Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

I PRODUCT SHOWCASE 4000 count digital multimeter The first 3½-digit multimeters were referred to as "2000 count" instruments, meaning that the maximum reading on their display was 1999. For some years now, 3½-digit multimeters have been available in "4000 count" versions and this means that their maximum display reading is 3999. This is a very useful increase and means that more readings can be taken before a given range is exceeded. The result is that many readings can have much better resolution; ie, four digits displayed instead of three. This 4000 count multimeter from Dick Smith Electronics has a wealth of features and includes 32 measurement ranges, all of which have overload protection. The meter is housed in a rugged yellow case and is further protected by a yellow rubber holster. The meter probes have anti-slip ribbing and a guard ring to help prevent accidental contact with the metal prods. The rotary selector switch has 30 settings: five AC voltage ranges from 400mV to 750VAC; five DC voltage ranges from 400m V to 1000V; four DC current ranges from 400µA to 400mA, with the 40mA range also serving for the 20A range; three AC current ranges from 400µA to 400mA and again, the 40mA range doubling for the 20A range; six resistance ranges from 400Q to 40MQ; a diode test range; a frequency meter setting which gives four 70 SILICON CHIP ranges (autoranging) from 4kHz to 4MHz; a logic range; and four temperature measurement ranges. A "peak hold" button can be used to hold and store the reading on any range. The meter is supplied with a standard type K thermocouple for temperature measurement in degrees Fahrenheit or degrees Celsius. If the meter range switch has not been used for 25 minutes, the meter automatically powers down to conserve the battery. Moving the range switch or pressing the power button will turn the meter on again. Battery life is quoted as 300 hours with a standard zinc carbon 9V battery. The liquid crystal display has 17mm-high digits for easy legibility and has the usual range of annunciators to indicate the mode of measurement. An interesting touch is the inclusion of the full range value underneath the decimal point on every range. For example, if you are on the 40kQ resistance range, "40" will appear under the decimal point. This is a handy reminder. All told, this multimeter has a good range of features and is ruggedly made. It is priced at $179 from all Dick Smith Electronics stores (Cat. Q-1542). High speed oscilloscope card Non-contact AC voltage probe This little probe is ideal for checking for the presence of high AC voltages in wiring or circuits. It has the distinct advantage that its probe is insulated so even if you touch the wiring directly with the probe end, there is little chance of electric shock. It is powered by two 1.5V watch batteries and has a red LED and audible beeper to indicate the presence of an AC voltage above 120V. For example, if you run along a mains power cord or place it di- I rectly over a mains switch, it will give an indication in the form of a continuous modulated tone. Recommended retail price of the probe is $16.95 and it is available from all Dick Smith Electronics stores (Cat No Q-1531.) Gage Applied Sciences Inc has released a 100 megasample/second digital storage oscilloscope card for PCs, for applications requiring high speed acquisition and storage. The Compuscope 250 runs at 100 Ms/s on channel A or at 50Ms/s on channels A and B simultaneously sampled. The Compuscope 250 is a two channel card, with AC or DC coupling, but has the capability of driving slave units to provide up to eight channels at 100Ms/s or 16 channels at 50 Ms/s. The card can trigger from channel A, channel B, externally, or from the keyboard; and with its onboard memory, will allow mid, post or pre-triggering to capture relevant waveform information, even at full sample speed. The timebase is inde- pendent on all channels and can sample from 1Hz to 100MHz in a 1-2-5 sequence. Oscilloscope software is provided with the card and will allow independent scrolling of all channels, horizontal zoom, dT & dV cursors and zero reference. Printer output is supported as well as ASCII, Asyst, DADiSP and Lotus 1-2-3 file formats. Software modules are available, to run with the oscilloscope software, which allow processing of the data acquired, including such functions as FFT, differentiation, arithmetic etc. The card fits any PC-XT/AT/386 and has available drive software for incorporating the Compuscope 250 into the users own software. More information is available on this and other Gage Compuscope equipment, with a demonstration card available for trial. For further information, contact Boston Technology Pty Ltd, PO Box 415 , Milsons Point, NSW 2061. Phone (02) 955 4765 . 64-pin test clip for microprocessors Doing any sort of voltage checks around microprocessors or other LSI chips is fraught with danger. If you short two of the pins together while trying to touch one with a meter or scope prod, you could fry the chip. The safe way is to fit one of these spring clips over it. These make it easy to make safe electrical connections to any of the pins. This one is a 64-pin job but they come in various sizes. It retails for $49. 95 and is available from all Rod Irving Electronics stores. Postcard-size interfaces for GPIB Instruments National Instruments Australia has released two new RS-232-to-IEEE 488 boxes that require virtually no desktop space, and can be considered ex- Inductance meter The Hioki 3510 HiTester measures inductance values down to 0.0lµH and dissipation (loss factor) to four decimal places, and also provides a corresponding Q indication (1/D). It includes a comparator function and a monitoring function for applied voltage and measurement current. Also available is an optional GPIB interface. For further information, contact tensions of the GPIB and RS -232 cables. Both have built-in 115 or 230V AC power supplies and built-in 256K RAM buffers. The GPIB-232CV-A is a GPIB-toRS-232 converter that links either a GPIB controller to an instrument with an RS-232 port, or a GPIB device to a computer through its serial port. It transparently converts data between the two ports so that control codes or special commands are not required. Its switch-selectable interface parameters include GPIB address, transfer rate, parity, stop bits, word length, and termination mode. The GPIB-232CT-A is an RS-232to-GPIB controller that turns any computer terminal with an RS-232 port into an IEEE 488.2 controller. It implements both normal and extended Talker and Listener, Serial and Parallel Polling, Service Requests, Pass and Receive control functions, and remote programming functions in three Nilsen Instruments Pty Ltd, PO Box 930, Collingwood, Vic 3066. Phone (03) 419 9999. Fax (03) 416 1312. modes of operation. In two of the modes, either the GPIB or the RS-232 is configured as the controlling interface. In the third mode, the GPIB232CT-A can be configured to operate in a custom application by the addition of new functions to the programmable IBCL operating system. The GPIB-232CT-A is software-compatible with the company's GPIB232CT. The GPIB-232CT-A uses the National Instruments NAT4882 chip for complete compatibility with the IEEE 488.2 standard, which defines data formats, status reporting, error handling, and common configuration commands. It performs all Controller functions specified by the IEEE 488.2 standard. High-level Nl -488.2 driver software for DOS and Windows is available. For more information, contact National Instruments Australia, PO Box 466, Ringwood, Vic 3134. Phone (03) 879 9422. VIDEO & T.V. SERVICE PERSONNEL TV & VIDEO FAULT LIBRARIES AVAILABLE AS PRINTED MANUALS $85 +P/H BOTH MANUALS T.V. & VIDEO $145 +P/H · OR AS A PROGRAM FOR IBM COMPATIBLES OR AS AN APPLICATION PROGRAM FOR D-BASE 111 PLUS FOR MORE INFO. CONTACT TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS PO BOX 137 KENMORE 4069 OR FAX/PHONE (07) 378 1064 APRIL 1993 71