April 2006 - Silicon Chip Online

Outer Front Cover
Contents
Publisher's Letter: Coming soon: high definition DVDs
Feature: High-Definition DVDs: Which Format Will Win? by Barrie Smith
Feature: Advances In Diesel Engine Management by Julian Edgar
Feature: The Electronic Camera, Pt.2 by Kevin Poulter
Project: Studio Series Remote Control Module by Peter Smith
Project: 4-Channel Audio/Video Selector by Jim Rowe
Project: Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System by John Clarke & Julian Edgar
Salvage It: Salvaging The Good Bits From Cordless Drills - And Putting Them To Work by Julian Edgar
Project: PICAXE Goes Wireless by Clive Seager
Vintage Radio: The Fisk Radiola 50G battery receiver by Rodney Champness
Project: Microbric Viper: The Sumo Module by Ross Tester
Book Store
Advertising Index

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SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: www.jaycar.com.au Contents Vol.19, No.4; April 2006 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au FEATURES 8 High-Definition DVDs: Which Format Will Win? High-definition DVD players are almost here but there are two competing formats. Which one will win: Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD? – by Barrie Smith 16 Advances In Diesel Engine Management Half the new cars sold in Europe now have diesel engines. Here’s why they’ve become so popular – by Julian Edgar 28 The Electronic Camera, Pt.2 There’s more to digital photography than just pointing and clicking. Here’s how to manage and process your digital images – by Kevin Poulter High-Definition DVDs: Which Format Will Win? – Page 8. PROJECTS TO BUILD 36 Studio Series Remote Control Module Add full remote control (volume and source selection) to the Studio Series Stereo Preamplifier with this easy-to-build module – by Peter Smith 62 4-Channel Audio/Video Selector Not enough video inputs on your TV or display panel? Build this project and you won’t have to muck about swapping cables each time you want to change the video source – by Jim Rowe 70 Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System Incredibly versatile LED lighting system uses a rechargeable battery pack and has lots of applications – by John Clarke Remote Control For The Studio Series Preamplifier – Page 36. 88 Picaxe Goes Wireless Get your PICAXE projects talking over the airwaves using the latest high-tech 2.4GHz XBee modules – by Clive Seager 100 Microbric Viper: The Sumo Module Add this module to you Microbric Viper and do battle with other robots. It’s an ideal first step to the real “Robot Wars” world of mayhem – by Ross Tester SPECIAL COLUMNS 48 Serviceman’s Log Everything but the kitchen sink – by the TV Serviceman 80 Circuit Notebook (1) 4-20mA Current Loop Tester; (2) “Beer-O-Magic” Temperature Controller 84 Salvage It! 4-Channel Audio/Video Selector – Page 62. Salvaging the good bits from cordless drills and putting them to work – by Julian Edgar 94 Vintage Radio The Fisk Radiola 50G battery receiver – by Rodney Champness DEPARTMENTS 2 4 46 61 Publisher’s Letter Mailbag Product Showcase Order Form siliconchip.com.au 106 109 110 112 Ask Silicon Chip Notes & Errata Market Centre Ad Index Picaxe Goes Wireless – Page 88. April 2006 1 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Production Manager Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Editor Peter Smith Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Ross Tester Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc, VK2ZLO Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Enquiries Lawrence Smith Benedictus Smith Pty Ltd Phone (02) 9211 8035 Fax: (02) 9211 0068 lawrence<at>benedictus-smith.com Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Rodney Champness, VK3UG Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed, Grad.Dip.Jnl Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Stan Swan SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490 All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Hannanprint, Noble Park, Victoria. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $83.00 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial office: Unit 8, 101 Darley St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au Publisher’s Letter Coming soon: high definition DVDs This month, our feature story is on the conflict between the two main high definition DVD contenders – HD-DVD and Blu-ray. To anyone who witnessed the all-out fight between the VHS and Betamax videotape formats in the eighties, it seems almost incomprehensible that the same sort of thing could happen again. As we know, ultimately there can only be one winner and before that happens, both contenders are likely to lose huge amounts of money. Probably, the successful contender will be the one with the lowest licence fees rather than technical superiority. Not that it really matters to the consumer since both opposing systems are a quantum jump over existing DVDs. Most people will sit on the sidelines for several years until competition drives the entry price for high-definition DVDs down to comfortable levels. That will probably happen very quickly too, as China and the rest of Asia ramp up manufacturing. To my mind though, there is a cloud over both systems because I believe that most people will never want or even recognise high-definition video pictures when they see them. For a start, you need a high-definition screen or projector. In a typical lounge room with a TV viewing distance of say two to three metres, the screen size or projected image will need to be at least 50 inches (1.27 metres) diagonal before you can tell the difference between a standard definition and a high-definition signal. If the screen is any smaller or the viewing distance greater, high-definition signals will be wasted. In my experience too, even where a high-definition signal is being shown and can be seen to be better, many people just cannot recognise the difference, even if their eye-sight is OK. Worse still, they may even prefer the standard definition picture, particularly on plasma displays, because it may be brighter and more contrasty. Many people will be led up the garden path too, buying standard definition plasma or LCD TVs which are “HD ready” because they have an HDMI socket. Well, the HDMI socket means the TV set will be “compatible” with high-definition signals, meaning that it will display a picture. But that picture ain’t gonna be high definition – it will be good old standard definition, just the same as for normal DVDs. So when those people eventually plug in their brand new HD-DVD or Blu-ray player to their “HD-ready TV”, guess what – the picture will be exactly the same! Bewdy! Ultimately, I think the real driver for high-definition DVDs could be high-tech video games. In this situation, the player sits very close to the screen and will definitely be able to discern the improvements from highdefinition video. But for your average viewer watching a rental video over a pizza, highdefinition video will be a non-event. Leo Simpson ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended and maximum price only. 2 Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Innovative • Unique • Interesting • Hard to find products Extend Keyboard/Monitor/Mouse up to 150m from the PC using inexpensive network cable (not included). There is also connections for a local console. Cat 11652-7 $329 Analogue & Digital Video Capture Dual VGA KVM A KVM switch that works with two dual monitor enabled PC's. Use dual monitors and only one keyboard and mouse to control the two PCs. Cat 11676-7 $169 PCI-X Serial Card Add two RS232 ports to any system with 32 or 64bit PCI slots. Cat 2870-7 $149 Serial over Bluetooth Captures from digital & analogue camcorders plus VCR/TV/DVD. Comes with handy front-access connections and Video Studio 8 SE software. Cat 23027-7 $259 Zebra LP2844 Label/Barcode Printer A reliable direct thermal printer that is great for retail outlets or small warehouses. Print width of 28mm to 104mm. Serial, Parallel and USB interface. Cat 5751-7 $799 Cordless Pen Mouse This cordless pen mouse is ideal for use in confined areas where a normal mouse cannot be used. It features a USB interface with a transmission distance up to 10m, and has a rechargeable battery. Cat 9287-7 $119 USB Temperature Sensor Monitor and graph temperature readings with the USB sensor and included software. Cat 17085-7 $169 Removable HD Kit Mini Portable Barcode Scanner (MPBS) Stores up to 1000 barcodes The MPBS offers a portable scanning solution that includes the functionality of larger, bulkier units. The MPBS features a 64 character LCD, Serial Interface and rechargeable batteries. Cat 9286-7 $399 12v ATX Power Supply Allows a standard PC to be converted to run where there is no 240V power available. ie vehicles, boats and remote sites. Simply replace the ATX power supply in the PC with this unit and connect 12V DC from a suitable source. Cat 8551-7 $289 An aluminium frame and tray to convert any standard IDE HD into a removable backup/storage device. Also available for SATA drives. Cat 6802-7 $79 USB 2.0 TV Box Watch TV and Listen to FM radio on your PC or Laptop. Also supports capture from an RCA or S-Video input. Cat 3527-7 $169 MicroGram has a new range of PCIe add-on cards. PCI Express (PCIe) is the new PCI standard found on many new motherboards. Our current range of cards include USB 2.0, SATA II, Gigabit & Firewire 800. Cat 2499-7 Call for pricing LCD Picture Frames Remove the memory card from your camera and place it in the built-in memory card reader to setup a slideshow of your favourite pictures. Available in an 8" or 10" screen size. Wall mounted or use the desk stand. Cat 4717-7 8in $699 Cat 4716-7 10.4in $829 ExpressCards For Notebooks This unique unit will allow a serial device to operate wirelessly using Bluetooth. Cat 11920-7 $459 Programmable Voice keypad Activated Remote Stores infrared signals from your existing remotes, and lets the user trigger them using voice commands Cat 9180-7 $199 What’s New? PCI Express Add-on Cards This 20 key keypad allows the user to store multiple keystrokes or complex commands under every key. Cat 8904-7 $319 ExpressCard is the new standard in notebook addon card replacing the older PC Card (PCMCIA) standard. Our current range of ExpressCards include USB 2.0, SATA II, Gigabit, Firewire 800, Serial & Parallel. Cat 2449-7 Call for pricing Low Profile USB 2.0 Card PCI to PCMCIA Adapter USB to IDE Cable with Power Provides 2 external and 1 internal USB 2.0 ports. Fits into low-profile "slimline" cases Cat 2866-7 $59 This PCI card allows the use of PCMCIA and PC Card devices designed for notebooks in a standard desktop PC. Cat 6539-7 $69 Easily connect any IDE drives to your PC using a high-speed USB 2.0 port. An external power adapter for drives is included. Cat 6857-7 $48 USB DVR Surveillance System Broadband Router/Firewall • Normally delivered next day • Not sure what product you require? Call us for friendly advice! ask<at>mgram.com.au 1800 625 777 Ideal for home/office/shop security, users can setup their Share any broadband connecown security system with easy tion and protect your network with this router/firewall installation. Cat 10162-7 $129 Cat 3575-7 $179 www.mgram.com.au Cable Tracer Industrial Control Card 12.1" LCD Monitor Features a single or multi-tone signal. Comes with two test leads and Great for use in a car, boat, a 4-conductor modular or for POS applications. Runs cable. off 12v or 240v. Cat 11520-7 $129 Cat 4658-7 $969 Provides 4 digital I/O ports on a PCI PnP interface card. Each port has 16 I/O lines and can be programmed as input or output. Cat 17054-7 $399 Reseller inquiries welcome siliconchip.com.au SMS I/O Controller Switch any electrical device on or off using SMS from any mobile phone. Cat 17087-7 $979 1800 625 777 ask<at>mgram.com.au www.mgram.com.au All prices subject to change without notice. For current pricing visit our website. Pictures are indicative only. April 2006 3 SHORE AD/MGRM0506 Console Extender MAILBAG School crossing lights I don’t know if the eastern states have the same 40km/h speed limit around schools in the morning and afternoon school times as we do here in the west but this worthwhile reduction in the speed limit during these times does not work well. When the 40km/h speed limits are in force, drivers just don’t remember and do their usual speed past the schools. The police catch lots of drivers but this only makes money and does not significantly lower the speed of drivers. Many people have suggested putting flashing lights on the 40km/h signs and then drivers cannot help notice and slow down. Problem is it would cost too much and be difficult to do. Well us technically-minded know a lot more about how to solve this problem than the police and politicians and here is my idea. I made up a flashing LED light with 18 ultra-bright LEDs powered by four NiMH AA cells. The flashing circuit was a 555 driving a switching transistor. The results are excellent, with the flashing LEDs visible from a considerable distance even in sunlight. My unit draws under 500mA and flashes for hours on one charge with 2Ah batteries. In the west, we have traffic wardens that attend the school crossings in the morning and afternoons. The wardens would have the flashing lights and place them on the 40km/h signs. Each night the traffic wardens would take the units home and recharge the AA cells. I have written to our local Premier and Police Minister but perhaps SILICON CHIP could get behind the idea. What do you think? Will McGhie, Perth, WA. Comment: we think it is a great idea. However, they would better integrated with the speed signs and be solar-powered. They should also be remote-switched by the school staff so that they would operate even when no traffic wardens are present – mostly the case in the eastern states. The schools could switch the lights on at the ap4 Silicon Chip pointed times and thereby also avoid having drivers needing to slow down when no students are present on what is nominally a school day. But we have little hope that the relevant state governments will actually run with the idea. It is too easy for them to do nothing and rake in the fines. By the way, in our experience the police in each state have very good technical staff who are right up to date with technical developments. Toyota Prius – what’s the fuss? That article on the modified Toyota Prius in the March 2006 issue was a very interesting insight into the technology that goes into these “hybrid” cars. However, looking at the quoted fuel consumption, I can’t help wonder what all the fuss is about. These sort of figures are not far from what a small turbo diesel engine car will do without all the very expensive and complex technology that goes into a hybrid. With the ability to run bio-diesel, which is a totally renewable fuel, one wonders why there is not more publicity about the real benefits of diesel power. I run a Nissan Patrol Diesel which weighs close to three tonnes when fully loaded and I still achieve fuel consumption figures around 12l/100km, even around town. Horst Leykam, via email. Comment: you are absolutely right. In fact, we have a 2-part series on diesel engine management starting in this issue. Typical small diesel cars can easily get under 5l/100km. Thanks for Peak LCR meter I wish to thank SILICON CHIP for publishing my Winch Controller in the Circuit Notebook pages of the January 2006 issue. You awarded me the monthly prize, a Peak LCR meter. This meter is simplicity itself to use and is calibrated to laboratory standards. I would certainly recommend it as the instrument of choice. The range of measurements is impressive and the size is mind-boggling at only 105 x 70 x 20mm. Before winning this prize I was restoring a UnaOhm LCR meter made in Italy in the 1960s. I corresponded with UnaOhm for some time before they kindly sent me a circuit from their archives. This meter’s size is also overwhelming at 260 x 160 x 250mm (W x H x D), with nothing like the measurement ranges of the LCR40 or dare I say, the accuracy. Bob Hammond, via email. 300 magazines for good home A good home is wanted for over 300 back issues of Radio & Hobbies, Electronics Australia, ETI and SILICON CHIP, dating back to the 1950s. The magazines are free to anyone interested. Pay Lopez, phone 0408 567 733. ABS sensor speed alarm project I was reading the item in your Circuit Notebook (February 2006 issue) about an “improved speed alarm sensor” and thought my experiences in this area might be of interest. I have installed three cruise control units (commercial units) in my own cars over the last 15 or so years and all used magnetic coil pickups. The first two were rear-wheel drive and the coil was fitted near the propeller shaft just behind the gearbox. The last car was a front-wheel drive Volvo 850 and fortunately it has equallength drive shafts. Thus it has a large 40mm diameter shaft on one side from the differential which is carried on bearings each end and doesn’t move up and down. The speed sensor coil was mounted on a bracket bolted to the transaxle housing, with two magnets wired to the shaft. siliconchip.com.au In defence of nuclear power I feel I have to reply to the letter from Rory Shannon in February’s issue. I do agree with him in that we have to find alternative methods of providing the power we all now take for granted but until we can find efficient methods of supplying and storing that power, wind generators and solar power may not be the answer. Nuclear power has been shown to be safe, efficient and cost effective in the long run. I am neither for or against nuclear power but having worked in that industry, both in the services and civilian life, I have to say that in eight years, I never experienced any problems or faults that would or could render a nuclear reactor dangerous. In his letter, Rory says that nuclear power stations regularly vent radioactive gases into the atmosphere, Nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing that may be vented to atmosphere is steam! This steam is not in any respects radioactive. In fact, the steam is from the condensing system and comes from the cooling towers as water is used to condense the internal I had two commercially-made coils fail within a short time, so I made my own using a relay coil with a bolt through it and sealed in some epoxy. It lasted a year. Then I thought of using an ABS wheel sensor. These are made for hot environments (ie, near disc brakes) and have a properly weatherproofed casing and cabling. I bought one of these from a local car wrecker ($10, complete with cabling and connector – ex Hyundai Lantra). A quick check with a CRO and a magnet (waved near it – really scientific!) showed the output was quite high, higher than the commercial units that failed but about equal to my home-made unit. The ABS unit had its own magnet and was made to respond to the slotted ABS ring on the brake disk. This didn’t seem to make any difference, siliconchip.com.au steam from the turbines. Even the internal water from the turbines is not radioactive. At no stage is any radioactive water or steam released. At no stage are any radioactive gases released. If fact, the current versions of nuclear power plants are the safest ever devised. They employ more redundant systems then they need, they are run by very highly trained personnel and they employ some of the most advanced equipment available. I worked with nuclear power plants for eight years and in that time, I received a higher dose of radiation while I was at home, from all the naturally occurring sources of radioactivity all around us. I was checked for contamination several times per year and I never received more then a few millirems per year. Submariners, who are working with nuclear power in submarines receive less exposure from the submarine’s reactor then they do when they are ashore. This is due to them being enclosed in a steel tank, under the ocean, away from all the natural sources of radioactivity. Dave Sargent, via email. though. It’s now been running on the car for over a year with no troubles, using the original magnets wired to the shaft. Barry Leslie, Winston Hills, NSW. Using TV station logos to kill adverts I have just been reading the March 2006 issue of SILICON CHIP and the Publisher’s Letter reminded me of something I have thought about for some time. Has anyone ever come up with a way of stopping a VCR or DVD recorder when the TV stations play their adverts? There must be some way to detect a TV station logo and stop recording when it is not present, which happens while the adverts are on. Surely there must be a way to detect Atmel’s AVR, from JED in Australia JED has designed a range of single board computers and modules as a way of using the AVR without SMT board design The AVR570 module (above) is a way of using an ATmega128 CPU on a user base board without having to lay out the intricate, surface-mounted surrounds of the CPU, and then having to manufacture your board on an SMT robot line. Instead you simply layout a square for four 0.1” spaced socket strips and plug in our pre-tested module. The module has the crystal, resetter, AVR-ISP programming header (and an optional JTAG ICE pad), as well as programming signal switching. For a little extra, we load a DS1305 RTC, crystal and Li battery underneath, which uses SPI and port G. See JED’s www site for a datasheet. AVR573 Single Board Computer This board uses the AVR570 module and adds 20 An./Dig. inputs, 12 FET outputs, LCD/ Kbd, 2xRS232, 1xRS485, 1-Wire, power reg. etc. See www.jedmicro.com.au/avr.htm $330 PC-PROM Programmer This programmer plugs into a PC printer port and reads, writes and edits any 28 or 32-pin PROM. Comes with plug-pack, cable and software. Also available is a multi-PROM UV eraser with timer, and a 32/32 PLCC converter. JED Microprocessors Pty Ltd 173 Boronia Rd, Boronia, Victoria, 3155 Ph. 03 9762 3588, Fax 03 9762 5499 www.jedmicro.com.au April 2006 5 Mailbag: continued Too much bass is never enough I am one of the silent masses who have been reading SILICON CHIP and its predecessors over the last few decades. Much of my interest is in audio, which is well served by your magazine. This has led me to design and build some interesting equipment. Like many of your readers, I have a strong interest in audio and perhaps an unhealthy interest in subwoofers. A couple of years ago one of my colleagues set me the jocular challenge of building a subwoofer couch. The challenge was made in the context of “non-lethal weapons” and other “really big things” and was made over a few ales. From this challenge the presence of a station logo and keep recording, then when the logo disappears, stop the recording. This would make viewing a recorded show easier, without fast forwarding. Max Maughan, via email. Comment: brilliant idea, Max. It would mean that viewers get back on the TV stations for two annoying aspects – their logos AND the adverts. 6 Silicon Chip and an excess of enthusiasm for lots of bass, the “Subwoofer Couch” was born, as shown in the photo. I must admit to some pride in the result – both because it actually looks like a couch (I am an engineer which makes it surprising it didn’t come out a cube) and because this is a cunning way to get both a couch and an 880-litre subwoofer into one room. My wife hates it, which I reckon is completely unreasonable. I am unclear whether her objection is because of the colour or the fact that every time it gets turned up things move that the laws of physics would suggest should not. On a more serious note, it is an interesting exercise in the development of an active speaker system and We don’t know how you would detect a semi-transparent station logo within a video signal stream but let’s put it out there. Maybe you would look for a particular video signal “grab” on a designated line number but then not all station logos are in the same corner of the screen. Mind you, some programming does not have station logos but it’s still an intriguing idea. also an excellent illustration of the ears’ insensitivity to low frequencies. With a crossover frequency of 70Hz (24dB/octave) and a pair of good-quality near monitors placed at about three metres from the listening position (or take off position!), this system provides an excellent listening experience. The couch uses the economic Jaycar CS2345 subwoofers and is driven by a 4-channel (250W/channel) amplifier. This bestows a number of extraordinary abilities upon the couch, including the ability to provide musically synchronised massages to persons on or near the couch, perform vibration and acoustic shock tests to nearby electronic equipment and to launch any inquisitive cats from the speaker vents. While one of these things crosses the line from “a good thing to build and own” into the region of “wow, my better half will hate this and how could I move it once I built it anyway?”, there are a few interesting points for the hobbyist with an interest in woodwork and furniture: (1) A subwoofer can easily be hidden in a couch, coffee table or any number of other otherwise innocuous objects; (2) If you choose to hide it in something large, then you can have lots of bass; and (3) for some of us, too much bass is never enough. If your readers are interested in this or some of my other projects, I have put a few on the following web page: http://www.users.bigpond. com/anne.phil/default.htm Phil Prosser, via email. Disparaging comment on Epson projector review The review of the Epson EMP-TWD1 LCD projector article by Barrie Smith in the February issue of SILICON CHIP goes against the intent of your editorial in the same issue. It was extremely disappointing in many ways. Firstly, no-one should consider that 854 x 480 pixels meets Australian standards. Standard definition here siliconchip.com.au 2006 SILICON CHIP Excellence in Education Technology Awards SILICON CHIP magazine aims to promote the education, development and application of electronic technology in all fields throughout Australia. As part of that aim, we are announcing the SILICON CHIP Excellence in Education Technology awards, with a prize pool of $10,000. Separate awards will be made to students of secondary schools throughout Australia and to students of universities and TAFE colleges throughout Australia. The secondary school awards will have three categories: AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE (a) Best final year assignment of an individual student involving electronics technology (b) An award to the school sponsoring the winning individual student (c) Best school project involving electronics technology The university and TAFE college awards will have three categories: (a) Best project from a student as part completion of a degree, diploma or certificate in electronics or a related field (ie, mechatronics) (b) Best research project from a post-graduate student working in an area of applied electronics (c) An award to the university faculty or school sponsoring the best research project. Entries and judging The awards will be judged by the editorial staff of SILICON CHIP, convened as a judges panel. The decisions of the judges will be final. Entries for the 2006 awards will open 1st May 2006, with final submissions to be made by September 30th, 2006. All submissions will be confidential, until the winners are announced, in the December 2006 issue of SILICON CHIP. Each award will take the form of a cash prize and a commemorative plaque. All enquiries about these awards should be directed to the editor via email to: awards<at>siliconchip.com.au is 720 x 576 pixels. If you check in any TV store you will see that any set displaying only 480 vertical pixels produces a poorer picture than any other that has at least 576 vertical pixels. Next, the only place for a “home entertainment” projector is at ceiling level. Then people can walk around the room without causing major disturbance to the projected picture. The projector is also not disturbed by other use of the room or during cleaning. The fan noise is up away from the viewers, although that is less of an issue these days as fans have become quieter. Now displaying still pictures, such as digital photos, on that system will be at the woeful maximum of 854 x 480 not “up to 8192 x 7680” as suggested. They will not look very clear at that resolution. It is worth noting that the “rainbow effect” which some people can see on some DLP type projectors also disappears with familiarity. Nowadays that is no drawback to the DLP versus LCD comparison. But this point is – all LCD siliconchip.com.au screens deteriorate with time (admittedly a long time for modern units) but DLP suffers zero degradation. As for the projector speakers, no one should consider using them for home use. They are tiny and give poor sound output. For a “home theatre” system, surround sound with a good subwoofer is the only way to go. It will make an enormous difference to the whole experience. Finally, to have two different pieces of technology in the same box is only useful for those people who need a portable unit. Otherwise all it does is increase the likelihood of that box becoming a useless bit of junk in the future. We have had a “home theatre” for over five years now. Our latest projector can display full high-definition TV at an actual 1920 x 1080 pixels. It has 2000 lumens output with a lamp life of 3000 hours. It does that by alternating the polarity of the electrodes in the lamp and adjusting the lamp current with usage. To watch TV at that resolution is compelling for everyone. Unfortunately, there are very few programs broadcast at that excellent resolution. Note also that to view digital photos at the full native 2048 x 1596 resolution of the projector is like looking out an open window. Bruce Withey, via email. Barrie Smith comments: my main enthusiasm for the unit was its ability, in one box, to offer a projector and a DVD player. Until we get true high definition units like this the game is only half way there. Yes, the ideal location for a projector is at ceiling level. But this is a combo DVD player and projector and it’s a bit hard to change DVDs when the unit is in the ceiling! Considering that most 4:3 TVs possibly have lesser quality speakers than the Epson, the unit does perform adequately as a standalone unit. Agreed, the 854 x 480 image is only standard definition. Perhaps I should have come down harder on this. I agree with Bruce SC Withey’s other comments. April 2006 7 High defini which form Standard definition DVDs and DVD players have saturated the market – and now we’re waiting for the next big development: high definition DVDs. These will finally give us an unlimited source of high definition program material but there are two competing formats. Which one will win? Or will they co-exist, uncomfortably, for a long time – like VHS and Betamax? by Barrie Smith First announced in 2002 Sony’s Blu-ray format takes a very different approach to storing high definition material: a single-layer disc can store between 23 and 27GB of data, enough for four hours of high definition video. A dual-layer disc can hold between 46 and 54GB, more than enough for eight full hours. 8 Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au tion DVDs – at will win? I have to admit that, having agreed with our esteemed editor’s request to put together a story on what’s happening with high definition video formats, I faced the challenge with trepidation. I saw it as a bit like describing the movement of a glacier on steroids. This is really a monster! I suppose you could see it coming if you looked really hard. But few of us probably had the patience to do so, infatuated as we are by the elegance and ease of use of DVD, which has taken the market by storm. The players are relatively easy to use, the movies are beguiling and the quality (when compared to VHS) is stunning. Currently, some DVD players are priced at less than a decent meal at the local Chinese; my nearest Harvey Norman’s has them on the run for less than $50. The software, however, is still ticketed as high as the market will bear. But those bewitching platters of plastic in their stylish boxes pull us in every time. Many of us have a collection of titles on the shelves that will very soon rival the number of VHS tapes we have either recorded or purchased over the years. In my own case (and making no comment on copyright) I have 300+ tapes Partnering Toshiba in the drive towards making HD-DVD the standard, this is one of the NEC hardware mock-ups. Expect to see actual product in the near future. siliconchip.com.au April 2006 9 In a nutshell . . . 1. Just what is high definition widescreen? In the PAL world, high definition video is defined thus: 720p: the picture is 1280 x 720 pixels, transmitted at 50 complete frames per second. 1080i: the picture is 1920 x 1080 pixels, sent at 50 interlaced fps or 50 complete fps. 1080p: a 1920 x 1080 pixels picture, sent at 50 complete fps. The first figure (eg, 1920) is the horizontal definition in pixels; the latter figure (eg, 1080), is the vertical line structure. HDTV is a digital signal in the 720p, 1080i or 1080p format. 2. Component versus HDMI connection A component video connection carries the three primary colour signals; in consumer terms, the three component signals have been translated into luminance (Y) and two colour difference signals (PP, PR), each on a separate wire. HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is the optimum method of carrying uncompressed video and multi-channel audio data to the display device through one single cable, so eliminating multiple analog connections for hi-res audio and video. Without an HDMI connection you would need three video connections for high definition video and six audio connections for surround audio. HDMI is a digital carrier, as opposed to other connection standards, such as composite and component video, as well as S-video, which are all analog. 3. What sound channels will be available? For audio, Blu-ray supports linear (uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD and Dolby Lossless (also known as MLP). HD-DVD audio, as supported in Toshiba’s first HD-DVD player the HD-A1, includes Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD lossless (two channel), DTS and DTS-HD lossless. For what it’s worth, Dolby Digital Plus is an enhanced coding system based on the AC-3 codec. It offers support for more audio channels (up to 13.1), improved coding techniques to reduce artefacts and backward compatibility with existing AC-3 hardware. Naturally, surround channel information will depend on how each movie title Blu-ray HD-DVD disc is prepared. 4. Do both Blu-ray and HD-DVD have the same video standards? Both formats will be backwards compatible with DVDs and both employ the same video compression techniques: MPEG-2, Video Codec 1 (VC1, based on the Windows Media 9 format) and H-264/MPEG-4 AVC. 5. Which is best? Either approach – Blu-ray or HD-DVD – will offer significant advantages for the creation of a high-quality screen image, compared to current DVDs. That is, ‘significant’ if you have a true high definition display of sizeable dimensions. In my opinion, the benefits of the two systems will only be fully realised if your screen image diagonal measures more than 1.5 metres. The big plus is that even at close viewing distances, the line structure completely disappears. 6. Encoding. Let’s hope the MPEG encoding on important movie titles is performed sympathetically. A “million dollar” screen display is worthless if screen artefacts from poor encoding are noticeable. 10 Silicon Chip shelved, with DVDs approaching the 100 mark. And in a few short months, they will all be obsolete. Digital High Definition widescreen DVDs are about to be released! Home Cinema When you go to the movies, it’s a matter of course that all the big features are exhibited in some sort of widescreen aspect ratio and of a quality seldom seen in the home environment. But it’s now possible to install a monster plasma or LCD TV screen, or set up a high definition video projector, that will create a home cinema experience pretty close to the real thing … screen size aside. And that’s not even to delve into the situation where you can watch widescreen digital broadcast television of sports, dramas and documentaries with a resolution that matches it. Next item on the menu: a medium to replay and, if the Almighty permits, record high definition video and multichannel sound. High Definition Video So now we find ourselves slap bang in the middle of a format fight. In the red corner is HD-DVD, a format created by Toshiba and NEC, while over in the opposing (blue!) corner is Blu-ray, the progeny of Sony, Matsushita and Philips. Both have serious supporters. The players and the discs from both are due soon. Realistically, the struggle will begin earlier than you think. With the technology bloodlines of both sides beyond question, it’s not a matter of which format is superior but more a situation of which will curry most support from backers. . . and which will convince the public that the content (movies, games, etc) will be desirable. Toshiba/NEC’s HD-DVD Toshiba/NEC’s HD-DVD format appeared in November 2003 and was introduced to the DVD Forum (see panel) and approved by the latter as “the next-generation DVD format.” Blu-ray was never submitted for consideration, so was neither approved nor rejected by the forum. Actual product from Toshiba itself had not appeared on the market as of late 2005. HD-DVD discs have a single-layer capacity of 15GB – that’s more than siliconchip.com.au The replay pickup inside a Toshiba HD-DVD player; the format uses a blue-violet laser with a 405 nanometre wavelength. A Philips Blu-ray recording head. It too uses a 405nm laser but there the similarities end! Blu-ray disc capacities are potentially up to 200GB three times that of a single layer DVD (4.7GB). HD-DVD uses a blue-violet laser with a shorter wavelength (405 nanometres) than the red laser (650nm) used in current DVD drives; for the record, CDs are written with a laser wavelength of 780nm. The HD-DVD’s shorter wavelength laser enables tighter data packing on the disc, so more data can be stored. This HD-DVD disc is visibly identical to a DVD. HD-DVD, Blu-ray and DVD all use a 120mm disc. The surface layer of an HD-DVD disc is 0.6mm thick, the same as DVD but thicker than the Blu-ray disc’s 0.1mm layer. When first launched, the HD-DVD disk will come in three sizes: 15, 30 and 45GB. The 45GB version could hold a total of 12 hours of high definition. A fourth type will have a standard definition DVD version on the reverse side of the disk. Sharing a low manufacturing cost, HD-DVD has very similar characteristics to DVD: same layer thicknesses and similar materials. Current DVD disc Toshiba HD-DVD player and disc siliconchip.com.au plants can, with slight modifications, manufacture HD-DVDs. Blu-ray The Blu-ray format was first announced in early 2002 and actual product — in the form of a Sony Bluray recorder – was actually on sale in Japan in April 2003 for the asking price of US$3815. Disc blanks holding 23GB could be bought for US$30 and could store two hours of MPEG2 encoded high definition video. DVD players are likely to appear early this year. Sidestepping the DVD Forum, Sony created its own industry body in the Blu-ray Disc Association, with at least seven of the DVD Forum’s original 10 founders now supporting Blu-ray. Currently the association has 140 members. The format’s capacity potential is staggering: a single-layer disc can store between 23GB and 27GB of data, enough for four hours of high definition video. A dual-layer disc can hold between 46GB and 54GB, more than enough for eight full hours of high definition. Another plus is the extreme thinness of Blu-ray’s data layers; up to eight layers could be potentially placed on one disc: then you’re looking at 200GB of storage. TDK has already created a four-layer 100GB prototype disc. Blu-ray also relies on a blue-violet April 2006 11 laser with a 405nm wavelength. Blu-ray’s attractions include high capacity and future expansion. The early discs were housed in protective caddies because the data layer is very close to the disc’s surface. TDK then developed a very tough coating so the Blu-ray can now claim durability: it’s said that not even a screwdriver can damage it and it’s likely to be even more damage-resistant then current DVDs. A Blu-ray disc is costly to manufacture and current DVD plants would need considerable re-tooling. But technology is never stationary. The Winner HD-DVD was built to handle only one application – video playback – at minimal cost and maximum efficiency. Blu-ray has a different approach: the format can handle video and audio playback, computer software and gaming applications equally well. Blu-ray has three technological advantages: (a) it allows movie studios a higher level of copy protection; (b) Blu-ray has more present and potential capacity than HD-DVD; and (c) the format’s Java programming technology is a proven standard and offers greater operator interactivity than HDDVD’s iHD (devised by Microsoft). HD-DVD and Blu-ray will be backwards compatible with DVDs and both employ the same video compression: MPEG2, Video Codec 1 (based on Windows Media 9) and MPEG4. The amount of high definition content that can be stored on a disc is entirely dependent upon the codec used to encode that content. Using standard Blu-ray’s secret weapon may be the PlayStation 3 console (top, with a PS3 action game below), due for release this year, with a Blu-ray drive able to play games and high definition movies. 12 Silicon Chip MPEG2 DVD compression, a singlelayer Blu-ray disc could hold two hours of high definition programming, but with MPEG4 or VC-1 compression this figure roughly doubles. HD-DVD has one other advantage over Blu-ray: it can accommodate hybrid DVD/HD-DVD content on the same disc; each on opposing sides. The two rivals have fought a bitter PR war over the last year or so. Talks held in early 2005 with the aim of effecting a possible compromise to combine the two formats got nowhere. The general feeling is that most major movie studios will support the Blu-ray format in 2006. But industry figures have concerns over disc production costs, as it is recognised as a major departure from past DVD and CD manufacturing processes. Higher production costs will lead to higher retail prices. One executive even stated that in trials “a manufacturing line for HD DVD discs produced nearly twice as many useable discs as a similar line pumping out the Blu-ray format, over the same period of time.” The duel will most likely be won by the format with the lowest hardware and software prices. It seems likely at this point in time that the competing products will hit the market at roughly the same time. While apparently more costly, the Sony format appears to be the most technically advanced and the one with the most development potential so that it could carry more content. Blu-ray has a possible 200GB capacity in view (using eight layers), compared to a likely maximum of 60GB for HD-DVD (two sides/two layers). But new codecs such as MPEG4 AVC could make it possible to produce high quality content at lower bit rates (less data) without a visible loss of quality. Using such advanced codec technology, HD-DVD could possibly store eight hours on two layers that would normally have held only 30GB with “straight MPEG4” encoding – enough for a complete high definition movie with all the extras. HD-DVD supporters promised the release of 85 movie titles before the end of 2005, while Blu-ray planned a release in the first quarter of 2006. This situation has changed due to smallerthan-expected shipments of hardware and software. Paramount promised a release of 20 HD-DVD titles in 2005 but will not resiliconchip.com.au The Colt: Tapestry As this story was being written and the powerful forces behind Sony and Toshiba were slugging it out, suddenly a dark colt was seen to streak up on the outside rails, that could, if it was let run, trample on all their plans. The tape people, Maxell and a Colorado enterprise InPhase (a spinoff from Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs) has announced that it has developed a “new storage medium optical disc technology” called Tapestry that will store 63 times the capacity of current DVDs on a 130mm disc — about 300GB. And it could be a viable product by September 2006. The holographic media is claimed to have ultimate storage capacities of 1.6 Terabytes per disc and offer data rates as high as 160Mbps (20MB/second). In October 2005, Turner Broadcasting System broadcast a promotional TV ad from a holographic disc and drive developed by Maxell and InPhase respectively. Turner VP of Broadcast technology, Ron Tarasoff, described the medium as “an ideal way to store high-quality, high-definition movies [and] TV programming as files,” adding that “the data rate allows us to migrate files on and off the disks quickly.” Early information indicates that InPhase is using both green and blue lasers to write the holographic data with wavelengths of 510-532nm and 400-410nm. The discs are both ROM and recordable. The specs for Tapestry allow for disc media as well as ‘slides’ and ‘coupons’, measuring 50 x 75mm and 75 x 75mm respectively. The InPhase developers devised several overlapping multiplexing techniques that resulted in a relatively simple architecture for holographic storage. A reference laser beam is used to “write” that data in a number of 3D hologram images. Coupled with this was the creation of a new, higher density storage medium; this used a new “two chemistry” polymer that yielded a high response, high photosensitivity media in a millimetre-thick, optically flat format. This twin chemistry promises storage densities of up to 100 Gigabits/square inch, along with very fast transfer rates. InPhase claims that Tapestry drives do not require very fast rotation rates to get the promised transfer rates. Relatively small form factors can therefore have very high capacity and performance. Accelerated testing indicates a 50 year archival life for the media. Venture capital partners include Hitachi Maxell, Bayer Material Science and ALPS Electric (makers of Alpine hifi). Not to be forgotten is the breakaway Chinese format, EVD (Enhanced Versatile Disk), created in 2003 to avoid the high DVD licensing cost but, by using codecs VP5 and VP6 instead of MPEG2, able to store high definition resolution programming. It fell by the wayside after a dispute between developing consortium members. Gone? Probably! During recording (left), light from a single laser beam is split into two beams – a signal beam (which carries the data) and a reference beam. The hologram is formed where these two beams intersect in the recording medium. In order to read the data (right), only the reference beam is needed. It deflects off the hologram, thus reconstructing the stored information. The hologram is then projected onto a detector that reads one million bits of data in parallel. This parallel read out provides holography with its fast transfer rates. siliconchip.com.au April 2006 13 LATE NEWS . . . HP has decided to support both formats, after opposing HD-DVD for the last two years. The decision makes sense in the short term, leaving the market to decide which will be the winner. The Las Vegas CES show in January saw early Blu-ray/HD-DVD hardware, titles and strategy revealed. Player costs for Australia would likely be high at first, with some companies holding back on early models. Toshiba will market its first two HDDVD players – HD-XA1 and HD-A1 – in March. The new HD-DVD players will output content through the HDMI interface in the native format of the HD-DVD disc at either 720p or 1080i. Through the HDMI interface, standard definition DVDs can be upconverted to output resolutions of 720p or 1080i to complement the performance of an HDTV. Prices are set at $US499 and $US699. Toshiba also showed off a new high-end Qosmio laptop with an HDDVD drive. Microsoft announced it will make an external HD-DVD drive that will eventually be available for its newly launched Xbox 360 video game console. This drive will not be available for the Australian launch of the Xbox 360. Also announced: Microsoft will build in support for HD-DVD in the forthcoming Windows Vista operating system. Movie releases in HD-DVD will ‘ramp up’ in May this year, growing to nearly 200 titles by mid year. Early releases will primarily be legacy titles, lease any until this year. NBC Universal released 12 titles instead of 16, while Time Warner says that its plans are flexible while it waits to see whether a compromise can be achieved between the two formats. Going back a while, it’s interesting to note that Toshiba and Warner Brothers helped settle the behind-the-scenes format disagreements that existed before the adoption of the present DVD standard. And don’t forget the games market: with its multi-layer capability, Blu-ray appears to offer the most real estate for graphics-rich games, a sector rap14 Silicon Chip adding some new releases later. Titles will feature a mixture of stand-alone HD-DVD discs and hybrid HD-DVD/ standard-definition DVD discs. Hybrid discs will sell for several dollars more than HD-DVD-only titles. Still being decided are the final specs for the AACS digital rights management system that is to be used in both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats. Failure to sign off on these could still further delay both the HDDVD and Blu-ray Disc formats. Pioneer’s first Blu-ray Disc computer drive should be around in Q1/2006. The company’s first Blu-ray player – BDP-HD1 – should appear in June at a suggested price of $US1800. Samsung promised to ship a Bluray Disc player – BD-P1000 – to consumers in April 2006 for around $US1000. It will have a memory card reader and outputs include composite, S-video, component, HDMI and both digital and analog audio outputs. Broadcom announced the first high definition decoder chip that is fully compliant with both Blu-ray, HD-DVD and DVD. “Broadcom is providing the back end,” said Jonathan Goldberg, senior product manager. “Features like video, graphics, navigation, display.You can use Broadcom solutions to build a player that will play both [formats].” The company noted that DVD player manufacturers must still deal with the incompatibility of the optical pickup at the front end of the technology. You still need a drive but that’s likely this year! idly overtaking movie production as a prime and lucrative revenue source. The killer punch in the match may well be the arrival of Sony’s Playstation 3 game console this year. PS3 will feature a Blu-ray drive and be the first video game console on the market featuring a next-generation drive. Likely price: US$300-600 for a games machine that will also handle high definition video. The PS3 factor is important in the struggle: if Sony gets a high volume of players in the market, it will gain it market recognition and market share, which will obviously help to bring down manufacturing costs for domestic players and discs. However, at the end of the day, the