COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS $3.

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EXPERIMENTER'S
HANDBOOK® 1984
EASY -TO -BUILD ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
FULL CONSTRUCTION PLANS: Computer Tape Conditioner
Electronic Telephone Ringer Wireless Tachometer for Car Tuneups
TV Commercial Killer Toxic Gas Alarm Battery -Powered Fluorescent
Lamp Digital Temperature Meter Automotive Fuel Econometer
Metal Locator Automatic Voltage Regulator "Smart" Greenhouse
Light Controller Emergency Broadcast System Monitor
Phono Stylus Elapsed -Use Timer Poor Man's Photo Strobe
PLUS: Successful Soldering Methods Do -It -Yourself Logic Chips
Electronic Quizzes

14268

www.americanradiohistory.com
Now electronics technicians can get into VCR Servicing quickly and easily

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COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

EXPERIMENTER'S
HANDBOOK® 1984
Successful Soldering John D. Bourneman 3
Cass R. Lewart 6
Hardware -Software Tape Conditioner For TRS-80 Computers
Two Projects For Outdoor Use:
A Battery -Powered Fluorescent Lamp Lawrence M. Walden 12
"Coinshooter" Metal Detector William Lahr 14
The Optimized Graphic Equalizer Joe Gorin 19
Build "Lidith"-A 31/2 -Digit LCD Digital Thermometer Tom Fox 36
Curb "Fuelishness" With The Automotive Econometer Bill Green 41
Power Supplies For Op Amps Arthur F. Block 44
Vocal Zapper Makes You A "Superstar" Craig Anderton & David Karr 48
Protect Your Property With A CMOS Guardian John D. Richard 54
A Low-Cost Analog Audio Delay Line John Roberts 55
High -Speed Electronic Fuse Charles M. Lenny & Chester Davenport 64
Do -It -Yourself Logic Chips Forrest M. Mims 65
Wireless AD*ZAP Turns Off TV Commercials Deitrich Seaman 68
Build The Poor Man's Strobe Imre Gorgenyi 76
Commercial Killer For A Clock Radio Herbert L. Bresnick 80
Cancel Rumble With This Bass -Summing Amplifier John H. Davis 81
Low -Cost Power Supplies From Recycled AC Adapters Ralph Tenny 87
An Alarm For Toxic Gases Cass Lewart 90
Thomas Fox 92
Some Like It Hot (Temperature -sensitive components)
How Many Hours Are On Your Phono Stylus? Dennis Bohn 95
Pulse Amplitude Reference Imre Gorgenyi 99
A Wireless Idel Tachometer For Auto Tune -Ups
John E. Davis 100
Simple Memory Addition For Training Computers Allen H. Wolach 103
A Low -Cost Electronic Ringer For Telephone Lines Bradley Albing 104
Robert P. Balin 109
Truth Table Quiz
A "Smart" Greenhouse Light Controller Mark L. Mc Williams 110
Clement S. Pepper 113
The LM339-A Great Comparator
Build A Low -Cost Emergency Broadcast System Monitor Lawrence L. Lafler 116
121
Build A Diode Temperature Probe
Measure Weak Direct Currents With The Micro Meter / Queen 122
Two Low -Cost Automobile Projects:
1) Low -Cost Battery Charger Cass Lewart 124
2) Headlights/Parking Lights-On Reminder C.R. Ball 125
Herbert Elkin 126
Automatic Line Voltage Regulator
How Oscilloscopes Can Display Multi -Channel Logic Signals Les Solomon 128
Darrel Lowery 130
Build A LED Pendulum For Digital Clocks
Coupling To TTL Logic Bruce Cunningham 130
T.A.O. Gross 131
Using The 4040 As A Timer
COVER PHOTO BY JAY BRENNER STUDIO

COPYRIGHT'S 1983 BY ZIFF-DAVIS PUBUSHING COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

ARTHUR P. SALSBERG, Editorial Director ALEXANDER W. BURAWA, Senior Editor

EDWARD I. BUXBAUM Art Director ANDRE DUZANT, Technical Illustrator
WILLIAM S. DAVID, Publisher

1984 EDITION

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Consumer Computers &
Electronics Magazine Division

LARRY SPORN
President

J. SCOTT BRIGGS
Vice President, Marketing

CAROLE MANDEL
Vice President, Circulation

EILEEN G. MARKOWITZ
Vice President & General Manager

PETER J. BLANK
Creative Director

Ziff-Davis Publishing Company

RICHARD P. FRIESE
President

ALBERT S. TRAINA
President, Consumer Magazine Division

PAUL H. CHOOK
Executive Vice President

PHILLIP T. HEFFERNAN
Senior Vice President

SIDNEY HOLTZ
Senior Vice President

EDWARD D. MUHLFELD
Senior Vice President

PHILIP SINE
Senior Vice President

BAIRD DAVIS
Vice President

GEORGE MORRISSEY
Vice President

JERRY SCHNEIDER
Vice President, Annuals
THE COVER SELWYN TAUBMAN
Treasurer
Tools routinely used in the pursuit of the electronics hobby include BERTRAM A. ABRAMS
a variety of screwdrivers, longnose pliers, diagonal wire cutters, Secretary
and a soldering tool (a Wahl "Iso-Tip" cordless soldering iron is
shown). This minimal lineup will suffice for kit and simple project
building but is usually supplemented by special-purpose tools for
building complex projects from scratch.
COVER PHOTO BY JAY BRENNER STUDIO
COPYRIGHT* 1983 BY ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISH-
ING COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Ziff-Davis Executive, Editorial, and Circulation Offices The publisher has no knowledge of any proprietary
rights that will be violated by the making or using of
any items disclosed in this Handbook.
Editorial, Circulation and Executive Offices Western
One Park Avenue J.E.M. Associates
New York, New York 10016 Francisco Bay Office Park PERMISSIONS: Material in this Handbook may
(212) 725-3500 1750 Montgomery Street not be reproduced in any form without permission.
San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 989-4643 Requests for permission should be sent to Bette
Circulation Sales Offices Joe Mesics Amado, Rights & Permissions, Ziff -Davis Publishing
Company, One Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016.
New York Office
Tom Ballou (212) 725-3578
Ken Lipka (212) 725-3580 Representation in Japan EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK is published an-
J.S. Yagi nually by Ziff -Davis Publishing Company at One
Midwestern lwai Trading Company, Ltd. Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016. Also
Suite 1400, 180 N. Michigan Ave., 603 Ginza Sky Heights Building publishers of Computers & Electronics, Invitation
Chicago, IL 60601 (312) 346-2600 18-13, Ginza 7-Chome To Electronics, Tape Recording & Buying Guide,
Sales: Robert Vanek Tokyo, Japan 104 and Stereo Buyers Guide.

2 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 IN ELECTRONICS, the basic goal
of soldering is to electrically and me-
chanically join two circuit components.
For this connection to be reliable, the
solder must adhere to or "wet" the mat-
ing surfaces of the components being
joined. The wetting of solder to a base
metal is similar to the action of water
spilled on a smooth surface: if the sur-

SCCSSL face is clean and free of dirt, wax and

oils, the water will wet and_ spread even-
ly over it; if the surface is waxed, the
water balls up.
Most manufacturers of electronic

SOLDERING components do a good job of making

their products of easily solderable mate-
rial or providing a clean solderable coat-
ing. Copper, copper -clad steel, or nickel -
steel are some of the common base
metals used in the leads of resistors, ca-
Helpful tips pacitors, integrated circuits, etc., and
they may be coated with silver, tin, tin-
on materials, tools, lead, or gold to improve solderability.
Greases, oils, dirt, and oxides are the
and techniques principal sources of contamination that
prevent good solder wetting despite the
original surface. Also, aging deterio-
rates the surface,and inhibits solder wet-
ting by the formation of oxide films.
EY JOHN D. BORNEMAN
Solder Alloys and Fluxes. Techni-
cally, soldering is the joining of two
parts with a metal alloy having a melt-
ing point below 800°F. Various solder
alloys include combinations of tin, lead,
antimony, silver, indium, and bismuth;
however, the most common combination
is tin and lead. Tin -lead solders range
from pure tin to pure lead and include
all proportions in between. For plumb-
ing, alloys of 10% tin and 90% lead (10/

1984 EDITION 3
soldering

90 solder) are commonly used. In elec- 700 form the replaceable tip. Usually, sol-
trical soldering, the alloy mix 'is usually dering guns come with high wattages, in
60% tin and 40% lead (60/40). 600 most cases too high for use with pc foil
Characteristics of alloys of tin and 500 patterns. Such guns also generate a high
lead are plotted against temperature in magnetic field around the tip that can
Fig.l . This graph, referred to as a phase 400
de-gauss any magnetically sensitive de-
diagram, allows one to see that only a 300 vices close to it. Using a gun may pro-
63/37 alloy has a eutectic point-that duce too high a heat on the foil pattern
200
is, a single melting point. All other al- so that the cement that secures the cop-
loys start melting at one temperature, 100 per foil pattern to the substrate is weak-
move through a "pasty" or semisolid ened and the foil separates from the
stage, and then become liquid at a high- 0 IO 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
63(EUTECTIC POINT)
printed circuit board.
er temperature. Any physical movement The "iron" is often called a "pencil
TIN (PERCENT)
of the components being soldered while iron" because it resembles a thick pencil
the solder is in the "pasty" range will Fig.1. Melting point, including pasty that is held in the fingers. These tools
result in a "cold" joint. Such a joint phase, of alloys of tin and copper. feature interchangeable (usually screw -
appears grainy and dull, and is mechani- on) tips having various shapes-each for
cally weaker, thus less reliable. There- its own purpose. Their wattages are
fore, 63/37 or 60/40 solder is commonly flowing properties than the popular usually low enough to be safely used on
used in electronics since they do not mildly activated fluxes (RMA), and pc boards. The latest version of the pen-
remain long in a "pasty" phase. Howev- they are noncorrosive. cil iron is the low -wattage self-contained
er, a 50/50 alloy can be used if proper rechargeable type that can be used re-
care is taken. Equipment. The tools required to mote from the ac line.
An often -ignored aspect of soldering solder electrical connections are: a good Soldering irons are specified primari-
is the flux. The word flux comes from soldering iron and a supply of replace- ly by wattage as shown in the table.
the Latin root "fluere" meaning "to able tips, long-nose pliers for holding Wattage represents the amount of heat
flow." Soldering flux, which is usually parts or bending leads (or as a heat sink capacity available at the iron tip. Irons
included in the solder as a central core, for temperature -sensitive components), of all wattages usually run at about the
or separately in liquid or paste form, and desoldering braid (or a suction de- same tip temperature, but a lower -wat-
helps the solder alloy flow around the soldering tool). tage iron will cool faster during solder-
connection. Flux also cleans the compo- There are basically two types of sol- ing. The recommended wattages given
nent leads of oxides and films, and al- dering instruments-the "gun" and the in the table are to be used as general
lows the solder to wet their surfaces. "iron," although most people use these guidelines only. Slight variations may
Chemically, flux is either acid or ro- descriptions interchangeably. In es- give perfectly good performance, de-
sin based. Always use rosin flux in elec- sence, a soldering "gun" is a pistol - pending on the particular soldering situ-
tronic soldering since the acid may shaped device consisting of a transform- ation. A higher -wattage iron is more
cause corrosion. "Activated" rosin or er forming the bulk of the "gun," with likely to damage heat -sensitive compo-
"RA" flux produces better cleaning and the secondary winding extending out to nents. If static -sensitive components are
to be soldered, i.e. many MOS devices,
be sure the iron has a grounded plug.
Soldering irons can produce static volt-
age spikes that will destroy many inte-
COPPER SOLDERING grated circuit components, so a
FOIL IRON TIP grounded tip is a wise safety measure.
Tips are usually selected by prefer-
ence. Each type and shape has its place
and purpose, but the commonly used
pointed, conical type is the most versa-
tile and convenient.
Desoldering equipment is always use-
ful even for experienced solderers. Both
COMPONENT braid and suction devices arc effective
and, again, operator preference is the
best guide. If you elect to use a suction
CLIP EXCESS desoldering tool, pay close attention to
LEAD OFF
CLEAN, SHINY the distance and velocity that the "pis-
JOINT ton" requires. It is very easy to get a
black eye, or have glasses damaged,
when using those devices.

Soldering Techniques. The best

technique can be outlined simply. First,
make sure that the tip of the iron is at
operating temperature, and is clean.
Then touch the heated tip to the connec-
Fig. 2. Steps in soldering. Place heated iron to junction of parts to be soldered (top left) tion, preferrably on the part having the
Bring flux -cored solder to the joint after it is hot enough to melt solder (top right) larger mass (Fig. 2). The solder should
When a smooth -contoured fillet has formed, remove the solder and allow to cool without moving. not be brought to the joint until the

4 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 soldering
and that it is not necessary to add extra
IRON WATTAGES FOR DIFFERENT SOLDERING TASKS liquid or past flux. Do not keep the iron
on the joint or continue adding solder if
a connection is not made after two trials.
Type of Soldering Recommended This will only damage the components
Iron Wattage or the circuit board.
Light duty: single joints, repair, touch- 25 to 30 To Solder ICs and Other Small Com-
up, delicate parts such as ICs or fine ponents. Use only a low-wattage iron
wires. Mass of parts in connection is and sharp tip to avoid excess heat. Also,
small. use 0.031 -inch diameter solder to help
Medium duty: multiple joints; many in 60 to 100 control the amount of solder deposited.
succession. Mass of parts is interme- Provide a heat sink by using long -nose
diate (for example, I/4 -watt resistors pliers to grasp the lead between the
or conventional disc capacitors). component package and the portion to
Heavy duty: Mass is large, as in wires over 100 be soldered.
soldered to steel case or wires to After completely soldering a pc
screw head,; for ground points. board, an inspection of the soldered
joints is suggested. A toenail clipper can
be used to trim any lead ends so they
don't protrude too far from the solder.
metals being joined have become hot method is possible. Using long -nose To help in the inspection, a bright spot-
enough to melt it. How long this takes is pliers, hold the part to the circuit board. light and low-power lens can be used to
quickly learned after a few trials. The Apply flux to the pieces being soldered examine each joint. A sharp tool can
flux -cored solder is then brought to the and take up the soldering iron. Touch clear away dross, solder bridges, or any-
joint and placed at the junction of the the iron to a length of solder, creating a thing that looks suspicious between sold-
two parts. When the solder has melted ball on the tip. Touch the tip to the con- er pads, and a toothbrush can be used to
and flowed into a smooth-contoured fil- nection and hold it there until the fillet clean the solder joint. To make sure that
let, remove the solder. Keep the tip on is formed. This will create a good joint all joints are checked, a drop of red nail
the joint for a few seconds, then remove and free your hands to hold the parts. polish can be placed on each after in-
it. Do not disturb the newly made con- To Get Good Solder Wetting. Clean spection. A minute spent checking a
nection until it has had time to solidify. the parts well with isopropyl alcohol to board can save an hour of trouble-
A'good solder joint will be shiny (Fig. remove greases and oils, and use a 10% shooting later on.
3). Disturbing the joint before it has so- solution of hydrochloric acid (HCI) to Another problem can arise when a
lidified may produce a "cold" joint. remove the oxides. Fine steel wool may plastic capacitor appears to be "sol-
be used on foil patterns to remove oxide dered" in place, but is not making an
Problem Solving. films. These chemicals should be avail- electrical connection. This often hap-
To Avoid Cold Joints. Even when you able from any drugstore, but remember pens when a small "sleeve" of noncon-
know that the parts should not be moved to ask about any handling precautions ducting plastic extends from the capaci-
while the solder joint is cooling, it is before using them. Note that extra liq- tor body slightly down each lead. The
sometimes difficult to find enough uid flux can also help in soldering con- solder will hold the plastic to the pad,
hands to hold a soldering iron, solder, taminated parts. but an electrical connection may not re-
circuit board, and the part being at- To Make Solder Flow. Be sure the sol- sult. Use long -nose pliers to break away
tached. In this case, a small vise or a sur- dering iron is providing enough heat, the unwanted plastic.
geon's hemostat may be used to hold the with the iron tip on tight and the proper Since your fingers may be dirty or
board and parts. If you are using rosin wattage being used. Also be sure enough oily, handle parts and circuit boards as
flux in liquid or paste form, another flux has reached the component leads little as possible. If there is any question
of oily spots on a part, clean it using iso- s,

propyl alcohol or fine steel wool. If you

use steel wool, use lint -free cloth to re-
move all vestiges of the wool from the
parts or board.
To Summarize:
(1) Use clean new parts and circuit
boards.
(2) Use 60/40 or 50/50 tin -lead alloy
solder with an activated rosin core. Liq-
uid or paste rosin flux may be used to
improve wetting when necessary.
(3) Use the proper wattage soldering
iron based on the amount of soldering to
be done and the type of components be-
ing soldered.
(4) Use the proper soldering se-
quence-tip to parts, solder to parts-
solder away from parts-tip away from
parts.
Fig. 3. Photo of two soldered joints. The one at left is (5) Use patience.
shiny indicating a good joint. At right, is a "cold" solder joint. (6) Practice. 0

1984 EDITION 5
HARDWARE - SOFTWAR F
TAPE CONDITIONER
U2:104:3© CO MUM:10 BY CASS R. LEWART
Wlici difficulties occur in loading This permits poorly timed backup copies
(1,1 from a cassette tape into a mi-
a to be made on a second recorder which,
crocomputer, it is usually because the without internal retiming, would produce
commercial tapes being used are poorly backup copies that retain or worsen tim-
duplicated. This is further compounded Reshaping and ing jitter.
by the quality of the tape itself and even
the inadequacies of home tape machines. retiming data How It Works. The ideal signal wave-
In the case of the. popular Radio Shack form and typical "good" and "poor"
TRS-80, a narrow tape level setting range pulses ends waveforms found on commercial copies
and fussy timing requirements exacerbate of Level II programs are shown in Fig.
the problem. Though some peak -reading cassette -tape 1. As shown in Fig. IC, superimposed
meters enable one to set the proper level
quickly, they do not generally correct for
loading problems noise, power -line hum, amplitude distor-
tion, and ringing and displacement of
poorly shaped pulses or timing jitter, both for BASIC and the data pulse relative to the clock pulse
of which are major obstacles to successful (timing jitter) can make it likely that
loads. The Tape Regenerator project de- SYSTEM data the computer will lose bits. And a single
scribed here has been designed to obviate lost bit, of course, makes the entire pro-
this problem. The Regenerator is an ad- gram useless.
vanced breed of tape -conditioning device. Once a BASIC program has been
It is for use with TRS-80 Level II BASIC properly loaded, a back-up copy of it can
and machine -language (SYSTEM) pro- be made using the CSAVE command.
grams. Unlike other commercially avail- and software. As a result, the computer Similarly, a backup copy of a machine
able conditioners, it uses both hardware itself is used for curing timing problems. language (SYSTEM) program can be

6 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 eefe 7400 MICROPROCESSOR COMPONENTS M Digitalker"
-
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Pen Nu. "Net Price %INS. Rns Pelee Pan Ns. "Pins Price MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS DYNAMIC RAMS )T1050 Applications: Teaching aids,
5N74005 SN7472N 14 59741566 '9 Pan N.- Pins function Pies Pao No. "Nns Diu
5574016
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5574025 11 25 55]4715 ld JS 55141605 16 69
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74035 14 25 5571755 16 15 55741615 16 69
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The 011060 is a standard IGITALKER kit encoded with 137 separate
MCS6502 10 MPU w/Clerk 9 95 4116N 3 16 16.344,11200ns1 1 69 a/ 12 95
6574045 14 25 6571766 16 35 5674162N 16 69 MC565028 40 CPU w/Clock a13047 1395 4116N 4 16 16384411250ns1 1 49 8/1095 and useful words. 2 lones. and 5 different silence durations. The
5574055 14 25 941479N 11 4 95 56141646 14 69 4.6802.P 40 MPU wfClock and RAM / 95 41545 150 16 65 536,1 ,150ns) 7 95 - 0/59 95 words and tones have been assigned discrete addresses. making it
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5574095 5574855 16 59 5N74167N 16 ed. The vocabulary is chosen so that It Is applicable to many pro.

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55741061 14 .25 5574865 14 35 55741709 16 29 P80554 MM5290.3 16.38191 8/14.95 ducts and markets.
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5574145 14 49 14 39 16 69 280 40 CPU M138805)178001 54 95 diagram an the application sheet.
51174 165 14 25 511719361 14 39 SN741765 11 69 280-.T. 28 Counter Timer Grcurt 5.95 STATIC RAMS
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- DT1057 Expands the DT1050 vocabulary
from 137 to over 260 words. Incl.2 ROMSand specs.
SYSWIM1595
l$24,95 ea.
5574235 55741005 149 2112
16 59 21 51174182N 16 89 280510/2 40 Sena,/011am.
102494x4 450nsj6105
55]4255 11 19 55141045 14 89 5574184N 16 195 2ßO 510/9 40 Sr/ui i/0 15 es
18

SN7426N 6674105N 89 SN74185N 95 ¿400 40 CPU 1MK30905-411780C 1,4644 .5 .95

21141 l8 1024.4 450ns01 7 DT1057
5N7427N
14
14
29
25 SN74107N
14
11 .29 S5741905
16
16
1

69
ZBOA LTL M Courtier i,mer Ca. 5 95
2114-2
211412
15
18
102404
10244
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100ns11 J
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40 11 95
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SN7428N 16 .39 5171741915
551705
14 49
5574 655 20 149 55741925 i6
16 69
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Accenchronous 1195 1141
18
IB /0]44 IOns1 wKitsuellon 1 lree
057432N
14
14
25
29 50701226 14 39 5574 a3516 69
1800510
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40
40
Parallel l/O menace Conlro0er
Serials/O TaC8 and Ri%CB bonded)
,95
1695 TMS4944
7M54045
18 4096.1
10244
450ns1
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Pad No. 'Rm Function L Price
Ser,all/01Lacks NM
1
18
5974386 14 25 SN74122N 14 55 5N74í945 16 69 Z800910/I 40 1695
5101 256+4 450ns)LMOS -345151 28 CMOS Precision timer 1495
22
697438N 14 29 66241266 16 49 55711955 16 69 ¿804.51071 10 Serial l/O(Lacks SYNCBI i695 IS 40964 450ns)4044 1SFV/Ki Slopwatcn Lop. NIL 1995
5N7139N 14 59 9174125N 14 45 SN741%5 14 89
T80Á-51019 I0 Seal I70 Ifi/ mm5257
7561 165.3 21 2048,78 150ní CMOS '716CPL
28
40 3'h Div A/U(LCO Dr./ 995
ZBOB 10 CPU IMN c,ú166111z 1195
SN7440N 14 19 557/1269 14 45 SN74197N 14 8g
Z80BLTC 28 Counter Timer Claud 13.95
0MGi164
HM61'd P4
2e 7049,4 10Cn5)C805 . i 02030 3'h D, g LCD Display for 710681115 19.95
55]4115 16 89 55141315 14 49 557/1905 24 t 24 2048.8 700ns,LD COC' D6E8/Kn Dip,ay
19 280ßr510 40 Parallels/aenredace Controller 1395 18
' 40 IC. Cucun Board 3195
SN7442N 16 45 5574136N 14 69 SN741996 24 119 18001 48 CPU Segmented 5195 Ii7CPl 40 3i, Digll A/DIIED Or,et 1195
0674436 16 99 69 SNI42115 16 119 28001 40 CPU Non Segmented 5595
4495
16 015 Vd' 40 IC CommBoard Display 2995
SN7444N 16 99 5574142N409 16 295 5M425í5 16 79 28030 40 SerialComm Controller -I 40 3 /r Mau A/D LCO Ors OLD 1695
18 rß.,191 1

S514455 56741435 24 2.95 6574276N 28036 40 Counler'I me'BPara el 'O Unit 1995 '

16 69 20 1.95 fi - ;111IÚ57/05 Low Battery Vollnd,cator 225

SN7446N 16 69 5574144N 24 295 511741795 16 79 6800/68000 SERIES 16 _ -''0 .051PG 24 CMOS 1E0 Siapwalch/Timer 1795
5574475 16 69 567/1455
SN74147N
16
149
59 55742835
55742845
16 119 M 80
61.6802.D
40
40
MPU
MDU wan tier°and RAM
495
195
9'..'
l4 S.'n
16
16 '' C
'05EV/K,1 24 Slopwatcn Chip OIL
lone Generator
1495
511744615 16 69 16 16 295 82510 610
'116CJPh 16 A95
MC6131041, 24 128x8 StaticRAM 395 16 900 C 1934151
5574505 14 19 55]414ßN 16 t 19 $5142ß5N I6 2.95 MC6821 10 persheral Inter 4/M810/C68201 4 95 82515 16 n-, Spns10 C 1]452091
,m6CEV/Nn' 16 Tone Generator Cr.. Nil 195
66745111 14 19 55741505 24 19 5N/4365N 16 55 9C66213 Dnosh--8200pí Controller 1595 lI100D 14 05cdlator Loa.. 595
21
-
1

5114579 14 19 59741515 16 59 55743665 16 55 MC687o18 21 1024aß -pd ROM IMC68430.8i 1095 EPROMS .v7AFV/Nd 14 Fred Counter Chip OIL 195
SN74599 14 19 55741525 14 59 S974367N 16 55 MC6850 21 Asynchronous Comm Adapter 4 95 1702A 24 25648 , 15156 Fune CMOS Stepwalch CV 13 95
1
24 4

99391
5N74590 14 25 5N74153h 16 59 SN]43906 16 55 MC6852 24 5yncnronws Serra, Data Maple, 575 2700 24 102448 450ns) :'- 4func Stopwatch Chip. OIL 1495
215EV/Kit' 24
SN7460N 14 A 5674154N 20 1.25 557.906 16 149 MC6860 21 0.600Dps DVS MODEM 995 7108.5 24 101408 550ns)5M00246 2' '2160121 28 00r 1Ún4 Counter CA 2995
MC6862 24 H4s Modulator 1295 íM51516 2048a8 450ns) 2716
5574]05 11 29 55141555 16 So 551/3935 I/ 119 MC64004 16 Dual 3 -slate bus Trans 11.81261 215 ,M52s31
24
21 4096/8 450ns)NMC2532 12162121 28 8Ogil Fes Coarto,Co 2195
MC6800010 61 MPU 16 16.118M11/1 69 95 1552776 450ns) í9 95 11160151 28 No Frtt Counter 19 95
7425 28 819208 B C
741500 14 25 7425192 15 79 40 i61521í6
61.6ß188D Moltsgene Inl
,oiw,ICanPurpose Adeol, 895 24 2018x8 J voltage 795 ]217Oí 28 40x0)1 LEO Up/Dawn Loun/I,CC 1095
]42501 14 25 1425197 16 19 Multi Protocol Comm Conlroper
MC6865222 40 2495 2]16 24 2048%8 450,01 495 1117115, 28 4DigitlEiUp/Down ounce C 1195
741501 14 25 741.592 11 55 7415191 16 69 MC6866128 28 EnhancedProg Comm ,nl 895 07161 24 2148sß 350nsl 695
]11502 14 15 741.593 14 55 7415195 a 69 61.6168764 24 54K EPROM 5150ns, 3995 2231 11 4.96aß 50ns) 995
1224IPL 40 LC04', Digit Up Counter 0141 1095
742504 14 71LS95 79 1425191 /2264121 BOq"Unw Counter 2995
142505 14
29
29 741596
14
15 89 7415211
14
16
79
516522 40 Peripheral Inter Adapter 795 27580 24 '924x8 450nsi sin9 le5V 295 40
7495
89 MM2764 18 219208 /50nsi 16.95 72264E6/811' 40 5 Function Counter Chip. NIL
741508 11 19 1415107 11 39 74LS240 20 09 8080A SERIES 61612164 3 28 '9140 300nsi 19.95
741509 7415109 15580804 3.95
742510
14
14
29
29 7415111
16
16
39
39
7413141
7415141
24
14
09
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40
40
CPU
Synchronous Dala Interlace ¡Sind) 14 95 MCM6B7M1n 14 n192e 450ne7 39.95 130009 1983 INTERSIL Data Book (1356P.).... 69.95Í
1415243 eFlopTB'1,/0 1395 16 nd -
741511
741313
14
14
35
39
7415114
7415122
14
14
39
49 7135245
11
20
'.5X151
'.`612
10
24
128 RAM
OcMIDFulOIaDTl''SISIe114G3141 229 74S28Ì
165288
16
16 12+8
',644 PRO
PROM15163J1I
MS 1630 I 195 PRODUCT! 74HC High
g Speed
p CMOS
741913 14 39 1/25!12 14 49 7115145 20 - '1211 24 8 -bit Cens154121
l 225 195
lnterruuControl 14530] t6 .'96.4 DROMOC x62001 195 7aH000 14 75 7400179 16 49 7400251 16 119
742511 7415123 16 7115141 Ifi Interrupt 395
742515
14
14
59
35 7415125 14
79
19 24151aß 5216
a 24
16
PHi Oile
BnGe oral Bus ewer 215 ]45x11 10 ''II 51406115)62091 595 740002
748003
14
14
75
75
7400117
14..151
16 19 71HL253
718C259
16 99

742520 14 19 74L512ú 14 49 1125249 16 r+'2a 16 Clock torlDnwr 225 145471 20 "248 DROM2C ,63x91 16 19 16 I 19
O. % 7400259 149

PROM7529O.
742521 11 29 1425131 1/ 59 1425151 16 3'16 16 Bus Duvet 225 20 '0,8 PROM ,62aß, 495 74HC04 14 69 70OC153 16 16
-12.8
-

145111 14
742526
711621
741528
14
14
14
29
29
35
7416736
7416138
7416179
14
16
16
39
59
59
7415257
7416258
7415260
IS

14
'2'38
-2243
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28
24
18
System Controller 57451381
IS Espana, IU, 18 Sews
16 -hey Keyboard Encoder 11409211
449
595
449
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PROM
9
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295
14XC08
74HC1O
701011
14
14
14 69
75
75
74HC157
7400158
7400160
18
16
16
19
59
79
77XC273
7111.280
7400373
20
14
20
375
495
395
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74LS30 14 29 74LS151 16 59 7415266 td '.58246 20 20Key Keyboard Encoder 174.923) 495 741220 75 741.162 74HC3%
7415153 ]4162]3 1558247 746572 18 '1244 P0001 L 167511 495 14 16 39 16 149
741532 14 35 16 59 20 28 Display Controller 74C9t 1) 895 740C32 75 7010163 149
741333 14 55 7415154 24 99 7115279 16 49 1558248 28 Orsp,ay Controller (7409121 8 95
7x5573 78 '924.4 DR001S '0251711 495 14 16 39 74HL393 14
81523 16 x3+0 PROM 0 C 215181 2 95 74HC32 14 75 710.164 14 79 7102533 20 3 95
14LS37 11 35 7416755 16 69 7415287 16 69 155815011 10 Awn Comm Element 1095
825115 24 '200 D009 r 512151.1¡ 995 74HC12 16 139 74HCI65 16 39 1440534 20 395
741538 14 35 7416156 15 69 74152% 14 89 DP8251 28 Prog Comm I/O IUSARTI 6 49
825123 16 1248 PROM 1 5 1175191 2 95 140051 14 75 fasC17J 16 50 140.595 3 15
742540 14 29 74161 57 16 69 1416293 14 79 D58153 24 Prog Interval firmer 825126 74X0174
741_042 16 55 7416158 16 59 7413298 DP8155 40 Prog Penpherall/015511 19
16 1,674 PROMO C 127520, 395 74H05ß 14 75 16 39 1400680 319
16 89 4
14X.13 7400175
1125160 825129 16 :nn44 PROM 1 5 1275211 3 95 14 75 16 39 7/004002 14 79
112547 16 75 16 69 1415352 16 119 050151 40 Prbg DMA Control 795 825130 /7140 i1/512, 110.4017
14108 16 75 7125161 69 1625352 16 129 050159 28 Drag Interrupt 6 95
16 PROMO C 595 1411.74 14 99 4HC191 16 39 15 219
1416162
1

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Control 825185 18 7048,4 PROM 1 S 112514581) 9 95 1415
0. 16 99 74X0193 16 39 7/004010 16 2 19
7416649 14 75 166 69 16 9 DP8175 40 2995 048761906 102448 995 741.4024
742651 14 25 7415163 16 69 1416366 49 DP8179 40 Prog Neybaard/DOSpcal Interlace
24 PROM O C 18251801 7414C76 16 75 7480194 16 59 14 159
8 95 DM8791816 102158
24 PROM 1 5 ¡8251811 9 95 14X285 16 2 19 7400195 16 19 74NÚ010 15 2 19
742554 14 25 1115161 14 69 14L53ú1 16 49 D58303 20 13-BilStateilea Brl Oeceioei Trans 395
7416165 II 119
OS87516411 18 2048.4 PROM O C 18151841 995 14H.ß6 14 99 70HL237 16 95 748C4060 16 219
741555 14 29 7415368 16 49 DP8301 20 667181 Directional Recewer 2 49 DM8751nDN 18 :046.4 1400107 741/0240
119
PROM I S 1825185, 9 95 14 75 20 75 74HÚ075 14 75
741573 14 39 /415168 16 7415313 20 129 OP8307 20 8611 5, Dnecuona, Recover 149 1/M875190N PROM OC 18251901 1995 139
24 204844 140C109 16 700C241 20 75 110Ú01g 14 69
742574 14 39 7415169 16 I 19 1415314 20 1 29 08308 20 B-6711401ectional Recover 4 49 954815191N 24 204848 PROM 1 S 18251911 19 95 74HC112 16 15 7402242 14 79 740C/511
7415170 16 3 29
742375 16 39 16 1 49 7415375 16 69 0P8310 20 Octal Latched Peripheral Dover 4 95 74HC13J 14 75 740C243 14 79 741124514 24 4 79
741376 16 39 7416173 16 69 7415386 14 45 058311 20 Octal Latched PeLpheral Ones 4 es DATA ACQUISITION ]4HC132 14 89 7400244 75 7411.4538
20 16 2 95
741378 14 39 7415174 16 59 7415393 14 119 ÚC10 mm11.00700 Convert 5V 10-9V 295 56
16 65 e 16
DISK CONTROLLERS 61.34)05 IB Floppy D.P. Roe pern
74HC137 295 7411.451] 16 49,
41585
741383 16 69 415181
74131 21 249
59
74l56Ì0
9 16
16 109
149
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g Densely 1695 MCI:OgL/ 16 76,10/A Converter
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CNI i 5 74H.138 16 149 74HLU)4 Is u battered An ene,s are bu Nelea
F01793 40 5,ng1e/OnselyI 2495 61[1a091ß B67tD/ACanwrrerlpACOB08LCNl
712586
742590
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11
39
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16
16
89
89
811595
810591
20
20
149
49
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Fg1795
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40
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Dual Tensity/Sse Select (,try 1
2695
19 95
Á0.0B04
0ÁC0806
18
20
16
8.6,14/D.onwner11l5B,
8Ps D/A Converter () 78% lice ,
295
349
95
'Programmable Array Logic (PALS)
/DI 797 40 Dual Oensrty'Side Se,ec, Irue 4995 0060809
1

20 8.01 IMO Cesewler l8'Ch Mudrl 4.49 Pan No. 'Pins Function Price
74500 14 35 745/PROMS° 745243 14 49
SPECIAL FUNCTION 0020811 408.bn A/D Convener l l6-Cn Mph 995
74002 14 35 745204 20 49
1
7011028 20 Octal AND -OR Gate Array( H, 9h Output) 5595
11507 D500N 8 Dual MOS Clock Olive, 15n1, 249 DACI000 2010. e1D/A Cony Mara Comp 1005.11395 PAL 1296 20 e. 174ill AND OR Gale Array High Oulpnn, 595
14 35 745114 16 295 115251 16 19 0001000 50 d1 D/OA Micro
l

74601 14 45 745133 16 45 745250 16 19

DS0026CN
MI 7715-1
8 DWI MOS C1o0 Driver I5M11 1 95
)ÁC5020 1610-s10/A
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05%lint
1010%1
849
/ 95 PAL 14114 f0 Wad 14 ow
AND.OR Gare Array 9n (Mali 5 95
40 Foppy Disk Connrooer ,695 Cony IO
74505 14 45 746134 16 50 715257 16 19 ,5526567 28 Communication Chip a 9 DAC1022 1610.6710 Canv 7010%Lnl 595 5ÁL1010 20 tie^a1101npur ANO OR Inver) Gale Alrayllow0ulpu1l 595
74508 14 39 745135 16 69 7/259 16 MM58167N 24 Microprocessor Rea, isle cock 895 MCI 222 IB Ind vA CON 1010`/, Lml 695 DALi2L6 20 124n0u14N0.OR mveH Gale Array 'Low Output) 595

951.63351
19
7409 14 39 mere 14 139 745260 14 79 6161581145 16 Micro Compatible Time Limn 195 AF100'1CN 16 Universal Active Finer 5% l 595 5Á21414 20 )mad 14-Inour AND-OR -Invert Gate Array low Output) l 595
)1510 145138 COMA 40 Mrmoconrloier w/64 -0ign RA 9 595 AF 1211.2 24 Touch lone Lbw Bane Fnler 1995 PAL 1618 20 Octal 16 -Input AND OR Invert Gate Array now Output) 995
14 35 16 89 7452130 14 95
and Gnea LED Drwe AF 112 102 21 touch lone High Band Filter 19 95 FPAL 0115ß0 ZO Octal )6 Input Reenter AND on Gale 4rray 9 95
]4511 11 35 145139 16 89 7x5181' 16 95
COP402MN 40 S0í700110 sox w/64 -d RAM 5 95 163341 temveConstam useCur Source 1 19 PAL 1696 20 Hex 16-Inour Register AND OR Gale Array 9 95
14515 14 35 745140 14 55 745188' 16 lempelanure transducer 140
8 Direct LEO w/N Buss Ins PAL 1644 0110'6 Input%iSí/- 995

414
74520 745151 20 ANC OR Gate Array
11 35 16 99 7:5377 20 _ 49 60,4105 20 liseg
VAC Fluor Dar 520056 pNg J 25 L6399N Temp Camp Prec615 Bel I Sppm/C°I 500
Prog 0,66 AY.5.1013A 10305 Baud UM 11141802, 1300/2 1982 NATIONAL PAL Data Book n78p3..f5.95j
I

11522 11 35 /aS 152 16 99 ]15311 20 .49 61615269551 B

6,6,
110 195
74530 14 35 746157 16 99 715387' 16 95
14C00 11 740221 16 , 95
39
74ÓI
538
74551
14 89 ä5i60
115175
16 299 4572.20473/ 20 95
QUALITY COMPONENTS AT a 14 73 0 2 I95
49
14 39 16 99 745474' 95

AFFORDABLE PRICES!
24

.353
11561 11 39 745180 16 49 745415' 24 95
;999
r

74665 14 39 146194 16 1 49 745570' 16 '_.95

is 35 /10151 24 3492
25 0gó9 14 259
77.30

-
74674 14 35 740160 16 19 740906 14 59
14 55 745195 16 1 49 745511 16 1.95 7402 74C161 18 /:C911
14 39 19 28 8 95
71586 745196 149 LOW PROFILE
14 55 14 745572' 18 495 SOLDERTAIL 74242 16 139 14C?62 16 19 742912 28 895
745112
746113
146114
16
14
11
55
55
55
74550
745211
745242
20
20
14
2.25
225
219
745513'
745940
145941
16
20
20
4
1.49
519
95
(TIN)SOCKETS
19 1099 100 .up
STANDARD (TIN)
19 10.99 100.up
71Ús
14c73
74014
I6
11
11
195
79
69
740163
7c164
14C113
16
a
16
19
49
19
11.915
74917
74.912
16
za
18
9
8
9.49
, 19

2Á301)X 99 `N=4tll=i 2Á3089N 18 69

8 pin LP .Ifi -11 1e LP 14 pin ST 29 27 25
771C85
74086
I6
14
1
95
39
74C174
14C175
16
16
19
19
71.923
710925
20
16
4
5
95
95

391-9
CA30130 15
1
14 pin LP 17 .15 14 16 pin ST -34 32 30 74C89 16 5 95 7.191 16 49 74.926 18 5.95
2 C030605 16 3.25 CA3096N 16 119 16 pin LP 19 1] 16 18 pin ST .38 .36 74090 14 19 740193 16 89 80095 16 39
.430230 3 25
31 1

.Á3060E a 89 .Á3170F 8 I 49 .23 74093 14 19 74.195 16 39 80097 16 39

C430350 595
18 pin LP 26 24 20 pin ST 45 13 .41
1

CA3081N 16 149 CA31401 8 99 20 pin LP 30 .27 .25 24 pin 5T .49 ./6 .43 1L071CP
C030390
CÁ30465 14
1 35
89
C030825
0430835
16
16
149
49
CA31600
CA34015 14
1 95
59
22 pin LP 31 28 .26 PS pin ST 69 97 .83 11072C2 1
79
39
LINEAR uoouos
1617105
I
1
49
69
C030595
1
24 pin LP 33 .30 .28 40 pin ST .99 95 .89 71.07405 I 95
14 3 25 CA30865 14 69 CA3600N 14 3.95
1
79 1M223N 1 79
28 pin LP 40 37 ILD81L5

89ST
S0 59 L434001.5
01.11 79
WIRE WRAP SOCKETS 114723A1

4 40)0 14 z9
CD-CMOS CD/098 16 195 40ein9
36 pin LP
LP
46 42
.45
39
43 (GOLD) LEVEL #3
110ß2L5
1L084051
I15
95 10385157999
110133N
1

1 I
55
00

(GOLD)fig
I
C04506 16 1 19 L517395 1 195
CD4001 11 .29 004000 16 79 CD4507 14 1099 100 -up 26301.5 35 LM3S)K 4 95 261]41.5 35
.00002 14 29 SOLDERTAILTANDA 261]0111 95
CD4042 11 79 .015011 21 3 05
1
0F355N 8 /0 087415 69
C04006 14 B9 CD4042 16 69 STANDARD 6pin WW 49 45 .42 143640 195 F35614
1

004510 16 89
1. 8 t 0
1 N1748 59

79LM194CN
CD400] 14 10.99 100 -up 10 pin WW 65 62 .59 1M305C
29 C04)IJ 16 I9 CD45t1 Ifi 89
1-9 99 1603705 14 1 19 LM1456C 19
14 pin WW
1 1

CD4009 16 39 55 62 .59 LM301CN 69 795

19LM3900N
CO4044 16 79 C04512 16
8 LM377N 11 ,9,4844,
4 pin SG 30 3T .37 15 pin WW 69 .85 .71
59
C04010 16 39 C04046 16 89 CD4514 IM3090N 8 69 1603105 14 95
24 1 79 16 pin 55 43 49 10414ß9 1 69
CD4011 14 29 37 20 pin WW 89 85 79 613090 25 183815 14 89
C04047 14 89 CD4515 24 ' 79 I. 1

15414895 1 69
16 pin 55 43 .47 20 pin WW 1.25 1.15 .99 LM310CN
14 .15 cÚ016 16 39 CÚ516 16 99
5 1
JS 103829 14 1 39
LM 16969 i 95
C04013 14 39 C131019
18 pin 5G 53 /9 .47 22 pin WW 1.25 1.19 1,15 1901195 5 69 LM3B4N 14
1

16 .39 C04518 16 99
I
2611ß00N 19
24 pin 50 69 .65 .61 14 pin WW 1.29 1.23 1.18 193120 49 179
1
C04014 16 79 004050 16 39 CÚ519 16 39
2 283061 14
1618899 1 95
CD4015 .39
28 pin SO 81 76 .72 28 pin WW 1.59 1.50 1.45 193171 19 8 89
,

Ifi C04051 16 79 CD4520 16

1

2610965 95
35 pin so 1.09 1.03 .07 85 1.89 1.69 1613175 J 9S
1 1
CD4016 14 39 LM052 16 79 119 WRI 36 pin WW 1 ol4e6CN I8 119 1910091
CD4526 16 40 pin so 1.21 l.la 1.08 40 pin WW 1.99 1.69 1.19 LMJt BLN 195 911%CP
) 49

-
CD4017 16 75 8 8 19
004053 16 79 I
1 59
LM319N 95 5E510A
OnlySpec Sheets -306 each 14
I15131895

CD4018 16 79 1 14 4 95
CD4056 16 95
C04019 16 39 C04059
7 C04529 16 1

110.00 Minimum Order U.S. Funds LMJ20e 5 35 NE5310 18 7 95

I 59

-
1

7
24 95 C04543
004020 16 75 C04060 16 89
16 1 19
Shipping Residents Add 6$150 es Tax Send 1983 Postage your L MJ20x 15 1 35 NE531V 8 295
LM3905C9 119
004562 14 695 1M3909N 99
c04021 16 79 Co4066 a 39 204566 16 39
Shipping Add 5 % plus $1.50 Insurance FREE 1983 JAMECO CATALOG 1MJZDN-ls 35 5551úN B 95
15139146 I 3.49
Prices Subject to Change
1

C04022 16 79 C01068 14 39 C04583 16 ? 49 Send S.A.S.E. for Monthly Sales Flyer! LM72015 89 NESaOH 4 95
16139155 1 3 49
2613201-11 89 NE544N 14 95

119`!Wen
000023 14 29 .04069 14 29 CO4584 I/ 2
S9
132 89 NE550A 14
L63916N 1 3 19
15 95
C04024 14 69 C04010 14 CD4]23 / Ma Order ElscIronies Worldwide
1

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ameco
39 16 19 I
C0/025 16 13
1
103234 5 59 8 35
004071 14 29 MCa4 16 19
14Úi51 NB 1.95
(^ LM327N
'
id 59 2615665 14 69
16 CÚ012
2a5
11 29 MC14410 16 13.95
MasterCard 1M335/ 195 LM566C íi9
V/SrO7
/
00/02177 16 11
CD407S 11 29 MC14411 24 13.95 .93395 NE5534 169
69
699 1M561vN 8 149
004028 IN 001015 11 29 61211411 24 I' 95 613795 (M56IV ,C1603891 3.95
004029
LD1030
16
11
79
79
004076 16 79 MC14412 16 13.95 ELECTRONICS M3401,5
14 69
N(" 'N ,
8
16 395
89
61130805 8 1 19

.
CD1078 11 49 61.14419 Ifi ?.9S -M340x-).' LM13600N 16 19
-
6 19 1

195
1

004034 24 CD4081
ROAD, ß526105T. CA
-
.29
.x035 15 89 :D4082
14
14 29
MC14433
MC14538
24
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(Mare in earning) 001093 14 4s MC14541 14 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043 130003 1982 Nat.LlneOI Data Book 1.1 .$11.95

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Circuit Description. The circuit shown via the connector Pl expansion port to the
CLOCK DATA CLOCK in Fig. 2 reshapes the clock and data pulses computer data bus. Indicator LED2 and
UL SE PULSE PULSE
received from the tape recorder and feeds optional meter MI indicate that the tape
/'7 them to the computer. Audio transformer recorder is sending data at the proper lev-
Tl provides dc isolation between the tape el, and LED3 glows when regenerating
recorder and the Regenerator circuit. program DUB3 is up and running. If no
I Switch SI and diodes DI and D2 allow se- back-up copies are required, J2 provides a
LA lection of the "better" half of the pulse (see "quick -and -dirty" direct output to the
Control Adjustments later on), while ze- TRS-80 via the tape recorder plug. The
300 /4 1000 Ns 1000 pS
ner diode D3 and transistor Ql further signal at this point is not retimed and is
shape the incoming signal. One OR gate in only partially reshaped. This limited pro-
ICI decodes the IN command from the cessing may make a tape readable.
computer (via the Pl connector) indicat- Power for the circuit (Fig. 3) is provided
ing that the computer is ready to accept by transformer T2, in conjunction with
data. When this command occurs, ICI voltage regulator IC3, bridge circuit
(pin 8) activates IC2 (via pin 15) to allow RECTI, and capacitors Cl and C2. Pow-
the amplified tape recorder signals to pass er-on is indicated by LEDI.

5V

R3
270A
DI
TPI
TAPE OI
REC Hi POLARITY
0
5A
SI
OI
ol '.NNN
O p 02
RI
270A
R2
V 3
10K

Fig. 1. Waveform (A) is "ideal," +5V +5V

That .3t (B) is a good recording, 14 116 2 14 110 114
while those in (C) show various 8 15 J2
distortions that can occur. ICI 9 13 IC2 R5
AU)
74LS32 74LS368 ,. 270/1
10

12 18 15 9

820n
R6
Z \\.:\
\` C3
0.10F

made with a monitor program, e.g. Radio + L=D2 LED 3

--_-r
VDL PGM ON
Shack T -BUG. However, the original pro- GND AO IN' DO MI
PIN NO. (8) (25) (19) (30)
gram must be readable and short enough
to fit into memory without overwriting a 1 PI CONNECTOR
ON TRS-80
monitor program.
The Tape Regenerator and associated Fig. 2. The Tape Regenerator is controlled by signals from
program, DUB3 (see Table), overcome the TRS-80 that are determined by the DUB3 program. A second
these limitations by reshaping and retim- recorder is connected to the auxiliary output at jack J2.
ing the pulses to produce new tape that the
TRS-80 can easily read. PARTS LIST
Multiple -segment programs (some pro-
grams feature a separate loader) or several
C1 -200-µF electrolytic R4,R6-820-ohm, 1/2-W resistor (optional)
programs on a single tape pose no prob-
lems for the Regenerator, either. Operat- C2,C3-0.1-µFdisc capacitor RECT1-50-V, 1-A bridge rectifier
D1,D2-1 N914 silicon diode S1,S2-Spdt switch
ing on one pair of clock/data pulses at a IC1-74LS32 quad OR gate T1-Audio transformer (Radio Shack No.
time without storing the whole program in IC2-74LS368 hex tri -state buffer 273-1380 or similar)
RAM as monitor programs do, the Regen- IC3-7805 +5 -volt regulator T2 -12-V transformer (Radio Shack No.
erator allows even a TRS-80 computer LEDI,LED2,LED3-Red light -emitting 273-1385 or similar)
with only 4K of RAM to back-up copies of diode Misc.-Suitable enclosure; 14- and 16 -pin
arbitrarily large programs and handle M1 -1 -mA meter (Radio Shack No. 270- DIP IC sockets; line cord; solder; etc.
tapes containing multiple programs in a 1752 or similar) Note: An etched, drilled, and silk-
single cassette pass. P1-2 X 20 edge connector on 0.1" cen- screened printed -circuit board listing
To test the soundness of the Tape Re-
ters to fit expansion port on TRS-80 key- of DUB3 program in BASIC to allow
board or expansion interface POKEing into memory are available
generator design, the author created five Q1-Npn transistor (Radio Shack No. for $11.95 (plus 6% sales tax for New
generations of the same program and 276-2014 or similar) Jersey residents) from C&R Elec-
found that the fifth -generation tape would R1,R3,R5-270-ohm, V2 -W resistor tronics, P.O. Box 217, Holmdel, NJ
load as easily as the original. R2 -10,000 -ohm, 1/2-W resistor 07733.

8 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 time interval to a second pulse is checked
RECT
to make sure that the first was not a spuri-
I

2
(5V) ous transient. When the clock pulse is con-
1
VCC
S2
ON/OFF
1C3 firmed, it is output after a 200-µs delay us-
R4
ing subroutine OUTPUT. This subroutine
C
200uF
C2
.1uF
8208

LED
produces a clean signal lasting 300 µs, as
\CN
I

shown in Fig. IA. A search for the data

pulse now begins. The delay of 500 µs ex-
cludes any residual ringing from the pre-
ceding clock pulse. If no data pulse is
Fig. 3. The power supply is a simple found during the following 700-µs win-
rectified regulator circuit as shown here. dow, a search for the next clock pulse be-
gins. If a data pulse is detected in the win -

Construction. The circuit can be assem- corder volume control. Flip polarity
CLOCK DATA CLOCK
bled on a small pc board, or Wire Wrap switch SI and leave it in the position corre- PULSE PULSE PULSE
techniques can be used. Keep all leads as sponding to a stronger signal, as evidenced
short as possible. As only four contacts are by a brighter LED, higher reading on the
used on the 40-pin TRS-80 connector, the meter, or a cleaner pulse display on the
remaining pins can be expanded with a scope. Optimum setting of the recorder
srewdriver to make plug insertion easier. playback level is found by advancing the 200 300
us
700 100
Ps ,us us
Before turning on the power, recheck all volume control until LED2 glows bright-
wiring, especially the leads to the comput- ly, then backing off slightly. If optional SEARCH1
WINDOW
CLOCK SEARCH

er expansion port. meter MI is included in the circuit (see

Fig. 2), adjust the volume control for a
Control Adjustments. To properly read
a poorly recorded tape, polarity switch SI
on the Tape Regenerator and the volume
control of the tape recorder must be set.
These settings will vary from tape to tape.
However, back-up tapes made by the Tape
reading between 0.5 and 0.6 mA. As a final
alternative, connect an oscilloscope to
TP1 and adjust the control for the
cleanest, widest pulses you can.

Regenerator Program DUB3. The re-

-A 1000 Ps
VT 1000 Ps 4
Regenerator or CSAVE command should shaping and retiming of Level II clock and
all work with the same settings. data pulses as received via the P1 connec-
To determine the proper settings for an tor is performed by the DUB3 program. Fig. 4. Timing diagram of DUB3
unknown tape, observe LED2 and milli- After clearing the screen and displaying program Input at TP1 is at top.
meter M/, or connect a scope to TP1. Play a message, the DUB3 program searches Below is- output from computer.
the tape at medium setting of the tape re - for a clock pulse. When one is found, the

RECORDER 2
(RECORD)

Fig. 5. Electrical
interconnection of the
Tape Regenerator to the
TRS-80 computer and
two tape recorders.

EXPANSION PORT
(KEYBOARD
OR EXPANSION
IN TE R=ACE)

TRS-80
COMPUTER

1984 EDITION 9
 TABLE-LISTING OF DUB3 PROGRAM
dow, it is checked again to exclude a
00100 PORT EQU 00H transient and, if confirmed, is output at
00110 CENTER EQU 04H the end of the 1 -ms interval that started at
00120 HIGH EQU 05H the beginning of the preceding clock pulse
00130 LOW EQU 06H (Fig. 4).
00140 DL100 EQU OCH A data pulse appearing at any time be-
00150 DL150 EQU 12H tween 500 µs and 1.2 ms after a clock pulse
00160 LEN 1 EQU 14H is correctly retimed to occur exactly 1 ms
00170 DL200 EQU 1AH after the clock pulse. After a 100-µs delay,
00180 DL700 EQU 22H the program continues with the search for
00190 LEN2 EQU 22H the next clock pulse. The DUB3 program
00200 CASS EQU OFFH can be loaded using the Radio Shack
00210 CLS EQU 01C9H Editor/Assembler or by keying in the Z80
00220 LINE1 EQU 3DD6H instructions. For a BASIC version of the
00230 LINE2 EQU 3EOFH DUB3 program that will POKE the in-
00240 ORG 4AOOH structions into memory, see the Parts List.
00250 DUB3 CALL CLS ;CLEAR SCREEN
00260 LD HL,TAB1 ;DISPLAY LINE1 Operating Instructions. Electrical in-
00270 LD DE,LINE1 terconnection between the Tape Regener-
00280 LD BC, LEN 1 ator, both tape recorders, and the comput-
00290 LDIR er is shown in Fig. 5. Always turn off
00300 LD HL,TAB2 ;DISPLAY LINE2 power to the computer and Regenerator
00310 LD DE,LINE2 when plugging or unplugging the 40 -pin
00320 LD BC,LEN2 connector at the rear of the TRS-80
00330 LDIR keyboard.
00340 START LD B,DL100 ;100 MICS DELAY If you have the Expansion Interface
00350 DELO DJNZ DELO connected to your computer, use the ex-
00360 SRCHC IN A,(PORT) ;START CLOCK PULSE SEARCH pansion port on the left side of the Expan-
00370 RRA sion Interface instead of the expansion
00380 JR NC,SRCHC ;CLOCK PULSE FOUND? port at the rear of the keyboard. When
00390 IN A,(PORT) ;YES, TRANSIENT ONLY? power is applied to the computer and Tape
00400 RRA Regenerator, LEDI should glow and the
00410 JR NC,SRCHC ;YES, KEEP SEARCHING MEMORY SIZE? prompt should appear
00420 LD B,DL200 ;NO, SET 200 MICS DELAY on the video monitor. If the prompt does
00430 DELI DJNZ DEL 1 not appear, check connections, particular-
00440 CALL OUTPUT ;PUT OUT CLOCK PULSE ly the 40 -pin connector, between the Tape
00450 LD B,DL700 ;START 700 MICS READ WINDOW Regenerator and the TRS-80. Load and
00460 SRCHD IN A,(PORT) ;SEARCH FOR DATA PULSE run the DUB3 program. Indicator LED3
00470 RRA (PGM oN) should glow as long as DUB3 is
00480 JR C,FOUND1 ;FOUND? running. The program is in an infinite loop
00490 DJNZ SRCHD ;NO, WINDOW TIMED OUT? and will run until you press the RESET but-
00500 JR START ;YES, SEARCH FOR CLOCK PULSE ton on the rear of the TRS-80 or turn off
00510 FOUND1 IN A,(PORT) ;TRANSIENT ONLY? power to the computer.
00520 RRA For initial adjustment, start reading
00530 JR C,FOUND2 ;NO tape from tape recorder 1 and set polarity
00540 DJNZ SRCHD ;YES, WINDOW TIMED OUT? switch SI and the tape recorder volume
00550 JR START ;YES, SEARCH FOR CLOCK PULSE control as explained under Control
00560 ;DATA PULSE FOUND Adjustments.
00570 FOUND2 INC IX ;WASTE 10 CYCLES Rewind tape recorder I and start it in
00580 BIT 3,(HL) ;WASTE 12 CYCLES the play mode while starting tape recorder
00590 DJNZ FOUND2 ;WINDOW TIMED OUT? 2 in the record mode with a clean tape.
00600 CALL OUTPUT ;YES, PUT DATA OUTPUT PULSE When the program on tape recorder 1 is
00610 JR START ;SEARCH FOR CLOCK PULSE finished, LED2 (VOL) will extinguish and
00620 OUTPUT LD A,HIGH ;PUSE OUTPUT meter Ml will indicate close to zero. This
00630 OUT (CASS),A ;PULSE HIGH is the signal for you to turn off both tape
00640 LD B,DL150 ;150MIXS DELAY recorders. You can continue with as many
00650 DEL2 DJNZ DEL2 tapes as desired. When finished, open S2
00660 LD A, LOW to turn off power to the Tape Regenerator,
00670 OUT (CASS),A ;PULSE LOW press the RESET button to return the TRS-
00680 LD B,DL150 ;150 MICS DELAY 80 to BASIC, or turn off the computer.
00690 DEL3 DJNZ DEL3 The 40 -pin connector (Pl) can be left per-
00700 LD A,CENTER manently plugged into the expansion port,
00710 OUT (CASS),A ;RESTORE TO CENTER as it does not interfere with normal com-
00720 REF puter operation. If the pulse amplitude on
00730 TAB1 DEFM 'TAPE BACK-UP PROGRAM' the original tape is very unsteady or the
00740 TAB2 DEFM 'COPYRIGHT (C) 1980 CASS R. LEWART' pulses are imbedded in noise, regenerating
00750 END DUB3 the tape may not be possible.

