N O V E M B E R1 9 7 8

Volume32 No. 3

cAS AND SMOKE DETECTOR by R. A. Penfold

Part 1

150

NEWS AND COMMENT

PublishedMonthly
(3rd of precedingMonth)
First Published 1947
lncorporating

The Radio Amateur

Editorial and Advenising Offices

57 MAIDA VALE LONDON W9 ISN
Telephone
0 1- 2 8 6 6 1 4 1

Telegrams
Databux. London

, Data Publications Ltd.. 1978. Contents

may only be reproduced after 'rbtaining
orior oermission from the Editor. Short
abstracts or references are allowable
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o a v a b l el o " D a t a P u b l i c a t i o n sL t d " . O v e r s e a s r e a d e r s ,p l e a s e p a y b y c h e q u e o r
I n t e r n a t i o n aM
l oney Order.

Tachnical Aueiles. We regret that we

aro unablo to answer queries other thsn
those arising from articles appearing in
this magazine nor' can we advise on
modifications to equipment desctibed.
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applopriste.
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Pto d u ctio n.-Web

Otfsot.

P u b l i s h e di n G r e a tB r i t a i nb y t h e P r o p r i e t o rasn c f
P u b l i s h e r sD. e t a P u b l i c a t i 6 n Ls t d , 5 7 M a i d a
V a l e ,L o n d o nW g 1 S N
The Radio & Elactronics Constructoris odnted
b y S w a l e P r e s sL t d .

NOVI.lMUI.lti1978

CD4O17 MUSICAL BOX bv G. A. French

144

Suggested Circuit

152

/\LTERNATING VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS

by F. Bowden

154

Double Deccer
PHOTO NIGHT LIGHT Series No. 1 bY lan Sinclair

156

] N T E G R A T E D C I R C U T TW O B B U L A T O R
by A. P. Roberts

160

SOLID STATE TELEPHONEEXCHANGESONE

STEP NEARER

166

NEXTMONTH'S ISSUE

167

3 B A N D S H O R TW A V E S U P E R H E Tbv R. A. Penfold

P a r t3

168

T H E S W I N G I N GM E T R O N O M Eb v R . J . C a b o r n 1 7 2
b Y R o nH a m
THE MCR1 RECEIVER

175

SHORT WAVE NEWS b y F r a n kA . B a l d w i n

For DX Listeners

176

EXCLUSIVE-ORGATE ln Your Workshop

Looking inside CMOS

174

BREADBOARD'78EXHIBITION

183

F O U R I E R S I G N A L A N A L Y Z E R b y M i c h a e lL o r a n t 1 8 4
For The
ELECTRONICS DATAS No. 39 B e g i n n e rT H E M U L T I V I B R A T O R

THE DECEMBER ISSUE

WILL B PUBLISHED ON
3rd NOVEMBER

ii

Part I

By R. A. Penfold

* Two-tone warble alarm

* High sensitivity to combustible gases
* Suitable for mains or 12 volt battery
operation
'fhe

It seems as though there is an electronic sensor

for iust about everv conceivable application these
c l a v s .r a n g i n g f r o m s i m p l e d e v i c e s s u c h a s t h e r m i s t o r s a n d b a d m i u m s u l p h i d e p h o t o c e l l st o m o r e
sonhisticated units such as the combustible gas
s e n s o rw h i c h i s e m p l o y e d i n t h i s p r o j e c l .
'fhe
sas sensor i-s a semiconductor device, the
semiconductor material being heated by an ord i n a r v h e a t i n s e l e m e n t s o t h a t i t i s o x i d i s e db y o x vcen in the air and exhibits a high resistance
two contacts which are attached to the
ir.t*..n the
'fhe
resistancebetween the two contacts
material.
is normally in the regionof 100ko or so.When a
combustibie gas comes into contact with the
semiconductoimaterial it has a deoxidising (reducins) effect and causesthe resistanceofthe device to
fall.

ry

Front panel lavout of tha gas and smoke detector. To

the laft is the alarm speaker. with the neon mains indicator central and the on-off switch on the right

sensor is sensitive to virtually any gas or

v a D o u r ,s u c h a s h y d r o g e n ,b u t a n e , c a r b o n m o n o x ide, methane, propane, rnost smoke, petroleum
v,rpour and meth.vlated spirit vapour. It will
detect these at concentrations well below the
lowest concentration needed to produce an exn
' losion.
Power for the unit can either be obtained from
the mains by meansof a simple power supply unit,
or a 12 volt d.c. battery supply can be used. The
runitis therefore suitable for use in the home as well
as in a boat or caravan. When gas is detected bv the
c i r c u i t a v e r v n o t i c e a b l et w o - t o n e a u d i o a l a r m i s
sounded.
THE CIRCUIT
F i g . I s h o w st h e c o m p l e t e c i r c u i t o l ' t h e g a s a n d
smoke detector, and this is based on three of the
filur comparators contained in the Motorola
M C 3 ; 1 0 2 Pq u a d c o m p a r a t o r i . c . ( o r i t s e q u i v a l e n t ,
t h e L M 3 3 0 2 P ) . O n e c o m p a r a t o r c o u p l e st o t h e g a s
cletectorcircuit and its output controls the two-tone
i r l a n n r i s c i l l a t o r .T h i s i s n r o v i d e d b v t w o m o r e o f
t h e c o r n p a r a t o r si n t h e M C a 3 0 2 P . T [ e f o u r t h c o m p i t r a t o r i s n o t u s e d a n d n o c o n n e c t i o n sa r e m a d e
to it.
Befirre consideringthe operation of the complete
circuit it will be helpful to refer to the skeleton circ u i t s o f F i g s .2 ( a ) a n d ( b ) . T h e s e s h o w t h e b a s i c g a s
detector and oscillator circuits resnectivelv.
'an
A comparator is rather like
operational
r r r n p l i f i e r ,a n d h a s s i m i l a r i n v e r t i n g ( - ) a n d n o n inverting (+) inputs. However, a comparator has
brrilt-in trigger circuitry so that the output will
ITAI)IOANI) F]I,ECTRONICS
CONSTRUCTOR

lLl

!A78MO5UC

C4

I C 2 . P i n1 2

Output (2)
Lommon ( J)
I n p u t( | )
pA78MO5UC
Lcod -outs
Fig.

l. The circuit

of the gas and

smoke detector

Resl.s/ors
( A l l f i x e d v a l u e s I w a t t 5 , ' nu n l e s s o t h e r w i s es t a t e d )

R1 1.5kr:
R2 33o * watt
Rll 1Oks. pre-setpotentiometer,0.1 watt
zontal
R'l 1.8ko
R|r47k o
116,56ko
R7 56ko
It8 56k o
I 1 91 . 2 M o
R 1 0 : 1 . 3ok
R t l 1 5 0 k o'
R12,116ko
Rlll j-r6ko
R14 ,t-r6ko
Rlll ,560ko
R 1 6 3 . : t ko
R 1 75 . 6 ko
Capacitors
O l 0 . 1 p F t y p e C 2 8 0( M u l l a r d )
02 0.lpF tvpe C280 (Mullard)
C3 0.1pFtype C280 (Mullard)
!l 0.lpl.' type C280 (Mullard)
C5 2.000pFor (2,200pF)polyesteror
polystyrene
OGl00pr.t'electrolytic,16 V. Wkg.

NOVEMBER1978

B F Y 5I
Leod * outs
Tha sensor rs a fGS

81 2 device

Semiconductors
I(ll s.A78M05UC
'IfCI t2l M C 3 3 O 2 P
BFYsl
(]as l)etector
Sensortvpe 'fGS il12 (Figaro)
Speoht'r
[ , S l r n i n i a t u r es p e a k e r ,5 0 - g C 0( s e et e x t )
Miscellaneous
Instnrrnent case
( i i r s s e n s o rh o l d e r
V e r o b o a r d ,0 . 1 i n . m a t r i x
S p e : r k e rf r e t o r c l o t h
Rolts, nuts, wire, etc.
Additional components for mains power
supply
Capacitor
C7 1,000pF electrolytic 16V Wkg.
Transformer
Tl mains transformer, secondarv g-0_gv at
2 5 0 m A o r m o r e ( s e et e x t )
Diodes
I)1 1N4001
I)2 1N4001
Indicator
P[,1 panel mounting neon
240Y a.c.
Sutitch
S 1 d . p . s . t .t o g g l e

to a
and the voltage at this input can be, set
pre-set
the
of
adiustment
bv
or.a.i.ittit.d-level
input is,also fed
rn.
;;;;;;i;;;6
"""-i"verting.
and tfiis.ionsists of the
aiuia".,
H;;';";;i;;iiut
or the gas detector and its
::;i.;"[;;;;l;";t
resistor.
load
^"'i;;il;;;;;nce
of sas or smoke at the sensorthe
it adjusted s9-,that the
p.;::;;'"p";tii".""tEi
is ver.yslightlyin exinput
Invertrng
the
voltaseat

tlPYi
ihe non-inverting
;;ffii irt"l pi,"a"Ced"at
to*'
the
of
output
i"
tt'u
ilir ;;.rtd
{ttOti*n* has
an

in the MC3302P
A;;;i;,;;.h
"o-putitor
outp.uttransistorhas
the
ii'e'
o,rtpt'f
collectot
onen
positiverail) and so
the
to
'iii'itt"-t^iiluJld.i.to.
is that the comparatoroutput tran;h;i'il";;s
the biasing
i.t,* i;i,i;"i-rluta on' It then remo.ves
il;;ah" tonegeneratoroscillatorand thus
;;;;;;
preventsthe alarm from betngactlvateo'
its
If the gas sensor detects-gas- or smoke at
voltage
th.e
and
.ignificantly
i^tt
i"iff
.".i.t".t""
will be taken abovethat at
;;;;;;-;"l'iin?i"p"ut
will cause.the output 'of
i"iut.'Ttrii
i"".tfi"g
iii"
or, in..otherword-s'-!he
go
nlgl
'tiuniittot
iii" ."-p^tilor^to
*ill switch off' The
output
comparator
the tone generator
on
no
effect
t'rt
ttt"'i
;;;;;;;;;;;
i. uifo*La to operatenormallv and
;;;iiT;;;;i'i"t'
producethe alarm.
S C H M I T TT R I G G E RO S C I L L A T O R

(b)

Fis. 2(a). ,n'

":IIT,'::,.:,::::I

which the sas

the basic manner in which

2(b). lllustrating
Fig.
'compatator
may be employed as an oscillator

eitherbe high (at virtuallv the positiveqtpplY-:lil

(at virtrially the negativesupply
i,,,i"'iti"jl
"?-iow
nt"n with the input voltagg-iacl'^ii
outputwill not
"",ji.itti"ri.
iiiu comparatoi
:i;"i.i;;;ilii""a
;;.;;"" an intermediate level'
'"C;;'";l'p;;;a;d
oiihe de-ujcedependsupon the
voltaees'If the non-invertingin.";;;;i;;input
inprrt'
hrgher..u,otlui?
put is-at a
!h1n^the inverting incomparative
tf
the.
go'nigtt'
then the output *,,,
put states^r. ,.u.r."h toih"t the invertinginput is
uoltug" than the non-inverting input'
X;;ill'il;
will. go low'
outPut
^
the
then
'--in
input.is fedr from a
f ie. z(b) the iriverting
"acrolsthe supplv raiI s
ui' ai;ii. ;^;;;;"cled
".,iinii

.ry
The qas sensor is positioned. in its holder'
Panel of tha unit

146

on the raar

i(ti *itt
The oscillator configuration of Figl
since the
p.,,truitv .""- rlttn*uiio some readeis'
and CA'
totnpon",ntt'.R-D
oetermrnrng
t'requency
inverting
and,the
output
nre connecteo netweerlthe
in a
therefore
are
They
comparator'
the
of
innut
m
ore
t
n
t
h
a
n
r
a
t
h
e
r
feedback loop
^the
"ll$li't,l,-iii"i'i!"Ju""f
"'o^iit.
t"op'Thistvpeofoscillator

Schmitt
is not often encount;;Ju'"a iq basbdon
there
iirg;;'"1,p"';;i;;. F;; oscillation.to occur and
output
the
i"p"t,
th"
ut
end
must be hysteresrs
a comi""ti *"it be out of phaie' When using
a
couple
to
necessarv
is
if
;;;"it
pllili,,t'i"",h;
input'
the.nol-inverting
to
lssi5torfrom the output
and in Fig. 2(b) this resistorrs KU'
"-f',i,
the'moment we will assumg.that the comand
p^t^i,,. ,,ttn"; i.:+"!;i the opencollector-type'
an
as
manner
same
the
in
go
high
i.ftot it can
assume
We
y:ll^utlp
uhptifi"' output'
;;;"ti";;f
R{, RB and RC all havethe
;fi;;;h;lh;;iJ.i.to"
samevalue.
-"\,ih;;';;;
supplv is applied CA is.discharge.d'
inverting input to be
-no"-lnuertirig
;t i'h;
inpur The
""riig'"
"^;'i;;'t"ttu ttrat
it the
i,,riJl'?n"t
RC is
and
higli
iti"t"fot"
it
c,mDarator output
of

thirds
*lfr' ne' Abouttwo
:;i#i;;illn
-i nve-rt
ing
n
n
o
th
e
t
"uiun"i
a
p
rs.
p
a
e
a
iliil!"
ii
i
iil"_: ;; ;i'"'
when
RD'
via
c.harge
to
'"CAiii;;i'Jiidilq'""'""'*"c'ei
"and marginally

t"uchet
t he voltase u..o..
the com;;.'-;."';h;; J tn" non-inverting input
iausing
rlr
co
\c to
l;;;;i;.';;in;;;iilp"'allel''ow"with
voltage
The
"1.'pitv
RB'
i;;^;ii;;ii;;i"" i"
lnpuf wiil in corsequencebe
; ;h;;;;-iht"tiitte
voltage'cA discharg'es
iti;*iplv
J
;;,;;;
"^ir''i'Jth" uoltug'"'atthe invertinginput falls
;i;'Ril;;lii
the
to one third of th"';;"p;lv uoitugg'wh5retipon
goes
hlgh.aglll--^
comparatoroutput
^ the cirto chargeand
OA oncernoreco,nmences
w-iththe
cuit continu". to o."iiiu1t in this manner'- bv'the
ir"",iJr.r'l,r ;;.iil"ii;;-being governedrhe oritfut^can be ta-k-en
;;lL;:',;i R'D ;;;'cA'
In pracitii- tn. output of the comparator'Stnce'
RAI)IO AND ELECTRONICSCONSTRUCTOR

tha intuntl laraut of th.

v',rlous ,adtlon' ol th' gE$and
emoke d'd'tctor

tice,the colnparatoroutputis of'the opencollector

add an externalresistor
it,r" it *if f lte necessar-'l'to
and the positiverail' This
i#;;;;';h;-,;;tp;t
*.i..t,ir't""u nou'"a value which is considerably
iu*"i ift,.n that of'RA, RB or RC'
P R A C T I C A LC I R C U I T
circuit of Fig' f in
Returningto the practicalit is necessaryto
results
reliable
,,.j"."in--,rt?ain
comthe gasdelec.tion
of
ci.rcuitrv
input
if't.
i;,;;.
volt
5
stabilized
supplylA
=tonttii.,i
a
naratortrrtm
railsupplv
liom thi"niain
!v
l';;;i;' i-";;;;;a
voltageregulator'IC1'
il;;;;,,i^l-}iLonotittric
5 vo-!tsupp$ for the heating
r'r{itir.";;;;i.ill"h.
*for""nt,,i rhe gas."ri.o.. C1 anciC2 ensurestabiliof
;;i; ,h;'il;iu?ot.-it'"t"mainder of this section
i'";f
h e c i r c u i t ' i sa s o u t l i n e di n F i g ' 2 ( a ) '
ilft"'two oscillatu.. troth follow-theprinciple
on
based
oscillator
ru.i.uiJ'-i; Fit. 2(b). The
tone' and it
itt"'audio output
-co.mmon
Iili;i";.;;t"t"t
emitter
of
-be
A;il: J r,i"i.p."xer bv wav
between
included
f
must
nf
ni.
^-,rf ifi..-f
ic)i.i',,ttpui-o.td TRt baseas the base-emitter
the output
ir"dii,," "itiRi would otherwiselimit and would
volt,
0'65
about
i';,i;;; ,,i IC2(c) to
l -l l o c ko s c i l l a t oor P e r a t i o n '
Wh",l gasor smokeis not presentat the selsor'
theootput
l('2(;i i.irleventedfrom operatingsi.nce

by
has no effect, of course,when IC2(c) is inhibited
I
C
2
(
a
)
'
f
r
o
m
o
u
t
p
u
t
t"h' Ue"lfo, ,w
t"
cbncluding on circuit details' a note
rnu"fa'fr" made concerningthe-5 volt regulator'
i t t i ] t r n " i " s u t o t n t o r s i n a l l v e m p l o y e d ,a n d w h i c h
comi s v i s i b l e i n ' i h e p h o t o g r a p h s ,w a s t h e 1 0 0 m A

r,-Azat-"osWc.This worked .quite

;",;;;i'ir';.
[,tii-i^.ti,.irv. but it was subsequentlyfound that
figure for thb heaterresistance
;ii;;;;i;i;biui"i'.
,,i'tirr fCS 812 gas?."i". is 38 tl, which would
il-, .*"..t of 100mA to flow at 5
;;"..; o^
"u.t."i
it is recommendedthat a 5
volts. In consequence
emplov"d,and.a suitable
b.
t.-g"t"t"t
;;;ii';doil

in the
;;;; i; ii,i;'pXzaMosUc*hi"h is speciried
sink'
atreat
requife
not
does
ii
i.i.i.
il"rn,,^"rt,.
"r"zuiutot
are
i'c'
Mc^3302P
the
and
ir;;l;''iiii,*"ii"rrt. frofi Maplin ElectronicQqpptitt'
'f

h e g a s s e n s o rt y p e T G S 8 1 2 a n d . i t s h o l d e r c a n

if"lrord Electronics,35 Cardiff

1,. ;i;;;;i'it"WD1 8ED'
Herts,
i1i,oa.Wutiord,

M
'"'n
A I N S P O W E RS U P P L Y
.tit"lfe mai.,s-po*er supply circuit for the
unit is shownin Fig. 3. The malnslupply rs conint""gtt o"-oit switch 31 to the primarv of
;;;;;
is a
i.;;i,,;^;;d".ttep-ao*n transformerT1' PLl be a
,r"ii.i-t",-nting neon indicator,and it must
5;;;;,,;;;i i""3tpo.utlng an integralseries-resistor

i"i"'iio *ir;";;i;
...".if^.u

;p;iation. fhe centretqppg.d

*inding of Tt feeds a conventional full-

,i ii:zi"i-"ri,,iatit'-nonli"ue*i"ginput lt IC2(c)
ltllt:

outputof
iii,,."trr"ti,erovults.Asa result,-the
supplv
negative
to
equal
i;;;;;;.t
lhe.
as
is
essential'
"-i.t"allv
This
off'
cut
-quiu.cent
^.d tnTi.
"rii^*" "r.,,,
output-currentwould
I' tie-i't
If sasor smoke
"i'r.,'"}ili..
ii,,*'titi,-ct f'nr inJ titetpeak'er'
andthe
i- i"i;;i;iin" tl.iit""ie of'thesensor'lalls
is then
I.C2(c)
off'
i(a)
turns
t"-ie
transrsror
output
ffi';;"..iirut. andproducean audibletonein the
-t'Kfil;dt,,
bv
alarmcanbemademorenoticeable

eitti.i pul*ingor. as in the presentcase'frequencl'

is
- , i a u t o - t i n ci h e , r u t p u tt o n e ' T h e . m o d u l a t i o n
';;,;i;;i il" ln* t,i*'r..quencvoscillatorbasedon
lo the bias
ic2ii;]. Thi*"r'u* it. ourfut cbnnected
for the toneo.iittutorvia Rl1, and it has
""t-,,.f.
switchingthe output tone betweena
i;;';ii;;i
"f
i,f o f"* hundredHz and about lkHz at
i;;;;;
nr. rtt" resultantalarm^signalis
;;;;';';'iu*
It shouldbe notedthat IC2(b) os"..u""tt""iiue.
the unit is switchedon' It
tittt"-inoi
tt-t"
.ifi;t".
"ir
N O V U M B I . I R1 9 7 8

