Silicon Chip 11 PDF

NOVEMBER 2009
ISSN 1030-2662
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12 Review: Quantumdata 780 HDMI Tester
It tests HDMI cables, generates test patterns and provides digital audio test
signals for DACs and home-theatre receivers - by Leo Simpson
18 Milling Prototype PC Boards With The Roland EGX-350

Need a PC board in a hurry? The EGX-350 can route, drill and cut out a
complete board without the need for messy chemicals - by Mauro Grassi
Milling Prototype PC Boards With
37 Moore's Law Marches On At Intel The Roland EGX-350 - Page 18.
Moore 's Law predicts that the transistor density of integrated circuits doubles
every two years. The theory is still alive and well at Intel.
63 Picaxe Update: The Latest Releases

Here's a rundown on the latest Picaxe updates and releases, including the
eagerly-awaited Picaxe-20X2 - by Clive Seager
24 WIB: Web Server In A Box, Pt.1

It's a web server, FTP server & SMTP email client in a box and is accessed
using a web browser. Use it to store a personal website, to monitor four analog
inputs (with logging) and to control four digital outputs - by Mauro Grassi
38 Twin-Engine Speed Match Indicator For Boats

Easy-to-build project uses a meter that is centred when both engines are
running at the same RPM - by John Clarke
66 High-Quality Stereo Digital-To-Analog Converter, Pt.3

Final article shows you how to assemble the modules into a low-profile steel
case and get it all going (including the remote control) - by Nicholas Vinen
82 GPS Synchronisation For Clocks With Sweep Hands

A few simple mods let you use the GPS Synchronised Clock circuit with a
sweep second hand that silently glides around the dial- by Geoff Graham
90 A Dead-Simple Masthead Amplifier

This new VHF-UHF TV/FM masthead amplifier could just be the answer to
your digital (and analog) woes - by Branko Justic & Ross Tester Twin-Engine SpeedMatch
Indicator For Boats - Page 38.
46 Circuit Notebook
(1) Solar-Powered Garden Lighting System; (2) Relay Switcher For Testing
Diodes & Transistors; (3) Power Supply With Balanced Rails; (4) Modulated
Oscillator For AM Radio Alignment; (5) RIAA Valve Preamplifier
76 Serviceman's Log
Unforeseen consequences for e-waste charges - by the Serviceman
100 Vintage Radio

The development of AC mains power supplies, Pt.2 - by Rodney Champness
2 Publisher's Letter 105 Order Form

4 Mailbag 106 Ask Silicon Chip
23 Subscriptions 109 Notes & Errata
97 Product Showcase 110 Market Centre
siliconchip. com.au NOVEMBER 2009 1

Publisher's Leller
High-speed broadband in Australia
will be an expensive farce
Back in May 2009 I wrote about the federal govern-
ment's proposed fibre-optic broadband network and
how it would probably be a white elephant. I also
asked the question whether it was likely to use above-
ground cable, like the present Optus cable network.
Well , already my misgivings are being confirmed.
The rollout of the new broadband network has be-
gun in Tasmania, in a $700 million program under
the auspices of Digital Tasmania. They informed a
recent Senate select committee that 96% of the proposed network would be
via overhead cable. Aurora Energy, the state-owned power retailer, will string
the fibre optic cable along its network of overhead power lines.
Well, what an absolute joke. Is this what the rest of Australia will get for a
$43 billion investment? Talk about a third-world solution! Haven't we learnt
anything from the rollout of the Optus cable TV network in the 1990s? Those
eyesore cables are still there and no doubt they will still be there for decades
to come!
At least, the trial BPL (broadband over power lines) experiment seems to
have been discredited (or has it?).
You don't have to be a genius to see the drawbacks of overhead cables. Apart
from being an eyesore, they are subject to breakage and interruption of service
every time a power pole is knocked over by a car or by trees in storms - this
happens very frequently in Tasmania. The quoted reason, by Digital Tasmania,
is that overhead cables can be rolled out much more quickly than if they were
to be buried in trenches. Well, that may be true but it is a half-baked solution.
If cable is to be run, it should be underground.
I suppose the next part of this farce is that we will find that the vaunted
network speeds will not be nearly so fast as promised. Or maybe the upload
speed will be crippled as it presently is by Telstra and all the other networks.
Unless the speeds are a great deal faster than is presently available from ADSL2,
there is little point in providing yet another cable network, whether or not it
is based on optical fibres. By the way, does anyone know what speeds have
been promised?
In any case, we have to ask why the rollout in Tasmania will be so incred-
ibly expensive at $700 million. That's $1400 for every inhabitant of this little
island or about $3500 for every Tasmanian household. Just how expensive is
this optical fibre cable anyway?
Thinking about it another way, this might be one of the reasons why the
federal government wants to dismember Telstra. Do they want to get cheap
access to Telstra's underground ducts? Why not just give $10 billion or so to
Telstra and they can put in the broadband network they originally proposed (at
a somewhat cheaper price)? After all, the government will need access to the
ducts in all those suburbs and towns where all cables are presently underground.
And where cables are above ground, why should we have yet another cable
strung along the power poles? In my own suburb of Collaroy for example, we
have Optus and Telstra cables, the phone cable and the po\ver cables - it is
pretty unsightly.
This is yet another bungle by the federal government. Don't they have anyone
in the Labor Party or in the bureaucracy who has any sort of understanding of
finance or business who can perform a rigorous cost/benefit analysis? Appar-
ently, they have very little technical expertise but this is tragic.
Leo Simpson
2 SILICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Letters to
the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Lld may edit and has the
right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to submissions
to "Ask SILICON CHIP" and "Circuil Notebook".
Leo panel meter on the pedestrian crossing. Both cars

reads to 30V were going slowly.
In the "Ask SILICON CHlP" pages The causes of nearly all of the ac-
of the August 2009 issu e P. W. \vas cidents I have seen have been obser- of Studies has reclassified the subject
enquiring about an LCD panel meter vational and parking violations NOT of Industrial Technology, at the HSC
that could read to 30Y. Jaycar have a speed. They include drivers double level, as a category A subject. It is
clock/voltmeter which is supposed parking, parking in no stopping zones, now on par with the sciences and
to handle 24V systems. It is on all the in the middle of the street even, push- maths in terms of subject status and
time with switchable backlight and ing in, blocking bus lanes and turning due recognition by universities. This
battery condition lights. The Jaycar circles, opening doors, making U- includes the focus area of electronics
part number is XCOllB. turns , reversing and general stupidity. technologies of course.
I am using one in my car to monitor The point of my letter is that it Well done to the many teachers who
the condition of my second battery. would be more effective, in terms of have been pushing for such accredita-
Ray Saegenschnitter, VK3UCB, safety, to focus the RTA cameras at the tion over the past years.
Huntly, Vie. school bus, no stopping, no standing Dave Kennedy,
and drop off only zones, and n earby Collaroy, NSW,
School zone speed monitoring parking spaces, rather than using the Comment: that's good news about the
is not necessary technology just to monitor the through upgrade of Industrial Technology.
I have some comments about school traffic.
speed zones and kids. I've been do- Random sampling of scanned and Temperature sensing battery
ing bus supervision for 34 years now recorded sites would be an effective charger circuit error
and I have seen countless accidents. and efficient method of monitoring the I have a comment on the "Tem-
Unfortunately I have seen kids hit by process and could yield thousands of perature Sensing Battery Charger Cut-
cars. One died getting off the bus (ran dollars in revenue a week from many Out" circuit on page 45 of the Circuit
out from front of bus into car passing schools. Notebook section in the September
bus, while trying to get to mum parked On a completely unrelated subject, 2009 issue.
on the other side) . The other was hit please be advised that the NSW Board It probabl y doesn't matter too much
in a circuit like this but the lkn resis-
tors feeding the LM335s are too low in
DAB+ reception impedance at the whip, I set up an value. Th e approximate 10mA current
solution old 75:300n balun on the end of the through the sensors, apart from being
A keen cricket fan, my spouse cable from our amplifier/splitter, near the maximum recommended
was offended when the recent Ashes clipped one side of the balanced forward current for the devices, will
series was interrupted on ABC local output to the whip and the other cause considerable self-heating, par-
radio by the football. "They say it's on to a length of hookup wire wound ticularly TS1, giving incorrect or less
Digital- get one", was the demand! around the body of the radio, at the reliable readings, even if trimmed out
We live in the country, about BOkm other end to the whip. with the lokn pots.
SE of Adelaide (on Lake Alexand- Perfect! This arrangement gave at A value of about B.2kn, giving a cur-
rina) with a clear line-of-sight to the least 4 out of 6 signal strength bars rent of about lmA, would give more
Mt Lofty transmitters. Borrowing a all the time, sometimes more. There accurate operation of the circuit by
city friend's DAB+ radio, I checked was great sound, no football and a reducing the self-heating. Th e high er
that indeed there was a good strong happy spouse! However, you should resistor value would also prov ide
signal, so long as I was outside the encourage the ABC to remember to more of a "constant current " source,
house! Inside, there was nothing, the listen to it - there are times when improving performan ce by reducing
result of the thick limestone walls. the transmissions disappear, repeat the change in current through the sen-
Attempts to find a Digital Radio small bits for hours , have the wrong sors as the voltage across th em changes
with any sort of antenna socket were program and never ever believe the with temperature.
fruitless, so it looked like a lash-up scrolling text display! The circuit obviously works fine
to the whip antenna on a portable John Yelland, in this applicati on wh ere the actual
was in order. Presuming a high Milang, SA. temperatures are not critical but would
under-perform in a more critical ap-

:
PEBBLE on Macintosh
Many thanks to Ray Wilson and Wayne Geary for
producing PEBBLE (SILICON CHIP, September 2009).
I down loaded the off-line version and installed it
WA'ERPRI_
in two laptops: an XP box running Firefox and a
MacBook running Safari.
PEBBLE runs without any issues in Safari, per-
forming identically to Firefox except that it loads
BATTERY CHARGERS
considerably faster than in Firefox. Safari has no
problems with ZIP files and PEBBLE un compresses
automatically into Downloads - it should then be
moved to Applications. You can make an alias and
place that on the Desktop; PEBBLE will run from the
alias. Depending on how your mouse is set up, both
left and right click work without problems (the Mac
mouse allows you to click in five different places).
The "Clear All" and "Save/Load" buttons work as
expected. Cut and paste the text file to TextEdit and
save as text (not RTF). On the other hand, the "Print
j 0 uilJiZl /J@[?U@[J
Srcn" button prints a very poor image. Instead use Encapsulated Battery Chargers
Grab and select an area of the screen. You can then
store this to an image manipulation application or 12V or 24V , 90W to 200W
else print straight from the Grab window. Even a
cheap inkjet printer produces an excellent image. • Completely encapsulated: waterproof,
PEBBLE will be very useful for students at both
secondary and tertiary level as well as hobbyists, but
shockproof and ignition protected
some professionals find that they are often asked to • Protected against overheating
develop one-offs that do not justify making a PCB,
as they do not use SMDs or else do not run at RF • Automatic three stage charging
so a prototype board is satisfactory. PEBBLE allows • Two LEDs for status indication
you to play around with component positioning and
Completely encapsulated: waterproof, shockproof and ignition protected.
keep an electronic record. Water, oil or dirt will not damage the SA-VB A chargers. The casing is made of
For the record, I used Safari 4.0.3 running on OSX cast aluminium and the electronics are moulded in resin.
10.4.11 . If you are looking for a PC board layout Protected against overheating: Can be used in a hot environment such as a
editor that works in Linux, OSX and Windows, try machine room. Output current will reduce as temperature increases up to
Eagle at www.cadsoft.de - the free ware version is 60°C, but the SA-VBA charger will not fail.
suitable for students and hobbyists. Automatic three-stage charging: Once the absorption voltage has been
reached , the SA-VBA charger will switch to float charge after the charge
John Faulkner, current has reduced to a low break point current (see specifications), or after
Hurstville, NSW. a 20 hour absorption period. The battery is therefore effectively protected
against overcharging and can remain permanentely connected to the charger.
The charger will automatically reset and start a new charge cycle after
plication. I am also not sure of the purpose of the 1MQ interruption of the AC supply.
resistors. Two LEDs for status indication: Yellow LED: battery being charged
Brian Playne, Green LED: float charge, the battery is charged
Toowoomba, Qld.
For more information, contact
Flat panel TVs don't bend
How many people have bought their kids a new Nin-
tendo Wii Games console who then forget their wrist-
strap, only to send their controller on a collision course
with the giant new-newfangled LCD TV?
•
The good news is that the Wii handset can usually sur-
vive this unharmed but the LCD TV is usually rendered
beyond feasible repair. It will then eventually be left on
the nature strip for the "council clean-up". There it will
be fed into a compactor so that the mercury from its back
lights will be dispersed liberally into the environment.
slomar
BATTERY ENGINEERING
LCD panels have also been broken with a gentle tap
from the back-swing of a vacuum cleaner, teenage kids (08) 9302 5444 or mark@siomar.com
bouncing a "super-ball" or kids knocking them over
www.batterybook.com
siliconchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 5
l
[35tO
.01~PCBCORE
l
Mailbag: continued
L_~
Useful article on tact which connects to the inside of

scope probes the smaller sleeve. I recall when re-
C5G!JD~ I found Doug Ford's October 2009

article on CRO probes very interest-
pairing one many years ago that the
inner conductor was very difficult
~~[K;{P
ing, especially his investigations to solder; the original connections
into their bandwidth and rise time. are crimped.
Having been fortunate enough to There is a small-value resistor
have owned two Tektronix oscillo- connecting the inner sleeve to the
Ir ototype tllru scopes, a 535 and currently a 2213, inner of the coax; the value depends
•
Iro'(uction I am famili ar with the earlier Tek
probes .
on the length of the cable. The resis-
tor is 360Q for the 3.5-foot, 180Q for
• 1-layer up to lO-layer The manual for the 535 included the 6-foot, 430Q for the 9-foot and
• Cost and quality information on the Tek 6000 - 6005 360Q for the 12-foot cables. There is
series probes. The probes came with a small inductor added at the BNC
• On time delivery end for the 9-foot cable according
a 3.5, 6, 9 or 12-foot cable and were
• Dedicated service available in 1:1 , 10:1 and 100:1 ra- to the probe manual but I suspect is
• Instant On line Quote & Order tios. I don't have any data apart from also there for the 12-foot cable.
••••••••••• Day and Night input capacitance and the -1.2dB The quoted rise-time for the 6006
bandwidth. But I do have details of probes without connection to a CRO
One piece orders are welcome! the 6006, 6007, 6015 & 6018 probes. is approximately 5ns for 3.5-foot; 7ns
Check our low price and save big $$$ The 6006 probe had the com- for 6-foot and 9-foot and 14ns for the
pensating capacitor in the tip as 12-foot cable. Plugged into a type-K
web: www.cbcore.com a cylindrical capacitor [like the plug-in (20pF input capacitance) in
email: sales@pcbcore.com Philip's beehive type] which went a 540 series CRO (12ns). rise-time is
over the 9MQ resistor. Adjustment is 13, 14, 14 & 18ns, respectively. The
phone: 86(571)86795686 by screwing the probe tip in or out, quoted -3dB bandwidth is 25MHz
to alter the overlap with a smaller for the 6-foot and 9-foot and 12MHz
diameter sleeve which is connected for the 12-foot cable.
AMALGEN to the inner of the coax. The 9MQ

resistor has a 4-pronged sliding con-
Rodger Bean,
Watson, ACT.
TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD
when generally romping. For these it displays. It listed four voltages, two
the most experience" reasons, I have started the Facebook of which are VERY accessible: the +5V
J'Droi"al Transformer Group "I'm Going To Watch My Tube and +12V motherboard rails. These
manufacturers in lIustralia TV For 20 More Years With A Digital were showing readouts of +5 .229 V
SetTop Box". ManyolderTVs have the and +12.196 V respectively and were
potential for many more years of use relatively stable. Whether or not they
and should not be discarded to landfill. are precise to the third decimal place
Tony Backhouse, or just the second is virtually irrelevant
Narraweena, NSW. to the layman.
Even if only reasonably accurate
USing a PC as a to the first decimal point, that would
DC reference suffice for the vast majority of require-
In the May 2009 edition of SILICON ments. It would also allow direct com-
Manufacturers of the original CHIP, I read your excellent article "Pre- parison of several medium-accuracy
ILP unirange Toroidal Transformer cision 1OV DC Reference For Checking multimeters (tested simultaneously),
- in stock from 15VA to 1000VA DMMs" and thought it was time to at two voltage levels (since they should
virtually anything made to order! calibrate my multimeters. Just as I was all read exactly the same value) .
- UPS, power conditioning and hypothetically reaching for the solder- Most technicians needing good-ac-
surge suppression too ing iron to construct the project, I sud- curacy multimeters would most likely
denly halted with the thought "Wait a already own a PC of some flavour and
Imalgen TeChnOlOgieS Piu Lld minute- don't I already have access to
a reasonable precision source?"
would know how to access the inter-
nal , standard 4-pin power plugs. For
Ph: (02) 9570 2855 FaH: ,.................. . To cut a short story shorter, I others (with desktop-type PCs), you
amall: sales@amalgan.com.au dropped into the BIOS on my IBM- simply unplug the PC's mains power,
type Desktop PC to check the voltages remove the PC's cover, locate a free
wab: www.amalgen.com.au
How to provide a sound through an amplifier. In the
remote control translator first activity, the volume control
On page 99 of the August 2009 will work the TV volume and in
issue, a reader asked for a remote the second activity it will work the
control translator project and you amplifier's volume control. In both
gave a largely negative response. In examples, the channel selection on
fact, the range of Logitech Harmony the remote will change channels
remotes can be easily programmed on the TV,
to carry out this function. They are I have set up Harmony remotes
programmed via a web-based service for many families and in each case
to turn on several devices and select they have found them very easy
the correct input for each device. to use. The remote can be repro-
This is an activity-based remote. grammed many times and can be
For example, with a one-button push reprogrammed with only a few Now Anyone Can Solder
you can choose to watch a DVD. This mouse clicks. There are thousands of Surface Mount Components
will turn on your TV, DVD player different equipment devices already - Even a 10 Year Old!
and amplifier, select AV1 on your TV, available on their website.
select the DVD input on your amp If your device is not available,
and select play on the DVD player. it can be easily programmed using
If you want to watch TV after the your original remote. The cheaper
movie is finished, you then press Harmony remotes can usually be
the "Watch TV" activity button. purchased for under $100 from elec-
The TV will then switch back to its tronic retailers or on-line. The dearer
own tuner and the DVD player and remotes like the 785 can sometimes
amplifier will turn off. be found for under $150.
Using the software, you can set up You can also download the soft-
many different devices in many dif- ware from the Logitech website
ferent configurations. For example, and take it for a trial run without
purchasing a remote. www.schmartboard.com.au
you could have two different activi-
ties to watch TV; one using the sound Peter Harland,
from your TV and another using the Shepparton, Vie.
GENERAL CIR<:UlTS CO.~ LTO
4-pin power plug and carefully insert Comment: your suggestion for using
the multi meter prongs - ie, black prong th e BIOS and the on-board monitor-
to either of the plug's black leads, red ing in a desktop PC to function as QUALITY PCB & SERVICE
prong to either the yellow (+12V) plug a reference voltage is initially very PROTOTYPE TO PRODUCTION
lead or to the red (+5V) lead. Be careful attractive, especially since th e moni-
not to let the prongs short when power tored voltages are quoted with such instant online quote
is applied! apparent precision. However, the
Switch on and quickly drop into accuracy is actually illusory since shopping cart ordering system
BIOS (usually by tapping the ESC, on-board monitoring chips such as China competitive prices
F2 or F10 key), then navigate to the th e LMBO typically have an accuracy
voltage displays, which you can then of 1 % (max . voltage error) with only free electrically test
compare to your multimeter readings. 1 Om V resolution (least significant
If you consider the multimeter needs bit) at 2.56V Hence, readings such as
adjusting, carefully disconnect it, re- 5.229V are misleading.
move its cover, reconnect it and adjust In any case, th e supply rails in
the trimpot on its PC board to comply computers are quite noisy and whether
with the voltages shown in the BIOS. they should be used a reference to
Don't try probing the USB ports on check multimeter accuracy is a moot
a lap top though - that's too risky. point.
Being a retired technician, I thor- Th e readings quoted by your
oughly enjoy reading SILICON CHIP, computer's BIOS should, at best, be
especially the sup erb Serviceman's rounded to 5.2V and 12.2\1, as you
Log - surely one of the best-written, have implied. Having said that, th e
entertaining and informative series BIOS still provides a useful reference
EVER printed anywhere in the world. where someone needs to do a quick
M. Dowson, check on the DC accuracy of a mul-
Stanwell Tops, NSW. timeter. Remember though, that any
siliconchip.com.au N O VEMBER 2009 7

© ceAN_ Mailbag: continued
Helping to put you in Control Effect of the water vapour from combustion
Control Equipment of hydrocarbon fuels on climate
I am a loyal and enthusiastic reader the climate change discussion and
of SILICON CHIP. I have purchased that is because the quantity of wa-
every issue since its inception and I ter produced from combustion of
have learned much about electronics hydrocarbon fuels is insignificant
from it. relative to the natural turnover of
I have followed the discussion on water through the atmosphere. On
climate change in the letters pages average, the water content of the at-
with some interest and increasing mosphere is the equivalent of about
dismay at the Editor's stance on the 25mm over the entire global surface,
question of the contribution of at- which equates to 1.3 x 10 13 tonnes.
mospheric carbon dioxide to climate The average residence time of the
change. In commenting on Morgan water in the atmosphere is about
Sandercock's letter (Sept. 09) the nine days so the water is turned over
Editor raises points that are at best around 40 times a year, which gives
specious and which must raise doubt a throughput of 5.2 x 10 14 tonnes/
about the validity of the Editor's other year. The global consumption of oil
statements that are less easily tested. and gas is respectively 6.0 x 109 and
Specifically, in his comment to 2.1 x 109 tonnes/year.
Sandercock, the Editor states that Assuming that all of it is burnt
"water vapour is a greenhouse gas and that in respect to the carbon/
produced by the combustion of all hydrogen ratio, the oil is equivalent
fossil fuels yet it is never mentioned to octane and the gas is methane, the
in the emotive discussion about combustion of these amounts yields
carbon pollution". (Strictly it is not respectively 8.55 x 109 and 4.63 x
correct to say that all fossil fuels 109 tonnes of water, which is a total
produce water vapour when burnt of 13.2 x 109 tonnes of water/year.
because coal is mostly carbon so its Thus the water from combustion
combustion products would contain represents as a fraction, just (13.2
little water. It is hydrocarbon fuels x 109 )/(5.1 x 10 14 ) or 0.0026%, of
that produce water when burnt but the turnover of water from natural
this is nitpicking semantics.) causes.
On the substantive issue, there Thus the contribution of water
is a very good reason why water from combustion to atmospheric
of combustion is not mentioned in water is minuscule. The situation in
no Mega
on the AT- such BIOS voltage readings are only clear simple terms. This is an excellent
280. It has 54 accurate to within 1 % (worst case). So example of one of the reasons why
I inpuUoutput a BIOS reading of 5.2V will actually be you are a world-class journal for the
16 analog in- somewhere in the range from 5.14BV technically-minded enthusiast.
,4 UARTs
to 5.252V. Whilst I probably won't end up
rdware serial
), a 16 MHz If you want a precision reference, building this project (though tempted)
I oscillator, a USB connection & the AD588 10.000V circuit described I look forward to the second article
jack. $77.90+GST in the May 2009 issue is the ideal which no doubt will be as equally
solution. lucid.
Gary Johnston,
Wideband 02 sensor Managing Director,
project lauded Jaycar Electronics,
I want to congratulate John Clarke Rydalmere, NSW.
and the editors of SILICON CHIP on the
writing, layout and overall construc- Piston motion is
tion of Pt.1 of this article, in the Sep- not sinusoidal
tember 2009 issue. You may not realise On page 97 of the October 2009
it but you have done an extraordinary issue , you advised a reader that
job of presenting a complex subject in "maximum piston speed in an engine
8 SILICON CHIP siliconchip. com.au

respect to carbon dioxide is vastly contaminant in that sense. However,
different in large part because the due to acidification of the oceans by
residence time for that gas in the at- increased dissolved carbon dioxide,
mosphere is measured in millennia. the affected marine life might well
Whatever amount we put in will stay see it as pollution.
there for a very long time. It took tens I respectfully suggest that the Edi-
of millions of years to lay down the tor should better research and test his
coal deposits. Given that we have comments on this subject, lest they
burned a substantial proportion of diminish the standing and respect
that coal in just 200 years or so, \-\le for his fine publication. Given the
should not be surprised that it will considerable influence that the Editor
boost the amount of carbon dioxide can wield, I would expect that if the
in the atmosphere. he wants to venture comments on Alternative DIY Wideband
On a second point, the Editor states this important subject, they should Controller and Display
in his comment that "as far as we be researched and accurate. Tech Edge designs wideband DIY (and pre-built)
controllers. We have sold thousands worldwide
know, the !PCC models do not take Nigel Beal, since 2002. Our latest DIY design is the 2Y1. We
into account the effect of increasing Chapel Hill, Qld. also sell a 4 digit DIY display (the LD02) designed
to team up with the 2Y1. We sell Bosch LSU
cloud cover". If the reader cares to Comment: while it is tme that some (wideband) sensors suitable for the 2Y1 and other
coals such as Anthracite are almost wideband units.
refer to chapter 8 of the IPCC report
Climate Change 2007: the Physical pure carbon, most of the coal burnt
Science Basis they will find many ref- in power stations or used for steel-
erences to consideration of clouds in making, is referred to as "bitumi-
the climate modelling (http://www. nous" and has a carbon content of
ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4i 60-80%. Before natural gas was dis-
wgl/ar4-wgl-chapter8. pdf) covered and exploited, all domestic
The 2Yl has superior speed and accuracy compared
Indeed, because of the importance gas supplies were produced by the to other DIY designs, and performance exceeds that
of cloud to the Earth's albedo (aver- pyrolysis of coal, to produce so-called of many commercial units costing up to several
thousand dollars. The 2Y1 also has an Inbuilt logger
age reflectance), any global climate "coal gas". with 6 analog voltage inputs and an RPM and
modelling that did not take account So coal does normally have a pulse input. An optional 1 Mbyte logger
module is also available for
of cloud cover would be complete significant content of hydrocarbons. storage when a laptop
nonsense. As far as the amount of carbon is inconvenient
to use.
I do have some sympathy for the dioxide produced by man is con-
Editor's annoyance with the term cerned, refer to the comments last
carbon pollution that is now in month by Professor Ion Plimer - it is
common use in the media. Carbon also insignificant, compared to that
dioxide is not toxic to air breathers produced by volcanoes. And while
at the proportions ever likely to be carbon dioxide is increasing, there
present in the atmosphere. Conse- is little evidence of resulting global
quently it is not really a pollutant or warming for the last 10 years. The LD02 display is digitally connected (not via
analog voltages!) for superior accuracy and can
double as a monitor for analog voltages, collected
from the 2Yl, or locally. LD02 can even be used with
always occurs at half stroke, regardless rotation point of the crank there is no other wideband controllers that provide an analog
voltage output. It can be used as a stand-alone
of conrod length" and that the piston lateral movement of the big end, only display.
moves in a sinusoidal manner. In fact , vertical and consequently, the piston
the movement is only sinusoidal for a slows a little.
conrod of infinite length. This is one reason why a balancer
For any normal conrod length, the shaft, as used in some engines, cannot
maximum piston speed occurs just completely counterbalance engine
before and again just after 90° away vibrations , because of the remaining
from top dead centre. That is to say, harmonics of piston vertical move-
at two closely spaced points on the ment, ie, non-sinusoidal motion. 2Y1 DIY kit from $99.00 + GST
down stroke and the same again on the As an example, consider an engine LD02B DIY kit from $49.00 + GST
upstroke. This is because the lateral that has a 3-inch stroke and a 6-inch Bosch LSU Sensor $97.00 + GST
component of movement of the big end centre to centre conrod. When the non-DIY units from $159.00 + GST
modulates the movement ofthe piston. crank has rotated 90° from top dead
Both the 2Y1 and LD02 come as professional kits
Think of it as a rightangle triangle centre around to the 3 o'clock posi- with double sided PCBs and some prebuilt and
with fixed length hypotenuse and vari- tion, the big end bearing journal centre pretested SMD components. An online user forum
as well as local telephone support is also available.
able length base. Notice that the height line will be 1.5 inches to one side of Full construction details and further information
varies as you change the length of the the crank centre-line. This causes the from our website:
base? At the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock conrod to lean 14.47° from vertical and http://wbo2.com/diy
Tech Edge Pty. Ltd. (02) 6251 5519

~MS ?Ar=lTS Mailbag: continued
I SMART Critical review of stand climate and the influence of
PROCUREMENT lan Plimer's book humans, by publishing this book. It
is not "merely" atmospheric scien-
To balance the letter that you
SOLUTIONS published from mining geology tists that would have to be wrong for
Professor Ian Plimer in the Octo- Plimer to be right. It would require a
Unit 3, 61-63 Steel Street ber 2009 issue, you really need to rewriting of biology, geology, phys-
publish Michael Ashley's review ics, oceanography, astronomy and
Capalaba QLD 4157 of Professor Pilmer's book on the statistics. Plimer's book deserves to
climate warming debate. This was languish on the shelves along with
AUSTRALIA published in the May 2009 edition similar pseudo-science such as the
of The Australian newspaper. writings of Immanuel Velikovsky
Ph (07) 3390 3302 and Erich von Daniken".
In that article, professor of as-
Fx (07) 3390 3329 trophysics Michael Ashley says: Bruce Withey,
"Plimer has done an enormous dis- Mylneford, NSW.
sales@rmsparts.com.au service to science, and the dedicated Comment: so nothing written by Pro-
scientists who are trying to under- fessor Ion Plimer has any validity?
so the effective "height" of the conrod com/2009/04/23/ian-plimer-heaven-

is not 6 inches but 5.81 inches. and-earth! and also available via http://
This causes the piston to be not 1.5 plimer.notlong.com
inches (half-way) down the stroke but Stephen Thomas,
1.69 inches down. Because the pis- Bruthen, Vie.
ton is more than halfway down even Comment: while the so-called den i-
though the crank is at the 3 o'clock alists may one day be proved wrong
position, it follows that the piston (or right), we wonder if any global
movement is not truly sinusoidal. warming believer entertains even the
By contrast, a Scotch yoke engine slightest possibility that global warm-
does have sinusoidal piston motion ing might be non-existent or possibly,
- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ not due to anything done by man.
www.rmsparts.com.au Scotch_yoke
So piston motion resembles a sine-
Perhaps you might like to have
a look at another opposing view at
o Resistors wave with second harmonic distor- http://www.oism.org/pprojectlGWRe-
tion, ie, blunt at the bottom and pointy view_OISM300.pdj
o Capacitors at the top. The shorter the conrod, the
more pronounced the effect. A rather Oscilloscope probes
o Potentiometers more mathematical explanation can That was a great article on probes
o Crystals be found at http://ftlracing.com/tech/ in the October 2009 issue.
engine/rsratio.html My university physics department's
o Semiconductors Graham Pratt, first Tektronix 551 scope was in 1959.
Hampton Park, Vic. From 1962 on we bought one a year,
o Optoelectronics until about 1970. About 1963 the
Link to review of 6000 series probes arrived. Those
o Relays Professor lan Plimer's book probes had the thin, crimped centre
Having greatly enjoyed SILICON CHIP conductor. I recall a reference in a
o Buzzers (and its predecessors ETI, EA, R,TV&H Tek publication that Zo was 800n or
and R&H) for many years, I've been so. The crucial difference is that, at
o Connectors somewhat bemused on several occa- the transmission-line-dominated high
o Switches sions to find its editorial voice used in frequencies, the XI0 probes give an
the service of climate change denial. 8kn load the tip. Perhaps the computer
o Hardware Since you've just given Ian Plimer simulation could run that scenario.
two pages to expound his personal The mention of John Kobbe led to
o Chemicals & Fluxes views and promote his book "Heaven an interesting hour on the internet.
and Earth", I'd like to draw your at- Thanks for your magazine, long may
• WHOLESALERS • tention, and that of your readers , to it prosper.
Prof. Barry Brook's review of that Tom Berg, VK6ZAF,
• DISTRIBUTORS • book at: http: //bravenewclimate. Bicton, WA .
• KITTING SOLUTIONS.

- Solution to switch-on research on the internet has led me
surge problem? to a "Design Idea" entitled "Soft-
I wish to comment on your re-
sponse in the item entitled "Mul-
Start Controller Is Gentle On Loads"
at http ://www.edn.c om /article/
1111 RlDIO I
tiple CFLs Can Cause Switch-On
Problems" in the "Ask Silicon
CA181906.html
The PDF file with diagram is
IILIIIIIOI
IIAIllllmRS
-
Chip" section of the September at hUp://www.edn.com/contents/
2009 issue. images/112201di.pdf
While you gave details of the Firstly, as the original circuit
cause of this problem, you did NOT was designed for 115V operation,
-wC?
help the questioner by offering any to provide approximately the same
help in overcoming the problem, operational current (10mA) from
except by suggesting increasing the the Australian 230V supply, the two
circuit breaker rating. parallel 22kQ 1W resistors at the
Since the problem is the "surge" input to the bridge rectifier MUST
currents into 10 capacitors, one ob- be replaced by five parallel 120kQ
vious solution is the rewiring ofthe 1W resistors. This will give a total
fitting into two groups of five lamps dissipation of 2.4 W when the circuit POWER
each and providing an additional is in operation.
switch and associated wiring, so Since a motor is not involved, rICommunity Ra
that the fitting is switched on by Tl, ICl and most of the associated rIsat8lllte roadcast
two switches. components in this circuit may be rICOIII! unltl_
Secondly, while these lamps are eliminated. R8 , C4, Q6, D5 and the rI.slan
not "dimmable", it would also be 24kn resistor should be retained , rY In
possible to wire the fitting via a with C3 and R7 in series and junc-
"dimmer", as long as the circuit tioning with D5 reversed , with C3
connected to the 12V supply and
FM: 1 to 250W
was always switched on with the
"dimmer" in its minimum position R7 connected to "earth". Thus, Q4 TV: 0.5 to 20W
- so that the "dimmer" is used as will delay the circuit from operat-
a "brightener". Using a "dimmer"
in this fashion with CFLs results
ing until both Cl and C3 have been
charged. . '(£ lt~~ A '
in no lighting for about 25% of the The MOV, capacitor and resistor ,~..!. efrmPCleT ffiC3
across the output Triac could also ...:. "'" 1'1"1 POWaA
"brightener's" action , followed by ~f~fono-87 10&1o.OtV _'~Com.CIU
almost full brightness and then up be eliminated. I realise that use of

to full brightness for the remaining
75% . Unfortunately, if the "dim-
this circuit would require it to be
built in a suitable box and installed ~ .
-
---
~
.. ~
mer" is left at its maximum position, as part of the permanent wiring of - ! t I I M!.
when the circuit is switched on, the the building which you may not . 0000.
circuit breaker will operate. wish to advocate.
This leads to a solution to this Peter B. Taylor, •
"
N_·,-II"~
"., ~ ~
~-
_
-- .
...
•
h (~)' f ' c Iio iiOi ~

problem. What is required is an
automatically acting "brightening"
Box Hill North, Vie.
Comment: you are quite right in - -:
•
~
I
. •
device, such as a "soft-start" control pointing out that we did not offer a
circuit in series with the load.
While "soft-start" circuits are
solution. Our feeling was that there
was no easy solution. However, an
. -- .
~ -I
usually employed in association electrician has written in to point -'
with motor controls they can also out that the solution is to fit a circuit - ' -
be used to control the surge into breaker with a longer response time
capacitors, as in this case. Unfor- - a type D. His letter was featured
tunately, I have not been able to in the October 2009 issue.
locate a commercially-made and We don't think your suggested
approved unit of this nature, al- solution will work since it is based
though it should be little more dif- on a Triac. Triacs do not "like"
ficult to manufacture than currently capacitive loads and they can be
available "dimmers". Perhaps a damaged by large repetitive switch-
manufacturer could be encouraged on currents. Furthermore, CFLs tend
to produce such a unit. to flicker with Triac dimmer circuits PO Box 578, Creenwood WA 6924
In the absence of a commercially even though some CFLs are specifi- Ph: 08 94481995 Fax: 08 9448 8140
available unit, a small amount of cally designed to be dimmed. se email: sales@rfpower.com.au
WWW.rfDoWer.Com.au
siliconchip. com.au NOlfEiVIBER 2009 11
t-· - r- -
I;
- -d',
aL a (j~ :
-
I ./-( - ' ...... '\.,
__lil . __
I
i -- ,_-~
. . _.
I i
. .... . .....- -\ =--
e.te, \
I 1
~ -N~wJat Jt.DMI sockets are standanHm-a wick range~j -

I
Lp~ an~ plfIfma TV set~, set top boxes, DVD pl-ayers and
·-·~~·omp~ters, there 1S a need for a standqrd HJJM~st-~
. sour~lhat c~!1d test this equipme-n~. 'Fhe-Qtll~ntu~da1a- .
1( /?86:Hflndhie ld Test-Instrument is a comprelWnsive-spll)lion \;
;- ~whyh:a~so' provides. digital all, dio test ~igh~ls for D4 CS and i
I\,\ ~om'; Theatre-rece1vers~ - -- - : .-J ~ \_'=_'' .L'I ..l . '0"" . -' ____
l~~ . 1. / .__ ._ __.. ·l . ,_ . I .j .~ .~~_,, __~__.~ .. _~ ... L

