| Chorosynth ‘Gerteser.. (OE IBA Pic ch SOG iT) RRS ara Ree, (daw, 1c ar aie SOP) herrea Wale biAlthough it may look, at first sight, like a toy piano or organ, the Chorosynth is actually a real instrument that has been used with success at live performances, As the ‘hands down’ winner of our Eurotronics competition, it certainly merits a printed circuit board. A page 3-28 As microprocessor systems become ever more like their big brothers — commercial computers — one of the features that must be added is a ‘micro paper printout’, The printer for microprocessors described in this issue is @ good example in the April issue of Elektor . electronics in cars in the Eighties with designs for electronic ignition systems, intelligent windscreen wiper delay, instant fuel consumption meter, various indicator circuits, and many more. slektor march 1980 — UK 03 5D coments selektor .... Clavitar (K Grasruck) os... 0. e025 This is a new musical instrument. You might not notice it at fest sight, cause it looks bit like an electric guitar. You might not notice it ar first hearing’, either, because it e3n ound o bitlike an electric organ. It's played in approximately the same way 25.2 guitar, so that guitarists should be able tO get the hang of it quite quickly. They can then produce the full, rien sounds of an organ by using 3 fingerboard instead of 3 keyboard, a piano that sounds like a piano . . Good news for thore wha have built the Elektor plana! A few simple changes and one oF two additional components make it sound much more ‘realistic’. Less like an slectronic Piano and more like the rea thing chorosynth (4.0. mitchell) . The Chorosynth is an inexpensive Keyboard inetrument that anyone can play. a mini aynthesiser for use as 9 second keybaard by the working musician, oF anything in between The Chorasynth ins real instrument with an amazing varaty of sound posits at itz aispomal The winning design of ur competition, iis, 98 the name suagests 2 synthesier with chorus effect. Although the prototype was designed with & Keyboard, we have made It possible to “ploy new and buy yourkeyboard ater" dual slide fader . Enthusiastic amateur photographers and professionals are not only interested in making good pictures: they also want (0 Dpresent them properly, For a slide show, the professions} ‘rick’ of using two projectors alternatively is becoming Increasingly popular —"the ‘lack’ gap between successive slides ean be eliminated in this way. Far the finishing touch ach following slide should be gradually Blended into. the ‘existing picture. This is where the dual side fader comes in 1 the brightness of one projector is smoothly Increased, the ‘other is gratually faded out printer for microprocessors .....- ‘can be useful to print the information output {rar a mera. processor system on poper. For small uP systems that give & hexaclecimal output, 2 so-called matrix printer iz 8 00d choice. This is connected to the microcomputer system via Ssultable interface. in this article, + printer and intertace for the SC/MP system are discusaed, a woll 25 the necessary soltware.. A isae Zembler" program is aleo included — an invaluable aid when Snalysing existing programs. The printer and interface are Suitable for other microprocessor systems 25 well; however, the software must then be madified, of course remote control .. Remote control unity are becoming an’ almost standard ‘accessory ‘on colour TV ws. Hifi equipment that can be ontralled Temotely’ is perhaps nor commonplace — but it fg no longer science fiction. Even modern side projectors ‘are going "wireless Obviously, tripping over wires is to become a thing of the post. Remote control systems — of the typa described in this article ~ will became increasinaly popular market .... advertisers index . 3-01 3-04 3-13 324 3:28 3-36 - UK 15 - UK 22sslekior Accidental destruction of recorded data on magnetic tape Many myths surround the accidental erasure of magnetic tape. This article, by the manufacturers of Scotch Instru: mentation Tape, shows the results of an extensive test program to discover just how much tape will stand before loss of information occurs, Although the purpose of the tests was primarily with digital data, as used in the computer world, similar effects will also cour when ‘storing analogue information on magnetic tape. (Magnetic fete The obvious threat to magnetic media is produce strong, steady magnetic erasing fields and needs no external power source for producing or maintaining its field. A variety of tests were carried out using permanent magnets and it was found that @ signal level loss of less than 50% of the original value did not result in a oss of data, because the data at this level can be still recovered during normal operations. For instance, when a horseshoe magnet strong enough to lift 40 Ibs (18 kg) was, placed directly against the edge flange of the reel of tape, a signal reduction of 80% resulted at the beginning of the tape (See Fig. 1). This loss of signal decreased steadily along the tape from that maximum of 80% until a point 350 feet (107 metres) into the tape where the signal level was 50% of the original recorded level. At this point a tape can still be read, The decrease in signal loss from 80% to 50% over 350 feet can be explained by the fact that the further into the tape the progressively weaker becomes the magnetic field and thus the erasing effects. the permanent magnet which can Since the intensity of a magnetic field 1 100) 4 Magnetic 90%) Tape Edge of j , Horseshoe ea] Flange ‘9/, ‘Signal Level Loss 14-508 mm(20inch) 60 122 Figure 1, Permanent magnetic felds d,25-4mm(1-0inch) 200 400600 600 183 oO ay Mooret |, distance from ‘* magnet totape(d,) g.=114mm (0-44 inch) 1200 305 366 Taoort 244 427m loktor march 1980 — 3-01 falls off approximately as the cube of the distance from the magnet (at 10" away from the magnets field is roughly 1/1,000 as strong as when itis 1” away), it was seen that when the horseshoe magnet was held 1" (25 mm) from the edge of the reel, a signal loss of only 22% occured: this reduction of signal id not result in any data loss ot all. It would therefore be impossible for any conceslable magnet to cause data loss if there is a distance of at least 6” between the magnetic source and the tape. Even whan a large scrap metal ‘Electro’ magnet was placed 1.3 feet (0.41 metre) above recorded tapes no data loss occured. However, it must be pointed out that any small permanent magnet could cause a loss of data if placed directly next to or on to, the surface of the magnetic media. AAs the magnetic media read/write head is also an electro-magnet, itis also quite capable of becoming permanently magnetized and thus cause some erasure and consequent dats loss. This problem can be overcome by regular use of a hhead demagnetizing or degaussing device. As far 3s equipment such as transformers and electric motors is concerned, both of which produce magnetic fields, if this type of electrical equipment is enclosed within a cabinet allowing two or three inches of spacing between the magnetic tape and the electrical component there will be no danger of erasure, Radar signals Very often magnetic tapes are trans: ported within areas where radar antenna are transmitting, for instance within sirport locations, defence sreas, aboard ships etc. To gauge what effects, if any, radar signals had on magnetic tape, tests were carried out using irradiation by C-Band, L:Band and X-Band radar systems, ranging from 200,000 watts for the C and L-Band and 500,000 watts for the X-Band, of peak power. The tape was placed at 100’ (30.5 metres), 50° (15.2 metres) and 10’ (3 metres) in the direct signal path of stationary antenna. No signal loss or data erasure was observed, and would probably not occur unless the tape was in actual direct contact with the antenna, ‘Metal detectors Although there was, and probably still is, much concern aver airport metal302 loktor march 1980 detectors and the effect these instru- ments had on magnetic media, it has been shown that this concern is no longer necessary, Many experiments were carried out using both the ‘walk-through’ type of detectors and the ‘hand-held’ units, There was no instance where data loss ‘occured. Even when the highest intensity type of detectors using a rating of | 398 A/m (5 Oe) was tried, no significant signal loss was seen as shown in figure 2 | Today the maximum strength of a walk through metal detector is recommended at approx. 95A/m (1.19 Oe), a level much too small to cause erasure of ‘magnetic media, 80; 70' 60 50% 407 “Signal Loss 3 8 2074 10) 50 4 700 8 Figuee 2. Electromagnetic fields 150 12 X-Ray contamination On occasions, magnetic media can be subjected to X-ray energy, especially by airport surveillance systems. Various recorded magnetic media have been subjected to extremely high (lethal to humans) X-ray doses and no erasure or data loss occurred. This was the same result for magnetic tapes subjected to airport X-ray techniques, High electrical charges High voltages were generated by auto: mobile ignition coils and they were applied directly across _ recorded magnetic tape. More than 15,000 volts were generated, and the ignition coils produced arcs which struck directly on to the tape, No erasure or data loss took lace. Only if the voltage was so high that excessive arcing actually physically damaged the tape would data loss occur. Micro-waves Recorded cassettes were subjected to the maximum microwave energy, in fact until they became warm, when’ placed 200 16 250 30006, 20 224x103 A/m AC Field Intensity sslektoe inside a normal microwave oven, When the cassettes wer re-read, there was no measurable data loss. This would include any leakage areas existing around ovens, Telovisions Because television receivers are sources of magnetic fields, high voltage and X-rays, various tests were performed by placing recorded magnetic tape both inside and outside of different receivers, including colour sets. Despite the high voltage potential and X-ray sources, no signal or data loss was recorded. However, as receivers have many magnetic field producing components, and many receivers were not tested, itis advised not to store magnetic media on top of these devices Nuclear radiation, A gamma ray dose of approximately 3.0 megarads was directed at a recorded digital tape cassette while in a gamma ray pool for at least 1% hours. No data Joss was recorded at this level However, as a general statement on the effect that nuclear radiation will have ‘on magnetic tape, we can say that no measurable effect will take place unt ‘the dosage approaches a level 200,000 times greater than that which would cause death in 50% of exposed humans. Radiation of this level (100 megarad) would tend to increase the layer-to-layer signal transfer or ‘print-through’ by about 4 db. This is slight enough not to be termed serious and would not prevent information revival. This amount will also. have some physical effect on the tape coating and backing. The backing will show signifi- cant embrittlement and it is expected that the tape life could be reduced by as much as 60%. It is reasoned that whatever Electro-Magnetic Field might result from a nuclear detonation would not be