JANUARY 2020

ISSN 1030-2662
01

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Updating your phone from iPhone to Android?

Migrating without tears
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Emergency Power: What to do before the lights go out!
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 SILICON
Contents
Vol.33, No.1 January 2020
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au

Features & Reviews

10 What to do before the lights go out . . .
Unfortunately, power outages are a fact of life these days – and Murphy says they
will occur at the worst possible time. Here we look at some of the ways you can
prepare for the inevitable blackouts and how to survive them – by Nicholas Vinen
32 Migrating from iPhone to Android without tears!
Many people have switched their allegiance from Apple to one of the (often much Want your house to be the only one
cheaper) Android phones out there. But how do you transfer your contacts, data, in the street with lights on during a
messages and anything else without risking losing the lot? – by Dr David Maddison blackout? Read our tips! – Page 10
85 El Cheapo modules: “Intelligent” 8x8 RGB LED Matrix Updating from
Serial (single wire) control allows each LED to display over 16 million different an iPhone to an
colours or primary colours at 256 brightness levels. And they can be cascaded for Android phone
large, really eye catching displays – by Jim Rowe should be easy
but there are
Constructional Projects many traps for
young players!
– Page 32
20 A low-voltage valve audio preamp
It doesn’t look like a “normal” valve – in fact, it has a soft blue glow – but this Wow! A preamplifier
“Nutube” twin triode from Korg can operate from really low anode voltages. So low, that opeates
in fact, that we have made a preamp that runs on a 9V battery – by John Clarke from 7-22V DC
40 Tunable HF Preamp for Software Defined Radio (SDR) using a brand
new, tiny twin
SDR is a great way to get into radio listening – but most have woeful performance at triode valve! – Page 20
HF. Build this little tunable preamp and your SDR will really sing! – by Charles Kosina
44 Add DCC to your model train layout with Arduino!
Running one loco is so passé! Now you can add a Digital Command Control
(DCC) system and run as many trains on the same track as you wish – and
control signals, crossings, train lights . . . whatever you like! – by Tim Blythman
70 Easy-to-build Bookshelf Speaker System
For not much money you can build this great little speaker system – and it even
has optional subwoofers which can double as speaker stands – by Phil Prosser If you use SDR, you’ll know it’s
92 Low cost, high precision thermometer calibrator deaf on HF! Build this Tunable HF
Preamp and you won’t believe how
Accurately measuring temperature is notoriously difficult. Here’s a cheap way to much better it can be ‑– Page 40
ensure your analog and digital thermometers are correct – by Allan Linton-Smith

Your Favourite Columns

62 Serviceman’s Log Add an
When things go wrong . . . really wrong – by Dave Thompson Arduino DCC system
to your model train layout and
96 Circuit Notebook you can have many locos operating
(1) 3.2MHz reference derived from 10MHz at the same time! – Page 44
(2) Micromite Mk2 development board with Microbridge
(3) 12V, 20W instrument practice amplifier Build these
bookshelf
100 Vintage Radio speakers for
Panasonic “Radarmatic” R-1000 – by Ian Batty your TV, hifi or
computer
Everything Else system – they’re
economical and
easy to construct
  2 Editorial Viewpoint   106 Ask SILICON CHIP – Page 70
  4 Mailbag – Your Feedback 111  Market Centre
    61 Product Showcase 112  Advertising Index
  90 SILICON CHIP ONLINE SHOP 112  Notes and Errata
www.facebook.com/siliconchipmagazine
 SILICON Editorial Viewpoint
CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au
You need blackout and disaster plans
Publisher/Editor
Nicholas Vinen Our feature article in this issue (page 10) is on the
topic of domestic backup power systems. I actually
Technical Editor
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) wrote this a couple of months ago, but we didn’t have
room to fit it until now. That’s a pity, because it could
Technical Staff have helped tens of thousands of Sydneysiders who
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc were without power for up to a week after the brief but
Bao Smith, B.Sc destructive storm on the 26th of November.
Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc
Our office is in the Northern Beaches area, where
Technical Contributor 1900 homes lost power, with some still blacked out a week later. Luckily we
Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD were spared. The office lights flickered a few times as the storm shot through,
Art Director & Production Manager and I sensed that we could lose power at any time. We did not – but many
Ross Tester others were not so lucky.
This goes to show that even if you live in the heart of a major city, you
Reader Services
are not immune from extended blackouts. Where a natural event causes
Ann Morris
widespread damage, repair crews (which may be insufficiently staffed due
Advertising Enquiries to cutbacks) end up spread too thin. That means that it can take a long time
Glyn Smith for them to get around to restoring power to your area.
Phone (02) 9939 3295 But in this case, without getting into the politics, surely there are many
Mobile 0431 792 293 legitimate questions, deserving answers, regarding the length of time restora-
glyn@siliconchip.com.au
tion has taken following what amounted to a fairly localised weather event
Regular Contributors in the nation’s largest city.
Dave Thompson And if the pundits are to be believed, we can expect significant load shed-
David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), ding this summer (particularly January and February) in the Eastern states
PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. as generating capacity continues to decline.
Geoff Graham
You should have a plan to deal with power outages, in case it happens to
Associate Professor Graham Parslow
Ian Batty you. And it could happen at any time.
The backup power article attempts to cover a variety of ways that you can
Cartoonist keep the lights on, and your fridge running – enough that you can live more-
Brendan Akhurst or-less normally with the power out; for some time, at least.
Founding Editor (retired) Those who have a bit more time and money to spend on preparation could
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD potentially come up with a plan to keep going for weeks, if necessary. And
as recent events showed, it’s hardly far-fetched to expect that if the power
Silicon Chip is published 12 times does go out, it could be out for a long time, regardless of where you live.
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
It’s also a good idea to keep plenty of water or other long-lived drinkable
Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20
880 526 923. All material is copy- fluids on hand, along with food that won’t easily spoil. A severe disaster
right ©. No part of this publication could prevent you from getting food and drink for some time due to sup-
may be reproduced without the written ply problems.
consent of the publisher. This will also help if you can’t keep your fridge cold during an extended
blackout; at least you will still have food after the uneaten contents have
Subscription rates (12 issues):
$105.00 per year, post paid, in Australia. spoiled.
For overseas rates, see our website or If you live in a bushfire-prone area, it would be an especially good idea to
email silicon@siliconchip.com.au have large rainwater storage tanks along with pumps that will let you spray
that water even without mains power. A petrol-powered water pump (and
Editorial office:
plenty of hose!) is ideal. But an electric pump with battery backup is better
Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, than nothing; at least you would be able to wet the area around your house.
Brookvale, NSW 2100.
I hope it also goes without saying that if you are in a bushfire-prone area,
Postal address: PO Box 139, you also need to have an escape plan. If the experts can’t stop a fire, you
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
probably can’t either. Having said that, there are plenty of cases where home-
Phone (02) 9939 3295. owners – whether by good luck or good management – were able to save
E-mail: silicon@siliconchip.com.au their properties (and in some cases, their neighbours’).
The bottom line is that it’s better to be prepared. I hope that my article
ISSN 1030-2662 gives you some ideas as to what you might need to ‘ride out’ a blackout (or
* Recommended & maximum price only. worse), and more importantly, spurs those who have not really thought about
Printing and Distribution: it deeply, to do something, before it’s too late!

24-26 Lilian Fowler Pl, Marrickville 2204

Nicholas Vinen
2    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
 MAILBAG
your feedback
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 Ltd may edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to
submissions to “Ask Silicon Chip”, “Circuit Notebook” and “Serviceman”.

The future of radio in Australia everywhere in the Pacific, not just in of ABC and SBS programs as those in
Mid last year, ACMA asked for com- the 13 cities carrying Radio Austral- capital cities.
ments on the future delivery of radio ia on FM. Alan Hughes,
services in Australia (see: siliconchip. For the future, DAB+ is ideal for Hamersley, WA.
com.au/link/aaxz). The following is a high population density areas such Editor’s note: you say that FM and AM
summary of my submission. as capital cities. But it is not suit- could be switched off, but it is frustrat-
In the opening paragraphs of the able for broadcasting over larger ar- ing that DAB+ broadcasts still cut out
Consultation paper, ACMA only men- eas, due to the very high frequencies in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Eastern
tions the number of listeners to com- used and the limit of eight transmis- Distributor and I assume other tunnels
mercial radio and ignores the signifi- sion channels. like the Cross-city Tunnel and Lane
cant numbers of listeners to the ABC In regional areas, DRM+ can oper- Cove Tunnel.
and community radio. ate in the abandoned TV channels Presumably, this is due to the set-up
For the last 10 years in capital cities, 0-2, which are unsuitable for digital and/or design frequency range of the
105 high-power AM and FM transmit- TV. There are 168 DRM+ channels amplifiers powering the leaky wave-
ters have been radiating the same pro- available in that band, and the sig- guides which provide radio and phone
grams as 19 DAB+ digital transmitters, nals travel longer distances. This will reception in the tunnels.
which are also transmitting additional enable regional listeners to have the
programs. same variety of ABC/SBS programs. Turning an iPad into
The operating costs and electricity In remote areas, high-powered high- an illuminated magnifier
consumption will continue until AM frequency DRM can cover the whole Thank you for such a great maga-
and FM are switched off. This hap- of Australia from a central transmit- zine. I am continually amazed by the
pened in Norway, and within a year, ter site. A single DRM transmitter project and ingenuity involved. I am
listener numbers had recovered. could transmit ABC News Radio and particularly looking forward to the
In regional areas, there are four na- Grandstand, which are already live next DCC Controller.
tional and one local ABC programs, nationally. I wanted to share with you the use
compared to 11 broadcasts via DAB+ The Emergency Warning System can of a common electronic device that
in the capital cities. SBS is limited wake a DAB+ or DRM radio, increase many of your readers may appreciate.
to self-funded village coverage with the volume and switch to an audible This simple idea came about because I
a single program, compared to seven warning message if the receiver is in was building your DAB+/FM/AM Tun-
in the capital cities. This is unfair to the area of the emergency. Maps and er (January-March 2019; siliconchip.
40% of Australians. detailed text messages can also be re- com.au/Series/330). I needed a way to
It also ignores the 470,000 people in ceived and displayed. see the SMD components better while
remote Australia who receive their ra- Digital broadcasting is the cheapest building it.
dio via fixed satellite dishes via View- method of program distribution for After looking at traditional LED il-
er Access Satellite Television (VAST) broadcasters and listeners; the mobile luminated magnifier lenses, search-
signals, which contain a variety of phone network is patchy or non-exist- ing the web on an iPad for similar
ABC, SBS, Aboriginal and religious ent in regional and remote areas. devices, my daughter said: why not
broadcasts. Please read my full submission on use the built-in magnifier function
They also made no mention of those the ACMA website (IFC 13/2019-Sub- on the iPad?
people who have no radio after they mission 4; siliconchip.com.au/link/ I found a scrap piece of plastic ap-
leave their homestead or village, since aaxz). proximately the size of the iPad and
the ABC switched off high-frequency One final note: in my submission, I made a cut-out in the corner for the
(shortwave) broadcasts on 31st January suggested that DRM+ could be trans- camera, and arranged it so that the iPad
2017. This is pretty incredible, consid- mitted on multiple adjacent 100kHz- would sit securely on it. I attached this
ering that the ABC is the “Emergency wide channels from a single modu- to an unused suction base to securely
Broadcaster”! lator. RFMondiale has now released hold it on my workbench. I then add-
Similarly, Radio Australia was also a six-channel modulator which can ed some Jaycar stick-on white LEDs to
switched off; China Radio Interna- carry 18 audio programs. This would the underside.
tional now uses those high-frequency allow regional listeners (40% of the This works very well. As the cam-
broadcast ranges, and can be heard population) to have the same range era is at the bottom left of the iPad,

4    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 the open area allows me to work on the PCB, including
soldering, while using the iPad magnification to see what
I am doing.
The same thing could be done with a mobile phone, but
the larger screen size of the iPad is a significant advantage.
It is excellent, with an excellent depth of field. It is effort-
Helping to put you in Control less to inspect solder joints using this rig.
UR32 Industrial Cellular Router Thanks again for a great magazine.
Integrating embedded cellular Peter Kable,
modem and dual SIM function, Balmain, NSW.
the UR32 provides 3G/4G cellular
network with 150 Mbps download
and 50 Mbps uplink. It also has 2 Toyota Hybrid battery info
ethernet ports and WiFi(optional.
Firstly, let me congratulate your magazine as being one
SKU: ULC-032 of the first media outlets to adequately explain how im-
Price: $349.95 ea + GST pressive the Toyota Hybrid system is (December 2019;
Current Proving Switch 0.2-20A siliconchip.com.au/Article/12172). After much research
Check ac motors current with and after taking the vehicle for a test drive, my wife and I
this “CT” style AC current proving made the decision (in February 2019) to purchase the Toy-
switches, the sensing range (set
point) being adjustable 0.2-20 ota Corolla Hybrid and we haven’t looked back.
Amps. Despite being used to driving a manual for many years,
SKU: NTR-280 we have been very impressed with the performance of
Price: $79.95 ea + GST this car and the seamless transition from petrol to electric
drive (and vice versa), as well as the excellent fuel econ-
Temperature and Humidity Sensor omy and range. As you wrote in the editorial, “Toyota de-
Wall mount temperature and serves praise”.
humidity sensor, linear 4 to 20 mA For a few years now, we have been saying that our next
output.
SKU: RHT-003 vehicle would be an electric one (an “EV”), but we don’t
Price: $219.95 ea + GST feel that (particularly country) Australia has adequate in-
frastructure in place to make this a feasible option. With
Dual 5 Digit Process Indicator some prompting from our daughter (an engineer), and be-
Fully programmable via front cause our Subaru Outback was getting old, we made the
buttons this dual 5 Digit Process
Indicator (48X96 mm) features decision to buy a hybrid.
two 4-20mA Inputs and 24 VDC And after some shopping around, we found the price
Powered. a pleasant surprise. We were also much pleased with the
SKU: DBI-035 knowledge of the salespeople who were able to answer all
Price: $179.95 ea + GST of our questions.
I would like to point out that in your article and editori-
Vantage Pro2 BACnet Weather al, you didn’t mention that the hybrid battery is comprised
Station Kit of nickel-metal hydride cells, not lithium-ion as was the
Full weather station kit based around
a Vantage Pro2 with a BACnet MS/TP case with the earlier Prius models and many other brands,
gateway. Kit options include wireless as well as most Evs.
versions and additional UV and solar
radiation sensors. This point (and the resulting lack of fire hazard) seems
SKU: ECS-2001 to have been lost on many people, and in particular the
Price: $1224.00 ea + GST NSW RMS. They issued us two small triangular EV stickers
which must be put on our number plates, to warn emer-
4 Button Pendant gency services personnel of the vehicle being a fire risk
4 Button Control Station Pendant
marked UP-DOWN and RIGHT-LEFT in an auto accident. This despite the fact that NiMH cells
with Emergency Stop button. have a good safety record.
SKU: HNE-1042 However, I was impressed that when I asked the Toyota
Price: $79.95 ea + GST salespeople about the hybrid battery. They immediately
told me that it was a NiMH type.
Current Transducer Ian Gabriel,
Split core hall effect current Wauchope, NSW.
transducer provides a 0-5VDC output
for a 0-50ADC current in the primary
conductor. How are very weak GPS signals decoded?
SKU: WES-070 The article on how satellite navigation (GNSS) works
Price: $109.00 ea + GST in the November 2019 issue of Silicon Chip (siliconchip.
For Wholesale prices com.au/Article/12083) has lots of good information on the
Contact Ocean Controls different types of GNSS systems.
I liked the section where it describes that four or more
Ph: (03) 9708 2390
satellites are required to adjust the GPS receiver time clock.
oceancontrols.com.au The receiver clock is adjusted until all the satellites indi-
Prices are subjected to change without notice.
cate the same latitude and longitude point on Earth. This

6    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

also allows the GPS receiver to be used as a low-cost, ac-
curate time or frequency reference, taking advantage of the
good reasons
very accurate atomic clocks that each satellite has onboard. to use Switchmode –
But there is one thing that was not covered. In the sec-
tion on GNSS receiver start-up, the author mentions that the repair specialists
it takes 12.5 minutes to download the almanac data for all to industry and defence
satellites. But he does not describe why it takes so long. It one
also does not go into much detail about how low the re- Specialised service
ceived satellite signal strength is. Benefit from our purpose-built facilities, efficient and effect service.
Since 1984 we have specialised solely in the repair and calibration
So how does the GPS receiver recover the satellite signals of all types of power supplies and battery chargers up to 50kVA
that are buried in electrical noise, when a large, high-gain
antenna is not used? I read a book called “GPS: A guide to
two
Turn around time
the next utility” by Jeff Hurn which explains this, on pag- We provide three levels of service:
standard (10 days), standard plus (4 days), emergency (24 hours)
es 50-54. The book is from 1989, so it’s a bit out of date in
places, but it has a down-to-earth, lovely way of describ- three
ing how GPS works. Access to Technicians and Engineers
four
Talk directly to our highy skilled Technicians and Engineers
A simplified explanation is that the message data is con- for immediate technical and personal assistance.
tinually being repeated and the receiver monitors several
Quality Assurance
of these transmissions in a row, ‘averaging’ them until the Accredited to ISO 9001 with SAI Global and ISO 17025 with NATA.
message has been clearly received. Each data bit received Documented, externally audited management systems deliver a repeatable, reliable service

during a single transmission indicates that it was ‘mostly’

a high or low data level. So it takes several sequences to
five
Convenience and certainty
figure out the digital bit levels for sure. We provide fixed price quoes after assessment of goods
Some tricks are used to achieve this, such as knowing and cost-effective maintenance, tailored to meet your individual needs
Take advantage of our resources.
the PRN codes of satellites which are in range after down-
loading the almanac data for all satellites. Maybe someone
else could write in with a more complete explanation of REPAIR SPECIALISTS TO
how this is achieved. INDUSTRY AND DEFENCE
ACCREDITED FOR
TECHNICAL
Switchmode Power Supplies Pty Ltd COMPETENCE

Roderick Wall, Unit 1/37 Leighton Place, Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia
Mount Eliza, Vic. Tel 61 2 9476 0300
Email: service@switchmode.com.au Website: www.switchmode.com.au

Overcoming test lead resistance errors

I have some comments regarding test lead resistance, thin sheet copper, slightly narrower than a cell. I soldered
mentioned by Colin O’Donnell in a letter in the August a fine multi-strand wire near the end of each of these.
issue Mailbag section (page 12). I then cut a ‘finger’ of that springy plastic that comes
I have an old ute which doesn’t get used enough to keep with components and kits, slightly larger than the copper.
the battery charged. I thus set up a 10W solar panel which This was roughened and a copper strip glued to each side
runs through a simple controller to keep the battery fully using five-minute epoxy (clamped lightly to keep it flat).
charged. Now I can pull the battery back against the spring in the
I used to have a problem when checking conditions in device and insert the ‘finger’, across which I connect an-
that I would first check the battery voltage, then the charge other 0.1W resistor, so I can measure the voltage across it.
current. Sometimes before leaving the vehicle, I would do I also have two wired copper fingers for measuring volt-
a last-minute voltage check. age while the device is operating, although it’s often pos-
In haste, I would change the meter range but forget to sible to get meter leads to reach into the battery compart-
swap the leads. That little ‘click’ told me I needed to re- ment anyway.
move the cover and replace another fuse. Joe Edgecombe
My solution was to modify the controller by putting a Coondle, WA.
0.1W 5W resistor in series with the output. Current (mA)
could therefore be measured as mV across the resistor x 10. Vibrator “buffer” / “timing” capacitor value is critical
This way, I could leave the meter set to volts and not In regards to Ian Batty’s comments on vibrator opera-
have to swap range or leads over when measuring voltage tion, in the Mailbag section of the November 2019 issue,
or current. This effectively creates an ammeter but with he states that the capacitor across the vibrator transformer
the shunt in the device rather than the meter. secondary, which is sometimes called the “timing capaci-
The resistor is wired at the rear of two through-panel tor”, should instead be referred to as the “buffer capacitor”.
sockets (like banana sockets except they are small ones that However, note that the term “timing capacitor” was used
fit meter probes). This is a possible idea for Colin, who be- by what was the world’s largest vibrator manufacturer: P.
moaned the resistance of meter leads. By having the shunt R. Mallory and Co. This company not only developed the
at source, the resistance of the leads has no bearing on the first commercially-available vibrator power supply, but was
current measurement. He could use his ESR meter to cali- the primary supplier to the US car radio market through-
brate a shunt for the purpose. out the valve era.
Sometimes, I need to measure the current draw of devices Mallory did extensive research and development work
powered by small batteries made from AA or AAA cells. I over the roughly 25 years of the technology, continually
made a simple rig to make this easy. I cut two ‘fingers’ of improving vibrator design and operating life.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  7

 I refer to a 1947 publication by Mal- understood, capacitors were selected building and repairing vibrator power
lory, “Fundamental Principles of Vi- based on what gave minimum spark- supplies agrees with Mallory’s design
brator Power Supply Design” down- ing. The problem was that while there methods. Some designs I tried before
loadable from: siliconchip.com.au/ may have been no sparking or high I knew the proper procedure resulted
link/aay2 transient voltages, contact material in sticking vibrator contacts because
At 135 pages long, it is clear that a transfer took place, which resulted in the capacitor value was too high; even
vibrator power supply is not the sim- the contacts eventually sticking. though there was no sparking. Upon
ple device which it is often assumed The breakthrough came with the re- understanding how the buffer circuit
to be, trapping so many unwary peo- alisation that for maximum vibrator really worked, this ceased to be a prob-
ple who attempt to work with them. life, there must be zero voltage across lem altogether.
On the subject of the timing or buff- the contacts when they close and open. John Hunter,
er capacitors, the chapter, “Timing Only when the contacts are closed can Hazelbrook, NSW.
Capacitor Considerations”, goes into current flow without detriment.
some detail as to why the term ‘tim- So the value of this capacitor must A possible solution to DAB+ noise
ing’ is used. be chosen so that, when combined I built your DAB+/FM/AM Radio
It is true that some means must be with the properties of the primary (January-March 2019; siliconchip.
provided to prevent the sudden flux winding, the voltage at the switched com.au/Series/330), and I would like
collapse, when the contacts open and side of the winding is the same as the to say thanks for a great project. I’d
destructive voltages may be produced; battery voltage. This ensures the cor- also like to thank Tim Blythman, who
and a capacitor is the mostRAYMING
common TECHNOLOGY
rect ‘timing’ of the change-over, so that helped me to find some solder joints I
way of doing this. PCB Manufacturing
it occurs and
whenPCB
there Assembly
is no voltageServices
dif- missed on a connector.
Some early designs instead used ference across
Fuyong Bao'an Shenzhen China the contacts. As a follow-up to the question from
a voltage-dependent resistor (made A much more detailed description D. P. about noise coming from the
under the “Globar” brand 0086-0755-27348087
in the US) of this can be found from page 107 on- headphones (Ask Silicon Chip, Oc-
Sales@raypcb.com
across the secondary. A very few sim- wards in the PDF mentioned above. tober 2019, and his follow-up in the
www.raypcb.com
ply used ordinary resistors. Some de- If the timing capacitor is chosen like November issue), I too suffered head-
signs even relied only on circuit load- this, efficiency and vibrator life will be phone noise.
ing to keep the peak voltage to a safe maximised. However, it is difficult to Mine was always present but just
level. choose the perfect value, as the vibra- tolerable. On occasion, after 15-30
One example I have of this is a 12V tor contact spacing changes over time, minutes of use, the signal would dis-
fluorescent lamp, where the fluores- therefore reducing the duty cycle. Ad- appear entirely, and the noise level
cent tube itself, connected directly ditionally, the supply voltage also var- would rise. Fiddling with the antenna
across the transformer secondary, ies as the battery is charged and dis- would sometimes fix this.
prevents the voltage rising above the charged, and this too has some bearing On investigation. I discovered the
tube’s arc voltage. Current limiting for on the correct capacitor value. aerial connection was shorted at times.
correct tube operation is inherent to As such, the capacitor value used is So I removed the SMA connector and
the transformer, having a high leak- usually slightly higher in value than discovered that a little too much sol-
age inductance. the ideal. Mallory’s recommendation der had flowed through the mount-
However, limiting peak voltages and is for a 65% slope of the primary wave- ing holes, causing it to almost short
preventing contact sparking is only form during the vibrator dead time. at the innermost point. Presumably,
part of the criteria for correct vibrator This is chosen to be a reasonable com- this must have been forming a high-
operation. Indeed, if this is all that is promise, protecting against high tran- resistance path, with expansion from
required, the capacitance is not par- sient voltages over the normal range of heat making it worse and eventually
ticularly critical, and a wide range of operating conditions, but not using a forming a dead short.
values will do the job. value so high as to cause problematic After fitting a new SMA connec-
At the beginning of the technolo- contact material transfer. tor, fractionally further off the board
gy, before the science was adequately My own extensive experience with than the first one, all this noise disap-

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8    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

peared. Signal strength also improved ment board with several options. It
three-fold. would be great if it could support both
Perhaps this snippet of information high and low current batteries, espe-
may be helpful to your correspondent. cially for 12V batteries with various
Thanks again for a fantastic magazine. lithium chemistries.
Phil Jenner, There is an increasing need; can
Adelaide, SA. you help? How about an article de-
scribing typical BMS operations and
Restoring carbon contacts options, and how to fix an over-dis-
the easy way charged battery?
I am prompted to write in by the David Kitson,
letter from John Benfer in the Mail- Perth, WA.
bag section of your December 2019 Response: we will consider this, but
issue. When the button functions fail various BMS boards are readily avail-
on an old remote, I dismantle it and able at ridiculously low prices. With
renew the carbon on the contact pads a bit of searching, chances are you
using a 9B pencil (available at the lo- will find a replacement BMS for your
cal newsagent). This method is sim- mate’s battery at a fraction of what
ple and cheap, and works fine. I hope it would cost you to buy the parts to
this may help my fellow “fix it, don’t build one.
throw it” technical peers. Here’s an example that we found
Ben McGee, after just a few seconds of searching,
East Hills, NSW. which may work for you at just $3:
siliconchip.com.au/link/aay1
Battery Management board
replacement New home wanted for electronic
Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries components
are great, but rather expensive. When I have been into electronics most of
the internal Battery Management Sys- my life. Reading your letters pages, it
tem (BMS) fails outside of the short seems many people are still interested
warranty, as they do, the financial in learning, which is very laudable. I
loss is considerable. Battery Manage- have taught electronics part-time for
ment System replacements are not to close to 50 years and still enjoy dab-
be found in our local electronic stores. bling. I have accumulated a consider-
Recently, a mate asked me to look able supply of bits and pieces, and do-
at his expensive but deceased 12V nated quite a lot to a local high school
22Ah golf cart battery. I measured 0V last year.
across the terminals. After some sur- I have gone through my stuff and
gery, we open it up to find the set of 4 found more assorted electronics parts,
x 11 18650G 7.2Wh cells fully charged but it seems the school is not interest-
and delivering 16V, and plenty of watts ed. Rather than throwing these parts
when accessed directly. out, I would be happy to give them to
We tried a controlled discharge from anyone interested.
16V to 12V in the hope that it would While some of it may be considered
reset the chip, to no avail. We also rubbish by others, it may be of use to
disconnected both main leads and the someone younger just starting out. If
three to the intermediate cell packs, anyone is interested, they can come
now at 3.2V, 6.4V and 9.6V. and look and throw out anything they
Alas, the board seems defunct. As don’t want. I have about two card-
usual, the cause is not evident. In any board cartons worth, including some
case, those minute SMD components components, motors, mechanical bits
make a repair daunting, even if we and pieces etc.
could determine the cause of the fault. When I was younger, I used to go to
Many different types of BMS exist, TV repair shops and ask them for old
some for single or multiple cells, some chassis they were throwing out, and
checking for even voltage charge on then stripped out the components. I
each cell bank (as in this case). Some realise these days you can buy eve-
sense charging temperature (this one rything quite cheaply, but it still goes
doesn’t) and some have short-circuit against the grain for me to throw stuff
protection (not sure in this case). out.
So, it seems like a good idea for Sili- Alex Danilov,
con Chip to first investigate the feasi- alex.aldan@gmail.com
bility of designing a drop-in replace- Naremburn, NSW. SC

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  9

Want your house to be the only one in the street with lights on?

Emergency backup power

during blackouts
Have you thought about how an extended blackout would disrupt your life?
They may not be common where you live, but that will change, especially if
a natural disaster occurs. A widespread, extended blackout could go beyond
inconvenient, to life-threatening. But you can build a system to run some lights
and critical appliances when mains power is not available, for days if necessary.

A
few months ago, we came home This loss of power got me thinking But only two-and-a-half years lat-
to find the power was out. about what I would do if there were a er, during this short blackout, it total-
While this is not a common longer blackout, especially in the even- ly failed. Arriving home to the dark
occurrence, it does happen from time ing, when we rely heavily on electric- house, I tried to put the shutter up,
to time. ity. An extended blackout would cause but it didn’t respond.
I have experienced several black- us a great deal of difficulty. So I started That weekend, I dismantled the cab-
outs over the last decade or so; mostly looking into possible solutions. inet in which it was housed, only to
short (under one hour) but occasion- find the gel cell batteries in the UPS
ally longer (three or four hours). A disturbing development (interruptible power supply) had got-
Some of my family members who This blackout caused me some grief ten so hot that they melted and were
live in the Blue Mountains (west of beyond just that time without power. leaking acid! (See Photo1)
Sydney) have experienced multi-day When we had a roller shutter in- I ran some quick sums and discov-
blackouts, which are annoying, to say stalled which can block the rear exit ered that these two 7.2Ah SLA cells
the least! to our home, I insisted that it must were expected to deliver upwards of
For us, the power came back on not have battery backup so that a fire at the 100A each when the UPS was oper-
long after we got home, and we were front of the house (where power comes ating.
able to resume our regular routine. in) could not result in both main exit No wonder they failed so spectac-
That included bathing my daughter routes being blocked. We paid quite a ularly!
and putting her to bed; something that lot of money to have this battery back- Anyway, I’m told that these SLAs,
would have been very difficult to do in up system installed. even in normal service, only last a cou-
the dark and with no hot water (our gas ple of years. That’s hardly ideal for a
water heater has an electric igniter). by Nicholas Vinen safety-critical application, especially

10    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Photo2: the APC SMX1500RMI2U
is one of the commercial Uninterruptable Power Supplies I
considered before discarding the idea and building my own. It costs around $2000.
Many UPS data sheet give no indication of the expected runtime or battery capacity,
only the maximum power. To APC’s credit, they do give you the battery capacity
for this unit at 311Wh (approximately 25Ah @ 12V) and provide a runtime chart,
which shows a runtime of just under five hours at 50W. That’s better than your
average computer UPS but not so great when you consider the price.

all that high-end computer UPSes had ures is to have an off-grid system, such
pretty poor battery capacity given their as a solar-charged battery bank system.
high prices (see Photo2). However, that brings up a whole new
I wanted something that would ide- set of problems.
ally last at least 24 hours, and I was As you will be generating your own
becoming increasingly concerned that 230V AC power, you need to make sure
the SLA/gel cell batteries used in al- that you have sufficient redundancy
most all UPSes are not good long-term that one component failure will not
prospects. mean a total loss of power.
There had to be a better way, so I After all, off-grid systems can fail,
started investigating other possibili- and if yours does then you will be
ties. without power until you fix it. If you
This article is not intended to de- don’t have spare parts on hand, that
scribe all the ways that you could could take days or weeks, depend-
provide emergency backup power. ing on how hard it is to get replace-
There are just too many options. But ment parts.
I will list some things I learned while So you need to know what you are
Photo1: while not really obvious from researching my particular problem. I doing if this is your plan to improve
this angle, the two SLA batteries in will also describe the backup system the reliability of your home electri-
this UPS were badly distorted and that I eventually put together. cal supply.
buckled and it was very difficult to You will also need a big battery bank
remove them. You can see some of the Backup power options and big solar array, to ensure that it can
acid that was leaking out on the clear Perhaps the ultimate way to insulate meet your power needs, regardless of
plastic sheet underneath them. yourself from mains grid power fail- weather and usage patterns. That’s a

given their inaccessibility

in my case. Photo3: our 800W+ UPS
project from the May-July
I had to find a proper so-
2018 issues would have
lution to this. I looked on- worked in my situation,
line for higher-quality UP- except that it was a bit
Ses, especially those with a large to fit in the space I
longer standby time at light had available. My eventual
load. The UPS that we had solution involved a much
been supplied would last larger and different type
for less than an hour even of battery, partly because
with no load. That simply of my desire for a longer
wouldn’t do as we can’t runtime, but also because
I am told that AGM lead-
guarantee that we would
acid batteries last a lot
be home if the power goes longer on standby than the
out again. lithium-based (LiFePO 4 )
I found some commer- rechargeable batteries we
cial UPSes online with a used in this UPS. The
longer standby time; in LiFePO 4 batteries are
some cases, eight to twelve very good in ‘deep cycle’
hours, or more. They cost applications, but that is not
thousands of dollars, so important when you only
though, and I found over- only have the occasional
blackout.
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  11
 Photo4: the Jaycar MG4508 vices (to stop petrol theft) make that
inverter generator is good value difficult. You could purchase a gener-
at $899 (retail, including GST). ator and wait until there’s a blackout
It runs off petrol (3.7l tank) and to get some petrol; but if the blackout
has a continuous power rating of is widespread, the fuel station pumps
1.6kW, which is enough to run
all but the biggest appliances.
may be non-functional which could
Depending on the load, a tank leave you totally out of options.
of petrol could last for many A small battery system cannot de-
hours, and even a modest liver anywhere near the total energy
jerry can would have enough that a generator can, but does have a
capacity to refill it several few advantages. Battery systems can
times over. However, you will automatically take over during mains
need to make sure you have power failures, and they can be aug-
fresh petrol on hand to use a mented with a generator for longer
generator like this. It goes off outages. And batteries can sit around
eventually, so you can’t just fill a
can and forget about it. You also
charged for years, ready to go, so they
need a well-ventilated area to are low-maintenance.
operate a generator due to fumes. You will pay more for a decent bat-
tery backup system than a generator,
significant challenge, and such a system weeks without mains power (eg, dur- even though it won’t run your loads
is likely to require a significant up- ing a natural disaster), keeping your for anywhere near as long. And batter-
front investment. fridge/freezer cold and running other ies do need to be replaced eventually.
You could consider installing a critical appliances. So there’s no ideal solution.
small off-grid type system to run a lim- The three main disadvantages of
ited portion of your domestic appli- such a system are that most are not au- Other possible solutions
ances, and retain the grid connection, tomatic (you normally have to fire up Having decided that I needed a bat-
so that you have two sources of power. the generator and plug your appliances tery system, my thoughts turned to
Such a system could be a lot smaller into it, ruling it out in my case), that how to extend its run-time in case of
and cheaper, and the chance of it fail- petrol and diesel fuels cannot be left in a long blackout, as might be caused
ing on the same day as a loss of grid the tank long-term and that a generator by a natural disaster. The difficulty in
power is very low. But building such cannot be used in an enclosed space. keeping fresh fuel on hand (and get-
a system ‘just in case’ could still be So if you live in a unit, it may not be ting fuel out of a car tank) put me off
quite expensive and time-consuming. a practical solution for you. the idea of using a generator.
Anyway, I don’t have any suitable Fuel can go bad if left sitting for a So, what about using my car as a
places to mount solar panels, so I had long time (more than 3-12 months, generator? I am constantly turning over
to think of another solution. I consid- depending on how it’s stored and the the fuel in its tank, and it already has
ered a small battery system (charged ambient temperature). So unless you an engine and alternator; it just lacks
from the mains and/or other sources), are continually turning over a small the high-voltage output of a genera-
or a petrol/diesel generator. supply of petrol, you will have to go tor. Just about any 12V inverter will
A generator is the cheapest solution. out of your way to keep fresh fuel on run from a car electrical system. This
For example, Jaycar Cat MG4508 is a hand in case you need it. could provide 230V AC to run appli-
2kVA petrol inverter generator which I have an electric mower, so I don’t ances and/or recharge a battery backup
retails for $899 (Photo4). Providing keep petrol at home. It may be possible system during an extended blackout.
you have enough fuel, this could keep to drain some from your car’s tank in But a typical car or SUV alternator is
you going for several days or even an emergency, but anti-siphoning de- only designed to provide maybe 100A

Photo5: this Jaycar 2000W pure

sinewave inverter is under $500
including GST (catalog code MI5740).
It could be useful as part of a battery
power back-up system, or to connect
in to an automotive electrical system
to provide mains power from the
vehicle’s fuel supply. But note the
caveats presented in the article,
especially that a car alternator
generally cannot provide more than
about 100A, so you risk flattening
the car battery drawing upwards of
1000W from the inverter for long
periods, even with the engine running!

12    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

Photo6: Jaycar has a range of 12V
solar panels (this is Cat ZM9058,
120W) which could be kept in your
shed and pressed into service in an
emergency, to charge a battery back
that powers your appliances though
an inverter. If you choose to go this
route, make sure you have all the
cables you need on hand. It would
also be a good idea to have an MPPT
Solar Charger. Jaycar sells inverters
with built-in solar chargers (eg,
Cat MI5722 & MI5724). If you are
desperate, you can connect panels
directly across a battery, if you
monitor the voltage carefully and
disconnect them if it rises too high.

continuously; possibly a bit more or the battery when needed. consumption was low enough. (Our
less, depending on the model. That’s That would allow me to power our 2018 design could deliver twice this
barely enough to run a 1000W invert- appliances using solar power during power, so it would have worked, if it
er at full load. Such an inverter could the day (weather permitting) and pos- had fitted.)
drain the car battery even with the en- sibly even recharge the battery during After some more thought, I decided
gine running. the day, to keep it going overnight, if that while a 400W inverter would do
There’s also the question of whether we experience an extended multi-day the job, it wouldn’t cost much more to
the car’s alternator will deliver full cur- blackout. get a bigger inverter and battery. That
rent with the engine idling. Many re- The only disadvantages are the pur- would let us run other appliances dur-
quire 2000RPM or more for maximum chase cost of the panels and the solar ing a blackout.
output. That is something that would charger, and the need to store both. I considered whether it was feasible
need to be verified for your vehicle. But if you experience an extended to build a system which could keep
Despite these provisos, a 1000W blackout, I think you will be thankful the fridge and freezer cold for about
pure sinewave inverter can be pur- to have them. So it’s an option worth 24 hours, and maybe run a few oth-
chased for just a few hundred dollars considering. er appliances intermittently, such as
(Photo5), so it may be a worthwhile lights, a television etc. It would have
investment as a last-resort method of Determining power to fit in the cabinet space available,
recharging a backup battery during a requirements though, and I didn’t want to spend a
prolonged blackout. So I set about researching a bat- huge amount of money on it.
You would need to periodically tery-based system with mains power I also wanted a system that would
monitor the vehicle battery voltage to keep the battery on standby, and need minimal maintenance over a long
if using such a rig. If you found that recharge it after a blackout. The first period; ideally, 10+ years. One reason
the battery was being discharged even thing I did was measure the size of the for this is that, as I mentioned above,
with the engine running, you’d need space I had available, where the old the electronics would be sealed inside
to disconnect the inverter and allow UPS was fitted. a cabinet which would make regular
the vehicle battery to recharge before I considered using the UPS design maintenance difficult. I also could
connecting it again. Having to do this that we published, which was based on easily forget to check the battery as it
periodically could be quite annoying, two 12V LiFePO4 batteries (May-July would be “out of sight, out of mind”.
but it would be better than having no 2018; siliconchip.com.au/Series/323).
means of keeping your appliances run- But I measured our prototype and Choosing a battery
ning at all. found that it was too large to fit in the I quickly ruled out using flooded
available space. I could have prob- or gel-cell (SLA) lead-acid batteries,
Temporary solar panels ably built a smaller version of this as they have an insufficient lifespan.
As I mentioned above, I don’t have design, but I wanted to take a differ- Many UPS vendors recommend re-
any good locations for permanent- ent approach, for reasons I am about placing even good-quality SLAs after
ly mounting solar panels, but I did to explain. 2-3 years (mine didn’t even last three
consider installing a mains-charged The next thing I did was to measure years!).
backup battery power system while the maximum power draw of the motor After some research, I also rejected
also keeping some panels on hand for powering our roller shutter, and found LiFePO4 lithium-based rechargeable
emergency use (Photo6). These could it to be just under 400W. So a relative- batteries. This is because, while they
be laid out in our yard and wired up ly small inverter and battery would do are well-suited to deep-cycle appli-
to an MPPT solar charger attached to the job, as long as the standby power cations, they do not last so well on

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  13

 Photo8: this is the
battery I wound up
with, a Lifeline 150Ah
deep-cycle AGM unit.
It’s rated for around 500
Photo7: this Fullriver full discharge cycles and
200Ah AGM battery is good value, if a bit unwieldy. can be charged or
I was told to expect a 6-7 year lifespan. I was hoping discharged at up to 150A, or discharged a bit faster, at the risk of a
for a system that could be left alone for around ten shorter lifespan. That’s enough to support a 1500-2000W inverter
years, hence, my decision to buy a slightly more with just the one battery. It should be able to deliver an average of
expensive battery. 100W, enough to run a typical fridge/freezer for more than 24 hours.

standby. There is some talk online that Both batteries came to me highly permanently connected to the battery.
if kept constantly on charge, LiFePO4 recommended as being of good qual- This would be a cheap approach, as a
cells degrade significantly within a ity. The FullRiver battery is cheaper, basic but decent charger can be had for
few years. despite having a 33% higher capacity. around $100 and a similar quality 1kW
Also, they have much lower contin- I was told to expect a 6-7 year working inverter is just a few hundred dollars.
uous discharge current ratings com- life while the Lifeline battery might But the main problem with this is
pared to similarly-sized (and priced) reach the 10-year mark that I was that any time the attached appliance(s)
lead-acid batteries. That meant that an hoping for. That, plus its smaller size are used (eg, the shutter put up or
LiFePO4 battery suitable for my ap- and lower weight (43.5kg compared down), this would draw tens of amps
plication would be well over $1000. to 57.6kg) clinched it for me, despite from the battery, likely reducing its
Consider that a 100Ah LiFePO4 bat- the higher cost. lifespan.
tery, typically around the $1000 mark, Interestingly, the 150Ah Lifeline Worse, this would almost certainly
is only rated to deliver 50A. That’s battery supports charging at up to cause the charger to switch from float
barely enough to run a 500VA/400W 150A (and presumably, discharging charging to bulk/absorption, and if
inverter, just barely adequate to power at a similar level; enough to run a that happened regularly, the battery
my shutter and nothing else. 1500VA inverter) while the higher-ca- would not last long.
I didn’t want to use a lithium-ion pacity FullRiver battery is only rated The other problem is that I didn’t
battery due to their reputation for for charging at 40A. know how long the charger and in-
catching fire if there’s a fault, espe- The maximum specified discharge verter would last when powered 24/7.
cially considering it would be inside rate for the FullRiver battery is 120A Low-cost devices might fail in less
a timber cabinet. for 1 hour. So it would be suitable than 10 years, making the purchase of
That left me with only one real for running an inverter up to about
choice: one or more lead-acid AGM 1200W, although you can see that you
(absorbed glass mat) batteries. A good lose a fair bit of its usable capacity at
AGM battery has a very high charge such a high discharge rate – 120Ah is
and discharge current for its size and 40% less than when discharging at the
can have a long life on standby; typi- 20-hour rate where capacity is 200AH.
cally more than five years and, in the
case of top-quality batteries, up to ten Charger and inverter choices
Some back-of-the-envelope calcula- I then had to figure out what charger
tions showed that a 100Ah 12V battery and inverter to use. I briefly consid-
or 50Ah 24V battery would be able to ered buying a battery charger and a
power my fridge/freezer for around separate inverter, and leaving both
24 hours in typical weather, based on
the figures on its Energy Star sticker. Photo9: my Victron Multi Plus
Such a battery would also last days on Compact 1500VA 12V inverter/
standby, assuming an inverter idle cur- charger (what a mouthful!). It
rent of no more than about 1A. comes with the battery cables
I made a shortlist of suitable batter- and NTC thermistor pre-
ies. Two of the best options were the wired. It’s also supplied with
Chinese-made FullRiver HGL200-12 pluggable terminal blocks
200Ah standby AGM battery (Photo7) for the mains input and
output, but these need to be
and the American-made Lifeline GPL-
wired up (in my case, to the
30HT 150Ah deep-cycle AGM battery ends of a bisected extension
(Photo8). cable) before it can be used.

