Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

PRODUCT SHOWCASE VGA to PAL converter for education There are many applications in busi­ ness and educational presentations when a large screen display is invalu­able but there is a limit to the size of VGA screens and their cost rises exponentially as size increases. However, large PAL monitors are relatively cheap and available and if they can be pressed into service to enable a large number of people to watch a compu­ter screen, so much the better. This device from Avico makes it happen. Basically, the Videomaster PV-640 is a small plastic box powered by a plugpack DC power supply (not included) with VGA and S-VHS inputs and with composite video, PAL and VGA outputs. Essentially, you plug in the VGA cable from your computer and your existing VGA monitor then plugs into the VGA converter output. Then you either use the composite video output or the PAL modulated RF Bass loudspeakers for cars Kenwood has announced four woofers ranging from 152mm (6-inch) to 304mm (12-inch) and with power handling capacity from 150W to 450W peak. The new woofers employ heavy-duty strontium ferrite magnets, large voice coils and triple spiders made of polyamide elastomer. All four have moulded polypropylene cones with concave centre caps. All models have gold plated ter­ minals which can accept banana plugs or large gauge speaker ca­bles. The ratings are as follows: KFC-W1600, 152mm, 150W peak from 30Hz to 7kHz; KFC-W2001, 203mm, 300W peak from 20Hz to 6kHz; KFC-W2500, 254mm, 360W peak from 18Hz to 3.5kHz; and 86  Silicon Chip KFC-W3000, 304mm, 450W peak from 18Hz to 4kHz. The new line-up is covered by a 12-month parts and labour warranty and is available at selected Kenwood car audio dealers. For further information on your near­est car audio dealer, phone Ken­wood on (008) 066 190. signal to connect to your large screen monitor. This allows you to use your VGA monitor and the large screen display simultaneously. Systems supported include Notebook PCs with 640 x 480 pixels in 256 colours, 640 x 480 pixels in 16 col­ours and 320 x 200 pixels in 256 col­ours (most games). One other very useful facility provided by the Videomaster converter, by virtue of its composite PAL video output, is that it enables computer displays to be taped via your video recorder. The unit is supplied with a VGA cable, S-VHS video cables, an RCA to RCA cable for composite video or modulator signals and a disc of utility software. Voted the Byte magazine "Best of Taipei Computer Show – June 1992", this is a very useful accessory which is bound to find wide applications. For further information on price and availability, contact the Australian distributor, Avico Electronics Pty Ltd, Unit 4/163 Prospect Highway, Seven Hills 2147 Phone (02) 624 7977. New scanner from AOR AOR Ltd of Japan has released an updated version of their most popular scanner, designated the AR-3000A. It offers reception over the enormous range of 100kHz to 2036MHz, with no gaps. Listening modes available over the whole range are NFM & WFM (narrow & wideband FM), SSB upper & lower sidebands, AM and CW Tuning rates are selectable from an ultra-fine 50Hz per step for SSB and CW reception up to 999.95kHz for the TV & VHF broadcast bands. Up and down tuning can be via the up and down buttons or via the rotary tuning knob, the latter being most conven­ient for resolving SSB transmissions. Good selectivity is ensured by the use of 15 bandpass filters before the GaAsFET RF amplifiers. An RS-232C port is provided for computer control of parameters such as frequency, receiver mode, frequency steps, writing to and from memory, signal strength, RF attenuator and memory bank changeover. A rear panel switch changes control from the keypad to the RS-232C port. 400 memory channels are provided, in four banks of 100. Each memory channel will store the mode, frequency, RF attenuator setting and lockout status. Scanning and search rate is very high at 50 channels/second and 50 steps/second respectively. The large backlit liquid crystal dis­ p lay gives a large amount of informa­tion such as frequency, signal strength, memory channel and so on. All func­tions are under the control of a micro­processor which has a lithium backup battery. For further information con­tact Emona Electronics, 92-94 Went­worth Ave, Sydney 2000. Phone (02) 211 0988. Stereo hifi VCR has "intelligent" HQ Most VHS VCRs these days have at least some feature of the HQ video enhancement system but this new stereo hifi machine from Akai fea­tures "intelligent" HQ. Designated the Akai VS-G60 Virtuoso, the machine takes about 15 seconds to optimise recording and playback from an in­serted tape and then it remains with that setting until the tape is ejected. Another feature of the VS-G60 is on-screen programming in up to nine languages via a menu system. A convenient shuttle ring on the remote control offers such features as high speed reverse review, still, slow, play, cue and high speed cue – in fact a total of 13 speeds in both SP (standard play) and LP (long play) modes. Pic­ ture flicker is minimal due to Akai's dual mode digital tracking system. The VS-G60 has a recommended retail price of $799 and is covered by a 12-month parts and labour warranty. For further information and the name of your nearest dealer, contact Akai on (02) 763 6300. March 1994  87 Test set for radio communications AWA Distribution has released a compact but highly specified test transceiver made by Schmonandl of Germany. The MES1000 is a menu-driven test set suitable for all types of radio communication equipment. Measurements such as adjacent channel power and har­ monics are possible, together with simultaneous frequency and power measurement at run-in, decay and at channel changes of the equip­ment under test. AM, FM and call­ing systems such as a sub audio, double tone and sel-call are all sup­ported. All basic parameters of the sig­nal generator such as type of modulation, modulation source and out­put level can be stored in non­volatile memory. Numerous meas­ urements can be performed such as distortion, SINAD and signal-to­-noise ratio. Tunable filters are in­cluded and the audio signals can be displayed via a built-in digital scope on the front panel, regardless of whether they are external or demodulated. Optional Centron­ ics and GPIB interfaces are avail­able. For further information contact AWA Distribution, 112-118 Talavera Rd, North Ryde, 2113. Phone (02) 888 9000. New cassettes from TDK TDK has introduced a new Normal Position audio cassette tape line-up, which comprises D (Dynamic), AD (Acoustic Dynamic) and AR (Acoustic Response). All are available in various playing times and the cassette mechanisms have been improved. The new D range has improved MOL (Maximum Output Level) by 3.5dB and has a lower bias noise (-55dB) than previous D formulations. The new AD has improved MOL of +5.5dB in the low frequency range (315Hz) and +4.5dB in the higher frequencies (10kHz). 