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siliconchip.com.au December 2005  1 SILICON CHIP If you are seeing a blank page here, it is more than likely that it contained advertising which is now out of date and the advertiser has requested that the page be removed to prevent misunderstandings.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.18, No.12; December 2005 www.siliconchip.com.au FEATURES 22 Car Sound On The Cheap; Pt.2 Buying the amplifier and subwoofer and the wiring options – by Julian Edgar 40 The Microbric Viper No soldering required: all you need is a screwdriver to build this state-of-theart programmable robot and all the bits are reusable – by Ross Tester 61 Excellence In Education Technology Awards Universal High-Energy Ignition System – Page 30. SILICON CHIP’s new awards for electronics technology in education PROJECTS TO BUILD    8 Building The Ultimate Jukebox; Pt.1 This Jukebox won’t eat up your $2 coins but gives you all the features you want. You build it using a computer, an amplifier module and a speaker, plus some specialised jukebox software – by Ross Tester 30 Universal High-Energy Ignition System; Pt.1 It works with a variety of trigger inputs and uses a PIC microcontroller to control the switching transistor – by John Clarke 62 Remote LED Annunciator For Queue Control Got a queue situation? This project will stop the arguments and punch-ups by ensuring that people are served in their turn – by Jim Rowe 72 Build A MIDI Drum Kit; Pt.2 It offers a staggering 546 drum sounds and there’s not a stretched skin in sight! Here’s how to build the control unit – by John Clarke The Microbric Viper – Page 40. 85 433MHz Wireless Data Communication Want to get your Picaxe talking without wires? We show you how to use Jaycar’s dirt cheap 433MHz UHF data modules, plus there’s a 433MHz Yagi antenna to build – by Stan Swan 96 PIC In-Circuit Programming Add-On Adaptor What, no in-circuit programming facility on your PIC Programmer? Here’s how you can add this useful feature – by Keith Anderson SPECIAL COLUMNS 44 Circuit Notebook (1) Solar Hot Water Differential Pump Controller; (2) The Mystery Swinger; (3) Clap-Controlled Switch 48 Serviceman’s Log Remote LED Annunciator For Queue Control – Page 62. Diagnostic codes: help or hindrance? – by the TV Serviceman 82 Salvage It! So you’ve scrounged a VCR? Let’s salvage the good bits – by Julian Edgar 98 Vintage Radio Ray Kelly and the Historical Radio Society of Aust. – by Rodney Champness DEPARTMENTS   2   4 92 103 Publisher’s Letter Mailbag Product Showcase Order Form siliconchip.com.au 106 108 110 111 Ask Silicon Chip Notes & Errata Market Centre Ad Index 433MHz Data Communications For Your Picaxe – Page 85. December 2005  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 Encouraging excellence in schools and universities This month, on page 61, we are announcing our inaugural 2006 award for Excellence in Education Technology. With a prize pool of $10,000, we are seeking to make a significant statement in our drive to promote the study and use of electronic technology in all facets of society. SILICON CHIP has survived and grown over 18 years, due to the support of our readers and advertisers. Now we want to give something back, to promote electronics in Australia. While so much of the media keeps harping on about the loss of manufacturing and skills to Asia, we know that the real story is much more upbeat. Yes, most consumer product manufacturing has moved off-shore but there still remains a lot of niche manufacturers in Australia, producing all sorts of specialised equipment. Our universities and TAFE colleges are also centres of excellence, often doing wonderful research and development with resources that are only a fraction of those available to overseas academic institutions. We want to promote this excellence. We also want to publish some of the many stories of interesting research in our universities and ultimately, we want to make awards for the best projects. Furthermore, we want to promote the interest in electronics in schools. There is quite a substantial amount of electronics in the secondary schools’ curricula now but some teachers go out of their way to be innovative in teaching and encouraging their students, to produce great assignments and participate in interesting group projects. An example of this was the automated pedestrian crossing system devised by students at Sydney’s East Hills Girls Technology School. We reported on that story in the February 2005 issue. Who knows where those girls at that school will end up, because of their participation in that electronic project? MD of a technology company? Research scientist? Technology adviser to an insurance company or government institution? Whatever the outcome, they will all be enriched by the experience. So here we are in December 2005 announcing what we hope will grow to become a significant annual event, promoting excellence and giving acknowledgement to those lecturers and teachers who are trying to make a big difference. We know that most universities and TAFE colleges have all but closed for the end-of-year holidays and that schools are also very close to the end of term but the message should get out there. If you are a secondary school teacher or lecturer at a tertiary institution, make sure you are in the running for the awards next year. And if you are a school student or you have a son or daughter in secondary school, make sure your school knows about the award. Better still, why not think about starting your own project which could be in the running? Leo Simpson ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended and maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Innovative • Unique • Interesting • Hard to find products Video Capture Captures from digital & analogue camcorders plus VCR/TV/DVD. Comes with handy front-access connections. Cat 23027-7 $299 Barcode Scanner Dual ADSL Router A great value robust scanner, perfect for retail and warehouse applications. Cat 8698-7 $269 Enhance reliability and double your ADSL capacity by using two different ISP's. Cat 10145-7 $399 What’s New? Skype Business Phone Skype is free VOIP software that allows you to make free internet calls and calls to standard/mobile phones at cheap rates. MicroGrams Skype Business Phone features total integration with skype, meaning skype can be controlled from the phone without using the mouse/keyboard. Cat 10165-7 $129 Cordless Pen Mouse No room for a mouse? Try this! This 5.25 bay has USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, Power out, Audio In/Out and a 6 in 1 memory card reader. Cat 6765-7 $129 Windows Based Terminal This tiny WBT can attach to the VESA mounts on a LCD monitor. It supports RDP and emulates SCO, DEC, Wyse etc. Cat 1239-7 $649 IP KVM Access your servers from anywhere in the world Attach this unit to any existing KVM switch and access all your machines remotely with a web browser to a BIOS level. You can even reinstall an OS. Cat 11674-7 $1099 Cash Register Perfect for small retail outlets This cash register features a large operator display, automatic GST registration and reporting, and battery backup for memory protection. Cat 1008129-7 $289 Notebook Docking Station Attach this USB 2.0 device to any notebook or PC and have access to the following ports. 2 x PS/2, Serial (DB9), Parallel (DB25), LAN (10/100), Audio In + Out, 2 x USB 2.0 Cat 2937-7 $159 KVM with Sound Pentium 4 with ISA Allows one keyboard, monitor and mouse to control two PCs. Switches the sound as well as the KVM. Includes 1.2m cables. Cat 11669-7 $89 This industrial motherboard is based on the Intel 875P chipset. It supports s478 Prescott processors and has four PCI and two ISA slots. Cat 17086-7 $799 Wireless VGA Receiver Using an existing wireless network and the software provided, the user can duplicate and transmit their display to a projector or plasma screen etc. Perfect for schools, boardrooms, lecture theatres etc Cat 3582-7 $679 Heavy Duty LCD Monitor Arm Luminescent Keyboards Magnetic Card Reader USB Extender Reads tracks1 & 2. Has a keyboard wedge connection for easy installation. Cat 8768-7 $259 Use any USB 1.1 device up to 50m away from a PC over inexpensive UTP cable (not included). Cat 11666-7 $99 12v ATX Power Supply A 160w ATX power supply that runs from a 12v DC source. Cat 8551-7 $289 Our luminescent keyboards provide a soft, even, blue light behind the keys making them perfect for use in the dark or poorly lit areas. Cat 1008170-7 88 Key (mini) $69 Cat 1008171-7 105 Key $79 These well designed arms can be maneuvered into many positions. Cat 4703-7 Desk Mount 15kg $179 Cat 4704-7 Wall Mount 10kg $149 • Normally delivered next day • Not sure what product you require? Call us for friendly advice! Wireless TV Sharer Transmit Video and Audio signals (RCA) up to 100m over a wireless link. Also relays an Infrared remote control. Cat 11808-7 $69 USB SIM Card Reader Update the contacts on your SIM card with the ease of a PC keyboard. Cat 9302-7 $49 ask<at>mgram.com.au 1800 625 777 Share any broadband connection and protect your network with this router/firewall Cat 10162-7 $129 PCI to PCMCIA Adapter This PCI card allows the use of PCMCIA and PC Card devices designed for notebooks in a standard desktop PC. Cat 6539-7 $69 www.mgram.com.au Broadband Router/Firewall USB Temp and Humidity Sensor USB VGA Adapter Plugs into a USB 2.0 port and allows the user to extend their desktop over two screens (or three screens if already using a dual head video card). Cat 15156-7 $149 SMS I/O Controller Switch any electrical device on or off using SMS from any mobile phone. Cat 17087-7 $979 Measures the relative humidity and temperature and can graph the results on the included software. Cat 17090-7 $319 Digital I/O to Ethernet This unit allows the user to remotely control 7 Digital I/O ports and 1 RS232/422/485 port over LAN or WAN. Cat 15157-7 $329 Dealer Phone: 1800 625 777 inquiries ask<at>mgram.com.au welcome www.mgram.com.au siliconchip.com.au December 2005  3 All prices subject to change without notice. For current pricing visit our website. Pictures are indicative only. SHORE AD/MGRM1205 Front Access Bay Never reach behind your PC again! This cordless pen mouse is ideal for use in confined areas where a normal mouse cannot be used. It is also an ideal pointing device for use with a notebook/laptop. The pen mouse features a plug-and-play USB interface with a transmission distance up to 10m. It has a rechargeable Li battery, 1000 DPI resolution and runs at 2.4Ghz. Cat 9287-7 $119 MAILBAG Flash point and volatility In your September 2005 article on the Bilge Sniffer, there seems to be some confusion with volatility and flash point. The flash point of petrol is somewhere in the vicinity of 150°C, whereas the flash point of diesel is about 70°C. The definition of flash point is “the temperature at which, if a drop of fuel is touched to a surface of that temperature, the fuel will selfignite or flash”. Note that it does not need a flame or spark. And notice how diesel fuel is more dangerous if let loose onto hot surfaces. However, there is a feature of fuels that we don’t usually know and that is vapour pressure, which is linked to volatility. Its definition is “the pressure required to hold vapours in a liquid at a specific temperature”. This is about 10psi for motor spirit at 38°C, whereas kerosene and similarly diesel have a much lower pressure of 0.2psi at 38°C. Volatility is “the tendency for fuel to vaporise under given conditions”. With all this, gaseous fuels are usually more dangerous than liquid fuels, as most gaseous fuel mixtures that are commonly used are heavier than air and flow to the lowest point in closed vessel; where our noses cannot readily detect them. For all this, I think that John has done a great job with the detector. Brian Bannister, via email. Comment: you make some valid points although there was no specific mention of volatility or flash point in the article. Visual Basic for the Electrocardiograph I read the question and answer on this topic in “Ask SILICON CHIP” (September 2005, Page 106) response with interest, being a Visual Basic Programmer and electronics hobbyist. It was good information about the USB interface being supplied with a driver to emulate a serial port. However in the interest of the by4  Silicon Chip now-confused reader who asked the original question, I need to correct some of the information supplied. DCOM 98 has nothing to do with the COM port. It’s another confusing computer acronym. DCOM stands for Distributed Component Object model. 500-page books have been written to try to explain its purpose and operation, so let’s just say it allows you to run a software component installed on one machine from another. The component you were referring to is in fact the MSComm.ocx control that shipped with the professional edition of VB3 and above but not always with the standard edition. It allows communications with a serial port. If you don’t have the pro edition, don’t despair. Like most things in Visual Basic it can be done in code. A quick search of the internet will provide the answer. I found this page that provides a down-load and a quick tutorial: http://www.yes-tele.com/mscomm.html I hope this helps. I find the ability to communicate with electronics projects via the PC very interesting. I would often like to modify the software in the same way many people will modify the project. To this end I would love to see more source code published with your projects, even if it is via your website. There are lots of home automation projects that lend themselves to being controlled via Visual Basic. Max Healey, via email. Comments on Ask SILICON CHIP I have some comments on the August 2005 issue. In “Ask SILICON CHIP” on page 104, P. D., raised the subject of processing delays in plasma displays. One would hope that the display manufacturers would supply a delay facility for the audio to match that of the video (but that would probably only be 2-channel). Your advice of trying the proposed screen with your audio equip- ment seems to be fairly impractical. If this problem is as widespread as you indicate, given your position as the leading technical publication in this field, it would be good if you could do some research or your own tests to actually quantify the delays involved. Lip sync problems are usually only apparent when the differential delay exceeds 100ms. Apart from the problems with plasma processing times, the studios themselves are usually the biggest culprits in causing additive differential delay, due to too many frame stores in series without using expensive audio tracking delay lines that are matched to the frame stores. Also on page 104, C. D., spoke of a subwoofer problem. It wasn’t clear that the special cable he was using was shielded. If not, shielding may help. Beyond that, converting the interconnection to be balanced could be a solution. On page 105, G. C. wanted help with eliminating interference to video signals. Hard-of-hearing people do not need more bass, so a high-pass filter on the input to the induction loop amplifier could be a solution to keeping the low frequencies out of the loop. A compressor on the feed to the induction loop amplifier would be an alternative to the high-pass filter. It would seem to me that an induction loop that produces a signal 10 metres outside the building is being driven with far too much power and just a simple attenuation of the input to the amplifier may be a complete solution. Run the video in balanced mode on a twisted pair. A couple of SILICON CHIP siliconchip.com.au advertisers offer video baluns/VGA extenders that will convert the signal to balanced to easily cover many times the distance specified. On page 106, P. M. queried a tapping halfway up the chain of cells in a battery. In some packs, I have found that this is simply for a lower speed option on the drill. This is poor design as it can lead to half the cells being discharged while the others are left fully charged. Finally, the article on your Carbon Monoxide Alert project suggests that drivers put their car ventilation onto recirculate when high CO concentrations are detected. This seems to be dubious advice as that would lock you into a closed, relatively low volume where there was no chance of lowering the concentration. If this is necessary, it should only be used for a very short time. Ideally you should sense both inside and outside the vehicle and select which ever gives you the lowest concentration. Running on “recirculate” is meant to be only for exceptional conditions, as it can be quite dangerous if there are any CO leaks into the cabin from the vehicle’s own defects. On the latest cars, even if you select “recirculate”, this will be periodically overridden by the HVAC computer to ensure that the cabin air is purged to minimise the risk of passengers being affected by any buildup of harmful gases. Graham Goeby, via email. Valves, nostalgia and self-deception Remember when hifi was a glorious mixture of science and art? All the clever compromises that were made to approach fidelity: big transformers with taps all over the place, rats’ nests of components at the back of a rotary switch to cope with various response curves from various record companies, weird shapes for styli, strange tonearms, tonearm counterbalances, turntables straight from Heath Robinson, etc. To understand the concepts involved, you had to be an enthusiast but not much more. You could talk about it, fiddle with it and feel that you were a part of a world-wide community of siliconchip.com.au cognoscenti. At the centre of it all was a valve amplifier. We used to joke that we wanted to replace it with a “straight piece of copper wire, with gain” but we really didn’t. Remember how much of that science and art was devoted to overcoming shortcomings inherent in the valve amplifier? Well, now we have it: the bits come off the CD and go through to the back of the speaker as if via a straight piece of copper wire with gain and we have nothing to talk about. All we can do is listen to the music. Which reminds me of something else: remember how many of those enthusiasts never actually listened to music? Tony Turner, via email. Comment: yep, we remember that ideal: a straight wire with gain. Many people apparently don’t want straight wire. New preamp does not have phono stage I don’t believe it! Your new preamplifier (SILICON CHIP, October 2005) comes without an RIAA/phono input preamp! If SILICON CHIP has presented a valve amplifier design (from the era when 78 RPM recordings were the norm), why would you not include an RIAA input on a contemporary preamplifier? 33 RPM vinyl disks are enjoying a resurgence of interest and many people (myself included) still have an extensive collection of vinyl recordings. Sure you could convert them to CD format (you would still need an RIAA preamp) but to do so well takes time. For a disk you might only listen to once a year, it is probably not worth the effort. Another oversight in the design of this preamplifier is the absence of an attenuation network on the CD input, so that the higher output level which may be presented by some CD players can be equalised to the lower output levels of the other audio sources. Regarding the Mudlark valve amplifier (SILICON CHIP, August & September 2005), adverse comments from audiophiles with golden ears have been remarkably absent. Silicon diodes in the power supply? Valves mounted on a PC board? Don’t 555 ICs oscillate? 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 December 2005  5 Mailbag: continued No-one has noted the use of fluorescent lighting ballast chokes as inductors in the design. What sacrilege! Can you imagine how this will affect the ambience ratio? (This measure quantifies the difference between what you think you hear and what you actually hear!) Now if the inductors were wound with oxygen-free copper on polypropylene formers and then dipped in Peruvian beeswax (chosen for its superior sonic qualities), praise and approval might be forthcoming from the golden-eared brigade! Peter van Schaik, Tenterfield, NSW. Comment: it is true that there is continuing interest in vinyl records. That is why we produced the LP Doctor project in the January & February 2001 issues. It can easily be hooked up to the new preamplifier and together with its ability to reduce clicks and pops on old records, represents the best approach for playing records. Valves and self-delusion I just wanted to add my five cents to the whole valve versus solid-state debate that seems to be happening at SILICON CHIP these days. I had never heard valves before I made the hifi version of the Valve Preamplifier described in the February 2004 issue of SILICON CHIP. I built it with no great expectations, beliefs, prejudices, etc. I just thought it would be fun and interesting. Well it turned out to be the best sounding preamp I have had in my system! Please note that I say best sounding, not best measuring! I build hifi components to save money and listen to music, not to impress anyone with spectacular measurements. I run the preamp into a Rotel power amplifier and also into the SILICON CHIP headphone amplifier (May 2002). I certainly don’t think I am deluding myself. I can’t see the valves in operation because they are hidden away in a metal case, nor can I feel their warmth! In fact the whole thing is in a cupboard which is just as well because the power 6  Silicon Chip supply is annoyingly noisy. I sure do hope you continue with valves, especially small-signal stuff like preamps and headphone amplifiers. I would love to see a valve equivalent to Peter Smith’s current solid-state preamp, with relay switching, headphone amplifier, remote volume, etc. Surely you realise there is a market there regardless of how deluded you think it is? Rob Knutsen, Doncaster, Vic. Scanners worth salvaging I am a fan of recycling and enjoy the “Salvage It!” articles. There are a lot of older scanners ending up on the kerbside lately (driver incompatibility with XP perhaps?) and there are some great components in these that can be recovered. There is a cold cathode tube with an inverter (usually 12V or 24V to power and a pin to short to turn it on), front surface mirrors (OK for light/laser experimentation) a good lens, a stepper motor (often geared) plus a drive pulley and belt, a LED/phototransistor limit detector, switching power supply and other components. I don’t have a particular project in mind but thought that the above may be of interest or maybe trigger an idea for Julian Edgar. Russell Verdon, Wollongong, NSW. Alternative satellite image site Your article on Google Earth in the October 2005 issue was very interesting. However, it failed to mention the http://www.ozabove.com satellite service that is available to Australians free of charge, delivering about 20 images daily, much more up-to-date than Google. The image resolution is 1km per pixel. That’s better than what the BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) has and it can be very useful for anyone interested in the weather as well as sea surface temperatures. For example, fishermen should find that very useful for locat- ing warm waters meeting cold in the southern ocean. The site is currently used by the Siding Spring Observatory as well as the Mt Stromlo Satellite Laser Ranging facility, as it delivers the resolution and timeliness required for their applications. Balthasar Indermuehle, Glebe, NSW. Gobsmacked by Google I’ve just had a glance through my new edition of SILICON CHIP and noticed that I am not the only one amazed at Google Earth! Look at these grid positions: 32d 10’N 110d 50’W and you will see the B52 bomber junkyard. Then check 32d 08’53.06”N 110d 49’58.44”W and you will see B52s that have been cut up. Something to do with a weapons of war disarmament I am told. Gary Ferguson, Shepparton, Vic. BPL promotion from the masters of spin Congratulations on your article about Broadband over Power Lines in the November 2005 issue. At last someone outside the amateur radio community has spelt out the problems with this technology. The proponents, who appear to be masters of “spin”, have had it all to themselves for too long. Have you ever seen a press release from them that didn’t mention 200Mb/s speeds? How on earth they would achieve this speed, except perhaps in a very controlled environment, eludes me and I am sure it has more than a few network designers scratching their heads. The only way I could see that speed being achieved is if they “squirt” enough RF energy into the system to make the actual wires redundant! And to hell with everyone else trying to use the radio spectrum. The “large scale trial” in Tasmania is also one that has been carefully chosen as to avoid or minimise any adverse effects. For a start, the wiring in that estate is underground and the plans they offer are so expensive that you would have to be a millionaire if you wanted to watch streaming video or download the odd movie. So, they are siliconchip.com.au certainly trying to keep the usage down, perhaps to avoid showing up the flaws when the network gets busy. The other “furphy” that gets bandied about a lot is “universal availability” and the press and politicians seem to be buying it. After all, there are not many places without power lines. Why it would be cheaper to wire up Birdsville with BPL than say ADSL or wireless no-one explains. Surely, if it is not economical to enable a country telephone exchange for ADSL, it can’t be so for BPL. They siliconchip.com.au seem to want to convey the impression that they can enable universal internet access no matter where, with the flick of a switch! Power switch, that is. I just feel sorry for the investors who will pour money into this technology based on the current hype, without realising the many flaws that do exist. Horst Leykam, VK2HL, via email. BPL is mains-borne interference Several years ago, I submitted an electronic Electric Fence Monitor unit in for a C-Tick compliance certificate from the ACA and most of the testing seemed to be about the level of electrical interference that may get into the mains side. It seems Broadband over the Power Lines would go against all the principles of mains-borne interference suppression and the regulations – see: http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65674: STANDARD:361068585:pc=PC_2768# Peter Robertson, via email. December 2005  7 Building the ULTIMATE In the days of iPods, MP3 players and all manner of fit-inyour-pocket, “music on the go” devices, why on earth would anyone want to build a freestanding jukebox – which, by definition, is almost a piece of furniture? T hat, Little Adam, is not just another story: it’s the whole story! Apart from the “theft-ability” of small music devices (and that is rife!), there are times when they just don’t cut it. For instance, at a party where guests want to choose which tracks they want to hear next. Ummm . . . that sounds like a jukebox (in the old style!). The word “jukebox” certainly evokes different things to different people, depending, to a large extent, on their age. For those of us fortunate(?) enough to be around in the swinging ’60s (and earlier), it conjures up images of a mighty Wurlitzer; a large, almost art-deco device with lots of chrome and flashing coloured lights, pushbuttons and of course the coin slot to eat your money. In the middle, a mechanical monstrosity selected 45RPM or even 78RPM records (remember them?) from a revolving platter or stack, according to the buttons pressed, placed them on the turntable then dropped (literally!) the pickup arm onto the surface . . . and they played that track (for your two bob [two shillings, or 20c]). You can still find jukeboxes of this type in old-style cafes and the like and in most cases, they still work after all these years. Of course, 45 and 78RPM records have long since gone the way of the Dodo but many now operate with CDs in exactly the same way. Well, maybe not exactly but close enough. Speaking of CDs, that’s what most of today’s teens and 20-somethings have only ever known. Sure, they’ve seen LP records in garage sales and bargain stores. Some might Sorry to disappoint but this is NOT the jukebox we are describing. This is one of those beautiful old Wurlitzers, in this case an 1100 – as we say, all lights and chrome. This one plays 78RPM recordings – you can clearly see the changing mechanism and the stack of discs through the glass. 8  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au JUKEBOX Part 1 Article by Ross Tester Software by Tony Murphy have even seen 45s and 78s. But very few would have a turntable to play them on! And their idea of a jukebox is a device which may or may not have the flashing lights – but it still has a coin slot (invariably these days costing you a couple of dollars!) and (usually) pushbutton track selectors. Many of these jukeboxes don’t have any mechanical section showing – often because there isn’t one. If actual CDs are used at all (and that is diminishing), they are part of a CD stacker which may work much like the old style record selectors – but you don’t normally see it. The reason the use of CDs is diminishing brings us to the project we are presenting here. When it was realised that CDs could be stored on a hard disk drive, many people started putting their entire CD collections into their PCs. Particularly in more recent years as the cost of storage became cheaper and cheaper, it became a viable option. CDs could be stored away for safekeeping – no more scratches (or lost CDs!). The next step in the evolution was to still save the CD onto the hard disk but save it in MP3 format (yes, there are many others but MP3 is far and away the most popular and has become the de-facto “standard”). While MP3 recordings are technically inferior to their CD equivalents, the vast majority of people couldn’t tell the difference, especially when belting out party music with everyone shouting to be heard over the din! Today, most commercial jukeboxes are little more than siliconchip.com.au a computer with a big hard disk drive (on which is stored all the tracks), an amplifier and speaker, plus a coin slot mechanism which still eats your money. Some types have stuck with the “old fashioned” pushbutton track selection; more up-market models have on-screen selection, sometimes with a touch screen to do just about everything. The jukeboxes you hire for a party are typically of these types – usually, however, with no coin mechanism. You just select your track and it plays. Being computer based, you can program as many tracks forward as the software will allow, or if you are a real masochist you might get the one track to repeat over and over . . . Our jukebox The last few paragraphs very nicely describe the SILICON CHIP Ultimate Jukebox. It is, effectively, a conglomeration of ideas. There is no rocket science about it – we just show you which bits you need and how to put them together to make sense – and sound great! Let’s have a look at those “bits”. The computer Our original intention was to press an old Pentium computer system into service. Like most people/organiDecember 2005  9 The IBM Thinkpad R40e is a perfectly respectable “budget” notebook, even if lacking a few of the latest niceties. But it makes a perfect candidate for use in our Ultimate Jukebox. Here it is running the Ultimate Jukebox software, albeit with not much in the way of music yet loaded. All the controls users need, even volume, are accessible on screen. IBM notebook pic sations, we have to regularly update our PCs to be able to use the latest software, leaving us several old (but still working) PCs languising in cupboards. Monitors, too have been updated. There’s nothing wrong with using an old PC from an operating point of view – or especially cost – but then a couple of factors changed our mind. First was weight – the jukebox housing (effectively a speaker box with add-ons) was going to be quite heavy anyway. We deliberately made it that way to handle the rigours of party use. When you add the weight of an old desktop PC and an old CRT monitor to the weight of the jukebox/amplifier/ speaker/power supply/etc, it simply came in too high. We wanted it to be heavy duty, not back-breaking heavy and almost immovable. Even substituting an LCD for the CRT monitor was not a satisfactory answer (and that’s apart from the LCD cost). Second was the price of second-hand notebooks. With new, high-performing notebooks dropping all the time (see the article in June 2005 SILICON CHIP), the second-hand notebook market has also taken a dive. It’s not hard to pick up a perfectly good Pentium II or III for $250, if not less. It doesn’t have to have a large hard disk because we can easily overcome that hurdle. Just as long as it has an inbuilt sound card (just about all do) and a USB port or two available (most Pentiums do), it should be fine. In fact, we could go even lower in the food chain and 10  Silicon Chip say just about any Pentium-level (ie, including AMD, etc equivalents) computer would be satisfactory. You don’t need a high-performing machine to play music! The amplifier The amplifier needs to have enough “oomph” for the purpose (it is a jukebox, after all). But how much is enough? That depends a lot on the usage to which you want to put your Ultimate Jukebox. If you’re looking to fill a large hall with deafening sound levels, you’re probably looking for at least a couple of hundred watts. Conversely, to use in a small area, you might get away with ten or twenty watts. Speaker sensitivity also makes a lot of difference here. Naturally, higher power costs more, especially when it comes to the amplifier power supply. High wattage means high-voltage supplies; high-voltage supplies mean expensive high-voltage filter capacitors. In the interests of economy, we went for a compromise and chose an existing (and cheap!) SILICON CHIP amplifier module, the SC480. This offers more than 100W music power into 4W (and it’s music power we’re most interested in for a jukebox). Just as importantly, it’s easy to build, easy to get going, stable, reliable . . . all those things you need in a jukebox. And its power supply, with ±40V rails, won’t put more than a mild load on the bank. Of course, if you MUST have more power, you could substitute just about any other module providing it would fit (or you modify the box to allow it to fit – and don’t forget siliconchip.com.au Using Copyrighted Music – and the Ultimate Jukebox F rom the outset, we want to make one thing perfectly clear: we do not condone piracy nor the breaking of copyright – and that includes the public performance/playing of copyrighted music. Having said that, we are the first to acknowledge that the copyright laws in Australia, particularly when it comes to music, leave a lot to be desired. There are so many “blind eyes” turned to what is certainly copyright infringement that we’re surprised that the music industry doesn’t have white canes issued as standard equipment. Copy your own CDs? Not in Oz, you can’t! We’re not lawyers – but from our interpretation of Australian copyright law, notably the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), if you buy a CD and then copy some or all of it to your (or anyone else’s) hard drive, portable MP3 player, another CD, or to anything else, you are breaking the law – regardless of whether it is done in digital or analog format. We’ve heard people claim that recording via a microphone in front of a speaker gets around copyright. It doesn’t: that’s like saying the person sitting up the back of a movie theatre with a camcorder, making a pirate copy, isn’t breaking copyright! It all comes under much the same rules as downloading music from the ’net. You need the copyright owner’s permission first. Usually, prosecutions under the Copyright Act are a civil action by the aggrieved parties but if you copy for gain or profit (especially reselling), it becomes a criminal offence, liable to a $60,500 fine/five years jail for an individual or $302,500 fine for a corporation – for each infringement! Copy 100 tracks and theoretically you, personally, could be up for six million in fines and 500 years in jail! In some countries, notably the Land of the Free, you can make copies for your own use, whether to archive the original and therefore protect it from damage, or to make it more convenient (eg, an IPod/MP3 player, etc). Not so in Australia. Despite what governments often claim, our copyright law languishes far, far behind technology (one might say about 37 years behind!). siliconchip.com.au When the law was written (1968), CDs were virtually unheard of. Digital audio was unheard of. LPs ruled! The Government tried to appease the recording industry by introducing a levy on cassette tapes, because everyone knew that they were being used to copy records – but the High Court ruled this levy illegal! And that’s pretty much the way it has stayed ever since. Incidentally, copying CDs isn’t the only illegality. With rare exceptions, you cannot legally copy the music on an LP record or cassette onto a CD. “But everyone does it . . .” A major difficulty arises because so many people do it. Let’s face it: SILICON CHIP has published several RIAA preamplifiers and of course our famous “LP Doctor” which could allow turntables to be used with computers as well as amplifiers – the LP Doctor fixing up much of the LP’s scratches and noise into the bargain! (Ref SILICON CHIP, Jan/Feb 2001). And I must admit to being intimately acquainted with someone who has transferred some old (and now unavailable) favourite LP records onto CDs. I and tens of thousands of people! If “just about everyone” copies their own music (regardless of the source) onto CDs or other formats, it must be OK, right? No it’s not, according to the letter of the law. But unless you are doing it on a large scale and even more particularly if you are doing it as a business or for profit/gain, the likelihood of you ever being hauled up before a magistrate is pretty remote. Not impossible, as it is strictly speaking illegal, but remote. Perhaps the most easy-to-understand reference for all of this is the Australian Copyright Council’s fact sheet, downloadable from www.copyright.org. au/pdf/acc/InfoSheets/G070.pdf. But don’t photocopy it – that’s a breach of copyright! (Hey, they even warn you.) Needless to say, this fact sheet doesn’t make any mention of the preceding couple of paragraphs – they’re mine, from a very much “off-the-record” chat with someone in the industry “who should know” (let’s just leave it at that!). Public performance of copyrighted music Here’s where the muddy waters clear somewhat. The vast majority of public performances of copyrighted music without permission of the copyright owner certainly breach copyright. The copyright people are much more likely to prosecute for this than for personal use – especially if it is commercial and/ or ongoing and/or large scale. And it can be a criminal, not a civil, prosectution. So, for example, if you wanted to build the SILICON CHIP Jukebox and use it for dance parties, function centres, discos, pubs/clubs, etc, you might be on thin ice. (Ref APRA Ltd v Metro on George Pty Ltd [2004] FCA 1123 (31 August 2004). Even if only doing it for a hobby (ie, not for gain or profit, as the case above clearly was for), the very fact that it is in a public place could get you into hot water, especially if on-going I once heard of a situation where privately-owned records were being used for dance music at a wedding in a public hall. One of the guests just happened to be a copyright inspector. He didn’t try to shut it down but he made sure the roped-in relative who was playing amateur DJ, using just his own turntable and stereo amplifier, knew he was breaking the law. Petty? Yes. Sort-of like a parking cop booking his mother’s car for a minute over. . . Get a licence! There is a way around it: you can buy various forms of licences from a variety of organisations (depending on the music’s source and/or the usage). Licences for various purposes are available and they vary in price – some are not cheap! The same licence rules apply to the commercial juke boxes which you might have seen for hire or even to buy. Again, they’re not cheap – and it tends to be the licence fees which adds significantly to the price tag! For more information, there’s a good reference to the organisations who issue licences on behalf of publishers, artists, etc, at www.caslon.com.au/ colsocietiesprofile2.htm Finally, neither SILICON CHIP nor Ultimate Jukebox/Tony Murphy can become involved in any correspondence regarding copyright or licencing. Take it up with the experts! December 2005  11 Here’s the trackball we picked up on eBay for less than $10 – if you’re patient, you’re sure to find similar items being offered from time to time (we only waited about two weeks before this came up). The alternative would be to use an optical mouse – they’re very cheap these days and don’t clog up like the old ball meeces did! the supply and transformer) and you didn’t overdrive the speakers. That’s unlikely, with the ones we’ve chosen! If you have a spare high-power amplifier module and power supply lying around, go for it! The speakers We asked Altronic Distributors to help us out here, telling them what we wanted to do and asking them for their ideal choice. In the interests of performance, they recommended one of their C-3212 300mm woofers, a C-6110 compression tweeter driver and a C6130 horn, along with a C-4007 2-way crossover. This is not a cheap combination. The woofer is a beauty, with 44Hz to 5.5kHz response and 97dB sensitivity (around 3-5dB more sensitive than most typical 300mm speakers – which means you need less power to drive it). But it sells for $179 on its own, so the speaker drivers and crossover will set you back nearly $280 – and that’s before you start building the enclosure or add the amplifier and computer. This woofer is also rated significantly higher that our amplifier dictates, at 400W (max), so if on cost grounds you had to, you could substitute a less rugged, lower performing speaker with commensurate savings. The software Software can make or break a jukebox. If you Google “jukebox software” you will get about 190,000 hits (yeah, we tried it). There is some very good jukebox software out there and of course there is some that is, well. . . It was while I was Googling my way through the various offerings that I came across one called “Ultimate Jukebox”. (http://ultimatejukebox.murphnet.net). At first glance, it looked pretty good – and more importantly, it wasn’t very expensive (in fact, the trial version is free). The more I looked into it, the better it looked – it had some really attractive features which exactly suited the type of jukebox that I had in mind. Prices quoted were in $US so I assumed it, like most of the other software, was out of the USA. So you can imagine my surprise when I found that it wasn’t a Yanqui product at all: it was in fact written right here in Oz (Brisbane, to be precise). 