14    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

an ultra-reliable battery a bit pointless.
What I really needed was a UPS-
like scheme where the appliances
would run off mains when available,
only switching to inverter power dur-
ing blackouts. That way, the battery
would have no load most of the time
and could just be kept in float/main- Photo10: the MK3-USB interface,
needed to connect a computer
tenance mode. And ideally, the hard- to the Victron inverter for
ware to achieve this should be de- configuration or monitoring.
signed for long-term use, to meet my
longevity goal. Photo11: the cables after being
I subsequently noticed a local shop terminated and clamped in
(Battery Business – a few doors down the supplied plugs. They plug
from our office) [www.battery-busi- straight into the bottom of the
ness.com.au] advertising Victron En- unit, effectively making it into an
appliance. The inverter chassis is
ergy Compact Inverter/Charger units
Earthed via the plug’s Earth pin.
on their website. While a little expen-
sive, these would do precisely what I The 500VA Multi Plus Inverter is you would expect), but it falls even
wanted. somewhat smaller, and there are also further at elevated ambient tempera-
They contain a large toroidal trans- larger models (up to 5000VA or even tures. At 65°C (which the inside of my
former which charges the battery fast higher), but the “Compact” series cabinet could reach), the 800VA in-
when mains power is available. That seemed right in the sweet spot for me. verter can only deliver 400W, which
same transformer is then used in re- So that left me with the choice of the is barely enough for my needs. The
verse for the inverter function. So they four models mentioned above. 1200VA unit can deliver 600W under
have a battery charging capability that’s While all four would run my shut- the same conditions, with the 1600VA
well-matched to their inverter power. ter, I found the higher-power models (800W) and 2000VA (1000W) units do-
And as I later discovered, a deeply attractive for a few reasons: ing even better.
discharged battery recovers best if it’s 1) The 1200VA and 1600VA mod- So I decided to purchase the 1600VA
recharged with the maximum avail- els are not that much more expensive inverter/charger (Photo9), plus the
able current. than the 800VA (depending on where separate USB interface module needed
Another useful aspect of this Vic- you buy them). to configure and monitor it (Photo10;
tron “Multi Plus Compact” series of 2) While 800VA is enough to run a more on that later).
inverter/chargers is their relatively fridge, it might not be enough to start While these units have reasonable
small size. Their 800VA, 1200VA, the compressor reliably. Stalling it default settings, and there are DIP
1600VA and 2000VA versions are all could lead to motor burn-out. The peak switches for changing common op-
just 375mm tall, 214mm wide and power of these inverters is twice the VA tions, I wanted to be able to set it up
110mm deep. That’s only slightly wid- rating, but I wasn’t sure if that would to match my battery requirements as
er than the Lifeline battery I chose (at be enough on the lower-power models. closely as possible.
170mm), and would just fit into my 3) The watts rating of each model is I could have saved a little bit by
cabinet. slightly lower than the VA rating (as buying both the battery and inverter/
charger online. But given that the staff
at the shop down the road had already
given me helpful advice, and I was
likely to get better after-sales (and war-
ranty) service from them, I decided to
pay that little bit extra.
This came out to $1126 for the bat-
tery, $1440 for the inverter/charger and
$90 for the USB interface, for a total of
$2656 including GST.
So this is not a cheap system, but I
am hoping that I can rely on it long-
term.

Ventilation
AGM batteries have vents, but I am
told that they will not outgas during
normal charging or discharging; only
if they are abused or about to fail.
         Photo12: two internal RJ45 sockets are provided for the VE.Bus
interface. You can use either one. I cut a patch cord in half and ran it out through Still, I had some concerns about the
the supplied rubber grommet, then terminated it to an RJ45 wallplate so I can buildup of hydrogen/oxygen gas in
configure the inverter without having to open up the cabinet it’s inside. my cabinet. It isn’t a totally enclosed

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  15

space, but neither is it especially well mains plug and socket via a method socket, plug them in and verify that
ventilated. which complies with the wiring rules, you have low-resistance continuity
As recommended in the Victron then it can be treated as an appliance. from the Earth pin of the plug to the
manual, I managed to avoid installing In this case, it is legal (and safe) to in- socket, and also from the plug to the
the inverter above the battery; instead, stall without any special licenses, in inverter’s chassis. It’s also a good idea
it is behind it, so any gas evolved will NSW at least (other states may have to check that there is a very high re-
not flow directly into the inverter. I more strict rules). sistance from the Active and Neutral
also mounted a small, low-noise, long- The inverter/charger’s mains input pins on the plug to the Earths.
life fan in the cabinet, blowing air out and outputs are supplied with plugga- By default, the inverter/charger can
through the only gap. This would help ble terminal blocks that have integral draw up to 16A, however, there is a
remove any gas which did build up in cable clamps, but no cables attached. DIP switch to reduce this to 4A and
that space. So all you need to do is cut an exten- with the USB interface, you can set the
This is something you have to keep sion cord in half, unplug these termi- maximum current draw to just about
in mind with lead-acid batteries. They nals, open them up, wire the Active, any value, including 10A or 15A, to
can generate hydrogen gas, and if it Neutral and Earth wires where indi- suit normal extension leads with either
builds up in an enclosed space, it’s an cated, then attach and tighten down standard 10A or 15A plugs and GPOs.
explosion hazard. So don’t forget to the cable clamps to ensure the cables This is one of the main reasons I de-
consider that when designing a back- are properly retained (Photo11). cided to purchase the USB interface;
up battery system. There are two essential things that so I could set the maximum current
The fan I fitted will also help reduce you must make sure of when you do draw to 10A, to suit the GPO and ca-
the temperature in the cabinet if the this: one (and this is critical), the plug ble I am using.
inverter/charger is working hard. end of the extension cord must go to Given that the 1600VA inverter can
the terminal designated as the mains charge the battery at up to 70A, draw-
Setting it up input, and the socket end must go to ing around 4.5A from the mains, that
It took a couple of weeks for the in- the terminal designated as the mains leaves me with about 5.5A or 1250W
verter/charger to arrive, and as soon output. These are clearly labelled. available at the output.
as it did, I went about setting it up. The other is that you need to make That’s more than enough for me, and
Before purchasing it, I was aware sure that the cable you’re using has a that’s about how much power my in-
that the user manual stated that “This sufficiently high current rating and verter can deliver at 40°C anyway. So
product should be installed by a quali- that it is thick enough to be firmly for me, standard 10A input and output
fied electrician”. In Australia, if such clamped by the mounded plastic of cables are suitable.
a device is installed with fixed mains the pluggable terminal block covers.
wiring, you do need a licensed elec- I found the 10A cables I used a little USB interface
trician to install it (the rules in New thin to compress securely in the cable Victron Energy uses a protocol they
Zealand are different). clamps, so I added a couple of layers call “VE.Bus” to interface between var-
However, other than the lack of in- of black heatshrink tubing around it to ious devices including inverters, con-
ternal battery, this device is essentially bulk it up a bit. It was then clamped trol panels, computers etc. This oper-
just a UPS (interruptible power sup- nicely in place. ates over a Cat5-type cable up to 10m
ply). So if it is fitted with a standard Once you’ve wired up the plug and long. As I mentioned, I purchased their

Screen1: the initial VEConfigure screen with charger and Screen2: the grid configuration screen. I’m not feeding power
inverter status at left and some basic options at right, back into grid but this inverter apparently supports that. You
including the all-important maximum input current, which would need an agreement with your power company before
I’ve set to 10A to suit my cable. enabling this, and the unit would also definitely have to be
installed by an electrician if connected to the grid.
16    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
MK3-USB interface so that I could con- wired with an NTC thermistor for sens- through the appropriate terminals, you
nect to the VE.Bus port on my inverter/ ing battery temperature, for tempera- firmly push the plastic block down
charger from a laptop computer. The ture compensation during charging. over them, which cuts through the in-
required software is a free download This is encapsulated in an eyelet lug, sulation and makes the connections.
(see links below). which is placed over the ground lug The rear clamshell of the socket then
I had no trouble getting this up and on the battery to make physical con- locks together, stopping it from com-
running, and the software is quite tact, for temperature sensing. ing apart.
easy to use. In addition to changing I then set about wiring up the RJ45 This left me with an RJ45 wallplate
the inverter settings, you can monitor panel-mount socket I mentioned ear- socket ‘captive’ to the inverter/charger,
its operation, including battery volt- lier. You have to open the inverter’s which I connected to the Victron USB
age, charging mode etc. This is quite front panel up to make the connection, interface via another short patch cable,
handy for me, given that my inverter which is something I did before pow- and plugged it into my laptop. Once I
is inside a cabinet. ering it up for the first time (Photo12). had downloaded and launched their
I can plug in the MK3-USB inter- I cut a Cat5 patch cable in half, free software and powered the invert-
face via a panel-mount RJ45 socket opened up the inverter (which in- er up, I was able to access the control
and check what the inverter is doing. volves the removal of just four screws) panel and confirm that it was charg-
This should also let me reset it if there and plugged it into one of the two in- ing the battery.
is a fault (eg, an overload), although I ternal sockets; either will do. I then cut I could then configure various pa-
believe that the inverter will auto-re- a small hole in the multi-size rubber rameters related to battery charging,
set after a fault by default. The screen grommet supplied with the inverter inverter operation etc. I didn’t change
grabs below show the various options and fed the cable out through the bot- any settings I didn’t fully understand.
and displays available via the free VE- tom. I was then able to re-install the I adjusted the maximum mains cur-
Configure software. cover panel. rent to 10A and chose an appropriate
I used a ‘toolless’ RJ45 wallplate charging profile for my battery.
Battery connections socket from Jaycar. This has punch- One of the excellent features of this
The Victron inverter/charger comes down style connections at the rear, device is the fact that once the battery
pre-fitted with 1.5m-long, thick battery but it comes with a plastic cover plate has been on ‘float’ charge for 24 hours
cables pre-terminated with eyelet lugs which also serves as the punchdown (typically around 13.8V), it will drop
suitable for the M8 screw terminals on tool. into ‘storage’ mode, holding the bat-
my Lifeline battery. The battery came Wiring this up is a little confusing; tery terminals at around 13.2V (2.2V/
with matching hardware, so connect- while they show which colour wire cell). This extends battery life.
ing up the inverter was easy. goes where, there are unfortunately It will then periodically bring the
The inverter/charger has an internal two colour coding schemes for Cat5/ battery back up to 14.4V (2.4V/cell)
fuse; however, they recommend fit- Cat6 cable. So I had to check the or- for around one hour a week, which
ting one at the battery as well. Jaycar der of the colours in the existing plug, helps to prevent electrolyte stratifi-
has a range of bolt-down and battery then make sure that I had the wires cation and also ensures that the cells
terminal fuses which are suitable for connected to the socket terminals la- remain evenly charged. All of this
this purpose. belled 1-8 in the same order. should mean that the battery lasts as
The inverter/charger also comes pre- Once you’ve fed the bare wires long as possible.

Screen3: the inverter settings. I left these all at the default Screen4: the charger configuration. I chose the Victron AGM
values, except that I raised the low-battery cut-out from profile as it most closely matched my battery. It specifies a
10.5V to 11.0V to protect my battery from over-discharge, charge voltage of 14.4V and float of 13.8V, compared to my
as that is the manufacturer’s specification. ideal settings of 14.3V±0.1V and 13.2V, but it does incorporate
a 13.2V storage mode after 24 hours.
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  17
 One slight disappointment is that I wired in via this cigarette lighter plug
discovered that if you set your own bat- (although only at 15A/200W, but that’s DO YOU OWN AN
tery charge voltages, the unit disables
temperature compensation entirely.
better than nothing).
ELECTRIC CAR?
Temperature compensation can only Conclusion If so, you could well be driving an em-
be used by selecting one of the pre-set So far, my backup power system er-gency home power supply right now!
charging profiles. has been running well. The shutter As some readers may recall, five years
My battery specifies a bulk charge worked identically before and after I ago I purchased a Nissan LEAF. And for
voltage of 14.3V±0.1V at 25°C, so the switched off the mains power to the most of those five years, every time there
built-in profiles that charge to 14.4V inverter/charger. I had no clue that it was a blackout I thought about that BIG,
are only just within spec. was running off the battery, except for powerful battery sitting down in my ga-
But I think using one of those is the change in the status LEDs. rage, wondering how I could press it into
probably better than setting the charge I haven’t tested the ‘fridge yet, but service as a source of power.
voltage to 14.3V and losing tempera- with a 3000W inverter surge rating, I’ve always dismissed the idea because
ture compensation. I’m confident that it will start up and the thought of getting across ~360V DC
That could lead to severe over- run just fine. made me shudder! But, as it turns out,
charging at high ambient tempera- I’ve been looking at a glass half empty
tures, above 35°C, where the charge instead of a glass half full!
voltage should ideally drop down to
References & links I came across a website not long ago
around 14.0V. Lifeline GPL-30HT 150Ah battery source: which pointed out that, in common with
siliconchip.com.au/link/aava many electric vehicles, the Nissan LEAF
Extra features Lifeline GPL-30HT 150Ah battery data sheet: also has a 12V lead-acid “house” battery
I also bought a Jaycar PS2011 panel-   siliconchip.com.au/link/aavc which powers all the “normal” 12V vehi-
mount 15A ‘cigarette lighter’ socket, cle functions excepting, of course, the
SZ2042 inline blade fuse holder, 15A Fullriver HGL200-12 200Ah battery source: traction motor.
fuse, 25A automotive power cable and   siliconchip.com.au/link/aavd This battery is kept fully charged (when
8mm ID eyelet connectors. I mounted Fullriver HGL200-12 200Ah battery data the car is running) by the high voltage
the cigarette lighter socket on my cab- sheet: siliconchip.com.au/link/aave DC battery via a DC-DC converter – so it
inet and wired it back to the battery should always be ready to use.
terminals via the fuse. Victron Energy Multi Plus Compact Inverter The website demonstrated how to fool
I also purchased a Jaycar MP3692 Charger (12V/1600VA/70A) source: the car into believing it was turned on and
dual USB car charger with voltage siliconchip.com.au/link/aavf running so that the 12V battery would be
display. Victron Energy Multi Plus Compact Inverter kept charged until the high voltage battery
Plugging this into the cigarette Charger (12V/1600VA/70A) user manual:  was discharged, so its protective circuitry
lighter socket is a really easy way to   siliconchip.com.au/link/aavg would kick in.
monitor the battery voltage, and it also All I needed to do was to buy a 12VDC
Victron Energy MK3-USB interface: to 230V AC inverter – as in this article –
means I can charge USB devices with-
siliconchip.com.au/link/aavh and connect it to the 12V battery.
out the inefficiency of the inverter.
In future, I can potentially even VEConfigure software download: Doh! Why didn’t I think of that before!
charge the battery from solar panels siliconchip.com.au/link/aavb SC So now, 1kW inverter at the ready, I’m
anxiously(!) awaiting the next blackout to
put the theory into practice.
You’ll find the website I’m referring to
via siliconchip.com.au/link/aavi
Ross Tester

Screen5: the inverter incorporates a “multiswitch” relay Screen6: this control panel can be launched from the
which can be triggered upon various conditions such as loss VEConfigure software. It mimics the physical control panel
of mains power, battery voltage low etc. I haven’t wired mine which you can purchase for use with the inverter/charger,
up to anything but it appears to be a very flexible feature. allowing you to switch the inverter on and off, change its
current limit and monitor its state in real-time.

18    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

Wiring Harness Solutions

B- B-

B+ B+

Ampec Technologies Pty Ltd

Tel: 02 8741 5000 Email: sales@ampec.com.au
A “retro” design that’s as modern as tomorrow . . .

“Nutube”
miniature by
John Clarke

valve
stereo
preamplifier
Valves are old hat, right? Not any more, they’re not! Korg and Noritake
Itron of Japan recently released their Nutube 6P1 twin triode. Its party trick
is a very wide range of operating voltages, from just a few volts up to 200V,
and meagre power consumption. That makes it ideal for a battery-powered
stereo preamplifier. You’ll enjoy the sound as well as the retro green glow!

A
re you one of those people who simply “loves” the be a very popular student project, right up to and including
nostalgic sound of valves, both in power amplifiers their “major work”).
and preamps? But valves are relatively expensive, Even if you have built valve gear with high voltage sup-
and the high-voltage power supplies typically required make plies before, we think you will find the unusual construction
building a valve preamp a bit of a pain. of the Nutube 6P1 dual triode quite fascinating.
However, at least the part is no longer true with Korg’s We’ve taken some care with this design, so that it fits into
Nutube 6P1 twin-triode. It works perfectly fine with a plate a very cool (and professional) looking extruded aluminium
voltage of just 6-12V, and the heater power and voltage re- case, with the inputs and outputs at the rear and a power
quirements are also modest. switch and volume knob at the front. And of course, we’ve left
So building a a window in the clear
preamp around it is front panel so that you
a cinch, and it’s a Specifications can see that “warm”
suitable project for • Power supply: 7-18 VDC; draws 29mA @ 9V DC blue tube glow.
beginners and shool One of the fasci-
• Gain: up to 15dB at maximum volume setting
students, as there are nating aspects of the
• Distortion: around 0.07% at 200mV RMS output from 20Hz to 5kHz (see Figs.1 & 2)
no dangerous volt- Nutube is that it’s
ages involved. • Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, +0,-0.6dB; -3dB at about 7Hz & 80kHz (see Fig.3) designed and built
(In fact, for this • Channel separation: typically >45dB (see Fig.4) similarly to a vacu-
reason alone we an- • Signal to noise ratio: 83dB with respect to 270mV in, 2V out, 20Hz-22kHz bandwidth um fluorescent dis-
ticipate that this will • Maximum output level: 2V RMS with 9V supply, 2.8V RMS with 12V supply play (VFD). So the

20    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Features
• Stereo valve preamplifi
er
• Based on the recently
released Korg “Nutube” dua
• Visible plate glow l triode
• 30,000-hour Nutube life
• Safe low-voltage supply
(7-18V DC)
• Low power consumptio
n
Yes, it really • Battery or plugpack pow
ered
is a thermionic valve • Onboard volume contro
(or tube as the Americans like to say). l
But this Nutube 6P1, shown here from the underside, is • Internal balance and dis
tortion adjustments
quite unlike any valve you’ve come across before. For a • Switch-on and switch-of
start, those blue windows (see opposite) really do glow blue! f noise eliminated
• Power supply reverse
polarity protection
• No transformers needed
heater glow looks like two green squares, similar to large • Inputs and outputs are
in-phase
VFD pixels.
Its performance is pretty good, too. Distortion levels below
0.1% are possible across a wide range of frequencies with a
little care during calibration. See the spec panel, Figs.2 & 3 running across the front, with the metal mesh grid located
and Fig.12 to get an idea of how well it performs. below that. Behind the grid is the plate (also called the an-
This Nutube preamp can run from a DC supply between 7V ode), which is phosphor-coated and glows when the fila-
and 18V, with only a modest current draw. It can also be pow- ment is heated.
ered using a 9V battery that is housed within the enclosure. The filament wire is held taut, and because of this, it can
If you want to be able to switch between signal sources, vibrate similarly to a stringed musical instrument. (The Nu-
you can mate this Nutube Preamplifier up with the SILICON tube is, after all, sold by a musical instrument manufacturer).
CHIP Six-way Stereo Audio Input Selector with Remote Con- This vibration is not necessarily a wanted feature, as it
trol that we described in the September 2019 issue (www. can be the source of microphonics – where external sound
siliconchip.com.au/Article/11917). can couple to the filament and this alters (or modulates) the
audio signal being amplified in the triode. The result is that
Nutube 6P1 dual triode this vibration is heard in the sound output.
Korg developed the Nutube 6P1 in collaboration with The microphonics can be minimised using careful con-
Noritake Itron of Japan. While it is a directly-heated triode struction methods. This includes protecting the Nutube from
with a filament, grid and plate connections, its construction surrounding air vibrations, by using flexible wiring and in-
more resembles a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) than a cluding a vibration-damped mounting.
traditional valve (or tube). In operation, the Nutube draws very little current, with
Two Nutube triodes are encapsulated in
a rectangular glass envelope. Each triode
is effectively a single-pixel VFD.
The internal construction has
the heater filament as
a fine-gauge wire

It’s tiny – just

115 x 50 x 125mm – and built into
this snazzy extruded case from Jaycar,
it really looks the part. Performance is no slouch, either!

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  21

 design includes two trimpots to set the
grid bias of each triode.
There are three ways to make these
adjustments. One is to adjust the trim-
pots so the Nutube plate glows brightest
for each channel, which will generally
give good performance.
Another method is to use a signal
source and multimeter to adjust the grid
bias for maximum output signal level,
or better still, by observing the distor-
tion products and setting each trimpot
for the desired result.
Freely-available computer software
can be used to measure the distortion
and view the waveform. This allows
for easily setting up the desired distor-
tion characteristic. We describe what
software you need and how to use it in
a panel later in this article.
Fig.1: load lines for the Nutube triode showing the relationship between anode
(plate) voltage (horizontal axis), anode/cathode current (vertical axis) and grid-
Preamplifier performance
cathode voltage (labels on curves). The area below the black dotted line is the Fig.2 shows the total harmonic distor-
continuous safe operation envelope. tion plus noise (THD+N) figure as a per-
centage, plotted against frequency and
each filament requiring just 17mA. Total heater power for output level. As you can see from Fig.3, the performance
the two triodes is around 25mW. The grid and plate current is best with an output level in the 100-400mV RMS range.
total around 38µA. This is a typical level that you might feed into a 100W
The Nutube is best operated with a plate voltage between (or thereabouts) stereo amplifier to get a reasonable listen-
5V and 30V, and the load-line curves (Fig.1) reveal that with- ing volume. Such an amplifier would generally have a full
in this voltage range, the grid voltage needs to be above the power sensitivity between 1-2V RMS.
cathode filament. Below 100mV RMS output, noise starts to dominate the
This is different from the traditional triode, where plate THD+N figure. In other words, preamp performance at low-
voltages are much higher, and the grid voltage is usually er volume levels is limited by its 83dB ultimate signal-to-
negative with respect to the cathode. noise ratio (SNR). Above 400mV RMS, triode non-lineari-
The Nutube operating point would typically be set so that ties dominate.
the distortion from each triode is at a minimum and so that The rise in distortion with frequency is mild, with THD+N
maximum dissipation is not exceeded. To achieve this, our only increasing by about 50% between 1kHz and 10kHz. The

Nutube Preamplifier THD vs Frequency 23/10/19 12:56:49 Nutube Preamplifier THD vs Level, 1kHz 23/10/19 12:58:58
10 10

5 5
Total Harmonic Distortion (%)

Total Harmonic Distortion (%)

2 22kHz bandwidth 2
80kHz bandwidth 22kHz bandwidth
1 1

0.5 0.5

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0.02 0.02

0.01 0.01
20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 3
Frequency (Hz) Output Level (Volts)
Fig.2: a plot of total harmonic distortion, including noise, Fig.3: distortion plotted against output level. This
against signal frequency. These measurements were made
Fig.2 graph demonstrates that the outputFig.3 level is the largest
at about unity gain, with around 200mV RMS in/out, determining factor in the preamp’s distortion performance.
and with two different filter bandwidths. The blue curve At low levels, noise begins to intrude, while at high levels,
(20Hz-22kHz) includes the distortion products and noise the waveform shape gets ‘squashed’ and so distortion
which are audible to the human ear, while the red curve increases significantly. The middle section, where
(20Hz-80kHz) includes higher harmonics for more realistic distortion is lowest, is the range in which the preamp will
readings at higher frequencies (8kHz+). generally be used.

22    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 measurement shown in red on Fig.2 is with an ultrasonic much lower. This is a fairly typical wideband white noise
(80kHz) bandwidth in order to measure the harmonics of signal.
higher test frequencies.
The blue trace gives a most realistic measurement up to Circuit description
about 10kHz, then falls off due to the 22kHz filter limit cut- The full circuit is shown in Fig.9. One of the triodes in
ting out the harmonics. the Nutube provides amplification for the left channel (V1a),
You may wish to compare Figs.2 & 3 to Fig.12, which while the other triode is used for the right channel (V1b).
shows a spectral analysis of the distortion at 1kHz and These are connected as common-cathode amplifiers, where
around 200mV output. the cathode filament is referenced to ground. The signals
As you can see from Fig.12, this method of reading the are applied to the grids, and the resulting amplified signals
distortion gives much the same result as the Audio Preci- appear at the corresponding anode (or plate).
sion system used to produce Figs.2 & 3. The anode loads are 330kΩ resistors from the positive
Fig.4 demonstrates that the preamp has a very flat response, supply, with 150Ω/100µF low-pass filters to prevent sup-
with no peaks or wobbles. The output is down well under ply noise from reaching the anodes.
1dB by 20Hz at the bass end, and an even smaller fraction The Nutube triodes have relatively low input impedances
of a decibel by 20kHz at the upper end. This plot has an ex- at the grids and high output impedances at the anodes, so
tended frequency range of 10Hz-100kHz so you can get an op amp buffers are used at both ends. IC1a and IC2a ensure
idea of the actual -3dB points. that the grids are driven from low impedances. IC1b and
Fig.5 shows the channel separation. This is produced by IC2b minimise the anode loading, as they have very high
feeding a signal into the right channel, monitoring the left input impedances of 600MΩ, which is effectively in paral-
channel output level and sweeping the test signal across the lel with 1MΩ resistors.
audible frequency range. The channels are then swapped, These op amps have very low noise (3.3nV/√Hz) and dis-
and the test is repeated. tortion (0.00006% @ 1kHz & 3V RMS) figures when operat-
As you can see, there is more coupling from the right ed at unity gain. Therefore, these op amps do not affect the
channel to the left, and the separation figures are not amaz- sound of the signals. The properties of the Nutube triodes
ing, at around 45-68dB. dominate any effect that the op amps have on the signals.
However, this is more than good enough for a stereo sys- We’ll now describe the signal path in more detail, but
tem, and sounds panned entirely to the left or the right will only for the left channel, as both channels are almost iden-
still appear to be coming from just one speaker. tical. The input signal is fed in via RCA socket CON1a
Fig.6 is a scope grab showing the output of the preamp (at and passes through a 100Ω stopper resistor and ferrite
the top, yellow) at around 200mV and 1kHz, with the ~0.07% bead (FB1). These, in conjunction with the 100pF capaci-
residual distortion signal below, in blue. You can see that this tor, significantly attenuate RF signals entering the circuit,
is primarily third harmonic, with some second harmonic. which could result in unwanted radio frequency detec-
Fig.7 shows the much higher-level distortion present in tion and reception.
the output if the triode is adjusted further away from its ideal The signal is AC-coupled to 50kΩ volume control VR1a
operating point. This is around 0.3% THD+N, the majority via a 470nF DC blocking capacitor. This capacitor re-
of which is second harmonic distortion. moves any DC voltage that may be present at the input to
Fig.8 shows the noise residual when the output level is prevent pot crackle, and also produces a low-frequency
Nutube Preamplifier Frequency Response 23/10/19 13:01:58 Nutube Preamplifier Channel Separation 23/10/19 13:10:17
+3 -0

+2 left channel -10

right channel
+1 -20
Relative Amplitude (dBr)
Relative Amplitude (dBr)

-30
0
left-to-right coupling
-40 right-to-left coupling
-1
-50
-2
-60
-3
-70
-4 -80
-5 -90

-6 -100
10 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k 50k 20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

Fig.4: the preamp’s frequency response is commendably Fig.5: this shows the preamp’s channel separation. It’s
flat. This plot extends down Fig.4
to 10Hz and up to 100kHz quite decent up to about 2kHz, Fig.5
with more than 60dB
so that you can see the roll-off at either end. The slight separation between channels. The main concern with
difference between the response of the two channels above signal coupling from one channel to another is that it
10kHz is likely due to slightly different biasing; we had introduces distortion; however, as this is not an ultra-low-
purposefully biased the two channels slightly differently to distortion device, it isn’t that big of a concern. We included
see the difference in distortion. this plot mostly for completeness.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  23

 6V
Vaa

100nF SUPPLY/2

6.8k
10 F ADJUST
LEFT IN 25V G1 BIAS
CON1a 1M
FB1 VR2
470nF 10k
TPG1

100 33k
VR1a 100nF 8 10 F
3
50k 25V
LOG 1
IC1a
100pF 2
4

Fig.6: the output of the unit with the triode biasing adjusted IC1: OPA1662
VOLUME 6V
for lowest distortion. The yellow trace is the output signal,
Vaa
while the blue trace is the distortion residual (ie, the yellow
trace with its fundamental removed). It contains significant SUPPLY/2
100nF
second and third harmonics.
5.1k
ADJUST
RIGHT IN G2 BIAS
CON1c 1M
470nF VR3 TPG2
10k
100 FB2 33k
VR1b 3 8
50k
LOG 1
100nF IC2a
100pF 2
10 F
4 25V

IC2: OPA1662

D4
POWER
1N5819
S1
A K Vaa
DC INPUT
7 – 18V
REG1 TPS70960
CON2
+ 1 5
9V IN OUT
BATTERY 3
10 F 4
(BAT1) EN NC
CON3 25V GND
Fig.7: this plot is the same in Fig.6, but the triode biasing 2
has been adjusted away from its optimal condition. Total
harmonic distortion has risen to around 0.3%, with the
second harmonic now the dominant distortion signal.
Fig.9: the input signals from CON1a
and CON1c pass through RF filters and
volume control pot VR1 before being
AC-coupled to ultra-low-distortion buffer op amps IC1a &
IC2a. These feed the signals to the grids of V1a & V1b, while
VR2 and VR3 allow you to adjust the DC grid bias levels. The
inverted output signals at the anodes of V1a & V1b are AC-
coupled to the inputs of buffer op amps IC1b and IC2b. The
signals are then re-inverted by op amps IC3a & IC3b before
being fed to the outputs via the contacts of RLY1. VR4 allows
the gain of the two channels to be matched. IC4 controls
RLY1’s coil so that it switches on around five seconds after
power is applied, and switches off immediately upon power
removal, eliminating clicks and thumps.

roll-off below about 7Hz. The signal is then AC-coupled

from VR1a’s wiper to the non-inverting input (pin 3) of
op amp buffer IC1a via a 100nF capacitor.
Pin 3 of IC1a is biased near to half the supply voltage via
Fig.8: the output of the preamp with no input signal. Some a 1MΩ resistor that is tied to a half supply rail (Supply/2).
devices produce more high-frequency or more low-frequency The input bias current at pin 3 of IC1a will cause the DC
noise. In this case, it appears quite close to white noise. voltage level to shift from this half supply level due to the

24    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 6V
1N5819, 1N4004 1N4148 BC547
Vaa Vaa
SUPPLY/2 B
10 F
A A
150
Vaa OR 6V K K E C
25V

100 F IC1 – IC3 TPS70960 IC4

25V 4
1M 8 5
330k 4
3 4
VR4
1 1 2 8 1
100nF
10k
A1 2.2k
5 2 8 RLY1a
NC LEFT
10 F 25V 150
G1 7 1 OUTPUT
V1a IC1b IC3a
6 3 CON1b
NO
F2 F1 4
100k
10 F
25V

SUPPLY/2

V1: NUTUBE 6P1

6V
Vaa
SUPPLY/2
IC3: OPA1662
150
Vaa OR 6V

100 F
25V
1M 5.1k
330k
100nF

A2 2.2k
5 6
RLY1b
NC RIGHT
10 F 25V 150
G2 7 7 OUTPUT
V1b IC2b IC3b
6 5 CON1d
NO
F2 F3 270 100k

6V SUPPLY/2
10 F
25V

Vaa RLY1
JP1 6V 5V
10k
Vaa Vaa OR 6V
K
6V SUPPLY/2 D3
1N4004
A
TP6V 100 F
10k
25V
2.2 F
CERAMIC TPGND

6V 33

100k
A K 6V 10 F 47 F
100k
D1 IC4: LM358 47 F 270
180k 100k 10k
1N4148
D2
2 8 1N4148 6
C
1 A K 7 Q1
IC4a IC4b
3 5 B BC337
1M 10k
E
4
100k 100k 5.1k
100k 100k
100k

SC
2020 NUTUBE STEREO VALVE PREAMPLIFIER
current flowing through the 1MΩ resistor. This causes the capacitor. This grid is DC-biased via a 33kΩ with a voltage
signal voltage to rise about 0.5V above the half supply rail, that’s set using trimpot VR2. This is adjusted to set the op-
reducing the maximum symmetrical voltage swing. erating point and hence, the distortion produced by V1a.
But since the nominal supply voltage is 9V (down to 7.2V if V1a’s plate anode load is a 330kΩ resistor which con-
the 9V battery is getting flat), the signal swing is still sufficient nects to either the Vaa or 6V supply via a 150Ω decoupling
to prevent signal clipping of line-level audio signal levels. resistor. Which supply is used depends on the position of
IC1a’s output drives V1a’s grid (G1) via a 10µF coupling jumper JP1. When a 9V battery is used for power, using the

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  25

fixed 6V selection prevents anode (plate) voltage variations is relative to the output of 6V regulator REG1. This is a fixed
as the battery discharges. When used with an external regu- voltage, so the grid bias voltage does not vary with the sup-
lated supply, the Vaa setting would be selected. ply voltage.
The high-impedance amplified anode signal is again
AC-coupled op amp buffer IC1b via a 100nF capacitor. IC1b Power supply
is also biased to half supply via another 1MΩ resistor to When no DC plug is inserted into DC socket CON2, the
Supply/2. This 1MΩ resistor loads the anode, reducing the internal 9V battery supplies power to the circuit, via CON2’s
Nutube anode signal to 75% of the unloaded signal. This is normally-closed switch connecting the negative of the bat-
unavoidable in a circuit with such high impedances. tery to ground. When a power plug is inserted, then power is
Note that the signal at the triode’s anode is inverted com- from the DC input and the battery negative is disconnected.
pared to that applied to the grid. In some cases, it is impor- Power switch S1 connects power to the rest of the circuit
tant to maintain the phase of audio signals between the in- whether from the battery or an external source, while diode
puts and outputs. So the output signal from the triode is re- D4 provides reverse polarity protection.
inverted by op amp IC3a, connected as an inverting amplifier. REG1 is a low-dropout, low quiescent current 6V regula-
VR4 is included so that the gain of IC3a can be adjusted. tor. It is included to maintain a constant grid voltage for the
The gain of IC3b in the right channel is fixed at -2.3 times Nutube when power is from a battery, as battery voltage nat-
(-5.1kΩ ÷ 2.2kΩ), so the gain for IC3a is typically set at a urally varies over time. The 6V rail also powers relay RLY1.
similar level. The gain may need to be slightly different be- The input of REG1 is bypassed with a 10µF capacitor, while
tween the two channels to get equal gains for both outputs, a 2.2µF ceramic capacitor filters the output. This output ca-
due to variations in gain between the two triodes at simi- pacitor has the required low ESR (effective series resistance)
lar bias levels. to ensure stability at the regulator output.
Finally, the signal from IC3a is AC-coupled with a 10µF The half supply rail is derived by two 10kΩ resistors con-
capacitor to remove the DC voltage and DC-biased to 0V with nected in series across the anode supply for V1. It is by-
a 100kΩ resistor. The output is fed through a 150Ω isolation passed with a 100µF capacitor to reduce noise and lower
resistor to prevent oscillation of IC3a should long leads with the rail impedance.
a high total capacitance be connected.
To prevent noises when power is switched on and off, the Power switching and output isolation
output signal passes to the output RCA sockets via a pair of As mentioned earlier, the relay contacts at the left and
relay contacts that are open when power is off. At power-on, right outputs connect the signals some time after power-up
the relay is only switched on to allow signal through to the and disconnect the signals quickly when power is switched
output terminals after everything has settled down. At power off. IC4, Q1, RLY1 and associated components provide this
off, the relay is switched off immediately. This isolates the signal switching.
signal while the power supply voltages decay. IC4a and IC4b are two halves of an LM358 single sup-
ply, low-power dual op amp. They are used as comparators
Filament current with hysteresis. Hysteresis is provided by 100kΩ resistors
Just like a traditional valve, the Nutubes have heater fila- from their outputs to their non-inverting inputs, while the
ments. These are connected between F1 and F2 for V1a, and nominal comparator threshold at these inputs is set around
between F2 and F3 for V1b. So the F2 connection is shared 2V when the output is low and 4V when the output is high.
between the two. So in each case, the output goes high when the voltage at
There are two ways to drive the filaments. One is to sup- the inverting input drops below 2V, and then goes low again
ply current to F1 and F3 via separate resistors and have the when the voltage at the inverting input rises above about
common F2 terminal tied to ground. In this case, the resis- 3.5V (you might expect 4V, but the LM358’s output can’t
tors are chosen for 17mA flowing in each filament, giving a swing to the positive rail). In other words, there is about
total filament current of 34mA. 1.5V of hysteresis.
But in our circuit, we connect the filaments in series, so RLY1 is initially off, and when power is applied via switch
the same 17mA flows through each filament for a 17mA to- S1, several things happen. Firstly, power is supplied via D1
tal current but with twice the voltage across the filaments. to the preamplifier circuitry, including REG1, V1 and IC1-IC4.
This is a more efficient way to drive the filaments, and saves The supply and signal coupling capacitors begin to charge
power when using batteries. up to their operating conditions.
In our circuit, F1 is tied to ground, F2 is left open and cur- At the same time, the inverting pin 2 input to IC4a is
rent supplied via a 270Ω resistor from 6V to F3 ((6V - 0.7 - 0.7) pulled high, to near the incoming supply voltage, via the
÷ 270Ω = 17mA). Note that F2 and F3 are bypassed to ground 100kΩ and 180kΩ resistors connecting to switch S1. Diode
with 10µF capacitors. This reduces noise in the circuit. D1 prevents more than 6.5V from being applied to this pin.
There is one extra consideration when the filaments are The 180kΩ and 1MΩ resistors form a voltage divider so
in series. As the Nutubes are directly heated, V1b’s cathode that their junction tends to sit at around 5.5V when there is
will be 0.7V higher than V1a, due to the voltage drop across more than 6.5V at the anode of D4.
V2’s filament before the current reaches V1. This changes This is above the pin 3 voltage, and so the output of IC4a
the bias voltage requirement at the grid (G2) for V1b com- goes low, near 0V. Pin 3 is therefore around 2V. Diode D2 is
pared to G1 for V1a. reverse-biased and pin 6, the inverting input of IC4b, is ini-
The extra voltage required for G2 is provided by having tially held high near to 6V, due to the 47µF capacitor being
a wider voltage range for VR3 due to a lower-value resistor initially discharged. The 10kΩ resistor in series with the ca-
connecting it to the 6V supply compared to VR2. pacitor reduces the pin 6 voltage down to about 5.7V initially.
Note that the grid bias voltage derived from VR2 and VR3 This is above the 4V at the non-inverting pin 5 input, so

26    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

the output of IC4b will be low. Pin 5 will be at 2V. The low
output of IC4b means NPN transistor Q1 is off, and the relay
is off. The relay contacts will be open, so no audio passes
Parts list –
through to the output. Nutube Valve Preamp
As the 47µF capacitor charges via the 10kΩ and 100kΩ
resistors, after about five seconds, the voltage at pin 6 will 1 double-sided PCB coded 01112191, 98 x 114mm
drop below the voltage at the pin 5 input (2V). The output 1 set of front and rear panel labels (see text)
1 extruded aluminium enclosure with clear end panels, 115 x 51
of IC4b then goes high, driving transistor Q1 and switching
x 119mm [Jaycar HB6294]
on RLY1. The audio signals are then connected to the left
1 Korg Nutube 6P1 double Triode thermionic valve (V1)
and right channel output sockets.
[RS Components 144-9016]
Note the 47µF capacitor with a parallel 270Ω resistor and 1 1A DPDT 5V relay (RLY1) [Altronics S4147]
series 33Ω resistor between the collector of Q1 and the coil 1 SPDT sub-miniature toggle switch (S1) [Altronics S1421]
of RLY1. The 33Ω resistor is included so that the 5V-rated 1 double stereo horizontal PCB-mount RCA socket assembly
relay coil is initially driven with 5V rather than the full 6V (CON1) [Altronics P0211]
of the supply. 1 PCB-mount DC power socket (CON2)
Then, as the 47µF capacitor charges, the voltage to the re- [Jaycar PS0520, Altronics P0621A]
lay coil is reduced until it is instead supplied current via the 1 2-pin 2.54mm pitch vertical polarised header (CON3)
270Ω resistor. This reduces relay coil voltage and current, [Jaycar HM3412, Altronics P5492]
saving power but still holding the relay’s contacts closed. 1 inline plug to suit CON3
The value of the 270Ω resistor means that the current [Jaycar HM3402, Altronics P5472 + P5470A x 2]
drawn by the relay coil drops from 30mA initially down to 1 3-way pin header, 2.54mm pitch with shorting block (JP1)
about 12.8mA, extending battery life. 2 5mm-long ferrite RF suppression beads, 4mm outer diameter
When power is switched off via S1, the pin 2 voltage at (FB1,FB2) [Altronics L5250A, Jaycar LF1250]
IC4a’s input immediately drops to 0V. That voltage is below 1 9V battery
the pin 3 voltage, so IC4a’s output goes high. Diode D2 con- 1 9V battery clip with flying leads
ducts and pulls pin 6 of IC4b above the pin 5 threshold, so 1 13-16mm diameter knob to suit VR1
IC4b’s output immediately goes low. Q1 switches off and the 1 8-pin DIL IC socket (optional)
relay contacts open. This all happens well before the sup- 1 100mm cable tie
4 15mm-long M3 tapped spacers
ply capacitors in the circuit have time to drop significantly
2 M3 x 25mm Nylon or polycarbonate panhead machine screws
in voltage. So the output signals are cut before anything in
4 M3 x 6mm panhead machine screws
the circuit can misbehave.
2 M3 hex nuts
The 10kΩ resistor between the diode D2 and the 47µF 1 No.4 x 8mm self-tapping screw
capacitor is so that the pin 6 input to IC4b can be immedi- 1 90mm length of medium-duty hookup wire
ately taken high, without having to wait for the 47µF ca- 1 solder lug
pacitor to discharge. 4 PC stakes
Construction Semiconductors
The Nutube stereo preamplifier is built using a double- 3 OPA1662AID dual op amps, SOIC-8 (IC1-IC3)
sided PCB coded 01112191 which measures 98 x 114mm. [RS Components 825-8424]
It is housed in an extruded aluminium enclosure with clear 1 LM358 dual op amp, DIP-8 (IC4)
end panels, measuring 115 x 51 x 119mm. Fig.10 has the 1 TPS70960DBVT 6V regulator, SOT-23-5 (REG1)
[RS Components 900-9876]
PCB assembly details.
1 BC337 NPN transistor (Q1)
Start by fitting the surface mount parts. Mostly, these are
2 1N4148 small signal diodes (D1,D2)
used because the same parts are not available in through-
1 1N4004 1A diode (D3)
hole packages. They are not difficult to solder using a fine- 1 1N5819 1A schottky diode (D4)
tipped soldering iron.
Good close-up vision is necessary, so you may need to Capacitors
use a magnifying lens or glasses to see well enough. These 3 100µF 25V PC electrolytic
parts are IC1, IC2 and IC3, REG1 and its associated 2.2µF 2 47µF 16V PC electrolytic
ceramic capacitor. 10 10µF 25V PC electrolytic
Make sure that each component is orientated correctly be- 1 2.2µF X7R SMD ceramic, 2012/0805 package
fore soldering it, ie, rotated as shown in Fig.10. The ceramic [RS Components 6911170]
capacitor is not polarised. 2 470nF MKT polyester
6 100nF MKT polyester
For each device, solder one pad first and check alignment
2 100pF ceramic
and readjust the component positioning by reheating the sol-
der joint if necessary before soldering the remaining pins. Resistors (all 0.25W, 1% metal film)
If any of the pins become shorted with solder, solder wick 5 1MΩ 2 330kΩ 1 180kΩ 10 100kΩ 2 33kΩ
can be used to remove the solder bridge. But note that pins 1 4 10kΩ 1 6.8kΩ 3 5.1kΩ 2 2.2kΩ 2 270Ω
& 2 and pins 6 & 7 of both IC1 and IC2 connect together on 4 150Ω 2 100Ω 1 33Ω
the PCB, so a solder bridge between these pins is acceptable. 1 dual-gang logarithmic 50kΩ 9mm PCB-mount potentiometer
Continue construction by installing the resistors (use your (VR1) [Jaycar RP8760]
DMM to check the values), followed by the two ferrite beads. 2 10kΩ horizontal 5mm trimpots (VR2,VR3)
Each bead is installed by using an offcut length of wire (from 1 10kΩ top-adjust multiturn trim pot 3296W style (VR4)

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  27

 SECURE
the resistors) feeding the wire through it and then TO CASE
bending the leads down through 90° on either
side to fit the PCB. Push each bead all the way D4 + –
down so that it sits flush against the PCB be- CON2 5819

DC in
fore soldering its leads. L CON1 TPS70960 CON3

NUTUBE PREAMPLIFIER
R 7-18V
2.2 F –

33
Install diodes D1-D4 next. Take care to ori- FB2 FB1 NO TP6V +
entate each correctly, as shown in the over-

100

100
REG1 10 F*
NC JP1
lay diagram, and make sure each is in its cor- Vaa S

RLY1
C
rect position (ie, don’t get the different types 100pF 100pF

10k

10k

270
mixed up) before soldering. COIL
47 F
Q1 BC337
6V
Following this, fit the IC socket for IC4. N

C 2019
470nF 470nF
100k D3 5.1k

100 F
4004
Make sure that the socket is seated flush

47 F
against the PCB and that it is orientated cor- 150 150 10k
rectly. It’s best to solder two diagonally oppo- VR2 10k VR3 10k

01112191 REV.B
site pins of the socket first and then check that

100k

100k
100k
100k
100k
5.1k
6.8k

4148
10k

BAT1
it sits flush with the board before soldering the 10 F* 10 F* D2

9V BATTERY
remaining pins. TPG1 GND TPG2
You could skip the socket and solder IC4 5.1k 19121110

10 F*
straight to the board. This would improve long-

330k

100k

100k

100k
2.2k

150

150
IC4

33k
IC3
term reliability but would make it much more LM358
difficult to swap or replace IC4 should that be 10 F

100nF
VR4

IC1,2,3 : OPA1662
10k
necessary. 100 F * 100  F *

The MKT and the two 100pF ceramic capaci- N

100nF

330k
2.2k

270
S

33k
1M

1M

1M

1M
tors can now go in, followed by the electrolytic D1
capacitors. The polarised electros must be orien-

10 F*

180k

100k
4148
tated with the correct polarity, ie, with the longer

10 F*

10 F*

1M
* 25V minimum

100nF
IC1 IC2
lead into the pad marked with the + sign.
Now install the two single-turn trim pots, VR2 100nF 10 F* 10 F* F1 GND
F3 100nF

100nF
G1 A1 F2 A2 G2

and VR3. These might be marked as 103 rather VR1 50k Log
S
than 10kΩ. Next, mount multi-turn trimpot VR4. S FOAM

Orientate it with the adjusting screw positioned NUTUBE 6P1 TWIN TRIODE
S1
Volume POWER
to the left, as shown. It also may be marked as
103 instead of 10kΩ. CABLE S = M3 x 15mm LONG STANDOFF
The next step is to fit Q1 by splaying its leads SC
2020
TIE N = M3 x 25mm LONG NYLON OR
POLYCARBONATE SCREW WITH NUT
slightly to suit the hole arrangement on the PCB.
Also install PC stakes for GND, TPG1, TPG2 and
TP6V. The three-way header for JP1 and the two- Fig.10: all the Nutube preamp components mount on one double-
sided PCB as shown here. They are mostly standard parts, but
way header for the battery lead can be mount-
IC1-IC3 and REG1 are only available in SMD packages. The
ed now, followed by RLY1, CON1, CON2 and Nutube (V1) is in a SIL-type package with right-angle leads that
switch S1. are surface-mounted to pads on the top of the board. The whole
Potentiometer VR1 is mounted and soldered assembly slides into an extruded aluminium case.
in place and is secured against the PCB using a
cable tie around the pot body. This stops force Wiring
on the shaft from breaking the solder joints or lifting tracks Crimp and/or solder the battery wires to the header socket
off the board. terminals after cutting these wires 60mm long. Then insert
Feed the tie through the holes in the PCB on each side of these terminals into the header socket shell, making sure
the pot, and tie it underneath. you get the red and black wires in the correct positions, as
Nutube V1 is mounted so that the front glass is vertical and marked on the PCB.
with its leads soldered to the top pads on the PCB, similar An Earth wire is also required to prevent hum injection
to a surface-mount component. Pins F1 and F3 at each end to the circuit if the case is touched. This connects the metal
of the Nutube utilise two adjacent leads on the Nutube de- case to the GND terminal on the board. Solder it to the sol-
vice. In addition to the leads, it is supported by two 15mm- der lug at one end and the GND terminal on the board at the
long tapped spacers, one on either side of the device, which other. Heatshrink tubing can be used over the lug terminal
hold a piece of foam against the Nutube envelope. and PC stake for GND.
Secure these spacers to the PCB using short machine When the case is assembled, the solder lug is captured in
screws fed in from the underside of the PCB. the top corner end-cap screw, adjacent to the RCA terminals.
We will later sandwich the foam between the spacers and
the Nutube, stopping it from flexing its leads too much. Also Powering up and testing
fit one 15mm standoff at each end of the battery outline on If you are planning to use a battery to supply power, con-
the PCB (see photos). nect a jumper shunt in the 6V position for JP1. That way,
The sides of the battery are held in by two M3 x 25mm any voltage changes from the battery will not affect the an-
Nylon or polycarbonate screws passed up from the under- ode plate voltage. If using a DC plugpack, use the Vaa posi-
side of the PCB and secured with M3 nuts. tion for JP1.

