blue wire and
flex to the fuseholder and cover the of the transformers together and slip a brown wire to brown wire. Now con-
solder joints with a plastic or rubber 75mm length of 10mm diameter plas- nect one of the wires from the fuse
sleeve. The fuseholder terminals, in- tic sleeving over these wires. The free holder to the terminal for the brown
cidentally, have holes through which ends of these wires are now fitted wires, then connect the other wire
‘ the wire ends should be looped be- with quick-connect spade terminals from the fuseholder to a separate ter-

OCTOBER1992_ 61
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 RESISTOR COLOURCODES
4-Band Code1% i hia K‘o
e range br
~ brown black yellow brown own

_ white brown orange brown white brown

snblak red brown
grey red orange brown grey red black red brown
_ green blue orange brown green blue blackred brown.
yellow violet orange gold yellow violet black red brown
_ red red orange brown | red red black red brown
_ brown black orange brown brown black black red brown __
grey red red brown— grey red black brown brown —
_ green blue red brown _ green blue black brown brown
red red red brown | red red black brown brown
brown grey red brown brown grey black brown brown
green blue brown brown green blue black black brown
notapplicable not applicable
brown red brown brown: brown red black black brown ~
notapplicable not applicable
~~
pocceococeoogooGo green blue black'b
brown green blue black gold brown

minal on the terminal block. grommet into the hole in the alumin- When this job is completed, con-
The aluminium plate and the parts ium plate. Note: this cordgrip grom- nect the two secondary windings of
mounted on it may now be fixed to met is installed from ta underside of the other transformer in parallel (ie,
the plastic base using two self-tap- the case. connect the two OV terminals together
ping screws. These are installed from The next step is to use short lengths and the two 15V terminals together).
the outside of the case and are adja- of heavy-duty hookup wire to con- The terminals marked “12V” are left
cent to the bend in the bracket. When nect the secondary windings of one of unconnected.
that is done, attach the four rubber the transformers in parallel. Make sure
feet to the underside of the plastic that the terminal marked “OV” on one Voltage checks
base with four 12mm-long self-tap- winding is connected to the terminal Check all wiring thoroughly, then
ping screws installed from the top of marked “OV” on the other winding. use the “ohms” range on your DMM
the base. Similarly, check that the two 15V ter- to verify that there is good electrical
Note that two of these screws pass minals on opposite sides of the trans- continuity between the Earth pin on
through the corners of the aluminium former are connected together. Fig.3 the mains plug and the aluminium
bracket. shows the details. plate. Check also that there are no
shorts between any of the plug pins.
Mains cable You can now do a quick test by plug-
The mains cable can now be in- ging the unit into a power point and
stalled by running it through a 12mm- WARNING! switching on.
diameter hole in the aluminium plate. Hydrogen gas is generated by | Measure the voltages across the sec-
Run this cable between the transform- batteries under charge. For this ondary windings of the transformers
ers and under the wires from the pri- reason, always charge batteries using an AC voltmeter to confirm that
mary windings of the transformers. in a well-ventilated area and do © all is correct. You should get a reading
Crimp quick-connect terminals to the not generate sparks by connect- of around 16-17VAC. If any of the
wire ends and connect them as fol- ing high-current loads directly to voltages are incorrect or if the fuse
lows: Active (brown) to fuse terminal the battery terminals. . blows, recheck the mains wiring and
on connector block; Neutral (blue) to When using the battery charger, the transformer secondary connec-
transformer primary (blue) terminal _ always connect its output leads to tions.
on connector block; and Earth (green) the battery before switching on —
to the earth lug bolted to the alu- the mains power. Any failure to —
Main board assembly
minium plate. Note that all the crimp observe this simple precaution can No particular order need be fol-
connectors must be fitted with insu- lead to dangerous arcing at the — lowed when installing the parts on
lating sleeves. battery terminals when the charger — the main PC board, although it’s best
At this stage, you should also con- is connected and, in extreme to leave the larger components until
nect a 3-pin plug to the opposite end cases, could even cause the bat- last. Make sure that all polarised com-
of the cable if one is not already fitted. terytoexplode. ponents, such as the ICs, transistors,
Secure the cable by pushinga cordgrip diodes and electrolytic capacitors, are

64 SILICON CHIP
 with plastic tubing before connecting
them to the header. socket.
Heatsink assembly
The PC board is supported on the
base of the case by four plastic mount-
ing posts. The mounting posts used
here each have a clip-in end which
locks automatically when pushed into
the mounting hole. When these posts
have been fitted, clip the board into
position and slide the thin rectangu-
lar thermal washer supplied with the
kit behind the SCR.
_ Position the thermal washer behind
the SCR exactly as shown in Fig.4,
then trace around its outline with a
pencil. This done, remove the PC
board and apply heatsink compound
to the back of the thermal washer. The
ay Bess%
thermal washer should now be mount-
ed on the metal bracket by using the
Thi close-up view shows the bridge rectifier & the heatsink bracket that’s used heatsink compound to hold it in posi-
to secure the SCR & thermistor. Tighten the bracket mounting screw firmly but tion.
don’t overtighten it, otherwise you risk damaging the SCR. The 4-pin header Next, clip the main board back onto
strip on the PC board (in front of the fuse) connects to a matching socket & _
4-way cable that runs to the LED indicator board. Be sure to plug the socket in
the mounting posts. Adjust the posi-
with the correct polarity, otherwise the LEDs won’t work. tion of the rubber washer if necessary
and position the thermistor as close
to the SCR as possible. Apply gener-
ALUMINIUM PLATE ous amounts of heatsink compound
(HEATSINK) =
between the rubber washer and the
ALUMINIUM
BRACKET ALUMINIUM thermistor and the SCR, then stick a
BRACKET piece of foam rubber to the back of the
SELF-TAPPING
SCREW SCR mounting bracket — see Fig.4.
FOAM
<<r—— FOAM RUBBER PAD RUBBER 5g ——— RUBBER Finally, attach the metal bracket to
os STUCK TO BRACKET WASHER ren PAD the aluminium plate using a self-tap-
| Cet THERMISTOR ping screw to secure the assembly.
RUBBER
WASHER Be careful not to overtighten the
screw, otherwise you could damage
the SCR. | |
The bridge rectifier can now be in-
APPLY HEATSINK COMPOUND TO BOTH SIDES OF RUBBER WASHER stalled on the metal plate, to the left
Fig.4: this diagram shows the mounting details for the SCR & the thermistor. of the SCR assembly. Smear its mount-
Install the thermistor so that it lines up with the midpoint of the SCR body & ing surface with heatsink compound,
smear all mating surfaces with heatsink compound before attaching the bracket. then attach it to the metal plate using
a4x 10mm bolt. :
The wiring from the transformer
correctly oriented. The SCR is mount- wiring points and you should solder a secondaries to the diode bridge and to
ed at full lead length, while the ther- male spade lug to the board at each the main board must be run using
mistor must be mounted so that its location. heavy-duty (10A) hook-up wire. Sol-
body lines up with the centre of the The three indicator LEDs can now der the four leads to their respective
SCR. | be installed on the small board. Use a transformer secondary terminals, then
A 4-pin header strip is also mounted yellow LED for LED 1, a green LED for bundle them together and slip a
on the board and this mates with a LED 2 and a red LED for LED 3. Make 50mm-length of 10mm plastic tubing
complementary socket that’s wired sure that all the LEDs are correctly over them. The two leads that go to
back to the LED board. These headers oriented — the anode lead is always the bridge rectifier are now soldered
come supplied in strips of eight (or the longer of the two (see Fig.1). to the AC terminals (see Fig.3), while
more) pins and it’s simply a matter of The four wiring leads between the the two remaining leads are fitted with
snapping off the number of pins re- LED board and the header socket are quick-connect spade lugs and con-
quired. run using 200mm lengths of light- nected to the main PC board.
External wiring connections to the duty hookup wire. Begin by soldering The remainder of the wiring from
board are made using quick-connect these four leads to the board, then the bridge rectifier can now be com-
spade terminals. There are six such bundle them together and sleeve them pleted. As before, use 10A cable for

OCTOBER 1992 65
 these leads and fit them with spade
lugs to make the connections to the
PARTS LIST board. Check all these wiring connec-
1 PC board, code $C 14110921, 1 35A bridge rectifier (BR1) tions very carefully; it’s all too easy to
177 x 72mm | . make a mistake here.
1 MCR264-4 40A SCR (SCR1)
1 PC board, code $C 14110922, 1 BC556 PNP transistor (Q1) Finally, feed the heavy-duty (10A)
34x15mm 1 BC546 NPNtransistor(Q2) 2-core battery cable through a hole in
2 M-2170 30V CT mains 1 BD679 Darlington transistor (Q3) the plastic base, fit the leads with
transformers (Altronics) 2 BC548 NPN transistors (Q4,Q5) quick connect terminals and connect
1 3AG 1.5A 240V fuse (F1) 5 1N4002 silicon diodes (D1-D5) them to their corresponding termi-
1 3AG 15A fuse (F2) 1 1N4751 30V 1W zener diode
‘nals on the PC board. Use a cordgrip
4 PCBfuseclips (ZD1) grommet to secure the cable to the
1 3AG fuseholder 1 5mm yellow LED (LED1) plastic base and fit the far ends of the
1 12V 10A DPDT relay 1 5mm green LED (LED2) cable with large battery clips.
4 plastic PCB mounting posts 1 5mm red LED (LED3) Calibration
2 cordgrip grommets
Capacitors - To calibrate the battery charger, you
4 plastic feet _
will need a voltmeter (preferably a
6 plastic cable ties 2 100uF 35VW electrolytic
digital multimeter) and a 0-30V DC
1 200mm-length of 10mm-dia. 1 100uF 16VW electrolytic ©
heatshrink tubing
variable power supply. You also need
2 10uF 16VW electrolytic
a 100Q2 10W resistor, a 10uF 50VW
1 200mm length of 4-core light 1 1p.F 50VW electrolytic
capacitor, a 3A diode and some hook-
duty cable - 1 .01pn.F monolithic
up cable (note: the power supply, re-
_ 1 plastic case
sistor and capacitor are used to simu-
6 plastic rivets Resistors (0.25W, 1%)
late the battery). The step-by-step cali-
1 aluminium baseplate 5 100kQ 1 5.6kQ bration procedure is as follows:
1 aluminium heatsink bracket 1 91kQ 6 2.2kQ (1). Connect the 100Q resistor, di-
1 piece of foam rubber, self- 2 82kO 2 1.8kQ ode and capacitor across the output of
adhesive, 10 x 8mm — 1 56kQ 2 5602 the variable power supply as shown
1 packet of heatsink compound 4 47kQ 1 1500 5W in Fig.5. Do not connect the charger at
1 mains lead with plug 3 22kO 1 120Q this stage.
1 4-pin header 2 10kQ 1 56Q (2). Switch on and adjust the vari-
1 4-pin socket i 1 8.2kO able supply for 6.8V across the 1002
1 insulating washer, 30 x 20mm
resistor.
8 PC mounting spade lugs Calibration circuit
(3). Connect the battery charger out-
16 female spade lugs 1 1N5404 3A diode
put leads across the resistor, as shown
1 5-way 240V terminal block with 1 10uF 50VW electrolytic capacitor in Fig.5. Switch on the battery charger
spade lug connectors 1 100Q 10W resistor
and adjust VR1 so that the LED dis-
1 1.5m-length of heavy- duty play just changes from “MEDIUM” to
hookup wire Where to buy the kit “HIGH”.
1 1-metre length of heavy-duty Ashort-form kit of parts for this project (4). Switch off the battery charger
(10A) figure-8 cable with is available from the author for $65 and adjust the power supply output
_ battery clamps plus $15 p&p. This kit includes a pre- to give 13.6V across the 1002 resistor.
1 front-panel label drilled case, the metal baseplate & Switch on the charger again and ad-
4 self-tapping4 x 12mm screws heatsink bracket, a front panel label, just VR2 so that the LED display just
(to secure rubber feet) — the PC boards, all the semiconduc- changes from “MEDIUM” to “HIGH” as
3 self-tapping 4 x 6mm screws tors, the thermistor, the PC mount- in step 3.
5 4x 10mm bolts (to secure ing spade lugs, the thermal washer, (5). Switch off the battery charger
transformers & earth lug) the mains terminal block, mounting and adjust the power supply output
3 4 x 15mm bolts (to secure the posts for the regulator board, & the to give 27.2V across the 100Q resistor.
mains terminal strip & bridge battery cable & clamps. It does not Switch on the charger again and ad-
rectifier) include the power transformers, the just VR3 so that the LED display again
8 4mm nuts mains cord, minor hardware items, just changes from “MEDIUM” to “HIGH”.
8 4mm washers the relay or minor PC board compo- | That completes the calibration pro-
1 Philips 6.8kQ NTC thermistor nents (note: other parts available on cedure. By the way, if your variable
(RTH1) request). Payment should be made power supply only goes to 20V or so,
3 20kQ trimpots (VR1,VR2,VR3) by cheque or money order to: H. you can obtain the extra voltage re-
Nacinovich, Bery! Rd, Gulgong, NSW quired for step 5 by connecting a 12V
Semiconductors : 2852. Phone (063) 74 1486. | battery in series with it.
3 .LM339 quad comparator ICs Note: copyright of the PC artwork
(1C1-IC3) associated with this project is re- Testing
1 78L05 3-terminal regulator (IC4) _ tained by the author. . : Before placing the unit into general
service, it’s a good idea to check that

66 SILICON CHIP
 PCB and
SCHEMATIC CAD
ave,
i}
—— ‘
PROIO! ig :
= eA
'
TV IF AMPLIFIER

weee
wen
ewe
Dar
ees

Fig.5: this circuit is used to calibrate the unit, so that it charges the
battery to the correct voltage on each of the three ranges (6V, 12V &
a
ore

24V). Just follow the step-by-step instructions in the text.

1-10A
AMMETER
ameeS
SS
|

Fig.6: this test circuit is used to ensure that the current & temperature
limiting circuits are working correctly. The 12A load can be made up ri ecase-e
Pee

by connecting several high-power automotive lamps in parallel. - +

&ee

re
;eae
=
it
iz
ee oe*acs*
oo
ii l\-
1@
eccee

SCR1 INPUT
VOLTAGE

EASY-PC
* Runs on PC/XT/AT/286/386 with
Ae
VOLTAGE
PIN 13, IC1d Hercules, CGA, EGA or VGA.
¢ Design Single sided, Double sided
and Multilayer boards
- Provides Surface Mount support
SCR1 CURRENT,
FLAT BATTERY ¢ Standard output includes Dot
Matrix/Laser/Inkjet printers,
Pen Plotters, Photo-plotters and
NC Drill
SCR1CURRENT, :
BATTERY NEAR , \ \ \ \ Award winning EASY-PC is in
FULL CHARGE |
use in over 12,000 installations in
Fig.7: if you have an oscilloscope, you can compare the voltage 70 Countries World-Wide
waveforms on the input of the SCR & on pin 13 of IC1d against those
shown here. The bottom two waveforms show the SCR current for a flat ¢ Superbly Easy to use
battery & an almost fully-charged battery respectively. Notice how the Not Copy Protected
SCR turns on later in each half-cycle as the battery nears full charge.
Options: + 1000 piece Schematic
symbol library

the current and temperature limiting required load can then be made up by ¢ Surface Mount symbol
circuits are working correctly. To do library
connecting the high and low-beam
this, you will need a 12V lead-acid circuits in parallel to give a total load ¢ Gerber Import facility
battery in reasonable condition, a 0- of about 160-170W.
10A ammeter (ie, a digital multimeter), Of course, you can also use eight
and a resistive load which draws at 20W globes in parallel if you have
least 12A. 3 them on hand. You can easily calcu-
A suitable load can be made up by late the load current using the for-
connecting several high-power 12V mula I = P/V, where I is the current, P
automotive lamps in parallel. If you is the total wattage of the globes, and
don’t already have the lamps in your V is the battery voltage.
workshop, try scrounging a couple of To test the charger, connect it to the
old sealed headlamp units for a few battery with the 10A ammeter in se-
‘dollars from a wrecker’s yard. The ries with the positive lead as shown

OCTOBER 1992 67
 nes hee

disconnect the battery for this test; its

presence is necessary to ensure that
the charger switches to the correct
output voltage. As before, switch off
immediately and check the regulator
circuit if the charging current exceeds
the specified limit by a significant
amount.
Finally, check the voltage at pin 8
of ICib. At a heatsink temperature of
25°C, this voltage should be approxi-
mately 1.2V. During normal operation,
the heatsink temperature will rise
above the ambient level and the volt-
age on pin 8 of IC1ib should rise ac-
cordingly.
At high charging current levels, the
heatsink temperature may rise to 65°C
or thereabouts, at which point the
voltage on pin 8 of IC1b should be
about 3.6V. IC1b should now act to
reduce the charging current to pre-
The mains cord is installed from the underside of the base & is clamped using a vent additional temperature rise, as
cordgrip grommet. Be sure to fit insulating sleeves to all the quick-connect described previously.
spade lugs that clip on to the mains terminal block, to protect yourself from If, at any temperature, the meas-
accidental contact with the mains. ured voltage on pin 8 of IC1b is sig-
nificantly outside the range expected
or does not increase with heatsink
TABLE 1: OUTPUT CURRENT VS. BATTERY VOLTAGE temperature, check the circuitry
around thermistor RTH1 and R24.
Note that, ideally, the charger
should also be tested with 6V and
24V batteries. However, this will not
usuallybe practicable and it’s gener-
ally safe to assume that everything is
OK if the circuit checks out with a
12V battery.

Final assembly
The display board can now be
mounted on the cover. Enlarge the
holes if necessary until the LEDs area
snug fit and note that the green LED
(HIGH) goes towards the top. A dab of
adhesive can be applied to the sides
of the LEDs to secure the assembly in
position.
in Fig.6, but don’t connect the resis- values of R17 and R18. _ This done, fit the label to the cover,
tive load at this stage. Switch on and Assuming everything is OK, con- plug the LED wiring connector into
check the current reading. This will nect the load across the battery as the main board, and fit the cover to
depend on the state of charge of the shown in Fig.6 and note the ammeter the base. Finally, secure the cover us-
battery but should be not exceed the reading. This should approach the ing the plastic rivets supplied. These
limit specified in Table 1 (ie, 9A +1A). specified 10A limit although, if the rivets come in two parts: a bush and a
If the battery is flat, the output cur- battery is fully charged, it may be pin. The bushes are pushed through
rent will probably be very close to the necessary to wait a while for the bat- holes in the sides of the cover and
9A limit, due to the current tery voltage to drop sufficiently for matching holes in the base flanges.
_ specified
limiting action of the regulator cir- the current limiting action to come The pins are then pushed into the
cuit. If, however, the current exceeds into effect. centres of the bushes to prevent the
the specified limit by an appreciable In other words, a fully charged bat- rivet assemblies from coming apart.
amount, switch the charger off imme- tery will initially supply part of the To remove the cover, use a punch to
diately and check the main board for load current, thus giving a lower than push the plastic pins out of the bushes.
wiring errors and incorrect compo- expected current reading until the The bushes can then be removed by
nent values. In particular, check the battery partially discharges. Do not pulling them out of the cover. Sc

68 SILICON CHIP
 This meter is a high quality Japanese made edge meter.
It is a 100V AC FSD moving coil type. Itcan easily be changed into an Amp or
Another surplus deal to save you lots of money. This time its
Milliamp meter by using a shunt resistor. The meter scale is blank, so you
Maxell brand data cassettes. These are high quality Japanese
can easily put your own scale on it. Size: Front bezel 73(W) x 25mm.
made DC-300. We originally thought they were 300 minutes,
Panel cutout 58(W) x 18mm. Depth from front panel 63mm. Height at
because the window has a lot of tape showing. Upon further
rear 34mm. To buy these today you would pay around $30 - $35
checking we found them to be 60 minutes, 30 minutes per side
Cat, OP-5060 OUR PRICE $14.95 - and these use high quality thick tape. These are ideal for
answering machines, computer data, etc. We've seen these in
catalogues for $8.95 each.
Cat. AR-1470
This is the biggest antenna we have ever seen. It's an extremely high
gain UHF/VHF/FM antenna for outer metropolitan areas where JAYCAR PRICE
signal reception is deep fringe. Includes 75 ohm balun. Also
Suitable for metropolitan areas where multiple outlets are required. ae”
yi
Be $1.95 ea |
Boom length is 2.9m.Cat. LT-3155 $199 50 Box of 10 for $15!
View