Review by Leo Simpson
ere at SILICON CHIP we have TV or projector and seeing if it works. (W x H x D). It is battery-powered with
H been following the develop-

ment of HDMI interfaces on
TV sets and other equipment and
There is the question of which level
ofHDMI is being used and what is the
bit rate applied to the colour signals.
nickel metal hydride cells to give about
four hours of operation. It can also be
run from an AC adaptor which will
wondering just how to test this equip- Now, with the Quantum Data HDMI charge the batteries overnight.
ment without having a very expensive tester, a lot of those questions can be There are no controls as such, since
line-up of test equipment. answered. And it is also possible to all modes are controlled by the colour
For example, on the internet you directly compare picture quality us- LCD touch screen, which measures 99
will see lots of claims about maximum ing defined video test patterns with x 58mm.
length of HDMI cables for reliable HDMI, VGA and component video On the rear panel there are sockets
operation. Some suppliers say the (YPbPr) cables. for HDMI input and output and VGA,
limit is 10 metres while others make You cannot do this with any degree for testing of projects, TV sets etc, as
considerably longer cables. of certainty with a signal from a DVD well as TO SLINK (optical) and SPDIF
And there are cables and cables - player - even if it is stationary. coax outputs for testing the digital out-
some long cables just don't perform So that is the background - now to puts of sources such as DVD players
well. Quantum Data. and set-top boxes.
Nor is it simply a matter of hooking It is quite a compact instrument, In addition, there is a USB socket
up a DVD player to an HDMI-enabled measuring 250mm x 68mm x 163mm and the DC input socket while on the
... Audio Output Setup tmmIIII_1Gl!lI!l
Output
IOffiro;;;;;l1rsPoiFllHDMiI
Rit... Per Channel
!161 r-20ii241
Sample Ratn
f32l f441! f48l f682I r9sl rm4l r192l

~~~
These three pictures shows some of the audio test screens which control digital signals delivered via the TOSLINK
(optical), SPDIF (coaxial) or HDMI outputs.
12 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au
"
All functions of the Quantum Data tester and selected and controlled via the touch screen. The unit can test all products
which use HDMI connectors.
opposite panel is a socket for an SD If you are testing an LeD TV for Another screen gives a choice of
card. example, you would touch the Video checkerboard, zone plate, and master
When you first turn it on , the Quan- Pattern and it comes up with another test patterns at 720 x 480, 1280 x 720
tum Data tester displays a home screen screen of 15 patterns. These include and 1920 x 1080 pixels, in progressive
which gives four small patterns depict- colour bars, ramp/stair, raster, needles or interlace mode.
ing video or audio patterns , Test Sink (white needle/black background etcl, In addition, quite a few of the pat-
(TV, projector) and Test Source (DVD decoder adjust , convergence, pluge tern selections have a plus symbol in
player or STB). (black & white) and so on. them. Double-tapping these brings up
... Formal Analyzer
Video tipe: HOM! Bllscerc.omp. : 1('

Tol.l!::>2CO x 1125 Core: :.j1;JOl: YCtCr 44 '4
Read AC1;',c: 1920x 10eo BaS;CCC'01,mC1rl ITU 709
Frd/T".e~sec:EO P,xets ~ellt'd'cd 0 ~ ~f>5
Sc.ln ~/P(': ProgfC':;:'''','(' V,dcc 10000.;.dc I.VK:I: 16
HSYNC delaj': eA:! (1920 x lC60 p
HSY:-.ICwCit!'l:':4 A59,CJ4.'f>OHzl(;-::<j
VSYNC de!ay: t, AV ~.~ J'c Slatu:. Not f"lIu:cd
HSYN(; polcHI~y." HOCP,E.'lcrypTecl
VSYNC pOIJII!y: ..
HDMI 10BOp59.94Hl Pscudo Random
HDMI cables can be tested to the V1.3 standard at 8 bits and 12 bits. To the right is a report on a HD monitor tested via the
HDMI output.
www.siliconchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 13
Our photo and the printing process do not show the extreme resolution demonstrated by the 1920 x 1080 pixel test pattern.
This standard BENQ monitor came through with flying colours.
another screen which enables you to a HDMI to DVI adaptor (not supplied) DDC: PASS.
change the pattern parameters. while LCD monitors with component We ran the tests for a number of
For example, on the colour bar pat- video inputs can be tested with a VGA cables, including a 15m cable, and
terns, you can set colour saturation, to three RCA plug adaptor (which is they all passed.
you can have vertical or horizontal supplied).
bars, change the number of bars (7 or Source tests
8), and so on . For the raster pattern Cable test For testing a DVD player or set top
you have can have Red , Green, Blue, For HDMI cable testing, you plug the box, you plug the HDMI cable from
Cyan , Magenta, Yellow or white, with cable into the HDMI input and output the player into the input socket on the
or without an IRE label, you can set sockets and press the start button. It Quantum Data, tap the "Test Source"
the IRE level and you can have a full runs the test and then displays the screen on the home screen and then
raster or a window. Similarly, for the results as: tap the "Analyser" screen button. It
master test patterns, you can select +5V: pass then displays a comprehensive report
HDMI or DVI, VGA (analog) outputs 1080p (12 bits) 0 errors of the signal output such as the signal
and for VGA you can have RGB or 1080p (8 bits) 0 errors format (eg, 730 x 576), frame rate,
compon ent video. 720p (8 bits) 0 errors progressive scan enabled, color space
DVI equipment must be tested with Hot plug: PASS (YcbCr 4:4:4) and so on. You can also
Left is another test screen from the Quantum Data 780 tester. The centre pic is one of the screens for selecting video test
patterns, while at right is he home selection screen on the Quantum Data 780.
What is
HDMI?
HDMI
stands for
High-Definiti on
Multimedia Interface.
It is essentially a standard which pro-
vides, in asingle cable, an uncompressed,
all-digital audiolvideo inte rface between
any HDMI-eq uipped aud iolvideo source,
such as a set-top box, DVD player or AN
receiver and an audio and/or video moni-
tor, such as adigital television (DTV) , video
projector, etc.
HDMI has also started to earn wide ac-
ceptance as the interface between personal
com puters and AN systems, particularly
in home theatre.
Because HDMI is digital, it offers the
best video quality, as there are no lossy
analog-to-digital conversions as are re-
quired for all analog connections (such as
component or S-vid eo). The difference is
especially noticeableat higher resolutions
such as 10aOp. Digital video eliminates
the softness and ghosting someti mes
found with component video. Small, high
Front and rear photos of the Quantum Data. The analog output enables testing contrast details such as text bring this
of monitors with RGB or component video inputs.
difference out the most.
HDMI supports standard, enhanced or
run the Audio Analyser and it will Audio Pattern screen. You then tap high-definition video, plus multi-channel
give a comprehensive report on the the optical, SPDIF or HDMI button digital audio on aSingle cable. It transmits
digital data. and the Signal Type: Dolby 5.1, Dolby all ATSC HDTV standards and supports
7.1, DTS-ES 6.1, DTS-HD HRA orPCM a-channel, 192kHz, uncompressed digital
Sink tests Sine Wave. You then go into the next audi o and all currently-available com-
To test HDMI monitors, you tap the menu level to set up the tests. We ran pressed formats (such as Dolby Digital
"Test Sink" screen and you are pre- the SILICON CHIP DAC through the and DTS).
sented with a choice of three buttons; PCM Sine Wave tests and could select HDMI has become thedefacto standard
EDID test, HDCP test and CEC test. the sample, the bits per sample (16 , 20 digital interface for HO and th e consumer
Tapping the EDID button gives you or 24), the output channel, sinewave electronics market. More than 700 com-
another three screen buttons: Read, frequency, amplitude (level) and so on. pan ies have become adopters, with a
Copy to Rx and Reset Rx. Tapping the Clearly, this is a very complex and forecast of nearly onebillion HDMI devices
Read button runs a test which includes capable instrument and in the few days installed by 2010. HD MI is the on ly inter-
identifying the make and product ID that we had it we were just not able to face enabling connections to both HDTVs
of the monitor (TV, projector etc), its come to grips with its full capabilities and digital PC mon itors implementing the
serial number, date of manufacture, and nor did we have the necessary DVI and HDMI stan dards.
and native timing , eg, 1920 x 1200 detailed information on all the test
59.95Hz. Incredible, although not all parameters. For example, we did not
this info agreed with that printed on know what to expect in the quali tati ve
the nameplate. The data can then be results of the digital audio tests. Nor
copied to the receiver port and down- did we have sufficient info to interpret
loaded to a PC via the USB port. the high definition test patterns. Over-
all though, we were most impressed.
Audio tests For further information on price and
For audio tests, such as testing availability of the Quantum Data 780
a DAC (such as the high quality Handheld Test Instrument, contact
DAC project in the current issues of Tekmark Australia Pty Lt, Suite 302,
SILICON CHIP) or a Home Theatre Level 3, 18-20 Orion Road, Lane Cove,
receiver, you connect an optical, SP- NSW 2066. Phone 1300 811355 ; web- The HDMI standard. For more
DIF or HDMI cable and then select the site www.tekmark.net.au se information, visit www.HDMI.org

•
Review by Mauro Grassi
We take Roland's EGX-350 CNC milling machine on a

test run making fast prototype PC boards. We found it
surprisingly good - it can route, drill and cut out a complete
PC board quickly, without using chemicals. It lets you move
from concept to working prototype in a matter of hours.

When that high-speed bit starts attacking the blank PC board, bits of swarf fly everywhere. Not only for this reason, the
Roland has interlocks on the cover to make sure it stays closed - and you stay protected.
here are several options when it be disposed of properly. However, the usually able to produce the file which
T comes to making prototype PC

boards , whether at professional
designer level or in a school, college -
quickest, most hassle free method, is
to use a CNC (Computer Numerically
Controlled) milling machine.
can control the CNC milling machine.
The CNC milling machine can
also drill the holes and cut out the
or even an advanced hobbyist. A CNC machine 's head can be con- board, even in arbitrary patterns: non-
One is to send the artwork to a trolled precisely using a computer. It rectangular boards with shaped edges
specialist PC board prototyping house functions very much like a plotter but and cut-outs can be made in this way.
and pay for it to be done. While has a spinning head containing either In this case, it is simply a matter of
relatively expensive, for many that's a milling (or engraving) "bit" or a drill. instructing the bit to cut deeper, right
a completely viable option (and one through both the copper and the base
we've used here at SILICON CHIP), even How does it do it? layers.
though the turnaround will normally Blank PC board consists of a non-
be at least 3-5 days. conductive base layer, usually of The Roland EGX-350
A big advantage of this method is fibreglass or a resin-bonded paper, Although normally marketed as a
that the board will (usually) be re- onto which is laminated a very thin general engraving CNC machine for
turned to you with all holes drilled, sheet of copper. making signs , panels and the like
perhaps with a "conformal" protective In the normal "etched" board, the (which it does well), the Roland EGX-
coating on the copper and solder mask; pads and tracks are protected by "re- 350 is adept at making fast prototype
sometimes even with a silk-screen sist" while the areas between them are PC boards. It is also one of the most
component overlay. chemically dissolved away, leaving affordable CNC milling machines on
Another option is to etch your own the tracks electrically isolated from the market.
PC boards, using perhaps a photo- each other. However, to produce PC boards
resist pre-sensitised board and a UV Milling a PC board achieves a simi- you will need special software, as the
light exposure box. lar result but instead of etching, the supplied Roland "Engrave Studio" is
The results can be good but you areas between the tracks are mechani- geared towards general engraving tasks
have to use chemicals and drill the cally milled or engraved away, down and not PC board manufacture.
holes manually, neither of which is to the base layer, under the control Although there are cheaper CNC ma-
particularly pleasant. The chemicals of a computer. In fact , the software chines on the market, few are suitable
are somewhat hazardous and must used to create the PC board pattern is for milling PC boards. To be suitable,

in machine units, as well as a simple
Specifications at a glance: menu system. You select a menu and
use the arrow keys to navigate through
Table (work) size: ................. 305(W) x 230(D) mm different sub menus. There is also a
XYZ -axes travels: ................ 305(X) x 230(Y) x 40(Z) mm digital click wheel that can be used to
XYZ-axes drive system: ....... Stepping motor - 3-axis simultaneous control
vary the sp indle speed between 5000
Operating speed: and 20000 RPM.
X and Y axes: .............. 0.1 to 60mm/second Every detail seems to have been
Z axis: ......................... 0.1 to 30mm/second well thought out in the design of this
Software resolution: ............. 0.01 mm/step or 0.025 mm/step machine - for example, the hand
Mechanical resolution: controller contains no gaps between
X and Y axes: .............. 0.0025 mm/step buttons, so no dust can fall into it.
Z axis: ......................... 0.00125 mm/step
Spindle motor: ..................... Brushless DC motor - maximum 50W Safety features
Spindle speed: ..................... 5000 to 20000 RPM The Roland EGX-350 has a number
Dimensions: ......................... 616(W) x 591(D) x 393(H) mm of welcome safety features that make
Weight: ......................... ....... 34kg it a particularly good choice.
The work area is comp letely en-
a milling machine with good Z-depth problem of how to connect the two closed by a durable transparent cover,
control, mechanical resolution and layers together. Naturally, producing with microswitches which detect
repeatability is required. Repeatability plated-through-holes , or "vias ", can- when the cover opens and automati-
refers to how accurate the positioning not be achieved by a milling machine. cally cut power to the motors.
is over many movements. The simplest way around this is to It is possible to manually override
To some extent, contactless las er use small (condu ctive) pins soldered the switches with the cover open; for
cutters overcome the problem of on both sides. This is relatively easy this reason, where required for certain
having to have good Z-depth regula- but labour intensive , because each applications (eg schools), the machine
tion - though these are prohibitively pin needs to be soldered individually. can be delivered with tamper-proof
expensive. It is therefore more suitable for PC micro-switches.
Z-depth control is critical ifthe mill- boards with relatively few inter-layer The machine also incorporates in-
ing bit does not have a square section connections. ternal over-current protection which
head - if it is conical, for example, a activates if the motors lock up (for
thin track may be cut too much and Work area example, if you drill into some hard
disappear altogether. At 393 x 616 x 591mm, the Roland material and the bit becomes stuck).
EGX-350 does not take up too much In that case, the current through
Resolution and Backlash space on a desk. the motor will rise steeply, which is
The resolution of a CNC machine When it comes to making PC detected by the driving electronics and
refers to smallest step the head can boards with a milling machine, you the supply to the motor is stopped.
move in each of its axes. are restricted by the size of the area You will get a failure message on the
Good resolutions - of a fraction of a over which the cutti ng head runs. In hand controller and the only way to
millimetre - can be obtained by using this case, the work area is 305mm by proceed is to then reset the machine
stepper motors, mechanical gears and 230mm, which represents quite a sub- by turning the power off. .
linear screws (the screw assemblies stantial PC board. In any case, you can The other safety feature is the red
that convert the rotational motion from sometimes overcome this problem by kill switch - pressing it immediately
a motor into linear motion, such as breaking up a big design into separate cuts all mains power to the machine.
lead screws or ball screws). PC board modules. This can be used in an emergency to
As you can see in the specifications stop the machine instantly. Apart from
panel, the Roland EGX-350 has im- Connections those features, any running job can be
pressive resolution figures for its price. The connections to the Roland EGX- either paused or cancelled using the
The repeatability can be adversely 350 are accessible at the back, on two hand controller.
affected by backlash. Backlash refers to sides. Mains power connection is via
the unwanted movement in response an LEC socket on the right hand side. Setting up a job
to a reversal in direction along an axis The serial, USB and hand controll er For general engraving work, the
- it leads to inaccuracies in the head connections are on the left hand side. machine comes with the Roland
position and can be a problem where The serial or USB connections can be Engraving Studio software but as we
high precision is required, as when used to connect the Roland EGX-350 mentioned earlier, for making PC
milling PC boards. This machine uses a to your Pc. boards you will need additional PC
proprietary anti-backlash mechanism software - the one we tried is called
developed by Roland. The hand controller CopperCAM from Intellecta (see www.
The Roland EGX-350 can be control- galaad.netlcoppercam).
Plated-through holes led manually using the supplied hand This Windows software is normally
Although it is possible, given some controller. an option but Intellecta will be in-
care with placement, to mill double- This has a 16 x 2 line LCD display cluding it with any Roland EGX-350
sided PC boards there is still the that shows the X, Y and Z coordinates purchased from them as a result of this

review (make sure you tell them you
saw it in SILICON CHIP!)
Producing Gerber plots

Gerber plots have been tradition-
ally used to control plotters - they
are almost universally accepted by
PC-board-making houses. For that
reason, most PC board design software
such as ProteI, Altium and Eagle have
the facility to produce these and other
CAM files. You will need Gerber plots
(for each layer) as well as the Excellon
drill file.
CopperCAM Part of a PC board milled with the Roland EGX-350 CNC Desktop Engraver - one
of many boards we produced. It looks a liHle different to conventionally etched
Using CopperCAM, you can import PC boards because the cuts between tracks actually go a few thou into the base.
the Gerber plots and the Excellon drill
file. You select the layer and compute measured in metres, and therefore it can select one drill bit for all holes - ir-
the contour paths . depends on the complexity of the PC respective of the hole sizes embedded
. The drilling coordinates are aligned boards being milled as to how many in the drill file. This is a good option to
to the copper tracks by selecting a such boards can be made with the minimise the number of tool changes .
reference pad on both. You then select same tool bit. which is time consuming and delicate,
'adjust to reference pad' to align the as the Z depth needs to be set every
two 'layers'. Setting the Z depth time a tool is changed.
Setting the reference Z depth is If you do not wish to use different
Tools particularly important for milling PC tool bits for differently sized holes ,
You can maintain a tool library boards. The reference Z depth will CopperCAM also has an option to use
for the different tools under Copper- affect how deep the cut is made into a single drill bit to make different hole
CAM. As a minimum, you will need the copper, because the depth set in sizes by circular boring. This is where
an engraving bit and a drill bit. Each CopperCAM is relative to the reference the machine makes the hole by moving
tool will have its own plunge speed depth (which is the point of contact the head around the centre of the hole.
and depth. between tool bit and board). However, this can lead to many
The top speed of the machine is The uniformity of the Z depth is broken drill bits if not set up properly
quite fast (see the specifications). But especially important for those boards and is obviously harsher on the drill
the milling speed affects the quality wi th fine tracks of the order of 15 thou or bits. In any case, for many PC boards .
of the cut: too fast and there will be so (this was the smallest track we were the best way is to use a single drill
noticeable burring of the edges along able to route consistently in our testing). bit for all holes and enlarge the holes
the cut and you may also damage the You can purchase accessories for manually as the need arises.
tool bit. Too slow a speed may well this machine including a vacuum This is the method we preferred.
mean a slowly-made board. table and a T-slot table that may help using a single O.7mm drill bit. Most
Different materials and tools have in achieving this uniformity. But we standard components such as resis-
natural milling speeds that are ad- found that we could get quite good tors, capacitors, transistors, diodes
equate for that application. For making results simply by attaching the board and integrated circuits will usually
PC boards, Intellecta recommended to the supplied base using double- fit through this size hole. Larger hole
using paper phenolic PC boards, sided tape. sizes, like those for TO-220 packages
as these are softer than the typical can then be drilled manually using a
fibreglass board, and therefore more Tool Changes drill press.
forgiving on the engraving bit. Unlike more expensive milling ma-
The engraving bit is made from chines with automatic tool changers, Isolation Rub-outs
tungsten carbide, "vhich is a very tool (bit) change is manual. While au- The quickest way to engrave the
hard composite but is expensive. The tomatic changers are convenient, they PC board is if the software creates
tools will wear out over time and they add substantial cost and are not strictly a minimum isolation path around
should be reasonably sharp to obtain necessary, especially for prototyping tracks - in other words. it leaves as
a clean cut - especially if many thin PC boards. much "dead copper" (copper which
tracks, of the order of 15 thou, are on CopperCAM allows you to mill each is not connected to the circuit) on the
the PC board. layer separately, then the engraving bit board as possible.
It is also possible for the tool bit to can be changed to a drill bit and the There may be legitimate reasons
break in the middle of an engraving holes drilled. for removing the 'dead' copper, how-
job - the costs of tool replacement ever, such as electricaL considerations.
can quickly accumulate but experi- Drilling the Holes ground planes, inter-track capacitance
ence to some extent circumvents this. Drilling is particularly easy, with or perhaps simply to make assembly
The guaranteed life of the tool bit is various options in CopperCAM. You easier.

This shot shows the large piece ofMDF we used as a base (complete with drill holes from an earlier produced board). It's
very important that the blank PC board is flat and level due to the tight tolerances used in milling and drilling.
It is not hard to get solder bridges vanced hobby use - especially when chines for making PC boards in its
between a pad and an adjacent area you consider that it can do much more price range.
when the only isolation is a single thin than produce PC boards.
strip of missing copper. Admittedly, the outlay involved in Price
Rub outs, although more time con- purchasing a machine such as this The Roland ECX-350 costs $8795
suming and causing greater wear on could buy you many PC boards from (inc. CST) and can be purchased direct
the tool bits, help reduce the chances your local board maker. from Intellecta Technologies.
of solder bridges. However, it is the convenience of a Intellecta Technologies supply the
very short turnaround, coupled with engraving tools for PC boards as well
Conclusion the ability to test concepts on-the-go as drill bits, collets and services of
We tried this machine over a period that make a milling machine attractive interest to the education sector, specifi-
of days. In that time we were able to for situations that may require several cally relating to PC board prototyping,
manufacture a number of PC boards iterations of boards. including the CopperCAM software.
with consistently good results. Of course, apart from the initial
We were able to go from the electron- capital outlay to purchase the ma- Acknowledgement
ic concept conceived in the morning chine, there is the ongoing cost of Our thanks to Dr Tony Pugatschew
to having a finished and working PC consumables. from Intellecta Technologies and Ro-
board by late afternoon - this involved This includes the tungsten carbide land DC Australia for their technical
not only designing the PC board on engraving tool bits, the collets, the assistance in this review.
computer but also writing firm ware , drilling bits and the blank copper
as the designs used a microcontroller. board. The bits wear out over time and Contacts
Using a milling machine to manu- will need regular replacement. They Intellecta Technologies
facture PC boards, especially single- sometimes break too! 51 Ceorge Street
sided PC boards, is by far the most But if you chose the alternative Thebarton SA 5031
convenient and quickest method of photo-etching route , you'd also be Phone: (08) 8351 8288.
production. up for the cost of pre-sensitised PC Website: www.intellecta.net
However, convenience costs: mill- board, the chemicals required, drills
ing machines are not cheap. and so on. And you'd certainly take a Roland DC Australia
This one, however, should certainly lot longer coming up with a finished Unit 14, 25 Frenchs Forest Road
be affordable for designers but also board. Frenchs Forest NSW 2086
fit within the budgets of educational Simply put, we believe the Roland Phone: (02) 9975 0000
institutions and perhaps even for ad- ECX-350 is one of the best CNC ma- Website: www.rolanddg.com.au se

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We're very excited about this project. It will let you house your own
web site with possibly hundreds or even thousands of pages, all in a little
box connected to the internet via your modem/router. You don't need a
computer to operate and house a website - this little box does it for you
and it can be accessed from anywhere around the world, at any time, even
from a mobile phone which has a web browser. In fact, it is a complete
web server in a box - so we've called it WIB (Web server In a Box).
VERYONE KNOWS THAT web
E servers normally involve big,
expensive, powerful computers with
even need a computer!
WIB can do it all. Even better, it does
not have a hard disk, uses practically
else. In fact, it involves a total of just
three ICs and a 3-terminal regulator.
Why have a memory card? This is
large memory, large hard disks and no power and costs not much at all. the "Eureka!" feature: SD/MMC cards
exotic software, don't they? Well, that WIB is just a small PC board (single- are used in the majority of digital cam-
is the normal approach but now it sided, no less) with a microcontroller, eras and they can pack a huge amount
doesn't have to be. In fact, you don't an SD/MMC card reader and not much of memory for very little cash; we've

seen them for as little as $8 for four you could take the conventional web Furthermore, WIB can monitor the
gigs and going down all the time! So server approach, as outlined above. Or temperature or any other parameter
for not a lot more money WIB can use you could do it with our WIB. (just connect a suitable sensor) and it
an SD/MMC memory card which can In fact, the applications are unlim- can also be used to control four digital
be 16 or even 32 gigabytes and that ited. Think of an application involving outputs and an RS232 serial port.
means it can store many thousands a website and WIB can probably do
of pages of data, pictures or whatever it. For example, do you have a small Down to earth
and all of these can be accessed as a business, perhaps selling goods via OK, we'll come clean. While we
website via the intern et. the Internet? Maybe WIB could house are very excited about this project, it
Want to change the content? Well your website. We're sure there a lots of didn't start out with such ambitious
you could upload new data remotely applications that have just been wait- targets. The original intention was to
via the internet or you could simply ing for this simple hardware solution. produce a simple project which could
whip out the SD card, plug it into your It only requires a modem or a mo- monitor temperature or any other
computer and away you go. Or you dem/router to connect it to the inter- parameter in a home or remote loca-
could have several such SD cards, all net. And while it and the modem will tion and display the resultant data on
with different web formats, presenta- need to be hooked up permanently, a website. At the same time it could
tions or whatever. its energy use rates as flea power control a few outputs -:- perhaps switch
Maybe you would like to have a compared to a desktop computer or on a heater or air-conditioner or a few
large picture library or whatever, ac- even a laptop when permanently other prosaic functions.
cessible via the internet. Of course, powered up. But then we had the idea of using

( [thernet Web Server 5.00 Windows Internet [xplorer ~11:gI LRI data from the four analog inputs and
--.... WIB can perform data logging of the
..J . I~ , 192 ,168,0,34 ': ' @ -- I . -l p- inputs (as in a weather station) and
F~vortes lools tJelp x ! ~. ~ "e.:::+- ~v~ ', Cl ~arch »
save this information to a file. The
Favorites • It. logged data can then be accessed either
via the inbuilt FTP (file transfer proto-
~ Ethemet Wob server 5,00 ';: Horoe · t)I ..Cl Read Moll ~ ptrt • ~OQO ' ~ety · TQOls .
col) server or it can be automatically
emailed to you at regular intervals. Just
Home Ethernet Web Server 5.00 think - you will get emails from WIB -
mind-boggling! The emails will be sent
Home Basic ~emory Card HTIP FTP SNIP S~ Dynamic DNS Variables ~
from the SMTP ( Simple Mail Transfer
Aualog luputs DiJitaI Outputs Protocol) client within the WIB.
T ~mp~r:llure 27.4500 o.tputO 00 CD I Toggle I In practice, you can set the logging
"AR1 24.0 Output 1 00 CD I Toggle I period (ie, how frequently the values
VARl 143.0 Output 2 00 CD I To ggle 1 are logged) and how many entries to
"AR3 0.0 Output 3 00 CD I Toggle I keep in the log file . When this number
is exceeded, the log file is automati-
Serial POI1 Bnd Rat~ !ICiOO 19600 Change Baud Rale I." . I
cally emailed to you and then cleared,
erial Pm Seat! Striae Send To Senal Port
ready for the next cycle. In this way,
Serial POI1 Seat Sm.a witII New_e Send To Sen~IPort I you could have daily reports of fluc-
Serial POI1 SetId DeciIIIaI Cbncfer Code
tuations in temperature or whatever
emailed to your inbox.
n,ls page was gellet'ared 01/ MOll 28 Sep 2009 13:49:40. The WIB also allows a limit to be
• Internet '-A · +-4. 100% ..
set on a variable being monitored
Fig.t: WIB's home page lets you configure the various functions, including the and can notify you via em ail when
network, logging, email and FTP settings. It also allows you to read the analog the variable exceeds this limit. For
inputs (it's showing a temperature reading of 27.45°C here) and toggle the digital example, you can set it to email you
outputs. You can also send data strings to the serial port. if the temperature rises above a preset
level, so that you immediately know
an SD/MMC memory card to store the to set-up than a more powerful web there is a problem.
data and website. And it just grew from server. In fact, if you have already gone
there. Having thought of the memory through the set-up procedure for con- Digital outputs
card as the bulk memory for the project necting a broadband modem to your As stated earlier, you can also con-
and realising just how cheap it was, computer, this project should not be trol four digital outputs and the serial
the potential uses seemed to grow any more challenging. RS-232 port using your browser (eg,
enormously. We are sure readers will Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Op-
come up with a host of different uses . Remote monitoring era, Safari, Google Chrome, etc). These
Let's also be realistic. We need to In most basic applications, WIB lets outputs can then be used to control
describe how this WIB project works, you monitor up to four analog inputs external devices, either directly or via
how it connects to the intern et and and control up to four digital outputs, an interface board.
all the necessary know-how that this as well as an RS-232 serial port. It's just a matter of toggling the dig-
requires . There is a lot of jargon to be WIB not only features an inbuilt web ital outputs high or low by clicking on
digested and understood but when server but includes inbuilt FTP and an the "Toggle" buttons - see Fig.I.
we have finished describing WIB in email (SMTP) client as well. We will
considerable detail, we are sure that explain these terms as we go through. Network time
you will see the potential. The email client is used by the WIB Another feature of WIB is an SNTP
WIB presents a great learning op- to send emails to a nominated email (Simple Network Time Protocol) cli-
portunity for anyone interested in address via an email server. Most ISPs ent, which allows the correct time to
creating a personal website - it will be (Internet Service Providers) provide be gathered automatically from the
great for schools, too. For example, it an outgoing em ail server that the WIB Internet. This time is used for logging
could possibly be teamed up with our can connect to, in order to send email. purposes and can also be displayed in
popular Seismograph project (SILICON The FTP (file transfer protocol) serv- a dynamic web page.
CHIP, September 2005) or a weather er allows you to store and retrieve files A dynamic DNS (Domain Name Sys-
station. Students would be able to ac- from a remote location and also allows tem) client is also included. Domain
cess it at any time via a mobile phone you to manage your website remotely. Name refers to any website name (such
with a web browser. In addition , you can use it to back-up as siliconchip.com.au). DNS enables
WIB is not the complete server files off-site or transfer files (both text the unit to keep track of its public IP
solution - it lacks some features like and images) to a remote location (eg, (Internet Protocol) address and notify
server side scripting and encryption, from the office to home). a DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name Sys-
for example, althought for most ap- The memory card can actually be an tem) service if this address changes. By
plications, this won 't be a problem. MMC, SD'or SDHC card (up to 32GB). using this service, you can log into the
Its main advantage is that it is con- The website can include dynamic web server using a domain name rather
siderably simpler, cheaper and easier content that's constantly updated with than its IP address (an IP address is

numerical and all devices connected
to the internet, such as your modem ,
have an IP address}.
This is necessary as the public IP • Highly customisable. Most settings including IP address, port numbers and
address can change if your modem is servers can be arbitrarily set.
turned offfor some time, so you might
• MMC/SD/SDHC memory card for storage of web pages and other files (FAT/
not always know what it is.
FAT32 file system).
Earlier design • HTTP (web) server with changeable file permissions, dynamic pages, modified
This is not the first web server CGI commands and HTTP basic authentication.
project to be published in SILICON CHIP. • SMTP (email) client for automatic email notifications with dynamic content.
An earlier project, the PICAXE Net
Server, was published in the October • FTP (file transfer protocol) server for uploading web site.
2006 issue and was based on a com- • Dynamic DNS client (DONS) to allow server to be contacted using a hostname.
mon Realtek ethernet controller chip • Network time (SNTP) client to gather Internet time for logging, etc.
and a PlC microcontroller. It came as
a pre-built module and stored its web • Four analog inputs. These can be: (a) monitored remotely using a web
pages in an onboard EEPROM chip. browser; (b) logged with periodiC log files automatically emailed to a chosen
Because the data was stored in an email address; (c) assigned set limits, with automatic email notification when
EEPROM, the website was limited limits are exceeded.
to 64 kilobytes. Even so, it did allow • Four digital outputs for controlling devices over the Internet.
you to monitor several analog inputs
• 12 user defined file extensions, file permissions and file content for the HTIP
remotely using dynamic web pages
server.
and had configurable I/O pins, includ-
ing a PWM (pulse width modulation) • A serial port output that's controllable via the Internet.
output. • System logging of special events.
By contrast, our new design can
store much more complex web pages.
Another advantage of the new de-
ign is that it implements simple file MAC (Media Access Control) and the lines and these are: CS-bar (chip select
perm issions through HTTP (Hypertext 10BaseT PHY (this means it runs at - active low), SO (serial data output),
Transfer Protocol) authentication. This 10Mbits/second). It has BKB transmit SI (serial data input) and SCK (serial
means that you can set a user name and and receive dual port RAM buffers, clock). You can share the bus among
password to access the whole website hardware assisted CRC (Cyclic Re- multiple devices by having multiple
or just certain pages. You can also re- dundancy Check - for error checking), CS-bar lines and ensuring that only
trict access to certain files, based on automatic retransmit on collision (in one of these lines is active at anyone
the file extensions. The earlier design case messages "collide") and program- time.
lacked a method of restricting access mable packet (blocks of data) filtering. In this case, we use three CS-bar
to its web pages and so its onboard Although Microchip makes mi- lines: one for the ethernet controller
website was completely open to the crocontrollers with in-built ethernet (RBB of ICI), one for the memory card
public. controllers, these are only available (RB2 ofICI) and one for the MAC ad-
Finally, the WIB is highly config- as surface-mount devices (SMDs). We dress chip (RB6 of ICI). These are all
urable and can be set up to work with wanted to avoid SMDs as far as pos- controlled by the SPI master (lCI).
almost any ethernet network. Did we sible so we have specified an external
mention ethernet? This refers to the controller (IC2) which comes in a MAC address chip
ethernet cable and connectors on the conventional DIL package, as does the The 25AA02E4B MAC address chip
back of your modem. Ethernet is a specified PlC microcontroller (lCI). is a 256-byte EEPROM with an SPI in-
tandard which is used .to transmit The only SMD chip used in the terface. It's main feature is that its last
data over a local network (eg, in an whole project is the B-pin MAC ad- six bytes (bytes with addresses OxFA
offi ce) or to the internet via a modem. dress chip (IC3) which comes in an to OxFF) contain a unique, licensed
We will also be providing the source SOlC package. And while IC2 does MAC (Media Access Control) address.
"ode for a website so that you can eas- include Media Access Control (MAC), An ethernet device must have a
ly modify the web server's settings if we still need IC3 for providing the unique MAC address in order to com-
necessary, to suit your requirements. unique MAC address; more on this municate in a network. By using this
below. chip, we are ensuring that the MAC
Circuit details In operation, the microcontroller address for the web server is globally
Refer now to Fig.2 for the complete (lCI) communicates with the ethernet unique. These chips are intended for
.rcuit details of the WIB. It's based on controller via an SPI (Serial Peripheral use in designs with small production
dsPIC33FJ64GPB02 microcontroller Interface) bus. This SPI bus is also runs and save on the cost of licensing
Cl } and an ENC2B]60 ethernet con- shared with the MAC address chip a range of MAC addresses from the
311er (IC2), both from Microchip. (IC3) and the memory card, which is relevant authority (IEEE).
The ethernet controller (IC2) pro- accessed in SPI mode. Note that it is quite possible to
le s the ethernet link, including SPI communication requires four overwrite the pre-programmed MAC
conchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 27

The remaining line to IC2 is the
~ {!i ~ ff€lliJ TItD

RST-bar line (pin 10). This is the reset
line and is driven by the RB7 (pin 16)
WrB~~
output of the microcontroller. It simply
•
.
resets the internal logic of the ethernet
. . --_!!"-
Pl61T£t:t4 controller (IC2) when required.
Note that there are two other lines
~EK> • '" ~
~~.... ~ -~ ...
on IC2 which are unused: CKO and
INT-bar.
CKO (pin 3) is a clock out line
and this delivers a square-wave
SDHC Card Reader whose frequency is related to
IC2's system clock (in turn de-
rived from the 25MHz crystal). This
frequency can be configured via IC2's
registers (it can be used to provide the
To TRANSFER files from a PC to
the memory card, you may need a
low-cost SD/SDHC/MMC-card reader. available from Jaycar (Cat. XC-4849).
clock for a microcontroller for exam-
ple) but is not used here as ICl has
The one shown at left is available from They are simply connected to a PC its own crystal (Xl). This was done to
Jaycar for less than $10 (Cat No: XC- via a USB port. allow the microcontroller to run at its
4756), while the unit at right reads all Suitable memory card readers are highest rated clock frequency.
sorts of memory cards and is also also available from Altronics. The other unused line (pin 4) is the
interrupt line. This can be used to
interrupt the micracontroller under
certain circumstances but again is not
address (it is an EEPROM chip after The resistor values are chosen to be used here.
all). However, the chip has a write close enough to match the character-
protect feature that can be enabled istic impedance of the 10BaseT (eth- Memory card
on a 64-byte block basis and the last ernet) cable, which is 100.0. Similarly, As mentioned above, the memory
such block, which contains the MAC reception occurs on the R+ (pin 13) card is accessed in SPI mode and this
address, is protected by default. and R- (pin 12) pins of IC2. is done via the SO card socket (CON4).
In any case, the current version of The ethernet controller (IC2) re- This allows microcontroller ICl to
the firm ware does not write to the quires some passive components to read from and write to the memory
EEPROM and only reads from it. Pin complete the physicalethernet link (ie, card.
3 (WP-bar) is the write protect pin and to transmit and receive data), includ- MMC/SO/SOHC cards can be ac-
this prevents writing to the EEPROM ing two transformers. These transform- cessed either in native mode or in SPI
when low. In our case, however, it has ers plus, four 75.0 resistors and a lnF mode. The advantage of the SPI mode
been tied high to allow it to be written capacitor, are all part ofRJ45 connector is that any off-the-shelf microcon-
to if there is a future firmware upgrade. CON2 and provide electrical isolation traIler that has an SPI peripheral can
Pin 7 (HLD-bar) is the hold pin and from the network. In addition, the RJ45 be used, making the hardware layer
this pauses the SPI interface logic connector contains two LEDs, one easy to implement. The interface with
inside IC3 if it is low. This feature is green and the other yellow. SPI is also simpler but the penalty is
used in SPI bus sharing situations but According to the datasheet for the slower transfer speeds. However, SPI
has been disabled here by tying pin 7 ENC28J60 (IC2), a 2.32kn resistor from speeds are quite adequate for serving
high. Instead, we rely on the firmware pin 14 (RBIAS) to ground is required to web pages.
in ICl to provide proper arbitration set the signal amplitude on the trans-
between the three SPI devices. mitting pair. This is made up using Inputs & outputs
series 2kn and 330.0 resistors to give Connector CON3 provides access
Ethernet controller 2.33kn, which is near enough. IC2 also to the analog inputs and the dig-
The ethernet controller chip (IC2) requires a 25MHz crystal to operate ital outputs. The four analog inputs
provides the physical and data link correctly and this, together with its two are ANO-AN3 of ICl (pins 2-5) and
layer of the network. As already men- 33pF loading capacitors, is connected these inputs are all protected using
tioned, it is a 10BaseT PHY (physical to pins 23 & 24. 10kn current-limiting resistors. An
layer) running at 10Mbitsls and the Outputs LEDA and LEDB of IC2 A022103 temperature sensor IC (IC4)
data is transmitted on twisted-pair drive the two LEDs in the RJ45 connec- is shown connected to ANO on Fig.2
copper cables terminated in an RJ45 tor. These outputs can be configured but other types of sensors with a linear
connector (the ethernet socket). (using the registers in IC2) to light the 0-3.3V output (or less) can also be used
PlC microcontroller ICl writes to the connector LEDs under various condi- on the analog inputs.
ethernet controller's registers via the tions. In this case, we have chosen The digital outputs are at RB12-
SPI bus which runs at 8MHz. Ethernet to drive the LEOs to conform to the RB15 (pins 23-26) of ICl and toggle
transmissions occur by Manchester usual convention, with the green LED between OV and 3.3V.
encoding on the T + (pin 17) and T- (pin indicating a valid ethernet link and the CON5 allows optional access to the
16) pins of IC2 via two 51.0 resistors. yellow LED indicating data activity. serial (UART) port of ICl. Note that

en
+6-9V DC 01 lN4004
r + INPUT A +3 .3V CON2: Rknag CONNECTOR MODUlf
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8
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r~H~b' I lfD2: BUNKING ~ NORMAL OPERATION
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SENSOR ---- 11_ SOCKET
(OPTIONAL)
1,--- R84
1:'
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DO
CON5 7
Rx
DI
~SCl 2
l ~GND ISC2 ~216 ~~ I~ I~

Tx V.. l
~o~ 3
AV.. Vu V•• V..2
33PF 33PF1 6
9 '-'
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CON4
~ .
r- -. t7t t
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t;:j U WIB: WEB SERVER IN ABOX A K ADJ
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gs
l\.) Fig.2: the circuit is based on a PlC microcontroller (lCl), an ENC28J60 ethernet controller (IC2), a 25AA02E40 MAC address chip (IC3) and an external memory
~ card. The PlC microcontroller interfaces to the memory card, reads the analog inputs and controls the digital outputs at RB12-RB15. It also drives the ethernet
controller (lC2) which in turn interfaces to the external network via an RJ45 connector. IC4 is an optional temperature sensor (AD22103) and is connected to
one of the analog inputs (ANO in this case). Power comes from a 6-l2V DC regulated plugpack supply.
N
~
the levels are not true RS232 levels
&DD 1j[J)@ JJffl[f~0[j) _Dffl~[j)coo1 but simply 3.3V CMOS levels.
DNS (Domain Name System): a system whereby domain names can be resolved to IP LED indicators
addresses. Outputs RA4 and RB3 from ICl
are used to drive indicator LEDsl &
DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name System): a system whereby a fixed domain name can be
2. LEDl (green) lights when ever the
associated with a dynamic IP address.
m emory card is accessed (ie, for both
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol): a protocol that allows a DHCP server to reads and writes), while LED2 (orange)
assign an IP address to a DHCP client requesting it. The IP address is handed out on a is on during boot up until all initialis-
limited time lease. ations have been completed. Once
EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory): a solid-state non- the web server has initialised, LED2
volatile memory chip that can be written to and erased. blinks on and off to indicate normal
Ethernet: a network standard for the physical and data link layer that determines how data operation.
is transmitted and received from a common medium. When LED2 is blinking, it shows
that the cooperative multitasking
FTP (File Transfer Protocol): a protocol used to transfer files across a network.
main loop is executing, i e, no proc-
Gateway: a network node to which data traffic is directed. It relays this traffic in a way so as ess is blocking operation or taking up
to reach its destination (using routing information). inordinate processor time. At no time
HTTP (HypertextTransfer Protocol): a protocol commonly used to transfer web pages and should the orange LED stop blinking
content from a web server to a browser. during normal operation, otherwise
ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol): a protocol used to send status and error data packets will be dropped.
messages across the Internet. It is typically used for Ping (Packet Internet Groper).
Clock signals
IP (Internet Protocol): a protocol used for transmitting data packets across a network, Clock signals for the microcontroller
primarily used in the Internet. are derived from an 8MHz crystal (Xl).
IP Address: each device sending or receiving IP packets must have a unique IP address, This is connected between pins 9 &
typically written as four decimal numbers in the range 0-255 (8-bit) and separated by dots. An 10 (OSCl & OSC2), together with two
example IP address is 192.168.0.34. 33pF capacitors which provide the
MAC (Media Access Control): a protocol that implements the data link layer on an ethernet correct loading. Note that ICl runs
network where nodes share a common medium. at its maximum of 40MIPS (millions
instructions per second) - an internal
MAC Address: each device sending or receiving ethernet packets must have a unique MAC
PLL (phase lock loop) stage is used to
address. This is is a 6-by1e address which is often written as six hexadecimal by1es joined by
derive the sy stem clock.
colons, for example: 00:04:A3:21 :09:6C.
Power for the CPU inside ICl is de-
Manchester encoding: a self-clocking method of encoding binary data that relies on edge rived from the main 3.3V rail using an
transistions. internal 2.5V regulator. This requires
Multi-tasking: the ability of a processor to run multiple tasks. a 10IlF tantalum bypass capacitor on
NAT (Network Address Translation): a technique whereby a router can modify address and pin 20. Similarly, a lOIlF bypass ca-
port information in packets to translate from one address space to another. Typically used in pacitor is fitted to pin 1 ofthe ethernet
routers to share a single connection from your ISP among many devices in a home network. controller (IC2). .
Note that ICl 's reset pin (MCLR-bar,
Port Forwarding: a technique used by routers to redirect traffic on a particularTCP or UDP pin 1) is pulled permanently high by
port to a private IP address. a lkn resistor and so is not used here.
Protocol: a set of rules to allow network devices to communicate with each other. Instead, ICl is reset by its internal
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): a protocol used for sending email. power-on res et logic.
SNTP (Simple Network Time Protocol): a protocol used to receive time information from a Power supply
remote time server. The time is returned as a number that represents the number of seconds
Power for the circuit is derived
that have elapsed since the epoch time which is set at 00:00 1 January 1970.
from a 6-9V DC plugpack and this is
Static DHCP: a technique whereby a DHCP server can be made to assign a static IP address applied via reverse polarity protection
to a particular network device (by associating a static IP address with a MAC address). diode D1. The resulting DC rail is then
Subnet Mask: this is in the style of an IP address and is used as a bitwise AND mask to filtered using a 331lF capacitor and fed
determine whether an IP address is in the same network subnet. to an LM317T adjustable 3-terminal
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): a protocol for transmission of data that is connection regulator (REGl) to derive a +3.3Vrail.
oriented. This +3 .3Vrail then powers ICsl-3 and
the memory card.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocolllnternet Protocol): a family of protocols that allow REGl's output voltage is set by the
network devices to communicate.
divider network on its OUT & AD]
UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter): a circuit used for serial commun- terminals according to the following
ication between devices. formula:
UDP (User Datagram Protocol): a protocol for transmission of data that is packet oriented. VOUT = 1.25V x (1 + (R21R1))
By using a 11 on resistor for RI and a

,
180n resistor for R2, we get an output
voltage that's very close to 3.3v' ~GOJCB[J[jJCBG WCB[D ~CB[f\!7CB[f [PfflOO [1~~n
In practice though, the 1.25V refer-
ence in the regulator can vary any- 1 PC board, code 07111091, 1 3.5mm stereo socket, chassis
where between 1.2V and 1.3V, due to 123 x 74mm mount (optional)
manufacturing tolerances. For this 2 28-pin 0.3-inch IC sockets
reason, provision is made on the PC 1 3-way pin socket, 2.54mm pitch Semiconductors
board for an additional resistor (R3) in 8 M3 x 6mm machine screws 1 dsPIC33FJ64GP802-I/SP pro-
series with R2 so that you can adjust 4 M3 x 15mm tapped Nylon grammed with 07111 09A.hex
the output voltage if necessary. In most spacers (IC1 )
cases, you won't need to do this and a 1 250mm-length of 0.7mm 1 ENC28J60 ethernet controller
wire link is used for R3 instead (more tinned copper for links (IC2)
on this later). 1 2.5mm PC-mount male DC 1 25AA02E48 serial EEPROM
The supply rail at the output of power connector (Jaycar PS- with MAC address (IC3)
diode Dl is also fed to a terminal on 0520, Altronics P-0621 A) 1 AD22103 temperature sensor
CONI, so that it can be used to power 1 TO-220 mini heatsink (Jaycar (IC4) (optional) (Farnell 143-
external devices if necessary. In addi- HH-8502, Altronics H-0630) 8415)
tion, the +3.3V rail is fed to two other 1 8MHz crystal (X1) 1 1N4004 silicon diode (D1)
terminals on CON3, in one case via 1 25MHz crystal (X2) 1 LM317T adjustable 3-terminal
a lIon current-limiting resistor. The 1 plastic instrument case, 95 x regulator (REG1)
current-limited +3.3V rail (Vr) is used 158 x 47mm (Jaycar HB-5922) 1 3mm green LED (LED1)
to power the AD22103 temperature 1 SD surface-mount memory 1 3mm orange LED (LED2)
sensor (IC4). card socket (Jaycar PS-0024)
The lIon current-limiting resistor 1 ethernet RJ45 Connector Capacitors
is necessary because the temperature with Magnetics, Amphenol 1 470llF 16V electrolytic
sensor is connected to the circuit via RJMG163218101NR (Farnell 1 331lF 16V electrolytic
a stereo jack socket. In operation, it 135-7435) 2 1OIlF tantalum
prevents the supply rail from being 3 3-way screw terminal blocks 3 1OOnF monolithic
shorted to ground each time the stereo (5.04mm pitch) 4 33pF ceramic
jack is plugged into its socket (the 2 2-way screw terminal blocks
jack's tip touches the socket's ring (5.04mm pitch)
as it is inserted). The 110n resistor
Resistors (O.25W, 1%)
1 6-9V DC 300mA plugpack 410kn 1 180n
protects against short circuits and (Jaycar MP-3145 or Altronics 1 2kn 2110n
doesn't interfere with the operation M-9208 plus M-9191 connector) 11kn 451n
of the temperature sensor itself, as 1 3.5mm stereo jack (optional) 5330n
the latter's current draw is negligible.
Firmware overview
OK, so that's the hardware side of The modules used in the TCP/IP SO (Secure Digital) cards use FLASH
things and it's all fairly straightfor- stack include HTTP, FTP, ICMP, SNTP, memory technology and are available
ward. Most of the features are imple- SMTP, DNS and Dynamic DNS. Only in capacities up to 2GB. SDHC cards
mented in the firm ware , so let's now the limited amount of program memo- are essentially high-capacity SO cards
take a closer look at this. ry on the micro controller prevented us and are available in sizes ranging from
The firmware uses the freely avail- from including further modules such 4GB to 32GB.
able TCPIIP stack from Microchip. as a DHCP client to automatically pick All three types of card can be used
We've customised it and also imple- up an IP address. in this project. Note that while all three
mented some missing features in the Because there's no DHCP client, types look alike, MMC cards have only
minimal stack. the web server is assigned a static IP seven metal contacts whereas SO cards
The stack is based on a cooperative address and this is also necessary for have nine.
multi-tasking model (ie, a lot of tasks port forwarding. However, a DHCP MiniSD and MicroSD cards can
run concurrently) and this has been client working in conjunction with also be used. These are essentially SO
retained. The main program is an in- static DHCP could have been useful cards but are smaller. You will need
finite loop, with finite state machines for incorporating the web server into an external adaptor in order to plug
used to keep track of stack processes an automatically configured network. them into the SO card socket used in
that need attention. In any case, the DHCP server in your the web server.
The other major addition is the router must be configured to reserve
memory card driver and the FATI a static IP address for the WIB . We'll Construction
FAT32 file system that resides on top tell you how to do that next month. Building the WIB is easy with all
of that. The WIB recognises the FAT I parts mounted on a single-sided PC
FAT32 file system which means that MMC/SD/SDHC memory cards board coded 07111091. This board
you should be able to read the memory Either an MMC, SO or SDHC measures 123 x 74mm and is housed
card using any Windows, Mac or Linux memory card can be used in the web inside a plastic utility case.
box (and a card reader). server. MMC (MultiMedia Card) and The only slightly tricky bit is the sur-

~ Fig.3: install the parts on the PC
, board as shown on this layout
diagram. Make sure all polarised
parts are correctly oriented and
leave ICl & IC2 out until after the
@ 8 power supply has been checked
- see text.
~~
33;1,
g Go )
l:l~
~~ --c:mD-
~~ --c:mD- Fig.4 (below): this diagram and the accompanying photos
+V ~~ -<:::> -<:::> show how IC3 and the SD memory card socket are installed .
:...::~~ ~~2:+::::' f"

X2~5MHz......_ _
l00nf
Vr on the track side of the PC board. Note the orientation of the
;
o ~: ~
IC and don't forget to solder the two tabs ofthe memory card
socket adjacent to the edge ofthe board.
•
~
~ ~1~6
lOpf
IC3
(UNDER)
~'4.)
.......
...........
•
•
-=
. . . III
8:[K:~:~=']
•
8MHz
<:!::::D ~ CON5
...........
. ..•
• •
.. ...... •
•
Xl
•
~ 33pF-<:::>
~====:..'-=33~pf
-<:::> LED 1
<:) •
•
• •
~ ~llW;IIIzl • •
~~~
,u..J ............u.... _ _ ...,j,J..u.~u...
•
GND e . __ ~otI4. __ el
' .. •
,
.
' MMC/SD/SDHC CARD •