28    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 rating will be exceeded. The grid voltage for each
Triode can be measured at TPG1 and TPG2, relative
to the GND PC stake.
VR4 adjusts the output of the left channel so that
it can match the right channel in level. This can be
done by connecting up the preamplifier to your sound
system and rotating VR4 so both channels have the
same output level, just by listening.
For more accurate adjustments, you need a signal
generator. You can use a standard hardware-based
signal generator, or computer software.
You will also need suitable leads to connect the
generator to the RCA inputs. For connection to a com-
puter, you typically need a stereo lead with RCA plugs
one end and a stereo 3.5mm jack plug at the other.
Leads for a hardware signal generator will require an
RCA plug one end and a connector for the generator,
such as a BNC plug, at the other end.
Apply a 1kHz signal of about 1V RMS to the right
channel preamplifier input (red input socket). Moni-
tor the right channel output with a multimeter set to
measure AC volts.
Set the volume control for about 500mV signal at
the output. Adjust VR3 for maximum signal, but when
doing this, adjust the volume control so the level does
not exceed about 500mV. That’s required to ensure
the signal is not clipped. When the maximum level
is found, take note of the level reading.
Now apply the same signal to the left channel (white
RCA input) and measure the left channel output. Do
not change the volume setting, but you may need to
adjust VR4 for a suitable level, not much more than
500mV. Adjust VR2 for maximum signal as before.
This photo also shows the completed PCB – Now adjust VR4 so that the measured level is the
use it in conjunction with the component same as that already measured in the right channel.
overlay opposite. The flying lead visible in If you wish to set the grid bias more accurately,
this photo and those below earths the spectrum analyser software can be used. The spec-
aluminium case to the PCB to minimise hum. trum analyser will show the distortion products of
the preamplifier, including the fundamental and har-
Initially set VR2 and VR3 to midway. Apply power to the monics. The fundamental is the reproduction of the actual
circuit from a 7-18V DC supply. Check that TP6V is between applied signal.
5.88 and 6.12V. Also check the relay switches on after about With a perfect preamplifier, without distortion, you would
five seconds; you should hear it click in. only see the fundamental at the output.
Adjust VR2 so that the left-hand plate of the Nutube However, with a real preamplifier, there will be noise and
lights up at its brightest. Similarly, adjust VR3 so that the distortion. This will show up in the analyser as other spikes
right-hand plate of the Nutube glows brightest. If using a rising above the noise floor.
supply that’s over 12V, make sure the grid voltage is less Typically, the distortion will have second, third, fourth,
than 2.5V; otherwise, the device’s maximum dissipation fifth harmonics etc. For a 1kHz signal, the fundamental (first

More views of the completed PCB from the front (at left) and the rear
(above). Neither photo has the 9V battery in place but its support stand-
offs and screws are ready for it.
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  29
Free audio signal generator
and analyser software
If you want an audio signal generator that runs on a computer, you
can use the free Audacity software (siliconchip.com.au/link/aaxk).
This is available for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operat-
ing systems. Download and install the version that suits the operating
system on your computer. Once installed and running, select Gener-
ate -> Tone and then set the waveform to sine, frequency to 1kHz and
volume to maximum (ie, set the level value to one). You can also set
the duration over which the tone is generated. Press the play button
for the audio to start.
Another good, easy-to-use option is WaveGene (siliconchip.com.
au/link/aaxl).
For spectrum analysis, you could use WaveGene in combination with Fig.11: a screen grab of the free Visual Analyser PC
WaveSpectra (siliconchip.com.au/link/aaxl). See the setup instruc- software performing a ‘loopback’ test, with the sound card
output fed directly into its input. This lets you analyse the
tions at: siliconchip.com.au/link/aaxm
distortion inherent in the system. In this case, the reading
We used Visual Analyser, available from siliconchip.com.au/link/
is 0.0626% THD+N at 1kHz. You therefore won’t get a
aaxn, mainly because this allows the actual measured waveform to be reading lower than that when measuring the performance
seen as a ‘scope’ view, along with the output spectrum. of external devices like the Nutube preamp.
Once you have installed the signal generator and spectrum analyser
software, it’s a good idea to use it to analyse the performance of your
computer sound interface. That can be done with a cable with 3.5mm
stereo jack plugs at each end, with one end plugged into the sound in-
put and one into the sound output.
To do this with Visual Analyser, on the main screen, then select “float-
ing windows mode” and then the Scope, Spectrum and Wave need to
be opened from the top row of selections.
Select a 1kHz sinewave for the Wave generator, select interlock (that
causes both A and B channels to change together) for the output levels
and bring up the output level on the waveform generator. Then press
the on/off button below the output level slider.
The on/off selection at the top left of the main screen also needs to
be selected so that the analyser measures the signal. Both will show
“off” when the signal is generated and measured. You can choose to
view the A channel (left) or B channel (right), or both, in the main set-
tings channel selection. Fig.12: now we have connected the Nutube preamp ‘in the
We chose to use a 16,384 sample FFT window and a sampling rate loop’ between the sound card output and input, using two
of 44.1kHz in the main menu. Output gain (adjustment along the top stereo jack plug to red/white RCA plug cables. The output
levels have been set to 41% full-scale, which corresponds
row at right) was set just below maximum, yielding the lowest distor-
to around 250mV RMS, The distortion reading has only
tion figure of 0.0626%. risen slightly, to 0.07%, because the Nutube preamp and
In our case, noise is mostly more than 80dB below the fundamental sound card distortion figures are similar.
(see Fig.11). That indicates that this is not a particularly good sound
card, but good enough to evaluate the distortion from the Nutube
Preamplifier.
Now the Nutube Preamplifier can be connected between the com-
puter sound input and output. Adjust signal levels using the volume
control and/or the signal generator level so that the waveform is not
clipped (ie, so the top of the sine wave is not plateauing) and instead
showing a clean sinewave.
In the main menu, you can select the left channel (A) and adjust
trimpot VR2 for the lowest distortion reading, with minimal harmon-
ics – see Fig.12. This shows the waveform as a clean sinewave, with
the analyser showing the main 1kHz fundamental at 0dB level and the
second harmonic (2kHz) at around -70dB. The third, fourth and sixth
harmonics are at a similar level.
Once you’ve finished tweaking VR2, select the right Channel (B) and
adjust VR3 for the lowest distortion reading.
VR4 can then be adjusted while viewing in the A channel of the ana- Fig.13: here is the same test as Fig.14, but the triode grid
bias voltage adjustment is completely wrong. You can
lyser, so that fundamental level is the same as that in the B channel.
see the heavily distorted sinewave in the “Oscilloscope”
Fig.13 shows the waveform and spectrum when the grid bias (with
window, with many harmonics in the spectrum analysis.
VR2) is adjusted incorrectly. The top half of the sine waveform is very The THD reading is 30%. This is about as bad as it gets;
rounded, and the second harmonic is only 10dB below the fundamen- more realistically, a slightly misadjusted grid bias voltage
tal. The distortion reading is around 30%. can lead to distortion levels in the 0.1-1% range.

30    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Where can you buy a 6P1 Dual Triode?
As mentioned in the parts list, the 6P1 is available from RS
Components (https://au.rs-online.com). So far they are the
only local source we’ve found (and who has stock).
We have to warn you, though, it’s not a cheap device: RS
Components list it as $78.98 each (inc GST, plus postage)!
(RS stock no is 144-9016).
We would expect prices will eventually come down as they
become more popular and more suppliers carry them.

harmonic) would show as a peak at 1kHz, with the second

harmonic at 2kHz, the third harmonic at 3kHz, the fourth
at 4kHz etc. These harmonic distortion products hopefully
will be at a lower level than the fundamental, and not all
harmonics will necessarily be present.
Once you can see this, you can adjust the grid bias for
minimum distortion. For that matter, you could also ad-
just it for maximum distortion, if that’s what you’re after!
The completed PCB simply slides into the extruded case sothat
(See panel opposite).
the pot shaft and switch emerge from the front panel. No PCB
screws are necessary as it is held tight by the front and rear
Final assembly case ends.
The Nutube Preamplifier PCB is housed inside an alu-
minium enclosure with clear end panels, measuring 115 housing plastic needs to be shaved or filed off, as it is slightly
x 51 x 119mm. too high to fit in the case otherwise. Less than 1mm needs
If you are not using a battery for power, unplug the bat- to be removed.
tery clip from CON3 to prevent the contacts from shorting You can place the labels on the inside of the panels, cut-
onto a part of the circuit. ting around the outside perimeter of each label. Or you can
The end panels include 3mm-thick foam plastic that can cut out the smaller-sized inner perimeter so the labels can
be used as padding for the Nutube device. The end pieces be affixed to the outside of the end pieces.
just require this foam to be placed within the outer surround, For more detail on making labels, see www.siliconchip.
where the end panels connect to the aluminium body. com.au/Help/FrontPanels
The central pieces that cover the window and the button- If the panel label is to be inside the end panel, a paper la-
shaped pieces for the corner securing holes are not required bel could be used. For the front panel, the central window
for the case. in the artwork will need to be cut out with a hobby knife,
Cut out a piece of foam 38 x 17mm and place this behind to expose the Nutube.
the Nutube. This is held between the two 15mm standoffs The RCA sockets should be secured to the rear panel with
at the rear of the Nutube. the self-tapping screw, and with the rear edge of the PCB
Note that the enclosure has a specific top and bottom ori- touching the inside of the rear panel.
entation for both the aluminium extrusion and end panels. You can then slide the PCB into the case on the second
The front and rear panels have a slightly different profile at slot up from the bottom. Don’t forget to attach the GND
the top and bottom edges. While the top edge is straight, the solder lug to the top corner screw at the rear adjacent to
lower edge has a slightly lower moulding below the two left the RCA sockets. The wire end of the solder lug will need
and right corner holes. That matches the same profile on the to be orientated diagonally inward, so it does not foul the
aluminium extrusion. end cap border.
Holes need to be drilled for the volume potentiometer Additionally, the anodising layer on the aluminium is
and power switch at the front and the DC socket and RCA a good insulator. It will need to be scraped off at the point
sockets at the rear. The required front panel hole locations where the solder lug makes contact with the screw entry
are shown on the label artwork of Fig.14. These can also point to ensure good contact with the metal.
be downloaded as PDF files from the SILICON CHIP website. Finally, the rubber feet provided with the enclosure can
A small portion along the top edge of the RCA terminal now be fixed to the base using their self-adhesive. SC

Nutube Preamplifier L + +
Power +
7 to18VDC
+
+ + (Centre +) R + + +
SILICON CHIP
Volume www.siliconchip.com.au OUT IN Vo
Fig.14: the 1:1 front and rear panel artwork can also be used as a template. V1 requires a 43 x 15mm cutout; the volume
control a 10mm hole and the power switch a 5mm hole. On the rear panel, the RCA sockets require 10mm holes where
shown with a 3mm hole in the middle; the DC socket is 5mm. These can also be downloaded from siliconchip.com.au
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  31
 Migrating
from
iPhone
to
Android...
without losing anything!

Some people prefer Apple iPhones, while others prefer Android phones.
But what if you decide, for whatever reason, to switch from the iPhone
you’ve used for a few years to an Android model? You could ‘start fresh’,
discarding your history including text messages, app data etc. But that
can be very inconvenient. You can bring most of this data across from
one system to the other, but it isn’t easy, and there are lots of different
ways to do it. Read on to find out just how . . .

T
here will likely never be a resolution to the eter- been some infamous intrusions, especially with iCloud data.
nal debates of which phone system is better: Apple While Android systems also emphasise security, quite
iPhone (iOS) vs Google Android-based phones (made a few Apps have been pulled from the Google Play Store
by numerous manufacturers). when malware was found lurking within.
The point of this article is not to convince you one way Apple offers excellent hardware quality, but higher-
or the other. But after many years of using an iPhone, I de- end Android devices are competitive. However, Android
cided to switch to Android, and found that it wasn’t that phone quality varies wildly, with some cheaper devices
easy to make a seamless transition. Before I describe what being markedly poor.
I had to do to make the switch, I’ll briefly describe the rea- Regarding hardware, Apple also makes PCs, watches,
sons why people choose one system over the other. tablets and other phones and so can offer consistent and
Proponents of Apple point to extremely tight integration integrated performance between the devices. But in the
between the hardware and operating system as a benefit, Android world, it is really only Samsung that offers a full
whereas Android offers more hardware competition be- range of such devices.
tween devices. This is mostly because Google allows other Apple users seem to prefer relative simplicity, tight inte-
manufacturers to use their Android operating system. Ap- gration and strong support from the manufacturer. In con-
ple has very tight control over its Apps, whereas Google trast, Android users seem to prefer lower cost (or better
exercises less control. value) devices, easier expandability and more hardware
Apple has traditionally had an excel- flexibility. But some Android vendors
lent reputation against unauthorised in- also offer excellent support (eg, Samsung,
trusion by hackers, although there have by Dr David Maddison based on my experience).
32    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
Samsung DeX with phone plugged into docking station allowing keyboard, monitor, ethernet, USB ports and mouse
functions to provide desktop-like functionality. This illustrates the flexibility of the Android OS.
Image credit: Maurizio Pesce, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Despite apparent differences, both iOS and Android have grade my phone, so I decided to purchase a newer iPhone
similar origins. Both are based on Unix-like operating sys- (a 64GB iPhone 6S), as that was the simplest upgrade path.
tems. iOS started with the open-source Darwin (BSD) sys- It was easy to transfer all of the data such as contacts,
tem, while Android is based on a modified Linux kernel memos, pictures etc from the old phone to the new one.
running a ‘virtual machine’. That new iPhone was fine for a while, until the stored
I hope that the following description of my transition data had filled most of its available memory. I then found
will help others who wish to do the same. But note that it necessary to start deleting Apps and transferring data
my experiences may or may not be directly applicable to such as photos off the phone, to make room.
your particular situation. This is where a major difference between the iPhone
Before I get to the actual migration process, I will de- and Android operating system became apparent. My pre-
scribe what motivated me to make the switch, and go into ferred option was to keep this data on the phone rather
more detail on some of the key advantages and disadvan- than maintaining one set of files on the phone and one set
tages of the two platforms. off the phone. But iPhones do not offer the option to add
more storage with a micro SD card. Nor, it must be said,
My motivation to change do all Android phones. Most do, but there are exceptions!
I initially used the iPhone because that was supplied by My phone’s memory was mostly full of photos I had taken,
an organisation I used to work for, as it was the corporate along with map data. I didn’t want to migrate this data to
standard. After leaving that organisation, I needed to up- Apple’s iCloud storage system, so I stopped using the phone

Warning!
The information in this feature is presented as a You can find instructions on the Internet about how
guide only – any procedures you undertake are entirely to find the location and file name(s) of your iTunes
at your own risk. backup on your PC to make an extra copy if necessary.
The success of the procedures described in this ar- Note also that there is software available that can
ticle cannot be guaranteed, as devices and software – extract data such as photos, messages and contacts
even two apparently identical phones – can be subtly from your iTunes backup but the backup MUST NOT BE
different, not to mention almost continually changing. ENCRYPTED.
SILICON CHIP cannot be held responsible for any data Everything we’ve read suggests that is close to
loss incurred following any procedure described here. impossible to extract data from an encrypted iTunes
Please do plenty of research beforehand and make sure backup (presumably that’s the whole point of encryp-
to back up all data before attempting any transfers. tion!).

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  33

 Another competitor to iOS and Android?
Apart from Android and iOS operating sys-
tems, another phone OS on the horizon is the
open-source Harmony OS from Chinese com-
pany Huawei. This was speculated to replace
Android OS in its phones due to US Govern-
ment sanctions.
But it now appears it will be used not in
phones, but in “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices.
And regardless of its intended use, recent (November 2019)
media reports suggest it is “years away” from availability.
Other operating systems for mobile devices include Windows
10 Mobile, BlackBerry 10, Tizen, Sailfish OS, Ubuntu Touch, Plas-
ma Mobile, PureOS, PostmarketOS and KaiOS.

as a camera and started using a dedicated camera instead.

To liberate space to keep using this phone, I deleted nu-
merous Apps such as OSM street maps (which I used to
view maps ‘offline’), various unused pre-loaded Apps from
Apple such as GarageBand and KeyNote (1.7GB and 630MB Moving an App from phone memory to SD card memory
respectively) etc. where supported by App, phone and Android version.
I then became alarmed because as I deleted Apps to lib-
erate memory, the spare memory would continue to ‘disap- Another application where SD card storage of data is
pear’. This was despite the fact that I had disabled automatic handy is the Open Street Maps (OSMAnd) App. An OSM
updates for the operating system and nearly all my Apps. map for Australia is several hundred megabytes, while for
The continual battle to free up storage on my phone, plus the United States (and other similarly populous countries),
the positive experiences of friends and associates with An- it is several gigabytes.
droid devices, lead me to consider making the switch. The I use such maps for travelling, as I might not have a data
most crucial difference for me was the ability to add extra connection. The ability to store such memory-consuming data
internal memory with an internal micro SD card, something on a removable and replaceable card instead of in the phone’s
that Apple phones do not allow. I also like the more open memory (or to shift it offline) is obviously a big advantage.
and accessible file system on Android devices. While many Android Apps can be stored and run off a
Note that not all Android phones have micro SD card slots, memory card on earlier OS versions, fewer support this in
which is a pity, as many of them are otherwise excellent de- later versions.
vices. But for me, the lack of expandability is a deal-killer. This is generally not such a good idea, since the SD card
You generally pay a lot more for a phone with more in- is usually slower than the internal storage, and you lose ac-
ternal storage, than a similar amount of storage on a micro cess to the App if you swap cards.
SD card would cost. And often, after you purchase a phone, To see if an App can be transferred to SD storage on your
higher capacity cards become available, allowing you to ex- Android phone, go to go the Settings menu, then select the
pand the storage to a level that was not available at the time App and then the Storage tab for that App. If your version
of purchase. of the App, the phone and the OS supports moving an App
I purchased a Galaxy S10 with 512GB of internal storage to the SD card there will be an option to “Change storage to
(a 1TB version is now available in Australia). The highest the SD card” (or change it back) – see above
internal capacity currently available in the iPhone is 512GB. On my new phone, apart from OSMAnd, Apps that can be
transferred to the SD card include AliExpress, AvenzaMaps,
More on SD cards Google Earth, Epson iPrint, GPSLogger, Photos, Shazam, Sky
These internal micro SD cards can be used to generally Map, Google Translate, Waze, and Wikipedia.
increase the storage of the device. But they are most useful
for holding the photos and videos you take, which tend to SD card capacity
take up the majority of the flash storage space. The highest capacity SD card available will soon be 1TB.

RS-232, Android and iOS

As an example of the difference between interfacing hardware sary. Such a cable is made by Redpark (http://redpark.com/), with
with the two types of phones, consider RS-232 serial connections. the intention you write your own software for it with a supplied
Contrary to popular belief, many devices still use RS-232, such as SDK (software development kit). Apple won’t approve any App for
many astronomical telescopes, amateur radios, point-of-sale de- the App Store for use with this cable or any other RS-232 devices!
vices, microcontrollers, scientific instruments, data loggers, RFID In general, any device to be connected to an iPhone has to be
readers, irrigation controllers, fire alarm panels, glucose meters made under license of the MFi program (siliconchip.com.au/
and many other specialised devices. link/aawu).
It is relatively easy to interface an RS-232 device to an Android The other option for connecting more hardware to an iPhone
phone, but with iOS, a special Lightning-to-serial cable is neces- is to ‘jailbreak’ it.

34    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Plugging a hard disk into your Android phone
You can connect an external hard disk to to support NTFS (the default Windows file
your Android phone with an OTG adaptor. The system) as well.
disk should ideally be formatted with exFAT so If using an external hard disk for an ex-
it can be recognised on Windows, Mac and tended time, you may need to use an exter-
Linux and there are no realistic file or volume nally-powered OTG cable to keep the phone
size limitations. charged. Otherwise, it will drain the phone
Some external hard disks already come with battery quickly if the disk is powered via USB.
that format. Incidentally, SD cards are typically for-
Android also natively supports the FAT32 file matted with FAT32 up to 32GB, and exFAT
system (4GB file size limit), but there are Apps for 64GB and beyond.

I’ve seen sites allowing pre-orders for such cards at around and 2TB for A$1.49, A$4.49 and A$14.99 per month at the
US$450. Android theoretically supports cards up to 2TB, time of writing. That works out to around $17.88 per year
but not all devices have this capability. According to Sam- for 50GB of iCloud storage.
sung, their recent phones (such as the Galaxy S10) support By comparison, 50GB of SD card storage has a one-time
SD cards up to 512GB. cost of around $14.
With SD cards, storage is essentially unlimited because
as soon as one SD card is full, you can swap in another. SD card ‘virtual memory’
You can keep the old card(s) so that you can still view older For Android users, there is a way to use an SD card on a
photos and videos etc. phone as though it was regular phone memory (rather than
However, swapping cards is a bit impractical (if not in the form of extra storage space). However, this is not gen-
downright unfriendly is some phones!) so you are gener- erally recommended, and not all manufacturers support it.
ally better off using the largest card you can. If larger cards It is called “Adoptable Storage” and the SD card becomes
become available, you can transfer the data from one to the part of the phone OS and cannot be removed without re-
other using a PC. setting the phone.
But the small physical size of SD cards does mean they In other words, if your phone had 128GB of internal mem-
can be easily kept in a wallet etc. So you can cart a few ory and you added a 128GB SD card configured appropri-
around, to show others the media stored within. ately, you would effectively have a 256GB phone.
In my case, I installed a 64GB card in my new phone, As mentioned above, one of the biggest problems with
which cost about $20. This isn’t a huge expansion to the al- this is that the SD card storage is generally a lot slower than
ready large memory on my phone, but as mentioned above, the internal storage, so this could slow the phone down sig-
I can easily expand this later if I run out of space. nificantly. But it might be worthwhile doing if you have an
For convenience, it is best (at least initially) to buy a mi- old phone with a small amount of memory, and you want
cro SD card with an adaptor to suit a full-size SD card slot. to give it a new lease of life.
That may make it easier to connect to a laptop or desktop
computer. USB OTG (Android) and Lightning (iOS)
Some brands of micro SD cards include the SD adaptor connectivity
as a bonus. Many Android devices also support USB “On The Go”
Like Apple, some Android providers also offer free or or OTG. This is a standard that enables a device to use its
paid-for cloud storage. For example, Samsung in Australia charging/communications port to also connect a USB de-
offers 5GB of free storage for new accounts with no current vice such as a flash drive, hard drive, keyboard, mouse,
option for extra paid storage beyond 5GB. (Accounts cre- printer, camera etc.
ated on or before 31 May 2019 had 15GB). Some memory storage devices and SD card adaptors are
With Android or iOS and a Google account, you get free available for the iPhone. These connect via the iPhone ‘Light-
unlimited storage of photos up to 16MB in size and videos ning’ connector. But in general, external hardware connec-
up to 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels). tivity is much more limited on the iPhone, even though Ap-
Apple has consistently refused to add internal SD card ple provides specifications for prospective manufacturers
support to their phones. It seems that they would rather of such devices (see siliconchip.com.au/link/aavz).
have people upgrade their phone to another Apple model Some iPhone adaptors are described as “OTG” devices
with more memory or purchase extra iCloud storage, be- which “convert” a standard Apple Lightning connector to
yond the 5GB included free with every phone. USB, but these do not provide true OTG capability. There
Extra iCloud storage is offered in sizes of 50GB, 200GB are also official Apple products such as Lightning-to-USB

A Samsung OTG adapter. It connects

to the phone with a USB-C male
and has a USB female connector
on the other end. It acts as a USB
host, enabling a wide range of
An Apple Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader adapter. accessories to be connected.
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  35
This shows the SDR Touch App with a cheap dongle
used as a software defined radio (SDR), connected to
an Android phone with an OTG adapter and an
external antenna. Screen grab from a YouTube
video “SDR Touch with RTL SDR (RTL2832), HTC
One X, Android 4.1 Jellybean” https://youtu.be/
QArle2hHO54 There are many Apps available for
SDRs (which are directly connected to the phone
rather than remotely controlled on a network) on
Android but not iOS.

camera adaptors for downloading photos from an external to play them. I also had to spend a little time looking be-
DSLR camera to the iOS device, or for reading from and fore I found where they had been stored on the new phone.
writing to an SD card. Apple’s “Live Photos” are not supported by Android.
Ultimately, though, the USB port used on Android phones These are photos recorded in the form of short video seg-
from many different manufacturers means that a greater ments.
number of accessories are available. CopyTrans (www.copytrans.net) is PC software which
is billed as an alternative to iTunes. This lets you backup
Transferring from Apple to Android and manage your iPhone data on a PC, but does not han-
Many people who have considered migrating from Ap- dle transfers to Android.
ple to Android have nixed the idea, due to the difficulty of But it does claim to enable you to change the Live Photo
transferring data from the old to the new device. For many format to one that can be used on an Android device; see
people, this is the main factor inhibiting them from making siliconchip.com.au/link/aaw0
the change; this was certainly the case for me. Two of the greatest difficulties in transferring data from
Having said that, when some people purchase a new iPhone to Android are with WhatsApp chat messages and
phone, they have no desire to preserve old data and there- Apple iMessages. This will be discussed in some detail later.
fore, these concerns do not apply. Apple users will not be used to having an accessible file
Or in some cases, you might only wish to transfer basic system. It is helpful to use a supplied or downloaded file
data such as contacts, which is not difficult. manager to have a look around your phone to see where
Most Android phones come with proprietary software various files are stored in the Android file system. Files can
(or free downloads thereof) to enable common categories also be seen if you connect the phone to a PC and you will
of data to be transferred with ease. This typically includes see its internal directory structure and file names.
contacts, messages (SMS and MMS but not iMessages), pho-
tos and videos. This transfer software may also copy typed Transfer software
memos, voice memos, voice mails, documents, favourite Some programs can transfer data directly from an iCloud
web sites and calendar entries. or iTunes backup to a new Android phone. This can be es-
Videos on an iPhone are in the form of MOV files. This pecially helpful if you no longer have the original iPhone,
is a different format than the MP4 standard, which is used eg, if it was lost, sold or destroyed. Manufacturer-supplied
by Android devices. So to use them on an Android phone, transfer software supplied with new phones are as follows:
you have to convert them to a compatible format. Or you
• Google Pixel devices have built-in support for transfer-
can do as I did and install the free VLC media player, which
ring data; see siliconchip.com.au/link/aaw1 Data that
can play MOV files as well as many other formats.
can be transferred includes SMS messages and iMessag-
In my case, the Samsung “Smart Switch” software copied
es, phone and iCloud Contacts, phone and iCloud Cal-
the MOV files to my new phone, but I had to install VLC
endars, photos and videos (except HEIF photos), Apps
(if available for Android).
  Most music will transfer but not if it has iTunes Digital
One item I couldn’t transfer across Rights Management (DRM) protection (usually bought
I have a thermal imaging camera, the FLIR Systems FLIR One. before April 2009). Music downloaded from Google Play
At the time of purchase, one could won’t either but see siliconchip.com.au/link/aaw2 for
choose either a Lightning more details.
connector to suit the
• HTC uses a software product called Sync Manager in-
iPhone or a USB
stalled on a PC to transfer data from an iTunes backup
connector for an Android
to a new HTC Android phone (siliconchip.com.au/link/
phone. I purchased the
aaw3). Data that can be moved includes iPhone contacts,
Lightning version, but it’s
calendar, SMS, photos, videos, wallpaper and bookmarks.
now quite useless to me,
as there is no adaptor available • Huawei Android phones can have data imported from
for it to connect to a USB socket. an iOS phone with Phone Clone (siliconchip.com.au/

36    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 link/aaw4). Also see https://consumer.huawei.com/au/ Expanding iPhone memory
emui/clone/
While no extra memory such as an internal SD card can of-
• LG phones can import data from iPhones with the LG ficially be added to an iPhone, some people have replaced the
Mobile Switch (Sender) App (siliconchip.com.au/link/ memory chip in an iPhone with a higher capacity version. This
aaw5). Note that software has to be installed on both the procedure requires extremely high levels of skill, experience,
old and the new phone. For more detail, see siliconchip. equipment and risk. It is not recommended for the faint-hearted.
com.au/link/aaw6 One video documenting the procedure of increasing the mem-
• Motorola US documents refer to a Migrate App on the ory of an iPhone 6S from 16GB to 128GB titled “Upgrade iPhone
Google Play Store, although it appears not to be present 6S 16GB Storage to 128GB” can be viewed at https://youtu.be/
at the time of going to press. According to this link, it v5WDDZqhn2s
has been retired siliconchip.com.au/link/aaw7 See also You can also get this procedure done in the markets of Shen-
siliconchip.com.au/link/aaw8 and siliconchip.com.au/ zen, China, or buy equipment to do it yourself. See Fig.8 and the
link/aaw9 video titled “How I Upgraded My iPhone Memory 800% - in Shen-
zhen, China”; see https://youtu.be/rHP-OPXK2ig (it documents
• Nokia has no official information on their website about the desoldering and resoldering process of the memory chip, and
transferring iPhone data to one of their Android phones, practice attempts, and
but relevant information is provided by Vodafone Aus- uses a different memory
tralia, at: siliconchip.com.au/link/aawa reflashing process than
• Oppo phones suggest using Clone Phone software to the previous video).
transfer information from the old iPhone to their Android If you attempt such
phones, see siliconchip.com.au/link/aawb a procedure, you must
have secure backups as
• Samsung phones can use Samsung Smart Switch Mobile you will need to copy
on the new Android phone for phone-to phone-transfers the data back to the new
(siliconchip.com.au/link/aawc). Also see www.samsung. (blank) chip.
com/au/apps/smartswitch/ for transfers via a PC or Mac.
• dr.fone Switch (siliconchip.com.au/link/aawi) allows a
   Data that can be transferred from iOS includes con-
variety of transfers to be made between different phones.
tacts, calendar entries (device content only), messages,
It can transfer a total of 15 file types: photos, videos, con-
photos, music (DRM-free content only, not supported for
tacts, contact blacklist, messages, call history, bookmarks,
iCloud), videos (DRM-free content only), call logs, mem-
calendar, voice memo, music, alarm records, voicemail,
os, alarms, WiFi settings, wallpapers and documents.
ringtones, wallpaper and notes. Transfers can be made
   In my case, I found that a direct transfer between phones
either directly between devices or from an iCloud back-
(iPhone to Android) gave the best results. Make sure the
up to Android. There is also a desktop version of the
batteries of both devices are fully charged before proceed-
software, which requires both the old and new phones
ing. Samsung state that Smart Switch requires 500MB of
to be plugged into the computer.
free space on the old phone. However in my case, I did
not have that amount of free space, and it still worked. • MobiKin (siliconchip.com.au/link/aawj) allows the
transfer of contacts, SMS, music, videos, photos and
• Sony Xperia phones can use Xperia Transfer Mobile
books from an iPhone to a new Android phone.
(siliconchip.com.au/link/aawd). The following data can
be transferred: contacts, calendar events, call log, text • Android Switch (www.android.com/switch/) is the meth-
messages (SMS), multimedia messages (MMS), photos, od provided by Google to transfer data from an iPhone;
music, videos, documents, Apps (not supported from however, it appears to only transfer calendar, contacts,
iOS) and App data (will be transferred if the App al- and photos.
lows it). Transfers can be made from an iPhone via USB, There are many other Apps to transfer either partial data
WiFi or iCloud. from phone to phone, as well as techniques that don’t re-
Third-party phone data transfer software quire any extra software.
• Phone Transfer for Windows (siliconchip.com.au/link/ My experience
aawe) can transfer contacts, call logs, text messages, mu- I initially decided to use “Syncios” for my phone swap,
sic, photos, movies and calendar data. because of its claimed ability to transfer iMessages as well
• iSkysoft Phone Transfer for Mac (siliconchip.com.au/ as other user data.
link/aawf) also runs on Windows and can transfer con- While it initially seemed to transfer data, including iM-
tacts, messages, calendar entries, photos, music and essages, I noticed that it had caused my phone to start re-
video. sending old messages to various phone contacts. This in-
cluded messages that were many years old!
• Phone Transfer (siliconchip.com.au/link/aawg) is avail-
As soon as I discovered this, I deleted the transferred mes-
able for Windows or Mac.
sages and started again, only to have the same thing hap-
• RecoveryAndroid (www.recovery-android.com) for Win- pen again. Needless to say, this was highly embarrassing.
dows or Mac can transfer contacts, photos, videos, music, I contacted Syncios support, but my queries went un-
messages and calendar data. There is a special version answered. Syncios has a money-back guarantee, but after
for Motorola phones at: siliconchip.com.au/link/aawh about two weeks of no response from them, I had to seek

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  37

 standard SMS and MMS messages, but you might not get
“Rooting” your Android device iMessages.
“Rooting” an Android device is the equivalent of “jailbreak- If you have essential iMessages, you could keep them
ing” in the iOS world. This means making unauthorised firmware on your old iPhone, or they can be extracted from iPhone
modifications to the device to enable you to install software or backups using one of several iPhone backup viewing and
perform other operations not normally permitted by the factory- extraction tools.
issued device. Losing iMessages when transferring from an iPhone
Both processes are to be strongly discouraged unless you can be a big deal for some ‘power users’. See the article
are highly technical and know what you are doing. If done incor- titled “Apple trapped me on iOS — perhaps forever” at
rectly, this may result in: siliconchip.com.au/link/aawm for the experience of one
• loss of warranty of the device user. Also see “iPhone’s blue bubble won’t let me stray to
• the possibility of “bricking” the device, ie, rendering it the Galaxy S8” at siliconchip.com.au/link/aawn
unusable and unrepairable We haven’t tested either method, but you can copy iMes-
• exposing the phone to security threats. sages off the phone to a computer (but not another Android
phone) using iMazing (siliconchip.com.au/link/aawk) or
a refund of the US$29.95 (around AUD $45) I paid from iSMS2droid (https://isms2droid.com).
PayPal. Fortunately, this claim was successful. If you are planning to move to Android in the future, I
I then decided to use Samsung Smart Switch – with suc- suggest that you turn off iMessages now, so that your phone
cess, although it doesn’t transfer iMessages. number will be deregistered from the iMessages server. You
will receive regular messages instead (which can easily be
Transferring iMessages copied later), and your correspondents will get used to you
iMessages are difficult to transfer from iOS to Android. not having iMessage.
iMessages are a proprietary Apaircradfple form of text and This last point may be important since without iMessage
media messages, for use between iPhones. enabled, others will no longer be able to send you messag-
These messages appear in the same App as regular text es in places where there is no mobile service, but there is
and media messages. internet access, such as on some aircraft.
An iMessage can be distinguished from a regular text If you don’t turn off iMessages and you move to An-
(SMS) or media (MMS) message because it is in a blue rath- droid, people with iPhones will think that they are send-
er than green bubble on the iPhone texting App. iPhones ing you messages.
transfer text or media messages in the form of iMessages But you will never get them, since they will be sitting
using an internet connection rather than the phone system. in Apple’s iMessage servers! So you need to remember to
While regular text and media messages can be transferred switch this off before getting rid of your old phone.
from iOS to Android by many methods, iMessages use a To turn off iMessages on your iPhone, go into Settings
proprietary storage method and are not so easy to transfer. and then tap Messages and then toggle iMessage to off. Turn
As I mentioned above, Syncios claimed to perform that of Facetime at the same time. You can also deregister iMes-
task but caused me serious problems, so I had to abandon it. sages if you no longer have your phone but have the same
Most iOS-to-Android transfer software will copy all your number; see siliconchip.com.au/link/aawl

Build your own phone?

If you are not satisfied with any commercial phone offerings, that is specifically designed to be easy to repair, “sustainable” and
you could try building your own, or source one from a non-main- based on materials that are ethically sourced. The latest model
stream manufacturer. There is a Kickstarter project called “MAK- is the Fairphone 3, which runs Android 9. It is currently available
ERphone” which is intended for educational purposes. See above on pre-order for approximately €450.00 (around AUD $730) plus
and their website at siliconchip.com.au/link/aawv shipping from Europe.
See also the video titled “Build Your Own Phone with MAKER- Someone was keen enough to build their own iPhone from
phone” at https://youtu.be/S702qykR9zs spare parts. See the video titled “How I Made My Own iPhone -
The Fairphone (www.fairphone.com/en/) is a modular phone in China ” at https://youtu.be/leFuF-zoVzA

38    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

Some WazzapMigrator screens

There is an Android App called PieMessage (siliconchip. just follow the instructions. When finished, go to the Google
com.au/link/aawo) that enables iMessages to be used on an Play Store on the phone and install WhatsApp Messenger,
Android device; however, it appears to be no longer under activate it with your phone number and press the Restore
active development. It also requires you to have an OSX button of the WhatsApp Messenger App. All the chats and
device such as an Apple Mac and it requires an expert level media from your iPhone should be there.
of knowledge to set up. See a 2016 review of PieMessage at As with any software installation, things can go wrong.
siliconchip.com.au/link/aawp So you should browse the WazzapMigrator website and chat
forums on that site before proceeding, as well as watching
Migrating WhatsApp messages the installation videos.
One of the trickiest Apps to migrate data from the iPhone One problem I encountered is that I was locked out of
to Android is the popular messaging software WhatsApp. WhatsApp App for about ten minutes. This was because
The developer of this App has made no special provision the WazzapMigrator tool internally uses an old version of
for data migration, and it is not merely a matter of copy- WhatsApp, and they don’t like an old version being in-
ing across data. stalled, even temporarily.
It is complicated since WhatsApp can only be registered This doesn’t always happen, but I did get my valuable
on one phone at a time for a given user. messages and media across. Judging from the forum activity
It used to be possible to transfer WhatsApp data from iOS on the WazzapMigrator website, support for this App seems
to Android, but those older methods no longer work. The extremely good. I, for one, was very happy with the result.
only way I found to migrate this App data without losing Note that these instructions are current at the time of go-
past messages and multimedia files was with the aid of a ing to press but follow instructions from the WazzapMigra-
paid App (A$9.49) called WazzapMigrator; see www.wa- tor website in case there have been changes.
zzapmigrator.com Other possible methods of transferring WhatsApp mes-
WazzapMigrator works as follows. You make an unen- sages that we haven’t tested are using:
crypted iTunes backup (the process will not work if it is en-
• dr.fone - Restore Social App
crypted). You extract a file from the backup on your PC or
(siliconchip.com.au/link/aawq)
Mac called ChatStorage.sqlite, plus a folder called Media.
Any iTunes data extractor can be used for this job, but a • Backuptrans iPhone WhatsApp to Android Transfer
free one is supplied on the WazzapMigrator website, and (siliconchip.com.au/link/aawr)
it also has links to others. • iCareFone - WhatsApp Transfer, Backup & Restore
You then connect your Android phone to your PC or (siliconchip.com.au/link/aaws)
Mac and copy these two files to the Download folder on
the phone. You first uninstall WhatsApp from your phone There are other reported methods which appear to be
if it is installed. Then you install WazzapMigrator from the more complicated.
Google Play Store onto the phone. You can read the official WhatsApp FAQ on the subject
When you run that App, it should find the iPhone backup (siliconchip.com.au/link/aawt) which states “Note: You can’t
files in the Download directory of the phone and you then migrate your messages across different types of phone”. SC

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  39

Dramatically improve performance of SDR – especially at HF

Tunable by Charles Kosina

HF Preamplifier
with Gain
Control
There are many cheap Software Defined Radio
(SDR) modules available which perform brilliantly at VHF/UHF but they
generally have poor HF (3-30MHz) performance. They also suffer from wide-open
front ends, which makes them susceptible to cross-modulation from strong signal
sources. This simple tunable preamplifier greatly improves SDR HF performance.
It has (optional) gain control and can run off a 5V supply or phantom power.

