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SERVICEMAN’S LOG Large animals, laptops & Laphroaig Dave Thompson’s column will be back next month. In the meantime, here are some repair stories from our readers! The elephant test Back in the 1980s, the traffic management authorities encountered a new problem with the equipment used to detect vehicles at intersections with signals. Until then, a vehicle crossing a detection loop in the road caused a small decrease in inductance due to the sheet metal body acting like a shorted turn. Out of nowhere, vehicle detectors were experiencing problems ranging from locking up to failing to detect vehicles. Eventually, someone observed that the problem seemed worse when heavy freight vehicles crossed the detection loops. The theory was put forward that the weight of the vehicle caused the detection loop to act like a strain gauge, dropping the Q factor of the resonant circuit. Such tiny changes in resistance seemed an unlikely cause to some of us. My employer was in the early stages of manufacturing a new 8-channel vehicle detector that scanned loops many times faster than competing products, and was extremely anxious to have a product that was immune to these ‘negative actuations’. We believed that weight was not the problem, but how to prove it? Firstly, I sent a technician to the local freight depot to ask drivers if they would mind doing a lap of our test track to help us identify which brand of tyres “caused the traffic lights to spend more time red” (an invented story). That did the trick; half an hour later, there was a queue of semi-trailers lined up at our works gate! We sent each semi for a slow lap around our test track, and as each rig cleared the test station, the anxious driver would ask if his tyres were OK. We told them all that they were OK but, in fact, a large proportion of them were causing the problem and we were carefully noting all the markings on each tyre. One driver called back as he drove off, “I hope youse catch them barstards with the shonky tyres”! Items Covered This Month • Testing, traffic & troubleshooting • Refurbishing a Toshiba P750 laptop • The intoxicated wheelchair Dave Thompson runs PC Anytime in Christchurch, NZ. Website: www.pcanytime.co.nz Email: dave<at>pcanytime.co.nz Cartoonist – Louis Decrevel Website: loueee.com 86 Silicon Chip Our observations proved nothing, as the rigs all varied in weight. A brain storming session was held to find a way to prove or disprove the strain gauge theory so strongly held by some. We needed a very heavy weight to pass over the detection loops, but that weight had to be non-metallic if it was to prove anything. Large plastic water tanks, piles of timber railway sleepers, a load of dry sand were all suggested and ruled out, as the weight had to be reasonably concentrated, applied suddenly and removed promptly to realistically simulate a vehicle driving across the detection loop. A massive slab of concrete was considered and rejected because the ‘blue metal’ aggregate in concrete has mild magnetic properties. After over an hour of fruitless discussions, I suggested, almost in jest, “what we really need is a large full-grown elephant to walk over the loops”. To my surprise, the product manager thought it was a great idea, and gave me the go ahead to contact any circuses in the area and, failing that, try to arrange with the zoo to hire an elephant for a few hours! Before my first call, I had to deal with an urgent call from VicRoads claiming that one of our traffic signals controllers was playing up whenever one of their new thyristor-­ controlled trams passed by. They wanted us to send someone down immediately to fix the problem. The following morning, I found myself in the Melbourne CBD with a bunch of VicRoads engineers anxious to demonstrate the problem. It indeed turned out to be a vehicle detector problem that corresponded to the passing of a tram. Connecting my loop analyser, I could see that it was an extreme case of ‘negative actuation’, and seemed to support the strain gauge theory that we didn’t want to be true. Inspecting the detection loop revealed that the feeder cable had been newly installed in a trench that actually went under the tram tracks and, more importantly, the rails dropped by about 6mm whenever a tram passed over them! The fact that the