TESTBENCHAMPLIFIER-

APRIL 1979
Volume 32 No. I

ILLUMINATED DICE by G. A. French

Published MonthlY
l3rd of Preceding Month)

SuggestodCircuit

lncorporating The Badio Amateur

F.M. TUNING INDICATOR

Editorial and Advertising Offices

57 MAIDA VALELONDONW9 ISN

SHORT WAVE NEWS by FrankA' Baldwin

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475

82
485

4a'I

Pan 1

TOUCH-LIGHT CIRCUIT Double Deccer Series No. 6

by lan Sinclair

493

NEW PRODUCTS-

495

5 New Modules

496

IN NEXT MONTH'S ISSUE

T U N E - I NT O P R O G R A M SDo You Remember?
by lan Sinclair

497

No. 3

soo

I N D U S T R I A LN O T EMulti Purpose Guillotine

A P R I L F O O L C I R C U I T S_
Circuits That Shouldn't Work In Your WorkshoP

5O1
But They Do!

BAND II PORTABLE- PATI2

bv Sir DouglasHall,Bt', K.C.M'G'

506

RADIO TOPICS -

511

bY Recorder

NAND GATES - fl66t76nics Data For The Beginner

Web Offset.

Tlte Radio & Electrcnics Constructor

trv Swale Press Ltd.

bv John Baker

For DX Listeners

VHF MAINS TABLE RADIO by R. A. Penfold

D a t a b u x ,L o n d o n

47O

48O

NEWS AND COMMENT

First Published 1947

O1-286 6141

bv M' V. Hastings

No' 44

THE MAY ISSUE

WILLBE PUBLISHED
ON 4th APRIL

iii

High Input impedance,greater than 1 M O

This simpleamplifier is usedby the author as a
pieceof testequipmentfor audiosignaltracingand
for testing newly constructed projects such as
receivers,tuners, tone generatorsand signal
generators. However, there are other possible
applications for it, such as a low volume guitar
practiceamplifier. A generalpurposeunit of this
nature can prove to be extremelyuseful and versatrle.
The circuit is basicallya direct coupledClassB
designand it has the unusual feature of employing
a Jugfet input transistor.The latter enablesthe
amplifier to have a high input impedance, a
valuablefeaturewhen it is used for signaltracing
and experimentalwork.
I N P U TI M P E D A N C E
The input impedanceis a little over lM o at the
full volume control setting, the impedance increasingto a maximum of some2M o at lowersettings. It requires an input level of about 30mV
r.m.s. for full output. The amplifier has its own
speaker, this being a miniature type with a
diameter of less than 2|in. and having any impedancebetween40 o and 80 o. Output power
varies with the speakerimpedance,being about
200mWwith a 40 o speakerand 100mWwhen an
80 o speakeris used.The unweightednoisefigureis
betterthan -60dB with the volumecontrolat maximum and the input left open-circuit.Distortion
level is only a few percentprovidedthe circuit is
not overdriven,and the performanceis perfectly
adequatefor a low cost audio amplifier intended
for testbenchuse.
The basic stage line-up is illustrated in the
simplifieddiagramof Fig. 1. For the time being,it
will proveof help if we ignorethe fact that TR1 is a
Jugfet deviceand assumeinsteadthat it is a normal p.n.p.bipolarsilicontransistorwith its emitter
connecting
to C4 and R6, its baseto the sliderof R1
and its collectorto the base of TR2. Thus. TR1
feedsthe commonemitteramplifier,TR2, which in
turn feedsthe complementaryemitterfolloweroutput stageincorporatingTR3 and TR4.
The emitter of TRl is connectedto the output of
the amplifier via R6 rather than to the positive
supplyrail. Due to the phaseinversionprovidedby
TR2 thereis, in consequence,
100per centnegative
feedbackunder d.c. conditions.For maximum output powerbeforeclippingon positiveand negative
{;0

audio half-cyclesoccursit is necessarv

for the output emitters to be at half the supply voltageunder
no-signalconditions,The outpui imitters ian then
swing by equal voltages in both positive and
negativedirectionsbefoie clipping occurs.Since,at
d.c., there is unity voltageiriiir fr-omthe emittei of
TB1 to t_he arirplifiei "output, th; il:;i;;;i
voltageat the output emitters can be set to the halfs,upplyvoltageby. the simlle pro.ce.ss
of adjusting
the pre-setpotentiomete-rRl, an_d_thereby
varying
the bias voltageon the baseof TRl.
If, as has beenassumedup to now, TRl were a
bipolar p.n.p. transistor,its-basewould be about
0.65volt negativeof its emitter and it would not in
qractice be necessaryto use the pre-set potentiometer.This is becauseall the bipo-lartraniistors
likely to be usedin the TRl positi6nwould exhibit
the same0.65 volt drop bet*een the baseand the
emitter. R1 could then be replaced bv two fixed
resistorsof suitablevalues,with the knowledgethat
the same no-signalvoltages.would appear-in all
ampllllers macleuD to the clrcult.
But - and we can now end the assumptionthat
TRl is a p.n.p. transistor- this transistoris aclually a Jugfetdevice.The bias requirementsfor a
Jugfe! are quite different from those for a bipolar
transistor,and under normal working condilions

Fig. |. Simpllfled diagram lllustntlng

linc-up of the amplfflor

thc tt.g.

I t r \| ) l ( ) A N | ) l ' ) l , l ' ): '(l ' l t () N l ( r S ( ' ( ) N S ' l ' ltl l ( " l I ) l t

LOW COST
DESIGN
*

IDEAL FOR BEGINNERS

its
the Jugfet base is reversebiased with effect to in
used
as.is
Jugfet,.such
pl"ti""n"t
;
$il;:Wtth
the gati will be positiveof its
;h;;;.;";;-itih"t,
Siasvoltagelequi red can
the
Fi;tt;.i- ot",'
;;t:';
varv betweenone Jugfet a-ndanother,ol.the same
trt" t"figl of variation being of the
;;# ;ilb;t,
oriler of 0.5 to 3 volts.
it
This variation in Jugfet bias voltagl makesR1
i;L*plov ihE pre-set potenliometer
.";;;;*

beall
iir"-i."J,iriri. t*; ii*.d ieiittott wtrictrwouldin
a bipolartransistor the
;ffi*";;;;;a';e;i[
inTRi ;;;iti,;tt' no*"u.t, the onlv complication
halrsupplv
foi
sefup
;;.i'"#Ji;;h"; R1il;io be
;;T;c; ;; in" o"ip"f "-ittett aftir the amplifier
has blen constructed'

L3i9

0 gs

Whilst there is 100 per cent feedback-underd'c'

conditions, the feedback situation- alters consinceC4 exhibits a
audio frequenci^es
.l,i"t"Uiv-"t
io* it"i"a"nce at tliese frequencies'-The a'f'
then becomesappioximately equal to
""it"e;-i"i"
of
the
v;lue
"'-F'it"ttv, R6 divided bv that of R5.ihe two capaci[orsC2 and C6 provide
d.c. blocking at the input and output respcctrvely'
PRACTICALCIRCUIT
The full circuit of the Testbench Amplifier is
eiue;- i" Fie. z. ttris is much the sam-eas the
Sit"ptin"a fhcuit of Fig. 1, although a few more
are includid to meef practical rei"t"'p""""ti
quirements.

2N3820
Lcod-outs

Bcroo Bclogc
BCl78
Laod-out3

F i g . 2 . C o m p t e t a w o f k i n g c i r c u i t o f t h e t e s t b e n c h a m p l i f i a r . T h e f . every
' t . i n ttittte
h e Ttoadins
R I p o s i ton
ion
a | l audio
o w s t hcir'
e
anv

aiptirier. n"Jl {,i*o';;r;:;i;;;';;'

AI'RII, 1979

X;ln:ii;,!i:::,'J;:Z''

471

A closa*up viqil oI trf,,

Vomboard ponet Vaqins
an anplayd rf tte porn{r
wherc c*amel egrrrnccliions
arc mdc to k

Volume control VRl has been introducedat the

i1put, t^oqelher.
with X,2 to reduce the shunting
effect of Rl. Since TRl has an input impedancE
vastly greaterthan lM o at low freq'uencieithe input impedanceis determinedbv thd valuesof VR1
and R2. It is necessaryfor a teslbenchamplifier to
I?1" e high input impedancein orderthat'it places
Irttle loadingon any equipmentto which it is connectecl.
As already-mentione_C,
the voltagegain is equal
to R6 divided by R5. With the va-iue"s
chosen'for
these two resistors the gain calculatesat approximately100 times.
The outpnt and input of the amplifier are in
phase,and sincethe input is at high impedanceani

there is, a ^relativelyhigh level of gain, any stray

teedback trom output to input could cause in_
stabilitv.
. The iisk of instability is removedin the practical
circuit by the.use.of screenedwire in the inpui
volume control wiring, and the provision of 'CB
betweenthe gate or fRt and chalssis.
e5 ieduc"*
the input.impedanceat high frequencies,where
stray teedback.capacitances
could otherwisecause
posslDle lnstablllty.

R4 is the drain load for TRI and. as TR2 requires about 0.65volt betweenits baseand emitter.
it sets the operating current for TRl. With R4 at
680 o the current is approximatelvlmA. most of
which flows in the resistor.

Semiconductors
TR1 2N3820
TR2 BC1OgC
Resistors
TR3 BC1O9
TR4 BC178
(A-llfixedvalues{ watt 5% unlessotherwisestated)
Dl 1N4001
R l 1 0 kn p r e - s e t p o t e n t i o m e t e r 0, . 1 w a t t ,
D2 1N4001
horizontal
R2 10k rr
R3 2.2M o r0%
R4 6800
R5 10o
R6 1ko
R7 150o
R8 lk rt
R9 2.2o
R10 2.2c)
VRl 2M tt or 2.2M 0 potentiometer,log.
Capacitors
Cl 100;zFelectrolytic,10V Wkg.
C2 0.022tF tvpe C280
C3 330pF ceramicplAte
C4 220yF electrolytic,10V Wke.
C5 100pFelectrolvtic,t0V Wk;.
C6 220yF electrolytic,10V WkE.

Switch
S1 s.p.s.t.rotary
Socket
SK1 3.5mm.jack socket(seetext)
Speaker
LSl 40-80a miniature speaker(seetext)
Miscellaneous
Metal instrumentcase(seetext)
4 rubber feet
2 control knobs
Veroboard,0.1in. matrix
9-volt battery (seetext)
Batterv connecior
Screenedcable
Speakerfret or fabric
Veropins(for 0.lin. board)
Nuts, bolts, wire, etc.
ITAI)I() ANI) F]LI.]CTRONIOS
CONSTRUCTOR

The two silicon diodes Dl and D2 produce a

standing bias across the bases of the output transistors i'hich, under quiescent conditions, allows
the transistors to passd small emitter current. This
prevents crossover distortion. It should be noted
that the diodes should be rectifier types and not
small signaldiodesas the latter could drop too high
a voltageand causean excessivequiescentoutput
current. R9 and R10 help to prevent thermal
runaway in TR3 and TR4.
The collector load resistancefor TR2 consists
of R7 and R8 in series.The output signal is fed to
the iunction of these resistors via C5. This
bootitrapping technique allows the output stage.to
have the maximum possible output voltage swing
on positive half-cycles.
31 is the on-off switch and Cl is the only supply
decoupling component which is required in the
amplifier. Quiescentcurrent consumptionis about
7mA, but this can rise to some 50mA at high
volume levels with a 40 o' speaker. The rise in
current at high output levels reduces with increasingspeakerimpedances.
TR2 is specifiedas a high gain BC109C,whilst
TR3 is specifiedsimply as a BC109. Where gainselected transistors are available, TR3 may be a
BC109A,BC109Bor BC109C.51 is called up as an
s.p.s.t.rotary switch. A d.p.s.t.switch with onepole
unused could alternativelv be used.
CONSTRUCTION
The small componentsare assembledon a piece
of 0.lin. matrix Veroboardhaving 15 copperslrips
by 33 holes. The ten breaks in the stripd are firlt
niade, using a Vero spot face cutting tool or a small
twist drill held in the hand, after which the two
mountingholesare drilled out 68A clear.The components are then soldered in position. Veropins
-suitable
for 0.lin. Veroboardare'fitted at the points
where connectionsare made to the input screened
wire, the speaker,51 and the negativebattery lead.
These external connectionsare made later.
It is necessarvto fit the amplifier in a metal case
sothat its circuitrv is screenedfrom sourcesof electrical interferenc6such as mains cables,and the

$#-im.,i,
*;d1#1
tfuttt*".
t*:
i;

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:?!li|

iLii;).,:

APRIL 1979

prototype is housedin a metal instrument casetyDe

C2 which is availablefrom Harrison Brothers,F.O.
Box 55,Westcliff.on-Sea,Essex,SS07LQ. This has
approximate dimensionsof 5 by 6 by 2|in.
The speaker is mounted on the left hand side of
the front panel and requires a circular cut-out
about 45mm. in diameter.A pieceof speakerfret or
cloth is then glued in plac6 behind'this cut-out.
Most miniature speakershave no provision for nut
and bolt po-urlting and so the sp6aker is glued in
place behind the fret or cloth. Great care "mustbe
taken to ensure that no adhesive gets on to the
speakerdiaphragm or its surround.51 and VRl are mounted side by side to the right
of the speaker,with 51 being closerto the speaker.
These require standard 10mm. diameter mounting
holes. In the prototype, input socket SKl is
mountedon the rear panel of the case.There is ample space for it on the front panel, however, and it
can alternativelv-3.5mm.
be mounted here if Dreferred.
jack socket of bpen conSKl must be a
struction (i.e. not onewith an insulatedbody) since
its mounting bush and nut provide the chassisconnection to the amplifier negativerail by way of the
rnput screenectwrre brarclrng.
The componentboard is mountedon the baseof
the casewith the mounting holesat the volume control end. It is secured by two 68A bolts and nuts,
with spacing washers over the bolts to keep the
board undersidewell clear of the metal case.
The point-to-point wiring to the remaining components is then completed, and this is also illustrated in Fig. 3. As already stated, the wiring
from the board to VR1, and from VRl to the input
socket,employesscreenedcable to prevent possible
stray capacitive couplings from the output.
There.is plenty of space for tlle battery to the
rear of the compon-entboard. A PP3 batiery will
offer quite a long life if the amplifier is usedintermittently, bqt fq_t-extended uie a larger battery,
suchas a PP6, will be more economical.The auth6i
used Boetik "Blue Tack" to prevent the batterv
moving around but a probably better alternativ-e
would consistof securingit in place with a simple
home-madealuminium bracket.

Dir.ction ol coPP.r strlPg

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Bott rY cliP

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Fig.3.ThewiringupoftheamplffierisrenderedreasonablysimptebytheuseofaVeroboardpanel.
are shown here'
iia tA. conn*tions to exteriat components
Layout on tn" iiiJ

The input socket is mountad on tha rear panel

inThe'prototvpe amplffier' lt can aft*natively
be mounted on the frcnt panel, if d*irad
474

ADJUSTMENT
After the amplifier has been completedand its
should be adjusted so.that its
*iti"e .#.f"a,-nt
on its track. A -multimeter
central
riia"fi. ioushlv
;itJh;d io? iuitable voltage range th.en has its
i".i .tip connected to chassis and its
;;;;tl;;
ii"Eiti"" t.-.t .tip 16ttte output transistoremitters' A
5rit"Ut" t!.t poli"t is at th6 lead of R9 which passes
into hole HZt. Take care that the testmeter.cltp
ioes ;;t touch adjacent wires or metal transistor
.".".. S*it.tton with a battery connected.andthen
ilirii Vni u.ttil th. meter gives a read-ingof 4'5
uoits. The testmeter clips are removed and the
amplifier is ready for use.
-"il;;;;t-of
tnir high input impedance of the
.creenedwlre must be dsed to-coupleit
"*Jin"t.
from which input signalsare befJ
li"
"qulpment
i"e ;"t il th" wire is connectedto the.input jack
that its braiding is commonw'ith the plug;iilil;h
thereby
i"""t.l.a
- coupl6sto the metal housingof
t
the amptitier.
RAI)IO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

ILLUMINATED

Severalcircuits which reproduce

the action of a dice in giving randomly chosennumbers from 1 to 6
at the touch of a switch or button
have appeared in these pages,
readout being by means of six
l.e.d.'snumbered1 to 6 or bv a 7segment display. A project i'iving
readout bv six l.e.d.'s was contributed by the author under the title "Electronic Dice", and it
appearedin the issuefor February
1978.
It has sinceoccurredto the writer
that a striking method of presenting
the numberst to 6 would consistof
having l.e.d.'s light up to form the
patternsgiven by the dots on an actual dice itself, and the presentarticle describesa suitable circuit for
achievingthis end. The appropriate
l.e.d.'sare illuminatedby operating
a switch, and the result is a surprisingly attractive and arresting
form of display. It is possiblethat
the appealofthe project restsin the
fact that the l.e.d.'s produce a
pattern which is familiar from the
days of childhood and which
therefore incurs a degree of
nostalgia.Added to that is the fact
that the numbers displayed are
completelyrandom; this particular
dice can in no way be loaded!

)+:

)e1-

;O"

jql-

)q1-

-)q1

)i.

)q1-

)i: i+:

)os

-)",: )q1-)q1- ji1-:5s )e: -0,:

)il-

)o"

Fis. I Dot pattems, rcprcaentcd by illuminated l.c.d.'s. for dicc

numbers from I to 6

TARLI]

rQ

eQ

Number

Lit Le.d.'s

DOT PATTERN

Beforelookinginto circuit details

it is first of all desirableto analvse
the differentdot displayswhich ire
neededto presentthe numbers 1 to
6 in the dice pattern. These are
shownin Fig. 1, wherethe number 1
is representedby a single central
dot, the number 2 by two dots on a
diagonal slope and so on.
The dice numbers can all be
producedby the appropriate selection of one or more of sevenl.e.d.'s
laid out in the mannershownin Fig.
2. Theseare letteredA to G, and the
accompanyingTable shows which
A I ' l t l t ,1 9 7 9

eQ

oQ

rQ

AG

3IADG

cQ

cQ

Fig. 2. Seven l.e.d.'s are requirad, and thase are shown

here lettered A to G

ACEG

ACDEG
ABCEFG

Fig. 3. Numb.r gencrator drctft. This giv*

frcmlto6

l.e.d.'sare lit up for eachnumber. It

then becomesnecessarvfor an electronic coderto selectthe l.e.d.'scorrespondingto each number.

