> wl The goal: The method: ‘The result: Control configure, or monitor Connect serial portto ‘Access device from the Intemet or 2 a serial device using Ethernet 2 serial to Ethernet device server local area network (LAN) using SSH or SSL. NetBurners Secure Serial to Ethernet Servers network enable serial devices out of the box -no programming or developments required, The hardware is pre-programmed to convert your serial data to Ethernet, enabling secure communication with the serial NetBurner Development Kits are available device over a network or the Internet. to customize any aspect of operation including web pages, data filtering, or custom network applications. Information and sales | sales@netburnercom = Web | wewnetburnercom Telephone | 1-800-695-6828Fun starts behind a 5” screen ee price: $249° ikromedia 5 for Tiva” ARM Cortex"™-M4F on-board Size does matter Communicate wireless'y Beyond expectations Powerful Workhorse 5" Touch Screen C3000 WiFi module Debugger on board Mighty TsiscL29xNCZAD Huge touchscreen n B00x480px Internet of things - check! For the fist time, we'e racks: 120 MHz operation, 1MB_—_resolution brings awesome Insanely popula’ [Link]—_embedéng programmer and of Flash 256 KB of SRAM sraphics and vivid colos. Youve module's right here for you debugger on mikcomedia board. OMA controller, on-chip LED never seen suchabig display It features easy touse Just plugin the USB cable and cont id alot more di ven just by 2 microcontrole SimpeLink Pua TCPAP stack there yougo! [[-] MikroElektronika GET IT NOW SEWOPMENT TOOLS COMPEERS OOS [Link]February 2014 22 Improved Efficiency 13.80 46 Power Supply Many hobbyists use or repair equipment intended for automotive use, so require 3 power source. The linear design presented here is modernized with MOSFET pass elements that improve efficiency with no switching noise, By Robert Atkinson An Easy Two-Wire LCD Inexpensive LCDs show up all the time on the surplus market, but they usually require either four or eight data lines in addition to several control lines. Of course, you could always dip into your wallet and spring for more advanced displays. However, with just a pittance of external parts, itis easy to reconfigure even the humblest LCD to run well on only two port lines of a microcontroller. This article describes just such a technique. By Thomas Henry An Arduino Controlled Digital FM Radio While you can always listen to the radio from some newfangled device, why not do it the old-fashioned way — over the air from a desktop unit (Plus, you get to control it with a remotel) By Craig A. Lindley Page 20 This is Radio Disaster Calling When natural disasters occur and phone service goes out, its ham radio operators who keep communications open 1m By Dave Prachnow MakerPlot — The DIY Software Kit Part’ ‘An important function of MakerPlot is its bi-directional capabilities. What this means is that your microcontroller can control or be controlled with this unique software. Find out how this is. accomplished. 1m By John Gaviik and Martin Hebel Page 22 08 PICAXE Primer Sharpening Your Tools of Creativity PICAXE-Pi Communications — Part 1. Get answers to questions about the behavior of the [Link] program from last time, and begin an ‘exploration of PICAXE-Pi communications. Reader Questions Answered Here Inquiries about trickle chargers, ham mobile radio setups, and electronic player pianos are asked and answered this time. Open Communication The Latest in Networking and Wireless Technologies DSL and Cable TV Broadband Internet “4 Access: How Do They Work? 7 Chances are you're already using at least one of 18 these technologies, but recent upgrades have made 24 NMBA Hcp enero 4 NITSIVONS February 2014 them faster. Read about the technical details of each system and the most recent new features and specifications. Smiley's Workshop Programming ° Hardware * Projects The Arduino Classroom. Arduino 101/Chapter 2: Digital Output - LEDs. ‘As we continue our curriculum on computing and electronics basics, learn how to design circuits Using light emitting diodes, and then how to use these LEDs with Arduino software to indicate events to people using your system. DEVELOPING 64 NVWEBSTORE PERSPECTIVES Wight Mecting 67 ELECTRO-NET READER FEEDBACK 77 CLASSIFIEDS NEw PRoDUcTs 78 TECH FORUM. SHOWCASE 81 ADINDEX Teaser a Is POSTThe only USB Oscilloscope built for advanced users, priced for students. TUS. student rice) ei@$ —€ XILINX I ST ea ORCC oa ee ee oe En eC Ene ce eee ct CR tg Pee ee seat une cee ea C ne nce a mone ec aera eo Analog Discovery lets you build and test analog and digital circuits in virtually any environment, in or out of the lab * 2-Channel Oscilloscope NUL Spe R Mt Re aac g ATER DIGHTS) Peed ty iene deless breadboard Be yee Ste De Cmenrunrsl Rei Ure * 16-Channel Digital Pattern Generator Deel tees a4 Bese * Network Analyzer Dee aed * Digital /O “eeitta gital / SOE IMT onc aes en WAVJANALOG DISCOVERY Pe eer ee Greta USB OSCILLOSCOPE+So aceon a Night Meeting When Google announced that it had purchased Boston Dynamics, | couldn't help but think of Ray Bradbury's tale of Night Meeting, from his Martian Chronicles. The story begins when a man from Earth and @ Martian encounter each other on a desolate road one right on Mars. The man is driving an old pickup truck, while the Martian is driving a mult-legged vehicle. They look out on the landscape and realize that they come from different times, but they can't determine which of them is from the future and which is from the past. There's a lot more to the story, of course, but the metaphor of legged and wheeled vehicles passing in the night seems relevant to the Google-Boston Dynamics deal. Of course, Google is the company behind the driverless car that promises to make the steering wheel as useful as your appendix. Then, there's Boston Dynamics, the creator of the Army Mule, Big Dog, Cheetah, and other fourlegged robots that can manage rough terrain that would stop a wheeled vehicle in its tracks. if you check out the Army Mule on YouTube, youll hear that the gas;powered engine needs a bit of muffling before it can be used in a stealth operation, but otherwise, it seems up to the task of hauling gear. | don't see multilegged vehicles replacing the four Feedback Motion Control The Old Way Wendie The Kangaroo ctor ae Ba Express disappointment 2) Press Autotune 16) Read tok, mod PID cient 3538 5) Decide perormance gs enough 3 Reahie 2 adds self-tuning SNES IEM, Since tthe, feedback to SyRen Seite cy Aero wo and Sabertooth motor drivers, i © WISIVONS Febmuary 2014 He $2499 <—D _wrw.[Link] kangaroo ‘OPN RSPECTIVE wheeled car any time soon, but cars aren't the only vehicles in use today. More and more ‘personal* vehicles are making theit way onto sidewalks, in stores, and in the malls. These motorized carts and wheel chairs often require the user to detour onto ramps because they can't navigate steps or escalators. Perhaps there's something. in a multilegged vehicle that would provide value over and above the transportation provided by an ordinary motorized buggy. For military purposes, there's the obvious advantage of a pack mule that can carry heavy loads and, eventually, serve as a vehicle for soldiers. For the soldiers who lose one or both legs in battle, riding a weaponized robotic mule into battle might be one way to contribute to the fight. For civilian purposes, imagine the spinofts of the legged technology — from chairs that gently raise or lower an elderly or injured person, to walking assistants that either carry or guide the person to their destination. (One thing's for certain — we'te bound to see spinoffs of the technology appear at our favorite online suppliers. | can't wait to get my hands on what I can only imagine is the sensor technology used by the Mule to maintain balance. Then, there's the camera system used to track the terrain. | dont know what sort of gasoline-powered generator is used in the Mule, but I'm sure that | can think of ways to repurpose the technology for other projects. For now, | have no desire to be transformed into a bionic Centaur, but in another 30 years or so when my joints are arthritic from all those marathons, | may have a difierent opinion. It's good to have options, and that's certain to come from the GoogleBoston Dynamics venture. MW | pid you know that if you're a paid subscriber to Nuts & Volts, you can get the online version for FREE? Get details at [Link]NUTS VOLTS Published Monthly 8y T&L Publications, Inc 430 Princeland Ct. Corona, CA 92879-1300 (951) 371-8497 AX (951) 971-9052 store orders only 1-800-783-4624 [Link] Subscriptions “ol Free 1-877-525-2539 Outside US 1-818-487-4545, PO. Box 18277 North Holywood, CA 91615 FOUNDER Jack Lemieux PUBLISHER. Lary Lemieux