M
ost SDRs (and many other nector CON1, then to the PCB via pin The Mosfet’s gain is controlled by
radio receivers) can benefit header CON2 and onto DPDT switch varying the DC voltage on the second
from a preamp to boost the S1, which passes it to one of two trans- gate, using potentiometer VR1 which
signal from the antenna. formers. This provides two different has padder resistors at either end, to
This one is nice and simple, low in tuning ranges, allowing the tuning to limit its wiper voltage to the useful
cost, easy to build and works well over be more selective. range.
most of the HF range. T1 covers a range of about 5-11MHz, Fixed gain can be provided by
It can be built with variable or fixed while T2 covers 11-24MHz. Both are omitting VR1 and changing the resis-
gain. Variable gain is ideal as it allows tuned by dual variable capacitor VC1, tor values, as described in the circuit
you to avoid overload on strong sig- with its two gangs wired in parallel to diagram.
nals, while still taking advantage of give a 6-200pF range. Q1’s drain load is the primary of
the improved selectivity of a tuned The tuned signal is then fed to gate transformer T3, with a 1.25mH in-
front end. 1 of dual-gate Mosfet Q1. The signal is ductance. The other end connects to
It’s a fairly compact unit when com- DC-biased from the nominally +5V rail the +5V rail which is bypassed by a
pleted, and runs from a 5V power sup- via a 150kΩ resistor and 10nF low-pass 10nF capacitor. The 75µH secondary is
ply, which in some cases can come filter capacitor, to reject supply noise. connected similarly, and the signal is
from the receiver it- AC-coupled to out-
self via the Preamp’s put SMA connector
output lead, using
Features & specifications CON3 via another
‘phantom power’. Tuning range:....... 5-24MHz in two ranges (wider tuning range possible) 10nF capacitor.
The circuit of the Bandwidth:........... typically 50-250kHz (varies with tuned frequency) Alternatively, if
HF Preamp is shown the device is to be
in Fig.1. Gain:.................... typically 34-36dB phantom powered
The input signal Power supply:...... 5V DC @ 30mA via CON3, jumper
is fed into chassis- JP1 is inserted, al-
mount BNC con- Connectors:.......... BNC input, SMA output (can be varied) lowing the DC sup-

40    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 CON4
2
+
#0.5T IF T1 WOUND ON TOROIDAL CORE 1
1T IF T1 WOUND ON 2.2 H CHOKE R1 10nF 10nF
–
2.7k
22k OPTIONAL OPTIONAL
##0.5T IF T2 WOUND ON TOROIDAL CORE GAIN CONTROL 5V SUPPLY
2T IF T2 WOUND ON 2.2 H CHOKE A
(REMOVE JP1)
VR1*
LED1  100k T3
^13T SECONDARY IF T1 WOUND ON TOROID
22T SECONDARY IF T2 WOUND ON TOROID 10nF
K Q1 1.25mH
R2
BF1105 CON3
22k 75 H 10nF
G2 D
T1 S1b COILCRAFT
G1
S1a 2.2 H
PWB-16-AL
S 16:1
0.5-1T# (13T^)
JP1
CON1 (FIT ONLY WHEN
CON2
2 VC1a VC1b SUPPLYING
150k 3-142pF 3-60pF PHANTOM POWER
1
T2 VIA CON3)

10 H
0.5-2T## (22T^)
* IF GAIN CONTROL IS NOT NEEDED,
SHORT ALL PINS OF VR1 & CHANGE
VALUES OF R1 TO 100k, R2 TO 150k
10nF
LED BF1105
G2(3)
G1(4) D(2)
SC
20 1 9 TUNABLE HF PREAMPLIFIER A
K
S(1)

Fig.1: the circuit is quite simple, especially given its performance. It has a gain of around 35dB and a tuning range up
to about 24MHz as shown (but can be extended to about 30MHz). VC1 a and b is a miniature dual variable capacitor,
typically sold as a tuning capacitor for small radio receivers.

ply voltage to flow through T3’s sec- ics can be purchased from Digi-key, through-hole components, and none
ondary and into the +5V rail. This is Mouser, element14 etc. of the parts on this board are difficult
then modulated with the output signal to solder.
which is coupled in from T3’s primary. Changing the frequency range Start by fitting the SMD passives.
If you changed the 2.2µH inductor Tack one end down, then solder the
Two versions to 1µH, that would give you a tuning other end and wait for the joint to so-
You can build the device in two dif- range of about 12-30MHz, giving you lidify before refreshing the first joint.
ferent versions. Version 1 has T1 & T2 almost full coverage of the HF band. If Then mount dual-gate Mosfet Q1 with
wound on toroidal ferrite cores. These building Version 1, with the toroidal its larger tab orientated as shown above,
are not that easy to get, and winding ferrite cores, this could be achieved followed by transformer T3, with its
the turns it tedious, but they have the by reducing the number of secondary pin 1 dot at upper left.
advantage of a very high unloaded Q, windings on T1 by about one third. If Follow with edge-mount connector
up to 350. building version 2, using RF chokes, CON3, which is placed over the edge
Version 2 is easier to build as T1 & simply substitute a 1µH choke. of the board before soldering its pins
T2 are based on readily-obtainable ax- top and bottom. Make sure the mid-
ial RF inductors, which are each about Construction dle contact pin is on the correct side
the size of a 1W resistor. The Tunable HF preamp is built on to match with its pad. Then fit the pin
The primary winding is just one or a double-sided PCB coded CSE190502, headers where shown.
two turns of wire around the induc- measuring 79.5 x 29mm. Refer to the If you are building Version 1, now is
tor body. These inductors exhibit a overlay diagram, Fig.2, along with the the time to wind and mount the toroidal
surprisingly high Q, up to 120 in the photos to see how it all goes together. transformers. T1 has a half-turn for its
range of interest. Fig.2(a) shows Version 1, with T1 primary (best fitted after the secondary
& T2 wound on ferrite toroidal cores, has already been soldered to the board)
Obtaining the parts while Fig.2(b) shows Version 2, us- and 13 equally-spaced turns for its sec-
The output transformer is a broad- ing the RF chokes with turns of wire ondary. Try to wind the secondary so
band Coilcraft device. I got mine as a around the outside of each to make that it spans just over half the core,
free sample, but they are also readily them into transformers. meaning the start and end correspond
available from element14. The tun- We used 0.25mm insulated wire but with the PCB pads (see photos).
ing capacitor comes from Jaycar and enamelled copper (ENCU) wire would T2 also has a half-turn primary but a
many other sources, including eBay. also be satisfactory. 22-turn secondary, which is wound to
The SMA output connector is readily Many of the components are SMDs, cover the entire circumference of the
available on eBay, with one local seller with 2012 (metric) / 0805 (imperial) core (not shown for clarity in Fig.2(a);
listing ten for $6.59. capacitors and 3216 (metric) / 1206 see the photo) and then brought back
The other components are reason- (imperial) resistors. across the core to terminate to the other
ably standard parts. Those which are I find that an SMD board now takes secondary pad on the PCB.
not available from Jaycar or Altron- me less time to assemble than one with Once you’ve wound the secondaries

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  41

 (LED1 MOUNTED OTHER SIDE) The same-size photo
LED1
0.5T
A
2.7k
R3
below shows version
T1
NC1 S1 VC1
VR1 22k
R5
2, with the enlarged
GND
TO RCA
SOCKET
NC2 13T 22k
10nF CON3 inset at left showing
10nF
MIDDLE
COM1
COM2
NO2
T3
how the one and
PIN Q1
NO1 T2
0.5T
10nF
two-turn primary
10nF JP1
10nF
windings are added.
22T 150k
The PCB pads for
CSE190502 CON4
the “earthy” end of
– +
T1, T2 WIRE: 0.25mm ENCU (OR INSULATED)
(LED1
MOUNTED OTHER SIDE)
the primaries are
LED1
2.7k
directly under the
T1
A
VR1
R3 2.2µH and 10µH
22k
NC1 S1 VC1 R5
22k
GND chokes.
TO RCA NC2 2.2 µH CON3
SOCKET 10nF
WITH 1T PRIMARY 10nF T3
MIDDLE COM2
PIN COM1 NO2 Q1
NO1 T2 10nF
10nF JP1
10nF
10 µH 150k
WITH 2T PRIMARY
CSE190502 CON4
– +

Fig.2a (top) is the component overlay for version 1, using

two toroids for T1 and T2 with primaries and secondaries
wound through them. Fig.2b (bottom) shows version 2, an
identical overlay but using axial RF chokes instead, with
primaries of one or two turns of thin wire around them.

and soldered them to the PCB pads, the outside, from the top of the box Final assembly
you can solder one end of each near CON3, and mark where the hole The last component to be fitted to
primary, pull it tight across the core and will need to be drilled. Remove the the board is the LED. It’s mounted on
then trim it and solder the other end. PCB and drill a small hole there, then the opposite side to most of the other
If you’re building Version 2, you just enlarge it to 7mm. components, and its longer lead must
need to wind one turn of 0.25mm wire Check that the connector fits through face towards the pad marked “A” on
(ENCU or insulated) around the body of the hole with the spacers sitting on the PCB.
the 2.2µH inductor and fit it for T1 as the bottom of the box. If so, deburr it. Push its leads through their holes
shown, with the added windings as the Otherwise, you may have to enlarge it so that the lens is fully down onto the
primary, and wind two turns around the slightly. Once it fits, drill a small hole PCB, then slot the board in place hold-
10µH inductor and use it as T2; again, at the opposite end of the box and en- ing the leads, and use them to push the
the added windings are the primary. large it to around 10mm, then check LED lens through its mounting hole
If you’re using a trimpot for VR1, fit that the BNC socket fits. Once it does, while CON3 is hard against the edge
it now. If you want the gain to be exter- deburr that hole too and again, clean of the case.
nally adjustable, solder leads onto the out the swarf. Prop the board up so that the LED
three terminals of your chosen poten- Now remove the spacers from the lens is not being pushed back into
tiometer and attach a three-pin plug to PCB, push CON3 through the hole you the hole, attach a couple of the board
the other end. Alternatively (and more drilled and mark out the four mounting mounting screws to ensure it’s in posi-
simply), cut female-female jumper hole positions. Also mark the location tion, then solder and trim LED1’s leads.
leads in half and solder the exposed where LED1 will protrude through the After that, insert the remainder of the
ends to the pot terminals. The sockets base, once it has been installed, and PCB mounting screws.
at the other end can be plugged into mark a suitable location for the DPDT Mount the BNC socket in the hole
the PCB header later. switch. Note that a 5mm LED will have you made earlier and solder a short
Now fit the variable capacitor. Re- to clear the PCB once fitted. length of hookup wire to its middle pin.
move the knob first, then attach the Drill the marked holes to 3mm, then Connect this wire to the lower termi-
body to the PCB using the two supplied enlarge the LED hole to 5mm, and the nal of CON2, to the left of the header
screws through from the underside. switch hole until the switch fits. Deburr for S1, as shown in Figs.2(a) & (b). You
Solder the three pins, then re-attach the all the holes and clean off the swarf. don’t need to connect the RCA socket
knob to the shaft, which passes through If you’re building the Preamp with an shield, as it’s grounded to the metal box
a hole in the PCB. external gain control, now is also a and this connects to board ground via
Leave LED1 off for now. good time to figure out where the pot CON3’s shell.
will be mounted and drill and deburr All that’s left now is to wire up and
Preparing the case a suitable hole. fit switch S1. Crimp a length of 6-way
Now place the PCB assembly in the If you are going to be supplying exter- ribbon cable into the IDC connector
case, sitting on its spacers, and slide it nal power, drill a hole for the DC socket shell, so that the red wire will be to-
so that CON3 touches the side of the now. It would make sense to move the wards the top when plugged into the
case. Measure the distance from the BNC socket slightly towards one side header on the board such that the cable
centre of CON3 to the top of the box. of the case to make more room for the exits to the left (ie, towards the nearest
Then measure that same distance on DC socket. board edge).

42    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Now separate and strip the wires
at the other end. Starting with the red Parts list – Tunable HF Preamp
wire, solder them to the following
1 double-sided PCB, code CSE190502, 79.5 x 29mm
switch terminals: NC1, NC2, COM1,
1 diecast aluminium case, 115 x 65 x 30mm [Jaycar HB5036, Altronics H0421]
COM2, NO1, NO2. In this case, the
1 BF1105 dual-gate SMD Mosfet (Q1)
numbers 1 and 2 refer to the two switch
1 5mm or 3mm LED (LED1)
poles. It doesn’t matter which is 1 and
2 small toroidal ferrite cores, 12.5mm OD, 7.5mm ID, 5mm thick (T1/T2) [eg, TDK
which is 2, as long as you are consist-
B64290A0044X830] OR
ent. It also doesn’t matter which side of
2 axial RF chokes, 2.2µH & 10µH [Jaycar LF1514 + LF1522, Altronics L7014 + L7022]
the switch you consider to be NC and
1 Coilcraft PWB-16-AL transformer (T3) [element14]
which is NO.
1 chassis-mount BNC socket (CON1)
Once the wires have been soldered
1 edge-mount SMA socket (CON3)
and the switch mounted in the base,
3 2-pin headers (CON2,CON4,JP1)
plug the IDC socket into the header as
1 chassis-mount DC socket (optional)
shown in the photos.
1 shorting block/jumper shunt (for JP1)
If using a DC socket to feed in exter-
1 DPDT toggle or slide switch (S1)
nal power, solder wires to its two tabs;
1 3-pin header (for VR1)
if your socket has three tabs, plug in a
1 3x2-pin header (for S1)
plugpack and use a DMM to figure out
4 6.3mm Nylon M3 tapped spacers
which is positive and which is nega-
8 M3 x 6mm machine screws
tive. Mount the socket in the hole you
1 1m length of 0.25mm diameter enamelled copper or insulated wire
made earlier, then terminate the leads
1 1m length of light-duty hookup wire
to CON4, either by soldering them di-
1 50mm length of 6-way ribbon cable (for S1)
rectly to its pins (see PCB for polarity)
1 6-pin IDC socket (for S1)
or by attaching a two-way header socket
to the wires. Capacitors
As with the pot, you can cut a female- 5 10nF 50V SMD ceramic capacitors, 2012/0805 size, X7R dielectric
female jumper lead in half and then sol- 1 dual variable capacitor (VC1) [Jaycar RV5728]
der its bare ends to the DC socket. The
Resistors (all SMD 3216/1206 size, 1%)
other ends will plug straight into CON4.
1 150kΩ 2 22kΩ* 1 2.7kΩ
Alternatively, if using phantom power
1 100kΩ linear chassis-mount potentiometer (VR1) OR
from the radio receiver via CON3, place
1 100kΩ multi-turn vertical trimpot (VR1)
a jumper shunt on JP1 now.
If you’re fitting an external gain con- * or 1 100kΩ + 1 150kΩ for fixed gain (omit VR1 & 3-pin header)
trol pot, mount this now, and plug its
terminals into the pin header soldered the lid onto the box, connecting your lights. Switch to your SDR’s spectrum
in place of VR1. The lead soldered to antenna to CON1, your radio to CON3, analyser view and set the range to
the anti-clockwise end of the pot (as hooking up a 5V power supply (if us- 3-30MHz. Check that adjusting VC1
viewed from the front) plugs into the ing external power), and switching S1 changes which frequencies are being
left-most terminal of the VR1 header, to the appropriate band. You may wish amplified, and that VR1 (if fitted) al-
with the PCB viewed right-side-up. to label the case to indicate which po- lows you to control the gain. Check
sition is for the lower tuning range and also that S1 switches bands and that
Using it which is for the upper. the two ranges are roughly as expected.
Now it’s just a matter of screwing With power applied, check that LED1 As VC1 is not calibrated, you will
need to use a spectrum dis-
play to see what frequency
you are tuning in, although
you can ‘blind tune’ by sim-
ply adjusting VC1 and S1 for
maximum signal at your de-
sired frequency.
Then adjust VR1 (if fitted)
for the best reception with-
out overloading the receiver.

Shown a little larger than

life size, this is the complet-
ed PCB (in this case version
1 with toroids) mounted in
the diecast case. S1 is shown
here mounted off the board
but the Altronics S2075 slide
switch could probably be
mounted directly. SC

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  43

A Complete
Arduino DCC
Controller
Digital Command Control (DCC) is a great way to control multiple trains
on a model railway layout. Unfortunately, commercial DCC systems can
be quite expensive. Here we present an Arduino-compatible Controller
shield that can form the basis of a DCC system. It can also be used as a
DCC booster or even as a high-current DC motor driver.

by Tim Blythman

Y
ou can put together this DCC au/Article/11261). Since then, we have which is the final piece of the puzzle.
controller, which incorporates had numerous requests for a DCC Base Adding this (and an appropriate
a base station and optionally Station or Booster. power supply) to the Programmer, in
also a programmer, for a fraction of Therefore, we have conjuction with DCC-capable locos,
the price of a commercial unit. created this DCC results in a complete DCC system.
Combine it with a PC, and you have Power shield, As this is an Arduino-based pro-
a potent and flexible model railway ject, the following description as-
control system. sumes that you are familiar with
It’s based on the Ar- the Arduino IDE (Integrated
duino platform, and it’s Development Environ-
easy to build. You can ment).
also add boosters to To download the
the system easily, just free IDE software, go
by building a few more to siliconchip.com.
shield boards. au/link/aatq
DCC is still the ‘state-
of-the-art’ in terms of off- A complete DCC
control system can
the-shelf model railway
be made by adding a
systems, so if you have Uno board and the DCC
a model railway layout Programmer Shield
but don’t have a DCC (which we described in
system (or have a DCC the October 2018 issue) to the
system that’s inadequate DCC Power Shield, as shown here.
for your needs), now is the Fit the DCC Programmer Shield with
time to upgrade! stackable headers, so it can be sandwiched
We published an Arduino-based between the other two boards, and take care
DCC Programmer for Decoders in our that nothing shorts out between the adjacent
boards. You may need to trim some of the pins on
October 2018 issue (siliconchip.com.
the underside of the DCC Power Shield.
44    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
 Two locos, one track –
but both are under individual control of
the DCC system. As you can just see, the loco in front
even has its headlight on – also switched on or off at will via DCC.
Want more than two trains? DCC has up to 10,000 addresses available!

We are using version 1.8.5 of the receives commands and also rectifies tem. Typically it receives commands
IDE for this project, and suggest that the AC track voltage to produce DC. from attached throttles controlled by
if you have an older version installed, The decoder then uses this to drive people, or perhaps a computer. These
that you upgrade it now. the motor and can also control lights, commands then dictate what DCC data
sound effects (like a horn or engine) needs to be sent to the trains to con-
What is DCC? or even a smoke generator. trol them.
We went into a bit of detail on There are also accessory decoders The Base Station generates a con-
DCC in the DCC Programmer article, which can be used to control things tinuous stream of DCC data packets to
so we’ll only cover the basics here. such as points and signals using the control and update all trains, signals
If you want to learn more, read the same DCC signals. and points as needed.
aforementioned article from October The DCC standard is produced by A Booster is a simple device which
2018, and possibly the article describ- the National Model Railroad Associa- takes a low-level DCC signal and pro-
ing DCC in detail from February 2012 tion (based in the USA; see siliconchip. duces a DCC signal of sufficient power
(siliconchip.com.au/Article/769). com.au/link/aaww). These standards to drive a set of tracks. Many smaller
DCC is designed to allow multiple are available for download, which DCC systems consist of a single unit
model trains to be controlled on a sin- means that anyone can use them. As which combines a Base Station with
gle track, with the same set of tracks a result, many different manufactur- a Booster, while larger systems might
carrying power for the trains and also ers are making DCC-compatible equip- have separate units, including multi-
digital control commands. ment. ple Boosters.
Older command controls systems Our Base Station will work with Our DCC Power Shield works as
exist; we detailed the construction many commercially-available decod- a Booster. An attached and properly
of one such system (in five parts!) in ers. There is a vast array of manufac- programmed Arduino board can be
1998. This was named the Protopower turers of DCC equipment, so we can used as the Base Station smarts, thus
16, and it was based on another system only test a small subset. All of those creating a basic DCC system in a sin-
called CTC16. This worked similarly we have tested have worked well, as gle unit. Extra DCC Power Shields can
to the system used to control multiple should be expected from a proper ap- be deployed as separate Boosters, with
servo motors on model aircraft. plication of the standard. an Arduino attached to monitor each
But that system was limited to 16 and check for faults.
locomotives, while Digital Command Terminology When programmed with the DCC++
Control has around 10,000 addresses A Base Station in DCC terminology software, the Arduino board and DCC
available; probably well beyond the is, essentially, the brains of the sys- Power Shield can be combined with
scope of most model railroads (and
many full-scale railroads too!).
The most basic method of model
Features & specifications
train control is for a single throttle • Based on the Arduino Uno
to apply a variable DC voltage to the • Provides a DCC output of 12-22V peak at up to 10A, or more with some changes
track, which drives the train’s motor • Can operate as a base station or booster
directly. Instead, a DCC base station • Compatible with DCC++ and JMRI (DecoderPro/PanelPro) software
delivers a high-frequency square wave
• Opto-isolated input for use as DCC slave
to the track. The base station encodes
binary control data into this signal by • Works with our DCC Programmer shield from the October 2018 issue
varying the width of each pulse (see • Can also be used as a brushed motor driver
Fig.1). • All Arduino pin assignments configurable via jumpers
A digital decoder on each vehicle
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  45
 “1" BIT “0" BIT
Fig.1: the DCC waveform
of these, one driving each side of the
+12V is a square wave with a track. They are supplied with out-of-
to
frequency around 5-8kHz. phase input signals to produce the re-
+22V
Binary data to control quired alternating output drive.
trains, signals, points etc is Their supply pins (pins 1 & 7) are
encoded in the pulse connected directly across the incoming
0V TIME widths. The BTN8962TA DC supply from CON1, labelled VIN.
ICs we’re using are ideally A 100µF electrolytic capacitor by-
suited to delivering such a passes this supply. While this may
–12V
signal at up to 10A or more. seem like a low value to use, the cur-
to See the panel “How DCC
–22V works” on pages 44 & 45 of
rent drawn by IC1 and IC2 is quite
58 s 58 s 100 s 100 s
the October 2018 issue for steady as when one output goes high,
SC more information. at the same time, the other goes low.
2020
The outputs of IC1 and IC2 connect to
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 A A A A A A A A 0D D D D D D D D0 C C C C C C C C 1 screw terminal CON2, and then onto
the tracks.
PREAMBLE ADDRESS DATA CHECKSUM
The state of the IN pins (pin 2) de-
START BIT START BIT START BIT END PACKET BIT termines whether the output pins (4 &
8) are driven high or low. The SR in-
our earlier DCC Programming Shield top power supply can provide, you put pin controls the output slew rate.
to create a compact, economical and will need to find a dedicated power We’ve tied this to ground to
fully-featured DCC system. supply in the 12-22V range. Many suit- give the fastest possible slew rate.
able high-power ‘open frame’ switch- The “INH” pins (pin 3) need to be
Power source mode supplies are available from vari- brought high to enable the outputs.
A DC power source is needed to ous suppliers. These are connected together and have
run the DCC Power Shield. The DCC One thing to note is that while some a 100kΩ pull-down resistor so that the
standards suggest that Boosters should Arduino boards (including genuine outputs default to off.
produce 12V-22V peak, so your cho- boards) can tolerate up to 20V on their The enable signal connects back to
sen power source needs a regulated VIN inputs, some clones use lower-rat- an Arduino pin via a 10kΩ resistor
DC output in this range. ed voltage regulators which can only and jumper JP1, allowing the Ardui-
For modest current requirements handle 15V. no to enable or disable the outputs as
(up to around 5A), a laptop power We have provided an option for a required. JP1 lets any Arduino digital
supply is a good choice. Many of these zener diode to help manage this vari- pin connect to the enable signal, to
have a nominal 19V DC output at sev- ation; read on for more information on suit the software used.
eral amps. Any fully DCC-compatible how the circuit works. The IS pins (pin 6) on IC1 and IC2
trains and decoders should handle this are outputs that source a current pro-
fine, but it’s worth checking any that DCC Power Shield circuit portional to the current being drawn
you aren’t sure about. The circuit of the DCC Power Shield from the output of each IC (plus a
Decoders are supposed to work is shown in Fig.2. Its key function is to small offset current, which is compen-
down to around 7V. Given that the turn a steady DC voltage into a DCC- sated for in software). These currents
track, wiring and locomotives are modulated square wave. For this, we are combined in a ‘diode-OR’ circuit
bound to drop some voltage, a 12V need a full H-bridge driver. To keep it formed by diodes D1 & D2 and then fed
‘power brick’ type supply works well simple, we have used a pair of BTN8962 to a 1kΩ resistor to convert the com-
enough for driving trains. However, half-bridge driver ICs (IC1 and IC2). bined current into a voltage.
we found that this sometimes wasn’t The BTN8962 comes in a TO-263-7 This then passes to an RC low-pass
enough to allow decoder program- package, which is a surface-mounting filter (20kΩ/100nF) for smoothing. The
ming to occur. part, although quite a large one. It is 2ms time constant means that peaks in
If you need more current than a lap- not difficult to solder. There are two the current due to the rapidly changing

The three PCBs which make up the DCC system:

on the left is a “standard” Arduino UNO board (or one of its
many clones); centre is the optional DCC Programmer (from our
October 2018 issue) while at right is the DCC Power Booster Shield.
All three boards are made to conveniently plug together.

46    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 POWER IN VIN VIN
2
100 F IC1 7 BTN8962TA
1 +5V
35V D1 1N4148 VS

CON1 K A 6 IS
100nF 5 SR
OPTO1 6N137 OUT 4,8
CONTROL
2.2k 1 8 330 LOGIC
2 IN
DCC IN
K 2 7 C 3 INH
2
+  Q1 DCC
1
D3 6 GND
1N4148 3 10k B BC549 OUT
E 1 1
A
CON3 4 5
10k
ENABLE VIN
1k 2
IC2 7 BTN8962TA
D2 1N4148
K A
VS CON2
6 IS
5 SR
ENABLE 1k CONTROL OUT 4,8
10k LOGIC
DIR 2 IN
3

JP3
ENABLE INH

JP1

OPTO
1k 100k GND

DIR 1

DIR

LEDS BC549
GND

D1/TXD
D7
D8

D3/PWM
SDA

D10/SS
D13/SCK

D4/PWM

D2/PWM
D12/MISO
D11/MOSI

D0/RXD
D9/PWM
SCL

D6/PWM
D5/PWM
AREF

USB +5V
TYPE B B
MICRO K
E C
+5V 1k A
ICSP LED2
K  A 1N4148 ZD1
1

ARDUINO UNO,
DUINOTECH CLASSIC,
4
3

ENABLE A
FREETRONICS ELEVEN LED1 A
VIN
5

OR COMPATIBLE A  K K K

DC VOLTS
INPUT
1k 6N137 BTN8962TA
A4/SDA
A5/SCL

8
+3.3V
RESET

GND
GND
+5V

+5V

20k
VIN

A0
A1
A2
A3

8 4 7
1 4
1

JP2
Fig.2: as with many Arduino shields, the
ISENSE circuit’s smarts are on the Arduino itself. The
A
100nF
shield consists primarily of two integrated
ZD1
(OPTIONAL)
half-bridge drivers (IC1 & IC2), a transistor
K inverter (Q1), a high-speed optocoupler for
+5V feeding in external DCC signals (OPTO1), two
LEDs for status monitoring and some headers
SC
2020 DCC CONTROLLER/BOOSTER to allow the Arduino pin mappings to be
changed if necessary.

DCC signal are ignored, but faults can duino digital outputs via a 10kΩ se- voltage’ (12-22V) signal from another
still be detected quickly. The resulting ries resistor. Once again, any Arduino DCC system.
smoothed voltage is fed to one of the digital pin can be used, and this too The signal at CON3 passes through a
Arduino analog input pins via jumper is selected by a jumper shunt on JP1. 2.2kΩ series resistor and into the LED
JP2, to allow the Arduino to monitor A simple inverter circuit produces of OPTO1. 1N4148 diode D3 is con-
the track current. the out-of-phase signal to drive the IN nected in reverse across this LED, to
JP2 allows any of the Arduino pin of IC1. The signal that goes to pin protect it from high reverse voltages.
analog inputs to be used to monitor 2 of IC2 is also fed to the base of NPN If a logic-level DCC signal is applied
track current, again allowing us to transistor Q1 via a 1kΩ resistor. Q1’s to CON3, then the polarity markings
choose whichever pin suits the Ar- collector is pulled up by a 10kΩ resis- need to be observed, as current will
duino software. tor to the ENABLE line. So as long as only flow through OPTO1 when the
The IS pins will also source current ENABLE is high, meaning the outputs voltage at pin 2 is high. A bipolar
if IC1 or IC2 detect an internal fault of IC1 and IC2 are active, input pin 2 DCC signal can be connected either
condition; as far as the software is con- of IC1 is inverted compared to input way around.
cerned, this is equivalent to a very high pin 2 of IC2. OPTO1 is a 6N137 high-speed opto-
current being drawn from the output isolator which has a nominal forward
and is treated the same way. Opto-isolated input current of 10mA. Thus the 2.2kΩ resis-
To allow a separate base station to tor is suitable for voltages up to around
Bridge driving signals be used, an optoisolated input is pro- 22V, ie, the maximum expected from
The input signal to pin 2 of IC2 vided at CON3. This can accept a log- a DCC system.
comes from another one of the Ar- ic-level DCC signal, or even a ‘track The output of OPTO1 is supplied

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  47

 AREF
Fig.3: the seven-pin half-

<OPTO
+DC IN–
bridge driver ICs are

#11
13
12
SCL SDA GND

#10

1
#9

7
#6
#5
4
#3

0
DIR DIGITAL TX RX
100mF mounted on the left, near
CON1

IC2 BTN8962 JP1 the power input (CON1) and

track (CON2) terminals.

DCC IN
ENABLE

+ – CON3
100kW
LED1 LED2
1kW 1kW The jumper positions shown
1kW K A
1kW here are those required to
D2

109207181
use both the open-source

8170290
1

4148 330W
IC1 BTN8962 10kW DCC++ software and our

1kW
100nF

OPTO1
6N137
20kW example sketches.

2.2kW
D1
4148 The jumpers are mostly

D3
10kW Q1
handy if you want to use
ZD1
1

ANALOG

4148
DCC OUT this shield as a DC motor

1
10kW

JP2
100nF
DCC POWER driver, so that you can
RESET
3V3
CON2

SHIELD 5V GND VIN A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5

09207181
Rev F
SC connect the required
Ó2020
functions to PWM pins.

with 5V from the Arduino board, by- For example, for 22V into CON1, driver, which is usually kept connect-
passed by a 100nF capacitor. A 330Ω ZD1 can be an 8.2V type, so 13.8V is ed to the layout.
pull-up resistor sets the logic high fed to the Arduino VIN pin. A 1W, 8.2V For this reason, you may wish to
level. zener diode can pass up to 120mA, have the DCC Power Shield and Oc-
The output from OPTO1’s pin 6 is which should be enough to power the tober 2018 DCC Programmer shield
fed via a 1kΩ protection resistor to Arduino and any connected shields. plugged into the same Arduino. The
jumper JP3. This allows the DCC sig- We’ve left enough space to fit a 5W DCC++ software is designed to han-
nal to be fed directly to the input of zener diode if you need more current dle this.
bridge drivers IC1 & IC2. than that, although if you’re going to be However, this does complicate the
In this case, a jumper on JP1 can be applying less than 22V to CON1, you power supply arrangements a bit.
used to feed the same signal to one could also use a lower voltage zener, Firstly, the DCC Programmer shield
of the Arduino’s digital pins, which which could then pass more current has a maximum supply voltage of 15V,
would then be configured as an input. before reaching its 1W limit. so regardless of the type of Arduino
Due to the open-collector output of For situations where the voltage on board you are using, you will need to
OPTO1, this signal is inverted com- CON1 is suitable for direct connec- ensure that the VIN pin is no higher
pared to that applied to CON3. tion to VIN (typically under 15V for than 15V.
But this can be solved simply by re- clones or 20V for genuine Arduino Also, in this case, it would be best
versing the connections from CON2 to boards), then a wire link can be fitted to build the DCC Programmer shield
the tracks. in place of ZD1. without the MT3608 boost module,
This reversibility of the DCC signal However, it would still be a good and fit the jumper shunt on CON8
is a necessary feature, as a locomotive idea to fit a low voltage zener (eg, 3.3V) between pins 1 and 2, so that the
may be placed on the track either way as this will reduce the dissipation in VIN supply is used for programming
and must be able to work with an in- the Arduino’s regulator. Just make sure power.
verted signal. that the voltage fed to the Arduino’s The DCC Programmer shield can
The only time this matters is when VIN pin will not drop below 7V. draw up to 200mA from VIN, so the
different boosters feed two adjoining If you aren’t sure whether your dissipation of ZD1 will increase sub-
tracks. In that case, you will need to Arduino can handle more than 15V, stantially. You will need to choose
make sure that the signals are in-phase. check the onboard regulator. It’s usu- its value carefully, or use a 5W zener.
ally in an SOT-223 three-pin SMD Another option, if the system will
Other features package with a hefty tab. always be connected to a computer, is
Status LEDs LED1 & LED2 are con- Genuine Arduino Uno boards usu- to build the DCC Programmer Shield
nected to the ENABLE signal with 1kΩ ally have an NCP1117 regulator, rated with the MT3608 boost module and fit
current-limiting resistors to GND and to handle up to 20V. Clones often have it below the DCC Power Shield, then
5V respectively. an AMS1117 instead, which is only leave out ZD1 from the Power Shield.
So if ENABLE is high, green LED1 rated to 15V. The DCC Programmer Shield will
lights up, and if it’s low, red LED2 If ZD1 is left off, the supplies are then be powered from the computer’s
lights up instead. If ENABLE is high- separate (although their grounds will 5V USB supply, while the DCC Pow-
impedance, such as when the Arduino be connected). This allows the Ardui- er Shield is still powered via CON1.
is in reset, neither LED lights. A sin- no to be powered via its USB connec-
gle bi-colour LED could be fitted ei- tor, eg, from a controlling computer. Construction
ther for LED1 or LED2 to achieve the The DCC Power Shield is built on
same effect. DCC Programming a double-sided PCB in a typical Ar-
If fitted, ZD1 feeds DC from CON1 Many DCC Base Stations have a duino shield shape, coded 09207181
to the VIN input of the Arduino board. separate output for programming de- and measuring 68.5 x 55mm. Use the
Its value is chosen to limit the Arduino coders. overlay diagram, Fig.3, as a guide dur-
input voltage to a safe level at the max- In other words, programming is not ing construction.
imum expected voltage from CON1. done via the main high-current output Start by fitting IC1 and IC2. As you

48    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

can see, although these are surface-
mounting components, they are quite Parts list – Arduino DCC Controller
large. Because of this, and the fact that 1 Arduino Uno or equivalent
they sit on large copper pours, it will 1 12-22V DC high-current supply (see text)
require quite a bit of heat to make good 1 double-sided PCB coded 09207181, 68.5mm x 55mm
solder joints. 1 set of Arduino headers, standard male or stackable (1 x 6-way, 2 x 8-way, 1 x 10-way)
Flux paste and solder braid (wick) 2 2-way 5/5.08mm pitch PCB-mount screw terminals (CON1,CON2)
will come in handy, as will tweezers. [Jaycar HM3172, Altronics P2032B]
Apply some flux paste to the pads first, 2 15-way pin headers (JP1,JP3)
to make soldering easier. 1 14-way pin header (JP1)
Working on one at a time, start by 2 6-way pin headers (JP2)
tacking one of the end pins in place 4 jumper shunts/shorting blocks
to locate the device.
Once you are happy that each is Semiconductors
centrally located within the footprint, 2 BTN8962TA half-bridge drivers, TO263-7 (IC1,IC2) [Digi-key, Mouser]
load some solder on the tip of your 1 6N137 high-speed optoisolator, DIP-8 (OPTO1)
iron and apply it to each of the smaller 1 BC549 100mA NPN transistor (Q1)
pads. Ensure that the resulting solder 1 green 3mm LED (LED1)
fillets are solid. 1 red 3mm LED (LED2)
Use the solder braid to remove any 1 1W or 5W zener diode to suit your situation (ZD1; see text)
solder bridges. The two end pins, num- 3 1N4148 signal diodes (D1-D3)
bers 1 and 7, are ground and power Capacitors
respectively. It’s a good idea to add a 1 100µF 35V electrolytic
bit of extra solder to these pins to help 2 100nF MKT
with current and heat handling.
Finally, solder the large tab of each Resistors (all 1/4W 1% metal film)
device. Hold the iron tip at the point 1 100kΩ 1 20kΩ 3 10kΩ 1 2.2kΩ 5 1kΩ 1 330Ω
where the tab meets the pad on the
PCB. Heat the pad until it melts sol-
der applied to it. Feed in solder un- tion shown. Carefully bend the pins to ers for JP1-JP3, snapped to length and
til a rounded, but not bulging fillet is allow it to fit into the PCB pads and soldered side-by-side for JP1 and JP2.
formed and allow it to cool. solder it in place. If you are snapping 40-way headers
Next, fit the 12 resistors. The PCB to do this, you will need at least two.
silkscreen is marked with the values, Headers Rather than fitting JP3 as a separate
and you should check these match The various headers should be fit- two-way header, you can make the top
with a multimeter as they are fitted, ted next. Note that if you already know two rows of JP1 longer by one pin (ie,
to ensure they are the correct value. which Arduino pins will be used for 15 pins rather than 14).
Solder close to the PCB, then trim the the DIR, ENABLE and ISENSE signals The last step in the construction is
leads close to the underside. and they will not change, you could to fit the two screw terminals to CON1
Then install the three small 1N4148 omit JP1-JP3 and fit wire links in their and CON2, with their wire entry holes
diodes (D1-D3) where shown in Fig.3, places. facing the outside edge of the board.
ensuring that they are correctly ori- To connect to the Arduino, you can Ensure that they are flat against the
entated use either regular headers or stackable PCB; this is particularly important
If fitting ZD1, do that now. Make sure headers. We recommend using the Ar- if you need to stack a shield above
that its cathode band faces towards the duino board as a jig to ensure that the this one.
top of the PCB. Then mount the rec- pins are square and flush to the PCB. You may need to trim the underside
tangular MKT capacitors, which are Stackable headers can be more of CON2, as this could foul the DC jack
not polarised. tricky to mount as they need to be of an attached Uno board. Similarly,
Now install NPN transistor Q1, with soldered from below. If possible, use the underside of CON1 comes close to
its body orientated as shown. You may those with 11mm-long pins (some that the metal shell of the USB connector
need to crank the leads out to fit the have 8mm pins, which don’t leave of an attached Uno.
PCB pads. Solder it in place, ensuring much room to solder). It’s a good idea to add a layer of
it is pushed down firmly against the Thread the headers through the electrical tape on top of the USB con-
PCB. If you plan to fit another shield shield and into the Arduino board. nector on the Arduino board, to make
above this one, then its top should not Flip the whole assembly over so that sure they can’t short if the boards flex.
be more than 10mm above the PCB. the shield is resting flat against the
The electrolytic capacitor should be pins, then solder the end pins of each Jumper settings
mounted on its side to allow another group in place to secure the headers. We suggest that you connect DIR to
board to be stacked above this one. Its You can then remove the shield from D10, ENABLE to D3 and ISENSE to
longer, positive lead must go in the pad the Arduino board and solder the re- A0, as shown in Figs.2 & 3. This suits
towards the top of the board as shown. maining pins in place, before retouch- our software. There are triangular silk-
Fit OPTO1 next. Check that its ing the end pins. screen markings on the PCB to indicate
notch or pin 1 dot faces in the direc- It’s easiest to use single-row pin head- the default jumper locations for JP1.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  49

To use the board as a DCC Booster with Alternatively, you can use JMRI. you open the serial monitor at 115,200
our supplied software, add a fourth We also covered this software in the baud, you will see a banner message;
jumper across JP3 at upper-right. previous article. JMRI can be down- this indicates that the Base Station
loaded from www.jmri.org/download/ software is working as expected.
Software index.shtml You can also interact with the Base
There are a few different ways this There are versions for macOS, Win- Station through serial commands. The
shield can be used, and each has its dows and Linux. It can even be run on protocol is detailed in the PDF file that
own software requirement. We’ll de- Raspberry Pi single-board computers. is included in the DCC++ Base Station
scribe a few of these possibilities. The Follow the installation instructions, project ZIP file.
following assumes that you have fitted including installing Java if necessary. Once you have tested this, close the
the jumpers to the default locations As we mentioned, our hardware is Serial monitor and open the Decoder-
described above. compatible with DCC++ in base sta- Pro program. Go to Edit -> Preferenc-
tion mode. es, and under Connections, choose
DCC++ There is more information, includ- DCC++ as System Manufacturer,
We mentioned the DCC++ software ing the required Arduino sketch, avail- DCC++ Serial Port as System connec-
in our October 2018 article. It is de- able for download from: https://github. tion. Ensure that the serial port setting
signed to work with either an Uno or com/DccPlusPlus/BaseStation matches that of the Uno.
Mega board; we paired it with the Uno This software is designed to work Save the settings and close Decoder-
previously, and the discussion in this with several commonly-available Ar- Pro, so that it can reload the new set-
article assumes the same. duino motor driver shields. But these tings. Re-open DecoderPro and under
The Uno is adequate to work with shields need some modifications to Edit -> Preferences, choose Defaults,
the JMRI (Java Model Railroad Inter- work, whereas our hardware only re- and ensure that the name of the new
face) software and will naturally cost quires the correct jumpers to be set. connection name is used for all con-
less than a Mega. The default setting in DCC++ for the nections (instead of “Internal”).
The DCC++ project also includes MOTOR_SHIELD_TYPE of ‘0’ will Unless you have other hardware you
a Processing-based GUI application work with our hardware. want to use, you should select DCC++
for your PC that can interface with Open the Arduino IDE, select the for all options.
the Base Station, although this has Uno board and its serial port via the Save, close and re-open Decoder-
been customised to work with a lay- menus and open the DCC++ Base Sta- Pro again. Click the red power but-
out belonging to the DCC++ software tion sketch that you’ve downloaded. ton in DecoderPro and ensure that
designer. Then upload the sketch to the Uno. If it turns green. The LED on the DCC
Power Shield should switch from red
to green.
The simplest way to drive trains is
to select Actions -> New Throttle, set
the locomotive address and manipu-
late the controls (see Screen1).

Screen2: while very basic, our standalone sketch named

Screen1: while JMRI’s DecoderPro program has many features, “DCC_Single_Loco_Control.ino” allows power, speed,
it also has a set of basic tools for controlling trains. This direction and lights to be controlled by commands in the
throttle window allows speed, direction and light functions to serial monitor. The software can be modified to control
be controlled. You can even switch track power directly; the multiple locos. Advanced Arduino users could use it as the
green icon at upper right mimics the status LEDs on the shield. basis of an automated layout control system.
50    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
 JMRI can do a lot of different things,
so we suggest you read its manual to Using the DCC Booster Shield as a motor driver
find out about its capabilities. The The DCC Booster Shield can be used as LED2 dimmer as the duty cycle increases.
JMRI project also includes PanelPro, a high-current motor driver shield. In this As noted earlier, the 100µF electrolyt-
which can be used to design track case, the signal on the DIR pin determines ic capacitor is adequate for a DCC appli-
and signal diagrams for controlling a the motor direction, and a pulse-width cation. A larger value may be needed for
model layout. modulated signal is applied to ENABLE to motor driving.
control the speed. We suggest leaving ZD1 off, as larger
Adding the DCC Programmer The BTN8962 has active freewheeling, motors will create hefty spikes at the end
If you have already built the DCC so no external diodes are needed. of each drive pulse.
Programmer, then the Arduino board If used like this, LED1 and LED2 will Keeping the two supply rails separate
is already programmed to work with both appear to be on at the same time, with will prevent this from damaging the Ar-
the DCC Power Shield, and the DCC green LED1 becoming brighter and red duino board.
Power Shield can be added to the
stack, ideally at the top.
As noted earlier, the choice of ze- sent, then the over-current condition owners transitioning to DCC from DC
ner diode and power supply will be re-occurs, power is cut again and the systems.
more complicated if you want to con- timer re-starts. Fortunately, the DC conversion
struct an all-in-one setup. Since this is The other condition we need to feature can be turned off in the de-
likely to be a smaller system, we sug- consider is if the incoming DCC sig- coder by setting a configuration vari-
gest that a modest power supply will nal is lost. This could be for any rea- able. You can use a DCC Programmer
be suitable. son, such as if the connection to CON3 such as from our October 2018 article
Using the DCC++ software with is broken or the upstream DCC Base to do this.
JMRI is the same as noted above. Station has a fault. In any case, when In any case, the sketch detects that
there is no signal at CON3, the input the DCC signal is no longer changing
Using it as a booster to IC1 is held high and IC2’s input is and pulls the ENABLE line low, disa-
When a signal is fed in via the optoi- low. There is then an unchanging DC bling the track output and preventing
solated input (CON3), the DCC Pow- voltage across the tracks. such runaways.
er Shield is effectively working as a This may not sound like a problem, To enable the use of the optoiso-
booster. The signal can be from another but some DCC locomotives can be pro- lated input, add a jumper across JP3.
Base Station or system, with the DCC grammed to undergo ‘DC conversion’. Leave the jumper on ‘DIR’ for pin D10
Power Shield turning that signal into When a locomotive decoder detects in place; D10 is set as an input in the
a more powerful DCC signal that can that there is a steady DC voltage pre- software and is used to monitor the
be used to drive trains. sent, the locomotive behaves as if it incoming DCC signal.
While it might not seem that an Ar- was on a conventional ‘single-throttle’ The Booster sketch is called “DCC_
duino is needed in this case, it’s a good layout and will typically set off in one Shield_passthrough_supervisor.ino”.
idea to have one as we can program it direction at full speed (hopefully not This uses a library to perform the pre-
to monitor the DCC signal and inter- towards the end of the track…). cision timing needed to generate the
vene if there is a problem. So we’ve This feature was initially added to DCC waveform, called “TimerOne”.
written a sketch to allow an Arduino allow DCC locomotives to This can be installed via the Library
to take on this supervisory role. be used on convention- Manager by searching for “timerone”
There are two main conditions to al layouts, per- or from the ZIP file we have included
check for. Firstly, we want the booster haps as an with our software package.
to be able to protect the shield if too aid to Open the sketch, select the Uno
much current is being drawn and the serial port and upload it.
from it. Disconnect the USB cable and
This could be due connect your power source
to an overload or even to CON1. The red LED
a short circuit, such should light. Connect
as a metal object be- a valid DCC signal to
ing dropped across the CON3 and the green
tracks. LED should light. You
Thus, our sketch should then have a val-
continually monitors id DCC signal at CON2.
the voltage present on
its A0 pin via its internal
analog-to-digital convert-
er (ADC). If it gets above a cer-
tain threshold, the power to the track The DCC Power Shield can be combined
is cut by pulling the ENABLE pin low. with an Arduino Uno and DC power supply to
create a basic DCC system. Using our standalone
A timer starts and the sketch at- sketch or JMRI’s DecoderPro program, this combination
tempts to re-apply power after it ex- can be used to control DCC-equipped trains, points and
pires. If the short circuit is still pre- signals on a model railway layout.
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  51
 and upload the sketch, then open the sinking, as well as even thicker wires.

Where do you
Serial Monitor at 115,200 baud (see We suggest that you instead consider
Screen2). using more, smaller boosters. For ex-
You can now enter commands as ample, you could modify the Booster

get those
numbers which correspond to the de- sketch to monitor and drive multiple
sired locomotive speed, in 128 steps. DCC Power Shields stacked above it.
Thus, numbers from -127 to 127 are ac-
cepted. You should ensure that 28/128 A larger system
HARD-TO-GET step speed mode is set on your loco-
motive decoder.
Type “P” (upper case) to turn track
If you are planning a system with
multiple Boosters, either because you
need the power or it otherwise makes
PARTS?
Many of the components used in
power on and “p” (lower case) to turn
it off. The power will automatically
turn off if current over half an amp is
sense to do so, then there are a few
minor caveats.
When running multiple boosters,
SILICON CHIP projects are cutting-edge detected. You can also use “A” and “a” avoid daisy-chaining the DCC signal
technology and not worth your normal to turn on and off the loco’s headlights. from one Booster to the next. Instead,
parts suppliers either sourcing or The program is elementary, but it fan out the DCC signal from one Base
stocking in relatively low quantities. has several unused functions to send Station to all the Boosters.
Where we can, the SILICON CHIP On-Line all manner of DCC packets to the track. Many commercial base stations have
Shop stocks those hard-to-get parts, If you are comfortable with Arduino, a low-powered DCC signal output (Dig-
along with PCBs, programmed micros, you should have no trouble adapting itrax names this Railsync), which is
panels and all the other bits and it to do something more advanced. ideally suited for this purpose.
pieces to enable you to complete your
The first problem with a daisy-chain
SILICON CHIP project. Current limitations configuration is that if one Booster

SILICON CHIP
Using the specified components goes down, then so do all those that
and the DCC++ software, the shield are downstream, as the DCC signal
can easily deliver up to 10A. This is will be shut off.