D1
tN400l

t-.

o- ,'.il
m oi n t

IL - -

incorPoratas
Fig. 3 fhe mains power supPlY
dard full-wave

rectifier

circuit

a stan'

Tha maia citmgcorrrt

pan&l.
Tha sansttlvity aonkA ielrrrn,
EornetDt lt tnaufitdd oh tlir
P',nal

\\l

....*

wave rectifier and smoothins circuit. The loaded

output voltageof the supply-is approximately 12
volts.
. The mains transformer can be any type having a
'l'hat
9-0-9 volt secondary rated at 250mA or more.
employed by the author is an Osmabet MT9V, the
9 - 0 - 9 v o l t s e c o n d a r yo l w h i c h i s r a t e d a t 1 a m p .
This transformer ii available from Home Radi,r
( C o m p o n e n t s )L t d .
CONSTRUCTION
The prototype is housed in a metal instrument
case having dimensions of 5 by 6 by 2jin. (127 by
152 by 63mm.), this being available from Harrison
Bro.q., P.O. Box 55, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex,
SS0 71,Q.This case takes the components comfbrtably without crowding when the mains power
supply is used, but it necessitates employing a
speaker whose diameter is not greater than 63mm.
Suitable speakers of this size are fairlv readilv
available; Lhe Maplin catalogue, for instince, list,s
a 5 0 t t . s p e a k e rw i t h a d i a m e t e r o f 5 7 m m .
The speakeris mounted on the right hand side of'
the front panel, as viewed from the rear, and reouiresa circular cut-out about 50mm. in diameter.

'l'his

can be made with a fretsaw or a needle file. A

piece of speaker fret or cloth should be glued in
lrli<re behind the cut-out and then the speaker is
t'rrrefirllv glued in position over this. Use a high
rlrralitv adhesive such as an epoxy type and be
t:rireful not to smear any adhesive on the speaker
rlilphragm.
PL1 and 51 are mounted side by side on the left
lurncl side of the front panel, again as viewed from
the rear. The gas detector is fitted in its special
holder which is mounted in the top left hand corner
of' the rear panel. The holder requires a main
i6mrn. diameter cut-out, and the holder can then
be used as a sort of template with which the
yrositionsof the two 68A clearance mounting holes
rnav be located.
Should it be necessary to have the gas sensor
remotelv located from the rest of the unit for some
reitson,it is perfectly acceptable to connect it to the
nrain unit via a 3-way cable up to several metres
long.
If the unit is to be mains powered, an entrance
hole firr the mains cable is required in the rear panel beneath the gas sensor.This hole must be fitted
with a grommet, and the mains cable secured inside the case with a suitable clamp.

Trrc lte,dy fiedq inttfiimont casa amptoytd for tha

F/'atotlF' gtvos thc unit an impre*ivo linlth

148

;RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

o
oo

ooooooooooooo

ooooooooq
quoolv oG
zr-rr't.--

o
o

{':'^Ci:r9l:.t

o
o
o

R4

o
o

Iio;.il
:i
i--x
iih
i t illilT".
ll;TI
E
I
T"ll
l,,i?bnr
,l-', l-hIil l?tll[":
&; : 1".: IV':: tl.ul.
o

o
O

oo

0o

A
B

c
D
E

G
H
ofi-i-Io)oo

J
K

Fig.4.ThasmaltcomponentsareasscmbledonaVeroboardpanel.Shownhefaarethecomponentandcoppersides

C
O M P O N E N TP A N E L
"-Aii'ti"'.-"rt
com[onents ar-e-assembledon a
o,ii.. -"ttii Veroboqldpanelwhich.has14:o,!pgt
ttsirins bv 33 holes.The componentlayout tssize
re(uired
the
pandl
of
a
Aft"t
a.
i"#"t".i i""r'ie.
;;; ;l;t;ith-a hicksaw,.anv rough edges
il:'fffi
and the two 68A clearancemountrng
flat
,t" fit"a
Th; 13 breaksin the copperstrips
i';j;;;;itt"d.
sol4eringthe components
before
;;;ih;;;;a;
devtcesare wlreo
into nosition.The semiconductor
-"tt be taken not to omit the 5
i;"i.il;;
link wires. "".t
The component panel.is mounted.t"yq-9: $:
and two

should be
cumulator, a2-way non-reversiblesocket
lines

tt'" i"ui p"nel and the.supplv a

;;;i;;i^;;
to.thisvta
pinel connected
il;;;'t[; component
lead'
l.ii.-.t.'t"irir.-!*if"n i;;;'.d in the Positive
bv.a
unit
lhe
to
i.
iln"ected
ti." i'z-viTt
batterv
"i;;i;;;'piug,-""a.
be
must
great.
care
l,ii;";"I" ^"iJ"t.-Ittli-t"ti"
The
correct'
potu"titv
.is
Ul"J#';"
negative
;.;;i ;;-;';"n Lamadecom-on wittr^ttre
tag
a,solder
of
wa.v
bv
'nude
bei"g
;;;i, ;#;.til;
(If
the
socket'
tie
io'
^'tt
-an-e"vironment
tt'! ...t?i"g
;;i";;;;;i
positiv-e
with
i"
t.La
rl"
i-";;
;;trail
.i." -"v u";ffi;;ttd t" thepositive
;;ilhiil
lead')
;;'.i'ii.,; ;";ii .*li"rt l.."iied i n ttrenedativeoperatrt" .*-iiln,-socketandplugusedfor batte.rvcom*i*t-Co to the ri.ght,
rinnii"ri'"iitt.'i".!
in t"heaccompanving
of
bottom
,1;,;;;;;;i',ir,ia"a
i"
in
pottoA,of
efiA ;1."t;;;-h;1". are reguired if,t
Af,d;ffi;;#i';i;;;;;required
if,e
ponentsList.

;#;;;i;;-it"

Spaci"g*ashe" ureri.tte{9ve1!f9

urrusrr^ru, ofth-e
Keclr LrrE underside
!J'.*.il
screws [o k;;p.th;
titJA mountlng
Hil!ffi#;i"?

panelclearofthe^insidemetalsurfaceglllL.tAT;

NEXT
'' -ih; MONTH
will
:;htiC;,i'il*;:^"-":'S,l".,"ni.oit""H::[l{
ffi
lni.t.u"tion of the mainspower.supply
article'
concluding
month's
next
in
;;,

;ild'th'!-;;;L*."ti?ar
{1Jitq-1*,
:::1i'"11i1'#
*l'dtXt;:
before
and tne gas sens( ti"taer should.bemade
pu""I is finally
final mounted-in place'^
thei panel
i s to
t o 6e poweredfrom a 12.voltexterlif-tn"-unit
f t h e u n i t is
"ui-tutt.iv,

which would normally be an ac-

fr"'il"..tiU.a
up and
;ft"; *hi.h a"[uiit *iri-i. giut" for setting
unit.
the
using
(To be concluded)

Remote'Read-out' Thermometer
We regret.that,during.tbec'g.ysX;,f;til9i6;1u
p";;;;. T; the abovearticle'The
NOVEMBER T978

wasomittedfrom the list of com-

AND

NEWS
S T A T I CD I S C H A R G EI N T H E M O D E R N O F F I C E
Static electricitY in the modern
world of electronids,particularly in
the offices of industiY, is a costlY
oroblem.
It can affect data entry termrnals, central Processors' woro
nrocessing stations. mint combut.t*, eiectronic cash registers,
disc drives and computer printers of
everv tvpe.
Ai manv readerswill know when
\tatic dischargesto or near sensitive
logic components, a wave of electr()macnetic interference is set up.
The siatic wave spreads out in all
directions from the point of static
di.charge. When this wave reaches
conductiveobjects.such as logic circuits, a small electrical current is
senerated. These small "eddY"
lurrents cause circuit malfunctions
and permanent damage, not alwaYs
easv to correct.
Comnuter and other electronic
equipment manufacturers try to
shield sensitive circuits from static
discharge.,but no equipment is 100
ner cent immune from this hazard.
Metal housings for the equiPment
n, but static can travel
c a n h e l 'cracks
and seams in the
throush
eouinment to cause malfunctions'
The'moulded plastic housings offer
l i t t l e n r o t e c t i o na n d m a k e t h e c o m ponents inside particularly susceptible.
A quick and reliable method of
improving computer lystem pertormance is to control statlc levels

of Uelostat
3M united Kingdom Limited has introduced a range
any excessive
off
to
drain
designed
mtts,
floor
alectrically
processing
"onduitir"
in the modem officc anvironment of data
stdtic present
photo
shows a
rhe
equipment and computeilsc{
:ii'?:";":"chinery'
around the equipment. Where there
ls a rlsK or personnel electrostatic

bv :lM tlnited Kingdom Limited of

rt new "Velostat" electrically con-

clamage.
The introduction from America

ttrg tn r:loseproximiiy to' sensitive

t'qtllpmerlt'

iii*n^i:g. i-ESDi1;C"u." -u"rlu".;,,; ;i ;;;[i*J,'i;' ir.,urt".i ;;;;;';"

i;- .tl-i"u1. trt.
iii;' ;;;;;i;;
li,.',rJ'iiJ"n-".e"lr"i"* lT'.; ."r;i

du':t'ivef'loorrnat meansthat any

drarnis ha.rmlesslv
staticdischarge
ed lrorn personnelbv s!9ngt1con
or bethenewmatswhentiperating,

FISH FINDINGIN COLOUR

tinguishable from other echoesdue t<l clear colour

The ChromascopeK range of echosoundersfrom
particularlSr fish shoals on the seabed.
graduation,
'
Marconi Marine, a GEC-Marconi F'lectronlcscom' C h r o m a s c o p eK ' u s e s a d u a l t r a n s d u c e r
E
v
e
r
y
echoes.from
;;;r-. i; J"-ig""a to display received
and the two frequencies can be selected from 14,
i'i'.h*h,,alsand the seabedin colour on a televlsron2 4 . 2 8 , f ' ) 0 ,7 5 a n d 2 0 0 k H z . T h e c o l o u r d i s p l a y
stor-age
a
from
fed
iunu ...."n. Received echoes,
ruutornaticallyindicates the range scale in use and
t i r ! ^ , i r v . i i . u i t , a r e d i s p l a y e d i n . c o l o u r s . a n dt i n t s
t h e d e p t h o f t h e s e a b e d .A t a p e r e c o r d e r c a n b e
signals
the
of
to
theinte.t.ities
*r-ri.riii*.tti i'ut"t"
rrrovided to store displaved information for later
is
a
a;.i't i.tdiuid.tul objects. The result
;;;;i;J
ieolav.
form
to
integrate.
which
signals
of
motaic

;;i;;.;a
which showsfish shoals
^ li',^ttlit . presenta1ion
which is easyto intera
manner
in
^na lft. .eatrea
RADIO CLASSES
p..t." tn" l"l.g.ut.a chart is constantlyupdated A M A T E U R
R . A . E .1 9 7 9
ir.rm the -e-ory store.Bottom lock and ran-geexboth availableas well as the ability^to
no".riun
l;i;;;;;;'-a;v
A c o u r s ew i l l s h o r t l v c o m m e n c el b r t h e R . A . E . a t
"tu particular soundingif required for
(]osforth High School, Gosforth., Elquirie.s
the
examination.
closer
--iSi*t."n
should
be addressed to the Principal, Gosforth
shadesof colourare usedfor displaying
A
d
u
l
t
Association, Gosforth High School,
stqge^s
only.four
with
as
compared
'nt^iuoii"n-piovided
intensities
echo
K
n
i
g
h
t
s
bridge, Gosfbrth, Newcastle upon Tyne.
black
by a conventional
,,i'
on,i' *t it. dis$lay. Coloui changesaccordingto T t r t o r l ) . R . L o v e d a y ,G 3 F P E .
Another course preparing candidates for the
echn intensity, sirongestecho 6eing. dark red,
blue,and the colours R . A . F ] . w i l l b e h e l d a t t h e D e B e a u v o i r I . L . E . A .
*nite ind nonlechoes
*"^t
l . ) v e n i n gI n s t i t u t e , T o t t e n h a m R o a d , L o n d o n N 1 .
ir,^g;".tirt.,i"gh red, orange, y-ellow,green,. blue 'futor
Fred Barns, G3AGP.
two
with
sreen.white.'sreeni;hblu;and blue, each
Courses are considered suitable for those
Both
plankton
fish'
Large
level.
Iow
to
nigti
ilt"i'ri"*
to gain an insight into radio Theory.
dtswanting
clearly
zonesor othei imagesand shoalsare
150

RAI)IOANI) EI,ECTRONICS
CONSTRUCTOR

COMMENT
B B C W A V E L E N G T HC H A N G E S
S C O U T ST O H E L PT H E E L D E R L Y
Following the information we gave in our
February issue on the BBC wavelength changes,it
is very pleasant to record the help to be given to the
elderly and infirm by scouts when the changes
come into effect.
The Scout Association have agreed to co-operate
with BBC Radio by offering to assist the elderly
and the houseboundto retune their sets in a "TuneA-Radio-Week".
The BBC is concerned that many older people
especially those with failing eyesight inay need
help to retune their radio sets. To meet this
challenge, the BBC and the Scout Association are
to mount Tune-A-Radio-Week in November. "We
are delighted that the Scout Association is encouraging Iocal groups to take part in this very important community service", says Stephen Heqry!,
Controller Radio 3 who is Chairman of the BBC
group planning the public information campaign.
He continues: "Many elderly people living alone
are dependent on their radios, but many of them do
not often change from one station to another.
Retuning to find different wavelengths in
November will be particularly difficult and confusing for them. Now that the Scout Association
has agreed to help there is less need for elderly peonle
to worrv".
'
The changes that will take place are:
Radio 1 moves to 1089kHzl275m and
1053kHz/285m:
Radio 2, at present on long wave moves to
medium: 693kHz/433m and 909kHz/330m;
Radio 3 moves to 1215kHzl247m;
Radio 4, at present on several medium waves,
moves to two long waves: 200kHzl1500m and in
Central Scotland 22lkHz I 1322m.
The changes come into operation on 23rd
November. Tuning positions for VHF services remain unchanged, as well as Radio Scotland, Radio
Wales/Radio Cvmru. Radio Ulster and most BBC
local radio stations.
We are sure our readerswill be among the first to
assist anyone they may know who, through age or
infirmity, finds it difficult to cope with the changes.

F R O N TP A N E L I N D I C A T O R S

''Nk

NOVEMBER 1978

SAFER CUTTING

'lhe
OK Machine & Tool Co., of 48A The
Avenue, Southampton, SO1 2SY, have introduced
the new OK SAF 01 safety shears,which can handle hard or soft wires up to lmm diameter, incorporate an adjustable clip to hold wire firmly after it
has been cut. This prevents the hazard of clippings
flying into the eyes or dropping into the workpiece.
A spring loaded scissors action ensures a clean
cut, and the shears' handles have a bright orange
padded covering which not only makes them comiirrtahle during firolonged use but also ensuresthat
thev can be found easilv on a cluttered wofhbench.
ihe shears, availabl6 from OK Machine & Tool
( t f K ) L t d a t 2 . 1 1 e a c h w i t h d i s c o u n t so n q u a n tities of 10 or more, are part of a large range of electronic and electrical technicians' hand tools.

We have been pleased to receive from readers a

number of compliments on the contents and
presentation of R.&E.C. during recent monthsl
We, naturally, wish to maintain the standards
we have set particularly in regard to the reliability
of our projects; a reputation which is second to
none in our sphere of publishing. Unfortunately
costs have continued to rise during the last 12
months and we regret that, commencing with the
next issue, the cover price will be increased by 5p.
The next issue will however contain more pages
and, in fact. be even better value.