buying public has to fork out for the new technology – and in decent numbers – to make HD-DVD or Blu-ray a financial success. The real fact is that enthusiasts have invested in large screens and projectors to enjoy true digital 1920 x 1080 high definition video, along with surround sound systems and most are, by-andlarge, very happy with the experience from current broadcast TV and DVD delivery. Now that prices are tumbling, other consumers will now follow the early adopters. Then we’ll see whether we’ll take on a high definition disc format or will Video on Demand, Internet video or iPod-like delivery schemes outwit the disc. It’s your call! Format fight Many people have compared techno fights like this Toshiba/Sony scrap as similar to the tussle between Sony’s Betamax and JVC’s VHS tape formats in the mid 70s. No comparison! The contest then was to launch a video recording format for the home, to sell the hardware to punters eager to tape and archive their “Number 96” and “The Sullivans” programs as Australian colour television really got into its stride — from a slow 1975 start. It’s believed Sony lost the battle because it wanted Betamax to be the industry standard, presumably to reap the royalties and manufacturing licensing fees from the proprietary technology. JVC, for its part, was content to ‘open share’ the format with other manufacturers, thereby missing out on substantial potential earnings — but ensuring that VHS proliferated in the market place. By 1984, 40 companies were on the VHS bandwagon, with Betamax at only 12. Finally admitting defeat, by 1988 Sony was manufacturing VHS recorders. No, the HD-DVD versus Blu-ray is not about the hardware — it’s the software! Each camp has supporters lined up – and big guns they are: HD-DVD Movies: Warner Home Video, Universal Studios, HBO and New Line Cinema, Paramount Home Entertainment. Others: Dell, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Sanyo, Thomson. siliconchip.com.au Blu-ray Games: Electronic Arts, Vivendi. Movies: Sony Pictures, Columbia TriStar (Sony-owned), Walt Disney Productions, MGM (20% Sony-owned), Paramount Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate Entertainment. Others: Adobe, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Thomson, JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Hitachi, LG, Samsung, Sharp, Yamaha, Zenith, BenQ, Maxell, TDK, Verbatim. DVD Forum The DVD Forum is an international association of hardware manufacturers, software firms, content providers and other users of Digital Versatile Discs (DVD). Its purpose is to exchange and disseminate ideas and information about the DVD format and its technical capabilities, improvements and innovations. The forum was founded by the companies involved in the original DVD format war to make sure that compromises could be reached regarding the future of the high definition format. Current members include Toshiba, NEC, Sony, Matsushita and Philips (and a few hundred others). Yes, Toshiba, Sony, etc – the progenitors of the two opposing high definition recordable formats – are still members. The final frame As this story was wound up, news came through that Samsung plans to make a combo HD-DVD/Blu-ray player. The company currently supports the Blu-ray group but is reported to be wary of launching a solo format unit. Samsung feels it has sufficient resources to support HD-DVD as well “in the Samsung’s BD-P1000 combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD near future” and the current player will output 1080i and 720p hightarget of the company is “to definition signals, as well as standard-definition be ready for a super-combo signals. The $US1000 player is expected in the recorder, capable of recording next few months, possibly as early as May. on both Blu-ray and HD-DVD media.” possibly make it expensive, at least in This would be the solution everythe beginning.” It’s likely to appear in body needs, Samsung believes, in order the US in the next few months. to “avoid the confusion of different forThere are rumours that LG is close mats.” However, such a device “would behind with the same ambition. SC NEW NEW NEW MP4s from Media Vision Technology This little all-in-one pocket sized MP4 player might be small in size but it is big on features. It comes with a large 2.5” colour TFT LCD screen and 512MB of built in memory with an additional SD card slot for up to 1GB SD card. It can record video direct from the line in and has TV play back. But that’s not all. This Mp4 player also includes an MP3 player, picture viewer, digital voice recorder, games and a calendar. It’s great for playing back movies from digital cameras. VR 9500 Movie Player, Photo Player, Music Player, AV Recorder, Voice Recorder, SD Card Reader, 512MB USB Portable Disc Only $299 Reseller enquiries: www.mvt-au.com Email: admin_sales<at>mvt-au.com Buy online now at: MAD Electronics: www.madelectronics.com.au siliconchip.com.au Only This fantastic MP4 player has a whopping 40MB HD and a build in 3.6” colour TFT LCD screen. Not only can this great device store movies but it can record full 30fps VGA quality video direct from the line in straight to the hard drive, it can even play them back on a TV! Ideal for kids to watch movies on road trips or holidays and no more lost or broken discs as all you favourite movies are stored safely on the hard drive. Comes size: 110 x 80 x 30 (mm) bundled with software. $499 Movie Player, Photo Player, Music Player, AV Recorder, Voice Recorder, MMC/SD Card reader, 40MB USB 2.0 Portable disc. 282 Windang Road Windang, NSW PH. 02 4297 7373 www.madelectronics.com.au April 2006 15 This BMW 3-litre in-line 6-cylinder diesel uses twin turbochargers. It develops 200kW at 4400 RPM and a staggering 560Nm at 2000 RPM, with no less than 530Nm available from 1500 RPM. The twin overhead cam, iron block and alloy head design uses four valves per cylinder and has a mass of 228kg. Bosch DDE 6.0 engine management is used with common rail injection. [BMW] Diesel Engine While the principle of the diesel engine itself hasn’t changed much since it was invented by Rudolf Diesel more than a century ago (he patented the concept in 1892) the last couple of decades has seen enormous advances in the performance of diesel engines, particularly those used in cars. Julian Edgar explains: C ars equipped with diesel engines now comprise half of all new cars sold in Europe. The main reason for their popularity is fuel economy: a medium-sized diesel car can easily achieve a city fuel consumption of better than 6 litres/100km and on a highway, 4 litres/100km. 16 Silicon Chip Even the very high power diesel passenger car engines now available have exceptional fuel economy for their size and performance. The BMW 535d, equipped with a twin-turbo 3-litre diesel engine developing 200kW of power and 560Nm of torque, accelerates to 100km/h in just 6.5 seconds and has an EU combined cycle fuel economy of 8l/100km. At the other end of the power spectrum, the Smart Fortwo 0.8-litre diesel develops 30kW and 100Nm but has a combined EU cycle fuel consumption of only 3.4l/100km! In Australia, Audi, BMW, Citroen, siliconchip.com.au Extremely high fuel injection pressures are now being employed to provide excellent fuel atomisation. This nozzle is designed to work at 2000 Bar (29,000 psi!) fuel pressure. [Bosch] DaimlerChrysler, Peugeot and Volkswagen all sell diesel-powered passenger cars. But aren’t diesels noisy, smelly devices that puff black smoke at inopportune times and rev to only 3000 RPM? Not any more! A revolution has been achieved by the use of extremely high fuel pressures and electronically controlled common rail fuel injection that allows far more accurate control of the injection process. Diesel engines Although the basic designs of petrol and diesel engines are similar (both are 2 or 4-stroke designs with reciprocating pistons driving a crankshaft), a diesel engine does not compress its fuel/air charge and then ignite combustion with a spark plug. Instead, in a diesel engine, just air is highly compressed. When the piston is near Top Dead Centre, an injector sprays the fuel into the combustion chamber, whereupon it mixes with the hot compressed air and self-ignites. In order that the air within the diesel combustion chamber becomes hot enough for self-ignition to occur, the compression ratio needs to be much higher than in a spark ignition engine. Compression ratios in the range of 16:1 to 24:1 are commonly used, giving forced-aspirated diesel engines a compression pressure of up to 150 Bar. This generates temperatures of up to 900°C. Since the ignition temperature of the most combustible components of diesel fuel is only 250°C, it is easy to see why the fuel burns when it is injected after the piston has risen on the compression stroke. Diesel engines are designed to develop high torque at low engine speeds. In recent years, the use of turbochargers and common-rail direct injection has dramatically improved the specific torque output of diesel car engines. Fig.1 shows that specific torque has risen from about 70Nm/litre to more than 182Nm/litre over the last 20 years. Management Part 1 Fig.1: the very rapid development in diesel engine performance over the last 20 years can be seen in this DaimlerChrysler chart. Since the 1995 E300D model, specific torque has risen from about 70Nm/litre to more than 182Nm/litre while at the same time, specific fuel consumption has fallen by over 60%! [DaimlerChrysler] siliconchip.com.au April 2006 17 reducing efficiency and increasing fuel consumption. The sharp rise in cylinder pressure also increases noise. Too late an injection reduces torque and can result in incomplete combustion, increasing the emissions of unburned hydrocarbons. • Injection Duration Unlike a conventional port fuel injected petrol engine, where the amount of fuel injected can be considered to be directly proportional to the injector opening time, a diesel injector will vary in mass flow. This depends on the difference between the injection and combustion chamber pressures, the density of the fuel (which is temperature dependent) and the dynamic compressibility of the fuel. The specified injector duration must therefore take these factors into account. Fig.2: a simple common-rail diesel fuel injection system. A high-pressure mechanical pump (1) feeds the fuel to the common rail (3). A fuel rail control valve (4) allows the fuel pressure to be maintained at a level set by the Electronic Control Unit (8). The common rail feeds the injectors (5). Sensor inputs to the ECU comprise fuel pressure (2), engine speed (9), camshaft position (10), accelerator pedal travel (11), boost pressure (12), intake air temperature (13) and engine coolant temperature (14). (6) and (7) are the fuel filter and fuel tank, respectively. [Bosch] At the same time, specific fuel consumption has fallen by over 60%! Compared with petrol-powered engines that most often run with stoichiometric mixtures (ie, the theoretically correct air/fuel ratio for complete combustion, which is about 14.7:1), diesels use very lean air/fuel ratios. The air/fuel ratios for diesel engines under full load are between 17:1 and 29:1, while when idling or under no load, this ratio can exceed 145:1. However, within the combustion chamber, localised air/fuel ratios vary – it is not possible to achieve a homogenous mixing of the fuel within the combustion chamber. To reduce these in-chamber air/fuel ratio variations, large numbers of very small droplets of fuel are injected. Higher fuel pressure results in better fuel atomisation, so explaining the increase in injection pressures now being used. Injection Diesel engines are not throttled. Instead, the combustion behaviour is 18 Silicon Chip affected by these variables: • Timing of start of injection • Injection duration • Injector discharge curve Since the use of electronically controlled common rail injection allows these variables to be individually controlled, we’ll briefly look at each. • Timing of Start of Injection The timing of the injection of fuel has a major affect on emission levels, fuel consumption and combustion noise. The optimal timing of the start of injection varies with engine load. In car engines, optimal injection at no load is within the window of 2 crankshaft degrees Before Top Dead Centre (BTDC) to 4 degrees After Top Dead Centre (ATDC). At part load, this alters to 6 degrees BTDC to 4 degrees ATDC, while at full load the start of injection should occur from 6-15 degrees BTDC. The duration of combustion at full load is 40-60 degrees of crankshaft rotation. Too early an injection initiates combustion when the piston is still rising, • Discharge Curve Diesel fuel injectors do not add the fuel for a combustion cycle in one event; instead they operate in one of four different modes. The first is pre-injection, a short duration pulse which reduces combustion noise and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions. The bulk of the fuel is then added in the main injection phase, after which the injector is turned off momentarily before then adding a post-injection amount of fuel. This post-injection reduces soot emissions. Finally, at up to 180 crankshaft degrees later, a retarded post-injection can occur. The latter acts as a reducing agent for an NOx accumulator-type catalytic converter and/or raises the exhaust gas temperature for the regeneration of a particulate filter. The injection amounts vary between 1 cubic millimetre for pre-injection to 50 cubic millimetres for full-load delivery. The injection duration is 1-2 milliseconds. Common rail system overview Unlike previous diesel fuel injection systems – even those electronically controlled – common rail systems use, as the name suggests, a common fuel pressure rail that feeds all injectors. (In this respect, common rail diesel systems are like traditional electronic fuel injected petrol engines.) By separating the functions of fuel siliconchip.com.au (1) hot film airflow meter (2) ECU (3) high pressure pump (4) common rail (5) injector (6) engine speed sensor (7) coolant temperature sensor (8) fuel filter (9) accelerator pedal travel sensor pressure generation and fuel injection, a common rail system is able to supply fuel over a broader range of injection timing and pressure than previous systems. Fig.2 shows a simple common rail fuel injection system. A high-pressure mechanical pump feeds the fuel to the common rail. A control valve allows the fuel pressure to be maintained at a level set by the Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The common rail feeds the injectors, which are electrically operated solenoid valves. Sensor inputs to the ECU comprise fuel pressure, engine speed, camshaft position, accelerator pedal travel, boost pressure (most engines are turbocharged), intake air temperature and engine coolant temperature. Fig.3 shows a slightly more complex common rail system mounted on an engine. More complex common rail systems use these additional sensors: • Vehicle speed • Exhaust temperature • Broadband exhaust oxygen sensor • Differential pressure sensor (to determine catalytic converter siliconchip.com.au Fig.3: this diagram shows the components of a more sophisticated common rail diesel injection system mounted on an engine. [Bosch] and/or exhaust particulate filter blockage) Not shown on these diagrams are the glow plugs. Common rail diesels still use glow plugs, however their use is not normally required except for starting in ambient temperatures below 0°C. Extra ECU outputs can include control of turbocharger boost pressure, exhaust gas recirculation and intake port tumble flaps. Common rail system components • High Pressure Pump A high-pressure pump, driven from the crankshaft, generates fuel pres- Fig.4: a mechanicallydriven three-piston pump provides the extremely high fuel pressure required for common rail diesel injection. [Bosch] (1) drive shaft (2) drive cam (3) pump piston (4) intake valve (5) outlet valve (6) fuel inlet April 2006 19 • Fuel Injectors The fuel injectors superficially look like those used in conventional petrol injection systems but they differ significantly. Fig.6 shows a common rail injector. Because of the very high fuel rail pressure, the injectors use a hydraulic servo system in which the solenoid controls not the pintle but the movement of a small ball which regulates the flow of fuel from a valve Fig.5: the fuel pressure regulator is electronically control chamber within the controlled. It comprises a fuel-cooled solenoid injector. valve driven by pulse width modulation at a When the injector is off, frequency of 1kHz. [Bosch] the ball seals the outlet from the valve control chamber. sures of up to 1600 Bar. The pump The hydraulic force acting on the end uses a radial piston design of the type of the plunger is then greater than that shown in Fig.4. It is lubricated by acting on a shoulder located lower on the fuel and can absorb up to 3.8kW. the plunger, so keeping the injector So that fuel flow can be varied with closed. engine load, individual pistons of The injector in this position is the pump can be shut down. This is shown in Fig.6(a). When the armature achieved by using a solenoid to hold is energised, the ball is lifted and the the intake valve of that piston open. pressure in the valve control chamber However, when a piston is deactivatdrops. ed, the fuel delivery pressure fluctuAs soon as the force on the shoulder ates to a greater extent than when all of the plunger exceeds the force on three pistons are in operation. the top of the plunger, the plunger rises, lifting the pintle and allowing • Pressure Control Valve fuel to flow out of the injector, as in The fuel pressure control valve comFig.6(b). prises a fuel-cooled solenoid valve, as The life of a common rail diesel fuel shown in Fig.5. injector is certainly a hard one. Bosch The valve opening is varied by pulse estimates a commercial vehicle injecwidth modulated drive at a frequency of 1kHz. When the pressure control valve is not activated, its internal spring maintains a fuel pressure of about 100 Bar. When the valve is activated, the force of the electromagnet aids the spring, reducing the opening of the valve and so increasing fuel pressure. The fuel pressure control valve also acts as a mechanical pressure damper, smoothing the high frequency pressure pulses emanating from the radial piston pump when less than three pistons are activated. • Fuel Rail The common fuel rail feeds each injector and is made sufficiently large so that the internal pressure is relatively unaffected by each fuel injector pulse. The rail is fitted with a fuel pressure sensor and a relief valve. 20 Silicon Chip (a) INJECTOR CLOSED tor will open and close more than a billion times in its service life. Emissions Five major approaches are taken to reducing diesel exhaust emissions. These have been effective in meeting current emissions standards, however car manufacturers state the proposed 2007 United States NOx limits for diesels will be hard to meet. This explains the attention currently being given to reducing NOx outputs. • Design Within the engine itself, the design of the combustion chamber, the placement of the injection nozzle and the use of small droplets all help reduce the production of emissions at their source. Accurate control of engine speed, injection mass, injection timing, pressures, temperatures and the air/fuel ratio are used to decrease oxides of nitrogen, particulates, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. • Exhaust Gas Recirculation Exhaust gas recirculation, where a proportion of the exhaust gas is mixed with the intake charge, is also used to reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions. It does this by reducing the oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber and the amount of exhaust gas passing into the atmosphere. Recirculation rates can as high as 50 per cent. • Catalytic Converter Diesel oxidation-type catalytic conv- (b) INJECTOR OPEN Fig.6: because of the very high fuel rail pressure, the injectors use a hydraulic servo system in which the solenoid controls the movement of a small ball (4) which regulates the flow of fuel from a valve control chamber (5) within the injector. (1) fuel return outlet, (2) solenoid coil, (6) pressure shoulder, (7) nozzle jet, (8) outlet restrictor, (9) high pressure fuel connection, (10) inlet restrictor, (11) valve plunger. [Bosch] siliconchip.com.au (1) diesel engine (2) optional exhaust heater (3) optional oxidation-type catalytic converter (4) temperature sensor (5) broadband oxygen sensor (6) NOx accumulator-type catalytic converter (7) NOx sensor or oxygen sensor (8) electronic control unit Fig.7: diesel exhaust “after-treatment” is becoming very complex. erters can be used to reduce hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions, converting these to water and carbon dioxide. So they rapidly reach their operating temperature, this type of catalytic converter is fitted close to the engine. NOx accumulator-type catalytic converters are also used. This type of design breaks down the NOx by storing it, for periods from 30 seconds to several minutes. The nitrogen oxides combine with metal oxides on the surface of the NOx accumulator to form nitrates, with this process occurring when the air/fuel ratio is lean (ie, excess oxygen). However, this storage can only be short-term and when the ability to bind nitrogen oxides decreases, the catalytic converter needs to be regenerated by having the stored NOx released and converted into nitrogen. To achieve this, the engine is briefly run at a rich mixture (eg, an air/fuel ratio of 13.8:1) Detecting when regeneration needs to occur and then when it has been fully completed is complex. The need for regeneration can be assessed by the use of a model that calculates the quantity of stored nitrogen oxides on the basis of catalytic converter temperature. Alternatively, a specific NOx sensor can be located downstream of the accumulator catalytic converter to detect when the efficiency of the device is decreasing. Assessing when regeneration is complete is done by either a model-based approach or an oxygen sensor located downstream from the “cat”; a change in signal from high oxygen to low oxygen indicates the end of the regeneration phase. In order that the NOx storage converter works effectively from cold, an electric exhaust gas heater can be employed. Fig.7 shows this complex approach to exhaust treatment. • Selective Catalytic Reduction One of the most interesting approaches to diesel exhaust treatment is Selective Catalytic Reduction. In this approach, a reducing agent such as dilute urea solution is added to the exhaust in minutely measured quantities. A hydrolysing catalytic converter then converts the urea to ammonia, which reacts with NOx to form nitrogen and water. This system is so effective at reducing NOx emissions that leaner-than -normal air/fuel ratios can be used, resulting in improved fuel economy. The urea tank is filled at each service. • Particulate Filters Exhaust particulate filters are made from porous ceramic materials. When they become full, being heated to above 600°C can regenerate them. This is a higher exhaust gas temperature than is normally experienced in diesels and to achieve this, retarded injection and intake flow restriction can be used to increase the temperature of the exhaust gas. Conclusion Particulate filters fitted to Mercedes cars reduce visible soot and smoke emissions. Being heated above 600°C, achieved by retarded injection and intake flow restriction, can periodically regenerate them. [DaimlerChrysler] siliconchip.com.au As can be seen, dramatic changes in both the fuel injection system and exhaust aftertreatment have occurred in diesel technology. SC NEXT MONTH: we’ll look at how the electronic control system makes it all function. April 2006 21 SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: dicksmith.com.au SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: dicksmith.com.au SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: dicksmith.com.au SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: dicksmith.com.au SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: dicksmith.com.au SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: dicksmith.com.au Compared to traditional photography with its film and developing costs, taking digital photographs is essentially free. So immense numbers of images are taken by photographers. This leads to the need for image management . . . Part 2: Hints, tips and traps – By Kevin Poulter The Electro W hen memory cards first came out, their capacity was measured in megabytes – and not very many of them! Today, they are 4 Gig or even larger, capable of storing 600 to 1000 high-res, high-quality images. Keen photographers then have vast files needing uploading to a computer hard drive. From there, the photographs are normally transferred to CDs or DVDs for archiving. But many images are retained on the hard drive for enhancement and start taking up bulk space – so soon another drive is required. Unless you install another hard drive in your system, the usual choice is a USB drive, which as its name suggests, simply plugs into a vacant USB port. The computer detects the new drive and assigns an ID to it. Normally this is pretty painless but sometimes results in confusion for the disk and computer, especially (for example) if you also use other removable drives and are forever plugging and unplugging them. In a rush, the drive can be unplugged before all the data is written. At minimum, the data can become corrupted. Worse, hard drive failure (crash) may result, with all data lost – and I speak from sad experience. When this happens, you 28 Silicon Chip can try various data recovery methods; you can accept the losses or if the images are worth it, involve a specialist recovery company at a cost of $1,000 to $2,000. In most cases, the drive itself is a write-off. Even though you may get it to work, our experience is that once a drive has crashed, it’s likely to do it again. It may just lie there doggo, waiting until you have particularly important images stored on it . . . Until you or your computer dealer has tried all conventional restoration methods, like repair software, don’t assume all the data is lost. Disk recovery businesses try their powerful repair software too, and if that fails, the hard disk platter may be physically removed, then installed in a good drive in a totally dust-free environment. A new directory and device driver must be written onto the corrupted disk, so some data can be lost but most times most data is recovered. Needless to say, this is not a cheap process! Plan ahead and archive! To avoid this drama, the solution is to plan ahead – siliconchip.com.au onic Camera regularly copying the images on the computer’s drive to CDs or DVDs. You can even bypass the hard drive and save directly from camera to CD. This is achieved by connecting your camera to the computer, launching disc-burning software, then dragging the camera’s image folder to the CD burner window. You won’t find this idea in computer magazines but it works. As it’s not a mainstream technique, try it first with a number of non-essential images. Large numbers of archived CDs and DVDs can be kept on the CD posts that come with CDs sold in packs of 25, 50 or 100 units, or in a disc stacker. Because they are optical, not magnetic, there will be no “bleed through” such as you can get with floppy disks. But for valuable archive CDs containing irreplaceable material, it is better to store them in their own cases. Great care should be taken to avoid fingerprints, scratches and marks. If a disc needs cleaning, never clean it in a circular motion: digital discs should be cleaned in a straight line from centre to edge, like cart wheel spokes, DVDs are such precision technology with ultra-fine siliconchip.com.au A LaserDisc with impurities eating the tracks away. On a good player, the picture jumps a little, but if this was a CD, data would be lost. This is a good reason for choosing leading brand CDs for archiving. April 2006 29 In sunlight and other extreme contrast situations, film and digital cameras struggle to cope with the brightness range. With digital, one tip is to set the camera on low contrast but this may still be not enough. This awning always faces into the light, so no clear photograph is possible. The solution – bracketing, or two images, (one light, one dark), photographed on a tripod. Both were then placed in Photoshop, exactly on top of each other. Then the best exposures were kept and the extreme light and dark areas removed. The result appears normal but in fact has far less contrast than the original scene. tracks, they have more problems than CDs – like incompatibility between machines. We’ve seen a DVD made on a computer, which then refuses to play it . . . but that DVD works on another machine! And there was another DVD made on a ‘stand-alone’ recorder, which when played in a computer caused a crash. The format detail wars like DVD-R and DVD+R have also caused incompatibilities. Generally, use DVD-R for maximum compatibility between DVD players, especially older machines. With the advent of iPod and other multipurpose devices that store to memory cards, it’s only a matter of time before cameras will store music and other data. Oops, too late – they do it already: multi-purpose cameras are now beginning to appear. Imagine the versatility of a camera with a built in voice recorder for journalists, plus music, radio and movies. And of course we have many cellular phones with cameras inbuilt (although with some of the latest multi megapixel models you have to wonder if they aren’t cameras with phones inbuilt). Most of these newer models have either a large (>1GB) flash memory or have the same in removable memory card (often SD, MMC, RS [reduced size] MMC, etc). Already, nearly all cameras allow images to be loaded back to their camera card after saving in your computer, so it would seem logical to upload other types of data files too. Our test showed this works. We have saved Word documents to the camera card but when we asked camera technicians in Japan if there was any reason why it couldn’t be done, there was a hasty, rather excited reply from the designers – “reformat your card immediately – you will break it!” Well, I don’t do it any more but I know plenty of people who do. And to my knowledge, they haven’t “broken it” yet! Into the future? Theoretically (and unlike film which will deteriorate), digital images should print exactly the same quality in a century as the day they were photographed – although we have yet to see any storage medium, card or disc, guaranteed anything like that long! But scaremongers say “what if in only ten years, .jpg ceases to be the universal format, making the images useless?” This appears unlikely, as countless billions of images have been saved in the JPEG format. At the very least, we would expect there to be conversion applications to open JPEGs for years or decades to come. JPEGs themselves will almost certainly change over time as the Joint Photographic Experts Group continues to evolve and develop the JPEG standards. It’s much more likely that in ten years you won’t find a CD or DVD drive to handle your discs – how many 8-inch or 5.25-inch floppy drives do you see these days? Even the ubiquitous 3.5-inch floppy drive of a decade ago is no longer fitted to most new machines. Unfortunately, the compatibility and longevity of storage media like DVD and CD-R is less assured. With some CDs priced at less than 20 cents, it’s no In graphics applications like Photoshop, there are surprise. many methods to enhance image colour, contrast, Imaging companies’ brightness and detail. On the left is “Curves”, a contrast control for each colour channel. But the reports on data integrity easiest to use is ‘Variations’, as many copies of the image are displayed with the expected result. 30 Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au stored on CDs range from no failures due to ageing so far, to one experiencing media problems after just two years! For long-term image storage, it’s advisable to save files onto two different leading brand CDs or DVDs, then store the discs in a dark cupboard. For valuable/irreplaceable images, controlled temperature/humidity storage could be an option. Additional image security is possible when there’s room to save two duplicate copies of an image folder on each of those discs. Use two (and different) quality brands like Sony, TDK, BenQ or Imation, not the bargain store cheapies. Also consider recopying irreplaceable image discs, every five years or so. One other source of potential damage is the ink in pens used to label CDs and DVDs. There has been at least some research suggesting that the chemicals within the ink are likely to do more damage to the CD/DVD over time than anything else. Photoshop before printing! Printing digital camera images is becoming much easier, with print booths in most shopping centres, but unless you are ordering batches of full-frame postcard-size happy snaps, this can be time-consuming. Digital photography cries out for enhancement – and much improved images result if they are processed first. You can crop, sharpen, correct colour and contrast, enhance detail, title, even remove or mask objectionable features with a little knowledge of graphics applications like Photoshop. In business . . . Digital cameras have a multitude of uses in electronics businesses, like sales, a portable colour copier, ideas seen at trade shows, recording the assembly of products and noting component types like plug configurations. Have you ever tried to explain a multi-pin plug type to a supplier? Send a digital snapshot via email and immediately they know the type you want. Digital cameras are perfect for insurance records too. A copy of all the images can be sent to an insurance agent on CD and/or kept off premises. When travelling by road, keeping a digital camera with you enables photography of events or even an accident. Its been proven people who have photographs of an ac- Professional photographers use a flash meter for perfect exposure – still essential in digital photography. The Pantone (PMS) colour swatch provides CMYK reference colours to compare to the on-screen images. siliconchip.com.au Here’s how we process the pictures you see in SILICON CHIP We’re often complimented on the standard of photography in SILICON CHIP. Needless to say, it doesn’t just happen! This gives you some idea of the numerous steps involved in processing our images – note that this is all after the photographs are taken! All our photos these days are digital. They’re taken with a 6MP Nikon D70 SLR camera and studio flash set-up. Here are typical steps undertaken to get each of those images ready for publication: [1] After shooting (perhaps 100 images + at a time) all images moved from the camera’s compact flash card to a dedicated (photos only) 200GB hard disk on the network server. We put them into folders whose names describe both the subject and the date shot (eg, fan timer 28-08-05). [2] Image files in that folder bulk-renamed to describe the subject (all D70 images are named DSC_ and four digits – not at all helpful in a month or two when you are looking for specific subject shots!) [3] The images examined and chosen frames downloaded to local computer for processing (it’s much faster than over the network). [4] Photoshop started and selected images loaded in – perhaps 6-10 at a time. [5] If required, image cropped to appropriate area. [6] Resulting image resized to final printed size and resolution reduced from 300dpi (ex Nikon) to 266dpi (printer’s requirement). The 10% reduction may seem to be not worthwhile but when you’re dealing with perhaps 100 or more pictures each issue, the saving in space certainly is! [7] Image adjusted as required using either levels, curves, brightness/contrast, colour balance, selective colour, variations, etc or any combinations of above (and more). This can take some time for each image. [8] If required, image is “deep etched” to remove background (using pen tool and paths/clipping path). [9] If required, image “despeckled” (filter/noise/ despeckle). [10] Image edges sharpened using “unsharp masking”. (filter/sharpen/unsharp masking). (If you don’t understand the term, which has been described as an optical illusion of an optical illusion(!), there’s plenty of descriptive information on the ’net.) Incidentally, we virtually never use Photoshop’s (or the camera’s) “sharpen” function because unsharp masking does a much better job. (11] Image converted to CMYK [image/mode/CMYK] colour. [12] Image saved as Photoshop EPS with JPEG maximum quality and 8-bit TIFF preview . Ross Tester April 2006 31 Sharpening (left to right): original, optimum, excessive. Sharpening images can make them appear very much clearer, as long as it is not extreme. Some subjects, like people’s skin, are best not sharpened, as people are not keen on supersharp lines, wrinkles and freckles. cident are in a much better negotiating position in case of a claim. And you never know when you might stumble across that one-in-a-million chance of a photo that media outlets with thick chequebooks will climb over each other to get! If you don’t have a camera, you will never know! The subject is the key Vast knowledge of photographic techniques is not the key ingredient for awesome photography. Subject matter is. Sure, advanced photographic knowledge is an advantage but here’s an example: try photographing a standard car, then a Ferrari in the same breathtaking location. People will rave about the Ferrari photograph, even if the standard car image took more effort and technique. Likewise, in business, image is everything. Many sales are generated purely from top quality images displayed in magazines, brochures, or internet sites, so hiring a professional photographer for top end images can be a wise investment in sales-building. Enthusiastic amateurs? Bean counters often decide to save money by convincing a manager to purchase a “prosumer” digital camera and then getting a keen amateur photographer employee to shoot products in-house. This usually results in lower A typical Studio Flash, with a floor pack (mainly a bank of large capacitors), counter-weighted boom, wheeled dolly, head and Sof-Box. The large reflector is silvered inside with parachutelike material on the outside to diffuse the light. This makes a strong, nearly shadowfree light, like a bright but cloudy day. The output power is huge, equivalent to strong daylight outside. Light power is adjustable, with a variable output control. This unit stands higher than a person and preferably uses a dedicated 240V power circuit. 32 Silicon Chip quality images, not to mention the considerable time away from their main job plus the extra cost of the graphic artist needed to rescue the low-res image (and perhaps the pro photographer needed to redo the shots!). The problem is, that keen amateur might have taken a few good shots at cousin Mabel’s wedding (but then again may not have!); however, invariably that person knows little or nothing about the many facets of commercial photography or even about processing digital photos for commercial use. Photoshop? What’s that? And it’s a rare photo indeed (digital or film!) than doesn’t need some work in Photoshop – and often needs a lot! Here’s a typical commercial digital photo shoot (on location or in studio) for an electronics manufacturer (yes we do still manufacture in Australia): (1) Studio flash units are set up. (2) A flash meter is used to test the level of flashlight in all areas. (3) Digital exposures are made. This may include various exposures and in sections, to make a high resolution composite. (4) A PMS or Pantone swatch is matched to essential colours. (5) Images are loaded into the computer. (6) Enhancement, including remove background, move to a generic (or printeraligned) CMYK canvas, with enhanced sharpness, contrast, colour – correct (to the Pantone reference) and repair any dust or marks. For the ultimate colour matching, the graphic artist aligns to the printer’s CMYK profiles and runs tests first. It’s a bit different to grabbing the camera out of the drawer, placing the object on the bench and shooting off a few images, isn’t it! Imagine a raw beginner being given this task – and what they’d end up with? Many of the steps, particularly the later ones, require critical judgement decisions, based on operator skill and experience. siliconchip.com.au out in just six months. Transformers and limit resistors simply get too hot. One solution is to install fans in older flash units, plus slowing shooting sessions. And there’s another problem: many studio flash units (particularly older ones) have a very high sync trigger voltage applied to the camera’s flash contacts. This can damage the camera and void the warranty. Back in the olden (film camera) days, flash contacts were mechanical and even those burnt out. Digital cameras invariably have solid-state triggering, with maximum flash trigger voltage ratings and polarities to worry about. Photographers may consider optical isolators when using older flash units (see references on web page). In fact, on the Nikon D70, there isn’t even provision for an external flash connection. To use a studio flash you need to buy a hot-shoe adaptor. Film vs digital quality In Photoshop’s ‘save for web’ mode, an option is blur. This enables smaller file sizes and in the example, reduces the dots from the printed image. This extreme enlargement shows the effect, however at normal viewing size, both images are acceptable. When scanning a printed image to be reprinted in a magazine, it needs to be de-screened (dots highly softened) as otherwise the existing printing dots clash with the new reprint and cause a moire pattern. In the news In other media, news reporters saw the advantage of digital cameras very early in their development. The ability to immediately load images to computers and to send them on the web or load to the next newspaper edition was vitally important. Initially they managed with 4 megapixel cameras, until higher resolution became available. These days 8MP, 12MP and even higher resolution cameras will be found in every press photographer’s arsenal. While digital cameras have been used by the news media for more than a decade, they really came into their own at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. A special edition of the Sydney Morning Herald, complete with closing ceremony photos was available outside the Olympic stadium as spectators left the closing ceremony! Studio flash units We mentioned a moment ago that SILICON CHIP uses a professional studio flash setup. But even that is not without its problems when it comes to digital photography. The sheer volume and speed of digital photography means equipment can burn out. Working with models, or even large commercial projects, digital keeps up with fast action. The problem is that mains-powered studio flash units were never designed for this speed. Prior to digital, they worked fine all day, every day, as film photography was so much slower and conservative. One Photo Studio we know had four flash units burn siliconchip.com.au How good are digital cameras, compared to film? Here’s where you can really get into an argument, particularly with died-in-the-wool film buffs! Results vary with the brand, pixels and oddly enough, the subject matter. Lenses contribute to the overall quality too. Digital cameras 4-5 megapixels and above can be as good as or superior to 35mm film for technical subjects. This is especially due to the sharpening possible in a digital camera. Sharpening is an algorithm that detects the edges of objects and lines, increasing the contrast between them. Restrained use of sharpening can work very well indeed. Excessive sharpening looks like a video recorder or TV with brightness and contrast set too high – noise and unwanted detail dominates. It just looks wrong! Judicious sharpening works so well, it’s possible to copy an old image, sharpen it and make a copy print that appears to be much better than the original. When photographing people on a digital camera, a resolution of 8 megapixels or more is needed to compare to film. The reasons why people need more pixels are obscure but include lack of high contrast pixel neighbours and the need for perfect, blemish-free skin. Digital tends to exaggerate marks like freckles. Not only that, skin tones are a universal yardstick. Everyone knows just how skin should look so it’s easy to spot when it’s wrong! Ideally people are photographed with the camera set to low contrast, low sharpness modes, then only the hair, eyes and lips sharpened. Many photographers shoot faces and then use gaussian blur to soften the skin but this looks very false. Modes and file size Of the digital camera file choices, RAW, TIFF, SHQ, and JPG, the best compromise between quality with modest file sizes is SHQ. SHQ stands for Super High Quality and is saved with “best” (or least lossy) JPEG compression. This results in significant file size savings. For example, a typical RAW file is 13.4Mb, and SHQ, which saves with the suffix .jpg, is 5.6Mb. JPEG works by ‘looking’ at adjacent pixels and discarding any that are very similar, to reduce file sizes. When opened, April 2006 33 on the viewing screen almost immediately as a somewhat fuzzy image and build progressively to the full quality image – that’s useful because web browsers, (as in humans, not the software), do not like to wait long looking at a blank screen. If they see something happening, they’re much less likely to click off. Resolution This studio photograph of pump impellers was merged with other images. The background is constructed from a photograph of clouds, with the edges darkened. the JPEG system restores the missing pixels. A photograph with less detail and large areas of even colour can save in JPEG as a particularly small file, as so many similar pixels can be discarded. Amazing file size reductions are possible, like a 2MB image saved as a 40kB file. At JPEG minimum compression, (12), the loss of image quality is barely detectable, however apply maximum compression and it’s quite noticeable. Saving and re-saving a .jpg results in losses every time, seen as less and less clarity, plus eventually very high noise. To avoid additive losses when working more than once on JPEG images, save the progressive images as .PSD or .TIFF – both have no detectable loss of image quality after many save and re-save steps. On your final image, save back in .JPG format. There are also no losses if a JPEG image is duplicated (copied) without opening it. Web images Web images must be saved as RGB (as distinct from CMYK) and in either .JPG or .GIF format (.JPG is most common). Photoshop can do this for you almost automatically with a special feature ‘save for web’. This shows a window with the original image and the compressed version side by side, plus the size the file will be saved at. The best compromise between quality and file size is the 60 setting, however some images will look acceptable with the 30 setting. Checking the ‘progressive’ box means the image will load As we showed last month, optimum image resolution, or dots per inch (dpi) is vital, as images with insufficient pixels look fuzzy. Conversely, excessive pixels gain no extra clarity and take immense amounts of hard disk space, while slowing, or even stalling printing at photo labs or to inkjet printers. If used on web pages, they slow them to a crawl (or worse!). For best clarity and to avoid large files with no extra benefit, save images with the following resolutions: Printing at a Photo Lab: 250 to 350 p/i (pixels per inch) Laser or Inkjet printers: 200 to 300 p/i Magazines: 266-300 p/i Websites and E-mails: 72 p/i These figures are often incorrectly quoted as dpi (dots per inch), the measure for dot frequency on the printing press. It is amazing how clear images look on the internet, considering they are only 72 dpi. In fact many giant advertising display billboards are also made from 72 dpi images – it’s all about viewing distance. On the web, images uploaded at 200 dpi are still displayed at 72 dpi – they just enlarge more. Attachments to emails can be any resolution, such as 72 dpi for viewing on the computer screen, or 200 dpi if the receiver needs to make a printed copy. Many companies have anti-virus software that rejects attachments. What if you have legitimate reasons for sending an image? Try placing it as an object in the text of the email. Magazines and brochures require images at up to 300 dpi to guarantee quality, though the final printed publication’s dot frequency is much less than this. The rationale – good quality in, equals best quality in print. A rule of thumb is to double the publication’s “screen ruling”, or printed lines per inch. Most Australian magazines (SILICON CHIP included) are printed at 133 lines per inch, so for best results require images to be 266 dpi. There is nothing wrong with supplying images above 266dpi (say Lighting for digital and lighting for film have the same fundamentals. Here’s a lighting tip: if only one light is available, try a mirror on the darker side. Carefully placed, a mirror can create desirable highlights and improved detail. One light. 34 Silicon Chip One light, mirrors and enhancement. siliconchip.com.au Another look at Photoshop’s “Save for Web” function: normally 60 quality is about right but as you can see, 19 quality results in a much smaller file size and one third the time to load on the web. It’s all a matter of judgement. . . 