10 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

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 PROGRAMMER'S GUIDE TO
CP/M Edited by Sol Libes
Here's an important collection of CP/M in- January 1980 and February 1982. Except for
sights that you'll never find in any CP/M this collection, these articles are now unavail-
manual. CP/M is the most popular microcom- able! Programmer's Guide to CP/M gives you
puter DOS in use today, and this widespread an in-depth look at CP/M from the viewpoint of
use has generated many innovative tech- the programmer-the individual who creates
niques and enhancements of CP/M. Program- the software that interfaces directly with
mer's Guide to CP/M tells you what these CP/M, or who is installing CP/M on systems for
enhancements are and how which configurations do not
to put them to use, how to already exist.
get around apparent limita- Contents include "An In-
tions of a CP,'M system and
PROGRAMMER'S GUIDE TO
troduction to CP/M," "The s,

why CP/M is far more versa- CP/M Connection," "CP/M

tile than you might have ima- Software Reviews," "CP/M
gined. Every article in Utilities & Enhancement,"
Programmer's Guide to "CP/M 86" and "CP/M Soft-
CP/M originally appeared in
An in-depth look at the most widely used
ware Directories." 200
MICROSYSTEMS between microcomputer DOS in the world. pages, $12.95.

CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc.

Edited by Sol libes
Editor. Mirrr.vell.rns Maaacine

Microsystems Dept. NFSF 39 East Hanover Avenue Morris Plains, NJ 07950

Send me copies of Programmer's Guide to CP/M Print Name

at $12 95 each, plus $2 for postage and handling.
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Two Projects for Outdoor Use

A BATT RY-03 ATHD

FLUORESCENT LAMP
Portable, high-efficiency light source draws current from a vehicle's
12-volt storage battery, but leaves plenty of charge for engine starting.

BY LAWRENCE M. WALDEN

THE recreational vehicle is be- down when the battery reaches some voltage developed across collector re-
coming more and more popular predetermined voltage level, thus pre- sistor RI2. This action lowers the bias
with campers who want a "home venting a complete discharge. A LED on series -pass transistor Q5, reducing
away from home." In such cases, the indicator glows when the turnoff point the drive to Q6/Q7 to lower the lamp
vehicle's 12 -volt battery supply pro- is reached. Once turned off, the sys- drive and reduce the voltage across
vides a convenient source of power for tem draws only a few milliamperes. R17. The circuit stabilizes lamp cur-
lighting around the camp. This is very rent preset by RI6.
handy, of course; but, for the amount Circuit Operation. When the 12 - At initial lamp turnon, approxi-
of light they deliver, 12 -volt incandes- volt supply (Fig. 1) is applied to the mately 1.3 amperes will flow through
cent lamps waste a lot of valuable bat- circuit through fuse FI, switch SI, Q7 until the fluorescent lamps fire.
tery power. Fluorescent lamps, on the and the protective diode, DI, multivi- This ensures lamp start even in cold
other hand, produce good lighting at brator ICI starts to oscillate at a fre- weather. Once the lamps strike, the
high efficiency. Unfortunately, they quency determined by the setting of current will range from about 0.9 am-
require a dc-to -ac converter. R2. This is approximately 10 kHz. At pere at 13.2 volts to about 1.1 am-
The low-cost circuit described here this time, QI is cut off to allow ICI to peres when the battery voltage drops
not only performs the dc -to -ac conver- oscillate. to near 10.6 volts.
sion, it also provides automatic shut- As the +12 volts are applied to the Low battery protection is provided
R/8/zener diode D2 network, 7.6 by potentiometer R6. The selected
volts are applied to the emitters of Q3 voltage is applied via R8 to the base of
and Q4. At this time, the base of Q4 is Q3. In normal operation, Q3 is cut off
at zero voltage, thus turning this tran- since its base voltage is higher than
sistor fully on and developing approxi- the 7.6 volts applied to its emitter. If
mately 7 volts across its collector re- the battery voltage drops so that the
sistor (R12). This voltage, applied via base of Q3 goes below the emitter
RI3 to the base of series -pass transis- voltage, Q3 starts to conduct and its
tor Q5, turns the transistor on and collector current flows through RIO to
allows the output of ICI to pass the base of Q2. When Q2 starts to
through R7 to driver transistor Q6. conduct, the base drive of Q3 is fur-
The latter, in turn, drives power tran- ther reduced until both Q2 and Q3 are
sistor Q7 to its maximum output. latched fully on. Once latched on, the
The collector load of Q7 is formed collector of Q3 will be approximately
by the 6.3 -volt winding of transformer 6 volts, which are applied through
TI. Thus, as ICI oscillates, a high R11, causing LEDI-the low -voltage
alternating voltage is developed across indicator-to glow. This voltage is
the 120 -volt winding of Tl and ap- also applied via R5 to the base of QI
plied to the two series-connected fluo- to bias this transistor fully on. When
rescent lamps (LI and L2), and across this occurs, pins 2 and 3 of ICI be-
current -sensing resistor R17. come fully positive, thus disabling the
At lamp turnon, the voltage devel- multivibrator. At this point, battery
oped across R17 is rectified and fil- consumption drops to about 50 mA,
tered by D3 and C5 and applied since Ql, Q2, and Q3 are the only
across lamp -current -adjust potenti- active elements. Operating power
ometer RI6. A preselected portion of should now be removed via SI.
this voltage is applied to the R15/C4 Capacitor C4 at the base of Q4 is a
network and to the base of Q4. When high value to prevent oscillation, while
this voltage approximates the 7.6 -volt C3 at the base of Q2 allows the circuit
emitter reference, Q4 starts to reduce to stabilize before low voltage levels
its conductance, thus lowering the can be detected. Once the circuit is

12 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
working, it responds very rapidly to Since the secondary of transformer may not fire due to the low frequency
voltage drops. TI can develop as much as 1500 volts of the multivibrator, and about 0.3 to
peak -to -peak across the output, and as 0.4 ampere will be drawn. Transform-
Construction. Since there is noth- much as 225 volts when the lamps are er Ti may also make sounds due to
mg critical about the circuit, it can be lit, suitable insulation must be used at lamination movement, which indi-
constructed on a small piece of perf these points. Also, keep these voltages cates an operating circuit.
board using point-to-point wiring and in mind when performing the adjust- Slowly rotate frequency -adjust po-
sockets for ICI and the seven transis- ments on the circuit. tentiometer R2 and note that the
tors. Transistor Q7, transformer TI, ammeter current increases and the
power on/off switch Sl, fuse FI, and Adjustments. Before applying lamps start to glow. Continue to in-
the two fluorescent lamp sockets are power, remove the connection be- crease the frequency very slowly until
mounted on the enclosure. tween low -voltage-adjust potentiome- the lamps come to full brightness at a
Select an enclosure that can sup- ter R6 rotor to the +12 -volt end. current of about 0.6 ampere. At this
port the circuit board, the transform- Then set lamp -current -adjust potenti- point, the supply current will suddenly
er, a heat sink for power transistor ometer R16 so that the rotor is at the jump to about 1.2 to 1.3 amperes. Ad-
Q7, and the sockets for the two fluo- ground end. Frequency -adjust poten- vance the frequency for an additional
rescent lamps. The two lamps can be tiometer R2 should be set to the RI 0.2 ampere, but not higher, as both
mounted vertically on top of the en- side (highest resistance). output voltage and efficiency will
closure, and provided with some form To make a complete test, use an drop.
of transparent weather protection adjustable power supply between 10 If desired, the multivibrator can be
such as a plastic sleeve. If a metal and 14 volts, with a capacity of at "fine tuned" using an oscilloscope. To
enclosure is used, it can serve as the least 2 amperes. Connect an ammeter do this, turn the power off, set the
Q7 heat sink when a suitable insulator (about 2 amperes) in series with the controls as described above, remove
is used. Connection to the +12 volts positive battery connection, and a the lamps and replace them with four
can be made with a length of conven- voltmeter (20-volt range) from the 100412, 1/2-W resistors connected in
tional two-conductor lamp cord hav- cathode side of D1 to ground. Connect series. Connect the scope leads across
ing a cigarette lighter plug at one end. the power source. R17, and set the scope vertical to 5
The author used 33 feet of lamp cord. When Si is turned on, the lamps volts/division. Turn the power on and

SI
R16 IOÖ11
IK FI
06
2NI71I
+12V
05
2N1711
R7
R2 I :I 1K

Q b
25K 5 5
FREO Ip
Crt 6.3VaK>120V
0 0
R3
IK .00339F
RR6
LOW Q7'
03
VOALTS
DJ 04
2N3905 33K J3029
RB Fig. 1. Schematic diagram
4.7K
of the Battery -Operated
Fluorescent Lamp. The low -
voltage cutoff point is
D2 determined by the setting
IN 9592
RIO ?RII
76V
R12 R15
of potentionmeter R6.
10K z I.5K IOK K

02
2N390ì
CI D3

X 24
y
4]yF
LED 5K
2RI RI7
104E LOW CU3DR. 220(1
GE
TC3 Ti2yF 12V

PARTS LIST
Q1,05,Q6-2N1711 or similar npn silicon R17-220-2, 2-W resistor
C1- 100-µF, 25-V electrolytic transistor R18- -kn, ßi2-W resistor
1

C2 -0.0047-µF, film capacitor Q2 -2N3903 or similar npn silicon transis- R19- 100-n, 1-W resistor
C3 -10-µF, 60-V electrolytic tor S 1-Spst switch
C4 -47-µF, 50-V electrolytic Q3,04 -2N3905 pnp or similar transistor T1 -6.3 -V, 1.2-A transformer
C5 -2-µF, 50-V electrolytic Q7-MJ3029 npn power transistor Misc.-Pert board, sockets for IC1 and
C6 -0.0033-µF, 100-V film capacitor R1,R3,R7,R15-1-ktl, 1/4-W resistor transistors, heat sink and thermal insula-
D1,03 -2 -ampere rectifier diode R2,R6,R 16 -25 -kit, pc potentiometer tor for 07, sockets (4) for fluorescent
D2- 1 N959A, 7.6-V zener diode R4 -470-t2, "2-W resistor lamps, suitable enclosure, length of con-
F 1-4-A fuse and holder R5,R9,R10,R12-10-kn, v4 -resistor ventional lamp cord, automotive ciga-
IC 1-555 timer R8 -4.7 -kit, 1/4-W resistor rette plug, transparent weather shield for
Li,L2-15-watt daylight fluorescent lamps R11- 1.5 -kn, 1/2-W resistor lamps, adhesives, mounting hardware,
(F 15T120 or similar) R 13 -3.3 -kn, "4-W resistor etc.
LED1-Red LED R 14 -2.2 -kit, "/4-W resistor

1984 EDITION 13

www.americanradiohistory.com
 R16 until the current approaches 0.8
ampere and there is a decrease in light
output. Then slowly adjust R16 until
the current reaches ampere. Lower
1

the power supply to 10.6 volts, then

re -adjust R16 for 1.1 amperes current
flow. This becomes the maximum cur-
rent drain at the lowest operating
voltage.
Increase the supply voltage from
10.6 to 13.2 volts and note that the
light output remains constant as the
current decreases. With 12 volts ap-
plied, about ampere will flow, and
1

with a 13.2 -volt supply, the current

drops to about 0.9 ampere.
To adjust the low -voltage cutoff,
Lamp circuit
reconnect R6 to the + 12 -volt line.
mounted in
base of unit.
and with the voltmeter still in the cir-
cuit, allow a 5 -minute lamp warm-up.
Reduce the power supply to 10.6 volts
(or other desired low -voltage point)
and slowly rotate R6 until the lamps
note that about 0.5 ampere flows and adjust the frequency higher than this, go off and LEDI glows. Recheck this
a 3- to -4 -volt waveform appears on or the efficiency will be reduced. Turn point several times. If, during opera-
the scope. Slowly increase the fre- the power off, remove the resistors, tion, the lamps go out, the presence of
quency (via R2) until the scope trace and replace the lamps. glowing LEDI indicates that the low
peaks at about 15 volts peak -to -peak. To adjust the lamp current regula- battery voltage has been reached, and
The supply current should reach tor with the lamps glowing, slowly ro- the circuit has not been accidentally
about ampere at this point. Do not
1 tate current -adjust potentiometer removed from the power source. 0

°'COINSHOOTER"
VTAL DTCTOR
Advanced circuit reacts to coins and other precious
metal objects while ignoring chunks of iron and steel
BY WILLIAM LAHR
SEARCHING FOR coins and oth- will yield excellent results if the coins folded -loop transmitting coil (LI and
er lost articles along beaches and are at depths of from 1 to 3 inches. L2) so that there is little if any cou-
in parks can be both profitable and Unlike detectors that employ conven- pling between them unless there is
fun. The Coinshooter, a novel and tional beat -frequency oscillator cir- metal present in the search field. A
inexpensive electronic metal detector, cuits, the Coinshooter does not re- Colpitts oscillator comprising Q1 and
can make such outings more produc- quire the user to monitor the pitch of its associated passive components gen-
tive. Employing a sophisticated, vlf in- a continuous tone. Rather, it alerts erates a 6.2 -kHz signal that drives the
duction -balance detection system that the user to the proximity of nonfer- transmitting coil. Transistors Q2 and
responds only to the proximity of non- rous metal by generating one or more Q3 amplify the low-level signal in-
ferrous metallic objects, it ignores beeps. Also, it is lightweight (about 2 duced across receiving coil L3 when
items containing iron. Moreover, the lb) and well balanced. Total construc- no metal objects are present in the
project can be adjusted to compensate tion cost is approximately $35, and search field so that a 1 -volt p-p signal
for the soil's mineral content, thus less if salvaged parts are used. appears at the collector of Q3.
minimizing false indications. Capacitor C7 couples this signal to
The Coinshooter can detect a dime About the Circuit. The Coinshoot- the noninverting input of voltage com-
at an air gap of four inches or a half - er appears schematically in Figure 1. parator !CIA. The input circuit of the
dollar at nine inches. It cannot detect Coplanar search coils are formed by comparator rectifies the ac signal, re-
coins buried deep in the ground, but placing a receiving coil (L3) over a sulting in the generation of a slightly

14 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 "coinshooter"

R5
:RI
C5.6K
R3
2.2K loon
R4
47011 R12
4.7K
2R13
110K
R16
10K
6I7
4.7K
/¡\ R20; R22 R23
I(
CCW R29

1
FI
TU
R6
82K

-
10

+
BI
9V ±
C7 DI
B2 C12 .15F
=9V IpyF
.033
\IyF 02 R21
VF

. C5
005yF
10K

C2
.022 C4
CW
C9
CI
CIO
1.CII
rR2
`,22K
31F .019F R7 R30 R14 RIB
e R19 IyF .022 .002
IK 680!01 5K 4.7K 4.7K 22K 6F 5F
CCW

SENSITIVITY

01,02 16914
ICILM339
IC2=LM340T
01-263906
Q2-06.262222

SPK

SEARCH
COIL

Fig. 1. When the search coil covers a metal object, enough coupling

is created to cause an audible signal at the loudspeaker.

PARTS LIST
B 1,B2 -9-V
alkalinebattery The following, unless otherwise speci- S1-Spst switch (part of R30)
C1 -0.033-µF, 50-V Mylar capacitor fied, are 1'4 -watt, 5% -tolerance, carbon - SPKR-2""4-inch, 8-9 dynamic speaker
C2, C10 -0.022-µF, 50-V Mylar capacitor composition fixed resistors. T1 -1k12:812 miniature audio output trans-
C3, C9 -1-µF, 16-V tantalum capacitor R1-5.6 kS2 former
C4 -0.01-µF, 50-V disc ceramic capacitor R2, R19, R26-22 kS2 Misc.-Suitable enclosure, perforated or
C5 -0.005-µF, 50-V disc ceramic capaci- R3-2.2 k12 printed -circuit board, single -conductor
tor R4-100 shielded cable, hookup wire, No. 30 and
C6, C8, C12 -10-µF, 16-V aluminum elec- R5-470 No. 38 enamelled copper (magnet) wire,
trolytic capacitor R6-82 k12 battery clips, battery holders, circuit -
C7 -0.1-µF, 50-V Mylar capacitor R7-1 k1t board standoffs, grommets or other suit-
C 1-0.002-µF, 50-V disc ceramic capaci-
1 R8-470 kit able strain reliefs for shielded cable,
tor R9-3.3 k12 PVC electrical tape or silicone cement or
D1, D2 -1N914 silicon switching diode R10-68011 other suitable insulating material, 12 -
IC1-LM339 quad voltage comparator R11-22012 inch -by-12 -inch sheet of "4 -inch ply-
IC2 -LM 340T-8 +8-V regulator R12, R14, R17, R18-4.7 kit wood, monofilament fishing line, 3 -inch
L1, L2-Air-core inductor: 175 turns of No. R13, R15, R16, R20, R21, R23-10 k12 masking tape, epoxy, hot -melt, and PVC
30 wire wound 91/2 inches in diameter R22-1 MO glues, 4 feet of 1i2 -inch O.D., schedule
(see text) R24, R27-100 kit 125 PVC pipe, 2 feet of "2-inch, sched-
L3-Air-core inductor: 550 turns of No. 38 R25-220 kf2 ule 40 PVC pipe, 90° elbow PVC pipe
enamelled wire on 31/2" diam. R28-56 kit joint, 135° elbow PVC pipe joint, tee
01-2N3906 or similar pnp silicon switch- R29 -5-k12, linear -taper potentiometer PVC pipe joint, PVC pipe cap, bicycle
ing transistor R30-5-ki2, linear -taper potentiometer with steering-bar handgrip, lead buckshot,
Q2 through Q6 -2N2222 or similar npn sili- shaft -actuated spst switch resin sealant, white paint, solder, hard-
con switching transistor ware, aluminum foil etc.

negative voltage that subtracts from more positive than that at the invert- into conduction by the elongated pulse
the positive bias voltage supplied by ing input, the output terminal (pin 1) that appears at the output of IC/C,
divider RI3R/4. Potentiometers R29 switches to the positive supply volt- cutting off Q5.
and R30 determine the magnitude of age. This positive pulse toggles com- When Q5 is cut off, Q6 amplifies
the reference voltage applied to the parators ICIB and IC/C, which are the tone produced by the audio oscil-
inverting input of ICI A and hence the connected in cascade and whose in- lator comprising ICI D and its asso-
detector circuit's sensitivity. They are verting inputs are biased to one-half ciated passive components. The cur-
adjusted so that the voltages at the the positive supply voltage. The rent flowing through the primary of
two inputs are practically equal. charging of C9 via DI and the dis- audio-output transformer TI and
When the voltage at the noninvert- charging of C9 through R19 stretches transistor Q6 increases the voltage
ing input of the comparator becomes the pulse. Transistor Q4 is triggered drop across R5, and this upsets the

1984 EDITION 15

www.americanradiohistory.com
bias applied to the inverting input of Wind a layer of masking tape 3/4 -inch
ICI A. As a result, the outputs of wide around the form so that the ad-
ICI A, ICI B, and ICI C go low, tran- hesive side is exposed. The tape will
sistor Q4 cuts off, and transistor Q5 hold the wire and make winding the
saturates, shunting the base drive of coil much easier. Wind a total of 175
Q6 to ground and cutting that transis- turns of No. 30 enamelled copper wire
tor off. This silences the loudspeaker around the form, keeping the wire as
and allows C8 to charge again to the close to the center of the tape as possi-
full positive supply voltage. The high- ble. The last turn should exit the coil
er voltage across the capacitor allows at a point on the circumference 10
ICI A to change state again if the non- inches before the starting point is
ferrous metal object is still within the reached. Fold the tape around the coil
search field. and remove it from the form. Spiral -
Iron objects or mineralized ground wrap the coil tightly with masking
within the search field will produce an Fig. 2. Transmitting coil has tape. Then shape the coil assembly as
increase in the amplitude of the signal been shaped to form L and L2.
1 shown in Fig. 2 to form the transmit-
at the collector of Q3 and thus a less ting coil. (LI is the large -diameter
positive bias at the noninverting input portion and L2 is the small-diameter
of 1CI A. In contrast, the presence of section.) The coils must be shielded so
coins or other nonferrous metal ob- spiral wrap them (starting with LI
jects within the search field will cause opposite the lead wires) with 1" wide
a smaller signal to appear at the col- strips of aluminum foil. Cover the
lector of Q3 and a more positive bias coils completely except for a 1/4" gap
at the noninverting input of the first between start and finish of the foil
voltage comparator. This allows the layer. Strip a 6" piece of hookup wire
Coinshooter to locate coins and other and lay it on the foil so that 2" exits
items of interest while ignoring nails, next to one of the lead wires. Then spi-
bottle caps, and other junk pieces of ral wrap the coils tightly with mask-
iron and steel. ing tape, covering the foil completely.
When a small nonferrous item Next, cut a disc seven inches in
quickly enters and exits the search diameter from a sheet of 1/4 -inch ply-
field, the loudspeaker will generate a wood. Lay the shaped coil assembly
single beep. If the object enters and Fig. 3. Positions of L and L2
1
on the disc and trace pencil lines
remains in the search field, a series of are marked on a plywood disc. around the inside of LI and both sides
beeps will be produced. Its rate of rep- of L2 (see Fig. 3). Remove the coir
etition will vary with the settings of assembly and drill a series of 1/16 -inch
potentiometers R29 and R30, the size holes spaced 1/2 inch apart along the
of the object, and the distance be- pencil lines. Then place the shaped
tween the object and the search coil. coil assembly back on the disc and tie
The pitch of the beep is determined by it down with monofilament fishing
the values of C// and the resistances line, looping the line through the se-
in the feedback loop, as well as by the ries of holes.
supply voltage. Its frequency is nomi- Obtain a circular form 31/2 inches in
nally 1.3 kHz. diameter on which you can wind the
Power for the Coinshooter circuit is receiving coil. In assembling the pro-
supplied by two series-connected nine - totype, a glass ashtray was used, but a
volt batteries. An IC voltage regulator cardboard cylinder would also be ac-
provides a constant supply potential to ceptable. The form should have a
the rest of the circuit until the bat- slight taper to facilitate removal of
teries are nearly exhausted. Quiescent Fig. 4. The disc is shown with the coil after it has been wound. Ap-
current demand is approximately 10 L 1 and L2 tied in place and L3 on top ply masking tape to the form as was
mA, so battery replacement should be done in winding the transmitting coil,
infrequent if alkaline cells are used. If and wind 550 turns of No. 38 enam-
desired, the Coinshooter can be pow- elled copper wire, keeping the wind-
ered by a single nine -volt battery and ings as close to the center of the tape
the regulator IC omitted. However, as possible. When the coil has been
the circuit is sensitive to changes in wound, fold the tape around the wind-
supply voltage, and this alternative is ings and remove the coil from the
not recommended. But, if this ap- form. Spiral -wrap the coil tightly with
proach is taken, an alkaline battery masking tape. Wrap the coil with foil
must be used. and another layer of tape as on LI and
L2 being sure to cover the foil com-
Construction. Procure a circular pletely. If the two foil shields are al-
form 91/2" in diameter on which you lowed to touch when the coils are posi-
can wind the transmitting coil. In as- tioned, the detector will not function.
sembling the prototype, a hamper lid Now assemble the circuit of the
was used, but a mixing bowl or card- Fig. 5. The search -coil assembly Coinshooter. In the construction of
board cylinder would be suitable. with handle in place. the prototype, a small (5 inches by 1-

16 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 3/4 inches) perforated board and point- they protrude from the far end. Run a
to-point wiring were used. Printed - Fig. 6. The circuit -
bead of hot -melt or epoxy glue on the
circuit assembly techniques are also board enclosure is pipe and attach the bottom of the
acceptable. Because the circuit oper- attached to the project enclosure to the pipe. Added
ates at very low frequencies, parts upper end of the mechanical support can be introduced
layout is not especially critical. Use an 39 -inch PVC pipe. by driving self-tapping screws
IC socket or Molex Soldercons for through the two small holes in the bot-
ICI rather than soldering the chip's tom of the enclosure and into the
pins directly to the circuit board. matching holes that were drilled into
Potentiometers R29 and R30 and the pipe section.
the loudspeaker are not mounted on Feed the free ends of the shielded
the board. Rather, they should be af- cables through the two holes at the
fixed to the enclosure housing the cir- other end of the pipe. Insert that end
cuit board. Resistor RI can be sol- of the pipe into the elbow joint at-
dered directly across the outer lugs of tached to the plywood disc so that the
potentiometer R29. A total of four circuit enclosure faces away from the
holes (two 3/8 inch in diameter spaced coil assembly. Then glue the pipe to
2 inches apart, and two 1/g inch in the elbow joint using PVC cement,
diameter spaced 1/2 inch above and be- maintaining the orientation of the en-
low the larger holes) should be drilled closure with respect to the coil assem-
in the bottom of the project enclosure bly. (Note that PVC cement sets
so that two shielded cables can exit quickly.) Solder the conductors of the
the enclosure and self-tapping screws color -coded cable to the transmitting
can provide mechanical support. Ad- coil and the conductors of the other
ditional holes might have to be drilled cable to the receiving coil. The polari-
for circuit -board standoffs. ties of these connections are unimpor-
Prepare the inner conductor and tant. Connect the coil shield leads to
shield at one end of each of two 48 - the outer cable conductors. Insulate
inch lengths of single -conductor the solder joints using PVC electrical
shielded cable. Color -code both ends tape, silicone cement, or some other
of one of the cables with a dab of suitable material. Then cement the
enamel paint or nail polish. Connect cables to the plywood disc in the area
the shields of the prepared ends of between L3 and the gap in LI using
both cables to circuit ground. The in- hot-melt or epoxy glue.
ner conductor of the color-coded cable Cut 6- and 9 -inch lengths of 1h -inch
should be connected to the node Cl, sition of the receiving coil for the min- O.D., schedule 40 PVC pipe. Refer-
C2, and collector of Ql; the inner con- imum signal level at the collector of ring to Fig. 6, assemble a handle using
ductor of the other cable should be Q3 as indicated by the scope beam's the lengths of pipe, a 90` elbow PVC
connected to the node C4, CS. These vertical deflection. Trace a pencil line pipe joint, a tee PVC pipe joint, a
cables should exit the enclosure hous- on each side of the receiving coil after bicycle steering -bar handgrip and
ing the circuit board through the two the null position has been determined, PVC cement. The handgrip is glued to
3/s -inch holes previously drilled and then remove the receiving coil the 9 -inch section of pipe, and one of
through its bottom. Be sure to outfit from the disc. Drill a series of 1/16 -inch the two collinear openings of the tee
these holes with grommets or similar holes, spaced 1/2 inch apart, along the should be glued to the 39 -inch pipe
bushings that prevent chafing of their pencil lines. Reposition the receiving section to which the circuit-board en-
outer plastic jackets and that provide coil on the disc and tie it down with closure and the search coil assembly
strain relief. monofilament fishing line, looping the are attached. PVC cement is fast -set-
When the circuit board has been line through the small holes. ting, so work quickly and orient the
assembled and mounted in the enclo- Using hot-melt or epoxy glue, ce- handle with respect to the circuit -
sure along with the other components, ment a 13Y elbow PVC pipe joint in board enclosure as it is in Fig. 6. The
place the transmitting -coil assembly the area between L2 and L3 so that its remaining end of the tee will be left
and the receiving coil on a desk or on open end points toward the gap in LI. open until the detector is balanced.
the floor away from any metal. Pre- (See Fig. 5.) Cut a 39 -inch length of Apply power to the circuit and re-
pare the free ends of the two shielded 1/2 -inch O.D., schedule 125 PVC pipe, connect the oscilloscope probe be-
cables and tin their inner conductors and drill four 1/4-inch holes in it, one tween the collector of Q3 and circuit
and shields. Using clip leads, connect above the other, approximately 2 ground. Suspend the search coil in the
the color -coded cable's conductors to inches in from each end. The two air away from any metal and rotate
the transmitting coil, and the other holes at one end of the pipe section the shaft of R29 to its minimum -sen-
cable's conductors to the receiving should be 2 inches apart from each sitivity setting. Monitor the scope
coil. Connect the coil shields to the other, but the holes at the other end trace and, if necessary, slightly adjust
outer cable conductors. Apply power can be closer. Also drill two 1/8 -inch the position of L3 so that a I -volt p -p
to the circuit and connect an oscillo- holes spaced 1h inch above and below signal appears at the collector of Q3.
scope probe between Q3's collector the two holes spaced 2 inches apart. Pass a pair of pliers approximately
and circuit ground. Slip the free ends of the shielded three inches under the search -coil as-
Referring to Fig. 4, position the re- cables exiting the circuit-board enclo- sembly while monitoring the scope
ceiving coil near the center of the ply- sure through the 1/4 -inch holes that are trace. If the signal level decreases,
wood disc on which the transmitting bracketed by the smaller holes and shift L3 through the null point and
coil has been mounted. Adjust the po - pass the cables through the pipe until repeat the test. The signal must in -

17
1984 EDITION

www.americanradiohistory.com
 crease in amplitude when the pliers If the coils have shifted position be- reattach it to the tee PVC pipe joint.
are brought near the search -coil as- fore the resin has cured, a compensat- Recheck the balance of the Coin -
sembly, or the detector will ignore ing piece of iron or steel can be added shooter. If necessary, repeat this pro-
coins and respond to the proximity of to the search -coil assembly. Deter- cedure until the Coinshooter is prop-
ferrous objects. Receiving coil L3 mine whether this has in fact hap- erly balanced and feels comfortable to
should be positioned as close to the pened by removing the top of the cir- the hand. When the correct amount of
null point as possible yet still provide cuit -board enclosure and reconnecting shot has been determined, remove the
an increase in signal amplitude when the oscilloscope probe between the pipe section from the tee PVC pipe
iron or steel is brought near the collector of Q3 and circuit ground. joint, seal the shot in the pipe section
search -coil assembly. Pass a ferrous object three inches be- with epoxy, and cement the section to
Next, pass a dime about three low the search coil and monitor the the tee after the epoxy has cured. This
inches under the search coil and note scope trace. If the proximity of iron or completes assembly.
the slight increase in signal level as steel causes a decrease in signal level, Take the finished project outdoors
displayed on the oscilloscope. Careful- position a small steel washer on or and hold the search coil 4 to 6 inches
ly fix the positions of the coils by near receiving coil L3 to correct for above the ground. Apply power to the
bonding them to the plywood disc the misalignment. Locate the re- project and adjust its controls so that
with quick -setting epoxy cement. quired position by repeating the test the speaker emits a slow series of
When the epoxy has cured, remove for iron sensitivity and shifting the lo- beeps. Lower the search coil until it is
the scope probe and button up the cir- cation of the washer until the correct approximately 2 inches above the
cuit -board enclosure. Advance the response is obtained. Then fix the ground. The beeping should stop. This
setting of the SENSITIVITY control un- washer in place with epoxy cement. occurs because most soil is mineral-
til the speaker begins to beep. Then ized and affects the Coinshooter
adjust the FINE TUNE control to silence Final Assembly and Use. Grasp much like ferrous objects do.
the speaker. Pass a pair of pliers three the Coinshooter by its handgrip and The detector is now at maximum
inches below the search coil and note check it for proper balance. The sensitivity and will detect coins at
that the speaker remains silent. Then search -coil assembly should be paral- depths of from to 3 inches, depend-
1

pass a dime three inches under the lel with and approximately 2 inches ing on their sizes and positions. Fer-
coil and note that the speaker starts to above the floor. Cut a 3 -inch piece of rous objects will not trigger the circuit
beep. The most sensitive area of the I/2 -inch O.D., schedule 125 PVC pipe, unless they are very large or very close
search coil is near its center. and glue one end of it to a PVC pipe to the search coil or both. The Coin -
The search -coil assembly can be cap. Fill the pipe section with lead shooter will detect aluminum cans,
coated with two thin applications of buckshot and tape its open end closed caps and pull tabs, but it responds
resin to seal it, and then it can be with PVC electrical tape. Then tape best to coins. Raise the search coil
painted white so that it matches the the shot -laden pipe section to the open from time to time to check for the
PVC pipe. The coils must be bonded end of the tee PVC pipe joint and slow beeps that indicate maximum de-
securely to the disc before the applica- recheck the balance of the project. tector sensitivity. Although the circuit
tion of sealant and paint. To minimize If it is unbalanced, untape the shot - is very stable, the FINE TUNE control
the possibility of displacing the coils, laden pipe section, remove a little might have to be adjusted occasional-
use spray -on resin and paint. shot, tape the section closed again and ly to compensate for changes in
ground mineralization, temperature,
and, if an unregulated power supply is
used, battery voltage.
Always hold the Coinshooter so
that the search -coil assembly is to 2
1

inches above and parallel to the

ground. Try to keep the search coil at
a constant height above the ground.
Swing the loop back and forth in front
of you, making overlapping arcs. It is
best to search slowly, but a coin will
usually be detected even if the search
coil passes over it quickly. For best
results, operate the circuit as close to
its switching threshold as possible.
When an object has been detected,
move the search -coil assembly over it
from front to back and from side to
side to pinpoint its location. Keep in
mind that the center of the search -coil
assembly is its most sensitive point.
Probe for the object with a small
screwdriver or similar digging tool. If
you search for coins in parks and
woodlands, do so without disturbing
the landscape. Always fill any holes
that you make with your digging tool
Photograph shows the circuit -board enclosure mounted on the and place any turf that has been dis-
PVC pipe The top has been unfastened and laid aside. turbed back in its original position.

18
EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 the Optimized
GRAPHIC EQUALIZER
Part. 1-New design approach provides sharper
frequency control in the all-important audio midband
By Joe Gorin

GRAPHIC equalizers are pop- Design of the Equalizer. Human gain and those with loss. But a giant
ular audio accessories nowa- hearing is relatively insensitive to "hole" in the frequency response of
days. They enable hi-fi buffs to ad- frequency response errors of less a system (for example, a -20 -dB
just the frequency response of a than 1/3 of an octave (called the "suckout" in a typical second-or-
stereo system to compensate for "critical bandwidth"). This is why der speaker crossover) is practical-
loudspeaker errors, room acoustic professional equalizers have 24 to ly inaudible. This is because the in-
problems, and unsuitably balanced 31 bands at approximately 1/3 -oc- formation in a narrow notch is
recordings and broadcasts. In es- tave spacings. But the critical band- small and masked by nearby sig-
sence, they are super tone controls width is actually narrower in the nals. Furthermore, it isn't feasible
that allow one to change small por- midrange than in the bass or high to equalize a narrow notch. Practi-
tions of the audio spectrum. treble. Also, because the vast cally speaking, you can't set the fre-
The 10 -band graphic equalizer is amount of musical information oc- quency and bandwidth close
the most popular type for home use. curs in the midrange, this is the enough, and the phase relation-
But a new design gives improved most important area for high -reso- ships of the notch are so poorly con-
performance at low cost. It's called lution (close band spacing) equal- trolled that, even if the frequency
the Optimized Graphic Equalizer. ization. Normally, equalizers de- response were right, the actual sig-
Now, instead of equalizing one -oc- signed for home use have 1 -octave nal waveforms wouldn't sound
tave bands, half-octave control is spacings. In order to create an eco- right.
available for the ten important mid- nomical, but very effective equaliz- On the other hand, resonances
range bands. Although bass and er, the Optimized Equalizer uses that boost the frequency response
treble suffer somewhat (there are 1/2 -octave spacing of bands in the are painfully obvious to the listen-
just three controls for these), the midrange (for five octaves), a rela- er. A + 3 -dB resonance adds more
overall design allows for better con- tively wide band in the treble range, -
signal to a system than a 20 -dB
trol of frequency response. Addi- and two in the bass. notch removes, and since it is an er-
tionally, an optional real-time ana- The most important function of ror of commission rather than
lyzer can be incorporated into the an equalizer is the taming of two omissidn, it "pops out" at you.
circuit for equalization setup. kinds of resonances-those with Also, the sound from such a reso -

1984 EDITION 19
 4164 64K200
NS
IVI IC
$595 TIVI2O1 6 2K X2800S
NS IC $41 5
STATIC RAMS r Z-80
2.5 Mhz
280 -CPU
r-
8035
8039
8000
5.95
6.95
r-
68000
6800
6800
59.95
3.95
r 74LSOO
74LSO1
74LS00
24
.25
74LS173
74LS174
.69
2101 256 x 4 (450ns) 1.95 3.95 55
5101 256 x 4 (450ns) (cmos) 3.95 Z80-CTC 4.49 INS -8060 17.95 6802 7,95 74LS02 .25 74LS175 55
2102-1 1024 x 1 (450ns) .89 Z80 -DART 10.95 INS -8073 24.95 6808 13.90 74LS03 25 74LS181 2.15
2102L-4 1024 x 1 (450ns) (LP) .99 Z80 -DMA 14.95 8080 3.95 6809E 19.95 74LSO4 .24 74LS189 8.95
2102L-2 1024 x 1 (250ns) (LP) 1.49 Z80 -PIO 4.49 8085 5.95 6809 11.95 74LS05 .25 74LS190 .89
2111 256 a 4 (450ns) 2.49 280-SIO/0 16.95 8085A-2 11.95 6810 2.95 74LS08 .28 74LS191 .89
2112 256 x 4 (450ns) 2.99 Z80-SIO/1 16.95 8086 29.95 6820 4.35 74LS09 .29 74LS192 .79
2114 1024 x 4 (4500s) 8/9.95 Z80-SIO/2 16.95 8087 CALL 6821 3.25 74LS10 .25 74LS193 .79
2114-25 1024 x 4 (250ns) 8/10.95 Z80-SIO/9 16.95 8088 39.95 6828 14.95 74LS11 .35 74LS194 .69
8089 89.95 6840 12.95 74LS12 .35 74LS195
2114L-4 1024 x 4 (450ns) (LP) 8/12.95 4.0 Mhz 8155 6.95 6843 34.95 74LS13
.69
2114L-3 1024 x 4 (300ns) (LP) 8/13.45 .45 74LS196 79
Z80A-CPU 4.95 8155-2 7.95 6844 25.95 74LS14 .59 74LS197 .79
2114L-2 1024 x 4 (200ns) (LP) 8/13.95 280A-CTC 4.95
2147 4096 x 1 (55ns) 4.95 8156 6.95 6845 14.95 74L 515 .35 74LS221 .89
280A -DART 11.95 8185 29.95 6847 11.95 74LS20 .25 74LS240
TMS4044-4 4096 x 1 (450ns) 3.49 .95
280A -DMA 16.95 8185-2 39.95 6850 3.25 74LS21 .29 74LS241 .99
TMS4044-3 4096 x 1 (300ns) 3.99 280A -PIO 4.95
TMS4044-2 4096 x 1 (200ns) 4.49 8741 39.95 6852 5.75 74LS22 .25 74LS242 .99
280A -S10/0 16.95 8748 24.95 6860 9.95 74LS26 .29 74LS243
MK4118 1024 x 8 (250ns) 9.95 280A-SIO/1 16.95
.99
TM M 2016-200
2048 8 (200ns) 4.15 `8755 24.95 6862 11.95 74LS27 .29 74LS244 1.29
280A-SIO/2 16.95 6875 6.95 74LS28 .35 74LS245
TMM2016-150 2048 x 8 (150ns) 4.95 Z80A-S10/9
1.49
16.95 6880 2.25 741S30 .25 74LS247
TMM2016-100 2048 x 8 (100ns) 6.15 .75
H M6116-4 2048 x 8 (200ns) (cmos) 4.75 6.0 Mhz 8200 6883
68047
22.95
24.95
74LS32
74LS33
.29 74LS248 .99
HM6116-3 2048 a 8 (150ns) (cmos) 4.95 Z808 -CPU 11.95 8202 24.95 .55 74LS249 .99
HM6116-2 2048 x 8 (120ns) (cmos) 8.95 280B-CTC 13.95 68488 19.95 74LS37 .35 74LS251 .59
8203 39.95
HM6116LP-4 2048 x 8 (200ns) (cmos)(LP) 5.95 280B -P10 13.95 8205 3.50
6800 - 1MHZ 74LS38 .35 74LS253 .59
HM6116LP-3 2048 x 8 (150ns) (cmos)(LP) 6.95 Z80B-DART 19.95 8212 1.80 68800 10.95 74LS40 .25 74LS257 .59
HM6116LP-2 2048 8 (120ns) (cmos)(LP) 10.95 68802 22.25 74LS42 .49 74LS258 .59
Z-6132 4096
a
a 8 (300ns) (Ostat) 34.95
ZILOG 8214
8216
3.85
1.75 68B09E 29.95 74LS47 .75 74LS259 2.75
Z6132 34.95 68B09 29.95 74LS48 .75 74LS260 .59
LP Low Power Ostat Ouasi-Static
L
8224 2.25
L 28671 39.95 8226 1.80 68610 6.95 74LS49 .75 74LS266 .55
8228 3.49 68B21 6.95 74LS51 .25 74LS273 1.49
DYNAMIC RAMS 7 rCRYSTALS1 8237 19.95 68845 19.95 74LS54
74LS55
.29
.29
74LS275
74LS279
3.35
.49
8237-5 21.95 68850 5.95
TMS4027 4096 (250ns) 32.768 khz 1.95 8238 4.49 L68800 MHZ 74LS63 1.25 74LS280 1.98
x 1 1.99 - 2
UPD411 4096 x 1 (3000s) 3.00 1.0 mhz 4.95 8243 4.45 74LS73 .39 74LS283 .69
M M 5280 4096 (300ns) 3.00 1.8432 4.95 8250 10.95 74LS74 .35 74LS290 .89
MK4108 8192
x 1

(200ns) 2.0 3.95 8251 4.49 r- 74L 575 .39 74LS293 .89
MM5298 8192
x
x
1

1 (250ns)
1.95
1.85 2.097152 3.95 8253 6.95 6500 74LS76 .39 74LS295 .99
4116-300 16384 x 1 (300ns) 8/11.75 2.4576 3.95 8253-5 7.95 1 MHZ 74LS78 49 74LS298 .89
4116-250 16384 (250ns) 3.2768 3.95 8255 4.49 6502 4.95 74LS83 .60 74LS299 1.75
x 1 8/11.95
4116-200 16384 (200ns) 3.579535 3.95 8255-5 5.25 6504 6.95 74LS85 .69 74L5323 3.50
x 1 8/12.95
4116-150 16384 (150ns) 4.0 3.95 8257 6505 8.95 74L S86 .39 74LS324 1.75
x 1 8/14.95 7.95
4116-120 16384 (120ns) 5.0 3.95 8257-5 8.95 6507 9.95 74LS90 .55 74LS352 1.29
x 1 8/29.95
2118 16384 (150ns) (5v) 5.0688 3.95 8259 6.90 6520 4.35 74LS91 .89 74LS353 1.29
x 1 4.95
4164-200 65536 (200ns) (5v) 5.185 3.95 8259-5 7.50 6522 7.95 74LS92 .55 74LS363 1.35
x 1 5.95
4164-150 65536 (150ns) (5v) 5.7143 3.95 8271 6532 9.95 74LS93 .55 74LS364 1.95
x 1 6.95 39.95
6.0 3.95 8272 39.95 6545 22.50 74LS95 .75 74LS365 .49
5V single 5 volt supply 6.144 3.95 6551 11.85 74LS96 .89 74LS366 .49
8275 29.95
6.5536 3.95 8279 8.95 2 MHZ 74LS107 .39 74LS367 .45
r-- 8.0 3.95 6502A 6.95 74LS109 .39 74LS368 .45

1702
EPROMS
256 (1us)
x 8 4.50
10.0
10.738635
3.95
3.95
8279-5
8282
8283
10.00
6.50 6522A
6532A
9.95
11.95
74LS112
74LS113
.39
.39
74LS373
74LS374
1.39
1.39
6.50
2708 1024 (450ns)
x 8 3.95 14.31818 3.95 8284 5.50 6545A 27,95 74LS114 .39 74LS377 1.39
2758 1024 (450ns)
x 8 (5v) 5.95 15.0 3.95 8286 6.50 6551A 11.95 74LS122 .45 74LS378 1.18
2716 2048 (450ns)
x 8 (5v) 3.95 16.0 3.95 8287 6.50 3 MHZ 74LS123 .79 74LS379 1.35
2716-1 2048 x 8 (350ns) (5v) 5.95 17.430 3.95 8288 25.00 ,6502B 14.9,4 74LS124 2.90 74LS385 1.90

r
TMS2516 2048 a 8 (450ns) (5v) 5.50 18.0 3.95 ,8289 49.95 74LS125 .49 74LS386 .45
TMS2716 2048 a 8 (450ns) 7.95 18.432 3.95 74LS126 .49 74LS390 1.19
TMS2532 4096 a 8 (450ns) (5v) 5.95 20.0 3.95 UARTS , 74LS132 .59 74LS393 1.19
2732 4096 a 8 (450ns) (5v) 4.95 22.1184 3.95 DISC AY3-1014 6.95 74LS133 .59 74LS395 1.19
2732-250 4096 a 8 (250ns) (5v) 8.95 L3_2.0 3.9 CONTROLLERS AY5-1013 3.95 74LS136 .39 74LS399 1.49
2732-200 4096 x 8 (200ns) (5v) 11.95 1771 16.95 AY3-1015 6.95 74LS137 .99 74LS424 2.95
2764 8192 x 8 (450ns) (5v) 9.95 Pr- 1791 24.95 PT1472 9.95 74LS138 .55 74LS447 .37
2764-250 8192 x 8 (250ns) (5v) 14.95
CRT 1793 26.95 TR1602 3.95 74LS139 .55 74LS490 1.95
2764-200 8192 a 8 (200ns) (5v) 24.95 CONTROLLERS 1795 49.95 2350 9.95 74LS145 1.20 74LS624 3.99
TMS2564 8192 x 8 (450ns) (5v) 17.95 6845 14.95 1797 49.95 2651 8.95 74LS147 2.49 74LS640 2.20
MC68764 8192 a 8 (450ns) (5v)(24 pin) 39.95 68B45 19.95 2791 54.95 TMS6011 5.95 74LS148 1.35 74LS645 2.20
27128 16384x8 Call Call HD46505SP 15,95 2793 54.95 IM6402 7.95 74LS151 .55 74LS668 1.69
6847 11.95 2795 59.95 IM6403 8.95 74LS153 .55 74LS669 1.89
5v - Single 5 Volt Supply MC1372 74LS154 1.90 74LS670
6.95 2797 59.95 INS8250 10.95 1.49
68047 24.95 74LS155 .69 74LS674
h 8275
6843 34.95 GENERATORS 74LS156 74LS682
9.65

EPROM ERASERS 7220

29.95
99.95
8272
UPD765
39.95
39.95
BIT -RATE
M C 14411 11.95
74LS157
74LS158
.69
.65 74LS683
3.20
3.20
Capacity CRT5027 39.95 MB8876 29.95 .59 74LS684 3.20
Intensity BR1941 11.95 74LS160
Timer Chip (uW.'Cm') C R T5037 49.95 MB8877 34.95 .69 74LS685 3.20
4702 12.95 74LS161 74LS688
TMS9918A 39.95 17.95 .65 2.40
PE -14 6 5,200 83.00 'DP8350 49.9j
1691 COM5016 16.95 74L5162 .69 74LS689 3.20
`2143 18.95 COM8116 10.95
PE -14T X 6 5,200 119.00 M M 5307 10.95
74LS163 .65 74LS783 24.95
74LS164 .69 81LS95 1.49
PE -24T X 9 6,700 175.00 KEYBOARD FUNCTION
PL -265T 20
rCONNECTORS' 74LS165 .95 81LS96 1.49
X 6,700 255.00 CHIPS RS232 MALE 2.50 MC4024 3.95 74LS166 1.95 81LS97 1.49
PR -125T X 16 15,000 349.00 AY5-2376 11.95 RS232 FEMALE 3.25 LM566 1.49 74LS168 1.75 81LS98 1.49
AY5-3600 11.95 RS232 HOOD 1.25 XR2206 3.75 74LS169 1.75 25LS2521 2.80
`PR -320 X 32 15,000 595.00) AY5-3600 PRO 11.95 8038 3.924 '4LS170 1.49 25LS2569 4.2U
S-100 ST 3.954

VISIT OUR RETAIL STORE

HOURS: M -W -F, 9-5 T -Th., 9-9 Sat. 11-3

Milh JDR Microdevices 1224 S. Bascom Ave.

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER. WHEN ORDERING
TERMS: For shipping Include 52 for UPS Ground or 53 for UPS Blue
Label Air items over 5 pounds require additional shipping charges.
San Jose, CA 95128 Foreign orders, Include sufficient amount for shipping. There is a $10
minimum order. Bay Area and Los Angeles Counties add 6'h°. Sales
(408) 995-5430 Telex 171-110 Tax. Other California residents add 6% Sales Tax. We reserve the
right to substitute manufacturer. Not responsible for typographical
errors. Prices are subject to change without notice. We will match or
beat any competitor's price provided It is not below our cost.
1983 JDR MICROOEVICES, INC.
 2114 .50N: 8/$995 2114 z.o.s O/$1O°S
7400 LINEAR RCA CMOS 1.95
/400 .19 74132 .45 LM301 .34 LM340(see 7800) L M 566 1.49 LM1800 2.37 CA 3023 2.75 CA 3082 1.65 4000 .29 4527
/401 .19 74136 .50 LM301H .79 LM348 .99 LM567 .89 LM1812 8.25 CA 3039 1.29 CA 3083 1.55 4001 .25 4528 1.19
/402 .19 74141 .65 LM307 .45 1M350K 4.95 NE570 3.95 LM1830 3.50 CA 3046 1.25 CA 3086 .80 4002 .25 4531 .95
7403 .19 74142 2.95 LM308 .69 LM3507 4.60 NE571 2.95 LM1871 5.49 CA 3059 2.90 CA 3089 2.99 4006 .89 4532 1.95
7404 .19 74143 2.95 LM308H 1.15 LM358 .69 NE592 2.75 LM 1872 5.49 CA 3060 2.90 CA 3096 3.49 4007 .29 4538 1.95
7405 .25 74145 .60 LM309H 1.95 LM359 1.79 LM709 .59 LM1877 3.25 CA 3065 1.75 CA 3130 1.30 4008 .95 4539 1.95
7406 .29 74147 1.75 LM309K 1.25 LM376 3.75 LM710 .75 LM1889 1.95 CA 3080 1.10 CA 3140 1.15 4009 .39 4541 2.64
7407 .29 74148 1.20 LM310 1.75 LM377 1.95 LM711 .79 LM1896 1.75 CA 3081 1.65 CA 3146 1.85 4010 .45 4543 1.19
7408 .24 74150 1.35 LM311 .64 LM378 2.50 LM723 .49 ULN2003 2.49 CA 3160 1.19 4011 .25 4553 5.79
7409 .19 74151 .55 LM311H .89 LM379 4.50 LM723H .55 LM2877 2.05 4012 .25 4555 .95
7410
7411
.19
.25
74152
74153
.65
.55
LM312H
LM317K
1.75
3.95
LM380
LM380N-8
.89
1.10
LM733
LM741
.98
.35
LM2878
LM2900
2.25
.85 TI 4013
4014
.38
.79
4556
4581
.95
1.95
7412 .30 74154 1.25 LM317T 1.19 LM381 1.60 LM741 N-14 .35 LM2901 1.00 TL494 4.20 75365 1.95 4015 .39 4582 1.95
7413 .35 74155 .75 LM318 1.49 1M382 1.60 LM741H .40 LM3900 .59 TL496 1.65 75450 .59 4016 .39 4584 .75
7414 .49 74156 .65 LM318H 1.59 LM383 1.95 LM747 .69 LM3905 1.25 TL497 3.25 75451 .39 4017 .69 4585 .75
7416 .25 74157 .55 LM319H 1.90 LM384 1.95 LM748 .59 LM3909 .98 75107 1.49 75452 .39 4018 .79 4702 12.95
7417 .25 74159 1.65 LM319 1.25 LM386 .89 LM1014 1.19 LM3911 2.25 75110 1.95 75453 .39 4019 .39 74C00 .35
7420 .19 74160 .85 LM320(see 7900) LM387 1.40 LM1303 1.95 LM3914 3.95 75150 1.95 75454 .39 4020 .75 74CO2 .35
7421 .35 74161 .69 LM322 1.65 LM389 1.35 LM1310 1.49 LM3915 3.95 75154 1.95 75491 .79 4021 .79 74C04 .35
7422 .35 74162 .85 LM323K 4.95 LM390 1.95 M C 1330 1.69 LM3916 3.95 75188 1.25 75492 .79 4022 .79 74C08 .35
7423 .29 74163 .69 LM324 .59 1M392 .69 MC1349 1.89 MC4024 3.95 75189 1.25 75493 .89 4023 .29 74C10 .35
7425 .29 74164 .85 LM329 .65 LM394H 4.60 MC1350 1.19 MC4044 4.50 75494 .89 4024 .65 74C14 .59
7426 .29 74165 .85 LM331 3.95 LM399H 5.00 M C 1358 1.69 RC4136 1.25 4025 .29 74C20 .35
7427
7428
.29
.45
74166
74167
1.00
2.95
LM334
LM335
1.19
1.40
NE531
NE555
2.95
.34
MC1372
LM1414
6.95
1.59
RC4151
LM4250
3.95
1.75 BI FET 4026
4027
1.65
.45
74C30
74C32
.35
.39
7430 .19 74170 1.65 LM336 1.75 NE556 .65 LM1458 .59 LM4500 3.25 TL071 .79 TL084 2.19 4028 .69 74C42 1.29
7432 .29 74172 5.95 LM337K 3.95 NE558 1.50 LM1488 .69 RC4558 .69 TL072 1.19 LF347 2.19 4029 .79 74C48 1.99
7433 .45 74173 .75 LM337T 1.95 NE561 24.95 LM1489 .69 L M 13080 1.29 11074 2.19 LF351 .60 4030 .39 74C73 .65
7437 .29 74174 .89 LM338K 6.95 NE564 2.95 LM1496 .85 LM13600 1.49 TL081 .79 LF353 1.00 4034 1.95 74C74 .65
7438 .29 74175 .89 LM339 .99 LM565 .99 LM1558H 3.10 LM13700 1.49 TL082 1.19 LF355 1.10 4035 .85 74C76 .80
7440 .19 74176 .89 TL083 1.19 LF356 1.10 4040 .75 74C83 1.95
7442 .49 74177 .75 H = TO-5 CAN T = TO -220 K = TO -3 LF357 1.40 4041 .75 74C85 1.95
7443 .65 74178 1.15 4042 .69 74C86 .39
7444 .69 74179 1.75 4043 .85 74C89 4.50
7445 .69 74180
74181
.75
2.25 74S00 IC SOCKETS VOLTAGE 4044
4046
.79
.85
74C90
74C93
1.19
1.75
7446 .69 1-99 100
7447 .69 74182 .75 74500 745163 4047 .95 74C95 .99
7448
7450
.69
.19
74184
74185
2.00
2.00
74502
74503
.32
.35
.35
745168
745169
1.95
3.95
3.95
8
14
pin
pin
ST
ST
.13
.15
.11
.12 REGULATORS 4049
4050
.35
.35
74C107
74C150
.89
'5.75
16 pin ST .17 .13 7805T .75 7905T .85
7451 .23 74190 1.15 74504 .35 74S174 .95 78M05C 7908T 4051 .79 74C151 2.25
18 pin ST .20 .18 .35 .85
7453 .23 74191 1.15 74505 .35 745175 .95 7808T 4053 .79 74C154 3.25
20 pin ST .29 .27 .75 79121 .85
7454 .23 74192 .79 74S08 .35 74S181 3.95 7812T 7915T 4060 .89 74C157 1.75
22 pin ST .30 .27 .75 .85
7460 .23 74193 .79 74509 .40 74S182 2.95 7924T 4066 .39 74C160 1.19
24 pin ST .30 .27 781ST .75 .85
1.19
7470 .35 74194 .85 74S10 .35 745188 1.95 4068 .39 74C161
28 pin ST .40 .32 7824T .75
7472 .29 74195 .85 74S11 .35 745189 6.95 7905K 1.49 4069 .29 74C162 1.19
40 pin ST .49 .39
7805K 1.39 7912K 1.49
7473 .34 74196 .79 74515 .35 745194 1.49 4070 .35 74C163 1.19
64 pin ST call
4.25 7812K 1.39 7915K 1.49
7474 .33 74197 .75 74S20 .35 745195 1.49 4071 .29 74C164 1.39
ST = SOLDERTAIL 7815K 1.39 7924K 1.49 74C165 2.00
7475 .45 74198 1.35 74S22 .35 745196 1.49, 4072 .29
8 pin WW .59 .49
7824K 1.39
7476 .35 74199 1.35 74530 .35 745197 1.49 79105 .79 4073 .29 74C173 .79
14 pin WW .69 .52
7480 .59 74221 1.35 74S32 745201 6.95 78L 05 4075 .29 74C174 1.19
.40 16 pin WW .69 .58 .69 79112 .79
7481 1.10 74246 1.35 74S37 .88 745225 7.95, 78L12 .69 79L15 .79 4076 .79 74C175 1.19
18 pin WW .99 .90
7482 .95 74247 1.25 74S38 .85 745240 2.20 78L15 4078 .29 74C192 1.49
20 pin WW .98 1.09 .69
.50 74248 1.85 LM323K 4.95 4081 .29 74C193 1.49
7483 74S40 .35 745241 2.20 22 pin WW 1.28 1.39
7485 .59 74249 1.95 74551 .35 74S244 2.20
781405K 9.95 UA78S40 1.95 4082 .29 74C195 1.39
24 pin WW 1.35 1.49 781412K 9.95
7486 .35 74251 .75 74S64 .40 745251 .95 4085 .95 74C200 5.75
28 pin WW 1.49 1.69
7489 2.15 74259 2.25 74S65 .40 74S253 .95 C. T TO-220 K TO -3 4086 .95 74C221 1.75
40 pin WW 1.80 1.99 - =

