THE ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE WITH THE PRACTICAL APPROACH

UK £1.60 IR £2.35 (incl. VAT) September 1989

Centronics monitor

or ASIC microcontrollers
Stereo viewer

gleltt New generation of analogue switches

High-grade power unit
Simple transmission line experiments

glectroolcs Microprocessor tone generator

Communication receivers front-end filtering
For last delivery telephone All prices ex VAT

TECHNOMATIC
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rchimedes Computer S) stems rchimedes, SOFTWARE MASTER SERIES

All Archimedes systems are fitted with new RISC OS
systems.
LANGUAGES & PROG. TOOLS AN11315 Master 128 £439(a)
ANSI (ASO PASCAL The Master package includes: View Word processor
Model Basic Colour FORTRAN 77 each £95(c) and l'iewsheet spreadsheet software and EITHER
A3000 £649 £849 Educational! Fun software bundle with
PROLOG XJLISP each E175(b) ST4RdataI3ASE package OR A 200K 40T DS single
310 £899 £1099 TWIN Editor £2.7(d)
410'1 £1199 £1399 drive T5200. Please specify your choice.
Archimedes Assembler £185(b) ADC06 Turbo 65C102 Module £115(b)
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440'1 £2499 £2699 Chares Toolkit £32(d) Cares Toolkit £41(d) Referral Centre. We carry a full range of
PC Emulator £60 Econet Accessories in stock.
Carriage £12 s)stem1.8 computer WORD PROCESSORS
For the colour system we offer a choice between First Word Plus £7910
Acorn Colour Monitor (Philips CM8533) and Graphics Writer f27(d)
DISC DRIVES
Philips CM8833 with RGBAGBi and Comp Pipedream £89(c)
Video input and stereo sound facility. 400K /6-10K per mechanism (all drives)
Pipedream Spellchecker E43(d)
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-lb get you going on an \ of the above 3.5 Double Sided
(Order Processing/Sales Ledger Stock Manager
Archimedes systems you purchase from us_ Purch. Ledger/Nom. Ledger) TS351 (5.25") £69( hi
we will contribute 10% of its cost towards Requires System Delta plus P5351 (5.25" Case psu) £951b)
any additional hardware or software I tome Accounts 11)352 Dual £126( al
£41(d)
purchase you make from us or to pay for PD352 Dual with psu £139(a)
extended finance if you require the facility. EMULATED PACKAGES Combo Drives 5.25 ± 3.5- & psu
\ I EW Viewsheet Viev. store each £47(d) PD853 £170tal
The following NIultiScan \Iunitors can he supplied PD853P plinth mounted £190(a)
at special prices when purchased with a computer:
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(for the extra HiRes modes on 400 seriesi Pro .Artisan £137(b) Artisan £301d) Other sizes available
Artisan Support Disc £17(d)
Extended Finance Atelier £99( c) PRINTERS
We can offer extended finance for 11 Auto Sketch £69(d
months under our special offer detailed Gamma Plot EPSON
£571c1)
above or for 24r36 month period at 12.75% Render Bender
(approx APR 26%). Please send for details. £65(d) 1..N04( £1451a) 1_05(4) £245(a)
Presenter £24(d) SVARC-PCB 0671120 1:Xs50 £285(a) LQS50 £41:151f0
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S% Real Time Solids Modeller £75(c) STAR
Technomatic is an authorised
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Hoverbod Missile Control each LIM)
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1Mb RANI upgrade (410 420) £16910 Integrex Inkjet Colour £515( a)
Clares 3 Games Pack £12(d)
3Mb RAM upgrade (410'421)) £49911:0 Hitachi 672ND A3 Plotter C.1791:11
Thundermonk £12( dl Corruption £20ich
I Mb RAM upgrade A3(X)0 £19911-0 Pacmaria £16(d) Terramex £16u11 1-This advertisement can only show an example -1
3.5' Int Drive Upgrade £118(b) of the range of products stocked by
( please specif) 3051.310or 4101 DATABASES Tchnomatic. So send for our latest BBC
External Drive Adaptor catalogue pros iding detailed information and
Cl System Delta Plus £57(c) prices on BBC Computer Systems.
External 5.25" Drive with psu (40180T) £90(b) System Delta Plus Prog Ref Manual £25(d) Peripherals. Software and Books. To obtain
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Techno 20Mb upgrade kit 141)1) £199(a) School Administrator £125(13) coupon below.
Techno 40Mb upgrade kit (410) £349(a) Alphahase 07( di Technomatic is an authorised BBC
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providing a professional and reliable service
Acorn Backplane (2 slots) £37(c) to the BBC user.
TechnoLog Backplane (4 slots) f39(c) MISCELLANEOUS
Fan for TechnoLog £8(d) PC Emulator £79i NAME
Acorn ROM podule f51(c) HEARSAY Comms Package £551dl
We have a large range of expansion cards in stock MAYA Terminal Emulator £491d1 ADDRESS
please send for details. Control (setup utility) £13(d)

MULTI II0 Podule Ex -SERVICE EQUIPMENT Post Code

g 59
A low cost card provides: Video Digitiser. Sound Our Service department has a number of disc
Sampler, a full RS232 interface. 3 RONt skts & drives. monitors and printers available for sale at Return to Technomatic Ltd. Techno House.
Joystick interface. El 07(b) reduced prices. Please send for detailed list. L468 Church Lane. London NW9 8TQ.
_J
 September 1989
CONTENTS Volume 15
Number 170

Theme of the month in

'

October will be
-1111111L.
--ent

Satellite and Cable TV.

11 Can Britain maintain its lead in mobile radio?

Also in the October

issue: 58 Hayes -compatible V22bis modem
Inductance meter
SAVE decoder
Inductance meter 28 Capacitors for RF applications
Open systems 39 A new generation of analogue switches
A -D conversion by Jack Armijos and Tania Chur
techniques 55 ASIC microcontrollers
CD error detector by Simon Young
Logic analyser for 62 Practical filter design (8) A hii-111-crade r0'.% r unit - p. 12
Atari ST by H. Baggot
Dark -room clock
Log-antilog amplifier
36 PROJECT: PC as tone generator
by J. Schafer DL7PE
52 PROJECT: Centronics monitor
by A. Rigby

12 PROJECT: A high-grade power unit

by C. Bolton, BSc
24 PROJECT: Stereo viewer
by C.J. Ruissen and A.C. van Houwelingen
44 PROJECT: The digital model train (6) Stereo viewer - p. 24
by T. Wigmore

1111=111111tgiece.M.Miffillr
48 Resonance meter
by J. Bareford
Front cover
Clear compact discs prior
to being metallized are 16 Communication receiver front-end filtering
seen during production at by A.B. Bradshaw
Numbus Records Ltd, 18 PROJECT: Budget FM receiver
Britain's largest manufac- by J. Bareford
turer, whose development 22 Amateur communication receivers: still
of a new laser -mastering a challenge?
system won the Queen's by A.B. Bradshaw
Award for Technological Decibel meter - p. 30
Achievement in 1987.
Producing a CD master
=1111111111111
30 PROJECT: Decibel meter
with the Nimbus laser - an ELV design
mastering system involves 38 Simple transmission line experiments
transferring up to 6,000 by Roy C. Whitehead, C.Eng., MIEE
million bits of information
(recorded sound) on to a
prepared glass master.
This is then transferred to Electronics scene 21, 23, 27, 43; Events 47: Readers
metal stampers by an elec- services 65
tro-forming process. The
discs are pressed from
clear polycarbonate by Switchboard 66, 67; Classified ads 74; Buyers guide 74;
fully automated injection Index of advertisers 73
moulding presses. Centronics monitor - p. 52
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 4
Please mention ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS when contacting advertisers

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BIPOLAR AND MOSFET MODULES
EMI TAPE Recording Tape 1 ei6-1
24COLNAB SPOOLS USED ONCE ody 2332
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1-5 £10.00 each. 6 fo.t E50
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f:23.65 i4y3U15041 Sows, amp (65hrr! E37.55
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[Seam Portable Oscilloscpes INTEGRATED CIRCUITSTwin _

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Telequipment 131016 DC - 20MHz m.-=4,-,.. _ 45353n . .676
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Te!e quipment D75 DC - 50MHz xce.-....c--..
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Telequipment 083 DC - 501.0.tz
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£450.00 0=4 _Ma . -_ 6.53.15 em (-loom) £24.135
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Rechargeable Ni-Cad Battery Packs W3'2445
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E5520

,-,,..,,m Maar Pacis for Ir.dustr....1: Ter:- 711M.1. A-.:. Note: These modules require additional heatsinks
Vet Appliction. Celb packazed and 'assemble -3 t.
meet Electrical and Dimensional Requirements. Piease POWER SUPPLIES
contact us ior your ExActRequiremsrus.
-a. . Comprising toroidal transformer and DC board to
STOCK NO. DESCRSTION CCMOTOURADON VOLTAGE CAPACITY PACE
power the I LP amplifier modules.
DWI) 1.25
2JG1 34L1µ
43 1.2A5
L.`.55536
5. 1.e. 4.9 41 ill
110 4 5 .,
5 51
PSU27: ' ..- :
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30
£10.35
£18330
rli.. E42 rit241
:-.2. _552 St05248
£28.15
E28.20
2:4n 5 x 1.3.4.A. .._,..1A.4 60 150 7z P55.141 2 - -5:5-D '4'3324.1032 1-,-,577 £20.45 -7.. -.7 -'' 711 12. E30.25
4-05 3111 _ .6_4.9 36 153 545 PSU4.7: - 128 E22.60 , ! _ ":: - :45 2.. £31.25
Z12 4 AN a5 450 725
23!:.. 4x 54 -_,6_.4/ 2 4 2 45 153 7.25
PSU422 .'25128 £23.55 ,2_ -4 £31.25
' 3x AAA 133 5.45 P.Su5': - :44 -iT128 12i U5.15 ,:-,.. -- £33.30
I.,..5..?? 35 A..... tea 545 P5U522. - - -24 2. E25.15
2'41 4 x AAA .3
.75._ - 2 £33.30
7.Z. 7523522 .' -..,.. .21
.r.34 5 x AAA = = 550 SW E26.15
1.231 34-14.4 36 261 651
2232 3 6 2144 35 260 5.51
X.33 432365 49
2234 4 X 2345 2 ia
251
253
865
856 PRE -AMP and MIXER MODULES
274$ 4 5 7.14A 45 866
2335 4 5 2.-51A 45
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250 355 These encapsulated modules are supplied with
2011 2 X 54.T7C6: 24 250 2.25
342
2043
3x SUTTON
3 X 5551701: ..
35
35
2.50
261
143
3.43
in -line connectors but require potentiometers,
436`77C5.
2144
22.5 4 x 5,47TC.:
46
4a
25)
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switches etc.
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2361
2252
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£ 1.15
36 1220 525
2:63 4356 .14 as 1.233 e 63 866 4taurt3ng board for 54.566 or HYBD E 1.75
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2X45 5 X SC 60 1735 7.53
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Quantity prices available on request
7315 530 60
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650
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All prices subject to 15% VAT. Jaytee Electronic Services

LEKTROPACKS MAIL ORDER Officel orders welcome from
141 Bath Road, Hounslow, Middx. Schools, Govenment and Local 143 Reculver Road, Beltinge. Herne Bay, Kent CT6 6PL
TW3 3BT. Tel: 01-572 9737 Authorities. Telephone: (0227) 375254 Fax: 0227 365104
V5.4

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS (Publishing)
Editor/publisher: Len Seymour
Technical Editor: J Buiting
CAN BirITAIN MAINTAIN
Editorial offices:
Down House
Broomhill Road
LEAD IN MOI -LE AD -0? Is\
LONDON SW18 4JQ
England
Telephone: 01-877 1688 (National)
or +44 1877 1688 (International) One of the great success stories in the United Kingdom electronics industry over
Telex: 917003 (LPC G)
Fax: 01-874 9153 (National) the past few years has been, and still is, mobile radio. Britain's world lead in this
+44 1874 9153 (International) field has helped to push the number of two-way mobile radios in the UK to well
Advertising: PRB Ltd
3 Wolseiey Terrace over a million. Cellular radios, although they became available only in 1985,
CHELTENHAM GL50 1TH already account for over half that total. And demand keeps growing.
Telephone: (0242) 510760
Fax: (0242) 226626
European offices: But while demand continues to grow, there are increasing shortages of skilled
Postbus 75
6190 AB BEEK (L) engineers and technicians to produce, install and service the equipment.
The Netherlands According to the Federation of Communication Services (Fcs), the mobile radio
Telephone: +31 4490 89444
Telex: 56617 (elekt nil market is growing at well over 10 per cent per year, while a survey of its mem-
Fax: +31 4490 70161
Managing Director: M.M.J.
bers shows that 90 per cent of them need more technical staff. One industry
Landman source estimates that 6,000 more specialist staff will be needed by 1995.
Overseas editions:
Federal Germany
Elektor Verlag GmbH There are several initiatives that mobile radio firms should make the most of to
Stisterfeld-Strage 25 demonstrate that mobile radio offers excellent career prospects. These include the
5100 Aachen
Editor: E J A Krempelsauer Enterprise and Education Initiative, which aims to strengthen the partnership
France
Elektor sari
between business and education by offering young persons the opportunity of
Route Nationale; Le Seau; B.P. 53 gaining work experience in both manufacturing and service industries. and teach-
59270 Bailleul
Editors: D R S Meyer; ers the chance to experience business first hand. Another effective way of draw-
G C P Raedersdorf ing school-leavers' attention to the radio industry is through the Young Radio
Greece
Elektor EPE Amateur of the Year Award. This is aimed at anyone under 18 who is keen on DIY
Karaiskaki 14 radioconstruction or operation, uses radio for a community service, or is involved
16673 Voula - Athens
Editor: E Xanthoulis in amateur radio in some other way, for instance, a school science project.
India
Elektor Electronics PVT Ltd.
Chhotani Building One of the main problems in mobile radio is the lack of nationally recognized
52 C, Proctor Road, Grant Road (El
Bombay 400 007 qualifications for technicians. Trainees are often attracted to other sectors where
Editor: Surendra iyer structured training exists. The mobile radio industry itself faces difficulties when
Netherlands
Elektuur B.V. recruiting technicians of indeterminate abilities. Consequently. mobile radio users
Peter Treckpoelstraat 2-4 suffer because of the varying quality of service they receive.
6191 VK Beek
Editor: P E L Kersemakers
Pakistan These problems led the Department of Trade and Industry, the Mobile Radio
Electro-shop
35 Naseem Plaza Users Association (NtRuA). the Federation of Communications Services and the
Lasbella Chawk Electronics Engineering Association (EEA) to start the Radiocommunications
Karachi 5
Editor: lain Ahmed Quality Assurance Scheme. For a company to maintain certification with the
Portugal scheme, technicians must be properly trained and qualified. Recognizing this, the
Ferreira & Bento Lda.
R.D. Estefania, 32-1° DTI and the MRLA earlier this year launched a joint initiative. This resulted in the
1000 Lisboa
Editor: Jaremias Sequeira Mobile Radio Training Committee (mwrc), whose aim is the identification of the
Spain mobile radio community's education and training needs.
Ingelek S.A.
Plaza Republica Ecuador
2-28016 Madrid The dialogue between academics and industry is important. Academics have
Sweden
Electronic Press AB expressed the view that business people should participate in planning courses
Box 5505
14105 Huddinge
and helping to provide on-the-job experience. Educators and trainers should be
Editor. Bill Cedrum up -dated by working with businesses, having contact with senior engineers and
Distribution: experiencing the use of modern equipment.
SEYMOUR
1270 London Road
LONDON SW16 4DH. The activities of the DTI. the MRUA, the FCS and the mwrc are drawing attention to
Written and composed on Apple
and IBM corporate publishing the importance and growth of mobile radio. The United Kingdom currently has a
systems by Elektor Electronics. leading role, but this position is threatened by the shortage of skilled personnel.
Prin ad in the Netherlands by
NDB Zoeterwoude.
Copyright 1989 Elektuur B.V.
-
The Government is doing much to highlight the career opportunities and alleviate
the problems, but the onus must be on business to form a partnership with
ABC education. Packages are required that will attract the people needed, in the
numbers required. and provide them with the necessary skills.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 A HIGH-GRADE POWER UNIT
C. Bolton BSc

These supplies were developed to power experimental electronic

equipment including small RF oscillators and amplifiers. There are
two versions: a single -channel unit and a dual -channel unit in which
the channels may be used independently or in series to give
well-balanced positive and negative rails.

Various circuits may be used to produce a frequent requirement, this type of circuit
variable, regulated output voltage: was chosen for the design.
Table 1.
Chopper circuits The measured performance of the units is
In these, the current is chopped into pul- High-grade power supply summarized in Table I.
ses which are fed to an energy storage
device to give an output voltage. This type Measured performance of each channel:
of circuit was discounted for the present Single -channel unit
design since the switching involved pro- Output voltage: 0-25 V fully variable The circuit diagram of the single -channel
duces RF energy which readily interferes Output current: 1.5 A max.
Current limit:
power unit is given in Fig. 1. The output
with other equipment. 50 mA-1.5 A
current is produced by Tr2, Bri and C2. The
Output resistance: 2 mil
Output change for 10% mains output voltage is controlled by a series
Shunt regulators regulator in which Ts, T4 and T7 are the
change: <1 mV
These circuits produce a larger current active elements. In effect, these transistors
than is required, and shunt the unwanted Total ripple plus noise <1 mV
form a multi -stage emitter follower that is
part away. The shunt regulator is particu- driven by opamp ICI. The current gain
Dual -channel unit only:
larly wasteful when the required current and the use of Darlington -type power
is much smaller than the available cur- Output balance: within 10 mV, retained transistors for T4 and T7 ensure a small
rent, as is frequently the case in ex- under current limit conditions current demand on ICi. Transistors T4 and
perimental work. T7 are connected in parallel with small
emitter resistors to distribute heat dissipa-
Series regulators tion.
These are in essence series resistors that at low output voltage settings and high The output voltage of ICI is deter-
can be varied to maintain a constant out- load currents. Since the ability to power mined initially by a reference voltage ap-
put voltage. Their inefficiency is highest such a load was considered to be the least plied to its non -inverting input. The

BC 212

EC 212

P13

Z$

c.s

nl

TtP
12,

692a."4, -11

Fig. 1. Circuit diagram of the single -channel version of the power supply.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 A liIGH-GR.N DE PONN ER UNIT

rear vanes and heal sins

Fig. 2. Suggested construction of the high-grade power unit.

inverting input is a fixed fraction of the constant until current limiting occurs. The mounted anywhere convenient to the
output voltage supplied by the unit. The regulator for this supply thus acts only transformer leads.
high gain and differential operation of ICI against fluctuations on the mains, which Any type of non -steel cabinet may be
enable the device to vary its output volt- rarely reach 10%. This enables a steady used to house the power supply. Steel
age such that the voltage difference be- reference to be obtained fairly simply. may be used provided the main transfor-
tween its inputs is almost zero. mer has sufficiently small magnetic leak-
The reference voltage for ICI is derived age to avoid magnetizing the steel near
from constant -current source T3 and zener Practical points the leads to the inputs of IC:.
diode D4. Components R3 and C4 form a Component layout is not critical, but at- Constructional details of a cabinet that
simple noise filter. Zener diode D5 pro- tention must be paid to a number of may be made from aluminium are given
duces a small off -set voltage to enable the points. The can of C2 must be well sleeved in Fig. 2. No dimensions are given since
output voltage to go down to zero. to keep it insulated from the chassis. The these will depend on the components
Current limiting on the basis of voltage wires carrying the output voltage must be used for Tr2, C2 and the heat -sink. The
feedback is achieved by Rio, 1C2, T9, TIO routed such that they do not form loops I --section is extruded aluminium, which is
and Tb. The current flow through Ri pro- enclosing other components (this is most available from many DIY suppliers.
duces a voltage across the resistor. Part of likely to happen on the front panel). On a
this voltage is selected by potential similar note, the wires carrying the output
divider P2 and Rio, amplified by IC: and current must be thick enough to prevent Setting up
applied to a trigger circuit around Ts and undue heating, and the wire connections The setting up procedure is concerned en-
T. Normally TQ is off, but it is turned on at the output terminals must be made tirely with the current limit facility.
when the output of IC: rises sufficiently exactly as shown in the circuit diagram. 1. With the unit switched off, set the out-
because of a higher load current. This As to cooling, T4 and T7 must be put voltage control, Pi, for zero volts, the
causes LED 11 to light, indicating current mounted on a heat -sink with a thermal current limit control, P2, for maximum
limiting activity, and Tio to be switched specification not exceeding 0.5 K/W. Re- current (maximum resistance), and Ps to
on. Transistors T-, Titi and Tb now act as member to insulate these transistors elec- zero resistance.
an amplifier to draw current through Rs, trically from the heat -sink. Transistor T2 2. Connect a resistor of about 10 Si, ca-
which in turn reduces the reference volt- requires only a small heat -sink. pable of carrying 1.5 A, across the output
age to ICI and, consequently, the output Fuses F2 and F3 are intended to protect terminals (a length of electric fire spiral
voltage. the rectifier bridges and the transformers has been found useful).
Power to operate the reference source against failure of the smoothing capacitor. 3. Switch on the unit and raise the output
and associated circuitry is obtained inde- They consist of short lengths of 40 SWG until a current of 1.5 A flows.
pendently of the output supply from Tri, copper wire: F2 between vero-pins on the 4. Adjust P4 so that the current limit warn-
Bri and CI, together with stabilizing cir- circuit board, and F:: between tags on a ing light, Di3, is just on.
cuit Ti and T2. Loading on this supply is short length of tag strip, which can be 5. Increase the resistance of Ps until the
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 14 GENERAL INTEREST

Fig. 3. Circuit diagram of the dual -channel PSU.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 A HIGH-GRADE POWER UNIT

current drops by between 50 and 100 mA that it is complementary. For ease of fol- voltmeter capable of resolving millivolts
as indicated on an ammeter. lowing, the circuit components with an at 25 V and below, or the auxiliary test
6. Reduce the output voltage to zero and identical function in channel 1 and the circuit shown in Fig. 4, is required. The
check that the warning light goes out. single -channel version are given the same PSU must be switched on at least five
7. Raise the output voltage and check that reference numbers. Likewise, compo- minutes before the balance is adjusted.
the warning lamp comes on at 1.5 A. nents in channel 2 serving the same func- Turn S2 to balanced operation. Set
8. Try to raise the current by raising the tion as those in channel 1 are given the channel 1 to about 10 V and adjust P7 so
output voltage or reducing the load resis- same numbers with prefix '9'. Thus, ICI of that channel 2, now the negative rail, also
tor, and check that there is little rise in channel 1 becomes I041 of channel 2. The supplies 10 V.
output current. complete circuit diagram of the dual -
9. Choose other settings of the current channel power supply is given in Fig. 3. Setting up with a DVM
limit control, and check that limiting oc- 11. Set the output voltage to about 19 V
curs at lower currents. The lower limit with the aid of the channel 1 control.
should be between 30 and 30 mA. The discharge circuit 12. Connect the digital meter to the + and
10. If at any time the current limit indica- As the voltage setting is reduced, the out- ± terminals. Note the reading.
tor lights, but at less than full brightness, put of ICI falls, and will fall below the 13. Connect the digital meter to the ± and
the limit circuit oscillates because P3 has output terminal voltage unless C. is dis- - terminals. Adjust P7 to give the reading
been advanced too far and should be re- charged. The output voltage of ICi is de- obtained in step 12.
adjusted. This is best done by reducing its veloped across via emitter followers Is 14. Reconnect the digital meter to the +
value to zero and repeating operations 3, and Tn. Diode Dio produces a small volt- and ± terminals. Reduce the output volt-
4 and 5_ age to compensate for additional base - age to 1.5 V and note the exact reading.
emitter drop in Darlington transistors T4 15. Connect the digital meter to the ± and
The current limit control can be calibrated and 17. If the voltage across R33 is lower - terminals. Adjust Ps to give the reading
by setting it to maximum, adjusting the than that across CO, 112 is turned on. This obtained in step 14.
output current to a value required as a in turn switches TIS on, which discharges
calibration point, and then adjusting the Co until the voltage across it is almost Setting up with the auxiliary test circuit
limit control until limiting just occurs as equal to that across R33 when Tia is turned 11. With the 18 V battery in the test circuit
indicated by the lamp coming on. off. Components D12, DIS and I236 limit the and the multimeter on the 25 V range, con-
base current in TIS to a safe level. Diode nect point X to the + terminal, and point Y
Dii prevents the base of TI2 being driven to the ± terminal. Adjust the output volt-
Notes on the use dangerously positive if the voltage setting age so that the multimeter reads zero.
The output of the single -channel unit is is raised suddenly. Change to 100 my and adjust the output
floating so that either side, or none, may voltage to give a multimeter reading of
be grounded. The high degree of regula- 50 mV.
tion is available only direct at the output Balanced output mode 12. Set the multimeter to the 5 V range.
terminals of the supply: bear in mind that In the balanced output mode, the oper- Connect X to the ± terminal, and Y to the
six inches of ordinary connecting wire ation of channel 1 is unchanged. In chan- - terminal. Adjust P7 until the multimeter
have a higher resistance than the output nel 2, the reference voltage is obtained reads zero. Change the multimeter range
resistance of the unit. from the channel 1 reference via the to 100 mV and adjust P7 to give a reading
Under near short-circuit conditions, 'times -1' amplifier, IC;. This reference is of 50 mV.
the current limit may produce a low-level compared with 3/4 of the voltage between 13. Disconnect the test circuit from the
oscillation on the output voltage. This is the positive and negative rails produced unit. Replace the 18 V battery by the 1.5 V
dependent on the reactance of the load, by potential divider Rig -R;(1. cell in the test circuit. Reduce the output
and is unlikely to be of any consequence If the current in channel 1 exceeds the to about 2 V and set the multimeter to the
since the supply is not normally used as a set limit, IC2 causes the limit circuit to 5 V range. Connect X to the + terminal,
constant -current source. operate. If the current in channel 2 ex- and Y to the ± terminal. Adjust the unit
ceeds the limit setting, the output from IC; until the multimeter reads zero. Change
causes the limiter in channel 1 to operate. the multimeter range to 100 mV and ad-
Dual -channel unit Since both channels use the channel 1 ref- just the output voltage to give a reading
In the dual -channel unit, channel 1 is es- erence, they are limited equally in both of 50 mV.
sentially the same as the single -channel cases. Hence, balance is maintained under 14. Set the multimeter to the 5 V range.
unit. The modifications are the addition of current limiting conditions. Diodes Ds Connect X to the ± terminal, and Y to the
a fine voltage control, Ps, a second current and D4 prevent competition for limiting - terminal. Adjust Ps so that the
limit amplifier, IC1, which is operational between the channels. The current limit multimeter reads zero. Change the
only in the balanced mode, and a dis- settings of the two channels are inde- multimeter range to 100 mV and adjust Ps
charge circuit, Tit, Tiz and T13, which dis- pendent. to give a reading of 50 mV.
charges CO when the voltage setting is Switching between modes of operation
reduced, enabling the output to follow the is accomplished by S2, which is a wafer Further settings common to both meth-
setting closely. switch made up of two 6 -pole, 2 -way wa- ods:
Channel 2 is similar to channel 1 except fers. Relay Ref is operated by Si to switch 16. Repeat steps 11 to 15.
the output current. 17. Repeat steps 11, 12 and 13. If any ad-
Current for the relay coil is obtained justment of P7 is required, steps 14 and 15
from the channel 2 AC supply via D14 and must be repeated, followed by steps 11,
Cis. This supply also feeds D-, the 'power - 12, and 13 and so on until no further ad-
on' indicator. justment is required.
18. Connect the 10 Q resistor used for set-
ting the current limit to the ± and - termi-
Setting up procedure nals. Set the channel 2 current limit
With the unit set for independent channel control for maximum current, and adjust
operation, set the current limit circuits as P. so that the channel 1 limit warning
described for the single -channel unit. Use lamp just comes on when the current in
Ps and P4 for channel 1, and P93 and 1-1,,t for channel 2 (the negative rail) reaches 1.3 A.
Fig. 4. Auxiliary circuit for adjusting the channel 2.
PSU. To adjust the balance, either a digital
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
16