12  Silicon Chip I emailed the author, Tony Murphy, and told him about this project idea that I had, using his software (why reinvent wheels?) and a computer system and amplifer, put together in a freestanding jukebox unit. Tony was very enthusiastic about the idea and even if it has taken many months to come to fruition, the marriage of his software and the various bits and pieces we’ve assembled together makes for one fine jukebox, even if I do say so myself. He’s obviously put a lot of thought into Ultimate Jukebox because it does just about everything you could want a jukebox to do, and makes it easy. I particularly liked features such as the “full screen” mode which not only turns the whole PC screen into the jukebox, it also removes any Windows-type imagery and can also give password protection, keyboard lockout and much more.That stops fiddlers from fiddling! We’ll have a much more detailed look at Ultimate Jukebox shortly because it really is the heart and soul of the system. I mentioned earlier a free “trial” version of Ultimate Jukebox which you can download yourself and play with to your heart’s content – well, for 30 days, anyway. (http:// ultimatejukebox.murphnet.net/download.htm). It has a 300 file maximum but that’s plenty of time/tracks to convince you just how good this is! Don’t want to build a jukebox? Not everyone wants – or needs – a jukebox. But we hope that the information we’re giving here might whet the appetites of anyone with a large music collection who wishes to organise it! You can of course use the Ultimate Jukebox software with your PC, sound card and amplifier/speakers, along with your own CDs or MP3s (just make sure you have plenty of room on your hard disk or get an external one). It’s also ideal for home theatre systems, so if you’ve been looking for the right software, you could do a lot worse – and pay a whole lot more! The price to register and unlock the software is just $US14.95 (about $AU20 at press time) for home/noncommercial use or $US49.95 for commercial users. Note that this doesn’t give you any rights to use copyrighted music – it gives you the right to use the Ultimate Jukebox software. What you do then is up to you. We’ve covered this thorny subject in a separate panel – Using Copyright Music. Controlling it We agonised over this for a long time. In the end, our decision was made to a large extent by the software’s capabilities. One thing you do not want in a “real” jukebox, for at least two reasons, is a keyboard and/or mouse. The most obvious reason is that when there is a keyboard, someone who “knows all about computers” will want to play with it to prove what a genius they are. In the process, you could lose the setup, maybe the music collection, perhaps even the entire hard disk contents. Stretching a bow a bit far? We’re speaking from experience! You might be surprised how some people with a little knowledge become dangerous things, still with little knowledge, when they’ve had a few drinks too many. The second reason is those few drinks too many. No matter siliconchip.com.au how careful you are, no matter how much you protect your keyboard, eventually someone is going to “oops, sorry” and fill your keyboard full of Carlton and United’s best. Or perhaps worse, Coke, even diluted with Scotch or Bourborn;it just loves copper tracks on PC boards. The best way to avoid this is to not have a keyboard – at least, not an accessible one. With a notebook computer, the “works” can be buried within the jukebox with just the screen emerging. That’s the path we have taken with our Ultimate Jukebox. It’s not perfect but it will avoid most spills, especially with a couple of seals and drip paths. So how do you set it up, enter passwords, etc if it doesn’t have a keyboard, or at least an accessible one? One of two ways: one, you can plug in an external keyboard to 99.99% of notebooks. If it doesn’t have a mini-DIN keyboard socket, you can use a USB keyboard. To achieve this, you can easily connect a keyboard extension cable to the notebook and bring it out to an “oosoom” socket, say, on the back of the jukebox. What’s an “oosoom” socket? Out of sight, out of mind... The second way is even more secure. Once you know how, the Ultimate Jukebox software will place a “glass” keyboard on the screen. You select the letters you want via a mouse and bingo – you’ve typed in what you want. Most of the time this keyboard is hidden – you only bring it up when you need it (if you know how!). What mouse? Didn’t we say a moment ago that we didn’t want a mouse either? We did say that – but you do need something to control the system, for users to make their track selections, and so on. A modern mouse, especially one of the optical variety, is fairly immune from those “oopses”. But it’s not ideal because anything on a cord is likely to be damaged, if only through over-zealous handling. We went one better and installed a trackball. Basically, a trackball is like an upside-down mouse – you roll the ball instead of rolling the mouse. While (at least in our case) it is larger than a mouse, the advantage is that it takes up less overall space when being used. The one we used is not impervious to spills but it is reasonable, nevertheless. You can buy trackballs which are completely unaffected by a dunking but they are rather expensive ($150 and more). Where do you get a trackball? They pop up quite regularly on our old friend eBay – in fact, that’s where we got ours from, for the princely sum of eight dollars. While it was described as “NIB” (new in box), it wasn’t exactly new – in fact, it was a never-been-used 1996 Radio Shack serial model. But with a beaut 40mm ball, it made control real smooth! The major stumbling block was that it was serial and many modern notebooks, mine included, don’t have serial ports. That problem was solved with a USB to serial adaptor – around $15.00 on eBay (inc postage). If you can’t find one, try the alternative spelling – adapter. You might simply wish to use an optical mouse. They are very cheap and easily replaced (and obviously won’t need any adaptor). If I had my druthers . . . In an ideal world, I wouldn’t use a trackball or a mouse. I’d use a touchscreen – and the Ultimate Jukebox software is designed to handle one of those, if you have one. siliconchip.com.au If your computer’s hard disk is a little small, or even if you would rather keep all your music on a separate drive, here’s an elegant solution: a USB hard drive. Inside the case is a 20GB drive but it could be much larger. 20GB is enough for the best part of thirty CDs in native format; many more if you MP3 them. You can often find drives like this for around $1-$2 per GB (sometimes even less) on eBay. Note, though, our comments on recording your own CDs onto your own hard drive. Everyone does it, but . . . I’ve often seen them selling for $250-$350 or so but that was just a little too rich for my tastes. There are even now several notebook computers with touchscreens which would really be the (expensive) icing on the cake! It’s up to you. OK, so where are we? We have the notebook computer, complete with screen. We have a trackball (or mouse) to control it. We already have (at least the trial version of) Ultimate Jukebox software loaded and operating. We’ve decided to use a relatively low-power amplifier; we have the speakers ready to go in the box. Aaaah, the box! It’s not good enough to simply take a guess and throw together a speaker enclosure. Every speaker (or speaker set) is designed to operate within certain parameters. Not the least of those is the size and type of enclosure. Fortunately, we knew all the required specifications of the woofer (which is the more important component when it comes to enclosure design) and fed them into a program called “Bass Box”. It calculates the volume and port size required – all we need do is make up an aesthetically pleasing enclosure using the figures provided. But this is a jukebox – there’s a bit more to it than just an enclosure. We also needed to make allowances for the amplifier and power supply at the bottom, and a method of mounting the notebook computer at the top. The SILICON CHIP Ultimate Jukebox is the result. One thing we didn’t want to end up with was a speaker box with bits tacked on – it needed to look as if it was all designed as one piece. We think we’ve achieved just that – but of course, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Next month, we’ll show you our design, describe how to build it and then put together the complete system. Before then, you might like to start looking at your options – the amplifer, speakers, PC and so on. December 2005  13 What’s so good about ULTIMATE Jukebox? U nlike many of the jukebox offerings around (and there are MANY!), Ultimate Jukebox not only offers an amazing range of features, it’s easy to use, it suits our purposes perfectly . . . and it’s cheap! As we mentioned in the main article, you can download a trial version (30-day limit) of Ultimate Jukebox from http://ultimatejukebox.murphnet.net/download.htm – so you can see for yourself that it’s all we say it is without costing you a cent! (Oh, OK purists, we know you have to pay for your downloads one way or another. . .) Ultimate Jukebox can handle MP3, OGG, WMA, M4A and WAV formats but best of all, automatically recognises them – all you have to do is load a CD or even multiple CDs if you have multiple drives and Ultimate Jukebox will seamlessly merge the contents with the other music files you have already loaded (this feature requires the registered version). The free version is limited to 300 files but the registered version can handle tens of thousands of files – at least 2000 This is similar to the screen at left but it’s in maximised mode – note how some of the top-of-screen Windows-type control information has gone – perfect for parties! Winamp is also available as a free download from the net (www.nullsoft.com). It has a “pro” version (ie, pay for!) but you don’t need that to run Ultimate Jukebox – the free version is just fine. The latest version is V5.11. One of the things that is most attractive for our purpose is Ultimate Jukebox’s “Party Mode” – not only does this hide the keyboard, it gives you total control over what users have access to – including the tracks. If you happen to be into Rodney Rude or Kevin Bloody Wilson and you know maiden aunt Matilda might be offended, you can make them disappear while she’s there! It also has a full screen mode, taking over the entire monitor. One advantage of this is large type so your eyes aren’t strained. Of course, if you want to, you can run Ultimate Jukebox in a smaller window. As you can see from this screen grab, Ultimate Jukebox gives you an immense amount of information on screen and is extremely flexible in its manipulation. full CDs worth – so you aren’t likely to run out of music in this decade (century?). And adding more is, as we said, extremely simple. It will read the TAG information from your media files to give the most accurate display information. But if you haven’t tagged your files, it can be configured to read title, artist, album, track number and genre from filenames. You can also display album covers if you have the graphics. Ultimate Jukebox uses Winamp (V2.8+ or V5.x [but not V3]) for playback. This means that you get full access to Winamp’s plugin system for input, output and DSP plugins and use your Winamp visuals too. This also means that if you can run Winamp on your system, then you can run Ultimate Jukebox. Your old Pentium 1 should do just nicely! 14  Silicon Chip Ultimate Jukebox makes it easy to scan any or all of the drives (of whatever type) and directories in your system. You have the choice of keeping what it finds or not. siliconchip.com.au Ultimate Jukebox in Ultimate Stacker mode: it becomes a virtual CD stacker with enough music to last forever. It’s also great for home theatre systems, not just for jukeboxes! Want to customise Ultimate Jukebox’s appearance? You get full control over colours, fonts and skins. Ultimate Jukebox Overview This overview is just that: an overview. But it will give some idea of the flexibility and power of this program. The main window lists There are three lists in the main window: the Jukebox List, the Track List and the Queue Display List. The Jukebox List presents a list of all the Tracks, Artists, Albums, Compilation Albums and Genres that are found in the TAG information of your files. Once you click on an artist, a list of their songs will be displayed in the Track List. You can now highlight the track(s) that you want to hear and add them to the queue. Ultimate Jukebox keeps several internal play lists to give you maximum flexibility for song selection: 1. The Ultimate Stacker: The stacker was designed to be a simple implementation of a CD stacker. You can add Albums & Playlists into it easily so that you can hear the music you want to hear. This makes it easy to listen to your latest music. You can even remove tracks from these virtual CDs if you don’t want to hear all of them. 4. Playlist Collection: The Jukebox and Track Lists: This is the list of all songs that Ultimate Jukebox finds in your Scan Folders and on your CD drives. It is displayed in a treeview for intuitive use, making it much easier to locate your favorite tunes than searching through a list of thousands of files! 2. 3. The Queue: Songs in the Queue are played before any other songs and are only played from other lists if the Queue is empty. siliconchip.com.au Ultimate Jukebox can have multiples playlists preloaded and set active at any time. As an example, Ultimate Jukebox might be used at a wedding. It can play songs at random during the reception then set your pre-loaded bridal waltz and dance list to active. You can then set a “Time to Leave” list to activate while the bride & groom are saying their goodbyes and once they’re gone, set the dance list back to active (it can be configured to start where it left off). That’s just one example – there are plenty more. SC December 2005  15 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 CAR SOUND ON THE CHEAP Pt.2: By JULIAN EDGAR In Pt.1, we showed you how to buy a quality AM/FM/CD head unit plus some wide-range speakers that can be mounted in the doors or rear parcel shelf. This month, we look at buying an amplifier and subwoofer and describe the wiring options. I F YOU’RE RUNNING a subwoofer, you’ll need an amplifier. That’s because subwoofers require plenty of amplifier power – certainly more than a standard head unit can provide. A budget subwoofer amplifier should meet these criteria: (1) The amplifier should have a bridging facility – ie, an option to allow the outputs of both stereo channels to be summed (or bridged) to provide more power into a single channel. Most amplifiers are two-channel (ie, stereo) but a subwoofer amplifier need only be mono – bridging a stereo amplifier makes use of both channels to give a higher-power mono output (theoretically four times the power output of a single channel). Not all car stereo amplifiers are designed for bridging, so you need to find an amplifier that’s capable of this function. This is usually indicated by labelling adjacent to the speaker terminals, which indicates that the output of two channels can be used to drive one speaker (see photo). Don’t attempt to bridge the output of an amplifier that’s not designed for bridging, as this will destroy the output stages. This amplifier allows its outputs to be bridged (for much higher power into a single channel) and runs a 20A fuse (which is indicative of decent audio output capability). It’s important that you look for these features when selecting a secondhand amplifier. 22  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au This amplifier is grubby and still has some of its old wiring attached. However, with 4 x 20W RMS outputs and both line level and speaker level inputs, it’s ideal for running four wide-range (or woofer/tweeter combinations) if the head-unit’s amplifiers aren’t up to the job. (2) The amplifier should preferably feature an in-built crossover. You don’t want to feed high frequencies to a subwoofer and if the amplifier has an inbuilt low-pass filter, this saves you the extra cost of buying other bits. In addition, it’s preferable that the filter crossover frequency be adjustable, so that you can choose the optimum point at which the subwoofer begins to do its stuff. (3) A variable gain control is important as it allows you to adjust the loudness of the subwoofer relative to the rest of the system. (4) If the amplifier has the ability to sum the left and right signal inputs (ie, L + R), you’ll be able to easily develop a dual-channel bass output. If the two channels of the amplifier can be bridged, this summing will occur automatically. (5) Another control that’s useful is an amplifier bass-boost switch. Because this boost occurs only in the signal that’s fed to the subwoofer, the rest of the sound remains unaffected. This prevents the wide-range speakers from being overloaded, as would occur if you simply cranked up the bass control on the head unit. These criteria might look pretty extensive but there are plenty of secondhand amplifiers that meet all of them – and plenty that don’t! So siliconchip.com.au check carefully before plonking down your cash. Meaningless figures Don’t be sucked in by dubious pow­ er figures. Car sound amplifiers are notorious for having misinformation printed on them in large letters – things like “330 watts total power”. Quite often these figures are meaningless – even if they’re correct. For example, the power output quoted may be the Peak Music Power (rather than the RMS power) and the distortion at the advertised power output might make the music almost unrecognisable. It’s also possible that the claimed output could not be sustained for longer than a few seconds before the amplifier started overheating. Car sound amplifiers that have high outputs generate a lot of heat in what’s Table 1: Sample System Costs Equipment Origin Cost Philips RC604 CD AM/FM head unit Original Equipment $100 – Peugeot? Cash Converters, Runaway Bay, Queensland US Audio 552X amplifier Aftermarket Cash Converters, Runaway Bay, Queensland Mitsubishi 5-inch single cone speakers Original equipment $2 pair Shop at municipal tip, Coolangatta, Queensland 5-inch single cone speakers with 2-inch cone tweeters, including crossover capacitors Stereo TV Shop at municipal tip, Coolangatta, Queensland Dome tweeters, including crossover capacitors Original Equipment $10 pair Jaycar Electronics, Gold Coast, Queensland Toyota Soarer 10-inch subwoofer Original Equipment $40 Toyota wreck, Thomastown, Victoria $100 $2 pair Source Here’s the breakdown in the costs of the system that we assembled for this story. Each of the parts was bought for the prices shown at the outlets shown. As you can see, the cost of the parts is only $254, well below our $300 limit. Throw in some wire, perhaps some grilles if required, and you’ll still be under budget December 2005  23 should reflect the advertised power. An amplifier capable of developing high output power will normally have two 25A fuses – an amplifier with a 10A fuse simply won’t be able to develop the audio power you need. As with head units and speakers, always look for well-known, highquality brand names when purchasing an amplifier. Subwoofers This factory Toyota Soarer subwoofer is perfect for budget applications – it’s efficient, designed to run in a free-air configuration and cost just $40 from a wrecking yard. However, it has a 2-ohm impedance, which means that the amplifier used with it must be capable of driving 2-ohm loads. really a very small package. As a result, they need extensive heatsinking. All current amplifiers use a cast-alloy extrusion as the main body of the amplifier and this becomes the heatsink. Physically heavy amplifiers with multiple fins and perhaps fan cooling generally indicate a rugged, reliable design in which overheating is unlike- ly to be a problem. As with speakers, a heavy amplifier is likely to be a better design than a light amplifier. High-power amplifiers draw a lot of current. The positive and negative supply terminals should be suitablysized to take this into account and heavy-duty screw-down terminals are often used. In addition, the fuse rating Designing a high-quality subwoofer is an involved process. Two car subwoofer designs have been described in SILICON CHIP, both of which work very well and are far below the cost of many commercial equivalents. They were the Little Dynamite Subwoofer in March 2003 and the Big Blaster Subwoofer in May 2003. However, despite the effectiveness of those two designs, in the context of our budget system, they’re way too expensive (and in any case, the specified subwoofer is no longer available). These designs both used drivers with extensive specifications that were computer modelled over many hours in a variety of enclosures. However, if you’ve sourced a no-name (or even branded) woofer without specifications (resonant frequencies, Qts and all that stuff), how are you going to go about designing an enclosure? The answer is that you don’t. Instead, you simply place the woofer in the largest sealed box that you can. In a sedan, you use the whole boot (ie, the woofer is mounted behind the rear seat or in the rear deck), while in a When selecting a subwoofer amplifier, pay particular attention to the features. Here you can see that this unit has (from left) adjustable gain, line level (RCA) inputs, an adjustable low-pass filter and a bass-boost switch. 24  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Only One Amplifier? It usually doesn’t make a lot of economic sense to run an extra amplifier just for four full-range speakers. As indicated last month, head units with good-quality inbuilt amplifiers are available very cheaply and if you pick efficient speakers, plenty of distortion-free high-level audio can be developed, without the need for an external amplifier. Consider also that a 4-channel amplifier with specifications that are better than the head unit’s inbuilt amplifiers may well cost twice as much as the head unit itself. Our recommendation is that you drive the wide-range speakers directly from the head-unit and spend the extra money on the subwoofer amplifier. hatchback, you make the largest box you’re happy to have occupying the luggage space. That way, the volume of air trapped behind the cone (adding to its springiness and so increasing its resonant frequency) is as large as possible and you don’t need to worry about tuning the response of a port. All quality original-equipment sound systems in sedans use a “freeair” subwoofer design – although, they use a driver that’s specifically designed for the application. It therefore makes sense to get hold of an original-equipment free-air subwoofer if you can. Japanese-importing wreckers often carry the 10-inch and 8-inch subwoofers from the Toyota Soarer and Lexus LS400 respectively. These subwoofer are usually quite cheap to buy – $40 being a common price. However, be careful as these drivers are 2-ohm impedance. Some car sound amplifiers will happily drive these very low impedance speakers but others will blow their output transistors. Almost certainly, you will not be able to run an amplifier in bridged mode into such a low speaker impedance. However, you can probably use just one of the two channels to gain an effective outcome (provided that channel can handle a 2-ohm load). Note that a 2-channel amplifier rated for 4-ohm speakers actually sees a 2-ohm load when operating in siliconchip.com.au Fig.1: the simplest system is one where just two front speakers are used – one for the right channel and one for the left. Fig.2: using front “splits”, where separate woofers and tweeters are used for each channel, will provide a substantial improvement in sound quality – especially if the tweeters are mounted high in the doors. Fig.3: a 4-speaker system adds rear speakers. If you pick speakers with high efficiencies, you will be able to run all four straight from the head unit’s amplifier stages. bridged mode and driving a 4-ohm speaker. Therefore, each channel must be individually capable of driving 2-ohm loads. Operating an amplifier in bridged mode into a 2-ohm loudspeaker is out of the question, since each channel would see an impedance of just one ohm. If you can’t get hold of an originalequipment subwoofer, buy aftermarket. As with full-range speakers, look for a heavy magnet, long-throw suspension and good brand name. If there’s a choice of several drivers, go for the one with the highest sensitivity (ie, the highest dB<at>1W/1m rating) – all else being equal, of course. Pretty well any subwoofer that satisfies the above criteria will have plenty of power handling capability. Getting it going So you have the components – now what? A lot will depend on exactly what components you’ve bought, so we can only cover the installation and December 2005  25 Do You Need Really Thick Cables? Very thick hook-up wire and cables are beloved by car audio enthusiasts. However, look in a $200,000 car with a fantastic sounding system and you’ll be surprised to find barely any thick wires in sight! Normal heavy-duty figure-8 cable is fine for nearly everything – but perhaps doubled up in the case of the amplifier power leads. This amplifier was bought secondhand for $100. It has “330 watts total power” written on it but that’s not continuous RMS power. Decent sound pressure levels will be available without resorting to a really high-power (and expensive) amplifier if you choose an efficient subwoofer. set-up details in general terms. As explained in the “Only One Amplifier” panel, we suggest that you drive the full-range speakers directly from the head unit. In fact, the simplest arrangement is to use the two front amplifier outputs of the head unit to drive the left and right full-range speakers – see Fig.1. A somewhat more sophisticated arrangement is to drive front “splits” – ie, two woofer/tweeter combinations (Fig.2). If you’ve salvaged matched woofer/tweeter pairs from a TV set (or some other source) or you are using commercially bought “splits”, the crossover capacitors will already be present. However, if there isn’t a crossover capacitor, you’ll need to 26  Silicon Chip install one to prevent bass frequencies from being fed to the tweeter. Typically, a 3.3mF or 4.7mF non-polarised capacitor can be used and these are available for about $1.20 each from electronics stores. Be careful to keep the phasing of the tweeters and woofers correct – ie, the positive terminal of each woofer goes to the positive terminal of its matching tweeter via the crossover capacitor. The next step up the ladder is to add rear speakers. Wide-range speakers are commonly used for rear-deck mounting (see Fig.3), while “splits” are again often used for rear-door mounting. Adding a subwoofer To add a subwoofer, you’ll need to interface its amplifier with the existing system. Just how that is done will depend on whether the head unit boasts line level (RCA) outputs in addition to its amplifier outputs. If the head unit has RCA outputs, these can be connected directly to the line inputs of the subwoofer amplifier – see Fig.4. The single subwoofer can then be driven by bridging the two output channels of its amplifier. This will result in a subwoofer output that includes the bass component of both channels. Both the crossover frequency and the output level of the subwoofer can be set by adjusting the appropriate controls on the amplifier. But what if you don’t have line-level outputs on the head unit? In that case, you’ll need to use a speaker-level to line-level converter box. These cost about $25. As shown in Fig.5, the converter box is wired in parallel with a pair of left and right speakers (either at the back or the front, depending on access) and provides line level outputs to the amplifier. The rest of the system is then the same as before. Setting up There are plenty of car sound systems around that sound awful, not because of the basic components used but because of the way the system has been adjusted. In most systems, you’ll have these adjustable settings: left/ right balance; front/rear fade; bass and treble; loudness; subwoofer level; and subwoofer crossover point. The key to getting them optimised is to adjust them one at a time, in the right sequence. Follow these steps: (1.) Select a well-recorded CD that siliconchip.com.au Select your microcontroller kit and get started... From $295* RCM3400 Fax a copy of this ad and receive a 5% discount on your order! Feature rich, compiler, editor & debugger with royalty free TCP/IP stack • Prices exclude GST and delivery charges. Tel: + 61 2 9906 6988 Fax: + 61 2 9906 7145 www.dominion.net.au 4007 A NOTE TO SILICON CHIP Fig.4: if the head unit has line level (RCA) outputs, it can be plugged straight into the subwoofer amplifier. If the amplifier’s two channels are bridged to drive the subwoofer, the subwoofer will reproduce the bass from both channels. 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 Silicon Chip Binders REAL VALUE AT $12.95 PLUS P & P Fig.5: if the head-unit doesn’t have line level outputs, a speaker level to line level adaptor will have to be used. This takes the signals from the left and right speaker outputs of the head-unit, attenuates the signals and then drives the subwoofer amplifier. 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. contains a variety of music styles, preferably including tracks with strong bass components, treble components and acoustic components. If you can siliconchip.com.au get one, the test CDs used by professional installers are excellent. (2.) Turn the subwoofer off (eg, by turning down its output on the ampli- 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. December 2005  27 Getting The Correct Speaker Phasing For best results, the speakers should be connected so that they all “move” in the same direction simultaneously – rather than some “pushing” in one direction and some “pulling” in the other direction at any one instant. If all speakers move forwards and backwards together (ie, at the same time), they are said to be “in phase” and this give much better bass and imaging. It’s easy to use a 1.5V battery to check phasing. Let’s say, for example, that you are connecting a new head unit to some existing speakers and you’re unsure of their phasing. All you have to do is connect the 1.5V battery across each set of speaker terminals in turn (before connecting them to the head-unit). When the positive lead of the battery is connected to the positive terminal of a speaker, the speaker cone will move forward. fier), turn off the Loudness and set the Bass and Treble controls to their “flat” positions. (3.) Set the Balance and Fader controls to their central positions. (4.) Listen to some music and adjust the Fader control until the music appears to be coming slightly more from the front than from the back (this takes into account the differing efficiencies of the front and rear speakers). That done, adjust the Bass and Treble controls and decide whether the Loudness button improves or degrades things. Make sure that the speakers are not overloaded, even with the volume up Conversely, if you connect the positive lead to the speaker’s negative terminal, the cone will move backwards. If the speaker is hidden, a sheet of paper over the grille will usually indicate the direction of cone movement. You can also generally figure out the phasing using a simple listening test. First, set the fader so that you can hear only the front speakers, listen closely, then swap the wiring polarity at one speaker and listen again. You will get a much better bass response when the speakers are in phase. Wire the speakers for maximum bass response then do the rear speakers. That done, check that the front/rear phasing is correct. The trick is to check that the bass doesn’t suddenly improve when you move the fader or balance controls to their extremes – ie, listening to either a single pair or even a single (you may need to reduce the bass setting to achieve this). (5.) Set the crossover point of the subwoofer amplifier to about 100Hz and turn up the amplifier’s output. Think about what the subwoofer is there for – to fill the low frequency “hole” in the music that’s caused by the inability of the other speakers to reproduce those low frequencies. Listen to the music and make a judgement as to whether the bass is all one note, or has a range of deep frequencies. If you can hear only one-note bass, turn the crossover control to a lower frequency. This will immediately reduce the ap- Overloading Your Wide-Range Speakers? If you find that you can easily overload the wide-range speakers when you turn up the volume, the first step is to reduce the bass output of the head unit and let the subwoofer do more of the low-frequency work. However, in some systems, this can result in a “hole” in the lower midrange. In this case, you might want to install crossover capacitors to stop the very low frequencies from reaching the wide-range speakers. In a 4-ohm 28  Silicon Chip A 1.5V battery makes it easy to check speaker phasing. speaker should not improve the bass response. Note that whatever the ‘battery test’ tells you, always configure the phasing so that it sounds best. Some funny phasing effects can occur in cars and your ears are the best judge. Speaker phasing can make an immense difference to how the system sounds. Don’t overlook it when setting up a car audio system. parent amount of bass but the test is whether or not the bass sounds better than before. When you think you have the level and crossover settings optimised, listen to some speech – eg, on the radio. If the voices are artificially deep, you might need to make some more adjustments. (Note that with some head units, you can adjust the bass and treble separately for different sources. In this case, you might turn down the bass control on the head unit for the AM/FM radio output). Above all, remember that a welladjusted subwoofer isn’t at all obvious in its action! Instead, the music simply has more depth and energy – you don’t want “boom, boom, boom” (unless you are a complete idiot)! Conclusion system, a non-polarised 400mF capacitor will roll-off bass frequencies below about 100Hz. No doubt, they’ll be some who’ll pour scorn on many of the points that have been made in this series. Speakers out of TVs? Using speaker level to line level converters? Only one amplifier? What’s this guy on? However, provided you follow the basic rules, you will end up with a really good in-car sound – certainly far better than its modest cost would SC suggest. siliconchip.com.au L Pri owe Vol ces r + u P m r Australasia’s most complete icin e Low Power RF Module solutions provider g s e l u k d c o M x-sto e RF MODULES VHF RADIOMETRIX AUS: 151.300 & 151.600MHz NZ: 173.225 & 173.250MHZ TX1 / TX1H / RX1 BIM1 BIM1T / BIM1R Size: 33 x 33 x 10mm Tx Power: +20dBm Rx Sensitivity: -120dBm TX1: +10dBm (10mW) TX1H: +20dBm (100mW) RX1: -119dBm Sensitivity Separate 100mW transmitter and receiver modules in the BIM1 footprint UHF RADIOMETRIX AUS: 433.92 & 918.525MHz NZ: 433.92MHZ TX2 / RX2 BIM2 SPM2 Intelligent Radio Modem TTL serial interface Data rate to: 28K fully ack’d Size: 33 x 33 x 4mm Tx Power: +10dBm Rx Sensitivity: -101dBm TX2: +10dBm (10mW) RX2: -107dBm Sensitivity Data rate up to: 160Kbps EVAL. KITS, ANTENNAS ENCODERS & DECODERS INTELLIGENT MODULES Full technical details of Radiometrix modules and more: www.rfmodules.com.au BLUETOOTH PROMI-ESD PROMI-ESD-02 PROMI-ESD-01 TTL Serial Interface Bluetooth V1.1 Compliant Class 1 (100m) & Class 2 (30m) OEM Modules & Serial Adaptors PROMI-DBS Universal Evaluation Board Comes with software, cable and 1x Promi-ESD-02 Class 1 - Long Range Class 2 - Short Range PROMI-SD Bluetooth Serial Adaptors Optional accessories, dipole & patch antennas, cables RF MODULES AUSTRALIA PO Box 1957, Launceston Tas 7250 Phone (03) 6331-6789 Fax (03) 6331-1243 www.rfmodules.com.au email: sales<at>rfmodules.com.au Universal High-Energy Electronic Ignition Sys This new universal high-energy electronic ignition system completely supersedes our previous transistor-ignition designs. It works with a variety of input triggers and employs a high-temperature microcontroller to control the switching transistor and sense the trigger signal. T HIS NEW ELECTRONIC ignition system will not only will work with traditional points but will also happily function with any type of trigger signal – including those provided by factory and after-market reluctor, optical and Hall Effect distributors. It will even interface with an ECU ignition output trigger, making it a universal fit for all single coil cars, motorcycles and go-karts. It’s the ideal upgrade for an old points ignition 30  Silicon Chip system or it can be used to replace a defective factory ignition module – for as little as one-fifth of the price. This all-new design also compensates for lower battery voltages during cranking, features reduced coil heating, has adjustable intelligent dwell and incorporates a theft-prevention ignition disable. Ignition system designs Charles F. Kettering was an inven- tor extraordinaire. Not only did he develop the electric starter motor but in about 1910 he invented the first really effective automotive ignition system. The standard Kettering ignition circuit is shown in Fig.1. As this diagram shows, a battery is connected to a primary winding of the ignition coil, with the current interrupted by the distributor points. The distributor points are opened and closed by a cam on the shaft of the distributor. The lobes of the cam are arranged so that the points open at the start of each cylinder’s firing stroke. When the distributor points are closed, current builds up in the primary of the ignition coil and produces a magnetic flux in the iron core. The time that the points are closed is called the “dwell period”, while the magnetic flux is the energy stored in the coil. When the points open, the coil current is suddenly stopped and the magsiliconchip.com.au Pt.1: By JOHN CLARKE stem netic field collapses. This produces a sharp voltage spike across the coil’s primary winding. Since the ignition coil is also a transformer, this large voltage spike is stepped up to appear across the secondary winding. The secondary’s voltage is fed to the spark plugs via the rotating contact in the distributor and the spark plug leads. The capacitor (sometimes known in automotive circles as a condenser) in parallel with the points reduces arcing across the opening points. It achieves this because at the moment of the points opening, the capacitor appears as a short circuit. There is therefore a lack of voltage across the opening points, preventing arcing. The capacitor also forms a parallel resonant circuit with the coil primary, maximising the energy developed in the primary. Without the capacitor in a points ignition system, the spark will be very weak. siliconchip.com.au Fig.1: a Kettering ignition system is a very simple design. A battery is connected to a primary winding of the ignition coil, with the current interrupted by the distributor points. When the distributor points are closed, current builds up in the primary of the ignition coil and produces a magnetic flux in the iron core. When the points open, the coil current is cut off and the magnetic field collapses. This produces a sharp voltage spike across the coil’s primary winding which is stepped up to appear across the secondary. The secondary’s voltage is fed to the spark plugs via the rotating contact in the distributor and the spark plug leads. The capacitor reduces arcing across the opening points. On most cars of the last 20 years, the points have been replaced with an electronic switch (usually a reluctor or Hall Effect sensor) and a power transistor. This system remained in place until the late 1950s, when a ballast resistor was added. This resistor was placed in series with the coil primary so that the voltage applied to the coil did not exceed 