Verospeedhave introduced a range of front panel

indicators to suit most electronic requirements.
Filament types are available in three voltageswith
two body styles in five colours. 250V neons in both
bodv styles can be supplied in a choice of three
colours.
Prominent in the range is a 3.2mm diameter
L.Fl.D. housed in an exceptionally attractive
nickle-plated brass body, which is secured to the
front p_anelby a fixing nut. It is available by return
from Verospeedin either red, green or amber and is
n
r ie
c er od sapt ee0d. 6' s6 .
-V
Barton Park
address is:10
lndustrial Estate, Eastleigh, Hampshire.
151

CIRCUIT
SUGGESTED

CD 401-7Musical

l ) e s p i t ei t s l i m i t e d r e p e r t o i r e ,t h e
music'al box Project which is
described iri ttris month's
"succested Circuit" article is quite
a n a m u s i n gn o v e l t y . I t i s c a p a b l eo f
continually rePeating anY we.ll
known melbdy of uP to nine notes in
*.ouun.", provided that each note
can be reproduced for the same
i""otU uf time. If desired, one or
moie ^l'the notes may be rePlaced
bv an equal period of silence.

C D 4 O 1 7C O U N T E R

llnder this condition only the 0 output,, to which no connection is

made, ls nlgn.
Rcsct
I
Moving Sl to the "Start" position
causesttre reset pin to be connected
Clock InPUt
i,r t[e negative iail. whereupon th.e
number outputs from I to I go hlgh
Clock cnoblc
2
in turn. In the diagram the 1 outPut
nin is shown at the toP and the 9
out
Corry
6
iiurput pin at the pgttom When the
I r]utput goes high, diode Dl
t
becomes forward biased and passes
a current via VR1 and R4 to C2 in
'4
3
the emitter circuit of the unijunc'e'
iiirn transistor, TRl. All the other
diodes in the circuit are reverse
biased and the rem^aining Potentiometers have no effect on clrcult
cD40l7
Topvicw
oneration.
'At
the next count the 1 outPut
goes low, causing Dl to become
i"ue.*u biased, and the 2 outPut
Fig. 1. Pin functions of
soes hieh. Current to C2 now Passes
the cD4Ol7
integnted
,ria the forward biased diode D2'
circuit
VR2 and R4. At the next count the
current passes via VR-3,-theI. via
VR4 and so on uP to VR9' There
outDut goes low the 0 outPut goes
follows a period during which the 0
()utr)ut soes hieh, after which the I
hieh again and another decade
output'gnes high again and the
count commences.
wh,lle cvcle rePeats.If at anY time
The carrv out outPut at Pin 12
triggers the'succeedingcounter in a
Sl is tiken to'the "Stop" position
and then returned to "Start," a new
muiii-decade counting series,and is
cvcle starts with the 1 outPut inhieh while the 0 to 4 outputs are
hieh and goes low when the 5 to 9
ifially going high.
fflt'is in-a conventional unijuncoutDuts are high. The carry out outtion oscillator circuit, the frequency
Dut is not used in the Present Pro, r t : , r s c i l l a t i o nd e p e n d i n g . . u P g nl h e
iect and no connection is made to it.
charsing current avallable Ior
. r n o i i t n i C 2 . T h u s , i t i s P o s s i b l et o
F U L LC I R C U I T
a d i u s t t h e P o t e n t i o m e t e r sV R I t o
musical
the
of
The full circuit
VRg such ihat the oscillator freis
a
llox appears in Fig. 2. At the left
quencv follows the notes of a sim-ple
sranda;d astable multivibrator cirmelodv. with the provisoson perforc u i t . i n c o r p o r a t i n ga 5 5 5 t i m e r i ' c . ,
mance which were mentloneo
which feeds a seriis of pulses to the
.oitl".. The melodv is reProduced
T
h
e
C
D
4
0
1
7
.
clock input of the
hv the 15o loudsPeaker connected
clock enable pin is directly -co.nin the base 1 circuit of the unijuncnected to the negative rail and the
tion transistor. The output is at a
reset pin is taken high via R3 when
sufficientlv high level to be comtbrposition.
is
in
the
"Stop"
switch 51
RAI)IO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR
)

supp'v
Nes
,.il:#Ti "l#'&t's''n?::i:
tYPe CD4017.
tlounter-Divider
This versatiledevicehas appeared

in a number of home-constructor
nroiectsin the past and it will be
irelniut here to-briefly review the
m a' fnhnee r i n w h i c h i t o P e r a t e s .
ninout diagram of the
C l ) 4 0 1 7a p p e a r si n F i g . 1 , w i t h t h e
u i n l u n c t i o n s i n d i c a t e d .P i n 8 c o n nects to the negativesupply and pin
l 6 t o t h e p o s i t i v es u p p l y . T h e c l o c k
innut pulses are fed to Pin 1'4,and
th'e device advances one count on
each nositive-goingpulse edge. The
ckrck'innut is'inhibitedif the clock
enable pin, pin 13, is "high''' i.e.
close t,i or it the potential of the
rrositivesupplv rail, and is enabled
i f o i n l l i s ' ' i l o w , " i . e .a t o r n e a r t h e
o , r i e n t i a lo f t h e n e g a t i v er a i l . I f t h e
ieset oin. pin 15, is taken high the
counter is'cleared to 0, and the 0
outDut at pin 3 goes high. All the
other number outputs are then low.
When the reset Pin is taken low,
the {) output goes low at the next
u , r s i t i v e - g o i n gc. l o c k i n p u t p u l s e
edse, and the 1 outPut at Pin 2 goes
hish. The following positive-going
clock pulse edge takes the 1 outPut
low, and the 2 outPut, at Pin 4, high'
The successi.re number outputs
then go hieh in turn until the 9 outp u t a i p i n l l g o e sh i g h . W h e n t h e 9
t52

Pos. suPply

tcz
cD40r7

C3
pF

BYI
9V

IOV wkg

Stop

r{T-f
a 1_l-

1t-r

I Stort

Al

82v

555
Top view

lOOkn

Rt-R5

l/4 wott 5olo

tN4002

2N2646
Lcod -outs

Fig.

2.

t a b l v a u d i b l e - i nq u i e t s u r r o u n d i n g s
and the oscillator circuit around
T!1 has the advantage of considerable simplicity.

TUNINGUP
89fo1e finally assembling the
musical box circuit it is wortliwhile
having a reasonableidea of the tune
it is to plav, as it may be possibleto
omlt one or more of the diodes and
potentiometers. For instance the
familiar passage"Should auld acquaintance be forgot" at the start of
"Auld Lang Syne" has onlv eisht
n o t e sa n d e i t h e r D I a n d V R 1 , o r D 9
and VR9 could be omitted. It is advisable to choose a tune in which
successive notes have a different
trequency; if two successivenotes
are at.the same frequency
it is just
-transiiion
p,rssible to detect the
from one number output beinghigh
t o t h e n e x t , b u t i n g e n e r a lt h e t w o
n r ) t e st e n d t o b l e n d t o g e t h e r . . As o l u tion to this difficuliy consists of
tunlng the second note so that its
frequency differs from that of the
fi r s t b y a n e x t r e m e l y m a r g i n a l
amount.
melody can
. A well recognisable
be taken from i'Colonel Bogey," the
passage in question being that
which has been immortalised bv the
u n o f f i c i a ll v r i c " D a h - d a h , a n < i t h e
same to youl" (Or, the writer
hastens to add, words to that
effect.)This reproduces very effecNOVFII\,IftltRi978

vRt-vR9
D r- D c

- l

The

complete

circuit

of

the

CD4O|7

musical

tivelv if there is a gap following the

i n i t i a l " D a h - d a h , ' ' w h e r e u p o n *t h e
sequence consists of two notes. a
space. and five more notes. D3 and
VR3 may be omitted, as also may
I)9 and VR9, the resultant configuration being shown in Fig. 3.
Here no conneitions are mad-e to
the 3 and 9 outputs of the CD4017.
Tuning up is fairly critical, but is
not too difficult if a little patience is
exercised. When skeleton pre-set
potentiometers are used it will
probably be found that the larger
0..25watt types are easier to set up
than the iub-miniature 0.1 watt
components. Frequency increases
as the resistance inserted bv each
potentiometer decreases, arid the
potentiometers should preferably
be wired up such that decrease in
resistancecorrespondsto clockwise
rotation of the slider.
After deciding upon the tune to
be rrlayed the assembled circuit
shodld'be turned on and started.
The values of the timing components connected to the 555 i.c.
allow one complete cvcle to occur in
about 6 secorids and this is slow
enough to enable the potentiometers
to be adjusted. If the first note is too
low_VRl is experimentally set up,
whilst the other notes are being
sounded,for an increasein frequencv, and is then experimentally
readjusted again, if necessary,until
the first note is correct. The same

hox

procedure is carried out with the second note, and so on. An alternative
approach consists of slowing down
the i-r55bv temporarily connectinga
{.7yF or 5pF capacitor across Cl,
whereupon each note can be adjusted during the period that it is
sounded. Higher frequency notes
h a v e a m o r e p l e a s i n gs o u n d t h a n

Fig. 3. For some tunes, such

as the "Colonel
Bogay"
theme. some of the diodes
and pre-set potentiomaterc
may be omittad
l5ti

lower frequency notes from the

unijunction oscillator.
It, atter tuning, it is considered
that the reproduction rate of the
notesis too ilow, it may be speeded
up by replacingRl with a 100ko
resistor.This will produce a completenote cyclein about 3 seconds.

T
I

F U R T H E RP O I N T S
A few further points remain to be
dealt with.
The reset switch 51 employed
with the prototype was a normal
toggle component, and no
precautionsneed to be taken
againstcontactbounce.During any
contactbouncethat exists,pin 15 is
merely taken high and keeps the
counterresetwith the 0 output high.
The musicalbox shouldbe switched
on at 52 with 51 in the "Stop" position, after which S1 is set to
"Start." No harm will result if 52 is
closedwith 51 at "Start", but it
may be found that the note sequencecommences
at somepoint in
the cycle.With the prototypecircuit
it was found that the sequence

t,

T
I

Bclo9
LCOd -OUtS

n^.n,

l/a wott 5o/o

FiC.4.
lf considered
necessary,
a voltage
regulated supply, as shown
here, can be employed. This
cassas S2 to be movad to t
new circuit position

srartedcorrectlv when 52 was closed with 51 set Lt "Start" on many

occasionsbut not always.
Cl is a polyester or polycarbonate capacitor. "Mylar"
c a p a c i t o r s ,i n c i d e n t a l l y , h a v e a
polyester dielectric. If a higher
value capacitoris connectedacross
Cl to slow down the 555 timer during tuning up, the added capacitor
will almostcertainlybe electrolytic.
Its negativelead sliould,of corirse,
connectto the negativesupply rail.
The current drawn from the 9
v<rltsupply is approximately 6mA.
The circuit is supply voltage sensitive and is liable to detune when
the supply voltagefalls below some
8.5 volts.If this is considered
a disadvantage the circuit may be
powered by an 18 volt supply
feedinga 9 volt regulatorcircuit, as
shown in Fig. 4. The current consumption at 18 volts is then of the
order of 10mA. but the two 9 volt
batteriesprovidingthe 18 volt supply will not needto be discardeduntil their combined voltage falls to
about 12 volts.
I

ALTERNATING VOLTAGE

MEASUREMEruTS
B y F . B owden

A.C. VOLTS WITH A SINGLE DIODE

Ever since its inception, this magazine has
presentedcircuits ranging from the very basic to
more complexdesigns.The circuit to be discussed
here will probably rate as one of the simplest of
them all since.essentiallv.it consistsof onlv one
component:a itiode! How6ver,it is a diode which
can be successfullyused to easethe problems of
measuringalternating voltageswhen only a direct
voltagereadingvoltmeteris available.
In Fig. 1 the voltmeteris a moving-coilinstrunilent, and will consist in practice of the meter
rflovementitself in serieswith a resistor. It could,
Silicon
daods

Voltm"t?r

Fig. l. Connecting a diode rectifier in series

with a direct voltage voltmeter enables it to
measure alternating voltage
lb4

for instance, be a multimeter switched to a

direct voltage range. The meter can be used to
measurealternating voltageby inserting a rectifier
diode in serieswithlne ofits ierminals and applyins it to the alternatins voltageas shown.Provided
th"ealternatine voltaeJis sintisoidal(and assuming
that the rectilier is a "perfect" componenthaving
zero forward voltage drop when it conducts) the
voltageindicated b! the meter,when multiplied by
2.22,-willbe equal'to the r.m.s value of the alternating voltage.
AVERAGE VALUE
To see how the figure of 2.22 is arrived at it is
necessaryto look at somebasic alternating voltage
theorv. Fie. Z(a) showsa seriesof sine wave halfcyclei as ivouid'be given after full-wave rectification. All the half-cycles are positive-going.The
waveform has a peak value, an r.m.s. value and an
averagevalue, and theseare at the levelsindicated.
The r.m.s. value is equivalent to a direct voltage
having the same effective heating pow-er (Wbgl
aoplied acrossa resistance)and is equal to 0.707
times the peak value. The average value is the
mean value over a wholecycleand i;0.64 times the
RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

TABLE
R.M.S.
Voltage

Meter
Reading

z
a

0.9
t.25
r.75
2.2
3.2
4.2
5.4
6.6
9.0
23
45
68
90

A
a

10
12.5
I i)

20
jt0
100
150
20i)
250

I lil

peak voltage. A moving-coil voltmeter indicates

average voltage, but in most instances we want an
indica"tionof i.m.s. value. The r.m.s. value in Fig'
iiul i. 1.11 times the average value so that, if w.e
the half-cycles with a moving-coil
il.i*t"
voltmeter and multiply the averagereading it gives
t
ur Uv t.tt, we will'obtain the rrn.s. value of the
voltage.
The rectifier diode of Fig. 1 only allows alternate
half-cvcles 1s [s spplied to the voltmeter, as in Fig'
2 ( b ) . S i n c e o n l v l i a l f t h e h a l f - c y c l e sa r e n o w p r e i e n t t h e a u e r a g ev o l t a g e i n F i g . 2 ( b ) i s 0 ' 3 2 t i m e s
t h e n e a k v a l u b i n s t e a - do f 0 . 6 4 t i m e s ' T h e r . m ' s '
valu'e of the waveform when all the half-cycles are
oresent is now 2.22 times the average voltage indicated by the voltmeter.
Thus, io -easute a sinusoidal alternating
voltage with a moving-coil voltmete-rwe merely ins e i i - i r e c t i f i e r d i o d e "i n s e r i e s a n d m u l t i p l y l h e
reading the meter glves bY 2.22.

Fig. 2(a). ln a series of half-cycles of the same

potarity the peak, r'm.s. and average values are
at the levels shown here
lb). When onlv alternate half-cycles are present
the average voltage is halved

a
circuit incorporating
Fig. 3. A voltmeter
milliammeter and a series resistor' The resistor
value is calculated as described in the text

P R A C T I C A LD I O D E
In practice the rectifier can be a silicon diode
fbt alternatingvoltagesabovesome20 voltsor
"nd,
.".-in" O.ovolt foiward ioltage drop in the diode
seriously affect tlie accura.cy of the
*itt"ol oblained. At lower voltages the forward
."uai"gt
ulit"e; drop becomesmore signifiiant and causes
iti"-u-oit-"tir to give readings-thatare bwer than
by 2.22.."Ihe Table lists
;ir; t.;.4.
"oltage"divided
voltmeter
corresponding
and
..*... voltagei
rurai"e., thele being calculatedfor r'm's' values
;G;; 70. tnote beloiwzo volts r.m.s.are as checkout bv the authorwith practicalmeasurements'
ed
--f["
d"iodecan be any shall siliconrectifierand
must h"u" peak inversevoltagerating which is
it
'nish"i
th"; "f .i14 times the highestr.m's' alternatine voltage to be measured. f or measurlng
main3 voltagEsthe diode should h.avea p.'i'v' rating
volts,and a goodpracticalchoice
of-SOO
in
"i.".iU" a diodewith a p'i.v.bf 400o-r600 volts'A
*o"Ta
.iiicon diode with a high p.i.v' will work, quite
of low voltages'
for the measur-ement
saiisfactorily
""
in the
employed
be
also
can
factor
fii z.zz"
calculationof voltmeterseriesresistance'Assume
that we want to monitor an alternating voltage ol'
the order of 80 volts r.m.s' with a 0-1rnAmeter,a
seiies resistor and a silicon rectifier' The arr-angeto
;h;wn in Fig' 3. It would be reasonable
;;;ti.
mattersso t-hatthe meter reads100 volts
"ii^neu
r.-...-^t full-scaledeflection'We start off by fin'
dins the seriesresistancerequired for f's'd' at a
Jir,T,'t uoltuge of 100. A Iittle calculation soon
.no*r thattfiis is 100ko' We then divide 100ko.by
;z.iZ to obtain the value required for alternating
voltage measurementusing the - series rectifier'
is the value
iobrfi
"r*i; ai"ia edby 2.22is 45k1, and thisprecise,the
i".i.t"it"e required' (To be.
;f
oT+stitlshouldafply to the seriesresistance
"utu"
,t,,i-t['t" internal resistin-ceof the 0-1mA meter'
irui- iii-'tti.-example the meter resistancewill
;lt;";a certainly b6 too small to be significant)'
..
The maximrim heat dissipated in the series
...i.i""."- *ill be exactly haif of that -dissipated
*n"n , direct voltageof 100 is applied acrossit'
Worline ftotn vo*ltagesquared divided by
at O'22 watt'
resistanc?,the dissipationcalculates.
dissipation.
the
diode,
with
series
i;;I't;;;.'.iicuit,
*iti ir. O.tt watt.'A seriesresistorwith a-ratinqol'
O.ZSwatt would be satisfactoryalthough,seeing
that this is a measuringcircuit requiringlong-term
stabilitv. it would be preferableto use a slrghtly
I
larger 6.'5watt resistor'
155

N0VF]MBF]R i978

PHOTO

w NIGHT LIGHT
By lan Sinclair

The first of a series of ten

projects
designed
for
assembly on two S-DeGs or
one Blob Board.

