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Index 57
Back to the Future: Home electronics from the （recent） past 1
Published:2011/8/9 22:21:00 Author:Amy
High Voltage Amplifier Audio analyzers, such as the Audio Precision series have signal generators that for certain test purposes do not hove a sufficiently high output voltage. That is why we have designed this ’booster’ amplifier stage. It provides the same amount of voltage as a 300-W amplifier into 8 LI. App... (View)
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On the Buses: Last station still far off 3
Published:2011/8/9 22:06:00 Author:Amy
David Daamen Konnex A full discussion of every available standard is unfortunately beyond the scope of this article, hence we will pick out one we think is particularly interesting. The standard proposed by the European Home System Association (ESHA) is a good example of how it should be done. Apart from supplying specifications on medium and communication protoc... (View)
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On the Buses: Last station still far off 2
Published:2011/8/9 21:39:00 Author:Amy
David Daamen Networking Standards like RS-485, Ethernet, FireWire, HomePNA HomePlug, MoCA, USB and XI0 are primarily descriptions of ways to communicate over a physical medium. HomePNA, for instance, is a standard with widespread use in the USA, describing how connections with speeds up to 240 Mbit/s can be established within the home using the (existing) telephone wiring. T... (View)
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On the Buses: Last station still far off 1
Published:2011/8/9 21:24:00 Author:Amy
David Daamen Being able to control a TV or a stereo from the comfy chair is taken for granted these days. However, home automation does not stop at remote control for audio & video equipment. Although an increasing number of manufacturers jump the bandwagon called Home Automation or even the Smart Home, t... (View)
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Diagnostics and Development Tools for SMBus and l2C
Published:2011/8/9 6:34:00 Author:Amy
AVIT Research Ltd. has released a low cost l2C Bus Tool for the diagnostic and development of embedded system SMBus and l2C communications. The Tool combines ease of use with comprehensive facilities lo monitor bus activity and powerful functionality for participating on the bus. Messages can be sent and received as either Master or Slave on Standard and Fast Mode Busses. The l2C Bus Tool complements AVIT Research’... (View)
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ABC OF RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES （5）
Published:2011/8/9 2:07:00 Author:Phyllis
By Gert Helles Charging at high and low temperatures. Efforts should be made to charge at room temperature. Nickel-based batteries should only be fast-charged between 10°C to 30°C (50°F to 86=F). Below 5°C (4TF) and above 45=C (113=F), the charge acceptance of nickel-based batteries is drasti... (View)
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ABC OF RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES （4）
Published:2011/8/9 1:59:00 Author:Phyllis
By Gert Helles Charging lithiumion and lithium-polymer cells Whereas chargers for nickel-based batteries are current-limiting devices, chargers for lithiumion batteries limit both voltage and current. The first lithiumion cells called for a charge-voltage limit of 4.10 V/cell. Higher voltage... (View)
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ABC OF RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES （3）
Published:2011/8/9 1:53:00 Author:Phyllis
By Gert Helles Charging nickel-metal-hydride cells Though similar to NiCd chargers, a NiMH charger employs the AT/dt method, which is by far the best method for charging NiMH cells. The end-of-charge voltage decrease for NiMH batteries is smaller, and for small charge rates (below 0.5 C, depending on temperature) there may be no voltage decrease at all. New NiMH batteries ca... (View)
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ABC OF RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES （2）
Published:2011/8/9 1:37:00 Author:Phyllis
By Gert Helles Charging batteries A new rechargeable battery or battery pack (several batteries in one package) is not guaranteed to be fully charged; in fact, it is likely to be nearly discharged. The first thing to do, therefore, is to charge the battery/pack in accordance with the manufacturer’s chemi... (View)
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ABC OF RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES （1）
Published:2011/8/9 1:15:00 Author:Phyllis
By Gert Helles Basics, pitfalls & recommendations The use of batteries has never been greater. Batteries are becoming smaller and lighter even as they package more and more energy per unit volume. The main driving force for battery development has been the boom in portable equipment such as mobile phones, laptops, camcorders, and MP3 players. The following brief overv... (View)
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Power To Spark: 31 power supplies side by side （1）