7V. During cranking when the battery voltage was low, the ballast resistor was switched out so that full battery voltage was applied to the coil, thus giving improved starting. The next development – starting in the late 1970s – added electronic switching of the coil. By using the points only as a switch input for the electronic system, the current load carried by the points was reduced. This resulted in much less pitting and wear of the contacts. However, over time, the rubbing block of the points still wears out and so fully electronic systems were introduced that replaced the points with a contactless sensor. These systems use reluctor, optical or Hall Effect sensors positioned inside the distributor to trigger the electronic switching. Main Features • Operates from points, reluctor, Hall Effect and optical triggers, or 5V signal from engine management computer • • • • • • • • • 5-15V negative earth operation Selectable dwell period Coil switches off whenever engine is not turning Dwell extension with low battery voltage Minimum spark duration of 1ms Two points debounce periods Special operation for poorly operating points Anti-theft ignition disable switch option Optional inverted trigger signal operation December 2005  31 Fig.2: the circuit is based on PIC microcontroller IC1. It accepts the trigger input signal, calculates the dwell and controls high-power Darlington transistor Q1 via transistor Q2. Q3 provides the tachometer drive signal. Note that in these approaches, the ignition system remains a stand-alone device; fuel is provided by a completely separate carburettor or fuel injection system. The development in the 1980s of engine management integrated the fuel and ignition systems. The position sensor acted as an input to the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), with the ECU outputting a signal to a dedicated ignition module that switched the coil. High voltage spark distribution in these single coil systems continued to be achieved by a distributor. Finally, the distributor has now been replaced by individual coils for each cylinder (or in some cases, double-ended coils for cylinder pairs), where each coil has its own switching electronics and is fired by direct signal from the ECU. The electronic ignition system presented here is suitable for upgrading 32  Silicon Chip all the described systems except the last: it will not work with multi-coil cars (well, not without buying a bunch of ignition kits, anyway!). Input triggers The way in which points work is easy enough to understand but what’s all this about reluctor, optical and Hall Effect sensors? • Reluctor: a reluctor trigger comprises a coil wound around an iron core. A ring magnet with small externally protruding sections (teeth) is installed on the distributor shaft. As each tooth of the magnet passes the sensor, a voltage is developed in the coil. These voltage spikes provide the timing signal. Incidentally, in place of the reluctor, a magneto signal can be used as a suitable trigger signal for this project. • Optical: an optical trigger comprises a LED and a phototransistor or photo diode. The pair is incorporated within a package that allows the light from the LED to impinge on the photodetector. To switch the photodetector on and off, an opaque vane passes between the LED and its sensor. In addition to factory optical systems, this ignition caters for commercial optical ignition triggers such as those from Lumenition, Piranha and Crane. • Hall Effect: a Hall Effect trigger is a semiconductor device that switches its output on or off, depending on the presence or absence of a magnetic field. Generally, the magnet is included within the sensor package and so the sensor is easily triggered by passing an iron vane through the provided gap. The Hall Effect unit triggers when the iron vane is removed from the gap. • ECU: as described above, in singlecoil cars with engine management, the ECU signals the ignition module when siliconchip.com.au to switch off current to the coil. This signal is generally a 5V square wave. New design features The starting point for this design was the High Energy Ignition published in the May and June 1998 issues of SILICON CHIP. While that design worked well, the MC3334P ignition IC used in the project is now obsolete. Fortunately, the availability of cheap programmable microcontrollers solves that problem and also allows us to add new features without substantially increasing the complexity or cost. • Variable Dwell: in the previous design, the ignition coil was charged for virtually the whole time, with only a 1ms break when it was called upon to fire the coil. This was done to ensure that the coil was as fully charged as possible. However, this caused a lot of heat generation in both the coil and switching transistor. This is because after the coil becomes fully charged, the only restrictions to current flow are the series resistance of the coil and the ballast resistor (if fitted). In our new design, the coil charges for only the correct dwell period for the specific coil. In practice, the coil is switched on just before firing, the selected dwell time ensuring that the coil is fully charged but without the consumption of any more power than required. If the engine RPM becomes so high that the dwell period cannot fit within successive firings of the coil, the dwell period is reduced but with the firing period fixed at a minimum of 1ms. This 1ms minimum allows sufficient time for the coil to deliver a healthy spark. The dwell can be set from 1-33ms in 1ms steps, with most coils typically requiring at least 4ms dwell. To compensate for the longer charging period required for the coil with a lower supply voltage, the dwell time is automatically extended when the battery voltage falls below 12V. This helps maintain spark energy when starting the engine. Another important feature of this unit is that the coil is not energised when the ignition is switched on. It charges only after the engine has begun to crank. This feature prevents the coil from overheating when the ignition is switched on but the engine is not started. In addition, if the engine stops turning with the ignition still switched siliconchip.com.au Specifications Dwell Settings: 1-33ms in 1ms steps or an input dependent selection Spark Duration: a minimum of 1ms Dwell Extension With Voltage: progressively increases from 2x at below 12V through to 4x at 7.2V supply. Debounce Period: 0.5ms or 2ms selectable Timeout Delay: coil switched off after about 1s with engine stopped Maximum RPM For 1ms Dwell & 1ms Spark: 15,000 RPM for 4-cylinder, 10,000 RPM for 6-cylinder and 7500 RPM for 8-cylinder engines (4-stroke) Maximum RPM Before Selected Dwell Begins To Reduce: • For 5ms dwell – 5000 RPM for a 4-cylinder engine, 3300 RPM for a 6-cylinder engine, 2500 RPM for an 8-cylinder engine For 10ms dwell – 2727 RPM for a 4-cylinder engine, 1818 RPM for a • 6-cylinder engine, 1363 RPM for an 8-cylinder engine • For 15ms dwell – 1875 RPM for a 4-cylinder engine, 1250 RPM for a 6-cylinder engine, 937.5 RPM for an 8-cylinder engine on, the coil is turned off after about one second. • Points Debounce: points debounce is needed because points tend not to open or close cleanly. When closing, points can bounce back open, just as a hammer does when hitting a steel plate, and this can cause a series of rapid openings and closings. When opening, the points can also bounce as the distributor cam wobbles, because of slight play in the distributor shaft. By setting the minimum spark duration at 1ms, the coil will fire cleanly as the points first open. This provides the full spark duration and by this time the coil will have discharged. However, if the coil is then allowed to charge up before the points close again, there can be a second spark produced if the points bounce upon closure. This second spark can produce ignition in one of the engine cylinders at the wrong time. The solution for this is to provide a points debounce period so that when the points first close, subsequent openings can be ignored. However, there is a limit to the length of this debounce period. If it is made too long, then the upper RPM of the engine can be severely limited as the time between firing points becomes the same as the debounce period. For severe points bounce problems, it is best to start charging the coil only after the points close, so that any points bounce will not produce a spark. To solve these problems, we have provided a “points” selection mode. However, in this mode, some of the advanced features of the system are lost – dwell time becomes fixed, for example. In this mode, the firing duration and dwell are set by the time that the points are open and closed, respectively. This setting should be selected when using points that produce erratic firing using the normal setting. A 2ms debounce period can also be selected for points rather than the standard 0.5ms for other trigger inputs. • Voltage Level Sense: because of the large number of triggers that can be used, there is an option to change the voltage level sense that determines the firing point for ignition. For points, the firing point is always when the points just open, so in this case the voltage goes positive from 0V to 12V. For other sensors, the voltage sense may be different. For example with the Hall Effect or optical triggers, it depends on whether the ignition firing point occurs when the vane enters the sensor or leaves the sensor. So at the firing point, the voltage could be going from 0V to a more positive voltage, or from the positive voltage to 0V. A simple jumper change selects the required sense. Circuit description The circuit for the Electronic Ignition is based around high-temperature December 2005  33 Par t s Lis t – Ignition System 1 PC board, code 05112051, 102 x 81mm 1 diecast aluminium case, 119 x 93 x 57mm 2 cordgrip grommets 1 transistor insulating bush 1 T0-218 insulating washer rated at 3kV 1 8MHz crystal (X1) 1 18-pin DIL IC socket 3 3-way pin headers 3 shorting links 3 crimp eyelets 4 9mm tapped standoffs 4 M3 x 15mm screws 2 M3 x 9mm screws 6 M3 star washers 10 PC stakes 1 2m length red automotive wire 1 2m length black automotive wire 1 2m length green automotive wire 1 100mm length of 0.7mm tinned copper wire 1 5kW horizontal trimpot (VR1) Semiconductors 1 PIC16F88-E/P microcontroller programmed with ignition.hex 1 MJH10012, BU941P TO-218 high-voltage Darlington transistor (Q1) 2 BC337 NPN transistors (Q2,Q3) 1 LM2940CT-5 low-dropout 5V regulator (REG1) 4 75V 3W zener diodes (ZD1-ZD4) Capacitors 3 100mF 16V PC electrolytic 1 10mF 16V PC electrolytic 1 100nF MKT polyester 1 10nF MKT polyester 1 1nF MKT polyester 2 33pF ceramic Resistors (0.25W 1%) 1 100kW 1 1.8kW 2 47kW 1 470W 2 2.2kW 1 100W 5W Points version 1 100W 5W resistor Reluctor Version 1 BC337 NPN transistor (Q4) 1 2.2nF MKT polyester capacitor 1 470pF ceramic capacitor 1 100kW top-adjust multi-turn trimpot (VR2) 1 47kW 0.25W 1% resistor 2 10kW 0.25W 1% resistor 1 1kW 0.25W 1% resistor 1 PC stake Hall Effect Version 1 Hall Effect sensor (Jaycar ZD1900) or Lumenition module 1 rotating vane using a 15W power potentiometer backing (eg, Jaycar RP-3975 – not required for Lumenition module) 1 small quantity of high-temp­ erature epoxy (eg, JB Weld Epoxy Steel Resin) 1 1kW 0.25W 1% resistor 1 100W 0.25W 1% resistor 2 PC stakes Optical Pickup Version 1 optical pickup (Piranha, Crane, etc) 1 22kW 0.25W 1% resistor 1 120W 0.25W 1% resistor 2 PC stakes Miscellaneous Angle brackets for mounting, automotive connectors, self-tapping screws etc. Note: the programming code (ignition.hex) for the PIC16F88-E/P microprocessor featured in this project will not be released or be made available on our website. Authorised kitsellers will supply programmed micros as part of their kits. For people who do not wish to build the project from a kit, programmed micros will be available from SILICON CHIP for $25.00 including postage anywhere within Australia, or $30.00 by airmail elsewhere. microcontroller IC1 (a PIC16F88-E/P) which processes the signal from the ignition trigger – see Fig.2. An output on the microcontroller drives transistor Q2 and this controls the action of the main switching transistor Q1. 34  Silicon Chip Transistor Q1 is a Darlington transistor specifically made for ignition systems. It is capable of handling currents of over 10A when it is switched on and voltages exceeding 400V when it is switched off. Four 75V zener diodes Spark Timing The electronic ignition system presented here does not alter spark timing. Irrespective of whether the required variation in timing is provided by a weights and vacuum advance/retard system or electronically by the ECU, the original timing will be retained when the electronic ignition system is installed. In a future issue we intend presenting a development of this project that will allow ignition timing to be altered. That project will allow the existing timing to be fully mapped on the basis of engine RPM and inlet manifold pressure. Firing Spacing Some rare engines have an uneven length of time between cylinder plug firings. This can be seen by an uneven spacing of the cam lobes within the distributor, or an uneven spacing in the electronic trigger (eg, the slots in a Hall Effect vane). This electronic ignition system is not suitable for such applications except when set in points mode. (ZD1-ZD4) are connected in series to protect the transistor from excess voltages by clamping the collector voltage at 300V. An ignition inhibit link (LK4) is connected in series with transistor Q1’s base drive. When this connection is open, the transistor does not switch on and so the ignition is disabled. This allows a hidden switch to be added, to enable and disable the ignition to protect the car from theft. Base drive for Q1 is via a 100W 5W wirewound resistor from the 12V supply. The current through this resistor is diverted from Q1’s base when transistor Q2 is switched on. When Q2 is off, Q1 is switched on and the ignition coil is charged (ie, current flows through the primary). As soon as Q2 switches on, Q1 is switched off and the coil’s magnetic flux collapses so as to develop a high voltage in the secondary to drive the spark plug. Transistor Q2 is driven via a 470W resistor from the RB3 output (pin 9) of IC1. siliconchip.com.au Fig.3: the six input trigger circuits: (a) points triggering; (b) Hall effect (and Lumenition) triggering; (c) triggering from an engine management module; (d) reluctor pickup; (e) Crane optical pickup; and (f) Piranha optical pickup. IC1 accepts its timing signal at the RB0 input (pin 6) and drives the RB3 output accordingly. The RB0 input is protected from excess voltages by the 2.2kW resistor in series with this input. The protection resistor prevents excessive current flow in the clamping diodes that are internal to IC1. Clamping occurs when the voltage goes below 0V or if it goes above the 5V supply (ie, clamping to -0.6V or +5.6V). The 1nF capacitor at the RB0 input shunts transient voltages and higher frequency signals, preventing false timing signals. The three inputs at RA1, RA4 and RA5 (pins 18, 3 & 5) are for the linking options. Link LK1 selects whether the firing edge for the RB0 input is for a positive going voltage (standard selection) or for a falling voltage (inverted selection); link LK2 selects either the standard 0.5ms debounce period or the 2ms period; and Link LK3 selects normal or points operation. There are two voltage inputs –AN3 (pin 1) and AN2 (pin 2). The AN3 input is used to monitor the car battery voltage via the 100kW and 47kW voltage divider. It is included to allow the dwell time to be automatically increased at voltages below 12V. Trimpot VR1 applies between 0V and 5V to the AN2 input to provide siliconchip.com.au a means of setting the dwell time. A 5V setting gives a 1ms dwell period, while 0V selects the 33ms maximum dwell, with other settings between these extremes setting the dwell in 1ms steps. Both the AN2 and AN3 inputs are decoupled using a capacitor to ground to filter transient voltages. Transistor Q3 provides a tachometer output and it is driven from the trigger input which also drives pin 6 (RBO) of IC1. Q3’s collector is pulled up to 12V with a 2.2kW resistor when the transistor is off. The output at Q3’s collector can be used to drive most tachometers. An impulse tachometer (now very rare) requires a different connection and should operate when connected to the coil negative. As set by crystal X1, IC1 runs at 8MHz. Its supply is decoupled with a 100nF capacitor for high frequencies and a 100mF capacitor for the lower frequencies. Power for the circuit is derived from the ignition switch. This 12V supply is also directly used for other parts of the circuit. For example, it is used for the points trigger circuit and the 100W base resistor for Q1. The supply is regulated to 5V using 3-terminal regulator REG1. This is a low-dropout device that continues to deliver 5V even when its input is very close to 5V. This is useful in our application, as we want a regulated 5V supply to be maintained even when starting, when the voltage on the car battery can drop well below 12V. The regulator is also protected from transients with internal protection clamping. The 100mF capacitors provide supply decoupling. Trigger inputs The Electronic Ignition is configured for the appropriate trigger input during construction. The six possible input circuits are shown in Fig.3. The points input shown in Fig.3(a) comprises a 100W 5W wirewound resistor connected to the 12V supply. The resistor provides a “wetting” current for the points to ensure there is a good contact between the two mating faces when they are closed. This wetting current is sufficient to keep the contacts clean – burning off oil resides, for example – but not so high so as to damage them. The Hall Effect input at Fig.3(b) uses a 100W supply resistor to the 12V rail to feed the Hall sensor. This resistor limits current into the unit should a transient on the supply go above its internal clamping diode level. The 1kW resistor on the output pulls up the output voltage to 5V when the inDecember 2005  35 Fig.4: this oscilloscope view shows a reluctor signal (top) and the output of the ignition coil, as measured at the collector of Q1 (bottom). The reluctor signal has a larger voltage excursion than other trigger sensors and the negative-going edge triggers the firing of the coil. The primary voltage of the coil (lower trace) is clamped at around 332V by the four series 75V zener diodes. Fig.5: the yellow trace at top shows the reluctor signal, while the lower trace (blue) shows the base switching signal to transistor Q1. The coil fires each time the base voltage goes to ground. Note that the period for which the base signal is positive (ie, 6ms) is the dwell time and this is the charge period for the coil (ie, when energy is being stored in the magnetic circuit of the coil). Fig.6: at top is the signal at the trigger input of the circuit ie, the signal that is monitored by the RB0 input of IC1 via the 2.2kW resistor. This signal is typical of a points, Hall Effect and optical triggering. The lower trace is the base drive to transistor Q1. This shows the 6ms dwell occurring just before firing. Fig.7: the top trace (in yellow) is a high RPM signal (in this case, 6000 RPM for a 4-cylinder 4-stroke engine). The lower trace (in blue) shows the resulting switching signal fed to the coil. Note how the dwell is now 3.98ms instead of the standard 6ms, while the spark duration is fixed at 1ms. What About The Multi Spark CDI? Considering that this project supersedes all previous versions of our very popular High Energy Ignition (HEI) system, readers may be wondering about the status of the Multi-Spark Capacitor Discharge Ignition system which was featured in the September 1997 issue of SILICON CHIP. The good news is that this project is still valid for 2-stroke engines, high performance 4-stroke engines and old vehicles, particularly those with high compression motors. The kit is still available from Dick Smith Electronics (Cat. K-3307) at $148.00. The DSE kit is supplied with all specified components and hardware, including a diecast box to house the project. Kits are available only on special order through the DSE web address at www.dse.com.au or through their mail-order Sales Department (phone 1300 366 644 toll-free Australia only). 36  Silicon Chip ternal open-collector transistor is off. The voltage is at 0V when the internal transistor is on. The same circuit can be used for the Lumenition optical module. The engine management input circuit is shown in Fig.3(c) and is quite simple – its 5V signal connects to the trigger section of the main circuit in Fig.2. Reluctor sensors produce an AC signal and so require a more complex input circuit – see Fig.3(d). In this case, transistor Q4 switches on or off, depending on whether the reluctor voltage is positive or negative. siliconchip.com.au Fig.8: this shows the points mode where the input points signal at top is followed by the output signal (lower trace). The debounce period is set at 2ms, as shown by the 2ms pulses that follow the main pulses. Initially with no reluctor voltage, transistor Q4 is switched on via current through VR2 and the 47kW resistor. The voltage applied to Q4’s base is dependent on the 10kW resistor connecting to the top of the reluctor coil and the internal resistance of the reluctor. VR2 is included to provide for a wide range of reluctor types. Some reluctors have a relatively low resistance, while others have a higher resistance. In practice, VR2 is adjusted so that Q4 is just switched on when there is no signal from the reluctor. The 10kW resistor provides a load for the reluctor, while the 470pF capacitor filters any RF or hash signal that may have been induced. The 2.2nF capacitor ensures that Q4 quickly switches off when the reluctor signal goes negative. Optical pickup circuits are provided for two different types of modules. One is for a module that has a common 0V supply connection [eg, Crane – Fig.3(e)] and the other for a module that has a common positive supply [eg, Piranha (Fig.3(f)]. In each case, current for the LED is supplied via a 120W resistor and the photodiode and a 22kW resistor are connected in series with the 5V supply. Next month, we will give the full construction details and describe the installation. We’ll also describe how to convert a distributor from points to SC Hall effect trigger operation. Talk about a generation gap. The new Tektronix AFG3000 Series signal generators vs. the competition. c 2005 Tektronix, Inc. All rights reserved. Tektronix products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and pending. TEKTRONIX and the Tektronix logo are registered trademarks of Tektronix, Inc. *Tektronix MSRP subject to change without notice. Starting from around $2600+GST. * Unlike the subtle advancements offered in arbitrary/function generators of past decades, our powerful and broad line of arbitrary/function generators delivers serious advantages. The large display confirms your settings at a glance. Sine waveforms reach as high as 240 MHz. You get a front-loading USB port, twochannel capability, and a remarkably intuitive GUI. Visit www.tek.com/generation_gap to see the next generation of signal generation. The Next Generation. http://www.tektronix.com/4130 Enabling Innovation Tektronix Authorized Distributor N e w Tek Instruments Pty Ltd Here is a preview of the assembled PC board (Reluctor version shown). The full assembly details are in Pt.2 next month. siliconchip.com.au Address: 3 Byfield Street, North Ryde NSW 2113 Telephone: (02)9888-0100 Email: info<at>newtekinstruments.com December 2005  37 SPECIALS Rockby Electronics Portable USB 2.0 2.5” 40Gig Hard Drive (with Enclosure) * Internal Interface: IDE * No Ext. Power required * Solid aluminium body * Size: 128 x 75 x 15mm * Carry Pouch Included Hard Drive Installed USB 2.0 External HDTV Digital Tuner • • • • • • $127.50 33531 Photo Album with Remote • Use your TV to view photos and video clips via this unit (No computer necessary!) • Plug & Play – Easy to install. • Use as 8-in-1 reader/writer when connected to your PC. NEW $84.00 USB 2.0 Audio Adaptor * Connect your headphones & Mic through your USB Port * Soft Mute Button * Win & Mac compatible • • • • • • NEW $21.20 USB Notebook Cooler Pad Fans: 2 x 80 x 80 x 10mm Airflow: 28 CFM Noise level: 25dBA Speed: 1500rpm Power: USB Dimensions: 300 x 230 x 13.8mm Supplied: Retail Pack 640x480 USB Colour PC Camera Video Mode: 24 bit true colour Image Focus: 5cm to Infinity Auto brightness adjustment Auto colour compensation Manual Focus Fast Snap button $23.90 * * * * * * 640 x 480 USB PC Camera 33316 * * * * * * $11.90 $5.00 Mini 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub Mini, lightweight design Complies with USB 2.0 specs Supports high speed 480Mbps Size: 83 x 33 x 13mm Plug & Play installation Lead Included NEW $23.20 * * * * * $9.50 USB 2.0 2.5” Portable Hard Case Internal Interface: IDE No Ext. Power required Solid aluminium body Size: 126 x 75 x 13mm Carry Pouch Included 32597 * Connectors: 3 external Data transfer: Asyn. & Isochonous, 100/200/400 Mb/s * Includes 1394 cable & Software * 32-Bit CRCz checking on reception of 1394 data packets $5.90 33320 32-Bit PCI to IEEE1394 Firewire Card 5 Port USB 2.0 PCI Card Reliable, Universal, Auto design No tracking ball to clean Works on most surfaces 800 D.P.I resolution Connection: USB 32591 Security USB Virtual Key 33317 * Supports up to 480Mbps data transfer rate * Requires 1 x PCI Slot 4 Ext. +1 int Ports * Drivers Included 31108 NEW $21.50 * Creates a hidden partition on your hard drive which is only accessable with the USB Virtual Key * Data protection, PC & Web lock * Supports Win, 98SE, 2000 & XP $29.70 Mini Blue 3D Optical Wheel Mouse * No mouse pad required, gives smooth precise motion. * Optical Sensor: 3000frames/sec * 800 D.P.I resolution * Size: 83 x 39 x 21mm * Connection: USB $17.90 33319 $15.90 Stereo Ear-Hook Headset & Mic 33313 $8.30 MP3/PC Stereo Ear-Hook Headset * 2 Ear pieces * Impedance: 32 Ohm * Sensitivity: 102dB S.P.L<at>1KHz * Cable Length: 2.5m * 3.5mm Stereo Plug 33311 $8.30 Gooseneck Stereo PC Mic. * * * * * * Audio In Operation Internet phone talk IP Telephone Frequency: 20-16.000Hz Impedance: 2.0K For all multimedia purposes * * * * * Reading Book Light Metal Clip for mounting Adjustable light Folds Flat Inc. Batteries 33309 $8.30 Socket 478 CPU Cooler * CPU Cooler * Rating: 12VDC<at>0.2A * Ball bearing fan $9.50 Auto Setting Book Night Light 33315 Notebook USB Fan * Adjustable gooseneck 33312 $6.90 5 in 1 USB Travel Cable/ Adaptor Kit * USB “A” type male to female retractable ext. lead plus 4 Adaptors * Length: 1m 32601 $8.50 Gooseneck USB LED Light 3 in 1 Firewire Travel Cable/Adaptor Kit * Flexible-Stays where you put it * Brightness: 12,000 mcd * Length: 440mm $6.90 * No Hard Drive Installed $9.80 32588 * Impedance: 32 Ohm * Sensitivity: 108dB S.P.L<at>1KHz * Cable Length: 1.8m * 3.5mm Stereo Plug $17.50 Mini Notebook Optical Wheel Mouse USB to Parallel Printer Cable 4 x USB 2.0 ports & DC power jack 480 Mbps transfer speed (USB2.0) USB 1.1 & 2.0 compatible 32-bit Cardbus Type II Supports up to 127 units Output: 500mA per port • • • • • $19.50 * True PnP & Bi-Directional printing * Desc: ‘A’ Type USB to NEW 36 Pin Centronics * Length: 1.4m * Colour: Black $17.90 * Operation Distance: up to 1m * Resolution: 800 D.P.I * Mouse Size: 87x46x33mm * Colour: Silver / Black * Connection: USB * Batteries Included 32590 33307 Desc: ‘A’ Type USB to DB9 Male Length: 1m Colour: Clear Mac or PC Compatible Mini Wireless Notebook Optical Wheel Mouse 33310 NEW * Frame Rate: up to 640 x 480 * Lens: 6.00mm * View Angle: +/-28° * Focus Range: 3cm - infinity * Interface: USB Supplied: Retail Pack PCMCIA 4 Port USB 2.0 Cardbus * * * * * * $24.50 Virtulally indestructable Made from high quality silicone Spill/Dust Proof Win 98/2000/Me/XP USB & PS2 connection Colour: Blue USB to RS232 Converter 33318 NEW USB/PS2 Flexible Full Sized Keyboard 33324 32599 * * * * 32592 33308 33506 33322 Digital Terrestrial TV & Radio recieving Mobile & small size • Still Frame Capture No extra power needed • Teletext TV with time shifting function Electronic program guide Real time Digital Video Recording (PVR) & Schedule Recording Wireless Optical Wheel Mouse * With self recharging station * Operation Distance: up to 1m * Resolution: 800 D.P.I * Radio Frequency: 27MHz * Mouse Size: 122x64x39mm * Colour: Silver / Black * Connection: USB $21.50 * Batteries Included 33517 Now viewing and sharing digital photos is as simple as watching TV. Just insert your memory cards or USB flash drive and you can show larger-than-life images and video clips, and can play MP3 music files on your home audio system. NEW 31106 $3.90 * IEEE1394 type male to male retractable ext. lead plus 2 Adaptors * Length: 1m 33321 $7.80 Orders To: PH. 03 9562 8559 Fax. 03 9562 8772 Email. salesdept<at>rockby.com.au SPECIALS Rockby Electronics Free to Air Standard Digital Set Top Box * * * * * * * * 4000 programmable Channels DVB, MPEG-2 Compliant Data Transfer between units Teletext Electronic Programme Guide Parental Lock RF Modulator Games (Tetris, Sokoban) Dual socket Line Surge Protector & Tel. • Vertical Double Adaptor • 2 x RJ12 sockets, suits modems, faxes, computers etc... JACKSON PT0680 $129.00 * * * * * * * 31008 Analog Sound Level Meter * * * * * * * Range: 40-80dB, 80-120dB Simple hand held operation Battery Test With Capacitance Microphone Size: 160 x 65 x 38mm Includes 9VDC Battery Includes Carry Pouch NAIS TF2E-12V Mini DPDT DIL Relay $49.80 Height: 10mm Holesize: 1.2mm Pk size: 100 Frequency Range: 0.95-2.4GHz Gain: 11dB Sensitivity: 7 Operating Range: 52-60dB Pocket Compass Included $23.20 MIN QTY 10 Oxygen Free Copper Low resistance conductors Outside Dia: 2 x 7mm 10m Roll 32053 18774 10068 27604 $9.00 31904 12VDC 60 x 60 x 25mm Fan Cigarette Adaptor Extension Lead Male to Female Type: 18AWG Length: 1m $5.00 30749 $1.50 ABN# 3991 7350 807 ACN# 006 829 821 29991 Spacing:5mm $1.50 12300 BU508A 1500V 8A 125W 12303 BU508DF 20359 BU2527AF 20356 BU2508DF 1500V 8A 34W $2.00 $5.00 $3.00 $2.00 1500V 12A 45W 1500V 8A 45W 1000uF 25V Radial Electro Capaci- $1.00 $2.50 Value: 1000uF Volts: 25V Type: Radial Temp: 85° Size: 12. x 15mm Spacing: 5mm 18 Turn Multiturn Trimpots 30972 29448 15284 $0.10 20089 MIN QTY 50 MURATA Single Turn VTL Cermet Trimpots Type: Top Adj Tol: 10% Power Rating. 0.5W Manuf: COPAL 10K $1.00 100K 2m IEC Power Lead (Insulated Pins) Desc. IEC Power Lead. Rated: 10A Length: 2.0m Colour: Black $2.80 14488 Rockby Electronics Pty Ltd Showroom & Pick-up Orders: 56 Renver Rd. Clayton Victoria 3168 Ph: (03) 9562-8559 Fax: (03) 9562-8772 $2.00 NPN Power Transistors MTD3055E 60V 12A 48W BTS115A 100V 15A $1.00 IRL2505S 55V 104A Device:A90-86-265 Desc:Desk Case With Removable Aluminium Top Panel Colour:Off White/Pebble Grey Size(WDHmm):190 x 138 x 47/31.5 $14.70 33383 $0.40 D-2 Pack SMD Fets Heavy Duty OFC Speaker Cable OKW Plastic ABS (UL-94HB) • High Quality 12AWG Desk Case Size: 60 x 60 x 25mm Voltage: 12VDC<at>0.2A Type: Ball Bearing-2 ball Manuf: Dynaeon 40A Isolated Tab Triac 100kHz 2.5A Switching Regulator $14.20 $5.00 Package: TO-247 29227 2 Way 10x9x12mm $0.20 29229 3 Way 15x9x12mm $0.30 4 Way Manual Audio-Video Selector 33372 Device: HIT640 Volts: 600V Amps: 40A Package: TO-218 No Mixing Device: LT1171CQ Package: DD-Pak *Data Sheet Available 31199 $4.00 33006 Interlocking Terminal Blocks * Simply plug into electrical 240V socket and connect TV antenna cable into the Input socket and TV/VCR cable to the output socket. * Frequency: 5~1000MHz * Gain: 20dB (Adjustable) $22.00 * Noise: 3dB 31640 * Pal & F type Adaptors • Allows connection of 4 A/V devices in to one television • Works with any AV Device • Gold Plated RCA Connectors • Low Signal loss • Cables not supplied 31637 MIN QTY 5 21828 Plug In TV Signal 20dB Amplifier 650V 7A Power Switch Device:KA2S0765 Package:TO-3P-5L Manuf.: FAIRCHILD *Data sheet ava. * (per Pack) Desc. Twin Row Straight Male Unprotected Header Type: 80 Pins (40 x 2) Spac: .1” $5.00 31202 Device: BYT230PIV400 Case: ISOTOP * Data Sheet Available * Gold Dual Row Header 32497 • • • • Device:PC1602ARS (No Backlighting) View Area(mm): 66x16.2 Active Area(mm):56.21x11.5 Char Size:(mm):2.96x5.56 * Data sheet Available * Dual 400V 30A Fast Recovery Diode $2.00 33537 Analog Satellite Signal Level Meter * * * * * $1.00 10mm PCB Matrix Pins (Pk-100) $23.50 MIN QTY 5 16 x 2 LCD Module $29.90 Device:TF2E-12V-2W Switching Curr.: 1A Switching Volt.: 110V/125AC Switching Pwr: 30W 62.5VA Coil Res.: 1800 Ohm 31622 Size: 14 x 9 x 7.8mm * Data Sheet Available * RJ45 & RJ11 Modular Cable Tester 31955 Easily Adjusts to any position 30mm Flexible Gooseneck 90mm Diameter 5 diopter lens Base Mounted Power Switch Integral hinged dust cover 240VAC mainspowered High Enegy 12W fluoro tube $0.35 26576 Desktop Illuminated Magnifier 31124 31017 * Quickly & easily checks for cable continuity, miswiring, open, short, straight-through or cross pinning. $5.00 Clearing Item 33535 5mm Tri-Colour Led Colours: Red, Green, Yellow. Lum.: 10mcd <at>20mA W/length: 567(nm) <at>20mA Forward Curr.: 30mA White Diffused Lens. *Data Sheet avail. Taper: Linear Max. working Voltage: 100VDC Wattage Rating: 1/3 W Tolerance: 20% Spacing: 5mm (back Pins) 5mm (back to front pin) MIN QTY 10 33297 33294 33302 33299 33298 33296 33293 33295 200R 2K 5K 10K 20K 50K 100K 500K No Mixing $0.25 For a Free Monthly Please contact Rockby Mail Orders To: P.O Box 1189 Huntingdale Victoria 3166 Internet: Web Address: www.rockby.com.au Email: salesdept<at>rockby.com.au * Stock is subject to prior sale For on-line Ordering and other Products see our web site www.rockby.com.au A programmable programmablerobot robot you you can can build build––without withoutsoldering! soldering! In November, we introduced the Microbric range – an exciting new concept in electronic construction using screw-together “brics” (hence the name) on which various electronic functions were already built. N of mistakes is very much reduced ow we’re about to build one due to the modular construction. And of the Microbric “models” – a even the finished Viper is not the end nifty little programmable robot of the story: while it comes with both called the Viper! a bump sensor and infrared receiver, The beauty of the Microbric system there are additional packs which will is that soldering – the bane of beginlet you customise your Viper to do, ners and the worry of their mothers – is well, whatever you want him to. eliminated. The various circuit conMaybe you’re into Robot Wars (see nections are made when the devices SILICON CHIP September 2003). You are screwed together in the correct can add the “Sumo Pack” and turn manner. So no more than a screwdriver your viper into a fighting machine is needed to build a Microbric project with a flipper. Or perhaps add a sec– and even that is supplied! ond pair of wheels with the Motor and In many ways, Microbric can be thought of as a combination of electronics and Lego or Meccano. As they say, it’s “fuel for the imagination.” • Easy to build! To be launched in selected News Ltd papers this month • No soldering! (with a likelihood of others later) • Reusable! is the I-bot robot. For SILICON • Fun! CHIP readers, though, we’re going with something a little more • Programmed in BASIC (BASIC ATOM) ambitious . . . • 16 input/output pins Features: The Viper The Viper is a programmable robot which is easy to construct – but offers the user incredible satisfaction. You still get “the thrill of the build” but the likelihood 40  Silicon Chip Wheels add-on pack. Or a line-tracking module. And so much more. In later issues we plan to look at some of these packs and add on to the Viper we’re describing here. But let’s say you’ve built the Viper and customised him and now you’re looking for new challenges. Does that mean the Viper sits in the cupboard and languishes? Not on your life(buoy)! All of the components which make up the Viper are reusable: simply unscrew the modules and you’re ready to make something else. • Each motor module has an onboard microcontroller • All modules have current limiting on inputs and outputs • LED modules have high impedance input using Mosfets for switching A brief recap Last month we explained the ingenious Microbric system and how it went together. Just in case you missed it . . . Microbric is a system of interconnecting electronic modules which enables quick and easy building of complex systems. At its core is the patented Microbric Edge and connector “bric”. Each edge has three connectors: +5V, ground and data. When you connect the brics together, you connect these three connectors. siliconchip.com.au The Viper Motherboard, ready for assembly. The beauty of the system is that all the soldering is done for you! The brics themselves attach to a pre-assembled and task-specific module. There are microcontroller motherboards, communication modules, motor modules, sensor modules, human interface modules (buttons, switches, etc), and LED modules with many more planned for the future. Let’s now return to the Viper. It has an ATOM microcontroller board at its heart, to which are attached various Microbric modules: a pair of motor modules (along with wheels), two battery holders (each contains three AAA cells), the bump sensors, two LED modules, some switches, a piezo . . . and of course, we mustn’t forget the cosmetic modules which give the Viper its unique looks! The microcontroller The double-sided “main” PC board, contains not only the microcontroller but also a power supply, RS232 interface and provision for battery packs. Around the edge of the PC board are 16 bric interfaces, known as Pins. These are labelled P0 to P15. It is to these that the various functional modules are attached. To connect a module, line up the red dot on the appropriate module with the red dot on the motherboard at the required pin and fit a Microbric “bric” into the holes on the edge of your LED module. The tiny pins on the Bric fit into the holes; one way it will sit straight but the other way (the wrong way!) will sit crooked. Finally, the three screws are firmly tightened to complete the connection. Programming The microcontroller in this case is an ATOM and is programmed in BASIC. This is a variation of the BASIC language that is very widely taught and used in education, so the Viper is a perfect partner for school computer courses. Programming is undertaken via the serial output of an IBM-type computer. An RS232C socket and interface on This is one of the two motor modules used in the Viper. It’s unusual in that it has two PC boards in the one module. Most modules are one double side, 20.3 x 20.3mm PC board. As you can see, everything is preassembled – all you have to do is screw them together in the appropriate places! board programs the chip. If you’re not yet quite up to speed on BASIC, programming for the Viper is supplied. To write programs and to get the Microcontroller to read them, you need to install a program which is provided on the CD-ROM called BMAtom.exe. You need to install this before we can do any programming to tell your motherboard, or robot what to do. To do this, double click on BMAtom.exe to run the set-up. Make sure the program installs into the folder C:\Program Files\Basic Micro ATOM IDE 2.2. It will ask you to restart you computer. Do so. Construction There will be a set of more detailed instructions included with the Viper, but the general arrangement is as follows (use the photos as a guide): (a) connect all the modules to their appropriate pins (ensure you use all three screws) as follows: Viper Pack Modules The basic Viper Pack should contain the following: Motherboard( CPU) module 2 LED modules Slide switch module Buzzer module Button module 2 Motor modules Bump sensor module Infrared receiver module Assorted passive and cosmetic modules 2 battery boxes Infrared remote control Wheels & tyres CD of programming software Programming cable Screwdriver 20 “Brics” and heaps of screws, spacers and nuts siliconchip.com.au December 2005  41 Here’s how the “brics” screw together, connecting the power and data lines at the same time. We’ve shown more of this detail in the illustration at right. The 2 LED modules to P0 and P12 The Bump modules, with bumper attached, to P13 and P15 The motor modules, with wheels attached, mount from the underside of the board to P1 and P11 The pushbutton switch module to P6 The backsweeps to P4 and P8 (no electrical contact or function) There is nothing connected to P2, P3 P5, P7, P9, P10 or P14. (b) fit the two battery packs to the motherboard using the four countersunk head screws and nuts. When screwed hard down onto the motherboard, contacts on the battery packs mate with contacts on the board and the circuit is completed. (c) Fit the skid (the long metal rod with blue plastic tip) in place of the centre screw on P14 (underside of motherboard). Testing The Viper should now be complete. After checking that all modules are in the right places and they are all screwed in correctly, put the batteries in their holders (the right way around – negatives toward springs) and apply power. The red LED under the RS232 socket should light to show the Viper is powered up Programming Once your bump robot is built you need to program it. You do this via your personal computer (assuming it has a serial port – some newer ones don’t): 1. Open the program, BumpRobot. bas in BasicMicro IDE from your CD-ROM 2. Save the program (File/Save As…) to a location on you hard drive. 