Using Bipolar Transistors As Switches

By Mike Martell N1HFX

While transistors have many uses, one of the less known uses by amateurs is the ability for bipolar transistors to turn things on and off. While there are limitations as to what we can switch on and off, transistor switches offer lower cost and substantial reliability over conventional mechanical relays. In this article, we will review the basic principles for transistor switches using common bipolar transistors. The most commonly used transistor switch is the PNP variety shown in Figure 1. The secret to making a transistor switch work properly is to get the transistor in a saturation state. For this to happen we need to know the maximum load current for the device to be turned on and the minimum HFE of the transistor. For example, if we have a load that requires 100MA of current and a transistor with a minimum HFE of 100, we can then calculate the minimum base current required to saturate the transistor as follows:

Minimum base current = 100 MA / 100 Minimum base current = 1 MA In actual practice, it is best to calculate about 30% more current than we will need to guarantee our transistor switch is always saturated. In this case, we will use 1.3 MA. We must also select our supply voltage, so for this example we will use 12 volts. We can now calculate resistor R1 in the circuit as follows: Maximum Current Required = 100MA Supply Voltage = 12 Volts

R1 = Supply Voltage / ( Maximum Current Required / Minimum HFE * 1.3 ) R1 = 12 / (.1 / 100 * 1.3) R1 = 9230.7 or 10K for nearest standard value. Resistor R2 is not essential to this circuit but is generally used for stability and to insure that the transistor switch is completely turned off. This resistor insures that the base of the transistor does not go slightly negative which would cause a very small amount of collector current to flow. The value of this resistor is not critical but a value about 10 times R1 is normally chosen. For this circuit we will calculate R2 to be 10 times R1 as follows: R2 = 10 * 10000 R2 = 100K To turn on our transistor switch all that is needed is to short resistor R1 to the negative ground.

While PNP transistors are normally used for a negative ground configuration, it is possible use a NPN transistor if a positive ground configuration is desired as indicated in Figure 2. The calculation of resistor values is identical to the PNP version. However, in the NPN transistor, R1 must be shorted to the positive end of the supply to turn the switch on. While our transistor switch can easily replace many mechanical relays, it does have a few drawbacks. The maximum design current must not be exceeded or the output voltage will be reduced. A short circuit of the output will overheat and destroy the transistor in many cases. Although the transistor is in saturation when turned on, about .3 volts is lost through the collector to the emitter of the transistor. We must also insure that the maximum power dissipation of the transistor is not exceeded. We can calculate the power dissipation by multiplying the current by .3 volts. In the case of 100 MA, the transistor must be able to withstand 30 milliwatts (.3 times .1). Transistor switches are used for a wide variety of applications. Many amateurs will notice that the circuit in Figure 1 is used as the PTT in many transmitter circuits. Transistor switches are commonly used to turn on transmitter circuits, LEDs, cooling fans and even relays. However, when using a transistor to turn on a relay coil, it is very important to use a 1N4001 diode reversed biased in parallel with the relay coil as in Figure 3. This is to prevent the kickback voltage in the reverse polarity from destroying the transistor. This reverse voltage occurs momentarily when the normal current stops flowing through the coil. It is good practice to always use a diode when turning on any inductive load. Transistor switches are often used to take the low-level output from logic circuits to turn on or turn off a particular device.

The actual transistor used as a switch is not critical in these applications. Virtually any general purpose NPN or PNP transistor can be used as a switch. All that is needed is to know the minimum HFE and the power dissipation of the transistor. While most all transistors in a TO-92 case will have HFEs of at least 100, many power transistors in TO-220 cases often have an HFE no greater than 25. It is essential to know the HFE or Beta of a transistor, so that we can have a large enough base current to achieve saturation. If a power transistor is used to turn on a high current device, it may be necessary to use another lower current transistor switch to drive a transistor switch used in a high current application. This is especially important when using a low current logic output from a CMOS IC.

While there are a few applications where our transistor switches may not be suitable, it is usually a much more reliable and inexpensive alternative to using mechanical relays. These circuits are low in cost and offer ease of design for the radio amateur.