300dpi) but they will take up valuable storage real estate and will not achieve any extra quality in the printed job. What about artifacts? These are unwanted blocks of pixels or noise, caused through low resolution or highly compressed files. In most instances, for enlargements up to A4 (11” x 14”) from a 4 to 8 megapixel camera, you’ll never see artifacts in SHQ mode. You may see noise, or speckling, in dark/black sections of the print, especially if the original shot was taken in low light. Photoshop can also help out here! Image scaling Many digital cameras store their images 72 dpi, so, from what was said above, you might think that they will be unusable for printing in magazines or brochures. But if you have a look at the image size (it’s easy in Photoshop) you could find that the 72 dpi image might be 106 x 75 centimetres (over a metre wide!) – and an overall file size of 17.2MB. Converted to 266dpi and maintaining the 17.2MB file size (Photoshop again!), you have an image size of 28.7 x 19cm – almost A4 in size. Therefore you can use it at 266 dpi and 28.7 x 19cm with no loss of data nor emergence of artifacts; in fact, there will be no apparent change at all. It’s only when you start enlarging above that size (and maintaining 266dpi) that any interpolation (pixel manufacturing) – and therefore image quality reduction – will start to occur. Even then, you would be surprised what Photoshop lets you get away with! Cropping and enlarging Remember, too, that when talking about resolution we have been talking about the full captured image size. When you start cropping a picture, you start to throw away pixels. In exactly the same way as enlarging a tiny area of a film negative too far results in grainy or fuzzy print (ie, loss of clarity), too-tight cropping and enlargement of a digital image will cause problems. First you will see “jaggies” or jagged edges; with more enlargement you will see the image start to become fuzzy and it may be pixellated. One of the first lessons in Photography 101 is “fill the frame with the subject!” It’s far better to zoom into the siliconchip.com.au action when shooting, than try to crop to the action later! Lens focal length The effective lens focal lengths of digital cameras are less than 35mm, as nearly all digital cameras have a smaller image capture format area than 35mm cameras. With the Olympus E-300 or E-500, a 14mm lens is utilised to achieve the same angle of view as 28mm in film cameras. The spin-off benefits are: lower shutter speeds before camera shake blurs a photograph, plus greater depth of field (depth of focus). Other digital cameras, such as Nikons and Canons, have a 1.5:1 ratio – that is, a “55mm” lens (typically supplied with a 35mm film camera) will behave as if it is a 80mm lens and a 70-210mm zoom will act as if it is a 105-315mm – quite a “long range” zoom. Do your homework We’ve looked at a whole range of issues over the past two articles which we hope will help you with your digital photography. But before purchasing a digital camera, become very knowledgeable – do a lot of research, including on the web and in magazines. After all, a good digital camera is a major purchase. In fact, if you have a good 35mm camera and your local lab still processes film, there shouldn’t be a great rush to change. The longer you defer the changeover, the cheaper and better digital cameras will be. Already we have seen $2000 digital cameras replaced in just over two years by $450 equivalents. Further price reductions are likely to be less dramatic, as there is a limit to economy before significant quality loss. Most of all, when purchasing, don’t consider very cheap (sub – $300) cameras. Like 35mm cameras, cheap means inferior, sometimes very inferior. Digital has changed the world forever, improving new and old images. SC References and further reading: You’ll find a lot more information, tips and ideas on the author’s website: www.aaa1.biz/sc.html April 2006 35 The prototype remote control module complete with optional 27mm motorised potentiometer. A standard low-cost 16mm version can also be fitted. By PETER SMITH Studio Series Remote Control Module Wor k s W i t h A n y Un i v er s al Remo t e Con t r ol! If you’ve built our preamp described in November 2005, then this project is a must-have addition. It allows you to control your preamp’s volume level and select the music source using any universal infrared remote. As a bonus, we’ve added support for an audiophile-grade potentiometer for those who want the best. L ET’S FACE IT – any sound system is incomplete without at least a remote volume control. We described an excellent unit back in October 2002, based on a motorised potentiometer. However, while that project would work well with the Studio Series Preamp, it lacks any means of controlling the preamp’s source relays. And that’s a problem – you don’t want to abandon your comfy chair just to select a different music source, do you? The volume control features of this unit are virtually identical to our 36 Silicon Chip previous project. Again, it’s based on a motorised potentiometer. Press the “Volume Up” and “Volume Down” buttons on your remote and the pot rotates right and left. It takes about nine seconds for the pot to travel from one end to the other using these controls. For finer adjustment, the “Channel Up” and “Channel Down” buttons can be used instead; these cause the pot shaft to rotate only about 1° for each press. Automatic muting is another handy feature. A press of the “Mute” button and the pot rotates to its minimum position. Hit the button again and it returns to its original position. Don’t want the volume to return all the Fig.1: the complete circuit diagram for the control module. An AT90S2313 microcontroller (IC1) decodes data from the infrared receiver (IC3) and drives the motorised potentiometer accordingly. Five outputs from port B drive the relay circuits on the preamp to provide remote control of the music source as well. siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au April 2006 37 Fig.2: the infrared receiver module contains a lot more than just a PIN (photo) diode. This block diagram of the internals reveals an amplifier, discrimination and demodulation circuits, all integrated in the 3-pin package. After the 38kHz carrier is removed, the data appears on the “OUT” pin ready for handling by the micro. Fig.3: when the pot reaches full travel, a clutch begins to slip, loading the motor and increasing the supply current. The muting function uses a comparator in the microcontroller (IC1) to detect this current increase and switch off the motor. This simplified diagram shows how the comparator is connected. way? Easy – just hit one of the volume control buttons when the volume has reached the level that you desire. Selecting any of the preamp’s signal sources is just as easy. All you need to do is press the associated numeric button on the remote. For example, to select the “Tuner” input, you’d press “3” and for “CD” you’d press “5”. Finally, this new design can be fitted with either a low-cost 16mm motorised pot or a more expensive, highquality 27mm unit. The advantages of the 27mm units include longer life, lower noise and better tracking than their cheaper counterparts. How it works As can be seen from the circuit diagram (Fig.1), the design is based on an AT90S2313 microcontroller from 38 Silicon Chip Atmel. This device includes 2k bytes of code (FLASH) memory, 28 bytes of RAM and 128 bytes of EEPROM and has featured in a number of our past designs. The microcontroller is supported by a power supply and several interface circuits, which are responsible for driving the motor, receiving infrared signals and controlling the preamp’s relays. Let’s look at each section in a little more detail. Looking first at the power supply portions of the circuit, the module expects a regulated 5V (±5%) supply on CON1. A large 3A diode (D1) across the input terminals provides rudimentary reverse-polarity protection for the board. If the power leads are accidentally reversed, D1 conducts and pulls the power supply rail down to about 1V or so. Assuming you see the smoke signals and react quickly, damage to the board should be minimal, although D1 may not survive and should be checked for a short circuit before reapplying power. The supply to the micro (IC1) is derived from the +5V rail via a 100mH choke (RFC1), which acts as a simple filter to reduce RF emissions. This is an important consideration for our sensitive audio circuitry. Separate low-pass filtering is needed for the infrared receiver module (IC3) to keep digitally-generated noise out of its sensitive front-end circuitry. A 100W resistor in series with IC3’s supply pin and a 100mF capacitor to deck do the job. An under-voltage sensor (IC2) monitors the supply rail and generates a reset signal for the micro whenever it drops below 4.3V. This function is often referred to as “brown-out” detection and it ensures that the micro doesn’t behave erratically during supply rail transitions. Incidentally, this design uses an MC34164-5 sensor, rather than the MC34064-5 device found in several of our past designs. The MC34164-5 has a lower threshold voltage than the latter, needed here to allow for worst-case supply regulation during motor operation. Infrared receiver Infrared pulses from the remote control are detected by IC3. In addition to a sensitive photodiode, this device contains an amplifier and other logic necessary to receive and extract the incoming digital data, which is modulated on a 38kHz carrier (see Fig.2). The demodulated data is pumped into the microcontroller on pin 2. Under program control, it is then reconstituted into byte-wide format using the Philips RC5 protocol specification. Once deciphered, the results can be used to determine which button has been pressed on the remote and the appropriate action taken. H-bridge drive Average pot motor current ranges from about 40mA to 100mA, depending on the model used. Start-up current is higher still and so the drive requirements easily exceed the maximum sink and source capabilities of the microcontroller’s port outputs. This siliconchip.com.au Par t s Lis t Fig.4: although we think that manual selection switches are unnecessary, we’ve made provision for them for those who prefer front-panel controls. One push-button switch is required for each source – here’s how to connect them to CON3 on the control module. Keep all wiring as short as possible and make sure that the ground connection is insulated from chassis earth. necessitates the use of four smallsignal transistors (Q1-Q4) as buffers and drivers, arranged in a “H-bridge” configuration so that the motor can be driven in either direction. The transistors operate in pairs. To drive the motor in one direction, port bit PD5 is driven low and PD3 high. This biases Q1 & Q4 into conduction and creates a current path from the 5V rail, through Q1, the motor and Q4 to ground (via R1). To spin the motor in the reverse direction, the opposing transistor pair (Q3 & Q2) is switched on instead. To do this, port bit PD2 is brought low and PD4 high. Motor hash is reduced using two 100nF capacitors, one of which is soldered directly across its terminals. A ferrite bead in line with the motor’s supply leads also helps by blocking high-frequency noise components. Current sensing Once the pot’s wiper reaches its fully clockwise or anti-clockwise position, a friction type clutch in the gearbox begins to slip. This prevents the motor from stalling, while also allowing the user to manually rotate the pot shaft when necessary. The muting function depends on the microcontroller’s ability to detect when the wiper is “on the stops”. For the Altronics model, typical motor current is 40mA, increasing to about siliconchip.com.au 1 PC board, code 01104061, 72mm x 150mm 1 2-way 5mm/5.08mm terminal block (CON1) 2 3-way 5mm/5.08mm terminal blocks (CON4, CON5) 1 10-way shrouded (boxed) header (CON2) (Altronics P-5010) 1 6-way 2.54mm header (CON3) (Altronics P-5496) 1 2-way 2.54mm header (CON6) (Altronics P-5492) 1 2-way 2.54mm plug (CON6) (Altronics P-5472) 1 4-way 2.54mm SIL header (JP1,JP2) 2 jumper shunts 1 8mm ferrite sleeve (Altronics L-4910A) 1 100mH choke (RFC1) 1 20-pin gold-plated IC socket 4 M3 x 10mm tapped spacers 4 M3 x 6mm pan-head screws 1 5kW miniature horizontal trimpot (VR2) 1 20kW log motorised pot (VR1) (Altronics R-2000) –or1 10kW log motorised pot (Alps RK27 series) (see text) Semiconductors 1 AT90S2313-4 or -10 microcontroller (IC1) programmed with MPOT.HEX 1 MC34164P-5 or MC33164P-5 under-voltage sensing IC (IC2) (Farnell 791-908) 1 infrared receiver module (TSOP4838 or equivalent) (IC3) (Altronics Z-1611, Farnell 491-3190) 50mA when driving the clutch. This handy side effect is put to good use by including a small current sense resistor (R1) in series with the motor driver’s ground circuit. If R1 is 10W, 0.4V will be dropped across it during normal rotation and 0.5V when driving the clutch. A lowpass filter comprising an 18kW resistor and 100nF capacitor remove much of the motor noise, after which the signal is fed into pin 12 (AIN0) of the microcontroller. Internally, this pin is connected to the non-inverting input of a voltage comparator (see Fig.3), while the inverting input is connected 1 4MHz crystal, HC49S package (Y1) (Altronics V-1219) 2 BC327 PNP transistors (Q1, Q3) 2 BC337 NPN transistors (Q2, Q4) 1 1N5404 diode (D1) 6 3mm red LEDs Capacitors 4 100mF 16V PC electrolytic 1 1mF 16V PC electrolytic 4 100nF 50V metallised polyester (MKT) 1 100nF 50V multilayer ceramic 2 22pF 50V ceramic disc Resistors (0.25W, 1%) 1 18kW 2 330W 1 16kW 1 100W 3 10kW 1 10W 9 1kW 1 6.8W 5% Additional items 2-core shielded audio cable for pot wiring Medium-duty hook-up wire for power supply & motor wiring 2 x 10-way IDC cable-mount sockets (Altronics P-5310) 10-way IDC ribbon cable 2 small cable ties Power supply modification 1 1N5338B 5.1V, 5W zener diode (Altronics Z-0405, Farnell 933-120) Note: the program file (MPOT. HEX) will be available for download from the SILICON CHIP website for those that wish to program their own microcontrollers. to an external voltage reference on pin 13 (AIN1). The voltage reference is made adjustable with trimpot VR1, which forms a simple voltage divider with a 16kW resistor. When the sense voltage exceeds the reference voltage set by trimpot VR1, the comparator’s output swings high, generating a program interrupt. The interrupt handling code then switches off the active transistor pair to stop the motor. In use, the trimpot is adjusted so that the comparator doesn’t trip during normal pot travel. However, when the clutch is slipping, the increase in April 2006 39 fore which signal source is selected. Optionally, push-button switches can also be wired to each port line via CON3, enabling manual source selection (see Fig.4). To facilitate this function, the microcontroller pulls its inactive port lines high and continually monitors them for a low level (button press). When a button is pressed, the chosen relay is immediately activated. Just a few milliseconds later, the microcontroller senses the low level and returns the currently active output high while driving the new output low, in effect “latching” the user’s button press. Before you begin, check that the holes in the PC board are large enough to accept the motorised pot. The footprint for the standard (Altronics) and optional (Alps) pots is quite different, so two sets of holes have been provided. Some boards will have slots for the front row of pins, allowing either type of pot to fit without modification, whereas others may have two rows of closely spaced small holes instead. If you find that the required row of holes is too small to accept the pot’s pins, then they’ll need to be drilled out to about 1.2mm. That done, set the pot aside and following the usual practice, begin by installing all of the lowest profile components. The two wire links and the resistors are a good place to start. Use the overlay diagram (Fig.5) as a guide to component placement. All other components can then be installed as you see fit, but leave out the microcontroller (IC1), infrared receiver (IC3), LEDs and motorised pot for now; we’ll come back to these shortly. Be sure to mount the five 100mF capacitors and the diode (D1) around the right way and check that the keyed side of CON2 is oriented towards IC1. Also, be particularly careful not to mix up the two transistor types, or indeed the under-voltage sensor (IC2), as they’re all housed in identical TO-92 packages! Note that the crystal (Y1) must be mounted vertically and with minimum lead length. Once in place, connect its metal can to ground by soldering a short length of tinned copper wire between the can and the ground pad underneath (see photo). After installing the motorised pot, solder a 100nF capacitor directly across the motor terminals (see photo). Next, solder a pair of medium-duty wires to the terminals and pass these through a ferrite sleeve before terminating in a 2-way plug to mate with CON6. Alternatively, the wires can be soldered directly to the PC board without the header & plug, if desired. Use a small cable tie or two to hold the ferrite sleeve close to the motor side of the wiring. Assembly Front panel stuff Assembly is relatively straightforward, with all components mounted on a single PC board coded 01104061. The remote control module is designed to be mounted directly behind the front panel of a low-profile case. Universal Infrared Remote Controls The remote control module is designed to work with most universal (“onefor-all”) infrared remotes. It recognises the RC5 protocol that was originally developed by Philips, so the remote must be programmed for a Philips (or compatible) appliance before use. Most universal remotes are provided with a long list of supported appliances and matching codes. To set the remote to work with a particular piece of gear, it’s usually just a matter of entering the code listed for the manufacturer (in this case, Philips), as detailed in the instructions. You’ll also note that different codes are provided for TV, CD, SAT, and so on. This allows two or more appliances from the same manufacturer to be operated in the same room and even from the same handpiece. This multiple addressing capability can be useful in our application, too. Normally, we’d program the remote to control a TV, as this works with the control module. But what if you already have a Philips TV (or a Chinese model that uses the RC5 protocol)? Well, in this case, you’d simply use a CD or SAT code instead – the control model can handle any or these! Let’s look at an example. To set the AIFA Y2E remote (see below) to control a Philips TV, you’d first press and hold “SET” and then press “TV”. This puts the remote in programming mode, as indicated by the red LED, which should remain illuminated. Now release both keys and punch in one of the listed Philips TV codes. For this project, code 191 works well. The red LED should now go out and the remote is ready for use. All universal remotes can be programmed in a similar manner but when in doubt, read the instructions! If the first code listed doesn’t work with the control module, then try another. Once the remote has been programmed, the control module must be set up to recognise the particular equipment address that you’ve chosen (TV, CD, SAT, etc). Details on how to do this are in the setup and testing section. Although this project should work with any universal remote, we’ve tested the following popular models: AIFA Y2E (Altronics A-1013), AIFA RA7 (Altronics A-1009) and BC3000 (Jaycar AR-1710). For all these models, the setup codes are as follows: TV = 191, CD = 651 (but not for BC3000 remote), SAT1 = 424 and SAT2 = 425. Note that the “mute” button doesn’t work for all codes and in the case of the AIFA Y2E, is missing anyway! In these cases, you may be able to use the “12” or “20+” buttons instead. motor current causes a proportional increase in voltage at the comparator’s non-inverting input, causing its output to switch high. Preamp control Source switching on the Studio Series Preamp (see SILICON CHIP, October 2005) is performed by miniature 5V relays, which are in turn switched by PNP transistors. On the control module, five outputs from the micro (PB3-PB7) are used to drive the preamp’s transistors and select between the various signal sources. These outputs are routed to CON2, where they’re connected to the preamp via ribbon cable. Each port line is protected with a 1kW series resistor, while LED1-LED5 indicate which line is low and there40 Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Fig.5: follow this diagram when assembling your board. Take care not to mix up the two transistor types and the under-voltage sensor (IC2), as they’re all in TO-92 packages. Mount the diode (D1) a few millimetres above the board surface for a little extra insurance in case of a wiring error! Below is the fully-assembled unit with the Alps pot. Table 1: Resistor Colour Codes o o o o o o o o o siliconchip.com.au No. 1 1 3 9 2 1 1 1 Value 18kW 16kW 10kW 1kW 330W 100W 10W 6.8W 5% 4-Band Code (1%) brown grey orange brown brown blue orange brown brown black orange brown brown black red brown orange orange brown brown brown black brown brown brown black black brown blue grey gold gold 5-Band Code (1%) brown grey black red brown brown blue black red brown brown black black red brown brown black black brown brown orange orange black black brown brown black black black brown brown black black gold brown not applicable April 2006 41 Some constructors will prefer the lower cost 16mm motorised pot, as shown installed here. the 7805 regulator (see photo), and its body spaced about 3mm above the board surface. The two PC board holes may need to be drilled out to 1.2mm to accept the larger diameter leads. Wiring To this end, the infrared receiver, LEDs and pot all mount along one edge of the PC board so that they will protrude through the front panel. If necessary, trial fit the module into the chosen case to gauge the required lead length and bend for the LEDs and infrared receiver. If you’re drilling the case yourself, then note that the hole for the infrared receiver should be The 100nF polyester capacitor is soldered directly across the terminals of the pot motor, as shown here. This close-up view shows how a wire link is used to connect the crystal case to a ground pad. 42 Silicon Chip slightly larger than the “bump” in the package to ensure operation over the widest possible area. Before drilling the four mounting holes for the module, note that the front boss (face) of the pot should make firm contact with the rear of the front panel. This is very important, as it prevents stress being placed on the pot assembly when the nut is tightened and the pot is manually operated. If necessary, fit one or more additional washers over the pot shaft to bring it in contact with the panel when the board is positioned flush against the rear. Note that a number of other mounting options are possible, depending on your requirements. For example, the pot could be mounted a short distance from the board, with the shielded audio cable terminated directly at its pins rather than at CON4 & CON5. If a different power source is to be used, it must have a well-regulated output of 5V ±5%. A plugpack or other poorly regulated source is unacceptable and may cause erratic operation or even component failure! The chosen supply should also power the 5V relay circuit on the preamp board, or at least share a common ground with it. Use mediumduty multi-strand cable for the supply wiring and twist the two wires together to reduce noise and improve appearance. We suggest using black for ground (0V) and some other colour for +5V – preferably a different colour to that used for the ±15V wiring! The power input connector (CON1) can then be marked using the same felt-tipped pen colour to reduce the chances of cabling mistakes. Next, hook the 10-way headers on the preamp and control module together using a length of 10-way IDC cable. The plugs and sockets are keyed, so as long as you take care to create a one-to-one connection when crimping on the IDC plugs, all should be well! Finally, it is very important that the motor housing is connected to chassis earth. We suggest running a separate wire from the point marked “EARTH” on the PC board to the main earth point, rather than relying on the pot to make contact with the metalwork. Note that the motor housing is not connected to the ground (GND) rail on the control module to avoid creating an earth loop. Power supply upgrade Setup & testing Power for the control module can be sourced from the low-noise power supply module described as part of the Studio Series Preamp in October 2005. Unfortunately, the module’s peak current requirements are a little higher than we’d anticipated, so a minor modification is required to the power supply before it can be used here. The modification is quite straightforward and simply involves replacing the 100W 5W resistor (R1) with a 5.1V, 5W zener diode. The banded (cathode) end of the zener must point away from To successfully complete the following instructions, you’ll need a universal remote control that you have programmed for use with a Philips brand appliance. Refer to the panel titled “Universal Infrared Remote Con trols” before proceeding. OK, let’s check the supply rails. Apply power and measure the voltage between pins 10 & 20 of IC1’s socket. Your meter should read 5V ±5% – if not, switch off immediately and look for cabling faults and the like. Assuming all is well, power off and siliconchip.com.au High-Quality Pot Upgrade In anticipation of this project, several readers suggested that we present a design with a digital, rather than analog (ie, motorised pot) volume control. Why digital? Well, apparently they used our previous design (published in June 2002) so much that the pot wore out within a year! So we considered the possibilities of a digital design. It appeared that the best performance could be realised by using a digitally controlled analog gain/attenuation block. As luck would have it, Burr-Brown (TI) offers a single-chip device that integrates all of the necessary elements and introduces very low distortion. That seemed like the right solution to the audio part of the design (ignoring the additional distortion) but elsewhere it starts to get complicated! For a start, we’d need some method of indicating the volume settings to the user. We’d also need a means of adjusting the volume. In our opinion, simple “up” and “down” buttons don’t cut the mustard; you just can’t beat a rotary dial for volume! So at a minimum, we’d need a “high-spec” digital/analog volume control IC, a liquid crystal display insert IC1 in its socket, making sure that the notched (pin 1) end is oriented as shown on the overlay diagram (Fig.5). Now insert a jumper shunt on JP1 to place the module in setup mode and power up again. The five red LEDs should flash in sequence the moment power is applied to indicate setup mode. Now point your remote at the infrared receiver (IC3) and press one of the numeric keys (1-9) twice. On the first press, the “acknowledge” LED should flash once, whereas on the second press, it should flash five times. This indicates that the micro has successfully determined the equipment address and stored it in EEPROM for future use. This completes the microcontroller setup, so power the module down and remove JP1. Pot’n around We’ll test the motorised pot next, so be sure to insert a jumper on JP2 if siliconchip.com.au (or large LED bargraph), a rotary encoder and a microcontroller. Unfortunately, the whole shooting match would be too expensive for most constructors, particularly if it were not made available as a kit. Anyway, we believe we’ve struck a good compromise. Once again, our design uses a motorised potentio meter but we’ve included provision for either the low-cost Altronics pot or a higher quality RK27 series Alps pot. These 27mm Japanese-made pots have a rated minimum life of 15,000 rotations and a maximum gang error of 2dB over the -60dB to 0db range. Only two small changes need to be made to the board to support either type of pot. To use the Altronics pot, use a 10W value for the current sense resistor (R1) and leave out jumper JP2. For the Alps pot, fit a 6.8W resistor instead and install a jumper shunt on JP2. That’s it – with one caveat, as follows. No mute? During prototype development, we were unable to get the muting facility to work reliably with the Alps pot. We found that the motor current tended to vary from pass to pass, perhaps suggesting a peculiarity with the gearbox design. It may also have been peculiar to our batch of pots – we can’t be absolutely sure! Regardless, this made it impossible to adjust VR1 for reliable cut-off when hitting the end stop. In the end, we went ahead with support for the Alps pot anyway, as we believe that most constructors who would be willing fork out for this expensive option would also be willing to forgo the muting function, for which they may have little (if any) use. Note that at time of publication, we were unable to find an Australian distributor who is offering the Alps RK27 pots in one-off quantities. However, they are available from a variety of overseas Internet sites. Be sure to get a 10kW type with a “15A” resistance taper and check that the shaft style and length suits your particular application. For detailed technical information on the RK27 series, check out the product catalog on the Alps website at www.alps.com. Replace the 100W 5W resistor on the power supply board with a 5.1V 5W zener diode, as shown here. Note the orientation of the cathode (banded) end of the zener. you’ve fitted an Alps pot. Conversely, if you’re using the standard Altronics pot, this jumper must not be installed. Exercise the pot by moving it manually over its full range of motion several times. This helps to break in the clutch April 2006 43 Fig.6: check your board against this is the full-size etching pattern before installing any of the parts. before we continue with the adjustment procedure. Next, rotate trimpot VR1 fully clockwise and power up. You should now be able to use the volume up/down and channel up/down buttons on the remote to move the pot in both directions. If it moves the wrong way, simply reverse the leads to the motor. Now set the pot to its mid position and hit the “mute” button (“12” on the AIFA Y2E). The pot will rotate anti-clockwise for 12 seconds and as soon as it hits the stops, the clutch will start to slip. While this is happening, rotate trimpot VR1 slowly in an anti-clockwise direction until the motor cuts out. Now drive the pot clockwise for a second or so and press the “mute” but- RC5 Infrared Protocol – A Primer Every time you press a button on your remote, a message comprised of the key code and equipment address is composed, encoded and then modulated before being transmitted using a high-brightness infrared LED. In the RC5 coding scheme, each message is composed of a 14-bit serial stream. A message consists of four parts: • Start part – 1.5 bits (2 x logic “1”) • Control part – 1 bit • System part – 5 bits • Command part – 6 bits The start bits give the receiver time to “lock on” to the incoming data. The control bit, also called the toggle bit, is simply a flag to indicate whether the following code is new or repeated. If a new key is pressed, the control bit toggles (changes state) from its previous value, otherwise it remains the same. The system bits represent the equipment address (TV, CD, VCR, etc), while the command bits are the code for the actual key pressed. On the physical level, data is transmitted using bi-phase (also known as Manchester) encoding. A logic one is represented by a zero-to-one transition at 1/2 bit time, whereas a logic zero is represented by a one-to-zero transition. One bit time is approx. 1.778ms, so a complete message is 24.889ms long, with messages repeated at a minimum of 114ms intervals. To reduce interference from other light sources, data is transmitted on a 38kHz carrier. 44 Silicon Chip ton again. This time, the motor should stop as soon as the pot reaches its minimum position. If it stops prematurely or fails to stop at all (ie, the motor runs for the full 12 seconds), try redoing the adjustment. Once the adjustment is correct, pressing the mute button a second time will result in the pot being returned to its original position. It’s important to note that if the cutout function fails to operate when the pot reaches its minimum position, the motor will continue to run for 12 seconds (the full-travel period). Pressing the mute button a second time will have no effect, as the program has no record of the original shaft position! Wrap up Well that’s about it. All that’s left to do is to connect the two sections of the motorised pot to the preamp using shielded audio cable. Each side of the pot is brought out to a 3-way terminal block (CON4 & CON5) on the PC board to make hook-up relatively easy. The cable on the lefthand side can be routed through the large hole just to the rear of CON4. As shown on Fig.5, the centre terminal (GND) connects to the cable shields; do not connect the shield to chassis ground! Refer to the preamp project for more details. In an upcoming article, we’ll show you how to assemble the preamp, headphone amplifier, remote control module and power supply into a very nice slimline case! In the mean time, SC happy listening! siliconchip.com.au PRIZED VALUE AT $399! SUBSCRIBE TO THIS... ...AND YOU COULD WIN THIS! A 20MHz dual trace oscilloscope from Dick Smith Electronics Every reader who takes out a new subscription this month (printed edition only), or renews an existing print edition subscription, goes into a draw to win a brand spanking new dual-trace 20MHz oscilloscope, as reviewed in the March 2006 edition of SILICON CHIP (p62), each valued at $399.00! You could be the envy of all your friends if you had this fine instrument on your workbench. It comes complete with two 10:1 divider probes, enabling you to do all sorts of measurements. You love the magazine. Why not subscribe and save? Subscribing is actually CHEAPER than buying over the counter. And for a limited time only, we are maintaining the present subscription prices. Subscribe now and beat the price rise later this year. At the same time, have a great chance at winning this superb ’scope! General info: 1) The winner will be drawn from the new and renewing subscribers for the month of April. Entries for the draw will close on Friday, April 28. No correspondence will be entered into. 2) The winner will be randomly drawn by computer at the SILICON CHIP office, Unit 8, 101 Darley Street, Mona Vale NSW 2103, on the next business day after the close of entries. 3) This offer is valid only for subscriptions to the printed edition of SILICON CHIP and is open only to residents of Australia and New Zealand. 4) Winners will be announced in the next available SILICON CHIP magazine and on the SILICON CHIP website, www.siliconchip.com.au. NSW permit no TPL 06/01824. 5) The promoter is SILICON CHIP Publications Pty Ltd, ABN 49 003 205 490, PO Box 139, Collaroy NSW 2097. 6) Your new subscription will normally start with the next month to be printed (if you wish, you can nominate an alternative starting date). YES PLEASE! I wish to subscribe for Start my subscription from the o next issue or o ............................. issue and enter me in the draw for the oscilloscope! o 2 years ($160) o 2 years with 2 binders ($186.00) o 1 year ($83.00) o 1 year with binder ($96.50) *these prices valid for Australian subscribers only. NZ subscribers will be included in the draw but subscription rates are slightly higher. Please refer to P103 of this issue. Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $______or please debit my: o Bankcard o Visa Card o Master Card We make it easy to subscribe! Card No. Signature ___________________________ Card expiry date_____ /_______ Mail this form (or a copy) to: Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW, Australia 2097. Name ______________________________ Phone No (___) _____________ Or fax PLEASE PRINT your details to (02) 9979 6503 (inc credit card!). Street _________________________________________________________ Or email the same details to silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Suburb/town _______________________________ Postcode _____________ pril 2006 45 Or log onto siliconchip.com.auAand click on “print edition” siliconchip.com.au email: __________________________________________________________ Or call (02) 9979 5644 & quote your credit card details PRODUCT SHOWCASE PCB Wizard 3.6: Low cost, automatic PC board design So you’ve come up with a scathingly brilliant circuit and wish to design a PC board for it . . . only trouble is, you have only ever designed “thumbnail dipped in tar” PC boards (OK, maybe used a Dalo pen!). You certainly cannot justify buying one of those quite expensive (>$1000) “professional” PC board design software packages you see advertised. And there’s little point in using one of the now very dated (and hard to use!) DOSbased PCB layout programs that were so popular a decade or so ago (even if they’re now freeware!). But you don’t have to fork out a lot of money for a very good PC board design package. We’ve just finished playing with PCB Wizard 3.6 from 555 Electronics and, in a word: impressive! As with any new software, there is a learning curve – but with PCB Wizard 3.6 that curve is very gentle. An extensive range of on-line tutorials and help is also available. And once you’ve mastered it, you will understand what an amazingly powerful package this is for the price. Perhaps the best way to prove how easy it is, is to go to the 555 Electronics website and download the demo version of the software. For a real insight, load the sample 555 timer circuit, then watch as PCB Wizard 3.6 turns this into a PC board layout – without any intervention from you. It just happens! Of course, you can have as much (or as little) control over placement, tracks, etc as you wish. If you don’t like where PCB Wizard 3.6 places a component, move it! You’ll also get a costed bill of materials if you wish (naturally, you have to tell PCB Wizard 3.6 how much the bits cost!). PCB Wizard 3.6 can also open circuits drawn with two other 555 Electronics products, Bright Spark and Livewire – and automatically turn those circuits into PC boards. Board patterns can be outputted in the industry-standard Gerber format. The standard (home user) edition of PCB Wizard 3.6 costs $115 plus GST. Professional versions (including CAD/CAM) and multi-user licences are also available. The main differences between the standard and pro version is single vs double-sided boards, 500 vs 1500 component library and network support only in the pro version. Oatley’s $89 digital TV/ digital radio USB stick! The guvmint insists everyone will soon have to go digital – there will be no more analog TV broadcast within a couple of years or so. (Whether that actually happens is the $64,000 question). There is, of course, good reason to go digital – better picture quality, better sound, EPGs, much more programming capability and so on. But who wants to fork out a couple of hundred dollars plus for a digital set-top box, especially when Oatley have this little Digital TV dongle that plugs into most PC’s USB port – for just $89? All you have to do is run the supplied installation CD, plug in the USB stick and plug an antenna into that (in good signal area rabbits ears will do). The software automatically scans and finds both digital TV and digital radio stations and lists them on screen. Contact: Contact: 15 Field St, McLaren Vale, SA 5171. Tel: (08) 0323 8442 Fax: (08) 8323 0033 Website: www.555electronics.com.au PO Box 89, Oatley NSW 2223 Tel: (02) 9584 3565 Fax: (02) 9584 3561 Website: www.oatleyelectronics.com 555 Electronics Oatley Electronics SILICON CHIP WebLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC 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SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK Tel: 022 Tel:(07) 4934 0413 Fax: (07) 0311 Tel: 1800 1800 022 888 888 SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC4934 WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK ilicon hip SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK Want your product or service featured both here and on the SILICON CHIP website for the one low price? Contact Phil Benedictus or Lawrence Smith on (02) 9211 9792 for all the details! 46 S C TeleLink Communications JAYCAR JAYCAR ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS WebLINK: telelink.com.au WebLINK: WebLINK: www.jaycar.com.au www.jaycar.com.au siliconchip.com.au SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC SC Unwired-proof LNBF Readers may recall the articles by Avcomm’s Garry Cratt in December 2004 and January 2005 detailing the enormous impact (none of it good!) that 3.5GHz Unwired wireless broadband was having on 3-4GHz satellite TV reception. The problem was so severe that Garry eventually decided to do something about it. His company has now released a new low-noise block filter (LNBF) specifically designed to eliminate (or at least minimise) 3.5GHz Unwired signals. STEPDOWN TRANSFORMERS 60VA to 3KVA encased toroids It deliberately restricts reception to the 3.7-4.2GHz band (fortunately, the more popular satellite TV frequencies) but equally important, contains an internal filter to reduce the frequency response below 3.7GHz. Garry says the results in affected areas are well worth the hassle of installing a new LNBF. Further information is available direct from Avcomm or via their website. 9/40 Leighton Pl. HORNSBY 2077 Ph (02) 9476-5854 Fax (02) 9476-3231 Contact: AvComm Pty Ltd PO Box 225, Brookvale NSW 2100 Tel: (02) 9939 4377 Fax: (02) 9939 4376 Website: www.avcomm.com.au Wireless 2.4GHz USB Headphones Enjoy crystal clear sound from your laptop or home computer without cables with these 2.4GHz Wireless Headphones from Radio Parts. The transmitter (at bottom of pic) simply plugs into a USB port and gives up to 30-metre range. What’s more, up to eight headsets can be used with one transmitter and eight channels are available in case of interference. The “cans” offer a 92dB audio dynamic range. Sound quality is “as it comes” with no compression, while delay time, often a problem with transmit/receive systems, is just 0.5ms. The headphones operate from two AA cells (supplied) and the system is compatible with Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 and XP. Harbuch Electronics Pty Ltd In-Car Reversing Sensor with Dashboard Display Recommended retail price is $119 (inc GST) and the phones are available from Radio Parts stores in West Melbourne and East Malvern, or via the Radio Parts online shop. Too many cars and 4WDs have blind spots to the rear. Now you can increase the safety of your car with Jaycar’s Reversing Sensor. With ultrasonic sensors sweeping the area behind the car, and a control box in the boot, a small (110 x 40 x 80mm) monitor sits on the dash which not only warns of obstacles and people behind but gives an estimated distance (great for parking, too!). The system uses the existing reversing light cable (no extra wires needed). Contact: Contact: 562 Spencer St, West Melbourne 3003 Tel: (03) 9321 8300 Fax: (03) 9321 8333 Website: www.radioparts.com.au PO Box 6424, Silverwater NSW 1811. Tel: (02) 9741 8555 Fax: (02) 9741 8500 Website: www.jaycar.com.au Radio Parts Jaycar Electronics C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SCWe WEBLINK WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK supplySC Radiometrix VHF & UHF OEM radio SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK C WEBLINK SCmodules WEBLINKfor SCwireless WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK data comms, control and SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK For everything in radio control for aircraft, JED designsSC and manufactures a C WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK monitoring. 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Recently, it seems we’ve serviced just about everything but the kitchen sink. The Philips MD1 chassis from the mid to late nineties seems to be one of their more difficult sets to service. And unfortunately for muggins here, I had two arrive in short succession. These were both 1996 MD1.1A chassis and both were DOA (dead on arrival). The first was a 29PT886A/75R and the client said that it was smoking just before it died (emphysema, I expect – I guess it should have read the warning on the packet!). Sure enough, when I switched the set on, there was no sign of life and even the smoke had gone. Access to the motherboard or LSP (Large Signal Panel) is rather difficult in this set. Philips has gone to an awful lot of trouble on page 4 of their service manual to show you how to get the set into the service position – even supplying a special support pin. The trouble is, the leads aren’t long enough and the instructions didn’t completely make sense to me (what on earth is the AVM/AMV panel?). 48 Silicon Chip Anyway, having positioned the set as best I could, I gingerly poked a long probe into the switchmode power supply. There was no voltage coming out of the supply so I assumed that it was was faulty and stupidly unplugged the LSP without marking any of the plugs. In fact, it would have been nice if Philips had labelled these. After recovering from the 315V shock I then got from the undischarged main electro, I used an ohmmeter to check for open and short circuit plugs and to measure the start-up resistors, etc. I couldn’t find anything wrong, so I replaced electrolytic capacitors C2530, C2533, C2527 and C2520. I also socketed and swapped the switchmode IC (IC7520, MC44603p) and then checked all the diodes, fuses and FETs on the A1 power supply circuit. These were all OK, as was the line output transistor. When the plugs and sockets were finally sorted out, I switched the set on to find that nothing had changed. My hunch now was that perhaps a protection circuit was closing the power supply down, so I decided to switch tactics. I removed the deflection yoke plug (L17) and connected a 100W globe on the 140V link input (pin 2). I then switched on and was rewarded with the globe lighting. However, when I shorted the base and emitter of the line output transistor (7420) and reconnected the plug, the globe refused to light. This meant that the fault had to be somewhere around the primary of the flyback transformer. Next, I removed the LSP again and measured the leakage between the 140V rail to the primary (pin 6) of the flyback transformer and ground. Apart from the one way collector-emitter leakage, there was none. Items Covered This Month • • • • • • • Philips 29PT886A/75R TV set (MD1.1A chassis) Philips 29PT8860/75 TV set (MD1.1A chassis) Sony Super Beta HiFi VCR (SL-HF950ES CX chassis) Teac CT-M805SV TV set Sony PFM-42V plasma TV Sharp R395S(F)microwave oven Panasonic EY6407 12V cordless drill For a moment, this confused me but I soon realised that this was because the deflection yoke was disconnected. However, the leakage via the deflection circuit (it still wasn’t a dead short circuit) was not quite kosher. Suspecting shorted turns in the east-west correction transformer and coils, I removed, examined and measured each in turn. I then inspected C2428, a large blue 330nF 250V capacitor, and noticed that one end had melted slightly. As a result, I removed it and found that it was leaky. Replacing this capacitor fixed the set’s problem. The second set was a 29PT8860/75 with identical symptoms. This time, measuring the leakage between the 140V rail and ground revealed it was almost short circuit. However, C2428 in this set, which looked identical to the previous one, was in perfect working order. Well, there was no harm in trying. You can tell I’m not a successful gambler, otherwise I wouldn’t be in this profession. There was nothing for it but to go back to basic principles. With the horizontal deflection yoke plug (and B+ link) removed, I found that the short was in fact on the supply side of the 140V rail. I then found that D6567 measured short circuit when in siliconchip.com.au circuit (or so I thought) but was OK when removed. So what was short circuit? It turned out to be one of those damned sky-blue ceramic capacitors (C2568 330pF) in parallel with the diode. Replacing it restored the picture on this second set. After completing repairs, I always go into the service mode and check the error messages. To do this on the MD1.1A chassis, you have to momentarily connect test points (TP) S42 and S43 together to get into the “Service Default Mode” (SDM) and then press the INSTALL button to get into the “Service Alignment Mode” (SAM) where the error messages are displayed. Because these are stored from the last time this menu was accessed, it is quite normal to ignore and reset them. The error code buffer is reset by switching the set to standby with the remote, which I did after writing the current numbers down. When I subsequently went back into this menu, there were no errors displayed so the job was finished. Before returning the sets to their owners, I set them up side-by-side for a soak test and soon realised that the first one had a slightly darker picture. I also noticed that its OSD (On Screen Display) wasn’t brightly coloured like the second set. Instead, it was very dark – almost black, in fact. Further checking of this set subsequently revealed that the Teletext wasn’t working either. And although both sets had PIP (Picture in Picture), the faulty set wasn’t showing a good picture in this mode – just a lot of interference. Well, that really was a weird bundle of symptoms. But what could possibly be the common cause? I started by checking the screen voltage on the flyback transformer and that proved to be OK. I was fortunate in having both sets at the same time, as it was easy to compare voltages between them. Anyway, I then checked the 140V rail to be OK, while the EHT “information” was slightly low at 17V on the CRT aquadag. Next, using an oscilloscope I checked the sandcastle waveform on TP L11 (on plug S11, pin 9) and it too was OK. Logically, this type of fault could be expected to lie in the line output or vertical output stages, or perhaps in the jungle, Teletext or microcontroller ICs. Unfortunately, I was generally unable to swap the modules between the sets as they used different types of connectors. However, one board that had half a chance of replacement was the PIP module “S”. The plugs and sockets were the same, although the module in the second set had an extra tuner. Perhaps swapping this board would fix the PIP fault? I gave it a go and surprisingly, not only did it fix the PIP fault, it also fixed all the OSD problems and the Teletext. However, I couldn’t initially quite work out the significance of this until I took a closer look at the circuit. It was then that I remembered one of the “Golden Rules” – when in doubt, measure the B+ rails. On the “S” board, there is a small NPN transistor (7810, BC635) regulator which is supposed to deliver 8V from a 13V input. In this case, however, the regulator circuit wasn’t working and was delivering the full 13V output. I removed and measured the BC635 but it was OK. Instead, the cause was actually a surface-mounted 8.2V siliconchip.com.au April 2006 49 Serviceman’s Log – continued zener diode (6750) in the base circuit. I removed the device, drilled holes through the solder pads and then fitted a conventional diode. This restored the correct 8.2V which feeds the PIP ICs and transistors and also biases the RGB lines to the video control. Interestingly, the original error codes before resetting were 11, 2 and 1 on this set, which are “PIP Service Select IC7420 TEA6425”, “IC7353 MSP3410 Stereo Decoder” and IC7129 TDA8844 BIMOS jungle chip”. This error code might have given me a clue, even though it indicates a different board (P1). Sony car stereo Amongst the fine team of technicians I work with, we have guys who specialise in specific electronic consumer products, one being warranty repairs for car stereo. Recently, one client was complaining about a noise he heard when his Sony CDXS 2010 was playing CDs. He wasn’t backward in coming forward either, using language that would make a sailor blush. Further, he demanded that we immediately remove the unit from his car and install a new one. Our guy politely but firmly made it 50 Silicon Chip clear that we do warranty repairs only to the car stereo itself – not the car. He would have to go back to the car dealer, who would remove the offending unit and forward it to us. He accepted this with extreme bad grace and the unit was eventually delivered to our workshop by the dealer. It was then connected to our dummy rig and thoroughly tested, whereupon it performed faultlessly – the sound was clean and there were no strange noises. What’s more, it was still performing flawlessly several days later. Subsequently, about a week later, we got a rather sheepish telephone call from the dealer. Apparently the noise, whatever it was, was still present in the car even after the stereo unit had been removed! I wonder if the owner’s name is Wally? The Beta VCR Occasionally, I am persuaded to repair things I know will only cause grief. Such was the case with a really ancient 1989 Sony Super Beta HiFi VCR (SL-HF950ES CX chassis). Now not many people even know there was a Super Beta VCR and even less know that there was an Alpha format before the Beta which was sold by Hitachi – but that’s another story. Anyway, this particular model was the flagship of the Sony range and had an interesting eject sled mechanism where the tape could even be played outside the machine – if you wished. The problem with this unit was that it wouldn’t eject – the sled was completely jammed. As with most units from around this time, it was built like a brick dunny and even after removing about 1000 screws, I still couldn’t get the mechanism out. Finally, I worked out that the sled (or “skate” as Sony call it) was jamming on the righthand side, caused by a spring-loaded roller which had broken the plastic runner rail. Pushing this down as the tape was ejecting would allow the mechanism to stay in its rail. Unfortunately, the plastic rail was part of the “Inner Frame Assembly” (X-3697-606-1) and was no longer available. And even if I had the correct part, it’s a big job to replace it as the assembly is a structural part of the VCR, running right down the centre. As it was, I wasted a couple of hours just working it all out. And believe me, the grief was all mine. Interestingly, you could still play tapes on the VCR if you kept the spring under tension, which also controlled the height of the tape above the deck mechanism. You “fixa” my Teac I was called out by an Italian family who live in a typical Italian-style mansion, with white balustrades around the veranda and acres of tiles and marble. Unfortunately for me, the front door and veranda were at the end of a long staircase, the house being located at the top of a hill. The problem was their 2000 Teac CT-M805SV 80cm TV which had gone dead after making a burning smell. Looking inside, I soon saw the centre of the small fire was D402, which had just about disintegrated. And because this was going to take a lot of work to clean and repair, I decided to take just the chassis to the workshop. Back on the bench, I first removed and cleaned the components around the burnt-out diode. A quick check of the circuit then showed that D402 is a BY228, which is in series with the deflection yoke. C412 (0.56mF 250V) had also burnt up, along with C419 (4.7mF 100V NP) which goes to the collector of Q405 and to R427. There were also a few dry joints but siliconchip.com.au nothing else seemed to have been damaged. Having replaced the damaged parts, I returned the chassis to the palace and fortunately, after reinstalling it, the set came up perfectly. I had one small scare, though – initially, there was no sound. This turned out to be a muted digital Foxtel box. What a relief! Sony plasma TVs I had an interesting problem with a 42-inch Sony plasma TV. The set was 2003 PFM-42V1, which is basically a rebadged LG RT 42 PZ45 standard definition display. The fault (see photo) was a mess of horizontal lines and regularly spaced vertical lines. I could have sworn it was going to be the display (PDP) but that’s not how it turned out. Working in the client’s home, I initially unhooked the panel from its stand and placed it face down on a piece of cardboard with raised foam glued to it. I then removed the back and switched the set on. Next, I tucked pieces of broken mirror tiles under the panel between gaps in the foam, so that I could see sections of the picture. Once those were in place, I then sprayed likely trouble areas with freezer and also tried tapping the panel to check for bad solder joints. These checks revealed nothing, so I checked the 230V setup and -70Vy, +115Vscw, +65Va and +191VS rails. These were all OK and so I ended up taking the set back to the workshop. Luckily, another such set had come into the workshop, this unit displaying just a single vertical black bar in the centre of the screen. Spraying the COF (Chip on Film) chips on the display made the bar disappear intermittently. In this case, these chips involved the lower series of X-electrode address driver amplifiers to the panel. I then found that spraying just the centre chip with freezer caused the bar to come and go. The assembly was then unscrewed and the connector released and reconnected, just in case there was a bad connection. Unfortunately, it was the COF chip itself that was faulty which meant a new panel had to be fitted. When a COF chip fails completely, it normally blows a hole in the black chip and burns up the resistor connected to it. Having diagnosed the problem on this set, I decided to start swapping boards with the set I had just brought in, to see if I could diagnose its problem. Fortunately, the boards were an exact match – quite often, you find Silicon Chip Binders REAL VALUE AT $12.95 PLUS P&P Issues Getting Dog-Eared? Keep Your Copies Safe With These Handy Binders The first faulty Sony PFM-42V1 107cm plasma TV. Note the horizontal lines across the picture. siliconchip.com.au Price: $12.95 plus $7.00 p&p per order (buy five and get them postage free). Available only in Australia. Just fill in the handy order form in this issue; or fax (02) 9979 6503; or ring (02) 9979 5644 & quote your credit card number. Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139, Collaroy 2097. April 2006 51 Serviceman’s Log – continued wave oven high-temperature globe with the same rating as the old one. However, instead of using a metal bracket, the generic globe is attached to the cabinet via a high-temperature plastic bracket. This substitution reduced the trade cost by more than a half. The question is why should this be necessary? Many early microwave ovens are still working 20-30 years down the track and their oven lamps are easily replaced by the owner. And the early fluorescent displays rarely failed and were easier to read. Cordless drill some modules are different, using different sizes and types of plugs to prevent accidental swapping in differently configured sets. It turned out that the problem was on the control board, which generates and distributes the SCAN, SUSTAIN, ERASE and DATA drive signals to the Scan (Y) and Sustain (Z) boards. The WRITE signals are outputted to the left and right(X) boards and then to the COF chips. These boards aren’t cheap and the work required, though simple, requires a lot of concentration, with particular care for safety. Afterwards, the voltages have to be rechecked before soak testing with a bright white picture. Finally, returning and re-installing the set is much easier if you have someone to help you. Sharp microwave I had a perfectly reasonable person ask me to do a perfectly reasonable repair to his microwave oven. And being of a similar nature, I was only too happy to oblige The microwave was a 3-year old stainless-steel Sharp R395S(F) and the items that needed attention were the LCD backlight and the oven lamp. Hardly a big deal, or so I thought. The backlight consisted of three 52 Silicon Chip surface-mounted LEDs in series which are controlled by a display module from the conventional power supply. The surface-mounted components on the module sometimes fail and are not available as spares. Instead, you have to purchase the complete module. The oven lamp is a 240V 25W incandescent high-temperature globe which has a special metal bracket welded onto it which attaches to the oven’s cabinet. The 240V supply is directly connected via spade terminals. All up, the cost of replacing these two items is about half the price of the oven itself. No wonder you see so many microwave ovens at council clean-up time! I’ve also been told that the LCD panel in this unit can have other problems, when it starts making poor contact via the multiconnector (similar to that used in early Nokia 5110 mobile phones, which suffered the same problem). In the end, I solved the cost problem with a workaround. To restore the backlight, I simply cut the PC track to the LEDs and fitted a 470W resistor in series directly to the power supply. This gave a permanent fixed back light that is now non-switchable unlike before. That done, I fitted a generic micro- We recently had a Panasonic EY6407 cordless drill come in, its owner complaining of intermittent failure. This unit had obviously had a hard life and you could see it had given good service. It was an expensive high-quality 12V drill that normally has plenty of power. In this case, it was fairly obvious that the original battery pack was now past its use-by-date and wasn’t retaining its charge. A new one seemed to fix the problem and a now happy client left with his drill spinning perfectly. However, a fortnight later, a less than happy client returned complaining of the same thing – intermittent failure to drill. We all had a go and sure enough, if you shook and used the drill sideways with the trigger still pressed, it wouldn’t work. Similarly, move it back to the vertical and give it a bit of a shake and it would work again. Well, there were only a few possibilities – either a wiring problem, the battery connections, a trigger switch fault, or perhaps a dry joint to the motor. With the drill dismantled, we managed to measure 12V all the way to the motor with the trigger switch pressed but the motor wasn’t turning. This meant that it had to be the (expensive) motor and we were about to order a new one when Fred decided to investigate further. With nothing to lose, he dismantled the motor to find that the armature was very dirty and the brushes so worn they could barely touch it. In fact, when the drill was on its side, they could no longer reach. A new set of brushes and a good clean fixed the problem and it now SC worked like a bought one. siliconchip.com.au 780+ NEWDUCTS PROt cover of n side froor more info See inm gf this a Heavy Duty 70 Amp Battery Power Selector KIT OF THE MONTH AVR Adapter Board Battery Protector When you power an accessory through the cigarette socket you stand a real chance of flattening your car battery. Not with this unit. It disconnects itself when battery voltage gets to 11.2 volts. This ensures that there is enough energy left to start your engine. Supplied as an 1m Cat. MS-6120 $ 95 automotive cigarette plug to socket lead. 12V 7.2Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery 19. Now even lower in price! With SAVE $16.55 leak proof construction, long service life and high discharge capability our range of SLA batteries represent See excellent value for compr in-store for o ehe ur money. b a tteries nsive range o Cat. SB-2486 and ch Was $ 95 argers f $36.50 19. 34. AVR ISP Serial Programmer Kit Ref: Silicon Chip October 02 This kit connects to the computer serial port, uses royalty-free software available on the Internet and allows you to program a multitude of micros in the AVR 8-bit RISC family (see website for full listing). Kit supplied Cat. KC-5340 with PCB, Jiffy box with silkscreened $ 00 lid and all electronic components. 45. 5.8GHz Wireless Audio Video Sender 44 Piece 12 Volt Hobby Drill Accessories include 6 piece diamond burr set, 10 piece shaped stone set, 1 grinding stone, 6 piece sanding drum set, 4 piece drill set, 3 piece wire wheel set, various polishing wheels, assorted mandrels & collets, storage case 60 Drill als Piece o TD -24 available. 52 $59 .95 Cat. TD-2450 $ 95 34. 148 Piece 240 Volt Precision Drill Set This hobby drill kit is one of the most versatile around. Accessories include, 6 piece sanding band set, 7 piece polishing wheel set, polishing compound, 4 piece diamond cutter set, 3 piece HSS cutter set, 18 piece grinding wheel set, 5 piece wire brush set, 2 piece nylon brush set, 72 cut-off wheels, assorted collets & mandrels. Cat. TD-2454 $ 95 79. 200g Pocket Scale with 0.01g Resolution Accuracy & Performance! Small enough to fit into the smallest of pockets! Feature packed with auto power off, low battery indicator, Stainless steel platform and calibration weight, the readout is given in either grams, ounces, troy or pennyweight ounces. Cat. QM-7241 Measuring a mere $ 95 100(L)x62(W)x18(H)mm 99. Ref: Silicon Chip March 06. A Low cost method of standalone programming. The board contains 5 programming sockets, 1 for each group of micros with common ISP pin outs. Kit Includes: on board regulated power supply, clock source and microcontroller IC sockets. Designed in conjunction Cat. KC-5421 $ 95 with KC-5340 shown below. Power: 12VDC 150mA (use MP-3002) Beat the congestion and enjoy the reliability and assured picture quality a powerful 5.8GHz transmitter and receiver provides. Hassle-free sharing of audio and video signals all over your house, office, factory, or shop without the inconvenience Cat. AR-1840 and cost of 00 running wires. $ 249. IR Door Beam The perfect electronic entrance guarding device. Utilises infrared and microprocessing technologies to create a reliable and invisible infrared beam up to 20 metres. Requires 2 x 9V alkaline batteries (SB2423) or a 9VDC adaptor (MP-3003). TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 Mains Timer with LCD This unit has a switching contact rated at 30 amps, not 10 amps like the cheap ones from the hardware store. Featuring 8 on/off programmes across 16 combinations of days or blocks of days for unrivalled flexibility. There is a random function which will turn devices on and off at unspecified times of the day and a one touch "summer-time" G indoorreat for button to easily convert to g hydropardening, daylight saving Cat. MS-6110 on securit y lightiics, time when it $ 95 much m ng & ore. arrives. 29. Personal Ozone Sanitiser This sanitiser emits ozone that rapidly kills bacteria and neutralises odours. Absolutely safe and pollution free, this ozone sanitiser uses no chemicals or cover-up sprays. Requires: 6 x AA alkaline batteries (SB-2424) 39. Waterproof In-Ceiling 4" Speaker Cat. LA-5184 $ 95 49. This hand held thermometer takes the surface temperature of any object and, for more remote objects, the built-in laser pointer can be activated to ensure an accurate, on-sight reading from a distance. Features include a large, green backlit LCD readout, data hold & auto power off, C/F° switchable & a comfortable, Cat. QM-7222 SAVE lightweight, design. $ 95 $35 Limited Qty. Was $124.95 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au 99. Cat. GH-1192 $ 95 Non-Contact Digital Thermometer with Laser Guide FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING This battery selector provides a simple, solid-state solution for wiring redundant DC power sources. The independent batteries are connected to the unit and internally isolated while the critical load is connected to the single output. Current is drawn automatically and continuously from the battery with the highest charge. •Rated for 6-48VDC negative ground Cat. MB-3672 systems up to 70 amps $ 95 •Heavy duty marine grade construction •Complete with stainless steel mounting hardware. Great sound at a great price. This 100mm speaker features a polypropylene cone and aluminium grill making it the perfect unit for indoor/outdoor areas. Being waterproof its use around barbecue areas and swimming pools is unlimited. Installation is simple with the 4 moulded lock-downs. Cat. CS-2449 $ 95 89. 89. 1 Impedance Matching 8 Way Speaker Selector Bass, Treble & Volume Controller Module A perfect match for a multi-room sound system! Turn on up to 8 pairs of speakers without worrying about your amplifier blowing up. Housed in a rugged metal case, speakers are easily connected via the strong spring terminals mounted on the rear, and then quickly turned on and off via the front mounted push buttons. Up to two amplifiers PROTECT can be connected and selected. YOUR AMP • Max power: 100W RMS. This module enables you to add volume and tone control to any line level (1 Volt) amp. The circuit consists of an input buffer, a Baxandall-type basstreble network and output voltage divider type level control. It will give up to line level out. Mono. (Two required for stereo). Party Speakers Cheaper than hiring! Get your party pumpin' with the great party speakers. 12" - 100W RMS Cat. CS-2512 Box Size: 690 x 385 x 350mm $ 00 139. 15" - 120W RMS Cat. KG-9004 $ 95 Box Size: 740 x 505 x 350mm 16. 249. Composite Video to VGA Converter This neat device converts all region video signals into a non-interlaced VGA signal for monitors. With features such as, an on screen display and a slim line remote control, this converter box is user friendly and easily connected to your PC, video source, and video Cat. XC-4872 game consoles $ 95 without any software installation. 99. RCA Compression Crimp Connectors Use these RCA Crimp connectors for high end audio and video leads. Recommended for Pay TV, HDTV, Component and RGB. PP-0200 Red RCA PP-0201 Blue RCA PP-0202 Green RCA ALL TYPES PP-0203 White RCA $ 95 PP-0204 Yellow RCA 3. Automatic PSP UMD Disc Cleaner Keep your PSP games in tip-top condition so they last longer with this nifty little automatic UMD disc cleaner. Cat. XC-5196 $ 95 24. PSP Home Theatre Docking Station Turn your PSP into a mini Home Theatre System! This PSP charging station has retractable speakers with built-in amplifier, adjustable vertical stand and wireless remote control. Enjoy surround sound entertainment on your We als PSP wherever Cat. XC-5190 hug o have a $ 95 IPod®e range of you go! accesso ries 79. Active Desktop Speakers for iPod® Shuffle & MP3 This little four speaker beauty is the ideal way for you to listen to your MP3 or iPod® Shuffle music without the need for headphones. •105(L) x 105(H) x 60(D)mm •Recharges iPod® shuffle •Total Power 2 + 2 Watts •0.5m long AC adaptor provided 2 This projector mount will fit the majority of projectors on the market, handling models up to 20kgs. Made entirely from metal, this is a truly rugged unit which can meet the needs of most installations. With adjustable swivel and tilt, it can easily be secured to your Heavy ceiling with ease and aimed at Bracke Duty the right location for your t availabalso viewing le Cat. CW-2817 C W pleasure. -2818 $ 95 $ 9 9.95 •Projector not included 69. Wireless Indoor Speakers This 2.4GHz wireless speaker system consists of a stereo transmitter and receiver that lets you listen to music, radio, or just about any sound source anywhere around the house, without running messy wires. Cat. AR-1896 $ 95 59. 179. Speaker / Source Control Wall Plates Control the music around your home! With these inexpensive units, you can control volume, select speakers, and even sources! It allows you to wire your home with sound, while maintaining flexibility. See website for full details. Source and Speaker Switch Select between two sources Cat. AC-1677 $ 95 and distribute to one or both pairs of speakers. 19. 2 Way Speaker Switch Switch between two speaker Cat. AC-1679 $ 95 pairs quickly and easily. 19. 70W 12 Step Stereo Loudspeaker Attenuator Attenuates by up to 46dB on an 8-ohm system for tailored listening Cat. AC-1685 levels. $ 95 39. HDTV Distribution Amp 249. Wireless Audio Amplifier System This wireless amplifier system consists of a stereo transmitter and amplified receiver that can be placed anywhere around your house. Connect your speakers and listen to music wherever Cat. AR-1894 $ 00 you like. 199. Sound Level Meter Features include data hold, selectable time weighting in 2-stages, high and low range selection (35 to 100dB and 65 to 130dB), A&C weighting and an in-built calibration circuit. A tripod 3/8" thread is also provided, along with a removable foam windshield. The meter is powered by a single 9V battery (included) and includes a soft foam insert zip-up carry case, complete with shoulder strap. Limited quantity. Cat. QM-1588 SAVE Was $149.95 $ 95 $60 89. Portable Speakers Cat. XC-5188 $ 95 Buy 2 for $289 Save $69 Cat. CS-2515 $ 00 Ceiling Mount Projector Bracket Cat. AC-1682 $ 00 Buy 2 for $229 Save $49 This nifty little unit is compatible with iPods®, MP3 players, mobile phones, portable CD players, laptops and PC's. It folds into a tiny 90(L) x 65(H) x 60(W)mm compact box and weighs only 177g. Cat. XC-5186 $ 95 29. Now you don’t need multiple set top boxes! Now you can have top quality TV in more than one room. This unit distributes HDTV signals up to four ways without losing Cat. AC-1678 signal quality. Powered $ .00 from the supplied mains plugpack. 299 Analogue to Digital Audio / Composite to S-Video Converter Video conversion works both ways! This processor converts analogue to digital audio, as well as composite video to S-video and vice versa. It offers optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, which supports the sync record function. 9VDC power supply included. Cat. AC-1612 $ .95 89 Pre-Programmed Smart TV Remote Pre-programmed for over 600 models this remote operates the main functions of your TV and features large, easy to SAVE read buttons. $2.00 Was $21.95 Cat. AR-1703 $ .95 19 FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au PSP Accessory Kit Smart Fuel Mixture Display Kit Can Sized 140W 12VDC to 230VAC Inverter The ultimate accessory kit for your PSP. The kit includes an LCD screen protector providing 100% anti-glare viewing, 2 in 1 function USB-2 Power link cable, a PSP & UMD cleaning kit, car charger and a designer black leather strap. Cat. XC-5192 $ 95 29. This improved model has an emergency lean out alarm, better circuit protection and an auto dimming display. Kit includes PCB, and all electronic components. Cat. KC-5374 $ 95 Utilising the existing drink holders in cars, this inverter is held in place and doesn't need any modifications to vehicles. Featuring a 140W power output, this unit has the capability to run laptop computers and other Cat. MI-5120 equipment. $ 95 27. 69. Intercooler Water Spray Controller LCD TFT IN-CAR MONITORS Widescreen 7" TFT with IR Remote A truly versatile monitor with low power consumption, wide viewing angle and NTSC and PAL compatibility. Includes remote control. Ideal for use as a reversing monitor or to complete you in-car entertainment system. Ref: Silicon Chip March 2006 Simply add these few components to the Smart Fuel Mixture Display kit (KC5374) and reduce Cat. KC-5422 The best in $ 95 automotive water consumption kits! by two-thirds. Touch Screen 7" TFT Monitor 9. You'll be amazed at the high resolution and audio clarity of this unit, with the added feature of touch screen capabilities, that will enable use with a laptop /PCs , games consoles and endless other VGA operated devices. Remote Controlled 500,000 Candle Power Pan/Tilt Spotlight Ideal for boating, camping, security work, fishing, or for tour groups. It has an infrared remote control for horizontal rotation (360°) and vertical elevation (240°). The spotlight also includes a red strobe light and is fitted with a 1.2m power cord that is terminated to Cat. ST-3294 a standard 12VDC car cigarette $ 95 lighter plug. Cat. QM-3752 $ 00 249. Cat. QM-3749 $ 00 79. 549. Roof Mount 7" Widescreen TFT Keep your passengers entertained! This unit folds away when not in use and features two lamps so you can mount it in place of your interior light. The monitor accepts standard video signals, powered by 12 VDC and comes with a remote control. In Vehicle Colour Flush Mount Camera In-Dash Widescreen 7" TFT Mounting into a single DIN space, it can be retracted into its housing to avoid attracting thieves, or left out on display. Accepts standard video signals, powered by 12VDC, and includes a remote control. Cat. QM-3758 $ 00 329. Pictured with KC-5422 Having a viewing angle of 150 degrees and supplied with both power and video leads in the one cable, this rear-view vision camera is simple to install and ready to plug directly into your monitor. Cat. QC-3451 $ 00 Compatible with all our in-car monitors. 199. Cat. QM-3753 $ 00 369. Speaker Enclosures Affordable, high quality Subwoofer speaker boxes! Made from 17mm MDF these boxes are pre-carpeted with grey quality material and are internally lined with sound dampening material. As a finishing touch they come with recessed terminal posts with 750mm pre-wired length of speaker cable.Available in two sizes. CS-2533 Cat. CS-2535 10" 20 Litre Cat. CS-2533 Cat. $ 95 $ 95 12" 28 Litre Cat. CS-2535 49. 69. AWARD WINNING AMPLIFIERS! •2 x 150WRMS <at> 4 ohms •2 x 255WRMS <at>2 ohms •1 x 500WRMS <at>4 ohms •2 x 80WRMS <at> 4 ohms •2 x 100WRMS <at>2 ohms •1 x 200WRMS <at> 4 ohms Cat. AA-0420 $ 95 Cat. AA-0424 $ 95 249. 169. This is an ideal amplifier to drive multiple subwoofers wired at 4ohms, 2ohms or even 1ohm, and is a great choice for either sound quality or SPL applications. •1 x 400WRMS <at> 4 ohms •1 x 700WRMS <at> 2 ohms •1 x 820WRMS <at> 1ohm Cat. AA-0428 $ 00 399. Response Linkable Class D Amp Attention SPL enthusiasts and competitors! This competition series Class D amplifier belts out a whopping 1500WRMS <at> 1 ohm load. •1 x 800WRMS <at> 4 ohms •1 x 1000WRMS <at> 2 ohms •1 x 1500WRMS <at> 1 ohms Cat. AA-0429 $ 00 699. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 When it comes to delivering outstanding value for money & award winning performance nothing compares to Jaycar's range of car stereo amplifiers! Response 2 x 150WRMS Car Amp Response Car Amp 2x80WRMS Response Class D Amp Buy any of our In-C together w ar Monitors ith and receive this camera $30 combined pr off the ice INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Response 4 x 50WRMS Car Amp •4 x 50WRMS <at> 4ohms •4 x 80 WRMS <at> 2ohms •2 x 160WRMS <at> 4 ohms Cat. AA-0422 $ 95 199. Response Full Range Amp A full range amplifier to run a full range of speakers. Drawing a mere 50A at bridge mode producing a whopping 550WRMS of total power! •4 x 100WRMS <at> 4 ohms •4 x 150WRMS <at> 2 ohms •2 x 300 WRMS <at> 4 ohms Cat. AA-0425 $ 00 399. 3 Portable Intercom with Door Strike Release NETWORKING Wireless Network Access Point with 4 Port Router SAVE $10 This router allows communication with up to four wireless network computers. It includes support for WAN, web based and remote management, auto detection and configuration of ISP, built in firewall, and more! •IEEE 802.11g and IEEE 802.11b Cat. YN-8086 compatible. •Up to 54Mbps data $ 00 rate. •Static and dynamic routing. •VPN pass through. Was $179 169. Open the door from anywhere! This great unit acts as an intercom, with a wireless receiver. Take it out the back, or around the house. It also has electronic door strike control, so you can let your Cat. AI-5510 visitors in! $ 00 Was SAVE $129 $20 This affordable computer connect weather station monitors indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, rainfall, barometric pressure, wind speed & direction, wind chill, & dew point. 109. 3 Zone Wireless Home Alarm SAVE $50 399. Wireless Weather Station SAVE $10 Cat. XC-4885 $ 95 29. Boost Your Wireless Signal! Having trouble getting unwired? This wireless 3.5GHz Flat Panel 12dB wireless modem antenna replaces the existing 'rabbit ears' on your wireless broadband modem and boosts the signal to improve coverage. This antenna can be mounted inside the house or in a protected outside location for optimum reception. Supplied with 1 metre N type to MCX lead and mounting bracket. Cat. AR-3274 $ 95 Was $129.95 An affordable high quality wireless alarm system that you can take with you when you move. Cat. LA-5125 Supplied with a control panel, keypad, $ 00 siren, & wireless sensors. Was $199 149. 2.4GHz Wireless LCD Video Monitor This portable monitor is ideal for keeping an eye on a sleeping baby or kids in the back yard pool. Also useful for small office & commercial locations. Accepts up to four cameras. Battery operated. SAVE •65mm colour screen $20 •Audio & video output •Battery or mains power. Cat. QC-3596 $ 00 Was $299.00 279. modem not included SAVE $10 119. Unbelievable value. This package has a CMOS colour camera with IR illumination for night vision, a 2.4GHz transmitter/ receiver and plugpack. For camera Cat. QC-3269 specifications see $ 95 details on website or in-store. SAVE $159.05 Was $299.00 139. RFID - SECURE ACCESS WITHOUT KEYS! RFID Keypad Access Controller RFID Security Module Receiver Kit A card capacity of up to 500 RFID cards. It is designed to control door strikes in home or business access control installations. The unit allows 4 entry methods, password, proximity card, password + proximity card and egress push button entries. See our website for full specifications. Ref: Silicon Chip June 2004. This module provides normally open and normally closed relay contacts for flexibility. It works with all EM-4001 compliant RFID tags. Kit supplied with PCB, tag, and all electronic components. Cat. LA-5123 $ 00 169. No contact required. Control entry to a doorway, or an entire building. The unit can be used in a network of locks administered by a central location, or just to control access through a front door. It is12V powered, so you can use it in remote locations, SAVE and the reader unit is splash proof. $10 • 5 RFID cards included. Cat. LA-5120 • N.O and N.C relay contacts $ 00 Was $199 189. 4 The receiver incorporates a 45mm colour screen and speaker so you can both see and hear your baby. The receiver can also be powered by the mains adaptor (included) for use in fixed locations. The camera has IR for night vision capability, as well as a microphone and can be battery or Cat. QC-3280 $ 00 mains powered. Was $299 SAVE $100 199. Use any ordinary USB flash drive to store your favourite MP3 files and play them through your car's FM radio. Was $69.95 Cat. GE-4030 SAVE $ 95 59. $10 Colour Wireless Video Door Phone 89. Keyfob Style RFID Tag With the use of RFID modules, you can control entry, authenticate users, and more. Each tag transmits a unique 40 bit code that is pre-programmed and subsequently recognised by the receiver module. They work with any reader supporting EM-4001 compliant tags. Measures 31(W) x 40(L) x 5(H)mm. It is around the same size as a standard credit card. Portable Video Baby Monitor with LCD Screen Wireless MP3 Modulator For Vehicles Cat. KC-5393 $ 95 Card Style RFID Tag This weather station has an unbeatable range of features. The system measures inside and outside temperature, air pressure, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, direction, and chill factor without messy wiring. •0 to 100km/h wind speed •-40°C to +60°C outdoor temp •Predicts weather trend SAVE Was Visit a $50 ycar to $249 our exJte view o f weathnsive range Cat. XC-0293 er stati o $ 00 ns! 199. 2.4GHz Surveillance Package Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) is a contact free method of controlling an event such as a door strike or alarm etc. An ‘RFID Tag’ transmits a unique code when energised by the receiver’s magnetic field. As long as a preprogrammed tag is recognised by the receiver, access is granted. RFID Access Control System Th stationis weather supp the dais ta o lying websit n our e! Cat. XC-0291 $ 00 WiFi 'Hot Spot' and Wireless Camera Finder This key fob sized device will tell you when you are in a WiFi capable location and indicate the strength of the signal at the press of a button. It will also detect the signals transmitted by wireless surveillance cameras that may be observing you un-noticed. Was $39.95 Wireless Weather Station with PC Interface Cat. ZZ-8950 $ 95 9. Cat. ZZ-8952 $ 95 5. This system is neat and feature packed. The compact internal unit houses a clear 1.8" LCD display, control buttons and can accommodate up to 4 cameras which can be mounted up to 100m away from the receiver. The camera has IR illumination so you can identify who is at the door even in poor light conditions. With this system, you can see who is at the door, answer the door from anywhere in your premises and let them in should you use the optional door strike release. Includes one camera, monitor, and mounting Cat. QC-3625 00 hardware. 599. CMOS Camera 2.4GHz To suit Wireless Video Door phone Cat. QC-3626 $299.00 FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Dome Camera Vari-Focal with L Bracket Housed in a strong die-cast aluminium base and Lshaped bracket with a reinforced polycarbonate dome, these vari-focal dome cameras are extremely rugged to withstand the harshest of environments. See our website for full Cat. QC-3294 $ 00 specifications. Was $229 SAVE $20 209. Corner Mounting Dummy Camera This realistic dummy camera can have a standard board camera fitted, to convert it to a real working camera. Was $29.95 Cat. LA-5312 $ 95 24. SAVE $5.00 SECURE YOUR HOME WITH THIS SIMPLE DO-IT-YOURSELF ALARM KIT Eight Zone Alarm System This advanced eight zone Alarm System is easy to set-up and provides a high level of user security. Installation is simplified by the use of a unique non-polarised two-wire technology that eliminates reversed wiring and makes installation almost foolproof. The alarm unit is operated via a key-fob infrared remote control that also has a panic alarm. Alarm kit includes: Cat. LA-5477 1 x Control Panel, 1 x PIR, $ 00 1 x Door Sensor, and 1 x Infrared Receiver 249. 4 Zone also available LA-5475 $199 See our Website for full specifications Buy the 2 wire 8 zone Alarm Kit to receive 20% off any additional reed switches, PIRs, Keyfob Remotes or alarm cable purchased at the same time (offer is valid for April only) Spare Remote Control Cat. LA-5479 $ 95 24. Colour CCD Pinhole Camera This tiny camera is ideal for remote surveillance situations where a big expensive camera would be obtrusive. It has a composite video output so it can be connected directly to a video recorder or the A/V input of a normal TV. Was $199.00 Cat. QC-3493 $ 00 SAVE $20 Infrared Remote Receiver Up to 7 keyfobs can be registered. Additional PIRs NO/NC Reed Switch Cat. LA-5478 $ 95 Cat. LA-5476 $ 95 Cat. LA-5070 $ 25 29. 39. Professional Camera Housing with IR and Heater Colour CCD Camera This weather resistant enclosure is ideal for protecting our professional range of CCD security cameras from wind and rain in sheltered outdoor situations. The ABS plastic housing features a glass lens for clear vision, LED illumination for night vision, and a ventilation fan and heater to remove moisture and eliminate condensation. See our website for our full range of professional cameras. Bracket to suit: QC-3387 $19.95 Cat. QC-3386 Professional Camera Housing $ 95 without IR & Heater: QC-3385 $59.95 179. CCD Camera Extension Leads Makes extending a CCTV camera cable easy. Fitted with BNC plug to plug, RCA plug to plug, DC power connectors. Cat. WQ-7275 5m $21.95 Cat. WQ-7276 10m $32.95 Cat. WQ-7277 15m $46.95 Cat. WQ-7278 20m $56.95 2.4GHz Weather Resistant Wireless Colour CCD Camera with IR LEDs Night vision! As well as 420TV line resolution, this camera has 27 integrated infrared LEDs to see in the dark. It is weatherproof, great for mounting under eaves, and a mains plugpack is included. QC-3588 receiver required. Two channels available: Were Channel 3 Cat. QC-3564 $269 Channel 4 Cat. QC-3565 each 12VDC 300mA regulated plugpack. Terminates to a 2.1mm DC plug, centre positive. Cat. MP-3011 $ 95 17. Flickerless Colour CCD Camera with Sony Sensor Cat. QC-3307 $ 00 299. This commercial quality camera delivers a flickerless digital colour image via a Sony CCD SAVE image sensor. Suitable for $10 high-end surveillance installations, the flickerless ability of this camera makes it ideal for recorded surveillance or applications that demand a high quality, Cat. QC-3309 stable, no compromise to picture. $ 00 Was $249 239. SAVE $20 Both Types $ ea 249 SAVE This versatile B&W CCD $10 Camera utilises a 1/3" Samsung image sensor chip and can accommodate either a fixed or Auto Iris lens of both C and CS type. The camera can be mounted on a wall or ceiling bracket or fitted inside Cat. QC-3310 $ 00 our protective outdoor housing. Was $99 89. Lenses to suit our Professional Range of Cameras Mounting adaptors included. 4mm Lens 6mm Lens 8mm Lens Cat. QC-3315 Cat. QC-3316 Cat. QC-3317 FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 169. Infrared Security Spotlight The long range beam has a range of 30 metres and will switch on automatically as darkness falls. INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Cat. QC-3652 $ 95 79. Higher p spotlig ower availab ht also le QC-3 655 $249 Attaché Cases with Foam Insert PROFESSIONAL CAMERAS Pro Style B&W CCD Camera with High Resolution Colour CCD Camera Auto- Iris Controller and Audio with Auto-Iris Control This excellent camera features a high resolution 1/3" Panasonic CCD sensor giving a resolution of 480 TV Lines. Built in auto-iris controller. Disguised as a Smoke Detector Featuring a Sony CCD sensor this camera is ideal for covert, indoor surveillance applications. Cat. QC-3555 $ 00 99. CCD Camera Power Supply 6. All Types (ea) $ 50 29. Ideal for cameras, video and test equipment. These cases feature removable 15mm square foam pieces so you can make an exact size hole to suit your valuable equipment. Cases are lockable and supplied with two keys and a carry strap. HB-6355 Small (Measures 407(W) x 277(D) x 95(H)mm) Was $39.95 HB-6356 Large (Measures 450(W) x 320(D) x 145(H)mm) Was $69.95 Cat. HB-6355 SAVE $ 95 34. Cat. HB-6356 $ 95 59. $5.00 SAVE $10 Aluminium Attaché Case A high quality case supplied with tool pallet, which can be removed if not required. Lid includes a document holder and the SAVE padded case includes 5 $10 dividers that can be rearranged or removed. Lockable and includes two keys. Measures: 450(W) x 320(D) x 145(H)mm Cat. HB-6352 Was $49 $ 00 39. 5 40 Channel UHF Pocket CB Radio Cheap short distance communication! They operate up to 5km in an open field, or 1km in the city. Lots of accessories available, see our website for full details. Cat. DC-1010 $ 95 Buy 2 fo r $5 Save $1 9.95 0 34. 1.5W UHF CB Massive range! This high-quality light-weight UHF transceiver is ideal for use in many professional and leisure activities. Up to 8km working range with a hi/lo setting to conserve power. Was $89.95 Rechargeable 40 Channel UHF Transceiver Great range, great features! Since the outstanding success of our popular DC-1010 transceiver, it only seemed logical to refine the design, adding a few enhancements along the way. It is a lot more compact, measuring just 53(W) x 95(H) x 32(D)mm. It uses a small rechargeable battery pack, and is supplied with a dual charging cradle. You can still of course use AAA batteries as a backup. Four step scrambling is also provided for private communications, making this transceiver just plain fantastic! Supplied with one transceiver and a charging cradle. Was $69.95 Buy 2 for $141.90 Save $18 SAVE $10 Cat. DC-1040 $ 95 79. Cat. DC-1025 $ 95 49. Smart Home Cable Tester Buy an extra transceiver (DC-1028) for just $39.95! Save $10! Cat. QP-2274 $ 95 199. Simple but effective! This attachment fits over the end of your torch with a patented mouth piece to allow you to safely bite down on it to hold the torch in place. It also includes a Cat. ST-3405 neck lanyard. $ 95 7. Belt Pouch for Maglites® Not your average belt pouch! This great nylon carry pouch allows you to secure your Maglight safely to your belt. With real world use in mind, it also has a small pouch to carry two spare AA or AAA batteries. 6. Great for every tradesman's pocket! Gives an audible and visual indication on energised circuits. It has an unlimited lifetime warranty, and is rated at CAT III 600V. Cat. QP-2290 $ 00 Bite Light Attachment for Maglights Cat. ST-3408 $ 95 Volt Sensor VDV Multimedia Cable Tester. Tests all common low voltage cabling systems found in today's automated homes such as Voice, Data, and Video Networks. Comes with remote unit. Bite Light Maglite® Accessories SAVE $20 24. Fibre Optic Adaptor for Maglites® Thin and flexible! Light only travels in straight lines, but you can make it bend with this Fibre Optic adaptor. A small attachment fits right over the head of your torch to give you a flexible light source for inspecting in tight places. 3mm diameter cable. Quality Japanese Made GOOT Soldering Equipment Antistatic Temperature Controlled Soldering Station Lead Free Soldering Station This is an industrial quality product. SAVE If you are required to work $50 on 'Reduction of Hazardous Substance' equipment, you must use lead free solder. This quality Japanese-made station will go from cold to 350°C in Cat. TS-1490 six seconds! See our website for full $ 00 specifications. Was $599 549. Lead Free Solder Works just as well as ordinary solder but contains no harmful lead. Supplied on a 45g roll with handy cover and available in two sizes. Cat. NS-3082 Cat. NS-3084 0.9mm dia. 1.0mm dia. Cat. NS-3082 $ 95 Cat. NS-3084 $ 95 15. 15. Desolder Braid Cat. NS-3026 1.5mm Goot Desolder Braid Cat. NS-3027 2mm Goot Desolder Braid Cat. NS-3028 3mm Goot Desolder Braid Cat. NS-3026 $ 95 4. 6 Cat. NS-3027 $ 95 4. Cat. NS-3028 $ 95 4. High temperature stability and antistatic properties make it ideal for all sorts of soldering work. Cat. TS-1440 $ .00 229 13W Lightweight Soldering Pencil This is the most delicate direct mains iron we have ever seen! It features a comfortable non-slip rubber finger grip Cat. TS-1446 and, as one would expect with a $ 95 lightweight soldering pencil, are balanced perfectly when held. 39. 46W Soldering Iron This soldering iron offers exceptional heat recovery. With its high insulation and low current leakage, soldering of precision flat ICs and CMOS is safe. Deluxe Cat. TS-1430 $ 95 59. Desoldering Tool Japanese build quality with a large Cat. TH-1856 vacuum chamber for extremely $ 95 strong suction. 24. Cat. ST-3410 $ 95 14. LED Upgrade Kits for Maglites® Upgrade your AA, C, or D battery size Maglite® to LED technology and prolong your battery life. With the AA Maglite® upgrade, you get up to 4 times the battery life. With the C and D size upgrade kit, you can boost the battery life by up to 10 times!! Two models available: Cat. ST-3400 to suit AA Mini Maglite® Cat. ST-3402 to suit 2 -6 cell C/D size Maglite® Cat. ST-3400 $ 75 Cat. ST-3402 $ 95 14. 21. Super Pro Gas Soldering Tool Kit This kit contains a Portasol Super Pro Gas Soldering Iron and various tips. •Quality storage case. •Cleaning sponge and tray. Cat. TS-1328 $ 00 139. Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner This tin contains powdered solder and non-corrosive flux, so all you need to do is dip your hot soldering tip in, and it will clean and tin in one simple action. Supplied in a 15g tin. Cat. TS-1512 $ 50 6. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Battery Refresher Lead acid car, boat or truck batteries can easily become 'sulphated' if left for even a few weeks without use. This sulphation if left long enough, will render the battery useless. This unit can restore the battery by generating a series of high voltage D.C pulses over time. It will not resuscitate an absolutely dead Cat. MB-3660 battery but is surprisingly successful $ 95 with marginal to crook ones. 49. All in One Battery Tester 2Amp Regulated DC-DC Converter Here's a modern day battery tester to suit all your needs. This handy unit will test all types of batteries currently out there on the market including standard AA/AAA/C/D and 9V batteries, button cells and lithium batteries such as those used in digital cameras. The LCD display indicates the level of capacity so you'll never get caught out on a day trip with Cat. QP-2253 $ 95 1/2 flat batteries in your digital camera. This converter will operate on 12 and 24 volt car and truck systems and plugs directly into the cigarette lighter socket. Output voltages are 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9 and 12VDC at 2,000mA, fully regulated. The adaptor is suitable for use with most personal stereos, CD/MD players, LCD TV, Digital cameras, electronic games, etc. 19. Modified Square Wave Inverters AAA Battery Bank with Alligator Clips and Switch Provide 3VDC power through two Alligator Clips by using 2xAAA batteries. Great value! With a host of safety features such as overload & short circuit protection, dielectric isolation between the battery and secondary voltages and more. They all have excellent surge ratings and boast over 90% efficiency. Cat. MP-3071 $ 95 9. Battery Back-up Module 28V/25A This unit enables you to automatically switch to a battery back up if the primary power is interrupted or fails. For example, if you have a portable refrigerator running from alternator power. If you stop the engine driving the alternator, this unit will switch a backup battery to run the fridge or any other DC appliance within rating. When the alternator power is restored the power will be derived from that source automatically with the bonus that the Cat. MB-3675 back up battery will be automatically $ 95 recharged via the module. 69. Solar Charging Controller This solid state charge controller is suitable for both wet-cell and sealed lead-acid batteries and is potted in epoxy resin making it splash proof and suitable for use in areas of high humidity. •Max input voltage 26VDC •Max input current 6 amps •Battery system voltage 12VDC Cat. MP-3128 $ 95 39. Power Surge VDC VAC Cat. No. Price 150W (450W) 12 to 230 MI-5102 $48.95 Run a laptop computer, recharge batteries, run lights or even a small TV etc. Great for camping and road trips. 300W (1000W)12 to 230 MI-5104 $89.00 Typical Application include for use with Laptop computers, recharging power tools or batteries, lamps and fluorescents up to 300W, 34cm televisions etc. Was $99.95 Save $10 400W (1200W) 12 to 230 MI-5106 $159.95 Suits Laptops, lamps, and fluorescents up to 300W, 34cm TVs etc 400W (1200W) 24 to 230 MI-5107 $149.95 This inverter will deliver up to 400 watts of continuous power, while supplying surge currents up to a massive 1200 watts. Was $169.95 Save $20 600W (1500W) 12 to 230 MI-5108 $249.95 Suits power tools, 68cm TVs, blenders, small fridges, etc 800W (2000W) 12 to 230 MI-5110 $299.95 Suits power tools, 68cm TVs, blenders, small fridges, microwaves etc 1000W (2500W) 12 to 230 MI-5112 $399.95 Suits Hi-Fi systems, computers, 68cm TVs, lighting, fridges etc 1500W (3500W) 12 to 230 MI-5114 $599.95 Suits large TVs, many power tools, lighting, computers etc SOL AR PAN E LS BP Solar Polycrystalline Solar Panels Amorphous Type Solar Panels These offer excellent quality, and value for money. Be aware of cheap Amorphous solar panels which will simply not give the claimed output power. All our panels will give the claimed power at 33.5°S latitude, i.e.Sydney. Amorphous power output gradually decreases over the years, unlike polycrystalline which do not. Voltage 6 Volt 12 Volt 12 Volt 12 Volt 12 Volt Power 1 Watt 2 Watt 4 Watt 10 Watt 15 Watt Cat No. ZM-9020 ZM-9024 ZM-9026 ZM-9030 ZM-9045 Price $29.95 $39.95 $69.95 $139 $199 Top quality panels at a great price! Each panel has an array of 36 Polycrystalline cells, that can charge 12V batteries in virtually any climate. They are built to last, and designed to withstand a 25mm hail stone traveling at terminal velocity. They are mounted in an anodised aluminium frame that is weather proof and corrosion resistant. See website for full details. Power 10W 20W 80W Warranty 10 Year 10 Year 20 Year FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Cat ZM-9060 ZM-9062 ZM-9069 Price $249 $399 $899 Cat. MP-3038 $ 95 24. Laptop Power Supply for Cars This compact laptop power supply will deliver up to 6 amps <at> 20 volts and is supplied with a range of adaptors to suit most computers.The voltage selector switch is easily accessed and is recessed to eliminate accidental changes to the selected voltage. Perfect for travelling Cat. MP-3467 executives or sales reps who need $ 95 mobile computing power. 69. WIND TURBINE GENERATOR A serious wind turbine at a breakthrough price! 12V and 24V MODELS NOW AVAILABLE! It will generate 200 watts at wind speed as low as 8 metres per second and will deliver useful power with a gentle 3 metre/sec breeze or give up to 300 watts at higher wind velocities. The 71kg unit features a 3 phase permanent magnet alternator with a serious 2.1 metre diameter 3 blade rotor. The unit will withstand wind speeds of 40m/sec (144km/hr). Some skill is required in construction e.g. concreting, mechanical assembly and rigging. 12V model now available MG-4512 This product is supplied in three boxes, with a combined weight of 86kg. NB. Due to the weight and size not all stores will have these in stock. The store can order the unit for you and have it delivered to your site (freight costs are additional). See our website or catalogue for further specifications. Cat. MG-4512 Cat. MG-4510 12 Volt $499.00 24 Volt $499.00 7 HIGH PERFORMANCE ELECTRONIC PROJECTS FOR CARS Clock Watcher's LED Clocks They consist of an AVR driven clock circuit, and also produces a dazzling display with the 60 LEDs around the perimeter. It looks amazing, but can't be properly explained here. We have filmed it in action so you can see for yourself on our website www.jaycarelectronics.com. Kit supplied with double sided silkcreened plated through hole PCB and all board components as well as the special clock housing! Available in Red and Blue Red Cat. KC-5404 $ 00 129. High Performance Electronic Projects for Cars Australia's leading electronics magazine Silicon Chip, has developed a range of projects for performance cars. There are 16 projects in total, ranging from devices for remapping fuel curves, to nitrous controllers, and more! The book includes all instructions, components lists, colour pictures, and circuit layouts. There are also chapters on engine management, advanced systems and DIY modifications. Over 150 pages! Cat. BS-5080 $ 80 All the projects are available in kit form. 19. High Range Adjustable Temperature Switch with LCD This temperature switch can be set anywhere up to 1200°C, so it is extremely versatile. The relay can be used to trigger an extra thermo fan on an intercooler, Cat. KC-5376 mount a sensor near your turbo $ 95 manifold and trigger water spray cooling, or a simple buzzer or light to warn you of a Ideal for high temperature. The LCD displays monitoring the temperature all the time, which exhaust and brake can easily be dash mounted. temperatures 1200°C RANGE! 