l
i

I
I
I

'fhe
circuits in this,series have been designed in
C I R C U I TO P E R A T I O N
response to, requests for projects suitable for con_
structors who. have progressedbelond the stage oI
The photoconductivecell, or light-dependen
srmple_rntroductory circuits built on a single S_
resistor,
is thefamiliar cadmium sulbhideORP12.
L,e(,. I'hese new circuits have been.-arrangedso
'f his
is wired in serieswith a 22ko resistor.Rl.
that thev can easily be built on a pair of SlDeCs
across.the-6
volt supply,sothat the voltageat point
positioned side by side. This has been done
12 in the diagramis low in daylightor noimal ioom
delrberately so that the large number of beginners
who have assembled mostbf the circuits p'ossible illumination but high when the light no longer
with a silgle S-DeC can now progress to 2'-S-DeC reachesthe photocell.In the standlby conditi6n,
when the voltageat point 12 is low, TRI is biased
circuits. Hence and name: Double Deccers.
off. Like the remainingtransistorsin the circuit,
the
same
time,
to
keep
faith
with
'fR1
readers who
.At
is an easily obtainedgeneralpurposen.p.n.
followed the "Blob-a-!o-b't series, which appeared
silicon transistoi.Any one of three'typ'esmay be
in the June 1977 to February 1gZ8 issuesbf tnis
usedin anv circuit nosition.
journal, all the circuits to be described can be built
With TRt ofl the bistableformed bv TR2 and
also on the 28-6-D Blob Board, which has the same
remains as set by the action oi the reset
.TR3
and
position
circuitnumbering as a pair of
llyl,u!
switch,
51. When closed,51 connectsthe baseof
S - l ) e C s p o s i t i o n e ds i d e b y s i d e . T h e i u m b e i i n g i n
'f
R2 to the negativerail. This causesthe collector
each circuit shows the lositions of the lead-"out
current of TR2 to shut off and, in turn, allowsbase
wires on either the S-DeCs or the Blob Board.
current to flow to TR3 via R2 and R3. TR3 is biasThere is a vertical dashed line down the centre of
ed
on and its collectortakesup a verv low potential
each circuit which divides the two S-DeCs
abovethe negativerail. This then eniuresthat TRz
or marks the half-way point on the Blob
remainscut off when the resetswitch is opened.
lloard. Link wires or comp_onentsstraddling the
Still lookingat the circuit in the stand-bvcondij
o
i
n
dividing line
t o g e t h e rt h e t w o S - D e C s o i t h e
tion, the low vbltageat the collectorof TR3"ensures
t w o h a l v e so f t h e B l o b B o a r d .
that there is only a similarly low voltageacrossCl,
The first circuit is for a photo night lisht. This is
which connectsto the baseof TR4. Th-eonlv other
a new twist to the familiar circuit in which a light is
connectionto this base is through Dl, which is a
switched on and gradually fades as a capatitor
silicondiodesuchas the 1N914oi 1N4148havirrga
charges or discharges.In this version switch-on is
verv low leakagecurrent when reversebiased.Tle
autrrmatic and is triggered by the turning off of the
polarity of this diodeis arrangedso that the baseof
mrn lrght rn
TR4, and the negativeside of C1, cannotgo more
J!.q room or the fading of daylight.
w hen lrght talling on a photoconductive tell
than about half a volt negativeof the negativerail
reduces below a certain level a low voltage lamp is
during reset.
turned on and its brightness then gradu"ally fa^des
With TR4 baseat a low voltage,no current flows
until it can no. longei be seen. Aiother rycle of
frorn its emitter to the baseof TR5. TR6 is alsocut
o p e r a t i o n sc a n b e s t a r t e d b y c l o s i n ga n d o p e n i n ga
of'fand the 6 volt lamp, PLl, in its emitter circuit is
reset switch.
thereforeunlit.
156
RADIO ANI) ELECTRONICS CONS'I'RUCTOR

A single $-OeG. lvo

of
thexc, mountcd tidc by rida
to form a singla iong DeC.
ccn be used for all t/n,epmlccts ld tiis sarics

Jorn
l tn e
I
I

Rl
t3
63
TR2

54

59

48

58

II

5l

I
52

czz\b

trt
vc
8FY50 2N697
2N22t9
Lcod -outs

Thecircuitof
NOVEMBER 19?8

'

20

25

DEC I
Note, -fu

5l

DEC tr
dcnotcs wirs link

T R l- T R 6

BFY50 or 2N697 or 2N2219

D l , l N 9 l 4o r l N 4 l 4 8

thecircuitandcausesPLl
thephotonighttight.
lncreasingdarknbsstriggersoff
Its brightness gradually diminishas as capacitor Cl slowly charges

tolightup.
lD/

Resisfors
( A l l i w a t t5 ' . )
R t 2 2 ko
R 2 t . 8 ko
R322ko
R 4 2 2 kr t
Iil-r1.8ktt

P h o t o c o n d u c t i u eC e l l
I,I)R1 ORP12
Switch
St push-button,pressto make

Capacitor
itpF <tr1004Felectrolvtic,16V. Wkg. (see
t c x l)
Semiconductors
TRl-'fR6 BFY50 or 2N697 or 2N2219
I ) 1 1 N 9 1 - 1o r 1 N 4 1 4 8

Miscellaneous
2 - o ff S - l ) e C o r B l o b B o a r d t y p e
6V batterv
l , r r r n y l h , r l d errn. . e . s .

ZB.6-D

'f

TRIGGERING
The circuit is triggered by a fall in the amount of
l i g h t r e a c h i n gL D R 1 . T h e p r e c i s el e v e l o f l i g h t t h a t
will produce triggering is governed by the value of'
R l ; i n c r e a s i n gi t s v a l u e w i l l m a k e t h e c i r c u i t r e s pond at a lower light level. At the reduced light
Ievel which causestriggering the voltage at point 12
rises, so that TR1 conducts. The collector current
o f ' T R l h o w e v e r ,m u s t f l o w t h r o u g h R 2 , w h i c h i s
also the collectorload of TR2, and the voltageat
p o i n t 6 1 m u s t d r o p . N o w i f t h e v o l t a g ea t p o i n t 6 1
drops enough for the base current of TR3 to be
significantlv reduced, the bistable formed by TR2
'f
switch over so that TR2 is fully conand R3 will 'fR3
is cut off' The changeover is
dttcti'c and
q u i c k , a n c l t h e c o l l e c t o r v o l t a g eo f T R 3 a [ p o i n t 4 5
rises rapidly.
C 1 n o w c o m e s i n t o a c t i o n . I f t h e v o l t a g ea t o n e
plate of a capacitor rises suddenly then the voltage
at the other plate will also rise rapidly until the
capacitrlr is able to charge up to the new voltage
c o n d i t i o n s .B e c a u s eo f t h i s , w h e n T R 3 s w i t c h e so f l '
t h e v o l t a g ea t p o i n t 6 ( o n D e C I I o r t h e r i g h t h a n d
h a l f o f ' t h e B l o b B o a r d ) w i l l a l s o r i s e s u d d e n l ya n d ,
in the present case, to a level of about 6 volts. This
TR4. which turns on TRS and in conset r l r n s o n' f R
6.
so that PL1 liehts up.
ouence

The Z8-6-D

[,amp
PL1 6V. 60mA. rn.e.s.

Btob goard.

h e c o n n e c t i o no f ' T R 4 , T R s a n d T R 6 a s a t r i p l e
emitter firllower ensures that the amount of base
current needed bv TR4 to light the lamp is very
small. For example, if PLl takes 60mA at full
brilliance and TR6 has a current gain of 60 times,
t h e n i t o n l l l r e q u i r e sa b a s e c u r r e n t o f 1 m A . I f T R 5
also has a current sain of 60. then onlv onesixtieth of a milliamp (0.017mA) is neededat its
l l a s e .S i m i l a r l v . i f t h e c u r r e n t g a i n o f T R 4 i s a l s o
60, then its base requires one-sixtieth of 0.017mA
( 0 . 0 0 0 2 8 m A )t o k e e p P L 1 t u r n e d o n . I t i s a t r i b u t e
to the success of the manufacturing process for
silicon transistors (and for S-f)eCs and Blob
l l o i r r d s )t h a t s u c h a t i n v c u r r e n t i s n o t p r o v i d e d b y
l e a k : r g e .I f i t i s f b u n d i r n p o s s i b l et o e x t i n g u i s h t h e
liulp in this circuit the cause is nearly always a
leakv transistorused for TR4.
'lire
verv srnall base current flowing in TR4 ens r r r e st l . r a tC l w i l l c h a r g ee x t r e m e l y s l o w l y , s o t h a t
t h e v o l t a g e a t p o i n t . 8 ( D e C I I ) d e c r e a s e se q u a l l y
s l r l r v l v .A s t h i s - v o l t a g e d e c r e a s e ss o a l s o d o e s t h e
voltage across the iamp so that its brightness
g r i r d t r a l l vf a l l s . T h e p r o c e s sw i l l c o n t i n u e u n t i l t h e
g l r w o f ' t h e l a m p c a n n o l o n g e r b e s e e n ." 'l'here
is, incidentallv, no'need to shield LDR1
lronr lhe lamp. as the lieht from PLl cannot make
t h e ' c i r c u i t s w i t c h b a c k a g a i n . O n c e t r i g g e r e d ,t h e

This has strips and numbaring corresponding

double-DeC assemblY

to the connection

points in the

IiAI)IO ANI) F]I,I.]CTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

bistable remains switched over until the reset

switch is onerated.
When tfre reset switch is closed the bistable is
changed over as described earlier. This has the
e , l ' l e c.to l s w i t c h i n g T R 2 o f f a n d T R 3 o n a g a i n s o
that the voltage at TR3 collector and po-int 4b
suddenlv drops. Because of the action of the
c a p a c i t o rt h e v o l t a g ea t - p o i n t6 ( D e C I I ) a l s o d r o p s ,
but is held at about half a volt nesative of fhe
negative
-_rail bv . the forward curient flowing
t h r o u g h l ) 1 . e n s u r i n gt h a t C 1 i s c o r r e c t l v r e s e tf o i
the.next cvcle of operation. If the photoionductive
cell is still in darkness when the reset switch is
o p e r a t e d ,t h e l i g h t - d i m m i n g p a r t o f t h e c y c l e w i l l
r e c o m m e n c ew h e n t h e s w i t c h i s r e l e a s e d .
The current drawn from the 6 volt supply is approxirnately 3.5mA when the photocondu.fi.,re.ell
is illuminated, this rising to 60mA when the cell is
i n d a r k n e s s a n d t h e c i r c u i t t r i g g e r s .T h e c u r r e n t
then graduallv falls to 3.5mA again as the lamp
l ) n g n t n e s sc l e c r e a s e s .

C A P A C I T O RV A L U E

S-DeC CONSTRUCTION
When the circuit is constructed on two S-DeCs.
the DeCs should first be joined together at theii
narrower sidesto form one long DeC. A singlepanel
should be fitted to one of thi DeCs to clrrv the
reset switch and the lampholder. The nine link
wires should then be plugged in between the points
indicated before any iomfonents are inserted. The
transistors can then be plugged in, followed by the
resistors,C1 and then Dl. Make sure that the iransistor lead-out wires have been correctlv identified.
With the lead-out wires facing you the clockwise
order of the leads is emitter-base-collectoron all
the transistor types specified.
Finish assembly by plugging in wires connected
to [,DR1, the reset switctiand PL1. Incidentallv.
avoid using stranded wire in S-DeC circuits. Uie
single strand wire, or at Ieast lightly and smoothly
solder the strands of multi-strand wire toeethei.
Unsoldered strands of multi-strand wire blcome
entangled in the spring contacts of the S-DeC,
causing jamming and even short-circuits.

'fwo

suggestedvalues are shown in the Comlronents List fbr C1. This is not because the
d e s i g n e rc o u l d n o t m a k e u p h i s m i n d , b u t t o a l l o w
tirr te.sting.When checking this circuit it is rather
irritating to have to wait foi 30 minutes or more for
!h9 ljght to go out, so that the use of a 5pF (or
a.7pF\ capacitor at C1 gives a fade-out which is
fast. enough to- follow but is still slow enough to
e n a b l e , v o u t o b e . , s u r et h a t t h e c i r c u i t i s w o i k i n g
crlrrectlv as clescribed.Do not use a multimeter to
che.ckthe voltage at the base of TR4, incide"luttv,
a s i t w i l l c a u s eC l t o c h a r g e v e r y q u i c k l v s o t h a [
P L I e x t i n g u i s h e sa t o n c e .W h e n d t O O p ni a p a c i t o r
is used for C1 the fade-out should be very
slow.
-10
0pF
S o n r e .s e l e c t i o n m a y b e n e e d e d f o r t h e
c a p a c r t o rb u t . a s w a s f o u n d w i t h t h e p r o t o t y p e . a
n u m b e r o 1 'r n o d e r n a l u m i n i u m e l e c t r o l v t i c si 6 e c k ed.were lll up- to the job. These had a working
voltage ol' l6 v.olts,and the use of a working voltage
higher than is needed can often ensuie lowEr
l e a k a g ec u r r e n t s w i t h a l u m i n i u m e l e c t r o l v t i c s .F o r
t h e l o n g e s tf a d e - o u t a t a n t a l u m e l e c t r o l v i i c ( r a t e d
at 10 volts or more) is needed.

BLOB BOARDCONSTRUCTION

(lonstruction with the Blob Board is similar to

that with the two S-DeCs, except that wires are
blrb-soldered to the tinned stribs instead of inserted in holes. Start with the'link wires, then
proceed to the transistors, the resistors.C1 and the
d i o d e .- L u - p P L 1 c a n b e a t t a c h e d b y l o n g l e a d s ,i f
desired, as also can LDR1 and the ieset iwitch. If
the Rlob Board circuit is to be mounted in a case.
L l ) R l , P L 1 a n d t h e r e s e t s w i t c h w i l l , o f c o u r s e ,b e
fitted on the front panel.

F U T U R EP R O J E C T S
Wherever possible, the following projects
in this series will employ many of the same
componen_ts which are used in preceding
projects. Constructors who are using S-DeCi
will therefore find that the numbei of new
components
needed for each succeeding
project will be relatively low, as components
from earlier projects can be used again in
these.
I

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advertisements.
displavor
postal bargainswherecash has to beieni in
advanceof goodsbeingdelivered."
Classifiedand cataloguemail order advertisingare
excluded.

INTEGRATED CIR(
Bv A.

I
I
I

A wobbulator is one of the less common items of

test equipment and may be unfamiliar to some
readers.It is a device which is used in conjunction
with an oscilloscope to display the frequency
responseof a receiver. A wobbulator is really just a
form of voltage controlled oscillator, the oscillator
f'requencv being varied in synchronism with the
horizontal deflection of the spot on the oscilloscope
screen.
The wobbulator can be extremelv useful when
ad.lusting and experimenting wittr complex i.f.
filters, as it enables the effect on the passband of
anv adiustment or alteration to be seenimmediatelv without the need to make a set of measurements
using such items as a signal generator and an r.f.
voltmeter. It can also be very useful for aligning
simple br<ladcast receivers when it is desired to
stagger the i.f. tuning slightly in order to produce
a n i n c r e a s e di . f . b a n d w i d t h . T h i s p r o d u c e sa n i m proved audio signal as compared with straightforward peaking of the i.f. transformers, since the
output has a flatter audio responseand better treble. Without the aid of a wobbulator i.f. stagger
alignment is rather a hit and miss affair, and can
easilv result in reduced performance rather than
an improvement.

Very sim
modulated
cillator for
alignment.
'['he

v e r v s i m p l e w o b b u l a t o r t o b e d e s c r i b e di n
this article contains its own timebaseand voltage
c o n t r o l l e d o s c i l l a t o r ,a n d i s p r i m a r i l v i n t e n d e d f 6 r
se'ttirrgup the i.f. transformeis in medium and lonq
wave receivers. It can also be used for setting up
t h e i , f . a m p l i f i e r i n a n y a . m . r e c e i v e ri n w h i c h " t h ' e
intermediate frequency is in the range of around
4 ( X )t o 5 0 0 k H z .

M E T H O DO F O P E R A T I O N
'lhe

basic set-up for using a wobbulator is shown

in Fig. 1. A voltag-econtrolled oscillator is adjusted
so that its operating frequency is a little lowei than

Fig. l. Basic method of dmploying

a wobbulator and oscilloscopa to display the fraquency response, or passband, of a racdiver, Normally. this is the raceiver intermediete freguency fesponse

t60

The three knobs at the front panel of tha integil

r.f. oscillator frequ
R A I ) I O A N I ) E I , E C T R O N I C SC O N S T R U C T O R

)UIT WOBBULATOR
P. Roberts

de frequencY
rblaxation osa,m. recelver
- f ,

Resisfors
(AIl fixed valuesJ watt 5'i)
R l 2 7 ko
R2 .{70ko
R3 390f)
R,l 390o
Rir 220o
R6 4.7ko
R7 10ko
R8 18ktl
R9 150ksi
R 1 02 . 2 k o
R 1 12 . 2 ko
Vnf lrOto (or 4?ko) potentiometer,.linear
linear,with
Viii ;ko'i"; 4.?k o) pbtentiometer.
to which the receiveris.tuned (or
the t'requencv
switch 31
i;;"; t[;; the i.f. prssbandto be examined),and
VR3 lOktr Potentiometer,linear
receiver's
just
the
outside
be
shoirld
iil;;...i;. .is""l
ir^rbo"cl. An internal timebasein the wobbulator Capaci.tors
ihu,r **".n. the v.c.o.frequencyupwardsacross
Cl lpF oolvcarbonate
tlre passbandof the receiverand beyond'.
16V Wkg'
Cl l'OpFel6ctrolYtic,
timebase
the
sweep
each
At the besinning of
16V Wkg'
(or
eiectrolvtic.
ajrrF)
CI ;;F
*""Ltui."-t u L?i"f puit. which is usedto op.eratethe
or PolYester
ceramic
0.001pF
C4
facility of the oscilloscope'
i.iesered'sweep
lur"
CJ-r82pF polYstvrene
of the c'r.t' is swept acrossthe
.;',i;i ". iit;'b;;;
C G0 . d l p F c e r a m i cP l a t e
;;r;;;-";1he .u*" time as the v.c.o-'frequencyis
( ' 7 r ) . l p F t v P eC 2 8 0( M u l l a r d )
sweptacrossthe receiver'spassband'
'it't"
is fed from the
V input of the oscilloscope
Semiconductors
ICl NE566
TRl BC177
.'lR2 2N4871
T
R3 BCTOg
'fR4
8C109
l)l BZY88013v
Srrclaefs
jack socket(seetext)
SK1 ll.l-rmm.
SK2 ;l.5tnm'iack socket(seetext)
Su,itc'h

S l s . p . s . t .t o g g l e ( P a r t o f V R 2 )

Miscellaneous
Irrstrutnent case tvpe BV3 (see text)
j J c o t r t r r t lk n o b s
2 9-v,rtt batteries type PP3 (see text)
2 batterv connectors
i ' l , r i r . r. . i . b . p . p a n e l , 0 . 1 i n . .m a t r i x
f l - w a v i . c . h o l d e r ( s e et e x t )
Bolts. nuts, wire, etc.
gratCcircuit wobbulator control internal
quencl md sweeP omPlitude
NOvt'IMBI'IR 19?8

timebase speed
lol

Thc us 6 an intcgrctcd circuit rdaxcfun r,f- oscillator

f'd'novr6 tho noc'8sitY for o
coil otrd tuning ctp*itar

detector output of the receiver. The voltage here

will be virtually zero at the beginning of each
sweep,but will gradually rise as the v.c.o. is swePt
towaids the centre of the receiver's passband,
reaching a peak at the peak of the receiver's
response.It then gradually falls back to zero as the
v . c . o .i s s w e p t o u i - o f t h e i a s s b a n d o n t h e h i g h f r e ('] u e n c v s l o e .
Thds the X axis of the oscilloscope display
representsfrequency, the Y axis representsthe sensitivitv of' the receiver and the frequency response
of' the receiver is traced out graphically on the
s c r e e no f t h e o s c i l l o s c o p e .