Switching Regulator Basics

By Mike Martell N1HFX

Although most power supplies used in amateur shacks are of the linear regulator type, an increasing number of switching power supplies have become available to the amateur. For most amateurs the switching regulator is still somewhat of a mystery. One might wonder why we even bother with these power supplies, when the existing linear types work just fine. The primary advantage of a switching regulator is very high efficiency, a lot less heat and smaller size.

To understand how these black boxes work lets take a look at a traditional linear regulator at right. As we see in the diagram, the linear regulator is really nothing more than a variable resistor. The resistance of the regulator varies in accordance with the load resulting in a constant output voltage

The primary filter capacitor is placed on the input to the regulator to help filter out the 60 cycle ripple. The linear regulator does an excellent job but not without cost. For example, if the output voltage is 12 volts and the input voltage is 24 volts then we must drop 12 volts across the regulator. At output currents of 10 amps this translates into 120 watts (12 volts times 10 amps) of heat energy that the regulator must dissipate. Is it any wonder why we have to use those massive heat sinks? As we can see this results in a mere 50% efficiency for the linear regulator and a lot of wasted power which is normally transformed into heat.

Now lets take a look at a very basic switching regulator at right. As we see can see, the switching regulator is really nothing more than just a simple switch. This switch goes on and off at a fixed rate usually between 50Khz to 100Khz as set by the circuit.

The time that the switch remains closed during each switch cycle is varied to maintain a constant output voltage. Notice that the primary filter capacitor is on the output of the regulator and not the input. As is apparent, the switching regulator is much more efficient than the linear regulator achieving efficiencies as high as 80% to 95% in some circuits. The obvious result is smaller heat sinks, less heat and smaller overall size of the power supply. The previous diagram is really an over simplification of a switching regulator circuit. An actual switching regulator circuit more closely resembles the circuit below:

As we see above the switching regulator appears to have a few more components than a linear regulator. Diode D1 and Inductor L1 play a very specific role in this circuit and are found in almost every switching regulator. First, diode D1 has to be a Schottky or other very fast switching diode. A 1N4001 just won't switch fast enough in this circuit. Inductor L1 must be a type of core that does not saturate under high currents. Capacitor C1 is normally a low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) type. To understand the action of D1 and L1, lets look at what happens when S1 is closed as indicated below:

As we see above, L1, which tends to oppose the rising current, begins to generate an electromagnetic field in its core. Notice that diode D1 is reversed biased and is essentially an open circuit at this point. Now lets take a look at what happens when S1 opens below:

As we see in this diagram the electromagnetic field that was built up in L1 is now discharging and generating a current in the reverse polarity. As a result, D1 is now conducting and will continue until the field in L1 is diminished. This action is similar to the charging and discharging of capacitor C1. The use of this inductor/diode combination gives us even more efficiency and augments the filtering of C1. Because of the unique nature of switching regulators, very special design considerations are required. Because the switching system operates in the 50 to 100 kHz region and has an almost square waveform, it is rich in harmonics way up into the HF and even the VHF/UHF region. Special filtering is required, along with shielding, minimized lead lengths and all sorts of toroidal filters on leads going outside the case. The switching regulator also has a minimum load requirement, which is determined by the inductor value. Without the minimum load, the regulator will generate excessive noise and harmonics and could even damage itself. (This is why it is not a good idea to turn on a computer switching power supply without some type of load connected.) To meet this requirement, many designers use a cooling fan and or a minimum load which switches out when no longer needed. Fortunately, recent switching regulator IC's address most of these design problems quite well. Because of lowered component costs as well as a better understanding of switching regulator technology, we are starting to see even more switching power supplies replacing traditionally linear only applications. It is no doubt that we will see fewer linear power supplies being used in the future.

In this article we addressed basic switching regulator design concepts and it is hoped that amateurs will begin to look at switching regulators much more seriously when they decide to replace an old power supply. In a future construction article, we will review an actual switching regulator circuit.

Design Guidelines for Op Amp Audio Preamplifier Circuits

By Mike Martell N1HFX

Operational Amplifier Design Operational amplifiers are simple to use, inexpensive and offer a very large amount of gain. These IC's come in a variety of packages with 1, 2 or 4 complete Op Amps in a single IC. Op Amps have two inputs called the noninverting and the inverting designated by the plus and minus sign, respectively. Op Amps are actually differential amplifiers because they amplify the difference between the inverting and the noninverting inputs. Op amps will normally operate from any supply voltage in the 6 to 15 volt range.