problem started when the new Z trams entered service was just a coincidence. The actual problem was caused by a newly installed feeder cable getting Australia's electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au crushed every time a tram of any sort passed over it. After the transport people repaired the concrete rail bases, the problem disappeared. The strain gauge supporters backed down and the elephant hire was put on hold for the time being. After checking out the tyre markings from the previous week’s semitrailer test runs, it was found that the problem corresponded 100% with steel-belted radial tyres on high-bed vehicles. The sheet steel in car bodies acts like a shorted turn above about 25kHz. Vehicle detectors typically operate between 40kHz and 100kHz. They see a small frequency increase when a vehicle passes over, but the very fine steel wire in steel belted radials acts more like a low-loss magnetic core and causes a small frequency decrease. On small passenger vehicles, the steel of the vehicle body is very close to the detection loops and so generally swamps the effect of the steel-belted tyres, but with high-bed vehicles, the body of the vehicle is raised almost to the limits of detection, and cannot cancel out the effect of the tyres. The software detection algorithm was modified to recognise and compensate for the phenomenon, and the problem went away without the use of a single elephant. The Chinese trade delegation Shortly after word got around that we had a new, faster, more sensitive self-tuning vehicle detector on the market, a delegation from the People’s Republic of China turned up looking for traffic control products. We had just installed a vehicle detector demonstration site right outside the main lab windows, and I hastily sent a couple of staff members home to get their bicycles to demonstrate how sensitive our detectors were. The most important fellow in the delegation didn’t seem to understand any English, relying upon a young lady in his group to translate everything. After witnessing the flawless detection of a series of cars and bicycles, the translator approached me and said that the chairman wants to know if our vehicle detectors would detect bamboo bicycles! Apparently, back in the mid-1980s, China made bicycles out of bamboo. I was stunned for a second, but then replied that this was possible if the wheels had a loop of copper wire installed under the tyre. He seemed satisfied with the reply, and the delegation moved on to inspect traffic signals controllers. Bell and Oriel Again in the 1980s, VicRoads had installed many of our traffic signals controllers, including one at the busy intersection of Bell St and Oriel Rd. It was Thursday, and I had just settled plans for the long weekend when an urgent call came in siliconchip.com.au from Melbourne saying that our traffic controller at the intersection was going berserk every few minutes, and we had to send an engineer immediately. I was told that I was it, so I was unhappily booked in for a flight in a couple of hours! I phoned VicRoads and asked to speak to someone on-site. This was before the days of mobile phones, but they patched me through to their mobile radio network so I could speak to a signal technician there. What he described made no sense, so I asked him to take various voltage measurements around the site, including the most remote pedestrian pushbutton. This should have returned a reading of 32V, but he told me it was jumping around by a few volts constantly, and every minute or so it dropped briefly down to 15V or so. After the delay of him having going back to the van to report it to me, I asked him what buildings or industries were nearby – all medium high-rise, was the reply. When is the problem worst, I asked? Mostly at peak hour, he replied. I then asked him to check the Neutral-Earth link on the switchboard. It was present, so I asked him to put one meter lead on the Neutral block and press the other into the Earth as far from the controller as the leads would allow. A minute later, he returned to the van to report that the Neutral-to-Earth voltage was jumping all over the place, and briefly approaching 100V! Obviously, there was no Neutral-Earth link at the substation! The power authority was called, and was most embarrassed to find that the ‘missing link’ was indeed at