This is a non-power auto data switch designed for using one printer on two computers. No need to ky Tr
switch, does so automatically and uses no power. Time out 5-6 seconds, provides “Release” signal
Ref: Silicon Chip September ’92
for the PC to avoid “Lock” problem when the other PC is printing. Suitable for IBM compatible
This new speed controller can be used with power tools rated up
systems. Cat. XC-5088 $69 95 to 5 amps. It can be used to control the speed of circular saws,
electric drills, lawn edgers and other appliances with universal
QUALITY DISCS “brush type” motors. The Jaycar kit is supplied with a jiffy box,
AT SILLY PRICES PCB, surface mount mains socket and components.
Cat. KC-5123 $39.95
3 14° DSDD cat. xc-4730 Repair your battery pack for RC
$5.50 pkt 10 cars and power tools with Sub
5 1/4" 00 DSHD cat xc-4732 se
C’s. 0 are hethe |lowest price too |

$10.50 pkt 10 Cat. $B-2456 $6.95

3 1/2" DSDD cat. xc-4736 $9.75 pkt 10
3 1/2" DSDH cat. xc-4738 $15.95 pkt 10
Normally $19.95
12" 3 way speaker kit
October $16.95 cat No.sB-2458°
incorporating Magnavox
EXTENDED TRADING HOURS FOR Lip
Wargame
12w woofer, midrange
and Philips dome tweeter.
Power handling 50 watts YORK ST STORE
programme. Cabinets are
black and fully built. See
For your convenience now open At last. High quality disks without the high quality price.
We had these disks independantly tested and they consistently
the 1992 catalogue for Mon-Fri 8.30am to 6.30pm. outperformed that other expansive brand we used to stock. The
Pat Nay CO2dbih Thurs till 8.30pm. Sat 9 - 4pm Bit dropout was up to 30% less! Call into any store for your
copy of the report. After the quality, the next best thing is the
NORMALLY . price.
$499 5.25" DSDD $9.95 Cat. xc-4740
OCTOBER 120mm 240V 5.25" DSHD $14.95 Cat xc-4742
Cat. YX-2514 3.5" DSDD $14.95 Cat. xc-4746
$449 Catalogue Price 3.5" DSHD $23.95 4748
SAVE $50 $27.50
TURN YOUR SURPLUS STOCK NOW
INTO CASH! $17.50
Jaycar will purchase: your surplus stocks of SAVE $10
components and equipment. We are continually on the
80mm 115V AC
lookout for sources of
Buy 2, connect in series to 240V and get double the exhaust volume.
prime quality merchandise. Cat. YX-2520
Call Mark Harris or Bruce Routley SPECIAL PRICE $10
now
NOW $7.50 SAVE $2.50
(O02) 743 5222
1Ah Was $8.95 NOW $8.05
This 12 volt motor driven siren really lets out a
100mm $4.95 cat. uP-1203 Cat. SB-2479
blast. It's very small compared to most sirens 150mm $8.95 cat. Hp-1204 6Ah Was $14.95
measuring only 82(H) x 80(L) x 74(D)mm. Limited NOW $13.46
quantity. : 200mm $9.95 cat. HP-1205 Cat. SB-2477
Cat. LA-5252 WAS $24.95 8Ah Was $16.95
NOW $19.95 SAVE $5 NOW $15.25
 Top quality cases - see 1992 catalogue page 59. We're overstocked. The features include:
Cat. HB-5565 e |lluminated keypad
Size 132(H) x 279(D) x 203(W)mm ‘ i e Redial key (last number memory)
e Flash button (cancels call and return dial tone)
Normally $44.95 tt e Wall or table mount © Tone/pulse selectable
OCTOBER $34.95 ¢ Fashionable grey/white © 12 month warranty
“2a e Austel approved
SAVE $10 ae, Cat. YT-7060
Cat. HB-5570 } | Normally $49.95 NOW
Size 132(H) x 279(D) x 304(W)mm ; ses, J 39.95 SAVE $10
Normally $54.95 : $ $
OCTOBER $42.95
SAVE $1 2 Another distress stock purchase which enables us to sell this below half normal price. This tool is
designed to cut copper and aluminium cable up to 35sq mm and they will slice through itwith the
greatest of ease. They will also strip cables easily. Length 215mm (8.5"). Every toolbox needs one.
Trade price $21.89 plus tax. Cat. TH-1823
Cat price
Top quality. See catalogue for full details. ieplug to Centronics plug lead. 1.8 metres} $9.95
Normally $99 Cat. PL-0854 OCT
OCTOBER $79 Normally $18.95 $7.95
OCTOBER ONLY
SAVE $20
Cat. YT-7038 $8.95 Unique side and top/bottom keying system allows you to use just a few or build a whole wall of
S AVE A drawers as your parts expansion dictates. Quality designed drawer sides will not ‘stick’ or seize. Slide
handles also take identity cards.
MASSIVE $10 Size: 110(W) x 120(D) x 50(H)mm
Single Drawer (at. 18-6300
Normally $4.75
| |
||
NOW $3.75 ———

Double Drawer C:t. 48-6301

Normally $4.95
NOW $3.95

Quality Transeap transformers below half price

BARGAIN 1
Harness the power of the 600/600 ohm line transformer Telecom approved. Specs: Frequency
sun! response 100Hz to 12kHz +1dB
The kit includes 8 solar cells Insertion loss 0.5dB @ 7dBm Size 30.5 x
which fit into a plastic 30.5 x 20mm high. Priced below wholesale
housing and can be Cat. MA-1515
connected up in series and ON LY $1 2.95 ea
parallel, a motor and
mounting bracket, a fan, too! BARGAIN 2
for connecting solar cells Mains transformer [ie ss
Primary 240V. Secondary 9V, 15+15V at ~~. ‘Nay,
Inmute 2 cutouts
and a 10 page booklet
explaining all about solar 20VA. Size 88(L)x 67(W) x 36(H)mm / fiW,MTS 7
cells and solar energy.
ca. wM-2040 ONLY $9.95 bea, a) P Pp
Cat. KJ-6692 This mixing console is packed with features. It combines
Catalogue price $24.95 ms tyqualities of adopt or mixing console with the
1 1 wi b 2 wy ys eatures needed by a disc jockey, sound amateur or home
OCTOBER $1 9.95 JAYCAR WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD mixer. Will accept inputs from microphones, turntables,
SAVE $5 ON GOODS OF THE SAME QUALITY tuners, tape decks, CD, video etc.
features © two microphone inputs ¢ 4 stereo inputs ¢
level control for each stereo input ¢ VU meters,
headphone socket ¢ 240 volt operation.
Specifications
4

Equaliser, auto talkover SYERED PISCO MIKER be S8UND. EFFECT

Inputs Sensitivity Impedance
Mici1&2 mV 600Q
and sound effects Phono 1 & 23mV 50kQ
8 inputs 3 outputs Line1&2 150mV 100kQ
19" rack mount - ideal for professional Du’s etc. Features: ¢ See catalogue for full specifications
two microphone inputs © six stereo inputs ¢ level control for Normally $169
each stereo input ¢ switchable ¢ LED bargraph VU meters
rack mount @ talkover @ fader ¢ bass and treble control October $139
(equaliser) ¢ master output volume control ¢ headphone
monitor volume control ¢ cue monitor © sound effects - SAVE $30
bombing, laser, ambulance, shooting, siren, machine gun, telephone, storm ¢ 240V operation. Cat. AM-4202
Cat. AM-4208
WAS $249 NOW FOR OCTOBER $199 SAVE $50
 ——— 2 — == _—_———= © we 8 . se vIww wre Py eee Privy IIe UPTV IY LOY Prtwivigesa vei ees

JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR
AYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR
AYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR
AYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR
AYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR
AYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCA R ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR
RO)N A CAR RON ay AR ROK A AR ROK ay p\ F- RC ay AFR RONICS 1A AR ROK AYCAR RON JAYCAR
JAYCAR

JAYCAR - YOUR ELECTRONIC BOOKSHOP

JAYCAR
OTHER NEW COMPUTER BOOKS JAYCAR
Learn DOS in a Day BC-3010 JAYCAR

NEW BOOKS
JAYCAR
Desktop Publishing with WordPerfect BC-3012 JAYCAR
Learn WordPerfect in a Day BC-3014 JAYCAR
JAYCAR
GREAT SOUND STEREO SPEAKER MANUAL WITH Learn Lotus 1-2-3 in a Day BC-3016 JAYCAR
Learn Microsoft Works in a Day BC-3018
F WITH PROJECTS PROJECTS By David Weems ) JAYCAR

Learn Windows in a Day BC-3020 JAYCAR

Build your own speakers and save a fortune. This book unlocks the JAYCAR
mystery from drivers, crossovers and construction materials to help you 1-2-3- for Windows - the first step BM-2130 ° JAYCAR

build your speakers. Design your own custom speakers with the WordPerfect for Windows BM-2132 JAYCAR
JAYCAR
authors design program which will design parameters for you. Beginners Guide to DOS BC-3040 JAYCAR
Also covers © current trends in speaker design @ transmission line DOS Secrets BC-3042 JAYCAR
JAYCAR
systems © crossovers © 12 projects and more. How to Buy and Understand Computers BC-3044 JAYCAR
Softcover 248 pages 233 x 181mm Cat. BT-1358 $38.95 How to Get Started with Modems BC-3046 JAYCAR
JAYCAR
PC Secrets BC-3048
THE Rosot BuiLDERS BONANZA JAYCAR
Simple Computer Maintenance & Repairs BC-3060
99 INEXPENSIVE ROBOTICS PROJECTS
By Gordon McComb
This fascinating guide offers you a complete, unique collection of
Minit STEREO AMPLIFIER KIT
tested and proven project modules that you can mix and match to Ref: Silicon Chip October 1992
create an almost endless variety of highly intelligent and workable Do you own a Walkman or portable CD player? Have you ever i =~
robot creatures. wanted to use your personal stereo with speakers instead of those ] ie le
There are over 99 different experiments that you can use in different tiny and annoying headphones? This amplifier allows youtodo # a5
combinations to create robots of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. just that and use only one low-cost IC and a handful of
Rolling robots, walking robots, talking robots . . .robots that can components, delivering 1 watt per channel.
vacuum the floor, serve drinks, teach the kids, protect the family Kit supplied with PCB, jiffy box and all components. Plugpack
against fire or intruders . . . anything is possible using these extra Cat. MP-3007 $15.95. NEW KIT
modules and a little ingenuity. Softcover 326 pages 233 x 182mm Cat. KC-5124 $22.95
Cat. BT-1360 $35.95
REGULATED Power SUPPLIES 4th Edition By Irving SCOPE 6/30 (12 SECTOR PANEL) SELLOUT
Gottlieb
Ideal for warehouses, factories and large houses. This ‘state-of-the-art’ alarm panel has 12 sectors

POWER SUPPLIES
This 4th edition has been completely updated and expanded to plus 5 tamper zones. The features and programming functions are similar to the smaller unit. The
y include the latest information available. In a technically precise Scope 6/30 is controlled by a separate digital keypad with an alphanumeric LCD display. We supply
| style, the author describes regulation techniques, static and two of these with each unit (one for the front door and one for the back). The unit is housed in a
dynamic characteristics and components used. Also includes @ a metal box measuring 355(W) x 290(H) x 120(D)mm. The panel can be hidden away as all acess is
detailed discussion of the circuitry and operation of the latest solid- done via the keypads. When standard and tamper zones are required all zones are end of line
State regulators © numerous circuits designed to fit almost any resistor supervised and can also be programmed So that both tamper and alarm circuits can use the
application ¢ linear and switching type circuits. Over 75,000 books same cable pair. 114 page installation/service manual and operating instructions supplied.
sold. Specifications:
| Softcover 460 pages 233 x 182mm Cat. BT-1362 $57.95 Operating voltage 16-18V AC WAS $599
Operating current 150mA
THE MODERN Power — End line resistor 1k Catalogue
SUPPLY AND BATTERY Us, Current de-bounce time 200ms
price $399
POWER SUPPLY
a

Output voltage 13.65V DC

CHARGER Circuit ENCYCLOPEDIA
By Rudolf Graf AND BATTERY :
Memory type EPROM programmed through keypad NOW ONLY
Keypads LCD with alphanumeric charaters
This book gives you quick, easy access to more than 250 ready-to- CHARGER CIRCUIT Plugpack to suit 16V AC Cat. MP-3021 $22.50 $ 1 99
use, State-of-the-art power supply and battery charger circuit ONCYCHPIOMIAg Backup battery to suit 12V 6.5Ah Cat. SB-2486 $43.50
designs. Power supply circuits include: fixed, high voltage, variable, os Supplied with two keypads ee
power supply monitors, power supply protection circuits. The battery Cat. LA
charger circuits include: acid, NiCad, regulator, gell cell, wind
powered, étc., etc. Softcover 133 pages 233 x 187Cat. BT-1364
$26.95
| THE MODERN
{
te AMPLIFIER CincUIT ENCYCLOPEDIA
By Rudolf Graf
This book contains more than 250 ready-to-use amplifier circuits that
represent the latest developments in circuit technology.
Covers the whole spectrum of amplifier circuits including: ¢ audio
power @ high frequency © operational © programmable @ video «
logarithmic composite ¢ wideband © audio signal © instrumentation
logic ¢ RF © transducer © stereo © voltage controlled ¢
thermocouple Softcover 194 pages 233 x 187mm
nt 4 cat. 81-1366 $29.95 Atenas

FAKE CAR ALARM

It's a black box with 12 digits on the top and a flashing LED. It looks very similar to the
controller on a very expensive car alarm (the one that guarantees your car won't be stolen). So, This display is common cathode and is mounted on a PC board with all
with this sitting on your dash, would be thieves will think you have a high quality alarm, and connections along the bottom of the board.
move on. Can be used on its own, or to complement any existing alarm system. Used in cars, Display size is 72 x 19mm. PC board size is 92 x 25mm. Digit height is
around the home, on boats, etc. Easy to install. Size 70 x 50mm, sticky tape already supplied on 15mm Cat. ZD-1860
the back. Includes alarm sticker. Requires 2 x AAA batteries (not included) Cat. SB-2375 $1.95
WAS $4.95 ea
for 2. Cat. LA-5105
WERE SELLING FOR $19.95 NOW
Catalogue price $9.95 NOW ONLY $4.95 $2.95 ea

ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICC ITE

JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS
JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONICS JAYCAR ELECTRONIC
|[AVOAR CI CRPTROOANAIMC 1AVRAD CI CORmATMANAIIRA lANSPNA POOR Oe es ka es
 Ref: EA October 1992
This small module will save your expensive loudspeakers from
damage due to an amplifier fault or destructive drive signals. It Sadly, we can no longer buy Towers books at the prices we were
includes an “intelligent” de-thump circuit and can be either built paying. So, we've slashed the prices to clear the final stock out.
into an existing amplifier or housed on its own. Kit includes See catalogue for full details.
PCB, relay and all specified components excluding extra power
supply parts. Cat. KA-1745 $29 95
Cat. BM-4552 WAS $49.95 NOW $34.95 SAVE $15

Cat. BM-4554 WAS $35 NOW

When you are in your car, use
$30 SAVE $5
your car power and save your telephone batteries. Simply slide the
battery pack out of the phone, and replace itwith the Eliminator. It
has a curly cord attached with a cigarette lighter plug.
Cat. MP-3110-Motorola Micro Tac © Cat. MP-3112 Novatel
PTR800 © Cat. MP-3116 NEC P300 © Cat. MP-3114
Motorola 9800/9500 | Cat. BM-4556 WAS
WAS $59.95 OCTOBER SPECIAL $39.95 | $29.95 NOW
SAVE $20 on each item | $17.95 SAVE $12
If you've bought a Scope 6
Huge 20 amp current capacity. Ideal for high power amplifiers in car alarm from us (or are going Cat. BM-4558 WAS $29.95 NOW $14.95 SAVE $15
audio systems. Virtually eliminates ignition noise via the resistive to), don’t miss this. :
lead to battery. Complete with capacitor and wiring instructions. Intelligent remote keypad to
Inductance 0.5mH. arm/disarm and program Cat. BM-4560 WAS $39.95 NOW $24.95 SAVE $15
Cat. AA-3075 NORMALLY $14.95 the system. 7 segment
readout, use up to 3 per
OCTOBER $9.95 eng Cat, BM-4564 WAS $12.95 NOW $8.95 SAVE $4
S AVE $5 Cat. LA-5183
WERE $49.95
NOW $20
Ideal for multispeaker sound reinforcement where 4 ohm SAVE $29.95 These trays have 36 compartments and are designed to accept
speakers are required. Quality speaker made in New Zealand. 1/4 or 1/2 watt resistors. There is space beside each
Limited quantity. 10 watt power handling. Frequency range 60 - compartment to write in texta the value of each resistor. If more
15kHz. Cat. CE-2322 Catalogue price $9.95 than one tray is required they will stack inside each other - so you
can find a resistor - or capacitor, or nut, bolt, etc in a jiffy. We
NOW $6.95 SAVE $3 Now ultra reliable. Features have sold thousands of assorted resistor packs over the years.
include: ¢ Low battery alarm One popular pack being the RR-1697 which has 85 different
- an audible buzzer sounds values (10 of each value).
when battery voltage drops to To store this pack in these trays you will need 3 (36 x 3 =108)
10.7 volts © Low battery and you'll have 23 compartments free for other parts. The size of
shutdown - activated when each tray is 395 x 260 x 20mm deep. We think they are a great
A quality midrange with a sealed back and foam surround. Huge battery discharges to 10.0 idea.
100z magnet makes it efficient and gives good midrange volts, which prevents damage Cat. HB-6340 $6.50 ea "age
reproduction. As used in the Studio 3-55L speaker kit. to battery © Electronic
Power Handling | 80WRMS system circuitry protection - prevents
Frequency Response 350Hz - 5.5kHz potential damage from
Resonant Frequency 350Hz overloads and inadequate
Sensitivity 94dB ventilation ¢ High surge
Cat. CM-2080 current capability - starts
difficult loads such as lamps, motors and inductive loads.
Normally $28.50 See catalogue for full specifications.
NOW $20 Cat. MI-5030
SAVE $8.50 Catalogue price $189.50
OCTOBER PRICE $159.50 SAVE $30

° 6 Leeds Street Rhodes 2138 $10-$2499 $375 | BO. Box 185 Concord 2137 FREE CALL - FOR VIA
:PAY | r.| Telephone (02) 743 5222 | $< Sog.og $45) | ROAD FREIGHT ANYWHERE IN (008) 022 888
ELECTRONICS FAX (02) 743 2066 OVER$100 $8.00 | AUSTRALIA (upto 20kg)$14.00 = HOTLINE (02) 743 6144
190 Wright St (Cnr. Selby St) (08) 231 7355 363 Hume Hwy Cnr Meredith St (02) 709 2822
Fax (08) 231 7314 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Fri 8.30 - Sat 9 - 12 Fax (02) 709 2007
144 Logan Rd (07) 393 0777 Fax (07) 393 0045 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Thurs 8.30pm - Sat 9 - 4 - Sun 10 - 4pm
Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Thurs 8.30 - Sat 9 - 4 188 Pacific Hwy (Cnr. Bellevue Ave) (02) 439 4799
266 Sydney Rd (03) 384 1811 Fax (03) 384 0061 Fax (02) 439 4895
Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Fri 8.30 - Sat 9 - 4 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Thurs 8.30 - Sat 9 - 4pm
Shop 2, 45 A’Beckett St City (03) 663 2030 355 Church St (Cnr. Victoria Rd) (02) 683 3377
Fax (03) 663 1198 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Fri 8.30 - Sat 9 - 2 Fax (02) 683 3628 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30 Thurs 8.30pm - Sat 9
887-889 Springvale Rd Mulgrave (03) 547 1022 - 4pm Sunday 10am - 4pm
Fax (03) 547 1046 199 High St (047) 21 8337 Fax (047) 21 8935
Nr Cnr. Dandenong Rd Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Fri 8.30 - Sat 9 - 2 Mon-Fri 9-5.30 Thurs 8.30 - Sat 9-4pm Sun 10-4pm
129 York St. (02) 267 1614 Fax (02) 267 1951 6 Leeds St (02) 743 5222 Fax (02) 743 2066
Mon-Fri 8.30 - 6.30 Thurs 8.30pm - Sat 9 - 4 Mon-Fri 9 - 5.30
 PW GT OTe tenes Tis