of sufficient intensity to adversely affect the tape; therefore, the threat of signal erasure is virtually non-existent, The effect of Neutron bombardment would no doubt be limited to activation of the iron-oxide in the coating. This would produce 3 radioactive isotope that itself might become a source of further radiation, but itis theorized that such activation would not produce a ‘change in the overall magnetic properties of the coating Radioactive dust or fallout is not capable of producing the dosage necessary to adversely affect magnetic tape.sletor Laser beams Laser beams are sometimes used as a recording medium, ie, heat or ‘thermoremanent’ recording and the ‘medium burning mode’, However, to prove that data destruction from a’ distance is not practical, recorded magnetic tape was subjected to a laser beam spread over a wide area of the tape. No data loss accurred. Only if 4 very high intensity beam were to be directed at the medium would there be sufficient heat to destroy the actual physical properties of the tape, Erect of haat For a substance to burn, there must be 3 breakdown of the organic materials contained in it. The organic materials in magnetic tape are the plastic backing and the binder. To burn, these must first vaporize — thus increasing their exposure to the oxygen in the atmos. phere —and then rapidly oxidize to form light and heat. An ample supply of oxygen is required to sustain burning, Since magnetic tapes contain no "puilt-in’ oxidizer, it cannot burn in the absence of air. Simply stated, its behaviour can be closely compared to the way in which a tightly wound roll of paper would burn, While the ‘self-ignition” temperature of polyester backed tape is in the neigh: bourhood of 1000°F, temperatures below that point can still cause damage, Polyester film will shrink 112% at 300°F, and 25% at 325°F. If a roll of tape is heated to the approximate temperatures presented below, certain effects would be noted when the roll had cooled, 250°F — 320°F — Backing distortion. Softening of both the backing and binder with some ‘blocking’ or adhesion of adjacent layers. Darkening and embrittle ment of the backing and binder. Charring of the backing and binder, 880°F — 1000°F — When charring occurs, the tape cannot be unwound from the reel as it will flake when touched. The temperature limitation of present day tapes is a function of the gamma ferric oxide pigment. Two reels of computer magnetic tape functioned adequately after exposure to 210°F (99°C) and then refused to load into the tape transport after they had been subjected to 230°F (110°C). At first, this appeared to be @ permanent condition since these tapes had not fecovered after six weeks in storage. However, after two months, they began to run again; the data could be re covered, but the oxide appeared to be shedding badly. In such cases, if possible, the data should be copied’ as soon as possible onto new tapes and the shedding tape discarded. Theoretically, gamma ferric oxide particles which are the prevalent magnetic constituents used in most ‘magnetic storage media, are capable of retaining data up to. a temperature of approximately 1247°F (875°C), This temperature is known as the Curie temperature, On the other hand, chromium dioxide particles, used in audio and video tapes, have @ Curie temperature of approximately 275°F (138°C) and are therefore far more susceptible to a heat related data loss, Winding and. storing magnetic tape Properly will lessen the possibility of damage in the event of fire as tape is a oor conductor of heat. It is sometimes possible to recover information from a tape receiving slight fire damage by carefully rewinding it at minimum. tension. The information it contains should be transferred immediately to another reel of undamaged tape. We recommend the CO, type of fire extinguisher for combating burning magnetic tape. CO. isclean and contains ‘no chemicals that could harm the tape. If water reaches the tapeit will probably ot cause complete failure but there may be some evidence of ‘cupping’ or transverse curvature. The amount of ‘cupping’ would depend on the quality of the wind and the length of time the reel was exposed. If the wind is loose or uneven the water can more easily reach the oxide surface and the cupping would be more pronounced. The tape should be removed from the water as soon as possible, and certainly within 24 hours. After removal, the reels should be allowed to dry on the outside at normal room temperature and then rewound & minimum of twotimes. This will aid the drying operation and will also help the reels to return to equilibrium faster. If a temperature increase is also incurred while the tape is water soaked, steam or at least high humidity will be present. This is more likely to cause damage than, water alone. A temperature in excess of 130°F, with a relative humidity above 85% may cause layer to layer adhesion as well as some physical distortion, loktor march 1980 ~ 3-03, Effect of low temperatures Recorded computer tapes which kept at a temperature of —60°F (-51°C) for 24hours, showed no data loss after being dried and relaxed — a process of careful, slow unwinding and rewinding. In theory, no loss of magnetization should occur with magnetic oxide Particles even in temperatures which are weil below their Curie temperature although in most cases they will become stiff in nature and wet with condensed moisture, It is important that after tapes have been kept in very low temperatures for long periods of time that they should be dried and relaxed over a period of days, at gradually increasing temperatures. This will relieve some of the stress which will have built up and will minimise the shrinkage that will have taken place Tapes that are cycled between tempers. ture and humidity extremes can develop severe stresses within the reel due to the Pressures caused by the plastic flow of the tape material, These stresses can lead to damaged regions on the tapes. Conclusions Failure of magnetic tapes as a reliable storage media is almost always due to some form of physical deterioration of the tape and not to the deterio- ration of the recorded data, Magnetic fields were found to be the only type of energy that could damage the recorded data without actually physically affecting the magnetic media Only a few inches of spacing is quite sufficient to prevent erasure of data by any concealable magnet which could feasibly be found in a normal environ: ment. It has been determined that normally there is no need to shield the stored data against-X-rays, high voltage fields, nuclear radiation, high fre quency fields or light energy, Instrumentation Talk volume 2. (5298)3-04 — elektor march 1980 when is a guitar not a guitar? when it has keys! K. Grasruck This is a new musical instrument. You might not notice it, at first sight, because it looks a bit like an electric guitar, You might not notice it at first ‘hearing’, either, because it can sound a bit like an electronic organ. It is played in approximately the same way as a guitar, so that guitarists should be able to get the hang of it quite quickly. They can then produce the full, rich sounds of an organ by using a finger-board instead of a keyboard. A guitar has six strings — normally speaking, Each string is tuned to a specific note which can be considered as the ‘basic note’ for that particular string, When playing it, the fingers of one hand press one or more of the strings down ‘onto the ‘frets’ along the neck of the guitar. This reduces the effective length Of the string, so that it produces @ higher note when it is struck. Guitars are con- structed in such a way that each success: ive fret corresponds to a half-note increase. By depressing several strings at once it is possible to play complete chords, There are a large number of standard chords for guitars, each with its own characteristic finger positions. No strings attached Now for something completely ent. Instead of pushing down (or ‘stop: ping’) the strings at the right places, push down on keys! Each key can be arranged to correspond to a specific note; then, provided they are positioned correctly ‘between the frets’, the normal guitar finger positions will select the same chords, If a further small group of keys is used to ‘pluck the strings’, there is no further need for the original strings; they only get in the way. Take them off, and you're left with the instrument de- scribed here. Why bother? Obviously, a normal guitar — with strings —'is a highly popular musical instrument. And quite rightly so, How: ever, replacing the strings by a set of keys has its advantages. It makes it a lot easier to produce a range of sounds that is also in popular demand: those of an electronic organ. The most significant difference between an electric guitar and the ‘no-string’ version described here is that, with a normal guitar, you have to ‘keep it going’; with the keyed version, notes can be “held” for as long as you like — as with an organ, On the other hand, the percussive sound of a normal guitar can easily be made, electronically, when using the no-string version. Since this ‘decay’ option can be switched on or off as desired, the result is a highly flexible instrument: fromclavitar organ to guitar at the touch of a switch, The guitar-with-keys can even be played singlehanded — literally. After all, ‘only one hand determines the chords to be played, and that’s ali that the elec- ‘tronics need to know. If the ‘left-hand’ keys are bridged, @ note will sound as soon as it is selected. The instrument ‘can then be played with one hand! What it looks like For reasons of cost and for ease of con: struction, some of the possibilities of a ‘real’ guitar were omitted. Quite apart from the fact that you can’t ‘pluck’ @ pushbutton, there “are three. further simplifications: ‘© Instead of six stvings along the ‘neck’ of the instrument, there are only four. The two lower strings are omitted, leaving €',8", G and D. © Somevinat surprisingly, the other hand can ‘strike’ five strings. The fifth is added electronically. It is lower than the others, corresponding to an A string; it producas a note that is one octave lower than that selected for either the 8" or the G string. Normally the musician must deliberately select this nate by pressing down on the fifth string at the correct point between the frets © By far the most drastic simplification is the reduced number of frots: only five are used. A normal guitar will heve more than twelve — but in practice, you can do quite a lot with only five Basically, it means that you are limited to playing in the lowest positions. How: ever, it also means that only twenty keys are needed along the ‘neck’ of the instrument — instead of the large num- ber that would be required for a full scale imitation of a guitar. How it works... A block disgram is given in figure 1; at the same time, this drawing gives some idea of the shape and key positioning for the instrument. The twenty keys that determine the notes for the four ‘strings’ are mounted at the end of the neck’. These we can refer to 2s the ‘note keys’. In the circuits, they will be labelled according to the note that they produce: ‘Sy’, say, corresponds to a D. In