L N -H

narA 1)W. 61.01

rm.iny 11/S1 '12.1X1
(;rtvotr IUra. 1X01
11011.1011)1 I. 12.50
11a1- I 6501

WIRELES Ft

Slt.iin.lti.«. 700.01)
Singapore SS 11.25
U`A áSA5
E2.07

jJANUARY 1990 £195 -

ti .
. .

HYPOTHESIS
Inertia's riddle
I.

ENGINEERING
Surrounded
by sound

EW
REVIEW

PC add -in spectrum.

analyser

SPECIAL
TEATU IVI-

CO S ER
i 324004
9 77026 ELEC IC
The Programmer that fits your Pocket - £495
S3 is a product which has shaken the
industry. It is in all the big -name catalogues. RS232 socket (DB25) Emulator lead (supplied)
It is used by all the big -name companies. on the back, for plugs in beneath.
That's because S3 has an elegance and remote control.
fitness -for -purpose that puts it in a different
league from old fashioned bench S3 programs and
programmers. But you don't have take our emulates 25 and 27
word for it. You can get an S3 on NO -RISK series EPROMS up to
APPROVAL and find out for yourself.
27512.
S3 doesn't only program EPROMS
S3 programs any (E)EPROM you can put in The 80 character
ÑEr--
the socket. Choose manufacturer and
LCD shows
device from a menu and S3 will select one
But programming
w.\.Nt\varyw ASCII and
of 80 -odd algorithms.
memory devices is only a part of S3's '9,e HEX.
repertoire. It's not the be-all and end-all. If
you need to program EPLDs, CMOS PALS,
NOVRAMS, SINGLE -CHIP MICROS and
the like, S3 is still the best tool for the job.
` EN\ Ñ Nr; ; NE,.
Quality
keyboard
for fast
Dataman provides dedicated modules and 0-
software, which are much cheaper than any u data
other solution because the S3 you already entry.
own acts as a "mainframe". These products 0
don't just exists in our imagination. We S3 will \ 'vow- oP
have them on the shelf, ready to ship. program
Software upgrades are FREE hundreds of
When new programmable parts are PROMS
1"..5:',0:101.1
released, Dataman provides new software without \ pP
to program them. This software is FREE. It recharging.
is also easy to install. The original program
comes in a ROM. You place it in the socket
(see picture) and press the HELP button. It Charger unit v
loads in a few seconds. And you only have (supplied) recharges
to do it once. S3 retains its program - and S3 in 3 hours.
your data - in non-volatile memory, even
when switched off. We post the new
program on our Bulletin Board. If you have A single keypress will
a modem, you can download it. There are Assemble and Link the source
lots of other useful programs available too. file(s), download to S3 and start
Give our BB a call on 0305-251786. the program running on your
Terminal Program with S3 Driver target system. SDE has some
amazing features. If it finds an error \ Socket is used to
We offer a TERMINAL PROGRAM which
supports four COM ports simultaneously at when assembling, it puts you back in \ program PROMS
speeds up the 115,200 baud. This program the source -file at the error line. It will ss and load software.
is useful in its own right. It also has a tell you the absolute address of any line \
FRONT-END DRIVER for S3, with MENUS of source code. That saves the chore of
printing listings when debugging. SDE Money -back Guarantee
and HELP screens. This gives you Remote Our aim is to get a product into your hands.
Control of all S3's functions. Ycu can comes in single or multiple processor
versions. Do try it. You will like it. Our products sell themselves. We promise
Upload and Download files, change to hand your money back without question if
configuration and do everything remotely you're not mightily pleased. Dataman
that you can do with S3's keyboard. Some Specifications and Price List products are so well thought out and
S3 has a 64 kbytes CMOS RAM buffer for storing USER
companies make a song -and -dance about programs and ROM/RAM EMULATION -access time is downright useful - and such good value for
their software drivers, - and charge you at about 120ns. There are also 8K bytes of program RAM, money - that we hardly ever get any returns.
least £100. Ours is free. Not 'free' when you a serial interlace at 300, 600. 1200. 2400 4800 and 9600

buy something, but FREE to any Company baud for remote control and uploading and downloading What to do next
files. S3 comes complete with Manual, Mains -charger Send your business -card or letterhead
requesting literature. unit. ROM emulator lead, write -lead and software to
program and emulate (E)EPROMS and FLASH quoting where you saw this ad. That gets
EPROMS. Re -charging takes 3 hours and does not you LITERATURE and YOUR FREE
prevent normal use. Typically one charge per week is TERMINAL PROGRAM (not just a demo - it
enough. S3 measures
0a11,,.. 1r ltnb ..r III. tL..
7.3 x 4.4 x 1.8 ins and weighs just over 11b. £495.00
really works!) If you're in a hurry, phone and
Loa w.l.. Ie- .
speak to Debbie, Emma, Chris or Nigel.
.

SDE Editor/Assembler/Comms single -processor £195.00

r,.tat Mlo
r.,h.Iralbtm.-.. _ti SDE Editor/Assembler/Comms multi -processor £395.00 Some formalities are necessary, but we will
q.,U-r,. tila S3 Developer's Package Reveals all S3's secrets. waste no time in getting the goods to you.
-e .. .m d Ib...,
Flo -. ,IS Contains Circuit Diagrams, Source Code. BIOS calls and
S.Y ,rea d 6,411 A, Tomorrow morning is quite possible.
rlllu ,.. al n,... Editor/Assembler (as SDE above) for NEC78C06
.

rl_
¢.\ t\,v,\ 11ary fur Ma A - 4 processor in S3. Lets you write your own custom
~ow software - even make S3 into a something completely Access
H91T
am
a®
SI 31 I1a6S] ITOI6
V S ao f n.oyM,.yb a.... .I
of co,
different. £195.00 AMERICAN

r
aTa C xt I! % a M Si n Cr/1N. MCS48 module for 8741/42/48/49 £125.00 VISA I

q
® 117/1114111 6 GO .....J.
rrs
EXPRESS
It1aGNGana
114 G% 11 a % xt G I6
`m1431 274I -13.1r
1142,1
1'.(»l r. phIt.-
\ R tf I, ....,.y 41 r M. N, t 1 II
MCS51 module for 8751/52 53

40 pin module for EPROMS over meg

£125.00
32 pin module for EPROMS (inc FLASH) over 1m £75.00
£75.00
1111441 a:, vrr w.r f II. r,.. K t. u' 1

Wed nlehaft ar.rc EPLD (CMOS PAL) modules (set of 2) for Erasable

l
vre .-
aaatt ilSl

ht4e-sa r.. w..1.n_

MU .an .tai srsme

. Ol. [,.i
r..ktt,.. Programmable Logic Devices. Works with
manufacturer's compilers to provide self-contained
system. Receives, translates, creates and transmits
JEDEC files. Loads, burns and copies parts such as
aiiiá1iu11
22V10, 20G10, 16R4, 16R6, 16L8, 16L8, PEEL18CV8.
Universal Assembler & Editor EP300 to EP900. Lombard House, Cornwall Rd,
S3 is also a MEMORY-EMULATOR. Use it 50C30 TO 50C90 from Cyress, AMD, AMI, Altera, Gould, DORCHESTER, Dorset DTI 1RX,
with an Assembler and you have a complete Texas. Intel, ICT £295.00
Microprocessor Development System. It S3 IS GUARANTEED FOR 3 YRS, OTHER Phone 0305-268066
PRODUCTS 1 YR,BOTH PARTS AND LABOUR.
happens that Dataman sells a fast full - VAT MUST BE ADDED TO ALL PRICES, IN UK ONLY
Fax 0305-264997 Telex 418442
featured Editor/Assembler, called SDE, for BUT POSTAGE IS FREE. SPECIAL OR FOREIGN Bulletin Board 0305 251786
DELIVERY COSTS EXTRA.
use with S3 (or without). 300/1200/2400,N,8,1 (24hr)
CIRCLE NO. WII ON REPLY CARD
 CONTENTS In next month's issue. The
FEATURES Establishment firmly main-
tains that non -ionizing radia-
RFI, LOGIC AND BOARD DESIGN 10 tion has no pathological con-
Peter Turner analyses three logic families for RFI sequences beyond those attri-
emission by comparison on a standard layout. buted to the heating effect
arising at high intensities.
SOLID STATE AUDIO POWER 16 Most researchers now dis-
John Linsley Hood considers gain stages, power agree. Almost every serious
supplies and the vexed question of test parameters. study - including biochemical
experiments conducted on liv-
SPECIAL FEATURE -
ing tissue indicates that non -
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS .33 ionising fields have a signifi-
cant and occasionally pro-
found effect at levels much
THE GREAT VIDEO RACE .33 lower than we previously
Thirteen years on with JVC and Sony still locked in a
thought of as safe. The stray
standards battle for home video. Barry Fox reports. magnetic field from the scan-
ning coils in the VDU which
SURROUNDED BY SOUND .35 you may he sitting in front of
Multi -channel sound tracks recorded for the big t:tle are almost certainly breaking
feature films are finding their way into the home. out calcium ions from the cell
membranes of your brain (W k í;¡,
INSIDE TRACK TO DOLBY S 45 Ross Adey et al). This con-
The latest noise reduction system from Dolby pusies trasts with the popular notion
that VDUs cause damage by
ii;¡:iif
.111.111l
the performance of the analogue audio cassette
,
1

medium into the realm of CD. X-radiation.

We feel that people should be allowed to make up
47 their own minds. The February issue will bring together
UP IN THE AIR the available evidence.
Events of the previous year have not clarified :he
muddle within satellite television broadcasting.
REGULARS
SILICON LIFESTYLE 51 COMMENT 3
Consumer electronics could replace military applica- Killing fields. From the VDU which you may be sitting
tions as the technology driver for semiconductor in front of.
technology. Leon Clifford reports.
RESEARCH NOTES 5
JAPAN ON SHOW 53 Chess robotics, the dangers of low level microwaves,
The Japan Electronics show provides the world's two cheers for Phobos and RF for ozone protection.
fashion indicator for consumer electronics. Peter Wall
rides the latest wave of high tech non -essentials. PIONEERS 12
Karl Ferdinand Braun, father of the oscilloscope, never
patented his invention. He wished it to be freely
STANDARD HDTV? 54
available for the benefit of all researchers.
Most unlikely, says Geoff Lewis. Japan and the USA
may go in several directions at once but, wherever ti-ey
eventually end up, it won't be the same place as
UPDATE 23
News from around the industry and Componic 89.
Europe.

HEARING IS BELIEVING? 57 CIRCUIT IDEAS 28

The hi-fi business seems particularly vulnerable to Control systems simulator, wideband VCO and a
fraudsters, charlatans and pre -owned car salesmen. medical freezer alarm are included in this month's
The equipment reviewers are particularly susceptible to circuit suggestions.
this kind of nonsense says Barry Fox.
LETTERS 64
Elf reception, nonsense, crossed field antennas, laser
INERTIA'S RIDDLE 60 vibration measurement and cyclic redundancy checks
Inertia has been misunderstood ever since the time of are fed back.
Galileo says Dr Peter Graneau.
APPLICATIONS 76
REVIEW - PC BASED SPECTRUM Low cost DFM, compact telephone, high voltage
ANALYSER 71 Schottky and LED smoke detection.
Mike Tooley reviews new PC based card + software
a
package which converts a PC into a storage oscilloscope RF CONNECTIONS 78
and spectrum analyser. Speaking in digits and stabilising LC oscillators.

January 1990 ELECT RONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD

 PROFESSIONAL LOGIC ANALYSIS
FOR UNDER £400
In recent years, the personal computer has become an integral
part of the modern electronics laboratory. The Logic Analyser is now
as necessary to design, development, test and maintenance
departments as a multimeter or an oscilloscope.
Flight Electronics' range of PC based Logic Analysers offers the
advantages of low cost and high specification while saving the
bench space normally occupied by stand alone alternatives.
Being PC based allows great flexibility in permanent storage of
data and set ups, either to disk for recall at a later date, or for hard
copy.
The Flight Electronics range of Logic Analyser cards has internal
clock speeds of up to 200MHz and are suitable for use with XT, AT,
monochrome and colour PCs.
Data acquisition can be displayed in both timing and state
formats. Presentation of information is clear and uncluttered.The soft
key controls mean simplicity of operation, making the products
particularly suitable for both industrial and educational use.
Flight Electronics offers a choice of five models, ranging from a
unit suitable for the first time student user to the complex
requirements of the design and development laboratory.
We also supply a range of PAL/EPROM programmers for your PC.
Call our sales office for a free copy of the Flight Electronics catalogue.
Gr
FEATURES -
Wide choice of specifications
High specification at low cost
Up to 200MHz internal clock
Up to 3 independent clocks with 12 qualifiers
24 signal input channels
Up to 16K memory depth
16 level sequential triggering
(models 27200 & 27100)
Pre and post triggering
State listing in Binary, Hex and ASCII
kt01599
Timing display of all channels simultaneously
User specified channel labelling
Auto and conditional repeat J'a . +`',,.

,
á

Data save to and load from disc

- ` S. '

We can even supply suitable PCs. Call our sales office for a quote.

External Max Input

Model Frequency
q y Channel MemoryImpedanceThreshold Trigger Qualify Max Input
Voltage Clock Bandwidth

CLK-27200
200MHz Channel0-5 16K 1 M 2Independent 3Channels 16 Levels 12 Channels = 150V 100MHz
250Hz to 50MHz Channel 0-23 4K < 5 pF settings -8 to 14V 0-50MHz '0", '1', 'x

250Hz to 100MHz Channel0-5 16K 1Mí2 2lndependent 3Channels 16 Levels 12 Channels = 150V 100MHz
CLK-27100
250Hzto50MHz Channel0-23 4K E5pF settings -8 to 14V 0-50MHz '0','1',"x"
100MHz Channel 0-5 4K 12K11 1 Setting 1 Channels Level 0 , , x Channel = 25V 25MHz
CLK-2400 1 1 1

25KHzto25MHz Channel0-23 1K <15pF -l0Vto10V 0-25MHz 100MHz-0',-1-only '1'

100MHz Channel 0-1 1 2K IM!/
CLK-12100 < 5pF TTL 0-50MHz 1 Level 0 , 1 , x NO = 10V 50MHz
25KHz to 5OMHz Channel 0-23 1K

CLK-2450 25KHzto50MHz Channel0-23 1K 1M0 TTL 0-50MHz 1 Level 0, 1 , x NO = 10V 50MHz

ORDERING INFORMATION (Excl. VAT. P&P £7.00)

Flight Electronics Ltd.
Flight House, Ascupart Street Description Part No Price £
Southampton SO LU. U.K. 1 1

CLK-2450 PC Logic Analyser 655-001 399.00

Telephone: Southampton CLK-12100 PC Logic Analyser 655-002 499.00
(0703) 227721 (6 lines) CLK-2400 PC Logic Analyser 655-003 799.00
Telex: 477389 FLIGHT G CLK-27100 PC Logic Analyser 655-004 999.00
CLK-27200 PC Logic Analyser 655-005 1599.00
Fax: (0703) 330039

CALL US NOW ON 0703-227721 CIRCLE NO. 134 ON REPLY CARD

 COMMENT

Killing fields
CONSULTING EDITOR In the spring of 1974, a 47 year old Dr Wertheimer repeated the
Philip Darrington experimental psychologist, Dr Nancy observation at other addresses from the
01-6618632
Wertheimer, began spending a couple of childhood leukemia list. She also noted on
EDITOR days each week driving through the further examination that leukemia
Frank Ogden residential suburbs of Denver, Colorado. excesses tended to occur in clusters along
01-6613128 Occasionally she would stop the car at one the wiring span between transformer
of the addresses on her list, get out and poles and up to their third service drop:
I LLUSTRATION this corresponded to the highest current
Roger Goodman start making notes on what she found.
Which was rarely. if ever. anything out of levels flowing in the line associated with
DESIGN & PRODUCTION the ordinary. the greatest low frequency AC line fields.
Alan Kerr The list from which Dr Wertheimer Such were the origins of suspicion that
drew her itinerary comprised the home power lines can kill in more ways than by
EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATION addresses at birth of every child in the simple electrocution. Given this clue,
Lindsey Gardner
01-6613614 Greater Denver area who had died of other epidemiologists studied further
leukemia between the years 1950 and disease clusters, returning similar findings.
ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER 1969. Dr Wertheimer was an For instance, an analysis of US radio
Paid Kitchen epidemiologist looking for environmental amateur deaths determined a myeloid
111-66/ 3/30 links to this predominantly childhood leukemia excess of three times,
cancer. presumably because radio amateurs
DISPLAY SALES MANAGER
.Shona Finnie The addresses on the list were expose themselves to low frequency
01-661 8640 . unremarkable, not revealing clusters of electric fields, either occupationally, or in
anything in particular at first. After a pursuit c f their hobby.
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION while, she did begin to notice pole Some 17 death surveys of electrical and
Una Ruses
01-M18649 mounted transformers, the last leg of the electronic workers had been undertaken
local power distribution system, taking by 1986. Fifteen of them demonstrated a
PUOLISI-IER the 7600 volts area feed down to 115 volts possible link between electric/magnetic
Susan Do1011ev for the house feeds. The associated wiring fields and the development of cancer.
01-661 8452 - You won't find many champions for the
straggle, so common to the rooflinesof
American towns and cities, also began to hypothesis among governments and
FACSIMILE
01-661 89 39 leap out at her, along with the cylindrical utilities; the official reticence is
transformers. More addresses brought disturbing. The Establishment firmly
more pole mounted transformers and maintains that non -ionizing radiation has
heavy service feed wiring stitched from no pathological consequences beyond
pole to pole. those attributed to heating effect arising at
But there could be nothing out of the high intensities.

( REED BUSINESS
ordinary here, she decided, having
consulted with her physicist friend, Ed
Most researchers now disagree.
Almost every serious study- including
1` GROUP ING Leeper. Leeper agreed that, while all
houses carry AC mains, stray magnetic
biochemical experiments conducted on
living tissue- indicates that non -ionizing
fields from the steel clad transformers fields have a significant and occasionally
dwindle to nothing after a few feet. profound effect at levels much lower than
Being open minded people, the two we previously thought of as safe. The stray
decided to check st ray magnetic powerline magnetic field from the scanning coils in
fields for certain elimination. The the VDU which you maybe sitting in front
l.frnorm, World 11 who, 11,4dt,puhl,hedmonlhh IISPM0:75111
of are almost certainly breaking out
1

B, la..l. none 02 23. h.. l 11011e, 111 .n..d:.hle ) l2 :11 Order and physicist built the psychologist a simple
p... anent. h. n11 /J12 noun . "oilil're/e.. II'o,rf,f. ..,...
Oudn
I IImo,.u. I he

Quadrant. Sutlon. Suite. SA12 SAS ('heyue, ,hould he p...ahlr to

Reed Bu,me.s Pnhlnhmg Ltd Editorial & Ad.crtNlne ,dine.: /.it II
inductive loop detector coupled to a calcium ions from the cell membranes of
Ouadr..m I loto. he Quadrant. Suuon. Suns. SM1 eAS Telephone,:
1111101.11 111-10,1 1011
I

Ad. erWing 111-001 31341 111-10.1 nL,9 Tries:

sensitive amplifier. So armed. Dr your brain (W. Ross Adey eta!). This
Wertheimer re isited some of the contrasts with the popular notion that
1

0n20S4 RLI:U BI' <. 11 I') Facsimile: 141.1..1 M')3') l(mup.

1 A 1111
I I

Beeline: Ill -1101 807n of 111.I+,1 ,'1,1, ilYl hand. 7 J:.t.. I..1.. es en pant..
one t1q1-hu Send e4rI.O. then I 3.3. to Oat 1. NNNN I. ..gn 4.11
Ye,,.Iradr Quadrant P,.hloh.ne Ser. lee. No 111-1,01 32.111 Sub.. rip
addresses on the list. The device hummed VDUs cause damage by X-radiation.
Mon rule.: 1. In. m..1 rate) lit. I. and li3 outside l r: loudly when located at the base of a We feel that people should be allowed
Suhwripho .: Ú1dlanl'Suln.r.plwn Senne.. Oak held lluu Per .

un1 1<111111. 11.11,1111S 11,1111. Su..e. KIIIn 31)11 lelrphonr 101.1

4
transformer pole. just as expected. N ore to make up their own minds. With this in
441212 1'lease notu, a rh.nree ot :dd,e.. l S 3: SI Ih BO airmail Reed
Boone.. Publishing 11 SA I Suh..nphon. <)Ihec. 2115 L 42nd Succt. surprisingly. it continued to hum loudly view the February issue of Electronics
N1 111117 Iherwv. nhrniain4 agent, France and Belgium: Merge
hlu,.:rd. 10.214 1'I.ne de la M..dele.ne. P..n. 7 11t1 linked Slam+ul when the psychologist walked away from World + Wireless World will bring
America: 1... I e.nn..m Keed ifu,me.. Puhl,.hme Ltd. 20e I .,.1 _2n11
1ree1. Nen lml. N1 110117 lelrpho e 12-12-1 W.7.'_I4Sn 1ele. 2-127 the pole. along the block, under the wires. together the available evidence:
ILSA mailing aLrnN: NIncm. Autre.kh International lid. In, 119141 .

I neleh.ud Aso. A,ene1 N 1 071e1

NIPo,lm.,ler send
2nd .1a., postage paid .d Rahn.q
..dd,e..t.. the ,woe
The hum only reduced after several epidemiological, biophysical. old and
©Reed Biomes. 1'uhh.hmg Ltd I'Mu ISSN 11200- 1244 service drops to nearby houses. new. You may then decide for yourself.
Frank Ogden

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 3

 METEX & TEST LAB INSTRUMENTS

Low Cost YOU PAY

RS - 232
Analysis
-31/2 AND 41/2 DIG Dmms
(* With Capacitance + With Hie p With Freq.'
ALL WITH CONTINUITY TEST

PRO SERIES METEX STANDARD SERIES

31 DIGIT 12 mm DISPLAYS
3'%&411 DIGIT 23158 17 Range 10 ADC £20.00
All With Case. 20A AC/DC 23188 23 Range 10ADC () £23.72
SEC i * ` 2335 31 Range 10A AC/DC () £22.74
YSE 17mm Display 13800 12mm) 2325 32 Range 10A AC/DC () £30.42
t. 380032 Range 0.5%(1 £31.50
..fwl ,{r ,
i
361030 Range 0.3% (1
3630 30 Range 0.3% ()
£39.53
£47.57
2355 32 Range 10A AC/DC 1. .0)
2365 38 Range 10A AC/DC ( °)
£34.57
£37.25

t
Plus Logic Probe
3650 30 Range 0.3% (o) £52.93
36508 as 3650 with Bargraph £58.96 METEX AUTORANGE
4630 4% Digit 30 Range Data £71.00
Thurlby Hold 0.05% () 31 DIGIT With Datahold & Freq Counter
M80 21mm display £50.92
4650 as 4630 Plus 2 Freq. Ranges £76.38 M8I8 17mm display, true RMS £56.28
ÚA100 Protocol Analyser
M818b with bargraph £64.32
RS -423
RS -232
1

r TEST INSTRUMENTS
If nw`r
3000 LCR AC Bridg3 £102.30 TE220 1 MHZ Audio Generator £81.75
M30024 AC Millivo t Meter 1MHZ £85.80 3300 Autorange Digital Cap. Meter £64.00
2020 500 KHZ Function Generator £96.50 6100 Signal Tracer/Injector £52.30
416240 150 MHZ Fr Gen. Plus 6 Digit 5250 150 MHZ 7 Digit Frequency
Counter £172.86 Counter £64.50
2603A01 MHZ AI Gen. plus 6 Digit OST5M 5 MHZ Bench Scope £168.00
Counter £166.16 243 0/24V 0/34 Variable PSU £56.00
1E200 150 MHZ RI Gen. 245 0/24V 0/5A Variable PSU £69.55
154 4/15V 0/44 Variable PSU £40.00
Serial Data Protocol Analyser (350 MHZ Harmonic) £80.00

£79 plus vat 120/B

"POCKET" TEST INSTRUMENTS
0F20 Dual Scale Sound Level Meter

225V VHS Video Head Tester

£32.85
£30.69
390070 LCD Dmm With Dwell And
Tach Ranges £49.58
KT50 LCD 8 Range Capacitance Meter £36.20
1065 Digital Lux Meter -3 Ranges £46.83 5060 LCD Digital True Power Meter
The Thurlby DA100 is very low cost protocol analyser
a
£7.63 6KW 19 £64.00
07 Logic Probe
for problem solving on asynchronous serial data M625 Logic Probe/Pulser £14.74 207019 Range Multimeter 1OADC
Buzz £12.00
300 AC Clamp Meter 600A/300V/
systems, particularly RS -232. Resin £33.50 2030E1 27 Range 10A AC/DC. Cap.
M265 Add on AC Clamp Probe Hte Temp. Buzz £35.30
for Dmm's £16.48 505DE 41 Range FET mm £26.77
0M5 Wallet Autorange Dmm £17.35
It provides baud rate analysis, data word format 501 Electronic Insulation Tester 500V £53.25
921 Pen Type Autorange Dmm £24.78
504 Electronic Insulation Tester 1000V£70.88
analysis, data monitoring (ASCII or Hex), triggered data KOM6 TR Dip Meter 1.5 to 250 MHZ £41.88 850 Mains Phase Tester £21.20

'-
1062 LCD Temperature 8 data hold £36.72 26010004 AC Digital clamp meter £40.25
capturing, and test data generation. 302K LCD Temperature Two 1/P £32.00 261 Add on insulation tester for 260 £29.35

The DA100 uses an oscilloscope as its display device. M

It connects to any standard 'scope via a single cable and -711 AUDIO -ELECTRONICS ARE ALSO
displays 32 characters of text. Alternatively an optional .. . INSTRUMENT DISTRIBUTORS FOR
LCD display unit can be fitted. An optional RS -232
breakout -box is also available.
r
-
,l=
y
HAMEG
ALTAI
FLIGHT
THURLBY
BLACKSTAR
THANDAR

4110.: iá: üyi.,a CROTECH

PHONE FOR BEST PRICES.
LEADER AND HITACHI

Contact us now for full technical details. ADD 15% VAT

(Prices correct at 17.1O.89j
(UK ONLY)
TELEPHONE YOUR ORDER WITH VISA/ACCESS
HSTT
Thurlby OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK FOR CALLERS

AUDIO ELECTROf1ICS
CATALOGUE

OISCOUN

VOUCHERS
301 Edgware Road, London W2 1 BN
Thurlby-Thander Ltd., Glebe Road, Huntingdon, ¿lidA4SAE
Cambs. PE18 7DX Tel: 01-724 3564 Fax: 01-724 0322 or(,700SapUK
Fax: 0480 450409 Tel: 0480 412451 Sales office 01-2581831 for lull
catalogue. tn.
TRADE/EDUCATION ORDERS ACCEPTED.
EDUCATION AND QUANTITY PRICES AVAILABLE

CIRCLE NO. 104 ON REPLY CARD CIRCLE NO. 139 ON REPLY CARD

4 ELECT RONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1

 RESEARCH NOTES

Man versus machine would ever waste time calculating can he expressed in terms of mathema-
Ever since the 193Ús. when Alan Turing
described his universal calculating 760.0011 options before making a move! tical rules which in turn can he run on a
machine. scientists and others have So even if he had lost the latest game, computer. lie argues that some truths-
been predicting the eventual arrival of a his whole approach would have been even those that are theoretically com-
computer with human -type conscious- infinitely more intelligent than the putable - are beyond a practical solu-
ness. Partly. of course. this stems from a brute -force algorithms of the computer. tion, at least by conventional logic. The
fear that such machines, like aberrant To be fair to the inventors of Deep example of a chess game, as we saw
genetically -engineered creatures. Thought. their approach wasn't entirely earlier, represents more or less the
would subjugate and enslave their that of a number -crunching tour de practical limits of today's machines .. .

creators. On a less emotive level it's not force. Chess represents an interesting which seems to imply that we'll never
unreasonable to conclude that today's intellectual challenge which is too com- have computer systems that can do

a/
increasingly intelligent machines will plex to be cracked simply by brute
one day outperform our frequently illo- force. Someone with a better number
gical and befuddled brains. Certainly cruncher than mine calculated that a
the view popular among artificial intelli- brute -force algorithm to trace out
gence researchers today is that decision tree for all possible games y
s

machines will eventually be developed would need to perform sums more

-,1; T
that (who?) think in a way qualitatively numerous than all the atoms in the
indistinguishable from human thought. universe.
Whether or not that will happen is a Chess programs therefore have to
question so overlaid with philosophical
and moral overtones that no instant
appraisal would do more than invite
opinionated correspondence. What
could be emerging. however. is a hint
that conscious and intuitive machines
will need operating systems very diffe-
rent from those in use today.
One hint of this comes from a much -
publicized chess match staged in New
York at the end of October. Gary
Kasparov, the reigning world champion
(human). took on Deep Thought, the
reigning world champion (machine) and
won. The crowds (human) raised a
cheer for their compatriot and the issue
seemed settled: man had triumphed
over machine. The press were jubilant
in their revelations that the computer take short cuts or introduce some mea- better than tell us what to do with our
had stubbornly gone on playing when sure of chance or randomness if they are king's pawn.
any fool could see the outcome. to achieve anything at all. That. of As I suggested earlier. the real break-
'I he point they surely missed (though course. is also why they can sometimes through may eventually come with radi-
Kasparov, to his credit, didn't) was be beaten by players such as Kasparov. cally new operating systems. Penrose
that. given enough processing power. a Chance isn't, however, a weakness. hints that progress towards consciously
machine will eventually be able to play In chess programs as in human be- intelligent machines may lie in a new
chess better than any human. Kasparov haviour it's a necessary ingredient. Ran- generation of quantum computers
expects to he beaten when Carnegie- domness in a perverse sort of as can working in the mystery world of parti-
Mellon University scientists introduce actually he a catalyst for creating order cles that don't seem to obey the rules of
Deep Thought II some time in 1994. and progress. Without it we'd still be everyday commonsense. It's all very
1 le's philosophical though because, un- sitting in our caves doggedly doing the futuristic and thought -provoking and
like the crowds who affirmed human billions of calculations necessary to de- perhaps also a challenge to our tradi-
supremacy by cheering him to victory in cide the desirability of lighting a fire or tional mechanistic and reductionist
October. Kasparov doesn't see eventual even of procreating ... which leads to thinking. For me, however, it's a
defeat as signalling the demise of human my second bit of tentative evidence that pleasant reminder (chess games not-
intelligence. there's more to life than even the most withstanding) that we're more than just
For one thing. although the Russian complex logic. It comes in the form of a a collection of advanced neural net-
champion may not have been aware of newly -published hook The Emperor's works. low else could a howl of cold
I

it. he was using his mental processing New Mind by Roger Penrose (0111'). porridge (as Alan Turing put it) com-
powers much more efficiently than Among other things. Penrose ques- pose symphonies and perceive the beau-
Deep Thought. No human chess player tions the popular view that all nature ty of truth'?