The Philips PM3394

digital/analog scope
While more than half the world wide sales of tions where the analog scope is defi-
nitely preferred and this is mainly to
oscilloscopes are now of digital storage models, do with low signal levels and those
there is still a big demand for analog | where waveform fidelity is all impor-
tant. Clearly, a raster scanned digital
performance. Recognising this, Philips has scope cannot provide true waveform
recently released a new range of analog/digital fidelity — the good old vector scanned
cathode ray tube can, can’t it?
scopes which combine the best of both worlds. Well, in fact, that statement is not
quite true and it is only when you see
By LEO SIMPSON the combination of the two different
scope types that you fully realise that
We had the chance to review the In the last 12 months or so, there both digital and analog displays can
top model of the range, the Philips has been an accelerating trend towards reveal or conceal details of a signal
PM3394. This is a 200MHz 4 channel digital-only oscilloscopes with raster waveform. In effect, there is a very
scope with a digital sampling rate of scanned cathode ray tubes; ie, bor- good argument in favour of this type
200 megasamples/second. It also was rowing from the technology of com- of combination instrument.
fitted with the “Math+” option and puter video monitors. These have the The Philips PM3394 uses a con-
the GPIB/IEEE488.2 option, making it advantage of large bright displays and ventional PDA (post deflection accel-
a very powerful measurement instru- compact size. On the debit side, there eration) tube with an acceleration volt-
ment, as we shall see. are some signal measurement situa- age of 16.5kV. The tube viewing area
OCTOBER 1992 73
 is 8 x 10cm and all settings can be
displayed on screen. To the right of
the screen is a column of six blue
buttons which are softkeys — their
function changes depending on which
control menu is displayed on the right-
hand side of the screen.
On the lower half of the control
panel are buttons which provide the
normal control features which you »
would expect to associate with each
of the four vertical inputs; ie, sensi-
tivity, coupling (AC, DC or GND) and
triggering (positive or negative slope).
For each input channel, there are two
buttons to control the sensitivity.
Pressing the down or up button causes
the sensitivity to change in a 1-2-5
sequence from 20mV/div to 50V/div
if a 10:1 probe is connected or from The Philips “Touch Hold & Measure” probes supplied with the PM3394 scope
2mV/div to 5V/div if a 1:1 probe is are a useful innovation. When the scope is in digital mode, pressing the
connected. The type of probe con- Command button on the probe freezes the waveform on the screen together with
nected is automatically compensated the principal measurements. By the way, the “T” symbol on the other probe
button is an earth symbol. Pushing that button grounds the probe.
for if Philips 9000 series probes are
used or it can be switched, via the
probe menu, if a non-Philips probe is mode, on the other hand, the time you are doing, you can always restore
used. — base can run much slower, down to sanity by pressing the Autoset button.
In addition, if you push both the up 200 seconds per division. At this mini- This causes the scope to measure the
and down buttons simultaneously for mum rate, it would take 2000 sec- signals present at the four inputs and
a moment, you can then vary the sen- onds, or 33 minutes to scan the screen then select timebase and vertical at-
sitivity continuously from 20mV/div once! tenuator settings which give a use-
to 125V/div, with 3-digit resolution, able display. From that point you can
ifa 10:1 probe is connected. The facil- Triggering facilities then alter settings to proceed to the
ity of a calibrated continuously vari- The triggering facilities are espe- measurement you want.
‘able input attenuator is very useful cially comprehensive. Pressing the
and the ability to go to 125V/div means Trigger button brings up a menu on Digital control facilities
that AC mains voltages can easily be the screen which allows you to select All the digital scope facilities are
measured and displayed. between “edge”, logic and TV modes. brought into play by the row of but-
Interestingly, if you are in the dig- The “edge” mode is conventional trig- tons along the top of the control panel .
ital mode, you can have a vertical gering and you are able to select AC or and the “soft” buttons down the right-
input sensitivity of much more than DC coupling, low frequency or high hand side of the screen. In general,
20mV/div. By calling up the Display frequency reject and positive or nega- the buttons along the top call up func-
menu on the screen, you can call for tive edge triggering. tion menus on the lefthand side of
vertical magnification of up to 32 In TV mode, you can select field 1 screen and these can then be selected
times. This equates to a vertical input or field 2 or lines and then you can go and varied using the soft buttons.
sensitivity of 625 microvolts per divi- on to select the actual line number to For example, say you have a square
sion. Of course, measuring signals at be displayed. Video systems sup- wave on the screen and you want to
these low levels means that quantising ported are HDTV (1050, 1125 or 1250 measure its principal parameters such
noise becomes an appreciable part of lines), NTSC, PAL and SECAM. as voltage and frequency. The first
the displayed signal. However, you While the PM3394 is a combina- step is to push the “measure” button
can then get around part of that prob- tion digital/analog scope, all the con- which brings up the first “MEASURE”
lem by using an averaging (AVG) mode trols mentioned have been associated menu on the screen. Pushing one of
for the signal display. But we are get- with the analog mode of operation two soft buttons brings up “MEAS1”
ting ahead of ourselves in presenting although clearly, they have the same or “MEAS2” menus on the screen.
this review. 3 function when the unit is in digital These allow you to display readings
On the upper half of the control mode. of voltage such as DC, RMS, MIN, MAX,
panel are the controls for the main PKPK (peak to peak), Low, High, over-
timebase, delayed timebase and trig- Autoset button shoot, and preshoot. You can also dis-
ger selection. The timebase can be Perhaps the most useful button of play time parameters such as fre-
varied in 1-2-5 steps from 500 milli- all is on the top lefthand corner of the quency, period, pulse duration, rise
seconds per division up to 20ns per control panel and it is the Autoset and fall times and duty cycle. All of
division and this can be increased by button. When all else fails and you these measurements are scrolled
a factor of 10 to 2ns/div. In the digital can’t make any sense of a test setup through by rotating the track knob
74 SILICON CHIP
 is safe to say that the waveform dis-
played on the screen is essentially
very Close to the waveform being meas-
ured, after allowing for non-linearities
in the CRT’s deflection system. At
higher sweep frequencies, the wave-
form displayed on the screen is also
close to that being measured except
that any high-frequency noise super-
imposed on the signal will tend to
show up as a slight blurring or thick-
ening of the trace.
By contrast, on digital scopes, the
These two scope photos show the same signal displayed in analog (left) & digital
(right) modes (although with slightly different attenuator settings). Note that the same waveform is subject to a one-off
analog trace is slightly blurred due to noise superimposed on the signal. sampling process each time the screen
waveform is updated. This means that
the waveform is likely to havea spikier
appearance than if it was displayed
on an analog scope. The spikes will
_ partly be due to the discrete quantising
steps but also partly due to the super-
imposed noise on the waveform. Ona
raster scanned digital scope you also
have the problem that the display is
made up of discrete dots and depend-
ing on the nature of the signal (and
NOE, GLITCHES INVISIBLE the keenness of your eyesight), these
Bro | bes fine dots will be more or less evident.
In the case of the Philips PM3394
Again, these two shots show the differences between the analog (left) and digital scope though, the display process is
displays. The analog trace shows the blurring effect of noise while the digital essentially the same in digital or ana-
trace shows glitches which are otherwise invisible. By the way, the PM3394 has log mode.
the facility for inserting user text comments on the screen, as seen here. This is You may wonder how this can be
very useful when taking scope photos as a permanent record. but remember that this scope uses a
conventional vector scanned cathode
which doubles as one of the cursor facility. That’s what we thought but it ray tube (CRT) — ie, the electron beam
controls at other times. is actually a grounding button and theis moved across the screen by the ©
“T” is the European symbol for earth. signals applied to the horizontal and
Touch hold probes That threw us for quite a while until a
vertical deflection plates.
This brings us to the alternative Philips sales representative put us In the digital mode, signals pass
method of making measurements right. through the input attenuators and are
which is unique to the Philips PM3300 Regardless of that, the touch and then processed by the analog to dig-
series of scopes when teamed with hold facility is a really good idea and
ital conversion circuitry. The result-
the PM9000 series of probes. These particularly useful where you have ing digital signals are either stored to
probes provide two facilities which difficulty making connection to an memory and further processed or are
can be very useful and these are instrument but wish to store and meas-fed to the digital to analog conversion
accessed via the UTILities button. One ure the signal. Of course, you can do circuitry where they are converted
is “Autoset” which enables the ap- the same thing by saving and storing aback to analog signals to be displayed
propriate vertical input sensitivity to waveform so that its parameters can on the screen. Because of this addi-
be set for the signal being displayed. be measured and analysed but the tional conversion process, the screen
The other is “Touch, Hold & Meas- touch and hold probe is such a con- © display is not made up of dots. (Al-
ure” which allows the signal being venient idea. We think it is sure to though, just to confuse the issue, one
displayed to be frozen on screen to- catch on with other scope makers. of the display menu options is a dot
gether with readings for DC level, RMS waveform).
value, peak to peak value and fre- Picture quality Not only is the display a continu-
quency. The major difference between ana- ous waveform but the very high sam-
This is done by pushing the “Com- log scopes and digital storage scopes pling rate of 200 megasamples per
mand” button on the probe once. is the way in which they present sig- second means that waveform fidelity
Pushing it once again reverts the scope nal waveforms on the screen. With in the digital mode is very good. In
to the previous display mode. Also on analog scopes, the signal waveform is most measurement situations, the only
the probe is another small button with repeatedly scanned across the screen real difference between waveforms
a “T” marking which you might think so that what you see depends on the displayed in analog and digital modes
was meant for the “touch and hold” sweep speed. At low sweep speeds it is that in digital mode the trace will

OCTOBER 1992 75
be brighter, sharper and will show way you can check the differences in quency. This function allows you to
more hash. And as noted above, the the display and check for the pres- display a signal and then show its
hash will partly be due to noise and ence of glitches. shape after the signal has passed
spikes on the signal and partly due to through the filter. The filter corner
the quantising process. Math+ option frequency (-3dB point) is displayed
If you then switch to the “Acquire” An overview of the comprehensive on the screen at the same time.
menu and select averaging, anywhere automatic measurement functions was The additional functions provided
between 2 and 4096 samples, you can given above but these tend to pale by the Math+ option are Integrate,
clean up the waveform as much as when you consider the power of the Differentiate, FFT (Fast Fourier Trans-
you want. However, the more sam- “Math+” option. This involves a sepa- form) and HST (Histogram). The first
ples you select, the slower will be the rate card with its own processor and a two are more or less self-explanatory
response of the displayed waveform great deal of ancillary circuitry. In and can be easily demonstrated using
to changes in the signal. effect, it turns the PM3394 into a pow- a square wave signal; integration of a
In practice, we found that selecting erful signal analyser. And this is on square wave gives a triangular wave-
an average of 8 samples was a good top of the standard mathematical func- form while differentiation gives rise
compromise, giving excellent wave- tions in all the PM3300 series. These to an impulse waveform with posi-
form fidelity and quick response to comprise Add, Subtract, Multiply and tive and negative spikes correspond-
signal changes. In fact, for most of the Digital Filter. ing to the positive and negative going
work done in the SILICON CHIP lab, Typically, the Add function can be edges of the square wave.
we think this digital + average would used to add a displayed signal to that For those not familiar with FFTs,
be the preferred mode. One reason of another input channel or a stored this function effectively turns the
why the waveform fidelity is so good signal. The same applies to the Sub- scope into a spectrum analyser with a
in this mode is that it increases the tract and Multiply functions. For ex- signal dynamic range of 50dB. In the
effective vertical resolution from 8 bits ample, you could use the Multiply FFT mode, the signal is processed
to 16 bits. function to compute the product of into its fundamental and harmonics
And even if you do stay in the dig- voltage and current signals and hence and these are displayed in the fre-
ital mode most of the time, it is al- display the power waveform. quency domain; ie, amplitude versus
ways possible to flick back to the ana- The Digital Filter provides a frequency. One of the photos accom-
log mode at any time just by pressing selectable low pass filter in which the panying this review shows the classic
the digital button; pressing it again lowest corner frequency is inversely FFT of a square wave with the odd
flicks you back to digital mode. In this proportional to the timebase fre- harmonics displayed with decreasing

m LARGE LCD DIGITS

Beckman Industrial’
An Affiliate of Emerson (fe)
m SAFETY TESTER
mw SAFETY TEST LEADS
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ee 24 Campbell St. Bowen Hills

sm = 4006. Tel: (07) 252 7466
Fax (07) 252 2862
ECONOMIC ELECTRONICS:
22 Campbell St. Bowen Hills
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Fax (07) 252 5778.
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Southport Q 4215. Tel: (075) 32 3632.
Fax: (075) 51 0543.

76 SILICON CHIP
 STOCK
LRBAS A AEBS

SALE!
FANS
80 x 80 x 25mm 240VAC ..... $15.00
120 x 120 x 38mm 240VAC . $15.00

MISCELLANEOUS
EA frequency counter

Mains power lead

with plug 10A ...............ccceeeee $4.00
Mains power plug..............00.. $2.00
Cable ties 94 x 2.4mm !
The interior of the Philips PM3394 is quite different from units we have seen in Be ate ole $4.00 per 100 -
the past. It has a large moulded plastic chassis and large double-sided printed FM stereo transmitter ........... $49.95
circuit boards which are packed with surface mount components. The CRT is
fully screened and the outer case of the unit is vinyl coated aluminium. The Ceramic resonator 3.58MHz .. $1.00
large coils at the rear of the tube are the delay lines for the vertical amplifiers.
ALKALINE BATTERIES
PPV SIZG oie cccicaccccesccieesis $1.40 each
amplitude against increasing fre- years to come. It has a good range of
quency (ie, 1F + 1/3F3 + 1/5F; + ). To features encompassed in its digital OVE i TARP a eae ap An $2.25 each
identify the frequency, you just move and analog display modes and its QU PP39 size .......... mate $4.30 each
a vertical cursor along the signal trace Math+ option is very worthwhile; in WPGIIR AB eee $3.00 each
and you get a readout of the frequency fact, some buyers are likely to pur-
and its amplitude, down to -50dB. chase the PM3394 almost for this op-
FFT analysis can be applied to in- tion alone.
SEMICONDUCTORS.
put signals and to stored signals alike The prices of the four models in the DohaidCa a aa
and is particularly useful for analys- PM3300 series are as follows. Top of
ing one-shot signals. the range is the PM3394 with 4 input
When you consider that the FFT channels, 200MHz bandwidth and
covers the whole frequency range of _200MS/s sample rate and priced at
the instrument (ie, up to 200MHz in $10,919. Next down is the PM3392 MPROOA 2 2b es
the case of the PM3394), this is a very with the same bandwidth and sample MUISO24 o: $8.60
powerful and cost-effective option in- rate and 2 plus 2 input channels ( ie, 2 RRS S005 8 $8.60
deed. channels with full attenuators and two
HST (Histogram) is an unusual fea- TORI08 oe $4.30
with switched sensitivity) and priced
ture which displays the voltage dis- at $10,079. Then there is the PM3384 TOR ES eS $18.00
tribution of a signal against time. For with 100MHz bandwidth, 200MS/s =
ie. a Oe mee
example, a perfect square wave will sample rate, four input channels and
have a histogram which indicates that priced at $9239. The PM3382 variant
the signal is high 50% of the time and has the same bandwidth and sample
low 50% of the time. Real world sig- rate and 2 plus 2 channels and is
nals have a much more complicated priced at $8399.
voltage distribution and the HST facil- Three options are applicable to the ALL ITEMS 10 PLUS 10% OFF
ity can reveal a lot of information whole range. The Math+ option is
which has previously been unavail- $840 while the GPIB/IEEE488.2 card
able from normal scopes. HYCAL ELECTRONICS
and the 32Kb memory card are also
Although this has been a relatively Unit 4, 62 Gt. Western Hwy,
$840 each. These prices do not in-
long review of the PM3394, it cannot Parramatta, NSW 2150.
clude sales tax.
hope to cover the instrument’s full For further information, contact Phone (02) 633 5477
range of features. We were very im- Philips Test & Measurement Division, Fax (02) 891 5640
pressed with this oscilloscope and 25-27 Paul St North, North Ryde, NSW
predict that it will sell well in the OFg=YoT] aOr-1
06 K-MnNL=)
exe) gal
2113. Phone (02) 888 8222. SC

3 OCTOBER 1992 77
 AMATEUR RADIO
BY GARRY CRATT, VK2YBX

How to make transmitter measurements

Amateur radio operators have a responsibility to gains to be had in the surplus test
equipment market. For instance, a
ensure that the power, frequency & harmonics of Hewlett Packard HP5245 frequency
their transmitters are maintained within counter, which has an accuracy of
three parts in 109 (ie, 3Hz per 1GHz!),
specified limits. This requires the use of some can readily be obtained for a few hun-
specialised test equipment to make accurate dred dollars. These counters offer far

measurements.
Watts To dBm Conversion Chart
able on the VHF amateur bands, this 1W :
Perhaps the most obvious transmit-
ter parameters that must be monitored equates at worst case, to an actual 5W
are power output and frequency. For- frequency error of less than 1kHz. Most 10W
tunately, transmitter frequency is rela- kit frequency counters, have similar
15W
tively easy to check, if not with an accuracy. However, professional test
laboratories use frequency counters 20W
inexpensive frequency counter, then
with a receiver covering the particu- having an accuracy of five parts in 25W
lar band of operation. 1079, 3O0W
Some VHF and UHF repeaters even 35W
have a system whereby an audio tone Look for bargains
Although a frequency counter kit 40W
is transmitted by the repeater, depend-
having reasonable accuracy can be 45W
ent upon the frequency error of the
incoming signal. If we assume that a obtained for several hundred dollars, 50W
frequency error of 0.005% is accept- there are also some exceptional bar- 55W
60W
65W
7OW
75W
80W
85W
90W
95W

Surplus test equipment can often be picked up on the secondhand market at

bargain prices. This HP5245 frequency counter only costs a few hundred dollars
& has an accuracy of three parts in 10°, making it ideal for frequency checks.

78 . SILICON CHIP
 nected directly to the analyser. So an
attenuator or “pad” must be inserted
between the two pieces of equipment.
The value of this attenuator must
be such that the spectrum analyser is
not driven into overload (compres-
sion). A typical 25W transmitter
(+44dBm) must be connected via 70dB
of attenuation to reduce the signal
Li, L2 AND L3 : 2T, imm ENCW
WOUND ON 8mm DIA FORMER level at the analyser input to -25dBm
(around 220mV into a 50Q load).
Fig.1: this simple notch filter circuit The notch filter can be built ‘stia |
provides 30-40dB of attenuation in the Such attenuation can be achieved
small piece of blank PCB material & by connecting several discrete atten-
144-148MHz amateur band. housed in a metal diecast case.
uators in series. The first must be
capable of handling the transmitter
superior value for money. A range of (HP-432A, etc) offer an accuracy of output power, while the remaining
plug-in modules for these counters 0.2%, at a cost of $500-$700. attenuators can have a lower rating
can extend the range of the instru- (dependent on the value of the first
ment up to 12GHz. Transmitter harmonics pad). In most cases, a fixed attenuator
The amateur bands are harmoni- is directly connected to the transmit-
Output power cally related to ensure that interfer- ter and variable attenuators are used
Amateur operators must also be able ence from maladjusted transmitters to optimise the input to the spectrum
to measure transmitter output power. falls within other amateur bands. Even analyser. :
This is perhaps the easiest measure- so, good operating practice dictates However, this approach has one
ment to make, considering the range that amateurs should be capable of serious drawback. By attenuating all
of low-cost HF/VHF/UHF power met- measuring harmonic radiation levels signals by 70dB or so, the spectrum
ers that are now available. However, at the transmitter output. analyser would need a display range
care should be taken to ensure that Transmitter harmonics are most of over 80GB to readily observe a trans-
the rating of the power meter is not easily measured using a spectrum mitter harmonic having a power level
exceeded. When measuring the out- analyser. However, some precautions of -30dBm (ie, -74dB with respect to
put power of an SSB transceiver, a are necessary before connecting a the fundamental). What is really
“PEP” (peak envelope power) meter transmitter to a spectrum analyser. A needed is a selective attenuator, or
should be used. typical spectrum analyser such as the filter. By notching the fundamental
The “industry standard” power Hewlett Packard model 141, available frequency by 25-40dB, without affect-
meter is the Bird model 43. This is an to amateurs at a reasonable price, has ing the level of the harmonics, a re-
insertion type power meter, requiring a dynamic range of 50dB or so, and duced amount of additional attenua-
plug-ins for different frequency bands. Clearly, the transmitter cannot be con- tion is necessary, enabling those har-
This can add significantly to the cost. monics to be more easily observed on
Also it can only claim an accuracy of the spectrum analyser.
5%. More accurate measurements can Fig.1 shows the circuit diagram and
be achieved using a thermistor mount layout of a suitable filter. This has a
and power meter. notch attenuation of 30-40dB in the
These instruments must be used in 144-148MHz band and only 0.2dB at-
conjunction with an in-line attenua- tenuation at the second and third har-
tor. By taking the displayed power monics. The unit is easily constructed
level (usually in dBm) and adding the in a diecast aluminium box and the
value of the series attenuator, the trans- filter components can be mounted on
mitter’s power output can be calcu- a piece of blank PCB material. By
lated. These instruments are broad- drilling holes in the lid of the box,
band, usually offering a frequency access can be obtained to the trimmer
coverage from 10MHz to 40GHz or so, capacitors, thus making the filter ad-
and covering power levels from as justable. | SC
low as 10uW to 10mW, when used
without external attenuators.
The accompanying table shows the
relationship between watts and dBm.
Hewlett Packard produced a series
of these power meters during the late
1970s and early 80s. Models HP-431A/
B/C can be found at surplus test equip- The “industry standard” Bird model
ment stores for as low as $300 or so. 43 is an insertion-type power meter
Such an instrument offers a measure- with plug-in modules for different
ment accuracy of 3%. Later models frequency bands.