1 i ~.~ ill~~ER) : o o
@ J 1/' "I ~. .4(' @
IL.......l UNDERSIDE VIEW SHOWING SMD COMPONENTS
face-mount IC (IC3) which is mount- then stretching it slightly by pulling before bolting it down. If you do, the
ed on the copper side of the PC board. on the other end using a pair of pliers. PC tracks could crack as the assembly
However, this SOIC device has only Once the links are in, the next step is tightened down.
eight pins and the pin spacing is is to install the resistors. These can go The two 28-pin machine IC sockets
around 1.27mm, so it's not difficult in either way and some are mounted can now be installed. Be sure to ori-
to hand solder. end-on to save board space. Table 1 entate these with their notched ends
Figs.3 & 4 show the parts layout on shows the resistor colour codes but as shown on Fig.3. If you are unable
the PC board. However, before begin- you should also check each one with to obtain 28-pin 0.3-inch sockets, you
ning the assembly, it's a good idea to a DMM before installing it. can use pin header strips instead.
carefully inspect the board for etching You can either use a zero-ohm resis- Alternatively you can cut 28-pin 0.6-
defects (eg, shorted tracks and hairline tor for R3 or you can install a wire link. inch sockets in half or you can use two
cracks). Such faults are rare but check- Diode Dl and crystals Xl & X2 are 14-pin sockets mounted end-to-end.
ing now can save a lot a hassle later on. next on the list. Note the orientation Do not install the two ICs in their
Check also that corner cutouts have of Dl and don't get the two crystals sockets yet. That step comes later.
been made at the CONl & CON2 end mixed up. The 8MHz crystal is used Follow these parts with the capaci-
of the board, so that it will later clear for Xl, while the 25MHz crystal is X2. tors, starting with the 33pF ceramic
the mounting posts inside the case. If Now for the LM317T regulator and lOOnF monolithic types. The two
not, you will have to make the cutouts (REG1). This mounts horizontally on 10~F tantalum capacitors can then be
yourself using a fine-toothed hacksaw the board and is fitted with a mini heat- installed, followed by the 33~F and
and a small, flat file. sink for cooling. It's installed by first 470~F electrolytics. Note that the
Having done that, the first job is to bending its leads down by 90° about tantalum and electrolytic capacitors
install the 11 wire links - see Fig.3. 5mm from its body. It's then secured are all polarised, so make sure they
These can be cut from a length of in place, along with its heatsink, us- go in the right way around - see Fig.3.
0.7mm tinned copper wire. If neces- ing an M3 x 6mm machine screw, flat
sary, you can first straighten the link washer and nut and its leads soldered. Connectors
wire by clamping one end in a vise and Note: do not solder REG1's leads The DC socket (CON1), the RJ45
32 SIUCONCHIP siliconchip. com.au

make sure they are oriented correctly.
A 2Smm-high cardboard spacer can
be used to set their height. Just slide
this spacer between each LED's
leads and push the LED down onto
it before soldering it in place.
Initial tests
You will need a 6-9V DC 300mA
(or greater) regulated plugpack fitted
with a 2.Smm connector to power this
project. Suitable plugpacks include
the Jaycar MP-3l4S and the Altron-
ics M-920B. Note, however, that the
latter requires swapping the supplied
2.lmm connector for a 2.Smm connec-
tor (Altronics M-9l9l).
With the three ICs out of the cir-
cuit, apply power and use a DMM to
measure the voltage between the OUT
terminal ofREGl and GND. It should
measure close to 3.3V and this same
voltage should also appear at the Vdd
(3.3V) terminal of CON3.
If you don't get the correct reading,
switch off immediately and check for
wiring errors. In particular, check the
resistor values on the OUT and ADJ
terminals ofREGl if the reading is high
or low. Alternatively, if you don't get
any voltage at all, check the supply
polarity and Dl's orientation.
This view shows the completed PC board. Note that there are a few differences
between this prototype board and the final version shown in Fig.3, especially Trimming the 3.3V rail
around CONI, CON2 and REGI.
The accuracy of the +3.3V rail is
important because some MMC/SDI
SDHC cards operate over quite a
connector (CON2) and the 3-way pin blocks and two 2-way blocks. These narrow voltage range. The firmware
socket (CONS) can now go in. Make should all be dovetailed together and checks that the inserted card operates
sure that these parts are sitting flush . mounted as a single unit, with the ac- at 3.3V and so it is crucial that REGl 's
against the PC board before soldering cess holes facing the edge of the board. output be close to +3.3y'
their pins. In addition, take care when The board assembly (minus the If the 3.3V rail is more than 3.4V or
soldering the RJ4S connector as some three ICs and the SD card socket) can less than 3.2V, you will need to change
of its pins are quite close together and now be completed by soldering in one or both of the values for R2 and R3.
it's easy to get solder shorts. Don't the two LEDs. These should both be For example, if the voltage is around
forget to solder the two pins near the mounted at full lead length, with their +3.l7V, you will need to install a lOn
edge of the PC board, as these help bodies 2Smm above the board so that resistor for R3 and this should increase
secure the socket in position. they will later protrude through the the rail so that it is close to +3.3V.
The l3-way screw terminal block lid of the case. Use the green LED for Alternatively, if the output voltage is
(CON3) is made up using three 3-way LEDl and the orange LED for LED2 and +3.41V, you should change the value
0 No. Value 4-8and Code (1%) 5-8and Code (1%)

0 4 10kn brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
0 1kn brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
0 4 330n orange orange brown brown orange orange black black brown
0 1 180n brown grey brown brown brown grey black black brown
0 2 11 on brown brown brown brown brown brown black black brown
0 4 51n green brown black brown green brown black gold brown

69
(TOP OF CASE) 91
'-
I I
AI I A
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I I
.. 45 I 5 I- 108 •
I I
26
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!-
I
t 15.75
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ARE3mm
DIAMETER
(BOTTOM OF CASE) 63.5
I- 32 .: - 103.5 • ; -22.5-
I
I
I
All DIMENSIONS
I
IN MIWMETRES
- ~ -----------------------------}----- ~ --.
15.75
~
Fig.S: here are the drilling details for the top and bottom case sections. All the holes are drilled to 3mm diameter.
of R2 to won and R3 to 10n (giving a their sockets. Make sure they are ori- side of the board as shown in Fig.4.
total val ue for R2 + R3 = 170n), or you ented correctly (see Fig.3) and don't You will need a fine-tipped soldering
could use 150n for R2 and 22n for R3. get them mixed up. iron, some fine solder, some solder
Again, this should bring the voltage wick and (preferably) a magnifying
from REGl pretty close to +3.3Y. Installing the SMD parts lamp.
Once the supply voltage is correct, The SMD parts (ie, IC3 and SD card Begin by carefully aligning the IC
switch off and install ICl & IC2 into socket CON4) mount on the copper with it solder pads, making sure that

· '-
The PC board fits neatly inside a standard plastic utility case (note: the final board is longer than the version shown
here). The memory card can be removed or installed by sliding the adjacent end panel out of its slot.
it is oriented as shown (ie, pin 1 at

upper right, as indicated by the dot in
its body). If you like, you can hold it
in position using self-closing tweezers.
That done , lightly tack solder pin
1, then remove the tweezers and in-
spect the IC under a magnifying glass ! -10- ! - -17.5-
to make sure it is in the correct posi-
(RIGHTHAND END PANEL)
tion. The remaining pins can then be
soldered, starting with the diagonally ~1·~----------------- 88 ------------------~·1
opposite pin (pin 5). Don't forget to add Fig.6: here's how to make the cutouts in the righthand end panel for the
a little more solder to pin 1 if necessary RJ45 socket and the DC power socket.
to complete the job.
Do this job quickly, so as not to over- . . . . - - -M3 x 6mm SCREWS ___......
heat and damage the tracks on the PC , PC80ARD ~ .............
board. Once you have finished , inspect
the job under a magnifying glass again. _ _ _ M3 x 15mm NYLON SPACERS--_ _ _
~
If any of the pins ate shorted by solder
(other than pins 7 & 8), then you can
BOTTOM OF CASE ~
remove the excess solder using the
solder wick.
Memory card socket " - - - M3 x 6mm SCREWS~

While you are on the copper side Fig.7: the PC board is mounted in the case on four M3 x 15mm tapped
of the PC board, you can solder in the Nylon spacers and secured using M3 x 6mm screws.
memory card socket as well. It is an
SMD socket so you must place it over
its pads and solder in one of the pins pads towards the front of the socket x 158 x 47mm (Jaycar HB-5922). This
first to anchor it in position. Once that also have to be soldered. is marked out and drilled as shown
that is done, check that it is correctly in Figs.5 & 6. As shown, you need to
aligned before soldering the remain- Final assembly drill two 3mm holes in the lid for the
ing pins. The prototype was housed in a LEDs and four 3mm mounting holes in
Note that there are two mounting plastic instrument case measuring 95 the base (Fig.5). In addition, you have
sificonchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 35

3.5mm STEREO
D~DDB~ ffi@
GND TO PIN 7 OR
13OFCON3 JACK SOCKET
+Vs TO PIN 2 OF CON3 ~
\]@[ill[P@~(!][J@ OO[)@0[f Vo TO PIN 9, 10, 11 ---.......
~ ,
\
OR 12 OF CON3
1
TEMP SENSOR
The optional AD221 03 ratiometric temperature sensor (IC4) PLUGS IN
is installed by mounting it inside a 3.5mm stereo plug - see HERE
Fig.S. Its +Vs lead is connected to the ring terminal of the AD221 03
stereo plug, its Vo lead to the sleeve and its GND lead to the TEMP SENSOR
tip.
This then plugs into a matching stereo jack socket mounted
"-'IL....IL..~I~2B, ~~ --
Vo CONNECTED
on the end of the case and this is wired back to CON3 on TO SLEEVE
the PC board. Fig.8: connect the AD22103 temperature sensor to the
As shown in Fig.S, the +Vs supply lead connects to the 3.5mm stereo plug as shown here. You can use a DMM
+Vr terminal (terminal 2) of CON3, the GND lead connects to to identify the tip and ring terminals.
terminal 7 of CON3, and the Vo (sensor voltage output) lead
connects to one of the four analog inputs of CON3 (either parts. This heat comes mainly from the LM317T voltage
terminal 9, 10, 11 or 12). regulator but the ICs also contribute. Mounting the sensor
The temperature sensor is mounted outside the case to outside the case ensures an accurate measurement of the
ensure that it is unaffected by the heat generated by other room temperature.
around the inside perimeter, then WIB . This should be formatted with
knocking out the centre piece and a FAT/FAT32 file system before plug-
cleaning up the edges with a flat file. ging it into the memory card socket
If you are installing the specified (see photo) . With the ICs installed and
temperature sensor, then you will also power applied, the orange LED should
need to drill a 6mm hole in the second blink on and off approximately twice
end panel (see Fig.8 and photos). a second.
Deburr all holes using an oversize That completes the construction of
drill, then secure four M3 x 15mm the WIB. However, before using the
Nylon spacers to the base using M3 x device, you need to copy the necessary
6mm screws, The PC board can then files to the memory card and interface
The AD22103 temperature sensor is
mounted inside a 3.5mm stereo jack -
be dropped into place along with the the server to your network. This will
see Fig.8. righthand end panel and secured us- involve entering a few settings like
ing another four M3 x 6mm screws as the Gateway address, IP Address and
to make two square cut-outs in one of shown in Fig. 7. Subnet mask, turning on port forward-
the end panels for the DC socket and ing in your router and activating a
RJ45 connector (Fig.6). Installing the memory card dynamic DNS (DDNS) service.
Each of these cut-outs can be made You will need a suitable MMC, SD We'll explain how that's all done in
by drilling a series of small holes or SDHC memory card to use with the Pt.2 in next month's issue. se
~@CB(!][fB~ CDB@CBDmB[ill@[f considered highly secure because

it is prone to DoS (denial of service)
HIS SERVER relies on a username Note, however, that given the attacks, as are most web servers. On
T and password for security. This
username and password combination
correct username and password
combination, a user could log into
a positive note, HTTP authentication
occurs server side and therefore no
must be used to access the FTP the server and change all the settings transmission of a coded version of
server (to modify the file system) and by accessing the file system on the the username and password occurs
to access private web pages through memory card through an FTP client. (although it is possible to intercept the
HTTP (ie, using a web browser). In addition, they could change the HTTP headers that contain the correct
This is the main security mechanism password and username combination username and password - they are
to prevent unauthorised access from a to lock others out of the system . not encrypted but encoded using
remote location over the Internet. All If that ever happens, the remedy is base64).
settings should also be protected by to write to the card using a PC and a There are also a limited number
the username/password combination memory card reader and define a new of commands, no server side script
and this is the approach taken in the username/password pair. Of course, execution and the microcontroller uses
sample website we are providing this assumes you have physical a (modified) Harvard architecture,
for down load from the SILICON CHIP access to the memory card. making the server somewhat more
website. This web server cannot be secure than most.
36 SILICON CHIP siliconchip.cam. au

lVloore's Law marches
on at Intel
lready in the market with 45nm technology CPUs
A (more than 200 million since 2007) and 32nm planned

for a 2010 release, chip manufacturer Intel have
displayed a silicon wafer containing the world's first work-
ing chips built on 22nm process technology. The 22nm test
circuits include both SRAM memory as well as logic circuits
to be used in future Intel microprocessors.
At the recent Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco,
Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini said "Moore's Law is
alive and thriving. We've begun production of the world's
first 32nm microprocessor, which is also the first high-
performance processor to integrate graphics with the CPU. growth areas," Otellini said. "To build on this momentum,
At the same time, we're already moving ahead with develop- we're working on ways to create a seamless Internet experi-
ment of our 22nm manufacturing technology and have built ence for people across all their computing devices. We're
working chips that will pave the way for production of still announcing a program to encourage development of software
more 'powerful and more capable processors. " applications that can be written once but run on Windows
and Moblin devices - expanding their reach to more devices
2.9 billion transistors and consumers."
The 22nm wafer displayed by Otellini is made up of in- The Intel Atom Developer Program provides a framework
dividual die containing 364 million bits of SRAM memory for independent software vendors (ISVs) and software devel-
and has more than 2.9 billion transistors packed into an area opers to create and sell applications for netbooks and other
the size of a fingernail. Intel Atom processor-based products.
The chips contain the smallest SRAM cell used in working To broaden application availability across platforms,
circuits ever reported at .092 square microns. The devices the program will support multiple operating systems and
rely on a third-generation high-k metal gate transistor tech- run-time environments. Run-time environments enable de-
nology for improved performance and lower leakage power. velopers to use a single code base to support various device
Intel's 32nm process is now certified and processor wafers platforms without massive reprogramming, reducing cost
are moving through the factory in support of planned fourth and time to market. Intel is working with partners, such as
quarter 2009 production. netbook OEMs ACER and Asus, to create application store-
Following the move to 32nm Intel will subsequently intro- fronts in which validated software applications will be sold.
duce Sandy Bridge, Intel's next new microarchitecture. Sandy In the embedded market segment, the Atom processor is
Bridge will feature a sixth-generation graphics core on the driving advanced technology into new areas from hospital
same die as the processor core and includes AVX instructions patient monitoring to avionics applications to audio systems.
for floating point, media, and processor intensive software. The company currently has 460 embedded Atom design wins
By continuing to drive the pace of innovation Intel is ad- including Harman International Industries. The provider of a
dressing the needs of entirely new market segments including wide range of audio and infotainment products for vehicles,
netbooks, handhelds, consumer electronics and embedded Harman International has announced new in-car devices
applications . based on the Atom core that will enable full Internet access,
"Intel Core and Atom-based processors have generated 3-D navigation, brilliant graphics and high-speed wireless
unprecedented excitement and opportunities in our key connectivity. se
Intel's CPU technology: the story so far ...

• Intel has shipped >200 million 45nm CPUs using HK+MG percent performance improvement over their 45nmcounterparts
transistors since Nov 2007. • Transistor gate pitch (a density measurement which indicates how
• Intel's 32nm process is certified and Westmere CPU wafers are tightly transistors can be packed in a given area), is 112.5nm.
moving through the factory in support of planned Q4 revenue • For the first time, Intel has developed afull-featured SoC process
production. 32nm second-generation high-k metal gate transis- technology to complement the CPU-specific technology.
tors have the highest-reported density (which means more • Some special features of this process are ultra low power transis-
transistors in a given area of silicon for increased functionality tors with second-generation high-k + metal gate for low standbyl
and better performance (as measured by drive current) than always-on circuit applications; and high voltage I/O transistors.
any other 32nm or 28nm technology • This process also includes new high-precision and high-quality
• NMOS transistors have 19 percent performance improvement passive components specifically needed for SoCs, such as resis-
over their 45nm counterparts while PMOS transistors have a28 tors, capacitors and inductors.

OST POWER BOATS over eight the same time, having the motors run- of wear in the engines, gearboxes and
M metres long have two engines,
typically in-line 4-stroke diesels or
ning at slightly different speeds means
that you have to provide correction
shafts. So synchronisation of motors
is highly desirable.
petrol VBs, each driving its own prop- with the rudder to maintain a straight In fact, late model up-market boats
ellor via a shaft or stern drive. Nor- course and that causes further drag. often do have a facility for synchro-
mally both motors should run at ex- In fact, a speed difference between nisation while there are also electro-
actly the same speed unless the boat is motors of as little as 15 RPM can mechanical synchronisers available
manoeuvring up to a jetty or mooring, cause lots of vibration that can radi- for older boats although these can be
in which case the propellers may run ate through the whole boat - most difficult and expensive to fit.
at differing speeds and direction. unpleasant. So most boat owners equalise the
All boat-owners know how impor- To explain further, with VB motors a motor speeds as well as possible by
tant it is to have the motors running at difference of 15 RPM will cause a beat watching the tacho readings and lis-
exactly the same speed. If the motors note of 1Hz. This is because VBs have tening for the beat frequency. Trouble
don't run at the same speed, there can four firing strokes per revolution so is, most boat tachos are not very ac-
be excessive noise and vibration and 15 RPM is equivalent to 60 pulses per curate (typically ±3°/!l or worse at mid
the motors will be far less efficient as minute or 1Hz. Apart from being most scale) and they can also be subject to
one prop tries to pull the boat harder unpleasant to those on board, such low wavering readings. Furthermore, if
and the other produces more drag. At frequency vibration also causes lots you are driving the boat from the fly-

bridge in bad weather, it can be very
difficult to clearly hear the engine Fig.l: the basic set-up of the
exhausts, meaning that it is even more Twin Engine SpeedMatch
difficult to listen for "beat" notes. Indicator. It compares the
And if your hearing is not the best tachometer signals from
(very common with older drivers), the each motor and displays
difficulty is compounded. the difference in RPM on a
Clearly, an electronic beat indicator centre-zero meter.
is required. In setting out to produce a
suitable design, we thought about an PORT STARBOARD
ENGINE lWlN ENGINE ENGINE
indicator based on a LED bargraph. TACHO
SPEED MATCH
INDICATOR TACHO
When it was centred, the motors would SIGNAl SIGNAl
be in sync. However, trying to see LEDs
on a bright sunny day when driving
on the flybridge is next to impossible
and that goes for almost any electronic L . . . . - - _ +12V
indicator. That is why most boats have
conventional analog meters - they are
easy to see! Fig.2: each tacho signal
is fed to a frequency-to-
Hence we decided to base our de-
voltage converter. The
sign on a good old-fashioned analog resulting outputs are
meter movement. When the motors are then buffered and fed to
running at the same speed, the meter DIFFERENTIAL a differential amplifier
will be centred and if not, it will show VR3 &-_-1 AMPUFIER which drives the meter.
the difference at up to ZOO RPM (or .,.
whatever you decide to set) . It is then
easy to adjust the throttles so that the
meter is centred.
PORT FREQUENCY FREQUENCY STARBOARD
The basic set-up of the Twin En- ENGINE TOVOIJAGE TO VOIJAGE ENGINE
gine SpeedMatch Indicator is shown TACHO CONVERTER CONVERTER TACHO
in Fig.I. It compares the tachometer SIGNAl (lC2, VR2) (lC1, VR1) SIGNAl
signals from each motor and the differ-
ence in RPM is shown on the panel me-
ter. The panel meter needle is centred
when the motor speeds are identical. (ie, to half scale) when the tachometer ments to ensure that the frequency-
If the port (left) motor is running faster signals are the same frequency. to-voltage conversion is linear. First,
than the starboard (right) motor, then capacitor Cl is charged via a current
the needle will move left. Circuit description source to a voltage that is % the main
Similarly, if the starboard motor is The full circuit is shown in Fig.3. supply to the le. This charge current
running faster, the needle will move It comprises two LMZ917 frequency- is duplicated (using a current mirror)
to the right. to-voltage converters, a quad op amp for capacitor C2. During discharge, Cl
The meter shows only the differ- package plus associated resistors, is discharged to l,1,t the main supply at
ence in RPM and it does not matter if capacitors and diodes . a constant current. The specified upper
the engines are running at full speed Each tacho signal is applied to a and lower voltage thresholds ensure
or at idle. filter network consisting of a 10kn that the current source and discharge
The tacho signals will usually be a resistor and ZZnF capacitor. This is current circuitry operate within their
low-voltage signal from a Hall Effect followed by a Z2V zener diode and a designed voltage range .
sensor or reluctor, or they can be ob- zokn resistor to ground. This filtered In addition, charging and discharg-
tained from the ignition coils or from signal is fed to the non-inverting in- ing is at a rate that is twice the fre-
another source such as a low-voltage put of a Schmitt trigger at pin 1 of the quency of the tachometer input. This
tachometer signal from a sensor. LMZ9l7 (ICl & ICZ). doubling of input frequency reduces
Where these are not available, such The Schmitt trigger threshold (pin
as in a diesel motor, a signal from the 11) is set at about +0.55V by the 10kn
alternator can be used instead. and lkn voltage divider connected
Fig.Z shows how the two tacho sig- across the 6V supply. The output
nals are compared. Each tacho signal is from the Schmitt trigger drives an Power Consumption: 12V at
fed to a frequency-to-voltage converter internal charge pump which involves 20mA
(lCl & ICZ). The resulting voltage out- capacitors Cl & CZ (see Fig.4). CZ is Tacho Input Range: 0-6000 RPM
puts are then buffered and compared discharged using the series 100kn Display Range: typically set to
in a differential amplifier, IC3d. This resistor and a lMn trimpot (VRl and ±200 RPM
is offset using trimpot VR3 and then VRZ for ICl and ICZ, respectively).
Tacho Input voltage: 0.83V to
buffered by IC3a. The LMZ917 is a special-purpose
350VAC
The offset voltage centres the meter chip which has a number of refine-

01 1N.400.4
,REG17806,
i
+6V 680 K
RIGHT K
I I
(STARBOARD) Z03 +12V
~
ENGINE TACHO
SIGNAL 10k 1W
1Nl
10k
1 +IN
9
Vee
Cout 8
too", :/. 10",
16V ~
:/',00",
2
5v A
16V
1W
VIA
FUSE
OV
IC1
Z01
22V 20k " -IN
lM2917N
Eout 5 33k
~
Y
~
1W
Y 17 r I ... TP1
1k
~ ~
LEFT
(PORT)
ENGINE TACHO 9 .470k
SIGNAL 10k 1W Vee -wIr-
IN2 0 .... 'n. ~ 11+IN Cout,8
-n-
IC2 100nF
Z02 lM2917N
22V ~20k 11 '-IN 33k
1W ....Af'M
A
% ~ ~ ~ TP2
10k
~ 02
~ A
1mA
1N.4148 METER
K
~ ~ ~ ~ J
01 02 Z01-Z03
__t===
===I
===l
A~I=K=== 7806
A K A K
~
·~:GNO
IN
& TWIN ENGINE SPEED-MATCH INDICATOR GNO? OUT
Fig.3: the full circuit for the Twin Engine SpeedMatch Indicator. IC1 & ICZ (LMZ917N) are the frequency-to-voltage
converters, op amps IC3b & IC3c are the buffer stages and IC3d is the differential amplifier. VR3 & IC3a provide an
offset voltage for IC3d to centre the meter.
the ripple across C2. Fig.4 shows the IC3b is first attenuated by the 33kn at higher RPMs, this is not really a
internal schematic of the LM2917. and 4 70kn voltage di videI' at pin 12 of problem for this application.
The charge pump voltage at pin 3 is IC3d (non-inverting input) . The signal If you are using this circuit for a
applied to the non-inverting input of at pin 12 is therefore only 14/15 of the different purpose and require a better
the amplifier internal to the LM2917. output from IC3b. result especially at low outputs from
The inverting input to this amplifier The overall gain for signal at pin 12 the frequency-to-voltage converters,
at pin 10 is connected to the emit- is 1+ (470kn!33kn) or 15. Therefore, we would recommend using an LM-
ter output at pin 5 and this sets the the overall gain for the signal from C6484AIN CMGS rail-to-rail quad op
amplifier as a unity gain buffer. A IC3b is 15 x 14/ 15 or 14, ie, the same amp in place of the LM324.
10kn pull down resistor provides the gain as for the signal from IC3c except
emitter load. that it is positive (instead of negative). Meter offset
Gp amps IC3b & IC3c are connected Note that we are using the LM324 Gp amp IC3a buffers the voltage
as unity gain amplifiers to buffer the right on the limits of its specifica- from VR3 and provides the offset volt-
pin 5 outputs of ICl & IC2 . The buff- tions in this circuit. This is because age for IC3d. IC3d is offset so the meter
ered outputs are then fed to op amp the LM324 op amp only has a 50llA sits at half-scale (ie, centred) when
IC3d which functions as the differen- sink current for output voltages less there is no difference between the two
tial amplifier. than +0.5V. This is why the resistor input frequencies. For this half-scale
IC3d works as follows: the output values in the circuit are relatively high. condition for the ImA meter, 500llA
from IC3c is amplified with a gain However, considering the DC outputs needs to flow and so VR3 is set for this
of -14, as determined by the 470kn from the LM2917 frequency-to-voltage condition, ie, close to +2.25Y.
resistor between pins 13 & 14 and the converters are generally above 0.5V The meter movement is damped
33kn input resistor. The output from when the engines are idling and more with a lOOIlF capacitor across it. Nor-

.-----------~~~ +6V
9
1 PC board, code 04111091 ,

105 x 63mm
INPUT 1 .,. 1 1mA MU45 moving coil meter
CHARGE 8
(Jaycar OP-501 0; Altronics
11 PUMP 0-0500A) - see text
4 2-way PC-mount screw terminal
blocks (5.08mm pin spacing)
5 OUTPUT 3 0lP 141C sockets
.,. 2 solde r eyelet lugs
12
2 PC stakes
2 3 10 A
2 1Mn multiturn top-adjust trim-
pots (code 105) (VR 1, VR2)
REFERENCE 1 1kn multiturn top-adjust
VOIJAGE + trimpot (code 102) (VR3)
Cl C2 lOk
lonFI 11~F 1 75mm length of 0.7mm tinned
copper wire (for links)
.,. .,. .,. Semiconductors
Fig.4: the LM2917N frequency-to-voltage converter consists of a Schmitt 2 LM2917N frequency-to-voltage
trigger, a charge pump and an amplifier wired here as a unity gain buffer. converters (IC1,IC2)
1 LM324 quad op amp (IC3)
1 7806 6V regulator (REG1)
2 22V 1W zener diodes (Z01, Z02)
mal full scale deflection of the meter that if you have two helm positions 1 16V 1W zener diode (Z03)
will occur with +4.5V from IC3d. in the boat, you will need two Speed- 1 1N4004 1A diode (01)
Note that while a gross difference in Match Indicators. 1 1N4 148 switching diode (02)
engine speeds can result in more than The component layout for the PC
full scale deflection of the meter, the board is shown in Fig.5. Capacitors
resultant overload is quite modest Begin construction by checking the 2 1OO~LF 16V electrolytic
since IC3d 's output can only go slightly PC board for breaks in the tracks or 1 10pF 16V electrolytic
above +4.5V with a 6V supply. shorts between tracks and pads. Repair 2 1pF 16V electrolytic
We have also included diode D2 if necessary. Check that the hole sizes 2 1OOnF MKT polyester
across the meter. If a circuit fault are correct for each component to fit 2 22n F MKT polyester
applies excessive voltage to the me- neatly. The screw terminal holes are 2 1OnF MKT polyester
ter, the diode will conduct at about 1.25mm in diameter compared to the Resistors (O.25W 1%)
0.6V restricting the meter current to 0.9mm holes for the IC, resistors and 2470kn 2 10kn 1W
0.6V/200n or 3mA. diodes. The four corner mounting 2 100kn 1 4.3kn
Power for the circuit comes from the holes should be 3mm in diameter. 2 33kn 1 1kn
boat's 12V battery (ie, one of the engine Begin by inserting the links , PC 220kn 1 68Q
batteries) via a fuse (ie, a switched pins , diodes and resistors. We used on 310kn
accessory supply rail) and is applied resistors in place of wire links but th e
through diode Dl for reverse polarity latter could also be used. The diodes Miscellaneous
protection. The 68n resistor and 16V must be mounted with the orientation Silicone sealant, hook-up wire
zen er ZD3 protect against transient as shown. When inserting the resistors,
voltages, while a IOOIlF capacitor use the resistor colour code table to
provides supply decoupling. Regula- help in reading the resistor values. A ented correctly. Finally, the three ICs
tor REGl then provides the 6V supply digital multimeter should also be used can be mounted in their sockets, again
and its output is bypassed with a 10pF to measure each valu e. ensuring each is oriented correctly.
capacitor. A 100nF capacitor is also Sockets are used for all three ICs
connected across the supply near IC1. and these must all be oriented in the Testing
same direction , vvith the notches as The Twin Engine SpeedMatch In-
Construction shown. Once they're in , fit the 3-ter- dicator requires a 12V DC supply
The Twin Engine SpeedMatch In- minal regulator (REGl) and the three or anything from 8-16V DC at about
dicator is constructed on a PC board trimpots, all of which mount with the 20mA. Apply power and check that
coded 04111091 and measuring 105 x screw adjustment oriented as shown. there is +6V between pins 9 & 12 of
63mm. This can clip into the integral The terminal blocks consist of two both ICl and IC2 and between pins 4
mounting clips within a UB3 plastic 2-way sections which are locked & 11 ofIC3.
case if required. Alternatively, four together before the are inserted and If there is no voltage, check for +6V
corner mounting points are provided soldered into the PC board. at the output of REGl. Note that +6V
for mounting in a different box or in- The capacitors can be mounted next, is a nominal value and could range
side the dashboard of the boat. Note ensuring that the electrolytics are ori- from +5.85 to +6.15V, depending on

r
~~ ill
lOOnF
@
~ ~ fl8 ~ \Y
:~ I
IOklW
ZD1 =@I= m l!J-~

!ll rr~ 6~~ ill ~~rn" ~ ~~~~
-{]lQD-
JPI JP2
0
- - I
~"'~ l;J~~ ! ~~ ~"'~
'- '
~ w~ o~ o-(ill!)-e
,1 IOklW ~o - REGI~·~
~~
5P) VR2G · _- . J ©
Fig.5: install the parts on the PC board as shown on this wiring diagram and the photo at right. In
particular, make sure that all polarised parts are correctly installed and that trimpots VRI-VR3
have their screw adjustments positioned as shown.
the particular regulator. If there is no include illumination, will be sealed meter movements have their best ac-
voltage from the regulator, Dl may against moisture ingress and conden- curacy at full-scale deflection of the
be reversed or there may be a short sation and incorporate a lens (eg, in meter and minimum accuracy at close
circuit between the +6V rail and OV VDO gauges). to zero deflection.
on the PC board. If you are going to use a matching In fact , since the SpeedMatch In-
meter, it will probably need to be dicator will be set up by you, it will
Marine meter movement adapted from a voltmeter. In that case, be quite accurate for the centre speed
The meter shown in this article is a you will need to pull the meter apart match indication.
standard ImA FSD (full scale deflec- to change the scale. You will also need
tion) analog movement which can be to remove the internal series resistor Setting Up
obtained from Jaycar or Altronics. (voltage multiplier). Connect the unit to the meter's M+
However, depending on your applica- For the purpose of this article, we and M- terminals using leads terminat-
tion, this mayor may not be suitable. made up a replacement scale for the ed in solder eyelets. These eyelets are
For example, it may be OK if used on specified ImA meter movement. If sandwiched between the nuts sup-
the helm dashboard inside the cabin. you use this particular meter, you can plied with the meter. Ensure the meter
However, it almost certainly won't be change the scale by carefully prising polarity is correct. That done, apply
suitable if used on the helm dashboard the plastic cover off the meter, undo- power to the PC board and adjust trim-
on the flybridge where it will be ex- ing the two securing screws for the pot VR3 so that the meter is centred.
posed to the elements. originallmA scale and then attaching Further setting up requires either a
Most boat owners may want the the replacement panel.
meter to match the other meters on Fig.6 shows our replacement scale,
their dashboard and this approach will which has maximum readings of
no doubt be far more expensive - as is ±200 RPM, or rather PORT +200 0
everything associated with boats. On STBD +200. Note that this is a relative Value /IF Value IEC Code EIA Code
the other hand, taking this approach indication only and cannot be relied 100nF 0.111F 100n 104
will mean that the meter will probably on as having great accuracy. All analog 22nF 0.2211F 22n 223
0.0111F 10n 103
0 No. Value 4-Band Code (1%) 5-Band Code (1%)

0 2 470kO yellow violet yellow brown yellow violet black orange brown
0 2 100kO brown black yellow brown brown black black orange brown
0 2 33kO orange orange orange brown orange orange black red brown
0 2 20kO red black orange brown red black black red brown
0 3 10kO brown black orange brown brown black black red brown
0 2 10kO brown black orange brown NA
0 4.3kO yellow orange red brown yellow orange black brown brown
0 1kO brown black red brown brown black black brown brown
0 680 blue grey black brown blue grey black gold brown