some cases, where more than one key produces the same note, these will be indicated as Se and Sp’. The lowest C is given as c, one octave higher is’ and two octaves higher isc Sa, Sp, SG, Sa° and Se are the five keys for ‘striking the strings’; we'll call them the ‘string keys’. Operating Sp’, for instance, produces the note selected (by Se... Se’) for the second string, SA produces the note for the ‘fifth string}, as determined by the note keys of either the B' or G string. If none of the note keys are operated, the string keys will produce the open note for the Cotresponding string — as with a normal guitar For ‘single-handed’ playing this function can be switched off, so that no tone can. sound until one or more of the note keys is operated, The string keys can then be bypassed. The instrument will now play in the same way as if all five string keys were held down continu- lektor march 1980 — 3-05, ously: a note will sound as soon as a ‘note key’ is operated ; - electronically The basic principles of the circuit can be derived from the same block diagram. The note keys are arranged in four groups of five keys; each group deter mines the frequency af a corresponding oscillator. As required, the outputs from these oscillators can be passed through fre- quency divider stages, bringing the note down one or more octaves. This helps to counteract some of the disadvantages of the simplifications dascribed earlier. The next step is a multiple mixer stage; among other things, this derives the note for the simulated fifth string from those produced by the second and third strings. The string keys SA... Se", each drive an ‘envelope generator’; these determine the output levels (including attack and decay) for each string, by controlling associated ‘voltage controlled amplifiers’ (VCAs) The circuit The complete circuit is quite a compli- cated affair — not the kind of thing that you knock together in an hour or two. A large number of (inexpensive). com: ponents are needed; there is a lot of wiring to and from switches; and there's quite a bit of tuning to do. For clarity, the circuit has been broken up into six partial circuits. The note keys and the four oscillators are given in 1. Block diagram of the complete instrument3.06 — elektor march 1980 clavitar 2 Figure 2. The circuit for the ‘note keys’ consists of four oxcillatrs with associated presets and keys to select the desired notes.lavitar lektor march 1980 — 3.07 I oct. 3 —Oe.2 i6...021=6x DUS our Oon. ae ot Figure 3. The two types of divider stage. The simpler vorsion (Figure 3a) is used for the E* and D strings; th other two.3.08 — lektor march 1980 clavitar 4 | | | be produced. | Figure 4. The complete divider scction and ouput level control. The LORs are illuminated by LEDs (see figure 5) when an output signal must | figure 2, Two different types of divider stage are shown in figures 3a and 3b, and figure 4 shows how these are used | in the complete circuit. Figure 5 is the envelope generator; five of these are | combined as shown in figure 6, Finally, | figure 7 isthe circuit of a vibrato oscil lator. | Obviously, there is quite a lot of wiring between the various partial circuits. The corresponding signals are all clearly shown, and references to other figures are given at most of the connections. AS 2 further constructional aid, the inter- Connections are listed in Table 1 A special group of signals are labelled E', B', G, D and A, These correspond to’ opto 1002 FI = 2k2 RES= 1k 5,R1058 = 220. RBGA,ROOA = 622 a68 1018 = 5600 EIA = 608 B75 = 1500 REBA,RBSA = 109 RB8B,R108 = 22:2. REB_AIIOA,RITIA, RiI3A= 27.0 R90B,A9AB,R106B = 15 91,A94A,R1098 = 82 ROZA = 9011 R928,R1038 ~ 180.2. RO3A,R9GA,ROTA,RODA, RIOOA= 122 R938 = 39.0 ROSA,RSBA,RIOIA, RIO@A= 1691 RO5B,RII4A = 33.0 R968 O98 1008 = 198 RIO2A = 16.2 F1028,81048,R1148 = 470 2 RIO3A,R1044,R106A, RIO7A= 18.2 AIO5A,R112A = 20. 1078» 207 i108 = 270. 1118 = 680.0. 1138 = 202 1158 = 120k BAIBA 142 1% Potentiometers: 1 = 500 k (470 k) preset 2-1 Min P3= 22 lin PSPS = 10k lin PG... PO = 25k presets PIOP11 = 800k (470k) loa Cepacitors: ci=4700 €2,03,c4= 303 5 = 2n2 © ...¢3, C18... C26= 100/35 V 10...19,097,038...c45, €50,C51,¢53 = 1000 c14= 330 (615,036 = 47/35 V tantalum 616 = 242/35 V tantalum €27,028,031,052- 109 629,C20,038,637 = 47 9 32-129 633 =22n 634-2710 C46 = 1000 4/35 V C47 = 390/95 V 48,c49 = 330 n ‘Semiconductors 1,02,03,04 = ous D5,06~ 1Nao01 Th... 15,18.710, Tia 861778, 8857 16,77,712= 8C 1078, 8CS47 79,711 = 2N3819, BF 2568, Ici = CA3140, LE 356 1C2,IC4. 107 = NE SBS 1c3'= 741 1C8,1c9 = co 4520, Mc 14520 Icto... 1¢12,1018 = co4o1t 1e13,i¢14 = TLoa IciS= 78115 lete= 78.12 ler? = 79115 Miscellaneous: Trl = 16 V/150 mA wansformer SUSS...S15= SPOT 52... S4= DPOT L114 = 5 turns of 0.2mm ‘ia. enamelled copper wire on 3 forite bead, Range: Croc! 65.41 He to 4184 He Keyboard: 2% octaves Registers: Cello (16) S10 Baswoon (16) S14 Viola 9 Clarinet sia Violin 58. Clarinet S12 Viotina s7 su 56 35 Effects 34 53 52 81 Additional controls: Glisando; (Portamento) P2 Vibrato: Depth and rate PB and PO Envelope shaper! Attackelease or attack-ustain ‘release selectable by S15; attack ‘and release times indeperdantly variable botwoon 1 mS and 105 (P10 and P11) slektor march 1980 ~3-23 with five turns of 0.2 mm enamelled copper wire. All other components are readily obtainable. Since the Chorosynth has a large number of potentiometers, controlling it may at first be a little difficult. It is advisable to set all the controls to the following positions at the beginning of the setting Up procedure: 1 ‘minimum resistance, fully clockwise °2 ‘minimum resistance, fully anti-clockwise Pa ‘ot important Pa wiper to earth, fully ant clockwise Ps ‘id-position Pe ‘minimum resistance, fully anti-clockwise P7...P10.— mid-position Pu ‘minimum cesistance, fly anti-clockwise P12...P13 wiper to earth, fully clockwise 81.84 open 35,36 Switched 10 ground 87 switched t9 C20 S8_.S14 —switehed ta ground 315 ASR position The VCA has two adjustment points, P12 and P13, P13 determines the minimum gain and is adjusted such that no output signal is audible. A note is then ‘struck’ and held, whilst P12 is adjusted until a slowly rising signal appears at the output of Ad. PI is then adjusted so that no change in frequency occurs when a key is struck. In order to trim the keyboard, P14 is adjusted to give 8.43 V across R115. This should be measured with a universal meter of at least 10 k12/V, With the aid of PB, the third VCO (IC6) is adjusted, so that when the key to the far left of, the keyboard is operated, 9 C2 note can bbe heard at the output. The pitch can be compared with that of another instru- ment, or the frequency can be measured (523.2 H2).. $2 is then closed and, by using P7, the frequency of 1C5 is trimmed to 8 value which should correspond as much as possible with that of 1C6 — minimum beat note in the output signal. At the same time P6 must be trimmed so that there is very little vibrato at the output. It should now sound like a chorus. Finally, P9 is adjusted so that the output frequency of 1C7 (VCO 4) is 17 times that of the other VCOs. The Chorosynth should now be ready to play. Under ‘technical details’ the stops and their values are indicated. Although this may be the end of the Chorosynth article it certainly is not the end of the possibilities for this instru: ment. It will be apparent to many readers that the Chorosynth offers considerable scope for many modi cations. If you find one that you would like to share, we would like to know about it, -3-24 —elektor march 1980 for smooth, continuous Enthusiastic amateur photographers and professionals are not only interested in making good pictures: they also want to present them properly. For a slide show, the professional ‘trick’ of using two projectors alternately is becoming increasingly popular — the ‘black’ gap between successive slides can be eliminated in this way. For the finishing touch, each following slide should be gradually blended into the existing picture. This is where the dual slide fader comes in: as the brightness of one projector is smoothly increased, the other is gradually faded out. Projection A complete dual projection installation consists of two slide projectors and a control unit. Complete, integrated units also exist — everything built into one case — but it is more common to use a separate control unit with two standard projectors. Most commercially available Units have one disadvantage in comman: they are expensive, The reason for this is that they are usually designed for maximum flexibility, with all kinds of additional ‘features’: automatic fading, tapeslide synchronisation, so-called ‘sparkling’ effects and so on, However, if one reduces the number of applications and features, aiming at a manually operated dual’ fader, it is possible to come up with a simple and cheap design, The ‘fade’ from one projector to the other is done menually, by means of a stereo potentiometer: slide changing is also done by operating the two projectors in thenormal manner, itis not done automatically by the fader unit. Figure 1 gives @ drastically simplified block diagram. It should be noted that there are two types of projection lamp: fone operates at the full mains voltage, whereas the other (more modern) type uses a much lower voltage (24 V). In this article, twocircuits will be described, for this reason: however, the block diagram is equally valid for both Mains voltage control The circuit given in figure 2 works in the same way as a normal triac mains dimmer. For older projectors, using a mains-voltage lamp, this circuit is ideal It can also be used for more modern projectors that use 2 24 V lamp, varying the primary voltage to the lamp transformer in the projector. This is not an ideal solution, however, since a mains wransformer is not designed to run on the type of distorted waveform that a triae control unit produces. The ratio between primary and secondary voltage is not constant over the full control range, making the control characteristic rather less smooth than one would like. To sum it up: if you have older projectors, using mains-voltage lamps, read on; if you have modern projectors with 24'V lamps, skip this section The circuit itself is quite straightforward. Two standard triac contro! circuits are used, with the control potentiometers combined into one stereo potentiometer (P2). Note that a tandem 470k /inear potentiometer should be used. Both(ual slide factor loktor mareh 1980 — 3.25 control circuits can handle any load up 10 400 W. 1 One control circuit can be mounted on the printed circuit board given in figure 3. For a complete unit, two of these boards are therefore required, The interference suppression coils (L1 and 2) must be able to handle a current of projector 1 up to 2 A; this type of coil is available ready avound. The two boards, two coils and the stereo potentiometer can all be mounted in a suitable plastic case projector 2 Note that the whole circuit is connected 10 the mains! This means that all due are must be taken when constructing the unit. In particular, an insulating case must be used and the potentiometer should have a plastic spindle. The capacitors must also be suitable for the relatively high voltages present in the circuit, 1. Simplified block diagram of a dual slide fader unit, The lamps in the two projectors ‘are controlled by tise ‘dimmers’ a simple (stereo) potentiometer ‘0 control both units 2 Parts list for figure 3 Resistors: RI (Ra) = 560k R2(RS) = 2k7 3 (R6) = 4709 Pr (Ps) P2 = 470 line Capacitors 1 (C4) = 22 9/400 V €2 (C5) = 100 n/400 v 63 (G8) = 100 n/600 V Semiconductors Dit (02) = 45412, ER 900 Trit (Tria) = 41008, TIC 296 Sundries Li (U2) = 100... 