January 199t) ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD 5

 CAN

The most pówérful.micróprocessor in the world using concurrent processing.

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1
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6 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990
 RESEARCH NOTES

Ultimate truth in
three flavours New study into low-level
After years of intense rivalry, the
Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) in
microwave radiation
California and the recently -opened Can long-term exposure to low-level level and the exposure time. For that
CERN Large Electron Positron microwave radiation from sources like reason, the results will not necessarily
facility (LEP) near Geneva are now air traffic control radars cause cancer in apply directly to other types of electro-
producing significant numbers of so- humans? And if cancers begin through magnetic energy, since the coupling of
called Z-particles. These are formed other causes, can exposure to micro-
when electrons and their oppositely wave radiation accelerate their growth?
charged counterparts crash head-on Researchers from the US Air Force
and destroy themselves in a blaze of School of Aerospace Medicine and the
energy. Georgia Institute of Technology hope
SLC did much of the pioneering to find answers over a period of 18
work, including estimates of the months as they complete one of the
mass of the Z; LEP has the clear lead largest studies ever conducted of long-
though in terms of the number of term exposure to low-level microwave
particles it can produce in its 27km radiation. The work could help estab-
circular tunnel.
What is now exciting physicists is
not the sheer number of recorded
subatomic collisions but the figures
lish standards for safe human exposure
to radiation of all kinds, but particularly
the upper radio frequencies that are
becoming increasingly widespread in
.
I
41014.--
4
i

now emerging for the average life- the environment. The US Air Force in
time of the Z -particle. Measure- particular wants to be certain that peo-
ments taken from around 11,0(X) ple exposed for long periods to low-
observed collisions show it can exist level electromagnetic radiation from its
for around 10-'ás. This short lifetime radar installations are not adversely
is good news for physicists because it affected.
places finite limits on the number of In February, Georgia Tech began
even smaller particles into which it exposing a population of 200 mice to 4 I., ,
u +.:
can decay. low-level, pulsed. microwave radiation. //'.4

Measurements of the energy spec- Over the next 18 months. the animals - r4 !
a

trum of the observed Z -particle sug- a cancer -prone strain commonly used in
gest that all matter is comprised of research - will he carefully studied and
three, and only three, families of compared to a control group of equal
fundamental particles. Everyday size that are maintained under identical
matter is the first family, comprising condit ions. Jim Toler, co -director of the Georgia Tech's microwave exposure
electrons, neutrinos, `up' and 'down' Tech's Bioengineering Centre. will be facility. testing animals' susceptibility to
quarks. Then there's a family includ- looking at whether the microwave en- radiation
ing muons (heavy, short-lived elec- vironment in any way either triggers
trons), `strange' and 'charmed' development of abnormal cells or
quarks. Finally there's a group con- promotes the growth of abnormal cells
sisting of tauons, 'bottom' and 'top' once the development of such cells has
quarks. been triggered by other processes. radiation to a biological system is highly
Convenient though this finding is The mice will he exposed to a level of dependent on frequency.
for standard models of particle microwaves similar to that encountered The study uses Georgia Tech's micro-
theory, it doesn't explain why there by persons working around radar in- wave exposure facility, one of the only
are only three families. Burton Rich- stallations or living nearby. The levels two in the United States equipped to
ter, director of SLC, regards it as a are within accepted standards for hu- study long-term exposure on large
complete mystery why God chose man exposure and the frequency - populations of animals, and follows
three rather than one, nine or even 435MHz- has been chosen because it is earlier research into the levels of stress
forty-seven. a military radar frequency and because which might be created by microwave
One must he thankful He did; few biological experiments have been fields. That study, reported in the Jour-
more particles would lead to untidy conducted in this part of the spectrum. nal of Microwave Power and Electro-
complexities, while fewer would lead The effects of electromagnetic radia- magnetic Energy [vol. 23, no 2, 19881
to a Universe containing substantial tion on biological systems depend on found no increase in levels of stress -
amounts of anti -matter - violent and four variables: the frequency of emis- sensitive blood hormones within a
uncomfortable! sions, the type of pulse used, the energy population of 1011 mice.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD 7

MICROWAVE MONITORS ANALYZERS

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 RESEARCH NOTES

Two cheers for Phobos

We all (mea culpa) assumed that the and field measurements that have been lished, covering optical imaging, ther-
premature demise of the two Russian hailed as spectacular. mal and gamma ray imaging. analysis of
Phobos probes would result in little or Before contact was lost, Phobos-2 Martian rocks and atmospheric studies.
no new scientific data from Mars and its sent back 37 pictures of the potato - From an engineering viewpoint, how-
two moons. Yet in spite of failing to take shaped moon Phohos against a back- ever, perhaps the most interesting
the hoped -for close-up pictures, ground of Mars. These were taken with Soviet discoveries have been those con-
Phohos-2 did in fact orbit the planet three CCD cameras with different focal cerning the electric and magnetic en-
about a hundred times before being lost length lenses and different spectral sen- vironment of Mars.
forever as the result of an onboard sitivities. Video processing was done by Unlike the Earth whose strong
computer malfunction. a I.SGbit computer system developed magnetic field deflects away the solar
Perhaps because of the danger of jointly by Bulgaria, East Germany and wind (a stream of charged particles
being eclipsed by the outstanding suc- the USSR. Further analysis of the flowing out from the Sun). Mars has
cess of the US Voyager -2 spaceprohe. videospectrometric (sic) data is now in little to protect it from this constant
the Russians have only now published hand to produce a detailed three- bombardment. The solar wind there -
full details of this their most recent dimensional model of Phobos and to foie interacts with the Martian iono-
interplanetary mission (Nature vol. 341 gain more insight into the strange cra- sphere and the gaseous ions that com-
no 6243). Far from being a total failure, ters and grooves on its surface. prise it. The dynamic pressure is so
Phohos-2 has sent hack some pictures All in all, fifteen papers are pub - strong that it squeezes this ionospheric
plasma around the planet. tearing it
away on the 'downwind' side away from
the Sun. This tailwind escape of the
Radio waves to protect Martian upper atmosphere has been
estimated by one of the research teams

the ozone? to be around 1-2kg/s. It may not seem

much, but at this rate the whole Martian
Research at the University of Califor- watts will be blasted upwards to interact atmosphere would disappear within
nia, Los Angeles and Clemson Uni- with electrons at heights of 50-80km. 109y. There is probably some small
versity, South Carolina has led to an Initially, the idea will be just to moni-
intriguing possibility for protecting the tor the effectiveness of ionization and
Earth's ozone layer, which is currently also the extent to which the ions can be
being destroyed by aerosol propellants. distributed beyond the immediate con-
Alfred Wong et al (comments Plasma fines of the radio beam, thus spreading
Phys. Controlled Fusion, 1989 vol. 12 their beneficial effects. As a long-term
no 5) base their ideas on the fact that solution to our ozone -damaging activi-
ozone is destroyed by neutral chlorine ties, Wong acknowledges that radio
atoms released when chlorofluorocar- beams would he far too expensive.
bons (CFCs) are broken down chemi- Indeed, if a few hundred megawatts
cally by the action of the Sun's UV were all that were needed, then today's
radiation. One chlorine atom is be- commercial HF traffic would have put
lieved to be capable of catalyzing the the ozone layer to rights long ago.
decomposition of around 105 ozone Nevertheless, if this pilot study sup-
molecules. ports the theory, then alternative ways
Wong believes that such chlorine could be considered for ionizing the
atoms could be rendered harmless to chlorine. One idea Wong proposes is to
the ozone by giving them a negative place a large metal screen ín orbit to
charge and converting them into chlor- trap the Sun's energy and release huge Phobos seen from the Russion Phohos-2
ide ions. Chloride ions react only weak- numbers of electrons as a result. Photo- probe, the picture being taken by a CO)
ly with ozone molecules, which have a electric emission on the grand scale! camera. Reprinted by permission from
strong electron affinity and therefore All this may seem a massive flight of Nature, vol. 341, p.586 C. MacMillan
tend to be electrostatically repelled. fancy until you realize that no-one has Magazines Ltd.
What is interesting about Wong's yet come up with a better way of putting degree of replenishment from surface
proposal is the means he suggests for a quick end to the destruction of the rocks, but the present tenuous atmos-
ionizing the chlorine atoms. If a high ozone layer. If unchecked, this destruc- phere does indicate what might have
power beam of HF radio energy could tion is likely to continue for decades to happened to the Earth but for our
be directed up at the ionosphere, then come. More knowledge about atmos- magnetic field - yet another example of
electron heating would occur, leading pheric dynamics may, one hopes, ren- the intriguingly delicate balance neces-
to ionization of this neutral chlorine. der Wong's suggestion unnecessary, but sary for life to evolve.
Experiments are now planned in which until it does there's a lot to be said for
radio beams at a frequency of 1.5MHz keeping this seemingly crazy idea in Research Notes are by John Wilson of
and powers of several hundred mega- reserve. the BBC World Service science unit.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 9

DESIGN

In the October 1988 issue of EWW,

I described a circuit developed at

the University of York to demons-

trate some of the basic concepts of
waveforms in the frequency do-
main, as well as touching on some of the
problems of electromagnetic compati-
FI
bility (EMC) and radio -frequency in-
terference (RFI). Since then, the de-
monstration has undergone several
stages of development .
and printed boards
It you remember. originally pro-
I

duced what could he regarded as a

"typical" electronic circuit, paying little
attention to the layout in the hope that it
Peter Turner
would radiate a good range of frequen- illustrates the
cies. which it did! Logically. the next
step was to attempt a better design of
beneficial effect of Performance
the same circuit. At the university we intelligent board The performance of the three circuit
have now produced a set of circuit hoards was assessed on a 3m test site
hoards which clearly illustrates the layout on the using a hiconical aerial and an Anritsu
advantages, from an EMC point of
view. of good circuit -hoard design.
amount of MS260IA spectrum alalyser. The aerial
has a flat response over die hand 30-
Figure I shows a block diagram of the interference 3(I0M I Iz.
circuit, which was described in detail in Figure 2 shows the background radia-
October 1988. generated tion on the 3m test site, the peaks
around 1(1dMHz being national and
Improving the layout local broadcast radio and those at
The original circuit hoard is 22 x 1(Icm, around 150M1iz either radio amateurs
giving a chip density of one per 18cm2. or the emergency services and public
The tracks are long, analogue and digit- utilities.
Good circuit board design will be more or less In Figure 3, the spectrum of radiation
al grounds are mixed, there is minimum compulsory from the 1st January, 1992- the
decoupling of the power lines and no from the poorly laid out Mk! circuit
proposed date for compliance with a directive
ground plane -a thoroughly had design. on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) being
hoard shows a considerable amount of
To improve on this I made the hoard drawn up by the European Commission. The radiation up to300MHz. Some peaks at
as small as I thought possible without directive will lay down the maximum amount of around l2dMHz actually exceed the
making the layout too difficult and time electromagnetic radiation which electronic levels of broadcast radio! There was still
consuming. The Mk II circuit hoard
equipment will be allowed to radiate and significant radiation up to about
manufacturers will have to provide a statement
(front exactly the same circuit digram) is 600MI Iz from this hoard.
that their equipment complies with the objec-
a mere 11 x 9cm, giving a chip density tives of the directive.
Figure 4 is the MkII hoard; the large
of one per 8.25cm2. The tracks are There is concern that many companies in peak at I37.6N11Iz is the local water
shorter, which means they are not effi- this country will not be aware of the implica- hoard telemetry signal. Apart from this.
cient radiators at 'problem' frequencies tions of the directive. Clearly, the design -test - the radiation is very much reduced - say
modify cycle could become very costly If 1(I -15d B down on average.
in the hundreds of megahertz range. In repeated too many times; it is therefore
addition. each IC has a decoupling The MkII I hoard (with ground plane
important that engineers and even under-
is shown in Figure 5; it is very difficult to
capacitor on each of its power-supply graduates take the ideas of EMC to heart right
see any difference between this and the
pins, sited close to die IC where possi- at the start of the design process. In other
ble. Also analogue and digital ground words, it is far better to design a good circuit background reading of Figure 2 (apart
tracks are as widely separated as possi- board than to design ,a bad one which will from the water board).
require enclosing in an expensive screened In addition to investigating the three
ble to stop the fast rising edges of the box to comply with the directive.
digital signals coupling to and corrupt- circuit hoards described, I examined the
ing the analogue signal - always good
practice when analogue and digital sig- Audio Micro- A -to -d _parallel in Serial in 0 -to -a
serial out parallel out Output
nals are present on the same hoard. input phone converter
shift reg shift reg
converter
The Mkt I circuit hoard is identical to
I

the Mk II except that it has a ground

plane to provide a short circuit for
high-speed glitches and noise compo-
nents due to capacitance between tracks
on one side of the circuit hoard and the
ground plane on the other - the circuit 10 MHz

hoard material itself acts as the dielec- clock

tric. Ground planes are a very effective
method of reducing RFI from circuit Fig. I. Block diagram olcircuit used for the tests. A lull circuit diagram was given in
hoards, as we will see. February. 1989.

10 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 DESIGN

0: RL: - 45. OdBm 10dB/ ATOdB ST 50ms D: PI<

RL: - 45. OdBm 10dB/ ATOdB ST 50ms PI<-
-r-- 1

-----'---- -, : I
I

+-i

RL-Reference level
10dB/-10dB/division
L--- 0dB - Input attenuation
ST -Sweep time
SF -Start frequency

I-- SP -Frequency span

RB -Resolution bandwidth
finer
T t
4-.-

i
VB-Video

L
L
SP: 310MHz RB300kHz VB100kHz
J
SF: OkHz SP: 310MHz RB300kHz VB100kHz SF: OkHz

Fig. 2. Background radiation on the site. Largest peaks are Fig. 3. Radiated spectrum from badly laid out Mk1 board.
broadcast radio. Crystal clock frequency is 10MHz. Peaks are visible up to 3i00MHz - mainly harmonics of the
10MHz crystal.

RL:
°--T
- 45. OdBm
? T
10dB/
f-r
ATOdB ST 50ms
1
0: PI< RL: - 45. CdBm
---r-- - - 10dB/
---
ATOdB
-r------T-=.._- -. ST 50ms 0: PI<

I i
't'154004.4r-
1

i
11.

-,--; -- +

_ T i
; -' - --

*1/40)1"/:#44S
+-

I
i 1

I I I

l I I

yRB300kHz
I I

L_.__.a__ i
._1 -i. .J .t.
I i
1--__J
i
-.J :

SP: 3:0MHz RB300kHz VB100kHz SF: OkHz SP: 310MHz VB100kHz

SF: OkHz
Fig. 4. Better laid out Mk11 beard. showing reduced radiation. Fig. 5. Mk11 hoard with ground plane. Radiation reduced
Peak at about 140MHz is water board telemetry. almost to background level.

RL:
'
- 45. OdBm 10dB/
- : - -
ATOdB
¡- _ -
ST 50ms RL: - 45. OdBm
- --r-- T-
10dB/ ATOdB
T- Si
-,
50ms 0: PK

I 1

Í i
T
I

J-_-_--- 1

, I H ----- 1

. a - ; - -- -----

i
L ._ ____. L
1-1_

SF: OkHz SP:310MHz R9300kHz VB100kHz SF. ()kHz SP: 310MHz RB300kHz VB100kHz
Fig. 6. Radiation from Mkt board but with lower -speed and Fig. 7. Mkt hoard with lower -speed 74LS devices.
lower-power 74HCT logic devices.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD II

RFI properties of the different 74 -series
logical families. Imade two more
hoards in the Mkt layout using 741-ICT
family and 741.S family chips. as
opposed to the 74F series for the first

PIONEERS
three hoards.
Figure 6 shows the emission from the
741 ICT circuit hoard. There is still a
good deal around the 1211-200N I Iz re-
gion. but nowhere near the amount of
the 74F series and not much at all over
2001\111z. This is as expected due to the
lower power and slightly slower per-
formance of the 741 ICT family.
In Figure 7. the 741.S hoard has some
output in the 1211-2011MI lz range associ- Karl Ferdinand Braun careful housekeeping they managed to
educate their boys and provide dowries
ated with the poor layout, but this falls
off more quickly than the 741 ICT hoard (1850-1918) : for their girls.
While at Fulda's high school. Ferdi-
due to the lower speed and hence more
slowly rising edges of the 74LS family.
inventor of the nand came to love crystallography. At
oscilloscope IS he wrote a textbook on the subject.
complete with 2(I(I hand -drawn illustra-
EC directive and BS6527
tions, but it was never published. Ile
The details of the directive on EMC is
also published a scientific article (on
still being thrashed out but. for gui- water) in a teachers' journal. He. and a
dance, we can look at BS6527: the
13ritish Standard specification for
W.A. ATHERTON friend who had done likewise, were
reprimanded for "unauthorized pub-
"Limits and methods of measurement lication". Not deterred, Braun pub-
of radio interference characteristics of lished another which was translated into
information technology equipment". Russian. At 16 he published his third;
This is also a European standard erdinand 13raun invented the truly a boy wonder.
EN55022 and, as such, will he quoted in Foscilloscope and discovered On entering the University of Mar-
the EC Directive. the rectification effect. two burg as a 17 -year old, he studied phy-
1356527 divides IT equipment into truly major contributions to sics. chemistry and mathematics. The
two classes. Class 13 equipment must tall the art of electronics. 13ut latter was not to his liking and he always
within the limits of radiated field when he shared the Nobel Prize for found mental arithmetic difficult. Years
strength in the frequency range 30 - physics in 1909 with Marconi it was for later. colleagues joked that the only,
1000MI-Iz at a test distance of 3m as his work on radio telegraphy. Of all the time he got his calculations right was
shown by the table. early radio pioneers he probably under- when two errors cancelled out. One
stood the science of radio better than (invented) tale had him multiplying 25
Frequency range Limits any. by 2 during a lecture. rounding the 25 to
(Ml lz) (d13(µV/m)( From humble beginnings. this gentle 3(1 for simplicity to give 60. then com-
30-23(1 I(I() and modest man developed a brilliant menting that 60 was too high so the
230-1(10(1 123 academic career and was one of the answer was probably nearer 511. A
great scientists of his day. In 1914 he popular article about him. years after
All the circuit boards are within the travelled from his native Germany to his death, was headlined "Wizard
Class 13 limits of 13S6527 and should. I the USA to defend his patents in court. Hated Mathematics". It was not true.
believe, comply with the EC directive World War prevented his return and
I He was just bad at mental arithmetic.
when it is announced. Ilowever, the he became an enemy alien. but his age Still, he disliked the maths lectures at
Mkt circuit hoard does show the effects and reputation saved hint from any Marburg. Of one lecturer he wrote.
of a had layout when compared to the embarrassment. On the 20th April, "I -lis lectures are completely indigesti-
MkII and MkIII layouts. An improve- 191$ he died, aged 67. in an enemy but ble. All he does is to dictate notes that
ment of 3(IdB was achieved merely by friendly country. Another seven only a stenographer could take down."
altering the layout of the circuit hoard. months would have seen the war at an Not surprisingly Braun soon switched to
If the clock frequency were several end and the old man able to return Berlin. the major science university in
times higher, then the MkI hoard could home. Germany. There he made a good im-
easily exceed the limits since the higher Braun was born at Fulda. about 6(1 pression arc was one of only four stu-
the frequency, the better it would radi- stiles north-east of Frankfurt. on the 6th dents allowed access to one private
ate. Figures 6 and 7 showed the benefit June 1850. His father. Johann Conrad. laboratory.
of using the lower -specified logic fami- was a civil servant and a protestant: his In December 1869. Professor G.il.
lies when speed or low power consump- mother. Franziska Gühring. was a Ouincke offered him a laboratory assis-
tion is not important: the faster the chip, catholic. They agreed to raise their four tantship with a salary sufficient to make
the more it radiates. 1992 is just round sons. of whom Ferdinand was the him partially independent of his father.
the corner and manufacturers would he fourth. as protestants and their two who was trying to steer him into a secure
well advised to have EMC in mind right daughters as catholics. Though they career as a qualified school teacher. For
at the start of the design process. were not well oft. by hard work and now the salary on offer was enough to

12 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1

 PIONEERS

impact in scientific circles. though Y

overcome his father's resero= about a
career in science. Arthur Schuster repeated the results at
In 1872, Braun submitted for his
doctoral examination. for which his ex-
aminer. Hermann Helmholtz. passed
Cambridge with clean and oxidized cop-
per wires.
Two years later. Braun expressed his
.t
him CUM (wide. "On the whole it went work as departures from Ohm's Law.
quite well, he wrote to his parents. He recognised that the effect took place
though he was shocked at t'te cost of at the surface of the crystal, that a point
printing his thesis. contact was needed and that it hap-
Soon afterwards. Ouincke moved to pened very rapidly (in less than I/5(111th
Würzhurg to take the chair of physics second). It was 3(I years before an
and Braun went as his assistant. His low important application was found. as a
salary still did not make him financially crystal detector for radio receivers. ,9r
secure so. pleasing his father, he qual- The word rectification now has im-
ified as a school teacher and earned plications which go beyond the original
extra income from writing. His gift for discovery. What Braun discovered was
sarcasm got him published under that there are experimental set ups in
pseudonyms in major magazines - he which a direct flow of electricity is
always aimed high. conducted better in one direction than hr
the other. When he made his fourth and
Rectification last publication on the rectifier effect in
1883 he was able to refute every accusa- a

After two years. a full university post

tion of experimental error and to extend
still eluded him and he settled for
the observations to alternating current.
teaching at a high school in Leipzig:
His last observation showed that the
father had been right. A university was
effect held true even for very short i1

still his aim. but meanwhile teaching

pulses of current.
gave some time for scientific research.
The latter experiments took place at
Strasbourg University. ,which he joined r.
At 15, he published as an associate professor in the Spring of
18811, having held a similar position for Karl Ferdinand Brauii aged 36. inventor
textbook on
a three years at Marburg after leaving his of the oscilloscope, discoverer of recti-
crystallography teaching job in Leipzig. For a number of
years he played musical academic chairs
fication and one of the founding fathers
of radio. Photo - Tuesday Society.
com p lete with 200 as he strode along the path of success
from university to uni'ersity. The next
Tubingen.
hand -drawn move was to a full professorship at the
Technical University of Karlsruhe
illustrations. (1883). then to Tubingen (1885). and The oscilloscope
Braun had already experimented
with electrical conduct ion through elec-
back to Strasbourg (1895).
It was at the time of the move to
was not
trolvtes and salts and he rxtw studied
earlier work on conduction through
Tiihingen that he got married. He and
his wife, Amalie. set up house in the
patented; Braun
mineral cnstals. Ile solved the vexing castle that was the physics institute. wanted it to be
problem of making contacts to the crys-
tals by an example of wiat was to
Unlike the domestic quarters the
laboratory was in the unheated castle freely available to
become his elegant experimental style.
He simply bent two silver wires. One
tower and subject to the vagaries of the
weather: in winter the temperature
benefit all
became a ring which sur ported the hovered for weeks at -I°C. Braun's researchers
crystal. the other became a spring replacement at Karlsruhe was fortunate
whose point pressed onto tI.e crystal. It in inheriting a spacious lab in which. al about two great scientific discoveries.
was a near -perfect set-up fo:- the discov- three years later. he performed the most Hertz's discovery of electromagnetic
er of the point -contact crvs:al rectifier. famous experiments e'er carried out waves was one. the other was Roent-
Just when he discovered rectification there: his name - Heinrich hertz. gen's discovery of rays which passed
is not known, but he announced it on Braun meanwhile set about getting a through matter - X-rays. "Roentgen
the 23rd November. 1874: "the resist- new lab. has otherwise always been a sensible
ance varies according to current direc- man," he said. "and it isn't even carpi' al
tion. intensity and duration." he wrote.
.
Oscilloscope time vet." However. he soon caught the
At first the discovery did not make a big Braun the inventor was initially sceptic - -radiation fever" that followed the

13
January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + \VIRELESS WORLD
PIONEERS

headlines and the impressive firsts. In

1902, a merger between the rival Ger-
160
man groups was discussed but found-
,c
T ered. and patent suits began. The rival-
:180 ry became of national concern. Even
100_1 the Kaiser worried that. through Mar-
190
coni. the British were gaining a strang-
lehold.
Dimensions in mm
As a result of government pressure,
the merger finally took place on the 15th
Fig. I Braun's cathode-ray tube. l is the cathode. from aluminium sheet: A the
anode; C an aluminium diaphragm with a 2mm hole to narrow the beam; D the
May 1903. Germany's four main radio
pioneers. Braun. Siemens, Slahy and
Arco pooled their resources. The new
fluorescent screen: and E the glass tube. company took its name from the first
syllables of the merging companies: the
Braun/Siemens Telebraun and the
announcement. but instead of X-rays he Jonathan Zenneck to replace the rotat- Slahy/Arco Funkentelegraphie Tele - -
chose to re-examine cathode rays. ing mirror. fun ken. There were 33 employees.
It was known that cathode rays could The oscilloscope was not patented: Braun then turned to other probletiis:
illuminate a fluorescent screen in an Braun wanted it to be freely available to the effect of gravity on the growth of
evacuated tube. that they could be benefit all researchers. A bigger prize plant cells for example. but his reputa-
formed into a beam, cast shadows, and awaited him. the Nobel, awarded for his tion is founded on his three supreme
be deflected by a magnet. But it was later work on radio telegraphy.
Braun who conceived an application for
the phenomena. Gradually he arrived at
a satisfactory design for a new tube.
Radio
Braun was introduced to wireless tele-
Braun invited his
When a magnetic -field coil was placed
close to the body of his tube and the
graphy when he joined a group perfect- associates to
ing a telegraph which operated by con-
alternating mains current applied to it, duction through water, a hid to avoid meet the
the traditional spot of light on the screen
became a wobbly, vertical line. When
Marconi's patents. He then invented a
new radio spark transmitter (loosely
alternating current
the line was viewed through a rotating
mirror in front of the screen an apparent
based on improvements he had made to
the "water" transmitter) which not only
from Strasbourg in
horizontal motion was added and the
sine wave of the current could be seen.
broke Marconi's patent monopoly but person
gave an intproed performance as well.
Braun invited his associates to meet the
After a demonstration in September
alternating current from the Strasbourg 1898 the water telegraph was scuttled in contributions to our profession: the dis-
generating station "in person". favour of a radio telegraph using the covery of rectification. the invention of
Ile announced his invention of the new transmitter. A company was the primitive oscilloscope. and his con-
15th February 1897 in a paper. "On a
formed and became known as Tele- tributions to radio telegraphy. It was
Method of Demonstrating and Studying braun. It was one of the forerunners of this reputation that ensured him a re-
the Time Dependence of Variable Cur-
Telefunken. spectful reception in the USA when he
rents." It was also reported that the By the turn of the century. a distance was trapped there, and died there, as an
output of the Strasbourg station was a of 35 kilometres had been achieved and enemy alien. His wish to he buried in his
good sinewave. whereas that from an crystal rectifiers had been tested as native country was eventually honoured
induction coil generator was awful, an detectors. By October 1900. the port of in 1921, when his ashes were interred in
epic demonstration of the value of the Cuxhaven had radiotelegraphic com- his parents' grave in his home town of
primitive oscilloscope. For the first time munication with lightships and pilot Fulda. I lis wife, who had died during
researchers could see what vas happen- boats. and Heligoland was linked to the the war. was buried in Strasbourg
ing in electrical circuits. Two years
shore. Enquiries arrived from around which, by then, was once again French
later, horizontal beam deflection was the world. territory. They were survived by their
introduced by Braun's assistant -however. Telehraun was broke and a
I four children.
rival German company. supported by
AEG and based on Adolf Slaby's work. References
was well publicized. Braun's business
Of all the radio colleagues finally allowed hint to speak
out on behalf of his inventions and
This account is largely based on the biogra-
phy by F. Kurylo & C'. Süsskind. "Ferdinand
Braun-. hl IT Press. 1981.
pioneers, publicity was gained which helped to
Braun was probably secure financial backing. In December
1900. Telehraun became a subsidiary of
the one who best Siemens.
Of all the radio pioneers. Braun was
understood the probably the one who best understood
the science of radio. Marconi. by com-
science of radio parison. was an improver and inventor.
Tony Atherton is a Principal Lecturer at
the IBA /Harman Engineering Training
Yet it was Marconi who grabbed the College, Seaton, l)er'orr.

14
ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990
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 EVOLUTIONARY AUDIO

;nce it is preferable to achieve a

high degree of linearity in the
...ransfer characteristics of the
fmplifier without having to use
large amounts of negative
feedback to straighten out the kinks,
SOLI[ -STATE
AUDIO
designers have paid much attention to
the design of those stages which provide
the hulk of the voltage gain within the
power amplifier.