OCTOBER 1992 79
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iverters now feature new improved circuitry using multiple mosfet outputs two way models include high grade crossovers, We have a huge surplus of ¥
iaking them even more reliable with a genuine 300 or 600 watt continuous speaker terminals and removable front grille. s Vifa C13WG-08-08 woofers.
ower rating. Our latest model, the 1200 Watt Powerhouse offers excellent Simple construction with only basic touls and skill These quality drivers offer
ilue for money and performance. It features crystal locked circuitry and a required. These kits are complete and include high performance in both
assive 2400 watt power surge making it ideal for small fridges, vacuum speaker cloth, damping material, grille ciips, ported and sealed
eaners, power tools etc. speaker terminals, screws and parts. Outstanding enclosures. Exceptionally smooth response
ny model an absolute necessity where 240V isn’t available. Call Altronics performance for the fraction of the cost of useable up to 5kHz. Careful design and
day for more information on freecall 008 999 007. commercial equivalents. construction using rubber surround makes
VIFA SA-50 it possible to obtain an amazing 50 watts
300 Watt RMS power calabicity. Fantastic
K 6750 Kit Version $279
2 Way Bookshelf replacement or new construction speaker.
System,
K 6755 Built-up $379 50 Watts RMS € 3110 Normally $960 Now $49.00
Normally $399%0 pr
6.5” Carbon Fibr
Now Only $299 00 pr
Woofer
ARY A fine driver using only high
quality components and

m600 Watt POE Bigs technology. For example

barium ferrite magnets,
£6770 Kit Version $499 om ae revolutionary Kapton voice coi
and unique carbon fibre cones.
‘ 6774 Built-up 12V | ies Because of the high water
‘ 6775 Built-up 24V abe $625 resistant structure of carbon
fibre these speakers are ideal for boats and
1200 Watt automotive use. Max input power 70 watts
or 30 watts RMS. Resonant frequency
K 6790 Kit Version $799 bt See Altronics '92 catalogue for full
K 6792 Built-up 12V Input etails.
K 6793 Built-up 24V Input $999
C 3034 Normally $8265
Stereo Extension Ceiling
Speaker Kit This Month Only $59 55

Want a set of high grade extension speakers for

the back patio, games room, den, workshop,
15” PECC Woofer
kitchen? Well here at Altronics we have put These Poly Emulsion Coated
together this great kit which includes speakers, Cone (PECC) woofers offer
grilles, cable, screws and even a wall mounted excellent quality and
volume controller. The speakers are our high performance. With a
quality 4” C 0626 dual cone drivers, with stylish maximum power rating of

300 Watt Economy a Low white grilles - ideal for mounting in the ceiling. 200 watts or 120 watts
Volume control mounts in standard electrical wall continuous and a frequency
amazing ~ 3 box and includes 6 volume settings as well as off.
Inverter Includes 2 x 20m cable.
response down to 30Hz
these drivers make an ideal
sub-woofer or replacement
Turn 12V DC to 240V AC. This C 0988 Normally $9960, Now Only $690 bass speaker. Massive 2.5kg
fantastic inverter will power lights, TV's nett weight. See Altronics '92
tools, electric shavers and a whole host catalogue for full details.
of other appliances. Great for camping,
out in the bush and any place where C 3032 Normally $235700 :
240V is not available. Features: ¢
Complete with over current circuit This Month $1 69 00 ea
breaker @ Fused 240V output @ Built in
panel meter to monitor output voltage
© panel meter to monitor output
Motorola Piez
voltage @ Strong steel case and
chassis. we120 $249.00 Tweeter
Weather Proof Monitor and Sound Column This new bullet
tweeter looks and
Speakers sounds great.
Genuine Motorola
This fantastic new range of monitors and columns just have to be heard to be believed. KSN 1165A. Features
Designed by the Altronics engineer team with extensive consultation from audiophiles and 400 watt maximum
architects, these speakers are absolutely ideal for hi-fi exterisions and P.A. Constructed power Capability
from rugged extruded aluminium and UV resistant plastic makes these units both frequency response 1.8kHz to 30kHz and
weatherproof and built to last. The drivers used are 4” carbon fibre with an inbuilt coxial SPL at 93dB (2.83v/1m). 91 x 91mm
tweeter. Ported design makes bass response incredibly smooth and deep. mounting hole centres. Specifications
Two sizes available, 30 and 60 watts RMS, in a black or white powder coat finish. Mounting available on request. Simply wires in
these speakers are made easy by employing the new “Wacki” bracket system. Call parallel to your woofer. No crossover or
Altronics today for a free colour brochure. capacitor required. As it presents almost
no load to your amp it doesn't effect the
30 Watt Monitor Series overall speaker system’s impedance.
Fantastic for hi-fi or disco speakers.
C 0924 8 Ohm White 149v0 ea 60 Watt Column Series
C© 0927
bea? 100
100Volt
VoltLine
Line hite C 0936 100 Volt
olt LineLine Whitite C 6160 $39 05
‘ C 0928 100 Volt Line Black $1 60 00 ea C 0937 100 Volt Line Black $245 00 ea

Audio Frequency Generator | RF signal Generator Universal Wacki

Specifications:
= Bracket
Frequency:
10Hz2-1MHz SSR SS | lll ee ...hUL
Accuracy: With provision for internal
+/-3% + 2 Hz and external modulation.
Output Specifications: Frequency
Waveforms: Range: 100kHz - 150MHz Yet another Altronics innovation, proudly
Sine/Square in 6 ranges RF Output designed and made in Australia. These
Output Level: Level: 100mV rms great new speaker mount brackets simply
Sine: 8V rms Accuracy: +/-3% screw onto the wall and speaker allowing a
9 vp Modulation: ¢ internal =e universal 50° angle of adjustment. Suitable
-P Outpu . aS (30% depth): 1kHz e for speakers up to 5kg. No special tools
Attenuator: MSN Externdt SOHz-20KH2 ° required. Available in white or black. A
-200B, -40dB and fine adjust Crystal Locked Oscillator must for any extension speaker.
H 8010 White
Q 1540 Normally $325.00 Now $250 00 Q 1550 Normally $299 00 Now $225 00 H 8012 Black $39.95 pair

PHONE ORDER TOLL FREE 008 999 007

 Universal Battery Chargers
As a result of a bulk scoop purchase, we High quality computer fans ideal for power
Save $$$_0 are able to offer to you these fantastic supplies, amplifiers, computers etc. Reliable
tteries
n ‘

Replacement B universal Ni-Cad battery chargers at a Sunnon brand. Full range available for almost any
ns more than ridiculous price! It will charge application.
any combination of up to 4 of AAA, AA, C 240V Models 24V DC Model
or D size batteries at one time plus a 9V.
Features a LED indication to show each
battery has made an electrical contact.
F 1020 80mm? $22 25 F 1040 120mm? $23.00 :
Also has an added bonus of a battery tester
function. Hurry. Stocks limited. Definately
F 1030 120mm: $24.25 Finger Guards
no back orders. 12V DC Model F 1022 80mm
M 8010 Normally $3945 This Month Only $1 995 LID NOT SHOWN F 1050 80mm? $1 750 F 1032 120mm $2.45
Passive Infra-Red s 5350 $4995 Sturdy Spotlight 12 Way Wire-
Flood Light Control |Relay c Product Terminal
Just arrived, this new model PIR floodligh
Includes two separate
Blocks
activates when it detects movement of a
person or car approaching. Great to 30 Amp relays with Hr |

welcome visitors, ward off intruders S individual fuses. Great

or even to find the keys in the dark! Features for car headlights, spotlights etc.
daylight sensing circuit which means unit will $ 4335 Normally $1360
not activate during daylight hours (save on your
power bill). Includes manual override facility to This Month Only $9.05 These terminal blocks are ideal for
turn lights on continuously or automatically. Features 240V, speaker or DC voltage
movement sensitivity adjustment, and turn on period. Great for the driveway or backyard.
Complete with two screw in type sockets for standard 150W floodlight globes (not Chassis Moun termination. Can be cut into shorter
strips. Raised base for extra voltage
included).
RCA
pesto
protection.
PX 2110 Normally $4.6
Amazing Value on Deleted UHF Alarm Sockets
3 rows of stereo (left and right) f ae ee $3 50 oF A BP $3.00
This UHF system contains one receiver
and 3 wireless reed switches for doors Hi; sockets. High quality. Bargain price.
and windows etc. The main controller PA 0235 Normally $386 Stationmaster
simply plugs into 240V, the remote, reed
switches are attached to your This Month Only $ 1.50 CB Base
door/window frames and presto, the
Antenna
alarm is installed! Simple push button
operation, 4 digit user selectable on/off Universal Remote Extra wide bandwidth base
code, built-in siren makes this unit a
pleasure to use. Includes 12V 1.2Ah Control antenna without ungainly size.
Supplied with a fully pre-tuned
backup battery and 9V batteries for and assémbled DC grounded
remote reed switches. Because there is Central Contro! Unit 7 This universal infra-red
with Built-in Siren & Battery Backup matching system and all
no need to drill holes in the wall or mounting hardware.
ceiling, making this unit just great for
rented flats or units, or for those who SB 5260 Normally $51400 Waterproofed and useable at
any height above the ground,
don't want the trouble and hassle of a earthed or unearthed. e 50
wired system. Also ideal for boats, Now only $249 00 Ohm impedance ¢ V.S.W.R.
caravans, the shed, garage or granny flat. 4 up to 6 different
1.3:1 ¢ Height 5.6m © Power
Take the unit with you if you move - no Wireless Door - appliances. Easy to use
1kW
wasted time and money. Reed Switch and programme from an
existing functional remote. L 3215 Normally $1460
Remote Car Alarm This Month Only $99 00 W
With Wireless Remote Control A 1000 $69.5
Audible warning with a 125 decibel
loud siren and visible warning of
flashing headlights when the alarm Blank Rack ©
system is triggered. Keyring remote
control allows arming with ‘beep’
sound and disarming with headlights
Panels = sav®.. ei Yess:

flashing signal. The alarm system will Top quality blank panel clearout. All stock must go at
be triggered by unauthorised these crazy prices. Stock is limited with definately no back orders at
entrance through the car doors, these prices.
boot, bonnet or removal of the car
sound unit. The siren will sound and
2 unit — All $8.00 3 Unit — Ail $12.95
the headlights flash for 60 seconds. H 0422 Natural Aluminium H 0423 Natural Aluminium
Easy to install. schon $99 00 H 0432 Grey H 0433 Grey
H 0435 Black

ALTRONIG
HEAVY HEAVY SERVICE — All orders of 10Kgs or more must travel Express Road —
Please allow 7 days for delivery. $12.00 to 10Kgs. $15.00 over 10Kgs.
INSURANCE — As with virtually every other Australian supplier, we send goods at
consignees risk. Should you require comprehensive insurance cover against loss or
damage please add $1.00 per $100 of order value (minimum charge $1). When phone
174 Roe St. Perth W.A. 6000 Phone (09) 328 1599 ordering please request “Insurance”.
PHONE TOLL FREE 008 999 007 TOLL FREE PHONE ORDER — Bankcard, Visa, Mastercard Holders can phone order toll
MAIL ORDERS C/- P.O. Box 8350 Stirling Street PERTH W.A. 6849 free up to 6pm Eastern Standard Time. Remember with our Overnight Jetservice we deliver
next day.
STANDARD DELIVERY & PACKING CHARGE $3.50 to 500gms, $5.50 500gms - 1Kg, $8
1Kg-5Kg AUSTRALIA WIDE — We process your order the day received and despatch via. ALTRONICS RESELLERS Chances are there is an Altronic Reseller right near
Australia Post. Allow approx 9 days from day you post order to when you receive goods. you — check this list or phone us for details of the nearest dealer.
OVERNIGHT JETSERVICE Up to 3kg is $10.00, 3Kg to 5Kg is $23.00 — We process your Biue Ribbon Dealers are highlighted with a @ These dealers generally carry a
order the day received and despatch via. Overnight Jetservice Courier for delivery next day comprehensive range of Altronic products and kits or will order any required item for
Country areas please allow additional 24-48 hours. you.
WA COUNTRY ALBANY BP Electronics @ (098) 412681 Micro Electronics (098) 412077 BUNBURY Micro Electronics (097) 216222 ESPERANCE Esperance Communications (090)
713344 MANDURAH Lance Rock Retravision (09) 535 1246 PORT HEDLAND Ivan Tomek Electronics (091) 732531 ROCKINGHAM TV Joe's (09) 5271806NT ALICE SPRINGS Farmer
Electronics (089) 522388 DARWIN Ventronics (089) 853 622 VIC All Electronic Components (03) 6623506, TECS (03) 6706474 BORONIA Ray Cross Electronics @ (03) 7622422
CHELTENHAM Talking Electronics (03) 5842386 COLLINGWOOD Truscott Electronics (03) 4198208 CROYDON Truscott Electronics @ (03) 7233860 FOOTSCRAY G.B. Telespares
(03) 3179100 PRESTON Preston Electronics # (03) 4840191 COUNTRY BAIRNSDALE LH & LM Crawford (051) 525677 BALLARAT Ballarat Electronics (053) 31 1947QLD Delsound
PL w (07) 8396155 WEST END B.A.S. Audiotronics (07) 8447566 WOODRIDGE David Hall Electronics @ (07) 8082777 COUNTRY GLADSTONE Gladstone Electronic Services (079)
724459, Electronic Enterprises (079) 726660 MAROOCHYDORE MALS Electronics & (074) 436119 MARYBOROUGH Keller Electronics (071) 214559 NAMBOUR Nambour Electronics
(074) 411966 PIALBA Keller Electronics (071) 283749 ROCKHAMPTON Access Electronics (East St.) (079) 221058 TOWNSVILLE Super Solex @ (077) 724466SA Force Electronics @
(08) 2125505 BRIGHTON Force Electronics 8 (08) 3770512 CHRISTIES BEACH Force Electronics @ (08) 3823366 FINDON Force Electronics @ (08) 3471188 HOLDEN HILL Force
Electronics @ (08) 2617088 LONSDALE Force Electronics & (08) 3260901 ENFIELD Aztronics @ (08) 3496340 COUNTRY WHYALLA Eyre Electronics (086) 454764TAS HOBART
George Harvey @ (002) 342233 LAUNCESTON George Harvey @ (003) 316533NSW David Reid Electronics @ (02) 2671385 REVESBY Revesby Electronics (02) 7922295 SMITHFIELD
Chantronics (02) 6097218 COUNTRY COFFS HARBOUR Coffs Habour Electronics (066) 525684 NEWCASTLE Novocastrian Elect.Supplies (049) 621358 WARNERS BAY Vilec
Distributors (049) 489405 WINDSOR M & E Elect. and Communications (045) 775935 WOLLONGONG Newtek Electronics @ (042) 271620, Vimcom Electronics (042) 284400 WOY WOY
Alphatran Electronics (043) 434919

PHONE ORDER TOLL FREE 008 999 007

 PRODUCT SHOWCASE
Beckman digital
multimeters
Beckman Industrial is a well re-
spected test instrument brand name
that has been around for a long time.
Their multimeters have usually been
priced at a premium and so the re-
lease of these three new lower priced
meters is a change.
All three multimeters have a 3%-
digit liquid crystal display with 18mm
high digits and a count of 1999. Di-
mensions are 150 x 32 x 69mm. All
units have deeply recessed input sock-
ets and are supplied with safety test
leads with shrouded jacks and insu-
lated prods with only the tips ex-
posed. The meters have a safety beeper
which sounds if you have a lead plug
inserted in the wrong input socket for
the range selected. The beeper also to 200mA, resistance ranges from but without the LED safety tester. Its
functions on the continuity range. 200Q to 2MQ, as well as diode and AC voltage ranges are from 200mV to
Battery life is an important consid- continuity ranges. Interestingly, its 750V and it has the widest resistance
eration for a multimeter. For the three input impedance for voltage ranges is coverage for the lot with ranges from
meters in the range, battery life is 1MQ rather than the conventional 200Q to 2000M® Its DC accuracy is
quoted as 300 hours for an alkaline 10M. Its DC accuracy is quoted as -+0.5%. A 1-year warranty applies to
9V battery and 200 hours for a carbon +0.8%. all three models.
zinc type. To replace the battery it is The median model is the DM10XL Recommended prices for the new
necessary to remove two screws and which has the same AC and DC volt- Beckman pocket sized digital multi-
then prise the case apart. Inside, the age and.current ranges as above, plus meters are $71 for the DM5XL, $98 for
meters appear to be well made and a 10 amp DC range, resistance ranges the DM10XL and $120 for the DM15-
based on the Intersil 7106 family of from 200Q to 20MQ and a LED safety XL. Sales tax at 20% should be added
chips. tester facility with indication for 6V, to these prices where applicable.
Each of three models has a large 12V, 24V, 50V, 110V and 240V. This Beckman digital multimeters are
range selector switch but the meas- facility can be used even if the meter’s available from Economic Electronics,
urement facilities vary between mod- battery is flat. Its DC accuracy is 22 Campbell Street, Bowen Hills Qld
els. The DM5XL is the base model +0.7%. 4006, phone (07) 252 3762, or from
and has DC voltage ranges from 200mV Top of the range model is the Southport Electronic Shop, Shop 1,
to 1000V, AC voltage ranges of 200V DM15XL which has the same DC volt- 10 Welch Street, Southport, Qld 4125.
and 750V, DC current ranges of 200uA age and current ranges as the DM10XL Phone (075) 51 0543.

GPS satellite timing measures the frequency difference Programming switches control
between the internal oscillator and the output format (BCD or ASCII,
generator card the input code. If the GPS input as well as the address of the board.
The Model GPS-PC timing gen- code should fail, this information Included is a 5%4-inch, 360Kb disc
erator card occupies one slot in is used to correct the oscillator and with a TIME.DOC file to assist in
any IBM XT or AT (or compatible) maintain accurate timing across set-up and operation, as well as a
and can be synchronised to UTC by periods of input failure. sample program in Basic for time
the GPS satellite system, or can When the user wishes to read retrieval (TIME.BAS).
operate as a stand-alone generator. the time, a “freeze” command is For further information, contact
The internal timing is synchro- sent and the time is saved in RAM. Rohde & Schwarz (Australia) Pty
nised to UTC to better than 5us. The time remains static until the Ltd, 63 Parramatta Rd, Silverwater,
The synchronisation process also user Clears the freeze command. NSW 2141. Phone (02) 748 0155.