7490 .35 74265 1.35 74S74 .50 74S257 .95 L TO -92- 4093 .49 74C373 2.45
WW = WIREWRAP =
1.95 4098 2.49 74C374 2.45
7491
7492
7493
.40
.50
.35
74273
74276
74279
74283
1.25
.75
2.00
74585
74S86
745112
1.99
.50
.50
745258
745260
74S274
.95
.79
19.95
16 pin ZIF
24 pin ZIF
6.75
9.95
28 pin ZIF 10.95
call
call
can
DIP
SWITCHES
r INTERFACE
8726 1.59
I 4099
14409
14410
1.95
12.95
12.95
74C901
74C902
74C903
.39
.85
.85
7494 .65 745113 .50 745275 19.95 ZIF = TEXTOOL
.55 74284 3.75 8728 1.89 14411 11.95 74C905 10.95
7495 74S114 .55 74S280 1.95 (Zero Insertion Force)
7496 .70 74285 3.75 4 POSITION .85 8795 .89 14412 12.95 74C906 .95
745124 2.75 745287 1.90
74290 .95 8T96 .89 14419 7.95 74C907 1.00
7497 2.75 74S132 1.24 745288 1.90
74100 1.75 74293 .75 745133 .45 74S289
5 POSITION .90 8T97 .89 14433 4.18 74C908 2.00
6.89
74107 .30 74298 .85 745134 .50 74S301 6.95 LED LAMPS 6 POSITION .90
8798
DM8131
.89
2.95
4502
4503
.95 74C909 2.75
74C910 9.95
74109 .45 74351 2.25 74S135 .89 74S373 2.45 1-99 100-up .65
74365 .65 .10 .09 DP8304 2.29 4508 1.95 74C911 8.95
74110 .45 74S138 .85 74S374 2.45 Red 7 POSITION .95
74366 .65 .18 .15 DS8835 1.99 4510 .85 74C912 8.95
74111 .55 74S139 .85 745381 7.95 Green
DS8836 .99 4511 .85 74C914 1.95
74116
74120
1.55
1.20
74367
74368
.65
.65
74S140
74S151
.55
.95
745387
745412
1.95
2.98
Yellow .18 .15
L! POSITION _954
MISC. 4512 .85 74C915 1.19
74121 .29 74376 2.20 745153 .95 745471 4.95 ULN2003 2.49 4514 1.25 74C918 2.75
74122
74123
.45
.49
74390
74393
1.75
1.35
74S157
74S158
.95
.95
74S472
74S474
4.95
4.95
LED DISPLAYS 3242
3341
7.95
4.95
4515
4516
1.79 74C920 17.95
1.55 74C921 15.95
HP 5082-7760 .6 CC 1.29 MC3470 4.95 4518 .89 740922 4.49
74125 .45 74425 3.15 74S161 1.95 74S482 15.25
74426 .85 MAN 72 .3" CA .99 MC3480 9.00 4519 .39 74C923 4.95
74126 .45 74S162 1.95 745570 2.95
2.55 MAN 74 3" CC .99 11C90 13.95 4520 .79 74C925 5.95
74128 .55 74490 745571 2.95
L FND-357 (359) .375" CC 1.25 95H90 7.95 4522 1.25 74C926 7.5
FND-500 (503) 5" CC 1.49 2513-001 UP 1.25 74C928 7.95
CLOCK r INTERSIL r-
9316
90oc
1.00
FND-507 (510) .5" CA 1.42
9.95
,513-002 LOW 9.95.4
4526
74C929 /9.95

CIRCUITS
MM5314 4.95 ICL7106 9.95 9334 2.50 EXAR DATA ACQUISITION SOUND CHIPS
MM5369 3.95 ICL7107 12.95 9368 3.95 XR 2206 3.75 ADC0800 15.55 DAC0808 2.95 76477 3.95
MM5375 4.95 1CL7660 2.95 9401 9.95 XR 2207 3.75 ADC0804 3.49 DAC1020 8.25 76489 8.95
ICL8038 3.95 9601 .75 ADC0809 DAC1022 AY3-8910 12.95
MM58167 8.95 XR 2208 3.75 4.49 5.95
MM58174 11.95 ICM7207A 5.59 9602 1.50
XR 2211 5.25 ADC0817 9.95 MC1408L6 1.95 AY3-8912 12.95
MSM5832 6.95 `I C Mi' 208 15.95J 96502 1.95.4 XR 2240 3.2.5. DAC0800 4.95 MC1408L8 2.95J MC3340 1.49

ORDER TOLL FREE 800-538-5000 800-662-6279

ALL MERCHANDISE -
VISA.
(CALIFORNIA RE8DEMTs)
.CALL US FOR YOLNrE QUOTES
100%[11:1iT:GitMasterCard

1983 36344 MICROOEVICES, INC.

www.americanradiohistory.com
 ...EQUALIZER

BANDPASS
POWER FILTER CONTROL
SUPPLY BANK BANK
AMPLIFIER

t32V
- 230
4'
FOR WIDE BANOS

440

INPUT ? 860

`
ATTENUATE LOW BASS
AND ADJUST
INPUT/ BUFFER ell.- 1200

..-
-
OUTPUT
JACKS 1700

>-- 2.5K

CHI.- 3.3K MID -BASS

SWITCHING
4' ADJUST

SOK

r
!II
HIGH -FRED
SUBTRACTER ADDER WITH GAIN ADJUST
i

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the Equalizer. Midband frequency selection is made by filter bank.

nance continues in the room long can be fun, even if it is unrealistic. circuit that is similar to those found
after the signal to the loudspeaker The treble band covers the range in preamplifiers. The controls ad-
has stopped. An equalizer elimi- above the last midrange band. Be- just the amount of feedback, and
nates this problem, even if it isn't cause of the large variations in thus gain, in a particular frequency
"right on" the frequency of the res- loudspeakers and recorded materi- region.
onance, by reducing the energy that al, ±10 dB is allowed on this band. Figure 2 is the complete sche-
drives it. matic for the Optimized Equalizer.
Thus, it's more important for an Circuit Operation. Figure 1 is a The power supply is a full -wave
equalizer to cut signals than to block diagram of the Optimized bridge rectifier (D201 -D204) with a
boost them. We chose to allow only Equalizer. The midband frequency wall -plug transformer. The use of a
+ 3 dB of boost in the midrange selection is done by the filter bank. remote transformer obviates the
bands, but a full 12 dB of cut. This Since the filters have gain, the sig- need for coaxial cables (without the
is enough range to tame the worst nal is attenuated at the input. This penalty of hum pickup). Power to
resonances. prevents even the largest signals at 1C2-106 is unregulated because the
The bottom bass band of the Op- the tape monitor terminals of your power -supply noise rejection of
timized Equalizer is just the oppo- amplifier from causing clipping of these ICs is so good that hum pick-
site in range. It goes from -3 dB to the filters. By subtracting three- up is trivial. However, power to
+ 12 dB, with the hinge frequency quarters of the signal using the fil- ICI and 1C7 is passed through an
of the band moving higher with ter outputs, the result is a gain of RC filter to reduce hum by 18 dB
more boost. This band is thus opti- -12 dB at the filter center frequen- because the circuits that use these
mized to improve the bottom useful cy. Next, a variable amount of the two ICs are more sensitive to sup-
octave of home loudspeaker re- filter output is added back to the ply noise.
sponse, usually stretching it from signal. When the control is set to 0 Resistors R202-R204 and capac-
45 to 65 Hz downward. dB, the added signal cancels the itors C203 and C204 bias the ICs at
The mid -range band is placed at subtracted signal exactly for flat 15 V. This double filter reduces the
about 140 Hz in the Optimized frequency response. hum from the power supply to
Equalizer. This covers the space be- An important point about this about 1 µV. The circuit could not
tween the other bands and coin- block diagram is that the arrange- be any quieter even with dual, fully
cides with the typical midbass ment of the input attenuator and regulated, power supplies (which
hump (the one that helps speakers filter bank is exactly that required would be much more expensive
sell so well in the hi-fi stores). Most for a real-time analyzer (which will than the single supply used here).
persons will need to reduce the gain be discussed next month). Resistors RI and R2 form the in-
slightly at this frequency for im- The signal from the adder (which put attenuator. Capacitor Cl re-
proved accuracy, but a full ±8 dB is has gain to make up for the input duces the attenuation at high fre-
allowed because boosting this band attenuator) goes to a three -band quencies where the filter bank

22 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 Photo of the author's prototype showing internal arrangement of the boards.

cannot clip because the filters have which forms the subtractor in the low -valued resistor R59, for little
low gain. Reducing the attenuation block diagram. Controls R24 attenuation. Feedback comes from
here allows the reduction of the through R33 adjust the amount of R62, R61, and R60; very large val-
gain, and thus noise, later on. Ca- signal added back in ICI C, which ues imply little feedback and thus a
pacitor C2 couples the attenuated implements the adder. The feed- large gain. If R60 is set to the other
signal to IC1A, a gain -of-one stage back around ICI C rolls off the gain end, there is more attenuation and
that presents a high input imped- at high frequencies to make up for more feedback, for a net attenua-
ance, but can drive the low imped- rolling off the attenuation with Cl. tion. At high frequencies, the bass
ance of the filter bank. It thus allows better signal-to-noise control is bypassed by C26 and C27
Op amps IC2A through IC4B are ratio with flat response. and the midbass control is coupled
ten parallel filters. All have a Op amp IC1B adds the last three in through C28. Above the midbass
bridged -T configuration. Let's ex- bands to the equalizer. Consider frequencies, C29 and C30 bypass
amine IC2A as an example. At low first the bass band, controlled by the midbass control, and C31 cou-
frequencies, the input signal from R60. If it is set to full boost, then at ples the high -frequency control to
R22 is blocked from IC2A by the low frequencies the input signal is IC1B.
high impedance of C22. At frequen- applied to IC1B through relatively The output of IC1B is coupled
cies much higher than the filter's through C32 to eliminate the 15-V
center frequency, the low imped- dc bias from the output. Resistor
ance of C21 bypasses the signal R72 increases the output imped-
from R22 into the low output im- TECHNICAL ance to about 600 ohms and pre-
pedance of IC2A, preventing its vents possible oscillation of IC1B
amplification. At the center fre-
SPECIFICATIONS- due to highly capacitive connecting
OPTIMIZED EQUALIZER
quency, though, the stage has a cables.
high gain. The signal from R22 is Frequency Response: 10 to 80,000 Hz
coupled through C22 to be ampli- +1/ -3 dB Construction. The Optimized
fied and inverted by IC2A. The out- Gain: 0 dB nominal Equalizer, except for the power
Distortion: Less than 0.02%, from 20 to
put of IC2A is coupled back 20,000 Hz at rated output supply input connectors and op-
through C21. Due to the phase shift Rated Output: 0.5 V tions, is built on two pc boards. The
of the capacitor circuits and the op S/N per IHF-A202: 82 dBA ref: 0.5 V foil patterns for these boards are
amp's inversion, this feedback sig- Maximum Input/Output: 9 V rms shown in Fig.3, and the parts place-
Input Impedance: Approx. 100
nal is in phase with the direct sig- kilohms in parallel with 390 pF ment diagrams are given in Fig. 4.
nal. Resistor R23 controls the gain Output Impedance: Less than 600 By placing all the controls on one
and positive feedback. ohms board (the vertical board) and most
The signals from R55 and the Total controls: 13 bands per channel of the remainder of the unit on the
Range:
even -numbered resistors, R34 Midrange: +3 to -12 dB nominal
horizontal board, front panel space
through R52, are added at the input Bass: -2 to +10 dB nominal requirements are minimized. This
to ICID. The filter outputs are all Midbass: ±8 dB nominal makes for an efficient, compact as-
inverted at their center frequencies, Treble: ±10 dB nominal sembly. The boards are connected

1984 EDITION 23

www.americanradiohistory.com
 ... EQUALIZER
IT

Ì
IR
1201
WALL -PLUG
TRANSFORMER IS
EXTERNAL
24V AC, ITO mA

IHO ZO +VCCI
BORIARDNTAL TO IC2
THROUGH IC6,
IP PIN II +VB

AC AC
1 +VCC2
TO ICIAND IC C204
INTERFACE BOARD PIN II IOyF

R201
Ion

C201 C202 R204

1000 pF 1000 pF
IOOK

MI IM
H- C207 C206
R202
:00K

r ------J .1 pF

R203
IOOK
C203
IOyF

JI
MONITOR SIA
(SIB)
IN
*-1 (Z)AI
0
IA(Z)
0
IN TAPE
MONITOR
TAPE

J2 B(1) OUT (W)D1 D(W) +VB

RECORD
OUT
S24 I
OUT (S2B)
EQUALIZER I
CI
390 pF

J3 TIN
IN

PP
EQUALIZER A 2k

(x)c IC(X)
J4
OUT
I

PART OF
VERTICAL BOARD O

PARTS LIST
Horizontal Board IC1 through IC7-RC4136 quad op amp R15,R115-470 kilohms
The following are 1/4-W, 5% carbon -film R16,R116-20 kilohms
Cl ,C101-390-pF, 5% capacitor resistors unless otherwise noted: R17,R117-620 kilohms
C2, C32, C 102, C 123, C24, C 124, C 132, R1,R101,R2O2 through R2O4-100 R18,R118-30 kilohms
C203, C2O4,-10-µF, 25-V aluminum kilohms R19,R119-910 kilohms
electrolytic R2,R102-8.2 kilohms R20,R12O-43 kilohms
C3 through C22,C1O3 through R3,R5,R1O3,R1O5-82 kilohms R21,R121-1.3 megohms
C122 -0.0022-µF, 5% polyester film R4,R1O4-2.7 kilohms R22,R122-56 kilohms
capacitor R6,R1O6-3.9 kilohms R23,R123-1.8 megohms
C25,C125-0.001-µF, 5% polyester film R7,R1O7-120 kilohms R54,R154-16.2 kilohms, 1% metal film
capacitor R8,R1O8-5.1 kilohms R55,R155-1.62 kilohms, 1% metal film
C28,C128-0,22-µF, 10% polyester film R9,R1O9-160 kilohms R56,R156-24.9 kilohms, 1% metal film
capacitor R1O,R11O-7.5 kilohms R57,R157-36 kilohms
C31,C131-0,01-µF, 1O% polyester film R11,R111-240 kilohms R58,R158-3 kilohms
capacitor R12,R112-11 kilohms R64,R71,R164,R171-5.6 kilohms
C2O6,C2O7-0,1-µF, +80/-20% ce- R13,R113-330 kilohms R72,R172-560 ohms
ramic disc capacitor R14,R114-15 kilohms

24 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 R18, 30K -218 C17-R19, 9 IOK -IC2C(5A) R26 R38 R39
R16, 20K-CI6 CI5-RI7, 620K-IC2D(5B) R27 R40 R41
814, 15K-CI4 00222F, CI3-R15, 470K-IC3A(5C) R28 50K R42 33K R43 33K
C21
R12, IIK -C12 CII -R I3, 330K-IC38 (50) R29 R44 R45
.0022 PF R34
33K
RIO, 75K -C10
R8, 5.IK-C8
C9
C7
--R9, 240K-IC3C(6A)
RI I,
160K-IC30(6B)
R30
R31
R46
R48
R47
R49
MAMMA
Cr2 )1
HORIZONTAL BOARD
Y
VERTICAL BOARD
.0022pf R23 R35
1.8M 33K
R24
50K
(8)1
R22 (10)3
56K (9)2 C25
001yF Fig. 2. The schematic of the Equalizer
IC2A(4C)
is shown here and on the facing page.
as The left channel and power supply
0022 pf R36 R55
33K 1.62K R54 R56 are shown. Part numbers for the
C20
.0022yF
) 16.2K 24.9K
right channel are the same but in
R21
13M
R37
33K
the 100's or are shown in parenthesis
(1)14
(3112
on diagram (switches, ICs, etc.).
R25
50K (2)13f
VR
VB ICID(78)
R20 (5 9
43K (
C24
+VB 10VF

C2B(4D)

LHORIZONTAL BOARD
VERTICAL BOARD

(FOR INTERMEDIATE CIRCUITRY

SEE UPPER RIGHT) R68 R65 R59
C26
1.5K 5.66 5.6K

(9)5
R64 VB (10)4
C5 R60 5.6K (8)6
0022 pf 22K
R63 ICIB(7C)
C29 50K
.022
R69 R66 9F
50K 50K R61
9.1K C27
.IyF

C30
)F
R70 R67 .022 9F R62
1.5K 5.6K 5.66 C28
.22 yF

2 BF )1-
C31
.01yF
+
C32
4 IOyF
.7K
NOTE C123
+VB IS LOCATED
IC4B(6D) C23 ON THE
HORIZONTAL R72 15R71

j
10,,F 5600 .6K
BOARD

TO CASES OF
SI, S2

(B)

Vertical Board Power Supply Note: The following are available from
Symmetric Sound Systems, 856
C23 -10-µF, 25-V aluminum electrolytic C201,C202-1000-µF, 35-V aluminum Lynn Rose Ct., Santa Rosa, CA 95404
C26,C27,C126,C127-0.1-µF, 5% poly- electrolytic (707-546-3895): complete Optimized
ester film capacitor C205-0.1-µF, +80/-20% ceramic disc Equalizer kit (EQ-4) with unfinished
C29,C30,C129,C130-0.022-µF, 5% capacitor walnut end panels at $100; complete
polyester film capacitor D201 through D204-IN4002 (or Optimized Analyzer kit (AN-1) at $60.
The following are 1/4-W, 5% carbon -film equivalent) Also available separately: horizontal
resistors unless otherwise noted: R201 -10 -ohm, 1/4-W, 5% resistor and vertical pc boards for Equalizer
R24 through R33,R63,R66,R69,R124 J1 through J4, J101 through J104- (EQ-4PC) at $17.; Analyzer and inter-
through R133,R163,R166,R169-50- Phono jack connect pc boards (AN-1PC) at $13.;
kilohm slide potentiometer T201 -24-V, 170 -mA wall -plug transform- slide potentiometers #EQ-4SP, $.95
R34 through R53,R134 through er (Dormeyer PS14201 or equivalent) each. Quad op -amp IC #4136, $1.75
R153-33 kilohms each. Set of IC's for the analyzer
R 59, R 62, R 65, R 67, R 159, R 162, R 165, Misc.-No. 20 AWG bus wire (6'), ribbon #AN -11C, $6.00. Wall plug transform-
R167-5.6 kilohms cable (14 conductor, 71/2"), angle er #EQ-4PT, $7.50. Minimum order
R60,R160-22 kilohms bracket (#6-32 threaded, one side, 8), $10.00. All prices include shipping on
R61,R161-9.1 kilohms #6 X 3/8" sheet metal screw (11), #6- prepaid orders in the U.S. Canadians
R68,R70,R168,R170-1.5 kilohms 32 X 1/4" machine screw (8), chassis, add $4.00 shipping and handling. Cal-
S1,S2-Dpdt nonshorting switch 16 -pin DIP socket, 14 -pin DIP socket. ifornia residents add sales tax.

1984 EDITION 25

www.americanradiohistory.com
 EQUALIZER together with #20 -AWG bus wire
between adjacent pads. The bus
wire is stiff enough to make a rigid
assembly of the boards, with easy
access to both sides of boards for
testing and experimenting.
Components should be soldered
to the horizontal board first, in or-
der of resistors, capacitors,
jumpers, and ICs. Be careful to ob-
serve the index marking on the ICs
and the polarity of the electrolytic
capacitors. Next solder compo-
nents to the vertical board-slide
potentiometers first, then resistors,
capacitors, and switches (observe
the polarity on C123).
To connect the boards, push
#20 -AWG bus wire or solid unin-
sulated wire through the pads in the
long line on the vertical board from
the back side, and solder to the
pads. Taper the length of these
pieces of wire from 3/4" on one end
to 3" on the other end. Starting on
the long end, and with the copper -
clad sides of both boards facing
each other, push the leads through
the matching pads on the horizon-
tal board, working your way to the
short end. Bend the horizontal
board, and thus all the wires, until
it is perpendicular to the vertical
board and flush against it. Solder
all the wires.
Wire the switches, jacks, and
boards together according to the
schematic (wires A through E, M,
and V through Z). Wire the power
supply on a terminal strip, and con-
nect it to the horizontal board
(wires J through L). A foil pattern
for an interconnect board is given
in Fig. 5. One 16- and one 14 -pin
DIP socket are wired to this board.
The sockets are used to connect to
the real-time analyzer, which will
be covered in Part 2.
Because of the compactness of
the pc -board assembly, many me-
chanical configurations are possi-
ble. In the prototype, the vertical pc
board was attached to two pieces of
walnut. The rear of an inverted
"U" chassis was also attached to
the walnut. The chassis provides
marking for all the controls,
switches, and jacks. Grounding the
chassis to circuit ground shields the
Fig. 3. Foil patterns for circuit from radio -frequency inter-
the Equalizer pc boards ference and electrostatic pick-up of
60 Hz and its harmonics.

26 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Installation. Most component
O high-fidelity systems can accom-
modate signal processors, such as
the Optimized Equalizer, through
the tape -monitor loop. Connect the
"tape out" or "tape record" output
of your amplifier to the equalizer's
input. Then connect the equalizer's
output to the "tape in," "tape mon-
itor," or "tape play" jacks of your
amplifier. Switch the amplifier's
tape monitor switch to "on" to en-
lv, able the equalizer. The tape moni-
tor function is replaced on the
equalizer. Connect your tape deck
to the equalizer as it had been con-
nected to the amplifier.
Some amplifiers have separate
tape source switches to enable you
to play one source while recording
another. In this case, you will have
to use your tape source switch as
your selector. Switch the selector
switch to tape, so that the signal al-
ways passes through the equalizer.

Equalizer Adjustment. There

are a number of different tech-
niques available to adjust your
equalizer; these vary in conve-
nience, cost, and accuracy. Audio-
philes with very good familiarity
with live music can adjust the
bands by ear to match their idea of
the way the music should sound. A
different technique is to use a test
record, perhaps with the aid of a
sound -level meter, to adjust the
bands for flat response.
An easy way to adjust an equaliz-
er is with a real-time analyzer. Al-
though this can be a costly audio
accessory, it's not in this case. The
equalizer was designed to inherent-
ly contain much of the circuitry of
the analyzer. In Part 2, we will de-
scribe the design, construction, and
use of the analyzer.
With the high performance and
build -it-yourself economies of the
Optimized Equalizer/Analyzer,
you can anticipate an impressive
improvement in the sound of your
system.

5k

Fig. 4. Component layouts I

for the pc boards.

0
Fig. 5. Foil pattern for the
connector board to the analyzer.

1984 EDITION 27
 EQUALIZER

Part 2-An integral analyzer

for accurately setting up
the audio equalizer in Part 1 OPTIMIZED EQUALIZER
1t 25k 33k 50k 10., 50 140 230 310 440 650 860 12k 174 254 33k 5,4 10k

W .12 :q
.y

Out Out {;S egkoIU

In the first part of this article, we cedure is repeated with left and signal from the level control now
presented a new kind of equalizer right channels reversed. passes to the channel under test.
circuit that offers high performance Figure 7 is the schematic of the The stereo speakers convert the
at an economical cost. In this sec- analyzer. Integrated circuits IC2 noise to sound, which comes back
ond part, we will describe a Flatness and IC3 constitute a digital white - for analysis through the micro-
Analyzer, an accessory you use to noise generator. The circuits in phone, MIC/. A small electret is
rapidly and accurately adjust the IC3A and IC3B form a square -wave used here, which has typical accura-
equalizer. The details follow. oscillator with an output frequency cy of ±1 dB with help from the
of about 100 kHz. This clocks 18 - preamp, IC1B. This stage provides
Circuit Operation. Figure 6A is a stage shift register IC2, which keeps a gain of 27, and C33 and R44 tame
block diagram of the equalizer/ shifting the output of IC3D, the ex- an upper-midrange peak that is
analyzer combination (part of clusive -OR function of the 14th and common to most inexpensive elec-
which is identical to Fig. 1). The an- 17th stages of the shift register. tret microphones.
alyzer plugs directly into the equal- These taps (14 and 17) are chosen so The microphone signal is further
izer. Figure 6B is a block diagram of that the register outputs random amplified in IC1A and passed
the equalization test procedure. ones and zeroes; it only repeats after through R48 and C32 to the testing
Here's how the Flatness Analyz- going through all but one of the 21' channel's filters. Resistor R48 is
er tests one channel (the right) of possible states. This is called a pseu- provided as protection in case the
the Optimized Equalizer. Pink do -random sequence generator input to the equalizer is not
noise is applied to the right -channel (since it repeats, it isn't truly ran- disconnected.
input of the equalizer. The equal- dom). Its output spectrum is very Besides the ten filters in the
ized output of the right channel is white if you pass the digital output equalizer, IC/C and IC1D filter the
then fed through an amplifier and through a low-pass filter. Integrated frequencies around 40 to 100 Hz
speakers into the room. From here, circuit IC3C and its associated com- and 140 Hz to help adjust the bot-
the microphone picks it up. ponents ensure that IC2 cannot get tom bands of the equalizer.
The signal is then amplified by locked up in the all -zeroes state. The filtered signals from the
the microphone preamp and ap- Components R29 through R32 equalizer are ac -coupled by CI
plied to the left -channel input of the and C20 through C23 are a pinking through CIO (to remove the dc com-
equalizer, as well as two filters in filter. The gain vs. frequency of this ponents) and detected by D3
the analyzer. The outputs of these network falls off at 3 dB per octave through D12. To minimize the er-
12 filters drive simple biased -diode on the average, about half as fast as rors due to the on voltage of these
detectors and a bank of 12 meters to a single RC filter. The noise is am- diodes, a small current is passed
show the deviations from flatness. If plified by IC4B and rolled off at through D15 and buffered by IC4A
the system response is flat, all me- high frequencies to compensate for to offset the positive side of the me-
ters will have equal deflections. The the increased gain of the testing ters by approximately the diode on
output of the left channel is ground- channel at high frequencies (due to voltage. As a result, the meters re-
ed to prevent the amplified micro- the reduction in input attenuation spond to the average value of the
phone signal from passing back out as explained previously). noise level, which is a much more
through the left speaker and per- The output is ac coupled with accurate parameter than the peak
turbing the measurements or caus- C25, and its level is controlled with response frequently used in such an
ing oscillations. R32. The level could be controlled analyzer.
To test the left channel, the inter- with the stereo's master volume The outputs of ICIC and IC1D
connecting plug is reversed and off- control, but having a control on the are passed through RC filters R18,
set in its socket, and the above pro- analyzer is a real convenience. The R19, R24, and R25 and C12 and

28 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 ... EQUALIZER
1 EQUALIZER
CHANNEL UNDER TEST
AMPLIFIER

NOISE NOISE FLATNESS ANALYZER

AMP LEVEL
WHITE NOISE SOURCE PINKING
FILTER

MIKE
GAIN METER
BANK
OUTPUT
SHORTED
FILTERS FILTERS TO GROUND
MIKE PREAMP DETECTOR
BANK

J
BANDPASS
i FILTER
BANK "-4.-
POWER
SUPPLY 1111-4. OTHER
EQUALIZER
CIRCUITS

w
INPUT
-
r
-F
INPUT 8 ATTEN OUTPUT AMPLIFIER
TAPE
JACKS
-.- a
BUFFER
0-0-

OUTPUT
1
Fig. 6A. Block
diagram of
SWITCHING
M i

the equalizer
and analyzer
combination.

EQUALIZER CHANNEL USED FOR TESTING

LISTENING ROOM

EQUALIZER CAL FILTER BANK (10)

INOISE SOURCE AMPLIFIER o (IN TESTING CHANNEL
(CHANNEL UNDER TEST) AMPI-. OF EQUALIZER)

CHANNEL UNDER TEST

I FILTERS (2)

Fig. 6B. Block diagram of the equalization

1 I U
test procedure with the analyzer and equalizer connected. METER BANK (12)

C16 to reduce the fluctuations of the Construction. Figure 8 is the foil Connect the microphone ele-
bottom band meters and to reduce pattern for the analyzer pc board, ment, MIC1, to the shielded pair
the gain, in order to make up for the and Fig. 9 is the foil pattern for the cord and solder the cord to the ap-
effect of the attenuator at the input interconnection pc board. A com- propriate pc board holes-red wire
of the testing channel on the ten ponent -placement diagram for the for positive, white for signal, and
other bands. analyzer is given in Fig. 10. shield for ground. Connect a stiff
Resistor R17 and diode D16 pro- Solder all components to the piece of wire over the shield and sol-
vide a + 9-V supply for the micro- board, except the slide potentiome- der to the two holes right behind it
phone and white -noise generator, ters. Don't forget the two jumpers. to act as a strain relief.
and also supply bias for ICl. Carefully orient the ICs, diodes, The connection to the equalizer is
Switch S1 allows the response of and electrolytic capacitors accord- through a DIP plug. Cut a standard
the analyzer to be observed without ing to pin number or polarity. Inte- DIP -plug to DIP -plug 16 -wire ca-
the speaker-microphone link, to see grated circuits 1C2 and 1C3 are ble in half and solder the unterm-
how flat it is. This calibration per- CMOS, and thus static -sensitive; so inated wires to the appropriate pads
mits adjustments to be made that don't remove them from their con- of the DIP pattern on your board
will provide compensation for com- ductive packaging until you are (the wires will alternate sides). Or
ponent tolerance errors, especially ready to install them. Then dis- just install a whole DIP-plug right
in the meter sensitivities (±1 dB) charge yourself, your soldering in the pattern. Pass the wires across
and pinking -filter components. iron, and the pc traces to ground. R35's position, and then mount R35

1984 EDITION 29
 ...EQUALIZER IC3-CD4070 quad ex -OR gate S1-Spst slide switch
IC4-LM358 dual op amp Misc.-Pc board for analyzer, press -on
M1 -M12 -200-µA 1-kilohm edgewise rubber feet (4), 16-wire ribbon cable,
PARTS LIST meter jumper wires, etc.
Cl through Cl0,C12,C13,C16,C17,C24, MIC1-Electret microphone element Note: The following are available from
C30, C32 -10-µF, 25-V aluminum P1-16 -pin DIP plug Symmetric Sound Systems, 856 Lynn
electrolytic The following are 1/4-W, 5% carbon -film re- Rose Ct., Santa Rosa, CA 95404 (707-
Cl 1,C28 -0.1-µF 50-V ceramic disc sistors unless otherwise noted: 546-3895): complete Optimized
C29 -10-µF, 25-volt electrolytic R1 through R10,R40-470 ohms Equalizer kit (EQ-4) with unfinished
C14 -0.0047-µF, 5% polyester capacitor R11,R39,R46,R49-1.5 megohms walnut end panels at $100; complete
C15,C18,C19,C25-0.1-µF, 5% polyester R12 through R16-Not used Analyzer kit (AN -1) at $60. Also
apacitor Rl7,R20,R26,R28,R48-2.2 kilohms available separately: horizontal and
C20 -0.022-µF, 5% polyester capacitor R18,R19,R50-8.2 kilohms vertical pc boards for Equalizer (EQ-
C21 -0.0068-µF, 5% polyester capacitor R21-300 kilohms 4PC) at $17; analyzer and intercon-
C22,C26,C34-0.0022-µF, 5% polyester R22,R34,R43-3.9 kilohms nect pc boards (AN-1PC) at $13; slide
apacitor R23-39 kilohms potentiometers (#EQ-4SP) at $.95
C23 -0.001-µF, 5% polyester capacitor R24,R25-11 kilohms each; quad op amp IC #4136 at $1.75
C27-24-pF, 5% capacitor R27-62 kilohms each; set of ICs for analyzer (#AN-
C31-not used R29-270 kilohms 11C) at $6.00. Wall -plug transformer
C33-39-pF ceramic disc capacitor R30,R37,R38-150 kilohms (#EQ-4PT) at $7.50. Minimum order
D1 through D15-1N4148 diode R31,R41-47 kilohms $10.00. All prices include shipping on
D16 -9.1-V zener (1 N5239 or 1 N960) R32,R33,R36,R44,R47-15 kilohms prepaid orders in the U.S. Canadians
IC1-RC4136 quad op amp R35,R45-50-kilohm potentiometer add $4.00 shipping and handling. Cal-
IC2-CD4006 18 -stage shift register R42-100 kilohms ifornia residents, add sales tax.

RI8 919 CIS R23

8.2K 8.2K .1µF 39K
=C12F
µ
+

R24 R25
IIK IIK

C16
+ IOµF R28
ICI.RC4136 2.2K
IC2.004006
IC3=CD4070
IC4=LM358
CI-CIO =10µ F
RI-RIO = 47015
C25
DI-D15.1N4148
270K

R30 931 R32

E-
SOK . 47K 15K R35
0022 50NOISE

LEVEL
\ R34
C20 721 222 C23I 3.9K
22nF 6.BnF 2.2nF 001µF
4 M4
L R50
8.2K
F
IOC2a

+9V +VCC
C4 M6

917
2.2K
----`I E

16

016
0000000 PI 949
9.IV EQUALIZER 5
CONNECTOR
0 00 8 M8

C26
9
93 .0022
.5 µF
R38 R37 9V
150K 150K R4I
R7
47K
MIO CALM
RED 1` _ E0 SI
TEST R45,
8 CENTER
IC
C29,
R44 50K'
SHIELD MlC'
I MII I 10µF GAIN
IC44
R9
M....
-_ )1C3 R47 R46
CIO D12 MI2 D15 R43 390pF 15K 15M
3.9K

/10 ICO30
µ

Fig. 7. Schematic of the circuit in the analyzer.

30 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 ...EQUALIZER
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE
FLATNESS ANALYZER?
over them as a strain relief. Also
mount the other slide potentiometer According to traditional thinking, there is
in its proper location. quite a bit wrong with the analyzer. First, its
In the prototype, the bases of the output devices are meters. Unlike bar -
edgewise meters were glued to the graph LEDs, meters cannot be easily read
from far away. They are also slow and can-
pc board and wired with short not show the dynamics of music well, due
jumpers. It is a good idea to use to mechanical inertia. But we are not build-
stick -on rubber feet to prevent ing a music analyzer; we are building a flat-
shorting to the chassis of the equal- ness analyzer. It is designed to be placed
izer or scratching it during use. next to the equalizer so that the controls
can be adjusted while watching the me-
Since the analyzer is a sophisti- ters. Only the microphone needs to be us-
cated accessory and not for display, able from a distance, and it comes with a
to save effort and expense, you need long cord.
not put it in a fancy chassis. The slowness of the meters is in fact de-
sirable because it evens out the
fluctutations in the noise levels. Actually
Adjustment and Use. Using the the meters act as filters without extra com-
Optimized Equalizer and the Ana- ponents to do that filtering (except in the
lyzer combination is easy because lowest bands, where the fluctuations are
all the information you need is right slow enough that additional filtering is de-
sirable). However, the most important rea-
in front of you at all times. son for using meters is that they give better
With the power off, connect the resolution and "feel" for that signal level.
equalizer outputs to your stereo. Do Their fluctuations can be averaged visually
not connect the equalizer inputs to much faster and more accurately than
LEDs, especially in designs with 2.5
anything. Connect the analyzer to dB/step LED resolution.
the equalizer and turn the slide pots Next, the Flatness Analyzer will not ana-
to OFF. Set the TEST switch to EQ lyze music. Since the signal levels in the
and the EQUALIZER switch to IN. testing channel must be adjusted to drive
the meters appropriately, this channel
Set all the equalizer controls to 0
cannot be used to process music. This
dB. Place the measuring micro- precludes the fascinating light-shows of
phone at your favorite listening lo- some analyzers, but it is necessary for the
cation. Apply power to the economy of reusing the equalizer's filters.
equalizer/analyzer and your stereo. We're out for performance here, not a
show.
Adjust the mike gain upwards Finally, the Flatness Analyzer does not
until there is significant deflection have a top-end meter to help adjust the
of some of the meters. This point equalizer's 10-kHz control. One is easily
shows how large the room noise is. added, but it is not worthwhile for a number
Back down on the gain until there is of reasons. First, a microphone that has
even marginally predictable response in
no more than 10% deflection on the top octave will cost more than the en-
any meter. Now slowly advance tire equalizer/analyzer combination; using
your noise -level control and stereo - it would produce the worst kind of dimin-
volume control until you are getting ishing return on your investment. Second-
ly, recorded music in the top octave is no-
an average of over 70% of full de- toriously variable in relative level due to
flection on your meters. Depending varying microphone techniques and engi-
on the ambient levels in your room, neer's tastes. Finally, all speakers, micro-
this is likely to be relatively loud. phones, musical instruments and ears are
Adjust the bands of the channel extremely directional at high frequencies.
Unlike the situation at lower frequencies
Fig. 8. Foil pattern for the where most of the signal you equalize has
analyzer pc board. been reflected from room boundaries; at
high frequencies, you would be equalizing
the direct signal from the loudspeakers.
Fig. 9. Foil pattern for The desired ratio of this signal level to the
connector board to equalizer. reverberantly measured levels at other fre-
quencies is not well controlled.
Lk
0230 Thus, no one equalizes for a flat high
L end. Rather, they try to accomplish some
smooth roll -off. The author strongly rec-
09 ommends setting this band by ear and re-
setting it (and perhaps the top two or three
narrow bands slightly) according to the
particular piece of music being played. O
230

1984 EDITION 31
 ... EQUALIZER
TESTING THE EQUALIZER/ANALYZER

under test by reducing the level of

the band corresponding to the me-
ter with the highest deflection. Af- ÄÍ?i Im(aEb
r
E41(/)l IZER
ter you have adjusted a few bands +10

this way, continue by moving the

bands either up or down to come as
close as possible to uniform deflec- dBC

tion of all bands. Adjust the noise

level as necessary to keep the aver -
-10

l'1
RO 0000
FREQUENCY (Hz)

Boost and attenuation effects of the ten filter points.

The concept of having the analyzer use tion of the equalizer was negligible and
some of the circuits in the equalizer is an well within the stated limits. The noise
interesting one and makes for economy in (which was below our measurement limit)
achieving both analysis and equalization. appeared to meet the claimed perfor-
In addition, the recognition that a limited mance comfortably.
amount of boost and much more "cut," are Following the instructions, we used the
required for room/speaker equalization is system to equalize a stereo music system.
something we have not seen discussed It would be helpful if the meters could be
before. It differs sharply from conventional marked to match the corresponding slider
practice, which provides symmetrical controls; we had to use some "cut and try"
(more or less) boost. methods in doing the qualization, but the
The measured characteristics of the end result seemed to be reasonable. Ac-
various filters in the analyzer and equalizer cording to a spectrum analysis of the "pink
confirm the statements made in the article. noise" from the system, it is not quiet pink.
It is interesting to note that using only the However, since one uses the meters to
extreme controls (40 Hz and 10 kHz) one read the noise spectrum as well as the
can simulate quite well the effect of a con- qualized acoustic spectrum, this error is of
ventional tone control system. The distor- no importance. Julian Hirsch

age deflection at about 70%. and accurate. But be wary of short-

The noise source, being pseudo- term reactions. After listening so
random, audibly repeats every 1.5 long to the errors that your system
seconds, and the meters will show and room make, your mind gets ac-
this periodicity. When fine tuning, customed to these distortions of re-
visually average the motion during ality and expects them. Thus, any
this interval. When the result is change toward either more or less
close to flat, switch the TEST switch realistic sound is initially perceived
to CAL, adjust the MIKE GAIN for as unnatural. Also, the equalization
70% average deflection, and ob- technique given will reduce the
serve the errors of the test system. overall level somewhat. Unless you
Then switch back to EQ and fine- compensate by increasing the vol-
tune the equalizer to match the CAL ume control setting, you are likely
response, which will be slightly dif- to initially consider the sound to be
ferent than truly flat. Then turn ev- poorer when equalized.
erything off, switch the connection But give yourself about 15 min-
from the analyzer to the equalizer, utes with your de -resonated stereo
and repeat for the other channel. and then switch to unequalized.
Then remove the analyzer and con- You will notice a hollow, boxy
nect the equalizer normally. sound that you missed before be-
cause you were so used to it. Now
Hints on Equalizing. Over the simply switch back to equalized
Fig. 10. Component layout long term, the sound from your sys- sound and you will find some really
on analyzer pc board. tem will be exceptionally smooth fine listening.

32 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
www.americanradiohistory.com
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 ERE IS AN easy -to-build battery-
BY TOM FOX operated 31/2 -digit thermometer,
which we call "Lidith" for Liquid -crystal
Digital THermometer. It can accurately
measure temperatures from - 13° F to
+ 185° F. Basic accuracy is better than
±1° over this range and averages bet-
ter than ±0.5° from 0° to 100° F. Each
degree is divided into 10 equal parts,
BUILD !LIDITH' giving Lidith a 0.1° F resolution. Read-
out is on a 1/2" liquid -crystal display.
With some simple circuit modifica-
tions, Lidith can perform other func-
tions, such as reading the temperature

A 3½ -Digit
in °C and displaying both indoor and
outdoor temperatures.

Circuit Operation. Shown in Fig. 1 is

the schematic diagram of Lidith. (See
Box for details on sensors.) Resistor
R11 is the series voltage dropper for the
6.8 -volt zener diode in the temperature
transducer (IC2). The R12/C6 network

Digital provides additional stability if the trans-

ducer is used as a remote sensor. Re-
sistors R9 and R10 form a precision volt-
age divider to insure that the proper pro-

Thermometer
portion of the transducer's output volt-
age goes to the digital panel meter
(DPM) circuitry.
Several points should be noted about
the IC2 circuit. At room temperature
Measures from -13° to +185° F with (77° F), the transducer's output from
pins 1 and 2 to pin 3 is nominally 2.98
1° accuracy and 0.1° resolution volts and increases by 10 mV for every
1°C or 1.8° F increase in temperature.
This potential is measured with respect
to +9 volts, not ground. This means that
at 77° F, pins 1 and 2 are at -2.98 volts,
with respect to +9 volts.
The heart of the DPM is the Intersil
ICL7106 single -chip 31/2 -digit MOS
A/D (analog -to-digital) converter that
drives the LCD. The 7106 uses dual -
slope conversion, in which nonlineari-
ties tend to cancel out. Therefore, the
circuit does not require extremely accu-
rate or stable (and expensive) compo-
nents. Also, as long as it remains un-
changed for a single conversion cycle,
the clock frequency does not have to
be precise or extremely stable. The
only real requirement is a stable current
reference.
In addition to ease of use and relative-
ly low cost, the 7106 has several other
features that make it ideal for use in Li-
dith. Since the thermometer employs
CMOS circuitry, it consumes little cur-
rent (about 0.8 mA). It has true auto -
zeroing, will directly drive LCD displays,
and has a guaranteed ±1 -count accura-
cy over its entire ±2000 -count range.
The RC network for the 7106's inter -

36 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 EVALUATION KIT
(SEE TEXT)
0+9V r

RI
R6 22K .22pF1 27
12K DISP I
(SEE R2

-
-9V BI

R12 R9
TEXT) 47--JJNMM-

C2
2 8

20
.47pF1 29
_L 4711 10K

30 19

C6 R7
R5
IM
C5
.OIpF 31
,n,nn,n,4A,
5K
33 PINS
15 THRU 18
RIO CI ICI AND 22,23,24 II
40.56 .IyF 7106 DECIMAL
K 34 POINT
TP2 36
R8 4
IC2 62K o PINS
L M 3911H- 35
46 TP3
o
32
40
9 THRU
AND PIN 25
14

II_I
911 39
2K 111S-MMAAN---.
PINS
R3
1-I_I
p
IOOK 2 THRU 8
3

100 26 37 2 BACKPLANE
L J

Fig. 1. Most of the components are supplied with the meter

evaluation kit as shown within dashed lines. Temperature 1C3=4001
sensor and other components are connected to kit as shown here.
PARTS LIST
B1 -9 -volt battery R6-12,000 ohms
C1 -0.1-µF capacitor* R7-5000 -ohm multi -turn trimmer
C2 -0.47-µF capacitor* potentiometer
C3 -0.22-µF capacitor* R8-62,000 ohms
C4-100-pF capacitor* R9-10,000 ohms, 1%
C5 -0.01-µF capacitor* R10-40,560 ohms, 1%
C6 -0.1-µF capacitor R11-2000 ohms
DISP1-31/2-digit LCD display* R12-47 ohms, 10%
IC1-7106 31/2 -digit A/D converter Misc.-Battery holder; IC socket; three -
(Intersil) conductor flexible cable; 3Ás" to 1/4" ID Note: The following are available from
IC2-LM3911 H-46 temperature sensor thin -wall brass or copper tubing; insulat- Magicland, 4380 S. Gordon, Fremont,
(National) ed tubing; E-PDX-E ribbon; acrylic MI 49412: Kit containing one LM3911 H-
IC3-4001 quad 2 -input NOR gate spray; plastic case; 1/6" -thick clear plas- 46, R9, and R10 for $9.95 postpaid (re-
The following are 5%,1/ -watt resistors un- tic sheet; black spray paint; glue; ma- quest #ST2RB for conventional kit,
less otherwise specified: chine hardware; etc. #CT2RB for Celsius version). Also
R1-22,000 ohms *These items are supplied in the 7106EV available separately: LM3911 H-46 tem-
R2-47,000 ohms* Intersil Single Chip Panel Meter Evalua- perature sensor (with data sheet) for
R3-100,000 ohms* tion Kit available for $34.95 plus 5% $6.50; matched pair of LM3911H-46s
R4 -1000-ohm trimmer potentiometer* shipping & handling from Jameco, 1355 (±1° C or better) for $20.00; R9 and R10
R5-1 megohm* Shoreway Rd., Belmont, CA 94002. for $1.75 each.

nal oscillator is made up of R3 and C4. and REF LO. In Lidith, R4 is basically a work (and connected to IN LO) when the
With the values shown, oscillator fre- scale -adjust trimmer potentiometer. transducer's temperature is at 0°. We
quency is about 48 kHz. Capacitor C3 Another adjustable voltage -divider can conclude, then, that R7 can be
and resistor R2 are the integrating com- that uses the 7106's 2.8 -volt reference is viewed as a 0° trimmer pot. However,
ponents, while Cl is the reference capa- made up of R6, R7, and R8. Notice that since 0° F is not easy to achieve, R7 will
citor and C2 is the auto -zero capacitor. temperature -adjust trimmer R7s wiper actually be set for a display of 32.1 when
Low-pass RC filter R5/C5 is used for im- is connected through filter resistor R5 to the transducer is immersed in ice water.
proved noise rejection. pin 31 (IN HI) of the 7106. As the transducer's temperature rises,
A stable 2.8 -volt reference potential Once the thermometer is calibrated, its output at pins 1 and 2 becomes more
between pin 1 (V+) and pin 32 (COM- with R7 at a fixed position, IN HI is at a negative, with respect to +9 volts. This
MON) is provided by the 7106. Resistors fixed voltage. For the DPM to display more -negative potential is felt at the
R1 and R4 form an adjustable voltage - 00.0, its IN LO (connected to the trans- 7106's IN LO input. When IN LO be-
divider network that applies a suitable ducer's voltage -divider network) must comes more negative, with respect to IN
proportion of this reference voltage to be exactly equal to its IN HI point. Thus, HI (which is set at a constant voltage af-
pin 36 (REF HI) and pin 35 (REF LO). after calibration, the voltage at R7s wip- ter calibration), the 7106 senses this as
Adjustment of R4 is made for a potential er must be identical to that coming from a positive voltage at its input, since IN HI
of 0.110 volt (110 mV) between REF HI the transducer's R9/R10 divider net - is now more positive, or less negative,

1984 EDITION 37

www.americanradiohistory.com
than IN LO. Therefore, the DPM dis-
plays a positive number.
When the transducer's temperature
goes below 00, IN LO is less negative
than IN HI and the DPM indicates a neg-
ative temperature.
The 7106 directly powers all seg- DISPLAY
ments of the LCD. Pin 21 goes to the
OMIT
display's backplane, while the frontplane JUMPER

segments connect to pins 2 through 25,

excluding pin 21, which connects to the Fig. 2. The main outline
decimal point between the units and here is that of the meter
tenths decades in the display. Between evaluation kit.. Thermometer
the decimal point and pin 21 is a CMOS components can he added ICI C

inverter that provides the proper ac volt-

to the "open" area on the
kit board created by
age with an insignificant dc offset. It may taking off the battery.
seem wasteful to use an entire 4001 for
this trivial task when a single MOS tran- r 1

sistor would do the same job, but a 4001 OMIT

BATTERY
is less expensive and more readily avail- HOLDER,
MOUNT
able. ADD-ON
HERE
Construction. Unless you can obtain a
suitable 31/2 -digit LCD at reasonable
cost, we strongly recommend Intersil's
ICL7106EV/KIT Single Chip Panel Me-
PINS PIN OMIT CHANGE
ter Evaluation Kit. It is available from 192 3
PIN
4 JACKS TO 22K
OF OF OF (SEE TEXT)
Jameco (see Parts List) and other IC2 IC2 1C2
Intersil distributors. If you are set on
building your thermometer from
scratch instead, follow Fig. and the
1

pin configuration guide for the LCD you

TEMPERATURE SENSOR buy.
SUPPLIERS Except for the remote sensing trans-
There are a number of manufacturers who able. For every 1' C rise or fall, current in- ducer, all thermometer components
produce temperature sensors suitable for creases or decreases by 1 µA. Premium mount on the Evaluation Kit's circuit
use with Lidith. The following is a list of a model AD590M has a guaranteed max-
few such manufacturers, followed by brief imum calibration error of ±0.5° C at 25° C.
board. Build the Kit following the instruc-
descriptions of the suitable sensors. If you prefer to deal with voltages instead tions supplied with it. Then, referring to
Precision Monolithics Inc. (1500 Space of currents, simply add a precision resistor Fig. 2, replace R1 supplied with the Kit
Park Dr., Santa Clara, CA 95050) pro- in series with the transducer. with a 22,000 -ohm 5% (or better) toler-
duces Ultra -Matched Monolithic Dual National Semiconductor Corp. (2900 ance carbon or metal -film resistor. (If
Transistors, Series MAT -01, which, with Semiconductor Dr., Santa Clara, CA
suitable amplification, can be used in an you can adjust R4 for 0.115 volt or more
95051) produces the LM391 IC tempera -
1

between TP2 and TP3, R1 need not be

changed.) Eliminate the battery holder,
specified jumper, and banana jacks. Drill
- z holes for and mount the extra circuitry as
ACTIVE OUTPUT shown. Refer back to Fig. 1 and inter-
ZE NE R
mV/°K 50K
6.8V 10
connect all on -board components.
L143911
A 1" to 2" (25.4- to 50.8 -mm) length of
OP 3/16" to 1/4" (4.8- to 6.4 -mm) inner -diam-
AMP
SENSOR
eter thin -walled brass or copper tubing
should be used as a heat sink for the
transducer if you plan to measure air
4
temperatures. If you plan to use Lidith
ture transducer specified in Lidith's Parts primarily for taking body and liquid tem-
electronic thermometer. For details, con-
List. As shown in the diagram in this box, peratures, you can omit the tubing. Use
sult the company's application note No. the transducer includes a built-in opera-
AN -12 titled "Temperature Measurement a length of flexible three -conductor ca-
tional amplifier, internal zener diode to pro-
Method Based on Matched Transistor Pair ble to interconnect transducer and cir-
vide voltage regulation, and output transis-
Requires No Reference." cuit assembly. The cable can be up to
tor whose collector can be returned to a
Analog Devices (Rte. 1, Industrial Park,
potential as great as 36 volts. 50' (15.2 m) long with no problems.
P.O. Box 280, Norwood, MA 02062) has
turned to a potential as high as 36 volts. Referring to Fig. 3, slip the metal tub-
recently released the AD590 Two -Termi-
There are undoubtedly other semicon-
nal Temperature Transducer. It produces ing onto the cable as shown. Then re-
ductor manufacturers who make sensors
an output current proportional to the abso- move about 1" of the cable's outer jacket
and transducers similar to those men-
lute temperature. At room temperature and prepare the ends of the conductors.
tioned above, and this is not intended to be
(77` F or 25° C), a 298.2-µA output is avail -
a complete list. Slip a length of plastic tubing over each

38 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 LX57O0 PLASTIC TUBING BRASS OR COPPER TUBING
conductor. Using a heat sink between
transducer and tie points, solder the
conductors of the cable to the leads on
the transducer. Then spray several
coats of plastic insulation (such as GC's
Koloid K-29 or Clear Acrylic Plastic) over
the connections and exposed wires. Al-
ternatively, dip the entire transducer as-
sembly in GC Liquid Tape. When the Fig.3. Temperature probe construction. Make sure all soldered
coating dries, push the plastic tubing connections are well insulated. Thin metal tubing is optional.
down until it contacts the transducer's
body and covers all bare wires. SOLDER TRANSDUCER TO TUBE
Clean the transducer and metal tubing
with fine steel wool or sandpaper. Refer-
ring to Fig. 4, solder the transducer to
the tube, taking care to be sparing with
the heat.
Finally, use epoxy putty to make a wa-
terproof probe out of the transducer as-
sembly. Prepare the putty according to PULL TUBE UP AGAINST TRANSDUCER
directions and then wet your hands and
form a rough cylinder around the trans- Fig. 4. Solder the optional heat sink to the heat sensor. Then, use
ducer assembly. Do not be concerned if epoxy putty to form a waterproof probe out of the transducer assembly.
your work appears messy. Just make
sure the transducer and connections are usual 32.0 because you will most likely slope and linearity errors. Fortunately,
completely sealed. With damp hands, be performing calibration in a warm the transducer specified is almost per-
roll the rough cylinder between your room where ice in water will be melting. fectly linear. According to the conver-
hands until it is smooth and nearly per- In any event, what you are really mea- sion specifications, the linearity of the
fectly cylindrical and has a blunt cone - suring is the temperature of the water, LM3911 is typically less than ±0.05%.
shaped tip. which will not be exactly 32° F. If Lidith The only possible significant error left,
Mount the thermometer circuit inside is calibrated exactly as described then. is a slight slope error. With a lab-
a housing large enough to accommo- above, there are only two possible oratory thermometer and some pa-
date it and its battery. sources of error left-the transducer's tience, even this error can be removed.

Calibration. If possible, the following

reference -voltage adjustment should be
performed with the aid of a digital mul-
timeter. However, a good -quality analog
voltmeter can be used if its input imped-
ance is 1 megohm or greater. If you
have a laboratory thermometer, you can
do away with the need for a meter alto-
gether, but calibration will take consider-
ably more time. (More about this later.)
Turn on the power and let the ther-
mometer warm up for at least 2 minutes.
Then, with the meter set to its lowest Photo showing
range, connect the negative prod to TP3 back ofrn eter
(actually a jumper) and positive prod to evaluation kit
TP2. Referring to Fig. 2, carefully adjust hoard after extra
R4 for a reading of 0.110 volt. holes have been
To calibrate the thermometer, you will drilled and
need a plastic bucket filled about three- components for
quarters full with compact clean snow, temperature sensor
ice chips, or ice cubes. Pour in enough
have been added.
cold water to nearly fill the bucket. Place
the transducer probe in the center of the
ice/water mixture and wait a few min-
utes until the LCD stabilizes at some
number.
Vigorously stir the ice mixture and
adjust R7 for a display of 32.1. This dis-
play figure is more desirable than the

1984 EDITION 39
 +9V ical thermometer. (If you calibrate accu-
OUTDOOR."1,0
rately for 98.6° F against a good -quality
INDOOR.
Fig. 5. Diagram shows how oral mercury thermometer, the accuracy
RI2
S2 R
to connect two temperature of Lidith can approach -±0.1° F over a 92°
OUTD001411
1

TO
REST OF
sensors to the basic to 110° F range.) The Celsius version
INDOOR
CIRCUIT thermometer. For best can also be used by auto hobbyists as a
C6 RIO results, sensors used water -temperature monitor.
should be matched. To accurately measure outside-air
temperatures, you need both an accu-
*° MATCHED rate thermometer like Lidith and a suit-
IC2* IC2* TRANSDUCERS
L1.13911 LM39I I
able thermometer shelter. (For details
(OUTDOOR) (INDOOR) on measuring outside -air temperature,
see pages 23 and 25 of Unique Elec-
tronic Weather Projects published by
RII

ï 2K Howard W. Sams & Co., or refer to

some other suitable book on weather in-
struments.)
If you turn on Lidith only when you
the probe to the warm water and, if nec- wish to know the temperature and leave
essary, readjust R4. Repeat the immer- the power off at all other times, a stand-
sion-and -adjustment procedure until it is ard 9 -volt battery should last more than
To remove the slope error, adjust R4 no longer necessary to trim the settings a year. For a continuous display, omit
and R7 exactly as described above. (If a of the potentiometers. S1 and use six alkaline D cells in series
DMM is not available, initially set R4 to instead of the 9 -volt battery. In continu-
its midpoint.) Place the probe and lab Using the Thermometer. In addi- ous use, the D cells should last about a
thermometer in warm (about 120° F) wa- tion to the obvious use of measuring year or more.
ter and, while stirring the water, adjust room and ambient temperature, Lidith is The thermometer can be used to
R4 until Lidith's display indicates exactly ideal for measuring temperatures in measure temperatures in two different
the same temperature as the lab ther- pools, for isolating excessively warm locations, such as indoors and out-
mometer. Then place the probe in a electronic components in an operating doors, using the circuit shown in Fig. 5.
bucket of ice/water and adjust R7, if circuit, as a remote-indicating freezer or Bear in mind, however, that if you se-
necessary, for a reading of 32.1. Return refrigerator thermometer, and as a med- lect two LM3911H-46 transducers at
random, one of the temperatures mea-
sured will typically be off by 5° to 10°
due to the offset error of the devices.
However, if you use a pair of custom -
matched transducers (see Parts List),
your maximum error will be ±2° F.
With a few changes in component
values, you can make Lidith measure
temperatures in Celsius over a range of
from -25° to +85°C.
The following changes are required
for the Celsius version. First, change
C2 to a 1-µF Mylar capacitor, R2 to a
220,000 -ohm, 5% -tolerance carbon -
film resistor, and R4 and R7 to 10,000 -
ohm, 15 -turn trimmer potentiometers.
Then adjust R4 so that the potential be-
Front view of meter tween TP2 and TP3 is 0.500 volt. Also,
evaluation kit change R6 to 20,000 ohms, R8 to
showing components 22,000 ohms, and R10 to a 10,000 -
for temperature ohm, 1 %-tolerance precision resistor.
sensor added in Calibrate by adjusting R7 for a reading
area where of 00.1 on the LCD when the probe is
battery holder was. immersed in an ice/water mixture, as
before.
Summing Up. Lidith is a truly state-of-
the-art precision digital thermometer.
With a few minor changes, it can be
"tailored" to your needs. And, in ordi-
nary use, it is highly energy -efficient,
thanks to the use of low -power MOS cir-
cuitry and liquid -crystal display.