88  Silicon Chip Finally, the new AR's MOL is +6.5dB (ref 315Hz), putting it on a par with metal tapes. For your nearest TDK dealer, ring (02) 437 5100. Low cost scope card The Compuscope Lite is a high speed data acquisition card for the PC-XT/AT for capture and storage of analog data. Two channels are provided at 8 bits resolution, capable of 40 megasamples/second on channel A or 20 megasamples/second with both channels in use, with 7MHz bandwidth. Trigger source can be via channel A or B, external or from keyboard with capability for post, mid or pre-triggering on positive or negative slopes. A test square wave output sig­nal of 900mV at around 100kHz is also provided. The supplied software can deliver the data to printer or disc, in binary or ASCII format, with communication possible via modem, Ethernet, token ring or other networks. Software modules are available for mathematical analysis of data and driver software is available for most popular compilers. For more information on the Compuscope Lite, contact Boston Technology Pty Ltd, PO Box 1750, North Syd­ney 2059. Adjustable zener consumes just 35µA The Zetex ZR341 is an adjustable zener diode with a low current consumption of 35µA (typical). This product can serve as a regulator, a voltage monitor or a voltage protection de­ vice. Two external divider resistors enable programming of the output voltage over the range from 2.5V to 20V The low power consumption makes it suitable for battery powered computers and telecommunications equipment. The ZR431 is available in surface mount SOT-223 or TO-92 packages. Operating temperature range is from -40°C to +85°C and temperature stability is 50ppm/°C. For further information about Zetex products, contact GEC Electronics Division, Unit 1, 38 South St, Rydalmere 2116. Phone (02) 638 1798. Encapsulant for electrical protection Safety, ease and speed of use are among the features claimed for an Australian-made electrical repair kit called Epirez 324A. The epoxy-based maintenance system enables encapsulation and protection of electric motor coils and windings. as high as 150°C. Dielectric strength is 315kV/cm while volume resistivity is 1016Wcm. Since it is solventless, Epirez 324A is not unpleasant or hazardous to han­ dle. Marked measuring cups, included in the kit, make the material almost foolproof to use and it is easy to apply. Work time is 30 minutes at 25°C. No baking is needed to effect curing after application which makes for fast turnaround of work. Epirez 324A comes in a 2kg kit and an 18kg bulk pack, with full instructions on its use. More information on the product is available from Epirez Construction Products, 2 Seville St, Villawood 2163. Phone (02) 726 8899. It also provides a dependable moisture seal for splicing or blocking plastic encapsulated cables. When cured, typically within 24 hours at 25°C, the product displays excellent electrical properties at temperatures Stepper motors for experimenters Those who are interested in the ar­ticle "Control Stepper Motors with your PC", as featured in the January 1994 issue, may be wondering where they can obtain suitable stepper motors. Wonder no more. Oatley Elec­tronics have two suitable models which can get you up and running. Model number one is a 2-phase type having six wires, a diameter of 58mm and 7.5° steps. Model number two has four wires, a diameter of 56mm and 1.8° steps. Model number one is $12 while model number two is $20. These are good prices. You can purchase them from Oatley Electronics, 5 Lansdowne Parade, Oatley 2223. Phone (02) 579 4985 or fax (02) 570 7910. T-Tech Quick Circuit for PCB prototypes Designers who frequently require PC board prototypes will be interested in this new computer driven milling and drilling machine. About the size of an average plotter, this machine actually func­tions like a plotter except that in­stead of carrying a pen in the move­able head, it carries a high speed mill or drilling head. To use it, you place a sheet of copper laminate on the bed, locating it precisely with steel pins. The machine then proceeds to mill out the circuit pattern on the board so that in under an hour for a typi­cal PC board you have a prototype. In essence, the process is as fol­lows. First you design your PC art­ work using any current CAD pack­age. The Gerber or Excellon plot is then converted to create the drill­ing and milling data. In effect, the Quick Circuit milling table has to mill around each track of the art­work so that it is isolated from the surrounding copper. Once the conversion data has been prepared and the copper lami­nated pinned on the bed, the machine first does all the drilling and then the milling. Finally, the board is routed to size and any complex shape can be produced. The major difference between the resulting prototype and a con­ ventional etched PC board is that most of the copper remains on the laminate. Naturally, the process can be applied to any single or double layer PC board, using conventional or surface mount com­ponents. The Quick Circuit can also be used for engraving nameplates and signs and as an NC drilling ma­chine. For further information, contact the Australian distributor, Satcam, Unit 13a, Woodbury Industrial Es­tate, 274-316 Victoria Rd, Rydal­mere 2116. Phone (02) 684 1877. March 1994  89