N U M B E RG E N E R A T O R
The first requirementof the electronicsin the dice is to producethe
numbersI to 6 in random fashionat
the operation of a switch, and a
suitable number generator for this
purpose is that used in the earlier
"Electronic Dice" article, which is
reproducedin basic form in Fic. 3.
Tliis incorporatei a CMOS prJsettable divide-by-n counter tvoe
4018, a quad 2-input NAND [a1e
type 4011and a quad 2-input NOR
gate type 4001. Onlv three of the
gatesin the 4011 and the 4001 are
used,inthe circuit.
The 4018i-qpresetto divide by 6,
this beingachievedby returning its
not-Q3output at pin 6 to its data input at pin 1. Regularly spaced
positive-goingpulses are fed to the
clock input at pin 14,advancingthe
counterbv one step at each positive
edse.Thd not-Ql,;not-Q3 ahd notQ5 outputs are gated by the 4011
and the 4001 to produce successive
outputs from 1 to 6. Until they are
actuated,all the outputsof the 4011
are high (i.e. close to the positive
rail) and all the outputs of the 4fi)1
are low (i.e. close to the negative
rail).
At the first positive pulse in a 6numbercycle,jrin 3 of the 4011goes
low. The next positive pulse returns
it to the high state and causespin 10
of the 4001to go high.The following
pulsessuccessivelycause pin 4 of
the 4011to go low, pin 3 of the 4001
to go high, pin l0 of the 4011 to go
low and pin 4 ofthe 4001to so hish.
The nexi,positive pulse takds pii 3
of the 4011 low again and the sequence repeats.
When the push-to-break button in
serieswith the clock input is pressed the flow of positivepulses'tothe
476

successiyo outputs

4018ceases,and the circuit restsin

the state it held at the instant of
breaking the push-button contacts.
In "Electronic Dice" the 4011 and
4001 outputs then lit one of six
l.e.d.'sby way of emittpr followers
or common emitter transistor
amplifiers. The dice was "thrown",
in consequence,by pressing the
push-button.
The manner in which the
numbers 1 to 6 are extracted from
the not-Ql, not-Q3 and not-Qb outputs of the 4018 is rather complex,
and interestedreaderswill find an
explanation in the "Electronic
Dice" article together with an
earlier article in the SuggestedCircuit series, "CD4018 Truth
Tables". The latter was published
in the June 1977 issueof Radio &
Electronics Corwtructor.

Another "one-off ' situation is

given with the number 6, this being
the only number which requires
l.e.d. B and l.e.d. F. These can be
fed by a common emitter n.p.n.
transistor coupled to pin 4 of the
4001. This pin goes high only at
number 6. SeeFig. 5(a).
Only two Le.d.'s are now left,
Le.d.C and l.e.d.E, and theselight
up at 4, 5 and 6. Numbers 4 and 6
can be catered for by coupling a
commonemitter n.p.n. transistorto
pins 3 and 4 of the 4001, series
diodes being added to prevent
short-circuits between outputs. At
number 5, the n.p.n. transistor is
non-conductiveand the two l.e.d.'s
are driven by a p.n.p. emitter
follower coupled to pin 10 of the
401l. The diode in serieswith the
baseof the p.n.p. transistor ensures
that its maximum base-emitter
reversevoltagerating is not exceeded when the base is high and the
emitter is low. The arrangementis
shownin Fie. 5(b).
The circuits of Figs. 4(a) to 5(b)
provide all the coding that is required to drive the seven dice
l.e.d.'s.It will be notedthat the output at pin 10 of the 4001is not used,
whereupon the gate connecting to
pins 8, 9 and 10 of this i.c. can be
excludedfrom the final circuit.

C O M P L E T EC I R C U I T

The complete circuit of the

illuminated dice project is shown in
Fig. 6. The positive-goingpulsesfor
the clock input of the 4018 are obtained from a standard 555 oscillator running at approximately
150H2. The pulses are fed to the
4018via 31(a) and ceasewhen this
switch is set to position 2. At the
same time, S1(b) applies the
positivesupply to the dice l.e.d.'s.
Thus, when Sl(a) (b) is in the
O U T P U TC O D I N G
"Shake" positionthe l.e.d.'sare extinguished. Putting the switch to
present
For the
application it is
"Throw" causes the appropriate
necessaryto codethe outputs of the
l.e.d.'sin the dice display to be lit.
4011 and 4001 in order that the
The effect is far more striking than
l.e.d.'sbe illuminated, and this can
is given if the l.e.d.'sare left on all
be carried out with the aid of disthe time to give a flickering display
crete transistors. If we return to the
which changesto a fixed pattern
Table we seethat l.e.d. A and l.e,d.
when the pulse input to the 4018 is
G are lit for all numbersexcept 1. It
interrupted. There is, also, much
follows that the simplest method of
less current drain from the 6 volt
driving these two l.e.d.'s is to have
batterv.
them normally lit and inhibited in the
The coding circuitry has already
presenceof a 1 output. The apbeen describedin detail, and Fig. 6
propriate circuit is shown in Fig.
gives the component values and
4(a). Here, the common emitter
transistor types. TR1 is in the cirn.p.n.transistoris conductivefor all
cuit of Fig. 4(a),and TR3 in that of
the numbersexcept1, when pin 3 of
Fie. a(b). Fig. 5(a) is givenby TR2
the 4011goeslow.
and its immediate components,
The Table also tells us that l.e.d.
whilst the two transistors of Fig.
D lights up for 1, 3 and 5. A suitable
5(b) appearas TR4 and TRS.
circuit for lighting this l.e.d.
L.E.D.H is not part of the dice
appears in Fig. 4(b), in which the
pattern, and is included to act as a
transistor is a p.n.p. emitter
reminder that the unit is switched
follower. The l.e.d.-lighis up when
on. It extinguishes
when51(a) (b) is
either pin 3, pin 4 or pin 10 of the
put to "Throw" and the other
401t goeslow. The threediodesprel.e.d.'sare illuminated,and also of
vent short-circuitsbetweenanv-low
coursewhen the circuit is switched
output and the remaining higli outputs.
off at 52. L.E.D.H should have a
I.IC'IOR
CONS'I'R
R A I ) I ( )ANI ) I.]LICCTRONICS

.LED G

LEO D

Cunr.ntlirniting
rGistors

\
\

40ll
pin 3
40il
pin rl
40tl
pin lO

(b)

(o)

Fig.4(d.

Coding circuit for driving l.e.d.'s A and G. (U. The circuit raquired for l.e.d. D

different colour from the other

Le.d.'s.L.E.D.A to I.e.d.G could,
for instance, all be green whilst
l.e.d.H is red. The l.e.d.'sare normal small types with panelmounting bushes.
A suitable front panel layout is
shownin Fig. 7, the dimensionsbeingapproximately4|in. highby 4in.
wide. Sl(a) (b) and 52 are small
slideswitchesand l.e.d.A to l.e.d.G
are laid out in the same manner as
in Fig. 2. When the unit is switched
on with Sl(a) (b) at the "Shake"
p o s i t i o n ,o n l y l . e . d . H b e c o m e s
alight. The dice number is shown
when Sl(a) (b) is set to "Throw".
For the next number it is returned

to "Shake" and then put to

"Throw" again.
Current consumption is around
1OmAwith S1(a)(b) in the "shake"
position. In the "Throw" position
the current drain depends-mainlv
-l.e.d.'s
upon the number of
which
are lit, each l.e.d. drawing about
15mA. When the number 6 is displayed the l.e.d. current rises to
some 90mA. The 6 volt suoolv
could consist of two No. 800 clvcli
lamp batteriesin seriesor four SP2
cells. Battery consumption can be
reducedby increasingthe valuesof
the 270Ocurrent limiting resistors
in serieswith the l.e.d.'s, but the
author feels that the most im-

pressive effect is given when the

l.e.d.'sare lit really brightly.
As a final point, the circuit can be
sloweddown for testing purposesby
connecting a 22pF electrolytic
capacitor acrossC2. The 555 then
completes a cycle in about 3
seconds.If the positiverail is temporarily connected to the l.e.d.
anodes,thus bypassingS1(b), the
l.e.d.'s go slowly through the dice
numbers from I to 6 and then start
againwhen S1(a) is in positionl. If,
with the circuit in this condition,
Sl(a) is taken to position2 the 4018
will probably hop through several
numbers.This is merelv the result
of contact bounce in Si(a) and is

4001
pin3

4001
prn4

Fig. 5(a). A simpla

.{l,RIL 1979

circuit

is adequcte

for l,e,d.'s

I and F. (b). A more complex

CandE

arrangement

is nccdcd for

4ii

o
c

8
,, ,
,ti
o

;E'.

'
..

9
&
c

l
t,
.s
d
o

8
s
z
o
o

G
a
ta
B.
o
a
ID

Fc

E
}
&6
^c

JCt
JO

.sE
EP

!G
E
ID

.s
E

s
{6

-.t 3

9E
NI

68

.E

.-)
( ;l
\:J'

:!

.g
()

s$
a
(l

ki
r{

! '

t9
'a
l ' tt s

e
:
.9

1'

t-i O >

a-

oo

478

CONSTRUCTOR
RAt)I0 ANI) T.]LF)C'LRONICS

ello
OFF

Fig. 7. The itfuminctcd dicc

may bc housd in t xmall
cate hring tha *olnt p.nd
lawut shawn htc

not a fault condition. Immediately

after switch-on the circuit goes
through two nt'rn-standard steps

ON

LED

-oo

ooo

beforestarting the I to 6 cycle.This

is due to the 4018 outputs settling
into their final repetitivestatesand

LED
G

the effect, which is only noticeable

when the circuit has been slowed
I
down, can be ignored.

FINGERTROUBLE
l t e : r d e r sw i l l h a v e b e e n m y s t i f i e d b v t h e f a c l t h a t
l ; r s t r n o n l h ' s " S u g g e ' s t e dC i r c u i t " h a d t h e m i s l o r r l i n g t i t l e " l . ] l e c t r o n i c' H a n g m a n ' " . T h e c o r r e c t
titlc slrould have been "The Finger Pinger". We

rnuch regret the error and can only plead the extra
work involved in bringing our publication date
firrwtrd after the delaved Februarv issue.

UNDERSTANDDATA
PROCESSING
D A T A P R O C E S S I N Gb,y O l i v e r& C h a p m a n i,s n o w i n
i t s T h i r d E d i t i o n - f i r s t p u b l i s h e d1 9 7 2 .
2 O Op a g e s

sf" x 6f,"

PRfCE
f2.75
P.&P.35p

PUBLISHED BY D. P. PUBLICATIONS
T h e p r i m a r y a i m o f t h i s o u t s t a n d i n g m a n u a ' li s t o p r o v i d e a s i m p l i f i e d a p p r o a c h t o
t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n go f d a t a p r o c e s s i n g - ( p r e v i o u s k n o w l e d g e o f t h e s u b j e c t i s n o t
n e c e s s ray ) .
The 40 chapters and appendices cover the following topics: Introduction to
Data Processing; Organisation and Methods; Conventional Methods; Introduction
to EDP and Computers; Hardware; Computer Files; Data Collection and Control;
Programming and Software; Flowcharts and Decision Tables; Systems Analysis;
Applications; Management of EDP, etc.

A v a i l a b l fer o m : D A T A

PUBLICATIONS

LTD.,

57 MAIDA VALE, LONDON W9 1SN.

,\l'ltll. l1,7ll

479

AND

NEWS

helpine others with a common interest in electroiric; in such organisations as The British
One of the pleasingaspectsof our hobby is the
Amateur ElectronicsClub (B.A.E.C.).From time
numberof enthusiasts
who are preparedto spend to time we will give some information and
their sparetime in helpingothers.In somecasesit
background on the activities of societieslike the
is a caseof helping the community by using a
foregoing.This month we give someinformation on
knowledgeof electronicsin organisationssuch as
the B,A.E.C.
the Radio Amateur EmergencyNetwork, or, in
The B.A.E.C.startedout as a localamateurclub
in Penarth, Glamorgan. In 1966 the members
decidedto open their membershipto anyone inH A N D - H E L DS O M H z
terested in electronicsirrespectiveof where they
lived. It was appreciatedthat many electronic
COUNTER
FREOUENCY
enthusiastsdo not have the opportunity ofenjoying
ContinentalSpecialtiesCorporation announce the help and companionshipthat membershipof a
the introductionof a low-cost,hand-heldfrequency club can bring. By meansof a regularly published
counter with a guaranteedoperational frequency Newsletter (40 large pagesin the last issue) conrangeof 100H2to 50MHz.
tainingnot only technicalarticlesbut alsotopicsof
Known as the Mini-Max, this 6-digit batteryinterest, correspondencecolumns, news, requests
poweredinstrument has a crystal controlled time
for technicalhelp, arrangementsfor exchangesand
baseaccurateto 3ppm, with iutomatic compensa- borrowingof equipment etc., a club atmosphereis
tion for changesin battery power.It is capableof
created.At the sametime help is readily available
accuratelymeasuringthe frequencyof sigaalswith
for members living near each other to form
peak amplitudes as low as 30mV, and is fully
themselvesinto groups where they can meet perprotectedagainst input transients up to 100V.
sonallv.
The Mini-Max incorporatesa 6-digrtLED disThe main base of the club is still in Penarth
play with magnified 0.1in. characters.Decimal where once a year the club organisesa very
points for KHz and MHz are automaticallyinsuccessfulexhibition of projectsbuilt by members,
sertedwhen the instrument is switchedon, and all
both as joint activities and as individual exhibits.
zerosto the left of the first non-zerocharacterare
Each year from the proceedsa substantial sum is
blanked.Other featuresinclude auto-rangingand
donated to Cancer Research.
auto-polarity,and no switchingis requiredto cater
We congratulateall who work so hard and unfor changesin input frequency.
selfishly for B.A.E.C., and we wish it growing
Operationalcharacteristicsinclude a resolution successin the future. Any reader wishing to know
of 100H2throughoutits frequencyrange,input immore about it should write to the Honorary
pedancegreater than 1 megohm,peak input of
Secretary,J. G. Margetts,42Old VicarageGreen,
100V.and maximum sensitivitvof 30mV.The disKevnsham. Bristol.
play is updatedsix times per iecond.
Pricedat t54.00,the Mini-Max is suppliedcom,TELEVISION
& RADIO1979'
pletewith antennaand input lead.
Technicalinnovationis highlightedin the new
edition of the Independent Broadcasting
Authority's handbook,'Television& Radio 1979'.
A key sectionof the book, 'Better Viewing and
Listening' outlines the pace-settingwork of. IBA
engineers.Amongst their achievementsdescribed
in 'Progressin Engineering'havebeenthe development of ORACLE - the IBA's teletextservice,the
portable communication satellite groundstations
and the progressin developingdigital studio equipment.
The first full year of operation of the advanced
Regional Operations Centre at Croydon, from
which an engineercan superviseby remote control
the television transmitters serving almost
20,000,000people from the Wash to Dorset, was
marked during 1978. The successof this centre
foreshadowsthree more centres to be built in the
f'uturewhich will significantlyimprove the efficiency and reliability of the IBA's transmitter network
throughoutthe rest of the country.
'Television& Radio 1979',is a comprehensive
guide to the workings of Independent Television
and Independent l.ocal Radio and has 224 pages,
9in. by 7fin., with over 300 illustrations,many of
them in colour.It is publishedby the IBA, price
c2.50 from newsagentsand booksellers.
-

A H E L P I N GH A N D

\qF
L\

ilt(

ItAI ) I0 AN I ) I.:I,IX)'IRONICSCONSTRUC'TOR

COMMENT
P O R T A B L E F I E L D S E R V I C E K I T S F O R S T A T I CE L I M I N A T I O N
A portable field servicekit which can prevent
electiostaticcharge from damagingsensitiveelectronic componentsduring service operationsis
now availablefrom 3M U;ited Kingdom Limited.
Its handy sizeand contentshave been designedfor
use bv serviceengineers.
This is the "Velostat"8005Field ServiceGroundine Kit. which provides an effective method of
draining' electroslatic charge from the service
engineer to ground before it can destroy
components,such as MOS, bi-polar
sop-histicated
devicesand micro-processors.
Researchhas shownthat thousandsof volts of
electrostaticchargecan be generatedand storedin
a technician'sbody by simp-lywalkingacrossfloors
and slidingon and off stools.When a technicianor
engineerhandlesa printed circuit.board,the electrd'static charge flows from him through the cirda-maging
or da-maging^
cuitry, literally blowing componentsoi
them to createa more difficult serviceproblem of
intermittent malfunction.For instance,a straight
90-volt electrostaticdischargefrom a handler can
blow devices.
The "Velostat" Portable ServiceKits have been
with portability for
desimed to give compactness
servicingpersonnel.A kit consistsof a "Velostat"
Table Top (24 inchessquare),a conductivewrist
strap and a ground cord. The Table Top has conErrlirrrLwr

uqrrs.vu

l/^

E X HI BI T I O N S

'yelostat"
The new
Grounding Kit

8OO5 Ficld Sclicc

venient storage pockets and can be rolled or folded

to fit neatly in tool cases.