On-Line SHOP
www.siliconchip.com.au/shop
mostly limited by the screw terminal
connectors. The DCC++ software also
has a hard-coded current limit which
kicks in at around 10A.
Secondly, each Booster also has a
small but measurable delay in propa-
gating the signal. In our case, this is
around 4µs, due to the switching time
Of course, the software limit is easy of the BTN8962s.
to change, but any hardware changes This delay is not usually a problem,
A standalone sketch should be done with care. but it may become one at the bound-
We’ve also created a simple stand- The output driver ICs are capable of ary where the tracks from two Boost-
alone sketch that produces a DCC sig- handling around 30A, with the PCB ers meet (where there would typically
nal, suitable for controlling a single tracks topping out around 20A. be an insulator, to prevent one Boost-
locomotive. In any case, everything runs cool er feeding another Booster’s section
The decoder identification number well below the 10A limit, so main- of track).
has been set to 3 (which is the default taining this limit is good for compo- Where the tracks meet, a train may
for new, unprogrammed decoders), al- nent longevity. be briefly fed by both the Boosters. If
though it can be changed in the code. DCC has a wide range of operating there is a delay between the signals
We suggest you use this option if you voltages, so to increase output power, from the two Boosters, then it may
want to try out DCC for the first time. it may be easier to increase the sup- appear to be a short circuit if the two
We can’t offer advice on fitting de- ply voltage. Boosters are delivering opposite polar-
coders; there are so many options for Most locomotives use PWM speed ity voltages at that instant.
both decoder choices and how they control on their motors, so a higher This is less likely to occur if the
are connected. supply voltage simply means a lower Boosters are well synchronised, which
The companies that make the de- PWM duty cycle (and thus current con- should be the case if all are being fed
coders do offer advice (and many have sumption) for the same speed. the same signal.
custom decoders to suit specific loco- We haven’t done any tests above You should also ensure that the
motives). 10A, but if you are set on increasing Boosters are fed with similar supply
After all, they want to make it easy the current capacity of the DCC Pow- voltages, so that one Booster does not
for you to buy their products. er Shield, then you should ditch the try to power another Booster’s track
Our standalone sketch also requires screw terminal connectors and sol- when the train bridges their join.
the “Timer One” library mentioned der thick copper wires directly to the You must also ensure that the Boost-
above, so make sure that is installed board (ideally, to the power pins of ers are wired with the correct polarity
Set the jumpers on the shield to the IC1 & IC2). where the tracks meet.
default positions and connect the Uno If the wires can handle 20A, then For situations where the polarity can
to the computer. Open the “DCC_Sin- your modified DCC Power Shield change (such as in a reversing loop),
gle_Loco_Control.ino” sketch and se- should have no trouble doing that. check out our Reverse Loop Controller
lect the Uno board and its serial port. To go higher than this will probably in the October 2012 issue (siliconchip.
Press the Upload button to compile mean that IC1 and IC2 need some heat- com.au/Article/494). SC

52    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Hardcore
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during a power outage. 2.5A output. of consumer electronic devices, NOW button cells and lithium
DC power. Built-in rechargeable Li-ion
battery. Integrated smart charger.
3 interchangeable DC connectors
telecommunication devices, office
facilitites, industrial equipment etc. LED
indicator. 12V, 19V & 24V available.
30M POWER CABLE
15A twin core for auto and marine
$
1395 batteries such as those
used in digital cameras.
QP2253 WAS $23.95
supplied. MP5240 WAS $69.95 MP3242 - MP3248 applications. WH3077 WAS $69.95 40% OFF Note: Batteries not included

56 click & collect Buy online & collect in store ON SALE 26.12.2019 - 23.01.2020
YOUR DESTINATION FOR:

IT & Security
SAVE UP TO $100 NOW FROM

NOW NOW
$
139
SAVE TO
UP
$100
$
12 95 $
99 19" RACK
MOUNT ENCLOSURES
SAVE $7 SAVE $20 Ideal for IT, or phone systems installations, PA, sound
ALL-IN-1 USB 2.0 CARD READER POWERLINE reinforcement etc. 6U to 12U in Swing or Fixed frame.
Reads most memory cards in use today, ETHERNET EXTENDER See in-store or online for full range.
USB cable included. See website for Extend your Ethernet network connection over 6U Flat Packed HB5170 WAS $179 NOW $139 SAVE $40
details. XC4926 WAS $19.95 already installed power connections up to 6U Assembled HB5171 WAS $199 NOW $149 SAVE $50
300m away. Speeds up to 500Mbps allow HD 12U Flat Packed HB5174 WAS $239 NOW $169 SAVE $70
streaming, fast file transfer & more. 6U Swing Frame HB5180 WAS $269 NOW $199 SAVE $70
YN8355 WAS $119 12U Swing Frame HB5182 WAS $349 NOW $249 SAVE $100
10% OFF
SMART LOCKS DUAL BAND
NOW FROM

GENERATE NOW NOW

$
79
CODES ON A
SMARTPHONE
$
69 95 $
79 95 SAVE UP TO $50
POE NETWORK SWITCHES
NOW SAVE $30 SAVE $20 Reduces the need for mains power at devices
$
199 NETWORK CABLE
TRACER
Trace cables even when they are
AC1200 WI-FI ROUTER
Featuring the latest 802.11AC wireless
standards for solid streaming, fast gaming,
such as IP cameras, routers etc to operate.
Ultra-fast data transfer.
5-Port 10/100Mbps YN8074
SAVE $30 in a bundle or hidden. Also checks and interrupt-free networking. Up to WAS $119 NOW $79 SAVE $40
SMART LOCK DEADBOLT telephone line polarity and status i.e 1200Mbps. Dual Band Wi-Fi. One-Touch 10-Port 10/100/1000Mbps YN8049
KIT WITH BLUETOOTH® ring/busy/idle. XC5083 WAS $99.95 WPS connection. YN8392 WAS $99.95 WAS $229 NOW $179 SAVE $50
TECHNOLOGY
Replace traditional door locks
and enable users to gain access
by using an App via Bluetooth® 20% OFF WI-FI IP CAMERAS NOW

99
on their smartphone or tablet, or
a unique passcode entered on
the keypad. Long battery life. Fits
720P WI-FI IP CAMERA
WITH INFRARED LEDS $
doors 32-48mm thick. Ultra-easy pairing
LA5095 WAS $229 setup. 2-way audio 1080P WI-FI IP CAMERA SAVE $30
communication - so it can WITH SECURITY ALARM
be used for access control Can work stand-alone to record audio
STORES UP TO 15 functions. IR LEDs for night NOW

5495
and video or expanded with sensors
FINGERPRINTS time use. Includes USB
mains power adaptor and $ (sold separately) to turn it into a
security system. QC3870 WAS $129
NOW USB charging cable.

6995
ALSO AVAILABLE:
$ QC3849 WAS $69.95
SAVE $15 PIR Sensor QC3876 WAS $29.95 NOW $19.95 SAVE $10
Panic Button QC3872 WAS $19.95 NOW $11.95 SAVE $8
SAVE $10 Reed Sensor QC3874 WAS $19.95 NOW $11.95 SAVE $8
BLUETOOTH®
CONTROLLED PADLOCK WI-FI RFID
WITH FINGERPRINT ACCESS KEYPAD
NOW

59
SCANNER Control doors remotely with
$ 95
• IP65 RATED
Unlock by simply swiping your your Smartphone via free
• FREE APP
finger or by using an app on your app. Used as a standalone
Smartphone. Up to 1000 unlock access card reader or
records. Over 2800 continuous SAVE $10 NOW

199
controlled by an external
unlocks. Charge via USB. IPX7
weatherproof rated. RECHARGEABLE SOLAR SENSOR LIGHT
access controller. Includes
a timer function allowing $
LA5140 WAS $79.95 Act as a deterrent against thieves with its security camera people to access for a
appearance. Built-in rechargeable battery. PIR movement sensor. temporary period of a time. 12VDC.
SL3239 WAS $69.95 LA5358 WAS $249
SAVE $50
STORES UP TO 10
NOW

2995
FINGERPRINTS
$
NOW
$
6995 NOW
$
49 95
SAVE $5 NOW
$
2495
SAVE $10
LUGGAGE PADLOCK WITH SAVE $10 SAVE $10
FINGERPRINT SCANNER THEFT PREVENTION KIT PRESSURE ACTIVATED MAT WIRELESS DRIVEWAY
Unlock this modern padlock DUMMY CAMERA ALARM WITH SIREN & STROBE & ENTRY PIR ALERT KIT
using your fingerprint. Built-in Includes 2 x dome cameras, 2 x bullet Easy to install, slide the pressure sensitive Triggers an alarm when movement is detected
rechargeable battery and cameras and a CCTV security window pad under your door mat to be notified of in a driveway or entryway. Detects movement
conveniently charged from USB sticker to warn thieves off. guests arrival or to surprise and deter would- up to 6m range. Transmitter & receiver
(cable included). IP66 waterproof. LA5336 WAS $59.95 be intruders. Loud 120dB+ siren. Requires 1 requires 3 x AA batteries each. IP44 rated.
LA5129 WAS $79.95 x 9V battery. LA5218 WAS $34.95 LA5178 WAS $34.95

In the Trade? 57
YOUR DESTINATION FOR:

Outdoor/In-Car Accessories
SAVE UP TO $80 JUST

699
NEW LOW
$ PRICE
NOW FROM
$
169 2KW SINE WAVE
INVERTER GENERATOR
SAVE UP TO $80 Includes a 4-stroke petrol
MPPT SOLAR CHARGE engine, a low voltage electrical
CONTROLLERS generator, and a pure sine
High efficiency and reliable. Detects wave inverter to give you clean
voltage inputs automatically and can be mains power. Parallel stacking
left on permanently. LCD backlit display. option. Rugged and reliable
12/24V 30A MP3735 WAS $249 NOW $169 SAVE $80 with integrated carry handle.
12/24/36/48V 50A MP3731 WAS $349 NOW $299 SAVE $50 MG4508

15,600MAH POWER
BANK WITH USB • 240VAC
NOW

5995
• STURDY FRAME
TYPE-C
Huge capacity with 3 $ 2 FOR NOW FROM
x USB ports to stop
your gadgets going flat.
Charge via the 2.4A USB type-A sockets
SAVE $40
$
34 90 $
1995
or use the USB type-C socket for fast 3A SOLAR LED LIGHT KIT SAVE $5 SAVE UP TO $20
charging. MB3806 WAS $59.95 NOW Compact, lightweight perfect for camping. 5W LED WORK LIGHT 10 & 30W SLIMLINE
$
4995 Includes 3.5W monocrystalline solar panel,
6V 4AH SLA battery, 2 x built-in and 3 x
individually switched LED lights on leads,
Amazing light output. Low heat,
fold-out stand. High/low light
modes. Includes 6 x AA batteries.
LED WORK LIGHTS
Provides plenty of ultra-white
bright light and uses far less power
SAVE $10 mains, in-car & solar chargers included. SL2869 $19.95ea. than traditional counterparts. IP65
MB3699 WAS $99.95 weatherproof rated. SL2866/SL2867

SAVE UP TO $80 ON THESE UHF RADIOS NOW

0.5W UHF
RECHARGEABLE
$
69 PR

3W UHF 80 Channel. Up to 5km SAVE $40

TRADIES PACK range. CTCSS and
80 Channel. Rechargeable batteries. more. Rechargeable
Includes: 2 x 3W waterproof floating batteries and dual
UHF radios with CTCSS, up to 10km charging cradle
range (line-of-sight), 2 x speaker/ included. Sold as a pair.
mics, VOX headset & 12V car DC1027 ORRP $109
chargers. DC1076 WAS $329
3W UHF
RECHARGEABLE IP67 RATED
NOW IP67 RATED

249
80 Channel. Up to
$ 10km range. Floating, NOW
submersible up to 1m.
CTCSS. Backlit LCD.
$
99
SAVE $80 Charger included.
SAVE $30
DC1074 WAS $129

OVER 20% OFF

IN-STORE ONLY

NOW

NOW NOW
$
2995
$
4995 $
4995 SAVE 25%
SAVE 25% SAVE 20%
ENGINE CODE READER CAR AMPLIFIER WIRING KITS 4 DOOR POWER LOCK KIT
Diagnose your cars problem. Plugs into OBD-II port and A complete 8G wiring kit for installing an amplifier into Low cost central locking kit, so when you
transmits speed, RPM, fuel consumption, etc via Bluetooth to your vehicle. See website or in-store for kit inclusions. unlock the drivers door the other three doors
your Smartphone. PP2145 WAS $69.95 AA0442 WAS $64.95 automatically unlock. LR8812 WAS $39.95
NOW
$
6995 NOW FROM NOW
SAVE 30%
4-CHANNEL WIRELESS
$
39 95 $
1495
REMOTE CONTROL RELAY SAVE 20% SAVE 35%
Control up to 4 different devices with a single IN-CAR LAPTOP POWER SUPPLIES AUTOMOTIVE FUSE PACK
controller and key fob remote. Relay contacts Keep your laptop charged on the road. Models to suit most 120 standard size automotive fuses housed in
are rated 5A at 14VDC. Transmission distance: computers on the market. Check website for compatibility. a 6 compartment storage box. 20 x 5A, 10A,
30m typical (300m+ max line of sight). 90W MP3338 WAS $49.95 NOW $39.95 SAVE $10 15A, 20A, 25A & 30A fuses included.
LR8824 WAS $99.95 150W MP3472 WAS $74.95 NOW $59.95 SAVE $15 SF2142 WAS $23.95

58 click & collect Buy online & collect in store ON SALE 26.12.2019 - 23.01.2020
 CLEARANCE ORDER ONLINE, COLLECT IN STORE
Listed below are a number of discontinued (but still good) items that we can no longer afford to hold stock.
Please ring your local store or search our website to check stock. At these prices we won't be able to transfer from store to store.
STOCK IS LIMITED. ACT NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT. Sorry NO RAINCHECKS.

AUDIO & VISUAL SECURITY

Cat. No WAS NOW SAVE Cat. No WAS NOW SAVE

2 Way DisplayPort Splitter AC1755 $49.95 $34.95 $15 1080p AHD Pan-Tilt-Zoom Bullet Camera QC8676 $299 $199 $100

4 Input HDMI 2.0 Switcher with Remote Control AC1745 $59.95 $44.95 $15 1080p Wi-Fi Dash Camera with GPS QV3865 $189 $159 $30

60W Speaker Attenuator Wall Plate AC1751 $34.95 $21.95 $13 1080p Wi-Fi IP Camera with Recording and IR QC3843 $99 $84 $15

100W Speaker Attenuator Wallplate AC1665 $49.95 $34.95 $15 1296p Event Camera with GPS for Bikes QV3870 $99 $69 $30

Analogue Audio to Digital MP3 Converter GE4103 $39.95 $29.95 $10 12V Infrared Flush Mount Reversing Camera QC3534 $99.95 $79.95 $20

Bidirectional IR Extender over Cat5e - 100m AR1809 $59.95 $49.95 $10 700TVL Bullet Camera with IR QC8653 $79.95 $59.95 $20

Digital Indoor/Outdoor TV Antenna LT3137 $79.95 $69.95 $10 720p AHD Dome Camera with IR QC8639 $99.95 $69.95 $30

Dual Laser & LED Light Show with DMX Control SL3410 $249 $169 $80 AHD to HDMI Converter AC1778 $99.95 $79.95 $20

HDMI to AV Composite Converter AC1720 $99.95 $79.95 $20 Car Boot / Hatch Release LR8834 $39.95 $29.95 $10

LED Projector with HDMI & USB AP4003 $179 $129 $50 Ceiling Mount Alarm with Remote Control LA5215 $34.95 $29.95 $5

Slimline LCD Wall Bracket 42"- 80" CW2865 $44.95 $34.95 $10 Wireless PIR Solar Light Sensor to suit LA-5592 Controller LA5599 $99.95 $49.95 $50

Wireless Infrared Headphones Twin Pack AA2037 $99.95 $69.95 $30 Wireless Gateway Home Automation Controller LA5570 $189 $99 $90

World Band AM/FM/SW/LW/AIR PLL Radio with SSB AR1945 $199 $149 $50 Wireless Home Automation Main Controller Economy LA5592 $99.95 $49.95 $50

IT/COMMS POWER
Cat. No WAS NOW SAVE Cat. No WAS NOW SAVE

5/5.8GHz 9dBi Wireless Networking Antenna AR3288 $39.95 $29.95 $10 10,000mAh Quick Charge™ Dual USB Power Bank MB3725 $59.95 $39.95 $20

5m SMA Coaxial Cable WC7804 $44.95 $34.95 $10 2 Outlet Power Garden Stake MS4097 $19.95 $12.95 $7

5W UHF CB Radio Tradies Pack DC1069 $449 $349 $100 20m Heavy Duty Mains Extension Lead PS4200 $34.95 $29.95 $5

5W VHF MARINE RADIO TRANSCEIVER DC1096 $134 $119 $15 3 x Oslon Osram LED Torch ST3487 $9.95 $4.95 $5

AC600 Outdoor Wi-Fi Extender with POE YN8349 $119 $79 $40 4 Port USB Mains Power Adaptor MP3446 $29.95 $24.95 $5

Advanced 2W 80 Channel UHF Transceiver with CTCSS DC1049 $69.95 $59.95 $10 4,000mAh Elegant Powerbank with LED Torch MB3716 $19.95 $14.95 $5

PoE Power Splitter YN8414 $14.95 $9.95 $5 65W Desktop Power Supply MP3249 $59.95 $39.95 $20

Telephone Isolation On Hold Kit YT6070 $29.95 $19.95 $10 8-Channel Wireless Light Controller for Vehicles MS6210 $69.95 $59.95 $10

UHF 5dBi Fibreglass Antenna with 5m Cable DC3078 $99.95 $79.95 $20 Air Vent Phone Cradle with Wireless Qi Charging HS9058 $29.95 $24.95 $5

USB 3.0 Type-C Hub and Card Reader XC4308 $79.95 $49.95 $30 Dual USB Wall Charger with LED Night Light MP3429 $19.95 $14.95 $5

USB 3.0 Type C Multi Card Reader XC4751 $39.95 $24.95 $15 Lantern LED COB 280 Lumen with Red LED Flasher ST3426 $14.95 $9.95 $5

USB 3.0 Type-C to DisplayPort Converter XC4971 $39.95 $24.95 $15 Mains and USB Power Hub with Smartphone Cradle MS4103 $19.95 $9.95 $10

VGA to Composite and S-Video Converter XC4871 $39.95 $34.95 $5 Portable RCD with 4 x 15A Sockets to 15A Mains Plug MS4047 $99.95 $89.95 $10

HARDCORE OUTDOORS
Cat. No WAS NOW SAVE Cat. No WAS NOW SAVE

3000A True RMS AC High Current Clamp Meter QM1568 $69.95 $49.95 $20 1:16 RC Drift Car GT4248 $39.95 $34.95 $5

4 Wheel Drive Motor Chassis Robotics Kit KR3162 $49.95 $29.95 $20 1:58 RC Boat Twin Pack with Inflatable Pool GT3771 $79.95 $69.95 $10

Arduino Compatible ESP-13 Wifi Shield XC4614 $39.95 $34.95 $5 6 in 1 Survival Torch with Storage compartment ST3133 $19.95 $9.95 $10

Arduino Compatible GPS Receiver Module XC3712 $49.95 $39.95 $10 600 Lumen Rechargeable LED Spotlight ST3316 $79.95 $64.95 $15

Digital Tachometer QM1448 $79.95 $59.95 $20 Alcohol Breath Tester QM7304 $54.95 $34.95 $20

Economy Non-Contact Thermometer QM7215 $59.95 $49.95 $10 Bluetooth® Heart Rate Monitor with App XC0392 $19.95 $9.95 $10

Inspection Camera with Record Detachable Wireless Screen QC8712 $299 $219 $80 Chariot RC Battle Car GT4250 $79.95 $69.95 $10

LED Dot Matrix Display for Arduino - Red XC4621 $34.95 $24.95 $10 Fuel Cell Breathalyser with LED Display QM7308 $169 $129 $40

Non-Contact Thermometer with Dual Laser Targeting QM7221 $139 $109 $30 Motion Drone with Gravity Sensor GT4134 $39.95 $34.95 $5

PC Programmable Line Tracer Kit KJ8906 $44.95 $39.95 $5 Non Contact Body Thermometer with Smartphone App QM7201 $49.95 $39.95 $10

Pro Sound Level Meter with Calibrator QM1592 $379 $279 $100 Portable 7.5L 12V Cooler / Warmer GH1366 $89.95 $49.95 $40

Raspberry Pi Media Player Kit XC9012 $169 $139 $30 Remote Control Power Boat GT3773 $79.95 $69.95 $10

More ways to pay: 59

UP
TO 50% OFF DIGITAL TO
ANALOGUE AUDIO
CONVERTER
Converts your digital signal into analogue
(RCA) stereo audio. Accepts either
TOSLINK (optical) or digital coaxial.
AC1715 WAS $54.95
ALSO AVAILABLE
Analogue to Digital
Audio Converter
NOW NOW

19 1995
AC1716 WAS $59.95
$ 95 $ PLUG & PLAY NOW $29.95 SAVE $30

SAVE $10
SAVE $10 2.5" USB 3.0
NOW

2745
12V 1.5W SOLAR TRICKLE CHARGER SATA HDD ENCLOSURE

$
Perfect for keeping your boat, car, tractor, motorcycle or any Protect and transport your valuable
12V battery topped up. Trickle charge to compensate for natural data. Accommodates 2.5” HDD
battery discharge. Dash/Windshield mount (suction cups supplied). (up to 3TB capacity). Ultra fast data
MB3504 WAS $29.95 transfer speeds up to 80Mbps. Easy
installation. XC4686 WAS $29.95

HALF PRICE
Note: PCB
not included.

BATTERY
POWERED NOW
$
99
IP66 RATED
CAMERA
NOW DETECTOR
$
44 95 BOASTS A
POWERFUL DESKTOP PCB HOLDER
This little unit
detects hidden
wired and wireless
SAVE $100
720P WIRELESS RECEIVER
SAVE $15 2.4A PER PORT Suitable for working with different cameras through AND CAMERA KIT
5 PORT USB shaped components, the units lens finder. Add a wireless camera to any
CHARGING STATION connectors, etc. Hold NOW Comes with a set of NOW existing 720p, 1080p or 3MP
Charge up to 5 USB devices at the PCBs of up to 200 x
same time. Includes 6 dividers and 140mm. Adjustable
power supply. WC7766 angle. TH1980
$
1495
earphones. QC3506
WAS $99.95
$
5995 AHD compatible DVR. Up to
100m wireless range. IR night
vision. QC8663 ORRP $199
WAS $59.95 WAS $19.95 SAVE $5 SAVE $40

SAVE UP TO $50 ESD SAFE

SOLDER/DESOLDER QUICK HEAT UP
300W HOT AIR REWORK STATION REWORK STATION
Provides more uniform heat transfer making Complete solder/desolder station for professional
SMD chip removal safe and effective. 100-500°C and hobbyist use. 60W Soldering pencil and 2 FOR
$
4990
temperature range 300W rework blower. Dual digital display.
• Pushbutton / digital display Adjustable temperature. Quick heat-up.
• 160(L) x 113(W) x 123(D)mm TS1648 WAS $249
TS1645 WAS $149
SAVE 35%
NOW NOW 1M WATERPROOF LED

$
119 $
199
FLEXIBLE STRIP LIGHTS
Fully encapsulated & versatile. Can
be daisy chained for longer length.
Submersible up to 1m. 60LEDs. 12VDC
SAVE $30 SAVE $50 ZD0579 RRP $39.95 EA

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: REWARDS / NERD PERKS CARD HOLDERS FREE GIFT, % SAVING DEALS, DOUBLE POINTS & MEMBERS OFFERS requires ACTIVE Jaycar Rewards / membership at time of purchase. Refer to
website for Rewards / membership T&Cs. IN-STORE ONLY refers to company owned stores and not available to Resellers. Page 6: Multibuys: 2 x 5W LED Work Light $34.90 applies to 2 x SL2869. Page 7: Clearance. In-store only
promotion, not available to Resellers. No rainchecks. Page 8: Multibuys: 2 x 1m LED Flexible Strip Lights for $49.90 applies to 2 x ZD0579.

For your nearest store

& opening hours:

1800 022 888 HEAD OFFICE

320 Victoria Road,

www.jaycar.com.au Rydalmere NSW 2116

Ph: (02) 8832 3100
Fax: (02) 8832 3169

Over 100 stores & ONLINE ORDERS

130 resellers nationwide

www.jaycar.com.au
techstore@jaycar.com.au

Arrival dates of new products in this flyer were confirmed at the time of print but delays sometimes occur. Please ring
Aspley your local store to check stock details. Occasionally there are discontinued items advertised on a special / lower price
1322 Gympie Rd in this promotional flyer that has limited to nil stock in certain stores, including Jaycar Authorised Resellers. These
Aspley,QLD 4034 stores may not have stock of these items and can not order or transfer stock. Savings off Original RRP. Prices and
PH: (07) 3863 0099 special offers are valid from catalogue sale 26.12.2019 - 23.01.2020.
 PRODUCT SHOWCASE
20% Off WiFi Boards at Jaycar Johanson Dielectrics Advanced
As part of their post-Christmas sale, Jaycar stores are of- Motor EMI Filters
fering a 20% saving on a range of their popular XC3802 Strict electromagnetic compatibility
WiFi Boards until 23 January. (EMC) requirements and noisier elec-
Included in the sale are: tronic environments are threat-
The ESP8266 WiFi Mini Main- ening to increase the cost of fil-
board @ $19.95 (was $24.95) tering required for brushed DC
The ESP32 Mainboard with WiFi motors. These filters must reject all
and Bluetooth @ $31.95 (was forms of noise and also handle high DC cur-
$39.95) rents, without being costly. Johanson Di- electrics ad-
The Arduino-compatible UNO vanced monolithic EMI filters meet these requirements.
XC3800
Board with WiFi @ $31.95 (was Traditional common-mode filtering approaches include low-
$39.95) and pass filters comprised of capacitors and/or inductors that attenu-
XC4411
The Arduino + WiFi ate signals above the cutoff frequency. The traditional options are
Megaboard with ESP8266 chip two-capacitor differential filters, three-capacitor filters (one X-cap
@ $47.95 (was $59.95). and two Y-caps), feed-through filters, common-mode chokes, LC
XC4421 And if you’re into long range data filters, or combinations of these.
communications which doesn’t need a mo- These days, the lower-cost options like two-capacitor or three-
bile phone network, they also have a big saving capacitor filters can no longer meet all EMC requirements. Other
on the LoRa Wireless solutions like common-mode chokes offer good rejection over a
Communication shield Contact: wide frequency range, but are expensive when they must carry
for $49.95 (was $69.95). Jaycar Electronics (all stores) several amps.
See the long distance (H/O) 320 Victoria Rd Rydalmere, NSW 2116 Monolithic EMI filters provide significantly more RFI suppres-
remote relay project at Tel: 1800 022 888 sion than a common-mode choke in a much smaller package,
www.jaycar.com.au/ and they are not affected by the direct current requirement, be-
Web: www.jaycar.com.au
lora-remote cause they connect between the lines and ground.
RayMing Technology: much more than a PCB maker! These filters from Johanson Dielectrics combine two balanced
shunt capacitors in a single package, with mutual inductance
RayMing Technology is an Electronics Manufacturing Service
(EMS) provider, specifically, offering PCB manufacturing and PCB as- cancellation and a shielding effect.
sembly. EMS is a specialised form of Contract Manufacturing (CM). The key to their performance is the very low inductance and
EMS companies allow equipment manufacturers to improve their matched impedances. Monolithic EMI filters can be effective
efficiency, allowing them to focus more on Research and Develop- from 50kHz to 6GHz, filtering both common-mode and differ-
ment (R&D). RayMing Technology has more than 10 years of ex- ential-mode noise.
perience providing EMS services. EMS services are not only used Sometimes EMI filters can interfere with PWM-based motor
to make consumer products, but also medical products, industrial control, so the right filter must be chosen for the job. Johanson
products as well as products for defence, aerospace and telecom- Dielectrics provides an on-line tool that simplifies filter choice.
munications. They are also working on integrated solutions that mount direct-
Electronic manufac- Contact: ly on the housing,
turing is rapidly and RayMing Technology without the need Contact:
constantly evolving. You 12#, 2nd Fu’an Industrial City, Dayang Develop- for a PCB. Johanson Dielectrics
need a flexible partner ment Zone, Fuyong St, Bao’an, Shenzhen, China 4001 Calle Tecate, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA
to keep pace with rapid Tel: (0011) [86] 0755 2734 8087 Tel: (0011) [1] 805 389 1166
changes in technology. Web: www.raypcb.com Web: www.johansondielectrics.com

Unleash your creativity and simplify your development while saving money…
The customisable Curiosity Nano AVR MCUs, allowing you to easily eval- includes a socket that fits all Curios-
Development Platform includes cost- uate different architectures for your ity Nano boards plus three mikroBUS
effective Curiosity Nano boards and design. They also offer full program- sockets that will enable you to effort-
the versatile Curiosity Nano ming and debugging lessly expand your design with sen-
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for creating innovative Curiosity Nano board Contact:
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feature a variety of PIC and
http://siliconchip.com.au/link/aay5

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  61

 SERVICEMAN'S LOG
When things go wrong – really wrong Dave Thompson

Sometimes a job comes along which seems like it’ll be

straightforward, but really isn’t. This can happen even if that
job is well within your field of expertise. Here’s one story where
everything and anything seemed to go wrong.
If you’ve read my previous columns, qualified electrician who has then in- those jobs where, in retrospect, they
you will know that I started out servic- spected and signed off on it. seemed doomed from the start; no mat-
ing planes for Air New Zealand and It would be madness just to pile in ter how hard you try to dig yourself
then later, moved on to computer re- and do this type of work without some out of the hole you’re in, the hole just
pair, which mainly involves swapping oversight by a professional, yet plenty keeps getting deeper!
modules and fiddling with software. of DIYers do. In many cases, no harm While these jobs are thankfully few
While I have repaired plenty of other ensues, but if it all goes wrong, the and far between (for me at least!), I’ve
electronics, especially audio gear (as house burns down, and maybe some- had a few over the years, and the fol-
I’m a bit of a muso), I’m still essen- one along with it; an outcome I find lowing tale is one of those cases.
tially an amateur serviceman in fields unthinkable. This happened many years ago
outside of those two. But sometimes a job comes along and did more to educate me on ob-
While I have repaired (and some- where despite being well qualified for tuse points of consumer law, and just
times failed to repair) everything from it, it all goes wrong anyway. I think we how far some companies will go, than
an abacus to a Zimmer frame, my main have all had anything before or since. I’ll set the
focus for the past 25 years has been scene, and you can decide
computers, with the odd curly job
fired my way.
As something of a keen am-
ateur, I am not shackled too
tightly to the conventions
(and regulations) that real
servicemen are legally
and technically required
to abide by.
That’s not to say I’m
a cowboy; far from it.
With all the work I do,
I always strive to ad-
here to the relevant
standards and codes of
practice.
After all, they have
typically been put in
place to ensure safety
and integrity. Before
doing anything unfa-
miliar, I do my best to
research the task ahead.
For example, I
wouldn’t just decide
one day to re-wire my
house. I could probably
do it successfully, but I
wouldn’t take the risk.
All the re-wiring work
I’ve done has been un-
der the supervision of a

62    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Items Covered This Month
•  The trials and tribulations of
fine print
•  Sony 8FC-100W digital clock
radio repair
•  Daikin aircon repair
•  USB flash drive repair
*Dave Thompson runs PC Anytime
in Christchurch, NZ.
Website: www.pcanytime.co.nz
Email: dave@pcanytime.co.nz

whether or not the chips should have

fallen the way they did.

It all started so innocently

It began when I received an urgent
call from a client who ran a high-pro-
file car sales yard in town. I’d been
looking after their office computers
for a year, after taking over that task
from the retired tech who’d set up
their offices. Due to their importance
as a client, I always tried to do any
servicing or maintenance as promptly backups are being kept, disaster recov- known-good power supply in place
as possible. ery isn’t too much of a problem, even of the old one.
They had half a dozen sales staff, a if the server goes down. The backed- I’d been advising these guys since
receptionist and the owners on-site, all up data can simply be copied to and they became my client to get a UPS
of whom had their own desktop-style shared on any of the other machines, (uninterruptible power supply) but as
workstation. These were all networked networked machines’ mapped drives everything had been fine – until now –
together in a semi-typical ‘star’ con- adjusted and life goes on. they (like many others) assumed their
figuration, where each computer runs On that fateful morning, I got a call office was the exception rather than the
its own version of Windows and grabs that the owner’s machine wouldn’t rule. At least the hard drive appeared
important business files via mapped start and they were dead in the water. to be OK, so no data had been lost.
drives from a designated central serv- Could I come and take a look? I called and told them the bad news;
er machine. Fortunately, they were only a few they’d need a new computer. I also
This server should ideally be a pur- blocks from my then-workshop, and talked them into a UPS. In the mean-
pose-designed unit with redundant they were visibly relieved when I time, they could think about insur-
power supplies, RAID-configured, hot- turned up within around ten minutes. ance claims, but I suggested that I’d
swappable hard drives and a dedicated As it was still early, there weren’t many better build a new box straight away
server operating system such as Linux tyre-kickers around, and thankfully to get them going. They were fine
or Windows Small Business Server. there wasn’t much for the staff to do with this, so I proceeded to strip the
But in the real world, such machines but sit around drinking coffee and talk- old box down; we could at least re-
can be pretty expensive to buy and ing cars (or rubbish!), so I had some use the case.
maintain, so many small businesses breathing space. As I pulled it apart, I noticed a PCI
just use a standard PC in a server role As described over the phone, the expansion card that had a parallel
instead. This car yard was no differ- machine wouldn’t fire up at all, and port-style plug on the riser. It certainly
ent; their server was one of the owner’s it looked for all intents and purposes looked like a typical parallel port, and
machines, set up with the necessary to be completely dead. this is what their large office printer/
drive and file shares. In situations like this, I usually take scanner/copier/fax had been connect-
This made some sense, as it was the the machine back to my workshop ed to. As many modern motherboards
most powerful computer in the office. where I can properly troubleshoot it, don’t sport a parallel port, I assumed
As such, all the scanning, printing, and that’s what I did. at the time that it was a simple expan-
photo-processing and faxing jobs were On the bench, it appeared Christch- sion card to allow them to connect this
done on or through this machine over urch’s notoriously rubbish post- large printer/copier.
the network. quake power supply had claimed Replacing the motherboard, CPU
This type of configuration usually another victim. The power supply and RAM was unremarkable and only
works well and as long as nothing was dead and so was the mother- took a few hours. I also replaced the
particularly challenging happens, and board, as I discovered when I tried a hard drive; if the machine had gotten

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  63

a power spike bad enough to fry the As I hadn’t yet been paid for the job, no longer available. Also, as this one
motherboard, it could have done some this caused me some stress, as did the was the only card left and had to be
subtle damage to the drive too. Copy- vague threats made via the car yard imported from Australia, I would be
ing their data back and regenerating the owner from the printer people about liable for freight charges, a temporary
shares was easy; the problems started my legal liability. That day certain- printer rental for the time it would take
when I took the machine back and re- ly turned out very differently than I to get the card as well as the techni-
connected their printer. thought it would! cian’s fees to install it.
With the vast majority of printers, And things just kept getting better; All this certainly got me riled up;
installing them is a breeze. As long as that afternoon, with the lease techni- for a start, how could a PCI parallel
you know the make and model num- cian spending hours on-site trying to port expansion card possibly cost that
ber, drivers and utilities that support get the printer going with no luck, the much, no matter how special it is? It
the printer are usually downloadable car yard owner again called to tell me would be cheaper if it was made out
from the manufacturer’s web site. But that the technician had taken the ex- of pure platinum! And I’m pretty sure
I couldn’t find any mention of this pansion card out of the machine and I didn’t stab this one with a screwdriv-
printer at all on their site, and Win- had supposedly found it physically er; if it was damaged, how do I know
dows didn’t pick it up as it does with damaged. Apparently, this explained it wasn’t the other guy taking it out
many other printers. why the printer wasn’t working. who did it?
When I pressed the business owner As I had been the one to swap it out, I called the lease company and
for details on the printer, he informed they reckoned that I must have caused asked to be put in touch with some-
me that it was a leased machine and the damage, and therefore was liable one who could clear this up. I ended
not to worry too much about it as for both the card and any time this up talking to the New Zealand man-
they’d get a technician from the lease other guy spent trying to get it going. ager and he was as toxic as they come,
company to come out to re-install it. I’ve installed more expansion cards threatening me with legal action. Deal-
Frankly, this was a relief, as I was out than most blokes have had meat pies, ing with them was thoroughly un-
of ideas as to how to get this thing so I thought it very unlikely that I’d pleasant, and my feeling is they went
working. done any damage to it, especially with- out of their way to make things diffi-
I tidied up the rest of what I could out realising it. cult. I felt like I needed a shower after
and they were back up and running When I asked what sort of damage hanging up the phone.
that afternoon, bar the printer. As the they found, I was told that there was I wasn’t about to roll over, so I asked
manufacturer is one of the biggest an obvious mark on it, where it looked to see the damaged card myself and
names in printers, scanners, camer- like a screwdriver had slipped and had to at least have the right of repair. A
as and other consumer electronics, I gouged a track on the board. Accord- cut track isn’t insurmountable, and if
had no doubt their guy would have ing to the tech, this was why the card I couldn’t fix it, perhaps I could find
the car yard up and selling old clun- wasn’t working and the printer not op- someone else to do it. I was confident
kers to the unsuspecting public be- erational. I certainly don’t remember the card could be totally rebuilt for
fore too long. doing anything of the sort. way less than four-and-a-half large!
When I asked how much the card They reluctantly agreed and told me
The plot starts to curdle was to replace I almost fell over; they I could pick it up from the car yard the
And that’s where things stood un- quoted $4,500, and reckoned I was following day. I arrived to find the staff
til the following morning, when I got fortunate as this would be for a sec- passing it around the office, trying to
another call from the car yard. Appar- ond-hand card; new ones were dou- spot the supposed damage. I couldn’t
ently, there was a problem with me ble that price! see anything on it either, no matter
messing with the printer, and the tech- It turns out the printer was a dep- how closely I looked (and I looked
nician was getting all prickly about it recated model, and new cards were very closely!).
and berating the owner, threatening
all manner of ramifications.
Technically, the car yard leased the
printer; it was owned by the manufac-
turer, and the lease agreement states
that nobody can touch the printer
but the company’s representatives.
That’s all fine, but apparently (and
unbeknownst to me), they consid-
ered the expansion card to be part of
the printer!
This put the car yard owner in
breach of his lease terms, and the
manufacturer’s reps were now throw-
ing shade on both of us because of it.
I advised the owner that if he’d told
me that the machine was leased, I
wouldn’t have touched the thing with
a barge pole, yet he didn’t, so I did.

64    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 When I mentioned potential dam- While all this was all going down, to get to the clock mechanics. The ra-
age due to static, the yard owner com- I’d spent much of my time panicking, dio PCB had several wires soldered
mented that a courier had delivered it studying points of law and even dis- to different tracks. I took a photo in
just as it was. There was no packaging, cussing it with a lawyer friend of mine, case one or more broke off during the
static or otherwise, with just a courier who fortunately hates corporate bully- repair process.
sticker protecting it. ing and was happy to offer his advice With the radio removed, I took out
At this point, I realised that repair for nothing. a few more screws and removed the
was not going to be feasible, and was If push came to shove, I might well clock module entirely. I could see
reasonably sure the lease compa- have been liable for those costs, es- a small motor with the rotor visible
ny had deliberately sent it like this. pecially if the lease company and car through a section of the case that was
When I raised this point with them yard had both turned their guns on me; cut out. The rotor had some green and
later, they confirmed it by stating that even though I’d only done as instruct- white tape stuck on it, so when the mo-
after talking with their legal team (!) ed, and had no way of knowing that I tor was spinning, it would be visible
the card was considered unservice- was doing anything wrong. through the front cover as an indica-
able as soon as I’d removed it and as Thankfully it all worked out, but tion that it was running.
such, they wouldn’t accept a repaired you can be sure that these days, I check I tried to turn the rotor by hand; it
card anyway. the lease status of similar hardware be- moved, but a small piece of dried-up
They threatened to recover the mon- fore I got anywhere near it. tape fell out. Maybe this was caus-
ey from me or the car yard, as we had ing the low-power motor to stall. I
jointly violated the terms of their lease. Sony 8FC-100 flip-card clock plugged the clock back in, and the
Nice people, and I’ll certainly never radio repair motor started to spin, with the clock
buy one of their products, no matter J. W., of Hillarys, WA is a regular now functioning.
how good they are supposed to be. contributor to Serviceman’s Log. This Even though some of the tape had
time, he repaired a clock radio which fallen off, the rest still seemed to be
The owner goes to bat for me is as much electro-mechanical as it is stuck on well, so I decided to leave it
When all seemed lost, I found an electronic… alone, and not tempt fate by trying to
ally in the car yard owner. He was A friend rang and asked if I could dismantle the mechanism any further.
more than happy with my service re- have a look at his broken clock radio. I The time and alarm are set us-
cord and was appalled at how he and told him that I would see what I could ing concentric shafts that protrude
I were being treated and bullied by do. When he dropped it off, I was a bit through the case. These connect to a
these people. nonplussed as it was much older than system of gears. A microswitch rid-
After wading through the original I thought. It’s the type of mechanical ing on an adjustable cam activates
documentation for the printer lease, clock which has the numbers on cards the alarm, so that it triggers at the cor-
he discovered that under the terms of which flip over under the control of a rect time. It’s quite a complicated me-
the contract, the printer should have synchronous motor and set of gears, chanical device when compared to the
been regularly upgraded. using the mains frequency as a time all-electronic models that followed in
Their printer had been due for that reference. later years.
upgrade almost 18 months before all I looked up the model number on I put everything back together in re-
this happened. The leasing company the ‘net and found a service manual verse order, although it was difficult to
had neglected to do this, essential- printed in 1972, so the clock is about determine the exact placement as the
ly dumping this older model on the 45 years old. radio PCB obscured the clock module
car yard. I took it out to the workshop and when trying to get them both back in
When the owner confronted them powered it up. The radio worked, but the case. After some frustration, I had it
with this information, they immedi- the clock did nothing. So I took off the all back together and powered it up as
ately started back-pedalling and apol- back cover and found that the radio a final check. To my disappointment,
ogising and offered to install the very module was behind the clock section, the radio no longer worked.
latest machine with free upgrades and so I would have to remove the radio So off with the rear panel again. I
anything else they could chuck in to
sweeten the deal.
The yard owner also stipulated that
they also drop any claims against me
and this they did, claiming that they
had been talking about it and had al-
ready decided to upgrade the printer
due to the cost and hassles of getting
that second-hand PCI card for such an
old machine.
While that part still didn’t ring true,
I was past caring and was hugely re-
lieved. That sort of money is a major
deal to a micro-business like mine,
and I didn’t appreciate all the drama
associated with it either.