40 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 " CURB FUELISHNESS"
with the

Automotive Econometer

Solid-state vacuum gauge monitors

gas consumption and driving habits

BY BILL GREEN

POOR DRIVING habits can reduce Naturally, accelerating from a standing reference -voltage network that detects
fuel economy by up to 50°/o regard- start, driving up a steep grade, or the level of the analog signal at the
less of how well -tuned and maintained hauling a heavy load all take more fuel input. Each comparator drives an open -
the vehicle. In the era of high -cost than cruising on a level surface with a collector transistor that is capable of
energy and shortages, you want to get light load. But by observing the Econom- sinking 40 mA at 32 volts. Since the
as much as possible from every drop of eter, you will be able to avoid using more comparators are arranged in a "totem
fuel your car burns. One good way to do throttle than necessary for any condi- pole," as input signal level increases,
this is by using a device such as the tions, thereby saving fuel. the LEDs light in succession. Potentiom-
Econometer described here. It constant- eter R3 provides a means for setting the
ly and accurately monitors the relative About the Circuit. The simple circuit of operating thresholds.
fuel consumption of your car so that you the Econometer is shown schematically
can adjust your driving technique ac- in Fig. 1. The vacuum transducer, a Construction. Because of the simplici-
cordingly. proprietary device manufactured by Al- ty and noncritical demands of the circuit,
The Econometer is an electronic de- pha Electronics, receives power from any convenient board -type method of
vice that keeps tabs on intake-maniifold 5 -volt regulator IC2 through current - assembly-Wire Wrap, point-to-point on
vacuum. It has a display consisting of a limiting resistor RI. The output signal perforated board, or printed -circuit
row of eight LEDs. At idle, four or five from the transducer is developed across board-can be used. An actual -size
LEDs normally glow. With your vehicle in R2, which is also connected to the etching -and -drilling guide for a pc board
motion, more or fewer LEDs glow, the stable 5 -volt source. is shown in Fig. 2.
maximum number (high vacuum) corre- The transducer mounts in the vacuum Mount the LEDs with their tops flush
sponding to high engine rpm and a small line from the carburetor. Its electrical and their bottoms about 1/4" (6.2 mm)
throttle opening and the minimum in- output across R2 varies from 0.3 to 1 above the surface of the board, carefully
dicating low rpm and open throttle. High volt, depending on instantaneous mani- observing polarity during installation.
vacuum conditions give maximum fuel fold pressure. This voltage is applied to Then install the single jumper and two
economy. 10 -step analog detector /C/. ICs, again taking care to properly orient
You will not be able to maintain high The new integrated circuit used for them. Use of a socket for /CI is optional,
vacuum under all driving conditions. ICI contains 10 comparators and a but if you do use a socket, try to find a

1984 EDITION 41

www.americanradiohistory.com
 means of securing the IC (a daub of wire -entry hole with a rubber grommet if part or engine heat. Using this as your
silicone rubber cement will do) so it will you are using a metal enclosure. reference point, route three wires with
not vibrate loose. different color insulation (not red or
Before mounting it in an enclosure, Installation. Five well -insulated color - black) back along the chassis, through
test the circuit board assembly. To do coded wires, preferably 18 -gauge the firewall, and into the passenger
this, temporarily connect a jumper wire stranded, are required to interconnect compartment under the dashboard. Con-
between the SNS (sense) point and the Econometer with its transducer and tinue routing to the Econometer's case
GND (ground) in the circuit, apply 12 the vehicle's electrical system. Lengths location, leaving several inches of slack
volts dc to the circuit, and check for a of the wires are determined by the at both ends of the wires before cutting
5 -volt dc reading between the junction mounting location of the Econometer to final length.
formed by R1 and R2 and the ground where it will be easily visible at a glance Now, working with only one wire at a
bus. With R3 fully clockwise, all LEDs and the location of the engine's vacuum time, strip away 1/4" of insulation from
should light; turning the pot fully counter- hose. Starting from where the Econom- the first selected, slip on a 3/4" (19 -mm)
clockwise should extinguish all LEDs. eter will be positioned and leaving length of insulated tubing, and solder the
Disconnect the dc power and remove several extra inches, route a black - wire to the terminal closest to the black
the temporary jumper from the circuit. insulated wire to a metal chassis con- dot on the transducer. Solder the other
Temporarily mount the circuit -board nection or screw that is at chassis end of this same wire to the SNS pad on
assembly in the enclosure in which it is ground. Repeat this procedure with a the circuit board.
to be housed. Carefully determine and red -insulated wire, this time terminating Remove 3/4" of insulation from the
mark the locations of the display and it at a source of fused + 12 volts that is second selected wire and connect and
adjustment slot of R3 on the enclosure. "live" only when the ignition is on. solder it to both center lugs on the
Remove and temporarily set aside the Connect and solder the free ends of the transducer. Solder the other end of this
circuit assembly. Then cut the display - black and red wires to the GND and POS wire to the GND pad on the board. Then,
window slot and drill a screwdriver pads, respectively, on the circuit -board prepare the last wire in the same
access hole for R3. Drill another hole assembly. Identify on your schematic manner as for the first, including the
through the side or rear of the enclosure diagram the colors used for each func- insulated tubing, and solder it at one end
to provide entry for the wires that will tion for future reference. to the remaining lug on the transducer
interconnect the circuit with its transduc- Locate a source of intake -manifold (push the tubing down over both connec-
er and the vehicle's electrical system. vacuum (usually a rubber hose near or tions) and to the SRCE pad on the circuit
Deburr all holes and glue a red plastic on the carburetor) so that the transduc- board at the other end. Indicate your
filter over the display window. Line the er and its leads will not be near a moving wire colors on your schematic.

+12-14V
SOURCE +5V IC2 PARTS LIST
RI 78L05 R4
150ft 3308 ICI TI -490 10 -step adjustable analog
-

SENSE
level detector (Texas Instruments)
R2
IOK IC2 781.05 5 -volt regulator
l EDI thru LHD8-Red light -emitting
16 diode
R II50 -ohm, I/4 -watt resistor
R2 10,000 -ohm, I/4 -watt resistor
R3- -5000-ohm pc -type potentiometer
R4 330 -ohm, I/4 -watt resistor
Transducer MPT-50 (sec Note below)
Misc.-Enclosure; red plastic filter; col-
Icl or -coded stranded insulated wire (see
TL490 text); insulated tubing; machine
hardware; solder; etc.
Note: The following items are avail-
able from Alpha Electronics. P.O.
Box 1005, Merritt Island, FL 32952
(Tel: 305-453-3534): Complete kit
of parts less case and wire, for
10 $28.00 plus $2 in US. $4 in Canada,
$8 all other countries for postage
and handling. Included in kit, but
13 LEDI-LED8 also available separately: No.
PCI79 etched and drilled printed-
circuit board for $5.50 in U.S. (add
$2 for Canada, $4 for all other
countries): No. MPT-50 transducer
for $20 in US (add $2 for Canada.
TRANSDUCER VACUUM $4 for all other countries): TL -490
MP T-50 LINE
for $4.50 in US (add $2 for Canada,
$4 for all other countries). Florida
1

residents. please add 4% sales tax.

Fig. 1. The transducer converts vacuum level to a do voltage. This is measured by level
detector ICI and displayed on a series of LEDs. More LEDs glow as the 2'acuum increases.
42 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 TOLL FREE ORDERS 1-800-826-5432
(IN CALIFORNIA 1-800-258-6666)
INFORMATION 121 3) 380.8000
MINIATURE 13 VDC RELAY
6 VDC RELAY CONTACT. S. P.N.0
SUPER SMALL 10 AMP @ 120 VAC
SPDT RELAY, ENERGIZE COIL TO
GOLD COBALT OPEN CONTACT...
CONTACTS COIL: 13 VDC 650 OHMS
RATED 1 AMP AT 30 VDC, SPECIAL PRICE $1.00 EACH
HIGHLY SENSITIVE, TTL
DIRECT DRIVE POSSIBLE. KEY ASSEMBLY
OPERATES FROM 4.3 TO
6 V. COIL RES. 220 OHM.
3/16' 13/32" 7/16"
1
.42fo 5 KEY

EACH
AROMAT 4 RSD-6V
CONTAINS 5 SINGLE -POLE
$1.50 EACH
10 FOR 513.50
NORMALLY OPEN SWITCHES.
MEASURES 3 3/4" LONG
6 KEY
120V INDICATOR 9 . ® $1.25

NEON INDICATOR. RATED

' JO r1
1rI EACH
CONTAINS 6 SINGLE -POLE
120 V 1/3 W. MOUNTS IN
NORMALLY OPEN SWITCHES
5/16" HOLE ... RED LENS
MEASURES 4 1/4" LONG.
754 EACH
10 FOR $7.00
100 FOR $65.00 L.E.D.'S
STANDARD JUMBO
METERS DIFFUSED
RED 10 FOR $1.50
1 MA

r-8 LEDS_ 12 -14 V

2 5/16" SQUARE
PANEL METER
MOUNTS IN
GREEN 10 FOR $2.00
YELLOW 10 FOR $2.00

%II
FLASHER LED
21/B" HOLE 5 VOLT OPERATION
$5.50 EACH RED JUMBO SIZE
$1.00 EACH
01C2 0 - 15 V.D.C.
I BI POLAR LED
THIS 2-1/4" 2 FOR $1 70

ICI -RI- DOT

SQUARE METER
MEASURES
0-15 VDC.
LED HOLDERS
TWO PIECE HOLDER
FOR JUMBO LED
a8
R2 $4.50 EACH 10 FOR 854 200 FOR 510.00

MULTI -SWITCHES
PART- 60 5 STATION INTERLOCKING
3 ' 2PDT AND 2 - 6PDT SWITCHES ON FULLY

INTERLOCKING ASSEMBLY 31/4" BETWEEN

MOUNTING CENTERS. $2.50 EACH
Fig. 2. Same-size etching and drilling guide for
5 STATION NON -INTERLOCKING
pc board is at top. Component placement directly above. SAME AS ABOVE. EXCEPT EACH SWITCH
OPERATES INDEPENDENTLY $2.50 EACH

Bend the three -wire cable over the fly valves. If this is the case, slightly
COMPUTER TRANSFORMERS
side of the transducer's case, taking press the accelerator and adjust R3 to 120 volt
care to avoid obstructing the small hole turn on only three LEDs. Completely GRADE primari.. I ;

in the case, and secure with a cable tie. releasing the accelerator should cause CAPACITORS 5.6 VOLTS at 750 MA $3.00
1700 mid. 150 VDC $2.00 6 VOLTS al 150 MA $1.25
Now, cut the vacuum hose and install the display to have only one of the LED 2 1/2" DIA 4 3/4" HIGH 16.5 V. at 3 AMPS $8.50
3,600 mfd. !" 18 V al 650 MA $3.50
the transducer in series with the cut indicators lighted. 40VDC $1.00 18 VOLTS a1 1 AMP $4.50
1 3/B" DIA. 3" HIGH 18 V.C.T. at 2 AMP $5.50
ends. (You can install the transducer in 6,400 mid. 24 VOLTS at 250 MA $2.50
60 VDC $2.50
either direction.) After installation, make In Use. A quick glance at the Econom- 1 3/8" DIA 4 1/4" HIGH
24
42
VCT at 1 AMP
V.C.T. a1 1.2 AMP
$4.50
$4.50
18,000 mid. 75 VDC $4.00
sure the connections to the transducer eter's display will suffice to keep you 2 1/2" DIA. 4 1/2" HIGH
22,000 mfd. 15 VDC WALL
are airtight. informed of your driving efficiency. The 2" DIA 2 1/2" HIGH $2.00 TRANSFORMER
Position the three -wire cable so that it idea is to drive so that the maximum 22,000 mid. 40 VDC
2" DIA. 6" HIGH $3.00 ALL ARE 115 VAC
and the transducer do not contact any number of LEDS is glowing, indicating 24,000 mfd. 30 VOC PLUG IN
1 3/4" DIA. 4" HIGH $3.50
moving parts and are away from engine the highest vacuum and, consequently, 31,000 mid. 15 VDC
1 3/4" DIA. 4" HIGH $2.50
heat. Bundle the cable conductors to- the least fuel/burned. As you become 72,000 mid. 15 VDC 4 VDC al 70 MA 52.50
2" DIA. 4" HIGH $3.50 9 VDC at 225 MA $3.00
gether with cable ties and secure the familiar with the glowing display and 180,000 mfd. at 6V 16.5 VAC al 10 VA $3.50
1/2" DIA 1/2" HIGH $1.50 17 VAC a1 500 MA
assembly to the vehicle's chassis. Then accelerator position during driving, any 2
CLAMPS TO FIT CAPACITORS
4
SO4 ... 22 VDC a1 80 MA
$4.00
$2.50
assemble the project's enclosure. marked change that persists in the
display may indicate a problem in the MINIATURE TOGGLE SWITCHES
ALL ARE RATED 5 AMPS @ 125 VAC
Checkout and Calibration. Start your operation of your engine.
S.P.D.T.
S.P.D.T. S.P.D.T.
vehicle's engine and allow it to idle in One final note: "right foot awareness" (on -on) (on -on) (on -off -on)
SOLDER LUG
neutral. Using a small screwdriver, ad- has a great effect on driving efficiency PC STYLE.
NON THREADED TERMINALS SOLDER LUG
TERMINALS.
BUSHING 51.00 EACH
just R3, through the small hole in the and, thus, fuel economy. Using the 754 EACH 10 FOR 59 00
100 FOR 580
51.00 EACH
10 FOR 5900
10 FOR 57 00 100 FOR 580.00
front of the enclosure, until four or five Econometer (or any other vacuum -mea-
LEDs are on. Still in neutral, slowly press suring device) reveals how little acceler- S.P.D.T. S.P.D.T.
D.P.D.T.
(on -off -on) (on -on)
the accelerator and note that the dis- ator pressure is needed to keep a P C LUGS.
(on -on)
NON -THREADED
play changes by one LED. Release and vehicle moving at cruising speed with PUSHING.
THREADED
BUSHING
SOLDER LUG
TERMINALS
then quickly press and release the maximum vacuum. You may be surprised
P C
754 EACH
10 FOR 57.00
STYLE 51.00 EACH
10 FOR 59.00
100 FOR 580.00
III 52.00 EACH
10 FOR $19 00
100 FOR $180.00
k,
accelerator. At first, only one LED at how far you can back off the gas
should be on for a second or so, four or pedal before your vehicle slows down. l
five as the engine returns to idle. So, when you get your vehicle up to the
In some vehicles, the vacuum connec- desired speed use a feather touch c
905 S. VERMONT P.O. BOX 20406 LOS ANGELES, CA 90008
tion is located above the throttle butter- instead of a lead foot. QUANTITIES LIMITED FOREIGN ORDERS
MINIMUM ORDER 51000 INCLUDE SUFFICIENT
1984 EDITION USA 1250 SHIPPING SHIPPING
CALIF RES A006 I.2".
NOc00'
POW RSRRL S
OR OP AMPS
BY ARTHUR F. BLOCK

For best performance from operational amplifiers,

special power -supply needs should be satisfied

OPERATIONAL -amplifier circuits ply rails are removed from ground by Bred by this supply can process an ac sig-
almost always call for power equal but opposite voltages. A single - nal symmetrically if the signal input is
sources that furnish clean, stable dc. ended supply generates only one voltage at ARTIFICIAL GROUND and the con-
Batteries are sources of good dc, but referenced to ground-either positive or straints of the power supply are not ex-
their expense relegates them principally negative. The ground of the power sup- ceeded. The use of a blocking or cou-
to portable applications where commer- ply functions as one of the supply rails, pling capacitor at the output of the am-
cial ac power is not readily available. and an "artificial ground" or "signal plifier permits the recovery of a pure ac
The more economical solution to the ground" is synthesized with a resistive signal with no dc component.
problem of powering op amps is to use a voltage divider for reference purposes. A basic bipolar power supply appears
power supply to convert commercial ac This provides the required symmetry to in Fig. 1B. The major differences be-
into smooth dc. In this article, we will the circuit. tween it and the single -ended supply just
examine several basic power -supply cir- Each type of supply has advantages described lie in the transformer used,
cuits that are well suited for use with and disadvantages. A bipolar supply the need for a second filter capacitor,
operational amplifiers. furnishes a signal ground that is at true and the lack of a ground -synthesizing
ground potential. This simplifies circuit voltage divider. A transformer with a
Symmetry is one of the principal design and eliminates at many points center -tapped secondary is needed. The
characteristics required of most op -amp the need for capacitive coupling. How- bridge rectifier comprising DI through
power supplies. Integrated operational ever, a bipolar supply is more complex D4 simultaneously charges filter capaci-
amplifiers usually have two power -sup- than a single -ended one and is more ex- tor Cl positively and C2 negatively. The
ply terminals-V + and V- If the volt-
. pensive to construct. A single -ended GROUND at the output of the supply is
ages applied to these terminals are not supply is simpler but usually makes the connected to the transformer's center
symmetrical with respect to the input circuit to be powered slightly more com- tap, and the positive and negative output
signal's ground potential (be it earth plex. Let's examine some basic supplies voltages are symmetrical with respect to
ground or an "artificial" ground), the of each type and see how they can be it. Note that the differential voltage be-
output signal will ride on a do level pro- used to power op-amp circuits. tween the positive and negative supply
portional to the power -supply asymme- rails in each supply is the same even
try. This is usually undesirable-if a dc Basic Power Supplies. Appearing though the actual voltages on each of
voltage is to be amplified, there will be in Fig. 1 are simple single -ended (A) the rails with respect to true ground are
error; if an ac voltage is to be amplified, and bipolar (B) power supplies. In the not the same.
capacitive coupling might be needed to single -ended supply, bridge rectifier DI As a rule, operational amplifiers con-
prevent the upsetting of a subsequent through D4 delivers pulsating dc to filter sume small amounts of current. This
stage's bias levels. Also, the possibility capacitor CI, which provides a points to a disadvantage of the bipolar
exists that the output signal will be smoothed dc output. Resistor 121 is a supply shown in Fig. 1B. Because only a
asymmetrically clipped. bleeder component. A voltage divider small amount of output current is re-
There are two basic types of power comprising R2 and R3 synthesizes an quired, compact transformers rated at
supplies that can be used with opera- artificial signal ground at half of the 300 mA or less are particularly attrac-
tional amplifiers-bipolar and single - positive dc output voltage (assuming R2 tive. Unfortunately, small transformers
ended. In a bipolar supply, positive and = R3) or approximately +17 volts. The with center -tapped secondaries are not
negative output voltages (usually equal op amp's positive power -supply terminal as widely available as ones lacking a
in absolute value) are generated. The re- is connected to V + and its negative sup- center tap. The bipolar supply shown
quired symmetry arises from the fact ply terminal is connected to V-, which is schematically in Fig. 2 offers a solution
that both the positive and negative sup- actually true ground. An amplifier pow - to this problem.

44 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 A glance at this supply reveals that it
delivers positive and negative output V+
voltages by means of a transformer lack- II7
VAC
ing a center -tapped secondary. Also,
note that the voltage rating of the sec- SI ARTIFICIAL
GROUND
ondary is half of that of the transformer
shown in Fig. 1B. This supply can be
thought of in one of two ways-either as V (TRUE
GROUND)
two half-wave supplies, one positive and
A
one negative with a common ground, or
as a full -wave voltage doubler. In any
event, it provides positive and negative
voltages approximately equal to those
produced by the supply shown in Fig.
lB. Also, the GROUND at the output of
the supply is true ground, not an artifi-
cial one.
In practice, the true grounds of Figs.
1 and 2 are often connected to earth B
ground for shielding purposes. A funda- Fig. 1. Single -ended dc power supply for op -amp (A). Bipolar
mental difference between the bipolar dc power supply that employs a center -tapped transformer (B).
supplies of Figs. 1B and 2 is that larger
filter capacitors are required in the cir-
cuit shown in Fig. 2 for the same
amount of ripple rejection. This is be-
cause the ripple frequency is lower (60
Hz as opposed to 120 Hz). Therefore,
twice the capacitance is required if the
capacitive reactance of the ripple shunt
path to ground is to be kept at the same
value as before.

Electronic Filtering. If the current

drain from any of the power supplies Fig. 2. A bipolar dc supply whose transformer
does not have a center tap.
that have been described is very low, and
if the values of the filter capacitors are
sufficiently large, only a small amount
of ripple will be present in the dc output.
However, in some applications even a v+ V+
UNREGULATED REGULATED
low-level ripple component can be trou-
blesome. An excellent safeguard against
ripple is the use of electronic filtering INPUT' OUTPUT
such as that provided by a zener diode.
If a zener diode or similar component
or electronic filtering network is con-
nected to the output of a simple power GROUND GROUND

supply, ripple can be almost entirely

suppressed. The diode will provide not Fig. 3. This electronic filter provides a
only the equivalent of several thousand regulated positive dc output.
or tens of thousand microfarads of filter
capacitance in a very small space, but
also a high degree of voltage regulation, QI
v+ V+
which is very beneficial. UNREGULATED REGULATED
A basic electronic filter for positive -
voltage applications is shown schemati- RI

cally in Fig. 3. When a positive unregu- C3

lated voltage is initially applied to the
input of the filter, capacitor Cl begins to DI CI
charge up to the input voltage. Zener GROUNDO OGROUND
)OUTPUTS
diode Dl clamps the voltage across the INPUTS<,

capacitor when the zener knee of its

02 /^C2 _
characteristic curve is surpassed. The +
voltage applied to the base of transistor C4

QI is thus kept at a fixed level. This R2

transistor effectively performs two func-

tions. It multiplies the capacitance of Cl V -O oV
REGULATED
by its dc beta and behaves as an emitter UNREGULATED

follower, presenting a voltage at its

emitter equal to the zener voltage less Fig. 4. An electronic filter for use with bipolar dc supplies.

1984 EDITION

www.americanradiohistory.com
power supplies
the forward voltage drop across the to the node R 1 -collector of Q1 and the reg- additional elements included. Hum and
base -emitter junction. Capacitor C2 im- ulated negative voltage would appear at ripple components in its bipolar outputs
proves the performance of the electronic the emitter of Ql. This technique is em- are so low in level that they can be
filter by helping to absorb transients. ployed in the bipolar electronic filter ignored in most applications, even where
The time constant Rl C1 results in a shown schematically in Fig. 4. The top op amps are operating at high gain. The
slow turn -on characteristic that elimi- portion of this circuit is essentially the one precaution that is necessary is care-
nates potentially troublesome switching ,ame as that shown in Fig. 3, and the bot- ful placement of transformer Ti. This
transients (clicks) from the supply rails. tom is a mirror image of the top-that is, a component should be located as far from
The filter shown in Fig. 3 is designed for negative-output electronic filter. high -gain stages as is practicable, and it
use with positive -output (negative - should be physically oriented to keep in-
ground), single -ended power supplies. It duced hum signals as small as possible.
can be adapted for negative-output appli- Practical Supplies. A complete bi- Rectifiers DI and D2 have forward
cations by inverting the polarities of Cl, polar regulated power supply for op- current ratings of three amperes rms.
C2, and DI and employing a pnp instead amp audio applications appears sche- This high current rating, together with
of an npn pass transistor. The unregulated matically in Fig. 5. It is basically an the current -limiting action of Rl, pre-
negative dc voltage would then be applied amalgam of Figs. 2 and 4 with a few vents damage to the diodes by excessive
charging current to the capacitors when
ac power is first applied to the supply.
Actually, the inherent resistance of the
300 -mA transformer secondary is great
enough to prevent the initial charging
current from damaging three -ampere
diodes. However, if one -ampere diodes
or a transformer with a larger second-
II7 ary -current rating (and thus less wind-
VAC
ing resistance) are used, or both, it
SI
would be wise to include resistor RI in
D4 the circuit.
IN4739 220yF The value of this resistor can be deter-
mined by measuring the resistance of
""'""seC4 CB
00SF
the secondary and then solving Ohm's
1000
D2 PF law for the resistance necessary to limit
INS 40 I
the current through the diodes to the
02
o e.av
REGULATED
rms rating. The peak voltage delivered
TIP32 by the secondary (1.414 times the rms
*SEE TEXT.
C2
voltage) should be used in this calcula-
O.IyF tion, and the electrolytic capacitors
Fig. 5. Complete regulated bipolar supply for op -amp should be considered dead shorts. Thus,
circuits. Transistors 01 and 02 might require heat sinking. only the inherent secondary resistance
and any supplemental resistance pro-
vided by Rl will be available for current
limiting. If the resistance value obtained
by this calculation is larger than the
resistance of the secondary winding, R/
uT
VAC
should be included. Its value is simply
the remainder obtained by subtracting
SI the secondary resistance from the total
SOLID TANTALUM resistance required. This results in a
greater degree of protection for the
diodes than is really necessary, but en-
Fig. 6. Regulated single -ended dc supply sures trouble -free diode performance.
for powering operational amplifiers. Note that 0.1-µF disc ceramic capaci-
tors are shown in parallel with each rec-
tifying diode. The function of these com-
ponents is to suppress the spikes that are
R4 generated each time the diode junction
68071
"Th C4 O I
breaks into and out of conduction. Fou-
rier analysis of the waveform generated
by the diode reveals the presence of sig-
nificant high -order harmonic compo-
nents. These harmonics can be trouble-
some to high -gain op-amp audio stages
as well as a source of radio -frequency
interference to AM or FM tuners.
Resistors R5 and R6 provide current
limiting for zener diodes D3 and D4.
Values of these components are best de-
Fig. 7. Typical noninverting op -amp stage termined empirically after performing
designed for use with a single -ended supply. an initial calculation. First, the rated

46 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
zener voltage sould be subtracted from resistance-selection procedure that has C3 prevents any dc voltage division by R5
the voltage appearing across C3 or C4. already been outlined. and R7. Resistors Rl and R7 provide dc
The remainder is the voltage drop across Keep in mind that the output voltage return paths at the input and output of the
the current -limiting resistor. Then will be approximately 0.7 volt less than stage.
Ohm's law should be solved for that val- the zener voltage of the diode and that The amplifier's voltage gain equals
ue of resistance that results in a current decreasing the differential input-to -out- the quantity (1 +R6/R5) because the
flow of two milliamperes through the re- put voltage (VcE of the pass transistor) stage is noninverting. Selection of these
sistance. Using this as a starting value, can degrade voltage regulation when resistor values is made to obtain the
connect a suitable component to the rest large amounts of current are drawn required voltage gain. The capacitance
of the circuit and temporarily connect a from the supply. A ± 8.4 -volt prototype of C3 should be large enough that the
load resistor between the regulated out- supply can simultaneously power four component's capacitive reactance
put and ground. The load resistance op-amp audio stages with fine regula- should be low at the lowest frequency to
should be such that the supply will be tion and lack of hum. be amplified. One hundred microfarads
required to source two or three times A complete single -ended supply for or more should be sufficient for most
the amount of current drawn by the op - op-amp applications is shown in Fig. 6. audio applications, especially if the
amp circuit to be powered under worst - It generates a regulated + 12 -volt out- gain -determining resistances are on the
case (maximum current) conditions. put referenced to ground and employs a order of kilohms or more.
Apply power to the circuit and mea- 100-PIV modular bridge rectifier and Electrolytic capacitors C2 and C5
sure the voltage across the load resistor. an integrated 12 -volt regulator. Resistor couple ac signals into and out of the
Next, disconnect the load from the out- RI limits the surge current through the amplifier, respectively. Their values
put of the supply and measure the open - bridge during power -up. Capacitors C2 have an influence on the frequency re-
circuit output voltage. If the difference and C3 are disc ceramic components sponse of the amplifier. As a rule, the
between the loaded and unloaded output that should be placed close to the regu- capacitance of C5 must be higher than
voltage is greater than a few percent at lator IC package. Solid tantalum capac- that of C2 for a given low cutoff fre-
most, decrease the value of the current - itor C4 improves the transient response quency because the output impedance of
limiting resistor to the next smaller com- of the regulator IC. Alert readers might the amplifier is much lower than the
mercial value and repeat the procedure. have noted that no spike -suppressing ca- input impedance. Practical audio cir-
(Alternatively, employ a trimmer poten- pacitors are shown connected across the cuits of similar design commonly em-
tiometer in place of fixed resistors.) bridge's diodes. The capacitors might ploy tens of microfarads or more capaci-
When the supply voltage has sufficient not be necessary, but any reader who tance for input coupling and hundreds
regulation, permanently install a fixed plans to duplicate this circuit should or thousands of microfarads for output
resistor of the next smallest commercial leave space for them if actual perfor- coupling. The optimum values for a giv-
value with respect to the resistance val- mance indicates a need for them. Four en application depend on the lowest fre-
ue that has been empirically deter- capacitors would then be installed-one quency to be amplified, the load imped-
mined. This will provide an extra mar- across each diode forming the bridge. ance, etc.
gin of voltage regulation. The + 12 -volt output is usually suffi- Some audio circuits employing elec-
The use of this empirical method, cient for most op-amp applications. It trolytic capacitors and op amps powered
though somewhat crude, is justified by permits the output of an operational am- by bipolar supplies have appeared pre-
the fact that many experimenters pur- plifier to swing almost 12 volts peak -to - viously in the literature. These circuits
chase surplus zener diodes and transis- peak without clipping. If a greater out- have one principal disadvantage-there
tors whose parameters might be un- put swing is desired, a higher-voltage is no dc polarizing voltage impressed
known or considerably different from regulator IC and either a diode -capaci- across the coupling capacitors. During
their rated values. Parameters such as a tor voltage multiplier or a transformer one half of the ac signal cycle, the
transistor's dc beta and the sharpness of with a smaller step-down ratio can be capacitors are reverse-polarized and a
a diode's zener knee will have a signifi- used. reverse current flow exists. At best, this
cant influence on the appropriate values Figure 7 is the schematic diagram of can result in varying circuit impedances
of the current -limiting resistors. If this an op -amp audio amplifier that the au- and shortened capacitor useful lifetimes.
method does not produce the desired re- thor has powered with the single -ended At worst, it can cause catastrophic ca-
sult, that is, if adequate voltage regula- supply just described. Resistors R2 and pacitor failure and the application of dc
tion cannot be obtained, either the zener R3 form a voltage divider across the levels from a previous stage to a subse-
diode or transistor (or both) should be supply rails. The values of these compo- quent one. In the op -amp circuit we have
replaced with another component of the nents are identical (typically 100,000 just described, all electrolytic capacitors
same type. Deficiencies in either device ohms) so that the noninverting input of are properly dc -polarized.
can cause this problem. the op amp, the one to which input sig-
Some readers might question the nals are applied via coupling capacitor In Conclusion. Operational ampli-
choice of the bipolar output voltage, C2, is at exactly half the supply voltage. fiers are among the most useful devices
± 8.4 volts, as opposed to the more com- This artificial signal "ground" potential available to the electronics experiment-
mon ± 12 or ± 15 volts. The author was permits the op-amp output to swing er. For best performance, their relative-
more interested in extended, reliable op- symmetrically in response to ac excita- ly modest power requirements should be
amp performance than in large output - tion. Components CI and R4 decouple satisfied through the use of stable
voltage swings. A lower supply voltage the supply line that feeds the biasing sources of clean dc. To that end, a num-
places less strain on' an op amp and can resistors to ensure good performance. ber of power-supply design ideas and
also help prevent it from becoming The bias level applied to the noninvert- practical circuits have been presented in
noisy. The lower supply voltage does not ing input of the op amp causes the output this article. The experimenter can use
affect stage gain. However, if a higher of the amplifier to remain at this same lev- them for guidance in the construction of
differential supply voltage is desired, el during quiescence due to the effectively power supplies that will enable him to
simply use higher-voltage zener diodes infinite dc feedback provided by R6. No dc derive the best possible results from his
for D3 and D4 and follow the same amplification can occur, however, because op -amp projects.

1984 EDITION 47
 VOCAL ZAPPER
VA<[ S YO
A 'SLRSTAR"
Cancels the "phantomed" center channel of a stereo record
and lets you substitute your own voice

BY CRAIG ANDERTON AND DAVID KARR

WHETHER to practice singing, About the Circuit. The heart of and right input signals to provide a
have fun at parties, or just feel the Vocal Zapper, shown schemati- "duet" signal capability. (Micro-
like a rock star, the Vocal Zapper cally in Fig. 1, is differential amplifier phone gain is set as desired with po-
may be just what you want. This inex- ICI. This IC and microphone pream- tentiometer RI1.)
pensive device lets you remove a lead plifier IC2 can be an LM301, LM748, Setting Si to ZAP (common -mode
singer's voice during playback of most or any equivalent uncompensated op- cancel) causes the left -channel input
stereo records and substitute your erational -amplifier integrated circuit. signal to feed the positive noninverting
own voice. The Zapper is effective With S1 set to NORM, both the left input of IC1, while the right -channel
only with stereo records and most ef- input at J1 and the right input at J2 signal continues to feed the negative in-
fective with those in which the lead are mixed together and fed to the neg- put. Once the two signals enter IC1, one
vocalist (and bass instruments, if ative, inverting input of ICI. Since in of them is inverted (phase shifted by
used) occupy center -stage, with vocal this mode only one input of ICl has a 180°) so that common -mode informa-
and nonbass-instrumental accompani- signal applied to it, no differential tion cancels. The music at this point
ment mixed more toward the left or amplification occurs. In this event, would be lower in volume than in the
right of the stereo spread. (This type ICI simply passes on all the signal NORMAL mode. During zapping, you
of mix is common in popular music.) information, including common -mode can add your own voice in place of the
To create the center -channel effect, vocal in mono form, to both J3 and vocal being cancelled simply by singing
the sound engineer generally mixes J4, the left and right outputs, respec- into a microphone.
equal amounts of in -phase lead-vocal tively. If a microphone is plugged into Power for the circuit is supplied by
(and bass) signal with the directional J5 in the NORM mode, its signal would a pair of 9 -volt transistor batteries, BI
left- and right -channel signals. When be amplified by microphone pream- and B2. Since the circuit requires a
a stereo record mastered in this man- plifier 1C2 and mixed with the left bipolar source, BI and B2 are ar-
ner is played back, the mix psychoa-
coustically places the lead vocalist
stage -center, with accompanying
voices and instruments to the left and
right of the stereo spread.
In the ZAP mode, the Zapper sub-
tracts the left and right stereo signals
fed to its inputs in a differential am-
plifier. The result is that all common-
mode (equal -amplitude, in -phase) sig-
nals in both channels-in this case,
the lead vocalist-are cancelled out.
What emerges from the amplifier and
is fed back into the stereo system is a
single mono signal with all the origi-
nal left- and right -of-center informa-
tion, including any reverb that may
have been added to the lead vocal, but
no lead vocal. The residual reverb will
generally be of a low enough level to
be unobjectionable if you replace the
lead vocal with your own voice. In
fact, you may even find it desirable,
since it adds depth to the sound.

48 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 J2
RIGHT PARTS LIST
INPUT

R14
470K B1,82 -9 -volt transistor battery
C1,C2-15-pF disc capacitor
C3 -0.01-µF, 15-V disc or Mylar capacitor
C4,C5-0.22-µF, 15-V disc or Mylar ca-
pacitor
C6- 1-µF, 15 -volt electrolytic or tantalum
C7,C8- 10-µF, 15 -volt electrolytic or tan-
talum
IC1,IC2-LM301, LM748 or equivalent op
amp (see text)
RI
IK J4
J4-Phono jack (see text)
J1 through
R12
I00K
RIGHT
OUTPUT
J5-Microphone jack (see text)
CANCEL J3 Unless otherwise specified the following
TRIM LEFT
OUTPUT
are 114 -watt, 100/c, tolerance fixed resis-
tors
RIO R1,R2,R3-1 K2
100F, R4-22 kS2
R5,R6,R7-47 kit
R8-68 ki2
ON R9,R 10-100 kS2

BI
Sv
-- OFF
R11,R12-100-k2 upright pc -type trimmer
potentiometer
R13,R14,R15-470 kSt
S1,S2-Dpdt switch
ON
Misc.-Printed-circuit or perforated board;
B2
T
sv
IC sockets (optional); sheet aluminum for
v- o--
S2 front and rear panels; L brackets; No. 6
CI POWER OFF
15pF machine hardware; dry -transfer lettering
kit; hookup wire; solder; etc.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the Zapper. IC and IC2 can be any uncompensated op amp ICs similar to the LM301.
1

J4

Fig. 2. Actual -size 7. .: ttem for a pc

board is at right; component layout above.

KIT ORDERING INFORMATION

The following is available from PAIA Electronics, Inc.,
P.O. Box 14359., Oklahoma City, OK 73116: com-
plete kit of parts No. 6730K, including front panel for
$24.95 plus $3 postage. Also available separately:
pc board No. 6730pc for $9.95. Add $5 handling
charge for foreign orders.

1984 EDITION 49
 jack that mates with the connector on
the microphone you plan to use with
the Zapper and drill a hole just large
enough to accommodate it.) Then
mount the panel to the pc assembly
edge with the letters A through E on it
with a pair of small L brackets.
Loosely twist together two lengths
of different colored insulation hookup
wire or substitute a length of shielded
cable and solder one end to the lugs on
the NI lc jack. Being careful to main-
tain proper polarization, connect and
solder the other end of the twisted
pair or shielded cable to points M
(hot) and g (signal ground) on the pc
board. This step and the remainder of
off -board wiring are shown in Fig. 4.

Installation and Use. Snap a pair

of batteries into their connectors, but
leave the POWER switch off. Then con-
Fig. 3. Photo of the interior of the author's prototype.
Right-angle pc -mount jacks were used for J1 through J4.
nect the Zapper into your stereo sys-
tem's TAPE OUT/TAPE MONITOR loop.
ranged to supply ± 9 volts, referenced nent-placement guide. Don't forget to From now on, when you wish to use
to signal ground. install the two jumpers at the loca- the Zapper, all you do is activate the
tions labelled J. You have the option receiver or amplifier tape -monitoring
Construction. The Zapper is best with JI through J4 of using either function.
assembled on a printed -circuit board right-angle pc -mount jacks (see Fig. After installation, turn on power
(see Fig. 2) or perforated board with 3) or standard panel -mount jacks. first to the Zapper and then to the
solder clips. In either case, sockets are Referring to the lead photo, pre- stereo sytem. Set your stereo system's
optional, but recommended, for ICI pare a front panel to accommodate input selector to PHONO but leave the
and IC2. POWER and NORM/ZAP switches SI TAPE MONITOR switch in the out posi-
Mount the resistors, capacitors, and S2 and MIC jack J5 and to provide tion. When you play a stereo record,
trimmer potentiometers, and ICs (or access to CANCEL TRIM and MIC GAIN you should now hear normal stereo
their sockets) as shown in the compo- controls R12 and R11. (Note: Select a sound. Set the Zapper to NORM and
switch in the stereo system's tape -
monitor function. The stereo spread
should now disappear and be replaced
by mono sound. You might also note ai
slight drop in overall volume.
Now switch to the ZAP mode an
listen to the sound. The lead voca
should be absent, but the stere
spread should remain. If you can heals
the lead vocal (don't confuse this with]
any reverb that may have been ad -I
ded), adjust the CANCEL TRIM control
for maximum cancellation, which,
should occur somewhere near the cen-
ter of the pot. The CANCEL TRIM con -I
trol need not be touched again. I

Once the Zapper is operating prop-

erly, plug headphones into the amplii
fier and then a microphone into the;
Zapper. (Don't attempt to listen
through speakers with a live micro-I
phone. If you do, acoustic feedback]
can damage your system.) As you sing
v- into the microphone, adjust the MIC
GAIN control for the proper blend be-
tween microphone and program mate
rial. At first, you might tend to set
mike gain too high, which could result]
in distortion. With a little practice,]
you'll soon be using the MIc GAIN con-
trol with the proper "touch." 0i
Fig. 4. Follow this wiring diagram to connect the
front panel to the components on the pc board.
50 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOCi+
 More and more,
the world is
becoming the
world of
electronics.
You probably have what it takes, so let
CIE help you find a better place in that world.
Look at the world as it was 20 years ago and as it is communications - you name it. And as technology
today. Now, try to name any other field that's grown grows, electronics will grow. Which means few other
faster in those 20 years than electronics. Everywhere fields, iif any, offer more career opportunities, more job
you look, you'll find electronics in action. In industry, security, more room for advancement - if you have the
aerospace, business, medicine, science, government, right skills.

YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE THE WE TEACH YOU THEORY YOU CAN START WHERE YOU
MOST IMPORTANT THING BACKED WITH PRACTICAL WANT, GO AS FAR AS YOU WANT.
IT TAKES. HANDS-ON TRAINING. CIE's broad range of entry, intermediate,
If you read magazines like this one regularly, To bringtextbook theory alive, many of our and advanced level courses in a variety of
chances are you like electronics. And since courses let you work with the actual tools career areas gives you many options. Start
interest is the biggest motivator in learning, of the trade. CIE's Personal Training Labora- with the Career Course that best suits your
we're directing this message to you. tory, part of several career courses, helps talents and interests and go as far as you
Because if you combine your interest with you put the theories of basic circuitry into want. More than half of CIE's courses in-
common sense, a willingness to work, and practice. Other courses include equipment clude optional lessons to prepare you for
our independent home study program, you like a 5MHz triggered sweep, solid state the Federal Communications Commission
could turn it all into a career in electronics, oscilloscope and our Microprocessor Train- exam for an FCC Radiotelephone License -
doing what you like to do for a living. ing Laboratory, with 512 bytes of random a requirement for some electronics jobs, a
access memory, to let the advanced stu- credential for all. And all of our courses can
SPECIALISTS NEED dent apply digital technology in many of the also advance you towards an Associate in
S?ECIALIZED TRAINING. same ways electronics Applied Science Degree in Electronics Engi-
It stands to reason that you learn anything professionals do. neering Technology from CIE.
best from a specialist, and CIE is the largest
independent home study school specializing IT'S NO PICNIC, BUT IT'S
exclusively in electronics, with a record NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
that speaks for itself. According to a recent We won't kid you. CIE's courses require
survey, 92% of CIE graduates are em- work and self-discipline. But then if they
ployed in electronics or a closely related didn't, they wouldn't be worth much. So
field. When you're investing your time and
ask yourself if you have what it takes. And
money, you deserve results like that. if the answer is yes, send today for our CIE
YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN, school catalog and complete package of
BUT NEVER ALONE. career information. The information is all
FREE, and it will help you decide where to
We believe in independent study because it
puts you in a classroom of one. So you can start and how far you want to go. Also, for
study where and when you want. At your your convenience, we'll try to have a school
pace, not somebody else's. And with 50
representative contact you to review the
years of experience, we've developed various educational programs and assist in
proven approaches to give you the support course selection. Just mail the postage -
paid card or write, mentioning the name
such study demands. For example, our
and date of this magazine. But please, send
Auto -Programmed® lessons are carefully
designed by specialists to present topics in
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EH -32
or problem.
 BYJOHN D. RICHARD

PROTECT YOUR
PROPERTY
WITH A
CMOS
if
GUARDIAN
Lets you know an unauthorized person has used any
electric machines when you weren't present
Wouldn't it be nice to have a device Output current from gate A is limited by Momentary application of power from
that would tell you when someone R3 during changeover. the ac line produces enough dc voltage
has operated any line -powered electri- The high output from gate B is also for the flip-flop to change states. When
cal device in your home or office with- routed to the input of gate D, forcing the the ac is removed, R1 discharges Cl,
out your permission? Well, the Sentinel latter's output, which is connected to but D2, now reverse biased, keeps the
described here does just that. Once LED 1, low. The low output from gate A flip-flop from changing states. Once
coupled to any 117 -volt ac line -operat- is inverted by gate C whose output, con- tripped, the circuit does not go into au-
ed equipment or lighting circuit, the nected to LED2, goes high. Hence, if S3 tomatic reset.
Sentinel constantly monitors the ac is pressed (closed) at this time, only Once S2 is pressed to reset the Sen-
power. To determine if the ac circuit LED2 (which is green) can come on. If tinel, operating S3 will cause only the
has been switched on since the last the input to gate B is forced high, the green LED to come on. If you press S3
time you checked, you simply push a flip-flop changes states. Now only LED 1 later and the red LED comes on, some-
button. No telltale lights or alarms (red) can come on when S3 is pressed. one has applied ac power to the device

+ SI B
-+9V e
ICI C
10

BI9V
PARTS LIST
BI -9
-volt battery
CI -1- µ F polyester capacitor R3 220K
+ 9V
DI, D2 -1N4002 diode D2
ICI -4011 quad 2 -input NAND gate SI A 1N4002 R2
10K
5

LEDI-Red light -emitting diode LED2

LED2-Green light -emitting diode DI
GREEN

\
T
RI, R3 -220,000 -ohm '/4-W 10% resistor IN4002
R2-10,000-ohm,'/4-watt 10% resistor
R4 -1000 -ohm, '/4 -watt, 10% resistor ICI
RI R4
SI-Dpst switch 6.3V 220 K CD4011 1
S2, S3 Normally open pushbutton 117 V
IyF 'RESET
AC
T1 -6.3-V transformer S3 F.
CHECK
Misc.-9-volt battery and holder;
suitable enclosure; machine hard- 1
ware; line cord; hookup wire; etc.

In normal state offlip flop IC1/IC2, LED2 glows when S3 is pressed.

Ifflip-flop is toggled, LED1 glows.
sound when unauthorized use occurs; to Inthe flip-flop's "normal" state, with being monitored. Both ac -line and 9 -volt
find out, you must close a switch. no power applied to T1, closing S2 dc power can be disconnected from the
places the flip-flop in the state where sentinel by opening S 1.
About the Circuit. Although /Ci in the only LED2 can light when S3 is pressed.
illustration contains four 2 -input NAND The primary of T connects to either
1 Construction. Although the Sentinel
gates, the two inputs of each gate are the power line or the primary of the can be assembled with just about any
wired in parallel to form four inverters. power supply (after the power switch) wiring technique, it is best assembled
Gates A and B are wired in a set/reset of the device to be monitored. If Tl's on a piece of perforated board or a
flip-flop configuration. primary is energized, the Cl/DI circuit printed -circuit board of your own de-
A low input to gate B generates a creates a positive voltage that is ap- sign. Component placement and orien-
high condition at its output. Because plied to the input of gate A via current - tation, wire routing, and lead dress are
this signal is also present at the input of limiting resistor R2. When this voltage not critical. Just arrange the circuit
gate A, its output is forced low. The cir- exceeds the switching level of gate B, neatly. Then house it in an appropriate -
cuit is completed by feeding the low the flip-flop changes states. Then, size box that is predrilled for the three
output of gate A to the input of gate B. pressing S3 causes LED 1 to light. switches and two LEDs.

54 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 Audio
Time DeJar
System
v4 Low-Cost,Ana1og
cAudio Delay'Line
BY JOHN ROBERTS

Analog system employs a bucket-brigade device and

compansion to provide adjustable delays
and wide dynamic range

THE AUDIO BUFF is constantly seeking large concert hall, a night club, etc.-
ways to make the sound from his audio rather than the sense of being reproduced
system more realistic. That's why there's in a small listening room. To provide you
been a high level of interest in a family of with a component that will achieve this ob-
audio components known as audio delay jective with any hi-fi system, we present
lines or "room expanders." Such a com- here an analog audio delay line, that can
ponent is intended to create an auditory il- be built by a technically inclined audio-
lusion that simulates the environment in phile for a relatively moderate cost. The
which music is ordinarily performed-a delay line described is analog in design.

THE analog audio delay line described including an ac or dc power supply and a of a room and the materials used to con-
here employs a high-performance, custom enclosure is available for $250. struct it affect its reverberation time.
"bucket -brigade" analog shift register and Because the speed of sound in air is rela-
a 2:1 compansion system to preserve as Delay Lines and Reverberation. Per- tively constant (approximately one foot or
much of the input signal's dynamic range haps the most significant difference be- 0.3 meter per millisecond) for given atmos-
as possible. According to its designer, it tween a large concert hall and the typical pheric conditions, sound waves travelling in
offers an adjustable delay time of from 5 to home listening room lies in their reverbera- a very large room will experience fewer
68 ms, a frequency response of 30 to tion times. Reverberation time can be de- energy -absorbing collisions with the walls,
12,000 Hz (+0, -1 dB), an output noise fined as the amount of time it takes for a floors, and ceiling per unit time than will
rating ("A" weighted) of -91.5 dBm at 5 - steady-state sound field to decay to -60 similar sound waves travelling in a small
ms delay, and a THD + N content of 1% dB relative to the level that existed before room. Accordingly, sound waves in the
at 10 kHz. A complete stereo delay -line kit the sound source was deactivated. The size large room decay less rapidly.

55
1984 EDITION
audio delay
A listener in a reflective room receives a thesize the reverberative characteristics of
series of sound waves starting with the the type of environment in which the re-
wave that reaches him on a direct path corded program material would ordinarily
from the source. The reflected waves arrive be performed.
at some time after the direct signal. The
human ear derives from these differences Delaying the Signal. Various means,
in arrival times clues as to the size of the electromechanical and electronic, are
listening space. available for providing delayed signals; but
When the reflections arrive so soon after cost, complexity, and space requirements
the direct wave that they merge with it, the make most of these impractical for use in
room "sounds" small. By contrast, larger the home. It seems fair to say that use of
differences in arrival times and more pro- delayed signals to enhance home music re-
tracted reverberation tell the listener that production was brought about by the avail-
he is in a large hall. ability of purely electronic delay systems.
In operation, an audio delay line accepts State-of-the-art reverberation synthesiz-
signals from the main audio channels, ers derive suitable audio delays by means
stores them for a given amount of time, of analog or digital shift registers. In either
and then presents them to a power ampli- method, the audio signal is divided at a giv- The difference between analog and digi-
fier which drives one or more speaker sys- en rate into samples that describe its in- tal delay lines lies in the manner in which
tems. The speakers driven by the main - stantaneous amplitude. These are sequen- the input signal is sampled, stored, and
channel signals are placed in front of the tially deposited in a shift register that reconstructed. In an analog system, the in-
listener, and the speaker(s) driven by the stores them for a given amount of time. put signal is sampled and its instantaneous
delayed information is (are) placed behind The samples are clocked through the regis- amplitude is applied to the input of an ana -
him or off to the sides. The goal is to syn- ter, the end of which is connected to a cir- loe shift register. What happens next de-
cuit that reconstructs a smoothly varying pends on the type of analog shift register
analog signal out of the series of discrete that is employed.
samples applied to it. If the register is a bucket -brigade de -
R2

TWO.
R3 PHASE
DELAY CLOCK
CONTROL OUTPUT
INPUT
IC3
ANALOG
SHIFT
REGISTER
FIFTH -ORDER
LOW-PASS
FILTER

COMPRESSOR EXPANDER
OUTPUT INPUT
LEFT
INPUT I R

L*R N
MODE IC5C IC4
ICNR SECONO.ORDER
INPUT 2:1
RIGHT LOW-PASS COMPANOER
NETWORK FILTER
INPUT COMPRESSOR F XPANDER
INPUTS OUTPUT
R L -R

L- R

536
BANDPASS
l ( REDELAY
FILTER 1,41.444444444.,./

R39
PAN
MOO

DIRECT DEL APED

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the bucket -

R41
OUTPUT
1

OUTPUT
brigade delay line. Compansion is
LEVEL employed to keep dynamic range high.

56 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Photograph of the author's prototype.
The large control knob adjusts vco
frequency and, hence, delay time.

vice, the sampled voltage charges a small In an analog delay line, the amount of form. Low-pass filtering smooths out the
input capacitor. This charge is then trans- delay that is obtainable depends on both reconstructed analog waveform. The total
ferred to the first of a long series of storage the rate at which the samples are clocked delay provided by a digital system depends
capacitors by means of a voltage -controlled through the shift register and the number on the length of the shift register and the
switch ( a FET driven by one component of storage elements in the register. Current rate at which data is clocked through it or
of a two-phase clock). Next, a new sample IC fabrication techniques have made possi- on the size of the RAM and the rate at
charges the input capacitor and the first ble the construction of BBD or CCD delay which digital data is written into and read
sample is transferred to the second in the lines containing hundreds and even thou- out of it.
string of storage capacitors. The sample in sands of storage elements. Such devices of- Some delay line designs employ delta
the input capacitor is then transferred to fer delays as long as 100 milliseconds or modulation. That is, the input waveform is
the first storage capacitor; the input capac- more-longer than necessary for most re- sampled continuously and compared to the
itor receives a new sample; the sample in verberation synthesis applications. previous sample. The circuit that processes
the second storage capacitor is transferred The faster the clock frequency, the the input waveform generates an output
to the third while that in the first is trans- shorter the delay and, for a given device, signal that describes the result of this com-
ferred to the second; and so on. the more closely the output signal resem- parison-whether the input signal has de-
This process goes on continuously and bles the input signal. As a rule, longer creased or increased in amplitude, or re-
the analog samples of the input waveform delays result in some loss of high frequen- mained constant. If this is done, only
make their way down the bucket -brigade cies and degradation of dynamic range. "change" information need be clocked
device in the form of packets of charge Advanced delay -line ICs offer impressive through a register or written into memory,
being shifted from one capacitor to the performance in spite of these limitations. rather than information completely de-
next. At the end of the register, a low-pass For example, the Reticon SAD-4096 em- scribing the instantaneous amplitude of the
filter integrates the stacatto sequence of ployed in the project to be described here input signal at each moment that it is sam-
samples delivered to it into a smoothly has 2048 storage elements, a clock -fre- pled. At the output of the storage circuit, a
varying replica of the input waveform. quency range of 8 kHz to 2 MHz, and a demodulator reconstructs an analog repli-
The second type of analog shift register, delay range of 1 millisecond (2 -MHz ca of the input waveform that is low-pass
the charge-coupled device, functions in a clock) to 250 milliseconds (8 -kHz clock). filtered to remove abrupt level changes in-
similar manner but employs a different The dynamic range of its output is 65 dB troduced by the delta modulator.
method of storing and transferring the when the clock frequency is a relatively
analog samples of the input waveform. In- low 20 kHz. The use of compansion can Design Considerations. A digital sys-
stead of using actual capacitors to store the provide even greater dynamic range. tem's greatest advantage is that the signal
charge packets, a charge-coupled device or In a digital system, the input waveform degradation it introduces is fixed and inde-
CCD employs the equivalent capacitances is sampled at an appropriate rate. Each pendent of the length of the delay. Once a
of a series of MOSFET channels which sample is applied to an A/D converter signal sample has been converted into digi-
form under gate structures biased by volt- which transforms it into a sequence of bits tal form, it can be manipulated any nutn-
ages greater than the MOS threshold. describing its instantaneous amplitude in ber of times without loss. The quality of
The MOS elements of a CCD are close digital form. Each digital word describes a the output signal is affected only by the lin-
enough to each other that the free charge specific sample and is applied to either a earity and dynamic range of the A/D and
consisting of minority carriers stored in the digital shift register or to a RAM, depend- D/A converters at the input and output.
inversion layer associated with one MOS ing on the design of the delay line. If a shift The dynamic range of a digital system
capacitor (the channel) can be transferred register is employed, the words are clocked in which the digital words directly describe
to the channel region of the adjacent de- through the register at a specific clock rate the corresponding input samples is approx-
vice. The transfer of charge is governed by and eventually appear at its output. If a imately 6 dB per bit. A 16 -bit linear digital
the multi -phase clock voltages applied to RAM is used, the words are written into system thus offers a dynamic range of ap-
the gate structures of adjacent MOS de- specific memory locations, stored in them proximately 96 dB, but is horrendously ex-
vices. In a CCD, an analog sample of the for a certain period of time, and then read pensive. To obtain an acceptable dynamic
input signal is stored as a channel charge. out of the memory locations in the appro- range using fewer bits, various "nonlinear"
Because CCD gates are very small (typi- priate order. coding schemes have been developed.
cally a few square micrometers in area), As the digital words stream out of the Analog delay systems bypass the com-
tiny amounts of charge are involved- register or are read out of the RAM, they plexities of A/D and D/A conversion but
usually from approximately 10 electrons are applied to the input of a D/A converter degrade signals more as delays become
(!) to 10' electrons. which changes them back into analog longer. Because analog shift registers are

1984 EDITION 57
 audio delay
PARTS LIST
more-specialized, lower -volume devices DELAY CIRCUIT
than their digital counterparts, analog reg-
isters are considerably more expensive. In Cl, C18, C19, C32 -0,1-µF, 50-V disc ce- The following, unless otherwise specified,
the author's opinion, analog systems offer ramic capacitor are 1/4 -watt, 5%, fixed carbon -composi-
superior price/performance ratios for de- C2 -100-µF, 16-V radial -lead electrolytic tion resistors.
lays of less than 100 milliseconds. For C3, C13, C16, C25, C27 -4,7-µF, 16-V ra- R1, R6, R7-1000 ohms
longer delays, he would give digital sys- dial -lead electrolytic R2, R10 through R15, R22, R31, R32,
tems the nod. As 100 ms was considered a C4 -0,01-µF, 5% Mylar capacitor R34-100,000 ohms
suitable upper limit for delay time in the C5, C11, C21, C22, C24-100-pF, 5°/o R3, R36, R41 -100,000-ohm, linear -taper
system, the analog approach was used. polystyrene capacitor potentiometer
C6, C7, C8, C12, C17 -1-µF, 25-V radial - R4, R25,R26-3300 ohms
The length of delay required depends on
lead electrolytic R5-300,000 ohms
the reverberation times that the designer is C9, C14-5-pF, 50-V disc ceramic capaci- R8, R40-100 ohms
attempting to synthesize. In the author's tor R9-75,000 ohms
opinion, audibly believable reverberation C 10-2200-pF, 5% polystyrene capacitor R16, R17-22,000 ohms
can be generated by feeding the output sig- C15, C26 -0,47-µF, 25 -volt radial -lead R18, R35-68,000 ohms
nal of the delay device back to the input. electrolytic R19, R20, R37, R38-43,000 ohms
The resulting multiple repetitions simulate C20- 1000-pF, 5°/o polystyrene capacitor R21-10 ohms
the arrivals of reflected sounds along paths C23-510-pF, 5% polystyrene capacitor R23-36,000 ohms
of different lengths. In such a system, the C28 -0.0022-µF, 5% Mylar capacitor R24, R27, R28-15,000 ohms
reverberation time can be calculated from C29, C30-470-pF, 50-V disc ceramic ca- R29-62,000 ohms
pacitor R30-180,000 ohms
the length of the delay and the gain of the D1, D2 -1N914 diode R33-20,000 ohms
feedback loop. For example, if the signal is IC1-CD4007AE dual complementary pair R39 -10,000 -ohm, linear-taper potentiom-
delayed 50 ms and the gain of the loop is plus inverter eter
-3 dB, it will take 20 recirculations of the IC2-CD4013AE dual D flip-flop S1-Dpdt pc-mount push -on / push -off
signal before the output level decays to IC3-SAD-4096 bucket -brigade analog switch
- 60 dB relative to its initial amplitude. shift register (Reticon)
IC4-NE570N compander
Misc.-Printed circuit board, IC sockets or
Molex Soldercons, circuit board stand-
The reverberation time is thus one second.
Natural -sounding reverberation can be IC5-TL074CN quad BiFET op amp offs, control knobs, suitable enclosure,
J1, J2, J3, J4 -phono jacks shielded patch cords, hookup wire, etc.
achieved with a maximum shift -register
delay of 40 to 60 ms as long as the recircu-

+12v +12v

R9
75K
CI C2
C6
+ O.IyFT 100FF

T
I
C32T0.19F

4 88 14 II 2
10011

ICSO
L- R

L+R
RIO
IOOK
o C
p C5
100
R6
IK
R5
300K
13

10 R2

ICI
9 IO R7 8
0040074E
SI R13
815 5 D IK
MODE IOOK lRI MIN
I00K - IC2 51
HNJJJJv- CD4013AE N914 6
OOK
5 DELAY
L -R 4¡ 6I 7¡
MAX
R14
5 pF IOOK
L+R +12V +12V
3K
RII C7 C14
IOOK J21yF 1 5
1

vv
XD2
82. IN914
` JI OR
fI R24
Cop RI9 820 IO 01 02 15K
IyFB 43K + 43K
C13 IC4= NE570N
C10
4.7yF C19
O.1yF
IC5. TL074CN
2200DF
R22 IC3
100 SAD -4096
R26
R18 C21
3.3 K
68K AUDIO AUDIO
R16 R17
INPUT OUTPUTS
=_e_N.mM_
22K 22K 10 IC R27
15K
12V
Cl2 C17 R29 R30
IµF 9 62K 180K
IyF
MAu, 12

i IN C30
IL 16

C15
15
C16
4.7 F
CI8
R23
36K
825
3 3K
"R28
SK
C20 1000 ?88;-- R31
3
470pF .472F O.IyF IOOK

-
pF DF
+ OUTPUT
pß41 )J3
LEVEL OUTPUT 0.00228F 024
C4 IOOpF R32
J4 0.01 R36
C3 F
10 K
470 + 0247yF R3 4
100 K
4.7pF R40 C25
10011 R38 437 RE DEL AY PF 100K
43K K 4 8 4.7 +
MAX
I

R39 R33
10K IC S A
20K
IC4A
DIRECT DELAYED C27 C23
4.7y F 510DF
S

R35
68K

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the delay line. Two audio input channels are
combined by IC5C into a single channel which is delayed by IC3. EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
lation loop gain is well below 0 dB. A loop pleasing audio effect. When the announc- ter, which permits adjustment of the
gain of more than 0 dB will make the sys- er's voice is heard, it sounds as if he is talk- amount of delayed signal fed back to the
tem unstable. ing from the bottom of a well. This can input compander, as well as a passive
The bandwidth of the delay line and the also happen when a centered vocal or bandpass filter (R37, R38, C4 and C28).
rate at which its input signal is sampled are instrumental soloist predominates. The bandpass filter provides additional
intimately related. Although standard The L-R mode, in which the direct high-frequency rolloff for each recircula-
high-fidelity practice would dictate a flat center components are cancelled out, can tion of the signal and some low-frequency
frequency response between 20 and 20,000 prevent this from happening. An addition- rolloff. The accelerated absorption of high -
Hz, a narrower bandwidth is appropriate al benefit provided by the L -R mode is frequency components simulates the treble
for a delay line. The principal reason for realized because of the common mixdown loss of natural reverberation; the low -fre-
this is that natural reverberation generally practice of placing room or ambience mi- quency attenuation prevents the reverber-
causes high -frequency attenuation. crophones and studio reverberation unit ant signal from sounding muddy.
Sampling theory indicates that a signal output signals away from center. Although Complementary compression and ex-
must be sampled at least twice every peri- it is not possible to completely characterize pansion make it possible for the delay line
od if it is to be reconstructed into contin- the differences in sound quality provided project to have an impressive dynamic
uous form without error. The sampling fre- by the two modes, the author's experience range. The rated S/N of the SAD-4096
quency thus should be at least twice that of is that L- R reverberation sounds "softer" analog shift register varies from more than
the highest frequency in the signal. Fur- or more subtle. The type of music and the 75 dB for its shortest delays to approxi-
thermore, a rolloff caused by the recon- particular mix -down will determine which mately 65 dB for its longest delay time.
struction process itself results in a response mode is more pleasing. The compansion employed in this project
3 dB down at approximately one-third of The signal from the input network is allows the delay system to have a very
the sampling frequency. (This rolloff is in applied to a second -order active low-pass large dynamic range. As measured by the
addition to any due to a smoothing filter at filter with a cut-off frequency of 15 kHz. author, the IHF "A" weighted noise at the
the output.) This prevents foldback/aliasing problems project's delayed output is -91.5 dBm at
Any signal frequency greater than one-
half of the sampling frequency will stimu-
late the production of aliases or beat tones
that fold back into the useful passband.
For example, if a 22 -kHz signal is sampled
at a rate of only 40 kHz, an alias will
appear at 18 kHz. Accordingly, for all of
the above reasons, it is good design practice
to band -limit the signal to be sampled to
about one-third of the sampling rate.