C O M P O NE N T B A R G A I N S
O Home Radio (Components)L!4'' of -234-240
London Road, Mitchani, Surrey CRa.3HD, are
their stocksas thev movethem into a
reorganising
This givesHomeRadiothe oppornew'warehouse.
iunitv to disposeof lsubstantialitems of surplus
stockat barghinPrices.
'-'Tii....
.peii"t price. are availableto callersonly
clurinsthe perioil24th to 3lst March next and all
iti. iti.t oifered is new. A call at their premises
Juii"e the aboveperiod could be very rewarding'

Exhibitions for the electronics hobbyist seem to

O In our February issuewe gave preliminary
be growing apace.
''78 Following the great successof the
of a rather intiiguing offerby Messrs'Brian
nnti..
gre'adboaid
exhibition at fhe Seymour Hall
London
of 161 St. John'sHill, Battersea,
J.
neea
(attended by more than 10,000 people!) we are
will not
rfQ. On 22nd March the business
SWrr
iearning of idditional exhibitions to be held this
n.rlv celebiate2l vearsof servingthe electronics
year.
*nita but also the personalbirthday of the
give
some
early
we
can
which
of
newcomer,
A
otll,i"tl'31;er
'The Great British Electronics
who sendsa birthdav card with his
news. is to be called
in addition, a packet of comreceive,
Bazaar'. It is to be held at the Alexandra Palace
will
orcler'
from 28th to 30th June 1979.
nonents.at the choiceof the proprietor,to the approxitnatevalueof 20''cof the order'
This exhibitidn is being mounted by The Evan
Steadman Communications Group, well-known as
oromoters of exhibitions for the electronics inhustrv. The Electronics Bazaar will cater primarily
for the amateur and hobbyist. Exhibitors will fall
into the following main citegories - makers of
electronic kits (from radios to electronic organs),
personal computing kits, printed circuits, .breadboards, componenf and low-cost test equipment
suppliers.
iir addition to exhibitor's stands there will be
talks and lectures. The well-known technical
author and occasional contributor to our pages,
I)avid Gibson, will, for example, be conducting an
'How to
important sessionwhen he will lecture c,n
chooseand use a microprocessor'.
Alexandra Palace is an ideal exhibition centre
with its large area, easy accessto t.he North Cir< ' r r l : rR
r o n d : r n d e x t t ' n s i v ec a r p n r k i n g l a c i l i t i e s .
'l'lrc
w l r o l t ' p r o j e c l s o u n d sv t ' 1 1c" x c i l i n g a n d j t t s t
"Anrl now for all You Punk rockerc"
t h e t l r i r r gl i r r o u r r e n d e r s .

ffi\\

Al,lill, tl)711

/,2

F.M. TUI\TING
N\TDICATOR

By John Baker

O Inexpensivedesign,
suitable for quadraturef.m.
detectors
O Employs two l.e.d.'s and
dispenses with a costly
meter
When tuning in a signal on an f.m. receiver there
is normallv a rlnge of tuning control settingswhich
allow a r6asona6ly good audio output to be obtained. With weak stations the tuning range may be
limited whilst with strong stations it can be quite
wide. In both instances itls desirable for the signal
to be tuned to the centre of the i.f. and detector
responses, and considerable distortion at high
modulation levels mav occur if this is not done. It is
fairlv easv to judge the central tuning position with
weali sigials but-.it is more difficult to do so with
strong slgnals and their consequent wide tuning
range.
For this reason it is common for some form of
tunins indicator to be fitted to f.m. tuners and
receivlrs, one of the most frequently employed
types being a centre-zero meter. Alternative

T,lil unhry lndlastor oon$ct d r tt rt lfttlo Ntcd

be.N.g{,d/',ry. Paws ,t
p,d|k:d M
tlf f,m. tu,w
w t#ttwt hr tdd6,, ft It
nt.fild

methods use an indicator Iight or lights. Tuning

meters tend to be difficult and relatively expensive
to obtain and they often have awkward mounting
arrangements. The alternative indicators employing lights become more attractive therefore so far
as the home-constructor is concerned.
1'he simple tuning indicator described in this art i c l e u s e s t w o l . e . d . ' si n p l a c e o l a l u n i n g m e t t r .
When the tuning is correct both l.e.d.'s are switched off, If the tuning is off centre one of the l.e.d.'s
will light up to indicate the direction in which the
tuning is in error. AIso, the greater the tuning error,
the brighter the Le.d. will light up. The indicator is
thus analagousto a conventional centre-zerotuning
meter, anii is used in precisely the same way.
Results are of the same order as those given with
the centre-zero meter.

"rt,lf"'""tt.,,,.,,.,.
,
,:

rW.
482

I t i \ | ) I ( ) , \ \ | ) l i l , l i ( l ' l ' l t () N I ( l S ( ' O N S ' l ' l t t r (" 1 ' () l t

J.

Loo*rtng &uur ott tlto p*M

M.Ttlplwo
i.c,t *c741
@'-ctrF

THE CIRCUIT
The indicator is intended for use with a
ouadrature f.m. detector, the voltage output of
*nicn is approximatelvcentralbetweenthe supply
rails whend signalis c6rrectlytuned in, or when no
input signalis present.Adjusting the tuning to one
side of the correct setting causesthe detector outout to swinspositiveup to a few hundred millivolts,
ind adjustirig the turiing to the other side of the
correct setting results in the output swlnglng
a Jimilar amount.The greaterthe tunnesativebv
-the
larger is the changein the output
ini error.
potential.The author'sprototypetuning indicator
incorporating
is fitted to a home-madei.m.reCeiver
an SN76660Ni.c. detector.
What is nrobablv the most obviousconfiguration
for the tuning indicator is a simple window discriminator tipe of circuit using a couple of
as shownin
onerationalainplifiersas comparators,
biock diagramform in Fig. 1. The valuesof RA, RB

and RC in the potential divider are chosensuch

that the voltage-atthe junction of RA and RB is
fractionally above the correct detector output
voltage,and the voltageat the junction of RB and
RC is fiactionally below.Whenthe input voltageis
correct,or very nearly so,both comparatoroutputs
must obviouslybe high,'and the l-.e.d.indicalors
driven from theseoutiuts will both be turned off.
If the input tuning-voltage goestoo high by a
simificant amount, lhe inverting input of Comparator I will becomepositiveof the non-inverting
input and the comparatoroutput will go low, causini LED1 to light up. The non-invertinginput of
Comparator2 is still positiveof its invertinginput
Shouldthe inand LED2 will remainextinguished.
out voltageeo simificantlv negativeof the correct
ievel it ii tTre iiput poldritiei of Comparator I
which remained' unihanged, with LED1 exwhilst the non-inverting.inputof Comtinguishe_d,
paiator 2 goesnegativeof its inverting input. The

Resistors
(All fixed values I watt l0%)
R l 8 . 2 kO
R2 22kOpre-setpotentiometer,-0.1watt, horizontal
R3 lkopie-set potentiometr,0.1 watt, horizontal
R4 15kO
R5 1.5kO
R6 5.6Mo
R7 180kO
R8 180kO
R9 5.6Mo
R10 1.5kO
Semiconductors
I C I 7 4 1 i n 8 - P i nd . i . l '
lcz 74r in 8-bin d'i.l.
LED1 TIL209 or similar
LED2 TIL209 or similar
Fig. l. A basic approach for indicating input
voltages which go posiiive or nagativa of the
supply cantre voftage
I
I
I
&
I

A P R I T ,I 9 7 9

MLscellaneous
2 l.e.d.panel mountingbushes
Materials for printed circuit board
Wire. solder,etc.

LED2
TtL209

\
hDut trcm
dct.cttr

R5

Fig. 2. Thc comptstc clrc-t it

of th. tuning indicetor,
fccdback toops
\cgative
limit the voltage gain of
each op-amp to about gl
timcs

/G\

output of Comparator2 goeslow and LED2 lights

up.
, Th" arranFemento^{Fig. 1 provides the required
basrcactlon but it suffersfrom the practical disad_
vantagethat there are no intermediatelevelsof ii_
lumination in the l.e.d.'s.Due to the hish openlooD
g11no{ th_e
_operationalamplifier" on? l.;.d: ;fi
eltherbe tully on or totally extinzuished.
ln the working circuit of Fig. f this problem is

fu.!'firA
$.u.!'fi

pryF

484

Fig. 3. The tuning indicator is assembted on a

small printed circuit board. This is reprcduced
full size here

LiJ

nL2oe
Lcod-outs

overcome by adding discrete negative feedback

loops to each comparator to limit the voltage eain to
about 31 times. The feedback network for-Idl consists of R6 and R7, and that for IC2 consists of R9
and R8.
R2 enables the circuit to be adjusted to suit the
particular input voltage given by the detector to
whlch the lndlcator is connected. R3 controls the
limits of the central voltage range over u,hich botli
l.e.d.'s are extinguished. The loiwer the resistance
inserted into circuit by R3, the smaller is this central voltage range.

ASSEMBLY
. All the components are assembled on a printed
circuit board measuring 64 bv 4bmm.. an'd both
sides of this board are illustrat6d actual size in Fin.
3. No mounting holes are provided since the boar:d
will be supported by LEDI and LED2 when these
are fitted into their panel mounting bushes.
The audio output lrom the f.m. detector is normally taken via a d.c. blockine capacitor. The input for the tuning indicator musi, of course be
taken from the detector side of this capacitor. The
po-sitive and negative supplies for the iirdicator are
taLen tiom the supply rails which feed the detector.
R3 is initially set to insert minimum resistance
(adjusted fully clockwise) and the f.m. tuner or
receiver is switched on. One or other of the Le.d.'s
should then light up. The tuner is adiusted so that
no station is received and there is only background
noise from its output, whereupon R2 js adiu-"sted
to
the setting where both Le.d.'shre lit at the .sameintensity. R3 is then set to insert sufficient resistance
for both l.e.d.'s to extinguish. It mav be found thal
this results in the indJcator beinf a little overcritical, with the slightest tuning er"rorcausing one
or other of the l.e.d.'s to light up dimlv. The eifect
can be cured by adjusting RS foi a small further increase tn reslstance.
, With.a l2 volt lupply the current consumption of
the indicator is about 2mA only when both l.e.d.'s
are turned off, and is approxihatelv Z.bmA with
one l.e.d. at full brightnes-s.Virtualli anv tuner or
r e c e i v e rs h o u l d b e a b l e t o s u p p l y t h i s ; d d i t i o n a l
cur.rent without any difficulti-ei arising. The unit
wrll also work satisfac-torily o! aly other supply
voltage between about 9 anil t8 volis, with proportional changes in the current drawn.
r
R A Dt ( J , \ ND t i [ . U ( " t ' R 0IN( ] SC O N S T tRr C ' t , O R

FORDX LISTENERS
By Frank A. Baldwih

Times * GMT

O COLOMBIA
Radio Colosal,Neiva, on 4945 at 0300,OM with
identification followed by a newscastin Spanish
programme of local pops on records.
then
'fhe into a
scheduleis on a 24-hourbasisand the poweris
2.5kW. This is one of the easiestColombians to
receivehere in the UK.
Radio Guatapuri,Valledupar,on 4815 at 0210,
OM with a sports commentary in Spanish. The
scheduleis from 0930 to 0600 and the power is
1kw.
Emisora Nuevo Mundo, Bogota, on 4755 at
0428, OM with a talk about Colombian affairs in
Spanish, many mentions of place-names. The
sihedule is on-a 24-hour basis and the power is
1kW. Sometimes also identifies as "Radio
Caracol".
Radio Rucaramanga,Rucaramanga,on 4846 at
0330, OM with identification then local pops on
records.The scheduleis from 1000to 0400and the
power is 1kW.
Radio Surcolombiana,Neiva, on 6OlO at 0320,
OM announcer with local pops on records. The
scheduleis around the clock'and the power is
2.5kW.
Ecos del Atrato, Quibdo, on 5O2O at 0314, YL
with love songs,0M announcer with Colombian
place-names.The schedule is from 1100 to 0400
and the power id lkw.
Ondasdel Meta, Villavicencio,on 4885 atO245,
OM identification in Spanish, Latin American
type music.
Radio Santa Fe, Bogota,on 4966 at 0250, OM
with announcements,guitar music in a programme
of local-stylemusic.'The scheduleis around the
clock and the power is 5kW.
There are, of course,many other Colombianson
the 60 metre band, why not try one of the most difficult to receive- LaYoz del Caqueta,Florencia,
on 5O35? The scheduleis from 1000 to 0500 but
the power is only 0.5kW.
CURRENT SCHEDULES
These schedules are correct at the time of
writing but someare subject to change,both with
respectto times and frequencies,at short notice.
O SOUTH KOREA
"Radio Korea", Seoul,broadcastsin English to
APRII, I979

Nt*-5*ffi
Europe as follows - from 0530 to 0600 on 987O;
from 1330to 1400on 987O and 11966; from 2000
to 2030 (also directed to the Americas) on 755O
and on 11860 and from 2300to 2330on 755O and
on 964O.
O TURKEY
"The Voice of Turkey", Ankara, presents
programmes in English for Europe, the Middle
East and North America from 2130 to 2255 on
6185, 7170,9516 and on 11966.
O SPAIN
"Radio Exterior de Espana", Madrid, has
programmes in English to Europb from 2030 to
2tg"oon ?155, 9565 and on 1i84o with alternative channelson 6O45, 6lOO and 7276; from
2130to 2230on 7165,95O5 and on 1184O with
an alternative channel on 7275.
. ALGIERS
"Radio of the Democratic People'sRepublic of
Algeria", Algiers, lists a programmein English for
Eulope, North Africa and the Middle East from
1900-to 2000 on 95lO and fl076 but these
channels are subject to short notice variation.
. LIBYA
The External Servicefrom Tripoli is relayed by
the Cyclops station in Malta. Entirely in Arabic,
the transmissionsare from 0700 to 0800 on 5960
and on 7135 and from 1800 to 2000 on 596O.
O FINLAND
Transmissions in English for Europe are as
follows - from 0800 to 0930 (Sundays only) on
11755 and on 21496; from 0930 to 1000 on
11755, 16270 and on 2L496; from 1300 to 1330
on 11755, 15105 and on 15265 (extendedto
1430 on Sunday); from 1430 to 1500 on 6120,
11755, 15210 and on 1787O; from 1930to 2000
on 9575. 11756 and on 15265; from 2130 to
2200 on 9575 and on 1527O.
O FINLAND
Helsinki on 1527O at 0932, OM with English
programmeto Europe and North Africa, scheduled
from 0930 to 0955.
48s

O HUNGARY
- R.adioRudapeston 15225 atLg22,OM with the
llqlr^an pro_grammefor Europe, scheduled from
1800to 1830.
O ECUADOR
.IIpJB Quito on 15296 at 2000, OM. with a
rellgrous^programme in English intended for
.rjuropeatter 4 pips time-checkand identification.
I he programmeis scheduledfrom 1g00to 2030.

o u.s.A.

WINB-RedLion on fbfSb at 2086,OM with

identificationand programmei" E;sii;i;
:!3tlg"
Ior .EiuroDe.
O SOCIETY ISLANDS
. Papeete,Tahiti on lblZO at 0480,OM in Tahi_

scheduledfrom 1600 !o !?00. Also at 1A10,OM

in Malay, scheduled'from
),vjl\ the p-r_ogramme
1300to 1400.
^ Re{io Peking on 9920 at 1640, OM with the
swahilt ^progralrlme for East Africa, scheduled
fiom 1630to 1730.
Radio Peking on 1lt0o at 2040,yL with the
plggramr_nefor Taiwan, scheduled-from 0gB0 to
1500and from 2000to 0600 (Sundayuntil OiOSj.
on a-measuredtlgO2 at 2049,
-English
^-Radio.Peking
p"ogr"m-e-fol Er;;;;,
9Y ,*it\ .the
scrrecluled
trom 2030 to 2130.
. Rrdtg Pekingor I IBBO at 20b2,yL with songs
ln tne UomestlcServiceI programme,scheduleld
here from 2000 to 173b.
O W. GERMANY

music,yl,'s wilh' .oii,--iilti"g, ..Deu-tscheWelle on 1627d at 0930, OM with

giill:_]:.."1-type
identification
rolvneslan songs.

and programmein Enslish to Asia

and Australia, scheduledhere from 0930 to 1080.

. COSTARICA
EmisoraRadioReloj,SanJose,on a measured O VENEZUELA
4832at 0141,OM with a lovesonginSpa"isf,.
RadioMaracaiboon 4860 at 0128,localpopson
Tire
schedule
is aroundthe clockand the poweris 1kW.

O YEMEN
San'a o,n a measured4g68 at lglb, Arabic
music with OM announcer.The scn"a"id is fi;
0300to,"0700
(Friday until 1000)and fiom 1100to
zllb (Saturday until 2080) and the power is

100kw.

. SURINAM
SRS, Paramaribo,on 4gbo at 0809, yL with
j.n Qutch. The scheduleof this oneis fiom
p9p-song
0815until 0330and the poweris tO[W.-

records rvith OM announcer i" Spanish,-1he

schg_dule
being from 0900 to 0400 and ili" po*ei ii
1kw.
^F-rdto__Rolivar, Cuidad Bolivar, on 477O at
020^2,.OM
with heartrendinglove song tti"* itev
sufferl); wilh local announcements"in Spr;i;fr
after identification. The scheduleis from 1000 to
0300 and the power is lkW.
. Radio Continente,.Caracaq_on5OBOat 0217,
local-popson records with CjM announcer.The
scheduleis trom 090,Q_t90500(Sundayuntil 0400)
"identifies
as
lnd,.thg pgyqr is.lOkW. Sometimes
fi,aoto Keloj Uontrnente.

_._B"diqPopular, Maracaibo,on 4glO at 0442,

OM with identification,two
ttln a local_
"tti-".-, of ihis oneis
stylemr-rsic.programme.
The schedule
trom 0900 (Sundayfrom 1000)until 0b00and the
power is 2kW.
Radio Barquisimetoon 4gg0 at 0014.yL with
pop so!g, local-styledancemusic.The sbheduleis
trorn 1000 to 0400 and the power is 1bkW.
O USSR
R.qdjo
Moscow
on
lblbO
at 1248,OM with the
^^$^adio9r.Ig, Cumana,on a measured4gbg at
_
'peacJi"a-'Frogress')0338,
OM with commercialsin Spanish,seriesoI.
p,rosramme
to_
f
$;!a
P,t41.\ here trom 1230
chimes between announcemenisthen inio a
scneduled
to 1800.
pr.ogramme
Radio
Moscow
on
lbl4O at 1gb0,OM with the
- of local-style dance music. The
-_
schg_dule
Ha_u^sa
programmeto Africa, scneauieafiom lg30
is from 1000 td 0400 and ine power is
1kw.
to 1900.
. RadioMoscow'onlb46b at 0b1b,OM and yL
^-Brd:g Lalar.Baraq:risime-to,g-n4gOO at 082b,
OM with a ballad in Spanish iollowedUv a planci
alternatewith the English progrr--"
i"r-ei.i"i
solo.The scheduleis from 09bg throuet to-O+OO
scheduledfrom 0400 lhroult t"oozO-O-o"
ihis and
and the power is 10kW.
many other channels.
Archangelsk,onbolb.at O2bL,OM announcer,
Fudlq-Juventud, Rarquisimeto, on 4gOO at
,tocatmusrc
an_dsongs.This stationrelavsMoscow 0120,OM with pop.songiir Spanisli,;ii";6M a;:
noqncements.The scheduleis from 1000to 0400
2 from 0200through to ZZOO.
and the power is 10kW.
^-F:dto- Universo, Rarquisimeto, on 4EgO at
. CHINA
on recordswith OM announcer.
9I(2,-local-pops
.Frdto Pekingon gg44 at 1b30,yL announcer Scheduledtiom 1000to 0400this one has a power
wrrn tne Vletnamese_p^rogramme
to Vietnam, of 10kW.
scheduledhere from 1b606 1600^^E_lor^3-"IT-orbes,San Cristobal, on 4ggo at
025O OM with announcementsand commercials
. RadioPekingon tf6b0 at lb1b, OM and yL
alternate with the English programme
- - to
-" South in, Spanish, Latin American-sryi; ;;;i".
The
Asia, scheduledfrom 1"SOO
t6 t6OO.schectule
rs tiom 1000to 0400(Sundayuntil 2400)
yL
wirh rhe and the power is 10kW.
.-.RadioPekingon tt69b at tlib,
|t_ln^dl
programmeto South Asia, scheduledlrom
.Radio Rumbos,Caracason 4gZO at 02bg,OM
1500to 1600.
with commercials,loca_l-style
mlrsicalprogramme.
l ne scnedulers around the clock and the poweris
^ R.qdjoPekingon tbo4b ar 16b0,yL with the
tlngush programme for East and Sr_ruthA{rica.
10kw.
O SAO TOME
^lqdio Nacional de Sao Tome on a measured
48O7 at 192_Q,
local-stylefolk -u.i", zuiiu, music
with songs.The schedrileis from OS-gO"to
igOO ana
the poweris 10kW.