OCTOBER 1992 83
 ures 148 x 28 x 75mm. Average seek
Circuit software from time is just 16 milliseconds and the
Number One Systems unit has been ruggedised to withstand
Breakthrough Computers of shock up to 150G.
Queensland are Australian distribu- In use, the PHd is designated as
tors for Number One Systems Ltd, a ~ “Drive D” and is connected to the
company well known in Europe for computer’s parallel port. Power is nor-
coming up with the CAD package mally supplied from an adaptor plug
EASY-PC, which is currently in use in — which fits into the standard keyboard
over 50 countries around the world. DIN socket.
We recently received review copies of While it is just a little heavy to be
a couple of circuit analysis programs comfortably carried in your pocket,
from the same stable as EASY-PC, so the PHd takes up very little room in
we were eager to try them out. about 20 example circuits ready for your briefcase and provides a neat
ANALYSER III allows you to load in analysis, and the manual follows every solution for those who need to have
a net list of an analog circuit diagram step, including loading in the net list access to or carry large amounts of
and it will then give you a Bode plot and setting up the parameters. It also data to different locations.
of both phase and gain with respect to shows what the screen should look For further information, contact the
frequency over an incredible range of like at various times. manufacturers, KT Technology, Build-
0.001Hz (that’s 1mHz) to 999GHz. It also shows how to write your ing 7, Central Boulevard, Portside
You can set the frequency range of own net lists for your own circuits Business Park, Port Melbourne, Vic
the plot to suit your circuit and once and how to load your own compo- 3207. Phone (03) 646 5755.
completed, send it to a dot matrix or nents into the library.
HP LaserJet II compatible printer. The first example is AMP.NET which Digital scope from
Installation is a breeze. ANALYSER is a LF351 FET-input op amp con-
figured as a non-inverting amplifier
Dick Smith Electronics
III uses its own intelligent installa-
tion program to decompress the files with a gain of 100. As soon as you
it needs to meet your system require- load it in, the program begins analysis
ments. This is a great idea and means from the BEGIN frequency to the END
that you don’t have to load in files frequency. The gain scaling can be
that aren’t relevant to your machine; changed from a linear ratio to dBs and
ie, CGA files are not wanted if you you can set the maximum gain shown
have a VGA monitor. on the graph. Numerical results of a
Once the software is loaded, all you circuit analysis are also available by
dois type “AN3” and <return> and selecting the “list numeric results”
you're away. It’s now that you're most from the analyser operations menu.
Finally, the plot can be printed out Dick Smith Electronics has an-
likely to look up the manual, if you're
on either a 9 or 24-pin dot matrix or a nounced the release of four new oscil-
anything like most computer users!
LaserJet II compatible printer. loscopes under the Digitor brand
And this is one of the great joys of
Overall, ANALYSER III is a must for name. The new models include a low-
the package — the manuals actually cost 20MHz base model analog unit,
any engineering lab. It’s ability to in-
match the software they’re written for. fully featured 20MHz and 60MHz ana-
In fact, ANALYSER III is one of the clude many of the “real world” effects
that has make it well worth the investment. log instruments, and an advanced
few packages we’ve seen
ANALYSER III retails for $540 and 20MHz analog/digital model.
manuals which exactly match how All models are housed in an attrac-
the software works. 2 is available direct from the Australia n
distributo rs, Breakthr ough Comput- tive, low profile enclosure featuring a
You don’t have to wade through a
ers. Contact them on (077) 21 5299 or robust carry handle/tilt bail, and are
stack of info before you get into using supplied with two probes and acces-
the software. ANALYSER provides fax them on (077) 21 5930. .
sories.
ce ce EEE LE LAI
The fully featured 20MHz and
60MHz models offer component test,
Portable hard disc beam find and dual timebase facili-
is a breakthrough ties, as well as the usual functions.
happen eventuall y. With — The 20MHz digital/analog storage
It had to
model is the first really low-priced
hard disc drives becoming smaller all
unit. As well as being a very capable
the time, it was only a matter of time
up with a fully analog scope, the unit features dual
before someone came
2K x 8 trace buffers with trace roll,
portable unit. And now it has arrived.
save and plot facilities.
The PHd which stands for Pocket Hard
Prices for the four models range
Disc, is available in four models with
s of 40MB, 60MB, from $699 to $1599 for the digital
formatted capacitie
80MB and 120 megabytes. storage model. They are available at
all Dick Smith Electronics stores.
It weighs just 350 grams and meas-
84 SILICON CHIP
New AC/DC single current and power, the 2534 can also duced into the work environment.
measure and display apparent power, Charged objects need only be brought
phase power meter reactive power, power factor, phase near a field-sensitive electronic de-
angle, Watt hours and frequency from vice to cause damage or degradation.
4Hz to 22kHz. Items such as circuit board substrates,
A memory card interface is pro- insulative tapes and plastic objects
vided as standard with the Model cannot be grounded, which means that
2534, allowing readings to be saved traditional static control techniques
and later plotted on a Yokogawa chart are ineffective. A neutralising air ion-
recorder, or loaded into a PC via iser is the only effective way to con-
Yokogawa’s model 3781 PC Memory trol their static charge.
Card Reader for subsequent analysis. A compact new product from 3M,
RS232 and GPIB interfaces are also
Yokogawa has released a new sin- available as options.
gle phase high-accuracy AC/DC power For further information, contact
meter intended for measurement of Tony.Richardson, Yokogawa Australia
appliance power consumption and Pty Ltd, Centrecourt D3, 25-27 Paul St
single phase power distribution. North, North Ryde, NSW 2113. Phone
Known as the 2534, the new power (02) 805 0699.
meter is capable of measuring AC and
DC power at levels of up to 600V and Static control fan
20A, to an accuracy of 0.5%. The
measuring range may be selected au- from 3M
tomatically or manually. Effective grounding is an essential
An AC bandwidth of 10Hz to 20kHz part of any static control system. Wrist
allows accurate power measurement, and heel straps, table mats and work-
even in the presence of complex cur- stations should all form part of a sys-
rent waveforms such as caused by tem for removing static charges from
PCs, facsimile machines and TV re- ' personnel and conductive objects.
ceivers. However problems can arise when
In addition to measuring voltage, non-conductive materials are intro-

The complete \
work centre. |
LALPRKIE
Eee: «<) SIPLILPLILSLo: Boe OP
ree eer)

EXTENSIVE RANGE OF PRINTER SWITCHES AND

CABLES AVAILABLE. COMPUTER CABLE ASSEMBLY
24 Campbell St. Bowen Hills Q 4006.
@ SPECIALLY CABLE ASSEMBLY e POWER CENTRE AND Tel: (07) 252 7466 Fax (07) 252 2862.
POWER STRIP ¢ GENDER CHANGER e COVER AND ECONOMIC ELECTRONICS: 22 Campbell St. Bowen Hills Q 4006.
CONNECTOR @ SMART SWITCH PARALLEL @ CONVERTER PO. Box 481, Fortitude Valley 4006. Tel: (07) 252 3762. Fax (07) 252 5778.
SOUTHPORT ELECTRONIC SHOP: Shop 1, 10 Welch St. Southport
& BOOSTER @ SPECIAL INTERFACE DATA SWITCH BOX. Q 4215. Tel: (075) 32 3632. Fax: (075) 51 0543.

OCTOBER 1992. ~— 85
 _zeNcons2
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Inc MELBOURNE

1992 IEEE REGION 10 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

Computers, Communications and Automation Towards the 21st Century
9th - 13th November 1992

MELBOURNE WINS INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING CONFERENCE

Melbourne has been chosen over Beijing and Seoulto host one of the Asia/Pacific region’s most
prestigious conferences. The world-wide Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers will hold
TENCON ‘92 at the World Congress Centre this November.

The Conference theme is Computers, Communications and Automation Towards the 21st Century. A wide
range of topics including artificial intelligence, optical communications and manufacturing automation
are included in the programme.

International experts from many parts of the world are expected to attend TENCON ‘92 to present the
latest developments in fields of vital importance to tomorrow’s technology.

The conference will also feature a specialised exhibition, a day for secondary school students and teachers,
and tutorial presentations on data, security, computer vision, software reliability and multimedia services.

More information is available from Marg Scarlett at the address below, or to receive further information
complete the attached ve and return it to:

TENCON ‘92
c/- Convention Network, 224 Rouse Street, Port Melbourne 3207, Victoria, Australia.
Telephone: +61 3 646 4122 Facsimile: +61 3 646 7737

I | f
J Please Send Me A Copy Of The TENCON ’92 Main Announcement And Registration Brochure i
i 2 i
I Name: i
i :
i Address: il
I i
j Postcode 7
i i
| Country: :

i I

86 SILICON CHIP
 the 3M Brand 961E Ionised Air OTP and flash memory son, flash memory cards are well
Blower, is a self-contained, intrinsi- suited for laptop and palmtop com-
cally balanced, bipolar ioniser. An cards from TI puters, as well as for other data stor-
equal proportion of both positive and Texas Instruments has adopted Per- age applications where ruggedness,
negative ions are produced and gen- sonal Computer Memory Card Inter- small size, fast access and low power
tly fanned across the work area. This national Association (PCMCIA) stand- are concerns.
is claimed to neutralise all electro- ards for its new one-time-programma- TI memory cards are user insert-
static charges and ensure a totally ble (OTP) and flash memory cards. © able and feature fast read and write
static free environment. The new OTP cards are available in capability, with access times of 200ns.
For further information, contact 3M 256Kb, 512Kb and 1Mb
Australia Pty Ltd, 950 Pacific High- versions, while the flash
way, Pymble, NSW 2073. Phone (02) cards are available in ver-
498 9333. sions from 256Kb to 2Mb.
The OTP memory card
New projector has is a user-replaceable mod-
ule designed for program
LCD light valves storage. Typical applica-
tions include font storage
for printers and program
storage for equipment
ranging from PCs and fac-
simile machines to musi-
cal instruments, electron-
ic cash registers and machine control- The new cards support both 8-bit and
lers. 16-bit processors.
They can be electrically erased and For further information, contact Rita
Barco has introduced the Barcodata rewritten by users in the system, much _Wong, Texas Instruments, 6 Talavera
5000, its first super high brightness, like files can be added, changed or Rd, North Ryde 2113. Phone (02) 878
full colour light valve projector which deleted on a floppy disc. For this rea- 9000.
is intended for sports events and out-
door venues.
Designed to operate in full ambient
light, the projector can be used for
front or rear screen projection, and
Fully protected
table or ceiling mounted configura- power MOSFET
tions are possible. Philips Semiconductors has intro-
The single lens Barcodata 5000 duced the world’s first 3-pin power
video and data projector uses three MOSFET to include integrated short-
active matrix liquid crystal display circuit, over-temperature and over-
(LCD) panels, each with a resolution voltage protection.
of over 755 x 550 pixels, and a575W Encapsulated in a standard TO-220
metal halide lamp to produce highly package, the BUK101-50 TOPFET
luminous images on screens up to 10 (Temperature and Overload Protected
metres wide. An overall resolution of Field Effect Transistor) requires no
more than 1.3 million pixels with an additional protection components,
equivalent CRT light output of more and can be driven directly from con-
than 5000 lumens is a feature of the ventional logic circuitry. This allows temperature and short circuit protec-
projector. TOPFETs to be used as replacement tion circuits incorporate a latch which
Barco’s advanced digital architec- MOSFETs in existing equipment, as - Maintains the BUK101-50 in the off
ture enables simple installation and well as for new designs. They are state until its control input is driven
set up by an infrared remote control. particularly suited to switching of low.
Precise adjustments are made through lamps, motors and solenoids in auto- In addition, on-chip avalanche di-
an easy to follow menu driven on- motive electronics. odes, coupled with a controlled turn-
screen display. It can project video The BUK101-50 is an N-channel, on of the BUK101-50’s power MOSFET,
sources in NTSC, PAL and SECAM enhancement-mode DMOS FET with provide dynamic clamping of Vps
colour standards, as well as the most an Rps [ON] of 60mQ and a continu- voltages which exceed 50V — fully
common computer graphics formats ous Current rating of 26A (100A peak). protecting the device from transients
(VGA and Macintosh). Its protection circuitry automatically caused by the switching of inductive
For further information, contact switches the BUK101-50 into the off loads.
Peter Della Tolla, Trace Technology state if the junction temperature ex- For further information, contact
Pty Ltd, Unit 4, 265-289 Williamstown ceeds a safe value (typically 180°C) as Philips Components, 32 Waterloo Rd,
Rd, Port Melbourne 3207. Phone (03) a result of inadequate heatsinking or North Ryde, NSW 2113. Phone (02)
646 5833 or (008) 331 554. short circuit load currents. The over- 805 4455. SC

OCTOBER 1992 87
 BY BOB YOUNG

Internal combustion motors

for R/C models; Pt.3
This month, we continue our discussion on the had to be high to maintain forward
speed.
use of lubricating oil in fuel mixtures. Castor oil This suited the Schnurle ported mo-
has the advantage of being good as an upper tor well, as they tend to prefer high
rev (14,000 rpm plus), low torque ap-
cylinder lubricant but its residue after the fuel is plications. Thus, I found that a 10x7
burnt is a real problem to clean off models. prop was ideal for this model. The
cylinder head was fully exposed to
the slipstream for maximum cooling,:
Here let me state, knowing that once Modern wisdom has it that synthetic while the muffler used was a low:
again I am about to bring down the oils and castor oil can be mixed and back pressure, flowthrough model
wrath of the gods, that there is still no the fuel mixtures quoted range from which placed the minimum of ther-
substitute for castor oil. It is still one 5% Gloglide and 95% methanol mal stress on the motor. (It also placed
of the best upper cylinder (high tem- (9.5:0.5) to 10% synthetic, 10% cas- a minimum of emphasis on noise re-
perature) lubricants available. It has tor oil and 80% methanol (80:10:10). duction).
been said that castor oil runs towards The key factor always, it seems, is to Thus we have an application in
the heat, whereas all other oils run use as little castor oil as possible be- which the piston has a minimum of
away; a trifle poetic perhaps but it cause of the undesirable side effects dwell time at TDC (top dead centre),
does sum up the position rather nicely. of this substance. Personally, I do not efficient exhaust gas extraction and a
There are other benefits of synthetic recommend oil mixtures as low as high volume of cooling air passing
oils which are mainly to do with less these and they are quoted as a guide over the fins on the cylinder head and
drag on moving components, ageing to popular opinion only. muffler. This application was one in
which I could have used a minimum
of oil had I wished. I never did and
always stuck with 4:1 methanol/cas-
tor oil. I also used to run my motors
“The basic problem in choosing a lubricant & towards the lean side for maximum
ratio arises from the fact that every model calls revs, a potentially dangerous situa-
tion as we shall see, but I always used
for a different mix” a fuel pump and a fuel tank on the
centre of gravity in this particular
of residues and a lower glazing factor, The basic problem in choosing a model. I flew with the same motor for
but to delete castor oil from the fuel | lubricant and ratio arises from the many years and never replaced the
completely, tomy mind at least, leaves fact that every model calls for a differ- piston or cylinder.
the motor vulnerable to seizing under ent mix. Take for example, a 60 2-
some extreme conditions. It can be stroke Schnurle ported motor, one of Cowled engine bay
done but the modeller must know the work horses of the model aircraft If we now take that same motor and
exactly what he is about. movement. In the good old days, be- place it inside a fully cowled engine
The two most common synthetic fore noise pollution laws prohibited bay on a scale model of the same
oils used, in Sydney at least, are behaviour such as I am about to de- weight, we will suddenly be confront-
Gloglide and Synlube. Klotz is an- scribe, I used to run an O.S. 60 ina ed with a vastly different situation.
other popular oil, particularly for 4- very sleek aerobatic aircraft with a Assuming that the model is of a
stroke engines, as it does not gum up very slender nose. This model was radial engined aircraft, the prop will
the valve gear as badly as castor oil. very fast which meant that the revs need to be larger to compensate for

88 SILICON CHIP
 Protect your valuable issues
Silicon Chip Binders

These beautifully-made binders

will protect your copies of SILICON
CHIP. They feature heavy-board
covers & are made from a
This shot from the Bob Young archives shows a Silvertone Weightlifter, held distinctive 2-tone green vinyl. They
here by, Wing Commander Alan Turton. This model was designed for extended hold up to 14 issues & will look
operating times and featured a completely exposed cylinder head for cooling. great on your bookshelf.
Its all up. weight was around 10 kilograms. (Photo taken in 1976).
* High quality
the shrouding effect of the larger cowl- with piston rings have vastly differ-
* Hold up to 14 issues
ing and to allow sufficient air mass ent characteristics to the lapped pis-
flow to provide some thrust from the ton/cylinder or even the ABC (alu- * 80mm internal width
prop. Thus the prop will blow out to minium/brass/chrome) piston/cylin- * SILICON CHIP logo printed in
say a 12x6 or even a 13x5. This will der liners. - gold-coloured lettering on spine &
immediately drop the revs and raise There are other factors which con- cover
the operating head temperature. Worse fuse the issue even further. Often you
still, the muffler may be enclosed in- will hear a modeller say, “but I have Price: $A11.95 plus $3 p&p each
side the cowling for the sake of ap- been using the same motor, same fuel (NZ $6 p&p). Send your order to:
pearance and model for years, so why has the Silicon Chip Publications
The muffler will also more than motor seized now?” PO Box 139
likely be a simple box type with no The answer is that the airflow pat- Collaroy Beach 2097
airflow passing through for cooling or terns inside a cowling are very com-
extraction of the hot exhaust gases. plex and even the type of manoeuvres Or fax (02) 979 6503; or ring (02)
Even worse, if the modeller tries to being practised on any one day can 979 5644 & quote your credit card
number. |
use scale exhausting and channels the alter the flow patterns enough to raise
exhaust. gases out via the scale ex- the temperature inside the cowling. Use this handy form 4
haust openings, there is a distinct risk Add to this a continual build up of
of the motor re-breathing burnt, hot cylinder and cooling fin glaze from
exhaust gases instead of fuel-rich, cool old burnt oil, a hotter than usual day
air. and a needle setting that’s just a little
Here we have a potentially lethal . leaner than usual, and bang goes an
combination. A slower flying aircraft, engine.
a motor swinging a larger load, hotter The problem of successfully cowl-
exhaust gases, possible ingestion of ing scale models is one that has
hot exhaust gases into the carburettor plagued the modelling fraternity ever
and very little cooling air over the since scale modelling began. The
cylinder head and muffler all com- basic problem in the above scenario is
bining to raise the head temperature of course the wrong choice of motor
to beyond the safe limits. The result to begin with. A Schnurle ported mo-
can be a seized motor and a very ex- tor should not be used in this situa-
pensive repair. Here the need for maxi- tion. A’ 4-stroke motor which will
mum oil is of paramount importance. swing a much larger prop at much
Different types of motors also have lower cylinder head temperatures
their own lubrication needs. Motors would be a better choice. But model-

OCTOBER 1992 89
 outdoor activity in a country setting,
Engines for remote controlled models — ctd providing physical and mental exer-
cise, companionship, low cost and
straight out fun! :
lers will insist on using what they battery, is reliable and is quite power- The only event to top it is the night
have at hand or they just simply can- ful. It still has its adherents in control scramble. The sight of 10 or 20 little
not afford to buy a new motor. What- line and free flight. fireflies buzzing around under a full
ever the reasons, the above scenario The fuel is typically 30% ether, 30% moon, pursued by sometimes inebri-
arises time after time on model flying kerosene and 40% castor oil. It can be ated and usually overweight torch
fields. a little tricky to start for beginners as bearers, can be quite entertaining. The
there are two running controls to ad- continual drift of conversation from
Model boats just, both of which interact: (1) the out of the darkness, expletives and
The problem of engine overheating regular needle valve, used to adjust the odd splash, followed by “who put
in model boats is virtually non-exist- the fuel/air mixture; and (2) the sub that #@&! river there?”, all added to
ent for a more than adequate supply piston or contra piston, which is ad- the sense of mischief and drama.
of cooling water is always at hand. In justed by the compression screw on Those were the good old days!
fact, the reverse is often the case, the top of the cylinder.
where too much water is pumped For a twiddler, this situation is dyn- Spark ignition motors
through the water scoop and the mo- amite and I have seen them land them- The spark ignition motor is for en-
tor is over-cooled to the detriment of selves in all sorts of bother because thusiasts and has a good following
performance. Some care must be ex- they are constantly twisting the com- amongst those who know exactly what
ercised in starting before the model is pression screw and the needle valve. they want from a motor. As stated last
placed in the water but, by and large, The basic rule with diesels is once month, a good spark cures many ills
the minimum oil ratios may be used the compression screw is set at the in a model engine and these motors
in a boat. running position, never change it more perform reliably and cheaply, and are
On the other hand, model cars than one half of one turn in the re- long lasting. The fuel is usually pet-
present a formidable challenge as an duced compression direction and rol/mineral oil but methanol/castor
adequate supply of air or water is never adjust the needle valve. If oil may also be used. Efficiency is
seldom available. In this case, over- weather changes or some out of the better on petrol and fuel mixes of 40:1
size heatsinks are used on the motor ordinary change forces an adjustment, — (40 parts of petrol to 1 part of oil) are
and the maximum airflow available is never move the needle more than one quite common. Methanol fuels for
piped inside the car body. Oil ratios turn. If the correct settings are lost, spark ignition usually run around 6:1
are of the utmost importance in these they can be difficult to find. This also to 10:1 (10 parts methanol to one part
‘models. Some land models, such as applies to the first start of a new en- castor oil). As a general guide, the
tanks, use closed circuit water ‘cool- gine. smaller the engine the higher the oil
content.
These motors find their way into a
lot of large models and capacities of
up to 160cc are quite common. Modi-
“A good bright spark cures many ills in a fied chain saw motors provide a very
model engine and these motors perform cheap source for these large motors.
The low cost of the fuel, combined
reliably & are quite long lasting” with the very low oil residues on the
model, are two of the favourite vir-
ing systems complete with radiator, Once set up correctly, however, the tues quoted by the enthusiast.
but they are rare. diesel can be a most reliable starter Spark ignition motors throttle well
Thus the answer to the question, and the old Mills 0.75cc diesel is the but the throttle arrangement is a little
“how much oil?”, is just simply an- most reliable motor I have ever had more cumbersome, as timing retarda-
other question, “in what applica- the pleasure of flying with. First flick tion must be provided in addition to
tion?”. starts are almost guaranteed and for the normal carburettor control. Mod-
this reason the Mills 0.75 is still first ern spark ignition motors are routinely
Types of motor choice for the power scramble, a run with electronic ignition and the
Turning now to the common types freeflight event in which the winner timing can be provided from a variety
of motors in use in models, let’s begin is the flyer logging the most minutes of sensors — Hall Effect and light beam
with the diesel. This type of motor of flight time in a 1-hour period, most sensors being the two most popular.
has largely fallen by the wayside in of which can be spent scrambling af- The throttle control moves the posi-
the field of R/C modelling. This is ter the model. This event is great fun tion of the pick-up head in relation to
largely due to the fact that it is diffi- for kids and mature age kids as well. the timing disk.
cult to provide a throttle control and It’s a pity more R/C flyers do not Because model engines run at very
if a throttle is fitted, the idle is not indulge in this event. It certainly de- high revs, magnetic pick-ups are not
reliable. Model diesels are almost in- flates much of the pomposity found particularly successful. The sensor is
variably 2-stroke. The diesel is cheap on some R/C flying fields. It brings us usually mounted on the prop driver,
to run, does not require a starting back to the original concept of an close to the hub of the prop or fly-