COMMUNICATION RECEIVER
FRONT-END FILTERING
by A. B. Bradshaw

In communication receivers. whether

intended for general coverage or for ama- 0

teur bands only. front-end design has

changed considerably over the years. With ,
the use of higher intermediate frequencies
E
.
(w) and the availability of high -frequency
(1F) crystal filters, we no longer see the
Very flat pass band. Attenuation continues to
multiple banks of tuned circuits and multi - increase in stop band. Simple to set up. Very poor
gang capacitors. pass -stop band transition.
Unfortunately, for most new develop-
ments there is a price to pay: the reduction - ESY CIC- V
in pre -mixer selectivity means that any Equally spaced ripples in pass band. Attenuation
amplifier preceding the mixer must offer continues to increase in stop band. More difficult to
superlative performance in terms of inter - set up than Butterworth. Good pass -stop band tran-
Art
modulation distortion and cross modula- sition.
0

tion. If it does not, the user may get the

ELLPTIC FLO:CTION
impression that the receiver is full of sig- Unequally spaced ripples in pass band. Attenuation
0
nals. The old saying that "The wider the (minimum) is defined in stop band. Ripples in stop
window's open. the more muck blows in" hand. Nfore difficult to set up than Butterworth. Very
is very apt here. ATI good pass -stop band transition.
0
It was with these thoughts in mind that ...

the writer has designed some general-pur- Fig. 1. Frequency response characteristics of the ideal low-pass filter and three approximations.
pose front-end filters for the amateur
bands. If you need more protection up
The operating impedance, band edge. for a stop -band attenuation of 40 dB or
front when Joe Blogi.-.,s just down the road
attenuation in the stop band, pass -hand 80 dB to meet both light and stringent
fires up his 400 watts of sideband, these
ripple and component values arc all de- requirements. Also. they are designed for
filters should help you to listen on the next
rived from a low-pass section normalized an input and output impedance of 50 O.
adjacent band up or down. You may wish
for a frequency of 1 radian and an impe- Although intended primarily for receiver
to incorporate them in your next receiver.
dance of 1 D. applications, they may, of course. be used
The shape of the response. which in transmitters, in which case the compo-
What kind of filter? determines the complexity (length) of the nent ratings MUST BE UPGRADED!
Frequency filters fall into four categories: finished filter. is decided with the aid of
low-pass (t_P). high-pass Ow). band-pass design tables. There is usually a trade-off
(BP). and band -stop. between the ratio of the band -edge fre- Components
The design of a band-pass filter for rel- quency to the design attenuation frequency Ideally. the filters should be constructed
atively small bandwidths is not too diffi- and the stop -band attenuation. This means on a printed -circuit board. but this is not
cult, but the difficulty increases exponen- that the 'squarer' the response of a given essential.
tially with increasing bandwidth! filter is. the lower will be the stop -band Capacitors should be low -loss types.
Band-pass and band -stop filters may be attenuation. They should be connected in parallel to
constructed from a mix of low-pass and In the construction of a BP filter. the get their tolerance within l'. although sil-
high-pass sections. In BP filters, these sec- band edge of the t_P section becomes the ver -mica capacitors with I tolerance are
tions are in series: in band -stop filters they upper profile and that of the 11P section. readily available.
are in parallel. The band -stop filter so con- the lower profile. In effect, the two res- The Q of the inductors should be as
structed is not often seen in print, but is. ponses cross over each other. high as can be obtained. However. as the
nevertheless, a thoroughly practical In the designs illustrated in this article. filter impedance is 50 Q. the values of
design. It is, of course, a pity that the LP the elliptic function approximation is used. inductance are low, so the coils can be
and HP sections can be used only for the With this. the minimum stop -band attenua- wound manually quite easily. Take care to
construction of a band-pass or a band -stop tion remains at its design figure. in con- prevent inductive coupling between sec-
filter. but not for both simultaneously! trast to Butterworth or Chebishev func- tions.
In modern filter design. a number of tions where it increases the further the fre- When setting up the filter. trim the
approximations to the ideal brickwall quency is away from the band edge. This coils to their correct value by checking the
response have become popular. The low- is. however. a small price to pay for the stop -band nulls on an oscilloscope (or
pass responses of these are shown in excellent transition band selectivity of this analyser if you are that lucky!). Check all
Fig. 1. Their high-pass response is type of filter. frequencies with a suitable counter.
obtained by network transformation. The filters discussed here are designed

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 RADIO & TELEVISION

2-10*

0 1
Mg* 1-71 1-r-11-0
MOM MN
MN
It_-.rt

r
mni
Min mon 56:1

S :k.,.. 71..,

LP .. 0
1.4,22. -I/ Hp
0

Fig. 2. Band-pass filter for the top band. The -1 dB edges are at 1.8 MHz and Fig. 3. Band-pass filter for the top band. Attenuation at 1.8 MHz and 2.0
2.0 MHz. The pass band ripple is 1 dB. The -40 dB points are at 1.479 MHz MHz is 0.18 dB. The pass band ripple is 0.18 dB. The -80 dB points are at
and 2.434 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF 1.025 MHz 3.178 fAliz and 1.132 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF
and 1.44 MHz; HF 2.5 MHz and 3.51 MHz. 0.9269 MHz. 1.1106 MHz and 0.54202 MHz; HF 3.88 MHz, 3.241 MHz and
6.641 MHz

--,,,,--.--.....,-
, a_ -_,L,,,, 7..... :t.,

,a3a17-112%17T-Ilt
1-0 0 hi -!77.1,1-7-11:h°
maw .....
2a14 RI=
MBE
MIMI
,z :me '7rt-.. '!T
ECti
T. Tr. t$-. . :c
1.,=,. ?Jai, f a.. I-
0 LP rE La ts
0 0 LP HP sl0

Fig. 4. Band-pass filter for the 80 m band. The -1 dB edges are at 3.5 MHz Fig. 5. Band-pass filter for the 80 m band. Attenuation at 3.5 MHz and 3.8
and 3.8 MHz. The pass band ripple is 1 dB. The -40 dB points are at MHz is 0.18 dB. Pass band ripple is 0.18 dB. The -80 dB points are at
2.875 MHz and 4.624 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF 2.202 MHz and 6.038 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation ar at: LF
2.8 MHz and 1.994 MHz; HF 4.75 MHz and 6.669 MHz. 1.053 MHz, 1.802 MHz and 2.159 MHz; HF 6.158 MHz, 7.378 MHz and
12.619 MHz.

0
MEP
4117111a-1-1. I-00 50.3
sue
Ltt.1/4t/

=1. MEM

,AC.7

t.X21.1,tH
HP fl2C US t?
0 TO
- /:JO.",

HP
..V.A.,

Fig. 6. Band-pass filter for the 40 m band. The -1 dB edges are at 7.0 MHz Fig. 7. Band-pass filter for the 40 m band. Attenuation at 7.0 MHz and 7.2
and 7.2 MHz. The pass band ripple is 1 dB. The -40 dB points are at MHz is 0.18 dB. The pass band ripple is 0.18 dB. The -80 dB points are at
5.751 MHz and 8.762 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF 4.405 MHz and 11.44 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF
3.988 MHz and 5.6 MHz: HF 9.0 MHz and 12.63 MHz. 2.107 MHz. 3.604 MHz and 4.319 MHz: HF 11.668 MHz, 13.981 MHz and 23.91
MHz.

^,,,----,,,,,----,,,,....

1! :1
mim
0 r 1 '
UAW.,

.33
n1 -11t -1-1'Z'
=I= 1.14%,
MN= 1111. 5. 0 .., Sa:1 56:1

011
I' lc
:6.: .S=0+ 2,3101 ts-Mr,

HP LIC-1241,2
0 0 L HP E5C t23 -LI0

Fig. 8. Band-pass filter for the 20 m band. The -1 dB edges are at 14.0 MHz Fig. 9. Band-pass filter for the 20 m band. Attenuation at 14.0 MHz and
and 14.2 MHz. The pass band ripple is 1 dB. The -40 dB points are at 14.2 P.1Hz is 0.18 dB. The pass band ripple is 0.18 dB. The -80 dB points are
11.50 MHz and 17.28 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF at 8.810 MHz and 22.564 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at:
7.977 MHz and 11.2 MHz; HF 17.75 MHz and 24.92 MHz. LF 4.215 MHz, 7.209 MHz and 8.638 MHz; HF 23.01 MHz, 27.57 MHz and
47.156 MHz.

.:
1 -?-11-0 0 k Ell =.11-71:1:c
1-0
56, 56.-1
IN/0. =In Min

0 HP rx-_-=0 LJ
LP HP rxrm ri

Fig. 10. Band-pass filter for the 10 m band. The -1 dB edges are at 28 MHz Fig. 11. Bandpass filter for the 10 m band. Attenuation at 28 MHz and 30
and 30 MHz. The pass band ripple is 1 dB. The -40 dB points are at 23 MHz MHz is 0.18 dB. The pass band ripple is 0.18 dB. The -80 dB points are at
and 36.51 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are at: LF 15.954 MHz 17.62 MHz and 47.6 MHz. The frequencies of infinite attenuation are: LF
and 22.4 MHz; HF 37.5 MHz and 52.65 MHz. 8.43 P.1Hz, 14.419 11.1Hz and 17.277 MHz; HF 48.619 MHz, 58.254 MHz and
99.625 MHz.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 ri,,DGET FM RECEIVER
J.BEtreford

Most receivers for 30 MHz and up contain a fair number of

semiconductors. Although super -regenerative receivers have been
built with few transistors, their performance is generally rather poor.
The present four -transistor receiver is of the super -heterodyne type,
and demonstrates the feasibility of building a sensitive FM receiver
from a minimum number of components.

Although the super -heterodyne receiver dyne type, each of the above blocks uses ly heavily damped, tuned circuit Li-Ci has
requires relatively many sub -circuits, it is at least one transistor - the IF amplifier a relatively low loaded Q (quality) factor.
probably the best choice when a receiver usually requires several. Less conven- The tuned circuit can not, therefore, en-
for the VHF and UHF ranges is to be built. tional receiver design, however, allows sure the receiver's selectivity, but this is
The first building block of the the number of transistors to be reduced not a problem because the intermediate
'superhet' is the input stage that filters drastically. frequency is low at 200 kHz, making ade-
and raises the aerial signal to a level suit- quate image rejection impossible anyway.
able for the second block, the mixer. The The upshot of this is that two frequencies,
filters are required to ensure sufficient Active down, passive up spaced at 400 kHz, arc actually received at
image rejection. The third block is the The circuit diagram of Fig. 1 shows that the same time. In practice, this means that
local oscillator. This circuit is tuneable the number of active components has been all stations simply occur twice when the
and drives the other input of the mixer. kept to a minimum, while relatively many receiver is tuned across the VHF FM
The output of the mixer is connected to the passive parts are used. Only three transis- broadcast band.
input of the intermediate frequency (IF) tors take care of all the high -frequency The use of a pnp transistor in the RF
amplifier that provides the required selec- functions, and one is used as an audio input stage allows the amplified signal at
tivity. The IF amplifier is generally dimen- amplifier. the collector to be coupled direct to gate -I
sioned for relatively high gain and a Transistor Ti and associated parts form (g1) of MOSFET T2.
bandwidth not greater than strictly re- the RF input amplifier that raises the
quired. The last building block of the aerial signal. A grounded -base circuit is
superhet is, in principle, the demodulator. used to achieve acceptable matching of
In most receivers of the super -hetero- the input cable impedance. Since it is fair- The self -oscillating mixer is, admittedly,
infamous with many high -frequency en-
thusiasts. The design presented here,
however, suffers none of the disadvant-
ages like poor mixing characteristics,
noise, and 'pulling' of the input stage, as-
sociated with traditional bipolar transis-
tor designs. MOSFET T2 is basically used
in a standard mixer configuration because
the oscillator signal is available at gate -2,
and the received signal at gate -I. Uncon-
ventionally, however, the mixer has a
feedback network between the source and
gate -2. This is achieved with parts L5-05
and Di that cause the mixer to oscillate.
Varicap diode Di has no effect on the re-
ceiver tuning (this is taken care of by Cs),
but serves to rectify the RF voltage across
L3. The rectified voltage makes gate -2 of
the MOSFET a little positive with respect
to ground. The internal gate -source capa-
citance serves to buffer this d.c. level,
which raises the transconductance of the
MOSFET for the signal applied to gate -I,
but at the same time lowers the transcon-
ductance for the signal applied to gate -2.
The combined regulation causes the over-
all amplification in the oscillator to stabi-
lize at a certain level, and results in a
relatively clean output signal.
High -frequency components in the
mixer output signal are suppressed by Cb
and series network Cs -Ls, so that a clean
signal is applied to the IF amplifier, T3.
Choke L4 prevents the IF signal being
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 BUDGET FM RECEIVER 19

*see I.;
R10 WA
Cie =270p
R13= trAt Cl,

C93 10C.
R9
D2,D3=1N4148
114,05 = BATES

R6

MPX

9_15V
-0- C) -4
D7, Rt3 BF982 BFESEB
0156 = 884050 R1
a
BF2568
11
-- = STEREO
' -
mz. =1
=' G D
'::-

25011S-11

Fig. 1.Circuit diagram of the budget FM receiver. The dashed parts are for the optional AFC extension, which also allows a stereo
demodulator to be connected to the r.iPx output..

short-circuited by the decoupled positive cathodes are interconnected, the total di- remains tuned to a station in spite of fre-
supply rail. rect voltage with respect to ground equals quency drift of the local oscillator owing
the difference between the individual to temperature changes. An additional
One -transistor IF amplifier diode voltages. This difference is, of benefit of the feedback circuit is an im-
course, 0 V at the resonance frequency of provement in the linearity of the audio
The fairly high conversion gain of L7 -C14, while it is positive or negative de- signal, which results in a better high -fre-
mixer /oscillator T2 allows a single transis- pending on the instantaneous signal fre- quency response.
tor to be used as the IF amplifier. A dual - quency, which is a function of the The high boost achieved by the addi-
gate MOSFET is used as in the modulation signal because frequency - tion of the AFC parts allows a multiplex
mixer/oscillator, but T3 is a Type BF982 modulated (FM) signals are received. (MPX) demodulator to be connected to
rather than a BF981 because a higher The currents supplied by D4 and D3 output NIPX to enable stereo reception. In
transconductance is required. The func- during their conductive half -cycles are a stereo MPX signal, the L-R difference
tion of Lo is similar to that of L4. used to charge C13 and CI5 respectively. signal is modulated on to a subcarrier at
The IF amplifier is not tuned - the These capacitors are slowly discharged by 38 kHz. Without the AFC circuit, this sig-
only IF filter in the receiver, L7 -C14, is lo- parallel resistors R12 and RI1. nal would be difficult to recover from the
cated behind the limiter, D2 -D3. normal AF output because of the roll -off
Headphone amplifier at 5 kHz.
Discriminator The use of a stereo FM demodulator,
The demodulated audio signal is applied which is not discussed here, also requires
Apart from its function as the only IF filter to low-pass filter R13 -C1., which attenuates Ci and RI3 to be changed to the values
in the FM receiver, tuned circuit L7 -C14 frequencies above 5 kHz and so forms a indicated in the circuit diagram.
acts as an FM demodulator. When the basic de -emphasis.
series combination resonates at about The filtered AF signal is fed to head-
200 kHz, the voltage across the inductor, phone amplifier T4. This FET provides suf- Construction
L7, has the same amplitude as that across ficient power only if headphones with an The printed circuit board shown in Fig. 2
C14, but a phase difference of 180'. For impedance greater than 1 1St are con- is double -sided, but not through -plated.
frequencies above the resonance fre- nected. For higher output volume and/or The largely unetched component side
quency, the reactance of the inductor is a lower output impedance, use an LM386- functions as a ground plane that prevents
greater than that of the capacitor. This based AF amplifier. parasitic coupling between components
means that the voltage on the inductor is and PCB tracks.
greater than that across the capacitor. For Drill the PCB and sort the components
frequencies below the resonance fre- AFC and stereo before fitting them. A large number of
quency, the capacitor voltage exceeds the Automatic frequency control (AFC) is parts is mounted vertically. As the compo-
inductor voltage, although the phase dif- fairly simple to implement in the receiver nent density is fairly high, these parts
ference is still 180'. by adding the parts connected by the must be installed carefully, and soldered
Since the IF signal is frequency modu- dashed lines in the circuit diagram. The accurately to prevent short-circuits.
lated, the voltages across L7 and C14 can be added parts create a feedback path be- Solder component terminals at both PCB
rectified to recover the modulation signal. tween the audio signal and tuning ele- sides if the solder spot at the track side is
Diode D4 rectifies the voltage across C14, ment Do. The result is automatic not connected to a track or other spot(s).
and D, the voltage across L7. Since the frequency correction, so that the receiver The mounting of SMD capacitor C4 at
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
20 RADIO AND TELEVISION

Parts Hat

Resistors:
= 2k2
R2;R3 = 6k8
R4 = 4752
Rs:Re;Rii;1112 = 47k
Rs = 33f1
R7 = IMO
= 100k
Rio = 221)
R13 = 220k (101C)
R14' = 10k
= 'IMO logarithmic potentiometer
P2 = 50052 preset H

Capacitors:
Ci = 20p foil trimmer green
C2 = 10n ceramic
C3 = 39p
C4 = 1n0 SMD
Cs = 14p tuning capacitor
G6= 22p
C7:C9;C17;G21.:C23.= 100n ceramic
Ca = 47p
Cio;C14 = 120p
Cif = 220n
C12 = 47n
Cis;Cis = 390p
Cis = 150p (270131
Cia;Cis = 47u; 16 V
Ca' = 270p
C22. = 4p7

Semiconductors:
Di ;D6* = BB4O5G
D2:D3 = 1N4148
D4;D5 = BAT85
TI = BF324
T2 = BF981
T3 = BF982
T4 = BF25613

Inductors:
Li;L2;1_3;Ls = home-made inductor; winding
details are given in the text. Parts required:
1 mm dia. silver-plated wire and 2 ferrite
beads (3mm).
L4 = 100 mH radial choke with ferrite encap-

e-
r:04t) offtx
a Ha 04.5 a
12 2-7
a
sulation, e.g., Toko 181LY-104 (Cirkit).
Ls = 10 mH radial choke with ferrite encap-
2
U.6R1304.2) R12 sulation. e.g., Toko 181LY-103 (Cirkit).
ito toe 17 = 4mH7 axial choke, e.g. Siemens
0 2 c"e c*D Ua-0 2 C5
C
U
940 0.-13'
cis to R15 4:41°
878108 (Cirkit stock no. 35-71475).
`6" "6" N (11147 Le = 33 mH radial choke with ferrite encap-
U 00 6 sulation, e.g.. Toko 181LY-333 (Cirkit).
14143V
91
Miscellaneous:
92T PCB Type 890118 (not available through
Sk° the Readers Services).
High -impedance headphones or earpiece.
C7 -
U a Co -axial aerial socket: e.g., BNC or SO -239.
Meta! enclosure.
Mains adapter socket.

AFC option

Fig. 2. Double -sided PCB for the FM receiver. Fit screening plates over the dashed lines.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 ENBUDGET FM RECEIVER

The receiver must be powered from a

low -noise, regulated 12V source. A simple
mains adapter will generally be unsuit-
able unless additional regulation is in-
stalled. In most cases, a Type 7812
regulator with associated decoupling ca-
pacitors is adequate for this purpose, but
make sure that the unregulated input volt-
age is between 15 and about 20 V.

Inductors
Wind four inductors as detailed below.
Inductor Li: close -wind 8 turns of 1 mm
dia. (SWG20) silver-plated wire on to an Fig. 4. Winding details of inductors Li and
8 mm drill. Make sure that the ends of the
Fig. 3. SMD capacitor C4 is soldered at the inductor are in the same plane (see
track side of the board, between the spots Fig. 4.). Then bend the ends at right
provided for R3. angles, keeping them central under the
turns as indicated by the dashed lines in
Fig. 4. Now space the turns evenly so that
the track side of the PCB is shown in the the terminal wires align with the holes in
photograph of Fig. 3. the PCB.
The source terminal of 12 is connected Inductor L3: this is made as Li, but with 6
direct, via a short wire, to the tap on L3. turns rather than 8. The location of the tap
The other terminals of the MOSFET are is shown in Fig. 4.
inserted in the appropriate PCB holes. Inductor LE wind 2 turns of 0.2 mm dia.
The tuning capacitor used in the proto- (SWG36) enamelled copper xvire through
type was a 14pF single -gang type from a 3 mm long ferrite bead (see Fig. 5a).
Schwaiger. Other types with a different Inductor Ls: as L2, but with 4 turns (see
mechanical construction are also suitable, Fig. 5b).
provided the capacitance range is about
5pF to 14pF. The Schwaiger capacitor The remaining inductors in the receiver
must be modified before it can be are ready-made chokes. Suggested types
mounted on to the PCB: cut off the termi- are given in the Parts List.
nals, and solder a single wire at the other
side of the capacitor body. Solder quickly Alignment
to prevent the stator package being dis- Fig. 5. Winding details of inductors L2
lodged and causing short-circuits with the Apply 12 V d.c. to the completed receiver, and Ls.
rotor blades. Scratch off the coating from connect an aerial (75 SI) and headphones.
the sides of the capacitor body so that the Set the tuning capacitor to maximum ca-
device can be soldered on to the PCB. pacitance and compress or stretch L3 until Tune to a weak transmission and peak
Install 15 mm high tin plate or brass the local oscillator operates at 88 MHz. Ci for maximum output volume. Finally,
screens on to the PCB. The placement is Check this with a frequency meter or an- adjust preset P2 for an acceptable com-
indicated by the dashed lines on the com- other FM receiver. if necessary, reduce the promise between distortion and output
ponent overlay. number of turns of L3. volume.

