Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

PRODUCT SHOWCASE Jaycar’s Catalog on CD-ROM A few months after releasing their all-new 2000/2001 catalog through SILICON CHIP, Jaycar Electronics have released it in electronic format on CD-ROM. The new catalog contains virtually the same product range of the printed version but has the advantage of much more economic updates. The catalog opens in its own browser window and is driven in much the same way as any other web page. Jaycar’s Managing Director, Gary Johnston, said that there would al- Suspect Cables? TestUm! There's nothing quite so frustrating as a suspect cable – especially when it’s a multi-strand cable such as Cat5. This microprocessor-controlled TP200 Twisted Pair Tester from Tel-ephone Technical Services is certain to gladden the heart of any network administrator, installer or technician. It’s delightfully simple to use and tests a variety of cable faults – shorts, opens, miswire, reversals, split pairs and so on. It sells for under $150 including GST. Contact: Telephone Technical Services 2/55 Shore St, West Cleveland Qld 4163 Phone: (07) 3286 6388 Fax: (07) 3286 6399 74  Silicon Chip ways be a big demand for the printed catalog but his company also sees the CD-ROM version becoming more and more popular. “While we still believe that nothing quite beats the pleasure of browsing through a printed catalog, the enhanced search facilities of the new CD-ROM will be of tremendous benefit to those customers who need to find a specific product in a hurry,” he said. “Like the printed version, all products have colour photographs and as much information as we could fit. But more importantly, we’ve been able to include a number of datasheets and guides which would not fit in the printed catalog.” Because the CD-ROM version of the catalog is database driven, the very latest and current pricing, models and availability will always be available via the Jaycar website (www.jaycar. com.au). Copies of both the printed and CDROM Jaycar catalogs are available at any Jaycar store – the printed catalog costs $2.95 and the CD-ROM version $2.50. Contact: Jaycar Electronics PO Box 185 Concord NSW 2137 Phone: (02) 9743 5222 Fax: (02) 9743 2066 Email: techstore<at>jaycar.com.au Website: www.jaycar.com.au Tektronix digital scope modules from Emona Two new modules, the TDS3TMT and TDS3EM, are available for the TDS3000 Tektronix Digital Phosphor Oscilloscopes. The first is for testing digital network interface cards up to 45Mb/s, to test E1/DS1, E3/DS3 standards called out in ITU-T G.703 and ANSI T1.102 as well as user customized variations. The TDS3TMT application module adds to the suite of application modules currently available for the TDS3000 DPO including Extended Video, Advanced Triggering, and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Accessories for mask testing are available including proper termination adapters for connecting to telecommunication line cards and a rack mount kit. The TDS3EM Ethernet module provides the ability to use and remotely control their TDS3000 DPO over a 10BaseT Ethernet connection and can now print directly to a network printer. The TDS3EM Ethernet module adds to the list of communication technologies currently available with the TDS3000 DPO including GPIB, VGA Output, and RS-232. Tektronix’ variety of ap- plication modules, communication modules, accessories, and software provides the flexibility to configure the TDS3000 DPO to provide a complete solution for a variety of test and measurement applications. Contact: Emona Instruments Phone: (02) 9519 3933 Fax: (02) 9550 1378 e-mail testinst<at>emona.com.au Ricoh’s new $999, 3megapixel digital camera The release of the $999 Ricoh RDC6000 digital camera makes top quality digital photography affordable. It’s lightweight (220g) and compact (110 x 67 x 39.5mm) yet offers a high resolution mode equivalent to three million pixels. The camera supports both PAL and NTSC and has both an optical viewfinder and LCD monitor, built-in flash, flexible white balance setting and a variety of software for data transfer and manipulation to a PC. This includes PhotoImpression, PhotoMontage, VideoImpression and PhotoFantasy. USB and serial cables, a lithium ion battery and an AC adaptor/ charger make up the pack. It can be used as a still camera or a a video camera