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This is the legacy website; please use the new website.
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Issue 285
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View the articles in this issue >>
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29 Jun, 2012
Vintage Radio
John de Haas and his Philips collection
27 Jun, 2012
Circuit Notebook
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions will be paid for at standard rates. All submissions should include full name, address & phone number.
24 Jun, 2012
PIC/AVR Programming Adaptor Board; Pt. 2
Last month, we described our new programming adaptor board which works in conjunction with an In-Circuit Serial Programmer (ICSP) to program most 8-bit & 16-bit PIC and 8-bit Atmel AVR microcontrollers. Here, we give the details of how to build it and how to use it.
22 Jun, 2012
Serviceman's Log
It's always important to gather as much information as possible from the customer before starting a repair, otherwise it's all too easy to get involved in a wild goose chase. Here's a classic example of what can happen.
17 Jun, 2012
Review: Agilent's 35670A Dynamic Signal Analyser
The Agilent 35670A has been around for many years and has become virtually the industry standard for sound and vibration engineers. As well as carrying out audio analysis, it is equally at home with measurement applications in aeronautical, structural, mechanical, civil, automotive and electronics engineering.
It can be used for everything from analysing microphones to earthquakes, from examining bridges and beams for metal fatigue to vibration in motors.
15 Jun, 2012
Ask Silicon Chip
Got a technical problem? Can't understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we'll answer your question. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097 or
send an email to silicon@siliconchip.com.au
13 Jun, 2012
WiNRADiO Excalibur WR-G31DDC HF Receiver
In the legend of King Arthur, "Excalibur" was a sword with magical properties. It is an appropriate name for the latest Software-Defined High Frequency Receiver from WiNRADiO of Melbourne, Australia. Like its namesake, Excalibur is immensely powerful and - dare we say it - almost magical in performance!
8 Jun, 2012
Mailbag
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Letters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to submissions to "Ask SILICON CHIP" and "Circuit Notebook".
7 Jun, 2012
Crazy Cricket or Freaky Frog
Love the sound of crickets and frogs (and who doesn't)? Maybe you will revise your judgement after exposure to Crazy or Freaky - the (very) pesky cricket and equally annoying grenouille.
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Issue 284
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View the articles in this issue >>
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27 May, 2012
Circuit Notebook
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions will be paid for at standard rates. All submissions should include full name, address & phone number.
23 May, 2012
Vintage Radio
Manufactured in 1948, the Breville 730 table-top receiver was housed in an attractive timber cabinet and covered both the broadcast and shortwave bands. It featured a wide audio response and this, coupled with a large loudspeaker, gave very good performance.
20 May, 2012
SemTest: A Discrete Semiconductor Test Set; Pt.3
Now that we have looked at the full circuit of our new Discrete Semiconductor Test Set, it's time to describe its construction and
the setting-up procedure. We also describe how to fit a crowbar circuit to quickly discharge the HT after making high-voltage measurements.
18 May, 2012
Ask Silicon Chip
Got a technical problem? Can't understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we'll answer your question. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097 or
send an email to silicon@siliconchip.com.au
16 May, 2012
1.5kW Induction Motor Speed Controller, Pt.2
Last month, we described the features of the 1.5kW Induction Motor Speed Controller and explained in detail how it works. This month we describe its construction and testing and give some guidelines for use.
13 May, 2012
Serviceman's Log
The old adage that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing certainly applies when it comes to mains-powered equipment. This home-made amplifier was so dangerous and the standard of assembly so dodgy that I really shouldn?t have taken it on.
11 May, 2012
High-Temperature Thermometer/Thermostat
Need to measure or control temperature over a very wide range? Now you can do it with this compact unit which hooks up to a K-type thermocouple. It drives a relay which can be used to precisely control the temperature in ovens, kilns, autoclaves, solder baths or at the cold end of the spectrum, fridges and freezers. It is based on an Analog Devices AD8495 precision instrumentation amplifier with thermocouple cold junction compensation.
9 May, 2012
Getting The Most From ADSL
It's a fair bet that most readers of SILICON CHIP enjoy their daily fix of internet access by courtesy of ADSL. While some readers are luxuriating with optical fibre - and an unhappy minority are still using dial-up - most of us owe our ongoing communication to the distinctly freakish technology of ADSL. But what exactly is ADSL and what came before it? How does it work and why is it often called a "freak" technology? Are your internet speeds painfully slow? Can anything be done to speed them up? Do you curse your ISP? Read on!
7 May, 2012
Mailbag
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Letters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to submissions to "Ask SILICON CHIP" and "Circuit Notebook".
5 May, 2012
PIC/AVR Programming Adaptor Board; Pt. 1
Do you frequently program microcontrollers with a serial programmer? Want to streamline the process so you can quickly do virtually any micro? Well now you can! Our new Programming Adaptor Board, in combination with an In-Circuit Serial Programmer (ICSP), allows you to program most 8-bit & 16-bit PIC microcontrollers as well as 8-bit Atmel AVRs. It has a 40-pin ZIF socket and is configured with just a few DIP switches.
3 May, 2012
The Australian Synchotron
The Australian Synchrotron is one of the nation's largest and most significant scientific facilities. It is a powerful machine of great utility that enables investigators to determine the structure and composition of all materials, including living specimens, with extremely high detail.