About the Circuit. The Analog Audio

Delay line appears in block -diagram form
in Fig. 1 and schematically in Fig. 2. The
block diagram shows the principal function
stages of the project.
A voltage -controlled oscillator generates
a train of pulses at a rate determined by
the setting of the DELAY potentiometer.
The oscillator drives a flip-flop which pro- This photograph of prototype shows how author housed main
vides a two-phase clock signal by means of pc board and ac supply inside custom enclosure.
its complementary (Q and Q) outputs.
This two-phase clock governs the transfer
of signal samples within the analog shift
register.
An op -amp input stage accepts signals
from the two main stereo channels and that might otherwise occur. A 2:1 IC com- 5 milliseconds and -89 dBm at 100 milli-
generates either an L+R or L-R output, pressor acts on the filter output before it is seconds. Input -level adjustments are there-
depending on the position of the MODE applied to the analog shift register. Also fore unnecessary.
switch. A considerable saving in system applied to the compressor input is a signal Output signals are presented to PAN
cost and circuit complexity can be realized component that is provided by the recircu- control R39. This potentiometer allows the
by combining the main stereo channels to lation loop. user to drive the subsequent stages in the
form one channel of delayed information. Delayed audio signals appearing at the signal chain with a fully undelayed audio
Summing the two main channels before output of the analog shift register are signal (when the wiper is set to the DIRECT
delaying them results in a conventional treated by a fifth-order active low-pass fil- extreme of its travel), a fully delayed signal
monaural signal that is then delayed, am- ter before being processed by a 1:2 IC (when the wiper is set to the DELAYED
plified and reproduced by a single loud- expander. This filter smooths out the signal extreme of its travel), or with a mixture of
speaker. The usefulness of the L-R mode provided by the delay line and suppresses the direct and delayed versions of the input
can be dramatically demonstrated by lis- any ultrasonic clock energy contained in it. signal (when the wiper is set between the
tening to a stereo FM broadcast. During One portion of the expander output makes two extremes of its travel). Potentiometer
the musical portion of the broadcast, rela- its way back to the compressor input by R41 can be adjusted for the desired bal-
tively high levels of L+R or stereo rever- means of a recirculation loop. This loop ance of front to back sound levels.
beration can be introduced to provide a comprises R36, the REDELAY potentiome- (Continues on next page.)

1984 EDITION 59
audio delay
Power Supply. The analog delay line LM301 operational -amplifier integrated volts dc. Again, LED1 serves as a conve-
project requires modest electrical power. circuit (IC1), which, in turn, governs the nient power-on indicator.
Its basic requirement can be obtained from operation of a pass transistor (Q1). This
any single -ended supply capable of deliv- pass transistor acts as the regulated source Construction. The use of printed -circuit
ering 12 volts at 20 mA. This modest for the delay circuit. The dc supply can be construction techniques is strongly rec-
amount of power can be provided from the used with virtually any unregulated ommended. Full-size etching and drilling
ac power line with the ac power supply source capable of delivering + 12 to +30 guides of suitable pc boards for the main

Fig. 3. This full-wave line-

powered supply furnishes
regulated +12 volts for the
audio delay circuit.
OFF
DI
IN4001

Cl"
1000pF
i C2
0.IyF
pA7612CU
ICI

3
C3
0.1 yF 1.4.7pF
O+12V
C4
REGULATED

OGROUND
02 LEDI
II 1N4001 RI 211
IK

shown schematically in Fig. 3. This supply

employs a center -tapped step-down trans- PARTS LIST
former (T1), a full -wave rectifier (DI and AC POWER SUPPLY
D2), four capacitors (CI through C4), and C1 -1000-µF, 25-V radial -lead bon composition resistor
a 12 -volt regulator integrated circuit electrolytic S1-Dpdt pc -mount push-on/push-off
(ICI). Light -emitting diode LEDI is a C2,C3-0.1-µF, 50-V disc ceramic switch or spst toggle switch
convenient power -on indicator. capacitor T1 -20 -volt, 250 -mA center -tapped
In mobile and many other applications, C4 -4.7-µF, 16 -volt radial -lead stepdown transformer (Signal Trans-
electrolytic former Co. No. ST -4-20 or
however, a source of 117 -volt sinusoidal ac Di, D2-1 N4001 rectifier diode equivalent)
power is not readily available. In such situ- F1 -1/4 -ampere fast -blow fuse Misc.-Printed circuit board; fuse clips;
ations, the project can be powered by the IC1-µA7812UC 12 -volt regulator line cord; strain relief; circuit board
dc power supply shown schematically in LED1-Light-emitting diode standoffs; machine hardware; hookup
Fig. 4. This power supply employs a zener R1 -1000-ohm, 1/4 -watt, 5% fixed car - wire; solder; etc.
diode (D3) as a voltage reference for an

PARTS LIST
DC POWER SUPPLY
OFF
+12.5 TO
C1,C5-0.1-µF, 50-V ceramic disc capac- +30V DC
ON
DI
itor I /4A
Si OFF R3 R4 IN914
1011 Ion
C2 -100-µF, 16-V radial -lead electrolytic R7
01
C3 -4.7-µF, 16-V radial -lead electrolytic 2N3906 51011
ON
C4-100-pF, 50-V ceramic disc capacitor D2
IN914
R2
D1,D2-1 N914 diode 30K
D3 -6.2 -volt, 1 -watt zener diode (1N4735
or equivalent) +t 12 V
F1 -1/4 -ampere fast -blow fuse REGULATEDO
LEDI
R8
5K
IC1-LM301AN operational amplifier CI C2.0.-0.I01 C4
LED1-Light-emitting diode 100p RS
30K
100 p
GROUNDO
Q1 -2N3906 pnp silicon transistor
The following are 1/4 -watt, 5%, fixed car- RI
51011
bon -composition resistors:
R1,R7-510 ohms
C3 1_
R2,R5-30,000 ohms 4.7pF
--
01111

4
D3 R6
R3,R4-10 ohms 11,44735 33K
C5
ICIe LM3OIAN
R6-33,000 ohms
R81500 ohms
S1-Dpdt pc -mount push-on/push-off
switch or spst toggle switch
Misc.-Printed circuit board; fuse clips;
strain relief; circuit board standoffs; Fig. 4. This supply should be used for remote or
hookup wire; solder; hardware; etc. mobile applications when ac line power is not available.

60 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
delay circuit, the ac power supply, and the Sockets or Molex Soldercons should be board can be connected to it by means of
dc supply appear in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, re- used when mounting ICs on the main cir- suitable lengths of stranded, insulated
spectively. Component -placement guides cuit board, especially for /C3-any device hookup wire.
for these boards appear in Figs. 8, 9, and costing that much deserves special han- When assembly of the circuit boards is
10. The main circuit board has been laid dling. When mounting semiconductors complete, carefully inspect them for cold
out to keep power and ground bus runs as and electrolytic capacitors, be sure to ob- solder joints, solder bridges between adja-
short and direct as possible, and to prevent serve polarity and pin basing. Use the cent foils, reversed polarities, etc. Then in-
objectionable leakage of ultrasonic clock minimum amount of heat and solder con- terconnect the retain board with the power
energy into the audio -frequency signal sistent with the formation of good solder supply board that has been assembled, us-
path. joints. Those components mounted off the ing short lengths of stranded, insulated

0 o

00

Fig. 7. Etching and drilling

guide for the dc power supply
printed -circuit board.

Fig. 6. Etching and drilling

guide for the ac power supply
printed -circuit board.

Fig. 5. Full-size etching and

drilling guide for the main
printed circuit board.

19E4 EDITION 61

www.americanradiohistory.com
audio delay
hookup wire. Finally, mount the boards in ing audio system. The main stereo chan- the project's output level potentiometer
a suitable enclosure, with spacers to insu- nels should be tapped at some point at will have to be readjusted every time the
late the boards from the metallic surfaces which the signals are at line level. If the level of the front channels is changed.
of the cabinet. signals are tapped at the output of the pre- A single channel of delayed audio infor-
amplifier, the project's output level poten- mation calls for a monophonic power am-
Adding It to Your System. Use shielded tiometer can be used as a front -to -back plifier and one speaker system. However,
audio patch cords of appropriate lengths balance control. If the signals are tapped the author's prototype includes two out-
to interconnect the project with your exist - before the preamplifier's volume control, put jacks wired in parallel so that both

GROUND

R3 R36 R39
MIN MAX +12 VOLTS MIN MAX DIRECT
DELAY REDELAY PAN OUTPUT LEVEL

Fig. 8. Component-placement guide for the audio delay line's main pc board.

- 117
VAC

'LED

+12 VOLTS
REGULATED

Fig. 9. Component -placement

guide for the ac o RA)
o
power supply of the project. R29

+12 VOLTS
REGULATED

GROUND

C
LED

12.5 TO
30 VOLTS
DC

o
Fig. 10. Component -placement guide a
for the regulated dc -powered
supply for the audio delay line.

62 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
channels of a stereo amplifier can be driv-
en by the same signal if desired. The rear -
channel amplifier can have a power rating KIT AND PARTS AVAILABILITY
as low as one-fourth that of the front -
channel amplifier. Excellent performance The following are available from transformer, P -94-T, for $6.50;
has been obtained with as little as 20 watts Phoenix Systems, 91 Elm St., Man- etched and drilled ac power -supply
of rated amplifier power for the rear chester, CT 06040: Complete kit of printed -circuit board, No. P-25-PSB,
channel. parts, including enclosure, for a sin- for $5.00; dc power -supply board,
Similarly, the speaker system associated gle -channel, dc -powered delay line, No. P-25-PSBC, for $5.00;
with the rear channel need not be as so- No. P-25-DLC, for $145; complete TL074CN high-performance quad
phisticated as those used in the main kit of parts, including enclosure, for biFET operational amplifier, No. P-
(front) stereo channels. Deep bass re- for a single -channel ac -powered de- TL047CN, for $2.50; µA7812UC 12 -
sponse and extended high end are simply lay line, No. P -25 -DL, for $150; com- volt regulator IC, No. P-7812UC, for
not needed. A speaker system with clean plete kit of parts for two -channel ac - $1.50; 100,000 -ohm linear -taper,
midrange response and a power -handling or dc -powered (specify) delay line, pc -mount potentiometer, No. P-
capacity compatible with the rear -channel No. P-25-SDL, for $250. The follow- 100KB, for $1.00; 10,000 -ohm, lin-
amplifier output power will suffice. ing are also available separately ear -taper, pc -mount potentiometer,
There are no "correct" delay -unit con- from the same source: SAD -4098 No. P-10KB, for $1.00; push -on/
trol settings. These adjustments should be bucket -brigate analog shift register push -off pc-mount dpdt switch, No.
guided by the type of music being repro- IC, No. P -SAD -4096 for $40.00; P-2PDT, for $1.00. Add $1.00 han-
duced and the personal taste of the listen- etched and drilled main printed -cir- dling charge for orders less than
er. Also, the amount of reverberation that cuit board, No. P -25 -DB, for $8.00; $10. All items postpaid within conti-
will have to be instroduced to achieve a de- NE570N compander IC, No. P- nental U.S. COD orders subject to
sired effect will depend on the individual NE570N, for $4.50; Signal Trans- $2.00 surcharge. Connecticut resi-
recording of a given piece of music. former Co. No. ST -4-20 step-down dents, add state sales tax.
Two discrete delay channels can share a
common enclosure and power supply.
Such a configuration is available in kit
form and can be connected to the main ste- In Conclusion. Psychoacoustics is still as
reo channels in such a way that monaural much an art as a science and remains a fer-
addition or subtraction will not take place. tile field for experimentation. The analog
If desired, one clock can be be used to delay line that has been presented here is
drive both stereo delay lines so that the de- designed with the adventurous, inquisitive The
lay times track each other. A richer sound
may result if each channel has an indepen-
audiophile in mind. It is, therefore, well
suited for those readers who want to ex- Mean Little Kit
dent, adjustable clock. periment with time -delay techniques.

New compact 24 -piece kit of electronic tools

for engineers, scientists, technicians,
students, executives. Includes 7 sizes
screwdrivers, adjustable wrench, 2 pair
pliers, wire stripper, knife, alignment tool,
stainless rule, hex -key set, scissors, 2 flex-
ible files, burnisher, miniature soldering
iron, solder aid, coil of solder and desolder-
External (above) and internal (below) views of author's prototype. ing braid. Highest quality padded zipper
case, 6 x 9 x 13/4" inside. Satisfaction
guaranteed. Send check, company purchase
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JTK-6 Tool Kit $95.00

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JENSEN TOOLS INC.

7815 So. 46th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85040

1984 EDITION 63
 -SPI- v ELECTRONIC FUSE
"Blows" within microseconds
to protect sensitive components

BY CHARLES M. LENNY AND CHESTER DAVENPORT

FUSES, in many cases, blow too fires, the lamp glows, and the filament heat sink should be used for Ql , Q2
slowly to prevent damage in solid- resistance increases to about 100 and SCRI. These two heat sinks
state circuits. Power transistors, ohms, minimizing the load on SCRI should be mounted on two exterior
which are prone to thermal runaway and acting as an indicator to show sides of the selected chassis. A socket
when passing excessive currents, are that the circuit has tripped. for II can be mounted on top of the
especially vulnerable to slow -opening Potentiometer R3 establishes the chassis. Input and output power con-
fuses. The electronic "fuse" shown in desired trip current. When the cur- nectors SI , and R3 can be mounted
the schematic is a basic crow -bar cir- rent passing through R2 (and RI on an empty side as desired. The Soli-
cuit that operates in a hundred micro- when SI is set to HI), exceeds the tron SDT96306 can handle 70 am-
seconds or so-more than fast enough desired limit, transistor Q3 turns on. peres at 325 volts. A 2N3055 that can
to save low -power transistors-and The resulting positive voltage gener- handle 15 amperes at 60 volts is an
can safely handle load currents up to ated across RS turns on SCRI. Resis- acceptable substitute.
60 amperes. tor R6 limits the SCR gate current to Calibration of R3 is performed by
a safe value. Diode DI permits operat- using various resistive loads to draw
How It Works. When an overcur- ing the electronic fuse with an induc- specific currents, with R3 adjusted so
rent triggers SCRI into conduction, tive load, removing any probability of that the lamp glows when the specific
base drive is diverted from series -pass punch -through of Q1 or Q2. current is reached. A dial plate on R3
transistors Q1 and Q2, which cut off is used to identify the calibration
and stop the flow of current to the Construction. At 60 amperes, re- points. Remember that the trip cur-
load. Incandescent lamp II has about sistors RI and R2 can dissipate 45 rent must be within the pass transis-
a 10-ohm resistance when cold, and watts each and should be provided tor's rating.
drops very little voltage. When SCR1 with suitable heat sinking. A similar Since the SCR is powered by dc,
once it fires it will remain in the con-
ductive state until the applied dc volt-
age is removed. This can be done
RI
either by installing a series switch in
.05n SI either of the supply leads or by turn-
ing off the driving power supply. O
HIGH LOW

+J3
Ó5n
R3
zon

II
100W

INPUT
0-80V DC
Q3
TIP32
RI
2N685 R4
39011
loon
vuvN
R5
CI 180
.OI N F
J20 034

PARTS LIST
C1 -0.01-µF disc capacitor R3-20-0, 5-W potentiometer
D1 -1N5551 diode R4-390-0, 10-W resistor
J1 through J4 -5
-way binding post, color R5-180-0, 1-W resistor
coded R6-100-1, 1/2-W resistor
11-100-W incandescent lamp S1-Spat switch
Q1, Q2-SDT96306 (70 amperes) or SCR1-2N685 or similar SCR
2N3055 (15 amperes) Misc.-Suitable heat sinks (2) socket for
,

Q3-TIP32 or any silicon transistor 11,enclosure, terminal strips, mounting

R1, R2-0.05-0, 50-W resistor hardware.

64

www.americanradiohistory.com
 custom IC, what happens if a design
change is necessary?
A third alternative is the do-it-your-
Do -It -Yourself self logic chip. Included in this category
are field programmable logic array
(FPLA) and programmable array logic
(PAL, a trademark of Monolithic Mem-
ories, Inc.) chips. These chips contain
LOGIC CHIPS arrays of logic gates interconnected via
the same kind of fusible links used to
make programmable read-only memo-
ries (PROMs). By selectively applying
By Forrest M. Minns high -current pulses to the programming
pins of an FPLA or PAL, fusible links
can be opened in various patterns to pro-
duce a customized integrated circuit.
The PROM is itself a versatile do-it-
yourself logic chip since it can be used to
IN THIS day of ultra -sophisticated then metalized according to the custom- implement any truth table for which it
semiconductor technology, large- er's specifications and installed in DIPs. has sufficient inputs and outputs.
scale and very -large-scale integrated This procedure is faster and cheaper You can better understand the opera-
circuits (LSI and VLSI respectively) than the custom IC route, but it's still tion and compare the differences of
containing hundreds or even thousands relatively expensive since the customer PROMs, FPLAs and PALs be referring
of logic gates have become common- usually must agree to buy a thousand or to Figs. 1, 2 and 3. They show the inter-
place. Nevertheless, examine any board more chips. And as in the case of the nal circuitry of ultra -simple, hypotheti-
containing one or more LSI or VLSI
IN
chips and you'll probably find an assort-
ment of small- and medium -scale inte-
grated circuits (SSI and MSI) with rel-
atively few gates or flip-flops package.
Circuit designers have long wanted to
combine in a few packages the relatively
small number of gates and flip-flops re- FIXED OR ARRAY
quired to support most LSI and VLSI
chips. Custom ICs are usually out of the
question because of their high price and
long development time. And what hap-
pens if a design change is necessary?
Semi -custom integrated circuits are a
better choice. These chips contain ar-
rays of gates which have not been metal-
Fig. 2. A hypothetical
PAL of two four -bit
words. it is a backward
PROM since theAND
1

I
m
D I 1

ized. In other words, the gates are inde- array is ® ®

pendent of one another since they've not while the OR is fixed. 1
yet been connected together electrically I I I

by a metalization pattern on the top sur- I

face of the chip. The customer tells the

custom IC house how he wants the gates I
I

PROGRAMMABLE
interconnected, and the gate chips are AND ARRAY

IN IN

OUT

PROGRAMMABLE PROGRAMMABLE
OR ARRAY OR ARRAY

I i I

I I

FIXEID AND ARRAY

PROGRAMMABLE
AND ARRAY

Fig. 1. A PROM of four two-bit words B

Fig. 3. An FPLA of two four-bit words.
OUT
The AND array is fixed; the OR is programmable. Both the AND and the OR are programmable.

1984 EDITION 65

www.americanradiohistory.com
Do-lt -Yourself Logic Chips
cal versions of each of these three kinds present at the junction of the output line mable. The AND array in Fig. is pro-
1

of programmable logic arrays. from a selected AND gate and the input grammed to address in turn each of the
As is readily apparent from these fig- lines to the OR gates. AND gates from top to bottom accord-
ures, all three circuits contain an AND A solid dot at the intersection of two ing to a standard 00, 01, 10, 11 input
array followed by an OR array. The array lines means the connection was sequence.
input word applied to the AND array unalterably programmed when the chip The PAL (Fig. 2) is a backward
can be considered an address, data word was made. User programmable fusible PROM since the AND array is pro-
or bit pattern. In any case, the effect is links are indicated by small circles at grammable while the OR array is fixed.
the same since a particular input intersection array lines. In real PALs the OR array is factory
switches the output of one of the AND In the PROM (Fig. 1), the AND ar- programmed to give some of the most
gates from low to high. The outputs then ray is permanently programmed or commonly used logic functions.
reflect whether or not connections are fixed while the OR array is program- The FPLA (Fig. 3) is the ultimate do-
PAL10H8 PAL12H6 PAL14H4 PAL16H2 PAL10L8

AND AND AND AND AND

GATE GATE GATE GATE GATE
ARRAY ARRAY ARRAY ARRAY ARRAY

PAL12L6 PAL14L4 PAL16L2 PAL16L8 PAL16C1

AND AND AND AND

GATE GATE GATE GATE
ARRAY ARRAY ARRAY ARRAY

PAL16R4 PAL16R6 PAL16R8 PAL16A4 PAL16X4

AND
AND
AND AND AND CARRY
OR
OR OR OR OR
GATE GATE XOR
GATE XOR
ARRAY ARRAY GATE
ARRAY GATE
ARRAY
ARRAY

Fig. 4. Pin outlines and internal block diagrams of the PAL family of chips.

66 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
it -yourself logic chip since both the tance calls may be well worth the results menter. But if you want to greatly sim-
AND and OR arrays are program- you'll harvest. plify a favorite logic circuit while learn-
mable. While this provides the highest Do-it-yourself logic chips require care- ing about one of the latest trends in digi-
degree of flexibility, in practice the ful design procedure and a PROM pro- tal circuit design, get your hands on
FPLA is much more dificult to use and grammer so they're not necessarily some manufacturer's literature and
more expensive than either the PROM suited for the typical hobbyist or experi- warm up your PROM zapper.
or the PAL. All three kinds of chips can
be programmed using standard PROM
programmers, but the programming
procedure for the FPLA is at least twice
as cumbersome since both the AND and
OR arrays must be programmed.
Some PALs and FPLAs include flip-
Fast, Accurate, Transparent, Quiet Affordable ....
flops to store output states and feed re-
sults back to the inputs. This makes pos-
sible such functions as counting, shifting
and sequencing.
PALs without flip-flops can perform
virtually any task now accomplished
with SSI and MSI logic chips up to and
including a 4 -bit arithmetic logic unit!
In many applications a single PAL can
replace up to ten SSI/MSI packages.
A clever feature of PAL chips is a
data security fuse. After the PAL has
been programmed, the security fuse is
blown to disable the circuit's internal
verification logic. This prevents the in-
ternal program from being read out by a 91 ELM ET

potential copier, thereby making the HOENIX SYSTEMS MANCHESTER CONNECTICUT 06040 203-643-4484
chip proprietary.
The PAL concept was pioneered by
John Birkner of Monolithic Memories,
Inc., and that firm now makes a family
of fifteen PAL chips with National
Semiconductor as a second source. Fig-
FCNAPCD
G.E. MOV VI30.LA.1 aA Varactor Diodes "AUTO LIGHT-OFF"
ure 4 shows the pin outlines and internal
block diagrams for all fifteen chips. As Spike Eliminators ("
Hyper-Abrupt Diode Above Ghz 39Q
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1

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provided by this lineup. Tri -Color LEDS SOLD SEARS $39.95 54.95

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Information about PALs and FPLAs Red/Green reverse volt.
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learn more about PALs is to contact a Som 2/'1.50 Blk. 0o
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mable Array Logic Handbook" pub- MATES TO FILTER 49 100'225.00
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ADAPTOR Cord -Out Hole
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engineers, Napoleone Cavlan and Dual Computer Chip Set POWER INVERTER Volta ge Regu ator iezo ements
Boáord 100/20. 39c
Stephen J. Durham, have written an ex-
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CPU 8 MPU Systems Dual
Clocks. ACLU.
2

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Electronics (July 5, 1979, pp. 109-114
512
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29623 Pelor Rom R Bi
ADJUSTABLE BOARDS TRANSFORMERS
and July 19, 1979, pp. 132-139). In an 74LS624 Volt Cont. Ost. 10V.í8 A+ 46 V.,2.5 A. C.T.
article for Computer Design (April 74121 (2) 7413 (2) 4.5V. to 18V.DC x1.95 to A 6 7 9 12'5 0r 1 i 7
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Choice Of
a F-ssolo
t1.99 `L
7A -12V 7A =III/
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4750 96th St. N. St. Petersburg, Florida 33708
d Inc
ää
city or state. If necessary, call the com-
pany direct. The cost of a few long dis-

1984 EDITION 67

www.americanradiohistory.com
 WIRELESS AD *ZAP
TR\S OFF
TU COVVHRC ASS
A beam of infrared shuts off
video and/or sound for a preset period

Ä
\

HAS a television commercial ever restored. Receipt of a third infrared

made you feel like shooting your pulse before the timing interval ends will
receiver? Now you can "blow away" restore normal TV operation. Since the
commercials without destroying the TV TV receiver remains powered and in
set. The ADZAP TV Commercial Killer sync during the timing interval, the pic-
presented here employs "bullets" of in- ture returns without rolling or tearing.
frared light to kill the sound and/or pic- The transmitter is a small, self-con-
ture during an annoying advertisement. tained, battery -powered wireless unit.
The project is relatively simple and can Its companion receiver is housed in a
be connected to virtually any television small metallic enclosure that is general-
receiver with only minor work. ly positioned atop the TV set. The
When assaulted by an undesirable AD*ZAP receiver is powered by a small
commercial, the viewer points a remote wall -mount transformer and is connect-
transmitter (which can be assembled ed to the rear panel of the television
into a plastic toy pistol or a standard receiver by means of a multi -conductor
case) at a small photoelectric receiver cable of convenient length. Disconnect-
attached to the TV set and momentarily ing the ADZAP receiver from the TV set
closes a switch. The transmitter there- leaves the TV fully ready for normal
upon emits an infrared signal that si- operation.
lences the sound and causes the receiver
to start its selectable timing interval (30 About the Circuit. The schematic di-
or 60 seconds). If a second infrared sig- agrams of two versions of the ADZAP
nal is received during the timing inter- transmitter are shown in Fig.1. At A is
val, the TV picture tube is darkened. At the transmitter circuit designed for in-
the end of the interval, normal televi- stallation in a plastic enclosure approxi-
sion -receiver operation is automatically mately the size of a pack of cigarettes.

68 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
BY DIETRICH SEAMAN

The circuit shown at B is almost identi- through an optical bandpass filter that increases to a level sufficient to trigger
cal and is designed to be mounted in a attenuates much of the incident visible the Schmitt trigger-IC3A, R19, and
plastic -body six-shooter similar to the light that would otherwise affect the op- R20. The output of IC3A thus goes to
type used in some electronic target - eration of Ql. logic 1 when an infrared pulse reaches
practice games. Voltage pulses developed across the phototransistor QI. Gate IC3A, to-
When switch SI is closed, battery phototransistor are amplified 60 dB by gether with C8, R21 and R23, also acts
power is applied to the astable multivi- ac -coupled amplifiers IC1 F and ICI E. as a debouncer that generates a clean
brator comprising 555 timer ICI and as- These stages, as well as the high -Q, ac- logic pulse when manual control switch
sociated components. The multivibrator tive state -variable filter that follows SI is closed.
begins to oscillate and, when the output (ICI A, ICI B, ICI C), are part of a CD - The output of IC3A is applied to dual
pulse causes pin 3 of ICI to be low 4069 hex inverter. Although this CMOS D flip-flop IC2. This chip is wired to
(about 25% of the time), high-level cur- chip is usually employed in a nonlinear function as a _ 3 counter. The first
rent pulses flow through infrared emit- operating mode, it is used here as linear pulse applied to it causes pin of IC2A
1

ter LED1. The LED radiates bursts of amplifier inverter gates, much as low- (the Q output of the first flip-flop) to go
infrared at a rate of approximately 3.2 gain op amps. to logic 1. As a result, relay driver Q2
kHz. The exact pulse rate is determined Also employed in this fashion is unity - receives base drive from gate IC3D via
by the setting of trimmer potentiometer gain buffer amplifier IC1 D. This buffer R29 and begins to conduct. Relay KI
R2. Capacitor C3 ensures that enough supplies filtered pulses to the detector interrupts the circuit between the audio
current is available to the circuit during comprising C6, C7, DI, D2, and IC3A. output stage of the TV set and the TV
the time that LEDI is conducting. Diode DI is a biased clamper that limits loudspeaker, and SOUND OFF indicator
The schematic diagram of the AD*zAP negative excursions of ICI D's output to LEDI begins to glow. Also, the logic -1
receiver is shown in Fig. 2. Pulsed in- a level determined by the setting of output of gate IC3D is inverted by
frared from the transmitter causes pho- THRESHOLD potentiometer R16. Half- IC4A, and the output of this NAND
totransistor QI to turn on and off at wave rectifier D2 passes pulsed positive gate brings the RESET input of multi-
around 3.2 kHz. Before infrared signals dc to filter R17C7. After approximately stage counter IC5 to logic 0. The coun-
reach the phototransistor, they pass 10 milliseconds, the voltage across C7 ter then begins to tally the 60 -Hz pulses

69
1984 EDITION

www.americanradiohistory.com
ad-zap

that are derived from the ac power line,

filtered by passive network C2R34, and RI
18K
R

squared up by Schmitt trigger IC3B.

If a second pulse appears at the out- 4
LEDI
put of IC3A due to either the receipt of R2 e E311".
IOK 9V
K
another burst of infrared or a closure of Y

switch SI, the Q output of IC2A (pin 1)

returns to logic 0 and the Q output of
-- 6 ICI
NE555
,` 01
262222
47CF
IC2B (pin 13) goes to logic 1. The out- R3

put of IC3D remains at logic 1, keeping

Q2 in saturation, but Q3 begins to re-
4.7 K

.DICINT
/'j
I.UIC2NF

ceive base drive from the Q output of * SEE TEXT AND

IC2B via R26. As a result, relay K2 A PARTS LIST B

becomes energized and PICTURE OFF in- Fig. 1. Schematic diagrams of the box -style (A) and
dicator LED2 begins to glow. The relay gun -style (B) infrared transmitters.
contacts are connected to the nodes of
the television receiver's brightness -de- BOX -STYLE TRANSMITTER Note-Pushbutton switch S1 is a Pana-
termining circuit. Closure of contacts D PARTS LIST sonic No. EVO-PIR component that is
available from Digi-Key, Box 677,
and F causes the screen to darken.
Both relays remain energized until ei- 81 -9 -volt transistor battery Highway 32 South, Thief River Falls,
MN 56701.
C1 -0.01µF, 100/o tolerance Mylar capaci-
ther a third burst of infrared is received, tor
switch SI is closed, or counter IC5 has C2 -0.01-µF disc ceramic capacitor
tallied 1800 pulses for a 30 -second delay C3 -47-µF, 10 -volt radial -lead aluminum GUN -STYLE TRANSMITTER
or 3600 pulses for a 60 -second delay, electrolytic or tantalum capacitor PARTS LIST
depending on the setting of S2. If the IC1-NE555 timer
counter runs through its cycle undis- LED 1-TIL32 unlensed infrared -emitting B1 -9-volt transistor battery
turbed, it will reset itself via IC4B and diode or TIL31 or LED55C lensed in- C1 -0.01-µF, 109o -tolerance Mylar capac-
IC4A and will reset IC2A and IC2B via frared -emitting diode itor
IC4B, IC4A, and IC3C. Both relays will Q1 -2N2222 npn silicon switching transis- C2 -0.01-µF disc ceramic capacitor
tor C3 -47-µF, 10 -volt radial -lead aluminum
then be deenergized and normal televi- electrolytic or tantalum capicitor
The following, unless otherwise specified,
sion reception will be reestablished. The IC 1-NE555 timer
are 14-watt, 10°Po tolerance, carbon -com-
counting cycle can be interrupted and position fixed resistors. LED1-TIL32 infrared-emitting diode
the relay(s) deenergized at any time by R1-18 k2 The following, unless otherwise specified,
a closure of SI. Passive components C9 R2-10 kO, linear -taper horizontal pc- are 14-watt, 5% -tolerance, carbon -com-
and R24 generate a 100 -millisecond mount trimmer potentiometer position fixed resistors.
pulse when power is first applied to the R3-4.7 kO R1-18 k2
circuit. This pulse is routed to the RESET R4-33 S2 if LED is 1 a TIL32 unlenseci R2-10 -kS2, linear -taper vertical pc -mount
inputs of IC2A and IC2B via IC3C and diode, 15 S2 if LED is 1 a TIL31 or LED55C trimmer potentiometer
ensures that both flip-flops are properly lensed diode R3-4.7 kS2

R5 -1k12 R4--33 S2
initialized and the relays deenergized in S1-Spst, normally open, momentary -con- Misc.-Printed-circuit board, battery clip,
spite of any turn -on transients. tact pushbutton switch plastic -body Coleco electronic -game
Power required by the ADZAP receiv- Misc.-Mounting collar for LED 1, lens for gun with trigger -actuated switch (S1)
er is furnished by the simple supply LED I if a TIL32 device is used, printed - and lens system, solder, etc.
shown in the lower right corner of Fig. 2. circuit board, battery clip, suitable enclo- Note-The Coleco gun is available from
Unregulated dc provided by bridge rec- sure, solder, pc-board standoffs, suit- Meshna Electronics, Box 62, 19 Aller -
tifier D3 through D6 and filter capacitor able hardware, etc. ton Street, East Lynn, MA 01904.
Cll powers the relay and LED indicator
circuits. The CMOS logic ICs are pow- cabinet. Corresponding component- accidental short circuits. The ADZAP re-
ered by +5 volts regulated, which is fur- placement guides for these boards ap- ceiver circuit board must be housed in a
nished by integrated regulator IC6. This pear in Figs. 6A, 6B, 7, and 8. metallic enclosure.
particular supply voltage was chosen for Most components mount directly on Substitutions should not lightly be
the CMOS ICs because such circuits the boards or via sockets. Exceptions in- made for phototransistor Ql. For the de-
when operated in the linear mode exhib- clude phototransistor Ql, resistor RI, vice specified and the parameters of the
it higher gains at lower supply voltages. and plug-in wall transformer TI. To circuit shown in Fig. 2, the phototransis-
suppress feedback -induced oscillations, tor should function in the linear portion
Construction. The use of printed -cir- one end of RI is connected directly to of its response curve for ambient light
cuit construction techniques is recom- the base lead of Ql. The other end of RI levels of up to 50 foot-candles of incan-
mended. Suitable full-size etching and and the collector and emitter leads of Ql descent light or 150 foot-candles of day-
drilling guides for the two versions of the are connected to the appropriate pc foil light. Sensitivity of the device specified
ADZAP transmitter are shown in Figs. pads via short lengths of insulated hook- can vary over a 7:1 range. Therefore, the
3A and 3B. The receiver pattern is up wire. Similarly, LEDI and LED2 are circuit incorporates means to compen-
shown in Fig. 4. The full-size etching connected to the board with insulated sate for such sensitivity variations. For
and drilling guide of the circuit board hookup wire. example, it may be necessary to change
that accommodates relays KI and K2 It is good practice to install lengths of the value o? resistor R3 or to even substi-
and protective diodes D7 and D8 ap- spaghetti or heat -shrinkable tubing on tute another phototransistor of the same
pears in Fig. 5. This latter board should the exposed leads of all components that type. (Note that photodarlingtons have
be mounted inside the TV receiver's are mounted off the board to prevent too much gain and will, therefore, not

70 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 BIAS
R2
10K
+5V

R3
R7
220K
+5V
I^
R9 612
ISOK

RIO
.00IyF C4

RII
C5
/.00IyF

4.7K 14 39K 39K

RI R4 R6 RB
I 0M IOK IOK II 10 15K IX 3
IX

CI C3
0047sF .004711F
ICI = CD4069 IC5 = CD4040
IC2 = CD4013 IC6 = LM78L05
IC3 = CD407IB KI,K2=GUARDIAN
IC4 = CD4012 1345 -IC -12D
D2 TPI
+5V -

IN270 R13
R17
100K
C6
IyF O I OO K
I I

I I

NpF C8
471119<K
C7
IN27D0
I

PICTURE
OFF
4-V

.IyF OLED2O
+5V R28
R22 03 68011
IOOK
2N2222
SI
R16

\
R23 R21 THRESHOL R27
4711
¡/
220K 470K .NAVA
R26
4.7K
TP2
14 R31
3 +5V 02 68011
D C 2N2222
2 14

5 0
IC2A
R 9 D
IC2B
R 0 12
13 OLEDIO
SOUND
© DB
0
OFF IN4148
B1 71 61 4 110 12 R29
4.7K R30
4711

TV RECEIVER
CS LOUDSPEAKER
.IyF

R25 R24
IM IM TV
AUDIO'
OUTPUT/
+ 5V
+V
2

4-5V

4 010
IC5
R
R36
3.3M
R35
IM
R32
IM 1 1
yLC12 3
.IyF
CII
100
YF
09 012 04 05
12 I 5 3 8 R33
IM
C13
30e
5V
32A _60,

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the AD"ZAP receiver.

92B 608

RECEIVER PARTS LIST

Q1-FPT-100 phototransistor (Fairchild) T1 -12 -volt ac, 100 -mA wall -mount plug-in
C1,C3-0.0047-µF disc ceramic capacitor Q2, Q3 -2N2222 npn silicon switching transformer
C2,C1O-0.01-µF disc ceramic capacitor transistor Misc.-Printed circuit board, suitable me-
C4,C5-0.001-µF, 590 tolerance Mylar or The following, unless otherwise specified, tallic enclosure, LED mounting collars,
polystyrene capacitor are 14 -watt, 5°/o tolerance, carbon -com- grommets, infrared bandpass filter (see
C6,C7,C8,C9,C12, C13 -0.1-µF disc ce- position fixed resistors. note below), heat -shrinkable tubing,
ramic capacitor R1, R2O-10 MO hookup wire, solder, pc standoffs, suit-
C11- 100-µF, 25 -volt axial -lead aluminum R2, R16- 10-k9 linear -taper, horizontal able hardware, etc.
electrolytic pc -mount trimmer potentiometer Note 1-Pushbutton switch S1 is a Pa-
D1,D2-1N27O or equivalent germanium R3,R26,R29-4.7 kO nasonic No. EVQ-P1R component that
diode R4, R6-10 kS2 is available from Dlgi-Key, Box 677,
D3 through D6- 1N4001 rectifier R5, R7, R23-220 k52 Highway 32 South, Thief River Falls,
D7,D8-1N914 or 1N4148 silicon switch- R8-15 kO MN 56701.
ing diode R9, R12-150 kO Note 2-There are several possible
IC1-CD4069 hex inverter Rl0, R11-39 kO, 1% -tolerance, 1,4 -watt, items that can be used as an Infrared
IC2-CD4O13 dual D flip-flop metal -film bandpass filter. The author used a 1/4 -
IC3-CD4O718 quad 2 -input OR gate (de- R13, R14, R17, R22-100 kO inch circular piece of Eastman Kodak
vice must have B suffix) R15, R18, R24, R25, R32, R33, R35-1 Wratten No. 89B gelatin filter. Kodak
IC4-CD4O12 dual four -input NAND gate MO advises that a piece of unexposed but
IC5-CD4O40 12 -stage binary counter R19, R21, R34-470 kO processed Kodachrome slide film can
IC6-LM78L05 5 -volt, 100 -mA regulator R27, R30-47 O also be used, as /t blocks visible light
K1,K2-Spdt relay with 12 -volt dc, 1400 - R28, R31-680 S2 almost completely but is transparent
ohm coil (Guardian No. 1345 -1C -12D or R36-3.3 MO to infrared. Gelatin Wratten filters
equivalent) Sl-Spst, normally open, momentary -con- measuring 2 inches square are avail-
LED1-Yellow light-emitting diode tact pushbutton switch able from Eastman Kodak dealers for
LED2-Red light -emitting diode S2-Dpdt miniature slide switch approximately $5.00 each.

1984 EDITION 71

www.americanradiohistory.com
ad-zap
work.) The phototransistor should be
mounted on the front panel of the
AD'ZAP receiver's enclosure. The device
specified just fits a standard 0.200 -inch
(Jumbo) LED mounting collar. Fig. 3. Full-size
An infrared optical filter is mounted etching and drilling
in front of the phototransistor's aper- guides for the
box-style (A) and
ture. Use black silicone cement or some gun -style (B) trans-
similar opaque material to ensure that mitter pc boards.
no light can leak in behind the filter.
The two indicator LEDs can also be
mounted on the receiver enclosure's
front panel. To facilitate interconnec-
tion of the receiver circuit and relay
board, a multiconductor connector A
should be mounted on the enclosure.
For convenience, the author mounted

Fig. 4. Full-size
etching and drilling
guide for the
receiver pc board.

his relay board inside the television re- posts between the holes for the two han-
ceiver with which the ADZAP system dle screws must be cut away. This can
was to be used. If you plan to use your
system with more than one TV set, a
separate relay board can be used in
be done with a heated knife or with a
hobby power tool and its saw blade.
Also, the terminals on the rear of the
re
each. You can substitute the relays spec- trigger -actuated switch must be cut off.
ified so long as their coils are rated at 12 The necessary electrical connections be-
volts dc and have resistances of 400 tween the switch and the rest of the
ohms or more. If a .dpdt relay is em- transmitter circuit should be made by
ployed for Kl, the second set of contacts soldering suitable lengths of hookup
can be used to stop the transport of a wire directly to the switch's leaf springs.
video tape recorder during commercial Use a vise to hold the switch and then
ce)ko
o-0
messages. tin the leaf springs and the ends of the
The transmitter can be hqused in a lengths of hookup wire. Place the tinned
standard plastic enclosure or, for dra- end of each wire next to the appropriate
matic fun, a plastic six-shooter such as leaf spring and remelt the solder to form
that used by the author. The "gun," the connection. Work quickly to avoid o-o
manufactured by Coleco for use in a
game, contains a trigger -actuated
switch and a lens system. The pc board
pattern of Fig. 3B was designed for use
with this gun. Careful attention to di-
losing the temper of the springs. Finally,
make a Vs -inch hole in the plastic body
over the position occupied by trimmer
potentiometer R2 so that the circuit's
frequency of oscillation can be conve-
o o
mensions will ensure proper alignment niently adjusted.
of the LED with the lenses, giving a nar- If you prefer a more conventional
Fig. 5. Etching and drilling
row, correctly aimed beam. transmitter enclosure, you will need a guide for relay pc board.
To fit a nine -volt battery into the han- lens to focus the infrared beam. Focus-
dle of the pistol, the internal plastic ing the invisible beam is difficult. Alter -

72 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 try another FPT-100 phototransistor.
When the voltage across R3 is cor-
BI
rect, cover the filter aperture with a
totally opaque shield and adjust R2 so
that 0.25 volt appears across R3. Then
remove the opaque shield.
Fig. 6. Parts placement Next, turn R16 fully counterclock-
guides for the box -style wise and check the voltage at TP2. This
(A) and gun -style (B) should be 0 volt. Slowly turn R16 clock-
infrared transmitters. wise. At some point, TP2 should sud-
denly go to +5 volts. When this hap-
pens, back R16 off and stop just past the
point at which TP2 returns to 0 volt.
Depress switch SI momentarily and ver-
BI
SI
ify that TPI goes to +5 volts with Sl
closed and returns to 0 volt when it is
A B

R3

C
01
Fig. 7. Parts placement
E
guide for the AD*ZAP
infrared receiver
TPI printed circuit board.

TI

natively, you can use a Texas Instru- opened; if TP2 fails to return to 0 volt
ments TIL31 or General Electric when Si is released, turn R16 a bit fur-
LED55C infrared -emitting diode. These ther counterclockwise.
include internal reflectors and glass Finally, to set the frequency of the
lenses and mount in standard 0.200 -inch transmitter's astable multivibrator to
LED mounting collars. They also toler- match the receiver's filter passband,
ate larger forward currents, allowing re- connect an ac voltmeter or oscilloscope
duction of the value of R4 in the trans- between TPI and ground. Have a friend
mitter to 15 ohms. Pass transistor QI monitor the voltage reading while you
and base resistor R5 in the circuit of stand several feet away and "fire" the
Fig. lA allow switch Si to be a light - transmitter at the receiver's infrared fil-
action, low -current keyboard switch. ter. Hold the transmitter switch Si so
that a continuous infrared output is gen-
Adjustment. After the receiver and erated. (With a pistol transmitter, pull
transmitter have been assembled, plug the hammer back all the way and hold
Ti into a wall socket. With the top of it.) Adjust transmitter trimmer potenti-
the receiver enclosure removed, monitor ometer R2 for a maximum voltage read-
the voltage across resistor R3 with a ing on the test instrument.
high -impedance multimeter. Place an Place the top on the receiver enclo-
unshaded, lighted 60-watt light bulb two sure and secure it in place. Connect the
*SEE TEXT relay board to the rest of the receiver
feet away from the filter that shields
erstAri phototransistor Ql, and set the wiper of circuit and, if necessary, button up the
Fig. 8. Component placement trimmer potentiometer R2 fully coun- transmitter enclosure. Making certain
guide for the relay pc board. terclockwise. The voltage across R3 that the receiver is getting operating
should be 2.5 ± 0.5 V. If necessary, power, aim the transmitter at the receiv-
change the value of R3 to obtain this er's infrared filter. When transmitter
reading. Should this prove impossible, switch Si is closed momentarily, relay

1984 EDITION 73
ad-zap
PARTS AND KIT AVAILABILITY
The following are available from
Videomega, 2715 N.E. 14th Avenue, Port-
land, OR 97212. Prices do not include
shipping and handling charges ($2 per or-
der). Kits of all components for one trans-
mitter, receiver, and relay board, enclo-
sures, and a nine -volt battery for the trans-
mitters: complete kit for AD*ZAP system
employing gun -style transmitter (limited
quantities available). No. KZ -S, for $69.00;
complete kit for AD*ZAP system employ-
ing box-style transmitter, No. KZ -T, for
$69.00; complete kit for AD*ZAP system
capable of controlling VTR pause circuit,
employing gun -style transmitter, and in-
Photograph of the author's prototype box -style transmitter. cluding VTR control cable (limited quanti-
ties available) No., KZ -SV, for $79.00;
complete kit for AD*ZAP system capable
of controlling VTR pause circuit, employ-
INSTALLATION WHEN SCREEN CAN'T BE DARKENED ing box -style transmitter, and including
VTR control cable, No. KZ -TV, for $79.00.
Here are possible ways of darkening the method, the Sony 9000U the second.
screen even if it doesn't go fully to black In the Sony, the bias voltage of the v
Individual kits for additional receivers,
when the BRIGHTNESS control is at mini- DRIVE amplifier is mixed with the video sig-
transmitters, and relay boards are also
mum. First, you will need a schematic of nal. The video signal is positive, that is, available. Write for prices.
the television receiver. (If one was not sup- white is more positive than black. Blanking Drilled, solder -plated and silk-screened
plied with the receiver or is not available the screen can therefore be accomplished (component -placement legend) printed -
from the manufacturer, try the Sama by bringing the base of they DRIVE stage to
circuit boards are also available separate-
ly: Set of boards for receiver, relay circuit,
Fotofact series of publications.) Next, you ground, either directly or by opening the
will have to determine how,the brightness path between the voltage divider that sets and gun -style transmitter, No. AZ -S, for
$16.00; set of boards for receiver, relay cir-
of the CRT is controlled, and how the the bias and the low -voltage supply from
range of the BRIGHTNESS potentiometer is which the bias is derived. In the Sharp re- cuit, and box -style transmitter, No. AZ -T,
for $16,00; set of boards for receiver, relay
affected by the "one -button" color preset, ceiver, the "one -button" color-preset
if any. switch selects between the BRIGHTNESS and VTR pause -control circuits, and gun -
style transmitter, No. AZ -SV for $16.00;
Several methods of brightness control control and a screwdriver adjustable trim-
set of boards for receiver, relay and VTR
are common; the simplest is found in many mer potentiometer that is preset at the fac-
vintage color receivers and in many con- tory. Both the front -panel BRIGHTNESS con- pause -control circuits, and box -style
trol and the trimmer have range -limiting transmitter No. AZ -TV, for $16.00; receiver
temporary monochrome models. (Figure 9
board only, No. AZ -A for $7.50.
is typical.) The video signal is capacitively series resistors that prevent them from
coupled to the cathode of the picture tube, cutting off the CRT totally. Blanking can be
and the BRIGHTNESS potentiometer controls achieved by having the relay disconnect
the dc bias voltage that sets the average the ends of the front -panel and trimmer Kl should pull in and LEDI glow. When
beam current. The lower the bias voltage, potentiometers that are tied together from transmitter switch SI is closed a second
the higher the beam current and the the source of the low voltage which sup- time, K2 and LED2 should do likewise.
brighter the picture. Resistor R34 limits the plies them. At the end of the interval determined by
beam current to a maximum value. In some sets, the "one -button" color
the setting of receiver switch S2, both
Brightness -control circuits of this type preset leaves the front -panel BRIGHTNESS
control in the circuit, but restricts its effec-
relays should drop out and both LEDs
almost always are able to send the CRT
well past cutoff (screen completely dark). tive range. One receiver that uses such a darken. If SI is closed a third time
If you have a color receiver that employs a circuit is Toshiba's Model C345, chassis before the receiver times out, this too
similar circuit (the partial schematic illus- TAC -9310. The base of the fourth video should de -energize the relays and LEDs.
trated is of a General Electric HB color amplifier is biased through a fixed resistor Closure of receiver switch Si should ini-
chassis), note that the red, green and blue by a voltage divider composed of a fixed tiate the timing sequence or, if it has
SCREEN controls interact with the BRIGHT- resistor and the BRIGHTNESS control, one already begun, interrupt it.
NESS control. While a video signal is being end of which receives positive voltage via
received, try adjusting the SCREEN controls a SUB -BRIGHTNESS control. This latter con-
trol limits CRT brightness.
Modifying the TV Receiver. If con-
for cutoff with the BRIGHTNESS control at its
minimum setting. Then if the CRT image is When the receiver's "one -button" color trol of only the audio output of the tele-
too dim when the BRIGHTNESS control is ad- preset is engaged, a fixed resistor is vision is desired the AD*ZAP system can
vanced to its maximum setting (this will placed in parallel with the front -panel be used with any TV set and installation
rarely be the case), make the value of R34 BRIGHTNESS control. This restricts the ef- procedure is simple. However, achieving
half as large. Check to see that the high fective range of the control to its upper control of both sound and picture may
voltage is at its specified value before half. To have AD*ZAP totally darken the be somewhat more difficult, depending
making a substitution for R34. screen, relay K2 can be wired either to on the TV set used. Two simple tests will
The more usual approach to brightness ground the wiper of the SUB -BRIGHTNESS tell you how much of a problem it will be
control in today's solid-state receivers is to control or connect a fixed resistance of ap-
to obtain picture control. If the CRT
vary the dc bias at the input of one of the proximately 5000 ohms between the base
of the fourth video amplifier and ground. screen goes completely black when the
video amplifiers. Video is either dc or ac-
The use of such a resistor rather than a di- BRIGHTNESS control is at minimum, in-
coupled (or a combination of the two) into
the stage, and is sometimes clamped to rect short to ground prevents the total loss stallation will be easy. Alternatively, if
the bias voltage during the blanking inter- of the demodulated video signal, which the receiver has a "one -button" color
val. The BRIGHTNESS potentiometer can be would also disable the sync circuits. This preset, and the screen goes completely
wired into the circuit either as a voltage di- way, when K2 is deenergized, the picture dark when the preset is engaged and the
vider (as a three -terminal device) or as a returns instantly-in sync and with no roll- BRIGHTNESS control is at minimum, in-
variable resistor (a two -terminal device). In ing or tearing. The relay pc board includes stallation is again not complicated.
the latter case, the potentiometer is only provisions for such a resistor (R) at point
However, if the screen cannot be wholly
part of a voltage -dividing network. The D*.
"blackened," installation will be more
Sharp Model XR-2194 typifies the first
74 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 GREEN BLUE RED

+220V 6
LLt
+175V
+175V
175V
14
7

2
- r
+ 600V I

R2 +570V 13
BRIGHTNESS -J- +530V
+ 270V +130V +270V
C98 R113
C99 -L
CI00

Fig. 9. Partial schematic of a

General Electric HB-chassis
//
SPARKt
GAP
SPARK
GAP
/7
SPARK
GAP
color television receiver.
Potentiometer R2 functions as
a BRIGHTNESS control by
R7B
determining CRT cathode bias. GREEN /RI14 R1151
SCREEN

VINN
R7A
BLUE
SCREEN
i
R7C
REO
+27OV SCREEN +670V

troublesome, as detailed in a boxed sec- tach the wire connected to the center lug dio, disconnect one of the two output
tion on the opposite page. of the BRIGHTNESS control and connect leads from the loudspeaker and connect
Here's the procedure that should be it to point D on the relay printed circuit it to point H on the relay circuit board.
followed if test results are positive. Be- board. The free ends of the wires from If necessary, extend the length of this
gin by removing the rear panel of the points E and F on the relay board should lead by splicing on a piece of hookup
TV receiver (which should also remove be soldered to the center and left lugs, wire. Solder the splice and insulate it
ac power through the interlock) to gain respectively, as seen from the rear of the using PVC electrical tape or heat -
access to the BRIGHTNESS control. De - BRIGHTNESS control. To control the au - shrinkable tubing. Then attach one end
of suitable length of hookup wire to the
free speaker lug, and the other end to
point G on the relay circuit board. The
relay board can be mounted inside the
television cabinet using either screws
and standoffs or two or three layers of
Photograph shows
construction
double -sided adhesive foam tape.
details of the
prototype AD*ZAP Using AD'ZAP. Although the receiv-
infrared receiver. er module includes an infrared filter,
high levels of ambient light can affect
phototransistor Ql. Therefore, avoid il-
luminating the sensor with bright sun-
light, and keep incandescent lamps sev-
eral feet away. The on -axis range of the
six-shooter transmitter is more than 35
feet. That of the box -style transmitter is
more than 20 feet. Because of its more
diffuse radiation, the box -style transmit-
ter need not be critically aimed.
Receiver switch SI should be set to
provide the desired delay interval. The
Photograph of the growing use of 30 -second commercial
Coleco surplus messages on television prompted the in-
plastic pistol
modified by the
clusion of the switch. A few hour's at-
author for use tentive viewing of TV programs and
as a transmitter. commercials will enable you to judge
which delay interval is more useful. To
be certain not to miss any desired pro-
gram material, you may want to avoid
darkening the picture, at least at first. 0
1984 EDITION 75

www.americanradiohistory.com
BLD the flash unit whose sync contacts are
connected to jack JI. Simultaneously,

T DOOR VA\'S the timing circuit resets itself by

means of R6 to prepare for the next
triggering light pulse. Power for the
circuit is provided by a 9 -volt alkaline
battery via switch SI. Quiescent cur-

STROBE rent drain is approximately mA, so

1

long battery life can be expected.