POWER
Gain stage design
The principal techniques at the disposal
of the circuit designer in his pursuit of
greater linearity are the use of long-
tailed pair gain stages, since these tend
to lessen the generation of even -order
distortion components: the cascode
connection of the devices in the various
ways shown in Fig. I, because this In this final part, The use of high -voltage. small -signal
mosfets in place of cascode isolated
isolates the amplifying device from the
output voltage swings: and the use of
John Linsley Hood junction fets as the input devices, as
adopted in a recent design of my own2
highly symmetrical driver stage layouts.
which can lessen problems due to slew -
considers gain stages shown in Fig. 4, allows a simpler layout
without loss of performance, provided
rate limiting. All of these methods are and pówer supplies, that some initial set-up adjustment is
exploited, in various combinations, in
contemporary circuit designs. and takes a quizzical made to compensate for possible bias -
voltage differences between the two
It is practicable to obtain high gain
with wide bandwidth simply by
look at testing and input devices.
The performance of the gain stage is
cascading a series of amplifier stages, as specifications. enhanced by cascode connecting the
in the relatively early design due to
driver stage preceding the output
Lohstroh and Otala' shown in outline in emitter followers, as shown in the two
Fig. 2, hut the cumulative phase errors
designs of Figs. 5 and 6 due to
of succeeding stages make overall loop Borhely`', since this stage will be
stability more difficult to achieve. required to handle a large signal -voltage
Nevertheless. this approach has been swing.
adopted commercially; a design Cascode connection. in this case,
employed by Pioneer in their M-90 improves the effective linearity of the
power amplifier, shown schematically input device, particularly in respect of
in Fig. 3. shows strong similarities to the
collector voltage modulation of the
Lohstroh/Otala layout. This Pioneer current gain (Early effect), and also
design also shows a trend, which is
eliminates unwanted effects due to the
increasingly favoured in Japan, of using
collector/base feedback capacitance.
cascode-connected (monolithic) dual - Figure 7 shows an elaboration of this
junction fet inputs stages, because of layout used in the Technics SE -A 100
the ease of matching the DC offset amplifier, in which the combination of
characteristics in a monolithic pair, and the emitter -follower group Trs, and the
the greater input linearity of fets in current mirror formed by Tr,,,.,,.,; is
comparison with bipolar transistors. used to achieve a symmetrical drive
The bipolar cascode devices. Tr, and system from a less complex single -
Tr,, which can be high -voltage working ended input stage, which makes it easier
types, then allow the supply line to control the output stage quiescent
voltages to be chosen without the current than with a fully symmetrical
constraints imposed by the relatively driver layout. even though this may he
low gate/drain breakdown voltages of theoretically superior.
the fets.
Although the availability of high -

16
ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990
 EVOLUTIONARY AUDIO

Fig. I. Fit bipolar cascade combina-

tions. gil Mg good input 'output' isolation. (b) (d)
Circuit al (al giies high gain, high
output impedance and high-nitage op-
eration: (hl git e., ter.; high 7. ,,. high L0
and high l oltage: teller., high Li,, and Z,,
and low medium voltage: Id high gain.
very high 4 and lose medium soilage.
Fig. 2. ligh-quality amplifier design h}
Lolstroh and Ocala. giving high gait!
and wide bandwidth by the use o'several
gain stages.
Fig. 3. Pioneer's %I-911 amplil ier. a con-
mercial embodiment unlit, Fig. 2 circuit.

+va

I-- -wnr-i Eout

Eir To output
devices

Eout

NFB

CC,8 cc28

-vdd

+vcc

TrB

Vret
DC
Try
Tr4
Tr6
i Trq

Eout

Bias (To output

set devices)

Trt Tr3 Trio E out

NFB
Ein

CMt
CCt

Vdd

17
January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD
 EVOLUTIONARY AUDIO

voltage devices has led to the increasing no -signal DC voltage at the loudspeaker
use of linear ICs in driver gain stages.
Power supplies
output terminals remains close to the
t hoses designs aimed at the upper end of
From the point of view of the purist.
desired zero level. This is a worthwhile
the market appear to rely almost and increasingly widely adopted there is no substitute for an
exclusively on discrete -component stratagem. electronically stabilized supply as the
circuit constructions. DC source for the power amplifier,
An exception to this is the use, as in since this will provide rails of known
the Quad 405, 510, 521) and 606 Fig. 4. High -voltage nosfets allow a and precisely controlled potential,
amplifiers, of an IC op -amp as a DC simpler design al the expense of freedom largely free from noise and ripple and
comparator, (Fig. 8), to ensure that the from setting up. having a low source impedance.
It also confers the advantage. in the
case of a power amplifier. that the
+v« output power available can he precisely
«t ccz specified and unaffected by short-term
changes in the mains supply voltage.
Set offset
Instantaneous power-supply clamping
Eout or shut -down can also he brought about
-- in the event of an abnormal load -
current demand or a DC -offset fault
condition at the loudspeaker output
E in NFB
Set T (Tooutput
stages)
terminals.
Iq 111
Such a stabilized power supply offers
many advantages, including that of
better sound quality from the power
amplifier, particularly where separate
tout supplies are provided for the output
devices and the preceding driver stages.
This is due to the very low source
impedance of the supply lines, which
appears to confer both a more 'solid'
bass, as well as a more precise stereo
-vdd image. Suitable designs tend to he
complex, however, as in a published
twin DC supply design of my own'.
From low -voltage preamplifier
supplies, stabilized supply lines derived
from IC voltage regulators are now
almost universally used hut, in the case
of power amplifiers, a rigidly controlled
DC supply would not meet some
specific user requirements.
This is because a significant part of
the market consists of enthusiasts for
rock and similar music. for whom the
physical impact of the sound is an
important part to the enjoyment of the
music. In this use. the equipment is
operated at as high a sound output level
as circumstances allow, and freedom
Ein from noticeable clipping is a substantial
advantage.
Since many peak power demands are
of relatively brief duration, an
unstahilized power supply. having a
relatively high off-load supply line
voltage with large -value reservoir
capacitors. will allow the amplifier to
sound appreciably 'louder' than a
similar design with a more rigidly
controlled but lower -voltage DC
supply. This is an aspect few
manufacturers can afford to ignore.

Fig. 5. Linear high -gain stage due to

Borhelc. using symmetrical configura-
tion.

18
ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 19911
 EVOLUTIONARY AUDIO

Figure. 9 shows a typical modern

power supply, with entirely separate
supplies for each channel, and very
large -value reservoir capacitors.
Clearly, the output current from such a
supply could be highly destructive of the
loudspeaker system in the event of a
component failure and various
protection systems are used, ranging
from simple fuses in the output lines to
elaborate relay protection systems, such
as that shown in Fig. 10.
However, with all of these
elect romechancal components included
within the loudspeaker output line. E out
there remains the real possibility of
poor electrical connections through
1
mechanical wear or contact corrosion,
To output
which can lead to high resistance emitter
junctions. There is also the passibility of followers
rectifying effects, which are of much
greater audible significance than any
benefits thought to be conferred by
ultra -low resistance speaker cables. Eout

Amplifier testing
In an ideal world, there would he some
clearly understood and universally
agreed set of standards by which the
performance of an amplifier - or any
other component in the sound
reproduction chain-could be assessed.
Some of the design errors which arose
in the early days of transistor amplifiers
disclosed inadequacies ín the test

Fig. 6. Another Borbely casccde design.

with source -followers.

Power amplifier

+vcc

Tr3
^ Tr6

4 TrT
Vret 2

0-

To protection circuit
-V
Vref t Trs Trio E out

Tr 2 Vret3 ?rats To output emitter

followers

Tr6
Eout

Ein NF B Tr1

Tres

Fig. 8. Output DC level correction used

by Quad in which the op -amp maintains Tr11
EE78
the no -signal direct voltage near zero.

ee
Fig. 7. Single-ended cascode input stage
by Technics makes for ease of quiescent
current adjustment.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 19

EVOLUTIONARY AUDIO

methods then employed. Sadly, thirty differences in the acoustic ambience of well have been for the equipment then
years later, we are still some way from a the settings: the importance of residual being used.
complete understanding of the types of defects in reproduction, so far as these For the relatively unsophisticated
technical specification we should seek are identifiable. can be quantified. buyer of equipment. the important
to meet. or of the relative acoustic Some of the early public demon- factors are physical appearance, the
significance of the known residual strations staged by G. A. Briggs of number of facilities it offers. its
errors. Wharfedale and P..I. Walker of Quad, apparent value for money and its
Part of this problem is due to clear in which live and reproduced music numerical performance specifications.
differences in their response to were directly compared in a side -by -side such as power output. bandwidth, and
instrumental evaluation between the demonstration, showed that even in steady-state harmonic and
three groups of customers: the classical those days the differences could be intermodulat ion distort ion factors.
music devotee, the rock music surprisingly small and encouraged the The fact that very highly specified
enthusiast and the relatively naive. and belief that the performance tests power amplifiers may not sound any
musically uninterested 'man in the employed were adequate to assure better, and perhaps even worse than
street'. satisfactory performance, as they could systems which are less well specified,
In classical music and traditional jazz has cast some doubt on the value of
played on acoustic instruments, a direct many performance measurements. This
comparison is possible between the Fig. 9. Simple unstabilized power supply doubt is encouraged by the growing use
sound of the original performance and for output stages used even in high - of up-market equipment for the
that of the reproduction, allowing for quality anrpliliers. reproduction of music originating
mainly from electronic or electronically
assisted instruments - which definition
r PA#1+ must also include the human voice.
15000? where this is augmented by a
microphone and amplifier - and fed
0V directly on to tape.
115000? This music is also likely to have been
I extensively modified during the
PA#1-
recording process, so that the
PA#2+ performance is heard for the first time
when the disc or tape is replayed. The
- 15000? judgment of the listener will therefore
Ft OV he based less upon whether the
115000? reproduced sound is accurate than on
whether it is pleasing to the ear.
Mains PA#2 - Whether it is warranted or not.
input
V reg i____ Pre amp enthusiasts insist that there are
#1+ differences in the listener appeal of the
470? I

various available units and that these

0V differences may not be measurable by
any of the normally specified
470?
performance parameters. Guidance,
V reg Preamp when needed. must therefore be sought
etc. #1 - elsewhere.
A wide range of periodicals exists to
cater for this need and also. perhaps, to
reinforce the belief that the respective
+V merits of various brands of equipment
Special purpose IC
can only he assessed by comparative
--'+l On/oft muting listening trials carried out by (their own)
Overload detection RL1 skilled and experienced reviewers.
D. C. off set detection Clearly, the absence of valid
numerical or instrumental standards for
56k
I IC1
defining subjective amplifier
performance is a matter of wide
From concern. and various attempts have
amp
been made to set matters straight.
To involve the ear of the listener in
56k 10
the assessment of performance.
5k6 Colloms`' and Baxandall' almost
LS
simultaneously proposed the
substitution of the amplifier under test

Fig. 10. Typical commercial speaker

protection and switch-on/off muting cir-
cuit.

20 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 EVOLUTIONARY AUDIO

for a nominal (phase -corrected) straight

wire. using a circuit layout of the kind Phase correction network

shown in Fig. II. Perhaps predictably. Good quality

the conclusions reached by these two power amplifier
authors differed. with Colloms claiming
that there were significant differences
which could be detected by this method Amplifier under test
and Baxandall asserting that all
competently designed units: operated
within their limits, will sound identical.
An early observation of audio
enthusiasts was that, in spite of their LS
generally poorer specifications, valve
amplifiers "sounded better" than
transistor amplifiers. This was probably Dummy
because the valve amplifiers had a more load
Oscilloscope
gradual overload characteristic than
their transistor equivalents, especially
since most solid-state amplifiers would
use output -transistor protection
circuitry. which would impose a rigid Fig. I I. Circuit For "straight -wire" sub- measurements; we may still have
limit on the permissible output current stitution test on audio amplifiers. overlooked something.
into a short circuit or low -impedance For myself, I believe that some
load. Valve amplifiers did not impose Belcher'''. using weighted pseudo- audible differences do remain between
this output current limitation and for random noise signals followed by a apparently impeccably specified
both of these reasons could sound comb -filter rejection network. amplifiers, particularly where these are
significantly 'louder' than notionally This gave very good correlation with based on dissimilar design philosophies
more powerful transistor operated a listening -panel assessment of sound and I think some of these audible
systems. quality impairment through various differences are related to quite clearly
In an attempt to test the validity of causes, which showed that the nature visible, and measurable, differences in
these claims for the audible superiority and linearity of the transfer their step -function response
of valve amplifiers, the Acoustical characteristic of the system was characteristics. There are certainly
Manufacturing Company (Quad) important. This conclusion was other things which also have an effect on
commissioned a series of double-blind corroborated by I-liratalI. who evolved sonnd quality which we could measure.
group listening trials, reported by a test method based on an asymmetrical if only we knew where to look.
Moir`, in which the panel was selected pulse waveform input. in an attempt to
to include people who had published discover why it was possible to hear and References
identify the audible defects of an I. Loh,troh. J.. and Otala. M.. AES 44th
their beliefs that there were significant
amplifier in the presence of much larger Convention, Rotterdam. 1973. Ref. 116
differences between amplifier types and 2 Linsles Hood. J. L.. Electronics and
that valve amplifiers were superior. In defects introduced by the loudspeaker. 14 ,reless World, Starch 1989, pp. 261-264.
the event, the conclusions of this trial Unfortunately, the gulf between 3 Borhely. E.. Wireless World, March 1983.
were that there was no statistical engineers and the subjective -sound pp. 69-75.
significance in the group preferences. fraternity still remains, one side 4 Borhely. E., Audio Amateur. February
claiming that any differences between 1984. pp. 13-24.
individually or collectively. between the
well designed amplifiers will he 5. Linsley Ilood, J. L.. Electronics and
Quad 303 and 405 transistor amplifiers, Wireless World. May 1989. pp. 524-527.
or between either of these and the Quad vanishingly small, and the other 6. Colloms, M., Hi -Fi News and Record
11 operated amplifiers. asserting that dramatic changes in Rcview, October 1977. pp. 83-85.
However. a possibly important factor performance can he made by such 7. Baxandall. P. J.. Wireless World.
was that the output signals from the unlikely actions as replacing the November 1977. pp. 63-66.
standard mains cable with a more 8. Moir. J.. tVireless World, July 1978. pp.
amplifiers were monitored with an
expensive one. 55-58.
oscilloscope to ensure that at no time 9. Hiraga, .1.. I li-Fi News and Record Review,
were the output levels high enough to The absurdity of some of these claims March 1977. pp. 41-45.
cause clipping, however brie ply. provoked Self''- into a defence of IC. Belcher. R. A., Wireless World. May 1978,
As an extension to this salve versus engineering standards against the pp. 36-41.
transistor debate. H iraga" tried to relate metaphysical assertions of the 'add-on' 11. ti rata. Y.. Wireless World. October 1981.
I

the claimed sound differences between fraternity. As I indicated in a pp. J9-52.

12. Self. D.R.G., Electronics and Wireless
the two amplifier types to test results subsequent letter'`, I feel that we may
World, July 1988. pp. 692-696.
derived from wide -hand spectrum still have things to learn, outside the 13. Linsley Hood. J. L.. Electronics and
analysis. In general, his findings comfortable real of the steady state. R'ireles.s World, September 1988. pp. 860-861.
confirmed that the listener did not As engineers. we have made mistakes
necessarily prefer undistorted signals. in the past through the lack of
Corrections
A further attempt to provide a test stringency in the tests we applied. This In part 2 of this article in the November issue, two small errors
method to give better correlation with experience must make us more cautious .appeared In Fig 18. a 47k feedback resistor between the output
,and Tr4 base is missing It should be shown between the 1k and
the subjective assessment than simple in claiming perfection as a result of 3 2k resistors The capacitor at the earthy end of the 8 2k resistor

TI-IE) or bandwidth measurements was favourable responses to a limited "01µF

evolved by the BBC and described by number of possibly inappropriate test

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 21

 TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS
EFFICIENTLY WITH
COMPUTERS YOU MUST:

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22 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 UPDATE

Jovian witnesses
Jupiter will be having a busy time short- scheme. but Ulysses will still orbit the
ly. in terrestrial terms. when tie Ulysses Sun to obtain both north and south pole
and Galileo spacecraft buzz the planet data, albeit a year apart. when condi-
in February 1992 and December 1995 tions may have changed with respect to
respectively. each other.
ü'hile Ulysses, a joint European The spacecraft will he the fastest
Space Agency/NASA project will he man-made object in the universe after
using Jupiter purely for the slingshot launch with an escape velocity of
effect needed to pull it onto a trajectory I I.4km/s and its instrumentation will be

over the solar poles, NASA's Galileo powered by a radioisotope thermoelec-

will send a probe directly into the tric generator.
planet's atmosphere where it will have a The Jupiter slingshot is intended to
brief 61)-75 minutes of glory. impart enough energy to the spacecraft
Galileo's successful launch last Octo- to propel it out of the plane of the
ber on the shuttle Atlantis means that ecliptic (the plane containing the earth
both orbiter and probe craft, after 2.4 and other planets orbiting around the
billion miles. will he sending hack de- sun) and swing it back over the southern
tails of Jupiter and its moons, as well as pole of the Sun at an altitude of about
the short descent into the hydrogen/ 30t)million km.
helium atmosphere, almost four years The Sun's magnetic field, solar winds
after Ulysses has performed its acroba- and atmosphere are radically different
tics around the planet. at the poles, being less affected by the
Ulysses has been in development Sun's rotation and interactivity between
since 1984, when it was planned to fill high and low -speed solar winds.
the gap left by cancellation of a two - Apart from direct solar interest, the
position of Ulysses in relation to earth
i
spacecraft mission which would have
given simultaneous data on the Sun's orbiting craft will be used to investigate
north and south poles. NASA's finan- phenomena such as cosmic gamma
cial difficulties put paid to the grander bursts and gravitational wave bursts.

Satellite confusion
Speaking advert BT Vision. the visual telecommunica-
tions arm of British Telecom. seems set
Not a lot of people want to hear this, but taken its aural message intc the pages of to add to the 'power tower' of satellite
Dallas is going to tell them anyway. Business Week in the form of a voice receiving equipment which is piling up
Texas Instruments's Dallas labs have synthesised electronic advert. on top of TV sets.
been working overtime to produce the Forty two words tell it as it is when the The company is introducing an 'over -
first talking ad. reader removes a label covering the air authorization' system. which autho-
In conjunction with LA -based Inter - switch. The credit card sized device, rizes particular TV sets to receive sig-
visual Communications, wh eh worked containing speech synthesizer chip, nals by sending codes with the TV
on the electronic module and its assem- three tablet sized batteries, and 25mm programmes. But the system uses the
bly in I long Kong via subsidirtry Varsity piezoelectric speaker pushes the corpo- D2MAC transmission standard and
Electronics and ad. agency McCann rate message around 650 times and Eurocrypt 'M' for scrambling the sig-
Erickson Dallas, the intre',id TI has costs, in bulk, around US$4a throw. nals. neither of which are used by the
Sky or BSI3 companies.
Ilowever. BT is negotiating with
F-ance Telecom. the driving force be-
hind the French TDF direct broadcast
Insurance premium satellite, to agree common standards for
transmission and encryption. This move
The first 486 processor upgrade in cache memory controller, internal
might reduce the power tower.
Europe for the 113M PS/2 70/A21 went cache memory and an internal floating-
BT Vision claims that its new system
to the lucky Norwich Union Insurance point maths coprocessor.
will allow customers to buy extra chan-
Group only three months Lfter Intel's Norwich Union says the i486 provides
nels or single programmes in minutes,
initial announcement. it with the power needed to exploit fully
with a 'phone call to their local retailer.
The i486 PS/2 processor upgrade its future IBM OS/2 based Token Ring
The retailer will then notify the controll-
promises up to 80 per cent higher per- network services. The installation, by
ing computer. which will send author-
formance in business applications and IBM Systems Centre, Computer ization via the satellite. Blackouts could
up to three times the performance in Marketing, is reported to have gone
he applied both to subscribers late with
numeric -intensive applications. It offers smoothly.
payments and to geographical regions.
a 32 -bit, 25Mí lz processcr, internal

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 23

 UPDATE

LCD better than CRT?

Conventional CRT displays for compu- cold -cathode fluorescent tubes in both The same company also demon-
ters and television could he designed cases, the likely choice for production strated a high definition mono screen
out of video equipment within the next units. This produced a picture subjec- with a IOin diagonal, made up from 120
1

five years if LCD development main- tively as bright as a typical CRT. but on x 780 pixels. This is intended for cad
tains its present pace. a completely flat surface, as one would and graphics usage.
Roth Toshiba and Hitachi used Com- expect from this type of display. The Computer applications have pro-
ponic 89 - the Paris components show - perfect registration coupled with the vided the launch impetus for LCD dis-
to demonstrate loin flat -screen techno- absence of defocus on highlights gave plays but TV and video promises the
logy working in full colour with pixel the image a sharper quality than its largest volume of business. The size
definition equivalent to IRM's latest conventional equivalent. limit for production LCD television
VGA standard. Decently sized flat Hitachi appears to have moved furth- screens is currently 6.5in, correspond-
screen colour TVs are now a distinct er than Toshiba through the use of TFT ing to a pixel count of about 158 1100 for
possibility. (thin-film transistor), techniques rather each of the three colours. Toshiba's
Liquid -crystal screens have been than simple matrix technology. show demonstration used a Sony 8mm
around for a long time: assemblies in- I litachi's screen had no perceptible lag video source coupled to both 6.5 and 4in
corporating nearly a million pixels when changing from image to image. a TFT screens. The picture quality was
haven't. Colour VGA display requires problem which afflicts the current gen- good, although the viewing angle was
three 640 x 480 pixel screens to display eration of mono LCD computer rather narrow in comparison to a con-
simultaneously each of the primary col- screens. Tosh's prototype displayed a ventional display. Improvements in the
ours. If this isn't achievement enough, single image which made it impossible viewing angle will need to he achieved
I litachi claimed a contrast ratio of 80:
I to judge the speed of the screen. Neith- for LCD to gain market share from
for its screen. better than most CRTs re company was prepared to put a price CRT in domestic TV usage.
when operated with viewing conditions tag on the displays although Hitachi The new advances have been made
of normal ambient light. expected to he selling its product by the possible by better silicon -on -glass de-
The show prototypes were backlit by end of 1990. position techniques. Current genera-

iAl_Y i I-I1=1?Iv. R1=AI_ TIME i I-II_I?MCC-P.API-IIC IMAGING FOR INDUSTRY

^
 UPDATE

tiol displays mostly use a matrix of

1001 translucent metallic stripes printed
directly onto a glass substrate; the LCD
pixels are formed at the intersections.
r (z) The matrix of relatively thick stripes has
Se
high capacitance. resulting in low
switching speeds and a sluggish screen.
New panels incorporate a layer of either
amorphous or polycrystalline silicon,
integrating a single switching transistor
e A 8 c ñ
for each pixel.
commodities
100
These use much thinner, lower
100
capacitance stripes for faster operation.
The transistor switches the pixel ele-
75 36e
(z) prof it ment, a rectangular translucent plate
connected to its drain circuit, the plate
so: 290
normally floating unless switched by the
transistor. This allows the pixel to re-
25- 4M 100.
main "on" or "off' without being con-
tinually addressed, in the same way that
0 e. a d -ram cell stores charge. As well as
8 12 e 5 10 15 ze
2 1 6
month
10
proceeds of a sale being faster, it offers precise control of
individual mark/space ratio which
means wider greyscales and more col-
Hitachi's Idin thin-lilm-transistor display, which has no perceptible lag.

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UPDATE SPECIAL

BSB "nearly there" Cool millions

Matching other countries' efforts in
British Satellite Broadcasting claims to The Squarial, though, will he bigger developing superconductivity needs at
have working prototypes of its Squarial than originally planned. The firm claims least 35-40 per cent extra government
flat -plate antennas. This follows an it went up from a 30cm unit to a 40cm funding, according to Oxford Instru-
order placed with the Japanese firm one because of the extra two channels ments' deputy chairman, Sir Martin
Matsushita for 70,000 of the dishes. that the IBA awarded to BSB in June. Wood.
The aim is to get the dishes made in BSB plans to launch a second satellite Sir Martin's company leads the field
volume in time for the satellite service' half way through next year. But it wants in the UK, and in an address to the
spring launch. all five channels available in the Spring. Royal Society in London, he said that
Nick Hart from BSB denied rumours This means that some of the five chan- senior industrialists have too little
that the delay in production was be- nels will be operating on half power and understanding of superconductivity and
cause of difficulty in designing a true a 30cm Squarial would not have given there is a shortage of graduates and
antenna array. Instead he put the blame satisfactory reception. postdoctoral researchers in the field.
on the 2285 descrambler chip from ITT. A 35cm parabolic dish is also planned In addition, he called for education of
He said "the chip gave us problems. It and more manufacturers for that and investing shareholders so that they
was new technology and was hard to get the Squarial will be announced soon. In could see the importance of long term
100% right first time. There are still a survey done by BSB, some consumers R&D.
some failures but we are nearly there." said they preferred a parabolic dish.

ECL Mips
Transputer megacell An ECL version of N ips Computer
Low(ish) priced hi -tech is one option he the $20 T400. systems 32 -hit risc micro has been de-
being discussed for the Inmos transpu- Inmos does not see the move to use veloped, designated R6000 and capable
ter, in applications such as parallel the transputer for standard cell pur- of 50-60 mips. The three -chip set is
processing PCs, although Inmos says poses as a move away from the transpu- being made by Bipolar Integrated Tech-
that it will he at least a year before it has ter as a stand-alone micro. nology, which is also giving the rival Sun
available standard cell devices incorpor- Since buying Inmos, SGS-Thomson Microsystems SPARC risc micro the
ating transputer cores. has slashed prices on other versions of bipolar treatment.
First device to he used in this way will the transputer. NEC is also reported to he working
on an ECL implementation, and Sie-
mens has the option to do so.

Tasty technologies
There are two top flavours this month operating system such as OS/2 or Unix Intel i86064bit risc chipasa math
and one of them, the Intel 486 Its one idiosyncracy remains its coprocessor. To say that this will do
processor, will probably stay at the top attachment to the old AT architecture maths with a device like that on -hoard
for the next year or so. The other is the and the use of this by itssupporters to is going to be putting it mildly.
Extended Industry Standard promote it as having 'thousands' of Compaq has multiple 486s in its
Architecture (EISA). add -in boards available already. EISA machine, or at least the facility to
Several PC makers, such as Tandon, But these are old AT hoards, most of equip one of its new range with more
Compaq, Hewlett Packard and which offer expansion facilities or than one 486 processor.
Olivetti, have jumped in and launched additional functionality which is now All of this power, of course, has yet
systems based on these two an integral part of the system to find a real, standard operating
developments. Others are set to follow motherboard in the new 386 and up- system that can exploit it. OS/2 is
almost immediately. coming 486-based machines. It is even talked about at great length, but there
The new machines have price tags arguable to what extent new machines are still few applications available off
that start well over the £5001) mark. will require any expansion capabilities the shelf: though many in intangible
They are therefore not something that except for those users who want to add hyperbole. The system itself is
the average punter will expect to see in esoteric peripherals or facilities. arguably deficient because it has been
the local Dixons for a while yet, even if And even here the fast -emerging designed specifically for the old 286
they could then afford them. It does, crop of 486 -based machines is processor and does not exploit the
however, give a good indication of the incorporating facilities which, it is capabilities of the 386 or 486. A new
trend that will dominate systems design hoped, might attract the users' eye. version, which does, is coming -'soon'.
in a couple of years. Tandon, for example, has a desktop Unix, on the other hand, is here. But
In this context, EISA is an system coming which includes an the downside of that is that there are
interesting debating point. Its tenets integral600Mbyte read-write optical still many different versions of it.
are well-known -develop an extension disk as hack up to a 760Mbyte hard So, the chances are you will all he
of the standard PC/AT expansion bus disk. using 486 -based mega -PCs to run your
architecture that can cope with the I/O Olivetti's EISA machine, a floor - old dos applications by the time all this
demands of high-speed 32bit standing tower system primarily aimed high-tech power descends to high -
processors running a multitasking at being a network server, comes with street pricing levels.
Martin Banks

26 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

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January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 27

CIRCUIT IDEAS

Control system simulator

It is a common practice to test the toughest test for most of the control put the 16bit sampled data and the
dynamic performance of any control systems as it contains acceleration, de- six -hit port to input the pitch and
system with certain known and standard celeration, change of sign and constant period. The 256byte ram in the 8155
inputs and then evaluate the error pat- velocity. To synthesise SIIM, a com- forms a scratch pad.
tern to determine the health of the plete cycle of a sine function is sampled The step function can he created by
system. A simulator capable of generat- into 16K words with 16bit resolution. selectively inverting one of the output
ing very low -frequency simple harmonic However, you can see that, with the bits according to the bit weight. Bit
motion (SUM). constant -velocity data of the first quarter (0 to 9(1°). the weight can he decided in conjunction
ramps and step functions is used for this. entire waveform can he constructed by with its interface to the digital-to-
but the equipment has draw hacks be- appropriately manipulating the sign and synchro or resolver converters. An
cause of its gear trains, cams, friction amplitude at the sampling instants. hardware IALT can also he of some
I

drives and governor controls. Even Thus. 4K x 16 samples of the first use where the output waveform needs
though these are time tested, they tend quarter of the sine wave only need to he to he stopped at any desired phase
to drift from their initial settings, result- stored, addressed at certain rate and (position) before applying the step func-
ing in poor accuracy and non - then scaled up or down corresponding tion. In addition, a simple program to
repeatability. to the period and pitch selections. count up and count down can generate
Featured here ís a simple electronic The 8155's I-Ihit tinier generates the the constant speed slow or fast ramps.
simulator configured around the popu- terminal count indicating the rate at George Varkey
lar 8085 CPU and sonic of its supporting which the samples are latched out. Two Kerala
ICs. The SI IM test is considered the eight bit ports are programmed to out - India

Start
Wide -band VCO for UHF
My main considerations when de- transistor terminals as possible. Initialise:-
signing this circuit were wide tuning Transistor Tr, forms the basis of Disable interrupts
Set i/o ports
band -width, low phase noise and an active bias circuit to provide the Clear counters
low cost. oscillator with good frequency sta-
Decoupling of the base of Tr, bility with temperature.
should be made as close to the With the right PCl3 layout and a
package of the device as possible ground plane the circuit is capable Read and set input
parameters
preferably using a chip capacitor. of a tuning range of 3111 to 680MHz.
Capacitor Cr, is selected to give a minimum power output of 50m
the widest tuning hand width and into 5t) and a phase noise better Get current value of
highest power output and will vary than 85dBc/I-Izat 10kHz. samples in high and
low bytes
according to PCB layout. Again,
this should he a chip capacitor and Malcolm Holmes
should he connected as close to the Bedford Scale amplitude

Assign polarity w.r.t.

quadrant

All chokes are %turns

Output through
en. cu. wound on
a 10k resistor
designated ports

Update counters

RF out Has
terminal
count
pulsed
7

Is
halt
ac five
7
OV

28 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 DATA 16 DATA ROMS 2716x5
OUTPUT
CE6
STRB t0É
I
0E r - - 741 --7 CE5
16 BIT LATCH ,

0E CE4
r 13)
LO BYTE) CK (HI BYTE)
CE3
721-
11) 8
0 AO
5 2 1 39 38 37 36 29 28
21 1
INPUT 11
I1 I PC5 PCO PB7 PB0 PA7 PA0
13

PITCH -U
PERIOD
u
17 1
HALT
[23
+5V
22
19
21
A10
T VPP
T OUT CÉ T
ÍN RST 10IM RD WR ALE AD7 AD0 20 18
0E CÉ
0155 8 3 4 7 9 12
MONITOR
J6

36 12 3 4
RST-IN AD0 -- 01 0,
-11--7-4B--. 6
1
8
rQ- Xi
1 9 10
6MHz
161 15
2 10 17
X2
20 19
óSID
19 2 21
T, TRAP AD7 D8 08'
21
9
A8 +5V
22 1
RST 5-5 A9 STB INT,23
8 23
r RST 6.5 MD
7
RST 7.5 m CLR
-1--"V\APWc 13
10 052
INTR
8212
11 28
INTA A5 30
ALE
+5V 29 31
WR
So 32
RD
33
51 10/M 0 015
RST OT
39
HOLD CLKO
SOD
35
READY HLDA

9
8085
7
07
CIRCUIT IDEAS

Mains operated
warning lamp

Sensor

Medical freezer alarm system Sensor

In medical research, clinical trials can Several independent local sensors,
require the freezing of large numbers of operating from their own mains supplies
blood samples for years and accidental in groups, trigger both a local audible
thawing of the samples can he a very group alarm and a remote shared warn-
expensive business. We have used this ing lamp. Provision is also made for
thaw -warning system successfully over a triggering an intercom or, after a delay, Audio s g.
Intercom
number of years: it is not exotic but it say, a radio alarm leased from a security
has proved reliable and it is inexpen- company who then page an operator. TriggAr sig.
sive. The delay, of about 18 minutes, pre - Radio al.