British Gyros Will Line Up Computer Graphics Exhibition and

New Intelsat Comsats Conference from 7 to 9 November at the
Alexandra Palace. London.
Gyros from Ferranti will ensure the initial
line up and correct attitude on station of developed by John McGavin & Co.
the new series of American Intelsat -7 The sensors consist of two conductive Simulator for Satellite Signals
communications satellites. coatings applied to a substrate of polyester
Similar Ferranti equipment has already or polycarbonate.The faces are separated A simulator that does a job similar to
been used successfully in satellites such as by clear dielectric spacer dots and are those used to train aircraft pilots has been
IRAS.Exosat. X4 (Miranda) and for the brought into electrical contact only when developed by STC to check on the accuracy
Spacelab Instrument Pointing System actuated by the pressure of a finger. of Global Positioning Systems (GPs) used
(iPs). Moreover, it has been provided for worldwide for navigatine both civil and
the Rosat X-ray Astronomical Satellite military craft on land, sea and in the air.
Computer Graphics Metafile The company says that its STR2700 simu-
and the Olympus communications satellite
lator will contribute to still more accurate
A working demonstration of computer navigation from satellite signals.
Analogue Touch Sensors graphics metafile (cGm). the British and Global Positioning Systems relay on
ANSI standard that provides integration of signals from 18-21 special navigational
Analogue touch sensors that use surface different computer graphics products and satellites in orbit around the earth, of
chemistry and surface electronics for input the exchange of information and images which the average user can 'see' up to five
via visual display units (vms) have been between systems. will be Oven at the at any given moment.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 EUlig CON- V CAI 0
STF1

by A. B. Bradshaw

The valve era signal handling capabilities of these new devices have improved enormously. how-
valves soon caught the eye of receiver ever, and present-day communication
Over the past forty years or so. communi- designers and it did not take long before receivers have very real benefits compared
cation receiver design has undergone quite manufacturers like Collins. Squires - with those of yesteryear.
a revolution. In the days before transistors Sanders. Drake. and so on were incorpo- Unfortunately, in my view, we have
and ics, there were some remarkably good rating them in their new receivers. allowed the Japanese industry to dominate
receivers around. Typical among these At about this time, a superb receiver, the manufacture and design of good -quali-
were the AR88, the Hamerlund Super -Pro. the Thomley G2DAF design. appeared on ty communication receivers. This is partic-
the Marconi CR100, the BC348, and the the UK amateur scene. Many of these ularly disappointing in view of our own
Racal RA I7. excellent receivers were built and had a earlier performance. In the solid-state era
After the end of the Second World War. profound influence on our thinking of we have manaeed to produce some inno-
many radio amateurs were using either what kind of performance could be vative designs. but they are few and far
one of these classical designs or one of the achieved with the technology then avail- between.
many ex -military receivers that had come able. I built my own and well remember Nevertheless. the radio amateur re-
on to the surplus market. the pleasure of using the receiver. which mains in a unique position. The receiver
A large number of amateurs showed had the knife-edge selectivity of the manufacturer is hamstrung by severe eco-
great ingenuity in the use of various items Kokusai mechanical filter Type NIF455- nomic restraints and market forces. The
of military equipment to make up their sta- 10.K. amateur designer and constructor, on the
tion receiver, and sometimes their trans- By then, we had the ingredients neces- other hand. is still at liberty to explore and
mitter as well. There was a lot of ex -ser- sary for meeting the specification for a indulge his fancy in ways that would he
vices expertise about and a considerable good communication receiver: out of the question for the professional
amount of technical discussion seemed to good IF shape factor (in spite of the designer. I am not suggesting for one mo-
take place over the airwaves. Cobbling low IF resulting from the multi -conversion ment that the radio amateur can challenge
together all this readily obtainable gear necessary for the HF end): the Japanese giants. Nevertheless. there is
was not entirely caused by the non -avail- stable conversion oscillators. necessary still much innovation in Britain. well doc-
ability of proprietary amateur equipment: for the increasingly popular sss mode of umented in a variety of books, technical
most of us being broke had something to transmission: articles, application notes. and so on.
do with it as well! ease of tuning with mechanical s/xt
Towards the end of the valve era, there drives (Eddystone 898, and so on).
occurred a number of technical develop- Nevertheless, these receivers still had Modern home construction
ments in radio valve technology that had a some serious short -comings. They were If we regard the modern communication
direct bearing on communication receiver complex (at the time): they usually receiver at a system level, we have a good
design. One of these was the appearance embodied lots of ganged switching of opportunity to see what some British man-
of the frame grid pentode. like the E183. tuned circuits: they used relatively expen- ufacturers and suppliers have on offer
These new valves. 465 kHz w trans- sive wound components: their front-end RF amplifiers: Plessey Types SL600:
formers with a good Q. and ex -govern- alignment and tracking, particularly in SL611C: SL612: SL1610C: SLI611C:
ment quartz crystals, such as the general coverage designs. was difficult: SL1612C.
FT241/243, helped to achieve respectable and lastly. these 'magificent machines' High performance mixers: Plessey Type
IF response shapes for reception of the could certainly not be regarded as SL6440A/C (+30 dBm intercept point):
increasingly popular single-sideband (SSB ) portable. Siliconix Type Si8901 double -balanced
transmissions. mixer (+35 dBm intercept point): various
At the same time. wide -range, stable diode bridge ring devices, from the
automatic gain control (AGc) was becom- The solid-state era MD108 up to the SRA3 1£ 28 from Cirkit).
ing the norm, its control voltage no longer The transition to solid state electronics IF shaping filters: ceramic and mechani-
derived from the incoming carrier. was not a sudden occurrence, and for cal filters are available for the lower ws
The emereence of the long -life stable some years hybrid designs were very pop- (455 kHz). while for the higher iFs there
double triodes, like the E88CC, originally ular in the amateur press. Although these are quartz crystal lattices up to 10.7 MHz
developed for the then embryonic comput- designs still used valves in their front - are available in bandwidths suitable for
er industry, further helped to improve ends, much of the remaining circuitry had AM, SSB and cw from Cirkit.
amateur communication receiver design. become solid-state. These early solid-state IF amplifiers: three Plessey Type SL612
Another milestone was the introduction devices, however, could not produce the tcs will give most of the gain required in a
of the beam deflection mixer valve, like good intermodulation and cross modula- normal IF amplifier.
the 6AR8 and the 7360. which were devel- tion performance of their valved predeces- Demodulators for AM, SSB, and cw:
oped for the American colour Tv market. sors. Plessey Types SL6700A and SL624.
The remarkably linear mixing and large - Over the past decade, solid-state AGC generators: rather a limited choice
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 RADIO & TELEVISION

here, but the Plessey SL620 and SL621C References. Dynamic Range: What the Numbers
tcs are well proven. "Communication Receivers" by G.R.B. \lean" by J. Fisk. Ham Radio, Oct. 1975.
This list shows that there is a good Thomley. RSGB Brrlletirt. July -Nov 1960 "Optimum Design for HF Communication
home-bred range of building blocks, and March -April 1961. Receivers" by U.L. Rhode. Ham Radio,
although I still feel that there are areas of "An Amateur Bands Communication Oct. 1976.
design that have been neglected. Some of Receiver" by A.J. Shepherd. RSGB "IF Amplifier Design" by U.L. Rhode.
these are receiver front-end filtering for Bu/le-tin July 1963. Ham Radio. March 1977.
the amateur bands, local oscillator design "Prelude to a Communication Receiver" "Noise Blanker Design" by \V. Stewart,
(either upper conversion synthesis or lim- by I. Pogson. Radio & Hobbies Ham Radio. Nov. 1977.
ited -range BFO conversion systems), while (Australia) Sept. 1964 (2 parts). "Effects of Noise on Receiver Systems"
the required noise floor specification for "The Deltahet Mark 2 Solid State by U.L. Rhode. Ham Radio, Nov. 1977.
VHF synthesizers is a real challenge. Version" by I. Pogsen. Radio & Hobbies "The P\V Helford HF SSB Transceiver"
(Australia) Feb. 1971 (in 2 parts). by V. Goom. Practical Wireless. Nov.
"10-80 Metre Amateur Transceiver" by 1980 (in 6 parts).
Conclusion D.R. Bowman. Wireless World, June 1972. "The RX80 Mk2" by A.L. Bailey. Rad
As I glance through yesteryear's copies of "Defining and Measuring Receiver Dyna- Com. Jan. 1981 (in 6 pans).
RSGB Bulletin. RAD COM, and others, I mic Range" by W Hayward, QST. July "A Dual -Conversion Multimode Receiver
can not but be struck by the falling off in 1975. IF/AF Strip" by S. Niewiadomski, Rad
interest in innovative design. Can this "High Dynamic Range Receiver Input Cont. May 1985 (in 2 pans i.
malaise be halted? I certainly hope so. Stages" by U.L. Rhode. Ham Radio. Oct. ".A Home Built Frequency Synthesizer for
What are you going to do about it? 1976. 45-75 MHz" by J. Crawley. Rad Com.
"Receiver Noise Figure, Sensitivity, and August 1986 (in 2 parts).

Encryption System May Be Basis for nents.

International Standard By the end of this year. the first stage
ELECTRONICS SCENE of the project will link the three hubs of
A high security encryption system devel- London. New York and Paris, thus extend-
oped by GEC Plessey Telecommunica- to react automatically to an encryption ing the General Electric voice and data
tions (GPT) for video conferencing. may request from a remote terminal with local network from the US into major European
provide the basis for a new international intervention. locations. British Telecom. from its net-
standard. work management centre in London, will
Called B -Crypt. the system is selling be the hub for the UK. the Netherlands,
all over the world, demonstrating a strong Another Step towards Global ISDN Ireland and Spain.
international demand for a dedicated Other European locations will be
encryption system. British Telecom has taken another step linked next year. and phase 2 is planned to
B -Crypt operates on two 56 -bit securi- towards a global integrated services digital link the Far East. Middle East and South
ty codes. The first is a crypto-variable key network (IsDN) with the introduction of America. The global network will provide
that can be calculated automatically by the new digital switched services linking the GE with voice, data and videoconferencing
sy stem or input manually. The second is UK. Japan and the United States. services.
an initialization vector. This is a random Customers of British Telecom. KDD and
number that is changed and transmitted to AT&T who have compatible equipment
the receiver every 32 milliseconds. The will now be able to use advanced applica- GPT Credit Card Payphones
actual encryption key. a factor of these tions such as new generation (Group 4) for Federal German'
two security codes. is never transmitted facsimile, and the exchange of data tiles at
over the link and is. therefore. irretrievable high speed. Federal Germany's first public credit card
by a third, unauthorized party. While The initial service will provide a circuit payphone service, which uses British
encryption is active, all timeslots carrying switched data capability operating at equipment, has recently gone into service
video, audio and data are fully encrypted. 56 kbit/s or 64 kbit/s. In time. this will be at Frankfurt Airport. Others have been
Timeslots zero and two are unencrypted at enhanced to provide supplementary ser- installed at the airports of Dusseldorf.
all times for network signalling purposes. vices such as calling line identity and Hamburg and Munich.
Control of both the internal and stand- closed user groups and functions such as The payphone equipment was devel-
alone systems is by a terminal via a stan- terminal identification. oped and supplied by GEC Plessey
dard RS232C serial port fitted to the rear British Telecom's ISDN. named integrat- Telecommunications (OPT) to the German
panel. Under normal circumstances, ini- ed digital access-im-is available either Bundespost. GPT has now supplied the
tialization of encryption will occur when as single -line or as multi -line. equipment to 58 customers in 44 countries
two suitably equipped locations of a video worldwide.
teleconference request the transmission to The payphones accept payment by
be encrypted via their local control termi- Anglo-French-1 S Partners in standard international credit cards, such as
nal. If only one location makes the re- Global Network Amex, Access. Diners and VISA.
quest. encryption will not occur and a Voice messages on the system are used
warning message will be displayed at the British Telecom. AT&T and France to assist the caller. if necessary. and are
control terminal. Both codec and stand- Telecom have signed a contract to provide provided with dual language capability.
alone systems are fitted with 'Force En- the first phase of a communications net- normally English plus the language of the
cryption' capability. which enables them work that will eventually span six conti- country involved.
EI.EKTOR ELECTRONOCS SEPTEMBER 1989
24

STEREO VIEWE
C.J. Ruissen & A.C. van Houwelingen

This electronic ornament is basically an unconventional VU -meter. A

square matrix composed of 10x10 LEDs indicates signal volume as
well as stereo information.

The circuit is perhaps best qualified as a

simple X -Y display for audio signals, and
the displayed patterns are, therefore, not
unlike Lissajous figures. The heart of the
circuit is formed by an integrated circuit
from National Semiconductor, the Type
LM3914. At first glance, this dot/bar dis-
play driver is a quite conventional design.
The IC houses ten comparators, a preci-
sion linear -scale voltage divider and a ref-
erence voltage source_ The actual
realization of these parts, however, gives
the LM3914 a number of interesting fea-
tures:

outputs drive LEDs, LCDs, fluorescent

displays or miniature bulbs
external input selects bar or dot display
mode
simple to cascade for displays with a
resolution of up to 100 steps
internal voltage reference; adjustable be-
tween 1.2 and 12 V
minimum supply voltage: 3 V
current -regulated open -collector out-
puts
output current programmable from 2 to
30 mA
no multiplex switching
input withstands V
outputs interface direct with TTL and
CMOS logic
floating 10 -step divider can be connected
to a wide range of voltages, including
internal reference

Circuit description
The circuit diagram of the 10x10 LED ma- operate in the dot mode so that, strictly with a resistor. Rn sets the output current
trix which determines the appearance of speaking, one row and one column are of ICs to about 2 mA. A slightly different
the stereo viewer is given in Fig. 2. The selected to light one LED at a time. The IC approach is used in the case of IC2: here,
dimensions of the matrix result in a square outputs have some overlap, however, so an LDR (light -dependent resistor), a tran-
arrangement. How the square is actually that two LEDs are on at the switch -over sistor, Ti, and a handful of other compo-
positioned is a matter of personal pref- levels. nents form a load resistor whose value is
erence, and not, of course, of any circuit Transistors T2 -Tit function as inver- a function of ambient light intensity. Since
configuration. The introductory photo- ters. They are required because the col- the output current of IC2 is used for driv-
graph shows the prototype which has ma- umn driver must switch to the positive ing the LEDs, the display intensity is auto-
trix co-ordinate X1 -Y1 below and X10 -Y10 supply rather than to ground. The pro- matically controlled as a function of
at the top. grammable current source in 1C3 is set to ambient light conditions. The component
The matrix arrangement allows any supply the relatively small base currents values used allow the LED current to vary
one of the 100 LEDs to be turned on and for the inverter transistors. The current between 8 and 25 mA.
off individually. To select a particular source in IC2 is set to a much higher value To make sure the LEDs are completely
LED, the relevant column, X1 -X10, and to supply the required current direct to off when they have to be off, the Ll out-
row, Y1 -Y10, is made high and low re- the LEDs. puts of IC_2 and ICs are fitted with a pull-
spectively. The circuit diagram of the The current source in the LN13914 is set up resistor. This is required because the
row column driver (Fig. 1) shows that in a rather unconventional manner: the Ll output has an auxiliary current source
two LM3914s are used: IC2 forms the col- output current is ten times the current that is used for cascading driver chips to
umn driver (X-axis), and IC3 the row supplied by the reference voltage. So, all form a larger display. The pull-up resis-
driver (Y-axis). Both LM3914s are set to that is required is to load the reference tors keep Tr from conducting, and one
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 laSTEREO VIEWER

5V
Pia

100k %new
19 R3 L10
Y L9 11

iC2 Le 12
Al 13
3 I
100n
SIG 177

1:6 14
LM3914 Ls 15
6 L4 16
RHI
L3 17
REFOUT 18
1
REF CT
6 C R9
ADJ PLO

5V5V 22n 8 2 4 R13

TM
10T

R6 5V
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
-0-
K3
O 0 0 O0bbb0
CB
O 00000000
R5 BC547A 1 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19

2p2 10V
R12

R8 R10

717p
0V
©T3
5V
4
PIED/

K2 Li
18
(601'5
L2
C5 IC3 ri 17
T6
16
SIG
15
100n L5
LM3914 Le 14
13
PHI 177
12
REFOUT lc§ 11

7
Ri REF L10 10
ADJ R_O
22n 8 2 4
1M 9
10T

T10
K4

T11

T2...T11 = 10x BC559B

Al, A2 = IC1 = LM358

89C041 - 11

Fig. 1. Circuit diagram of the stereo viewer.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 26 GENERAL INTEREST

Parts list
01...D100
Resistors (-.:5%):
Fl1:R2;Ri3 = 10k
R3;R4 = 1k5
R5;R12 = 2k2
R6 = LDR
R7 = 1k8
Rs = 1k
R9 = 5600
Rio =1k2
Rii = 15k
P1= 100k logarithmic potentiometer;
stereo
P2;P3 = 1 Mfg multiturn preset

Capacitors:
Ci;C2 =220n
C3;C5;Cio;C12 = 100n
C4 = 47u; 10 V
C6;C7 = 22n
Ca = 2112; 10 V
Cs = 1000A; 16 V; radial
Cii = 10g; 10 V

Semiconductors:
131 = BY164
= LED; dia. 5 mm
= BC547A
T2-Ti i = BC559B
890044-12 ICI = LM358
IC2;1C3= LM3914
IC4 = 7805
Fig. 2. Matrix configuration with 100 LEDs.
Miscellaneous:
= 160 mA fuse with PCB -mount holder.
LED in the matrix from lighting, when the The zero point of the matrix is shifted Si = SPST mains switch.
LT output is not actuated. to the centre of the square display with the Tn = PCB -mount transformer 9 V; 1.5 A.
The audio signals applied to the stereo aid of bias voltages on to which the AF Ki;K2 = phono socket.
viewer are first attenuated to enable the signals are superimposed. These voltages K.3 = pin header 2x10 contacts.
drive levels for IC2 and 1C3 to be set accur- are obtained with multiturn presets P2 K4 = 2 -way PCB terminal block.
ately. The sensitivity of the circuit is set and P3, which are adjusted to supply half Ks = IDC header 2x10 contacts.
with potentiometer Pi. Acceptable drive the reference voltage. A voltmeter is not PCB Type 890044 (see Readers Services
levels at the inputs are between 45 mV required for this adjustment, because the page) -
and 3 V. zero indication can be seen to shift to the

Fig. 3. Track layout and component mounting plan.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 STEREO VIEWER

centre of the display.

The circuit is powered by a conven-
tional regulated 5 V supply, which is
fitted on to the printed -circuit board
together with the associated mains trans-
former.

Construction: simple
The printed -circuit board shown in Fig. 3
accommodates all parts except the LED
matrix and the LDR for the display intens-
ity control. Populating the PCB is entirely
straightforward if the wire links are in-
stalled first.
The LED matrix is built separately on
a square piece of veroboard. The installa-
tion of the LEDs and the lozenge -shaped
wiring at the rear of this board are greatly
simplified when the matrix is turned 45'
with respect to the hole pattern in the
board. The LED matrix is connected via a
short length of flat -ribbon cable, for which
a mating 20 -way pin header, K3, is pro-
vided on the main board.
The stereo viewer is simple to align:
simply adjust P2 and P3 until the centre
four LEDs in the matrix are on. The sensi-
tivity can then be set as required with the
aid of the volume control, Pt.

Keep Con fi dental Meetings Private sor is capable of 320 million operations a
ELECTRONICS SCENE second, providing computational power
A scanning radio receiver designed to for the real-time orr calculations needed
detect even the most advanced eavesdrop- to compress video signals at data rates of
ping devices has been developed by on headphones or a built-in speaker: con- up to 20 MHz.
Audiotel International. firmation that the transmission is from a The INMOS IMS-Al2 I DCT image pro-
This effective counter -surveillance 'bug' nearby is obtained by the Scanlock cessor is housed in a 44 -pin PLCC package.
device, named 'Scanlock 2000'. detects emitting a 2 kHz tone and demonstrating Its initial price for quantities of 1000 or
not only hidden radio microphones. but the presence of this tone in the transmis- more will be £47, but once volume pro-
also listening devices that use mains sion being monitored. duction has started later this year. the price
cables for transmission. It sweeps radio is expected to fall to less than half this fie-
frequencies from 10 MHz to 4 GHz and ure.
detects Ast, FM and Sc (sub -carrier 20 kHz Industry Prepares for the Videophone
to 130 kHz) transmissions originating
within the room. It can be used to 'sweep' INMOS expects to be the first manufacturer Computer -displayed Artwork
a room before a meeting and then left 'on to offer a computer device that will allow
euard' during the meeting to detect any videophones to meet international stan- A user's own artwork can be employed as
'bugs' that become active as a result of dards due to be agreed this year. the basis of a computerized display and
timers or remote actuation. The company has recently launched its information system for educational. train-
In automatic mode. Scanlock locks to new high-performance signal processing ing or promotional purposes by means of a
the strongest local transmitter: even the device that is capable of rapid and high- hardware and software package from
lowest -powered 'bugs' in close proximity quality image data compression and de- Crystal Presentations.
will have a higher signal strength than compression for image handling applica- The 'Electronic Display Unit' consists
more powerful but more distant legitimate tions such as videophones and teleconfer- of a touch -sensitive Al pad (594x841
transmitters. Scanlock locks to a signal in encing systems, photographic -quality mm I to which the artwork is attached and
under half a second. In manual mode, the colour facsimile, interactive video disc then connected to an IBM PC or compatible.
entire RF spectrum can be covered far systems and high -definition colour images The system is used, for instance, by
more rapidly than on a conventional radio in desktop publishing. British Aerospace to familiarize pilots and
receiver owing to the advanced manner in Such systems require very high levels maintenance engineers with the warning
which the unit monitors harmonically of 'number crunching' to solve the prob- annunciators on aircraft-flightdeck over-
related frequencies simultaneously. lems of digital data storage. communica- head panels.
When a signal is located, the program tion and reproduction. The new INMOS dis-
being carried may be monitored directly crete cosine transform (oc-r) image proces-
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 CAPAC TO QS P'OR Rr APPLICATIONS
A brief overview of currently available devices in an electronic
component group whose significance for telecommunications and
radio circuits is often grossly underestimated.

Today's electronic component market of- space and offer excellent RF and pulse tors are fine for filters in audio and video
fers a vast range of capacitors for use in characteristics. Sibatit capacitors must not equipment and radio circuits (but not RF
high -frequency circuits. Many design en- be confused with MKT types, which are power amplifiers) for up to 30 MHz. Also
gineers and home constructors are, there- also blue but use a multi -layer polythera- known as 'styroflex' types (a trademark of
fore, often faced with a real dilemma phtelate dielectric structure. Popular Norddeutschen Seekabelwerke AG, of
when it comes to choosing and mounting values of Sibatit capacitors are 10 nF, Nordenham, Federal Germany) manufac-
the right capacitor in the right place. In 47 nF and 100 nF. The terminal pitch is tured by Siemens, these capacitors are
many cases, parts lists of construction pro- usually 5 mm, and the maximum working usually supplied with relatively thin,
jects will provide the value of the capaci- voltage 63 V. axial leads, although radial, plastic encap-
tor, but references like 'PTFE foil Unfortunately, the value of the com- sulated types are also available. The black
trimmer', 'coffin -type leadless ceramic', mon ceramic plate and capacitor is often or red band on the white, greyish or silver -
'ceramic NPO', 'tubular', and many more, not immediately evident from the print on coloured capacitor body indicates the ter-
may not be familiar. the device, so that a capacitance meter is minal that is connected to the outer foil
required in case of doubt. Space restric- layers. If applicable to the circuit, this ter-
Ceramic capacitors tions do not allow, say, 220p or 220pF to minal must be connected to ground to pro-
be printed on the capacitor body. Instead, vide a screening function. Special
These small devices are probably the best the value is printed as, for instance, 'n22', polystyrene types are available as parallel
known types for use in RF circuits because avoiding problems with a (tiny) decimal pairs for calibration purposes. These ca-
they are cheap and have been with us for point, or confusion with trailing zeroes. pacitors have a non-standard, but accur-
many years. The lead spacing is usually Similarly, a value of, say, 47 nF, is often ately defined, value at a tolerance of 0.5%
2.5 or 5 mm for the modern disc and plate printed as '473', meaning '47' with three or better, which makes them eminently
types, of which some have rims below the zeroes: 47,000 pF. suitable for calibration of inductance and
capacitor body to facilitate their fitting at The temperature coefficient of a ce- capacitance meters.
a uniform height above the PCB surface ramic capacitor is indicated by the col- The differences between polystyrene
(Stettner's 'Hot PantsT"' types). Values oured band at the top of the body. and polypropylene capacitors mainly en-
range from 0.68 pF to 100 nF. Types with Although many manufacturers deviate tail the loss factor, permissible humidity,
values greater than about 4.7 nF usually from the standard, a zero -coefficient, or self -resonance frequency and insulation
have a working voltage of 63 V, or 12 V for 'NPO', capacitor is generally marked with resistance. For most practical applica-
sub -miniature types. Tubular capacitors a black band. NPO capacitors are often tions, however, polystyrene and styroflex
are rapidly becoming obsolete and are not used in oscillators to prevent temperature types are all right. The version with the
recommended for new designs. changes causing frequency drift. thin axial leads will be superseded by
The blue 'Sibatit' types from Siemens plastic encapsulated radial types because
are often used as decoupling capacitors in these have a fixed size and lead spacing
video and digital circuits because they Filters
and are, therefore, easier to handle in
line up nicely with DIL ICs, require little Polystyrene and polypropylene capaci- automated PCB solder machines.

Trimmers
Compression and mica foil trimmers are
generally not used at frequencies above
30 NtHz or so because their losses increase
rapidly, and the Q (quality) factor drops
to an unacceptable level. Further, their
minimum capacitance is not low enough
for tuned circuits in the VHF, UHF and
SHF range.
Ceramic trimmers suitable for frequen-
cies up to 500 MHz are available up to a
capacitance of 100 pF. The maximum ca-
pacitance is, however, nearly always less
important than the minimum capacitance,
which is typically 15 to 305 of the maxi-
mum value.
PTFE foil trimmers are often preferred
to ceramic types because the insulating
foil layers between the rotor and the stator
are transparent. This allows the set capa-
citance to be deduced readily from the
position of the grounded rotor blades
with respect to the stator. The foil trim-
Feedthrough capacitors: screw -type heavy duty; ; solder type with eye: axial solder
type: ; low -capacitance feedthrough; 5 multiple feedthrough.
mers from Valvo (Philips Components)
are colour -coded to indicate the maxi -
ELL kTorz ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 CAPACITORS FOR RF APPLICATIONS

r ,
-
I '

*or
art -

AIR
fir
-

1411.0111W

titiniaLiikv

'07.1Qmiran

Tubular trimmers for use in SHF circuits. i glass dielectric A selection of RF capacitors. screw type feedthrough types;
1

types: = PCB mount types (vertical); PCB mount types

.72
solder type feedthrough; 3 coffin -type leadless ceramic;
(horizontal); chassis mounting types with screw and solder leadless chip; I heavy-duty ceramic holders for use in high -
connection; ; single hole mounting types. power RF amplifiers; 6 feedthrough connection block.
mum capacitance: grey (5.5 pF); yellow range from about 5 pF to 2 nF at a maxi- even lower stray inductance.
(10 pF); green (20 pF); grey (40 pF); red mum working voltage of 63 V.
(65 pF) and purple (100 pF). The dif- Disc -shaped leadless capacitors are All photographs in this article have been reproduced
ference between the 5.5 pF and 40 pF type more difficult to handle because they courtesy of Stettner & Co. GmbH Electronic Divi-
is immediately apparent from the size. must, in general, be soldered on to a flat sion PostfaCh 7 D-S55O Lauf West -Germany.
Tubular ceramic or glass trimmers for surface. It is difficult, however, to heat one
chassis and PCB mounting are used in side of the capacitor, and the surface it
SHF circuits where line inductors or will rest on, simultaneously. To ensure a
etched striplines are to be tuned at mini- good solder joint and sufficient adhesive
mum loss. Well-known manufacturers of strength, a small hole is often drilled in the
high -quality air, glass and ceramic tubu- surface, and some hot tin is applied
lar trimmers are Johansson, Tronser, through it from the other side. In general,
Arco, Sky. Jackson and Stettner. both the coffin and the disc -shaped lead -
less ceramic capacitor should be handled
Decoupling capacitors with utmost care because they are rela-
tively brittle devices.
Disc- and coffin shaped leadless ceramic
capacitors are not so familiar among con-
structors with little RF experience. These The smaller the better?
capacitors are characterized by very low The increasing use of surface -mount as-
inductance, which is mainly by virtue of sembly (SMA) components has not gone
the absence of connecting wires. Instead, past unnoticed in the RF engineering field
metallized surfaces are used for soldering where the size of parts has always been a
at both sides of the device. The coffin - crucial factor. Not surprisingly, therefore,
shaped capacitor (called trapezoidal by many RF circuits are currently produced
Stettner) is inserted and clamped in a in SMA technology. For capacitors in RF
4x0.7 mm PCB slot that keeps the device circuits, this brings many benefits because
in place during the soldering process. The SMA parts generally have a lower stray
printed circuit board tracks to the capaci- inductance than their normal -size equi-
tor should be relatively wide to allow the valents. Trimmers. is tubular trimmers; ceramic
low inductance of the device to take effect. SMA capacitors must not, however, he trimmers. The tape at the centre contains
The value of the coffin -type capacitor is confused with chip types, which have SMA trimmers.
printed on one metallized side. Values been around for many years and offer
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 DD .P,C[1:31E METER
This portable instrument, designed by ELV GmbH, gives an accurate
indication of the sound pressure level (SPL). The three SPL ranges,
three response modes, and linear or A -weighted filtering provided by
the meter enable many types of measurement to be carried out, from
the tracing of ambient noise sources to establishing the sensitivity
of a loudspeaker.