486

RAI)I0 ANI) I.]LF]CTRONICS

CONSTRUCTOR

H
F
A INS TABLE RADIO
Part 1
By
R. A. Penfold

Sensitive Band ll receiver

incorporating two integrated
circuits and featuring negligible

running cosfs

It is approximately one hundred times cheaper

to run a iadio receiverfrom the mains than it is to
use batteriesas the power source.Unless the portability of battery operationis of major importance
a mains powereil receiver is the more economical
choice. A mains set obviously requires some additional componentsfor its powersupply, and these
incur increaied initial cost.However,this cost will
soonbe recoveredin the form of savedexpenditure
on batteries.
The mains table type of receiverusedto be very
popular and, after aLirostcompletely-disappearing
from the scene,it now appears to be returning,
frequently with the option of battery operation or
with added facilities such as clocks or cassette
recorders.
This 2-part article describesa relatively simple
home-conitructor design for a v.h.f. mains table
radio. In Part 1 we shall examinethe circuit design
and the componentsrequired and will then commence constiuction. Pait 2, to be published next
AI)RII, I979

month, will complete the constructionalinformation. The radio tunes from about 88MHz to a little
over 100MHz. This is slightly less than the full
v.h.f.Band II, but is still in excessof the sectionof
the band which is occupiedby broadcaststationsin
the U.K. The receiver has a maximum output
powerof about 1 watt r.m.s.to an internal8 o elliptical speaker,and this provides more than adequate volume for normal domesticrequirements.
The prototype gives good reception of the three
main B.B.C.v.h.f.broadcastsand a localradio station usingjust a few feet of wire as an aerial.The
set is thereforereasonablysensitive,as the author
lives just outsidethe area officially servedby the
localstation.The receiverrunningcostsarenegligible.
It shouldbe noted that, althoughthis designis
quite simple for a v.h.f. set of its quality, it is not
really suitable for a beginnerto radio construction
as it is still. in somerespects,a fairly difficult proiect'
{87

Flg. l. Thc f.m. roclvot tt o ,rt ttvely dmplo

superhct dcslgn. Tho varlous stegos arc shown
hcro

filter provides most of the circuit's i.f. selectivitv

and it has the advantaggof requiring no align;eni
or otler adjustments. This greatly eises thE atignment or the llnlshecl receiver.
The combined i.f. amplifier and demodulator
stageuses an SN7666ON integrated circuit, which
provides most of the i.f. _gain-(about OOaEl.ttre
demodulator is of the-qu-adiaturbtype, and t6is has
a low distortion level bf less *ai iV";;a i. v;r;
easy to adjust.
- A_slqglei.c. is used in the audio amplifier, and
the Ll\d-380device employed tiiiu-"i.o'iroviies
a
low.distortion level. Th6 output qu"titv of ite
receiveris thereforegood,and is mafnly tiiniied bv
the speakerand enclosureused.

BLOCK DIAGRAM
Fig. 1 qhgws the basic arrangement of the
receiverin block diagram form. Asinay be seen,ii
rs a supernetcteslm.
- -Tlq_qgtial sig;al is^_goup^le{to a dual gate
MOSFET mixer-type 4087g.Quite goodresultfare
$ven uthout the useof an r.f- amplifier to precede
the mixer and with only a single'tuned ciicuit io
p.Iovide-r.f. selectivity.-A sim-ple but stable oscillator incorporatingd ZNSZnSf.e.t. is alsocoupled
to.themixer, and the 1O.ZMHzi.f. output from'the
mixer is applied to a BCl08 i.f. amplifier.
A ceramicfilter is interposedbetw6enthe output
of the i.f. amplifi-er.stage_
i-nd the input of
l.I. amplltler ancl demodulator stage.The"f*a[;;
ceramic

MIXER AND I.F. STAGES

The circuit of the mixer, oscillator,i.f. amplifier.
and demo{ulator stagesis'shownin F,is.i:-fil;:
cillator,- TR1, is a Jugfet, employedTiere in tlie
sourcgfollower mode.-C4and Cb iir seriestogethei
with I,1 form the oscillator tuned circuit. Tftre i;
leg.s_than
unity gain from the gate to the sourceof
l Kl and so, to maintain oscillation,the transistor
sourceis connectedto the junction of C4 and CS.In
consequence,
the sourceis effectivelyconnectingto
a tap rn the capacitive.sideof the turied circuit, ind
the res.ultantstep-up in the voltageapplied t6 the
gate auows oscillation to take place. Despite its
sigrplicitv, this type of oscillator'isvery sta6te-ana
relrable.
-.The_oscillatoris tuned by means of the varicap
diode D6, which is coupledio the tuned;itdia;;

u6
BAIO2

/i

d (:

'Je

2N5245
L.od-outr

BCrOS
Leod-outi

Flg. 2. Thc chcuft

488

RAI)IO AND ELECTRONICS

of thc otclilctor,
CONSTRUCTOR

mhor.

i
1,..r:,:,'.
i'i.*,i,'.'.........,:'..,,..
r ' . r ' . ' , , , . ; , . , ;i . ' , .
ji,r:,.i..r.r:j:.'...,:.:l
: ' :,.,:
::,
'
:::

:: :
. . . ' . , : . . , . : 1:1. ' . ' . : :
"
i
..,1., r,llr::..::,::::::::,:::.:"

:,.
::
.:. r.:

Stac*, gnrcet' ell thts coapaBarrfF ne axgcmay''d on o

galilwatod
bo*td,
leyovt
problons ilwtdt d* casi orr
. v*au$.Iy dfmiat/Frt

' . , , , ,,,., ' ,- , , ,

, ,.,,,

TC1. The trimmer is adiusted to sive the correct

tuning range.The tuning-controlis-VRl, the slider
of which couples to D6 bv wav of R3. The
capacitance_
oi O0 reduceswith inireasing tuning
ygllage,-andso the higher the tuning voltage th6
higher the oscillator (and reception)Trequency.
TR2 is used in a conventional dual gate
MOSFET mixer configuration.LB biasesthe gite 1
and forms the signaltuned circuit in companf with
TC2 and D7. The latter providesthe aerGi ttning,

234567

tnd dcmodulator

stages of the raceiver

APRII, I979

the tuning voltagebeing obtained from VRI slider

[y way of R4. R7 is the source bias resistor and
C23 is its bypasscapacitor.R8 biasesthe gate 2 to
the same_voltageas that a-tthe source,this being
about 0.5 volt positive of the nesative rail. Cd
couplesthe oscillator signal ro the Tate 2. The oscillator signalmodulatesthe aerial s'imal, sincethe
gain from the gate 1 to the drain is"controlledbv
the gate 2 voltage. This action produces the requiredmixing action,and the 10.7MHzi.f. signalis

Resistors
Inductors
(All fixed values I watt |Vo)
Ll 4| turn S18 coil type 301KN-0400
Rl 4.7ko
L2 sde text
R2 5.6ko
L3 4* turn S18 coil tvpe 301KN-0400
R3 120ko
L4 f.in. detector coil iipe KACSKSS6HM
R4 120ko
IFT1 f.m. i.f. transformer tvpe KALS4520A
R5 lko
T1 mains transformer,secoridary12V at b00mA
R6 390n
(seetext)
R7 lkn
R8 120ko
R9 220 r:
Filters
R10 150ko
CF1 ceramicfilter type CFSEIO.Z
Rll 330o
CF2 ceramic filter type CFSE10.7
R12 100n
R13 330()
R14 8.2ko
Semiconductors
R15 470n
TR1 2N5245
R16 10ko
TR2 40673
R17 5.6ko
TR3 BC1O8
R18 680ko
IC1 SN76660N
()
R19 470
IC2 LM38O
VRl 100ko potentiometer,linear
VR2 5k n potentiometer, log, with switch D1-D4 1N4001
D5 BZY88C10V
S1(a)(b)
D6 BA1O2
D7 BA1O2
Capacitors
Cl 1OpFelectrolytic,25V Wkg.
C2 0.221tFtype C280
Loudspeaker
C3 0.01pF ceramicdisc or ceramicplate
LS1 8o 5 x 3in. (seetext)
C4 1OpFpolystyrene
C5 39pF polystyreneor silvered mica
C6 1OpFpolystyrene
Switch
C7 0.01pF ceramicdisc or ceramicplate
51(a)(b) d.p.s.t.toggle,part of VR2
C8 0.0lpF ceramicdisc or ceramicplate
C9 0.01pF ceramicdisc or ceramicplate
C10 0.033pFceramicdisc or ceramicplate
Fuse
Cl1 0.01p[' ceramicdisc or ceramicplate
FSl 500mA cartridge fuse, 20mm.
Cl2 3.31tFelectrolytic, 25V Wkg.
C13 33pF ceramicplate
Cl4 33pF ceramicplate
Socket
C15 o.d33pFtype C280
SK1 wander plug socket (seetext)
C16 0.1pF ceramicdisc
C17 100pF electrolytic, 25V Wkg.
Miscellaneous
C18 68pF ceramicplate
Cl9 10pF electrolytic,16V Wkg.
Metal case (seetext)
perforateds.r.b.p.board,0.lin. matrix, S x
C20 2,200ptFelectrolytic, 16V Wkg.
^ _P_lain
C21 1,500rF electrolytic,25V Wkg.
3.75in.
C22 O.luF tvpe C280
Chassismounting
- fuseholder,20mm.
Cn 0.0;047iFceramic disc or ceramic plate
2 control knobs
TCl 5.5 to 60pF foil trimmer
Speakerfabric
TC2 5.5 to 60pF foil trimmer
Bolts, wire, solder, etc.
developedacrossthe tuned winding of IFTl. The
lixed C,apacitorin- this tuned circuit is an integral
part- of the transformer. The oscillator frequency
can be either 10.7MHz abovethe signal frequency
or 10.7MHzbelowit; in this receiveithe os6illator
frequency is below the signal frequency.
TR3 is a straightforward common emitter
amplifier. Its bias and collectorload resistorshave
v4lueswhich givegoodgain at 10.7MHzand which
allow a satisfactory match into the following
ceramic filter. Although the 8C108 employed lbi
TR3 is usually looked upon as an audio trairsistor,
it works well in its presentrole.
A singleceramic filter could be usedbetweenthe
BC107 and the SN76660N, but a 2-stage filter
490

gives better selectivity and performance. The

CFSE 10.7 ceramic filters emplbyed in this design
have an input and output impedanceof 330o and
so two filters can simplv be cohnectedin cascadeto
provide the required filter characteristic.
The impedanceat the i.c. input is set at the correct level by R13. C10 and Cll are decoupling
capacitors,and are the only discrete components
required by the i.f. amplifying section-of the
SN76660N.L4 is the quadrature coil required
fbr
-across
demodulation, the cafacitor connected
it
being integral.with the coil unit as supplied. R4
damps the resultant tuned circuit, giving
a better
-and--C14
demodulation characteristic. Cl3
are
quadrature feed components.
RAI)IO ANI) T]LECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

:::.

Lootcing

lllto

l:

thc

rr'aflrl.

,tbrrr,on*mrt, ',,',,

The audio output is obtained from pin 8 of the

i.c. and is passedvia d.c. blockinscapacitorC12 t<r
volume controlVR2. C15 providEsd-e-emphasis
oI'
the higher frequencies,to cancelthe pre-dmphasis
applied to the signalat the transmittei. The overall
effect of pqe-emphasisand de-emphasis is to
produce a flat frequency responsewith an imprqv.egsignal-to-.noise
ratio. C15 has a value slightly higher than that needed iust for de-emohalis.
and thereby appliesa small a-mountof trebl6 cut to
the .demodulatedsignal. This is advisableas, due
to !!q responseof relatively small speakers,the
audible output of the receiver woufd otheiwise
have an excessivehigher frequency content.
AUDIO AND POWER SUPPLY
The circuit of the audio amplifier and power
supply appgqr! in Fig. 3. Tha amplifier'stage
employsan LM380 i.c. and a few exteinal discrete
components.The LM380 can accept input signals
which are ground referenced,and an input is taken
direct from VR2 slider via r.f. stopperRlT.

The LM380 provides-a voltage gain of approximately50 times (94d8),

this-beingset by in
internal fixed negativefeedbackloop in"thedeiice.
As _many readers will be aware, [he gain of an
LM380 can be reduced by means of additional
negativefeedbackvia a discietefeedbackcircuit. It
is probablylesswell known that the sain can also
be increasedby using a discretepositlve feedback
loop.lt ls necessaryto do this hereas the a.f. gain
rn the receiverwould otherwisebe inadequatd.
_ The positivefeedbackloop is comprisedof nt8,
R16 anil C18.C18 reducesthe amouirtof feedback
at--very high frequencies,and the circuit will oscillate if this capacitoris omitted.The circuit will
alsooscillateif the atte-nuationthrough the positive
feedbackloop is lessthan b0 times ('i.e.the closed
loop,voltagegain of the LM380) sincethe positive
leedbacl(would then more than cancel but the
neg4tive feedback. With the specified values for
R18 and R16 the voltage giin of the circuii
is boosted to about two oi three times its
normal level,and this providesmorethan adequate

Dl

D2
tN4@l

rN400l

FSr
5OOmA
240V
moins

.:,
sru

d
ib

,s
i,
ii

D3
rN400l

L
I

Fig. 3.
APRII,1979

Tha remaining

receiver

sfrges.

These

consist

of tha LM38O

audio

amplifier

and

the power

suppty
491

tained from Doram Electronics but, as this company has left the component market, they now
have to be obtained from R.S. Components.
Readers who have accessto R.S. Components may
order the parts directly but other readers will have
to obtain them through a retailer. They may be obtained (subject to a minimum order value of e2)
from Ace Mailtronix Limited, Tootal Street,
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WFl 5JR.

The front panal appeartnce is onhancod by thc

spedker fabric to the left. For ncatness this is
passedfor a small distance undet the botton of
the case

output volume and power. The positive feedback

has the effect of increasing any inadequacies in the

frequency responseof the circuit, whereupon it is

necessaryto employ a high value output capacitor,
C20, to obtain a good bass response. The high frequency response of the circuit is very flat, and is
therefore not significantly affected by the positive
feedback. Note that the feedback must be taken
from the negative side of C20 in order to avoid upsetting the input biasing.
C19 decouplesthe internal supply rail to the pre"
amplifier inside the LM380, and this gives greatly
improved supply ripple rejection. The circuit will
provide an output power of about 1 watt r.m.s. into
an 8 o speakerand, although the positive {'eedback
causesa slight reduction in the noise and distortion
performance of the amplifier, it is still very good in
both respects.The LM380 is nominally a 2 to 3
watt device,but it needs heatsinking to provide an
output at this level for more than very short
periods, and for the sake of simplicity heatsinking
has been omitted here. The device cannot be
damagedby overdriving it as thermal protection is
incorporated in its inrernal circuitry. It alsc has
output short-circult protection.
The power supply is a straightforward unregulated type using full-wave bridge rectification.
In order to provide good oscillator frequency
stability the tuning voltage must be stabilized, and
this is achieved by the voltage regulator incorporating Rl, D5 and C1. These Iast three components are in Fig. 2. The mains on-off switch,
S 1 ( a ) ( b ) ,i s g a n g e dw i t h V R 2 .

COMPONENTS
A few of the components are rather specialised
and are not generally available. These are the two
ceramic filters, IFT1, L1, L3 and the two trimmers,
TCI and TC2. They are all obtainable from Ambit
International. Ll and L3 have ferrite cores which
are removedby the constructor. L2, incidentally, is
a single turn 6f wire which is add6d to LB duiing
assembly of the receiver.
T1 is an R.S. Components6VA miniature mains
transformer having two 6 volt secondariesrated at
500mA, which are connected in series to give a total
secondaryvoltageof 12 volts. The speakeris an 8 n
type with nominal dimensions of 5 by 3in. and is
also an R.S. Components item. Its actual dimensions are 5.4 by 2.l5in. and so it fits comfortably
into the case,which has a height of 3in.
Both the transformer and the speaker were ob492

The casewas a type BC4 obtained I'rom Harrison

Bros. P.O. Box 55, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0
7 t , Q , a n d m e a s u r i n ga b o u t 1 0 b y 6 * b v 3 i n . A n y
other metal case of similar dimensions will be
satisfactory.and, as may be seen from the
photograph of the interior of the receiver, layout is
v e r v s i m p l e . T h e o n l v c o m p o n e n t so n t h e b a s e o l
t h e h o u s i r " r ga r e [ h e m a i n s t r a n s f o r m e r , t h e
fuseholder and the plain perlorated component
board. (The board, which is of 0.1in. matrix,
rneasures5 by 3.75in,, and this is a standard size in
rvhich it is sold.) It is preferable to use a caseof allmetal construction as this will screen the recetver
circuitry and prevent i.f. breakthrough.
The SN76660N i.c. is available lrorn a number ol'
suppliers including Bi-Pak Semiconductors.