3. Connect the serial connector to the motherboard’s serial port 4. Click on Program to download the program onto your Bump Robot microcontroller on the motherboard. 5. Disconnect the serial connector. 6. Press the button on the Button Module to start your Bump Robot. You’ll find a lot more details on programming, including how to make the Viper do a lot more things that you want it to do, in the documentation that comes with the kit, More than that, the BASIC ATOM programming manual is also in- cluded on the disk so you can learn as much (or as little!) as you want about this language. Once you have learnt BASIC, you are well on you way to understanding most of the other common programming languages. There’s also a lot more information on the Microbric website (www. microbric.com). And we haven’t even looked at the infrared control capabilities yet (that programming is also on the CD-ROM). Next month, we’ll look at using the infrared remote control before moving on to the expansion packs. ! Please note: the Viper photographed on our front cover this month was an early prototype with some differences from the one featured here. SC Where do you get the kit? The Viper kit should now be available from all Dick Smith Electronics stores, (Cat K-1800) Recommended retail price of the basic Viper kit is $199.00 42  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Screw the instructions. With a few turns of a screwdriver, a PC and some imagination, you can turn the Microbric™ Viper into anything you want. To see it in action, turn up at Dick Smith Electronics. siliconchip.com.au December 2005  43 AJF MIC0004 Exclusive to 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. Solar hot water panel differential pump controller This circuit optimises the circulation of heated water from solar hot water panels to a storage cylinder. It achieves this by controlling a 12V DC pump, which is switched on at a preset temperature differential of 8°C and off at about 4°C. This method of control has distinct advantages over some systems that run the pump until the differential approaches 0°C. In such systems, the pump typically runs whenever the sun shines. A small 10W solar panel charging a 12V SLA battery is sufficient to run the controller. Most commercial designs use 230VAC pumps, which of course don’t work when there is a power outage or there is no AC power at the site. Operation Temperature sensors TS1 & TS2 are positioned to measure the highest and lowest water temperatures, with one at the panel outlet and the 44  Silicon Chip other at the base of the storage cylinder. The difference between the sensor outputs is amplified by op amp IC1d, which is configured for a voltage gain of about 47. As the sensors produce 10mV/°C, a difference of 8°C will produce about 3.76V at the op amp’s output (pin 14). The output from IC1d is fed into the non-inverting input (pin 10) of a second op amp stage (IC1c), which is wired as a voltage comparator. The op amp’s inverting input (pin 9) is tied to a reference voltage, which can be varied by trimpot VR3. When the voltage from IC1d exceeds the reference voltage, the output of the comparator (pin 8) swings towards the positive rail. A 10MW resistor feeds a small por- tion of the output signal back to the non-inverting input, adding some hysteresis to the circuit to ensure positive switching action. A third op amp stage (IC1b) acts as a unity-gain buffer. When the comparator’s output goes high, the buffer stage switches the Mosfet (Q1) on, which in turn energises the pump motor. Mosfet Q1’s low drainsource on-state resistance means that in most cases, it won’t need to be siliconchip.com.au mounted on a heatsink. The prototype uses a Davies Craig EBP 12V magnetic drive pump, which draws about 1A when running and is suitable for low-pressure hot water systems only (don’t use it for mains-pressure systems as it may burst!). For mains-pressure systems, the author suggests the SID 10 range of brass-body magnetic drive pumps from Ivan Labs USA. Setup Each LM335 temperature sensor and its associated trimpot is glued to a small copper strip using high-temperature epoxy. It is then waterproofed with silicon sealant and encapsulated in heatshrink tubing. Standard twin-core shielded microphone cable can be used for the connection to the circuit board. Before sealing the two units, adjust their trimpots to get 2.98V at 25°C [(ambient temperature x .01) + 2.73V] between the “+” and “-” terminals. When both have been adjusted, clamp them together and allow their temperatures to stabilise for a few minutes. Next, measure the output voltage from the differential amplifier (IC1d), which should be close to 0V. If not, tweak one of the pots until it is. Separate the two and warm the panel sensor (TS1), monitoring the output of IC1d. You should see a marked increase in voltage, remembering that an 8°C difference between the sensors should give an output of about 3.76V. The pump switch-on point is set by VR3 and can be adjusted over a practical range of about 4-10°C differential (1.88-4.70V). Adjust VR3 to get about 3.8V on pin 9 of IC1c as a starting point. If set too low and the panels are located far from the cylinder, much of the heat will be lost in the copper connecting pipes. On the other hand, if set too high and the weather is mostly cloudy, then the pump will not switch on very often, as the panels will not get hot enough. For best results, use copper pipes for the panel plumbing and insulate them with tubes of closed-cell foam. As the pipes cool down between pump operations, small diameter pipes of 15mm are more efficient siliconchip.com.au The “Mystery Swinger” Here’s a natty mobile with flashing lights and no visual drive mechanism. To make the base part of the swinger, remove the drive module and battery holder from a discarded pendulum quartz clock. Install it under the lid of a plastic box with the coil pointing up and bring the battery negative terminal and output (transistor collector) leads out for use later. Next, make an arch of wood or plastic centred over the plastic box and from the top centre of this suspend a swinger, positioned so that it just clears the box. The author used a light coil spring about 9cm long for the job, hung by a thread to give very free motion. A small disc magnet (saved from the pendulum clock just dismantled) is glued to the bottom of the swinger. Now when the batteries are installed, the swinger will swing randomly as it is not constrained as it is in an ordinary pendulum. Its than larger sizes as they contain less static water. In practice, the pump in the author’s setup switches on for about 30 seconds every 4-5 minutes. As the Davies pump shifts 13 litres/minute, it displaces the heated water from a single panel in about 14 seconds. source of power is invisible – the “mystery”! Connect the leads from this device to the circuit shown and you have a set of 10 LEDs flashing sequentially in time with the swings. The circuit is just a standard 4017 ring counter (IC1) with the drive provided by Q1 which is turned on and off by the pulses from the collector of the transistor in the drive module. The 470nF capacitor is necessary to prevent spurious oscillations. The LEDs are arranged around the arch and may be in strict order or wired to appear random. If you prefer LEDs of various colours, you’ll need a suitable current-limiting resistor in each cathode line, rather than the common 470W unit used here. Try holding the swinger steady over the drive module – if the spring is very light, it will dance up and down (well, vibrate vertically) when you let go and set the LEDs flashing merrily. A. J. Lowe, Bardon, Qld. ($35) There is a thermal lag in the sensor readings, so after the pump stops, the temperature difference will keep decreasing for 40 seconds or so as the panel sensor cools down and the cylinder sensor heats up. Mike Scaife, Porirua City, Wellington, NZ. ($50) December 2005  45 Circuit Notebook – Continued Clap-controlled switch This circuit can switch two or more devices on and off in response to a series of rapid handclaps. The claps are picked up by an electret microphone and amplified by a 741 op amp (IC1). IC1 is configured as an inverting amplifier, with its gain and hence the sensitivity of the circuit adjustable via trimpot VR1. Its output is then fed into a pulseshaping stage based on a 555 timer (IC2). The 555 is configured as a monostable multivibrator, with its trigger input (pin 2) normally biased to about 0.4VCC by the 150kW and 100kW resistors. When a loud enough sound is detected, pin 2 will be pulled below 1/3VCC, triggering the monostable. The output (pin 3) will immediately swing high, causing transistor Q1 to conduct. The result is a 250ms lowgoing pulse at the collector of Q1. The output from the pulse-shaper stage is fed into a missing-pulse detector based on a second 555 timer (IC3), which is also configured as a monostable multivibrator. However, this monostable circuit differs from the first because it includes a “retrigger” function. Retriggering is made possible by transistor Q2, which acts to rapidly discharge the 10mF timing capacitor should a pulse arrive when the timer is already running. This means that once triggered, IC3’s output will remain high as long as additional trigger pulses are received within its set timing period. Pulses from Q1’s collector are also applied to the clock (CP0) input of a 4017 decade counter (IC4). In the initial state, output 0 (pin 3) of the counter is high, illuminating LED1. The first pulse advances the count and lights LED2, indicating that the circuit is active and ready to receive a handclap “command”. Each time another pulse (clap) is received before IC3’s timing period expires, the process repeats, incrementing the counter by one. When IC3’s timing period is allowed to expire (ie, no claps have been detected for 750ms), the output (pin 3) will go low, turning off transistors Q3 & Q4. Li-Wen is this m Yip on winner th’s Peak At of a las Instrum Test ent The rising voltage on the collector of transistor Q3 clocks two J-K flipflops (IC5a & IC5b), with the result at their Q outputs dependent on the state of the O2O5 counter outputs. Considering all the possible logic states of a J-K flipflop, the “commands” will therefore be: • 2 claps: turn Device 1 on • 3 claps: turn Device 1 off • 4 claps: turn Device 2 on • 5 claps: turn Device 2 off Finally, the rising voltage on the collector of Q4 resets the counter, ready for the next clap sequence. Note the addition of a 10nF capacitor between the reset input (pin 15) and ground, which in conjunction with the 10kW resistor adds a short delay to the reset signal. This ensures that the counter is not reset until after the J-K flipflops have been clocked. If desired, the circuit could easily be expanded by adding more flip­ flops and counters. Li-Wen Yip, Douglas, Qld. Contribute And Choose Your Prize As you can see, we pay good money for each of the “Circuit Notebook” items published in SILICON CHIP. But now there are four more reasons to send in your circuit idea. Each month, the best contri- 46  Silicon Chip bution published will entitle the author to choose the prize: an LCR40 LCR meter, a DCA55 Semiconductor Component Analyser, an ESR60 Equivalent Series Resistance Analyser or an SCR100 Thyristor & Triac Analyser, with the compliments of Peak Electronic Design Ltd 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 Ozitronics www.ozitronics.com Tel: (03) 9434 3806 Fax: (03) 9011 6220 Email: sales2005<at>ozitronics.com K28 – Voice Activated FM Tx . . . . . . . . . . . $17.60 K32 – Two Stage FM Tx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.40 K74 – PC Printer Port Relay Board . . . . . . $53.90 K74A – Assembled K74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $70.40 K141 – Multi-Mode Timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32.45 K141A – Assembled K141 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48.95 K142 – 12 Channel IR Relay Board . . . . . . . $92.40 K146 – 40 Sec Message Recorder . . . . . . . . $30.80 K148 – 4-Digit Timing Module . . . . . . . . . . . $30.80 K153 – DTMF Tone Grabber . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40.15 K154 – 4-Digit Preset Down Counter . . . . . $32.45 K156 – Dual HI/LO Switched Relay . . . . . . . . $19.80 K173 / 5 – Serial / Parallel RF Tx . . . . . . . . . . . $52.80 K174 / 6 – Serial / Parallel RF Rx . . . . . . . . . . . . $60.50 Prices include GST – shipping extra. Full documentation available from website. WHERE can you buy SILICON CHIP You can get your copy of SILICON CHIP every month from your newsagent: in most it’s on sale on the last Wednesday of the month prior to cover date. You can ask your newsagent to reserve your copy for you. If they do not have SILICON CHIP or it has run out, ask them to contact Network Distribution Company in your state. SILICON CHIP is also on sale in all stores . . . again, you can ask the store manager to reserve a copy for you. Or, to be sure that you never miss an issue and save money into the bargain, why not take out a subscription? The annual cost is just $83 within Australia or $89 (by airmail) to New Zealand. Subscribers also get further discounts on books, and other products we sell. siliconchip.com.au December 2005  47 SERVICEMAN'S LOG Diagnostic codes: help or hindrance? Diagnostic codes are supposed to make faultfinding in colour TV sets easier – at least, that’s the theory. But it doesn’t always turn out that way in practice and experience still counts when it comes the fixing problems. TV manufacturers over the years have had fleeting flirtations with making their products easier to service. In the black and white TV days, valves were easy to replace and this led to the term “valve jockeys” being used to describe technicians who just changed valves. When transistors came along, we even had one or two sets that used transistor sockets (in the early seventies, you could purchase cheap Russian radios with every transistor socketed – like Tektronix CROs). Then, with colour, we had socketed ICs and plug-in modules. German-made sets also had easy diagnostic systems, with LEDs monitoring critical voltages and Items Covered This Month • Philips 32FL2881/75R TV set (FL2-G chassis) • Sony KV-XA29M31 TV set (BG3S chassis) • Sony KV-AR21M30 TV set (BX-1S chassis) • Philips 32PW4523/79R TV set (L01.1 chassis) • Philips 25PT448A/75R TV set (PV4 4.0AA chassis) • Grundig T51-731 Text FFSTG/51C CUC TV set (7303 chassis, GCE5084) • Sanyo model CP29AF2X(A)-55 TV set (FC3G229 chassis) • Sanyo CP14SR1-50 TV set (AC5-G chassis) • Panasonic TX-76PW60A TV set (EURO9S chassis) 48  Silicon Chip flow charts to show which module to replace. With the advent of microprocessors, On Screen Displays (OSD) and the I2C bus, most sets now offer some sort of error code system. The only trouble is that most faults will not give an OSD, so they then have a standby LED flashing codes. The only difficulty here is actually counting the number of flashes and then comparing them with the service manual. The nature of faults has also changed somewhat over the years. These days, faults are often found in protection circuits, or there are software problems. Of course, ICs are no longer socketed and more and more are surfacemount devices. Some manufacturers actually expect you to replace these but an increasing number are moving to board rather than component level replacement. In fact, plasma TV manufacturers generally offer nothing smaller than board replacement and insist you do not repair boards – not that you would actually get a detailed circuit diagram. Philips sets Philips invented the I2C bus and has been using error codes the longest but they can be unreliable. I have had quite a few Philips models with FL1 and FL1.2 series chassis where multiple codes randomly displayed on switch-on and yet, when the set warms up, then settle down with all functions working properly. I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of that one. The A10 series chassis often display error numbers (eg, 17, 23) which, although shown in the service manual, have no meaning and certainly don’t interfere with the working of the set. One Philips set I looked at recently – a 32FL2881/75R (FL2-G chassis) – was dead. I had replaced the flyback transformer 18 months earlier. This set not only has OSD but also another seven red LEDs internally, none of which was giving an error code. In this case, the horizontal output transistor (Q7610, 2SC4288A) was short circuit. Despite access being rather difficult, I managed to replace the transistor by completely removing the entire chassis. The set now came on and gave a perfect picture, except it was a little underscanned in all modes. I checked the voltage at TP78 as +141V and it was spot on. This presented me with a dilemma – did the set need realignment or did it have an additional fault that was going to kill more transistors (eg, the tuning capacitors on the collector of Q7610)? I had it running for over three working days and it didn’t falter and neither were there any error messages in the SDM (self-diagnostic mode). In the end, I told the client that I didn’t know what had caused the failure and that I could not guarantee it until more work was done. However, he wasn’t prepared to wait any longer and didn’t want to spend any more money on this 11-year old TV, despite it having cost over $5000 new and this being only the second time it had ever broken down. In fact, he said that he really wanted to buy a new plasma set. Anyway, he picked it up, paying only for the cost of the transistor and one hour’s labour, but phoned four days later to complain that it had died again. And of course, he wanted it fixed under warranty despite my earlier warning. You can’t win them all. Another 2004 Philips I had was a 32PW4523/79R which wouldn’t turn on and was making a clicking noise inside. The label on the back said L2K3 but it actually it looked like an L01.1A chassis. Its diagnostic LED was siliconchip.com.au flashing twice, or so I thought – it was hard to tell. The clicking noise was coming from the degaussing relay (1515). I began by checking the B+ rail and it was low and pulsating. However, when I shorted out the base and emitter of the line output transistor and hung a 100W globe on the collector, it came up fully and the globe illuminated without pulsating. In addition, the relay stopped clicking. This told me the fault was in the line output stage. After making sure the vertical output IC was not dry jointed, I tried desoldering it to see if that would affect the protection circuit. It didn’t so I then tried disconnecting all the secondary circuits on the flyback transformer to see if there were any shorts. This revealed nothing untoward, which threw suspicion onto the transformer itself. I ordered a new one (3128 138 21921) and fitting it fixed the problem and confirmed my diagnosis. I checked the SDM afterwards to find it had error codes 2 (horizontal protection), 6 (I2C) and 10 (timer ID). I can only conclude that the 6 and 10 errors referred to previous faults and the errors hadn’t been cleared after repair. Not quite the same fault Once I had two identical 1999 Sony KV-XA29M31 (BG3S chassis) in the workshop at the same time with what siliconchip.com.au appeared to be identical fault symptoms. They were both dead, with the report that the red LED was flashing twice. The self-diagnostic function reports error 2 as being OCP (over current protection) or OVP (over voltage protection). This can be due to the horizontal output transistor Q511 being short circuit, IC701 or IC503 being faulty, or no -13V rail. In each case, the TV resets itself into standby mode. Access to these chassis isn’t easy, so on the first set I went for the line of least resistance and decided to change the vertical output IC (IC503, TDA8172) first after checking that Q511 was OK. This turned out to be a good move, as December 2005  49 Serviceman’s Log – continued turns tester. As I suspected, it had failed and replacing all three components completed the repair. Dead Philips this fixed the problem straight away. I also resoldered the pins on the line drive transformer (T501), as this sometimes causes premature failure of the horizontal output transistor. Moving onto the second set, I figured I would tackle it the same way as the first one. However, it was soon apparent that this was an entirely different fault. Once again Q511 was OK but there was no +135V going to it from D615. Neither was there a short on the line. In fact, it turned out to be a general failure of the main switchmode power supply. A quick check soon showed that R632 (0.1W) was open circuit, while IC601 (STR-F6656) had gone short circuit. Further checking then revealed that D610 had also gone short circuit. So why did the supply fail? I couldn’t 50  Silicon Chip find anything specific, so I decided to also change C623 100mF, which is about the only electro in the primary of the power supply – not that I could find anything wrong with it! Anyway, that fixed it but I couldn’t quite see why the self-diagnosis was flashing twice with this configuration. Another Sony The next Sony I had was flashing two times again. This set was a 2003 KV-AR221M30 using a BX-1S chassis. This time, the line output transistor (Q805, 2SC5885) was short circuit and the +135V feed resistor (R827) was open circuit. I then checked transformer T800 (HDT) for dry joints but found none. So why did the line output transistor fail? I removed the flyback transformer (T801) and checked it with a shorted A 1997 Philips 25PT448A/75R PV4 4.0AA came in “dead”. Well, not quite – the power supply wasn’t dead and the front LED was flashing. VBAT measured OK at +137V all the way to the line output transistor (7448) and its driver (7440) but there was obviously no horizontal or vertical drive from the Jungle IC (7200). I could see that the vertical output IC (7960) was dry-jointed on several pins, so I resoldered it. Unfortunately, this made no difference on switch on but I still suspected it, figuring that it might have been destroyed because of the dry joints. Fitting a new one (TDA9302H) restored picture and sound but only in the bottom quarter of the screen. The new IC was getting hot too, so I checked the ±13V supply from the flyback transformer with the CRO and noticed that the negative rail had a large amount of ripple on it. As a result, I replaced the 470mF electrolytic capacitor (2472) but it made no difference. Next, I checked the voltages around the IC and found that pin 1 was very low. The twin vertical drive to the IC comes out of the jungle IC (IC7200) from pins 46 (+) and 47 (-). It is then fed through an RC network before going to pins 1 and 7 respectively of the vertical output IC (IC7960). A quick check with the CRO showed plenty of negative drive to pin 7 but virtually no positive drive to pin 1. It didn’t take long to find that pin 1 of IC7960 was short circuit to ground. However, it wasn’t the IC that was at fault. Instead, it was C2910 – a 470pF surface-mounted chip capacitor – that had gone short circuit. Replacing it restored the set to full working condition. Interestingly, there is no error code for this. Storm damaged TV An unusual white-coloured TV was recently brought in for repair. Years ago, most 43cm sets were white in colour but nowadays, they are all silver. The set in question was a 1996 51cm Grundig T51-731 Text FFSTG/51C using a CUC 7303 chassis (GCE5084). It had gone dead after a siliconchip.com.au I am still meeting Sanyo TVs that have those 120kW resistors that go high, particularly in the start-up circuitry of the power supply (eg, R620 & R621 in model CP-29ST2-01, AC2-A29 chassis). This is a fairly common fault that’s help put the bread on my plate – and do I need it! I recently had a later Sanyo model CP-29AF2X(A)-55 using a FC3-G229 chassis come in. This had had a spectacular dummy spit for a set barely out of its egg, the fault blowing the daylights out of eleven components in the power supply: R613 330W, R614 22kW, R624 10W, R632 0.27W, R633 0.33W, Q611 & Q625 2SC2274, Q612 2SA984, Q613 2SK3102, Q432 2SD2634YB and D610 (PC123 optocoupler). The worrying aspect of such an explosion is why did it happen? In this case, it wasn’t possible to figure this out but it concerns me when I don’t know, as it almost invites the fault to recur. Kamikaze fly lava A kamikaze fly lava chose to be born (and die) inside a brand new Sanyo TV, model CP14SR1-50 AC5-G chassis. Unfortunately, he, she or it selected the switchmode power supply FET and killed the set by turning the power supply into a pile of what flies like best. This suicide terrorist only managed to blow eight components – R612 10W, R613 1W, R617 68kW, Q613 2SK2647, Q614 2SA984, Q432 2SD2634, D610 PC123 siliconchip.com.au www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com The dummy spit ! W E ELEXOL Ether I/O 24 N www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com UDP/IP-controlled digital input/output module featuring three 8-bit ports with 5V level signal lines. Each of the 24 lines can be independently programmed as either an input or an output. Connects to any TCP/IP protocol network. CT VIA CONNE TO TALK R ROUTE INTERNET TO ANYEVICE! D Supports ARP, BOOTP, DHCP, ICMP and UDP/IP protocols Standard 10BaseT Ethernet Interface; RJ45 connector 24 independently programmable signal lines with configurable CMOS, TTL or Schmitt Trigger thresholds and programmable pull-ups per line Easy connection by three 10-way box headers On-board 50MIPS flash micro-controller may be reprogrammed to suit specific applications Integrated switch-mode voltage regulator allows power supplies from 8-32VDC User 5V 500mA output to power external interface boards or sensors Compact module – 72 x 72 x 24mm Great range of I/O-24 peripherals, too ... CONNECTOR/ LED BOARD Provides screw terminal connections plus optional either pull up or pull down resistors and LED port status indication. OPTO INPUT BOARD Provides 8 Opto Isolated inputs for each of the I/O-24 pins with LED indication. RELAY OUTPUT SWITCH/PUSH BUTTON BOARD BOARD Provides 8 isolated relay contact outputs suitable for a variety of loads. Provides 8 switch/ push buttons with LED indicators showing the status of the I/O pin. Visit our web shop <at> www.elexol.com Elexol Pty Ltd Ph: (07) 5574 3988 Fax: (07) 5574 3833 (PO Box 5972, Bundall, Qld 4217) www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com www.elexol.com storm but ironically, the only thing that had failed was the mains fuse. Once the set was running again, I had to tune in the stations, which was rather tricky. You definitely need the instruction book and the remote control (Telepilot 711, now substituted by a TP715/TP750C). In fact, there are only three controls in total on this set, including the power switch! To do the tuning via the remote, you have to press “i” and then OK to get into a rather daunting tuning menu. However, with perseverance and the book, I eventually cracked it (in fact, auto tuning is easier and you do that by pressing “PC/AUX” for four seconds and then “OK”). This revealed further problems. I have a good antenna and reception at my workshop is good but the picture on this set was just slightly snowy. As a result, I decided to give the RF AGC (automatic gain control) a nudge to see if this would improve matters. To get into the Service Menu, you press “i” and switch the set on with the main power switch. The AGC was set at 29 but increasing or decreasing this value made no difference to the picture and it was beginning to look like the tuner (Part No. 29504 3010100) might be faulty. As a result, I took it out, fully anticipating that a new one would have to be fitted (in the old days, you could get the tuner fixed by taking it to a tuner specialist but unfortunately, that’s no longer the case). Anyway, I took a quick look inside the tuner to see if anything was obviously faulty and was surprised to see that the centre pin of the antenna socket to the tuner PC board had disappeared – it had vaporised completely. I fitted a small wire link and reassembled the set and that finally fixed the problem. December 2005  51 Serviceman’s Log – continued and D611 ISS133 – but at least this time we knew what the cause was. I don’t think any anti-terrorist laws will stop this one either! When changing the horizontal output transistor (Q432) in this set, it is important to check that the jungle IC201 is a QXXAVB889- - - M. If it’s not, you should fit a CP14SR1MK modification kit. In any event, check that C351 is a 47mF 16V electrolytic and that C661 is 10mF 16V and replace C501 (1000mF 35V), otherwise you might have more unexplained failures of the horizontal output transistor. Shrunken widescreen A brand new wide-screen Panasonic TX-76PW60A (EURO9S chassis) TV was brought in to the workshop under warranty. The fault was that there was very little width or pincushion correction and there were vertical shaded lines spaced regularly across the picture, which faded off completely within a minute or two. Initially, I felt that this was going to be a simple problem in the east-west correction circuits. When I got the back off, there was a small plug-in module (DF) on the righthand side which is supported by a metal bracket. 52  Silicon Chip This bracket and the module were severely bent, so it looked like this was the problem. However, when I had removed the module, I found I could straighten it and no part of the PC board’s circuitry had been compromised or damaged. Besides which, it didn’t have much to do with the eastwest circuitry. Next, I located the circuit I really wanted – ie, transistor Q703 (a surfacemounted 2SK2231) and the diodes inside D580 on the D Board. These measured OK, as did R702 (1W) and there was about 40V on the drain. I also checked that there was a clean, healthy parabola on the drain and for a square-wave pulse coming into this circuit from the A Board. While I had the oscilloscope out, I also checked the line pulses on the collector of the horizontal output transistor (Q551, 2SC5905). These were perfectly clean but despite this, Q551 was getting very hot, as were resistors R705 and R706 (150W) near Q703. Unfortunately, by the time I got the set into the service mode (for less adjustments), the picture had faded off completely. As a result, I was unable to determine whether the digital control system on the A Board was working or not. I have had cases where the microprocessor has caused these symptoms but as the A Board is worth around $750, we naturally we didn’t have one on hand to substitute. Despite the fact that it would appear to be a fairly obvious fault with simple circuits to troubleshoot, I was initially clueless (most people would assert that this is indeed my normal state). Naturally, I checked almost every component in and around the circuit, including D559 and D560, but without result. I also carefully check­ed the coils in the east-west circuit – L701 220mH and L704 1.8mH. These measured correctly on my inductance meter but I went further in case the insulation was breaking down under load. I had noticed that L582 was also a 220mH unit, so I decided to swap it and L701 over. Interestingly, these two coils had different part numbers even though they have the same inductance. What’s more, the gauge and type of wiring differed between them. In particular, one has a solid copper wire, while the other uses multi-stranded wire. Anyway, to satisfy my curiosity, I swapped them over but it made absolutely no difference. In the end, it was luck that solved the puzzle. After swapping the coils, I noticed one nearby capacitor (C582, 470nF 400V) with what looked like a small lump of clear varnish on it. Of course, a small deformity like this is not really unusual in a brown polyester capacitor – after all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts and looks aren’t really a concern. Anyway, because I was out of ideas and there wasn’t anything else to do, I decided to remove this capacitor and take a closer look. And, as it turned out, it wasn’t a lump of varnish at all but was instead a lump of material that had been pushed out of a crack in the capacitor’s body. A new one soon restored the set to SC normal operation. siliconchip.com.au WELLINGTON (NZ) has moved to: Digital Handheld Anemometer A handy tool for the sailor or windsurfer or the everyday enthusiast. Measure the speed of wind in mph, km/h, m/s or knots, dispalyed on an LED display with a Beauford wind scale bar graph. Cat. QM-1640 $ 95 79. 10 Million Candle Power Spotlight Features a super powerful 12V 100 Watt Halogen globe. A switch for dim lighting to conserve power and twin fluorescent globes for reading or as a work light. The spotlight is powered by a rechargeable 12V 7Ah battery that can be charged either at home or in the car. Cat. ST-3308 95 •Replacement Globe: SL-3223 $12.95 $ 79. Smart Card Programmer Kit Ref: Silicon Chip July 03 Program both the microcontroller and EEPROM in the popular Gold, Silver and Emerald wafer cards. Cards used need to conform to ISO7816 standards, which includes ones sold by Jaycar. Powered by 9-12VDC plugpack (use MP-3030) or 9V battery. Instructions outline software requirements that are freely available on the Internet. Kit supplied with PCB, wafer card socket and all electronic components. PCB measures: 141 x 101mm Jaycar cannot accept responsibility for the operation of this device, its related software, or its potential to be used in relation Cat. KC-5361 to illegal copying of Smart Cards in $ 95 Digital Cable T.V. set top boxes. 49. Gold Wafer Card This is a multi-chip 'smart card' based on the PIC 16F84A and is coupled with a 24LC16B EEPROM, and compatible with most reader/programmer units available Marine Speakers Ordinary car speakers will not last in a marine environment and you should install these quality drivers to enjoy great sounding speakers that will last the distance. 4" Marine Speaker Cat. CS-2390 $ 95 2 way / 20WRMS 49. Cat. ZZ-8800 $ 95 7. 264-272 Taranaki St (Upper) Wellington Phone: (04) 801 9005 Universal High Energy Ignition New and Improved Ref: SC June 98 A high energy 0.9ms spark burns fuel faster and more efficiently to give you more power! Includes PCB, case and all electronic components. Now with PIC Ref: Silicon Chip December 05 Need people to take a number when waiting to be served? This electronic signaling device has digits 75mm high, each using 28 high intensity red LEDs. The numbers display from 00 to 99 is incremented by pressing a button on the separate small control box. The annunciator features a built in piezo buzzer to produce a short 'beep' each time the display is updated. Kit includes: PCB, Case and all electronic components. Power: Regulated 12VDC Cat. KC-5420 $ 95 59. iPod Stereo Amplified Speakers with Remote Cat. KC-5419 $ 95 94. Dual Battery Isolator This unit will direct alternator charge current to your main and auxiliary battery when the engine is running. When you are stationary and drawing battery power (for fridges etc), the unit will isolate one battery before both batteries go flat, enabling you to start your vehicle the next morning. Exclusive to Jaycar Annunciator Kit An active speaker system for iPods, iPod Minis and Nano. The unit comes in a stylish and streamline designed housing and would look great on a desk or even wall mounted. Comes with interchangeable cradles to suit any iPod, it has a protective clear front lid and an Infrared iPod remote controller which controls the volume and the song selection. It also has an Cat. XC-5180 auxiliary input for non-iPod devices. $ 00 •iPod not included 149. See our range of iPod accessories on page 2 Can Sized 140W Inverter Cat. MB-3670 $ 95 99. HOORAY - OUR GORE HILL STORE HAS MOVED BACK TO 188 Pacific Hwy (Cnr Bellevue Ave) St. Leonards Ph: 9439 4799 Open 7 days Stand out from the crowd at the next 4WD meeting. We've all had the experience with using unmounted inverters sliding around - especially in a moving vehicle, but 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 equipment. Cat. MI-5120 $ 95 69. Portable Digital Video Camera and Media Player With 128MB Memory this is smaller than an average sized wallet. The unit comes with a large 2.5 inch TFT LCD screen and a 128MB internal storage space. Includes Features Include •MP4 Player - Play ASF format video Software •Still Camera & Video Camera - 3 Mega Pixels •CMOS Sensor/2.5 inch TFT LCD •Built-in 128MB flash •MP3 Player - built-in speaker & earphones included •Digital Photo Album - store JPG format photos •Games Cat. QC-3232 $ 00 399. 6" Marine Speaker Cat. CS-2392 2 way / 40 WRMS $ 95 59. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au 1 Mini Digital Video Camera A digital camera for under $200! This easy to use camera fits in the palm of your hand. The recorded video can be transferred to a computer for editing or simply viewed directly on any TV with AV inputs. Buy the Features Mini Digital Camera include a 3.1 Megapixel and receive a 256MB software resolution for SD Card for $25. stills, 1.5" colour LCD Save $23.95! screen, 5 layer glass lens; 32MB internal memory, SD/MMC expansion slot, 4 x digital Cat. QC-3230 SAVE zoom, internal microphone $ 00 $20 & lots more! Was $199.00 Singing Star Handheld Karaoke Player Attach the handheld player to your TV with the cable supplied and you'll be singing like a professional in no time! Already supplied with a 10 song cartridge and with various audio features you'll be able to sing along to your favourite tunes in next to no time. Two Additional cartridges are song cartridges included with available the Singing Star Cat. GT-3190 $14.95ea $ 95 Karaoke Player. 49. Portable USB MP3 Player USB Internet Phone Play music from any USB Flash Disk. The system looks like a pair of classy portable speakers but features an in-built MP3 decoder that will play MP3 files straight from any Flash Disk. The speakers are small, light, and stylish and can go just about anywhere. The system also incorporates an external input so you can play other devices. Operates on 9 VDC, mains Cat. XC-5161 plug pack is included. $ 95 49. 89. USB Data Storage Bridge Make data transfer a breeze. Cameras, MP3 players or Recording devices always get full at some point, especially at the most inopportune times. This device allows for easy movement of files from one unit to another. USB 2.0 Surround Sound Simulator for Headphones Cat. XC-4962 $ 95 59. Pedometer with 128MB MP3 Player Time flies when you're exercising! Built in MP3 player stores up SAVE to two hours $20 of music. Includes calorie counting, distance monitor as well as a clock. Supplied with USB Cat. GE-4012 $ 95 interface cables & earphones. Size: 68(L) x 39(W) x 22.5(H)mm. Was $119.95 99. PSP® Memory Cards Frustrated with the tiny 32MB card that came with your PSP®? Take full advantage of this awesome piece of hardware! With a 512MB card you can hold around 8 hours of MP3 audio or 2 hours of H.264/MPEG4 video for playback on your Playstation Portable®! DOUBLE THAT ON A 1GB CARD NOT TO MENTION THE 2GB VERSION 2 iPod A/V Cable Some iPods now feature colour screens and can display photos on a TV. Unfortunately, no cable is supplied with the player. This cable will connect to the colour iPods which support the photo feature and allow viewing on a TV or to a VCR/DVD recorder. Cat. XC-4801 $ 95 124. 1GB Card Cat. XC-4802 $ 00 229. 2GB Card Cat. XC-4803 $ 00 599. 19. iPod USB Data Cable Attention PC users! A replacement cable for a lost or broken iPod data cable. Works with all iPods that use the 30 pin Apple connector. Commonly Cat. WC-7692 used on Windows computers. $ 95 SAVE $5 Add a new dimension to your gaming! This tiny device takes your regular stereo signal and transforms it into simulated surround sound. It makes your games, CDs, and DVDs come to life. Also has a graphic equaliser and room simulation. Cat. XC-4882 $ 95 Measures 30(W) x 80(L) x 20(T)mm. Was $29.95 24. Attention Mac users! A replacement cable for a lost or broken iPod data cable. Works with iPods that use the 30 pin Apple connector. Commonly used on Macintosh computers. 14. 14. Very useful! Charge and update your iPod easily with this cradle. It will charge the battery and you can connect the USB or Firewire cable to update your playlists etc. Cat. XC-4930 SAVE 95 Was $29.95 $ $5 24. iPod not included Portable iPod / MP3 Player Dock and Speakers Featuring 1.5" micro speakers, & an internal amplifier, they sound great. It all folds up to a neat 286g package when not in use. Powered by 4 x AAA batteries not included. •iPod not included. Was $89.95 SAVE $20 Cat. XC-5163 $ 95 69. iPod Car Charger Charge on the go! Connects to your car's cigarette lighter socket to charge your iPod via the Apple 30 pin connector. Great for travellers. Wireless Internet Antenna Cat. WC-7690 $ 95 iPod Data / Charging Cradle & Cables Having trouble Cat. MB-3650 getting unwired? modem $ 95 This wireless modem not included antenna replaces the existing 'rabbit ear' In-Car iPod Charger and on your wireless Modulator Cradle broadband modem and boosts the A complete car kit. signal to improve Hold your iPod and coverage. It can also charge it at the same improve performance time. Includes a built-in in difficult areas. The Cat. AR-3274 modulator to broadcast the Cat. AR-3117 antenna can be mounted $ 95 music to your car stereo FM radio. $ 95 inside the house or in a protected outside location for optimum reception. Supplied Digital TV Tuner for Cars with N type to MCX lead & mounting bracket. •Size 135(W) x 160(H) x 30(D)mm Keep the kids entertained with this USB 2.0 Multimedia Speaker Pair affordable in-car digital These trendy two TV tuner. The receiver channel speakers will give good plug into your performance in strong computer's USB port. signal areas and is No need for messy ideal for city driving. cabling or external power Cat. XC-4826 supplies like conventional Cat. XC-5162 $ 00 multimedia speakers. $ 95 129. 