THE PRACTICAL MAGAZINE WITH THE PROFESSIONAL APPROACH

May 1988

el& Signal processing and electronic encryption

Microcontroller-driven PSU

ectrooics VLF convertor

Plotter UK £1.50
IR £2.20
(incl. VAT)
EE
tv1ay 1988

PRINTERS
BBC Micro Computer System EPSON
LX1300 £179 (a) TAXAN KP815 t80 coil £249 (a)
BBC MASTER SERIES: WORD PROCESSOR ROMs: FX800 £295 (al KP915 (156 colt £350 (a)
Ah1815 BBC MASTER 128K E356 lac V:EW 2.1 . £35 (d) VIEW 3.0 . £48 (c1 FX1000 £405 (a) BROTHER HFt20 £349 fa)
ADC06 Turbo 16501021 Card £95 (dl Sper'mester. C49 (dl VIEW INDEX E12 (dl EX800 £395 1a) STAR LC10 £209 fa)
ADC08 512 Processor £185 WORDW1SE E24 (d) WORDW1SE, £38 (dl EX1000 £539 (a) JUKI 6100 (Daisy Wheel) .... £295 (al
ADF14 Rom Cartridge £13 (dl SPELLCHECK III GQ 3500 (laser) [1.350 INTEGRE( (Colour) £519 (a)
ADF10 Econet Card £40 (dl WYSIVAG+ E21 Id) E31 (dl LE1500 £329 (a) NAT PANASONIC KX P 1081. £149 (al
ADJ22 Ref. Manual I E14 (c) INTERWORD E46 (d) EDWORD II £43 (al Loaso (eo col) £419 (a) NAT PANASONIC KX P 3131. £249 (a)
ADJ23 Ref. Manual Part II £14 (c) L01050 (136 coil E529 (a) NAT PANASONIC KX P1082 . £176 fa)
ADJ24 Adv Ref Manual LANGUAGE ROMS:
£18 (c) We hoe in stock a large variety of printer .tt.,J.,,wits, interfaces anti consumables
Micro Prolog £62 (c) Microtext E52 (c)
BBC ARCHIMEDES ISO PASCAL £51 (c) LOGOTRON E55 (cl Pfiaase write or phone for detects..
Please enquire about avagabilty and LOGO £46 (c) MACROM £33 (dl
details of the tern. USP £39 (dl COMAL £43 (dl ACCESSORIES
Oxford Pascal £36 (Cl BUFFALO 32K Buffer for Epson printers E75 (dl; FX80 plus sheet feeder E129 nth
UPGRADE KITS: EPSON Serial Interface: 8143 £30 (b); 8148 with 2K buffer £65 (oh
1_2 OS ROM £15 (dl COMMUNICATIONS ROMS:
DNFS ROM £19 EPSON Paper Roll Holder E171131; FX80:80+05 Tractor Attach £37 (b); RXE(80
(dl TERMULATOR £25 (dl Dust Cover £4.50 Id); LXBO Tractor Unit E20 (c); LQ800 Tractor Feed 647 fbI.
BASIC II ROM (BBC Ell E22.50 (dl MASTER TERMULATOR E34.75 hit
ADFS ROM E26 (d) COMMSTAR II (28 (dl EPSON Ribbons: MX/11)(1F)(80 £5: MXif00FX100 £10 Id; LX80 £4.50 (d);
1770 DFS Kit E43.50 (dl MODEM MASTER Ell (al JUK(: Serial Interface E65 Id): Tractor Attach. E149 la): Sheet Feeder E219
Econet Kit (B&B+) £55 (d) COMMAND E34 (dl Ribbon E2.50 (a); Spare Daisy Wheel E14 (dl.
ACORN ADD-ON PRODUCTS: UTILITY ROMs: BROTHER HR20: Sheet Feed E229; Ribbons - Carbon or Nylon £3; Tractor Feed
Torch ZEP 100 £229 (a) DOTPRINT PLUS for FXJBX compatibles E116 fal; 2000 Sheets Fanfold with extra fine perf. 9.5" - £13.50; 15" £17.50 OA.
512 2nd Processor E249 Co)
DOTPRINT DUAL for MX range BBC Parallel Lead £6; Serial Lead £6 (dl: IBM Parallel Lead 12m) E.12
IEEE Interface E265 (b) Acorn Graphics Extension Rom E28 (dl
Teletext Adapter E95 (b1
Merlin with 57 disc utity commands MONITORS
100 page manual £37.50 (c) MICROVITEC 14" RGB TAXAN Supervision 620 E259 la)
Ask for full details on our full range of software 1431 Standard Resolution _ E179 (al TAXAN Supervision 625 6319 (a)
1451 Medum Resolution E225 (a) TAXAN Supervision 770+
1441 1-fi Res E359 (a) (with swivel standi £499 tai
MULTIFORM Z80 2nd Processor for the BBC MICROVITEC 14" RGB.PAL & Audo
This unique 280 2nd Processor running OSIM will allow use of almost any standard CR1.1 soft- 1431 AP Standard Resolution £199 (a) 12" MONOCHROME MONITORS:
ware on the BBC micro. It is supplied with a number of different CP2/.4 formats and includes a 1451 AP Median Resolution . £259 (al PHILIPS:
utility to configure it to read other formats. This is particularly useful in environments where com- MICROVITEC 20" ROBTAL/Audio
puters with dfferent CP/1.1 formats are used and the data cannot be easily exchanged between 7502 Green Screen E 69 (a)
2030 CS std Res E380 (a) 7522 Amber Screen E 75 (a)
them. Mains powered (includes Pocket Wordstar & hiS,DOS RW utility) £249 (b) 2040 CS Hi R.. E675 (a)
MS DOS ReadWrite U E49
Mitsubishi 14" ROB Merl Res, RIBC:18M) Al) Philips Monitors suppled with swivel
META Version 3 ASSEMBLER £219 (al stand
Asserrb'es 17 of the popular processors. Over 70K long program on two toms and a disc and
provides complete Editing and Assembly faarties. It uses appropriate mnemonics for different BOOKS
processors. Fully nestable macros, nestabie conditional assembly 11FiELSEENDIF). modular No VAT on books; Carriage (c)
source code, true local and global labels. 32 bit Labels and arithmetic. 30 ways to send object
code and 50 directives. View 3.0 User Guide £9.00
LANGUAGES: Viewstore £9.00
A powerful editor with many features. Send for Oats:ad lee:et. E145 tbl 5502 Assy Lang Prog E19.95 Viewsheet £9.00
8066 Book £23.95 Wordwise Plus E9.95
BBC DISC DRIVES Acorn I3CPL User Guide E15.00
5.25" Single Drive: Acorn FORTH E7.50 SOUND & GRAPHICS:
1 a 400K 40 80T DS: TS400 . £90 (b) P5400 with psu £104 (b) Acorn USP E7.50 Mastering Music E6.95
5.25" Dual Drive: Acorn ISO Pascal Ref Manual E10.00
2 x 400K 401801 DS: TD800 .... £170 (al P13800 with psu £190 la) Intro to COMAL [10.00 DISC DRIVE SYSTEMS:
2 x 400K 4000T DS with psu and built in monitor stand PD800P £209 fa) E7.50Advanced Disc User Guide .... £14.95
Intro to LOGO E3.50
3.5- Drives: Micro Prolog Ref Manual £10.00 Disc Book
1 a 400K GOT DS TS35 1 £67 lb) PS35 1 with psu 05 101 Introduction to Turbo Pau -al. E14.95 Disc Programming Techniques . £7.95
x 400K 80T DS with psu TD35 2 E126 (b( PD35 2 with psu 6149 Ib) Disc Systems E6.95
1
Frog the Micro with PP . E8.50 £6.95
Combo drives 15.25" & 3.5"): The UNIX Book £7.50 Fie Handkrig on the BBC
PD853 with integral PSU £165 (a) PE1853P with integral PSU E179 fa) Unix User Guide E19.95 APPLICATIONS:
Understanding Unix E18.45 Interfacing Pro( for BBC E6.95
3M FLOPPY DISCS BBC MICRO GUIDE BOOKS EBC and Small Business E5.75
Industry standard floppy discs a life time guarantee. Discs in packs of 10: BBC User Guide Acorn £15.00 PROFESSIONAL SOFTWARE
BSC. Plus User Guide
51/4 DISCS 3% DISCS Drawing your Own BBC Programs£6.95
Wordstar made easy E16.95
40T SS OD £8.00 (dl 40T DS DD. £9.75 (d) 80T SS DD £13.50 Id) Introduction to Wordstar £17.95
Inside Information £8.95 Words -tar Handbook E11.95
80T SS DDE12.00 (dl 80T DS DD. £12.75 Id) 80T DS DD £15.00 id) Math Prog in BBC Basic £7.95 dBase-II for the fast time user E16.95
Toolbox 2 Et 0.95 Understanding dBase-III £22.95
DISC ACCESSORIES VIA 6522 Book 4 50 Multiplan Made Easy ... E18.95
PROGRAMMING/UTILITY MultiMate Complete Guide . E16.95
Single Disc Cable £6 (dl Dual Disc Cable £8.50 Ill ABC of LOTUS 123 [17.45
10 Disc Library Case £1.80 lc) 30 Disc Storage Box E6 (c) Advanced Sideways Ram User .

Guide E9.95 1-2-3 for Business E16.95

40 Disc I nrkahbr Box E8.50 Ic) 100 Disc. Lockable Box £13 (c) £22.95
Floppiclene Drivehead Cleararg Kr: A i-'., 20 e.,,,.,-..t's ce. .-g kits 5'." [14.50 Id); 33r- £16 (dl Advanced User Guide (BBC1 ... £12.50 Adv Tech in dBase 11,111
Applied Ass..1..ana on the BBC E9.95 Mastering CPIM (17.95
BBC Moro Sideways ROM's RAM'sE9.95 CP111 Bible £16 50
BT APPROVED MODEMS Guide to the BBC ROM £9.95 Introducing CP.1.1 on ESC & 280 £9.95
Beginners Guide to W.P E7.95 1.4515C DOS Prompt £10.95
MIRACLE TECHNOLOGY WS Range
WS4000 V21i23. WS3000 V22 bis Professional
PROGRAMMED ROMS FOR ELEKTOR
(Hayes Compatible. Intelligent Auto Dial.' As V22 and 2400 baud full duplex E537 la) PROJECTS
Auto Answer) E135 (b) WS3000IBBC Data Lead £10 (dl 503-N Jnr. Computer Monitor 516 Talking Dice 2716 E 7.30
WS3000 V21/23 Professional WS2000 V211V23 2708 E 4.80 521 CharGen & Video Routine for DOS
As WS4000 and with BELL standards and Manual Modern E92 (13) 504 Disco lights Junior 2732 + 2716 (16.40
battery back up for invmury .... E244 Ibl WS 2000 Auto Dial Card E27 (dl 505 Chess inteekt . 2 x 2716 (14.60 522 CharGen & video; Routine for ex-
WS3000 V22 Professional WS 2000 Auto Answer £27 (dl 506 J C Tape Monitor _ 2716 E 7.30 tended or 2732 -a 2 x 2716 £24.00
As WS3000 V21/23 but with 1200 baud full WS 2000 SKI Kit E5 (dl 507-N J C Printer Mon & PME 523 C - Generator .. 2732E 9.00
duplex £409 lal WS 2000 User Port Lead E5 (di 2716E 7.30 524 C -rar 2732E 9.00
(Offer Ernited to current stocks! 508 J C Bus Control 82523 E 4.e.0 525 Term 2732 E 9.00
510 150 MHz Fred Meter 2 a 82523 526 -- - d 2716E 7.30
E 9.60 527 Elapyrotn 2716 E 7.30
SPECIAL OFFER PROJECTS: 514 Dark Room Computer 2716E 7.30 530 Daisywheel (face 2x 2716 £11.00
Junior Computer Kit £86 (b)
EPROMs/RAMS Housekeeper kit E58 lb) ALL PRICES TECHNOLINE
2764-25 Elekterminal Kit (1980) £50 VIEWDATA SYSTEM
27256
27512
Prices
on
ASCII Keyboard kit £75 lb) EXCLUDE VAT Tel. 01-450 9764
J C Books 1. 2, 3, & 4£6.90 (c) ea Please add carriage 50p unless Using 'Nester type protocols.
6264LP-15 appli- Universal Terminal (6502) Kit £75 (b)
27128.25 (12.5 Vpp) cation indicated as follows: For information and orders
Elekterminal Kit (19831 £70 Ib) evadable 24 hours, 7 days
27128-25 (21.0 Vpp) (alf8 Ib)f2.50 (0E1.501 (dIf1.00 a week.

SEE OUR PAGE 5 ADVERTISEMENT FOR COMPONENT PRICES

PLEASE ADD CARRIAGE AS PER CODE & 15% VAT
TECHNOMATIC LTD (Export: no VAT. pttp at Cost)
Orders from Government Depts. Er Colleges etc. welcome.
MAIL ORDERS TO: 17 BURNLEY ROAD, LONDON NW10 1 ED Minimum telephone order 15.
SHOPS AT: 17 BURNLEY ROAD, LONDON NW10 Detailed Price list on request.
(Tel: 01 208 1177, Telex 922800) Prices subject to change without notice [
305 EDGWARE ROAD, LONDON W2, Tel: 01 723 0233

Please mention ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS when contacting advertisers

 May 1988

CONTENTS Volume 14
Number 156

Editorial In next month's

issue:
13 Small companies, SMD, and ASICs
NiCd charger
64 K RAM for
Audio & Hi-fi MSX
14 PROJECT: Balanced line driver and receiver Paintbox
Digital audio
17 PROJECT: Digital optical transmitter interface
Electrostatic paper
Components holder
21 Copper -on -ceramic microelectronic tech- Universal I/O bus
nology for IBM
by Harry Cole HF neon tube
lighting
22 Breakthrough in superconducting materials Holography and
by Peter Hartley lasers produces
very precise
Test & Measurement measurements
25 Digital storage oscilloscope: a review of
the Hameg HM205-2 by Julian Nolan
Artificial intelligence
p. 38

Computers
30 PROJECT: Plotter - part 1
Mechanical design by J. Arkema
38 Artificial intelligence
by Mark Seymour
40 Simulating sight in robots
by Arthur Fryatt

General Interest
44 PROJECT: Microcontroller-driven power
supply - part 1
3 Making the weather work for you
by Dr John Houghton and David Houghton

Radio & Television

57 APPLICATION NOTES: Single -chip multi - Digital optical transmitter
p. 17
standard colour decoder
60 PROJECT: VLF convertor
62 Signal processing and electronic encryption
by Brain P. McArdle

Information
20-28-41-42-52-55-56-64-65-66 News;
28 Events; 29 New literature; 43 Letters; Front cover
67 Readers services; 68 Terms of business The fairly -simple -to -
build plotter de-
Guide lines scribed in our May
68 Switchboard; 9 Buyers guide; 74 Classified and June issues is
advertisements; 74 Index of advertisers available in kit form
(see advertisement
I on p.71) and offers
Microcontroller-driven PSU an excellent price/
p. 44 performance ratio.
 4 EE
May 1988

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Typo FriZ. Type Pre MARCO KITS
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H 404mm W 26Ern7r, D 13.ervm CIRCUITS FF It) Fr.,* 4r1 50183 0.70 60290 0.80
THICK TOUGH POLYCARBONATE AC129 0.30 8C 171,A.5 0.10 80201 0.52 507925 1 34 CERAMIC 50V 1125) E3.50
1,£) EACH AC12810 0.38 501723.0 00202 0_57 samo 0.20 ELECTROLYTIC RAD. 11001 £7.25
WHITE. BLUE, YELLOW. RED. 0.12 80222 0-80
AC141 0.58 BC1773 C 0.24 90225 59101 0.76 FUSE 20mm Q.B1801 £3.75
PRICE - 1+ E4.99 5. £4.50 741
C491001.2
0.16
1.20 AC142
AC14110 0.38 18':5 301
0.40 BC11121_ 0.10
0.10 50232 0.40
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0.50
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FUSE 20mm A:511301 f7.50
C43020 2.10 AC1428 038 LA LB LC -'0.12 80234 0,30 NUT & BOLT 1800) £3.00
ELECTRONIC BUZZERS CA3065 1.60 AC153 038 1C183.1 ac 0.10 90735 030 821139 0.80
PRE-SEUOTS. HORIZ. 11201 £6.75
1151365119 1.59 AC1531 0.46 BC1831 50236
0.10 10237
038 01256 0.42
0.20 PRE-SET POTS. VERT. 1120) £6.75
1041241131 59 Oft 12 V
LA4422 3.20 AC1766 0.32 LA LB LC 0.12 50410
035 0.5X20
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040 AC1875 SCIS4 0.08 80438 0.54 85235A 0.25
AUD,BUZ:121) - 75p ..:-''"- 0432411
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0.42
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0.25W POPULAR 110001 £6.50
Fr520 0.53743 "' 1.20386tI14-P 1.80 AC183( 0-38 BC212(1 C 0.10 SO -44s 0.55 91101.300 275 0.25W 5 OFF 1305) £2.95
alfT. SUPER SLIM i L.10101111 3.20 ACY22 1.50 502126
LA L21
0.10 08507
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1.05 81101300 325 0.25W 10 OFF 16101 E4.50
AUI/BUZ.P12 - 75p 1.3114580 1.35 413142 0.83
6C213A8C 0.10 50587
1.20 91102 300 360 0.5W POPULAR 11000) £9.50
11439000.61515181 0_50 A0149 035 102131.
058 57106 1.15 0.5W 5 OFF 13651 £4.70
2.30 A0161:167 1.20 0.10 50707 0.80 ST116 1.20 0.5W 10 OFF 1730)
41015151 3.15 A01114 0.68 LA LB LC 0.10 50%18 1.00 87119 3.30 1W 5 OFF (365)
£7.75
SEVEN AMERICAN TUNES. 1.99 AF115 2_10 60237 0.12 00622 1.76 85138 600 E13.75
SAC13070 0.98
AUD.13UIPAUSIM87 - £2.30 , 7 6/01/279 1.50 .40116 210 13C235 0.12 50115 0.32 07101,5606 0.90 2W 5 OFF 1365) £21.75
1£2 o6iCTS3 540911 51/2378 2 30 SF121 0.66 5C251375 0.14 95117 0.50 5127940041
. 111555 0.20 AF124 0.70 E10262 0.26 80119 032 50104 2.30 ZENER DIODES 5 Off 1551 E3.50
AUDfSIRSP12 - £5.95 545.1600 1.85 40125 0.50 AB 0.29 10125 0.42 1_80
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SA5510 2,85 AFI27 0.50 0C302 038 1F154 0.14 50108 1.90 0.25W RESISTORS 2p 10 1.5p
AUD.SIILELT - E7.50 SA5630 2 85 .40139 0.56 9.C303 0.38 9,157 0.46 0U126 1_80
1

ELECTRET MICROPHONE INSERT 57176226011 1_30 AF178 1.50 5C3074 0.15 50160 0_23 10133 1.90
5777622711 110 40239 0.65 BC31 TS 0.15 80167 0_32 80204 1.60 SERVISOL PRODUCTS
lOrnm DIAM. 6.5m THICK 57176533H 1.75 A02795 1.40 0C323 0_90 60177 0.42 10205 1.40
3V -10V 19V TYR) 516015 8_20 A5250 5.20 5C327 0.10 00171 0.25 9112064. 1.50 SUPA FREEZE -IT £1.40 "::1
1972031 2.50 2.00 ac.378 0.10 10110 0.27 503255 1.75 SWITCH CLEANER
600 ohm 1372040 2.50 A1)110 2.90 BC337 0.03 80181 0.27 611407 1.40 £1.24
'20-1200 Hz
- 60p
+ TAT20.54P
151550
TAA611412
1 80 AV1172
0.50 840C200
3.50 84115
4.32
0.12
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1.03 003504
BC31I
0.10 80183
0.24 80183
0.76 50181
0.32
0.32
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2.90
2.75
FOAM CLEANSER
SUPER 40
E1.22
£1.88
TAA621AX1 3.50 54121 0.40 50516 0.35 50185 0_28 5519695 2.90 FIRE EXTINGUISHER £3.30
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SA SO 1.30 65155 0.12 8C440 0,36 10195 0.12 07100 0.80 ANTI -STATIC SPRAY E1.20
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MASTER SOCKET (SURFACE) £2.75 531050 0.30 AS or C 0.10 50240 0.15
52126 PLASTIC SEAL £1.35
SECONDARY SOCKET IFLUSHI £1.90
TELAS40
15A560C
T 64
1 50 0.42 11:549 0.08 0024: 0.18 0.10
.0'108
091100 0.10 A pro 0.10 80257 0.22 57177 0.08
SECONDARY SOCKET (SURFACE) T8A9105 1.20 0.10 or2se 0.26 1113.3 0.10
TBA950 24 3.05 4.5109 C 0.14
0.10
BC or510
0.10 90259 0.30 57135 035 ANTEX SOLDERING
£1.85 TCA270511 4.02 5C B
0.10 50252 0.34 59164 0.45
B.T. CABLE1PER METRE) 15p 13410264 2 45 4.8 or C 0.14
0.15
BOSS /A
0.10 90263 038 07179 0.60 C IRON 15W £6.40 SK2 KIT £8.30
WIRING TOOL
104110355 4.50 BC115
BC117 0.28
LIC.1584.
5C,70 0,36 1,270 0_30 02182 030 CS IRON 17W E5.60 SK 5 KIT £7.99
50p TDA1170S 0.28 92T/4
Bella 3.21 ar.271
1_99 0.20
PLUG - 431A MAT 352A 1.50 1C2:0 10273 0.22 0.3/3 XS IRON 25W £5.80 SK6 KIT £8.20
25p 90129 0.33
LINE JACK CORD WITH PLUG £1.25 1-042030 1.80 90,25 0.14
BC217
80124P
2.60 110274 0.34 57157 0.65 ST4 STAND E2.20
1042530 2.20 1.20 10794 0.46 82159 8.75 TCSU-D SOLDERING STATION £72.50
5C140 0.48 60129 0.90
EXTENSION LEAD 5 MTR. £3.90 71242632 2510 80141 0.38 50336 0,40 01193 0 EA
ERSION KIT WITH WIRING 1092560 3.20 60142 0.26
901301 0.88 05337 0-38 89199 0.72 SPARE ELEMENTS from E3.20
UPCS75C2 1.45 901 43 0.26 80131 0.46 80335 0.28 6,206 0.14 SPARE TIPS FOR ABOVE IRONS £1.20
D E6.99 LIPC1350C 4 05 9:21471 0.16 10132 0.50 00355 0.42 51207 0.16
SUPATEL £17.35 U0C1102H 2.75 ac,te 0.10 10135 0.28 10371 0.27 07210'400 0.21 SOLDER AT A RIDICULOUSLY
L10C1208C 1.26 ac:Aes 0.12 10135 0.26 10450 0.30 59210 300 022
VISCOUNT PHO £26.04

4=
OPC1356C2 3.00 BC149 0.12 10139 0.28 10457 0_38 39227 0.23
PC149C 0.14 50138 030 30951 0.38 57 228 0 50
LOW PRICE!!
T.V. AERIAL ACCESSORIES SAFEBLOC BC159 0.14 00139 0.30 00101 0-32 127238
8-C 0.16 50140 0.28 522190 0.85 52310 0.65 A 5009 RM. OF 22 SWG
.0 Co -As CNN 75 Oh- 0:1.1.997.149, El 1_00 90160 0.38 80142 1.60 1.3.4 I 0.68 0.28
52336,150 0.40 MULTI -CORE SOLDER 60%
1. 10, QUICK 1.C111 0.30 80145 1.82 82 -T -T3 0_33
TIN 40% ALLOY NON -CORROSIVE.
Co.Ae Masai P03
METHOD 501688 0.25 aolsoe 0.63 50220 0.32 02336.602 0.48
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Warrens signal to 2 sets 50% £12.72 FOR 711_12
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9 559535 Both vo..17.a3 £1000 L14723 0.65 1.19502 0.40 22swg 75p 38swg £1.05 '
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*EXTENSION MULTI SOCKETS

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 SMALL COMPANIES,
SMD, AND ASICS
A Wolters Kluwer Company
Managing Editor: Len Seymour After a difficult infancy that started some years ago, surface mount tech-
Personal Assistant: L. Vousden
Technical Editor: J Suiting
nology appears to be entering an adolescence that promises to be far
Advertisement executive: less turbulent. Most of the world's electronics industry has begun to adopt
Pauline O'Rourke SMD, and early investors can at last look forward to the rewards of their far-
Editorial offices: sightedness.
1 Harlequin Avenue
BRENTFORD TW8 9EW
England When this magazine first drew attention to the benefits of SMD in 1985, it
Telephone: 01-847 2618 Mariana!) was, perhaps, not fully realized that a host of technical problems were still
or +44 1847 2618 (International) waiting to be resolved. These primarily concerned the long-term reliability
Advertising: 01-847 2619
Telex: 917490 (etektr g) of the new surface mount units. Also, ensuring that they were fixed, and re-
Fax: 01-847 2610 mained fixed, firmly in position during the normal operational life of the
European offices: equipment has proved a difficult task.
Postbus 75
6190 AS BEEK IL) Another problem has been, and, to some extent, still is, the lack of recog-
The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 4490 89444 nition by equipment designers of the limitations of the new technology. In-
Telex: 56617 (elekt nIl deed, many designers did not appreciate that SMD presented a wholly
Fax: +31 4490 70161 new approach to assembling circuit boards together in operational equip-
Overseas editions: ment. This has cost a number of manufacturing concerns dearly, not only in
Publitron Publicacoes Tecnicas Ltda
Av 1piranga 1100, 9° andar terms of money, but also of time.
CEP 01040 Sao Paulo - Brazil
Editor: Juliano Barsali Early research indicates that companies that have benefited most are
Elektor sari those that have realized at an early stage that in surface mount tech-
Route Nationale; Le Seau; B.P. 53
59270 BaiIleul - France nology the design of both devices and boards needs to be reevaluated.
Editors: D R S Meyer; More particularly, the successful companies appear to be those that have
G C P Raedersdorf combined semi -custom design with surface mount technology.
Elektor Verlag GmbH
Stisterfeld-Straile 25 Already, it is becoming clear that this realization has been a shot in the
5100 Aachen - West Germany
Editor: E J A Krempeisauer arm for ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) manufacturers. This,
Elektor EPE coupled with other developments in the semiconductor industry, have
Karaiskaki 14 steered equipment makers as well as users towards the use of ASICs. This is
16673 Voula - Athens - Greece good for Britain, which has a strong base of ASIC production in companies
Editor: E Xanthoulis
like Plessey and Ferranti. The UK ASIC industry has already built a substan-
Elektor Electronics PVT Ltd.
Chhotani Building tial export market, but, as always, our European, American and Japanese
52 C. Proctor Road, Grant Road (El competitors are not sitting still.
Bombay 400 007 - India
Editor: Surendra lyer
A recent government report points to an odd and disquieting develop-
Elektuur B.V.
Peter Treckpoelstraat 2-4
ment: small companies, in the UK as well as abroad, are on the whole still
6191 VK Beek - the Netherlands reluctant to adopt the new technologies, although they have most to gain
Editor: P E L Kersemakers from doing so. Surface mount technology, combined with ASICs, will enable
Ferreira & Sento Lda. even small companies to compete in hi -tech developments.
R.D. Estefania, 32-1°
1000 Lisboa - Portugal
Editor: Jorge Goncalves It would not be healthy for the country if only a handful of large
Ingelek S.A. companies would come to control the use of these new technologies, or
Plaza Republica Ecuador the design and manufacture of ASICs. Interestingly, most of the semicon-
2-28016 Madrid - Spain ductor manufacturers are said to be eager to widen their base of small
Editor: A M Ferrer
customers. It would seem, therefore, that it is up to the smaller companies
Electronic Press AB
Box 63
to shed their reluctance to approach the big suppliers direct or through
182 11 Danderyd - Sweden the existing distribution channels and take advantage of the available
Editor: Bill Cedrum design services. The alternative is almost certainly overwhelming compe-
International co-ordinating tition from the bigger manufacturers whose designers and production
& technical manager: managers show no reservations about the use of ASIC design services.
K S M Wa'raven
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Typeset & composed in the
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Copyright 1988 Elektuur BM.

ABC
wive.E.1t 11.13.1
L.A.-su CA ran a ATtcres
 FF

ALANCED LINE DEN -1JR AND

RECEIEVER
These high -quality audio circuits are intended to overcome all the
problems caused by noise picked up by long unbalanced signal
lines between signal sources and amplifiers. Applications can be
found in public address systems, studios, active loudspeakers,
mixer desks and intercoms.