A triangularoutput
proximately,200kHzto 1MH',_.
sieral of 2.4 volts peak-to-peakwith an output imt idun"" of 50rr is broduceilat pin 4 of the i.c.,and
ihi* i. fed to the output socket,SK2. Althoughthis
is obviouslynot a sinewaveit givesthe sam.eresults
in practicewhen swept acrossa receiveri.f. passband. The NE566 also has a squarewave output
availableat pin 3, but this is not usedin the present
application.
^
itin S is the modulationinput of the i.c.,and this
is biasedby R8 and R9. C4 providesstability in
deviceoperition, as alsodoesilecouplingcapacitor

THE CIRCUIT

T I M E B A S EG E N E R A T O R

The wobbulator described here is based on an

NFll-r66v.c.o. integrated circuit, which provides a
hich level of performance. The linearity between
the timebase.'modulating signal and output frequencv is typically 0.2"i' for 10",1,deviation. This
lbvel rit'distoftion il nesligible, and will probably be
b e t t e r t h a n t h e l i n e a i i t y o f t h e o s c i l l o s c o p ea n d
wobbulat<lrtimebase qenerators.Thus, for all practical purposesthe X aiis of the trace can be regarded as having a linear relationship with frequency,
and a distoited display of a passband will not be
nroduced. The same is not true of some other
methods of wobbulator frequency modulation such
ils occur with a varicap tuned LC oscillator'
A l t h o u e h t h e N E 5 6 6 i s n o t o n e o f t h e l e s se x p e n s i v e i . c . ' s ' c u r r e n t l ya v a i l a b l e ,i t i s s t i l l g c o n o m i c a l lv attractive as it uses a relaxation oscillator rather
than an LC circuit. The output frequency is determined by a resistance'and a capacitance,
vvhslsllponthere is no need for an expensivetuning
canacitorand coil.
Fis. 2 shows the complete circuit diagram ol'the
wobdulator, C5 is the capacitive part of the frequencv determining network and R10 plus VR3
the reiistive part. VR3 is the tuning control and
provides an output frequency range of, very ap-

ebase generator, incorporating..IRl'

The tim
;fRg,
uses another relaxation oscillator,
f'dz-,,^"J
unij unction transistor {."lt gl"
n,li lt
"i,"uentional
on a circuit published in the April 19?6
il-i. i,";;d
i.-ii. iil ih,i. magazine 1i'Time Base Generator" by
P. R. Arthur).
'fR1
is a constant current generator which feeds
tinrinc capacitor C1, and it producesa-llnear lnir"^*i in'the voltage acrossCl until the voltage
-1- potential'
ioo"h". some ?0 td- 85% of the supply
high emitter to base resistance of
The
'iAz "ntmally
inu" iails abruptly to a low.level, causing C1
to discharge into R5. Ci then begins to.chargeonce
-,r.e, attdihe circuit continuous-lyoscillateswith a
l i n e a r s a w t o o t h b e i n g p r o d u c e d a c r o s sC l '
v n f c o n t r o l st h e r i t 6 a t w h i c h C l i s c h a r g c da n d
therefore acts as the timebase frequency control' lt
n r o v i c l e sa f r e q u e n c v r a n g e w h i c h e x t e n d s f r o m a
i e w H e r t z t o s e v e r a ih u n d r e d H e r t z .
The signal produced acrossC1 is at rather a high
imoedance arid so an emitter follower buffer stage
usi'nc TR3 is interposed between this and the
modirlation depth control, VR2. The output
amulitude of tlie timebase generator is a little
and R7 is therefore
higher than is really necessary-,
inbluded in circuit'to provide a degree of attenuaCONSTRUCTOR
RADIOAND EI,ECTRONICS

r62

c6.

VR3

sKe
Out

TR2
2N4871

iI

C1

t:
)r

R5

B Cr 7 7 B Cl O 9
Lod -outs

Fig. 2. The circuit

l
I
i

of the wobbulator.

A sirnple and c6nventional seriesrezulator incorp o r a t i n gT R 4 , R 1 1 , D 1 a n d C 7 p r o v i d e sa s t a b i l i z -

NOVEMBEIT197I]

2N4871
Leod-outs

This employs an 18 volt supply given by two 9 volt batteries in

serlas

t i o n . T h e m a x i m u m s w e e pr a n g e i s a b o u t + 1 0 ( r i o { '
the nominal output frequency.
T h e s v n c p u l s e st o t r i g g e r t h e s w e e pq e n e r a t o ro l '
the oscilloscopeare obtained from the base I term i n a l o f T R 2 . W h e n C l d i s c h a r g e sa, p o s i t i v ep u l s e
o f ' s e v e r a lh u n d r e d m i l l i v o l t s a p = p e a rast t h e u p p e r
end of' R5, and this is ideal-ior use as an osc i l l o s c o p es v n c p u l s e .
A batterv supply is used for the circuit, but unlirrtunatelv the NE566 has a minimum power
s r r l l J r l vr e q u i r e m e n t o f 1 0 v o l t s . A s i n s l e 0 v o l t
l)atterv is thereforeinadequate in theoiy, and in
practiie .the NE566 seems to cease funciioning if
t h e s u p p l v p o t e n t i a l f a l l s t o m a r s i n a l l v l e s st h a i ' 1 0
v o l t s .T w o 9 v o l t b a t t e r i e sw i r e d l n s e r l e st o p r o v i d e
a n 1 8 v o l t s u p p l v a r e t h e r e f o r ee m p l o y e d t o p o w e r
tne clrcult.

The wirlng to the thrae

potcntiomctarc
and thc
ractcts on tho frcnt pcnf'l

82(ooo)Bl

ed supplv of approximately 12 volts to the main

c r r i t r v . A s t a b i l i z e ds u p p l y e n s u r e sg o o d f r e q u e n c y
strrbilitv from the N8566 and also gives a
s o n r e w h a tl o w e r c u r r e n t c o n s u m p t i o n t h a n w o u l d
bc olrtained if' the circuit was powered directly
tronr the 18 volt rail. The actual current consumption of the unit is approximately 15mA. In the
a u t h o r ' s v e r s i u nt h e p o w e r i s p r o v i d e d b y t w o P P 3
b i r t t e r i e si n s e r i e s ,a n d t h e s ea r e a d e q u a t ew h e n t h e
w o b b r r l u t o ri s u s e d l b r r e a s o n a b l vs h o r t o e r i o d so f
lirrre.Larger 9 volt batteries mav be emplovedif
c x t e n d e d r r s eo f t h e u n i t i s e n v i s a g e d .
CONSTRUCTION
'l'he
p r o t o t v p e w o b b u l a t o r i s h o u s e di n a m e t a i
i n s t r u r n e n t c a s et y p e B V 3 . T h i s h a s d i r n e n s i o n so f
r r p p r o x i r n a t e l v6 b v 4 * b y l f i n . a n d c a n b e o b tlined frorn Bi-Pak Semiconductors,but any
s i n r i l a r r n e t a l i n s t r u r n e n tc a s ec a p a b l eo f t a k i n g t h e

The components assembled on thc peiloratod

s.r.b.p. board

components and batteries should be equally

suitable.The front panel layout of the unit ian b-e
seen from the accompanyingphotographs,and is
not at all critical. SKf and SKi are o"nthe teft. wittr
VR1 next, then VR3, and finally VR2 on the right.
The author used3.5mm.jack socketsfor both S?1
and SK2 and these are perfectly adequate, but
coaxi'alor somesimilar alt-ernativ6tvpes of socket
can be employed here if preferred.'When jack
socketsare used theseshould be of an open noninsulated construction. as the chassisconnection
is made via its mounting bush and nut.
A[tEe smalfcbmponentsare wired up orra plain
0.1in. T.atrix s.r.b.p. panel which has 22 6V 29
holes. This must b-e carefullv cut down from a
larger panel with a hacksa#'and then the two
mounting
holtis are drilled 68A or M3 clearance.
't'he
componentsare next mounted on the panel
and wired together.The componentlavout and unwiring,ofthe panelaie illustraiedin Fig. 3.
$^er.si{e
If desired,an i.c. holdercan be wired up at theICl
position,the NE566 being inserted iri this when
wiring is complete.The w-iringto the panel componentsis shownin Fig. 4.
The completedcompbnentpanel is fitted to the
baseof the cabinetto the rearbf the threecontrols.
being positionedto allow adequatespacefor the
batteries. It is mounted with two 68,{ or MB
screws,usingspacingwashersto hold the panelundersideclearof the insidemetal surfaceoTthe case
so that there are no short-circuitsto the nanel wiring. Before.itis finallybolted in position,the panel
must be wired up to the componentsmounted on
the front panel. For neatness,the wires to each
potentiometermay be lightly twisted together.
USINGTHE UNIT

The i.f. rasponse of a typical medium

wava recoiver

and long

An excessively high wobbulator input causes

the rcceiver a.g.c. circuit to eff*tively flatten
and broaden the responsc
164

The sync pulsesfrom SKl are coupled to the

trigger input of the oscilloscope
via a 2-core lead
terminatedin pl.ugsof the a.ppiopriatetype. As this
signal is at quite a low impeila4celliere is no
necessityto use a screenedconnectingcable here.
The ou-tputfrom the wobbulatoris quiie strongand
it shouldnot be necessarv
to make d direct connec-the
tion betweenSK2 and
aerial circuit of the
receiver. When using the unit with an ordinary
medium or long wave broadcastreceiver it will
simply be necessary
to connecta short lead to SK2
and then position it near the ferrite aerial of the
receiver.
The Y input of the oscilloscopemust be conqe.ctedto the output of the receiver'sdetector,and
this is usually quite easyto achievesince,in conventional_superhetcircuits, the detector output is
developedaCrossthe volume control.
must be adjustedfor a timebase
- The oscilloscope
frequencyof about 25_to50Hz-,the exact frequency
beingunimportant. Slower speedsare not-really
suitable since the displav will noticeablvflickei.
Figtt"t tilnepas-efrequenlies may be saiisfactory
but it is likely that th-etrace will lend to break uf,
whereuponit will becomeuseless.
VRl is adjusted to match the wobbulator
timebasefrequencyto that of the oscilloscope,and
this adjustmentis not as critical as might-be exp.gc!eg.If the wobbulator timebase is running
slightly too fast this will simply result in slightl!
more than one v.c.o. trace being displayed bi ttr-e
oscilloscope.
Too low a frequenc| wilf oniy resirltin
RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

Mounting

holcs

----_--_

U
T

o\o

o ox

o o otlS l o

6
J

t.# I

sl

N
M

.^tl

|
Iu

J
H

ffil$

ul

o
F

-l

llt[:': I

olo

Bottery clips

oool

8f
vRa
t9
B
c
E
F

:l
./t

/
o

,2

a
\.

o
o

oH\--

J
K
L

2l

V
o

o
o

o
o

/1
o

oo

oo

o
o

Fig. 3. The component and wiring sides of the pertorated s.r.b.p. panel

Compon?nt poncl

o
^ll

Fig. 4. The wiring behind

NOVT'MBI.]R 1978

the front panel.

The two

a^

6\
tr'\
SK2

C@poncnt

'r($---c"''

/H

Chossisconncction

leads to VR3 may be connected

either way round

Anolher

view of the integratdd

buldtor in its instrument

circuit
case

wob-

a little lessthan a full v.c.o. sweep being displayed.

The receiver must be tuned to a frequency wirich
is coveredby the wobbulator, and theri VRj is used
to tune the v.c.o. to a frequency that enablesit to be
swept across the. passband of the receiver. The
recerver mixer circuit converts the central wobbulator signal . to the intermediate freQuency,
whereupon the i.f. transformers can be alimed [o
give the desired frequency response. On riedium
wavesthe responseof the aerial input tuned circuit
will normally be considerably broader than the i.f.
responseand will not affect the appearance of the
latter to any great extent.
The popular intermediate frequencies around
455 to 470kHz are included in the frequency
coverageof the unit and so it can be used for lestins

and aligning this type of i.f. strip. A very loose

capac-itivecoupling to the input of the i.f. stiip will
usually be sufficient for injecting the wobbrilator
signal. Harmonics of the output signal can also be
used to provide an input signal fof a short wave
recelver.
VR2 controls the v.c.o. sweep width. When it is
adiusted towards maximum the passband of the
receiver will amost certainly occupy only a very
narrow section of the oscillos'iopedisirlay. Thi. cai,
he useful for showing any spurious iesponses,but
n o r m a l l y V R 2 s h o u l d - - bied j l s t e d w e l l 6 a c k s o t h a t
t h e p a s s b a n do c c u p i e sa s u b s t a n t i a lp a r t o f t h e d i s p l a v . T h e p a r t o - ft h e d i s p l a y s h o w i n gt h e p a s s b a n d
can be .ryg)'!d from side to side on the screen by
m e a n s o f V R 3 . U n d e r n o r m a l c i r c u m s t a n c e sV R 3
will be adjusted to centralise the display of the
passband.
Standard receivers incorporate a.g.c. circuits.
Either the a,g.c. circuit must be disabled or the
signal transfer from the wobbulator to the receiver
must be kept low enough to prevent the a.g.c. from
being effective. The latter is probably
- c i r c u i t the more
p r a c t i c a l a p p r o a c h .I f t h e a . g . c .
d o e so p e r a t e
it will have the effect of apparently broadening and
and flattening the response of the receiver.
l.'inally, it is important that the receiver does not
pick up any significant siglal apart from that from
the wobbulator, otherwise the two simals will
produce a beat pattern which will modulate the
trace.
I

SOLID STATE
TELEPHONE EXCHANGES
ONE STEP NEARER
General Instrument Microelectronics Ltd. have
announcedthe introduction of a TTL-comoatible b
channel Relay Driver in MOS microcircuit form.
Thp n9w deviee de.signatedAY-b-90b0 will provide
a further essential step in the continuins conversion of electro-mechanlcal telephone excf,angesto
solid state control.
Designed to provide an interface between the
latest solid-state circuits and standard Post Office
relays, the high reliability, low cost device contains
f i v e i n d i v i d u a l c h a n n e l s ,e a c h c o m p r i s i n g a l o g i c
section which switches a high currenf ourpur
$1ive^r.Each output driver is cipable of supplying
50mA to a relay, connected directlv to a nominai4SV.exchange supply. Because of the extremely
hostile electrical environment of telephone exchanges.delay circuitry-is incorporated to improve
rejection of noise interference on the inputs. The
inlut logic levels are compatible
-small with'standard
TTL. and since only a v,ery
input current is
requlred, a resrstormay be connectedin serieswith
the device to protect the preceding logic under fault
conditions.
When higher .currelts and/or lower output
voltages are required, channels may be paralleied
166

externally to provide up to 250mA. Each driver

ope_rates
as a buffer with a high impedance input
and a high current output able to withstand lalge
negative voltages in the off condition. In the 'on'
condition, eacl output may be considered as a
resistor of 40 Ohms maximum with a current ratins
of'50mA.
The new 14-lead interface circuit is fabricated
u s i n g G . I . M . ' s P - c h a n n e l M T N S p r o c e s s ,w h i c h i s
4pproved to British Post Office Specification
I).4000. All necessary voltages are generated onchip,.and isolation ii provided betw:eenthe logic
circuitry_and the exchange (noisy) earth. Although
the-.exchange earth may fluctuate by +4V,
malfunction of the iogic circuitry will not occur.
This new circuit is the Iatest in a wide range of
(i.I. standard microcircuits devoted exclusivelv to
the needs of the telecommunications indusirv.
These include pushbutton dialler circuits, coinbox
circuits, multi-frequency tone and clock
generators, filters, multiplexers and others. G.I.
circuits are now being used in telephone and other
approved telecommunications equipment
throughout Europe and the rest of the world. I
CONSTRUCTOR
RAI)IOANI) ELEC'TRONICS

INNEXT
TIIONTH'

rssuE

LIGHT CHANGE
ALARM UNIT

A N U N U S U A L A N D I N E X P E N S I V EA P P R O A C HT O P R O P E R T Y
S UR V E I L L A N C E
a Duringdaylightwill detect someonemoving arounda room
O After dark can be triggered off by just a torchlight
o will not cause false atarms by respondingto natural changes in
ambient light level

"EASI-BUILD " IOOkHz C ALIBRATOR

simple

low-cost design takes advantage of BBC transmitter

frequency accuracy

THE"6S 3T" SHORT

WAVE
BECEIVEB
o
tvilNtMtstNG
A.M.
INTERFERENCE

C O M P U T E RS U B T R A C T I O N
- In Your Workshop
D I S C R E T EN A N D G A T E S
- SuggestedCircuit
D R Y R E E DS W I T C H E S
- ElectronicsData 40

MANY OTHERARTICL

EXTRAPAGES-

BER T978

3 BANDHORTWAVE
3
SUPEBHETPart
B y R . A . Penfold

Assemblingthe b.f.o., product detector and O multiplier stages.