CONSTRUCTION
A very simple front panel layout is employed,
with VRI at the right, VR2 next to it, and the
:ipeaker mounted at the extreme left. A cut-out to
suit the speaker is required in the panel, this being
about 4 by l jin. 'lhe cut-out can be made with the
'I'he
aid of a fretsaw.
speaker can be bolted in place
using countersunk bolts, or it may be glued in position by means of a good quality general purpose
adhesive. Great care-must be tafteii to en.i r" ih"t
no glue gets on to the speaker diaphracm or its corrugated surround as its perfbrmance could then be
irnpaired.A piece of speakermaterial is glued to the
left hand section of the front panel and a neat
appearanceis given if its lower edge is taken a little
rvay under the case. (It should be mentioned at this
st,agethat an optional tone control can also be fitted
to the front panel and that details of this will be
given in next month's issue.Readers who wish to fit
this tone control should, in consequence,undertake
no work on the front panel until they have read
Part 2 of this article.)
Mains transformer T1 and the fuseholder are
mounted on the base of the case to the rear of the
speaker. A hole for the mains lead is made in the
rear panel approximately behind thc transformer,
and this must be fitted with a srommet. The aerial
socket, SK1, is mounted on tl-reother side of the
rear and should be close to coil L2, L3 (the
positioning of which will be dealt with in more
cletail next month). The prototype receiver uses a
simple wire aerial and so SKI is an insulated
wander plug socket. However, the receiver can be
used with a more sophisticated aerial, if desired,
this being coupled to the set via coaxial cable. In
this case a surface mounting coaxial socket should
he used, and this will automaticallv obtain its
chassisconnectionby way rrf its mounting bolts and
nuts.
IF'TI and L4 are supplied with their cores fairly
close to their final setting. In consequence,these
cores should not be touched or adjusted until the
receiver is aligned after it has been completed.
(To be concluded)
ItAI ) I0 ANI ) I.]I,F]C'TRON
I(]S ('ONS'TRI.I(]'I'OR

A SPECIAL
SE I'ES FEATURING
S-DaCs

ETTER

No. 6
By lan Sinclair

TOUCH-LIGHT
CIRCUIT
To_uchplate circtrit switches
a lamp or energises a relay
In--this circuit a low voltage lamp is switched on
or off yhgtl
.u pair of sensirig *ir". oi"ontacts is
roucned. I hls ls the basis of the circuits used for
such purposes as TV touch-tunerr,
th" circuit
"nd by repta-_
g3l l" employed.to control greater'load.
rng._thelamp with a relay. The circuit lia. been
delrberately.d.eqigngd
not to be /oo sensitive,as excesslve.sensitrvity leads to problems such as un_
wanted swrtrchingwhen hairs or insects touch the
sensors or, in some cases, even when currents
of
numld arr reach the contacts.

DETECTOR
CIRCUIT
In .our_circuit, TRl and TR2 form a velv
sensitive detector. TRl is connected a. an e-it1ri
follower which acts as_a current ,*piifi..
for any
current flowing in its base circuit. One of tte senslng wlres or plates is connected to this base
through a l50koresistor, and the other is connected
to the,positive.su.pp.l1'..Bridging
the wirei o. plui"i
wlth l,he relatrvely high resistance of a finger will
tneretore allow a small current to flow into the base
of TRl.

37
Ro
42

ar\or

oa .9.. qs at

Touch
plot?

IRl-TR6

2N697or 2N22t9
or BFy 50

Dt,D2 tN9l4 or tN4t4B

The circuit
APRIt. lgrTtl

DEC I

of the touch-light

DEC 2

control..Tha lamp lights and extinguishes successively

when
plate is touched with a finger

the touch

be switched on, and when the collector voltage is

Iow PLl will be switched off. Touching the sensor
wires or plates will cause the circuit to switch over.
Resisfors
(All { watt 5%)
Rl 150krr
R2l2ktt
R 3 1 . 8 k1 )
R4 22kt-t
R5 22k o
R 6 1 . 8 kQ
R7 150kcl
R8 150ko
R9 22k c)
Capacitors
C1 0.{)0lt/Fpolvesieror mylar
C2 0.001,rFpolyesteror rnylar
C3 0.001pFpolyesteror mylar
Semiconductors
TR1-TR6 2N697or 2N2219or BFY50
D l 1 N 9 1 4o r 1 N 4 1 4 8
D 2 1 N 9 1 4o r 1 N 4 1 4 8
D3 1N4001(seetext)
Lamp
PLI 6V, 60mA, m.e.s.
Miscellaneous
2-off S-DeC
6V battery
Lampholder, m.e.s.
Relay (see text)
Materials for touch plate (see text)

A small current flowing into TR1 base will cause

the appearnce of a much greater current at its
emitter - the amount of gain in this stage is the
current gain, hFE, of the transistor. This greater
current flows into the base of TR2, which gives
further current amplification, so that the collector
current of TR2 is very much larger than the input
current at TRl base.
When TR2 is turned off its collector voltage is
high, at or very near the 6 volt supply voltage, but
when TR2 switches on because of the sensingcontacts being touched the voltage at the collector
drops. C1 prevents the change of voltage being too
abrupt, so that multiple triggering is avoided.
Without C1, an intermittent contact at the sensing
wires or olates can cause the circuit to switch on
arrd urff repeatedly. The puise that we use for
triggering is the negative-going voltage step at the
collector of TR2 when the sensing wires or plates
are touched, and it is passedvia the link wire joining point of 20 of DeC 1 to point 16 of DeC 2.
TR3 and TR4 are arranged in the now-familiar
bistable circuit which we saw in the third article in
the Double Deccer series and also in last month's
article. C2 and C3 couple the negative-going trigger
pulsesto the steeringdiodes,D1 and D2. Each time
the sensingwires or plates are touched, therefore,
the bistablewill switch over, so that the collector of
TR4 will switch alternately between a high voltage
of nearlv 6 volts and a low voltageofabout 0.2 volt.
The collector of TR4 is coupled through a wire
link and the current limiting resistor R9 to another
pair of transistors, TR5 and TR6. These are connected in tandem and deliver a large output
current for a very small input current. This type of
circuit is not really necessaryto operate a low consumption 6 volt bulb, but it has been used so that
the optional relay can be fully driven instead.
When the collector voltage of TR4 is high PLI will
494

To operate high voltage or high power circuits,

the lamp PLI can be replaced by the coil of a relay
and the connections that are needed are shown in
Fig. 2. The relay chosen should be capable of
energising reliably at a coil voltage of around 5
volts to allow for the small voltage dropped across
TR5 and TR6 when these are trirned bir, and the
current available from TR6 for the coil is up to
200mA maximum. There are. of course. a number
of suitable relays available which require coil
currents very much lower than this figure, and such
relays can lre emplr-ryedin lhe circuit. The contacts
and insulation in the relav should be suitable for
the load to be switched. When the circuit controlled
by the relay is at a high voltage, such as the main
supply voltage, it is essential that all precautions
against accidental shock be observed. Also, the 6
volt positive rail should be connected to mains
earth.
It is necessaryfor a diode to be connectedacross
the relay coil to prevent the formation of a high
reverse voltage across it when TR5 and TR6 switch
off. When the current through an inductor (and the
coil of a relay is an inductor) is suddenly interrupted a large reverse voltage is induced which
can be many times greater than the previous
voltage across the coil. In the present circuit the
voltage, if allowed to appear, could cause the
breakdown of TRS and TR6. However, the diode
across the relay coil supresses the voltage and
prevents damage to the transistors. The diode does
not conduct during the time that the coil is energiseo.

S E N S I N GA R R A N G E M E N T S
The simplest possiblesensingarrangement for
test purposesconsistsof two bare wires plugged
into [he S-DeCat the appropriatepoints.Touching
or gripping both of these wires at the same time
shouki caule the circuit to switch over although,if
TRl and TR2 should happen to have very low
to moisten
currentgain figures,it may be necessary
the finger or fingers.More reliable sensingis ob;
tainedif a touch plate is made up, sincethis will
provide a much greater contact area. The touch
plate can consistof a piecer-rfprinted circuit board
bf any desiredshape,as shownin Fig. 3. A dividing
line is cut down the centreusinga knife, saw-blade
or Abrafile so that the two areasof copperare insulatedfrom eachother.The piecesof coppercan
then be solderedto the insulatedwires of a 2-core
cablewhich terminatesat points66 and 3l of DeC
1. Rememberthat the strands of a flexible wire
shouldbe lightly solderedtogetherto producewhat
is effectivelya singlewire before the wire is inserted into-an S-DeC connectionpoint. Even if
TR1 and TR2 haverather low gains,the largecontact areaof the touch plate shouldprovidereliable
switching.Inventive constructorscan deviseother
types of touch plate having two metal surfacesinsulatedfrom each other.
S-DEC CONSTRUCTION
Start by linking the two S-DeCstogether,end to
end, to form one long DeC. Now plug in the wire
links, eight in all, and then the componentswhich
alsolink the DeC's.Theseare R7, D1, D2 and R8.
Ensure that these componentsare correctly
CONSTRUCTOR
ItAI)I() ANI) ELF]C'I'RONICS

il
I

D3
rN400l

c/--\b
r'I
vc

2 N 6 9 72 N 2 2 t 9
Pfintd circuit
boord

To TR6
c o ll c c t o r

Fiq 2. The circuit can aherttatively control a relav,

the
coil of which is connecited in
J>lace of the lamp. A protec_
ttve rliode is wired across
the coil

Fig 3. One way of making

ult the touch plate. A cut is
matfe in the copper of a
trrinted circuit board. giving
two adjacent copper areas
which can be bridqed by a
finger

positionedbefore moving.on to the

next step. In
particular,.ensurethat The t*o-aiol"i"rr.
.onl
nectedwith correctpolarity.
pJ,ufltn the .capacitorsand then the tran_
., l)9* .rlt
:rs(ors.
rnetranslstors
arqn.p.n.typesand have
lhe sam_e
lead-outpattern.ptug'ln thirieajs for the
lamp PLl, whichian.bemountedon a panel
fitted
to one of the DeCs.plug in the iemainiiiresistors
and the sensinswiresoi'pla6,;;;;;;ih?
anrl the circuii is ready't" iest."---'-'""'^-t;a;;;t;
When the relay operitedversionis built it
mav

L cod-outs

Fiq 4. All the transistor

tytrtes specified
hava the
learl,out layout shown hare.
The lead-outs are pointing
lowards the readet

be necessarv
to use,.9:"jl111i!;s pow.er*s,upply
if
the,relay chosendrawsa heavycuirent. The rerav
coil connectsvia two insulatel i;a;';; ;;i"i.';6
and 45.of the DeC 2 section ih;;;it,';ith
rhe
protectivediode connectingto
"f poinii SS anct 4.1.
Take careto connectthe.di"ode,,iiiir
.orr."t p;laiitr'..If it is connectedwith incorrecipnf"*liy. .f
nO
w"ill,pass.an excessive
cu.rent-*[.ri'it"iu.n.,,,,.
r\raKequtte certainthat all the safetvprecautior)s
rererredto earlrerrn this articleare obs-erved
il.the
relav is usedto switchhigh ;r -"i".'r:"fi"ges.
I

New Products
5 NEW MODULES FROM B I-PA K
recentlyaddedthe
.. ,RI-PAK Serniconductors
followingmodulesto ther
";;;il.;T.;;;;,_
. AI1f 20 AMPLIFIER: A very tow iistortion bo watt powe" ,-piifi""1
SPM12O POWER SUppLy: A fixed
Io.lt"eq stabilised- power supply ,ritt
O/P voltage of eithbr +bv, bf,ii" Of.r. un
cEIOO Mk2 EeUALISER: Ten channel
monographic equaliser.
V-PF3O POWER SUppLy: This highly
useful module is shown i" til;"
panying photograph.
"""o-PA2OO STEREO PRE-AMPLIFIER:
variation of the long-establiihea a"i'.rr"vA
popular PAf OO.
. , Fr r r t h e rd c t a i l so f . t h ea b o v ea n d t h e r e s t o l .
their.lilrgc
ratrgeol'hignqualirv;;;i;..,
be
sct'rrin their r,rdverri"u-eni*in'ihi.;;;;r'in"
"an ,,.
w r i t e . c r r t . l o s iSn.gA . F ,I.o r l r r r t h e r
c l e t a i l st o : _
Serniconctuctnr*,
F.O."b.l*'A,' Wnr",
11l.l'AK
Herls.
, \ I ' l t tI . I 1 r ; 1 1

EXCLUSIIrE NEtv SERIES

TUNE-INTO PROGRAMS
Part 3
By lan Sinclair

Do You Remember...?
Memoriesare used along with a programso
that numberscan be kept in r6adiness
fJ. u"" ,t tt
correctplacein the program,or so that answers "
can
be accumulatedwithout having to be Jisplayed.
Takea.simpleexample:the aodiiionoi t*o resistor
vaiuesin parallel.Theformulafor this is l/R :
t/n t
+ 1/R2,so that when we calculatethis we will
have
two resistance
values,of R1 and R2,to fesd into the
calculator.
We could,of course,breakoff the calculation
to
feed in the value of R2 at the righi time.
fhe
programwould look as in Fig. 1, with
[R/S]usedto
stop the calculatorfor the entry of thl next
value.
This, however.rather defeatsttre wtroteiaea
ot us_
ing a program. The satisfactorynr*Lrl,
to us
memoriesto hold the valuesuntil they are needed.

Ptogram

Prccedura

LRN
1/x
+

R/S
1/x
1/x
R/S
LRN

Enter value of R1 in ohms

Press R/S
Enter value of R2 in ohms
Press R/S
Read R(total) from disptay

Fig. I

ENTERING
A MEMORY
To place a number into a memory the number
must be on display,and the [StOl tey must then be
pressedto instructthe calculatorthat the number
is
to be stored.The [STO] key must be followed by a
nurDber,
O to 7 for the TexasInstrumentsTl _57 (O
to 9 for the CBM pRO-lOO)which instructsthe
calculator
whichof its memoriesis to be used.lf you
don't.follow[SfO] Uva number,or if you use an im_
possiblenumber such as g. for example.you
will
promptlyget the errorsignalflashingup on
the dis_
play.The [STO]instructioncan U" ,iO
inside
a programto store an intermediateanswer,
"iif,eror out_

Al,llll, l97e

Thc kcyboard of thc Taxas

trrstruments Tl-57 programmable
celculator. Most keys have e t*ond
function, whereupon facilitlcs are
nearly doubtc thc number of keys
provided

side the program to store a figure ready for use as

part of the setting-up procedure.
Let's suppose,then, that we can store the values
of Rl and R2, usinq memo'ics 1 and 2 (justtaking
two nuiribers at random - it's easier to remember
that the value of R I is stored in memory 1 and R2 in
memory 2). The program will now need to include
the instructions to recall these numbers from the
memories at the right time in the program, and this

i1 9qn" by usingttre [nCU key.Onie asain,the

IRCLJkey mssf be followed by a number which instructs the calculator which memory has to be
recalled.
A program for the calculation of resistors in
parallel might therefore look something like that of
Fig. 2, with each number taken out oiits memory,
inverted, and added to the next (inverted) number,
so that the final answer is found by a last ,l/x opera_
tion.

Program
LRN.
R C L1
1lx
+
R C L2
1lx
1lx
R/S
LRN

Procedure
Entervalue of R1 (ohms)STO 1
Entervalue of R2 (ohms)STO 2
CLR
RST
R/S
ReadR(total)from disPlaY
Fis. 2

In this program we've made use of another

memory, the temporary store within the calculator'
When the first figure is inverted by the instruction
It/xl tfre value flashes on the display, but the use of
t h e [ + ] k e y p l a c e st h i s n u m b e r i n a t e m p o r a r ys t o r e
until we have something to add to it' The
" s o m e t h i n g "i s t h e n u m b e r w e g e t w h e n t h e s e c o n d
. he addition
n u m b e rh a s b e e n r e c a l l e da n d i n v e r t e d T
(or used in
pressed
is
key
the
when
out
[:]
is carried
t h e p r o g r a m ) .N o t a l l c a l c u l a t o r sh a v e t h i s f a c i l i t y ,
and a few might require the use of brackets
between tne [+] step and the [:] step. The Texas
T 1 - 5 7 w i t h i t s A l g e b r a i cO p e r a t i n gS y s t e m , i s p a r ticularly easy to use from this point of view.
W e c o u l d h a v e t i d i e d u p t h i s p r o g r a mq u i t e a b i t ,
becausewe didn't really need to use two memories'
We could .iust as easily have entered the first
number into the display before starting the program'
and so used the simple program of Fig' 3'

Program
LRN
llx
+
RCL1
1lx
llx
R/S
LRN

The [SUM] key does a different job when the

IlruV] fey is pressed or programmed just before it.
U s i n g [ l N V l I S U M ] c a u s e st h e d i s p l a y e dn u m b e r t o
be subtracted from the stored number' This is a step
we do not use vory often in electronicscalculations,
but it is handy for finding what value of resistance
has to be placed in parallel with an existing resistor
to lower the value to some required figure. A very
common use of tfre [lNV] [SUM] step is in a countd o w n . F o r e x a m p l e ,i f w e i n c l u d et h e s t e p s t 5 l t l N V l
I S U M I [ ' t ] i n a p r o g r a m ,t h e n 5 w i l l b e s u b t r a c t e d
from the contents of memory 1 on each run through.
This would be useful if memory t had been loaded
with, for example, a value of frequency and we
wanted to lower the frequency by SkHz each time.
We're not finished with the [SUM] key, though'
because above it is written IPrd], meaning product'
a n d a c t i v a t e db y [ 2 n d ] [ S U M ] ' T h i s c o m b i n a t i o no f
k e y s c a u s e s t h e d i s p l a y e dn u m b e r t o b e m u l t i p l i e d
bv the number in the memory, keeping the result in
the memory. For example, suppose we want to
calculate the resistance of Rn of a resistor at n
degrees Centigrade, knowing the resistance Ro at
."ro d"gte"s Centigrade.The formula is:

Procedure
Rn:Ro{1

RST
Entervalueof R1 (ohms)STO 1
Entervalueof R2 (ohms)
R/S
"Read R(total)from disPlaY

Fig. 3

I
SUMAND PRODUCT
T h e T 1 - 5 7 a l s o p e r m i t se a c h m e m o r y t o b e u s e d
t o a c c u m u l a t en u m b e r s .G o i n g b a c k t o t h e e x a m p l e
of parallel resistors, suppose we have several
r e s i s t o r si n p a r a l l e l ,s o t h a t t h e f o r m u l a b e c o m e s :
1 1 7:

sequence of instructions is a simple one which

d o e s n ' t n e e c lt h e u s e o f t n e [ : ] i n s t r u c t i o nu n t i l t h e
end. For other programs, however, the temporary
store cannot be used like this, but we can make use
of the [SUMI key.When we place a number into a
memory using the [SfO] fey, anything else which
may have been in that memory is erased and replaced by the new stored number' When we use the
ISUMI key, the number in the display is added to
t h e n u m b e r i n t h e m e m o r y , i t d o e s n ' t r e p l a c ei t ' A
p r o g r a mf o r t h e r e s u l t a n to f f o u r r e s i s t o r si n p a r a l l e l
might therefore look something like that of Fig' 4 if
we make full use of the stores'

1/R1 + 1lR2+ 1/R3 + 1/R4 + "'

In a program like this, we need to take each

number, invlrt it by using tne It/xl instruction and
then add the invertednumber to all the other invertecl numbers. Now we could make use of the
s t o r e o f t h e T 1 - 5 7 a g a i n ' b e c a u s et h e
l:loottt"