The principle of balanced transmission

of audio signals is relatively simple as
shown in Fig. 1. The unbalanced signal
from, for example, a preamplifier is ap-
plied to an unbalanced -to -balanced con-
verter, which drives two output lines.
One of these carries the inverted, the
other the non -inverted signal. Noise
picked up by the cable between the line
driver and the receiver is superimposed
on both AF signals. The complementary
phase AF signals are added in the line re-
ceiver to give an unbalanced output
signal, which is a copy of the signal fed
to the line driver. In this process, noise is
effectively eliminated because its phase
is identical on both input lines of the re-
ceiver.
In studios, practically all lines for inter-
connecting equipment are of the balanc-
ed type. Balanced -to -unbalanced conver-
sion and vice versa is usually effected
with the aid of high -quality trans-
formers. Unfortunately, these are hard
to obtain and relatively expensive Fig. 1. Noise on long cables between audio equipment can lw eliminated by the use of a
devices, and for this reason an alterna- balanced line driver and receiver.
tive based on semiconductors is offered
here. monly found opamps such as the Type houses 4 interconnected opamps that
NE5534 (instead of the OP -27) and the amplify the potential difference between
Type NE5532 (instead of the OP -227), the input pins by a factor that can be ac-
Line driver but only if all resistors in the circuit are curately defined. The internal structure
ultra -low noise types with a tolerance of of the AMP -01 is shown in Fig. 3. Since
The circuit diagram of the line driver is 0.1% or better to guarantee equal
given in Fig. 2. The unbalanced input the device is essentially an instrumen-
signal is applied to buffer Ai. This amplitudes of the balanced output tation amplifier, it rejects signals com-
drives a non -inverting amplifier, A2, signals. mon to both inputs. Unlike the com-
and an inverting amplifier, As. Both plementary AF signals, noise induced on
opamps are configured for an amplifi- the balanced line between driver and re-
cation of about 2. The amplification is Line receiver: introducing the ceiver is of the same phase and ampli-
1± Ri/R2 in the case of A2, and AMP -01 tude at both inputs of the line receiver.
- [(R4+ R5)/R3] in the case of A3 (no- Special attention should be paid in the Hence, it is common to both amplifier
tice that the minus sign denotes inver- receiver design to low overall distortion. inputs, so that it is effectively suppressed
sion of the input signal, not attenu- There are, however, awkward constraints at the output.
ation). Resistors Rs and R. correct error to take into consideration. The most im- In contrast to an operational amplifier,
voltages caused by the quiescent input portant of these are the common -mode an instrumentation amplifier requires
currents of inverting opamps At and rejection of the opamp used, and cable precise internal feedback. In the AMP -
A3. Capacitors C7, Cs and C9 ensure capacitance. It is, therefore, necessary to 01, current feedback is used. This ap-
very low distortion and stable gain up to use an amplifier that is geared to com- proach has significant advantages over
the -3 dB roll -off frequency of pensation, not amplification, of these resistive feedback:
350 kHz. The opamps of the type stated sources of distortion.
in the circuit diagram give an output The Type AMP -01 precision instrumen- High common -mode rejection
noise level of about 20 pVrms. This per- tation amplifier from PMI should meet (CMR): approx. 130 dB at a gain of
formance can be equalled by more com- with this requirement. The AMP -01 1,000.
 EE
May 1988
Closed loop amplification, A vci., can
be set by the ratio of only two exter-
nal resistors: A va_=20R15/145. This
allows any practical gain to be set with
high precision and low gain-
temperature coefficient.
The current feedback design is im-
mune to CMR degradation when
series resistance is added to the reference
input. A small (trimmable) offset change
results from added resistance, e.g., a
printed circuit track.
Close tolerance low -drift thin-film
resistors are integrated on the AMP -01
substate to minimize output offset drift
with temperature.
Input transistors Qi and Q2 feed active
loads, so that the amplification of this
stage is about 4,000. Output amplifier
Ai is a 2 -stage circuit offering an ampli-
fication of 50,000 in a 100 Q load. The
open -loop gain of the AMP -01 is about
2 xlgs. Stability and linearity of the
device are excellent, also at relatively
high closed -loop gains.
Ion -implanted super -beta transistors are Fig. 3. Internal structure of the Type AMP -01 precision instrumentation amplifier from PMI.
used in combination with a patented
bias -current cancellation circuit. Input
quiescent current remains below 15 nA
over the temperature range -25°C to
+85°C. A new geometry is used for the
input transistors, resulting in an input
noise of only 5 nV/1/Hz at a gain of
1,000. This noise includes contributions
from the gain -determining overload
protection resistors. The input stage
achieves an offset voltage drift of less
than 0.3 pV/°C.

Al

ca R Ei
Fig. 4. Circuit diagram of the balanced line receiver.
T9 j a 0 The AMP -01 uses a special circuit for The balanced line receiver has a 3 dB
compensation of the load capacitance, bandwidth of about 30 kHz. Noise level
1=3 1=13 ruling out any likelihood of instability at the output was measured at 5.3 mVrms
over a wide range of practical gain. The with inputs not connected, and
3 high output current capability of 3.5 mVrms with inputs briefly connected
90 mAp allows the slew -rate of 4.5 ps to to ground.
R7 e
be maintained with load capacitance as
Al = (Cl = 0P-27 (PHI) high as 15 nF.
A2 A3 = K2. OP -227 (PM) Power supply
The circuit diagram of the balanced line The power supply shown in Fig. 5
receiver is shown in Fig. 4. Resistors R15 should be familiar to constructors of
and RI 6 are dimensioned for an amplifi- previous high quality audio projects car-
cation of about 940. The value of R15 ried in this magazine. A number of
may be increased to reduce amplification readers have queried the use of the Type
as required for a particular application. LM325 in this supply, and a short
The input offset voltage is set to nought description of this device is, therefore,
with the aid of Pt. The symmetrical given below.
supply rails to the AMP -01 are
171V-211
decoupled with parallel combinations of The LM325 can supply equal symmetri-
a solid and an electrolytic capacitor. The cal output voltages whose absolute value
Hp,. 2. Circuit diagram of the balanced line potentials at the differential inputs of is accurate within 1%. Without external
drier. the chip are fixed with R12 -R13 -R14. series regulator transistors, the device
16 EE
May 1988
achieves a load regulation of 0.06% at a
maximum output current of 100 mA. 5
On board the IC are a current limiter
and an overheating protection circuit. 15'1 15V 1N4001
The onset point of the current limiter is
defined by an external resistor. Quiesc-
0 0 D5

ent current consumption of the LM325 mlm 6D241 R9

15V

is only 3 mA, while maximum input o C)

voltage is ±30 V. This makes it possible, T
in many cases, to feed the regulator CIO CII 13 o C)
direct from the existing symmetrical 11

supply in the power amplifier. Bridge 22n

Ell -
22n
CH
O_ NM
C15 3 B
' RCL
"521114
14 C21

rectifier Di . D4 incl. (130 and rattle DI 03 mop tozrctz___ 10

REF C19 =FE
1000u O
259 IC 3 Nom igv
100n
suppression capacitors C10. . .C13 incl. ,16V LM
may then be omitted, but due attention 4x
,

MIMI
r:f C)
should be paid to the working voltage of 1N4001
04, 02
1111
C16 C17
CI4 and Cie. 1= MS
NM NM 4 -1.rnse 6
100011 100n 10009
-1C1F12 25V -RCL -B 1fiV
22n 22n
5 8
Parts list 72
RIO

Resistors: 613241
015V
06 0 0
Ri ...Rs incl.=10KF
Re =4K99F
H
1N4001
R7 = 6K55F
Ra=100KF 87197-
Rs = 2R7J
Rio=2R2J
Rit =820RJ
R12;R13= 332RF Fig. 5. The symmetrical power supply is a design based on precision voltage regulator Type
R14= 1MOF LM325.
R15= 5K62F
R16= 120RF
R17 = 47KJ The screened, balanced, cable between
=100KK preset H Construction the line driver and receiver is connected
as shown in the lower drawing of Fig. I.
Note: resistor values are coded to 8S1852: The three circuits discussed are ac- It is recommended to use high -quality
suffix F=1%; J=5%; K=10%. comodated on a single printed circuit cable and XLR (Canon/Neutrik) con-
A range of high stability, low -noise resistors is board, whose track layout and compo- nectors.
available from AudioKits Precision Compo- nent overlay are shown in Fig. 6. De- Gb
nents. pending on the application of the The functional description of the Type
balanced line driver and receiver, the AMP -01 is based on information pro-
PCB may be cut in two or three to enable vided in Linear and Conversion Prod-
Capacitors:
fitting the circuits in the relevant lo- ucts. 1986/1987 Data Book. Precision
cations. Monolithics Incorporated.
CI;C2;C24;C26= 10p; 25 V; radial
C3 . ..C6 incl.;C15;C17;C is;C2o;C23;C2s= 100n
C7= 56p 6
Ce =33p +0 0 -
C9= 27p
incl.=22n
C14;C1e = 1000p; 25 V; radial
Cie=1p0; 16 V; radial. C
0 U
,c2
C21;C22= 10000; 16 V; radial
d'eannfleftlft CC

rs IC2
D.10000000
Semiconductors:

DI ... De inc.,. = 1N4001

0---0
00110 01100
C16 014 qp C [MAI
° oiFoocis 0 104
0 CS
D7= LED CS
clUrVitriino
T ;T2 = BD241
IC i = OP -27. IT1
0
P1
IC2=0P-227. O
IC3= LM325N O
IC4 =AMP -01
-
006
cp.rinia00 00110 100
C20 cis° C19
(12,10.1 00110 01100
Precision Monolithics Incorporated. UK
,ouvo C22 C2S C23
distributors are listed on InfoCard 508 (EE May
19871. 30
026 024
1-0C2
Miscellaneous:
000000!0
+0' -12)-
00 00 00 +0 0th
07
//
4t1 I00000'
-0+
CH R17 1-0

PCB Type 87197 (see Readers Services page,.

Fig. 6. Printed circuit board for building the line driver, receiver and power supply.
 ,L4:111-
INGTAL OPTICAL TRANSMITTER
Virtually all currently available compact disc players are fitted
with a digital output, but a digital optical output is only available
on top -of -the -range models. This design idea describes an optical
transmitter that makes it possible to drive an active loudspeaker
from a standard CD player via a fibre optic link.

Editorial Note
This article was not included in last month's issue
because availability of the key component in the pro-
ject could not be ascertained in time.
Considering the interest of many of our readers in
high -quality audio technologg and having announced
the article on an earlier occasion, it was decided to go
ahead with publication this month, in spite of the fact
that the recently introduced inra-red module in the
transmitter is, to our knowledge, only available direct
from the West German manufacturer, Delec.

The cost of fibre optic links for use in in be eliminated from signals sent to an ac- Fitting the plug onto the fibre optic
high -end audio equipment is coming tive loudspeaker. cable is relatively simple, and requires no
down rapidly. Fibre optics can help soldering: cutting and stripping is done
towards solving some of the problems in- Digital optical transmitter with a sharp knife and jaw strippers, and
herent to traditional cable links by en- Digital optical transmitters are relatively the cable end is carefully smoothed with
suring: simple circuits based on highly efficient sandpaper before it is pushed into the
infra -red emitting diodes. As an connector and secured with a ferrule or
freedom from induced hum or example, Fig. 1 shows a transmitter that locking nut.
elect ro-magn et ic interference; forms part of Hirschmann's fibre optic The maximum cable length depends on
complete galvanic insulation kit OXE 101. The TTL input signal the transmitter power in combination
guarantees safety, and eliminates any (DATA) is applied to either input A or B with the attenuation of transmission
risk of earth loops; of a NAND gate. The non -used input is link, i.e., the cable and connectors. A
freedom from crosstalk between connected to Vc, (+5 V). Transistor Ts common value for the cable attenuation
parallel running cables. drives IRED D4. Schottky diode D3 is 0.3 to 0.2 dB/m at a cost of about
Polymer fibre optic cables are thin, prevents the transistor being driven into 50 p/m. The maximum usable range of
flexible and unobtrusive. saturation, while speed-up capacitor Cs the Hirschmann system is of the order of
ensures fast switching response. The 40 m. The transmitter power can be
A combination of a fibre optic transmit- infra -red emitting diode (IRED) is fitted defined by series resistor R13 in Fig. 1.
ter driven by the digital signal from the in a special PCB -mount socket that With R13=120 Q, the forward diode
compact disc player, a length of polymer receives the snap -in plug on the fibre op- current is 25 mA, resulting in a radiant
cable terminated in suitable connectors, tic cable. power of 16 pW coupled into the
and a fibre optic receiver plus digital -to - polymer cable with a core diameter of
analogue converter fitted in an active 1 mm. Increasing the diode current to
loudspeaker: very nearly what is con- the maximum permissible value of
sidered by many high -end audio en- 50 mA (R13=60 Q) doubles the trans-
thusiasts the ideal AF transmission link. mitted power, but not the maximum
Arguably, this set-up is superior in all range, which is only increased by about
respects to any of the hitherto used 10 m. In any case, the range of a conven-
systems based on analogue modulation tional fibre optic transmitter such as the
of signals conveyed via an audio fibre - Hirschmann device is sufficient for most
optic link. Irrespective of whether a living rooms. The pulse response of the
sinewave or a rectangular signal is used IREDs used is generally adequate for
as the carrier onto which the digital CD conveying data at rates up to 10 Mbit/s
signal is modulated, these systems re- in non return to zero (NRZ) trans-
main analogue in essence, and any refer- mission.
ence in sales ploys to "all -digital trans-
mission" is misplaced and technically The Hirschmann fibre optic transmitter
incorrect. This is not to bring in a is composed of discrete parts fitted onto
qualitative verdict upon such systems, a PCB. Other manufacturers of fibre op-
however, since many of the frequency tic components have already started to
modulators used are of very high qual- integrate emitter and receiver devices.
ity. It is merely the notion "digital" that Figure 2 shows the TOSLDIK single -chip
is misinterpreted. The frequency Fig. 1. Circuit diagram of the Hirschmann fibre optic interface plus transmitter
modulation used is and remains an ad- optical transmitter included in development from Toshiba. This module can be fitted
ditional analogue "long way" that can kit OXE 101. direct onto a PC board, and requires no
 18 EE
May 1988

2 3 a

TTL ,npul
DORM
os Vpp V AVI
IAAV
AAA A VV
VVV AA VVVT
A 1111
+5v0t 57004- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

GND o -- _fibre b LOS dataward (len)

optic
Soldered to PC board

FOT UNITIm
cable
fry

OV
SJACI. 0 0 0 0
1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1.511 dataword (left) M50

81.0000-1-5

Fig. 3. Sinusoidal signal (a) supplied by the digital output of a compact disc player converted
to logic high and low levels (b) with the aid of a Schmitt -trigger.

Transmitting IC 880 N1...N.1=1C2= 74L500

C1500

1C1
Input 7..15V 81
7805
vcc cil ci co Cam
n0 Cs ram. C!)
IC2
17-CONT 17200 2200 IGOri TOn 1731,
25V 26V 25V
GND

880040-1-4 tant
C6

33i' R4
25V IC3
Fig. 2. The -rost.DK single -chip fibre optic C7

transmitter from Toshiba. RI

-11 DELEC

n IR module
further parts to receive the plug on the
fibre optic cable. The emitter diode is fit- T-1510
ted behind a small window in the centre
of the IC. An exteral connection, k,
makes it possible to set the forward di- 8606401-6

ode current with the aid of a series re-

sistor to Vcc (+5 V).
Neither the Hirschmann nor the Toshiba Fig. 4. Circuit diagram of the digital optical transmitter based on the IR module from Delec.
system discussed above can be driven
direct from the digital output on the CD range of top class CD players. It is, how- combination R2 -Rs -NI -N3 -N4. Gate NI
player, since this usually supplies signals ever, less suited to use in an upgrade and feedback resistors R2 -R3 form an
to the Digital Audio Interface (Philips - system, because it has a relatively short amplifier for converting the input signal
Sony) standard, which is, unfortunately, transmission range of about 5 in at a di- from sinusoidal to rectangular. The
not TTL-compatible. ode current of 20 mA, and in addition is other gates in the 74LS00 package func-
fairly difficult to obtain. Obviously, the tion as drivers for the transmitter
limited range is a particular disadvan- module.
Interface considerations tage when an active loudspeaker is to be The block diagram of the module (see
The digital output on most CD players is driven. Fig. 5) shows that the input amplifier
unbalanced, yet free from a reference A recently introduced fibre optic has two inputs. A differential network
voltage level. On an oscilloscope, the transmitter module from Delec of dU/dT ensures clearly defined pulse
output signal does not look digital at all: Federal Germany has a much larger transitions, and feeds the signal to the
rather, it is a sinusoidal alternating range thanks to the use of an emitter op- IRED driver, which is capable of sinking
voltage with an amplitude of 500 mVpp. erated at 40 mA. This module can at least 40 mA. The IRED used here is
The prescribed termination resistance, handle data rates up to 20 Mbit/s, and is the Type T-1510 from Hewlett Packard,
75 Q, is the same as that used in video simple to use in conjunction with the as-
systems. Figure 3 shows that the signal is sociated receiver module that will be dis- 5
none the less digital, as revealed by the cussed in a forthcoming design idea. 05V

use of a Schmitt -trigger. The logic ones

and zeros are somewhat difficult to
distinguish owing to the so-called The practical design dU
0/5V
OUT
biphase mark coding of the digital The circuit diagram of the digital optical dt (80mA)
signal. transmitter is shown in Fig. 4. The
Toshiba supply a special Tosmac module digital signal from the CD player is ap-
provided with an AC coupled input for plied to the circuit via a short length of
the digital audio signal. This module, thin coaxial cable or shielded wire ter-
designated TOML172, appears to have minated in a phono socket. The input 60,0040+7

been adopted as the standard fibre optic impedance of the transmitter is 'close to
interface, and is already being used in 75 Q, which is the total equivalent resist- Fig. 5. Functional representation of the
the Type TOTX172 transmitter fitted in a ance of RI and capacitively coupled Delec module.
 EE
May 1988

Parts list

Resistors 5%1:

Ri =80R6F
R2;133 = 2K2F
R4= 10R

Capacitors:

Ci;C2=220p; 35 V
C3;C4= 100n
Cs;C6=33,u; 25 V; tantalum
C7= 10n

Semiconductors:

E31= bridge rectifier 880C1500

Di =T-1510 (Hewlett-Packard Components
Group Harman House 1 George Street
Uxbridge Middlesex UB8 1YH. Tel.: (08951
72020. Tlx: 893134/5.
ICI =7805
1C2=74LSOO
IC3= IR transmitter module. Available from
Delec Electronic GmbH Dieselstrasse 30
6352 Obermarlen West Germany. Tele-
phone: +49 (6002) 1430.

Miscellaneous:

3.5 mm jack socket for PCB mounting.

gold-plated phono socket for PCB mounting.
PCB Type 880040-1 (see Readers Services
page).
Fig. 6. Printed circuit board for the digital optical transmitter.

which features relatively high radiant

power and fast pulse response.
The power supply for the fibre optic
transmitter is of conventional design,
and requires no further discussion. The
input voltage is obtained from a suitable
mains transformer, or a mains adapter,
which should be able to deliver at least
300 mA (AC or DC).
The printed circuit board for the digital
optical transmitter is shown in Fig. 6.
The digital input socket is preferably a
eold-plated phono type for PCB mount-
ing. The completed board may be fitted
in an ABS enclosure-screening should
not be required here.
The optical emitter is housed in a
specially aligned socket assembly which
is simple to fit onto the PCB. The
mating plug is a small plastic tube that
receives the fibre optic cable. Details on

Fig. 8. Cross-sectional view of the Motorola

fibre optic connection system.
20 EE
May 1988
fibre optic transmit and receive compo-
nents from Motorola are given in Figs. 7
and 8.

The fibre optic receiver and 16 -bit,

quadruple oversampling, D -A converter
with will be discussed in a forthcoming
issue of Elektor Electronics. Gb

For further reading:

Photonics. Elektor Electronics
March 1986, p. 46.
The compact disc. Elektor Elec-
tronics July/August 1987, p. 39.
Application note for TOSLINK
GH/Hii. Toshiba ref. no. 3904C 86-
8(H). Toshiba Europe GmbH
Hammer Landstrasse 115 4040
Neuss 1 Federal Germany. Toshiba
(UK) Ltd. Toshiba House
Frimley Road Camberley Surrey
GU16 15JJ. Telephone: (0276) 62222.
Fig. 7. Optical connection system from Motorola. The ender diode housed in the PCB
mount socket.
Note: We remind readers of the fact
that this article is a Design Idea. Ac-
cordingly, it deals with recently in-
troduced components, whose general
availability can not be guaranteed at
the time of publication. The relevant
sources are, however, indicated in the
parts list. The prototype of the digital
optical transmitter shown in the ac-
companying photograph incorporates
a pre -production type of the Delec IR
module. Also note that a comprehen-
sive range of fibre optic components
is available from Electromail P.O.
Box 33 Corby Northants
NN17 9EL. Fig. 9. Prototype of the digital optical transmitter connected to a fibre optic cable via
Hewlett-Packard plug.

The KSS2308 is 23 mm in diameter by

AUDIO & HI-FI NEWS 8.7 mm high, with 10 mm pin pitch. The
KSS3108 is 32 mm in diameter by 15 mm
Enclosed speakers for PCB high with 17.5 mm pin pitch. Both
speakers have an impedance of 8 ohms.
mounting Input ratings are 150 W and 200 W and
Roxburgh Electronics has introduced frequency ranges 700-3000 Hz and
two new models to its range of miniature 700-4000 Hz respectively.
loudspeakers: the KSS2308 and Further information from: Roxburgh
KSS3108. These are fully enclosed in an Electronics Ltd 22 Winchelsea Road
ABS housing to provide a rugged unit RYE East Sussex TN31 TEL
protected from damage to the Mylar Telephone (0797) 223777.
cone and fitted with pin terminals some of the better quality proprietary
suitable for mounting direct onto a PCB.
amplifiers. The upgraded versions use
the highest quality components cur-
rently available.
Power amplifier kits Prices of the kits ranee from around
Audiokits have introduced a new, high- £300 for a standard stereo amplifier to
performance power amplifier: the Vir- about £800 for a 200 W bridged mono
amplifier.
tuoso. Designed by Graham Nalty, the Further information from Audiokits
amplifier is designed to provide about Precision Components 6 Mill Close
100 Wes stereo into an 8 -ohm load. Borrowash Derby DE7 3GU
Optional additions provide for 150 W Telephone (0332) 674929.
and 200 W bridged mono operation.
Standard versions of the Virtuoso use
high -quality components, comparable to
 COPPER -ON -CERAMIC MICRO-
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
by Harry Cole, CEng, MIERE

As the technology of modern micro -electronic circuitry advances,

so too does the need to convey digitally coded signals at ever
increasing rates. This requirement assumes considerable
importance in the multi -layer type of circuit board where many
widely spaced ICs have to be interconnected with negligible loss
of amplitude.

Traditionally, gold has been used for in- reason, copper printed substrates are
terconnection purposes in chip carriers fired in an inert nitrogen atmosphere
intended for military and aerospace ap- containing a critically controlled doping
plications where high reliability is of level of oxygen. The special furnace was
prime importance. Unfortunately, the designed in-house by the Micro-
relatively high electrical resistivity of electronics Technology Centre at Hat-
gold (0.02 p42 m) and the need for thin- field.
ner interconnections makes this material When manufacture is complete, the
unsuitable for the interconnection of printed substrate is subjected to a rigor-
densely packed ICs. ous programme of bare -board electrical
Copper, although lacking some of the tests to verify the correctness and con-
desirable properties of gold, has a resis- tinuity of its circuit and connection pat-
tivityof 0.016µQ m which is con- terns.
siderably lower and has good solder- A wide variety' f components can be ac-
ability. It is much cheaper and has good commodated on the printed substrate,
adhesion properties when bonded to cir- including ceramic and tantalum chip
cuit board materials. capacitors and leadless chip carriers con-
The Micro -electronics Technology taining up to 68 connection pins (this
Centre of British Aerospace's Air capability will shortly be expanded to ac-
Weapons Division at Hatfield has commodate larger chip carriers with up
devoted considerable research into the Double- sided copper -on -ceramic electronic
module. to 84 pins). The chip carriers referred to
use of copper interconnections laid here are rectangular in shape and have
down on substrates formed of alu- connection pads located along all four
minium oxide ceramic. It has developed sides spaced at pitch intervals of 1 mm
a fully documented repeatable process being constructed. or 1.27 mm.
that can produce substrates in a variety Interconnection between various metal A particularly valuable advantage of
of flat rectangular sizes up to 152 mm x layers is achieved by the printing of cop- packaging ICs inside chip carriers is that
183 mm. per connector "slugs" in an isolation it enables them to be fully tested and
window cut into the dielectric insulation. qualified prior to being mounted on the
This form of connection is known as a ceramic circuit board.
Glass sealing glaze "via".
After being processed, the substrate can The final printed layer of each board
be machined by laser beam to virtually takes the form of, a high glass content Easier flux clearance
any shape, complete with access holes as glaze that effectively seals all preceding Once the ICs and components have been
required. The circuit interconnections conductor layers from environmental assembled on the board they are re-
are laid down on the ceramic substrate hazards during subsequent manufactur- strained by an elastomeric fixative and
using screen printing technology, and ing processes. A complete circuit may then soldered into position by the tech-
circuit tracks as thin as 0.18 mm can be undergo as many as 50 screen printing nique of reflow soldering. Because the
produced. operations and 30 separate firing cycles. body of the chip carrier is made from a
Each circuit board may have up to six During each firing cycle the printed ceramic material similar to that from
separate conducting layers, including substrate is subjected to a temperature which the circuit substrate is made, it has
gridded power and ground (earth) profile that peaks at about 900 °C. similar thermal characteristics and the
planes, the top layers containing the soldered joints are not subjected to
electrode attachment pads for the com- significant thermally induced stresses.
ponents to be fitted. Electrical isolation Special furnace The process developed by the Micro-
between the copper conducting layers is In the atmosphere of a conventional fur- electronics Technology Centre for the at-
achieved by printing from two to five nace such a temperature would cause the tachment of components to circuit
layers of dielectric material, the final printed copper to oxidize, with conse- boards results in a controlled stand-off
thickness being tailored to suit the re- quent degradation of its electrical per- (board clearance) height for the
quired insulating properties of the circuit formance and solderability. For this mounted components of about 380 mm.
 EE
May 1988
The advantages that come from such a Punishing tests 130 mW/cm2, and switched on and off
clearance are that they ease the clearing repeatedly for 20 temperature cycles.
of flux residues from under the compo- The plate functions as both a structural
nents and make possible the close in- support and a very efficient heat sink.
spection of solder joints by either nor- This form of assembly is used where Automated manufacture
mal visual means or new techniques such space is restricted. The heat -removing
as X-ray microfocus. This type of inspec- properties of the assembly are further In addition, high frequency power cycle
tion is not possible without stand-off enhanced by the use of high thermal was superimposed on 70 temperature
height. conductivity material for the elastomeric cycles while power at 130 mW/cm2 was
The complete clearance of flux residues adhesive employed forcomponent place- switched on and off at one minute inter-
ment and for attaching the boards to the vals.
is highly desirable since the presence of
such contaminants can pose a serious core plate. In addition to its design and manufac-
risk to long-term reliability. Circuit board assemblies using the back- turing capabilities at Hatfield, the
to-back method of mounting have been Micro -electronics Technology Centre can
External connections to the circuit board also undertake the modification and
are made by a surface -mounted connec- subjected to an independent series of
tor with soldered joints formed by tests carried out by the Components repair of fully assembled boards. It can,
reflow soldering. Evaluation Department of British for example, remove and replace all sizes
Aerospace's Air Weapons Division. of leadless chip carriers, chip capacitors,
There are essentially two methods of as- chip resistors and flat conductor cable,
sembly adopted by the Micro -electronics The tests, which are punishing to any
Technology Centre. The first makes use electronic assembly, have included and cut and isolate copper track.
of a single sided board fitted with metal operating temperatures ranging from Work is under way to commission an
edge supports so that the ceramic board -55 °C to 125 °C; damp heat storage at automated production facility dedicated
85% relative humidity at 85 °C for 1000 to the manufacture of copper -on -
can be inserted directly into a standard ceramic multi -layer modules using the
Eurocard rack. The second method takes hours; a one minute acceleration of a
advantage of the good thermal conduc- gravitational force (g) of 1000 (9806 operating experience acquired from the
tivity of the aluminium oxide ceramic metres per second per second); 400 tem- company's existing design and manufac-
perature cycles ranging from -55 °C to turing service.
substrate and uses it as a heat sink for
two fully assembled ceramic boards 125 °C with ten minutes dwell time and
mounted back-to-back on either side of five minutes transfer time; and 100 cycles
an aluminium core plate. of ambient power cycling for 15 minutes Micro -electronics Technology Centre,
each side when dissipating 130 mW/cm2. British Aerospace PLC, Air Weapons
As if this was not enough, low frequency Division, Manor Road, HATFIELD
power cycling was imposed at ALIO 9LL.

BREAKTHROUGH IN
SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS
by Peter Hartley, MIMGTechE

One of the technological sensations of the past eighteen months

has been the race towards the first effective room temperature
superconducting material. Apart from achieving reliability, one of
the major problems is how to fabricate useful products on a
commercial basis from the new breed of ceramic materials.