69. Blue Cat. KC-5416 $ 95 189. Freecall Orders: Ph 1800 022 888 Freecall Orders Ph 0800 452 9227 8 Ref: Silicon Chip Dec. 2005. A high energy 0.9ms spark burns fuel faster and more efficiently to give you more power! This versatile kit can be connected to conventional points, twin points or reluctor ignition systems. Includes PCB, case and all electronic components. Cat. KC-5419 $ 95 94. Lead-Acid Battery Zapper Kit Ref: Silicon Chip November 05 Enables you to drive up to two stereo headphones from any line level (1volt peak to peak) input. The circuit features a facility to drive headphones with impedances from about 8-600 ohms. The Jaycar kit comes with all specified board components and Cat. KC-5417 $ 95 quality fibreglass tinned PCB. 29. Ref: Silicon Chip October 05. To ensure the best possible performance to the Headphone Amplifier Kit, this will provide regulated +/- 15V and +5 outputs. Toroidal transformer required Cat. KC-5418 use MT2086 $ 95 39. 17. The 'Flexitimer' Ref. Electronics Australia March 1991 We have revised the original design and now provide two modes of operation. The original on-shot count down mode is retained and we have added an interval mode with a 50% duty cycle. The kit can switch a number of different output devices and may be powered by a battery or mains plug pack. •Kit includes PCB & all components! Cat. KA-1732 $ 95 •Requires 12- 15V DC (use Cat. MP-3006 plug pack). 18. The SHORT CIRCUITS LEARNING SYSTEM USB Experimenter's Interface Kit Interface your computer to the real world. There are five digital and two variable gain analogue inputs. Eight digital and two analogue outputs are available. Supplied with all components, silk screened PCB, assembly manual and software. Cat. KV-3600 $ 95 69. The Short Circuits learning system is a great way to learn electronics. It is fun, informative, and you build great projects along the way. Short Circuits Two Kit Sound Level Meter Short Circuits Three Kit Simple FM Microphone PRICES VALID TO END APRIL 2006 24. Headphone Amplifier Power Supply Kit Ref: Silicon Chip July 05. This kit uses high-energy pulses to reverse the damaging effects of plate sulphation and extend the life in wet-cell batteries. Supplied with case, leads, and all electronic components. Cat. KC-5414 $ 95 This FM transmitter has many possible uses including baby room monitor, wireless microphone or spy bug. It can be picked up on any FM radio. •Kit includes PCB, electret microphone, 9V battery and electronic components. It makes a great motor controller, to control an electronic water pump, additional fuel Cat. KC-5382 pump, cooling fans $ 95 and more. It is suitable for use with most fuel injectors, or pumps and motors up to 10 amps. Kit supplied with PCB and all electronic components. •Please note that the use of Nitrous Oxide systems is for race use only. Use of these systems on the street is illegal. Stereo Headphone Distribution Amplifier Kit YOUR LOCAL JAYCAR STORE Universal High Energy Ignition Kit NEW SOUTH WALES Albury Ph (02) 6021 6788 Alexandria Ph (02) 9699 4699 Bankstown Ph (02) 9709 2822 Blacktown Ph (02) 9678 9669 Bondi Junction Ph (02) 9369 3899 Brookvale Ph (02) 9905 4130 Campbelltown Ph (02) 4620 7155 Erina Ph (02) 4365 3433 Hornsby Ph (02) 9476 6221 Newcastle Ph (02) 4965 3799 Parramatta Ph (02) 9683 3377 Penrith Ph (02) 4721 8337 Silverwater Ph (02) 9741 8557 St. Leonards Ph (02) 9439 4799 Sydney City Ph (02) 9267 1614 Taren Point Ph (02) 9531 7033 Wollongong Ph (02) 4226 7089 VICTORIA Coburg Ph (03) 9384 1811 Frankston Ph (03) 9781 4100 Geelong Ph (03) 5221 5800 Melbourne Ph (03) 9663 2030 Ringwood Ph (03) 9870 9053 Springvale Ph (03) 9547 1022 Sunshine Ph (03) 9310 8066 QUEENSLAND Aspley Ph (07) 3863 0099 Mermaid Beach Ph (07) 5526 6722 Townsville Ph (07) 4772 5022 Underwood Ph (07) 3841 4888 Woolloongabba Ph (07) 3393 0777 AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Canberra Ph (02) 6239 1801 TASMANIA Hobart Ph (03) 6272 9955 SOUTH AUSTRALIA Adelaide Ph (08) 8231 7355 Clovelly Park Ph (08) 8276 6901 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Perth Ph (08) 9328 8252 NORTHERN TERRITORY Darwin Ph (08) 8948 4043 NEW ZEALAND Christchurch Ph (03) 379 1662 Glenfield Ph (09) 444 4628 Hamilton Ph (07) 846 0177 Manukau Ph (09) 263 6241 Newmarket Ph (09) 377 6421 Wellington Ph (04) 801 9005 Nitrous Fuel Mixture / Motor Speed Controller Cat. KJ-8078 $ 95 9. Make your own fancy volume level display you see on DJ mixing desks where the columns of light dance up and down with the music. Connect it to the output of your CD, tape player or radio. Recommended box - UB5 Cat. HB-6015 $2.50ea Cat. KJ-8212 $ 95 12. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au SILICON CHIP Order Form/Tax Invoice Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd ABN 49 003 205 490 www.siliconchip.com.au PRICE GUIDE: SUBSCRIPTIONS YOUR DETAILS (Note: all subscription prices include P&P). (Aust. prices include GST) Your Name________________________________________________________ (PLEASE PRINT) Organisation (if applicable)___________________________________________ Please state month to start. Australia: 1 yr ...................... $A89.50 1 yr + binder ....................... $A105 NZ (air): 1 yr ....................... $A96 Overseas (air): 1 yr ............. $A135 2 yrs ...................... $A172 2 yrs + 2 binders .... $A203 2 yrs ...................... $A190 2 yrs ...................... $A260 Address__________________________________________________________ PRICE GUIDE: OTHER PRODUCTS _________________________________________________________________ Postcode_____________ Daytime Phone No. ( )_____________________ Email address (if applicable) ___________________________________________ (all prices include GST on Aust. orders) *SILICON CHIP BACK ISSUES in stock: 10% discount for 10 or more issues or photocopies. Australia: $A9.50 ea (including p&p). Overseas: $A13 each (including p&p by air). Method of Payment: *ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA: project photocopies. Australia: $A9.50 each (including p&p). Overseas: $A13 each (including p&p by air). o Cheque/Money Order o Visa Card o Master Card *BINDERS: BUY 5 or more and get them postage free. (Available in Aust. only): $A13.95 each plus $7 p&p per order. *ELECTRONICS PROJECTS FOR CARS, VOL.2: Aust. $A14.95; Overseas $A18.00. (Prices include p&p & GST where applicable). Card No. *PERFORMANCE ELECTRONICS FOR CARS: Aust. $A22.50; Overseas $A26.00. (Prices include p&p & GST where applicable). Card expiry date: Signature_____________________________ SUBSCRIBERS QUALIFY FOR 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL SILICON CHIP PRODUCTS* * except subscriptions/renewals Qty Item Price Item Description Subscribe to SILICON CHIP on-line at: www.siliconchip.com.au Both printed and on-line versions available Total TO PLACE YOUR ORDER siliconchip.com.au P&P if extra Total Price BUY MOR 10 OR ISSU E BACK ES A 1 0 & G ET DISC % OUN T $A Phone (02) 9939 3295 9am-5pm Mon-Fri Please have your credit card details ready OR Fax this form to (02) 9939 2648 with your credit card details 24 hours 7 days a week OR Mail this form, with your cheque/money order, to: Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW, April 2006 61 Australia 2097 04/06 By JIM ROWE 4-Channel A/V Selector Do you have to swap A-V cables at the back of your TV set each time you want to switch between your DVD player, VCR, set-top box and camcorder? Is so, this project will solve that problem. It lets you select any one of four S-video or composite video sources and also switches the accompanying stereo audio or bitstream digital audio. T HERE ARE PLENTY of audiovideo (A-V) source selectors available off-the-shelf but here’s a low-cost unit that you can build yourself. It’s easy to assemble and you will no longer have to muck about swapping A-V cables each time you want to change the video source. The unit provides 4-channel switching for both S-video and composite video sources but why not provide for component video and RGB as well? And why didn’t we allow for switching 5.1-channel or even 7.1-channel audio, instead of settling for just stereo/Pro 62 Silicon Chip consideration to providing for component video/RGB switching. However, this would have required at least four extra relays, five extra video connectors and a larger and more expensive box to house the circuitry. So considering that most of the wide-screen TVs and plasma panel screens which accept component video also have at least two input ports, we decided to draw the line at S-video and composite video switching. Audio switching Logic or digital bitstream audio? There’s a simple one-word answer to these questions: cost. If we had provided those extra options, the circuit complexity would have grown significantly and the parts to build the selector would probably have cost you $150 or more, instead of the $50 or so that this unit will cost. In short, there had to be a compromise between providing all of the features anyone might want and making it attractive to as many people as possible. During the design phase, we did give Similarly, we decided not to worry about switching 5.1 or 7.1-channel analog audio, because in most cases these multiple channels must be decoded from Dolby Digital/AC-3 or DTS digital surround signals – and these are provided in the latter form by most DVD players, set-top boxes and so on. So since the digital decoders are mostly built into surround sound amplifiers anyway (and are usually better than the decoders built into DVD players), there’s no real need to select the decoded and separated analog audio signals. It’s far simpler siliconchip.com.au and more efficient to select the digital bitstream signals instead. In fact, we believe this compromise approach has provided a selector unit which will serve the needs of the vast majority of people. How it works Our Four-Channel A-V Selector is really very simple. Essentially, it’s just a set of four 4-pole switches, with two poles switching the video for each channel and the other two the audio. The only reason we’re not actually using a 4-pole, 4-position mechanical switch is that they’re no longer readily available. So instead we’re using eight mini DPDT relays – four to switch the video signals and four to switch the audio. These relays are driven by separate driver circuits, in turn controlled by a one-of-four selector circuit. Fig.1 shows the circuit details. The signal switching circuitry is at upper left and uses one relay to switch the two audio channels for each A-V source and a second relay to switch the video signal (ie, Y and C for S-video or the single composite video signal). siliconchip.com.au In this case, Relays 1 & 5 switch the signals for Source 1, while Relays 4 & 8 switch the signals for Source 4. The remaining four relays (for Sources 2 & 3) are identically configured but have been omitted from the diagram for clarity. The coils for each pair of relays are connected in parallel and driven together by 2N7000 MOSFETs (Q1-Q4). However, only Q1 & Q4 are shown on the schematic, again for clarity. The rest of the circuit performs the one-of-four selection. It’s based on just two low-cost CMOS ICs: a 4093B quad Schmitt NAND gate (IC1) and a 4017B decade counter (IC2). IC1a is connected as a free-running relaxation oscillator, operating at about 20kHz. Its output pulses are fed to one of the clock inputs (CP0, pin 14) of IC2 via gates IC1b & IC1d, the latter connected as an inverter. This means that the clock pulses from IC1a cannot reach the clock input of IC2 unless pin 5 of IC1b is pulled high (ie, to “open the gate”). Normally, however, this pin is held low by pin 10 of IC1c, as this gate has both of its inputs pulled high – one directly and the other via a 10kW resistor. As a result, when power is first applied to the circuit, IC1a begins oscillating but none of its pulses can reach IC2 to start the counter. Instead, IC2 is merely reset by the 100nF capacitor and 10kW resistor connected to its MR input (pin 15) and then just sits in this state. This in turn means that the only output of IC2 which is at a logic high is its O0 output (pin 3) and so all the relay driver circuits are off. Now consider what happens when one of the four selector pushbuttons (S1-S4) is pressed. Because IC2’s O1O4 outputs are all initially low, pressing any one of these buttons results in pin 9 of IC1c being pulled low as well. As a result, pin 10 of IC1c switches high and pulls pin 5 of IC1b high. IC1b now allows clock pulses from IC1a to pass through to IC2 via IC1d, which means that IC2 immediately begins counting. But it only does so until the output connected to the pressed pushbutton goes high. As soon as this happens, pin 9 of IC1c switches high and its output switches low, thus pulling pin 5 of IC1b low again and preventing any further clock pulses from reaching IC2. Specifications Video Inputs: four channels (four S-video sockets & four RCA composite video sockets). Audio Inputs: four left & right channels (via RCA sockets). Outputs: one video channel (S-video and RCA connectors) plus left and right audio channels (RCA connectors). Switching: via relays, with selection via front panel pushbutton switches and LED indicators Power Supply: 12V DC plugpack (rated at 150mA or more). April 2006 63 Par t s Lis t 1 PC board, code 02104061, 198 x 157mm 1 low-profile ABS instrument case, 225 x 165 x 40mm (Jaycar HB-6972, Altronics H 0474) 5 double RCA sockets, PCmount 5 mini 4-pin DIN sockets, 90° PC-mount 5 panel-mounting RCA sockets, yellow 1 2.5mm concentric DC socket, PC-mount 4 SPST pushbutton switches (Jaycar SP-0700, Altronics S 1084) 8 mini (DIL) 12V DPDT relays 10 6G x 6mm-long self-tapping screws 8 PC board terminal pins, 1mm diameter 1 12V 150mA DC plugpack Semiconductors 1 4093B quad Schmitt NAND (IC1) 1 4017B decade counter (IC2) 1 78L05 5V regulator (REG1) 4 2N7000 Mosfets (Q1-Q4) 4 3mm red LED (LED1-LED4) 1 3mm green LED (LED5) 5 1N4004 diodes (D1-D5) Capacitors 1 2200mF 25V RB electrolytic 1 10mF 16V RB electrolytic 2 100nF multilayer monolithic 1 100nF MKT polyester 1 4.7nF MKT polyester Resistors (0.25W 1%) 1 22kW 1 390W 2 10kW 4 100W 4 1kW As a result, IC2 stops with its O1, O2, O3 or O4 output high (depending on which button was pressed). This high output turns on its associated relay driver transistor, thus activating the relays for that channel and feeding the selected A-V signals through to the output sockets. This same process is repeated if any of the other buttons is pressed, of course. In this case, IC2 is simply re-activated and counts clock pulses until the output connected to the 64 Silicon Chip newly pressed button switches high. IC2 then stops again, with that output now effectively latched high instead of the previously selected output. This counting process happens so quickly that, from the user’s point of view, the new A-V source is selected as soon as its button is pressed. And because of the latching action, the chosen input source remains selected while ever the circuit is supplied with power or until one of the other selection buttons is pressed. Diodes D1-D4 across the relay coils are there to protect transistors Q1-Q4 from transient back-EMF “spikes” when the relays switch off. In addition, a red LED and a series current-limiting resistor are connected across each pair of relay coils, to indicate which channel has been selected. And that’s just about all there is to it – apart from the power supply. Power comes from a 12V DC 150mA plugpack, with diode D5 providing reverse polarity protection. The resulting +12V DC rail is filtered using a 2200mF capacitor and powers the relays and the indicator LEDs. The +12V DC rail also feeds 3-terminal regulator REG1 which provides a +5V rail to power IC1 & IC2. This line also powers LED5 via a 390W current-limiting resistor, to provide power indication. Construction A single-sided PC board measuring 198 x 157mm and coded 02104061 accommodates most of the circuitry. This fits snugly inside a standard low profile plastic instrument box measuring 225 x 165 x 40mm, with all of the audio, video and power connectors accessed from the rear panel. The selector buttons and LEDs are mounted on the front panel. Fig.2 shows the assembly details. Begin by fitting the 11 wire links, then fit the five dual RCA sockets (CON6CON10) to the rear of the board. Make sure that these socket assemblies are pushed all the way down onto the board and that their plastic locating spigots go through their matching holes before soldering the pins. Follow these with the DC input connector (CON11) and the five miniDIN connectors (CON1–CON5). Once again, make sure that these connectors are all properly seated before soldering them. The next step is to fit eight PC board terminal pins which are later used to terminate LEDs1-4. These pins go along the front of the board, in the positions marked “A” & “K” on Fig.2 (ie, on either side of each pushbutton switch). That done, cut four 25mm lengths of tinned copper wire and bend each one into a “U” shape with the arms about 5mm apart. These should then all be fitted in the positions shown for the connections to switches S1-S4. Solder their ends to the pads underneath, then cut each U-shaped loop at its top centre and straighten the ends, to form a pair of wires ready to connect to the switch lugs. Next, cut five 35mm lengths of yellow hookup wire and another five 35mm lengths of black hookup wire and remove 4mm of insulation from both ends of each piece. That done, solder one end of each of these wires to the PC board as shown in Fig.2 – these are later used to connect the composite video connectors (CON12-CON16) to the PC board. The eight mini DIL relays are next on the list, followed by the 12 resistors, the two 100nF multilayer monolithic capacitors (small and usually blue) and the two MKT polyester capacitors. These parts are all non-polarised, so they can be fitted either way around. By contrast, the 2200mF and 10mF electrolytics are polarised, so be sure they go in the right way around. Fit these now, then install diodes D1-D5, again making sure they are correctly orientated. The PC board assembly can now be completed by installing the 78L05 regulator (REG1), transistors Q1-Q4, the two ICs and LED5. Q1-Q4 and REG1 all come in 3-pin TO-92 packages and must be orientated as shown (don’t get them mixed up). Similarly, the two ICs (both CMOS devices) must be correctly orientated. Be sure to observe the usual precautions when handling the CMOS devices – ie, use an earthed soldering iron, make sure you’re not carrying a charge yourself, avoid touching the pins and solder the supply pins to the board first (pins 7 & 14 for IC1 and pins 8 & 16 for IC2). The green LED (LED5) is fitted to the board at full lead length, with its longer anode lead to the left. Once it’s in, bend both leads forwards by 90° about 10mm above the board. This will position the LED so that it will later siliconchip.com.au Fig.1: the circuit uses eight mini DPDT relays – four to switch the video signals and four to switch the audio. These relays are driven by Mosfets Q1-Q4, which are in turn controlled by a one-of-four selector circuit based on quad Schmitt NAND gate IC1 & decade counter IC2. siliconchip.com.au April 2006 65 Fig.2: follow this parts layout and wiring diagram to build the Four-Channel A-V Selector. The assembly is quite straightforward but make sure that all polarised parts are correctly orientated. protrude through a matching hole in the front panel. Final assembly If you’re building this unit from 66 Silicon Chip a kit, the panels will be supplied pre-punched with screened lettering. If not, then you’ll have to use the front and rear panel artworks as drilling templates (or use the drilling diagrams). Just attach copies of the artworks to the panels and drill and ream the holes to suit. These panels are reproduced here and can also be downloaded from the SILICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au This is the view inside the completed prototype. All parts, except for connectors CON12-CON16, switches S1-S4 and the four indicator LEDs, are mounted directly on the PC board. website (as can the PC board artwork) at www.siliconchip.com.au Once the panels have been drilled, you can prepare the dress labels by printing the artworks onto adhesivebacked A4 label paper. The stickers can then be covered with clear packaging tape to protect them, before cutting to size. After that, you just peel off the backing tape, carefully affix each one to its panel and cut out the holes using a sharp hobby knife. The next step is to cut away the three moulded PC board support pillars in the bottom half of the case, near the centre of the rear edge. This is necessary so that they don’t interfere with the solder joints on the connector pins. The plastic is quite soft and it’s easy to cut away the redundant pillars with a pair of sharp side cutters. That done, fit the rear panel over the dual RCA connectors on the PC board and lower the assembly into the case. The PC board can then be secured to the Table 2: Capacitor Codes Value μF Code EIA Code IEC Code 100nF 0.1µF 104 100nF 4.7nF .0047µF 472 4n7 Table 1: Resistor Colour Codes o o o o o o siliconchip.com.au No. 1 2 4 1 4 Value 22kW 10kW 1kW 390W 100W 4-Band Code (1%) red red orange brown brown black orange brown brown black red brown orange white brown brown brown black brown brown 5-Band Code (1%) red red black red brown brown black black red brown brown black black brown brown orange white black black brown brown black black black brown April 2006 67 Fig.3: the full-size front and rear panel artworks are shown directly above, while at right are the drilling details for these panels. 68 Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au The input and output sockets are all accessed via the rear panel. At left are the four video inputs, with connectors for both composite video (RCA) and S-video. The two video output sockets are immediately to the right, followed by RCA sockets for the four audio input channels and the left and right audio outputs. base using five 6mm long self-tapping screws which go into the integral mounting pillars – see Fig.2. Now use the remaining five 6mm self-tapping screws to fasten the rear panel to the five dual RCA sockets (CON6-CON10). These screws go through the panel and into matching holes in the connector bodies, so the operation is quite straightforward. The five single RCA sockets (CON1-CON5) can then be fitted to the panel (above the mini-DIN sockets), with the supplied earthing lugs under the nuts and orientated upwards. Tighten each nut using a small spanner or pliers, then bend the free part of the lug forwards by about 75°. Finally, solder the yellow wires to the centre terminals of the sockets and the black wires to the earth lugs. Front panel The front panel assembly is even easier – just mount the four pushbutton switches (S1-S4) but don’t overtighten the large plastic nuts provided, as it’s easy to strip their threads if too much force is applied. Note that each switch should be orientated so that its terminals are aligned horizontally, for easy connection of the wires from the PC board. That done, lower the front panel into its slot in the bottom of the box and solder the switch leads to their matching wires. A word of warning here: make each solder joint as quickly as possible, so that you don’t overheat the switch or risk melting the solder siliconchip.com.au at the lower end of each wire. Finally, push the green power LED (LED5) through its matching hole and install the four channel indicator LEDs (LEDs1-4). The latter are simply pushed through their respective front panel holes and their leads soldered to the PC stakes. It’s a good idea to bend each LED’s leads to its approximate shape before trying to fit the LED in position. You do this by first bending the leads outwards by 70° about 8mm from the back of the LED body, then bending them downwards by 90° about 6mm out from the first bends (see photo). Be sure to install them the right way around – the longer anode lead goes to the left PC stake in each case (see Fig.2). The soldered connections should be sufficient to hold the LEDs in place. However, you may also want to apply a small “dab” of epoxy cement to the rear of each LED, to make them a little more secure. Your 4-Channel A-V Selector is now complete and ready for testing. Testing There are no setting-up adjustments to be made, so the test procedure is easy. All you need to do is apply power to CON11 using a 12V DC plugpack (or battery) and check that the unit functions correctly. First, check that the green power LED immediately lights when power is applied. If it does, try pressing one of the pushbuttons. The red LED above that button should immediately light and you should also hear a faint “click” as the two relays for that channel are activated. Now press one of the other buttons. Its LED should now light instead and there should be another faint “click” as that channel’s relays activate and the previously activated relays switch off. Finally, press the remaining two buttons in turn and check that you get the same response. If so, your 4-Channel A-V Selector is working correctly and you can now secure the top half of the case to the bottom using the four M3 x 25mm countersink head screws provided. Troubleshooting There’s not much in this circuit, so there’s very little to go wrong. However, in the unlikely event that problems do occur, they’re most likely to be caused by fitting polarised parts the wrong way around. If the whole project is “dead”, the odds are that you’ve either fitted diode D5 the wrong way around or swapped the connections to the 2.5mm plug on the 12V power lead from the plugpack or battery. Similarly, if the circuit seems to work correctly but one of the five LEDs doesn’t light when it should, its leads have probably been transposed. These are almost the only things that could be wrong, apart from poorly made solder joints or joints you’ve SC forgotten to make! April 2006 69 The prototype LED lighting system being tested on a Greenspeed recumbent trike. The headlamp uses the Luxeon LED Spotlight described next month and the rear lights comprise four 1W red Luxeons, two equipped with narrow beam collimators and two with wide-angle collimators. The headlamp has a range of well over 50 metres (and will light large reflective signs at 400 metres), while the rear lights are visible from over 500 metres. Note that two Universal High Energy LED Lighting Systems are needed to run this many LEDs! Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System This incredibly versatile LED lighting system uses a rechargeable battery pack and is suitable for nearly any application that needs powerful LED lighting. From a camping light to bicycle lighting to emergency blackout lighting, this project does it all! PART 1: By JOHN CLARKE & JULIAN EDGAR M ANY ELECTRONIC PROJECTS have been designed to run highpower LEDs – but that’s all they do! This project is very different – not only can it run multiple Luxeon LEDs but it also uses intelligent control to allow easy dimming, flashing and automatic switch-on facilities. In addition, the control system monitors the level of the high-capacity internal rechargeable battery pack and supervises battery charging. It also uses various schemes to automatically cut the light output when the battery voltage drops below a certain level, to 70 Silicon Chip give the maximum possible hours of light. The battery can be charged from a mains plugpack, a car, a solar cell or even a human-powered generator. Different light modes The key to the versatility of the “Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System” is the ability to select different operating modes. For example, the system can be used as a normal (always on) lantern or as a flashing lantern. It can also be used as a roadwork-style warning flasher that automatically switches on as it gets dark, or as emergency lighting that automatically activates when mains power is lost. In fact, no less than 11 different light operating modes are available! The desired operating mode is selected by rotating the BCD switch on the PC board. Note that in most cases, once the mode is selected, the switch will be left permanently in that position. The system is then controlled via an external pushbutton switch. Let’s take a closer look at the various modes as set by the BCD switch: (0). ALWAYS OFF – this can be used for siliconchip.com.au Suggested Uses • • • • • • • • Auto-on garden lighting Auto-on blackout emergency lighting Intelligent multi-mode handheld torch or lantern Caving light Fishing light Camping light Intelligent bike headlight or tail-light Industrial warning lights transporting the Universal High Energy LED Lighting System. (1). STANDARD LIGHT – a quick doublepress of the pushbutton switches the LED on and a single press turns it off. Three quick presses from off activates a fast attention-getting flash. (2). MULTIMODE LIGHT – a quick doublepress switches the LED on and a single press turns it off. Holding the pushbutton cycles between full brightness, a dimmed level and a slow flash. Three quick presses from an off state activates a fast attention-getting flash. The dimmed level is stored and reactivated at switch on. (3). CAMPING LIGHT – a quick doublepress switches the LED on, while a single press turns it off. Holding the pushbutton down decreases the brightness before returning to full brightness. Three quick presses from off activate a fast attention-getting flash. The selected dimmed level is reactivated at switch on. (4). WARNING FLASHER – a quick doublepress starts the LED slowly flashing and a single press turns it off. Three quick presses from off activate a fast attention-getting flash. (5). AUTOMATIC TORCH – a quick doublepress switches the LED on, with the LED intensity automatically increasing with falling light. Three quick presses from off activate a fast attention-getting flash and a single press switches the LED off. Unlike Mode 6, this mode provides LED indication of battery condition, even when the Luxeon LED is switched off due to high ambient light levels. (6). PLUGPACK-CHARGED GARDEN LIGHTS – a quick double-press switches the system on but the Luxeon (and battery monitoring LED) stay off until the siliconchip.com.au The High-Energy LED Lighting System is built into a rugged diecast aluminium box. It uses high-capacity C-size 4500mAh nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells and can drive up to 6W of Luxeon LEDs. In addition, it has intelligent charge and discharge control and user-adjustable modes that allow it be adapted to nearly any Luxeon LED lighting use. ambient light level falls. The Luxeon LED then automatically increases in intensity with falling light. Three quick presses from off activate a fast attention-getting flash, with this mode operating only when the Luxeon LED is already on; ie, below the low ambient light threshold. The system is normally left on but can be switched off with a single pushbutton press, with the battery condition LED also then switched off. (7). SOLAR GARDEN LIGHTS – this is very similar to the above mode except that after the Luxeon LED automatically activates, it stays on for six hours or until the ambient light level rises. (8). ROADWORK WARNING – a quick doublepress switches the system on but the Luxeon LED (and battery monitoring LED) stay off until the ambient light level falls. The Luxeon LED then starts slowly flashing. Three quick presses from off activate a faster flash. April 2006 71 Main Features • • • • • Runs nearly any combination of Luxeon LEDs from 1W to 6W total power • • • • Flashing, dimming and auto switch-off modes Self-contained high-capacity NiMH battery pack Rechargeable from any 8.7–18.6V voltage source Automatic control of charge rate User-selectable modes include auto switch-on as it gets dark or when plugpack power is lost Automatic light output conservation strategies as battery charge drops Rugged diecast aluminium housing Battery level/charge monitor multi-function LED The system can normally be left switched on (there’s very low current drain when the Luxeon LED is off, as the battery status LED is also off). However, if required, the system can be switched off by pressing the pushbutton switch. (9). BICYCLE HEADLIGHT – a quick doublepress switches the Luxeon LED on. The LED is on when ambient light levels are low but switches to flashing when light levels increase. If the Luxeon LED is on and the pushbutton is held down for about three seconds, the unit changes to a “parking flasher” mode. Three quick presses from off activate a fast attention-getting flash and a single press turns the system off (for more on bike lights, see the “Bicycle Lighting System” panel). (10). (A) BICYCLE TAIL-LIGHT – a quick double-press switches the Luxeon LED on. A low-duty cycle flash occurs when light levels are low, the duty cycle increasing as light levels increase. If the Luxeon is on and the pushbutton is held down for about three seconds, the unit changes to a “parking flasher” mode. Three quick presses from off activate a fast attention-getting flash and a single press turns the system off. (11). (B) BLACKOUT EMERGENCY LIGHTING – a quick double-press switches the system on but the Luxeon LED activates only when the light level drops below a preset threshold and charger power is lost. A single press switches the system off. (12). (C) EXIT LIGHT – a quick double-press switches the system on but the Luxeon LED activates only when charger power is lost. A single press switches the system off. 72 Silicon Chip (13). (D) MICROCONTROLLER RESET – used if the battery is discharged to the extent that IC1 behaves erratically. (14). (E) LUXEON DRIVE FREQUENCY – alters the drive frequency to the Luxeon LED. (15). (F) TEST – for setting the reference to 2.49V, testing the LDR and thermistor, and setting the charging current. In all but the Reset, Test and Drive Frequency modes, a quick double press is used to turn the system on while a single press switches it off. In most modes, a fast attention-getting flash is also available and is activated by three quick presses of the pushbutton from off. This fast attention-getting flash could be a lifesaver if something goes wrong when bushwalking or camping, etc. Of course, you aren’t limited to the uses described in our mode descriptions. The Camping Light mode could also be used for a dimmable torch or a reading light, for example. Luxeon LEDs The Universal High Energy LED Lighting System is designed to work with Luxeon LEDs with a total rating of up to 6W. You can use 1W, 3W or 5W units but where multiple LEDs are used, they must all have the same rating (the lowest wattage LED is the one that determines the LED current). In practice, this means that you can use up to six 1W LEDs, one or two 3W LEDs, or a single 5W LED. For example, a garden lighting system might use six 1W LEDs, while a bike headlight might use two 3W LEDs. The only combination not permitted is five 1W LEDs, as it’s not practical to drive five of these in parallel (six 1W LEDs are wired as three parallel groups of two in series). Before building this unit, you first need to decide on the number of Luxeon LEDs to be used and their power rating. That’s because the number of turns wound on the transformer, the value of a resistor and the adjustment of a trimpot all depend on the LEDs that will be driven. In addition, the choice of LEDs determines whether they are wired in series, in parallel or in a series/parallel combination. The higher the total power rating of the LEDs, the greater the current drain and so the shorter the battery life. However, there are major practical advantages in specifying high-wattage LEDs and then dimming or flashing them. Let’s take a look at a typical use to see why this is the case. As an example, you might be running two 3W LEDs (6W total) in a camping lantern. At full brightness, the battery pack will last something in the order of two hours – but that’s at full brightness. If you have the system set to Camping Light mode, you can use the pushbutton to dim the LEDs substantially and in many applications, one-quarter of the available power will be quite sufficient. At this power level, the battery pack will last well over four times as long – ie, eight hours with ease. And the reason we specify 3W LEDs rather than 1-watters? Well, that’s for when you hear some rustling in the bushes and immediately want lots of light. A few pushes of the button and you’ll be illuminating the whole site! The same idea applies when you’ve picked one of the flashing modes. In many cases, the duty cycle of the flash (ie, the proportion of time the LEDs are on for) will be only 3%. The current drain on the battery will then be about 97% less than it would if you were running the LEDs at constant full brightness. In this case, you can take advantage of the attention-drawing capabilities of the very powerful flash while still retaining excellent battery life. In fact, in “Roadwork Warning” mode – where the flasher turns itself on at night and stays off in daylight – the battery life will be weeks! Finally, in many applications it makes more sense to use multiple siliconchip.com.au The LED Lighting Controller is designed for use with Luxeon LEDs or with similar generic units such as those shown at top left. LEDs rather than a single high-power unit. That’s because using multiple LEDs allows you to aim them in different directions and/or use different optics with each LED. For example, emergency blackout lighting usually uses two broad beam lights aimed widely, while a bicycle headlight might use a narrow beam aimed higher than a second broad lower beam. Note that although we’ve referred to Luxeon LEDs throughout this article, any equivalent high-power, high-brightness LEDs (rated at 1W or more) can be used. However, all the prototypes used Luxeon LEDs and optics (eg, collimators) designed for those LEDs. Note that the circuit is not designed for driving conventional 5mm or 3mm high-brightness LEDs. Batteries and charging Four C-size 4500mAh nickel metal hydride cells are used to power the Universal High Energy LED Lighting System. These provide the best compromise between volume, capacity and cost. Battery charging is automatically supervised by the microcontroller. In its default mode, all you need do is provide an 8.7V-18.6V DC input voltage from a source capable of supplying 700mA. This means that the batteries can be charged directly from a 1A 12V plugpack or a car cigarette lighter socket. Note, however, that a power source with greater or less current capability siliconchip.com.au than 700mA can also be used – see the Adjustable Charging Current panel next month. If the charging voltage is outside the required range, the system automatically switches off the charge. In operation, the unit automatically selects one of three battery charging modes. These are (1) Fast Charge, (2) Top-Up and (3) Maintenance. Unless the user has requested a non-standard battery charge rate, the Fast Charge mode (indicated by the battery monitor LED showing a 4Hz green flash) charges at 700mA. A timer prevents Fast Charge mode running longer than appropriate (to prevent over-charging), the actual time depending on the charge rate. For example, if Fast Charge is set to operate at 700mA, the timeout is typically nine hours. Table 1 shows the time-out periods for the other charge rates. Note that the charge rate referred to here is the current supplied by the charging source. As we shall see later, this is not necessarily the battery charge current. In addition to timing the duration of charge, the unit also monitors the battery temperature to detect an appropriate end of charge point. If the battery temperature rises by 20°C during charging, the charge mode switches from Fast Charge to Top-Up. Top-Up mode, indicated by a slower 2Hz green flash of the battery monitor LED, runs for one hour at half the fullcharge rate (unless the full-charge is only 100mA, in which case this rate of charge is maintained). Finally, in Maintenance mode, the charging rate is set to 100mA – indicated by the battery monitor LED flashing at a 1Hz rate. Note: when the LED is flashing green, it will go red as it switches off each time. This is normal. If the battery level falls to 1.15V/ cell while in the Top-Up or Maintenance charge modes, Fast Charge is automatically reinstated. If an overtemperature condition is detected, the system switches back to Maintenance charge mode. And if a cell over-voltage condition is detected (cell voltage greater than 1.95V), the charging system switches off until cell voltage drops below 1.95V, at which point Maintenance mode is activated. Finally, if the input power is removed during Fast Charge and then re-applied, charging will not restart unless the cell voltage is below 1.5V per cell. Also, if the leads to the thermistor are broken, charging cannot occur All that might sound complicated but in normal use, all charging is done completely automatically. All you need do is look at the indicator LED – the slower it is flashing, the greater the charge level in the battery pack. Flat battery strategy The indicator LED also shows the battery level when the system is not being charged (but the power is on). It uses the following logic: (1) >1.2V per cell – green (2) >1.15V – orange (3) >1.1V – orange flashing (4) >1.05V – red (5) >1V – flashing red (6) <1V – off The logic is easy to remember – green for good (more than 50% capacity left), orange for less than half battery capacity (not-so-good), and flashing red for bad. And if the battery LED is off, that’s very bad. However, the user has plenty of warning when the battery voltage is low. That’s because when cell voltage drops below 1.05V (and the battery LED starts flashing red), the Luxeon LED output automatically decreases to half power. Should the battery voltage fall even further, the Luxeon output switches to flashing at the “attention-getting” rate and the battery monitor LED is switched off. Note, however, that if the April 2006 73 Fast Charge Rate Setting Timeout Period 8.7-12.6V Input Timeout Period 12.6-15.6V Input Timeout Period 15.6-18.6V Input 100mA Indefinite Indefinite Indefinite 200mA 33h 22h 17h 300mA 22h 15h 11h 400mA 17h 12h 9h 500mA 14h 9h 7h 600mA 11h 7h 6h and Automatic Torch), the LDR can be mounted on the box containing the rest of the system so that it detects the ambient light level. However, in the Bicycle Tail-light mode, the LDR is primarily used to detect the headlights of cars approaching the bike from the rear. In this way, the duty cycle of the flashing tail-light increases as the cars draw nearer. To be effective in this application, the LDR needs to be remotely mounted in a tube facing rearwards. 700mA 9h 6h 5h How it works 800mA 8h 5h 4h 900mA 7h 4h 3h 1A 7h 4h 3h Refer now to Fig.1 for the circuit details. It’s based on a single microcontroller (IC1) and its custom software. As detailed above, it controls the lighting of the Luxeon(s) as well as supervising battery charging. In addition, the microcontroller also controls the Luxeon output based on the mode selected by the user. In short, IC1 forms the heart and soul of this project. The four C-size NiMH cells provide a nominal 4.8V supply to power the circuit. In addition, the supply for IC1 is regulated using a low drop-out 3-terminal regulator (REG1). This is needed to ensure that IC1’s supply voltage is maintained at 5V even when charging, when battery voltage can rise above 7V. Table 1: Charger Time-Out Periods When connected to a power source, the battery pack fast charges until a timeout period elapses or the battery temperature rises by more than 20°C. This table shows the time-out periods for the different user-selectable charging rates versus input voltage. The default is 700mA and for input voltages below 12.6V, the charger will change from “Fast Charge” mode to “Top-Up” after nine hours . system is set to one of the slow flashing modes, the flash rate doesn’t change as the battery drops to this level. The attention-getting flash rate uses a duty cycle of just 12.5% at a frequency of 2Hz, so the unit continues to provide lighting for a very long time, even after the battery is nominally flat. Note: a single LED is used to indicate both battery level and charging rate. Normally, it will be obvious whether charge or battery level is being shown by the LED. However, if the Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System is being charged by an intermittent (eg, human-powered) generator and at the same time is powering a Luxeon, the function might not be immediately clear. In this case, there’s an easy rule to remember: flashing green indicates charging is occurring – see Table 2. Flashing & dimming Because the unit can flash and dim in a number of different modes, let’s take a look at what actually occurs in each mode. First, as already stated, the attention-getting flashing uses a 12.5% duty cycle at 2Hz. This allows the Luxeon LED to be used to light your way and/ or to attract attention while using very little power. This feature is available with three quick button pushes in most modes (as well as occurring when the battery is nearly exhausted). 74 Silicon Chip The modes that incorporate a specific flasher function (ie, Multimode Light, Warning Flasher and Roadwork Warning) and also the bicycle “parking light” use a 3.1% duty cycle at 0.5Hz. In other words, the Luxeon LED flashes once every 2s for 1/32nd of the available time. This mode draws only low average current and so battery life is excellent. The Bicycle Headlight mode flashes the headlight when the light level is relatively high. This uses a flash frequency of 4Hz and a duty cycle of 25%. By contrast, the Bicycle Tail-light mode flashes the light at the same frequency but has a duty cycle that varies between 12.5% at low light levels to 50% at high light levels. In both cases, this conserves power while providing excellent visibility and illumination in all ambient lighting conditions. Dimming is available in the Multimode Light mode (where current is reduced to 25%) and in the Camping Light and Automatic Torch modes (where the current is reduced from 100% to 2.5% in 2.5% steps). These dimming increments are so small that the light appears to dim steplessly. Ambient light measurement A number of modes require the use of an external light sensor. A Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is used for this purpose. In some applications (eg, Blackout Emergency Lighting LED driver The Luxeon LED driver circuitry is based on Mosfet Q2, transformer T1 and current feedback resistor R1. In operation, a pulse width modulation (PWM) output from pin 9 of IC1 drives Q2 on and off at a duty cycle that can be varied to set the LED current. Q2 is a logic level Mosfet that can be fully switched on with logic level (5V) signals at its gate. Standard Mosfets usually require at least 10V at the gate in order for the device to fully switch on, so a logic level Mosfet is best suited to this circuit since we have only a low voltage drive from IC1 to Q2. The circuit works as follows: when Q2 is switched on, current flows through T1’s primary winding. Then, when Q2 is subsequently switched off, the current through this winding (and thus its associated magnetic field) collapses and induces a voltage across T1’s secondary winding. This voltage is then rectified using diodes D3-D6 and filtered by a 470mF capacitor. The resulting DC supply drives the siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au April 2006 75 Fig.1: microcontroller IC1 controls both the charging current (via MOSFET Q1 and a filter circuit consisting of inductor L1 and diode D2) and the Luxeon LED current (via Q2). It also monitors switches S1 and S2 (Mode), the battery temperature (via a thermistor) and the ambient light level (via an LDR). Bicycle Lighting System This unit can be configured to produce very effective bicycle lights – both front and rear. Let’s look at the headlight first. Bike headlights perform two functions: (1) they illuminate the road ahead for the rider (obviously); and (2) they alert motorists to the rider’s presence. The best way of alerting motorists is to flash the headlight rapidly, while the best way of showing the road ahead is to light the headlight continuously. So a headlight that automatically changes from flashing (in high ambient light) to constantly on (in low ambient light) provides the best of both worlds. The Bicycle Headlight mode gives just this function. The designers of tail-lights also face a dilemma. A tail-light that flashes with a long duty cycle is more attention-getting than one that flashes with a short duty cycle. However, a short duty cycle means less total current draw from the battery and less heat build-up in the LED. This means it’s best to use a short duty cycle when the cyclist is alone on the road. This problem is easily overcome by selecting Bicycle Tail-light mode. This normally flashes the tail-light with a short duty cycle but automatically increases the duty cycle when the headlights of an approaching car are detected from behind. Luxeon LED (or LEDs), the current also passing through feedback resistor R1. The voltage developed across R1 is then sampled using a voltage divider consisting of a 1kW resistor, trimpot VR4 and a 2.2kW resistor to ground. VR4 adjusts the voltage “seen” by IC1 at its AN0 input (pin 17). In operation, IC1 maintains the LED current set by trimpot VR4 at a constant value. It does this by adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM switching signal applied to Q2’s gate. This duty cycle can be very finely controlled in 1024 steps between fully off and fully on to control the LED brightness. The PWM signal is normally 7.8kHz but 13kHz can be used instead. This higher frequency reduces the faint but audible squeal produced by the transformer but the dimming control is not as precise. Note that the PWM output at pin 9 of IC1 drives Q2 via a 1mF capacitor. This AC coupling is included as a safety measure, in case IC1 locks up and sets pin 9 permanently at 5V. If this occurs, Q2’s gate is held low via a 10kW resistor, thus preventing a short circuit with T1’s primary permanently connected across the battery. Note: IC1 could “lock-up” if the batteries were allowed to discharge to below 3V, at which point IC1’s operation cannot be guaranteed. Zener diode ZD2 protects the 470mF Table 2: LED Status vs Battery Condition Charging Discharging LED Status Condition Fast green flash Fast Charging Medium green flash Top-up charging Slow green flash Maintenance charging Steady green Battery high level Steady orange Battery medium level Orange flashing Charge needed Steady red Charge urgently needed Flashing red Luxeon output halved Off Luxeon output flashing This table shows the tri-colour LED indications for the battery condition. Note that at the threshold voltages between the various conditions, the LED flash rate and/or colour may alternate until the battery voltage rises or falls sufficiently. 