Depending on their physical and mental All functions of the instrument are se-
state, human beings respond subjectively lected with these three controls.
to ambient noise. Objective, absolute The slide switch selects linear (UN) or
sound pressure level measurements A -weighted (du t) response. In general, A -
therefore invariably require a specially weighting is used whenever human re-
designed test instrument, the decibel sponse to sounds or noise is involved.
meter, of which a design is discussed here. This is so in practically all cases where
Two weighting methods and associ- SPL measurements are used for determin-
ated standard curves have been de- ing the degree of ambient noise. The un-
veloped and are widely used for sound weighted type of measurement, on the
pressure level (SPL) measurements. One other hand, is commonly used for strictly
of these methods yields the A -curve, technical work such as the design of a
which gives roughly the inverse of aver- loudspeaker enclosure.
age ear sensitivity. Figure la shows the The right-hand rotary switch on the
standard SPL response curves of the ear, front panel forms the range selector.
and Fig. lb the frequency response of the When turned fully counter -clockwise to
position o, the analogue -to -digital (A -D)
converter and the associated preamplifier
in the instrument are tested. The display
shows a value between 00.0 and 00.4 (with
the left-hand rotary switch set to position
filter used for A -weighted measurements. F). Higher values on the display indicate a
A filter with A -type response is incorpor- fault in the decibel meter. Position 70 dB
ated in the present decibel meter to enable this manner across a frequency range of allows SPL measurements between 40 and
it to give readings which are meaningful 20 Hz to 20 KHz, with the decibel meter 70 dB to be taken; position 100 dB, meas-
in terms of human response to sound set to linear (unfiltered) response. urements between 70 and 100 dB; and po-
pressure levels and variations thereof. sition 130 dB, measurements between 100
In a number of cases, it is useful to
perform linear, that is, unweighted, SPL Controls and operation and 130 dB. Each range can be used for
measurements. The SPL sensitivity of a readings of 10 dB below the minimum
The decibel meter has two rotary switches value or above the maximum value, with
loudspeaker, for instance, is established in and one slide switch on the front panel. only marginally lower accuracy. The

102 dB
oo W/m2
d8
-10
120 10°
foo A
-4444111pr"
102
0

-10
80 10
0
-20
-6 CI)

-_-/-\-1
\\S
50
-30
0
i
V 108
0 -40
20 10 10 0
D 0 -50
threshold
0 f - I -1-i i
012 -60

V 20 40 100 200 4C0 Hz 2 10 20kHz 500 ik Ilk Ht

-0-
1 4 50 100

I
899512 - 15
899512-13

Fig. 1. Equal loudness contours adopted for aural response testing (left) and the A -weighted filter characteristic derived from these (right).
EI.EKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 DECIBEL METER

\Pi UV log ID 01-1

0_0 8_1.0

microphone preamplifier switch amplifier weighting rectifier & time `rieighting digital
filter log. shaper readout

899512-12

Fig. 2. Block diagram of the decibel meter.

measurement ranges thus have a suffi- setting of the instrument is changed. If degraded if an electret microphone ele-
ciently large overlap. this happens, it is necessary to wait 10 s ment with mediocre specifications is used.
Accuracy of the decibel meter within until the measured value has dropped to The transducer and the associated pre-
the above three ranges (effectively from 40 a value lower than the expected SPL. amplifier are housed in a tube that forms
to 130 dB) is 0.5% typically. In most cases, In practice, the selection of a particular the actual microphone. This construction
the usable low and high limit is 35 dB and speed response is determined by the ap- is necessary to ensure that the instrument
135 dB respectively, which corresponds to plication and the required read-out (peak can measure voltages of the order of 10µV
a dynamic range of no less than 100 dB, or value, average value, or fluctuations). in the most sensitive range.
a ratio 1:100,000. An approximately 1 m long cable con-
The accuracy of the instrument is also nects the microphone to the decibel meter.
determined by the user who must select a Block diagram The use of separate units affords flexi-
range suitable for the relevant measure- The block diagram of Fig. 2 shows the es- bility for the measurements, and also pre-
ment before this is actually performed. sential configuration of the decibel meter. vents the main instrument from
The reading obtained during this test The sound pressure to be measured is ap- introducing interference in the area to be
should fall within the limits of the selected plied to a high-grade electret microphone. examined. The preamplifier is followed
range_ If necessary, a higher or lower This device, a Type KE4-211-2 from Senn- by the sensitivity selector which offers
range is selected. Apart from small devia- heiser, is constructed in back-electret tech- three ranges as discussed above.
tions from the minimum and maximum nology, and has an internal impedance The next stage is a filter that allows a
levels of a particular range, readings that converter. The element is housed in a TO - selection to be made between linear (flat)
fall outside the scale should not be used. 18 style transistor enclosure, and provides frequency response, and weighted re-
This is because measurement errors rise a good bandwidth (20 Hz to 20 kHz), a sponse on the basis of the A -curve.
rapidly for readings more than 10 dB high signal-to-noise ratio, and a large dy- The amplified AF voltage is applied to
below the minimum or above the maxi- namic range (approx 35 dB to 135 dB). The a quadrature rectifier with a logarithmic
mum value of the selected range. hack-electret technology ensures low sen- shaper at the output. The rectified voltage
The left-hand rotary switch selects the sitivity to vibration, and eliminates mech- must be converted from linear to logarith-
speed of the measurement, and also ser- anical resonance. All these features make mic to enable the digital voltmeter (DVM)
ves to switch the instrument on and off. the KE4-211-2 an excellent choice for ap- section to be driven in accordance with the
In many cases, noise levels fluctuate plication in the present decibel meter, required scale curve. The time weighting
and give rise to incorrect readings if the whose overall performance is certainly section between the output of the logarith-
decibel meter is not set to the appropriate
speed. The present instrument offers three
speed ranges for SPL measurements.
Slow (switch position s) 0101
A time constant of 1 s is used to ensure a C1011 C10i 0X400
stable reading even when the SPL varies ®0102®l
considerably. The slow meter response is I16Vu /2n 1104

particularly useful for long-term meas- Ker I--- 10p

DX400
C105 I 1_4,
urements to give average sound levels. R103
I 10p
Fast changes in the SPL values are aver- "c 22K 1- R105
aged out, while pulses are effectively 1103 R102
-U5 47K 1-*
eliminated. IH 22K I 6 8
R104
Fast (switch position F) 70/
In this mode, a time constant of 125 ms is
used to enable fast SPL changes to be re- R101
470n

OP101, OP102
OP131

4
OP102 0 *0
10 .%

corded reliably. The display reading set- =TL082

=11101
tles relatively quickly, and follows rapid
SPL variations. This type of meter re-
sponse is obligatory for certain peak-SPL
measurements. ground
h
Pulse (switch position p) microphone
Two time constants are used in this mode. AF connections
Particularly suited to pulse and intensity (seen from terminal side) -U8
measurements, this range uses a short rise 899512-14
time of 35 ms and a long decay time of
10 s. It should be noted that meter over- Fig. 3. The microphone preamplifier is a two -stage design that uses a precision electret
flow may occur readily when the range microphone from Sennheiser.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 TEST AND MEASUREMENT

0 T
mic shaper and the input of the DVM
allows selection of peak level measure-
ment or a number of time constants for
signal integration.
L')
C")
Finally, the DVM and associated dis-
00 play give a direct SPL reading in dB.

About the circuit

The circuit diagram of the microphone,
i.e., the pressure transducer and associ-
ated preamplifier, is given in Fig. 3. The
microphone element is, in principle, a
-IF hyper -sensitive pressure transducer that
records air pressure changes caused by
sound sources, and converts these
changes into an alternating voltage. This
signal is applied, via C103 and R102, to an
4 _
impedance converter built around opamp
OPit-Ji. The gain of this stage is set to unity
1:71-4-;1 with resistors R103 and Riot, while the
phase shift is 180 degrees. The output sig-
- nal of OPioi, available at pin 7, is used for
the 130 dB range of the instrument. The
relevant connection is made via a PCB
terminal marked `e'.
The two ranges with higher sensitivity
require a further amplification of 10 times,
which is achieved with OPit.)-2. and RIO-
RI04. Two Schottky diodes with low
reverse current, Dim and Dit-c, are in-
cluded in the feedback path of the second
opamp to prevent this affecting the oper-
ation of the first stage when, for instance,
the output of OP- reaches the clipping
a level as a result of high sound pressure
O ca,
levels that may be measured in the 130 dB
range. In the lower ranges (70/100 dB) the
signal levels are so low that the diodes
have no effect.
Capacitors Ciar and C102 stabilize the
amplifier and prevent it from oscillating.
Resistor Rio] forms the load required for
terminating the microphone element.
The power supply for the microphone
circuit is applied via terminals 'a' (posi-
tive battery voltage) and 'c' (negative bat-
tery voltage). Terminal 'b' connects
ground of the microphone to the virtual
ground level created in the main instru-
ment. As already discussed, terminals 'd'
and 'e' form the signal outputs. The micro-
phone is connected to the main instru-
ment by a I In long 4 -way screened cable.
The screening is connected to point 'b' on
the preamplifier PCB.

The circuit diagram of the main instru-

ment is given in Fig. 4. Rotary switch Si.
carries the AF signal from the microphone
unit to the input of the range amplifier
built around on. The required amplifica-
tion factor is selected with 51b. The ratio of
the selected resistor in the feedback net-
work to Ri determines the amplification.
Capacitor CI decouples the direct voltage.
Depending on the position of slide
switch 52, the AF signal supplied by OPi
is fed either to the A -weighting filter, C2-
0 C3-Cv-R7-RIO-R11, or, via Rs -R9, to invert-
ing amplifier OP2, whose output signal is
capacitively coupled to the input of IC3.
Fig. 4. Circuit diagram of the main instrument. Note the use of temperature compensation Capacitors C4, Cs, and C7 serve to de -
that acts on ADC IC3 and display driver IC4. couple the direct voltages.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 DECIBEL METER

Circuit IC is an analogue -to -digital Fig. 7 is not likely to present difficulties. 100 mm long metal tube after the 4 wires
converter Type AD636. Originally de- The low -profile components are and the screening of the cable to the main
signed as an rms-converter (Ref. 1), this mounted first, followed by the higher instrument have been connected to the
chip has an on -chip linear -to -logarithmic components. Three parts are fitted hori- appropriate solder terminals 'a' through
converter with a dB output. The dB con- zontally: Cm on the preamplifier board, 'e'. The small PCB is then inserted into the
verter is driven by the true-rms converter, and Cu and Tsi on the main board. tube to a point where the top of the micro-
and supplies an output voltage that corre- Although it is, of course, best to mount phone element protrudes about 3 mm
sponds to the logarithm of the rectified the temperature sensor such that it has from the front side of the tube. A heavy-
value. The logarithmic voltage available direct thermal contact with IC3, acceptable duty soldering iron is then used to solder
at pin 8 of IC is applied to an inverting compensation is also achieved by the com- a part of the ground surface of the pream-
amplifier built around OP4. The amplifica- ponent placement on the PCB. This is so plifier PCB to the inside of the metal tube.
tion of this stage, which determines the because the circuit is enclosed in a cabinet This solder joint should be made quickly
scale factor, is set by RIn. and will normally work at a fairly even and as far as possible to the rear of the tube
The position of time weighting selector ambient temperature. If the temperature to prevent overheating the sensitive ele-
53a determines whether the output voltage drops suddenly by 10 degrees or more, ment at the front side.
of OP4 is obtained direct (fast response), about half an hour should be allowed for The remainder of the construction en-
via 1-s time constant R ---C24, or via a peak the instrument to settle at the new am- tails connecting the 4 wires and the cable
rectifier built around OP:. In the latter bient temperature. screening to the main instrument, and in-
circuit, the charge time constant is deter- The following components are fitted at stalling this in the enclosure provided
mined by RII-C15, and the discharge time the track side of the main PCB: R35, C1, Cu, with the kit.
constant by 1233-C15. C16-C20 and Cr, The terminals of Cu are
The selected voltage is fed to the input soldered direct to pins 4 (+ wire) and 11 (-
of A -D converter ICs, an ICL7126. This IC wire) of IC2. Setting up
converts the potential difference that Fit soldering pins in the six holes for An ammeter is inserted between the com-
exists between its pins 30 and 31 into a the slide switch, S2, and cut the pins to pleted instrument and the 9 V battery. The
corresponding digital value, which is about 2 mm. The slide switch is secured left-hand rotary switch is set to position
shown on an LC -display. The associated by soldering its terminals to the pins. OFF, the right-hand switch to position 0,
reference voltage exists between pins 35 The correct mounting height of the LC and the slide switch to position LIX. The
and 36. An internal reference source sup- display is ensured with the aid of a 40 -pin current must be nought, and the display
plies a voltage that is available at pin 32. IC socket, which is first cut lengthwise. blank.
This voltage is typically 2.8 V lower than Next, the two 20 -pin rows are soldered on The left-hand rotary switch is turned to
the positive supply voltage (9 V in this to the PCB. The drawing in Fig. 6 shows position F (fast). The resulting current is
case). how a second IC socket is stacked on to the between 4 and 10 mA (6 mA typ.). The
A special component in the display one on the PCB. This second socket is also display should indicate a value between
driver circuit is temperature sensor Tsi, a cut in two so that it can receive the pins of 00.0 and 00.4. If not, the circuit should be
Type SAX965. Resistors and R29 cause the LC display. examined for faulty solder joints and in-
the regulation effect of the temperature The solder terminals marked'h' on the correctly placed components, particularly
sensor to be such that the reference volt- main PCB are interconnected by a 35 cm in the area around IC2 and ICs.
age applied to pin 36 of IC4 varies in ac- long flexible insulated wire installed at The right-hand rotary switch is ad-
cordance with the temperature of IC3, and the component side. Similarly, points 'j' vanced to the 70 dB position, when the
therefore with the voltage drift at the out- are interconnected by a 25 cm long wire. operation of the instrument can be veri-
put of this ADC. This temperature com- The wires of the battery clip are sol- fied by saying a few words into the micro-
pensation arrangement is required to dered to terminals 'f' (+; red) and 'g' (-; phone.
ensure the accuracy of the voltage at the black). Now connect a sine -wave generator ca-
dB output. The microphone wires, which are left pable of supplying a 1 kHz output signal
The compensation currents for the at their original length, are inserted from at low distortion to the temporarily used
three measurement ranges are changed to the component side in the holes provided adjustment circuit shown in Fig. 5. The
the same extent as the reference voltage, in the preamplifier board. The wires are wiper of the 1 140 preset is connected to
but with a different sign. Inversion is ac- then soldered at the track side, and after- junction Rini-Cio3 on the preamplifier
complished by 0113, which is connected to wards bent at right angles where they board by a short length of screened wire
the reference voltage via At an am- leave the printed -circuit board at the com- (the screening is connected to the ground
bient temperature of 25', Tsi drops a ref- ponent side. This ensures that the micro- plane on the preamplifier PCB). The
erence voltage of about 470 mV. phone points forward so that its face can microphone terminal to the above junc-
The values of R21 and R25 are geared to protrude from the tube to be fitted later. tion is temporarily removed. The sine -
achieve a level shift at the output of OR; The preamplifier board is ready for wave generator must have a separate
that results in a difference of 30 dB be- mounting inside the approximately power supply.
tween the ranges.
The circuit is nulled with the aid of
preset Ris, which feeds an additional (off-
set) direct current into the lin-log conver- Step Range (dB) 1 kHz test signal
(Urns) Rx (Fig. 5) I Indication Adjust with
ter. The null adjustment is actually carried
out by selecting a measurement value to- 1 100-130 631 mV = 63.1 Pa wire 130 dB R18
wards the end of the range, and adjusting 2 100-130 20 mV s 2 Pa 39k 100 dB R16
Ris to obtain a reading that corresponds to 3 100-130 631 mV s 63.1 Pa wire 130 dB
the applied input signal. The setting up of
the decibel meter will be reverted to. 4 100-130 20 mV s 2 Pa 39k 100 dB R16
5 70-100 20 mV E.- 2 Pa 39k 100 dB I

6 40-70 631 AV = 0.063 Pa 1M 70 dB

_J
Construction
The complete circuitis built on two rela-
tively small, single -sided, printed -circuit
boards. Populating these in accordance
with the Parts List and the overlays in Table 1. The setting up procedure
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
34 TEST AND \IEASCREMENT

Parts list

MAIN INSTRUMENT
Resistors:
Rs = 47052
R2,4 = 1k
R25 = 2k55
1:15:R31 = 3k3
R9 = 6k8
Ri;R3 = 10k
Rio = 12k
R7 = 15k
= 22k
R17 = 27k
Rs = 47k
Ri4;Ris = 68k
R2o;R23:R24;1:125;R27:R3o;R32:R34:R38 = 100k
R1s:R21;R36 = 180k
R35 = 220k
R2;R25 = 330k
R22 = 680k
R12:R13;R33;R37 = 1MS2
Rio = 50k multiturn preset
= 100k multiturn preset

Capacitors:
C23 = 47p
C14 = 1n0
C6 = 1n5
C22 = 22n ceramic
C2.;C1o;C13;C16;C17:C1s;C2i= 47n
C2;C1a = 100n
C2 = 220n
C7;Ca;C1i,C12 =1140; 16 V
C1;C4:C5;C15;C23;C24 = 10µ: 16 V
C25 = 100p: 16 V

Semiconductors:
IC = TL081
IC2 = TL084
= AD636
IC4 = ICL7126
= 1N4148

Miscellaneous:
TS1 = SAX965.
312 -digit LC display.
SI:S.3.= 4 -way, 3 -pole rotary switch for PCB
mounting.
S2 = miniature DPDT slide switch.
Clip for PP3 battery.
15 solder pins.
1 m 4 -way screened cable.
2 40 -way DIL sockets (for LCD mounting).
2 5 -mm PCB spacers.
2 self -tapping screws.

MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER
Resistors:
R1c1;RIc4 = 4k7
R1e2;R1o3 = 22k
R1C5 = 47k
Capacitors:
C1c4;C1c5 = 10p
C102 = 22n ceramic
C103 = 470n
Clot = 101.i; 16 V
Semiconductors:
ICtoi = TL082
D1o1;Dlo2 = DX400
Miscellaneous:
5 solder pins.
Microphone Type KE 4-211-2 (Sennheiser).
Metal tube.
Fig. 5. Component overlays and top views of the completed printed -circuit boards.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 DECIBEL METER

RA

1K
1 KHz to R101/C103
sine - wave 5 mm PCB 31/2 -digit LCD
generator spacer s2
775 mVeff RB IC socket

470
ground lb)
psi Cl at track PCB
IC socket

side

899512-17
899512-16

Fig. 6. Auxiliary circuit for setting up the Fig. 7. Side view of the main board. Note that the LCD is mounted on to two stacked IC
decibel meter. sockets, which have been cut lengthwise to give the correct width.
The three dB ranges of the instrument 1 kHz test signal at the corresponding with a few drops of two -component,
are calibrated by simulating the voltages level is applied. The presets are then epoxy resin or super -glue.
supplied by the microphone element. The removed, their resistance is measured, Pass the cable to the microphone unit
adjustment procedure is given in Table 1. and each is replaced by a resistor, or a through a 4 mm hole in the top wall of the
The left-hand rotary switch remains in po- combination of resistors, of the required enclosure. After mounting the strain -re-
sition F, and the slide switch in position value. In general, however, these correc- lief clamp, connect the 4 wires and the
LIN. tions will not be necessary. screening to the appropriate points on the
The first step in the alignment proce- It will be clear that the previously de- PCB. Care should be taken not to cause a
dure is the fitting of a shorting wire in tailed setting -up procedure yields valid short-circuit via the screening connection.
position R, and setting preset RA to an results only when the microphone ele- The enclosure may now be closed with the
output voltage of 631 mVrm.s. Preset RI., on ment has a sensitivity of 10 mV /Pa. In rear panel.
the main board is adjusted to achieve a practice, however, a tolerance of ±2.5 dB The preamplifier PCB in the metal tube
display reading of 130 dB. A real zero - should be taken into account. To prevent must be protected from ambient influen-
calibration is not possible with Ris be- this degrading the accuracy of the decibel ces. This may be achieved by filling the
cause the meter ranges do not reach down meter from the stated 0.5 dB, the sensitiv- tube with a suitable resin or potting com-
to 0 in actual use. The alternative is to shift ity specifications of each microphone ele- pound. Great care should be taken not to
the zero -point upwards and thus achieve ment have been tested by ELV. The device spill resin over the microphone element,
the reading that corresponds to a particu- found in the kit is supplied with a note whose face should be temporarily covered
lar sound level, which may be simulated stating the correction factor, which can with adhesive tape. Then carefully insert
by a test voltage of the correct amplitude. take a value between 0.7 and 1.4. The test removable potting between the micro-
The second step is the adjustment of levels given in Table 1 are to be multiplied phone and the inside of the tube. The com-
the scale factor, with the aid of Rio, to with this correction factor. pound should go a few millimeters into
achieve a reading of 100 dB when the pre- A brief example is given to illustrate the tube.
amplifier is driven by 20 niVrm..; (fit a the level computations. Assuming that the Hold the tube vertically, and pour the
39 kit resistor in position IL). This adjust- microphone element has a correction fac- resin in at the cable side. After about
ment may shift the previously set null - tor of 1.2, the test voltage level for the first 24 hours, remove the compound around
point a little, so that the third step in the step in the alignment procedure must be the microphone element, and carefully
adjustment entails repeating step 1 (apply 631 mV x 1.2 = 757.2 mV. pour resin into the microphone side of the
631 mV77 and adjust Ris for an indication Similarly, the second step is to be per- tube until it is full. The face of the micro-
of 130 dB). formed with a test voltage of phone must be 2 to 3 mm above the top
For the fourth step in the adjustment, 20 mV x 1.2 = 24 mV, etc. side of the tube. The protective tape may
drive the preamplifier with 20 niVrim and Finally, it should be noted that the test be removed after the resin has hardened.
adjust Rib for a reading of 100 dB. The voltages should be measured with a volt- The decibel meter is ready for use.
above steps are repeated until the 100 dB meter that is known to give accurate read-
and 130 dB readings are obtained when ings at a frequency of 1 kHz. Reference:
the corresponding voltage is applied.
The range setting is turned to the 70- 1. "True -RIM Meter". Elektor Electronics
100 dB range, which is tested with the aid Final assembly December 1986.
of a 20 mVrms signal. The circuit is dimen- The sine -wave generator and the level ad-
sioned such that the display automatically justment circuit of Fig. 5 may be discon-
indicates 100 dB at a maximum tolerance nected if all tests and adjustments are A complete kit of parts for the Decibel
of 0.5 dB. \o adjustments are required for completed satisfactorily. The screened Meter, which is designed in West -Ger-
this range. cable is disconnected from junction Rioi- many, is available from the designers'
The same goes for the 40-70 dB range, C103, and the connection to the micro- exclusive worldwide distributors (re-
which is tested by applying a voltage of phone terminal is restored. Say a few grettably not in the USA and Canada):
631 01. The display should read 70 dB words aloud to check that the instrument
±0.5 dB. works in all ranges, including the dBA ELV France
Deviations exceeding the above toler- function and the three response modes. B.P. 40
ances require the resistor values to be Fit the PCB of the main instrument into F-57480 Sierck-les-Bains
checked carefully. If desired, the differen- the upper half of the hand-held enclosure, FRANCE
ces between the ranges can be eliminated and secure it on to the battery compart- Telephone: +33 82827213
by making small changes to R23 (100 dB ment panel with the aid of two 2x10 mm Fax: +33 82838180
range) and R2I or Ra2 in the 70 dB range. self -tapping screws. Ensure the correct
These resistors are temporarily replaced distance between the PCB and the inside Also see ELV France's advertisement
with multiturn presets, which are ad- of the enclosure by two 5 mm long spa- elsewhere in this issue.
justed for 100 dB and 70 dB when the cers. At the other side, secure the PCB
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 PC AS TONE GENERATOR
J. Schafer DL7PE

A GW-BASIC program and a few modifications to the loudspeaker

circuit enable any PC, whether an XT, AT or compatible, to function
as a precision tone generator with a frequency range of 20 Hz to
120 kHz, with a basic sweep function as a useful option. The nice
thing about this generator is that it costs next to nothing, while
doubling as a frequency meter.