pubkisher@[Link] ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ ADVERTISING SALES Robin Lemiaux robin@[Link] EDITOR Bryan Bergercr ‘techeditnutsvelts@yahoo com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Fon Hackett Russ Kincaid Joe Pardue slohn Gavik Martin Habel Thomas Heney Lou Frenzel Dave Procinaw Robert Atkinson Craig Linsey CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT subseribe@[Link] ‘SHOW COORDINATOR Adie Lemeus MARKETING COORDINATOR WEBSTORE Bran Krkoatnice sales@[Link] WEB CONTENT Micnael Keudze webste@[Link] ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Deedee Staultecher PRODUCTION. ‘Sean Lemieux Copyright © 2014 by & | Publcators, Ine Al Rights Reserved [ML advertising 5 subject 1 pubiste’s approval We et ronporse for_metaces, meprni ot ‘ypowapiel eros. Nts & sts apsonesasoee no response for the aaiabin send ars of foe honesty ol ha publsher makes no. dens ft ay tem advised i Nuts & ots. ‘espana of tha [Link] and th ‘sgerces are 1 inderety and rca the pusher ftom ay anda clams, stn, or expense aig ame tsetang plced nue & ots. Plese send a dona conespondence, UPS, ovemght mal. and work 16 480 Pecland Cou, Corona, CA 92879. rien sh S436 10 QE Yd Pleased With Project Referring to the “Quick and Easy USB Keyboard Input” project by William Pippin in the November 2013 issue: This is a very useful and absolutely GREAT project idea! | put it together and it operates exactly as authoradvertised. There’s immediate response for use when it’s plugged in and it works without a flaw on any preinstalled or user program that accepts a keyboard or keypad input. | Use it to accept touch tone’ decoded digital outputs using my own phone line project that was published in N&V in 2010 to activate a monitoring program for my phone calls — even from cell phone use. Great project! Send in more useful projects like this. John Mastromoro (UN)Saturated In the January 2014 article, READER FEEDBACK Build a PIC-Based Remote Temperature Sensor” there is a sidebar discussing saturation of a bipolar transistor. The definition in the sidebar is not correct. The correct definition of saturation is the state where an increase in base current does not cause an increase in collector current. The formula at the bottom of the sidebar yields this for the value of Rb: Rb = (Vin - VBEsat)/Ib. All this formula will yield is a value for Rb based on the desired tb and Vin. It has nothing to do with saturation. In order to calculate the minimum tb required for saturation, you need to know the load voltage and the load resistance. This allows you to calculate the maximum current (ICmax = Vec/Rload) that is ‘Continued on page 59 EARN MORE MONEY Get your dream job! Be an FCC Licensed Wireless Technician! Make up to $100,000 a year and more with NO college degree Defense ete aes ue ee lirry + No need to quit your job or go to school. Paro cs s easy, fast and low cost. Sateen gener Searaneubiriae ick nts} Move to the front of the employment line in Radio-TV, Communications, Avionics, Radar, Maritime and more. even start your own business! Call now for FREE info: 800-877-8433 [Link] COMMAND PRODUCTIONS, Warren Weagant's FCC License Training Industral Center, 480 Gate Five Rd, PO Box 2000, Sausalte, CA 949663000 ext, 109 ory 2010 WUTSAOUS 7PICAXE PRIMER ____ PICA) BY RON HACKETT [Link] PICAXE-Pi Communications — Part 1 At the end of the previous Primer installment, | posed three questions about the behavior of the [Link] program which we're going to address this month: *Why does one of the LEDs remain lit when you press ctel-c to terminate the program? * After terminating the program, why does the LED turn off when you type [Link]() at IDLE's interactive prompt? * Finally, why didn't we see something similar in our earlier experiments last time? We're also going to begin our exploration of PICAXE- i communications. However, before we tackle either of those topics, there are a couple of items that I want to discuss. So, let's get started! Unzipping Archived Files on the Pi If you have read earlier PICAXE- Pi articles here, you know that | have been posting the individual program files on my website because | hadn't been able to find a way to unzip the downloaded N&V zipped file. However, | recently received an email from a helpful reader (Margaret L.). The solution that she suggested is 8 WOBWVOTS February 2014 printed in the Reader Feedback section of last month's issue of Nuts & Volts — you may want to check it out Now that we're beginning our exploration of PICAXEPi ‘communications, we're going to be working with both PICAXE BASIC programs and Python programs at the same time. As a result, we're going to need to download files to ‘our PCs anyway, so I've decided to stop posting the individual program files on my website. I think the simplest approach is to download the zipped file to a PC, unzip it, and transfer the Python programs to the Pi via a USB Flash drive, or by setting up the Pi as a server on the local network. (On the Pi, also save all my Python programs directly on the Flash drive as a backup, in case my Pi crashes at some point.) PICAXE Editor Beta is Now Available The second topic that I want to ‘mention is not in any way related to the Pi, but may be of interest to many Primer readers. Revolution Education recently announced the availabilty of a Beta version of the new Programming Editor software which has been renamed to “PICAXE Editor, version 6,” or just PE6. RevEd ‘emphasizes the fact that this is a Beta release so there may be minor bugs involved, and there will certainly be many changes before the final version of PE6 is released. PE6 is a major re-write of the PICAXE IDE (Integrated Development Environment); it includes many powerful changes — some of which may be confusing at first. Conveniently, PE6 can be installed alongside version 5 of the Programming Editor, so we can easily experiment with it but still use our older (more familiar) software for our current projects. ‘When the final version of PEG is released, we'll definitely discuss it in some detail. Until then, I just want to whet your appetite by mentioning one new feature that's been on my ‘wish list for a long time: include files This new capability in PE6 means that we will be able to simplify our PICAXE software in the same manner that we are now doing with our Python programs. For example, we'll be able to write a PICAXE “module” that implements a aitly complex task (eg, interfacing with an LCD display) and then simply write something like include [Link] in any program that requires an LCD display (basinc” is the extension that needs to be used for any include file in PE6). If you're interested in experimenting with the Beta version of PE6, you can download it at wwrw,[Link]/Software/ PICAXE/PICAXE-Editor-6/. On the same page, there's a link for downloading the “PE6 beta release notes’ — a 24 page pd file that describes the major features of the new software. Now, let’ turn our attention to the three questions from last time. The first two are relatively easy to answer. As you may remember, we used an infinite wile loop to implement our scanning Cylon Eye. (if you need to refresh your memory, take another look at the cylon10,py program.) ‘Also, in the blink/LED) function. that we used, we paused briefly to light each LED but we didn’t pause atSHARPENING YOUR TOOLS OF CREATIVITY all after turning off each LED. ‘As a result — forall practical purposes — one of the LEDs is always lit whenever the program is running, ‘Whenever we press ctrl, the program immediately exits which ‘means that the [Link]( statement isn’t executed and one of the LEDs remains lit. Of course, when ‘we manually execute the GP![Link]’) command at IDLE’s interactive prompt, the GPIO pins are reset to their default input state, and the lit LED is turned off The third question (Why didn’t ‘we see something similar in our earlier experiments last time?) is a little trickier In each of the earlier programs last time, we pressed a pushbutton to light an LED; when we released the button, the LED immediately turned off, So, unless ‘you held the pushbutton down with a finger on one hand and at the same time pressed cithe on the keyboard ‘with two fingers on the other hand, the LED was never lit when the Keyboard Interrupt was executed ‘As a result, is easy to forget that the GPIO pins we were using in the program remain configured as outputs. ‘At this point, you're probably wondering why I'm spending so much time on what seems to be a trivial point. The reason is that | want to use our [Link] program to illustrate an important feature in Python. It’s called “exception handling.” and it’s so important that most Python textbooks devote an entire chapter to it. We certainly don’t