90 SILICON CHIP
 wheel. The electronic ignitions usu-
ally run on 4.5-6V and most model-
lers seem to use the same coils that
were fitted to the original spark inter-
rupter systems. As stated last month,
great care must be exercised when Alo. that performs with equal
using petrol-based fuels. excellence on both classical and
Spark ignition may be applied to 2- rock music is a rare speaker indeed.
stroke or 4-stroke motors. However, While this is probably the ideal loud-
there is a major advantage with petrol speaker, the sad fact is that most
fuels in 4-strokes because the very speakers are leaning towards either
one or the other type of music.
small clearances used in these motors
_ Sowhen aspeaker comes along which
can be badly fouled by burnt castor
truly performs equally well with such
oil, particularly if the motor has not
different types of music, it's no wonder
been run for some time. Burnt castor -
the critics sit up. This is what Stereo
oil ages into a rubbery compound
Buyers Guide had to say about thenew
which can melt under heat into a very
DALI 400: :
hard glaze. This is difficult to remove
"The soundstage was large, very large,
and, for this reason, after-run clean- but unlike most speakers which give a
ing is important with 4-stroke motors. large stage, the 400s didn't fluff the
The low content of mineral oil in _ Imaging inside it. The detail was surpris-
petrol-based fuels means that any resi- ing in its clarity and placement - surpris-
due is much easier to remove and ing because ourreference speakers didn't |
does not age as badly. But there is one deliverasmuch on the same tracks. This |Po
saving grace for castor oil and that is, doesn't happen very often!
it is still one of the best upper cylin- The bass was simply stunning-as clean |
der (high temperature) lubricants as we've heard ina long time, yet so |
controlled and strong, especially in the
available and you delete castor oil
lowest octave. No wool here; the 400s |
from your fuel at your own peril. The shook the foundations. The highest fre-
typical fuel mix for methanol based 4- quencies glistened....the stage showed f
strokes is 10% nitromethane, 10-12% lots of air; there was plenty of room in DALI 400 SPECIFICATIONS:
castor oil and the rest methanol. the image for all the musicians... GapInel tVDR fe i eae Bass reflex
_ The 400s won us over completely with- Woofers ............. 2 x 170mm Polypropylene
Glowplug motors out any trouble at all. These speakers TWOCKER oy cites cose csciucesesckee 25mm soft dome
By far the most popular motor for are great value in build quality, aesthe- Freqcy response (+/- 3dB) ..... 35-18, 000Hz
R/C work is the glowplug motor, ei- tic appeal, and especially in musical SONSIIVILY 656. hova acesesseccess 93qB (2.83V/1m)
ther 2-stroke or 4-stroke. The 4-stroke temperament. We're recommending X-over frq'cy........... 2500Hz (Lin.Directivity)
them without reservation”. Long Term Power Handling ........... 140 Watt
has gained greatly in popularity over Timber finishes .............. Black or mahogany
the past few years as reliability and A Ww 14
LLL?Shee een en cats $2500 per pair
performance have gradually im- nearest DALI dealer today.
proved. They are very popular with
the scale fraternity due to the more
realistic exhaust note and lower noise
levels. :
The mufflers are also much smaller
and thus easier to fit into scale mod- For a free information kit on the full range of DALI speakers, please contact Australian Distributor:
SCAN AUDIO, 52 Crown Str, Richmond VIC 3121. Ph: (03)429 2199. Fax (03)429 9309
els, while the lower head tempera- —
tures are a boon for operation inside
fully enclosed cowlings. They also the benefits obtained and there are ~ I only ever got that motor running
swing larger props at lower revs, many fine models now powered by once and then I got such a shock after
thereby further reducing noise levels these little engineering masterpieces. weeks of futile flicking that I forgot to
due to the lower tip speed of the pro- The workhorse of the model move- remove my thumb from the propeller
peller. ment is still the 2-stroke glowplug disc and it went through that thumb
They do, however, suffer from sev- engine, developed these days to give like a bacon slicer. It was a lesson I
eral drawbacks. These drawbacks in- staggering performance. Light in never forgot and I have treated all
clude higher cost, greater complexity, weight, simple in construction and motors with great respect from that
increased maintenance and lower out- easy to start, they are extremely pow- point on. Keep in mind that the Frog
put power when compared to the erful, very easy to throttle and give 160 was 1.6cc in Capacity, a tiny mo-
modern highly-developed 2-stroke reliable operation at low revs. With tor by modern standards. Motors of
engine. However, to those modellers all that, the modern glowplug motor 160cc are commonplace these days
who know exactly what they want is a far cry from the old Frog 160, my and are capable of inflicting serious
from a model, the foregoing incon- first glowplug motor purchased in the injury. They must always be treated
veniences are easily outweighed by early 1950s. with great respect. Sc
OCTOBER 1992 91
 BY BYRON MILLER

The inside story on hard disc standards

Confused about hard disc drives? Here
background on the development of
that standard.
we sort out the differences between Properly speaking, the ST-506 was
the model number ofa hard-disc drive
today’s competing disc drive standards. that Seagate Technology introduced
in 1980. The capacity of that drive
was a whopping five megabytes (SMb)!
There is a battle raging. It is a battle Three technologies — ESDI, IDE and Several years later, Seagate introduced
to assume the role of standard bearer SCSI — are vying to become the next a 10Mb monster (the ST-412) with a
for the PC hard-disc drive interface. standard. But how does the prospec- similar electrical interface, and a new
The venerable ST-506 served the PC tive buyer choose from these? In this feature called buffered seeking. This
industry well during its first decade, article, we will examine the basic ideas feature allowed the drive to “collect”
but.as we move off into the 90s with and history behind each, compare and sequential seek commands and then
increasing reliance on high-perform- contrast their strengths and weak- move the read/write head across the
ance 386, 486 and 586 systems, users nesses, and point out situations where surface of the disc in one quick,
are demanding ever-greater speed, each would be useful. smooth motion. These drives recorded
capacity and ease-of-use. data on the disc platters using modi-
Background fied frequency modulation (MFM).
Reprinted with permission from Radio- Because each of the three new drive- The combination of recording
Electronics magazine, June 1992 issue. interface standards represents, in method and electrical interface limit-
Copyright © Gernsback Publications, Inc.., some way, a response to the ST-506, ed the maximum rate at which data
1992. let’s begin with a little history and could be transferred to and from the
drive to five megabits per second (5
Mbps). By encoding the data on the
drive in the run-length limited (RLL)
format, designers could increase the
data transfer rate by 50% to 7.5 Mbps.
The capacity also increased by 50%.
Early standards
The market continued to demand
greater performance and so, in early
1983, an ad hoc committee formed
and produced the first draft of a speci-
- fication for anew drive interface. This
later became known as the Enhanced
Small Device Interface (ESDI). By
1986, ESDI became a proposed ANSI
standard and early in 1990, it became
_ officially recognised-as ANSI X3.170-
1990.
Development of the Intelligent Drive
Electronics (IDE) interface began in
1984 when Compag got together with
Western Digital to develop an ST-506
controller that mounted directly on a_
hard-disc drive. The following year,
This 85Mb hard disc drive from Western Digital has an IDE interface. It also
features 960 cylinders, 10 heads & 17 sectors per track. Compaq worked with Imprimis (now

92 SILICON CHIP
 a part of Seagate) to integrate Western
Digital circuitry onto a Wren disc
drive. Compaq subsequently shipped
the first PC with an IDE drive and
other manufacturers followed suit
shortly thereafter.
The appeal of IDE is that it elimi-
nates one PC board and most of the
interface electronics required between
a system bus and a hard disc, thereby
significantly lowering cost. Today, IDE
has pretty much displaced ST-506 as —
the standard drive interface for desk-
top PCs.
The Small Computer System Inter-
face (SCSI) can be traced back to the
Shugart Associates System Interface
(SASI), which was developed by the
same company (Shugart Associates)
and the same designer (Al Shugart)
that developed the ST-506. In fact
Shugart developed SASI around the
same time as the original ST-506.
From the beginning, the SASI inter-
face was designed to be more general
than the specialised interfaces previ-
ously developed for personal compu-
ter peripherals. Rather than using spe- that is like an enhanced ST-506. For and which reaches its maximum at 24
cialised signals to control various low- starters, ESDI uses a similar cable and Mbps.
level hardware functions, SASI/SCSI connector scheme — a 34-conductor As for disc format, ESDI drives typi-
included from the beginning a gen- control cable that is daisy-chained cally put about 34 sectors on a track
eral-purpose 8-bit parallel bus and from drive to drive, and a separate 20- (versus 17 for a standard ST-506 drive),
several control signals. The hope was conductor data cable for each drive. and they run with a 1:1 interleave.
(and still is) that a general-purpose ESDI controllers typically support In operation on a PC, most ESDI
bus would attract designers of vari- only two drives, even though the controllers emulate standard ST-506
ous types of peripherals. specification allows a maximum of controllers (eg, the ubiquitous
SASI supported several important seven. | WD1003), so no additional software
features, including daisy-chaining The signals on ESDI and ST-506 drivers are required. IDE drives also
drives and issuing high-level com- cables are similar but by no means emulate the WD1003 but SCSI drives
mands via a command block. Vendors identical, so you cannot run an ESDI always require external software driv-
quickly adopted SASI and began to drive on an ST-506 controller, nor an ers.
add features and functionality; eg, ST-506 drive on an ESDI controller.
support for Write Once Read Many Electrically, all signals are TTL com- IDE
(WORM) drives and other types of patible; the maximum length of an The IDE interface strongly resem-
devices. Similarly, vendors increased ESDI drive cable is about three me- bles the AT I/O expansion bus, as
the maximum number of devices from tres. Table 1 compares signals from shown in Table 2. There are some
two to seven. They also added the both of those systems. | important differences and there is also
ability to service several devices at Another similarity between ESDI some inconsistency in the way differ-
once. and ST-506 is that ESDI is a device- ent manufacturers use some signals.
After some evolution, the SASI in- level interface. In other words, its con- For example, IOREADY can appear
terface becameso popular that in 1986 trol signals ‘direct low-level actions . on pin 21, pin 27 or on both, depend-
the X3T9.2 ANSI working group such as selecting a drive head and ing on the disc drive manufacturer.
adopted it as standard ANSI X3.131- moving it to a desired track on the Many new system boards contain a
1986, or SCSI-1 for short. An enhanced disc. As we’ll see, SCSI and IDE de- built-in IDE interface, so there’s no
version, SCSI-2, was finalised in 1990; vices contain high-level interfaces in need to waste an expansion slot on a
it provides for wider bus widths and which the operating system issues disc controller. Inexpensive IDE adapt-
other performance-enhancing fea- commands like: “Give me a block of er cards are also available for older
tures. With that background in mind, data, as quickly as you can, and don’t systems.
let’s now look at each type of interface bother me with the details!” If you're not buying a preconfigured
in more detail. The biggest difference between ESDI system, you must check to ensure com-
and ST-506 drives is the data transfer patibility between your intended con-
ESDI basics rate, which for basic ESDI drives runs troller and hard disc drive(s). Electri-
ESDI is a disc-controller interface at twice the ST-506 rate (10 Mbps), cally, an IDE drive connects to the

OCTOBER 1992 93
 The SCSI bus consists of eight data
bits, a parity bit, nine control lines,
and a line for terminator power, as
shown in Table 3. The bus can be
driven with either single-ended or
differential line drivers. In both cases,
the bus has a total of 50 lines. A sin-
gle-ended system alternates grounds
with signals; in a differential system,
even and odd pins form differential
signal pairs. Maximum cable length
is six metres for single-ended systems
and 25 metres for differential systems.
SCSI devices on PCs and Macintoshes
usually follow the single-ended stand-
ard.
A host device issues a command to
a SCSI device via a 6-byte command
descriptor block, which specifies an
op code, a logical unit number and
block address, a length control byte,
and a control byte. The control byte
has a feature that allows multiple SCSI
commands to be sent in a single block.
Every SCSI command returns a status
byte, each bit of which has a specific
meaning (good, busy, etc).
Most devices currently-on the mar-
ket adhere to the SCSI-1 standards.
However, many new devices conform
to SCSI-2, which offers much greater
controller with a 40-conductor ribbon tee formed to define standards. By potential performance. Whereas SCSI-
cable. : early 1989, the committee had pro- 1 allows a maximum of four million
Like ESDI, the IDE interface emu- duced a draft of an AT Attachment transfers per second, SCSI-2 allows
lates a standard IBM hard-disc con- (ATA) interface standard. That docu- 10. In addition, SCSI-2 increases maxi-
troller, and an IDE drive masquerades ment has evolved quite a bit over the mum bus width from the 8-bit SCSI-1
as one with a corresponding value in years and is now well on its way to standard to an optional 16 or 32 bits.
the host system’s BIOS drive table. becoming an ANSI standard, by way The X3T9.2 committee completed the
Internally, an IDE drive typically has of the X3T9.2 working group. SCSI-2 specification in August 1990;
34 sectors per track, although transla- Like the ST-506, the IDE standard after editorial polishing, it should be
tion can make it appear to have 17, to allows a maximum of two devices on published some time this year.
match a BIOS table value. In addition, its shared bus. Drive 0 functions as SCSI can communicate with sev-
IDE drives usually operate at a 1:1 the master and drive 1 as the slave. eral different devices simultaneously.
interleave. You cannot change inter- Maximum cable length is only 45cm, For example, a SCSI host can discon-
leave, perform a low-level format, or so the drives must be situated close nect from a target device after issuing
run low-level disc utilities. | together, a command, connect to a different
The controller electronics reside at target device, give it a command, dis-
standard disc-drive I/O port addresses SCSI connect from it, and then reconnect
(IFO-IF7 and 3F0-3F7) and respond to SCSI is an intelligent system-level back to the original device. By con-
all standard commands (format track, interface that, in theory, can connect trast, IDE operates in a master/slave
read sector, write sector, etc), as well a variety of devices through a com- mode in which the interface can issue
as enhanced commands that allow for mon parallel 8-bit bus, including disc only a single command at a time.
more efficient operation. For exam- drives, optical scanners, printers, tape BIOS-level software drivers are re-
ple, commands C4 and C5 allow the drives, network adapters, and various quired to use a SCSI device in a PC,
system to read and write multiple sec- types of optical drives. It is an unfor- typically added through an adapter-
tors, respectively. However, most AT tunate fact of life that, in practice, based EPROM or a device driver
BIOS’s do not yet support the en- you’d probably end up installing a loaded at boot time. The Macintosh
hanced disc-drive commands. different SCSI host adapter for each has a built-in SCSI manager.
The IDE interface has evolved rap- type of device in your system. And it SCSI compatibility is still a prob-
idly since 1984, occasionally with dif- is difficult if not impossible to use a lem. Although electrically identical,
ferent vendors creating incompatible SCSI device intended for one system SCSI peripherals from different ven-
enhancements. Hence, in 1988 a Com- (eg, a DOS-based PC) on another (eg, a dors may be dissimilar. In other words,
mon Access Method (CAM) commit- Macintosh) system. | a SCSI drive from vendor A may work

94 SILICON CHIP
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oe Baul day MoneeGY

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fine with a given SCSI adapter, while # comprehensive data available
several: less-expensive controllers and
a SCSI drive from vendor B does not.
This is due to variations in the inter-
adapters, less cabling, improved reli- ME Technologies
ability, and higher performance. (an ME Sound Pty Ltd subsidiary )
pretation and implementation of the IDE drives (even with an adapter, if P.O. box 50, Dyers Crossing NSW 2429
SCSI command set. Hundreds of com- required) typically cost less than SCSI @ 065 50 2254,
fax 065 50 2341
mands are available, some of which and ESDI drives of comparable capac-
work differently with different types ity and performance. However, a given
of devices. system can hold a maximum of two
For example, one form of the write IDE drives, whereas seven SCSI de-
Silicon Chip Binders
command can be used for writing to a vices can be handled directly, and
Direct Access Device (DAD) and an- theoretically thousands indirectly.
other for a Sequential Access Device ESDI controllers typically allow only oof
od

(SAD). One vendor can interpret a two drives and there is no pretence of
disc drive as a DAD where another supporting other types of devices.
would interpret it as a SAD. Sending Both IDE and SCSI drives suffer
-a SAD write command to a DAD de- from various types of compatibility
vice will not work. problems that make system integra-
In response to that dilemma, the tion trickier than it should be. 3
CAM committee has defined a stand-
ard subset of SCSI commands that Recommendations
performs basic functions (read, write, Selecting a drive interface depends
etc). The resulting eleven commands on your performance needs, capacity
are known as the Common Command needs, budget, and future system a

Set (CCS) and are part of the SCSI-2 plans. If cost is the main determinant, These beautifully-made binders
standard. you'll probably want to go with IDE. If will protect your copies of SILICON
performance is paramount, ESDI or CHIP. They are made from a dis-
Compare & contrast SCSI will be your choice. tinctive 2-tone green vinyl & will
Like ST-506, ESDI is an look great on your bookshelf.
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to controller, which compiles serial little added expense turns out to be a Silicon Chip Publications
bits into 8-, 16- or 32-bit chunks of good investment. If you need a really PO Box 139
data and presents them to the host. large drive, ESDI or SCSI will also be Collaroy Beach 2097
IDE and SCSI devices, by contrast, required. If you hope to share a single
build up data bytes on the drive and interface card among multiple periph- Or fax (02) 979 6503; or ring (02)
present them to the system in 8-, 16- 979 5644 & quote your credit card
erals. SCSI may eventually help you number.
or 32-bit chunks. The advantages are realise that goal. sc

OCTOBER 1992 95
 Silicon Chip
tronics For Everyone: What You Need to Know
About Capacitors; Telephone Bell Monitor/ Trans-
mitter; 32-Band Graphic Equaliser, Pt.2; LED Mes-
sage Board, Pt.2.

BACK ISSUES
May 1989: Electronic Pools/Lotto Selector; Syn-
thesised Tom-Tom; Biofeedback Monitor For Your
PC; Simple Stub Filter For Suppressing TV Inter-
ference; LED Message Board, Pt.3; Electronics
For Everyone — All About Electrolytic Capacitors.