Basic Volume 0), a specialist sensors consisting of yttrium, barium, copper produce samples of Yii,Bao4Cu04.. with
and electronics materials company, and oxygen. This opened up the possi- a superconductivity transition tempera-
claims to have produced the world's first bility of using liquid nitrogen, which ture of -213 °C, and this was rapidly
superconducting solenoid in a ceramic boils at -196 °C and is much cheaper to improved upon with its so-called
material. This development could start use than helium as a coolant. YBC0123 compound in April.
an avalanche of applications for super- On 24 April, after three previously un-
conducting ceramics. successful attempts, the company
Superconductivity, the phenomenon in Single -turn solenoid managed to produce a ceramic supercon-
which a material loses all its resistance to Basic Volume, which manufactures ducting single -turn solenoid. This was
electric current, was until comparatively solid-state chemical sensors and signal made of YBC0123, measured 90 mm
recently observed only at temperatures process electronics, was actually produc- long with a 14 mm outside diameter and
below -250 °C. This required the use of ing some of the materials used for super- a radial thickness of 3 mm. The device's
liquid helium as a coolant. conductivity researches enabling the material was also, unlike some other
In February 1987, however, Dr Paul Chu company's Dr Tim Tavares and his team similar materials, stable in water.
at the University of Houston in the to experiment with materials that were This development means that many
United States discovered a ceramic com- available immediately. commercial applications of the new
pound that superconducts at -183 °C, In March 1987, the company was able to nitrogen -cooled ceramic supercon-
 EE 111
May 1988
ductors are months rather than years
away. Among the uses immediately en-
visaged are: nuclear magnetic resonance
equipment, magnetic mineral separa-
tion, magnetic bearings, high torque dc
electric motors, spin resonance spec-
troscopy equipment, and electronic im-
aging apparatus.

Metal matrix composites

Dr James Watson of Southampton Uni-
versity, a specialist in the magnetic
separation of minerals, has been sup-
plied by Basic Volume with tubes of
YBA2 CU3 063-7 superconducting cer-
amic. These tubes, which are 37 mm in
diameter, 90 mm long and 1 mm thick,
superconduct reliably at temperatures up
to -196 °C.
He finds that the material supplied to
him by Basic Volume provides a much
higher density than competitive products
- 90% of the theoretical maximum -
and allows current carrying capacities up
to 5 x 104 A/cm2.
Superconductors may have made the
technological headlines during the past
year, but an equally exciting engineering
materials development has been that of A metal matrix composite containing a hybrid of short 3 pm diameter alumina fibres and sili-
con carbide coated boron fibres.
the commercialization of metal matrix
composites.
To most engineers, the word composites
conjures up the image of plastics rein-
forced with glass or carbon fibres. In
these materials, the fibres confer (LPF) process, a new technique for mak-
strength to an otherwise mechanically Glass ceramics
ing components from fibre -reinforced
weak material. The fibres take the load metals. Ceramic Developments (Midlands) Ltd
and the polymer matrix serves to distrib- (CDML) (4) is carrying out a range of
ute this load equally between them. investigations into the engineering appli-
cations of glass ceramics. These differ
Producing complex shapes from true glasses in being polycrystalline
Commercial applications of MMCs, cur- ceramics resulting from the crystalliz-
Large capacity production rently at the feasibility demonstration ation of glasses.
The same principle is used in a family of stage, include: components for the They differ from traditional engineering
new materials - metal matrix com- automotive industry such as pistons, ceramics in that the starting material is
posites (MMCs) - in which a metallic connecting rods, brake callipers, and nearly always completely amorphous
phase (the matrix) is reinforced by very wheels; gas cylinders; marine propellers; and not the product of the liquid phase
strong ceramic or metal fibres, whiskers armour plate; lead battery plates; bicycle sintering of ceramic precursors.
or particles. frames; robotic arms; overhead pan- CDML has carried out an internal devel-
In 1984, the British Collyear Committee tographs for electric trains; and opment programme aimed at producing
Report on new engineering materials specialist tools. a range of photomachinable glasses and
and processes states that the key areas The LPF process is a technique for the glass ceramics with differing expansion
for development in MMCs were con- production of ceramic fibre -reinforced coefficients in the range 7 x 10-6/°C to
cerned with the technology of producing metal components to net shape or near 11 x 10-6/°C.
them in tonnage quantities. net shape, with excellent dimensional Augmented by CDML-funded research
This is an aim towards which the Metals tolerances and exceptional mechanical at Sheffield University this has led to the
Technology Centre at the Hanvell properties. development of a useful range of
Laboratory (2) is deeply committed. The Various types of ceramic fibre, such as materials with potential for:
so-called MMC Club, organized by, and silicon carbide, alumina, boron and car- micro -electronics substrates where
centred on, Harwell, is carrying out bon, can be used with metals such as high densities at fine holes are needed
research into titanium -based MMCs aluminium, magnesium, lead zinc or for interconnection;
within the framework of the European copper alloys. o plasma display panels;
Community's BRITE (Base Research in The Cray LPF process can be used to o competition with low volume pro-
Industrial Technologies) programme. produce complex shapes that vary in size duction of ceramic components but
Cray Advanced Materials (3), backed by from a few centimetres up to 2 m x giving higher precision without pro-
the Cray Electronics Group, was formed 1.5 m x 1.5 m. It is essentially a single- hibitive tooling costs.
some 18 months ago to exploit MMCs batch process that produces a net -
commercially. The company operates shaped reinforced component with toler-
under a licensing agreement from ances in the region of ± 0.207d. Pro- Potential applications
Britain's Ministry of Defence and uses duction times are relatively short and die The Department of Trade and Industry
the patented liquid pressure forming costs low for the volume output. has recently awarded the company a
 24 EE
May 1988
grant of £28,000 to further this project. Since copper is a better electrical con- Radiation dosemeter
Glass ceramics developed at CDML ductor, it provides maximum protection
show abrasion resistances comparable to with a fraction of the thickness used Another interesting innovation on the
that of boron carbide. Potential appli- with other methods, resulting in lighter plastics front is the development of 20%
cations for this material are pipe linings, fabrications and greater cost savings. and 30010 glass fibre -reinforced, nuclear
the coatings for moving parts operating Shielding effectiveness is greater than radiation resistant, polyethersulphone
in abrasive environments, and possibly 80 dB with a copper thickness of only - Victrex PES - by ICI(7).
the plasma spraying of large metal com- 625 pm. The British custom -moulding company,
ponents in situ. According to Dr Ronald Total immersion in a series of chemical Jarzon Plastics(8) has added these
Jones, CDML's managing director and treatment baths ensures that all surfaces, materials to its range of engineering
founder, the firm is now at the stage of no matter how complex, receive a plastics. It has collaborated with the
being able to cast glass ceramic pipes uniform coating of metal. Pre -cleaning GEC company to design and produce
centrifugally. and etching give long lasting coating nuclear radiation dosemeters - worn on
One of the most impressive results of adhesion and ensure, it is claimed, that the wrist - in one of these materials,
work at CDML has been the successful electroless shields will not crack or flake which allows gamma rays to penetrate.
development of glass ceramic armour the way some arc sprayed zinc coatings After exposure to radiation, the
that shows a similar ballistic perform- can. dosemeters are slotted into a drawer of
ance, thickness -for -thickness, to that of The process can be used for both solid the same material, which in turn is slot-
alumina, when used as a protection injection moulded plastics parts and ted into a reader to obtain the radiation
against 7.62 nun calibre rifle bullets. structural foam plastics components, level readout.
The real advantages, however, are weight made from ABS, polycarbonate,
saving - since the ceramic glass has a polypheylene oxide, polystyrene and References:
density of only 2.4 g/cm3 as opposed to many other polymers. A final coating of
3.8 g/cm3 for alumina - and relatively electroless nickel protects against cor- 1. Basic Volume Ltd, 13a Cotswold
low processing costs. rosion, abrasion and provides a suitable Street, London SE27.
base for cosmetic finishing.
2. Harwell Laboratory, Harwell, Didcot,
Screening equipment Oxfordshire OX11 ORA.
A further useful development at CDML Elastomeric gaskets
has been the production of very high - Dowty Seals (6) claims to have achieved 3. Cray Advanced Materials Ltd, 6 Ar-
quality glasses and glass ceramics by Sol- a breakthrough in EMI/RFI screening moury Road, Lufton Trading Estate,
Gel technology. This involves polymeriz- with its new Dowshield range of conduc- Yeovil, Somerset BA22 8RL.
ing the silicate networks from ethoxy- tive elastomeric seals and gaskets. This
silanes by condensation polymerization.
The resultant glasses have a very high
surface area tension
range incorporates seven different com-
pounds and three types of seals
Dowprint, moulded seals
- 4. Ceramic Developments (Midlands)
Ltd, St Marks Road, St James In-
Corby, Northampton-
by heat treatment at about 500 °C. This profiles. shire NN18 8AN.
enables glass to be made for catalyst Four of the compounds are used
supports, barrier layers and coatings, specifically for the production of flat 5. Shipley Europe Ltd, Herald Way,
which are almost impossible to produce elastomeric gaskets by the company's Coventry CB3 2RQ.
by conventional fusing of oxides. Dowprint screen printing process. For
CDML is also researching the use of this, there is a choice of silicon or cross - 6. Dowty Seals Ltd, Ashchurch,
glass ceramic materials for use as strong, linked vinyl polymers, loaded with con- Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20
heat -dissipating substrates for thick -film ductive silver or silver-plated nickel par- 8JS.
circuitry. The company has formed a ticles. They provide a volume resistivity
consortium with Thorn -EMI, Lucas, as low as 0.0004 Q/cm and a signal at- 7. Imperial Chemical Industries PLC,
Wade and Engelhard, to develop and ex- tenuation as high as 106 dB by the Petrochemicals & Plastics Division,
ploit its work in this area. American Society for Testing Materials PO Box 6, Bessemer Road, Welwyn
Another area of United Kingdom elec- (ASTM) test method. Garden City, Hertfordshire AL7
tronics materials development has been The moulded seals and extruded compo- 1HD.
in the field of screening equipment nents employ silicon or fluoro-silicon
against electromagnetic interference materials loaded with silver-plated 8. Jarzon Plastics Ltd, Golden Crescent,
(EMI) and radio frequency interference nickel. Hayes, Middlesex UB3 IAQ.
(RFI). Thus, in anticipation of new and
tougher European Community legis-
lation on allowable levels of elec-
tromagnetic noise emissions from equip-
ment, Shipley Europe (5) has introduced
a new EMI shielding technique based on
the firm's well established electroless
plating technology.

Longlasting adhesion
The chemical process involved deposits
uniform thicknesses of copper and
nickel coatings on all component sur-
faces to give, it is claimed, a 40 dB im-
provement in attenuation of EMI over
previous methods such as arc spraying of
zinc or the use of conductive nickel
paints.
 May 19::

TEST & MEASURING EQUIPMENT

Part 2: Digital Storage Oscilloscope
by Julian Nolan

The Federal German firm of Hameg is one of the best known

manufacturers of low-cost oscilloscopes. Their recently revised
range of scopes includes the HM205-2 digital storage model,
chosen for this month's review.

Hameg's revised range of oscilloscopes amplifiers is good: 8 divisions at

extends from the HM203-6 dual -trace, 20 MHz. At frequencies above this, the
20 MHz instrument to the HM208 dual - dynamic range, as might be expected,
trace, 20 MHz sampling rate digital decreases quite dramatically and is virtu-
storage model. Options include an ally non-existent above 65 MHz.
IEEE -488 bus and graphic primer, which In terms of frequency -dependent attenu-
is compatible with the HNI205 and ation, both Y -amplifiers perform well:
HM208. the -3 dB point lies well over the speci-
The HM205-2 is an uprated version of fied 20 MHz. Unusually, both channels
the earlier HM205 and offers a 5 MHz can be inverted, allowing easy addition
per channel sampling rate, dot join fa- or subtraction of waveforms from either
cility and DC -20 MHz bandwidth when channel.
used as an analogue instrument. The Fig. 1. General view of the Hameg HM205-2 Chopped (500 kHz) or alternate modes
HM205 and HM205-2 are based on the are selected manually by a group of 3
HM203-6, so that the parts of this review push -buttons that also incorporate
not dealing with the digital facilities of Chl/Ch2; trigger 1/2; and add modes.
the HM205-2 are also relevant to the Owing to the large number of functions
HM203-6. incorporated, operation of these con-
The HM205-2 is supplied complete with trols can be tedious.
2 probes and retails at £527, excl. VAT. It Also incorporated is a calibrator, which
is of compact design, measuring may be switched between 2 V and 0.2 V
285 x 145 x 380 mm (Wx H x D), and is outputs. With a rise time of 3 ns, this fa-
immediately recognizable as a Hameg cility is useful for functions outside that
instrument by its moulded plastic front of probe compensation.
surround and techno-brown enclosure.
The layout of the front panel is fairly Triggering. The HM205-2 is equipped
conventional, apart from the inclusion with a fairly comprehensive range of
of a group of 6 push -buttons for the triggering facilities, including LF and
control of the digital storage functions HF filtering, positive and negative TV
The front panel of the HM205-2 has Fig. 2. Close-up of front panel of HM205-2 synchronization, and trigger hold -off. A
been redesigned to some extent as com- notable absentee here is alternate chan-
pared with the earlier model because of nel sourcing: stable display of synchron-
the removal of the graticule illumination ous signals is, therefore, possible only in
and the inclusion of a more comprehen- 30 pF, which is some 10 pF higher than the dual trace mode.
sive storage and TV trigger facilities. The that on some competitive instruments. Triggering is generally reliable and oper-
instrument is fitted with a swivel stand This should, however, not cause any ation is aided by a LED status indicator.
that easily locks in a convenient number problems for most purposes. In automatic (bright line) mode, the trig-
of positions, and is generally much In common with those on other gering level is set at constant. While this
easier to operate than that on many German -made oscilloscopes, the vari- is perfectly acceptable if the instrument
competitive instruments. able controls increase sensitivity to a is AC coupled, with DC coupling it
Mains voltage selection is externally maximum of about 2 mV/div: maximum means that only signals with a zero
switchable between 110 VAC and calibrated sensitivity is 5-mV/div. A good crossing point can be measured, unless
240 VAC. Power consumption at 42 range of deflection coefficients is pro- the instrument is set to normal mode.
watts is, perhaps, a little on the high vided. The minimum sensitivity is Also, if, for instance, it is desired to trig-
side, considering the HM205-2's ac- 20 V/div, which enables relatively high ger on, say, the lower part of the rising
celerating voltage of 2 kV. voltages to be measured without the use edge of a waveform, the scope again
of a :10 probe. must be set to normal mode. TV mode
Analogue operation Ringing and rounding are kept to triggering is effective on both positive
Y -amplifiers. The input capacitance of reasonable levels, and overshoot is and negative synchronization video
the Y -amplifiers is somewhat high: minimal. The dynamic range of both Y - signals. The inclusion of trigger hold -off
 26 EE
May 1988
enables the triggering on complex practical measurement frequency is
waveforms, irrespective of the timebase about 500 kHz, compared with the
speed. theoretical Nyquist frequency of
Triggering bandwidth and sensitivity are 2.5 MHz. The 500 kHz range allows for
good: the sensitivity is a 1/2 division up 256 points per cycle which, coupled with
to 40 MHz. External sensitivity is 0.3 V the dot join facility, enables a reasonable
up to 40 MHz. The maximum trigger reconstruction of a sine wave to be
frequency appears to be about 70 MHz, achieved. The dot -joint facility itself
although, as stated earlier, the dynamic enables the joining of adjacent points,
range is virtually non-existent at this fre- creating the effect shown in Fig. 3 (worst
quency. case example; x10 magnification on).
Timebase. In common with some other Some frequency -dependent attenuation
20 MHz oscilloscopes, a range of 500 ns is noticeable at frequencies above
to 0.2 s per division is covered by the Fig. 3. Storage mode, x 10 magnification, 300 kHz, but this does not seriously af-
analogue timebase. The deflection speed with dot join facility inoperative. fect the response until frequencies above
may be extended to 50 ns/div when the 600 kHz are reached.
timebase is calibrated, or to 20 ns/div The A -D converters appear to have good
when the timebase is uncalibrated, with 4 differential linearity, although the ver-
the aid of the x10 magnifier. Accuracy tical resolution is obviously limited to
is typically ±3010 and ±5% with and 256 points. The vertical resolution of 8
without the magnifier respectively. it ,Pt A A It it tt bits is accepted almost universally in
Linearity is good throughout all the
timebase speeds and complements the
good overall timebase performance. As
tilflitititf low-cost DSOs as the best trade off be-
tween speed, resolution and price. The
total on -screen calibrated vertical resol-
with the Y -amplifiers, it might have been f If If 11 if I I I; ution of the HM205-2 is 28 points per
useful to decrease the speed with the division, while the corresponding
continuously variable control rather horizontal resolution is 1024 points, or
than increase it. This would have allowed 100 points per division on both traces.
a maximum calibrated sweep speed of The horizontal resolution should prove
20 ns/div, which would obviously be Fig. 4. As Fig. 3 but with dot join facility to be acceptable for most purposes when
more accurate than the corresponding operating. the trace is not magnified. However,
speed set by the preset. with the trace magnified x10, some
CRT. The performance of the cathode waveforms are difficult to distinguish
ray tube is very much like that of other without (and sometimes even with) the
2 kV tubes and should be acceptable for dot join facility in operation. The instru-
most purposes. Although not outstand- ment would have benefited from the ex-
ing, it offers a good level of brightness tra resolution afforded by a 2 K or 4 K
coupled with relatively sharp focusing. point horizontal resolution system. Per
A good and fairly even level of channel, 1 K or memory storage is pro-
brightness is maintained over all sweep vided, bringing the total memory to 2 K,
speeds, including x10 magnification. At enabling the storage or recall of up to 2
the higher brightness levels, should these traces.
be needed, some refocusing is necessary, Digital storage timebase speeds range
although only to a small extent. from 5 s/div to 2 ps/div, and these can
While both pincushioning and barelling be magnified with the x10 deflection
are kept well within reasonable limits, Fig. 5. Storage mode with x 10 magnifier in-
operative. magnifier. These timebase speeds should
tube geometry is a little less certain, with be adequate for most purposes, with the
noticeable defocusing occurring at either total capture time ranging from 50 s to
end of the trace. This is, however, not verters and storage SRAMs. Considering 20 ps. Overrange timebase operation is
severe and does not affect measurement that before the introduction of the indicated both audibly and visually, in-
accuracy. HM205-2 digital storage oscilloscopes suring against the possibility of false
with a 2 MHz sampling rate, or better, measurements.
cost at least £1,500, the HM205-2's sam- As already mentioned, a single -shot trig-
Digital storage modes and pling rate of 5 MHz per channel pro- gering facility is available, which allows
vides an excellent price/performance the capture of non -repetitive events, such
features ratio. as switch debounce or digital pulse
The HM205-2 offers four main Digital storage is particularly advan- trains. In addition to this extremely
operating modes: refresh, single shot, tageous for the measurement of low - useful feature, the normal trigger
hold Chl and hold Ch2. The refresh frequency and non -recurring signals. facilities are also available, as in the
mode enables the screen to be constantly Although the HM205-2 meets the re- analogue mode.
updated and prevents the flicker associ- quirements for such measurements with
ated with lower sweep speeds. In single- its single -shot and refresh modes, it
shot mode, the instrument triggers once would have been helpful if some sort of Component tester
on the incoming signal; a reset button is pre -trigger facility had been provided. This well -established feature of Hameg
provided for resetting the sweep. The However, considering the HM205-2 oscilloscopes allows the checking of
other two functions are self explanatory. price, only about £200 more than the components by the display of a V-1 curve
One of the main criteria of any storage non -storage HM203-6, it is, perhaps, not of the device under test. For example, a
scope is its sampling rate. In recent surprising that the instrument lacks right angle is produced for a typical
years, in spite of lower prices, this has some of the facilities of its more expens- semiconductor junction, while a straight
steadily increased. Lower prices have ive rivals. line can be expected for a resistor. The
largely been brought about by the Owing to the absence of sine or pulse in- test voltage is 8.5 Vim, which makes it
dramatic fall in costs of flash A -D con - terpolation facilities, the maximum compatible with a wide range of compo-
 EE
May 1988
nents. Complete circuits may also be
Table 1.
tested if the response that may be ex-
pected is previously known. Overall, the SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS
component tester is proved to be genu- Mains voltage: 110-125-220-240 VAC
inely useful in providing a very quick ±10%, externally adjustable: frequency
and clear indication of whether a com- 50/60/400 Hz.
ponent in serviceable, along with, in Power consumption: 30 W.
most instances, an indication of its
value. MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION
Dimensions: 285 x 145 x 380 mm
(WxHxD).
Housing: steel sheet.
Construction Weight: approx. 8 kg.
The complexity of the 1-1M205-2 causes
its innards to be rather cramped and this Fig. 6. Internal side view of I1111205-2. Y/AMPLIFIER
may prove troublesome when the instru- Operating modes: CH1 or Ch2 alone -
ment has to be serviced. Having said inversion capability on both channels;
dual Ch1 and Ch2 (alternate or chopped
that, all six PCBs are of epoxy glass and - 500 kHz); Ch1 + Ch2.
construction is of a high standard for an Frequency response: DC to 20 MHz
instrument in this price range. Ribbon ( -3 dB).
cables and IDC connectors are used Rise time: 17.5 ns
throughout the instrument. All this in- Deflection factor: 12 steps - 5 mV/div to
dicates that a good level of reliability 20 V/div -±3% vernier control adjusts
should be expected. Accessibility is par- max. sensitivity on 5 mV/div range to
ticularly difficult around the PCB hous- about 2 mV/div (fully cwt.
ing the A -D converters, control logic, Input coupling: AC, DC, or GND.
Input impedance: 1 MQ/30 pF.
and memory, which is sandwiched be- Maximum input voltage: 400 (DC + peak
tween the boards containing the AC).
analogue circuitry.
Externally, the instrument is also con X -Y mode
structed to a high standard. The enclos- Fig. 7. Internal view from top. Channel 1: Y axis.
ure is made from sheet steel with plastic Channel 2: X axis.
front and back panels. It is worth noting Bandwidth: DC to 2.5 MHz 1- 3 dB).
that, as on so many oscilloscopes, some X -Y phase difference: 3° at 120 kHz.
of the controls protrude some distance
SWEEP
from the front panel and might be easily Sweep time: 50 ns/div to 0.5 s/div ±3%
damaged in some environments. in 17 ranges at 1-2-5 sequence; vernier
control increases sweep to 200 ns/div.
Sweep magnification: x 10 ±5% on all
Manual ranges.
The HM205-2 is supplied with a good Hold off: variable up to 10:1.
manual, which contains extensive sec- TRIGGERING
tions on applications and the initial set- Trigger modes: auto (bright line + fixed
ting up of the instrument. Detailed cir- level), normal.
cuit diagrams and a circuit description Trigger coupling: AC, DC, HF and LF
are also provided. reject, TV frame and line.
Fig. 8. Internal view from underside. Trigger sources: Ch1, Ch2, Line, Ext.,
vertical (alternate).
Conclusion Triggering sensitivity: internal 0.5 div. at
40 MHz; external 0.3 Vpp at 40 MHz.
The HM205-2 offers good value for Other oscilloscopes available in the
money in its combination of a 5 MHz Hameg range. MISCELLANEOUS
sampling rate per channel, dot join fa- Analogue: CRT: make HAMEG; measuring area
cility, and refresh mode with a highly HM203-6 - dual trace; 20 MHz; 2 mV 80 x 100 mm; accelerating voltage 2 kV.
specified 20 MHz analogue oscilloscope. sensitivity; component tester; triggering Compensation signal for divider probe:
The DSO functions worked well and met to 40 MHz; active TV sync; 2 kV CRT; 2 Vpp or 0.2 Vpp ± 1%; frequency 1 kHz.
their specified limits, as did the instru- Vertical Ch1 or Ch2 output: approx.
£314 excl. VAT.
ment in the analogue mode. 50 mV/div into 50 Q.
HM606 - to be introduced shortly; Covered by 1 year warranty.
The performance of the tube was good, 60 MHz bandwidth; three Y -amplifiers
with above average grades of brightness (1 with fixed deflection coefficient); DIGITAL STORAGE SECTION
available at reasonable focusing levels. max. 1 mV sensitivity; dual timebases; Operating modes: refresh and single (with
The standard of construction is very maximum of 6 traces; full TV triggering reset and ready LED); hold Ch1 and Ch2;
good and should enable the instrument facilities; retail price not yet available. dot joiner.
to work successfully in a wide range of Digital: Memory size: 1024 x 8 bit for each
environmental conditions. channel.
HM208 - 20 MHz sampling rate; I mV Sampling rate: max. 5 MHz for each
The Hameg HM205-2 was supplied by sensitivity; roll and refresh modes; pen channel.
Hameg Ltd 74-78 Collingdon Street recorder output; 4 K storage memory; Resolution: vertical 28 samples/div;
LUTON LUI 1RX Telephone IEEE option; 14 kV CRT; £1,460 excl. horizontal 100 samples/div.
(0582) 413174. VAT. X expansion: x 10 (X resolution
10 samples/div).
Options: analogue/digital output for
Hameg Graphic
Printer or X -Y Recorder.
28 EE
May 1988
time" schemes, or high -variety test situ- agnosis and incorporates safeguards
INSTRUMENT NEWS ations like maintenance. against accidental damage to today's
Contact: Intepro Systems Ltd Cres- sophisticated, computerized engine
New 80 MHz oscilloscope cent House 77-79 Christchurch Road management systems.
The HM806 oscilloscope from Levell is RINGWOOD BH24 1 DH Tele- Further information from: Beckman In-
capable of displaying signals from DC to phone (0202) 888052. dustrial Ltd Temple House 43-48
80 MHz on 3 channels with 2 timebases, New Street BIRMINGHAM B2 4LJ
delay line and trigger delay. Display is on Telephone 021-643 8899.
an 8 x10 div CRT with internal graticule Infotest from Schlumberger
and an accelerating voltage of 14 kV. Many aspects of testing electronic sub-
Maximum sensitivity is 1 mV/div. assemblies are covered in Schlumberger's
Timebase A covers 2.5 s to 5 ns per div- Infotest. This newsletter provides a use-
ision. An active TV -sync -separator is in- ful guide to trends across many elec-
cluded which improves triggering of tronic test technology and market sec- EVENTS
noisy or distorted video signals. tors, and is freely available to ATE users,
The HM806 is priced at £698, excl. VAT, specifiers, and company management. IEE Meetings this month
and is available from: Levell Electronics Contact Schlumberger Technologies 4 Electronics and the space pro-
Ltd Moxon Street BARNET ENS Automatic Test Equipment Division grammes.
5SD Telephone 01-449 5028. Ferndown Industrial Estate WIM- 6 High temperature superconduc-
BORNE BH21 7PP Telephone (0202) tors.
893535. 9 Microwave components in tele-
communications.
Recouping equipment costs 11 Data relay satellites.
Owners of high -quality; but now un- Alpha Electronics catalogue 12 The role of satellites in
used, equipment can realize valuable The latest Alpha Electronics full -colour tomorrow's fibre optic world.
revenue by selling such items through catalogue is now freely available and 20 Artificial intelligence in planning
Carston Electronics. features a complete range of test equip- for production control.
Carston has established a unique broker- ment to suit all applications and 23-25 Rural telecommunications.
age scheme that offers sellers a rapid budgets. 25 Power supplies for industrial
means of liquidizing the large sums of Detailed colour -coded sections include computer systems.
money that may be tied up in redundant digital and analogue multi -meter.
instruments, test equipment, computer Many instruments provided by Alpha Details from:
peripherals, and development systems. meet the requirements of the 15th The Institution of
Contact Carston Electronics Ltd 2-6 Edition IEE Wiring Regulations. Electrical Engineers
Queens Road TEDDINGTON TW11 For your free copy complete with price Savoy Place
OLR Telephone 01-943 4477. list, contact Alpha Electronics Ltd LONDON WC2R OBL
Unit 5Linstock Trading Estate Telephone: 01-240 1871
Wigan Road Atherton MAN-
Crotech Instruments CHESTER M29 OQA Telephone 9-11 May - Defence Components &
(0942) 873434. Equipment Exhibition at the NEC, Bir-
Engineers, hobbyists, and electronic en- mingham.
thusiasts will find much of interest in
Crotech's latest Test and Measuring In- 10-13 May - COMMUNICATIONS
struments Catalogue. It contains a wide Data acquisition system (Exhibition of Telecommunications,
selection of cost-effective oscilloscopes, Schlumberger Instruments' 3460 system Radio, Cable, Satellite, and Information
audio test equipment, and accessories. represents a new one -stop solution to Technology) at the NEC, Birmingham.
The oscilloscopes include Crotech's new data aquisition problems. All system Details of these two exhibitions from In-
model 3133, which was on special offer components for measurement, data dustrial and Trade Fairs Ltd Radcliffe
through this magazine during the first transmission, storage, and presentation House Blenheim Court
three months of this year. come in a convenient package, removing SOLIHULL West Midlands B91 2BG
For testing and developing AF systems, the need to shop around and eliminating Telephone 021-705 6707.
Crotech offers the Type 2017 autotune the possibility of compatibility prob-
distortion analyse/level meter. This is lems. 17-19 May - Scottish Technology Show at
described along with a precision low - Further information from: Schlum- the Scottish Exhibition and Conference
distortion signal generator and output berger-Solartron Victoria Road Centre, Glasgow. Details from Cahners
meter. These three items integrate to FARNBOROUGH GU14 7PW Tele- Exhibitions Ltd Chatsworth House
form a complete AF test system. phone (0252) 544433. 59 London Road TWICKENHAM
Contact: Crotech Instruments Ltd 2 TW1 3SZ Telephone 01-891 5051.
Stephenson Road St. Ives HUN-
TINGDON PEI7 4WJ Telephone 10-13 May - Elenex International Elec-
(0480) 301818. Beckman for AA trical/Electronic Exhibition, Hong
Electrical faults are a very common Kong. Details from BEAMA 8
cause of motor vehicle breakdown and, Leicester Street LONDON WC2H
while the repair may be simple, identify- 7BN Telephone 01-437 0678.
Power supply testing ing the cause is often difficult. To help
A fast -changeover fixturing system for its members become mobile again with 18-20 May - ShowTech '88 Berlin: Inter-
power supply testing is described in a minimum delay, the Automobile Associ- national Trade Fair and Congress (enter-
new leaflet. Called MIF, the new fixture ation has recently kitted out all its tainment technology, stage engineering
works by means of a lever -controlled ac- patrols with a Beckman digital engine and equipment). Details from AMK
tion, providing the speed required for analyser. This rugged, hand-held instru- Berlin Postfach 19 17 40
modern small -batch manufacturing en- ment, the VT100, has been designed Messedam 22 D-1000 BERLIN 19
vironments like those found in "just -in- specifically for vehicle electrical fault di- Telephone +49 30 30 38-1.
 EE
May 1988
to source information on car radios in growing branches of modern electronics
NEW LITERATURE Norway or video recorders in Spain, this and encompasses a wide variety of
is where you will find it. Marketeers, ex- devices, ranging from simple light bulbs
porters, or researchers can go straight to and light -emitting diodes to complete
Engineering Science official sources and publications, trade infra -red light -beam alarm and remote
by E. Hughes & C. Hughes journals, associations, databases, control systems.
ISBN 0-582-41380-X market research companies and trade This new manual discusses the basic
354 pages - 216 x 138 mm fair information. principles of the subject, and presents
Price £7.50 (soft cover) Over 500 leading consumer electronics over 200 practical circuits that use
The third edition of this well-known retailers and wholesalers are profiled, readily available optoelectronic devices.
textbook has been revised by W. Bolton down to the number of employees, These circuits include LED indicators
to take account of BTEC National Cer- financial performance, and type of and flashers, LED chasers and bargraph
tificate and Diploma course syllabuses outlet. In addition, over 150 detailed displays, 7 -segment displays, brightness -
in Engineering (the book being primar- profiles of major consumer electronics control circuits, and circuits based on
ily levels I and II), the City and Guilds companies with essential information light-sensitive devices and optocouplers,
Basic Engineering Competences (201) ranging from names, addresses, and tele- and others.
Science Background to Technology, the phone/telex numbers to products, A welcome book that fills a real gap in
Further Education Unit publication brands, and future prospects are set out the available literature on the subject.
Core Competences for Engineers (July in the directory's 400 pages. A summary
1984) and the Certificate of Pre - of statistical information rounds off the Heinemann Professional Publishing
Vocational Education (CPVE) prepara- directory with latest trends in consumer 22 Bedford Square
tory module for Physical Science. expenditure and consumption arranged LONDON WC1B 3HH
Since it was first published in 1970, country by country.
Engineering Science has become a stan- The European Consumer Electronics
dard text for students in general Directory is available from leading
engineering. booksellers or direct from the publisher: In addition to their full range catalogue,
The book is well illustrated. Symbols, Euromonitor Publications Limited BONEX have now produced an edited
abbreviations and definitions used are 87-88 Turnmill Street version. This "Rally Edition" is
based on PD5686:1972 and The Inter- LONDON EC1M 5QU available free of charge and is intended
national System of Units (SI). Price per copy: £135.00 to give prospective customers an idea of
Longman Scientific & Technical the range of electronic components
Longman House available from BONEX.
Burnt Mill The company was established in 1982 to
HARLOW Basic Engineering provide both the industrial and private
Essex CM20 2JE Thermodynamics sectors of the radio industry with
(Fourth Edition) specialist RF components, available off
by Rayner Joel the shelf. In the intervening years, their
ISBN 0-582-41626-4 range of components has grown enor-
The European Consumer 804 pages - 216 x 138 mm mously, but they state that they "will
Price £12.50 (soft cover) always be biased towards the radio side
Electronics Directory of the electronics industry".
Since it was first published in 1960,
Euromonitor has published a major new For further information, contact
reference work on the European con- under the title Heat Engines, Rayner BONEX Ltd
sumer electronics market. THE EURO- Joel's work quickly established itself as
a standard text on thermodynamics for 102 Churchfield Road
PEAN CONSUMER ELECTRONICS Acton
DIRECTORY covers 17 West European all students taking engineering courses.
It contains sufficient material for ONC LONDON W3 6DH
countries with detailed profiles of over Telephone 01-993 7631
600 major European consumer elec- and HNC courses, and could also be
tronics manufacturers, retailers, and useful for the first year of an engineering
wholesalers. Anyone with interests in degree or HND course.
this market will find the directory an in- Longman Scientific & Technical
dispensable source of information. Longman House
Drawn together from Euromonitor's ex- Burnt Mill Fact file from Lambda
tensive research, The European Con- HARLOW
Essex CM20 2JE A "Fact File", containing a short form
sumer Electronics Directory puts the in- catalogue aand data sheets and other
dustry in perspective with a market over- technical information on a wide range of
view revealing, amongst other things, laser and opto-electronic components
that the total European consumer elec- and equipment is available free of charge
tronics market is currently worth $25.62 Optoelectronics Circuits from: Lambda Photometrics Ltd
billion and is set to grow to $26.65 by the Lambda House Batford Mill
end of this decade. By 1990 sales of per- Manual
by R.M. Marston HARPENDEN AL5 5BZ Telephone
sonal computers, for instance, will be up (05827 64334).
just over 50% on their 1985 volume of ISBN 0-434-91211-5
4.66 million units, while TV sales will 182 pages - 216 x 138 mm
have a hard time before recovering their Price £10.95 (soft cover)
1986 volume. Optoelectronics is the study of any
Authoritative articles by leading experts devices that produce an electrically -
on the industry complement a wealth of induced optical (whether visible or not)
information for consumer electronics output, or an optically -induced elec-
marketeers - hundreds of key infor- trical output, and of the electronic tech-
mation sources are listed for every niques and circuitry used for controlling
European country covered. If you need such devices. It is one of the fastest -
30 EE
May 1988