+12V
Span Trigger point
R1 R6 Rg R10

20k 1k 4k7
-12V R2 -12V
Battery harger
TP1 O
R11 22k
1k
Tr1 TP2

C1 220n TP3 C

BC109 vents triggering front spurious signals

and short interruptions of the mains
supply.
Sensor Of two leds in the sensor unit, one
Local /Remote switch
indicates when the unit is not ready to
he switched into the common circuit and
the other reminds the operator to do so.
15k
R4
St ' In order to isolate the 13C1(19 temper-
-12V o 2k2
tU W
I
ature sensor from its environment, it is
R14
.***LY immersed in silicone oil in a sealed test
2k2 tube. When setting up for a refrigerator
A
instead of a freezer (+ 10°C instead of
Closed
circuit -10°C). R,; and Rrr, are interchanged;
+U
Rr.z may need adjusting slightly to com-
pensate for differences in op -amps.
08 In the control unit. Delay and Isola-
Tr4
tion switches S3_4 are only used during
-vM- R22

22k
01
servicing. Normally. the delay switch is
left on: switching to intercom mode
R23
automatically switches the delay off. In
this way. problems can he picked up
r- immediately during the daytime with
Warning +U the switch in intercom made. and after
lamp 09
+12V 18 minutes at night with the switch set
L regulator for radio mode. When either a sensing
unit is switched into the common closed
circuit. or the central control unit is
operating normally and switched to
10A relay -12V radio alarm mode. all leds will he unlit.
R25 56 regulator

N alhérhe
1.
Pharmacology Department
University of the Orange Free State

30 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 CIRCUIT IDEAS

D2
A F

J
Sensing unit +12V
52

Female connector
Reset

ill N L R15
R17
916 22k

R18
220

Sensing unit
10k 22k \L [ BC109

y» 47p
Female connector 40106 R21 220C7
Tr3
4P7 C5 =" 220n R19 1t8W
n 22k BC109
N L

Central control
unit

U
Closed
Closed circuit

Isolation
+10V

circuit 'r6
+10V switch R29 1k R31 1k
R30
BC 263
510k 10k

i
R26
Trs --47***o
Battery R28
BC109 ;

2k2
Z3V3 R 330 R32 890k
From above. clockwise: overall block
diagram: sensing unit audible alarm
section and latch: control unit; power +10V
supply and sensing unit.
012
33k R3 10k
R33 14
56

BC109

Radio/Intercom
switch
Delay switch R34
0

-,
' S5
a'
S4 R38 ? B+
2k2 8+ F--N/--9
R39
2k2

alarm

' o
Audio
generator
16-1
}Radio

010

+10V 8+- Rf0

Battery D13 Intercom
2k 2
Min 12V relay B+
11 1 K4

Min. 12V relay

v 19911 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 31

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CIRCLE NO. 132 ON REPLY CARD

32 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January'

 THE GREAT
'

VIDEO RACE
S
CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS

I-
=
0A9111i1:; es. \
_1i2tcc {

After thirteen years of video recording, )VC and Sony are

still locked in a standards battle that shows no sign of
subsiding. Barry Fox comments on the state of play.
The VI IS system. unveiled in Japan standard. JVC's negotiator Shizuo announced Super VI IS (with a
in 1976. changed the course of history Takano played a clever game by European version following the year
by offering two hours of recording licensing the format to anyone who after). This improved picture quality,
time from a cassette which at the time wanted it. whereas Akio Morita kept but at the cost of full compatibility.
looked astonishingly small. a tighter grip on the technology. S -VHS uses a signal coding system
Sony had offered the Beta system a There are now over 230 mil lion VHS which is a halfway house between
year earlier, but it could manage only recorders in use around the world. component coding (as used by
one hour. At the time. Akio Morita, The VI IS cassette was clearly too professional N II and Betacam
Sony's charismatic boss. argued that large to be used in a camcorder which systems) and composite coding (as
because most television programmes met the industry's target size-a used for broadcast television,
ran for less than an hour. two-hour Super 8 home movie film camera. In U-Matic and domestic video
recording time was not important. March 1983. 122 companies from all recorders. such as standard VHS).
Later, of course. Sony extended Beta around the world agreed on a The S -VI IS recorder records a
playing time and J VC's parent. standard for 8111111 video, based on a composite' S' signal but puts out a
Matsushita. doubled VHS recording much smaller cassette with longer Y/C signal. In this the luma (Y) and
time to four hours by halving tape playing time. chroma (C) are kept separate (hence
speed. All these pioneering 'S'). But the chroma is a composite
developments were in the NTSC VHS family mix of the two colour difference
format for the US and Japan. The VI IS family was originally party signals: and t his composite mix is
The PAI. versions of VI IS and to the agreement, but opted out in either in PAL/SECAM or NTSC
Beta were launched in Europe in the favour of miniaturizing the VI IS format, depending on the country
spring of 1978. Their technical cassette. The compatible C, and local television line standard.
parameters steered a middle course Compact. cassette was announced in By keeping the Y and C signals
between the extreme playing times 1982. Sony went ahead with Video 8 separate, there is less risk of colour
offered in NTSC format. in Europe in 1985. The camcorder interference and picture degradation.
Beta pushed the boundaries of tape market is now roughly split 50/50 But the benefit is only seen when
and head technology to offer a high between VHS and Video 8. tapes that are replayed through a
writing speed (5.0mis) from narrow VI IS picture quality was improved television set with an S terminal,
tracks (33 microns) and low tape by the HO (high -quality) system. which also keeps the Yand Csignals
speed (I.87m's): VHS played safer actually a clutch of minor separate.
with a lower writing speed (4.85m/s), modifications to the recording S -VHS picture quality is also
wider tracks (49 microns) and higher format. These preserved improved because the luma carrier is
tape speed (2.34cm/s). As a result, compatibility with pre -HO VHS, and higher above the chroma, so that
provided the tape was of good for this very reason could offer only there can be wider FM deviation with
quality. Beta gave better pictures relatively minor improvements in
than VHS. But purely for commercial resolution.
reasons VI IS became the de facto In 1987. JVC bit the bullet and Above: S -VHS VCR with stereo sound

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 33

 less chance of mutual interference. currently of most interest to serious and metal evaporated for 1-11-8. This
For Europe. the S -VHS chroma home -movie buffs who uses S -V IS I is the first use of ME tape for video.
frequency remains the same as camcorders to shoot tapes of high As with S-VHS, there is limited
standard VI IS (627k1 Iz) but the luma enough quality to sustain multi - compatibility. Hi -8 recordings will
spreads over 1.6N Hz (between generation copy editing. Although not play back on standard Video 8
5.4MHzand 7M1 1z) instead of IN Hz broadcasters and professional users hardware.
(between 3.8MHzand 4.8M Hz) for like S -VHS picture quality, they are
standard VHS. This lifts resolution to unhappy with the sound. Being
over 400 li nes, compared with 250 analogue, it cannot withstand the
Sound
CONSUMER lines or less for standard VHS. three ge nerat ions of copying which Although there is little to choose
ELECTRONICS The debit is that, although an they regard as the minimum for between S -VHS and I Ii -8 picture
S -VHS recorder will play hack either editing. The same problem arises if quality, both the 8mm formats offer
standard or S recordings, a standard attempts are made to record time - one very important advantage which
VI IS deck will not play hack S -V l IS code pulses on the S -VHS will attract professional users.
recordings. This means that the soundtrack. Although the option is not
software industry must embark on implemented on the first Hi -8
double inventory duplication and camcorder, there is room for a burst
Hi -8 of PCM sound at the end of each
stocking if it is to service S -VHS deck
owners. So far. the software Rising to the S-VHS challenge. Sony helical video tack. This is quite
companies have not thought that the developed an improved high -hand separate from the picture signal and
version of Video 8; Hi -8 was thus can be independently dubbed.
population of S -VHS decks warrant
this. In chicken and egg fashion, the launched in Europe at the end of So far. VHS and Super VHS have
lack of software deters people from August. Like S -V I IS. Hi -8 raises the been able to offer only analogue
paying £ 1000 for an S -VI IS deck. frequency of the lama carrier and sound; mid -fi linear audio from edge
widens the FM deviation from tracks and high -quality FM stereo
What looks like a useful selling
feature, the routine incorporation of I.2MI (zto2MHz. As with S -VHS. which is depth -multiplexed with the
a Nicam stereo sound decoder in
the YC signals are kept separate for picture signal. There are two possible
S -V1 IS decks, has also failed to
feeding to an S terminal television ways of recording PCM sound along
set. And, like S -VHS, resolution is with the VI IS picture signal. But each
attract customers. This is quite simply
because the BBC took a financial
better than 4111) lines. is a compromise.
But whereas S -VI IS still relies on One option is to bury the PCM in a
decision to delay the start of Nicam
ferric oxide tape (albeit of higher triple -depth multiplex recording
broadcasting until 1991. And
although Channel 4. Thames. LWT coercivity than standard VHS oxide) sandwich. along with the video and
and Yorkshire TV all officially began
the 8mm formats have moved on and FM analogue stereo. The other is to
up the coercivity scale to pure metal: sacrifice the linear tracks down the
Nicam broadcasting on September I I
this year. neither they nor the IBA metal powder for standard Video 8 edge of the tape and switch the video
did anything- not even a press heads to record bursts of PCM in the
conference was held-to tell the tape area thereby released.
Hi -8: Sony's first machine
trade, press and public about it. The multiplexed approach locks
The result is that S -V I IS is S -VHS: Panasonic's NV-MS50 camcorder
the sound and \ ision signals together.
thereby restricting dubbing;
sacrificing the linear tracks
compromises contpatibility.
"We are still studying the opt ions"
says J VC's head office in Japan.
"Whatever system is adopted.
compatibility is our major concern.
DUAL .,
Although past history shows that
a:
compatibility is not a big issue for
broadcasters, for domestic users
compatibility is the major concern. It
has always been our policy to
videoHi8
preserve compatibility.-
Fine words. But when the need
arose. J VC was prepared to
compromise compatibility with
S -VI IS. The big surprise, and lost
opportunity. was that PCM sound
was not built into the S -VI (S format
at the time of its launch. While JVC
was ditching picture compatibility
between new recordings and old
machines. thecompany should surely
have gone the whole hog and ditched
Panasonic audio compatibility too. Behind the
scenes. Panasonic advised this, but
!NSW
was over -ruled.
7.4VI.ISffl This may prove to have been a
1 serious tactical error by JVC and the
.:.
rest of VHS family. It gives Sony and
1

.~mg, Hi -8a leadingedge with their target

market of what the advertising
industry has quaintly christened
"Prosumers".

34
ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1
SURROUNDED
BY SOUND CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS

The latest sound surround systems can stimulate the parts of

the soundfield that others can't reach, says Peter Dolman
Successfully implementing surround - binaural detection, based on relative
sound techniques can make listening values of arrival time, the ensuing
more enjoyable by adding acoustic phase relationships and intensity
detail to give a more concise levels. These provide directional
perceived sound. Naturally occurring cues. identifying on which side of the
directional cues, abundant in real life head the stimulus is located. Yet.
-for example ambience from wave given these specifics. unambiguous
retlect ions in a concert hall-can localisation in the absence of
merely be inferred by conventional supplementary information is not
twin channel arrangements. Spatial readily achieved (see Fig. I ).
techniques give the creati\ e If a sound source. X, radiates a
association of imagery outside the tone which impinges on the ears
listener's normal field of 1 ision; by according to the criteria so far
using stimuli which actin ate natural discussed, the ambiguity may be
human responses, sensations from represented by constructing a
the subtle to the fantastic can be hyperbola. focussed at the ear, such
invoked. that the ratio d l :d2 remains constant,
The surround sound system was irrespective of where X is on that
conceiledinthe I970s for the film hyperbola.
industry. Known as Dolby Stereo it Yet is is possible to localise
accurately in terms of azimuth and P
has up to six audio channels. With the
more recent licenced Dolby decoders elevation, without supplementary
for domestic use. it is possible to visual or reYerberant information.
emulate the overall cinematic One method is interpreting
experience in the home. successive measurements taken ti
The use of surround sound in the during intuitive movements of the
cinema and home involves head. But localisation is also possible

,
1
appreciating the effect of interplay without head movement. Relative
IOW
between visual and aural stimuli: thus wave composition corresponding to
such a system differs considerably to the actual source location is a
that of a sound image only system. function of multiple delay paths set
An isolated aural stimulus will not up by the outer ear. Although this
he perceived unless that stimulus is
adequately sustained for about I O to
will set up complex wave patterns in
each ear, it has been shown t hat lf ,
, `-
20ms. This gives the possibility of precise localisation is possible with
concealing distortion by taking steps one ear only. implying the option of ' '_ 1-
to ensure that that duration of such comparison to some reference data. With Dolby Stereo, you could have this
noise is below this threshold. The Where head movement is character in your sitting room, should
principle is exploited in detecting and instinctively used to localise. tones that thought appeal to you. The system
controlling optical clash referred to exhibitingsloll sweeps in terms of of surround sound is used in the Warner
later. amplitude or frequency equate to a Brothers' BATMAN film.
confusing array' of readings. This
Rhythm met hod helps explain why emergency vehicle
At any instant, attention is directed sirens are more difficult to pinpoint
to a relatively small portion of than the old-fashioned two -horn or
auditory space. With two or more fire hell.
sounds in different spatial locations. Neurophysically. a functional
they are perceived (in the absence of division of the auditory pathway
visual confirmation) as eit her exists, such that localisation and
separate. attention stepping from one identification subsystems provide
to the other. or spatially related. separate analysis of the dimensional
depending on the extent to which the and tonal qualities of the perceived
sounds exhibit any recognised soundfield. The selective attention to Fig.1. Generation of a pure tone
common ground such as rhythm such interrelated elements in anywhere on the hyperbola
content. physiological terms has a counterpart produces similar relative binaural
Whatever the perceived image. its in the treatment of audio signals in a valves of intensity, arrival time and
localisation is believed to involve surround system. phase.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 35

 A phenomenon which can he perceived hulk of the attendant In the 35mm Dolby Stereo format,
exploited is the Precedence Effect. If sound elements. matrixed LCRS (left, centre, right,
a click is emitted simultaneously by surround) audio signal components
two matching, well -spaced Walt Disney are conveyed by two variable area
loudspeakers. an observer will For several decades multichannel optical tracks. This is easier to
perceive the closest speaker to be the audio techniques have assigned manufacture than a magnetic
r. sound source. The crucial factor is the dimensional qualities to cinema medium. In operation, the optical
relative arrival time of like soundtracks. As far hack as the early system proves to be the most robust
components. Providing there is a 1940s. cinema -goers experienced choice- its magnet ic counterpart
difference of several milliseconds. stereophonic presentations with may suffer from soundtrack flaking,
CONSUMER the subsequent source can he louder
ELECTRONICS Disney's classic animation Fantasia, ageing and replay head wear.
than the prior source, yet the second which used an audio effect known as A parameter of the optical system
click will not be perceived. Fantasound. With widescreen film which must he considered is its
Work by Haas in 1951 suggests that developed in the I950s came the need behaviour when handling material
the delayed signal is not merely for a more explicitly expressed sound with a wide dynamic range. Unlike
suppressed. In an experiment with
speech, the level of the prior signal is
adjusted to lie below the intelligibility
field which reinforces the on -screen
action, or perhaps generates on or
off-screen directional cues. Of the
-
magnetic tape, which saturates
gently. optical clips hard the result
is called optical clash.
threshold, while the relatively various multichannel soundtrack Three stereo DME (dialogue,
delayed signal source is set to exceed concepts to appear during the 1950s music, effects) stems represent the
this level. The result is that
intelligible speech is observed
apparently sourced by the nearer
- and 1960s it is the 70mm (six track)
and 35mm (two track) wide-screen
formats which have prevailed. By the
premixed common source material
from which the mix down to 35111111
and up to 70mm is derived. In view of
loudspeaker. It seems probable that late 1970s the name Dolby had different characteristics of the two
this highly specific mechanism has become synonymous with the issue of recording mediums, it is vital that
evolved to help counteract everyday cinema surround -sound, and more signal levels he carefully controlled if
perceptual interference, for example than 2000 titles have been produced multiple release is envisaged. To
misleading directional cues from bearing the Dolby Stereo logo. help, an optical process monitoring
strong sound reflections. The large -screen 70ntm format function is used, which the recording
When an aural stimulus is carries six discrete magnetic audio engineer can select to simulate the
detected, not only is tonal character tracks of 18k Hz bandwidth. Before response of the 35mm optical format.
and location expressed. but so too is a Dolby, these tracks drove an array of In the optical process. frequency
measure of itssize. If one listens to a five loudspeakers behind an response is restricted to 2511z to
distant barely audible tone of around acoustically transparent cinema 13k I Iz and a clash simulator provides
1 k I-Iz. the subjective size of the screen, plus a sixth driving an array of an aural approximation of the effect
emit ting surface seems to correspond surround loudspeakers around the of exceeding 100% modulation.
to a few square centimetres, in sharp sides and rear of the theatre. The Interpreting perceptual latency of
focus: as intensity increases the image assignment of these channels has auditory detection indicates that
appears to enlarge. If the frequency altered slightly since the introduction distortion which occurs for less than
of the tone is reduced, the image of Dolby Stereo, giving the cinema - IOms will not be perceived: thus twin
expands further still, while its border goer a visceral and dynamic clash indicators are used. one which
becomes less clearly defined. experience by a sub -woofer channel responds to a clash duration of less
Interpreting t his suggests that such (known as Baby Boom) and Split - than 10nts, the second to indicate a
ambient variability in a reproduced Surround separation of the surround clash of greater than I11Ims.
I

soundfield may he controlled by effect. Both enhancements are

careful definition of signal derived by filtering information from Matrix monitoring
composition and processing. A channels two and four. The DME stems comprise LCRS
distant feel can thus he imparted to The 70hnnt system is principally for signals which are mat rixed on a two -
selected regions of the spatial image premier releases and can be shown track Lt-Rt (left total, right total)
and to the corresponding radiators. only in suitably equipped theatres. printing master. This will he
In film and television, account is Due to its discrete multichannel transferred I: I to an optical negative
taken of the need for correlation form, it is impractical to incorporate for generating 35mm stereo optical
between the visual image and the it in a domestic set-up. prints: this mix is in Dolby Stereo
material for home video release or
Fig.2. The 4:2:4 matrix monitoring principle. stereo television transmission.
To ensure the dynamics of the
Stem source I.t-Rt pair are technically and
adjustments aest het ically appropriate to
reproduce in various listening
situations. the film mix is monitored
Lt using the 4:2:4 technique. The L('RS
To 3Smm print input signal is matrix encoded
In master recording
e To 70mm
J process according to established I)olhy M P
magnetic
recording (N otion Picture) coefficients.
process Intermediate Lt-Rt signals are
Viewing generated and these feed directly to a
screen;
MP matrix decoder, the output of
fi which is monitored during the record
L- It Monitoring process (see Fig. 21.
[- area a- This back to back configuration
R - produces an effective teed hack loop
which takes account of the combined
action of the encode/decode

36 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

arrangement. Although the final mix arrangements. as shown in Fig. 3h. the psychological effect of increasing
will produce the desired spatially To complement this, the remaining the perceived picture size.
defined soundfield when reproduced channel provides a broadly Compared with quadrophonic
by an LCRS surround decoding distributed rear or surround sound systems, the economics of owning a
system. measures are taken to ensure contributions. This single channel Dolby Surround System are more
good results in less sophisticated does not create a point source behind palatable: there is no requirement for
systems. Using 4:2:4 monitoring.
mixers can ensure that stereo (Lt,Rt)
and mono (Lt +Rt) compatibility
the listener, but this should not be
considered to he a limitation
indeed, such sounds can cause
- dedicated transcription equipment-
the stereo signal source will, by
definition produce the Lt-Rt signal -
targets are not compromised by extra disquieting unconformity. pair necessary to drive the 2:4
processing. However. atmospheres (such as surround decoder, providing Dolby CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS
In most cases, two -channel stereo applause. distant sounds, thunder Stereo encoding was used originally.
reproduction is enhanced due to the and ambience) all create the feeling This applies to many film releases
production of a diffuse out -of -phase of being in the action without the already available from video
phantom surround image when an need for extreme precision. Acoustic libraries, frequently with both linear
effect is panned from front to back. detail such as this can be ideally and hi-fi sound tracks encoded.
Mono compatibility problems will be attained by a single -channel The same facilities arc available on
resolved during four channel multispeaker array at the sides and suitably encoded CDV (compact disc
monitoring, the required in -phase rear of the listener. video), where full l6bit digital audio
components being reproduced as a quality will translate to the LCRS
hard centre. Out -of -phase material Domestic theatre channels, accompanying the off-disc
appears as a hard surround. The television industry is poised to visual presentation with a
The use of the 4:2:4 system lets deliver what it calls home theatre, correspondingly explicit high-fidelity
creative judgement. anticipating the including large CRTs. improved soundfield. Whenever a Dolby
combined action of the encode/ aspect ratio. l(M)in LCD projection Stereo release is televised. decoding
decode process, he made with systems and high -definition flicker - is made easier, providing the receiver
confidence. Such monitoring is free displays. complemented by high can receive stereo broadcasts. Many
essential as, unlike a quadrophonic quality audio. surround television presentations are
system, t his form of surround sound The technology behind Dolby broadcast and there are more than
must confirm and reinforce the visual Stereo aural cinema presentations 3 00000t)domestic Dolby Surround
stimulus. can provide the same spatial decoders in use worldwide.
resolution in the home. Termed By careful choice of encoding
Dolby Surround, the system keeps coefficients, the optimum degree of
Putting the the capabilities of Dolby Stereo decoding compatibility may be
without the standardisation of achieved (see Fig.4). The Lt-Rt
phantom in its specialist reproduction in the cinema. distribution signals contain the
place... Providing an ultra -large television
display is not considered to be
original aspects of the soundfield so
that compatibility is maintained
In adomesetic audio set-up. stereo imperative. In many cases, the size of should two -channel stereo, or mono
has become synonymous with two the decoded sound image will far reproduction be desired.
loudspeakers, while in theory a larger exceed that of the visual counterpart, The encoder accepts the four input
number of channels could he used. In an effect common in real life. signals. LCRS. and subsequently
conventional stereo, common Subjective tests indicate that an
elements produced by the two expansive and spatial soundfield has continued on page 40
loudspeakers generate phantom
images. the perceived locations of Fig.3. Dialogue anchorage using a central speaker stops listener disorientation.
which will be determined by the
relative proportions of like
L R
components contributed by each
^
`',!
l
channel. and by the position of the p pb Display screen
listener relative to the speakers (see 4í
Fig. 3a). To convey a central \\`¡,
phantom image P to an observer
central to the soundfield, as at (a).
\I I ; b

necessitates the perception of a.

correlated signal components of 1 la)
equal value. Although this may be
achieved in a well designed listening Fig.4. Conceptual Dolby stereo or surround encoder.
room, it is unlikely to be practical in
any audio-visual environment, due to
Lt
the requirement for a wide range of Adder Adder
seating positions. Thus a listener off-
axis, such as at (h) will observe a +90°
disconcerting error in the position of
the sound image relative to the visual
presentation (ph). This causes
-3dB -3dB BPF - Modified
Dalby-B
encoder
Phase
shift Outputs

disorientation. Inputs -90°

For most visual presentations, the
main dialogue is central. Thus the Adder Adder
third audio channel of the MP matrix
conveys central image information,
anchoring the on -screen dialogue and s

permitting off-axisseating

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 37

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 continued from page 37 deliver hand -limited noise bursts. becoming favoured.
centred on l kHz, in an ordered
generates composites Lt and Rt. The sequence, sustained for around two Sensory experience
L and R input channels are carried by seconds per channel. In emulating a sensory experience,
the Lt-Rt pair without alteration. The Power output stage opt ions vary where visual and aural stimuli can be
C input is first reduced by 3dB to from one decoder to another. perceived to correlate naturally, the
maintain constant acoustic power, Variousconfigurat ions are possible generation of aspatial soundfield
then divided equally into Lt and Rt. including the use of separate. invols es the development of a record/
A correct phantom centre will be dedicated four -channel power replay system that can fulfil exacting
CONSUMER reproduced if the two channels are amplifiers, use of an existing stereo technical demands in terms of
ELECTRONICS not decoded as t he two centre signal system to handle left and right definition, stability and capability by
elements are balanced and in phase. channels and self -powered active appropriate signal processing.
The S input signal is similarly loudspeakers for the surrounds. The characteristics of the Dolby
reduced by 3dB and undergoes band- Surround channel delay time may MP matrix have proved to be
pass filtering and a modified form of he fixed at 20ms, but some units effective in using twin channel
Dolby -B encoding. Plus and minus permit adaptation for many domestic format to achieve this: once exclusive
90` phase shifting is then applied to settings by providing adjustment to the cinema, the development of
create a 180° phase relationship from 15 to 30ms. This lets the the Dolby Surround and Pro Logic
between the components which are perception of leakage in the decoder provides the means to
added to the Lt and Rt channels. surrounds he minimised by trimming extract the dimensional properties of
Separation is maintained between to provide optimum effectiveness of encoded software in the home.
the L and R signals as they remain the Precedence Effect for a given With the arrival of four -channel
independent throughout the layout. sound processors with a host of
encoding process. Isolation between Many decoders have non - control or treatment options, specific
the C and S channels will also he correlative spatial effect modes as to listening material. as well as Dolby
maintained providing the amplitude well as Dolby Surrouind or Pro Surround or Pro Logic decoding, the
and phase characteristics of the Rt-Lt Logic, thereby using multichannel discrete components of domestic
transmission channels are accurately capability for non -encoded source stereo and I lome Theatre equipment
balanced. signals. may well evolve into an integrated
Installing a typical unit involves Dolby Surround or Pro Logic audio-visual entertainment system.
adjusting for optimum S/N decoding can he implemented by
performance. with a minimum of analogue or digital techniques:
dialogue leakage in the left and right
Surround decoder
frequently a combination of the two Figure 5 shows the principle of
channels. by metered input level and will he encountered. For example, operation. The Lt and Rt signals pass
balance presetting. Subjective the customer IC discussed earlier unmodified (except for level and
equalisation of loudspeaker outputs uses analogue processing to achieve channel balance correction) to
is made easier by incorporating a adaptive mat rixirig. while in the appear as L output and R output. As
calibrating generator. gated to surround channel a digital delay is Lt and Rt carry the centre signal

TAKING PRECEDENCE

The ability of the surround channel to after the arrival of aural stimuli in the impose a restriction, this measure
effectively project its sonic image into field of view. So any common equates to an appropriate form of
the theatre or lounge does not rely on crosstalk element will he perceived as spectral modification conducive to
perfect signal isolation. N any signals non-existent. Loudspeaker the material.
assigned to the surround track convey placement relative to the seating The spectrum of distant
atmospheres which realistically arrangement isa factor which must he atmosphere and ambience tends to
would be expected to manifest considered carefully for this favour the mid to low audio
themselves both in and out of the technique to be effective. frequencies- high -frequency
field of vision (such as rain, wind and Small signal processing errors will elements. being most easily impaired
thunder). This does not mean that arise in the complex path which by local propagation conditions, are
crosstalk between front and rear conveys the original audio seldom prevalent. Those which are
channels can be permitted to exist production to the replay perceived tend to define point
unimpeded: indeed it is the environment: phase disturbances sources. Therefore the absence of
impingement of inappropriate aural become increasingly significant at high -frequency components in the
stimuli from outside the viewer's higher frequencies and, when these surrounds imparts a distant quality.
established area of apprehension occur in the absence of any impairing one's ability to localise and
which has the greatest potential for countermeasure, they give rise to reflecting a real -life phenomenon.
detracting from the presentation. unacceptable activity in the surround The spatial uniformity achieved
To mitigate this. a signal channel. For example, the result of a also allows for a good deal of
processing technique is used which given azimuth error between the Lt flexibility in arranging seating
elegantly exploits the Precedence and Rt channels will be to produce positions relative to the surround
Effect. This incorporates a delay frequency -dependent centre -channel loudspeakers: this particularly
(fixed or adjustable) in the surround leakage effects, making separation benefits individuals near the
causes the surround signal -
channel only, the action of which particularly difficult at higher
frequencies. To overcome the
speakers. The third method used to
optimise surround channel
-
including the unwanted leakage
effect described to impinge on the
ear of the observer some 15 to 30ms
problem. a limited bandwidth of
7k Hz is used for the surround
channel; while this might appear to
performance is a dedicated noise
reduction technique.

