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Contents Vol.27, No.8; August 2014 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Features 14 Your House Water Pipes Could Electrocute You Most people don’t realise that significant currents can flow through their home’s Earth wires and metal pipes. If the Earth is faulty, it could be lethal – by Leo Simpson 20 Digital Audio File Formats Explained There are lots of ways to store and transmit audio data in digital format. We take a look at the various formats and their differences – by Nicholas Vinen Nirvana Valve Sound Simulator – Page 32. 28 Is Your Wireless Microphone Soon To Be Illegal? The deadline for legally using the vast majority of wireless mics in Australia is fast approaching and you could be fined if you keep using them. We look at what will be legal and what won’t – by Ross Tester 88 Review: Atlas DCA75 Pro Semiconductor Analyser Peak’s popular semiconductor analyser now has a larger graphical LCD plus a USB interface to allow a PC to plot various curves for semiconductor devices – by Nicholas Vinen Pro jects To Build 44-Pin Micromite Module – Page 42. 32 Nirvana Valve Sound Simulator Want to get ‘valve sound’ from a solid-state amplifier but without using valves? Now you can, with the Nirvana Valve Sound Simulator – by John Clarke 42 The 44-Pin Micromite Module It’s just like the Micromite described in the May & June 2014 issues but with a much more generous 33 I/O pins. Here’s how to build it onto a PCB with a USB connector, a power LED and a programming header – by Geoff Graham 62 The Tempmaster Thermostat Mk.3 Completely revised unit is ideal for converting a chest freezer into an energyefficient fridge, converting a fridge into a wine cooler or controlling a home-brew set-up. It can also control heaters in hatcheries, fish tanks and other gear and can be adapted to control 12V fridges and freezers – by Jim Rowe 76 Build A Resistor/Capacitor Substitution Box A resistor/capacitor substitution box can save a lot of tears and angst and is just the shot when troubleshooting or designing circuits. This one even lets you switch resistors and capacitors in series or parallel – by Ross Tester Special Columns The Tempmaster Thermostat Mk.3 – Page 62. 57 Serviceman’s Log Some things we just can’t fix – by Dave Thompson 84 Circuit Notebook (1) Temperature Control With A Fridge/Freezer Thermometer; (2) Simplified 10V Precision Voltage Reference; (3) RS232-to-TTL Serial Interface For The Micromite; (4) Simple Measurement Of Capacitor Leakage Resistance; (5) Telephone Status Indicator Uses Two Optocouplers 92 Vintage Radio AWA Empire State 5-valve radio – by Associate Professor Graham Parslow Departments   2 Publisher’s Letter   4 Mailbag siliconchip.com.au 83 Product Showcase 91 Subscriptions 98 Ask Silicon Chip 101 Online Shop 103 Market Centre Resistor/Capacitor Substitution Box – Page 76. August 2014  1