Many owners of a personal computer and associated peripheral

equipment will at some time have wished that graphics
information available on screen could be sent to a plotter instead
of a slow, noisy printer operated in the dot-matrix mode. But then,
even the simplest of plotters is often more expensive than the
computer itself.
Not so the plotter described here, which is a unique project: fairly
simple to build, complete with a versatile and power -efficient
stepper motor interface driver, available in kit form, and offering a
good price/performance ratio. The final accuracy of the plotter
should be adequate for a host of graphics applications, and
depends mainly on the constructor's mechanical skills.
Matrix printers are fine for text appli- it possible to keep the mechanical con- bookshops and warehouses, and come in
cations, but can not handle graphics in- struction relatively simple, while allow- various colours for many types of inex-
formation very well. They are invariably ing many paper sizes to be used. The pensive drawing pen. The pen carriage
slow because in the bit image mode pix- platen is driven direct by a stepper on the plotter is shown in the photo-
els are printed one line at a time. In ad- motor; the pen carriage indirect by a graph of Fie. 1.
dition, their resolution is insufficient for string and a second stepper motor.
many applications, they are noisy, and Arguably, in the absence of an absolute The stepper motor interface board for
only very few types can handle large X -Y reference point, this arraneement the plotter can be driven by an 8 -bit Cen-
sheets of paper (A2; A3). has the disadvantage of being subject to tronics port, which is a standard outlet
accumulative positioning errors. For- available on the majority of modern
The plotter described here is not of the tunately, deviations caused by these er- computers. Control bits are arranged in
X -Y type commonly found in the least rors can be kept small in practice by en- a manner to enable direct connection of
expensive class of commercially suring that the paper and the carriage the Centronics port to the plotter inter-
available plotters, but is similar to a are not obstructed in their respective face board via a length of flat ribbon
standard text printer in that it has a pen movement. cable. The control circuit has been de-
carriage for the horizontal (X) direction, Small electro-magnets are used 'for lif- signed for efficient powering of the step-
and a platen (paper roller) for the ver- ting and lowering the three pens. These per motors and pen magnets. The power
tical (Y) direction. This approach makes are simply refills available from supply, exclusive of the mains trans-
 EE
May 1988
former, is accomodated on the interface onto the aluminium surface. Every pre-
board to make for a compact and simple caution should be taken to prevent the
to connect unit. total diameter of the platen increasing
where the sandpaper is secured. Two
pressure rollers, fitted on a movable axle,
rest on the sandpaper grips (see Fig. 4).
Mechanical construction To insert or remove a sheet of paper, the
The plotter is essentially a beam con- axle can be lifted by means of two small
struction as shown in Figs. 2a and 2b. tilt levers made from aluminium U -
Two aluminium support plates beam. The rollers are firmly pressed
(60 x 70 x 2 mm) at either side hold the onto the paper by the pull of two small
complete assembly in between them. The springs.
stepper motors are secured to the outside The platen is driven direct by a stepper
of the plates. Three round bars (dia. motor with a step size of 200 per revol-
6 mm solid aluminium or stainless steel ution. At the indicated platen diameter
tubing), and one square bar (10 x10 mm of 12 mm, this results in a resolution of
aluminium) are fitted between the sup- 0.19 mm/step. Half-step operation is
port plates. The length of the bars deter- also supported by the driver board, in-
mines the maximum paper size, and can creasing the attainable resolution to
be dimensioned to individual require- slightly less than 0.1 mm.
ment. A length of 508 mm, for example, The pen carriage is in essence a short
enables sideways drawing on A2 size length of aluminium U -beam. The guide
sheets of paper, often used in the rod runs through nylon slide bearings
graphics industry. (Skiffy) secured in holes drilled in the
legs of the U. Tilting of the pen carriage Fig. 1. The movable carriage on the plotter
Details on the construction of all the holds three pen refills in different colours.
is prevented by its rear side resting on Not visible in the photograph are the associ-
mechanical parts for building the plotter another rod. Carriage movement on the ated electromagnets for pen up/down con-
are shown in the working sheet of Fig. 3. guide bar is effected with the aid of a trol.
The paper roller is a round aluminium string. This is wound one and a half turn
rod (spindle) of 12 mm diameter fitted around a shaft, up to the height of the
immediately behind the square bar. securing screw, and then a further six to This ensures equal pen travel per step in
Good grip on the paper sheet is ensured ten turns upwards. The shaft is made the X and Y direction. Each pen is
by reducing the diameter of the platen a from the same material as the platen, guided through a hole drilled in the top
few tenths of a millimeter over two and is fitted onto the spindle of the step- of the U -beam, while the tips are kept
lengths of 30 mm by turning in a lathe, per motor. For optimum accuracy, the firmly positioned on or above the paper
and covering these areas in very fine total diameter of the shaft plus string with the aid of a support plate. The
sandpaper, wound spirally and glued should equal that of the platen (12 mm). square aluminium bar in front of the

Fig. 2. Working drawings of the assembled plotter seen from the front and top tat and from the sides (Ia.
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 EE
May 1988

Mechanical Parts list

4 off fixing rings for dia. 6 mm spindle (e.g. Skiffy 11-1-6).
1. side plate; left; aluminium; 60 x 70 x 2 mm. 1 off string wheel.
2. side plate; right; aluminium; 60x 70 x 2 mm. 3 off cylinder head screws M4 x 5.
3. angled support bracket for X motor; L-shaped aluminium; 2 off cylinder head screws M4 x 10 (for fixing part no. 31.
20 x 40 x 4 mm; length 60 mm. 1 off cylinder head screw M4 x 20 with 3 nuts.
4. square connection bar; aluminium 10 Y. 10 mm; 400 mm long'. 5 off M4 x 5 screws with countersunk head.
5. round connection bar; aluminium/stainless steel rod; dia. 6 mm; 4 off cylinder head screws M3 x 40 (for fixing stepper motors).
400 mm long'. 2 off cylinder head screws M3 Y 50 (for fixing part no. 151.
6. round support bar for pen carriage; dimensions as 5). 2 off cylinder head screws M3 x 10 (for fixing string).
7. round guide bar for pen carriage; dimensions as 5). 2 off cylinder head screws M3 x 15 (for fixing spring brackets).
8. round bar for pressure rolls; aluminium/stainless steel rod; dia. 4 off headless adjustment screws M3 x 3 (for fixing part nos. 9 and
6 mm; length 393 mm'. 10).
9. platen; round aluminium bar; dia. 12 mm; length 400 film'. 6 off bolts M2.6 x 5 (for fixing pen lift magnets).
10. shaft; aluminium; dia. 11.2 mm (see text); length 25 mm. 16 off hexagonal nuts M3.
11. tilt lever for pressure rolls spindle; U-shaped aluminium beam 2 off springs for pressure rolls spindle.
10 x 10x. 1 mm; length 48 mm. string; wound fishing line; 1100 mm..
12. see 11). fine grade sandpaper (for securing on platen).
13. angled support bracket for string wheel; U-shaped aluminium beam
15 x 15 x 2 mm; length 15 mm.
14. pen carriage; U-shaped aluminium beam 25x 50 x 3 mm; length Electromechanical parts:
60 mm.
15. pen positioning plate; aluminium; 8 x 50 > 2 mm. 2 off stepper motors; 200 steps/rev.; dual -phase bipolar;
16. pen carriage support; nylon; dia. 8 mm: length 23 mm. 200 mA/phase (e.g. Berger as used in disk drives).
3 off pen lift electromagnets; 12 V; e.g. Binder Magnete Type
40031-09800.
Miscellaneous parts:
' Length in accordance with required size of plotter.
6 off slide bearings; nylon; Skiffy 08-6. Distributor of Skiffy products in the UK is
1 off bushing for platen; nylon; Skiffy 08-4 or 08-6. Salterfix Fasteners Salter Springs & Pressings Limited Spring
2 off washer rings; internal dia. 3 mm; thickness 2 mm. Road Smethwick Warley West Midlands B66 1PF. Telephone:
2 off rubber pressure rolls (e.g. cable grommet). (021 5531 2929. Telex: 337877.

platen functions as a flat surface onto Circuit description of the current in the motor to rise to about
which the paper rests as the lines are 200 mA per phase. This rush -in current
drawn on it. An electromagnet to each plotter interface board flows only briefly due to the inductance
pen arranges for this to be lifted from The control circuit developed for the of the stator, and depends on the step
the paper when its colour is not required plotter is composed of a power supply, rate. The driver IC, however, will
at a particular co-ordinate position on two stepper motor drivers, three buffers counteract this reduction -within the
the sheet. for energizing the pen lift solenoids, and
an 8 -bit digital interface to the Cen-
practical limits of the supply voltage
to force a current flow of about
-
The drawings and photographs in this tronics standard. 200 mA.
article, in combination with the mechan- The diagram of Fig. 5 shows that the cir- Opening switch S2 disables the stepper
ical parts list, should give sufficient cuit is based around integrated stepper motors to allow manual positioning of
details on the basic construction of the motor drivers Type MC3479 from the carriage and/or the paper on the
plotter, which is reverted to below. Motorola or SGS. Three inputs of each platen. In addition, opening S2 resets
chip, clock, full/half step and direction, the logic circuitry internal to the driver
are driven direct by the computer via the ICs to the initial state, as indicated by
input connector. The fourth input, OIC, the illuminated LEDs. This state occurs
enables selection between high or low at each fourth (or eighth) step, and the
impedance termination of the energized LEDs will light correspondingly.
stator winding during half step oper- The circuit for controlling the pen lift
ation. This selection is used for optimiz- solenoids is relatively simple. Two -to-
ing the dynamic response of the relevant four decoder IC3 selects one of the three
motor. The resistor connected to the pens. When both IC inputs are held logic
SET input of the driver IC determines high, or are not connected, all three pens
the stator current. In the non -activated are lifted. The electromagnets are ac-
condition, T4 and T5 are turned off, so tuated via darlington transistors and R-
that the resistance between the SET in- C networks. In these, the capacitor en-
puts and ground is relatively high. This sures a relatively high pull -in current,
effectively keeps the stator current be- while the resistor limits the hold current
tween 60 and 70 mA, ensuring a modest to a level that is just high enough to keep
total dissipation of the motors and the the electromagnet actuated. Flyback
driver ICs, whilst maintaining sufficient diodes are fitted across the coils to sup-
torque to keep pens and paper securely press induced voltage peaks.
Fig. 4. Close-up of the sandpaper grip on the in position. A stepper motor is energized
platen, and the associated pressure roller plus when the interface board receives a
clips on the movable axle. Also note how the positive pulse transition on the relevant Cutting, drilling, filing...
4 -way flatcable to the carriage is wound on clock input (dc 1/2). The associated The mechanical parts are made or pur-
the rear rod to make a flexible connection MMV is triggered, switches on the tran- chased as indicated in the Mechanical
with the plotter interface board. sistor (T4 or T5), and causes the stator Parts List and the working sheet of
34 EE
May 1988

5
11'14001
5V I2V
H04
4
1 N4001
106 IC 5
78L05 7812 CV
010 07

21.0esa T

TIC3 1C4 08
UOn IC7 A5
r3o 18V 220, T000,25V 0tSV/ 1.SA

RS

84
151
11
51/ 5,o
PHA 0
DS

CCM! LI
9
2 811420
OIC
L3
L4 41 811520

R1S 12 '13
STEPPERMOTOR
100n CARRIAGE (X)
IC t*
4 C MC3479
Tr

528
MMV1

0
14

. 02 ck 1
0
all 03
BC
547
C 0
o's
cow / ow 1 03
016 21
b,11 113ICR
04 18 la 9 R20 RESET 16 1
011
ow tio
*42 05 FHA
14
7 S CLX 05
3 M2
taw /4+42 06 S3 CCIV LI
86SF
6/12 OtC L2
2 2420
6 61281
L3
It2870
1

1 pea 08 L4
021
1124 12 13
07 pro 09 R22 STEPPER MOTOR
10--
22
14
7006
15
IC2 * PAPER FEED .Y)

K1 C MC3479

S2
MMV2

T5
O 063
.92
BC 547
C4 0' C11

100,

(peal, (pent,

1H INS 1N
4148 4148A°2 4148 1:2:1
1-7k1:146 GI 1.13 US
P20
RIO IC2
P3

0 70a
RI1 C3
Ca 12V - MAGUET 5
BC wv R12
470o A
517 159
470p
R7 187
BC
TD EMI 517
A R8
3 BC
5 IC3 21 0 158
517
74LS 139
120
o
73
fa %me:eats/4 0
E17.491" Ey
iw
87167-4
HMV I MMV2 = 1C4 = (74HCT)4538

Fig. 5. Circuit diagram of the plotter interlace board.

 EE
May 1988
Fig. 3. Each of the 16 parts that must be the platen is turned to a diameter of
made to size is shown separately and 4.2 mm over 4 mm with the aid of a
with the relevant dimensions. The side lathe to enable it to revolve in the nylon
panels are cut from a 2 mm thick sheet bushing. The shaft fitted onto the
of aluminium. They are preferably spindle of the second stepper motor is
clamped together and drilled simul- made by cutting off a short length of the
taneously to ensure accuracy. Use a platen tubing. The remaining compo-
centre punch for precise positioning of nents, 11...16 incl., are relatively simple
the drill, and lubricate this every now to make and require no further dis-
and then with methylated spirit to avoid cussion.
burrs, and to clear aluminium shavings.
A countersink drill should be used for
sizing the upper hole in the right-hand Construction of the interface
support plate, which receives the head of The plotter interface board is a single -
the countersunk M4 screw bolt. The sided type which is available ready-made
head must not protrude from the plate through the Readers Services. Construc-
surface because this lies flat against the tion is straight -forward by reference to
side of the stepper motor. Two ad- the parts list and the component overlay
ditional 3 mm holes are drilled in the of Fig. 8. Resistors Rio, Ru and RI2 are
left-hand plate for securing the Y motor. 1 W types mounted slightly off the
Rods 4, 5, 6 and 7 are cut to equal size board surface to aid in their cooling.
as required for the width of the plotter. Drivers ICI and IC2 require fitting with
The centre of both ends of each rod is a DIL clip -on or glue -on heat-sink-see
pre -drilled with a 3.3 mm drill before Fig. 6. It is recommended to solder the
tapping an M4 thread. Be sure to drill Fig. 6. The stepper motor driver ICs on the
ICs direct onto the board, so that the interface board require cooling by heat -sinks
exactly in the centre of the axle: a lathe ground area can aid in convecting dissi- of a type that can be glued on top of a DIL
is, of course, ideal for this operation, but pated heat. IC.s is a type from the 4000 package.
not strictly required for acceptable accu- series, and has the disadvantage that its
racy. input is not TTL-compatible. In prac-
There is, however, no way to go round tice, however, pull-up resistors R.s and
the use of a lathe for reducing the platen R20 ensure correct operation of the in- A note on stepper motors
diameter where the sandpaper is to be terface in conjunction with virtually any The stepper motors used for building
secured. Unfortunately, a lathe is neither Centronics port. None the less, when in-
easy to control nor a commonly prototypes of the plotter were Berger
compatibility problems are suspected types salvaged from discarded disk
available tool. It is, therefore, rec- (the motors then appear not to start
ommended to have the platen turned to drives. Similar types may be used if
properly), IC -1 may be replaced by an these have the following specifica-
the required local thickness in equivalent of the HCT type. Jumpers
a tions:
mechanic's workshop. Also remember JP' and JP2 are not fitted.
that drilling an off -centred hole in the As already stated, the input header on
platen where it is secured to the motor the board is wired in a manner that
shaft will wreak havoc by causing fric- facilitates connection to a Centronics 200 or 100 steps/rev. (= 1.8` or
tion in the nylon bushing at the other port via a length of flat ribbon cable. 3.6° per step);
end of the rod, and, more seriously, ir- Handshaking is not used in this arrange-
current consumption: approx.
200 mA/phase;
regular paper motion. The free end of ment. two bipolar phases;
resistance for each phase (stator):
30...40 Q.

Unfortunately, many motors may not

meet with the above specification in
respect of the stator resistance. These
types exhibit much lower values (e.g.
1.33 Q), and require driving from
current sources. According to the
manufacturers, the driver ICs Type
MC3479 on the plotter interface
board have current source output
stages, but in practice these may be
damaged when connected direct to a
very low stator resistance. It is,
therefore, good practice to check the
stator resistance of the motors en-
visaged for use in the plotter. If
necessary, add a suitably dimen-
sioned series resistor to ensure that
each stator output on the driver ICs is
loaded with 30...40 Q. Example: use
a 33 Q; 4 W resistor when the stator
Completed prototype of the plotter. This is a relatively wide version (508 mm) mounted on alone has a resistance of 1.33 Q.
a flat aluminium base plate for improved paper stability (A2 sideways; A3 lengthwise). It has
four paper grips to ensure that lines of minimum thickness are drawn reliably and accurately.
36 EE
May 1988

Fig. 7. Artist's impression of the assembled plotter, which is remarkable for its compactness
and mechanical simplicity.
 EE
May 1988

Parts list

STEPPER MOTOR INTERFACE BOARD

Resistors l±5%1:

Rt ...R4 incl.;R6;R17... R20

incl.:fi2s:822= 10K
115;1321=1K5
R7;Re;Rs = 15K
1;R12=47R; 1 W
R13;R22 = 56K
R14;R23 = 220K
R15;R24 =
1116;825= 47K

Capacitors:

CI;C5;Ca;Ce;C11:C12= 100n
C2;C3;C4=470p; 16 V; radial
"nninrinnri C6 = 4700p; 25 V
1C3 C7 = 220n
Cio=10p; 16 V

rri7 C13;C14=10ri

Semiconductors:

if D ;D2; D3 = 1N4148
D4;02...Dio incl.=1N4001
.0 1E3 D5;D6= red LED
1-1;1-2;73=8C517
T4;T5 = BC547
00
00 Wo-I R11 1-..0
IC1;1C2=MC3479 (Motorola; SGSI (C -I Elec-
tronics)
00
00 IC3=74LS139
00 IC4=4538 or 74HCT4538
o IC5=7812

Le''o
I 4:11
iu
11
ICs= 78L05

CH R10 F-0
0 Miscellaneous:
C5 jpi 0+0
Si = miniature SPST switch.
o- R1B -o 0.JP20 S2= miniature DPDT switch.
0- RI9
K1= 26 -way right-angled IDC header for PCB
- R20 -43 edge mounting.
R17 -o
40-0
01 R24
Mains transformer; 15 V/1.5 A secondary.
Euro-style mains entrance socket with inte-
grated fuseholder and switch.
Fuse; 200 mA delayed action.
k/3 Neat -sink for IC5.
tg a DIL heat -sinks for ICI;IC2.

"an

?\-gr0
02N100'

Fig. 8. Track layout and component mounting plan for the plotter interface
PCB.
The completed board is secured onto the Note: The plotter and associated in-
safest and easiest alternative in this terface board are available as a kit
mains transformer and the plotter. The respect. Indicators D5 and DE need not from the Dutch mail-order company
two switches are connected as external be visible when the interface is fitted in Meek -it Elektronika (see their adver-
controls, toeether with the mains switch. an enclosure, although this may prove tisement in this issue of Elektor Elec-
Do not forget the mains fuse, which useful during. testing and setting up. tronics). Readers should note that the
should be connected ahead of a suitably mechanical parts in the kit may devi-
rated DPDT mains switch. A Euro-style Part 2 of this article will deal with ate slightly from the specifications
mains entrance socket with integral general condiderations on control soft- stated in this article.
switch and fuseholder is, of course, the ware for the plotter.
38 EE
May 1

98ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
by M. Seymour, BSc, University of St. Andrews

Man is intelligent, but his intelligence is often thwarted (or worse)

by his environment. That realization has given rise to a dream:
that one day it may be possible to build a machine that can
think, that is, need not be programmed to perform its functions.