40
ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990
element, the sound mix will convey a
correct perspective of the stereo Optional passive centre signal -see text
soundstage by phantom imaging. L.R
However, there is an option of C

Optional
realising the centre channel in centre
Lt Master
discrete form: thus a summing stage nput balance Left
and level level
combines the in -phase components to Rt
control
R
control
Right
Surround
produce an optional centre channel S
output. Inputs Modified Outputs
The surround signal is detected by L -R Delay 7kHz LPF. Dolby -B
the Lt-Rt difference amplifier that decoder
passes through a 7k Hz low-pass filter,
delay line and modified Dolby -B
Fig.5. Passive surround decoder.
decoder to reduce centre channel
crosstalk. A proportion of the
surround signal will appear at the
terminals of the left and right
-».-Input balance Gate C
loudspeakers. but its antiphase and level Pro
Rt
relationship will tend to diffuse the control logic
image generated. adaptive Master Centre
matrix Left
In practice, the LCR loudspeakers level
Right
Gate control
will be physically grouped, which has -Surround
the beneficial effect of compressing a Inputs Steered
lot of spatial detail across the field of Modified
outputs
Noise
view, and spreading out the effect of Dolby- B
sequencer decoder
the surrounds to the rear.
In the LRS passive decoder, a high
degree of separation is achieved; a
Fig.6. Dolby Pro -Logic decoder.
centre -only signal will produce equal
left and right outputs. defining
phantom central image. similar to
that ideally attained in a carefully reduction in the amount of -IF I direct descendant of the active
arranged listening room with two - leakage permeated in the surround cinema processor. the Dolby Pro -
channel stereo. Left or right only will channel (particularly effective on Logic surround decoder has become
produce an output from the sibilants) because the LCR channels available.
appropriate loudspeaker, plus a are not previously encoded. The The k chnique for recovering
measurable contribution 3dB down degree of B -type encoding has been detailed sound placement is
from the surrounds. The listener's relaxed from It) to 5c1 B to prevent the directional enhancement (see Fig. 6).
awareness of this unwanted crosstalk encoded surround signal components In this, the Lt-Rt signals are applied
is far less than implied here. from conspicuously affecting the to an adaptive matrix which
Surround -only signals generate a nature of the left and right channel continually analyses the incoming
unified surround output. plus an out signals. soundfield information in terms of
of phase left/right contribution, The perceived front -to -back magnitude and associated direction
diffused according to the acoustic separation is subjectively improved of dominant signal components. This
properties of he environment. This
t by implementing techniques based on leads to the production of a steering
arrangement is the preferred one for the Precedence Effect and spectral vector to control the variable matrix
passive type domestic decoders. but it modification. which delivers appropriately
does not provide anchorage of on- The passive or Dolby Surround v+eighted LCRS drive signals at its
screen dialogue nor is it conducive to decoder combines the circuit output.
off-axis seating arrangements. If simplicity with the ability to produce Comparing Fig. 6 with Fig. 5 shows
required, the centre channel drive in an impressive spatial soundfield. This that the adaptive maxtrix has
Fig.5 can be implemented, but at the makes its inclusion in domestic stereo replaced the L- R and L+ R stages of
expense of L/R separation. Because video systems an attractive the passive variety.
the centre channel is obtained by proposition, implemented either asa Prominent signal components in
summing Lt and Rt, a solitary L or R stand-alone unit or by means of the mix contribute vital directional
source signal will generate a additional circuitry inside associated cues to the reproduced soundfield.
corresponding centre channel output audio/visual products. Their detection lets the adaptive
which will have the effect of reducing A limitation of the passive decoder matrix assign a quality of discreteness
the perceived width of the sound is the restricted soundstage width by appropriate soundtrack
stage. across the observer's field of vision if separation and allocation.
Figure 4 shows that , prior to a centre channel loudspeaker is used Undesirable adjacent -channel
mat rixing. the surround channel S is for dialogue anchorage. In large - leakage in the passive decoder will he
treated by a modified form of Dolby - screen cinema applications, this most apparent when it is presented
B encoding: following dematrixing would result in an imprecise with a solitary point source signal, in
the signal undergoes a correlation of aural and visual an otherwise quiet soundfield.
complementary process in the stimuli, and impose seating Although this is a somewhat extreme
surround decoder. The purpose of limitations. Thus cinema processors situation. it is a condition in which the
this is twofold. have an active version of the outcome of directional enhancement
First, the S/N performance of the surround decoder, which achieves in the Dolby Pro-Logic decoder is
surround channel is improved while improved channel separation, most effective.
the desired frequency response is provides a discrete centre channel At the other extreme. a soundfield
maintained. Secondly. the decoding and maintains a uniform and composed of signals with similar
action brings about a dynamic expansive soundfield. Recently a intensities such as average loudness

41
January 199(1 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD
 will not convey directional cues to dominant signal on the spatial in the soundfield. Thus it can be seen
any great extent. and therefore only a redistribution of non -dominant
modest degree of directional that the occurrence of a dominant
components. sound will cause non -dominant
enhancement is appropriate. The spatial parameters of the
Thus, the amount of directional components in the other channels to
dominant signal can he expressed as suffer amplitude modulation
enhancement must be proficiently the encoded angle with a measure of
and automatically adjusted to according to its duration. The result is
r its relative magnitude of dominance. that of audible pumping and spatial
provide a rapid response on an Signal contributions from the
'G/=L-° instantaneous basis when processing instability due to spontaneous and
independent orthogonal pair can insular level variations across the
CONSUMER signals which represent two or more assign any given spatial location
ELECTRONICS encoded positions, that is where the soundfield.
within 360°. As an alternative to gain riding,
signal peaks are sufficiently
prominent to be perceived as Dolby Pro Logic decoders use a
Gain riding cancellation concept which maintains
occupying separate spatial locations. Steering is facilitated by four control a constant signal power for all
This involves time division voltages, under the direction of the
multiplexing of the steering action. coniponents of the soundtrack.
dominance vector. It is their relative irrespective of the degree of
It also provides a suitable combination which manipulates the
reduction of the degree of directional directional enhancement applied.
adaptive matrix, producing discrete Figure 8 introduces a means of
enhancement when the relative signal L, C. R and S outputs. A simple
dominances of the soundfield fall eliminating undesirable centre
method of regulating the separation channel leakage in the left output.
below a threshold where substantial process uses gain riding, favoured by
decoder action would he This is achieved by blending a
some SQ decoding systems of the controlled proportion of inverted Rt
inappropriate, resulting in an audibly quadrophonic era. The concept is
'nervous' spatial image. signal into the left channel. The
shown in Fig. 7. equal, ant iphase centre signal
Detection of soundtrack In this system. undesirable
dominance is achieved by taking the components will thus cancel,
crosstalk is reduced by sympathetic eliminating dialogue leakage.
logarithm of orthogonally opposed gain control. Consider the example of
signals and subtracting one from the It will be apparent that the left
an isolated centre signal where channel now carries an inverted right
other. This is analogous to taking the Lt = Rt. To counter the unwanted
ratio of the signal levels ignoring signal element. This form of spatial
contributions of the left and right redistribution is the unavoidable
absolute values, a process which outputs. the control stage responds
closely mirrors the way loudness is result of such cross -mixing. but the
by implementing reciprocal VCA effect is not detrimental to system
perceived in real life. The resultant action. In principle, it is possible to
control voltages facilitate steering of performance. Steering has been
achieve complete separation in a 3611° achieved without compromising the
the adaptive matrix to provide that
soundfield resolving the four

-
degree of LCRS separation necessary stability of the overall power levels
channels in their discrete form. associated with the reproduced
to prevent audible crosstalk, while In reality, dominant and non -
exploiting the masking effect of the soundfield.
dominant signals will occupy a spread This example defines conditions of
a maximum difference in the signal
levels being handled by the left and
L.R centre channels, thus corresponding
Centre
V
C A to maximum steering action and
consequent spatial redistribution. In
It 1 most cases, the comparative range of
V C A
Left. levels is not likely to be as great. As
Control the levels in the soundfield become
nrcuitr similar. each begins to mask the
Rt cross -talk of the other, a natural form
Right
VCA of crosstalk concealment. requiring
less in terms of directional

L -R
_L- VCA
enhancement for proper localisation,
and hence reducing redistribution of
Inputs the non -dominant signal
Outputs
components.
Fig.7. Gain riding concept In the adaptive matrix block
diagram in Fig.9 two main paths are
present: a relatively straightforward
Left signal path involving a minimum of
Adder
processing: and a complex path which
conditions and analyses the input
signals for control purposes.
In the control path. the Lt-Rt
Control signals are hand-pass filtered to
ciruitr VCA remove LFcomponents which do not
provide directional information, and
to attenuate F(Fsignals which may
contain uncertain phase or amplitude
characteristics.
L -R The Lt-Rt signals are converted to
their cardinal elements and, after
Fig.8. Signal cancellation concept.

42
ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990
 7

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 full -wave rectification, orthogonal As digital audio can achieve

.
pairs are log. converted and their
difference taken. Signals at this point
channel separation of about 90dB, it
is instructive to consider the
Taking bass in small
are bipolar in nature: for example.
when the L/R voltage changes in a
significance of this in terms of the doses
surround system. With a transmission
positive direction, dominance is to lath over which multilingual signals
the left and a negative shift indicates are to be carried. a maximum degree desirable to assign certain portions of
dominance to the right. No voltage of crosstalk rejection is clearly the reproduced audio spectrum to
shift is iiidicatie of zero dominance desirable because the signals are alternative speakers or locations.
CONSUMER along the L -R axis. unrelated. The impact of such an This can he achieved without
ELECTRONICS The control voltages are monitored effect will represent a considerable detriment. For example, it is
continuously to determine the value distraction. The MP matrix process improbable that the need will occur
of their relative dominances with does not handle incongruent for the surrounds to deliver isolated
respect to a pre -determined information, rat her it conveys sound heavy bass signals. Such information
threshold. Should either exceed this. elements which unite a defined will be distributed throughout the
the control circuit shifts to the fast soundfield. This is a ery different soundfield by the front channels.
operating mode. requirement. Also signals above 7k Hz are
The bipolar dominance Surround sound correlated to a attenuated. Thus small loudspeakers
information is converted to four visual presentation is intended to with a limited frequency range are
unipolar control voltages. These enwrap. drawing the individual into a considered suitable for surround
express soundtrack dominance as setting where the interplay of aural reproduction.
perceived by the individual. and are and visual stimuli can impart the Another popular arrangement lets
applied to a bank of VCA stages with original creative intentions of the a relatively small and inconspicuous
the input channels Lt-Rt. thus producer. It follows that crosstalk centre channel loudspeaker be used
generating eight sub -terms. These in
turn feed the tour -channel combining
network, accompanied by the input
the main signal of interest
subjectively this will minimise its
-
must. by definition, hear relation to by diverting the centre bass
component to the full -range left and
right speakers. Termed bass splitting.
Lt-Rt signal feeds, according to a perception. this isa feature included in all Pro
predetermined weighting factor: the Crosstalk -related displacement of Logic decoders. In surround and Pro
ten terms give rise to forty summed sonic location becomes less Logic systems tIre overall timbre of
components, the signs and perceptible between adjacent the selected lout speaker
magnitudes of which produce the loudspeakers when their spacing is arrangement shou ILI he discerned as
required LCRS outputs. featuring reduced: this corresponds to the uniform. For example, the centre
the appropriate degree of directional recommended arrangement in the speaker contribution must he
enhancement witlit lie optiliium non - home. Sound field resolution is such perceived to match those of t he left
dominant signal redistribution. that spatial definition is optimised and right to prevent undesirable
Since its introduction in 1987. the across the field of vision, with the variations in tonal character of a
Dolby Pro Logic decoder has gained LCR channels producing panned soundfield component.
favour with the videophile. The augmentation of the presentation.
recent deg elopment of a custom The critical surround channel is
integrated circuit, the I.A27711, which treated by additional psychoacoustie-
embodies the entire process of based processing, which confers
has facilitated a significant reduction improved separation, thus
in man uf act u ri rig costs, making maintaining the forward focussed
ownership of a decoder as attractive soundfield. Fig.9. Dolby Pro -Logic adaptive
in economic terms as it is sonically. For various reasons it may he matrix.

Lt
Rt
------ Left
Left/right dominance sense
Full wave)

-
BPF
rectifier
Inputs 1. Log
difference
amp
-,- Dual
time
constant
Polarity
splitter
E

ELL EcR
----
--+----
Centre
Full wave
rectifier
Threshold
switches
J ER

i- ERL ERR
4x
combining
networks
Right
Full wave Ecl EcR
L.R rectifier
1 Log
difference-
Dual
time
Polarity
splitter
jE»;"
Es- Est EsR
Surround
Full wave
amp
H constant
L -R
rec tifier v i
Front/rear dominance sense 8 x
Steered
V.C.A.
outputs

44
ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1
INSIDET' CK TO A

DOLBY S CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS

Dr Ray Dolby's name has been synonymous with audio tape

noise -reduction systems for nearly 20 years. The latest
version, Dolby S, pushes the performance of the analogue
audio cassette into the realm of CD.
Dolby S -type, like other Dolby reduction in record compression
systems. is a noise reduction circuit which occurs at frequencies above
for cassette machines which encodes higher -level signals when a fixed
tapes as they are recorded and hand alone is used. and at frequencies
decodes them on playback. It otters below higher -level signals when a
ItldB of noise reduction at low sliding band alone is used. The effect
frequencies. and 24dB at the higher of higher -level signals on lots -level
frequencies where most cassette signals is t hereby minimized within
noise lies. \ lorcover. cassette the noise reduction hand.
recordings encoded with Dolby S - Where the action minimizes the
type. but played back with Dolby effect of moderately high-level
B -type or no decoding. are signals within a noise reduction hand.
subjectively free of pumping effects. modulation control minimizes the
S-tx pc is based on Dolby SR. the effects of't cry high-level signals
professional Spectral Recording outside the NR bands on the bands
system introduced in I9K(,. Amung themselves. For example. without
the SR techniques used is the modulation control, the stronger a
combination of both fixed and sliding signal in the midrange. the further
hands. Although S -type has ratan), away from that signal a sliding high -
similarities with the professional frequency band wants to move, headroom and lower distortion. In
version. it has about half the thereby reducing the audible NR Dolby S -type anti -saturation is
complexity. effect. Modulation control prevents applied at low frequencies as well as
Complementary noise -reduction high-level signals above a certain high: unlike Dolby C-type. This helps
systems work by boosting low-level threshold from causing the sliding to reduce the low -frequency
signals during recording. t hen band to move any further than distortion which results from the low -
reducing them - along with added necessary. Therefore, in keeping frequency boost from cassette record
tape noise-during playback. I ligh- with the principle of least treatment. equalint ion.
level signals are not boosted, to modulation control helps to keep The cassette medium differs
prevent tape overload. To prevent low-level signals more consistently substantially from 15or Minis open
audible side effects such as noise compressed. reel tape recording. The spectral
modulation, the ideal NR system content ofthe noise is different, the
would apply constant gain wherever Staggered -action compression lo er cassette operating speed
there are no high-level signals during Dolhy S -type provides more t han minimizes print -through. and home
recording, even in the presence of 211413 of noise reduction at higher listening levels are typically lower
such signals elsewhere in the frequencies. Providing so much noise than studio monitoring levels.
spectrum. Dolby refers to this as the reduction by conventional techniques Because cassette tape noise is
principal of leaser treatment. Dolby would subject low-level signals to an concentrated at higher frequencies.
S -type adheres more closely to the unduly high compression ratio. and because of comparatively low
principle than Dolby B. Therefore. with Dolby S -type. print -through, with Dolby S -type
As a result. high-level signals have compression is provided by two only a single -stage, fixed NR hand at
little effect on low-level signals. staggered st ages ()peratiragat low frequencies is necessary By
.

which contributes to freedom from different signal levels with contrast. Dolby SR provides two
audible side effects and reduces comparatively gentle compression staggered stages of both fixed and
susceptibility to decoding errors. ratios. This technique was pioneered sliding hand low -frequency NR. At
in Dolby Cand refined in Dolby SR. higher frequencies, where Dolby S -
Sliding hand Spectral skewing and anti - type provides two staggered stages of
At higher frequencies where cassette saturation techniques are frequency - both fixed and sliding band N R.
noise predominates, Dolby S -type shaping networks which. in the case Dolby SR has three. This virtually
combines both fixed and sliding of spectral skewing desensitize the eliminates the possibility of audihle
hands: at low frequencies, where system to frequency response errors. noise modulation at listening levels.
noise is far less significant, a fixed and in the case of anti -saturation Therefore. although there are others,
'load" the tape more effectively. a major difference between Dolby
hand is used.
The system minimises the Anti -saturation provides increased SR and Dolby S -type is that the

45
January 1990 ELECTRONICS y1'ORI-D+ WIRELESS WORLD
 former requires ten active NR frequencies. Two stages of
elements and the latter only five. filtered, rectified, and averaged to
ant sat uration circuitry provide high
produce a smooth control signal. An
frequency attenuation at high -levels alternate path is provided to quickly
S -Type circuit operation to reduce tape overload.
Like all other Dolby noise reduction charge the control path under high-
An S -type encoder adapts its level transient conditions to suppress
systems, S -type is complementary, characteristics to the input signal in
that is signals are encoded before overshoots. Modulation control
such a way as to provide the
- being recorded, then decoded in a maximum amount of boost at all
signals are subtracted from the
control path to reduce the control
complementary manner during times, especially at frequencies which
CONSUMER playback. The following discussion signal and the resultant attenuation
are lower or higher than the
ELECTRONICS describes the operation of an under conditions where extra
dominant signal. The overshoot
encoder, but it should be noted that attenuation is not necessary. The
suppression (OS) circuits used are final signal is then fed to a nonlinear
an encoder can he switched to the also designed to allow maximum
decode mode in the same manner as control -law stage which provides the
boost from the compressor. Thus, the
an A -type. B -type, C-type, or SR
required attenuation versus control
least treatment is given to the signal
voltage characteristics.
processor. at all times, resulting in a very stable
As with C -type NR. an S -type output with little dynamic action.
encoder has two staggered-action Low-level stage. The low level stage is
When the signal is decoded, the
compressors, each having a passive active for signal levels from -5(1 to
maximum amount of noise reduction
main path which is summed with an -25dB. No low -frequency signal
is obtained in the presence of signals,
active side chain, and each of which processing is provided, but in all
ensuring low noise modulation and a
operates over a different signal level other respects it is quite similar to the
high degree of tolerance to errors in
range. The high-level stage has three high-level stage.
the transmission chain. Up to 24dB of
compressors ill its sidechain, which noise reduction at high frequencies
are known as the high -frequency Modulation control. Modulation
and 1011B at low frequencies is
fixed band (I-IF/FB), the high - control is used to prevent
provided.
frequency sliding hand (I IF/SB), and unnecessary modulation of the
the low -frequency fixed band (LT/ compressors in the presence of high-
ligh-level stage. The high-level stage le el signals. It is inactive at low
FR). The low-level stage hasa high - is active for signal levels in the range
frequency fixed band and a high - levels. The encoder output is fed to
from-25dB to Dolby level, and the input of the modulation control
frequency sliding hand. Fixed hands provides up to 12dB of boost at
are band limited to provide more circuit, where it is split into three
frequencies above 400Hz and 0dB of
I
frequency bands. The MCI signal
compression at frequencies below boost at frequencies below 200I-Iz.
dominant signals above 6k Hz, which goes through a 3k Hz high-pass filter
The LF/F13 is basically a passive to a full -wave rectifier, and is then fed
gives less signal modulation in the low-pass filter followed by a variable in opposition to the HF/SB control
encoder and less overall noise attenuator, with the amount of
modulation. The fixed and sliding signals. MC2 is created by smoothing
attenuation increasing with signal the MCI signal, using 2ms time
bands operate together in a technique level. The HF/FB is similar, although
known as act ion subt it u t ion constant. This signal is then applied
.
the variable attenuator follows a in opposition to the I IF/S13 overshoot
The encoder output is filtered and high-pass filter. The I IF SB isa
then fed back to the control paths of suppression signal. MC3 is low-pass
variable-frequency high-pass filter, filtered at 2(10 and -11101-Iz, full -wave
each compressor to control whose corner frequency rises with
compressor action using modulation rectified. and then fed in opposition
increasing signal level or frequency to the I-IF/FB control signals. The
control. (as in B and C -type processors). The
The low-frequency spectral LF/FB is controlled by MC 4, which
input of the sliding band is connected first passes through 200 and -11101-Iz
skewing network is at the encoder in such a way as to provide an output
input. while high -frequency high-pass filters and a full -wave
which is the sum of the fixed band rectifier.
attenuation is provided by two high - output and a signal which is the
frequency spectral skewing circuits difference of the HF/FB output and
which are distributed between the the input signal (action substitution).
low and high-level stages to reduce The control signals are derived
compression ratios at high Testbed for Dolby S:
front the compressor output. which is the Pioneer CT-91A

CT -91,
Rnr....r

ÚVüú 10

:
ry
.p..rv TjweueAG J.af 1

or'

d6
46
ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1
SATELLITE TELEVISION
BROADCASTING
1.

.11-..4
Confusion may be the epitaph for satellite broadcasting, CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS
reports Tom Ivall
When the neatly -packaged 60cm position, in a different frequency Astra. BSB, Olympus, TDF- and I

dishes for Astra reception appeared band. with different polarization. TV -SAT 2 spacecraft ).
in the shops one Wright have expected signal coding and scrambling/ At the time of writing fewer than
the sales of satellite television encryption method. To receive all the half are transmitting regular
receivers to take off rapidly. Being scrambled channels on the Astra and programmes. SES (the Astra owner-
fixed and having offset feeds. these BSB satellites people will have to buy operator) and BSB each intend to
antennas are simple and unobtrusive or rent three different descrambling launch an additional satellite in a
compared with the larger and often systems. matter of months. As already
steerable TVRO dishes needed for Add to this BSB's premature reported in this journal, there is likely
receiving the lower power comsat advertising of its Squarial antenna, its to he a glut of channels available to
transmissions. Prices for the total postponement of service launch Europe in a year or two. some 14(1,
extra equipment settled in the region because receivers with ITT chips (see and according to one expert: "there
of £3011 to £400, very much in line August 1988 issue. p.778) ssere not will he a lot of hardware up there
wit h other domestic electrical reads and press speculation about a doing nothing."
products such as hi-fi sets and possible merger between Sky The table shows the present
washing machines. Television and BSB, and it's not hard position. The Astra satellite operates
But the response from the British to understand why many viewers are at medium poser in the Fixed
public has been much slower than the adopting a wait -and -see policy. Satellite Service frequency allocation
equipment manufacturers and while the remainder operate at high
Nothing in space power in the DBS allocation resulting
programme providers had hoped for.
This cautious response from the from the WA RC 1977 plan. Astra
This is borne out by simply observing
public must be aggravating the signals have linear polarization and
the number of houses fitted with
dishes and unofficial estimates from
financial position of the satellite tv the otherscircular polarization. The
broadcasters. There is already a Sks TV transmissions from Astra are
industry sources. At the beginning of
199(1 there will probably be about
number of unused transponders in composite coded in PAL H hi le the
350,000 satellite tv receivers in UK orbit, representing idle capital WI ISTV (W.11. Smith) transmissions
investment. Beaming down on from the same spacecraft are being
homes, including the few tens of
thousands of TV RO systems already
Europe are 29 medium- and high - changed Irom PAL to D -MAC
installed before Astra transmissions
power transponders (carried by the component coding. Olympus- I .
started. TE F-1 ar d TV -SAT 2, al owned by
l

agencies of governments. have to

deliver si znals to Continental cable tv
Ifyou think distrihutbn systems as well as
dir: ctly to homes. They therefore use
Neighbours is bad, D2 -MAC component coding.
adapted k) the limited bandwidth
read on .. .
cable sys ems.
The reasons for this lack of Olympus- I is a European Space
enthusiasm. in a country otherwise so tf Agency multipurpose test satell.te
addicted to television viewing. are A BSB publicity picture showing
not far to seek. Satellite tv the original 25cm Squarial
programmes so far transmitted are of intended for manufacture in
lower quality and appeal than those the UK.14anufacturing
available at less expense from the ditficulti 3s have forced a
terrestrial broadcasters. Sky size increase to 40cm,
Television, described by one critic as with mar ufacture
-orbital garbage disposal", expects to to<ing place in
lose about £ 1211 million in its first Japan.
year. There is also much competition
from VC R films. And the current
high interest rates have reduced
disposable income.
The public is confused by the
technical situation. Many know that 1 ' .

the British Satellite Broadcasting

(BSB) satellite is due to come into
service in spring. This means that the
vies\ er will need additional
equipment to receive the
programmes, from a different orbital

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD 47

 with four different communications Originally t his I -I ughes spacecraft was
payloads for experimental projects. between BSB and the IBA. The IBA
intended to transmit four is responsible for the transmissions
One of these is specifically for DBS. programmes on three channels, using
It has two transponders, each with a and the technical quality of the
three of the six separate chains of received pictures. Officially it should
steerable beam giving the very high equipment in the payload and so not allow any reduction below the
EIRPof63dBWat beam centre. operating with full redundancy. Each
One Olympus transponder specified 59dBW mentioned above.
of the three transponders was to And it can prevent transmission
provides the European Channel, and provide an EIRPof61 tofr2dBW in
its beam gives a circular foot print because it owns and operates the
the centre of the UK coverage area uplink earth station at Chilworth,
CONSUMER centred on Europe. Among other and guarantee a specified minimum Hampshire.
ELECTRONICS transmissions this will broadcast BBC of 59dBW at the periphery. In practice the IBA would
programming every evening.
Originated by BBC Enterprises and probably be willing to allow the five
Problems at BSB
starting early in 1990. these simultaneous transmissions to go
But meanwhile the company has
programmes will be uplinked to ahead if BSB could demonstrate that
found itself in a beleaguered position. the received picture quality would he
Olympus from a 4 -metre The early start of Sky and WI ISTV
transportable earth station in adequate on half power. But at the
broadcasts has provided ready-made
London. time of writing production models of
competition. There have been the special BSB receivers have not
Initially the BBC transmissions will difficulties in financing the project
he test programmes assembled from emerged from the four licensed
(so far £424 million has been raised
existing sources, but Olympus should but as much again is still needed).
manufacturers and consequently the
eventually have its own company has not yet satisfied the
Delay in the production of special
programming, probably a mixture of IBA that the half-power pictures
BSB conditional -access receivers has
would he satisfactory.
entertainment, specialist material caused the launch of the service to he
and news. The general idea is to As the reduced -power BSB
postponed from autumn 1988 to
explore what can be achieved with transmissions would still have a
spring 1991). Not to mention all the
satellite broadcasting to very large higher El RP than those from Astra,
public embarrassment over the
and as the noise performance of
(European -wide) audiences on the mysterious Squarial - more of which
public sers ice principle. A BBC receivers is now extremely good (for
later.
European tv service has already been example, transistor noise figures as
Asa result BSB has decided that it low as I .6dB). it seems probable that
going out, since March 1989, on the wants to improve its position in the
Intelsat -VA Fl I comsat. all will he well. One possibility is that
market place by starting with a bang -
The second Olympus DBS BSB could transmit one programme
namely with five simultaneous on a transponder at full power (say
transponder is being used tora pre- programmes instead of three. These the Movie Channel) and the
operational broadcasting service by would he on channels 4, 8. 12. 16 and
Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI ). remaining tour programmes at half
211 in the DBS plan. But since the
Here the spacecraft's steerable power. In total radiated power this
total RF pokser available in the
antenna has an elliptical reflector to would he equivalent to each of the
spacecraft is limited by the solar
give optinium coverage of Italy. Its original three channels operating at
power supply and payload design.
boresight is kept pointing accurately full El RP.
this increase in the number of
at the required location in Italy by a BSB hopes to launch its second
channels would mean a reduction of
closed -loop positioning system satellite in a matter of months. If and
El RP by about 3dB (a halt) in each when Marcopolo-2 goes into orbit ,
working from a beacon signal channel.
transmitted from the ground. On - the five programmes can he
Such a reduction. however, is not
hoard processing achieves a pointing distributed between the doubled
permitted in the terms of the contract
accuracy of within (1.2°. number of transponders and so
Radiated powers. of course. broadcast on full power.
determine the size of receiving dishes
needed for a givenc:n ratio. With the
Fig. 1. Outline of the VideoCrypt
BSB satellite Marcopolo- there isI
scrambling system based on public
some uncertainty, at the time of
key cryptography and using smart
writing, about its service El RI'. / cards.
To and from
1 satellite
Broadcaster's studios (

Pi cture

Data
L------ -Operational data
sou ces

Video
_J TV set

Data
Scrambler
(inc.seed)
Seed
Black! st
Video and data
Subs riber
management
system

Da a Seed and data

i

48
ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS \VORI.I7 January 1990
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January 19911 ELECTRONICS \\ORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD 49

 The 13S13 Squarial receiving losses year after year because its This method is used. for example. by
antenna remains somethingof a revenues came only from advertising. the Filmset channel on Astra.
mystery. with the manufacturer Although the potential audience Consequently almost any electronics
unknown at the time of writing. was huge. t he company couldn't tell engineer can discover the key and
though t he company says prototypes advertisers to what extent the stake descramhlers (confusingly
are being tested around the country. programmes were actually being called decoders in advertisements)
It is a flat plate array made up of received and viewed. And many for general sale. About a dozen firms
many paralleled radiating elements. advertisers were not distributing their
_..` One model measures 35cm square
are doing this in the UK.
wares t hroughout Europe anyway. -lard scrambling. which is much
I
CONSUMER and another -J(Icm square. An early So advertising revenue proved more difficult to crack. uses highly
ELECTRONICS version developed by ERA completely inadequate. This complex digital coding and additional
Technology was a 16 x 16 array of experience has convinced the keys. For both the I'AI.and I) -MAC
shallow. square microwave horns commercial broadcasters that standards the cut -and -rotate method
with a signal probe in each and a subscription television with of scrambling is used. Television lines
combining network at the back of the conditional access is the only sure are cut at pseudo -random intervals
plate. Later it was found that greater way of getting income from their and transposed. The key to this
antenna efficiency could he obtained transmissions. though advertising process is transmitted as digital data
by replacing the probes with a half - may help. along with the main signal but in an
height waveguide linking into a Conditional access is provided by encr) pted form which can only be
combiner. scrambling the basebantt signals to deciphered at the receiver by means
Of course, there are other kinds of exclude pirate viewers. The of another key .

flat -plate arrays with different forms subscription paying viewer has a An outline of the Eurocypher
of radiating elements. Marconi Space descrantbler unit which is controlled system to be used on RSB's D -MAC
Systems, for example. has des eloped by an encrypted key, either built in by transmissions appeared in the
a printed patch technology to the manufacturer ororiginatee by the December 1988 issue. p. 12(17. In
produce direct radiating phased broadcaster. Some of the Astni general. recei\ ers will be individually
arrays. Whatever structure has been satellite channels. like Filmset and addressed over -air through the D-
adopted by 13513, the attraction of the TV3, are scrambled already. Sky MACdata multiplex. All five
flat plate array is. of course. the Movies intends to scramble in channels will he scrambled. The 'free'
compactness oft he design (no February 1990. The pop music channels will be automatically
reflector dish and no feedhorn stuck channel MTV will probably do so descramhled in the receivers for all
out in front ). when it can. WI ISTV will be viewers but the subscription channel
But the overriding problem is how scrambling when it changes its (for films) will only be descrambled.
to mass-produce such a ntulti- transmission standard from PAI. to by transmission of authorization
element array with sufficient D-MAC. data, for those viewers paying the
mechanical accuracy and 13Sí3 is even more hermetic in its appropriate monthly fees.
repeatability at low cost for a way of permitting conditional access WI ISTV will he using the
consumer market. The microwave to the broadcasts. Apart from Eurocrypt system. developed in
structure is quite complex-for scrambling. it controls the technology France. on their Astra channels. This
example it has to convert the used in t he satellite recei ers as well, is broadly similar to Eurocvpher in
incoming circular polarization into by allowing only a chosen number of principle (though not
linear polarization-and demands manufacturers (Ferguson. Philips. interchangeable) but the company
fine manufacturing tolerances. Salora. Tatung) to make the sets has not yet decided which of two
Meanwhile the first viewers of 13Sl3's under licence to a IRSB specification. slightly different versions, called 'S'
satellite broadcasts may well find In particular 13513 has controlled and 'M'. to adopt.
themselves using conventional dishes the design and supply of the vital A third scrambling/encryption
to start with. 1) -MAC decoder and descranrbler system. called \'ideoCrvpt (originally
ICs by ordering these chips directly Palcrypt) is to he used by Sky Movies.
Scrambling systems from ITTserniconductors. Thus no is an outline ofthescheme. A
Commercial satellite television is other set makers are available to key to the scrambling sequence is
moving towards a more hermetic way manufacture and supply receivers for transmitted during the vertical
of running its services. The reason is 13513 transmissions in a general way. blanking interval but the
the hope of eventually breaking e\ en. Soft and hard descramhling is only alit hiorized when
making a profit and get tinga return Scrambling techniques can be the viewer inserts an additional key in
on shareholders' investment. Sky t he form of a smart card (like a credit
roughly divided into two kinds. lo-
Channel started broadcasting to all cal led 'soft' and 'hard'. In t he soft card containing a microprocessor)
Europe from a communications kind the key to the scrambling is into the descramhling unit.
spacecraft in the early I98(Is but made wired into the descramhling unit. The basic principle is public key
cryptography. This entails several
Table 1: European medium- and high -power television broadcasting satellites algorithms which are 'public
knowledge' in the sense that the
Satellite Owner Coverage Orbital EIRP Frequency Polarization Signal Scrambling hardware can be examined. but two
Area Position (dBW) Band (GHz) Coding different secret keys. one at the
Astra SES W. Europe 19.2°E 52 11.2-11.45 LH &V PAL VideoCrypt transmitter and one at the receiver. A
Eurocrypt characteristic of t his cryptographic
Marcopolo-1 BSB UK 31°W 58' 11.7-12.1 C. R.H. D -MAC Eurocypher
Olympus -1 ESA -Europe 19°W 63 11.7-12.5 C. D2 -MAC
method is the use of a 'seed' or
1 ? Eurocypher
2-Italy 12.1-12.5 C.L.H. D2 -MAC Eurocypher starting key. which is used with the
TDF-1 TDF France 19`W 63.5 11.7-12.1 C. R.H. 02 -MAC Eurocypher algorithms to derive the main two
(France) ke\ s for the scrambling-descramhling
TV-SAT2 W. German W. Germany 191W 63.5 11.7.12.1 C.L.H. D2 -MAC Eurocypher
Post Office
process. The smart cants are sent to
subscribers and changed every few
'Estimated provisional figure. See text for clarification. months to make pirate code breaking
very difficult. r

50 EL-ECI'RONIC'S WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

SILICON LIFESTYLE
. --
It was claimed at a recent TI technology conference that
CONSUMER
consumer electronics would be at the front of advancing ELECTRONICS
semiconductor technology. Optical mirror chips to replace
LCD displays and night vision systems for car drivers are just
a couple of the more likely developments. By Leon Clifford.