The present PC tone generator, which is ated by the equipment under test can be If the generated tone is required elec-
really a BASIC program only, is ideal for read from the PC screen. Similarly, the PC trically also, the loudspeaker signal must
aligning a wide range of AF circuits. The tone generator can be set to a particular be made available on a jack socket - see
frequency of the generated tone can be set frequency, so that the oscillator can be Fig. 1. When a plug is inserted, the loud-
accurately, so that the low-cost tone gen- adjusted until zero -beat is achieved. speaker in the PC is automatically dis-
erator is suitable for applications that in-
clude the tuning of musical instruments
(electronic tuning fork), the aligning of
RTTY, fax and SSTV filters, and the
dimensioning and testing of many other
types of tone decoder. In many cases, the
BASIC program obviates the use of a func-
tion generator and a frequency meter.
This is of particular interest for applica-
tions in the audio range, where frequency
meters are, in general, not very accurate.
The PC tone generator allows AF frequen-
cies to be defined with an accuracy of a
fraction of a hertz.

PC as tone generator
Apart from the possibilities offered by Fig. 1. Coupling out the PC's AF signal via a jack socket with a break contact.
BASIC commands BEEP and SOUND, there
exists a more powerful way of generating
tones with the aid of a personal computer:
direct control of the relevant hardware.
This enables frequencies to be generated
at quartz -crystal stability in the range
from 20 Hz to several hundred kHz, inde-
pendently of the PC's clock frequency.
The lower frequency limit is fixed, but the
upper limit can be made as high as
allowed by the PC's internal AF amplifier.
The relevant BASIC commands may be
found in lines 260 through 330 of the list-
ing. 06...9V
The frequency resolution is excellent,
especially in the audible range: at a basic LM386
frequency of 10 kHz, the step size is as 6 mem 47p
small as 85 Hz, or 0.85(1-; between 2 and A.F.
5 10V
3 kHz, the step size is 5 Hz (0.16" ); and 100n

below 1 kHz it is 0.1 Hz (0.01% ). 10 0p

50k 10V
The PC generates the required tone via 0
the built-in loudspeaker. This is adequate
for nearly all calibration and adjustment
work in the acoustic range. An oscillator, Lad
for instance, is simple to calibrate accur- 100n
ately by means of a beat -frequency meas- S.
890064 12
urement in which the PC functions as the
I

reference. Just compare the two tones by

listening to them simultaneously, and
step the PC tone frequency until the dif-
ference frequency decreases. When it
becomes inaudible, the frequency gener- Fig. 2. The 'active' alternative: raising the PC's AF signal with the aid of a small amplifier.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 PC AS TONE GENERATOR

abled, and the generated tone is available

at a relatively low impedance. The 8 SI
resistor protects the internal AF amplifier :- PE!".- Gona Generator
against short-circuits. The value of this
resistor must be increased as required if
the internal loudspeaker is a high -imped-
ance type. It is, of course, also possible to :NR= " please er.ter a=s__ frequency :";FREO
E PR:Nt FF:NT " please Enter step size :-.STP
wire the socket such that the loudspeaker
is not disabled, but taken up in series with
GOS1:5
the output signal. This arrangement obvi- :l5 COLL'R :F
--

ates the use of the protection resistor. By 126 LOCA7E

130 LOCATE
connecting a 16 SI resistor instead of the , ...... =7
P=
'
t FREOUENCY = "; USING
indicated 100 S1 type to ground, the gener-
ated tone is simultaneously audible via
the internal loudspeaker. Xi=:NR-7 Xi -"N FREO SIP
A further possibility is shown in Fig. 2. :F GOSUB 260
A small amplifier with adjustable volume :F .7EN :ED
is connected to the jack socket. This solu- :-G
tion is particularly useful for PCs that - EE0
GOTO 250
have an internal loudspeaker with a rela-
tively high impedance, or one that pro-
duces insufficient output volume. Zr... "L:ad 1E2 fr:m timer bloc..: "
FE:! :!sta f:r :i7er block-
" tyte"
The program -R" "7:-==--='.gr.5=imant byte"

EEM "supply leE,Et-significant byte"

The frequency range of 20 Hz to 120 kHz "s7-TLY -:z_-significant byte"
is fixed in lines 180 and 200 of the the
BASIC program. Keys are used to control 70NE 0ENERATO R
:2: -by 0L -FE -
the program:
RETURN
Key 'e': enable tone GeG LOCATE 22.1
Key 'd': disable tone 200
FPINT"
Key '+': increase frequency by previously ":PRINT:FRINT "key functions -
entered step size COLOR 0.7
Key '-': decrease frequency by previously -1- PRINT" UP ;
COLOR 7,0
entered step size -E FR/NT " - ":
Key 's': terminate program ::LOR 0,7
FR -"7 GC14N

A frequency sweep is obtained by holding

the + or - key - the tone frequency then
increases or decreases at the previously 7.0
d
entered step size. "

ZGLOR 7.0
Applications EE ...-NT - s ;

_OR 0.7
Here are a fev of the many possible appli- ";
FRINT" STOP
::.OR 7,0
cations of the computer -controlled tone LEGATE 5,26
generator: PINT -range: 20 Hz to 100 kHz" .

El RETURN
97.1NP(9.7) OR 2 :REM turn on PC loudspeaker
test signal for aligning RTTY circuits, EE RETURN
e.g., 1275/2125 Hz for VHF stations, and 97.INP(97) AND 252 :REM turn off PC loudspeaker
RETURN
1275/1445 Hz for SW stations.
test signal for tone decoders
1,000 Hz frequency reference
tuning fork Note
elementary acoustics 4th octave 5th octave 6th octave

Table 1 is useful for the tuning fork appli- C 261.6 523.3 1046.5
cation because it shows the tone frequen-
cies for three octaves. 0# 277.2 554.4 1108.7
293.7 587.3 1174.7
D# 311.1 622.3 1244.5
E 329.6 659.3 1318.5
F 349.2 698.5 1396.9
F# 370.0 740.0 1480.0
G 392.0 784.0 1568.0
G# 415.3 830.6 1661.2
A 440.0 880.0 1760.0
Table 1. Commonly used frequencies for A# 466.2 932.3 1864.7
tuning musical instruments.
H 493.9 987.8 1975.5
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 \I 0
by Roy C. Whitehead, C.Eng., AILEE

This article describes some simple transmission -line experiments

that were developed for the UNCLE scheme. Under this scheme,
which was initiated by the lEE, but later joined by other learned
societies, members (usually retired) volunteer to go to schools to
help teachers to bridge the gaps that exist between the academic
world and the world of practical engineering.

The material used in the experi- Adjust R2 to provide across the

ments consisted of: input end of the line an impe-
a known length of coaxial dance equal to Z0. If the output
cable of which both ends were impedance of the generator is 75
accessible: CI, this will be 43 O.
a twin -beam oscilloscope: Over a range of frequencies, say
an HF generator with 75 SI from 100 kHz to the maximum at
output: which the available equipment
three 100 fI non -inductive will operate satisfactorily. adjust
potentiometers: Pt to produce Y deflections of
an ohmmeter. equal magnitude. The cable atten-
uations are then equal to the
Measurement of attenuations of the potentiometer.
The attenuation/frequency char-
velocity ratio acteristic of the cable roughly fol-
The equipment should be con- lows the emperical equation
nected as shown in Fie. 1. Set Pt
Fig. 1.
to its maximum resistance value loss = (asf+ bf ) [dB]
and the two Y sensitivity con
trots of the CR0 to produce equal where b«a so that the second
values of Y sensitivity. term becomes significant only at
Set the signal generator to its frequencies above about 16 MHz,
minimum available frequency owing to the skin effect.
and note the small lateral dis- If a loss/frequency equalizer be
placement of the two wave- designed and constructed. this
forms. Then, increase the gener- may be tested in a similar man-
ator frequency, which causes the ner. after which the line plus the
lateral displacement of the equalizer may be tested.
waveforms to increase. until, for Other tests may also be carried
the first time. the two wave- out. For instance, short-circuit the
forms are seen to be in phase. output end of the cable at Yt and
The propagation time of the note the effects on the Y2 wave-
cable now equals one period t = form for odd and even numbers
1/f of the generator output. The of quarter wavelengths. Repeat
velocity ratio of the cable then this test with an open circuit at
equals Fig. 2. Yt.
The relationships between cable
velocity in cable / velocity in free space = Disconnect Pt and measure its effective length and the frequencies at which the
value. which is equal to the characteristic CR0 and generator can operate satisfactori-
= cable length in metres x f/ (3 x 108). impedance, Zo. of the cable. ly should be noted. The shorter the cable.
the higher must be the operating frequen-
A typical value is 0.8. cies of the generator and the CRO.
Measurement of attenuation/
The connectors used should preferably
Change the generator frequency to one frequency characteristics be coaxial. otherwise they should be short,
quarter of the value used previously, Connect the equipment as shown in Fig. 2. especially when operation is at frequencies
which makes the line one quarter wave- Set Rt to equal Z0. Potentiometer PI has above 10 MHz.
length long. Adjust P1 to obtain vertical Y been provided with a decibel scale (which
deflections on the CR0 of equal magnitude. can be done with the aid of the ohmmeter).

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 rRAT Or
ANALOGU SW TCHES
by Jack Armijos and Tania Chur

Most applications for analogue switches

fall into two categories: signal routeing 10 k V -12 V
and signal conditioning. Different process-
ing technologies produce switches with 12
.12 V

different characteristics. One advantage of

the new CMOS analogue switches from 5
octp.it

Siliconix is that they allow you to control 3I

OP -27

Input
signals that fall anywhere between the two flr -12 V
power supply rails. Furthermore. these
Sample:Hold Control -12 V
= 2200 oF Poistrene

-12 V

Fig. 2. Open -loop sampleandhold circuit uses a fast analogue switch.

. '

0 31n

Fig. 1. The DG400 series of analogue switches.

high-performance silicon -gate ics. the

DG400 family. arc pin -for -pin replace-
ments for the popular DG200 series. They
offer significantly lower on -resistance
(rDs(on )=85 II). lower power dissipation
135 1.1W 1. faster switching speed (ton=
250 ns) and lower leakage current astofft
<500 pA) than the older industry -standard
parts. The new devices are shown here in
typical circuits, illustrating the benefits
they offer.

Sample -and -hold functions

In most data acquisition systems, man)
Fig. 3. A logic Low opens the DG412, placing the Fig. 4. Vout showing the effects of charge injec-
channels are sampled sequentially and
circuit in the hold mode. tion.
then digitized by an analogue -to -digital
converter. In choosing or designing a sam-
ple -and -hold system. speed and accuracy graph of Fig. 3. This configuration pro- lion. to reduce the hold step error: and low
are the two most important considerations. vides fast acquisition times and is good for leakage, to maintain a low droop rate. The
high-speed acquisition systems. DG412 offers improvements for all three
Open -loop, cascaded - The input buffer is chosen for low off- areas of performance.
follower sample -and -hold set voltage, good slew rates, and the abili- The circuit shown in Fig. 2 achieved an
ty to drive the capacitive load. A polysty- acquisition time of under 900 ns and a
circuit rene capacitor is used because of its very droop rate of 10 µV/µs. Pedestal error was
The basic sample -and -hold circuit of low dielectric absorption and low leakage. a function of analogue signal voltage. The
Fig. 2 has unity -gain buffers to charge the The output buffer needs to have a short worst -case error was 23 mV when Vin =
capacitor without loading the signal source settling time and very low input bias to 5V.
and to drive the next stage without chang- prevent the discharge of the hold capacitor The photograph in Fig. 4 shows Vont
ing the voltage stored. The basic operation during the hold mode. immediately after the hold command. In
of this circuit is illustrated in the photo - The most important switch parameters this case. Vin = 0.5 V. Note the upset
are: speed. to minimize the acquisition caused by the charge injection of the
The authors are vith Siliconix Ltd. time (fast throughput): low charge injec- switch when it opens. the offset error that
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
40 COMPONENTS

.5V .1511

Sarni)ILIUM
Contra!

-15 V

Fig. 5. Integrator output sample -and -hold function operates switch into virtual earth.

remains after the upset and the droop rate has a very low output impedance. the time
that begins after settling is completed. constant associated with CH is determined
primarily by the on -resistance of the Fig. 6. Acquisition time is limited by the slew
Closed -loop integrator out- switch and by the magnitude of the hold rate of the output amplifier.
capacitor. Thus, the circuit benefits greatl\
put sample -and -hold circuit from the low on -resistance of the DG411. analogue sv. itch opens after the capacitor
A popular sample -and -hold configuration The settling time of the output voltage has acquired this voltage to the desired
is shown in Fig. 5. This circuit is >imple is determined by the slew rate and settling accuracy. Another advantage of the
and accurate. It has a gain of -1 since R1 time of the integrator stage. In the sample DG411 is that the switch always operates
= Opamp A I acts as a current booster mode of operation, the DG41 1 closes and at a virtual earth potential regardless of the
to speed up the charging rate of hold hold capacitor CH charges to the negative input voltage. Since at this level the
capacitor CH. Since the unity -gain buffer of the input voltage. In the hold mode, the charge injection on the switch drain is at
its minimum value, the hold step error is
minimized. The errors of Al are mini-
.5V .15V
mized in the sample state. although they
12 111
do appear in the hold mode.
The photograph in Fig. 6 shows the
typical waveforms associated with this cir-
cuit. With the components shown, this cir-
V..
i4 cuit achieved an acquisition time of about
Sample/Hold Control .15V 20 !As. a maximum hold step error of
15000 3.8 mV and a droop rate of 7.5 ItV/ps.
PvlYstlionv
113 114
= -15V
Fast and precise sample -
Fig. 7. Fast and precise sample -and -hold circuit. and -hold circuit
The circuit shown in Fig. 7 u1.2 a DG404
analogue switch in conjunction with a JFET
IM input operational amplifier. The DG404 is
a fast switch (Ton<150 ns). In this circuit.
IV
edlv (A) SM both switches have a similar potential
when open. so their charge injkection
effect is minimized by their differential
effect on the opamp. Acquisition time of
VV
-3. 1.71 this circuit was less than 600 ns. worst -
51/
case pedestal error was -5 mV. and droop
rate was 35 11V/ps.
IV
The compensation network formed by
CC and RC helps to reduce the hold -time
glitch and optimizes acquisition time. The
(B) Vow photograph in Fig. 8 shows this circuit's
-5V output without a compensation network.
vI.
v2- 2.324V ;114 Notice the large glitch going into the hold
II kw, -1.911V
So I'll- 1.711INIft mode. as well as the rippled waveform
right after the output slews to its new
value at settling time. The photograph in
Fig. 8. Vow without compensation shows large Fig. 9. Improved Vint after compensation. Fig. 9 shows the improved response after
glitches and a waveform ripple during acquisi- the compensating network has been instal-
tion time. led.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 A NEW GENERATION OF ANALOGUE SWITCHES

.15 V
(A) Data In
.50 e15 V
.15V
5
eV -
11110
e15 V
T33 gF 4
16 11 (B) Traclutiold
1 I 2. 1640
-1-11100 S
1076411 rf -16. a..
OF -27
a..-. '.4
4 -15 REF
71gwV (C) Vou, with the switch closed
17 3
-15 V
-152

I I
Trick/Held z--1511110 leen
"Sty
01411

V (0) Vow deglitched

3 7

1030
I
-15 V

Fig. 10. Digital -to -analogue converter deglitcher.

Digital -to -analogue DG418 closes again and the track mode is
resumed. Fig. 11. Digital -to -analogue converter deglitcher
converter deglitcher The photograph in Fig. 11 shows Vout waveforms.
Major code transitions in digital -to -ana- with the DG418 always closed (c) and
logue converters (DACs) can cause unwant- with the deglitcher active (d). Notice the
ed voltage spikes, commonly called glitch- improvement in the transition glitches. er. Circuit eain can he -.elected as either x2
es. In many DAC applications. these glitch- The DG418 offers high switching or x10. A single DG423 analogue switch
es can not be tolerated. Additionally. DACS speeds. which are required for short con- was used to perform both the input -select
from different vendors have different size version times. and low charge injection, and gain -select functions. Its low on -resis-
glitches. (Note the glitch impulse specifi- which minimizes pedestal errors. tance. high speed. and on -chip latches ease
cation on DAC data sheets). To ensure a circuit design and improve overall accura-
smooth transition when the DAC goes from Dual -input programmable cy.
one voltage to the next and to guarantee The photograph in Fig. 13 illustrates
uniform circuit response regardless of gain amplifier
the operation of the circuit. For demon-
alternate -sourced DACS. the DAC output For digital systems where only a +5 V stration purposes. input- and gain -selects
may be processed with a tack -and -hold as supply is available, a small amount of ana- were tied toaether so that when the 0.5 V
shown in Fig. 10. While the DAC input logue processing can be implemented with (p -p) triangular signal was being pro-
code is unchanged. the DG418 is closed a low -voltage converter ic and low -volt- cessed. the circuit vain was x10 whereas
and Vout tracks the output of the current - age analogue components. Figure 12 when the 3 V (p -p) sine wave was select-
to -voltage converter. Just before a code shows an amplifier suitable for data acqui- ed. the amplifier's gain was reduced to x2.
change occurs, the analogue switch is sition or voice recognition applications This type of gain ranging is useful to pre-
opened so that Vout continues showing the where either of two analogue signals is condition analogue signals of different
previous voltage. After the code change selected and amplified by a very precise. amplitudes prior to an analogue -to -digital
and its associated glitch has settled, the self -calibrating chopper -stabilized amplifi- conversion.

.5V .1FF 0.1 pF

7 11 112 5
16
109c11

317652 vi,
Input 2

15
Io1I2e -5V

5E1
1/206423

14 A.2X 2
.5V
4211
-5

101;.F 317510
T 0
5V

F
Select
10
P'
1t0
1/2 man

Fig. 13. Gain ranging produces similar ampli-

Fig. 12. Lowvoltage programmable gain amplifier. tudes even if the input levels are different.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
42 COMPONENTS

+5V
Programmable one-shot
multivibrator
---4,,,,
13
.
01
15 1
-r---
+
2
Me "
F1' +5 V Another useful application for an analogue
switch, a programmable one-shot multivi-
Clod - V1,-
= 22C0 pf i
5 ci, brator, is shown in Fig. 14. This circuit
11 Select. ---->--2 produces pulses whose duration is deter-
6
mined by digitally selecting one of the two
1/2 74221 06119
timing resistors-see Fig.15. Advantages
of the use of the DG419 in this circuit are:
small size (8 -pin minion:, or small -outline
package), high speed, low on -resistance.
Fig. 14. Programmable one-shot multivibrator. and TTL. compatibility even in single -sup-
ply operation.

Analogue switch powered

by input signal
The analogue switch in Fig. 17 derives
operating power from its input signal. pro-
vided that the amplitude of that signal
exceeds 4 V and the frequency is greater
than 1 kHz. This circuit is useful when
signals are to be routed to either of two
remote loads. Only three conductors arc
required: one for the signal to be switched,
one for the control signal and a common
return.
A positive input pulse - see Fig. 16 -
turns on clamping diode DI and charges
C 1. The charge stored on the capacitor is
used to power the chip: operation is satis-
factory because the switch requires a sup-
ply current of not greater than 1 p.A.
Fig. 15.. A logic LOW produces short pulses and Fig. 16. This photograph illustrates the remote Loading of the signal source is impercepti-
a logic I- , 31i creates long ones. switch -over action. ble. The DG419's on -resistance has the
respectable value of 100 f for an input
signal of 5 V.
5V,
1 o3
VI ,4 C

= CI ... F
Read/write disk -drive circuit
tarn Vett
o s, The circuit shown in Fig. 18 allows data to
3
S 10 30 R be written to or read from a disk. In the
6
10 kill write mode. SW2 is closed. A ONE is cre-
IM
ated by momentarily closing SW1. This
0611f
causes current to flow in the left-hand half
3 713 -
of the head coil. A ZERO is produced when
SW3 is closed. This causes current to flow
in the right-hand half of the coil and re-
verses the direction of the maenetic flux.
Fig. 17. Remo:e SP DT analogue switch for switched signal powers. In the read mode. switches SW4 and
SW5 are closed. This connects the head
coil to the read preamplifier so that the
voltages picked up by the head as the disk
glides by can be amplified.
Single -supply operation with +12 V.
low -on resistance and high switching
speed allow an improvement in data rates
of roughly x10 when DG4I Is are used in
place of the more mature DG211s.

Micropower UPS transfer

Rad GA switch
The purpose of the uninterrupted power
supply (uPs) circuit in Fig. 19 is to pre-
Fig. 18. DG411s in the head switching circuit of a disk drive. serve volatile memory contents in the
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 A NEW GENERATION OF ANALOGUE SWITCHES

V.
SW
Ya
(.5
wan Maori

313 to
3
Milan -
CtU f
3

Fig. 19. Micropower uPs circuit.

event of a power failure. In this applica- this ensures that most of the available
tion. every tenth of a volt counts. This cir- power is applied to the memory where it
cuit uses a micropower analogue switch is really needed. In the stand-by mode.
that comes in an 8 -pin minim or small - currents of some hundreds of milliam- Fig. 20. Oscilloscope waveforms show a clean
outline package. a 3-V lithium cell to sup- peres are sufficient to retain data. power switch over.
ply back-up power. a diode and two resis- When the +5 V supply comes back on, the
tors. Voltage losses under 0.1 V can be potential divider senses the presence of at illustrates how, in spite of Vcc dropping
achie-ved. least 3.5 V and causes a new change of to V (line b). uninterrupted power is ap-
During normal operation. currents of state in the analogue switch, restoring plied to the load. Negligible voltage loss
several hundreds milliamperes are sup- normal operation. is caused by the switch. Line c shows that
plied from Vcc. In this mode, SW1 is On -resistance is about 74 S2 when Vcc the DG417 changes state when its control
open. so that the only drain from the lithi- is +5 V and 128 S2 when Vcc is +3 V. For input voltage decays to 1.4 V and
um cell consists of leakage currents flow- example. an 800 l.tA load. equivalent to a changes again when it reaches 1.5 V on
ing into the V1 and S terminals. The leak- static RAM of 256 kbit (M0v161L16), will its way back to normal. The values of R1
age current is typically about 10 pA. produce a voltage drop of 0.1 V on the and R2 may be adjusted for different trip
Resistors R1 and R, are continuously analogue switch, which is much better points if desired.
sampling Vcc. than the 0.6 V drop occurring if a simple For the applications mentioned in this
When Vcc drops to 3.3 V, the DG417 2 -diode circuit were used. article. the DG4090 family of silicon -gate
changes states, closing SW1 and connect- Higher currents and lower losses can be CMOs switches comes a step closer to the
ing the back-up cell. Diode D i prevents achieved by paralleling several sections in ideal switch. Any application that uses
current from leaking back towards the rest a multiple analogue switch such as the industry -standard analogue switches can
of the circuit. Current consumption by the DG403. now be improved by choosing these fast,
cstos analogue switch is around 100 pA: Line a in the photograph in Fig. 20 lower -power. versatile analogue switches.

Course for the Radio Amateurs' premises at 189 London Road. North End,
Exam - May 1990 Portsmouth P022 9AE. telephone (0705)
ELECTRONICS SCENE 662145.
There will be a course for the May 1990 In the new showroom, radio, scanner
Radio Amateurs' Exam at Newark Techni- Wednesday afternoon and short-wave enthusiasts will be able to
cal College. Chauntry Park. Newark, Amateur TV Wednesday morning browse in comfort with full 'hands on'
Notts. starting this month on Monday Advanced Morse facilities over Nevada's expanded range of
evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. The course tutor Code Monday evening products.
is Alistair Morrison G4YZG.
Further details may be obtained from Lecturer: J.T. Beaumont G3NGD.
Bert Drury GIUMK at the college, tele- New Maplin Store
phone (0636) 705921. Enrolment dates are 6, 7 and 8 September.
Further details from North Trafford Maplin Electronics. one of the fastest
College of Further Education Talbot growing electronic retail groups in
Radio Amateurs' Course Road Stretford Manchester M32 OXH Europe, has recently opened another store
Telephone 061 872 3731. in London.
North Trafford College, Manchester is The new store, managed by Lawrence
again offering a Radio Amateurs' Course Saunders. is located at 146-148 Burnt Oak
starting this month. The course will com- New Showroom for Nevada Broadway. Edgware. Middlesex.
prise: Further details from Maplin Head
Nevada, the specialist suppliers of Com- Office. telephone (0702) 552911.
Theory Thursday evening or munications. Music and Discotheque
Wednesday morning. equipment have opened a new showroom
Morse Code Tuesday evening or in Portsmouth. adjacent to their present

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 iJ

1 TA MODEL1/1
by T. Wig -more

The sixth part in the series deals in detail with the Booster Unit.
Each of these amplifiers provides enough power for the control
of up to fifteen trains on a digital model track. The booster is the last
unit in the series that can be used with both the Marklin and the
Elektor ElectronicsDigital Train System. The units featured in
forthcoming parts in the series are peculiar to the
Elektor Electronics System.