In the last article,constructionproceeded
as far
as the assemblyof the a.f. amplifier. We proceed
next to the product detectorand the Q multiplier.
P R O D U C TD E T E C T O R
The circuit of the productdetectorand b.f.o.section of the receiveris given in Fig. 9. The b.f.o.
employsa simple and verv stableHartlev circuit.
Coil LB is the primary of dn i.f. transformerwhich
wouldnormallyfeedan a.m. receiverdetector.The
secondarywinding is ignoredhere.
When 52 in Fie, 9 is in the "A.M." positionthe
detectedoutput flom C10 of Fig. g (publishedin
Part 1) is fed direct to VR2 of Fig. 7. At the same
tjme, no poweris appliedto the b.f.o.and product
detector.It is necessary
to disablethe b.f.o.during
a.m. receptionas its output could otherwisebreak
throughto the i.f. stages,evenif only at a very low
Ievel.

I
I
rc9

Setting52 to "U.S.B." or "L.S.B." disconnects

VR2 from C10 and couplesit to the productdetector output via C31.The-productdetectorhasan input froh C9. which is afsoin Fig. 3. AIso,poweris
applied-to the b.f.o. and product detectoi stages.
R25 and zenerdiode D4 stabilizethe b.f.o. supply
voltage.
The coreof Ll is adjustedso that the b.f.o. frequency is just slightly abovethe central i.f. when
52 is in the "U.S.B." position.When52 is put into
the "L.S.B." position,C27 is switchedinto circuit
and this additionaltuning capacitancereducesthe
b.f.o. frequencyto slightly below the central i.f.
It may seemto somereadersthat the two sideband switchpositionshavebeenmarked incorrectly, and that the legendsshould be transposed.
However,the markingsare correctand the ieason
fbr the apparentanomalyis that the mixer and oscillator stagesinvert the input signal in terms of

lnput from

uf**'
Output

Audio lrom

cro

A.v.1' I 1.5,.9.

BCtO9
Lcod-outs

Fig. 9. The b.f .o. dnd product

168

detector

Z"\st
\9q'

stages. The latter has switching

40673
Leod-outs

to cater for upper and lower sictebands

RADIO AND ELECTRONICS

CONSTRUCTOR

00
oo
oo
oo
ao
Ao

ti;il^

| 4"4

, i {ilzt

i--:T;--;

G i.*i

l"
oo
oo
oo
oo

79

d
Fig. lO. lllustrating how the
h.f.o. and product detector
stages dre wired up on their
component board

ta

relative frequenc)a.For instance, with an aerial

in_
l ) u t s l g n a l a t l 0 M H z . t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n go s c i l l a t o r
lrequ.enc.v_.will
be 10.455MH2 to'produc'e an i.f. of
+ D r ) k H z .I h e s a m e o s c i l l a t o rf r e q u e n c vw i l l c o n v e r t
a s i g n a la t t 0 . 0 0 1 M H z t o a n i . f . ' o f + S i t U z ( t O . [ E s
e , q u a l s . 0 . 4 5 4 )T. h u s a n u l p e r s i d e _
L
r1,u..10.001
oanct,srgna,l
at the aerial becomesa lowef iideband
s l g r a l t n t h e .l . l . s t h g e s ,a n d v i c e v e r s a .
It rs worth mentioning that many short wave
receivers have a variabli b.f.o., the
brecise b.f.o.
f requ.enc-vbeing not too important Secause
ot. a
w l t e . l . l . . f i a n d w i d t h .T h e p r e s e n t r e c e i v e r ,
with its
m-echanicalfilter and e iluttipiti;; il;;'; narrow
i.f..bandwidth and there is th;iefo;; fiiU.
- - ' futttra.
with-regardto the b.f.o. frequenct.
. . C . W , s i g n a l sc a n , o f . o u . s . , b e d 6 m o d u l a t e dw i t h
5 2 ^ i ne i t h e r t h e . , U . S . B . " o . i h J d S . g . ' ; " p o s i t i o n .
A. product detector is a mixer Jiire'sa^e type
used in the input stqgesof the receiv;;.;il inst6ict
or convertlng a-nr.f. sigral to the intermediate
fre_
quenc\', a p.roduct detector converts the
i.f. sifial

I)anel are pre^paredand wired up in the same wav

a s # a s t h e r _ t .p a n e l . D e t a i l s a r e g i v e n i n F i g . 1 0 .
r ne panel ls not mounted on the chassis6ut is,
instead, secured to an L-shap"d bra"f.eT held
iri
nla_cebehind the front panel.by tt -or"ii"g U".ii
"m"r."rffi'i'SdUv
of 32.First cut out a reitangle "
Sii

mm..from.t8 f.y.g.aluminium,ne"i, if,"enmaftea

vu ctegreebend rn it 40 mm. from one of the 50 mm.

-r, u auut--Eule
!,)^1L_rudio freque.ncy. TRZ .i.
MOSFET_mixerwhich-is used
tn!'p.o8u"i
detector.O30 filters out the i]. .igr"ii'*dl"h ;;;
generatedat the output and leaies ine
aesirea

a u c l l os l g n a l .
The,b.f.o. and product detector are constructed
pla_rl pertorated 0.19_.in.matrix s.r.b.p. panel
l)n q
'una
having 16 bv 13 hoies. The
tn"
"ornpon"nii
NOVEMI]ER1978

The product

detactor

and b.f.o. module

169

Cios*up

view.of

the Q mattlfli*,h*d

ll

fi,

l
i

edges.Drill a holeof 10 mm. diameterin the centre

of the 50 by 40 mm. sectionof the bracket. The
bush of 52 will passthroughthis hole.The component panel is mountedon the remainingsectionof
the bracket, on the same side as the switch,with
the panel rear edgeflush with the rear edgeof the
bracket. It is oriented so that L3 is nearer the
switch. The board is securedto the bracket with
68A or M3 bolts and nuts. sDacersabout 6 mm.
long being pqssedover the bolts to keep the panel
underside clear of the metal bracket. When
mountedin the receiverthe 110bv 50 mm. section
of the bracket is vertical.and is dn the "S" meter
side of 52.

A Q multiplier is a device which enables the selectivity of a receiver to be varied tiom a little less
than its normal level to a very narrow peaked
responsewhich is only suitable for c.w. reception.
An ordinary i.f. transformer provides only a
limited degree of selectivity because losses in the
resistanceof the wire from which the coil is wound
tend to produce a rather low,Q value (usually in the
region of 100). A Q multiplier increasesthe effective Q of a coil by extracting some of the sigral in it,
amplifying this signal and then feeding it back into
the coil. The signal that is fed back compensatesfor
the losses in the coil and so boosts its effective Q
value. The more signal that is fed back the highei
the effective Q of the coil, until a point is reached
where the level of feedback is sufficient to causethe
O MULTIPLIER
circuit to break into oscillation.
The i.f. bandwidth providedby the mechanical
If the Q multiplier coil is connectedacrossthe injust
qualifilter is
about ideal for communications
put of the receiver i.f. amplifier it can be used to
ty a.m. reception,but is wider than is really reduce the i.f. bandwidth. When the
multiplier
necessaryfor s.s.b.and c.w. reception.The short has a variable feedback control that Qcontrol can
wavebandsare socrowdedthesedaysthat this can then vary the receiver selectivity.
be a severedrawback,and somemeansof enabling
The circuit of the Q multiplier stage appears in
a narrowbandwidthto be providedwhennecessary Fig. 11. As may be seen,
few components are reis verv desirable.
quired. The secondary of i.f. transformer IFT3 is

R2l

gor.lrom

Fig, lf . TtE A n@W

,ral ,qn, rttrp.lc
'lgfl/'wA*t
aFtnft sEmvr ta|t

(ooo)
DGS

2N3819
Leoo-ou!s

RADIO ANI] ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

::n.;.
"
o

L..,

o
\"r",

o
o
lFT3
ooooo

l.o,no
(liq.5)
o

Pos. tr

Mounting holcr

Fig. 12. Componcnt and

wiring sides of the A muL
tiplier p.ncl

the coil which is shunted acrossthe input of the i.f.

amplifier, and it couples to the drain of TRl of Fig.
3 via d.c. blockrng capacitor C33. The regeneration
r e q u i r e d f o r Q m u l t i p l i e r o p e r a t i o ni s p r o v i d e d b y
Tfi8, the gate'of whi^chconnects to the primary of
IFT3 and is thence coupled to the secondary.
VR3 varies thB gain of TR8, and so it controls the
level of feeback and thus functions as the receiver
selectivity control, C32 and R2? provide supply
decoupling.
All the Q multiplier components except VR3 are
w i r e d u p a p l a i n p e r f o r a t e ds . r . b . p .p a n e l o f 0 . 1 5 i n .
matrix having 13 by 10 holes. The layout is illustrated in Fig. 12,-and the panel is constructed
and wired in the same manner as the i.f. amplifier
and the product detector and b.f.o. panels. In this
cae, IFT3 has two cores and a hole has to be drilled
in the panel to provide accessto the lower core.
Like the product detector and b.f.o. panel the Q
multiplier panel is mounted on an L-shaped
bracket made of 18 s.w.g.aluminium sheet.This is
securedunder the mounting bush of VR3. First cut
out a rectangle of the aluminium sheet measuring
120 x 40 mm., then make a g0 decreebend 40 mm.
in from one of the 40 mm. edges. A 10 mm.
diameter hole is then drilled in thelentre of the 40
by 40 mm. section. This will take the mounting
bushof VR3.
NOVFTMUFTR
1978

'fhe
componelt panel is secured to the 80 by 40
mm. section of the bracket with its rear flush with
the rear edse of the bracket. C32 is towards VR3. A
hole is required in the bracket to provide accessto
the lower core of IFT3. When mounted in the
receiver the 80 by 40 mm. bracket section is vertical and is on the product detector and b.f.o. side
of VR3, and it thusprovides a screenbetweenthe Q
multiplier and the b.f.o. stage.This prevents pickup of the b.f.o. signal in the Q multiplier wiring.
'f
he only remaining wiring consistsof connecting
the negative battery clip and SK2 to convenient
chassis points, and of connecting the positive
battery clip to the appropriate tag of 33.
The receiver may be connectedto headphonesor
to an 8s) speaker.-A large capacity 9 volt battery
type PP9 is used to power the receiver since it has a
quiescent current consumption of about 16mA, this
approaching, at high volume levels with an 8cl
speaker, some 100mA. There is plenty of spaceon
the receiver chassis for the battery.
NEXT MONTH
In next month's concluding article, details will
be given of alignment and the operation of the
recelver.
(To be concluded)
t7l

ll

Sltl|il$|ll$
l|l8t |l0lllB

by
R. J. Caborn

Sloping l.e.d. columns add realism in

,
this CMOS design.

Electronic metronomes are not new to the pages

of constructional magazines and designs which
have anneared in the past have included units
which produce loud regrilarly s-pacedclicks, 9r-a'1.
tone bursts, at a repitition fiequency which is
soverned bv a simple-speedcontrol knob. In some
instances a tignt-elmitting diode is -included, this
flashing at thJsame time as the clicks or a.f. tones
are reproduced.
Such designs do not have the visual impact of the
conventionaT clockwork metronome which they
replace. The latter, with its widely swinging vertical arm, gives an almost hypnotic impression of
the beat it is presenting, and the oscillating arm is
often subconsciouslyobservedby the musician who
is using the metronome. The circuit to be described
here employs a CMOS logic i.c. to produce accurately spaced audio "bleeps" in conjunction with
a light-emitting diode displiy which iimulates the
swing of the moving arm of a mechanical
metronome.

BLOCK DIAGRAM
A block diagram illustrating the basic operation
of the electroiic metronome appears in Fig. 1.
Here, a standard 555 astable pulse -generator
oroduces positive-going pulses at a frequency
*nich is five times thafat which the final a.f. tone
bursts are required. These pulses are fed into a
divide-by-tenCMOS i.c. having ten digit-outputs.
pulse in tu-rnfrom "0"
Each oulput givesa positive'0"
again for a further
to "9" thin cbmmencesat
count. The "0" output is fed to a BC107 l.e.d.
driver which, in the-presenceof the positive "0"
pulse,causesa slopingcolumn of six l.e.d.'sto be
brishtlv illuminated.
fhe i'5" output of the divide-by-teni.c. couples
to another8C107 l.e.d.driver, and this causesa second sloping column of six l.e.d.'s to be illuminated.
Fig. 2 showsthe manner in which the two l.e.d.
columns light up in terms of pulses from the 555
b6 seen,each coiumn is illuminated
timer. As c.-an

BCrOT
L.E.O
drivcr

Fig. l. Block diagram illustrating thc manner in which thc metronomc operates. The a.f. oscillator is
tumed on whcn cithcr of thc l.e,d, columns is illuminated
t72

RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

LEDl-LED6

!z

t'

LEDl-LED6

(z

/)

>:

t'

r-l

r-r

tl

2,

Fig' 2' Timing of thc t'c'd. column iltumlnation.

Thc putses arc those from tcl and the figures below
thcm tndicctc thc conesponitng dign oitpii"--ii'tcz

for ole-tenth of a complete cycle, with

equal inter_
vals.between
the lighii"g #on,i coiurii"a"a tf,e
lightingof the othei
. The outputsof the two l.e.d.driversalsocoup.le,
vta steering4io!p., to an a.f. oscilator
;iicurr rn_
corporating
2N2646andBD12ai;;;;i;;o;;, iffi ;;_
cillator beingenab.led;t th-es;;;iiiirJi'n"t
either
column

,r.e.u.

ls llluminated. Thus,

an a.f. tone
burstis produced
in synchron-i.;ililir"*iigniiiii
ofthe.columns.
Theou"r"iieitr*fi. i,i*,ir"tionof
a clockwork
metronome,
ihtt;ilil"; " i.".il
representingthe metron_ome
"oru_r,
arm at its fuittrermosi

. It- is of interestto note in passingthat similar.

l^.".d..presentationsa!e
some
Amencan crl^gtalclocks, the l.e.d.
"i"pi"GJ'l"
displays in these

$vrng rne eltect of the swing of a pendirlum.

F U L LC I R C U I T
. The fgll wo{ing circuit of the metronomeis
3.Jpl,1' thebbsi.c.,-"na
ii
in
ii::l_il_lig.
a slandarctmultrvrbrator-circuit,
"ip"",.

the fre{dency of
*[igh is controllableby VR1.
. The output gfjhe S_Stipfe! to the clock input at
pin 14 o-fthg CD401?,IC2. pins tS ,"dlS ,if tni.
i.c..arethe clockenable and i";;i
;iqg .!rn..ii".y
and both are taken to the negati;";ii.
pfii6 tak6ri

swrng to. the.left, and the ritha

repr-esentingthe furthermost sw-ini il"d-'column
;ilh" arm to
the rlght.

rN4002
R3

R6

TRg
2N2646

rL2

cD40t7
LEDI

\
\
\
\
\
\

\
LED2
LED3

\\
\
\

ltf :
555
Topvi.w

r-\o
\,
cD40l7
T_op
vicw

Eig. 3. Tho wo*ing

NOVEMBER 1978

BC tO7
Lcod-outs

tuo,o
\
LEott
a1
\.ro',

r.\"'

Bx_/

2N2646
Lod-outs

aC

5>>

ok-

B Or 2 4
Lcod-outs

citcuit of the metronome

LIJ

Resisfors
(all fixed valuesI watt 10%)
R1 22ko
R2 10kci
R3 4700
R4 470o
R5 470()
R6 470Q
R7 22ko
R8 470!)
R9 47c]
R10 100f)
VR1 250k{)potentiometer,linear
Capacitors
C1 lrrF Polvester
C2 0.047pFpolyester
C3 1,000r.Felectrolytic,16 V. Wkg.

the po-sitivesupply and pin 8 the negative supply.

Ln addition to a carry out pin, the CD4017 has ten
digit output pins, and the 6nly further connections
to the i.c. are at its "0" outpui at pin 3, and its "5"
output at pin 1.
The output current capability at these last two
pins is low and, to obtain a biight l.e.d. display,
each connects to the base of a 8C107 emitter
follower. When the "0" output is positive, TRl
causes LED1 to LED6 to light up via current
resistors R3 and R4. In a similar fashion.
'limiting
l'R2
turns on LEDT to LED12 via Rb and R6
when the "5" output is positive. LED1 to LED6
form the left-hand sloping l.e.d. column, whilst
LEDT to LED12 make up the right-hand column.
I'he a.f. oscillator section employs the unijunction transistor TR3 and the outputiransistor TR4.
W h e n T R 1 t u r n s o n t h e L e . d . ' si n i t s e m i t t e r c i r c u i t
it also.cause:the lrpper end of R7 to go positive by
way of D1. TR3 th6n oscillates in noimal uniiunc"tion manner, and a seriesof current spikes flows in
its base 1 circuit at a repetition frequency of
around 600 to 700H2. As soon as TRI ba." soes
negative.at the end of the "0" pulse from-the
CD4017, no positive voltage is avail-ablefor R? and
the unijunction transistor is inhibited. The unijunction transistor is also enabled, and allowed to
oscillate, when TR2 turns on the rieht-hand
column of Le.d.'s.This time the positive voltage for
the upper end of R7 is supplied via D2.
The current spikes in the base 1 circuit of the uni.junction transistor cause TR4 to be conductive
when they are present. As a result a seriesof amplified current spikes appears in the collector circuit
'fR4,
of'
and these are reproduced as an audible
tone by the speaker, LS1. Although the spikes have
very short duration their amplitude can
theoretically be in excessof an amp, and for this
reason a small power transistor is employed in the
TR4 position. Its average dissipation is considerably below that at which it is rated, and it does
i ?,1

Semiconductors
IC1 555
ICz CD4OI7
TR1 BC1O7
TR2 BC1O7
TR3 2N2646
TR4 8D124
Dl 1N4002
D2 1N4002
LEDl-LED12red l.e.d.'s
Switch
S1 s.p.s.t.toggle
Speaker
LSl 3(),4in. round or larger
Miscellaneous
12 volt battery (seetext)
16-wayi.c. holder
Control knob.

not need to be mountedon a heat sink.