Machine intelligence was first thought of tentionality. It is these researchers' con-

by Charles Babbage (1792-1871). This tention that no existing machine or
century, Alan Mathison Turing (1912- program has intentionality. Artificial in-
1954) has achieved immortality through telligence is, at present, proceeding
the Turing Machine, which purports to along the lines laid down by these re-
show that machines are mathematical searchers, that is, with the aim of con-
objects, and his proof of the theorem structing a machine that is most capable
that the set of mathematical tasks that is of meeting human needs.
computable is exactly the same as the set The most publicly visible applications so
that can be executed by the machine. He far are so-called Expert Systems. These
also formulated a theory about what are programs that are used to give advice
questions could in principle be answered on medical diagnosis and prescription,
by an intelligent machine. genetic engineering, chemical analysis,
Artificial intelligence grew out of the and geological prospecting for minerals
work on digital computers during the and oils. Although most of these pro-
Second World War and was officially oose grams are very limited in what they can
recognized as a branch of computing LiTio.-4-12 do, some give more reliable advice than
science in 1956. Since those early days, all but the very best human experts.
artificial intelligence has given rise to a Computers developed for Artificial In-
number of myths, particularly, but not 1611111. fi telligence are called fifth generation
only, in the popular press. However, *
computers. The first four generations
claims of computers achieving this and are defined in Hardware terms: machines
that, without human intervention, based on valves; transistors; integrated
always prove, on close examination, to circuits, and VLSI. The fifth generation
be mere illusions of intelligence. These is defined in terms of parallel operating
illusions are created by the fact that com- hardware and artificial intelligence.
puters work so extremely fast. Although the governments of all western
Fortunately, such illusions are now nations, and, no doubt, that of the
recognized as such and the true science USSR also, are pouring money into the
of Artificial Intelligence is taking shape. research and development of fifth gener-
The aim of this science is not to create human computer function. Once found, ation computers, workers, in the field
machines that are as intelligent as this program can then be used to run any have found that the difficulties involved
humans (it is doubtful whether this will other computer, which will consequently have been grossly underestimated. One
ever be possible), but rather to create be intelligent. But is there such a of the important facts that has emerged
machines that are ever more capable of program and will it ever be found? is that human common sense plays a far
meeting human needs. Such machines Other researchers feel that because of greater role in our daily lives than hith-
need to be able to learn about their users the world we live in, we suffer from the erto generally imagined.
and to do that, they will have to see, illusion that every substantive problem Common sense enables people to cope
hear, and understand. Moreover, they should have a technological or scientific with the fact that a statement assumed to
must not make demands on their users solution. Because such answers are not be true at one time can later be found to
as far as programming is concerned. forthcoming, we believe that a better be false. Computers, which depend on
Ideally, this would mean that the ma- technology or a more advanced science traditional logic, wherein truths are
chine responds to normal spoken is required to solve the problems. It is proved once and for all, can not come to
language. Only limited progress has been easy to think of artificial intelligence in grips with this - at least not yet.
made in that direction. this context. Everyday abilities like talking, seeing, or
The theory of artificial intelligence says These researchers do not believe that it is sensing friendliness from a facial expres-
that if you analyse the world in symbols simply a matter of calling our brain a sion, do not normally need conscious ef-
and put the right rules (=program) in computer and saying that it has been fort. Nor can we say how we do them. As
the machine it will have a mind and `programmed'. Human intelligence is long ago as the 5th and 4th centuries
understand the world as we do. In other not just the ability to think logically: BC, Socrates and Plato concluded that
words, it will be a thinking machine. there is memory, experience, although early on in life we learn the
Some researchers say that any computer background, emotion, and so on. It is, rules -(i.e. are programmed) for these
can simulate any other computer, be it perhaps, experience that creates the functions, they are quickly forgotten and
serial, parallel, digital, or analogue. greatest distinction between artificial retained only in our subconscious mind
Assuming the human brain to be a com- and natural intelligence. The relation- once we grow up. None the less, these
puter, they assert that it must be possible ship between human mental events and functions are far from simple. Indeed,
to find the program that makes the experience of the real world is called in- their complexity - and subtlety - was
 EE
May 1988

The Chinese Room Searle thinks that the computer is

Outside the Room jnside the Ram simulating only part of the brain:
John Searle, Professor of Philos- the neural structure, but that is
ophy at the University of Califor- not enough. You could make a
nia, defines two forms of arti- 'the programmers' me - 'the computer'
brain out of beer cans in a similar
ficial intelligence research. Weak way and it would not think. In
AI merely says that the principal the context of the Chinese Room,
value of the computer is that it A-. NOUN' connect the input and the output
gives us a powerful tool in the rust batch 'A SCRIPT' of the room via a system of water
study of the mind. Advocates of @1.1:00N/E
pipes and valves that are struc-
Strong Al, however, maintain tured in the same way as the
that the digital computer is not neurocortex. Yet again, I do not
merely a tool, but rather, if cor- p3=. HOTLV
rectly programmed, a mind that
second batch
@U,*oetkik
'A STORY' -O. understand Chinese.
The Combination Reply. Com-
can literally be said to understand bine the three previous responses
and to have other cognitive 34. liSappears then so that we have a robot with a
states. Searle believes that the set of rules you must take re.
computer in its head, pro-
batcht End the Hex THE PROGRAM. ---10.
`equation' A111113/BRALV= PRO- in English 35.
tut use
Use= grammed with all the synapses,
GRAmmARDwARE is invalid. etc.of the human brain, and
Imagine yourself (it is assumed think of the whole thing as a
you are not a Chinese speaker) in- p3-- ROTLV unified system. We would have to
side a closed room. Your only third batch 'QUESTIONS' ascribe intentionality* to the sys-
contact with the outside world is V.J:(DeNiE
tem.
through a small hatch. In Searle thinks it is not sufficient
through the hatch comes a large 34. itSappears tar just to have something that looks
batch of Chinese symbols. Some set of rules ind you must take ni
n bascht glfindes nex 'MORE PROGRAM' -110. and behaves like us.
time later, another batch arrives. in English 35. Useymbol
along with a set of rules in tut use wenevert The Other Minds' Reply. How do
English (which, it is assumed, we know if anyone else
you do understand) correlating understands Chinese? Well, by
the first set with the second. You 4 -- THE
'ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS'
p3=- ROILY batch out their behaviour.
According to Searle, one must
carry out the instructions, no
doubt wondering what you are presuppose the reality and
doing, and another batch is sub- knowability of the mental in the
mitted, with more rules in
Schematic diagram of the main features of Searle's Chinese Room same way as we presume the re-
English. These rules tell you to argument. The symbols used are, of course, not Chinese, but ality and knowability of the
check this third set of symbols hopefully convey the point that taken together they mean nothing physical world when we do phys-
to you. ics. Obviously, this is another
against the first two, and to send
back out certain symbols from counters them. In the journal contentious issue in the light of
The Robot Reply. Maybe the someinterpretations of quantum
the first large batch as a result of in which the paper appeared, computer on its own does not theory; for instance, but Searle
this checking process. twenty-seven further replies were understand, but put in the cranial gives it short thrift.
After a time, you get so proficient given. We shall only deal here cavity of a robot, give the robot The Many Mansions Reply.
at this process that it seems as with the original six, but it may manipulating arms, sensors, and Although we are working with
though you are fluent in Chinese. be noted that although the paper a television eye, and it will under- analogue and digital computers
The third lot of symbols, you see, was published in 1984 the argu- stand as we do.
are questions and those you send ment is still hotly debated today. now, in future we could well
No, says Searle, for just imagine build devices that have the causal
out are answers to these ques- The Systems Reply. It is wrong to yourself and the room inside the power of the brain, of which in-
tions. The point here is that, think of me understanding robot's head. I can see the sym- tentionality is a product.
although you understand the Chinese: the whole room is the bols through the camera, I can Searle agrees wholeheartedly, but
English rules, you have no idea understanding agent. manipulate them with my mech- it is no argument here, because
what the Chinese symbols mean. This seems at first glance anical arms, but, of course, I still such a machine would not fall
Searle asserts that the Chinese somewhat incredible in terms of don't understand.
Room is analogous to the way the the Chinese- Room, but it is within what we now define as Al,
The Brain Simulator Reply. If which, in its strong form, is the
digital computer works. Alan motivated by the feeling that my you get the computer to actually only thing with which he is con-
Turing showed that any computer brain understands nothing, but simulate all the neuron firings at cerned.
can be reduced to a Turing ma- that I do. the synapses of the brain (in par-
chine, which merely manipulates Searle says that all one needs to ticular, of the brain of a native * intentionality, according to Searle,
symbols according to a set of do is "internalize" the rules, i.e., Chinese speaker), how can the is that feature of certain mental states
rules. A computer running a memorize them. But, one still computer fail to understand by which they are directed at or about
program does precisely, and only, does not understand Chinese Chinese - it seems as if we objects and states of affairs in the
world. Thus, beliefs, desires, and in-
that. It can not, therefore, be said
then; merely following a set of would have to deny that the tentions (as we commonly use that
to understand what it is doing. rules one has memorized is not to Chinese speaker understood, if word) are intentional states; un-
In his original paper, Searle gives
understand the meaning of what we thought otherwise. directed forms of anxiety, depres-
six replies to his argument and they are about. sions, and so on, are not!

not appreciated until researchers tried to questions AI systems can at present be have a command of the natural language
model them on computers. expected to cope with. only within the subject for which it was
Although the activities that involve our Current development work indicates that designed.
common sense have so far proved an in- one of the important aspects to be A technology that was originally
surmountable obstacle to artificial intel- tackled is to give fifth generation com- developed in the 1950s, but was aban-
ligence, there are as already stated expert puters a much better grasp of natural doned after ten years, has recently been
systems that can give advice on a num- language. Most people are not prepared revived. It is called neural computing
ber of problems faced by genetic engin- to learn a special pogramming language. and could be of inestimable value in the
eers, physiologists, geologists, and math- Moreover, the machines would not be creation of true artificial intelligence.
ematicians. The widespread ignorance of able to learn about their users through Neural computers attempt to copy the
this, perhaps not so surprising, paradox normal conversations. However, the dif- human brain and are quite unlike con-
may present a danger because most ficulties are great and at present it is ex- ventional computers, because they are
people lack a reliable sense of which pected that future expert systems will not programmed, but can learn by
 40 EE
May 1988
example. crease in processing power made poss- 6. Alan Turing, The Enigma of Intelligence.
The brain is a complex network of in- ible by VLSI technology. These prob- By Andrew Hodges (1983).
terlinking neurons. It is the interlinking lems include pattern processing tasks, 7. What Computers Can't Do (A Critique
that is the key to solving problems such as speech recognition, and the cre- of Artificial Reason). By Prof. H.J.
quickly, but it is a problem in computer ation of content addressable memories. Dreyfuss (1972).
engineering: to create a 1 million -node 8. Expert Systems Technology: A Guide. By
network with 1 billion 'hardwired' inter- L. Johnson and E.T. Keravnou (1985).
9. A Petpective on Intelligent Systems. By
connects would require 92 m2 of silicon. L.J. Kohout (1985).
The Oregon Graduate Center's Com- References: 10. The Future for Artificial Intelligence.
puter Science and Engineering Depart- 1. Minds, brains, and programs. Behav- Elektor Electronics, November 1985. By
ment is planning to build a neural com- ioural and Brain Sciences 1980, 2. By Prof. Margaret A. Roden.
puter with 10,000 nodes linked by five Prof. J. Searle. 11. How Does The Human Computer Work?
million interconnects. However, by using 2. Principles of Artificial Intelligence. By By Dr. Kevan Martin. Elektor Elec-
frequency -based encoding for the inter- N.J. Nilsson (1980). tronics, May 1987.
connects instead of hardwiring only 3. Artificial Intelligence and Natural Man. 12. Is the Chinese Room the Real Thing?
0.8 m2 silicon is needed. By Prof. Margaret A. Boden (1977). Philosophy, 62, 389-393. By D. Ander-
4. Expert Systems in the Microelectronic son (1987).
Neural computers may help in solving Age. By Prof. D. Michie (1979). 13. Minds and Brains without Programs, by
problems that still defeat conventional 5. Intentionality: Essays in the Philosophy J. Searle in Mindttvves (1987) eds C.
computers in spite of the enormous in- of .1 Encl. By Prof. J. Searle (1984). Blakemore and S. Greenfield.

SIMULATING SIGHT IN ROBOTS

by Arthur Fryatt, CEng, MIProdE

Although industrial robots have been in has designed a considerable amount of in a nuclear fuel assembly.
widespread use for well over ten years, software for manipulating and inter- Accurate information on pin position is
their inability to respond intelligently to preting images. For scenes that display communicated to a robot which grasps
unexpected or rapidly changing situ- high contrast between components and and removes each one in turn. The NEL
ations has limited their usefulness to their backgrounds, a simple thresholding system is ten times faster than manual
tasks in highly ordered environments. operation will convert the grey scale in- dismantling.
The problem is the robot's lack of put array into a binary image in which
awareness of what is happening around each pixel has the value 0 (background)
it. or 1 (component). University collaboration
Attempts to solve this problem have led Binary images can be efficiently stored A vision sensing system provides colour
to the development of sensory systems in a computer memory and their simple quality control for grading fruit and
that in some measure emulate human format enables fast analysis to be carried vegetables in the Autoselector, a joint de-
vision, touch and hearing. Most research out to determine dimensional and velopment involving the Essex Elec-
has concentrated on the design of com- topological measurements. These values, tronics Centre(2), a department of the
puterized vision systems which act as the along with other invariant features, can University of Essex and Loctronic
robot's eyes and brain to provide a basic be used to build a simple component Graders(3). Their collaboration initially
form of artificial intelligence. recognition and location strategy that led to the introduction of the Autoselec-
The major parameters of robot vision will operate effectively on uncluttered tor A, which employed a monochrome
systems are recognition, location and in- scenes. television imaging technique to detect
spection. With this information, a robot Reliance on high contrast effectively differences in the grey scale.
knows what components are present in precludes the use of binary processing Subsequently, with the introduction of
its workspace, where they are positioned, techniques in most engineering appli- the Autoselector C, a very significant ad-
and the extent to which they are dimen- cations, which are typified by visually vance has been achieved with colour im-
sionally or structurally correct. "noisy" conditions such as poor light aging which enables up to 4096 colours
Although it can be seen that the develop- levels, low contrast, or components lying and shades to be identified in areas as
ment of vision systems is extending jumbled together in bins partially small as 3 mm diameter at very high
robot technology into inspection and as- obscured by other workpieces. speed.
sembly, some of the most promising In such situations an alternative ap- Since the entire area of the product
commercial developments have occurred proach to recognition is based on match- needs to be scanned, Loctronic Graders
in paint spraying, welding and colour ing local features (boundary segments, has developed the Thrudeck which
quality control of items such as fruit and corners, holes and so on) rather than on presents constantly revolving products
vegetables. Co-operation between matching global feature values (area or such as tomatoes, onions, kiwi or citrus
British research institutions, universities perimeter length, for example). The fruits at speeds up to 2500 per minute to
and manufacturers is increasing the NEL has recently developed advanced the camera. Even though the products
range of commercial applications. techniques for the matching of local are of irregular shape, the system can
features involving the latest computer - track, size and count each one as it
on -a -chip device. follows a meandering path down the
Practical Research A practical example of robot vision work deck.
One of the leading research institutions at the NEL is a recent project under- Another interesting technical achieve-
in the United Kingdom for the develop- taken for the National Nuclear Corpor- ment is the way in which the three-
ment of vision systems is the National ation involving the development of a sys- dimensional aspect of colour television
Engineering Laboratory (NEL)(') which tem for automatically locating fuel pins is handled. Since a colour camera has
 EE 41
three channels - red, green and blue
the permutations possible could be
- The vision processing electronics and
powerful vision processor enable the sys-
May 1988
by the system, even to the extent of com-
pensating for angular workpieces where
handled only by a very large computer. tem to analyse the position of the joint the gun needs to be rotated through an
In conjunction with the Electronics and communicate this information to arc. The complete Videospray instal-
Systems Engineering Department of the robot controller at a rate in excess of lation occupies only 0.8 m' of floor
Essex University, the Electronics Centre 10 Hz. As a result of its single pass oper- space and on average rises to a height of
developed a method simplifying this task ation and fast vision analysis, the system 2 m.
so that it can be handled by hardware has no significant effect on the robot The company's latest development is the
controlled by a Motorola 68008 micro- cycle time. Videospray II, a shape recognition sys-
processor. Used in production environments, the tem again comprising a CCTV camera
By selecting the region of colour hue MetaTorch requires no optical adjust- linked to a microprocessor, which in turn
carefully - for example green and ment or alignment and is quickly inter- can be connected to a painting robot to
brown for potatoes, or red and green for changeable. By combining a solid state call up the appropriate part painting
tomatoes - and examining tone satu- laser light source and camera in a single program. A particular feature is the
ration in the chosen colour sector, di- unit, it is capable of withstanding harsh method of lighting the part moving on a
mensions are reduced from three to two, operating conditions. conveyor to give a strong silhouette for
which can be handled relatively easily. the camera to view. A microprocessor
digitizes the outline shape and compares
Precise spraying it with a pre -stored library of shapes to
Sighted robot welding By combining closed circuit television determine the part number.
Founded at the beginning of 1984 with with automatic paint spraying equip- Outline recognition software routines
the help of an Oxford University ment, Lektrodesigns(5) has developed have been incorporated to determine the
research team, Meta Machines(4) is now the Videospray system, which can assess attitude of parts on the conveyor, for
accepted throughout the world as a separate paint stroke requirements. It example, higher, lower, tilted, retarded or
leading commercial organization controls spray patterns individually so advanced, compared with their mean
specializing in sensors for robot control. that irreeular shapes loaded on a con- positional attitude.
Its MetaTorch adaptive vision guidance veyor at random will be painted auto-
and control for arc welding is designed matically with a minimum of paint.
to ensure that a robotic welding system Mounted together on a single stand, the References:
achieves consistently high quality output Videospray's closed circuit television I. National Engineering Laboratory,
despite components fit -up variations (CCTV) camera with built-in monitor East Kilbride, Scotland G75 OQU.
and inaccuracies. The aims are minimum and electronic module are easily in-
downtime for reprogramming in stalled adjacent to existing spray equip- 2. Essex Electronics Centre, Wivenhoe
response to component batch changes, ment. Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ.
and maximum flexibility to adapt to Any reciprocating gun can be controlled
future changes through the fixing of and one unit can handle up to four spray 3. Loctronic Graders Ltd, Eves Corner,
simple and inexpensive parts. guns. To establish the relative positions Danbury, Essex CM3 4AH.
The company's two most recent of the spray gun and the item to be
developments are the MetaTorch 200, a painted, the camera is directed so that 4. Meta Machines Ltd, 9 Blacklands
compact vision sensor mounted co - the reflector on the spray gun, and the Way, Abingdon Industrial Park,
axially around an MIG or TIG welding workpiece as it enters the spray booth, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 IDY.
torch and the MetaTorch 500, for higher are in view. From this relationship,
current applications, on which the vision timing instructions are generated and 5. Lektrodesigns Ltd, do Market Op-
sensor is mounted external to the stored in the logic bank to control the tions Ltd, 75 Middle Gordon Road,
welding torch. The Metatorch system spray stroke, ensuring paint economy. Camberley, Surrey GUI5 2JA.
can recognize complex joint types, It is possible to achieve an accuracy of
guiding the robot to locate, track and paint spray to 12.7 mm with the elec-
weld the seam in a single pass operation. tronic and mechanical time lag provided

COMPUTER NEWS
dates and corrections on QDOS and EPROM by means of programming soft-
SuperBasic. Other programs familiar to ware that is, itself, ROM -resident, and
most QL users are ICE, CPM-ulator and copied into RAM (common heap) fol-
a number of programming languages lowing a cold or warm re -boot. Two 8
Multi -ROM for Quantum Leap (Metacomco C and Prospero) can also Kbyte static RAMs in Multi -ROM then
Micro Control Systems (MCS) have re- reside in ROM. The QL has only one take the position of the switched off
cently introduced Multi -Rom, a plug-in ROM extension slot, however, and has to ROM in the memory map. The hardware
memory cartridge for the Sinclair Quan- be switched off before cartidges can be for switching from RAM to EPROM
tum Leap. The product is ideal for exchanged. This procedure has the dis- and vice versa is a clever design.
developing ROM -based software, as advantage of being cumbersome and Switching takes place after reading lo-
code may be downloaded quickly for causing contact wear on the slot connec- cations SOBFBx. These addresses are at
testing and debugging without program- tor and the cartridge PCB. Relocatable the top of the QL system ROM, and are
ming EPROMs. software offers a way out of this prob- never read by QDOS:
lem. Programs written in relocatable Read OBFBO (49072): EPROM
The so-called Black box is well known in code are copied from ROM to RAM and Read OBFBC (49084): write protected
the context of modern aviation, but can, in principle, be run simultaneously. RAM
Quantum Leap owners will immediately The Multi -ROM unit provides software Read OBFBE (49086): r/w RAM
think of the plug-in ROM that can be and hardware that makes it possible to Multi -ROM uses the R/W signal from
fitted in a slot at the rear of the com- simulate 16K ROM in memory area the QL to control internal hardware.
puter. The best known application is the S00000. OFFFF. This is achieved by Since the R/W signal is not present on
famous Toolkit 2, which contains up- (quasi-) programming of a (quasi-) the QL RM slot, it is connected to Multi-
42 EE
May 1988
ROM by means of a separate wire sup- tum Leap computer, and well worth its The card is based on the Intel 51 family
plied with the unit. cost. The unit is ideal for all those pro- of CPUs (8031, 8052, 8751, etc.), which
As to software, ROM -based programs grammers with a need for a versatile tool come with or without an internal
must first be copied to floppy (flp) or that allows straight -forward and time - EPROM.
microdrive (mdv). This creates ROM im- efficient developing of ROM -based soft- The development and set-up of pro-
ages, and can be done with instruction ware. Multi -ROM is a neatly constructed grams for this card can start with the
SBYTES unit measuring just 90 x 60 x 20 mm. In- single GPCO2, since this is already pro-
flpl [mdvl ]_name,49152,16384. stallation and available commands are vided with the minimum outfit, includ-
The next instruction, covered in the manual supplied with the ing a built-in EPROM programmer.
flpl [mdv11__name unit. Multi -ROM is backed by a two- The design of the GPCO2 card makes it
loads one of the ROM images in the year warranty, and is available at £49 suitable for the control of medium -
RAM on board Multi -ROM. This RAM plus VAT from complex units. For more complex appli-
is write -protected when loading is com- Micro Control Systems Electron cations, its performance may be ex-
pleted. The new quasi -ROM can be House Bridge Street Sandiacre tended by the addition of suitable cards
taken up in the system memory recogniz- Nottinghamshire NG10 5BA. Telephone: to the ABACO bus.
ed by QDOS by arranging for a warm (0602) 391204. Details from Grifo di Damino 40016
start (= cold start without RAM San Giorgio di Piano BOLOGNO
testing). If the software is already pres- Italy Via Dante 1 Telephone +39
ent in RAM, a jump follows to the next 51 89 20 52
program line, or to SuperBasic (flashing Computer claims unfair
cursor in window #0). This makes it dismissal
possible to use LOAD_ROM as part of A computer, sacked for failing to work
the bootstrap batch file without creating System controller saves
hard enough, claims it was not given suf-
an infinite loop. BASIC extensions can ficient work to do. board space
be used in the boot file immediately The employer states that the computer Fitting a system controller module onto
after LOAD_ROM. The usage includes was assigned the tasks of producing let- the back of a P1 connector frees a board
that by JH and AH system ROMs: ters and mailshots, general and word position in VMEbus racks. Compcon-
Command RUN_ROM can be used for processing, accounts, spreadsheet trol's CC -101 general purpose system
programs that can run in RAM also (e.g. calculations, and monitoring databases controller is packed onto a module
the Tebby Toolkit). The program is about consumers, products, and sales. measuring just 100x60 mm, and thus
started on the basis of the ROM header Despite this, counsel for the company suits single- and double -height VMEbus
when its ROM image has been copied in management said that the computer was racks. The module works in 16- and 32 -
the QL-resident RAM (that is, not the idle for significant periods during the bit VMEbus systems, and is the first to
extension RAM). day, and virtually all the night. Further- make all board positions in a VMEbus
Command DEVLIST gives an overview more, while unsupervised at the rack available for application -specific
of all system devices recognized by weekends, the computer did no work at boards-particularly valuable in systems
MULTI -ROM. New devices can be all. made up of racks,that use only five slots.
addded with the aid of instruction The computer responded by alleging
ADD_NAME. PRINT DEFDEVS that it had been expressly excluded from
shows the current default. EXIST [file] lots of jobs.
or [device] returns 1 or 0 depending on It cited specific examples of communi-
whether a device is in use. cations with databases world-wide, pro-
duction of newsletters and advertising
material, drawing and presentation of
information, maintenance of diaries,
planners, and notebooks. These could
have kept it working flat out, 24 hours a
day, it claimed. The computer then ac-
cused the management of failing to be
aware of all the types of jobs that com-
puters can perform.
After a short adjournment, the judge The board saves even more space in
ordered the re -instatement of the com- VMEbus systems if active or passive
puter, and committed the company VMEbus termination networks are in-
management to a course of enlighten- corporated. It generates the 16 MHz
Finally, a short copy program is given ment and education. VMEbus system clock, and the 2.9 MHz
below to illustrate the use of the MULTI - The computer was awarded costs. VMEbus serial clock. All bus time-out,
ROM extension in conjunction with To avoid litigation, get a free leaflet to system power -on, and reset circuits are
SuperBasic: show how computers can work long and included, and there is an input for an ex-
effectively for the benefit of their ternal reset switch. The board provides a
100 DEFine PROCedure RAM_RW employers from: Mektronik Consultants four -level priority or rouind-robin bus
110 PRINT#0, peek (49086) Linden House 116 Rectory Lane arbiter, and there is an arbitration time-
120 END DEFine Prestwich MANCHESTER M25 out function.
130 DEFine PROCedure RAM_WP 5DB Telephone 061-798 0803. Details from Compcontrol BV
140 PRINT#0, peek (49084) Stratumsedijk 31 P.O. Box 193
150 END DEFine 5600 AD Eindhoven The Netherlands
160 DEFine PROCedure EPROM General Purpose Controller Telephone +31 40 12 49 55.
170 PRINT#0, peek (49072)
180 END DEFine The GPCO2 card is a powerful control
and governing module in the standard
Europe 100x 160 mm size. It operates on
In conclusion, Multi -ROM is an ex- the powerful ABACO (R) 16 -bit bus,
tremely useful extension for the Quan- which is compatible with the SC84 bus.
 Ed!!May 1988
conclusion that games and enter- mous with bi-directional media, of
LETTERS tainments "died a natural death". which "Prestel" is a representative
Since 1985 Micronet has increased its example.
Sir-I read with dismay C.H. Freeman's subscriber base and doubled its turnover Now to Mr. Brown's second (and more
article "Videotex: a promise un- whilst its parent company, Telemap important) point. Micronet is, by nature,
fulfilled?" in your February issue. Group Ltd, has expanded into wider an ethusiasts' medium requiring a
Mr Freeman's inability to distinguish be- consumer videotex services both modem and microcomputer. This is
tween videotex and Prestel is his first, domestic and international. simply not the kind of market/set-up the
but by no means most serious, error. So much for the "ditching of the Post Office and associated information
Such an inability would have been no residential market" over the "past few providers originally envisaged. It must
less remonstrable back in 1985 when the years" as Mr Freeman concludes sup- be remembered that "Prestel" equip-
article appears to have been written. ported by his 1982 quotation. ment was seen as being sold over the
But even in 1985, any article purporting counter in the same manner as television
to analyse Prestel's "failure in the Mike Brown sets, hi-fi equipment, and other con-
residential sector" without a single men- Technical Director sumer goods. Re -read my article Mr.
tion of Micronet must be considered at Telemap Group Ltd Brown, where you will find a market
best poorly researched. penetration forecast of over 4 million
In 1985,' Micronet, the Prestel-based Mr. Freeman replies: sets in use by the end of 1987 and then
microcomputing service, had over 17,000 As to the first point of Mr. Brown's let- look at your high -street electronic goods
subscribers (out of a Prestel total of ter, "Videotex" was a generic term or chain stores: where are the "Prestel"
50,000) who accounted for half of suggested initially by the CCITT (Inter- sets? Where are the plug-in adaptors?
Prestel's mailbox traffic. Micronet's national Telephone & Telegraph Con- This type of man -in -the -street market is
database generated over one third of all sultative Committee) in the 1970s. At simply not there. With the exception of
frame accesses. Telesoftware (automatic that time, "Videotex" was used to de- Micronet's excellent example, there has
downloading of computer programs), scribe both uni-directional broadcast in- been no rush by information providers
Chatline (real-time national public formation systems, typified by the to stimulate such a market.
teleconferencing), Starnet (multi-user British "CEEFAX" and "ORACLE" Look at the projected figures and look at
strategy game of war and commerce) systems, and the bi-directional interac- today's reality as portrayed in Mr.
and Gallery (national publication by tive information systems, typified by Brown's figures: a "Prestel" user base of
subscribers of their very own electronic "Prestel" in the UK, France's "Teletel", 50,000 with 17,000 Micronet subscribers.
databases, daily update) were already Canada's "Telidon", etc. Since that Now consider how many homes have
very popular on Micronet. But all these time, the term "Teletext" has come to be television and/or telephone equipment.
escaped the notice of Mr Freeman, who associated with uni-directional systems, The figures, I'm afraid, speak for them-
contents himself with the second hand leaving "Videotex" to become synony- selves.

It's easy TO BE PUBLISHED

to complain about THIS SPRYNG
an advertisement. Two new books from ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS
Once you know how DATA SHEET BOOK 2
ISBN 0 905705 27 0
DATA SHEET
One of the ways we keep a check on the Price £8.25
advertising that appears in the press, on BOOK 2 This book contains data on ICs as well
as on discrete transistors and diodes.
posters and in the cinema is by responding to Moreover, it gives an introduction to
consumers' complaints. fast (HCMOS) devices and a review of
symbolic logic as proposed in
Any complaint sent to us is considered BS3939:Section 21.
carefully and, if there's a case to answer, a full
investigation is made.
If you think you've got good reason to
complain about an advertisement, send off MICROPROCESSOR
for a copy of our free leaflet DATA BOOK
It will tell you all you need to know to
help us process your complaint as
MICROPROCESSOR DATA BOOK
quickly as possible. ISBN 0 905705 28 9
The Advertising Standards Authority Price £8.95
If an advertisement is wrong,were here to put it right. This reference book gives a general
ASA Ltd, Dept 1 Brook House, description, hardware block schematic.
software -structure, DC characteristics.
Torrington Place. LondonWC1E 7HN and instruction sets for over 70 micro- I!MX. fie,..cs
processors.
This space is donated in the interests of high standards of advertising.
 IWCROCONTROLLER-DRIVEN
POWER SUPPLY 1

Although the use of a microcontroller in a power supply may raise

some eyebrows, there are cogent reasons for it. The result, to the
best of our knowledge, is simply the most advanced power
supply project ever published by an electronics magazine. Its
complexity and cost, however, make it really only suitable for
advanced constructors. Furthermore, the microcontroller, an Intel
8751, can only be programmed in our design department.