the nearby substation. The nearby buildings all had lifts, and the starting current drawn by these was possibly the cause of the frequent-­ but-random variations due to phase imbalances. I would have expected the lifts to have three-phase motors, but perhaps not. The local Earth peg at the controller simply could not cope with the out-of-balance currents involved. The problem ceased as soon as the Neutral-Earth link was restored at the substation, and I was saved a trip to Melbourne for the long weekend. Melbourne Fire Brigade Around 1983, the Melbourne Fire Brigade replaced all their old ‘smash glass and press button’ remote building alarms. The new devices were all-electronic, and the overall system provided the firemen with a printout of the fire location and the nature of the business. The old system had required a young lady in the office to look up the address manually and write it on a slip of paper for the departing crew. Unfortunately, the new system proved troublesome for two reasons. Firstly, the fire crews did not like it, and secondly, an increasing number of remote alarms were failing. I was sent to investigate the problem, and watched the system until a real call-out occurred. I was dismayed to see the firemen poke their walky-talky antennas into the printer and ‘give it a squirt’! The system crashed immediately, so the fire address had to be determined the old way, in panic mode. While the fire crew was away, I had Australia's electronics magazine October 2025  87 the system console top removed and lined with heavy aluminium foil, Earthed at one point. Ferrite beads were also installed on the emitter leads of all power transistors in the various switch-mode power supplies. At the next call out, senior managers watched anxiously as the firemen slid down the pole and approached the console. The printer churned out their instructions perfectly and completely ignored their repeated attempts to disrupt operations. Next came the failing stations. Looking at a map of Melbourne, it became apparent that all new outstations outside a certain radius of headquarters were responsible for the failures. Measurements of voltages and currents around the network did not make sense until I discovered that all new installations were wired with indoor telephone cable instead of the much heavier gauge outdoor cable! The problem turned out to be simply voltage drop. Some non-technical person had discovered that the thinner cable was very much cheaper, and so had ordered it instead of the heavier cable normally used. The network was rewired with considerable haste, and it worked perfectly from then on. Penalty payments ceased, and I had one very happy boss. Graham Lill, Lindisfarne, Tas. Toshiba P750 laptop refurbishment Our son gave us a Toshiba Satellite P750 laptop that someone else had given to him. It was in very good condition, so I thought it might be in working order. I plugged in a charger and it booted up to the login screen of Windows 7, but the account was password protected, so I couldn’t log in. It didn’t really matter as I would wipe the hard drive and install Windows 10 instead. The first hardware problem was that the battery was dead flat and wouldn’t charge. I didn’t want to have to buy a new battery for it, so I grabbed the highest amperage charger I could find and left it charging overnight in the shed. I didn’t want to leave it charging in the house due to the small risk of starting a fire. Sometimes dead flat batteries will charge up again by using this method. Other times, they won’t, but there’s nothing to lose by trying. The next day, the battery was fully charged, so I could go ahead with wiping the hard drive and installing Windows 10. One problem with Windows 10 version 21H2 is that it won’t fit on a single-layer DVD, so I had to use an 8GB flash drive. It took a couple of hours to complete the process, as we cannot get NBN here, other than satellite. With the USB ready, I tried to boot the laptop with it, but it would not boot from the USB. So I had to use my DVD with Windows 10 20H1 and use the USB to update later. I booted from the DVD and started the Windows 10 setup. The first thing I did was to delete the existing partition on the 500GB hard drive. I like to make two partitions on hard drives when I install Windows. In the case that the C:\ drive gets