Silicon ChipRF burst power meter - June 2022 SILICON CHIP
  1. Outer Front Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Publisher's Letter: Shutting down our old website
  4. Mailbag
  5. Feature: IC Fabrication, Part 1 by Dr David Maddison
  6. Project: Spectral Sound MIDI Synthesiser by Jeremy Leach
  7. Feature: Radar Coach Speed Detector by Allan Linton-Smith
  8. Project: Buck-Boost LED Driver by Tim Blythman
  9. Project: Arduino Programmable Load by Tim Blythman
  10. Project: 500W Power Amplifier, Part 3 by John Clarke
  11. Feature: MOS Air Quality Sensors by Jim Rowe
  12. Project: Revised Battery Charge Controller by John Clarke
  13. Review: Altium Designer 22 by Tim Blythman
  14. Circuit Notebook: RF burst power meter by George Mackiewicz
  15. Circuit Notebook: Artificial candle is ‘ignited’ by a real flame by Aarav Garg
  16. Circuit Notebook: Digital volume control using discrete logic by John Clarke & Raj. K. Gorkhali
  17. Circuit Notebook: An easy way to measure SMDs by Michael Harvey
  18. Serviceman's Log: Ion with the wind by Dave Thompson
  19. Vintage Radio: Admiral 19A11S TV by Dr Hugo Holden
  20. PartShop
  21. Ask Silicon Chip
  22. Market Centre
  23. Advertising Index
  24. Notes & Errata: 500W Power Amplifier pt2, May 2022; Model Railway Semaphore Signal, April 2022
  25. Outer Back Cover

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Items relevant to "":
  • PIC16F88 migration document (PDF) (Software, Free)
Articles in this series:
  • IC Fabrication, Part 1 (June 2022)
  • IC Fabrication, Part 2 (July 2022)
Items relevant to "Spectral Sound MIDI Synthesiser":
  • Spectral Sound MIDI Synthesiser PCB [01106221] (AUD $7.50)
  • Short form kit for the Spectral Sound MIDI Synthesiser (Component, AUD $200.00)
  • Software, firmware & documentation for the Spectral Sound MIDI Synthesiser (Free)
  • Spectral Sound MIDI Synthesiser PCB pattern (PDF download) [01106221] (Free)
  • Front & lid panel labels and drilling diagram for the Spectal Sound MIDI Synthesiser (Panel Artwork, Free)
Items relevant to "Buck-Boost LED Driver":
  • High Power Buck-Boost LED Driver PCB [16103221] (AUD $5.00)
  • 70W COB LED panel - cool white (6000-6500K) (Component, AUD $19.50)
  • 70W COB LED panel - warm white (3000-3200K) (Component, AUD $19.50)
  • Complete kit for the High Power Buck-Boost LED Driver (Component, AUD $80.00)
  • High Power Buck-Boost LED Driver PCB pattern (PDF download) [16103221] (Free)
Items relevant to "Arduino Programmable Load":
  • Arduino Programmable Load PCB [04105221] (AUD $5.00)
  • Firmware for the Arduino-based Programmable Load (Software, Free)
  • Arduino Programmable Load PCB pattern (PDF download) [04105221] (Free)
Items relevant to "500W Power Amplifier, Part 3":
  • 500W Amplifier Module PCB [01107021 RevD] (AUD $25.00)
  • Hard-to-get parts for the 500W Amplifier (Component, AUD $200.00)
  • 500W Amplifier Module PCB pattern (PDF download) [01107021] (Free)
Articles in this series:
  • Fan Controller & Loudspeaker Protector (February 2022)
  • Amplifier Clipping Indicator (March 2022)
  • 500W Power Amplifier, Part 1 (April 2022)
  • 500W Power Amplifier, Part Two (May 2022)
  • 500W Power Amplifier, Part 3 (June 2022)
Items relevant to "MOS Air Quality Sensors":
  • Sample sketches for MOS Air Quality Sensors (Software, Free)
Articles in this series:
  • El Cheapo Modules From Asia - Part 1 (October 2016)
  • El Cheapo Modules From Asia - Part 2 (December 2016)
  • El Cheapo Modules From Asia - Part 3 (January 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules from Asia - Part 4 (February 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules, Part 5: LCD module with I²C (March 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules, Part 6: Direct Digital Synthesiser (April 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules, Part 7: LED Matrix displays (June 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules: Li-ion & LiPo Chargers (August 2017)
  • El Cheapo modules Part 9: AD9850 DDS module (September 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules Part 10: GPS receivers (October 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules 11: Pressure/Temperature Sensors (December 2017)
  • El Cheapo Modules 12: 2.4GHz Wireless Data Modules (January 2018)
  • El Cheapo Modules 13: sensing motion and moisture (February 2018)
  • El Cheapo Modules 14: Logarithmic RF Detector (March 2018)
  • El Cheapo Modules 16: 35-4400MHz frequency generator (May 2018)
  • El Cheapo Modules 17: 4GHz digital attenuator (June 2018)
  • El Cheapo: 500MHz frequency counter and preamp (July 2018)
  • El Cheapo modules Part 19 – Arduino NFC Shield (September 2018)
  • El cheapo modules, part 20: two tiny compass modules (November 2018)
  • El cheapo modules, part 21: stamp-sized audio player (December 2018)
  • El Cheapo Modules 22: Stepper Motor Drivers (February 2019)
  • El Cheapo Modules 23: Galvanic Skin Response (March 2019)
  • El Cheapo Modules: Class D amplifier modules (May 2019)
  • El Cheapo Modules: Long Range (LoRa) Transceivers (June 2019)
  • El Cheapo Modules: AD584 Precision Voltage References (July 2019)
  • Three I-O Expanders to give you more control! (November 2019)
  • El Cheapo modules: “Intelligent” 8x8 RGB LED Matrix (January 2020)
  • El Cheapo modules: 8-channel USB Logic Analyser (February 2020)
  • New w-i-d-e-b-a-n-d RTL-SDR modules (May 2020)
  • New w-i-d-e-b-a-n-d RTL-SDR modules, Part 2 (June 2020)
  • El Cheapo Modules: Mini Digital Volt/Amp Panel Meters (December 2020)
  • El Cheapo Modules: Mini Digital AC Panel Meters (January 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: LCR-T4 Digital Multi-Tester (February 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: USB-PD chargers (July 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: USB-PD Triggers (August 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: 3.8GHz Digital Attenuator (October 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: 6GHz Digital Attenuator (November 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: 35MHz-4.4GHz Signal Generator (December 2021)
  • El Cheapo Modules: LTDZ Spectrum Analyser (January 2022)
  • Low-noise HF-UHF Amplifiers (February 2022)
  • A Gesture Recognition Module (March 2022)
  • Air Quality Sensors (May 2022)
  • MOS Air Quality Sensors (June 2022)
  • PAS CO2 Air Quality Sensor (July 2022)
Items relevant to "Revised Battery Charge Controller":
  • Revised Intelligent Battery Charge Controller PCB [14107192] (AUD $7.50)
  • PIC16F88-I/P programmed for the Universal Battery Charge Controller [1410719A.HEX] (Programmed Microcontroller, AUD $15.00)
  • Relay - EA2-5NU (Component, AUD $3.00)
  • IPP80P03P4L-07 high-current P-channel Mosfet (Component, AUD $2.50)
  • Firmware and source code for the Universal Battery Charge Controller [1410719A.HEX] (Software, Free)
  • Revised Battery Charge Controller PCB pattern (PDF download) [14107192] (Free)
  • Universal Battery Charge Controller front panel artwork (PDF download) (Free)
Articles in this series:
  • Have you got a dumb battery charger in your garage? (December 2019)
  • Revised Battery Charge Controller (June 2022)
Items relevant to "RF burst power meter":
  • Firmware for the RF burst power meter (Software, Free)
Items relevant to "Artificial candle is ‘ignited’ by a real flame":
  • Firmware for the Artificial candle using a real flame (Software, Free)