The supply bypasscapacitoris C3, and this has
the rather large value of 1,000pF.A high value is
desirablehereto ensurethat the Le.d.currentsand
the output current spikesare adequatelydecoupled
and do not effectthe operationof the remainderof the
circuit. Desoitethe fact that the current in each
Le.cl.is arodnd 15mA, the averagecurrent drawn
from the supply is approximately12mA only. It
has to be rememberedhere that the l.e.d.'sonlv
light up for one-fifth of the total time. Similarly,
the output current spikesin the speakerare only
presentfor a small fraction of the period during
which TR3 is enabled.
The metronomewill function for falling battery
voltagesdownto 9 voltsor less,althoughsuchlower
voltagesnaturally causereducedbrilliance in the
l.e.d.columns.The frequencvof the metronomeis
not significantly alteied 6y changing battery
voltage,as the 555 multivibrator circuit operates
againstfixed fractionsof its supply voltage.
CONSTRUCTION
The constructionof the metronome unit can
follow any conventionalmethod, and a suggested
front panel display is shown in Fig. 4. A circular
speakerapertureappearsat the upper centre,and
it is recommendedthat the speaker,if a round
type, should have a diameter of 4in. or more.
Smaller speakersshould not be used. Below the
speakerare the two Le.d. columns.The Le.d.'sin
eachcolumn shouldbe regularlyspacedat jin. to
fin. intervals.To the left is on-off switch51, with
the frequencycontrol,VRl, to the right.
The frequencyrangeobtainedwith the prototype
is from around eight audio "bleeps" per second
'when VRl inserts minimum resistanceto slightly
rnorethan one"bleep" per secondwhenmaximum
resistanceis inserted.The rangecan be varied, if
desired,by alteringthe valuesof R1 and VRl.
ItAI)I0 ANI) I.]LECTRONICSCONSTRUCTOR

, Tlp 12 volt supplycan consistof any seriescom_

Drnarlonot batteriesor cells which aiid up to this
voltase. It could. for
-e"'".o"omical
.instanc;;-;"*i.i;dit*n;
HP7 cells in two a-ceil
hJlderl.
but somewha.tbulky gupply *iii Ui-ii*,i bv fow
rwrn-cellcvcle lamD batteriesof the Ever Ready
No. 800 tvbe.
. The visiril effect of the dis.playis quite good,
is most noticeable at the .ti*6r----JtrJriome and
fre_
If desired,all the l.e.d.'s i" o"e coi"_"
Cuep,ci,es.
could be ot one colour and all those in the other
column of another colour, altliouih th" *.it.i ti"a
the subjectiveimpressi", tt"i E".i'*.rft.
*"r.
glven by-usrngred Le.d.'sthiouehout.
A.*
u tinal point, the QD4017 i.c. is a CMOS
,
oevlce
and must be protectedagainsthigh static
voltagesat its input pins. The di6;;";""f,
f,".. i,
ro wrre up the metronomeemployinga 16_wayi.c.
holder.inlheIC2 posit!on-ThJC-d4'0if tf,dn
U"
fitted.in this holder after all *irid
"u"n
.--- -o [;.-;""r,
pletedand checked.
"o__
I

Fig.4. A suggested front panel layout

for tha
metronome unit. The stoping coiumn
ot si
t.e.d.'s on the teft consists
rcoi ii IL6,
whilst that on the right consists
"7
ot LEDT ii
LED'2

THE MCRT RECETVER

by
Ron Ham

Another World War ll spy set

*a

A.plld the host of,,sulplusradio equipment E A S Y

CONCEALMENT
available.
afterWortdW;i'ii;;!li.
iliniutu."
t
.'fhe op u.nit in-the photograph is the receiver
tvpe M"CRi.'thi. *u.
l^lf,l,l*lgtion Receivgt
w l r n o n e c o l l - s e t . p l u g g e di n . T h e s e t m e a s u r e sg . _ r

pack Ibur
il i'lhis
i llil'#a ",1#
5
X.T:
rT','
11
b
i,ff
:I[..:
clandestineb uuLu"

iupe.n"t,
one 1Rb
and four tT4 valves, has f6ui-;irs_tr"coil_sets
"".i"e

"z'i
?;:;]Sf,,n""ffg:d
,'f3L'6001#,+srvni'

;l
l.v. I I,y 2 | in., about-the size of a house buildini
h n c k t o r e a s y c o n c e a l m e n t .w e i g h s 3 * l b . a n d w a s
o e s l g n e d t o r b o t h r . t . a n d c . w . .r e c e p f i o n . A l a r g e
knoh is provided for slow motion t-rinine ana tfie
three. pear-shaped knobs, clearlv marked, control
reaction, sensitivity and aerial dim;ing. Th;di;i
a g r e r t u r ei s a t i n y _ s q u a r eo n t o p o f t h e i a s e a b o v e
t n e ^t u n l n g c o n t r o l a n d i t s c a l i b r a t i o n , f r o m 0 1 o
180, has to be checked ag3inst-the frequ""cy,"uie
rnarked on each coil-set.The three reriainirg-.",1_
sets _for the receiver are shown in fronf of ii.

. The MCR1 works.{ropa rpe.cbf;;;li""a ary

hattery.giving90 v-oltstr.t. aiid Z.b ;;i;s rbr rhe

valvetltamen-ts,
or liom a mainsunit which can be
seenat the left of the picture.The mai". u"if inpui
is adjustablefor opeiation from i0? i; igS volts
a.c.or.d.c.,the a.c.powerconsumptionbeingabout
(,
t

rt\!\i\iir\\\:\N

The MCRI receiver, at top, with

one coil_set
plugged in. The three remaining
coil_sets alre in
front of the receiver. fne MCit
op"r"ti"
iro^
a dry battery or from the multi_input
mains
power supply shown on the teft
NOVF]MRER I978

Wattc.

,, Throughout its useful range, which includes

I n r e e a r n a t e u r b a n d s . t h i s 8 5 y e a r o l d r e c e i v e ri s
verv. sensitive and the authoniu. .u.priJed Uv iii
Irw background noise a"d perfoimaniu ,iltn ....U.
slgnars. r'here are lour terminals at the left of the
set, two for low resistance headphones of about
l 7 0 o . o n e f o r a . e n s ! ,a b o u t 3 0 f t . i , . " " o - - " n d " d ,
and one lbr earth. The power is supplied through a
flv lead terminated in'a 4-pin piiif, u"a tn"
r e s p o n d i n gs o c k e t ,i d e n t i c a lt o t h a t p r o v i d e d o n"o._
the
t ) a t t e r v .c a n b e s e e no n t h e f r o n t o f t h e m a i n s u n i t .

a r 7s

FORDX LSTENERS
By Frank A. Baldwin

Frequencies- kHz

Times = GMT

NOW HEAR THESE

From time to time it befalls our lot to walk into
the shack at the most odd hours, switch on - and
find that conditions for reception of this or that
part of the world are at their best for many a long
d^y - or night! From several such sessionsrecentlv the following loggings have emerged.

LIBYA
"Radio of the Holv Qur'an" on 62OG at 1720,
OM reading from the Hbly Qur'an, such readings
interspersed with classical music in the Arabic
stirle.This is a transmission from the former pirate
radio ship "Mebo II" moored off the Libyan coast.
'fhe
schedule is from 0600 to 1800.

O BOLIVIA
Radio Alfonso Padilla Vega, Padilla, on a
measured 3482 at 0150, OM with announcements
in Soanish followed bv local pops. The schedule is
from 22 15 to 0245 ( Suhdays 020-0)and the power is
0.3kW. The frequency however can vary (nominal
is 349O) as can^the slhedule. In receiving this one
the low power is only half the problem, the other
half is the surrounding utility QRM.

AROUND THE DIAL

O CHILE
R a d i o N a c i o n a l d e C h i l e , S a n t i a g o ,o n l 5 l 5 O a t
2ll-r4,songsand announcements in Spanish, guitar
music, YL with local songs.

. CUBA
O JAPAN
Radio .lapan on 9685 at 0700, musical chimes
interval simal, identification in English followed
bv a newscast. This was a test relay from Sines,
Pirrtugal, the times of operation being from 0700 to
0 7 1 1i1n E n g l i s h a n d f r o m 0 7 1 5 t o 0 7 3 0 i n J a p a n e s e '

O TAHITi
on 15170at 0415,OM ift French,
RadioPapeete
drums, marimba music, drums with YL chorus
singing sorne lovely Polynesian melodies. A surpriiinglv strong sigrral for 20kW, heard and taped
from 0415 through to 0435.
'fhe
parallel channel is 11825 where, at 0640,
was krgged the interval signal of flute and drum
and OM in French. The former channel is however
the better.

O BRAZIL
Radio Clube de Conquista. Vitoria de Conq u i s t a , o n 3 3 3 5 a t 0 1 4 3 .l - o c a sl o n g si n P o r r u g u e s e .
local pops, identification at 0146 followed by more
pops. A return to this channel at 0250 asceitained
that thev sign-off at 0255 without the National
Anthem. The scheduleis from 0900 to 0300 and the
Doweris 2.5kW.
r76

Havanaon 1523O at 0847,YL and OM alternate with the French programme for the
Mediterraneanarea,scheduledfrom 0830to 0930.

O CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Radio Pragueon 2166O at 1745,OM with the
English programme (all about the Ethiopian
Revolution) to Africa. scheduledfrom 1730 to
1830.

O HUNGARY
RadioBudapeston l77lO at 0410,OM with the
I)X programme in English to North America,
scheduled from 0400 to 0415 in English on
Wednesdaysand Saturdays.Also to be heard in
lrarallel on 6OOO,6080, 6105, 9585, 9833,
11910 and on 15225,
O ISRAEL
.lersualemon l5lO5 at 0500,OM with the world
news in English and the local weather forecast
(very hot iri' the Jordanian desert).This is the
Ilngiish programmefor Europe,the Middle East,
South and East Asia, North America, Australia
irnd New Zealand, scheduledhere from 0500 to
Oilll-rand in parallelon 9835, 11655' 11960 and
on 1771O.
RAI)IO AND ELECTRONICSCONSTRUCTOR

.lersualem on 12O77 (measured) at 1850. OM

with a talk in Hebrew in the Domestic Service B
Network to Europe, the Middle East, North Africa
rrnd Central America from 1815 to 2000 on this
channel.
.lerusalemon 1763O at 181i1,OM in Hebrew in a
relav <lf the Domestic Service B Network in
Hebrew to listeners abroad, scheduled from 0400 to
1740and from 1815 to 2300 on this frequencv.
Readersshould note that frequency-usageis iubiect to change.
O IRAQ
Bashdad on 9745 at 1900.chimes, time-check
rrnd itientification in Arabic followed by a newscast
in the "Voice of the Masses" programme for exp : rt r i a t e s .

O MALAYSIA
Kuala Lumpur on 15295 at 0730, OM with announcements and identification followed by
classical music (Mars from The Planets Suite etc.)
in the English programme to South East Asia
schedrrled here from 0625 to 0855. Reader J. D.
Court of Cannon Hill, Birmingham, Warks.,
brought this transmission to our notice, Iogging
tl'rernat 0830, also notifying us of the following two
s t l r t i o n sw h i c h h e h a s h e a r d .

. NEW ZEALAND
Wellingtonon 15130 at 0500,time gips,OM

rvith ideniification "This is Radio New Zealand"

alter a programme of light music. This is the
I)acific Service scheduled here from 1800 to 0730.
. 1 . I ) . C . l o g g e dt h i s o n e a t 0 5 2 0 .

ECUADOR
HC.IB Quito on 15300 at 1903, choir with
hvrnns in an English programme for Europe,
scheduledhere from 1900 to 2030 and in parallel on
11955.

O AUSTRALIA
Melbourne on 15355 at 0516, YL announcer
with llrogramtne of pops on records after station
irlentification. The schedule is from 0001 to 0530
orr this channel and the power is l0kW. J. D. C.
heard this one at 0330.

O ALBANIA
'firana
on 7O65 at 1908, OM with a programme
in Arabic for the Near East, scheduled here from
1900to 1930and in parallel on 95OO.
'firana
on 11985 at 07t4, local music in the
l)nglish programme intended for Australia
scheduled here from 0700 to 0730.
'firana
o n 1 1 9 3 5 a t 1 2 0 5 ,Y L w i t h t h e I n d o n e silrn programrne to South East Asia, scheduledhere
frorn 1200to 1230.

O VIETNAM
Hitnoi on 11750 at 1508, YL with the
I)rogralnrne for .Iapan, scheduled from 1430 to
il-r:i0.Also loggedin parallel on a measured 15009,
rrlthough this had changed some days later to
15OO8 when at 1740 thev were in Vietnamese to
Flrrrorre.scheduled from 1?00 to 1800, and into the
Ilnglish transrnission to Europe at 1800.

O CLANDESTINE
" V o i c e o f t h e P a t r i o t s " o n 9 6 5 O a t 1 6 3 9 ,O M i n
I)ersian with a political talk. The daily schedule is
I'rorn 1615 to 1645 but has been heard signing-off as
lirte as 1650. Also heard on l17OO under R.
Mosc<lw.The transmitter is thousht to be located in
[,iltva.
O TURKEY
Ankara on 9665 at 1200, YL with news of
'furkish
affairs in the English programme intended
{or South West Asia, scheduled here from 1200 to

t:t00.
Ankara on 118O0 at 0720, local music in the
Tr-rrkishprogrammefor Turks abroad, scheduled
here f'rom 0600 to 1700 dailv.
O EGYPT
Radio Cairo on 17785 at 1625. OM with a talk
:rlrout "Freedom-Fighters in Africa" in the
l)r()gramme intended for Zulus. This is dailv
I)rogralnme, now in English, from 1600 to i646
rlirected to Central and South Africa.
O ROMANIA
Bucharest on 1 194O at 0? 10, OM alternate with
YL in a talk on tourism in Romania in the English
l)rogramme to the Pacific area, scheduled here
frorrr 0645 to 0715.
Bucharest on 17825 at 1210, OM with a
,rew.cast in English in the transmission scheduled
here from 120Oto 1230 directed to Asia.
1978
NOVnMIIFIR

O U.S.S.R
ll:rdio Moscow on 11790 at 1800,OM in Russian in a relay of the Moscow 2nd programme
"Mavak" ("Lighthouse"), scheduled here from
i800 to 18110.
l l a d i o M o s c o w o n l 1 6 3 0 a t 1 8 0 7 ,O M w i t h t h e
F'rench programme to Africa, scheduled from 1800
to 18j]0.
ll,adio Moscow on 12OOO at 2046, YL and OM
rrlternate in English to Africa, scheduledhere from
2 ( X ) 0t o 2 1 0 0 .
I i . a d i oM o s c o w o n 1 5 4 5 5 a t 2 0 2 9 , p r o g r a m m eo f
jrrzzrnusic in the Russian Sth programme "Voice of'
t h e S o v i e t H o m e l a n d " t o E u r o p e , s c h e d u l e dh e r e
t'rorn 2000 to 2100.
O CHINA
Ilrrdio Peking on 6345 at 2240, OM in Chinese
rvith the f)ornestic Service 2, scheduled here from
l24jl to 1700and from 2100 to 2400.
Radio Pekins on 6665 at 2035, YL with the
I)ornestic Service 1 programme, scheduled from
2000 to 1735 (not frorn 0500 to 0800 on Fridays).
ANTILLES
O NETHERLANDS
B o n a i r e o n 2 1 6 4 O a t 1 7 3 0 ,O M w i t h i d e n t i f i c a tion,.newscast in the Arabic programme to the
Middle East and North Africa, scheduledfrom
l 7 : 1 0 t o 1 8 2 0 .A r e l a v o f R a d i o N e d e r l a n d s .
O MADAGASCAR
Madasascar on 1173O at 1840, OM with the
t)nglish lrrograrnmeto Africa, lchedule-dhere from
t u : i i ) t o t g Z O . . q t s oa r e l a v o f R a d i o N e d e r l a n d s '
177

EXCLUSIVE

-oR

GATE

r
"Gosh," said Dick, "some of
these CMOS digital i.c.'g haven't
half got involved internal circuitry."
He leafed through a pile of
CMOS manufactur6rs' technical
data sheets which were lvinc on
Smithy's bench, and gazed-uniomprehendingly at their i.c. circuit
diagrams.
"The more complicatedi.c.'s,"
chuckled Smithv. seated aloncside
him, "do tend to get rather difficult.
When the circuit gets too complex
for individual f.e.t.'s to be shown,
the manufacturers fall back on
block diagrams using boxes. But
you can still find individual f.e.t.'s
shown in the simpler i.c. circuits."
He drank deeply from hie disreputable tin mug.
"Even the ones which don't use
boxesstill baffle me," sighedDick.
"The diagramshave got field-effect
transistorscrawling all over them."
voo(+)

vgg(-)
Flg. ,. CMOS dlgltel lntagratcd clrcults hcve a
protection clrcuft behrtoen
each insulatcd gate and lts
input teminel. The prot*tion clrcuit is omlncd ln
diagrams showing lntcmel
CMOS circultry
178

'