corrupted, the data on D:\ drive should not be affected and Windows can be reinstalled or repaired on the C:\ drive. I made a 60GB partition for Windows and then the rest of the space on the hard drive for D:\ drive for data. Then I got a message saying that Windows could not be installed on this partition, because the hard drive was about 88 Silicon Chip to fail. Presumably, Windows had checked the SMART data and found that the drive was on its way out. That was good to know before I proceeded. I checked my stock of laptop hard drives; I only had one 500GB hard drive left, which had come from one of my previous laptops that had died when it hadn’t been used for a few years. I set up the new hard drive with two partitions, installed Windows 10 20H1 and set up an account. All went well, so I plugged in the USB drive and upgraded to Windows 10 21H2. After the laptop rebooted, I went to log in and all hell broke loose. Every time I pressed a different key on the keyboard, random windows, apps and messages popped up. I didn’t know what was going on as I’ve never had anything like this happen in all the time I’ve been working on computers and laptops. I suspected a keyboard fault, so I plugged in a USB keyboard, but the same thing happened. This didn’t really prove anything anyway, as the onboard keyboard was still connected and any fault with it would still affect the USB keyboard. I wanted to test the onboard keyboard, so I decided to wipe the Windows partition and revert to the earlier version of Windows 10. After reverting to the earlier version of Windows 10, I logged in and opened Notepad to test the keyboard. I was correct that there was a fault with the onboard keyboard. The W and the 5 keys did not work, but the 5 did work on the numeric keypad. Then I found that lower case B worked, but if I pressed the shift key to get an uppercase B, I got nothing. But if I pressed the Caps Lock key, I could get an uppercase B. Now I wanted to make sure that there were no other problems with the laptop, and that the problem with it going crazy was caused by the faulty keyboard. I checked on eBay and I could get a replacement aftermarket keyboard for $35, including postage, so I would consider that later. It looked like removing the keyboard would be tricky, as there was no obvious way to remove it. Other laptops may have a removable panel or obvious signs of clips to depress, but this laptop had neither. I searched for a YouTube video on how to remove the keyboard, but there was none for the P750, only other Toshiba models. I remembered that some time ago I had to replace a keyboard on a laptop and in that case, removing the optical drive allowed the keyboard to be pushed up and unclipped. So I removed Australia's electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au the optical drive, but there was no access to the keyboard. However, a closer look showed a small clip that was accessible. I used a small screwdriver to lift the clip, and the corner of the keyboard popped up, enabling me to carefully lift it, popping another clip. I could see that there was something else holding the keyboard in besides the clips, and I found two screws on the back that needed to be removed. Now the keyboard lifted up and I could disconnect the connector to remove it. I plugged in the USB keyboard, booted into Windows and I upgraded to version 21H2 with no problems; I could now log on without everything going haywire. So the fault was indeed with the original keyboard. Before ordering a replacement keyboard, though, I wanted to check the RAM. I removed the cover over the RAM and I found that the two 4GB modules were not a matched pair. One was 1333MHz, and the other was 10600S. I checked my stock of RAM and found two matching 4GB modules that were rated 12800S, so I fitted them. I tried to boot from the MemTest86 CD, but the laptop just kept booting into Windows. I wondered if the USB keyboard had anything to do with it, so I reconnected the onboard keyboard to see if that made any difference, but it didn’t. After several attempts, I decided to try logging in to Windows again and, to my astonishment, I was able to log in successfully. What happened? It seemed that the keyboard was now working properly. I opened Notepad and checked the keyboard again and it worked perfectly. The only thing I could think of is