76 Silicon Chip capacitor from instantaneous excess voltage if the Luxeon load is disconnected while being driven. In addition, the software shuts down the drive circuit and switches the unit off if the connection goes open circuit. LED drive strategy As already noted, the Luxeon LEDs are supplied with current from a nominal 4.8V battery via transformer T1, which is switched on and off using Q2. This type of driver is far more efficient than using a series limiting resistor to set the LED current and also allows us to maintain the LED current as the battery voltage falls. In addition, this arrangement allows us to provide drive for a wide range of LED combinations that would otherwise be impossible to power from a 4.8V battery. For example, a 5W Luxeon LED internally incorporates two LEDs in series, so the voltage drop across it is similar to two 3W Luxeons connected in series. This voltage drop amounts to about 6.8V. This means that a series dropping resistor between a 5W Luxeon and a 4.8V battery would not drive the LED to anywhere near full brightness. However, with transformer T1 and Q2, the switching can be arranged to fully drive a 5W Luxeon. In this case, T1’s windings need to be wound to step-up the voltage, since the 4.8V battery voltage is lower than the total LED voltage of about 6.8V. When driven at its maximum current of 350mA, a single 1W Luxeon LED will have approximately 3.4V across it. In this case, T1 is wound to step down the voltage – ie, less turns on the secondary winding than on the primary – because the supply voltage is greater than the voltage required across the LED. As previously mentioned, when driving more than one Luxeon LED, they are connected in series/parallel combinations. For example, two 1W Luxeons are connected in series and we need twice the voltage used for a single LED – ie, about 6.8V. The current through each LED is still set at 350mA, however. Ideally, when driving more than one LED, it’s best to connect them in series so that they all receive the same current. However, for more than three LEDs, this becomes impractical as the drive voltage needs to be increased to a relatively high value and there isn’t siliconchip.com.au Par t s Lis t– LED Lighting System 1 PC board, code 11004061, 104 x 79mm 1 diecast IP65 box, 115 x 90 x 55mm 1 selection of Luxeon LEDs to suit application 4 C-size 4500mAh NiMH cells with solder tabs 1 12VDC 1A plugpack (or similar) 2 FX2240 or equivalent pot core and bobbin assemblies (L1, T2) 1 IP65 sealed single-pole pushbutton switch (Farnell 312-0880, Omron B3WN-6002) (S1) 1 binary coded DIL rotary switch (0-F) (S2) 1 LDR with light resistance of 50kW (Jaycar RD-3480 or equivalent) (LDR1) 1 NTC thermistor with 47kW resistance at 25°C 1 30A in-line blade fuse holder 2 M205 PC-mount fuse clips 1 M205 2A fast blow fuse (F1) 1 5A blade fuse (F2) 1 DIP18 IC socket 1 3-6.5mm IP68 waterproof cable gland 1 2-pin DIN panel socket 1 2-pin DIN line plug 1 red neon bezel for LDR window (Jaycar SL-2630 or equivalent) 2 TO-220 silicone insulating washers 2 M3 x 9mm tapped Nylon spacers (cut to 4 x 4mm) 8 M3 x 12mm Nylon screws 8 M3 Nylon nuts 1 4m length 0.63mm enamelled copper wire 1 1m length of 5A figure-8 cable enough room to wind sufficient turns at the required wire thickness on T1 to achieve this. As a result, we run a maximum of two LEDs in series when driving four or six LEDs. These series-connected LEDs are then connected as two or three parallel pairs, with the current shared between them. Admittedly, the current sharing may not be perfect but it is better than just running all the LEDs in parallel. Charging Power to charge the batteries is provided by an external supply, with siliconchip.com.au 1 100mm length of red or brown 7.5A hookup wire 1 100mm length of black or blue hookup wire 1 50mm length of red 5A hookup wire 1 50mm length of green 5A hookup wire 1 100mm length of twisted pair light-duty hookup wire 1 150mm length of 0.8mm tinned copper wire 1 100mm length of 3mm heatshrink tubing 2 11mm-dia. x 0.5mm-thick PVC discs (as a gap for L1 and T1 cores) (from plastic book covers, roll-up cutting mat, etc) 3 100mm cable ties 2 200mm cable ties 16 PC stakes 1 small tube of neutral-cure silicone sealant Semiconductors 1 PIC16F88 microcontroller programmed with Luxeon.hex (IC1) 1 IRF9540 100V 23A P-channel Mosfet (Q1) 1 STP45NF06L 60V 38A N-channel logic level Mosfet (Q2) 2 2N7000 N-channel Mosfets (Q3,Q4) 1 BC337 NPN transistor (Q5) 1 LM336-2.5 voltage reference (REF1) 1 LP2950CZ-5.0 regulator (REG1) 1 tri-colour (green/red) 3-leaded LED (LED1) 2 FR302 fast 3A diodes (D1,D2) diode D1 providing reverse polarity protection. Fuse F1 protects against short circuits in the charger circuitry. In operation, the charge rate is controlled by rapidly switching Mosfet Q1 on and off. This sets the duty cycle and thus the charging current through the batteries. Mosfet Q1 is a P-channel type and is switched on when its gate voltage is pulled below its source voltage. It’s driven by transistor Q5 which in turn is controlled via the RA6 output of IC1. When RA6 goes high, Q5 turns on and pulls Q1’s gate low via a 47W resistor, thus turning Q1 on. Conversely, when 4 1N5822 3A Schottky diodes (D3-D6) 1 1N4148 signal diode (D7) 1 18V 1W zener diode (ZD1) 1 20V 1W zener diode (ZD2) Capacitors 1 4700mF 10V low-ESR capacitor 3 470mF 25V low-ESR capacitors 1 100mF 16V PC electrolytic 2 10mF 16V PC electrolytic 4 1mF 16V PC electrolytic 3 100nF MKT polyester 2 1nF MKT polyester Resistors (0.5W, 1%) 3 470kW 2 470W 1 220kW 1 330W 1W 2 56kW 1 47W 2 10kW 1 10W 2 2.2kW 1 1.2W 5W 2 1kW 1 10kW 7-resistor 8-pin array (Bournes 4608X-101) (Farnell 148-973) 1 0.5W 2W surface mount (Welwyn LR series 2512 case) (Farnell 361-0433) 1 0.2W 2W surface mount (Welwyn LR series 2512 case) (Farnell 361-0410) Trimpots 1 500kW horizontal trimpot (code 504) (VR1) 1 50kW horizontal trimpot (code 503) (VR2) 1 10kW multiturn top adjust trimpot (code 103) (VR3) 1 10kW horizontal trimpot (code 103) (VR4) Q5 turns off, Q1’s gate is pulled to the source voltage via a 330W resistor and so Q1 also turns off. ZD1 ensures that Q1’s gate-source voltage is limited to 18V if the external supply voltage is too high. Diode D2 and inductor L1 form a step-down filter circuit. It works like this: when Q1 is switched on, current flows from through L1 and charges the batteries. Then, when Q1 switches off, D2 becomes forward-biased and the energy stored in L1 continues to supply a charging current – rather like a flywheel effect. Altering Q1’s duty cycle varies the charging current, to give the variApril 2006 77 Battery Amp-Hour Ratings The NiMH cells used in this project have a 4500mAh capacity. This rating refers to the amount of current that can be drawn continuously from the cells over a 5-hour period. For 4500mAh cells, this means that we can draw 0.9A (4.5/5) for five hours before the battery is discharged. Typically, individual cells will be at 1.25V during discharge (provided they were fully charged in the first place) but their voltage drops to around 0.9V when discharged. In many cases, the Luxeon LED Lighting System will draw more than 0.9A from the cells. For example, this occurs when driving LEDs rated at 2W or more at their full power rating. In this case (ie, if the current drawn exceeds 0.9A), the usable cell capacity will be less than the specified 4500mAh. There are two reasons for this. First, when drawing higher currents, the cell voltage is lower and this means that the system stops driving the LEDs at full power before the cells are fully discharged. Second, the cells dissipate power as heat when delivering high currents and so there is a loss of efficiency. On the other hand, the capacity of the cells will be higher if the current drawn from the cells is intermittent rather than continuous. So the Universal High-Energy LED Lighting System can be used for a longer periods on the one charge if the LEDs are not driven continuously until the cells are discharged but rather used intermittently. Calculating the expected discharge time for each Luxeon LED load is rather difficult. That’s because the current drawn by the Luxeon LEDs automatically increases as the battery voltage drops over the discharge period. However, in a worse case scenario of driving 6W of LEDs continuously, full output power will be maintained for about two hours. ous charging modes – ie, Fast Charge, Top-Up and Maintenance. Note that this switching circuit also acts as a power converter – stepping down the input voltage to the battery voltage allows the charging current to be increased. The charging current is monitored using a 1.2W 5W resistor. In operation, the voltage across this resistor is proportional to the input current and this is monitored by the AN2 input of IC1 via Mosfets Q3 & Q4. It works like this: two voltage dividers consisting of 470kW and 56kW resistors sample the voltage at both ends of the 1.2W resistor. The resulting attenuated “input” and “output” voltages are then filtered using 1mF capacitors and fed to the drains of Q3 & Q4 respectively. By alternately switching these Mosfets on and off, IC1’s AN2 input can monitor first one voltage and then the other. In practice, Q3 and Q4 are turned on when the RB4 and RB5 outputs alternately go high respectively. Thus, when Q3 turns on, IC1 monitors the voltage on the input side of the 1.2W resistor. Similarly, when Q4 turns on, IC1 monitors the voltage on the 78 Silicon Chip output side. The microcontroller then calculates the charging current and adjusts the duty cycle output at RA6 to maintain the required rate. Switching the RB4 and RB5 outputs also simultaneously changes the function of the coloured LED – ie, from showing “battery level” to “charge”. As a result, each time the system switches on Q3 to measure the charger’s input voltage, the battery/charge LED briefly flashes. This allows you to find the control unit in the dark! Battery indication LED1 provides battery level indication. It can produce a green light, a red light or an orange light (both red and green LEDs lit) – see Table 2. IC1 monitors the battery voltage at its AN1 input (pin 18) via a 470kW/220kW attenuator. Voltage measurements The voltage measurements made by IC1 are all referenced to an accurate voltage source. This is provided by REF1 which is an LM336 2.490V precision voltage reference. In operation, current is supplied to REF1 via a 2.2kW resistor when RA7 goes high. Trimpot VR3 is used to set the reference voltage to 2.490V and this is then fed to IC1’s VREF+ input. Note that the RA7 output is only momentarily activated (taken high) at regular intervals when the Luxeon LEDs are off, whereas RA7 is always high when the Luxeons are on. This gives a worthwhile power saving when the LEDs are off. As well as driving REF1, IC1’s RA7 output is also connected to the common (C) terminal of binary-coded rotary switch S2. S2’s switched connections are normally pulled low using four 10kW resistors which are part of a 7-resistor SIL package. However, if a contact is closed, its corresponding pin will be pulled high each time the common terminal is pulled high by RA7 and this sets the mode. The LDR and the thermistor are both powered from the REF1 supply. IC1’s AN6 input monitors the LDR, while AN5 monitors the thermistor. VR1 and VR2 set the levels for the LDR and thermistor respectively. Power switch S1 is monitored by IC1’s RB0 input. This input is normally pulled low via a 10kW resistor but when S1 is pressed, RB0 is pulled to +5V and the circuit toggles on or off. Low power modes IC1’s internal oscillator operates at either 31.25kHz or 8MHz, depending on the mode of operation. When the circuit is ostensibly off, the oscillator operates at 31.25kHz to conserve power. In addition, RA7 is low and no current is supplied to REF1, the LDR or the thermistor. In this state, current is drawn only by REG1 and IC1, with switch S2 and the charger input voltage monitored once every few seconds. However, if the Luxeon LED is to be driven or if charging starts, the oscillator is reconfigured to operate at 8MHz. In addition, the Plugpack-Charged Garden Lights, Solar Garden Lights and Roadwork Warning modes are all special low-power modes. When the Luxeon LED is off, the standby current in these modes is decreased to just 400mA. To help achieve this very low current draw, the battery indicator LED is also switched off. That’s all we have space for this month. Next month, we’ll cover the construction and show you how to build some very effective LuxeonSC powered lights. siliconchip.com.au PC Oscilloscopes & Analyzers Get the full picture with BitScope Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes 100MHz Digital Oscilloscope Dual Channel Digital Scope using industry standard BNC probes or analog inputs on the POD. 40MS/s Logic Analyzer 8 logic, External Trigger and special purpose inputs to capture digital signals down to 25nS. Mixed Signal Oscilloscope True MSO to capture analog waveforms time-aligned with logic using sophisticated cross-triggering on any input. Turn your PC into a powerful Digital Storage Oscilloscope! Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer See spectra and waveforms in real-time displayed simultaneously See inside your circuit with simultaneous analog, logic and spectrum displays to make tracking down those elusive real-time bugs much easier. Waveform Generator Load up to 128K arbitrary waveform and replay via BNC B. Capture circuit response simultaneously on BNC A Standard 1M/20pF BNC Inputs 200uV-20V/div with x10 probe S/W select AC/DC coupling Switchable 50ohm termination Arbitrary Waveform Generator BitScope combines a high speed synchronized storage scope and logic analyzer with a programmable waveform generator and spectrum analyzer. With "Smart POD" connected active probes and multiple software options you've got the perfect low cost high performance test and debug solution! BitScope Smart POD probe connector 8 logic channels, cross-triggering Dual channel analog inputs Async serial I/O for external control Supports active probes USB 2.0 or Ethernet Connectivity Single cable to PC or switch Compressed data transmission Ethernet option uses UDP/IP Internet addressable device Expandable and Programmable Simple ASCII Protocol BitScope Scripting Language Add active probes and devices Supplies up to 500mA via POD BitScope DSO software for Windows and Linux BitScope's integrated design uses standard oscilloscope probes and a growing range of custom probes to provide functionality equal to instruments many times the price. BitScope plugs into third party software tools and has an open API for user programming and custom data acquisition. BitScope Designs siliconchip.com.au Ph: (02) 9436 2955 Fax: (02) 9436 3764 www.bitscope.com April 2006 79 CIRCUIT NOTEBOOK Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates. 4-20mA current loop tester This design will interest technicians who work on pneumatically operated valves and other 4-20mA current loop controlled devices. Although 4-20mA signal injector/ calibrators are available, this one is both cheap to build and easy to operate. When first powered up, the circuit sinks 4mA of current. If switch S1 is pressed, the current level slowly ramps up to 20mA, pauses and then ramps back to 4mA. This cycle will continue unless the switch is pressed again, whereby the output will lock to its current level. A further push of the switch resumes the prior cyclic operation. Output2 from the micro (IC1) is programmed to generate a pulsewidth modulated (PWM) signal to drive the current sink transistor (Q1). The digital PWM signal is converted to an analog voltage using a low-pass filter formed by the 1kW series resistor and a 4.7mF tantalum capacitor. By varying the PWM duty cycle and therefore the DC signal level out of the filter, the program can indirectly vary the current flow through the transistor. A 100W resistor in series with the emitter of Q1 converts the loop current to a small voltage, which is fed into the micro on input1. The program uses this feedback signal to zero in on the desired current level with the aid of the micro’s analogto-digital converter. Details of this can be seen in the accompanying program listing. If the PICAXE senses an open circuit, it shuts down the output and goes into an alarm state, to alert the operator and protect the circuit under test. The switch can be pressed to reset operations to the start once the open circuit has been rectified. The LED flashes a code for various milestones, as follows: • one flash at 4mA and one flash to confirm a switch press; • two flashes at 12mA when ramping up (for the first 5 cycles); • three flashes at 20mA; and • continued fast flash sequence for open-circuit alarm. For portable use, the circuit can be powered from two 9V batteries, whereas for bench testing, a 12V DC plugpack will suffice. Allan Doust, Erskine, WA. C h o o s e Yo u r P r i z e There are now five great reasons to send in your circuit idea for publication in SILICON CHIP. We pay for each item published or better still, the best item in “Circuit Notebook” each month will entitle the author to choose one of four prizes: (1) an LCR40 LCR meter, (2) a DCA55 Semiconductor Component Analyser, (3) an ESR60 Equivalent Series Resistance Analyser or (4) an SCR100 Thyristor & Triac Analyser, with the compliments of 80 Silicon Chip Peak Electronic Design Ltd. See their website at www.peakelec.co.uk So now you have even more reasons to send that brilliant circuit in. Send it to SILICON CHIP and you could be a winner. You can either email your idea to silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au or post it to PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. siliconchip.com.au oust Allan D onth’s m is this r of a n n i w e s Test tla e P ak A ument r t s In Listing 1: PICAXE Program (Current Loop Tester) 'NOTE: variable w4 may have to be altered slightly (four places) to 'allow for 5V regulator tolerances - values given are for a 4.99V rail. start: w6=200:w4=80:b4=1 gosub raise gosub interrupt loop0: wait 2 w4=244 gosub raise b3=2 if b4>5 then loop1 gosub flash b4=b4+1 loop1: w4=408 gosub raise b3=3 gosub flash lower: wait 2 w4=80 for w6=w6 to 0 step-1 for b1=1 to 10 pwmout 2,255,w6 readadc10 1,w5 if w5<70 or w5>420 then fault if w5<=w4 then loop2 next b1 next w6 loop2: pulsout 4,300 goto loop0 raise: for w6=w6 to 1024 for b1=1 to 15 pwmout 2,255,w6 readadc10 1,w5 if w5>=w4 then valueup next b1 if w5<40 or w5>420 then fault next w6 'w6=pwm, w4=adc for 4ma, 'b4=12ma loop cnt. 'raise to 4ma 'and wait for push button 'adc for 12ma 'raise to 12ma 'b3=led flash number 'only stop at 12ma 5 times 'led indication 'adc for 20ma 'raise to 20ma 'lower routine 'adc for 4ma 'decrease pwm 'slow lower time by looping 'pwm on output2 'check adc feedback 'out of range 'value reached? '1 flash for 4ma 'back to raise 'raise routine 'increase pwm 'slow raise time by looping 'pwm on output2 'check adc feedback 'value reached? siliconchip.com.au 'flash output4 interrupt: pulsout 4,300 b3=1 pause 1000 'interrupt routine 'pb has been pressed 'no more confusing flashes 'wait for pb release freeze: pwmout 2,255,w6 pause 10 readadc10 1,w3 if pin3=1 then loop3 if w3<70 or w3>420 then loop4 if w3<w5 then tweakup if w3>w5 then tweakdown goto freeze 'freeze output 'pwm on output2 loop3: pulsout 4,300 pause 1000 loop4: setint %00001000,%00001000 return 'check feedback 'has pb been pressed? 'out of range? 'has output drifted low? 'has output drifted high? 'all ok 'indicate pb press 'wait for pb release 'enable interrupt for freeze control tweakup: w6=w6+1 goto freeze tweakdown: w6=w6-1 goto freeze 'adjust output up fault: setint %00000000,%00000000 pwmout 2,0,0 'fault routine 'disable interrupt 'turn off output loop5: for b5=0 to 30 if pin3=1 then loop6 if b5>29 then loop5 if b5>10 then led 'led fault routine 'adjust output down 'has pb been pressed?(reset) loop7: pause 50 next b5 'out of range led: pulsout 4,300 goto loop7 valueup: return flash: for b2=1 to b3 pulsout 4,300 pause 800 next b2 return 'led routine 'b3=number of flashes loop6: pulsout 4,300 goto start 'led fault indication 'indicate pb press 'start again April 2006 81 Circuit Notebook – Continued “Beer-O-Magic” temperature controller This circuit was developed to help out a keen home brewer who was having problems maintaining the “magic” brewing cycle temperature in his shed. It uses an infrared lamp to provide heating and relies on an accurate temperature sensor for feedback. The use of a heat lamp results in lower temperatures than might otherwise be possible with a resistive element, reducing the chances of a fire. However, it also means that a simple thermostatic controller, such as used in the Coolmaster project (see SILICON CHIP, June 2005) can’t be used, because slow, repetitive on/off cycles result in short bulb life. The solution presented here uses a proportional control method instead. Power for the circuit comes from a 12VAC plugpack. Bridge rectifier BR1 and a 470mF capacitor rectify and filter the input, while REG1 (7905) produces a well-regulated 9V DC output to power the majority of the circuit. The temperature set point is adjusted using VR2, which acts as a simple voltage divider. Trimpots VR1 & VR3 allow adjustment of the upper and lower limits of the temperature range. The output from VR2’s wiper is buffered by op amp IC1a before being applied to the inverting input of op amp IC1b. An LM335Z precision temperature sensor (TS1) feeds the noninverting input of IC1b. The sensor generates 10mV/°C, with a 2.73V output at 0°C (see www.national. com for the LM335Z data sheets). In practice, the lowest setting is about 12°C, giving an output of 2.85V, while the highest is about 47°C, giving 3.2V. Essentially, IC1b acts as an error amplifier, amplifying the difference between the output of the sensor and the set point voltage from VR2. Using the resistor values shown, op amp gain is about 21. This results in a maximum output of about 6V, realised when the actual temperature differs the most from the set temperature. A minimum output of near 0V occurs when the actual temperature is at or above the desired temperature. Op amp IC1c functions as a triangular waveform generator with a frequency of about 450Hz. As a rough guide, the frequency can be calculated using the formula 1/(2.2 x R1 x C1). While the chosen frequency isn’t all that critical, a value that’s about 10 times higher than the 50Hz mains works well. The error signal from IC1b is fed into the non-inverting input of op amp IC1d, where it is compared with the ramp voltage from the triangular waveform generator. The result at the output is a pulse-width modulated error signal, varying from a 0% duty cycle (always low) at maximum temperature differential to 100% duty cycle (always high) when the sensed temperature reaches the desired value. The PWM signal drives an optoisolated triac driver (OPTO1), which in turn fires the gate of a Triac. A The Latest From SILICON CHIP MOC3063 zero-crossing device was chosen to reduce mains-borne interference. A 39W resistor and 10nF capacitor provide snubbing to reduce switching transients, while the other resistors and 1nF capacitor in the circuit set the necessary gate drive conditions. When switching a 250W lamp load, no heatsinking is necessary for the Triac. Power to the lamp is pulse-width modulated by the Triac, which switches the lamp’s 240V Active lead. When the system is properly set up, the lamp’s filament should never completely cool, thanks to its thermal lag and the relatively high switching frequency. Instead, the heat generated should vary proportionally with duty cycle to reflect the system’s temperature differential. A discarded refrigerator was used to hold the brew, with several 240V computer-style fans installed to circulate the air. This system should be considered experimental and will require considerable fine-tuning. For example, shining the light directly onto the brew might result in a top layer of excessively hot bottles. The answer in this case might be to shine it onto a large heatsink-like section of metal instead, with the fans directed towards the metal to distribute the heat evenly around the insulated enclosure. Editor’s note: the circuit would operate more stably if a sawtooth, rather than triangular waveform was applied to the inverting input of IC1d. This could be achieved by replacing op amp IC1c and associated components with a 555-based sawtooth generator, for example. Peter Naus, Mitcham, Vic. ($50) 160 PAGES 23 CHAPTE RS Completely NEW projects – the result of two years research & development • Learn how engine management systems work • Build projects to control nitrous, fuel injection and turbo boost systems • Switch devices on and off on the basis of signal frequency, temperature and voltage • Build test instruments to check fuel injector duty cycle, fuel mixtures and brake & temperature Mail order prices: Aust. $A22.50 (incl. GST & P&P); Overseas $A26.00 via airmail. Order by phoning (02) 9979 5644 & quoting your credit card number; or fax the details to (02) 9979 6503; or mail your order with cheque or credit card details to Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. 82 Silicon Chip From the publishers of Intelligent turbo timer I SBN 095852294 - 4 9 780958 522946 $19.80 (inc GST) NZ $22.00 (inc GST) TURBO BOOST & nitrous fuel controllers How engine management works siliconchip.com.au Fig.1: because it switches mains voltages, the circuit must be fully enclosed in a plastic case (no protruding metal parts) or in a mains-earthed metal case before operation. Don’t build it unless you are completely familiar with mains construction techniques and know exactly what you are doing. siliconchip.com.au Silicon Chip Binders REAL VALUE AT $12.95 PLUS P & P Don’t let your copies of SILICON CHIP get dog-eared – protect them with these binders! They are made from heavy-board covers with a distinctive 2-tone green vinyl, hold 12 issues & will look great on your bookshelf. H 80mm internal width H SILICON CHIP logo printed in gold-coloured lettering on spine & cover H Buy five and get them postage free! Price: $A12.95 plus $A7 p&p per order. Available only in Aust. Silicon Chip Publications PO Box 139 Collaroy Beach 2097 Fax (02) 9979 6503 or phone (02) 9979 5644 & quote your credit card number. A NOTE TO SILICON CHIP SUBSCRIBERS Your magazine address sheet shows when your current subscription expires. Check it out to see how many you still have. If your magazine has not turned up by the first week of the month, contact us at silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au April 2006 83 Salvage It! BY JULIAN EDGAR Getting the good bits from cordless drills – and putting them to work Cordless drills are now probably the most frequently discarded power tools. Whether it’s at the tip, at garage sales or even in kerbside rubbish pick-ups, there are always plenty of defective battery-powered (cordless) drills available. With the incredibly low price of new cordless drills, it’s really not worthwhile repairing a defective drill – especially when they’re usually discarded because the battery pack is defunct. For the price of a new battery pack (or even less), you can buy a complete new drill. What about in your own garage? Likely as not, you’ve got one or more broken cordless drills tucked away at the back of the workbench. If not, there are lots of cordless drills that can be picked up for nothing. And there are several useful items that can be made from the components inside them! It just takes a little salvage work to retrieve those bits. Internals Cordless drill chucks usually have a maximum rotational speed of 1000 ➏ ➍ ➌ ➋ ➊ ➎ Nearly all cordless drills look like this inside: (1) chuck, (2) clutch, (3) planetary gearbox, (4) DC motor, (5) speed control, (6) speed control switching transistor and heatsink. Note that in this drill, there is a misalignment between the motor and gearbox, caused by some loose screws. Tightening them subsequently fixed it! 84 Silicon Chip rpm or less. However, the motor speed is much higher than this. To reduce the speed of the DC electric motor (and to increase the torque), a planetary gearbox is used. In fact, there are usually two planetary gearsets back-to-back – rather like the gear systems used in automotive automatic transmissions. And like auto transmissions, some cordless drills let you select between ratios – more on this in a moment. For their size, planetary gears are very strong and, especially when two sets are used, allow high reduction ratios to be achieved in small volumes. Considering their size and torque capacity, these are really nice little gearboxes. The torque multiplication might be achieved by the gearbox but if you want to quickly drill holes or drive screws, you need real motor power. This is provided by a high-current DC brush motor. Typically, the “motorstalled” DC current is around 10A at 12V and considering that the motors are about the size of a “D” cell, that’s makes for quite a powerful (and useful) motor – especially since it hasn’t cost anything! Many cordless drills have an electronic variable speed function, achiev ed by pulse-width modulating the power fed to the motor via a switching transistor. This transistor is mounted on a separate interior heatsink and the rest of the control electronics are integrated into a housing with the trigger switch. A reversing switch is also often mounted directly above the speed control. So even if you salvage just these parts, you have a handy high-current electric motor speed control (or a 12V DC light dimmer, etc). Finally, most of these drills have an siliconchip.com.au A discarded cordless drill can provide a compact and powerful drive assembly for nothing! The motor/gearbox/clutch/chuck combination can be used to drive robots, power small winches – or even as a portable drill for use on car power. Cordless drills use planetary gearboxes to reduce the chuck speed and increase torque. Usually two back-to-back geartrains are used – this view shows the motor input side. These gearboxes are compact, have a high reduction ratio and are strong for their size. adjustable slipping clutch that allows the peak torque to be set before drive ceases. Using the parts There are plenty of uses for these bits and pieces. One of the easiest is to simply pull the body of the drill apart (because they are low voltage devices, tamper-proof screws aren’t fitted, making it really easy) and cut the supply wires at the motor. Bend a piece of steel rod into a crank-shaped handle and lock one end in the chuck. Turn the handle and – hey presto! – you have a pretty grunty small DC electric generator! How grunty? Well, on one unit I measured, it was quite easy to run a half-amp load at 5V – that’s 2.5W! And 2.5W is plenty to run a torch bulb or two high-efficiency Luxeon LEDs. It’s One of the easiest uses of the innards of a discarded cordless electric drill is as a hand-cranked DC generator. In this application, the gearbox steps-up the rotational speed of the chuck, allowing up to 0.5A at 5V to be generated with ease – quite good for such a small generator! also quite enough to charge two 1.2V rechargeable cells or a mobile phone battery, etc. If you pick a drill that has two userselectable gear ratios, it works even better. In one ratio, turning the handle is easy but the amount of power generated is lower (that’s the “topping up” setting, if you like). Alternatively, you can slide over the gear selection lever and have around twice the power output at the same rotational speed – but it’s much harder to turn the handle. To protect it and allow it to be easily held, the generator/gearbox/clutch/ chuck assembly is best squeezed inside a length of PVC pipe (again picked up for nothing, this time from the rubbish pile of a building site). If it needs to be semi-weatherproof, just add PVC end caps with appropriate holes drilled for the crank handle and power wire exits. Mechanical drive The motor/gearbox/clutch/chuck assembly can also be used wherever a high-torque output, low-voltage mech Fig.1: these scope shots show a typical speed control output for low PWM (left) and high PWM (right) duty cycle settings. siliconchip.com.au April 2006 85 Fig.2: here’s how to adapt the control unit to allow low-voltage light dimming or speed control of DC motors. The threaded bolt goes through a captive nut and is turned to smoothly deflect the speed control trigger. Above right is a typical pulse-width modulated (PWM) control unit, complete with its heatsink-mounted switching transistor. anical drive is needed. For example, two of these assemblies can easily be combined to form the individual wheel traction motors for a small robot (or you can use four for the ultimate in manoeuvrability!). Another possibility is to use one of these assemblies to drive a small winch – eg, to hoist a model railway baseboard up near the ceiling when it isn’t being used. In these applications, the inbuilt slipping clutch is a real asset, as it stops the motor from being overloaded when the output is stalled. And since nearly all these motors will happily work for short periods on 12V (even when the nominal battery voltage of the drill might be only 9.6V), the salvaged cordless drill is easily equipped with a long cable with some battery clips to allow it to be powered by a car battery. Variable speed controller The variable speed controller is a mixed blessing. While it is capable of handling high currents (very high for short periods!), the physical layout of the module lends itself only to those applications where a squeeze or push trigger is needed. Unless you have lots of spare units to play with, don’t pull the module apart in an attempt to substitute a rotary potentiometer for the slide type – once it’s apart, it can be very hard to put back together. Rat It Before You Chuck It! Whenever you throw away an old TV (or VCR or washing machine or dishwasher or printer) do you always think that surely there must be some good salvageable components inside? Well, this column is for you! (And it’s also for people without a lot of dough.) Each month we’ll use bits and pieces sourced from discards, sometimes in mini-projects and other times as an ideas smorgasbord. And you can contribute as well. If you have a use for specific parts which can 86 Silicon Chip easily be salvaged from goods commonly being thrown away, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you use the pressure switch from a washing machine to control a pump. Or maybe you have a use for the highquality bearings from VCR heads. Or perhaps you’ve found how the guts of a cassette player can be easily turned into a metal detector. (Well, we made the last one up but you get the idea . . .) If you have some practical ideas, write in and tell us! A better approach is to build a mechanical system that can vary and maintain the trigger movement needed in the application. For example, by using a coarse-threaded bolt and a fixed nut, the original trigger can be progressively moved by rotating the bolt – see Fig.2. The unit can then be used wherever low-voltage DC motor speed control (eg, for a miniature 12V lathe) or filament light dimming is required. Finally, the electric motor itself is ideal for driving a fan. Small fan blade assemblies can be salvaged for nothing from microwave ovens. Be careful with microwave ovens though – they can pack a lethal punch, even with the power switched off. Make absolutely certain that all high-voltage capacitors inside the oven have been discharged before attempting to salvage any parts. Don’t think of even opening up a microwave oven if you don’t know what you are doing. Conclusion When you see a cordless drill, salvage it and strip it back to the internals. The resulting bits take up very little storage room and can be used to make a hand-cranked generator or as a powerful low-voltage motor/gearbox unit SC with variable speed control. siliconchip.com.au Custom-made Lithium Ion, NiCd and NiMH battery packs Smart Chargers www.batterybook.com (08) 9240 5000 High-capacity 280mAh rechargeable 9V 2400mAh NiMH AA cells siliconchip.com.au High-quality single cell chargers with independent channels. Charge any combination of NiCd & NiMH AA and AAA cells High-capacity 9Ah rechargeable D April 2006 87 You don’t need to be an expert to build a reliable 2-way radio link – just a pair of these new boards from Revolution Education! Being PICAXE driven, they’re dead easy to build and program and have a myriad of serious applications. PICAXE Goes Pt.1: By CLIVE SEAGER* Wireless Get your PICAXE projects talking over the airwaves using the latest high-tech 2.4GHz XBee modules! I N THIS, the first of a 2-part series, we describe how to build and test a pair of wireless data communications “nodes”. Each node is based around “XBee” radio modules from US company MaxStream, Inc (www. maxstream.net). All parts, including the XBee module, are carried on a small PC board that’s designed specifically for experimenters. With only a minor change, the XBee module can be connected to either an on-board PICAXE microcontroller or an external computer. This means that 2-way PICAXE-to-PICAXE or PICAXEto-PC communications are possible, *Clive Seager is the Technical Director of Revolution Education Ltd, the developers of the PICAXE system. 88 Silicon Chip opening up a vast array of remote control and sensing applications. Construction is very easy, as the XBee modules are pre-built and simply plug into header sockets on the PC board. These radio modules utilise the “ZigBee” standard for ultra-lowpower, high-reliability, short-range wireless communications (see the ZigBee feature in February 2006 SILICON CHIP for more information). Why XBee? When considering a wireless PIC AXE application for the first time, some constructors will undoubtedly compare the 2.4GHz XBee modules with the lower-cost 433MHz RF modules that are now available from hobbyist outlets (see Stan Swan’s article in SILICON CHIP, January 2006 to find out how to interface these units to a PICAXE micro). However, while the low-cost 433MHz modules are suitable for some very simple PICAXE applications, the XBee modules offer considerable advantages. For a start, a typical budget 433MHz system would offer only 1-way communication (one transmitter and one receiver module), whereas each XBee module supports 2-way data communication. And although 1-way communication may seem sufficient for some applications, it can also be unreliable, as the transmitter has no idea whether the receiver is actually receiving the data! Another big advantage is that of unique addressing. Each XBee unit siliconchip.com.au Fig.1: here’s the complete circuit diagram (minus power supply) of the AXE210 Connect Board when a PICAXE chip is plugged in. Note the 3 x 10kW resistor strings from the PICAXE outputs to ground. These reduce the signal levels by 1/3 before they are applied to the lower voltage XBee inputs. The simplicity of this circuit belies the true power of these incredibly versatile communications devices. has a unique serial number, so two (or more) units can be set up to exclusively “talk” to each other, ignoring signals from other modules. This is not easily achieved with the budget 433MHz modules as, unlike the XBee, they don’t contain any networking “intelligence”. This intelligence leads us to several other important features such as the XBee’s selectable communications channels and its in-built data packet building and error checking. These features ensure reliable data exchange under less than optimal conditions. So what applications would suit a PICAXE-based wireless node? Here are just a few examples (we know you’ll think of many more): • Remote control of robots and equipment (PC to remote PICAXE). • Data collection from a greenhouse (remote PICAXE to PC). • An advanced security system (multiple remote PICAXEs to PC). • Sensor modules in a weather station (remote PICAXE to remote PICAXE). Node hardware The so-called “nodes” described here are officially known as “AXE210 siliconchip.com.au Connect Boards”. This rather nondescript name was chosen because the boards can be built in several different configurations. For the moment, it’s only important to note that when an XBee module is plugged in, the boards can be operated in one of two distinct modes, as follows: (1). As a PICAXE to XBee wireless modem interface; or (2). As a computer (PC) to XBee wireless modem interface. As an example, this allows a sensor connected to a PICAXE chip (on one AXE210 board) to transmit data to a second AXE210 board that’s directly connected to a PC – allowing the remote data to be recorded and displayed on the PC’s screen! Let’s examine these two modes of operation and the hardware configurations needed to make them work in a little more detail. while another bit (input7) receives serial data. So the BASIC command necessary to send data from the PICAXE to the XBee module would look something like this: serout 7,T2400,(“Data”) Likewise, data received by the The XBee is a hybrid radio modem built on a tiny PC board measuring just 24 x 27mm. All of the parts are hidden beneath a metal shield, with external connections made via two rows of 2mm-pitch header pins spaced 22mm apart. PICAXE to XBee interface (mode #1) Fig.1 shows the connections when a PICAXE-18X is inserted into its 18-pin socket. One port bit (output7) of the PICAXE is used to send serial data to the XBee for transmission, April 2006 89 Fig.2: an external computer can communicate directly with the XBee module by plugging in a MAX3232. This IC acts as an RS232 level converter, ensuring reliable 2-way communications between the XBee and a PC serial port or USB-to-serial converter. XBee module can be processed by the PICAXE with an equally simple serial command, for example: serin 7,T2400, b1 A third port bit (output6) of the PICAXE is connected to the SLEEP input of the XBee module, allowing it to be placed in a low-power mode under software control, if desired. Note that as the PICAXE operates at 5V, the signal level on its outputs must be reduced before connection to the XBee’s 3.3V inputs. This is achieved using simple voltage dividers composed of three 10kW resistors. No conversion is necessary in the opposite direction, as the PICAXE readily interprets a 3.3V signal level at its digital inputs as a valid logic high. PC to XBee interface (mode #2) When a MAX3232 chip is inserted in its on-board 16-pin socket, the XBee module is connected (via the download cable) directly to the PC’s serial port. This can be seen in the circuit diagram of Fig.2. Obviously, this mode allows data to Table 1: Jumper Summary Jumper Position Function J1 Open Top Bottom (not used) Normal Ping test (XBee DOUT connected to DIN) J2 Open Fitted XBee VREF pin not connected XBee VREF pin connected to 3.3V J3 Open Top Bottom IND LED not connected IND LED connected to XBee RF_TX (transmit) pin IND LED connected to XBee ASSOCIATE pin J4 Open Fitted PICAXE output6 not connected PICAXE output6 connected to XBee SLEEP pin Note: the default position of each jumper is shown in bold. Orientate the PC board as shown in Fig.4 when referring to this table. 90 Silicon Chip be transmitted from and received by the computer. In addition, it allows the XBee’s internal configuration to be altered via the Programming Editor’s XBee Wizard or by user-entered commands (see the XBee manual for more details on configuration). Important: the PC board has provision for both a PICAXE-18X micro (IC1) and a MAX3232 (IC2), the latter being for computer (PC) support. When a PICAXE is to be used on the board (mode #1 above), it is inserted in its 18-pin socket and the MAX3232 is removed from its socket. Conversely, when used with a computer (mode #2 above), the PICAXE micro must be removed from its socket (if installed) and the MAX3232 chip inserted in its 16-pin socket. Never have both the PICAXE chip and MAX3232 chip installed at the same time! Power supply For ease of use, the AXE210 is designed to operate from either a regulated 5V DC supply or an unregulated 9V DC supply. It can also be used with a 4.5V battery pack (typically three AA cells). Fig.3 shows the circuit details. Note that two voltage regulators are included on the PC board – the ZSR500C (RG1) siliconchip.com.au Par t s Lis t Fig.3: two regulators provide +5V and +3.3V for the PICAXE micro and XBee module. Advanced experimenters looking for maximum battery life in remote nodes may wish to design their own power supply and bypass these regulators entirely. provides +5V for the PICAXE micro, whereas the ZSR330C (RG2) provides +3.3V for the XBee module. Power input to the board is via a 3-way terminal block (CONN2). If a 9V DC supply is used, its positive (red) lead is connected to the top terminal (see Fig.4). Alternatively, a regulated 5V supply (or 4.5V battery pack) can be connected to the bottom terminal. Note that the bottom terminal bypasses the on-board 5V regulator. The ground, or 0V (black) lead is connected to the centre terminal of the connector in both cases. Important: take great care with the power supply connections to the board. Accidental reversal of the power leads (or batteries) or the application of more than 5V to the 5V input will destroy many components, including the PICAXE micro or MAX3232 and the XBee module. Construction Assembly of the AXE210 Connect Board is very straightforward, with all parts mounting on a small, doublesided PC board. Fig.4 shows the assembly details. Install the resistors first, followed by the IC sockets, voltage regulators, LEDs and then all remaining parts. Take particular care with the two regulators, as they look identical. Check the package markings with a magnifying glass if necessary; the 5V regulator (marked “500”) goes into the RG1 position and the 3.3V regulator (marked “330”) goes into the RG2 position. Be sure to orientate the flat side of each device as indicated on the overlay diagram. The orientation of several other siliconchip.com.au components is also critical. The positive leads of the two electrolytic capacitors must go in as indicated by the “+” markings on Fig.4, while the anode (longer) leads of the three LEDs must go into the holes marked “A” or “+”. Finally, be sure to match the notched end of the IC sockets with that shown. Initially, both boards must be configured for mode #2 (computer to XBee) use, so insert the MAX3232 (IC2) into its 16-pin socket, making sure that its notched (pin 1) end matches the notched end of the socket. Do not install the PICAXE chip (IC1); its socket must remain empty whenever IC2 is installed! The jumpers (J1-J4) are made from the longer 10-way section supplied in the kit by cutting it into two 3-way and two 2-way sections. A sharp knife or side cutters can be used here. The XBee module is carefully inserted into the two header sockets (H1 & H2), while making sure that the chamfered corners of the module match the outline marked on the PC board. The correct orientation is also evident in the photos. Note that header socket H3 is not used with this project and therefore the position is left empty. This header is used for connecting a GPS (rather than XBee) module to the board and this will be covered in a future article. You board should now be complete. Before moving on, repeat the above steps to assemble the second board in preparation for the testing phase. XBee reset Initially, you have to connect each board to a PC to initialise the XBee Two complete kits containing the following parts are required for this project: 1 AXE210 PC board 1 3-way screw terminal block 2 6mm miniature tactile switches (SW1,SW2) 1 10-pin 2.54mm pitch header (cut down for J1-J4) 2 10-way 2.0mm pitch header sockets (H1, H2) 1 3.5mm stereo socket 4 jumper shunts (links) 1 16-pin IC socket 1 18-pin IC socket 1 3 x AA battery holder 1 battery clip Semiconductors 1 PICAXE-18X micro (IC1) 1 MAX3232CPE RS232 transceiver (IC2) 1 ZSR500C +5V 200mA regulator (RG1) (Farnell 384-8541) 1 ZSR330C +3.3V 200mA regulator (RG2) (Farnell 384-7780) 3 3mm red LEDs Capacitors 1 100mF 16V PC electrolytic 1 4.7mF 16V PC electrolytic 7 100nF MKT polyester Resistors (0.25W 5%) 1 22kW 1 4.7kW 7 10kW 4 180W Also required (not in kits): 2 MaxStream XBee modules 1 AXE026 PICAXE download cable 6 AA alkaline cells Note 1: if your PC does not have a 9-pin serial port, you also require a USB-to-serial adapter, part no. USB010. Note 2: the PICAXE Programming Editor software (v4.1.15 or later) can be downloaded free of charge from www.picaxe.co.uk or ordered on CD, part no. BAS805. Note 3: the design copyright for this project is owned by Revolution Education Ltd. Complete kits (part No. AXE210) and the XBee modules are available from authorised PICAXE distributors. Australian readers can contact MicroZed Computers on 1300 735 420 or go to www.microzed.com.au. April 2006 91 Fig.4: follow this diagram very closely when assembling the PC boards. Note in particular the orientation of the two regulators, the electrolytic capacitors, LEDs, ICs and the XBee module! For ease of experimentation, all PICAXE and XBee I/O lines have been made available on rows of pads, shown here with their designated signal names (refer to the AXE210 & XBee manuals for detailed information). modules and ready them for the communications tests. To begin, select one of your completed boards and install links (shunts) on jumpers J1-J4 as shown in the configuration panel below. XBee Reset Board Configuration Board #1 Board #2 MAX3232 fitted MAX3232 fitted J1 at “top” J1 at “top” J2 fitted J2 fitted J3 at “bottom” J3 at “bottom” J4 not fitted J4 not fitted That done, connect the board to your chosen power supply, as described earlier in the “Power supply” section. If using the supplied 3-cell battery pack, the red wire goes in the bottom (5V) terminal and the black wire goes in the centre (0V) terminal. Next, connect the board to your PC via the PICAXE download cable and launch the Programming Editor software. From the main toolbar, select View -> Options and click the “Serial Port” tab. Make sure that the selected serial port matches the physical port that you’re plugged the cable into. Next, open the “XBee Setup” window by selecting PICAXE -> Wizards -> AXE210 PICAXE Connect from the toolbar. Click the “Factory Reset” button, which you’ll note also changes the baud rate to “9600”. Now change the XBee baud rate to “2400” and click on 92 Silicon Chip the “Write” button. This operation also automatically changes the PC baud rate to “2400”. To confirm that the module is operating correctly, click on the “Read Version” button. The results should appear in the “Buffer” window, as shown in Fig.5. Of course, you may get different version numbers to that shown in our screen shot, which is perfectly OK! That completes the preliminary setup for the first board, so disconnect power and unplug the serial cable. You must now repeat all of the above steps to initialise your second board. Once done, both XBee modules have default settings, including a baud rate of 2400 bits/s. In this condition, they will respond to any other XBee module – ie, they are address independent (we will look at how to use unique addresses in Pt.2 next month). The boards are now ready for their first communications test! Ping test To check communication between the modules we’ll first perform a “ping” test. In this test, one board is connected to the PC (board #1) and the other is stand-alone (board #2). To prevent any confusion, mark one of your boards as “#1” and the second as “#2” before proceeding. The PC first sends data to board #1, where the XBee module transmits it over the airwaves. Board #2 receives the data and immediately re-transmits it (ie, echoes or loops it back). Board #1 receives the data back from board #2 and sends it on to the PC via the serial port cable, where the software compares the sent data against the received data for discrepancies. As noted, one of the boards is connected to the PC (board #1). This board operates in mode #2, so all its jumpers must be set to their default positions and the MAX3232 must be installed. The “Ping Test Board Configuration” panel below shows what you have to do. Ping Test Board Configuration Board #1 Board #2 MAX3232 fitted PICAXE fitted J1 at “top” J1 at “bottom” J2 fitted J2 fitted J3 at “bottom” J3 at “bottom” J4 not fitted J4 not fitted As you can see, changes are required to the second board (board #2). It will be operated stand-alone, so remove the MAX3232 chip and install the PICAXE-18X in its 18-pin socket. Also, move J1 from its default (top) position to the bottom position, which connects the XBee’s DOUT & DIN pins together for the ping test. As before, connect board #1 to your PC via the PICAXE download cable. That done, position board #2 about 1m away from board #1 and apply power to both units. Next, launch the Programming Edisiliconchip.com.au If both boards are correctly configured and operating normally, a text string will be transmitted by board #1 and echoed back by board #2. The result is displayed in the “XBee Setup” window. In addition, the RSSI LED on both boards should flash while they are communicating. PICAXE to PC test Fig.5: the XBee module can be reset and tested using the Programming Editor’s XBee Setup wizard. This screen shot shows the results after clicking on the wizard’s “Read Version” button (you may get different version numbers). tor software. From the main toolbar, select View -> Options and click on the “Serial Port” tab. Make sure that the selected serial port matches the physical port that you’re using with the download cable. Next, open the “XBee Setup” window by selecting PICAXE -> Wizards -> AXE210 PICAXE Connect from the toolbar. Make sure the PC baud rate matches the current XBee baud rate setting, which should be “2400”. Now click on the “Ping Test” button. siliconchip.com.au In this test, data is transmitted from the PICAXE microcontroller on board #2 to board #1. It is then is sent to the PC via the download cable and subsequently displayed in a terminal window. If you have just performed the ping test, then move J1’s jumper from the bottom position to the top position on board #2, as shown below. PICAXE To PC Test Configuration Board #1 Board #2 MAX3232 fitted PICAXE fitted J1 at “top” J1 at “top” J2 fitted J2 fitted J3 at “bottom” J3 at “bottom” J4 not fitted J4 not fitted Next, we need to program the PICAXE chip with a simple BASIC program. To do this, disconnect the download cable from board #1 and plug it into board #2. Using the Pro- Table 2: LED Indicators LED Indication RSSI XBee received signal strength STAT XBee module is active or sleeping IND XBee module has associated with another module or is transmitting (depends on position of J3). gramming Editor, enter the following program and download it into the PICAXE chip: init: high 7 pause 100 main: serout 7, T2400, (“Value =”, #b1,CR,LF) let b1 = b1 + 1 pause 500 goto main When that’s complete, disconnect the download cable from board #2 and plug it back into board #1. If all is well, the data being transmitted by the PICAXE over the wireless link should now be displayed in the Programming Editor’s terminal window. Summary And that’s it! Next month, we’ll see how to get two PICAXE chips talking to each other. We’ll also show you how to use computer software to save any data that’s received from a remote SC wireless node! April 2006 93 Vintage Radio By RODNEY CHAMPNESS, VK3UG The Fisk Radiola 50G battery receiver Housed in an “Empire State” style Bakelite cabinet, the Fisk Radiola 50G battery-powered receiver is capable of both broadcast band and shortwave reception. It was first produced in 1939 and has a few unusual design “quirks”. R ADIO ENGINEER Sir Ernest Fisk play ed a vital role in founding Amalgamated Wireless Australasia (AWA) and later served as its Managing Director and Chairman. In practice then, the Fisk Radiola 50G was really an AWA receiver. Produced in 1939, this batterypowered receiver used either a 2V wet cell or an air cell (via a resistor) to power the filaments. These had a total current drain of 0.6A but this increased when the dial lamps are switched on. However, this extra drain was only This view shows the excellent condition of the loudspeaker. The 761 bias battery measures 2V (down from 4.5V) and is overdue for replacement. 