50 0 5/)
tacho might indicate 2400 RPM while
"fjIJ ..fiIl \ I I 00
7 ,6'0 the starboard engine tacho indicates
2600 RPM when the engines are actu-
~ SIliCON CNIP ~ ally doing the same speed.
PORT ~ STARBOARD At low engine speeds, the tachos may
be much more inaccurate. For example,
at 1000 RPM, the accuracy may only
be ±10%, which means, again, that
the readings can be off by ±100 RPM.
Fig.6: this full-size meter scale can
be cut out or downloaded from the Why are analog tachos so bad? It is
SILICON CHIP website. because their basic accuracy of, say,
±2% only applies at full deflection.
will need to be 10nF x 3/36 or 820pF, So if the tacho reads to 6000 RPM, its
using the nearest capacitor value. reading is actually 6000 RPM ±120
For a separate tachometer sen- RPM. It does not get an y better at lower
sor, this may also deliver a higher readings and in fact , the linearity at
number of pulses per revolution. The small deflections for all analog meters
10nF value is reduced by the ratio of is generally not good.
3/number of sensor pulses per engine Unfortunately, where the tacho sig-
revolution. In addition, for this sensor, nal is derived from the alternator, as
there may be two leads - one for the in the case of some diesels, the tacho
signal and one at ov. The OV connec- signal itself can be inaccurate because
signal generator that can produce at tion is provided on the PC board for of variable slip in the drive belt. The
least 1V output or by connecting the this purpose if it is needed. only cure for this is to install a Hall
unit to the boat motor itself. Now connect the tachometer signal Effect sensor and an accompanying
from one motor to both 1Nl and IN2 . magnet on the harmonic balancer,
Tachometer signal Connect a digital multimeter, set to flywheel or the prop shaft.
As mentioned, the inputs for the a DC volts range, between test-point
Twin Engine SpeedMatch Indicator TPl and OV on the PC board. With Installation
can come from the ignition coil or the motor running, adjust trimpot VRl The Twin Engine SpeedMatch Indi-
from low-voltage tachometer signals. for a reading of 0.8V per 1000 RPM, cator is presented as a bare PC board
Where these are not available, such as eg, 1.6V at 2000 RPM. This sets the and separate meter. For installation
in a diesel motor, signal from a separate meter scale to ±200 RPM. If the volt- we recommend you seal the meter top
sensor or the AC from the alternator age cannot be set within the range of cover to the body with silicone sealant.
can be used instead. The Twin Engine the trimpot adjustment, then the 10nF The meter can be mounted in the boat
SpeedMatch Indicator will operate capacitor at pin 2 will need changing. dashboard using a suitable bracket.
without any changes using either the If the voltage is too high, use a lower Standard boat gauges tend to fit into a
ignition coil or low-voltage signal. value capacitor and if the voltage is 33fe-inch (85. 73mm) diameter hole and
If the alternator has to be used then too low, use a larger value. As a guide, the meter would need to be mounted
this may provide a higher frequency reducing the capacitor value by a factor onto a metal plate.
than from the other tachometer sourc- of two will reduce the voltage by the The PC board can mount inside the
es. The signal from the alternator is an same amount. boat dashboard. If you want to mount
AC signal and may be marked as AC, Having adjusted VRl so that TPl is it in a box, it will fit into a UB3 box
AUX, S, R or TACH. An idea of how at 1.6V at 2000 RPM, set trimpot VR2 measuring 130 x 68 x 44mm. The +12V
many pulses from the alternator per so that the ImA meter is centred. That supply connection should be run to
engine rotation can be gauged by meas- is all the set-up requires. a fused accessory supply line that's
uring the diameter of the crankshaft Now connect the 1Nl and IN2 inputs switched by the ignition, while the
pulley and dividing this by the alter- to the separate motor tachometer sig- wiring to the ignition coil should use
nator pulley diameter. The number of nals and test the operation. Note that mains-rated (230VAC rated) cable.
poles in the alternator is multiplied by it is quite possible that you will find For moisture protection use cable
this pulley ratio. The number of poles that when the SpeedMatch is indicat- glands for wire entry and seal the box
is usually 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12. ing that the motors are synchronised, with silicone sealant after calibration.
The Twin Engine SpeedMatch In- the tacho readings may not be exactly
dicator was designed for between two the same. 24Voperation
and four pulses per engine rotation. If This is to be expected with most Some boats may have 24V batteries.
the alternator signal is higher than this, analog tachometers since they are For 24V operation, the 16V zen er diode
then the 10nF capacitors at pin 2 ofICl not particularly accurate, especially ZD3 should be changed to 33V 1Wand
and IC2 will need changing to a differ- those with 270 0 movements (ie, most the 100~F 16V capacitor at the input to
ent value. The 10nF value is reduced tachos). For example, a tachometer the 3-terminal regulator REGl should
by the ratio of 3/number of alternator wi th a mid -scale accuracy of ±4 % will be increased in voltage rating to 35V
pulses per engine revolution. So if have an error in the range of ±100 RPM or 50V. In addition, REGl should be
the alternator produces 36 pulses per at an engine speed of 2500 RPM. So it fitted with a small heats ink such as
engine revolution, then the capacitor is quite possible that the port engine Jaycar HH-8504 or HH-8502. se
May 1999: The Line Dancer Robol; An X-Y Table With Stepper Motor
Control, Pt.l; Three Electric Fence Testers; Carbon Monoxide Alarm.
June 1999: FM Radio Tuner Card For PCs; X-YTableWith Stepper Motor
Control, Pt.2; Programmable Ignition Timing Module For Cars, Pt.t.
July 1999: Build A Dog Silencer; 10MH to t9.99mH Inductance Meter;
Audio-Video Transmitter; Programmable Ignition Timing Module For
January 1994: 3A 40V Variable Power Supply; Solar Panel Switching Pt.t; HF Amateur Radio Receiver; Cathode Ray OSCilloscopes, Pt.S. Cars, Pt.2; XYZ Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.3.
Regulator; Printer Status Indicator; Mini Drill Speed Controller; Step-
per Motor Controller; Active Filter Design; Engine Management, Pt.4. October 1996: Send Video Signals Over Twisted Pair Cable; 600W August 1999: Remote Modem Controller; Daytime Running Lights For
DC-DC Converter For Car Hifi Systems, Pt.t ; IR Stereo Headphone Cars; Build A PC Monitor Checker; Switching Temperature Controller:
February 1994:90-Second Message Recorder; 12-240VAC 200W In- link, Pt.2; Multi-Channel Radio Control Transmitter, Pt.B. XYZ Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.4; Electric Lighting, Pt.14.
verter; O.SW Audio Amplifier; 3A40V Adjustable Power Supply; Engine
Management, Pt.S; Airbags In Cars - How They Work. November 1996: B-Channel Stereo Mixer, Pt.t; Low-Cost Fluorescent September 1999: A. nomouse The Robot, Pt.t : Voice Direct Speech
light Inverter; Repairing Domestic light Dimmers .. Recognition Module~ig ital Electrolytic CapaCitance Meter; XYZ Table
March 1994: Intelligent IR Remote Controller; SOW (LM38?S) Audio With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.5; Peltier-Powered Can Cooler.
Amplifier Module; Level Crossing Detector For Model Railways; Voice December 1996: Active Filter For CW Reception; Fast Clock
Activated Switch For FM Microphones; Engine Management, Pt.S. For Railway Modellers; Laser Pistol & Electronic Target; Build October 1999: Build The Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt.t;
A Sound Level Meter; B-Channel Stereo Mixer, Pt.2; Index To Vo1.9. Semiconductor Curve Tracer; Autonomouse The Robot, Pt.2; XYZ
April 1994: Sound & lights For Model Railway Level Crossings; Dual Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.6; Introducing Home Theatre.
Supply Voltage Regulator; Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Digital Water January 1997: Control Panel For Multiple Smoke Alarms, Pt.t; Build
Tank Gauge; Engine Management, Pt.? A Pink Noise Source; Computer Controlled Dual Power Supply, Pt.t ; November 1999: Setting Up An Email Server; Speed Alarm For Cars,
Digi-Temp Thermometer (Monitors Eight Temperatures). Pt.t ; LED Christmas Tree; Intercom Station Expander; Foldback Loud-
May 1994: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries; Induction Balance Metal speaker System; Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt.2.
Locator; Multi-Channel Infrared Remote Control; Dual Electronic Dice; February 1997: PC-Controlled Moving Message Display; Computer
Simple Servo Driver Circuits; .Engine Management, Pt.B. Controlled Dual Power Supply, Pt.2; Alert-A-Phone Loud Sounding December 1999: Solar Panel Regulator; PC Powerhouse (gives +t2V,
Telephone Alarm; ContrOl Panel For Multiple Smoke Alarms, Pt.2. +9V, +6V & +SV rails): Fortune Finder Metal Locator; Speed Alarm For
June 1994: A Coolant Level Alarm For Your Car: BO-Metre AM/CW Cars, Pt.2: Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt.3; Index To Vo1.12.
Transmitter For Amateurs; Converting Phono Inputs To line Inputs; March 1997: 17SW PA Amplifier; Signalling & lighting For Model
PC-Based Nicad Battery Monitor; Engine Management, Pt.9. Railways; Jumbo LED Clock: Cathode Ray OSCilloscopes, Pt.? January 2000: Spring Reverberation Module; An Audio-Video Test
Generator; Parallel Port Interface Card; Telephone Off-Hook Indicator.
July 1994: Build A 4-Bay Bow-Tie UHF TV Antenna; PreChamp 2-Tran- April 1997: Simple Timer With No ICs; Digital Voltmeter For Cars:
sistor Preamplifier; Steam Train Whistle & Diesel Horn Simulator: SV Loudspeaker Protector For Stereo Amplifiers: Model Train Controller: February 2000: Multi-Sector Sprinkler Controller: A Digital Voltmeter
SLA Battery Charger; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.l0. A Look At Signal Tracing; Pt.t : Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.B. For Your Car; Safety Switch Checker; Sine/Square Wave Oscillator.
August 1994: High-Power Dimmer For Incandescent lights; Dual Diver- May 1997: Neon Tube Modulator For light Systems: Traffic lights For March 2000: 1OOW Amplifier Module, Pt.l : Electronic Wind Vane With
sity Tuner For FM Microphones, Pt.l ; Nicad Zapper (For Resurrecting A Model Intersection; The Spacewriter - It Writes Messages In Thin 16-LED Display; Build A Glowplug Driver.
Nicad Batteries); Electronic Engine Management, Pt.". Air; A Look At Signal Tracing; Pt.2; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.9.
May 2000: Ultra-LD Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; LED Dice (With PlC Micro-
September 1994: Automatic Discharger For Nicad Batteries; MiniVox June 1997: PC-Controlled ThermometerfThermostat: TV Pattern controller); 50A Motor Speed Controller For Models.
VOice Operated Relay; AM Radio For Weather Beacons; Dual Diversity Generator, Pt.t: Audio/RF Signal Tracer; High-Current Speed Control-
Tuner For FM Mics, Pt.2; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.12. ler For t2V/24V Motors; Manual Control Circuit For Stepper Motors. June 2000: Automatic Rain Gauge; Parallel Port VHF FM Receiver;
S\Vitchmode Power Supply (1.23V to 40V) Pt.l : CD Compressor.
October 1994: How Dolby Surround Sound Works; Dual Rail Variable July 1997: Infrared Remote Volume Control; A Flexible Interface Card
Power Supply; Talking Headlight Reminder; Electronic Ballast For For PCs; Points Controller For Model Railways; Colour TV Pattern July 2000: Moving Message Display; Compact Fluorescent Lamp Driver;
Fluorescent lights; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.13. Generator, Pt.2; An In-line Mixer For Radio Control Receivers. Musicians' Lead Tester: Switch mode Power Supply, Pt.2.
November 1994: Dry Cell Battery Rejuvenator; Novel Alphanumer- October 1997: S-Digit Tachometer; Central Locking For Your Car; PC- August 2000: Theremin: Spinner (writes messages in "thin-air");
ic Clock; BO-M DSB Amateur Transmitter; 2-Cell Nicad Discharger. Controlled 6-Channel Voltmeter: SOOW Audio Po\Ver Ampl~ier, Pt.3. Proximity Switch: Structured Cabling For Computer Networks.
December 1994: Car Burglar Alarm; Three-Spot Low Distortion Sine- November 1997: Heavy Duty tOA 240VAC Motor Speed Controller: September 2000: SWimming Pool Alarm; B-Channel PC Relay Board:
wave Oscillator; Clifford - A Pesky Electronic Cricket; Remote Control Easy-To-Use Cable & Wiring iester; Build A Musical Doorbell: Replac- Fuel Mixture Display For Cars, Pt.t ; Protoboards - The Easy Way Into
System for Models, Pt.l ; Index to Vol.? ing Foam Speaker Surrounds; Understanding Electric lighting Pt.l . ElectroniCS, Pt.l: Cybug The Solar Fly.
January 1995: Sun Tracker For Solar Panels; Battery Saver For Torches; December 1997: Speed Alarm For Cars: 2-Axis Robot With Gripper; October 2000: Guitar Jammer: Breath Tester; Wand-Mounted Inspec-
Dual Channel UHF Remote Control; Stereo Microphone Preamplifier. Stepper Motor Driver With Onboard Buffer: Power Supply For Stepper tion Camera: Subwoofer For Cars; Fuel Mixture Display, Pt.2.
Motor Cards: Understanding Electric Lighting Pt.2: Index To Vol.l O.
February 1995: 2 x SOW Stereo Amplifier Module; Digital Effects Unit November 2000: Santa & Rudolf Chrissie Display; 2-Channel Guitar
For MUSicians; S-Channel LCD Thermometer; Wide Range Electrostatic January 1998: 4-Channelt2VDC or 12VAC Lightshow, Pt.t; Command Preamplifier, Pt.t; Message Bank & Missed Call Alert; Protoboards -
Loudspeakers, Pt.l; Remote Control System For Models, Pt.2. Control For Model Railways, Pt.t; Pan Controller For CCD Cameras. The Easy Way Into Electronics, Pt.3.
March 1995: 2 x SOW Stereo Amplifier, Pt.l; Subcarrier Decoder For February 1998: Telephone Exchange Simulator For Testing; Command December 2000: Home Networking For Shared Internet Access; White
FM Receivers; Wide Range Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Pt.2; IR il- Control For Model Railways, Pt.2; 4-Channel Lightshow, Pt.2. LED Torch; 2-Channel Guitar Preamplifier, Pt.2 (Digital Reverb); Driving
luminator For CCD Cameras; Remote Control System For Models, Pt.3. An LCD From The Parallel Port; Index To VoLt 3.
April 1998: Automatic Garage Door Opener, Pt.t; 40V BA Adjustable
April 1995: FM Radio Trainer, Pt.l; Balanced Mic Preamp & line Power Supply, Pt.l : PC-Controlled 0-30kHz Sinewave Generator; January 2001: How To Transfer LPs & Tapes To CD; The LP Doctor-
Filter; SOW/Channel Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; Wide Range Electrostatic Understanding Electric Lighting; Pt.6. Clean Up Clicks & Pops, Pt.t; Arbitrary Waveform Generator; 2-Channel
Loudspeakers, Pt.3; B-Channel Decoder For Radio Remote Control. Guitar Preamplifier, Pt.3; PlC Programmer & TestBed.
May 1998: 3-LED Logic Probe; Garage Door Opener, Pt.2: Command
May 1995: Guitar Headphone Amplifier; FM Radio Trainer, Pt.2; Transis- Control System, Pt.4: 40V 8A Adjustable Power Supply, Pt.2. February 2001: An Easy Way To Make PC Boards: L'il Pulser Train
torlMosfet Tester For DMMs; A tS-Channel Decoder For Radio Remote Controller; A MIDI Interlace For PCs; Build The Bass Blazer: 2-Metre
Control; Introduction To Satellite TV. June 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.2: Universal High Energy Groundplane Antenna; LP Doctor - Clean Up Clicks & Pops, Pt.2.
Ignition System: The Roadies' Friend Cable Tester: Universal Stepper
June 1995: Build A Satellite TV Receiver; Train Detector For Model Motor Controller: Command Control For Model Railways, Pt.S. March 2001: Making Photo Resist PC Boards; Big-Digit t2l24 Hour
Railways; tW Audio Ampl~ierTrainer; Low-Cost Video Security System; Clock: Parallel Port PlC Pr09rammer & Checkerboard; Protoboards-
Multi-Channel Radio Control Transmitter For Models, Pt.t. July 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.3; ISW/Ch Class-A Audio The Easy Way Into ElectrOnics, Pt.S; A Simple MIDI Expansion Box.
Amplifier, Pt.l: Simple Charger For 6V & 12V SLA BaNeries: Auto-
July 1995: Electric Fence Controller; How To Run Two Trains On A matic Semiconductor Analyser: Understanding Electric lighting , Pt.B. April 2001: A GPS Module For Your PC; Or Video - An Easy-To-Build
Single Track (Incl. lights & Sound); Setting Up A Satellite TV Ground Video Stabiliser: Tremolo Unit For Musicians; Minimitter FM Stereo
Station; Build A Reliable Door Minder. August 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.4; 110 Card With Data Log- Transmitter; Intelligent Nicad Battery Charger.
ging; Beat Triggered Strobe; 15W/Ch Class-A Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2.
August 1995: Fuellniector Monitor For Cars; Build A Gain-Controlled May 2001: t2V Mini Stereo Amplifier; Two White-LED Torches To
Microphone Preamphfier; Identifying IDE Hard Disk Drive Parameters. September 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.5; A Blocked Air-Filter Build; PowerPak - A Multi-Voltage Power Supply; Using Linux To
Alarm; Waa-Waa Pedal For Guitars; Jacob's Ladder; Gear Change Share An Internet Connection, Pt.t; Tweaking Windows With TweakUI.
September 1995: Railpower Mk.2 Walkaround Throttle For Model Rail- Indicator For Cars; Capacity Indicator For Rechargeable Batteries.
ways, Pt.t; Keypad Combination Lock; Build AJacob's Ladder Display. June 2001: Universal Battery Charger, Pt.t; Phonome - Call, Listen
October 1998: AC Millivoltmeter, Pt. 1; PC-Controlled Stress-O-Meter: In &Switch Devices On &Off; Low-Cost Automatic Camera Switcher;
October 1995: 3-Way Loudsp'eaker System; Railpower Mk.2 Walk- Versatile Electronic Guitar Limiter; 12VTrickle Charger For Float Condi- Using Linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.2.
around Throttle For Model Railways, Pt.2; Build A Nicad Fast Charger. tions; Adding An External Battery Pack To Your Flashgun.
July 2001: The HeartMate Heart Rate Monitor: Do Not Disturb Tele-
November 1995: Mixture Display For Fuel Injected Cars; CB Transverter November 1998: The Christmas Star: A Turbo Timer For Cars: Build phone Timer; Pic-Toc - A Simple Alarm Clock: Fast Universal Battery
For The 80M Amateur Band, Pt.t ; PIR Movement Detector. A Poker Machine, Pt.l: FM Transmitter For Musicians; Lab Quality AC Charger, Pt.2: Backing Up Your Email.
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May 1996: High Voltage Insulation Tester; Knightrider LED Chaser;
Simple Intercom Uses Optical Cable; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.3.
Millivoltmeter, Pt.2: Improving AM Radio Reception, Pt.t .
December 1998: Engine Immobiliser Mk.2; Thermocouple Adaptor
August 2001: 01 Box For Musicians; 200W Mosfet Amplifier Module:
Headlight Reminder: 40MHz S-Digit Frequency Counter Module; Using
For DMMs; Regulated 12V DC Plug pack; Build A Poker Machine, Pt.2; linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.3.
§i June 1996: Stereo Simulator; Build A Rope light Chaser; Low Ohms Improving AM Radio Reception, Pt.2; Mixer Module For F3B Gliders.
Tester For Your DMM; Automatic tOA Battery Charger. September 2001: Making MP3s: Build An MP3 Jukebox, Pt.l ; PC-
~ July 1996: VGA Digital Oscilloscope, Pt.t; Remote Control Extender
January 1999: High-Voltage Megohm Tester; A Look At The BASIC
Stamp: Bargraph Ammeter For Cars; Keypad Engine Immobiliser.
Controlled Mains Switch; Personal Noise Source For Tinnitus; Direc-
tional Microphone: Using Linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.4.
~ For VCRs; 2A SLA Battery Charger; 3-Band Parametric Equaliser.
March 1999: Build A Digital Anemometer; DIY PlC Programmer; Build November 2001: Ultra-LD 100W/Channel Stereo Amplifier, Pt.l ; Neon
~ August 1996: Introduction to IGBTs; Electronic Starter For Fluorescent
Lamps; VGA Oscilloscope, Pt.2; 3S0W Amplifier Module; Masthead
An Audio Compressor; Low-Distortion Audio Signal Generator, Pt.2. Tube Modulator For Cars; AudioNideo Distribution Amplifier; Build A
Short Message Recorder Player; Useful Tips For Your PC.
Amplifier For TV & FM; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.4. April 1999: Getting Started With Linux; Pt.2; High-Power Electric
Fence Controller: Bass Cube Subwoofer; Programmable ThermostaV January 2002: Touch And/Or Remote-Controlled Light Dimmer, Pt. 1;
September 1996: VGA Oscilloscope, Pt.3; IR Stereo Headphone link, Thermometer; Build An Infrared Sentry; Rev Limiter For Cars. A Cheap 'n'Easy Motorbike Alarm ; 100W /Channel Stereo Amplifier,
~
Pt.3; Build A Raucous Alarm; FAQs On The MP3 Jukebox.
Cj
§ ••• ,. '''.r:
Just fill in and mail the handy order form in this issue; or fax (02) 9939
February 2002: to-Channel IR Remote Conlrol Receiver; 2.4GHz
High-Power Audio-Video link; Touch And/Or Remote-Controlled Light
Dimmer, Pt.2; Booting A PC Without A Keyboard; 4-Way Event Timer.
March 2002: Mighty Midget Audio Amplifier Module: 6-Channel
:::
CJ:l
2648; or call (02) 9939 3295 and quote your credit card number. Price: IR Remote Volume Control, Pt.l : RIM Pre-Amplifier For MagnetiC
Cartridges: t2l24V Intelligent Solar Power Battery Charger.
$A9.50 each (including GST) in Australia or $A13 each overseas. Prices
Aprll2002:Automatic Single-Channel Light Dimmer; Pt.l ; Water Level
include postage and packing. Email: silicon@siliconchip.com.au Indicator; Multiple-Output Bench Power Supply; Versatile Multi-Mode
~ Timer; 6-ChannellR Remote Volume Control, Pt.2.
~
May 2002: 32-LED Knightrider: The Battery Guardian (Cuts Power When February 2005: Windm ill Generator, Pt.3; USB-Controlled Electro- August 2007: How To Cut Your Greenhouse Emissions, Pt.2; 20W
the Battery Voltage Drops); Stereo Headphone Ampli fier; Automati c cardiograph ; TwinTen Stereo Amplifier; Inductance & Q-Factor Meter, Class-A Stereo Amplifier; Pt A; Adaptive Turbo Ti mer; Subwoofer
Single-Channel Light Dimmer; Pt.2; Stepper Motor Controlle r. Pt. 1; A Yagi Antenna For UHF CB; $2 Battery Charger. Controller; 6-Digit Nixie ClOCk, Pt.2 .
Augus12002: Digital Instru mentation Software for PCs; Digital Storage March 2005: Windmill Generator. Pt.4; Sports Scoreboard, Pt. l ; Induct- September 2007: The Art Of Long-Distance Wifi; fast Charg er For
Logic Probe; Digital ThermIThermostat Sound Card Interface for PC ance & Q-Factor Meter. Pt.2; Shielded Loop Antenna For AM; Sending NiMH & Nicad Batteries; Simple Data-Logging Weather Station, Pt. 1;
Test Instruments; Direct Conversion Receiver for Radio Amateurs. Picaxe Data Over 477MHz UHF CB; S10 Lathe & Drill Press Tachometer. 20W Class-A Stereo Amplifier; Pt.5.
September 2002: 12V fluorescent Lamp Inverter; 8-Channellnfrared April 2005: Inslall Your Own In-Car Video (Reversing Monitor); Build October 2007: DVD Players - How Good Are They For HiFi Audio?:
Remote Control; 50-Watt DC Electronic Load ; Spyware - An Update. A MIDI Therem in. Pt.l ; Bass Extender For Hifi Systems; Sports Score- PICProbe Logic Probe; Rolling Code Security System. Pt. 1; Simple
board, Pt.2; SMS Controller Add-Ons: A,5 Variable Power Supply. Data-Logging Weather Station, Pt.2; AM Loop Antenna & Amplilier.
October 2002: Speed Controller for Universal MOlars; PC Parallel Port
Wizard; Cable Tracer; AVR ISP Serial Programmer; 3D TV. May 2005; Getting Into Wi -Fi. Pt. 1; Build A45-Second Voice Recorder; November 2007: Your Own Home Record ing Studio; PlC-Based
Wireless Microphone/Audio Link; MIDI Theremin, Pt.2; Sports Score- Water Tank Level Meter, Pt.t : Playback Adaptor For CD-ROM Drives,
November 2002: SuperCharger for NiCd/NiMH Batteries, Pt. l ; board, Pt.3; Automatic Stopwatch Timer. Pt .l ; Rolling Code Security System, Pt.2; Build A UV Light Box For
Windows-Based EPROM Programmer, Pt. 1; 4-Digit Crystal-Controlled Maki ng PC Boards.
Timing Module. June 2005: Wi -Fi , Pt.2; The Mesmeriser LEDClock; Cool master Fridge/
Freezer Temperature Controller; Alternative Power Regular; PICAXE December 2007: Signature Series Kit Loudspeakers; IR Audio Head-
December 2002: Receiving TV f rom Satellites; Pt. 1; The Micromitter Colour Recognition System ; AVR200 Single Board Computer, Pt. 1. phone Link; Enhanced 45s Voice Recorder Modu le; PlC-Based Water-
Stereo fM Transmitter; Windows-Based EPROM Programmer. Pt.2; Tan k Level Meter; Pt.2; Playback Adaptor For CD-ROM Drives; Pt.2.
SuperChargerforNiCd/NiMH Batteries; Pt.2; Simple VHf FM/AM Radio. July 2005; Wi -Fi , Pt.3; Remote-Control led Automatic Lamp Dimmer;
Serial Stepper Motor Controller; Salvaging & Using Thermostats; January 2008: PlC-Controlled Swimming Pool Alarm; Emergency 12V
January 2003: Receivi ng TV from Satellites. Pt 2; SC480 50W Unwired Modems & External Antennas. Lighting Controller; Build The "Aussie-3" Valve AM Radio; The Minispot
RMS Ampli fier Module, Pt.l; Gear Indicator For Cars; Active 3-Way 455kHz Modulated Oscillator; Water Tank Level Meter, Pt.3 - The Base
Crossover For Speakers. August 2005: Mudlark A205 Valve Stereo Amplifier, Pt. 1; Program- Station; Improving The Water Tank Level Meter Pressure Sensor.
mable Flexilimer; Carbon Monoxide Alert; Serial LCD Driver; Enhanced
February 2003: PortaPal PA System, Pt. l; SC480 50W RMS Amplifier Sports Scoreboard; Salvaging Washing Maching Pressure Switches. February 2008: UHF Remote-Controlled Mains Switch; UHf Remote
Module, Pt.2; Windows-Based EPROM Programmer. Pt.3; Fun With Mains Switch Transmitter; APIR-Triggered Mains Switch; Shift Indicator
The PICAXE, Pt. 1. September 2005; Build Your Own Seismograph; BilgeSnifter For Boats; & Rev Limiter For Cars; Mini Solar Battery Charger.
Vo lP Analog Phone Adaptor; Mudlark A205 Valve Stereo Amplifi er.
March 2003: LED Lighting For Your Car; Peltier-Effect Tinnie Cooler; Pt.2 ; PICAXE in Schools, Pt A. March 2008: How To Get Into Digital TV. Pt. 1; Th e 12C Bus - A Quick
PortaPal PA System, Pt.2; 12V SLA Battery Float Charger; Little Dy- Primer; 12V-24V High-Current DC Motor Speed Controller. Pt. l ; A
namite Subwoofer; fun With The PICAXE. Pt.2 (Shop Door Minder) . October 2005: A Look At Google Earth ; Dead Simple USB Breakout Digital VFO with LCD Graphics Display; A Low-C ost PC-to-12C Interface
Box; Sludio Series Stereo Preamplifier, Pt.1 ; Video Reading Aid For for Debugging; One-Pulse-Per Second Driver For Quartz Clocks.
April 2003: Video-Audio Booster For Home Theatre Systems; Telephone Vision Impaired People; Simple Alcohol Level Meter; Ceiling fan Timer.
Dialler For Burglar Alarms; Three PlC Programmer Kits; PICAXE, Pt.3 April 2008: How To Get Into Digital TV, Pt.2; Charge Controller for 12V
(Heartbeat Simulator) ; Electric Shutter Release For Cameras. November 2005: Good Quality Car Sound On The Cheap ; Pt.l; PICAXE Lead-Acid Or SLA Batteries; Safe Flash Trigger For Digital Cameras;
In Schools. Pt.5; Studio Series Stereo Headphone Amplifier; Build A 12V-24V High-Current DC Motor Speed Controller, Pt.2; Two-Way
May 2003: Widgybox Guitar Distortion Effects Unit; 10MHz Big Blaster MIDI Drum Kit, Pt. 1; Serial I/O Controller & Anal og Sampler. Stereo Headphone Adaptor.
Subwoofer; Printer Port Simulator; PICAXE, Pt.4 (Motor Controller).
Oecember2005: Good Quality Car Sound On The Cheap; Pt. 2; Building May 2008: Replacement CO l Module For Small Petrol Molars;
June 2003: PICAXE-Controlled Telephone Intercom; Sunset Switch For The Ultimate Jukebox. Pt.1; Universal High-Energy Ignition System . High-Accuracy Digital LC Meter; Lo w-Cost dsPIC/PIC Programmer;
Security & Garden Lighting; Digital Reaction Timer; Adjustable DC-DC Pt. 1; MIDI Drum Kit. Pt.2; 433MHz Wireless Data Communication . High-Current Adjustable Voltage Regulator.
Converter For Cars; Long-Range 4-Channel UHF Remote Control.
January 2006: Pocket TENS Unit For Pain Relief; "Little Jim " AM Rad io June 2008: DSP Musicolour Light Show, Pt.1; PlC-Based Flexitimer
July 2003: Smart Card Reader & Programmer; Power-Up Auto Mains Transmitter; Universal High-Energy Ignition System, Pt.2; Building The MkA; USB Power Injector For External Hard Drives; Balanced/Unbal-
SWltch; 'A"Smart" Slave Flash Trigger; Programmable Continuity Tester; Ultimate Jukebox, Pt.2; MIDI Drum Kit, Pt.3; Picaxe-Based 433MHz anced Converter For Audio Signals; AQuick'n'Easy Digital Slide Scanner.
Updating The PlC Programmer & Checkerboard. Wireless Thermometer; A Human-Powered LED Torch.
July 2008: DSP Musicolour Light Show, Pt.2; A PlC-Based Musical
August 2003: PC Infrared Remote Receiver (Play DV Os & MP3s On February 2006: PC-Controlled Burglar Alarm, Pt. 1; A Charger For iPods Tuning Aid; Balanced Mic Preamp For PCs & MP3 Players; Bridge
Your PC Via Remote Control): Digital Instrument Display For Cars. & MP3 Players; Picaxe-Powered Thermostat & Temperature Display; Adaptor For Stereo Power Amplifiers.
Pt.l; Home-Brew Weatherproof 2.4GHz WiFi Antennas; PICAXE Pt.? Build A MID I Drum Kit, Pt.4; Building The Ultimate Jukebox, Pt. 3.
August 2008: Ultra-LO Mk.2 200W Power Amplifier Module, Pt.1;
September 2003: Robot Wars; Krypton Bike Light; PlC Programmer; March 2006: The Electronic Camera, Pt. l ; PC-Coni rolled Burglar Alarm Planet Jupiter Receiver; LED Slrobe & Contact less Tachometer, Pt. 1;
Current Clamp Meter Adapter For DMMs; PICAXE Pt.8 - A Data Logger; System, Pt.2; Low-Cost Intercooler Water Spray Controller; AVR ISP DSP Musicolour Li ght Show, Pt.3; Printing In The Third Dimension.
Digital Instru ment Display For Cars. Pt.2. SocketBoard; Build A Low-Cost Large Display An emometer.
September 2008: Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt. 1; LED/Lamp
October 2003: PC Board Design , Pt.l ; JV80 Loudspeaker System ; A April 2006: The Electronic Camera, Pt2; Studio Series Remote Control Flasher; Ultra-LO Mk.2 200W Power Amplifier Module. Pt.2: DSP Mu-
Di rt Cheap, High-Current Power Supply; Low-C ost 50MHz Frequency Module (For A Stereo Preampl ifier); 4-Channel AudioNideo Selector; sicolour Light Show, PtA; LED Strobe & Contactless Tachometer, Pt.2.
Meter; Long-Range 16-Channel Remote Control System. Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System , Pt. 1; Picaxe Goes Wire-
less, Pt.1 (Using the 2.4GHz XBee Modules). October 2008: USB Clock With LCD Readout. Pt. 1; Digital Rf Level &
November 2003: PC Board Design, Pt.2 ; 12AX? Valve Aud io Pream- Power Meter; Multi-Purpose Timer; Railpower Model Train Controller,
plifier; Our Best Ever LED Torch; Smart Radio Modem For Microcon- May 2006: Lead-Acid Battery Zapper; Universal High-Energy LED light- Pt.2 ; Picaxe-08M 433Mhz Qata Transceiver.
trollers; PICAXE Pt.9; Prog rammable PlC-Powered Timer. ing System, Pt.2; Passive Direct Injection (01) Box For Musicians; Picaxe
Goes Wireless, Pt.2; Boost YourXBee's Range Usi ng Simple Antennas. November 2008: 12V Speed Controller/Lamp Dimmer; USB Clock
Oecember 2003: PC Board Design, Pt.3; VH F Receiver For Weather With LCD Readout , Pt.2; Wideband Air-Fuel Mixture Display Unit:
Satellites; Linear Supply For Luxeon 1WStar LEDs; 5V Meter Calibration June 2006; Pocket AN Test Patt ern Generator; Two-Way SPDIF-to- IrDA Interface Board For The DSP Musicolour; The AirNav RadarBox.
Standard; PIC-8ased Car Battery Mon itor; PICAXE Pt.10 . Tosli nk Digital Au dio Converter; Build A 2.4GHz Wireless AN Link; A
High-Current Battery Charger For Almost Nothing. Oecember 2008: Versatile Car Scrolling Display, Pt. 1; Test The salt
January 2004: Studio 350W Power Amglifier Module, Pt.1; Hig h- Content Of Your Swimming Pool; Build A Brownout Detector; Simple
Efficiency Power Supply For lW Star LE s; Antenna & RF Preamp July 2006: Mi ni Theremin Mk.2, Pt.1; Programmable Analog On-Off Voltage Switch For Car Sensors.
For Weather Satellites; Lapel Microphone Adaptor f or PA Systems; Controller; Studio Series Stereo Preampl ifier; Stop Those Zaps From
PICAXE- 18X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt. 1; 2.4GHZ AudioNideo Link. Double-Insulated Equipment. January 2009: Dual Booting With Two Hard Disk Drives; USB-Sensing
Mains Power Switch; Remote Mains Relay Mk.2; AM Broadcast Band
February 2004: PC Board Design. Pt. 1; Supply Rail Monitor For PCs; August 2006: Picaxe-Based LED Chaser Clock; Magnetic Cartridge Loop Antenna; Car Scrolling Display. Pt.2; 433MHz UHF Remote Switch.
Studio 350W Power Amplifier Module. Pt.2; Shorted Turns Tester For Preamplifier; An Ultrasonic Eavesdropper; Mini Theremin Mk. 2, Pt.2.
Line Output Transformers; PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt.2. February 2009: Digital Radio Is Coming. Pt. 1; Tempmaster Elec-
September 2006: Transferring Your LPs To COs & MP3s; Turn an tronic Thermostat Mk.2; lOA Universal Motor Speed Controller Mk.2;
March 2004: PC Board Design, Pt.2; Build The QuickBrake For Increased Old Xbox Into A S200 Mu ltimedia Player; Build The Galactic Voice; Progra mmable Time Delay Flash Trigger; Car Scrolling Display, Pt.3.
Driving Safety; 3V-9V (or more) DC-DC Converter; ESR Meter Mk.2 . Aquarium Temperature Alarm; S-Video To Com posite Video Converter.
Pt.l; PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt.3. March 2009: Reviving Old Laptops With Puppy Linux; Digital Radio
October 2006: LED TachometerWith Dual Displays, Pt.l ; UHFPrescaler Is Coming, Pt.2: A GPS-Synchronised Clock; Theremin Mk.2; Build A
April 2004: PC Board Design, Pt.3; Loudspeaker Level Meter For Home For Frequency Counters; Infrared Remote Control Extender; Easy-To- Digital Audio Millivoltmeter; Learning about Picaxe Microcontrollers.
Theatre Systems; Dog Silencer; Mixture Display For Cars; ESR Meter Build 12V Digital Timer Module; Build A Super Bicycle Light Alternator.
Mk.2 , Pt.2; PC/PICAXE Interface For UHF Remote Control. April 2009: Digital Radio Is Coming, Pt.3; Wireless Networking With
November 2006: Radar Speed Gun , Pt. 1; Build Your Own Compact Bass Ubu ntu & Puppy Linux; Remote-Controlled Lamp Dimmer; School Zone
May 2004: AmplifierTesting Without High-Tech Gear; Component Video Reflex Loudspeakers; Programmable Christmas Star; DC Relay Switch; Speed Alert; USB Printer Share SWitch; Microcurrent DMM Adaptor.
To RGB Converter; Starpower Switching Supply For Luxeon Star LEDs; LED Tachometer With Dual Displays. Pt.2; Picaxe Net Server, Pt.3.
Wireless Parallel Port; Poor Man's Metal Locator. May 2009: A 6-Oigit GPS-Locked Clock, Pt.1 ; 230VAC lOA full-Wave
December 2006: Bringing A Dead Cordless Drill Back To Life; Cordless Motor Speed Coni roller; Precision 10V DC Reference For Checking
June 2004: Build An RFID Security Mod ule; Simple Fridge-Door Alarm; Power Tool Charger Controller; Build A Radar Speed Gun, Pt.2; Super DMMs; UHF Remote 2-Channel230VAC Power Switch; Input Atlenuator
Courtesy Li ght Delay For Cars; Automating PC Power-Up; Upgraded Speedo Corrector; 12/24V Auxil iary Battery Controller. ForThe Digital Audio Millivoltmeter; Drawing Circuits In Protei Autotrax.
Software For The EPROM Programmer.
January 2007: Versatile Temperature Switch; Intelligent Car Air- June 2009: Mal's Electric Vehicle Conversion; High-Current, High-
July 2004: Silencing ANoisy PC; Versati le Battery Protector; Appliance Conditioning Controller; Remote Telltale For Garage Doors; Intelligent Voltage Battery Capacity Meter. Pt.1; GPS Driver Module For The 6-Digit
Energy Meter, Pt. 1; A Poor Man's Q Meter; Regulated High-Voltage 12V Charger For SLA & Lead-Acid Batteries. Clock; A Beam-Break Flash Trigger; Hand-Held Digital Audio Oscillator.
Supply For Valve Amplifiers; Remote Control For AModel Trai n Layout.
February 2007: Remote Volume Control & Preamplifier Module, Pt.l; July 2009: The Magic Of Water Desal ination; Lead-Acid Battery Zap per
August 2004: Video Formats: Why Both er?; VAF's New DC-X Generation Simple Variable Boost Control For Turbo Cars; fuel Cut Defeater For The & Desulphator; Hand-Held Metal Locator; Mu lti-Function Active filter
IV Loudspeakers; Video Enhancer & Y/C Separator; Balanced Micro- Boost Control; Low-Cost 50MHz Frequency Meter, Mk.2. Mod ule; High-Current, high-Voltage Battery Capacity Meter, Pt.2. ·
phone Preamp; Appliance Energy Meter, Pt.2; 3-State Logic Probe.
March 2007: Programmable Ignition System For Cars. Pt. l ; Remote August 2009: Converting A Uniden Scanner To Pick Up AIS Signals;
September 2004: Voice Over IP (Vol P) For Beginners; WiFry - Cooking Volu me Control & Preamplifier Module, Pt.2; GPS-Based Frequency An SO Card Music & Speech Recorder/Player; Lead-Acid/SLA Battery
Up 2.4GHz Antennas; Bed Wetting Alert; Build a Programmable Robot Reference, Pt. 1: Simple Ammeter & Voltmeter. Condition Checker; 3-Channel UH FRolling-Code Remote Control, Pt.l.
Another CFL Inverter.
April 2007: High-Power Reversible DC Motor Speed Controller; Build A September 2009: High-Quality Stereo Digital-To-Analog Converter,
October 2004: The Humble "Trannie" Turns 50; SMS Conlroller. Pt. 1; Jacob 's Ladder; GPS-Based Frequency Referen ce, Pt.2; Programmable Pt. 1; Wide Band 02 Sensor Controller For Cars, Pt. 1; Autodim Add-On
RGB To Component Video Converter; USB Power Injector; Remote Ignition System, Pt.2; Dual PICAXE Infrared Data Communicalion . ForThe GPS Clock; 3-Channel UHF Rolling-Code Remote Control, Pt.2.
Controller For Garage Doors & Gates.
May 2007: 20W Class-AAmplifier Module, Pt.1;Adjustable 1.3-22V Reg- October 2009: The Secret World Of Scope Probes; How To Hand-Solder
November 2004: 42V Car Electrical Systems; USB-Controlled Power ulated Power Supply; VU/Peak Meter With LCD Bargraphs; Program- Very Small SMD ICs; Universal 110 Board With USB Interface; High-
Switch (Errata Dec. 2004) ; Charger For Deep-Cycle 12V Batteries, Pt.1; mable Ignition System ForCars, Pt.3; GPS-Based Frequency Reference Qual ity Stereo Digital-To-Analog Converter, Pt.2; Digital Megohm &
Driveway Sentry; SMS Controller, Pt.2; PICAXE IR Remote Control. Modifications; Throttle Interface For The DC Motor Speed Controller.' Leakage Current Meter; Wide Band O2Sensor Controller For Cars. Pt.2.
December 2004: Build A Windmill Generator, Pt.1; 20W Amplifier June 2007: 20W Class-A Amplifier Module, Pt.2; Knock Detector
Module; Charger For Deep-Cycle 12V Batteries, Pt.2; Solar-Powered For The Program mable Ignition: 4- lnput Mixer With Tone Controls; NOTE: issues not listed have sold out. We can supply photostat copies
Wireless Weather Station ; Bidirectional Motor Speed Controller. Frequency-Activated Switch For Cars; Simple Panel Meters Revisited. of articles from sold-out issues for SA9.50 each within Australia or
SA 13.00 each overseas (prices include p&p) . When supplying photostat
January 2005: Windmill Generator, Pt.2; Build AV8 Doorbell; IR Remote July 2007: How To Cut Your Greenhouse Emissions. Pt. 1; 6-Digit Nixie articles or back copies, we automatically supply any relevant notes &
Control Checker; 4-Minute Shower Timer; The Prawnlite; Sinom Says Clock, Pt. 1; Tank Water Level Indicator; A PlO Temperatu re Controller; errata at no extra charge. A complete index to all articles published
Game; VAF DC-7 Generation 4 Kit Speakers. 20W Class-A Stereo Amplifier; Pt.3 ; Making Panels For Projects. can be down loaded from www.siliconchip.com .au
CCIImCCIDIIT N(Q)Tm}IB3(O)(w~
InterestiIig circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from
readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates.
25V I
22011f J: ..!o:
:e 22k
..!o:
:e 47k
01
1N4oo4
vJ8 _.1 lDRl 6. ~' 47k
12V ,. VRl 21HYST1 . . .. ~~ I 3
~
T SlA lOOk
I
IC2 K +12V
A.I SOlAR BATIERY ....:...
PANEl IC17665 1 4.7k TO LOAD
I 'I OUTl (LED
...L.. VR2 ~ _I SET1 UGHTING)
10k
GND
OV
Q3
4.7k B 4 47k B0139
E
100nF
c
IRF9540 IC1: 741, n071, Lf351 ETC.