Among all the markets for electronic chips for large video frame storage
components. it will be consumer will be needed, while fast digital
electronics which will he most signal processors will have to
affected by fast changing incorporate very powerful parallel
semiconductor technology. This was processing to deal with different parts
the clear message coming out of a of the screen at the same time. Large 1 +',
recent seminar organized by US 100 000 gate asics (application
electronics giant Texas Instruments. specific integrated circuits) will keep
One of the most exciting everything under control. - r v
developments is a possible successor Early high -definition systems will
to LCD screens for televisions: run off analogue broadcast signals so
"minor" chip technology. HDTV sets can he expected to
Mirror chips were originally stimulate the market for high
developed by TI as a device for performance analogue -to -digital
switching optical -fibre signals. The converters. These will feed the
chip itself is made up of an array of memory -based digital HDTV

f%
tiny mirrors, no more than a few chassis.
_+
microns across, attached to a silicon Meanwhile. outside the house,
subst rate. By passing currents developments in electronics are going y
through control electrodes in the to change the family car. The
silicon, the mirrors could he made to electronics content of cars is already t I a I

move, directing optical signals from

fibre to fibre. and creating a cheap
rising fast, and complex asics. digital
signal processors, flash memory,
f®
IA1®_'/_ 1

and compact light switch. smart-power devices, analogue -to -

But now the company is working digital converters and digital -to -
on a scheme, backed by the analogue cons erters will all he put to
Pentagon's Defense Advanced work on the road. Lotus 1988 sports cars without (top)
Research Project Agency Electronic fuel control and engine and with (bottom) real-time adaptive
(DARPA), to develop high management arc commonplace and suspension.
definition television (1-IDTV) the real-time adaptive suspension
displays for military equipment and fitted to last i ear's Lotus racing cars
computers. and mirror chip will he standard issue on most of the
technology could well fit the private cars bought in the mid-I99(Is. will enable chip companies to field
requirements. The proportion of cars with engine full personal computer and
In high definition displays, the transmission control and workstation chip sets in one single
chips could form the heart of an computerised anti -lock braking will package. The 100M transistor chips
extremely bright projection system grow, while more applications for that will become available towards
for projecting pictures on large flat electronics within the car will he the end of the 1990s will put multiple
screens. Current projection found: trout enhanced radios to execution units, parallel processing
television systems cannot he used in "climate" control and nas igation and lots of memory all on the same
daylight or in well -lit rooms because aids. piece of silicon, capable of delivering
they are too dim. High clock -rates associated with around?000 million instructions per
But mirror chips allow the picture fast processors mean it is important to second.
information to be added to a bright keep core elements near each other. Much of this power will be thrown
projection beam. The beam is To meet this demand TI's solution is at the human/computer interface and
directed onto the array of mirror to make use of multi -chip packaging into fast realistic graphics. touch
elements where each tiny mirror, techniques. combining its Sun screen operations, voice recognition
representing a single pixel, can either Microsystems' Sparc rise chip with a and speech synthesis. Not only will
reflect the beam out onto the screen tloating point co -processor in the this make the ubiquitous PC easier to
or deflect it away to produce a dark same package. Eventually, as more use, but it will inevitably trickle
spot. Suitable filtering produces gets crammed onto smaller areas of through to the human/machine
colour. silicon, TI plans to incorporate fast interface ín other equipment.
ligh-definition televisions will use
1 sram memory and memory For the modern consumer, who is
a number of other leading -edge controllers into the same package. increasingly likely to he relying on
technologies too, according to TI. Shrinking transistors, complex asic electronics in daily life. that has to be
Fast -access, high -capacity memory technology and multi -chip packages good news.

January 199(1 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 51

 E: oRlGr1VAC. SURPLUS: :W NDERLAND!
THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL! FLOPPY DISK DRIVES Lcontrola
Microwave
Very Ngh resolution, fully cased I4' green or amber screen BARGAINS GALORE !
monitor w th non -glare screen and swivel/81l base. The very Speech / Data
NEW 51/4 Inch from £29.951
latest technology at the very lowest prlcel Fully compatible and
plug compatible with all IBM PCs and clones fitted with a Ngh Massive purchases of standard 51A' drives enables us to Links
ras Hercules or equivalent card) Enables superb graphics and present prime product at Industry beating low prtoesl All units
resolution, all at a give away price. Has many extra features (unless stated) are removed from often brand new equ nt Made for the USrilitaryto the highest possible spec, these units
and are fully tested,aligned and shipu.rd to you with a day were originally designed as a higHy rugged portable point to
Including aux +5 8 12v DC outputs to power at least 2 disk drives,
guarantee and operate from +5 & +12vdc, are of standard size point distance measuring set. Inbuilt In the unit Is a full duplex
If your PC power supply Is getting hot) Supplied BRAND NEW
and accept the standard 34 way connector.
and boxed. Stab whether amber or green screen required. speech Uric which may be used as Is, or adapted for use as a
SHUGART SA406. BRAND NEW t D corn
Amber._._._..J79 Green .£99 (E1 TANDON TM100-2A IBM compatible DS £39.95 data Ilnk. Many features Include 50 km point to point range,
TANDON TM101.4 80 Track DS £40.95 approx 10.5 Wiz operation for max security ,low power con-
COMPUTER SYSTEMS CANON,TEC etc.DS hall het ht.State 40 or 80T £75.00 sumption (typ. 2 amps at 12 vdc), and small physical size 14w,
TATUNG PC2000. Big brother of the famous Einstein. The TEAC Fó -65-F.40-80 DS half height. BRAND NEW £99! - 15h x 13d including built In dish, fully portable weatherproof
TPC2000 Professional 3 piece system comprises: Oualtly Ngh 312 INCH BRAND NEW AT £19.9511 case. Supplied In used but tested cordton complete with In -
resolution Green 12' monitor. Sculptured 92 key keyboard and Never before seen price for a 3W drive. Standard size believed structions and accessories.o+
plinth uril containing Z80A CPU and all control dreuhs. PLUS 2
Integral TEAC 5.2580 track double skied disk drives. Generous
to be by Canon. Brand new and packaged - mint condtlonl 40
track SS, run from +5 & +12vdc with standard power connec- Only£295 per pair E
other features Include dual 8' IBM format disk drive support. tor Oriy....... £19.95 or 2 for £34.50(B) Optional 12v integral nicad peck
Serial and parallel outputs, full expansion port, 64K ram and CHOOSE YOUR 8 INCH!
ready to run software. Supplied complete with CPIM, Wordstar
(3 hours approximate duration) £22
and Basic. Brand new and covered by our famous 90 day
Shugart 800x801 SS refurbished & tested £725 00(Ej Umited quantity - don't miss out this time!!!
guarantee and backup. Normal price of t s unit Is over £1400
Shugart 851 double skied refurbished 8 lasted £196 00((t May ~re keno* for UK use
Wteubtehi M2894-63 double sided swftchable
Our prloe -- only.___£299 (E) hard or soft sectors- BRAND NEW f50 0O(E) POWER SUPPLIES
PC-AT 286 CLONE Lowest ever priced 8 mhz PC -AT done
SPECIAL All PSUs 220.24Ovac Input and re BRAND NEW unless
complete with a 20mhz hard drive, a 52tí 360k Soppy, 640k of Dual 8' drives with 2 megabyteOFFERS!!
capacity housed In a smart case stated. Many types ranging from 3v to 10kv always In dock.
RAM plus Hercules card compatabillty. The keyboard Is NCR with butit In power supply)
with 85 keys In an attractive beige, grey and cream finish to Ideal as exterior drives) y £499.00
Only
match the computer. The monitor Is very Ngh resolution 14' End of line purchase scoop! Brand new NEC D2246 8' 85
( Fite OP-8619 20 watts switch mode. +5v @ 2a. +12v @ la,
-12v @ 0.1a. 5' x 3' a 1-1/2'. £15.95(B)
Aslec AC -8151 40 watts. Switch mode. +5v @ 2.5a. +12v @
non-glare, with your choice of amber or green screen. A very megabyte of hard disk storagel Full CPU control and Industry 2a. -12v @ 0.1a. 6-1/4' x 4' x 1-3/4'. £19.95(B)
nice package at a super price) standard SMD Interlace. Ultra N speed transfer and access time Greendale 19ABOE 60 watts switch mode.+5v @ 6a,t12v @
Our price._. only .__-£799 (E) leaves the good old ST506 Interlace standing. In mint condtlon la.t15v@1a. RFE and fully tested.)lx20x5.5cros. £24.95(C)
and comes complete with manual. Orly £399(E) Cone« AC130. 130 watt N -grade VDE spec.Swttch mode.+5v
SPECIAL PURCHASE 15a, -5v @ l a,t12v @ 6a.27 x 12.5 x 6.5cros £49.95(C)
MAINS SUPPRESSORS & FILTERS @ Boehert 13090.Swltch mode.Ideal for drives & system. +5v@
V22 1200 baud modems The 'Man' from Crotan Is a British made Ngh current mains 641. +12v @ 2.5a, -12v @ 0.5a, -5v @ 0.5a. £29.95(8)
We got a tremendous buy on further stocks of IN, popular spike suppressor and RF fitter In one, capable of handing up Famed G6/40A. Switch mode. 5v @ 40a.Encased £95.00(C)
Mader System a 2/12 microprocessor controlled V22 full duplex to 10 amps) The attractive case has an Integral 13 amp socket Fund G24/5S. As above but 24v @ 5a. £66.00(C)
1200 baud modem - we can now bring themthem to you at half last foryourequlpment plug and a flying lead terminates In a quality
IBM KEYBOARD DEAL

j
plug (to BS 1363A standard) to go to the mains socket There
V22 high speed data lcomm, which at 120unit'cps canlsavestur
phone bill and connect time by a staggering 75%l Ultra slim 45
Is an Internal fuse plus one In the plug. Two LED Indicators, one re°raoement or ke Mad
ar sw tcfí ble xor J$11
,

for power on and the otherlights the Internal fuse falls. DIms:6' PC -XT or PC -AT. LED's for Caps,Scroll & Num Locks. Standard

rtlyAbsolutely
11

mm Ngh. Full leatured with LED status Indicators and remote x 3' x 2'. Brand new. Distributor's price - £65.001 Continental 85 keyboard layout. Made by NCR for the English & US markets.
error agnostics. Sync or Async use; speech or data swttching; pug version FlIt-C. Either o £15.95 each or 2 for £29.95 (B) standard. Brand new & boxed with manual and key
built In 240v mains supply and 2 wire connection to BT. Units Ing-Lee type L2127 mains RFI filters rated at 250 volts 3 template for user slogans on the function keys. Attractive
are In used but good condition. Fully tested prior despatch, with amps maximum. Comes complete with a built In mains cable beige.grey and cream trash, with the usual retractable legs
data and a full 90 day guarantee. What more can you ask for - (English coring), and a three pin miniature non-reversible sock- underneath. A generous lengh of curly cord, terrnnating In the
and at this prtoell ONLY £69 (D) clean piece of marufac-
et and a mating pug, to go to the equipment. Ideal for those standard 5 pin DN plug. A beautiful
Curers surplus. What a dealt
Write to us today and get your name on our mailing who are bugged by RF Interference. Very compact. Dims 3-1/8' NEW AND BOXED ONLY..... £49 ( B)
BRAND
list for our FREE eight wieldy bargain flyer gcr ircpiny x 2.5'141.5" £3.95 each or 3 for £101A)
aísw.. with thousands of unadvertleed special offers. THE AMAZING TELEBOX!
COOLING FANS
Converts your colour monitor Into a
MONITORS Please spedly 110 or 240 void" for AC lane.
QUALITY COLOUR TV!!
COLOUR MONITORS
Decal 18" 80 series budget range colour monitors. Features
3 Inch
312 Inch
4 Inch
AC. 1L2'tNdc
AC ETRI sxnilne.Oniy 1' thick
AC 110/240v 112' tick.
£ 8.50(B
£ 9.
£10.
!
:

li
...+
TV SOUND
rw+ y_ & VIDEO
r

Include PL tube, housed In a beautiful leak style case and

guaranteed 80 column resolution, features which are ory nor- 4 inch AC 11/2' thick £ 9.9 ¡rY_ TUNER!
mally seen on colour monitors costing 3 times our price) It Is 10 Inch Round.312 thick. Rotron 110v £10.95
absolutely ready to connect to a host of computer or video 82 mm DC 1' thidkNo.812for 6/12v.814 24v. £15.950 Brand new high quality, fully cased, 7 channel UHF PAL TV tuner
92 mm DC 12v. 18 mm thick. £14 A system. Unit simply connects to your TV aerial socket and colour
outputs. Manufacturers fullytested surplus, sold In little or hardy
used condition with 90 day full RTBguarantee. Deco. 80 4 Inch DC 12v. 12w 11/2" thick £12.50(B video monitor turning same Into a fabulous colour TV. Dom worry
COMPO 75 ohm composite video Input with Integral Judo amp 4 Inch DC 24v 8w. 1' thick £14.50(B M your monitor does nt have sound, the TELEBOX even has an
& speaker. Ideal for use with video recorder or our Telebox ST,
Integral audio amp for driving a speaker plus an auxiliary output
or any other audio visual use.
RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES for Headphones or HI Fl system etc. Many other features: LED
Only £99.00 (E) Status Inflator, Smart moulded case, Mains powered, Built to
LEAD ACID BS safety specs. Many other uses for TV sound or video etc.
HI-DEFINITION COLOUR MONITORS Maintenance free sealed long life. Type A300. Supplied BRAND NEW with full 1 year guarantee.
Brand new Centrorcc 14' monitor for IBM PC and compatibles 12 volts 12 volts 3 amp/ ours £13.95 A)
at a lower than ever prioel Completely CGA equivalent. 14 -res 6 volts 6 volts3 ampi1 ours £ 9.95 A Telebox ST for composite video Input monitors í29.95(B)
Mltsubushi 0.42 dot pitch giving 669 x 507 pixels. Big 28 Mhz 12 volts Centre tapped 1.8 amp hours £ 5.95 A Telebox STL as ST but with Integral speaker £34.95(B)
bandwidth. A super monitor In attractive style moulded case.Full 12 volts 12 volts 24 amp hours. A200. RFE. £79.00 B Telebox RGB for analogue RGB monitors £85.95(B)
90 day guarantee. Only £149 (E) SPECIAL OFFER! NOT suitable for IBM or Clone type colour monitors.
20",22" and 26" AV SPECIALS 100 amp/hours at 8 von! Brand new CNorlde Powersate PAL overseas version please call. SECAM not available.
Superbly made UK manufacture. PL all solid state colour 3VB11. Leakproof with additional snap-on security lid. Perfect
monitors, complete with composite video & sound inputs. Attrac- for uninterruplable power supplies, portable power source, BRAND NEW PRINTERS
tive teak style case. Perfect for Schools,Shops Disco, Clubs. caravans etc. Normally costs £801 £39 (E) Epson MX -80 F/T One of the roost popular printers around)
In EXCELLENT little used condition with full 90 day guarantee. NICKEL CADMIUM BIdrectional print ng with full logic seeking. 9 x 9 dot matrix for
20"....£155 22"....£170 26"....£185 (F) Quality 12v 4ah cell pack. Originally made for the Technicoiolor eniarged,boid,condensed etc. Standard parallel Interface. Brand
video company. Contains 10 GE top quality D ncad cells In a label removed from front. Hardes tractor,fanlold and Individual
MONOCHROME MONITORS smart robust case with a DC output connector. Ideal for portable paper. OK with IBM PC and most others. A tremendous buyl
Wang green screen 12' chassis monitor with composite video equipment. Brand new. £19.95(B) FORA LNATEDTIME ONLY .___...._.......---_.._._1129.00 (E)
Input. Adjustable for tilt. Requires 12 vdc. Brand new and boxed Ex -equipment NICAD cells by GE. Removed from equipment Hazeltine EaprInt small desktop.100 cps with RS232 and stand-
In perfect condition. Only £39 each or 2 for £75 (F) and In good, used condition: D size 4ah 4 for £S ard parallel. Full pin addressable and 6 user selectable fonts. Up
Motorola M1000-100 5' black & while compact chassis measur- F size 7ah 6 for to 9.5' paper. Sheet & tractor feed. SPECIAL SALE £99.00(E)
ing only 11.6H x 12W a 22D. Ideal for CCTV or computer Centronics 150 series. Always known for their relladtty In con-
applications. Accepts standard composite or Individual H & V SPECIAL INTEREST .
tinuous use - real workhorses In any environment. Fast 150 cps
syncs. Needs 12vdc at only 0.8a. Some units may have minor Racal -Redid real time colour drafting PCB layout system. In- with 4 fonts and choice of Interfaces.
screen blemishes. Fully tested with 30 day guarantee and lull cludes furniture and huge montor.Corlplete ready to gol £3050 150-SN up to 9.5" paper £156.00(E)
data. £29.00(C) DEC VAX111750Inc. 2 Meg Ram DZ and full documentation. In 150-SW up to 14.5 paper £199.
Fully cased as above In attractive moulded desk stand brand new condtionl £3900 Specify whether sedal or parallel required.
swivel. Dim 12 x 14.5 x 26cm. £39.00(1 Calcomp 1036 large drum 3 pen plotter £ 650 CALL FOR THE MANY OTHERS IN STOCK
JVC 781 ultra compact chassis monitor for 12vdc 0.7a. Dim 11 Thurlby LA 160.4 logic analyser £ 275
x 14 x 18cm. Simple DIY data Included to convert to composite INCLUDING DAISY WHEELS.
1.5kw 115v 60hz power source £ 950
video Input .Full data. BRAND NEW £65.00(B) Wayne Kerr RA200 audio real time freq.res.analyser. £3000
20" Bieck & white monitors by Aztek, Cotron & National. All Visit our Shop - Technical help always on hand
VG Electronics 1033 Teletext Bridge tr.. 750
solid state, fully cased monitors Ideal for all types of AV or CCTV Tektronlcs R140 NTSC TV test signal standard. £ 875 plus many un-advertised specials. You can buy a
applications. Standard composite video Inputs with Integral Sony KTX 1000 Videotex system - brand new £ 790 colour television for as little as £29! Come and
sudo amp and speaker. SoldIn good used condition - fully tested DEC LS11/02 CPU board £ 150 loin the Ian? at 215 Whitehorse Lanel

ie
with 90 day guarantee. £95.00(F) ADDS 2020 VDU terminals - brand new £ 225

LARGE CRUINTITES OF OSCILLOSCOPES AND TEST GEAR ALWAYS AVAILABLE - CALL NOWI
MAIL ORDER & OFFICES LONDON SHOP DISTEL © The-Origlna. ALL ENQUIRIES
e
..r. Open Mon3-2Fnogg. 00-5.30
Dept WW, gln Way,
100's of bargains)
Open Mon -Sat 9-5.30
Free dial -up database!
1000's of ltems+lnfo On Line 01-679-4414
.e.. Upper Norwood. 215 Whitehorse Lane, 300 bd 01-679-1888,
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London SE19 3XF.
London, SE25 6RB. 1200/1200 bd 01.679-876° Telex- 894502

Electronics I
Al prices for UK Mainland. UK ow-it-omen add 15% VAT to TOTAL order r moot. Minimum order £10. PO orlan tom Government, UnrvercAies,Sc col. a Local Authorities
wsioonrn,. roan account order £25. Carnage charge. (Nd200. (B) -f4.50. (C)-fe.50. (Di -£10.00. (E)-£12.00 (F)á17.00 (G) -Cell All good. supplied .ohied to ou
.tardard Condition. of Sale sod vie.
.

otherwise doled guaranteed for 00 day.. Al guarantee. on a return to base basic.W a reserve the night to change prices 8 apeeiicarons
without prior notice. Orders accepted subject to skok.Ouotaiorw wtingly gran ter lighar quetities than those stated. Bunk su rpius always regrired for cash.

CIRCLE NO. 1140N REPL 1 CARD

JAPAN ON SHOW
The Japan Electronic Show provides the best fashion
indicator to consumer electronics. Peter Wall rides the CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS
latest wave of high tech non -essentials.
The first signs that Japan is taking and can he viewed from an acute
seriously the agreement over DAT angle. Companies like Matsushita.
between the software and hardware Sharp and Epson are spending a lot of
companies was PIONEER's D-7(10 money. Prices of sets containing

-
DAT player with SCMS (serial copy LCD. eg. Epson E-201111 with a 4in x
management system), pioneered by Sin screen at £4411. indicates that
Philips. Release date and price are there is still a long way to go before
not yet decided. which is not
surprising as it will take several
colour LCD panels replace CRTs in
popular size TV sets. if they ever do.
:r-
elgc ..
~-
y
months to fully implement the One way forward is to use LCD
necessary chips. Be prepared. panels as part of a ' ideo projector.
however, for revised DAT players for and several products were in
sale in Europe appearing in late 1991). evidence such as the Selko-Epson
Significantly I was not aware of any VPS-700at about £2.111)0. F0
recordable CD players at the One set used projection
exhibition. This type of CD looks technology as part of the TV set. A
better than DAT because access time product seen wit h about a 49in screen Videomaster S -VHS video recorder,
by dodging across tracks on a disc could he considered favourably with extensive editing functions, by
must always he much faster than against a 51 in CRT type next to it. It
Panasonic
going up and down tape. The is shorter from front to hack and
technology for recordable CD exists p ohably lig tter. For the largest sets.
Lap top AV units
but problems remain in achieving this begins to look an attractive Video 8 has the advantage of size but
adequate life time for recordings, at alternative. LCD technology may offers limited prerecorded software.
prices consumers will pay. squeeze the CR hfrom both ends of Sony's 8mm video players are about
A second significant trend isa large the size spectrum. one quarter the volume of the full
surge of interest in Dolby Pro-Logic VI IS versions on offer from
VCRs Panasonic. Iitachi and Sharp hut at
by many companies. notably J VC I
S -VI IS was the dominant theme hut.
(Theatone System), Kellwood (KA- 30 per cent lower prices.
for industrial use. Mitsubishi's I 1i - Japanese industry now offers the
V7110). NEC and Mitsubishi. This
Vision IID-Ill uses a cassette similar complement to camcorders, the
more advanced decoding system for to VI IS hut with r/ in metal tape. The
Dolby Stereo encoding on films has video pnnter. Costs of a print are
20MHz bandwidth is obtained by around 4(Ip for4 x Sin. A typical
now become practicable with the speeding up the tape to Il)ntnt's.
availability of dedicated chips. The
I
product price in Japan is £6511 for a
This approaches the bandwidth unit with a resolution (4260 000
system provides the option to use a
necessary to handle IIDTV signals pixels.
centre front speaker (the TV set which Japan views as having many
speaker for instance) to gis e greater Camcorders
medical database, training and
stability of sound image oft axis from
industrial uses as well as use for The format battle Video8/VI IS/
the centre and much closer to the
broadcasting. VI ISC continues. but the designs are
sound system in the cinema. Filets
There is always the possibility of beginning to take into account the
used in the cinema with Dolby Stereo
VI IS and S- VI IS event ually being photographers' needs. A top line
sound tracks retain all the audio data
replaced by true digital recording on machine typically provides seven
when converted to video cassettes.
Although companies seem to be the tape. The advantage would he e
modes: erything automatically set:
similar to that of DAT- perfect shutter speeds restricted to 1161) to
using on -screen display for the viewer
copies-assuming copyright 1/25(1 but exposure auto; fixed at
to control system settings. I saw no
problems could be sorted out. 1,5(111, exposure auto: longer
evidence of memory storage
Alt hough some companies are exposure time so good for focus
facilities. 1 ou can become hooked on
known to be studying digital depth. (people in front of a
this system. making simple stereo on
recording for eventual consumer mountain, both in focus): fixed
films seem very dull.
application. saw no sign of such
I shutter speed down to I/If)(((If). ideal
Panasonic have a competitive
techniques for consumer use at for sports: exposure fixed, speed auto
system called TI I X. employed by
Osaka. for controlled focus depth: fully
George Lucas for theatre use, but
The ratio price of the cheapest manual
intended for the consumer.
S -VI IS recorder seen (Toshiba A - The new VI IS -C tape with 45/911
E51 at 135.1100 Yen)and the minutes on SP/LP and the new
Video displays cheapest \'I IS recorder (Hitachi generation of VCRs capable of
Many manufacturers had prototype M230at65.01)1) Yen )is2.1)7;one handling VIIS-C without adaptors.
colour LCD panels, in which the could expect S -V I IS recorders to drift will significantly shift market
quality of colour and definition is down to £6011 in the UK market over preferences towards VI IS -C
improving. They are getting bigger the next tvio to three years. camcorders.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 53

 STANDARD HD
Geoff Lewis surveys the proposed standards for high -definition
' television, which are beset by political considerations.
CONSUMER Three families of high -definition television systems to
ELECTRONICS a motion -compensation vector is calculated for each
take us into the next century are now under field, which is multiplexed into the vertical blanking
consideration for adoption as a world standard. interval as a control signal. A further sub-sampling that
Japan. the USA and Europe all have their own selects every fourth pixel data reduces the bandwidth to
systems, although the only system commercially 16.2MI Iz.
available is the Japanese HiVision (MUSE) system The sound channel uses near -instantaneous
which, they say, will go ahead as a transmission medium companding in a manner similar to that of compact disc.
regardless of other developments elsewhere. Indeed, but with different parameters. Using compression- time
there is evidence of an attempt to force its introduction is provided for either two or four audio channels, either
into the USA as a de facto standard. The table shows in stereo or dual language. The compressed -audio
how limited is the extent of current agreement on digital signal is then time shifted and- together with
standards. synchronizing pulses, multiplexed into the vertical
blanking interval, the complex digital signal then being
NHK HDMAC HDNTSC
lines/field converted into analogue format before being used to
1125 1250 1050
fields/sec 60
frequency modulate the radiated carrier.
50 59.94
interlace 2:1
Complementary -motion compensation at the receiver
2:1 2:1
interpolates by taking corresponding pixel samples from
aspect ratio 16:9 16:9 16:9
all four fields to regenerate the stationary areas. For the
The following short descriptions might help to dispel moving areas, the reconstruction interpolates from
some of the fog that surrounds the choices, which are samples in the same field, the motion vector being added
rapidly turning into political and commercial, rather to the pixel addresses of the previous field in the memory
than technical arguments. to provide for the appropriate movement.
During its de'. elopment. MUSE has spawned several
MUSE variants. MUSE -T is intended for the transmission of
At the time of writing, this is the only system that is high -quality signals that are ultimately intended to be
commercially available. As developed by Sony re -broadcast or networked. This has a bandwidth of
Broadcast as a production facility, it is known as the 16.2M1-Izand occupies54MHzof satellite transponder
High Definition Video System (I-I DVS). As developed bandwidth. MUSE -E is intended for direct reception
for transmission over satellite and cable links, the system and, with a bandwidth of 8.1 M Iz. can be
1

is commonly known as MUSE (Multiple Sub-Nyquist accommodated in27MHzof RF bandwidth. Narrow -

Sampling Encoding) or 1-iiVision. MUSE has the number of scanning lines reduced to 750
The basic principle of bandwidth reduction and during encoding, to reduce bandwidth; the missing lines
transmission encoding is to take the widehand video are interpolated at the receiver. MUSE -6 and MUSE -9
signal in RGB. component form and matrix it to provide are designed to be NTSC-compatible. using I or 11/2
luminance (Y) and chromi nance (CR & CI;) colour - channels.
difference signal components, which are then sampled at
64.8MHz, to produce 1920 samples per line. The chroma European HD -MAC
components are then time compressed by a factor of This system is a result of European cooperation within
four, arranged in line -sequential order and multiplexed the Eureka 95 (EU 95) Project and the basic work of the
into the line -blanking interval. IBA on the MAC concept. In this case, each line is
This bandwidth reduction technique recognises that sampled 1296 times per 6-1µs to provide a digital signal
there is considerable redundant or unchanging for processing and time compression. The luminance
information between image frames. With the aid of a component is compressed by a factor of 3:2 and
four -field store. the image pixels are separated into chrominance by 3:1, which increases the video signal
stationary and moving areas using intra and inter -field base bandwidth from 5.7MI Iz to8.5MI lz. The U and V
filtering. To cater for the camera motions of pan and tilt, colour-difference signals are time multiplexed on a
line -sequential basis with the luminance component and
Fig.1 HD -MAC bandwidth reduction, using static and
converted back into an analogue format for
moving -area filters, selected as image content requires. transmission. The digital sound and data signal are
included in the line blanking interval. There are three
members of this group in use: B -MAC, D -MAC and
Slane area Stair area D2 -MAC, differing chiefly in the way in which the sound
pre- filter su-samplrng nterpolotor
and data components are multiplexed. D -MAC uses
duobinary signalling for sound and data at a rate of

Lureipant e
signal mput
---
i
(oding
error
detector
Output
switch f
Sub sampled
luminance
20.25Mhits, whilst D2 -MAC has half the capacity with a
bit rate of 10.125Mbits.
As modified for high definition, I ID -MAC is based on
1250 lines with 5011zfields, 16:9 aspect ratio and 2:1
nal
sigDA1V interlace or progressive scan. Such parameters result in a
video bandwidth in excess of 30MHz; time compression
Moving area Moving area
is achieved using 1920 samples per line. Because the
pre - totter sub -sampling terpotator high-definition image contains about four times the
information of the basic MAC image, the bandwidth -
reduction techniques required would suggest that three -

54 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

dimensional filtering and sampling would be necessary generate the transmission signal. Components 2 and 3
at the encoder. This would require the use of a are quadrature modulated on to a 3. 11J I Iz sub -carrier
complementary three-dimensional interpolating and then added to signal 1. This complex signal. along
decoder at the receiver, with a considerable increase in with component 4. is used to quadrature modulate the
the cost to the viewer. final RFcarrier. A standard NTSC receiver processes
The technique adopted uses a combination of only the central portion of the image. the auxiliary
horizontal, vertical and temporal filtering paths that can signals being lost in the overscan.
he selected on an adaptive basis according to the image
content. The filter path used is selected to produce the Super NTSC
smallest coding error for each area of the image. The This concept developed by Faroudja Laboratories, is CONSUMER
basic principle of operation is shown in Fig. I. more an attempt to improve the images from NTSC ELECTRONICS
The digital assistance signal is multiplexed into the through a standard 6M1 Iz channel. rather than to
vertical blanking interval as a duobinary component at generate an HDTV system, although the results
20.25Mbits, signalling to the receiver decoder which achieved are most impressive. Non-linear high
coding path has been used, so that the decoder can frequency detail processing at the transmitter and
follow the encoder. The high cost of the encoding
section is thus included in a few production areas.
leaving the viewer to bear a relatively low cost. Motion HO- MAC en<oaml

compensation information is also included in the DATV

(Digital Assisted Television) signal as a vector, to
indicate to the receiver which of three channels have
.:w*:,:rn
been used to portray either static, slow mos ing or fast MAC
110-.,a.e,cyy <r.,..,
moving areas of the image. Figure 2 shows, in principle. 1150/50/1:1 415/50/ I

how the DATV signal is used to ensure that the lo.

