Contents
Vol.34, No.12
December 2021
SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Features & Reviews
12 Big Brother is Tracking You! – Part 2
Following on from last month, this article goes into detail about how
governments monitor their citizens, covering what data is collected and how,
including metadata and mobile phone IMSI catchers – by Dr David Maddison
30 SMD Soldering – tips and tricks
There’s a lot of jargon surrounding SMDs and the techniques used when working
with them. We cover common component sizes, tools, cleaning, the type of tips
and solder to use, along with some of the more advanced soldering techniques
such as drag and wave soldering – by Tim Blythman
43 El Cheapo Modules: 35MHz-4.4GHz Signal Generator
Geekcreit’s signal generator is a self-contained module based on an Analog
Devices ADF4351; all you need is a 5V DC power supply – by Jim Rowe
Requiring
just throughhole parts, the
Hummingbird
Amplifier is easy-to-build, and
powerful for its size. Multiple can
also be combined to form more
complex designs – Page 18
48 Review: Raspberry Pi Pico
The Raspberry Pi Pico costs around $5 and yet is a powerful microcontroller
board with great features – by Tim Blythman
Constructional Projects
18 Hummingbird Audio Amplifier
This mini amplifier delivers up to 60W into 8W or 100W into 4W and it can be
easily made into a multi-channel amplifier system by mounting several onto a
single heatsink together – by Phil Prosser
38 SMD Trainer Board
If you’re interested in learning how to solder SMD components, or just want to try
your hand at working with components as small as a grain of sand, then give it a
go with our SMD Trainer board. It’s a great way to practice soldering a variety of
SMD parts and seeing it flash to indicate everything’s fine – by Tim Blythman
Many projects these days use
at least one SMD. If you aren’t
confident in soldering SMDs or
want to polish up your skills, this
article is for you – Page 30
61 Digital Lighting Controller Translator
This Translator allows our latest Digital Lighting Controllers to communicate with
any of the slave units. This means that slave units designs from 2010-11 can be
controlled with our Lighting Controller Master from 2020 – by Tim Blythman
85 USB Cable Tester – Part 2
Ideal for troubleshooting and going through piles of cables, we finish construction
of the USB Cable Tester and show you how to use it – by Tim Blythman
Your Favourite Columns
68 Serviceman’s Log
A mixed bag of odds, sods, ends and bobs – by Dave Thompson
76 Circuit Notebook
From M3216/1206 to M0603/0201
sized resistors and LEDs, plus a
USB connector, SSOP-16 IC and
more. This SMD Trainer has many
different components for you to
practice soldering – Page 38
(1) Micromite BackPack Planetarium
(2) Contactless temperature sensor
(3) Parallel/series cell switcher
(4) Two pushbuttons on an input-only pin
94 Vintage Television
Restoring a Sony 5-303E Micro-TV – by Dr Hugo Holden
Everything Else
2 Editorial Viewpoint
4 Mailbag – Your Feedback
74 Product Showcase
siliconchip.com.au
105 Subscriptions & Shop
108 Ask Silicon Chip
111 Market Centre
112
Advertising Index
Australia’s electronics magazine
112 Notes & Errata
The Raspberry Pi Pico is a new
and interesting microcontroller
board. It costs just a bit over $5
and measures 51 x 21mm, making
it compact and well-suited for
December 2021 1
breadboard use – Page 48