~
A S o A
LEOl
01
===1__1== =
A K
2N3055
B E
~
low. This turns
Solar powered automatic garden on LEDl and
lighting system switches off Ql
& Q2 (biased via
This circuit is based on a lOW so- During daylight hours, the diode- the 4. 7kn resistor
lar panel and 12V SLA battery which protected monocrystalline solar to pin 1). This ef-
powers an array of LED lamps for a panel delivers about 550mA at up fectively disconnects the
pergola. It uses the ICL7665 over/ to 21 V, with peak power efficiency solar panel input to the SLA battery,
under voltage detector to prevent at around 17V. Only one half ofIC2, thereby preventing overcharging.
overcharge and over-discharge of the an ICL7665 , is used. It is preset to Pin 1 of IC2 also attempts to pull
battery and to provide control of the detect 14.1 V and 10.BV via 10-turn pin 2 ofICllow via the 4.7kn resis-
supply to the LEDs. trimpots VRl and VR2 . This is ac- tor. However, LDR1's low daylight
Individual solar lights sold these complished by detecting the nomi - resistance, in the order of a couple of
days for garden applications don't nal trigger voltage at SETl (pin 3) of hundred ohms, ensures the voltage
seem to last too long before deterio- 1.35V and using the chip's internal on pin 2 remains high.
rating and the light output can be hysteresis at HYSTl (pin 2). ICl is connected as a comparator
low to unusable. The downside of To begin, assume that the Dar- with pin 3 held at approximately
this circuit is that the lamps/LEDs all lington-connected emitter-follower 1/2Vcc by two 47kn resistors. As
have to be hard-wired to a common transistors Ql & Q2 are conducting. dusk approaches, LDR1's resistance
supply. On the upside, all contacts As the battery charges up, the voltage slowly rises to the megohm range
are soldered for reliability and only eventually rises to 14.1 V, whereupon and the voltage on pin 2 slowly falls
one battery is required. pin 1 of IC2 switches from high to to below the level at pin 3, where-

DPDT RElAY This circuit automatically swaps
the meter probe polarity every three
seconds, so that testing diode junc-
tions is made quickly, ie, it automati-
+
cally changes polarity for you so you
T 9V +
just monitor the readout to watch for
: BATIERY 1000"" the needle deflection .
...... LEDs can be checked in a similar
+ way and provided the test current
loonF PROBE .JACKS is sufficient, the LED will flash in
OF ANALOG sympathy as the DPDT relay changes
MurnMETER
state.
lNAOOA
It can also be used as a crude
A ~J:=K==:::J method oftesting electrolytic capac-
itors above about 111F. Each time
Relay switcher for easy testing there is a polarity transition (which
of diodes & transistors can be heard as the relay changes
state) there should be a positive
This simple circuit was designed the multimeter probes should give a meter deflection before the capacitor
to facilitate the testing of PN junc- high resistance reading. discharges.
tions in transistors and diodes. If the resistance remains the same If there is no pointer deflection,
To test a diode using an analog when you swap the probes around, the capacitor may be faulty.
multimeter, you switch the meter to the diode is most likely faulty. The circuit itself is simply a 555
the xlO Resistance range and place For in-circuit testing, the reading timer set to switch the relay on and
the positive probe on the cathode may be prejudiced by any associated off every three seconds. If you want
(because the polarity of the probes is resistors or inductors. The procedure to increase the speed of switching,
reversed) and the negative probe on for testing transistor base-emitter reduce the 2.211F at pin 2 of the 555.
the anode of the diode. You should and collector emitter junctions is John Malnar,
read a low resistance. Then reversing the same. Banks, ACT. ($30)
upon lCl's output at pin 6 switches whereupon lC2 's pinl switches high, 10.BY. More information on battery
from low to high. This turns on Q3, switching off LEDl and toggling discharge/charge parameters can be
energising the relay and connecting lCl so that Q3 switches off and de- found in the article entitled Micro-
the positive supply to the load. energises the relay. The discharged power Battery Protector in the July
The battery slowly discharges battery voltage then floats up to 2004 issue of SILICON CHIP.
through the load until one of two around 12.6V and as Ql & Q2 have LEDl should be a high-brightness
events occurs. When dawn arrives, also been switched on again, the unit type so that the modest current al-
LDRl's resistance drops as the am- then waits for the charging cycle lowed by the 22kn limiting resistor
bient light increases, rCl 's output from the solar panel the next day. (about 75DIlA) will give adequate
switches low and Q3 switches off A point to note is that the battery indication. The circuit is quite effi-
the relay. This also reconnects the must fully discharge, with lC2's cient, drawing only about 3-5mA in
solar panel via Ql & Q2 to recharge output triggering high (LEDl off), the off/ready state and about 35mA
the battery. before recharging through Q2 can is required to activate the standard
Alternatively, some time during commence. So it is important not DPDT relay
the night the battery will discharge to set the discharge voltage detec- Colin O'Donnell,
to lC2's detection point of ID.BV tion point too low, ie, no lower than Glenside, SA.
There's a reference to suit every

microcontroller maestro in the
- l:jill!l[;ON'CHIP' reference' booksho
the bookshop pages in this
( Newnes)
Newnes have put together the best of
subjects their authors have written on
over the past few years
into this one handy volume!
by Luci Di Jasio
Learning to fly the PIC24. Includes a
i iilCD ROM with source code in C.
l Microchip C30 complier
and MPLAB SIM.

® ~ !I(JlI~Q m@ft(ij[iJOO(Jlt ~ ®®rn~ ~m[!] i~ 300VA transformer with 2S-0-2SV
secondaries (or at least, not from
+35V
Jaycar Electronics) .
K
The circuit shows how to use a
Cl
l2V-0-l2V transformer. It uses two
01
K
separate full-wave voltage doubler
+
C5
circuits for each secondary wind-
fiJ05 ing. You can use two bridge recti-
A fiers with the AC terminals joined
02 C2
together in place of diodes Dl & D2
I iOV
and D3 & D4 if you like or else use
high-current discrete diodes. Cl
and C2 are charged up to roughly
l7V each, for a total of nearly 3SV
03 C3
J C6
K
(vD6
on each rail. They in turn charge
CS and C6 which act as the primary
energy storage.
A DS & D6 help protect the driven
04 C4
circuitry from reversed supply volt-
A
~---------+----~ __ ----~~------ __O - 35V age as the capacitors discharge when
the device is switched off. You can
01-06 also put resistors across Cl-C4 (eg,
Power supply stacks two = = A=1._1===
K lokn) which will act as bleeder
voltage doublers for balanced rails resistors to discharge them after
power off and will also help ensure
The standard bridge rectifier/ Sometimes it is desirable to get that they share charge evenly. It's a
capacitor filter power supply used a higher DC voltage supply from good idea, especially while you're
in most amplifiers results in a DC a transformer. For example, if you working on the circuit, but they
output voltage roughly 1.4 times want ±3SV it is difficult to purchase aren't strictly required.
that of the AC input voltage. So, for a suitable 300VA toroidal trans- Note that unlike the standard
example, a SOVAC centre-tapped former. While such transformers bridge rectifier supply, none of the
transformer (2S-0-2S) results in DC with l2V-0-l2V, l8V-0-l8V, 40V- transformer secondary connections
power rails of approximately ±3SV 0-40V and SOV-O-SOV secondary are earthed. Rather, earth is con-
(2S x 1.4). windings are available, there is no nected to the point at which the
---------------------------------------------------,---
1111rl_IIIIIIIIIIIISI Yllr Prlzl I
I
I
-
ments of Peak Electronic Design Ltd

best contribution published will entitle www.peakelec.co.uk
the author to choose a prize: either an So now you have even more reasons
As you can see, we pay good money LCR40 LCR meter, a DCA55 Semi- to send that brilliant circuit in. Send it to
for each of the "Circuit Notebook" items conductor Component Analyser, an SILICON CHIP and you could be a winner.
published in SILICON CHIP. But now ESR60 Equivalent Series Resistance You can either email your idea to
there are four more reasons to send Analyser or an SCR100 Thyristor & silchip @siliconch ip.com.au or post it
in your circuit idea. Each month, the Triac Analyser, each with the compli- to PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097.
---------------------------------------------------
two full-wave voltage doublers are You can compensate for this by 2A each but you can increase this
joined. As a result, the junction of Cl making C5 & C6 larger than you by parallelling multiple capacitors.
& cz tends to sit half way between otherwise would. Generally, these The values used in the prototype
the OV and +35V rails and similarly, will actually consist of multiple power supply were 2 x 2200J,lF 35V
the junction of C3 and C4 sits half- capacitors in parallel. Also keep in for CI-C4 and 2 x 4700J,lF 50V for
way between 0 and -35Y. mind that CI-C4 need to have rip- C5 and C6.
Note that all other things being ple current ratings at least as high For the 12V-0-12V transformer
equal, this circuit will have worse as the maximum amount of current shown, CI-C4 should have ratings
voltage regulation than a standard you will be drawing from the DC of 25VDC and C5-C6 should have
bridge rectifier circuit. Also, the cur- supply rails. ratings of 50VDC.
rent drawn from the secondary of the Most medium/large electrolytic Nicholas Vinen,
transformer will be twice as high. capacitors can supply around 1.5- Randwick, NSW. ($40)
~o-4r--~~----------~~~--------~----~--------~----'
T 9V I. 100nF I. 10nF 120k
: BATTERY
1
~ Q2
MPF102
22nF
A A
VC1 VC2 01 1M 02
1ASpF 10pF
K
RF OSCIllATOR AUDIO OSCIllATOR MODULATOR

pt·noo MPF10_
~~
01,02: 1NA148
Modulated oscillator for AM
radio alignment
= ==iAc:JI=K= ==
C E G~
If you are interested in restoring for AM radio - the red coil of the coupled to the gate ofQ3 via a lOOnF
vintage AM radios, you are going miniature IF/OSC coil packs (Jaycar capacitor.
to need a modulated oscillator to LFI050) . VCl is a miniature tuning Ideally, a frequency counter
align the intermediate frequency (IF) capacitor commonly used in transis- should be used to calibrate this os-
stages. This is typically 450kHz for tor radios (Jaycar RV5728). Only one cillator. Failing that, you can use an
modern radios, 455kHz for radios gang of the tuning capacitor is used AM/FM tuner (or car radio) with a
produced prior to the 1980s and can (terminals A & G). digital readout. To set the oscillator,
be at lower frequencies for radios VC2 is the inbuilt trimmer capaci- adjust both VCl & VC2 for minimum
produced prior to the 1930s. tor in parallel with VC1. The tuning capacitance and then adjust the slug
You will also need to align the capacitor has a nominal maximum of coil Tl for an output frequency of
RF input stages and for that you capacitance of 160pF. A tuning 1700kHz (or the top of the AM band
need an oscillator to cover the AM range of 550-1700kHz therefore re- if using a tuner).
broadcast band. quires an inductance of 523J,lH and a You will find that with this ad-
This circuit provides this abil- minimum capacitance of16.75pF. In justment, setting VCl to maximum
ity. Transistor Ql is connected as a practice, a smaller inductance will capacitance will only get down to
simple phase shift oscillator which be required because of stray capac- around 600kHz. To go lower, add
produces an audio modulation tone itances and the self-capacitance of a 150pF capacitor in parallel with
at about 400Hz. The three 22nF the coil. Trimmer VC3 limits the the tuning capacitor via a switch
capacitors and associated resistors current in the tank circuit. and this should get the low fre-
form a 180 0 phase shift network Transistor Q3 acts as a mixer for quency end to about 400kHz. To
while Ql acts as an inverting am- the audio and RF signals to produce set a frequency of 455kHz from the
plifier to provide sufficient gain to an amplitude modulated RF signal. oscillator, set your radio to receive
sustain oscillation. The RF signal is fed in by virtue of 900kHz. This will pick up the sec-
FET Q2, an MPFI02, is connected Tl 's secondary being connected in ond harmonic of the signal.
as a Hartley oscillator. Tl is a com- series with the source resistor ofQ3, AlexSum,
monly available local oscillator coil while the audio tone is capacitively Eastwood, NSW. ($45)

Clrmmlt ~It.".mk - CmmlDmm=dI
B.2k
+2S0V . . .,u
12AX7
10nF .I. J47:;"
O +260V
r~
630VT
OGNO
INPUT 330k
loon 7 ,........
OUTPUT
39k
+12V
47pF~ ~47k
1M 1M
L
100!lF .I: B.2nF
16V ~
, , , , , 0 GNO
4 x 1N4007
A
12V 230V )i. '....." 0 +260V
10~ ::E 220k

N o----J -. 450V
RlY1/1
1..-------+-------01---+_0 GNO
~
4x 1N4004
+12V
7 .L...li
09
1N4004 I RlY1
+1 4700IlF
25V 3
~_~"i61 ~~1 IS
~
U I
100~""
~
f' 7B12 r GNO
NOTE: ONLY ONE CHANNEL

OF PREAMP SHOWN
1N4004, 1N4007
= ==I__}== = IN _,
r.Nn/ (,,)IIT
~ND
..
" I(
Passive RIAA both triodes connected as voltage ±0.5dB of the RIAA characteristic.
amplifier stages but with no overall Overall gain is 180 times (+45dB).
valve preamplifier feedback. The RIAA equalisation The switchmode power supply
This preamplifier is based on the is passive, with RC filter networks used in the November 2003 design
12AX7 twin-triode circuit featured connected to the plates of both triode was judged to be too noisy for a mag-
in the November 2003 issue of SILI- stages. Because the gain of both netic cartridge preamplifier and so a
CON CHIP. That particular design had stages is around 50 times, Miller conventional power supply with two
an overall gain of 57 and had con- Effect capacitance needs to be taken back-ta-back 12V transformers was
siderable negative feedback applied into account when selecting the used instead, with the valve heaters
from the plate of the second triode capacitor values. being supplied with regulated 12V
to the cathode of the first. This gave This explains why the various RC DC from REG1.
quite reasonable harmonic distor- time constants do not appear to fol- . A 555 timer (IC1) and relay is
tion performance, relative to designs low the standard RIAA values which used to delay connection of the
without overall feedback. give 5dB/octave slopes beyond turn- 250V DC supply to the valve plates
However, a lot more gain is re- over frequencies of 50Hz, 500Hz until the heaters have come up to
quired for a preamplifier providing and 2120Hz. When the preamp is temperature.
RIAA equalisation for a magnetic terminated with a 100kn load, the Dean Brookes,
cartridge. Hence, this circuit has resultant equalisation is within St Ives, NSW. ($60)

IC
T
Many SILICON CHIP readers enjoy using the PICAXE range of
microcontrollers within their projects because of their low cost
and ease of use. Clive Seager, Revolution Education's Technical
Director, takes us through the recent PICAXE updates and new
releases, including the eagerly anticipated new PICAXE-20X2.
AXE027 PICAXE USB download cable AXEpad software

When the PICAXE system was first de-
veloped over ten years ago the '9 way
serial port' was the conventional way
of connecting the computer to external
devices, such as digital cameras.
The now-familiar PICAXE '3.5mm PICAXL ..
jack plug/socket' connection was 0" 0 1. 0"
selected as (1) it is robust and e .... 0 11A 0 21A
(Z) many early digital cam- 0 1"'" o I ll< 0 28X ,4OX
0 20N 0 2IXl / 4 OX l
eras used exactly the same O lW ' 4OX2
serial download cable,
meaning the cables were a
L OK
low-cost mass produced item!
USB has now taken over this role
and most modern laptops now only have
USB-style connectors.
Unfortunately, the USB protocol is far
more complex than the serial RSZ3Z protocol; in fact it is To support PICAXE users who wish to use Linux or Mac
not possible to implement the USB protocol on low-cost, computers to develop their PICAXE BASIC programs the
limited-memory devices like 8 and 14-pin PICAXE micro- new cross-platform AXEpad software is now available
controllers. There simply isn't enough memory space to im- (Windows users should still use the Programming Editor
plement both the USB protocol and the PICAXE firmware! software).
Therefore an alternate approach is required and that is When combined with the AXEOZ7 USB download cable
to use a separate 'intelligent' USB cable with an embedded AXEpad provides a complete development system for Linux
USB-to-serial converter chip, such as those made by FTDI. and Mac users.
This gives the best of both worlds - a USB connection to AXEpad has been deliberately designed with a small
the computer and a serial connection to the PICAXE chip footprint and so will also work well on low-cost flash drive
itself. Linux 'netbook' computers such as the eeePC.
As you can see, As you would expect AXEpad supports all the common
the AXEOZ7 down- PICAXE features such as colour highlighting of BASIC
load cable contains programs and in-built testing features such as the 'Debug'
a complete mini- and 'Terminal' functions.
ature circuit mould- AXEpad is completely free of charge and will operate
ed into the USB connector. with:
This allows the cable to work via USB on all Windows, • Linux - any modern x386 distribution with GTKZ.8+
Linux and Mac computers. • Mac - OSX (10.3 or later) on PowerPC or Intel machines