have enough space in the Primer to thoroughly discuss the techniques of exception handling, but | do want to cover the basics so that we can use this to our advantage in the Python programs ‘we will be writing, In Python, an exception refers to any set of circumstances that can result in a program being automatically terminated. Many exceptions are what we would call “errors.” For example, if a Python program is in the process of writing a file to a disk and the disk becomes full an error occurs and the program ll automatically terminate (a.k.a, “crash’), ‘On the other hand, our ctri-c Keyboard Interrupt is also an exception; when the interrupt occurs, the program immediately terminates. However, the Keyboard Interrupt is definitely not an error; i's a Python feature that allows us to exit an infinite while loop. In either case (an error or a feature), the point is that we want to bbe able to handle the exception ‘gracefully. For example, we could allow the user to switch to another disk to save the file; or — in the case of the Keyboard Interrupt — we could terminate the program “gracefully” by executing a GP![Link]\ statement before exiting the program Handling Exceptions in Python The two main statements that Python uses to handle exceptions are try and except. Let’s examine a simple code snippet that uses those two statements to execute a GPO. cleanup’) statement before exiting our cyion 10,py program when circ is pressed: while 1 uy, for S9 im LEDs [0 ‘blink (LED) for LED in LEDs {[Link]-1)+ (LED) ([Link]() B 6Pr0 » Beint (*Progr: terninated.*) break The code in the try block above is the same as it was in our original infinite while loop. As long as we don't press circ, that’s the only code that gets executed. In other words, the infinite while loop executes exactly as it did last time, However, as soon as we press ctrkc, an exception occurs and the code in the except block is executed. ‘As a result, the GPIO pins are reset, we tell the user what happened, and the break statement is ‘executed. | don’t think we've used a break statement before, but its function is simple: It “breaks out” of the infinite wiile loop. Since there is no other code in our program, it terminates. Because an exception occurred, you might think that the break statement isn’t necessary, but it is. ‘When we include try and except blocks in a program, Python no longer automaticaly exits the program when an exception occurs; it “assumes” we will handle the ‘exception, including exiting the program if that's what we want to do. As a result, if we accidentally omit the break statement, we create another error! The program does not exit, and the while loop executes again. However, we just reset the GPIO pins, so when Python tries to blink another LED, the program automatically exits with an error message stating that the LED has not been defined as an output! Finally, there’s a potential problem with the way | wrote the above code snippet. The except block will be executed whenever any exception occurs — not just the Keyboard Interrupt exception. Python includes dozens of difierent types of builtin exceptions, and many extemal modules include additional exceptions, as well In addition, we can even write our own exceptions if we want to. If any one of those exceptions occurs, the program will terminate unexpectedly, providing no clue as to ‘what happened. The solution to this problem is to write the except statement so that it only applies to the exception that we want to “catch.” (In Python jargon, the except statement “catches” the exception.) In the above snippet, if we replace except: with except Keyboardintervupt: we will only catch the interrupt; all other possible exceptions will cause the program to terminate normally with a (hopefully) helpful error message. February 2014 NITSHNOYS. 9Before reading further, you may ‘want to experiment with adding try and except blocks to the [Link] program until you feel comfortable with the technique. When you're ready, we'll tum our attention to serial communications where we will encounter additional uses for try and except blocks. Communication Options With the Raspberry Pi The P's internal hardware implements three major communication protocols: IC, SPI, and serial. The question is: Which of these protocols do we want to use to communicate with our PICAXE processors? The answer, of course, is it depends! Primarily, it depends on which PICAXE processor we're using in any given project. For example, if a fairly complex project requires the advanced capabilities of the PICAXE- 20X2 processor, the IC protocol is, the obvious choice for implementing PICAXE-Pi communication. The reason is when using communications, the Pi must be the master processor, and the XT and X2 processors are the only PICAXE chips that can be configured as an PC slave. Therefore, C communication with a Pi is not an option with PICAXE M2-class processors. In my experience, however, the majority of PICAXE projects do not require the power (or expense) of a 20X2 processor. As a result, our Primer articles are going to focus on communication strategies that can be implemented with any PICAXE processor (M2, X2, or X1). If you're interested in PC communications between the Pi and a PICAXE X2- or X1-class processor, you may want to take a look at [Link]. com/id/PICAXE-Raspberry-PI-ADC/. When using its builtin hardware for SPI communications, the Pi is also limited to functioning as a master processor, again, only the PICAXE X2- and X1-class processors are 10 NUSHVONS February 2014 capable of implementing hardware- based SPI communications. In addition, those PICAXE processors are also limited to master mode only for hardware-based SPI ‘communications. (See the PICAXE documentation for hspisetup, hspiin, and hspiout in Section 2 of the manual) PICAXE BASIC also includes the shittin ([Link]., spin) and shiltout (aka, spiout) commands which implement software “bi-bang” versions of the hardware SPI ‘commands mentioned above, but the software-based commands are also limited to the X2- and X1-class processors. However, on M2-class processors, it’s also possible to write ‘our own bitbang code to implement SPI functions. The documentation for the PICAXE shitin and shiftout ‘commands include sample code for implementing a SPI interface on any M2 processor, but the sample code also configures the PICAXE as the master processor so we still can’t use that code to communicate with the Pi because it aso insists on being the master processor! ‘One possible solution to this dilemma would be to write our own bitbang routines that configure an ‘M2-class processor as an SPI slave so we could communicate with the Pi the master processor. I do intend to try that approach in the future, but for our first experiments | think that 2 serial communications link between the PICAXE and Pi will be easier to establish, so let's get started! Configuring the Pi Serial Port By default, the Pi's serial port is. configured so that it can be used for debugging purposes. In other words, \when you first boot the Pi, the long list of output that you see on the monitor is transmitted via the serial port. Since we want to configure the serial port so that we can use GPIO pins 14 and 15 to communicate with Post comments on this article and find any associates files and/or downloads at [Link]/[Link]?/magazine/article/february2014_PICAXEPrimer. our PICAXE projects, the first thing we need to do is to disable the serial login connection. In order to do so, there are two files on the Pi that we need to edit: /etc/initiab and (/boot/[Link] — we'll use the rnano editor for this purpose. ‘To edit the first file, open the terminal and type the following: sudo nano /ete/inittab Press return and move to the end of the file. You should see something similar to: Comment out that line by adding a “#* character in front of it; then save the edited file. To edit the second file, type this in the terminal: sudo nano /boot /[Link] Press return — the file will contain the following (all on one line}; awc_ota.1pm_enable=0 ‘CEYAMAO 115200 RMD, 415200 y Sev /mncbLkOp2 root Estype=ext4 elevator-deadline Edit the file by removing both references to the serial port (ttyAMA0). When you have finished, the file should contain the following {all on one line): awc_otg.1pm_enable=0 console=tey’ root=/Sev/macblk0p2 root fstype-ext4 elevator deadline Footwait Save the edited file, and reboot the Pi by typing this in the terminal (and then pressing return): sudo nano shutdown - nowWhen your Pi has finished rebooting, the serial port (ttyAMAO) will now be available on GPIO pins 14 (TxD) and 15 (RxD), but we stil need to install the pySerial package before we can begin exploring serial communication between