The power supply of a digitally controlled dissipation in the output transistors. output voltage is a reasonably constant
model railway track is fundamentally dif- Fortunately, this is easily rectified by the ±18 V. See also the load characteristic in
ferent from that of a conventional track, in use of somewhat larger heat sinks. Fig. 41.
that the supply voltage is switched rapidly The emitter follower ensures a better
between +18 V and -18 V. The switching is bandwidth and regulation with complex
carried out by the booster (power amplifi- The circuit loads than, for instance, feedback.
er). Since the switching pattern of the track Emitter resistors R12-R15 ensure an
The booster ensures that the serial con- voltage contains control information, it is equal division of current to TI-T2 on the
trol commands generated by the digital important that the booster provides a clean one hand and to T3-T4 on the other
control circuits contain not only the infor- output signal. Much attention has, there- Resistors R12 and R14 serve to measure
mation, but also the power to start locomo- fore, been paid to the switching speed. The the current in aid of short-circuit protec-
tives, turnouts (points) and signals. practical outcome is illustrated in Fig. 40. tion transistors T9 and Tio. When the emit-
Since derailments, and the consequent The bases of the emitter follower, T1-T4 ter current of Ti or T3 tends to become too
short-circuits of the track, occur much in Fig. 42, are switched by Ts and Ts high, the drop across R12 or R14 rises suffi-
more often on model railway tracks than respectively between +20 V and -20 V. ciently to switch on T9 or T1D. This causes a
on life-size ones, it is essential that the These voltages are provided by ICI-D3 reduction in the base current of the output
booster is provided with an efficient short- and IC2-D4 respectively. The final output transistors and, consequently, in their col-
circuit protection facility. voltage is the difference between the base lector and emitter currents.
voltage and the sum of the base -emitter The input stage is formed by T. and Ts
potential (about 1.5 V) of the output tran- and is configured in a manner that makes a
The concept sistors and the drop across the emitter symmetrical input signal essential. If the
Our booster unit has two important advan- resistors (maximum 0.6 V). In practice, the input (pin 4 of Kt) is 0 V or not connected,
tages over that from Marklin: higher out-
put power and a regulated output voltage.
The Nlarklin booster provides a maxi-
mum output current of about 3 A. That is
not much if vou take the current drawn by
one locomotive at about 700 mA , and add
to this the current drawn by turnouts
(points), signals, and coach lighting. It is
on those considerations that our booster
provides an output current of 10 A.
The output voltage of the Marklin
booster is fairly load -dependent: a 25%
drop over the normal range of loads is
quite normal. That kind of variation has, of
course, an adverse effect on the speed of
the locomotives and the brightness of the
coach lights.
The output stage is an emitter follower.
Driving the bases by a voltage source
ensures a virtually constant output volt- flo
age, which results in independent speed
control of the trains and constant bright-
ness of the various lights. These properties
are illustrated in Fig. 39 and Fig. 41.
The use of an emitter follower also
enables higher switching speeds since the
transistors operate on the linear part of
their characteristics: the switching times 4
are, therefore, not adversely affected by
saturation effects.
A drawback of the configuration is the
higher voltage and the consequent greater Fig. 38. The booster unit without heat sinks and enclosure.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTENIBER 1989

 GENERAL INTEREST
that these transistors switch at a sufficient-
ly high speed.

Overload signal
The circuit around Tn serves to indicate an
overload condition. Note that only the
negative output voltage is monitored. This imam.
is sufficient since the load on the negative 5"ZIE111111111
line is slightly higher than that on the posi-
tive rail. For instance, the turnout (points) 1111111111111
decoders work with half -wave rectifiers
and, therefore, load only the negative rail.
Fig. 39. Data transfer by switching the supply Moreover, when no data are being trans- Fig. 40. Comparison of the switching behaviour
voltage. It is evident that the Marklin Booster mitted, the output voltage is negative. under load of the Marklin Booster (upper traces)
(upper trace) does not provide a regulated out- When the booster is overloaded, T9 and and the Elektor Electronics unit (lower traces).
put in contrast to the Elektor Electronics unit Tio limit the current in the first instance.
(lower trace). The output voltage will then drop signifi-
cantly and this causes a rise in the voltage UC! f
all transistors are switched off and the out- across the output transistors and thus in
put presents a high impedance (that is, no the dissipation. If this situation is allowed
voltage is supplied to the rails). When the to persist, there is a danger of the booster INNIIIMIIIIRIIIMI
input voltage is between +5 V and +20 V, being thermally overloaded: the conse-
T7, 1.5, Ti, and T2 conduct and the output is quent risk of fire is a very real one. I I,
switched to +18 V. With the input voltage Therefore, if the output voltage drops
between -5 V and -20 V, T3 and T4 below 15 V, Tii will switch off. The signal
conduct and the output voltage is switched
to -18 V.
at pin 5 of Ki, aided by the pull-up resistor
on the main PCB of the Elektor Electronics
lila
MI -
1

1
..,

All transistors, except T5 and To, oper- system, goes low and this results in the _ .

ate on the linear part of their characteris- removal of the drive to the booster with 2 1

tics. Transistors T5 and T6 are switched in the aid of the software. Thermal overloads H
the saturation region because switching are, therefore, prevented; moreover, the
transistors for voltages of 50 V and more system 'knows' that in this condition no
are not available. Nevertheless, Cs ensures data can be transmitted (even if they Fig. 41. Load characteristic of the booster unit.
could, they would not reach
the decoders).
Capacitor C enables the
overload action to be delayed,
20V 20V
so that the system is not dis-
2x
1N4148
0 T1,1-2 = 00V65 abled at every momentary
023-30V short circuit. This will be
reverted to later in the series.
0 00
Construction
VI li the Po) shown in Fig. 43 is
used, construction of the
09 137 booster unit should not pre-
iN4001X sent any problems.
03 T9
Fit the wire links first:
1N those close to the output tran-
80465 4148
sistors should be of 1 mm dia.
8131/64 30 m az R
a wire.
Mount resistors R12-Ri5
well away from the board,
because they get pretty hot
during operation.
iN400iir The board has provision
08 " for a 5 -pin DIN connector, but if
the booster is intended for use
8C5578
in a stationary position (which
*see tea:
is normally the case), the
respective wires may be sol-
3009 404
low 2 5 V
dered direct to the board.
Circuits ICI and IC2 do
23-30V
D10 , 01 = 1N4148
not need a heat sink.
T3 , T4 = BDV64 Do not fit C7 at this
1N4001
S722 I %I 41 stage.
IA
C6 Transistors T1 -T4 must
be mounted on a heat sink
with a thermal resistance of
not less than 0.8 KAY with the
Fig. 42, Circuit diagram of the booster unit. aid of good -quality insulating
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
46 THE DIGITAL NIODEL TRAIN - PART 6

capacitors is ±25-29 V. If you measure 0 V.

it is almost certain that the two secondary
windings have been connected in anti -
phase. Switch off the mains, discharge the
capacitors via a resistor and reverse the
connections of one of the secondary wind-
ings. Then check the direct voltage again.
If everything is all right, switch off the
mains again and discharge the buffer
capacitors via a resistor.
Next, connect the supply to the booster
Fig. 44. If you are content (for the time via insulated wire of at least 03 mm dia.
being) with a much smaller output and switch on the mains. Check that the
current. this power supply will do
Fig. 43. Circuit diagram of a recommended power supply. nicely.

Parts list
washers. If BDX66/67 darlingtons (with Assembly and test
TO -3 housing) are used, they must first be
mounted on to the heat sink and then con- Since the booster is operated from the Resistors:
nected to the board by not too long, heavy mains, great care and attention must be 131;R2 = 18 k
duty wires. paid to correct assembly and insulation. R3;114= 2k2
Because there are ahvays metal parts in a Rs;Rs = 4k7
model railway system that can be touched R7:Fi8 = 100C1; 1 W
Power supply (like the rails), it is advisable to use a good - Re = 10k
The circuit diagram of a recommended quality insulated enclosure. Rio;Rti = 1k0
power supply is shown in Fig. 43. The The insulation of the power supply Ri2(196Ris = 0015; 4 W
2x18 V transformer must preferably be a transformer stated in the parts list is
toroidal type. The rectifier must be a approved to Class 1. This means that the Capacitors:
heavy-duty type and needs a heat sink (it mains cable should have three cores, one C1;C2 = 10p; 25 V
may be mounted on to that for T1-T4). of which is earth. Ca:C4 = 220n
If you do not want to go to the expense All metal parts that can be touched Cs:Cs =10Oµ; 40 V
of a new transformer, but rather use one (including the heat sinks) should be con- C7 = 68p; 16 V
that vou have had lying around for some nected to earth. Ca= 10n
time, use the circuit shown in Fig. 44. Connect the two secondary windings of
Remember, however, that such a set-up the mains transformer in Fig. 43 in series Semiconductors:
will normally not be able to deliver more and fit and solder the rectifier and the Di:D2;Dio:Dvi = 1N4148
than a quarter of the power of the supply buffer capacitors (Ctoi = Ci + C2 = C3 + C4 D3;Da:D9 = zener diode 15 V; 400 mW
in Fig. 43, if that. = 20,000 uF rated at > 40 V). D5-Ds = 1N4001
Finally, DO NOT connect transformers in Before the supply is connected to the T1;T2 = BDV 65 (Philips Components)
parallel to increase the total available cur- booster, switch on the mains and check T3;T4 = BDV 64 (Philips Components)
T5 = BC640
rent: such a set-up can be a death trap. that the direct voltage across the buffer
T6 = BC639
T7 = BC547B
Ta = BC557B
Ts = BC337
Tic) = 8C327
Tn = BC557
ICI = 7805
IC2 = 7905

Miscellaneous:
Kt = 5 -way DIN socket (1800) for PCB
mounting.
5 off car -type spade terminals for PCB
mounting.
Insulation material for
PCB Type 87291-6 (see Readers Services
page).

Recommended power supply parts (not on

PCB):
Mains transformer: 2x18 V @300 VA (e.g.
ILP 73014)
Smoothing capacitors: 4 off 10,000pF; 40 V
or 4 off 15,000µF; 40 V.
High -current bridge rectifier: min. 20 A (e.g.,
BYW61 from Motorola).
One mains -rated fuse: 2 A slow.
Two low -voltage fuses: 10 A fast .
Heat -sink: e.g., SK120-100mm (Dau Compo-
01" nents; Fischer).

Fig. 45. Printed circuit board for the booster unit.

El.EKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 GENERAL INTEREST 47
output voltage of ICI is +20 V and that of
IC2 is -20 V. There should be no voltage
between B (earth) and R since there is as
yet no input.
Fit a 100 0, 5 W, resistor between B and
R and connect the input, pin 4 of Kt, to a
positive voltage, for instance, +20 V at pin
3 of Ki. The output voltage should then be
+18 V. With a negative input - obtained by
interconnecting pins 1 and 4 of Kt - the
output should be -18 V.

Connecting to Marklin Digital

The booster circuit is driven via Kt, which
also carries the auxiliary +20 V and -20 V
voltages. These are not of importance
when the Marklin Digital is used, but in
the Elektor Electronics system they power
the RS232 interface.
When the Marklin Digital is used, only
pins 2 (earth) and 4 (input) of Kt need to
be connected to the brown and red termi-
nal at the rear of the Central Unit. Our
booster, therefore, does NOT use the 5 -pin
connector on the Central Unit.
The overload signal (pin 5 of Kt) is also
Fig. 46. How to connect the booster unit to Marklin's Central Unit.
for use with our own system only. To
arrange for the automatic switch -off of the
Marklin unit during overloads, a diode flexions (centre rail in the Marklin system) sen at ±18 V to ensure that the maximum
must be added as shown in Fig. 46. must be isolated from one another. speed of the locomotives would be about
Warning of a short circuit in the booster is Marklin supplies special parts to prevent equal to that in traditional model railway
then passed to the Central Unit, after the slide contacts from short-circuiting the systems. Taken to scale, model trains trav-
which the current monitor in that unit electrically separated centre rails during el faster than life-size ones. Modellers who
arranges the switch -off. cross-overs. want to have their locomotives travel at,
The Central Unit may provide some of proportionally, the same speed as life-size
the power to the rails, but note that only trains can arrange this by using 12 V zener
the B connexions of the Central Unit and For true -to -scale modellers diodes in the D3, D4 and D4 positions. This
our booster may be interlinked. The R con- The output voltage of the booster was cho- will result in an output voltage of =15 V

IEE Meetings Blenheim House Ashill Drive PINNER

3-8 Sep - Personal and mobile radio sys- HAS' 2AE Telephone 01-868 -1466.
tems (Vacation School at Swansea).
4-7 Sep - Microwave (Conference at
Wembley Conference Centre). The Third International Symposium on A number of seminars has been organized
5-8 Sep - Circuit theory and design IC Design and Manufacture will be held for this month by Frost & Sullivan. Sub-
(Conference at Univ. of Sussex). on 14-15 September in Singapore. Details jects include: Information Technology:
17-22 Sep - The application of artificial from the School of Electrical and Electro- Telecommunications & Data Communi-
intelligence (Vacation School at Univ. nic Engineering Nanyang Technological cations: and Electronic Engineering.
of Reading). Institue Nanyang Avenue SINGA- Details from Frost & Sullivan Sullivan
17-22 Sep - Data communications and PORE Telephone Singapore 2263. House 4 Grosvenor Gardens LONDON
networks (Vacation School at Aston SW I W ODH Telephone 01-730 3438.
University).
17-22 Sep - Integrated electronic prod- A series of short courses on Graphics and
uct design (Vacation School at Univer- Image Processing. Microprocessors. Synopses of papers for the Internation al
sity of Surrey). Signal Processing. Supercomputers. Conference on Electromagnetic Compa-
18-20 Sep - Software engineering for Computer Networks. Voice & Data tibility (University of York: 28-31 August
real-time systems (Conference at Communications, and many others, will 1990) should be submitted before 29 Sep-
Cirencester). be conducted by ICS Trafalgar House tember: those for the Fourth Internatio-
18-22 Sep - Quantum electronics (Con- Hammersmith International Centre nal Conference on Advanced Infrared
ference at University of Oxford). LONDON W6 8DN Phone 01-748 6667. Detectors and Systems (London:5-7 June
24-30 Sep - Microwave measurement 1990) before 29 August; and those for the
(Vacation School at Univ. of Kent). International Conference on Integrated
Broadband Services and Networks
Further information on these. and many A seminar on Mid -range systems and (London: 15-18 October 1990) before 15
other, events from IEE Savoy Place 'UNIX will be held at the QEII Centre, January to: Conference Services 1EE
LONDON WC2R OBL Telephone Westminster. London on 27-28 Septem- Savoy Place LONDON WC2R OBL
01-240 1871. ber. Details from Blenheim Online Telephone 01-240 1871 Ext. 222.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
48

INTERMEDIATE PROJECT
A series of projects for the not -so -experienced constructor. Although each article
will describe in detail the operation, use, construction and, where relevant, the
underlying theory of the project, constructors will, none the less, require an
elementary knowledge of electronic engineering. Each project in the series will be
based on inexpensive and commonly available parts.

5. Resonance meter

J. Bareford

The present intermediate project follows this month's theme by

venturing out into the fascinating world of radio techniques. The test
instrument discussed is a must for anyone working with RF signals,
but with a limited budget. It enables the resonance frequency of
tuned circuits to be measured within the range of 100 kHz to about
50 MHz, and can also be used as a capacitance meter, RF test
generator and RF signal probe.

Traditionally, the name of the instrument baptized 'gate dipper' because the gate of and 'grid' have been formed historically,
of the type to be described has evolved a field effect transistor (FET) is electrically but have really nothing to do with the
from grid dipper to gate dipper or simply very similar to the first grid of a valve. The basic function of the instrument, these
dipper. The first name, grid dipper, was instrument is basically an RF signal misnomers are omitted here to be re-
used in the valve era and long after_ When source with adjustable output frequency, placed by the more universal term 'reson-
thermionic valves disappeared from con- coupled to a circuit that measures and ance meter'.
sumer electronic equipment, the instru- indicates the amplitude of the output sig-
ment was built from semiconductors and nal - see Fig_ 1_ Because the terms 'gate
Tuned circuits and
resonance
Many constructors shy away from pro-
jects that contain home-made inductors,
because these, they feel, remain some-
thing of a mystery owing to their lack of
experience or suitable test and measuring
equipment. And yet, many a radio ama-
teur will confidently inform these con-
structors that there is nothing mysterious
about winding coils. In fact, dimensioning
them and peaking the resultant tuned cir-
cuit at the right frequency is sheer plea-
sure, provided, he will tell vou, that a
resonance meter is available. Without this
simple instrument even experienced RF
engineers are often at a loss in getting
radio equipment to work correctly.
Any tuned circuit absorbs energy from
another that is placed near it, and reson-
ates at the same frequency. The RF energy
is supplied by the resonance meter and an
inductor that forms part of an oscillator.
When this inductor is held near the coil
under test, the oscillator output ampli-
tude drops if the two tuned circuits reson-
ate at the same frequency. When the 'dip'
is indicated by the signal level meter on
the resonance meter, the resonance fre-
quency of the tuned circuit under test can
be read from the tuning dial. Mind you:
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 RESONANCE METER 49

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the resonance

meter.

the resonance frequency can be deter-

mined while the equipment of which the
tuned circuit forms part is not powered.
The coupling between the resonance
meter and the tuned circuit under test is
entirely inductive: all that is required is to
hold the pick-up coil on the meter close to
the tuned circuit under test. Tune the res-
onance meter, and the signal level meter
on it will tell you the resonance frequency
of the L -C network under test.

Resonance meter as an RF
signal source... Fig. 2. Circuit diagram of the budget resonance meter for 0.1-50 MHz in eight ranges.
Since the resonance meter contains an os-
cillator capable of covering a fairly large
frequency range, it may double as an RF ductor in equipment to be aligned thus Three transistors
signal generator. To align a receiver, for causes the meter to deflect when the tun-
ing dial is set to the correct frequency. The The circuit diagram of the resonance
instance, the resonance meter is simply set meter is given in Fig. 2. All functions dis-
to the required frequency and placed close meter indication is a measure of the signal
strength, while the tuning dial shows the cussed above are realized by three transis-
to the aerial input. If it is too strong for a tors and a handful of passive components.
precise adjustment, the test signal can be measured frequency. These combined
functions are particularly useful for alig- Although perhaps a little difficult to de-
attenuated by placing the resonance meter duce from the circuit diagram, Ti and T3
further away. ning receivers and transmitters in which
several frequencies are mixed. The probe form an oscillator. The frequency of oscil-
function of the resonance meter is then lation is determined by La and varicaps Di
ideal for, say, aligning the filter that fol- and D2. The two diodes are connected in
... as a frequency meter or lows the mixer stage, so that only the parallel to achieve the required capacit-
RF probe... wanted frequency is passed. ance range that can be adjusted with Pi.
A total of eight plug-in inductors is
The resonance meter is designed such that required to cover the frequency range
it can easily be used as a coarse frequency ...and a C or L meter from 0.1 to 50 MHz.
meter and signal strength meter (RF Preset P2 allows the collector current in
probe). These functions are achieved by Capacitance (C) and inductance (L) meas-
urements are the last additional functions both transistors to be adjusted, giving
switching off the internal oscillator, but control over the amount of RF energy
leaving the pick-up coil and the signal of the resonance meter.
The value of a capacitor can be deter- generated by the oscillator. Transistors Ti
rectifier plus level indicator in function. and T2 form a differential amplifier in which
Energy picked up from a resonating in - mined with the aid of a parallel inductor
with known inductance, L, and, of course, C7 provides the feedback between the col-
a resonance meter. The capacitance, C, is lector of T2 and the base of Ti.
simple to calculate from the resonance fre- The measuring amplifier is formed by
quency, Jo, of the parallel tuned circuit: T3. This transistor is operated in class C,
f (MHz) L (H) so that it does not conduct until the volt-
0.1-0.2 10m 1 age on L3 is about 0.6 V higher than the
21tdLC emitter voltage. This means that T3 forms
0.2-0.45 2m2 a basic rectifier because it conducts only
0.45-1.0 470µ Since the self-inductance is known, and during a part of the positive half -wave of
1.0-2.0 100g the resonance frequency can be measured, the oscillator signal. This pulsating signal
the equation can be rewritten as is converted into a dean direct voltage by
2.0-4.5 22p. Cl. Regulator ICI prevents fluctuations of
4.5-10 4g7 1
the supply voltage degrading the stability
C= of the oscillator. Should the supply volt-
10-20 1µ 40 f5 L
age be unstable, the voltage at Pt, and with
15-40 01122 it the varicap voltage, is unstable also. The
Similarly, inductance can be calculated varicap voltage, by the way, is not only
with the aid of a reference capacitor:
dependent on the setting of Pt. Presets P3
1
and P4 are included to give Pi the correct
range, which is a must for the calibration
Table 1. The values of La. L 40fcC of the scale on the front -panel designed
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
50 INTERMEDIATE PROJECT

for the resonance meter. The ranges of the Construction

resonance meter can only be calibrated if
the standard choke values listed in Table 1 Resonance meters for frequencies up into
are used. the VHF range are not the easiest of con-
The circuit diagram shows that the struction projects. The main problem of
supply voltage for the resonance meter is many home-made as well as ready-made
18 V, obtained from two series -connected meters is that these produce 'false' dips
9 V batteries. A mains adaptor with when the pick-up coil is not held near a
Fig. 3. Printed -circuit board for the reson- 12 VDC output is, however, also suitable tuned circuit. According to Murphy's law,
ance meter. if the resonance meter is fitted with a Type these false dips will typically occur in the
78L10 voltage regulator. most frequently used ranges.

Parts list

Resistors (-±5%):
Ri;R7= 1k0
R2 = 22052
R3 = 47k
1:14;R5= 33k
Rs = 220 k
Pi = 100k linear potentiometer
P2 = 50k linear potentiometer
P3;P4 = 5k preset H

Capacitors:
Ci = 100n
C2 = 22n
C3 = 47µ; 6 V; radial
C4 = 220n
C5 = 1µ0; 16 V
C6 = 1µ0; 25 V
C7 = 39n

Semiconductors:
Di;D2= BB212
Ta;T2 = BF451
T3 = BFR91
ICI = 78L10

Miscellaneous:
PCB Type 886071 (see Readers Services
page).
= 1mHO radial choke (Toko).
L2 = 33mH radial choke (Toko).
L3 = see Table 1
Si = miniature SPST switch.
MI = 250 µA moving -coil VU meter. 886071 - 12
1 off DIN -type 2 -way loudspeaker socket.
8 off DIN -type 2 -way loudspeaker plugs.
ABS enclosure.

Fig. 4. True -size front -panel layout.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 RESONANCE METER

The printed -circuit board for the pres- Now retune the resonance meter until a
ent resonance meter has been designed to sharp dip is found.
minimize the risk of false dips. Figure 3 If the resonance frequency of a tuned
shows the component mounting plan and circuit is not known, it is wise to start
the track layout of the board, which is examining it in the lowest range of the
available ready-made. resonance meter, increasing the range
Mounting the parts on the board is fair- until a sharp dip is found. This procedure
ly straightforward. The only point to pay avoids harmonics being mistaken for the
special attention to is that all component natural frequency.
wires must be kept as short as possible. The resonance meter need not be very
The populated board is mounted in an accurate since its main application is the
ABS enclosure. This is not standard prac- coarse dimensioning and adjustment of
tice in view of RF screening, but avoids the inductors, or capacitors that form part of
risk of a metal enclosure affecting the an L -C tuned circuit - precise adjustment
operation of the oscillator. As a result, is invariably done along the lines of the
false dips would occur, and the calibra- setting -up procedure with the equipment
tion would have to be changed. turned on. Also, it is useful to note that the
All wires in the enclosure, and particu- resonance frequency of an L -C circuit is
larly those between the board an the in- generally lowered when it is installed in
ductor socket should have the absolute the circuit, which introduces additional
minimum length. The front -panel design capacitance.
shown in Fig. 4 is copied and secured on Not all tuned circuits can be tested
to the enclosure. with the aid of the resonance meter. In-
The pick-up coils are made from DIN - Practical use ductors wound on a toroid core, or en-
type 2 -way loudspeaker plugs and ready- closed by a metal cover, absorb very little
made chokes as shown in the photograph The resonance meter is a test instrument externally applied energy, and do not pro-
of Fig. 3. The chokes for the two lowest that becomes easy to operate only grad- duce a dip unless a small external series
ranges must be types with plastic sleev- ually through regular practical use. Prior inductor of one or two turns is added tem-
ing, not types with ferrite encapsulation. to any measurement, the frequency range porarily. This lowers the resonance fre-
The other chokes are miniature axial must be determined, and the appropriate quency to some extent, but allows a useful
types. pick-up coil selected. In some cases, you estimate to be made. Some in -circuit L -C
will need to change coils if the resonance networks will not dip either. Examples are
frequency is close to the end of the range. the heavily damped tuned circuits in the
Calibration Switch on the instrument, and adjust the emitter line of a grounded -base transistor
The resonance meter can not be calibrated sensitivity control, P2, for f.s.d. ( full-scale circuit. To measure the resonance fre-
before it has been fitted into a suitable deflection) of the signal level meter. Line quency, either the transistor or the tuned
enclosure. Either a frequency meter or a up the pick-up coil with the inductor in circuit must be removed.
short-wave receiver must be used for the the equipment (Fig. 6), and tune carefully Finally, the resonance frequency of
adjustment procedure. until the pointer of the level meter moves series L -C tuned circuits can not be
If a frequency meter is available, the to the left. The frequency range is prob- measured unless a capacitor is included in
procedure is started by winding 10 turns ably fairly large at this stage. To achieve a the circuit that provides a path from the
of enamelled copper wire on to a lead more accurate dip, move the pick-up coil inductor back to the series capacitor. This,
pencil. Remove the pencil, and connect away from the inductor while still ensur- in fact, creates a parallel tuned circuit.
the inductor to the input of the frequency ing that they point in the same direction.
meter. Plug one of the lower -range coils
into the resonance meter, switch on the
instrument, and adjust P2 for full-scale de-
flection of the signal level meter, Mi. The
frequency meter will display a frequency
if the pick-up coil on the resonance meter
is held near that on the frequency meter.
Check whether the displayed frequency
rises if Pi is turned anti -clockwise. If not,
swap the outer wires on the poten-
tiometer. Set the tuning to the highest fre-
quency in the range, and adjust P3 until
the frequency meter displays the scale fre-
quency. Turn Pi to the lowest frequency,
and adjust P4 similarly. Once again check
the upper frequency and correct the set-
ting of P3 if necessary.
A short-wave receiver is also suitable
for calibrating the resonance meter, but
has the disadvantage of requiring to be
re -tuned for every adjustment.
Since every choke has its particular
tolerance, it is necessary to check for scale
deviations in every range of the resonance
meter. If the deviation in a particular
range is unacceptable, try using another
choke from another batch but with the
same value indication. Choke tolerance is
typically ±20%.
Fig. 6. Using the resonance meter to 'dip' an L -C tuned circuit.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 r-iNITRONICS MONITOR
A. Rigby

The Centronics interface standard is often said to be without

problems in practical use. When a malfunction occurs, however,
many more connections have to be checked than, for instance, on an
RS -232 link. The monitor described here alleviates the plight in
debugging a Centronics connection. It is a handy tester that
indicates the levels on all lines simultaneously, including those that
carry pulses.

connected, as v. ell as handshake lines it has been received, halting the computer
,arlv all of today's personal computers during the printing operation. Printers of
are equipped with a Centronics port for STROBE, BUS\ and/or ACK (acknow-
ledge). Especially the last two signals are a later generation typically feature a small
connecting a printer. The general accept- buffer that allows a line of printable char-
ance of the Centronics interface standard prone to cause trouble if the relevant pins
are correctly marked (according to the acters to be stored. The characters in this
has been helped by the availability of buffer are not printed until a carriage re-
ready-made cables of various lengths, and printer manual), but not used electrically.
When the Centronics connection is turn is received. Many modern matrix
the fact that the majority of printer manu- printers have buffers capable of storing
facturers have ensured compliance with fully functional, the computer puts the bit
pattern to be sent to the printer on to the many kilobytes of text, and handle print-
the pinning of the 'blue-ribbon' input con- ing, data spooling and communication
nector on their products. eight datalines, and actuates the STROBE
Sometimes, however, the installation line by pulling it low. This enables the with the computer simultaneously. Some
printer to recognize that the databyte rep- top -range models house more data pro-
of a new printer or cable gives rise to cessing chips than the average PC com-
awkward problems that take a lot of resenting the printable character is stable
precious time to analyse and resolve. In and therefore valid. Reception of the byte patible.
is signalled to the computer by a low -to - Apart form the data and handshaking
these cases, the present in -line indicator lines, the Centronics standard specifies a
provides almost instant fault analysis be- high change on the BUSY line. BUSY re-
mains high until the printer is ready. number of other, auxiliary, functions:
cause it shows the logic state of the data -
bits and a number of handshaking and Depending on the type of printer, the re-
ceived databyte is instantly printed, or PE Paper Empty Goes high when
control signals. the printer is out
stored in an internal buffer memory. In
both cases, however, the processing (which of paper.
Data and handshaking is not necessarily the same as printing) of SEL Select Indicates that the
a character is signalled to the computer by printer is on line
To ,n,-ure that the computer -to -printer and ready to re-
link works as required, a number of sig- means of a high -to -low transition on the
ACK line. ceive data.
nals must be present, while the use of AUTO Auto Feed Automatic line
others depends on the equipment used at The processing of received characters
differs from printer to printer. Older mod- feed after a car-
either side of the Centronics cable_ At the riage return.
computer side, datalines DO -D7 must be els print each character immediately after
1NIT Initialize Resets the printer
ERROR Indicates internal
failure.

