To Traditional Control Teth Dli Lili a TV TRAIVSMI' Put It to Work at 900
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Electroni n . How FUli L Understanding thisfner I to traditional control teth dli lili A TV TRAIVSMI' Put it to work at 900 MAKING MEASURE ACCURATE A Kelvin- Varlet' diu completes our mini metrology lab r 0E:Y4NEtOldF.r.:xxr:.mx. 3-DIGIT 07_ KEEP IT COOL! #BRi:E:471 60,570236 $3.50 U.S. Now to choose the ,, $3.95 CAN. 9 right heatsink CHRIS BARKER 5EI 2111111111110 _719S-+7¡- for your designs www.americanradiohistory.com True -rms. True values. Do you troubleshoot non -linear circuits or loads? If so, you need true -rms capability to ensure accurate measurements. Now you can get this capability without having to compromise on quality or safety to stay within your budget. Priced at just $199.00 *, the new Fluke Model 76 true -rms DMM is the latest in the long line of true -rms values from Fluke. You can use the Model 76 to easily measure true -rms ac current and volts, dc current and volts, ohms, capacitance, continuity, and frequency. And, the Model 76 is the only DMM in its class that meets UL, CE, CSA, and TÜV certification standards and conforms to the IEC 1010 -1 product safety standard for Overvoltage Category 111(1) You'll find that kind of true value all the way down the line with Fluke test tools. See your local Fluke distributor to select a true -rms meter that fits whatever your job or budget demands. Fluke 32 Fluke 33 Fluke 76 Fluke 87 Fluke 8060A $149* $269* $199* $335` $459* U.S. list price. Prices subject to change without notice. (1) Approvals/Listing pending © 1995 Fluke Corporation P. O. Box 9090, M/S 250E, Everett, WA USA 98206 -9090. U.S. (206) 356 -5400. Canada (905) 890 -7600. Europe (31 40! 644200. Other countries (206) 356 -5500. AM rights reserved. Ad no. 00768 TUV sA 1508001 CLE 121 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD C ® FLUKE www.americanradiohistory.com Just a reminder. We even have the bits and pieces to organize your bits and pieces. Adding a phone? Hooking up a home theater system? Putting up an antenna or satellite dish? You don't need the mess of twisting, trailing wires and cables. When neatness counts, you need flexible split tubing to bundle wires, nylon cord ties, beaded wire ties, wall -feedthrough bush- ings, adhesive clips or wire staples. And you'll find it all at your nearby Radio Shack. RadioShack. We've got the products, the parts and the people to help You've got questions. you put it all together. For a store near you, call 1- 800 -THE -SHACK. We've got answers? CIRCLE 78 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD www.americanradiohistory.com NOW CONTEMVS - 31 AMATEUR TV TRANSMITTER You can build your own 29 FUZZY LOGIC amateur TV station with this sophistcated Just as probability theory is not random, fuzzy logic audio /video is not fuzzy or indistinct as its name might imply. transmitter for Instead, fuzzy logic is based on rigorous mathe- the 900 -MHz code -free mathical discipline that is a cross between Boolean amateur band. logic and multivalued set theory. It is a relatively - William Sheets and new discipline, with Rudolf F Graf its creation gener- PLC TROUBLESHOOTING CASE HISTORIES MINI METROLOGY LAB ally Loth 39 credited to The final Zadeh in the mid Electronics installment of 1960s. Fuzzy logic wow a three -part has gained credi- FUZZY LOGIC series on the Understanding this new,th bility throughout to traditional control team science of the world, where it BUILD A making TU TRANSMITJEL' accurate is found in prod- Pul A e wan atBgg AlI measurements shows you how ucts ranging from MAKING to build a Kelvin -Varley divider. camcorders and MEASURE 71: ACCURATELY Conrad R. Hoffman washing machines A 111110 yarley alsOn - canCec our to automobiles and EYII IEPaegy lao 69 PHONE -LINE PRIVACY factory- control sys- KEEP IT COOL! III to Mau Me MODULE VII BelY1Ml tems. At long last, 0010W 0001105 This easy -to -build it is beginning to module helps to catch on in the keep your modem U.S. as well. - Byron Miller and fax communi- cations from being interrupted if another phone on the line goes off-hook. - James Melton As a service to readers, ELECTRONICS NOW publishes available plans or information relating to newsworthy products, techniques and scientific and technological developments. Because of possible variances in the quality and condition of materials and workmanship used by readers, ELECTRONICS NOW disclaims any responsibility for the safe and proper functioning of reader -built projects based upon or from plans or information published in this magazine. Since some of the equipment and circuitry in ELECTRONICS NOW may relate to or be covered by U.S. patents, ELECTRONICS NOW disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the making, using, or selling of any such equipment or circuitry, and suggests that anyone interested in such projects consult a patent attorney. ELECTRONICS NOW, (ISSN 1067 -9294) May 1996. Published monthly by Gernsback Publications, Inc., 500 Bi- County Boulevard, Farmingdale, NY 11735 -3931. Second -Class Postage paid at Farmingdale, NY and additional mailing offices. Canada Post