66    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

eventually found a black wire which wick Farm (Sydney) warehouse for a
had broken off the PCB; it was lucky total of $640. I wasn’t sure which PCB
that I had taken that photo earlier so I I needed; I would simply return the
knew where to solder it back on again. others once I’d figured that out.
Now it all worked well, and after I was pleasantly surprised to find a
leaving it running for a few days, I free installation manual via a Google
returned it to my friend. In fact, it be- search. YouTube also had a couple of
longed to his wife, and she was hap- repair videos that, while not covering
py to have her ‘antique’ clock run- my exact symptoms, were at least for
ning again. my specific model and gave me a bit
more familiarity with it. So, embold-
Daikin Air Conditioner repair ened, I lifted the lid and started to in-
M. B., of Parramatta, NSW made two vestigate.
discoveries when his aircon failed. The YouTube video mainly talked
Firstly, sometimes you have to fix about the boards failing due to cor-
something yourself when even the ex- rosion. Even though these boards are
perts give up, and secondly, parts may covered by a protective lacquer, 10
test OK, but they can still be faulty. years exposed to the elements would
Here is the story of how he tracked no doubt test it.
down and fixed the fault... My controller PCB didn’t look too
A couple of weeks ago, thankfully bad compared to the ones in the vid-
as the weather was starting to get a bit eos, but was still covered in insect
cooler, my wife pointed out that our debris and dirt, and the lacquer was
air conditioner was pumping out room starting to perish in parts.
temperature air. The other two PCBs didn’t look too
I repair cancer treatment machines bad, so I dusted them down and re-
for a crust and am reasonably confident moved the controller PCB to give it a
about my abilities to fix most things thorough clean. I reinstalled it, crossed
around the home, but I’ve never tack- my fingers and powered it back on. It
led an air conditioner. So I rang the still didn’t work.
company who had installed it. The I eventually figured out what all
serviceman duly turned up, checked three boards do. The Controller PCB
the refrigerant levels and found they hosts the microcontroller, IGBTs and
were OK. bridge rectifier. The “Active Module”
After removing the top cover of the is a Mosfet-based Power Factor Cor-
outdoor unit, he found that several er- rection (PFC) device with an external
ror LEDs were lit. He said that given inductor. The Filter PCB filters the in-
the age of the unit, it was unlikely that coming mains and the PFC-corrected
replacement PCBs were still available, DC output of the Active Module.
and if they were, would probably be There are five LEDs on the Power
very expensive and possibly close to Filter board, one green and four red.
the cost of a new unit. The green LED is a ‘heartbeat’ to in-
I wasn’t surprised to hear this, so dicate that the microcontroller is ac-
I asked the serviceman to get back to tive while the other four show error
me about a quote for a replacement codes. Since the heartbeat LED was
and got on with my day. flashing, I suspected that the control-
After a few days, I hadn’t heard back ler PCB was OK. The first two error
from them, so I decided to check eBay LEDs were flashing, and according
for replacement boards. All three PCBs to the manual, this meant that one of
(Controller, Active Module and Power the three thermistors on the aircon
Filter) were still available and at a rea- was faulty.
sonable price, nowhere near the $3000 The manual gave a method to test
that a replacement unit would cost. the three thermistors, which attach to
I found to my surprise that I could the controller board via a single plug.
get the boards directly from Daikin at It even gave a graph of the resistance
roughly the same price as those list- vs temperature for these thermistors.
ed on eBay. They would even take the So, armed with three glasses of
boards back that I didn’t use and didn’t water of various temperatures and a
charge a restocking fee, which was a temperature probe connected to my
pleasant surprise. multimeter, I checked all three ther-
So I decided to try my hand at be- mistors on the loom. Removing the
coming an air conditioner mechanic. loom wasn’t too difficult. After plot-
I bought all three from Daikin’s War- ting each, it seemed that they were all

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  67

within cooee of what I’d expect, judg- they passed my tests but were still bad
ing by the graph. enough to cause a controller fault. This
I was still sure that most of the con- is something I have not come across be-
troller PCB was working, but now had fore in my field. I would like to know
some doubt about the thermistor inter- how the microcontroller determines
face. The part of the PCB dealing with that a thermistor is faulty. It must ex-
the thermistors could be faulty. But not pect a very specific change in resist-
having new thermistors to hand, no ance during the start-up procedure.
proper circuit diagram, and since they I ended up spending a total of $550,
tested OK, I decided to bite the bullet which is a lot less than a new aircon
and swap in a new controller board. unit would have cost. I might be able
This was relatively easy. The only to get some of that back by selling my
tricky part was needing to apply some still-working original controller board
thermal paste to the bridge rectifier and on eBay.
IGBT module heatsinks.
So, with bated breath, I switched USB flash drive repair
the circuit breaker back on. Nothing! D. M., of Toorak, Vic had some pic-
Well not exactly nothing; the indoor tures on a faulty USB drive that he
unit ran for a couple of minutes be- didn’t want to lose. It’s often (but not
fore the whole thing shut down again. always) possible to recover files from The circuit board of the recovered
I checked the error LEDs again, and flash drives. Luckily, he was able to USB drive. The connector with the
defective flexible circuit board has
they were flashing in an identical pat- do it...
been held down with tape to expose
tern to before. I had an old USB flash drive that the solder pads, so that wires can be
After thoroughly reading the manual stopped working about ten years ago. soldered to them for data recovery.
again, I discovered that in the indoor It contained some pictures I wanted
unit remote control could give more to keep, but which I never backed up. erence needs to be made to the origi-
detail as to the cause of the fault. It in- This flash drive is a folding type; nal connector.
dicated that the faulty thermistor was I did some research and discovered To make the connection, I cut an
on the outdoor unit heat exchanger. that these often fail due to broken in- old USB cable in half and kept the end
This checks the temperature of the ternal wiring, which means it should with the Type-A plug. I then stripped
outdoor radiator. be fixable. So I kept the drive, hoping the four exposed wires and soldered
I was still puzzled by this, as all the that one day I could recover the data. them to the pads on the memory stick
thermistors had tested OK. I hadn’t To start the recovery process, I first circuit board, after having determined,
purchased the thermistors on my first had to carefully remove the plastic based on the original cable, which end
trip to Warwick Farm, as I couldn’t housing without damaging the en- was GND.
think of any reason why they would closed circuit board. I used a ‘spudger’ I first tried an old drive for practice
go bad. So I headed down to Warwick tool which is like a plastic screwdriver soldering the very small wires. I then
Farm again, to return the Active Mod- with a wide wedge, to separate closely moved onto the recovery target. Once
ule and the Power Filter PCB, and to joined surfaces that are pressure-fitted the wires were soldered correctly, I
pick up a thermistor set. or adhered together. connected the drive to a computer.
To get to the condenser thermistor, Having exposed the circuit board, It detected a USB device, but I could
most of the panels had to be taken off. I established with a multimeter that not access it, so I swapped the D+
I took plenty of photos to make sure the drive had failed due to a break in and D- wires. I then plugged it back
I could put everything back together the flexible circuit board that formed in, and it worked immediately, so I
in the right place. But when I went to the fold-out connector. So I had to join copied its contents to the computer.
turn the unit back on again, it wouldn’t a new set of wires directly to the cir- I was delighted to have gotten my
start at all! cuit board to bypass the damage. To photos back.
I thought I must have messed up do this, I had to work out which PCB
when I re-connected the mains wiring. pads were the connections GND, Vcc,
Thankfully, the manual has a diagram D+ and D-.
of the mains connection, and I discov- Getting GND and Vcc mixed up
ered that I’d swapped the incoming would likely be fatal to the device, but
and outgoing wires because the 1.5mm if you get D+ and D− swapped, it will
cable to the indoor unit and the incom- typically still be detected as a USB de-
ing 2.5mm gauge wiring looked much vice, but it will not work. The pinout of a USB Type-A
the same in my photos. The usual colouring scheme for USB connector. The white area (top) is the
Anyway, having fixed that, I crossed 1.1 or 2 is GND (black or blue), Vcc or cavity while the dark area (bottom)
my fingers and powered it up. The A/C +5V (red or orange), D+ (green) and D- is solid material. Pin 1 is Vcc or +5V,
fired up straight away, with no error (white or gold). Note that the device 2 is D-, 3 is D+ and 4 is GND. Double-
check and triple-check that you get
LEDs lid, and cool air came out of the was a four-wire USB 1.1/2 device, not the corrections right, referring to the
indoor unit! Success! USB 3 which uses more wires. There old connector, as it may be hard to
I’m still puzzled as to how the ther- is usually no indication on the circuit figure out the connections from the
mistors had become faulty and why board as to which pin is which, so ref- circuit board alone. SC

68    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

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MCP120-270 supply supervisor Programmed microcontrollers and IC sockets
2.8-inch touchscreen with 320x240 pixels MCP120-270 supply supervisor 3.3V low-dropout
Programmed regulator and IC sockets
microcontrollers
20MHz low-profile crystal Mosfets for PWM-controlled backlight dimming
Microcontroller (programmed with your choice) and IC socket 20MHz low-profile crystal All capacitors
Mosfets (through-hole backlight
for PWM-controlled ceramic dimming
green SMD LED 3.3V low-dropout regulator types supplied)
3.3V low-dropout regulator green SMD LED 3.3V low-dropout regulator
micro USB & microSD sockets All capacitors (ceramic types supplied) 2 1kΩ & 2 10kΩ resistors
All capacitors (ceramic types supplied) micro USB & microSD sockets All
Right-angle tactile switch 2 1kΩ & 2 10kΩ resistors Pincapacitors (ceramic
headers (male and types
female)supplied)
10kΩ resistor and 100Ω trimpot SMD tactile switch 1kΩ & 2for10k
2Mosfets Ω resistors backlight dimming
SMD capacitors and resistors Pin headers (male and female) PWM-controlled
Pin headers (male and female) SMD capacitors and resistors Pin headers (male and female)
pin headers and shorting block UB3 lid (laser-cut 3mm acrylic) Tapped spacers, machine screws and Nylon washers
Tapped spacers and machine screws pin headers and shorting block UB3
UB3 lid
lid (laser-cut
(laser-cut3mm acrylic)black 3mm acrylic)
matte/gloss
mounting hardware Tapped spacers, machine screws and Nylon washers
UB3 lid (laser-cut 3mm acrylic) mounting hardware Tapped spacers, machine screws and Nylon washers
MicromiteBackPack
Micromite BackPackV1PLUS Kit SC3321)
Kit (Cat (Cat SC4024) – $70.00
– $65.00 Micromite BackPack PLUS
Micromite BackPack V2 KitKit
(Cat(Cat
SC4237) – $70.00
SC4024) – $70.00 Micromite BackPack
Micromite BackPack PLUS
V3 KitV2(CatKitSC5082) – $75.00
(Cat SC4327) – $70.00
For more
Individual information
PCBs search for all
and microcontrollers areMicromite BackPack
also available articles
separately foratall
siliconchip.com.au
Micromite BackPacks
Specialised components for MICROMITE BACKPACK projects published in SILICON CHIP
Parking Assistant Deluxe eFuse
Black/clear/blue UB5 lid & ultrasonic sensor: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3338 $7.50 IPP80P03P4L04 P-channel Mosfet (2 rqd): siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4318 $4.00
LT1490ACN8 op amp (2 rqd): siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4319 $7.50
Boat Computer BUK7909-75AIE N-channel SenseFET (2 rqd): siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4317 $7.50
VK2828U7G5LF GPS module with antenna and cable: Main PCB [18106171] siliconchip.com.au/Shop/8/4370 $12.50
siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3362 $25.00 Matte black UB1 lid: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/19/4316 $7.50

Super Clock Radio IF Alignment

VK2828U7G5LF GPS module with antenna and cable: AD9833 DDS: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4205 $25.00
siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3362 $25.00
DS3231 real-time clock (RTC) with mounting hardware: Altimeter/Weather Station
siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3491 $5.00 DHT22/AM2302 temp. & humidity sensor: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4150 $7.50
DS3231+ rechargeable LIR2032 cell: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3519 $7.50 1A/500mA Li-ion/LiPo charger board: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4308 $15.00
GY-68 pressure/altitude/temperature sensor: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4343 $5.00
Energy Meter 5V 0.8W 160mA solar panel: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4339 $4.00
DS3231 real-time clock (RTC) with mounting hardware:
siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3491 $5.00 Tariff Super Clock
DS3231 + rechargeable LIR2032 cell siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3519 $7.50 VK2828U7G5LF GPS module with antenna and cable:
ACS718 20A isolated current monitor IC: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4022 $10.00 siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3362 $25.00
Main PCB [04116061 RevI]: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/8/4043 $15.00 DS3231 real-time clock (RTC) with mounting hardware:
Matte black UB1 lid: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/19/3538 $10.00 siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3491 $5.00

Voltage/Current Reference GPS-synched Frequency Reference

Short form kit: Short form kit:
All parts including PCB, but not including the BackPack module, case, All SMD parts and PCB. Not including BackPack module, case, power supply, GPS
power supply, PCB pins and wire siliconchip.com.au/Shop/20/3987 $99.00 module, connectors and a few through-hole parts:
Matte black or blue UB1 lid: SC4084/SC4193 $10.00 siliconchip.com.au/Shop/20/4762 $80.00
Main PCB [04110161] as separate item: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/8/3988 $12.50 VK2828U7G5LF GPS module with antenna and cable:
siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/3362 $25.00
DDS Signal Generator Main PCB [04107181] as a separate item: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/8/4728 $7.50
AD9833 DDS module: siliconchip.com.au/Shop/7/4205 $25.00

FOR MORE DETAILS ON ANY OF THESE BACKPACK PROJECTS OR COMPONENTS,

LOG ONTO SILICONCHIP.COM.AU/SHOP AND SEARCH FOR THE ITEM OF INTEREST
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  69
Easy-to-build
Active Hifi
Bookshelf
Speakers
with
Optional
Subwoofers
Part 1 – by Phil Prosser

These high fidelity monitor speakers

are designed for use with TVs,
computers or recording equipment.
They’re inexpensive and easy to
build, yet have excellent audio
quality, with low distortion and a
fairly flat frequency response.
So if you’re looking for high-quality
DIY bookshelf speakers without
spending the earth, these are for you.
Optional matching subwoofers extend
the bass significantly, and provide
much higher output levels.

M
odern TVs are becoming thinner and sleeker all
the time. As much as this trend shows the great
leaps in display technology, there are a few laws
of physics that limit the quality and capacity of the internal
Shown here
speakers, which must fit in a similarly tiny space.
with their optional
Let’s face it; the speakers on pretty much all modern subwoofers (which also
TVs sound pretty bad and some provide very poor voice act as handy stands) these
intelligibility. two-way, ported bookshelf speakers
The ideal solution is an external set of speakers and an are economic and easy to build.

70    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Trade-offs
amplifier connected to the TV. For the greatest con- When designing this project, we have had to make a
venience, the amplifier can be contained within the trade-off between cost and performance. There are some
speakers themselves. very costly options for drivers that promise exceptional
The speakers can generally be plugged into the performance. While serious audiophiles may be happy
television line-out (or headphone) output, so the tel- to spend many hundreds of dollars on a single driver, we
evision volume control can still be used. believe that such expense is not necessary for excellent
Any speakers which will work well with a TV are performance.
also very suitable for providing high-quality output The results we achieved confirm that theory. By using
from a PC, for watching movies and music, playing readily-available, reasonably-priced drivers, and a basic
games or for sound and movie editing. crossover, measurements and listening tests show that these
These high-quality speakers have a built-in power shine in a small two-way monitor system.
amplifier, so the fit the bill perfectly. Performance of the bookshelf speakers alone is very
I’ve designed them to be compact so that they don’t good, but they do lack a little at the bass end, so you can
take up too much space. But in some cases, particularly expect a more ‘full’ sound if you also build the optional
for TV and movie use, you may want more bass than a subwoofers. Both the bookshelf and subwoofer speakers
small enclosure can provide. are ‘active’, ie, there is an amplifier built into one of each
So the optional matching bass enclosures extend the fre- pair. This allows them to be plugged straight into your TV
quency response and also incorporate their own amplifier, or PC without needing to build a separate amp.
giving a higher maximum volume too. Some of the trade-offs that I needed to make while work-
ing on this design include:
Design goals • Size: I wanted to keep the speakers relatively small,
My goals in designing these speakers were to achieve: which limited the driver size and enclosure volume,
meaning they don’t produce really deep bass.
  1. a modest size for the bookshelf speakers, at around
• Enclosure material: I selected 15mm plywood or MDF,
200mm wide, 300mm deep and 400mm high.
which is cheap and easy to get, even though I would
2. a flat and well-behaved impedance curve. have preferred to use thicker material.
3. a decent maximum volume of at least 100dB SPL at 1 • Finish: I decided on a stained or varnished timber finish
meter without undue distortion. to keep the cost down and make construction simple.
Paint or carpet could be applied if desired.
4. a -3dB frequency response of 40Hz to 20kHz for the • Drivers: the drivers I chose, while low in cost and pro-
bookshelf speakers alone. ducing excellent sound quality, had some characteristics
5. a flat output, nominally ±3dB across the 40Hz to 20kHz which made crossover design a bit tricky. This makes
range. the crossovers a bit more expensive, but the driver cost
is low enough to offset that.
6. a matching subwoofer, extending the bass response and
taking over from the monitors up to about 90Hz. Electronics
7. timber construction, allowing readily-available materi- For simplicity, one bookshelf speaker contains a stereo
als to be used. amplifier to power both speakers, with a passive crossover
in each unit. This makes the pair fully self-contained, except
8. simplicity of construction, to make it easy for DIYers. for the power supply (see Fig.1). We’re using a ‘brick’ type
9. low cost; under $300 for the basic stereo bookshelf AC-to-DC switchmode mains power supply, so no mains
system, and no more than $150 on top of that to add two wiring is required. They are quite cheap and efficient for
subwoofers. the amount of power they provide.
Similarly, if you’re building the optional subwoofers,
10. integrated power amplifiers for neatness.
one subwoofer contains a stereo power amplifier to drive
For the optional subwoofers, my additional goals were: itself and the other (passive) subwoofer, plus an active
crossover which distributes the appropriate signals to both
  1. response down to about 35Hz, requiring a volume of
subwoofers, and to the pair of bookshelf speakers. This ar-
around 35l and an 8-inch (20cm) driver.
rangement is shown in Fig.2. A separate power ‘brick’ is
2. the ability to use the subwoofers as speaker stands for used to power the subwoofer amplifier, meaning two are
the bookshelf speakers. required for the whole system.
3. (or) an option to build a subwoofer in a rectangular shape The amplifier modules we’re using are Class-D ampli-
so it could be hidden under a desk. fiers, based on the TDA7498 IC. These produce plenty of
power without breaking the bank. We considered using
4. an active crossover that splits the signal between the an LM3886-based or discrete amplifier for these speakers,
bookshelf and subwoofer units. but could not warrant the associated increase in cost and
5. integrated power amplifiers for the subwoofers. complexity.
The type of amplifier we’re using is often described as
6. maximum dimensions of around 200mm wide, 300mm a “plate amplifier”.
deep and 800mm tall. We have chosen to use a brick power supply for the speak-
The dimensions ended up 210 x 296 x 280mm for the ers as it makes construction much simpler, and eliminates
speakers and 210 x 296 x 800mm for the subwoofers. the need for any mains wiring in the project. So if you are

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  71

STEREO
AUDIO POWER
INPUT POWER
INPUT INPUT OUTPUTS
POWER AMPLIFIER
POWER AMPLIFIER OUTPUTS

PASSIVE
PASSIVE CROSSOVER
CROSSOVER
PASSIVE PASSIVE
CROSSOVER CROSSOVER

STEREO
AUDIO
INPUT HIGH OUT
ACTIVE
SC
20 1 9
POWER CROSSOVER LOW OUT

Fig.1: the configuration of the basic bookshelf speaker

system. The left and right audio signals, and 24V DC
power, is fed into one of the speakers (it could be left or
right, depending on how you wire it up internally). One of
POWER
its internal power amplifier channels feeds the tweeter and POWER AMPLIFIER
woofer via a passive crossover, while the other channel
drives a pair of wires connecting to the other speaker. This
also has an internal passive crossover, conditioning these
signals before they pass to its tweeter and woofer.

confident with woodwork and happy to wire up the ampli- SC

20 1 9
fiers, this may be a good project to try out.
It is important to note that the line-level output from the Fig.2: the bookshelf speaker internals are identical if
you build the full version with the subwoofers. However,
subwoofer is high-pass filtered, so when the subwoofers
the incoming signal now goes into the first subwoofer,
are used, the monitors are not required to produce low-fre- where it’s split into high and low components. The two
quency signals. In this configuration, the cone excursion high outputs go to the stereo input on the first bookshelf
on the monitors is much lower than in the full range con- speaker, and then onto the other bookshelf speaker as
figuration. As a result, the mid-range is much clearer, and before. The low-frequency signals go to a second power
the system is capable of a much higher sound output level. amplifier within the first subwoofer, and its outputs
directly feed the two larger woofers in each bass cabinet.
Monitor speaker design considerations
The bass driver selected is an Altronics C3038 130mm the crossover electronics.
(5-inch) Aluminium cone driver. After much testing and If you drive this unit at 30W, you can achieve over 100dB
analysis, we decided upon this as it performed well by it- SPL at one metre. That is seriously loud in a home setting.
self in a modest enclosure. It’s about as loud as a jackhammer at close range. While
This driver can also be used in a two-way system cross- small in stature, these drivers can provide some solid output.
ing over at about 3kHz, which is above the normal vocal Modelling this driver in the proposed enclosure showed
frequency range, leading to less audible distortion. It is also that we could achieve an “extended bass shelf” alignment
excellent value for money. (Fig.3), where we are squeezing out a little bass extension
We decided on this after surveying several smaller 100mm at the expense of flatness at lower frequencies. It is a good
(4-inch) drivers. All of these fell short in the bass depart- compromise for smaller speakers. Note that when the op-
ment. We also considered larger drivers, in the 150-180mm tional subwoofers are added to the system, they take over
(6-7 inch) range. frequencies below 90Hz, so a flatter overall response is
Many of these can deliver good bass, but all push the en- achieved.
closure size well above the 16 litres we settled on. This is We chose to make the enclosure reasonably narrow, with
itself a compromise, as our original design goal was sub- an external width of 21cm. This allows the speaker to sit
10 litres. on a desktop or bookshelf without taking up much room.
The Altronics C3038 driver has 20-40W stated power han- The height and depth of the speaker were then chosen to
dling, a frequency response of 46Hz to 10kHz, voice coil deliver the required 16 litres internal volume. The remain-
diameter of 25mm, overall diameter of 130mm and 87dB ing dimensions are 297mm deep and 390mm high.
@ 1W/1m sensitivity. The depth of 297mm allows a standard 1200 by 600mm
These specifications are mostly typical of a driver this piece of plywood to be cut in half to make the side and top
size. Its party trick is its very extended frequency response, panels, minimising waste and cost.
right up to 10kHz. That allows us to easily integrate this A second aspect of the box is the layout of the bass driver
with a tweeter in a two-way system. and tweeter. You will note that we have butted the tweeter
Having said that, it’s best to avoid feeding signals right right up to the bass driver. The reason for this is to minimise
up to 10kHz into this driver, as we found it had some rather the separation of the centres of the tweeter and bass driver.
unruly behaviour up there, which we had to address with As a listener moves their head around, keeping these close

72    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Effect of tweeter resonance on crossover behaviour
0

-5

Attenuation (dB)
-10
Ideal
Uncorrected
-15 Corrected

-20

-25

-30
200 2k 20k

Fig.3: we plugged the Altronics C3038 woofer parameters

Frequency (Hz)
into WinISD and experimented with the dimensions of Fig.4: the tweeter’s impedance varies with frequency,
a small vented enclosure, achieving the response shown affecting the operation of the crossover. The blue line
here. This provides a slightly extended bass response at shows a simple crossover with a 4Ω resistive load. The red
the expense of slightly less flatness in the bass frequency curve shows the same crossover with the Vifa tweeter as
response. Given that the deviation is less than 1dB, you’re the load. The green curve shows the corrected response of
unlikely to notice it. And the bass response is extended by our tweaked crossover, with a compensation network to
around 10Hz, which is very worthwhile. reduce the tweeter resonance effect.

minimises differences in the distance from each driver to crossover very large and expensive. We then decided to try
the listener’s ear. The result is that the sound of the speakers a second-order crossover, and combined the filter into the
remains constant around the listening area. In other words, crossover. The roll-off, and indeed the impedance of the
these speakers deliver a good off-axis response. bass section, has been designed to attenuate the 9-11kHz
peaks more than usual.
The crossover One consequence of this tweaking is that the impedance
The C3038 bass driver performs quite well at lower fre- of the speaker dips to about 4Ω in the 2.5-5kHz range. This
quencies. We decided to cross the driver over to the tweeter will not fuss most amplifiers. The final bass driver output
at about 3.2kHz, allowing it to cover the critical 300-3000Hz is very clean and has none of the harshness of the unfil-
range of the human voice. tered driver output.
Unfortunately, this driver has some severe breakup modes
in the 9-11kHz frequency range, as a result of the very stiff The tweeter
cone utilised. This creates a group of peaks and dips in the We really wanted to choose a good tweeter, as when a
upper-frequency range. At first, we tried a crossover that tweeter is too peaky or harsh, the result is a speaker that
did not specifically treat these peaks, and quickly realised causes fatigue after prolonged listening. The tweeter chosen
our mistake! also needs to support a crossover frequency as low as rea-
The second version of the crossover included special fil- sonable, to allow us to avoid sending signals in the 9-11kHz
ters to “notch out” these peaks. This worked but made the region to the bass driver.

Fig.5: the final circuit of the crossover,

with the extra filtering for the woofer to
effectively cut out signals in the 9-11kHz
breakup region. This also incorporates
an RLC network (3.9Ω/22µF/900µH) to
smooth out the tweeter response due to
the resonance shown in Fig.4, plus
a 5.6Ω/12Ω resistive divider to
match the levels and impedances
of the two drivers to suit a single
signal source.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  73

You don’t have to build the subwoofers – if you don’t want to use the subs as stands, the two main speakers are ideal for
use with a computer, MP3 player, etc (albeit at the expense of some bass). Because they’re self-powered, they will plug
straight into virtually any sound source, from “line out” to headphone sockets . . .

So we selected a Vifa tweeter, Altronics Cat C3019. This wire will already have roughly the right inductance values!
is a very good tweeter at a fair price, but does present the We tested reels from Altronics (and these are specified in
designer with the challenge of a significant impedance the parts list). We’re not sure about reels from other ven-
peak at around 1.75kHz. This impedance peak is a result of dors. You would have to measure their inductances yourself.
tweeter resonance. It’s really lucky that a 100g reel of 1mm diameter ECW
The tweeter employs ferrofluid in the air gap in the mag- works out to pretty much exactly 390µH. We actually wanted
net assembly. This aids in cooling the voice coil, and usually 1mH for L3, but a 100g reel of 0.8mm diameter ECW meas-
damps the driver resonance. So, in most ferrofluid tweeters, ures 900µH, and that’s close enough.
the driver impedance is quite flat through resonance. The All that difference does is shift our crossover point from
C3019 tweeter is kind of ‘in-between’. The impedance of the 3.0kHz to 3.2kHz. Using the whole reels like this relieves con-
tweeter is nominally 4Ω, but at 1.75kHz it peaks at about 10Ω. structors of the job of tediously winding custom inductors.
We need to deal with this peak. Fig.4 shows the behaviour The three inductors are mounted on the crossover PCB
of an ideal first-order crossover in blue, the actual response perpendicularly to one another, ie, one faces north/south,
in red and the corrected response in green. The correction is one east/west and one up/down. This means they are ‘or-
implemented with an LCR trap, comprising (in our case) an thogonal’, so their magnetic fields will not interact.
inductor of around 1mH, a 22µF capacitor and a 3.9Ω resistor. Otherwise, we would get an unwanted air-cored transform-
This does add cost to the project, but it is essential to er between two or more of the inductors, and the crossover
achieving a good sound. A peak like the one shown with- would not work as intended.
out the correction circuit is responsible for many tweeters
sounding harsh and ‘tiring’. Inbuilt amplifier
The resultant second-order passive crossover circuit is The pre-built amplifier modules we’re using don’t cost
shown in Fig.5. This is a reasonably complex crossover for a lot but still deliver great performance. As avid hobby-
a two-way speaker, but it’s necessary to achieve the desired ists, entertaining the thought of buying a pre-built ampli-
sound quality. fier module was a hard concept to deal with… but we are
All three resistors can be 5W wirewound types. The ca- thankful we did.
pacitors are not too hard to get, either; the 6.8µF capacitors This amplifier will deliver about 30W RMS into two 8Ω
can be either metallised polypropylene or non-polarised speakers, which is more than enough for anything short of
electrolytic types. I decided to go with the former, but elec- a monster party.
tros are fine. Given its high value, the 22µF capacitor needs When paired with the matching subwoofers, the monitors
to be electrolytic. never see frequencies below about 90Hz, so 30W is actually
That just leaves us with the question of where to get, or a very serious amount of power indeed. The amplifier ac-
how to make, 390µH and 900µH air-cored inductors with cepts stereo line-level inputs.
low DC resistances, so that they are as close to ideal induc- As mentioned earlier, the amplifier uses an external
tors as possible. power supply, which is connected by a 2.5mm barrel plug.
Luckily, it turns out that you can simply purchase full reels This keeps things very simple and avoids mains wiring in-
of enamelled copper wire (ECW) on spools, and the spooled side the speaker.

74    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Bookshelf Speakers Parts List – to build one pair
Enclosures 8 M3 x 6mm machine screws
2 130mm (5in) 40W aluminium cone woofers [Altronics C3038] 8 3mm ID shakeproof washers
2 25mm (1in) 100W Vifa BC25SC55 tweeters [Altronics C3019] 4 10mm to 25mm long M3-tapped Nylon spacers
1 plate amplifier assembly (see below) 1 1m length of single-core shielded wire
2 passive crossover assemblies (see below) 1 1m length of dual-core shielded wire
2 600 x 1200mm sheets of 15mm marine ply 1 1m length of heavy-duty figure-8 wire
4 2m lengths of 15 x 15mm or 20 x 20mm ‘quad’ timber 1 length of 5mm diameter heatshrink tubing
1 small tube of thermal paste
80 8G x 25-28mm self-tapping countersunk wood screws
1 can of flat black spray paint, suitable for aluminium
20 8G x 15mm self-tapping countersunk wood screws
16 8G x 10-12mm self-tapping countersunk wood screws Passive crossover
2 105mm lengths of 40mm diameter PVC pipe 1 double-sided PCB, code 01101201, 137 x 100mm
1 80 x 40mm sheet of 1.5mm thick aluminium 3 2-way 5/5.08mm pitch PCB-mount terminal blocks (CON1-
1 roll of thin foam tape (eg, door seal tape) CON3)
1 pack of large staples (or a small box of 40mm nails) 1 900µH air-cored inductor (L1; full roll 0.8mm diameter
1 bag of Lincraft single-size thick wadding or similar ECW#) [Altronics W0407]
lightweight acoustic poly wadding 2 390µH air-cored inductors (L2,L3; full roll 1mm diameter
4 sheets of 120 grit sandpaper ECW#) [Altronics W0408]
1 sheet of 240-400 grit sandpaper 1 22µF 100V axial crossover capacitor [Jaycar RY6912]
2 6.8µF 100V axial crossover capacitor [Jaycar RY6956 or
1 small tin of timber varnish
RY6906]
1 small tin of matte or satin black paint
1 12Ω 5W 5% wirewound resistor
1 430-475ml tube of acrylic gap filler
1 5.6Ω 5W 5% wirewound resistor # ECW =
1 dual red/black binding post [Altronics P9257A]
1 3.9Ω 5W 5% wirewound resistor Enamelled
1 1m length of heavy-duty figure-8 wire 4 large plastic cable (zip) ties Copper Wire
1 250ml bottle of PVA wood glue
Subwoofer plate amplifier assembly
Additional parts for a pair of subwoofers All the parts specified for the bookshelf plate amplifier
2 200mm (8in) 70W polypropylene woofers [Altronics C3088] assembly above, except the aluminium sheet, plus:
1 subwoofer plate amplifier assembly (see below) 1 250 x 165mm sheet of 1.5mm thick aluminium
3 600 x 1200mm sheets of 15mm marine ply 1 red panel-mount RCA socket [Jaycar PS0259]
6 2m lengths of 15 x 15mm or 20 x 20mm ‘quad’ timber
1 black panel-mount RCA socket [Jaycar PS0496]
2 130mm lengths of 75mm diameter PVC pipe
1 double-sided PCB, code 01101202, 132 x 45mm
100 8G x 25-28mm self-tapping countersunk wood screws
6 2-way 5/5.08mm pitch PCB-mount terminal blocks (CON4-
16 8G x 15mm self-tapping countersunk wood screws
CON9)
8 8G x 10-12mm self-tapping countersunk wood screws
6 8-pin DIL sockets (for IC1-IC6; optional)
1 80 x 40mm sheet of 1.5mm thick aluminium
6 sheets of 120 grit sandpaper 2 ferrite beads (FB1,FB2)
1 sheet of 240-400 grit sandpaper 8 M3 x 6mm machine screws
1 dual red/black binding post [Altronics P9257A] 8 3mm ID shakeproof washers
1 1m length of heavy-duty figure-8 wire 4 10mm to 25mm long M3-tapped Nylon spacers
6 NE5532 dual low-noise op amps (IC1-IC6)
Plate amplifier assembly 1 LM317 1.5A adjustable regulator (REG1)
1 135 x 160mm sheet of 1.5mm thick aluminium
2 1N4004 400V 1A diodes (D1,D2)
1 TDA7498-based 100W + 100W amplifier, blue PCB (available
1 1N4148 small signal diode (D3)
from eBay)
1 24V 5-6A “brick” type mains power supply with 2.5mm ID DC Capacitors
barrel plug 1 470µF 50V 105°C electrolytic
1 2.5mm inner diameter chassis-mount DC barrel socket 2 220µF 25V electrolytic
[Altronics P0623] 8 47µF 35V 105°C electrolytic
1 red panel-mount RCA socket [Jaycar PS0259] 1 10µF 35V electrolytic
1 black panel-mount RCA socket [Jaycar PS0496] 8 150nF 63V MKT
1 dual red/black binding post [Altronics P9257A] 6 100nF X7R multi-layer ceramic
1 dual 10kΩ logarithmic potentiometer [Altronics R2334, 3 100pF NP0/C0G ceramic
Jaycar RP3756] Resistors (all 1/4W 1% metal film)
1 3-way 3.96mm crimp housing and pins [Altronics P5643 + 3 3 100kΩ 2 33kΩ 4 22kΩ 8 12kΩ 2 10kΩ
x P5640A, Jaycar HM3433] 4 7.5kΩ 2 5.6kΩ 4 4.7kΩ 1 3.3kΩ 1 1.8kΩ
1 knob to suit potentiometer 1 270Ω 2 100Ω 1 10Ω

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  75

 We have specified a TDA7498-based amplifier mod- Two main groups of amplifiers were credible candidates
ule available from eBay. These are theoretically capable for this project, based on the TPA3116 and TDA7498 ICs.
of driving 80W into an 8Ω speaker, but we are running Both are Class-D amplifier chips, and both operate from a
it from a lower voltage than the maximum. We selected single supply rail. They are highly efficient, have a tiny
this TDA7498-based module after purchasing and testing heatsink by linear standards and are very affordable.
many other amps. We considered using linear amplifiers, for example, dis-
crete amplifiers or amps based on the LM3886 IC. These
would deliver slightly better performance, but they all re-
quire dual-rail power supplies, and that leads us down the
path of putting transformers, rectifiers and mains wiring
inside the speaker. They would also cost more, and gener-
ate more heat inside the enclosure.
Looking at the Class-D options of the TPA3116 and
TDA7498, we bought a range of devices to test. We found
a few problems with most of the Class-D amplifiers on the
market at the current time.
Some are marketed as “2.1 channel” amplifiers, with a
subwoofer output and stereo main speaker outputs. Unfor-
tunately, none of these incorporate filtering on the main
outputs, meaning that full-range signal, including the range
Fig.6: the expected SPL output levels of the 130mm woofers sent to the subwoofer, is sent to the main speakers. This is
(green) compared to the 200mm woofers (grey), both at 30W. a failing that makes these devices virtually useless.
Not only do the larger diameter woofers put out a higher The heatsinking of many of the designs is very poor. In
SPL across the board, but they also have -3dB roll-off point
many cases, the heatsink is held down with a single screw.
around 10Hz lower, at about 35Hz compared to 45Hz.
This is such a fragile design we cannot bring ourselves to
use it inside a loudspeaker.
It seems random as to which amplifiers have good con-
tact between the amplifier IC and the heatsink. But that is
something we can fix.
Also, the voltage rating of capacitors on many of these
products is very close to the operating voltage. That might
not sound worrying, but it is. The reliability of electrolytic
capacitors is strongly dependent upon how far from their
maximum ratings they are operated (this includes temper-
ature, voltage and ripple current).
We pulled the 25V rated capacitors from one amplifier,
which ran them at 24V, and tested them on a power supply.
Every single one failed catastrophically at 26-28V. This is
Fig.7: the simulated speaker cone excursion values (in mm) far too close for us to recommend their use.
for the 130mm woofers (green) and 200mm woofers (grey). The TDA7498-based amplifiers can operate at up to 32V
The 200mm woofers have reasonable (<4.5mm) cone excur- DC, and the amplifier we selected has solid mechanical
sions down to their -3dB point of 35Hz, while the 130mm construction. Given we are specifying a 24V plugpack to
woofers run into excursion limitations and thus distortion at power the amplifier, we have a good voltage margin on the
a much higher frequency at this power level; around 100Hz. electrolytic capacitors.
As a bonus, the amplifier we recommend does not in-
clude volume controls, and has simple input and outputs
on screw connectors/plugs. This makes it very affordable.
You should be able to find the recommended amplifier
for about USD $9 (~AUD $14) each, which is far less than
we could build a discrete or LM3886-based amplifier for.
We also picked up a 24V 6A plugpack from eBay for less
than AUD $35.
By integrating the amplifier, input connectors, speaker
output sockets and volume control to an aluminium panel,
we can build a standalone amplifier, ready to install inside
the rear of a monitor speaker.

Subwoofer design
Fig.8: SPL output vs frequency for the 130mm woofers
(green) and 200mm woofers (grey) at the highest practical The optional subwoofers provide several benefits. Their
power level for each; 7.6W and 30W respectively. By larger 200mm (8-inch) drivers can handle significantly more
limiting the 130mm bass power to 7.6W, cone excursion is continuous power than the drivers in the bookshelf speak-
kept within reason, but the maximum SPL is around 10dB ers, as they have 40mm (1.5-inch) voice coils. Additionally,
lower compared to the larger woofers. the length of the voice coil and suspension allows greater

76    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 X
Fig.9: a ‘far-field’ measurement of the loudspeaker system Fig.10: these ‘near-field’ measurements paint a more
response, for one monitor and one subwoofer. The response accurate picture of the system’s low-end response. The 50Hz
is fairly flat from around 60Hz to nearly 20kHz, varying by peak is no longer so noticeable, and the bass can be seen to
just a few dB. The peak at 50Hz was reckoned to be due to extend down to a little below 40Hz.
sound reflections off a nearby wall.
cone excursion. This results in the driver having a linear But this is not the whole story. Fig.7 shows the mod-
travel of well over ±4.5mm. elled cone excursion for both speakers. At 30W, the Altron-
This, combined with the fact that the cones have a greater ics C3088 driver in the subwoofer remains well below its
area than the bass drivers in the bookshelf speakers, means 4.5mm linear excursion to about 35Hz. When driven hard,
that the subwoofers are much better-suited to handling low this driver gracefully limits the excursion without damage.
frequencies at high power levels. But at 30W, the much smaller driver in the monitor speak-
To illustrate the difference, Fig.6 shows the output of er would be trying to move ±7mm at about 38Hz, which
WinISD simulating the sound pressure levels (SPL) across a is far beyond its capability. The speaker simply cannot do
range of frequencies, from the subwoofer driven at 30W (grey this, and the cone hits the end of its mechanical excursion,
curve) and from the bookshelf speaker at 30W (green curve). causing distortion.
This shows that the subwoofer increases the bass out- Also, while the speaker is at its excursion extremes, the
put by about 3-5dB and extends the bass response by about voice coil is not entirely in the magnetic field of the ‘air
10Hz, down to around 35Hz. gap’. So not only is there distortion in the bass, but all

. . . but if you do build the subwoofers, they make fine stands for the main speakers. And because bass is non-directional,
you can aim the boxes where little fingers won’t do any harm to the speaker drivers.
siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  77
other output from the driver is distorted too. achievable by the C3088 and C3038 drivers.
Obviously, by turning the volume down, the monitor The active crossover we use to split the signal between
speaker works very well, but we do need to recognise that the subwoofers and monitor speakers allows the monitors
the laws of physics impose limitations on what we can to be driven at full power across their range, bringing the
ask of the speaker. Adding the subwoofers then allows us achievable SPL up to match the subwoofer.
to avoid sending frequencies below 90Hz to the bookshelf Regarding the subwoofer enclosures, we have kept their
speakers, thus avoiding the distortion described above. width and depth the same as the monitor speaker. This
These signals are instead reproduced by the subwoofers. allows the subwoofers to be “hidden” as speaker stands.
This has the additional benefit of significantly increas- This gives us a convenient 35-litre enclosure in which to
ing the power available for the monitor speakers to gener- mount the Altronics C3088 driver.
ate mid-range and treble frequencies, as all the bass signal You may have noticed a problem with this: the 200mm
has been diverted to a separate amplifier. woofer drivers are unlikely to fit in the usual way into a
Ideally, the monitor speakers should not reproduce any 210mm-wide cabinet. But because this is a subwoofer, and
more than about 7-10W worth of sub-100Hz signals, as this operates only up to 90Hz, its sound propagation is quite
limits the cone excursion to a more manageable 3-4mm. omnidirectional.
The achievable bass SPL in this case is obviously less. We exploit this fact, and mount the driver on the side of
Fig.8 shows the maximum practical low-frequency output the enclosure, rather than on the front.

78    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Fig.11: the full circuit of the active
crossover which is used to split the
incoming stereo signal, so that the high-
frequency components can be fed to
the pair of monitor speakers. The low-
frequency components are mixed to a
mono signal, buffered by IC1a and then
fed to the subwoofer amplifier, which can
drive one or two subs. The circuit runs
off the same nominally 24V DC supply
used to power the subwoofer amplifier,
regulated to 18V and with a 9V half-
supply rail generated for signal biasing.

(Inset above): the 2 x 80W class-D stereo

amplifier which we purchased on ebay
for less than $20 including postage. You
couldn’t build one for anything like this
price and it does the job nicely!

Similarly, we have placed the port on the rear of the box, Fig.9. These were made outdoors, with the speaker about
as its exact location is not critical. These can all be moved 3m from the nearest structure. You can see a peak at 50Hz,
if your application demands. which is due to reflection from the structure. The near-field
measurements below give a better insight into the low-fre-
Overall performance quency response of the speakers.
Measuring speaker frequency responses is difficult if you Moving the mic to a location closer to the boxes, approxi-
don’t have an anechoic chamber. However, we gave it a go, mately 50cm from the speaker and located equidistant be-
using a Behringer ECM8000 measurement microphone, a tween the subwoofer and monitor speaker, gives the bass
low-noise microphone preamplifier and the Speaker Work- response shown in Fig.10.
shop PC software. The measured -3dB point is 34Hz. There remains a small
Near-field measurements can be made with accuracy up artefact in the 50Hz region. Other than this, the response
to a modest frequency (say, around 1kHz). Far-field meas- is as expected, very flat indeed.
urements are heavily affected by reflections and room reso- The keen-eyed will note that the second plot is a couple
nances, but are more representative of how a speaker sys- of dB higher than the first. This is just because the micro-
tem actually sounds in use. phone is closer to the speaker.
The measurements presented here are a mix of both. The response is as smooth and deep as the graphs sug-
First, let’s look at the far-field measurements shown in gest. Should you build these speakers, we think you will

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  79

be delighted with the sound, and your wallet won’t be too quality of the monitors is therefore significantly enhanced,
much lighter! because the cone is effectively stationary, and not moving
with the bass. So the voice coil is always in the air-gap.
Active Crossover design The crossover is implemented as a “state-variable filter”,
As mentioned earlier, an active crossover is used to split which is essentially four integrators in series. Its circuit is
the incoming stereo audio signal into three different paths: shown in Fig.11.
left and right signals to feed to the monitor speakers, which The input signals are fed through a ferrite bead and 100pF
contain little information below 90Hz, plus a third mono capacitor to ground, to filter out any RF signals which may
signal for the subwoofers which has the signals below 90Hz be picked up, then are AC-coupled to the active filter inte-
from both channels (bass sounds in recordings are often in grators. The phase shift of each integrator is set by the RC
mono anyway, as having them in stereo doesn’t add much). values; in our case, 12kΩ and 150nF.
The subwoofer amplifier is identical to the monitor ampli- The left-channel crossover is implemented with op amps
fier, except for the addition of this active crossover, which IC1b, IC2a, IC2b, IC3a & IC3b along the top, while the right
is custom-designed. We cannot stress how important this channel comprises IC4b, IC5a, IC5b, IC6a and IC6b. They
is to achieve good performance in an active system, and in are otherwise identical.
protecting the monitor speaker from unwanted bass signals. One unusual aspect of this filter is that it uses nested
The active crossover board implements a fourth-order feedback. The second and fourth stages have feedback re-
Linkwitz-Riley filter, which has a roll-off of 24dB per oc- sistors to the non-inverting input of the first stage, while
tave. The crossover point is at 90Hz. the third and fifth stages have feedback resistors to the in-
A fourth-order crossover giving a very steep filter slope verting input of the first stage.
has been chosen to ensure that, even when the subwoofer The high-pass output is taken from the output of the
is very close to the listener, you cannot localise the sub. first stage in each case. The low-pass outputs are from the
This makes it seem like the bass signals are coming from fifth stages. These are mixed 1:1 using a pair of 4.7kΩ re-
the same place as the other signals, ie, the monitor speakers. sistors, then fed to buffer IC1a, which then sends the sig-
The second benefit is that with a fourth-order crossover, nal for driving the subwoofer amplifiers.
minimal bass is sent to the monitors, and this prevents Usually, the op amps in a circuit like this would run
the excessive cone excursions mentioned earlier, which from positive and negative rails (a “split supply”), with
can dramatically increase distortion (and not just in the the signals being ground-referenced. But in this case, we
bass, either). want to operate the amplifier from a DC switch-mode sup-
At 90Hz, the high-pass filtered signal level is just one- ply, ideally 24-32V.
quarter of the unfiltered level. At 45Hz, just 1% or so of The 24-32V input is low-pass filtered by a 10Ω series
the signal power is sent to the monitors. The reproduction resistor and 470µF capacitor, then fed to REG1, an LM317
adjustable regulator, to give a nice clean 18V DC output to
run all the op amps. Two 4.7kΩ resistors across this 18V
rail generate a 9V half-supply rail which is buffered by op
amp IC4a and an RC low-pass filter. This is used to DC-
bias all the signals, so they stay within the op amps’ 0V
and 18V supply rails.
The signals are then AC-coupled again at the outputs,
and re-biased to 0V to remove this DC offset.

Conclusion
If you’re interested in building these loudspeakers
(whether as standalone bookshelf speakers or with the sub-
woofers), now is a good time to start gathering the parts
required, as shown in the parts list.
Next month, we’ll describe how to build both sets of
cabinets, along with the required electronics. SC

The tools you’ll need . . .

Circular saw
Sawhorse
Jigsaw
Drill with drill bits and screwdriver bits
Countersinking bits
Large adjustable hole saw (a jigsaw could be used instead)
Caulking gun
Router
Sanding block
Set of large clamps
Staple gun (not essential but makes construction easier)
The passive crossover (shown here close to life size) will be Heavy gloves (protect hands from splinters when sanding)
described (along with box details) in Part II next month.

80    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

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 Using Cheap Asian Electronic Modules by Jim Rowe

Intelligent 8x8
RGB LED matrix
This month we’re looking
at a module with an 8x8
matrix of 64 ‘intelligent’
RGB LEDs. Each LED
can display over 16
million different colours,
or primary colours at
256 brightness levels.
The LEDs are controlled
serially via a single wire,
and multiple modules
can be cascaded to build
a much larger display.
That makes for all sorts of
useful applications!

W e looked at some 8x8 LED display

modules in an earlier article in
this series, back in the June 2017 issue
In this module, each RGB LED has
its own built-in serial data register,
latch register and decoder/driver, so
program its LEDs as well. And so on.
This module is based on an impres-
sive device: the WS2812B intelligent
(siliconchip.com.au/Article/10680). no separate controller is needed. control LED made by WorldSemi,
We thought it was worth writing this All 64 LEDs of the module are con- based in Dongguan, Guangdong prov-
one up too, as it is significantly more nected in sequential (daisy-chain) ince, China (between Guangzhou and
flexible and just generally more useful. fashion, so that serial data can be fed Shenzhen, and near Hong Kong).
It uses RGB (red/green/blue) LEDs into the first LED of the module and I should note that some of the mod-
rather than monochrome (single col- passed through to the other LEDs in ules currently available use a ‘clone’
our) LEDs. Each LED can display up turn. of the WS2812B device, the SK6812,
to 256 brightness levels for each of If you want to use multiple mod- made by another Chinese firm: Shen-
the three colours, to give a total of ules, the data output from the 64th zhen Sikewei Electronics. Although
16,777,216 (256 × 256 × 256) differ- LED on the first module can be fed the timing specs for the SK6812 dif-
ent colours. to the first LED of the next module to fer a little from those of the WS2812B,

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  85

 ►
Fig.1: the SMD package size and
pinout of the WS2812B (and
equivalent) chips. Internally,
it’s made from multiple
semiconductor dies, tied
together with bond wires and
encapsulated with a plastic lens
on top. Note that the package
orientation marking is located
on pin 3, rather than pin 1.