.:.
high -definition signal can be transmitted over a standard
MAC channel and provide an input to a standard 625line
MAC receiver.

Wide MAC or HDB-MAC encoi

oder

Whilst not European, this system owes its origins to the

IBA work on MAC. The variant has been developed by
Fig.2. DATV codecs allow HDTV signal to be transmitted
Scientific Atlanta (USA) and Digital Video Systems
on a MAC channel and used by MAC receiver.
Corp (Canada) for use in the 525 -line regions of
operation. The system generates a 1050-line wide-screen
display by using a line differencing and interpolating
technique to double the line rate and considerably
improve the vertical resolution of the image. The
concept is not considered as a contestant for a world
standard and is currently being sold into the corporate
video distribution networks.

NORTH AMERICAN CONTEST ANTS

It is only possible to describe a few of the competing
proposals here. These have been chosen. not for any
particular merit, but to give an insight into the
techniques that can be used to introduce I DTV into the
I

very large installed NTSC customer base. Fig.3. Sarnoff ACTV multiplexing to produce transmitted
signal.
Advanced Compatible Television I ACTV)
This system. invented by the David Sarnoff Research
Centre (GE, NBC. and R('A) to fit wit hin a6MI Iz complementary post -processing in a modified receiver
NTSC channel, has basic parameters of I050 lines are used to produce images of DTV standard. This is
I I

59.9411z fields. 12.-1111 Iz luminance bandwidth. with achieved by the use of a field store to pros isle line
3.75M1 Izand 1.25Mliz for the and channels
I
doubling with motion interpolation. NTSC-type
respectively. Wide-screen source material is digitized. artefacts are removed by the use of accurate adaptive
filtered and converted into 525 -line interlaced format. comb filters in both the encoder and decoder.
Four signal components are then generated as follows:
-A 4:3 aspect-ratio signal is taken from the central Why one standard?
portion and time expanded to fill all but 21.ts of the active Amts orld standard that is selected now will have to last
line period. Low frequencies from the two remainintc at least for the next 20 years to recover the massive costs.
side panels are then time compressed to be added before In that time, rapid developments in digital and computer
and after the central component. technology. which coulc give birth to a smart receiver.
- The high frequencies from t he side panels are then could well drive such a system into early obsolescence.
time expanded to fill the active line period. This results Recent developments in telecine and electron -beam
in bandwidth reduction to about MI Iz. I recording introduced by Rank Cintel and Sony for
-A signal is derived from the video frequencies between tape -to -film and film -to -tape transfers have produced
5N/1 1z and 6.2M Iz. which are down -converted to tl to
I machines capable of working to I IDTV standards. Since
1.2í\111z. the quality aimed at is that of 35mm film, why not allow
-Ahelpersignal is generated by filtering and hand the development of two or even three electronic
limiting the vertical luminance detail to 750k1 lz. This is standards for I I DTV and leave film to act as a world
used in the wide-screen receiver to help regenerate the conversion standard? This would has e the additional
missing lines and improve the s ertical resolution. advantage of releasing high -cost programmes into
Figure 3 shows the multiplexing process that is used to television and the cinema simultaneously.

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 55

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ELECTRONICS 1NOI¿t-I)+ tyIRELESS tVOKLI) January 1990

 Hearing is believing? f

jam`-'

CONSUMER
The hi-fi business seems peculiarly vulnerable to fraudsters, ELECTRONICS

charlatans and pre -owned car salesmen. The industry's

golden ears are distorted by a mixture of flattery and
auto -suggestion, says Barry Fox.
Where did all the snake oil salesmen obediently hear it. Better still, get
go when the Wild West was tamed'?
Into hi-fi. of course.
them to pay through the nose for a
sprinkle of electronic magic dust. It
There is no doubt
A few years ago a jaded audio takes a brave man or woman to admit that most people
engineer told me his secret master
plan. He was going to create a market
that they have been conned and
wasted their money. who pay hard-
for "hi-fi solder-.
I I is solder would contain a secret
I don't doubt for a moment that if

the man with the hi-fi solder plan had

earned cash for
ingredient that eliminated the
distortion created by conventional
followed through, tortured souls all
round the world would soon have
mumbo -jumbo
solder joints.
No matter that no-one had
been re -soldering every joint in their
hi-fi, or paying specialist treatment
witchcraft will
previously measured, or heard, any centres to do the job for them. They rather hear the
would have gladly ignored the
distortion created by factory
soldering. A clever campaign by residual hum and intermittent crackle difference than
word of mouth. and demonstrating to
selected journalists, would do the
that would surely have resulted from
the amateur reconstruction of joints
admit they were
trick
"Now listen to this", he would say
that soon "went dry". All they would
have heard was the absence of solder
taken fora ride
toa golden -eared pundit. "Can you distortion. And who could have
really say there's no difference proved that they were not hearing an
between the sound from these two absence of something which never
amplifiers, one factory -fresh and the existed?
other re -made with hi-fi solder?" As far as I know, t he hi-fi solder corrode and so will not introduce
Never underestimate the powers of plan was never put into action. But I crackles and semiconductor junctions
auto -suggestion. Tell someone that often wonder how many of the other which rectify the sound of passing
they are listening to something hi-fi crazes began with a similar over - radio taxis.
special. while inferring that their a -drink fantasy and ended up as a Likewise no-one disputes that the
keen hearing is famous the world solid commercial venture. As the late use of thin, high -resistance cables will
over, and you immediately have a Lenny Bruce so succinctly put it. "If affect the sound from loudspeakers.
convert with religious fervour to they'll give, I'll grab". if only by reducing gain. By the same
convert others. At the Tokyo Audio Fair recently. token. nice thick cables with plenty of
Don't fudge the issue with blind I watched a roomful of head -nodding heavy copper will do a better job.
and double-blind testing. Just tell Japanese super -ears listening to what I don't doubt the sincerity of those
people what to hear, and they will they obviously thought was the who truly believe that the sound is
obvious difference in sound between better lithe copper has linear crystals
different cables -all virginally pure of and is oxygen -free. What I, and other
oxygen contamination and with cloth -eared pragmatists like me.
stringy copper crystals neatly aligned
Tell someone in applie pie order. I don't doubt that
object to is the quite shocking
disregard for scientific methodology
they are listening they all heard how much better the
more expensive cables sounded.
in some of the "proving" tests.
We have recently seen a fatal
to something But at the same time I wondered
why they were ignoring the far more
fascination for the "neutralization"
treatment of everything from
special and that significant effect on the sound caused
by cramming at least two dozen
metalwork to paper -hack hooks in
rooms dedicated to super -fi listening.
their keen hearing different loudspeaker pairs into the Again, there is no doubt that most
same room, without any apparent people who pay hard-earned cash for
is famous and you attempt at shorting the voice coils to mumbo -jumbo witchcraft will far
have a convert stop them flapping in sympathetic
distortion.
rather hear the difference than
acknowledge that they were taken for
with religious Of course there is an obvious
benefit from using gold- and silver-
a ride. That's fair enough. If they
want to invest in neutralization,
fervour plated plugs and sockets. As any
schoolboy will tell you. they do not
rather than going to concerts or
buying gramophone records or beer

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 57

 in the pub, good luck to them and
those who sell the treatment.
But please don't anyone preach the
Hi-fi magicians, coding.
The Japanese had developed this

gospel, and expect others to play the as opposed to technology two years ago but, by
their own admission, held back on an
,. same stupid game, without first
serious reviewers announcement for the simple reason
T.
running blind tests in which no-one that they could not see how to explain
s.
knows what they are hearing.
In fact, even blind tests can be
who listen and to the public that suddenly multiple
bits were out, and single bits were in.
CONSUMER -
fudged as all those tests on the measure..., abhor When Philips went with Bitstream,
ELECTRONICS difference between valves, the Japanese rode on the back of the
transistors, analogue waves and
digital pulses proved. It only takes
rational confusion caused. But because many
companies will not have single -bit
one strong character on the panel to explanations as hardware available until next year,
influence the rest with a pained grunt
or a sigh of satisfaction. rabidly as Nature Philips' premature announcement
successfully shot the industry in the
Any logged result can always be
excused. You just blame the stress of
abhors a vacuum foot for the Christmas market.
Punters are now waiting to buy for
the test procedure, inadequacy of the effects. Early transistor amplifiers fear of being left with obsolete
source material or, if all else fails, sounded downright nasty, because DACs. Not of course that the average
some unspecified weak link in the their designers were still "thinking punter has any idea what a DAC is-
chain, such as the contacts of the valves". The master tapes from whici just that what was previously held to
switch used for the A/B test digital CDs are pressed will often be good is now held to be not so good
transition. have been equalized to compensate as that which is not yet available.
1-li-fi magicians, as opposed to for the physical deficiencies of a vinyl Little birds tell me that the next
serious reviewers who listen and LP. If the record company cuts costs round of nonsense will centre on the
measure and try to reconcile the two, and uses the same tape as a master for theory that some optical -fibre cables
abhor rational explanations as "flat" CDs, you end up with are better at carrying digits than
rabidly as Nature abhors a vaccum. something that sounds very nasty others. So fibres sound different.
Of course not all amplifiers sound indeed. Doubtless the more expensive ones
the same; of course there are Until recently, the electronics will sound better. The sales
differences between analogue and companies were vying with each possibilities for this one are endless.
digital recordings; and of course other to offer DACs with as many bits The absurdity is that while all this is
different digital -to -analogue of resolution as possible. Now the going on the audio industry still has
decoders create different audible world has gone mad for one -bit not got round to doing what the
professional sound recording
industry did years ago. In a recording
studio, the cables from different
microphones are colour coded, to
make connections at the mixing desk
fast, easy and unambiguous. But hi-fi
buffs still grovel on the ground with a
spaghetti cobweb of indistinguishable
leads, connecting innumerable
different audio and video sources.
Who will be first to forget about the

n^ juDEil qtf:G-1- minor benefits of grossly over -priced

hi-fi cabling, and offer the public the
real benefit of colour coded
connecting cables?
And who will be first to offer a
videocassette with both linear and
i
hi-fi stereo which identifies the left
and right and rear surround channels.
and their phase, to help set up an
audio -video system?
For my money, straightforward
questions like these sum up the status
quo in hi-fi. (status quo is, after all,
only Latin for the mess we are in).
The hi-fi industry has never been able
to see the wood for the trees. Minor
improvements are endlessly debated
while the real and significant benefits
(like the glorious convenience of CD)
are taken for granted. The wrong
channels are connected, out of phase,
[ NEVER MIND THE SOUND QUALIT y by miracle cables.

J GuVNOR ! -
T1457 100K AT THE
Which makes me fear that it will
only be a question of time, before
THICKNESS OF THESE WIRES/ a' someone makes the hi-fi solder joke a
deadly serious business venture.

58 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 IN VIEW OF THE EXTREMELY
RAPID CHANGE TAKING PLACE
nose EnlInsers ,Id
IN THE ELECTRONICS Electronic CAD,
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.Ianuar\ 1990 [I-C('"Il2ON1('S WORLD +\1'IREI.fSS\\rORI-D

HYPOTHESIS

Peter Graneau
gives an account
of Professor
A.K.T. Assis' work
on inertia, which
confirms

In the 'Dialogues concerning two

1 Newton's belief in
instantaneous
action at a
new sciences' Galileo (1564- distance.
1642) wrote: "I, Simplicio, who
have made the test can assure you
that a cannon ball weighing one or
two hundred pounds, or even more. will
not reach the ground by as much as a
span ahead of a musket hall weighing
only half a pound." Whether or not this
experiment was performed before the
doubting professors of the University of
Pisa by dropping weights from the
Leaning Tower is still being discussed
by historians. The debate takes away
nothing from the stunning discovery
made by Galileo which will forever Newton gave us three fundamental brought to the fore by Aspden` in a
remain a landmark of science. What tierce laws. Perhaps the most important recent E&WWarticle.
kind of force counteracted the force of of them is known as 'the third law of To complete his theory of mechanics.
gravitational attraction to the centre of motion'. It asserts that all forces of Newton ascribed the force of inertia to
the earth by just the right amount to nature are paired forces of the simul- the acceleration of a particle relative to
make the heavy object fall no faster taneous mutual interaction of two en - 'absolute space'. This was a desperate
than the light object? ti ties of matter. he they particles. bodies stove because. as he admitted later in
Newton (1642-1727) called it 'vis in - or stars. As an example of paired forces his life, there was no way of detecting
sitas'. a force which lay dormant in Newton developed his universal law of absolute space. Two hundred years la-
matter until the body was accelerated. gravitation. The collision of two billiard ter. the Austrian mathematician, physi-
This force gauged itself to he pro- halls involves a pair of forces. Tension cist and philosopher Mach (1838-1916)
portional to the mass of the body and its in a metal is due to forces between pair, pointed out that Newton might as well
acceleration. It also directed itself to he of atoms. In addition to the contact have attributed the force of inertia to
precisely in opposition to the direction forces just mentioned. \ve have the acceleration relative to the fixed stars.
of acceleration. This was Newton's far -action (action at a distance) forces Mach went further and argued that the
second law of motion and it has re- between gravitating masses, magnets force of inertia must he due to an
mained the definition of the inertial and electric charges. Only one force of interaction with the fixed stars. This
force. Generations of scientists have nature stands alone and unpaired. This removed the conflict with the third law
wondered why the same quantity, which is the force of inertia (force = mass x and made inertia conform with the
we call the mass o1 the object. plays a acceleration). It openly \iolates the principle of relativity which had been
part in the force of gravitation and in the third law of action and reaction. This formulated by Berkeley late in New-
force of inertia. Their surprise could fact wits covered up by Newton and all ton's lifetime. At die end of the 19th
immediatel\ be dispelled if it was shown who followed him. Rut it was clearly century Vlach knew little about our
that the force of inertia was actually a galaxy, the Milky Way, to which all the
force of gravitational attraction. Pre-
cisely this feat was accomplished recent-
Only one force of visible fixed stars belonged. With to-
day's astronomical knowledge. Mach's
ly by the Brazilian physicist Assis2. -le
I Nature stands Principle - as Einstein would call it -
published his theory in the prestigious should read:
American journal 'Foundations of Phy- alone and "The inertia of particles and bodies
sics'. Before explaining Assis' achieve-
ment. it may be helpful to consider a unpaired. on earth and in the solar system is
due to their acceleration relative to
second riddle of inertia and the attempts
which have been made since Newton's
This is the force all mat ter outside the solar system."
The cautious Mach did not specify the
time to discover the origin of inertia. of inertia. kind of interaction which might take

60 ELECTRON ICS ORLD+ WI RE LESS \\ORLD January 1990

 HYPOTHESIS

place between the particle on earth and

another in the distant tuns erse. Einstein
(I879-1955) had no such hesitations. In
his principle of the equivalence of gravi- I VMOUC,D, LOVE, OUT All THE
tational and inertial mass, he coupled MATTER IN THE COSMOS IS
inertia directly to forces of gravitation.
WORKING A6AI NST ME!
This principle became the basis of his
general theory of relativity. Einstein
was strongly influenced by Mach's writ-
ings on relativity in the latter's book
dealing with the science of mechanics.
But ultimately Einstein admitted that
his theory of gravitation and inertia did
not comply with Mach's principle. One
of his thought experiments served as the
test. If the universe consisted of only
one particle, he asked, would this parti-
cle he endowed with inertia? Mach's
answer would have been "no because
the isolated particle had no matter with
which it could interact. In Einstein's
world it was space that acted on matter
and therefore the lonely particle would
still have to '-'spond toacceleration with
a force of inertia.
the induction of inertia send out energy sider a body A on earth and a body B in
at the velocity of light. This process the distant universe.
Einstein's resolute insistence on the
local interaction of matter with the tree virtually disconnected the bodies on The gravity force is an attraction
energy residing in the field could not earth from the distant matter in the between A and B and decreases with the
universe by millions of years. There was inverse square of the distance between
no hope in Sciama's t heory of producing the bodies. In contrast to this position -
dependent force. the inertia -gravity
Retarded action simultaneous reaction forces tar away in
the universe. Hence inertia remained an force depends on the acceleration of A
disconnects a body isolated unpaired force. just as in New-
ton's theory. Sciama failed to follow up
relative to what Moon and Spencer
called the substratum of the universe.
from the rest of with a second paper. as he had promised The latter interaction is neither an
in the first publication. It seems he attraction nor a repulsion. It acts on A
the universe became disillusioned with his idea of the in the direction opposite to the accelera-

and makes it induction of inertia.

Dicke" of Princeton University and a
tion. The direction of the force on B was
left undefined. The magnitude of the
impossible to number of other physicists also attemp-
ted to explain inertia. They lost them-
interaction force depends in a compli-
cated way on the distance between A
satisfy Mach's selves in the mathematical labyrinth of and B. Finally we hate to assume the
field physics and were unable to locate inertia -gravity force decreases with the
Principle the remote and simultaneous reaction velocity of A relative to the substratum
forces required by Mach's principle. in such a way that it tends to zero as the
possibly he reconciled with Newton's A new approach to the problem was velocity of light is approached.
instantaneous action at a distance on proposed by N oon and Spencer: it led When the equally directed inertia -
which Mach's principle squarely rested. to success at the hands of others. The gravity forces on A (due to all bodies in
This very same fact foiled the attempts American husband and wife team of the the universe) are summed. the result
of others who tried to unravel the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gives the inertia force on A. It becomes
mysteries of inertia without abandoning and the University of Connecticut dis- zero when the acceleration of A ceases.
field theory. A noble effort in this pensed with the field and its resident An assumption of the integration is that
direction was made by the Cambridge free energy. They assumed instead that the matter in the universe is distributed
astrophysicist Sciama' in the middle of the forces of gravitation were transmit- isotropically with respect to the earth.
the present century. He coined the ted by the retarded action at a distance. The theory has two weaknesses. It
remark "... matter has inertia only in Then they modified Newton's law of leases the direction of the distant reac-
the presence of other matter". The gravitation by adding an 'inertia - tion force undefined and is therefore
process of imbuing matter with inertia gravity' term. Like gravity itself, likely to violate Newton's third law.
Sciama called 'induction': he borrowed inertia -gravity depended on the two More important. as in field theory. the
the term from electromagnetism. As he masses of the interacting bodies. To retarded action disconnects A from the
adhered to the rules of field theory. he appreciate the remaining aspects of the rest of the universe and makes it im-
had to make the matter which caused Moon and Spencer theory we will con- possible to satisfy Mach's principle. The

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 61

HYPOTHESIS

lasting value of the Moon and Spencer Both Brown and Assis proposed a law distributed matter in the cosmos.
theory was that it pointed the way to a of gravitation which actually consisted What are the practical consequences
modification of Newton's law of gravita- of three contributions. One varied with of the Assis theory? First of all, it gives
tion which might eventually resolve the the distance between the interacting us the 'sky -hook' on which we can hang
mystery of inertia. particles. This was Newton's term. The the mystifying forces of gyroscopes;.
In 1982 the British physicist Burnis- second term varied with the relative For example. take a top spinning about
ton Browns refined the Moon and velocity and the third term with the an axis which is inclined at 45 degrees to
Spencer theory by what would have relative acceleration of the attracting the vertical, and precesses about the
been a thoroughly Newtonian techni- particles. The velocity term could he vertical axis. An upwardly directed
que. if it had avoided the retardation ignored because it made no contribu- force of inertia prevents this top from
aspect. Ile made the inertia -gravity tion either to the normal forces of falling over to the ground. Assis says
force a force of attraction depending on gravitation or the forces of inertia. A that this upward force pulls on the
the relative acceleration between A and major difference between Brown and distant universe. Cousins' wrote a 5(I(1 -
B. This eliminated the cosmic substra- Assis was that the latter accepted New- page report on gyroscopic devices and
tum (absolute space'') and fixed the ton's simultaneous far -actions. and the reproduced many patents and discus-
direction of the reaction force in the former did not. Referring once more to sions which will be better understood
distant universe. Surprisingly. all the a body A on earth. Assis observes: with instantaneous reaction forces dis-
inertia -gravity forces on A summed vec- "We can divide the forces acting tributed throughout the cosmos.
torially to a single force which opposed on body A into two parts. The first The Assis theory gives us no answer
the acceleration of A relative to the part is the interaction with local to Laithwaite'squestion'': can the iner-
reference frame provided by the distant bodies and with anisotropic distribu- tial force he made stronger than the
galaxies. I lowever, to achieve this re- tions of bodies surrounding it. The gravitational pull of the earth? But it
sult, the galaxies had to he distributed second part is the interaction with gives us legitimate reasons for under-
isotropically around the earth. A dis- isotropic distributions of bodies taking research on so called 'anti-
turbing implication of this was that it which surround it." gravity' devices. Above all, with Assis'
placed the earth at the centre of the concept we can explore the distant uni-
universe. Nevertheless. the isotropic
distribution of galaxies is in general
"When the verse by laboratory experiment.

agreement with prevailing astronomical subway jerks, l)rPeter Graneau is with the ('enter for Electro -
magnetics Research of Northeastern University.
speculations.
Strangely. Burniston Brown paid it is the fixed Rowon ,tlA 02/15, U.S.A. The article is based
on a lecture he delivered at the University of
only lip -service to the concept of re-
tarded actions. All his calculations stars that Perugia. Italy. in September 1989. Leonhard
Ilolihan, Director of the Advanced Energy
ignored the retardation. They equally
well reflected the situation that would
throw you down." Research Institute in London. suggested the
publication of the article and helped with its
have arisen in a Newtonian model with This was an ingenious idea because.
preparation.
simultaneous far -act ions. whatever the distribution of matter in
It was Phipps' who claimed that Mach the universe relative to the earth, we
I. Galileo Galetei. Dialogues concerning
once stated his principle in the following can always divide it into an isotropic two new sciences. Northwestern (Jnisersi-
way: distribution superimposed on an aniso- ty, Evanstone 11. (1939).
"When the subway jerks. it is the topic distribution. Then the earth does 2. A.K.T. Assis. "On Mach's principle".
fixed stars that throw you down." not have to he positioned in the centre Foundations of Physics Letters. vol. 2. p.
Phipps goes on to explain: "Note the of the cosmos. With his law of gravita- 3111 (1989).
3. 11. Aspden. "Anti -gravity electronics".
irreconcilable conflict of Mach's think- tion Assis proceeded to calculate the
Elec'tronic's & tt'ireles World. .Ian. 89,
ing with causal (retarded action) think- net force on body A due to all bodies B
p.29.
ing. After the subway jerks. there is no in the isotropic and anisotropic parts of 4. E. Mach. The science of mechanics. Open
time for the fixed stars to accomplish the universe. The anisotropic universe Court, London (1942).
our observed downfall, it those stars (mainly the matter in the solar system) 5. D. W. Sciama. "On the origin of inertia''.
must act at speed c (velocity of light) in a then gave the normal forces of gravita- Royal Astronomical .Societe. Monthly
causally retarded fashion - as modern tion which make the apple fall to the
Notes. vol. 113. p.34 (1953).
6. R.I-1. Dicke. The theoretical significance
physics teaches of all fundamental dis- ground and cause the tides. The isotro- of experimental relativity, Mackie. Lon-
tant actions." Phipps also stressed that, pic part of the universe produced the don ( 1964).
if we believe Mach, the universe we feel force of inertia in accordance with New- 7. P. Moon, D.E. Spencer. "Mach's princi-
in having to overcome inertia is the ton's second law. ple". Philosophy of Science. vol. 26. p.125
present universe, while the universe we It boils down to this. The moon and ( 1959).
the earth attract each other due to the 8. G. Burniston Brown. Retarded action -at-
see with our eyes if of course very
a -distance. Cortney Publications, Luton
ancient. common gravitational pull contained in England (1982).
Finally we come to the Assis paper' Newton's and Assis' theories. Newton 9. T.E. Phipps. leretical verities: Mathema-
I

published in 1989. He defined his objec- went on to claim that the inertia force tical themes in physical description. Clas-
tive as follows: on the moon. which keeps it in orbit sic Non -Fiction Library, Urbana 11.
"The goal of the present work is to around the earth. is caused by the (1987).
O. F.W. Cousins. Gyroscopic inertial de-
give a relational theory for gravita- moon's relative acceleration to absolute
vices. A report for the \dvanced Energy
tion and from it arrive at Mach's idea space. Against this. Assis maintains that Research Institute. London. (April
that inertial forces come from the the very same force is called forth by the 1988).
gravitational interactions of any relative acceleration -dependent attrac- 11. R. \\'alg; te. 'Eric Laithwaite defies New-
body with the rest of the universe." tions of the 1110011 to the isotropically ton", .Vew Scientist, 14 Nov. 1974, p. 4711.

62 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1

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January 199(1 E1.ECTRONI('S WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 63

LETTERS

going back to a more classic the velocity of light which is realise that a 'degree of freedom'
de Sitter and the belief regarding relativity. consistent with the existence of has to be constrained. The
ether During the conference the
burning question was: Why did
'universal time', something that
is anathema to the relativist.
easiest way to do this is to fix the
dial vertically (or for a dish, fix
After reading the letter by C.C. the scientific world decide to go The institutional addresses of the elevation) and then to rotate
Busby and C.J. Busby with Einstein's theory?" the authors raisingthese issues the dial about a vertical axis.
(EW+EW, November 1989 To add a third element to this are Massachusetts Institute of Another possibility may be for
p. 1084) one begins to wonder de Sitter revolution against Technology and the University the dish to be on a polar mount.
how much more experimental Einstein, I draw attention to of Connecticut in the USA, Anyone embarking on such a
evidence is needed before some words at the end of a paper Kings College, Cambridge in the design is warned that, although
Einstein's postulate about the Binary stars from Three UK and Pulkovo Observatory, the three-dirensional geometry
constancy of light speed is Viewpoints by P. Moan, D.E. Leningrad, USSR: In the light of is not difficult, it is an onerous
overturned. Spencer and E.E. Moon, which views expressed from such a task to calculate the position of
Can it be that the discovery of has appeared in the latest issue of background, I suspect we are the sun accurately. It is done by
the de Sitter phantoms was what Physics Essays (vol. 2, pp. 275- now witnessing thecrumbling iterative methods from
was behind a recent Leningrad 287. foundations of Einstein's theory knowledge of the earth's orbit.
conference on "The Problem of "This paper makes no attempt and cannot continue much The best method, however, is to
Space and Time in Modern to analyse all the experiments longer to regard these who use someone else's tables!
Science" sponsored by the that are generallyregarded by challenge the Einstein doctrine This method is an extension to
Academy of Science of the physicists to be verifications of as ill-informed 'cranks'. the practice of observing the sun
USSR? A report by one US special and general relativity. It H. Aspden, at a certain time and date when it
participant in this event, deals with a relatively modest Department of Electrical is eclipsed by the satellite, in
published in the Commercial question: Should all thought Engineering, order to see if you have a line -of-
Dispºtch, Columbus, Míssissippi concerning the postulates on the University of Southampton. sight path to the satellite.
on April 6, 1989, indicated that it velocity of light have ended with David Gibson
had been learned that earlier two de Sitter's 1913 publications? ELF reception Broadstone
scientists had been dismissed Many experiments do exist that Dorset
from the Pulkovo Observatory Mr McGregor's letter describing
are not consistent with the
a novel satellite antenna using
because they had discovered
facts which contradicted
special and general theories of
relativity. It is because of these
gnomes' hats (November, 1989) Crossed -field
reminded me of an idea I had a
Einstein. However, perestroika experiments that the authors feel , while ago. I was going to file a
antenna
had opened doors and this it is still worthwhile to investigate
' patent application, but I have not As a final -year electrical
conference had become a forum the postulates of currently
got around to it. and may as well engineering student at the
for expressing disagreement with accepted physics with an open
share the information. University of Sydney doing my
Einstein's theory. Quoting from mind."
The central 'stick' on a sundial thesis on antennae. I was
the report, "At least four of the The authors declare that the
is called a gnomon (hence the fascinated by your article on the
representatives from object of this latter paper is to
.