The last four lines must be given a fixed

level, even if they are not used in the ac-
tual connection between the computer
and the printer. In other words: the mini-
mum requirement is that non -connected
active -low and active -high lines be fitted
with a pull-up and pull -down resistor re-
spectively.

The monitor
The Centronics monitor indicates the cur-
rent logic level on all lines by means of
light -emitting diodes (LEDs). The databus
lines are connected to a Type 74HCT540
buffer that supplies sufficient output cur-
rent to connect the LEDs direct to ground.
A logic high level causes the LED associ-
ated with a particular line to light. Each of
the five status lines is connected direct to
the associated LED. This can be done with
impunity because the signal levels are
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 CENTRONICS MONITOR

,---.
5 15
30 30
33 33

0 34 3 4_0
O 18 18,D
35-0

* * ii
0 1
35
1 PSTB 010, 091 PSTE1 1

2 DO
O DA p DO

O
3 01
51/0 IC4
7805
01 3 0
0
0
4 D2
03
2x
1144148
1N40011 .-,-, D2 4
03 5 0
O 6 04 F00n 73130 04 6
7 D5 D5 7 0
0
13 06

0
9 07
.17U
a BUSY
5Ve
\ N

014 620 5Ve

\\
\:.
D7 9
ACK 10
BUSY II
0

c:.121._. .
NI41
siS§, A TO 14 cm \ PE 12 ,
13 SELECT 20 \SELECT13
414114 151/ 21 613
i4AUTO + oar 10 AUTO 14 0
0 Jr, 137111
.:3____INIT 61 DI R POT 31 -
Vi IC1 Al I" if
0 32ERROR \ :1..
19
9 A2
2
01 ERP.ORD
1 R22
EMI 13 Ds IC3a \\ERRoR 32 0
16 4,1 11.12 :1:116 .,5 HCT A3 t D2 6( 612
556 16
17 101!I 12.116., -11-_11Tiri 540 03
THRES OUT 97----0
Th.7 "
12 9
0 01._§,6".-cfi
.11,5477,
,,z,11.--C>
9 A5 6 1312
O 20 119.1=1246'-:.13 AS
D5 8
TR ,02....:
O 21
22
F17

.111(47:1041
D7 12 F.,
" A7 8
9 D7 ACK
T2
OA CNTR i
_11_0
1,2..,_40
23
14 017 R23
law e3 Ct " 614
C e_3,__0,
BC eii.__,

5VOt\
G1 G2 PE
0 24 0:113 5576 701
25
26
19
oidt
SELECT
624
330n

mnim
T e_IL-0
_26_0
CCM/
0 27
X1( 5V® 127
O
28
29
ci)
1--T ...2L__0
F11011j F118 R63
0 36 IC3 0 4 ...1_,,,
MI6 a +
0
R

K1 IC2 0 7 K2
s IC3b
555
556
R9 917
C
THR 6 THRES OUT

011 6 013,
TR 2
T4
TA

:::!, T Ft
rk
5
Cj., C2
T
ATik PST13BUSY
Kai
816
13
BC C'
cs '-
Tccrop 1730n.11, 5576 mom
730n
BC557B 6C5478 .:.:12.3 II

Fig. 1. Circuit diagram of the Centronics monitor.

fairly steady. All other signals that may be available, lines.

Signal lines STROBE, BUSY and ACK but are not strictly required for correct
require a different configuration because operation, are simply passed between the
they carry pulses rather than steady le- relevant pins of the input and output Power supply
vels. Three monostables in the form of socket of the monitor. Many Centronics An external supply will not be required in
Type 555 timer chips are therefore used to cables do not have separate ground wires, most cases because virtually all modern
drive the relevant LEDs. Inverter T3-R1s- but use commoned connector pins at both printers supply +5 V at pin 18, 35 or both.
Rio ensures that the BUSY LED lights ends. These pins are often connected by a Diodes D4 and Dia ensure compatibility of
when the associated line is actuated (i.e., single wire. the monitor with these printers, and also
logic high). Such an inverter is not re- Sixteen LEDs enable the user of the allow the unit to be powered from an ex-
quired for the ACK and STROBE lines, monitor to locate the possible source of ternal 10 V /50 mA power supply. Regula-
which are active -low. The associated 555s trouble at a glance: 8 data LEDs, 3 for the tor IC4 then provides the 5 V supply
are housed in dual timer ICs, a 556. handshaking lines, and 5 for the status voltage for the ICs and LEDs on the board.
ELEKTOR EI.ECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 uoMPUTERs

Connections
Connector Kr is a 36 -way Centronics Ri 00 5 8 8 8 8 0 6 6 6,
socket with straight solder pins. Push the
socket on to the PCB edge, while ensuring
B80 0 00
®
z m® cm
CB
CD

CI! \ Ca
Cal
: \1®®\"
-51
CB

C.
\\CCI:-

that the pins align with the copper islands. 0

Soldering is then straightforward. Con- 000 000
nector K is removed from a standard Cen-
tronics cable plug, and secured as Ki _ Two
types of connector exist: versions with
(
\ 00 0
0
4)
0 000
O
® 0
ie c7) \: c=
screws and versions with clamps for the
screening hood. The screw type is the bet- O0
0t17/--\--
ter for the present application.
00
,
,-. ,---,

o
© 0 0)10 rcjcDI
Ltk.
Pin Signal Source
1

2
STROBE
Data 0
I Computer
Computer
L
3 Data 1 Computer
4 Data 2 Computer
5 Data 3 Computer
o Data 4 Computer
7 Data 5 Computer
R rata R r.rimniitpr
9 Data 7 Computer
10 ACK Printer
11 BUSY Printer
PAPER
12 Printer
EMPTY
13

14
SELECT
AUTO
FEED XT
Printer

Computer
1",
18
G 0
051-0
C4r00=1 44-
DS

010
,
-0; 77, T T,1 a
15 n.c. C UD 0
I91 cc a aa
a a
ground C2 ?5
16
Dll 15. 013T2 T1 T3 T4 IC4
17 cnassis
D12 '(
18 r5 V Printer
r 1 16:113 I
"1°
C4 019
_1,4_0
19 ground a a
Cr
00412 10 0110 00110
20 ground
0
rb. CU 5 (1.5.
0 0 0 0
la
0
is
0 OctC 7-
21 ground
1
K1 CB - 1
K2
22 ground
00110
++
23 ground 1E1 R1 RB 00
24 ground Fig. 2. T ack layout and component mounting plan. A number of parts must be soldered
25 ground at both sides of the printed -circuit board.
26 ground
Parts list Ds;Dio = 1N4148
27 ground D19 = 1N4001
28 ground Resistors (±5%): Ti ;T2;1-4 = BC557B
1k0 SIL resistor array T3 = BC547B
29 ground R11;R14;1319-R24= 68052 ICI = 74HCT540
30 ground Ra;f112;R17 = 100Q IC2 = 555
Rio;Ria;Ria = IC3= 556
31 INIT Computer
Ris = 10k 1C4= 7805
32 ERROR Printer RI6= 4k7
33 n.c. Miscellaneous:
Capacitors: Kt = 36 -way Centronics socket with straight
34 n.c. Ci ;C4;Ca;C7 = 100n solder pins.
35 +5 V Printer C2;Ca;Cs;Cs = 330n K2 = 36 -way Centronics plug.
Enclosure: e.g., OKW model A9407113.
36 n.c. Semiconductors: PCB Type 890123 (see Readers Services
= LED; 3 mm; red page).

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 AS CROCONT ROL
by Simon Young*

This article discusses the evolution of the MCS-51 architecture

and how to use ASIC technology to extend the set of generic
features contained in the family members.

Intel offers the MCS-51 architecture to

customers in a number of ways.
The first is via standard products. such
as the 80051BH and 8052. These devices
are designed for the general microcon-
troller market, where the internal hardware
resources can be closely matched to the
system requirements.
The second is via Application Specific
Standard Product AssPs) developed for a
vertical market sharing a common set of
additional features. An example is the
8005 IFA, which augments the MCS-51
core features with a programmable counter
array. an enhanced serial port for multipro-
cessor communications and an up/down
timer/counter.
The third way to gain access to the
MCS-51 architecture is via Astc. and this
is the subject of this article. Intel offers to
customers the same capability it uses in
house to develop ASSPS.

MCS-51 Microcontrollers
The MCS-5I family of microcontrollers
was designed to meet the needs of embed-
ded control applications. The architecture
and instruction set were optimized for the
movement of data between internal memo-
ry and internal peripherals.
Figure la shows the NICS-5 l architec-
ture. The Special Function Register (s191)
bus connects the internal resources (such
as port latches. timers and peripheral con-
trol registers) with the CPU. The128 bytes
of on -chip 12,1M (between 00 hex and 7F
hex) can be addressed both with direct
(mov data addr) and indirect (Ntov @Ri)
addressing modes. Some devices. e.g., the
8052. provide an additional 128 bytes of
on -chip RAM for temporary data storage
between 80 hex and FF hex (dotted in
Fig. lb). This may be addressed only indi-
rectly - forming a useful area for the Typical 80051 core.based design.
stack.
The SFR space appears to the CPU as al data RANt discussed above. Of the 128 devices contain a complete Boolean (sin-
128 bytes of memory located between 80 locations. 21 are used in the 80051BH gle -bit) processor. The MCS-51 instruc-
hex and FF hex. This area of memory is standard product (26 on the 8052). tion set supports the Boolean processor
accessed only by direct addressing modes. The 64 Kbytes of external data memo- with instructions to move, set. clear, com-
in order to distinguish it from the addition - ry space are accessed with the MOW( plement. OR. AND. and conditional branch
instruction. on bit. This 'bit addressability allows
Another powerful feature of the MCS- individual bits to be tested and modified
51 architecture is the ability to address without the need of complex masking
'Simon Young is with Intel Corporation UK) individual bits within certain SFR and operations, with consequent significant
Ltd at Swindon internal RAM locations. All MCS-5 I improvements in speed.
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
56 COMPONENTS

,intei UC51: Intel's original

microcontroller core
IVICS-51 MEMORY STRUCTURE In 1985, Intel introduced the UC51, which
PROGRAM DATA was developed from the 1.5 gm CILMOS III
MEMORY MEMORY 80051BH standard product. The UC51
FFFF
allows designers to integrate the micro -
controller core, memory, memory -mapped
peripherals and cells from the 1.5 pm stan-
dard cell library on to a single chip.
In transforming the 80051BH into the
UC51 core cell, the i/o pads and pin multi-
FF plexers were removed. The internal
1-.":;ESSNG ADZ.,.EEZ-
peripherals, multiplexed address -data bus.
.43

control signals and input and output ports

80
EA=O EA=1 7F efecr,v.: all have dedicated signals.
PUFECT
ADDRESSM
With the ability to choose different
0000 00 amounts of program ROM(zero. 4 K. 8 K
or 16 K bytes) and data (up to l K
RAM

PSEN
bytes) with no loss in functionality, the
UC51 has been a very successful part of
Inters fisic offering.
In summary. the UC51 provides sys-
tems designers the capability to integrate a
Fig. la 'fixed' core and memory -mapped periph-
erals, complete with user -defined logic. on
min to a single Asir device. The ASIC resembles
an integrated version of the discrete solu-
tion, with increased flexibility because of
MCS=51 ARCHITECTURE the demultiplexed Vo. However, it is not
possible to apply the full power of the
External architecture and instruction set to memo-
Interrupts
ry -mapped peripherals.
TIMER2

TIMEF11
UCS51: Intel's next genera-
TIMERO tion microcontroller core
Intel have recently introduced the 1.:CS51
family of microcontroller and peripheral
CPU
cells into the 1.5 p.m CHMOS HI standard
cell library. The UCS5 I permits systems
designers to connect any of the available
128 oytes RAM peripheral cells or user -defined logic
BEZ 3 PORTS
-1 SERIAL PORT directly into the SFR space. The UCS51
cores then access the control registers
within these peripherals in exactly the
TXD RXD
PO P2 P1 P3
same way as any internal SFR register.
There are great benefits to be gained
from directly connecting peripherals to the
SFR bus:
Fig. lb
instructions operating on peripheral
At the time the first members of the As systems designers developed in- registers in the SFR space are more code -
MCS-51 family were introduced. there creasingly complex embedded control efficient then accessing memory -mapped
was no economic packaging for high pin - applications, the 8051 required additional registers indirectly (with movx t. so that
count devices. The parts were packaged in memory. peripherals and/or i/o ports. less program memory space is required;
40 -pin DIL packages: only recently have These had to be added externally as mem- register -direct -instructions tADD. ADDC,
PLCC packages been used. To provide ory or memory -mapped peripherals. SUBB, LNC, DEC. ANL. ORL. XRL, MOV, PUSH,
access to the internal hardware resources reducing the parallel i/o available on the POP. XCH, ONE and D1NZ) execute more
of the device, several functions. including 8051. Fully expanded in this way. only a quickly, giving improved system through-
port input and output signals, external single 8 -bit i/o port is available. While the put;
multiplexed address/data bus, serial port on -chip features and price -performance certain bytes in the SFR space (located
t/o, external interrupt signals and ratio of the 8051 make it still an attractive at x0 hex and x8 hex) are bit addressable:
timer/counter input signals had to be mul- proposition when compared with other mapping peripherals into these locations
tiplexed. Clearly. functions multiplexed on solutions. the end result is different from permits the bit -banging capabilities of the
the same pin rnzt not be used concurrent- what the 8051 was designed to be: a sin- Boolean processor to be applied to these
ly. gle -chip. stand-alone microcontroller. registers:

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 ASIC MICROCONTROLLERS
111
interface logic between the UCS51 intei
core and UCS5I peripherals is eliminated:
there is no need of an address latch.
address decoder or tri-state bus driver. UCS-51 ARCHITECTURE
The basic UCS51 core cell resembles a
UC5 1. PORT1 has been removed to provide EA:err.L
access to the si bus, although it may be Interrupts
replaced easily as described later.
Interfaces have been added for connecting TIMER1
ROM modules (either none or one of 4 K. 8
K. or 16 K bytes), a RAM module (same T1MERO
RAM as 8052) and an interrupt expansion
unit. A functional cell diagram is shown in
Fig. 2.
Demutc e Special Function Register Bus
Address

Additional interrupts
enhance real-time 128 bytes RAM
performance 4 10 PORTS SERIAL PORT

Unexpanded L:CS51 cores have five inter-

rupt signals available, as have the UC51 TXD RXD
and 80C5IBH. Users may configure the PO P2 P1 P3
internal peripheral interrupts for use as
general purpose interrupt signals. with no
S
ASIC LD
Fig. 2
change in priority levels and vector loca-
tions. It is also possible, by the use of the The baud rate generator cell is used to to the ASIC.
Interrupt Expansion Unit, to add a further generate clocks for the serial I/o peripheral The simulation output may be viewed
five external interrupts, making a total of or for user -defined logic. Operating from as text on the host. or returned to the
10. with complete flexibility of interrupt the 16 MHz system clock, the BRG gener- workstation for display and review in the
source, peripherals, on -chip or off -chip ates rates from 50 Hz to 4 MHz with an graphics condition.
logic. accuracy better than 02g. The ICE-UCS51 In Circuit Emulator
These five LSI peripheral cells and 16 allows the designer to develop and test
Lsi peripherals for configuring distinct core configurations complete the code for a CCS51-based ASIC, and to emu-
UCS5I offering at the time of launch: late the completed ASIC (core. peripherals
unique microcontroller cells more are in development. The 1.5 gm and user -defined logic) in the target sys-
The Bus Interface Unit is. perhaps. the standard cell library includes ssi. Nisi and tem. The ICE is a Pc -based emulator sys-
most important UCS51 peripheral cell. t/o functions and may also be inteerated tem. offering the same advanced features
Functionally. it is and 8 -bit input, 8 -bit on a UCS51-based ASIC. as Intel's other ICE systems.
output SFR bus interface. With it, designers The UCS51 core is tested with a slight-
may replace PORT1 and add further demul- ly modified version of the 80051BH stan-
tiplexed i/o ports as needed. CADtools aid development of dard product test program. guaranteeing
This cell is also used to interface microcontroller-based ASICS functional and parametric equivalence to
between on -chip user -defined logic and The Design Entry Tool. DEr. provides a the standard part. The peripherals are test-
the SFR bus. Thus, customer developed high-level. menu -driven means of config- ed in the same way.
logic using cells from the 1.5 pm standard uring the core hardware resources. The The designer is responsible only for his
cell library may be mapped directly into UCS51 core options are RAM. ROM or user -defined 102k, and provides TPDL and
the SFR space to gain the advantages dis- interrupts. Adding a peripheral requires ExtASM51.
cussed previously. two data to be entered: the peripheral type The result is standard product!" quality
The 8 -bit. 8 -channel successive and the address of its control registers in and reliability: an AQL of 0.1q- is guaran-
approximation ADC has a nominal conver- the SFR space. teed.
sion speed of 20 t.ts at a core frequency of The DEr outputs a symbol for this core.
16 MHz. A conversion may be triggered The desiener simply adds the user -defined
by hardware or software, with an interrupt logic he requires, surrounds this with the Summary
generated on completion. I/o pads and the design capture is com- Inters family of UCS51 core and peripher-
Timer2 is a 16 -bit timer/counter cell. plete. al cells provides the systems designer with
enhanced over the Timer2 found on the Once captured. the designs netlist is unprecedented flexibility in ASIC design.
8052 standard product and some ASSPS. transmitted to MDVS - Intel's Mainframe Not only is access provided to the basic
The serial 1/o cell is a full -duplex serial Design Verification System based on core architecture of the 8051, but also to a
port, enhanced from the serial channel VAX/ZyCad hardware. Full -timing gate - specialized set of peripheral cells. The
contained in the 80051BH by the addition level simulation of the entire chip is possi- design tools guide the designer through
of a new mode: Mode 4. This mode pro- ble with vectors written in TDPL - Intel's design capture. simulation and test vector
vides 9-. 10-. 11- or 12 -bit transfers with Test Pattern Development Language - and developments. All components of the
variable baud rate. In Mode 4. the ExtASM51. ExtASIv151 provides 8051 UCS51 family were developed with one
UCS51SIO cell also generates parity for assembly source code and simulation stim- overriding aim: to provide guaranteed suc-
transmission and detects framing. overrun ulus, and synchronizes the execution of cess of UCS5I-based ASIC devices.
and parity errors on reception. instructions with external stimulus applied
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 APPLICATION NOTES
The contents of this article are based on information obtained from
manufacturers in the electronics industry, and do not imply practical
experience by Elektor Electronics or its consultants.

HAYES-COMPATIBLE V22bis MODEM

source: Silicon Systems, Inc.

The SSI73D2404 is a set of three chips from Silicon Systems Inc. that
provides the data pump function required to construct a
high-performance 2400bps full -duplex intelligent modem for use
over the dial -up telephone network. The chip set includes operating
modes compatible with CCITT V22bis, V22, V21, as well as Bell 212A
and Bell 103 data communications standards.

Using advanced CMOS processes that in- Operation shift keying) modulator /demodulator
clude analogue, digital signal processing functions, call progress and handshake
and switched capacitor techniques, SSI's The SSI 73D2-10-1 is a complete V22bis in- tone monitors, test modes and a tone gen-
73D2404 is claimed to offer excellent per- telligent modem contained in three CMOS erator capable of producing DTMF (dual -
formance and a high level of functional ICs. The device set forms the basis for a tone multi -frequency), answer and CCITT
integration in a compact three -chip set stand-alone modern with self-contained guard tones. This device supports the
that includes one 40 -pin and two 28 -pin command interpreter, indicator LEDs, de- V22bis, V22, V21 and Bell 212A/103 oper-
dual -in -line (DIL) packages. fault switches and interface lines for an ating modes, both synchronous and asyn-
The chip set is ideal for use in stand- RS232 serial port. Both data and com-
alone as well as integral system modem mands are passed over the serial port as
products where full -duplex 2400 bit per customary for modems in the PC environ-
second (bps) data communications over ment. SSI MODEM CHIP SET
the two -wire public telephone network is The SSI 73D2404 provides the QAM
desired. (quadrature amplitude modulation), PSK Multi -mode V22bis. V22, V21 and
(phase shift keying) and FSK (frequency Bell 2121003 compatible device set for
intelligent modem designs
Full -duplex operation at 300, 1200. and
2400 baud with all operating modes botr.,
synchronous and asynchronous
Includes high-level 'AT' command inter-
preter compatible with 2400 baud indus-
try standard products
Complete complement of 'AT' modem
features
Selectable automatic speed select, hang -
shake and baudrate detect functions
Supports external non-volatile memory
to store user configurations
Adaptive equalization for optimum perfor-
mance over all lines
Dynamic range from 0 to -45 dBm
Call progress. carrier and answer tone
detectors provide intelligent dialling func-
tions
DTMF and CCITT guard tone generators
551 24040S DEMONSTRATOR Test modes available: ALB, DL, RDL for
complete test capability
Space -efficient 28- and 40 -pin DiPs
All-CMOS technology for low -power con-
sumption (<600 mW at 5 V)

ELENTOR EI.ECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 HAYES-COMPAT1BLE V22bis MODEM 59
chronous. The 73D2404 is designed to pro- SPEED PROTOCOL COMPAT1BLILTY GUIDE
vide functions needed for an intelligent
modem, and includes auto -dial and auto - 7302404 originating as:
answer, handshake with auto -fallback,
and selectable pulse or DT\IF dialling se- Bell ccrrr
quences to simplify these designs. Calling a: 300 1200 300 1200 2400

The chips set consist of three devices. Bet 300 (103) 300 300 300
The SSI73M214 is an analogue processor 1200 (212) 300 1200 1200 1200
that performs the filtering, timing adjust- 2400` 1224) 300 1200 1200 2400
ment, level detection and modulation CCITT 300 (V.21) 300 - -
functions. The 73D215 is the receiver digi-
1200 (V.22) 300 1200 - 1200 1200
tal signal processor. The 73D216 is a com-
mand processor that provides 2400 (V.22 his) 300 1200 1200 2400

supervisory control and command inter- 7302404 answering as:

pretation. Bell cc rn-
Called from a: 300 1200 - 300 1200 2400

- 300
QAM Bet 300 (103) 300 300

(212) 300 1200 - 1200 1200

modulator/demodulator 1200

2400 (224) 300 1200 1200 2400

The SSI73D2404 scrambles and encodes CCITT 300 (V21) - ..
300 - -
the 2400bps incoming data into quad bits 1200 (V.22) 300 1203 - 1200 1200
represented by 16 possible signal points 2400 (V.22 his) 3C-3 1203 - 1200 2400
as specified by CCITT recommendation
V22bis. The modulator transmits this en- ' A Beg 2400 is a V.22 Hs using a 7925 Hz ans-iver. tone wirout uracrarnNed marks
coded data using either a 1200 Hz (origin-
ate mode) or 2400 Hz (answer mode) 890122 -T1
carrier. The demodulator reverses this "AT" COMMANDS SUPPORTED
procedure and recovers a data clock from (Note. s=string; n.decirnal. 0-255. x.boolean. 01 =I alsefaue)
the incoming signal. Adaptive equalisa- COMMAND OPT1CMS DEFAULT
tion corrects for different line conditions N.A
A/ Repeats last command the
by automatically changing filter parame-
A Answer NIA
ters to compensate for line characteristics.
8x BaliCCITT =110 answer tone @1200 (N/A @2400) 1