200 wH/2.a Interference suppression coi! Note: two p., boards are ‘aquired; the components given in brackets are mounted on the second board, brojestor 1 TWiT ~ 41015; 716226 run off the full mains voltage. ie t oN, le igure 3, Hal of the circuit hat it is possible to mount one board in each projector. However, tentiometer ~ is connected to the mains! projector 2 Figure 2, A mains-oltage control circuit. This is intended for use in projectors with lamps that iver in fiqure 2 ean be mounted on this board; two boards are therefore eat care should always be3.26 ~ elektor march 1980 dual slide fader 4 3= 9] ne 226 projector 2 Figure 4, This triae control ciruit is intended for use with low-voltage (24 VI lamps. If you have reached this point, you are apparently interested in the mains voltage version. You may therefore pass over the following section (which deals with the other circuit) and proceec to ‘construction and ust Low voltage control The circuit given in figure 4 is intended for controlling the low-voltage supply to a 24V lamp, In this case, the two triacs are mounted inside the slide projectors and the two coupled control circuits are mounted on a single printed circuit board in the control box. As before, the circuit consists of two complete triac control circuits, linked by means of @ stereo potentiometer. Thecircuits are rather more sophisticated than those used in figure 2, since a much lower voltage must be regulated smoothly. Since both control circuits in figure 4 are identical, we will confine the explanation to the upper half. Trigger pulses for the triac Tri are produced by the well-known timer IC, type 55, In this circuit, it is used as @ monostable multivibrator; itis triggered each time the voltage at pin 2 decreases to below approximately one-third of the supply voltage. Since this voltage is actually the full-wave rectified output from a bridge rectifier (B1), the IC will bbe triggered once during each half-cycle Cf the mains waveform, When ICT is triggered, its output (pin 3) goes ‘high’ — to the full supply voltage = and pin7 (the ‘discharge output’) 9008 basically open-circuit. Capacitor C2 low starts to charge through P2a and R2. When the voltage across C2 reaches approximately two-thirds of the supply voltage, the IC switches back to the other state: pin 3 goes ‘low’ and pin 7 Is. also connected to supply common — discharging C2 rapidly. The circuit will remain in this state until the next trigger pulse occurs at pin 2. When the output of ICT goes low, transistor T1 cuts off. The voltage at the collector of T1 swings positive, triggering the triac (provided S1 is in the position shown}. The triac will now start to conduct, until the following zero: crossing of the mains waveform. Since the moment that the output of ICI goes ‘low’ depends on the setting of P2a, this potentiometer effectively controls the point on the mains waveform where the triac starts to conduct. This, in turn, determines the brightness’ of the projection lamp, Lat. The other half of the same poten tiometer (P2b) controls the brightness of the second projector. Provided 3 linear potentiometer is used, wired exactly as shown, the result is @ smooth fade from one projector to the other. Construction and use As far as the construction of the unit is concerned, the main points for the mains voltage version have already been mentioned: adequate electrical insu: lation and sufficiently high voltage rating for the capacitors. For the low voltage control unit, there are a few more points to note, The bulk of the circuit is mounted on the board given in figure 5; this, and the mains transformer (Tri) can be mounted in a small case, A miniature 12V transformer can be used, as the circuit only draws a few milliamps. The triacs, switches S1 and S2 and resistors Ret ‘and Rx? ae all mounted in the projectors; transformers Tr2 en Tr3 are the existing transformers in the projectors. The switches are included so that the projectors can also be used on their own in the normal way. With S1, for instance, in position ‘a’ the corresponding triac will conduct during the full mains cycle — the projector will continue to work as if nothing had been modified. When the ‘switch is in position ‘b' the projector can be controlled by the slide fader unit. Quite a high current is required for the lamps (2 250 W lamp draws more than 104}, and since some 1.2 V remains ‘across the triac even when it is fully ‘on’ the power dissipation can be over 12 W. For this reason, each triac must be mounted on a fair-sized heatsink; if itis possible to locate this at some point where it is cooled by the fan in the Projector, so much the better. When mounting the triacs, it should be noted that ‘main terminal 2' (mt2, the cathode) is connected to the metal part of its case. When it comes to actually wiring up either of the contro! units to a given pair of projectors, some electricaltor march 1980 ~ 3:27 cae GS oe, cK projectors — using an adequate heatsink! S| 1d eireuit board and component layout for the circuit givan in figure 4. The traes, switches and resistars Ry are mounted in the Parts lst for figure 5 Resistors RU,R3,AG = 12k R2\RS ~ 550 52 F4|A7,Ry Rez Pt P= 247 prose potentiometer P2100 k inear tandem potentiometer Capacitors C1 = 1000 4/25 v 2,03 = 680 Semiconductors: Ier,le2 = 555 Tht2= TUN, BC 107 1 1naoo2 By = 4x 1NGOO2 Tein Tri2= TIC 226 Sundries Tr = 12 V/100 mA mains transformer S152 = sitglepble switch, peculiarities’ are likely to be found. Since virtually every projector is ifferent, it is impossible to discuss all possibilities in detail. However, the following points may be a help: © Nearly all projectors contain a fan. In most cases, this is connected to the mains; sometimes it runs off the 110.V tap on the lamp transformer. It may also be found that the fan motor actually doubles as mains transformer! © A remote-control slide-change mech- anism is usually driven (via belt or gear wheels) by the fan motor, although more expensive projectors may have a separate motor for the job. When a slide is to be changed, a mechanical coupling is operated by ‘an electromagnet; the latter is often powered from the 24 V winding on the lamp transformer. In some cases, a simple DC supply may be Used for the magnet © Many projectors also incorporate some kind of ‘back-one-step’ slide change. This will also usually involve some electromagnetic mechanism that is powered from the low-voltage supply. © Remote-control or automatic focussing (‘autofocus’) and/or timer mechanisms usually operate off a full wave rectified 24V supply. In some cases, an additional 12 V supply may be found for these features, © In some slide projectors, itis possible to switch the lamp to a lower voltage — siving less light, but extending the lamp life considerably. Usually, a lower. voltage tap on the transformer is used for this. It will be apparent from the points listed above that installing the mains voltage control unit, in particular, may call for quite extensive rewiring of the Projector. If the lamp runs off the raw mains voltage, well and good — that's what this unit is designed for. If the Projector uses a low-voltage lamp, however, things get complicated. Every: thing except the lamp must be discon- nected from the tansformer and Powered from a separate low-voltage supply. After all, the idea is that slides are to be changed when the lamp is off = and at that time, the transformer is virtually disconnected from the mains! Installing the low-voltage control. unit will rarely be @ problem. In nearly all cases, at least one wire will be found that runs direct from the transformer to one side of the lamp (and to nothing else) — the other lamp lead may run through some switches, making it more difficult to trace. The triac can be connected in series with the direct connection to the lamp, “3:28 — elektor march 1980 a black-and-white display It can be useful to print the information output from a microprocessor system on paper. For small .P systems that give a hexadecimal output, a so-called matrix printer is a good choice. This is connected to the microcomputer system via a suitable interface. In this article, a printer and interface for the SC/MP system are discussed, as well as the necessary software, A “disassembler’ program is also included — an invaluable aid when analysing existing programs. The printer and interface are suitable for other microprocessor systems ; however, the software must then be modified, of course, printer for microprocessors ‘The matrix printer shown in the photo is the Matsushita EUY-1QE-10T. This is. a so-called electro-sensitive printer, that prints the characters (jetters, numerals and symbols) on a special type of paper This paper is coated with a very thin (0.1. micron) layer of aluminium; im- mediately below this is an almost black surface. If the aluminium is scratched off, this dark layer becomes visible; it is possible to ‘write’ on it in this way, Using a sharp point. The matrix printer does its job in a more elegant way. A miniature motor moves a ‘print head’ across the paper, as each line is printed. The same motor also takes care of the paper transport for ‘line feed’. The print head contains 2 vertical row of seven little ‘pins’ these can be connected (via electronic switches) to supply common, The pins are in contact with the aluminium coating on the paper. This electrically conducting layer is connected to a positive voltage (27 V). When one of the pinsis connected to supply common, a current of a few hundred milliamps flows through the aluminium coating and the printer pin. At the point where the latter touches the paper, a high current density results. The heat pro- duced is sufficient to burn away the aluminium layer at that point, leaving a small black dot. Since more than fone of the pins can be connected to supply common simultaneously, it is possible to write up to seven dots in a vertical row at any time. If voltage is now applied to the motor, the print head will move across the paper — writing up to seven horizontal lines, depending on the number of pins that are activated. At the end of the line, the printer head is automati- cally moved back to the beginning of the next line: ‘line feed’ and ‘carriage return’ ‘As the head moves across the paper, it is obviously possible to switch the pins ‘on and off, producing dotted lines. In this way, all sorts of characters can be printed as groups of dots: the trick is to switch the pins on and off at exactly the right moments to produce the the desired character. As shown in figure 1, each character is built up in a 35-dot matrix: five successive vertical columns (T1...T5), each consisting of seven dot positions (N1....N7, ‘corresponding to the seven