the PICAXE and Pi. Before installing any new packages on the Pi, it’s a good idea to first execute these two commands in the terminal sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade The upgrade process may take quite a while to complete. When it’s finished, you need to execute one of the following commands in the terminal: For Python3: sudo apt-get install python3-serias For Python2: eudo api-oe At this point, we'te finally ready to begin our exploration of PICAXE-Pi serial communication Experiment 1: Serial Output from PICAXE to Pi In our first experiment, the Pi will receive serial data irom a PICAXE- 08M2 processor. (Actually, you can use any X2-, X1-, or M2-class processor — I just wanted to be sure the 08M2 is able to do the job.) The hardware setup is simple: Pin C.2 of the 08M2 is connected to GPIO 14 (TxD) on the Pi, and pin C.1 of the 08M2 is connected to GPIO 15 (RxD) on the Pi. My hardware setup is shown in Figure 1. As you can see, I’m using the stripboard interface circuit that we constructed in an earlier Primer. However, you can use any hardware setup you prefer — just make sure that the 08M2 is powered at 3.3V to match the levels on the Pi’s GPIO pins, and that there is a series resistor in the two I/O connections that we are using. (The stripboard interface circuit includes 470 @ resistors on each GPIO line.) ‘Of course, we need two programs for this experiment: one for the Pi and one for the 08M2. As usual, go to the article link and download the zipped file that contains all the necessary programs for this month's Primer. ‘One approach is to unzip the file directly on your Pi if you have been able to get that working. If not, you can download the file to your PC, unzip it there, and transfer the Python files to your Pi either by using a USB thumb drive or by setting up the Pi as a server on your network ‘One way or another, you need to have the Python files on the Pi, and the PICAXE BASIC files on your PC. For this experiment, the 08M2 program is [Link] and the Pi program is serinfromAxpy. Let's start with the 08M2 program which simply sends the ASCII values for characters FIGURE 1, Breadboard setup for Experiments 1 and 2. A through Z to the Pi in an infinite cio/ loop. The serial transmission is “True” (Le., the line idles high) because that's the format required by the Pi. We don't need to discuss the details of the [Link] program; when you read through the listing, you will see how simple itis. The Pi program ([Link]) is even shorter than the 08M2 program, but we do need to discuss a few details. In order to facilitate our discussion, the complete program follows Aye ialinero Python: B) import serial ©)# aezine & open Foc G) print ([Link] H) except xeybooramterup 1) print (*Progran vorminated.‘) ND [Link]) K) break In the above code, the letters along the left edge are not part of the program; they are just there to facilitate our discussion. The following comments reier to the corresponding program lines above: AA) As the comment in this line indicates, the program is written for Python3 which makes it a litle more complicated than it would be if it ‘were written for Python2. We will discuss the main difierences shortly. B) This statement imports the pySerial package that we installed earlier. If you want to read more about this package, just search for ‘pySerial documentation” (without February 2014 MOSHVOUS. 44the quotes). Also, note that we did not import [Link]; all we need is the pySevial package. D) This is one way of declaring and opening a serial port in the pySerial package. Any name can be assigned to the port; I chose to use ser for brevity. In Python, all devices (including serial ports) are treated the same as files, so the ‘jev/ttyAMAO parameter indicates that the port we are opening (ttyAMA) is located in the dev folder, which is where all device files are located in Linux. The second parameter (9600) indicates that we're opening the serial port at 9600 baud. ‘Two additional points are worth mentioning: + Whenever a serial port is defined, it’s also automatically opened; a separate statement isn’t needed to do that. + All serial communication in Python is “True” (Le, the line idles high), and it defaults to eight data bits, no parity, and one stop bit. These defaults work fine for communications with PICAXE processors, but if you're interested in changing any of them refer to the pySerial documentation, F) The basic structure of the try 12 NUTSIVOZS February 2014 FIGURE 2. Screenshot of output for Experiment 1. and except blocks follows the same pattern we discussed earlier. G) The real) function in the pySerial package reads a single byte ‘Also, by default, the read) function has no timeout. in other words, it’s a blocking function — the program will wait at this point until a byte is received. This behavior can be modified by declaring a specific timeout when we initially configure and open the serial port. At some point, we will probably need to do that. J) In the except block, we need to close the serial port before terminating the program. Leaving a serial port open when we terminate a program can cause problems for another program that attempts to open the same port. When you've completed your hardware setup ‘or this experiment (Figure 1), run the 08M2 program first and then run the Pi program. Figure 2 is a screenshot of both programs running on my Mac. 'm using SSH to connect to my Pi, so the contents of its GUI appear on my ‘Mac's desktop. If you have a monitor and keyboard attached to your Pi, you should see essentially the same results on two different monitors. ‘As you can see, the Pi's output is a lite strange. For example, instead of displaying A, ‘A’, or 65, the Pi displays b’A' That's Python3’s way of saying that it’s displaying a byte, which is one of several data types supported in Pythons. It took me a while to figure ‘out how to convert the output to something more “normal.” If you ‘want to display the received bytes as their ASCII values, try replacing line G in the program with print(ord(se:.read))) and run the Pi program again. (You can just leave the 08M2 program running as you ‘experiment with this,) You should see the appropriate sequence of numbers (65 through 90) on the screen. (On the other hand, if you would prefer to see the actual ASCII characters on your screen, replace line G with print(chr([Link]\)) and run the program again. There may well be a way to accomplish the same thing with fewer parentheses, but | haven't found it yet. if you find ‘one, please let me know! Experiment 2: Serial Output from Pi to PICAXE For our second experiment, ‘we're going to reverse the direction of the serial link. This time, the Pi will send serial strings to the 08M2 processor using the same hardware setup we did in Experiment 1 (again refer to Figure 1). ‘As you probably know, PICAXE processors are not able to receive serial strings directly; i’s necessary to store each received byte of the string ina separate variable. As a result, the PICAXE file for this experiment ([Link]) is more complicated than the Pi’s Python file. However, ‘we aren’t going to discuss it in detail because it’s almost identical to the approach we took back in theOctober 2011 Primer. (See the discussion of the [Link] program in that article) Before we move on to discussing the Pi’s Python program for this experiment, | do want to point out a couple of difierences between the 2011 PICAXE program and the one that we're using in this experiment. First, back in 2011 there was a bug in the PICAXE compiler that has. since been resolved, s0 we no longer need to include the workaround that ‘we used back then. Also, in the earlier article, we were using the serrxd command; this time, we're Using the serin command but the technique involved is essentially the same. In addition, back then we used a 14M2 processor, and this time ‘we'te using an 08M2 processor. As | mentioned earlier, any current PICAXE processor can be used for our Pi experiments, so that difference isn’t significant either. ‘When you have downloaded the [Link] program, read through it to make sure you understand how it functions. f anything isn’t clear, you may want to reread the 2011 article | just mentioned. ‘When you're ready, let's move con to the discussion of the Pi program for this experiment (serialOutToAxpy). In order to facilitate our discussion, the complete program iollows: # [Link] (for Python3) import serial from time import sleep 4 define & open serial port 9600 baud ser = [Link] (C/aev/ttyawio” , 9600) 4 Allow 082 time to discard garbage chr sleep (.1) vinste Bove ver wetteto'tetio reaver} Heep) Sertetltedwrr eata ni’) sleep (1) Ser-write(b‘Where are you?") Sleep (2) except KeyboardInterrupt, Ser .write(b’ Keyboard Interrupt’) [Link]() break There are two points in the above program that I want to clarify First, in previous programs, we have written import time which imports all the functions included in the time library. The alternate version that \we'te using in this program has two advantages: only the sleep function is, imported (which i all we currently need), so this version of the import ‘command reduces the size of our program; and we can use a sleep) statement without needing to write timesleep)). In this program, we're sending three different strings to the 08M2. In Python2, that was a simple matter (eg. serwrite(‘Hello PICAXE’) However, in Python3 there’s a ‘complication similar to what we discussed in our first experiment. We need to send the string as a series of bytes. Including a lowercase b in front of each string accomplishes that goal. There are more complicated FIGURE 3 ways of doing the same thing, but the above approach seems to work well. Figure 3 is a screenshot of both programs running on my Mac; your results should be similar. ‘Once again, we're out of space this month! Next time, we'll continue ‘our serial communication ‘experiments and use an 08M2 processor to help the Pi accomplish something that it can’t do on its own. ‘As you know, the Pi doesn’t have any analog inputs but PICAXE processors have plenty of them (three on the 08M2, seven on the 14M2, and 11 ‘on the 20M2). ‘Asa demonstration of how PICAXE can help the Pi, we'll interface an MCP9700A analog ‘temperature sensor with an 08M2 processor and serially send the temperature reading on to the Pi for display. As you may remember, we have already accomplished the PICAXE portion of this task (the December 2012 Primer), so you may want to re-read that article to get a jump on things. In fact, you might even try to implement your own working system before the next installment. ‘Whatever you do, have fun! NW Screenshot of output for Experiment 2. February 2014 WISIVOS 13.QOGA In this column, Russ answers questions about all aspects of electronics, including computer hardware, software, circuits, electronic theory, troubleshooting, and anything else of interest to the hobbyist. Feel free to participate with your questions, comments, or suggestions. Send all ‘questions and comments to: QEA@[Link] Trickle Charger | Could you provide a circuit to make a 12 VDC trickle charger for my home generator? The battery is gel type. | want to build it using a 12.5 VAC x 4.5 amp transiormer. Thank you for your past help. —Ken Bartone ‘A12 amphr battery should tolerate a constant trickle current of 100 mA, but battery | manufacturers recommend float charge for long term storage. The difference is that a float charger limits the voltage to 13.8 volts (or leactacid batteries of six cells ‘A bridge rectifier will give a peak voltage of WITH RUSSELL KINCAID * Trickle Charger ¢ Ham Mobile Radio Setup * Electronic Player Piano Post comments on this article and find any associated files and/or downloads at [Link]?/ magazinelarticle/february2014_OA, handbook — will be 0.135 amps. ‘When the battery is fully charged, all the current flows through QI and its power dissipation is: 14.3%.135 = 1.9 watts. Q1 is rated at two watts with no heatsink, but ior reliability I would use a heatsink of 30 deg C/watt at least The power in R2 is: 2*R = 0.07 watts, so a 1/4 watt resistor will be fine. A bridge rectifier rated at one amp is available in a four-pin DIP package to complete the design. D3 is necessary to protect Q1 in case the generator charging circuit tres to charge the battery to more than 13.8 volts FIGURE 1 13.80 peak. Referring to Figure 1, if the battery s to be float charged at 13.8 volts, the voltage at the QI collector will be 14.3V which means the zener (D2) must be 13.8V. R1 shunts any zener leakage to ground to prevent Q1 from tuning on prematurely. R2 limits the peak current to less than one amp: (16-143)/4 = 0.425 amp and the average current — according to my Rt Ham Mobile Radio Setup | 9) | had to move and disconnect all my radios and antennas from my car. | am now in the process of rebuilding the VHF and HF power system. | ‘want to make sure that when the car is shut off, the radios will shut off within 10 minutes to save my car battery. Do you know of a schematic that will do the job? — Jim Houser WABJIM | 14 NUTSIVONS February 2014 ' ot afm ge LY about 17.5 volts; with a full wave bridge ima rectifier, the DC voltage will be about 16 volts Lo PARTS LIST MOUSER PART NUNBERS ‘pace DescetprioN SartrNUNBER Ey e SP REAe Bion enti Slolomiet” & Teint deal! OP Bie 38 Bont 6 ag ai B BeeS BEIM BS & aie Fe einuoate-covrs $88 Bor ae Ba SBE Oo? 8 | know the problem, but 10 minutes is a long time for a 555 timer. A PIC12F675 will do the job with fewer parts. In Figure 2, the 12 volts from the ignition switch going down starts the time. Five volts for the PIC will be supplied by a programmable zener diode because its current requirement is low. | don’t know the current drain of the radios, but 30 amps should be adequate. What is needed is a 30 amp 60 volt switch that can be controlled with a five volt signal. That in itself is pretty simple, but the design is complicated by the need to protect the circuit from the 60+ transient volts that are expected in an automotive system,QUESTIONS and ANSWERS In Figure 2, the components R2, C1, R4, C2, R10, R12, and D1 are for transient protection D1 is necessary because pin 4 does not have a diode to VDD; only one to VSS. R4 and RS provide a safe +5V to pin 2 (GPIO.5) when the ignition is on ‘When the ignition is turned off, IC1 is reset immediately FIGURE 2 through C5 and R12, and the a 2rase4) weoasenaen%e program starts looking for alow > in pin 2 —which happens aftera © Xo ° short delay caused by C2. Then, 5 the 10 minute delay starts, at the end of which pin 7 (GPIO.0) PARTS LIST Sy etldwhen the gmton se SY PRE es GS See BF Q2 off. When the ignition is ei Peog, SHUNT RESUCATOR TO-s2 Saz-tnasanczx aad tured on, IC1 is reset through Gs, 03 GP NN 2909 To-s2 542 2NgBesTAR Petd FB Bie, wom Wake BER Taan | Be R10, C4, and Q3 which starts the enn s SINC, 3.5, Ce C7 See-ra zee 186 Program runing again looking SE, Pee IU come | BCEREUCAE 2 for the ignition to be tumed off. Ba’ °°” “rte Sieh BOE 0-98 SE-ENHLAB-E 3 Figure 3 shows the power-off delay program. A file is available at the article link. (if you want to build this, !can 17 Mame supply a programmed PIC12F675 for $5.) Electronic Player Piano MH, | have an old player piano | mechanism that | want to convert to electronic. When a note is to x 'be played, a hole in a paper roll passes over the corresponding “hole” in a metal bar. | have thought about light TRIstO = erro 9 cucon = 7 OPFTON_REG = 11010000 a van BYRE 2 13/20/2013 : 1 TURM OFF OF 1oNrrsoM PowER sz=ARTS DELAY : Daan oN aATTERY 76 ABOUT 2 an REM DEVICE = 12°675 210.9 SET AS DIGI "oet0.3 Watch TS MASTER CLEAR. ‘ALL OUTPUTS. SET LOW. LINE 27 detectors or even pressure detectors to DEFINE OSCAL_1_IK 3 “TO sav OSCILLATOR CuuIBRATION detect the paper hole but | need something simple, small, and reasonably ° Pause 2000 ‘PAUSE 2 SEC 70 ALLOW VOLTAGES 70 sTARELIZE cheap. | was also thinking about using srare either @ hacked electronic keyboard or a 35 PIO. = 0 MBN co microprocessor to generate the music. Any ideas to get me going? ee yamoi DER FIGURE 3 — Phil Fitzjarrell PAUSE 60000 *RAIT 60 SECONDS | have a player piano, so | know something about how it works. Your project is very interesting to | \me. One solution is a small rotating wheel (88 of them) that falls through the hole in the paper and completes a circuit. Ths is electrically simple but mechanically complex. Not being mechanically inclined, | will opt for a photosensor solution. The piano paper roll s normally white but some of mine have HIGH GPr0.0 REN RADIO PONER ZS PERNANEW: |, yellowed with age. The paper is slightly more than 11 inches wide and has up to 88 slots (.050 inches wide) which correspond to the 88 keys, plus another slot which | think is for automatic pedal operation. | measured the holes in the metal bar (see Figure 4) which tured out to be .075 February 2014 NUTSIVOUS. 