94 Silicon Chip short term, as a switch has to be held in to actuate the lights. There’s not a lot of information on the air cells that were used in this set, other than that a resistor was needed to drop their output voltage to 2V. What little information I can glean indicates that they have a terminal voltage of around 1.4V, so two would have been used in series in this receiver. The high tension (HT) of 135V was taken care of by three 45V batteries connected in series, the current drain on this line being 13-15mA. In addition, there was a separate bias battery (type 761) which applied -1.5V, -3.0V and -4.5V to various sections of the receiver. By the way, a variant of the model 50G, designated the 50GV, was also available. Its circuit was almost the same but was modified to use a 6V vibrator power pack. It’s worth noting that radios at the start of the 20th century were almost exclusively battery powered. This was due mainly to a lack of suitable filtering components to produce the pure DC required for the filaments and plates of the valves. However, as time progressed, valves with indirectly heated cathodes made it easier to design sets for AC mains operation. At the same time, valves with lower filament current and voltage requirements were developed specifically for use in battery-powered receivers. Eventually, the later dry battery valves that were developed led to portable receivers using the 1R5, 1T4, 1S5 and 3S4 valve line-up. In the mid-1930s, valve manufacturers produced many valves that worked well from a single 2V lead-acid cell (battery) and three series-connected 45V dry batteries for the HT. In fact, valves were really coming of age at that time, with many of the octalsiliconchip.com.au The Fisk Radiola alongside its shipping carton. It’s quite rare to find the original packaging for old receivers. based types turning in quite good performance. The Fisk Radiola 50G The Fisk Radiola 50G described here is as complete as any set I have come across. It has the original shipping carton, ancillary items including an air-cell series resistor and a small aerial lead, and all the literature that came with the set. These items make this particular 50G all the more valuable and the literature makes interesting reading. The 50G and the 50GV (vibrator version) sets used five valves and would have been quite sensitive receivers for the time. The valve line-up starts with a 1C7G converter, followed by two stages of intermediate frequency (IF) amplification on 460kHz using two 1D5G valves. This then feeds both a detector diode and an automatic volume control (AVC/AGC) diode within a 1K7G valve. Audio amplification is then achieved using the pentode section of the 1K7G valve which in turn feeds a 1L5G audio output valve. These were all octal-based battery valves, used from the late 1930s through to the early 1950s. Dual-wave operation An interesting feature of the 50G is that it is a dual-wave radio. The origisiliconchip.com.au The chassis easily fits into the tall cabinet and is still in good condition. April 2006 95 nal versions covered 550-1500kHz on the broadcast band and 6-18MHz on the shortwave band but the broadcast band was later extended to cover 5301600kHz. Dual-wave operation was quite pop ular in those times, with many Australians interested in listening to radio stations in Europe and to the BBC – especially when the test cricket was on. Battery sets were mostly used in areas where a mains electricity supply was unavailable and that usually meant on farms and on remote stations well away from towns and cities. Receivers like the 50G were quite reasonably sensitive although they would have been a little noisy due to the noise generated by the 1C7G. Pentagrid converter valves generate more noise internally than triode hexode valves such as the 6AN7. To overcome this problem, a substantial outside antenna would have been required. However, large outside antennas were installed as a matter of course in those days, so the noise generated by the 1C7G would usually have been swamped by strong radio signals. As with many other receivers, there was no RF amplifier stage in this set. This meant that the band-change switching could be kept simple and that in turn meant lower cost. Main features The above chassis (top) and under chassis views. No components appear to have been replaced in the set. 96 Silicon Chip As shown in the photos, the receiver is installed in a brown bakelite cabinet, with Empire State styling. This cabinet was made using three separate pressings. The front plate of the set is one pressing, the back is another and the main pressing (body of the cabinet) holds the chassis. The cabinet is in extremely good condition and will need little if any work done on it (the reflection off the front panel gives a false impression of its condition). In fact, the set’s owner, Brian Lackie, is in two minds as to whether he will restore this set, as it has had so little work. It is so complete that it may be best to leave it in its original state. The front-panel controls, from left to right, are “Tone”, “Volume”, “Tuning and Dial Lamp” (concentric knobs), and “Off-On and Wave Change”. The idea of the wave change and on/off control being on a 3-way switch has me wondering why AWA did this, as there are nine sections to the switch. siliconchip.com.au Silicon Chip Binders REAL VALUE AT $12.95 PLUS P & P Fig.1: the circuit of the Fisk Radiola 50G. This battery-powered set used five valves and was capable of both broadcast band and shortwave reception. H SILICON CHIP logo printed in gold-coloured lettering on spine & cover H Buy five and get them postage free! Price: $A12.95 plus $A7.00 p&p per order. Available only in Australia. Just fill in the handy order form in this issue; or fax (02) 9979 6503; or ring (02) 9979 5644 & quote your credit card number. As well as its original shipping carton, the Fisk Radiola 50G also came with all its supplied literature. However, one advantage of this switch mechanism is that in the off position, the antenna was isolated from the aerial coils. This meant that with a big high antenna, there was less likelihood of damage to the aerial-coil due to nearby electrical storms. The only error they made here was that the aerial was not earthed when the set was switched off (there is a spare contact that could have achieved this). The dial lamps were actuated by pressing the concentric knob on the tuning shaft. This illuminated the secsiliconchip.com.au tion of the dial that related to the band in use. In practice, however, pressing this control and tuning at the same time is quite awkward. The 50G, like most battery sets of the era, used a “C” bias battery to provide the necessary operating conditions for the valves. In this receiver, a 4.5V 761 battery is used with taps at -3V and -1.5V. The -4.5V rail is used to bias the 1L5G only. For some strange reason, when the set is switched on, a 600W resistor is placed across the battery, giving a cur- rent drain of 7.5mA for no good reason that I can think of. By contrast, the vibrator-powered version (the 50GV) does not have a resistor loading the bias battery. In fact, bias batteries usually have no load placed on them and are simply there to provide the bias voltages. They will last for years when used that way but not in this receiver. A bias of -1.5V is applied to the grid of the 1K7G, while the -3V line is connected to the 1C7G’s signal input grid via a resistor when the set is on shortwave (instead of the AGC control voltage that’s applied on the broadcast band). Conversely, the second IF stage has -3V applied to it when the set is tuned to the broadcast band but has AGC applied to it when on shortwave. Dismantling the receiver This set is easy to dismantle. First, the five knobs are removed, followed by five screws which hold the back on and four screws that attach the chassis to the cabinet. Fortunately, the speaker and dial-scale are all attached to the chassis, which makes the job simple April 2006 97 Photo Gallery: AWA 516MZ 4-Valve Receiver Manufactured by AWA, Sydney, the AWA 516MZ series was introduced in 1947 and continued in production until 1949. These 4-valve mains-operated receivers were available in a number of different colours, with the brownwhite mottled set shown here being one of the less common. The valve line-up was as follows: 6A8-G frequency changer; 6G8-G reflexed IF amplifier/first audio amplifier/detector/AVC rectifier; 6V6-GT audio output; and 5Y3-GT rectifier. Photo: Historical Radio Society of Australia, Inc. – and it makes service and alignment so much easier. Once the chassis is out, the components on top are relatively easy to access. Similarly, access to the under-chassis components is quite reasonable, although access around the wave-change switch is a little tight. It appears that no components have been replaced during the life of the set and it has had very little use over the years. In fact, this set has been very well looked after and has obviously been stored in ideal conditions during the last 66 years. Even the loudspeaker is in pristine condition, which is rare in a set of this age. Restoration The cabinet will not need anything doing to it as it has already been polished and is looking good. There are a couple of small holes in the speaker cloth though and replacement may be the only real answer here. More seriously, the wiring in the battery loom has perished and if the set is to be fully restored to working condition, this will also need to be replaced. I faced a similar dilemma with the 98 Silicon Chip battery leads when I restored an AWA battery receiver last year. In that case, I was unable to slip the woven brown sheath off the wires, probably because the perished wiring had adhered to the inside of the sheath. Whether Brian will be able to find a way to remove the sleeve in this case remains to be seen. Certainly, the set cannot be made to operate unless the leads are replaced. The 2V battery clips also need replacing, as corrosion is quite evident on them. The resistors and capacitors will have to be checked in the usual manner. Usually, the resistors are relatively close to their nominal values and don’t need replacement. The capacitors are a different story – they may be close to their nominal values but the paper units are likely to have high leakage (low resistance). As a matter of routine, I would replace the audio coupling capacitors (C30 and C34) and the AGC bypass capacitors (C5, C7 & C25) without hesitation but other paper capacitors may also need replacing. Keeping up appearances If this set is to be kept in as near to original as possible, it’s essential to preserve its appearance. Although the capacitors can be replaced with the newer yellow-coloured polyesters on the HT lines and with low-voltage disc ceramic types on the AGC line, these will not look authentic. The solution to this problem is to carefully remove the “insides” of the defective capacitors and fit the newer more compact capacitors inside the casings. The ends of the old capacitor cases can then be resealed using the wax or pitch-like material that was originally used. From past experience, most (if not all) the valves will be in good order, although occasionally a new valve will be required. The alignment should also be reasonably close to the original settings but should still be checked. There are six IF adjustments on 460kHz. The front end is aligned at 600kHz and 1400kHz on the broadcast band and at 18 metres on the shortwave band. Note that the alignment on shortwave in this set, like most others of the era, is very rough and ready. The set is aligned at 18 metres which means that the local oscillator and the aerial coil are aligned for best performance at this wavelength (which equates to 16.666667MHz). However, there is no provision for tracking or accurately aligning the tuned circuits on shortwave. Instead, the way to use such sets is to mark where your favourite shortwave stations appear on the dial and not rely on the dial calibrations, as they may be up to 1MHz out. Additionally, at the 16-metre end of the dial, many stations will be heard at two spots on the dial, some 920kHz apart (ie, twice the intermediate frequency). Summary This receiver has a few design quirks that, although unusual, do not adversely affect its operation. However, when the set was being designed, I suspect that problems were encountered with the oscillator dropping out on both the shortwave and broadcast bands. To overcome this problem, padder feedback capacitors were fitted to both oscillator coils. The relevant components are C12 & C13 on the broadcast band and C16 & C17 on the shortwave band. In summary, this 50G receiver is a very worthwhile set to have in any SC collection. siliconchip.com.au SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings. Please feel free to visit the advertiser’s website: www.microbric.com Time for a little ROBOT WARS fun! Hands up if you’ve seen “Robot Wars” on TV? Hands up if you’ve ever wished you could be a part of Robot Wars, with your monster dealing out death and destruction to any other pile of nuts and bolts who dared cross your robot’s path . . . Well now you can! by Ross Tester THE SUMO MODULE W e can’t quite promise you the full-on Robot Wars experience with the jaws of death, power saws, fire and all those other enemy-killing devices (just how big a bank balance do you have?) but we can go close – for a lot less cost! With your Microbric Viper and the Sumo Pack, your robot can go into battle against other robots and, depending on how good your programming and control are, flip him/her/it over on its back, disabling it. You win! Besides, you don’t really want to totally destroy your mates’ robots, do you? OK, forget we asked. . . By the way, the Microbic Sumo Viper is an ideal first step if you do want to get into the real Robot Wars world of mayhem! What it does When fitted to your Microbric Viper 100 Silicon Chip (which incidentally needs the line tracker module also fitted), your Viper seeks out the opposition with a servocontrolled scoop which you have under your control to attack with. Your Viper knows to attack when the bump sensors at the front are activated. This triggers the program into turning the Viper into attack mode! We mentioned a moment ago that you will also need the ‘Line Tracker Expansion Pack’ (March 2006 SILICON CHIP). This is used to keep within the rules and detect the border of the Sumo ring so your Viper doesn’t drive over the edge. (Yes, there are rules in Robot Wars!). The Sumo ring is either a round white ring with a black border or, more popularly, a black ring with a white border. The former can be as simple as some black electrical tape forming a round border on a white surface, to a specially built, raised Sumo ring. Other designs The method of building and controlling the Sumo Viper in the instructions is just one way – there are, of course, many other ways and modifications to try. That’s one of the beauties of the Microbric system – experimentation. Just remember, though, if you depart from the suggested method, you’ll probably need to rewrite at least parts of the program to run it. But this is all part of the Microbric experience; learning how to write software to run your robots, so we are certainly not advising you against this. Just the opposite: we’re encouraging it! However, first up, we suggest that you do follow the suggested method of construction, get it working properly, then experiment with different siliconchip.com.au main punch-out boards, one with the base module plus lots of other bits, the second with the scoop and its “bits”. There will also be some fins, a pack containing a servo and actuators, plus some small plastic bags with a variety of hardware including plastic brics, nuts, bolts, spacers, etc. Assembly At left is the Sumo Expansion Pack (Dick Smith Electronics stores). You can tell it’s the Sumo Pack with the red dot against the Sumo description on the back panel of the pack. Otherwise all the packs look the same! configurations and programs to your heart’s content. You should find many ways to program the Microbric Sumo Viper to attack. For example, you could have the scoop continually lifting up and down rather than actuating just when the bump detectors actuate. Or you might put more bump detectors on the rear end so no-one can sneak up on you and attack you from behind. You’ll probably find many other Microbric enthusiasts around Australia (and further afield!) are doing exactly the same as you are, so why not jump onto one of the discussion groups on the ’net and compare notes! the servo off and saves power. By sending the Sumo module a [0], the servo stops trying to move to a position which means it can be rotated by external forces. To turn the servo back on, just send it another command. The Sumo Pack Many of the Microbric Expansion packs look the same but if you have a look at the back panel on the box, you’ll see a dot on one of the listed packs (see photos above ). Inside the box, you should find two Once again, detailed assembly instructions are available for the Sumo Pack on the ’net so we won’t waste space repeating them here. In essence, you assemble the scoop mechanism, mount the servo, construct the actuator arm and then attach the bump sensors. Construction follows the same simple method used throughout the Microbric series – all you need is a screwdriver. The control modules are preassembled so no soldering is required. Don’t ignore the warning not to power up the Sumo module before calibrating the servo. The reason for this is that there is no way for the microprocessor to know what position the servo is set at when mounted, so it must be calibrated in the centre position. If you don’t do this, the very strong servo has enough power to break something – either itself of some other part of the Viper. And the whole idea is to disable someone else’s robot, not your own! Finally, you connect the Sumo module to your Microbric Viper. You’re now ready to unleash your Microbric SC Sumo Viper on your mates! How it works You should already be familiar with the bump sensors that come with the Viper and the bump sensors on the front of the Sumo module are no different. Controlling the position of the servo is pretty straightforward – you simply send a serial out command (Serout) stating the position you want the servo to be at (between 1 and 255) and the onboard microcontroller takes care of the rest; eg, Serout P6,i2400, [128] ; Sets the servo to the centre position through pin 6 There is a special setting that turns siliconchip.com.au Here’s what you should find in the Sumo Expansion Pack box: two large punchout PC boards, a servo and bags containing all the hardware you’ll need. April 2006 101 ALL S ILICON C HIP SUBSCRIBERS – PRINT, OR BOTH – AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY FOR A REFERENCE $ave 10%ONLINE DISCOUNT ON ALL BOOK OR PARTSHOP PURCHASES. CHIP BOOKSHOP 10% (Does not apply to subscriptions) SILICON For the latest titles and information, please refer to our website books page: www.siliconchip.com.au/Shop/Books PIC MICROCONTROLLERS: know it all SELF ON AUDIO Multiple authors $85.00 The best of subjects Newnes authors have written over the past few years, combined in a one-stop maxi reference. Covers introduction to PICs and their programming in Assembly, PICBASIC, MBASIC & C. 900+ pages. PROGRAMMING and CUSTOMIZING THE PICAXE By David Lincoln (2nd Ed, 2011) $65.00* A great aid when wrestling with applications for the PICAXE See series of microcontrollers, at beginner, intermediate and Review April advanced levels. Every electronics class, school and library should have a copy, along with anyone who works with PICAXEs. 300 pages in paperback. 2011 PIC IN PRACTICE by D W Smith. 2nd Edition - published 2006 $60.00* Based on popular short courses on the PIC, for professionals, students and teachers. Can be used at a variety of levels. An ideal introduction to the world of microcontrollers. 255 pages in paperback. PIC MICROCONTROLLER – your personal introductory course By John Morton 3rd edition 2005. $60.00* A unique and practical guide to getting up and running with the PIC. It assumes no knowledge of microcontrollers – ideal introduction for students, teachers, technicians and electronics enthusiasts. Revised 3rd edition focuses entirely on re-programmable flash PICs such as 16F54, 16F84 12F508 and 12F675. 226 pages in paperback. by Douglas Self 2nd Edition 2006 $69.00* A collection of 35 classic magazine articles offering a dependable methodology for designing audio power amplifiers to improve performance at every point without significantly increasing cost. Includes compressors/limiters, hybrid bipolar/FET amps, electronic switching and more. 467 pages in paperback. SMALL SIGNAL AUDIO DESIGN By Douglas Self – First Edition 2010 $95.00* The latest from the Guru of audio. Explains audio concepts in easy-to-understand language with plenty of examples and reasoning. Inspiration for audio designers, superb background for audio enthusiasts and especially where it comes to component peculiarities and limitations. Expensive? Yes. Value for money? YES! Highly recommended. 558 pages in paperback. AUDIO POWER AMPLIFIER DESIGN HANDBOOK by Douglas Self – 5th Edition 2009 $85.00* "The Bible" on audio power amplifiers. Many revisions and updates to the previous edition and now has an extra three chapters covering Class XD, Power Amp Input Systems and Input Processing and Auxiliarly Subsystems. Not cheap and not a book for the beginner but if you want the best reference on Audio Power Amps, you want this one! 463 pages in paperback. DVD PLAYERS AND DRIVES by K.F. Ibrahim. Published 2003. $71.00* OP AMPS FOR EVERYONE By Bruce Carter – 4th Edition 2013 $83.00* This is the bible for anyone designing op amp circuits and you don't have to be an engineer to get the most out of it. It is written in simple language but gives lots of in-depth info, bridging the gap between the theoretical and the practical. 281 pages, A guide to DVD technology and applications, with particular focus on design issues and pitfalls, maintenance and repair. Ideal for engineers, technicians, students of consumer electronics and sales and installation staff. 319 pages in paperback. by Sanjaya Maniktala, Published April 2012. $83.00 Thoroughly revised! The most comprehensive study available of theoretical and practical aspects of controlling and measuring EMI in switching power supplies. Subtitled Exploring the PIC32, a Microchip insider tells all on this powerful PIC! Focuses on examples and exercises that show how to solve common, real-world design problems quickly. Includes handy checklists. FREE CD-ROM includes source code in C, the Microchip C30 compiler, and MPLAB SIM. 400 pages paperback. By Garry Cratt – Latest (7th) Edition 2008 $49.00 Written in Australia, for Australian conditions by one of Australia's foremost satellite TV experts. If there is anything you wanted to know about setting up a satellite TV system, (including what you can't do!) it's sure to be covered in this 176-page paperback book. See Review Feb 2004 SWITCHING POWER SUPPLIES A-Z PROGRAMMING 32-bit MICROCONTROLLERS IN C By Luci di Jasio (2008) $79.00* PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SATELLITE TV See Review March 2010 ELECTRIC MOTORS AND DRIVES By Austin Hughes & Bill Drury - 4th edition 2013 $59.00* This is a very easy to read book with very little mathematics or formulas. It covers the basics of all the main motor types, DC permanent magnet and wound field, AC induction and steppers and gives a very good description of how speed control circuits work with these motors. Soft covers, 444 pages. NEWNES GUIDE TO TV & VIDEO TECHNOLOGY By KF Ibrahim 4th Edition (Published 2007) $49.00 It's back! Provides a full and comprehensive coverage of video and television technology including HDTV and DVD. Starts with fundamentals so is ideal for students but covers in-depth technologies such as Blu-ray, DLP, Digital TV, etc so is also perfect for engineers. 600+ pages in paperback. RF CIRCUIT DESIGN by Chris Bowick, Second Edition, 2008. $63.00* The classic RF circuit design book. RF circuit design is now more important that ever in the wireless world. In most of the wireless devices that we use there is an RF component – this book tells how to design and integrate in a very practical fashion. 244 pages in paperback. PRACTICAL RF HANDBOOK AC MACHINES By Jim Lowe Published 2006 $66.00* Applicable to Australian trades-level courses including NE10 AC Machines, NE12 Synchronous Machines and the AC part of NE30 Electric Motor Control and Protection. Covering polyphase induction motors, singlephase motors, synchronous machines and polyphase motor starting. 160 pages in paperback. PRACTICAL VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES & POWER ELECTRONICS Se e by Malcolm Barnes. 1st Ed, Feb 2003. $73.00* Review An essential reference for engineers and anyone who wishes to design or use variable speed drives for induction motors. 286 pages in soft cover. Feb 2003 BUILD YOUR OWN ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE by Carl Vogel. Published 2009. $40.00* by Ian Hickman. 4th edition 2007 $61.00* Alternative fuel expert Carl Vogel gives you a hands-on guide with A guide to RF design for engineers, technicians, students and enthusiasts. the latest technical information and easy-to-follow instructions Covers key topics in RF: analog design principles, transmission lines, for building a two-wheeled electric vehicle – from a streamlined couplers, transformers, amplifiers, oscillators, modulation, transmitters and scooter to a full-sized motorcycle. 384 pages in soft cover. receivers, propagation and antennas. 279 pages in paperback. *NOTE: ALL PRICES ARE PLUS P&P – AUSTRALIA ONLY: $10.00 per order; NZ – $AU12.00 PER BOOK; REST OF WORLD $AU18.00 PER BOOK To Place Your Order: INTERNET (24/7) PAYPAL (24/7) eMAIL (24/7) www.siliconchip. com.au/Shop/Books Use your PayPal account silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au with order & credit card details FAX (24/7) MAIL (24/7) Your order and card details to Your order to PO Box 139 Collaroy NSW 2097 (02) 9939 2648 with all details PHONE – (9-5, Mon-Fri) Call (02) 9939 3295 with with order & credit card details You can also order and pay for books by cheque/money order (Mail Only). Make cheques payable to Silicon Chip Publications. ALL TITLES SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. PRICES VALID FOR MONTH OF MAGAZINE ISSUE ONLY. ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST ALL S ILICON C HIP SUBSCRIBERS – PRINT, OR BOTH – AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY FOR A REFERENCE $ave 10%ONLINE DISCOUNT ON ALL BOOK OR PARTSHOP PURCHASES. CHIP BOOKSHOP 10% (Does not apply to subscriptions) SILICON For the latest titles and information, please refer to our website books page: www.siliconchip.com.au/Shop/Books PIC MICROCONTROLLERS: know it all SELF ON AUDIO Multiple authors $85.00 The best of subjects Newnes authors have written over the past few years, combined in a one-stop maxi reference. Covers introduction to PICs and their programming in Assembly, PICBASIC, MBASIC & C. 900+ pages. PROGRAMMING and CUSTOMIZING THE PICAXE By David Lincoln (2nd Ed, 2011) $65.00* A great aid when wrestling with applications for the PICAXE See series of microcontrollers, at beginner, intermediate and Review April advanced levels. Every electronics class, school and library should have a copy, along with anyone who works with PICAXEs. 300 pages in paperback. 2011 PIC IN PRACTICE by D W Smith. 2nd Edition - published 2006 $60.00* Based on popular short courses on the PIC, for professionals, students and teachers. Can be used at a variety of levels. An ideal introduction to the world of microcontrollers. 255 pages in paperback. PIC MICROCONTROLLER – your personal introductory course By John Morton 3rd edition 2005. $60.00* A unique and practical guide to getting up and running with the PIC. It assumes no knowledge of microcontrollers – ideal introduction for students, teachers, technicians and electronics enthusiasts. Revised 3rd edition focuses entirely on re-programmable flash PICs such as 16F54, 16F84 12F508 and 12F675. 226 pages in paperback. by Douglas Self 2nd Edition 2006 $69.00* A collection of 35 classic magazine articles offering a dependable methodology for designing audio power amplifiers to improve performance at every point without significantly increasing cost. Includes compressors/limiters, hybrid bipolar/FET amps, electronic switching and more. 467 pages in paperback. SMALL SIGNAL AUDIO DESIGN By Douglas Self – First Edition 2010 $95.00* The latest from the Guru of audio. Explains audio concepts in easy-to-understand language with plenty of examples and reasoning. Inspiration for audio designers, superb background for audio enthusiasts and especially where it comes to component peculiarities and limitations. Expensive? Yes. Value for money? YES! Highly recommended. 558 pages in paperback. AUDIO POWER AMPLIFIER DESIGN HANDBOOK by Douglas Self – 5th Edition 2009 $85.00* "The Bible" on audio power amplifiers. Many revisions and updates to the previous edition and now has an extra three chapters covering Class XD, Power Amp Input Systems and Input Processing and Auxiliarly Subsystems. Not cheap and not a book for the beginner but if you want the best reference on Audio Power Amps, you want this one! 463 pages in paperback. DVD PLAYERS AND DRIVES by K.F. Ibrahim. Published 2003. $71.00* OP AMPS FOR EVERYONE By Bruce Carter – 4th Edition 2013 $83.00* This is the bible for anyone designing op amp circuits and you don't have to be an engineer to get the most out of it. It is written in simple language but gives lots of in-depth info, bridging the gap between the theoretical and the practical. 281 pages, A guide to DVD technology and applications, with particular focus on design issues and pitfalls, maintenance and repair. Ideal for engineers, technicians, students of consumer electronics and sales and installation staff. 319 pages in paperback. by Sanjaya Maniktala, Published April 2012. $83.00 Thoroughly revised! The most comprehensive study available of theoretical and practical aspects of controlling and measuring EMI in switching power supplies. Subtitled Exploring the PIC32, a Microchip insider tells all on this powerful PIC! Focuses on examples and exercises that show how to solve common, real-world design problems quickly. Includes handy checklists. FREE CD-ROM includes source code in C, the Microchip C30 compiler, and MPLAB SIM. 400 pages paperback. By Garry Cratt – Latest (7th) Edition 2008 $49.00 Written in Australia, for Australian conditions by one of Australia's foremost satellite TV experts. If there is anything you wanted to know about setting up a satellite TV system, (including what you can't do!) it's sure to be covered in this 176-page paperback book. See Review Feb 2004 SWITCHING POWER SUPPLIES A-Z PROGRAMMING 32-bit MICROCONTROLLERS IN C By Luci di Jasio (2008) $79.00* PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SATELLITE TV See Review March 2010 ELECTRIC MOTORS AND DRIVES By Austin Hughes & Bill Drury - 4th edition 2013 $59.00* This is a very easy to read book with very little mathematics or formulas. It covers the basics of all the main motor types, DC permanent magnet and wound field, AC induction and steppers and gives a very good description of how speed control circuits work with these motors. Soft covers, 444 pages. NEWNES GUIDE TO TV & VIDEO TECHNOLOGY By KF Ibrahim 4th Edition (Published 2007) $49.00 It's back! Provides a full and comprehensive coverage of video and television technology including HDTV and DVD. Starts with fundamentals so is ideal for students but covers in-depth technologies such as Blu-ray, DLP, Digital TV, etc so is also perfect for engineers. 600+ pages in paperback. RF CIRCUIT DESIGN by Chris Bowick, Second Edition, 2008. $63.00* The classic RF circuit design book. RF circuit design is now more important that ever in the wireless world. In most of the wireless devices that we use there is an RF component – this book tells how to design and integrate in a very practical fashion. 244 pages in paperback. PRACTICAL RF HANDBOOK AC MACHINES By Jim Lowe Published 2006 $66.00* Applicable to Australian trades-level courses including NE10 AC Machines, NE12 Synchronous Machines and the AC part of NE30 Electric Motor Control and Protection. Covering polyphase induction motors, singlephase motors, synchronous machines and polyphase motor starting. 160 pages in paperback. PRACTICAL VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES & POWER ELECTRONICS Se e by Malcolm Barnes. 1st Ed, Feb 2003. $73.00* Review An essential reference for engineers and anyone who wishes to design or use variable speed drives for induction motors. 286 pages in soft cover. Feb 2003 BUILD YOUR OWN ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE by Carl Vogel. Published 2009. $40.00* by Ian Hickman. 4th edition 2007 $61.00* Alternative fuel expert Carl Vogel gives you a hands-on guide with A guide to RF design for engineers, technicians, students and enthusiasts. the latest technical information and easy-to-follow instructions Covers key topics in RF: analog design principles, transmission lines, for building a two-wheeled electric vehicle – from a streamlined couplers, transformers, amplifiers, oscillators, modulation, transmitters and scooter to a full-sized motorcycle. 384 pages in soft cover. receivers, propagation and antennas. 279 pages in paperback. *NOTE: ALL PRICES ARE PLUS P&P – AUSTRALIA ONLY: $10.00 per order; NZ – $AU12.00 PER BOOK; REST OF WORLD $AU18.00 PER BOOK To Place Your Order: INTERNET (24/7) PAYPAL (24/7) eMAIL (24/7) www.siliconchip. com.au/Shop/Books Use your PayPal account silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au with order & credit card details FAX (24/7) MAIL (24/7) Your order and card details to Your order to PO Box 139 Collaroy NSW 2097 (02) 9939 2648 with all details PHONE – (9-5, Mon-Fri) Call (02) 9939 3295 with with order & credit card details You can also order and pay for books by cheque/money order (Mail Only). Make cheques payable to Silicon Chip Publications. ALL TITLES SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. PRICES VALID FOR MONTH OF MAGAZINE ISSUE ONLY. ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST Silicon Chip Back Issues April 1989: Auxiliary Brake Light Flasher; What You Need to Know About Capacitors; 32-Band Graphic Equaliser, Pt.2. April 1993: Solar-Powered Electric Fence; Audio Power Meter; ThreeFunction Home Weather Station; 12VDC To 70VDC Converter. May 1989: Build A Synthesised Tom-Tom; Biofeedback Monitor For Your PC; Simple Stub Filter For Suppressing TV Interference. June 1993: AM Radio Trainer, Pt.1; Remote Control For The Woofer Stopper; Digital Voltmeter For Cars. July 1989: Exhaust Gas Monitor; Experimental Mains Hum Sniffers; Compact Ultrasonic Car Alarm; The NSW 86 Class Electrics. July 1993: Single Chip Message Recorder; Light Beam Relay Extender; AM Radio Trainer, Pt.2; Quiz Game Adjudicator; Antenna Tuners – Why They Are Useful. September 1989: 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo Radio Pt.1; High Or Low Fluid Level Detector; Studio Series 20-Band Stereo Equaliser, Pt.2. October 1989: FM Radio Intercom For Motorbikes Pt.1; GaAsFet Preamplifier For Amateur TV; 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo Radio, Pt.2. November 1989: Radfax Decoder For Your PC (Displays Fax, RTTY & Morse); FM Radio Intercom For Motorbikes, Pt.2; 2-Chip Portable AM Stereo Radio, Pt.3; Floppy Disk Drive Formats & Options. January 1990: High Quality Sine/Square Oscillator; Service Tips For Your VCR; Active Antenna Kit; Designing UHF Transmitter Stages. February 1990: A 16-Channel Mixing Desk; Build A High Quality Audio Oscillator, Pt.2; The Incredible Hot Canaries; Random Wire Antenna Tuner For 6 Metres; Phone Patch For Radio Amateurs, Pt.2. March 1990: Delay Unit For Automatic Antennas; Workout Timer For Aerobics Classes; 16-Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.2; Using The UC3906 SLA Battery Charger IC. April 1990: Dual Tracking ±50V Power Supply; Voice-Operated Switch With Delayed Audio; 16-Channel Mixing Desk, Pt.3; Active CW Filter. Railways; 1W Audio Amplifier Trainer; Low-Cost Video Security System; Multi-Channel Radio Control Transmitter For Models, Pt.1. July 1995: Electric Fence Controller; How To Run Two Trains On A Single Track (Incl. Lights & Sound); Setting Up A Satellite TV Ground Station; Build A Reliable Door Minder. August 1995: Fuel Injector Monitor For Cars; Gain Controlled Microphone Preamp; How To Identify IDE Hard Disk Drive Parameters. September 1995: Railpower Mk.2 Walkaround Throttle For Model Railways, Pt.1; Keypad Combination Lock; Jacob’s Ladder Display. August 1993: Low-Cost Colour Video Fader; 60-LED Brake Light Array; Microprocessor-Based Sidereal Clock; Satellites & Their Orbits. October 1995: 3-Way Loudspeaker System; Railpower Mk.2 Walkaround Throttle For Model Railways, Pt.2; Nicad Fast Charger. September 1993: Automatic Nicad Battery Charger/Discharger; Stereo Preamplifier With IR Remote Control, Pt.1; In-Circuit Transistor Tester; +5V to ±15V DC Converter; Remote-Controlled Cockroach. November 1995: Mixture Display For Fuel Injected Cars; CB Transverter For The 80M Amateur Band, Pt.1; PIR Movement Detector. October 1993: Wireless Microphone For Musicians; Stereo Preamplifier With IR Remote Control, Pt.2; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.1. December 1995: Engine Immobiliser; 5-Band Equaliser; CB Transverter For The 80M Amateur Band, Pt.2; Subwoofer Controller; Knock Sensing In Cars; Index To Volume 8. November 1993: High Efficiency Inverter For Fluorescent Tubes; Stereo Preamplifier With IR Remote Control, Pt.3; Siren Sound Generator; Engine Management, Pt.2; Experiments For Games Cards. May 1996: High Voltage Insulation Tester; Knightrider LED Chaser; Simple Intercom Uses Optical Cable; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.3. December 1993: Remote Controller For Garage Doors; LED Stroboscope; 25W Audio Amplifier Module; A 1-Chip Melody Generator; Engine Management, Pt.3; Index To Volume 6. January 1994: 3A 40V Variable Power Supply; Solar Panel Switching Regulator; Printer Status Indicator; Mini Drill Speed Controller; Stepper Motor Controller; Active Filter Design; Engine Management, Pt.4. June 1996: Stereo Simulator (uses delay chip); Rope Light Chaser; Low Ohms Tester For Your DMM; Automatic 10A Battery Charger. July 1996: VGA Digital Oscilloscope, Pt.1; Remote Control Extender For VCRs; 2A SLA Battery Charger; 3-Band Parametric Equaliser;. August 1996: Introduction to IGBTs; Electronic Starter For Fluorescent Lamps; VGA Oscilloscope, Pt.2; 350W Amplifier Module; Masthead Amplifier For TV & FM; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.4. June 1990: Multi-Sector Home Burglar Alarm; Build A Low-Noise Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Load Protector For Power Supplies. February 1994:90-Second Message Recorder; 12-240VAC 200W Inverter; 0.5W Audio Amplifier; 3A 40V Adjustable Power Supply; Engine Management, Pt.5; Airbags In Cars – How They Work. July 1990: Digital Sine/Square Generator, Pt.1 (0-500kHz); Burglar Alarm Keypad & Combination Lock; Build A Simple Electronic Die; March 1994: Intelligent IR Remote Controller; 50W (LM3876) Audio Amplifier Module; Level Crossing Detector For Model Railways; Voice Activated Switch For FM Microphones; Engine Management, Pt.6. October 1996: Send Video Signals Over Twisted Pair Cable; 600W DC-DC Converter For Car Hifi Systems, Pt.1; IR Stereo Headphone Link, Pt.2; Multi-Channel Radio Control Transmitter, Pt.8. April 1994: Sound & Lights For Model Railway Level Crossings; Dual Supply Voltage Regulator; Universal Stereo Preamplifier; Digital Water Tank Gauge; Engine Management, Pt.7. November 1996: 8-Channel Stereo Mixer, Pt.1; Low-Cost Fluorescent Light Inverter; Repairing Domestic Light Dimmers; 600W DC-DC Converter For Car Hifi Systems, Pt.2. May 1994: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries; Induction Balance Metal Locator; Multi-Channel Infrared Remote Control; Dual Electronic Dice; Simple Servo Driver Circuits; Engine Management, Pt.8. December 1996: Active Filter For CW Reception; Fast Clock For Railway Modellers; Laser Pistol & Electronic Target; Build A Sound Level Meter; 8-Channel Stereo Mixer, Pt.2; Index To Vol.9. June 1994: A Coolant Level Alarm For Your Car; 80-Metre AM/CW Transmitter For Amateurs; Converting Phono Inputs To Line Inputs; PC-Based Nicad Battery Monitor; Engine Management, Pt.9. January 1997: Control Panel For Multiple Smoke Alarms, Pt.1; Build A Pink Noise Source; Computer Controlled Dual Power Supply, Pt.1; Digi-Temp Thermometer (Monitors Eight Temperatures). July 1994: Build A 4-Bay Bow-Tie UHF TV Antenna; PreChamp 2-Transistor Preamplifier; Steam Train Whistle & Diesel Horn Simulator; 6V SLA Battery Charger; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.10. February 1997: PC-Controlled Moving Message Display; Computer Controlled Dual Power Supply, Pt.2; Alert-A-Phone Loud Sounding Telephone Alarm; Control Panel For Multiple Smoke Alarms, Pt.2. August 1994: High-Power Dimmer For Incandescent Lights; Dual Diversity Tuner For FM Microphones, Pt.1; Nicad Zapper (For Resurrecting Nicad Batteries); Electronic Engine Management, Pt.11. March 1997: 175W PA Amplifier; Signalling & Lighting For Model Railways; Jumbo LED Clock; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.7. August 1990: Universal Safety Timer For Mains Appliances (9 Minutes); Horace The Electronic Cricket; Digital Sine/Square Generator, Pt.2. September 1990: 3-Digit Counter Module; Simple Shortwave Converter For The 2-Metre Band; Taking Care Of Nicad Battery Packs. October 1990: The Dangers of PCBs; Low-Cost Siren For Burglar Alarms; Dimming Controls For The Discolight; Surfsound Simulator; DC Offset For DMMs; NE602 Converter Circuits. November 1990: Connecting Two TV Sets To One VCR; Build An Egg Timer; Low-Cost Model Train Controller; 1.5V To 9V DC Converter; Introduction To Digital Electronics; A 6-Metre Amateur Transmitter. January 1991: Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries, Pt.1; Have Fun With The Fruit Machine (Simple Poker Machine); Two-Tone Alarm Module; The Dangers of Servicing Microwave Ovens. February 1991: A Practical Approach To Amplifier Design; Synthesised Stereo AM Tuner; Three Inverters For Fluorescent Lights; Low-Cost Sinewave Oscillator; Fast Charger For Nicad Batteries, Pt.2. May 1991: 13.5V 25A Power Supply For Transceivers; Stereo Audio Expander; Fluorescent Light Simulator For Model Railways; How To Install Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.1. July 1991: Loudspeaker Protector For Stereo Amplifiers; 4-Channel Lighting Desk, Pt.2; How To Install Multiple TV Outlets, Pt.2; Tuning In To Satellite TV, Pt.2. September 1994: Automatic Discharger For Nicad Batteries; MiniVox Voice Operated Relay; AM Radio For Weather Beacons; Dual Diversity Tuner For FM Mics, Pt.2; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.12. October 1994: How Dolby Surround Sound Works; Dual Rail Variable Power Supply; Talking Headlight Reminder; Electronic Ballast For Fluorescent Lights; Electronic Engine Management, Pt.13. September 1996: VGA Oscilloscope, Pt.3; IR Stereo Headphone Link, Pt.1; HF Amateur Radio Receiver; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.5. April 1997: Simple Timer With No ICs; Digital Voltmeter For Cars; Loudspeaker Protector For Stereo Amplifiers; Model Train Controller; A Look At Signal Tracing; Pt.1; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.8. May 1997: Neon Tube Modulator For Light Systems; Traffic Lights For A Model Intersection; The Spacewriter – It Writes Messages In Thin Air; A Look At Signal Tracing; Pt.2; Cathode Ray Oscilloscopes, Pt.9. November 1994: Dry Cell Battery Rejuvenator; Novel Alphanumeric Clock; 80-M DSB Amateur Transmitter; 2-Cell Nicad Discharger. June 1997: PC-Controlled Thermometer/Thermostat; TV Pattern Generator, Pt.1; Audio/RF Signal Tracer; High-Current Speed Controller For 12V/24V Motors; Manual Control Circuit For Stepper Motors. December 1994: Car Burglar Alarm; Three-Spot Low Distortion Sinewave Oscillator; Clifford – A Pesky Electronic Cricket; Remote Control System for Models, Pt.1; Index to Vol.7. July 1997: Infrared Remote Volume Control; A Flexible Interface Card For PCs; Points Controller For Model Railways; Colour TV Pattern Generator, Pt.2; An In-Line Mixer For Radio Control Receivers. January 1995: Sun Tracker For Solar Panels; Battery Saver For Torches; Dual Channel UHF Remote Control; Stereo Microphone Preamplifier. October 1997: 5-Digit Tachometer; Central Locking For Your Car; PCControlled 6-Channel Voltmeter; 500W Audio Power Amplifier, Pt.3. April 1992: IR Remote Control For Model Railroads; Differential Input Buffer For CROs; Aligning Vintage Radio Receivers, Pt.1. February 1995: 2 x 50W Stereo Amplifier Module; Digital Effects Unit For Musicians; 6-Channel LCD Thermometer; Wide Range Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Pt.1; Remote Control System For Models, Pt.2. November 1997: Heavy Duty 10A 240VAC Motor Speed Controller; Easy-To-Use Cable & Wiring Tester; Build A Musical Doorbell; Replacing Foam Speaker Surrounds; Understanding Electric Lighting Pt.1. June 1992: Multi-Station Headset Intercom, Pt.1; Video Switcher For Camcorders & VCRs; IR Remote Control For Model Railroads, Pt.3; 15-Watt 12-240V Inverter; A Look At Hard Disk Drives. March 1995: 2 x 50W Stereo Amplifier, Pt.1; Subcarrier Decoder For FM Receivers; Wide Range Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Pt.2; IR Illuminator For CCD Cameras; Remote Control System For Models, Pt.3. December 1997: Speed Alarm For Cars; 2-Axis Robot With Gripper; Stepper Motor Driver With Onboard Buffer; Power Supply For Stepper Motor Cards; Understanding Electric Lighting Pt.2; Index To Vol.10. October 1992: 2kW 24VDC - 240VAC Sinewave Inverter; Mini Amplifier For Personal Stereos; A Regulated Lead-Acid Battery Charger. April 1995: FM Radio Trainer, Pt.1; Balanced Mic Preamp & Line Filter; 50W/Channel Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; Wide Range Electrostatic Loudspeakers, Pt.3; 8-Channel Decoder For Radio Remote Control. January 1998: 4-Channel 12VDC or 12VAC Lightshow, Pt.1; Command Control For Model Railways, Pt.1; Pan Controller For CCD Cameras. September 1991: Digital Altimeter For Gliders & Ultralights; Ultrasonic Switch For