pins) A character generator switches the printer pins on and off at the correct moments. This unit is part of the electronics that link the SC/MP system to the printer: the printer interface. This interface circuit will be discussed later. The printer contains a reed switch tobrinter for microprocessors itt Figure 1. Using a 5 x 7 dot matrix, clearly lepible characters are obtained, indicate the end of a line, and the moment that the print head has returned to the beginning of the next line. Furthermore, a ‘sync generator’ is included, intended for synchronising the character generator to the position of the printer head on the line. This ‘generator’ consists of a gear-wheel, driven by the motor in the printer and moving past the core of a coil. The core is magnetised, by means of @ permanent magnet; as the teeth of the gear-wheel passthrough the magnetic field, a sinusoidal voltage is included in the coil. The interface described here doesn’t do the actual synchronisation itself; instead, the software is designed to ensure that the column spacing is maintained proportional to the speed of the printer head, So much for the printer itself. On its own, however, without the interface circuit end corresponding software, it is as useless as a typewriter without a typist. Which brings us to the next section: The interface A block diagram of the interface circuit is given in figure 2. The buffer memory (Bit latch) is basically equivalent to a single RAM location. When the address decoder provides a ‘store’ pulse, the information present on the data bus is stored in this latch and passed (via suitable power drivers) to the printer 2 /ADORESS DECODER Sox tate --sHfhH ADORESS BUS [> bm ™ Db an syne generator ri has 1 amstare ATA aUS Figura 2. Block diagram of the printer interface, eee lektor march 1980~ 3.29 pins. Each ‘store’ pulse therefore enters the data for a single column of dots As mentioned earlier, the characters are Printed one column at 2 time — five for each character, For each column, seven data bits are required |‘stored” at an address inthe field F200... FFF); the eighth bit is used for motor control, via a separate buffer stage: it ensures that the motor starts at the correct moment at the beginning of a line, and stops immediately after returning to the beginning of the next line The address decoder is designed for use with % K address fields. The EPROM with the firmware for SC/MP_ system control and character generation is located between addresses FOOD and FIFF. The following ‘4 K is used for addressing the 8-bit latch; then another % K (from F400 to FSFF) correspond to @ tristate buffer that outputs the data from the reed switch and syne generator in the printer to the data bus The fourth address field (F600... F7FF) can be used for an additional EPROM, This could be used, for instance, to store firmware that makes the printer routine independent of Elbug in the original SC/MP system — the push and pull routines, in particular. Alternatively, 2 special printer program could be located here, All in all, the complete interface uses a 2 K address field — half page, in other words. As mentioned earlier, the firmware takes care of character generation, including correct column spacing af determined by the speed of the printer head. Furthermore, it ensures that the text is printed in lines, each containing 8, 16 oF 32 characters, as required. The SCIMP system must supply the data to be printed, one complete line at a time. To this end, the text must be loaded in ASCII code in a specified RAM a Any available area can be used: as long as the interface is told where to look for it The character generator, stored as firmware, can generate 64. different characters. Only the lower 6 bits of the ASCII. code in each RAM location are needed to select the correct character The two remaining (uppe’) bits are used to define the desired character size, corresponding to 8, 16 or 24 characters per line. As an example, the letter A in Git ASCII code corresponds to 01. When the two upper bits are both 0 (complete code: 01) the smallest character size will be printed, corre: sponding to 32 characters per line However, if one of the two Upper bits is "77, larger characters are obtained: '41" for an A corresponds to 16 characters per lin, and ‘81° makes the A even bigger, for 8 characters per line When ‘the firmware routine is started, it will want to know where to look in RAM for the text buffer that contains the data for one line of text. It will then scan the (hexadecimal) codes for the characters, as found in the text butt and convert them (by means of a3.30 — olektor march 1980 look-up table’) from ASCII code to printer pin control data, The routine ‘wansfers the data for the five columns, in turn, to the latch; the character is printed. Each character is automatically followed by a two-column space, after which the next character is retrieved from RAM and printed. This process is repeated untit the end of the line (up to 32 characters). As each line is printed, the reed switch is ‘open’; via N6, data bus line 00 is therefore ‘high’. At the end of the line, the reed switch closes and the corresponding data line goes ‘low’. This ‘causes the program to load the text buffer, with the data for the next line; however, the printer head will not have got back to the beginning of the new line yet. The program continues to scan the data line, until the head is correctly Positioned and the pins are again in contact with the paper. At that point, ‘the reed switch opens and the next line can be printed, Further details on the use of the text buffer and printer routine will be given ‘when we come to the software, ‘The circuit The complete circuit is given in figure 3. ICI is the address decoder. It is connec: ted to the upper seven address lines (making FFFF the highest address) and to the NWOS+NRDS line, Basically, this IC is a 3-to-8 decoder, but only half of it is used—as a 310-4 decoder Output YO selects an EPROM, IC2, from address F0Q0. This EPROM is also connected to the lower nine address lines, so that % K addresses are available. The output from the EPROM goes straight onto the data bus, Outputs ¥1...¥3. of IC1_ correspond to three further %K address. fields: F200 to F400, F400 to F600 and F600 to F800. When output Y1 is active (and NWDS), the character information on the dat passed via ICG to IC7. printer for microprocessors The latter contains seven power drivers that can easily supply the current required for the printer pins, R8 and C6 are included to ensure that IC6 is cleared when power is first applied (‘power-on reset), The eighth output from ICG is used to start and stop the motor, via T1,..74, This circuit is designed to introduce a slight voltage drop, since the motor is intended to run ‘on 24V. When the motor is to be stopped, it is actually shorted by T4, making for a more rapid stop. Output ¥2 of ICI enables the tri-state buffers, N5 and NG, when the third address field is selected (from F400) These buffers pass the information from the reed switch and syne coil in the printer to the data bus, ee ee ee ee a standard circuit, a5 shown in figure 4 The output voltage can be adjusted (by means of P1) in the range from 20... . 30 V. This gives some measure of ‘copy darkness’ control. A. slightly cz EPROM ‘wntsz040 Th DATABUS NONG=Ic2= 74L3125 NaN7NONTO™=Ic5 ~ 740816 Parts tit Resistors 1 ,RE,R10= 4k7 FZIR5|RG = 3k3 RQ.R4~ 10k Pr = 10k preset Capacitors i= 104/16V C226 = 4704/40 V €3= 330.0 €4,05,06,C7= 100.0 ‘Semiconductors: ict = 7aLs138 1¢2,\c8 = mm 52040 ics'= 74(L81125 71.72= 8C5478,8¢ 1078 3 Bc 16) Ta= ec 141 D1... D4 = 840500 bridge octiier Miscellaneous: Printer type EUY-108-10T (Matsushita) 1Spin connector: Amphenal type 142.01601, or ITT Canon GO1A1SAZAABL, ‘r Datamega DST 002 14>pin OIL. connector 32 pin connector 10 SC/MP bus Note that the printer and alt ‘connectors are available from Technomatic Ld.3:32 ~ eloktor march 19 Eurocard size, and fitted with a 64-pin connector so that it can be plugged straight into the main bus in the existing SC/MP system. A 14-pin DIL connector at the other short edge of the board is used for the connections to the printer. The printer itself uses @ 16:pin connector. The connections between the latter and the 14-pin connector on the p.c. board are listed in Table 1; for a neat appearance, it is a good idea to use so-called flat cable, ‘Since the power supply circuit is on the P.c. board, two connections for the mains transformer (24 V secondary} are also provided. The complete unit can be plugged into the SC/MP system, without affecting its operation in any way. There is, however, ‘one important point to note: the metal case of the printer and the paper are both connected to the +27 V supply, so they must be kept well away from supply common. That includes, for instance, the metal case of the existing SC/MP system . The software Without software, the printer is useless. The basic principle of the printer routine was mentioned earlier; a complete listing is given in Table 2. An extremely Useful extension is given in Table 4: 2 disassembler program. An interesting point: both of these Tables were actu: ally printed with the aid of these two routines! The ‘instructions for use’ of this software are best broken down into 2 few groups. Motor control The latch in the interface can be ad: dressed as F200, Storing data there (by means of the instruction MOD F200) with a value between 8@ and FF starts the motor and causes up to seven horizontal lines to be printed, ‘The motor can be stopped by means of the NRST key, or by storing data between 00 and 7F in the latch. Printer routine ‘As mentioned earlier, the text is printed ‘one complete line at a time; all data for the line must be available in a text buffer (somewhere in RAM) before starting the printer. The location of this text buffer can be specified as required, provided the printer routine is started at address FOO (see Table 2). Alterna: tively, the routine can be started at address FOOF; in this case, address OF OO is automatically selected as the first address of the text buffer —in other words the ASCII character codes must be stored from OFGO on, so that the interface can retrieve them from there as the line is being printed, If the text buffer is to be located elsewhere in RAM, the first address must be specified’ in the TEXTAD locations: OFF4+0FFS, The printer printer for microprocessors ‘Table 1. Intorconneetions betweon the DIL connector (on the p.c. board) and the printer. signal DiL connector printer connector reed switch g 7 syne coil, 7 2 screen 8 3 motor t 6 4 motor GND 10 8 paper contact (27 V) 5 6 Ne n ? pin? 1 14 pins 14 13 pin 2 2 pin 4 13 ” pin 3 3 10 pin 2 12 9 pint 4 a Ne Ne 15 Tabblo 2. Listing of the ter routine, as stored in EPROM. Sete BEeeuge Bers geeenge i eee oeaeege Fant SEReuSS mere EESEEES Sete eee Ere Hie ikinter for microprocessors Table 3. This le prograny ilustrates the structions routine is then started at address F009. It should be noted that the printer routine uses a further five RAM bytes as seratch pad for counting; these bytes correspond. to. the five. locations im mediately preceeding the first address of the text butfer Short texts, less