48MAILBAG Re: Bandpass Filter, page 20, December 2013: #11 was looking over your calculations for the filter in the December issue, and it struck me that there was a resistor missing from the design we use in class. lf you add 3, the calculations go as indicated in Figure A. | ran the bode plotter in Multisim, and got results very close to your design goals. | haven't built the circuit in the lab yet, but maybe soon. | really enjoy reading your solutions and explanations. Please keep up the good work. Ron Tinckham, Professor Biomedical Engineering Technology Santa Fe College Thanks for your interest: this circuit (Figure A) is the one t usually Use for an RC bandpass. | was intrigued by the circuit sent by Bob Wojcik because I had not seen it before. The calculations got so complicated that | made C1 = C2 to simplify, but forgot there were now only two variables. So, gain, frequency, ss ai ues” sn and bandwidth could not ail be Pits specified. That is why my results were =" off Heave the calculations to interested parties! Bisqiete #2 Lenjoyed working through your equations regarding the bandpass filter problem. The circuit is called an + Infinite-Gain Multiple Feedback Bandpass Filter; Figure A is actually taken from Rapid Practical Designs of Active fiters, D. Johnson & J. Hilburn, Wiley 1975, page 139. The ‘equations from the book are: Gain ~ R2/R1/2 B ~ 2/R2/C 2 = (1/R3/C2\( 1/81 + 1/R3) Referring to Figure A, 8 is the bandwidth about the center frequency FO, being equal to F2 ~ FI Q = y/B and C = C1 = C2. R3 is missing from the problem circuit, so the tetm 1/R3 disappears from the equation for @,? Using your numbers RI = 1,589 ohms R2 = 317,844 ohms C= 10? farads. Then G ~ 100.01 (40 dB voltage gain) B= 1,001 kHz ‘@) * 44,500 radians/second = 7.082 kHiz Q™= w/B = 7.07 Peter A. Goodwin Thanks for the feedback. The equations that you juppled made me ealze that by making C1 C2, [had lost control of one of the variables and that is why my results were not as expected. It is necessary to keep the ratio C1/C2, but that is too complicated to bother with 16 NUTSIONS Febsuary 2018 The three resistor circuit is tunable via R3 without affecting gain or bandwidth. The two-resistor circurt 1s not tunable. Re: More on the Jacob’s Ladder, page 20, November 2013: Looking at the article on Jacob's ladder; 'm confused on coils/HV being directly connected to the QI drain. Shouldn't it go to output? | want to use this as a fence Zapper, but it looks like max smoke to me. So, does the July issue seem right? : Fre Figure 1 in the November issue was intended to be like the figures in the July issue, the HV at the top of the ignition coil near terminal 4 is where the arc forms. | want to caution you that if used as a fence contioller, it could be lethal depending on the frequency. Fence controllers usually produce a pulse every second or so. Ifyou reduce the frequency of the oscillator, it could be a real attention getter but not lethal. Ideally, the secondary should be isolated from the primary, but ignition coils are not built that way. The spark current coming back through ground could ouerstress C3. To avoid that, connect QI drain to earth ground and Operate the circuit from a battery. Re: NiCad Battery Chargers, page 22, December 2013: Just received the December 2013 issue of Nuts & Volts. Had to comment on Don's question on age 22, Figure 4. Don specified a battery charger rated 2.9/8.7 VOC at 105/12 mA with humming. No burnt resistors and LEDs light up. | redrew half of the circuit; the 24 ohm resistor is the current limite. The LED turns on with sufficient current across the 24 ohm resistor and the (120/260 or 120/350 chm) resistor and diode divider network, 110 volts applied across the 24 ohm resistor at 50 percent duty cycle from D5 or D6 would require about 126 watts. Battery connections are not shown. As drawn in the diagram, D1 through D4 are shorted by jumpers (brown, black, green, gold, and silver), Hi siver is replaced by two cell in series or green is replaced by a 7.2 volt battery, numbers work out. Source is 8.7 VAC for twocell and one diode with a 24 ohm resistor gives (8.7-2.4-1)/24 = 220 mA => at 50% duty cycle = 110 mA The NiCad nine volt battery gives 7.2 volts. (8.77.2-1)/24-20.8 => 20.8/2=10.4 mA which is close to the original specication. The only element that could hum in this circuit is the transformer at the bottom of the diagram. D1 and 03 appear to be reverse-charge protection for cells ‘My conclusion: The batteries were inserted in reverse and will nt charge. FIGURE A. Edward Wade Thanks, Ed, for your thoughtful analysis of the battery charger circuitinches; | calculated the hole-to-hole spacing to be .075. ‘That is plenty of room for an 0805 IR emitter and sensor. ‘Mouser has an emitter and sensor in one package that is .067 wide (part number 852-GP2S60B; 42 cents each per hundred). This is a teflective system; the IR bounces off the paper to a phototransistor. The optimum spacing is .020, so a sheet of 020 plastic that is transparent to IR will be optimum, and will protect the paper from the sensors. The phototransistor will be turned ‘on when the paper is present and off when there is a hole. That is probably the opposite of what is wanted, but an inverter will solve that problem, ‘Another solution is an IR emitter on one side of the paper and a phototransistor on the other. Mouser has these in the 0805 package also ( part number 638- PT1721BL41TRE for the phototransistor and 638- 1R1721C TRS for the matching IR emitter). The paper is somewhat translucent, so some intensity adjustment may be needed. A variable speed stepper motor to turn the rolls would be the easiest, but an analog speed servo ‘would also work. The metal bar has holes at the edges of the paper to operate a servo that keeps the paper in the center; you will want to implement that. | would do an analog servo; | don’t know how to do a digital servo. | suppose a bang- bang servo (where the paper is moved .025 or less) would ‘work. Ifthe left sensor is covered, the paper moves right Until the right sensor is covered, then it moves back. | think the servo in my piano is two speed because there are two holes on each side of the paper, slightly offset (see Figure 5). | don’t see the paper moving back and forth; it stays in the middle. ‘Your idea of hacking a keyboard is great; it opens up all kinds of innovative possibilities. NV “Put the Spark back into your electronics” Pesce Pere ee ee @25 best quess>| fe RIGHT SIDE SERVO HOLES EFT SIDE IS MIRROR IMAGE February 2014 WUS!VOUS. 17NEW PRODUCTS @ HARDWARE @ SOFTWARE GADGETS TOOLS AUTORANGING FAULT LOCATOR DS — maker of the CapAnalyzer 8A — announces the new LeakSeeker 89 Autoranging Fault Locator model EDS-89, which replaces the original LeakSeeker 82B short and leaky fault locator manufactured from 1995 to 2012 The American-made LeakSeeker 89 locates the exact spot on a printed circuit board (to within a fraction of an inch) where a shorted or leaky component is bringing a power supply bus or data line to ground. It is able to locate defects from zero to 300 ohms with no loss of resolution. It can even find active shorts that a DVM won't show. The high GAIN mode can locate shorted components on mult-layer boards with ground planes and a power layer. Three fully automatic range settings allow easy finding of iaults along thin, normal, or wide, ground plane copper PCB runs. A video at [Link]/ watch?ieature=player_embedded&v-BUyEe8G50D4 is available. A 60 day satisfaction or money-back guarantee is included. A copy of the operation manual is available er era For more information, contact: EDS [Link] SOLAR PANEL CONTROLLER the SCLED-12VSA-T Solar Panel Controller from J2 LED Lighting, uses microcontroller ircuitry with user selectable nighttime on functions for LED lighting. The dusk to dawn function works by sensing the voltage of the solar panel. The controller is in dawn mode when the ambient light load on the solar panel produces a voltage over 4.5 volts (ref.) In this mode, the controller’s output is off. The dusk mode is activated when the panel voltage drops to below 4.5 volts (ref.) due to a lack of ambient light. In this mode, the controller 18 NUTSLVOUS. February 2014 turns the output on to the LED lighting load. A switching delay reduces false triggering with fluctuations in cloud cover. ‘An internal user selectable DIP switch provides the option to limit the amount of time the light is on to two, four, six, or eight hours. The controller also provides standard dusk to dawn control with no time limiting, The time limiting function is useful for various applications in BB which battery size and/or panel size may need to be reduced by limiting operating time of the LED lighting load at night. The controller also functions to protect the battery (SLA, Sealed Lead Acid) from over-charge and under-charge. The controller has internal voltage sensing that monitors the battery voltage. The controller will disconnect the LED ‘output load ifthe battery voltage falls below 11.6 Solar Controllervolts (ref). The controller will allow operation again when the battery voltage recovers to 12.5 volts (ret). The charge power to the battery is a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), ‘An internal TVS (Transient Voltage Suppressor) protects the unit from voltage