Silicon ChipContents - April 2014 SILICON CHIP
  1. Outer Front Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Publisher's Letter: Green energy schemes are too costly for Australia
  4. Feature: Autonomous Ground Vehicle Competition by Dr David Maddison
  5. Feature: So You Think You Can Solder? by Nicholas Vinen
  6. Review: Thermaltronics TMT-2000S-K Soldering Station by Nicholas Vinen
  7. Project: 40V Switchmode Bench Power Supply, Pt.1 by Nicholas Vinen
  8. Salvage It: Harvesting old printers for parts by Bruce Pierson
  9. Project: USB-To-RS232C Serial Interface by Jim Rowe
  10. Project: A Rubidium Frequency Standard For A Song by Jim Rowe
  11. Subscriptions
  12. Product Showcase
  13. Vintage Radio: Made in New Zealand: the 1957-60 Pacemaker radio by Dr Hugo Holden
  14. PartShop
  15. Market Centre
  16. Advertising Index
  17. Notes & Errata: Soft Starter for Power Tools, July 2012
  18. Outer Back Cover

This is only a preview of the April 2014 issue of Silicon Chip.

You can view 27 of the 96 pages in the full issue, including the advertisments.

For full access, purchase the issue for $10.00 or subscribe for access to the latest issues.

Items relevant to "40V Switchmode Bench Power Supply, Pt.1":
  • 40V/5A Hybrid Switchmode/Linear Bench Supply PCB [18104141] (AUD $20.00)
  • SMD parts for the 40V/5A Hybrid Switchmode/Linear Bench Supply (Component, AUD $50.00)
  • 40V/5A Hybrid Switchmode/Linear Bench Supply PCB pattern (PDF download) [18104141] (Free)
  • 40V/5A Hybrid Switchmode/Linear Bench Supply panel artwork (PDF download) (Free)
Articles in this series:
  • 40V Switchmode Bench Power Supply, Pt.1 (April 2014)
  • 40V Switchmode Bench Power Supply, Pt.1 (April 2014)
  • 40V Switchmode/Linear Bench Power Supply, Pt.2 (May 2014)
  • 40V Switchmode/Linear Bench Power Supply, Pt.2 (May 2014)
  • 40V Switchmode/Linear Bench Power Supply, Pt.3 (June 2014)
  • 40V Switchmode/Linear Bench Power Supply, Pt.3 (June 2014)
Items relevant to "USB-To-RS232C Serial Interface":
  • USB/RS-232C Serial Interface PCB [07103141] (AUD $5.00)
  • USB/RS-232C Serial Interface PCB pattern (PDF download) [07103141] (Free)
  • USB/RS-232C Serial Interface panel artwork (PDF download) (Free)
Items relevant to "A Rubidium Frequency Standard For A Song":
  • Rubidium Frequency Standard Breakout Board PCB [04105141] (AUD $7.50)
  • Rubidium Frequency Standard Breakout Board PCB pattern (PDF download) [04105141] (Free)

Purchase a printed copy of this issue for $10.00.

Contents Vol.27, No.4; April 2014 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Features 14 Autonomous Ground Vehicle Competition University students from all over Australia pit their designing, building and programming skills to “drive” a driverless vehicle around an obstacle course. No human intervention allowed! – by Dr David Maddison 22 So You Think You Can Solder? It’s a critical skill for electronics professionals and hobbyists but most of us have had no formal training in soldering. An IPC soldering training and certification course taught us far more than we ever expected – by Nicholas Vinen Autonomous Ground Vehicle Competition – Page 14. 27 Review: Thermaltronics TMT-2000S-K Soldering Station Professional soldering station has Curie-point regulated induction heating for fast thermal recovery and accurate temperature regulation. It also features automatic shutdown when the iron is in the workstand – by Nicholas Vinen Pro jects To Build 30 40V Switchmode Bench Power Supply, Pt.1 New design combines switchmode and linear regulators for high efficiency and low output noise, with up to 5A output. It has voltage and current meters, adjustable current limit with display, 12-24V DC input and a front panel load switch – by Nicholas Vinen 56 USB-To-RS232C Serial Interface 40V Switchmode Bench Power Supply – Page 30. Want to connect an older test instrument or PC peripheral fitted with a ‘legacy’ serial RS-232C interface to your late-model PC or laptop? Here’s the solution: build this USB-To-RS-232C serial interface – by Jim Rowe 66 A Rubidium Frequency Standard For A Song Want to make laboratory-standard frequency measurements? It’s now possible for a very low price; just buy a used rubidium-vapour frequency standard on-line and build our simple power supply and buffer circuit – by Jim Rowe Special Columns 38 Serviceman’s Log Musical instruments: a whole new ballgame – by Dave Thompson 53 Salvage It! USB-To-RS232C Serial Interface – Page 56. Harvesting old printers for parts – by Bruce Pierson 62 Circuit Notebook (1) PICAXE-Based Music Box or Doorbell; (2) 2-Cell Lithium-Polymer Charger Has Balancing Feature; (3) Three-Decade Timebase Period Divider A Rubidium Frequency Standard For A Song – Page 66. 82 Vintage Radio Made in New Zealand: the 1957-60 Pacemaker radio – by Dr Hugo Holden Departments   2 Publisher’s Letter   4 Mailbag 75 Subscriptions siliconchip.com.au 80 Product Showcase 88 90 95 96 Online Shop Ask Silicon Chip Market Centre Notes & Errata April 2014  1