and, with its USB port connection, a real-time Web camera. It is supplied with an 8MB SmartMedia memory card (which can store up to 198 images or 72 seconds of motion pictures). With the optional 64MB card, 1690 images can be stored or 626 seconds of motion. An optional remote control unit is also available. The new Ricoh is available now from leading photographic and computer stores around Australia. Contact: Ricoh Phone: (02) 8977 1411 or: (03) 9888 7722 Website: www.ricoh-aust.com.au Non-olympic relays from Altronics Mention the word “relay” at the moment and everyone thinks of that other type. So Altronics thought it the perfect time to introduce (or re-introduce) their range of PCB-mounting relays to the world. There are several in the mains-rated series – shown here are the new 8A DPDT and 12A SPDT low profile models with either 12V [8A S4270, 12A S460] or 24V [8A S4272, 12A S4262] coils and some popular models, the 5A SPDT relays (also with 12V [S-4202] and 24V [S4204] coils). The latter relays are fully sealed – in fact, they can be cleaned by full immersion. Current rating is at 240V AC and can be doubled for 24V DC. Insulation resistance of all models is better than 100MΩ <at> 500V DC and Contact: Altronics Distributors Phone: (08 ) 9328 2199 Fax: (08) 9328 4459 email: mailorder<at>altronics.com.au Website: www.altronics.com.au STEPDOWN TRANSFORMERS 60VA to 3KVA encased toroids Harbuch Electronics Pty Ltd 9/40 Leighton Pl. HORNSBY 2077 Ph (02) 9476-5854 Fx (02) 9476-3231 Another new DSE PowerHouse Dick Smith Electronics have opened their seventh PowerHouse store at the corner of Church St and James Ruse Drive, North Parramatta in Sydney’s western suburbs. Over 30,000 products are featured. At 2000 square metres it’s about six times the size of an average DSE store. “Everything at a DSE PowerHouse is plugged in, powered up and fully tuned for customers to try out,” said Jeff Grover, DSE Managing Director. the relays are rated for an electrical service life of 100,000 operations minimum. Prices start at $3.15 for the 5A models, $8.35 for the 12A models and $10.45 for the 8A DPDT models. All prices include GST and generous quantity discounts are offered. Further information about this series of relays can be found in the Altronics 2000/2001 catalog (distributed free in SILICON CHIP in August) or at an Altronics store or dealer. October 2000  75 Low-cost motherboards from Oatley Electronics Looking for a cheap motherboard to upgrade an old computer or perhaps to build one from scratch? Oatley Electronics current­ ly have two different types for sale, both unused and priced at $90. Not only that, but if you order before the end of November 2000, they’ll chuck in a shrink-wrapped package of IBM’s “Voice­ Type 3.0” voice dictation software (OK, so it’s not the latest version but you get it as a bonus). Let’s look at the two mother-boards. The first offering is a Socket 7 motherboard with an AT form factor and integrated sound and video cards. This board is capable of supporting Intel Penti­um processors (both standard & MMX) from 100233MHz; AMD K5/ K6/K6-2 & K6-3 processors from 133-533MHz; IDT WinChip C6-200 and C6-225 processors; and IBM/ Cyrix processors from 150-400MHz. Strangely, the ma nua l do e s n’t directly show the settings in its processor tables for the AMD K6-2 450MHz or the K6-2 500MHz chips, even though the jumper settings allow for these proces­ sors. Similarly, the board should also cater for AMD K6-2 550MHz processors, since it’s capable of bus speeds up to 100MHz and multiplier settings can go to 5.5. Because it includes an integrated video card, there’s no AGP slot on the motherboard. Apart from that, all the expected features are there including two Ultra DMA66 IDE ports, two DIMM sockets for up to 256MB of RAM (EDO, BEDO or SDRAM), three PCI slots, an ISA slot, two USB ports and VGA and sound card connec­tors. The unit is supplied complete with all I/O cables (includ­ ing video and sound), the 76  Silicon Chip exception being for the USB sockets. The unit is supplied in an anti-static bag and comes with a manual and setup CD. In case you’re wondering, the board is made by PC Partner in Hong Kong, the model number is MVP4BS7-947 and there is a website that you can go to for BIOS upgrades. Check out www. pcpartner.com.hk This would be a great board for