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Coming up in Silicon Chip Altium Designer 2018 review We have been using Altium Designer to draw up circuits and design PCBs for many years now. In that time, quite a few improvements have been made to the software. We'll describe the new features and also point out some of the pre-existing features that have been improved or are particularly useful. Advertising Index Altronics................................ FLYER Dave Thompson......................... 103 Digi-Key Electronics....................... 3 Emona........................................ IBC El Cheapo Modules – RF attenuators Hare & Forbes.......................... OBC Jim Rowe describes a programmable, 63-step, 4GHz RF digital step attenuator module with a range of applications. Jaycar............................... IFC,49-56 Introduction to programming the Cyprus CY8CKIT LD Electronics............................ 103 This low-cost module incorporates a 32-bit microcontroller and a set of reprogrammable analog circuitry which can be used for a wide range of tasks. Touchscreen GPS Frequency Reference This new design is much more compact with many new features including multiple programmable-frequency outputs, ultra low-drift operation, improved status display and 5V operation. The Latest Agricultural Technology The rapid advancement of technology is having a huge effect on agriculture and Australia is at the forefront. We take a look at some of the latest robots and monitoring devices aimed at increasing crop yields and food quality and reducing the environmental impact of farming. LiFePO4-based Uninterruptable Power Supply The second article in this series will have details of the control circuit and shield PCB, and describe how to build the case and wire up the components. Note: these features are planned or are in preparation and should appear within the next few issues of Silicon Chip. The June 2018 issue is due on sale in newsagents by Thursday, May 24th. Expect postal delivery of subscription copies in Australia between May 23rd and June 8th. Keith Rippon Kit Assembly......... 103 LEACH Co Ltd.............................. 27 LEDsales.................................... 103 Master Instruments.................... 103 Microchip Technology..................... 5 Ocean Controls.............................. 6 PCBcart........................................ 9 Sesame Electronics................... 103 Silicon Chip Shop............. 42,94-95 Silicon Chip Subscriptions.......... 99 Silicon Chip Wallchart................. 89 SC Radio, TV & Hobbies DVD...... 13 The Loudspeaker Kit.com............ 81 Tronixlabs................................... 103 Vintage Radio Repairs............... 103 Wagner Electronics........................ 7 WIA Radio & Electronics Conv..... 11 Notes & Errata Majestic Speakers, June & September 2014: In the September issue, the two screws used to attach the tweeter to the horn are listed as 6BA x 20mm when they should be M6 x 20mm. These same two screws are not mentioned in the parts list in the June issue. Battery-Pack Cell Balancer, March 2016: there is a risk of damage to IC1 and IC2 when batteries with many cells are initially plugged in. Two small (¼W) 10kW through-hole resistors can be added to solve this. Solder them between pin 2 and pin 15 of both IC1 and IC2. These pins are adjacent but on opposite sides of the IC packages. The resistor bodies will need to be kept close to the ICs to avoid interfering with the battery header (CON1). Alternatively, they can be soldered from pin 15 of IC3 to ground (pin 20), and the other from pin 16 of IC3 to ground. WiFi Water Tank Level Meter, February 2018: the WeMos D1 R2 board we used in this project was actually a clone made by Robotdyn; the original D1 R2 does not have a connection for an external antenna. The boards in our shop (Cat SC4414) are the same as the board shown in the article. 6-Element VHF TV Yagi Antenna, February 2018: a photo caption on page 40 says that the dipole ends are made using 39mm lengths of aluminium tubing but they are closer to 30mm; refer to Fig.1 on page 39 which correctly shows the distance between the semicircular cut-outs at each end as 27mm. AM Radio Transmitter, March 2018: the circuit diagram on page 67 (Fig.2) shows the 10nF antenna coupling capacitor connected to the wrong end of antenna coil L1. Also, Mosfet Q3 has the wrong part number in the parts list. It should be IPP80P03P4L04, as in the circuit and overlay diagrams. The Clayton’s “GPS” Time Signal Generator, April 2018: the parts list gave an incorrect Jaycar part number for the D1 Mini ESP8266 module. It should be XC3802. 104 Silicon Chip Celebrating 30 Years siliconchip.com.au