than one line in length, should be concluded by storing FF in the text buffer. This corresponds to 2 space, so that no further (unwanted) characters are printed. For that matter, it is good practice to conclude even complete lines with FF, as otherwise the printer may add part of a 33rd character at the end of the line [After loading the text buffer, and the corresponding first address if necessary, the next step is to jump to the printer toutine. This can only be done Via the LIFO stack in the Elbug routine. This has the advantage that Elbug stores the PU status in the stack before executing the printer routine. At the end of this routine, Elbug returns to the main program after restoring the original CPU status* The printer routine is started as follows. The start address of the printer routine minus one (i. F000 - 1 ~ FFFF — same page! —or FOOF- 1 = FOE) is stored jn ROUTAD (Routine address: QFFC+OFFD). Then a JS3 (PUSH) = 0056-1 instruction is given. An example is listed in Table 3; the * Further details of the Elbug monitor routines are contained in Elektor, February 1979, and in the SC/MP book that will be appearing shortly. comments given there should give sufficient explanation, In this example, 0E30....0E40 is the text buffer; it contains the text'.SC/MP .. PRINTER." where each." corresponds to a space, If the same text buffer locations are used for the next line, the address specified in TEXTAD ‘can be left Obviously this data must be modified, however, if a different RAM area is to be used for the following line, Further- more, it is possible to initiate further jumps to the printer routine by means of the instruction XPPC3, provided the contents of pointer register P3 are not modified by the main program. SCIMP disassembler A disassemblet routine can be used to analyse an existing program, and print a ‘isting’ by means of the printer routine. ‘As mentioned, the ‘raw’ machine code programs for the printer routine and disassembler routine were converted into Tables 2 and 4 in this way. The disossembler first locates PC-relative jump instructions in the program to be ‘analysed, calculates the initial addresses Of the corresponding routines and marks these with a $ symbol and a number This, in itself, breaks the program up into small sections — a great help when studying and trying to analyse an ‘unknown’ program. The complete program is printed as a series of addresses ‘and mnemonics, as shown in the Tables ‘The disassembler routine starts at address 2600; the display then reads dad-t's. There are now three ways of executing the program: operating the D key (om the hex keyboard) initiates a print-out via the printer described above. lektor march 1980 - 3-33 The T key (block transfer) is used for an ‘output to the Elekterminal (1200 BD at flag 0). In this case, the halt LED will light every. 16 lines; operating the halt teset key initiates the printout of the next 16 lines, and so on. Finally, operating the S (subtract) key gives a serial output at 110 baud via flag 0; in this case, the print-out is continuous: it doesn’t stop after each group of 16 (ines In some cases, determined by the characteristics of the peripheral equip. ment, the print-out may appear on alternate lines — in other words, every ‘other line is left unused. In this case, the data in address 2516 can be modified from 3F to 08. After the desired key (D, T or S) has been operated, the display will indicate the type of output that has been selected. The next step is to enter the first and last address of the program that is to he ‘disassembled’. If the first address is x000, the last address should not be xFFF (due to a peculiarity in the program . ..); it must be xFFE or less, If there are tables in the program, key T (block transfer) is operated. ‘ta’ now appears in the display, and the first and last address of the table can be entered. More than one table (up to 15) can be specified in this way, provided they are entered in the order in which they occur in the program. A single-byte table can be specified; furthermore, two or more tables that occur in a consecutive series of addresses may be specified separately. All tables are printed in hex matrix format. It is even possible to print outa complete program in this way If 2 program is to be examined in which ‘the addresses of the tables are unknown, the disassembler can still be used for an initial listing. Where tables occur, two question marks will be printed at the majority of the addresses, since the data will rarely correspond to a valid instruc: tion. Once the tables —if any —have been specified, the disassembler can be started by operating any key except T It then scans the specified program (section) twice, locating the various subroutines an the first pass and printing during the second, The disassembler_ can only handle programs that are contained on a single page, Larger programs must be dealt with one page at a time. If certain locations are used as ‘scratch pad’ memory, they will be indicated as ‘byte’ provided the data ’55 is stored there before running the disassembler. PC-relative jump instructions that specify an address outside the program range (lower than the start address, say) are not permitted. The disassembler uses memory locations from 2640 up to 2A40 as scratch pad for ‘lable’ addresses: room enough for 255 PC-relative jump instructions. A useful tip The EPROM that contains the printer routine is. not strictly necessary. The3.34 — olektor march 1880 printer for microprocessors “Table 4. Listing of the disassembler program, Seay Rese a. sey wert vex = aa = Soee Seng, See cn Sewe.oe 6S aan ea ara) Ste Soe aig Remar Sal, |B rea Seay soane a gtd omar een, faire sae ‘pez 0 a eae o ‘che sr 7 car wa" Sarmas S Sa05 oe S12 eaves ae mes eer me a oe Him case 1a 99 2000 aS 3 oe Brey = ices fale = steht wee Sie sent Be an ns eae Soo Seas Sisia See aaa s Beier Bee a EF ae coe ag eee Sine | (ieee See. eens ee Bea eay soe hey Sprit) | Buena ices powree Bari Hate Sees eo ae8 8 Sra es creed S23in Meee Sat ey Been iesean 3 2m 901 90 536 ELE] 5 § 2 § 288 ogeded 88) SENERSNUESCTERE engage 8 Bcyferss i 4 = 289) g g ieee 4 Tea SeEeTE RS Cee aaeeeacae “38 ns eae 5 : ee Ra® Sehuotnuni og: 9208 ip 2 Japasase, Buea 8 IBERESE6 956) Be S2U288822 2 5: 2 88: = 2 ¢ = ae qe4 hee wat 2) sr ong? acedneneteteads iit aacacSefouangeSasa ga24*' eh is 2; 5 2 4gga B2aEe* 9 fed Sore seggeeey ee = 5 aee e BGghicscce Egeyfacn sEeBeScBBg2-2e028308-00% gy 0077 bat 3 agegcg #1 B28) 2 egees. 3A 2 edeger f EagHeaEasea 3 8 ie BAGS 8 eee Bacne 5 SaEE 8: 8 2 2 ae a 4 gee 28 is aE 48) Este ie BEERS 7 vs « ‘i = aapuseuse fas aggueegcenereg a6 E39. & 5 # § 438 Ye = tubed2ete: i Pg! tie ate eI ne a : ae Pgs" 295g eed Rgut = Haas fs u . aifon om 0 ems 3 Rate Beh Bee 20 I we 5 6 Sau Bhie aye Bee a. ae SE Bee gen” B22), med ‘sms Baie AB oe oe See sees feos SE2 ainter tor microprocessors Ei ge EeGnagesd BRE grgageesgae Baasesyenges : PO 2022 9 080 ERRRRORR® aefnsagdelseysugeageags? 4 $3 Rudneg-unodas tease ze: Ts i ge" BRGASSESEGG GES apsOynde any; aes aE 8 5 3 HBEGDEROE BH 9°98 GeE7S3A ai itr Figure 4. Block diagram of the receiver re bol re oD Faure 5. The: part of the receiver circuit, up to the digital filter(s).3.40 — elektor march 1980 remate control 6 wv® St aici i Figure 6, The circuit of s diatal filter. Up to sixteen of these ver = 4098 FFL,FF2=\C2= 4013 ® Nil Na=1e3= 4023 wv cuits can be connected to the circuit given in figure 5. filters is given in figure 6 Depending on the type of transducer used, either of two possible input cir cuits may be requires The input stage shown at the upper left in figure 5, using FET T1, is intended for use with high-impedance transducers. Low: impedanca transducers, on the other hand, can be connected direct to C2. The ultrasonic signal is amplified by T2. The resonant circuit (L1/C3) is tuned to 40 kHz. The signal is then ‘squared up’, by AT and A2, producing a squarewave that switches between supply common and the full supply volage, This signal goes to 2 complicated network around A3. In brief, R12-C7-R14-D1 and RI6- CB-RISD2 each operate as simple differentiating networks; they each provide constant-width output pulses at the zero-crossings of the input signal These two networks are followed by simple RC lowpass filters (R13/C10 and RIS/C11) that serve to retrieve the original low-frequency component from the ultrasonic signal. A3 and Aa amplify this low-frequency signal, producing 2 squarewave that swings ‘between OV and full positive supply. This signal is ideally suited for further processing in the digital filters, Digital filter A digital filter circuit is given in figure 6. The values far C2 and C3 depend on the control signal that is ta be detected by the filter; see Table 2. C1 and R1 are another differentiating network; together. with N1, they produce pulses with constant’ width, IC1s and {C1b are monostable multi- vibrators, To understand the circuit, itis Table 2. \Values for C2 and C3 in igure 6. contol C23 signol 1 10 470p 2 isn 470p 3 15m 820p 4 18m 8200 5 2n In 6 33n 1m 7 39n 18 8 47 ins 2 56m 2nd 10 6Bn ng " B2n 3n 12 3000 4n7 13 120n 4n7 14 150m Bre 15 180m Bnd 16 20 100 easiest to refer to figure 7° this shows the various signals that are present at ‘the indicated points in figure 6, when a signal is being received at the ‘resonant, frequency’ of this filter. Each negativegoing edge in the input signal, A, produces a briet pulse at B. The negative edge of this signal triguers IG1a, so that its Q output goes high (D); the negativegoing edge of this latter signal triggers IC1b, producing signal E. NAND gate N2 now combines signals 8, C and E; if all three signals are ‘high’ at the same time, short output pulse is obtained at F. Since the three signals B, € and E are derived from three consecu- tive input pulses, with delays deter mined by the’ monostable _ time constants, an output signal at F can only be produced if the frequency of the input signal is almost exactly right. The brief negative output pulses from N2 are used to clock flip-flop FF1. This flip-flop is actually used as a monostable multivibrator, with @ period time that is longer than the delay between consecu- tive pulses. The result is that the output of this flip-flop remains ‘low’ as Jong as N2 is passing pulses. This signal is used to clock the second flip-flop, FF2 — the one shown as ‘FF’ in the block diagram given in figure 4. The complete circuit therefore works as a kind of ‘selective flip-flop’: it is not toggled by a single pulse; instead, it responds to 2 square-wave input at exactly the correct frequency. Preset P1 is used for setting the ‘resonant frequency’ of the digital filter, as will be explained later, Complete system Constructing the remote control system should not present any real difficulties ‘As explained, the transmitter (figure 3) has sixteen contro! inputs. To give a control signal, the corresponding input must be connected to supply common = using a pushbutton, for Instance. No power on/off switch is required, since this function is performed by the elec: wonic switch T17/T18, Each receiver consists of one circuit as shown in figure S and one or more of the circuits given in figure 6. If a high impedance