512MB Card Cat. WC-7694 $ 95 iPod Firewire Data Cable 179. Save on long distance and international telephone calls with this handy USB phone! Compatible with voice over internet protocol systems such as 'Skype ®' but users can still use the USB phone as an audio in/out device with voice communication software. Cat. XC-4964 $ 95 Grab the latest iPod accessories this Christmas 34. 19. 89. 199. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au 2.4GHz Wireless Audio Video Senders 3 Piece Surround Sound Add - On Watch cable TV all over the house! Send a signal from a DVD player, settop box etc., to another room, without the use of any cables! You can use as many receivers as you like, without degrading signal quality. Each unit comes supplied with stereo audio and video transmitter and receiver, mains plugpacks & RCA cables. Transmission range is up to 100m, but depends on the type of construction materials used. Cat. AR-1832 $ 95 Enjoy the surround sound experience. The centre SAVE speaker contains $60 a screened 4" mid / woofer & 2" tweeter with a 6 ohm impedance. The two rear Cat. CS-2465 speakers contain a 4" full range speaker $ 95 with a 4 ohm impedance.Was $99.95 Extra receiver to suit Add a new dimension to your home theatre! It uses a well designed bass reflex enclosure for the best performance. Measures 375(W) x 510(H) x 410(D)mm. Cat. CS-2456 $ 00 Was $459.00 69. Cat. AR-1833 $ 95 49. Cat. AR-1833 AV Sender but with Remote Control Extender With the addition of an IR remote control repeater you can change the channel of the source device Cat. AR-1830 etc from the $ 95 other room. 12" 150WRMS Powered Subwoofer 399. Take the cinema screen with you! Enjoy private viewing of your TV/DVD/VCR or games console with these lightweight goggles. So portable they can be used in a car to enjoy DVD player entertainment, or connect it to a video games console such as PLAYSTATION, XBOX, etc. Supplied with cables & power adaptor. 800 x 225 (180,000) pixel resolution. Was $399.00 Cat. QM-3790 SAVE $ 00 $100 Cat. AR-1831 $ 95 69. LCD Virtual Goggles Lithium Ion Battery SAVE $60 Kevlar Cone Coaxial Speakers Four Way RF Distribution Amplifier Fantastic quality! This new range of coaxial speakers offer high performance and great looks. They retain the large super tweeter that made last year’s range great, but the new Kevlar cones take them into a realm of their own. Check out our catalogue on page 229 or our website for full details. Boost your TV signals by 4.5dB and distribute them to as many as four TVs, videos, or other equipment without any Cat. LT-3244 $ 95 loss of signal quality. 59. 4" Kevlar 2 Way •40WRMS power •86.5dB sensitivity Plasma Screen Bracket 5" Kevlar 2 Way This heavy duty wall mounted bracket is suitable for mounting plasma screens of up to 75kg. In situations where tilting is required such as in gyms, clubs and bars, the bracket is able to tilt up to 20 degrees. Specifically designed for 26" to 63" flat screen monitors & TVs the bracket allows the Cat. CW-2816 screen to be mounted a mere $ 95 10.1cm away from the wall. Spare battery (7.2V) for the LCD Virtual Goggles (QM-3790) shown Cat. QM-3791 above. $ 95 34. •50WRMS power •89.5dB sensitivity Cat. CS-2320 •25WRMS power handling. •88dB sensitivity. CS-2330 Cat. CS-2322 6" 2 Way •35WRMS power handling. •89dB sensitivity. CS-2334 119. 95 •45WRMS power handling. •90dB sensitivity. CS-2336 49.95 $ CAR AMPLIFIERS Composite Video to VGA Converter Car audio enthusiasts please note! This massive capacitor will help stabilise the voltage levels in a high power stereo installation. A voltage display keeps you informed of voltage levels, and mounting hardware is included. Cat. RU-6750 $ 95 99. Our new range features amps that have increased power and retain the best value for money in the market. Tell us if we're wrong! 4 x 100WRMS 4 x 130WRMS <at> 4Ω 4 x 190WRMS <at> 2Ω 2 x 380WRMS <at> 4Ω 2 x 80WRMS 2 x 80WRMS <at> 4Ω 2 x 100WRMS <at> 2Ω 1 x 200WRMS <at> 4Ω Cat. AA-0420 $ 95 4 x 50WRMS 4 x 50WRMS <at> 4Ω 4 x 80WRMS <at> 2Ω 2 x 160WRMS <at> 4Ω 169. 2 x 150WRMS 2 x 150WRMS <at> 4Ω 2 x 255WRMS <at> 2Ω 1 x 500WRMS <at> 4Ω Cat. AA-0424 $ 95 249. INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Cat. AA-0426 $ 95 299. 199. Class D 800WRMS 1 x 400WRMS <at> 4Ω 1 x 700WRMS <at> 2Ω 1 x 820WRMS <at> 1Ω Award winning amplifier! Cat. AA-0428 $ 00 Cat. AA-0422 $ 95 FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 39.95 $ 6" x 9" 5 Way Cat. •80WRMS power CS-2328 $ •93.5dB sensitivity 139.95 99. 29.95 $ 109.95 $ 6" x 9" 2 Way 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 Cat. XC-4872 source, and video game consoles $ 95 without any software installation. 24.95 $ •30WRMS power handling. •88dB sensitivity. CS-2332 99.95 $ $ 4" 2 Way 5" 2 Way Cat. 6.5" Kevlar 2 Way CS-2324 •75WRMS power •91.3dB sensitivity Coaxial Speakers This new range of budget coaxial car speakers offer great sound and value for money. They have low-profile magnets for versatile mounting, and spoke grill covers for show. 149. 1 Farad 20V Capacitor with Voltage Display 299. Buy any of our SPLITS, plus an AMPLIFIER of your choice and SAVE 25% off SPEAKER & POWER CABLE purchased at the same time! *Does not apply to already discounted cable 89. Extra receiver to suit Cat. AR-1831 39. LCD Virtual Goggles 399. 3 Choke A Chook 40 Channel UHF CB Band Transceiver Relieve stress with a bit of violence! This annoying chicken dances around and squawks. Funny for about one second! Grab him by the throat and he screams and gags. Funny forever! (not recommended for children) •Approx 300mm tall. Cat. GT-3095 •Requires 4 x AA $ 95 batteries (not incl) 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 details. Was $39.95 or 2 for 29. 34. $ Go-Ballistic - An Exciting Target Game The aim of the game is to fire the ball through the centre "Bullseye" and score points. The level of excitement is increased by the inbuilt voice chip that urges you on to greater heights. 39. 95 Was $49.95 SAVE $5 39.95 $ Novelty Pocket Lie Detector Was $99.00 Get to the truth fast with this handy little lie detector. Ask your suspect a question and if their answer is not truthful, the machine will know and give a low score, now you can find out if your fishing buddies are really telling the truth or if Cat. GT-3060 your boyfriend truly does think your $ 95 bum looks OK in those jeans. 29. Remote Control Sailing Ship This well constructed 1:420 scale R.C model of the 19th century 'Cutty Sark' is a must for collectors and boating enthusiast. With a five metre remote control range and efficient use of battery power, this product will guarantee hours of fun for the Cat. GT-3415 whole family . $ 95 •Size: 205 x 125mm 39. SAVE $10 A touch of luxury! Wash away the cares of the day - no matter how far from civilisation you are! The camping shower allows you to take a shower wherever you are. Powered by your vehicles 12V battery. Novelty Race Shock Wire Game This is a game of skill and speed. Featuring interactive lights and the sounds of a race car speedway with a raucous crowd encouraging you along. Whoever is the last to complete the lap will receive a mild electric shock. If you're clumsy and make contact with the wire you too will receive a shock. An ideal gift for those race car fans. 89. The Amazing Flygun! Keep the kids entertained! The Amazing Flygun is a safe, fun, and effective method of killing flies and mosquitoes. Launch the spring powered swatter at your target! It is safe, fun and really does work! SAFE Cat. YS-5545 FOR AGES 8 $ 95 AND UP 7. 21 LED Hand Torch This durable torch may be small but it makes up for its size in the light output. It contains 21 high intensity LEDs and features a rigid body which makes it easy to grip and incorporates a twist on/off switch. Cat. ST-3394 4 x AAA batteries (not included) $ 95 Quick as you can Take the challenge with 2- 4 players to see who has the best reactions and who is a slow coach! It’s a game of skill, frustration, and is sure to bring out your competitive edge! Watch carefully when the red light changes to green if you’re the fastest off the mark, music will be played and the other contestants will lose one of Cat. GH-1107 $ 95 their three lives. 39. Remote Controlled High Speed Demolition Derby Jeep Personal Fans with Water Spray 3.95 $ This is one tough cookie! Smash it, crash it and it still comes back for more. Every panel on the car is detachable and can miss-align, fly open or even come off in a crash. Suitable for ages 10 up. Red model Cat. GT-3202 also available GT-3200 $ 95 •Features a regenerate button Cat. GH-1072 7.95 59. $ Sea Scooter - Summer Family Fun 19.95 $ CAMPING DEAL • Collapsible bucket • Gear Station • Waterproof Lantern • Shower COMPLETE CAMPING PACKAGE All for $45 SAVE OVER $12 See in-store for details 39.95 $ 39. Cat. GH-1070 Cat. YS-2800 Cat. GH-1105 Novelty Reaction Game Keep your cool! These fans have a water spray to use on those scorching summer days. Small size GH-1070 Large size GH-1072 12V Camping Shower SAVE $10 New Games 1.5W High Powered UHF CB Transceiver Massive range! This high-quality light-weight UHF transceiver is ideal for use in many professional and leisure activities. Up to 8k working range with a hi/lo setting to Cat. DC-1040 conserve $ 00 power. Cat. GT-3062 4 A fascinating gift. The electromagnetic levitating globe floats in thin air and seems to defy the laws of Cat. GG-2170 gravity. $ 95 $59.95 Cat. DC-1010 Suspended World Globe with Pen & Pen Holder Here's a great water scooter that's been designed specifically for family fun in the pool, lake or protected beaches. The powerful motor can reach a maximum speed of 3km/h and is powered by a rechargeable battery which gives around 40 - 60 mins running time. It's lightweight enough to carry with one hand and portability is guaranteed by the included sports carry bag - perfect for the kids to take on your next riverside picnic. It's easy to manoeuvre and control with comfortable grip handlebars and can even be used for shallow snorkelling. •Powered by 12V 7AH battery (included) Cat. GG-2350 •Up to 1 hour's intermittent use time or $ 00 40 min continuous •Thrust: 5kgf Check this out!!! 249. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au PA R T Y LI G H T I N G - C E LE B R AT E T H E H O LI DAY S Fog Machine Great for parties! It emits a harmless fog that can help create great lighting effects, mystical low lying fog, and more. 240VAC mains Cat. AF-1210 powered. Requires $ 95 Cat. AF-1212 fog juice. Mini Strobe Light 99. 1L Fog Juice Buy a Fog machine & receive the Fog Juice FREE* Cat. AF-1212 Normally $11.95 Party Speakers Great for parties! Features a variable flash rate up to 10Hz, and is mains powered. Uses a Xenon flash tube, and measures 85(W) x 50(H) x 125(D)mm. Was $29.95 SAVE Get your party pumpin' with the great party speakers. Strong enough to Cat. CS-2512 handle a massive $ 00 100 watts RMS. 139. 159. Clip Lights No electrician required. Customise the length and effects of your Christmas lights with these low voltage clip lights. They are waterproof and are ideal to hang through trees, pergolas or around Or buy a your Christmas tree. Bulb spacing is 100 metre adjustable & each bulb draws 40mA. roll for Cat. SL-2810 $140 Replacement globes. Pk of ten: SL-2814 Optional accessories Cat. SL-2810 Coloured caps Pk 25: SL-2812 $ Reflector Caps Pk 20: SL-2816 1.75 /m 19. Proximity Security Beeper Cat. GG-2375 29.95 $ Ideal for parties, shop fronts or to add to your Christmas cheer. Its10 metres long and includes a controller to either have the lights on continuously, flashing, chasing or fading. Cat. SL-2820 39.95 $ Simple but effective! When music is playing, it switches in time with it. There are no modulation controls, but it works quite well indeed. It uses 240V 60W ES reflector lamps, supplied with a red, yellow, green, Cat. SL-2942 and blue globe. Check out our $ 95 website for replacements. Cat. ST-3880 79.95 $ Cat. ST-3882 $ 139. 95 Illuminate in style! Great for illuminating paths, driveways, and even floors because they mount completely flush. Mains powered, they measure 27(H) x 30(Dia)mm. Expand up to 10 additional lights. ST-3887 4 pcs white pack Cat. ST-3887 Cat. ST-3885/6 ST-3885 White $ 95 $ 95 ST-3886 Blue 89. 19. Both Colours 19.95 $ Cat. GH-1532 49.95 $ Create a party atmosphere or add charm to an intimate setting with these environmentally friendly lights. Made from water resistant clear plastic, they feature a solar panel and an extra bright Light Emitting Diode (LED). Charge them up in sunlight for at least 12 hours and enjoy up to 24 hours of continuous use. They have a light sensor so they will turn on in the dark. The solar ball looks fantastic hung from the ceiling or trees, you can even float them in the pool or pond. ST-3120 Solar Ball red $24.95 each or ST-3122 Solar Ball blue BUY 3 FOR $60 ST-3124 Solar Ball white INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au This palm sized handheld game boasts exciting sound effects and features 3 playing modes of Texas Holdem. Was $39.95 Cat. GT-3577 29.95 $ SAVE $10 200 Piece Clay Poker Chips This flat panel disk produces an amazing display of blue light which responds to your touch, voice or music. Comes with a removable stand & can be wall mounted. Mains power adaptor included.•254mm/10" (dia.) •6” version also available GH-1530 $39.95 FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING 69. 3 in 1 Poker Recessed Colour LED Lights LED Solar Balls Fun and funky! Mount them in laminate or wooden floors, walls, or even ceilings for great mood lighting. They can be changed from red, blue, or green, auto changing or static. Supplied with controller and mains plugpack. Lights measure 80(Dia) x 6(H)•mm. •6mm protruding from mounting Two packs available: TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 4 Way Light Chaser with Sound Modulator 10" Plasma Disk Colour Master Colour Changing LED Lighting Kits Includes 8 x round LED fitting, 22.5m of cable, and controller. 79. Ice Rope Light They are 3U 26 Watt, which is equivalent to a normal 120 watt incandescent globe. Ideal for use in party and entertainment areas. Available in two colours Red Fluro: SL-3153 Blue Fluro: SL-3155 Put a smile on someone’s dial! Just press the remote control for one of six amusing giggles to get Cat. GH-1085 everyone $ 95 laughing. Eight Light Pack Super bright! This features a super bright 75W flash tube and can be timed with music or independently. Cat. SL-2999 $ 95 Designed for domestic use only Super Bright Fluoro Tubes! Remote Controlled Giggle Machine Includes 4 x round LED fittings, 12.5m of cable, and controller. 24.95 $ 44. SAVE The big daddy of $20 party sound •15" bass driver Cat. CS-2515 •120 Watts RMS Power 00 •Size 740 x 505 x 350mm $ Was $179.00 69.95 $ PAR36 Spotlight with Colour Wheel & Motor 75W Strobe Light 15" - 120W RMS Four Light Pack Cat. SL-2990 $5 Cat. SL-2978 Create your own dance party atmosphere! Get your party started the right way with some creative lighting to help set the mood. Just add music and you’re set! All mains powered. Kit contains: •20cm mirror ball. •1RPM mirror ball motor. •PAR36 spotlight. •PAR36 globe. •4 x coloured gels for PAR36. Set the mood! The advanced screw-cap globe holder design, is much better than the older spring-clip style. The 245mm five-colour wheel and motor is easily mounted. •Globe not included. Cat. SL-2963 Use SL-2964 $ 95 12" - 100W RMS Never lose valuables again! The Proximity transmitter attaches to your valuables, and you keep the receiver in your pocket. If you walk away from the transmitter, it will beep, reminding you to grab your possessions. Disco Party Light Set A genuine 11.5 grams each! When you hold them you can really feel how good the quality is. Contains four sets of 25 black, blue, red and white chips. Chip size: 40(dia) x3(H)mm Was $79.95 SAVE $20 Cat. GT-3574 59.95 $ Automatic Card Shuffler Finish off the home casino with flair! Place your cards evenly in the 2 feeder trays. With a light press of a button, your cards are shuffled and you're ready to deal. •Uses 4 x AA batteries not included •Size 230(L) x 112(W) x 90(H)mm Was $19.95 SAVE $5 Cat. GT-3370 14.95 $ 5 Protect your home and family Fake Alarm Kit More than 300,000 homes were entered with these quick and simple No one will know that you ILLEGALLY in Australia & New Zealand last Year* DIY Security systems don't have the full system. 5" B&W Surveillance System *(ABS 45100) Looks like the real thing and Four Zone Security Alarm System (NZ statistics) the bad guys will move on to Quick and simple! with Simple Two Wire Hookup an easier target. The alarm is so simple to set up that DIY enthusiasts will love it! All system components (sensors, sirens) are connected to the control unit via a two-core non-polar flat wire. The unit has a built-in keypad with status LED and three modes or operation (Home, Out, Off). Supplied with: •Main control unit •Two PIRs •Four Door or Window contact reed switch •External Siren Cat. LA-5475 •240VAC Adaptor $ 00 •50m two-core flat wire and clips •Screw/wall plug packs •Main unit: 160(H) x185(W) x35(D)mm •Extra PIR to suit LA-5476 $29.95 199. 3 Zone Wireless Home Alarm Ideal for tenants! The system is supplied with a control panel equipped with keypad, and a built-in siren. It also comes with a wireless PIR, reed switch, and panic button which operate within a 50m range. There are also provisions for hard-wired expansion if desired. Cat. LA-5125 See our catalogue or website $ 00 for full specifications. 199. Consisting of a 5" B&W surveillance monitor, two cameras, and two dummy cameras, you can keep an eye on your premises. The real cameras simply plug in with Cat. QC-3446 their 10m lead, and the dummy $ 00 cameras look identical. 149. Shed / Garage / Boat Alarm Very affordable! The garage or shed can often be neglected when it comes to security, but often there is valuable machinery and tools inside. This unit consists of a reed switch for the main door, and a PIR for general protection. Keyfob arm / disarm. Includes mains plugpack, 10m cable, Cat. LA-5400 $ 95 and a battery backup option. 49. Downlight Style CCD Colour Camera This 1/3” Sharp CCD camera incorporates a downright holder for flush mounting on any ceiling or flat surface. A perfect alternative to conventional Dome type cameras. It provides 0 - 90 degree adjustable pivoting camera head for securing that perfect angle. Holder is finished Cat. QC-3503 $ 95 in polished metal giving a classy and stylish look. 249. UPGRADE YOUR CCTV SYSTEM 2.4GHz 4 Channel Wireless USB Receiver Surveillance on your computer! This tiny four channel receiver takes the pain out of surveillance.Just plug it into your PC’s USB port and you’re set. You can view cameras on the PC, with a composite option for a TV or monitor too. There is a host of on-board functions such as email alert on motion detection, and a whole lot more. See page 313 of our 2005 catalogue for more info. Cat. QC-3597 $ 95 USB Pan / Tilt PC Camera with Remote Access 249. This is one of the most useful PC based cameras we have seen! It has full functionality as a pan/tilt camera, with motion controlled via the serial port! You can log onto a preset IP address, and actually take control of the pan/tilt functions. Software and drivers are supplied on CD-ROM, and it is compatible with Windows 98,SE,ME,2000, and XP. •640 x 480 pixels resolution. •Colour CMOS sensor. •111(L) x 97(W) x 86(H)mm approx. Cat. QC-3395 Was $399.00 $ SAVE 00 229. 6 $170 Cat. LA-5130 $ 50 47. Large Surveillance Warning Sticker This label will leave no doubt that your vehicle or premises are fully protected. Cat. LA-5102 $ 25 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 visitors in too! Cat. AI-5510 $ 00 129. RFID Access Control System 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 is 12V powered, so you can use it in remote locations, and the reader unit is splash proof. •5 RFID cards included. Cat. LA-5120 $ 00 •N.O. and N.C. relay contacts. 199. A fixed IP (Internet Protocol) address allows images to be viewed directly over the internet with an ordinary browser from anywhere on the planet. IP Addressable Camera Remote surveillance? No worries! This internet addressable camera features an integrated web server, so there is no need for a computer! Also has a local composite video output. Was $249.00 Cat. QC-3390 $ 00 2. Wireless Intercom with Door Strike Release 2 Input Video IP Network Web Server Compatible with most CCTV products. Upgrade your CCTV to an IP (Internet Protocol) surveillance system.The unit can be given a SAVE fixed or router $100 assigned IP address which allows camera images to be viewed and controlled from anywhere in the world via an internet browser. The setup interface is very user friendly. See website or our catalogue for Cat. QC-3394 $ 00 full specifications. Limited quantity Was $399.00 SAVE $60 189. 289. 4 Input IP Sensor Modules Security over the Internet! This 4 input sensor can be given an IP address so you can monitor the state of the inputs from anywhere in the world with an internet browser. It can be used for PIRs, alarm sensors, lights, and more. Password protection, polarity protection, and Cat. LA-9040 more included. $ 00 See Cat page 327 for full details. 129. Wireless Audio/Video Receiver This wireless audio/video USB receiver can be connected directly to your computer. The supplied software allows you to use up to 3 wireless cameras. Supports motion sensing, remote internet viewing & playback, automatic event notification and much more. See website for details. Cat. AR-1835 $ 00 249. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au WIND TURBINE GENERATOR A serious wind turbine at a breakthrough price! NOW IN STOCK This is a massive unit and is ruggedly built. It will generate 200 watts at wind speed as low as 8.9 metres per second and will Cat. MG-4510 deliver useful power with a gentle 3 metre / second breeze or give up to 300 watts at higher wind velocities. The 75kg unit features a three phase permanent magnet alternator with a rigid fibreglass 2.1 metre diameter three blade rotor. The unit will withstand wind speeds of 40m/sec (144km/hr) and has a 28V output which will charge a 24V battery (there is no point in 12V systems at this power level. If you require 12V tap it from a 24V system). Some skill is required in construction e.g. concreting, mechanical assembly and rigging. 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 00 for further specifications. ONLY $499. Battery Back-up Module 28V/25A Automatically switch to a battery back up if 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 back up battery will be Cat. MB-3675 $ 95 auto re-charged via the module. New “Nite Ize” Maglite™/Torch Accessories Smart Home Cable Tester 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 terminator. Nite Ize accessories suit AA Maglites™ and small torches (not included). Bite Light Adaptor 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 neck lanyard. Cat. ST-3405 $ 95 Cat. QP-2290 $ 00 199. 7. Luxeon Star Power Supplies These 240 Volt power packs simplify the power requirements of Luxeon LED's. An ideal power source for photographic light boxes or decorative applications. There are a few types to satisfy your lighting needs. •Dimensions: 102 x 21 x 43mm •Lead Lengths 1800mm on the wall socket side and 950mm Luxeon Side Cat: Voltage Current Unit: 1 Watt x 3 MP-3270 10V 350mA 1 Watt x 6 MP-3272 20V 350mA 3 Watt x 1 MP-3274 3.5V 800mA Cat. MP-3270 $ 95 19. Cat. MP-3272 $ 95 24. Cat. MP-3274 $ 95 19. Digital Frequency Counter 2.7GHz 199. High Current Power Connectors You'll find this connector in many 4WD applications, boating, automotive and other industries. Supplied individually with a pair of contacts and rated to 600V. 69. 14. Extremely bright! This laser module consists of a 10mW laser diode, lens, and driver PCB. Simply connect a 3VDC supply, & you have a great high Cat. ST-3117 power laser. •Datasheet included. $ 95 •Measures 65(L) x 11(dia)mm. 149. Make GPO installation and checking a breeze! Identifies problems with wiring, and checks earth leakage circuit breakers using Cat. QP-2000 selectable trip $ 95 current. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 Cat. PT-4420/22/24 Cat Price PT-4405 $5.95 PT-4420 $12.95 PT-4422 $28.95 PT-4424 $37.95 GPO Mains and Earth Leakage Tester 10mW Green Laser Module INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au 19. 6. 7" Fibre Optic Adaptor 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. 14. This unit is a 10Hz to 2.7GHz dual range frequency counter for measuring functions of frequency period totals and self checking. The counter readout has a large 10mm high intensity 7 segment LED display with gate time and data hold function. Decimals are also included as well as a single step input attenuation to a factor of 20 Cat. QT-2202 $ 00 and a low pass filter. Cat. PT-4405 Current Poles 30 Amp 2 50 Amp 2 120 Amp 2 175 Amp 2 Not your average belt pouch! Not only can you store your torch on your belt, but with real world use in mind it has a small pouch to carry two spare AA or AAA batteries. Made from strong Cat. ST-3408 Nylon. $ 95 Cat. ST-3410 $ 95 High Quality 500A Battery Isolation Switch Often referred to as a "kill switch", a battery isolation switch is often required to be fitted in vehicles running in sanctioned races such as rally or drag racing. They are fitted to electrically disengage the battery to help prevent fire and increase safety. Continuous rating: Cat. SF-2245 95 120A <at> 12V. 60mm dia mounting plate. $ Belt Pouch LED Upgrade Kit for Maglites Better efficiency! Upgrade the bulb in your AA Maglite™ to this unit that has 3 LEDs. Because LEDs are so efficient, you get four times longer battery life, and LEDs don’t blow! This is the single Cat. ST-3400 best upgrade to a $ 95 torch you can make! 14. Stepper Motors & Their Driver Circuits Book Written for the hobbyist and experimenter you'll be able to understand motors, driver board kits, bit patterns, components, testing debugging & even torque measurement. Cat. BM-1510 $ 95 15. Simple Biodiesel Book Save a fortune on diesel fuel! Biodiesel Fuel is a diesel fuel you can easily make yourself at home. With simple methods spelt out in this book, you can produce fuel for a modern day diesel engine from vegetable oil (even used 'fish and chip' oil). Takes you through everything from starting your oil collection service to testing and using your fuel on the road. 61 Pages, softcover. Cat. BE-1531 $ 95 29. 7 USB Power Injector A power boost for your USB port! Refer: Silicon Chip October 2004. If you have a lot of peripheral devices running from your computer, they may be trying to draw more current than your USB port can provide. This project will allow full current draw no matter how many peripheral devices you are running. It uses an external power supply to tap into the existing line, Cat. KC-5399 effectively boosting $ 95 the available current. 29. Wine Cooler Kit Make a cheap wine cooler! Ref: SC June 05. This project turns a regular fridge or freezer into a wine cooler by accurately controlling the temperature to make it suitable for wine storage. A much cheaper option than commercial units. Kit supplied with PCB, case, mains plug and all electronic components. Cat. KC-5413 95 YOUR LOCAL JAYCAR STORE $ Freecall Orders: Ph 1800 022 888 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 Brisbane - Woolloongabba Ph (07) 3393 0777 Gold Coast - Mermaid Beach Ph (07) 5526 6722 Townsville Ph (07) 4772 5022 Underwood Ph (07) 3841 4888 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 Hamilton Ph (07) 846 0177 Manukau - Auckland Ph (09) 263 6241 Newmarket - Auckland Ph (09) 377 6421 Glenfield - Auckland Ph (09) 444 4628 Wellington Ph (04) 801 9005 Christchurch Ph (03) 379 1662 Freecall Orders Ph 0800 452 9227 8 39. Lead Acid Battery Zapper Kit Extend the working life of your lead acid battery! Ref: SC July ‘05 Produces bursts of highenergy pulses to help reverse the damaging effects of sulphation in "wet" lead acid batteries. This is particularly useful when a battery has been sitting for a length of time without use. Its effects are dependent on the batteries condition and type, but the results can be quite impressive. Kit supplied with case, silk screened lid, leads, Cat. KC-5414 $ 95 inductor and all electronic components. Where Have All The Scoreboards Gone? Basketball Scoreboard Kit 39. Stereo Headphone Distribution Amp Refer Silicon Chip November 2005 Enables you to drive up to two stereo headphones from any line level (1 volt peak to peak) input. The circuit features a facility to drive headphones with impedances from about 8-600 Ω. The Jaycar kit Cat. KC-5417 comes with all specified board $ 95 components & quality fibreglass tinned P.C.B. 34. Headphone Amp Power Supply To ensure the best possible performance to the Headphone Amp kit, this provides regulated ±15V and +5V outputs. Toroidal KC-5418 transformer required use MT-2086 Cat. $ 95 17. Performance Electronics for Cars Book Over 160 pages! The Performance Electronics for Cars Book from Silicon Chip publications has chapters on modification and theory, as well as the 16 projects. Cat. BS-5080 799. 19.80 $ Universal Voltage Switch Kit Automatic device switching! Use it to trigger cooling systems, fans, and more from sensors. This can include temperature sensors, throttle position sensors, and more. Kit includes PCB and all electronic components. "Clock Watchers" LED Clock Kits Cat. KC-5377 $ 95 29. Nitrous Fuel Mixture / Motor Speed Controller Kit Save a fortune over pre-built units! Use it with an injector to fire nitrous fuel into your engine, or control an electronic water pump etc. Hundreds of uses! Kit includes PCB and all electronic components. Cat. KC-5382 $ 95 24. The SHORT CIRCUITS LEARNING SYSTEM The Short Circuits learning system is a great way to learn electronics. It is fun, informative, and you build great projects along the way. Here are a couple from Short Circuits 3… Guitar Link Kit Play the guitar without the need of a guitar amplifier and speakers. This neat pre-amplifier allows you to connect to virtually any amplifier including your home hi-fi. •Kit includes PCB, 6.5mm sockets and electronic components. •12VDC power required. Cat. KJ-8090 $ 95 12. Wind and Rain SFX This kit simulates the sound of falling rain or howling wind. Must be connected to an amplifier (use amplifier project 11 or 13). Kit includes PCB and electronic components. 12VDC power required. Exclusive To Jaycar! This kit enables you to make a full-sized electronic scoreboard, in particular for Basketball but also adaptable for netball and other games. Ref: Silicon Ship March/April/May 2005. It can built for the fraction of the cost of commercial equivalents and has a completely wireless scoring console that can control one or multiple scoreboards. You can mount the scoreboard high up in the court plug it in to a 240VAC power point and then control them from a table courtside with no messy wiring. It features Home/Away team scores 0 to 199 game period, countdown time, Home/Away time and the addition of a new 'foul' feature. It measures 900 x 600mm and comes with all pre-cut scoreboard woodwork, screen printed face, display filters, mounting plates, pre-programmed microcontroller, printed circuit boards, 2.4GHz transmitter & receivers, pre-punched control console with special piezo end-of-game quarter sounder, Cat. KC-5408 and all electronic components to $ 00 make one scoreboard. Extra Scoreboards Available Contain everything included in the original kit without parts for the control console Cat. KC-5409 $649.00 These clocks are hypnotic! Ref: SC June 2005. They consist of an AVR driven clock circuit, that 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! Kit supplied with double sided silkscreened plated through hole PCB and all board components as well as the special clock housing! Available in Red (KC-5404) and Blue (KC-5416) Cat. KC-5416 $ 95 189. EXCLUSIVE TO JAYCAR Cat. KJ-8088 $ 95 16. Cat. KC-5404 $ 00 129. FOR INFORMATION AND ORDERING TELEPHONE> 1800 022 888 INTERNET> www.jaycar.com.au Announcing the Inaugural 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. The inaugural awards will be announced in the December 2006 issue of SILICON CHIP. 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: (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 siliconchip.com.au December 2005  61 By JIM ROWE I N THE BAD OLD DAYS, anyone rolling up at a department-store deli to buy a few slices of salami or whatever had to muscle their way through the crowd and try to attract the attention of a salesperson or they’d never get served. It was much the same at employment offices and medical scanning departments, where the rudest and most obnoxious people were often attended to first. Things became more civilised when many of these places brought in systems to ensure that everyone was seen in the order of their arrival. In most cases, these systems use numbered tear-off tickets in a dispenser, plus a LED display or “annunciator” unit which can display the numbers from 00-99 and can be updated to show the next customer to be served. It’s a simple system but it works well. LED annunciators are available commercially but they’re not cheap. So if have been put off by the price tag, this project is for you. You’ll be able to assemble it from a kit for much less than you’d pay for a similar commercial unit. The LED Annunciator has digits 75mm high, each using 28 highbrightness 5mm red LEDs so they’re clearly visible from many metres away. The number displayed – from 00-99 – is incremented simply by pressing a button on the separate small control box which can be located at any convenient place behind a counter or reception desk. The Annunciator has no memory, so Main Features Number Range: 00-99 – incremented by one each time a button on control box is pressed. Built-in piezo buzzer to attract customer attention. Readout: two 75mm-high digits using high-brightness LEDs. Power Supply: 12V DC plugpack (display unit supplied via cable from control box). 62  Silicon Chip when you turn it off and then back on next morning, it comes up with a display of “00” rather than the last ticket number used the day before. However, it’s easy to “run it up” to that number because there’s a built-in self clocking function. You activate this simply by holding down the button for about four seconds and then only releasing it when the display reaches the number you want to start with. The unit also has a built-in piezo buzzer, to produce a short “beep” each time the display is updated, to attract customer attention. However, this can be disabled with a switch if you find it too irritating. The whole thing runs from a lowcost 12V regulated plugpack, although those in rural areas could run it from a 12V battery if they wish. The power feeds into the small control box, which then connects to the display unit via a standard telephone extension cable fitted with RJ12 connectors. Circuit description Fig.1 shows the main circuit. The heart of the display unit is IC2, a siliconchip.com.au Remote LED Annunciator Got a queue situation? Want people to wait their turn as they wait to be served in your vast retail emporium? Maybe you run a hectic fast food store and you want to serve people in their turn. If so, you need this big, bright LED Annunciator. 4553B CMOS 3-decade BCD counter. This device includes latches and output multiplexing, so it performs the counting and also provides the cyclic digit-select and digit data for a multiplexed display. The “active-low” digit-select signals appear on pins 2, 1 & 15, while the BCD digit data appears on pins 9, 7, 6 & 5. We’re only using two digits here, so the pin 15 digit-select output is left unconnected. The other two outputs are used to turn on digit drivers Q8 & Q9 which are BD140 PNP transistors. Since we are using 7-segment displays in the Annunciator, we feed the BCD digit data from IC2 into IC3, a 4511B BCD-to-7-segment converter. This produces the correct 7-segment drive signals for each BCD code fed to it from IC2. The 7-segment signals appear at pins 13, 12, 15, 14, 11, 10 & 9, which are then used to turn on segment driver transistors Q1-Q7. These are low power 2N7000 Mosfets, used here as voltage-controlled switches. The two 7-segment display digits siliconchip.com.au At right is the control box, while on the facing page is the display unit. The two are joined by telephone cable. use four series-connected LEDs for each segment. As you can see, the top anode of each segment is connected to the collector of the digit driver transistor for that digit, so both digits are being used in the common-anode configuration. The cathode connections of each segment in the two digits are connected together, to form the segment drive lines. In turn, these connect to the anodes of switching transistors Q1-Q7, via 150W currentlimiting resistors. As a result, the LEDs in each segment will draw current (about 23mA) whenever the segment driver for that segment is turned on and, at the same time, the digit driver for that digit is also turned on. For example, to display a “2” in the digit 1 position, Q8 is turned on to apply +12V to that digit’s segments, while at the same time segment drivers Q1, Q2, Q4, Q5 & Q7 are also turned on, to allow segments a, b, d, e & g to draw current respectively. All other numerals are displayed in the same way, for both digits. Because the displays are multiplexed in a cyclic fashion at a rate of about 200Hz, they appear to be continuously alight. When power is first applied to the December 2005  63 64  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Fig.1: the display unit is based on IC2, a 4553B CMOS 3-decade BCD counter. It’s clocked (via IC1d and IC1b) each time pushbutton switch S1 in the control box is pressed. Its outputs then drive a 4511B BCD-to-7-segment decoder (IC3), which in turn drives the LED display circuitry via Mosfets Q1-Q7. Conference and Tradeshow Theme: “Meet the Pioneers” & Update your skills Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery Precinct - Launceston, Tasmania Australia 2-4th March 2006 Sponsorship opportunities available now Fig.2: there’s not much to the control box circuit – just a couple of switches, a power indicator LED and two resistors. Power comes from a 12V DC plugpack supply. circuit, counter IC2 is reset by the 100nF capacitor and 100kW resistor connected to its MR input (pin 13). This is why the display always starts up with “00”. The count is incremented by feeding pulses from the control box into its pin 12 CLK input. The pulses are generated by pressing pushbutton S1 in the control box (see Fig.2) which in turn connects pin 3 of the RJ12 connectors to the negative supply rail. On the main circuit of Fig.1, pin 3 of the RJ12 connectors is connected to pin 12 of IC1d, which is one section of a 4093B quad CMOS Schmitt NAND gate. The pin 12 input is normally pulled high via a 100kW resistor, which also charges the 100nF capacitor. Since pin 13 of IC1d is connected to +12V as well, this means that both inputs are normally high, so output pin 11 is held low. And because this output is connected to pin 6 of IC1b, this also results in that gate’s pin 4 output being held high. This means that the CLK input of the counter is also held high. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO THE SHOW! Live from Launceston, Tasmania nication satellite commu V DrDish<at>T ldwide TV the unique wor mote channel to pro Come and be a part of the audience and ask the hard questions The conference program will also feature seven of the industries top keynote speakers Ideal program for new comers as well as experienced industry professionals. Make your way to Launceston Download these documents from Conferenceplus.com.au/satellite2006/ Exhibition space on sale now - Hurry it’s selling fast Register your interest to attend • Exhibition Booth Application • Register to attend on-line Event Managers: Conference – Plus PO Box 1144 Legana Tasmania 7277 Phone +61 (3) 6330 1444 Fax + 61 (3) 6330 2190 email info<at>conferenceplus.com.au Pushbutton functions Pushing S1 on the control box pulls pin 12 of IC1d down to ground and discharges the 100nF capacitor. Because this capacitor takes a number of milliseconds to recharge through the 100kW resistor, if S1 is released (or if the contacts bounce), pin 12 of IC1d is pulled low for at least as long as the button is pressed, plus about 10ms. This causes the output of IC1d to switch high for the same period, which results in the output of IC1b switching low as well. This provides a clock pulse for the counter, to increase its count by one. The additional circuitry around diode D1 and gate IC1a (Fig.1) is used to provide the self-incrementing feature, which works as follows. Normally, when pushbutton S1 in the control box is not pressed, the output of IC1d is held low because both its inputs are high. As a result, pin 2 of gate IC1a is also held low, because any charge on the 1mF capacitor is drained away via diode D1. However, when S1 is pressed, as we’ve already seen, this pulls IC1d’s input low and results in its output going high. This allows the 1mF capacitor to begin charging via the 3.3MW resistor. siliconchip.com.au December 2005  65 Now when S1 is pressed only briefly, to simply increment the counter, the 1mF has only begun to charge up when S1 is released again. As a result, the output of IC1d drops low again and any charge on the capacitor is immediately removed by D1. However, if S1 is held down for around four seconds, this results in the output of IC1d being held high for the same time. This allows the 1mF capacitor to fully charge, which in turn allows IC1a to begin working as a relaxation oscillator, at roughly 10Hz. The 10Hz pulses from pin 3 of IC1a are then gated through IC1b to the CLK input of IC2. As soon as the count reaches the number you want, you simply release S1 again and the switch reverts to its normal behaviour. Beep circuit Fig.3: here’s how to install the parts on the display PC board. Make sure all polarised parts, including the LEDs, are correctly oriented. Gate IC1c, diode D2 and transistor Q10 are used to provide the optional “beep” function. Pin 9 of IC1c is coupled to the output of IC1d via a 47nF capacitor. Together with the 2.2MW resistor, this forms a differentiator circuit which delivers a short negative-going pulse to the input of IC1c whenever the output of IC1d falls to logic low level after being high – ie, each time you release pushbutton S1 after pressing it. Diode D2 suppresses the unwanted positive-going pulse when S1 is first pressed. So whenever S1 is released, a short negative-going pulse is applied to the normally-high pin 9 of IC1c which inverts the pulse and applies it to the base of transistor Q10. Q10 is thus turned on briefly (ie, for 100ms) to drive the piezo buzzer. The +12V to charge the 1000mF capacitor and allow the buzzer to beep is provided via a separate wire in the cable between the control box and the LED display, linking pin 1 of the two RJ12 connectors. It is controlled by switch S2 which therefore selects The display board is secured to the Perspex panel using M3 x 25mm tapped spacers and M3 x 6mm machine screws. 66  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au This is the fully-assembled display board. The LEDs are all mounted with the aid of a 14mm cardboard spacer which goes between their leads when soldering (see text). whether the buzzer sounds or not. There is also a 2.2kW resistor connected between pin 1 and the negative rail (ground) in the control box, to discharge the 1000mF capacitor fairly quickly if S2 is turned off after having been on. That’s about it, apart from a small green LED (LED57) in the control box to show when power is applied to the annunciator circuit. Construction All the components in the LED display section, apart from the piezo buzzer, are mounted on the main PC board which measures 185 x 102mm. This has rounded cutouts at each corner so it fits neatly inside a standard UB2-size jiffy box (197 x 113 x 63mm). The usual box lid is replaced by a 191 x 107mm rectangle of 3mm red Perspex, allowing you to see the number display. The PC board is mounted behind the Perspex panel using four M3 x 25mm tapped spacers and eight M3 x 6mm machine screws. The piezo buzzer mounts on the lefthand end of the box (near the rectangular hole for the RJ12 cable connector) and is secured using two 4G x 6mm self-tapping screws. The component overlay for the main PC board is shown in Fig.3. Begin assembly of the board by fitting the 10 wire links. They can be made from Table 2: Capacitor Codes Value 220nF 100nF 47nF 22nF μF Code 0.22µF 0.1µF .047µF .022µF EIA Code   224   104   473   223 IEC Code   220n   100n   47n   22n Table 1: Resistor Colour Codes o o o o o o o o o o siliconchip.com.au No.   1   1   1   2   1   1   3   7   7 Value 3.3MW 2.2MW 470kW 100kW 10kW 2.2kW 1kW 150W 100W 4-Band Code (1%) orange orange green brown red red green brown yellow violet yellow brown brown black yellow brown brown black orange brown red red red brown brown black red brown brown green brown brown brown black brown brown 5-Band Code (1%) orange orange black yellow brown red red black yellow brown yellow violet black orange brown brown black black orange brown brown black black red brown red red black brown brown brown black black brown brown brown green black black brown brown black black black brown December 2005  67 Fig.4: this is the parts layout for the control board, while at right is the matching photo. Note that the switches are soldered into place only after both they and the PC board have been mounted on the lid. Fig.5: here’s how the control box goes together. As with the display board, the LED is installed using a 14mm spacer. The top photo shows the control box lid with the two switches and the M3 x 15mm spacers in place, while the photo above shows the unit with the PC board in place. either 0.8mm tinned copper wire or resistor lead offcuts. That done, fit the RJ12 connector (CON1) and the small 2-way terminal block used to connect the wires from the piezo buzzer. Take care with the RJ12 socket. In particular, make sure that all four of its connection wires pass through their corresponding board holes before you push the socket’s plastic lugs through the larger holes. That’s because the connection wires are quite fine and can 68  Silicon Chip This side-on view clearly shows the control box assembly (but from the other side compared to the diagram above), while at right is the completed unit. otherwise be buckled when the socket clicks into position. After it has been fitted, you need to solder the wires underneath, of course. Next, fit the resistors and then the capacitors, starting with the smaller and lower value metallised polyester and multilayer monolithic types which are not polarised. The two electrolytics can then go in, making sure you fit these with the correct polarity. The two 1N4148 diodes are fitted with their cathode band ends towards the right. The three transistors in TO-126 packages (Q8, Q9 & Q10) are each fitted to the board with a 10mm long M3 machine screw and nut. In each case, the leads are bent down 5mm away from the body, so that they pass through the corresponding board holes when the transistor is screwed down. Once these parts are in, fit the BD139 transistor in the Q10 position. The two siliconchip.com.au Par t s Lis t – LED Annunciator Main Box 1 PC board, code 03112051, 185 x 102mm 1 UB2 plastic jiffy box (197 x 113 x 63mm) 1 3mm-thick red Perspex panel to match box, 191 x 107mm 4 M3 x 25mm tapped spacers 8 M3 x 6mm machine screws, round head 3 M3 x 10mm machine screws, round head 3 M3 nuts 1 12V piezo buzzer (Jaycar AB3462) 2 4G x 6mm self-tapping screws 1 RJ12 socket, PC board mounting (CON1) 1 2-way PC-mount LV terminal block – 5mm spacing (CON2) Fig.6: here are the drilling details for the control box. Semiconductors 1 4093B quad CMOS Schmitt NAND gate (IC1) 1 4553B 3-decade CMOS counter (IC2) 1 4511B BCD-to 7-segment decoder (IC3) 7 2N7000 N-channel MOSFETs (Q1-Q7) 2 BD140 PNP transistors (Q8, Q9) 1 BD139 NPN transistor (Q10) 56 5mm high brightness LEDs (LED1-LED56) 2 1N4148 diodes (D1,D2) Capacitors 1 1000mF 16V electrolytic 1 330mF 16V electrolytic 1 1.0mF MKT metallised polyester 1 220nF MKT metallised polyester 3 100nF multilayer monolithic 2 100nF MKT metallised polyester 1 47nF MKT metallised polyester 1 22nF MKT metallised polyester Resistors (0.25W 1%) 1 3.3MW 1 10kW 1 2.2MW 2 1kW 1 470kW 7 150W 2 100kW 7 100W Control Box 1 PC board, code 03112052, 76 x 46mm 1 3mm green LED (LED57) 1 UB5 plastic jiffy box (83 x 54 x 31mm) 1 pushbutton switch (S1 – Jaycar SP-0700) 1 round actuator SPDT rocker switch (S2 – Jaycar SK-0960) 1 RJ12 socket, PC board mounting (CON1) 1 2.5mm DC input socket, PC board mounting (CON2) 4 M3 x 15mm tapped spacers 4 M3 x 6mm machine screws, countersunk head 4 M3 x 6mm machine screws, round head 1 RJ12 6P/4C extension cable, 3m long (Jaycar YT-6040) Resistors (0.25W 1%) 1 2.2kW 1 1kW Where To Buy A Kit The development of this project has been sponsored by Jaycar Electronics and so kits for the LED Annunciator will only be available from Jaycar who hold the design copyright. The kit will retail for $59.95 (KC-5420), including the red Perspex lid for the display and a screen-printed lid for the controller box. BD140 transistors can then be installed in the Q8 & Q9 positions. Fitting the LEDs There are 56 red LEDs which form siliconchip.com.au the segments of the displays. These are all fitted with their longer anode leads towards the top of the board and their “flat” sides downwards, as shown in Fig.3. The LEDs are all fitted with the lower surface of their body about 14mm above the top of the board. Soldering the LEDs in with this uniform spacing is bit tedious but you’ll find it easier if you use a 14mm-wide strip of cardboard as a spacer under each group of four LEDs (ie, position the spacer between the leads). After the LEDs are all in place, fit the seven 2N7000 transistors (Q1-Q7) with their flat sides uppermost. Take care when you’re handling these transistors (and the three CMOS ICs), because they are MOSFET devices and can be damaged by electrostatic discharge. So discharge yourself before you handle December 2005  69 Fig.7: the main display box requires a cutout in one end to provide access to the RJ12 connector (CON1), plus three holes for the buzzer (two for mounting and one to feed the leads through, back into the box). them and solder their leads in place with an earthed soldering iron. Control box Everything in the small control box mounts on a PC board measuring 76 x 46mm, again with rounded corner cutouts so it fits inside a UB5 jiffy box. The board is attached to the rear of the box lid using four M3 x 15mm tapped spacers, plus four countersink-head M3 screws and four roundhead screws, all 6mm long. The component overlay is shown in Fig.4 while the box drilling details are shown in Fig.6. You need to drill and cut the box before you can assemble the PC board, as detailed below. Before the PC board is attached to the box lid, you need to install the RJ12 and DC input connectors, the two resistors and the 3mm green LED – see Fig.4. The LED is fitted with its body about 14mm up from the top of the board, so that it will protrude through the matching hole in the box lid. Make sure you fit it with its cathode “flat” towards the top of the board and its longer anode lead towards the 1kW resistor. Switches S1 and S2 are not fitted to the PC board but are mounted on the box lid. The smaller pushbutton (S1) is fitted in the hole on the left, with its two connection lugs aligned carefully in the North-South direction so they’ll pass through the matching slots in the 70  Silicon Chip PC board when it’s attached. The larger toggle/rocker switch S2 mounts in the hole on the right and is orientated so that its indexing key passes through the notch on the righthand side. This ensures that its connection lugs also pass through their matching board slots on the board. Once both switches have been fitted to the box lid, you can fit the four mounting spacers behind the lid as well, using four countersink-head M3 screws – see Fig.5. That done, offer up the PC board assembly from behind the lid, taking care to make sure that the LED passes through its hole in the lid and that the switch connection lugs pass through their board slots. When the board is resting on the spacers, secure it using the four roundhead M3 x 6mm screws. It’s then just a matter of soldering the switch connection lugs to their pads on the back of the board, to finish the control box wiring – see Fig.6. The two parts of your LED Annunciator should now be functional and ready for checkout. This is done before the main display board is attached to the spacers behind the Perspex front panel. Testing To text the unit, you’ll need a 12V DC regulated plugpack or a 12V battery. Either way, the supply needs to have a 2.5mm concentric plug at- tached to its output lead (if it doesn’t already have one), with the positive wire connecting to the plug’s centre contact and the negative wire to the outer sleeve. Don’t connect the control box to the main display board at this stage. Instead, just connect the 12V power supply to the control box, by plugging the 2.5mm DC plug into CON2, and check that the green power LED lights. If it doesn’t, you’ve either made a mistake in the wiring or the LED has been installed the wrong way around. OK so far? If so, switch off and connect the display board assembly to the control box using the phone extension cable with its RJ12 connectors. That done, reapply power and check that the display unit shows “00”. You should now be able to increment the displayed count by pressing pushbutton switch S1. Each time you do this, the reading should increase by one; ie, 01, 02, 03 and so on. Now temporarily connect the buzz­ er leads to the small terminal block CON2 (lefthand end of the main display board) and turn on switch S2. The piezo buzzer should now emit a short “beep” each time you release the pushbutton (S1). Now hold down S1. After about four seconds, the display should start increasing quickly. If that checks out, your LED Annunciator is working and you’re ready for the final assembly. Finishing up First, attach the piezo buzzer to the end of the box using a pair of 4G x 6mm long self-tapping screws, with its connection wires passing inside through the centre hole. That done, you can reconnect the wires to the terminal block on the main board. Next, fit four M3 x 25mm tapped spacers to the main board using four M3 x 6mm machine screws and attach the board to the rear of the front panel, again using four M3 x 6mm screws. That done, lower the panel and board assembly into the box, making sure the piezo buzzer wires are not strained or blocking the RJ12 socket access, and fit the four small self-tapping screws to hold it all together. Finally, if the 3m telephone cable supplied with the kit isn’t long enough for your intended application, longer cables are available from Jaycar stores and dealers, as well as from many other SC suppliers. 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! 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BitScope Designs siliconchip.com.au Ph: (02) 9436 2955 Fax: (02) 9436 3764 www.bitscope.com December 2005  71 SILICON CHIP MIDI DRUM KIT by JOHN CLARKE 72  D 2005 72  Secember ilicon Chip PART 2: PUTTING IT TOGETHER siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au Last month we introduced our latest MIDI instrument, the MIDI Drum Kit offering a staggering 546 drum sounds and not a stretched skin in sight! Here’s all you need to know to put the control unit together – and it’s not that difficult . . . A RE YOU HOT TO TROT, wanting to start playing with your new MIDI Drum Kit? Let’s get started with building it. Following on from the circuit description of the SILICON CHIP MIDI Drum Kit in the first article last month, we shall now describe the construction of both the main unit and the different types of sensors. The unit itself is constructed using two PC boards, the main PC board (coded 01211051 and measuring 187 x 104mm) and the display PC board (coded 01211052 and measuring 140 x 100mm). The assembled PC boards are fitted, one on top of the other, into a plastic box measuring 197 x 113 x 63mm. The box is actually used upside-down; that is, the normal lid of the box becomes the base and the display board sits in what would normally be the bottom of the box – turned upside down, it becomes the top! Confused? It will all become clearer as we proceed . . . Before starting construction, check the PC boards for correct hole sizes and that there are no breaks in the copper or shorts between tracks or pads. Hole sizes for the corner mounts on the display PC board and for the LCD module should be 3mm diameter (~1/8”). Check that the mounting holes for the external jack socket, the DC power socket, the DB9F serial connector and the MIDI output socket are all correct. Finally, the main board has four corner cut-outs, which you can clearly see in our photos, to enable it to fit snugly inside the box mounting pillars. Assuming that the Drum Kit is built from a commercial kit, all the holes in the box should have been drilled and milled out to the correct size and a front panel label should be supplied. If not, now is the time to carefully drill and cut out the various holes in the box, as per the photo below and the front panel artwork. It is vital that the display cutout, switch holes and mounting holes in what will become the front panel (ie, the bottom of the box) are absolutely This shot clearly shows (a) how the two PC boards are piggy-backed together, and (b) the many holes in the box which will have to be drilled very accurately. The cutout for the display will differ according to the brand of display. siliconchip.com.au D 2005  73 December ecember 2005  73 heatsink using an M3 x 10mm screw and nut. Next, insert and solder in the upright 26-way IDC header, taking care to orient it with the locating tab to the outside of the PC board. Then insert and attach the MIDI out socket, the DB9 connector, the right-angle 16-pin header, the DC sockets and the 4-way stereo RCA sockets. LED1 is mounted with the shown orientation, with the longer (anode) lead to the left and as high on its leads as possible. Leave just a millimetre of cathode lead under the PC board for soldering (naturally the anode lead, being longer, will have a bit more poking through). The LED is later bent over to fit into the hole in the side of the box. Fig.1: the 26-way IDC cable connects the two PC boards together and the 16-way cable is for games port connection. Note that each end is different – on the 26way, one suits a vertical IDC socket and the other a horizontal while the 16-way has a DB15 plug on one end. The easiest way to fasten the IDC sockets onto the cables without the special IDC tool is to squeeze the assembly together in a bench vice. perfectly placed, otherwise the various components won’t fit through. Similarly, the various connector holes and cutouts along one side and one end are also quite critical, as the connector positions are fixed by their location on the PC board. The only latitude you have is the cutout for the power switch, as it is on flying leads. The display board Start assembly with the display PC board, mainly because there are less components. Insert the links first so you do not forget to do this. The board has provision for three commonly available LCD modules – the Jaycar QP-5515 (or the backlit model QP-5516), the DSE Z-4170 and the Altronics Z-7001. If using the Jaycar LCD module, mount it using a dual 7-pin header to connect from the LCD module to the PC board. The Altronics/DSE modules use a 14-pin SIL header instead. Solder the pins on the topside of the LCD and on the underside of the display PC board. The two opposite corner mounting holes on the LCD module are held down using two M3 x 10mm screws and M3 nuts, with some Nylon washers placed in between the display PC board and LCD PC board. Trimpot VR8 and the 10mF capacitor can now be mounted. Note that the 10mF capacitor should lie on its side to provide clearance when the display assembly is secured to the lid. Next is IC4, taking care to orient it correctly. Insert and solder in the 26-way rightangle header plug. The switches are mounted as shown, 74  Silicon Chip with the flat side of the larger switches oriented to the side of the PC board. Switch S5 is mounted with the wider spaced pins mounted in the horizontal plane. The main board Begin assembly of the main PC board by installing the links and resistors. In a kit, a length of tinned copper wire is normally supplied for links. Otherwise, use the offcut resistor leads. The resistor colour code table will help you select each resistor but if in any doubt, measure the values using a digital multimeter (some resistor colour bands can be very similar to other colours – brown and red for example – and mistakes are easily made, especially in low light). Now we move on to installing the semiconductors – the diodes first of all, taking care to orient them as shown. Again, take care with the orientation of the ICs. IC1, IC2, IC5 and IC6 can be soldered directly to the PC board, while IC3 is mounted using a socket. The capacitors and crystal can be mounted next. Note that the electrolytic capacitors are polarised and must be oriented as shown on the overlay. Neither the crystal nor other capacitors are polarised. Now mount the PC stakes and trimpots VR1-VR7. REG1 is mounted horizontally, with a heatsink sandwiched between it and the PC board. Bend its leads by holding them in a pair of fine pliers at the correct position, so they fit into the holes while allowing the tab to be secured to the PC board and Wiring The photo overleaf shows the connection between the two boards using a short 26-way IDC cable and the two IDC connectors. The boards are oriented with their connectors at opposite ends – when completed, the two boards and cable make a “Z” shape. You will probably have to make the IDC cables yourself as they are nonstandard. Follow the diagrams (Fig.1) carefully. Orient the tabs on the side of the connectors as shown and clip in the back of the connector with the cable in place. The easiest way to press the parts together is to carefully use a vice. Some people use a hammer but this is not recommended for a beginner! Plug the cable in to both the main PC board and display PC board to make the connections. The games port wiring is similar to the 26-way wiring except that we use 16-way cable, of which only 15 wires are used (all 16 wires connect to the 16-way plug but the wire connecting to pin 16 is cut before terminating the cable into the 15-pin DB-15 plug. Both the 16-pin IDC plug and the 15-pin DB-15 plug clamp onto the 16-way cable using a vice, as before. The wires connecting power switch S7 have crimp connectors for the switch lugs, with the opposite ends soldered to the appropriate stakes on the PC board. Clip the connectors onto the switch lugs (polarity is unimportant). Your MIDI Drum Kit is now completed and ready for testing. You may have siliconchip.com.au The display board photo (above) and component overlay (Fig.2, below) are reproduced here very close to full size so you can compare your component placement with the prototype. Note the flat sides on the switches – they must be inserted this way or they won’t work – and also the laid-over 10mF electrolytic capacitor! noted that you have one IC (IC3) left over. This is deliberate – do not insert it in its socket just yet! Also, for the moment, remove the IDC cable which connects the two PC boards. siliconchip.com.au Testing The Drum Kit is now ready for testing but before you do, give it a careful check-over, looking for dry joints, solder bridges and splashes (especially around IC pins) and of course wrongly placed components. A few minutes now can save hours of frustration (if not damage) later. If you are satisfied with your conDecember 2005  75 Once again reproduced very close to life size, this is the main PC board, together with its component overlay (Fig.3) below. The only IC socket is for the PIC chip and this is not plugged in until after initial checking. 76  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au The main PC board is quite a bit larger than the display board, even though this photo doesn’t show it. Note the bent-over LED at the back of the board. struction, plug in the plugpack into the DC socket. Connect your multimeter common (black) lead to pin 11 of IC1 and the positive lead to pin 4. Switch on the plugpack at the mains and switch on S7. If you get a reading of about 9V, great. If the reading is zero, check that the DC plug for the plugpack has the right polarity – it should be +ve to the centre and –ve to the body. If it is wrong, and your plugpack has a polarity reversing plug and socket, separate the two halves and put back in the other way. If it is now +ve to the centre, plug it back in and check again. If OK, you’re on your way. Otherwise, there is some form of major problem with either the plugpack (a broken wire?), REG1 (a solder bridge or unsoldered joint?), or perhaps the diode is soldered in back to front. Measure the output of REG1 by probing the centre and right terminals. The voltage should be about 5V – at least between 4.75 and 5.25V. If this is not correct, check the PC board for a short circuit. You should also be able to measure the nominal 5V between pins 5 and 14 of IC3’s socket and about 9V between pins 4 and 11 of IC2. On IC6, check for 5V at pin 16, -9V at pin 6 and 9V at pin 2. These 9V readings may be anywhere up to 9.6V. If the voltages are OK, you can install IC3 after switching off power again. Connect the 26-way IDC connection cable between the display PC board and the main PC board. The display should be showing characters – it doesn’t matter what just yet. If you cannot see anything on the display, adjust VR8 for best contrast. Now you can check the operation of all switches by going through the switch usage description as detailed last month. (Note that we have not yet installed the PC boards in the box). Setting up At this stage you can calibrate the unit by pressing the Ports/Cal switch and then pressing the ^ switch to set the calibration sequence. Changing the port settings can be done now too. Use the < or > switches RESISTOR COLOUR CODES q q q q q q q No. Value 22 100kW 1 22kW 1 10kW 8 2.2kW 1 1kW 1 470W 4 220W siliconchip.com.au 4-Band Code (1%) brown black yellow brown red red black orange brown brown black orange brown red red red brown brown black red brown yellow violet brown brown red red brown brown 5-Band Code (1%) brown black black orange brown red red black red brown brown black black red brown red red black brown brown brown black black brown brown yellow violet black black brown red red black black brown to select for the serial or MIDI ports. Finally, rotate trimpots VR1-VR7 fully clockwise. These can be adjusted later if a sensor appears to have more sensitivity than the others (you will need to remove the boards from the box to do so). Mounting the boards First of all, disconnect the 26-way IDC cable from the main board (but leave it connected to the display board) and unclip the power switch from the main board. At this point, you can also remove the two capture screws on the DB9 socket – but don’t lose them! Now the display PC board can be mounted within the box. As we mentioned before, the mounting is rather unconventional with the display protruding from the base of the box rather than from the lid. This allows the main PC board to mount close to the opening of the box, making it possible to insert the RCA sockets and the DB9 socket into the holes in the sides of the case (even if you have to prise the box edge out a little as you do it. The display PC board is mounted on 9mm tapped spacers and held in with M3 screws. This is where your precision in drilling and shaping the holes is tested! Once the display board CAPACITOR CODES    Value     mF      IEC 1mF 1mF 1u 100nF 0.1mF 100n 33pF NA 33p EIA 105 104 33 December 2005  77 Parts List – Main Drum Kit 1 PC board coded 01211051, 187 x 104mm 1 PC board coded 01211052, 140 x 100mm 1 UB2 box measuring 197 x 113 x 63mm 1 DB9 cable (plug to socket lead 1.8m long) 1 2-line 16-character LCD module – see text 1 250mA 9V DC plugpack 1 mini rocker switch (S7) 4 stereo PC mount RCA sockets 2 PC mount DC power sockets 1 5-pin PC mount DIN socket 1 DB15 IDC male plug 1 DB9 PC mount right angle female connector 1 26 pin IDC header 1 26 pin right angle IDC header 1 16 pin right angle IDC header 2 26-pin IDC line sockets 1 16-pin IDC socket 1 7-way DIL header for Jaycar LCD module 1 14-way SIL header for Altronics & DSE LCD module 5 SPST PC-mount snap action switches (S1-S4, S6) 1 SPST micro tactile switch (S5) 1 18-pin IC socket 1 heatsink, 19 x 19 x 10mm 1 16MHz crystal (X1) 5 9mm tapped spacers 10 M3 x 10mm screws 4 M3 Nylon nuts 2 M3 x 15mm screws 4 No.6 self taping screws 2 crimp spade female connectors for switch 1 serial DB9 cable male to female 1 30mm length of 0.8mm tinned copper wire 1 180mm length of 26-way IDC cable 1 2m length of 16-way IDC cable 1 100mm length of medium duty hookup wire 1 500mm length of 0.8mm tinned copper wire 2 PC stakes Viewed from the opposite angle to the earlier shot, the 4x RCA stereo sockets can be seen on the lower (main) board, along with the IDC cable emerging from the top board IDC socket. is secured, insert the switch into its hole in the side of the case. Now comes the main PC board. It is secured in the box only by the screws which hold in the RCA sockets and the DB9 sockets – it doesn’t have any mounting screws or pillars as the display board does. As you lower the main PC board into the case, reattach both the 26-way IDC cable and the switch wires. Angle the board down so that the RCA sockets go through the holes in the end of the box and then gently prise the side of the box outwards so the DB9 socket fits into its hole as you locate the board inside the case. The RCA and DB9 sockets are the only sockets which actually emerge through the box – the rest are flush with Semiconductors 2 LM324 quad op amps (IC1,IC2) 1 PIC16F88 programmed with DRUMKIT16.hex (IC3) 1 4040 counter (IC4) 1 6N138 optocoupler (IC5) 1 MAX232 RS232 receiver/driver (IC6) 1 7805 5V three terminal regulator (REG1) 1 1N4004 1A diode (D8) 7 1N4148 switching diodes (D1-D7) 1 5mm red LED (LED1) Capacitors 1 470mF 16V PC electrolytic 1 100mF 16V PC electrolytic 5 10mF 16V PC electrolytic 7 1mF 16V PC electrolytic 5 1mF ceramic 9 100nF MKT polyester 2 33pF ceramic Resistors (1/4W 1%) 22 100kW 1 22kW 1 10kW 8 2.2kW 1 1kW 1 470W 4 220W 7 20kW horizontal trimpots (code 203) (VR1-VR7) 1 10kW horizontal trimpot (code 103) (VR8) 78  Silicon Chip The fully assembled project, ready to screw the base (lid) on. The four holes in the lid are for the stand-mounting saddle clamps (if required). siliconchip.com.au It’s almost finished – the PC boards are in, the base is on and the RS232 socket is secured. All that’s left now are some labels: one for the front panel and one each for the end (RCA sockets) and side (input/output sockets and power switch). the inside of the box. With the board in place, re-attach the DB9 capture screws from the outside of the box to hold the socket in place. The RCA socket sets is held in place using four No.6 self-tapping screws that screw into the holes in the RCA socket mouldings. (Don’t be tempted to rely on the soldered joints to hold the socket set in place – removing and inserting plugs could eventually break the joints). Mounting on the drum stand? As you can see from our opening photo, we made up a stand from 25mm dowel (actually broom handle!) and T-pieces to hold all of the pad sensor plates. This stand can also hold the MIDI Drum Kit control box if you wish. Do this by attaching two 25mm saddle clamps to the box lid using M4 x 12mm Nylon screws and nuts. The screw is inserted from the inside of the case to allow clearance for the PC board. The two saddle clamps are held in place with Nylon screws are required to nylon screws and nuts to prevent shorts. prevent them shorting anything on the back of the main PC board. The sensors, foot pedal, foot switch and rear panel can now be attached. stand in this issue but space has We had hoped to describe the beaten us – these will be described construction of the two types of pad next month. SC SILICON CHIP Fig.4: the full-size front panel artwork with hole positions for the switches and mounting holes. No display cutout is shown as this will vary with the type of display. An accurate photocopy of this could also be used as a drilling template. siliconchip.com.au December 2005  79 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.altronics.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.altronics.com.au/ Salvage It! BY JULIAN EDGAR So you’ve found a no-cost VCR – let’s salvage the good bits Rather than building a project, this month we’re going to look at the parts that you can easily obtain from a VCR. VCRs are now available for nothing or near-nothing – the one shown here was picked up at a garage sale for $5 but on kerbside hard rubbish collection days, they are free! But what good parts are inside? Contrary to what you might expect, the best bits are mechanical rather than electronic. Let’s take a look. ➋ ➊ , model machine n’t really S H V fi istar h del do t – a Gold the make and mo avy it is! in o p g n he rse, e starti nt is how are to ut of cou Here’s th 903CH. B at’s more importa more likely you s, the -F R r e b e h e th w m , num e – R tr h C x c e ry mu ier a V go to amount matter ve you see, the heav inside. In fact, to le ib d e r c in ll Huh? We eable components achines weigh an some fantastic m ag nd e fi p l ’l ta u . On the o o e y find salv switches noids inside atic vid d d -m n n a a U ) t s d n id e ie o ft sole anc olen be li otors and n barely -quality s (some ca g, including high ht VCR has few m his Goldstar unit T ig in ht want. engineer , a super lightwe g you mig d other han lly less of anythin ra and gene ling” in weight. d id was “m 82  Silicon Chip It takes very little time to remove the cover (keep those screws!) and strip out the main circuit boards. In fact, it’s worth stressing that disassembling a VCR is really a quick and easy process – expect to take perhaps only half an hour to do the job from start to finish. It makes sense to do all the mechanical work in one go, coming back to the electronic parts later in the process. So with the electronic boards placed to one side, the next step is to remove the tape transport mechanism and head. This assembly is almost always found on a sub-chassis which is screwed to the plastic inside the case. siliconchip.com.au ➌ Here’s the inner chassis on its own. At this stage, the contents of the VCR have already been narrowed down to just this and the PC boards. Throw the rest away as you remove it – ie, the top and bottom covers, the front cover and the inner plastic chassis. Anyway, the next steps involve pulling this piece of gear apart. You’ll need a good-quality medium point Phillips head screwdriver – invariably, some of the screws are tight and once you start mangling screw heads with a second-rate screwdriver, it rapidly gets too hard. Put all the screws, springs and drive belts into plastic containers as you proceed. ➍ And here ’s a whole V one of the pearls. I’ C good I th R just to pull this m happy collectin in g p drum ass k it is. But what is art out – that’s ho w embly tha it? It’s the t holds th write and spinning e e great pre rase the tape. It’s video heads that re cis d a life of the ion many million esigned to rotate w d, s V it Specifica CR and as a resu of times during th h lt, lly e steel shaft , its mechanicals it’s beautifully m ad co , sealed b all bearin mprise a hardene e. either an in g d with Alle terference fit to th s, brass fittings (th n-h ey e support fr ead grub screws) shaft or are secure ’re a need sma me. In almost any and a diecast allo d y ll a vane, sm bearings and an a pplication where all wind you xle (robo g tic en parts can be put to erator, model car, s, a wind use. Wha well stan t’s more, etc), these da they’re p need two rdised across all rett V a collecting xles (or four beari HS VCRs, so if you y ngs, etc) ju ! st keep o n ➎ Here’s what we have so far. At top left is the disassembled drum assembly. In the centre at the top are 10 springs (nine extension and one compression), while below that are 38 machine screws and 44 self-tapping screws. “He’s joking,” you’re saying. “Why bother collecting the screws?” Well, you tell me which local hardware store has small, plated, Phillips head self-tappers in stock? Or a fine metric-thread Phillips head machine screw – just what you might need one day as a replacement in a piece of gear you’re working on! At top right is a DC brush-type permanent magnet motor which uses a worm gear to drive an output shaft. It would make a perfect winch for a model boat, or it could be used to slowly rotate a display. siliconchip.com.au 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 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 salvage the high-quality 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! December 2005  83 ➐ ➏ Remember the PC boards we put to one side? Well, here they are. Now I know what you’re thinking – he’s going to tell us to get out the soldering iron and sucker and laboriously unsolder every one of these trivial low-cost components . . . and who’d bother wasting their day doing that? Fair comment – and it’s not me who’ll be spending the time. Instead, what I do is identify the bits that I’m likely to have a use for and which cost more than just a few cents to buy – parts like the colour-coded RCA sockets, the high-power wirewound resistors and the high-value, small package capacitors. And forget the soldering iron. All you do is secure the PC board in a vice, aim a heat-gun at the solder side and gently pull on the component you want to remove with a pair of pliers. Using this method, it takes just a minute or so to salvage 10 or 15 components – and that’s time worth spending. These are ju minutes w st some of the comp ith a heatonents tha g t 0.22F sup er-capacit un yielded. They in a few or clu torches), fi ve micro p (great for human-po de a wered LED ushbutton LED bargra sw p high-powe h display, nine RCA itches, a 2-channe l r resistors sockets an .N capacitors d that also to ot shown are the 20 three Incidentall ok only m electrolyti o y, c componen what you don’t no ments to remove. w do with ts is put th these em in a “ju readily ac ce n through a ss them when you n k box”. If you can’t kilogram eed them of (a way to fin d them!), y assorted componen nd sorting ts is not th o in multi-c u ’l l n e v e ru e om plastic com partment plastic tr se them. Instead, in ve ay p and be sure onent drawers to st s or a small set of c st le ore your c to clearly omponents ar label the d rawers. ➑ Also collected was an infrared pass filter (this photo was taken through it!), a smoked plastic bezel, some high-power diodes, a drive belt and a heatsink. And there were heaps of bits I chose to throw away – the mains power cord, a metal sheet with punched ventilation holes (ie, the undercover), the rubber feet and so on. In fact, the components that I salvaged can be cupped in two hands – and that’s good! Good because it takes little room to store them and good because only the most valuable bits were kept. So the next time you see a VCR on its way to the tip, take a moment to think whether you could use any of the components inside it. The Latest From SILICON CHIP Completely NEW projects – the result of two years research & development • • • • 160 PAGES 23 CHAPTE RS From the publishers of 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 mixture and brake and coolant temperatures 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. 