Fig.2: as well as the red, green ►

and blue LED dies, the WS2812B
incorporates a controller/driver
IC, which includes a serial latch
plus three linear LED drivers
with 8-bit DACs.

they are quite compatible with most Fig.3 shows how a string of 64 So, presumably the reason for this
of the available software. WS2812B devices are connected to unusual scheme is to avoid the need
You can find these WS2812B/ make up the module. This is simplified to reverse the order of data being sent
SK6812-based 8x8 RGB LED modules by showing just three of the 64 devic- to an array of these devices.
on the internet from various vendors, es. The data stream from the MCU is The only other components are the
many of them available via sites like fed into pin 4 (DIN) of the first device, 100nF bypass capacitors on the +5V
eBay or AliExpress (www.aliexpress. while the output from pin 2 (DOUT) supply line, with one next to each de-
com/item/32671025605.html). The is connected to pin 4 of the next de- vice. The 1000µF reservoir capacitor
prices vary quite a bit. You can find vice, and so on. is external to the module.
them for between $8 and $26 each. So One of the slightly interesting fea- The physical layout of the 64-LED
it pays to search around! tures of this chip is that unlike other array, which measures 65 x 65mm,
Now let us look at the WS2812B IC daisy-chained shift registers, it doesn’t is shown in Fig.4. The input connec-
to see how it works. This description feed the top-most ‘overflow’ bit of the tions for the module are at lower left,
applies to the SK6812 as well. shift register to the output, for feeding while the output connections are at
into the next device. upper right.
The WS2812B LED chip Rather, the output is held in a static Each WS2812B device can draw up
Inside its small (5 x 5 x 1.6mm) four- state until all 24 bits have been shifted to 18mA from the +5V supply during
lead SMD package, shown in Fig.1, into the register (presumably, tracked operation, so a single 64-LED module
this device houses a trio of LEDs as via a counter register), at which point can draw as much as 1.152A.
well as a serial controller IC. It looks it no longer shifts in any new bits. The That’s why it’s recommended that
deceptively simple, but you can see input is then connected to the output even using a single module, the +5V
from the block diagram (Fig.2), there’s buffer via an internal switch. supply for the module should not
quite a lot inside. This means that the first 24 bits of come from your MCU (Arduino or
It includes a 24-bit shift register, data shifted into the daisy chain de- Micromite, etc), but from a separate
a 24-bit latch, three eight-bit DACs termine the state of the first device. DC supply.
(digital-to-analog converters) coupled With the more typical (and simpler) It’s even more important to do this
to a driver for each LED and even a shift-through design, the first bits of when you’re using several modules in
buffer amplifier to boost and reshape data end up in the last device – ie, cascade. This is also why that 1000µF
the serial data output, ready for feed- you have to shift in the data in re- capacitor is needed on the +5V sup-
ing to the next WS2812B. verse order. ply line.

Fig.3: cascading multiple

WS2812B devices is simple.
The DOUT (data out) pin
of one device is simply
connected to the DIN (data
in) pin of the next device.
The 5V and GND pins are
all connected in parallel,
with a 100nF bypass
capacitor close to each
device.

86    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Fig.4: this shows the layout
of the 8x8 RGB LED matrix.
As you would expect, the
LEDs are laid out in a
grid. The data input is at
lower left and data output
at upper right (along with
the supply pins), so that
multiple modules can be
daisy-chained. It’s a pity
that the output isn’t at
lower right, as that would
make chaining modules
considerably easier.

This 8x8 RGB LED

Driving the module module uses WS2812B
The LEDs in these modules are pro- ICs. The data and power
grammed serially via a single wire, as connections are made via
two 3-pin male headers
mentioned earlier. But they use a spe-
on the underside of the
cial pulse width modulation (PWM) PCB.
coding system for the data, shown
in Fig.5.
The timing for a zero bit, a one bit
and the RESET/LATCH pulse for a ba-
sic WS2812B device are shown at the
top of Fig.5; this is used in most of
the currently-available 8x8 modules.
The corresponding timings for the lat-
est WS2812B-V4 version of the device
are shown adjacent.
There are subtle differences in
data bit timing between the two ver-
sions. The main difference is that the
WS2812B needs a RESET/LATCH
pulse lasting more than 50µs, while
the WS2812B-V4 needs a longer pulse
of more than 280µs.
Timing for the SK6812 device is
similar to that for the WS2812B, with
a zero bit composed of a 300ns high
followed by a 900ns low, a one bit
composed of a 600ns high followed by
a 600ns low, and the RESET/LATCH
pulse needing to be 80µs or more.
The centre section of Fig.5 shows
the 24-bit data packet used to pro-
gram a single WS2812B LED. There
are eight bits for each of the three
colours, with each colour’s data byte
sent MSB (most-significant-bit) first.
So the total time needed to refresh
one LED is either 30µs or 26.4µs, Fig.5: the WS2812B uses a custom 1-wire serial protocol, with the duration of the
depending on the version of the positive pulse distinguishing between a zero and one bit. Unfortunately, different
WS2812B chip. versions of the chip require different timings, although it is possible to choose
Fig.5 also shows the colour data be- timings which will suit all versions. Note the much longer latch pulse required
ing sent in GRB (green-red-blue) order, for the V4 chips. Also, while many chips expect colour data in the green, red,
but some of the WS2812B or equivalent blue order shown here, some use the more standard red, green, blue order.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  87

devices used in these modules require While the underside of this
the data to be sent in RGB order. As a module uses headers for external
result, much of the software written for connections, some modules
these modules allow the colour byte or- provide SMD pads rather than
der to be changed to suit the specific holes. It can be worthwhile to
shop around, but there is a risk
devices being used. that you may come across clones
The 64-LED data stream used to which are not fully compatible.
program all of the WS2812B LEDs in
a single 8x8 module is shown at the
bottom of Fig.5. As you can see, the
24 bits of data for each of the 64 LEDs
are sent in turn, followed by a RESET/
LATCH pulse. This pulse instructs all
of the WS2812Bs to transfer the data in
their shift register into the latch regis-
ter, changing the colour and brightness
of its LEDs to the new values.
So one complete refresh cycle for an
8x8 module takes very close to 1970µs
(1.970ms) or 1969.6µs (1.969ms), ries resistor connecting the module’s library of routines for the Arduino
depending on which version of the DIN pin to one of the Arduino’s digi- written by the Adafruit people and
WS2812B is being used. As a result, tal I/O pins. called “Adafruit_NeoPixel”.
the display can be refreshed up to 500 Wires from the module’s +5V and To get you started, I’ve written
times each second (or a fraction of this GND pins are then used to supply it a sketch called “RGBLED_Matrix_
with multiple modules, eg, 100 times with 5V power, with a 1000µF capaci- sketch.ino”, which is available for
per second for five modules daisy- tor used as a reservoir to ensure that download from the Silicon Chip web-
chained). the 5V power remains constant. site. It uses the Adafruit_NeoPixel li-
Writing the required Arduino brary, which can be downloaded from
Driving it from an Arduino ‘sketch’ (program) is a little compli- https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_
Thanks to the single-wire data cated due to the unusual PWM cod- NeoPixel (or via the Arduino IDE’s Li-
programming system used by the ing system used. Luckily, several Ar- brary Manager).
WS2812B device, it’s physically quite duino software libraries have been This sketch allows you to produce
easy to drive this module from an Ar- written to drive a string of WS2812B/ one of nine different patterns on the
duino. SK6812 devices. module, simply by sending a digit
As shown in Fig.6, all that’s needed You’ll find suitable programs in (from 1 to 9) to the Arduino from your
is a wire connecting the module’s GND various places on the Web, most of PC’s serial port (eg, via the IDE’s Se-
pin to one of the Arduino GND pins, them fairly simple and straightfor- rial Monitor). For example, sending a
together with a wire with a 390W se- ward. Many of them make use of a “1” produces a changing rainbow pat-

Fig.6: it’s effortless to hook up an Arduino module to one of these LED arrays. You just
need to connect the grounds together, plus connect a 390W resistor from any of the
Arduino I/O pins to the DIN pin of the module. As mentioned in the text, due to the LED
current demands, a separate >1A 5V DC supply is needed to power the module(s).

88    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

tern, sending a “3” produces a display mite ‘gurus’ on The BackShed Forum devices, and, lo and behold, the mod-
of all LEDs glowing mid-green, send- (siliconchip.com.au/link/aavx). ules gave the correct displays from my
ing a “6” produces a pattern of white I eagerly downloaded Mr Mather’s test program.
dots ‘chasing’ each other, etc. CFUNCTION, and tried using it with I then proceeded to write an expand-
While this may not sound terribly a small MMBasic program to drive a ed version of my original MMBasic
exciting, it should give you a good idea module with 64 WS2812B LEDs. The test program to provide readers with
of what’s involved in driving these results were a bit disappointing, with a suitable demo program to run on
modules from an Arduino. a variety of unexpected errors. This a Micromite. This program is called
prompted me to try using my DSO to “RGB LED matrix test program.bas”,
Driving it from a Micromite check the pulse timing of the bitstream and again you can download it from:
Driving one of the modules from being sent to the WS2812B LEDs, siliconchip.com.au/Shop/6
a Micromite again isn’t easy, main- to compare it to the required timing This program displays a ‘rainbow’
ly because of the PWM bit encoding shown in Fig.5. of coloured stripes on the 64-LED
scheme. I subsequently found a few differ- SW2812B/SK6812 module, then clears
After trying to make unorthodox use ences, which seemed likely to explain the display for another five seconds be-
of MMBasic’s built-in SPI communi- the problems I was having. fore repeating the cycle. While simple,
cations protocol (with no luck), I real- After an exchange of emails with Mr again I hope it will give you a good idea
ised that I would need an embedded Mather, I learned that his CFUNCTION as to how a Micromite can be used to
C function similar to Geoff Graham’s had been written about four years ago drive these modules.
SerialTX module. to suit the original WS2812 LEDs. To achieve different kinds of display
CFUNCTIONs allow native ‘ma- He suggested a couple of changes to (including dynamic displays), all you
chine language’ code to be added to it to make the pulse timing more com- need to do is use the MMBasic part of
an MMBasic program. This would let patible with the WS2812B, SK6812 the program to change the ‘pixel’ data
me send the serial data streams to the and WS2812B-V4 devices, and also stored in the colours() array.
LED module with the right encoding guided me regarding how to make the You can find some useful links on
and at the right speed. changes easily without having to re- this module below:
I was rather daunted at the pros- compile his code. Documentation: siliconchip.com.
pect of writing this CFUNCTION. But I made the suggested changes and au/link/aavv
Geoff Graham advised me that a suit- tried it all again. Now the timing of Datasheets: siliconchip.com.au/
able function had already been creat- the pulse stream was much closer to link/aavy and siliconchip.com.au/
ed by Peter Mather, one of the Micro- that needed by the WS2812B/SK6812 link/aavw SC

Fig.7: driving a “neopixel” LED array from a Micromite is nearly identical to an Arduino: the two grounds connected
together, and a 390W resistor (or just a direct connection) from one of the Micromite’s I/O pins to the LED array DIN pin.
The software is a bit more complicated, but if you start with our sample code, it should work straight away.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  89

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ThingSpeak data logger – $10.00 ~ WiFi Tank Level Meter (ext. antenna socket) – $15.00 TOUCH & IR REMOTE CONTROL DIMMER (FEB 19)
- ERA-2SM+ MMIC & ADCH-80A+ choke (6GHz+ Frequency Counter, OCT-DEC17) $15.00 N-channel Mosfets Q1 & Q2 (SIHB15N60E) and two 4.7MW 3.5kV resistors (Cat SC4861) $20.00
- Geeetech Arduino MP3 shield (Arduino Music Player/Recorder, VS1053, JUL17) $20.00 IRD1 (TSOP4136) and fresnel lens (IML0688) (Cat SC4862) $10.00
- 1nF 1% MKP (5mm lead spacing) or ceramic capacitor (Wide-Range LC Meter, JUN18) $2.50
- MAX7219 LED controller boards (El Cheapo Modules, Part 7, JUN17): MOTION SENSING SWITCH (SMD VERSION) (FEB 19)
8x8 red SMD/DIP matrix display – $5.00 ~ red 8-digit 7-segment display – $7.50 Short form kit (includes PCB and all parts, except for the extension cable) (Cat SC4851) $10.00
- AD9833 DDS module (with gain control) (for Micromite DDS, APR17) $25.00 SW-18010P vibration sensor (S1) (Cat SC4852) $1.00
- AD9833 DDS module (no gain control) (El Cheapo Modules, Part 6, APR17) $15.00
- CP2102 USB-UART bridge $5.00 DAB+/FM/AM RADIO (JAN 19)
- microSD card adaptor (El Cheapo Modules, Part 3, JAN17) $2.50 Main PCB with IC1 pre-soldered $60.00
- DS3231 real-time clock module with mounting spacers and screws (El Cheapo, OCT16) $5.00 Main PCB with IC1 and surrounding components (white box at top right) pre-soldered $80.00
Explore 100 kit (Cat SC3834; no LCD included) $69.90
DCC BASE STATION HARD-TO-GET PARTS (CAT SC5260) (JAN) Set of extra SMD parts (contains most SMD parts except for the digital audio output) $30.00
Two BTN8962TA motor driver ICs & one 6N137 opto-isolator $30.00 Extendable VHF whip antenna with SMA connector: 700mm ($15.00) and 465mm ($10.00)
PCB-mounting SMA ($2.50), PAL ($5.00) and dual-horizontal RCA ($2.50) socket
SUPER-9 FM RADIO (NOV 19)
CA3089E IC, DIP-16 (SC5164) $3.00 GPS-SYNCHED FREQUENCY REFERENCE SMD PARTS (CAT SC4762) (NOV 18)
MC1310P IC, DIP-14 (SC4683) $5.00 Includes PCB and all SMD parts required $80.00
110mm telescopic antenna (SC5163) $7.50
Neosid M99-073-96 K3 assembly pack (two required) (SC5205) $6.00 ec. SUPER DIGITAL SOUND EFFECTS KIT (CAT SC4658) (AUG 18)
PCB and all onboard parts (including optional ones) but no SD card, cell or battery holder $40.00
TINY LED XMAS TREE COMPLETE KIT (SC5180) (NOV 19)
Includes PCB, micro, CR2032 holder (no cell) and all other parts. Also includes 12 red, green USB PORT PROTECTOR COMPLETE KIT (CAT SC4574) (MAY 18)
and white LEDs plus four extra 100W resistors. PCB available in green, red or white. $14.00 All parts including the PCB and a length of clear heatshrink tubing $15.00
MICROMITE EXPLORE-28 (CAT SC5121) (SEPT 19) SC200 AMPLIFIER MODULE (CAT SC4140) (JAN 17)
Complete kit – includes PCB plus programmed micros and all other onboard parts $30.00 hard-to-get parts: Q8-Q16, D2-D4, 150pF/250V capacitor and five SMD resistors $35.00
90    Silicon
Programmed Chip
micro bundle – PIC32MX170F256B-50I/SO + PIC16F1455-I/SL $20.00
Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
*Prices valid for month of magazine issue only. All prices in Australian dollars and include GST where applicable. # P&P prices are within Australia. O’seas? Place an order on our website for an accurate quote.

01/20
PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS & CASE PIECES For a complete list, go to siliconchip.com.au/Shop/8

PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD TO SUIT PROJECT DATE PCB CODE Price PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD TO SUIT PROJECT DATE PCB CODE Price
100DB STEREO AUDIO LEVEL/VU METER JUN16 01104161 $15.00 GPS-SYNCHED FREQUENCY REFERENCE NOV18 04107181 $7.50
HOTEL SAFE ALARM JUN16 03106161 $5.00 LED CHRISTMAS TREE NOV18 16107181 $5.00
UNIVERSAL TEMPERATURE ALARM JUL16 03105161 $5.00 DIGITAL INTERFACE MODULE NOV18 16107182 $2.50
BROWNOUT PROTECTOR MK2 JUL16 10107161 $10.00 TINNITUS/INSOMNIA KILLER (JAYCAR VERSION) NOV18 01110181 $5.00
8-DIGIT FREQUENCY METER AUG16 04105161 $10.00 ↳ ALTRONICS VERSION NOV18 01110182 $5.00
APPLIANCE ENERGY METER AUG16 04116061 $15.00 HIGH-SENSITIVITY MAGNETOMETER DEC18 04101011 $12.50
MICROMITE PLUS EXPLORE 64 AUG16 07108161 $5.00 USELESS BOX DEC18 08111181 $7.50
CYCLIC PUMP/MAINS TIMER PCB SET SEP16 10108161/2 $10.00 FOUR-CHANNEL DC FAN & PUMP CONTROLLER DEC18 05108181 $5.00
MICROMITE PLUS EXPLORE 100 SEP16 07109161 $20.00 ATtiny816 DEVELOPMENT/BREAKOUT PCB JAN19 24110181 $5.00
AUTOMOTIVE FAULT DETECTOR SEP16 05109161 $10.00 ISOLATED SERIAL LINK JAN19 24107181 $5.00
MOSQUITO LURE OCT16 25110161 $5.00 DAB+/FM/AM RADIO JAN19 06112181 $15.00
MICROPOWER LED FLASHER OCT16 16109161 $5.00 ↳ CASE PIECES (CLEAR) JAN19 SC4849 $.00
MINI MICROPOWER LED FLASHER OCT16 16109162 $2.50 REMOTE CONTROL DIMMER MAIN PCB FEB19 10111191 $10.00
50A BATTERY CHARGER CONTROLLER NOV16 11111161 $10.00 ↳ MOUNTING PLATE FEB19 10111192 $10.00
PASSIVE LINE TO PHONO INPUT CONVERTER NOV16 01111161 $5.00 ↳ EXTENSION PCB FEB19 10111193 $10.00
MICROMITE PLUS LCD BACKPACK NOV16 07110161 $7.50 MOTION SENSING SWITCH (SMD) PCB FEB19 05102191 $2.50
AUTOMOTIVE SENSOR MODIFIER DEC16 05111161 $10.00 USB MOUSE AND KEYBOARD ADAPTOR PCB FEB19 24311181 $5.00
TOUCHSCREEN VOLTAGE/CURRENT REFERENCE DEC16 04110161 $12.50 LOW-NOISE STEREO PREAMP MAIN PCB MAR19 01111119 $25.00
VI REFERENCE CASE PIECES (BLACK / BLUE) DEC16 SC4084/193 $10.00 ↳ INPUT SELECTOR PCB MAR19 01111112 $15.00
SC200 AMPLIFIER MODULE JAN17 01108161 $10.00 ↳ PUSHBUTTON PCB MAR19 01111113 $5.00
60V 40A DC MOTOR SPEED CON. MAIN PCB JAN17 11112161 $10.00 DIODE CURVE PLOTTER MAR19 04112181 $7.50
↳ MOSFET PCB JAN17 11112162 $12.50 ↳ UB3 LID (MATTE BLACK) MAR19 SC4927 $5.00
GPS SYNCHRONISED ANALOG CLOCK FEB17 04202171 $10.00 FLIP-DOT (SET OF ALL FOUR PCBs) APR19 SC4950 $17.50
ULTRA LOW VOLTAGE LED FLASHER FEB17 16110161 $2.50 ↳ COIL PCB APR19 19111181 $5.00
POOL LAP COUNTER MAR17 19102171 $15.00 ↳ PIXEL PCB (16 PIXELS) APR19 19111182 $5.00
STATIONMASTER TRAIN CONTROLLER PCB SET MAR17 09103171/2 $15.00 ↳ FRAME PCB (8 FRAMES) APR19 19111183 $5.00
EFUSE APR17 04102171 $7.50 ↳ DRIVER PCB APR19 19111184 $5.00
SPRING REVERB APR17 01104171 $12.50 iCESTICK VGA ADAPTOR APR19 02103191 $2.50
6GHz+ 1000:1 PRESCALER MAY17 04112162 $7.50 UHF DATA REPEATER MAY19 15004191 $10.00
MICROBRIDGE MAY17 24104171 $2.50 AMPLIFIER BRIDGE ADAPTOR MAY19 01105191 $5.00
MICROMITE LCD BACKPACK V2 MAY17 07104171 $7.50 3.5-INCH LCD ADAPTOR FOR ARDUINO MAY19 24111181 $5.00
10-OCTAVE STEREO GRAPHIC EQUALISER JUN17 01105171 $12.50 DSP CROSSOVER (ALL PCBs – TWO DACs) MAY19 SC5023 $40.00
↳ FRONT PANEL JUN17 01105172 $15.00 ↳ ADC PCB MAY19 01106191 $7.50
↳ CASE PIECES JUN17 SC4281 $15.00 ↳ DAC PCB MAY19 01106192 $7.50
RAPIDBRAKE JUL17 05105171 $10.00 ↳ CPU PCB MAY19 01106193 $5.00
DELUXE EFUSE AUG17 18106171 $15.00 ↳ PSU PCB MAY19 01106194 $7.50
↳ UB1 LID AUG17 SC4316 $5.00 ↳ CONTROL PCB MAY19 01106195 $5.00
VALVE RADIO MAINS SUPPLY (INC. PANELS) AUG17 18108171-4 $25.00 ↳ LCD ADAPTOR MAY19 01106196 $2.50
3-WAY ADJUSTABLE ACTIVE CROSSOVER SEP17 01108171 $20.00 STEERING WHEEL CONTROL IR ADAPTOR JUN19 05105191 $5.00
↳ FRONT/REAR PANELS SEP17 01108172/3 $20.00 GPS SPEEDO/CLOCK/VOLUME CONTROL JUN19 01104191 $7.50
↳ CASE PIECES (BLACK) SEP17 SC4403 $10.00 ↳ CASE PIECES (MATTE BLACK) JUN19 SC4987 $10.00
6GHz+ TOUCHSCREEN FREQUENCY COUNTER OCT17 04110171 $10.00 RF SIGNAL GENERATOR JUN19 04106191 $15.00
↳ CASE PIECES (CLEAR) OCT17 SC4444 $15.00 RASPBERRY PI SPEECH SYNTHESIS/AUDIO JUL19 01106191 $5.00
KELVIN THE CRICKET OCT17 08109171 $10.00 BATTERY ISOLATOR CONTROL PCB JUL19 05106191 $7.50
SUPER-7 SUPERHET AM RADIO PCB DEC17 06111171 $25.00 ↳ MOSFET PCB (2oz) JUL19 05106192 $10.00
↳ CASE PIECES & DIAL DEC17 SC4464 $25.00 MICROMITE LCD BACKPACK V3 AUG19 07106191 $7.50
THEREMIN JAN18 23112171 $12.50 CAR RADIO DIMMER ADAPTOR AUG19 05107191 $5.00
PROPORTIONAL FAN SPEED CONTROLLER JAN18 05111171 $2.50 PSEUDO-RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR AUG19 16106191 $5.00
WATER TANK LEVEL METER (INC. HEADERS) FEB18 21110171 $7.50 4DoF SIMULATION SEAT CONTROLLER PCB SEP19 11109191 $7.50
10-LED BARAGRAPH FEB18 04101181 $7.50 ↳ HIGH-CURRENT H-BRIDGE MOTOR DRIVER SEP19 11109192 $2.50
↳ SIGNAL PROCESSING FEB18 04101182 $5.00 MICROMITE EXPLORE-28 (4-LAYERS) SEP19 07108191 $5.00
FULL-WAVE MOTOR SPEED CONTROLLER MAR18 10102181 $10.00 SIX INPUT AUDIO SELECTOR MAIN PCB SEP19 01110191 $7.50
VINTAGE TV A/V MODULATOR MAR18 02104181 $7.50 ↳ PUSHBUTTON PCB SEP19 01110192 $5.00
AM RADIO TRANSMITTER MAR18 06101181 $7.50 ULTRABRITE LED DRIVER SEP19 16109191 $2.50
HEATER CONTROLLER APR18 10104181 $10.00 HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO MILLIVOLTMETER OCT19 04108191 $10.00
DELUXE FREQUENCY SWITCH MAY18 05104181 $7.50 PRECISION AUDIO SIGNAL AMPLIFIER OCT19 04107191 $5.00
USB PORT PROTECTOR MAY18 07105181 $2.50 SUPER-9 FM RADIO PCB SET NOV19 06109181-5 $25.00
2 x 12V BATTERY BALANCER MAY18 14106181 $2.50 ↳ CASE PIECES & DIAL NOV19 SC5166 $25.00
USB FLEXITIMER JUN18 19106181 $7.50 TINY LED XMAS TREE (GREEN/RED/WHITE) NOV19 16111191 $2.50
WIDE-RANGE LC METER (INC. HEADERS) JUN18 SC4618 $7.50 HIGH POWER LINEAR BENCH SUPPLY NOV19 18111181 $10.00
↳ WITHOUT HEADERS JUN18 04106181 $7.50 ↳ HEATSINK SPACER (BLACK) NOV19 SC5168 $5.00
↳ CASE PIECES (CLEAR) JUN18 SC4609 $7.50 DIGITAL PANEL METER / USB DISPLAY NOV19 18111182 $2.50
TEMPERATURE SWITCH MK2 JUN18 05105181 $7.50 ↳ ACRYLIC BEZEL (BLACK) NOV19 SC5167 $2.50
LiFePO4 UPS CONTROL SHIELD JUN18 11106181 $5.00 UNIVERSAL BATTERY CHARGE CONTROLLER DEC19 14107191 $10.00
RASPBERRY PI TOUCHSCREEN ADAPTOR JUL18 24108181 $5.00 NEW PCBs
RECURRING EVENT REMINDER JUL18 19107181 $5.00 BIG-DIGIT 12/24-HOUR CLOCK PROCESSOR MAR01 04103011 $15.00
BRAINWAVE MONITOR (EEG) AUG18 25107181 $10.00 ↳ DISPLAY PCB MAR01 04103012 $15.00
SUPER DIGITAL SOUND EFFECTS AUG18 01107181 $2.50 STUDIO 350 POWER AMPLIFIER JAN04 01102041 $10.00
DOOR ALARM AUG18 03107181 $5.00 BOOKSHELF SPEAKER PASSIVE CROSSOVER JAN20 01101201 $10.00
STEAM WHISTLE / DIESEL HORN SEP18 09106181 $5.00 ↳ SUBWOOFER ACTIVE CROSSOVER JAN20 01101202 $7.50
DCC PROGRAMMER (INC. HEADERS) OCT18 SC4716 $7.50 ARDUINO DCC BASE STATION JAN20 09207181 $5.00
↳ WITHOUT HEADERS OCT18 09107181 $5.00 NUTUBE VALVE PREAMPLIFIER JAN20 01112191 $10.00
OPTO-ISOLATED RELAY (INC. EXT. BOARDS) OCT18 10107181/2
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We also sell an A2 Reactance Wallchart, RTV&H DVD, Vintage Radio DVD plus various books at siliconchip.com.au/Shop/3
Low-cost, high-precision

By Allan Linton-Smith
Many digital thermometers have readouts with a 0.1°C
resolution but rarely are they accurate to within ±0.1°C.
Despite their claims, some can be several degrees out,
giving a false sense of accuracy. This simple, low-cost
thermometer checker will tell you just how accurate your
thermometer is. In some cases, you may even be able to
adjust the thermometer to be more accurate.

T
here are many reasons why you might need an ac- It works over a -40°C to +110°C range, but its accuracy is
curate thermometer. Checking to see if someone not as good when reading temperatures further away from
(especially a child) has a fever is an everyday use room temperature.
case. This requires pretty good accuracy, as the difference It’s worth building this yourself because other devices
between a normal-but-elevated temperature (as can hap- with precise temperature readings, eg, ±0.1°C, are not com-
pen when someone has been exercising, crying etc) and a monly available and are very expensive. For example, the
fever is just fractions of a degree. Fluke 9142 and 9143 are excellent calibrating instruments
Or maybe you’re a keen chef, and you want to use pro- with a display accuracy of ±0.2°C over their full range, but
cesses like tempering chocolate, where you need to heat we recently spotted a used one for sale for over $5,000!
the chocolate to a temperature within a fairly small win- Some say that glass thermometers are very accurate. Usu-
dow, eg, 31-33°C. ally, their accuracy is accepted as ±0.5 divisions, which
A 1°C error could mean that you think you’re in the win- typically translates to ±1°F or ±0.5°C,
dow, but you aren’t, and the batch could be ruined. but they are becoming quite rare.
Whatever the reason for using it, if you have a thermom- And they are still susceptible
eter that will read out to within 0.1°C, you want to know to reading errors, some of which
if it’s at least “in the ballpark” before you trust its display are described in the side panel.
fully. This simple device allows you to do that. When designing this device,
In some industries such as food manufacture, storage we found that there are a few tem-
and distribution, temperatures are critical. This is espe- perature sensor ICs that are even
cially true when food poisoning is a potential prob- more accurate, such as the LMT70, but
lem. So in these cases, it is essential to check that we decided against using this (for now)
your thermometers are accurate. A device like for a few reasons.
this is therefore invaluable. One is that it only comes in a tiny SMD package
This design is based on the LM35CAZ (0.94 x 0.94mm) which is hard to work with. Another is
IC, a temperature sensor that has been that its output voltage is non-linear and requires a lookup
available for some time now. But it table or polynomial curve-fitting to convert to a tempera-
has really come down in price ture reading.
lately. If managed correctly, it You can buy them pre-soldered to a module, but these
can be expected to give readings test boards cost more than $50, which is not worth it for
within ±0.2°C at 25°C. slightly better accuracy.
92    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au
The three DMMs are reading the outputs of the LM35s but we have also inserted the probes of five cheap digital
thermometers and two lab-grade glass thermometers into the device. The cheap thermometers have a 0.5°C spread, quite a
bit larger than the 0.2°C difference between the LM35s.

To give you an idea of how hard it is to measure tem- reading on the multimeter display means that the temper-
perature precisely with a digital sensor, here is a passage ature is 15.5±0.2°C.
from the LMT70 data sheet: Note that the LM35CA is only guaranteed to be within
“Although the LMT70 package has a protective back- ±0.5°C at 25°C, but in reality, a typical sample of the device
side coating that reduces the amount of light exposure on is within ±0.2°C from around -25°C to 50°C.
the die, unless it is fully shielded, ambient light will still The reason for using three different devices is three-
reach the active region of the device from the side of the fold. First, it increases your confidence that you have an
package. Depending on the amount of light exposure in a accurate reading when they are all giving similar results.
given application, an increase in temperature error should Second, it also lets you get an idea of which sensors read
be expected.” a little higher or lower than the others. And third, it also
“In circuit board tests under ambient light conditions, lets you check that the case is at an even temperature be-
a typical increase in error may not be observed and is de- fore making your readings.
pendent on the angle that the light approaches the pack- In the photo above, with all three giving readings with-
age. The LMT70 is most sensitive to IR radiation. Best prac- in 0.2°C of each other, note how the cheap digital ther-
tice should include end-product packaging that provides mometers with their probes inserted into the same metal
shielding from possible light sources during operation.” case, and presumably reading the same temperature, are

Circuit details V+ LM35 CAZ

The LM35CAZ is a precision integrated-circuit tempera- IC1
METER+
Fig.1: the LM35CAZ OUT
ture sensor with an output voltage linearly proportional to
the temperature in degrees Celsius. circuit GND METER–
GND V+
It requires no external calibration or trimming. It is low couldn’t be CON1
OUT
much simpler;
in cost, can operate on a wide variety of single supply volt- V+
it’s just the
ages and has low self-heating. three LM35s IC2 OUT 100nF
METER+
There’s little to the circuit besides three of these devices, with a shared
LM35CAZ
GND METER–
and a battery to power them, as shown in Fig.1. IC1-IC3 100nF bypass CON2 ON/OFF
can run from a wide supply range of 4-20V, so they are very capacitor, S1
well suited to be powered from a 9V battery. power switch V+
The output of each device can be measured by a multi- S1 and a 9V IC3 OUT METER+ BAT1
meter connected across one of CON1-CON3, set to its 1V battery for LM35CAZ
9V
GND METER–
range or thereabouts (ideally, with 1mV resolution). IC1- power.
CON3
IC3 have a nominal 0V output at 0°C, rising by 10mV/°C. SC
2020
So, for example, in the photo above showing a 155mV

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  93

 Accurate temperature measurement is not easy . . .
Making precise temperature readings the boiling point of water is about 98.9°C. earity, even though they are designed to
(say to within ±0.1°C) is difficult. Devices Normal day-to-day atmospheric pressure be as linear as possible.
to do this are not commonly available and variations can have a small effect on the It isn’t just electronic sensors that suf-
are very expensive! boiling point, too. fer from accuracy problems, either. As
For example, if your backyard weather Any salt in the water or ice can have a dra- one meteorologist pointed out, even the
thermometer is showing 40°C, it could matic effect on both the boiling and freez- meniscus (bulge in the top of a column
actually be 38°C or 42°C. ing points. of liquid in a tube) in a mercury or alcohol
It could even be much higher or lower According to the CRC Handbook of Chem- thermometer can lead to significant inac-
than this if your thermometer is poorly istry and Physics, 2.92% sodium chloride curacies in the readings.
sited (eg, near an air conditioner or road) in solution reduces the melting point of ice He also mentions:
or in a poorly designed enclosure or bad by 0.19°C and increases the boiling point “… mercury freezes at -38.8°C. It be-
position, which allows its reading to be by 0.05°C. comes increasingly less malleable as it ap-
affected by direct sunlight. A practical thermometer calibration meth- proaches that temperature and makes low
Assuming you have a linear sensor, you od is given at www.nfsmi.org/documentli- temperatures with mercury thermometers
can calibrate it using a stirred ice bath (to braryfiles/PDF/20130806025735.pdf of no value. The 18th century observers
determine its reading at 0°C) and vigor- Even if your calibration method is flaw- of the Hudson’s Bay Company using ther-
ously boiling pure water (100°C), both less, you also need to know that the sensor mometers provided by the Royal Society
at sea level. But unless you do this cor- response is perfectly linear to have confi- were unaware of the problem ...”
rectly, your readings could still be out dence in readings between the two extremes. Because of problems like this, interpret-
considerably. Even IC-based temperature sensors like ing historical air and sea temperature data
For example, at around 300m elevation, the LM35 suffer from some level of non-lin- is quite tricky!

all reading high (by about 0.5-1°C) and also have a con- have two laboratory-grade analog thermometers measur-
siderably greater spread than the LM35CA devices. ing the same temperature. As shown in the separate photo,
You must use the LM35CA version for accuracy, as the they are both reading just under 16°C, just slightly higher
LM35/LM35A/LM35C/LM35D cannot achieve the same than the figures shown on the DMMs.
accuracy. (Note: the “Z” suffix indicates a TO-92 package). Do not buy cheap LM35 sensors online if you are expect-
Note though that the LM35CA is limited to measuring in ing accuracy, or even for them to function. We also pur-
the range of -40°C to +110°C, while the less accurate LM35 chased several LM35Ds cheaply on the internet to compare,
and LM35A versions can measure from -55°C to +150°C. but NONE of them worked at all!
The three multimeters we’ve used here are low-cost de- So it is essential to obtain them from a reputable sup-
vices that you can get for a few dollars from Jaycar, and plier (eg, the ones mentioned in the parts list).
we’ve found that they are very accurate. They have a voltage
accuracy rating of ±0.5%, which equates to an additional Construction
error of just ±0.1°C in the temperature readings. We recommend that you build this into a diecast alu-
To demonstrate the accuracy of the LM35CAs, we also minium box. This will not only provide some shielding, it
allow you to check glass thermometers and to help main-
tain a uniform and stable temperature, without any ther-
Parts list – mal gradients. The sensors have very little self-heating, but
Thermometer Calibrator it is still present; the large thermal mass of the case helps
to mitigate this.
1 diecast aluminium box, approx. 115 x 90 x 55m The LM35s also detect temperature variations through
[eg, Jaycar Cat HB5042] their pigtails. If these are exposed to small amounts of heat
3 LM35CAZ temperature sensors [eg Mouser LM35CAZ/NOPB, variations, such as human breath or wind, it can disturb
Digi-key LM35CAZ/NOPB-ND, RS Cat 5335878] the measurements and give false readings. By placing the
3 voltmeters [eg, Jaycar Cat QM1500] ICs inside a metal box, we can eliminate these errors.
3 red banana plug-banana plug leads Solder the three LM35s to a small piece of protoboard,
3 black banana plug-banana plug leads veroboard or similar. Join their V+ and GND leads together,
3 black chassis-mounting banana sockets
3 red chassis-mounting banana sockets V+ 1N4148
1 chassis-mounting 9V battery holder A K
V+
1 9V battery clip with flying leads IC1 OUT METER+
1 9V battery (alkaline recommended)] LM35
1 100nF ceramic, MKT or greencap capacitor GND
A
METER–

1 SPST toggle switch D1

18k
1 small piece of protoboard 1N4 148

1 3mm ID solder lug

K
A
SC
2020
1 M3 x 10mm machine screw and nut Fig.2: by adding three
D2
components to each LM35
1 adhesive TO-3P or TO-247 insulating washer 1N4 148
LM35, you can measure K
1 small tube adhesive heatsink compound [eg Jaycar NM2014] temperatures below 0°C. GND V+
various lengths of ribbon cable or hookup wire OUT

94    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 2.5
Thermistor RTD Thermocouple LM35CAZ 2.0 LM35D
Range -100 to +325°C -200 to +650°C +200 to +1750°C -40 to +150°C

TEMPERATURE ERROR (°C)

1.5 LM35C
Accuracy ±0.05 to ±1.5°C ±0.1 to ±1°C ±0.5 to ±5°C ±0.2°C at 25°C
1.0
Stability @ 100°C 0.2°C/year 0.05°C/year Variable 0.2°C/year LM35CA
0.5
Linearity Exponential Fairly linear Non-linear Linear TYPICAL
0.0
Power Small current Small current Self-powered 4-20V DC
±0.5
Response 0.1-10s 1-50s 0.1-10s 2-15s LM35CA
±1.0
Interference Rarely Rarely Susceptible Susceptible
±1.5 LM35C
Cost Low to moderate High High Moderate
±2.0
Table 1 shows the typical parameters of various temperature sensors, while the
±2.5
graphs at right show the errors in the different iterations of the LM35. ±75 ±25 25 75 125 175
TEMPERATURE (°C) C009

and solder the 100nF capacitor across these rails. Also con- Join the remainingFigure
GND wire to the vs
9. Accuracy black wire of the
Temperature 9V
(Ensured)
nect pairs of wires to the GND and OUT terminals of each battery to the solder lug and attach it to the inside of the case
device, plus one pair of wires between the V+ and GND rails. using an M3 machine screw and nut (not shown below).
Ideally, the pairs of wires should be figure-8 cable (eg, Stick the insulating washer on the inside of the case di-
stripped from ribbon cable). If you are using individual rectly below the analog thermometer insertion holes in
wires, it’s best to twist them together so that any interfer- the lid. This will provide the thermometers with a bit of a
ence is mostly cancelled out between the two conductors. ‘cushion’ so that they do not break when inserted.
Now glue the three TO-92 plastic packages to the inside Now connect the battery clip to the battery, slot it into
of the diecast box using thermally conductive adhesive. We its holder and switch on the power. Use a red and black
used Jaycar NM2014 adhesive thermal paste. pair of banana plug leads to connect one of the DMMs to
Drill holes in the case for the power on/off switch and one of the pairs of binding posts, and check that you get a
9V battery holder, plus holes for the three pairs of banana reading that’s fairly close to ambient temperature.
sockets in the lid. Also drill a 3mm hole for the chassis For example, if it’s around 25°C where you are, you
grounding screw, near the battery holder, and one or two should get a reading around 250mV. Verify that all the out-
extra holes in the lid for analog thermometer calibration, puts are similar values.
if desired.
Deburr all the holes and mount these parts. Then solder Using it
the pairs of wires from the LM35 GND and OUT terminals Avoid using this device in a windy environment or one
to the banana sockets, with the OUT terminals going to with rapidly changing temperatures, such as near a win-
the red sockets. dow that’s exposed to full sun where clouds may pass by.
The remaining pair of wires then goes to the switch (V+) Ideally, it should be used indoors with still air in an envi-
and case (GND). Solder the other switch terminal to the red ronment with a stable temperature.
lead from the 9V battery, so that V+ is connected to the bat- Switch it on and allow everything to stabilise for around
tery when the switch is in the on position (usually down). 20 minutes before using it for best results. SC

While it might seem

like overkill, placing
the project in a
diecast case has
several benefits – it’s
shielded, of course,
and the thick
aluminium provides
some thermal
inertia. Placing the
LM35CAZs inside the
box also means they
will be less affected
by external variants.
Of course, a smaller
diecast case could be
used, providing the
various components
will fit.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  95

 CIRCUIT NOTEBOOK
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions will be
paid for at standard rates. All submissions should include full name, address & phone number.

3.2MHz reference derived from 10MHz wire (the pad is directly above C8).
The software for the Arduino Nano
Modern digital communication the reference signal swing up to CMOS is straightforward. On power-up, a RE-
techniques require extreme frequency voltage levels (ie, about 5V peak-to- SET pulse is sent to the AD9850, then
accuracy; a few hertz out will prevent peak). five bytes are sent to set its output fre-
the message from being decoded. The 1MW resistor between the in- quency, followed by a pulse on FU_
A friend recently asked me how he verter stage's output and input puts it UD. For a 3.2MHz output with 10MHz
could derive an accurate 3.2MHz from into linear mode, so it acts as an ex- reference clock, the tuning word re-
a 10MHz GPS-disciplined oscillator. I cellent amplifier up to about 20MHz. quired is hex 51EB851F.
came up with this circuit using a modi- The 15pF capacitor prevents parasitic This can be calculated as FOUT ×
fied AD9850 DDS module and an Ar- oscillation from being superimposed 232 ÷ CLKIN, or it can be worked out
duino Nano. Both are readily available on the 10MHz waveform. The signal using the Analog Devices online cal-
from various online sources. is further buffered and 'squared up' culator, available at: siliconchip.com.
The 10MHz reference signal is fed by IC1b. au/link/aau0
into CON1, an SMA socket, with The AD9850 module comes with an The hex bytes sent to the AD9850
jumper JP1 providing nominal 50W onboard 125MHz oscillator. This is a are 00, 51, EB, 85, 1F; each one is
termination. 4-pin module and is easily removed. loaded with a pulse on WCLK. These
This signal is amplified by one stage The 10MHz signal from the output of are written from inputs D0-D7 on
of a 74HC04 hex inverter (IC1a), oper- IC1b is then fed to the appropriate os- the AD9850 to digital outputs D4-
ating as an RF amplifier. This boosts cillator pad using a length of hookup D11 on the Arduino Nano. Once the

96    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

bytes are loaded, the processor stops.
The software is written in BASCOM,
rather than the Arduino IDE, but it
still works on a Nano since it uses
an AVR micro.
The output signal from the AD9850
is fed into the base of a JFET config-
ured as a common source amplifier.
It has a tuned circuit between the
positive supply and its drain, which
gives a reasonable sinewave at the
output. The main spurs of the spec-
trum are at multiples of the 10MHz,
and are more than 30dB down from
the fundamental at 20MHz, 30MHz
and 40MHz (see scope grabs).
I have no way of measuring phase
jitter, but the frequency counter read-
out is steady at 3.2MHz.
The tuned output transformer is Above: the output waveform from the frequency reference at 3.2MHz.
made from a 22µH RF choke, which
has an unloaded Q of more than 100.
The secondary is five turns of thin in-
sulated wire over the “cold” end of
the choke.
Power comes from a source deter-
mined by jumper JP2. We can select an
external 7.5-9V supply from CON3, or
phantom power can be obtained from
the output connector, CON2.
The 5V regulator on the Arduino
has limited capacity, and supplies
the AD9850, so don’t go above 9V or
it may overheat.
Mosfets Q2 and Q3 provide a sim-
plified RS232 debugging interface. It
may safely be left out. Jumpers JP3 and
JP4 between D2/D3 and GND allow for
future expansion.
I have designed a PCB for this cir-
cuit and the pattern can be down-
loaded from the Silicon Chip website
(siliconchip.com.au). It's designed to
fit in a 111 x 60 x 30mm diecast box
(Jaycar HB5062) which provides good
shielding. Apart from the RS232 inter-
face, all components are through-hole
types; however, the discrete compo-
nent footprints are designed so that
SMDs can also be used.
The software (Converter.bas/.hex)
can also be downloaded from the Sil-
icon Chip website.
Charles Kosina,
Croydon, Vic. ($80)

Circuit Got an interesting original circuit that you have cleverly devised? We will pay good money to
feature it in Circuit Notebook. We can pay you by electronic funds transfer, cheque or direct to
Ideas your PayPal account. Or you can use the funds to purchase anything from the SILICON CHIP Online

Wanted
Store, including PCBs and components, back issues, subscriptions or whatever. Email your circuit
and descriptive text to editor@siliconchip.com.au

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  97

Micromite Mk2 dev board with Microbridge
This Micromite development sys- (11AA160T-I/TT) or DS18B20 digi-
tem is an update of my Micromite Mk2 tal temperature sensor. Also, four-pin
breadboard adaptor, which was previ- header CON7 breaks out the SPI in-
ously published in Circuit Notebook terface.
(October 2016; siliconchip.com.au/ Jumper JP1 selects whether the
Article/10306). It’s built on a 77mm board is powered from USB connec-
x 64mm double-sided PCB and uses tor CON1, and CON2 provides a con- pins of your choice using jumper wires.
a quick-release ZIF socket for the Mi- venient point to draw power from the The PIC16F1455 for the Microbridge
cromite chip (IC1). 3.3V and 5V rails, or feed in power to can be purchased pre-programmed
It has a "Microbridge" onboard (IC2), the 5V rail. The rest of the circuit is from the Silicon Chip Online Shop
which provides a USB serial port via quite similar to the Micromite Back- (siliconchip.com.au/Shop/9/4263) or
CON1 and also allows the Micromite Pack V2 (May 2017; siliconchip.com. it can be programmed as explained
PIC32 chip to be reflashed (eg, if a au/Article/10652). in the Microbridge article (May 2017;
newer version of MMBasic is released). Some connections such as the RS siliconchip.com.au/Article/10648).
The board also includes sockets for and EN lines for the alphanumeric The EAGLE ECAD files, PCB pattern,
an alphanumeric LCD (CON4), colour LCD and the RESET and DC lines for Gerber files, component layout and
touchscreen with SD card (CON5), the touchscreen can go to any Micro- parts list for this design can be down-
headers for making connections to mite pin. Therefore, these lines are not loaded in a ZIP file from the Silicon
all Micromite pins (CON8-CON10) directly connected to any pins on IC1, Chip website.
plus header CON11, which is suit- but rather to headers CON3 and CON6. Gianni Pallotti,
able for connecting a 2KB EEPROM These can then be connected to the North Rocks, NSW ($75).