Single Power Supply Operation While intended for dual power supply operation, Op Amps can be easily configured to a single power supply by the use of a resistor network. In the above example, resistors R3 and R4 place a voltage of 1/2 of the supply voltage across the non-inverting input which causes the output voltage to also be 1/2 of the supply voltage forming a sort of bias voltage. Resistors R3 and R4 can be any value from 1K to 100K but in all cases they should be equal. An additional .1uf capacitor has been added to the non-inverting input to reduce noise caused by this configuration. The use of coupling capacitors for input and output is required for this configuration. Setting The Gain of The Op Amp The gain of this circuit is determined by resistors R1 and R2 and is calculated by the following equation: Voltage Gain = R2 / R1 R1 can be any value from 470 to 10K. Because Op Amps have input impedances as high as several hundred thousand ohms or greater, any input power lost through R1 is insignificant. R2 can be any value from 10K to 1M. R2 actually limits the gain of the Op Amp by providing a form of negative feedback. Op Amps typically have voltage gains between 20,000 to 200,000. In no case

should the voltage gain set by R2 / R1 be greater than 1,000. The voltage gain is essentially independent of the supply voltage. Preventing Oscillations Because of the extremely high gain afforded by operational amplifiers, precautions are often needed when very high gains (greater than 100) are used. The use of 1 to 10 ohm resistor and a 100uf capacitor connected to the Vcc terminal of the Op Amp will isolate the power source and prevent oscillations.

Design Guidelines for JFET Audio Preamplifier Circuits

By Mike Martell N1HFX

The Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) offers very high input impedance along with very low noise figures. It is very suitable for extremely low level audio applications as in audio preamplifiers. The JFET is more expensive than conventional bipolar transistors but offers superior overall performance. Unlike bipolar transistors, current can flow through the drain and source in any direction equally. Often the drain and source can be reversed in a circuit with almost no effect on circuit operation.

Transconductance The ability of a JFET to amplify is described as trans-conductance and is merely the change in drain current divided by the change in gate voltage. It is indicated as Mhos or Siemens and is typically 2.5mmhos to 7.5mmhos for the MPF102 transistor. Because of the high input impedance, the gate is considered an open circuit and draws no power from the source. Although voltage gain appears low in a JFET, power gain is almost infinite. Drain Characteristics Even though no voltage appears at the gate, a substantial amount of current will flow from the drain to the source. In fact, the JFET does not actually turn off until the gate goes several volts negative. This zero gate voltage current through the drain to the source is how the bias is set in the JFET. Resistor R3, which is listed in the above diagram, merely sets the input impedance and insures zero volts appears across the gate with no signal. Resistor R3 does almost nothing for the actual biasing voltages of the circuit. When the gate voltage goes positive, drain current will increase until the minimum drain to source resistance is obtained and is indicated below: Minimum Rds(on) or On State Resistance The above value can be determined by reading specification sheets for the selected transistor. In cases where it is not known, it is safe to assume it is zero. The other important characteristic is the absolute maximum drain current. Listed below are absolute maximum drain currents for some common N-channel transistors: MPF102 - 20ma 2N3819 - 22ma