June 1989: Touch-Lamp Dimmer (uses Siemens

In Your Computer; Screws & Screwdrivers, What SLB0586); Passive Loop Antenna For AM Rad-
July 1988: Stereo Control Preamplifier, Pt.2; Fit-
You Need To Know; Diesel Electric Locomotives. ios: Build A Universal Temperature Controller;
ting A Fuel Cut-Off Solenoid To Your Car; Booster
Understanding CRO Probes; LED Message Board,
For TV & FM Signals; The Discolight Light Show,
Pt.1; Tone Burst Source For Amplifier Headroom December 1988: 120W PA Amplifier (With Bal- Pt.3.
Testing; What Is Negative Feedback, Pt.3; Ampli- anced Inputs), Pt.1; Diesel Sound Generator; Car
Antenna/Demister Adaptor; SSB Adaptor For July 1989: Exhaust Gas Monitor (Uses TGS812
fier Headroom — Is It A Con?
Shortwave Receivers; Why Diesel Electrics Killed Gas Sensor); Extension For The Touch-Lamp
Off Steam; Index to Volume 1. Dimmer; Experimental Mains Hum Sniffers; Com-
August 1988: Building A Plasma Display; Univer-
pact Ultrasonic Car Alarm; NSW 86 Class Electric
sal Power Supply Board; Remote Chime/Door-
bell; High Performance AC Millivoltmeter, Pt.1; January 1989: Line Filter For Computers; Ultra- Locomotives.
Discolight Light Show, Pt.2; Getting The Most Out sonic Proximity Detector For Cars; 120W PA Am-
Of Nicad Batteries; Data On Insulated Tab Triacs. plifier (With Balanced Inputs) Pt.1; How To Serv- September 1989: 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo
ice Car Cassette Players; Massive Diesel Elec- - Radio (Uses MC13024 and TX7376P) Pt.1; Alarm-
Speakerphone; trics In The USA; Marantz LD50 Loudspeakers. Triggered Telephone Dialler; High Or Low Fluid
September 1988: Hands-Free
Level Detector; Simple DTMF Encoder; Studio
Electronic Fish Bite Detector; High Performance
February 1989: Transistor Beta Tester; Minstrel Series 20-Band Stereo Equaliser, Pt.2; Auto-Zero
AC Millivoltmeter, Pt.2; Build The Vader Voice; Module for Audio Amplifiers (Uses LMC669).
Motorola MC34018 Speakerphone IC Data; What 2-30 Loudspeaker System; LED Flasher For Model
Is Negative Feedback, Pt.4. Railways; Build A Simple VHF FM Monitor (uses
MC3362), Pt.1; Lightning & Electronic Appliances; October 1989: Introducing Remote Control; FM
Using Comparators to Detect & Measure. Radio Intercom For Motorbikes (Uses BA1404 &
October 1988: Stereo FM Transmitter (Uses
TDA7000) Pt.1; GaAsFet Preamplifier For Ama-
Rohm BA1404); High Performance FM Antenna;
March 1989: LED Message Board, Pt.1; 32-Band teur TV; 1Mb Printer Buffer; 2-Chip Portable AM
Matchbox Crystal Set; Electronic House Number;
Graphic Equaliser, Pt.1; Stereo Compressor For Stereo Radio, Pt.2; Installing A Hard Disc In The
Converting A CB Radio To The 28MHz Band;
Queensland’s Powerful Electric Locomotives. CD Players; Amateur VHF FM Monitor, Pt.2; Sig- PC.
netics NE572 Compandor IC Data; Map reader -
For Trip Calculations; Electronics For Everyone — November 1989: Radfax Decoder For Your PC
November 1988: 120W PA Amplifier Module
Resistors. (Displays Fax, RTTY & Morse); Sensitive FM Wire-
(Uses Mosfets); Poor Man’s Plasma Display;
less Microphone; FM Radio Intercom For Motor-
Automotive Night Safety Light; Adding A Headset
April 1989: Auxiliary Brake Light Flasher; Elec- bikes, Pt.2; 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo Radio,
To The Speakerphone; How To Quieten The Fan

Use this handy form to order your back issues

le.See se Soma ciel eh ile cl as ame ess Hie sec ee eee.
cere ba eee eh ee seas sm a
FA I I
|
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Please send me a back issue for: 1) February 1989
(1 November 1988 (3 December 1988 () January 1989
J October 1988
March 1989 Q April 1989 Q May 1989 June 1989 July 1989 |
(3 November 1989 Ci December 1989 (J January 1990 |
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April 1990 May 1990 4 June 1990 |
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C1 September 1990 () October 1990 1 November 1990 |
QO July 1990 [3 August 1990
Q January 1991 ) February 1991 ( March 1991 April 1991
19 December 1990 4 September 1991 - |
May 1991 Q June 1991 _ July 1991 O August 1991
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) March 1992 |
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96 SILICON CHIP
 Pt.3; Floppy Disc Drive Formats & Options; The December 1990: DC-DC Converter For Car Am- UHF Modulators; Build An Infrared Light Beam
Pilbara lron Ore Railways. plifiers; The Big Escape — A Game Of Skill; Wiper Relay; Compact Solid-State Laser Pointer; Col-
Pulser For Rear Windows; Versatile 4-Digit Com- our TV Pattern Generator, Pt.2; Windows 3 & The
December 1989: Digital Voice Board (Records bination Lock; 5W Power Amplifier For The 6- Dreaded Unrecoverable Application Error; Index
Up To Four Separate Messages); UHF Remote Metre Amateur Transmitter; Index To Volume 3. To Volume Volume 4.
Switch; Balanced Input & Output Stages; Data
For The LM831 Low Voltage Amplifier IC; Install January 1991: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries, January 1992: 4-Channel Guitar Mixer; Adjust-
A Clock Card In Your PC; Index to Volume 2. Pt.1; The Fruit Machine; Two-Tone Alarm Mod- able 0-45V 8A Power Supply, Pt.1; Baby Room
ule; Laser Power Supply; LCD Readout For The Monitor/FM Transmitter; Automatic Controller For
January 1990: High Quality Sine/Square Oscilla- Capacitance Meter; How Quartz Crystals Work; Car Headlights; Experiments For Your Games
tor; Service Tips For Your VCR; Speeding Up The Dangers When Servicing Microwave Ovens. Card; The GPS Satellite Navigation System; Re-
Your PC; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs; Ac- storing An AWA Radiolette Receiver.
tive Antenna Kit; Speed Controller For Ceiling February 1991: Synthesised Stereo AM Tuner,
Fans; Designing UHF Transmitter Stages. Pt.1; Three Inverters For Fluorescent Lights; Low- February 1992: Compact Digital Voice Recorder:
Cost Sinewave Oscillator; Fast Charger For Nicad 90-Watt/Channel Stereo Power Amplifier; 12VDC/
February 1990: 16-Channel Mixing Desk; High Batteries, Pt.2; How To Design Amplifier Output 240VAC 40-Watt Inverter; Adjustable 0-45V 8A
Quality Audio Oscillator, Pt.2; The Incredible Hot Stages; Tasmania's Hydroelectric Power System. Power Supply, Pt.2; The Mobile Telephone Rev-
Canaries; Random Wire Antenna Tuner For 6 olution; Designing A Speed Controller For Electric
Metres; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs, Pt.2; March 1991: Remote Controller For Garage Models.
PC Program Calculates Great Circle Bearings. Doors, Pt.1; Transistor Beta Tester Mk.2; Synthe-
sised AM Stereo Tuner, Pt.2; Multi-Purpose 1/O March 1992: TV Transmitter For VHF VCRs; Stu-
March 1990: 6/12V Charger For Sealed Lead- Board For PC-Compatibles; Universal Wideband dio Twin Fifty Stereo Amplifier, Pt.1; Thermostatic
Acid Batteries; Delay Unit For Automatic Anten- RF Preamplifier For Amateurs & TV; A Look At Switch For Car Radiator Fans; Telephone Call —
nas; Workout Timer For Aerobics Classes; 16- The Config.Sys & Ansi.Sys Files. Timer; Updating The Resistor/Capacitor Scene;
Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.2; Using The UC3906 Coping With Damaged Computer Directories;
SLA Battery Charger IC. April 1991: Steam Sound Simulator For Model Valve Substitution In Vintage Radios.
Railroads; Remote Controller For Garage Doors,
April 1990: Dual Tracking +50V Power Supply; Pt.2; Simple 12/24V Light Chaser; Synthesised April 1992: Infrared Remote Control For Model
VOX With Delayed Audio; Relative Field Strength AM Stereo Tuner, Pt.3; A Practical Approach To Railroads; Differential Input Buffer For CROs; Stu-
Meter; 16-Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.3; Active CW Amplifier Design, Pt.2; Playing With The Ansi.Sys dio Twin Fifty Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; Understand-
Filter For Weak Signal Reception; How To Find File; FSK Indicator For HF Transmissions. ing Computer Memory; Switching Frequencies in
Vintage Radio Receivers From The 1920s. Model Speed Controllers; Aligning Vintage Radio
May 1991: Build A DTMF Decoder; 13.5V 25A Receivers, Pt.1.
May 1990: Build A 4-Digit Capacitance Meter; Power Supply For Transceivers; Stereo Audio
High Energy Ignition For Cars With Reluctor Dis- Expander; Fluorescent Light Simulator For Model May 1992: Build A Telephone Intercom; Low-
tributors; The Mozzie CW Transceiver; Waveform Railways; How To.Install Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.1; Cost Electronic Doorbell; Battery Eliminator For
Generation Using A PC, Pt.3; 16-Channel Mixing Setting Screen Colours On Your PC. Personal Players; Infrared Remote Control For
Desk, Pt.4; What To Do When Your Computer Model Railroads, Pt.2; A Look At Large Screen
Goes Bung, Pt.1. June 1991: A Corner Reflector Antenna For UHF High Resolution Monitors; OS2 Is Really Here;
TV; 4-Channel Lighting Desk, Pt.1; 13.5V 25A Aligning Vintage Radio Receivers, Pt.2.
June 1990: Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm; Power Supply For Transceivers; Active Filter For
Low-Noise Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Load CW Reception; Electric Vehicle Transmission June 1992: Multi-Station Headset Intercom, Pt.1:
Protection Switch For Power Supplies; A Speed Options; Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.1. Video Switcher For Camcorders & VCRs; Infrared
Alarm For Your Car; Design Factors For Model Remote Control For Model Railroads, Pt.3: 15-
Aircraft; Fitting A Fax Card To A Computer; What July 1991: Battery Discharge Pacer For Electric Watt 12-240V Inverter; What’s New In Oscillo-
To Do When Your Computer Goes Bung, Pt.2. Vehicles; CD Error Analyser, Pt.1; Loudspeaker scopes?; A Look At Hard Disc Drives; Video Edit-
Protector For Stereo Amplifiers; 4-Channel Light- ing On The Small Screen.
July 1990: Digital Sine/Square Generator, Pt.1 ing Desk, Pt.2; How To Install Multiple TV Outlets,
(Covers 0-500kHz); Burglar Alarm Keypad & Com- Pt.2; Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.2; PEP Monitor July 1992: Build A Nicad Battery Discharger; 8-
bination Lock; Simple Electronic Die; Low-Cost For Transceivers Station Automatic Sprinkler Timer; Portable 12V
Dual Power Supply; Inside A Coal Burning Power SLA Battery Charger; Off-Hook Timer For Tele-
Station; What To Do When Your Computer Goes August 1991: Build A Digital Tachometer; Mast- phones; Multi-Station Headset Intercom, Pt.2:
4 Bung, Pt.3; Weather Fax Frequencies. head Amplifier For TV & FM; PC Voice Recorder; Understanding The World Of CB Radio: Electron-
< Error Analyser For CD Players, Pt.2; Tuning In To ics Workbench For Home Or Lab.
August 1990: High Stability UHF Remote Trans- Satellite TV, Pt.3; Installing Windows On Your
mitter; Universal Safety Timer For Mains Appli- PC; Step-By-Step Vintage Radio Repairs. August 1992: Build An Automatic SLA Battery
ances (9 Minutes); Horace The Electronic Cricket: Charger; Miniature 1.5V To 9V DC Converter:
Digital Sine/Square Wave Generator, Pt.2; What September 1991: Studio 3-55L 3-Way Loud- The Interphone Digital Telephone Exchange, Pt.1;
To Do When Your Computer Goes Bung, Pt.4. speaker System; Digital Altimeter For Gliders & Dummy Load Box For Large Audio Amplifiers:
Ultralights, Pt.1; Build A Fax/Modem For Your Internal Combustion Engines For Model Aircraft;
September 1990: Music On Hold For Your Tel- Computer; The Basics Of A/D & D/A Conversion; Troubleshooting Vintage Radio Receivers.
ephone; Remote Control Extender For VCRs; Windows 3 Swapfiles, Program Groups & Icons;
Power Supply For Burglar Alarms; Low-Cost 3- How Glass-Mount Antennas Work. September 1992: Multi-Sector Home Burglar
Digit Counter Module; Simple Shortwave Con- Alarm; The Interphone Digital Telephone Ex-
verter For The 2-Metre Band. October 1991: Build: A Talking Voltmeter For change, Pt.2; General-Purpose 3¥2-Digit LCD
Your PC, Pt.1; SteamSound Simulator Mk.II; Mag- Panel Meter; Track Tester For Model Railroads:
October 1990: Low-Cost Siren For Burglar netic Field Strength Meter; Digital Altimeter For Build A Relative Field Strength Meter; Internal
Alarms; Dimming Controls For The Discolight; Gliders & Ultralights, Pt.2; Getting To Know The Combustion Engines For Model Aircraft, Pt.2.
Surfsound Simulator; DC Offset For DMMs; The Windows PIF Editor.
Dangers of Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Using The PLEASE NOTE: All issues from November 1987
NE602 In Home-Brew Converter Circuits. November 1991: Colour TV Pattern Generator, to June 1988 plus the August 1989 issue are now
Pt.1; Battery Charger For Solar Panels; Flashing sold out. All other issues are presently in stock.
November 1990: How To Connect Two TV Sets Alarm Light For Cars; Digital Altimeter For Gliders For readers wanting articles from sold-out issues,
To One VCR; A Really Snazzy Egg Timer; Low- & Ultralights, Pt.3; Build A Talking Voltmeter For we can supply photostat copies (or tearsheets) at
Cost Model Train Controller; Battery Powered La- Your PC, Pt.2; Error Analyser For CD Players $5.00 per article, including postage. When sup-
ser Pointer; 1.5V To 9V DC Converter; Introduc- Pt.3; Modifying The Windows INI Files. plying photostat articles or back copies, we auto-
tion To Digital Electronics; Simple 6-Metre Ama- ~ matically supply any relevant Notes & Errata at no
teur Transmitter. December 1991: TV Transmitter For VCRs With extra charge.

OCTOBER 1992 97
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Got a technical problem? Can’t understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we'll answer your question. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.

camera or from a VCR to a second

Solar cells for the flyers out there who would buy one as
they all would have the same prob- VCR. This is to avoid, as much as
sprinkler controller lem. possible, degradation of the signal
In the July issue of SILICON CHIP, At the moment they use assorted when editing our video masterpieces
you described an 8-station automatic pivoted boards and wires leading to a from the original to a more viewable
sprinkler controller, this being oper- bell, but most have to sit out in the format.
ated via a 24VAC plugpack. cold for hours waiting and watching I have built up such a project from
Would it be possible to operate this to see them land. one of the other magazines, but that
controller via a solar cell, either di- I also would like to keep it simple was published in 1983, and I am sure
rectly or to charge up a battery (then and at a reasonable price so that the much progress has been made in this
to use the battery to operate the con- average person can afford it and put it field since then. As the video camera
troller)? (J. P., Reservoir, Vic). together themselves. Most pigeon fan- has found such widespread accept-
e It would be possible to run the cir- ciers would have 240V AC in their ance, I feel that this would be a project
cuit from a 12V battery which could pigeon lofts for lights, so the sensor with wide appeal. (J. L., Biggenden,
be charged with a suitable panel. How- device could run off a 12V plugpack Qld).
ever, you would be wise to discuss supply. (D. P., Port Pirie, SA). e Weare reluctant to publish a video
this idea further with the author of e We suggest you build the Infrared enhancer since today’s VHS HQ VCRs
the article before deciding to purchase Light Beam Relay featured in our De- already have enhancement built in.
the kit. cember 1991 issue. It’s as light as a Further enhancement tends to em-
feather, easy to perch in some precari- phasise noise or grain in the picture.
When the pigeons come ous position and will sound a buz-
zard — sorry, buzzer — when the pi- Running a refrigeration
home to roost geon lands. Alternatively, you can use
plant in the bush
My Dad flies racing pigeons and the on-board relay to sound a bell or
has asked me to build him a remote siren. We have a power supply problem
control sensor device for use around on our remote property where we have
neither mains nor generator power
the yard and inside the house, to de- Video enhancer available. The former are too far away
tect when a bird lands and goes
through the trap.
for tape dubbing to even consider the cost of lines,
I am only new to electronics but I wish to enquire if you have ever while the latter is now being looked at
would like your help. Perhaps SILI- published or intend to publish a video since finance may be available.
CON CHIP might even produce a kit for enhancer or booster for boosting the Because we must have an installa-
this as there are thousands of pigeon signal when dubbing video from a tion of about 15kVA for our refrigera-
tion plant, we think that we may find
a solution through either or both of
the following propositions. Please tell
us what the prospects are from your
point of view, when taking the fol-
lowing into account.
All enclosed refrigeration compres-
sor units of this size are only available
for 3-phase supply. Another aspect of
our choice is that the demand needs
to be met for part daytime only. If
necessary, we could install a rectifier
and include a small capacity of stor-
age batteries for the relatively small
night-time demands, reconverting DC
to AC by one of the newer small-
capacity static devices.
We have heard that running 3-phase
motors from single-phase 240V AC
supplied by a diesel generator is pos-
sible with reasonable efficiency. The

98 SILICON CHIP
 loss through running an intermediate
single motor essential for such a
scheme is apparently small. We would
thus provide for the required 3-phase
demand as well as retaining single-
phase running for all normal home
appliances and avoid the intermedi-
ate battery storage link.
Some years back, I saw this “rope
trick” performed in a dairy plant op-
eration. There was only one proviso
and that was that the intermediate
rotary device had to be rotation-started
byahand winder to gain the required
starting momentum.
We understand that by running a 3-
phase diesel generator, we are up for
‘higher capital as well as running costs
because of the much lower demand
utilisation during leisure time. Par-
tial load running of a single-phase
generator of adequate capacity is
stated to be less inefficient than that
of a 3-phase plant.
We have also seen that solar voltaic
cells have now come down to near
$20 per watt. For a no-fuel cost instal-
lation but with slightly higher capital and the first article on a suitable 2kW still find the interference troublesome,
outlay, we could generate three single 24VDC to 240VAC sinewave inverter then you could try adding a ground-
supplies of adequate power. By using is in this month’s issue. plane beneath the PC board.
some electronic device we should be The small vertical oscillations be-
able to turn this source into an ad- Interference in the TV tween colour bars are normal and are
equate 3-phase power supply. (P. L., an artefact of the colour generator IC.
Forster, NSW). pattern generator In practice, this should not present a
e With regard to your first question I have built the Colour TV Pattern problem when testing TV sets or moni-
on running 3-phase motors from a Generator described in the November tors.
single-phase supply, we don’t think it and December 1992 issues and I have
is possible at all. Single-phase motors encountered two problems. The first
have a starter winding which is
Remote control for
is suspected RF interference from the
switched out of circuit when the mo- modulator causing vertical bars like model trains
tor comes up to speed. 3-phase mo- fish scales moving randomly up and My train club intends to build five
tors do not have this and since only down the screen. This can be varied IR Train Controllers as described in
one of their three windings could be by putting a hand or test leads on the April, May & June 1992 issues, for
powered, the whole scheme appears various parts of the circuit. I have use on our NTRAK layout at public
to be unworkable. tried decoupling the supply to the displays. As we can only code three
Nor is the concept of running a modulator but it made no difference. units on the 615kHz resonators, we
15kVA refrigeration plant from solar When colour bars are selected, there have sourced some 500kHz resona-
power a practical proposition. At your are vertical oscillations running verti- tors, Assuming that these will work,
suggested cost of $20 per watt, the cally and moving up and down be- would the 100pF capacitors at pins
solar cells alone would add up to at tween all the bars. They can be al- 16 and 17 of IC1 be correct for 500kHz?
least $30,000 and then you would tered in frequency by changing the If not, what is the formula to come up
need a battery bank which would setting of VC1 but the oscillations are with the correct value?
probably cost a few thousand at least. still present. They disappear when If we place the receivers at one end
Add in the cost of the heavy duty the generator is switched to grey scale. of the layout and a VCR IR extender
electronics needed to convert DC to 3- What do you suggest? (R. B., Broken (as described the September 1992 is-
phase AC and you probably would Hill, NSW). sue) at the other end (about 14.5 me-
not have much change out of $50,000 e The RF interference you are encoun- tres), would the extender handle sig-
in total. Compared with that, a diesel tering is due to direct radiation from nal from all five units or would the
powered 3-phase generator would be the pattern generator ICs into your TV signals be unsuitable for the receiver
a real bargain. set. You can minimise this by keeping section of the extender? The idea is to
However, a solar powered 240VAC the pattern generator as far away as control the trains when a direct line
facility capable of say 2kW is quite a possible from the TV set, by using a to the controllers is not clear (people
practical proposition in remote areas long lead from the modulator. If you in the way, etc). Also the distance