transducer is used, the input wiring around FET T1 (Figure 5) should bbe kept as short as possible, When setting up the transmitter circuit, the signal at the output of A2 in the receiver ('A’ in figure 5) must be moni- tored, This signal can be measured, of‘emote contro! lektor march 1980 ~ 3-41 000s 7 dicated points in the circuit givan in figure 6. The input =r, 30 that negative output 10H 10V 30005 & Figure 8. Ths itle circuit is used to adjust remote control system. A high-impedance headphone should be used. course, but it is just as easy to ‘listen’ to it. A high-impedance headphone is used, with a series resistor and capacitor, as shown in figure 8. This litte circuit is tonnected between point A in the receiver and supply common. One of the control inputs to the transmitter is activated, and P1 in the transmitter is Adjusted ‘until a tone is heard in the headphone. This tone should be present over a small part of the adjustment range of P'1; the preset is now set to the centre of this range. The same headphone circuit can be used to adjust the digital filters. It is con- nected to the output of N2 ('F’) in figure 6. The contrat input to the trans- miter that is to correspond to this filter is activated, and P1 in the filter is adjusted so that pulses are clearly audible — corresponding to the low- frequency squarewave. The easy way out: two ICs With all its advantages, the remote ‘antrol system described above would never win an award for low component count. Obviously, manufacturers of TV ‘eevivers would prefer a more compact system, and IC manufacturers have been quick to meet the demand. One special IC in the transmitter and one in the receiver takes a lot of hard work out of the manufacturing process One manufacturer who supplies a pair of ICs for this job is Plessey. The SL490_ (transmitter) and ML920 (receiver) form the main components in the second remote control system that we will describe. These ICs can be used in sither infrared or ultrasonic remote control systems. For several reasons, an ultrasonic system is preferable — and so that is what we will use There fs little point in going to such extensive detail on the operation of this, twinsIC system. Discussing the ‘innards’ of the Plassey ICs would be of little practical use — there's no way tomodify them. Instead, we will restrict ourselves to giving suitable circuits, ‘As we shall see, one of the advantages of these ICs is that they can be used for transmitting ‘analogue’ signals as well as the digital kind. A transmitter circuit using the SL490 is. siven in figure 9. As in the previous system, the control signals can be given by means of pushbuttons. However, in this case they are not connected between 2 control input and supply ‘common; instead, they are connected in 2 ‘matrix’ — like in pocket calculators Since ¢ 4 x 8 matrix is used, up to 32 pushuttons can be used. (Of the 32 pushbuttons (assuming that all positions are used . . .) only one should be operated at a time. The position of this button is converted into 3 fivebit binary code, in the IC. The code numbers run from 00000 (upper left) 1011171. (lower right); they increase progressively from left to right and then down to the next row — like reading lines on a page. In effect, this means that the two righthand bits in we code are determined by the position in the row (horizontally), whereas the cother three bits indicate which row is meant. This fivebit code is transmitted, using a special type of modulation: pulse position modulation, or PPM. A series ‘of six pulses of equal length are tran- mitted; the five periods between the pulses ‘can be either long or short, depending on the five-bit code. A long ‘pause’ corresponds to a logic 0, and a short interval is for a logic 1. This is illustrated in figure 10. Preset P1 is used to adjust the correct pulse/pause lengths. The interval between pulses should be approximately 20 ms for a logic 1 and 30 ms for a logic Q; the pulse length is approximately 10 ms. The ultrasonic carrier is transmitted during the pulse, ‘The carrier frequency is set by P2; a good choice is 40 kHz. A few transistors are added to boost the current through the transducer ~ the IC itself can supply only 5mA. The maximum range of the system is increased in this way. As in the system described earlier, this one also contains an electronic supply switch — included in the IC — so that the current con- sumption from the 9 V battery is only 6 A if no command is being trans- mitted. The receiver The ultrasonic commands given by the SL490 transmitter can be decoded by 2 receiver using the ML 920. This IC is intended for use in colour TV receiver but there is nothing against using it for other applications. The 32.com: mands given by the SL 490 are not all decoded as such; instead, there are three analogue outputs as well as. several digital ones, Before taking a closer look at what the ML. 920 can do — in conjunction with the SL490 — we should first point out what is cannot do: amplify and de-3.42 ~ eloktor march 1980 32x18 Figure 9. The fully integrated! transmitter, Thre= 80567 modulate the ultrasonic signal. This IC expects to receive a clean series of pulses, like those shown in figure 10, without any ultrasonic components, & separate preamplifier and demodulator must therefore be included between the transducer and the IC. No problem, as we will see. The circuit that distills the commands from the ‘clean’ pulse signal is given in figure 11, Not counting @ ‘monitor’ ‘output for adjustment purposes, there are thirteen ‘true’ outputs, These are divided into three groups: three analogue outputs (AT... A3), five digital out- puts (D1...D5) and five ‘channel’ outputs (C7 .. . C5). The ‘channel’ outputs are intended for switching channels on the TV- receiver. Up to twenty channels can be selected by these five outputs: the desired channel number (0... 19) is available as a binary five-bit code (00000... 10071) at outputs C1....C5. When one of the commands 00000 10011 is given from the control Unit, the binary output at the channel outputs assumes the same value. When: ever the value at the C outputs changes (when @ channel change is required) a short pulse also appears at digital output 4; this can be used for various appli- cations. If a command with a higher number than 10011 is given by the control unit, the channel outputs remain unchanged and no pulse appears at the D4 output. It is also possible to step through the Figure 10, The IC transmits the fivodbit code ima chain of six pulses (twa of the pule rains are shown). The information is con: ble 3. Functions and control sig ‘outputs in figure 11. ‘output increase decrease function Al 1010011100 colour saturation 2 1011011110 volume AS 1011111114 _brightnoss channels automatically. Control signal 10101 causes the receiver to step through the channels in ascending order: code 11101 makes it step through the channels in the opposite direction. If, in some application, the twenty channels are required individually — instead of as 2 five-bit code — they can be ‘de- multiplexed” by means of a suitable IC (the CMOS type 4514, for instance). The only point to note, in that case, is that the ML 920 uses ‘negative logic’ logic 0 is positive supply voltage, logic 1 is equivalent to 0 V. The analogue outputs of the ML 920 are intended for controlling volume, brightness and colour saturation, The voltages at these outputs vary in sixteen steps. Their functions, and the corre- sponding control signals, are listed in Table 3, The digital output D2 is intended for controlling the ‘colour killer: it pro: vides 2 logic @ (almost positive supply level) when the analogue colour output AI is at zero level — this corresponds to ‘no colour’. A ‘mute’ command is also provided, for temporarily switching off the sound: the contro! signal 11001 switches output D1 alternatively low and high. Output D3 provides the ‘on/off’ signal for the TV receiver; the corresponding control signal is 11000, More accurately, this should be referred to as a’stand-by’ switch ~ obviously, the TV receiver cannot be switched off altogether: at the very least, the ultra~ sonic receiver must be left on.remote conteol lektor march 1980 — Alslfells Eye Figure 11. This circuit decodes the pulse rains, producing # series of digital and analogue outputs intended for controlling various functions in a gure 12. This preamplifier and demodulator must be included between the transducer and the circuit given in figure 11. Finally, a ‘basic. setting’ command (11011) causes all. three analogue outputs to assume an intermediate level — approximately one-third of their range. There is only one preset adjustment in the ML 920 circuit: P1, This must be iijusted so that a squarewave appears at the monitor output (pin 9) with a period time that is one-twentieth of the interval time for a logic in the PPM signal, As stated earlier, the transducer cannot be connected direct to the IC. A pre: amplifier is required, that also removes the 40 kHz components from the signal. A suitable circuit is given in figure 12. The ultrasonic signal is amplified by T1. IC1, with the associated components, is used as a 40 kHz band-pass filter. The main reason for including this is to reject the second and third harmonics of the TV line frequency (31.3 kHz and 46.9 kHz). Demodulating the ultrasonic signal is no problem —it calls for nothing more than filtering out the 40kH2 com- ponent from the signal. This is done by means of a low-pass filter (IC2) ‘The output of the circuit given in figure 12 can be connected direct to the input Of that in figure 11.2.44 — elektor march 1980 Wireless: three varieties For ‘wireless’ transmission of control signals or other data, a few different options are available. The mast common system is radio — in fact, ‘wireless’ has become almost synonymous with this. The control unit contains al! controls, a (miniature) radio transmitter, and a circuit that codes the various contro! signals for transmission. The equipment that is to be controlled contains a receiver and 2 decoding circuit that retrieves the original contro! signals. A radio link of this kind has several advantages — considerable range for low power, for instance — but it also has its disadvantages. The most import ant ‘disadvantage’ is that the Post Oftice authorities take a very dim view of people operating this kind of link without a licence. This limits its uses t0 exactly those fields were it is virtually the only possibility — controlling model aeroplanes, for instance. For use indoors, remote contro! by radio is ‘not on’. As an alternative, we could consider using light. A light source in the control unit, a light detector in the receiver, and suitable coding and decoding circuits are again required, To avoid undesirable ‘disco lights’ effects, it is now common prac: tice to use light that is invisible to the human eye: ‘redder than red’ ~ infrared, jin other words. This has a further advantage in that it penetrates smoke and dust haze better than visible light. However, an infrared remote control system is nat an ideal solution. It is no easy matter to make the detector in the receiver sufficiently sensitive. Nor can the infrared light source in the trans- miter