The delay between the arrival of
the triggering light pulse and the ac-
Inexpensive circuitry allows timed, tuation of the secondary flash can be
varied from approximately 0.1 to 1

sequential flashes for multiple second. For shorter delays, the value
of Cl can be reduced to 0.1 µF. If this
photographic exposures is done and R3 is set for minimum
of moving subjects resistance, the delay is so short that
the attached flash unit can be used as
a simple slave. Light from the slave
will reinforce that from the camera -
BY IMRE GORGENYI' triggered unit and will yield brighter
or more diffuse lighting of the subject.
Of course, a number of basic Poor
STROBOSCOPIC photography, The Basic Poor Man's Strobe. Man's Strobes can be built and each
which exposes a single frame with The circuit (Fig. I) triggers a flash one adjusted for a different delay time
light from a sequence of timed unit at a predetermined time after the to produce multiple images on a single
flashes, is an interesting way to cap- receipt of a light pulse from another emulsion.
ture a moving subject on film. The flash unit actuated by the camera's
result is a series of still images that flash -sync output. A portion of the Other Circuits. The slave -trigger
catch the subject in successive posi- light from the camera -triggered flash circuit in Fig. 2 has practically no de-
tions along its path, clearly suggesting falls on the window of phototransistor lay at all. It is therefore suitable for
motion. Stroboscopic photographs of QI, which briefly conducts. The re- situations in which the slight delay in-
a gymnast working out appear on the sulting negative voltage pulse at the troduced by the timing circuit of the
cover of this issue. collector of QI triggers the timing cir- PMS would cause an undesirable sec-
Unfortunately for shutterbugs, cuit comprising CI, R2 through R6, ond image or smearing. This circuit
commercial equipment for strobo- and Q2. has two unusual characteristics-it is
scopic photography is high in price. At the end of the timing interval, not triggered by steady-state ambient
There are, however, circuits designed whose duration is adjustable by light, and it derives its modest operat-
around readily available, inexpensive means of potentiometer R3, Q3 and ing power from the flash to which it is
components that are easily built and its associated passive components gen- connected.
will enable amateur photographers to erate a positive voltage pulse and cou- Although ambient light would tend
experiment with the technique. ple it to the gate of SCR1. The SCR to cause phototransistor Q1 to con-
breaks into conduction and triggers duct, inductor LI prevents this from
*Motorola Semiconductor Group
happening. Upon receipt of a light
pulse, however, a voltage is set up
across the inductor and the base-emit-
ter junction of the phototransistor,
and the device briefly conducts. This
in turn forward -biases the base-emit-
ter junction of switching transistor
Q2, and a positive voltage appears
across R12. The SCR breaks into con-
duction and triggers the flash unit
whose sync contacts are connected to
jack JI. A manual trigger switch (S1)
is wired in parallel with SCR1. Power
for Q1 and Q2 is derived from the
flash unit by means of voltage divider
R3R4 and storage capacitor Cl,
which is wired in parallel with the R3
leg of the voltage divider. The circuit's
power requirements are so modest
that almost any flash unit can easily
satisfy them.
The circuit shown in Fig. 3 is a
sequential flash trigger that can ac -

76 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
- BI
9V
33K
R2
10K

DELAY
02
MPSA20
R4
I0K
R7
10 33
MPSA20

FLASH
B1
C1- 10-µF,
PARTS LIST

-9 -volt alkaline battery

16-V tantalum capacitor
CI R3 R8 C2 -0.001-µF, 50-V disc ceramic capaci-
IOyF 50K 33K
tor
C2 J1-Suitable jack (chosen to match the
0.001yF plug of the flash unit's sync extension
01
2N5780H
SORI.
2N5064 I cord)
2N57808
Q 1-2N5780H npn silicon phototransistor
02,Q3-MPSA20 npn silicon transistor
R 1,R8,R 10 -33
-kit, 1/4-W, 100/o resistor
R2,R4,R7-10-k2, 14-W, 10% resistor
R9 RIO
33K
R3-50-ki2, linear -taper potentiometer
2701/ 4.7K
S1-Spst switch
LR5 SCR 1-2N5064 or similar silicon con-
trolled rectifier (minimum voltage rating,
200 volts)
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram (above) of the basic Poor Man's Strobe.
Misc.-Perforated board, battery holder,
Below, a photograph of the author's prototype. The large control
battery clips, sync extension cord, con-
trol knob, suitable enclosure, hookup
knob determines delay between trigger pulse and actuation of flash.
wire, solder, hardware, etc.

LEDI , and the LED will glow more

brightly to indicate that the slope of
the ramp will be steep and the flash
sequence rapid. The total duration of
the flash sequence can be adjusted
from approximately 50 milliseconds
to 3 seconds.
The monostable multivibrator com-
prising QI, Q2 and associated passive
components performs two functions.
First, it triggers SCRI when the cam-
era's sync contacts close. Then, after
three seconds, it resets the rest of the
circuit to prepare for the next flash
controlled by the setting of SPEED po- sequence. When switch S2 is in posi-
tentiometer R9. The lower the tion 2, the initial pulse across RI is
tuate as many as five flash units. resistance of R9, the greater the out- simultaneously applied to the gates of
These units will be triggered at equal put of the constant -current source. SCRI through SCRS, triggering all
intervals after the camera's sync con- Thus, more current will flow through the flash units simultaneously. Power
tacts close. The circuit functions as
follows: when the sync contacts close, R4
transistor Q3 cuts off and capacitor 4.7 M

C2 begins to receive charging current R3 ICI

from the constant -current source 470K mO.lyF
comprising Q4, Q5, and their asso-
ciated passive components. The ramp
7 SCRI
2N5064 MANUAL
TRIGGER
JI
/J I SLAVÉ (r
voltage that appears across the capac- FLASH

itor is coupled to position 1 of switch

S2 by Darlington emitter follower Q6.
If S2 is in position 1, the ramp voltage tl p100yH
is applied to the gates of SCR2, II
SCR3, SCR4, and SCR5 through a
series of voltage dividers. The gate of Fig. 2. Circuit for a slave -flash trigger that
SCRI receives a separate voltage is not affected by steady-state ambient light.
pulse via a different circuit path al-
most immediately after the camera's R 1,R2 -12
-kit, "4-W, 10% resistor
sync contacts close. PARTS LIST R3 -470 -kit, l/4 -W, 10°í0 resistor
As the ramp voltage at the pole of R4 -4.7-M12, 1i4 -W, 10% resistor
S2 increases in amplitude, SCR2, C1 -0.1-µF, 250-V Mylar capacitor S 1-Normally open, momentary -contact
SCR3, SCR4, and SCRS successively J1-Suitable jack (chosen to match the pushbutton switch
break into conduction and trigger the plug of the slave flash unit's sync exten- SCR1-2N5064 or similar silicon con-
sion cord) trolled rectifier (minimum 200 -volt rating)
flash units to whose sync contacts
they are connected. The rate at which
L1- 100-µH choke Misc.-Perforated board, sync extension
Q1-2N5780H npn silicon phototransistor cord, suitable enclosure, hookup wire,
the SCRs fire is determined by the Q2-MPSA70 pnp silicon transistor solder, hardware, etc.
slope of the ramp, which is ultimately

1984 EDITION 77

www.americanradiohistory.com
-
SI
R9
+ IK
DI SPEED
BI 11
9V 1N4001 04 Fig. 3. At left is the schematic
PS3096 of a sequential flash -trigger
Ji RIO
CAMERA 10015 unit that can control up to
SyNC
five flash units.
05
MPS3096

06
MPSA13
J2 J3 J4 J5 J6
FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH
#I #2 *3 #4 #5

R2 R6 S2
100K 22K O

RI3 RIS 517 R19

LEDI
i1
_2
6.8K 12K 22K 30K

509F RII SORI_ SCR2 SCR3_ SCR4 SCRS

27K

/RI R12 814 RIG R18 R20

6.2K 120K 8.2K 51K 27K 2.2 K 2.2K 2.2K 2.2K

PARTS LIST

B1 -9
-volt akaline battery The following, unless otherwise specified, R14,R16,R18,R20-2.2 kO
C 1-20-µF, 25-V aluminum electrolytic are 1f4-W, 10% tolerance, carbon-composi- R15-12 kt2
C2 -50-µF, 25-V aluminum electrolytic tion fixed resistors R19-30 kt2
D1- N4001 rectifier
1 R1,R5-6.2 kt2 S 1-Spst switch
J1-Suitable jack (to match the plug of the R2-100 kt2 S2-Spdt switch
camera's sync extension cord) R3-120 kt2 SCR1 through SCR5-2N5064 or similar
J2 through J6-Suitable jacks to match R4-8.2 kt2 silicon controlled rectifier (minimum volt-
the plugs of the sync extension cords for R6,R17-22 k52 age rating, 200 volts)
Flash #1 through Flash #5) R7-51 kt2 Misc.-Perforated board, sync extension
LED 1-Light-emitting diode R8,R 10-100 0, 1'2 -watt cords, suitable enclosure, battery hold-
Q1,Q2,Q4,Q5-MPS3096 pnp silicon R9- 1-k12, linear -taper potentiometer er, battery clips, control knob, hookup
switching transistor R11,R12-27 kt2 wire, LED mounting collar, solder, hard-
Q3-MPS3094 npn silicon transistor R13-6.8 k52 ware, etc.
06-MPSA13 npn silicon transistor

for the circuit is supplied by 9 -volt

alkaline battery BI via switch SI.
Another sequential flash trigger
circuit is shown schematically in Fig.
4. Here, the trigger pulse from the
camera's sync contacts enables uni -
junction transistor QI to generate
clock pulses that drive CMOS decade
counter/decoder ICI. The rate at
which clock pulses are generated is
determined by the position of rotary
switch S3, which selects one of five
RC timing networks (R22C3 through
R26C7). The gate of SCRI is driven
by the output pulses of the UJT, but
the gates of the other SCRs are driven
by various of the counter's decoded
output lines. Switch SI allows the
user to determine whether the gate of
SCRS will be driven by the Q4 or Q6
output line of the counter-that is,
Photo of the prototype sequential flash -trigger unit. whether the flash unit connected to

EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
78
 Q5
2N4871 RII N.C.
22011
II 31 61 91 111121

CI
205F O 16
VD0 QI OOD
03
MPSA20 CLOCK
R6 RIO ICI
51K 3.3 K
MAMM
5
RESET 03 ®
1
R4

RI /R2 R3
TOOK

R5 R7 R9
13 CLOCK
ENABLE 04
)0 O
6.2K 6.2K 220K 8.2K 12K 20011 C2
1009F
8
VSS Qs
CAMERA J2 J3 J4 J5 J6
SYNC FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH
#2 #4 #5
f1 +15V
S2
S
/R20
IK
R23 R24 R25 R26
18K 510K 510K 220K
R18
IK

11716
IK C3 C4 C5
0.1 IyF 15F
R14 yF
IK

SCRI SCR2 SCR3 SCR4

R12
IK
805sFi2053_ 20053

R13 RIS RI7 R19 R21

Us. 350
3.3K 3.3K 3.3K 3.3K 3.3K S3
ICI=MC14017
SCRI-SCR5= 2N5064

Fig. 4. Another sequential flash -trigger unit. This circuit

employs a UJT clock and a CMOS decade counter/decoder.

PARTS LIST
C1 -20-µF, 25-V aluminum electrolytic Q5 -2N4871 unijunction transistor R22,R23-18 kO
C2 -100-µF, 25-V aluminum electrolytic The following, unless otherwise specified, R24,R25-510 kO
C3 -0.1-µF, 50-V Mylar capacitor are 1/4-W, 100/0 tolerance, carbon-composi- R26-220 k12
C4,C5-1-µF, 25-V tantalum capacitor tion fixed resistors. S 1-Spdt switch
C6 -2-µF, 25-V tantalum capacitor R1,R2-6.2 k12 S2-Spst switch
C7 -5-µF, 25-V tantalum capacitor R3,R26-220 k12 S3-Single pole, 5 -position nonshorting ro-
ICI-MC14017 decade counter/decoder R4-100 k12 tary switch
J1-Suitable jack (to match the plug of the R5-8.2 kit SCR1 through SCR5-2N5064 or similar
camera's sync extension cord) R6,R8-51 k12 silicon controlled rectifier (minimum 200 -
J2 through J6-Suitable jacks (to match R7-121(12 volt rating)
the plugs of the sync extension cords for R9-20012 Misc.-+ 15 -volt power supply or battery,
Flash #1 through Flash #5) R10,R13,R15,R17,R19,R21-3.3 k12 perforated board, sync extension cords,
Q1,Q2-MPSA70 pnp silicon transistor R11-22012 suitable enclosure, IC socket, control
Q3,04-MPSA20 npn silicon transistor R12,R14,R16,R18,R20-1 k12 knob, hookup wire, solder, hardware, etc.

jack J6 will fire at the fifth or seventh perforated board and point-to-point with most flash units on the market.
clock pulse. As in the circuit of Fig.3, wiring. However, printed -circuit con- However, if you intend to use a flash
a monostable multivibrator built struction can also be used. Type unit that impresses more than 150
around Q1 and Q2 resets the circuit to 2N5064 silicon controlled rectifiers volts or so across its sync terminals, an
prepare for the next flash sequence. are specified for each of the circuits SCR with a greater peak blocking
Power for the circuit is provided by a that have been described. These de- voltage rating will have to be used.
+15 -volt supply (not shown) via vices have TO -92 plastic packages Circuit layout is not critical, and
switch S2. and are rated at 200 volts peak block- the projects can be housed in any con-
ing voltage, 200 µA gate trigger cur- venient enclosures. The various input
Construction. The prototype Poor rent, and 6 amperes peak forward and output jacks should be selected to
Man's Strobes were assembled using surge current. They are compatible match the plugs of the sync extension

1984 EDITION 79
cords that your photographic gear
employs. Photographs of the proto-
types whose circuits are shown in
Figs. 1 and 3 appear with the respec-
tive diagrams. In the circuits of Figs.
COMMERCIAL
1, 3 and 4, the use of alkaline cells will
extend battery life. Be sure to observe
standard CMOS handling procedures
KILLER
for ICI of Fig. 4 and to use an IC
socket to mount it. OR A
Using the Poor Man's Strobes.
As with any photographic hardware, a
C OC< RADO
good deal of experimentation is re-
quired to learn how to use the Poor Low-cost system cuts off the audio on cue
Man's Strobes for the best results.
Start with two flash units in an un- from the listener and restores it after one minute
lit room with dark walls or wall cover-
ings. If you are using the circuit BY HERBERT L. BRESNICK
shown in Fig. 1, connect one flash to
the camera's sync contacts and the
other to jack JI. If you are using one DID you ever wish you could loudspeaker, squelch the audio. After
of the circuits shown in Figs. 3 and 4, eliminate radio commercials one minute (as set by CI and RI), pin
connect one flash unit to J2 and the and TV commercial sound? My clock 3 goes low releasing the relay and
other to J3. Run a sync extension cord radio, tuned to the local news station, restoring the audio-just in time for
from the camera to input jack JI. is set for 6:00 a.m. This means 5 min- resumption of the broadcast.
Place your camera in its "B" (bulb) utes of news interspersed with 5 min- The circuit is easily wired, point-to-
exposure mode and either set the ob- utes of commercials, and I find few point on a 2" x 2" piece of perf board.
ject to be photographed in motion or things worse than listening to soap or Supply voltage (9 to 12 volts) is
direct your model to move around the laxative jingles at that hour! Fortu- tapped from the radio or TV at any
room. Trip the shutter and hold it nately, most commercials are exactly convenient point, and one speaker
open. One flash will fire immediately, one minute long-which makes them lead is placed in series with the relay
and the other will be triggered after a not too hard to silence. contacts. It is recommended that a re-
delay. Release the shutter after the Basically, the system cuts off the sistor be placed across the two leads
second flash has fired. audio on cue from the listener and that normally feed the speaker, as
This first trial should be a "dry uses a one -minute delay circuit to re- most power circuits do not like to be
run" with no film in the camera. Your store it-presumably after the com- left unloaded. A 10- or 20 -ohm resis-
eyes will register the strobed images. mercial is over. Figure shows the
1 tor will do fine. Wrap the board with
Repeat the experiment several times, schematic diagram of the system, tape to protect the wiring and position
varying the delay between the trigger- which uses about $3.00 worth of it in a convenient space inside the
ing of the two flash units and the rate parts, depending upon the size and receiver. The trigger wires can be
at which the object or model is mov- condition of your parts junkbox. brought out through the rear of the
ing. If you have built several of the Here's how it works: As soon as the set, and connected to a pushbutton
basic Poor Man's Strobes or one of commercial starts, push switch SI switch that can be placed at any con-
the sequential trigger circuits shown momentarily. This triggers ICI, a 555 venient location.
in Figs. 3 and 4, add more flash units IC timer chip, wired as a monostable. Adding the "commercial killer" to
to see how multiple -flash stroboscopic Triggering forces pin 3 of the IC high, my radio, has restored my sanity, and
photographs will look. operating relay Kl, which pulls in, I'm able to face the morning shower,
Next, determine a sequence of con- opening its normally closed contacts. my wife, and the world with a smile.
necting the flash units to the output These contacts, in series with the It may do as well for you. 0
jacks and applying power that does
not result in inadvertent triggering of TO +V RADIO
the units. The proper procedure might PARTS LIST
be as follows: apply power to the Poor
Man's Strobe; connect the flash units C1 -30-µF, 15-V capacitor
to it; and finally apply power to the C2 -0.01-µF, disc capacitor
flash units. IC1-555 timer
Once you have acquired a feel for
K1 -9
-to -12-V, reed relay
R 1-1-M S2 trimpot
the Poor Man's Strobe, you can take SI R2-680 S2, resistor
ß/2-W
real pictures. Here again experimen- R3 -10 -to -2012,resistor
1'2-W
tation is needed. Vary the positions of S1-Momentary-contact pushbutton
the flash units, use different levels of switch
light output, and for color work place Misc.-Perf board, wire, solder, etc.
different color filters on each flash
unit. With a bit of experience, you'll RADIO
be able to turn out interesting and un- SPEAKER

usual photographs that are as much Fig. 1. Duration of silencer period

fun to display as they are to take. 0 is set by R1 and C 1.

80 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
CA\CEL RV3LE
WJH THS
BASS-SUMMING
AMPLIFIER
Versatile project can also be used as an
electronic crossover for a subwoofer power amp.

BY JOHN H. DAVIS

THE presence of deep bass in the significant to human beings.. Psycho - distinguishable from the original-
output of an audio system adds a acoustic studies indicate that bass lo- except for the lack of rumble compo-
satisfying "floor" to reproduced pro- calization is mostly a function of at- nents. Because the operation of ICI A
gram material. However, designing a tack transients and overtones. and ICI D involves phase inversion,
system to reproduce low frequencies To verify that bass summing will IC2B and IC2D perform an additional
well heightens the probability that attenuate rumble, play a silent groove compensating inversion.
rumble will make itself disconcerting- on a vinyl disc and increase the vol- The performance of the project in
ly apparent. Presented here is the ume until the rumble can readily be the rumble -suppressing mode is
Bass Summing Amplifier, a project heard. Then switch your amplifier or summarized by the graphs of Fig. 2.
that can attenuate rumble without ad- preamplifier to its monaural mode. If The heavy curve shows the extent to
versely affecting the low -frequency your left and right channels are bal- which low -frequency difference infor-
content or the high -frequency separa- anced and in proper phase, you will mation is cancelled when the low-pass
tion of a phonograph disc. It can also hear a drop in the rumble level. filters have cutoff frequencies of 220
be used as an electronic crossover that Hz. The lighter -weight curve shows
sums the extreme bass to feed a sub - About the Circuit. A schematic of the extent to which channel separa-
woofer power amplifier. The Ampli- the Bass Summing Amplifier appears tion is maintained as a function of fre-
fier is easily and inexpensively con- in Fig 1. Line -level stereo inputs are quency. Two dashed curves show the
structed and requires no critical com- applied to jacks JI and J2. Unity -gain measured separation available from
ponents or adjustments. inverters ICI A and ICI D shift the modestly priced and premium phono
Rumble is low -frequency noise that phase of the input signals by 180 ° . cartridges. These latter curves
is generated by phonograph recording However, the unity -gain, low-pass fil- demonstrate that, above bass frequen-
and playback equipment. High-pass ters comprising ICI B, ICI C and their cies, the project does not adversely af-
filtering can attenuate subsonic noise associated passive devices do not ap- fect realizable separation.
to a large extent, but it can't suppress preciably alter the phase of those A monaural signal that can be used
audible rumble without also removing components of the input signals below to drive a subwoofer power amplifier
some desired bass content. their cutoff frequencies. If the outputs is available at the output of IC2C.
Most of the rumble entering a of ICI A and ICI B and those of ICI C This filtered and summed bass signal
phono cartridge does so as vertical and ICI D are combined, the low fre- is in phase with respect to the bass
modulation that results in out -of - quencies will cancel, leaving inverted components of the stereo input sig-
phase electrical signals at the phono midrange -and -treble stereo signals. nals. However, in this application, re-
cartridge's outputs. If these low -fre- If the bass outputs of ICIB and sistors R17 and R19 must be deleted
quency out -of-phase signals are com- ICI C are combined, a composite, so that the summed bass is not also
bined, they will cancel each other. summed bass signal results. This present in the stereo outputs. Accord-
Since recordings contain little or no summed bass contains all of the in - ingly, the stereo system handles only
out -of-phase, low -frequency informa- phase information but no difference the upper bass, midrange, and high
tion, low -frequency summation does information. If this composite bass is frequencies, Figure 3 shows the low-
not appreciably degrade the program recombined with the middle -and - pass -filter response that characterizes
material. What little bass separation high -frequency stereo signals, the re- the output presented at J4 for a cutoff
exists and is recorded is not audibly sulting stereo outputs are almost in- frequency of 110 Hz. The stereo out -

1984 EDITION 81

www.americanradiohistory.com
bass-summing amplifier
JI
LEF T
INPUT

RI
5K

R5 R15
IOOK IOOK

RI6 J3
C5
1001<
105F LEFT
OUTPUT

2
R25
100K
RI7
SIA R6 RII R14 IOOK R24
IOOK IOOK IOOK
C2

R23 J4
IOOK SUBWOOF ER
OUTPUT
C3 RI2
IOOK C6
15V 255F
R26
R19 100K
IOOK R22
SIB R7 I00K
IOOK
C4 RIO R20 J5
IOOK C7 RIGHT
OO K
RB I

IOyF OUTPUT
I00K
J2
RIGHT R21
INPUT + 15V
IOOK R27
IOOK
R9
IOOK
R2 CI-C4 -SEE TABLE I
5K ICI, 1C2 TL074CN
-15V +17V

+15V
S2 R28
6811
C8 CIO C12
1000,5 F 10005F .15F

117
VAC
FI C9 CII CI3
I/4A 1000yF 12,ñ 10005F .15F
-I 5V

PARTS LIST
Components denoted by an asterisk can C22* -0.001-µF, 100-V Mylar capacitor R45*,R46*,R47*-68C 4
be deleted if the optional, dynamic sepa- D1*,D2*,D3*-1N300 silicon switching RECT1-1-A, 100-PIV modular bridge rec-
ration indicator is not to be built. diode tifier
C1,C2,C3,C4-Metallized polyester, met- D4* -1N4001 rectifier S 1-Dpdt switch
allized Mylar, monolithic ceramic or poly- F1 -1/4 -ampere fast -blow fuse S2-Spst switch
styrene capacitor, 10% or closer toler- IC1,IC2,1C3*-TL074CN quad BiFET oper- T1 -24-V, 300 -mA, center -tapped step-
ance (see Table for capacitance)
I ational amplifier down transformer
C5,C7-10-µF, 50-V, axial -lead, nonpolar- IC4*-LM324N quad operational amplifier Misc.-Printed-circuit board, standoffs,
ized electrolytic J1 through J5-RCA phono jack suitable enclosure, fuseholder, line cord,
C6 -25-µF, 50-V, axial -lead, nonpolarized LED1*-Red light -emitting diode shielded cable, hookup wire, suitable
electrolytic LED2*,LED3*-Green light -emitting diode hardware, strain relief, solder, etc.
C8,C9,C20*-1000-µF, 25-V, radial -lead The following, unless otherwise specified, Note: A partial kit of parts, No. BPKA, in-
electrolytic are 1/4 -watt, 5% tolerance, carbon -film cluding etched and drilled printed -
C 10,C 1 1-1000-µF, 25-V, radial -lead fixed resistors. circuit board, matched Cl through C4
electrolytic R1,R2-15 kO capacitors, and set of preselected R3
C12,C13-0.1-µF, 50-V disc ceramic ca- R3 through R27, R30* through R35*, R41*, through R22 resistors, is available for
pacitor R42* -100 k12 (see text for recom- $13.95 postpaid in U.S. (Georgia resi-
C14*,C15*-0.033-µF, 100-V Mylar ca- mended preselection procedure) dents, please add state and local
pacitor R28,R29-6812, lie -watt sales tax.) from Roland Electronics,
C16*,C17*-0.33-µF, 35-V tantalum ca- R36*,R37*,R44*-22 12, "2 -watt P.O. Box 516, Greenville, GA 30222.
pacitor R38* -330 k12
C18*,C19*-0.68-µF, 35-V tantalum ca- R39* -120 k12
pacitor R40* -82 k12
C21* -0.15-µF, 100-V Mylar capacitor R43* -27 k12

puts presented at J3 and J5 have com- aration indicator is presented as an tion is reflected as an increase in the
plementary (high-pass) responses. option. It responds primarily to the level of difference information rela-
For those who want reassurance frequencies affected by the bass -sum- tive to the level of in -phase informa-
that difference information cancelled ming process, and is shown schemati- tion. Differential amplifier IC3A pro-
along with the rumble is audibly in- cally in Fig. 4. The design of this indi- cesses the filtered right- and left -
significant, an unusual, dynamic sep- cator is based on the fact that separa- channel bass signals to obtain differ -

82 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 .Yw,yeornY«...M ..

+10 +10

o o
f -3d B AT 1 0 Hz

10 CHANNEL SEPARATION 10
OF A MOB EST Ls/ PRICED
PHONO ARTRI.GE
m
-12 d B/OCTAV E
LOPE
W

W?A. M'2i
i0 20 z
a
20

co
W 2
RUMBLE
CANCELLATION CHANNEL SEPARATICN
3 30
OF A PRIMIUM
PHONO CARTRIDGE

-4 40
CHANNEL
SEPARAT IO

-5 50
62.5 125 250 500 IK 2K 4K 0 7.8 15.63 31.25 62.5 125 250 500 IK 2K 4K
0 7.8 15.63 31.25
FREQUENCY (Hz) FREQUENCY (Hz)

Fig. 2. Performance curves for low-pass -filter cutoff frequency Fig. 3. Low -pass-filter response that characterizes
of 220 Hz. Heavy curve shows the extent to which difference the subwoofer-output channel. Stereo -output channels
information is suppressed as a function of frequency. have a complementary, high-pass characteristic.

ence information. The output of IC3A In a Bass Summing Amplifier to be Molex Soldercons is recommended.
is rectified by IC3B and DI, and used for rumble reduction only, there There are a few points to consider
charges C18. are a few components which can be concerning component selection. To
Summed bass is available at the eliminated (C6, J4, and R26). To minimize distortion, the capacitors in
output of IC2C (point C in Fig. 1). It drive a subwoofer power amplifier in the low-pass filters (CI through C4)
is brought up to an equivalent level by addition, however, two resistors (R17 should be metallized plastic-film or
amplifier IC3C. The frequency re- and R19) must be deleted. Whether other high -quality components. For
sponse of this stage is shaped by ca- the project is used for both purposes the same reason, C5, C6, and C7
pacitors C21 and C22 to attenuate the or only for rumble suppression, you should be nonpolarized electrolytics.
unwanted higher frequencies. The have the option of including the sepa- Purists will also want to connect 0.1-
amplified, summed bass output of ration indicator. If you choose not to 12F metallized plastic -film capacitors
IC3C is rectified by IC3D and D2, include it, some parts can be deleted. in parallel with C5, C6, and C7.
and charges C19. They are denoted by an asterisk in the Carbon -film, 5% -tolerance resistors
Comparators IC4A, IC4B, and Parts List. are acceptable for use in this project,
IC4C compare the two resulting dc but a simple preselection procedure
levels and light LED3, LED2, and Construction. There are no high - requiring only an ohmmeter is recom-
LEDI at progressively higher levels of gain or other stages in which circuit mended. The ohmmeter need not be
separation. The network comprising layout is critical. However, the use of particularly accurate, but should al-
D3, D4, R43 and R44 maintains a a printed -circuit board is recom- low you to resolve slight differences in
small bias voltage across C19. This mended because of the rather high resistance around a center value of
prevents random triggering of the parts count. The full-size etching and 100 kilohms. Exact values are not as
comparators by noise at low signal drilling guide for a suitable pc board important as close matches.
levels. Such triggering would other- appears in Fig. 5. Its corresponding First, measure the values of some
wise be troublesome because signal component placement guide appears 100-kilohm resistors and set aside
comparison is based on ratios, not in Fig. 6. The use of IC sockets or four that match very closely for R15
fixed voltage levels.

Options and Modifications. Be- TABLE I

fore undertaking construction, you VALUES OF FILTER COMPONENTS FOR SELECTED CUTOFF
should determine exactly what func- (-3-dB) FREQUENCIES
tion(s) you want this project to per-
form. If you want only to suppress Frequency Recommended Application R5, R6, Cl, C3 C2, C4
rumble, you will probably want a fil- R7, R8
ter cutoff frequency of 220 Hz (330 110 Hz Rumble suppression and 100 1(9 0.02 µF 0.01 µF
Hz if the rumble is severe). Table I subwoofer crossover
shows which values of capacitors and
resistors to use for these frequencies. 220 Hz Rumble suppression 100 kSt 9.01 µF 0.005 µF
Also listed are component values for a
cutoff frequency of 110 Hz, which is a 330 Hz Suppression of severe 68 kSt 0.01 µF 0.005 µF
better choice if a subwoofer is used. rumble

83
1984 EDITION

www.americanradiohistory.com
 C16
.333F
+15V
R36
2211

C14

-
.033µF R30 LED I

IOOK
O R32 3
IC4á
+
R45
I00K R40 68011
O C15 -15V
+
CIB
+
82K

033µF R37 .68µF 13

R33 2211 CI7 , E, 2
IOOK .33»F
IC4B
12 R46
R39 R41
+ 68011
C21 C22
.015µF I 120K IOOK

D2 LED 3

R34 R35 IC4C

100K IOOK 10 H CI9
R42
100 +
R47
68011
D3 Ali, .683F
14
12

IC3=TL074CN
H
D4
IC4=LM324N
DI-D3=1N300
D4=1N4001
R43
MAAM 27K

R44
2211
+17V
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of
the Dynamic Separation
Indicator. The LEDs will light
= C20
I1000»F
at progressively higher
levels of separation.

through R18. Select another match- RIGHT OUTPUT jacks. If the project has test signal to 3000 Hz but keep its
ing group of four as RI9 through R22. been built for subwoofer use, the half - amplitude at one volt. Apply this sig-
Select a third group of four as RI volt signal should appear at J4, the nal to JI. A one -volt signal should
through R14. Finally, select two SUBWOOFER OUTPUT jack, only. If a now appear only at J3. Then apply the
closely matched pairs, one pair for R3 30 -Hz, one -volt signal is applied to JI signal to J2 and verify that an output
and R4, the other for R9 and RIO. and J2 simultaneously, the outputs at appears only at J5. At this frequency,
The project will perform reason- J3 and J5 or the output at J4 should none of the LEDs should glow, even if
ably well even if this process is not fol- increase to one volt. only one channel is driven. If LED3
lowed, but the more closely matched If you have built the dynamic sepa- does glow, decrease the level of the
in value the members of a given ration indicator, you can test its oper- input signal to see if it extinguishes.
group, and the closer the tolerances of ation by applying a 30 -Hz signal. (These statements assume, of course,
CI through C4, the smoother the fre- When the input signal is applied to that SI is open.)
quency response. either JI or J2 (but not both), all If you don't have access to test
When mounting the components on three LED's should glow. Ideally, equipment, you can patch the project
the printed -circuit board, take note of they should all extinguish when both intc your system at a line -level point
device orientation and the presence of channels are driven by the same input in the signal chain. The Bass Sum-
the two short jumpers at pins 5 and 10 signal. Check to see if this happens. ming Amplifier should be connected
of ICI. Also note that RI and R2 are Next, change the frequency of the after any signal -processing compo-
soldered across each of the input nents such as an equalizer, a dynamic -
jacks-they are not mounted on the range expander, etc. Then find a quiet
board. Similarly, R25, R26, and R27 groove on a vinyl disc and play it. Lis-
are soldered across the appropriate ten for rumble, and open and close
output jacks. The project should be 4IMn switch SI. A difference in the rumble
housed in a metal enclosure with AUTHOR'S level should be noticeable. During
shielded cable connecting the pc SPECIFICATIONS such a test, LED3 might flicker, but
board to the input and output jacks Input Impedance: 10 K4 the other two LEDs should flash only
and switch SI. Recommended Load Impedance: 10 k4 very rarely.
or greater
Testing. Doublecheck the circuit Input-signal Level: 0.3 to 3.0 volts rms; 1.0 Use. For the Bass Summing Ampli-
assembly. Then apply power and veri- volt recommended fier to function properly, your audio
fy that the positive and negative sup- Total Distortion: Less than 0.05%
S/N: Better than 70 dB (unweighted)
system needs to be well balanced at
ply voltages are equal and less than 18 the point at which signals are routed
Frequency Response: 50 Hz to 16 kHz
volts. A one -volt, 30 -Hz signal applied ± 1/4 dB at stereo outputs with R17 and to the inputs of the Bass Summing
to JI, the LEFT INPUT jack, should re- R19 in project; filter resistors preselect- Amplifier. Use the monaurally re-
sult in the appearance of half-volt sig- ed according to procedure described in corded bands of a test record, or listen
nals at both J3 and J5, the LEFT and text; both channels driven, S1 open. to a quiet groove of a standard disc

84 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
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 SIB

Fig. 5. Full-size etching

and drilling guide (above)
for the Bass Summing
Amplifier and Dynamic
Separation Indicator.

Fig. 6. Componed
placement guide 'o
be used with the
printed-circuit board.

while adjusting interchannel balance. 2 dB will degrade the rumble -cancell- can be used to reduce rumble on tapes
Maximum cancellation occurs when ing capability of the project. that have been dubbed from noisy
the channels are exactly balanced. The net result of your efforts will be turntables or from FM broadcasts
Even high -quality phono cartridges quieter and more satisfying bass. As a generated using outdated studio
have some imbalance, and as much as bonus, the bass summing amplifier equipment.

86 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 LOW- COS
POW
SRRL S
ICD\/
RECYCLED
AC ADAPTERS

BY RALPH TENNY

How to check out and use modules that clutter your junk box
AC ADAPTERS for operating por- at twice the line frequency indicates Adjust the potentiometer until the
table equipment such as radios, full -wave rectification. current meter indicates 10 mA. Observ-
tape decks, calculators, or shavers from ing both meters, plot the voltage and
the power line instead of the usual bat- Testing. The setup used for testing ac current on the graph. Reduce the poten-
teries represent an often unrecognized and dc output adapters is shown in Fig. tiometer resistance until 15 mA is flow-
resource for the electronics experiment- 1. The only practical difference between ing. Plot the voltage and current again.
er. The chassis for a project can often be the two types is that a rectifier is used Repeat these steps until you have suffi-
made smaller and cheaper if one of these with the ac device. cient data to construct a curve like that
devices is used to supply operating pow- With the load resistor disconnected, in Fig. 2. During these tests, make sure
er. And if small children are involved in the supply will deliver its maximum dc that the transformer does not overheat
any way with the project, the isolation voltage (1.41 times the rms value of the (though it may feel warm to the touch),
from the power line provided by the transformer output voltage) Construct indicating excessive current drain.
adapter can be a safety factor. In addi- a graph with voltage on the vertical axis An oscilloscope connected across the
tion, one adapter can power several proj- and current on the horizontal axis. The output of a dc supply may show consid-
ects if they are not all in use at once. upper end of the voltage axis is marked erable ripple, particularly if the supply
Best of all, you probably have several of with the maximum (unloaded) voltage uses a half -wave rectifier or is heavily
these devices left over from old, dis- from the test circuit; from that point to loaded. To reduce this ripple, add more
carded appliances. the bottom (where this line joins the cur- filter capacitance. As a general rule of
rent axis) divide the voltage axis evenly thumb, doubling the capacitance will
Types of Units. Since adapters are into volts and parts of volts. halve the ripple.
designed to reduce the nominal 117 volts Ohm's Law (R=E/I) is used to de- The graph you have drawn will give a
at the wall socket to a lower voltage, all termine the value of load resistor used. close estimate of output voltage at any
of them contain a small low-power If, for example, the dc output is 15 volts, given load current. In addition, it allows
transformer. There are two basic out- a 15,000 -ohm resistor will draw mA, a
1 you to determine regulation (the degree
puts from these devices; ac only or some 1500-ohm resistor 10 mA, and a 150- to which the voltage varies with load).
form of dc. To identify the output, read ohm resistor 100 mA. If we wanted to This is expressed as the percentage of
the label on the case. If the label cannot start the current plot at, say, slightly un- the open -circuit voltage measured with
be read, an oscilloscope across the out- der 10 mA, then a potentiometer (5 - maximum output current. Thus, the
put with a light resistive load (1 to 5 k5ì) watt) having a value of 2000 to 2500 curve shown in Fig. 2 indicates regula-
will quickly identify it. An ac -only de- ohms will be required. To avoid burning tion of 48%. The higher the regulation,
vice will display a line -frequency sine out the module when the pot is set the better the supply.
wave, while a dc -output device that in- toward its low end, connect a 150 -ohm, Before an adapter is used to power a
corporates filtering will show a dc level 2 -watt resistor in series with the potenti- project, it should be tested under load
with a small amount of ripple. If there is ometer to limit current flow to 100 mA. for an hour or more. If the exterior case
just a rectifier with no filtering, a line- This latter resistor can be reduced if the gets too hot to touch comfortably, a haz-
frequency half sine indicates half-wave supply proves capable of delivering more ard may exist, and a higher capacity ad-
rectification while a series of half sines than 100 mA. apter should be used.

1984 EDITION 87
 ac adapters DC
3000yT LOAD
OUTPUT

AC Circuits. Four typical rectifier O

A
circuits for use with ac -only adapters are
shown in Fig. 3. A full -wave rectifier
like that in Fig. 3A can be had as an
encapsulated module or synthesized OUTPUT
AC
RECTIFIER
i®
TDOOyF
LOAD I
from discrete silicon diodes. A filter ca-
pacitor is added to smooth the output B
and produce useful dc. For low -current Fig. The difference between the
1. test circuit for an ac
applications where cost is a big factor, a and dc adapter is the rectifier required by the ac version.
half -wave rectifier circuit can be used.
This is shown in Fig. 3B. The voltage
doubler (Fig. 3C) and tripler (Fig. 3D)
will deliver two and three times, respec- 15
tively, the open -circuit voltage of a half-

Fig. 2. A typical o

.n11ttll load regulation

curve used to eval-
uate an ac adapter.
5

20 40 60 BO 100
CURRENT IN mA

N +

Rectifier and regulator on

prototype board.
AC
INPUT
1
A
RECTIFIERS: RS 276-1102 OR SIMILAR

r-e"
AC 1
+

AC
INPUT INPUT

C
T T D

Fig. 3. Four circuits for an ac adapter. Full -wave

rectifier (A), half-wave (B), half-wave voltage doubler (C),
and voltage tripler (D).

Ac adapter used as a trickle

charger for automotive battery.
IN 78-- OUT
REGULATOR
FILTERED + REGULATED
DC DC
INPUT OUTPUT
1µF
wave supply but with only small cur- TANT.

rents. In addition, they have very poor Fig. 4. Three -terminal A

voltage regulation and excessive ripple regulator at (A) delivers
unless very large valued filter capacitors a fixed voltage while the
are used. circuit shown in (B) is
adjustable and regulated.
DC Circuits. These types of adapters
usually have some internal filtering, but
for good results require about 1000-µF
of external filtering. To improve voltage
stability under load, an external regula-
tor module can be added. The most con-
venient type of regulator to use is a
88 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 three -terminal device such as the 7805, in Fig. 4A. This circuit is ideal for non- cuits to protect them from overheating
7809, or 7812. These accept up to 35 critical, low -power applications, and is and overload. Keep in mind that the
volts input and deliver 5, 9, and 12 volts inexpensive. Three -terminal regulators input voltage to the regulator must be at
respectively. A typical circuit is shown are very rugged, and have internal cir- least 2.5 volts higher than the desired
output voltage with maximum current
drawn from the supply.
The graph of Fig. 5 illustrates a dc
source applied to a 9 -volt regulator with
ó 14-
RIPPLE LIMITS
FOR 2200yF the ripple voltage added. Note that as
FILTER CAPACITOR the output current increases, the output
á 13-
voltage comes closer to the desired regu-
o lated voltage. At some current, the regu-
w 12-
e
o 11_
lator input voltage will intersect the low-
2.5 VOLT er edge of the ripple band. This then
INPUT/OUTPUT
cw710-
a DIFFERENCE becomes the maximum allowable output
REGULATED 9 VOLTS
O 9
f1

current for this particular combination.

> MAXIMUM This curve illustrates the need for load
8- OUTPUT
CURRENT
FOR
testing a finished supply.
9 -VOLT
SUPPLY
By using a "third generation" three -
0
terminal regulator such as that shown in
0 .021 .0I4 .06 .08 .10 .12 .14 .6 .18 Fig. 4B, a variable regulated voltage
OUTPUT CURRENT
from about 1.2 volts to the input voltage
Fig. 5. Graphical operation of a 9-volt regulator minus 2.5 volts can be built.
showing how ripple affects delivered current.
Multi Voltages. Circuits requiring
more than one dc voltage are shown in
Fig. 6. For a dc adapter, the simplest
7812 12V
approach is Fig. 6A. This circuit de-
livers 12 and 5 volts, both regulated. An
i ac adapter can use the circuit shown in
+14.5 V
MIN. 7805 1 +5V
GND
Fig. 6B to deliver both a positive and
negative voltage. If desired, a 7905 can

A
GND T be used in the negative line to deliver
regulated -5 V, while a 7805 in the
positive line delivers regulated +5 V.
+9V
The circuit in Fig. 6C can deliver both
positive and negative voltages if the out-
put of the dc adapter is about two V
higher than the sum of the two output
voltages. The LM317 is set to the sum of
the two voltages, while the 741 op amp
forces the two transistors to sink current
from both loads. This creates a common
GND
line that is treated as the circuit ground.
This circuit can be used to create posi-
tive and negative voltages of equal or
unequal magnitude, depending on the
ratio of RI to R2. Both voltages will be
as well regulated as the output from the
regulator.
9V
A negative voltage may be generated

I
from a positive supply by a circuit called
DIM l'D3 _V a "charge pump" as shown in Fig. 6D.
This circuit uses alternate cycles of the
IOOOy F C3
transformer voltage to charge C2 via
+ DI. The other half cycle, selected by D2,
T1000yF +V
AC turns on Ql. When QI is turned on, the
01
charge on C2 is dumped via D3 into C3,
creating a negative voltage. With the
+
MMMA
5.6K
D4
values shown, this circuit has about 30%
2200 regulation.
D2 F
1.8K A perusal of the many books covering
power supplies will show a number of
GND other circuits that can be adapted for
D use with ac and dc output power line
Fig. 6. Various methods of generating positive adapters. With this information, it is
and negative voltages from a single power source. possible to salvage most of those pre-
viously useless ac and dc adapters.

1984 EDITION 89

www.americanradiohistory.com
 A\ ALARV
FOB
TOXIC GASES
Detects oxygen -hungry gases such as
carbon monoxide and methane. sounds a warning. . .

before dangerous concentrations are reached

BY CASS LEWART

WHEN a lethal fire starts, respond to ionized gases generated by Circuit Operation. As shown in
flame and smoke are not the fire unless the fire is smoldering in an Fig. 1, transformer TI, fullwave recti-
only killers. Colorless, odorless carbon enclosed area lacking oxygen. This fier RECTI, resistor R2, and filter
monoxide gas (CO) has been known project has the advantage of being capacitor CI make up the line -pow-
to kill or incapacitate people-often self-powered, thus providing portable ered power supply for 5 -volt regulator
far from the fire itself. One factor that protection both at home and in hotels ICI. Resistor Rl, in conjunction with
makes CO such a stealthy, insidious or motels when you travel. rectifier Dl, maintains the charge on
assassin is its ability to elude conven- The alarm is based on an inexpen- the rechargeable cells in Bl , while
tional smoke detectors. These devices sive semiconductor sensor whose elec- diode D2 allows BI to power the cir-
are similarly insensitive to dangerous trical resistance changes when its ac- cuit in stand-by mode when the line
hydrocarbon gases like methane tive surface is exposed to gases such as power is interrupted. Under these
(CH4), a toxic compound that is the carbon monoxide, methane, butane, conditions, DI is reverse biased and
chief component of natural gas. and alcohol vapors that have a strong battery power flows through forward -
The Gas Alarm described here has affinity for oxygen. (These are known biased diode D2 to power the circuit.
been designed to sound its warning be- as reducing gases.) The sensor ele- The regulated output from ICI main-
fore dangerous levels of poisonous ment is enclosed in a small capsule tains a fixed heater voltage for gas
gases accumulate. The Gas Alarm and protected by a stainless steel sensor TGSI to provide uniform sensi-
should be considered complementary mesh, while a low -power heater acti- tivity. The combination of R3 and
to, and not a replacement for conven- vates the sensor element and purifies LEDI forms a power -on indicator.
tional smoke detectors, as it will not it after exposure to gas. When gas is present at TGS1, the

90 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 on perf board or multi -lug terminal
strips using point-to-point wiring.
Mount the socket for sensor on top of
CARLEN,
the cabinet for maximum exposure to
surrounding air, and mount the alarm
on the side or back of the cabinet for
best audio output. The six rechargea- CONVERTERS
ble cells forming Bl can be mounted in
readily available battery holders. Largest Selection
of Equipment Available
Adjustment. (1) Plug the Gas $ Buy Warehouse Direct & Save $
Alarm into a 117 -volt ac outlet; (2)
rotate CAL control R4 fully CCW for
minimum resistance between the 36 channel
SCR gate and ground; (3) apply pow- converter
er and allow the sensor to stabilize for $4595
1-2 minutes, then rotate the CAL con-
trol clockwise till the alarm sounds;
(4) rotate CAL control CCW till the 36 channel
alarm stops. The alarm is now ready wired remote
for operation. Test the system by rub- converter
bing a drop of alcohol between your only
fingers, near the sensor. When the $8895
Photo of the author's prototype. alarm sounds, repeat steps two
through four. Send $2 for complete catalog
resistance of its sensor element drops, The rechargeable batteries are of converters and equipment
raising the voltage applied across cali- trickle charged when the alarm is Quantity Discounts Visa Master Charge
bration potentiometer R4. The rotor plugged into an ac outlet, and will be Add 5% shipping-Mich. residents add 4% sales tax

of R4 is connected to the gate of fully charged after approximately 24

C&D Electronics, Inc.
VNJ
R2 SI
OUT
+
P.O. Box 21, Jenison, MI 49428
TGS
1511
GND R3
Ir (616) 669-2440
2708
RI
loon
LED

c. R4
50K
220cF CAL

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the circuit.

6 4
TGSI

PROFIT
MAIAR
PARTS LIST
AI-Piezoelectric buzzer (Radio Shack
273-060 or similar) SCR1-200-V, 6-A SCR (Radio Shack
BI-Battery (six rechargeable 1.5-V cells) 276-1067 or similar) , ,xngnn161
kuirtwtkn
CI -220-µF, 16-V electrolytic TGS 1-Gas sensor (See note)
DI, D2 -200-V, 1-A silicon diode T1 -12-V, 1-A transformer (Radio Shack
IC 1-5-V regulator
(Radio Shack 276- 273-1505 or similar)
1770 or similar) Misc.-6" x 4" x 21/2" enclosure with cov-
LED1-Red LED (optional) er, pert board or terminal strips, etc.
R1-100-9, 1/2-W resistor Note: The following is available from C&R
R2-15-52 1-W resistor Electronics, Box 217, Holmdel, NJ
R3-270-52, lie -W resistor (optional) 07733: Pretested gas sensor, with
R4 -50-k 12 linear potentiometer socket, for $10.95 plus $1 postage and Computers & Electronics not
RECT1-50-V, 1-A full -wave rectifier handling. NJ residents, add 6% tax. Al- only sells itself at a nice profit, it
S1-Spst switch low 2 to 3 weeks for delivery. creates awareness of the hard-
SCR1, and when voltage at that point hours. To ensure that the batteries are ware and software in your store.
reaches approximately 0.3 V, SCR1 working properly, unplug the alarm It's like having another salesper-
turns on, supplying power to alarm and, after allowing it to stabilize with son on your staff-one who pays
you. One who goes home with
A1. The piezoelectric alarm specified the batteries, repeat the alcohol test customers and continues to influ-
for Al interrupts current flow periodi- described above. The fully charged ence buying decisions long after
cally, so SCR1 does not latch perma- AA -size batteries should operate the you're closed for the day. If
nently on. Switch Si allows for faster sensor for over an hour during a power you're interested in a low -ticket
battery charging while the gas sensor failure. For longer standby operation item with top-of-the -line sales
is turned off. use C- or D -size rechargeables. These power, let's talk now.
will operate the alarm longer, but also
CALL COLLECT: (212) 725-7679
Construction. The project will eas require longer charging time. When
ily fit in a 6" x 4" x 21/2" metal cabi- the alarm is not in use, open SI to pro- Or write: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company
Retail Sales
net, and all components except the tect batteries from discharging af.JJ One Park Avenue
alarm and gas sensor can be mounted through IC1. New York, NY 10016
Minimum order, 10 copies.
We pay all shipping costs to }our st ore.
1984 EDITION
 BY THOMAS R. FOX

soy But which ones?

T HOT...
Test your knowledge of
how circuit components respond
to temperature.

SOME electronic components, espe- some common electrical components (as or decrease as the component's tempera-
cially semiconductors, are extremely well as a few rare ones) change with ture increases from 68° F (20°C) to
sensitive to temperature changes. Even temperature. The quiz gives you the 95° F (35 °C)? (B) Is the component fre-
passive components (resistors and ca- common name and electrical symbol or quently used in temperature measuring,
pacitors, for example), which are nor- pictorial representation of the compo- control, or compensation circuits? As an
mally insensitive to temperature varia- nents and the parameters of interest un- example, for component No. 1, the ther-
tions, can undergo parameter changes der temperature change (resistance, mistor, the answers are: (A) Decrease;
that are sometimes sufficient to in- voltage, etc.). (B) Yes. Answers for the rest are on the
fluence circuit behavior. Your task is to answer the following third page of the quiz. If you get 35 cor-
Here is a quiz that will check your questions about each component: (A) rect answers out of the total 50, you
knowledge of how the parameters of Does the parameter of interest increase have done very well indeed.

Component Parameter of Component Symbol Parameter of

interest interest

1 Thermistor Resistance Platinum wire

2 Silicon Forward Electrolytic

diode voltage 6 capacitor (A1) Capacitance
drop
F
Silicon 7 Polystyrene
3 photovoltaic Power capacitor Capacitance
cell output
(Solar cell)

4 Copper wire

!Ç
Resistance N PO -type
capacitor

F Capacitance

92 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Parameter of Symbol Parameter of
Component interest Component interest
Class I 18 Copper -iron Current
l-- 9 ceramic Capacitance thermocouple when temp.
capacitor of test
junction
rises

Carbon Lead -acid Capacity

10 composition Resistance 19 storage
resistor battery

Positive temp. Typical Storage life

1 1 coef. silicon Resistance primary
resistor 20 battery
(Zn/C,
for
example)
E
Insulation 21 Inductor Inductance
12 Insulated
test lead resistance

Thermistor Resistance Silicon Minimum

(TC= -1000 between 22 controlled trigger
ppm /°C) points A rectifier voltage
13 Sensitor and B
TC= + 1000 (Assume
ppm/°C) (Pos. perfect
temp. coef.) linearity)

NPN silicon DC Beta Passivated Reference

14 (current gain) alloy voltage
transistor 2 silicon
diode

Reverse 7400 Threshold

15 Germanium
diode leakage 4 TTL gate voltage
current

16 Red LED Radiant 25 CMOS Transfer

power gate voltage
(light
output)

17 Red LED Wavelength

of light 26 Spark gap Minimum
(Red = long spark
wave voltage
NiG, vOLTOGE
Violet =-
short wave)

1984 EDITION 93
some like it hot
QUIZ ANSWERS

1. See introduction. 14. (A) Increase; (B) Yes. Note: This lowing morning, when it was bitter cold,
2. (A) Decrease; (B) Yes. Note: effect has been used in inexpensive elec- had to jumper the battery to start the
The silicon diode has a relatively linear tronic thermometers. Also, it must be car. (Of course, thickening oil exacer-
forward voltage vs. temperature charac- compensated for when designing a tran- bates the problem.)
teristic. It is also low-cost and readily sistor circuit so that the transistor's
available. However, it is comparatively operating point doesn't change signifi- 20. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note: This
insensitive. cantly with temperature. effect is more important than most
people realize. One answer is to store
3. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note: batteries in as cool an area as possible. A
15. (A) Increase; (B) Yes. Note: A
Keeping the cell cool raises efficiency. standard battery will retain nearly all its
simple electronic thermometer can be
4. (A) Increase; (B) No. Note: Ex- constructed from a reverse -connected original capacity for as long as two years
cept possibly at high temperatures, cop- germanium diode, a battery, and a mi- if stored at 32'F. This same battery, if
per's variation of resistance is seldom croammeter. The relatively high, tem- stored at 160'F (say in an attic), will
taken into account in designs. perature-dependent reverse leakage cur- have only about 15% of its original ca-
rents of germanium diodes make the sili- pacity after only 1 month of storage!
5. (A) Increase; (B) Yes. Note:
Platinum makes probably the best of the con diode, whose leakage is far smaller,
preferable in some applications. 21. (A) Increase; (B) No.
metallic type of temperature probe. Its
advantages are: it can be highly refined; 22. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note: A
16. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note: substantial increase in temperature can
it resists contamination; it is electrically Keep LEDs cool for increased bright-
and chemically stable; its resistance trigger a false alarm. (Although the au-
ness. thor has never seen it done, he specu-
characteristic is quite linear; and its
drift and error with age are negligible. 17. (A) Increase; (B) No. lates that a simple fire alarm can be con-
structed using an SCR with its gate
6. (A) Increase; (B) No. Note: Sel- clamped to a constant voltage just below
dom used in critical circuits. 18. (A) Decrease; (B) Yes. Note:
Does this surprise you? Well, this is sort the minimum trigger point (at room
7. (A) Slight decrease; (B) No. of a trick question. One normally thinks temperature).
Note: The capacitance of polystyrene of a thermocouple's output as increasing
units varies little with temperature. 23. (A) Almost none; (B) No. Note:
with an increase in temperature. The
This diode provides a reference voltage
8. (A) Almost no change; (B) No. fact is, a thermocouple's output in- whose stability compares with that of
Note: NPO (Negative -Positive -Zero) is creases with an increase in the differ- standard cells.
a temperature compensating dielectric ence in temperature between its stan-
that has an ultrastable temperature dard junction and the test junction. 24. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note:
characteristic. Used in certain types of Since the standard junction shown is at Here is one reason why commercial -
ceramic capacitors. a constant 120' F, the thermocouple's quality TTLs should be used only be-
output decreases until the test junction tween 0 °C and 70'C.
9. (A) Most decrease (B) Yes. reaches 120°F, at which point the out-
Note: Some types of Class I ceramic put is zero. For test junction tempera- 25. (A) Slight decrease; (B) No.
capacitors, which are usually made of tures above 120' F, the output increases Note: CMOS devices are less sensitive
titanium dioxide, are frequently used in with further increase in temperature. to temperature than TTLs. Plastic-
compensation circuits. Since we are limited to a maximum tem- cased CMOS are guaranteed to operate
10. (A) Increase; (B) No. Note: This perature of 95' F, the output is said to satisfactorily from -40° F to 185 ° F
workhorse of the resistor world has quite decrease with increasing temperature. (-40°C to 85°C).
a high temperature coefficient and thus
isn't used frequently in critical circuits 19. (A) Increase; (B) No. Note: This 26. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note:
that must be temperature stable. Car- answer is obvious to anyone who had no Spark gaps are frequently used to meas-
bon -film, metal -film, or wire -wound re- trouble starting his car on a relatively ure extremely high voltages. While this
sistors are better choices for application mild winter afternoon, but early the fol - method may seem crude, it is accurate.0
in critical circuits. C-
11. (A) Increase; (B) Yes. Note: Be-
cause of its fairly linear resistance/tem- 1
perature characteristic (especially with
a properly chosen fixed resistor in paral-
lel) this component has possible use in
simple digital thermometers.
12. (A) Decrease; (B) No. Note:
Keep this in mind when testing high -
voltage circuits.
13. (A) None; (B) No. Note: The
thermistor resistance decreases by 0.1%
for every degree Celsius increase in tem- "I said, I think maybe the h
perature (remember, 1000 ppm/°C = ghosts seem sharper now!"
0.1%) and the Sensitor resistance in-
creases by an identical amount. Thus,
the overall effect is zero.

94 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 Low-cost digital indicator displays total playing time

OW VA\Y AR ON YO, \«_2

PHONO
STYLUS?