upgrading an early Pentium PC (eg, to an AMD K6-2) but be sure to set the jumpers to the correct core voltage for your chosen processor otherwise you’ll fry it. The second board is for Slot 1 Intel Pentium II and Celeron processors running at up to 800MHz on a 66MHz or 100MHz bus (ie, up to 8x multiplier settings). Branded as a “Merit M6TBA”, this board is made by Biostar (www.biostar-usa. com) and features three ISA slots, four PCI slots, an AGP slot and three DIMM sockets for up to 384MB of SDRAM. There are also onboard PS/2 keyboard and mouse sockets, two USB sockets, a parallel port socket and two serial port sockets, all arranged in standard ATX form. Other features of the unit include Award BIOS (updates available via LE the website), two Ultra DMA/33 IDE ports, an Intel BX chipset and a WakeOn-LAN header. Included in the original box are IDE & FDD I/O cables, a manual, a retention kit for the CPU, and a “Drivers & Utilities” CD. The sample unit we inspected also came with a rear I/O panel for an ATX case. The manual is quite detailed and includes lots of information on the BIOS setup. A similar Slot 1 Pentium II/Celeron motherboard designated “SP-6XS” is also available and is virtually identical in specifi­cation to the M6TBA. It too supports processors rated at up to 800MHz and supports bus speeds from 66MHz to 133MHz (CPU clock 66MHz or 100MHz). However, it only has two ISA slots compared to the Merit board’s three ISA slots and it features an SIS chipset. Oatley has advised us that the Merit motherboard will be supplied to customers until stocks run out, after which the SP6XS board will be supplied. By the way, if you’re looking for processor heatsink and cooling fans, Oatley Electronics have these available at very reasonable prices. The packs are all brand new and include a KTX Pentium II heatsink & fan for $4.50, a P6 heatsink & fan (for use with the Pentium Pro CPU) for $4.50; and a 586 heatsink & fan (for use with 486 & 586 CPUs) for $3.50. SC Contact: Oatley Electronics Pty Ltd PO Box 89, Oatley NSW 2223 Phone: (02) 9584 3563 Fax: (02) 9584 3561 website: www.oatleyelectronics.com.au ECTRONICSHOWCASELECT 3990 FULL RANGE $ ELECTROSTATIC Now you can afford the legendary clarity, transparency, depth and precision of an electrostatic speaker. The new Vass ELS-5 is a full range electrostatic speaker, able to faithfully reproduce frequencies from 40Hz-20kHz. • 5 Year Warranty • Wide range of custom finishes. • Individually hand built & tested. NEW! HC-5 hi-res Vi deo Distribution Amplifier DVS5 Video & Audio Distribution Amplifier Five identical Video and Stereo outputs plus h/phone & monitor out. S-Video & Composite versions available. Professional quality. For broadcast, audiovisual and film industries. Wide bandwidth, high output and unconditional stability with hum-cancelling circuitry, front-panel video gain and cable eq adjustments. 240V AC, 120V AC or 24V DC VGS2 Graphics Splitter High resolution 1in/2out VGA splitter. Comes with 1.5m HQ cable and 12V supply. Custom-length HQ VGA cables also available. Check our NEW website for latest prices and MONTHLY SPECIALS www.questronix.com.au Email: questav<at>questronix.com.au Video Processors, Colour Correctors, Stabilisers, TBC’s, Converters, etc. 1/42-44 Garden Bvde, Dingley 3172 Pyramid subwoofer Ph 03 9558 0970 Fax 03 9558 0082 separately available email: vass<at>hotkey.net.au QUESTRONIX All mail: PO Box 548, Wahroonga NSW 2076 Ph (02) 9477 3596 Fax (02) 9477 3681 Visitors by appointment only Do you want YOUR product or service showcased to Australasia's most important electronics marketplace? CALL ME: RICK WINKLER on (02) 9979 5644 and let me explain how cost effective the SILICON CHIP ELECTRONICS SHOWCASE can be for YOU! MicroZed Computers GENUINE STAMP PRODUCTS FROM EMC Technologies' internationally recognised Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) test facilities are fully accredited for emissions, immunity and safety standards. EMC Technologies Melbourne: (03) 9335 3333 Sydney: (02) 9899 4599 Scott Edwards Electronics microEngineering Labs & others Easy to learn, easy to use, sophisticated CPU based controllers & peripherals. PO Box 634, ARMIDALE 2350 (296 Cook’s Rd) Ph (02) 6772 2777 – may time out to Mobile 0409 036 775 Fax (02) 6772 8987 October 2000  77 http://www.microzed.com.au Most Credit Cards OK