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. . . continued from page 94
has two read-out modes: percent gradient and degrees. In percent gradient
mode, it will read 0-100 when rotated
up to 45°, then just shows dashes
above 45°. It sounds like your chip is
in gradient mode.
To switch modes, hold down the
calibration button for at least five seconds after it is switched on. It should
then be in degrees mode and you can
re-calibrate as necessary.
Capacitor discharge
for points motors
The circuit diagram for the Capacitor Discharge Unit (SILICON CHIP,
March 2013) indicates that it is suitable for both AC and DC power supplies. The unit apparently half-wave
rectifies an AC supply, increasing the
RMS voltage to peak voltage, thereby
almost doubling its power potential.
By contrast, a DC current through
the unit with no increase in voltage
suffers voltage drops through the
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transistor and two diodes, making its
power potential less than that of the
AC power supply. It seems to me that
the unit is not intended to be used with
a DC power source. (J. M., via email).
• There is no problem with using AC
or DC. We referred your email to the
designer, Jeff Monegal, and his reply
is below.
It should be remembered that although there is a silicon diode and the
voltage drop across the transistor is in
series between the power supply and
the storage capacitors, there is very
little current flow. In fact, forgetting
leakage current through the capacitors,
the only current flow is that though
the LED – only around 9mA. This will
mean very little voltage drop across
the diode and transistor.
When either pushbutton is pressed,
Notes & Errata
Digital Sound Effects Generator,
September 2012: while the LM4889
was specified as an alternative to the
LM4819 audio amplifier IC, we have
discovered that the shutdown pin
polarity of the LM4889 is opposite to
that of the LM4819 (active low rather
than active high). We recommend
constructors stick with the LM4819.
1W LED Driver With Protection, Circuit Notebook, May 2013: the second and third paragraphs in the third
96 Silicon Chip
column should say “With an open
circuit, the voltage across the 220µF
capacitor can become as high as the
supply, damaging the LEDs should
they be reconnected with this higher
voltage present. With the protection
circuit, a higher than normal voltage
allows ZD1 to conduct, pulling pin
5 of IC2b higher than its inverting
input. This occurs with about 1mA
through ZD1 and 1V across each
1kΩ resistor. So there is about 10.2V
across the 220µF capacitor”.
Altronics....................... Loose Insert
Embedded Logic Solutions.......... 91
Emona Instruments........................ 5
Grantronics................................... 95
Harbuch Electronics..................... 85
Hare & Forbes.......................... OBC
HK Wentworth................................ 3
Instant PCBs................................ 95
Jaycar .............................. IFC,45-52
Keith Rippon ................................ 95
KitStop.......................................... 87
LED Sales.................................... 95
Low Energy Developments.......... 95
Microchip Technology................... 25
Mikroelektronika......................... IBC
Ocean Controls............................ 12
Premier Batteries........................... 7
Quest Electronics......................... 95
Radio, TV & Hobbies DVD............ 87
RF Modules.................................. 96
Sesame Electronics..................... 95
Silicon Chip Binders..................... 84
Silicon Chip Online Shop........ 88-89
Silicon Chip Subscriptions........... 35
Syndetic Pty Ltd............................. 9
Tekmark Australia......................... 55
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Wiltronics................................. 23,44
Worldwide Elect. Components..... 96
the coil of the point motor sees all
of the voltage across the capacitor(s)
minus the voltage drop across the
output diode.
To say it seems that the CDU is
meant for AC and not DC is incorrect
because the CDU will work fine with
DC. The Peco point motor we used operated well with a coil voltage of 12V
DC. While it is true that a higher voltage will be available with AC power in,
the point motor will operate fine with
a DC voltage of around 15V or more.
I set up a CDU and obtained the
following results:
• 15V DC gave 14.1V across the capacitors;
• 13V AC gave 15.4V across the capacitors; and
• 16.1V AC gave 18.9V across the
capacitors.
These figures were with no load
connected to the output. The only load
SC
was the LED (9mA).
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