Ds Mal string specified by s No string

PSK modulator/demodulator Ex Command echo, 01 = olVon 1

Mn Rack status. WI = orithl N/A

In PSK mode, the 73D2404 modulates the 113 code. 0/12/3/4 (see Table 8) N/A
In
1200bps incoming data using a subset of Kn SSi test N/A
the QAM signal points as specified by 1.0 Speaker volume. (0)112.3 = kinnecVhi 2
CCITT recommendation V22bis, V22 and Mn Speaker. 0i1/213 . control (see Table 3) 1
Bell 212A. The PSK demodulator is simi- On Orin. Oran on-linairetrainzxi retrain (see Table 4) WA
lar to the QA NI demodulator. P Pulse dal Pulse
Or Oulet result, Oil = 1 -quiet 0

FSK modulator/demodulator R Reverse originate WA

Srokn Set S register (see Table 2) NA
The FSK transmitter frequency modulates Sn? Return waif) in register n (see Table 2) WA
the analogue output signal using two dis- T Touch tone dial Pulse
crete frequencies to represent the binary Ux User help screen. Sreg, dal string, data format NA
data. The Bell 103 standard frequencies of Vx Verbose result, 0/1 otfion 1

1270 Hz and 1070 Hz (originate mark and xn Result code. 801/2/314 (see Table 1) 4
space) and 2225 Hz and 2025 Hz (answer Yx Enable tong space cisconnect. 1 = enable 0
mark and space), or the V21 standard fre- Z Restore from Non-Volable Memory WA
quencies of 980 Hz and 1180 Hz (originate &Cs Canter detect override, 0/1 = on:non:nal 0
mark and space) and 1650 Hz and &Dn DM node, 0/12/3 (see Table 5) 0
1850 Hz (answer mark and space) are &F Restore to factory ooh figuration NIA
used when this mode is selected. De-
modulation involves detecting the re- [- &Gn CCITT guard lone. 0/1/2 = 001800550 0
Six Auxilary relay control 0
ceived frequencies and decoding them MA AsyncrSync rnade. 0/1/2/3 (see Table 6) 0
into the appropriate binary value. &Rx Enable RTS/CTS 0
&Sx DSR override. GI .oWnormal 0
ftA
Passband filters and &Tn
EN
Test mode (see Table 7)
Pulse dal mode. OM .U.SAI.K. 0
equalisers &W write current configuration to NVRAM HA
AXn Sync Tx dock mode. 0/1/2-infiext'slave 0
A bandsplit filter is included to shape the AZs Store a telephone number -string HA
__....

amplitude and phase response of the

transmit signal into a square root, 755'r - Factory cdrifiguration'
81 El Fl t,2 /41 P 00 V1 X4 YO &CO &DO &GO &JO &MO &PO SRO &SO &T4 4X0
raised, cosine, and provided rejection of
out -of -band signals in the receive channel. Dial string arguments'
- delay I = Rash
C = silent answer
.. return to command s dal stored nurnbv;r W = meat for tone R.reverse node

Asynchronous modes 'It tne NovRAM nas not been intatzed il may be necessary to Power doer:Power up and type
AT&F&W4cn to property iritiatze modern stale.
The asynchronous mode is used for com- 890122 - T2
munication between asynchronous termi-
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
60 APPLICATION NOTES

LSO
LETA U. to DSO R.5 ).133
tID RI 03
TX/
LS35
.1_7X
R233<<
1.770 1.1.58%<13 A
RED
5 X112 V
WE
RI CO
PITS
/3

1.17E
TX
CTS <<Cts
3

LEO
TX
15.5 R.2 R.3
SPL'»-111F
LS35

.>2LP1C »Ca R'7

13E
LEO 9/(2.3-2-
RATE
COO

USE
TX
RATE ((Hs

LEF WA Pa
RI
RPt

PIa A
PA

T2C.X

EXCLPC
LS35
01R
7 to DM
OTR
215 PO

247 0
00

RE1

s vss ,3YCC
Al 2 3M9
A2 3 ,1
A3Ai 17 14:543. -GM
CUM 1CCE
svertoi I .5
"4 7 .5
AS
RTS>> 21 1
IMO La
GNI
.2

LP,
GAO

ram 10
taC aro
cHl 01271

CNa U11
Gac 03c
ER
.0c
CO
20C
HS
30c
U
CFI
501. .2
10.c *5 FE

IC c .1 GPO to Ifni )1 17
4.°SC
XAA1
SO
SOL .5
PART A
RED 11=x7
F..F,,.
Bi!
GAD 00
_L
890122-12

Fig. 1. SSI 73D2404 modem chip set in a sample application circuit.

nals which may vary the data rate from modulator. The 73D2-10-1 recognizes a Synchronous modes
+1.5q to -1.51. When transmitting in this break signal and handles it in accordance
mode. the serial data on the TXD input is with Bell 212A specifications. Received Synchronous operation is possible
passed through a rate converter that in- data is processed in a similar manner ex- only with the QAN1 or PSK mode. Oper-
serts or deletes stop bits in the serial bit cept that the rate converter now acts to ation is similar to that of the asynchronous
stream in order to supply a signal whose reinsert any deleted stop bits. An incom- mode except that data must be syn-
data rate is accurate to 0.01c -r. The signal ing break signal will be passed through chronized to a clock, and no variation in
is routed to a data scrambler (following without incorrectly inserting a stop bit. data transfer rate is allowable. Serial input
the CCITT V22bis algorithm) and into the data appearing at the ix D terminal must
EI.EKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
 HAYES-COMPATIBLE V22bis MODEM 61

74L533
10

U155 nee

IC

n l- III.
J_
Mit" , c rn:_...0
CCD 2 39 'ICO 0
Pa 3 . 30,
Ds. i 37 302
CU
f-12-t..14 <1c.sda
Haw 6
2 35 1133
z )04
=011D j_
-an
7 at IPS a gaff a 3vD0 Ru.
Pa MA 3 32 3C LAMBE Mat 2 27 3Paa
ft67 3
I 3'
307 DIME
Mc(
a
oft
POD 3 3314"1) <=1 Aahz
a
\ a 34c.,
31
4
wont
la 11 i 331'41" 5 a s 31UP-1M
Ta11:713 12 Z13 00 DI C 3 2 2, 173a 'co
13 34 Ali DI 7
z' raz = 37122.0
NME a 1" 03c i 3, 3TINT5
a
14 02
Pee
11M70 is 33 AU 03 tome
9 3r2A C> 73A
199 aC ID II w( o 3m=
ACI3 :31 : iA.M121
II IS \sour( u
32 11 32 3.1* DI
11
CI zit
21
IC 17 561415c tit 17 ]std
2,2 r.9 D7
13 13 dC 33 13 3172ACT
GM
.1 - 14 v3 yfg V34 14 Ui 1s 301
=OM
174:0 MID=
.S11110,4..
arcs
OPM

890122-11

Fig. 2. SSI73D2404 system interconnection diagram.

be valid on the falling edge of signal varying line characteristics by adjusting Systems Inc.
TXCI.K. Receive data at the RXD output is taps on a multi -tap FIR filter. Optimum
clocked out on the rising edge of signal performance is obtained with this tech- Silicon Systems Inc. 14331 Nlyford Road
RXCLK. The async/svnc converter is by- nique over a wide range of line conditions. Tustin CA 92680 U.S.A. Telephone
passed when synchronous mode is se- When the line quality deteriorates to a (714) 731-7110.
lected and data is transmitted out at the specified level, the 73D2404 can automat-
same rate as is input. ically initiate a retrain of the equalizer to SSI European Headquarters:
re-establish data communications with- Silicon Systems International Woodpec-
Automatic handshake out the need to go through a complete kers The Common West Chiltington
handshake sequence. PULBOROUGH RH2O 2PL. Telephone:
The SSI73D2404 will automatically per- 07983 2331. Fax: 07983 2117.
form a complete handshake as defined by
V22bis, V22 and Bell 212A/103 standards AT -standard command UK distributor for SSI products is I'ronto
to connect with a remote modem. The interpreter Electronic Systems Ltd. City Gate House
73D2404 automatically determines the 399-423 Eastern Avenue Gants Hill
speed and operating mode and adjusts its The SSI73D2404 includes an AT command Ilford Essex IG2 6LR. Telephone: (01
operation to correspond to that of an interpreter that is compatible with the 554) 6222. Fax: (01 518) 3222.
answering modem when originating a Hayes 2400 SmartModeniTm command set.
call_ Functions and features included with in-
telligent modems are provided by the
Test modes 73D2404 command interpreter. An over-
view of supported commands is given in
The SS173D2404 allows the use of anal- Table 1.
ogue loopback, digital loopback and
remote digital loopback test modes. Full
test mode capability allows testing of the Non-volatile memory
modem and interface functions from the The SSI73D2404 supports connection to
local terminal using the appropriate con- an external non-volatile memory, e.g.,
trol commands, or remotely using the Xicor's X2444, to store a dial string and the
RDL function. current AT command configuration. The
use of a non-volatile RAM is illustrated in
Adaptive equalization with the application circuit.
auto -retrain Source:
The SSI73D2404 uses adaptive equaliza- 55173D2404 V.22bis 2400 bps Modem De-
tion which automatically compensates for vice Set, June 1988, published by Silicon
ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989
62

PRACTICAL FILTER DESIGN PART 8

by H. Baggott

The Chebishev section has one of the steepest cut-off profiles of all
types of filter. Unfortunately, it also has a limiting deficiency: a
ripple in the pass band. The Chebishev filter can be dimensioned
in various ways: the ripple is at all times limited to a certain
value. This part of the series includes the Chebishev design tables
for a ripple of 0.1 dB.

The Chebishev function is one of the most profile is less steep. In practice. a compro- The computation of the Chebishev
effective functions for realizing a filter: it mise is reached, be -cause in virtually all poles can be done in two ways. In the first.
combines a pronounced bend at the cut-off applications a ripple exceeding 1 dB is use is made of the Chebishev polynomials.
point with a sharp profile. This combina- unacceptable. This part and Part 9 will while in the second the real part of the
tion also results in ringing. which. by care- deal with Chebishev filters with a 0.1 dB poles of a Butterworth transfer function
ful design can fortunately be kept within a and a 0.5 dB ripple respectively. These are are multiplied with a constant factor.
given value. There is. however. a direct the values that satisfy most applications. which results in a shifting of the poles
relation between the cut-off profile and the .1 general drawback of Chebishev fil- from a circle to an ellipse. Note that in the
ringing: if the former is made steeper. the ters is the very irregular delay time that. Chebishev polynomials the cut-off point is
latter becomes more pronounced: and if for instance, makes the filter unsuitable for not at -3 dB. but the tables take this into
the ringing is kept to a small value. the use in loudspeaker cross -over networks. account.

Table 10 Table i
11 -C=1--"--- - - - -------ii
0-1=1-----7-
I.... - --'-':'-'-
ar:.'4÷_0
o='-'

0 .__
-

real part imaginary n C1 L1 j C2 L2 C3 L3 C4 L4 C5 L5

n - a part ± 0
2 0.08908 0.486
2 0.6074 0.7112 3 0.228 0.2536 0.288
3 0.348 0.871 4 0.06999 0.5136 0.1539 i
0.4546
0.696 5 0.2071 0.2476 0.3567 0.2476 0.2071
6 0.06584 0.4883 0.1524 0.5908 0.1559 0.4446
4 0.2174 0.9292 0.2008 0.2419 0.3564 0.2674
7 0.3564 0.2419 0.2008
0.5248 0.3849 8 0.06433 0.4779 10.1498 0.5876 0.5987
0.161 0.1554 0.4407
5 0.1466 0.9565 9 0.1981 0.239 0.3536 0.2678 0.3654 0.2678 0.3536 0.239 0.1981
0.3838 0.5912 10 0.06363 0.4729 0.1484 0.5833 0.1606 0.6036 0.1626 0.5995 0.155 0.4388
0.4744
L1 C1 : L2 C2 L3 C3 L4 C4 L5 C5
6 0.1049 0.9715
0.2865 0.7112 Kai t+)

7
0.3913
0.07846
0.2198
0.2603
0.9806
0.7863
- -- - =0 0
0.3177 0.4364
Table 11. Standardized component values for passive low-pass filters with an input impedance to output impedance ratio
0.3526
of 2:1 for even order sections and 1:1 for odd -order filters.
8 0.06079 0.9864
0.1731 0.8363
0.2591 0.5588 Table 12 -i'---11

9
0.3056
0.04844
0.1962
0.9905 2 ell: 0,4,
0 '-' -ri-i=
.-.
Ld

0.1395 0.871
0.2137 0.6465 n L1 C1 L2 C2 L3 C3 L4 C4 L5 C5
0.2621 0.344 2 0.2214 0.1304
0.2789 3 0.2408 0.2402 0.114
10 0.03947 0.9934 4 0.2404 0.2814 0.2316 0.107
0.1145 0.8962 5 0.2485 0.2876 0.2811 0.2256 0.1036
0.1784 0.7112 6 0.2441 0.2998 0.2913 0.2783 0.2218 0.1016
0.2248 0.4566 7 0.2506 0.2957 0.3057 0.2908 0.276 0.2914 0.1004
0.2492 0.1573 8 0.2454 0.3041 0.3025 0.3064 0.2897 0.2742 0.2178 0.0996
9 0.2515 0.298 0.3117 0.3039 0.306 0.2886 0.273 0.2166 0.09904
Table 10. Pole locations of 10 0.2461 0.3056 0.3058 0.3135 0.304 0.3055 0.2878 0.272 0.2158 0.09864
Chebishev filters with 0.1 dB
ripple. Table 12 Standardized component values for passive low-pass sections with negligible source impedance.

EI.EKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 PRACTICAL FILTER DESIGN - PART 8 63
Table 13
GAIN GAIN
n C1 C2 C1 I C2 C3 08
1.25 15.00
2 0.2607 0.1107 I

3 1,0589 0.2905 0.02141 a=5.10

.00 A I
.00
4 0.7308 0.03836 .-3
1

0.3024 0.1975
ia-4''f- 1 1
5 1,0838 0.02515 -1.25 av6'
../r
15.00
0.7076 0.4011 0.06054 i

a=2
6 1,5169 0.01767
0.555 0.07826 -2.50
0.4063 0.2627 ...=.5

7 2,026 0.01304 e=6

0.7235 0.05301 -3.75 v=5
0.8236 0.5287 0.09061
n=10
8 2,6165 0.01001 /
0.9188 0.03817 -5.00 5: X
0.6139 0.1097 00e
F1E01ENE1 S IN H2
10

0.3613 0.3697
9 3,285 0.00793
1,1411 0.02884
0.7445 0.07409
0.9858 1
0.6622 0.1191 Fig. 42. Gain vs frequency characteristics of Chebishev filters with a 0.1 dB
10 4,0298 0.00643 ripple.
1,3889 0.02258
0.8917 0.0534
0.7078 0.1394
0.6384 0.4579

Table 13. Standardized component values for active filters with single
DELAY
feedback path. SEC
3.15

910

v=5
14
Filter with 0.1 dB ripple or{
Tables 10-14 give all information necessary for the computa- 318.23X5

tion of Chebishev filters from the 2nd to the 10th order with a
ripple of 0.1 dB. Note. however, that the values for odd -order 10316

filters in Table II apply to sections whose input to output impe-

dance ratio is 1:2 (if a T configuration) or 2:1 (if a it filter). 31-62K5
The gain vs frequency curves in Fig. 42 clearly show the
sharp profile of this type of filter, while the ripple is hardly
noticeable. The delay time vs frequency curves in Fig. 43 give 1003 10
a rather worse picture than those of the filters discussed in pre- FREOVENCY IN HZ

vious parts of this article. The step response in Fig. 44 clearly

shows the ringing. Note that the curves in Fig. 43 and Fig. 44
do not improve all that much if a lower value ripple is chosen. Fig. 43. Delay time vs frequency characteristics of Chebishev filters with a
0.1 dB ripple.

Two examples
As in previous parts. we give two examples of how to compute
a filter. This time, we take a band-pass filter and a complex 1.25
low-pass section in a double opamp configuration.
1.00

Example 1. .75
Compute a passive band-pass filter with a centre frequency of
.50
1 kHz and a bandwidth of 100 Hz. The attenuation at 900 Hz
and 1100 Hz must be at least 20 dB. The output impedance is to .25

be 600 S2 and the output impedance of the amplifier to which .00

the filter is to be connected is negligible.
1.25

Solution. 1.00
Since the centre frequency is known. it need not be computed. .75
a-2
We calculate the frequencies corresponding to 900 Hz and n-4

1100 Hz but at the opposite side of the filter referred to the cen- _50
a_6
tre frequency to find the sharpest roll -off. The frequency asso- -25
.-13

ciated with 900 Hz is:

-CO
0 2
TINE IN $
f2= 10002 / 900 = 1111 Hz,

and that associated with 1100 Hz is: Fig. 44. Step response of Chebishev filters with a 0.1 dB ripple.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

64 COMPONENTS

LI L2

114
C11 R1
R4
i12,1;32

LI L2

MEM

LI
C 2 C3

CHE3 E%JcJ- 15
17'5 CI L3 37n3
N azi

7410 Ern33H Fig. 46. Example of a state -variable filter with a cut-off frequency of 3 kHz.

rauss 890050.14
1

Fig. 45. Designing a passive band-pass filter: (a) L3 = 1/C1( 2402 = 1/4x10-6(2rtl 000)2 = = 1/47raCfk=
standardized high-pass section: adjusting val- = 1/4rrx3000x0.6074x4.7x10-9 =
ues for required bandwidth: (c) conversion to = 6.33x10-3 = 6.33 mH = 9291
band-pass filter
C.; = 1/L2(2402 = 1/0.68(27E1000)2. R3 = R4 = 1/2r(Cf01(a2+132)=
= 1/2rix3000x4.7x10-9x
/1=10002 / 1100 = 909 Hz. = 3.73x10-8 = 37.3 nF x(0.60742+0.71122) = 12068 Ll

The frequencies closest to 1 kHz are Note that the central frequency of the Resistors R-, and R4 may be a combina-
909 Hz and 1100 Hz, so that the band- band-pass section is used only for the tion of a fixed resistor and a preset poten-
width at the -20 dB points is 191 Hz. computation of the values of those compo- tiometer to enable the cut-off frequency
In the characteristics, we now have to nents that are added during the conversion and Q -factor of the section to be set accu-
find a filter that provides an attenuation of process. rately.
not less than 20 dB at a standardized fre-
quency of 191/100 = 1.91 Hz (note that Example 2.
for a low-pass section the bandwidth. not Design an active high-pass filter with a
the central frequency, is the basis of the cut-off frequency of 3 kHz and a slope of
design). From the data, we choose a third - 12 dB/octave. It is essential that the cut-
order. 0.1 dB Chebishev section: this pro- off frequency can be set accurately. The Correction to Part 3
vides an attenuation of about 22 dB at gain of the section must be 14 dB (x5). From the foregoing in this part of the
f= 2 Hz (estimated between a second- and series, you will have noticed that resistors
a fourth -order filter). Solution. R, and R4 and NOT R1 and R3 (as stated
Figure 45a shows the circuit diagram This type of section is best realized by a in Part 3) are used for setting the parame-
of a third -order low-pass section. The state -variable filter (see Fig. 17 -Part 3). ters of the state -variable section. Thus, R4
standardized component values are For convenience. we again choose a serves to set the maximum output voltage
derived from Table 12. Next, the 'real Chebishev filter. The state -variable filter is of Al at to. while R, is used to set the
values are calculated for a terminal based on the poles of a second -order filter bandwidth to the value at which the Q -fac-
impedance of 600 fi and a cut-off frequen- in Table 10: tor is calculated.
cy equal to the -3 dB bandwidth (100 Hz).
-CL = 0.6074
= LRIf= 1.4448 H
=±0.7112
C1 = Cl/2f= 4.003x 10-6 = 4µF
First, we choose a value for C. say.
=LRIf= 0.684 H 4.7 nF. Resistors R are given a value of
33 ka The other resistor values are then
Then follows the transformation from a calculated with the aid of formulas [19].
low-pass to a band-pass filter as explained [20], [21] and [22]. but note that all values
in Part 5, which results in the filter shown so obtained must be divided by the cut-off
in Fig. 45c. The remaining components frequency since the formulas give values
are calculated with the aid of formulas forf= 1 Hz.
[34]. and [35] (Part 5):
R1 = 1/[2rtfkACNI(ot24.132)] =
C-, = 1/LA 2rtfc)2 = 1/1.45(2711000)2 = = 1/27m3000x5x4.7x10-9X
KM0.60742+0.71122) = 2414 SI
= 1.75x10-8 = 17.5 nF

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

 Please mention ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS when contacting advertisers 13 1

FIRST QUALITY SECOND USER

EQUIPMENT
Carston Carston Carston Canton
APLAB Guide Pnce MARCONI Guide Price £
TIS115j230f500 Cortverter.500VA capacity 550 TF893B Power meter 495
ROHDE AND SCHWARZ
CENTRONICS HAP Power meter with 23 probe
353 180 CPS Line printer 195 to 1 GHz 1400
SOLARTRON
FLUKE 9000A -Z80 Z80 POD for 9010A 250 35300 Data logger 3600
353016 Solid stale card 250
SUN 350 Workstation, 14"
HEWLETT-PACKARD
colour 4 Mb mem 11400
4951A-001 Protocol Analyser 1500
1630G Logic Analyser 4500
16500A Logic Analyser mainframe 3900 Is your Carston Stock
16510A 80 channel card 2650
16515A 16 channel, 1 GHz card 5750 Guide Up -to -Date?
16521A 48 channel pattern ge. card 3300
8901B1001 Audio Analyser
8620C Sweeper mainframe
6900
1500
If not Phone 01-943 4477
86290B Sweeper plug-in 4000
6388A 3 GHz counter. HPIB 1450 Carscon Electronics Limited
8970B With option H18. noise figure meter 1 Pell GLR Tel 01-7.4j

to 1800 MHz 5500 rIK e. 938120

>r 1111 : TEKTRONIC

577
SAY-Vagili
111--
'Amp: Curve tracer

---
'..
--
4,6
£4500
... 4.
HEWLETT-PACKARD 8350A Systems
Various Configs. available on reques: PHILIPS PM3295 Scope £2900 1 12g0;411

STAN WILLETTS
37 HIGH STREET, WEST BROMWICH, WEST MIDLANDS B70 6PB
TEL: 021 553 0186 OFFICE: 021 559 1437
'FERGUSON'
SMO1 SMO1
Satellite Television Receiver SMO1
99 channel digital display, 13 . 11 x 2.:4 inches
Full -band operation (950-1700MHz)
REMOTE CONTROL
All boxed with operating instructions.
Can be seen working at the above address £99 P&P £5

REDIFFUSION TRANSLATORS GRUNDIG INFRA -RED REMOTE CONTROL VIF-K1

8 -way "PREOMAT T.V. Tuning, U.H.F. with A.V.C. MAINS power Consists of Transmitter TPV355 and Receiver VIF-El.
supply 240V. IN CABINET 14 x 71/2 x 3Y2 inches. Suitable for use with a GRUNDIG 2x2 Super Video.
The Translator may be used directly into cable T.V. or modified for use Brand new & boxed complete with 6V battery £4.99 P&P £2.
with a monitor or V.C.R. Al CONDITION £4.99 P&P £3. Circuit Diagram 75p.
FAULTY OR DAMAGED Units 3 for £10 P&P £4. VIF-ELs 10 for £12.99 P&P £4.
VIDEO TAPES V2000 -MEMOREX" Brand new & boxed VCC360 £6.99, VCC480 £7.99 P&P £1. -CB" CONVERTERS 40 channel. works in
conjunction with standard 12V car radio (AM). Brand new boxed £2.50 P&P 75p. GRUNDIG Television battery lead 41/2m 99p. GRUNDIG
MAGNETIC HEADPHONES (MINIATURE) 95p. -VIDEOLAEF E180 Video Tapes. Premium quality V.H.S. Brand new & boxed 5 for £10 P&P £2.
PLEASE NOTE: We are interested in purchasing any surplus equipment. TV's. Video's. Cameras etc.

ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1989

FLAME MASTER
HOT GAS SOLDERING TOOL
Superb Pocket Size Portable Gas
----- Soldering Iron
CON L-Vr * Interchangeable Tips *
* Powered by Butane Gas
)c 19:11-46o * Simple to Refill
* Temperature up to 400 C (750-F)
* Up to 2 Hours Continuous Use
FLAME MASTER
5 IN 1 HOT GAS TOOL KIT
Complete with tough moulded to measure case and including:
MULTI -PURPOSE TOOL
* 4 Interchangeable Soldering Iron Tips
* Soldering Iron
* Hot Cutting Knife
* Wide Area Flame Torch
* High Temperature Flame Torch
* Hot Air Blower
GREAT FOR
* Electrical and Electric Work
* Cutting Plastics and Fibres
* Sealing. Bonding and Shrinking
* Removing Paint and Putty

The Flame Master hot gas tool kit has many uses. It can be a soldering iron,
a pencil flame torch. a hot air blower or a wide (flat) flame torch.
You can fit the soldering head with a selection of soldering tips and the hot knife, or you
can fit the flame head, onto which you can attach the hot blower or the wide flame unit.
The choice is yours!

Order Coupon Send this coupon to P.O. Box 3, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 8LR
ELECTRO ICS
Quantity Desaiption Code Pnce

C 114 la' ©ann moy-u-LumL

Name - ----
Ada Carnage 5Cp

0702 55416'
It (riff balsa
Address crease add 5.13
Post Code Total
I author -se you to darn my Credit Card account for the cost of goods despatched_

Credit Card No,

PHONE BEFORE 5PM FOR SAME DAY DESPATCH
Access Amex Visa Delete as reqwred_
ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT.
It ordering by Credit Card Vease sign
All items subject to availability, both items will be on sale in our shops in
Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Hammersmith, Edgware, Manchester, Nottingham,
Expiry date of Credit Card Southampton and Southend-on-Sea.