+nt)

where t is the value of the temperature coefficientof

resistance.
This problem can be tackled by storing the value
o f t e m p e r a t u r en i n m e m o r y 1 , m u l t i p l y i n g b y t h e
, nd then adding1 by using
v a l u eo f t , u s i n gl P r c t la
t h e s t e p s t 1 l [ s u M ] [ t ] . r n e m u l t i p l i c - a t i . ob-yn ! o
c a n t h e n b e c a r r i e do u t b y u s i n g I R C L I[ 2 ] [ P r d ] [ 1 ] i f
the value of Ro is stored in memory 2' The whole
program is shown in Fig' 5.
J u s t f o r a n e n c o r e ,i f y o u u s e t h e s e q u e n c eI l N V ]
[2nd] [SUM] the number in the store is divided by
t h e n u m b e r i n t h e d i s p l a y .R e m e m b e r ,t h o u g h , t h a t
trre ISUM] or [pro] instruction must be followed by
t h e n u m b e r o f t h e m e m o r y .W h e n d i v i s i o ni s n e e d ed, the keys IlNVl and [2nd] can be pressedin either
order, so that you can use 12n61[lNVl [SUtvtl or
t l N V l [ 2 n d ] t S U M l . M e m o r i e sw h i c h c a n b e u s e d f o r
summing, obtaining products and dividing in this
- the
w a y a r J c a l l e d f u l l y a d d r e s s a b l em e m o r i e s
use of memory addrossing like this can often save
several program steps and is therefore a good habit
to cultivate.
('(
i( l'foR
ItA| ) I() A\i I ) t'll'l'l(l'fltoN I(ls )NS'l'RI'

Program

Prccedure
Entervalue of R1 (ohms)STO 1
LRN RCL 1 1/x STO 0 Entervalue of f,2 (ohms)STO 2
R C L2 1 / x S U M O
Entervalue of R3 (ohms)STO 3
Entervalueof R4 (ohms)STO 4
R C L3 1 / x S U M 0
R C L4 1 / x S U M 0
CLR
RCL 0 l/x R/S LRN RST
R/S
Read R(total)from d i s p l a y

O T H E RM E M O R YF E A T U R E S
Several of the memories of ths T1-57 are used
for special jobs, and some of these jobs will be discussed in more dtail latr in this series. For example, memory O can be used for an automatic countdown, usingthe [Dsz]key,and memory 7 (which is
r e f e r r e dt o a s t h e t e s t o r " t " r e g i s t e r )i s u s e d a l o n g
with the [x : tl, [x
more details of all these are given later.
lf you have a very complicated expression to
work out on the T1-57 which uses several sets of
brackets inside each other (a process called
nesting), memories 5 and 6 can be taken over as
temporary stores, so that these memories cannot be
used for anything else. This very seldom occurs,
though. becausethere is practicallyalways a way of
programming which can avoid the problem if we
must have the use of these memories.
The main problems which inexperienced users
encounter with the use of memories are:
(a) forgetting to use the reference number,
(b) recalling the wrong memory.
(c) forgetting to load memories before running a
program.
All of the memories (but not the program
memorv) can be cleared with no effect on the
program. Using the memor')/ clear key IC.t]
(operated by pressing [2ndl tCE]) clears only
memory 7 (the test register),but the sequenceIlNVl
l2ndl [CE] cleagsall of the memories. Switching off
and on again will, of course, clear everything - including the program.

numberssubjectto some restrictions.lmpossible?

Not if you rememberttre[lnt] key,which is activated
by pressing[2nd] [)]. The instructionIlnt] means
"take the integralpart of a decimal".Forexample,if
we have the number36.145 in store 1. then the
sequonceIRCLI [1] [lnt] will producethe number
36, which is the integral(wholenumber)parton the
display.Now if we usethe keysequenceIlNV] [lnt],
the fractional part of the number is similarly
selected,so that for the same number [RCL][1]
[tNV][lnt]will cause0.145to appearon the disptay.
How can we use this? Suppose,for example,that
we are using the expression

f:

2n

to find the resonant freguencyof a circuit containing

inductance L and capacitance C. With any luck we
shoufd be able to use L values in y,H, which will all
be whole numbers (integers), and C values in
nanofarads (1nF : 1,OOOpF)which for radio frequency circuits will be fractional values.
This way we could representthe values of 751tH
a n d 1 S O p Fa s 7 5 L t H a n d 0 . 1 S n F ,a n d c o d e t h i s a s
75.15. Storethis numberin memory 1, and we can
use a programme to separste the p8rts, multiply up
(becausethe formula is given for C in farads and L in
henries)and give the frequencyin Hz. Easierstill, we
can make use of the modified formula:

t-

D O UB L EU S EO F M E M O R I E S
B o t h t h e T 1 - 5 7 a n d t h e P R O - 1 O Oh a v e a u s e f u l
feature that lets us use each memory for two

t-I

I
I
I

i
I

t__

Al)lll I

Fig. 5

5.03

lE

with C in nF, L in pH and F in MHz. The program

Program

Procedure

LRN RCLO Prd 1

1 S U M 1R C L2 P r d 1
RCL 1 R/S LRN

Enter value of t STO O

Enter value of n STO 1
Enter value of RO STO 2
CLR

RST
R/S
Readvalue of Rn from display

Prccedurc
Entercoded numbersSTO 1
Fix 2 RST R/S
Displayshows frequencyin MHz
E x a m p l eL:: 7 5 p H , C : l S O p Fi s
enteredas 75.15 STO 1
R e s u l it s 1 . S O M H z

Program
LRN RCL 1 Int STO O
R C L1 I N V I n t P r d O
RCL0
1/x X 5.03
: R/S "6LRN

Notethe use of the step tFixl [2]. This givesall resultsto two decimalplacesonly,
higheraccuracy,
IFixl [3] (or larger
thoughthe workingis'in eight placeJ._For
to read duringa
easier
results
makes
num5er)may be usld. The uie of [Fix] [2]
short oause.
Fig. 6

Procadure
Code one set of values STO 1
Code another set of values STO 2
Fix 2 RST R/S
Display shows first resonant frequency
R/S
Display shows second resonant frequency

Program
LRN RCL 1 Int STO O
RCL 1 INV lnt Prd O
RCL O ,/x t/x X 5.03
: R/S RCL 2 STO 1
RST LRN

Fig. 7
now looks as in Fig. 6, and we can extend it to deal
w i t h m o r e t h a n o n e p a i r o f v a l u e s ,a s i n F i g ' 7 '
Now that we can include memory steps into
programs,the next move is to make use of the

chance that this gives us to program the calculator

to make decisions,by comparing the number in the
display with'a number stored in a memory. That's
the subject of the next "Tune-|n", next month.

INDUSTRIAL NOTE
M U L T IP U R P O S EG U I L L O T I N E
F O RT H E P R I N T E DC I R C U I T
I NDUSTRY

New from CuPRO Equipment is the MS-6 Multi

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TheGuillotine will easily cut fibre glassand paper
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tre used for pilot hole punching vital for accurate
repeat registrations.A further accessoryconsisting
of two individual punches allows the Guillotine to
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axis. The cornernotcher attachment is particularly
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The PressBrake attachment makes 90" bends in
soft aluminium or sheet steel up to 22 guage,ideal
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drilling machine and routing machine attachment.
The Drill has variable speed control from 5,000 to
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An air poweredversion,or a foot powered version
of the MS-6 is available for volume operations.The
standard guillotine weighs 24 lb and requires a
b e n c h s p a c eo f 1 5 " w i d e b y 1 3 " d e e p .
Further details from Lektrokit Ltd., Sutton Industrial Park, London Road, Earley, Reading,
Bcrks. RG6 1AZ.
50f)

n A D l o A \ r ) o L R C T t t O N I C SC : O N S ' I ' R L i c T o R

@H

APRIL
FOOL
CIRCUITS
Circuits that shouldn't
work - but they do !

" l n c l e r : t n r r r ic i r c u i t s , "s a i d S n r i t h v .
sillping frorrr his disgracclirl tin mtrg.
'
; ilnl t(, look ottt lirr the unv o t t l t l u ' r t r ' .w
expecte({. l)arlicularly when there are
<liodes and transistors krrocking
; tr o II t )d . '
S n r i t l r v p l a c e c lt h e m u g o n h i s b e n c h
a n d l r r u s h e d e rf e r v c r r l n b s o l f h i s k n e e s .
lle anrl his assistant, l)ick. had iusl
Iinished their lunch-timre sandwiches,
. n ( l l r i ' w l t a r l s , r r n et h i r t v r n i n u t e s t , '
lrass befirre retlrrning to iheir labours.
I n t ' r i t : r l l l t .l ) i c k l u r t l s t e ( ' r ( ' dl h o { 1 ) n v e r silti{)n t(} nritttcrs pertaining to electrouit's
a n r l , e < 1 L r a l l 1i n- e v i t a b l v , S m i t h y h a d
r i s e n t o t h e b a i t a n d h a d c u r n m e n c e dt o
cxnound orr the subiect.
t'Why,"
asked tlilk, "do vou haveto
be so carei\rl about diodes and transisiors'/ Srrrelv vou can't have t'oml)onents rnrrch sirnpler than thev are."

Z E N E RR E G U L A T O R

"Sinrple thev may be," replied

Smithy. "but they can still spring
sornesurprises on you. Let's see if I
can think of an example."
He uondered fbr a moment and
t,hen ieached across his bench to
pit'k rrp his note-pad. Taking a pen
lrorn his overall iacket he scribbled
out a circuit. (F'ig. 1(a).)
"Now, what is this?" he asked,
tearing off the note-pad sheet and
passing it to his assistant.
"lt's a zener diode voltage
regulator circuit," responded Dick
promptly. "The positive side of the
batterv couples to the zener diode
bv wav of the series resistor, and a
siabilized voltage then appears

across the diode. The base of the

transistor connects to the zener
tlirrde and it acts as an emitter
follower. The voltage at the emitter
of the transistor is the same as that
at its base, less the small voltage
dropped across the base-emitter
iunction. So you have a regulated
voltage at the transistor emitter.
too."
"Verv good. In fact, it's a perfectlv' standard circuit. isn't it?"
"Definitely."
"And so itls," conlirmed Smithy.
"Now what would happen if, bY accident, we were to connect the
batterv to it wrong way round?"
( F ' i s .I ( b ) . )
l.)ick frowned at the circuit.

Bosc-col lcctor
Junction

Zen{ drcdc

(b)

(o)

Fig. l(a). A very common

(b). Tha circuit
(c). Effectively
,\l,lilt. llr;1)

which

presented

voftaga regulator
is given

citcuit incorporating
trensistor

if the battery

is accidentally

(c)

a zener diode and an emitter

connected

with

incorrect

follower

polarity

to thc bettery arc the fotward biased zener diode and base-collector iunction
thc transistor in scries

of
501

THE

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BYTHEG3HSC
ilETHOD!
RHYTHM
Tlrr:sp r:rtr'rses whrch have been solal for
ovlr 23 vpars have bcerr proved rnany tirnes
to be the laslest rnethod of learning Morse
Yorr sl,trt riqhi away by lc.lrninq the so{inds
()f llle vd(oIs lellers nu'r]hers etC as yoiJ
will rn fit.rt Lrse thern Not a series of .lots an(l
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502

"Why, nothing would happen.

There wouldn't be any regulated
voltage from the transistor, of
course,becausethe supply polarity
is wrong."
"No excess current flowing
anywhere?"
"Of coursenot."
"And that's whereyou're wrong,"
retortedSmithy triumphantly. "I'll
acreethat this particular instanceis
a- bit contrived. but it still
demonstratesthe hidden perils that
can lurk in even simple circuits incorporatingtransistorsand diodes.
ln bractice. one hell of a current
wili flow!"
"Through what?"
"Throueh the zenerdiodeand the
base-colleitoriunction of the transistor," replied Smithy. "To start
off with, a zener diode is an ordinary silicon diode which only exhibits its voltage stabilizing
- effect
when it's reve"rsebiased. lf it's
forward biased it acts just like any
other silicon diode and it drops
about 0.6 volt. It becomesforward
biased in that regulator circuit
when the battery is connected
wrongwaY round'"
"titim6v." said Dick. "I'd
forsotten a-boutthat."
'?\nd the zener diode," went on
Smithv. "connectsto what is effectivelv another forward biased
diode, this being the base-collector
iunction of the transistor. The
iesult is that the incorrectly connected battery is applied to two
forward biased diodes in series,
which is verv nearlv equivalentto a
dead short. Either-thebattery will
be run down very rapidly or the
zener diode or the transistor will
burn out." (Fig.1(c).)
"Stap me.'' remarked Dick.
"That's reallv somethineto think
about.But stiil, you don't normally
desim an electroniccircuit so that
it has to withstand an incorrectly
connectedsupply, do you?"
"Not always," agreed Smithy,
"although it can be an eventuality
which hasto be bornein mind. Now
vou'vegot me goingon unusualcirbuit eff6ctsI've beenable to recall a
few really weird examples.Sincewe
are about to enter the month of
April, I'll callthemmY'APril Fool
Circuits'."
DELAY CIRCUIT
Smithv sketchedout anothercircuit on his note-pad.(Fig. 2.)
"What on earth is that?" asked
Dick, who had now risen from his
stool and was standing beside the
Serviceman.
"lt's a circuit for energisinga
relav." explainedSmithy' "When
the iwitch-is closedthe relay is deenergised. The relay becomes
e n e r g i s e dw h e n y o u o p e n t h e
switch."
"Come on, Smithy. You're having me onl"
t'No I'm not. I'm
PerfectlY
serious and the circuit works on

Fig. 2. How to drlvc a rclay

coil from the base of a transistorl The relay mcrgiscs
when the switch is opcnod

quite legitimate electronic princioles."

-"I
don't believeit!"
"Trv it out in practice. lt won't
take vbu more thin a few minutes
to solder up the few components
that are neededfor the circuit."
"All right, I will," said Dick
decisively. "Incidentally, what's
the diode acrossthe relay coil intended to do?"
"lt stops the formation of high
back-e.m.f.voltagesacrossthe coil
when the relay leleases. It's the
usual diode yori have in any circuit
when a transistor drives a relay."
"Ah ves," stated Dick, "but in
anv circuit that I have everseenthe
relhv coil is driven bv the transistor
colllctor or bv the transistor
emitter. Who ever heard of driving
a relay coil by way of a transistor
base?"
"Just vou make uP the circuit,
and vouill soon find out what it
does.''repliedSmithv. "The circuit
requires a relav-with a coil
resistancearound ihe 500o mark.
'OPen
One of those little 410n
Relav' tvpes which are sold bY
Mapiin EiectronicSupplieswould
bE iust the iob, and I'm certain
we've got one knocking around in
the spdrescupboard."
"Rieht," sald Dick with alacrity.
"l'll havethis circuit of yourswired
up
- in no time at all."
And, indeed, it was not long
beforeDick announcedthat he was
iust soldering the last joint of the
circuit. Srnithv wandered over to
his assistant's-benchto survey his
handiwork. Dick had wired uP the
transistorand the resistoron an odd
lensth of tasboard,
'switch with flexible
and the relay,
leaiis to the
which lav on the benchsurface.He
applied lwo crocodile clip leads to
thi circuit for the supply connection and picked up a PP9 batterY
from the back of his bench.
"The switch should be closedat
the beginning," said Smithy.
"Riehtv-ho."
I)icii ensuredthat the switch was
closed,then connectedthe crocodile
leads to the battery.

CONSTRUCTOR
ITAI)I() ANI) F]T,F]CTRONICS

For the convenience'oflrish

. Radio & Electronics

Constructor ^Data Books
Panel Signs
Transfers

o.6v

?-

27V

(b)

electronics

Fig. 3(a). The situation whlch crtsts in Fig. 2 whcn the

switch is
closed. Only a small base currcnt ftowithroujn
the relay coii
(!, Wlen.yh.e switch is openo4 all trcnsistor
cufrcrrts disrppear. A
cr.c. ctncun is sct up thtough thc r.lay coil. t',o base_emi*ir
'iunc_
tlon of thc transistor and the 2OO A 76sjs1s7

Nothine happened.
"There- yori'are," jeered Dick.
"This circuit of -yours is a load of
old rubbish!"
Smithy peeredat him mildlv.
"Try openingthe switch."
Carelessly,Dick put out his hand
and set the switch to the open position. With a click the ielav arm-aturesnappedover to the en-ersised position. Incredulously, D-ick
turned the switch on- again,
whereupon the relay armarure
released.Once more he openedthe
switch and once more ihe relav
energised.
_ "Ye gods,"gaspedDick. "What's
this circuit workins with - black
magic?"
"I told you that it was a perfectlv
respectable circuit," !rinned

Dmltnv.

"How doesit work. then?"

. "Well," replied Smithy, "consider the case when the iwitch is
closed. What you have then is a
simple emitter follower. with
emitter current flowing into the
200 o resistor. Now the emitter
current is the sum of the collector
current and the basecurrent and it
will in practice causesome 8 volts
or more to be built up acrossthe
resistor,so that the cuirent will be
of the order of 40mA. The base
current will be verv much lower
than the collector iurrent and it
certainly won't be sufficient to
causethe relay to energise.In any
case, the voltage across the relav
coil will only be about half a volt, if
that." (Fie.-3(a).)
"Okay, so the relay does not
e-nergls!.Why doesit energisewhen
the switch is opened?"
"Recausethi current which flows
throughthe,relaycoil increasesby a
considerable amount. With the
switch closed the relav current was
merely the base curr6nt needed to
sustain the collector and emitter
c u r r e n t f l o w i n g i n t h e 2 0 00
resistor.When thC switch is opened
APRIL 1979

MORSE
IMPROVEMENT
(A) 'l-12 w.p.m. with simotg
CgO Casnes
(B)
exerciss.
l2-24
w.p.m. computsr
produced
profe$ional
lvel
oE.alor
material including intemational symbols.

the rrhole situation changes.There

obviouslycannotnow be inv-current
collector. current and the only
which can flow in the circuit is that
in the relay coil, the base-emitter
junction of the transistorand the
2 0 0O r e s i s t o r . T h e b a s e - e m i t t e r
junction acts like a forward biased
silicon diode with a voltagedrop
acrossit of 0.6 volt. The remarnrne
voltageis sharedbetweenthe relai
coil and the 200 O resistor.civine L
little more than 5.5 volts aciosst"he
coil and a little more than 2.b volts
acrossthe resistor." (Fig. B(b).)
U P S I D E - D O W NC I R C U I T
"Hell's teeth," snorted Dick.
"That circuit is reallv a stinker."
"Would you like to have a go at
anotherrelay driver circuit?"
"Does it follow basic electronic
theorv?"
"Oh yes. Also, it's just as simple
as the last one."
"Show me."
Smithy drew a further circuit on
his note-padand handed it over to
Dick. (Fie. 4.)