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Issue 283
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View the articles in this issue >>
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19 Apr, 2012
Mailbag
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Letters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to submissions to "Ask SILICON CHIP" and "Circuit Notebook".
17 Apr, 2012
Q & A On The Maximite Microcomputer
Thousands
of Maximites
have now been built
and have worked perfectly
the first time. The design
of the Maximite has proved
to be remarkably robust, so
if you have a problem with one
you have just built, it most probably will be
something specific to your Maximite and not
a fatal design fault or software issue. However, there are some
common problems that constructors do experience so we asked
the designer, Geoff Graham to come up with the six most common....
15 Apr, 2012
Vintage Radio
Philips 196A 4-Valve AC/Battery Portable Receiver
13 Apr, 2012
SoftStarter: Taming The Surge Current Menace!
Are you alarmed by the juicy "splattt" from your mains power point when you plug in something like a large plasma TV set? Do you some-times burn out light and power point switches because of the surge currents at switch-on? Or perhaps you occasionally trip circuit breakers because of appliance switch-on surge currents. This is a very common problem but there is a simple cure: our SoftStarter. It tames those nasty surge currents while having no effect on appliance performance.
11 Apr, 2012
Review: MiktroElektronika EasyPIC v7 Development Board
This PIC development board provides an easy way to program and debug 8-bit PIC micros. It can be used with C, Pascal and BASIC programming languages. The EasyPIC has pushbuttons, LEDs, USB ports and various other devices on-board while a variety of add-on modules such as LCDs, memory cards and network interfaces can plugged in for easy prototyping.
5 Apr, 2012
Serviceman's Log
The Christchurch earthquakes damaged a lot of electronic equipment, including large-screen TVs. Mine was knocked flying off its stand on several occasions but it kept working until finally there was one quake too many.
3 Apr, 2012
1.5kW Induction Motor Speed Controller, Pt.1
You've asked for it many times and we have always said NO! It's too complex, too difficult, too expensive, whatever. Now we're saying YES. This Induction Motor Speed Controller is suitable for motors up to 1.5kW (2HP) and can be used to control speed over a wide range. It will save big dollars with swimming pool pumps and will be great for running machinery at different speeds. Even better, it will control 3-phase motors as well!
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Issue 282
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View the articles in this issue >>
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31 Mar, 2012
Vertical Farms
A vision of factory farming in the 21st century
25 Mar, 2012
Q & A On The MPPT Solar Charger
While we know that our revised MPPT Solar Charge Controller will be welcomed by many readers who had requested improvements, there are bound to be other questions, like "Can we now push the revised design to handle more solar panels?" The answers could be yes, no and maybe, as demonstrated by this selection of recent questions from readers. . .
19 Mar, 2012
Review: Audio Precision APx525 Audio Analyser
SILICON CHIP has a long record of using the latest available instruments to validate our designs - typical of this has been our use of the Audio Precision System One to measure all our high performance audio designs. This month we review the latest such instrument from Audio Precision, the APx525.
11 Mar, 2012
Circuit Notebook
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions will be paid for at standard rates. All submissions should include full name, address & phone number.
9 Mar, 2012
Ask Silicon Chip
Got a technical problem? Can't understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we'll answer your question. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097 or
send an email to silicon@siliconchip.com.au
7 Mar, 2012
Vintage Radio
Atwater Kent Radios - quality with mass market appeal
3 Mar, 2012
Mailbag
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Letters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to submissions to "Ask SILICON CHIP" and "Circuit Notebook".
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Issue 281
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View the articles in this issue >>
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25 Feb, 2012
Ask Silicon Chip
Got a technical problem? Can't understand a piece of jargon or some technical principle? Drop us a line
and we'll answer your question. Write to: Ask Silicon Chip, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097 or
send an email to silicon@siliconchip.com.au
23 Feb, 2012
Simple 1.2-20V 1.5A Switching Regulator
This tiny regulator board outputs 1.2-20V from a higher voltage DC supply at currents up to 1.5A. It's small, efficient and cheap to build, with many handy features such as a very low drop-out voltage, little heat generation and electronic shut-down.
21 Feb, 2012
Mailbag
Letters and emails should contain complete name, address and daytime phone number. Letters to the Editor are submitted on the condition that Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd may edit and has the right to reproduce in electronic form and communicate these letters. This also applies to submissions to "Ask SILICON CHIP" and "Circuit Notebook".
19 Feb, 2012
Vintage Radio
This is how radio receivers looked in the 1930s
15 Feb, 2012
Homebrew PCBs Via Toner Transfer
Here's a method for the hobbyist to produce near-professional PCBs at home with consistent results. The equipment and materials required are readily available, reasonably priced and well within the capabilities of the average constructor.
13 Feb, 2012
Circuit Notebook
Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions will be paid for at standard rates. All submissions should include full name, address & phone number.
9 Feb, 2012
DCC: Digital Command Control For Model Railways
While it has been around for some years now, Digital Command Control or DCC is now becoming increasingly popular as more and more manufacturers incorporate it into their new models, along with various accessories such as complete locomotive sound systems.
3 Feb, 2012
Converting The F&P SmartDrive for Use As A... Motor
Recycled smart drive washing machine motors have been used in countless projects. They can be found in wind turbines, water turbines, and every other type of generator imaginable. This article takes a radical new direction and uses a Fisher & Paykel SmartDrive as... a motor.
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