84  Silicon Chip 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 “433” Revisited We touched on 433434MHz wireless data back in the July 2003 Picaxe article but here’s an updated workout focusing on the dirt cheap “get you started” modules now around. by Stan Swan* S O YOU WANT to cut the cable clutter and go wireless on your project? WiFi? Bluetooth? ZigBee? Infrared? All offer very fast data speeds but have “fish hooks”, not the least of which is infrared’s need for a totally unobstructed link. Or the other’s need for a computer or two! So how about – gulp – just 2400 bps?! In an age when wireless datacomms push speed boundaries to WiFi’s “g” 54 Mega bps, such a few kilobits per second may seem downright pedestrian and akin to dial-up modems in the XT/AT ’80s! But when crucial data items need sending, for example to unlock your car or raise the garage door, sheer speed is often incidental to module size, convenience and reliability. Naturally, tight budgets and ease of project integration feature too. You don’t want to have to fire up a WiFi PC every time you need to open the garage door ! New cheap modules To cater for experiments with simple-but-reliable shortrange wireless control, Jaycar have recently released a budget pair of 433MHz UHF wireless data modules suiting both experienced users and even perhaps novices needing stimulating “21st century crystal sets”. Classic crystal sets of course were popular in the presemiconductors 1920s-50s and stimulated many a school student (yes, myself included – again) into exploring wireless mysteries when parts were costly and AM radio was king. Given the lament that today’s electronic goodies come so pre-built that users lack investigative curiosity, these 433MHz units may be just the motivational ticket to crack siliconchip.com.au technical inertia. Everyone should build a “crystal set” at least once! Jaycar’s sub-$10, tiny stamp-sized ZW-3100 transmitter and matching ZW-3102 receiver are similar to assorted “key fob” ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) OOK (On Off Keying) serial data units that have of course been widely marketed for some time. Enhanced FM data transceiver multi-channel versions costing A$30-$100 (such as those sold by Oatley Electronics) are better suited to more demanding or professional data work, therefore have not been considered We mentioned a TX433/RX433 pair from WA firm Computronics back in the July 2003 Picaxe datacomms article. Typically retailing for just A$8 each, they’re often labelled TWS/TLP and RWS/RLP 433 or the like via makers such as Rentron or Laipac. A Google on “433 ISM”, etc, will locate many offerings. Superior Ming or Chipcon versions also exist but being enhanced FM transceiver multi-channel versions, stretch to more like A$40 – rather beyond the scope (and budget!) of this article. All occupy the 433.920MHz licence-free ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) UHF band actually some 1.7MHz wide (433.050-434.790MHz). The alternative LIPD title (Low Interference Potential Device) relates to the very low December 2005  85 SUITABLE ANTENNA: ~170mm WHIP OR YAGI TRANSMITTER (TO PC SERIAL PORT) CON2 DB9 C1 100nF 2 22k 3 10k 5 I/O PINS 1 2 3 IC1 PICAXE-08M 4 7 0 330Ω 6 1 330Ω 5 8 2 330Ω ON λ LED λ LED 3 λ PIEZO TRANSDUCER (OPTIONAL) 10kΩ 433.92MHz ISM TRANSMITTER MODULE (JAYCAR ZW-1300 OR SIMILAR) ANT +V DATA 4.5V GND LED 4 4 1 RECEIVER PIEZO SOUNDER (OR EVEN 32 Ω PERSONAL STEREO HEADPHONE) LED 433.92MHz ISM RECEIVER MODULE (JAYCAR ZW-1302 OR SIMILAR) +5V DATA DATA GND Using the cheap 433-434MHz modules (a selection of which is shown on the previous page, not far off life-size) really is child’s play, especially when teamed up with our new best friend, the Picaxe! Above is the transmitter – the LEDs and their associated resistors (plus of course the piezo) could be considered optional if you want to keep it simple. At right is the receiver – a single transistor amplifier is all that is needed to drive the piezo/headphone). It’s rough – but it works more than satisfactorily! SUITABLE ANTENNA: ~170mm WHIP OR YAGI ANT GND GND +5V 8 C B 10kΩ E DS547, etc (ANY G/P NPN TRANSISTOR) ON 4.5V power transmitter restriction of just 25mW. Most run even offerings and for this alone Jaycar’s units may be worth lower that this, with 5mW being typical! Although just ~1% paying a little bit extra for (you can sometimes find similar of cheap half watt 477MHz UHF CB sets, such flea power items at disposals sources for perhaps $5-$8). will normally still yield a range of a 20-50 metres in builtThey originate, as RXB1 and TXC1, from Taiwanese up areas and even several hundred metres unobstructed. makers Keymark (www.keymark.com.tw) and thankfully A simple “cotanga” Yagi antenna, styled after the turn out to be virtually pin-for-pin compatible with ear477MHz design shown in our February 2005 UHF CB article, can push this to around a kilometre line of sight (LOS), and may be especially useful for crossing valleys or water (perhaps at a marina or lake). Although 433MHz is not so obstructed by buildings and trees as 2.4GHz WiFi, the far lower power means ranges, all up, are much the same. Jaycar’s pair appeal both for their rumoured superior performance and – gasp – quality labelling! In a nanotechnology age when molecules can be stacked like Lego, it’s most frustrating to be faced with devices devoid of details that makers could have readily silk-screened on. Although a close inspection of the units reveals many receiver pins are duplicated and linked on the small PC board, the multiple connections can bewilder even old hands. Knowing here “which pin does Here’s the Picaxe-powered 433MHz transmitter from the circuit above, mounted what” is reassuring after confusion in our new “PICNIK” box. In this case, only one LED is included, driven by the with absent markings on other 433MHz Picaxe data line which also drives the transmitter and piezo. 86  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au this has become the default Picaxe supply as well). OK – power needs are now sorted out and the modules fitted to our ever faithful protoboards. For those who’ve just come in and are unaware of my enthusiasm(!) for Picaxe microcontrollers, they really look the data engine of choice for the 433MHz modules. I’ve recently been developing a more compact and cheaper kit for the Picaxe 08M in fact and have managed to squeeze these ISM units into the new Mk.2 PICNIK box as well. See the ~800kB animated gif “slide show” at www.picaxe.orcon.net. nz/picnik2.gif The initial supply detective work lead to further productive tinkering with the modules’ data lines. The receiver protoboard is very simple, with just the module, one transistor, one LED and one resistor – plus, of course, the external connections. lier 433MHz ASK modules I’ve used. Simple swap-over tests with the ZW-3102 receiver (being a quality Himark RX3400-based PLL superhet rather than a super-regen) showed it noticeably more sensitive than cheaper units, which further justify the slightly higher price. Don’t believe the specs! Instead of “boring” old serial data, we can have assorted tones, Morse beacons and even tunes handled by these units! A benefit of this is that any old UHF scanner can receive the info as plain audio. Naturally, this may suit a hidden transmitter “fox hunt”, a simple location/proximity beacon or even audible telemetry and security. Line of sight ranges were some 300m with simple (¼-wave) 170mm whips, but to around 1km when paired with a simple “cotanga” antenna (www.picaxe.orcon. net.nz/yagi433.jpg) at the ZW-3102 receiver. The long established “70cm” (420-450MHz) amateur band brackets the ISM slot, meaning numerous sensitive UHF receivers probably lurk in broom cupboards just awaiting such a fresh task anyway. In spite of other diverse warbling and croaking tone signals at 433MHz, especially originating from keyless car remotes (readily heard near a supermarket car park!), the UHF spectrum has a low background noise level and receivers can be very sensitive indeed. It’s beyond the scope of this article to go into the maths involved but below is a simple table relating RF (radio frequency) signal strengths (in microvolts across a 50W load) to dBm (milliwatt) and communication receiver “S” readings. A 6dB change is equivalent to signal strength (and thus range) doubling or halving. Hence a simple 6dB gain “cotanga” Yagi should double distance, while a 12dB gain antenna (feasible at this frequency) will “double x double” Initial testing of the Jaycar units was most satisfactory, in spite of misleading details provided in both their 2005 catalog (p73) and support web page. The receiver doesn’t just run on the stated 3V but is instead designed for a nominal 5V supply – nicely handled by three fresh alkaline or four NiMH AA cells, delivering around 4.8V. Only very small currents of around 5mA are taken (meaning batteries should last weeks). Much lab and web sleuthing verified this supply and the error must be causing lots of hassles to bright sparks thwarted at 3V power-up stage. Annoyingly the Jaycar support .pdf is mostly in Chinese, limiting even the ready reading of diagrams unless language extras are downloaded. Grrr... Fortunately I have several Chinese-speaking (and reading!) students who were able to help. Happily, the receiver, in common with other such modules, runs well outside the “tight” 5V specification, to as high as 6V or as low as 4.3V before cutout. ISM receivers will normally end up mounted indoors in a garage (or car etc) powered by a mV dBm regulated supply but in contrast, the companion transmitters are destined 50.0 -73 for portable key-fob mounts powered 8.0 -89 by small coin or 12V batteries. 4.0 -95 Because of the associated battery run (2.24 -100) down with use, the transmitter supply 2.0 -101 is usually much more flexible, and they 1.0 -107 were found to work to well between 0.5 -113 2V and 6V, with 12V even a possibil0.25 -119 0.125 -125 ity. A 4.5V (3 x AA) battery supply is (0.1 -127) ideal for them too (and conveniently siliconchip.com.au Abracadabra! Traditional “S” Meter Reading S9 (by definition) S6 S5 S4 S3 S2 S1 S0 (a typical 434 Rx sensitivity) (about the limit of Jaycar’s 434 module) (about 1 strength “bar” on a scanner) (almost lost in scanner background noise) December 2005  87 2x 10kΩ 1kΩ C 1kΩ 100nF 100nF 100nF ON OUTPUT R2 10k C PIEZO TRANSDUCER (OPTIONAL) B B 2x DS547, etc E (ANY G/P NPN TRANSISTOR) E 4.5V OSCILLATION FREQUENCY (f) ~ ~ 700Hz ANT +V ON DATA GND 10kΩ INPUT FROM OSCILLATOR 6 2 8 ON 4 3 555 5 1 4.5V 100nF OUTPUT PIEZO TRANSDUCER (OPTIONAL) 4.5V 1.44 (R1 + 2R2) x C1 WITH VALUES SHOWN: f ~ ~ 400Hz If you want to drive a transmitter module direct (ie, without PICAXE control), here’s how to do it. The two circuits above, with their protoboarded pics above that again, are for simple oscillators – at left is an astable multivibrator which was one of the mainstays of oscillators until the 555 timer came along (above right). As you can see, it is even simpler and doesn’t cost much more – 555s are really cheap! The curly wire disappearing from the photos is the antenna – a piece of wire 170mm long. It’s curled to reduce the overall height. At left is one of the transmitter modules wired to work directly from the oscillator output, via the 100nF capacitor. (or x 4) both this and signal strength. Most of these cheap 433MHz ISM receivers have rated sensitivities around -103dBm to -106dBm (about 1.5mV) and although impressive (for the size and price!), the low UHF spectrum noise means even a 1mV (-107dB) signal is considered quite strong at these frequencies. Modern radio scanners, or more professional ISM receivers, will readily detect signals down to 0.15mV (~-124dBm) with corresponding range extensions to perhaps several km. Audio transmitter circuit Any of the 433MHz transmitters are able to be turned (and held) on by simply pulling their data input line high with a 10kW resistor to the positive supply. Assorted tones can then be fed into this input via a 100nF capacitor (for DC isolation) and served to acceptably modulate the output as FM, rather than the normal On/Off keying. Although 88  Silicon Chip C1 120nF 7 OSCILLATION FREQUENCY (Hz) = SUITABLE ANTENNA: ~170mm WHIP OR YAGI 433.92MHz ISM TRANSMITTER MODULE (JAYCAR ZW-1300 OR SIMILAR) R1 10k the transmitter could be supplied tones by a transistor oscillator or 555 IC (refer to diagrams and pictures), such an approach is now almost redundant given the versatility of a Picaxe-08M instead. Splutter – you’ve not heard of a Picaxe? Where have you been? These darlings are now almost as indispensable as can openers! Easy software readily rustles up pulsating tones, Morse ID or even simple tunes (08M pin 2) and also allows battery saving “sleep” power-downs. Given the 20mA sink/source limit of a Picaxe, it is easily able to deliver the 10mA needed. Even power to the entire transmitter module can be controlled by an output (here channel/pin 4), so as to further save batteries and make hidden transmitter hunts more lively! Check the pictures and schematic for the suggested Morse ID layout and port across the code (433txcw.bas) to the Picaxe-08M. For convenience the code can be copied siliconchip.com.au RECEIVER TRANSMITTER PIEZO OR HEADPHONE ANTENNA (170mm) A LED K 10kΩ A G G +V C E RECEIVER MODULE +V D D G B TRANSISTOR 4.5V Protoboard wiring for the receiver (left) and transmitter (right). The Picaxe needs to be coded with 433txcw.bas – and when you start to play with it, you can change the code to your heart’s content. The Picaxe programming is done via the RS232 port on your PC – pins 5, 3 and 2 of the D9 connector are used. If this is your first time with the remarkable Picaxe chips, refer to the Picaxe series run in SILICON CHIP during 2003-2004. The piezo lets you hear the outgoing signal, if you wish. and pasted from the web sites www.siliconchip.com.au or www.picaxe.orcon.net.nz/433txcw.bas Naturally adjust the beacon code to suit your ID needs – it’s presently sending .... .. (Morse for “HI”) about every 10 seconds. Audio receiver circuit Again any of the 433MHz receiver offerings worked in the simple setup shown. Outputs at the piezo sounder and LED however were weak, so a very simple 1-transistor NPN amplifier was used to boost these to acceptable levels. Of course, this common emitter amplifier should have further biasing resistors etc, but its performance was well suited to the task here. For convenience, even a 32-ohm personal stereo headphone could be used instead of the piezo. Note that the circuit has no squelch, and thus background “hiss” may annoy on weak signals and during transmitter power down. Naturally, a more sophisticated UHF scanner will address this. Applications We’ll extend these basic ISM circuits in a later article but once working here, it’s suggested you use them initially for simple “Easter Egg” hunting of hidden transmitters. Especially in a more open region such as a park, several hidden “fox” transmitters – each sending different IDs – could be activated for the “hounds” to locate. Simple (coiled) 170mm whips can be body shielded (or even removed) when close to the signal, although Yagi beams (see overleaf) offer fair direction finding and triangulation. NB: be careful of poking yourself in the eye with these antenna elements when in scrub and bush – perhaps put blobs of silicon seal or hot melt glue on the wire ends to prevent this happening. siliconchip.com.au Are you into model aircraft/balloons/rockets? How about a 433MHz beacon payload as well, perhaps with a white LED for after-dark locating up a tree. We’re not suggesting you pester your pets but a compacted (35mm film canister?) transmitter could even be attached to a dog’s collar as a DF (direction finding) aid to his whereabouts when chasing rabbits or other dogs! Incidentally, since ACMA regulations specify 25mW effective radiated power, it’s perhaps best to keep the transmitter antenna omni-directional to avoid infringing this limit and put constructive zeal into the receiver antenna. There’s no reason why the circuits have to be as large as shown here – for more compact designs, the receiver especially could be squeezed into a tiny case and powered by a 9V battery suitably 7805-regulated to 5V. You may not even need a PC board; just “dead bug” the transistor and resistor to the receiver module! The more involved (Picaxe-driven) transmitter could even be powered by small PV cells, perhaps rescued from cheap solar garden lamps now flooding hardware stores. Most of these deliver 2V at 30mA in bright sun, so a couple in series will power the entire transmitter, the Picaxe and even charge a couple of NiMH cells for night-time duty. Given the ease of linking in switches, LDRs, thermistors and DS18B20 temperature sensors to a Picaxe-08M, it’d be a breeze to rig up a simple security, proximity or telemetry application sending distinctive audio tones. Mmm – Hellschreiber? Naturally the fundamental DATA handling nature of these 433MHz modules shouldn’t be forgotten either. Stay tuned! References For convenience these are all hosted at web site www. picaxe.orcon.net.nz/433txrx.htm * s.t.swan<at>massey.ac.nz December 2005  89 Want to build a quick-n-easy 433/434MHz Antenna? Here’s the latest antenna that Stan Swan has come up with for fox hunting and general 433/434MHz work. It’s a fourelement yagi built, of all things, from telescopic magnetic pickup tools. They’re cheap and make the antenna very easy to adjust. Gain is approximately 6dB. Being a Yagi, it is directional – it transmits in, and receives from, the direction of the arrow at the top of the picture. It has a driven element, two directors (the shorter elements in front of the driven element) and one reflector. The slight offset of the elements won’t make much practical difference. Since 433.92MHz signals have a conveniently compact wavelength of 692mm (300,000,000/433,920,000), all manner of desktop-sized UHF antenna can be readily rustled up using common materials and household tools. The short coax lead to your 433 RX module can be just video grade that’s probably already at hand as well – however, don’t pinch the family TV antenna cable! For transmitting work, strict attention to impedance matching and the like is needed, but for reception (as here) things can be dead simple. For openers, consider a convenient telescopic element Yagi made from magnetic pickup tools, allowing easy tweaking of element lengths that compact for storage. Element group spacings (starting from the rear reflector) of 123mm, 110mm and 159mm are not critical, but match those of our earlier rigid “cotanga” version. Ensure the driven element pair are NOT touching but that the centres of the other pairs DO connect – perhaps with wire or solder to the (chromed) brass tubes. An even simpler RDF (Radio Direction Finding) style loop can be suprisingly effective too. Simply cut and shape some sturdy wire to suit (it doesn’t have to be an exact circle!) and secure to the coax via “chocolate block” connector strip. Initially, try a wavelength (692mm) but snip the wire shorter – perhaps to eventually 650mm – and retest. Such loops are best suited for finding a “null” when pointing at the transmitter, since they’re bi-directional. Simply step aside some distance for another bearing that should confirm the true direction by triangulation. A “body shielding” technique can be useful too – just hold the antenna close to your chest while you slowly revolve. The weakest signals should be when your back is to the transmitter and you are facing away from it. In built-up areas, many reflections from metallic objects may confuse this a bit! 90  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Here’s what you’ll need: 8 telescopic magnetic pickup tools (we sourced ours from a bargain shop for $2.00 each) 1 length PVC builder’s channel (about half a metre – make sure you don’t use a metal channel!) 1 “chocolate block” terminal block (2-way) 8 solder lugs Hidden transmitter RDF techniques can be very sophisticated but fun – there’s even talk that they may lead to a new Olympic orienteering sport! We suggest that you refer to the references back in the “433” article for more insights. At a serious level, they’ve found extensive use homing in on 121.5/243MHz EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) emergency channels – such as “man overboard” or even boat sinking, lost bushwalker or emergency crashed aircraft beacons. Incidentally, by 2009 the service will become GEOSsatellite based on 406.025MHz, speeding response and reducing the legendary false alarm rate. At present, a common RDF chore involves using a direction finding antenna and receiver to locate which of the safely parked (and usually locked!) aircraft has accidently-activated its 121.5MHz when the pilot made a little-rougher-than-normal landing... siliconchip.com.au 8 screws to suit the end of the magnetic pickup tools (if the tools don’t come with them) Short lengths of hookup or tinned copper wire Suitable length 75W coax cable (thin is easiest to handle but is usually lossiest at UHF) Insulation tape (to secure coax to ducting Construction This is a very easy antenna to construct because the dimensions aren’t critical. And it has a couple of major advantages over other types: (a) the telescopic “whips” can be fully closed for transportation; and (b) the large knobs on the of the antennas make poking eyes out or other injuries less likely (cut coathanger wires can be quite dangerous). The telescopic whips mount right through the edges of the ducting – drill one side to suit the whip diameter; the other to suit the screw diameter. Try to mount them as close as possible while keeping a bit of “meat” around the holes so they don’t break. The halves of each director and reflectors need to connect electrically (that’s the point of the short length of wire under the solder lugs). However, the driven element halves must not touch – if necessary insulate SC them with tape. December 2005  91 PRODUCT SHOWCASE Electronics Workbench “designSUITE” Freeware For the first time, Electronics Workbench, represented in Australia by Emona Instruments, has released a freeware edition of its complete suite of tools. Called designSUITE, the software is based on the PowerProfessional versions of Multicap, Multisim, Ultiboard and Ultiroute. The software covers schematic capture, circuit simulation (SPICE, VHDL and patented co-simulation), PCB layout and autorouting. Users benefit from truly unique product features, industry-leading ease-of-use and complete integration between the tools that comprise their product suites. SUU, the Support and Upgrade Utility, automatically checks for and installs software updates over the web, ensuring that software is always at its most capable level. designSUITE is not a “demo version” – the only restrictions in this version relate to project size (50 components, 750 pins and two layers). designSUITE will provide you with the flexibility you need to complete real projects and produce boards right through the entire design flow. For your free copy, contact Emona Instruments via the website or phone number below. Contact: Emona Instruments Tel: 1800 632 953 Website: www.emona.com.au/ pages/shareware.htm No room for a mouse? Try a pen! H e r e ’s s o m e t h i n g different: Microgram’s 2.4GHz wireless mouse pen with 1000 DPI resolution and a built-in rechargeable Li battery. The Pen Mouse comes with a rubberised grip, plug-and play USB interface, 10-metre transmission distance, non-disruptive USB charging technology, and Blue-Light optics. The writing-style operation, controlled by the fingers, wrist and palm, is natural, easy, and smooth. The linear footing design works on almost any non-reflective surfaces – it even works on your leg! It has a recommended retail price of $107 (Cat No 9287). Contact: Microgram Computers DSE’s Flexitimer kit looks a treat! If you’re considering building the Flexitimer (SILICON CHIP, August 2005) you’ll go a long way to find a more professional-looking kit than the one Dick Smith Electronics’ Kit Department has turned out. Forced to go for a slightly larger box than the original due to a larger display, DSE’s Bill de Rose said that it’s a bonus, because it makes the project that much easier to build. Electrically it is as per the published project. And he says their kit really looks the part as well! We have to agree that the DSE kit is very professional in appearance. It’s now available from all Dick Smith Electronics stores for $99.00 (Cat K-3580) Contact: 1/14 Bon Mace Cl, Berkeley Vale 2261 Tel: (02) 4389 8444 Fax: (02) 4389 8388 Website: www.microgram.com.au Dick Smith Electronics (all stores) PO Box 500, Regents Park DC NSW 2143. Tel: 1300 366 644 Fax: (02) 9642 9155 Website: www.dse.com.au SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK 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 WEBLINK SCaWEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK JEDSC designs andSC manufactures range ofSC WEBLINK We specialise in providing a range of SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK single board computers (based Wilke SC WEBLINK LowSC Power Radio to SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC on WEBLINK WEBLINK SCsolutions WEBLINKfor SCOEM’s 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 WEBLINK SC WEBLINK Tiger and AtmelSC AVR), as well as LCD SC WEBLINK incorporate in their wireless SC technology SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK displays and analog and digital I/O for PCs based products.SCThe innovative range SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK 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 and controllers. JED makes PC PROM SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SCalso WEBLINK SCaWEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK WEBLINK SC WEBLINK includes products SC from MK Consultants, theSC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK programmer and RS232/RS485 converters. world-renowned specialist manufacturer. SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK 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:(07) 4934 0413 Fax: (07) 0311 Tel: (03) 9762 3588 Fax: (03) 5499 SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC WEBLINK SC9762 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 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 SILICON CHIP 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! 92  S C Jed Microprocessors Pty Ltd TeleLink Communications WebLINK: jedmicro.com.au WebLINK: telelink.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 Satellite TV Guide now in 5th edition Satellite TV specialists AV-Comm have submitted their new 5th edition “Practical Guide to Satellite TV”. AV-Comm have been around since the dawn of satellite TV in Australia (in fact, Technical Director Garry Cratt, who wrote this book, has become one of Australia’s leading authorities on the subject). Much of his knowledge appears in this book, which in the 5th edition has grown to some 179 pages and covers everything from the very beginnings of satellites right through to installing your own system. It is this latter area in particular which has seen a vast expansion, both in the real world and in this book. If STEPDOWN TRANSFORMERS 60VA to 3KVA encased toroids you ever wanted to know anything about putting up your own system, this is the one reference you must have. It’s great value at $49 from all Jaycar stores or direct from Av-Comm. Contact: AV-Comm Pty Ltd PO Box 225, Brookvale NSW 2100. Tel: (02) 9939 4377 Fax: (02) 9939 4376 Website: www.avcomm.com.au Harbuch Electronics Pty Ltd 9/40 Leighton Pl. HORNSBY 2077 Ph (02) 9476-5854 Fx (02) 9476-3231 Need really clean air? You need a Clean-Air . . . Duplex Cleaning Machines have just released the Clean-Air super quiet, HEPA triple filtration vacuum cleaner, specifically designed for Laboratories and Clean Rooms. Traditional vacuum cleaners actually suck tiny dust particles, mitefaeces, pollen and bacteria from the floor and exhaust them straight into the air. These nasty dangerous particles can be airborne for up to 24 hours, meaning they have a high probability of being inhaled by other staff and you. Once inhaled, the particles can trigger asthma and other respiratory problems, as well as disrupting work throughout laboratories and clean rooms. The Clean-Air triple filtration system filters particles up to 0.03 of a micron (three one-thousandths of a millimetre), which captures 99.997% of all dust particles, mite faeces and pollen particles. More importantly, the Clean-Air Vacuum filters are treated with a new patented system called “ALLERGYGUARD” which kills bacteria and microbial life forms on contact. This is the only vacuum cleaner in Australia which has AllergyGuard bacterial protection. To put it into perspective, the air in the room is of much higher quality to breathe after vacuuming with the Clean-Air than before. Engineered with super absorbent materials to decrease noise levels, with the flick of a switch, the Clean-Air twin speed motor can be turned from super quiet to ultra quiet mode, so as not to disturb other staff. 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With the release of the Jaycar 2005 Catalog in April, the Technical Forum on the Jaycar website (www.jaycar. com.au; www.jaycar.co.nz) was given a new lease on life, including the introduction of cash rewards for outstanding responses. The Jaycar TechForum provides an online meeting room for like-minded electronics enthusiasts. Users are encouraged to share their technical knowledge by posting questions and queries about electronics projects, which can then be responded to by other members. The type of queries and responses vary from hints and tips for beginners to technical conversations on electronic problems and projects. The Jaycar online community is friendly with many regulars and several newcomers joining everyday. Cash rewards are now offered for the responses that are judged to have given the most accurate and helpful advice Tiny IP68 transformers are submersible Brilliant Lighting have extended their Garden Lighting range with the introduction of five new IP68 240 to 12V Garden Light Transformers. With three different sizes, secondary output ratings are from 105 to 400VA. Rated IP68 under AS 1939 (IEC 529), the transformers have very high protection against the ingress of dust and can be subject to prolonged immersion under water in specific conditions up to 1.5m. This makes them also ideal for use with pond lighting but they can also be buried under ground. The transformers are small in comparison to other units of similar output ratings and being black in colour, are also camouflaged somewhat when installed in the garden. Contact: Brilliant Lighting 956 Stud Road, Rowville Vic 3178 Tel: 1800 817 754 94  Silicon Chip to a tricky question. Prizes include a $100 monthly, $500 quarterly and $1,000 annual rewards. Winning responses need to be concise, accurate and, most of all, helpful. For example: Q – I bought a 100 watt inverter to take camping. The unit works fine when I am running my TV but fails when I try to power my twin 40W fluoro lights. A – I would bet that you have a modified sine wave (stepped squarewave) inverter. The problem is almost certainly that the “ballast-startercapacitor” (usually 5uF or more) in the fluoro is drawing too much ‘startup’ current and shutting the inverter down. The capacitor is not required in this situation so you can just remove it and all should be fine. The inaugural monthly winner, with a prize of $100, is a regular contributor to the site whom all TechForum members would be familiar with: “Jay Cee”. Jay Cee has enthusiastically replied to many queries on a range of topics that clearly demonstrate his knowledge of electronics. Congratulations Jay Cee – $100 cash is coming your way! The prize will be personally awarded by the Jaycar Managing Director, Gary Johnston. Jaycar encourages all SILICON CHIP readers to join the Jaycar TechForum to share their electronics knowledge with other members and potentially win one of the cash prizes. You can enter as many times as you like – in fact, it is encouraged! The Jaycar TechForum is your opportunity to do a good deed, and maybe make some money for your efforts. Contact: Jaycar Electronics PO Box 6424, Silverwater NSW 1811. Tel: 1800 022 888 Fax: (02) 9741 8500 Website: www.jaycar.com.au ExpressCard-GPIB Controller for High-Speed, Portable Instrument Control Engineers now can use the National Instruments ExpressCard-GPIB controller for high-speed instrument control on a laptop computer. The new controller is the latest NI product for portable GPIB control, which also includes PCMCIA and USB, and further broadens the company’s unparalleled portfolio of instrument control products for the most popular buses and operating systems. NI ExpressCard-GPIB offers direct control of GPIB instruments from laptop computers with an ExpressCard slot. ExpressCard is the nextgeneration laptop interface that comes standard on many new laptop computers. ExpressCard host slots can accept modules based on either USB 2.0 or PCI Express. The NI ExpressCardGPIB controller incorporates a highperformance NI TNT GPIB ASIC and a Hi-Speed USB chip to communicate with GPIB instruments at transfer rates of up to 8 MB/s. The NI ExpressCard-GPIB controller interface is transparent to software applications and drivers, so engineers can run existing GPIB applications on the new controller with no changes. The controller comes with NI-488.2 for Windows 2000/XP driver software and a 2 m GPIB cable. It works with the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment, the NI LabWindows/CVI ANSI C development environment, and Microsoft Visual Studio (Visual Basic/C/C++/C#) through NI-488.2 and NI-VISA driver software. Pricing is from $US599, with more specific info from http://sine. ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/ nid/202353 SC Contact: National Instruments (Australia) PO Box 382, North Ryde NSW 2113 Tel: 1800 300 800 Fax: (02) 8572 5290 Website: www.ni.com siliconchip.com.au “The Delta Audio XL-02 oozes class.” Silicon Chip November 2005 Better design, better technology. • Morel’s hexatech voice coils with very high power handling (1000 watts for 10ms) This almost eliminates thermally induced distortion. • Unique aperture loaded huge port eliminating distortion. • First order crossover design for unbelievable transient response. • Time aligned drivers to 0.5mm. • This is a highly rated speaker system which will give very satisfying performance in a stereo setup or as a great home theatre sound system. Sound advice call 08 8295 4271 or visit our website www.kitaudio.com Prices start from $995.00 (also available fully assembled). There is no substitute for acoustic excellence. XL-02 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 December 2005  95 PIC In-Circuit Programming Add-On By KEITH ANDERSON Does your PIC programmer have provision for in-circuit programming? Some such as Microchip’s PICSTART Plus don’t but you can add this useful function to your programmer by building a simple adaptor! O FTEN, THE EASIEST way to program a PIC is to remove it from its circuit and plug it into an appropriate programmer. However, when developing new projects, this can become a real chore and so professional developers use a range of tools that allow programming and even debugging without removing the micro from the application circuit. Microchip refers to this method of programming as In-Circuit Serial Programming (ICSP). WARNING! This adaptor was designed and tested for use with Microchip’s PICSTART Plus programmer, which allows all PICs to be inserted with pin 1 aligned to pin 1 of the programming socket. Some low-cost programmers lack this flexibility and require the smaller PICs to be inserted with pin 1 in some location other than the socket’s pin 1. This unit will not work with this type of programmer! 96  Silicon Chip While not all low-cost programmers support in-circuit programming, some can be modified to do so. Hobby programmers are usually supplied as kits, so it is often possible to solder wires to appropriate places within the circuit for connection to the application circuit’s ICSP header. However, this method is not general to all programmers. The method used here is to plug an adaptor into the socket on the programmer. The adaptor picks off the programming signals and makes then available for connection to the application circuit, just like a “real” ICSP programmer. The programmer still “thinks” it is programming a PIC in the socket, when in fact it is programming the PIC in the application circuit. connections, which are: DATA, CLK, MCLR/VPP, VDD, and GND. The suggested connector layout (Fig.1) uses a 6-pin dual-in-line header (Farnell 302-1427), with a spare pin available for other uses. The circuit example in Fig.2 shows how the connector might be hooked into your PIC-based designs. Note that a switch must be inserted in series with the positive supply (VDD) to the PIC, so that either the application circuit or programmer can provide power. By controlling power to the PIC micro, the programmer is able to generate the necessary supply sequencing during the programming cycle. A 3-pin jumper could be used in place of the switch to save money and minimise use of board space. The switch (or jumper) must be downstream from all filter/decoupling capacitors and positioned as close as possible to the PIC’s VDD pin. ICSP adaptor The circuit for the adaptor is shown in Fig.3. The large 28-way header Adding programming support If your PIC-based project is to support in-circuit programming, then you must include a suitable connector on the PC board to accept the ICSP signals from the programmer. A minimum of five connections is required to carry the ICSP and power/ground Fig.1: if you want to program your PIC in-circuit, you must include an ICSP header on your board. Here are the recommended pinouts for the header. siliconchip.com.au Fig.2: this simplified circuit shows how to include the ICSP header in your projects. If the RB6 & RB7 port bits are used as inputs or to drive low-impedance outputs, some form of isolation will be required, otherwise the CLK and DATA signals from the programmer will be overloaded. In some cases, this can be as simple as two 1kW resistors. If possible, don’t use RB6 & RB7 for any other purpose in your design – that way, you won’t need to add isolation circuitry. Fig.3: the circuit for the adaptor. Note that the ICSP signals for each family (8, 18 & 28/40-pin) originate from different pins on the programming socket. (comprised of J1 & J2) plugs into the programmer’s socket, with the ICSP signals made available on one of three 6-pin headers (J3-J5) for connection to the application circuit, depending on the type of PIC in use. Somewhat fortuitously, Microchip assign the pins required for This view shows how the 28-way head­er the ICSP functions consistently, so pins protrude through the PC board. that most of the range of PICs can be grouped into just three families: 8-pin, 18-pin and 28-pin (to the very simple; just make sure that you programmer, 40-pin PICs look like insert the 6-pin headers (J3-J5) into 28-pin PICs). the PC board the right way around. A 6-pin header is provided on the The arrow on the header must line up adaptor for each family type. Con- with the square pad (pin 1) on the PC nection to the application circuit is board in each case. made with a short length of 6-way IDC A cunning trick is needed to install cable, terminated on each end with a the two 20-way SIL header strips (J1 & 6-way IDC socket (Farnell 302-2109). J2) when using a single-side PC board. Unlike some ICSP adaptors, the use of Insert each header “upside down” in a specific header (rather than jumpers its holes, so that the long ends of the or switches) for each family of PICs pins protrude from the underside of provides a simple visual indication the PC board (see photo). of correct device selection! A little extra pin length can be obtained by pushing each pin through Assembly the plastic until the top is flush A PC board (coded 07112051) is with the top of the plastic. Obviavailable for this design. Assembly is ously, this must be done before the siliconchip.com.au Fig.4: overlay diagram and full-size PC-board pattern for the adaptor. Ideally, the adaptor should be produced in double-sided, platedthrough PC board technology, but it can also be assembled on a singlesided board with a little trickery. pins are soldered to the PC board. The ICSP cable must not be more than 300mm long, although 190mm is recommended for best results. The prototype was tested with a PICSTART Plus programmer and a couple of repSC resentative circuits. December 2005  97 Vintage Radio By RODNEY CHAMPNESS, VK3UG Ray Kelly and the HRSA The Historical Radio Society of Australia (HRSA) is the national association of vintage radio enthusiasts in Australia, with approximately 1100 members. It is by far the largest group representing vintage radio enthusiasts in Australia. Ray Kelly was instrumental in its founding and continues to be a crucial member to this day. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some Australians came to realise that we, as a nation, were destroying the records and artefacts of our nation’s history and heritage. For example, old sailing ships were left to rot, to be burnt or dismantled. “They are useless, so let’s get rid of them”, was the attitude of most people at that time. Many other aspects of our history were also considered irrelevant and many references and physical examples of those aspects were discarded if not destroyed. However, there were enough people throughout Australia who could see that this was totally wrong and our history and heritage was worthy of retaining and restoring, so they set about raising the level of interest in our past. Our radio heritage was also being lost at an alarming rate, with most superseded and defective radios ending up in the local municipal tip after being replaced. However, a number of individuals decided that our radio heritage was worthy of retaining and set about collecting and restoring old radios. Doing this in isolation is not very effective as there is only so much any one person can do. One person on their own cannot know all there is to know, or needs to be known, to preserve a representative offering of our radio heritage. A small number of collectors became known to each other and communicated on an ad hoc basis. Len Davenport in Alice Springs was keenly interested in vintage radio and even established his own museum in Alice Springs. Called “The Magic Spark”, it attracted quite a lot of interest until Len’s death, whereupon it was closed. However, some time before his death, Len was keen to see the establishment of a national radio society. He believed that Alice Springs was not suitable for the activities of such a group. Len and Ray Kelly could see that there could be room for a national vintage radio association. Ray contacted Morris O’Brien in San Remo to obtain a list of people who had obtained valves to restore old radios. Morris used to advertise valves for sale in magazines such as Radio & Hobbies, so he had a good contact list. Ray contacted the people on that list, as well as the list supplied by Len, a total of around 35 people. There were sufficient replies from around Australia to warrant convening a meeting, held at Ray’s home in Melbourne on the 17th April, 1982. The HRSA was born on that day, with Ray taking on the position of Secretary and member number 1. The initial membership was 25. Ray Kelly This rather decorative piece is a 1937 Weldon clock radio. Pieces like this are highly collectible. 