Logicator flowcharting software Current PlC AXE chip lineup
Logicator is a flowcharting application widely used Over the years PIe microcontroller technology has vastly
within UK schools and colleges for over twenty years for improved, resulting in more memory capacity and features.
developing control programs. This has enabled the PICAXE chi ps to be enhanced with
nljlplll,.., IOf"-I'D'f'''~1t m.,,,, ~~ additional commands, more RAM variables and additional
~~~~tK~1t*'
... ,., .... '\ in ::: IIDIU! ~./ ...~ ,~ ~.. memory capacity, all at a lower cost!
The full PICAXE lineup is shown below:
Current PICAXE range

Entry Intermediate Enhanced
(100-200 lines) (600-2000 lines) (2000-3000 lines)
..--
OBM
14M
..~ 111. 0
IUU)
7 111
TlID
~ IBM
20M
1BX
20X2
i l ll Il :~ v_ 28X1 28X2
: 1\1
.''''-
.....
.... 40X1 40X2
,
.\ -ll-~
New X2 range
All program development is performed graphically by The new PlC AXE X2 range (20X2, 28X2 and 40X2) is a
joining flowchart shapes together, and so is simpler for complete new generation of the PICAXE chip, making use
younger students to use than BASIC style 'textual' proof the advanced features and architecture of the newly
gramming languages. released PIC18F series of microcontrollers.
Recently Revolution took over the Logicator product The entire PICAXE core has been completely rewritten
and have spent the last 12 months bringing it up to date to provide a more flexible and higher specification tool for
to support all the current more advanced projects. Although the features and memory
PICAXE chips. capacity have greatly increased, prices have not - for in-
The software is now also stance the new 20X2 is the same price as the older 18X part!
distributed as unrestricted or.
'shareware' and so anyone X2 Enhancement Summary:
can download it from www. • Each pin can now be individually configured as input or output
picaxe.co.uk and try it out • Up to 12 internal ADC channels available
without charge. So if you • Up to 256 general purpose RAM bytes
have always been a bit daunt- • Up to 1024 additional bytes in the RAM scratchpad
ed by BASIC programming • Indirect RAM access to support easier use of arrays
why not give flowcharts a go! orr
• Clock speed ups to 64MHz, 16x faster than 4MHz!
Logicator is very easy to • Wider operating voltage range (1.B - 5.5V) , ideal for 3V systems
use and also supports on- • Up to 4 internal program slots - allowing up to 10,000 lines of
screen simulation that allows code with 1000 sub-procedures!
simple testing of flowchart • Also supports up to 32 more program slots stored in
operation. external EEPROM chips
If desired the flowcharts • Support for UNIIO brand EEPROM chips using a single ilo line
can also be automatically • New hardware interrupt pins
converted into BASIC pro- • New comparator functions to compare 2 ADC channels
I
gram listings.
PICAXE·20X2 PICAXE-28X2 PICAXE-40X2

Reset
Serial lnQ2
ADC3/C.7d 3
hpwmA I pwm C '5/C'S~ '

"I
17
16
B.OIAOC1
8.1/ ADC21I hlnt21
hlnt1 SRQ
8 .21 ADC4! C2+
C1- / ADCORese'
/ A .O
C2- /ADC1/A.l
C2+ I ADC2 I A.2
21
3
4
B.6
B.5
25 ~ B.4/ADC11 1 (hpwm D)
C1- 1AOCO 1AO
C2-1 AOC11 A.1
C2+ 1AOC2 1 A.2
hwpm B / SRNQ / CA 6 15 8 .31 ADC5! C2- C1+/ADC3/A.3 5 24 B.3/ AOC9
C1+ 1AOC31 A.3
hpwm C ( ADC7! C.3 7 '4 B.4IADC6 /h pwm D/C1. Serial In 6 23 B.21 ADeS I hint2 I (hpwm B)
Serial In 35 ~ B.21 ADes I hin12
kbdk / ADCBI C.2 8 13 8 .51 ADC 10 I hi2c sda I hspi sdi Serial Oull A.4 7 22 B.l l ADC10 I hlntll (hpwm C)
Serial Out I A.4 34 B_11 AOC10 1 hin11
hspl sdo I kb data I ADC9 1 C.l 9 12 B.6 , ADC 11 I hserin DV 8 8 .01 AOC 12 1 hin1Q
11 8 .7 I hl2c se! I hspi sd<. +V
AOC5 / A.5 33 B.OI ADC12 I hintO
Resonator 9
AOC6/A.6
Resonator
timer elk I C.O C.7 I hserin f kb data
pwm C.l l C.l C.6 ! hserout I kb elk 30 P 0 .7 1 hpwm D ! kb data
(hpwm A) ! pwm C.2 I C.2 C.S ! hspi sdo '" b 0 .6 1 hpwm C 1 kb elk
hi2e sel l hspi sek I C.3 C.4 I hi2c sda I hspi sdi Resona1or ~ 13
Resonator 14
timer elk I C.O 15
pwm C.ll C.l 16
Pinout comparison between the new "X2" PlC AXE chips. As you can see, hpwm AI pwm C.21 C.2 17
functionality has been preserved (as much as possible) between the chips.
X2 chips can easily be used to upgrade existing projects.
64 SILICON CHIP wwwsiliconchip_com.au

X2 Enhancements • RAM
The X2 parts have a much greater RAM capacity, 256
• I/O Pin Flexibility bytes on the 20X2 and 1280 bytes on the 28X2/40X2. This
One of the key new features of the X2 series is that almost increased memory capacity allows much more complex
every pin is configurable as input or output. This creates calculations and programs. X2 parts also accept indirect
much more flexibility with circuit design as you are not memory access via pointers (@ptr,@ptrinc, @ptrdec). which
fixed to a pre-defined ratio of inputs to outputs on any is ideal for building arrays of data.
chip size. Naturally the pins can also be configured to the
'traditional' PICAXE layout if desired. • Program Slots
The 20X2 has 1 program slot, the 28X2/40X2 have 4
• Analog Inputs internal program slots. Each X2 program slot can contain
Many more ADC channels, up to 12, are now available approximately 2000-3000 lines of BASIC code. When the
on a number of the ilo pins. This again provides greater microcontroller is reset the program in slot 0 automatically
flexibility with circuit design. New comparator features starts running. The other programs can then be started by
also allow two analog channels to be compared, so that an using a 'run' command.
interrupt can occur if one analog value exceeds another.
• External Slots
• Greater Processing Speeds As well as the internal memory slots, 4 additional slots
The 20X2 can operate at up to 64MHz via it's internal can be used by connecting an external I2C EEPROM chip.
resonator. This is a vast speed improvement - for instance a As up to 8 different I2C chips could be used on the same
program that took 2 minutes to process on an 18X at 4MHz 12C bus, this gives a theoretical 32 additional program slots
will now take less than 8 seconds! This is ideal for systems with over 64,000 lines of BASIC code!
that need rapid response times, such as persistence-of-
vision LED display systems. • UNI/O Support
The X2 support communication with external Microchip
• Increased Voltage Operating Range UNI!O EEPROM memory chips. The advantage of unilo
The 20X2 will function from 1.8V all the way up to 5.5V, memory is that it only requires 1 microcontroller pin, as
making the single part ideal for both 3 and 5V systems. This opposed to 12C which requires 2 and SPI which requires 3.
large voltage range is quite a technical breakthrough, and
is achieved via a new innovative design - a 3V silicon core Summary
combined with an internal integrated low dropout regulator. As you can see 2009 has been a very busy year for us at
This means that the 3V core, which would normally only Revolution Education and we hope you enjoy using the
tolerate 1.8V to 3.3V, can be used all the way up to 5.5V new PICAXE software and parts. As ever, if you have any
because the internal regulator 'kicks-in' when required feedback or new feature requests please do not hesitate to
and constantly maintains the internal core voltage at 3V. contact us via www.picaxe.co.uk -almostall new PICAXE
features are the direct result of PICAXE community feed-
• Hardware Interrupt Pins back!
The X2 range has up to 3 pins that can be configured as All software described in this article can be downloaded
hardware interrupt pins. When configured, these pins con- free of charge from www.picaxe.co.uk, while PICAXE
tinuously background scan for an edge based trigger, even cables and chips are available in Australia from www.mi-
during sleep. When this trigger occurs a flag is set which can crozed.com.au and in New Zealand from www.sicom.co.nz.
be used to trigger a special 'interrupt' section of BASIC code. They are also available from several electronics stores. se
E 'ECHIIOLOGY AGE 11 ....

PI ___ E~
Developed as a teaching tool, the PICAXE is a low-cost "brain" for almost any project.
Easy to use and understand, professionals & hobbyists can be productive within minutes.
Free software development system and low-cost in-circuit programming.
Variety of hardware, project boards and kits to suit your application.
Digital, analog, RS232, 1-Wire™, SPI and 12C.PC connectivity.
Applications elDatalogging ~ Robotics ~ Measurement & instruments elMotor & IightinU control
include: el Farming & agriculture ellnternet server ~ Wireless links elColour sensing ~ Fun games L -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~
Nicrozed COlllpu~ers PCy

.'jIL~d
Distributed in
Australia by
Phone 1300735 '!,20 Fax 1300735 421
www.mlcrozed.com.au ,W . .
article this month shows you how to
.u..u. ..... .L
hIe the various modules for the Stereo

AC into a low-profile steel case. We also tell .
you how to get the remote control working
and how to customise the configuration.
OR THE PURPOSES of this article, three pushbutton switches (10mm)
F we'll generally assume that you're
building the unit from a kit and that
and the two LEDs (5mm). You will also
need a 5mm hole for the IR receiver
the case comes with all the holes plus four 3mm mounting holes for the
pre-drilled. If not, then you will have Switch Board. Note that the Switch
to drill the holes yourself using the Board is directly attached to the front
photographs and the layout shown in panel and not mounted on a sub-panel
Fig.12 to guide you. as in the prototype.
As previously stated, if you have to Make sure that the cut-out for the
buy a case separately, then we recom- mains switch is the correct size, so
mend the Altronics H-5035 rack case. that it snaps securely into place and
Basically, you will have to drill/cut is retained by its plastic locking tabs.
holes in the front panel for the mains This involves drilling a series of holes
switch, the earth point (4mm). the inside the marked cut-out and then

carefully (and tediously) filing it to As shown in Fig.12, all the mains
shape. Alternatively, you can use a wiring is located in a partitioned-off
toggle switch that requires a round area in the lefthand side of the case.
mounting hole but make sure that the However, this steel partition will only
switch is mains rated. be present if you purchase a custom
On the rear panel, you will need case as part of a kit (ie, from Altronics).
clearance holes for the various input If you buy a standard rack case, then
and output sockets , holes for the you can purchase a length of angle-
fuseholder and rear-panel earth point aluminium from a hardware store and
(4mm) and a cut-out for the IEC socket. fit it yourself by bolting it to the base
An alternative here is to use an IEC (make sure it is well earthed by scrap-
socket with an integral fuse , in which ing away the powder coating on the
case the external fuseholder is chassis around the mounting bolts).
no longer necessary. Before fitting the mains transform-
Drilling the bottom of the er, scrape away the powder coating
case is straightforward. First, around its mounting hole on the bot-
use the PC boards as templates tom ofthe chassis. This is done so that
to mark out their mounting the flat metal washer under the head
holes. Note that the Input and of the bolt contacts bare metal, so that
DAC boards sit right at the rear the bolt is correctly earthed.
of the chassis and their sockets Having done this , mount the trans-
must be correctly aligned with their former in position. Note that the large
rear panel holes to avoid shorts. Drill flexible washer supplied with the unit
By NICHOLAS VINEN these holes to 3mm, then drill two must be installed between the trans-
4mm holes for the earth points plus former and chassis. A second flexible
a mounting hole for the transformer. washer is then fitted between the top
Having done that , fit four feet to the of the transformer and its dished metal
bottom of the case ifit doesn't already clamp plate.
have them. These can be either a self- Orient the transformer so that the
adhesive type or you can use bolt-on wires exit at the top, with the primary
feet in which case you will have to wires nearest to the side of the case
drill the necessary holes. - see Fig.12. Do not over-tighten the
mounting bolt, otherwise you could
Mains wiring distort the chassis .
Once the case is ready, the first step The transformer's secondary side
is to install the transformer, power terminations can now be fed through
switch and the 230VAC wiring. a grommetted hole in the partition,
si/iconchip.com.au N O\fEMBER 2009 67

~ .'>. ___
't}J7 - - <' 1
SHEATH FUSEHOLDER BODY

WITH HEATSHRlNK SLEEVE
~
M
>
III
~ -c:::>e
LKI
o I~
3: T
.".
_. • -.;
m ~
J:
~
-
I D ~ 'I . DG
+1 =-:J I gl
~W(:
--- , IrI--
ca-r- Q ~i
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~
~ I '~'~~I ml TT I?QW' ~~ 5t9Pp-~i J
r-
I~O
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•
1 iID). 01 1 p o ",'"
IMPORTANT:
~;,....---~ ' ~
I . All MAINS CONNECTIONS SHOULD
BE MADE WITH FUllY INSUlATED
4.8MM FEMAlE SPADE CRIMP
CONNECTORS.
2. INSUlATE All EXPOSED MAINS
CONNECTIONS USING HEATSHRlNK
SLEEVES.
3. USE NYLON CABLE TIES TO SECURE
ACTM & NEUTRAl WIRES. z
III
t;; • NOTE: TRANSFORMER lEAD COlOURS ARE FOR THE
AlTRONICS M..t915A REFER TO TABLE IN ARTICLE FOR
SHEATH MAINS lEAD COLOURS FOR THE JAYCAR MT-2086.
SWITCH BODY WITH
HEATSHRINK SLEEVE
/ SPST FRONT
250VAC PANEL
ROCKER EARTH
SWITCH

'DIF
'UT
J o-------------------------~----~--------------~~~~~~------------~----~
LEFT CHANNEL
AUDIO OUTPUT
RIGHT CHANNEL
AUDIO OUTPUT
16WAY IDC CABLE
14WAY IDC CABLE
Fig.12: follow this wiring layout to

Ir-- L __ '_ I
assemble the unit. Note in particular that
I ••• •••• I1 all 230VAC mains terminations must
I • _e. ~.~ ~ be fully insulated and no low-voltage
· .. 0~ -0 0
~ ~
wiring is to be routed on the mains (left)
side of the metal partition. The Input &
DAC boards are mounted on M3 x lOmm
tapped spacers while the Power Supply
and Front Panel Boards are mounted on
FRONT PANEL BOARD untapped 6mm Nylon spacers.
siliconchip.com.au NO VEMBER 2009 69

and may be damaged. Instead, termi-
nate each wire end in a fully insulated
4.8mm female spade crimp terminal.
Note that a ratchet-driven crimping
tool is required for this job. Low-cost
automotive type crimpers are not
suitable and their use may result in
unsafe connections.
If you don't have fully-insulated
spade connectors, be sure fit heat-
shrink insulation over any exposed
metal. It's also a good idea to place
a rubber boot over the lEe connector
and to use 16mm-diameter heatshrink
tubing to sheath the entire fuseholder
(run the leads through the heatshrink
The connections to the mains switch are made using fully-insulated spade first). Similarly, use 20mm-diameter
connectors. Sheath the entire switch body with heatshrink sleeving after heatshrink to sheath the power switch
making the connections and fit a-cable tie to the wires immediately after the after attaching the leads.
spade connectors so that they can not possibly come loose. Note the earthing The connections to the chassis earth
arrangement for the front panel. points are made by terminating the
green/yellow earth leads in 5.3mm ID
ready for connection to the power sup- insulated crimp eyelets. After crimp-
W1[!)~® ~~ OOm/®UIJill@[? ~l!l ©:!:l~®[!]~
ply board. Position all the wires so that ing the wires, it's a good idea to also the
there will be plenty of clearance to the Altronics Jaycar solder wire ends adjacent to the eyelet
lid when it is installed later. M-4915A M-4915A holes, as a "belts'n'braces" measure.
The Altronics and Jaycar trans- Primary Colours Brown & Blue Orange These eyelets are then bolted to the
formers use different colours for their Red Yellow chassis earth points using M4 x 10mm
leads. A Jaycar transformer was used Secondary White White machine screws, nuts and shakeproof
in the prototype whereas the wiring Colours Black Red
washers. An additional nut is then
diagram shows the lead colours for fitted to serve as a locknut, so that the
the Altronics M-4915A transformer. Orange Purple assembly cannot possibly come loose
In particular, note that the Altronics - see Fig.13.
transformer uses brown & blue leads Next, push the mains rocker switch Important: be sure to scrape away
for its primary winding. and lEC socket into their respective the paint from around the holes before
By contrast, the Jaycar MT-2086 cutouts, noting that the earth pin of fitting the earth screws (ie, you must
transformer uses orange leads for its the socket goes towards the top. That have good metal-to-metal contact be-
primary, while its secondary leads are done, install the fuseholder. Note that tween the chassis and the earth eye-
yellow, white , red and purple. In this you must use a safety fuseholder as lets). This step is vital to ensure safety.
case, the white and red leads go to the specified in the parts list in Pt.l. Depending on the colour of the chas-
centre tap (CT) on the Power Supply You can now run and terminate sis, you might want to use black screws
Board, while the yellow and purple the mains wiring. Use only 7.5A or for the front and rear panel earth
leads go to the outer 15VAC terminals. 10A/250VAC mains-approved cable points. We used a black countersink
Table 5 shows the wiring colour for all connections. hex head M4 x 12mm screw on the
codes for the two transformers. Just Do not solder the wires directly front panel to ensure good appearance.
use the corresponding colours shown to the switch or socket pins! These Use small cable ties where applica-
in the righthand column if using the devices are not designed to withstand ble to keep everything neat and tidy.
Jaycar transformer. high temperatures during soldering Refer to Fig.12 and the photos for all
the details. In particular, fit cable ties
close to the switch and to the lEC input
socket, to make it impossible for any
leads to accidentally come adrift.
During testing, we came across at least one DVD player which incorrectly set the de- Once the mains wiring is complete,
emphasis bit on its digital output when playing a CD. If your player has a similar fault, go back over it and make sure that
the result would be that high frequencies are attenuated during playback. everything is correct. Check also that
As a result, the software in the Stereo DAC has been configured so that both the yel- each connection is secure and well
low and green LEDs are lit during playback when the de-emphasis is active. This can insulated. If necessary, use heatshrink
help you determine if your player has this same fault (unlikely), while for players that tubing to completely cover any ex-
operate correctly, it will indicate if any of your CDs were recorded with pre-emphasis. posed terminations. That done, use
Pre-emphasis was mainly used on some older CDs and very few modern CDs use it. your multimeter to check for continu-
This means that if the yellow and green LEDs are always lit during playback, it indicates ity between the earth pin of the IEC
a fault with the player. socket and any convenient point on
the chassis that is devoid of paint,

Both Jaycar and Altronics will be supplying kits for this project and both companies
will be supplying the Input and DAC Boards with the surface-mount ICs (IC3 & IC6)
already soldered in place.
The Jaycar kit will be in short form only and will consist of the Input, DAC and Front
Panel Boards plus all on-board parts. A kit for the Power Supply Board is available
separately (Cat. KC-5418).
If your infrared receiver module has a
The Altronics kit will be complete and will include all the modules, the power sup- metal shield like this one, then be sure
ply components (including the transformer) and a laser-cut custom steel case with to insulate it from the front panel as
screened lettering. The modules will not be available separately except for the Power described in the text.
Supply Board (Cat. K-5501) and the remote control is not included.
~ MAINS EARTH LEAD
/ • INSUlATED CRIMP EYLfT
such as the countersunk screws in the
side panels.
- see photos. However, for the Altron-
ics case, the spacers must be fitted on
I lOCKING NUT
r--'
This test must be repeated later the front of the board and directly STAR LOCKWASHER
r--'
when the top panel of the case is fitted. attached to the front panel.
At that time, use your meter to check
)
~
that the top and both side panels are Low-voltage wiring
earthed. If not, carefully remove the Now for the low-voltage wmng. MA x 1Omm SCREW BASE PlATE
&NUT OF CASE
paint from beneath the heads of the First, trim the secondary leads of the
NB: CLEAN PAINT AWAY FROM MOUNTING HOLE
retaining screws to ensure a reliable transformer to the right length, then
connection - see panel titled "Making scrape the insulating enamel off the Fig.13: the earth terminals are
Sure The Case Is Securely Earthed". wire ends and tin them with solder. all secured to the case as shown
You should have about 5mm oftinned here. The top nut serves as a lock-
Mounting the modules wire protruding from the insulation. nut, so that the assembly cannot
possibly come loose. Make sure
The four PC board modules can now That done, solder the correct two that the crimp eyelet makes a good
be installed in the case - see Fig.12. leads together to form the centre tap. electrical contact with the base.
Both the Input and DAC Boards This will either be the white and black
are mounted on M3 x 10mm tapped leads for the Altronics transformer or
spacers and secured using M3 x 6mm the white and red leads for the ]aycar Important: note that the supply
machine screws from either side. By transformer. The secondary leads can leads to Input Board used in the proto-
contrast, the Power Supply Board is then all be connected the power sup- type are reversed at the terminal block
mounted atop 6mm untapped Nylon ply module's AC input (CONI). compared to those for the final version
spacers and secured using M3 x 15mm Before connecting anything to the of this board. The wiring diagram
screws, shakeproofwashers and nuts. output of the supply, apply power (Fig.12) is correct (ie, the positive lead
Similarly, the Switch Board is se- (don't forget the mains fuse) and goes to the left).
cured to the rear of the front panel measure the three rails at the supply Note also that the ±15V supply
using 6mm untapped Nylon spacers outputs (CON2 & CON3). Assuming all leads to the DAC Board are not in-
and M3 x 15mm screws, shakeproof is well, the +15V, -15V and +5V rails stalled at this stage. That's done later,
washers and nuts . Make sure that should all be within ±5% ofthe nomi- after you've tested the Input Board.
the switches and LEDs just protrude nal values. Now switch the power off Secure the +5V & OV supply leads
through the front panel holes and and physically disconnect the 230VAC with cable ties as shown in Fig.12,
that the switches operate correctly, mains lead to prevent accidents while so that they can not come adrift and
without jamming. The IR receiver LED working under the hood! contact other parts of the circuit.
must also be correctly aligned with its The +5V and OV supply leads for the
front-panel hole. Input Board can now be run. Heavy- Testing the Input Board
Important: if the infrared receiver duty hook-up wire should be used for You are now ready to do some initial
includes an external metal shield this job and you should begin by strip- tests, starting with the Input Board.
(see photo), then steps must be taken ping about Bmm of insulation from the Begin by plugging in the 14-way mc
to ensure that it is insulated from the ends of each wire. cable between this board and the Front
chassis. We suggest a short strip of That done, tin the bare ends with Panel Switch Board, then connect
ordinary insulation tape on the inside solder and trim them to about 5mm a multimeter in series with the +5V
of the front panel, with a hole cut out before connecting them to the terminal supply. You will have to temporarily
to match the hole in the panel. Do not blocks on the Input & Power Supply disconnect the +5V supply lead at one
rely on the paintwork or powder coat- Boards. It's a good idea to twist the two end (eg, at the Power Supply Module)
ing to provide insulation! supply leads together to reduce noise to do this.
Note that in the prototype (Jaycar and improve appearance but be care- Set the multimeter to the amps
rack case) , the Front Panel Switch ful not to get them mixed up . Screw range, then apply power and check the
Board was fitted with spacers at the the terminals down tightly to ensure current reading. It should be around
back and mounted on the sub-panel reliable connections. O.lA and certainly not more than O.2A.

The prototype was built into a Jaycar tU rack case but we recommend the Altronics rack case if you're not building
from a kit. If you do use the Jaycar case, fit covers over the ventilation slots above and below the mains wiring.
If you see a reading of 0.2A or higher,

~ lJ0 @Xv Or? ~6 ~ ~ switch off immediately, disconnect
the power cord and check the Input
~ ~ uth3 ~ [Q)8@ Board for short circuits and incorrect
parts placement.
In order for the Stereo DAC to work correctly, it must be fed with LPCM (linear If that doesn't solve the problem,
pulse code modulation) data from the DVD player (ie, uncompressed audio). disconnect the 14-way mc cable and
If there's no audio output and the green and yellow LEDs on the Stereo DAC quickly re-apply power in order to
front panel are flickering rapidly, this indicates that the output from the DVD rule out a fault with the cable or Front
player is set to AC3/Dolby Digital. In that case, you will have to step through Panel Switch Board.
the menus of the DVD player and set the audio output to stereo LPCM. If the current is in the acceptable
Note that on one recent Pioneer DVD player we tested, it was impossible range, check that the blue LED on the
to change the audio output format with an HDMI cable hooked up. The trick front panel nearest the IR receiver is
was to disconnect the HDMI output and use either component video or a lit. No other LEDs should be lit initially
composite video connection instead. This then allowed the AC3/Dolby Digital but after about 10 seconds, the unit
output to be changed to stereo LPCM, after which the HDMI connection could should enter scanning mode whereby
be re-in stated. Other DVD players may require a similar procedure. each LED briefly lights in sequence. If
that checks out, switch off, remove the
72 SIUCON CHIP siliconchip.com.au

Make Sure The Case Is Securely Earthed
lowing tests with the remote control)

are all done without the ±15V supply
wiring in place.
Testing the remote control

This unit can be controlled using
a Philips RC5-compatible remote
control. That includes just about any
universal remote.
You will need to program the
remote to control a Philips TV.
For example, if you have a Jaycar
AR-1726 remote, you need to set its
code to 103 with the TV control mode
selected. Similarly, if you have an AI-
tronies Aifa A-1009, set its code to 026.
multimeter and reconnect the +5V lead causes ofLEDs not lighting up is cable Having done that, point the remote
to the terminal block. crimping problems, so check this out at the Stereo DAC's front panel and
The next step is to feed a signal into carefully. Other possible faults include press some buttons. The yellow LED
one of the inputs (ideally you should shorts between adjacent pads, missing should flash each time a button is
test all three inputs) . If your DVD links, missed solder joints and incor- pressed. If so, you should then be able
player (or CD player) has a TOSLINK rect parts placement or orientation. to select each input in turn using the
output, connect it to the TOSLINK1 Assuming all is well, you can now 1, 2 & 3 buttons on the remote or by
input on the Stereo DAC using an test the other two inputs. Press each pressing the CH+ and CH- buttons.
optical cable. The player needs to be button in turn and make sure that its If you don't wish to use the Philips
switched on for this initial test but not corresponding blue LED lights. The TV code (eg, if you have a Philips TV),
playing anything. yellow LED will go out if there's no you can set the unit up to recognise a
Now power the unit back up. The signal input for that channel. If that different RC5 code (see Programming
TOSLINK1 blue LED should be lit checks out, connect the DVD player The Remote Control Codes).
along with the S/PDIF yellow LED. to the TOSLINK 2 and COAXIAL in-
If the either LED fails to light, switch puts in turn and check that the yellow Final testing
off immediately and check for faults S/PDIF LED lights when the corre- You are now ready to test the com-
on the Input and Front Panel Switch sponding input is selected. plete unit. To do this, first switch
Boards. One of the most common Note that these tests (and the fol- off, disconnect the DVD player and

Programming The Remote Control Codes
Bc Customising The Configuration
It isn't necessary to configure the Stereo Digital-To-Analog three have been pressed or you may get
Converter before use. Most constructors will be happy to settle into the wrong mode (if you do, just turn
the unit off and then on again).
for the default settings in the firmware but some people may wish When the buttons are released, the
to customise it to suit their individual needs. Basically, you can lefthand blue LED will be flashing. Point
change the remote control codes, the scanning behaviour and the your remote control at the IR receiver and
initial input selection (TOSLlNK1 is the default) when the Stereo press the button that you want to assign to
DAC is switched on. select TOSLlNK1. Hold it down for a few
seconds until you see both the yellow and
If you are using a universal remote, the green LEDs flash. The first blue LED should
simplest solution is to set it to control a then stop flashing and the second should
Philips TV. This will allow the CH+ and start, at which point you should release
CH- buttons to select the inputs. And the button on the remote.
if your remote has numeric buttons, If the yellow and green lEDs don't
you can also use buttons 1, 2 and 3 flash, make sure that the remote control
to select a particular input. is transmitting an Re5 code. Provided that
In addition, the Mute but- you choose a Philips code, you will be OK
ton should toggle mute on but that might not apply to the codes for
and off. While muted, all other manufacturers. Check also that the
three blue LEDs should remote's batteries are OK.
flash in unison to in- If the first blue LED is still flashing, stop
dicate this condition. for afew seconds and try again. The Stereo
Finally, the VOL+ and DAC waits until it receives 10 identical
VOL - buttons should codes in a row before programming that
control the Stereo DAC's code. This is done to avoid the possibility
volume. Check that these func- of a transmission error programming in
tions all work. the wrong code.
If you don't want to assign that function
Remote control to a button on your remote control, press
reprogramming any of the front panel buttons on the Stereo
The yellow LED should flash whenever DAC to skip it.
a button on the remote is pressed. If you You now repeat the above procedure for
can get it to flash but not all the functions the following functions in this order: Select
work or if you don't wantto use the Philips TOSLlNK2, Select COAXIAL, Select Next
IR remote
used, including the
TV codes (eg, if you have a Philips TV), Input, Select Previous Input, Mute Output,
unit from Jaycar (Cat. AR- then you can reprogram the unit to accept Volume Up and Volume Down. Each time
1726) and the Aifa RA7 unit from different codes. you program a code, the flashing blue LED
Altronics (Cat. A·I009). Set the To do this, hold down all three buttons should cycle to the next button, wrapping
Digitech unit to code 103 and the on the front panel at once, then release around from the third to the first.
Aifa unit to code 026. them. Be sure not to release any until all Once all the codes have been pro-
disconnect the mains lead. Now cable. Note: do not apply power to the Connect your DVD player to the
install the +15V, av and -15V leads DAC board unless it is connected to TOSLINK1 input (or to the COAXIAL
between the Power Supply Board the Input Board via the 16-way cable. input if there's no TO SLINK output)
and the DAC Board. As before, use Once everything is in place, apply and check that the yellow S/PDIF LED
heavy-duty hook-up wire and twist power and check the ±15V supply rails lights when that input is selected. In
the wires together to minimise noise at the input to the DAC board. If these fact, the unit should automatically se-
pick-up. Secure the leads using cable are OK, check the +5V rail at the output lect that input if it was scanning. Now
ties as shown and tighten the terminal of REG5 on the DAC Board. Switch start playing a CD or DVD - the S/PDIF
block screws down firmly to ensure off immediately and check for errors LED should immediately turn off and
good connections. if any of these voltages are incorrect. the green DATA LED should come on.
Finally, check that these supply If all is well, the front panel LEDs If that doesn't happen, there may be
leads are correctly wired at both ends. should light as before. It's now just a a problem with the DAC (IC6), the 16-
The next step is to fit the 16-way mc matter of checking that the unit works. way cable or one of the parts associated

Wll!l~® ®;: ~~~m~ m ~[],®0Uil0Uil~00JJ [ffij[ii)1iJl®0il the unit to always select one of the inputs.
If you want it to remember the last chan-
Function First Second nel, select the "Default Input At Switch-On"
Button Button function by pressing the buttons shown in
Auto-Scan Delay, No Signal Present 1 2 Table 6, then press button 1. Alternatively,
Auto-Scan Delay, No Audio Present 1 3 to always select a certain input, select the
Auto-Scan Delay, No Signal Present After Manual Input Change 2 1 function, then press button 2 and then the
Auto-Scan Delay, No Audio Present After Manual Input Change 2 3 button for the input that you want selected .
The default state is for TOSLlNK1
Default Input At Switch-On 3 1
(I nput 1) to be selected at switch on and
Input Scanning At Switch-On 3 2 most readers will probably leave it at that.
However, you might want to change it to
Wll!l~® IJ~ ~®JJ _ li:Jl(!]rn]l~~~®[j' Wl[V~® ~ ~0iJ;D m [ID®~ ~~[!]® Input 3 (COAXIAL) if you are only using
the COAXIAL input.
Value Button First Second
Value Button Button
10ms 1 Scanning behaviour
Seconds 2 1 1 1 There are three options for input scan-
Minutes 3 2 1 2 ning behaviour on start up:
3 1 3 (1) to configure the unit to immediately
5 2 1 begin auto-scanning , select the "Input
grammed, the LEDs will stop flashing and Scanning At Switch-On" function from
10 2 2
the Stereo DAC will revert to its normal Table 6 and press button 1 (left);
mode. You can then check that the re- 20 2 3 (2) to configure it to begin scanning after
mote ' control codes have been properly 30 3 1 the usual auto-scanning delay (the default
assigned. If not, start again. 40 3 2 behaviour) , press button 2 (centre); and
50 3 3 (3) to make it act as if the default channel
Scanning delays/default input has been manually selected at switch on,
The scanning delays and the initial press button 3 (right).
default input can also be reprogrammed . As an example, if you wanted to set
This is done by holding down one button the delay to five minutes, you'd press and Wait - there's more!
on the front panel, then pressing a second release button 3 (Table 7), then button' 2 There's one other feature we haven't
button and releasing both together. and finally button 1 (Table 8) . The default mentioned. Even if you have auto-scanning
The buttons pressed and their order auto-scan delay values are (in the order enabled, there may be times when you
determines which function you are con- shown in Table 6) 10 seconds, one minute, don't want it to happen .
figuring, as set out in Table 6. five minutes and never. In that case, all you need to do is switch
After pressing one of these combina- By the way, the sequence 1, 1, 1 is a to the input that you want to lock and then
tions, the lefthand blue LED will flash. Each special sequence which is interpreted as press the selector button a second time,
additional button press after that will cause "never" and thus disables that scanning holding it in for about a second. The LED
the flashing LED to cycle to the next step mode. will come on but blink off occasionally to
until the configuration is complete. indicate this "input lock" mode has been
To set any of the auto-scan delays after Default input enabled.
selecting the configuration mode, you first There are two choices when it comes In this mode, auto-scanning is disabled.
press one of the buttons to get a multiplier to programming the default input: (1) you However, the next time you manually
value - Table 7. It's then simply a matter can either have the unit remember the last change the input, or when you turn the
of making two further button presses to channel it was set to and restore that chan- Stereo DAC off, it will reset to the default
set the delay value as shown in Table 8. nel at switch on or (2) you can program mode.
with the DAC chip. You should also also that you can adjust the volume use . Hook it up permanently to your
check the two BC327 PNP transistors from the Stereo DAC up and down us- system and you can now enjoy high-
on the Input Board and their associ- ing the VOL+ and VOL- buttons on the quality, hum-free stereo sound from
................
ated resistors. remote control. However, as explained your DVD player. st
Assuming that it all works so far, in Pt.l, it's best to set the volume from
switch off and connect the Stereo the Stereo DAC to maximum if you
DAC's outputs to an amplifier, turn the want the best performance and use
volume down and reapply power. Now the volume control on the amplifier
In response to a number of requests
play some content and slowly turn instead.
for balanced outputs, we have pro-
the volume on the amplifier up. You
Enjoy the sound duced a balanced output board with
should hear clean, undistorted sound.
XLR connectors. This will be pre-
Once you have verified that this That's it - your new Stereo Digital-
sented in the December issue.
works, test the other two inputs. Check To-Analog Converter is now ready for

L
Unforeseel coaaqualC8l for a-waste clla..,.

There is a famous line in the "Yes Minister" Items Covered This Month
series where Sir Humphrey is attempting
• Ill-thought e-waste legislation
to block the minister's latest scheme. "But • Another Porsche COl
minister", he vehemently protests, "I foresee • Faulty Holden VP ABS sensor
all sorts of unforeseen consequences". • Shorted HT rotor
• Automotive LED lighting
Actually, it's a bit like that with the will be less likely to take on equip-
recent decision by some local councils ment for repair. Having an electronic
in my area to start charging hefty fees item repaired slows down the process =::::::::: .-
for electronic waste disposal. We all to landfill, so repairers should have came home to roost in a really good
know that e-waste is a problem and dispensation in disposing of e-waste. way, because I got another identical
we all want to deal with it responsibly. In our case, it will force us to insist on unit in for repair. It didn't matter that
But the decision by our local council an up-front fee for a quote. That way, someone had had a fiddle with it be-
to charge $40 an item from January to we are at least compensated for the cause it was just a matter of comparing
dump e-waste into landfill is going to disposal fee if the set is subsequently the photographs of the previous cm
have unforeseen consequences. dumped on us if the quote isn't ac- with the latest one to see immediately
First, by charging such a high fee, cepted. what had been done.
it's certain that the amount of dump- In fact, it's quite common for cus- As I quickly discovered, both diode
ing of e-waste by the roadside and in tomers to simply dump a set on the D6 and zener diode ZD1 had been re-
pristine places like national parks will repairer in this way. installed with reversed polarity. I cor-
become an epidemic. Imagine the cost We also often get calls from people rected D6 and then replaced all eight
of cleaning up sets that are dumped in trying to sell us late-model LCDs capacitors on the board plus the zen er
this manner. with smashed screens for spare parts. diode for good measure. What did
Instead of charging at the end of a We would be prepared to do this if it throw me , however, was that someone
product's life, a better approach would wasn't for the fact that the lifespan of had also removed the transformer and
be a prepaid disposal tax when the a particular model is very short. Hav- replaced it 180 around the other way
0
item is purchased new. You would ing a good stock of modules is fraught in the Eddystone diecast box. Trying to
then get a rebate if you do the right with difficulty unless you specialise in get my head around this wasn't easy
thing when it comes to that product's a particular brand and model. but I eventually got it sorted out.
eventual disposal, somewhat similar Unless the government acts fast, I then had to borrow an old dizzy
to the recycling of soft-drink bottles in many independent service centres and a 'coil to test it and it worked fine,
South Australia. will simply cease operation and many so I actually made some money out of
The second problem is that repairers people will refuse to dispose of e-waste this job. In fact, if I get more of these
responsibly. in to repair it will be worth making
my own jig to test them.
Another Porsche COl Incidentally, Frank Zabkar wrote
As repairs to TV sets dry up to a in to inform me that the RCA power
mere trickle, we have had to turn transistor used in these cms is actu-
our hand to repairing other types of ally a 61019 (H8146 being the date
electronic equipment. And as often code, ie, year 1981 week 46) and
as not, that now involves repairs to that an NTE130 might be a suitable
car electronics. equivalent.
oe Back in May, I described

how I repaired a Bosch cm
for a Porsche. At the time, I
OK, here are some more car elec-
tronics faults from my friend in the
automotive trade. I'll let him tell them
/ cursed at having to trace out in his own words .
•" \
the circuit diagram from the pc
board - a task that took far too long A tricky ABS fault
••• SE:. 'R VICE:.MAN'S CHOOK S to make the job profitable. Most repairs to automotive electron-
COMING HOME:. ,0 'ROOS, Well, fortunately for me, the chooks ics involve diagnosing faulty compo-

I
during a brief test drive. The I
..,-HE:. DISPOSAL- UNIi FO'R
iODAY'S L-E:.FioV£:RS
repairer then went through the
usual rigmarole of data fault code
I
'" AU-rO YL -rL (Y o ur Loc:al -rip Loc:ator
'" PAYLOAD FLIGH-r ~S-rIMA-r01<
readings and diagnostics but 1\
'" G PS -r1<A.J~C-r01<Y C01<1<~C-rI0N after many hours of measuring I
'" INVISIBL~ pAIN-r Op-rrON voltages, swapping components
and pulling of hair, the repairer
eventually threw in the towel.
A fault code for the righthand
TC CH SPccs.
25K:il P AYL..GAD ••• uP TO 15K"".
rear wheel sensor circuit was the
ACCU'RACY WITHIN '!--1O Metre. issue. And no matter what was re-
50 K:il PAYL-OAD._ uP TO 8I<""s
ACCU'RACY WITHIN 3-18 Metre. placed or substituted, the same fault
...".---.L.-'I 75K:il P AYL-OAD ••• uP TO 5Kms
ACCU'RACY WITHIN ReASON
code was logged. This job was now
wm take up to 15OK:il PAYL-OAD costing the repairer time and money,
ACCU'RACY NOT GUARANTCCD
not to mention his sanity, and so he
decided to seek our assistance.
As a result, the car was presented
to us with the ABS fault as de-
scribed. So where does one begin?
These cars are now quite old and
ABS was a rare option in the VP
and even rarer on V6 Executive
(-Respon sibl y ('Vr. b y the CartoOnist's d a y wagons. In those days, ABS was
rf"\ t he s un f u n ci) usually only seen on top-line
P O B OX bC)bC). GUNNADOO. 1111
Caprice or Calais models or as an
option on other models fitted with
nents that have failed over time, either inspected at his local repairer and, the then new IRS (independent rear
due to wear and tear or an accident of among other things, they discovered suspension) but not generally on wag-
some sort. By contrast, it's not often that the ABS warning lamp did not ons with "live" rear axles.
that we get to diagnose a design or come on at any time. That was news to That being the case, secondhand
manufacturing defect, especially when the owner who had purchased the car units for testing purposes are hard to
the vehicle is several years old and without knowing that it actually had come by. After checking the necessary
well out of its new car warranty period. ABS at all. A list of repair items was voltages and waveforms, it became
A case in point was a 1992 VP then presented to the selling dealer clear that the ABS module itself could
Commodore wagon we had in the for his attention, under the statutory be the culprit. Testing for an intermit-
workshop recently. The issue at hand warranty. tent sensor was relatively simple in
was that the ABS (anti-lock braking The listed items were quickly reme- this case, because we could swap the
system) fault lamp was permanently died to the owner's satisfaction, except two rear sensors. We tried this but the
lit, despite numerous attempts by oth- for the ABS lamp problem. The dealer same fault code remained.
ers to diagnose the problem. was very coy (read evasive) when this Even though we were assured that
While talking with the owner, it issue was raised, so the owner decided an ABS module from another car had
transpired that he had only owned to take the car back to his repairer for already been substituted, we just had
the car for a few months. It was a a second opinion. to give it a go with another module,
one-owner car that he had recently ac- Upon investigation, it was found no matter how difficult they were to
quired through a used-car dealership. that there was actually no globe fitted procure. After many years of bitter
In fact, that probably now makes this to the ABS lamp socket in the instru- experience, we have learnt not to rely
a "three-owner" car but I've digressed. ment panel. As a result, a new globe on another technician's word.
After purchasing the car, he had it was fitted but it immediately lit up Anyway, you guessed it, another
OVER ONE MILLION ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS FIND WHAT YOU NEED AT THE RIGHT PRICE FAST AND EASY TO ORDER ONLlNE
••••
~- ". .- .-. ,
'
')
.. - -
-
;/"
,"
r
/;
IIN:dI!@i;,JJ~~~~ro;~~ ;:::;~;.~~nfY
--
..
have digital inputs, meaning peak-to-
@@M@@[fUffiP@ ~[2 = ~[jj][J[]@1] peak voltages are much less critical.
The older analog type inputs (such as
in the VP Commodore) were very sen-
unit was located and fitted but to no and was exactly the same size (and had sitive to the sensor voltage whereas the
avail- the ABS lamp remained on and the same number of teeth) as the one newer digital systems actually count
the same fault code persisted. on the lefthand side. And in any case, the pulses from the sensor.
At this stage, we fired up the scope the sensors had already been swapped. This means that the actual voltage
and took a close look at the wave- What about the air gap between the itself is far less important and a dig-
forms coming into the ABS module. sensor and cog? On some vehicles this ital system probably would not have
This revealed that while signals were is adjustable but not on this one. The generated a fault code, as in the above
present for all four wheel sensors, the gap is critical and should be around example.
peak voltage output of the sensor in O.S-lmm (20-40 thou. for the non- A look into this car's history would
question was slightly lower than from metric). be good ifit were possible, because the
the other three. Apart from that, the This car, being a wagon, retained only likely scenario is that this fault
waveform itself was correct but at last the old-style live rear axle, so the has been with the car since manufac-
we had some sort of a clue. cog wheel was pressed onto the axle ture. You can just picture the boys in
But how could this be? We'd substi- shaft near the bearing retainer and the the new car warranty workshop, back
tuted both the sensor and the control sensor was located in a small flanged, in 1992: "Ohno, here's that damned VP
module and had checked the wiring tubular fitting welded to the axle again, with the ABS lamp that won't
between them, so what could possibly housing. The axle centre is fixed, the go out. We've replaced everything in
be causing the lower output. The sen- bearing has no lateral movement and the car except the wiring loom. Let's
sors themselves are a simple inductive so the sensor position is fixed. In other just pull the !@#$%" dash indicator
pick-up type and are one of the more words, it hasn't altered since the car globe out, that'll fix it".
reliable types available. was built 17 years ago. So the first owner no longer had
In practice, they are placed in close Despite this, we just had to measure a problem with the ABS fault lamp
proximity to a rotating toothed cog, the gap and compare it to the other coming on after the warranty "fix". But
which is fixed to the axle, rotor or hub side. Eureka! The gap measured over of course, it wasn't a real fix because
of the wheel concerned. The pick-up 2.Smm, yet the lefthand sensor's gap the ABS braking system that he'd paid
produces a pulse, the voltage (and was just O.Bmm. So what had caused his hard-earned cash for simply didn't
pulse-frequency) being proportional this to change (if that is what hap- work. What happens is that when
to the road speed. pened) and what's more, how do you the ABS controller sees a fault (and
If a wheel locks up or appears to be fix the problem? activates the lamp), the system shuts
rotating at a much lower speed than Well, it hadn't moved. Instead, it down and the braking system reverts
the other wheels while braking, the turned out that the flange and tube to "normal" (non-ABS) mode.
ABS system modulates (pulses) the had been incorrectly welded at the It wasn't until the new owner had
brake pressure to that wheel. This re- time of assembly in the factory jig. a lamp fitted to the socket that the
duces the braking effort to that wheel The only possible fix was to carefully problem was rediscovered - some 17
and therefore avoids dangerous brake grind 1.7mm of metal off the sensor's years later. I wonder how many other
lock-up and skidding. mounting flange , to bring the face of cars with strange electronic problems
Normally, the ABS control module the sensor closer to the toothed cog. like this are on our roads today.
"sees" that each wheel is rotating at And that fixed the problem imme-
the same speed, because the output of diately. The peak voltage from this Intermittent Mazda 323
each sensor is similar. But in this case , sensor was now the same as the from A common misconception among
the righthand wheel's sensor output the other three sensors. This cleared many car owners is that all electrical
was lower than the other three even the fault code and allowed the ABS problems generate fault codes in the
before any braking took place, so the fault lamp to switch off. ECU and are thus easily diagnosed.
fault code was logged. As an aside, it's worth noting that However, that's far from the truth.
So what was wrong? It had to be electronic braking systems are much A case in point was a Mazda 323
somewhere in the pick-up itself. The more reliable nowadays than the sys- which was recently towed into the
toothed cog in the pick-up was intact tem described above. Current systems shop. It was a mid-90s model that still
The Audio Component Specialists

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• Capacitors, terminals, wire, coils and parts
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sound labs
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~ NOW READY
utilised a standalone distributor rather than the now
more commonplace individual ECU-driven "pencil"
coils.
~:~;'2::':'i:~:: ""';;~'::':':;;'''\l~:, T D WNL AD
The owner's complaint was that after driving for a 12 k.
02 - :::- 13 \L
certain distance , the engine would stall at idle and 03 1WF_' '4 "-
then not restart until left for some time, perhaps for it .. ~ ....:u--::; 1. ~
., ti =. 1. L'l.
to cool down. As a result, we began by checking the
cooling system to establish that the primary cause was
os l =
07 IL =.=..
11 ~
11 ·
oa L ::::::"
not one of overheating. This was given a clean bill of
health, so our trusty scanner was then plugged in to
interrogate the engine control unit.
This showed that no fault codes.were present but the
client then mentioned that several other workshops
had recently "had a go" at attempting to find the fault. Extensive Range of Speakers from
The problem here is that, each time a technician World Leading Manufactures
plugs in a scanner to read a.nd erase any fault codes,
any long-term history is then lost. Of course, this is
better than the opposite situation where in attempt-
~~ Peerless
~ SCAN SPEAK
ing a repair, the amateur home mechanic disconnects
just about every sensor in the system, the ECU then vifa Cdaichi
recording every fault code it is possible to log. In these
cases, the technician has no choice but to erase the fault ffilACOUSTICS
history and start over again.
Anyway back to the car. As is often the case with
intermittent faults, the fault failed to materialise for us.
All manner of extended test-driving failed to produce
any sign of a breakdown but the customer insisted that
it had now got to the point where it was a choice of ha v-
ing the fault found or sell the car. In fact, he mumbled
about it having something to do with his marriage or
his sanity, or perhaps both.
He also mentioned that he had already had an ex-
change distributor fitted because at one of his numer-
ous roadside breakdowns, the NRMA man had found
a lack of spark and had suggested that the fault may be
in the distributor or something else further down the
line. Anyway, because of the customer's "fix it or we'll
have to sell it" attitude, it got the better of me and so I
suggested he leave the car with us for several days for
further investigation.
At the end of the second day, our senior mechanic
used the car for a quick jaunt to the corner shop for
some afternoon tea and as luck would have it, the car
stalled just as he pulled into the workshop entrance. We
checked for the presence of all the vitals as quickly as
we could and found that the NRMA man had been right
on the scent - there was no spark at the spark plugs.
We quickly removed the distributor cap to check
the coil output and found enough spark to arc-weld
the hull of the USS Enterprise. The leads checked OK
for continuity and the cap looked like new, yet we had
spark at the coil but not at the spark plugs. We then
refitted the cap and the leads, only to have the engine
spring into life yet again. This really was the worse
kind of intermittent fault!
We let it idle for some time , hoping for the fault to
return which it did several minutes later. And it was the
same thing all over again - good spark at the coil but
not at the plugs. On this occasion, the fault remained
for a little more time , enabling us to determine that the
rotor was shorting (internally) to the distributor shaft.
Could it really be this simple and didn't the customer
say that he had an exchange distributor fitted?
siliconchip.com.au
in recent years has been the increased
~@M@@[jj]j)a)Dif@ [1®[2 = @@lliJ[1JfJD[J[]@i] use of LED lighting. This technology
has been appearing from all quarters,
not only in new vehicles from the fac-
tory but also in aftermarket assemblies
for trailers and the like, as well as
r; '" replacement LED globes to substitute
"""1\
..-r .--- -....
for existing incandescent globes.
From memory, my first experience
'\.'\. with automotive LEDs was a repair job
@@@ on a spoiler-mounted brake light many
years ago. A slimline row ofLEDs were
neatly moulded into the trailing edge
~ If'"
of the car's boot spoiler but the owner
had discovered that it had suddenly
stopped working.
It was quickly established that 12V
was present at the boot-lid wiring
when the brake pedal was pressed, so
the fault was inside the moulded LED
assembly. Luckily the assembly was
easy to remove and it was discovered
\ that the fault was caused by several
cracks in the circuit board on which
\ the LEDs were mounted. Sitting out
in the hot sun and vibrating away in
j a vehicle's boot-lid spoiler is really
not the ideal environment for delicate
circuit boards or equally delicate sol-
der joints and the gradual ingress of
moisture doesn't help either.
The fix was to either obtain a re-
placement circuit board or attempt
to repair the existing item. We then
established that the supplier of both
the spoiler and, of course, the circuit
board was no longer in business, mak-
ing repair the only option.
As a result , we cleaned away all the
corrosion and then fully resoldered
~ every joint on the board. This meant
20 LEDs x 2 legs per LED (= 40 joints)
plus a few extra for the wiring. We then
repaired the cracks in the board mate-
'--....
w'f.. FOUND 'f..NOUGH 5'PA1<K ,0
A1<C-W'f..L-D
'H'f.. HUL-L- OF 'H'f.. U55 'f..N,'f..1<'P1<15'f..•••
rial with epoxy and reinforced it in the
appropriate areas. The assembly was
then resealed and fitted to the spoiler
and there were smiles all around when
Well, yes , he did but as a conven- but the cause was not even visible. it lit up like a Christmas tree.
tion in the motor trade, exchange dis- A rotor generally gives years of
tributors do not come complete with trouble-free service, especially with Substituting LED globes
a new cap and rotor. They do get a the modern plastics now in use. How- We are also seeing more and more
full overhaul, including new bearing, ever, we forget about the stress these owners fitting LED globes as substi-
seals, sensors, modules and whatever little jiggers live under. Around 50kV tutes for failed exterior lights, or per-
else needs servicing but no new cap of applied voltage and high under- haps to brighten up or modernise their
or rotor. They are supplied less these bonnet temperatures are a lot to ask of vehicle. The big problem here, espe-
two items and you just inspect and a small insulator less than 2mm thick. cially for tail, brake and blinker lights
reuse the existing parts if they are OK. It only takes an incident like this where compliance for roadworthiness
In this case, while the rotor looked to remind us how a simple and cheap is necessary, is that LED globes do not
OK , it was obviously cracked and component can let the side down. necessarily suit the reflectors designed
shorting internally. How frustrating for incandescent globes.
- not only was the fault often only LED lighting The simple explanation for this is
present for very short periods of time One trend in automotive electrics that an incandescent globe is omni-

directional. enabling the parabolic reflector to fully il-
luminate the sometimes-large lenses at the rear of the car.
If a single LED is substituted, no matter how powerful,
its unidirectional beam merely produces a bright "dot"
of light at the centre of the lens. This is both dangerous
Talk to a company
and unroadworthy.
To overcome this, some suppliers now market multi-LED
that speaks your
globes, with the individual LEDs arranged porcupine-style
in an effort to make proper use of the reflector. However,
language
while these offer improved light spread, I've yet to see any
• Technical Engineering (
that would satisfy ADR compliance. support
Another problem with LED lights that we've had through
• Custom Design
the workshop is that of polarity. Put simply, a LED is a capability
diode and will only light when wired in the correct direc- • Direct
tion. This is not an issue if the globe and socket have an Replacement
obvious orientation but what about the plain wedge globes of 'standard' parts
that can be fitted in either direction. • Stocking options
This latter problem often occurs with parking light
globes, which are fitted inside the headlight reflector. • Company owned China
Parking lights in the past generally used BAgs bayonet- manufacturing facility
style globes whereas many nowadays use T-ID wedge-type • ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 (medical) certified
globes instead. The problem is, many owners of modern And all available to you!
cars dislike the appearance of a comparatively yellow- Contact us at: info@marque-magnetics.com
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If you install the globe in the socket the wrong way • Marque Magnetics
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wonder how many owners have returned their "faulty" LED 11 Culperry Road, Glendene, Auckland , New Zealand
globes to the spare parts counter after falling for this one. www.marque-magnetics.com
I'll put my hand up here to say that I have but only once!
In my opinion, the best use of LED lighting in the af-
termarket is for the rear of trailer and commercial vehicle to the failure of the notoriously unreliable festoon and
bodies. The fact that they are usually fully weatherproof, mini-bayonet globes and sockets. Low current draw and
shockproof and have a brightness level that is not voltage lack of voltage dependence make long wiring runs both
dependent gives them a big advantage over conventional more practical and more reliable.
globes. How many boat trailers do you see with all their rear
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down each side will no longer need constant attention due semblies , this situation can only improve with time. se
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f.I'S SYNf~Illlf)NIS1,rrIf)N
Derwent
The GPS Synchronised Clock described in the March 2009 issue

only worked with crystal clocks that ticked once a second. The more
upmarket clocks have silent sweep hands, which are much more
acceptable in a quiet lounge room situation. Now, with just afew
simple modifications, you can upgrade to one of these.
here has been a lot of interest pIe - especially in the dead of night have a sweep second hand that con-
T in the GPS Synchronised Clock

published in the March 2009
issue of SILICON CHIP. It introduced
and even more especially when sleep
eludes them! Tick ... tick. .. tick ...
tick ...
tinuously and silently glides around
the dial.
You do not have to part with a lot of
a completely new way of driving the They crave the silent, continuous cash to get this new silent treatment.
humble analog wall clock and turned sweep hand on the old-style electric K-mart sell a reasonably cheap clock
it into an amazingly accurate time- clocks. with a continuous sweep second hand
keeper. The good news is that some of the while replacement movements with a
However, it was only capable of more expensive crystal clocks, such continuous sweep hand are available
driving clocks that stepped once per as those from Seiko and Citizen, now on the internet for $10 to $15 (Google
second and that stepping mechanism "clock movement continuous sweep").
can be very annoying to some peo- By GEOFF GRAHAM Note that some suppliers use the term

"sweep second hand" when referring +1.5V- .....--"1 - - - - - - - - - - - --
to the old stepping movement, so look 14
for the words "continuous sweep" or veld PlC
1.5V
"silent". 16LF88
We had already had emails from
OV
17 - - -
readers who wanted to upgrade these RAO
CLOCK
improved crystal clocks to GPS ac- 31.12ms 31.12ms 31.12ms COIL
1.5V
curacy and so we thought it worth
Vss
revisiting the GPS Synchronised Clock 5
design to see if it could be modified to -1. 5V- - - - - - - - - - ...._ _... - - - - - -
drive the new sweep hand movements.
The answer was yes , although with an Fig.l: the waveform used to drive Fig.2: this is how the clock's coil is
important caveat. the coil of a sweep hands clock. The driven in the modified circuit. The
A standard crystal clock movement clock pulses alternate with a positive micro can take pin 17 high for a
uses a coil with a soft iron core and a pulse, an idle period and a negative positive pulse on the coil, low for
small bar magnet (the rotor) positioned pulse. This is repeated at 16 pulses a negative pulse, or open circuit
per second to drive the clock's hands (represented as a centre-off position)
in the magnetic field. An alternating
around the dial. for the idle period between pulses.
current flows through the coil which
causes an alternating magnetic field
and the rotor rotates to follow this while pulling the other wire to the bat- quired is exactly one 32nd of a second
field. It is this rotation that, via gears, tery voltage, +1.5V. For the next pulse and it can be created by dividing the
drives the clock's hands. the coil wires are reversed causing a 32. 768kHz crystal frequency by 1024, a
Fig.1 shows the driving waveform negative pulse compared to the first. neat binary number. The way the timer
for a clock with continuous sweep Both types of clock essentially work in the PlC microcontroller works it is
hands. It consists of a positive pulse, in the same way; they use a series of easy to generate these precise binary
an idle period, a negative pulse and alternating pulses to drive the clock. divisions; this is why you could only
another idle period. This repeats eight The only difference is in the speed of change the pulse width in the original
times a second. The rotor in the clock's the pulse train, one pulse per second firm ware in steps of 8ms.
movement has a certain amount of for the stepping clocks compared to
momentum which keeps it spinning 16 pulses per second for the swept- A wrinkle!
while driven by this pulse train, so hand variety. At this point the first difficulty be-
it never stops. This is different to the came obvious. The waveform in Fig.1
stepping clock movement where the Driving the clock has a 50 % duty cycle compared to the
voltage pulse on the coil pulls the rotor So, it seems that all we need to do stepping clocks that have a duty cycle
around and then stops it dead - once is modify the firmware for the GPS- of just 4%. The current drawn by the
every second - thereby creating that Synchronised Clock to generate a coil in a sweep hand clock is lower
tick sound. faster pulse train. That should be easy, but it is still about 1.25mA during
The driving waveform is created by shouldn't it? each pulse. With a 50% duty cycle this
holding one wire of the coil at OV volts, Even better, the pulse width re- results in an average current drain of
::,::;: Agilent Technologies

~~------.----~~~~ .... TUE SEP 22 17:08:14 2009
~~~~-~-..~
::.\ AgilenlTe.bnologles ru: SEP 22 17:08:49 2009
This scope screen grab shows the output signal from pin This shows the signal from pin 17 of IC1 when the clock
17 of the microcontroller (lCl), with no load connected movement is connected. The voltage spikes_are created
and is measured with the centrepoint of the batteries as the by the clock movement's inductance, each time the drive
ground reference. current is reduced to zero. The spikes are effectively
clipped by the Schottky diodes, D3 & D4.

in the original design, we wasted half
Fig.3: these are the four
modications to allow the AA our battery power in the 270Q resistor
+
circuit to work with a ALKAUNE used to reduce the microcontroller's
quartz clock with sweep (6) CELl
output to the voltage equivalent of
second hands. A is a AA
one cell.
1
link from the clock 14 Ultimately, there is always a novel
!J.... ALKAUNE
veld
mechanism to the @ CELl solution, isn 't there? This is illustrated
junction of the two
batteries. Band C RB4 RB2~8
10
DATA FROM
EM..408
in Fig 2. One wire of the clock's coil
is taken to the mid-point between
are Schottky diodes RAl 18 the two batteries, nominally at 1.5Y.
used to clamp RAO 17 2700 The other is driven by an output of
voltage spikes .1(;: 1
created by the RIC ll ~ if81i the microcontroller. The chip has the
clock's coil. D Vss capability of driving the output to the
links the GPS data 5 positive rail, driving it to the negative
to pin 8, the hardware rail and thirdly, making it high imped-
7
UART built into ICI. ance and not driving anything. This is
depicted in Fig.2 as a centre-off switch.
O.625mA and dividing that into the cell. This option is not open to us as So now, during each clock pulse, we
capacity of an alkaline AA cell gives we need at least 2V (1 V per cell) to take the microcontroller's output high
a life of less than six months; not good power the microcontroller. or low as required and during the idle
and that does not include the small Incidentally, most clocks of this type period we make it high impedance.
drain of the microcontroller and the can only start with fresh batteries. If The clock's coil will see positive and
specified EM-40B GPS module. you remove and replace half-used negative pulses of 1.5V, with nothing
So how does the electronics in a batteries they will not have enough during the idle periods. This alternates
normal sweep hands clock manage to energy to get the hands moving again. the current consumption between the
deliver a reasonable battery life? In the It is this requirement to provide at two batteries and in one stroke almost
main they achieve it by continuing to least 2V to the microcontroller that is doubles the battery life!
operate at very low battery voltages, the problem for us. The clock coil only As you might suspect though, it
down to O.7V or so from the single needs to be driven by one battery and was not quite as easy as that. Didn't
K Q2 AA
01 lOOk 1100nF 8C337 ALKAUNE
10k
14 (6) CELl
veld
4 IMCIR
1----+---'t RA4 13 . 1;{.k AA
CON FIG
s14
1
"'. 8( I ALKAUNE .;t.
CELl 1
-=;nl
11IRB5 31 IC2 16
,
"G : ~ 2200 "I""
9 RB3
RA211
3V 5V
IC1
r .'ps(,OlTS
4.7k RI6 6LF88 7
© , IK
7 03
~
TA
.2~@
21RA3 1 EN EM ..108
10k 3 Rx GPS MODULE
RB4 10 4 Tx
2 GND TO
131T1OSC 1 RAl 18
i CLOCK
ru
RAO 17 MECHANISM
2700
12 noseo
LEDl(:ty
Vss
I I 01: 1N4148 K CON2

, 2". 2".
5
Ac:J K
LED 8C327, 8C557
CD 04
7 7 7 7
02-04: 1N5819
A~
:~ E ~~ 1 2345
A
7
EM..i08 ~t t t t t) PC BOARD
11 GPS SYNCHRONISED CLOCK SWEEP SECOND VERSION CONNECTIONS ./
Fig.4: just in case you're starting from scratch, here's the complete circuit diagram, reprinted from the March 2009
issue, with the four modifications referred to above. The wiring to CONI has also been corrected in this diagram.