The use of a microcontroller in a power microcontroller is the considerable re- communicating kith another com-
supply may be questioned for good duction of the number of components in puter.
reasons. There are, however, a number of relation to a conventional microproces-
arguments in favour of the use of such a sor -based control system that uses separ- The controller has all the necessary soft-
device. Consider, for example, important ate building blocks for CPU, EPROM, ware and hardware on board, obviating
benefits such as accuracy, ease of use, RAM, parallel/serial I/O and real-time the need for external components such
and the availability of functions that are clock. as display decoders, bus buffers and
virtually impossible to realize without All control functions in the power peripherals for the microprocessor.
resorting to complex analogue and/or supply described here are handled by the
digital circuits. One of these functions is microcontroller, in combination with We think it fair to warn readers that the
the ability of the power supply to be inte- relatively simple digital support circuits. complexity and cost of the proposed in-
grated in a computer -controlled test and The following are the main tasks assign- strument make it suitable for advanced
measurement system. Such systems are ed to the Type 8751 controller: constructors with a professional
increasingly being brought into oper- background only. Also, the supply in-
ation in professional electronics labora- setting and measuring voltage and corporates a good number of relatively
tories. Arguably, there is no reason why current; new, high-grade, components. In the
the use of automated control of test measuring temperature in the power past, it has appeared that it often takes
equipment can not be furthered in the stage; considerable time for distributors and
many home workshops and smaller driving six 7 -segment displays, two retailers to start stocking such devices.
engineering departments. LED bars and a number of LEDs; Since the total cost of the power supply
A further advantage offered by the scanning the keyboard; is still only a fraction of that of similar,
 May 1988
EE 45
commercially available, instruments, the
design is of particular interest for techni-
cal colleges, electronics laboratories, and MICRO CONTROLLER -DRIVEN POWER SUPPLY
engineering, research and design depart-
ments. Technical Specification:
Even if it is not intended to build this
high-performance power supply, it is still Precision regulated DC power supply.
worth while to study its operation in Output voltage range: 0...30 V. Setting via front -panel control, or via serial interface
detail to see what has become possible (10 mV/step).
with state -of -the art components and Current limit range: 0...2.5 A. Setting via front -panel control, or via serial interface
(10 mAistep).
design methods. Output ripple and noise at maximum load: <2 mVoo.
Load regulation: <2 mVoo for 0...100% variation of load current.

General layout Display and keyboard:

The block diagram of the power supply
is shown in Fig. 1. The actual work in 3 -digit 7 -segment LED display for indication of set or actual output voltage.
3 -digit 7 -segment LED display for indication of set current limit or actual load current.
the supply is done by the completely Analogue indication of actual output voltage and current on two 10 -LED bars. Current limit and
analogue current/voltage regulator. This set voltage are displayed on a dot scale.
is essentially a conventional series regu- Storage of 3 power supply settings (voltage, current and slope of voltage change) in internal
lator provided with adjustable current memory (SEEPROM).
limiting. One peculiarity of this circuit, Automatic power -up and power -down timer forces output to 0 V to prevent spurious pulses being
however, is that the regulator is connec- applied to the load.
ted to ground at the + output of the Output voltage can be set to 0 V by pressing associated key with LED indication.
supply. This arrangement has to do with Fast or slow (0.5 s) change from actual to newly programmed output voltage.
the internal operation of the regulator, HOLD function (with LED indication) enables changing front -panel or memory -resident settings
without affecting existing settings on supply output.
and is of no practical consequence to the LEDs indicate actuation of current limiter, thermal protection and/or serial interface.
user.
The interface between regulator and Design:
microcontroller is, of course, formed by
D -A (digital -to -analogue) and A -D (ana- Microcontroller Type 8751 (Intel).
logue -to -digital) converters. The DACs Voltage control: 12 -bit D -A converter Type PM7548.
take the function of precision poten- Current control: 8 -bit D -A converter Type DAC0831.
tiometers, so that voltage and current Internal precision 5 V reference: Type REF -02.
setting is effected by the microcontroller. Current, voltage and heat -sink temperature converted to digital by 12 -bit D -A converter Type
TL501C.
The ADCs, in combination with an Two -stage thermal protection with LED indication and automatic supply shut -down capability.
analogue multiplexer, measure output Quasi -analogue setting of voltage and current by digital contact encoder.
current, output voltage, and temperature 10 -year storage in 16 x 16 bit SEEPROM of 3 x 3 user -defined supply settings.
of the power output stage. These quan- Automatic dissipation limiter selects lower unregulated input voltage at Uo<10 V.
tities are converted to digital for process-
ing by the microcontroller. Serial interface:

The 8751 communicates with the user 9600 bits's, 8 data bits, 2 stop bits, no parity bit (this serial format is supported by virtually all
and the control computer via six 7 - modern computers).
segment displays, 2 LED arrays, 14 Simple, effective control of several power supplies or intelligent test equipment via a single serial
LEDs, 9 membrane switches, a digital channel. Each instrument can be addressed and identified by a specific code.
Communication with or without echo.
contact encoder for setting output Device status can be called up by controlling computer.
voltage and current limit onset, and a All power supply functions, except internal memory, can be programmed externally via the serial
bidirectional serial interface. interface.
The EEPROM shown in the block Central computer can read set and actual values of supply voltage and current, and status of
diagram is used for permanent storage thermal protection circuit.
of three user -defined instrument settings Front -panel controls and serial interface operate simultaneously.
for a period of 10 years (guaranteed Option for mutual locking of front -panel controls and serial interface.
minimum). Control commands are verified by syntax checker.
Opto-coupler for complete galvanic insulation.

Operation of the regulator

The circuit diagram of the analogue part These ground lines are connected at ventional design. Displays and digital
of the microcontroller-driven power suitable points in the circuit to prevent circuits are fed from a 5 V supply,
supply is given in Fig. 2. Particular at- supply currents interfering with internal opamps from a ±12 V supply, and the
tention should be paid to the various signals for measurement and control. power stage from an unregulated high -
ground lines. It was already stated that The use of four ground lines complicates current supply. The microcontroller en-
the + output is ground of the power the internal power supply of the instru- ergizes a relay that halves the input
stage, but there is more to this. Actually, ment, and makes it necessary to obtain voltage to the power stage at low values
there are four separate ground lines in power from a toroidal transformer with of the output voltage. This arrangement
the circuit: multiple secondary windings. It is, of effectively reduces the dissipation in
course, possible to use three separate series regulators T4 and Ts. Regulation
pis for the display sections; transformers instead of the multi -volt- of the output voltage is effected by
D for the digital circuits; age type, but this inevitably results in in- opamp ICI. which draws a portion of
.AA for the D -A converters and associ- creased size and weight of the power the base current of T1 and T5 via D3.
ated circuits; supply. Output current limiting is effected
AB for the measurement and control The internal power supply is composed similarly via D4. With Rte, these two
circuits. of three sections that are of fairly con- diodes form an OR gate that enables
46 EE
May 1988
The voltage on R9 and Rio is compared
1
to control voltage USET t in IC2. UsEr i is
provided by the microcontroller with the
aid of a DAC. As long as the output cur-
rent remains below the user -defined
onset point of the current limiter, the
output voltage of the opamp is nearly
the positive supply voltage (+12 V)
because the current limiter control
420 current/voltage voltage at the non -inverting input of IC2
regulator
is higher than the drop caused by R9
and Rio, which carry the output cur-
they 11.01 v-ets rent. As soon as the drop across the cur-
6 rent sensing resistors equals the control
DIA and:, voltage, the output of IC2 drops to a
Cerwertets
low level, reducing the base drive of the
series transistors, and so preventing a
40 further increase of the output current.
LED IREG lights to indicate this con-
miuo-controtter
3751 dition.
4) 0
4,
Diode D6 has a protective function: it
memory prevents reverse voltage on the series
8432
(EEPROM) TAD transistors rising above 0.6 V. In the
absence of this diode, the charged out-
1=K0 16 - 1 put capacitor could cause damage to the
power supply when this is set to 0 V.
Protection is also required against exter-
nal voltages being applied to the supply
when this is switched off.
Fig. I. Basic set-up of the microcontroller-driven power supply. Capacitors C13 and C17, and power re-
sistor R20, are included to ensure stable
voltage and current adjustment to oper- means that IREE flows entirely through operation of the regulator. The resistor is
ate on the same power stage. It is import- Ry, which consequently causes a voltage a dummy load connected ahead of the
ant to note that ground of the regulation drop IRErRy, or (UDAc/RN)Ry. Since there current sensing resistors. It enables the
circuit (±12 V) and that of the digital is, ideally, no voltage difference between output capacitor to be discharged when
circuits (5 V) are at the potential of the the non -inverting and inverting input of the supply does,not power a load.
supply's positive output terminal. This Ai, the voltage on R. equals that be- Current sensing resistors R9 and Rio are
means that the complete regulation cir- tween the positive output of the supply close -tolerance power types (4 or 5 W;
cuit floats at the supply output voltage and ground. Hence max. 90 ppm). Standard power resistors
(0...30 V). The two operational ampli- (900 ppm) are unsuitable here, and give
fiers are fed from a symmetrical supply Uoilt=URy=UDAC(Riltii) rise to regulator instability.
to ensure that output voltage and current
can be regulated from 0 V onwards. The In other words, the supply output Temperature sensor Type LM335Z is
function of ICI is to compare UsEr u voltage is proportional to the control mounted in thermal contact with the
(supplied by the microcontroller via a voltage UDAC. regulator transistors, and supplies a tem-
DAC) to the actual output voltage of the For the following it is assumed that the perature proportional voltage of
supply. regulation circuit has not yet stabilized. 10 mV/K. When the temperature limit of
This happens when, for example, a 55 °C is reached, the corresponding
The operation of regulator ICI is fairly short-circuit on the output has just been LED on the front panel starts to flash.
complex, and, therefore, best explained removed. Voltage U- is more positive
with reference to Fig. 3. For conve- than U- (U- -U- =UDAc). This causes
nience's sake, the flow of the three main an increase in the output voltage of Ai
currents is shown in dotted, dashed and with respect to ground, which is at
dotted/dashed lines, while Ai and T. potential U.ut (+ output). Ti starts to
are considered to form a power oper- conduct: the base current flow is indi-
ational amplifier. It is seen that this is cated by the dotted line. The collector -
configured as a voltage follower, because emitter current of Ti (dashed line)
the positive output is fed back to the - through R. and Ry reduces the differ-
input of AI. This creates a regulator ence between U- and U- (12_, causes a
that is accurate by virtue of the high voltage drop). Therefore, the supply ad-
open loop gain of the opamp, and fast justs the output voltage until this stabil-
by virtue of the relatively large power izes when U- equals U-. It should be
bandwidth. Since an opamp with realized that this is an extremely fast pro-
negative feedback will adjust its output cess. When the circuit is loaded by Ri,
voltage until it sees equal voltages at its the base and collector -emitter currents
+ and - inputs, it follows that the cur- increase. The resulting supply current is
rent through R. equals the voltage sup- shown as the dotted and dashed line.
plied by the DAC divided by R. It is
convenient to call this current IREF.
Assuming that Ai is an ideal opamp, it Regulation of the output current is less Fig. 3. Essential operation of the regulator
draws an input current of nought. This complex than that of the output voltage. circuit.
 May 1988
EE
47

12V

12V
412 R15 TIP 142

2x
1144145 85170 SHUTDOWN
013
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80547
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Fig. 2. Analogue part of the power supply. Note the use of no fewer than four different ground levels.
When the temperature rises above not be restored until the heatsink tem- Voltages UMEAS/U and UmEAsii are taken
65 °C, this LED keeps flashing, but the perature has dropped below 65 °C. from presets to enable the read-out to in-
LED in the o v OUT membrane key is il- dicate the range of these settings. The
luminated, and the output voltage is ar- A ground terminal is not provided on the two measuring voltages are of opposite
ranged to drop to nought. The above front panel of the supply. It is, however, polarity: UstEAsni is positive with respect
temperature levels may appear relativelya simple matter to fit this on rear panel to ground of the measuring circuit (out-
low, but they reduce the risk of users be-
of the enclosure. The same goes for the put terminal ±), while UMEAS,U is
ing scalded by the heatsink. Once the SENSE terminals: U- and U5 may be negative. These polarities will be reverted
thermal protection circuit is active, a used separately as will be detailed in part to in the description of the analogue -to -
supply voltage other than nought can 2 of this article. digital converter.
48 EE
May 1988
Automatic dissipation limiter Assume the set voltage and current to be
The large range of the output voltage 12 V and 1.5 A respectively. When the
(0...30 V) requires dividing it in two load current rises above 1.5 A, the cur-
sub -ranges to prevent excessive dissi- rent limiter is activated, and the output
pation of the series regulators at rela- voltage drops. Further assume that this
tively low output voltages and high cur- stablilizes at 9.5 V, which is below the
rent. It will be recalled that power dissi- switching threshold of the dissipation
pation is the product of the voltage limiter. Were this to operate on the
across the series regulators and the out- measured output voltage, the relay
put current supplied. The mains trans- would toggle, selecting the low voltage
former in the supply has two 15...18 V winding on the transformer.
windings, which are connected in series. Taking this a little further, it is assumed
An SPDT relay contact, rela, connects that the output current has just dropped
either the 15 V or the 30 V winding to below the set shutdown level. Normally,
the input of power rectifier Bi. The the output voltage would rise instantly,
voltage selection relay is arranged to but in this case it has to "wait" for the
switch to the low input voltage when the end of the next analogue -to -digital con-
set output voltage is lower than 10 V, version of the output voltage before the
while the 30 V input is selected when the processor is actually informed that this
set output voltage is higher than 11 V. is below the threshold for input voltage
The hysteresis of 1 V prevents oscillation reduction. Meanwhile, the regulation
of the switching circuit when the output circuit has considerable difficulty main-
voltage varies around the above values. taining the set output voltage, because
The voltage reduction relay is controlled the relay does not toggle as yet to feed it
by the 8751 via darlington driver To. with the higher unregulated input volt-
age. Consequently, considerable ripple
Readers may wonder why the power re- may briefly appear on the output volt-
duction circuit operates on the basis of age, which is unacceptable for many ap-
the set, rather than the measured plications. The lower V/I curve in Fig. 4
(actual) output voltage of the supply. illustrates this effect.
The following discussion provides the The above discussion explains the use of
answer in the form of an example and an the set output voltage for controlling the
illustration. automatic dissipation limiter in the
supply. Evidently, this is mainly to pre-
vent the relatively slow A -D conversion
of the measured output voltage upset-
ting the normal operation of the power
supply. In this context, it is useful to
note that the supply is thermally pro-
tected against damage caused by a con-
Fig. 5. The power -up and power -down timer
tinuous short-circuit on the output. prevents spurious voltage transitions on the
supply output.
The mains transformer in the supply has
four separate secondary windings: When power is applied, electrolytic ca-
8...10 V; 750 mA for digital circuits pacitor Cu in the shut -down circuit is
and the voltage drop detector pow- initially discharged, keeping T3 switched
ered by the internal 5 V regulator; off so that the supply output voltage is
15 V; 150 mA for the symmetrical nought. The ripple at the base of T2
12 V supply that powers the opamps;
2 x15 ...18 V; 4 A for the power causes this transistor to be off for 2 ms
only during the zero -crossings of the
stage. mains voltage. This effectively prevents
the voltage on C12 increasing to more
than about 1 V. Hence, Bi-FET Ti re-
Power on -off delay mains off, and T3 does not start to con-
One of the most important character- duct until after about 2 s when Cu is
istics of a power supply is that its output charged via R,5. The polarization of the
voltage is free from spurious transients base voltage of the series regulator tran-
generated during the switch -on and sistors is now assured, and the power
switch -off instants. In the present supply can be taken into normal service.
design, additional complicating factors When the rectified voltage disappears
are present in the form of the microcon- from the base of T2, Cl2 is rapidly
troller, the DACs and ADCs, and the op- discharged. FET TI effectively short-
erational amplifiers in the D -A conver- circuits Co and so turns off the output
sion circuit. transistors via T3. This process is com-
Recently, integrated circuits have been pleted within a few tens of milliseconds.
developed to aid in controlling power -on Meanwhile, the supply voltage for the
and power -off behaviour of analogue microcontroller and the A -D and D -A
and digital circuits. These new, protec- converters has not yet dropped below the
Fig. 4. The use of the set, rather than the tive, ICs are essentially fast comparators. critical level, so that spurious behaviour
actual, output voltage for controlling the ac- of these circuits is not translated in
In the present design, however, a 'discrete
tivity of the dissipation limiter prevents dips circuit is used as a simple and cost- dangerous dips or peaks in the voltage
and ripple on the supply output. effective alternative-see Fig. 5. applied to the load.
 May 1988
EE
49
Digital control circuit direct control of peripherals (display, SEEPROIvI.
keyboard, non-volatile programmable A number of lines on port P2 are pro-
All the functions available in the Type memory, converters and input multi- arammed as keyboard scan lines and
8751 microcontroller from Intel have plexer). chip select lines for the D -A converters
been exploited to the full in the present The microcontroller used belongs in the and the SEEPROM. The WR (write)
design. The 4 Kbyte ROM on board the MCS51 family discussed in (". signal for the two DACs is provided by
chip contains the control program, while The circuit diagram of the digital control line P3.6, which is also used to clock the
the 128 bytes RAM is used for storage of circuit is shown in Fig. 6. The 8 lines of serial EEPROM, whose chip select is
temporary variables. The UART (univer- port PO function as databus for the DA provided by P2.5. Lines P2.6 and P2.7
sal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) is converters, and as I/O lines for the dis- control the multiplexing of the voltages
programmed to handle the bidirectional play unit (common -anode). Port 1 con- supplied by the current, temperature and
serial communication with the external trols the common -cathode displays, and voltage measurement circuits. P2.3, in
control computer, and timers 0 and 1 to reads the keys on the front panel. Lines combination with DI2... Du incl. is pro-
take care of all process timing. In ad- P0.0 and P0.1 in addition function as grammed to arrange the address coding
dition, all available I/O lines are used for serial input/output lines for the of the supply on the serial port.
6

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Fig. 6. The digital control circuit in the power supply is based around a ptmerful microcontroller and precision A -D and D -A converters.
50 EE
May 1988
The final design of the supply is clearly
a trade-off between hardware constraints
and efficient software. To make things
absolutely clear: the control program
resident in the microcontroller has been
developed by Elektor Electronics.

A precision voltage source Type REF -02

supplies a reference voltage of 5 V
(±20 ppm) for the D -A and A -D con-
verters. The REF -02 keeps the deviation
of the supply output voltage down to a
maximum of ±20 mV at U0=30 V (a
typical deviation of ±10 mV was
measured in prototypes).
The gain of the second inverter on each
SET output is not exactly unity, but its
function is to compensate the inversion
incurred in the first amplifier, which
functions as a current -to -voltage con-
verter.

The analogue and digital grounds are

kept separate throughout the circuit, and
are not connected anywhere except at the
D -A converters, where optimum 'accu-
racy is needed. The actual voltage regu-
lator is IC2, a Type PM7548 12 -bit
digital -to -analogue converter that can be
driven from an 8 -bit databus. The cur- Top view of a prototype of the supply. Note the sandwich construction of the digital and dis-
play keyboard circuits.
rent limiter circuit can do with lower res-
olution, and is, therefore, set up around Dual slope conversion by a constant current (second slope) un-
an 8 -bit converter chip Type DAC0835. til a comparator toggles to indicate that
The actual output voltage, the voltage The three previously mentioned ana- discharging is complete. The microcon-
caused by the output current, and the logue quantities are converted to digital troller measures the discharge time, and
voltage supplied by the temperature for processing by the microcontroller in uses this for computing the value of the
sensor are applied to a single ADC Type a so-called dual -slope conversion pro- input voltage. The basic principles of
TL50IC (ICJ) via analogue muliplexer cess. The conversion duration is this process are illustrated in the drawing
ICs. The microcontroller determines measured by the controller with the aid of Fig. 7. The final accuracy of the
which of the three signals is fed to the of an interrupt timing routine. This ar- measurement is independent of the ab-
ADC. Each of three multiplexed rangement may appear unnecessarily sulute duration of the slopes: what
voltages is converted to digital approxi- complex and time consuming, but it re- counts is the ratio of their durations.
mately 5 times per second. quires only software, not a costly con- Since the microcontroller clock fre-
Output COMP of the ADC drives inter- verter that supplies the 12 -bit binary quency is fixed and accurately known,
rupt input (um) on the microcontroller. code after conversion is completed. the duration of the second slope suffices
There are two further interrupt sources The principle of dual -slope conversion is for deducing the value of the input
in the circuit: relatively simple. Initially, a capacitor is voltage. Interestingly, the TL501C is in-
o timer 0: displays and DACs are charged with the measured voltage dur- tended by the manufacturer, Texas In-
refreshed at 1.1 ms intervals; ing a period determined by the micro - struments, as the analogue building
e timer 1: serial interrupt. controller. This is called integration of block in an A -D conversion system that
the input value of the converter (first comprises the Type TL502 or TL503 as
The connection of UMEAVI and UMEAS'U slope). Next, the capacitor is discharged the complementary digital part. In the
to dual analogue multiplexer Type 4052 present application, however, the micro -
may appear unusual at first, but the use 7 controller takes over the digital driving
of inputs XI and Y2 in combination of the TL501C.
with the grounded inputs Y1 and X2 ef- WitCALATE

fects the required inversion of the .-1741141

measurement signals. It will be recalled Data retention

that the digital ground is at the same The Type NMC9306 in position 1C7 is a
potential as the positive output of the nit:A..104
serial electrically erasable programmable
supply, and floats at 0...30 V depend- read-only memory (SEEPROM or
ing on the set value of U0. The current SEEPROM) with a capacity of 16x16
measurement voltage is positive with bits and an on -board step-up converter
respect to this ground, just as the tem- for the programming voltage. As indi-
perature measurement voltage, applied cated in the abbreviation SEEPROM,
to YO of the multiplexer, while X0 is the device can be erased by applying a
grounded. The output voltage of poten- control voltage instead of exposing it to
tial divider R4-P2-Ru in the circuit of CV

ultra -violet light. Remarkably, it has a

Fig. 2 is, however, negative with respect serial input and output, so that it can be
to the same ground, so that inversion is housed in an enclosure with only 8 pins.
required in ICs before the signal can be Fig. 7. Dual slope analogue -to -digital con- Erasure of the contents and program-
applied to the ADC chip. version under microprocessor control. ming of new data in the device is ar-
 EE
May 1988
ranged by the microcontroller. serially via data output Do. Program-
This data retention device is used for ming is achieved by sending instructions
non-volatile storage of three program- EWEN (erase/write enable) and EWDS
mes, i.e., control settings of the power (erase/write disable). Prior to writing to
supply. These are the set output voltage, a SEEPROM register, this must be
current limit level, and the output cleared by electric erasure: instruction
voltage response (fast or slow slope): in ERASE is sent, followed by the relevant
all, 3 x3 parameters that can be stored in register address. This reads all logic ones
the SEEPROM. Programme I is auto- when it is not programmed. Writing is
matically selected on power -up, but the 3 effected by instruction WRITE and the
loaded and displayed parameters are not relevant 16 -bit dataword.
put into effect by the relevant circuitry Four lines suffice for communicating
until the user overrides the 0 V OUT with the SEEPROM: serial data out,
function, which is always in operation serial data in (datawords are organized The designer, Peter Theunissen, is seen here
when the supply is powered up or reset. as 16 bits), clock and chip select. The in the Elektor Electronics laboratory work-
The non-volatile memory in the power SEEPROM further recognizes single in- ing on an early prototype of the supply.
supply provides flexibility and ease of structions for erasure of all data, and
use. The user has the settings saved on a writing the same data to all 16 registers.
previous occasion available immediately
for use again at power -on. The Display and keyboard (LD]; LD5) permanently indicate the
SEEPROM used is stated to be capable The proposed power supply is trend of either the set voltage and cur-
of 10,000 programming cycles. This cor- remarkable for its ability to display both rent, or the measured voltage and cur-
responds to more than ten years of use theset and the actually measured output rent. The resolution of the bars is, of
when programmed twice a day. Data voltage and current. The former are course, not sufficient for accurate
retention is also guaranteed for 10 years displayed when the user changes the set- readings, but they enable spotting, for
minimum. The device recognizes - 19 in- tings, i.e., when operating the rotary instance, a short-circuit literally at a
structions whose execution is timed by contact encoder or the U/I switch. glance. The LED bar that indicates
an external clock signal applied to input The circuit diagram of the controls and voltage has two scales printed at op-
SK. Reading is effected by instruction display section is shown in Fig. 8. All posite sides on the front panel foil. A
READ and a serially applied address. decoding and demultiplexing is done by LED lights automatically to indicate
The byte at this address is returned the microcontroller. Two LED bars which scale is used. The ranges are
8

3
ej S3
St I
K2
St = STORE
52 . I
53 = 2
5A . 3
55 = RECALS.
56 . CV
57 = HOW
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LDS LDS LD7 LD6 07 = I
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BC547 9044045 CONTACT ENCODER

01
0

LD I. LD5 = LED -BAR aaaose-a

(-*Kt 55.67 LD2_LD4. LD6_.U18 = HD 1107 - 0

Fig. 8. Display and keyboard circuits.

 EE
May 1988
0...10 V (1 LED per volt) and eration). One complete spindle rotation red over the 24 -position type because the
10...30 V (non-linear scale). corresponds to 24 or 36 pulses. There is latter requires 18 full spindle revolutions
The keys for selecting the various set- no mechanical end stop, and the to cover the voltage range of 0...30 V.
tings of the power supply are membrane microcontroller is programmed to
types built into the front panel foil. The deduce the direction and magnitude of Next month's instalment of this article
microcontroller scans the keys for activi- travel by means of the pulses it receives will deal with the construction, setting
ty via lines SI . . .S9 incl. and COM1- from the contact encoder. up and operation of the microcontroller-
COM2. The manufacturer of the digital contact driven power supply.
encoder, Bourns, supplies types with 24
The digital contact encoder used for the or 36 detent positions per spindle revol- Reference:
voltage and current setting is essentially ution. Both can be used in the present to Single -chip microcontrollers. Elektor
an ergonomic substitute for a thumb - circuit, but the 36 -position type is prefer- Electronics, September 1987.
wheel switch. The device supplies a 2 -bit
Gray code to indicate the direction of
travel. Inside the encoder, two switches
(channel A and B) are operated by a
common spindle. Opening and closing in
a specific order, the switches provide the
2 -bit code shown in Fig. 9 (clockwise op -

Fig. 9. The phase difference between pulses

on channel A and B of the digital contact en-
coder is used for deducing the direction of
travel.

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vanced Technology was won by Re- card DC -DC convertors (40-100 W); lin-
sponse Company Ltd of Winchester for ear encapsulated power supplies (1-5 W);
its Calmu-3 Credit and Load Manage- and a series of linear supplies in Co -fired multilayer circuits
ment Unit. This is a radioteleswitch con- Eurocard format up to 250 W. An evaluation of low temperature, co -
trolled, communicating, multi -tariff Cirkit supply small quantities with no fired ceramic multilayer circuit tech-
electricity supply meter. By using signals nology is to be untertaken by ERA Tech-
sent out via BBC radio transmitters, sup- nology.
plies of electricity can be controlled as The emergence of the new technology is
necessary. in response to the continuing trend
The Supreme Award is not confined to towards very large scale integration
micro -electronics. The judges at the re- (VLSI), where electronic devices, more
cent Electrex Exhibition were looking densely packed in silicon are required to
for a break -through into new technology operate at ever higher speeds. There is,
or an extension of existing technology, therefore, increasing pressure to develop
whether it be in design or in the use of interconnection media external to the
new materials or new technologies. chip which is also densely packed and
Other award winners were: which does not degrade system perform-
Federal Electric Ltd for its Solid-state, ance, particularly speed.
Electronic Controlled Circuit Breaker; Further information from ERA Tech-
Elkay Electrical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. nology Ltd Cleeve Road
for its Sensoround -a passive infra -red LEATHERHEAD KT22 7SA Tele-
energy controlling sensor; phone (0372) 374151.
Victor Products PLC for its "Light
Guide", a new concept in linear lighting;
Eaton Williams Products Ltd. for its Air
Condition Monitor; A 100 NV DC -DC euromodule. one of the
Megger Instruments Ltd. for its PDAI Bulgin Power Conversion products now
Power Disturbance Analyser. available from Cirkit.
 MAKING THE WEATHER
WORK FOR YOU
The past 10 years or so have seen what are probably the greatest advances ever in weather forecasting.
Certainly they are the greatest in terms of potential value of forecasts to commerce and industry.

by Dr John Houghton, Director -General and David Houghton, Marketing Director, UK Meteorological Office,
Bracknell

First to appreciate how big are the nor the observing system capable of sup- days than were forecasts only 10 years
benefits from better weather forecasts porting a global model; indeed, it was ago.
have been the world's airlines, tradition- thought at the time that over a few days The acid test in any forecasting system is
ally the customers who work most the weather over one hemisphere was its ability to predict change. In the sec-
closely with the meteorologists. This was largely independent of the weather over ond illustration this test is applied to
highlighted last year when a team of the other. The latest global models of at- forecasts produced here for the area
scientists from the UK Meteorological mospheric behaviour have demonstrated covering Europe and the North Atlantic.
Office received the prestigious Royal that it is not so. Accurate forecasting The element tested is surface pressure,
Society ESSO Energy Award, in recog- beyond a day or two demands a totally the forecast surface surface pressure
nition of their pioneering contribution global approach, which has been made against the observed surface pressure. It
to energy saving through developing the possible through parallel advances in can be seen that forecasts for day three
world's best operational weather fore- computing, new observing systems using are now as good as those for day one
casting model. By international agree- both geostationary and polar orbiting were 10 years ago, day four as good as
ment the world's airlines have access to satellites, and mathematical modelling day two, and so on.
flight forecasting information for all of the global atmosphere. The first illus- Many sectors of industry and commerce
parts of the world from the Meteorologi-tration shows how all these elements can also derive considerable financial
cal Office headquarters at Bracknell, combine to provide a global forecast. benefit from these better forecasts. But
typically information on winds and tem- The result is that today's forecasts for this benefit is yet to be fully realised
peratures at all the heights at which air- three to six days ahead are better by two because the forecaster is still largely
craft fly. Airlines using Bracknell data
together spend over £5000 million every
year on aviation fuel, so the saving of
one per cent or more in fuel consump-
tion which can be achieved through
using the better forecasts is not incon-
siderable.
Forecasts contribute to fuel saving in a
variety of ways. For instance, a forecast
can indicate the position of the strongest
tail wind so that the aircraft can be
flown to take advantage of it and thereby
achieve a higher speed relative to the
ground, saving both time and fuel.
Forecasts of temperature are also im-
portant, for air temperature influences
the efficiency of the jet engines. It is &.1.-sed t 7/ 1.&Voute

--- S.z.rtess vezz ciatie route

possible only to conjecture on the much
larger savings achieved in comparison
with using no weather forecasts at all.