that the keyboard connector had not been sitting correctly previously, although it looked OK when I’d removed the keyboard. I would need to remove the hard drive to test the RAM because apparently Windows 10 had installed some sort of boot loader to prevent the laptop from booting from any non-Windows 10 media. This is probably a ‘security siliconchip.com.au feature’, but it’s very inconvenient. I removed the hard drive and was able to boot the MemTest86+ CD to check the RAM, which tested good. The next day, I switched on the laptop and when I went to log into Windows, the problem with random apps opening recurred. So the keyboard had ‘unfixed’ itself and it would need to be replaced. I ordered a new keyboard on eBay and waited for it to arrive. Seeing that I had removed the old keyboard, I had good access to the CPU fan, so I could clean it and the heatsink. I took the laptop out to my workshop and I used a small screwdriver to stop the fan from spinning while I blew the dust out of the heatsink through the side exhaust slot. Then I cleaned the fan with a damp cotton bud, ready to install the new keyboard when it arrived. It took 10 days for the keyboard to arrive and it worked fine when fitted, so I could continue setting the computer up. I don’t like the Windows 10 start menu, as it’s much harder to use than the old Windows XP start menu, so we use Classic Shell to set the start menu to the Windows XP style, which is far more practical. We use a lot of portable software, like browsers and other applications, so I would now copy it onto the new laptop. We do not use the default Windows folders for downloads, documents, photos and other data, which is all stored on D:\drive for convenient access and backup. This makes finding files easy, instead of having to fish through Windows folders to find things. With everything now set up, the laptop was ready to use. For a bit of work, $35 for a new keyboard and a replacement hard drive I already had, I now had a good working Core i7 laptop with Windows 10 that was ready to use. This refurbishment was fairly straightforward compared to some of the laptops I’ve worked on previously. Bruce Pierson, Dundathu, Qld. Australia's electronics magazine October 2025  89 Bruel & Kjaer sound level calibrator model 4230 repair The B&K calibrator is an expensive item even second-­ hand, but I was able to buy it online for a song, hoping that it was OK. If not, I felt I had enough instrumentation to check and repair it, so I took the risk. It is described by the manufacturer as “a simple to use, pocket size acoustic calibrator which gives an accurate sound pressure level of 94dB at 1,000Hz”, so how difficult would it be to check this instrument out if there were any problems? It arrived in the mail missing its leather case (hence the low price); it had been placed inside a small foil-lined plastic bag. The description on eBay said it was in “working order”. I opened the battery compartment only to find the 9V battery clip broken and badly corroded. I managed to extract the circuit board (which was retained by a tiny screw) and soldered a new battery clip to it. I then fitted what I thought to be a fresh battery. I pressed the button to activate the device and, sure enough, out came a 1kHz tone. A half-inch (12.7mm) pre-calibrated microphone showed a sound pressure level of exactly 94dB, and I was happy that it all looked good! The B&K manual states that the signal will last up to one minute with a new battery, but this calibrator signal continued for longer... much longer! It continued even when I left it to go to lunch. I replaced the battery because I had no idea what would happen with a flat battery as opposed to a healthy one; would it go on for longer than a minute or shorter than a minute? The manual didn’t say. The same problem occurred. I unclipped the battery to stop the thing from oscillating and flattening the battery, then turned to the manual for clues. Fortunately, the seller kindly included the complete manual plus a loose-leaf page from a service manual. It had an assembly diagram, a PCB layout with all components, a parts list and also a circuit diagram (shown below). It also described the checking procedure and how the calibrator could be adjusted. The circuit indicates that a press of button N1 temporarily short circuits C4, a 100μF