Price each: complete wilh instruction and

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Morse Key and Buzzer Unit suitable for
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Aimoil

el

ortr..

(Dcpt.
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Fig. 4. Antffror relay driver forms thc

second of Jllllthy's April Fool citcuits.
A suitabla nley is the "Opm Rclay,,
with 4lO A coil which is availablc
from Maplin Electronic Suppties.
Believe it or not, the circuit fttnctions
with most 8ClO7 trunsistora

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"Corluvaduk," moanedDick unbelievinslv,

-a "what's fhis!"
relav driver circuit,"
"It's
reoeated Smithv. "This time the
relay energisesi{,hen the switch is
closed."
"Have a heart Smithy, you can't
possiblybe seriousaboui this. For a
start, the transistoris an n.p.n. type
and its collector is going to the
ne*atiue
-can't rail! And, for Pete'ssake,
it
oossiblv be an emitter
follower even their becausethe base
goesup to the positiue rail through
lhe lk o resistor!Ye gods,Smithy,
what rs it?"
"It's a perfectlvhonestelectronic
circuit," iaid Sririthy calmly. "If
vou check it out in practical form
-vou'll see what hapn-ens."
"This paeses all possible understandirig,"statedDick unhappiIv. "D'vou know. Smithv. a voung
riorkini lad like'me could su'fferd
grevioustrauma to his psyche when
confrontedwith a circuit like this.
It iust can't work!"
nTrv it."
Rebelliouslv.Dick picked up his
solderins irori and sfripped down
the pr6vious circuit- he had
assembled.He then wired up the
new circuit. Ae he did so, Smithy
beamed at him benignly and continued to sip at his post-lunchtea.
"Well," said Dick eventually,
puttins his solderins iron down on
its resf with a crash.-"it'sall finished now except for'connecting the
batterv."
" V 6 r v-"Tthis
sood." commended
time, start off with
Smithy.
the switch oDen."
Obedientli. Dick connectedthe
circuit to th6 PPg battery whilst
Smithy watched the relay. It did
not enercise.Smithv put out his
hand andturned theiwitch on. The
relav armature clicked smartly to
the energisedposition.Smithy turned the switch off and the armature
released.The bemusedDick grabbed the switch from Smithv and
operated it several times himself.
At all times the relay energised

when the switch was closedand deenergisedwhen it was open.

"I-simply," wailed DiCk, "cannot
believemv eves.We've got a transistorherewhich is not connectpdin
the common emitter mode, the
commoncollectormode or the common base mode. and vet the flaming thing is arnplifyingl It must be
amplifvine because the current in
the'lki2 iesistor has got to be less
than the current flowing in the relay
coil."
"Quite a good little circuit, isn't
it?"
"Good? I reckon it's downright
malevolent.In the old days they'd
have burnt vou at the stake for
dreamingup circuits like this one."
"I've [ot an even better one for
you," said Smithy. "Do you feel
Iike'trvine it out for me?"Dic[< Shrugged his shoulders
helplesslv.
';Whaf have I got to loee?"
CRAZY MULTIVIB
Cheerfully, Smitfv got out.his
Den once more ancl Proceedectto
draw up a further circuit. Thie was
a little'more compiicatedthan the
previousones,anil severalminutes
blapsed before he was able to presenl it to his assistant. The latter
regarded it with unrelieved horror.
(Fie. 5.)
'-What," he spluttered, "do you
call this?"
"It's an oscillator," explained
Smithv soothinglv."Actually, it's a
multivibrator with a caliulated
running frequency of rather Iegs
than 100H2. As you can eee,you
need two 1kO resistore and two
10ko resistore.and theeecan all be
10% types. The two capacitorsare
lrrF polvester.And, ofcouree,there
are the iwo RC107 transistorg."
"Oh yes," intoned Dick sarcastically, "we mustn't forget the
two transistors. Two n.P,n. transistors.iust like in vour laet circuit,
with their collectors going to the
negativesupplv line."
nThat's iighi," grinned Smithy.

or post this Covpon together

with remittance for tl .4O
(to include postage) to
DATA PUBLICATIONS LTD.
5 7 M a i d a V a l e , L o n d o n ,W 9 1 S N

I
I
I
I
I
:

Please send me the Sth revised

edition of TV Fault Finding. Data
Eook No. 5
I enclose cheque / crossed postal otde' lol

XAME

AODRESS

| :_:::
ll

Flg. 5. Crary muftivibrator circult. Op*ation is not gucnnteed but

thc circuit wlll oscillate wfth narty all transistors of thc BCIOT
lbd(ltrr

I
lr.-

504

--

I
I
I
I

--

---l

nPl-.

wc
RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

"Incidentally, the supply voltaeeis

4,5 volts this time, bu1-Idon't tfiink
you'll have
.any difficulty sorting
out a suitable batterv.
"I'll havea stabatit," saidDick.
_ He settled down to wirins up
Smithy's new circuit, and he-sooi
nad the componentsassembledon
the pieceof tagboardhe was usins,
He tbund a 4-cell batterv holdei.
fitted four HPZ cells in it, and
tapped off 4.b volts by insertin! a
picceof thin tinplatebemeentwdof
theccllsin the holder.As lreproceed_
od with his task,Smithywalkedover
to the "Repaired" raclisand picked
up a small medium waveand v.h.f.
radio that he had serviced durine
the morning. He then watchedbici
as he completedthe wirine.
"I am,'' announcedDicl. as he
pu.t down his solderingiron, ,,now
going to connectthis rianiacal circuit of yours to the 4.5 volt
batterv."
He llipped two leads to his improvised batterv.
"At least," he went on in a toneof
mock relief,"it hasn'tblownuo in a
puff of blue smokeor levitateditself
off the bench."
Smithy switched on the radio.
selected a quiet point on the
mecuum wave band and held it
closeto the multivibrator wiring. A
faint reedy buzz became audTble
behind..the background hiss from
tne radro speaker.
''It seems
to be workine ouite
well," he stated compla"centlv.
"although I'm _certaint}at yourli
need evidencethat's more concrete
than the picking up of its tone on a
medlum waveradio. Have vou got a
p a i r . o f h i g h r e s i s t a n c ep- h 6 n e s
knockingaround?"
Dick delvedinto the debrison his
bench.
"I've got a lkO magnetic
earphonehere."
..Then
cou- "Good," saidSmithv.
ple it to the emitter aid collectorof
oqeofthe transistorsvia a capacitor
'
o f a r o u n d0 . 0 1t o 0 . 0 b u F . "
I.)ick.found a 0.022yFcapaciror
and quickly riggedup the eaiphone
c l r c u r r .( r l g . b . )
"You're right," he saidin an awe-

i;

l*

struck voiceas he held the earphone

to his ear. This circuit rs oscillatine.
and.it's oscillatinggoodand stronE,
too!"
^ Ilq pagsedthe earphoneover to
Smrthy. It was reproducing,at good
srrength,a clear tone of the same
trequencyas that picked up on the

raolo.

TRANSISTOROPERATION
"Do you believethat that circuit
works now?" askedSmithv.
"I do," said Dick. ,,But i haven't
g,ot the- faintest clue why it does,
though."
"We could, of course.have alternatively chec^ked
it by couplingit to
an a.I. am.plltreror to, say,a crystal
earpnone."
"Okay. Smithv, I said I'm convincedit works. But whv?,'
"The reason whv ihe multivibrator works, and also whv the
previous re-lay circuit works,-is a
property of the bipolar transistor
that is frequently forgotten. We
were uslng n.p.n. transistors in
th.esecircuits, and I hardly needto
tell you that we can representan
n.p.n.transistoras two blocksof n.
type semiconductormaterial with a
thin slice of p. material in the
m i d d l e . " ( F i e .7 . )
_ "That's right," said Dick quickly. "One of the n. blocks is the
emitter, the other is the collector
a_ndthe thin slice of p. material is
the base-"
"Exactly,"-statedSmithy.,,But,
seeingthat the arrangeme-ntof n.
and p. type materialsis svmmetric.
why can't we also say that the n.
type blo.ckwe're calling the emitter
is actually a collector,and that the
n. .. type block we're calling the
ct-rllectoris actuallv an emitt6r?',
"Can we do tha[?"
. "Of coursewe can -- you've just
done it with those last trio circriitsi
Jf Vgu treat. the collectorof any
bipolartransistoras an emitterani
the emitter as a collector then
you've got another transistor."
"That means," protestedDick,
"that the transisior is working
wrongway round."
"That's right."

Fig. 6. Dick checked the multivibrator

by coupling a magnetic
earphone and series,capacitor across-onJ'of
the tnnsistors. The
muftivibrator can be.coupled to
irty niin-t^p'"i"'".i
reproducar or a.f. amplifier
"iy-t
input
At,Il.tL 1979

&

n ttot

-l

(corrcctor)
Emitter

I
tl
",'"._-=*EJ===.
II

lt

n qpc-l
1l

(.mitt.r)
lColl?ctor

Fig. 7. An n.p,n. t,nsistor

can ba repfesented as two
blocks of n. type semicon_
ductor material with a thin
slice of p. type matarial
between them
- "But the transistor isn,t even
designed to work in that manner.'i
"I know it isn't," said Smithv.
"Yet it will still work as a transist6r
if you connect it up in this wrone
way round fashion. The currenl
F_ainwill be very much lower than
the current gain given when the
transistor is connected properly,
but there will almost certdinly sti"li
be some current gain. We had the
translstor connected wrong wav
round ilr the second relay driier cir"cqit and since the circuii only needed a current gain figure of a littie
more than 2 times, the circuit work_
ed. In the multivibrator circuit the
base resistors were 10k0 and the
emitter-cum-collector load resistors
were lk O , and so the wrons wav
round transistors had to hive a
current gain of at least l0 times. We
got..away with it in that circuit,
too I
''. . - j W " l l , b l o w m . e , " s a i d D i c k .
I nrs lctea ol using a transistor
wrong way round is somethine I'd
never realised could even happin.,,
a bit surprising," agreed
^ ".I1 is "when
Dmrtny.
you bump into the
etfect tbr the first time. Since we,re
using transistors out of their
specification, there's no guarantee
tlrrt .eilher the relay driver or the
l ) ) u l ( t v r b r r t ( )cr i r c u i t w i l l w o r k w i t h
:rll UCl07 transistors.But it will cer_
tainly work with most. If ttie aillufts. don't operate with particular
BCl07's, it's worth tryiire otheri
from a different batch. incidentally."

B A C KT O W O R K
.With-thesewords,Smithyreach-

ed for his mug and drainei it. He

handed it to his assistant who.
w-ordlessly,went through the rituai
of refilling it from theiracked and
baltered Workshop tea-pot.
Smithy glanced-up ai the clock
and noted. with some surprise, that
he and his assistant should'have
been back at work at least five
minutes earlier. He siehed contentlv and decided that a "small further
inroad into official working time
wouldn't do anv harm iust foi once.
"
After all, if he and Dick could
successfullv get transistors to work
with all circuit rules broken, there
was no reason why they shouldn't
a l s oj u d i c i o u s l y .b e n d t h e r u l e s a l i t Lleso lar as worl{lng hours were concerned.
:DUi)

BAND
!I PORTABTE
Part 2 By Sir Douglas Hall, Bt., KCMG

Concluding details on this

unrque and ingenious
reeeiver design
In this concluding article we complete the constructional details for this receiver. Referenceswill
be necessary here to Figs. 2 and 3, which were
published in last month's issue.

The receivar

assembly without
fitted

the knob frama

S P E A K E RM O U N T I N G
To avoid microphonic feedback howl, the
speaker is fitted on a rubber mounting. As is shown
in Fig. 4(a), four small woodscrewsare fixed to the
panel of Fig. 2(c) outside the periphery of the
ipeaker. Two rubber bands about 3in. Iong and ]in.
wide are next required. Pass one rubber band loop
through one of the speaker mounting holes so that it
enters from the front ofthe speaker. Hold the band
end in place by passing a bolt or a nail through it,
take thb main lehgth of the band along the front of
the speaker and pass the other end througb the
relevant speaker hole, as shown in Fig. 4(a). Keep
this end in place temporarily by means of another
bolt or nail. Repeat the proiedure with the second
rubber band and the remaining two speaker holes.
Next transfer the loop ends of the bands, one by
one, from the temporary holding bolt or nail to the
appropriate woodsctew, again following Fig. 4(a)When the operation is completed it will be found
that the speaker is held securely behind its aperture in the panel of Fig. 2(c) but without its frame
touching the panel at any point, being mechanically isolated from it by the rubber bands. The edges
of the speaker frame must not touch the sectionsof
Fig. 2(b), upper or lower. If there is any danger of
this, part of these sections should be cut away, as
indicated by the dashed lines in Fig. 2(b).
Now cut out the sections of Fig. 4(b) to 4(e) inc l u s i v e .U s e * i n . p l y w o o d f o r F i g . 4 ( b ) , ( c ) a n d ( d ) ,
a n d { i n . s . r . b . p . f b r F i g . 4 ( e ) . - S e c t i o n s4 ( b ) a n d
4(e) ihould be iovered with Fablon or Contact of
the .type decided on for covering the finished
recelver.
Fit 51 to the upper FiS. 2(b) section.Fit together,
by means of woodscrews,the sections 2(a), 2(b),
2(c), the 13-way tagboard, 'l(d) and 4(e), as shown
in Fig. 4(g), but at this stage do not screw the top
end of the tagboard to the end of the upper Fig.
2(b). Figs. 4(f) and (h) show in greater detail how
some of these parts fit together.
CONSTRUCTOR
ITAI)I0ANI) I.]I,F]CTRONICS

Sond .rnarging through

hol.

Bond poating bctw..n

rPaokar ond ponal

End ot .lortic bond

r7A6nt
of _VC1

Flg.20 b.hind
t19.4.

stt2'
t
I_i_l

tta'

,'lr.

,7t)

Cut owoy
lor knobr

(.)
Coupl.?

T.l.rcoplc
o.riol

Ert mlon tPtndl.

T.lrtcogic orfiol

S1
13-fot
togboord

l3-woy togboord

4.

ad-

Scr.wr poir through

4 . , 4 d , 2 0 i n t o2 b
3/4ttcrcr

Fig' 4(a)' A "floating"

mountlng

for

rotdcrcd to top tog

the spcakcr,.This.prcvcnts

microphonic
feedback to the tuning
capacitorlbl Thc btsc Dl',toof
ra'rit ,itirii"T*rn
!-hc ncoivor-iiiigy
handre passesunder this
bar when the caseis mad3
s;;;i;;'0"r7-"i in" rra^c.itni-Jr;;;;;,"
knobsd4pedr(f) lilustrating"?.@
tn. polriitiiJ ii""itrot-spyndtes f fieiii;rory receiverwhere thecontrot
cl
or tnecomptetereceiver
(h) Detail showing titc manncr ii-iiicn.
thc itcm of Fig. 4lc) is fitted in ptace

Next.fit
on its rubbermounting-,
to theup_
per.end of-VCl,
the 13 way t"iU"irJ'iii"ii,"'_"nn",
whichwasdescribed
lait md'nth.
Af*'."'ru* theupperenttof rhetaeboardto
Fis.
item.Fit tiie.item oilh:S;a-;?iil;;;p;;
Fil.'lt.l,'"'-l"own rn
J(b)
F,rgs' 1(q) and (h).. Pass ttr'e tbte*cnplc
aerial
t hrough t he round trole.
i n qhfi i,L;i'i,ji, Iit t'iii
and secureit.sbaseto the..loweillg.i?Li'paner
"..
*n
thnt it,is,uprisht.This will ;;h;ifv iiiirire ariilrng.n.holein the lowerFig. z(U)lieriiin
iili-,ii.r
aerialrnounting
bolt.$rrarftet]r-drnJ""tllesothnt
a srldertas is ivairabre
a.ttle udti.iiii6ii'neaeriar
to enrblea connection.to
bemali-;;'ii. iil;" f,irrhe
baseplate of
Fig. 4(bl.