Published:2011/8/8 22:34:00 Author:Li xiao na
The faithful companion of every electronics fan is his laboratory power supply. It’s always ready when you need it, it can provide the right voltage for every project, and it’s just about indestructible. The fact that a lab supply is part of the standard equipment for every workstation is demonstrated by the enormous number of products available. In this article, we examine a selection of lab supplies, ... (View)
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Programming with word: write Visual Basic programs using MS Word
Published:2011/8/8 22:02:00 Author:Li xiao na
By T. Fondrat Not many PC users are aware that the well-known Microsoft Word includes a programming environment for Visual Basic. It allows you to get to grips with the fundamentals of this programming language. This article will be of particular interest to those of you who don’t have the complete Visual Basic package, but who would still like to play with a programming language... (View)
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SEALED LEAD-ACID BATTERIES （4）
Published:2011/8/8 21:17:00 Author:Phyllis
In practice Most battery manufacturers recommend charging using a constant voltage and current limiting, with temperature compensation. A simple charging circuit that satisfies these recommendations is shown in Figure 7. An LM317 is used as the voltage regulator with a current limit of 1.5 A. To ensure that the charge voltage is maintained at the level set by PI, the voltag... (View)
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Rail Router: model train routing with a PC （3）
Published:2011/8/8 21:15:00 Author:Li xiao na
By Ray King Design a track layout... Click on the ’Change Layout Design’ button and the design screen will appear. Click on any square in the layout area, and then click on the required symbol to be put in this square. Continue adding symbols until your layout is complete. Make sure all sidings as well as roads in and out of the layout end with an ’end’ symbol. When done, click ... (View)
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SEALED LEAD-ACID BATTERIES （3）
Published:2011/8/8 21:04:00 Author:Phyllis
Battery life The life of the battery depends to a great extent on the depth of discharge, expressed as a percentage of the nominal capacity. Figure 5 gives an idea of the effect of cyclic operation on battery life. To maximise the number of useful cycles it is best to choose a battery with a larger capacity so that the depth of discharge is reduced. (View)
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Rail Router: model train routing with a PC （2）
Published:2011/8/8 20:45:00 Author:Li xiao na
By Ray King ... and a dual-purpose circuit board As already suggested by the circuit diagram, the circuit board designed for the Rail Router system can act as a master or a slave, depending on how it is populated. The two different component stuffing plans are given in Figures 3 a (Master) and 3b... (View)
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A Hot Look for a Cool Logger
Published:2011/8/8 5:21:00 Author:Amy
Lascar Electronics has released the EL-USB-1, which is the world’s first battery powered temperature data logger with a direct USB interface. By adopting the Windows compatible software supplied, the EL-USB-1 can be configured to measure temperatures from -25 to +80°C (-13 to + 176CF). User selectable logging intervals from 10 seconds to 12 hours and a memory capacity of more than 16,000 read... (View)
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RF Control Interface: Parallel interface for remote appliance switching
Published:2011/8/8 4:56:00 Author:Amy
Karl Kockeis There are a number of ’home automation’ systems available that use a hand-held RF control unit to switch household electrical appliances remotely. This article describes some simple interface hardware to link the control unit to your computer’s parallel port and allow automatic control from your PC. The vast majority of printers manufactured today connect to the US... (View)
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One-component Metal Detector 2
Published:2011/8/8 4:13:00 Author:Amy
Rev. Thomas Scarborough Even if you have made something yourself you often want it to have a professional look. Also, if you know space constraints well before starting out on a project, it is perfectly possible to achieve nice looking results. Size of a finished project often equates to ’as small as possible’ so in many cases it is sufficient to make sure a circuit board takes up ... (View)
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One-component Metal Detector 1
Published:2011/8/8 3:44:00 Author:Amy
Rev. Thomas Scarborough The principle behind a metal detector is really quite simple. The proof: this article, which demonstrates that a detector may be built in a jiffy from just one active component and easily accessible auxiliary items. The design shown here is quite sensitive: depending on tuning, me... (View)
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