transients that may occur from nearby lightning strikes to the solar panel. An internal auto resetting polymer fuse on the battery connection provides protection from current and thermal overload. The solar panel and LED lighting load connections of the controller are recommended to be fused at five amps maximum. Any additional fusing guidelines from the solar panel and battery manufacturer should be followed. A solar panel tor a 12 volt system should be used. A 12 volt solar panel rated at 60 watts is the maximum size (or the SCLED-12V5A- T controller. The largest size of battery recommended is 40 amp- hours. Smaller amp-hour batteries may be used if sized accordingly to the solar panel and load. The SCLED12VSA-T is minimally “weather resistant” and needs to be mounted so as to be protected from direct exposure to water/moisture. To ensure an extended lite of the controller, mount it in a semi-covered place out of the elements. A standard NEMA electrical enclosure rated for the operating environment may be used for protection of the controler. Electrical characteristics include: Module rating is 60 watts max at 12 volts DC, five amps max. Max idle current in off state is 7.0 mA max. Electrical specifications are as follows: + Working Temperature: -20°C-60°C. + Dimension: L72 x W38 x H28 mm. + Rated voltage: 12V DC. + Rated charging current: five amp max. + Float charge/tapid charge: 13.6-146 volts DC (PWM). + Overdischarge low voltage disconnect: 11.6 volts. + Over-discharge recover voltage: 12.5 volts. + Ambient Light Sense (ALS) dusk to dawn switching at 4.0-4.5 panel volts (ref. 10 Lux panel light), >10 seconds switching delay. + Intended to control LED lighting loads only and ‘or use with SLA battery only. Maximum recommended battery size is 40 amp-hours; maximum 12 volt solar panel size is 60 watts. + Wiring polarity is defined by case ‘marking; use no smaller than 18 AWG wire UL1007 or equivalent; fuse with no larger rating than five amps. Pricing is as follows (in USD): 1-4 nits $22.50 ea; 5-99 units $19.99 a; and 100-250 units $16.99 ea For more information, contact: J2 LED Lighting hitp://[Link] CLASS D BLUETOOTH AMPLIFIER PBs pees announces hee ‘new, highly capable Lepai audio product. The compact and efficient Lepai LP7498E stereo amplifier delivers a pristine 100 watts into eight ohms per channel, thanks to its Class D output circuit design. Features include: + Ample, clean Class D amp output for music and multimedia. + Advanced STMicroelectronics TDA7498E audio amplifier chip. + Wireless music streaming via Bluetooth connection. + Extreme efficiency (90%) delivers high headroom, reduced current draw. + Compact size: 4-1/2" W x 1-1/4" H x7. + Power supply inclided. Because of its useful powerto- size ratio, this stereo amplifier is periect for desktop systems, bookshelf speakers, and most home (or office) audio applications. The black chassis and laser engraved silver faceplate provide a modern cosmetic touch. The LP7498E employs the highly efficient STMicroelectronics ‘TDA7498E audio amplifier chip, which is capable of 160 + 160W output into four ohm loads, or 1 x 220 watts bridged mono. Internal components are sourced from brands such as NEC and Alps. Integrated thermal protection ensures long life and troublesree operation. High quality binding posts (5/8" on center) accept bare wire, 3/8" spade terminals, or standard banana plugs for problem-free speaker Connections. RCA L/R inputs are incorporated or analog connection (cable not included). Each LP7498E is shipped with its own 36 VDC 4.54 Power supply. The LP7498E also enables Bluetooth connectivity to wirelessly stream audio from an iPhone, ‘Android smartphone, tablet, or laptop. The Lepai LP7498E amplifiers low price and accurate neutral sound character make it an ideal partner for ‘workbenches and test stations For a limited time, special pricing February 2014 MUNDUS. 19of US$109 is available. For more information, contact: Parts Express [Link] UNIQUE MODULAR PROJECT SYSTEM ‘ake what you need, leave out ‘what you don't! This is the slogan for the new Tibbo Project System (TPS) featuring Tibbit™ /O modules available new from Tibbo Technology. Tibbits (as in "Tibbo Bits?) are blocks of prepackaged YO functionality housed in color-coded plastic shells. Want an ADC? There is, a Tibbit for this. A SV power supply? Got that. RS232/422/485 port? PoE? PWM? These, and many other Tibbits are available, as well Tibbits are divided into Tibbit modules and Tibbit connectors. Each TPP (Tibbo Project PCB) can accommodate multiple Tibbit modules and connectors. Only bare essentials are provided on each board. There is a CPU, an Ethemet port, and a very simple power supply. 2 ly 2 8 ay 20. WISWOUS February 2014 The rest of the board's functionality is defined by what Tibbits are plugged in, There are several TPP "sizes" that differ in the number of Tibbits they can accommodate. ‘As with most Tibbo products, TPPs are programmable in a language called Tibbo BASIC. This easy to learn programming language is particularly suited for control, automation, and networking applications. Tibbo BASIC is compiemented by a rich set of programming objects. There are “objects tor socket (TCP, UDP, HTTP) and serial communications, WiFi, GPRS, file data storage, LCD and keypad control, and many other functions. Tibbo BASIC applications are created using the free Tibbo IDE (integrated Development Environment) software (TIDE). This software features a builtin debugger allowing users to upload their Tibbo BASIC application onto the TPP board, and cross-debug it through the Ethemet LAN without the aid of any special debugging hardware (such as a JAG board or an ICE machine) More than just an enclosure for TPP and Tibbits, a Tibbo Project Box adds an aesthetic touch to ‘automation projects. The top and bottom walls of an assembled project box are formed by two rows of connector Tibbits installed ona TPP. The front cover of the box is made of translucent plastic that allows users to see the status LEDs of Tibbit modules installed inside, The front panel also accommodates paper inserts similar to those ‘ound on office telephones, The inserts are meant for marking wires and ports of a TPS- based automation device. To aid users in the evaluation and creation of TPS-based automation products, Tibbo has designed an online configurator. 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Spread spectrum correlation is done in a custom onboard ASIC instead of relying on conventional RFICs. The STD-502R module itself has no builtin communication protocol Instead, it has a transparent RS-232 data input/output interface, enabling Users to employ their own protocols ‘without modification, In addition, it can continuously transmit a low of high signal without restriction. ‘An evaluation board (the TB- $TD502) allows testing of the STD- 502-R module to perform range, data packet, and switching signal transmission tests ‘Onboard LEDs, CH switch, ID ww. Primed -com| Dead Battertes ? Dorit tas them, Sena tam to creer are Better than snl speteons rons Gy Pasion sacooe GM) SE: fone, Suet et she rey Soe ERE later cy SX move, eres ae 24 We Geoure resorts tot (844) 623 7000 Quality Kits for All Your Electronic Needs! Explore the World of Electronic Project Kits and Devices. 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Retail price ts around US$105 For more information, contact: Saelig IDE8051 Trainer “by Digilent C [Link]/MDE8 "SLIDE MOONT for MOBNE RADIOS UNIVERSAL Fits Most 2 WA'S (ak stout our maximum raccty techig ace age Moea) reed ies February 2014 MUTSIVOUTS. 21By Robert Atkinson Post comments on this article and find any associated files and/or downloads at [Link] x. php?/magazine/article/ february2014 Atkinson. any radio enthusiasts and other hobbyists use or repair equipment intended for Miri use. This requires a source of power, nominally 13.8V DC. Many designs have been published using the ubiquitous 2N3055 as the linear pass element. These can be inefficient. More recent are switching regulator designs. Unfortunately while efficient, these can generate unacceptable levels of electrical noise. Here is a linear design modernized with MOSFET pass elements that improve efficiency with no switching noise. 