Mains Appliances; The Basics Of A/D & D/A Conversion. October 1991: A Talking Voltmeter For Your PC, Pt.1; SteamSound Simulator For Model Railways Mk.II; Magnetic Field Strength Meter; Digital Altimeter For Gliders, Pt.2; Military Applications Of R/C Aircraft. December 1991: TV Transmitter For VCRs With UHF Modulators; IR Light Beam Relay; Colour TV Pattern Generator, Pt.2; Index To Vol.4. February 1993: Three Projects For Model Railroads; Low Fuel Indicator For Cars; Audio Level/VU Meter (LED Readout); An Electronic Cockroach; 2kW 24VDC To 240VAC Sinewave Inverter, Pt.5. March 1993: Solar Charger For 12V Batteries; Reaction Trainer; Audio Mixer for Camcorders; A 24-Hour Sidereal Clock For Astronomers. ORDER FORM May 1995: Guitar Headphone Amplifier; FM Radio Trainer, Pt.2; Transistor/Mosfet Tester For DMMs; A 16-Channel Decoder For Radio Remote Control; Introduction To Satellite TV. June 1995: Build A Satellite TV Receiver; Train Detector For Model February 1998: Telephone Exchange Simulator For Testing; Command Control For Model Railways, Pt.2; 4-Channel Lightshow, Pt.2. April 1998: Automatic Garage Door Opener, Pt.1; 40V 8A Adjustable Power Supply, Pt.1; PC-Controlled 0-30kHz Sinewave Generator; Understanding Electric Lighting; Pt.6. Please send the following back issues:________________________________________ 104 Silicon Chip Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $______or please debit my: o Bankcard o Visa Card o Master Card Card No. Signature ___________________________ Card expiry date_____ /______ Name ______________________________ Phone No (___) ____________ PLEASE PRINT Street ______________________________________________________ 104 Silicon Chip Suburb/town _______________________________ Postcode ___________ 10% OF SUBSCR F TO IB OR IF Y ERS OU 10 OR M BUY ORE Note: prices include postage & packing Australia ............................... $A8.80 (incl. GST) Overseas (airmail) ..................................... $A10 Detach and mail to: Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW, Australia 2097. Or call (02) 9979 5644 & quote your credit card siliconchip.com.au details or fax the details to (02) 9979 6503. Email: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au June 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.2; Universal High Energy Ignition System; The Roadies’ Friend Cable Tester; Universal Stepper Motor Controller; Command Control For Model Railways, Pt.5. July 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.3; 15W/Ch Class-A Audio Amplifier, Pt.1; Simple Charger For 6V & 12V SLA Batteries; Auto matic Semiconductor Analyser; Understanding Electric Lighting, Pt.8. August 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.4; I/O Card With Data Logging; Beat Triggered Strobe; 15W/Ch Class-A Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2. September 1998: Troubleshooting Your PC, Pt.5; A Blocked Air-Filter Alarm; Waa-Waa Pedal For Guitars; Jacob’s Ladder; Gear Change Indicator For Cars; Capacity Indicator For Rechargeable Batteries. October 1998: AC Millivoltmeter, Pt.1; PC-Controlled Stress-O-Meter; Versatile Electronic Guitar Limiter; 12V Trickle Charger For Float Conditions; Adding An External Battery Pack To Your Flashgun. November 1998: The Christmas Star; A Turbo Timer For Cars; Build A Poker Machine, Pt.1; FM Transmitter For Musicians; Lab Quality AC Millivoltmeter, Pt.2; Improving AM Radio Reception, Pt.1. December 1998: Engine Immobiliser Mk.2; Thermocouple Adaptor For DMMs; Regulated 12V DC Plugpack; Build A Poker Machine, Pt.2; Improving AM Radio Reception, Pt.2; Mixer Module For F3B Gliders. January 1999: High-Voltage Megohm Tester; A Look At The BASIC Stamp; Bargraph Ammeter For Cars; Keypad Engine Immobiliser. March 1999: Build A Digital Anemometer; DIY PIC Programmer; Build An Audio Compressor; Low-Distortion Audio Signal Generator, Pt.2. April 1999: Getting Started With Linux; Pt.2; High-Power Electric Fence Controller; Bass Cube Subwoofer; Programmable Thermostat/ Thermometer; Build An Infrared Sentry; Rev Limiter For Cars. May 2001: 12V Mini Stereo Amplifier; Two White-LED Torches To Build; PowerPak – A Multi-Voltage Power Supply; Using Linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.1; Tweaking Windows With TweakUI. Efficiency Power Supply For 1W Star LEDs; Antenna & RF Preamp For Weather Satellites; Lapel Microphone Adaptor For PA Systems; PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt.1; 2.4GHZ Audio/Video Link. June 2001: Universal Battery Charger, Pt.1; Phonome – Call, Listen In & Switch Devices On & Off; Low-Cost Automatic Camera Switcher; Using Linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.2; A PC To Die For, Pt.1. February 2004: PC Board Design, Pt.1; Supply Rail Monitor For PCs; Studio 350W Power Amplifier Module, Pt.2; Shorted Turns Tester For Line Output Transformers; PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt.2. July 2001: The HeartMate Heart Rate Monitor; Do Not Disturb Telephone Timer; Pic-Toc – A Simple Alarm Clock; Fast Universal Battery Charger, Pt.2; A PC To Die For, Pt.2; Backing Up Your Email. March 2004: PC Board Design, Pt.2; Build The QuickBrake For Increased Driving Safety; 3V-9V (or more) DC-DC Converter; ESR Meter Mk.2, Pt.1; PICAXE-18X 4-Channel Datalogger, Pt.3. August 2001: DI Box For Musicians; 200W Mosfet Amplifier Module; Headlight Reminder; 40MHz 6-Digit Frequency Counter Module; A PC To Die For, Pt.3; Using Linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.3. April 2004: PC Board Design, Pt.3; Loudspeaker Level Meter For Home Theatre Systems; Dog Silencer; Mixture Display For Cars; ESR Meter Mk.2, Pt.2; PC/PICAXE Interface For UHF Remote Control. September 2001: Making MP3s; Build An MP3 Jukebox, Pt.1; PCControlled Mains Switch; Personal Noise Source For Tinnitus; Directional Microphone; Using Linux To Share An Internet Connection, Pt.4. May 2004: Amplifier Testing Without High-Tech Gear; Component Video To RGB Converter; Starpower Switching Supply For Luxeon Star LEDs; Wireless Parallel Port; Poor Man’s Metal Locator. November 2001: Ultra-LD 100W/Channel Stereo Amplifier, Pt.1; Neon Tube Modulator For Cars; Audio/Video Distribution Amplifier; Build A Short Message Recorder Player; Useful Tips For Your PC. June 2004: Dr Video Mk.2 Video Stabiliser; Build An RFID Security Module; Fridge-Door Alarm; Courtesy Light Delay For Cars; Automating PC Power-Up; Upgraded Software For The EPROM Programmer. December 2001: IR Transceiver For PCs; 100W/Ch Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; Pardy Lights Colour Display; PIC Fun – Learning About Micros. July 2004: Silencing A Noisy PC; Versatile Battery Protector; Appliance Energy Meter, Pt.1; A Poor Man’s Q Meter; Regulated High-Voltage Supply For Valve Amplifiers; Remote Control For A Model Train Layout. January 2002: Touch And/Or Remote-Controlled Light Dimmer, Pt.1; A Cheap ’n’Easy Motorbike Alarm; 100W /Channel Stereo Amplifier, Pt.3; Build A Raucous Alarm; FAQs On The MP3 Jukebox. February 2002: 10-Channel IR Remote Control Receiver; 2.4GHz High-Power Audio-Video Link; Touch And/Or Remote-Controlled Light Dimmer, Pt.2; Booting A PC Without A Keyboard; 4-Way Event Timer. March 2002: Mighty Midget Audio Amplifier Module; 6-Channel IR Remote Volume Control, Pt.1; RIAA Pre-Amplifier For Magnetic Cartridges; 12/24V Intelligent Solar Power Battery Charger. May 1999: The Line Dancer Robot; An X-Y Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.1; Three Electric Fence Testers; Carbon Monoxide Alarm. April 2002:Automatic Single-Channel Light Dimmer; Pt.1; Water Level Indicator; Multiple-Output Bench Power Supply; Versatile Multi-Mode Timer; 6-Channel IR Remote Volume Control, Pt.2. June 1999: FM Radio Tuner Card For PCs; X-Y Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.2; Programmable Ignition Timing Module For Cars, Pt.1. May 2002: 32-LED Knightrider; The Battery Guardian (Cuts Power When the Battery Voltage Drops); Stereo Headphone Amplifier; Automatic Single-Channel Light Dimmer; Pt.2; Stepper Motor Controller. July 1999: Build A Dog Silencer; 10µH to 19.99mH Inductance Meter; Audio-Video Transmitter; Programmable Ignition Timing Module For Cars, Pt.2; XYZ Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.3. August 1999: Remote Modem Controller; Daytime Running Lights For Cars; Build A PC Monitor Checker; Switching Temperature Controller; XYZ Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.4; Electric Lighting, Pt.14. September 1999: Autonomouse The Robot, Pt.1; Voice Direct Speech Recognition Module; Digital Electrolytic Capacitance Meter; XYZ Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.5; Peltier-Powered Can Cooler. July 2002: Telephone Headset Adaptor; Rolling Code 4-Channel UHF Remote Control; Remote Volume Control For The Ultra-LD Stereo Amplifier; Direct Conversion Receiver For Radio Amateurs, Pt.1. August 2002: Digital Instrumentation Software For PCs; Digital Storage Logic Probe; Digital Therm./Thermostat; Sound Card Interface For PC Test Instruments; Direct Conversion Receiver For Radio Amateurs. September 2002: 12V Fluorescent Lamp Inverter; 8-Channel Infrared Remote Control; 50-Watt DC Electronic Load; Spyware – An Update. August 2004: Video Formats: Why Bother?; VAF’s New DC-X Generation IV Loudspeakers; Video Enhancer & Y/C Separator; Balanced Microphone Preamp; Appliance Energy Meter, Pt.2; 3-State Logic Probe. September 2004: Voice Over IP (VoIP) For Beginners; WiFry – Cooking Up 2.4GHz Antennas; Bed Wetting Alert; Build a Programmable Robot; Another CFL Inverter. October 2004: The Humble “Trannie” Turns 50; SMS Controller, Pt.1; RGB To Component Video Converter; USB Power Injector; Remote Controller For Garage Doors & Gates. November 2004: 42V Car Electrical Systems; USB-Controlled Power Switch (Errata Dec. 2004); Charger For Deep-Cycle 12V Batteries, Pt.1; Driveway Sentry; SMS Controller, Pt.2; PICAXE IR Remote Control. December 2004: Build A Windmill Generator, Pt.1; 20W Amplifier Module; Charger For Deep-Cycle 12V Batteries, Pt.2; Solar-Powered Wireless Weather Station; Bidirectional Motor Speed Controller. January 2005: Windmill Generator, Pt.2; Build A V8 Doorbell; IR Remote Control Checker; 4-Minute Shower Timer; The Prawnlite; Sinom Says Game; VAF DC-7 Generation 4 Kit Speakers. February 2005: Windmill Generator, Pt.3; USB-Controlled Electrocardiograph; TwinTen Stereo Amplifier; Inductance & Q-Factor Meter, Pt.1; A Yagi Antenna For UHF CB; $2 Battery Charger. October 2002: Speed Controller For Universal Motors; PC Parallel Port Wizard; Cable Tracer; AVR ISP Serial Programmer; 3D TV. March 2005: Windmill Generator, Pt.4; Sports Scoreboard, Pt.1; Swimming Pool Lap Counter; Inductance & Q-Factor Meter, Pt.2; Shielded Loop Antenna For AM; Cheap UV EPROM Eraser; Sending Picaxe Data Over 477MHz UHF CB; $10 Lathe & Drill Press Tachometer. November 2002: SuperCharger For NiCd/NiMH Batteries, Pt.1; Windows-Based EPROM Programmer, Pt.1; 4-Digit Crystal-Controlled Timing Module; Using Linux To Share An Optus Cable Modem, Pt.1. April 2005: Install Your Own In-Car Video (Reversing Monitor); Build A MIDI Theremin, Pt.1; Bass Extender For Hifi Systems; Sports Scoreboard, Pt.2; SMS Controller Add-Ons; A $5 Variable Power Supply. December 1999: Solar Panel Regulator; PC Powerhouse (gives +12V, +9V, +6V & +5V rails); Fortune Finder Metal Locator; Speed Alarm For Cars, Pt.2; Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt.3; Index To Vol.12. December 2002: Receiving TV From Satellites; Pt.1; The Micromitter Stereo FM Transmitter; Windows-Based EPROM Programmer, Pt.2; SuperCharger For NiCd/NiMH Batteries; Pt.2; Simple VHF FM/AM Radio; Using Linux To Share An Optus Cable Modem, Pt.2. May 2005: Getting Into Wi-Fi, Pt.1; Build A 45-Second Voice Recorder; Wireless Microphone/Audio Link; MIDI Theremin, Pt.2; Sports Scoreboard, Pt.3; Automatic Stopwatch Timer. January 2000: Spring Reverberation Module; An Audio-Video Test Generator; Parallel Port Interface Card; Telephone Off-Hook Indicator. January 2003: Receiving TV From Satellites, Pt 2; SC480 50W RMS Amplifier Module, Pt.1; Gear Indicator For Cars; Active 3-Way Crossover For Speakers; Using Linux To Share An Optus Cable Modem, Pt.3. October 1999: Build The Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt.1; Semiconductor Curve Tracer; Autonomouse The Robot, Pt.2; XYZ Table With Stepper Motor Control, Pt.6; Introducing Home Theatre. November 1999: Setting Up An Email Server; Speed Alarm For Cars, Pt.1; LED Christmas Tree; Intercom Station Expander; Foldback Loudspeaker System; Railpower Model Train Controller, Pt.2. February 2000: Multi-Sector Sprinkler Controller; A Digital Voltmeter For Your Car; Safety Switch Checker; Sine/Square Wave Oscillator. June 2005: Wi-Fi, Pt.2; The Mesmeriser LED Clock; Coolmaster Fridge/ Freezer Temperature Controller; Alternative Power Regular; PICAXE Colour Recognition System; AVR200 Single Board Computer, Pt.1. February 2003: PortaPal PA System, Pt.1; SC480 50W RMS Amplifier Module, Pt.2; Windows-Based EPROM Programmer, Pt.3; Using Linux To Share An Optus Cable Modem, Pt.4; Fun With The PICAXE, Pt.1. July 2005: Getting Into Wi-Fi, Pt.3; Remote-Controlled Automatic Lamp Dimmer; Lead-Acid Battery Zapper; Serial Stepper Motor Controller; AVR200 Single Board Computer, Pt.2; Salvaging & Using Thermostats; Unwired Modems & External Antennas; PICAXE in Schools, Pt.3. May 2000: Ultra-LD Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; LED Dice (With PIC Microcontroller); 50A Motor Speed Controller For Models. March 2003: LED Lighting For Your Car; Peltier-Effect Tinnie Cooler; PortaPal PA System, Pt.2; 12V SLA Battery Float Charger; Little Dynamite Subwoofer; Fun With The PICAXE, Pt.2 (Shop Door Minder). August 2005: Mudlark A205 Valve Stereo Amplifier, Pt.1; Programmable Flexitimer; Carbon Monoxide Alert; Serial LCD Driver; Enhanced Sports Scoreboard; Salvaging Washing Maching Pressure Switches. June 2000: Automatic Rain Gauge; Parallel Port VHF FM Receiver; Switchmode Power Supply (1.23V to 40V) Pt.1; CD Compressor. April 2003: Video-Audio Booster For Home Theatre Systems; Telephone Dialler For Burglar Alarms; Three PIC Programmer Kits; PICAXE, Pt.3 (Heartbeat Simulator); Electric Shutter Release For Cameras. September 2005: Build Your Own Seismograph; Bilge Sniffer For Boats; VoIP Analog Phone Adaptor; Mudlark A205 Valve Stereo Amplifier, Pt.2; PICAXE in Schools, Pt.4. May 2003: Widgybox Guitar Distortion Effects Unit; 10MHz Direct Digital Synthesis Generator; Big Blaster Subwoofer; Printer Port Simulator; PICAXE, Pt.4 (Motor Controller). October 2005: A Look At Google Earth; Dead Simple USB Breakout Box; Studio Series Stereo Preamplifier, Pt.1; Video Reading Aid For Vision Impaired People; Simple Alcohol Level Meter; Ceiling Fan Timer. June 2003: PICAXE, Pt.5; PICAXE-08 Port Expansion; Sunset Switch For Security & Garden Lighting; Digital Reaction Timer; Adjustable DCDC Converter For Cars; Long-Range 4-Channel UHF Remote Control. November 2005: Good Quality Car Sound On The Cheap; Pt.1; Microbric – Robotics For Everyone; PICAXE In Schools, Pt.5; Studio Series Stereo Headphone Amplifier; Build A MIDI Drum Kit, Pt.1; Serial I/O Controller & Analog Sampler; Delta XL02 Tower Loudspeaker System. March 2000: Resurrecting An Old Computer; 100W Amplifier Module, Pt.1; Electronic Wind Vane With 16-LED Display; Glowplug Driver. July 2000: Moving Message Display; Compact Fluorescent Lamp Driver; Musicians’ Lead Tester; Switchmode Power Supply, Pt.2. August 2000: Theremin; Spinner (writes messages in “thin-air”); Proximity Switch; Structured Cabling For Computer Networks. September 2000: Swimming Pool Alarm; 8-Channel PC Relay Board; Fuel Mixture Display For Cars, Pt.1; Protoboards – The Easy Way Into Electronics, Pt.1; Cybug The Solar Fly. October 2000: Guitar Jammer; Breath Tester; Wand-Mounted Inspection Camera; Subwoofer For Cars; Fuel Mixture Display, Pt.2. November 2000: Santa & Rudolf Chrissie Display; 2-Channel Guitar Preamplifier, Pt.1; Message Bank & Missed Call Alert; Protoboards – The Easy Way Into Electronics, Pt.3. December 2000: Home Networking For Shared Internet Access; White LED Torch; 2-Channel Guitar Preamplifier, Pt.2 (Digital Reverb); Driving An LCD From The Parallel Port; Index To Vol.13. January 2001: How To Transfer LPs & Tapes To CD; The LP Doctor – Clean Up Clicks & Pops, Pt.1; Arbitrary Waveform Generator; 2-Channel Guitar Preamplifier, Pt.3; PIC Programmer & TestBed. February 2001: An Easy Way To Make PC Boards; L’il Pulser Train Controller; A MIDI Interface For PCs; Build The Bass Blazer; 2-Metre Groundplane Antenna; LP Doctor – Clean Up Clicks & Pops, Pt.2. March 2001: Making Photo Resist PC Boards; Big-Digit 12/24 Hour Clock; Parallel Port PIC Programmer & Checkerboard; Protoboards – The Easy Way Into Electronics, Pt.5; A Simple MIDI Expansion Box. April 2001: A GPS Module For Your PC; Dr Video – An Easy-To-Build siliconchip.com.au Video Stabiliser; Tremolo Unit For Musicians; Minimitter FM Stereo Transmitter; Intelligent Nicad Battery Charger. July 2003: Smart Card Reader & Programmer; Power-Up Auto Mains Switch; A “Smart” Slave Flash Trigger; Programmable Continuity Tester; PICAXE Pt.6 – Data Communications; Updating The PIC Programmer & Checkerboard; RFID Tags – How They Work. August 2003: PC Infrared Remote Receiver (Play DVDs & MP3s On Your PC Via Remote Control); Digital Instrument Display For Cars, Pt.1; Home-Brew Weatherproof 2.4GHz WiFi Antennas; PICAXE Pt.7. September 2003: Robot Wars; Krypton Bike Light; PIC Programmer; Current Clamp Meter Adapter For DMMs; PICAXE Pt.8 – A Data Logger; Digital Instrument Display For Cars, Pt.2. October 2003: PC Board Design, Pt.1; JV80 Loudspeaker System; A Dirt Cheap, High-Current Power Supply; Low-Cost 50MHz Frequency Meter; Long-Range 16-Channel Remote Control System. November 2003: PC Board Design, Pt.2; 12AX7 Valve Audio Preamplifier; Our Best Ever LED Torch; Smart Radio Modem For Microcontrollers; PICAXE Pt.9; Programmable PIC-Powered Timer. December 2003: How To Receive Weather Satellite Images; SelfDiagnostics Plug For Cars; PC Board Design, Pt.3; VHF Receiver For Weather Satellites; Linear Supply For Luxeon 1W Star LEDs; 5V Meter Calibration Standard; PIC-Based Car Battery Monitor; PICAXE Pt.10. January 2004: Studio 350W Power Amplifier Module, Pt.1; High- December 2005: Good Quality Car Sound On The Cheap; Pt.2; Building The Ultimate Jukebox, Pt.1; Universal High-Energy Ignition System, Pt.1; Remote LED Annunciator For Queue Control; Build A MIDI Drum Kit, Pt.2; 433MHz Wireless Data Communication. January 2006: Holden’s EFIJY Show Car; Pocket TENs Unit For Pain Relief; “Little Jim” AM Radio Transmitter; Universal High-Energy Ignition System, Pt.2; Building The Ultimate Jukebox, Pt.2; Build A MIDI Drum Kit, Pt.3; Picaxe-Based 433MHz Wireless Thermometer. February 2006: Electric Powered Model Aircraft; PC-Controlled Burglar Alarm, Pt.1; Charger For iPods & MP3 Players; Picaxe-Powered Thermostat & Temperature Display; Build A MIDI Drum Kit, Pt.4; Building The Ultimate Jukebox, Pt.3. March 2006: The Electronic Camera, Pt.1; PC-Controlled Burglar Alarm, Pt.2; Low-Cost Intercooler Water Spray Controller; AVR ISP SocketBoard; A Line Tracker For Your Microbric Viper. PLEASE NOTE: issues not listed have sold out. All other issues are in stock. We can supply photostat copies from sold-out issues for $8.80 per article (includes p&p). When supplying photostat articles or back copies, we automatically supply any relevant at no extra charge. Anotes pril& errata 2006 105 A complete index to all articles published to date can be downloaded free from our web site: www.siliconchip.com.au 105 April 2006 May 1998: 3-LED Logic Probe; Garage Door Opener, Pt.2; Command Control System, Pt.4; 40V 8A Adjustable Power Supply, Pt.2. 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. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097; or send an email to silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au Repairing a Kenwood Chef mixer Our Kenwood Chef (the smallest model) that my wife uses is not running properly. Sometimes, it runs fast, at other times too slow. And sometimes it will not run at all. The carbon brushes are still in good condition, about 1cm long. The rotor (armature) too is in good condition. I tried shorting the zener diode; it runs well but only at one speed. I tried replacing the zener diode but I am not able to tell the specification. Can someone please help? (J. L., via email). • The main speed control semiconductor in a Kenwood Chef (or any other food mixer) is usually a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). The circuit will be similar to that described in our September 1992 issue (see basic circuit on page 28). The SCR used in your mixer could probably be substituted with a C106D1 from Jaycar (Cat. ZX7006). Contact Jaycar at www.jaycar. com.au Old Nokia phones and the SMS controller I am about to start building the SMS Controller (SILICON CHIP, October & November 2004) to send an alarm in the event of pump failure or loss of flow in fish tanks/ponds (using washing machine water level sensors) I was hoping you may be able to help me with some 5110 phone problems. I’ve been given a few old Nokia 5110 phones but I’ve been having trouble getting them to charge. The problem is that you just get the message “not charging” either immediately or after a few minutes. Only very rarely can I get a good “charging” message. We used 5110s at work and we had the same problem there too (as well as problems with the displays going blank or patchy). I rang the Nokia care centre but they weren’t able to help other than saying the fault could be the phone or the charger. Have other people had the same problem? Does it matter for this project if the phone is on mains supply charger all the time? I concede that blackouts could be a problem if the battery is completely flat. Can the phone be re-wired somehow to bypass the problem? (R. F., via email). • The “not charging” error can be caused by a fault in the charging circuit of the phone, faulty battery contacts or a faulty battery. As these are old phones and the batteries have a finite life, try swapping in a known good battery. The phones may prove unreliable if Sync for RGB to Component Video Converter I have bought the RGB to Component Video Converter (SILICON CHIP, October 2004). However this circuit doesn’t have the composite Video In to get the sync signal. How can I mix the composite video sync with the green? My satellite receiver doesn’t have a R-Gs-B output with three cables but only RGB-Composite video with four cables. (F. B., Trieste, Italy). • If the RGB to Component Video Converter is to be used with a satellite receiver or set-top box which 106 Silicon Chip does not provide video sync with the green RGB signal, it’s necessary to add a small amount of extra circuitry to extract the video sync from the composite video instead. This extra circuitry was described in the July 2005 issue of SILICON CHIP, in the Circuit Notebook section (page 74). The add-on circuit requires only an LM1881 IC, a single transistor and a handful of minor parts and can be built on a small piece of stripboard. operated from the standard plugpack supply. This is because the batteries are called upon to supply the high peak currents required during transmission; something they cannot do if completely dead! It might be possible to design a low-voltage regulator circuit (itself powered from a plugpack) to replace the battery. It would need to include a number of paralleled, low-ESR capacitors mounted right next to the battery input terminals to simulate the low impedance of the battery. The fading display is a well-known problem in the 5110 and related Nokia series. It is due to compression damage to the display contact strips and/ or mounting frame. These are still available as spare parts from various internet sellers. Try eBay or www.cellink.com.au/products/product_info. php?manufacturers_id=2&products_ id=1553 Rod antenna for an old radio Can you please help me source a 200mm AM ferrite rod antenna for my GE Super Radio, model EA7-2887A? I have tried all the obvious outlets but to no avail, so unless I cannibalise one from another radio, I don’t know what to do. (L. H., via email). • We assume your rod is broken but the windings are still present. If you just want the bare ferrite rod, you can probably substitute a 200mm rod from Altronics, Cat L-4240 and then transfer the windings to it. If you want the whole assembly, that is really difficult. Noise-cancelling headphones Would it be possible to build a noise-cancelling circuit for use in line with ordinary headphones? Something similar to the Bose ones? An in-car system would also be really cool – I believe Porche do this. (S. W., via email). • It would be easy enough to build siliconchip.com.au such a circuit – just mount an electret microphone on the headphones, feed it into a preamp and then mix it into the audio signal you want to listen to, making sure that it is phased correctly to cancel the ambient noise. Have a look at the FM Radio Intercom project in the October & November 1989 issues. Loudspeaker for handheld CB I have a GME TX6200 handheld UHF CB and use it in a vehicle with a cradle that is equipped with an aerial and 12V power connections. However, because of the CB position in the vehicle, the audio is difficult to hear properly while driving and I would like to have an amplified extension speaker. I want to take the earphone output and feed it to a 1W or 2W amplifier to drive the extension speaker which would be positioned closer to where I can hear it more comfortably. The amplifier would be built into the speaker case. Can you advise on a suitable amplifier project kit for this job? Would the earphone output and the amplifier input need to be impedance matched? If so how would I go about doing this? If no impedance matching is done would this result in damage to the CB? (T. D., via email). • Have look at the CHAMP audio amplifier in the February 1994 issue. No impedance matching would be necessary. No PCB hazard in old radios Concerning old Australian electronic equipment such as valve radios and TV, should a restorer be wary of old capacitors? Just wondering if these contain PCBs? (C. W., via email). • There are no polychlorinated biphenyls in any small capacitors in old radios, etc. PCBs were generally used in high-voltage (ie, 250VAC and higher) paper dielectric capacitors intended for applications such as power factor correction and motor-run capacitors. Increasing Driveway Sentry on time I was just wondering how I would go siliconchip.com.au Aligning the Weather Satellite Receiver I’m currently building the Weather Satellite Receiver kit (SILICON CHIP, December 2003 & January 2004) and I am having trouble getting access to the test equipment required to set it up. I’m used to building kits that only require a soldering iron and multimeter but the signal generator used in the article seems to cost over $6000 in a few internet searches. The frequency counter required is also rare, although I’ve purchased one for $200 from Jaycar’s monthly specials. Is its possible to align the receiver without a signal generator? The article mentions using the real satellite signal but this is going to be difficult without having the masthead preamp aligned. Unless it’s possible to test every component including the home-made antenna, then I won’t really know if I’ve got a signal at all. Is it possible to build a signal generator for the required frequency? I would buy a kit for this if it was under $50, or included in the main kit. This may still require a frequency counter to set the generator frequency but that is acceptable. I’m even having difficulty doing the first step of the alignment – tuning the local oscillator with the frequency counter. The frequency doesn’t seem to be stable and is highly dependent on the position of the sniffer coil. Placing the coil parallel to L3, I can tune in the two frequencies but if I move the coil to the recommended coaxial position, the tuning moves by more than about modifying the Driveway Sentry (SILICON CHIP, November 2004) to stay on longer than 25 seconds. Is it just a matter of replacing VR3 with a higher resistance or is it more complicated than that? (A. B., via email). • It’s fairly easy to increase the “alarm time” of the Driveway Sentry. You could replace VR3 with a pot of higher value (say 1MW) as you suggest or alternatively, replace the 47mF 25V RBLL capacitor with one of higher value, say 100mF, or even 220mF (this capacitor is connected from pins 6 0.1MHz. I tried winding different coils to change the parasitic inductance but got similar results every time. (M. S., via email). • You don’t need an expensive RF signal generator to do the front-end alignment of the Weather Satellite Receiver. One of the relatively low-cost (below $400) Goodwill GRG-450B units can be used (available from Emona Instruments) or a similar Leader SG-4160B unit which you may be able to pick up second-hand. These can be used for the job, providing you use a frequency counter to make sure that their output frequency is set to the correct figures. The trick when you’re trying to set the receiver’s local oscillator frequency using the counter with a “sniffer” coil near the oscillator coil is to slowly bring the sniffer coil towards the oscillator coil onaxis, and stop as soon as the counter is giving consistent readings. This will correspond to the position with the least amount of coupling, and hence the least ‘pulling’ of the oscillator’s frequency due to loading by the counter. If you set the oscillator frequency this way, it should be close enough to the correct value when the counter pickup coil is removed – close enough to allow you to pick up satellite signals when one is passing overhead. You should then be able to set the oscillator to the exact frequency by slight ‘tweaking’ of the trimmer one way or the other using the satellite signal, to find the peak setting. and 7 of IC2 to ground). Yet another option would be to replace the 47kW resistor in series with VR3 with say 470kW or 1MW. Acid-free resin flux paste wanted Where can I purchase acid-free resin flux suitable for PC boards? Tandy had a product (Radio Shack Resin Soldering Paste in a 1oz tube) which was excellent but it hasn’t been available for a few years. April 2006 107 Quiescent Current Adjustment In Studio 350 Amplifier I recently constructed a stereo pair of Studio 350 amplifiers of your design. Having set up the quiescent current to 100mA with 470W resistors in place of the fuses, I noticed that this changed when the fuse was replaced; it goes higher due to higher B+. Should the current measured across an emitter resistor be brought back to the same as when the resistor was in circuit or is this increase allowed for? As a matter of interest, this A flux paste called LA-CO (USA) is used by plumbers and claims to be “non-acid”. It certainly is not – it turns copper/brass green very quickly and is useless on PC boards. I would greatly appreciate your assistance. (B. M., via email). • All fluxes are corrosive, otherwise they would be ineffective. However, unlike plumbing flux, the “rosin” type flux used for hand-soldering PC boards is active only at high temperatures. In most cases, it is completely inert at normal operating temperatures and may not even need to be cleaned from the circuit board (see the manufacturer’s data for recommendations). For a description of the various flux types, go to: www.tutorialsweb.com/ smt/chapter4c.htm Tubes of flux are available from Jaycar Electronics (12ml flux pen, Cat. amplifier sounds superb. I am an audio fanatic and have had some very expensive amplifiers in my time – this beats them all. (E. R., Uralla, NSW). • The adjustment is made with the 470W resistors in place for sake of simplicity and also to prevent blowing transistors in the case of a serious constructional error. As you point out, the quiescent current will be higher when the fuses are installed. Higher than optimal quiescent NS-3035) and Altronics (100c syringe, Cat. H-1650). Remote control for house lights Back in the 1970s, my father made a remote control with a pull-up antenna, which he gave to my mother. Apparently when she was coming home from work and it was dark (when she reached the top of the driveway), she could pull the antenna up, press a button on the remote and two lights would switch on inside the house. I think it was a great idea. How would this have basically worked? Unfortunately my father has passed away, so it’s even more important for me to find out how it worked. It seemed a bit before its time, if you ask me! (A. H., via email). Connecting a Car Alarm to the SMS Controller I have successfully completed the SMS Controller (SILICON CHIP, October & November 2004) and I am trying to connect it to a car alarm. Does the car alarm have to be specially designed to handle SMS controllers because I am having trouble locating somewhere where the voltage drops below 3V? Any advice would be helpful. (C. M., via email). • Some car alarms do not have an alarm status output that is necessary for use with the SMS Controller. However, it is possible to trigger the SMS controller using the siren out108 Silicon Chip put of most alarms. The downside to this method is that each time the alarm is armed and disarmed (ie, the siren chirps), you’ll get multiple messages – unless you were to LOGIN after arming and LOGOUT before disarming. One solution would be to install additional conditioning circuitry between the siren output and the SMS Controller input, so that short pulses (chirps) are ignored, whereas longer pulses are passed through. Perhaps the extra circuitry could be based on a 555 timer or PICAXE-08 microcontroller. current can increase distortion through an effect called “gmdoubling”. Normally, there should be no need to bother but for the very best performance, the current can be tweaked after the fuses are installed and the unit’s temperature has stabilised. To do this, measure the DC voltage across any of the 0.47W resistors except for those associated with Q10 & Q11 (these also carry the driver current) and adjust VR2 for a reading of 11mV. • We are guessing but it was probably based on a 27MHz radio control transmitter and receiver, as used for model planes, boats, etc. These days, such remotes are widely used and are in the 433MHz band. If you want to see a sample article, with the latest rolling code operation, have a look at the July 2002 issue. A question about battery chargers I am trying to build myself a battery charger using a PICAXE, using delta V as the detection of full charge but it constantly cuts out early; eg, after 20 seconds. I won’t bore you with the code but basically it reads the voltage (using readadc10 for higher resolution) and compares it to the previous reading. If its higher, it repeats this process; if it’s lower, it double checks. In the double-check routine, it keeps a tally of how far the voltage drops compared to the highest reading. If at any time the voltage rises past the highest reading, it goes back to the beginning. Once the voltage has dropped by the preset amount (50mV), it terminates charge. I am wondering how often it should read the voltage. Should it read it constantly or say five times a second, or even once every five or 10 seconds? Or should it take an average of five readings over one or five seconds? I am wondering if it is false peaking so quickly because I am reading the voltage too often. You featured an “Intelligent Nicad Battery Charger” in the April 2001 issue, using a PIC to control and tersiliconchip.com.au minate charge. I am wondering if you could give any hints as to how often it measured the voltage and if it took an average over time. (D. K., via email). • We can’t give a precise answer to your question, as many variables are involved. Assuming that you’re using a low-noise linear current source, then measuring once a second is probably OK. You would then take an average of several readings, using a kind of software “filter”. You’ll find various implementations of this idea on the internet. One good example can be found in Atmel’s application note AVR450, available from www.atmel.com (look in the AVR applications notes section). Although this application uses a different type of microcontroller, the flowcharts in the “software implementation” section will be of particular interest to you. Note that when using the -dV detection method for charge termination, it is not usual to start taking measurements until 5-10 minutes after charging begins, as there is often an initial dip in cell voltage. Having said all that, we don’t recommend -dV charge termination for the latest high-capacity NiMH cells. This detection method relies on a certain amount of overcharging, which results in cell overheating and permanent damage. We should explain here that NiMH cells are at a higher risk of heat damage than the older Nicad types, because they heat up during the charging progress; this is the opposite of Nicads, which tend to remain relatively cool until full charge approaches. A safer method of charge termination would be dT/dt. Perhaps you could design a simple voltage divider circuit with a thermistor in one leg and Notes & Errata Studio 350 Amplifier, January & February 2004: several constructors have reported that during initial testing, their amplifier’s DC output voltage measures close to the full negative supply rail (ie. the output stage is saturated). If you have this problem, check that transistors Q2 & Q3 are in fact Renesas (Hitachi) 2SA1084 devices, marked “A1084D” or “A1084E” on the flat face of the package. We understand that Jaycar Electronics have sold some kits with alternative parts for Q2 & Q3, apparently with incompatible pinouts. It may be possible to identify these devices by the presence or three striped bands on their bodies. According to Jaycar, most purchasers have been notified of the problem and replacement transistors provided. For more information, contact kits<at>jaycar.com.au, quoting your kit batch number. Temperature Switch, Performance Electronics for Cars, 2004: the labelling of zener diode ZD1 on the wiring diagram on page 79 shows A connect that to the 10-bit A-D input of the PICAXE. Your program would then read this input (using a similar filtering technique to that described above) and detect a specific rate of temperature rise over a defined time period. The battery manufacturer’s datasheets will provide details in this regard, with 1-2°C/minute being typical. & K swapped. The circuit on page 78 is correct. PC-Controlled Burglar Alarm Pt.2, March 2006: the code number for the PC board for the keypad module is incorrectly listed in the parts list and the article as 07103061. The correct number for this PC board is 07203061. PC Controlled Mains Switch, September 2001: one of our readers has written new and improved software for this project. The new software runs on the latest versions of Windows and features 14 programmable on/off times. Mackenzie Platt has kindly made it available for free download from his website at http://members.optushome.com.au/ video1/macksprograms PICAXE-Powered Thermostat & Temperature Display, February 2006: on the circuit diagram (Fig.1), pins 3 & 4 of the PICAXE chip (IC1) are shown reversed. The overlay diagram (Fig.2) and PC board are correct. For safety, an absolute cutoff temperature of 55°C should also be programmed. If charging individual cells, the thermistor must be held in good thermal contact with one cell. For battery packs, the thermistor is typically buried in the pack, in close contact with SC the innermost cells. 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 Trade Practices Act 1974 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are applicable. siliconchip.com.au April 2006 109 MARKET CENTRE Cash in your surplus gear. Advertise it here in Silicon Chip. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES Advertising rates for these pages: Classified ads: $27.00 (incl. GST) for up to 20 words plus 80 cents for each additional word. Display ads: $49.50 (incl. GST) per column centimetre (max. 10cm). Closing date: five weeks prior to month of sale. To book your classified ad, email the text to silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au and include your credit card details, or fax (02) 9979 6503, or post to Silicon Chip Classifieds, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW, Australia 2097. _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ ELNEC IC PROGRAMMERS Universal and specialised models High quality Realistic prices Large range of adaptors Free regular software updates Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2k/XP GRANTRONICS PTY LTD PO Box 275, Wentworthville. 2145. Ph: 02 9896 7150 www.grantronics.com.au _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $__________ or please debit my o Bankcard o Visa Card o Master Card Card No. Signature__________________________ Card expiry date______/______ Name _____________________________________________________ Street _____________________________________________________ Suburb/town ___________________________ Postcode______________ Phone:_____________ Fax:_____________ Email:__________________ FOR SALE More control solutions for you! NEW iUSBDaq Data Acquisition Module: features 8 12-bit analog inputs, 16 digital I/O, 2 PWM outputs, 1 high speed counter. High sampling rates. Free software, Labview driver and dll component. 110 Silicon Chip N1500LC Load Cell Panel Meter: New Low Cost, Great Accuracy, Fully programmable Indicator with 4-20mA and 2 relay outputs. USB to RS422/RS485 converter: with 1500V Isolation, RTS or Auto Data Flow control. Heaps of other features. Electronic Thermostats: with digital temperature displays, 2 control relays, can be used in heating and cooling. NTC thermistor or J TC or Pt100 sensors. Temperature and Humidity Sensors: Great accuracy, 4-20mA output. Wall and Duct mounting available. Signal Conditioners non isolated and isolated: convert thermocouples, RTDs to 4-20mA or 0-10V Fully programmable. Stepper Motors: we have a selection of Stepper motors for hobby and high torque CNC applications. DC Motors for both hobby and high torque applications. DC, Stepper and Servo Motor controller kits. Counter and Timers: 7-digit and 10year battery operated. Multi Function Timer and Cyclic Timer/ Pulse Generator Serial and Parallel Port relay controller cards. Pump and Trip Alarm controller card. Duty-Standby operation. PIC MicroProgrammers: serial and USB port operated. 2, 4 & 8 Relay Cards: suitable for TTL and Open Collector Outputs. siliconchip.com.au Better Digital Reception BLV6F Deep Fringe channels 6 to 12 Laceys.tv ™ 42 Brunel Rd Seaford VIC 3198 Tel (03) 9776 9222 web:www.laceys.tv also Sydney, CoffsHarbour, Ulverstone TAIG MACHINERY Micro Mini Lathes and Mills From $489.00 Expert speaker repairs Hi-Fi Professional Car Foam and rubber surrounds, voice coils, spiders, cones and more. Original parts for Dynaudio, Tannoy, EV, JBL and others. Australian agents for Ortofon products. Trade welcome. Email us for your user ID. Phone (03) 9647 7000 www.speakerbits.com Switch Mode, Battery Chargers and DC-DC converters. Full details and credit card ordering available at www.oceancontrols.com. au Helping to put you in control. LEDs – SUPERBRIGHTS from just 25 cents each. 12 volt LED lightbars and kits, great for solar/camping. New IN14 nixie clock kit available now! Lots of other interesting stuff, if I don’t have it, just ask! www.ledsales.com.au ImageCraft C Compilers: 32-bit Windows IDE and compiler. For AVR, 68HC 08, 68HC11, 68HC12, 68HC16. from $330.00 Atmel Flash CPU Programmer: Handles the 89Cx051, 89C5x, 89Sxx in both DIP and PLCC44 and some AVR’s, most 8-pin EEPROMS. Includes socket for serial ISP cable. $220, $11 p&p. SOIC adaptors: 20 pin $132.00, 14 pin $126.50, 8 pin $121.00. siliconchip.com.au Stepper motors: 200 oz in $89.00, 330 oz in $110.00 Digital verniers: 150mm $55.00, 200mm $65.00 59 Gilmore Crescent (02) 6281 5660 Garran ACT 2605 0412269707 You have the Circuit - We can Package it? Printed Circuit Boards - Call Mike for PCB Layout Prototyping, Small Runs and Production Runs Product & Panel Labelling - Call Martin for Full Colour on Clear, White, Brushed Aluminium, or Gold Label. Mi Mar Resources FACTORY 3 / 26 STAFFORD STREET HUNTINGDALE 3166 Tel: (03) 9 562 7030 Fax: (03) 9 562 7040 e-mail: pcbs<at>alphalink.com.au  Best high end DIY audio kits on the planet! www.aksaonline.com       Full details on web-site. Credit cards accepted. GRANTRONICS PTY LTD, PO Box 275, Wentworthville 2145. (02) 9896 7150 or http://www.grantronics. com.au QUALITY LED TORCHES, 1-watt Rbin: Fenix L0P, L1P, L2P using AAA, 1 or 2 AA cells. 3-watt: Nuwai Q111, TM301X-3. www.torchworld.com.au/sc/ Satellite TV Reception International satellite TV reception in your home is now affordable. Send for your free info pack containing equipment catalog, satellite lists, etc or call for appointment to view. We can display all satellites from 76.5° to 180°. AV-COMM P/L, 24/9 Powells Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Tel: 02 9939 4377 or 9939 4378. Fax: 9939 4376; www.avcomm.com.au April 2006 111 Do You Eat, Breathe and Sleep TECHNOLOGY? Opportunities for full-time and part-time positions all over Australia & New Zealand Jaycar Electronics is a rapidly growing, Australian owned, international retailer with more than 39 stores in Australia and New Zealand. Our aggressive expansion programme has resulted in the need for dedicated individuals to join our team to assist us in achieving our goals. We pride ourselves on the technical knowledge of our staff. Do you think that the following statements describe you? Please put a tick in the boxes that do: Knowledge of electronics, particularly at component level. Assemble projects or kits yourself for car, computer, audio, etc. Have empathy with others who have the same interest as you. May have worked in some retail already (not obligatory). Have energy, enthusiasm and a personality that enjoys helping people. Appreciates an opportunity for future advancement. Have an eye for detail. Why not do something you love and get paid for it? Please write or email us with your details, along with your C.V. and any qualifications you may have. We pay a competitive salary, sales commissions and have great benefits like a liberal staff purchase policy. Send to: Retail Operations Manager - Jaycar Electronics Pty Ltd P.O. Box 6424 Silverwater NSW 1811 Email: jobs<at>jaycar.com.au Jaycar Electronics is an equal opportunity employer and actively promotes staff from within the organisation. Advertising Index 555 Electronics............................. 49 Altronics..................loose insert,112 Amateur Scientist....................... IBC Aspen Amplifiers........................ 111 Av-Comm................................... 111 BitScope Designs......................... 79 Dick Smith Electronics............ 22-27 Digital Graphics.......................... 111 Eco Watch.................................. 112 Elexol........................................... 51 DISTRIBUTORS pty. ltd. ACN 008 801 161 ABN 84 177 396 871 INTERNAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE RCS RADIO/DESIGN is at 41 Arlewis St, Chester Hill 2162, NSW Australia and has all the published PC boards from SC, EA, ETI, HE, AEM & others. Ph (02) 9738 0330. sales<at>rcsradio. com.au, www.rcsradio.com.au *PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN*: a professional-quality PCB design, circuit diagram and parts list from your sketch circuit for $120. Single or double sided, up to 50 components, any size. media.a<at>bigpond.net.au or 0414 356 409 PCBs MADE, ONE OR MANY. Any format, hobbyists welcome. Sesame Electronics Phone (02) 9593 1025. sesame<at>sesame.com.au www.sesame.com.au 87-108 MHz FM BROADCAST transmitter: 25 Watt, PLL, built-in stereo encoder & PSU quality transmission $790. Details www.geocities.com/RF25W S-Video . . . Video . . . Audio . . . VGA distribution amps, splitters, standards converters, tbc’s, switchers, cables, etc, & price list: www.questronix.com.au WEATHER STATIONS: windspeed & direction, inside temperature, outside temperature and windchill. Records highs and lows with time and date as they occur. Optional rainfall and PC interface. Used by government departments, farmers, pilots and weather enthusiasts. Other models with barometric pressure, 112 Silicon Chip The successful applicant will be bright, self motivated and well presented with a sound knowledge of electronic components. Industry experience is preferred but not essential. Excellent communication, organisation and customer service skills are essential. Apply in writing to: Personnel Manager PO Box 8350 Perth Business Centre, W.A. 6849. or via email to: dean.stephens<at>altronics.com.au Furzy Electronics........................ 111 Grantronics................................. 110 Harbuch Electronics..................... 47 Instant PCBs.............................. 112 Jaycar .................. IFC,47,53-60,112 JED Microprocessors................ 5,47 Laceys TV.................................. 111 LD Antennas.............................. 110 humidity, dew point, solar radiation, UV, leaf wetness, etc. Just phone, fax or write for our FREE catalog and price list. Eco Watch: phone (03) 9761 7040; fax (03) 9761 7050; Unit 5, 17 Southfork Drive, Kilsyth, Victoria 3137. ABN 63 006 399 480. www.davisinstruments.com.au Mad Electronics............................ 15 KIT ASSEMBLY Quest Electronics.................. 47,111 NEVILLE WALKER KIT ASSEMBLY & REPAIR: • Australia wide service • Small production runs • Specialist “one-off” applications Phone Neville Walker (07) 3857 2752 Email: flashdog<at>optusnet.com.au LOW-COST DESIGN: circuits, software, PCBs, SC kits repaired, modified & assembled. • All types of work considered • Warranty and after sales support • Trade background, 10 years experience Contact Trent Jackson on (02) 4566 3218. Microbric...................................... 99 Microgram Computers.................... 3 MicroZed Computers.................... 93 MiMar Resources....................... 111 Ocean Controls.......................... 110 Radio Parts.............................. OBC RCS Radio................................. 112 RF Modules.................................. 47 Silicon Chip Binders................ 51,83 Silicon Chip Bookshop........ 102-103 SC Perform. Elect. For Cars......... 82 Silicon Chip Subscriptions...... 45,61 Silicon Chip Technology Awards.... 7 Silvertone Electronics................ 111 Siomar Batteries.......................... 87 Speakerbits................................ 111 Taig Machinery........................... 111 Telelink.................................... 47,87 WANTED I REQUIRE Sydney north/north-west located after-hours 8051 C firmware programmer for a small job. $30 per hour. Also like to know of PC C++ programmer for small jobs. peter.baxter<at> tantau.com.au PC Boards Printed circuit boards for SILICON CHIP projects are made by: RCS Radio Pty Ltd. Phone (02) 9738 0330. Fax (02) 9738 0334. siliconchip.com.au