Purchase a printed copy of this issue for $8.50.

CIRCUIT NOTEBOOK Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions will be paid for at standard rates. All submissions should include full name, address & phone number. RF burst power meter The circuit presented here enables reasonably accurate and repeatable RF burst transmission and continuous wave power measurements with a simple and low-cost circuit. Although far simpler than the Silicon Chip Low Cost Wide Band Digital RF Power Meter (August 2020; siliconchip.com. au/Article/14542), it has a large analog display and can make burst measurements. The circuit has two novel features: it uses a servo to provide the readout with a dial of any size, and the burst measurement function, implemented as a peak-hold. The peak-hold function is enabled by a mode switch. It was designed to measure the transmit power of 2.4GHz WiFi AP beacons (peak envelope power) and was also tested with other burst transmissions formats and in different bands, eg, proprietary frequency-hopping protocols in the 2.4GHz and 910MHz ISM bands. The implementation is straightforward, consisting of a PICAXE-08M2 microcontroller (eg, Altronics Cat Z6111A) and a miniature servo motor (eg, Altronics Cat Z6392 or Jaycar Cat YM2758). The AD8318 module cost about $18 from AliExpress and came with a metal shield around the AD8318 and input components. 88 Silicon Chip You could likely use any AD8318based module, but it’s worth checking that they do not have a low-pass filter capacitor fitted (CLPF) on pin 5 (if they do, remove it). The benefit of using a servo as a display is the ability to calibrate the meter scale regardless of linearity changes over the dynamic range of the AD8318. For enhanced accuracy, multiple scales for different frequency bands could also be made. The drawback of an analog display is the resolution. I built the meter by attaching a pointer to the servo motor over a calibrated dial scale. Calibration was performed by temporarily attaching a sheet of paper to the meter face and using a pen to mark measured points around the dial at the frequency of interest. Multiple frequency arcs can be calibrated on one scale, mitigating frequency response issues; eg, you could have 2.4GHz and 910MHz scales. After that, I removed the paper and scanned it, then loaded it into a drawing software package. I then redrew the dial scale using the measured markers in appropriate arcs. I extrapolated intermediate points between the measured marks. I then printed the new dial and fitted it to the servo. Australia's electronics magazine The resolution is approximately 0.3dB per servo step. This calculation is described in the source code. As an example, with a large 80mm pointer attached to the servo, the dial scale will have approximately 4mm between 1dB increments over a range of about 60dB. I made another version using a Holden speedometer stepper motor and pointer, with code changes to suit. The BASIC source code for the PICAXE is in a file named “rf-servo_ v1.bas” that can be downloaded from siliconchip.com.au/Shop/6/6479 George Mackiewicz, Vermont, Vic. ($100) siliconchip.com.au