TO CLOCK TO PC
o g 51 T o o Fig.5: again reprinted

from the March 2009
u 00
.' 0 OR~
05U issue, this is the
~
g PRESS ON e original component
o ~ sT~P overlay for the GPS
-=-@ ~
Clock Driver.
GPSMODULE
2 x AACEU
o HOLDER
o
(±)
•
e•
o
Fig.6: and here is the
o o
opposite (copper) side
of the same PC board Z ~
e e • ·1 ~(:-)
;:{(~ . '-' •
showing the four
. modifications - also
O ee
u . .e .- . 0~ •
o
labelled A, B, C and D
to agree with those on
the circuit diagram.
GPS MODULE
(ON TOP SIDE)
U nr .n . r
,. J
.0..:.
2 xAACEU
No cuts are required to . ;' ·C:zg ·. :. r:® () HOLDER
(ON TOP SIDE)
0
copper tracks, just the 1"1 •
':' .
addition of two diodes, "C- .~
a wire link between
the pins of the micro-
n-'.' L~ o
controller and a new
wire connecting to the .. ... .=:. -=~--~~~---
'
~~ . .L ·
.--. •
.-- - -. 0
(,
•
junction of the two AA
batteries in their holder. o 00
(BOARD VIEWED ON COPPElI SIDE)
someone once say "life wasn 't meant

to be easy?" The clock's coil has a
significant inductance and when the
microcontroller switches its output to
high impedance the magnetic field in
that coil collapses, generating a large
spike voltage across its windings. In
the normal circuitry both sides of the
coil will be held at ground during the
idle period and the coil will be effec-
tively shorted out.
In our case the coil was free to
generate a sizeable spike which was
caught by the protective diodes in the
microcontroller but this created all
sorts of mayhem within the chip. The
solution was to place Schottky diodes
from the output pin on the PlC micro to
the positive and negative battery rails. . ;J
Before we get too far with describing ) .; "-
the modifications , have a look at the ::..--
~:..
circuit of Fig.5.
This is similar to that for the original
GPS Synchronised Clock, as published
in the March 2009 issue of SILICON CHIP The four modifications can clearly be seen in this under-board photo. Make
but shows the necessary mods to work sure you use insulated wire (or a length of insulation spaghetti slid over a wire)
with crystal clocks with sweep second for the link (D) as it crosses over another track underneath the microcontroller.
hands. It also corrects an error in the Similarly, ensure that the leads for the two Schottky diodes do not come even
wiring to CONI where the tip and ring close to the tracks underneath, just to be safe!
www.siliconchip.com.au N OVEMBER 2009 85

the position of the second hand as it
sweeps around. This is much better
than having to find an accurate time
source to completely reset the clock.
Not being able to run the clock at
high speed also means that we cannot
just set the clock to 12 o'clock and let
it catch up with the correct time. In-
stead, in this design, you set the hands
to exactly the next hour or half hour
(whichever comes first) and then insert
the batteries. This means that if (say)
the time is ten past one, you should
set the hands to 1:30 and the second
hand to the 12 o'clock position.
After the clock has checked the GPs.
for the correct time , it will sit and wait
for the next precise hour or half hour to
Here's the opposite end of that blue wire we added to the underside of the PC come around and then automatically
board (Fig. 6) - it emerges through a suitable hole and solders to the riveted start running.
"common" connector between the two batteries. Be very careful soldering this So that you do not fret while waiting
connector - it doesn't take much to melt the plastic!
for this to happen, the firmware will
slowly flash the startup LED at about
were shown transposed. pulses per second) one of them was once every three seconds - just to let
The additional Schottky diodes are guaranteed to zap a byte. And it only you know that it is alive and waiting
shown as D3 and D4 in Fig.5. Schottky takes one error to invalidate a whole for the right time to start.
diodes are fast-acting and have a low line of data. We have a small Catch-22 situation
voltage drop, so they catch the spike To overcome this we need to use here. When you purchase a clock the
before the diodes insid e the microcon- the hardware UART (universal asyn- second hand will be pointing at some
troller are subj ected to it. The result is chronous receiver/transmitter) in the random position on the dial and when
that the energy is harmlessly dumped PIC16LF88 microcontroller, ICl . This you insert the batteries the clock will
back into the AA cells . serial transmitlreceive component sit motionless until it is time to start.
The pulse generated by the col- works independently of the firmware As the time adjustment on most
lapsing magnetic field is of opposite and is not affected by interrupts. The clocks does not affect the second hand
polarity to the driving voltage. When UART uses pin 8 ofIC1. To get the data you will not have an opportunity to set
the resulting voltage pulse is caught by to the UART we simply need a wire the second hand to 12 o'clock before
the diode it acts as a slight brake on link pin 10 to pin 8, on the underside the clock starts - and then it is too late.
the spinning rotor and we found that of the PC board. Inevitably though, this Because of this we have added a
the pulse width needed to be a little change entailed yet another rewrite to new feature. While the clock is sitting,
longer to compensate. part of the firm ware. waiting for the correct starting time to
As pointed out earlier, the original arrive (slow flashes on the LED), you
pulse width was easy to create. Now Operation can press the setup button and while
a major rewrite of the firm ware was The firm ware for the sweep hand you hold this button down the clock
required to allow a finer degree of clock is similar in operation to the will run , causing the second hand to
control over the pulse width. original version but with a few dif- move around the dial.
ferences, the main one being that it is When the second hand reaches
UART required impossible to implement automatic the exact 12 o'clock position you can
But when the new firmware was daylight saving adjustment. This is be- release the button and use the normal
tested it became obvious that the mi- cause ofthe physics involved in spin- time setting facility of the clock to
crocontroller could not reliably receive ning the rotor in the clock movement. adjust the hour and minute hands to
data from the EM-408 GPS module. It is balanced to operate at a certain the correct position.
The firm ware in the microcontroller speed and while the new firm ware can Other features are the same as be-
used a software timing loop to clock run the clock 6% fast or slow, which is fore. The LED will flash to indicate the
in the bits of data transmitted by the fine for correcting a few seconds error, controller's progress as it starts up . One
GPS module and it seems that when it is no good for skipping forward or flash indicates that the microcontroller
an interrupt was generated by the mi- backwards by an hour. (PIC16LF88) is operating, two flashes
crocontroller's timer it interfered with Losing the daylight saving adjust- means that the DC to DC converter
the timing loop and caused a character ment feature is not as tragic as it seems. (MAX756) is operating, three flashes
to be lost. The microcontroller will keep driving mean that the GPS module is working
The original design worked fine the second hand with perfect accuracy, and four means that the GPS module
when there were only two interrupts so all you need do is wind the hands has got a lock on enough satellites.
in each second but now that we are back or forward an hour and ensure As before, you enter the configura-
generating 32 a second (to make 16 that the minute hand agrees with tion menu by holding down the startup
86 SIUCON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au

08-9 FEMAlE
CONNECTOR
(SOLDER SIDE)
Parts List - GPS
o TIIY'IN 5 Synchronised Clock
RING - PIN 3 (3.5mm STEREO PHONE PLUG)
_- 5 SLEEVE - PIN 2
1 PC board code 04203091, 140mm
i~:d x57mm
~~t:
:; = ::f-1 1 GlobalSat Technology EM-408 GPS
module *
~ Fig.7: construction of the cable that connects the clock 1 32.768kHz crystal (X1)
o controller to a standard PC serial port. You will need this 1 471lH high saturation inductor
if you want to change the settings. Note this is different to (Jaycar LF1274 or Altronics L6517)
UNK PINS the one originally published in March 2009 - use this one! 1 3.5mm stereo phono socket (AI-
4-6 AND 7-8
tronics P0096 or equivalent)
1 momentary push button switch
button when you insert the batteries. the original article in the March 2009
(Altronics SP0601 or equivalent.)
You also need to connect the clock to issue, we are repeating the construc-
1 dual AA battery holder (Altronics
your PC using the cable shown in Fig. 7 tional procedure here, along with the
S5027 or equivalent)
and run a terminal emulation program mods required to make the project work
1 18-pin IC socket
on your PC set to 4800 baud. Because with sweep second hand movements.
1 2-way header plug , 2.54mm pitch
we do not need to set the time zone All of the components for the GPS
1 2-way header socket, 2.54mm
or daylight saving, the menu is much Clock, including the GPS module and
pitch, PC-mount, 90° pins
simpler - see the screen grab of Fig.8. the AA cell holder, are mounted on
2 AA alkaline cells
The firm ware will also check for a a PC board measuring 140 x 57mm
flat battery and halt at exactly the hour and coded 04203091. The component Semiconductors
or half-hour position if the cells are be- overlay is shown in Fig.5. 1 PIC16LF88-I/P microcontroller
low par. Before you replace the battery Check the board carefully for .etch- programmed with GPS Clock
you need to set the hands to the next ing defects, shorted tracks or undrilled (0420309A).hex (IC1)
hour or half hour but hopefully you holes. Then install the four wire links 1 MAX756CPA DC-DC Converter (IC2)
will not have to mess with the second on the board and continue with the low Available from www.futurlec.com
hand because it should have stopped profile components, moving up to the 1 BC557 PNP transistor (Q1)
at the exact 12 o'clock position. transistors and capacitors. 1 BC327 PNP transistor (Q2)
If, after the clock has started, the When mounting the battery holder, 11N4148diode(D1)
signal level drops to a point that is too use double-sided adhesive tape or put 1 1N5819 Schottky diode (02)
low for the GPS module to get a lock a dab of glue on its underside before 1 3mm red LED (LED1)
on enough satellites, the clock will soldering it in. This will hold it se- CapaCitors
stop at exactly five minutes before the curely when you remove or replace
2 220llF 25V low ESR electrolytic
hour/half hour. Similarly, if the GPS the batteries.
(Jaycar RE6324 or Altronics R6144)
module stops running altogether the IC2 must be directly soldered to
1 1OIlF 16V electrolytic
clock will stop at 10 minutes before. the printed circuit board. Do not use
3 1OOnF monolithic
These indications make it easy to dif- an IC socket as the switching current
2 22pF ceramic
ferentiate between a low battery and through L1 is quite high and the volt-
something more serious. age drop through the socket contacts
Resistors (0.25W 5%)
In either event the firm ware will will prevent IC2 from working cor-
1 100kQ 1 22kQ 2 10kQ 24.7kQ
retry 10 times with a 4-hour delay rectly at low battery voltages.
11kQ 12700 12200 1470
between each attempt before it gives On the other hand, you should use a
up. This gives the GPS module plenty socket for ICl so that you can remove
of opportunities to come good. it for reprogramming. The PIC15LF88 Additional components required
Internally the firmware measures (IC1) must be programmed with the file for Sweep version:
time in eighths of a second. This allows 0420309A.hex which will be available 2 1N5819 Schottky diodes (D3, D4)
for much finer tracking of errors and from the SILICON CHIP website. 2 insulated wire links (see text)
control of where the clock's hands are The GPS module comes with a con-
pointing. Theoretically it will mean nector cable with identical connectors
a higher degree of accuracy although at each end. We only need one, so cut * The EM-408 GPS module specified
this is offset to some extent by the fact the cable in the centre. This will give suits the PC board pattern and also has
that most clocks with sweep hands you two separate cables, each with a an integral antenna.
will lose a fraction of a second when connector. It is available from www.sparkfun.com
they start up. This is something that On one of these cables you should (part number GPS-08234) , or www.
the firm ware is not aware of and can- bare the cut ends and solder them starlite-intl.com or www.coolcompo-
not correct for. to the PC board, ready for the GPS nents.co.uk and other suppliers).
module. Other modules may have different spac-
Assembling and modifying Solder in the 3-pin header for LK1. ing and require an external antenna.
the PC board Then install the jumper to select 3V
While many readers will have seen for the GPS module. This must be

This is a replacement movement we purchased from China via the Internet. If you search on the Internet you will find
many suppliers of clock movements with continuous sweep hands. They are generally hobby or craft shops catering
for people who are making their own clocks. At right is the interior of a modified movement. The integrated circuit
that normally drives the clock is bonded directly to the circuit board and hidden under the black blob. You can see our
connection to the coil and if you look closely between the soldered connections you can see where we cut the copper track
to disconnect the clock's internal circuitry.
done before the board is powered up. too much heat. Use a knife to clean a have some of these use desoldering
If you don't do this, pin 2 of IC2 will patch of metal on the connector and braid to pickup the excess solder.
float and might cause the IC to deliver use flux-cored solder to tin it first. Ap- All you need to do now is repro-
a lethal voltage to your GPS module. ply the soldering iron sparingly, half gram your PIC16F88 (or 16LF88) with
With the PC board completed, you a second at a time. You should then "0420309A.hex" which is available
now need to make four changes to it, be able to quickly solder your tinned on the SILICON CHIP website. When it
labelled A, B, C and D on the circuit wire to this patch. is reprogrammed, place ICl back in
diagram and (revised) component Even though the 2700 resistor looks its socket.
overlay. superfluous it should be left in place
Note that all changes are made on as the firmware will set pin 18 of the Testing
the copper side of the PC board. microcontroller to high impedance The original article provided a
and this resistor will prevent the volt- number of hints to help get the clock
A: Add an insulated wire from where age on this pin from floating, which is running and they apply equally to the
the 2700 resistor joins one pin of not a good thing for CMOS ICs. modified GPS Controller.
the clock connector socket (CON2) Check all your changes with a high This firm ware also has a new func-
on the underside of the board. This power magnifier, particularly looking tion in the setup menu that should
is illustrated as point A in Fig.6 for solder bridges between adjacent help with testing. It will run the clock
and we used a short length of blue pins on the microcontroller. If you do for an exact number of minutes and
light-duty hookup wire. The other
end of the wire goes to the centre
connection of the two batteries in
the holder.
B: Solder a IN5819 Schottky diode
(D4) between pins 17 and 5 of the
microcontroller with the cathode
(banded end) on pin 17.
C: Solder a second IN5819 diode
(D3) between pins 17 and 14 of the
microcontroller with the cathode
(banded end) on pin 14.
D: Solder a link between pins 10 and
8 of the microcontroller on the
underside of the board. This con-
nects the UART, as described above.
You should use a short length of
insulated wire to avoid shorting
the track that runs under the link.
Be very careful when soldering to Fig.8: the configuration menu is much simpler now we do not have to set the
the battery connector - the plastic daylight saving parameters. The Run command is new and makes it easy to test
will instantly melt with just a little the clock movement for reliability.

then stop. start running at low voltages. Once Stepping clocks
A good test is for 60 minutes and the test has started running you can Readers who have a clock that steps
the idea is that the minute and second reduce the supply voltage. once a second and are happy with the
hands should return to exactly the A second point to note is that you tock sound, may wonder if they can
same spot as they started from. Any must sit the clock upright in its normal benefit from the remarkable improve-
error, even by half a second, will in- position while testing. The clock's ment in the battery life described
dicate a problem. motor has very little power and, if it earlier. The answer is yes.
If you have a variable power supply is going to misbehave, it will occur You can down load a new version
you can use this function to test the while the clock is trying to push the (ver 2.0) of the firmware for stepping
clock's operation at various voltages. second hand up against gravity. clocks from the SILICON CHIP website
To simulate the half voltage point ("GPS Clock - Stepping.hex). If you
between the two batteries you should Source code have modified your board as described
connect two 47Q resistors in series The new firmware for sweep hands it will automatically detect the change
across the output of the power supply. clocks is written in the C language and use it to deli ver a greatly improved
The most important test is with the and can be compiled with either battery life.
power supply set to below 2V, the the CCS C compiler or the Hi-Tech If you have not made these modifica-
minimum operating voltage, as it is C compiler Lite for the PlC 10/12/16 tions you can still use the new version
here that problems will surface if they microcontrollers. as it will work fine with the original
are going to. The good thing about the latter is circuit.
If the clock does lose some time that it is totally free, so if you want Because this version includes some
you can experiment by increasing the to get into the C language and mess bug fixes and improvements over the
pulse width in the setup menu. This around with the code, this is one way original firm ware it is recommended
allows the pulse width to be varied to do it. that you download and install it any-
in steps of one millisecond with You can download the "Lite" com- way, even if you do not plan to modify
increasing values delivering more piler (the free version) from www. your board.
energy to the clock's motor at the cost htsoft.com The author has set up a web site to
of battery life. Before you install this you should provide up to date errata, notes and
Note that you need to start the test also download and install the MPLAB new firm ware for the GPS Synchro-
at a normal voltage (about 3V) because development environment from Mi- nised Clock. You can check it out at
the serial interface will not work at crochip (www.microchip.com) - also hUp://geoffg.net/GPS Synchronised
low voltages and the clock will not totally free. Clock.html se

bout now, with new HD Digital designed to suit the (analog) channels
A "Freeview" channels starting

up , many people are investing
in digital TV technology.
being transmitted in your area.
Unless you were affected, you prob-
ably don't remember the problems
AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION
CHANNEL FREQUENCIES
Whether that means a new, you- when the 0-10 Network started - but
Channel Video Audio
beaut flat-screen TV with all the bells a raft of viewers at the time com-
Number Carrier Carrier
and whistles or perhaps a digital TV plained bitterly that their TV picture,
(MHz) (MHz)
set-top-box used in conjunction with if it existed, was way down in quality
0 46.25 51 .75
your old faithful telly sitting in the compared to the other channels .
corner, you should be getting a host That's because their existing anten- 1 57.25 62.75
of new TV channels, right? nas were never designed for the higher 2 64.25 69.75
Umm, no. At the time of writing (channel 10) or lower (channel 0) 3 86.25 91.75
there are only ABC2 , SBS2 and One- frequencies . TV antenna design has 4 95.25 100.75
Sport even worth mentioning. One or always been a compromise between 5 102.25 107.75
two more are imminent. performance and bandwidth. 5A 138.25 143.75
But the Freeview ads promised Sydney and Melbourne VHF-only 6 175.25 180.75
what, 20+ new channels? That may antennas, for example, were originally 7 182.25 187.75
happen in the future but so far, the designed to cover specific and limited 8 189.25 194.75
other (commercial) networks digital frequency bands: Channel 2 (about 9 196.25 201 .75
offerings are nearly identical to their 65MHz), Channel 7 (about 185MHz) 10 209.25 214.75
analog offerings. And as we all know, and Channel 9 (about 200MHz). Then 11 21 6.25 221 .75
that isn't much of an offering. along came these new channels up to 28 527.25 532.75
Incidentally, Freeview have recently 20MHz outside the band and the an- 29 534.25 539.75
been ordered to change their "mislead- tennas had to cope as best they could. 30 541.25 546.75
ing" advertisements ... In some cases, they couldn't! 31 548.25 553.75
Programming aside, many viewers That problem has become sig-
32 555.25 560.75
have found another slight problem nificantly worse now that Digital TV
33 562.25 567.75
with digital TV: they can't view it! has arrived. Of course, most modern
antennas are cut to cover Channel 10 34 569.25 574.75
This is usually limited to areas
where the analog TV signals have (Channel 0 has long since gone by the 35 576. 25 581 .75
been marginal anyway but the problem wayside). 39 604.25 609.75
certainly manifests itself more with But now we have digital channels 40 611.25 616.75
digital. With analog , your picture "slotted in" between (and above) the 41 618.25 623.75
might be noisy or snowy but at least existing analog channels - frequencies 42 625.25 630.75
it's there and sort~of watchable. most ofthe antennas were, once again, 43 632.25 637.75
With digital, the dreaded "digital never designed to cover. 44 639.25 644.75
cliff" means your signal is either there 45 646.25 651.75
or it isn 't. Unlike analog, with digital UHF TV 46 653.25 658.75
there's virtually no "grey area". So far, we've concentrated our dis- 47 660.25 665.75
Just as importantly, the digital cliff cussion on VHF TV - the more recent 48 667.25 672.75
can also rear its ugly head when the advent of UHF TV of course demands 49 674.25 679.75
signal levels are too strong. a completely new antenna system. 50 681.25 686.75
We've all heard the stories about Even many of the popular early 51 688.25 693.75
people living close to the transmitters VHF/UHF "combo" antennas tend to 52 695.25 700.75
who didn 't even need any antenna to struggle somewhat as their UHF sec-
53 702.25 707.75
receive TV signals .. . well, many of tions were only ever intended to cover
54 709.25 714.75
these are in for an unpleasant surprise UHF Band 4 (eg, SBS TV on channel
55 716.25 721.75
when they try to install digital. 28 - about 530MHz) .
The digital cliff is more like a digital With many of the UHF TV transla- 56 723.25 728.75
plateau: there is not enough signal, so tors spread around the country up in 57 730.25 735.75
you get nothing; there is enough signal, the very high sections of UHF Band V 58 737.25 742.75
so you get reception; and there is too (for example channel 69, at 820MHz, 59 744.25 749.75
much signal, so you get nothing. It's nudges the mobile phone frequencies) 60 751.25 756.75
relatively simple to attenuate the sig- so any antenna to be used for these fre- 61 758.25 763.75
nal if you get too much , so we're more quencies has to be designed to receive 62 765.25 770.75
concerned with not enough. these frequencies. 63 772.25 777.75
Incidentally, we covered the subject 64 779.25 784.75
Do you need a digital antenna? of digital TV and its pitfalls in much 65 786.25 791.75
There is another reason why TV more detail in the March and April 66 793.25 798.75
signals might be inadequate for digital: 2008 editions of SILICON CHIP. 67 800.25 805.75
the antenna. Having said all that, in the majority 68 807.25 81 2.75
With few exceptions, the antennas of cases, most older VHF antennas 69 814.25 819.75
we have used for years have been WILL recei ve digital VHF TV channels
quite happily - maybe more by good at VHF and indeed is much worse for Even then, reception was ho-hum.
luck than good measurement (actually, high UHF channels than low, simply lf the antenna was lowered by even
it's more a factor of plenty of signal because cables become progressively a metre, the picture deteriorated to
level in the first place!). more lossy as frequency increases. virtually nothing.
But if they don 't, something needs Today, with UHF translators on the
to be done. It's either a new digital- There are cables ... and cables NSW Central Coast, I still need about
band TV antenna, or . . . There are many types of 75(2 "TV lam of height to get a decent picture.
Coax" ranging from very cheap (and That brings us to another use for a
Enter the masthead amplifier usually very nasty and high loss!) "masthead" amplifier - maintaining
The role ofthe masthead amplifier is through to some very esoteric (quite levels for signal distribution. We've
often misunderstood. Most imagine it expensive!) types offering much better already mentioned signal splitters - a
is some form of miracle worker which performance. typical two-way splitter can lose any-
can find TV signals which aren't there For example, the (unfortunately) where from 3-6dB; a three or four-way
in the first place. That is simply not so. popular 3C2V coax cable used exten- double that and more.
lf an antenna cannot receive signals, sively for imported pre-assembled lf your signal is marginal to begin
no amount of amplifying is going to patch cords, etc, has a whopping 3ldB with, this can easily mean the differ-
fix that! attenuation per lOOm at 700MHz (- ence between picture and no picture
Its job is not so much to increase the channel 52). with digital. A masthead amp can
level of a received signal but more so So if you have, say, a run of lam help a lot.
that other losses in the system (eg, the from your antenna to your TV set (quite The other application is for long-
coax cable downlead, splitters, etc) are a common length) you're going to lose distance coax paths. You may want to
compensated for. over 3dB - more than half of any signal send TV signals to the opposite end of
For instance, if you 're in a relatively your antenna has been able to sniff out. the home or maybe down to the back
low signal area, the amount of signal And that's before any losses from plugs shed! (We know someone who sends
received at the antenna may be barely and sockets, splitters or anything else. TV from his house way down to his
adequate. Many people in poor signal areas boatshed on the river- probably lOOm
In fact, if you hook up a TV set have a TV antenna mounted very high, or more away).
right at the antenna you might get a maybe on a mast on a high point some Even using the very best grade of
relatively good or even quite good tens (or even more) of metres from commercial coax, signal losses can
picture. But by the time the signal gets the home. be intolerable. In all these cases, a
to the receiver you might have lost a I'm speaking from experience here: masthead amplifier can be used to
significant proportion over the length while my home is only l5km from the overcome cable losses in the system.
of cable - and it may be completely Sydney TV transmitters at Artarmonl In fact, the gentleman with the boat-
inadequate for the TV to tune, process Gore Hill, it is nicely shielded by a shed uses exactly the system we are
and produce a picture. 50m-high cliff about lOOm away. describing here.
The masthead amplifier's job is to Back in the VHF-only days, to get But keep in mind that one problem
overcome this by keeping the signal any reception at all, I had to mount with a masthead amplifier is that it am-
level up at the bottom of the cable. my antenna nearly 30m off the ground plifies everything it receives - wanted
The situation is worse at UHF than (with, of course, a masthead amplifier). signal as well as noise - so it's very
;--.
The two sides ofOatley's K-274 Masthead amplifier. One

end contains the input terminals - it suits 300 ribbon or 75(2
coax - while at the opposite end is the cable clamp to suit
75(2 coax output (to the TV set). The photo at right shows
the balun transformer mounted on the upper side of the PC
board which allows the two different types of cable to be
used. The board is fully populated and soldered with SMD
devices.
All COMPONENTS
ARE SMD TYPE
AlREADY MOUNTED
I
ON PC BOARD _
..
~
2N5819
....
r E
K
3000
..
.. 2200l'F +
AC
750""' 16V
+ 7 I PlUGPACK
SUPPlY
The circuit diagram of the complete masthead amp. You only have to wire
the power supply and connect the TV coax plug (shown here in green boxes). The case has four half-moon "clamps"
to hold cables securely when closed.
important that it introduces as littl e this one does even better. We'd be inclined to plug the unused
holes with silicone sealant to prevent
of its own noise as possible. The gain is also more than adequate.
insects and spiders getting in.
Over the whole VHF/UHF bands , from
Ready to build? TV channels 1-68, it's no worse than
This amplifier, from Oatley Elec- 26dB and is as high as 33dB. Again ,
tronics, covers both the VHF and UHF these are very good figures - much less
bands - in fact, significantly more than and you don't have enough gain; too
the TV band. Actual range is from much more and you risk not having
SOMHz to more than 1000MHz (IGHz). an amplifier but an oscillator!
It doesn't discriminate between analog
and digital signals - if they are there, Pre-assembled PC board
they will be amplified . You might have noticed from the
The performance of this amplifier is photographs that the PC board is
something to write home about. Based populated "vith surface-mount devices
on a couple of low-noise BFP67 tran- (SMOs).
sistors, the two-stage preamp has the Don 't panic: the good news is that
excellent noise figure of just 1.7SdB. the PC board comes ready built and
This compares very well indeed tested - all you need do is supply suit-
to most "out-of-the-box" commercial able power (lO-ISV DC) and connect
masthead amplifiers. It wasn't so long coax for your antenna and output. A worm-drive hose clamp fits nicely
ago that manufacturers used to be de- The PC board can be fed from a into the mouldings on the back of
lighted with a noise figure of 3dB . The 300Q or 7SQ TV antenna (most these the case to hold it firmly to a mast. A
better ones got into the 2-3dB range but days use 7SQ coax cable) or even from large cable tie could also be used.
a distribution amplifier or other source

of RF signal.
We won't mention other signal
sources which could benefit from a
masthead amp - or in this case a dis-
tribution amp - because they might
not like you connecting an amplifier
to their box (we're too FOXy for that).
Besides, you would have to fit an F-
type socket on the amplifier.
Bunny ears
It is obvious that the original design
of the PC board was to act as an ampli-
fier for "rabbit ear" antennas and you
could do the same. Performance is
often so good that you can get away
without connecting an outside an-
tenna. (See how we modified a rabbit
ears antenna overleaf).
Once again that depends on your
location - topography and distance
The masthead amp mounted inside one of Oatley's HB4 cases which were
obviously intended to be used for ... masthead amps! from the transmitter play a major role

and second/third or more TVs down
75n ICOAX CABLE)
CONNECTION
the track.
' QR Mount it up high
~ 300n IRIBBON OR
The opposite end of the PC board
has a traditional cable clamp arrange-
ment for the coax feed to your TV.
. ~ - - -RABBIT EARS)
~ CONNECTION Ideally, the masthead amp should be
mounted at the top of the mast (ie,
as close to the antenna as possible)
, so it doesn't amplify any noise in the
downlead.
If so, it should be mounted in a
weatherproof box of some descrip-
tion. Oatley Electronics have avail-
able a suitable box (Cat HB4, $4.00)
Here's how to which was designed for masthead
connect the and distribution amplifiers. The box
antenna (coax or is self-locking and, as you do so, it
ribbon), coax to clamps both the input and output coax
750 COAX CABLE
the TV plug and in place. So you don't even have to
power to the TV
plug. mount the PC board - it can simply
sit inside the box.
No mounting hardware is supplied
in determining whether you'll have 300n twin lead and 75Q coax cables with the box but a large cable tie or
enough signal. with a balun transformer already (preferably) a worm-drive hose clamp
There are two large holes in the mounted on the PC board. can pass through the bracket at the
PC board which are intended for the Unless you have very good rea- back of the case and secure it firmly
mounting screws for a pair of rabbits son for not doing so (eg, you own a to the TV antenna mast.
hears. If you are in a strong signal area twin lead factory), we would strongly Once the box is mounted with the
(eg, <10km or so from the transmitter recommend you use coax rather than coax cables coming out the bottom, it is
and no intermediate hills or buildings twinlead. relatively weatherproof - but we'd be
to block signal) try rabbit's ears - you While it has higher attenuation, inclined to run some silicone sealant
could be surprised. coax offers several other advantages into the three other coax access holes
Remember that rabbit ears are sim- - eg, it doesn 't break down so easily to prevent moisture getting in and also
ply a dipole antenna and, as such , in the weather; it offers better protec- to deter spiders and other small insects
require broadside-on orientation to the tion from ghosting and interference calling your masthead amplifier home.
transmitter direction and horizontal or (twinlead has no shield so often picks There may be situations where you
vertical polarisation to suit the polari- up unwanted signals along its length) cannot mount the masthead amp at .
sation of the local transmitter. and finally, the best reason - twinlead the masthead. Don't be concerned, it
The other thing to keep in mind is is becoming a lot harder to obtain! should still work "down low" (ie, close
that as frequency increases the length The PC board is not clearly marked
of the di pole decreases - theoretically, but follow our diagrams and you won't
at the highest TV channel frequen- go wrong. One warning: make sure you
cies the telescopic dipoles should be use 75Q coax, not 50Q !
pretty-much collapsed. Experimenta- A cheapie might save a few bob now
tion is the key here. but it could give you grief later on,
And if you cannot easily obtain especially if you start adding splitters
telescopic rabbit ears?
Simple: use a pair of stiff wires -
even the proverbial Aussie fencing
wire will do fine or maybe that special
"cotanger" wire which every wardrobe
is full of ...
Of course rigid wire won't be quite
as adjustable as rabbit ears but replace- This was how Oatley Electronics
ment wire is pretty cheap! showed the power supply
construction, with the rectifier diode
So what's left to do? and capacitor glued to the outside
of the plugpack case. We are not
Not much! If you want to use it enthusiastic about this method: we'd
as a true masthead amplifier, you much rather open up the case and
need to connect the amplifier to your place the components inside, as
antenna. Provision is made for both described in the text.

Improving "Rabbit Ears" Reception
We mentioned in the article that the PC board appeared
to be designed for direct use with a 3000 antenna. Having
recently seen first hand how patchy the performance was
from a set of Rabbit Ear antennas (with a relative in hospital),
we thought "why not?"
The Rabbit Ears antenna shown here are typical of those
available from a variety of sources for $1 0 or less. We show
how we modified this particular antenna; obviously the one
you get may be different but we imagine in most cases, the
principles will be the same.
We opened our antenna (four screws in the base under-
neath the four rubber bumper feet) and found quite a deal
of empty space inside.
Apart from a baluin (which we don't need as there is one
on the amplifier PC board), there is also a large lead weight,
as shown below (which keeps the unit stable).
There was plenty of room to mount the PC board sideways
but we wanted to mount it end-on, so that the coax cable
could emerge from the original place.
Only a minor modification was required to the case to
achieve this - there is a moulded plastic pillar right in the
middle which was obviously intended to support some type
of board (it doesn't support the existing balun PC board) .
After unsoldering the balun PC board and discarding it, we not so much to hold it in place (even though it does to some
clipped the pillar off and smoothed the plastic out with a degree) but more provide insulation between the board and
hot soldering iron. the lead weight which mounts above the board. While the
To mount the PC board, we needed to shorten it. We weight sits on pillars giving clearance, we thought it better
did this by moving the balun back a little, drilling three new to be sure, to be sure . ..
holes in the same pads/tracks and soldering it back in place. And that's it! Where we had a fairly watchable picture in
We then cut the PC board across the large antenna holes, the past, it's now a rock-solid picture much less prone to
as shown in the centre photo below. A small amount of pad interference and flutter as people walk past.
must be left to allow soldering. One aside: the black loop in the picture above originally
The board, with coax cable attached, then fits nicely with contained a single length of wire connected to the same
the coax emerging in the right place. terminals. Now we might be breaking some unwritten law
Two short lengths of tinned copper wire connect the origi- of advanced Rabbit Ear technology but we couldn't see any
nal solder lugs to what remain of the antenna mounting pads. sensible reason for this loop. So when we re-assembled our
We ran some hot-melt glue over the end of the PC board antenna, we left it out. Trust us: it works without it!
Opening the case (four screws) reveals We shortened the masthead amp board Short lengths of wire connect the
a balun and a lead weight. We don't a little to help it fit better, drilling new two "ears" to what's left of the 3000
need this balun so we discarded it. holes for the three balun wires. terminals - and that's about it!

clamp inside.
DC power is also connected via this
plug, which has the blocking compo-
nents to make sure power doesn't get
back into the TV set but allows power
to reach the masthead amplifier via the
coax cable. Therefore it is important to
use this plug and not simply substitute
a standard TV antenna plug.
Use the diagram and accompany-
ing photo to show you where the DC
power is connected relative to the coax
connector.
So that's it: nice and simple and
capable of excellent performance. sc
Where from, how much?

The K274 Masthead Amplifier
kit Is available from Oatley Elec-
When you "crack" open the plugpack as described in the text, you'll find there tronics (www.oatleyelectronics.
is plenty of room for the diode and electrolytic capacitor. That 0.68n resistor is
~) for $14.90. This includes the
a bit of a mystery - we removed it from our rebuilt supply. After testing, make
sure you re-glue the two halves of the plugpack together and change the label to pre-assembled amplifier board ,
indicate it is now a 10V DC supply! power supply components and TV
antenna plug.
to your TV set) but performance might There is plenty of room for both The masthead/distribution case
not be quite as good; adequate, perhaps the diode and capacitor at the top of sells for $4.00 (cat HB4).
even an unnoticeable difference - but the case and all the "bitey" bits are
theoretically, not as good. safely covered by the transformer and
Presspahn insulation.
Power supply When we opened the supplied plug-
Finally, we need to add a power pack in this way we were surprised to
supply. In the Oatley kit, a small 6V find a 0.68£1 1 W resistor in series with
AC plugpack is included along with the secondary. No, we don't know why
a Schottky rectifier diode and a small either - so we removed it.
electrolytic for a simple half-wave Fortunately, its mounting lug pro-
rectified supply. vided a perfect position for soldering
Given the poor regulation of small the diode in series with the secondary
plugpacks and the low voltage drop (anode to the secondary). The electro-
across the Schottky diode, this gives lytic capacitor connects between the
around 9.5V DC on light loads (which diode cathode and the other end of
the masthead amp is - just 25mA) so the secondary. A short extension to
will power the masthead amplifier. the positive wire from the capacitor
The specifications say lO-l5V DC was necessary to do so.
so if you want to run a higher sup- If you use this method, when you've
ply voltage you would possibly end checked it out and it works, simply
up with slightly better noise figures glue the case lid back on (super glue,
and perhaps more gain. A half-wave- contact adhesive, etc) while clamping
rectified lOV AC supply would result the two halves together. Don't forget to This coax TV plug, supplied with the
in about l4V DC. change the label to read 9V DC instead kit, doesn't simply connect your amp-
Oatley's method of power supply of6V AC (a thin-pointed spirit marker lifier to the TV set. It also contains the
construction is, shall we say, unique: is ideal). components which allow you to send
they hot-melt glued both the diode and Whether you choose Oatley's easy DC power back up the coax cable
electrolytic to the power supply case way or our harder but more profes- (seen here in grey) while stopping the
and soldered the leads on. sional way, you need to end up with power getting into the TV set. Don't be
We would much prefer a method a DC supply around 9-l0V or so, con- tempted to substitute a standard coax
we've used in the past, when there is nected with the polarity shown in the connector - your TV set might object to
room, and that is to put the rectifier diagram earlier. it. You also need to connect DC power
(from the modified plugpack) - the
components inside the plugpack. positive wire goes to the arrowed (+)
When the plastic welds on the pow- Connecting the supply side. You might also need to cut a small
er supply case are squeezed in a vyce Also included in the kit is a special notch in the back of the plug (alongside
and tapped until the weld breaks, you PAL-type TV antenna socket (male the coax cable cutout) to accommodate
can separate both halves of the case. plug) connector which has a coax cable the power wires.