2N4416 - 15ma

When designing a JFET circuit, it is highly recommended to prevent the absolute maximum current from being exceeded under any conditions. In design calculations. never use more than 75% of the maximum drain current as specified by the manufacturer. JFET Design Example 1 For the first design example, we will use an MPF102 transistor with a Vcc of 12 volts. We will allow no more than 5 ma of drain current under any circumstances. For resistor R3, the gate resistor, we will use 1 Meg for a very high impedance across the gate. The gate resistor is normally anywhere from 1 Meg to 100K. The higher values allow the JFET to amplify very weak signals but require measures to prevent oscillations. The lower values enhance stability but tend to decrease gain. Sometimes the value of this resistor needs to be adjusted for impedance matching depending on the type of signal source involved. Because we will only allow 5 ma of current through the drain to source, we will calculate the total resistance for resistors R1 and R2. We will assume the Minimum Rds(on) to be zero. Vcc = 12 Minimum Rds(on) = 0 Ids = 5 ma (Vcc - (Minimum Rds(on) * Ids)) / Ids = Total Resistance of R1 and R2 (12 - (0 * .005) ) / .005 = 2400 ohms To calculate R2, we must select the desired voltage drop across this resistor. it is normally set between 20 to 30% of Vcc. For this example we will set R2 to 25% of the supply voltage (minus any voltage dropped across the drain and source) as follows: R2 = .25 * Total Resistance of R1 and R2 R2 = .25 * 2400 = 600 ohms (nearest standard value is 560 ohms) R2 = 560 ohms R1 can now be easily calculated by subtracting R2 from the total resistance as follows: R1 = Total Resistance - R2 R1 = 2400 - 600 = 1800 ohms To prevent oscillations a 10 ohm resistor and a 100uf capacitor were added to isolate the circuit from the power supply. A .1uf capacitor was used for input coupling and a 4.7uf capacitor was used for output coupling. Slightly larger or smaller capacitor values will also give acceptable results. The optional 4.7uf capacitor which bypasses R2 is used to obtain the maximum amount of gain the transistor will deliver. The addition of this capacitor may introduce a small amount of unwanted white noise and should only be used when an absolutely quiet preamplifier is not required.

JFET Design Example 2 In the second design example, we will use an MPF102 transistor to add an additional stage of amplification to our circuit. We will make the following assumptions:

R3 = 1Meg Vcc = 12 Minimum Rds(on) = 0 Ids = 7ma (Vcc - (Minimum Rds(on) * Ids)) / Ids = Total resistance of R1 and R2 (12 - (0 * .007)) / .007 = 1714 ohms We will assume R2 to have 25% of the supply voltage. R2 = .25 * Total of R1 and R2 R2 = .25 * 1714 = 429 ohms (use 470) R2 = 470 R1 = Total Resistance - R2 R1 = 1714 - 429 = 1285 ohms (use 1200) R1 = 1200 ohms A 4.7uf capacitor was used for input coupling and a 10uf capacitor was used for output coupling. Slightly larger or smaller capacitor values will also give acceptable results. The optional 10uf capacitor which bypasses R2 is used to obtain the maximum amount of gain the transistor will deliver.

By putting our two circuits together we now have a two transistor JFET audio preamplifier with excellent gain and very low distortion. A 10K level control was added to complete the preamplifier circuit. If you decide to use a 2N3819 be aware that the pin-out is different than other JFET transistors

Design Guidelines for Bipolar Transistor Audio Preamplifier Circuits

By Mike Martell N1HFX

Before attempting to design a transistor amplifier circuit, it is necessary to acquaint ourselves with some very important design equations. The most commonly used design equations are listed to the right to help us with our effort. The first few equations are derived from ohms law and you should already be familiar with them. The bottom two equations deal with transistor gain and are equally important to our work. The formula for hfe refers to the ratio of collector current (Ic) to base current (Ib). For most modern transistors it is typically in the 50 to 100 range. To insure a circuit will always work properly, it is safe to assume a value of 50 for modern transistors.

At this time, we need to make some decisions about our audio preamplifier circuit. For this design example we will choose the following: Vcc = 12 V Ic = 5 ma hfe = 50 Q1 = 2N3904

With all those big decisions made, we can now begin our design.

Using the one of the hfe formulas, we will now calculate the base current as follows: Ib = Ic / hfe Ib = .005 / 50 = .1 ma Lets calculate R1, the collector load resistor, as follows: R1 = 1/2Vcc / .005 R1 = 6 / .005 = 1200 Notice above that we assumed 1/2 of the supply voltage to be dropped across R1. This is necessary to insure that the amplifier remains in the linear operating range of the transistor. We need to determine how much voltage is to appear across the emitter resistor, R2, before we calculate its value. A good value is anywhere between 5 to 10 percent of Vcc. For this circuit we will use 1 volt which is about 8 percent of Vcc. Resistor R2 is now calculated as follows: R2 = 1 / (Ic + Ib) R2 = 1 / (.005 + .0001) = 196 Because the voltage across the base to emitter of a silicon transistor is always .7 volts, the voltage from the base to ground is .7 plus the 1 volt drop across R2 for a total of 1.7 volts. This 1.7 volts happens to be the voltage drop across resistor R4. In order to provide a stiff base voltage, resistor R4 should have a current of about 5 to 10 times the base current. For this example, we will assume 9 times the base current for a total of .9 ma. Resistor R4 can now be calculated as follows: R4 = 1.7 volts / .0009 = 1889 If the voltage drop across R4 is 1.7 volts then the voltage drop across R3 must be 12 - 1.7 for a total of 10.3 volts. The current through R3 is the total of the current through R4 (.9ma) and the base current (.1ma) for a total of 1 ma. R3 can now be calculated as follows: R3 = 10.3 / .001 = 10300 Now that we have calculated all our resistor values, we will select the nearest standard values as indicated below:

R1 = 1.2K R2 = 180 R3 = 10K R4 = 1.8K The circuit at right is the result of our design efforts. 4.7uF capacitors were use for input and output coupling and slightly larger or small values could be used satisfactorily. Notice the optional 4.7uf capacitor across the emitter resistor R2. This capacitor increases the current gain to the hfe of the particular transistor used. This emitter bypass capacitor should only be used when the maximum amount of gain is desired without regard to a predictable level of gain. Remember, hfe will vary from transistor to transistor even though they have the same part number and even if they were produced by the same manufacturer. It is always better to assume an hfe that is at least 20% less than that specified by the manufacturer. One common error that designers make is that they forget to calculate the actual power that each resistor will dissipate in a circuit. Failure to perform these calculations can sometimes result in a resistor exceeding its maximum power level and cause premature resistor failure. This is particularly important for circuits which have collector currents exceeding 40 milliamps. Fortunately, power ratings for each of our resistors in this circuit can be easily calculated as follows: R1 = 6 Volts * .005 Amps = .03 Watts R2 = 1 Volt * .0051 Amps = .0051 Watts R3 = 10.3 Volts * .001 Amps = .0103 Watts R4 = 1.7 Volts * .0009 Amps = .00153 Watts The preceding calculations indicate that 1/4 watt, 5% resistors are adequate for this design. Although our preceding circuit does have substantial gain, lets design a second stage to the previous circuit to further increase gain. Before we can begin our design we must make those all important design decisions again as indicated below: Q1 = 2N3904 Vcc = 12V Ic = 10ma hfe = 50 Vr2 = 1V (8% of Vcc) Ir4 = 9 times Ib Now were ready to calculate our resistor values as follows: R1 = 6/.010 = 600 Ib = .01/50 = .0002 R2 = 1/(Ic + Ib) = 1/(.01 + .0002) = 98 Ir4 = 9 * .0002 = .0018 R4 = (1 + .7)/.0018 = 944 R3 = (12 - 1 - .7)/(.0018 + .0002) = 10.3 / .002 = 5150

We will select standard resistor values as follows: R1 = 560 R2 = 100 R3 = 5.1K R4 = 1K The circuit at right is the result of our design efforts. 10uF capacitors were use for output coupling and optional emitter bypass. Slightly larger or small capacitor values could also be used satisfactorily. As always, the emitter bypass capacitor should only be used when the maximum amount of gain is desired without regard to a predictable level of gain. Now lets add the two transistor stages together to get the resulting circuit below:.

Because of the large amount of gain obtained with this circuit, we added a 10K variable resistor at the output as a gain control. This circuit will provide good results for almost any microphone pre-amplifier application. Incidentally, we can substitute a 2N2222A, 2N4401 or any general purpose NPN with a minimum hfe of 50 for the 2N3904 transistor used in this design example. There are many general purpose NPN transistors that can be easily used in this circuit with good results. Perhaps a good exercise for the designer is to recalculate all of the above resistor values using a Vcc of 9 volts which will allow the use of a 9 volt battery. Now that we got our hands wet designing these circuits, lets summarize what we've learned below: Vcc = Supply Voltage hfe Ic = Absolute minimum current gain for the selected transistor = Selected collector current

Ib

= Ic / hfe (base current)

Vr1 Vr2 Vr3 Vr4

= 1/2 Vcc = 5 to 10% of Vcc = Vcc - .7 - Vr2 = .7 + Vr2

Ir4

= 5 to 10 times Ib

R1 R2 R3 R4

= 1/2Vcc / Ic = Vr2 / (Ic + Ib) = (Vcc - .7 - Vr2) / (Ir4 + Ib) = (.7 + Vr2) / Ir4