"Most of them are quite simple

onc-e_you start analysing them,"
said Smithy. "Indeed, to hy mind
CMOS i.c. internal circuits are a
whole lot easier than the old t.t.l.
ones.Apart from the input orotection cir-cuits,which noimaflv use
three diodes and a resistor t6 prevent excessive voltages reachine
each f.e.t. insulatedga-te,the workl
ing circuits of thesei.c.'s coneistof
nothing else but the f.e.t.'s
themselves.No resistorsor diodes
or anything e-lse like that, just
t._e.t.'s
all interconnectedtogether,"
( F i e .1 . )
SINGLE F.E.T.
"They still baffle me," stated
Dick gloomily. "To begin with,
some of the f.e.t.'s are showx with
the letter'N' alongsidethem, whilst
others have the letter 'P'. What do
theseletters mean?"
- "They ,indicate the type of
channel the f.e.t. has," 16plied
Smithy. "Look, I'll show you the
set-up for an n-channelf.e.t."
Smithy put down his mug, reached over for his note-padand took a
ball point pen from his overall
jacket pocket.Quickly, he sketched
out a basic diagram for an nchannelf.e.t. (Fig. 2.)
"This is all elemenfary stuff," he
went on, "and so I don't want to
spend too much time on it. What
I've drawn here is an insulated gate
n-channelf.e.t.with its sourcecoinc
to the negative supply rail an-diti
drain going to the oositive rail.
There's a thin chanriel of n-tvpe
silicon material between the sour'ce
and the drain, and this is physicallv
supportedon a backins sibdtrate oi
p-type silicon. When fhe gate is at

the same negative potential as the

sourceit repelsthe flow of electrons
along the channel, with the result
that no current can Dassbetween
the source and the diain, and the
channel acts as though it is an extremely high resistance.If, on the
other hand, the gate is taken
positive,electronsare encouragedto
flow along the channel and a
current passesbetween the source
and the drain. This time the
channel behaves like a low value
resistor."
"That seemsfair enough," concededDick. "But what about the ptype substrate?Doesn't that haire
any-effect o-nthe electrical working
of the f.e.t.?"
"It won't have if the substrateis
connected to the negative rail,"
replied Smithy. "You then get what
is effectively a reverse-connected
p.n. diode between the substrate
and the source, and current can

Gotc
Chonncl
(N)

Fig. 2. Diagrammatic
prcsenutlon of an insulated
gate n-channel f.e.t. Thc
drain and sounce areas are
highly doped n-type rcgions

RADIO AND ELECTRONICSCONSTRUCTOR

only flow in that diode if. as in anv

other silicon p.n. diode. dhep. pait
is 0.6 volt or more positiveof th'en.
part. When the substrate is connectedto the negativerail that just
can't happen.Okav?"
"I thiiri<so," said Dick dubiously, "but the f.e.t. symbolsin these
CMOS circuit diagrams still confuse me. For instance, thev don't
mark the sourceor the drairi in anv
recognisableway, and there is i
third gubbins in between the two,
with an arrow on it."
Smithy drew a circuit svmbol on
t h e p a d . ( F i g .3 ( a ) . )

-lF
lf-+lF-

G A T E- r-v^A"r

l]_+_suBsrRArE
lF__souRcE
(b)

GArE-''l

ts---

souRcE

ltssuBSTRnTE
lH:oo'"
(c)

Fig. 3b). Typicalf.e.t. symbol, as encounterad in

. CMOS i.c. diagrams
(il. Thc symbol is for an nchcnnel f.e.t.
(c). ln a p-channel f,e.t.
symbol the substrateanow
points outwards
"Is this the sort of thing you
mean?"
"That's rieht."
"Well," sald Smithy, ,,whatI've
drawn is the svmbol for an nchannelf.e.t.as usedin a CMOS integrate^dcircqit. I'll mark up the
parts
for vou."
Quickly he added the names of
the symbol electrodes.(Fig. B(b).)
.. "As you.can-see," he ieni on,
"the long thin line representsthe
gate,and the two outside bars facing up to it are the sourceand the
drain. The device is actuallv
symmetrical, but it's usual ti)
assumethat the bar which connects
to the f.e.t. output is the drain. The
middle bar repiesentsthe substrate
and,with n-channelf.e.t.'s,this has
a.narrow pointing inwards,just like
the emltter arrow of a p.n,p. transistor. All we have to- rerirember
with an n-channel f.e.t. is that the
channelacts like an extremelvhieh
resistancewhen the gate is it t[e
same potential as the source,and
that it acts like a low value
NOVEMBER,
19?8

resistance when the gate is taken

positive.With CMOSaigital f.e.t.'s
the gateis taken positive;ight ut to;
croseto, the positivesupply
lj,tilt
. "There's anothertype of f.e.t. in
thesecircuits,"said Dick. ..But this
time it's got the substrate arrow
pointing outwards."
a further f.e.t. sym. prylhy-4tgw
b o l ( F i e .3 ( c ) . )
" Here's what vou're talkine
about," he remarked."This oneis i
p-channelf.e.t.,and it works in exactly the oppositemanner to the nchannelf.e.t. The sourcenormallv
ggesto supply positive.The p-tvp-e
channelexhibitsan extremelvhiih
resistancewhen the gate is it t[e
same potential as the sourceand a
low resistance when the sate is
taken negative.The substrat6arrow
points outward, like the emitter
arrow of an n.p.n. transistor.The
channel is p-type this time, of
course,whereuponthe substrateis
n-tvoe."
Smittrv picked up his mus. drank
appreciativelyand beameil'at his
assistantbenignly.
INVERTER
"Don't tell me," snorted Dick

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l"-51'"'J"'t'#;;:Y'Jn:l';:#&1,'"'"'
"Why not? It's

mv lunch break
and I've alreadyspent part of it explalnrng the two types of f.e.t. to
you. What more do vou want?"
"How about showing me how
someof theseCMOS digltal i.c. circuits
work?"
'
"Very well then," said Smithv
resignedly."I'll start off with air
easy CMOS circuit, which is that
for a CMOS inverter. But before I
begin I'd better introduce a few
terms. CMOS-logicis positive logic,
rn wnlcn the tlgure I ls represented
by a high voltageand the iigure 0 is
qe-p_r9s^ente{
by a low voltage. With
CMOS.thehig\ voltage aTor very
is
near tne posltlvesupply rail and
tne low voltageis at or very
- Wnear
hen
t h e n e g a t i v es u p p l v r a i l .
talking about thesd voltagesit is a
goodidea to simply refer ib them aJ
'hrgh'
or 'low' respectively.It also
helps to refer to the individual
f.e.t.'sas 'transistors',.which
is how
they're usually described in the
manutacturers' data sheets. Let,s
draw that inverter now."
Smithy picked up his pen and
rapidly sketchedout the circuit of
the inverter.(Fig. a.)
"There doesn't seemto be much
in that circuit," statedDick, starins
critically at Smithy's notepadl
"Just a-p-channel f.-e.t.- s6rry,
transistor - at the top, and an nchannel transistor at t}'e bottom."
"Exactly," confirmed Smithv.
"In fact, that's the beauty of CMOS
i.c. circuitry. Everythingisso clean
and unclutiered with onletransistor
connectingdirectly to another. As

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l-llll
I

Input-1

ll+-r o

I'r

output

II it*t
r,'J*

LJq

Fig.4. A CMOS inverter. tts

output is low when the input
is high, and vice-verca

[mcmlrHt

sh'eet for the quad exclusive-OR

gate type CD4030. It's quite an interestingand unusualdevice,and it
takes us fairly closeto the level of
complexity at which manufacturers
start showingthe internal circuits of
CMOS i.c.'s with blocks instead of
individual transistors. It also introduces another manner in which
individual CMOS transistors mav
be turned off."
"Exclusive-OR," repeated Dick
musingly. "How does that differ
from an ordinarv OR eate?"
^ "With an ordinary Oh gate," said
Smithy, "the output is high, or is at
I, when any one or more of the inputs is high. With an exclusive-OR
gate,the -outputgoeshigh only when
qrl:e9t the inputs goes high. The
CD.4030gate has two inputi and if
both of these go high ihe output
goeslow." (Figs.5 and 6.)

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180

you can see,the input terminal coes

to the two gates.What happeis if
that input i; hish?"
"Weil," said"Dick slowly, .,the
gateof the p-channeltransistorwill
be at the samevoltageas its source,
and there'll then be a verv hish
resistancebetweenits sourceLnd i"ts
drain. The gate of the n-channel
transistor will be positive of its
source and so the n-channel will
show a low resistance."
"Putting it another wav." stated
Smithy, 'fue cin sav thii the ochanneltransistoris iurned off arid
the n-channel transistor is turned
on. What will the output be?
Remember that the outpul is onlv
intended to connectto the gatesoi
other CMOS transistors.-which
draw virtually zerocurreni."
."Then," said Dick, "the output
will be low, right down at the
negative rail. Let's next see what
!?ppens if we take the input low.
This will turn off the n-channel
transistor and turn on the pchannel transistor. So the outpirt
will be hieh?"
"It wilf be," confirmedSmithv.
"To sum up, the invertergivesa lont
output whenits input is high,and a
h_ighoutput when its inpul is low
Which is preciselywhai it's supposed!e do. Now, if you'll just 6e
so goodas to fill my mug agiin, I'il
sort out a more man-sized(.)MOS
circuit for us to look at."
Obligingly, Dick took Sryrithy's
mug and carried it over io dhe
battered tea-pot at the Workshop
sink. Smithy picked up the dat?r
sheets and looked through them
c,arefully.He stoppedat one of the
sheets,examined it more closelv.
then drew it out and placedit on hii
bench as Dick retuined with the
replenishedmue.
1'Is that the
ciicuit you're goingto
talk about?"
"It is," responded Smithv.
"What I've got-here is the dala

Output

vss
co4030

Fig. 5. The CD4O3O hasfour

2-input exclusivc-OR gatos

"I see," said Dick reflectivelv.

"You talked just now about anoth6r
method of turning off CMOS transistors.What's that. Smithv?"
"It's a verv simple and obvious
point," respondedSmithy, "but it's
one you have to keep in mind if
we'regoingto discussthis exclusiveOR gate. Now, we already know
that an n-channel transistor turns
off when its source is low and its
gate is low. The n-channel transistor will be even more turned off,
as it were, if its sourceis high and
its gate is low." (Fie. 7(a).)

INPUT
A

INPUT
B

OUTPUT

0
0

0
1
1
0

0
I

I
1

Fig, 6. Truth tabl. for onc of

the cD4o?o g.tcs
RADIO AND ELECTRONICSCONSTRUCTOR

H---

ll-"
tt"

l-

I,
"]

lL_

"]

lL.o

lI,

l"

(o)

(b)

t-

Fig. 7b). An n-channel t'a,nsistor is tumcd off whcn

its source and
gate are low. lt is also tumed off when its
source is high and iti
lb). A hish-vottaga on ,n. o:i:t ::o'"Zi*c or a p-channet transistol
turns it off, as also do a low sourcc ronagiaif,a-iiign
grt";ftrgi

,.is
, "What you.mean,"said Dick,
that the gate is then negativeof the
source,whereuponit will offer even
more repulsion to electronsin the
channel."
^ "That's right," confirmed
S.mithy- "And a p-channel translstorglves the oppositeeffect. It is
turned off if its sourceis high and
it-sgate is high, and it is turied off
alsoif its sourceis low and its gateis
h i e h . "( F i e .7 ( b ) . )
"That seems to make sense to
me," commentedDick. ,,Now lead
me to that CMOS circuit!"
"I'll do that in iust a moment.

But first I want to stay with these

transistorswhen they're turned off
in the second mann-er.There's no
proper technicalterm for the condition but the benefit of our present
little natter I'll refer to them as being'reverse-biased'."
"Okay," said Dick impatientlv.
"Now, what about that ciicuit?" -

BYTHEG3HSC
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I e n c l o s ef 5 . 5 0 o r s . a . e .f o r o x p l a n a t o r v
booklel.

EXCLUSIVE-OR GATE
Smithy. passed the data sheet
over ro tirck, then proceededto sio
hrs tea as.hisassistantgazedat thi
gatecircuit. (Fig. g.y

T. D. GOMPONENTS
_ Unit 4, Stainctiff6 Milb,
Dew_rbury, Wo.t yorkrhiro,
England WFt3 4AR

vpg(+)

Tcl: HGkmondowikc (0924)rt{)go4o

CMOS

x33?
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+o-41
10^49

13i3

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4042

i3i:
4049

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Fig. 8, The internal circuitry of one of

the gates in thc CD4O3O
NOVEMBER 1978

ltr

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181

"Ye gods," moaned Dick eventually. "I'll never get to grips with
this.-It doesn'tmike senssto me
anywhere."
l'Come on," snorted Smithv
irritably, "you can't be as mvopic
as all that. Thereare two sectionsin
the circuit which we've alread
talked about durins this lunc
break."
"Blimey, are there? Why, stap
me, so there are!" said Dick ercitedly. "There's one two-transistor
inverterat the top left, immediately
after the upper iirput ierminal, anil
there's another two-transistor inverter at the bottom right, just
beforethe gate output. Well, ihat
makes things a bit easier,doesn't
it?"
"It certainlv does." asreed
Smithy, "becauie it enables"usto
draw a simplified circuit
straightaway using two inverter
symbols. Things will also become
easier if we draw the transistors
without the substrates.since thev
play 4o part in circuit operation.
That leavesus with iust- two inverters and four transistors. and
these can be numbered TRl to
TR4.''
. . Smithy tore off the top sheet of
his note-padand carefully sketched
the simplified circuit.- He then
enteredthe voltagestateswhich existedwith both inputsA and B low.
( F i e .9 ( a ) . )

"That circuit looks a lot more

digestiblenow," commentedDick.
"What are you going to do next?"
"l'm goingto go through circuit
oper-ation_
when both the inputs are
low," repliedSmithy."Witli the upper input low, the output from the
inverterat the top
left will then be
-first
high. Let's look
at TR2. Its
sourceis low and its -gate
t u r niselow,
d so
this transistor is
off.
Similarly, the sourceof TR4 is low
and its gate is low, and this transistor is turned off. too. The source
t-rfTRI is low and its gateis high so
this transistoris not onlv turned off
but it's reverse-biased
is well."
_."tha_t leavesonly TR3," put in
Dick. "Its sourceis highana its gate
is low and so it must be turned firllv
on. Since all the other transistori
are off, the drain of TRS must be
high. The drain connectsto the second inverter at the right,
whereuponthe output of thaf inverter will be low."
"That's it," agreedSmithy, crossing out the voltageindicatioiri in his
circuit, and inserting new ones.
"Let's try out the systemwith both
inputs high." (Fig. 9(b).)
"Righty-ho," said Dick easerlv.
"Well now, the sourceof TR3 i-slow
and its gate is high, so this transistor is reverse-biased.
The source
of TRl is high and its gate is low,
so TRl is turned on ana its drain
will be high."

"Correct," said Smithv. "Which

meansthat, if the circuitis to work,
TR2 and TR4 must be off. And thev
are, too. Both the sourceand gateoi'
TR2 are high, and both the source
and gateof TR4 are high.In fact,all
f/rree electrodesof both thesetransistorsare high so that not only are
they cut off but there'sno source-todrain voltage to cause current to
pass through them anyway."
"Let's see what happens,"said
Dick keenly,"when the top input is
high and the bottom input is low."
( F i e .9 ( c ) . )
"All right," agreed Smithy
equably. "We'll first find the transistorthat's turned on. Ah ves. it's
TR2 this time. Its sourceis [ow'and
its gate is high, so its drain must be
low as well. This makes all three
electrodesof TR1 low. The same
happens with TR3. The source of
TR4 is high and its gate is low and
so TR4 is the reverse-biasedtransistor. The low output from TR2
goesinto the secondinverter, which
makes the gate output high. Right,
there's onlv one other combination
left, and that's whcre the top input
is low and the bottom input is
high." (Fig. 9(d).)
"Well," said Dick, looking at
Smithy'sdiagram."If the top input
is low and the bottom input is high,
the fully turned on transistor must
be TR4, becauseits source is low
and its gateis high."

Input A

TRt ON

TR2ON
icl

TRa ON
TR4
ON
(d)

Fig. 9(a). Simplffied venion of the CD4O3O gatc circuit with substates omitted. Hara, the two inputs are
low
(b). Circuit conditions with both inputs high
(d. When input A is hlgh and input B is low tho output is high
(d). The final possiblc combination of input voftages a/so causes the output to go high

r82

RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONSTRUCTOR

"Right," chimed in Smithv.

"No-w,the sourceand gate of Td3
are both high, and so TR3 is turned
off in normal fashion. So also is
TRl, which has both its gate and
sourcehigh. All that's lefais TRz.
and this is reverse-biasedwith its
sourcehigh and its gate low. The
low output from TR4 drain is then
convertedto a high by the second
rnverter.And that's the lot! This
exclusive-OR
circuit functionsiust
as it's.supposed
to do. Its output is
low when both inputs are low and
whenboth inputsire high.The output only goeshigh when one of the
inputs is high and the other one is
low."
FINAL POINTS
Smithy reachedfor his mus and
took a prodigiousdraught of lea.
" Y o u w e r e c e r t a i n l-y r i g h t , "
remarked Dick, "when vou- said
that this was an interestirigCMOS
circuit."
The Servicemanput down his
mug and wiped his mouth with the

back of his hand.

"It's an unusual circuit. too." he
commented, "because it has to deal
with four input combinations.
However, the main point of todav's
exercise has been to demonstrite
that it's possible to look inside a
CMOS i.c. and see what's happening there. Far too often wg look
upon these integrated circuits as little magic boxes with pins neatly
spaced at 0.1 inch intervals. and w-e
don't realise that what goes on inside them can be explained in terms
of ordinary discrete component circuitry. CMOS digital circuitry is
particularly easy because you just
have to think in terms of voltiges
which are high or low.'
'
"In other words," stated Dick
quickly, "you can get the low-down
on CMOS without hish-blown and
high-faluting hypotheses about
hybrid voltage and current
operation."
Smithy turned and looked at his
assistant gravelv.
'-'Jhat,"
he remarked, "is pretty
well the high and low of it."-

NOVEMBER 1978

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FOURIER
SIGNAL ANALYZER
By
M ichael Lorant

N e w , h i g h l y co mp l e x ma ch i n e h a ndles
nu m e r o u s r an d o m si g n a l stu d i e s.
Hewlett Packard in the United States has
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ln tysrali view of the new Hewlett Packard

F<.turie: Signa! Anaiyzor. This has an exceptionallv wide range of applications,
including
the invei;!.I;r{:on of rar:elom rnachine vibration
184

Fourier analyzers are widely used to solve

problems in mechanical vibration, in signature
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0.1''i accuracy and 80dB dynamic range are
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An array of computational functions and system
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Over fifty standard peripherals can be added to
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RAI)IOAND T]I,ECTRONICS
CONSTRUCTOR

RADIO & ELECTRONICSCONSTRUCTOR

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