Global approach
Airlines are interested only in short
period forecasts, for up to 24 hours
ahead at the most. However, recent im-
provement in weather forecasting is even
more evident in predictions for two,
three, four and five days ahead. Until
1971 forecasts for more than two days
ahead were of little practical use, cer-
tainly not in commercial terms. Then a Part of a ship routeing weather analysis chart issued by the UK Meteorological Office. It
new 10 -level forecasting model was in- covers a voyage by a chemical tanker of 13 000 tonnes which left Rotterdam on 13 August 1986
bound for Trinidad. The recommended Metroute enabled the vessel to avoid the worst of the
troduced, and the quality of forecasts weather caused by remnants of hurricane Claudette and thereby
save about 14 hours on
for days two and three rose dramatically. passage. Figures against charted positions show the date and hour of observations, and the
But the model was only hemispheric: `feathered' lines indicate the direction and force of the wind towards those points. Each full
there was neither the computing capacity feather stroke indicates a wind speed of ten knots and each half stroke five knots.
 54 EE
May 1988
unaware of the user's requirements, and
the potential user is still largely unaware
of what information the forecaster can
provide. What is required is a marketing
dialogue similar to that which has been
taking place between the meteorologists
and the aviators for some 70 years. The
aviator has not been slow to tell the
meteorologists what information he re-
quires, and the meteorologist has re-
sponded to the best of his ability by
deriving increasingly better methods of
producing and communicating the re-
quired information.

Ship routeing
The shipping industry are even older
customers for weather information: in
fact, the Meteorological Office was set
up around 1855 specifically with the pur-
pose of giving warnings of storms to frssIt -e rnatiorsal forecast sense. up to 7 days ah ea d
ships at sea. Nevertheless, in contrast to G 11

airlines, shipping companies have been

slow to appreciate the opportunities for
saving time and money by using special-
ist routeing advice. Only a small propor- G.;cren.

tion of shipping uses a ship routeing ser-

vice, although the benefits have been
shown to be great. The diagram on
the front page shows the routeing of a
ship across the Atlantic for a minimum -
time crossing. The saving achieved by
avoiding adverse weather was 14 hours.
Ships can also be routed on the basis of Steps from observation to forecast. Numbers indicate the average number of observations
minimum wave height if, for instance, each day for use in the main 0000 utc and 1200 utc global numerical forecast model runs.
the comfort of passengers or animals is
paramount. seeds, apply his fertilizers and preventive weather to various factors, for instance
Offshore drilling operations, especially sprays, and harvest his crops, all at times to variations in demand for a wide var-
from floating platforms, are the most to get the best yields. iety of foodstuffs, to variations in their
weather -sensitive activities at sea. High availability if they are grown in the field,
winds and swell can be particularly and to the ease with which they can be
dangerous for drilling and diving oper- Matching forecast to demand transported and stored. To benefit most
ations, or when platforms are being As with other marketing business, the in such cases, forecast and historical in-
moved or towed. The cost of operating a first aim in marketing weather forecasts formation have to be assembled so as to
platform is high, of the order of £1 is that the provider and the user be relate as closely as possible to the pro-
million per week, and the value of ac- brought together to their mutual benefit. cedures for making decisions throughout
curate forecasts of weather and waves The product is weather information, the industry.
for a few days ahead is also high. Fore- both historical and forecast, specified The second essential marketing con-
casters working on oil rigs are a vital and assembled to meet the needs of the sideration is how to convey weather in-
part of the operational team. user. Experience has shown that the ma- formation efficiently to the user. Should
One of the better known forecasting suc- jority of users of weather information it go by digital link, facsimile or tele-
cesses of 1986 was the record breaking cannot afford either the time or the ef- phone; to the company headquarters,
achievements of the Virgin Atlantic fort to glean the information required the local office or the building site? If
Challenger. An accurate four -day for a particular operation by attemping the means of communication or the
weather forecast was essential, and the to interpret a general weather summary destination are wrong or inappropriate
signal to go followed a favourable and forecast. The full benefits which the information may be of little practical
forecast from our Central Forecasting may come from weather information are value.
Office. reaped only when the information is Third, the price must be right. Price set-
The value of a weather forecast to the tailored to the particular requirement. ting is the part of the marketing mix
aviator and the sailor is almost assumed, For example, anyone who sells umbrellas which many scientists will try to avoid as
because they are open to the elements. is interested only in whether it will rain being at best unscientific and at worst
The farmer is another obvious customer, at a time of day when people are likely immoral. But in this context it is not
though traditionally he has been re- to want to be out of doors. A manufac- only necessary to pay for the resources
garded as so experienced a weather turer of heating equipment is vitally con- devoted to the provision of the service;
observer that he can rival the pro- cerned with temperature and, because it the price must also relate directly to the
fessional forecaster. But even for him takes several days of cold weather before perceived value of the service. The reci-
things have changed. Now, for the first demand is stimulated, he wants a pient of specially tailored weather infor-
time, he is able to schedule many of his package comprising both historical and mation is much more likely to use it to
farm operations several days in advance. forecast information. The food'retailer advantage if the cost. bears some sensible
Armed with specialist forecasting and requires a particularly complex and com- relation to the benefit which may be de-
climatological advice, he can sow his prehensive package relating the expected rived. It is not that the price needs to be
 EE
May 1988
high - just realistic. In practice, the found for him to reap the benefit and for able, the period of forecasts will perhaps
price of most meteorological services is the meteorological service to reap some be extended to 10 or even 14 days. The
only a small percentage of the benefits rewards. In Britain, a new telephone in- question then will be how predicatable is
derived, which makes a weather service a formation service known as Weathercall the atmospheric circulation beyond two
necessity rather than a luxury. This ap- has recently been introduced. It costs weeks ahead? Almost certainly it cannot
plies not only to individual services but more than the average rate of charge for be forecast in detail. Nevertheless, there
on the scale of national meteorological a call and a proportion of the charge to is a good possibility that the average
services, too. The contribution of every the subscriber is paid to the meteorologi- character of the weather a month or two
such service to a nation's economy is cal service. A similar service, Marinecall, ahead may be predictable. The economic
many times the cost of the service. is available to inshore'sailors. It provides,
value of such predictions, even if they
detailed forecasts over 15 consecutive are not perfect, would be very large. So
telephone numbers, each for a sector of the stakes are high and the world is
the coast around Britain. waiting on the meteorologists to tackle
Public communications There are, of course, many other areas of the problem of weather forecasting at
The value of weather forecasts for the industry and commerce where weather longer range, for which they will require
public at large through newspapers, forecasts properly applied can contrib- at the very least the next generation of
radio and television must not be ute to profitability and efficiency. In the supercomputers. All told, one thing is
overlooked. They enable people to make power industry weather information is certain, the weather service is no longer
millions of small decisions that con- essential to short and long term plan- seen as a luxury but a necessity.
tribute significantly to the well-being of ning; highway authorities make huge
the community and to the efficient and savings during the winter by applying
effective use of its resources. For the grit and salt only when there is advance
man in the street the weather forecast warning that it is necessary. In building, ,m-
may sometimes do no more than satisfy construction, transport, manufacturing, r-7..'..57 .VoCOPruro
his curiosity regarding the future. On maintenance and repair, many activities 7.
certain occasions it contributes signifi- and processes are weather sensitive; and
cantly to his comfort and convenience. the demands for goods and services vary
He can go out wearing suitable clothes with the weather. The World Meteoro- i
and footwear, and not carrying an tim- logical Organization is working to ob- a,- 6f-
8
brella unless he really needs one. On at tain better estimates of the benefits of 6
least a few days each year the fore- weather services throughout the world,
cast confers a measurable benefit. For both to communities as a whole and to
example, he may save fuel by avoiding a individual sectors. In the UK, a conser-
leisure trip to the coast or mountains vative estimate is that the total benefit is 0

that would have been spoilt by bad well over 10 times the total cost of the 103£ ' . "UI.
.I.*
r MI
weather. Just as for specialist users, the service.
amount and quality of weather infor- Today, computer models give good de-
mation useful to the average citizen has tailed weather information up to five or Annual average correlations between 24, 48,
increased greatly in the last few years, so 72, 96 and 120 hours forecasts and actual
six days ahead. As the models improve pressure changes at sea loci for the North
much so that new means have had to be and as larger computers become avail - Atlantic Region since 1976.

GEN. INTEREST NEWS Lightning is a coming

During August last year, we passed
BEP acquired by Elsevier through the zero point in the eleven -year
cycle of sunspot activity, and over the
Berm Electronic Publications have been next five years can expect a rise in activi-
acquired by Elsevier Advanced Tech- ty - and a corresponding increase in
nology Group, part of the international lightning strikes (of the 100 MV driving
communications group, Elsevier Science potential; 200 kA stroke current; and
Publishers. with arc energy of 100 MW/m type).
Renamed BEP Data Services, the Such lightning strikes can cause havoc to
company will continue to publish the unprotected computer and other micro-
Microelectronics Journal, Journal of processor controlled electronic equip-
Semicustom ICs, Semicustom IC Year- ment.
book, IC International, European Elec- If a surge protection device is designed
tronics Component Distributor Direc- to fail safe by automatically disconnect-
tory, and the Yearbook of World Elec- ing the mains from such equipment, it
tronics Data.
will have achieved its object of protect-
Elsevier Science Publishers specialize in ing that equipment, but at the expense
fulfilling the information needs of
of continuity of the mains supply.
senior technical, commercial, and cor- One method of providing surge and
porate managers in the manufacturing spike protection, and yet continuing to
industry and related service institutions.
provide power, is to install a plug -to -plug
Elsevier Advanced Technology Group compatible
Mayfield House 256 Banbury Road Communications link between Europe and uninterruptible power
Asia using the most modern facilities: supply (UPS) from Avel Lindberg, such
OXFORD OX2 7DH Telephone Siemens have laid two fibre -optic cables with as the AD 1000.
(0865) 310156/512242. 20 fibres each along the Bosporus bridge in Contact Avel Lindberg Ltd SOUTH
Istanbul. The link will enable more than OCKENDON RM15 5TD Telephone
150,000 telephone conversations to be con- (0708) 853444.
ducted simultaneously between east and
west. (Siemens Press Photograph).
 56 EE
May 1988

COMPONENT NEWS RANK REVENUES

1986 1987 COMPANY 1986 1987 % CHANGE
Recovery in chip industry
Semiconductor companies fared better 1 1 NEC 2,638 3,193 21.0%
in 1987 than they have since the market 3 2 Toshiba 2,276 2,939 29.1%
slump, according to Dataquest. Many 2 3 Hitachi 2,307 2,781 20.5%
companies grew faster than the market, 4 4 Motorola 2,025 2,450 21.0%
some showing growth rates that doubled 5 5 Texas Instruments 1,781 -2,125 19.3%
and even trebled the overall industry 6 6 Fujitsu 1,365 1,899 39.1%
growth rate. 8 7 Philips-Signetics 1,258 1,597 26.9%
Dataquest estimates that semiconductor 11 8 Intel 991 1,500 51.4%
revenue grew 24.3 per cent over 1986 to 10 9 Mitsubishi 1,136 1,481 30.4%
reach S36.6 billion. Japanese companies
had 48% of the world market; North 9 10 Matsushita 1,206 1,479 22.6%
American companies 21.7%; and Note: All revenues rounded source: Dataquest
European companies 11%.
Top ten semiconductor suppliers world-wide.

Erwin Sick devices from STC 1986 1987 Annual Growth

Electronics Services
STC Electronic Services now stock a Philips-Signetics $ 820 $ 969 18%
comprehensive range of sensing prod- * SGS Thomson (1) 546 535 (2%)
ucts from Erwin Sick, Europe's leading Texas Instruments 489 525 7%
manufacturer of advanced photo- Motorola 425 501 18%
electric control devices. * Siemens (2) 396 446 13%
Full information from: STC Electronic * National Fairchild (3) 338 382 13%
Services Edinburgh Way Intel 214 295 38%
HARLOW CM20 2DF Telephone NEC 229 258 13%
(0279) 626777.
* AMD-MMI (4) 220 246 12%
ITT 215 243 13%

Philips-ES2 agreement Top ten European semiconductor suppliers.

Philips Components and European Sili-
con Structures have reached agreement goods for dispatch the same day. Also,
which ensures customers world-wide of the company have an electronic mailbox,
rapid prototyping and high volumes of telex and fax facilities.
ASICs implemented in Philips' standard Further information from Greenweld
1.5 micrometre dual layer metal CMOS 443E Millbrook Road SOUTHAMP-
processes (followed by 1.2 pm towards TON SOl OHX Telephone (0703)
the end of this year). ES2 will apply 772501/783740 Telex 265871
these processes to its proprietary E -beam MONREF G quoting 72:MAG36026
direct -write technology for fast pro- Fax: (0703) 787555 EMail: Telecom
totypes and low volumes in its recently - Gold 72:MAG36026.
opened factory in Aix-en-Provence.
Further information from: European
Silicon Structures Mount Lane ERSA equipment from Access
BRACKNELL RG12 3DY Telephone Tools
(0344) 52 52 52. The ERSA range of soldering equipment
the RACE (Research and Development
in Advanced Communications Tech- and the Pastorino range of hand tools is
nologies in Europe) programme. now available from Access Tools, a div-
House of Power -NEC Finlux already has considerable ex- ision of Toolrange Ltd. Whether you are
agreement perience in flat -screen development and looking for a simple screwdriver or the
One of the world's largest manufacturers presented the first European flat -screen latest fully programmable automatic
of tantalum capacitors, NEC, has ap- monochrome wall -mounted TV receiver machine tool, Access can help you.
pointed House of Power to distribute its last year (see Elektor Electronics, Oc- Further information from: Access Tools
range of tantalum bead devices through- tober 1987, p.17). Upton Road READING RG3 4JA
out the UK. Further information from: Lohja Cor- Telephone (0734) 429446.
House of Power Electron House poration Finlux Display Electronics
Cray Avenue ORPINGTON BR5 3PN P.O. Box 46 SF -02201 ESPOO
Telephone (0689) 71531. Finland Telephone +358 0 42001. Spare parts for PCB assembly
holders
A spare parts facility for their WY Series
Finlux in flat -screen develop- New services from Greenweld PCB Assembly Holders is available from
ment Greenweld now operate an in-store credit Wybar Electronics Unit M Port -
The Finnish company of Finlux has been card, with the choice of an option or a ANDOVER
way Industrial Estate
appointed to lead a project for the de- budget account. This enables customers SP10 3LU Telephone (0264) 51347/8.
velopment of flat -screen displays under to just pick up the phone and order
 APPLICATION NOTES
The contents of this column are based on information obtained from
manufacturers in the electronics industry, or their representatives,
and do not imply practical experience by Elektor Electronics
or its consultants.

SINGLE -CHIP MULTI -STANDARD COLOUR DECODER

In areas where TV transmissions to more than one colour standard

can be received, colour receivers are required which can handle
multistandard transmissions without additional manual switching.
This requirement will greatly increase with the introduction of
satellite TV.

Such receivers have, in the past, incor- Chrominance signals from the filters are A. QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modu-
porated a multi -standard colour decoder AC coupled to the input of the lation of the colour carrier by the
(MSD) using several integrated circuits TDA4555, which produces the colour colour difference signals).
to automatically select the standard of difference outputs, that are, in turn, AC
the received signal. However, the grow- coupled to the Colour Transient Im- 1. NTSC standards with any colour sub -
ing need for these MSDs makes it econ- provement (CTI), part of the TDA4560. carrier frequency, for example
omically and technically desirable to in- This IC also contains an adjustable - NTSC-M (f0 = 3.579 545 MHz), re-
corporate all the active parts in one IC delay -line formed by gyrators, so a con- ferred to as NTSC-3.5
and to reduce, as far as possible, the ex- ventional wirewound delay line is not - Non-standard NTSC systems, for
ternal circuitry. needed. example with fo = fOPAL =
This application note describes two new The signals are then fed to the Video 4.433 618 75 MHz.
single -chip MSDs using bipolar tech- Combination IC, TDA3505, which con- This system is used in the United
nology, the TDA4555 and TDA4556. verts the colour difference signals Kingdom and in the Near East and is
The ICs are similar except for the po- -(R-Y) and -(B-Y) and the referred to as NTSC-4.4. As the
larity of the colour difference signals at luminance signal (Y) into the RGB colour subcarrier frequency is the
the output. The TDA4555 provides signals. The TDA3505 also incorporates
- (R-Y) and -(B-Y) signals; the same as that of the normal PAL sys-
the saturation, contrast, and brightness tem, the same crystal can be used
TDA4556 provides +(R-Y) and control circuits and allows for the inser- without switching in the reference os-
+(B -Y) signals. Only the TDA4555 will tion of external RGB signals. Finally, the cillator for both systems.
be described. processed video signals are applied, via
The ICs are universally applicable and the RGB output stage to the picture 2. PAL standard, characterised by phase
allow the design of a range of TV tube. reversal of the (R-Y) signal on alter-
receivers having a common main chassis. The new MSD can decode colour TV nate scan lines. The colour subcarrier
Automatic selection of the required stan- signals transmitted according to the fol- frequency for normal PAL is
dard has been made more reliable and lowing standards: 4.433 618 75 MHz.
the maximum time required for identifi-
cation and switching is a little over half 1
a second.
When reception is difficult because
signals are weak, noisy, or badly dis- GA as
DELAY UNE
.uTN/s1r.s
torted, the automatic standard recognit- G

ion (ASR) can be switched off and the it 11 1 I

standard chosen manually. $6,DIA3LE. TEIA4555 TDA45E0
ITT VIDEO
Ouinn
STAGES

Nr..NTGTANDAAD
Figure I is a block diagram of a typical CvIS SANGPASS
EuTf.S 06C0014
GOLCAJA
TKANGYENT
suPACNI
TCLA3X,S
VIDEO
PAL SEC.&
multi -standard colour decoder incor- AND COLOUR
GAAP:EA
TRAPS
NTSCIG
NTSC4.5 GYRATOR
COVG.NATION
LFOT

porating the TDA4555. The composite DELAT UNE

video input signal (CVBS) is fed via 1

unau.fe
switchable filters to the input of the trurcac*
cu.
NY
MSD. The filters separate the SM.642*. .4azes1

chrominance and luminance signals ac- -

IO2-TD

cording to the standard selected, which,

for ASR, is controlled by the colour
decoder IC. Fig 1. Block diagram of a multi -standard decoder incorporating the Type TDA4555.
58 EE
May 1988
B. SECAM characterised by trans- switching voltages to set the MSD to the With b/w signals, the scanning is con-
mission of the colour difference desired standard. tinuous and the colour is kept switched
signals (R -Y) and (B Y)on alternate As long as no colour standard is off because there is no standard recog-
scan lines and frequency modulation recognized, the SCSS circuit switches the nition.
of the colour subcarriers. The fre- decoder sequentially to the PAL, The switch voltage corresponding to the
quency of the colour signals may vary SECAM, NTSC-3.5 and NTSC-4.4 stan- recognized standard ramps from 2.5 V
between 3.900 MHz and 4.756 MHz. dards. If the standard of the received to 6 V during scanning and the remain-
The frequencies of the colour subcar- signal is not recognized after four field ing switch voltages are held at 0.5 V
riers are: periods (80 ms), the next decoding sys- maximum. These voltages are used to
foB = 4.250 MHz for a "blue line" tem is activated. This time interval, also switch the filters at the input, the
foe = 4.406 25 MHz for a "red line". called the standard scanning period, is a crystals of the reference oscillators, and
good compromise between fast switch - the colour subcarrier traps, and also to
With these capabilities, the new on of the colour and effective inter- indicate the recognised standard (e.g. by
decoders can handle most of the colour ference suppression with noisy signals. LEDs).
TV transmissions in central Europe and The maximum time between the start of To prevent unnecessary restarting of
also in other areas. scanning and switching on the colour is scanning because of momentary disturb-
360 ms, including the colour switch -on ances (e.g. short-term interruptions of
delay of two field periods. However, in the colour signal), the TDA4555 incor-
TDA4555 circuit description the TDA4555, a PAL priority circuit is porates a delay of two field periods
Figure 2 is the circuit of a multistandard incorporated to improve the reliability (40 ms) before scanning can start.
colour decoder using TDA4555/56. for SECAM, so the scanning can last for Finally the IC allows the automatic stan-
The IC only requires a single sandcastle another two scanning periods (520 ms dard recognition (ASR) to be switched
pulse at pin 24 for the generation of all maximum). off by applying external switching
internal pulses (e.g. burst key, horizontal After recognition of a SECAM signal, signals and forcing one of the decoding
and vertical blanking pulses). The sand- the information is stored and the modes by applying at least 9 V to the ap-
castle pulse levels are >8 V for the burst decoding is switched to PAL. A second propriate pin (25...28 incl.). These pins
key; 4.5 V for horizontal blanking: and SECAM recognition is only provided if also serve as outputs for the internally
2.5 V for vertical blanking. no PAL recognition occurs. This gives generated switch voltages which indicate
Level detectors in the sandcastle pulse reliable SECAM recognition when the the selected standard. The automatic
detector separate the three levels which SECAM-PAL transcoding at the source colour switch -off is active in both cases.
are used to generate the required key (e.g. in cable systems) is not perfect, or The MSD must provide colour -
pulse and clamp pulses. when PAL signals are distorted by reflec- difference output signals with an ampli-
A special System Control and Standard tions so that they simulate SECAM tude referred to a given test signal,
Scanning circuit (SCSS) provides the signals. despite amplitude variations (within

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siecoe ,2 13
mama.

-i- ;.
Q7 16 WV
.
396 2/of
410 .001
30o1 # 121, 30
of
..422 2.6Vv "V
ISOs 1022 10211
=MO mime
30513
arre.,
470 53213 008 1 0113 0 1.1 mi.. 04. Pas OFF
ear
0120 lei''
1' II" fo 1 Wks* OH. born OFF
I I
PAL PaSC
I
I -1 V 12 Sy
2.1TX 8E0102 - I I
3.53104 4.43 2410

Fig. 2. Block diagram and peripheral circuitry.

 May 1988
EE
59
3
SEPARATION FILTERS STANDARD, SVOTCHING
12 V
III
100 kit 18 pFI I Skil chionta NTSC 3 2.7 nE

cvas I°AF
(81
3312 T dverra
8C6488 swottlung
47 3 5 61/43 ntrers
camp. L2
14,131 green
1 V fp.pl C31
330 CI LI L3 30 pF -13 161
pF
T Y-NTSC
3:15111[10B 2.21E1
3 0 8C5488 &roma
to 1151)- lc
68.1 rink' 10,14550
RI
Lakre
C3
1,2 nE
aron
117.
PAL
4 115)

1.5 en &roma PAL/NTSC

p 4,7 111
SECAY
C2a 120 pF
I-4 1 4 (161
standard
sentenirg
4.4 MHz 4.7 k II .stage
NTSC 3.5
12a 1171
S333.
C31a
220 cis L1aj. L3a 270E
Y- PAL/NTSC
PF T ISECAMI
NTSC 14
4 (181
68 I/ yellow /Wet
Rla C33 560
1,8 1.17 620 pc 3 15 1,11 [ [ [
8C5488
R chrome SECAM 47
2.2 ill kfl

1.41741C4 110 18
"cm ----4U*
OF
V - n9/111
rid/ bole Y-SECAM
swot -71,g
stages
ID
SECAM
bEsfavw 3.3 3 SI ill'
4 x 2.2 oF
13 1101
V- 3,3,31
22 a 2,2 i4

880102 - 12

Fig. 3. Circuit diagram of the filter input section.

limits) of the colour input signal. This is Table 1

required to maintain a fixed amplitude
relationship between the luminance Coil data for the multi -standard decoder of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3
signal (Y) and the colour -difference
inductance Q no. of
signals, independent of different i.f. coil no toko type no. colour use
(uH) turns
filters or receiver detuning. The
TDA4555/56 incorporate an Automatic LI/Lia 5.5 >90 119 LNS-A 8+8 yellow separation filter
(4.4 MHz) 4449 AH
Colour Control circuit (ACC) for this
purpose. L2/Lx 12.5 >90 119 LNS-A 24/1 green colour
(4.4 MHz) 4451 DY bandpass filter
Lza/LKa
Circuit example
L3 66.0 60 KANS-K 4087 19+46* violet phase delay
Figure 2 is a tested circuit of a multistan- (2.52 MHz) HU correction
dard decoder. A more detailed circuit of L33
the input filters is shown in Fig. 3. These 3.8 60 113 CNS-2 K
L4 17 red bell filter
filters separate the luminance signal (Y) (4.4 MHz) 843 EG (=14+3)
from the colour signals for the four Ls, Le, 10.0 >80 119 LN-A 11+ 11 blue decoder board
decoding modes. L7 & L10 (4.4 MHz) 3753 GO and SECAM
The same filters can be used for PAL trap for fob
and NTSC-4.4 signals since they have a >80
similar frequency spectrum.
Ls, Ls 12.0 119 LN-A 12+12 blue decoder board
For 3753 GO
SECAM signals, it is possible to use the
4.4 MHz subcarrier trap of the
PAL/NTSC-4.4 filter but it is then tained by in -phase synchronous Source: Philips Technical Publication
necessary to add a trap tuned to about demodulation of the burst or the colour - 169.
4.05 MHz in the Y channel. This filter signal.
suppresses the colour signal components This approach has the advantage that
below about 4.2 MHz which mainly oc- the same demodulator, having only one
cur during the "blue SECAM line". external capacitor at pin 16, can be used
In the case of PAL and NTSC, the refer- for all standards and also results in noise
Mullard Limited Mullard House
ence for the control is the burst ampli- Torrington Place London
reduction with noisy signals. Unwanted WC1E 7HD. Telephone: (01 580)
tude. For SECAM, the complete colour increase of saturation with noisy signals
signal is used. The colour signal is AC 6633. Distributors in the UK are
(colour bright -up effect) is prevented listed on InfoCard 509 (EE May
coupled, via pin 15, to a gain -controlled without an extra peak detector being re-
amplifier and the control voltage is ob- 1987).
quired.
60

VLF CONVERTER

Build this 10 MHz up -converter if you are interested in receiving

signals from time standard, FAX, RTTY and other utility stations
operating in the kilometric bands.