98  Silicon Chip Without Ray’s enthusiasm and drive, the HRSA may not have been established or it may have been delayed for some years, during which much of our irreplaceable radio history siliconchip.com.au This rather unusual horn loudspeaker is branded “Dictogrand” and was made in the USA. Ray Kelly with his English-made “Chinese Scribe” horn speaker. may have been lost. Ray’s life history itself shows why the HRSA got off to such a good start. Ray Kelly was born in Cessnock, NSW, in December 1920 and spent his formative years there. At school, he obtained sub-intermediate standard, which was quite a high standard for the 1930s. His interest in radio started when he built a crystal set as a 12 yearold. In fact, most young lads started by building a crystal set. They were the cheapest radios to build and cost nothing to run. Their reception range was limited but Ray put up a good enough antenna and earth system so that several stations were received. Neighbours and the local radio shop (though they weren’t always aware of it) helped this enthusiastic young lad by supplying him with valves and other odds and ends. The radio shop routinely threw out valves that they considered unserviceable and Ray “rescued” them from the rubbish. Over the next few years, he was to build one and 2-valve sets and ultimately, a 7-valve superhet receiver, as described in an issue of Wireless Weekly in 1933. As Ray remembers it, the set had an RF stage, autodyne converter, a 175kHz intermediate frequency amplifying section, a 55 as a second detector and audio stage, and a pair of 59 valves in push-pull. It was siliconchip.com.au A collection of Morse keys, sounders and other telegraph equipment from Ray’s time in the Post Office. a popular, good performing receiver, as Ray remembered it. On leaving school, Ray started work as a telegraph messenger at the Cessnock Post Office. This was a temporary position and when he turned 16, the only opportunity to join the permanent staff was to become a male telephonist at the West Maitland telephone exchange. This was a manual exchange employing around 25 women as tele­ phonists. However, the PMG did not consider it right for them to work through the night so they employed young men to man the switchboard from around 10.30pm to 7.30am. On alternate weeks, the young men worked a short shift with the women. “At the age of 18, perhaps they were considered a hazard to the ladies”, according to Ray, so they were given other jobs and Ray was transferred back to Cessnock as a postman. RAAF enlistment In 1941, he saw an advertisement in a paper for enlistment in the RAAF as a radio mechanic. He believed that his interest in radio should be of value when he applied. He was accepted but he found that they really wanted people to learn about the very “hushDecember 2005  99 Here are just some of the items in Ray’s collection: (1) top row left to right – Ethovox “Junior” horn speaker, Claritone horn speaker, G. A. Vanderveldt type Allison horn speaker, RCA model 103 cone speaker with tapestry grille, Bullphone horn speaker, an Ericsson horn speaker, a Marconi 9A11 UK horn speaker and a Philips cone speaker. (2) middle row left to right – Udisco 3-valve battery radio, a Keogh radio (a rare Australian brand only made in 1928), a Hartman American battery radio and a little RCA Radiola III 2-valve battery set (circa 1924). (3) bottom row left to right: an RCA model 17 (their first AC model using 26s a 27 and currently a 171A output) and a Udisco 5-valve neutrodyne. An Ericsson Magneto telephone (circa 1905). It reminds Ray of his working days in telephone exchanges. 100  Silicon Chip hush” radar, not radio. He trained at what is now called RMIT in Melbourne and then at Richmond in NSW. The RAAF subsequently sent Ray to postings in Australia, New Guinea and several of the Pacific Islands. When he was on Goodenough Island (between us and the Japanese!), the operators could detect the Japanese aircraft about 130km away, soon after they took off from their base. The radar had a range of up to 130 miles (200km) and they would track the Japanese planes and alert Australian forces on the mainland of the likely target of the Japanese attack, via coded radio signals. As a result, in many cases, it was the Japanese fliers who were surprised and not the Australian populace. According to Ray, the Japanese never woke up to the fact that the Australians had very effective radar, which in fact worked better than the American radars of the time. After the war, he was sent back to the post office as a postman; not quite the job for a keen and experienced radio/radar man. After some months, he got the opportunity to go into the telephone section of the PMG. Back until the early 1970s, the post office and the telephone system all came under the control of the PMG (Postmaster General’s) department and it was possible to shift between the two sections of the organisation. The opportunity then presented itself to apply for the radio section of the PMG. During the war Ray had met his prospective wife and in 1947 they married. At this time, Ray obtained a position at the ABC radio studios at the corner of William and Lonsdale streets Melbourne. He worked as a control booth operator (CB operator) and later in the recording section, dealing with disc recordings. This was before the era of tape recorders, which did not achieve any real quality until the mid-1950s. Acetate recordings were difficult to make. There was only one “take” when siliconchip.com.au making the recordings so you had to be right first time, whether you were the artist or the technician. Most of the radio serials in the 1940s and 50s were on 16-inch transcription discs. In addition to the recording work, Ray worked in what was called the switch-room where the programs were switched between studios, land­ lines and transmitters. A stint in the PMG Material Testing Laboratory also proved to be interesting for Ray. Radio Australia Around 1950, Ray got a promotion to Radio Australia at Shepparton, where he was a shift supervisor. At that stage, there were three transmitters which were labour-intensive to run and operate. Each shift consisted of five people, as these transmitters were not frequency-agile. About 15 minutes was allocated for the five on shift to prepare a transmitter for operation on another radio-frequency band. Coils and capacitors for each stage had to be changed, a fresh crystal selected for the radio frequency oscillator and a fresh antenna selected, if need be. Today, at Shepparton, a total of two minutes is allowed for antenna and frequency changes for up to three transmitters at one change, with perhaps only one operator in attendance. Ray’s wife did not like the amount of shift work involved at Radio Australia so, after about five years, Ray obtained a position with the Australian Broadcasting Control Board (ABCB). While this didn’t involve shift-work, it did involve trips away from home A few more of the horn speakers in Ray’s collection (left to right): an Amplion AR19 horn speaker, an Amplion AR111 horn speaker, an American Electric horn speaker with possibly ebonite petals, and an S. G. Brown (English) model H horn speaker. for extended periods. Ray stayed with the ABCB until he retired on health grounds around 1976, three years after the death of his wife Betty. Ray had many interesting jobs in the ABCB, doing field strength tests on broadcasting stations, station inspections and field surveys for new stations, all of which was very interesting work for an enthusiastic radio man. Ray remembers that it was usual to notify a radio station of an impending station inspection. Often the inspection would be made and all would be This is the frame only from an American “Pirate Ship” cone speaker. It makes an interesting wall hanging. siliconchip.com.au working well. But after the inspection had been completed, the operators would take out the new valves and the old weak valves were refitted, to wring the last bit of life out of them. Spot checks would have caught many radio stations with equipment well below expected performance levels! One particular field test for a new television station transmitter was done near Cairns in Queensland, where access to suitable mountain tops was not possible by road or track. To do the The Philips “Theatrette” was made in England. A version was produced in Australia by Briton Electrical and Radio. December 2005  101 Photo Gallery: A.G.E Bandmaster Duette The medium-wave A.G.E Bandmaster Duette receiver was manufactured by AWA around 1935. It used an identical chassis to the model 28 “Empire State” and came in a walnut veneer cabinet.The valve line-up was as follows: 6D6-G, 6A7-G, 6B7-G, 42 and 80. The name “Bandmaster” was in later years also attached to the “Hotpoint” brand, both being made by AWA. Restored by Maxwell L. Johnson; photo by Ross Johnson. tests a DCA aircraft was hired and a 100-watt VHF transmitter fitted to it. A monitoring receiver was used at a number of critical spots over a period of time and the transmitter was left running while the aircraft flew over the top of the mountain at 500 feet. When the mountain was being crossed, Ray called the monitoring site to take a signal strength reading. This was a ground-breaking procedure in Australia at that time but has become more common now as it saves time and money. Although the site proved to be excellent for a television transmitting station, access was so difficult that it was not used. Ray’s collecting history Around 1972, in the course of his 102  Silicon Chip work with the ABCB, Ray Kelly inspected 3BA Ballarat. It was the station’s 40th anniversary and there was a display of sets from the time of its inception. The station operators had advertised for old radios of the era and many listeners provided them with suitable sets. This sparked Ray’s interest in the collection and restoration of old radios, although this remained dormant until after he had retired from the ABCB. Ray seriously started to collect and restore sets from around 1978. He visited auctions and other sales and bought many sets at quite low prices, although some sets did require digging into his pocket rather deeply. His initial and continuing interest was and is in 1920s and 1930s receivers and old speakers, particularly horn speakers of which he has quite a collection. Ray’s favourite set is an AWA Radiola 45E Console from 1931 which is a TRF with two RF stages, detector/first audio and audio output. Other favourites are a “Buddha Speaker” (which although not completely original is nearly so), a tapestry speaker and a circa 1905/7 Ericsson wall telephone. The photographs accompanying this article show many rare pieces of radio history that he has collected. But while Ray Kelly is still a keen collector, his main activity over the last 20 years has been the HRSA. As noted above, he was the inaugural secretary of the HRSA and he did take his turn as president later on. Over the 20-plus years that the HRSA has been in existence, he has always been highly involved in the running of the association and providing information to members. He has been a technical editor for the newsletter for many years and provides copies of circuits to other members. Ray must have the most extensive collection of circuit information of any vintage radio buff. He was also the editor of the Newsletter which was produced four times per year, commencing in July 1982 with seven pages. It was produced using a Gestetner machine (does anyone remember these rather messy machines)? By 1985, it was an A5-sized publication of up to 24 pages and was being produced on a typewriter and then copied; computers were not all that common at that time. In October 1994, the Newsletter was succeeded by Radio Waves, an A4-sized magazine which typically has 40 pages. To further assist HRSA members, Ray compiled about 12 books of circuits and other helpful information for vintage radio collectors. Summary Ray’s life outside of his family has revolved around radio and television. He enthusiastically embraced each new technology and experience in the field of electronics as it came along. He has also made sure our important Australian radio heritage has not been lost, hence his contribution to vintage (heritage) radio is well recognised by his peers. Ray Kelly may not consider himself the father of the HRSA but SC many do. siliconchip.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. 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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 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 Tuning the Theremin After a lot of time and help from some university technicians, I finally got my Theremin (SILICON CHIP, August 2000) working – it’s magnificent! However there are a few queries that I have on modifying the instrument. First, I find it very difficult to tune – as you point out in the instructions, the tuning alters with the lid off the box. It also seems to alter quite dramatically, depending on whether I take a line out to an external amplifier or whether I use the small speaker in the box. Is there a way of adding a switch to turn on/off the internal speaker so that results are a bit more consistent when using the line-out only? Second, is there a way of setting up the tuning so that the usable melodic range is a bit more spread out in space? I find that the most tiny movement towards the antenna, in some registers, can change the pitch hugely, making melody playing a very tricky business! Are there any tricks for setting up the tuning to do this? I also find the tuning (and volume) a bit temperamental. When I haven’t used it for a few days then switch on, I often find that I need to take it apart and re-tune it. Is there a way of adding external adjustments for the T2 and VR2 controls? (G. M., via email). • Tuning is critical and can be affected by external connections and interactions. Note that any nearby metal surfaces can affect tuning. It is recommended to place the unit on a stand to keep the Theremin away from any surfaces that may affect it. The loudspeaker can be switched out using a switch if required. VR2 could be a multiturn unit to improve adjustment control. It is not recommended to have external adjustments. The Theremin does have a wide frequency range and so this makes it difficult to have complete control over the output frequency. Very fine finger movements should be used for small variations rather than hand movements. Proximity sensor for rubbish bin Could you please tell me what type of sensor is used in the Jaycar Intelligent Rubbish Bin and where I could purchase one? This type of sensor is Query On USB-Controlled Power Switch I purchased the USB-activated Power Switch kit and I have a minor query. I have constructed it correctly, exactly as per the instructions and it does work. Well, almost work. It seems to “leak” +20V when in the off-state. Is this “normal” or have I done something wrong? Also, I found that by plugging the device into the active +5V line, the power board works as originally intended. This is easy to achieve by simply attaching an extra HDD Molex connector to a spare USB plug/card slot “thingy”. I marked the connector “Power USB” with a 106  Silicon Chip sticker just to be safe but even plugging a USB device into it will cause no harm as it just supplies +5V. • If you measure the output voltage with a high-impedance DMM when the USB-activated powerboard is nominally “off”, it’s normal to get a low reading as you’ve found. There’s a small amount of current passed by the Triac bias and snubber circuitry which is enough to produce a low reading on your meter. However, the Triac is not being turned on and you normally don’t get a significant reading when a “real” load is connected. used in many applications such as hot-air hand-dryers and in some public places for turning on taps. Maybe you could print a circuit/project in the magazine, as this type of control could be used in many applications around the home. (G. W., via email). • There is no sensor as such. The bin probably uses a proximity switch circuit which reacts to body capacitance. A proximity switch circuit was featured in the August 2000 issue. Stereo version of the Studio 350 I have just purchased the Studio 350W power amplifier, as featured in the January & February 2004 issues. I was wondering if it was possible to connect two amplifier kits to the one power supply. Would this be possible without losing any performance from the amplifiers and would the components in the power supply be able to handle the extra current? Also, if this could be done, would the amplifiers be connected in series or parallel? (J. Y., via email). • If you intend using the stereo amplifier in the home, the existing power supply with its 500VA transformer will be quite adequate. The amplifiers would be connected in parallel to the supply. Increasing hysteresis in the Coolmaster I have built the Fridge Temperature Controller from the June 2005 issue, to use as a thermostat in a bar fridge. I am a refrigeration mechanic and while it works well, its differential is too close. It is cutting in at 1.9°C and out at 0.3°C; a difference of only 1.6°C. Thus, the off-time of the compressor is not long enough for the gas to equalise and the compressor overloads every time it tries to start up. Unless one knows how fridges work, this may not be noticed but it doesn’t do the compressor much good; it will siliconchip.com.au run quite hot. I have a data-logger connected to the fridge so I know exactly what’s going on. I tried fitting a large heatsink to the sensor to try to damp the temperature change but this didn’t work. I have now wrapped the sensor in insulation to slow the temperature change. Is there a way to change the value of one of the components to lengthen the time between cut-in and cut-out? Typically, 5°C would be a good figure. (P. C., via email). • You should be able to increase the differential between cut-in and cut-out temperatures by increasing the value of the 100W resistor to 150W. You can also reduce the value of the 33kW resistor to 27kW. Both of these changes will increase the positive feedback around the comparator and hence increase its hysteresis. Telephone exchange simulator wanted I am trying to find an article or kit on how to hook up two telephones without hooking them into the Telecom exchange. The kit I have in mind was powered by an external power supply and used two standard telephones. (A. J., via email). • Have a look at the Telephone Exchange Simulator featured in the February 1998 issue. Wind the Micromitter coils correctly I purchased and built the Micro­ mitter kit from the December 2002 issue and I am having a couple of problems. First, in the test and adjustment section, it mentions to set the voltage at TP1 to around 2V by adjusting L1. All I seem to get is 0.61V, no matter what adjustment I make. Second, even though I only get 0.61V at TP1, I still manage to get an output when I connect a stereo signal to the RCA input but the output is mono not stereo. Can you please help? (W. P., via email). • The problem most people are having with this project is with the adjustment of the PLL voltage for the RF oscillator. The cause is usually that coil L1 is not wound in the correct direction. You must wind it in the direction shown in the photo, with the coil close to the PC board and the turns touching each other. In addition, the siliconchip.com.au ECG Software Troubleshooting I have built the USB Electrocardiograph described in the February 2005 issue. I have managed to set up the ECG machine and have attached RCA leads to it. The problem lies mainly in obtaining an actual reading using the supplied and recommended software. There seems to be continuity in the RCA leads and although attached to a laptop (via USB), it doesn’t seem to produce any sort of signal; ie, there is no indication that an ECG is actually being read. I was just wondering what I can do in order to obtain any sort of reading. (A. F., via email). • From the information you have supplied, it’s not easy to suggest exactly why your USB ECG unit isn’t working. However, it does sound like a software problem. Does the FTDI USB virtual port driver seem to install properly? If it has, you should be able to go into Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager and find that it has set up a USB serial port, which it should say is “working properly” bottom of the former should be flush with the bottom of the PC board. If this is not done, the coil’s inductance will be too high. Humongous DC supply wanted I have a major dumb question for you guys, which with the amount of electrical and electronic work I do, makes me seem like a complete idiot, but here goes. I do a lot of car stereo work, mainly way overpowered systems for DB Drag and SPL competition cars and I need to rig the stands for a few show cars at this year’s December AutoSalon car show in Sydney. As part of this, I am going to need a ridiculous supply of 13.8V DC to run each of these cars. I have access to 3-phase mains and will be using a distribution board to run single phase but I need to be able to build power supplies that can supply roughly 300A or so (that is not a typo) per car! In my limited experience with and you should be able to set this to COM5 and for a data rate of 38,400 bps with 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity. Once you’re happy that the USB port driver is working properly, start up the ECG controller software and make sure it too is set for COM5 and the same data rate, etc. Then click on the “Start Sampling” button. You should see the green LED on the rear of the ECG Sampler blink very briefly and the red LED blink for a few seconds. After this, the software should display the sampled ECG waveform in the screen window. If the FTDI USB port driver hasn’t installed properly, none of this will happen because the software won’t be able to communicate with the sampler. Similarly, if the ECG Controller hasn’t been installed properly or isn’t able to communicate with the virtual COM port set up by the USB driver, this will also prevent correct operation. In each case, though, the lack of communication will be shown by the failure of the LEDs to blink. building power supplies, I am assuming that I should run toroids, bridge rectifiers and smoothing caps and then run a bunch of these in parallel to get the required amount of amps all up. The way I plan to set it up is to run maybe one to four “sets” of toroids and associated gear in a 19-inch rackmount case and then have a full rack of them. I am also thinking about running those IEC panel sockets that have inbuilt EMI/RFI suppression to give some protection from the noise on the mains line. Once all of these power supplies have been joined in parallel by something like 4-gauge or 2-gauge cable running from case to case in piggyback style, I then intend running roughly five metres of 2-gauge cable to the car. Sitting underneath the car, I plan to have more rack cases with roughly 12 1-farad car audio capacitors and then have that running into the battery bank of each car. I would just like to know what you guys think I should do, how I should wire the individual power supplies, December 2005  107 Notes & Errata Programmable Flexitimer, August 2005: on some timers built up by readers, the LCD module does not initialise correctly. Instead, it displays just a single row of black squares and does not progress to showing the opening greeting and then the timer settings. As a result, we have revised the PIC firmware to prevent this problem, which occurs on modules that are “slow to wake up”. The updated firmware file is designated PICTIME2.hex and can be downloaded from the SILICON CHIP website (www.siliconchip.com.au). Some readers have also asked how to give the timer a continuous cycling mode. This has now been achieved and the continuous cycling mode is set simply by entering zero (00) as the setting for “Cycles”. The second line of the display shows “Cont” when the timer is in this mode. It can be returned to finite multiple cycle mode simply by setting the number of “Cycles” to any allowed non-zero value – ie, 1-99. PICAXE iButton Reader (October 2005): on the circuit diagram, pin 1 of the serial socket (CT1) should connect directly to pin 7 of the PICAXE chip, not to the anode of the LED as shown. The circuit board and overlay are correct. Serial IO Controller & Analog Sampler, November 2005: the 10kW resistor going to the base of transistor Q3 on the circuit (Fig.3) should be changed to 4.7kW. The parts layout diagram (Fig.4) is correct. In addition, the parts list should show 4 x 4.7kW resistors, 2 x 10kW resistors and 16 x 100nF MKT capacitors. Programmable Continuity Tester (July 2003): to protect the tester in the case of accidental use on live circuitry, a 4.7V 1W zener diode and 330W resistor can be added to what gear I should use, what voltages the toroids need to be, what voltage and farad ratings I would need to have for the smoothing caps, etc. 108  Silicon Chip SC480 50W Amplifier, January/ February 2003: a number of readers have asked how to add a volume control to the SC480 amplifier, so that it can be used directly with a line-level music source. This can be achieved very simply, using just a 50kW dual-gang log potentiometer, some shielded audio cable and the appropriate connectors, as shown in the above diagrams. The same technique can be used on other amplifier modules too, although you’ll need to verify that the signal source is sufficient to generate the volume levels you expect. If not, a preamplifier might be part of the solution. the probe positive input circuit. These additional components limit the voltage applied to the non-inverting input (pin 10) of the LM324, to protect it from reverse and over-voltages. A fragment of the circuit showing the additional two components is shown in Fig.1. These components can be added to existing PC boards by first breaking the track leading to Fig.1: R17 and zener diode ZD1 pin 10 of IC1. The 330W resistor is protect the LM324 op amp input. then soldered between pin 10 and the positive probe input. The cathode (banded) end of the zener also goes to pin 10, while its anode end goes to the negative (GND) probe input. A revised PC board design (marked “Rev B”) that includes these two parts has been provided to the usual suppliers. An overlay diagram for the revised design appears Fig.2: this is the revised PC parts layout for the in Fig.2. Programmable Continuity Tester. Currently I’m using the 40A switchmode power supplies from Jaycar but they just aren’t enough and at roughly $500 each, running enough of them in parallel to amount to roughly 300A per car would just be utterly ridiculous price-wise. (D. B., via email). • What you are talking about is a siliconchip.com.au power supply with about 5kVA input, for each car. The only practical way to do this is to use a 3-phase transformer coupled with a big 6-diode bridge rectifier and a large bank of electros. Using 3-phase will give much lower ripple but you will still need a big bank of electros. Having said that, this is not an area where we can help in the design. How long to rejuvenate a battery I found the Lead-Acid Battery Zapper in the July 2005 issue to be interesting. One question though: how does one know when the battery is rejuvenated (after using the project)? (M. P., Christchurch, NZ). • Good question. It could take several days or more of zapping to get a result. Then you need to test whether the battery will accept a charge; ie, a charge that takes a reasonable time for the battery voltage to come up to 14V or so. Then you need to check the battery’s capacity by giving it a known load such as a 60W headlamp bulb and checking how long it takes to discharge to 11V or so. As stated in the article, not every battery will be capable of being rejuvenated. Valve RIAA preamplifier I have assembled two of your valve preamps for instruments (high gain) because I want the preamp for phono gain. They will be driving a valve power amplifier but I require RIAA compensation. Can you provide a circuit diagram for what I require and Charging Batteries In The Rain Gauge I am writing in relation to the Rain Gauge project (SILICON CHIP, June 2000), specifically with respect to the way the 220W resistor is used in the “Nicad or NiMH type batteries only” part of the circuit. According to the article this resistor should only be installed if you intend to use rechargeable cells for the battery backup. Was the use of a small PCmounted switch (SPST) or pin/plug header, in series with this resistor, considered during the design process? If so, why was it decided not to include this option? Simply being able to switch the where it goes. I have tried the Internet but have not found what I need. (R. P., via email). • We do not have an RIAA version of the preamp and we doubt whether this preamp would be quiet enough for a magnetic cartridge. Have a look at our RIAA preamp from the March 2002 issue. It is an op amp design. If you are really set on producing a valve RIAA preamp with 12AX7s, we have gone back through the archives and found a preamp back in the June 1954 issue of Radio & Hobbies. We can supply a photostat copy of this article for $8.80 including postage. Multiple cycles for the Flexitimer Can the Flexitimer featured in the August 2005 issue be made to run for resistor in or out of circuit as required would remove the need to remove and then possibly have to reinstall it at a later time, or visa versa. (P. M., via email). • We did not include a jumper or switch for the recharging resistor because we envisaged that constructors would use either rechargeable or non-rechargeable cells, not both. You can include a switch or jumper link if you wish. The resistor can be included on the back of the switch and wired to the resistor lead positions. Any single-pole switch is suitable. more than 99 minutes by increasing the number of cycles to run concurrently? (D. P., Glenfield Park, NSW). • The Flexitimer can effectively be made to run for longer than 99 minutes and 59 seconds by setting the number of cycles to greater than 1 (the default). However this only applies if you have only Time A programmed, not Time B as well. This is because when you only have Time A programmed, extra cycles result in Time A being effectively restarted immediately after its has ended (until the end of the last cycle). So the effective time for Time A becomes the programmed time multiplied by the number of cycles you have programmed. Finally, we recently have modified the software to give the unit a continuous cycling mode – see Notes & Errata SC on page 108 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 December 2005  109 MARKET CENTRE Cash in your surplus gear. Advertise it here in Silicon Chip. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES Advertising rates for this page: Classified ads: $22.00 (incl. GST) for up to 20 words plus 66 cents for each additional word. Display ads: $36.00 (incl. GST) per column centimetre (max. 10cm). Closing date: five weeks prior to month of sale. To run your classified ad, print it clearly in the space below or on a separate sheet of paper, fill out the form & send it with your cheque or credit card details to: Silicon Chip Classifieds, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. Alternatively, fax the details to (02) 9979 6503 or send an email to silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au Taxation Invoice ABN 49 003 205 490 _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ 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:__________________ 110  Silicon Chip FOR SALE TURN AN OLD PC INTO A PLC (Process Logic Controller) using ULTRAsmart’s inexpensive software and Dick Smith Electronics’ K-2805 kit with digital and analog outputs and analog inputs. (The software allows the analog inputs to also be used as digital inputs.) Automate your home, greenhouse, model railways, and amateur radio controllers. FREE demo software at www.ultrasmart.org MORE CONTROL SOLUTIONS for you: Tachometer Panel Meter Display: Fully programmable you can monitor engine speeds and other frequency sources RF Coax Adaptor Kit: 40 piece gold plated adaptor kit for N, F, BNC etc connectors 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 Labjack Ethernet/USB Data Acq­ uisition Module: features 14 16bit analog inputs, 23 digital I/O, 2 analog outputs and 2 high speed counter. Free software, Labview driver and ActiveX component. Counter and Timers: 7-digit and 10year battery operated Multi Function Timer and Cyclic Timer/Pulse Generator Proximity sensors: industrial grade Photoelectric sensors: up to 15 met­res 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 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. siliconchip.com.au New New New Mark22-SM Slimline Mini FM R/C Receiver WANTED OlD TrANsmiTTiNg VAlVEs • Working or not working • Preferably 150 to 280mm in length • Required for exhibition purposes ONLY • • • • • 6 Channels 10kHz frequency separation Size: 55 x 23 x 20mm Weight: 25gm Modular Construction Price: $A129.50 with crystal Please contact Maree at Jaycar on +02 9741 8555 or via email mmazzoni<at>jaycar.com.au Log Periodic Antennas Laceys.tv ™ 42 Brunel Rd Seaford VIC 3198 Tel (03) 9776 9222 web:www.laceys.tv also Sydney, CoffsHarbour, Ulverstone CLEVERSCOPE USB OSCILLOSCOPES 100MSa/s 10bits each channel 4M samples per input 100MHz bandwidth 8 digital inputs Sig-gen option Spectrum analyser Windows 98/Me/NT/2k/XP Electronics PO Box 580, Riverwood, NSW 2210. Ph/Fax (02) 9533 3517 email: youngbob<at>silvertone.com.au Website: www.silvertone.com.au Reliable Digital Reception Best high end DIY audio kits on the planet! www.aksaonline.com GRANTRONICS PTY LTD Select your microcontroller kit and get started... Fax a copy of Foam surrounds,voice coils,cones and more Original parts for Dynaudio,Tannoy and others Expert speaker repairs – 20 years experience Australian agents for products Trade welcome – email for your user ID Phone (03) 9647 7000 From $295* this ad and receive a 5% discount on your order! RCM3400 Feature rich, compiler, editor & debugger with royalty free TCP/IP stack Tel: + 61 2 9906 6988 Fax: + 61 2 9906 7145 S-Video . . . Video . . . Audio . . . VGA distribution amps, splitters, standards converters, tbc’s, switchers, cables, etc, & price list: www.questronix.com.au 68HC­08, 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. 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 ImageCraft C Compilers: 32-bit Windows IDE and compiler. For AVR, siliconchip.com.au You have the Circuit - We can Package it? 4007 USB KITS: Gas Sensors (CO, LPG, Alcohol), GPIB Interface, Thermostat Tester, LCD Module Interface, Stepper Motor Controller, PIO Interface, DTMF Transceiver, Thermometer, DDS HF Generator, Compass, 4 Channel Volt­- 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. • Prices exclude GST and delivery charges. www.dominion.net.au SUPERBRIGHT LEDS from just 15 cents each, including new wide angle range! 12 volt LED lightbars, great for solar/camping. Nixie tubes and nixie clock kits. Lots of other stuff, and always more items being added. New webshop now online! www.ledsales.com.au www.grantronics.com.au Printed Circuit Boards - speakerbits.com.au PCBs MADE, ONE OR MANY. Any format, hobbyists welcome. Sesame Electronics Phone (02) 9593 1025. sesame<at>sesame.com.au www.sesame.com.au PO Box 275, Wentworthville. 2145. Ph: 02 9896 7150 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         meter, I/O Relay Card, USB via Lab­VIEW. Also available: Digital Oscillo­ scope, Temperature Loggers, VHF Receivers and USB ActiveX (and USBDOS.exe file) to control our kits from your own application. www.ar.com. au/~softmark December 2005  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.............................51 Altronics.............80-81, loose insert Aspen Amplifiers........................111 Av-Comm...................................112 BitScope Designs.........................71 Conference Plus...........................65 Delta Audio...................................95 Dick Smith Electronics........... 16-21 Dominion Electronics............27,111 Eco Watch..................................112 Elexol...........................................51 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 Furzy Electronics........................111 Grantronics.................................111 Harbuch Electronics.....................93 Instant PCBs..............................112 Jaycar ...........IFC,53-60,94,111,112 JED Microprocessors................5,94 Laceys TV..................................111 Lexicorp Electronics.....................65 Microbric......................................43 Microgram Computers....................3 MicroZed Computers....................49 NewTek Instruments.....................37 Ocean Controls..........................110 TAIG MACHINERY Micro Mini Lathes and Mills From $489.00 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 SMD COMPONENTS: 1 Watt SMD LEDs & specials. Go to www.lazer. com.au WEATHER STATIONS: windspeed & direction, inside temperature, outside temperature & windchill. Records highs & 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, humidity, dew point, solar radiation, UV, leaf wetness, etc. Just phone, fax or write for our FREE catalog and price list. Eco 112  Silicon Chip Watch phone: (03) 9761 7040; fax: (03) 9761 7050; Unit 5, 17 Southfork Drive, Kilsyth, Vic. 3137. ABN 63 006 399 480. 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 WANTED TO BUY DESTITUTE RETIREE RECORDIST will give good home to unwanted tape reels 10½ NAB or 7 or 8¼ Ferrograph. Free or very cheap. Pay postage or freight. Buy or beg Ferrograph recorder or Tandberg or Sony in working order. Phone (02) 4990 6271. KIT ASSEMBLY 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 Ozitronics.....................................47 Prime Electronics...........................7 Quest Electronics..................94,112 Radio Parts................................IBC RCS Radio.................................112 RF Modules.............................29,94 RF Probes....................................47 Rockby Electronics................. 38-39 SC Perf Elect. For Cars................84 Silicon Chip Binders.....................27 Silicon Chip Bookshop....... 104-105 Silicon Chip Subscriptions.........103 Silvertone Electronics................111 Siomar Batteries..........................95 Speakerbits................................111 Taig Machinery...........................112 Telelink.........................................94 VAF..........................................OBC ____________________________ 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 Address http://www.radioparts.com.au/ Æ Go Links VIP MEMBERSHIP OFFER Exclusive first time offer for Readers HOME Product Browse Shopping Cart Your Account Search Products GO 4 t ec o Conn up t Products Devices 4ch Multi-Source AV Sender Re AVS500 > DOSS 2.4GHz Multi-Sender With the Multi-Source capabilities of the AVS500, watch cable TV in your living room and a DVD in your bedroom! 2x dedicated remote controls allow you to change the source with a push of a button! ■ 2.4GHz - Long Range, Interference Free ■ Internal, omni-directional antenna ■ Built-in RF Modulator ■ 4 Inputs - 4 channels RRP$ IR mo e te extend r Aerials Alarms Amplifiers Batteries Boards And Accessories Buzzers Cabinets Cable Calculators Capacitors Car & Camping Car Audio Cartridges Cases CD Chemicals Chimes And Bells Clips Clocks Communications Computers Coolers Crystals Digital Cameras Displays + LEDS DVD Electrical Fans Film Filters Flashlights Fuse Wire Fuseholders Fuses Grommets Hair Care Headphones Headsets Heaters Heatsinks Indicators Intercoms Jug Elements Knobs Lamps Leads Led Holders Loudhailers Memory Cards Microphones Mini Disc Mixers Plugs & Sockets Portable Audio Players Potentiometers Power Supplies Powerboards Publications R NNA RS Radios Relays Remote Controls Resistors Scales Semiconductors Sleeving & Heatshrink Solar Soldering Accessories Speakers Static Protection Stylii Switches Tape Units Tapes Adhesive Tapes Audio Tapes Video Telephones Television CCTV Televisions Terminals Test Equipment Timers Toasters Tools Transformers Transistor Mounting Tuners Turntables Vacuum Cleaners Video Equipment Watches 2.4 GHz ZD929C > DOSS Professional Soldering Station ■ Digital Display ■ 48W Power ■ ºC/ºF Temperature ■ Wide range of accessories RRP $ .81 VIP 188.72 $62.91 $125 DVD PLAYER SATELLITE SET TOP BOX 99.00 $30 $69.00 VIP VCR Why shop for electronics anywhere else? 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Whether it’s a 40” LCD TV or a 10Ω ¼ Watt resistor, Radio Parts has it all. And we will bring it to you at unheard of prices. What is a VIP Customer? A VIP customer is entitled to discounted (VIP) prices on the entire range of Radio Parts 1. Group products. 2. You can choose to receive our glossy “What’s New” brochure every month. It illustrates new lines, special prices and information on unique products. The savings we offer to VIP members will amaze and astound you! 3. And to top it all off, you can choose to receive our 400 page annual catalogue, listing all products stocked by Radio Parts. If it is electronic, you can be assured that you can find it in our catalogue. As a VIP customer, they are all at a heavily reduced price. 1PK2001| Pro’s Kit Multi-Purpose Tool Kit From an IC Extractor to a hex keywrench, this tool kit has it all! 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(03) 9571 8244 MON - THU: 09:00 - 18:00 FRI: 09:00 - 21:00 SAT: 09:00 - 17:00 SUN: 10:00 - 17:00 For general enquiries and ordering: siliconchip.com.au free call. 1800 337 366 D7-12| DOSS SLA Battery ■ 12V - 7 Amp ■ Sealed Lead Acid ■ Multi-Cell Design RRP $ 21.64 $11.70 $9.94 VIP PRCA5| Rapid Charger ■ 4x 2600mAh “AA” batteries ■ Charges 4x “AA” or “AAA” ■ AC100-240V Worldwide Use ■ Includes Car Charger December 2005  113 e-mail. web. info<at>radioparts.com.au www.radioparts.com.au RRP $ 49.95 $16.75 $33.20 VIP