BY DENNIS BOHN

LMOST every hi-fi phono stylus About the Project. One principal
is made from the hardest sub- design goal was to produce a circuit that
stance known to man-diamond. Even a would provide as accurate a count of
diamond stylus, however, will become actual stylus playing time as possible.
appreciably worn after a given number This immediately ruled out the use of
of hours of use. Keeping track of the any scheme involving the sensing of the
number of playing hours a stylus has amount of time that the turntable was
accumulated-and thus indirectly the simply on. What was required was a
degree to which it has become worn-is method of determining the amount of
important for two reasons. Using a worn time that the cartridge would actually
phono stylus dramatically reduces play- be generating an audio output for subse-
back fidelity and can cause catastrophic, quent processing by the phono preamp.
permanent physical damage to the This is the approach that was taken in
grooves of a vinyl recording. the project described here.
Presented here is a simple, inexpen- The project is shown schematically in
sive project that logs the number of Fig. 1. Because there is no easy access to
hours a stylus has been used. This infor- the output of the phono-preamp stage
mation is displayed at the push of a but- (apart from the fact that most equip-
ton on a four -digit, seven -segment LED ment warrantees would be voided by any
readout to the nearest tenth of an hour. such tampering), the stylus timer begins
The low construction cost of this proj- with its own RIAA phono preamplifier.
ect-$50 or less-makes it an ideal so- The audio output of one of the car-
lution to the problem of monitoring sty- tridge's channels is tapped at the stereo
lus use. With it, you will eliminate both system's phono-preamp input by means
the risk of using the same stylus too long of a Y connector/adapter and a short
and the needless expense of replacing it patch cord. Sensing the input signal of
too soon. only one audio channel was deemed suf-

1984 EDITION 95
phono stylus JI
AUDIO INPUT

+ 6.2V
ficient for the accuracy required. It is C16
56pF
highly unlikely that long periods of time
will exist in which there is a total ab- CI .- +6.2V
RI5
IM
sence of signal in one channel of a typi- 0033µF 9
14
cal stereo disc. o IC2o
R14
é
The output of the phono cartridge is 4
R7
IOfI
- D4
IN34
K
R9 6.2V
applied to AUDIO INPUT jack J1. One 470K IOK
megohm of resistance (RI) and 20 pF or RI6
IOOK
less of parasitic shunt capacitance com- C6
yF
R17
. I
6.8K
prise the input impedance of the project.
C2 C3
This means that there is no additional, 0027µF .0111 .0011F
significant loading of the cartridge.
Therefore, the stylus timer's input net- RI
IM
R4
330f1 6.2V
work does not appreciably alter the + R12
+ R5 RII R13 RI8
loading and hence sonic performance of C4 IOOK
C8
10 µF IOK
100
K I0K 10011
the phono cartridge.
Operational amplifier IC] boosts the 110µF R8
+ +
R6
level of the input signal and, with the C5 IOOK C9 \C II de"'\C12
IOOµF .005µF 100µF IOOµF
help of R2, R3, C2 and C3, provides
RIAA playback equalization. Because
the op amp is powered by a single -ended DIS I=NSAI54IA + 6.2V
ICI =LM301A
supply, do level -shifting of the input sig- IC2=LM339
nal (performed by C5, R5 and R6) and IC3 =CD4013
IC4=CD4059
C13` R23
27K
R24
3 3K
capacitive input coupling (furnished by IC5=74C925
.01µF R22
IM
CI) are required. Output signals from 01-05
06
= 2N5210
2N5086
ICI are directly coupled to the nonin-
verting input of IC2D, which is one- RI9 R20
fourth of an LM339 quad comparator. 100K 33K

This stage is operated in linear fashion

as an op amp with transistor QI inside
the overall feedback loop. Resistors RIO +6.2V
and RII determine the bias of Ql. Re- DI 0 D3
IN4001 IN914
istor R7 and capacitors C6, C7 and C9 +VM
R35
furnish frequency compensation to en- 33011
sure stability. TD2 D5 D6
IN 914

-
The 20 dB of gain provided by IC2D IN4001 IN4735
and the 40 dB of gain supplied by ICI
(at kHz) boost the input signal to the
1 C14 4.2V
81
C15
IOOµF
level required by the half-wave rectify- T
ing and averaging network D4, C11, and
R13. The amplified input signal is con-
verted into a positive dc voltage ap-
pearing across capacitor C11, which IC3-CD4013 dual D flip-flop
charges rapidly and discharges slowly PARTS LIST
IC4-CD4059 programmable divide -by -n
through R13. B1 -4.2-V mercury battery (Mallory No. counter
Comparator IC2C accepts the dc volt- TR -133 or equivalent) IC5-MM74C925 four -decade counter
age appearing across Cll and compares C1 -0.0033-1.1F Mylar capacitor with multiplexed four -digit, seven seg-
it with the reference of approximately C2-0.0027-1.LF Mylar capacitor ment output drivers
100 mV generated by R17, R18 and C3-0.01-µF Mylar capacitor J1-Insulated phono jack
C12. Resistors R14 and R15 provide C4,C8,C10-10-µF, 6.3-V tantalum Q1 through Q5-2N5210 or equivalent
hysteresis to stabilize the comparator. capacitor npn silicon transistor
C5,C11,C12-100-µF, 10-V, radial -lead Q6-2N5086 or equivalent pnp silicon
The output of this comparator is applied electrolytic capacitor transistor
to the noninverting input of comparator C6-0.1-µF disc capacitor The following, unless otherwise speci-
IC2B, while the inverting input receives C7-0.001-µF Mylar capacitor fied, are 1/4 -watt, 10%, fixed carbon -
a shaped timebase signal derived from C9-0.005-µF disc capacitor composition resistors:
the ac power line. Transformer TI sup- C13 -0.01-µF disc capacitor R1,R15,R22-1 megohm
plies a low -voltage 60 -Hz sine wave to C14 -100-µF, 35-V, radial -lead electro- R2,R23-27,000 ohms
low-pass filter R19C13, whose output is lytic capacitor R3-470,000 ohms
attenuated by voltage divider R20R23. C15 -330-µF, 6.3-V tantalum capacitor R4-330 ohms
The attenuated sine wave, converted (see text) R 5, R 6, R 12, R 16, R 19, R 26-100, 000 ohms
C16-56-pF disc capacitor R7-10 ohms
into a square wave with a dc offset by D1,D2-1 N4001 rectifier diode R8,R14,R21,R27 through R33-1000
IC2A, is applied to the inverting input of D3,D6-1N914 signal diode ohms
comparator IC2B. D4-1 N34 germanium signal diode R9,R11,R13-10,000 ohms
This comparator passes timebase D5-1 N4736 6.2-V zener diode R10-15,000 ohms
pulses when audio from the cartridge DIS1-Four-digit, common -cathode LED R17,R36-6800 ohms
drives the output of IC2C high. Time - display (NSA 1541 or equivalent) R18-100 ohms
base pulses then reach the CLOCK input IC1-LM301A operational amplifier R20 33,000 ohms
of the first section of dual D flip-flop IC2-LM339 quad comparator R24,R25,R37-3300 ohms
IC3. The mismatch between pull-up re -

96 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 +VM
16

3 a DISI sistors R16 and R24 holds the output of

RESET
b IC2B low in the absence of a signal from
12
C
the cartridge.
105 d The timebase signal from IC2B
R26
100K e 1_11-11_11_1Dp 4 passes to dual D flip-flop IC3, which
e functions as a divide -by -4 counter. A
g cl C2 C3 C4 15 -Hz pulse train appears at the Q out-
10 9 7
put of the second flip-flop in IC3 (pin
13) when IC2B allows the clock signal to
pass. This pulse train is applied to the
R34 input of IC4, which is programmed to
3.3K
divide the input frequency by 5400. The
resulting output pulse train has a period
of 6 minutes or 0.1 hour and appears at
pin 23 of IC4 to clock four -decade coun-
ter IC5.
This chip contains not only counting
stages but also seven-segment decoders
SI
VIEW and multiplexed display drivers. The
outputs of IC5 drive not only the seven
06 segment lines of DISI but transistors Q2
R36 through Q6 as well. The latter drive the
6.8 K
digit and decimal -point cathode lines of
R37
the display. Their emitters are connect-
3.3K ed together and to one side of pushbut-
ton VIEW switch S1, the other side of
which is grounded. No current flows
+VM through the LED display until the VIEW
switch is closed. The elapsed stylus play-
ing time is indicated in hundreds, tens,
units, and tenths of an hour up to 999.9
hours. When 999.9 hours have been tal-
lied, counter IC5 resets to 000.0. The
user can manually clear the counter by
closing RESET pushbutton switch S2. Re-
sistor R26 is the pull -down component
for switch S2.
A simple single -ended, full -wave sup-
ply satisfies the project's power require-
ments. There is no power on/off switch;
line power should be applied continuous-
ly so that the information stored in IC5
R35 -330 -ohm, 1/2 -watt resistor is not lost. One simple way to do this is
S1,S2-Normally-open, momentary -con- to plug its line cord into the audio
tact pushbutton switch preamplifier's or receiver's unswitched
-24 -volt center -tapped, 40 -mA step-
T1 Fig. 1. The audio input is
power socket. Mercury battery BI and
down transformer obtained from one channel of
Misc.-Printed circuit board; IC sockets steering diodes D3 and D6 ensure that
the cartridge output to the
or Molex Soldercons; battery holder; phone preamp. it is then
the count stored in IC5 is not lost during
fuse holder; suitable enclosure; Y amplified and rectified and power failures and during times when it
phono-connector/adapter; shielded compared to a reference to is necessary to unplug the timer from
cable; phono plugs; hookup wire; line create timed pulses and the power line. Current drain of IC5 is
cord and strain relief; suitable hard- drive the digital display. low, making battery life at least as long
ware; solder; etc. as that of the stylus. It is good practice
Note: The following are available from to replace the battery each time the sty-
TOLECO Systems, Box 401, Kings-
lus is replaced. Capacitor C15 is option-
ton, WA 98346: kit of parts consisting
of all required integrated circuits, al and supplies power when both ac and
common -cathode LED display, and battery power are lost.
etched, drilled, and plated glass-ep-
oxy printed circuit board, No. ST -1, Construction. The high impedances
for $34.95 plus $2.00 postage and and gains of the early stages of the sig-
handling in the U.S. and Canada, nal -processing chain make the use of a
$4.00 all other countries; etched, carefully designed printed -circuit board
drilled, and plated glass -epoxy print- almost a necessity. An etching and drill-
ed circuit board, No. ST-2, for $10.00
ing guide and component layout are
postpaid in U.S. Washington resi-
dents, add 8% sales tax. No COD or shown in Fig. 2. To keep construction
foreign -currency orders. As de- cost low, a single -sided pc board using
signed, the project is suitable for use several jumper wires was used. As long
only in those areas where power -line as the jumpers are as short as possible
frequency is 60 Hz. and are installed neatly, they need not
be insulated.

1984 EDITION 97
phono stylus
DIS I

iI d g

. C2 C3 b ib t b

8I,

TI

o)

Fig. 2. Actual-size etchin and drilling guide for the

printed circuit board is above left, component layout at right.

After the jumpers are in place, install from arising. A suitable length of multi - patible with multiplexing. Discrete -digit
the resistors, and then the diodes-in conductor ribbon cable can be used be- LED readouts can be used in this appli-
the correct polarity. Molex Soldercons tween the pc board and the display. cation if all pins corresponding to the
or IC sockets should be mounted on the The author's prototype is housed in an same display segment (a, b, c, etc.) are
board after the diodes, and then the ca- aluminum utility box that encloses connected together to the appropriate
pacitors should be installed. (The polari- everything except the LED display and outputs of ICS. Any available display
ties of electrolytic capacitors must be the VIEW switch. These were mounted on color is acceptable. However, the use of
observed.) Finally, the transistors a small piece of oak and interconnected a LED readout other than the one speci-
should be installed. Using a small - with the boxed section by a length of fied might require a change in value of
tipped, low-wattage soldering iron and multiconductor ribbon cable. This ar- current -limiting resistors R27 through
small-diameter (No. 22 AWG or simi- rangement permitted the placement of R33. Increasing the resistances will re-
lar), 60/40 rosin -core solder, make all the utility box behind the audio pream- sult in diminished display current and
necessary connections. plifier and the attachment of the oak brightness. Decreasing them will cause
When all pc components have been display board to the rear of the turnta- more current to flow and more light to
mounted on the board, use suitable ble. The RESET switch was mounted in- be radiated by the display segments.
lengths of shielded cable and hook-up side the enclosure to prevent accidental The output drivers of ICS can source a
wire to connect the appropriate foil pads switch closure and loss of count. maximum of 30 mA, so the lower limit
to those components that are not The display used by the author is a of resistance for R27 through R33 is ap-
mounted on the board. Connect the four -digit calculator-type readout se- proximately 100 ohms.
shield of the cable running between in- lected for small size and low current de- Transformer TI as specified is a 24 -
put jack JI and the input foil pads at mand. However, almost any type of volt center -tapped component with a
both ends. However, use an insulated LED display can be used, so long as it is rated secondary current of 40 mA. The
phono jack to prevent a ground loop of common -cathode design and is corn- author's prototype has an actual current

98 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
demand of approximately 32 mA in way that the LED display can easily be fi' in
either the STANDBY (SI open) or VIEW seen. Make sure that the audio system is PHONOpreampli leaving
positionersmode
, tonearmswitch inthe
;ts
thselectore

(Si closed) mode. In the latter, the flow turned off. Then disconnect one of the rest position. At the end of an hour, press
of display current causes a decrease in signal cables running from the turntable of VIEW pushbutton switch. If the dis-
current flow through zener diode D5. to the PHONO input jacks of the system's plaÿ still reads an elapsed time off 000.1
This is why the overall current demand preamplifier. Either the right- or left - hour, theproject is not falsely c uunting the
remains constant whether the readout is channel output of the turntable can be 60 -Hz powi -t ue frequerscy. If a false
glowing or not. If a display requiring used. Connect a suitable Y adapter to count is indicated, reroute any ac line
more current is used, Tl will have to be the unoccupied preamplifier PHONO in- cords passing near the project's audio in-
a component that can deliver more sec- put jack and plug the floating output put jack. Also, check the audio cable-s
ondary current. cable from the turntable into one of the shield and the connections between the
In any event, to minimize hum pickup adapter's two phono jacks. Finally, con- shield and phono jacks. Grounding the
and possible false time counts, the trans- nect one end of a patch cord to the metal enclosure to the audio system's
former should be positioned as far away remaining Y -adapter phono jack, and ground at only one point will also help
from the input stage as possible. Its the other end of the patch cord to the keep 60 -Hz ac out of the high -gain stages
leads should be routed along the oppo- project's audio input jack (J1). of the timer. Repeat the test procedure to
site side of the pc board from the input Turn the stereo system on and play a ensure that the false -count problem has
cable or, even better, at the opposite side record for slightly more than six min- been solved.
of the board and at right angles to the utes, verifying that the display reads Knowing the playing time of the stylus
input cable. 000.1 hour when the VIEW switch is to the nearest hour or even ten hours is suf-
closed. If it does, return the tonearm to ficient for replacement purposes. Contact
Installation and Use. For initial its rest position and unplug the project's the manufacturer of your cartridge for the
checkout, plug the line cord into an ac line cord from the power socket. Wait a recommended stylus replacement inter-
power socket and depress the VIEW push- few minutes and reconnect the project to val. If this information is not available,
button switch. The display should read the ac power source. Depress the VIEW check spherical styli after about 200
000.0. If it indicates some other number, pushbutton switch once more. A readout hours, elliptical styli after 500 hours, and
momentarily close the RESET switch and of 000.1 hour on the LED display con- Shibata and similar styli after 900 hours.
verify that the display returns to 000.0 firms that the battery -powered memory - Use a stylus microscope for making visual
when the VIEW switch is closed again. backup circuit is working. inspections. If in double about replace-
Next, position the project near your Finally, apply ac power to the stylus ment, consult a dealer.
turntable and preamplifier in such a timer and to the audio system. Place the

Pulse Amplitude Reference

Easy -to-build circuit amplifies input P.S.
o +25 V MAX
pulses when calibrating an oscilloscope. FUSE
I/4A o

0
3N1566 361564 DVM
BY IMRE GORGENYI 30V

5-20 13 5-25

C---
V V
NI -Z
r N OUT
OVM
WHEN working with very narrow, OC
READING
low -amplitude, low -energy 36169

pulses, it is advantageous to calibrate

the scope you are using at actual work-
ing conditions with probes and attenua - SIn
tors in place. This is not always easy
since pulse amplitude calibrators usual-
ly have low-level outputs-often under INPUT PULSE

one volt.
NEG POS BOTTOM VIEW
i
The simple, all-FET circuit shown G

here provides pulse amplitudes to 25 D

SUBSTRATE + CASE
volts, if desired, from pulse inputs of 5 to (CONNECT TO SOURCE)

20 volts. Since the two FET pairs are

driven to their open -saturated condition, The circuit can be assembled on a perforated board.
output pulses have the same amplitude and slow repetition rates. It can be as- pulse generator and scope. The circuit,
as the power supply voltage. Absolute sembled on a small piece of perforated including power supply and digital volt-
amplitude of the output can be moni- board using BNC connectors for the in- meter connectors, is "floating." Circuit
tored by a DVM at all times. put and output and can be connected protection is formed by the fuse and zen -
The circuit can handle narrow pulses directly in the 50 -ohm line between the er diode.

1984 EDITION 99

www.americanradiohistory.com
 A WIRELESS
IDLE TACHOMETER
FOR
ATO T\E-..PS
Eliminate risk of damage to
electronic ignition systems

BY JOHN E. DAVIS

PERFORMING your own auto- for ease of calibration it was decided

mobile tune-ups can be a source to extend the range of the tachometer
of personal satisfaction as well as a described here to 2000 rpm.
way to save money, but if you own a
late -model car with electronic igni- Circuit Operation. The tachomet-
tion, you'll find that the process is not er circuit (Fig. 1) uses a two -transis-
what it used to be. Many modern igni- tor monostable as a frequency -to -cur-
tion systems are magnetically trig- rent converter. The input signal is ra-
gered and have no points to adjust, diated from the ignition system and
thus relegating dwell meters to mu- picked up on a small telescoping (por-
seums. However, the anti -pollution table radio-type) antenna nearby; the
devices on modern engines have made output is displayed on a meter.
idle speed considerably more critical Under quiescent conditions, Q1 is
than it once was, so an idle tachomet- off and Q2 is on. Since the collector of
er is still required. Since some of these Q2 is low, there is not enough voltage
systems can be severely damaged by to forward -bias series -connected di-
momentarily grounding the tachomet- odes D3 and D4 and produce a current
er tie-in point, the problem is where flow through R10, R11, and MI.
and how to connect the tach without
damaging the ignition module.
The best way would be to avoid
electrical interconnection with the ig-
nition system entirely, and you can
achieve this by building the Wireless
Idle Tachometer described here. The
tachometer is designed to operate
with any four-, six- or eight -cylinder,
four-cycle engine having spark igni-
tion. It can be used with two-cycle
engines, but the meter indications will
be twice the actual engine speed.
Idle tachometers generally indicate
from 0 to 1000 rpm. However, partly

100 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Move up to
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CN 1987
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wireless tachometer

RB SI TO CAR
20011 BATTERY

TO
ANTENNA

RI R2 R5 R6 R9
IK 25K 25 IK

Fig. 1. The tachometer

4 B
uses a two-transistor
monostable circuit
R3 S2 RIO RII
47K 15K 5K as a frequency-to -

01
¡MAMA
CYLINDERS

02
NN
D3 D4
%%WM
current converter.
2N3391A 2N3391A IN9I4
(2) +

C2 +
.47µF 475F

IDN914

PARTS LIST
C1 -0.47-µF capacitor R10- 15-k2, 1/2-W resistor
C2 -47-µF electrolytic R3 -47-k9, '/2-W resistor R11- 5-k9 linear-taper potentiometer
D1 -8-V, 1-W zener diode R4-10 -kit, "2-W resistor S l-Spst toggle switch
D2,D3,D4-Silicon diode (1N914 or simi- R5,R6-25-k9, mini -pc potentiometer (Ra- S2-Three-position rotary switch
lar) dio Shack #271-336 or similar) Misc.-Telescoping portable radio anten-
M 1-200-µA meter R7-10-kt2 mini -pc potentiometer (Radio na, suitable plastic enclosure, two -con-
Q1,Q2-2N3391A transistor Shack #271-335 or similar) ductor power cable, battery connector,
R1,R2,R9-1-kt2, 1/2-W resistor R8-200-0, 2-W resistor etc.

When the antenna picks up a posi- from negative spikes, while R3 pro- printed circuit board shown in Fig. 2.
tive -going ignition signal, QI turns on vides the necessary feedback. Meter M1, switches Si and S2, and
and forces Q2 to turn off for an inter- control RI are mounted on the top
val determined by the time -constant Construction and Calibra- panel of the case. Capacitor C2 is
of Cl and the resistance selected by tion. Circuit layout is not critical mounted directly on the meter termi-
switch S2. The choice of time con- and the builder may use point-to- nals. The two -conductor power cable
stant sets the tach for 4-, 6-, or 8 - point wiring on perf board or the exits the case where convenient.
cylinder engines. continued on page 104
When turned off, the collector of
Q2 rises to deliver a constant -voltage,

mnr3TT
constant -duration pulse to the meter
network. Meter MI will indicate the 8 O
current flow. When each positive -
going ignition pulse finishes, Q/ re- c
turns to its cutoff state, and Q2 re-
verts to its conducting state. This o
stops generation of the meter pulses.
As the ignition system rapidly cycles
on and off, the two-transistor circuit -DLow
will follow, and the meter needle will
flutter. This is prevented by C2 which
ANTENNA
smooths the current pulses.
Potentiometer RI I provides means
to compensate for errors due to am- S

bient temperature variations. For ex-

ample, if the ambient temperature is
20" F different from the temperature
at which the tachometer was cali-
brated, an error of about 25 rpm will
be found. If you are not overly con-
cerned about temperature variations,
use a fixed 2,200 ohms for RlI.
Resistor R8, in conjunction with
zener diode D1, maintains a constant OND 82 ROTOR Mil-)
8 volts for the circuit. Switch SI is the
on/off switch. Diode D1 protects QI Fig. 2. Etching and drilling guide (top) and component
layout diagram for a printed -circuit board for the tachometer.

102
EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
BY ALLEN H. WOLACH

SIMPLE MEMORY ADDITION

FOR TRA\\C COVDTERS
Substitute RAM for ROM

OST one -board computers, par- many do not. Although designed for the sette and re-entered at any time using
ticularly those intended for mi- Heathkit ET-3400/ETA-3400 Comput- conventional cassette techniques.
croprocessor training, contain an operat- er Trainer/Trainer Accessory, the Since the ROM is already placed in
ing system and/or a limited high-level memory -expander approach described the system memory map, the address lo-
language in ROM and some small here can be adapted to other systems. cations for the new RAM are safe. In
amount of user RAM. This RAM is In this particular system, the Trainer actuality, the RAM connects to the sys-
usually sufficient to use the system for Accessory contains Tiny BASIC in a 2K tem via the old ROM socket, thus no
training purposes; but, after one be- ROM. If this ROM is replaced with extensive wiring is required.
comes proficient, the need often arises RAM, an additional 2048 bytes of user The 2114 static RAMs used in this
for more user -memory space. Some sys- memory becomes available. If desired, project are 1K -x -4 -bit types that have
tems provide for outboard memory but the Tiny BASIC can be recorded on cas- 1024 addresses with each addressing a

ADDRESS BUS

I7
16

15
11414114111444.114111441V

7 14 4 14
DO D4

r
13 5
DI IC 06
z IC2 12 17
I
12
2114 02 7 -Th 2114 06
3 16 II
07
4 15

5 6

TO PIN 10
2114 RAM IN
SYSTEM
OF I
}
_
R/19 - 10

7 w1111MIIIIIIIIIIIIII 1A0
A0
15
At
A$0.-
15
AZ +A2
A62 7
A3
14 4
A3 04
14

A4 \ J L A4
13
A4 D6.1
-3- i
IC4
Di
IC3 1
i 2

3
A5 21 4 D
12

II
17

16
A6 2114 06
07
11

AO -2 A6 1.1' D3 A6
A1 4
A7
IS
6
A7
ADD ..5 A8 A8
24 -PIN
ROM A*23 , e A9
SOCKET
CONNECTOR
ON
ETA -5400
0attm 10
10 10

13
tY1Ï

IS
DATA BUS

16
10

O
16
CSP

4mimaiminiä
TO A10 OF
ACCESSORY
(SEE TEXT) HD;
103
1984 EDITION
memory addition
4 -bit word. Thus, four 2114 RAMs ond half of the 2K locations goes low, enough to reach the ROM socket in the
create a 2048 -x -8 -bit memory. the second half of the replacement ETA -3400. The address and data busses
In the ETA -3400, Tiny BASIC ROM RAM is similarly addressed. shown in Fig. 1 are for the RAM addi-
pins through 8, 22, and 23 are analo-
1
tion and are not the system busses. For
gous to pins 1 through 7, 15, 16, and 17 he modification can be wired on a example, pins 17 of IC2 and IC4 are
of a 2114 RAM. On the ROM, pins 9, "solderless socket" having room for connected to AO (address line 0) as do
10, 11, and 13 through 17 are the eight four 18 -pin 2114s and one 14-pin 7400 pins 1 of ICI and IC3.
data I/O pins, while pins 11 through 14 TTL chip. Mount the ICs on the board The cs2 modification is implemented
are the four data I/O pins on the 2114. with one unused row of connections be- by IC5 as shown in Fig. 1. In the Heath
Pins 21 (cs3) and 20 (cst) on the ROM tween the ICs. Sockets are optional. system, the line goes low for memory
are chip -select that are placed high (pin The 24 -pin ROM socket connector is locations 1C0Oh through 23FFh. Ad-
21) and ground (pin 20) in the Heath formed from a 24 -pin DIP header. If dress line 10 in the accessory is high for
System. These pins can be ignored since such a header is difficult to locate, two the first half of these locations (1 COOh
the 2114 RAM uses pin 8 (chip select) 16 -pin DIP headers can be suitably cut through 1 FFFh) and low for the remain-
that is analogous to pin 18 (cs2) on the and cemented together in such a way as ing locations between 2000h and 23FFh.
ROM. to form one 24 -pin device. Thus, in the IC5 stage of Fig. 1, the out-
When the ROM is addressed, a cir- The upper row of connectors on the put from pin 8 is negative for locations
cuit within the ETA -3400 decodes ad- solderless socket is connected to pin 24 1 COOh through 1 FFFh while the output
dress lines A10 through Al5 and places on the 24 -pin header to supply +5 volts from pin 6 is negative for locations
a low at ai(pin 18) when the appro- to the RAM system. The bottom row of 2000h through 23FFh.
priate high addresses, A10 through connectors on the solderless socket is Only two connections must be made
A15, occur for any memory locations connected to pin 12 on the 24 -pin header to the computer accessory. First, pins 1,
within the ROM. Since the Cs2 pin goes to supply -5 volts (ground). The 2114 2, and 9 of IC5 are connected (soldered)
low for all 2K locations contained in the RAMs, IC1 through IC4, have their to A10 on the 40-pin connector of the
ROM, this line must be further decoded pins 9 connected to the ground line and accessory (pin 18 on the Heath 40 -pin
so that it goes low separately for the first their pins 18 connected to the +5 -volt connector). Second, the R/w pin for the
and last half of the 2K locations. When line. Pin 7 of IC5 is connected to ground 2114 is pin 10. Interconnect pin 10 of
the decoded input for the first half of the and pin 14 to +5 volts. each 2114 then connect them together
2K locations goes low, the first half of The five ICs are wired in accordance via a length of wire to pin 10 of any one
the replacement 2K RAM is addressed; with Fig. 1 and connected to the 24-pin of the eight 2114 RAMs in the memory
and, when the decpded input for the sec- header as shown. Use lead lengths long accessory.

wireless tachometer (Continued from page 102) for the correct reading on any of the
three settings of S2. The other two
scales will also be correct, since RII
adjusts all three scales simultaneous-
ANTENNA
ly. Potentiometers R5, R6, and R7
Fig. 3. Use this circuit to should not be readjusted for tempera-
calibrate the tachometer. ture compensation.
TACHOMETER Use. With the vehicle engine run-
ning, hook the tachometer power
leads to the car battery, turn it on,
+12 VOLT
wait approximately one minute, then
12V
POWER extend the telescoping antenna. Set
SUPPLY
POWER cylinder -selector switch S2 to the
LEADS
proper setting and hold the antenna
about one or two feet over the engine.
You should get a stable indication of
The antenna can be mounted in any zation. Position R11 to the center of engine rpm. If the display is erratic
part of the case where space allows, its rotation. This point should be and the needle jumps around, there is
with a hole drilled so that the antenna marked on the case for future refer- insufficient coupling between the igni-
can be extended. If you use a plastic ence. Set cylinder -select switch S2 to tion system and the antenna. This is
case, it isn't necessary to insulate the "4" and adjust R5 for a meter indica- most likely to occur when the car's
antenna. If a metal case is used, insu- tion of 180 (1800 rpm). Place the ignition wires are concealed by the air
lation will be required whenever the switch to "6" and adjust R6 for an cleaner or some other metallic ele-
antenna connects to, or passes M1 indication of 120 (1200 rpm), ment. If this is the case, move the
through, the cabinet. then set the switch to "8" and adjust antenna closer to the ignition coil or
Calibration requires a 12 -volt dc R7 for 90 (900 rpm). distributor. If you get no meter dis-
power supply (or a car battery), a 12- If RI is left in the circuit and the play, the power leads of the tachomet-
volt transformer, and a capacitor (ap- user wishes to recalibrate the unit for er may be reversed. This will keep the
proximately 0.01 µF). These compo- accurate readings at an elevated or re- unit from operating, but won't dam-
nents are arranged as illustrated in duced ambient temperature, the pro- age it. Once you get stable readings,
Fig. 3. cedure is as follows. At that ambient you can tune your car accurately and
Turn the tachometer on and allow a temperature chosen, hook up the cir- be confident that you won't "blow"
few minutes for temperature stabili - cuit shown in Fig. 3, and adjust R11 costly ignition parts.

104 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 TIMEX mik-ichadr- 1000

sync
The magazine for Sinclair and Timex Sinclair users

Math and Science:

Least Squares Analysis
FOR
SINCLAIR
Programming:
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Storing Words
Space Warp
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INPUT E PRINT
FLOT NPLOT REM RUN RANO RETURN IA I

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FOR
FIND
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ST®
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LOA
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EK
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TAN

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NEW

ARCS IN
Y
ARCCOS
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ASS SOR
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VAL
PAUSE

©
LEN USR

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Time" at right.

105
1984 EDITION
A LOW-COST
ELECTRONIC RINGER
FOB
THDHO\F L\FS

Solid-state circuit can replace

the electromechanical ringer in a telephone

BY BRADLEY ALBING

RECENT FCC rules changes al- tiate activity on one telephone line phone line. This signal, which has an
low users to connect electronic from that on another. The Electronic amplitude of approximately 90 volts
devices of non -Bell manufacture to Ringer can also be used to actuate root mean square and a frequency of
telephone -company lines. One such external devices in response to an in- between 20 and 40 Hz, is capacitively
device is the low-cost Electronic Ring- coming call. Several optional circuits coupled to optoisolator ICI. The input
er. Like a standard electromechanical for this application will be described. network comprising RI, R2, CI, DI,
ringer, it generates bursts of sound D2 and ICI minimizes the line load-
when triggered by ring pulses. How- About the Circuit. The schematic ing and imbalance that simpler ring -
ever, it is not physically bulky and diagram of the Electronic Ringer ap- detection circuits can cause. Diodes
doesn't load down the telephone line. pears in Fig. 1. At the onset of an DI and D2 are included to suppress
The sound it generates can be modi- incoming telephone call, an ac signal "dial tapping"-the tendency of rota-
fied in several respects to suit the is applied between the green (tip or T) ry -dial pulses to actuate the ringer
user's taste and to help him differen- and red (ring or R) wires of the tele - circuit.

RP (RING PULSE)
NC OUTPUT
T RI
o
36K CI 3
.47yF
ICI
_ _
14
TO
TELEPHONE R3
LINE 270
DI D2
IN4003 1N914 I I

3
R2 2 6
R 36K
4-12V
R23 330pF
10K
+17V ZCI = 4N33
IC2 =CD4011
IC3=NE555

SPKR

+12V
RIO R7 IC3
IOK IOOK R6 -rFS (FREQUENCY SHIFT)
VOLUME IK
R9 INPUT
IOK
C5 %C4
IOPF .OI5F

R6 C6
500K .02íF
FREQUENCY

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the Electronic Ringer. Optoisolator

IC 1 couples ring pulses from the telephone line to the detector circuit.

106 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 D4 +17V D6 COUNTER OUTPUTS
IN4001 '
IN400(
TI RII
27 Oft
+12V
RI4 21 141 II 61
TO RP
OUTPUT
10K 15
CLOCK +16 :8 i. 4
+2
FIG. I

117V
AC
C7
1000
C8
100
D7
IN5738
VSS IC
A C 04516
pF 8F
D8
GNU IN 914
C9 CI PE R U/D VDD
.01 NF
II 9 IOI 16

tI2 K
R13
220K
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the project's power
supply which provides required operating voltages.
RI5
T1 CIO

R16
C11
.OI8F +12V

TO FS IK 50K
INPUT
FIG I TO SELECTED
Output pulses from ICI are applied D9
DIO RI7
COUNTER OUTPUT

to IC2B, which squares and passes 50K

them to one input of NAND gate

IN 914
IC2A and to the delay network con- (2)
sisting of R4, D3, C3 and R5. This Fig. 3. An optional circuit that can convert
network furnishes additional protec- the project into a two-tone ringer.
tion against dial tapping. Capacitor
C3 is initially discharged, so pulses of
02
sufficient quantity or energy or both RB (RING BURST) 2N3904
OUTPUT
must be integrated by C3 to cause the DII
15914 RI8 IC5
output of IC2A to change state. The TO RP
IK
R20
pulses generated by a rotary -dial tele- OUTPUT
I K

phone are neither sufficiently numer- R19

RB
OUTPUT
ous nor energetic. Potentiometer R4 220K
NC +12V
determines the charging time con- 012 KI
15914
stant (delay time), and resistor R5
discharges C3 shortly after the end of C12
IyF ALLY
the input pulse train. NC NC r0NO0PENRM
The output of IC2A, designated the POLE

RP (RING PULSE) OUTPUT, is inverted NORMALLY

CLOSED
by IC2C and applied to the RESET NC NC
IC5=74C04
input of 555 timer IC3 (pin 4). The
timer is connected as a gated astable Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of an optional circuit that can
multivibrator. Its RESET input is nor- actuate external electronic equipment by means of relay Kl.
mally at logic 0, which prevents the
timer from oscillating. When ring

RB (RING BURST)
DII OUTPUT

TO RP
IN914 RI8
IK 1\
wwICS
2
Y
OUTPUT 14
R19 + 12V
220K

+ I> NC

+ 12V
yS3
15

CLOCK
1Sf
V00
101
U/D
1 C14
14
CI 2 OIyF
IyF 10
5
1: NC NC C 106

PE
CI3 +
+12V
12 9 2 14 6
IyiF 13
013
IN914 R20
HwZw.....
DB NC NC
0
D
21

C
22
8
23
A
241
VDD
I8
GI
IC7 9
G2
R21 IC5=74C04
4.7M IC6 = CD4516 2
IC7 = 74CI54 -14 IS VSS

Fig. 5. Optional circuit can be used to trigger an

external device (such as an answering machine) after NI
31

a preselected number of rings.

DEMULTIPLEXER
OUTPUTS

TO CIR UIT TO
BE TRIGGERED

1984 EDITION 107

 telephone ringer
Components denoted by an asterisk PARTS LIST R16*,R17*-50,000-ohm linear -tap
comprise the optional circuits shown in mount trimmer potentiometer
Figs. 3. 4 and 5. IC5*-74C04 hex inverting buffer R21-4.7-megohms
C1 -0.47-µF, 200-V Mylar capacitor IC7*-74C154 4 -line -to -16-line decoder/ T1-24-V, 500 -mA center -tapped step-
C2-330-srF, 25-V disc ceramic capacitor demultiplexer down transformer
C4, C9*, C11*, c14* --0.01-µF, 25-V disc K1 *-12-V dc spdt relay Misc-Printed circuit or perforated board,
ceramic capacitor Q1 -040K1 or equivalent npn silicon pow- IC sockets or Molex Soldercons. fuse -
C3 -6.8-µF, 16-V tantalum capacitor er transistor holder, line cord, strain relief, suitable
C5 -10-µF, 16-V tantalum capacitor 02-2N3904 or equivalent npn silicon enclosure, standoffs, terminal, strips,
C6 -0.02-1_4F, 25-V disc ceramic capacitor switching transistor suitable connectors, two -conductor
C7 -1000-µF, 36-V aluminum electrolytic The following, unless otherwise specified, cable, hookup wire, solder, etc.
C8 -100-µF, 35-V aluminum electrolytic are 1/4 -watt, 10% tolerance, carbon - Note-The following is available from
C10*,C12*,C13*-1-µF, 16-V tantalum composition fixed resistors BFA Electronics, Box 212, Northfield,
D1 -1N4003 rectifier R1,R2-36,000 ohms OH 44067` Kit of parts for the basic
D2,D3,D8*,D9*,D10*,D11 *,D12*,D13*- R3-100,000 ohms Electronic Ringer project (Figs. 1 and
1 N914 silicon switching diode R4,R8-500,000 ohms 2) excluding the dynamic speaker,
04, D5, 06-1 N400 rectifier R5-270,000 ohms No. ER-Kit, priced at $25.00 plus
D7 -1N5738 12-V, 1/2-W zerner diode R6,R12*,R15*,R18*,R20*,R22*-1000 $2.00 postage and handling for U.S.A.
F1-i/4-A, fast -blow, type 3A fuse ohms Also available separately is an etched
IC1--4N33 optolsolator R7 -1000,000 -ohm linear -taper pc -mount and drilled printed -circuit board (Fig.
IC2-CD4011 quad two-input NAND gate trimmer potentiometer 6), for $6.00 plus $1.00 postage and
IC3-NE555 timer R9,R10,R14*-10,000 ohms handling for U.S.A. orders. Ohio resi-
IC4*, IC6*-CD 4516 four -stage, up/down R11-270 ohms dents, add state sales tax.
programmable binary counter R13*,R19*-220,000 ohms

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIÌ j'enboenoeeeooeeae°
IIBIBIIBBIlIIIIBIBBBI
I

:11-..dr
LI-
KLUDGE AREA

eeeeeeeeoNeeaenenee

L
`.
1.1.1 : ;
+

OUTPUT
INPUT

TO TELEPHONE
LINE
Fig. 6. Etching and drilling guide for pc board. Fig. 7. Component -placement guide for pc board.

pulses are received, the RESET input is 2. Line -voltage ac is stepped down by ble by use of the circuit shown in Fig.
switched between logic 0 and logic 1 TI and full -wave rectified by D4 and 3. The RP OUTPUT from IC2A clocks
by IC2C, and the multivibrator pro- DS. Capacitor C7 filters the output of four -bit binary counter IC4, which
duces bursts of oscillation at a rate the rectifier into an unregulated +17 generates output pulse trains at one-
determined by the frequency of the volts dc. This voltage is applied to one half, one-fourth, one -eighth and one -
pulse train. The output of the timer is side of the voice coil of SPKR and to sixteenth of the input signal frequen-
a square wave whose frequency (nom- the voltage-regulating network D6, cy. One of these outputs can be fed
inally 500 Hz to 2 kHz) is determined C8, R11 and D7. This network pro- back to the FS INPUT of timer IC3 by
by potentiometer R8. The square vides +12 volts dc, regulated, to the means of the network R16, R17, D9,
wave appears at pin 3 and is coupled rest of the circuit. Note that the sup- DIO and RIS to shift the frequency of
to driver transistor Q/ via VOLUME ply lacks a switch; in use, the project the timer's square-wave output. The
control R7 and resistor RIO. The should be powered continuously. high- and low-frequency tones can be
transistor alternately saturates and adjusted independently by means of
cuts off at an audio rate and causes a Circuit Options. The pitch of the R16 and R17. At the end of each
square -wave current to flow through Electronic Ringer's tone signal can be burst of ring pulses, counter IC4 is
the voice coil of the dynamic speaker. varied by means of potentiometer R8, reset by the network D8, R12, R13
Power for the Electronic Ringer is and its volume by means of R7. Fur- and CIO.
provided by the supply shown in Fig. ther modification of the tone is possi- The RP OUTPUT can be used to drive

108 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 telephone
ringer
other circuits, such as those shown in
TRUTH
Figs. 4 and 5. External devices can be
actuated by means of the circuit
shown in Fig. 4. The network DII,
TABLE
R18, R19 and C12 integrates the RP
OUTPUT into a dc level that is inverted
by IC5A. This inverting buffer pro-
QUIZ
vides base drive to Q2 when its output BY ROBERT P. BALIN
is at logic 1. When the transistor re-
ceives base drive, it conducts and
ATRUTH Table indicates how a gate To test your ability for making a truth
sinks current for the coil of relay Kl.
The contacts of this relay can control or combination of gates, responds table, determine if the output at D on
an external electronic circuit or elec- when level 0 and level 1 signals are each of the circuits (1-10) below is a 1
tromechanical device. applied to its inputs. The table present or a 0 for each of the seven arrange-
In the more complex circuit of Fig. the kind of concise picture of a circuit's ments shown in the table at top left. The
5, the RP OUTPUT is processed by an characteristics that we need to apply it answers are in the truth table at bottom
input network similar to that of Fig. 4. to solving logic problems. of page.
The output of inverting buffer IC5A,
however, drives four -bit binary coun-
ter IC6, whose four output lines are

,
connected to the address inputs of de -
TRUTH TABLE
multiplexer IC7. Fifteen of the de-
INPUT CIRCUIT
multiplexer's output lines are em-
ployed in this project. Each in turn A B C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

changes states when the appropriate 1 0 0 C

II).
number of pulses clocks counter IC6. o 1 0 5.

. (/
A selected demultiplexer output can 0 0 1

be connected to a driver/relay circuit 1 1 0

or similar interface. If this is done, an 1 0 1 B l±

external circuit or device will be ac- o 1 1

C
tuated after the appropriate number 1 1 1

of rings. 6.

A
A
Construction. The Electronic
Ringer can be assembled on either a
printed -circuit or perforated board.
Full-size etching -and drilling, and
:-0-I-D-
I, 7.
component -placement guides for a
suitable pc board appear in Figs. 6 A
A

and 7, respectively. The board con- Up

tains a kludge area at one end within
which circuit options can be installed. C

If the existing ringer of a standard 2. 8.

500 -series desk telephone is removed, A
this pc board can be installed inside

D -D°D
4e

the telephone enclosure. Alternative-

ly, a custom enclosure can be used. _icy
The project's power supply should 11 c
be isolated from the telephone to pre- 9.
vent stray pickup of 60 -Hz ac ra-
diated by the power line and the step-
D A-:>,,, /b.
..
B
down transformer. A two -conductor
cable can be used to connect the T
B
D-º
and R input terminals of the project to
the green and red wires, respectively, 4.
1D- c
10.

of the telephone line. If desired, tele-

phone -type connectors can be used to
facilitate interconnection of the pro-
ANSWERS: 110110 1 L

ject and the line. l o o O IO? 0( I o

//0 0/I/
L L

If the project won't respond to in- 00 I L o L

coming calls or if dial tapping occurs, p 1 (3 1 0 1 1 / 0 1

o L L

reverse the T and R connections. Also, 0/ I o l I 1 1 0 0 L o 0

reverse the polarity of the connections (0 1 000000 0 0 L

0

between power transformer TI and ( 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 o L

the ac line cord. Ot 6 8 L 9 S 4 E Z L D 9 V

1103913 1f1dNl

1984 EDITION 109

A SVART"
GREENHOUSE
LIGHT
CONTROLLER
Grow temperamental plants with artificial light
when the sunlight goes away

BY MARK L. McWILLIAMS

ITH their controllable grow- the sun were to disappear for any sig- of timer 3, the lamps will stay on after
ing conditions, greenhouses nificant length of time, and ignore the timer 3 period times out if the sun
and hot frames can make possible the short-term solar "dropouts." The sys- is hidden again.)
cultivation of plants too delicate to tem described in this article has these
survive the rigors of the natural envi- attributes. Circuit Operation. The complete
ronment in many parts of the north Overall operation of the controller circuit is shown in Fig. 2. Photoresis-
Temperate Zone. Well -established is shown in Fig. 1. The photoresistor tor PCI 's resistance can range from a
technologies for the control of temper- monitors the sun's light and produces few hundred to 100,000 ohms or more
ature and humidity exist, but photo - a voltage drop across its associated se- depending on how much light falls on
period (the time for which the plant is ries resistor that is compared against it. However, only 20 to 50 ohms dif-
exposed to light) and the intensity of a value set by the sensitivity control. ference was found when a bright sun-
light in its duration are also impor- If the light intensity, hence the volt- ny day was compared to an overcast
tant, if not critical, to plant growth. age applied to the comparator nonin- day. To detect such a very small dif-
Lamps whose spectral output is con- verting input, is too low, the compara- ference, comparator ICI is used. With
sistent with plant needs exist; the tor will trigger timer 1. This timer will S3 in its normal position, the voltage
problem is how to control them. delay for a preset interval (up to 10 drop across R3 is compared against
To allow the lamps to run for a minutes or so) to determine if the that set by sensitivity control Rl.
fixed period of time regardless of light intensity remains low. Thus, mo- When the light is relatively dim, the
whether the sun is hidden or not is mentary blockages of the sun won't ICI output at pin 2 goes low, thus
unacceptable. For one thing, some cause the lamps to turn on. If allowed triggering timer (IC4A) via CI. The
1

plants would be subject to excessive to time out, timer 1 will trigger timer ICI output is inverted by IC2A and
illumination, and, for another, heat 2, which will turn on the lamps for applied to one input of AND gate IC3.
build-up could stress the temperature- some minimum time (for example, 30 Resistor R2 acts as feedback to im-
control system. Turning the lamps on minutes), but will also keep the lights prove the ICI switching action.
when the sun is hidden and off when it on as long as the sun remains hidden. Timer (IC4A) is one-half of a 556
1

reappears would be an improvement, If it has finished timing -out, when operating in its one-shot mode. When
but this too is subject to difficulties. the sunlight returns, timer 2 will trig- it times out, its output at pin 5 is
One is that temporary occultations of ger timer 3. This timer will keep the inverted by IC2B and fed to the other
the sun, as by passing clouds, birds, or lamps on for some period (15-20 min- input of AND gate IC3. When both
aircraft, would cause an excessive utes) to make sure that the sun is back inputs to IC3 are high, the gate trig-
number of on -off cycles and adversely to stay. If it is, the lamps will turn off gers timer 2 (IC5A), via inverter
affect lamp life. when timer 3 times out. If not, the IC2D. Thus, two conditions are neces-
An acceptable controller would comparator will trigger timer 1, and sary to trigger timer 2-low ambient
give positive control of the duration of the whole cycle starts again. (If timer light and the timing -out of timer 1.
the photoperiod, turn on the lamps if l's delay is sufficiently less than that Timer 2 (IC5A) will turn on for a

110 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 minimum period determined by R15- it is low, timer (IC4A) will not be
1 gize relay KI via DI which, in turn,
CII. However, this timer will stay on released from its timing cycle. Capac- supplies ac power to lamp socket SOI.
indefinitely as long as the light im- itor C14 will keep timer 2 on even After timer 2 turns off, it triggers
pinging on PCI is low, since the ICI after it has timed out for as long as IC5B timer 3 via CI3. This timer
output will remain low, and as long as timer 2 is in its "on" state, it will ener- remains on for a period determined by

+VI
REVERSE % NORMAL
RS R4
ION IOK
3 +V
RS
..**e. +V ICL ItOA
f`
3 7404
+V ei t
14
RI t
K _
SENSITIVITY ICL
7

+V

RS
+V I0K RI7 +V
CI!
I.OIMF tivVw
010K e

5 14
RIO
IOK
R1S
IM
RIS
I0K
+V
141
NIM1 3 R14
IK

TINNIER OUT TRISSER

1 OUT
DISCHARGE DISCHARGE
SiS t
THRESHOLD
SIA
TNRERSSOOLD

CN Ot O O CONTROL
SIC IS
VOLTASE RESET j RESET VOLTAGE
4 + SEW
I'\ +
r II

CIE
CS .01}F
3 CS C4 CII CIO .OIyF
1005F .0151, .010F IOOrF I000F1, .OIYr

1
III

I I I I

R20 REI C
.OIS,
IM 1M

DL

IN4001
+V tt1
RUN RESET 01

KI

PARTS LIST
117V 27011 LEDI
C 1,C3,C5,C6,C8,C9,C 10,C 12,C 13,C 14- R1 -5-k9 potentiometer
0.01-µF disc capacitor R2-10 M9
C2,C4-100-µF electrolytic R3,R14-1 kO
C7 -220-µF electrolytic R4,R8,R9,R 10,R 16,R 17,R 18-10 kO
C11- 1000-µF electrolytic R5-100 9
D1,D2-1N4001 diode R6-120 9 Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the
IC 1-LM339 quad comparator R7,R 13,R 15-1-M9 mini -potentiometer complete timer circuit. Points
1C2-7404 hex inverter (Radio Shack 271-229) marked + V can be connected to a
1C3-7408 AND gate R11,R12,R20,R21-1 M9 6-volt battery eliminator or a
IC4,IC5-556 dual timer R19-270 4 separate 6 -volt supply can be
J1 -2 -conductor jack S1 -4 -pole,
2 -position rotary switch (Ra- built and mounted in the enclosure.
K1-Solid-state relay (Radio Shack 275- dio Shack 275-1384)
236) S2,S3-Dpdt miniature toggle switch (Ra-
LED1-20-mA light-emitting diode dio Shack 275-620)
PC 1-CdS photoresistor (Radio Shack Misc.-Sockets for ac, IC mounting sock-
276-116) ets, case (Radio Shack 270-627), pc
Following are 1/2-W, 10% resistors unless board, wire, solder, 6-volt battery elimi-
otherwise specified nator, etc.

1984 EDITION 111

 SUNLIGHT

Fig. 1. Block diagram showing how the voltage across

the photoresistor is compared to a reference to

determine whether or not the artificial
light should be fumed on. The timers keep
the light on for a preset period. Then, if
the sun is back to stay, the lamp goes off.

SENSITIVITY
POWER
TO AC
LAMPS LINE

R13 -C7. Timer 3 also energizes the to be connected to SOI. When the unit When you have adjusted RI to your
relay via D2. is not in the test mode, the LED will satisfaction, place SI in the OPERA-
When timer 3 times out, relay Kl is not operate. TION position and connect the lamps
de -energized if the IC1 output went Switch S3 permits the unit to be to SOI. Control RI may have to be re-
high since timer 3 started. However, if used for much more than just a light adjusted under actual overcast condi-
the low light condition returned and controller. For initial testing as a light tions. Note that a little hysteresis is
ICI went low again, timer 1 will turn controller, S3 should be positioned as present in IC1 and if R1 is adjusted
on again, and the cycle starts over. If shown with R3 grounded. "too tight", the controller will not
timer l's delay is sufficiently less than turn the lamps off even when full sun-
timer 3's, timer 2 will turn on before Construction. The controller can light appears.
timer 3 can time out and the relay will be built on perf board, or a pc board While it was designed primarily as
remain energized. can be fabricated. Sockets can be used a light controller, the unit can be used
IC4B is used as a switch debouncer, for the ICs if desired. Once built, the to control other ac loads depending on
and prevents timers 2 and 3 from be- circuit can be mounted within a se- the type of sensor plugged into JI. For
ing triggered when the power is first lected enclosure with only the three example, replacing PC1 with a tem-
applied. This timer is used to momen- switches, RI, JI, LEDI, and lamp perature sensor, the controller could
tarily reset both halves of IC5 (via C9 power socket S01, mounted on an out- be used to turn on heating elements
and C12) during the one second or so side surface. A 6-volt power supply after ignoring momentary high tem-
period just after the power is applied can also be mounted within the enclo- peratures. Using the same probe but
to the circuit. sure. The ac power line can exit via a placing S3 in the REVERSE position,
A conventional 6 -volt battery elimi- grometted hole at the rear. which switches the relative positions
nator can be used to supply the 45 or of R3 and the external probe in their
70 mA needed by the circuit. A 24- Adjustment. Plug the photoresistor voltage divider configuration-the
hour clock timer can then be used to into JI, and place it so that its light- controller can be used to turn on ex-
power the battery eliminator so that sensitive surface is receiving direct haust fans while ignoring sudden low
the light controller operates only dur- sunlight. Place SI in the TEST posi- temperatures.
ing daylight hours. tion, then S2 to RESET, then RUN. Ad- It is possible that some user modifi-
Switch Si places the controller into just R1 in small steps until a small cation of potentiometer RI and R3
either TEST or OPERATION status. The amount of shade caused by your hand might be necessary if probes having
only difference between these two (12 or more inches away from PCI ) different resistance characteristics
conditions is that the timer delays are causes LEDI to turn on. Allow suffi- from those of PCI are used. Also, if
only a few seconds in the TEST mode. cient time between each RI adjust- even the small amount of hysteresis
This latter mode is used mainly to ad- ment for timer 1 to time out. If it does present in IC1 cannot be tolerated, ex-
just sensitivity control RI. LEDI will not time out, place S2 in RESET, back periment with different valued resis-
glow in TEST so the lamps do not have RI off, and try again. tors for feedback resistor R2. 0

112 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 M The LM 339

629-ye
Four independent comparator circuits
on one chip can be used in a variety of
analog and digital applications

BY CLEMENT S. PEPPER

THE KEY WORD to describe the 339 comparators, and is available from Schmitt trigger. However, most Schmitt
quad comparator is versatility. This many parts suppliers at prices as low as triggers lack adjustability, and further
device can interface a slow -moving $1 each. along in this article, we will illustrate a
analog signal to almost any logic family, 339 Schmitt trigger that does not have
will drive a LED, detect high- and/or low - Device Operation. The pinout for the this problem.
voltage limits and can be used as a mo- 339 is shown in Fig. 1A. The numbers
nostable oscillator. across each row indicate the noninvert- Analog -to-Digital Interface. The
What makes the 339 so versatile? ing and inverting inputs with the as- input for a frequency counter is a good
Consider its power requirements as an sociated outputs for each of the four example of an analog -to-digital interface
example. The chip will work from a sin- comparators in the chip. (not to be confused with an A/D convert-
gle dc source between 2 and 32 volts, or A basic comparator is shown in Fig. er as used in computers).
a split power supply from ±1 to ±18 1B. Here, the input signal VIN is com- The input of a frequency counter must
volts. Current drain is a meager 0.8 mA, pared with a fixed reference VREF. be capable of accepting a wide variety of
independent of supply voltage. Whenever the input signal exceeds the signals, slow or fast, and provide a sig-
The common -mode range includes reference level by just a couple of mil- nal compatible with the digital counter
ground, even when operated from a sin- livolts, the output (VO) goes high. This circuits that follow. Also, since the input
gle supply. With a typical input bias cur- action is illustrated by the associated levels can span a broad range of levels,
rent of 25-nanoamperes, a 3-nanoam- waveforms. sensitivity adjustments are required.
pere offset and a 3 -mV input offset volt- Unfortunately, such a basic circuit can Then there must be a "threshold" estab-
age, the input can "look" at almost any oscillate during the transition period, and lished either to reject noise, or possibly
source impedance without loading. although this might present a problem to match a digital source. Such a circuit
The 339 output stage is an npn tran- with slow analog signals, it would cause is shown in Fig. 2A.
sistor having an uncommitted collector no trouble for the fast transition times Sine -wave performance (10 kHz) is
so that an external pullup resistor can be associated with digital signals. This can shown in Fig. 2B with a 3 -volt rms input
used with a supply voltage different than be averted by using a small amount of and Fig. 2C with 1 -volt rms input. This
that used by the remainder of the de- positive feedback as shown in Fig. 1 C. circuit has been used with excellent re-
vice. You can even hard -wire the out- The feedback not only speeds up the sults to 1 MHz.
puts in an OR configuration. The transis- transition, but adds a little hysteresis.
tor output stage will sink up to 20 mA, Feedback resistor RF is typically a high CMOS to TTL Translation. The cir-
but you may have to live with a high sa- value, 10 megohms for example. cuit shown in Fig. 2A is also useful for
turation voltage (with 4 mA it is 250 mV). While hysteresis can eliminate the translating various logic families. For
The output is compatible with TTL (fan - transient oscillation, it can also be put to this application, two series -connected
work in a useful manner such as "clean- 1 N914 diodes may be substituted for the
out of 2), DTL, ECL, MOS and CMOS.
The 339 chip contains four identical ing up" input waveforms, acting like a 2000 -ohm potentiometer. This estab-

113
1984 EDITION
 +V

VI
-- t--- VREf
o

5 4
7 6 2
9 8 14
II 10
A 3

Fig. 3. Outputs of two

separate 339 packages (four
at top, four at bottom)
RF
show excellent matching.

Fig. 1. Pinout of the

"REF
LM339 (A). Comparator
with basic waveforms (B).
Comparator with feedback
resistor for faster
switching action (C).

..rei
100 pf

A
IN

10K

Fig.
2K
SENSITIVITY

2. Counter- input
circuit (A). Output with
..-.... ,
A

10 -kHz, 3 -jolt input (B)

.
and 10 -kHz, -volt (C). 1
111111111111.1111
V01

Outputs are upper traces,

with 5 V/dir. Sine wares VO2

.ialganinumgai
¡ i

to tl f2
are at 2 1/(lin.
C

lishes a 1.4 -volt reference compatible High and Low Limit Detection. ue of the capacitor. Scope traces of a
with both TTL and CMOS operating from Two comparators working together typical measurement are shown in Fig.
a 5 -volt supply. The 1000 -ohm pullup re- sense the low and high limits in the sim- 4D. The capacitance can be determined
sistor connected at the output has to be plified capacitance measuring scheme from the width of the pulse.
connected to the TTL 5 -volt supply. shown in Fig. 4A. The unknown capaci- Earlier in this article, hysteresis was
During the design of an 8 -input oscil- tor (C) is charged from a constant -cur- mentioned as one way to get high and
loscope circuit, the author connected rent source (I1). This results in a linear low limit detection, such as used in a
eight such circuits, with all eight inputs charging ramp whose slope is propor- Schmitt trigger. The circuit shown in Fig.
connected to a source having a pulse 8 - tional to the capacitance (Fig. 4B). The 5A uses a single comparator which does
microseconds wide. The upper four limit voltages are 0.10 and 1.10 volts, so not have the precision of the dual com-
traces of Fig. 3 came from one 339 that the measurement becomes that of parator approach but is useful with loos-
package, while the lower four traces the time required to charge the capacitor er tolerance circuits.
came from another 339 package. Actual to this higher voltage. Although the circuit appears tricky, it
time variations are about 200 nanose- In the complete circuit (Fig. 4C), the is easy to understand. First, you have to
conds. This illustrates the quality of dif- addition of an exclusive -OR gate yields know the desired upper and lower
fusion techniques these days. a pulse whose width is scaled to the val- switching voltages. Then, select a zener

114 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 +12V
R4
RI
5.1 K
LM339

_
+ 12V
VRI VR2 4

ap
IN4735 R2 R3 IN 4735
RI 62V
6.2V 6.2K ANALOG
620,1 620K Vo
INPUT
CR2 R2
CRI 1N914 Fig.5. High/low 21(
IN914
limit detector (A).

.
Q2 VR I

5.8V
2N3702 Waveforms (B) show
switching action.
01
2N3702
R5 R4
A
+Is611rIR
47011 03 3 47011
2N3702

XIK XI ImA

!11111111111M11111111111111
11111111111",74111111111111111111

n
RANGE

TEST 11111101111111111111111111110
%irimmiä111ir.iii
R9
10K
05
2N 3702
R12
+12V

g rIZMI
R8
IK /4 4030
LM339
RIO
I.I K
I% 1/4 LM339
+12V

R6
4.711
04
2N2222
O
R7 RII Cf
10K Vc/ loon
I% CtslOf)pF t1s29Ops
f O
CX I11914 1000pF 2800 pa
.0 pF 27ms

a=.a>:
C A .1 of 200ms

Fig. 4. Basic
capacitance
measuring circuit
(A) and timing
diagrams (B).
Complete circuit
(nand output
B
Fig.
®mm.aim21111111111:=1

6. Monostable circuit (A). In (B) 1710-Hz

for 4.7µF (D). input is at top, output below (5 V/div).

diode that falls midway between these Although we will not go into a detailed Triggering occurs on a negative -going
voltages. Part of the problem comes circuit analysis, the "trick" here is to se- input which forces the inverting input be-
when trying to get a zener diode of the lect the resistor values. In the circuit low ground. The 1N914 diode limits this
correct value since zeners come in spe- shown in Fig. 5A, the switching points to one diode drop. The resulting posi-
cific voltages. Therefore, pick the clos- are 7.7 and 4.0 volts. Build the circuit tive -going output is fed back to the no-
est value. Select R1 for 5 to 10 mA of and vary the resistor values to get a feel ninverting (+) input, and the timing is
zener current. for circuit operation. A typical waveform determined by the discharge time of the
When the 339 output is low, some of is shown in Fig. 5B. feedback capacitor CF and the 1-
the current through R1 flows through R2 megohm resistor. This time is propor-
and R3 into the output. We can safely Monostable. The circuit for a 339 mo- tional to the capacitance value for the
assume that none flows into the nonin- nostable is shown in Fig. 6A, with an ranges shown in Fig. 6A.
verting (+) input. Pin 5 of the 339 will output waveform shown in Fig. 6B. Although this circuit may require some
now be lower than the zener. The inverting (-) input of the com- "tweaking" to achieve specilic monosta-
With the 339 output high, current parator is biased about 1.25 volts pos- ble action, it is useful to know about if
flows through R4, R3 and R2 into the itive by the 6.8-megohm and 1-megohm you have an unused comparator in your
zener diode. voltage divider. design and require a mono.sable.