/\l'ltll,tl,7tl

. * t t h i s s t a g e ,s e c t i o n s4 ( b ) a n c l. l ( e ) .b o t h c o v e r e c l
l n t a b l o n o r . U o n t a c t ,f ' o r mp a r t o l ' t h e c a s e .
the rest
o t r v r i l c hw l l l b e c l e s c r i b e d - l a t e rT, h e i t e n r
0l'Fig.
4(c).will hold one end of the hancile-",1,.u
lii"
r e c e i v e ri s f i t t e d i n t h e c a * e . N n i e ' i i n i t i i .
e n c to f ,

the.bra.sswoodscrew,yn,ffp,i...*"i'nri,r'igri
ti ii
soldered,
asillustrateail Tirt iiill-i., i'1.,1'r,,p
rng.,t.
""
"
lhe.tngboard
againstwhich'li;;;i-.'
wlntrg.upis nowcornpleted,
Firstu,irein VCl.
rrsing.
tlexiblewire.Then'completit,. u:iringrt,rlie
lerill. roSl. to.thespeaker
aria-rii
it. pp.,i'irorr.rr,.

rrsstlown.rn l'igs. il(e) and (t). Also complete

the
rvlnng belweenthe two tagboards,
'l'he
polvstvrene extensi,ii ri,ai-a.e nou, acldecl
ro

//;/lz'

rz

%
,
The inside appeardnca of tha knob frama aftar
it has been covered with Fablon or Contdct

the soindles of VC1 and VR2. Flexible couplers are

mad6 up bv sticking together two f in. grommets
with Arildile. The spind-leand extension rod ends
mav be built up with a turn or two of Sellotape to
en.ure that they make a tight fit inside the
srommet into which they are passed.Do not allow
lhe ends of the extension rods to be in contact with
the component spindle ends inside the flexible
couplers.The extension rod foi VC1 passesthrough
a *in. crommet fitted in the upper $in. hole in the
oi6ce if Fis. 2(a). It should 6e a lbosefit in this
hommet aria, if necessary,the appropriate section

Thc housing, eil r*dv

of the rod should be filed down a little to achieve

this. This filing down will, of course,have to be
carried out beforethe extensionrod is finally fitted
into its flexible coupler.There is a slight horizontal
displacementbetweenthe spindleof VC1 and the
hole in the item of Fig. 2(a), but this is more than
adequatelytaken up by the flexible coupler.
The knobs should now be fitted. If the specified
knobs are not used.do not cut down the extension
spindlesand VR3 spindleuntil it hasbeenchecked
whetherthe knobs have to be fitted so that they are
outsidethe frame of Fig. a(e). If this happens,incidentally,the appearanceis lessneat.
S E T T I N GU P
The receiver may now be set up. Adjust the
slider of VRl to a centralpositionand the slider of
VR4 to the negativeend of its track - this i. !tl]y
clockwisein Fig. 3(0. Both the PP3 and the PP9
batteriesshouldbe new, and the PP3 battery is not
connectedat this stage.Fit the edge of the PP9
battery into the cut-out provided for it in the Fig.
2(c) nanel.
then suitablv positiona woodscrewin
'Fig.
2(b) item'to support it in place.
the lbwer
Connect up to the PP9 battery with a meter,
switchedtogive a clearcurrentreadingof 12mA,in
serieswith one of the leads.Switch on and slowly
adjust VR4 until the 12mA reading is obtained.
Switch off, removethe meter and connectfully to
the PP9 battery.
Fit the PP3 batterv.extendthe aerialand switch
on again.There mav be a loud hiss,and adjusting
VC1-may producedistortedsignalsfrom the local
BBC transmitters.If this occurs,adjust VRI in a
clockwisedirection,as seenin Fig. 3(e), until the
sigxalscan be resolvedin a distortion-freestate
wittr VRZ advancedbv about one-third and with
the new PP3 battery. it is possiblethat there will
be no srgnals,or only weak signals,in which case
turn VRi clockwiseuntil a loulderhiss denotesoscillation and signals can then be resolved as
described.Do not adiustVR1 anticlockwisesothat
only abouta fifth or iessof its track remainsin circuit, as this could damagea component.The apparent necessityfor such an adjustmentalso indicatesa fault in the circuit. Do not adiust VRl

to be passad ovcr ths

R n t ) l o A N I ) l . l t , F x l ' f l t o N I ( l S( l O N S ' , t l t t l ( l ' l \ ) R

tL,

I
I

sv!
Plyw@d

Cut-out

Hordboord
I
I

Edge ol 5b

Edg. ot 50 ----_-rl

t_

I
L

Edg ot 50\
Plyeood

i-

Edgeor 5b

Hol. tor ocriol

one of the cese panels (d The casa frama which appearsat the same end as
lig'-s(d
the control knobs
(c) Top of the casa. 4s is etglaind in the ntca thc dimqrsions'here.
and in (i and (b) are for guidance ot ry
H) How. the paris fit together (e) percpective view of the case (f) Deiiits of a simpla
wire handla

ggein, but there is-some advantage in re-adjusting

VR4 once more, after about 20 hofrrs use. wien thE
new PP9 battery has settled down. Do not then
Iater. re-adjust VR4 when another new battery is
fitted.
. If.ig is not possibleto tune up in frequency to the
local independent station, separate th6 turns of L1
a little. On the other hand, should it not be possible
to tune down in frequency to Radio 2, the iurns of
Ll can be- closed up a little.. In strong reception
areas results may be best with the aerial ciosed
down partially _o,r
even completely. Normally, control volume by VR3, but bai:k down VR2 if th'ereis
distortion due to a very po.werful incoming signal,
or microphonic howling due to too high-to an oscillator amplitude. If the output appears contain
too much treble, increase the value of C12.
Al,lil l, 1979

CABINET
A suggestedcase is shown in Fig. 5. Fig. S(d) is
the front and consistsof hardboard. A secondpiece
of hardboard forms the back and it has the same
dimensions and the same cut-out as the front.
When the case is assembled the two cutouts are opposite each other, i.e. they are both
nearer the control knob end. The caseis assembled
as shown in Fig. 5(d) and (e), and is then covered
with Fablon. It slips over the receiver assembly
ylth lhg open frame end, shown in Fig. b(e) on th-e
l o f t . ! i r l i n g l l h v p g n s e c _ t i n nFsi g . 2 ( a )a n d F i g . 4 / e )
as shown in Fig. a(g). The casewill have to be turned through 180 degreesfrom the position shown in
Fig. 5(e) in order to fit it to the rec-eiverassemblv as
i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g . 4 ( g ) . B o t h t h e s ed i a g r a m s h i v e
been drawn for maximum clarity, but tley are not
509

':ti,i

"in phase"with eachother.Two piecesof speaker

fabiic should be placed in the appropriate
positions,
in front of and behind the speaker.
When the casehas beenfitted to the chassis,a *
in. dritl shouldbe passedthrough the hole shownat
the top of the franie of Fig. a(eJ.A correspondingI
in. hol-eis then madeat the top ol the sectlonot r lg'
siti. fnere is alreadya |in. hblein tlre.itemof.Fig'
iiui. fn.r" two holeitak-ethe endsof the wire handie'shown in Fig. 5(f), which can be made from
stout wire. such-asis used in wire coat hangers'
ttris hanille holds the case and the receiver
assemblvtogether.
-'iimrist 6e emphasisedthat the dimensions
.ito*" in Fig. 5 are for guidanceolly and they do
noi allow f6r any dim6nsionaltolerancesin the
ieceiuer assembly.In -practicethe.casemust.be
made up to accommodatethe partlcular recelver
assembly,as constructed.
(Concluded)

.;
The rccclvar, complctc ln lts cetc and wlth the
wlrc carrylng handle ln Place.

N O W A V A I I . A B L E. . .

LATEST BOUND VOLUME No. 31

of
"Radio& Electronics
Constructor"

FORMAT
NEWLARGER
Comprising
768 pages
inc.index

AUGUST1977
to AUGUST1978

B O U N D V O L U M E N o . 2 7 ( A u g u s t1 9 7 3 t o
B O U N O V O L U M E N o . 2 8 ( A u g u e t1 9 7 4 t o
B O U N OV O L U M E N o . 2 9 ( A u s u s t 1 9 7 5 t o
B O U N D V O L U M E N o . 3 O ( A u g u s t1 9 7 6 t o

July
July
July
July

1974)
19751
1976)
'19771

PRICEf5.20 P&P90p
P R I C Ef 2 . 8 O
P R I C Ef 3 . 2 O
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We regretall other volumesare now completelvsolclout

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L T D . ,5 7 M A I D A V A L E ,L O N D O NW 9 1 S N
DATA PUBLICATIONS
olu

OoNSTRIIOTOR
nAt )lo ANI) I.)l,l.x)'flioNICS

Radio Toprbs
By'Recorder

heart in the sight of the owner

ol'a 1908 stationary engine sittins
behind it in a deck chair and beaml
ing away at it as it happilv chues
away. And I saw one lil[le-item 6f
radio interest: a small steam ensine
and dynamo unit. Durins-dropped
W6rld
War II these units were
behind the Japanese lines to eria'Ute
the batteries of clandestine radios
to be charged. An ingenious choice
of qoruer indeed; the steam engines
could be fuelled by any combustible material, and they would be far
quieter in operation than any petrol
powereo motor.
FLASHING L.E.D.

W E L S HD E V E L O P M E N T
A firm coming into the news
q-uite frequenrly lately is the
(iovernrnent backed electronics
tactory of Galatrek Ensineerine in
t h e S n o w d o n i aN a t i o n a l p a r k . 6 n e
of their latest designs,and visible in
the accompanying photograph. is
what is described as .'the plug
w h' li hc ihs t h i n k s f o r i t s e l f . "
i n g e n i o u s3 - p i n l 3 a m p p l u g
can rre lllted lnto a mains socket
w.hereupon,by means ot neon ind r c a t o r so n i t s l r o n t , i t w i l l i n d i c a t e
one of the fbllowing conditions: (l)
the socket, is safe; (2) danger,
reverse polarity; (3) danger,.'no
e.arth: (4) danger. live faultt (51
danger, neutral- fault.
'l'he
plug can be used bv do-itvourselt buft's, cratLsmen,
tradesmen, householders and installers of domestic electronic
equip:nent. Initially it was designed
1'or C & A Modes to protect
machinery
in their itores
throughout the U.K.
'fhe
tull address ol the manuracturer is Galatrek Engineerine.
Scot land Street, Lianrwsi,
( i w . y n e d d ,N o r t h W a l e s

"The plug
which thinks for
itself." When inserted into a
| 3 amp mains socket. indicators
on the front of
the plug show whether
the socket is wired safely or
whether
there are anv of
four basic faults. The plug is
manufactured
by Galatrek
Engineering
\ t , t tI t , I 1 ' ; 1 |

'lhe
accent these days appears to
.
be on nostalgia, and this is well exernplified by the current interest in
vintage radio sets. I have to confess
that I becornea little disturbed now
and again when I find that radio
equipment which I dealt with in the
norrnal course of events not so
l n a n v v e a r sa g o ( t o m y m i n d a t a n v
rale) has now fallen into the slot ol
"vintage" I

V I N T A G EV E R A C T T Y
(Jtritc a tew enthusiasts are
currently active not onlv in the
collection of vintage radio sets but
also.in the processof bringing them
hack to working order. And here a
little problem arises. If a comDonent in.a vintage radio has to'be
replaced rn order
.to get it to work,
snoutd the replacement be a
rnodern part or one which was made
: r l ; r r o u r r dt h e s a m e p e r i o d a s t h e
set itselP Commonsinse suggests
that a modern component shoul-dbe
e r np l o y e d . b u t t h o s e w h o a r e
searching for true vintage veracitv
rnnv well wish to employ components trom the period in which
the set was manufactured.
. In one-instance, however, it can
be actually dangerousto emplov
really old components, and this ii
when the parts concerned are elec_
trolvtic capacitors.Some of the oreyr,l h.l smoothing_ electrolyiics.
D e u e v el t o r n o t , u s e dt o o c c a s i o n a l _
It ,'.yp1,41,,
if they developed an internal short-circuit or passed too
high a leakageo.rripple currentl So.
lr vou are tryrng out a very old
l n a l n s r a c l l oa n c la r e c o n n e c t i n gi t t o
the rnains firr the first timb for
n r a n v . m a n y v e a r s .k e e p w e l l a w a v
f r o m t h e e l e c t r o l v t i c su n t i l y o u a r e
satisfied that all'is going well.
Mv thoughts in this direction are
partlv pro.mpted not by vintage
.
r a d l o s . b u lb v v i n t a g ec a r s . i n w h i c h
tnere ls an even greaterinteresl. I
had Ihe good lbrtune to attend
s e v e r a lo n e n - a i r m n t o r r a ! l i c c d r : r
rng oul' recent so-called ,.summer',
and was quite fascinated by the eartv cars, traction engines and
slationarv engineswhich were on
'i'iew,
l ' h e r estill in full workinq order.
i s s o m e t h i n gw a r m i n g t o t h e

Currently available from Norbain OptoelectronicsDivision, Norb , a i n. H o u s e , A r k w r i g h t

Road,
Reading, is what appeais to be the
first flashing light-dmittine diode to
appear on the electronics market.
'fhe
l.e.d. has a built-in integrated
circuit which causes it to flalsh on
and off at- approximately
3 pulses
-be
per second, and it can
driven
directly by standard t.t.l. and
('MOS circuits, thereby eliminating
the need for external switchins cirl
cuitry. Manufactured bv Litr"onix.
the l.e.d. has the type number FRL
4403.
'fhe
l . e . d . e m p l o-y s e a l l i u m
aresenide phosphide technology
and has a red diffused plastic leris.
M.aximum dissipatibn is 200
mrltrwatts at 250 degrees Cen_
'fhere
tigrade.
is a largi full flood
radiating area and a wide viewins
a n g l e .a n d t h e l . e . d . w i l l l e n d i t s e l T
particularly well to applications
wnere lt can g:ve warning of poten_
tlal or actual running condition
failure in any processingsystem.
LEAD FORMING
Eraser International Ltd... E 2/3
ast
-H_appton Court Parade,
Molesey. Surrey, have announced
the availability of a new, hand
operated. high speed component
Jggd gytting and forming machine.
'l'he
Wybar Model AR.-MI ..Side
Winder" is designed to cut and
hend al right angles the leads of axlal components such as resistors,
diodes and capacitors. etc.
'fhe
ARMf is a compact benchr . : r . : l t . , l : : ; : r i.l . ^ i . * i , i . i , i " i r r l i y
adjustable to accommodat'e
d i ffe re nt si ze com po.nen ts, a nd
whlch may be set bv the use of an
Allen key for anv- dimension ol
bend required. The machine will
process most axial components
which
'l'he a r e m o u n t e d o n b a n d o l i e r s .
components are formed and
cut by the turn of a handle - the
faster the handle is turned the
higher the production rate. Rates in
excess of 40,000 components Der
hour are possible. The machine is
ideal for both low and high -its
production environments, due 1o
low
cost in comparison with automatic
5lt

eouipment.
'Ali
cutting and forming dies are
manufacture-dfrom high qualitY
tungsten carbide, and the cutting
blaiiesare regrindable.
M O T O R S P E E DC O N T R O L
An integratedcircuit specifically
intended for dc. motor speedcontrol is described in a release bY
Fairchild Camera & Instrument
(UK) Ltd., of 230 High Street,
PottersBar, Herts. The i.c. has the
Fairchild proprietary type number
yA7392 and is in a 14-Pin d't.t.
package.
T h e r A ? 3 9 2 i s d e s i g n e dt o
orovidebrecisionclosed-loopspeed
control bf a.c. motors in sYstems
wherea tachometerreferencesignal
is available as an indication of
speed.It is particularly suited for
d'esimsituationswhere current relead-outs ard cut and bent to preAxial component
quiriments are eittrer less than
simply by turning the handle of the Model
shapes
formed
jOOmR or greater than 2 amPs
"Side Winder" machine marketed hy Eraser
ARMI
(when drivl can be Provided
Ltd.
lnternational'
throueh an external Power tranThe
sistor or power Darlington).
tachometer frequencY c.an be
eeneratedin anv manner, the onty
[onstraint being that the signal
INDOOR AERIALS
attenuatins effect of large buildings
availableat the device input terhow efTective
is
surprising
is much less noticeable, of course,
It
minals must exceed100mV Peaktelevision receivers can
radio
and
with conventional a.m. superhets
to-oeak.
elementarY of
having plenty of gain.in hand.
Possibletvpes of tachogenerator be with the mostI have had a 405
F.M.'receirtion-with the pull-up
aerials. For vears
whichcan b6-usedincludea multitelescopic aerial provided on most
line televisioh set working in a spare
ple pole motor winding,an oPtical
v.h.f. sets can also vary conroom. and I got excellent results on
bick-up from the motor's shaft or
condiPole
home-made
a
siderably according to the surrouniith
this
an opticalor magneticpick-upfrom
of coaxial
lengths
and it is sometimes necessary
two
of
dines.
sisting
'position
a tape recorder capstan or record
the set and its aerial
to
cable.each cut to about a quarter
turntable.
quiie critically for best Perforwavelength of the local Band I
tachogenerator
of
the
receipt
On
mance. For stereo recePtion an exchanne[ These were Positioned
sienal the uA7392 first converts tt
trqe
like
a
verticallY,
less
or
more
ternal aerial is, of course,well-nigh
in"toa oulie with a defined width
the
room,
of
the
corner
in
a
dioole.
essential.
and amplitude,the Pulsebeingthen
An external aerial is also a verY
braiding of the uPPer length co-nintegratedto geneiate a sawtooth
good thing for a colour TV receiver,
necting to the centre conductor ol a
waveform. This sawtooth is next
Eut somi friends of mine don't
third iiece of coaxial cable, and the
comparedwith a d.c. referenceto
length,
conneclower
of
the
ugru". e. witness.they point to their
braiding
pulse
producea
width modulated
thtrd
the
of
niun colour receiver-which gives a
braiding
to-the
ting
simal, the duty cYcleof which is
the
connected
cable
last
The
completely acceptable picture,on a
relatedto the error signal'Average
"r6le. to the set. Despite the frightdipole
tinv set-top aerlal, the only snor[the
from
available
current
outDut
mismatch this arrangement also
comins being a verY sllgnt
fui
i.c.-isup
' mto
o t300mA.
or
good results on Band III
graininiss due tb backgrorrnd noise
s
a
v
e
'
i
n
d
u
c
t
a
n
c
e
i
t
s
e
l
f
The
well.
as
IimalJ
which is just perceptlble. I ne aerlal
orovidesadequatesmoothing,so
With small sound receivers we
eiuu. on6 odd effect, though. Th-e
bnsurinsthat what is essentiallya
TV is positioned close to a wall
are Iarselv conditioned to use iniurrent passesthrough it.
direct
'fhis requiresthat the tachometer
aiuiaind the living room lrom the
door ae"rials,too. On medium and
used to
become
have
we
kitchen, and when anyone- goes,to
waves
lons
large
freoueniv be a sufficientlY
given
internal
with
kitchen cupboard on the other
the
the'performance
the motor sPeed.
multiple-of
the surdespite
'l'wodistinctdesignadvantages
side
of the wall-the colour drops out,
aerials,
rod
ferrite
are
leavins a black and white Picture'
orisinelv hieh decree of attenuation
offered by the YA7392 sYstem.
As mv friends remark haPPilY'theY
*nicn" is Iound in large ferroFirst. speedregulationis indepenSome years ago
buildings.
can ilwavs tell if the kids are
concrete
o
f
t
h
e
dent of the amPlitude
t.r.l'
simPle
very
a
uP
raidine tnl cuPboard!
knocked
I
tachometersignal,sinceit depends
If. i"ncidentallv, Vou are thinking
receiver for 1,500 metres onIY
only on the fiequency.Second,at
of buvine an indboi TV aerial, don't
which relied for nearly all its selechigherbattery voltagesthe system
iore;i tfiat the higher gain u'h'f'
tivity and its sensitivitY on -the
is more effiiient than equivalent
The set worked
are graded in groups' and that
itself.
tvpes
aerial
ferrite
result
is
The
systems.
d.c. control
when I
correct group-tor the
but
house,
want'the
mv
at
v-ou
oerfectlv
extendedlife for batterY Powered
in Your district. I'or the
to a large London
uitrtnent.
e q-sdecilic

design features include

(frequencyrrreCisionperformance
to-voltage conversion stability is
typically 0.f i for sup_p.lyvoltages
trom l0 to 16), on-chiP thermal
shutdown and over-voltage protection.
it2

iook it *ittt me
hotel the results were verY disaPoointine. The strongest 1,500 metre
sicnal *as given when I took the set
over to the window of the room in
which I was trying it out! The radio
worked perfectlv, later, in an ordinarv London house. The

ihannels
t"."ta. aerials in GrouP A ar! for
Channels 21 to 34, in GrouP ts for
Channel. 39 to 51, in GrouP C for
Channels 50 to 66, in Groqp D tor
Channels 49 to 68' and in Group rl
for Channels 39 to 68.
I

I T A I ) I 0 A N I ) h ] I , I ' X ] ' I R O N I CCSO N S T R U C T O R