IPM Agreement No. 334103, authorized at Mississauga, Canada. One -year subscription rate U.S.A. and possessions $19.97, Canada $27.79 (includes G.S.T. Canadian Goods and Services Tax, Registration No. R125166280), all other countries $28.97. All subscription orders payable in U.S.A. funds only, via international postal money order or check drawn on a U.S.A. bank. Single copies $3.50. ©1996 by Gernsback Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to ELECTRONICS NOW, Subscription Dept., Box 55115, Boulder, CO 80321 -5115. A stamped self- address envelope must accompany all submitted manuscripts and/or artwork or photographs if their return is desired should they be rejected. We disclaim any responsibility for the loss or damage of manuscripts and/or artwork or photographs while in our possession or otherwise. 2 www.americanradiohistory.com MAY 1996 TECHNOLOGY Electroda 37 TROUBLESHOOTING PLC paartivR) PROBLEMS Hugo Gernsback (1884 -1967) founder A look at how some interesting troubleshooting problems on the LARRY STECKLER, EHF, CET, factory floor were solved with the Editor -in -chief and publisher aid of a portable oscilloscope. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT D. Martin - Vaughn BRIAN C. FENTON, editor JULIAN S. MARTIN, associate editor TERI SCADUTO, assistant editor SELECT THE RIGHT 41 How To JEFFREY K. HOLTZMAN HEATSINK computer editor Two simple formulas can help to LARRY KLEIN, audio editor DAVID LACHENBRUCH prevent you from making a contributing editor frustrating and costly error in your DON LANCASTER electronic designs. contributing editor MICHAEL A. COVINGTON, N4TMI - Mark A. McGuire contributing editor EVELYN ROSE, editorial assistant ART DEPARTMENT ANDRE DUZANT, art director DEPARTMENTS RUSSELL C. TRUELSON, illustrator PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT RUBY M. YEE, production director KATHRYN R. CAMPBELL VIDEO NEWS production assistant 0 KEN COREN What's new in this fast -changing desktop production industry. Dave Lachenbruch - CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT JACOUELINE P. CHEESEBORO 14 EQUIPMENT REPORTS circulation director Mission Technology's Multiscope THERESA LOMBARDO circulation assistant Virtual Oscilloscope REPRINT DEPARTMENT HARDWARE HACKER MICHELE TORRILLO 43 reprint bookstore Switching power supplies, the hot chassis, and more tricks for Typography by Mates Graphics the PIC microcontroller. Cover design by David Loewy - Don Lancaster Electronics Now is indexed in Applied Science & Technology Index, and Readers 50 COMPUTER CONNECTIONS Guide to Periodical Literature, Academic Backing up is hard to do. Abstracts, and Magazine Article Sum- maries. Holtzman - Jeff Microfilm & Microfiche editions are avail- able. Contact reprint bookstore for details. Advertising Sales Offices listed on page 136. Electronics Now Executive and A N D M O R E Administrative Offices 1- 516 -293 -3000. Subscriber Customer Service: 1- 800 -288 -0652. Order Entry for New Subscribers: 1- 800 -999 -7139. 4 WHAT'S NEWS 25 NEW LITERATURE 8 Q&A 130 ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES LETTERS 12 Audit Bureau 130 ADVERTISING INDEX of Orr Jlations 21 NEW PRODUCTS Member 3 www.americanradiohistory.com L, WHAT'S Nr15 A REVIEW OF THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN ELECTRONICS pickup head. The cathode Self-pulsating laser -case type have potential applications in radar, pin configuration allows a positive computer memories, and broad- power supply to be used. casting. In power-plant control sys- for DVD tems, SiC devices promise Toshiba Corporation of Japan increased reliability thanks to has introduced a visible laser diode another key advantage(significantly designed specifically for use with New superconductor higher resistance to damage from the DVD (digital video disk tech- ionizing radiation that devices made nology) format. The TOLD9450- under development with materials now in common use. MC is the first commercialized Scientists at the Westinghouse self-pulsating laser diode to operate Electric Corporation's Science & at a wavelength of 650 nanometers. Technology Center in Pittsburgh Its short wavelength makes the have been studying a more rugged 300 -mm wafer device well- suited to meet the high and versatile electronic material for recording density needs of DVD use in semiconductors. The materi- implanted applications. al, silicon carbide (SiC), promises A newly developed serial electronic devices that operate reli- process, known as high current ion ably at much higher temperatures implanter, has successfully been and power levels than devices made used to implant 300 -mm wafers. from the materials used today, such The serial implanter was developed as silicon or gallium arsenide. by Varian Ion Implant Systems and Although the potential advan- Diamond Semiconductor Group tages of silicon -carbide devices has (DSG), both of Gloucester, MA. been known for more than 25 years, Concept and feasibility funding was early interest waned because it was provided by the Advanced difficult to make crystals of the Technology Program of the needed purity and uniformity in National Institute of Standards and useful sizes.