OCTOBER 1992 99
 r ae th ELON PLY eT OE TTT. ONT PERE, FEU G LT RPES ROME TTY OT ONT OTT EFT

blow up. I would like to know several

things. |
(1) Can you charge two 6V 10A.h
batteries connected in series?
(2) Can you leave the charger on
permanently? :
(3) Can you have it on charge and
also run it as a UPS and drain about
5A continuously without anything go-
ing up in smoke?
(4) Can you modify the kit so that it
will drain current from the charger
and the battery but still charge the
battery, and if so can you publish the
updated version?
I would also like a charger with
short-circuit protection so that if you
short it out, it cuts out but turns back |
on after the short is connected. (J. E.,
Blackburn South, Vic).
e The circuit can be used with batter-
ies on permanent float charge. In this
way, the charger and/or batteries can
power the load permanently. It is pos-
sible to charge two 6V batteries con-
nected in series and you can leave the
charger on permanently. In other
words, there is no need to modify the
kit to perform the functions listed in
may be too great for the transmitters’ while we have not tried the VCR IR your first four questions, although it
range. : extender with this circuit, there is no would only be able to supply about
To tie in with the throttles and IR reason why it should not work. 3A continuously.
remote controls, could you also come In theory, the IR extender should be It is not possible to provide short
up with the circuits for a digital volt- able to handle a number of signals circuit protection for a battery charger
meter (0-15V or thereabouts) and a simultaneously since they are coded which is permanently connected
digital current meter, both using FND- differently and each would employ a across a battery. If you short out the
500 7-segment displays or similar as different ceramic resonator. In prac- output device then, naturally, the bat-
the readouts? The voltmeter may also tice, though, we think you would be tery will supply a very heavy current
be popular with car owners. A design asking for trouble and it is possible — there is no avoiding this. On the
which fits into cutouts in the plastic that, if two or more transmitters were other hand, if you inadvertently con-
face of a small zippy-box with the activated simultaneously, nothing at nected the battery around the wrong
circuit board behind would be good. all would happen or perhaps, at worst, way, then fuse F2 and diode D2 will
The unit could be kept in the box or the wrong response may occur. That automatically protect the charger
the face of the box could be mounted is probably a good argument for plac- against the heavy current that would
(screwed) on existing panels or dash ing the receivers away from each other otherwise flow. Also, if you shorted
boards. : so that the transmitters are not aimed the output of the charger before it was
at exactly the same point. connected to the battery, then again
Another thought, regarding the IR
We have produced an LCD circuit fuse F2 would protect the charger.
extender: could it handle a number of
signals, from five transmitters simul- which can measure voltage or current
taneously, or would the signals be- and this was published in the Sep- Notes & errata
come mixed if transmitted at the same tember 1992 issue. It should be ideal
for your purpose. 40W Inverter, February 1992: at least
time, even though on different fre-
one retailer has supplied kits that in-
quencies? (A. M., Browns Plains, Qld).
cluded MTP3055A Mosfets instead of
e It should not be necessary to change Questions on the SLA the specified MTP3055E devices. Un-
the 100pF capacitors to suit different battery charger fortunately, these are not equivalent
resonators; the circuit is universal.
I wish to build the 6/12V SLA Bat- devices, as the “A” version includes
We would not recommend the use of
the VCR IR extender to increase the tery Charger featured in the August an internal fast reverse recovery di-
range as it should be sufficient by 1992 issue of SILICON CHIP but, look- ode whereas the “E” version has a
ing at the price of the UC3906 IC, I controlled avalanche diode. If you use
itself. Our prototype had a range of at
least 10 metres and this should be don’t want to rely on an IC to trickle the MTP3055A device in this circuit,
charge my batteries 365 days a year it will “blow up”. Do not substitute
enough if you place the receivers cen-
and just hope and pray that it doesn’t for the specified MTP3055E devices.
trally on the layout. On the other hand,
100 SILICON CHIP
 * Visit alltherecent exhibitions around Australia
* All technical detail explained =

FOB PERTH © : Car otys A

A VA i]
fbA B L ad te) Wa This is a high quality Broadcast Production featuring: Available from:
RESERVE ELECTRONICS Pty. Ltd., CHOO-CHOO-CAM _ ACTIVEMEDIA IMAGES
24 BRISBANE St. PERTH W.A ;
PHONE 09-32897
ACN 008 822455 55 FAX 09-3288791 A Micro Camera mounted
POBox 90, Riverwood, N.S.W. 2210
zu one:ae (02)pee 95
atop locos as they move around the layout 3
TERRY SEMICONDUCTOR INC. 60 minutes Running Time Cheque, Money Order, Bankcard, MasterCard
or Visa

We'llshow you | °
from notebook > tt
computers \. Uy Sie eee i |
to software iews = ~~ oF
solutions at the - :
biggest computer
exhibition in
Queensland.
September 30: 10am - 8pm
At Computer Expo you'll see new and
October 1: 10am - 8pm
exciting technology from Australia and | eee SHOWGROUNDS
overseas under one huge roof at the | October 2: 10am - 9pm
QUEENSLAND GREGORY TCE October 3: 10am - 6pm
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane.
: from PC’s? and laptops
Everything COMPUTER BRISB7 ANE ADMISSION: 2 6
Pnbouagh to printers and software will oe // Salas
on display — so make sure you get there. aaaetar asPOaman neesren emcee te ot cen
Box 3232 South Brishane MAC Qld 4101

OCTOBER 1992 101

 PE ise RL a A oi ER TE NR
aL yl ola id

Cash in your surplus gear. Advertise it here in Silicon Chip.

sal. Please ring Mogens Hansen (03) source code. Once only initial outlay for
ANTIQUE RADIO 386 8357. : the short form kit $76. Additional CPU
blank boards $35. For more informa-
ANTIQUE RADIO restorations. Your FOR SALE tion, send a 45c stamp to Don
McKenzie, 29 Ellesmere Crescent,
one-stop radio repair shop. Specialising
in restoring vintage radios, including WEATHER FAX programs for IBM XT/ Tullamarine 3043. Phone (03) 338 6286.
chassis rewiring, re-condensing, quality ATs *** “RADFAX2” $35 is a high reso-
new parts, valves, valve sockets, lution, shortwave fax, Morse & RTTY KIT REPAIRS: fixed price servicing for
speakers, power & audio transformers. receiving program. Suitable for CGA, all kits, no job too small, only quality
Secondhand radio dials & parts for most EGA, VGA and Hercules cards (state - components used. Ph (02) 649 2134
brands & models. About 400 radios in which). Needs SSB HF radio & Radfax after 50m.
stock for sale, restoration & parts. Every decoder. *** “SATFAX” $45 is a NOAA,
restored wireless is covered by a 2- Meteor & GMS weather satellite picture SIMPLE IBM PC DATA ACQUISITION
year warranty on parts & labour. We receiving program. Needs EGA or VGA & control: C001 — plans & software fora
‘restore damaged woodwork & cabinets plus “WEATHER FAX” PC card. *** 1-chip 8-channel analog to digital con-
“MAXISAT” $75 is similar to SATFAX verter that plugs into the printer port.
& French polish (approx. 40 coats).
but needs 2Mb expanded memory Suitable for laptops or desktops, $25.
Vintage car radios available for sale or
restoration. Repairs done on tape decks. (EMS 3.6 or 4.0) and 1024 x 768 SVGA e C002 — a small 15° per step, unipolar
Open Sat. 10am-5pm; Sun. 12.30-5pm. card. All programs are on 5.25-inch or stepper motor plus plans for a 1-chip
3.5-inch disks (state which) & include printer port interface & software source
109 Cann St, Bass Hill, NSW 2197.
Phone (02) 645 3173 BH or (02) 726 documentation. Add $3 postage. Only code showing how to drive the motor in
1613 AH. from M. Delahunty, 42 Villiers St, New wave, full-step & half-step modes, $25.
Farm, Qld 4005. Phone (07) 358 2785. e C003 — plans & software for a remote
WANTED 4-button keypad. Uses the serial port,
MS-DOS PC PRINTER port driven Z80 no external power required, $25. All
development system. Includes Fast Z80 prices include post & packing within
WANTED: Manual and disc for EPROM
, Z8TBasic and lots of Australia. To order, send cheque or
programmer — JMC Promac2 Univer- Cross Assembler
money order to Lambda Systems, PO
Box 259, Unanderra, NSW 2526, or
send SSAE for more info.
|
|
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES SECURITY ALARM COMPONENTS:
$10.00 for up to 15 words plus 40 commercial quality alarm panels, de-
| Advertising rates for this page: Classified ads:
ads (casual rate): $20 per column tectors, cable, everything for complete
for each additional word. Display
| cents
centimetre (Max. 10cm). Closing date: five weeks prior to month of sale. alarm system. DIY kits. Discounted
| To run your classified ad, print it clearly on a separate sheet of paper & send it prices. 4-core alarm cable $35 per
| with your cheque or credit card details to: Silicon Chip Classifieds, PO Box 139, 100m. 2-core alarm cable (figure-8) $15
/
| Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Or fax the details to (02) 979 6503. per 100m. PIR detectors pulse count
$59 ea. Horn speakers $12.50 ea. Mail
| order service send SAE for free price
| Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $__ or please debit my
list to Security Distributors, 141 Todds
Q Visa Card. | Q) Master Card Rd, Lawnton, Qld 4501. Phone (07)
7 (J Bankcard
882 0002.
|
| cone £1 | LI ee SURPLUS COMPONENTS: 747CJ DIL
ceramic $1 ea or 25 for $20; 150Q 10W
| resistors $1 ea or 10 for $8; Bourns
| Signature Card expiry date / 3386 trimpots 5kQ or 10kQ, 50c ea or
| 10 for $4; Eska 3AG 10A ceramic fuse,
| Name . packet of 10 $1.50; ex-computer
EPROMs, erased and blank tested,
| 2732, 2764, 27128, $2 ea or 10 for $15;
Street
| Valves, ex-government, new 12AT7 $8
| Suburb/town ea, 5Y3GT $6 ea, KT66 $25 ea, GAN8A
| $9 ea, 6BL8 $8 ea. Many other valves

102 SILICON CHIP

 MEMORY EXPANSION Plans Kits and PCBs
100W Valve Amp PCB
PRICES AT SEPT 9TH, 1992 Valve Amp PSU PCB
SIMM IBM PS.2 Universal PSU (+5/+12V) Dual Supply
LOOKING FOR SEMI'S? 1Mb x 5 70ns $46 50/55/70 2Mb $115 Digi 125 100W amp/pair
We stock both Japanese & European 1Mb x 3 70ns $42 70/35 4Mb $180
ETI 1623 PIA for PCs
types for TV, VCR and 1Mb x 8 100ns $37
4Mb x 9 80ns $164 TOSHIBA Max I/O Board
Audio applications. 4Mb x 8 80ns $152 T3200SX 2Mb $135 Max Kit
(For SIP add $1.00) T44/6400 4Mb $350 LM380 3.5 amp PCB
Transistors- T5200 2Mb $135 AEM 35W amp kit
2SA 2SB 2SC 2SD DRAM DIP
2SK BC BD MJ 2N etc. 1x 1Mb 70ns $5 MAC AGC Amp PCB
256 x 4 70ns $5 16Mb QUADRA $780
41256 80ns $2 2Mb SI & LC $83
Z-80 Miniprocessor PCB
as Integrated Circults- 6502 Miniprocessor PCB
~ ANBAHALALBLCLMM 1Mb x 4 (stat) $23 4Mb P’Book $260
6809 Miniprocessor PCB
MB STK TA TDA UPC UPD etc. ga DRIVES BOARDS 8048/8049 Developers board complete B&T
SEAG 130Mb 19M $438 8Mb AT W2MB $232 IBM PC Prototype PCB
Phone or fax for a price list SEAG 44Mb 28M $260 8Mb PS2 W2MB $234 EPROM Programmer
Wagner Electronic Services Pty Ltd. C’NER 200/12 $750 4Mb HP Laser W2MB $155
C’NER 80/19 $335 ESL-1 Electrostatic speaker kit/pair inc manual
305 Liverpool Road Ashfield, NSW 2131 8Mb PANAS W2MB_ $170
1Mb TI W1iMB $80 ESL-1 Assembly Manual
Ph: (02) 798 9233 Fax: (02) 798 001 7.
Sales tax 20%. Overnight delivery. Credit cards welcome. P.C. Computers (08) 332 6513
Ring for Latest Prices 36 Regent St, Kensington SA.

PELHAM
Tel: (02) 980 6988 Fax: (02) 980 6991
1st Floor, 100 Yarrara Rd, PO Box 382, Pennant Hills, NSW 2120. FIX-A-KIT
KIT REPAIR & CONSTRUCTION
and components available. Send SAE 3 MONTHS WARRANTY ON REPAIRS
12 MONTHS WARRANTY ON CONSTRUCTION
for list. Open Thursday, Friday 4pm- TRANSFORMER REWINDS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
8pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 143 Grays Rad, ALL TYPES OF TRANSFORMER REWINDS
Enoggera Qld. Ph (07) 355 1314 or HYCAL ELECTRONICS
_ (07) 855 1880 AH, Fax (07) 855 1014. TRANSFORMER REWINDS Design, Manufacture & Repair of Electronic
Equipment
Reply Paid No.2, PO Box 438, Singleton, NSW
_ Visa, Bankcard, Mastercard available 2330. Ph: (065) 76 1291. Fax: (065) 76 1003.
_ for fax or phone orders over $20. (02) 633 5477
Secontronics, PO Box 2215, Brookside
Qld 4053. power lightweight portable, operates plus instructions. Special introductory
from disposable or rechargeable cells. price $85. * CRYSTAL OSCILLATOR
HARD DRIVE: Maxtor voice coil IDE- Includes AC adaptor/cell charger, Carry MODULES: small 4-terminal metal en-
= AT. Factory warranty. Great bargain. case and probe. 10MHz bandwidth, cased crystal controlled oscillator mod-
New 120Mb $560, 200Mb $860. Mail 10mV sensitivity per/div. As new $550. ules similar to the ones used on com-
4 order welcome. Altec Pacific. BH (03) Tom (02) 630 1434 AH. puter cards, four frequencies: 1, 20, 10
800 2007. Fax (03) 800 3363. AH (03)
& SOMHz, $7 ea or 5 for $25. * GAS
801 4391 Wantirna. VISIBLE LASER DIODE BARGAIN: LASER: a brand new 1mW visible red
brand new 5mW 670nm laser diode, Helium-Neon laser tube (632.8nm) plus
| FOR SALE: Oscilloscope, Thandar, low plus a collimating lens, plus a driver kit, a 12V kit supply to power it. $110 for the

LOCAL TRADES & SERVICES

JV Tuners — Repairs Transformer Rewinds T. A. Mowles

® Shorted Turns Tester
® High Voltage Probe Printed circuit boards for the
® Degaussing Wand All types of transformer rewinds. hobbyist.
® Remote Control Tester kor service & enquiries contact:

(02) 4011393 Fax (02) 7741154 (065) 761291 Fax (065) 761003 (08) 3265590

lan J Truscott’s KEM Electronics Silicon Chip

Electronic World Printed circuit board assembly,
switchmode power supplies repaired,
For service & repair work To advertise your products or
Design work from start to finish.
services, please call Sharon on
Mail or credit card facilities Ring anytime 9am-9pm Mon-Sun.

WAIMPARALOS FP DatIRI ESbet), CRU RR (02) 9795644 (018) 285532

OCTOBER 1992 103

 OST eerSa oT

i
| Advertising Index
| SILICON CHIP BINDERS Active Media Images ............... 101
| These beautifully-made binders will | PROTIG 5s cies evi Kadi as dev aceon 80-82
| protect your copies of SILICON CHIP. | Antique Radio Restorations ..... 102
They feature heavy-board covers
| and | A-One Electronics .............+ 62-63
are made from a distinctive 2-
| tone green vinyl that will look great | Breakthrough Computers .......... 67
| on your bookshelf. | David Reid Electronics ................ 3
| * High quality. | Dick Smith Electronics.......... 52-55
| | Economic Electronics ..............+. 76
| * Hold up to 14 issues | EEM Electronics ..............cccccee 103

| * 80mm internal width. © | Electronic Toy services ............ 103

| | Electronic World ..............++ 45,103

| * SILICON CHIP logo printed in gold- | Emona Instruments .............++ 51

coloured lettering on spine & cover. | Geoff Wood Electronics ............... 7
| Hewlett Packard ..........ccccee IFC
ore : |
SILICON CHIP binder(s) at $A11.95 plus Hycal Instruments ............. 77,103
| Yes! Please send me |
Jaycar Electronics ..... 33-36,69-72
|
$A3 p&p each (NZ $A6 p&p). |
order for $ or please debit my | OM TUMORS occ. cievddolcosersuneaSspebenet 103
| Enclosed is my cheque/money KT TeChnology .........::sseceeeeeeeees IBC
| Q Bankcard LJ Visa Card (_} Master Card | WMACSOIVICO iii. cies sie cicces cite ccaseveee 40
| | M.E. Technologies ............eee 95
|
|
| on itr Tiere |
Oatley Electronics .............. 47,103
PC Compute’ .......:ccccscceesereees 103
| | PTE Si saiecadisstiasiesias eereeeasvn- 103
| Signature Card expiry date / | Peter C. Lacey Services............. 42
| | Philips Test & Measurement ...... 21
|
Name | Qld Exhibition Services ........... 101
| Street | RCS Radio ............. Fi conte cade ans 104
| | Reserve Electronics ..............+. 101

| Suburb/town Postcode | Resurrection Radio..............:06 41

| | Rod Irving Electronics .......... 10-15

| SILICON CHIP PUBLICATIONS | Sanyo Australia ............:ee 28-29

| PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097, Australia. | SCAN AUGIO ....cccsessssseactexssccnecsanss 91

|
Phone (02) 979 5644 Fax: (02) 979 6503. | Silicon Chip Binders ........... 89,104
St Lucia Electronics ................0+ 85
Tecnico Electronics ................ OBC
Certified p&p Australia $5, NZ (airmail) TONCOM 92 iso ciscaseiceicavetses vsease 86
pair. * SWITCHED MODE POWER
SUPPLIES: compact enclosed ex- $10. Oatley Electronics, PO Box 89, Tecs Electronics & Computers ....5
Telecom supplies. Dimensions 300 x Oatley, NSW 2223. Phone (02) 579 TEKIOTIN opcccciendeees enarsocecueceseesen- 27
90 x 180mm. Unregulated input 30- 4985. Fax: (02) 570 7910. Transformer Rewinds .............. 103
50V, regulated output of 12V @ 6A or Wagner Electronic Services .... 103
12V @ 8Aor 5V @ 40A. Three different
units. Limited stocks @ $28 ea. P+P $7
(heavy!). Specify type when ordering PC Boards
(item No. 0145). * STEREO HEAD- Printed circuit boards for SILICON
PHONES: similar to ones used for CHIP projects are made by:
stereo “Walkmans”. Clearance @ $2 a
e Jemal Products, 5 Forge St,
pair. * TV ANTENNA: dual telescopic Welshpool, WA 6106. Phone (09)
TV antenna similar to ones used on RCS Radio Pty Ltd is the only com-
350 5555.
many portable TVs. Clearance @ $3 pany that manufactures and sells
ea. * KIT SPECIAL - ELECTRONIC every PC board and front panel. e Marday Services, PO Box 19-189,
KEY: use it to activate door strikers for published in SILICON CHIP, ETI and Avondale, Auckland, NZ. Phone 88
entering buildings, car alarms, central EA. 5730.
locking - the most secure key ever (see RCS Radio Pty Ltd, e RCS Radio Pty Ltd, 651 Forest
EA July 92). Two keys and one decoder 651 Forest Rd, Bexley 2207. Rd, Bexley, NSW 2207. Phone (02)
kit for a total of $49.90. Major cards Phone (02) 587 3491 587 3491.
accepted with phone and fax orders.

104 SILICON CHIP

 KT’ Technology ts proud to announce
its dazzling new production of

66
... well equiped and a good performer. 99

APC Magazine

Starring ; _
KT QAT * KT 386SX-20 * KT 386-25 * KT 386-33
KT 486-33 * KT 386 NOTEBOOK
e New Costumes e All Australian Support Cast
Our Promoter is seeking Dealers wishing to present this talented new range of PC
Performers to the Australian Public. Don’t miss your opportunity to book your place in this
ever expanding dealer network.
Building 7 Central Boulevard, Tel: (03) 646 5755
Portside Business Park
Port Melbourne 3207 Fax: (03) 646 7997
 o

An APPA Multimeter with shock é There are four feature-packed

mounting, thick wall design and watertight meters in the APPA 90 range to suit your budget.
seals will not only survive the fall but Fax us for complete technical details.
continue to provide accurate measurements.
The high contrast, large digit liquid CS — LJoshua amt gto
crystal display and analogue bar graph, Sydney Fax: (02) 805 4433 Tel: (02) 805 4422
compliment the practical features. These Melbourne Fax: (03) 881 3688 Tel: (03) 8813683
eee a unique probe clamp for two- |Fax us faethe Bic
anded measurement and test lead storage, Nine _
input terminals colour keyed to function
Organisation
switch and a versatile tilt stand.
All models are designed to meet Class I Address _ a .
IEC348, UL1244 safety standardsandtoturn [| Picode i
off automatically when you forget.
|Application Interest eee eee eee |
Also available from @ NSW GEOFF WOOD ELECTRONICS (02) 428 4111
Newcastle DIXONTECH (049) 69 5177 @ Vic STEWART ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS (03) 543 3733
ACT GEORGE BROWN ELECTRICAL (06) 280 4355 @ S.A. C.L. BURTON & ASSOC (08) 293 8955 @ W.A. PRO-SPEC. (09) 362 5011 © Qld ST LUCIA (07) 252 7466

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