115
1984 EDITION
www.americanradiohistory.com
 BY LAWRENCE R. LAFLER

R low -Cost
Emergency
Broadcast
System
Monitor
Add-on circuit monitors
the output of a broadcast
receiver and sounds an
alarm when an EBS
warning signal is received

THE National Weather Service and

the Civil Defense Agency, in con-
junction with local broadcasters and
other authorities, maintain an emergen-
cy warning system to alert the public in
case of impending natural disaster or
national defense emergency. This sys-
tem consists of a network of AM and
FM radio., stations that will interrupt
their normal programs to broadcast an
emergency bulletin immediately after
an official severe weather or Civil De-
fense warning is issued. You have proba-
bly heard tests of this emergency broad-
cast system (EBS) on local radio sta-
tions. During such tests, and in the event
of an actual alert, participating stations
broadcast a special two-tone signal used
to activate warning devices at other ra-
dio stations and at regional Civil De-
fense offices.
For less than $25.00, you can build a
circuit that will respond to the EBS
alerting signal. This project receives sig-
nals from the earphone jack of a stan-
dard broadcast receiver and, in response

www.americanradiohistory.com
 COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS
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emergency broadcast
to the special EBS tones, actuates a Son -
alert or similar audible alarm or a relay.
For around-the -clock protection, the
EBS Monitor and the radio to which it is
connected can be left activated contin-
uously. If an emergency occurs, the al-
arm could save your life.

How It Works. The EBS alert signal

consists of simultaneous tones at 853 Hz
and 960 Hz broadcast for 22.5 seconds.
This unlikely combination of frequen-
cies and its long duration make it easy to
distinguish the warning signal from Fig. 1. Oscilloscope photo of the alert signal of the Emergency
speech and music. (Its waveform is Broadcast System. It consists of two tones
shown in Fig. 1.) at 853 Hz and 960 Hz broadcast for 22.5 seconds.
Commercial EBS alerting devices
employ a separate tone decoder for each
of the two audio frequencies and a time - Fig. 2, is such an energy miser that it Transistor QI amplifies the 107 -Hz
delay circuit that triggers an alarm only will operate in its listening mode for difference signal and, with the help of
when the two frequencies are present for more than one year on a single 9 -volt inverter IC3A, converts it to a square
15 seconds or more. This is an expensive transistor battery. wave that is then applied to the input
approach requiring a large battery pow- The one PLL is able to detect the two (pin 14) of IC4, the phase -locked loop.
er source. To minimize cost and battery discrete audio tones by responding to the The loop acts as a frequency -to -voltage
drain without sacrificing performance, 107 -Hz difference between their two converter that can be programmed to re-
this project employs a single CMOS frequencies. This 107 -Hz difference spond to a narrow band of frequencies
phase -locked loop (PLL) to detect the tone can be separated from the rest of called the lock range. Over this lock
presence of both frequencies. Three oth- the alert signal by rectifying and filter- range, the output (pin 9) of the phase -
er CMOS integrated circuits perform ing the signal. Diode D3, capacitors CI locked loop will be a voltage that in-
most of the remaining functions. The and C2, resistors R2 and R4, and poten- creases as the frequency of the input sig-
circuit, which is shown schematically in tiometer R2O perform this function. nal increases. For an input frequency

-e
R7

NWV3 100K

JI IC4
AUDIO R1 D3 CD4046
R2
INPUT 1011

R5
12 100K

+ C4

I5F
R6 R21
IM 200K

v+ R15
R22 IM
IM
10I 14
V+
C5
45F
T 2

5
R11
1o0n
LED 3

IC2 ---'VVv,nM R14

CD4007 9 100K
15

13
R13
100K

R9 RIO R8 V+
100K 220K 100K C61
.01yF R16
100K
+V NC

118
EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
outside of the lock range, the PLL out- of ICIA be high for at least 15 seconds noted. Capacitor C6 and resistor R16
put voltage will approach either 0 or 9 before the circuit triggers alarm. generate a positive pulse which resets
volts, depending on whether the input This delay is obtained by having the the alarm trigger flip-flop each time
frequency is above or below the lock output of ICIA charge capacitor C5 power switch SI is closed. This assures
range. Capacitors C3 and C4, together through resistors R12 and R22 before that the alarm will be silent when power
with resistors R5, R6, and R7, and po- the logic level is passed to the next por- is applied to the circuit. Light -emitting
tentiometer R21 limit the lock range of tion of the circuit. As C5 charges, the diodes LEDI and LED2 indicate when
the PLL to between 100 and 115 Hz. voltage at pin 9 of IC2 increases. Even- the audio output of the broadcast receiv-
When a 107 -Hz signal is applied to the tually it reaches the level required to er that drives the circuit is at the proper
input of the PLL, its output voltage will switch from logic 0 to logic 1 the output level. The receiver's output should be
be approximately 4.5 volts. This output of the Schmitt trigger made up of in- adjusted so that, when TEST switch S2 is
voltage level can, therefore, be inter- verters IC3C and IC3D and resistors closed, LEDI flickers on and off but
preted as an indication that a 107 -Hz R14 and R15. The output (pin 15) of the LED2 remains dark. If volume is too
input frequency is present. Schmitt trigger is connected to the input low, neither LED will flicker. If volume
At this point in the circuit, a network of the alarm trigger flip-flop consisting is too high, both LEDs will flicker.
is needed that will have a logic 1 output of NOR gates ICI B and ICI C. When Diode LED3 is used to indicate when a
when its input is approximately 4.5 the output of the Schmitt trigger 107 -Hz signal is being detected. It glows
volts, and a logic 0 output when its input switches to logic 1, the output of the whenever the output of NOR gate ICI A
is either greater than or less than 4.5 alarm trigger flip-flop (pin 10) switches is at logic 1. Diode D4 prevents damage
volts. Integrated MOSFETs contained from logic 1 to logic 0. Once this hap- to the circuit that would otherwise occur
in IC2 together with inverter IC3B and pens, the output of the flip-flop will re- if the battery leads were to become inad-
NOR gate ICIA form such a network. main low even if the output of the vertently reversed.
Thus, the presence of the EBS alert sig- Schmitt trigger returns to logic 0.
nal causes the output of ICIA (pin 4) to The logic 0 appearing at the output of Construction. The EBS Monitor is
go high. However, difference frequen- the flip-flop activates the oscillator most easily assembled using a printed
cies close to 107 Hz that are occasional- made up of NOR gate ICI D and invert- circuit board. The full-size etching and
ly contained in voice, music and noise er IC3E. This oscillator generates a drilling guide for a suitable printed cir-
can also cause the output of ICIA to square wave that alternately turns Q2 cuit board is shown in Fig. 3. Its corre-
momentarily go high. False alarms due on and off, activating alarm AI. sponding parts placement guide appears
to these normal audio components can The circuit contains a few other com- in Fig. 4. Mount the integrated circuits
be avoided by requiring that the output ponents whose functions should be using sockets or Molex Soldercons rath-

PARTS LIST

Al-Solid-state audible warning device R1-10 11

(Mallory SC -628 Sonalert or similar) R2-33 k52
81 -9 -volt transistor battery R3, R5, R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R16-100
C1,C7-0.22-µF, 15 -volt tantalum capaci- kS2

tor R4-101(9
C2 -0.05-µF, Mylar capacitor R6, R15-1 M52
C3 -0.1-02F, 15 -volt tantalum capacitor R10-220 k52
C4 -1-µF, 15 -volt axial -lead aluminum R11-10052
electrolytic capacitor R12-470 k52
C5 -4-µF, 15 -volt axial -lead aluminum R17-3.9 M12
electrolytic capacitor R18-2.2 MS2
C6 -0.01-µF disc ceramic capacitor R19-1 kt2
D1 through D4 -1N4001 R20 -20-k52, linear -taper, pc -mount trim-
IC1-CD4001 quad 2 -input NOR gate mer potentiometer
1C2-CD4007 dual complementary pair R21- 200 -kg, linear -taper, pc-mount trim-
plus inverter mer potentiometer
+v
lC3-CD4009 hex inverter R22- 1-M9, linear -taper, pc -mount trimmer
v+ IC4-C04046 phase -locked loop potentiometer
J 1-Miniature phone jack S 1-Spst switch
LED1-Green light -emitting diode S2-Normally open, momentary -contact
LED2-Red light -emitting diode pushbutton switch
LED3-Yellow light -emitting diode Misc.-Printed circuit board, suitable en-
Q1 -2N3904 npn silicon transistor closure, IC sockets or Molex Solder -
Q2 -2N4402 pnp silicon transistor cons, battery retainer and connecting
The following are 1/4 -watt, 5% tolerance clip, hookup wire, two -conductor cable,
MALLORY carbon-composition fixed resistors un- miniature phone plugs, hardware, etc.
SC -628
less otherwise specified.

Fig. 2. The circuit in the project uses a CMOS phase -locked loop
to detect the presence of the alert signal. The CMOS components
cause little battery drain so that the monitor can be in use constantly.

119
1984 EDITION
emergency broadcast

Fig. 4. Component layout for the monitor's

printed circuit board is shown below.

A R22 -C6-
LE03{Ç -R17-
v
R1i
IC2
R9
RI8

a R12
'-J

ICI

RIO

4 i4 +I I I
R13
-R16-
+ J
C4
R21 I -R14-
s1{ \J R7 U
BI
R R1S
IC4 IC3
C3

VRO
81-- ®
52 t
1141
D1 D2

I
C1

I+
t

R2 C2

I I
01 R19
+I
C7
I

R18

LED 1{
Fig. 3. Actual-size etching and drilling ¡c
A
--R1-
I

I I

LED2{ A
guide for a suitable printed circuit board.
1 I
,+
J1 Al

er than soldering them directly to the PLL. Potentiometer R21 must be ad- Use. Your EBS monitor is ready for
board. This makes replacement of defec- justed so that the lock range of the PLL service. Apply power to both the project
tive ICs infinitely easier and eliminates is centered around 107 Hz. Third, po- and the broadcast receiver with which it
the possibility of damaging them during tentiometer R22 needs to be set so that, will be used. Tune in a local radio sta-
soldering. Be sure to observe polarities once LED3 begins to glow, there will be tion that participates in the Emergency
and pin basings when you mount the a 12- to 18 -second delay before the al- Broadcast Service, has a strong signal in
diodes, transistors, LEDs, ICs, and elec- arm sounds. The easiest way to make your area, and broadcasts 24 hours a
trolytic capacitors. these adjustments is to first make a re- day. If possible, choose an FM station,
The LEDs should be mounted off the cording of the EBS alert signal when a because static interference during an
board so that they can project through local radio station is conducting an EBS electrical storm will be less severe and
the front panel of the enclosure that is test. Use a high -quality cassette or open - the operation of the Monitor will be
employed to house the project. The reel tape recorder that has an earphone more reliable.
switches should also be mounted on the or line -level output jack. After you have Patch the output of the receiver to
front panel. Connect the LEDs and recorded the two-tone signal, patch the input jack J1 and, if necessary, adjust
switches to the pc board using flexible output of the recorder to the project's the output level so that LEDI flickers in
hookup wire. Input jack JI should be input jack and proceed as follows. step with the demodulated signal when
mounted on the rear of the enclosure First, connect a voltmeter between S2 is depressed but that LED2 remains
and connected to the board using two - pin 14 of 1C4 and the circuit ground. dark. When the project is operating in
conductor cable. Fasten a retaining clip Then close switch SI and play back the its listening mode, LED3 should flicker
for the 9 -volt battery to the enclosure EBS alert signal. (Rewind and repeat on occasionally. As long as it flashes
and connect suitably long leads from the this step as necessary so that the tone is brightly, the battery is in good condi-
appropriate foil pads to a 9 -volt battery present during all of the remaining tion. As the battery becomes weaker and
clip. Then install the battery and snap steps.) Hold switch S2 closed and adjust needs replacing, LED3 will diminish in
the connecting clip in place. Finally, the recorder's output level until LEDI brightness.
prepare a two -conductor patch cord of glows but LED2 remains dark. Vary po- Take advantage of the broadcaster's
convenient length terminated with min- tentiometer R20 until the voltmeter EBS tests to check the circuit periodi-
iature phone plugs at each end. reads 3 to 5 volts dc. Vary potentiometer cally for proper operation. These tests
R21 until LED3 glows most or all of the are never conducted at night, so you will
Alignment. There are only three ad- time that the tone is present. Vary po- not be disturbed by false alarms if you
justments that must be made before the tentiometer R22 until the delay between leave the project in its listening mode
EBS Monitor is ready for service. Poten- the application of the tone and the acti- while you sleep. When the alarm sounds,
tiometer R20 must be adjusted so that, vation of the audible alarm is between remove power from the project and dis-
when the audio output of the broadcast 12 and 18 seconds. The delay can be connect the patch cord from the output
receiver is at the proper level and the reduced by moving the wiper of R22 jack of your broadcast receiver. You will
EBS signal is present, a 107 -Hz square toward capacitor C5 as viewed from the then be able to hear the emergency mes-
wave will be applied to the input of the top of the board. sage that follows.

120 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 Build a
Diode Temperature Probe
Low-cost sensor gives temperature reading
on a DMM
4-1.35V

R2
82 KI1
RI
33K II 20KR)

DI
1N914

YOU own a digital multimeter solder joint. Shrink the tubing to make a
IF(DMM), it can be made to give tem- TEMPERATURE
PROBE tight fit.
perature readings for a small expendi-
ture in parts and effort. When a small Calibration. The resistance values
forward bias is applied to a conventional for R2 -R4 and R6 -R7 are not critical,
silicon diode, the voltage drop across the R7 R6 but their ratios are. Perform the follow-
49K11(20K11)
diode junction changes at a rate of about 220KJ'OIOOK11)
ing calibration tests before changing any
1.25-mV/°F (2.24-mV/°C). Thus, a resistance value.
low-cost and readily available diode DAM
TO Potentiometer R3 balances the bridge
such as the 1N914 can be used as a tem- to indicate 32 ° F (0 °C) at this tempera-
1. Diode is one leg of a
Fig.
perature probe. ture. Potentiometer RS is used to reduce
Wheatstone bridge connected to DMM.
The bridge circuit shown in Fig.1 the 1.25 (2.24) mV/degree to exactly
works in conjunction with the sensor 1 mV/degree and is also used to set the
PARTS LIST upper range point.
diode and a DMM on the 200 -mV (low
temperature) or 2 -volt (high -tempera- With R3 and R5 at their center of
Cl -0.01-µF disc capacitor rotation, immerse the diode probe in a
ture dc voltage ranges.The displayed dig- D1- 1 N914 silicon diode
its are the temperature. Note that in R1-33 kt2, l/2 -W resistor container of finely shaved or crushed
Fig. 1, two values are shown for R2, R4, R2-82 kt (F) or 12 k12 (C) 1/2-W resistor ice. Adjust R3 to produce a DMM indi-
R6, and R7. The values in parenthesis R3- -ka pc -mount potentiometer
1
cation of 32 (*F) or 0 (° C). Place the
are for Celsius operation, while the oth- R4-56 kt2 (F) or 68 kt (C) 1/2-W resistor DMM in the 2 -volt dc range, immerse
ers are for Fahrenheit. Capacitor CI is R5 -101d2 pc -mount potentiometer the probe in a container of boiling water,
used to bypass stray signals that may be R6-491(12 (F) or 120 k12 (C) 1/2-W resistor and adjust R5 for a DMM indication of
picked up on the leads. Misc.-1.35-volt battery and holder, vinyl 212(°F) or 100(°C).
or heat -shrink tubing, flexible two -con- If you find that R3 is at one end of its
ductor cable, epoxy, solder, etc.
Construction. The circuit can be as- rotation, add a parallel resistor in the
sembled on a small printed -circuit or megohm range across either R2 or R4,
perforated board. The small circles at depending on the location of the wiper of
CI indicate the need for a pc pad, or R3. If RS is at one end of its rotation,
WireWrap pin to make the connections IN 914 add a parallel resistor (also in the meg-
DIODE
to the remote diode. I LEAD ohm range) across R6 or R7. If de-
To make the temperature probe safe CATHODE
Il
I

VINYL sired, a 10-turn trimmer potentiometer

TUBING
for liquid immersion, the arrangement can be used for each of the fixed resis-
hII
shown in Fig. 2 is used. Preform a short II INSULATING tors and preset for the correct ratios.
length of vinyl tubing, fill it with epoxy, SLEEVE
Since the DMM will also indicate
Ìl
and "thread" it up the diode leads to negative voltages, it will similarly indi-
make contact with the diode body. Al- SOLDER cate temperatures below those at which
JOINT
low the epoxy to thoroughly cure. If de- it is calibrated. Also, the diode can oper-
sired, a length of heat -shrink tubing FLEXIBLE ate at temperatures above 21V° F, which
may be used. In either case, leave a short LEAD is about the limit for the plastic insula-
length of diode lead exposed for solder- tion used for the diode leads, so a plastic
ing to the flexible cable. with a higher temperature rating can be
Slide a short length of heat -shrink used to liquid -proof the sensor. Or, with-
tubing over the covered diode leads, out such protection, the sensor can be
solder each diode lead to the flexible Fig. 2. To make probe immersible, used for dry, or contact, temperature
cable, and then fit the tubing over the vinyl tubing is added around leads. measurements.

1984 EDITION 121

 Measure Weak Direct Currents with the
Sensitive Micro Meter
BY I. QUEEN

Low-cost op -amp system can measure solar-cell output

and currents in other low-level circuits.

IF YOU PLAN to measure the output of This output voltage will cause full- the meter movement when an input
a solar cell under low -light conditions, scale deflection of 0-to-50-microamme- current of fifty microamperes exists.
to work with micropower ICs, or other- ter M1 if the effective resistance be- Two shorting switches are included
wise experiment with weak -current cir- tween the output terminal of the opera- in the circuit. Switch S shorts the in-
1

cuits, you'll need a sensitive current me- tional amplifier and the negative termi- put of the project. It is used in con-
ter. The Sensitive µ Meter presented nal of the meter is 10,000 ohms. The junction with potentiometer R5 to zero
here will allow you to measure direct internal resistance of the meter speci- the meter movement. The other
currents as small as a fraction of a mi- fied in the parts list is 1620 ohms, so switch (S3) is used to short the termi-
croampere. Moreover, it is not subject the balance of the required resistance nals of M1 when the meter is not be-
to the disadvantages associated with is supplied by R4. This trimmer potenti- ing used. This minimizes mechanical
standard panel microammeters-high ometer is adjusted for full-scale deflec- shocks to the meter movement when
cost, fragile movements, and relatively tion of the meter movement when the op the project is being transported. Di-
high internal resistance. amp output is at +0.5 volt. odes DI and D2 protect the project
The project employs an operational The project is most sensitive when S2 from excessive input voltages. Jack
amplifier to increase the sensitivity and is in its center (off) position and the J2 provides access to M1 so that the
effectively decrease the input imped- feedback resistance is one megohm. In meter can be used in isolation from
ance of a moderately priced, readily this operating mode, full-scale deflec- the rest of the project.
available 0 -to -50 microammeter. It has tion of the meter corresponds to an in- You might wonder why the circuit
three switch -selected scales; 0 to 0.5 put current of 0.5 p. A. Higher -current provides for a 0 -to -50 -microampere
p. A; 0 to 5 p. A; and 0 to 50 p. A. The ranges are obtained by shunting R3 scale when meter movement, M1,
circuit can be powered by a supply fur- with other resistors to lower the over- covers this range on its own. The fol-
nishing as little as ±2 or +4 V, and can all feedback resistance. This is lowing exercise performed by the au-
be constructed for about $15. accomplished by placing S2 in one of thor will illustrate the need for such a
its two other positions. When the scale. A solar cell was connected
Circuit Operation. A simple circuit for range switch is placed in its 5µA po- across input jack J and illuminated
1

current -measuring applications is sition, the parallel combination of Rl so that the Sensitive µMeter indicat-
shown in Fig. 1. When an input current / and R3 causes the meter to deflect to ed a current of 50 µA. The cell was
is applied to the inverting input of the op full scale if the input current is five mi- then connected to J2 and its output
amp, an inverted output signal is gener- croamperes. Similarly, placing S2 in current measured using Ml alone. It
ated by the op amp. If the gain of the its 50 µ A position shunts R3 with R2 indicated a current of p. A.
1

operational amplifier is very high, we and causes full-scale deflection of The reason for this discrepancy be-
can consider that the entire input cur- tween the two readings is that Ml
rent flows through feedback resistor R. presents a higher resistance to the
An output voltmeter M, which is calibrat- solar cell when it is used indepen-
ed in terms of /, measures the product dently than the project as a whole
IR. The voltage drop across the opera- does. It is desirable to keep the inter-
tional amplifier is practically zero (the nal impedance of a current -measuring
output voltage divided by the op amp's instrument as low as possible. Thus, it
open -loop gain). INPUT is better to employ the project as a
The schematic of the Sensitive p. Me- whole (as opposed to M1 or a similar
ter is shown in Fig. 2. Switch S2 selects meter alone) in the measurement of
the range and determines the feedback currents up to 50 µA.
resistance of the stage. When the There is another significant advan-
switch is in its center (off) position, the tage to the use of the Sensitive µMe-
feedback resistance is R3, one meg- ter as opposed to a microammeter
ohm. An input current of 0.5 p. A will alone. Due to the clipping action of
cause the output of the op amp to be protective diodes Dl and D2, the
Fig. 1. Schematic of simple
0.5 volt above ground when only R3 is in maximum output voltage of the op
current -measuring circuit.
the feedback loop. amp on any of the three ranges is
122 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
 PARTS LIST
C1-0.1- µF disc ceramic
RI Dl,D2-1N914 diode
110K
5pA ICI-LM308N operational amplifier
S2
JI -Open -circuit miniature phone jack
O.SyA R2 J2-Closed-circuit subminiature phone jack
10K
509A J3-Phono jack (must be insulated from
IM J3* project enclosure)
R3
POWER Ml -0 -to -50- µ A meter movement (Radio

*T
JI
INPUT DI D2 CI Shack No. 22-051 or equivalent)
N914 1N914 O.IyF 2
7 RS The following are''/ -watt, 5% -tolerance car-
ICI 6 50K
LM308N METER
bon -composition fixed resistors, unless
I ZERO otherwise specified:
R4 RI-1 10,000 ohms (can be a series connec-
IOK
CAL 'a
tion of 100,000 ohms and 10,000 ohms)
J2 R2-10,000 ohms
R7
METER
R6
R3-1 megohm
10M 2 7K R4-10,000 -ohm, linear -taper trimmer po-
tentiometer
R5 -50,000 -ohm linear -taper potentiometer
MI
0.50pA 3 R6-2700 ohms
R7-10 megohms
`I Sl,S3-Spst toggle switch
S2-Spdt toggle switch with center -off posi-
*SEE TEXT
tion
Misc.-Suitable enclosure, perforated or
Fig. 2. The gain of the operational amplifier and, printed circuit board, IC socket, circuit
hence, the range of the meter are determined by board spacers, machine hardware, control
the amount of resistance in the feedback circuit. knob, hookup wire, solder, etc.

approximately 0.7 volt. This corre- housed his prototype in a 4" X 2" X potentiometer can be used as a source
sponds to less than a 50% overload 11/2" (10.2 X 5.1 X 3.8 cm) aluminum of low-level dc.
of meter movement M1, one that is utility box. A Radio Shack No. 22-051 Depending on the capabilities and
highly unlikely to cause any perma- 0-to-50-microammeter was used for sensitivity of the test equipment avail-
nent damage to the movement. An un- M1. This meter fits the enclosure with able to you, monitor either the current at
protected microammeter, on the other only a slight amount of overlap at the J1 or the voltage at the output of the
hand, can easily be "zapped" by the edges. Of course, a larger enclosure operational amplifier. Adjust the ampli-
inadvertent application of high current can be employed if it is preferred over tude of the input current so that it
overloads, a fact to which more than the one selected by the author. equals 50 p. A. Alternatively, monitor
one electronics experimenter can rue- An LM307 operational amplifier can the output voltage of the op amp and
fully attest. be used for /C1 in place of an LM308 adjust the amplitude of the input current
Power for the circuit is furnished by if pin 3 is connected to project ground until the voltmeter reads +0.500 volt.
an external supply via phono jack J3. through the parallel combination of a Then adjust trimmer potentiometer R4
Note that the shell of this power jack 30,000 -ohm resistor and a 0.1- µF to obtain a full-scale (50 µA) reading
must be insulated from chassis disc ceramic capacitor. This op amp on M1.
ground. The operational amplifier will provide performance comparable The Sensitive µ Meter is now cali-
specified for use as IC1 is an LM308, to that of the LM308 if the circuit is brated and ready for use. In view of its
a precision op amp that can be used modified as just described. Other op- high sensitivity, it is a remarkably sta-
with supply voltages ranging from ±2 erational amplifiers can also be used ble instrument. At the start of each mea-
to ±20 volts. Accordingly, a supply if variations in pinouts and possible suring session, the meter should be ze-
capable of furnishing bipolar voltages compensation requirements are taken roed by adjusting potentiometer R5. It
within these extremes (or a single - into account. should not be necessary to continually
ended one rated at 4 to 40 V) should be touch up this adjustment if a battery or
employed to power the Sensitive µ Calibration and Use. Connect a regulated line -powered supply is used
Meter. Potentiometer R5 is connected suitable power supply to J3, observ- in conjunction with the project.
across the supply to allow zeroing of ing polarities. Then close Si, place Thanks to the protective action of D1
the meter movement under no -input S2 in its 0.5 µ A position, and open S3. and D2, the meter movement is relative-
conditions (Si closed) for any suitable Set the wiper of R4 halfway between ly immune from damage caused by cur-
supply voltage. the two extremes of its travel and adjust rent overloads. Overloads should still
potentiometer R5 for a zero reading on be avoided, however, especially severe
Construction. The project is rela- meter movement M1. Then open S1 and ones that could damage the protective
tively simple, so the use of a perforat- place S2 in its 50 µ A position. Connect diodes. Finally, remember that it is
ed board and point-to-point wiring is a suitable source of weak dc current to good practice to keep shorting -switch
an acceptable assembly technique. the input jack of the project using a S3 closed when the project is not being
Alternatively, the project can be con- length of shielded cable terminated with used. This will damp the meter move-
structed using wrapped -wire or print- a miniature phone plug. A 1.5 -volt bat- ment and minimize the effects of physi-
ed circuit connections. The author tery and a series -connected 1-megohm cal shock upon it.

1984 EDITION 123

www.americanradiohistory.com
 SIMPLE LOW-COST CHARGER KEEPS AN AUTOMOTIVE-
TYPE BATTERY IN PEAK SHAPE BY CASS R. LEWART

THIS simple 12 -jolt automctive bat- :loose between FULL CHAEGE (app-oxi- ou:rut cable should be passed out of the
tery booster/aickle charger pro- rlately one ampere) ard -I:ICKLE enc_asure via grommetted hole. A plug
vides a :boite of charging rates U suit CHARGE (50-mAi. Indicator LEG/ is in that fits the vehicle's cigarette lighter
battery condition. Se: to FULL ZHAF_GE, series with its ct.rrent lint te-, R4. The shot_ Id be connect d to the output cable.
it will restore a parziaIly discharged bat- fuse protects against short cirzuits. Make sure the polarity is correct
ery overnight; when set to Tt CF-LE
CHARGE. it will ma_-t_ain the b=ttery at Construction. The entire circuit can Operation. Plug the ac line cord into
peak capacity for art extended tne. A be mounted in a small me _al enc.osure, a convenient outlet and plug the output
bull* -.n LED glows only wher the using multilug terminal str ps to support cab_2 into the cigarette lighter connec-
charger is delivering current to the bat- the componen:a. Point -to -peint wiring tor. Select either a FULL or TRICKLE
tery ¡The circuit is tlawn in Fig. l.1 :.an be used. The ac line me t -d the charge via SI, and verify that the LED
glcv.s in either position of Si. If the
Circuit Operation. The output af Tl LEID coes not glow, clean the contacts
is rectified by diodes D.' and D2 ?1 sat- on the plug and the cigarette lighter and
ing is is delivered to the battery via a try ¿gain. If this fails, check for e wiring
cable to the cigarei-.e lighter canreetor erre-. Stould the battery be ccmpletely
in tae vehicle. Switch SI is used to disc=harged (dome light does not light
 Fig.1. Circuit for booster/trickle SI FULL
charger project. CHARGE
R4-47-9, "2-W resistor
TI
S1-Spst switch
RI R2 R3
IR
11-25-V, 2-A CT transformer (Radio
2211 1511
LEDI
Shack 273-1512 or similar)
1
Misc.-Suitable enclosure, multi -lug ter-
R4 minal strips, line cord, output cable, suit-
4711 able cigarette lighter plug, mounting
hardware.

PARTS LIST
up), use the TRICKLE CHARGE position of
R1-22-12, 2-W resistor
SI for one to two hours. Less than 8 to 9
D1,D2-3-A, 50-V diode (Radio Shack
R2 -15t2, 2-W resistor
volts from the battery at the end of this
276-1141 or similar)
F 1-2-A fuse and
holder R3-1-9, 10-W resistor (Radio Shack 271- time means that it must be replaced. If
LED1-Red light emitting diode 131 or similar) the voltage is about 12 volts, place SI in
the FULL CHARGE position.

2.
HAVE you ever walked away from
ALARM SOUNDS IF YOUR HEADLIGHTS OR PARKING
LIGHTS ARE ON WITH THE IGNITION OFF

Circuit Operation. The circuit,

BY C. R. BALL

exists across the powerpins of ICI,

your car, left your lights on, and shown in Fig. is based on a 555 timer
1 which remains inoperative.
returned later to discover that your bat- IC. Diodes DI and D2 are arranged as If either the headlight or parking
tery has run down? The circuit de- an OR gate so that either will pass posi- light circuit is alive, and the ignition line
scribed here will end this problem. It tive voltage from its anode to ICI. Diode is off, the dc circuit for ICI is complete.
will sound an alarm if you turn off your D3 blocks reverse current when the igni- The oscillator starts, and sounds a warn-
car's ignition while the headlights or tion alone is on. When the ignition and ing tone via the loudspeaker. The tone's
parking lights are on. The alarm ceases either the headlights or parking lights frequency may be changed by varying
when the lights are turned off. are on, little or no potential difference the values of Rl, R2, or CI. Resistor R3
sets the loudness, and its value may be
altered as desired.
Zener diode ZDI may be required to
HEADLIGHTS provide a threshold to prevent the alarm
IN4001(2) from operating if there is a small poten-
PARKING ZDI
tial difference in the dc supply circuit
LIGHTS D2 (SEE during normal operation. To determine
TEXT) Fig. 1. With ignition off,
the necessity and/or value of ZDI, with
and the headlights and
3
parking lights on, the headlights and ignition both on,
R2
10K alarm will sound. measure the voltage between points H
and I. If the voltage is more that 1.4
volts, the zener is required. The zener
voltage should be slightly higher than
D3
IN4001
the excess over 1.4 volts. For low volt-
IGNITION ages, one or more forward -biased silicon
diodes can be substituted for the zener.
PARTS LIST Each silicon diode drops about 0.7 volt.
C1 -0.05-µF, 50-V Mylar capacitor ZD 1-see text
C2- 10-µF, 50-V electrolytic Misc.-Suitable enclosure, interconnect-
ing cables, mounting hardware.
Construction. The system can be as-
D1, D2, D3 -1N4001 or similar
sembled on a small piece of perf board,
ICI -555 timer Note: Available from BaIIABS, Box 703,
or on the pc board whose foil pattern is
R 1, R2-10,000-52, "4 -watt Duluth, GA 30136: kit of all parts except
R3-selected for volume, nominally 56 ZDI and case (LO-1K) for $10.50 plus shown in Fig. 2. After completion, the
ohms shipping. Also available: pc board (LO-1) board can be mounted in a small enclo-
SPKR-3.2-to-8-ohm, 2" speaker for á2.50, assembled and tested without sure. Check the polarities of the IC and
case (LO-1A) $25.00. all diodes before applying power.
The small speaker is connnected to
the two pads marked S, the pad marked
Q r-{zD HO
I is connected to the vehicle ignition lead

r
N Dl (after the ignition switch), the pad
PC. VY It
marked H connects to the headlight
POOM
R1 ó D2 OP
Rl }- Fig. 2. Etching and
drilling guide and
power line, and the pad marked P goes
to the parking light line.
Sej 5 e
R2 component install-
To allow the lights to be used with the
+ cs OS ation is at left.
ignition off, an spst switch can be con-
-
R3

N
cl
0 CI)

-{D3
R3

OIJ
S
O nected in series with D3 to defeat the
alarm. If this switch is used, make sure
LO
that it is clearly identified so that it can
be closed for normal operation. 0
125
1984 EDITION
 AUT /MANTIC
LONE When your
line voltage
L1rAGI nosedives,
this circuit
REGULAT gives a
6-volt boost

BY HERBERT ELKIN

DO YOUR lights go dim, does your that the two voltages add. Relay KI taps hold relay KI in the position that directs
TV picture shrink and lose bright- an output from the primary alone or the normal line voltage to the output.
ness, or are your ac appliances acting as from the combined windings. The re- The SCR, then turns off when the pow-
though they're just plain tired? You mainder of the circuit senses the output er -line voltage passes through zero. The
may be living in an area subject to voltage and sets (or resets) KI to switch neon lamp fires on each positive half
"brownouts" (low power -line voltage), the extra winding in or out as needed. cycle, allowing its glow to be used as a
and the solution to your troubles could As can be seen from Fig. 1 and the "normal" line voltage indication. Dur-
well be some form of voltage regulation. waveforms of Fig. 2, capacitor CI fol- ing the negative half cycles, diode Dl
The automatic line voltage regulator lows the swings of the fraction of the clamps Cl to circuit ground, thus keep-
described in this article will automati- power -line voltage developed across the ing the neon lamp "off" and preventing
cally raise power -line voltage by about R2 portion of voltage divider RI -R2. the negative pulse from being applied to
six volts whenever it drops below a pre- Potentiometer R2 is adjusted so that the the SCR gate.
set level. When the line voltage returns peak voltage across CI just reaches the Because its drive switches on and off
to normal, the compensation automati- firing level of neon lamp II when the at power -line frequency, relay KI would
cally drops out. (See Fig. 1.) voltage across R1 -R2 reaches the level normally "chatter". Capacitor C4, con-
where automatic compensation is not re- nected across the relay coil, prevents this
Circuit Operation. Filament trans- quired. The neon lamp breaks down and problem as it charges when the SCR
former TI is connected with its 6.3 -volt applies a positive pulse to the gate of fires to provide both filtering (due to
secondary in series with the primary so SCRI, causing the SCR to turn on and rectification of the ac voltage by SCRI),
'Loral Electronic Systems, Yonkers, NY.

OFF

lá
SIA

FI
3A ON TI
PARTS LIST
RS
4711
R3
C1,C2,C3-0.015-µF, 400 -volt ceramic ca-
RI C2
51K
5611 .015 pacitor
C4 -4-2F, 250 -volt electrolytic
SIB D1 -1N2069, 1 -ampere, 200-PIV rectifier
F1 -3
-ampere, slow -blow fuse with holder
17
VAC
I1-NE-51H neon lamp assembly (Dialco
95-0463-0931-211 or similar)
K1-2pdt, 48 -volt, 2500-ohm relay (Sigma
62R2-48DC-SCO or similar)
R -51,000 -ohm, 1/2-W, 10% resistor
1

R3,R4-56-ohm, 1/2-W, 10% resistor

R5 -47 -ohm, l/2-W, 109.3 resistor
R2 -100,000-ohm, multi -turn pot.
S 1-2pdt switch
SCR 1 -4
-ampere, 200 -Ply silicon con-
trolled rectifier
T1 -6.3-V 3-A, filament transformer
Misc.-Ac receptable (S01), terminal
strip, suitable enclosure, spacers,
Fig. 1. When line voltage drops, K1 adds the 6.3-V secondary
mounting hardware, etc.
of T 1 in series with the line to raise the output at S01.

126 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

 A
60 Hz OV
LINE
0° 180° 360
VOLTAGE

VF ' NEON LAMP

FIRING VOGE
LTA

B
VOLTAGE Ov
ACROSS
Cl

SCR
CONDUCTS

SCR
GATE
OV
K.-
TRIGGER
t LINE VOLTAGE
PEAK

D
SCR
CONDUCTION ov O
/
/
i/
ANGLE
('k CYCLE)
0` 90' 180 % / 360°

/
//
Fig. 2. Waveform at (A) is line voltage; (B) is Interior photo of the prototype regulator.
voltage across Cl; (D) is SCR conduction angle. Components can be mounted on pc or pert board.

and relay -coil holding current when the The windings of Ti can be phased age trip point, a source of variable line
SCR is off. using the setup shown in Fig. 3. Tempo- voltage is required. (A Variac or similar
The networks consisting of R3 -C2 rarily connect one secondary lead to one device will do.) Adjust the power -line in-
and R4 -C3 form arc-suppression cir- side of the primary as shown. Very care- put for 110 volts-or whatever voltage
cuits to minimize relay contact pitting, fully (to avoid shock), measure and note you wish the relay to trip at-and con-
while R5 limits SCR surge current to a the voltage appearing across the trans- nect an ac voltmeter across the contacts
safe value. Using the parts shown in Fig. former primary alone. This is the line of SO/. Vary potentiometer R2 until
1, appliances drawing up to 350 VA can voltage. Then measure the voltage neon lamp II glows and note that as this
be controlled. For higher power, a larg- across the combined primary/secondary happens the relay is activated, which
er transformer and a relay with heavier and note that it is 6.3 volts higher. If the means that the voltage is not boosted,
contacts can be used. Make sure that voltage indication is less than the noted and the ac voltmeter across SO/ regis-
fuse Fl is a slow -blow type to accommo- line voltage, phasing is incorrect. Ex- ters 110 volts.
date any turn -on surge currents. To by- change the two secondary leads and re- Carefully rotate R2 until the neon
pass the compensation circuit, switch Si peat the above test. When the combined lamp just extinguishes and the relay de -
can be set to OFF. voltage is higher than the line voltage, energizes. The ac voltmeter across SO/
you know that the transformer leads are should move up to approximately 116.3
Construction. With the exception of properly phased. volts. Slowly increase the input voltage
transformer T/, output socket 501, level until the neon lamp lights and note
neon lamp assembly II, and on/off Calibration. To adjust the low -volt - that the ac voltmeter indicates about
switch SI, all components can be 112 volts. Set the trip point wherever
mounted on a small pc board-or a perf you want it to occur.
board, using point-to-point wiring. The
board can be mounted in any type of In Conclusion. This project repre-
enclosure that can accommodate all of sents a simple, inexpensive way to pro-
the components. The line cord exits vide some compensation for low power -
through a grommetted hole. line voltage. Its regulation is somewhat
A terminal strip with nongrounded coarse, but is sufficient for most home
lugs must be used for the transformer VOLTMETER
AC
appliances. Note that, since relay KI in-
leads and ac power connections. If a terrupts power briefly while switching in
metal enclosure is used, it is important the booster winding, the circuit may not
that it be isolated from both sides of the Fig. 3. Meter should read 6.3 V above line be suitable for use with sensitive devices
power line to prevent a shock hazard. with transformer connected as shown. such as computers or digital clocks. O

1984 EDITION 127

www.americanradiohistory.com
 A low-cost circuit provides up to 16 logic displays
on single -trace oscilloscopes

IOW ORD\ARY OSCILLOSCO9LS

CA\ DISPLAY
MULTI -CHANNEL LOGIC SIGNALS
i.....e..._
41118111 11._
..... ONO» --
Om Me ,.. a.. .. w .. ..

.goolommoom.
..._
.r. <..

momm
BY LES SOLOMON

....r... OMmMum .......

DIGITAL logic circuits,
whether they are in a .....
MOW..
... .....
+rMw w.
.
WOW
.. .... ....
«..w.
W.....
«...
..,r.
a.ye.
«.,.....
«,.. other counter). When the
.....
clock input is driven, the
,.r... r..

simple counter or a com- ,........ three address outputs cy-

plex computer, are mmoommm cle continuously through
formed from interlocking the digital code.
networks of gates and The eight traces are
flip-flops. Observing such developed from the three
circuits as they operate is address lines by a rudi-
possible with a logic probe, a dc voltmeter, or a scope. mentary D / A converter formed by R 1, R2, and R3 con-
But since a logic probe or voltmeter can monitor but one nected to the upper end of R5. When an address line
signal at a time and the operation of digital circuits goes high, current flows through the associated resistor
depends on the time relationships between a large num- and R5 to ground, developing a voltage across R5. With
ber of signals, these instruments are of little help. A the circuit shown, an 8 -step waveform is present for
dual -trace scope does little better as it can be used to application to the scope vertical input.
monitor only two signals. Note the relationship between the weighted outputs
What is needed is a way to monitor many signals of the counter and the associated resistors. If the scope
simultaneously. The obvious solution, a logic analyzer, is horizontal sweep is properly adjusted, eight discrete
costly. However, by taking advantage of some low-cost, traces will appear on the display. As a point of interest,
readily available ICs, it is possible to construct a very slightly reducing the value of R1 will produce a small gap
inexpensive logic state analyzer that can display eight between the upper and lower four traces so that two
vertically displaced discrete traces on a conventional "nybbles" can be displayed.
single -trace scope. Each trace will display the signals Resistor R4 is connected between the output of the
present on a selected input line. Thus, the timing of up to data selector and the D/A converter. The value of this
eight different points within a circuit can be simulta- resistor determines the amplitude of the data selector
neously observed. The basic circuit is shown in Fig. 1. output signal. Scope sync can be taken from the system
clock or from other points in the countdown chain. If the
Circuit Operation. The "heart" of the circuit is a 1 -of - clock is very fast, a 7490/7493/or equivalent divider
8 data selector that can accept eight TTL inputs and, via can be used ahead of the main counter.
an internal address decoder, place one of the eight at a Eight traces are usually the limit for observation on a
time on the chip output line. The inputs are selected by 5" scope CRT. However, if your scope has sufficient
applying a digital code from 000 to 111 to the three writing speed and you wish to display 16 traces, substi-
address inputs of the data selector. When the enable tute a 74150 (1 -of -16 data selector) for the 74151. Add
pin (7) is held low, the chip operates normally. an 8000 -ohm resistor to the new address line and the
The three address lines are driven from a counter (a top of R5. Note that theoretical resistor values are
divide -by -sixteen 7493, a decade 7490, or almost any specified in the circuit. Use nearest standard values.

128 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
multi-channel logic
+ PARTS LIST
5 4-5V IC1-7493 divide -by -16 counter
0 SET
2
IC2-74151 -of -8 data selector
1
IC3
+N CLK
IC74913
0 SET
I

7aoa IC3-7404 hex inverter

1_10
I

SCOPE
R1 -1000 -ohm, -watt resistor
1

02 04 08 o EXT 1/2

9 B
SYNC R2 -2200 -ohm, -watt resistor (see text)
1/2
PRESCALER
(OPTIONAL) RK R3 -470Ó -ohm,1/2 -watt resistor (see text)
SCOPE
VMM VERT R4,R5-10,000-ohm, 1/2 -watt resistor
INPUT Misc.-Optional prescalers; oscillo-
R2 scope connectors; colt r-coded 8 -lead
2K ribbon cable; grommets; suitable enclo-
o WWV
sure; miniature test clips; 14- or 16 -pin
R3 IC clamp -on; machine hardware; hook-
4K up wire; solder; etc.

R4
10
4 OHM^Nv
Construction. The simple circuit can
OUT be assembled on a small perforated (or a
IC2
+5
6
74151 EN15,
7
R5
10K
home-made pc) board, leaving room for
8
two or three optional ICs. The basic cir-
cuit consists of ICI, IC2, IC3 and the
121141 131 151 I 31 21 41 five resistors.
BOTTOM TOP Once assembled, the board can be
TRACE
TRACE INPUTS mounted in a small enclosure; and, if
Fig. 1. Rudimentary D/A converter creates an eight -step
desired, a low -power 5 -volt supply can
wavefrom. Scope sweep adjustment produces eight traces.
be added. Since the basic circuit re-
quires about 72 mA, the analyzer can be
powered from the circuit under test.
The scope sync and vertical input con-
.elle* nectors can be mounted anywhere on the
.>e......,.. enclosure, while the 8-leád ribbon cable
.. ..
w. ...
.11
+M.
gIM

M.
Oa*
...
]1.
w.el
Ago !r
,..
low
M.w
w. (one lead for each data selector input)
exits via a grommetted hole. The +5 -
.rr,.
..
MMMMMM
,M.
....
.wi..
.1..
+..Mw
.w-we
MwM
volt, ground, and clock leads exit via
their own protected hole.
The 11 leads can be terminated as
desired. The prototype used miniature

M..
MI.H.rI..

w...
.-...MM..,- ...M1101.0M.
*MM.
+.
...Irr
.....rw..+
...M.. M.r.
..r...M.
...*Wete...
mom..
test clips (Radio Shack 270-372, Calec-
tro F2-916, or similar) to make the
closely spaced IC pin connections. To
.- ....gw w..u. Me» ..IM.. Mr.1. i.1M1. M.... M..... examine a single IC, a 14- or 16 -pin IC
.11-.11..-11.4
clamp-on may be used. When using such
a clamp -on, the +5 volts and ground
mmMeOMNIIIM can be taken from the IC. Some form of
gemmAmememer
identification must be used on each of
the eight data leads.
Display of eight traces from a typical counter. Use. Connect the status analyzer to the

:. :'' .
"..
,. '«. w wel. -wM. ..á
-.
.M....-...Mr...
Ow.. «..
e

....w ...w. M.. MM.

.- +5 volts, ground, and clock of the cir-
cuit under test. Connect the analyzer
ground and output to the scope ground
and vertical input, and the sync to the
.....-.......M...
M.... *MOW
,..... ......... AMAA MMIA
scope external sync input. With operat-

.
MOMMA

owe

.0.1. *MM. -...Mw

ing power applied, adjust the scope
w.
-.-.Mw.
.-ww.wM.
-w.MM....-.M.r .w--.a..w....M. -r
M. .w..w.' sweep for eight discrete traces.
1...w
M

M-.. elw.w rv..

MAM Mame r.--. game.
Any or all of the eight analyzer inputs
can be connected to the logic under test.
<..M..-.we
WA....wMaM... .........w.-.... MegeMOMmeg
Adjust the scope sweep and sync for a
1. w a..
+.w
.. ..
arage
WM
mg.
.MelM.
s w-
M.-M
P-
a...M..--.r...M.O. r
.-M-..M..- ..M...4.ea.M..w.1...M.OwM...M.w.
+

I...».a.nw.w.w
Mw.. ..... ...w...,r
.....
MA
.w
Mr
owe

w...:.r..- `
a. M.
a...»
gone.
w. stable display. Once this is done, the val-
ue of R4 can be selected for the desired
signal height on the traces. To avoid
confusion, make sure that the signals do
awe *ow ....-«..u...r..«.,-..+...-.M.. ...M.-1. not overlap. Resistor R5 can be selected
ergo. ...w
...
...w
...w we...11.0.i.Miel-.1w.
w
...w - mega. a.m.
Me..w..M.
MAMA
for a convenient signal level input for
Mww... ...-Meli. the scope.
Although this circuit is realized with
TTL chips, a resourceful experimenter
Sixteen -trace synthethis using a dual trace scope. could build one using CMOS logic, fol-
lowing the same approach. O

1984 EDITION 129

www.americanradiohistory.com
 BY M. T. VALESCU

AN ARDL A\C
"OFF" REMINDER
A low-cost project provides an audible alert
when an appliance indicator light goes off
IT
IS often useful-sometimes vital- ing that capacitor CI has been dis- two physically independent sections-
for the user of an appliance to know if charged by the operation of SI, Q4 also the light-sensitive portion and the
and when it ceases to operate, whether lacks the voltage required to turn it on. alarm/power package, with the two in-
by design or due to a power failure. Thus, all four transistors are off and terconnected by a length of flexible
Usually, this is not difficult to accom- current from the battery is almost nil. four -conductor cable.
plish, since most appliances are equip- When light strikes Ql, its resistance The four transistors and two resistors
ped with indicator lights that show when drops, depending on the illumination that form the photosensor can be assem-
they are working. But if the appliance is level, and Q2 is turned on. The voltage bled on a small piece of perforated board
not in direct view, keeping track of it can developed across RI turns Q3 on pro- or a small printed -circuit board. Make
be a great annoyance. vided CI is discharged. Thus Q4 is driv- sure that the sensitive face of QI is in
One solution to this problem is to use en deeper into cutoff. Current flows the clear so that light can pass through a
an electronic "eye" that senses the ra- through Q3 and R2 to charge CI. When hole in the case and shine on this sur-
diation from the indicator light and the voltage across Cl rises to within 0.7 face. Select a low -leakage device for Q2.
sounds an alarm when it is interrupted. volt of that across RI. Q3 is cut off. This If phototransistor QI is a low -gain de-
For convenience, only the sensor is re- condition will last as long as transistor vice (units vary with manufacturer), in-
quired to be physically at the monitoring QI is illuminated. crease the value of RI. However, to
point; the alarm can be located where it When the illumination ceases, the avoid false alarms do not make the cir-
is easily heard. voltage across RI drops. Since Cl is cuit too sensitive.
The Lights-Out Alert described here charged high enough to reverse -bias Q3, The board can be mounted in a small
provides the answer. It is battery pow- this transistor cuts off and turns on Q4. enclosure having a hole drilled so that
ered and reliable; can be built from low- Discharge current from CI now flows external light can fall on the sensitive
cost components; and is usable with al- through R2 and Q4 to drive alarm AI. face of Ql. Another small hole can be
most any sort of power -on light indicator. After some time (about one minute used for the four-conductor cable. The
per 10,000 microfarads of Cl), Cl be- alarm/power elements are mounted in a
Circuit Operation. As shown in Fig. comes discharged and the alarm turns separate enclosure with holes near the
1, phototransistor Q1 and Darlington - off. The circuit is then ready for the next alarm so that it can be heard.
connected Q2 form a high -gain optical - illumination period, with no current To test the project, expose the photo-
to -electrical transducer that drives a drawn from BI. Switch SI, in conjunc- sensitive surface of QI to an ordinary
charge pump made up of Q3 and Q4 and tion with R3, provides manual silencing household light bulb at a distance of
associated components. of the alarm. This switch should not be about 18 inches. When the light source
When no light strikes Ql, its resist- operated during the charging cycle of is removed, the alarm should sound for
ance should be high enough so that Q2 is CI because this will tend to deplete the approximately one minute. Changing
cut off. Any slight leakage from Q2 battery's charge. the value of Cl changes the alarm -on
should produce less than 0.7 volt across time. The alarm can be silenced by oper-
RI-not enough to turn on Q3. Assum- Construction. The circuit consists of ating switch SI.

PARTS LIST

Al-Alarm (Sonalert SC628 or similar)

B1 -9 -volt battery
C1- 10,000-µF, 10-V capacitor (see text)
Q 1-TL78 phototransistor (Radio Shack
FPR- 100)
Q2-MPS3568 transistor (Radio Shack
S0015)
Q3 -2N2102 transistor (Radio Shack
S5026)
Q4 -2N3638 transistor (Radio Shack
S0029)
R1-10,000-0, 1/4-W resistor
R2-100-2, ßi4 -W resistor
R3-10-2, 1i4 -W resistor
S1-Normally open pushbutton switch
Misc.-Length of four -conductor cable,
Fig. 1. Phototransistor Q1 senses when the light impinging suitable enclosures, perf board, printed -
on it goes off. The signal is then amplified to energize alarm A 1. circuit board, mounting hardware, etc.

130 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK

www.americanradiohistory.com
 Using the 4060
as a Timer
MENTION timing circuits, and Devices of the 4060 -series use oscillator same timing frequency the 4060 has a
most people tend to think of the frequencies much higher than what is correspondingly smaller RC product.
ubiquitous 555 IC. While the 555 is ex- required at the output. The oscillator Hence, there is no need to use inaccu-
cellent for most timing applications, oth- frequency goes through a 14 -stage bina- rate and unstable electrolytic capacitors
er devices are worthy of consideration. ry counter that divides it by as much as or humidity -sensitive, very -high -value
These are the CMOS CD4060A and 16,384 (214) before it is used as the final resistors.
SCL4060AB 14 -stage ripple -carry bi- timing frequency. While the CD4060A and SCL-
nary counters from RCA and Solid Using a much higher oscillator fre- 4060AB are interchangeable in most
State Scientific, respectively. quency than the 555 timer to obtain the cases, the two are different. In the CD
Among other advantages, the 4060 -
series devices can be less expensive to
implement in a given application be- m e m M
n -
{c
c ca m
ò
cause they require less critical and less
expensive resistors and capacitors. A
second advantage is that 4060 -series de- 17 15 14 16 114 113 115 11 1213
vices can deliver a number of output fre- 04 05 06 07 08 09 010 012 0 3 014

quencies from the same RC compo- 14 - STAGE RIPPLE COUNTER

nents; the 555 delivers only one.

Technical Details. In a 555 timer

circuit, external frequency -determining
resistor and capacitor values must be se-
Fig 1. Internal schematic
arrangement of the RCA
CD4060 timer
A CD 4060
OD
16

integrated circuit.
lected to produce the desired oscillator
frequency directly. As a result, in many
cases where relatively long time con-
stants (low frequencies) are desired, the
RC product requires the use of bulky, 10

expensive electrolytic capacitors with,

often, inaccurate values and high losses.

VALUE OF Rt IN OHMS
100 IK 10K 100K IOM
10K J

SC L406048

10
2K

Fig. 2. With low values of timing resistor, 19, the frequency of

the circuit can vary with applied dc operating voltage.

1984 EDITION 131

www.americanradiohistory.com
 4060 timer
BOOKS device, the oscillator is keyed by the
reset input, whereas in the SCL device,
SCL4060AB. With time delays of more
FROM than a few hours, it was determined that
the reset operates on the dividers, leav- use of R5 is not necessary.
CREIVE ing the oscillator in continuous operation.
Basic internal logic of the CD4060A Practical Timer. Shown schemati-
COMPUTING is shown in Fig. 1. Two of the four
inverters serve as the active elements of
cally in Fig. 3 is the circuit for a practi-
cal 1 -minute timer built around a 4060 -
PRESS the internal oscillator whose output is
passed through the 14 -stage ripple -carry
series device. A 330,000 -ohm resistor
and 0.01-µF capacitor are doing a job
GAME BOOKS binary counter. Oscillator frequency is that would require a 60-megohm/mi-
BASIC COMPUTER GAMES, Microcomputer set by an RC network, or an external crofarad RC product in a 555 circuit.
Edition, edited by David H. Ahl. Here's a great and
collection of 101 fascinating games, all written
in easy -to -use Microsoft BASIC. Play Craps, +v
Combat, Super Star Trek, Lunar LEM Rocket, sl
START
Gomoko, Checkers, Boxing, Bowling -and 93
14
others! With an introduction, notes on Microsoft 6
BASIC, and conversion instructions for other
BASICs. 8'/%" x 11", softcover, illustrated, with
Ct
an index. $7.95 ($1.50). # 6C6 .OI yF
Rt
MORE BASIC COMPUTER GAMES, edited by 330K
David H. Ahl and Steve North. In this sequel to CD/SCL o Fig. 3. With the values
RI
406058 shown, this circuit has a
Basic Computer Games you'll find 84 challeng- 100K
ing new games, complete with sample runs, R one -minute delay period.
3.3M
program listings and illustrations. All run in Mi- The output strobe goes
crosoft BASIC. Race your Ferrari, become a high after timeout.
millionaire, joust with a knight, crack a safe, and
c1
more! Conversion table to other BASIC s in- f

cluded. 8Y," x 11", softcover, illustrated, $7.95 TLZ F

($1.50). #6C2
TRS-805 Microcomputer Edition, $7.95 ($1.50). -v
#6C4 OUTPUT

me crystal oscillator can be connected to pin Momentary closure of START switch

9 to eliminate the need for the internal SI causes the set -reset flip-flop made up
oscillator. When the internal oscillator from two gates in a 4001 quad 2 -input
is used, the input at pin 12 is provided to NAND IC to produce a high output at
reset the counter to zero and disable the pin 12 of the 4060. After the timing
oscillator. interval (oscillator frequency) deter-
EDUCATIONAL BOOKS It is not necessary to use all 14 stages mined by R, and C,, pin 3 of the 4060
of division. As shown in Fig. 1, you can goes low and toggles the flip-flop to stop
BE A COMPUTER LITERATE, by Marion Ball and
Sylvia Charp, is an introduction to computing
select division factors of 16, 32, 64, 128, the counter. At the same time, the out-
for children ages 10 to 16. Perfect for school or 256, 512, 1,024, 4,096, 8,192, or 16,384, put of the bottom 4001 gate, held low
home use, this easy -to-read volume shows how simply by picking off the output from during the timing interval, goes high.
to use computers and introduces program- the appropriate pin of the IC. (Since the 4001 contains four on -chip
ming concepts. Illustrated in full color with dia- Timing resistance values of 4060-series gates, the fourth gate can be paralled
grams and photos on every page. 81/4" x 11", devices should not be less than 10,000 with the output stage to provide more
softcover, with glossary of terms. $6.95 ($1.50).
#6H ohms to avoid changes in frequency with driving current for an external circuit.)
TRS-80 is a registered trademark of the Radio Shack Divi-
changes in applied dc operating voltages. Much longer timing intervals can be
of Tandy Corp. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the frequen- obtained by cascading the pin -3 output
¡e:on cy/resistance function reverses at about of the 4060 with a 4020, a 14 -stage
I CREATIVE COMPUTING PRESS Dept. NF4C 1 4500 ohms with a 5 -volt supply and at counter that is similar to the 4060 but
39 East Hanover Avenue, Morris Plains, NJ 07950
Send me the books listed below. 1300 ohms using 10 volts. lacks the internal oscillator.
ITEM
NO. OTY. TITLE
PRICE P a H'
EACH ( ) TOTAL
The frequency calculation formula Capacitor CI and resistor RI improve
for the 4060 given in manufacturer ap- the circuit's immunity to noise and are
plication notes is F = 1/(2.2R,C,), optional.
where R, and C, are the values of the
timing resistor and capacitor. This for- Summing Up. Once you start working
CA, NJ and NY residents

CHECK ONE:
PAYMENT ENCLOSED $
AI
add applicable sales tax
'Outside USA add $3 00 per order TOTAL
mula assumes Voo is 10 volts, C, is
greater than 100 pF; R, is greater than
with 4060 -series devices, you will proba-
bly think of them as often as you do the
CHARGE MY: 1000 ohms, and RS is larger than 10 555 for your timing applications. Their
American Express MasterCard D Visa
(Charge and phone orders: $10 minimum.) times R,. (RS is the external stabilizing easy implementation into circuit designs
resistor, as shown in the inset schematic and reduced demands on frequency -
Card No Exp. Date
diagram in Fig. 2.) In this author's expe- determining resistors and capacitors
Mr./Mrs /Ms
(please pont full name)
rience, this formula is accurate only make them particularly attractive where
Address Apt
when R, is greater than 50,000 ohms. costs must be kept down and hardware
With values less than 50,000 ohms, ob- space is at a premium. And they offer a
City served frequency was lower than pre- number of different output frequencies
State Zip dicted by the formula. from a given RC network that gives
For faster service, CALL TOLL FREE: 800-631-8112.
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Data given in Fig. 2 was obtained at them an important advantage over sin-
the pin -7 (=16) output from an gle -frequency -only timing devices. 0
132 EXPERIMENTER'S HANDBOOK
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T1
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