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by J Rolfe & A Edney - published 2007 Edited by Kaz Bieleeki - 4th Edition 2007
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By RODNEY CHAMPNESS, VK3UG
take a look at the design requirements

necessary to ensure reliability for this
type of supply, starting with the power
transformer.
Generally, the power transformers
used in valve receivers are conserva-
tively rated and it is rare to hear of
them burning out. Most (but not all)
power transformers have a tapped pri-
mary winding that (depending on the
connections) can accommodate mains
input voltages ranging from around
200V AC up to about 250V AC at 50Hz.
However, some transformers were de-
signed to work safely on 40Hz mains,
as used in Perth many years ago.
Because they are conservatively
rated, most transformers in valve
receivers will withstand somewhat
higher currents than originally in-
tended. This may be brought about,
for example, by substituting a valve
that draws greater heater and HT
currents than the valve originally
specified. However, although they may
withstand moderate overloads in the
Last month, we looked at the development of short term without too much fuss (but
run wal'mer in the process), this is not
AC mains power supplies for domestic radios recommended long term.
and the all-important power transformer. In In any case, the transformer should
not run hot in normal use.
Pt.2 this month, we look at some of the other
aspects of power supplies that a restorer needs Voltage regulation
The voltage drop across a valve
to understand. rectifier varies significantly between
low load and its maximum specified
load. The figures provided as examples
NDERSTANDING THE power such as the 6X4 and a resistor in place in the following paragraphs depend
U supplies in valve receivers is an
important aspect of restoration. It's
of the choke - see Fig.I.
Replacing like for like components
on the resistance of the transformer's
primary and secondary windings, the
important that you know what you are with the same ratings is usually quite type of rectifier used and the value of
doing when restoring such equipment, reasonable when restoring such cir- the first filter capacitor. These values
as incorrect servicing can cause a fire cuits. However, because the circuits are typically set down in valve data
or even result in electrocution. are relatively simple, many people books.
The power supply circuits used in are often lulled into thinking that any For example, a 6V4 rectifier con-
valve radio receivers are usually rela- odd-value component can be used to nected to a 600V centre-tapped trans-
tively simple. They typically consist of replace a faulty part. former secondary winding will have a
a transformer, a rectifier like a 5Y3GT, DC voltage of 424V on its cathode with
two 161lF electrolytic capacitors and a A typical power supply no current being drawn. This slumps
12 Henry choke between them. This Fig.1 shows the circuit of a typical to approximately 300V at its maximum
was almost an industry standard for power supply as used in many late- rated current output of 90mA.
many years. Later sets used rectifiers model valve mantel receivers. Let's A directly-heated GZ32 (with the

same input voltage) will have 424V +HT FOR
on its filament at no load and this will .-------------~~ P~TEOF
6)(.4 OUTPUT VALVE
drop to 320-360V at its full-load rating Vl
R2
T1 1.2k
of 300mA. By contrast, the output from +HT FOR
REMAINDER
a 5Y3GT with the same voltages ap- OF SET
plied will drop to as low as 330V with C2
241lF
a 60mA load and to 280V at 125mA. - 300V
If a field coil speaker is used in the
HT line, then the HT line will typically Rl R3
be reduced a further 100V if a 6V4 or 1000 390
GZ32 rectifier is used. Alternatively, E<>--:!. ~---_~ -2V
for a 5Y3GT, the voltage drop can be

as high as 190V at 60mA. ~------------~~ -N
BACK BIAS
Often , 5Y3GT valves were used
with transformers with a 770V centre- Fig.l: a typical power supply for a receiver that uses a 6M5 as its audio
tapped (ie, 385V per side) HT second- output valve. Note the method used to derive the two back bias voltages.
ary winding. The no current voltage
on the output of the 5Y3GT for a few
seconds will thus be 385V x 1.414 = of ratings that need to be observed to The horizontal line on the lower
544 V DC peak and this voltage is ap- ensure a long life. In the preceding trace is zero current and the rectifier di-
plied to all valves and components section, the 6V4 was described as hav- odes only conduct when their anodes
connected between the HT line and ing a maximum continuous current are more positive than their cathodes.
the chassis. The transformer wind- output of90mA. However, in practice, In the case of the 5Y3GT, the filter
ing resistances, magnetic losses, field the rectifier only supplies current for capacitor should not normally ex-
coil ,r esistance and the voltage drop a fraction of a complete cycle (see ceed 20/iF, depending on the output
across the rectifier at full load will Fig3.3-6), during which it charges the voltage and the transformer winding
subsequently reduce this HT voltage filter capacitor at its cathode. resistances. The 5Y3GT is intended
to 250-300V DC after filtering. The peak current specified for the for vertical mounting but it can be
For this reason, sets using a 5Y3GT 6V4 is 270mA per plate and the size laid on its side if pins 2 and 8 are in
or similar directly-heated valve recti- of the filter capacitor is limited to the horizontal plane. The filament
fier must use components (particu- 50~F. To limit the peak current to a sags as it heats up and under some
larly electrolytic capacitors) capable safe value, the minimum effective circumstances the valve could flash
of withstanding the high peak voltage. plate supply impedance (ie, per plate) over if this precaution is not observed.
That is why old sets had either 450V varies from 125-300n, depending
working (VW), 525V peak (VP) or on the output voltage of the supply. Peak inverse voltage
500VW1600VP electrolytic capacitors. This impedance consists mainly of Another rating rarely thought about
In later receivers , such as the the primary and secondary winding is the peak inverse voltage (PIV) rating
Kriesler 11-99, silicon diodes were resistances of the power transformer. of each diode section when it is not
used as power rectifiers . In fact, I have However, you will sometimes see a conducting. If you measure the voltage
a solid-state version of a valve rectifier low-value resistor in series with each across each half of the HT secondary
power supply. It is a 100mA power plate lead to increase this resistance to transformer winding and it is around
supply with a 600V (300V per side) the minimum recommended. 285V (a common value) , the output
centre-tapped secondary transformer A scope shot of the peak current voltage following the rectifier will be
winding and the output voltage at no through the 6V4 rectifier ofthis power around 400V with no load.
load is 425V DC. This drops to 368V at supply shows that the current is sup- A common mistake made by radio
full load at the cathodes of the diodes plied to the filter network in pulses. restorers is to fit 1N4004 diodes (400V
and 355V immediately following the The traces show both the ripple volt- PIV rating) in place of a 5Y3GT rectifier
filter choke. age and the peak capacitor charging valve or similar. Unfortunately, a 400V
In short, silicon diodes are more current, which occur at the same time PlV diode is not adequate in a power
efficient than valve rectifiers. The as each other. supply that's delivering 400V and as
peak voltage and the full-load voltage Using a 16/iF electrolytic as the some have found out to their sorrow,
are much closer together when using first filter capacitor, the peak current the power transformer can quickly
silicon diodes. This means that the through the rectifier is O.4A (400mA) become a charred, smelly mess.
secondary HT winding voltages can and the ripple voltage on the capacitor To understand how this happenS',
be much less than in a valve rectifier is 50V p-p with a 100mA load. Note assume initially that the no-load out-
circuit for the same output. that the OV line is not shown on the put voltage is +400V on the diode 's
In fact, a secondary HT winding of power supply ripple trace (the upper cathode. What happens then is that the
around 225V would be adequate for a trace). voltage on the winding reverses and
HT voltage of 250V DC in a late-model Note also that the voltage across the this then results in -400V (peak) on
valve receiver. 16~F capacitor (upper trace) begins to the diode's anode. That means that the
rise as soon as the charging current total voltage across the diode is 800V
Rectifier rating limitations from the rectifier diodes (lower trace) when it is not conducting, a figure
Valve power rectifiers have a number commences. which greatly exceeds its PlV rating.
the power supply is on load.
This view shows a mercury vapour rectifier The value of this resistor is likely
(left) and a selenium rectifier (right). A
modern silicon diode is also shown for size to be around 300n but the wattage
comparison. rating needs to be around double the
calculated value for pure DC, as the
peak current through the resistor will
be quite high.
Of course, the thermionic diodes in
rectifier valves also have PIV ratings.
The venerable 5Y3GT has a PIV of
1400V, the 6V4 1000V and the 6X4
1250V. You exceed these ratings at
your peril.
In addition, indirectly-heated valve
rectifiers have another rating that
many are not aware of - the heater-to-
cathode insulation rating. To explain,
the heater and cathode are insulated
-------- - from each other in indirectly-heated
valves and for most power valves,
the insulation rating is 100-200V. For
rectifiers, however, it has to be much
higher and in the case of the 6V4, it
is 500V and for the 6X4 450V in a
Rather than go into great detail, as a each diode to compensate for unequal conventional power supply.
rough rule of thumb it's a good idea to leakage currents and capacitances One rectifier that is prone to break-
allow three times the winding voltage at the diode junctions. The ball park ing down between the heater and cath-
as the PIV required for a rectifier. This requirements for a 1000V PIV diode ode if it is overloaded is the 6X5GT.
is necessary to also allow for mains are two 1W 150kn resistors in series
surges and spikes. across the diode and a parallel lnF Back bias & hum reduction
In greater detail, in the example lkV or higher-rated ceramic capacitor. Fig.l shows a typical power supply
above, the PIV rating of the diode Solid-state diodes are relatively for a receiver that has a 6M5 as its
should be at least 2.828 (2 x peak wind- cheap and may be the only alternative audio output valve. Note that instead
ing voltage) x 285 =806V (NOT 400V). in some restoration projects where of the centre tap of the HT secondary
This means that a lN4007 1000V PIV the original rectifier type is no longer winding going to chassis, it is wired
diode (or similar 1000V diode) would available. However, when substituting to a common point along with the
be necessary in this particular circuit. solid-state diodes for a valve rectifier, negative side of capacitor Cl , one
If the calculated PIV is greater than it is also necessary to install a resistor side of resistor Rl and a lead for the
1000V, then two or more diodes can in series with their cathodes, before the -7V bias line.
be connected in series to give the re- first electrolytic filter capacitor. This arrangement is necessary to
quired PIV. However, it is necessary This is necessary to reduce the out- minimise hum loops.
to put a resistor and a capacitor across put voltage to the normal value when Earlier power supplies earthed
both the centre tap and the negative
of the first capacitor to the chassis at
C4'
the same spot if possible. If they are
11 L2 not connected to the chassis at the
VI same spot, the peak currents flowing
through the chassis due to rectifier
A
+1
r
AC OR DC • ~ Cl ~C2 ~C3 FIIJERED
action will develop an alternating
voltage between the two earth points
and this can cause hum in the output
MAINS
~
IN
OTHER VAlVE
H~
O"'ES CONNECTED) _
j
HT of the receiver.
As shown in Fig.l, the bias for the
6M5 and the earlier valves can be taken
from particular points across resis-
• RESONATING CAPACITOR
tors R2 and R3. The bias to the 6M5
_ TCS (MAINS RATED)
in particular has ripple impressed on
it due to the operation of the rectifier
E ~ HALF WAVE AC OR DC MAINS POWER SUPPLY
and filtering components. This ripple
can be used to "buck" (or nullify) the
Fig.2: transformerless ACIDC sets had one side of the mains connected to effect ofthe ripple on the plate circuit
the plate of the rectifier, while all the valve heaters were in series with the of the output valve.
mains. Such sets are extremely dangerous to work on - see text. When the rectifier is conducting,

the positive voltage at pin 7 rises and larly in earlier times , the filter choke
so the output valve will tend to draw was tuned to resonance by a capacitor
slightly more current, as mentioned wired across it. A 10H choke resonates
earlier. At the same time, the -7V bias with a 1j!F capacitor at 50Hz and by
will also go further negative and this resonating the choke, the filtering ef-
will largely nullify any rise in the plate ficiency was increased. If you have
current, thus reducing the hum. a set that has come from America,
The -2V line supplies bias for the the value of this resonating capacitor
front-end valves and for delayed AGC should be increased by 20%, so that
(automatic gain control). So this sim- it will work better at the Australian
ple supply performs several jobs using 50Hz mains frequency.
relatively few parts. Note that in some Fig.3: this scope shot shows the ripple
sets, the ratio of the bias variation to Heater supply in ACIDC sets (top) and the peak current from a
the plate voltage variation doesn't By necessity, the heaters in ACI typical full-wave rectifier when using
match and so additional filtering of DC sets are wired in series across a 16/-lF first filter capacitor. The ripple
voltage is 50V peak-to-peak at 100mA.
the back-bias line is required. the mains (we said such sets can be
dangerous). In fact, a whole series of
Power supplies for ACIDC sets valves was developed that had heaters
The transformerless half-wave rated at either O.3A or O.15A and even
power supplies used in ACIDC re- as low as 0.05A. The voltage across the
ceivers are extremely dangerous, so individual valves varied according to
don't mess with them unless you are the purpose they served. For example,
an expert, have lots of experience and a 35L6 output valve has a 35V 0.15A
understand exactly what you are do- heater, while a 12SK7 RF valve has a
ing; Do the wrong thing with one of 12.6V heater that draws O.15A.
these and you could get electrocuted. Because the valves on the set do
In fact, depending on which way not heat up at the same rate when
around the mains Active and Neutral power is applied, some valves will Fig.4: the effect of substituting a 64/-lF
are connected, the chassis could be have excessive voltage across their first filter capacitor. The peak current
at mains potential! In other words, heaters for a short time and this can remains nearly the same and the
one side of the mains was connected ultimately reduce their working life. ripple reduces to 15V peak-to-peak.
directly to chassis in some sets. Several simple techniques were used
For this reason, it's vital to use an to reduce this problem, the easiest be-
isolation transformer when working ing to install a resistor in series with
on such receivers. But we repeat the the heaters. This resistor introduced
above warning - DO NOT touch such an additional voltage drop to make
sets unless you are an expert. up the difference between the mains
Fig.2 shows a typical power supply voltage and the correct voltage drop
as used in many AC/DC receivers. As across all the heaters.
the rectifier is only conducting for less Another common method was to
than half the time, adequate filtering of wire a "Barretter" in series with the
the pulsating DC is harder to achieve valve series heater string. Barretters
than with full-wave rectification. are designed to stabilise the current
The values of the first and second through them to some predetermined Fig.5: the waveforms for a half-wave
filter capacitors were the largest that value for a range of input voltages. rectifier and 16/-lF first filter capacitor.
could be used with the rectifier (usu- For example, the 1941 barretter is The HT voltage reduces from 350V to
ally 8j!F or 16j!F each), while an iron- rated to provide O.3A over a voltage 305V, the peak current increases to
O.65A and the ripple voltage increases
cored choke of around 12 Henry was input range of 80-200V, while a 161 to 120V peak-to-peak.
used to achieve reasonable filtering. is rated for 0.16A over a voltage range
Even then, AC/DC receivers always of 100-200V.
tended to have more hum than those A third method that I like is to
that derived their power via a mains use negative temperature coefficient
transformer. (NTC) thermistors. When cold, they
The Kriesler 11-90 and 11-99 sets, have relatively high resistance and as
while they are not AC/DC sets, use a they warm up their resistance drops
6V4 and silicon power diode respec- dramatically. By wiring them in series
tively in half-wave rectifying circuits. with the heaters, the valves will gradu-
The first filter capacitor is 40j!F to filter all y have the correct current applied to
the pulsating DC output from the recti- them. However, they do take a while
fier as much as possible. to drop in resistance as they warm up
and sets using them take quite some Fig.6: using a 64/-lF capacitor in the
Resonant tuning time to start working. half-wave circuit reduces the ripple
In some power supplies, particu- Dial lamps can be a problem ifwired from 120V to 30V.
many miliiamps of current when a
voltage is applied.
Any capacitors that are "leaky" ei-
ther need to be replaced or "reformed".
In the latter case, this is achieved
by applying a voltage that's close to
the working voltage of the capacitor
through a current limiting resistor.
A current of 20mA is a reasonable
limit when it comes to reforming the
electrolytic capacitors found in vin-
tage radios. In practice, it may take
several minutes for the dielectric to
reform, by which time the leakage
current should be just a milliamp or
two, depending on the capacitance.
If the capacitor is defective , then the
voltage across it after a few minutes
of "reforming" will still be quite low
The 6V4, 6X4 and 6CA4 "miniature" rectifiers were commonly used in radio compared to the voltage source.
sets towards the end of the valve era. Be careful when changing from one If the reforming process appears to
rectifier type to another, to ensure maximum ratings are not exceeded. have been successful, the next step
is to try the set out. However, if the
capacitor has lost its capacitance, hum
in series with the valve heater string. ic capacitors (and other components) will be quite evident in the output from
That's because if they blow, the set will can withstand the high voltage that the speaker. Before condemning the
be inoperative. However, it is common appears across the supply line until capacitor to the scrap bin though, con-
for the dial lamps in such sets to be the valves draw current. A series resis- nect another one across it. If the hum
run at reduced current so that they are tor in the supply line of around 300Q is reduced, replace the faulty unit. If
unlikely to fail. before the first filter capacitor will not, there is another fault somewhere
usually be necessary. in the set.
Unavailable valve rectifiers In some cases, it is possible to substi- For more information on electrolytic
If a rectifier is no longer available tute another type of indirectly heated capacitors and on reforming them ,
(eg, the 25Z6 which is used in ACI rectifier. However, if this has a higher refer to the Vintage Radio column in
DC receivers), then it is possible to heater current than the original valve , the October 2006 issue of SILICON CHIP.
substitute solid-state diodes. For ex- make sure that the power transformer
ample, if the valve heater is intact but can withstand the increased load. PIV Summary
its emission is low, a 1000V lA diode and maximum current ratings need to The power supplies used in old
such as a lN4007 can be wired directly be observed too. valve radios appear to be relatively
across the valve's socket. simple. However, to achieve long-term
However, because the voltage drop Electrolytic capacitors reliability, particularly when major
under load is much lower with a After long periods of time, it's changes are made to a supply, you
lN4007, it's advisable to install a common for electrolytic capacitors have to consider all the points raised
resistor in series with one of its leads to lose their capacitance and become in this article and in Pt.l last month.
to drop the on-load voltage to that electrically "leaky". For this reason, if From personal experience, many
normally obtained with a good valve a set has not been used or serviced for vintage radio restorers are unaware of
rectifier. The val ue of this resistor will many years, it's essential to check the just how important some power sup-
be around 300ft electrolytic capacitors to make sure ply design factors really are. Factors
If no rectifier is fitted to the set they are still in good working order. such as rectifier peak inverse voltage
and none is available, a lOW resistor The first thing to do is to check that (PIV) ratings , current ratings, heater
with the same heater resistance as the there are no shorts or near shorts be- cathode insulation ratings and elec-
original rectifier can be fitted. This is tween the HT line and the chassis. If trolytic capacitor values and voltages
simply wired across the valve socket to there are, it is necessary to disconnect must all be considered.
the heater pins. For example, the 25Z6 various components and sections of This particularly applies when a
has a 25V heater that draws 0.3A. The the receiver to determine where the switch is made from one type ofrecti-
formula for calculating the value of the fault lies. A multimeter can then be fier to another, regardless as to whether
resistance is VII = R, where V = volts, used to locate most shorts. you are simply substituting a different
I = amps and R = resistance. Therefore Occasionally an electrolytic ca- valve or changing from a valve rectifier
25/0.3 = 83ft The preferred value of pacitor will be found to be defective. to a solid state rectifier.
82Q will be close enough. What happens is that the dielectric in Finally, remember to stay well
If an indirectly-heated rectifier is an electrolytic can lose its insulating away from transformerless AC-DC
replaced with a silicon diode(s), it is properties. As a result, it can become sets. They are a death trap for the
necessary to ensure that the electrolyt- be quite "leaky" electrically and draw uninformed and the unwary. se
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Changes to tested it was incapable of achieving the larger hysteresis band in order to re-
temperature ranges described in the duce 'chattering', simply increase the
Tempmaster original SILICON CHIP article. My unit value of the resistor between pin 3 of
I have just completed building the was only capable of reading between the comparator and LKl, from l.zkn
Tempmaster Mkz (SILICONCHIP, Febru- 4°C and appr oximately 15°C as built up to 1.5kn, 1.8kn or even z.zkn.
ary Z009), a very efficient design as I from the ki t.
previously had an incubator that had a I've pondered the problem and after Trickery with
Triac and ramp generator problem with doing the arithmetic I ultimately re-
the IC; it was a UK design. My question placed the 500n 10-turn potentiometer a projector
is, can the temperature range be up to (VRl) with a lkn unit, this certainly I was just wondering if you guys
40°C, as I need 37.5°C for incubating cured the temperature range problem. have been able to come up with a home
chickens? Currently it can only run My intention was to run the unit in made 3G signal booster (repeater) for
up to 19°e. What components need the heating mode and temperatures use in homes that do not have the best
changing? (G. F., via email). beyond 19°C were required and with 3G signal coverage.
The temperature range of the Temp- that change the unit worked well up Also, is there a way to make an in-
master Mkz can be extended up to a to a temperature over ZZO e. expensive replacement projector lamp
maximum of about 40°C by making My next problem occurred with the with LED lights instead of those hot
the following changes: unit being unable to switch cleanly lamps they currently use, or is there
(1). Reduce the value of the resistor and a given temperature setting. It a way to make the projector think that
from pin 3 ofREGl and test point TPl appears to me that the rate of change the old lamp (reached its ZOOO hours
from z.7kn to z.4kn. oftemperature/voltage in the LM335Z, limit) is brand new and just keep using
(Z). Increase the value of the resistor is too slow to enable precise switching it till it dies hard? (M. P., via email).
from TPl to the trimpot VRl from of the relay, resulting in a constant • We are unlikely to produce such a
3.3kn to 3.6kn. chattering as the sensor reacts to project since mobile phone boosters
With these values changed, use VRl very small temperature changes. Can are banned in Australia. However,
to set the voltage at TPl to 3.105V to you suggest alternate values for the they are available from overseas via the
achieve a temperature threshold of positive feedback resistors (lOMn and intern et. You might find that you can
37.5°e. l.Zkn) that would be suitable to create improve reception sufficiently if you
a sufficient differential between the just use a 3G antenna - also available
Increasing hysteresis reference voltage and the comparator? via eBay etc.
(W. G., Dunedin, NZ). There is no easy way to produce
in the Tempmaster • Replacing the 500n trimpot with a LED substitute for a HID projector
I have recently built the Tempmaster one of lkn is one of a number of ac- lamp. However, it is possible to reset
Mkz and while it basically worked as ceptable ways to increase the tempera- the "lamp hours" on your projector
described, one or two problems have ture range, so you chose well. to trick it into thinking the lamp is
arisen. When constructed and initially To provide the comparator with a new; you have to reset the "lamp
hours" when you install a new lamp.
However, be aware that when your
~~ltill~ projector lamp does ultimately fail,
there is the slight possibility that it
Greetings from the paradise that purchase or make a device that will may fail catastrophically and may do
is Kangaroo Island here in South work with kangaroos without affect- damage to your projector.
Australia. We are blessed with a vast ing say, sheep or dogs! Any ideas
and fascinating range of marsupials please? (G. H., via email). Query on
but unfortunately we also have a • We have not produced a circuit to
large range and number of cars on scare kangaroos from oncoming cars. AC-coupling
the island and the two are not a It would need to be very powerful to I have a technical query about your
good mix. I have been tasked with give the kangaroos sufficient time to "Infrared audio headphone link for
the challenge of seeing if there is an react and escape. And if kangaroos TV" project (SILICON CHIP, December
electronic high frequency sound that and other marsupials can hear it, Z007). What is the purpose of the
will harmlessly scare the kangaroos, it will be equally audible to sheep 100nF capacitor placed between the
possums and wallabies. I need to and dogs. NAND gate buffer and the integrator
in the transmitter circuit. I understand

.• that this capacitor AC-couples the out-
put from the buffer to the integrator but
would it cause a problem if the buffer
was DC-coupled to the integrator, ie, I notice that you have used non- capacitor, so I end up having to buy
no capacitor there? polarised capacitors in a number a higher rated capacitor than seems
Surely, in correct operation, this of projects (Ultra-LD Mk2, speaker strictly necessary - or am I missing
capacitor will be discharged as there protection board, etc) but the non- something and 50V capacitors are
is no DC to block therefore acting as polarised capacitors are quite a bit necessary in such an application?
if it were not there anyv.ray. I think more expensive than polarised types , This also contributes to the expense
I understand that the output from enough so that buying two polarised of using non-polarised capacitors.
the buffer must be very sym metrical capacitors of twice the capacity can Construction -wise as I understand
otherwise the in tegrator output will be cheaper. This is especially true it the non-polarised capacitors effec-
gradually drift one way or the other. when I buy capacitors that are on tively are two polarised capacitors
Has the capacitor got something to do sale, it's much more common to find back-ta-back except because they are
\,v ith this? (e. H., via email). polarised electros on sale and I can monolithic they can share a common
• You are quite correct in suggesting get a bargain on them, while cheap foil layer. So the two solutions aren't
that the capacitor is present to prevent non-polarised capacitors are much identical but it seems to me they will
the integrator from drifting one way or harder to find. I can quite easily get be pretty similar. (N. v., via email).
the other as a result of changes in sym- 471lF 50V caps for 5c each in quan-
metry of the 'square wave' output from tity, whereas 221lF 50V non-polarised • In theory, there should no practi-
the buffer. We did in fact try a direct capacitors are nearly a dollar each. cal difference in terms of perform-
connection initially but found that Is the sound quality going to be ance. However, in practice you would
changes in symmetry (due mainly to worse if I use two polarised capaci- need to measure the performance
the mark-space ratio of the IC2b clock tors in inverse-series for AC coupling differences between NP caps and two
osCillator) caused the distortion level of inputs? Obviously the fact I have electros back to back. There might be
to rise. Adding the capacitor kept this to install two capacitors rather than a difference because of the possibly
from happening. one is a disadvantage but they actu- higher power factor of the two sepa-
ally end up taking less board space rate electrolytic capacitors in series.
since the polarised capacitors are so One other point to consider, is that if,
Circuit Notebook much smaller. for example, a lOIlF NP capacitor is
questions & answers Also, for some reason most non- specified, you would need to replace
In regard to the "12V Regulated In- polarised capacitors are rated for it with two 20llF (or 221lF) polarised
verter Supply" in the May 2009 Circuit 50V, whereas when AC-coupling capacitors back to back, as the ef-
Notebook pages, I want to generate 24V on inputs it's unusual for there to fective capacitance of two identical
DC lA from a 12V DC supply vvith be more than a few volts across the capacitors in series is halved.
this unit and I was wondering if you ~--------------------------------
could answer a few of questions, both (4) One transistor will always switch The other idea I had was prompted
specific to my required output voltage on before another because of differ- by your flash slave and beam break
but also in general. ences between them. The "switched- trigger project (SILICON CHIP, February
(1) What frequency would the trans- on" transistor ensures the other does 2009). MyoId Olympus had a shutter
former be running at? not switch on at the same time due to setting that held the shutter open as
(2) What controls the frequency? the polarity of L1 & L2. long as the shutter release was held
(3) What does the actual output wave- (5) Because the transformer would not down. This was a useful feature when
form look like? provide the required output power. I photographed lightning storms. I
(4) How does it start to oscillate? (6) For 24V DC , use twice the number would set up the camera and tripod
Why would both transistors not turn of turns (8 turns for L3 and L4) on my roof and then, with the remote
on together so that it stalls and never (7) The BD139 is not rated for the pri- release, point the camera at the storm
oscillates? mary current; use the TIP41C instead.
(5) It uses six turns and four turns. Why
not 60 turns and 40 turns or some other While the OzitPonics
Tel:(03) 8813 2110 Fax:(03) 90116220
value but the same ratio? Email: sales2009@ozltronics.com
(6) Any idea on how to calculate the kettle boils
turns for 24 V DC? 4-Channe.
I was making a cuppa one night and Temperature
(7) Would BD139 be OK or do I need it occurred to me that when we boil a Monltorand
bigger? (N. w. , via emai l). kettle, the water boils for around five Controller
• The answers to your questions are Features 4 temperature inputs (DS 1820)
seconds before the kettle switches off.
and 4 relays for output control. Simple text
as follow: So, how about a kit to turn off the ket- commands via RS232 to read temperature
(1) About 50kHz to 100kHz. tle as soon as the water boils? Think and control relays. Can be controlled by
(2) The inductance of the windings, about it, everyone has an automatic terminal program or via free Windows app-
Ll and L2 . kettle. If every kettle in every home and lication. Pluggable screw terminals for
(3) A "squared off" sine wave when office stays on for that additional five sensors and relay ouiputs. K190 $104.50
both windings are added at the cath- seconds after the water is boiling, how More kits and all documentatIOn available on webslte:
odes ofD4 and D5 . much power is being wasted everyday? www.ozifronics.com

l1kWh per annum for a l.8kW kettle.
At 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, that
would cost less than $2 per annum.
I thought you may be interested in hundreds of volts - for brief periods, So developing an electronic device
this article I copied from a website and may also drop well below that. for earlier cut-off would not be viable.
at hUp:llwww.picaxeforum.co.uk/ The extremely high voltages, low Many digital SLRs do offer some
showthread. php?t=2940 voltages, brown-outs, and general form of remote control but as they all
"How do I use a PICAXE in an 'noise' and interference whicll can differ (most depend on a specific infra-
Automobile? be found on an automobile 's power red code), interfacing a light-triggered
Answer: Do not attempt to connect supply can make it extremely diffi- switch to the camera electronics could
a PICAXE into an automobile's electri- cult to connect any electronics into be a problem and may well void the
cal system. Only use a PICAXE in an a vehicle. The power supply needs warranty. You would probably be bet-
automobile when it is not connected to be protected from the massive ter off triggering the infrared remote
to the vehicle electronics or power input voltages which can destroy the control for your specific camera.
supply in any way. power supply and other electronics,
Incorrectly fitted electronics could and drops in voltage may cause the Questions on the
easily lead to damage to your vehicle electronics to reset or latch-up.
and may even lead to your own death On top of that, any electronics Railpower circuit
or that of others. It is highly likely that you fit to an automobile may cause I have constructed the Railpower
any electronics you add to an auto- problems to other electronic sys- IV train controller (SILICON CHIP, Sep-
mobile will invalidate your insurance tems within the vehicle and may tember & October 2008). Unfortunately
and make the vehicle illegal for use. render safety and other necessary it does not operate as it should. Most
The consequences could be that you equipment ineffective. Any flaws in of the indications are OK except that
may personally face huge legal bills your electronic design or faults in the speed and feedback bars show full
should you be involved in an incident assembly may lead to consequences scale, irrespective of the VRl setting
or accident (even if it is not your fault). which are not acceptable; fire and in LOCAL mode. The VRl voltage on
You may be prosecuted, and face a even death. pin 1 of ICl does vary from 0-5V as
prison sentence or large fine , if such Do not attempt to connect a VRl is operated.
electronics are found to be fitted by PICAXE into an automobile's elec- I have checked voltages and the
the police or other authorities. trical system or interface it to any component locations. All are OK ex-
If you are considering fitting a other vehicle electronics." (G. F., cept there is no output from pin 9 of
PICAXE to a vehicle which will not be Masterton, NZ). ICl. IfI place 5V on pin 10 or 12 ofIC2,
used on the public highway, you will • This is typical of the mass of mis- the train operates. As IC2's input is a
face numerous difficulties in making information available on the internet. NAND gate this seems to be normal.
the PICAXE safe for use and in con- It is true that any badly designed My next point to check was if the
necting the PICAXE to the vehicle electronics device may cause a oscillator was operating. Looking at
electronics. hazard when connected to a car's the circuit, I see that the two 2 7pF caps
You will need to run the PICAXE electrical system. There is huge go to earth. The data sheet on the IC
from a regulated power supply, and range of after-market products which shows this to be the normal configua-
will need to design your circuit to are available for connection in cars. tion for the oscillator. But on the PC
work with the voltages used within Some of them might be dodgy but board, these caps are connected to the
the automobile. there are no warnings about par- 5V line , not earth. This has been con-
Most automobiles are so-called ticular devices. A blanket warning firmed with a meter. Looking at the PC
"12V Negative Earth", which means against PICAXEs or any other micro board artwork on the PDF download
that the chassis of the car is at DV is just silly. from SILICON CHIP, this is also the case,
and all power is + 12V relative to the You might be interested to know ie, to the 5V rail.
chassis. that all the instrumentation systems Can you please confirm to me the
The actual voltage is however in the Holden EFIJY concept car (SILI- correct configuration for these caps
nominally 13.811, but the voltage may CON CHIP, January 2006) were based before I reroute the bottom end of the
often exceed this by a huge amount- on PICAXE circuits. caps to earth? (K. M., Bunya, Qld) .
• It is not a good idea to apply 5V to
and hold the shutter open until a light- which will trigger the camera when a . pin 10 or 12 of ICz as these pins also
ening strike occurred. Then release, predetermined light level is reached, connect to the pin 9 PWM output of
wind on the film and press the shutter such as with a lightning strike? (D. S., ICl and could damage this output.
release again. Maryborough, Qld). The oscillator configuration is OK
I understand that most digital cam- • VVe think you would find that if the with the capacitors effectively coupled
eras do not have any form of remote kettle cut off sooner, not all the water to the OV rail via the 5V decoupling
release but mine does. It is very similar would be as close to boiling point. The capacitors. In effect, the capacitors
to a flash trigger except that the 2.5mm boiling before switch off undoubtedly are still connected to an AC signal
mono socket simply closes the shutter helps in mixing the hotter and cooler ground, even if they physically con-
release circuit through a momentary regions of the kettle. In any case, if nect to the +5V rail. Your oscillator is
push switch. With that in mind, how you consider that your kettle is boiled operating because the display is being
about a light triggered remote release 12 times a day, that amounts to about driven to show the speed and feedback

bars. However, if the percentage and
direction buttons are not shown then
perhaps the LCD is just showing the
bars fully to the right of the display. In Over-voltage protection for DC be shown connecting between pins
this case the contrast is set too high. loads, Circuit Notebook, May 2009: 8 and 4. The PC board is correct.
Check that pin 1 of ICl also varies In Fig.2, the 3.6MQ resistor should be 2. The lOOIlF capacitor shown at
between 0 and 5V when VR 1 is rotated. 1.2MQ , to ensure the correct degree the anode ofD3 and D4 on the circuit
Perhaps ICl may have a faulty pin 9 of hysteresis. should also be lOOuF on the overlay
output. and not lOuF.
SD card Music/Speech Recorder/ 3. TP GND is not shown on the
Measuring impedances Player, August 2009: The two 2.2kn circuit. It connects to GNDl near
resistors shown dividing the output pin 5 ofIC1.
of the TDA1519A of IRDl on page 34 of the circuit 4. The 220nF capacitor at pin 5 of
I have a Phillips TDAl5l9A ampli- should be 27kn. They are also in- IC4b is shown connecting to GNDl
fie r kit from Jaycar. I tried to work out correctly shown on the component on the circuit. It should be shown
the input and output impedance but overlay diagram on page 38 of the connecting to Vs/lp, to match the
was unable to. Do you happen to know same issue. PC board connection.
what it is and how to measure it? One 5. The 100llF bypass capacitor
other question, this chip is supposed to Wideband Controller, September at the collector of Q3 should be
work in Class B, so how does it avoid & October 2009: There are several shown on the circuit connecting to
crossover distortion? (A. D., via email). mismatches between the circuit in the the GND2 rail.
• The TDA15l9A has an input im- September issue and the component 6. The lOIlF capacitor connecting
pedance of 50kn in stereo mode and overlay diagram in the October issue. to the emitters ofQl and Q2 is shown
25kn in bridge mode. You can check 1. The lOOnF capacitor shown on with the incorrect (reversed) polarity
this ·by connecting a resistor in series the circuit connecting between pin on the overlay. The capacitor is cor-
with the input. The input impedance is 8 and ground is incorrect. It should rectly shown on the circu it.
the value of resistance added to reduce
the output signal by half compared to
when no resistance is added. mier public high school). The school a half-knot in each half of the antenna
The overall input impedance will is spending a significant sum on the just inside the box, as strain relief.
be less if measured before a volume structural erection of the antenna. At With regard to the exact length of the
potentiometer. The output impedance this stage I have two questions. antenna dipole, there is no "correct"
will be very low, of the order of milli- First, in order to provide strain re- figure because the signals from Jupiter
ohms because of the feedback control lief on the antenna balun, would it be (like those from the Sun) are essential-
of the amplifier. OK to put a half-knot in the antenna ly noise which is spread over a range
Class B operation in all am plifiers wire inside the jiffy box on each side, covering a number of megahertz, with
usually does have some bias current in before the antenna wire exits through its lower end below 20MHz. So the
the output transistors to reduce crosso- the 3mm holes? exact frequency at which the antenna
ver distortion to reasonable levels. Secondly, in the original JPL / NASA resonates is not critical, especially
Radio Jove "Antenna Manual Supple- since the "Q" of the antenna is likely
Correct antenna for ment" (January 2006], the length of the to be quite low.
dipole is shown as 23ft 3in or 7087mm. Our figure of 6960mm should gi ve a
the Jupiter receiver In contrast, in the SILICON CHIP article, resonant frequency of about 20.5MHz
I am currently building a Jupiter Re- the dipole is specified as 6960mm. (allowing for "end effect"), while the
ceiver (SILICON CHIP, August 2008) for Which is correct? (G. B., via email). NASA figure of 708 7mm would gi ve a
use by Perth Modern School (WA's pre- • Yes, it would be a good idea to put ... continued on page 111

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Maximum gain for • The amount of gain required de-
pends on the input signal. A gain of
PreChamp circuit 100 would require a 10kn resistor
In the circuit notes for the Pre- in place of the 2.2kn resistor. The
Champ unit (SILICON CHIP, July 1994) 22kn resistor you used would pro-
it indicates that the gain can be up vide a gain of 220 and this is OK to
to 100 times. Does this mean that use if there is no distortion.
the resistor across the 1n5 capacitor Ideally the .00151lF (1.5nF) ca-
can be as high as about 9.9kn or can pacitor should be replaced with a
it in fact be somewhat higher than 150pF value to maintain the same
this? I have actually tried a 22kn frequency response.
Tecsun PLIOO DSP RlIlIYl.1 resistor, with an electret micro- Maximum gain depends on the
Enjoy optimum sensitivity and selectivity phone, and there doesn't appear to transistors and is available when
with DilH11 Silnll Processinl (DSP)! be any noticeable distortion. How the feedback resistor in the 2.2kn
FM: 64 -108MHz MW/LW: 153 -1710kHz high can this resistor go before the is removed. There may be instabil-
SW: 3.15 - 21.95MHz (1 kHz steps) circuit either distorts or go into self ity with this maximum gain and it
LCD read out, 500 memory positions, oscillation etc? could be around 10000.
..... ,... 188

24 Hour Digital clock, Battery/external DC
Normally SlUCOI CHIP resonant frequency of about 20.2MHz. Q2 & Q3 and the speaker parts are not
~
As you can see there isn't a great deal required. Again, use a diode across the
~ (Ine PiH Aus. ,nde) of difference. coil; anode to the collector, cathode
Onl, 'rom .he eommunjeaijons speejalisu: (stri ped end) to +V.
Ay·Comm Pt, Ud
24/9 Powells Rd, Brookvale
Secret F arter
Speed Alert
(PO Box 225, Brookvale NSW
relay control
Phone: 02 9939 4377 With reference to your articles on pulse requirement
Fax: 02 9939 4376 conversion of Jaycar's "Secret Farter" I recently purchased a Speed Alert\
Email: michael @avcomm cpm all to the "Bed Wetting Alert" (SILICON Speedometer kit from Jaycar to install
CHIP, September 2004) and "Making a into myoid Datsun 260Z. I'm cur-
Door bell", is it possible to do a con- rently running an in-line electronic
version for a remote controlled relay? I speedo sensor which is hooked up to
noticed with your Doorbell conversion a homemade digital trip meter, and I
you added an audio controller to drive was hoping to use that same input for
a speaker using a 7555. Is it possible the Speed Al ert kit. I haven 't measured
to use the pin 3 output to drive a 6V the pulses from the sender, though
relay? (K. W., Hamilton, NZ). I'm sure they are a 12V square wave.
ELNEC IC PROGRAMMERS • The collector of Q1 from the door- I notice in the kit that the input from
High quality
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.,
"'7. bell sounder might be used to drive a
low coil current relay such as a 5V reed
relay type. A diode would be required
across the relay coil (lN4004 with
the coil sensor is 300mV RMS float-
ing, and as such won't work with my
current sensor (already tried). Is there
a way of modifying the circuit to suit?
Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2k1XP anode to the collector of Q1). (T. B., via email).
Alternatively, use the Bed wetting • The square wave signal is applied
CLEVERSCOPE alert sounder circuit and the collec- to the 1kn input resistor. The shielded
USB OSCILLOSCOPES tor of Q4 to drive a relay. The 10~F wire connection is not used. So the
2 x 100MSa/s 1Obit inputs + trigger capacitor at Q1 's collector would be Speed Alert will work with a square
1OOMHz bandwidth replaced with a link. wave signal of 3V peak-peak minimum
8 x digital inputs ! .. The components for IC1c & IC1d, referenced to ov. se
4M sampleslinput '
Sig-gen + spectrum analyser
Windows 98/Me/NT/2k1XP
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include your name, address & credit card details, or fax (02) 99392648, or phone
www.grantronics.com.au L ______________________ J
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PLease emaiL us your appLicaton & CV in PDF format. including Location
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SILICON CHIP reference bookshop
RF Circuit Design
- by Chris Bowick
A new edition of this classic RF
desi9n text - tells how to design
and Integrate RF components into
virtually any circuitry
'75
Practical RF H'book
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A reference work for technicians,
engineers, students and the more
specialised enthusiast. Covers all
the key topics in RF that you
need to understand
Practical Buide To
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The reference written by an Aussie
for Aussie conditions.Everything
you need to know.
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You'll find many mora technical
titles in the SILICON CHIP
reference bookshop - see
elsewher e in this issue
112 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.BU

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NOVEMBER 2009

18 Milling Prototype PC Boards With The Roland EGX-350

63 Picaxe Update: The Latest Releases

24 WIB: Web Server In A Box, Pt.1

38 Twin-Engine Speed Match Indicator For Boats

66 High-Quality Stereo Digital-To-Analog Converter, Pt.3

82 GPS Synchronisation For Clocks With Sweep Hands

90 A Dead-Simple Masthead Amplifier

100 Vintage Radio

2 Publisher's Letter 105 Order Form

siliconchip. com.au NOVEMBER 2009 1

Leo panel meter on the pedestrian crossing. Both cars

4 SILICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au

Useful article on tact which connects to the inside of

C5G!JD~ I found Doug Ford's October 2009

AMALGEN to the inner of the coax. The 9MQ

siliconchip.com.au N O VEMBER 2009 7

8 SILICON CHIP siliconchip. com.au

siliconchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 9

so the effective "height" of the conrod com/2009/04/23/ian-plimer-heaven-

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almost full brightness and then up be eliminated. I realise that use of

h (~)' f ' c Iio iiOi ~

~ -N~wJat Jt.DMI sockets are standanHm-a wick range~j -­

l~~ . 1. / .__ ._ __.. ·l . ,_ . I .j .~ .~~_,, __~__.~ .. _~ ... L

H been following the develop-

f32l f441! f48l f682I r9sl rm4l r192l

Video tipe: HOM! Bllscerc.omp. : 1('

HDMI 10BOp59.94Hl Pscudo Random

www.siliconchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 15

Review by Mauro Grassi

We take Roland's EGX-350 CNC milling machine on a

18 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au

T comes to making prototype PC

www.siliconchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 19

20 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au

Producing Gerber plots

www.siliconchip.com.au NOVEMBER 2009 21

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SUBSCRIPTION LENGTH AND TYPE:

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~ {!i ~ ff€lliJ TItD

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R3:0n RA4 7 R-~1"'2'-------_+..... ----='Ot......:.,

l ~GND ISC2 ~216 ~~ I~ I~

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' MMC/SD/SDHC CARD •

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0 No. Value 4-8and Code (1%) 5-8and Code (1%)

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(BOTTOM OF CASE) 63.5

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~ -N~wJat Jt.DMI sockets are standanHm-a wick range~j -

l~~ . 1. / .__ ._ __.. ·l . ,_ . I .j .~ .~~_,, ~.~ .. _~ ... L

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