The frequency range from 30 kHz to facilities of the communication receiver The circuit diagram of the converter is
150 kHz is generally referred to as the tuned between 10.000 and 10.300 MHz given in Fig. 2. The function of the cir-
Very Low Frequency (VLF) band. It is can be exploited to receive VLF cuit is to convert the frequency range
used relatively little, because high transmissions. from 15 kHz to about 300 kHz to an
transmitter powers and large aerial equally large band starting at 10 MHz.
systems are required, which generally The SSB/CW/FAX/RTTY receiver con-
give a relatively small coverage (typically Circuit description nected to the output of the converter is
about 300 to 1000 km). For a number of The VLF convener is an application of tuned between 10.015 and 10.300 MHz.
applications, this is not considered a dis- the Type NE602 active double balanced A VLF station such as Rugby MSF is,
advantage, however. Propagatioh of mixer and oscillator, whose block for example, "received" at 10.060 MHz.
VLF waves is highly predictable, since diagram is shown in Fig. 1. The chip re- The VLF aerial signal is passed through
there is virtually no atmospheric reflec- quires only a handful of external compo- low-pass filter Li -C2 -L2 -Ca -L3 -C4 that
tion: the transmitter range is, therefore, nents to make a good -quality up - defines the input frequency range
fairly accurately defined. VLF signals converter. (15 kHz...300 kHz). Transistor Ti
travel almost exclusively via the so-called forms an impedance transformer be-
ground wave, while the ground - tween the filter output and one RF input
ionosphere space acts as a waveguide. of the active mixer in ICI. The NE602 is
Thanks to this property of the VLF set up in an asymmetrical configuration
band, received signals are usually free here. RF input pin 2 is bypassed to
from phase shift and amplitude vari- ground with C-. while Pi is used for set-
ation (fading), so often found on the ting equal direct voltages at the RF in-
shortwave bands. The VLF band is well puts to optimize mixer balance. The out-
suited to medium -range, one-way data put frequency of the local oscillator on
communication, such as time standard board the NE602 is set to 10 MHz with
transmitters (Rugby GBR, Rugby MSF, the aid of an external quartz crystal, Xi.
Mainflingen DCF77, Prangins HBG), Trimmer Cu provides a means for ac-
meteorological facsimile, submarine curately setting the LO frequency to
communication, and telex networks. 10.000 MHz, so that the tuning scale on
One disadvantage of the VLF band is the receiver corresponds to the true re-
the huge aerial system required at the ceived frequency, ignoring, of course,
transmitter side. Aerial systems of Fig. 1. NE602 integrated active double - the "10" preceding the kHz digits in the
several square kilometres, and with balanced mixer/oscillator. read-out.
multiple transmitter feed points, are not
uncommon, yet attain a radiation ef- 2
ficiency of only a few percent. At the re-
ceiver side, due account should be taken
of the high level of man-made noise
(computers, neon tubes, TV sets and
other electrical appliances). In most
cases, the so-called long wire is the only I3F19/
feasible aerial at the receiver side. Thirty
metres or more of sloping or horizontal- 0
ly running insulated wire, mounted well IC 1

away from the previously mentioned NE602

sources of interference, is recommended

for serious experiments in receiving VLF
transmissions.
Generally, the lower the frequency, the xi R
rarer and more interesting the stations.
Not every communications receiver can pTl IMO

be tuned as low as 15 kHz, but this is

Tip -y -10
made possible by the up -converter de-
scribed here. It effectively converts the J_
frequency range from about 1
15 kHz...300 kHz to 10 MHz, so that
the CW, RTTY, FAX, AM or SSB Fig. 2. Circuit diagram of the VLF up -converter.
 EE
61
May 1988

Parts list

Resistors f :t 5%):

111:R2= 39K
R3=3K9
R4 = 10K
Rs= IKO
PI =50K multiturn preset

Capacitors:

CI =2n2
C2;C3=47p
C4= 3n3
Cs = 33n
Ca:C7=100n
Ca =100p
C9=180p
Cio=18p
Cit = 40p trimmer
CI 2.68p
Ct3=60p trimmer
C14=1110
C15= 330p

Inductors:

1.1:1..3=47mH ferrite encapsulated choke for

radial mounting: Toko Type 181LY-473 (Cirkit
stock no. 34-47302).
1.2=68mH ferrite encapsulated choke for radial
mounting: Toko Type 181LY-683 (Cirkit stock
no. 34-68302).
L4=4pH7 axial choke.

Semiconductors:

Di = zenerdiode 6V8; 400 mW

ICt =NE602 (available from CSI Electronics)
Ti =8F494 (Maplin order no. QQ19V)

Miscellaneous:

PCB Type 880029 (see Readers Services page).

Xi = 10 MHz quartz crystal; 30p parallel res-
onant.

Fig. 3. Printed circuit board for the VLF converter.

The output of the active double balanc- Construction and alignment A-B if the converter is powered via the
ed mixer is a single -ended configuration. The VLF converter is a simple to build coax cable to the receiver.
The up -converted frequency band is project. The printed circuit board is a
filtered in pi -section C12+03 -L4 -C14 -C15 double -sided, but not through -plated,
to suppress spurious mixer products. pretinned type-see Fig. 3. Commence
The low -frequency roll -off point of the the construction with fitting 15 mm high Set Pi, Cu and CI3 to the centre of their
filter is set to about 10 MHz by trimmer brass or tin metal sheet screens as shown travel. Apply 12 V to the circuit, and
C13. It should be noted that the mixer on the component overlay. Component check the presence of 6.8 V on pin 8 of
also generates an image band between leads shown without a small circle are ICI. Measure the direct voltage on pins
9.985 MHz (10-0.015) and 9.700 MHz soldered at the track side of the board, 1 and 2, and adjust PI until both are
(10-0.3), but this of little consequence. and to the ground area provided on the held at an equal potential of about
The converter is fed from a regulated component side. Radial inductors Li, L2 0.8 V. Connect the receiver, and tune
12 V source, either via separate supply and L3 are ferrite encapsulated types this to 10.000 MI -1z. Mode: CW, B170
wires (do not fit link A -B), or via the from Toko. The mixer/oscillator, ICI, is off, or to the centre of its travel. Switch
downlead coax to the receiver (fit link fitted direct onto the PCB (do not use a on the input attenuator, or select re-
A -B, and make sure that the receiver socket). Drill a 2 mm dia. hole in the duced RF input gain. Lower the fre-
output voltage is between 10 and 15 V). screen to give access to the spindle of quency of the beat note heard to nought
The mixer/oscillator and preamplifier multiturn preset Pi. Finally, fit by adjusting Cii (zero beat). Connect
transistor are fed from a 6.8 V rail soldering terminals for the input, output the aerial to the VLF converter, and tune
created with stabilizer R5 -Di. and supply connections. Install wire link to a relatively strong transmission at
62 EE
May 1988

Frequency Station Power Service

16 kHz GBR Rugby (UK) 60 kW time signals during the 5

minutes preceding 03.00h,
09.00h, 15.00h and 21.00h.
50 kHz RTZ Irkutsk (USSR) 50 kW standard frequency.
60 kHz MSF Rugby (UK) 50 kW standard frequency & BCD time
end date signals.
71 kHz not identified time signals.
75 kHz NBC Prangins (SUI) 20 kW BCD time and date signals.
77.5 kHz DCF77 Mainflingen 50 kW standard frequency & BCD time
{FRG) and date signals.
117.4 kHz DCF37 Mainflingen meteorological facsimile.

134.2 kHz DCF54 Mainflingen meteorological facsimile.

139.0 kHz DCF39 Mainflingen photofacsimile..
Completed prototype of the VLF converter.
The screening fitted onto the component side
prevents oscillation and spurious mixer prod-
ucts. Some stations that can be received below 150 kHz.
about 200 kHz (10.200 MHz on the re- every care should be taken not to over- The frequency assignment used in the
ceiver), e.g. Droitwich (AM). Reduce the drive the communications receiver. It is, VLF band is roughly as follows:
input gain of the receiver, and peak C13 therefore, strongly recommended to
for optimum reception (this adjustment make use of the fixed or variable RF at- 15-100 kHz: submarine communi-
is relatively uncritical). tenuator provided on most receivers. The cations (CW), beacons and time stan-
connection between the VLF converter dard transmitters;
and the unbalanced, low -impedance 100-150 kHz: RTTY (radio teletype),
(50-100 Q) receiver input must be and meteorological facsimile services;
Stations and services made in coaxial cable to prevent 150-300 kHz: long -wave broadcast ser-
It should be noted that the VLF con- breakthrough of strong signals in the vices and, occasionally, RTTY.
verter has some conversion gain, so that 10 MHz band.

SIGNAL PROCESSING AND

ELECTRONIC ENCRYPTION
by Brian P. McArdle

This article examines the effect of encryption operations on the

usual understanding of signal processing.

Electronic signals are made secret by en- into another signal of the same category, lustrated in Figure 1. This represents a
cryption operations. The original signals i.e., analogue signals after a scrambling typical arrangement for the encryption
can be analogue or digital. For the pur- operation are still analogue signals. and transmission of confidential infor-
poses of this article analogue signals are Elaborate systems where analogue mation between message centres, such as
complex waveforms made up of different signals are sampled, turned into digital
frequencies. Digital signals are a se- signals which are encrypted and trans-
quence of pulses where each pulse can be mitted in digital form are not con-
identified as a particular bit (logic state sidered. The paper explains two simple
1 or 0) by reference to the voltage level, examples which can be altered as re-
polarity, etc. They are also called mark quired. The comments and conclusions Fig. 1. Encryption of digital signals.
and space pulses respectively. I do not are of a general nature and may require
intend to become involved in a detailed amendment according to particular cir- two embassies. If the teleprinter uses the
description of encryption, but to provide cumstances. CCITT Number 2 Code, each character
an over -view which should assist an elec- pressed on the key -board will be
tronics engineer or technician. For represented as 5 bits plus start and stop
simplicity, the various encryption oper- Digital signal processing bits. The electronic word is transmitted
ations are considered to turn a signal Consider the encryption process il- in bit serial mode (one bit at a time) to
 EE
May 1988
the encryption unit. For simplicity, we secrecy as digital signal encryption. This
will assume that the start and stop bits is because the cascaded substitution -
are not encrypted which is the procedure permutation operations that provide real
used in most cipher machines. The 5 -bit secrecy are more easily implemented
block can be encrypted as a single block with groups of bits. This statement re-
or one bit at a time. These are called quires further explanation in order to tie
Block and Stream Encryption respect- down the full problem.
ively. (Usually blocks are made up of 64 Consider a digital system again as shown
or more bits.) The reader is referred to in Figure 5. The permutation operation
Ref (1) for an analysis of the various en- re -arranges the order of the bits. For
cryption operations. These need not be example, bit 9 moves to the 4th position
examined in this article. The actual elec- and so on. The substitution operation
trical connection between teleprinter and divides the permuted block into sub -
encryption device is a 20 mA current blocks of 4 bits each which is replaced by
loop illustrated in Figure 2. The start Fig. 3. Communications o'er a HF radio another block (e.g. 0100 becomes 1010).
pulse has the same duration as a data link.
pulse. The stop pulse is 1.5 times the and is explained in most modern text
duration. Hence, the code is referred to books on Telecommunications. It can be
as a 7.5 bit code. There are 31 possible detected on most standard receivers by
combinations (25-0 because the state using Amplitude Modulation (AM) on
00000 is not used. The normal speed is Single Sideband (SSB). Obviously, the
50 or 75 baud. There are other codes encryption unit must have the appro-
with other interfacing arrangements but priate outputs to interface to the trans-
the overall concept demonstrated by this mitter and not the smame arrangement
example holds. as the interface to the teleprinter. The re-
verse procedure is applied at the receiver
2 where the audio output is fed to the
decryption unit. There are many other
19
&erotica INN
possible arrangements depending on the
equipment and type of channel.
21 rot 0:11.

s Dew/pike WA

Fig. 5. Permutation -substitution operation.

183CeS it Analogue signal processing
This is usually used to encrypt voice Different replacement tables can be used
Fig. 2. Interfacing arrangement using 20 mA communications, such as over tele- for each sub -block. If these operations
current loop. phones and radio links. The encryption are repeated a number of times with dif-
operation conceals the information con- ferent permutation and substitution
The level of secrecy depends on the com- tained in an analogue signal but the tables, the entire process has a high level
plexity of the encryption operation. This resulting encrypted signal is still in of secrecy. The complete operation is
is usually varied by adjusting internal analogue form. A typical arrangement is varied by changing the tables. The
settings inside the device. Obviously, the shown in Figure 4. Usually, the theory behind this procedure is ex-
same setting should not be used continu- plained in Ref (3) but need not be con-
ously. Otherwise the effect of the en- 4 sidered in this type of overview.
cryption operation would be cancelled If the channel is a VHF radio link, the
or reduced considerably. An unauthor- scrambled audio signal is used to
ized listener (hacker) on the channel Sartau pc -Kt ..C.31,
modulate an RF carrier using the same
would probably know the arrangement methods of modulation as for un-
but not the actual settings in use. There sloms 13
scrambled voice communications (AM
is always a very large number of possible and narrowband FM). There are other
settings in order to avoid deduction of a possible arrangements but they do not
particular setting by trial and error. In Fig. 4. Encryption of analogue signals. differ substantially from this example.
cryptographic terms, the setting is gener-
ally called the key because it unlocks the scrambler unit cannot scramble and
information from confinement by a descramble simultaneously and conse- Communications channels
secrecy process. The reader is referred to quently half -duplex operation must be The quality of a channel can have a
Ref (2) for an analysis of the secrecy re- used. The output from the scrambler is major effect on encrypted signals. Con-
quirements of an encryption system. an analogue signal in the same frequency sider the arrangement in Figure 1 again.
Basically it should not be possible to range as the original audio signal (refer If the channel is noisy, a pulse could be
deduce the key by any method other than to the assumptions in the opening corrupted sufficiently for a "1" to be
by trial and error. Hence the need for a paragraph of this article). A common detected as a "0" or vice versa. This
very large set of possible keys. However, method uses frequency inversion where means that a bit in an electronic word is
cryptosystems are not discussed in this parts of the analogue voice signal incorrect and consequently the decryp-
article. undergo an inverting operation which is tion operation will produce a wrong
If the channel is a HF link, the output controlled by a definite procedure inside character. If this type of corruption does
from the encryption unit becomes the the scrambler. The descrambler uses the not happen too often, the person who
audio input to the transmitter. This con- same procedure and simply reverts the ultimately reads the decrypted message
sists of 2 different tones with a frequency frequencies back to their original ar- will notice the errors and be able to alter
difference of 850 Hz between them. The rangement. The full operation is its own the text accordingly. However, a serious
upper frequency usually represents the inverse which in turn facilitates im- problem does occur where a decryption
"1" or mark pulse but this represen- plementation and use. However, operation uses successive bits of a mess-
tation is sometimes reversed. This is analogue signal encryption is not con- age in some inter -dependent fashion.
known as Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) sidered to provide the same level of This means that a sequence of words
64 EE
May 1988
would be reproduced incorrectly because Although it was not stated in the original turn reduces the level of secrecy. This
of a single error. A simple arrangement explanation, a synchronization signal could mean that the effect of encryption
is illustrated in Figure 6. The output bit would probably have to be transmitted at is to provide privacy rather than secrecy
from the encryption operation becomes regular intervals in order that the (in this context, privacy means secrecy
part of the operation to encrypt the next descrambler can reverse the scrambling against members of the general public
input bit. Thus, successive output bits process in the correct sequence. If the rather than code breaking organizations,
are linked together. A single error could channel is noisy, a noise pulse could be such as the National Security Agency in
have a disastrous result at the decryption interpreted as a synchronization signal the U.S.). However, encryption oper-
stage. This example only uses one bit in by the descrambler such that the output ations that require bits, such as the Data
the feedback loop but some systems signals turn into unrecognizable rub- Encryption Standard, are much more
could be using as many as 64 or 128 bits. bish. This may not actually happen too flexible. They only require a single bit or
often, but when it does communications block of bits as the input. The key or
6 are totally blocked. Alternatively, the control to vary the operation is generally
scrambled signals may be corrupted but also a block of bits. The full operation
ace/Mica Uat OwypSce that this may only affect certain frequencies. can be described with Boolean Logic
r- Ocrtpal
Output -Bit Bit Voice communication has a very high Operation(s) which are now known by
level of redundancy and even noisy 1st year students. Thus the whole area of
messages can sometimes be understood encryption and secrecy seems to favour
Dairy
by an experienced operator. However, in the use of digital rather than analogue
general analogue signal encryption re- signals.
quires a good channel for reliability.
Otherwise it may simply not work.

Fig. 6. Inter-dependende between output bits (6) References

(the + sign refers to addition modulo 2, Conclusions 1. Denning, Doroty E.; Cryptography
which is an Exclusive OR logic opeiation). There is an obvious problem with and Data Security Addison-Wesley:
The reader is referred to Ref (4) on analogue signals. Remember that these U.S.A. (1982).
Cipherfeedback Mode which is a good are essentially little packets of different 2. Hellman, Martin E. and Diffie, Whit-
example of this effect. If the channel is frequencies that together form the field; "Privacy and Authentication:
very noisy with a high level of corruption signals, which in turn become the infor- An Introduction To Cryptography".
of the digital signals, a very reliable error mation. The various operations of en- Proceedings of the IEEE, volume 67,
detection/correction system must be in- cryption, transmission over a channel number 3 (1979).
stalled between the encryption/decryp- and decryption must reproduce the 3. Shannon, Claude E.; Mathematical
tion unit and the channel. The only original signals as accurately as possible. Theory of Communications. Univer-
alternative would be to transmit the in- In reality, these are difficult re- sity of Illinois Press: U.S.A. (1962).
formation in plaintext without being en- quirements to satisfy. For example, to 4. "Data Encryption Standard". FIPS
crypted which may not be satisfactory compensate for a noisy channel, the en- PUB 46, National Bureau of Stan-
for the users. cryption operation may have to be dards, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Consider the example in Figure 4 again. simple and straight -forward, which in (1977).

expected that many of the manufacturers The dish material is aluminium for stiff-
RADIO & TV NEWS currently developing RDS receivers will ness, strength, low weight, and dura-
have them available for sale by then. bility. Unlike plastics, aluminium is not
affected by extremes of temperature or
ultra -violet light.
BBC leads Europe The dish is aimed primarily at OEM
The BBC is leading the way in Europe Astra launch date customers. These may be electronics
with a new system that will allow the rescheduled manufacturers wishing to offer a com-
"intelligent" receiver to automatically plete system, distributors, wholesalers,
tune to the best signal, give a visual indi- SES (Societe Europeenne des Satellites)
has been informed by Arianespace that retail chains, or satellite operators.
cation of the station name, and display Further information from Satellite Tech-
the time and date. Astra's launch date has been rescheduled
from September to October this year. nology Systems Ltd Satellite House
BBC engineers have recently completed Blackswarth Road BRISTOL BS5
the installation of Radio Data System At the same time, it has been announced
that the SES/British Telecom Joint Ven- 8AU Telephone (0272) 554535.
(RDS) equipment at all of its Network
and Local Radio VHF FM transmitters. ture board have finalized details on the
The RDS data, which is currently agreement to market ASTRA transpon-
statically configured, is carried on an in- ders to UK programmers. As reported
audible 57 kHz sub -carrier on every early last year in this magazine, British Mobile Radio Conference
VHF FM transmitter. The codes being Telecom are leasing 11 of the 16
The Mobile Radio Community is an ex-
transmitted conform to the European transponders from SES. panding industry with tremendous
Broadcasting Union (EBU) specifi- growth potential and plenty of job op-
cation, and consist of PI (Programme portunities for highly trained technicians
Information), PS (Programme Service), Dish for Europe and engineers, but as yet this industry
AF (Alternate Freuqneyc), ON (Other Satellite Technology Systems have com- can not find the qualified manpower to
Network Information), and CT (Clock pleted their design of a dish antenna for fill the many openings within the in-
Time dand Date). the reception of ASTRA satellite TV dustry.
The RDS service will be publicly broadcasts. Initial production capacity Rather than continuously bemoaning
launched at the BBC Radio Show to be will be 500,000 units per annum, which this fact, the MRUA - representing the
held at Earl's Court, London, from 30 will ensure volume supply to European mobile radio community since 1953 - in
September to 10 October this year. It is distributors. close co-operation with the DTI have
 EE
May 1988
65
decided to take action and initiate the
MOBILE RADIO - EDUCATION
NOW! Conference at Regent's College,
- and can be recovered reliably up to 5th
veneration recording on VHS.
No special operations or machine modi-
Regent's Park, London on 4 and 5 May. fications are required during copying or
The conference will bring together playing and any video cassette recorder
representatives from the mobile radio in- can be used.
dustry, DTI, users, technical colleges, in- Further information from: IMP Elec-
terested trade union educational bodies, tronics Stanton House Station
students, and so on, to discuss the needs Raod Longstanton CAMBRIDGE
and how they can best be met in the CB4 5DS Telephone (0954) 60595.
short and long term.
Further information from: Mobile
Radio User Services Ltd 28 Not-
tingham Place LONDON W1M 3FD. Store up to 60 satellite two SW bands (5.8-6.4 MHz and 6.8-
18.5 MHz). Other features include slider
locations volume and tone controls; large wide-
The Micro Eye ADU 2010 may be inter- band loudspeaker; 1.5 W music power
Anglo-French "Screensport" faced with BEL's Micro Eye SBR 2050 output; 3.5 mm headphone socket and
W.H. Smith has joined forces with Corn- satellite receiver for automatic satellite mains or battery operation. It is avail-
paenie Generale des Eaux to launch a selection. The unit is operated through able in black and the price is £39.95.
French -language version of "Screen - the front panel keyboard or by remote Grundig International Ltd Mill Road
sport", the satellite sports channel. control. The antenna drive unit is RUGBY CV21 1PR Telephone
"Screensport", W.H. Smith's sports equipped with a satellite memory. What- (0788) 77155.
channel, has been in existance since 1984
and has a subscriber base of about
400,000 in Great Britain and Scan-
dinavia. "TV Sport", as the French Greek order for Eddystone
channel is called, will use the same visual Eddystone Radio, the Birmingham -
images as "Screensport", but will have a based division of Marconi Communi-
French soundtrack. cation Systems, has won an order to
Transmission of "TV Sport" is via the supply the first commercial radio station
same transponder as "Screensport" (In- in Greece with VHF FM transmitting
telsat V at 27.5° W) and is beamed at ever your channel or satellite selection, equipment. The station, to be known as
viewers in France, Belgium, Switzerland, "Top FM", will be located on Mount
the memory control will return precisely Parnis to the northwest of Athens at a
and Luxembourg. to any pre -determined satellite position: height of 1,200 metres. It will serve
quickly and easily. The possibility of listeners in the Athens/Piraeus basin, an
under- or over -shooting is eliminated. area with a population of some 2.5
Further information from: BEL-Tronics million people.
Video signal identification (UK) Ltd Cherry Orchard North Marconi Communication Systems
Seltech have developed a system that Kembrey Park SWINDON SN2 6BL Marconi House New Street
allows TV broadcasters to instantly Telephone (0793) 619100. CHELMSFORD CM1 1PL Tele-
identify the sources of incoming video phone (0245) 353221.
signals. The Remote Source Identifi-
cation System (RoSIE) is designed to
label incoming electronic news gathering INMARSAT contract for DCC
(ENG) and outside broadcasting (OB) INMARSAT has awarded a S5.2 million
video sources. contract for equipment and software
The system is said to be particularly ef- that will enable it to introduce satellite
fective when signals are being received communications to small mobile ter- Programmable delay line
from a large number of sources, and can minals world-wide from the middle of A programmable delay line IC, which
also be used to pass general information next year. The contract has been placed uses charge -coupled devices (CCD),
to the base station as well as perform the with DCC Ltd of Milton Keynes, and is overcomes the problems associated with
identifying label function. for three sets or Networks Co-ordination passive delay line that use ultrasonic
Further information from: Seltech Inter- Sation (NCS) equipment for INMAR- transmission in glass or LC(R) networks.
national Ltd Rose Industrial Estate SAT's Standard -C system. Designated WA1101, the IC offers stan-
Cores End Road BOURNE END SL9 Under the contract, DCC will act as dard delays of 350, 700, 1,000, and
5AT Telephone (06285) 29131. prime contractor and supply the NCS 1,400 ns for video signals (though other
software, while specially developed periods can be obtained by adjusting the
Standard -C modulators and demodu- device's internal clock).
Timecode system for lators will come from Hughes Network Since there is no liability to inaccuracies
videotape Services, Inc. of Germantown, MD, caused by ageing or temperature drift,
A timecode system - the equivalent of USA. the WA1101 is ideally suited to appli-
frame numbering on film - that can be Further information from INMARSAT cations in high -quality TV and video
used on all videotapes without losing an 40 Melton Street LONDON NWI equipment, radar, and sonar.
audio track has been developed by IMP 2EQ Telephone 01-387 9089. Further information from: Walmsley
Electronics. Microsystems Ltd Aston Science Park
The "Vidchron" vertical interval time - Love Lane BIRMINGHAM B7
code system can be used on Lo -Band New radio from Grundig 4BJ Telephone 021-359 0981.
and VHS tapes on which VITC is usually Grundig have added the new Ciancert
unreliable because of their narrow band- Boy to their range of portable radios.
width. The Vidchron timecode can be This compact radio covers the MW, LW,
read regardless of the playback speed FM (with AFC and four presets), and
 EE
May 1988
2850 K. Dark resistance after 10 seconds background program, making it access-
COMPONENT NEWS is 20 MQ minimum. Power dissipation is ible from most PC word processing
60 mW continuous, 90 mW demand packages. It is both intuitive and easy to
both at 25°C. Maximum voltage is use: the word to be replaced is selected
200 V. For the PCPY cells, maximum from the document and 'sent' to K-
spectral response is 5500 ±300 A and Roget, when an alternative word is
operating temperature range is -30 to chosen, it can be 'sent' back to the word
+60°C. processor document in the same way
Quantelec Limited 46 Market Square without the need for retyping.
WTTNEY OX8 6AL. Telephone: K-Roget also has a Phonetic Spelling
(0993) 76488. Checker and a 'Past' facility. 'Past'
keeps track of the words selected in a
search, enabling the user to retrace
through previous selections to choose
Cost effective encapsulated the most suitable word. The Phonetic
linear power Spelling Checker traps words mis-spelt
Low profile headers Now available from Cirkit Distribution as they sound (the most common source
compatible with BT224 are Bulgin 5 watt encapsulated EP linear of mis-spelling) and offers possible
power supplies, designed for mounting alternatives, an essential feature for
Five Star Connectors has introduced the directly onto printed circuit boards. anyone who has ever tried to check an
BT224-compatible Spectrastrip four - Measuring 89 x 63 x 32mm they fea- incorrectly spelt word in a printed
wall range of headers. The four wall con- ture industry standard foot print pin - thesaurus!
struction ensures correct polarisation outs. K-ROGET under PC DOS is available
and provides contact protection. The power supplies are housed in ABS now at a retail price of £49.95 including
Offered in straight or right-angled ver- boxes which are encapsulated with flame VAT, a version operating under GEM is
sions with either short or long latches in retardant polyurethane and fitted with also available.
10 - 50 ways, these headers are moulded two M3 bushes for mechanical support. Kuma Computers Ltd 12 Horseshoe
in glass -reinforced thermoplastic with an Available with two input ranges (210 to Park PANGBOURNE RG8 7JW.
operational temperature range of 250 VAC and 100 to 120 VAC), the prod- Telephone: (07357) 4335.
-55°C to +105°C. Phosphor bronze ucts cover most popular voltages in
contacts are plated with gold over nickel single, dual and triple format. Custom
and feature a contact pitch of 0.10in. requirements can easily be catered for
Five Star Connectors Edinburgh Way with 1-3 outputs and 6 watt maximum RF iron powder cores
HARLOW CM20 2DF. Telephone: load. An extensive range of iron powder
(0279) 442851. toroidal cores and mounts for RF appli-
cations is now available from Cirkit Dis-
tribution Ltd.'
New photoconductive cells Iron powder has been widely used as a
Quantelec has introduced two new core material in RF circuits for many
ranges of photoconductive cells. Sup- years, and is preferred due to its stability,
plied by Sentel GmbH in West Germany, frequency response, high 'Q' and narrow
the PCPY and PCKY ranges of cells are permeability tolerance. Close uniformity
designed for use in conjunction with within lots and relative unformity from
Sentel's range of infrared pyro detectors lot to lot are additional features. Induct-
in security and lighting applications. ance tolerances are ± 5%.
The design provides 3.75KV RMS input A book offering product selection is
The PCKY cells offer a light resistance to output isolation with all outputs be-
of 10 to 30 kg at 10 Lux with a light available from Cirkit and includes useful
ing short circuit protected. design information for the engineer.
source of 2850 K. Dark resistance after Cirkit Holdings PLC Park Lane
10 seconds is 0.5 Mg minimum at an ap- BROXBOURNE EN10 7NQ. Tele-
plied voltage of 5 V. Power dissipation is phone: (0992) 444111. Fax: (0992)
30 mW continuous whilst maximum 464457. Telex: 22478.
voltage is 100 V. Maximum spectral
response of the PCKY is 5500 ±300 A
and ambient temperature range is -30
to +70°C. K-ROGET Thesaurus for PC
The PCPY cells feature a light resistance
of 20 to 100 kg at 10 Lux and 5 kg Compatible Microcomputers
(typical) at 100 Lux with a light source of Kuma Computers have announced K-
ROGET, the disc -based thesaurus based
on the internationally acclaimed
Longman Pocket Roget's Thesaurus,
operating under PC -DOS.
K-ROGET includes over 150,000 words
and phrases, providing an essential aid
to writers and speech makers. K-ROGET
helps to express thoughts more clearly
and effectively by providing the user
with a selection of words with similar
meanings, this helps to add a great deal Cirkit Distribution Ltd. Park Lane
of polish to essays, manuals and other Broxbourne EN10 7NQ. Telephone:
documents. (0992) 444111. Fax: (0992) 464457.
K-ROGET operates as a Hot Key Telex: 22478.
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St-1W you, .7dets To SIPA& DEPT EK OE = t5707iHERTS

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