capacitor, and when it starts to re-charge via R11 and R12, it activates the calibrator and sets up oscillations via V2 and the L1/C2 network, activated by V4 and V6. Once C4 is fully charged, V5 switches the oscillator off; this takes approximately 10 seconds. My reasoning was that C4 was probably faulty, so I replaced it and that restored everything to normal. Now I could understand why the 9V clip was broken; the operator had to pull the battery out every time the calibrator was finished for the day! It was corroded because the battery was probably left in for extended periods in a discharged condition when the operator forgot to pull it out. Now I have a really accurate microphone calibrator and am looking for an original leather case. I guess the plastic bag is a small compromise for a bargain price! Allan Linton-Smith, Turramurra, NSW. Don’t drink and drive (a wheelchair) I worked in the IT department of a corporate enterprise, but was trained as an electronic engineer with a known aptitude for repairing gear. In the department were two smart colleagues, who could only move one hand and relied on an electric wheelchair for mobility. I assisted them in various chair adjustments to improve comfort over the years and was always willing to help them out. One day I was called over and told, “My chair had an accident and won’t drive properly now and needs some adjustments.” So I packed a bag of tools and headed off on the 30-minute drive. When I arrived, my colleague was in a manually operated chair, with the electric chair in the corner. I asked what had happened to try to determine how we had arrived at the current situation. Well... it turns out they engaged in friendly games of poker on Friday nights, including various quantities of beer and whisky. In the course of game play, while throwing chips in etc, The Bruel & Kjaer 4230 sound level calibrator circuit is pleasingly simple. 90 Silicon Chip Australia's electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au a rather full glass of whisky got knocked over, and the contents flowed across the tray table on the chair and into the major control box via the joystick. As a result, the chair had taken off and veered into a table leg, and twisted the foot mounts before it was switched off. I had never worked on a microprocessor-controlled wheelchair before, but knew they were somewhat regulated and had multiple user profiles for speed, acceleration and sensitivity. This particular user had a high-­sensitivity controller. I said I would take a look, but couldn’t guarantee anything. Rather than switch it on full of whisky, I proceeded to remove the controller and joystick assemblies from the chair. While these are normally sealed, the corrugated rubber around the joystick had seen better days, and had several tears in it that enabled the outside to get in. I removed the rubber overlay and the joystick from the controller, inverted the control box, and extracted at least two shots of dark-brown liquid! Quite a drinking session, I thought, while also wondering if I could rescue it. Thinking about the best way to clean it, I decided that even more alcohol may be the best ‘solution’. I carried a container of IPA (isopropyl alcohol) for cleaning PCBs, but had not planned a full assembly wash-out. I proceeded to pour several more shots of IPA (not beer!) into the joystick and controller, swished it around and lightly brushed it in, around and under the electronic boards and joystick mechanics. The joystick was a Hall-effect type, so thankfully there were no potentiometers to gum up. I felt further joy when I examined the control board and discovered there were no adjustment pots on it either. The good thing about software adjustments is that whisky cannot make its way into non-volatile memory. When I poured the IPA out, there was still some colour to it (it’s clear when pure), so I repeated the procedure until it came out clear. The joystick X-Y mechanism had a very light sliding spring on the shaft to help the return it to the centre. As the user needed the lightest control possible, meaning it had to return to the centre null reliably, I ensured the X-Y bushings were clean, and the sprung bush sliding on the control shaft was returning to the centre reliably. I further cleaned the few plugs and connectors, and applied a spray of DeOXIT on