be particularly powerful — not, that is, unless you don’t mind changing the batteries every time you give a new control signal. Furthermore, infrared is light; and like any other kind of light it tends to travel in very straight lines. Admittedly, it is reflected off all kinds fof objects ‘so that it usually ends up at the receiver some time — even if the transmitter isn't aimed like a search: light — but a lot of its power is absorbed! ‘by all that bouncing around. There are also a large number of ‘spurious infrared transmitters’ in any living room. Heat is also infrared, and incandescent lamps emit quite a lot of energy in the infrared regian that we are interested in. What all this means is that only a little of the desired infrared signal will reach the receiver, and that there is a lot of interference. For this reason, both the transmitter and the receiver circuits must incorporate all kinds of sophisticated tricks, if the receiver is ta be able to distinguish the contra/ signals from the ‘noise’ A sound system We have seen that neither radio nor infrared links are ideal for domestic use. The former is forbidden, and the latter dosn't work very well — at least, it takes some doing to make an infrared system work reliably. Fortunately, a third option is available. sound waves. For use indoors, these are much more suitable. In particutar, it is ‘much easier to ‘ill’ a room with sound. the waves bounce and bend all over the place. This is still true at the relatively high frequencies that are of interest for ‘remote control systems. When discussing light as a transmission medium, it was pointed out that ‘invisible’ light is preferable to the visible variety, to avoid being dazzled by the light show put out by the control unit. For the same reason, ‘inaudible’ sound is preferable to the normat variety in this application. By inaudible, We mean above the range of human hearing (maybe 2 few dogs or bats may hear these control signals): ‘ultrasonic’, as itis called, Using high frequency sound has a further advantage: the ‘loudspeakers and. ‘microphones’ (both are usually reterred to as ‘transducers’, actually) ‘are both small and cheap, They are also surprisingly efficient — putting out quite @ lot of ‘sound’ for a fairly modest electrical power consumption. So why doesn’t everybody use ultra- sonic transducers for remote control systems? They must have some dis- advantages? Rest assured, they have. They are more bulky than infrared LEDs; they are more ‘breakable’: and ‘spurious ultrasonic transmitters” also exist. Rattling keys, for instance. For this reason, a sufficiently ‘interference: proof’ coding and decoding system is still required, There is one further problem: “The Doppler effect One of the miajor problems associated with ultrasonic systems is the Doppler effect. As most people wil! know, if an object or person that is transmitting a sound wave, for instance, is moving towards the receiver, the latter will ‘hear’ a sound wave at a higher fre- ‘quency than that transmitted, Similarly, if transmitter and receiver are moving away from each other the apparent frequency will be lower. A well-known example is the sound of a passing express train: at the moment that it passes us, the sound seems to suddenly drop to a much lower frequency. Obviously, the train doesn’t really ‘change its tune’ when it sees us. The frequency that we are hearing is not the same as that which the train is ‘trans mitting’, Indoors, it i unlikely that we will travel at the speed of an express train. Even so, the Doppler effect can be quite 2 nuisance when using an ultra sonic remote control link. (The same ‘applies to infrared links, by the way, but to a lesser extent.) When designing a system, all due care must be taken to ensure that it is relatively insensitive to the kind of fre- quency shifts that can be caused by this effect. Fortunately, this is not too difficult. The two designs given in this article are ‘Doppler-proofed’. The Monoselektor goes remote The Monoselektor described in Elektor, June 1979, can be used to control a large number of different things at the touch of a single button: radia and/or television set, lights, doors, curtains, and so on. There is no problem in constructing the Unit, as experience has shown, but when it comes to putting it into’ operation things are apt to get ‘ropey’. Or ‘wirey’, rather. The curtains and door may be operated by motor, the radio and television set may be designed for remote control; we have already published designs for a ‘solid state relay” that will switch this type of equipment. But one problem remains: connecting the Monoselektor to all these items, distributed all over the room. This ‘normally involves yards and yards of cable. Not very neat, we must admit. There is a lot to be said for using 2 remote control link. For this application, the first of the two systems described in this article is ideally suited. All wiring from the Monoselektor to the other equipment can be replaced by a ‘wireless’ link. The ultrasonic. transmitter (figure 3) is built into the Monaselektor case, the contro! inputs can be connected direct to the Monoselektor outputs. Receivers (figures and 6) can be ‘mounted wherever required in the room, to control the motors, relays or whatever. The fact that several receivers can be used in the seme system is an advantage. In fact, if cost is 20 problem, sixteen receivers can be built, each tuned to its own channel. In practice, of course, it will normally be mare econ- ‘omical to use one receiver for several items of equipment that are close to each other in the room. «ket Versatile display driver family A new series of dot/bar display driver ICs fave been announced by National Semi ‘onduetor Corporation. Known as the LM3914, LM3915 and LM3916, the devices provide "a highly readable _all-clectronic display. The LM3914 family can be cascaded without needing individual adjustment. and broduetion trimming Copable of driving LEDs, vacuum fluorescent, ‘or ven liquid crystal displays, these devices an provide a tinear, logarithmic or VU read: out. The LM3914 ls @ ten-step linear display shiver, while the LM3315 covers 2 9048 ange with ton 348 stops, and the LM3816 {overs the familiar + 3 VU to ~20 VU range, The LM3914 is a large scale linear integrate tirouit containing 10 precision comparators with @ divider to give milivolt aceursey at ‘ach wip point, 2 builtin voltage reference, plus bordot logic citeuitry and constant current output drivers, The family can be ‘operated from power supply voltages between 3Y and 20V, and is easly sealed to accept senals from millivolts 10 volts, In addition, the devices are protected from input over voltage up to +35V. The output current from opencollacior transistors can be pro: ‘grammed from less than | mA to over 20 mA allowing the device to be used even with high impedance sources, Another advantage is the ease with which these devices can be expanded to 50 or more utbuts for high resolution displays. The LM3914/LM3915/LM3916 series is avail: able in an 18 pin dil package. National Semiconductor (UK) Ltd. Telephone: Bedford (0234) 47147 (1449 Low distortion audio oscillator The SG 505 sudio oscillator is 9 new plug-in unit for the Tektronix TM50O family of modular test and measurement instruments, The oscillator covers the range 10H2 to JOOKHE and its total harmonic distortion bewween 20H2 and 20 kHz is toss. than .0008%. It nes four overlapping frequency fanges which ere selected by push-button fontrols Within each range, the required requency is selected by a continuous tuning ial which Indicates the output frequency within @ tolerance of £ 3%, A vernier knob with a = 1% 1ange simplifies fine frequency ssjustments Output sigral amplitude is greater than 6 V ms unloaded and greater than 3.12V rms Into 600 £2. Control of the output is provided by a precision B-step attenuator ranged from 10 dBm to ~60 dBm, Step accuracy for each 108 increment is * 1 48, A variable control lows for continuous adjustment within each sep. Lovel flatness (reterenced to. 1 kHz) 1.1 6B from 20 Hz t0 20 kHz and = 0.1248 ler the entire range. An oniof switch allows Ine output signal to be disconnected Whilst 3 ‘cond button selects between ground refer ~_— ‘enced of floating output, A syne output terminal provides a 200 mV rms sinewave which tracks the selected output frequency. Both the output and the syne signals are available at the reer connector of the SGEO5 {9 well 9s at the Tront panel, An optional intermodulation test signal feature provides 3 combined signal consisting of a low frequency sinewave (GDHz or 250 Hz) and the dale Selected frequency, These two components fare mixed n'a 4:1 amplitude ratio, the aml tude of the combined signal is within = 0,2 48 ff the amplitude of the fundamental signal Tektronix UK Ld, Beaverton Hous, P.0. Box 69, Harpenden, Herefordshire. Telephone: Harpenden 631741. nasa m) Dual-in-line converters ‘A new series of 1 Watt OC 0 DC converters thas been introduced by Grecham Lion Limited, sloktor march 1980 — UK 15. “The new models come in standard 24-pin DIL packages and will be known as the Gemini 6500 series, As these units will fit into standard IC sockets and printed ciceut board drilling patterns, on- board power conversion systems may_be fssembled quickly and economically. The devices are suitable for automatic insertion techniques, and may be flowsoldered after Although the units are sali, they have all the features of much larger modules. They are available with single and dual outputs, have output regulstion and are fully isolated and short circuit protected, Initially, input volt ‘ges are either 5 V oF 12 V nominal, with five possible output configurations for each input including 5 V, 12 V, 15V, = 12 Vand © 15V (all 5% A high religility is claimed for the units — 3 minimum MTBF of 100,000 hours — and the ‘operating temperature range & ~25°C to #70°C. Load regulation is only 150 mV from 2er0 10 full load and the output ripple Ie a maximum of 20mV pp. Output current limiting ensures that the short eireule current ‘only 150% of the full load eurrent. Units from the Gemini 600 series measure only 1,28%0.6 «0.55 inches overal (LxWxH), Pins are on standard DIL. 0.1 inch spocing, 06 inch piten Gresham Lion Limited, Gresham House, Twickenham Road, Feitham, Middlesex, TW13 BHA Telephone: 01-894 5577, (1463 m) New size of Verocase |A new sie of vacuum-tormed Verocase has been introduced by Vero Electronics Limited to compliment the existing range. Although specially designed for housing a keyboard and display panels, this enclosure has wide ranging applications in the instrument field Vecuumformed from black textured ABS, the case is supplied in two sections which screw together. The material may be easily cut or drilled as required for switches, displays ete, A flat area is provided at the rear ff the cage for cable ent. ‘This intermediate siz2, with outside dimen sions of 340 mm wide x 360 mm deep x 130 mim high is supplied with an anodised sluminium front panel 254.» 170 x 2mm thick, four self-adhesive rubber feet and cose asombly screws Vero Electronics Limited Industral Estate Chandler's Ford Exetleigh Hampshire $0532R Telephone: (042 15) 69911 (1452m)