22 NUTSIONS February 2014With older bipolar (BJT) designs, you have the low current gain and large voltage drop of the pass transistor (read the sidebar Overhead in Bipolar). This requires higher unregulated voltage and consequently a larger transiormer and heatsink. In contrast to the BJT, Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) require no steady state drive current and have a low ‘ont resistance. The downside is that they require about seven volts on the gate to pass high currents. As this is with respect to the output voltage, the gate will be at around 21V. Using the high current unregulated supply to provide this would be ‘worse than the BJT design. An additional transiormer and rectifier could be used, but adds to the cost. This design uses a voltage doubler to provide the supply ‘or the regulator and gate drive. I's rated at 144 Continuous or 20A peak duty but can be scaled up or down as required. Its equivalent to a commercial "20 amp* supply costing around $100. Circuit Description Refer to Figure 1. The incoming mains is fused and. switched before being applied to the primary of TI — a 300VA toroidal transformer with two 15V secondaries connected in parallel. The AC is fullwave rectified by bridge rectifier BRT. The rectified output is smoothed by C1 and C2, which are 10,000 pF electrolytics. The voltage at this point is approximately 19V under load. The higher voltage required by the regulator is provided by a voltage doubler comprising C3, D2, D3, and C4. This does not look like a voltage doubler unless the main rectifier and filter capacitor are considered. Note MOSFET 13.8V POWER oy ‘SUPPLY a that one side of C3 is connected to the AC output of the transformer. On the negative cycle of the AC, C3 charges to the peak of the AC via D1 and the upper righthand diode of BRI. ‘On the positive half cycle, the charge on C3 is transferred to C4 via D2. As C1/2 and C4 are each charged to around 20V and are in series, the voltage at the junction of D2 and C4 is 40V. As this exceeds the M723 rating, a simple shunt regulator — R1 and zener diode D4 — provides 36V to LM723. This also improves the line regulation. The LM723 is an older IC that is simple to use and low cost. Internally, it has a voltage reierence (7.15V), error amplifier, and a currentiimiter circuit. The reference voltage (pin 6) is connected to the non-inverting input of the error amplifier (pin 5). The output voltage is sensed and reduced to 7.15V by divider R5, RVI, and R4, The output of the divider (wiper of RV1) is connected to the inverting input of the error amplifier (pin 4). When the output voltage is low, the error amplifier output (pin 10) goes more positive. The error amplifier output is connected to the gates of the MOSFETs via resistors R2, R3, and R4. These low value resistors suppress oscillation of the MOSFETs and are located close to them. The output of the LM723 is emitter ‘ollower and can't sink current to turn the MOSFETs off. R7 provides a load to discharge the gate capacitance of the MOSFETs and turn them off. C5 provides feedback compensation. iF itis too small, the circuit may become unstable. If it is too large, the output may over — or under-shoot with load changes. The LM723 currentimiting circuit reduces the output when the voltage between pins 2 (current limit) and 3 (current sense) exceeds 0.6V. This is normally sensed by a resistor in the output current path. The value for a 20A limit is 0.6V/20A = 0.03 ohms. ve FIGURE |. +38v February 2014 NITSIVONS 23Voltage Overhead in Bipolar Design traditional near regulator circuit utlizes bipolar transistors. This results in a significant voltage overhead for correct operation. Overhead or dropout voltage is the additional input voltage above the regulated output ‘voltage that is required for correct circuit operation. For higher current designs, this is composed of the regulator overhead and the pass element overhead, The LM723 overhead is a fairly substantial 3V (typical three-terminal 78xx regulators are 2V and some low dropout types are less than 0.2V). The popular choice for pass transistors is the 2N3055 bipolar. For 20 amps output, at least two in parallel (probably four, but the number does not afiect this analysis) with a third as a driver in a Darlington configuration is appropriate. The 2N3055 has a base-o- emitter voltage of 1.5V at higher currents. Adding 1V for the driver gives 2.5V. Additionally, the bipolar design needs emitter current balancing resistors. These are normally sized to drop 0.5V or more. Therefore, our total overhead is 3 + 2.5 + 0.5 = 6V. So, the minimum voltage at the input to the regulator is six volts higher than the desired output voltage, This is all wasted energy converted to heat. For our 20 amp reference design, this s 6V x 20A = 120W. Some reduction could be made by having a separate supply for the regulator and driver. This could lower the overhead on the high current supply to 3.5V (3V output transistor collector emitter saturation voltage plus 0.5V balancing resistors). However, the regulator supply would itself have to be rated at two amps to drive the pass transistors. For our 13.8V reference design, we need a minimum unregulated voltage of 19.8 volts to ensure correct operation. This equates to a 15.2V AC transformer without any allowance for line voltage drops or other losses. Typically, these designs use a 18V AC transformer. With 18V AC, this is our worst case power dissipation. This increases the power dissipation to around 228 watts for 276 waits of output power. Ths is less than 55% efficiency. The MOSFET design with a 15V transformer achieves 66% with a smaller transformer. Both these figures inchide the same bridge rectifier loss of 24W. ‘This is low for readily available resistors. In this design, the inherent resistance of the cable between the MOSFET source connection and the output terminal is used. This gives a poorly defined short-circuit current, but protects the MOSFETs, Any sustained overload will cause the mains fuse to fail. an ammeter is fitted, itis included in the short-circuit sensing path Component Selection A toroidal mains transiormer was chosen as they are compact, cool running, and have low magnetic and audible hum levels. This example was based on a common stock size with a 15V output — 300V/. This will 24 NUMSIVOUS. February 2014 provide 20 amps AC (300V/A divided by 15V), however, as we are using a full~vave bridge rectifier and capacitor filter we cannot take 20 amps DC. The simple explanation is that the OC voltage is equal to the peak of the AC or 1.4 x 15V = 21V. To maintain the same power in the transformer, we must divide the current by the same factor; 20A / 1.4 = 14A. This is slightly optimistic but is usable tor most applications where full load is not drawn 24/7. For 24/7 applications, a factor of 1.75 should be used. This will give an output current of 11.44 jor a 300VA\ transformer. The specified transformer is made by Antek ([Link]). The bridge rectifier is a 35A 200V PIV rated unit. While a 254 bridge will work, there are advantages using the 35A. The main advantage is lower voltage drop due to lower internal resistance. The specifications indicate 40% more current for the same 1.1V drop for the 35 bridge over the 25A, of a voltage drop of 200 mV less at 20A. That's four watts! The cost difference is minimal. The main filter capacitor is an important component, particularly if there is a small difference between regulated and unregulated voltages. If the capacitor is too small or low quality, the smoothing will be inadequate. This causes a ‘ripple* at twice the mains frequency on the power supply output. Conversely, if itis excessively large, high peak currents will flow in the transiormer and bridge rectifier causing overheating. So, how do we choose? There are “rules of thumb" such as "1000 uF per amp of load, but there is a more calculated approach. In 1943, ©. H. Schade published a paper “Analysis of Rectifier Operation’ in the Proceedings of the IRE, Schade worked for RCA and the paper was about tube rectifiers. However, it contains formulas and charts for calculating filter capacitor values. These are based on the source (transiormer and rectifier) and load resistance ratio, and the relationship of capacitor impedance at the ripple frequency to the load resistance. This is expressed as 2nfCR (C in farads, R in ohms). For 50 Hz mains (UK, worst case) the ripple is 100 Hz, so for 20,000 uF and a 0.8 ohm load (17A) 2n{CR = 5. I chose 17A as its between the continuous and intermittent loads. The source resistance is not normally quoted for transformers but can be inierted from the change in output voltage from minimum load to full load (regulation). The 300VA toroidal has a measured regulation of 9%; 0.09 x15V= 1.3V at 20. Ohms Law sives us an equivalent resistance of 1.3/20 = 0.065 ohms. Hl round up to 0.0722 to allow for lead resistance. This sives a source/load resistance ratio of 07 / 0.8 = 0.09. Schade's graphs give a ripple of 15% or about 3V with a 20,000 1F capacitor. This gives a minimum Unregulated voltage of 16V, so we have a couple of volts in hand before ripple appears at the output at 17 amps. The voltage rating should be at least the peak ofoad