98    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

20W instrument practice amplifier
This basic instrument practice am- lower stage has a gain of -200 times, signal of around 10mV RMS.
plifier has inputs for four instruments therefore driving the speaker in bridge If using a higher impedance speaker,
and a basic mixer which feeds into an mode with a total gain (in this stage) the supply voltage can be increased up
integrated 20W power amplifier. The of 401 times. to about 24V to maintain a reasonable
whole thing runs from a 12V battery The feedback is a little complex but power level. A laptop supply might be
or mains supply. consider that the signal at the invert- a good choice in that case.
As instruments typically have their ing input of the upper op amp must The capacitors connected between
own volume controls (and volume match the incoming signal in closed- BS1/BS2 (pins 11 & 7) and output
can be adjusted based on how they loop mode. pins 10 and 8 are necessary to achieve
are played), there are no volume or This AC signal also appears at the maximum power with low distor-
gain controls. junction of the two 10W resistors. If tion, especially at lower frequencies.
Instead, the instrument signals fed you consider the lower amplifier to be However, if you don't need the full
into CON1-CON4 and are AC-coupled a standard inverting configuration, its 20W, you can leave them off and in-
straight into a virtual-earth mixer with gain is therefore -200 times (-1 × 2kW stead connect BS1/BS2 directly to
a fixed gain of around two times. The ÷ 10W; ignore the lower 10W resistor +Vs (pin 9).
330kW input impedance suits most as it has no effect here). LEDs1 & 2 light up to show when
pickups. Next, consider that the junction of there is output, and their brightness
The mixed signals are amplified the 2kW resistor and 10W resistor is is proportional to the signal level.
and inverted by op amp IC1, a JFET- the 'virtual earth' point of the invert- Each output also has a Zobel network
input type to keep the input imped- ing amplifier and therefore, there is no (100nF/1W) which is required for sta-
ance high. Its non-inverting input is AC signal there. bility. Fuse F1 and diode D1 provide
held at half the supply voltage due to That means you can consider the reversed supply polarity protection as
a voltage divider filtered by a 47µF ca- two 10W resistors to be in parallel in F1 will blow in this case, or if there is
pacitor to remove supply noise. Diode terms of the behaviour of the upper some other circuit fault.
D2 ensures that this rail drops quickly amplifier stage, and so its feedback IC1 needs to be mounted on a heat-
at switch-off. resistor network is 1kW at the top and sink rated at no more than 4°C/W to
The signal from IC1 is AC-coupled 5W at the bottom, for a total gain of 201 avoid thermal shutdown at high pow-
to input pin 1 of IC2, a dual power times (1kW ÷ 5W + 1). er levels. A slightly smaller heatsink
amplifier configured in bridge mode. Taking account the gain of two in could be used if the 20W power rat-
This can drive a 4W speaker, and must the preamplifier stage (IC1), total sys- ing is not required, or will only be
do so to get the rated 20W with a 12V tem gain is around 800 times, enough achieved in short bursts.
supply. The upper stage is configured to get the full 20W into 4W (which re- Petre Petrov,
with a gain of +201 times while the quires around 9V RMS) with an input Sofia, Bulgaria. ($70)

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  99

 Vintage Radio By Ian Batty

Your radio is tuned and ready

Panasonic’s Radar Matic
R-1000

Transistors and clockwork combine to provide convenience and

elegance in this 1965 Japanese radio.
In the early days of electricity, hous- erished family and had an apprentice- nearly went bankrupt until an unex-
es were only wired up for electric light- ship cut short due to the business col- pected order of 1000 insulator plates
ing, so when other electricity-powered lapsing. He found another apprentice- for fans came in.
accessories became available, initial- ship at a bicycle shop before landing a As the company was rapidly ex-
ly you had to run them off the light job with the Osaka Electric Light Com- panding, Matsushita saw the poten-
sockets. I was fascinated to learn that pany. He was eventually promoted to tial for an efficient bicycle lamp, but
multinational giant Panasonic was a position as an electrical inspector. wholesalers were skeptical about the
founded by an impoverished Japanese When his invention, a new and im- stated 40 hour lifespan. Matsushita de-
businessman whose first product was proved light socket, left his boss un- cided to send the lamp directly to bicy-
a light socket double-adaptor. impressed, 22-year-old Matsushita de- cle store owners. This led to a marked
cided to set up his own business. But increase in orders.
The early days of Panasonic he struggled to balance manufacturing Matsushita focussed on mass pro-
Konosuke Matsushita, born in 1894, and marketing, with his sockets not duction of electrical consumer goods,
came from an affluent turned impov- being popular enough. The company lowering the sales price and thus in-

100    Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au

creasing the percentage of people who were used from the earliest phono-
could afford it. This finally put Mat- graphs until the 40s. Being mechani-
sushita and the National brand on cal, there’s no battery-draining electric
the map. Now the company is called motor, so the R-1000 is as economical
Panasonic; it is one of Japan’s largest on batteries as comparable manually-
consumer electronics company today. tuned sets.

The Panasonic R-1000 Circuit description

The 50s and 60s saw intense compe- The receiver section uses a config-
tition in postwar Japan. Sony’s Masaru uration that had become more-or-less
Ibuka, co-founder with Akio Morita, standard by the year this set was re-
was famous for grumbling when his leased, 1965. Using ten germanium
company’s technological leadership PNP transistors and three diodes, it’s a
resulted in it being dubbed a “guin- seven-transistor superhet with a three-
ea pig”. transistor control circuit.
It’s easy to think of Matsushita’s Converter TR1, a 2SA102, is a drift
National brand as following in Sony’s type, superior to the alloyed-junction
wake. The set described here, though, OC44. This circuit uses collector-base
is not merely a follower. It has one feedback. Many such circuits will stop
particularly innovative feature: auto- working if you try to inject a signal into
tuning. the converter base.
This is quite different from the “au- Unusually, this converter does use a
to-tune” software used by hip-hop art- padder, 170pF capacitor C5. I’ll elabo-
ists like Kanye West and T-Pain, or pop rate on this later. The 455kHz IF signal
singer Cher! from the converter is fed to the first
I was offered this set by a fellow IF amplifier, based around transistor
HRSA member to review; he’d col- TR2, via first IF transformer T1. It’s
lected several of these fine examples the conventional arrangement, with
of 60s ingenuity, and it was a pleasure tuned, tapped primary and untuned,
to examine their workings. untapped secondary. The left (above) and right (below)
TR2, a 2SA101, operates in a stand- sides of the Radar Matic R-1000
Panasonic innovation ard gain-controlled circuit. Base bias shown at close to actual size. The case
There’s no easy comparison for current through 68kW resistor R4 is un- is plastic with a leather-like finish,
this set. The Toshiba 15M-915, from der 100µA, allowing the rectified DC while the grille and sides are metal.
around 1968, has 15(!) transistors but from the demodulator to take effective
a very similar overall design. Sony ap- control of the first IF stage gain as re-
pears to have waited until they offered ceived signal strength rises.
AM/FM portables before including au- TR2’s base is bypassed to ground
tomatic tuning. via 10µF capacitor C8. It’s an elec-
These examples aside, some auto- trolytic, pretty much a no-no at ra-
matic/preset tuned valve radios were dio frequencies (even 455kHz) as any
offered as early as the late 1930s. So deterioration in C8 is likely to cause
it looks like Panasonic were the first IF instability. If you get an R-1000
to market with auto-tuning transistor with an IF circuit which oscillates or
radios. They followed up in the early shows other bad behaviour, be sure
70s with their RF-6070 AM/FM set, to replace C8.
also using a spring motor mechanism. The first IF stage has collector-base
neutralisation, confirming that the
Spring-powered auto-tuner 2SA101 operates similarly to an OC45.
The radio comes in a “leather” fin- Second IF transformer T2 also has
ish black case with bright inset met- a tapped, tuned primary with an un-
alwork, including the speaker grille, tuned, untapped secondary. T2’s pri-
tuning dial and metal frame. mary is shunted by 220kW resistor R6.
The flip-out handle at the back is a It’s there to broaden out T2’s response
winder for the clockwork motor. Since and increase the IF bandwidth. TR2’s
this auto-tuning radio predated the collector load comprises T2 at inter-
availability of variable-capacitance mediate frequencies and 2.2kW resis-
diodes (varicaps) with capacitance ra- tor R8 at DC, bypassed for IF by 30nF
tios approaching 10:1, an all-electronic capacitor C11.
system was not possible for the broad- With no signal, the junction of T2
cast band at the time. and R8 sits about 1.3V above ground,
So the folks at Panasonic used a so OA70 diode D1 is normally not in
proven method: a spring motor. These conduction.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  101

 When the auto-tuning switch (S2) is pressed, it energises relay K1 which shorts out the audio stage. This then moves
a lever connected to the relay, which applies pressure to a spring. This action unlocks an impeller to move a series of
gears to rotate the spring motor. The impeller comprises four blades, plus two that control the spring motor’s rotational
speed via air resistance. The spring motor adjusts the tuning capacitor (C1/C6) until a signal is detected. This signal
is then converted to an IF signal by the 2SA102 (TR1) before being filtered and amplified by TR2 and TR3. This signal
is detected in the trigger stage (TR8 & D3) before being amplified by TR9 and then causing relay K1 to open. This then
returns the lever to its original position, locking the impeller and thus stopping the adjustment of the tuning capacitor.

As signal strength rises and the AGC rect-coupled circuit. The DC operating speaker, which is connected via the
circuit comes into action, TR2’s bias conditions are established by the volt- headphone socket. There’s also over-
is reduced, and its collector current age divider formed by resistors R16 & all audio feedback from the speaker/
falls. This causes the voltage across R17, holding TR4’s base at a constant earphone to TR5’s base via 150kW re-
R8 to fall, and very strong signals voltage, and stability is maintained by sistor R25.
will reduce R8’s voltage drop to the local negative feedback due to emitter
point that D1 begins to conduct. This resistor R18. Auto-tune circuit
conduction will shunt some of the IF Unusually, this stage also has col- The auto-tuning circuit begins with
signal at converter TR1’s collector to lector bias applied to the base of TR4 capacitive divider C20/C21. The sig-
ground, thus extending the range of via 10kW resistor R17. These two DC nal developed across C21 is applied
the AGC circuit. feedback paths allow the designers to to the primary of transformer T6. T6’s
TR3 feeds third IF transformer T3, assume a constant base bias for TR5, secondary is connected to an internal
with a tuned, tapped primary and un- which gains DC stability from emitter ceramic filter.
tuned, untapped secondary. T3’s sec- feedback via 1kW resistor R20. Direct Similar to a quartz crystal, this is
ondary feeds demodulator diode D2, coupling eliminates some capacitors, a piezoelectric device with a very
also an OA70, and capacitive volt- giving a reduced component count and narrow frequency response; in other
age divider C20/C21. At only 3pF, potentially improving low-frequency words, it has a very high Q. Ceramic
C20 has little effect on the demod- response. filters are cheaper than quartz crystals,
ulator, and we’ll look at that signal TR5’s collector feeds the primary of and substitute well if very high preci-
pickoff soon. phase-splitting transformer T4, and its sion is not needed.
Demodulator D2’s output feeds M1, tapped secondary provides the anti- This filter’s -3dB bandwidth is ex-
an integrated resistor-capacitor filter. phase signals to drive the Class-B out- ceptionally narrow, so it will only
M1’s audio output goes to 10kW vol- put stage comprising transistors TR6 pass a signal when the frequency is
ume control pot R15. There’s also a & TR7, both 2SB176s. very close to 455kHz. The filter’s out-
connection, via 8.2kW resistor R14, The output stage gets around 150mV put feeds a conventional IF amplifier
back to TR2’s base (the first IF ampli- of forward bias, stabilised for tempera- stage, based around transistor TR8,
fier). 10µF capacitor C8 filters the au- ture, from MT-250 thermistor “Th”. Lo- which in turn feeds conventional IF
dio signal, delivering the smoothed cal collector-base feedback is applied transformer T7. T7’s output goes to
AGC signal to TR2. by 6.8nF capacitors C18/C19. OA90 diode D3, and its rectified DC
The audio output section uses TR4 Output transformer T5 matches output drives the direct-coupled com-
(2SB173) and TR5 (2SB171) in a di- the collectors of TR6/TR7 to the 8W bination of TR9/TR10.

102    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

 Since TR9 only gets bias when D3 As the spring motor rotates, the Tuning capacitor C1/C6 uses semi-
is rectifying a 455kHz signal, TR9 is signal frequency from the converter circular “straight line capacitance”
usually cut off and TR10 gets forward sweeps across the IF amplifier’s band- plates that allow full 360° rotation,
base bias via 18kW resistor R32. pass. As the signal’s frequency reaches hence the use of padder C5. It’s a
R32’s biasing would normally put the sharp bandpass peak of the ceram- similar construction to that used in
TR10 into full conduction and would ic filter, it will pass a signal through the DKE38 Kleinempfanger described
pull auto-tuning relay K1 into closure. amplifier TR8 to D3. D3’s rectified DC in the July 2017 issue (siliconchip.
But even with TR9 inactive, TR10 is output will bias TR9 strongly on. com.au/Article/10728). However, the
usually off. When TR9 switches on, it shorts R-1000 uses air spacing while the
In normal operation, relay contacts out the forward bias on TR10, so TR10 DKE38 (from the 1930s) used a plas-
K/1-2 are open, so TR10’s emitter cir- cuts off and K1 releases, resulting in tic dielectric.
cuit is open; no collector current flows the spring motor’s brake being applied.
and relay K1 does not close. The auto- Search contact K1/5-6 opens, unmut- Motor speed regulation
tune circuit is dormant until the user ing the audio, K1/1-2 opens, turning I remember, as a small child, taking
presses the AUTO TUNING bar and off TR8 and TR10 and K1/3-4 closes, an old alarm clock to bits. Imagine my
closes S2. This supplies battery cur- returning TR3 to maximum gain. surprise when, having dismantled the
rent to K1 and cuts off DC supply to During auto-tuning, the K1/3-4 con- escapement (the part that goes “tick,
the audio preamp and RF/IF stages as tacts open and remove the short across tock”), the hands spun like a fan! A
S2/3-4 is open. Local/DX switch S3. This connects balance wheel regulator would be
K1 closes immediately, so before the R12 (1.2kW, DX) or adds R11 (4.7kW, over-engineering for the Radar Matic’s
user can release S2, emitter current is LOCAL) in series with R13, progres- spring motor, but it does need some
supplied to TR10 (and power to am- sively reducing TR3’s emitter current, kind of speed control.
plifier TR8) so that TR10 holds K1 in. and thus its gain. The solution is to use a step-up
Search contact K1/3-4 will also be This is used to determine how gear train connected to the motor at
open, allowing “Local/DX” switch S3 strong the received signal at a particu- the “input” end, and a four-bladed
to take control of second IF amplifier lar frequency needs to be for the auto- paddle wheel at the “output”. As the
TR3’s gain, while search contact K1/5- tuning sweep to stop, to reject weak paddle spins, air friction balances the
6 shorts TR5’s base to ground, muting stations if necessary. If auto-tuning driving force to give a reasonably con-
the audio, and K1’s armature releases cannot detect a station, pressing in stant drive train speed. It dissipates
a brake on the spring motor, allowing the manual tuning thumbwheel allows energy, so it’s a bit like an electronic
it to drive the tuning capacitor. conventional tuning. shunt regulator.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  103

The auto-tuning switch (S2) is at the top-left of the chassis just under the ferrite rod. The main PCB is at the right, while
the smaller copper-plated sheet at left holds the tuning gang, spring motor and auto-tuning relay K1.

The PCB wiring diagram is reproduced from the service manual which can be found at Kevin Chant’s website
(www.kevinchant.com/uploads/7/1/0/8/7108231/r-1000.pdf). Power switch S1 and Auto-tuning control switch S2 are
shown in the off position, while Local/DX switch S3 is in the DX position.

104    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

The underside of the chassis sits at the front of the case as seen by the location of the tuning dial.
The sensitivity switch (Local/DX S3) is also visible at the far-right, centre end of the chassis. An
orange strip of tape hangs off the chassis and is used to hold the batteries in place.

Cleaning up this set cuit and giving a repeatable indica- um/silicon) and power rating are not
The review set was in good cosmetic tion for testing. coded for.
condition, so a light clean had it look- IF bandwidth is ±1.8kHz at -3dB and Transistors starting with 2SA are
ing just fine. ±34kHz at -60dB. AGC allows some high-frequency PNP BJTs, 2SB are au-
The auto-tune feature was a bit 6dB rise for a signal increase of more dio-frequency PNP BJTs, 2SC are high-
fussy, working best with the set up- than 40dB. frequency NPN BJTs, 2SD are audio-
side-down. Clockwork mechanisms Audio response from antenna to frequency NPN BJTs, 2SJ are P-chan-
don’t tolerate dust, grime or gummy speaker is 130-2200Hz. From volume nel FETs (both JFETs and Mosfets) and
lubricants well, so I cleaned the mech- control to speaker, it’s 125~4000Hz. 2SK are N-channel FETs (both JFETs
anism with an evaporating contact At 50mW, total harmonic distortion and Mosfets).
cleaner. Be aware that popular “rust (THD) is around 3% with clipping at
easers”, based on fish oil, are not ideal 200mW for a THD of 10%. At 10mW Disassembly and reassembly
for lubricating fine mechanisms. After output, it is 2.5%. To dismantle, first carefully remove
that, it worked a lot more consistently. The auto-tuning feature managed to the winding key by pulling it off – you
stop at every local station and was able may need to gently lever it on both
How good is it? to reliably detect my reference “weak sides. Remove the two Philips screws
Like the Sony TR-712, it’s mad- station”, ABC 594 at Horsham as well on the back cover. Undo the snaps at
ly sensitive: 55µV/m at 600kHz and as 7BU in Burnie, Tasmania. On test, the bottom edge and the back will then
27µV/m at 1400kHz for 50mW output. it would reliably stop on a 600kHz come off easily.
Unsurprisingly, these readings are for signal of 150µV/m on DX, and about The chassis is held down by red-
signal+noise to noise (S+N/N) figures 1.3mV/m on Local. anodised screws. For reassembly, be
of 6dB and 7dB respectively. sure to align the Local/DX switch’s le-
For the more standard 20dB S+N/N Other versions ver tab with the slide attached to the
it’s 150µV/m at 600kHz and 110µV/m A later version of this radio was re- case, reattach the back and its screws,
at 1400kHz. In testament to this set, it leased, the R-1100, then an AM/FM then push the winding key onto its
can just pick up 774 ABC Melbourne version, the RF-6070. I would love to splined shaft.
inside my screened room – no easy get my hands on an RF-6070. Later Pa- Be aware that auto-tune switch S2
feat. nasonic offerings in the Radar Matic connects power to the RF/IF and au-
The converter’s 455kHz sensitivity range with mechanical drives appear dio preamp stages and contact cor-
of 1.35µV for 50mW output backs up to use reversing electric motors. rosion will prevent this. If you have
the air interface figures. As this con- an R-1000 that’s “dead”, but drawing
verter uses base injection, it wasn’t Japanese part coding some 3~5mA, this is probably just
possible to test at the base with 600kHz The Japanese Industrial Standard the output stage’s quiescent current.
and 1400kHz signals. (JIS) semiconductor coding is some- A quick DC voltage check will show
I had to use my standard method what more helpful than the chaotic whether S2 is working correctly.
of coupling to the tuned primary via RETMA system. The JIS distinguish- You can find more photos of this set
a 10pF capacitor. This has the advan- es polarities, technologies and ap- at Radiomuseum: siliconchip.com.au/
tage of minimal detuning of the cir- plications, but chemistry (germani- link/aapr SC

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  105

 ASK SILICON CHIP
Got a technical problem? Can’t understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we’ll answer your question. Send your email to silicon@siliconchip.com.au

Arduino GSM Remote Model railway crossing D5 and D6 have been swapped on the
PCB and in the PCB overlay diagram
Monitor won’t compile using stepper motors (Fig.6 on p70, November 2019). Diode
We are building your GSM Remote Have you ever published a project D5 is actually the one closest to the
Monitoring Station project from the that uses stepper motors to raise and large filter capacitor, and it should be
March 2014 issue (siliconchip.com. lower the boom gates of a model ‘Z’ a 1N5404 type, although you can use
au/Article/6743). scale railway crossing? I want to de- an SB380 instead. Diode D6 is closer to
We are having some difficulties com- sign and make 3D-printed model rail- the board edge and must be an SB380.
piling the sketch. We are getting the way boom gates and ‘X’ crossing signs The SB380 is between ground and
following error: with flashing red lights. the positive output, to shunt any re-
Arduino: 1.8.9 (Windows Store 3D printers are now becoming more verse current from the current sink or
1.8.21.0) (Windows 10), affordable so that we can make things clamp negative voltages applied to the
Board: “Arduino/Genuino Uno” to scale, for all the parts of the railway output. Its lower forward voltage is
GPRS_Monitor:103:4: error:
expected constructor,
city scene. (M. S., Lalor Park, NSW) beneficial here. The 1N5404 protects
destructor, or type •  It doesn’t seem that we have pub- the output devices in cases where the
conversion before ‘(‘token lished such a design. However, we output is higher than the positive rail
ISR(WDT_vect) { have published some relevant articles: and has been chosen for lower leakage.
^ 1) Model railway level crossing con- If both D5 and D6 are fitted as SB380
I hope you can help us. (T. K., via trol, March 1996 (siliconchip.com.au/ as marked, then everything will still
e-mail) Article/6051): which is intended to work as expected, it’s just that the
•  This appears to be caused by chang- drive model railway boom gates actu- SB380s are a bit more expensive.
es to the Arduino IDE software since ated by DC motors.
that project was released. We down-
loaded the Arduino IDE v1.0.5r2, and
2) Manual Control Circuit for a Step-
per Motor, June 1997 (siliconchip.com.
Alternative transformer
it compiles on that version (this pro- au/Article/4870): which mentions the for Linear Bench Supply
ject is actually older than V1.0.5r2). possibility of doing what you describe, I’m building your High Power Line-
We found this at the following web- but doesn’t show the control part of the ar Bench Supply from the October-De-
site: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ circuit that would be required. cember 2019 issues (siliconchip.com.
OldSoftwareReleases#1.0.x au/Series/339). You specified a Vigor-
However, it should compile cor-
rectly if you add “#include <Arduino.
45V 8A Linear Bench tronix 500VA 40-0-40 toroidal trans-
former from element14, but I would
h>”, without the quotation marks, to Supply diode confusion prefer to order one from RS. I found
the top of the .ino file. I am building your High Power one made by Scandinavian Transform-
We haven’t bothered to update the Linear Bench Supply (October-De- er with similar specs and a similar
code to work with newer versions of cember 2019; siliconchip.com.au/ price: https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/
the Arduino IDE, since that project is Series/339). I received the two PCBs toroidal-transformers/1176073/
now obsolete. It is about to be super- that I ordered today. I noted and read It’s about 9mm taller than the spec-
seded by the 4G Remote Monitoring the errata, pointing out that D6 is an ified transformer, at 68mm tall com-
Station, which will be published in SB380 Schottky diode. While popu- pared to 61mm tall. Its diameter is
the February 2019 issue. lating the board (Rev H), I discovered slightly smaller, 135mm compared to
that the circuit and the board are not 138mm. Will this fit in the case? (T. S.,
Using DCC for in agreement. Balcatta, WA)
D5 on the board overlay has its •  There’s around 20mm from the top
slot racing cathode going to the output terminal of the transformer to the lid on our
Hi, I want to build a cheap DCC unit (CON1) of the supply and the anode prototype. The transformer mounting
for slot racing (Faller AMS). How do I going to the negative rail of the filter nut sits about 3mm above the top of
go about doing this? (P. B., via e-mail) caps. It is labelled as an SB380, as is the transformer, so a transformer that
•  We have designed a DCC booster/ D6. Diode D6 has its anode also on the is 9mm higher should clear the lid by
base station which is described in this output terminal of the supply, with about 8mm.
issue (starting on page 44). It is capable the cathode going to the positive rail So we can’t see any reason why it
of 10A output and is Arduino-based. of the filter capacitor. wouldn’t fit, although you might like
This may be what you are looking for, Can you advise what is correct here, to fit an insulating layer above the
but we have not tested this project with please? (G. McN., Torquay, Qld) transformer and mounting bolt. This
any slot car systems. •  It seems that the labels for diodes will prevent the transformer from be-

106    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

ing shorted out accidentally if the lid internet (and that will be easier for appreciate a few tips to track down
is pressed down enough to flex and most customers), they do still accept the fault.
touch the mounting bolt or cup, cre- phone orders via their Australian toll- When I change between AM to FM
ating a shorted turn. free phone number: 1800 285 719. or DAB+ modes and back again, there
It’s true that in some cases, you is a slight pause as the software loads
Sourcing parts for the might need to order in larger quantities
than you need to make it worthwhile.
for the new reception mode. Just as
the new reception starts, I get a loud
Linear Bench Supply The postage rates for small orders can thump from my speakers. It’s so bad
I’m among the minority who don’t appear to be expensive, but note that that it’s activating the speaker protec-
have a computer or access to online or- both Digi-Key and Mouser offer free tor on the amplifier.
dering. I’m interested in building your express delivery for most orders over For some reason, my radio is gener-
Linear Power Supply, but some of the $60. And it only takes a few expensive ating up to -3.1V DC on the RCA au-
parts are from online sellers such as parts to reach that threshold. dio outputs momentarily as I change
Digi-Key, element14 etc. I’m not sure The Bench Supply can be built with- reception modes, ie, AM to FM to
if they will take orders over the phone out the SB380, although there would DAB+ etc. This explains the thumping
or via post. I’m also not sure where to be nothing to prevent the output go- from the speakers. I used a Multime-
get the SB380 80V 3A diode. ing negative due to the action of the ter with min/max to record the peaks
I have purchased from RS before, minimum load current sink, and ex- at -3.1V and +0.5V DC on the RCA au-
but I had to purchase 10 parts when I ternally applied voltages could more dio outputs.
only wanted one. easily damage it. We don’t recommend At first, I thought my 5V DC supply
Because of the above, I’m reluctant leaving it out. plugpack mightn’t be supplying suffi-
to build any projects that don’t exclu- cient current, but I swapped to a dedi-
sively use parts from Jaycar and/or Al-
tronics. Sometimes you supply hard-
LoRa Chat Terminal cated 5V DC bench supply (approxi-
mately 540mA current draw). There
to-get parts, which is good. screen not working are no dips or current increases while
One part I’m not sure about is the I built the Arduino LoRa Chat Termi- changing radio reception modes. I also
resistor listed as 0.015W 2W-3W in nal with QWERTY keyboad described tried direct feeding the 5V DC to the
the parts list and circuit diagram, but in Circuit Notebook (August 2019; Aux +5V connector of the radio board.
shown as 15mW 3W on page 70 of the siliconchip.com.au/Article/11779). I suspect there is something not right
November 2019 issue (Fig.6, the PCB The screen powers up and shows a line with the operation of REG4 to maintain
overlay). 15mW is quite different from across it. It responds to key presses, eg, the -5V DC supply (I don’t think the
0.015W as I think 15mW is a very high the space bar turns the screen on and 5V DC supply is faulty as everything
value; 0.015W is almost a piece of wire. the ESC key turns the screen off, the else is working fine). Might I have a
(P. G., Culburra Beach, NSW) “#” key seems to send data, but that problem with REG4 and the -5V DC
•  We have just heard that Altron- is it. No letters show on the screen or supply due to a longer or shorter than
ics are thinking of putting together anything other than the line. expected REG4SD pulse from the Ex-
a short-form kit (minus transformer I’m wondering if anyone else has plore 100 and software?
and case). If they go ahead with that, had problems and if and how they Can I temporarily intercept the
it should alleviate most of your con- fixed it. The Arduino system has been REG4SD signal to ensure the REG4 is
cerns. But you raise some points which a real learning curve for me. (P. K., via maintaining the -5V DC supply con-
are worth discussing. e-mail) tinuously and see what happens? Any
Choosing parts for us is always a • After corresponding with the de- suggestions you have to fix this prob-
compromise for many reasons. It’s very signer of that circuit, we have con- lem would be appreciated. (P. McG.,
difficult to come up with ideas for new cluded that he has shown the wrong Loftus, NSW)
projects that only use parts from Jaycar connections from IC2 to the LCD12864 •  That is a strange problem. Thumps
and Altronics. If we can design such a display module. The correct connec- are generated by the radio chip when
project, often we have to compromise tions are as follows: it changes bands, but the muting func-
some of our performance goals to stick 1) pins 1-8 (GPB0-GPB7) on IC2 go tion of analog multiplexer IC6 (where
to that limited range of parts. to pins 7-14 (D0-D7) on the display; the S0 & S1 inputs are low) is intended
Even if you don’t have a computer, 2) pins 23-25 (GPA2-GPA4) on IC2 to stop those.
many libraries offer free use for their go to pins 15-17 (CS1, CS2 & RST) We still noted some noise from our
members. This may be an option for on the display; prototypes on changing bands, which
you. 3) pins 26-28 (GPA5-GPA7) on IC2 we put down to sudden changes in the
With regards to the resistor, the go to pins 4-6 (RS, R/W & EN) on radio chip’s power consumption cou-
terminology mW refers to a unit of the display. pling through the audio outputs. But
1/1000th of an ohm, also written mil- it is nowhere near as severe as what
liohm. The unit MW (using a capital
M) is a megohm, or one million ohms.
DAB+ Radio thumps you are describing.
One thing to check is that there is
So they are very different scales. when changing bands close to 0V DC on pins 5 and 14 of IC6
With regards to the SB380, we got I built your DAB+ Radio from the Jan- when the radio output is silent, or the
ours from Digi-key, and they will sup- uary-March 2019 issues (siliconchip. volume is very low. If there is signifi-
ply to hobbyists. In fact, while they com.au/Series/330). I got the radio cant DC on these pins, that will lead
strongly prefer taking orders via the working but have a problem and would to loud thumps when IC6 switches be-

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  107

tween these inputs and pins 1 and 12, However, for various reasons, I into a problem some time ago and
which are connected to ground. For needed to reinstall the Arduino IDE. posted it via that site, and a response/
that matter, check that you read near I then needed to reload the Arduino fix was given two days later.
0V on pins 1 & 12 of IC6 too. ESP8266 code, as described on page Many of Jaycar’s recent projects are
If that checks out, it would be worth- 27 of the February 2018 issue. This also on Github.
while looking for any significant AC seemed to work; however, there is no Here is an abbreviated version of
pulses on the various supply rails WeMos D1 R2 mini in the Board Man- the output from the ESP Data Upload
during band switching, especially the ager list that I can select, only a We- Tool that we got:
-5V rail which you have mentioned as Mos D1 R2. esptool.py v2.7
a potential concern. If you do find a Can I get the WeMos D1 R2 mini en- Serial port COM32
large pulse on one of those rails dur- try back? I look forward to buying your Connecting....
Chip is ESP8266EX
ing band switching, that could explain magazine each month; this has been Features: WiFi
this fault. If so, you would need to a regular occurrence for many years. Crystal is 26MHz
track down its source, such as a bad (M. O. G., Loftus, NSW) MAC: 5c:cf:7f:11:c3:40
solder joint. •  We installed the latest Arduino IDE Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Also check the soldering around and ESP8266 boards profile (2.5.2) to
Stub running...
IC5 and its associated components, check this, and it seems that you are Changing baud rate to 460800
especially those shown between IC6 right. There is no longer a board entry Changed.
and IC5 on the circuit diagram, as a called “WeMos D1R2 mini”. However, Configuring flash size...
bad joint on any of those components there is one called “LOLIN (WEMOS) Auto-detected Flash size: 4MB
could cause your symptoms. Unfortu- D1 R2 & mini”, which we think is the Compressed 3121152 bytes to
45012...
nately, it’s possible to have SMD solder right option. Writing at 0x00100000... (33%)
joints which look good on a casual in- Writing at 0x00104000... (66%)
spection but have not adhered to either
the PCB or the component, resulting in
Advice on programming Writing at 0x00108000... (100%)
Wrote 3121152 bytes (45012
a high-resistance connection. ESP8266 boards compressed) at 0x00100000
in 1.5 seconds (effective
The REG4SD pin (pin 21 on CON3) I purchased a Jaycar WiFi Relay
17000.3 kbit/s)...
is pulled low during initialisation and Controller kit which combines their Hash of data verified.
left there, so it should be continuously Cat XC4418 with XC4411 (“Uno with Leaving...
low during normal operation, includ- WiFi”). I realise that this is not your Hard resetting via RTS pin...
ing changing modes. You can check project design, but you may be able to
this with a DMM, but we doubt this
is the source of your problem.
help me. I put it together and success-
fully uploaded the Uno and ESP8266
Using SPI on Micromite
One other issue is that many people files but cannot upload the data. I keep LCD BackPack
seem to be having poor connections at getting the error message “SPIFFS UP- I am a long-time reader of electron-
CON3 (the header between the radio LOAD FAILED”. ic magazines since the 60s and a sub-
board and the Explore 100). If there Note that the Boards Manager in my scriber to Silicon Chip since the early
was an intermittent connection here, Arduino IDE shows options of FLASH 2000s, but have only just been getting
it could cause what you are seeing. SIZE and FS instead of FLASH SIZE into the Micromite after working with
Check that is is making good contact. and SPIFFS as described in the Jaycar Arduino.
Although perhaps unrelated, we instructions. I read that the 2.8in and 3.5in LCDs
had a few reports that the headphone I am sure many of your readers will stop other SPI devices from work-
amplifier transistors (Q1-Q4) were have a go at this project and may run ing. Is this because there is only one
getting hot. They found that increas- into the same problems as me. Thanks SS/CS line? I would have thought
ing the value of the 2.2kW resistors in in advance for any light you can shed that something like a 74HC138 1-of-
series with D1 & D2 fixed this. You on this problem. (G. C., Alstonville, 8 decoder activated by the CS line
should check this, as if the current NSW) would have solved this problem, or
through these transistors is too high, •  We don’t have that board handy, but am I missing something? (G. McK.,
it might be excessively loading the we tried the upload procedure with Corinella, Vic)
audio rails and causing them to sag another ESP8266-based board, using •  We have had success in the past in
momentarily. the same settings as you, and were communicating with other SPI devices
able to make it work. We suggest that along with the LCD touchscreen. That
How to program a you turn on the verbose output option;
go to File → Preferences and then tick
this is possible is confirmed in the Mi-
cromite manual.
WeMos D1 R2 mini the two boxes next to “Show verbose You can’t just open the SPI periph-
I built the WiFi Water Tank Level output during:”. This should give you eral at the start of the program and
Meter (February 2018; siliconchip. a more detailed error message. leave it open. You will get error mes-
com.au/Article/10963), and have been If you are still having problems, we sages which read “SPI already open”.
working on a beekeeping project for a suggest that you report the details of If the code is carefully written to make
long time. This project enabled me to your problem via its Github repository: sure that the SPI peripheral is closed
log data via a two-wire connection to https://github.com/Jaycar-Electronics/ when calling LCD or touch functions,
a beehive, then monitor this informa- WiFi-Relay-Controller/issues other SPI devices can coexist, as long
tion using ThingSpeak. We can see that someone else ran as they have their own CS pin.

108    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

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siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  109
 We ran some tests with a 23LC1024 of the initial fault, and it is hard to say of the power transistors? I was also
RAM IC and were able to get it work- which set the destruction off. thinking of using a smaller transform-
ing in a program which also used the The surviving transistors may be er, eg, a 300VA unit with 2 x 43V or
LCD and touch functions. We suspect partially damaged. It would be worth 2 x 45V secondaries. I don’t know if
it may be a bit slower because of the replacing all the transistors and check- other changes are needed.
need to open and close the SPI periph- ing all the resistors before powering it •  We think you’re better off using the
eral frequently. up again. specified parts rather than substituting
It is not possible to make use of the Note that all the components re- others. There’s no way of knowing for
touch interrupt, as the SPI bus could sponsible for pulling the output down sure whether they will work; we have
be in use when the interrupt is trig- (Q12, Q15, Q16 and associated resis- not tested those lower-cost transistors
gered, but you can still use other touch tors) have all been destroyed. That sug- in this amplifier.
functions. gests that something pulled the output The substitutes you have suggested
So yes, it is possible, but you have up hard, and these components oper- have a higher DC gain and higher gain-
to be very careful about opening and ated to get it back near 0V, and burned bandwidth product. In theory, these
closing SPI devices to make it work out in the process. are good things, but they will poten-
reliably. Q13 and Q11’s base resistor were the tially affect the stability of the ampli-
only other components damaged. That fier. Without testing them, we can’t say
SC200 Amplifier makes us suspicious that it was Q13
that failed short-circuit initially, but
for sure whether these differences will
cause any problems.
troubleshooting there’s no real proof of that. It is just In the worst case, it could lead to
I have had a major set back with one a guess. Unfortunately, when building oscillation and possibly destruction of
SC200 amplifier module that I built amplifiers, sometimes things like this the transistors. That would negate any
(January-March 2017; siliconchip. can happen! savings you make by buying cheaper
com.au/Series/308). I am using PCBs transistors. Having said that, the specs
and hard-to-get components from the
Silicon Chip Online Shop.
Automatically switching on those transistors are impressive
for their price, so you might consider
The first unit I built passed all tests between battery banks building up one unit with them and
after construction and works fine. The I have a 24V “standalone” solar seeing how it goes. If they do blow,
second passed tests and was undergo- system. I recently upgraded the bat- you can use the originally specified
ing a music listening test, at low vol- teries but kept the old ones which parts for all five modules.
ume, when it suddenly set fire to the were still serviceable. I set them up To answer your second question,
220W resistor between the emitters of as a separate back-up system with its yes, you can remove one pair of output
Q11 and Q12. After removing the out- own panels and inverter. When the transistors and their emitter resistors if
put transistors from the PCB, I found voltage of one battery bank gets low, you are not driving 4W loads. No other
the following: I can switch over to the other system. changes should be necessary.
• Q10: OK How can I make this automatic? (R. The 4W load scenario is consider-
• Q11: OK H., Newmeralla, Vic) ably harder on the output devices
• Q12: base-collector shorted & •  Our Threshold Voltage Switch de- than 8W loads, hence all four pairs of
base-emitter open sign might be suitable (July 2014; devices are needed to deliver the full
• Q13: shorted all junctions siliconchip.com.au/Article/7924). rated 350W.
• Q14: OK This can be used to switch a relay
• Q15: shorted all junctions
• Q16: shorted all junctions
based on the voltage of a 24V battery
bank. The voltage level at which the
Finding old Electronics
• 220W between emitters of Q10 relay activates is adjustable. Altronics Australia articles
and Q11: burnt out sells a kit for this project (Cat K4005), How do I buy copies of Electronics
• 220W to the base of Q11: damaged as does Jaycar (Cat KC5528). Australia magazines? (G. M., Mait-
• 0.1W upper pair (Q13, Q14): OK land NSW)
• 0.1W lower pair (Q15, Q16): Building a cheaper • Complete Electronics Australia
blown! magazines are no longer available for
All the other parts seem OK. There 350W amplifier sale. We have a set of archival copies
were no shorts to the heatsink! Many years ago, I bought 5 PCBs and can photocopy or scan specific
I have been into electronics since I to build your Studio 350 Power Am- articles on demand.
was around 12, now 66. I can’t put this plifier (January & February 2004; A list of some articles we’ve al-
down to anything, but maybe bad luck. siliconchip.com.au/Series/97). I have ready scanned is available at: https://
But any thoughts from your end would started building the modules now, and siliconchip.com.au/Shop/15
be welcome. (M. O’C., Taupo, NZ) I am facing problems with some of the You can pay to download one or
• It does seem like you have had a parts. Can I use cheaper MJL3281A & more of these. The two entries at the
major catastrophe. Most likely, it was MJL1302A transistors instead of the top allow you to order a photocopy or
due to a faulty component. This could specified MJL21193G & MJL21194G scan of any article not already listed.
have been a transistor, and maybe Q12 output transistors without any other If taking that option, please be sure to
or Q13 was the culprit. modifications? separately enter the year and month
The remaining components would Also, since 150W into 8W is enough of publication and the name of each
have been destroyed as a consequence for my needs, can I remove one pair article that you want. SC

110    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

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keith.rippon@gmail.com or call (02) 9939 3295. See website for overseas prices

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dress & credit card details, or phone Glyn (02) 9939 3295 or 0431 792 293.

WARNING!
SILICON CHIP magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage. All such
projects should be considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely. Readers are warned that high voltage wiring
should be carried out according to the instructions in the articles.
When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact with mains
AC voltages or high voltage DC. If you are not confident about working with projects employing mains voltages or other high
voltages, you are advised not to attempt work on them. Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims any liability for damages
should anyone be killed or injured while working on a project or circuit described in any issue of SILICON CHIP magazine.
Devices or circuits described in SILICON CHIP may be covered by patents. SILICON CHIP disclaims any liability for the
infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such equipment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any
liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant government regulations and by-laws.
Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must conform to the
Competition & Consumer Act 2010 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are applicable.

siliconchip.com.au Australia’s electronics magazine January 2020  111

 Coming up in Silicon Chip
Advertising Index
Underground Mapping, Pipe Inspection and Leak Finding Altronics...............................81-84
Dr David Maddison explains the numerous techniques and devices which can
be used to find wires, pipes and other structures underground. In some cases, it Ampec Technologies................. 19
is possible to build a complete map of everything near the surface. This is critical
when digging in urban or suburban areas, to avoid damaging existing services Dave Thompson...................... 111
or, in the worst case, starting a fire or a flood!
Digi-Key Electronics.................... 3
4G Remote Monitoring Station
It’s often necessary to know what’s going on in a remote location, such as whether Emona Instruments................. IBC
your boat battery is low, or if it is taking on water. Now that 2G is gone, and there’s Jaycar............................ IFC,53-60
talk of 3G being phased out, this is best done via 4G. Our new Arduino-based
remote monitoring station can send updates over 4G mobile data or via SMS, Keith Rippon Kit Assembly...... 111
and can even be used to switch things on and off at a distance.
LD Electronics......................... 111
Micromite Air Quality Monitor
An easy-to-build device which measures the concentration of Volatile Organic LEACH PCB Assembly............... 5
Compounds (VOCs) in the air and displays it on a colour LCD, both as a numeric
LEDsales................................. 111
reading (in parts-per-billion) and as a graph, showing how it changes over time.
Use it to monitor your home, office, or anywhere else that you might experience Microchip Technology................ 65
poor air quality.
Ocean Controls........................... 6
Low-cost Hifi Bookshelf Speaker System, Pt.2
These medium-sized bookshelf speakers are made from a sheet of plywood RayMing PCB & Assembly.......... 8
and a couple of drivers from Altronics. While they are quite cheap to build, they
certainly don’t sound cheap! And if you build the optional subwoofers, using a Rohde & Schwarz.................. OBC
similar construction method, you get decent bass too, plus bonus speaker stands.
SC Micromite BackPack.......... 109
Low-distortion Direct Digital Synthesiser Silicon Chip Binders............... 111
This two-channel digital signal generator can produce very low distortion sinewaves
across the audio frequency band (20Hz-20kHz), plus several other waveform Silicon Chip Shop...............90-91
shapes. The output levels are independently adjustable over a wide range, and
the channels can also be phase-locked with a 0-360° phase offset. Silicon Chip Subscriptions....... 69

Switchmode Power Supplies....... 7

Note: these features are planned or are in preparation and should appear
within the next few issues of Silicon Chip. The Loudspeaker Kit.com......... 67
The February 2020 issue is due on sale in newsagents by Thursday, January Vintage Radio Repairs............ 111
30th. Expect postal delivery of subscription copies in Australia between January
28th and February 14th. Wagner Electronics..................... 9

Notes & Errata

Discrete pump timer, Circuit Notebook, November 2019: the diodes are all shown correctly orientated, however the anode
(“A”) and cathode (“K”) markings have all been swapped. Also note that the 12V version of the Cyclic Pump Timer was in the
July 2017 issue, not July 2016.

45V 8A Linear Bench Supply, October-December 2019: in the PCB overlay diagram (Fig.6) on page 70 of the November is-
sue, the types and labels for diodes D5 and D6 are swapped. D5 is on the left and should be a 1N5404 type, while D6 is closer
to the edge of the board and should be an SB380. The PCBs supplied for this project have the same error on their silkscreen
printing. The circuit will still function correctly if both diodes are SB380s.

LoRa Chat Terminal, Circuit Notebook, August 2019: the connections from IC2 to the LCD12864 display module are incor-
rect. The correct connections are: 1) pins 1-8 on IC2 go to pins 7-14 on the LCD; 2) pins 23-25 on IC2 go to pins 15-17 on the
LCD; 3) pins 26-28 on IC2 go to pins 4-6 on the LCD.

112    Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au

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