the connections, then plugged it back together. Not having any operational experience in wheelchair control, I nervously powered it up. A bargraph lit up to indicate the battery voltage was OK (24V DC) and the chair just sat there. That was good, I was told. Moving the stick forward, I was rewarded with a click and forward motion. My these things are sensitive! Further testing showed that left, right and back all responded as expected. After resetting the mechanical footrests, reattaching the control box and adjusting it to the user’s needs, he was mobile again. I suggested he may want to go to his chair dealer and get it checked out, but he said he had confidence in me and left it. I know it kept working OK for many more years until he upgraded it. So it seems that whisky is not too bad for electronics, but IPA is better. For people, it’s better to put the whisky in their mouth and not the electronics! SC Dave Williams, California, USA. siliconchip.com.au Australia's electronics magazine October 2025  91 SILICON CHIP .com.au/shop ONLINESHOP HOW TO ORDER INTERNET (24/7) PAYPAL (24/7) eMAIL (24/7) MAIL (24/7) PHONE – (9-5:00 AET, Mon-Fri) siliconchip.com.au/Shop silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au PO Box 194, MATRAVILLE, NSW 2036 (02) 9939 3295, +612 for international You can also pay by cheque/money order (Orders by mail only) or bank transfer. Make cheques payable to Silicon Chip. 10/25 YES! You can also order or renew your Silicon Chip subscription via any of these methods as well! The best benefit, apart from the magazine? Subscribers get a 10% discount on all orders for parts. PRE-PROGRAMMED MICROS For a complete list, go to siliconchip.com.au/Shop/9 $10 MICROS $15 MICROS ATmega328P ATtiny45-20PU PIC12F617-I/P 110dB RF Attenuator (Jul22), Basic RF Signal Generator (Jun23) 2m VHF CW/FM Test Generator (Oct23) Active Mains Soft Starter (Feb23), Model Railway Uncoupler (Jul23) Battery-Powered Model Railway Transmitter (Jan25) PIC12F675-I/SN Tiny LED Xmas Tree (Nov19) PIC16F1455-I/P Railway Points Controller Transmitter / Receiver (2 versions; Feb24) Battery-Powered Model Railway TH Receiver (Jan25) Dual Train Controller (Transmitter / TH Receiver, Oct25) PIC16F1455-I/SL Battery Multi Logger (Feb21), USB-C Serial Adaptor (Jun24) Battery-Powered Model Railway SMD Receiver (Jan25) USB Programmable Frequency Divider (Feb25) Dual Train Controller (SMD Receiver, Oct25) PIC16LF1455-I/P New GPS-Synchronised Analog Clock (Sep22) PIC16F1459-I/P K-Type Thermostat (Nov23), Secure Remote Switch (RX, Dec23) Mains Power-Up Sequencer (Feb24 | repurposed firmware Jul24) 8CH Learning IR Remote (Oct24), Heat Transfer Controller (Aug25) Vacuum Controller (Oct25) PIC16F1459-I/SO Multimeter Calibrator (Jul22), Buck/Boost Charger Adaptor (Oct22) PIC16F15214-I/SN Silicon Chirp Cricket (Apr23), Mic The Mouse (Aug25) PIC16F15214-I/P Filament Dryer (Oct24), Tool Safety Timer (May25) PIC16F15224-I/SL Multi-Channel Volume Control (OLED Module; Dec23) NFC IR Keyfob Transmitter (Feb25), Rotating Light (Apr25) PIC16F18146-I/SO Compact OLED Clock & Timer (Sep24), Flexidice (Nov24) Versatile Battery Checker (May25), RGB LED ‘Analog’ Clock (May25) USB-C Power Monitor (Aug25) PIC16LF15323-I/SL Remote Mains Switch (TX, Jul22), Secure Remote Switch (TX, Dec23) STM32G030K6T6 Variable Speed Drive Mk2 (Nov24) PIC16F1847-I/P PIC16F18877-I/PT Digital Capacitance Meter (Jan25) Dual-Channel Breadboard PSU Display Adaptor (Dec22) Wideband Fuel Mixture Display (WFMD; Apr23) PIC16F88-I/P Battery Charge Controller (Jun22), Railway Semaphore (Apr22) PIC24FJ256GA702-I/SS Ohmmeter (Aug22), Advanced SMD Test Tweezers (Feb23) ESR Test Tweezers (Jun24) PIC32MX170F256D-501P/T 44-pin Micromite Mk2 (Aug14), 4DoF Simulation Seat (Sep19) PIC32MX170F256B-50I/SP Micromite LCD BackPack V1-V3 (Feb16 / May17 / Aug19) Advanced GPS Computer (Jun21), Touchscreen Digital Preamp (Sep21) PIC32MX170F256B-I/SO Battery Multi Logger (Feb21), Battery Manager BackPack (Aug21) PIC32MX270F256B-50I/SP ASCII Video Terminal (Jul14), USB M&K Adaptor (Feb19) STM32L031F6P6 SmartProbe (Jul25) $20 MICROS ATmega32U4 ATmega644PA-AU PIC32MK0128MCA048 PIC32MX270F256D-50I/PT Wii Nunchuk RGB Light Driver (Mar24) AM-FM DDS Signal Generator (May22) Power LCR Meter (Mar25) Digital Preamplifier (Oct25) $25 MICROS PIC32MX170F256B-50I/SO + PIC16F1455-I/SL Micromite Explore-40 (SC5157, Oct24) PIC32MX470F512H-120/PT Micromite Explore 64 (Aug 16), Micromite Plus (Nov16) PIC32MX470F512L-120/PT Micromite Explore 100 (Sep16) $30 MICROS PIC32MX695F512H-80I/PT Touchscreen Audio Recorder (Jun14) PIC32MZ2048EFH064-I/PT DSP Crossover/Equaliser (May19), Low-Distortion DDS (Feb20) DIY Reflow Oven Controller (Apr20), Dual Hybrid Supply (Feb22) KITS, SPECIALISED COMPONENTS ETC DUAL TRAIN CONTROLLER MICROCONTROLLERS (OCT 25) PICKIT BASIC POWER BREAKOUT KIT (SC7512) (SEP 25) - PIC16F1455-I/P programmed with 0911024D.HEX (Transmitter) - PIC16F1455-I/P programmed with 0911024S(or T).HEX (Receiver, TH) - PIC16F1455-I/SL programmed with 0911024S(or T).HEX (Receiver, SMD) firmware ending with “S.HEX” is for train 1, while “T.HEX” is for train 2 Includes all parts except the jumper wire and glue (see p39, Sep25) MIC THE MOUSE KIT (SC7508) Includes all parts except a CR2032 cell (see p64, Aug25) RP2350B DEVELOPMENT BOARD (AUG 25) $10.00 $10.00 $10.00 $20.00 $37.50 siliconchip.com.au/Shop/ ROTATING LIGHT FOR MODELS KIT (APR 25) PICO 2 AUDIO ANALYSER SHORT-FORM KIT (SC6772) (MAR 25) USB PROGRAMMABLE FREQUENCY DIVIDER (SC6959) (FEB 25) NFC PROGRAMMABLE IR KEYFOB (SC7421) (FEB 25) COMPACT HIFI HEADPHONE AMP (SC6885) (DEC 24) PICO COMPUTER (DEC 24) FLEXIDICE COMPLETE KIT (SC7361) (NOV 24) Complete kit which includes the PCB and all onboard components (see p60, Apr25): - SMD LEDs (SC7462) $20.00 - Through-hole LEDs (SC7463) $20.00 The Pico Audio Analyser kit from Nov23, but with an unprogrammed Pico 2 Complete kit: includes all components (see p85, Feb25) Complete kit: includes all required items, except the cell (see p67, Feb25) (AUG 25) Assembled Board: a pre-assembled PCB with all mandatory parts fitted, optional components are sold separately below (SC7514; see p49, Aug25) - 40-pin header (two are required, SC3189) - 8MiB APS6404L-3SQR-SN PSRAM SOIC-8 IC (SC7530) $50.00 $60.00 $25.00 $30.00 $70.00 $1.00ea Complete kit: includes everything except the power supply (see p47, Dec24) $5.00 CAPACITOR DISCHARGER KIT (SC7404) (DEC 24) Includes the PCB and all components that mount on it, the mounting hardware USB-C POWER MONITOR KIT (SC7489) (AUG 25) $30.00 Includes all non-optional parts except the case, cell & glue (see p39, Aug25) $60.00 (without heatsink) and banana sockets (see p36, Dec24) 433MHz RECEIVER KIT (SC7447) (JUN 25) VERSATILE BATTERY CHECKER KIT (SC7465) (MAY 25) RGB LED ‘ANALOG’ CLOCK KIT (SC7416) (MAY 25) USB POWER ADAPTOR COMPLETE KIT (SC7433) (MAY 25) Includes the PCB and all onboard parts (see p66, Jun25) Includes everything in the parts list (including the case), except the optional components, batteries and glue (see p30, May25) $20.00 $65.00 Includes all the parts except the power supply. When buying the kit select either a BZ-121 GPS module or Pico W (unprogrammed) for the time source (see p66, May25) $65.00 Includes everything in the parts list and a choice of one USB socket: USB-C power only; USB-C power+data; Type-B mini; or Type-B micro (see p80, May25) $10.00 PICO/2/COMPUTER (SC7468) (APR 25) 433MHz TRANSMITTER KIT (SC7430) (APR 25) Includes an assembled PCB, separate Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and front/rear panels $120.00 Includes the PCB and all onboard parts (see p75, Apr25) $20.00 For full functionality both the Pico Computer Board and Digital Video Terminal kits are required. Items shown unbolded are optional (see p71, Dec24) - Pico Computer Board kit (SC7374) $40.00 - Pico Digital Video Terminal kit (SC6917) $65.00 - PWM Audio Module kit (SC7376) $10.00 - ESP-PSRAM64H 64Mb SPI PSRAM chip (SC7377) $5.00 - DS3231 real-time clock SOIC-16 IC (SC5103) $7.50 - DS3231MZ real-time clock SOIC-8 IC (SC5779) $10.00 Includes all required parts except the coin cell (see p71, Nov24) VARIOUS MODULES & PARTS $30.00 - two 1nF ±1% capacitors (ESR Meter, Aug23; SC4273) $2.50 - 5V 3-pin boost regulator module (2m CW/FM Test Generator, Oct23; SC6780) $3.00 - 5V 3-pin buck regulator module (2m CW/FM Test Generator, Oct23; SC6781) $4.00 - 0.96in 128x64 white OLED without PCB (SmartProbe, Jul25; SC7397) $7.50 - Talema AC-1010 10A Current Transformer (SC3315) $20.00 *Prices valid for month of magazine issue only. All prices in Australian dollars and include GST where applicable. # Overseas? Place an order on our website for a quote.