Novosibirsk, Russia's 'atomic connection with gnomes). For a crossed -field antenna. The idea'
prepare the way for a new
city', were stressing the idea of interpretation or postulate on
given orientation of a sundial, of an antenna whose radiated
the tip of the shadow traces out a wavelength is independent of
path such that each unique physical size would be, as the
position of the sun in the sky
Nonsense - but which nonsense? corresponds to a unique position
of the shadow. By inscribing sets
authors suggested,
unprecedented. Thus I spent
several months on
As I survey the disordered criss- integrate rather than of orthogonal lines on the base of experimentation and theoretical
cross of narrow-gauge demonstrate that he could not the sundial it would be possible study of the concept of the CFA.
automatons, what do I find? A see the Garden for all the other to read off the sun's elevation At the end of this examination
contents page containing a dead slugs*. and azimuth. Alternatively, if the conclusion I arrived at was
descriptive summary of Letters It is in fact refreshing to read the sun's position is known in that this antenna would not
including the word "Nonsense". the print-out ofa better - advance (from nautical tables for produce efficient radiation at a
Could this he a Freudian slip? programmed computer like Mr example), then the orientation of wavelength independent of
To a metaphysicist who actually Whiston (November). and that is the sundial can be worked out. physical size. The major
understands causation, all other why I grant you the benefit of the A sundial could be constructed problems associated with this
explanations of what goeson in doubt as to why you published it from a satellite dish. -The dish is design are as follows.
the "real" world of apparency, if it is nonsense: or were you moved to a point in the required 1. In Fig. bof the article, the
below it, are nonsensical. really referring to the object of direction by watching the wires connecting to the upper
Thus, Sir, before you label his critique? position of the shadow cast by E -plate and upper D -plate from
sense as nonsense, pray consider *Slug: a solid line of typecast the gnomon, taking into account the splitter and phasing unit
doing better than a certain by linotype process, largely the time of day, timeof year and would interact with the other
professor of physics, with whom defunct. latitude. This information could 'open' wires as well as the other
I have corresponded. who James A. MacHarg be inscribed on the dish, but the capacitor plates. This would lead
muttered blithely about Wooler system would be more versatile if to the generation of both E and H
answering all my points when he Northumberland the information was kept in a set fields, thus significantly
would have done better to I refuse to print this arrant of tables. distorting the 'synthesis' of the
demonstrate a mental ability to nonsense - Ed. Those who can think in three- Poynting vector S = E x H.
dimensional geometry will 2. This running of the coax.

64 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

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LETTERS

inner cable through open space greatly assist in further research undertaken by Miss Helen Avsec If any readers can assist in any
will also lead to a very significant
change in the antennae terminal
impedance -one which is highly
-
on the CFA.
How far from the antenna
were the measurements taken?
working fora Ph.D. under my
supervision at Surrey University.
It was part of a programme to
way, perhaps they would contact
me.
Norman D. Cooper
sensitive to any frequency That is to say, in the near or far study vibration of turbine blades 71 Newcoln Road
changes: this was verified field. using laser Doppler and was Edgehill
experimentally. Hence any - What is the radiation initially funded by the Science Scarborough
power output of the antenna resistance of the antenna? Or, Research council. Collaboration North Yorkshire
would be significantly reduced as
the input matching network
would no longer provide correct
-how efficient was the CFA?
What is the input impedance
of the antenna over a broad
subsequently developed with Mr
S. Botcherby at Decca who was
able to help with equipment. The
YOI24BL

matching for maximum power

transfer from the input.
3. This antenna would look
- frequency range?
What is the comparative gain
of the antenna?
result was a startlingly original
instrument: the clever part lay in
its ability to sense direction of
Untangling the
magnetic knot
like a highly capacitive load, In conclusion, the CFA would motion in a laser homodyne Mr Ove Tedenstig has supplied
which is undesirable in antennas indeed be a revolutionary new system without an offset local us with a mathematical summary
since, for good power radiation, antenna design and I personally oscillator. Its sensitivity was also of his views concerning Colin
a good terminal impedance would be interested in seeing it quite extraordinary; on a White's September 1989 article
matching is required. This is further developed as there are specular reflector it was able to on magnetic units. We would be
difficult to achieve with a highly numerous applications for such detect movements as small as pleased to supply a copy of the
capacitive load- particularly an antenna -even with a poor l0-2'cm, but lesson an ordinary summary on receipt'of a
over a broad frequency range. efficiency: for example, hand- scattering target. stamped, addressed envelop.
4. Maxwell's equations show held radar over moderate The principles of the Ed.
that when an RF voltage source distances. instrument were reported at the
is set up across any set of parallel Stefan J. Jackson Conference on Laser
plates- regardless of their Air Navigation Dept. of Engineering and Applications in Cyclic redundancy
thickness- both E and H fields Electrical Engineering Washington in May 1969, under
are created. These fields will University of Sydney the authorship of Botcherby, checks
additionally interact with each N.S.W. Avsec (later Mrs Botcherby) and I read with interest Graham
other. Hence the statement that Australia myself.
-The Poynting vector S = E x H Stephens' article on CRC's in
When it became apparent September's issue as I have used
is directly synthesised by Laser vibration what the real application of the them for some time in my work
separate E and H field stimulus" instrument would be, we at
does not appear correct - measurement Surrey moved on to other laser
of reading 'alien' format disks
onto an IBM PC using central
particularly over the claimed Lee Tracy's interesting and Doppler work, taking the view point bitcopy cards. During this
bandwidth of 30%. informative article on electronic that electronic surveillance was work, it was necessary 'to develop
However, despite these surveillance in the October issue an inappropriate topic for a from scratch a number of CRC
reservations, it appears from the mentions Decca's laser vibration university. Owing to the security routines which work in the
article that the authors have system but fails to give credit to interest, subsequent opposite direction (disk data
produced an antenna which the inventors. May I be developments elsewhere have goes msb first) to those of Mr
exhibits the stated properties. If permitted to fill in the been shielded under security Stephens, but which have been
they could provide some further background? wraps. optimised significantly.
results and procedures it would The original project was Quintin Davis I have applied these
Martin, Davis & Partners techniques to the 6502 routine
Leatherhead you published. The routines are
Surrey primarily concerned with speed,
Anti -gravity which can be quite significant
Philip Lonsdale's letter in the who has laid a concrete floor with
Test -card tapes when dealing with 10k of track
data. If you take the xor logic
July N'& Wtt describing the a vibrating screed will also know Two years ago I bought an ex - further you can iterate the data
"Dean Drive" was most that (here is a definite preferred BBC studio tape machine: the xor and related bit shifts
interesting. Presumably' it direction of travel for these very machine which was used to completely out of the loop.
consisted of two dumb -hell devices. play the tapes of BBC test -card My assertion is that you only
weights shuttled across a rotating I have always assumed that the music between the late 1950s and need to xor the data with remls
shaft at twice (he rotational horizontal force resulted from early 1960s. once at the beginning and in the
frequency: or two cont ra- asymmetrical freictional forces It is my ambition to own tape loop merely shift the remainder
rotating devices. more likely. A but perhaps someone more recordings of all the tapes of and xor with the polynomial
less developed type of Dean expert in the conversion of music played with the test card when a' 1' hit falls off the end.
Drive seems to he knos n to angular momentum into linear between 1958 and 1965 so that This method I call fast serial
many 11/, to3 year old toddlers as momentum could give me the once again they can be played on and is more efficient in space and
they persuade tricycles and real reason. Did I hear someone the same machine that played speed than the one published.
trolleys to move. albeit slowly. in shout "conservation laws!" them during that period of time. The next step is to realise that
one direction on level surfaces by M. Hamer The BBC cannot help, since for each piece of 'data sor remls'
undulating their bodies and not Ullingswick the tapes no longer exist . so I'm there are only 256 possible ways
using their feet at all. Anyone Hereford writing to you in the hope that that the polynomial can be
your readers can help. xor'ed with the remainder and

66 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 19911

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67
January 199(1 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD
LETTERS

hence I can create a 512 byte

table of all the possible l6bit xor
Faster than light
patterns. This method I call Fast With regard to the article by
Parallel. Pappas and Obolensky in the
As I wanted the routine to be December 1988 issue of E& WW,
as flexible as the others, you have 1 would ask that the oscilloscope

to run the `buildcrc' routine each itself be examined.

time you change the polynomial, I have been looking at the light
so that a new table can be output from a fast spark, (rise
created. time 2-3ns, duration 2Ons) using
C. Turvey a Tektronix 7104 oscilloscope
Xth Planet Software and observed the trace looping
Southampton the loop. It turned out that the
Fast serial CRC routine for the 6502

.crc LDY #&08 :Bit counter

LDA data ;The xor has been moved outside the loop
EOR remls :and the bit shifts on the data removed
trace was being deflected by ii) An independent current
.crcouter LSR remms ;shift right the high byte of remainder direct radiation of signal di/dt."
ROR A :the low byte is still in A electromagnetic signals acting In considering this, I did not
BCC crcinner ;Was the bit falling off the end '1' either on the electron beam or raise the question about the
EOR polyls ;Xor the low byte with the polynomial being picked up by the deflection
TAX
velocities of these two signals.
.A about to be trashed, so move remls to X
plates in the CRT. The vertical The current signal, which i the
LDA remms ;Xor the high byte with the polynomial
EOR polyms component appeared before the power pulse, creates a magnetic
STA remms signal, since the direct radiation field in and around the
TXA ;Recover low byte of remainder had not been delayed internally. conductors. The transformation
.crcinner DEY ;Repeat for all8bits I found that the two side panels of energy needs time and is
BNE crcouter of the oscilloscope were not
STA remls ;Save the low byte of remainder
connected with power losses.
RTS earthed, and acted as antennae This process proceeds with a
for the radiation. Earthed side Maxwellian velocity.
panels are, apparently, an The voltage signal, however,
Parallel CRC routine for the 6502 optical extra from Tektronix, prepares the way for the current.
who possibly generate sales for It is a precursor signal, so named
.crc LDA data ;Xor the data to the current low byte the option by isolating the by Dr Aspden. The precursor
EOR remls panels. signal sets up an electrical order
TAX :Change to a table reference Keith Wood in the conductors. Without the
IDA remms :Get high byte of remainder
West Derby voltage signal the electrons
EOR crcls.X :Xor with the table value for low CRC because
STA remls :after 8 shifts it becomes the remainder low byte Liverpool compensating the nuclear charge
IDA crcms.X :Now get the new remainder high byte from in atoms constituting the
STA remms ;the high CRC table. The reported measurement of conductor, have a chaotic
RTS superluminal velocities of motion, not oriented according
.buildcrc LOX
electrical signals (A.G. to the current direction.
#&00 :Builds a CRC table for all values of X 0 to 255
buildouter STX remls :Just put the X byte in the remainder
Obolensky and P.T. Pappas: I believe that the precursor

LDA #&00 EWW, December 1988) and the signal orientates the orbital
STA remms subsequent correspondence electron motion at the atomic
LDY '#&08 Apply the 8 bit Fast Serial (EWW March, April, 1989) raise level and thus prepares the
buildmid LSR remms an exciting issue if what is
ROR remls
current path. Its action should be
BCC buildinner
suggested can really be quicker than the Maxwellian
LDA remls sustained. velocity usually regarded as the
EOR polyls I would like to draw attention speed of light. I hope that these
STA remls to my description of the initiation remarks will be of interest to
LDA remms of current flow ín an electrical EWW readers.
EOR polyms
STA remms
circuit presented in Dr Jan Nasilowski,
.buildinner DEY ;Repeat for all 8 bits Electromagnetic Fields ín Instytut Elektrotechníki,
BNE buildmid Electrical Engineering (Plenum, Warsaw,
LDA remls :Move the new low remainder to the low CRC New York, 1988). Quoting from Poland.
STA crcls.X :table my article 'A contribution to the
LDA remms :Move the new high remainder to the high CRC
theory of skin -effect', which
STA crcms.X ;table
appeared in that work:
Which Mips?
INX ;Repeat for all values of X
BNE buildouter "At the moment of closing Rupert Baines article "Who's
RTS switch S the conductors of the who in RISC" (November 1989
circuit receive two signals: EW+ WW) credits the Intel 860
.crcls :256 bytes of storage
i) A voltage signal U which co -processor with "150 Mips
.crcms :256 bytes of storage
determines the direction of performance, more than seven
the movement of electrons, times as fast as its nearest

68 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1

 LETTERS

competitor". Absolute suppliers will have to fight over

nonsense! For a company with the remaining 30%. The 35% of Audio power
no history of developing the market prediction for Sparc
advanced architectures (best not results almost entirely from I was very interested to read the development becomes limited
to mention the iAPX 432!), the vertical integration within Sun article in November EW+ WW only to any industrial experience
860 is a very commendable Microsystems. By contrast, by J. Linsley -Hood on the that they might gain.
product. However, its ' R3000 is used by DEC, CDC, history of audio amplifiers. since The purpose of this letter is to
performance running real Sony, Bull, Siemens. Nixdorf. it triggered fond memories of his issue a rallying -cry to those who
programs is virtually the same as Prime, Ardent and many other original article in Wireless World are still acti; e with such analogue
the I DT/M I PS 79R3000, which blue chip corporal ions. on his class-A amplifier. which circuitry. whether audio or RI',
Baines correctly acknowledges Steve Bennett became my first foray into audio since the personal experience
as the highest performance risc Manager European Applications construction and hence analogue that results from such activity is
architecture in production today. IDT Europe Ltd. design. Following its success. far inure wide-ranging than
Such contrary positions arise Leatherhead much heat and several happy simply a working piece of
because people have differing years were spent in the early hardware. (This can sometimes
interpretations of a Mip, ranging 1970s on various audio projects. he seen when looking at some
No'integers for developing better and better designers' prototypes, the circuit
an" +b"=c"
from millions of instructions per
second at one extreme (or native technical 'performance'. (Just layout and number of decoupling
Mips), to machine relative Mips how many readers built a capacitors- if any). As time goes
such as VAX -Mips. To make an My previous notes, neatly and 'Nelson -Jones' FM tuner?). by it is inevitable that the need to
audio analogy, sustained VAX - faithfully reproduced in the By around the end of the create such circuitry will
Mips could be said to be the January issue, assume that it 1970s. though. it became more diminish as other. probably more
continuous power per channel of would be absurd to expect a and more difficult to ignore the digital areas open up for
an amplifier in watts. By solution simply by replacing the price of ready-made equipment. attention. In the meantime.
contrast, peak native Mips common exponent 2 in its improving performance and when you buy that piece of
equate to those words beloved by Pythagorean equations with a also its appearance relative to foreign equipment. remember
advertisers, total peak music greater integer. This is an that obtainable with home -built whose circuitry t hey developed it
power! opinion, not a proof. items. Thus began the drift into from and never forget t hat the
Promulgation in the mediapf Regarding any applicable set purchasing ready-made results of the mega -corporations
performance numbers such as of integers, or P triple as some equipment. which if nothing can always be improved upon
peak native Mips isone of the would call it, c is one of the odd else. had at least some resale with thoughtful design and
primary reasons for confusion in numbers and a is usually the even value, a story that is all too innovation!
the rise market. Potential users one. Let this be the case at familiar within amateur radio.
are unable to relate such unitsof present. The result is. of course. that Brian .1. Frost
performance to actual system If c2-b2 = a2 then a2 would. fewer and fewer people are Dorset Design and
performance they might realise like c2-b2, be divisible by c-b. So motivated to experiment with Developments
in their particular design. also would a" because this is a circuitry and their knowledge of Ferndown
A telling observation one multiple of a2. Then a"/(c-b) = analogue design and Dorset
could make about the various an -2(c+ b) which is the product of
rise architectures is that, despite
having the R2000/3000
two even numbers.
However, when n is odd, the
Wien oscillator amplitude
architecture as a "role model" other side, now (c"-b")/(c-b), Having a toothache which output voltage V leading to:-
for several years, the best other equals the sum of an odd number seemed to be influenced by cold. [Tr.T,D2+(Tr +T2+T,-
designs have achieved is to equal of odd numbers. I decided to stay in the warm, m.T3)D+1].Vr,=0 (I)
the R3010 performance, as the In a different way it can also be instead of working, and have a
8611 does. Most don't come close. shown that when n is even, the look at Peter F. Vaughan's little Assuming a solution
The 860 achieves its performance supposition is again problem (EW+WW. November, Vo=er sin wt
by the brute -force technique of unquestionably absurd. Fellow - I989, p. 1083). It turned out to be wherew»p. Differentiating to
massive parallelism and very readers might like to amuse soluble by the old CD method, suit (I ), and equating sine and
wide internal busses (around a themselves with thisone while where D=d/dt. As, cosine terms to 0, we obtain
million transistors). The R3()(10, tidy up the explanation. Of unfortunately, Peter took R1 and w 1/(Tr.T2)rh-
by contrast, uses elegant course, if this were anything R2 for two feedback resistors. with a correction term in p, and
architecture (I 15 (NN) more than a diversion. scientists one cannot use and 2 as suffixes
1 p= rh.](m-I)T,-Tr-TiI
transistors) and sophisticated would have sorted it out. for the main Wien oscillator This result implies that the
optimizing compilers. Those Incidentally, a more revealing components without treading on critical condition between decay
who think the 860 is as truly way of expressing the division of his toes. However, if one uses T, and build-up arises at
wonderful as Baines claims x"-y" by x-y is by saying that it for the time constant of the series m = + (Ti +T,)/T,
1

should ask Intel why they are equals the sum of n terms, the CR circuit considered by itself, and permits calculation of the
redesigning it. first and greatest of which is x"'r T2 for that of the parallel CR bui Id -up and decay rates for
Most semiconductor market with each succeeding term y/x circuit by itself and T, for that of appropriate values of m.
analysts are predicting that the times its antecedent. This a CR circuit formed by the George Lewin
R3tX)1l and the Sun Sparc changes the order used in the capacitor of the series circuit Samtronix
processor will share equally January examples which seemed with the resistor of the parallel South Ascot
about 70% of the rise market by easier to memorise. circuit, with m for feedback Berkshire
the mid 1990s. All other rise Name and address supplied. ratio, one gets an equation for

69
January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD
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CIRCLE NO. 155 ON REPLY CARD CIRCLE NO. 128 ON REPLY CARD

70 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WI RELESS WORLD January 1990

 SI " L
A ALYSIS
Mt electronic engineers of the user. Furthermore. due to its
:nd technicians know almost universal availability, a
how to make good use of measurement facility can normally he
tie range of facilities based on an available PC. thereby re-
9ffered by a budget - ducing capital outlay.
pi-jug oscilloscope, but there is an
increasing need for measurements SCOPE
which go beyond the simple real-time The Radioplan SCOPE package is an
display of aveforms. To this end, digit- excellent example of the use of a PC
al storage facilities (which permit the microcomputer in the field of waveform
capture of transient events for subse- analysis. The package was originally
quent display and analysis) are now developed for use on hasehand com-
commonplace in more expensive equip- munications systems. but has a wide
range of applications in the fields of
ment.
The spectral analysis of a waveform
Mike Tooley reports on a noise, strain and vibration analysis. as
can yield a great deal of information new software/hardware well as in medical instrumentation. phy-
which cannot easily he gleaned from a siology, audio and sonar signal proces-
conventional time related display. In package which converts sing.
SCOPE offers an impressive speci-
this case, an instrument which can dis- a PC into a storage fication, with sampling rates of up to
play signal amplitude against frequency
is needed. oscilloscope and 500k! Iz (maximum display frequency
Clearly, most of us will require ac- 2501: Hz), four -channel operation, and
cess. at some time or other, to both a
spectrum analyser five operational modes (including
spectrum analyser and a storage oscillo- quasi -real-time oscilloscope and spec-
scope. This is. of course. fine for those trum analyser).
working on an unrestricted budget;
most Of us. however. need to count the Waveform analysis
cost of even the most modest items of Before explaining how the package
ó
test equipment and thus may not he able operates, it is worth summarizing the
to justify the considerable investment in principal techniques available to those
á
items such as spectrum analysers and engaged in signal analysis.
oscilloscopes which incorporate digital Electrical signals can he charac-
storage. terized in three ways: amplitude, fre-
quency. and time. Conventional two-
Enter the PC TIME dimensional screen displays relate am-
Happily. the solution to this (and many Fig. I. Time domain display (con ven - plitude and time (i.e. a time -domain
other instrumentation problems) is tional oscilloscope) display). or amplitude and frequency
readily to hand and takes the form of (i.e. a frequency -domain display). A
the ubiquitous PC microcomputer (and time -domain display is the type normal-
compatible types). operating in con- ly associated with an oscilloscope (see
junction with an adapter card and V1g. I). while a frequency -domain dis-
appropriate software. play is that which is conventionally
PC -based solutions to instrumenta- produced by a spectrum analyser, as
tion problems are becoming increasing- seen in Fig. 2.
ly cost-effective. Not only can they In some cases, it may he desirable to
provide a highly flexible alternative to display all three parameters (amplitude.
traditional methods (based on stand- frequency and time) simultaneously,
alone items of test equipment) but PC - FREQUENCY which requires a three-dimensional
based systems can he easily configured Fig. 2. Frequency domain display (spec- "landscape" or "waterfall" display. Fi-
to cope with the changing requirements trum analyser) gure 3 shows a representative three -

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 71

 1CTLO
1.28
Ic001
n. CO from 21 a IUT,
fr.rmao w avc

ae+

L.!

IM U
j j,m!!
:.Al
.664.

.0x.
1.211

rr. le
aaÓO xila mroC 3113 4a[o
112.42111 sec wr..h, N , 41301
CIRCULAR Bun -ER RECBRRINO KOBE ACME CIRCULAR BUFFER RECORBINB MODE ACTIVE
n rz ra no
V art
MIME
Ore
LL 4 10 úe é MSC
DPP
rnf
CI8.

Fig. 3. Waterfall display ol'INK signal in noisy FIF channel Fig. 4. Time display of INK signal showing tone burst
(13.811111z) MHz sampling rate. 2 x zoom. 26.8ms (from huller replay).

dimensional display based on axes of 3.5in disk, which contains two files: 200k 112. or 51)0kl-Iz). The default set-
amplitude. frequency and time. This SCOPE_EG (the functional software) tings on start-up are 128V and 20k
form normally comprises a sequence of and SCOPE_DE (a demonstration respectively.
amplitude/frequency plots and provides program). I found the initial voltage setting to be
a spectral history of a signal under consistently too large since and had to
investigation. User interface resort to changing the setting each time
Numerical methods based on the The user interface is based on a series of the equipment was used. Some mechan-
Fourier series may be used to resolve a screens. which are related in a tree ism for allowing the user to change (and
complex waveform into components at structure of up to three levels. Move- store) the default settings would have
different frequencies. Modern digital ment up and down between the levels is been a useful addition to the package.
methods of waveform analysis involve achieved by use of the function keys. To While in oscilloscope or spectrum
regular sampling of the amplitude of a aid the user, the definitions of these analyser modes. the function keys FI to
signal, converting it to digital form and keys are clearly displayed in the lower F3 remain operational, but their values
storage of data in semiconductor ran- portion of the screen. are frozen in the other modes while data
dom access memories. A fast Fourier The use of the function keys is largely is being recorded in the data buffer for
transform (FFT) algorithm may be used self evident and, in this respect. the later analysis and display.
to con\ert data acquired in the time package is reasonably intuitive. At Record mode is entered from the
domain to corresponding frequency - other times (e.g. in REPLAY mode) initial (Level 1) screen by using function
domain data. parameters are altered by the arrow keys Fl to F3 to set up the recording
SCOPE provides the user with the keys and the page keys. I lere again. parameters. selecting the RECORD func-
following facilities: operat ion is quite straightforward. tion using F5 and finally pressing the
digital signal recorder and analyser. The initial (Level I) screen is display- EXECUTE key. FU). Fortunately, this is
digital storage oscilloscope. ed as soon as the program is run. This somewhat less cumbersome than it
spectrum analyser. screen is used to select the main oper- sounds!
The hardware is based on a single ational modes and, in the case of the During recording. data is stored in a
full-sized PC adapter card. Apart from data recording modes. the data capture cyclic 512Kbyte buffer on the adapter
the usual bus interface, this card con- parameters must be set up from this card. Acquisition may lie halted at any
tains 5I2Khyte of ram, a fast A -to -D screen. which is divided into three main time and restarted from the same point
converter (ADC0820) and two c-mos areas, the largest of which (in the upper in the buffer. Once the buffer is full, the
analogue multiplexers. The software right quadrant) is devoted to the graphic oldest data is overwritten.
package is supplied on a single 5.25in or display. This region is hounded by a REPLAY mode is entered from RE-
vertical axis (calibrated in voltage or CORD mode by pressing F9 followed by
The SCOPE hardware and software costs dB) and a horizontal axis (calibrated in F10. The replay mode enables data
£1800. For those who may be contemplat- time or frequency). A small area to the previously stored in the 5I2Khyte buf-
ing purchase of the package, Radioplan left of the display area is used for trace fer to he analysed and displayed in
can supply the demonstration program on
and cursor information and a strip at the various ways. TtntE allows signal ampli-
a 5.25in floppy disk. It simulates all the
features of the real program (with the bottom of the screen is reserved for tude to he plotted against time and in
exception of triggered signal capture). The displaying the function keys and their FREQUENCY, signal amplitude is plotted
simulation illustrates a 1kHz CW signal and current settings. against frequency. 'vi
t.RF- \t.l. pre-
a chirped 2-4kHz signal within the receiver Five function keys are operational sents a series of frequency plots against
passband. from the Level screen. FI is used to time in
I a three-dimensional "land-
The disk is available free, but readers
select the voltage range (1.29V. 2.56V, scape" display. Finally, the SPECTRO-
should be aware that, as with the fully,
functional version, the software requires 6.4V, I2.8V. 25.6V, 64V, I28V or GRAPH display shows a consecutive
that the PC on which it is run is fitted with a 256V) and F2 sets the sampling rate series of frequency plots using a two-
numeric coprocessor. (20011z, 500Hz. kHz. 2k1 Iz. Skl lz,
I dimensional format with colour coding
10k1-1z. 20kllz, 50k1-Iz. 100k1-Iz, to represent signal amplitude. This last

72 ELECTRONICS WORLD+ WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

 m011W 70°
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7hz}000 ttr
2041.0

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W1l/r OM 0100
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Warm

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100.0 7070 Q/7f R a 5 1619 ,e0 1 h A

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QtarO 1000.0 Hz 100.0
[overly e 1 -0.111 03131011
Q.s sec (Add 1n4 IR... rrrmr NO

AMU( CiICILAR RATER RCCOROIIIB MIX ACTIEC

CIRCULAR BUFFER RCCOROIItB MOM
n n ro r3. rT IT4 110
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'.91E I .x1v l l AVM I úM II Ilk I

Fig. 5. Spectrum display of FSK signal showing frequency Fig. 6. Spectogram dispta, of FSK signal showing pulsed
shift 0(839.841z and 13.250dB amplitude difference. lading and dillerential hiding between tones.

method of display requires some con- PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys may he used to abort to Level I. Once trigger-
siderable time! used to move the cursor between traces ing has occurred. capture is halted after
Once in replay mode a menu of and the Di -I 11I: key can be used to 5 12Kbvte of data has been stored.
parameters appears at the bottom left of zoom the designated trace so that it fills
the screen. A menu allows the following the entire screen. Oscilloscope and spectrum
parameters to he displayed: type of Single -shot and analyser modes
display (time -domain. frequency do- In oscilloscope mode, the voltage
main. waterfall. or spectrograph). size triggered modes range, timebase. input channel, and
of frame (either 512, 1024. 2048 or 4096 Single -shot mode is similar to 12Ecolzo. number of points plotted (512. 1024.
points), start time. and duration. except that recording stops as soon as 2048 or 4096) are all selectable by means
In the case of time and frequency 512Kbyte of data has been captured. At of appropriate function keys. Altering
displays. F6 may he used to pause the this point. the REPLAY menu is entered the number of points plotted causes a
current frame for further measurements automatically. Triggered mode is also proportionately longer time period to
to be made. As soon as the frame is entered from Level and the operator is
I
he displayed. However, since the dis-
frozen, a cursor in the form of a V. and a presented with a menu from which to play is limited to 512 horizontal points.
reference cross, appear on the top line select a number of parameters. includ- this is achieved by missing out every
of the screen. A cross -hair also appears ing trigger voltage. trigger polarity. and second. fourth or eighth point of the
on the trace of the waveform at a point pre -trigger time. The pre -trigger time waveform.
vertically below the cursor. By moving may be altered in increments equivalent
the cursor and the reference cross it is to 2Khyte of stored data (which is
equivalent to an increment of 2(148/Fs Operating environment
possible to make relative readings of
amplitude or time between any two seconds, where Fs is the Fourier sample -he minimum system requirement for the
points on the displayed waveform. Fine rate). Radioplan SCOPE package is an IBM PC -
and coarse control of the cursor and Having set the trigger parameters. AT -compatible fitted with an EGA graphics
reference cross is provided by means of FIO enables triggering and the display adapter, numeric coprocessor (80287),
shows elapsed time while waiting for the and a Radioplan 0.5Mbyte DSR board.
the HOME, INSERT, and arrow keys. In
the case of a multi -trace display, the trigger to occur. At this point F8 may he

0.20 0. cosec 104

Spectrum Analyzer (lode Active
Oscilloscope Rode Activa
r R ""
Pointe OLIO tmr net
mó r
'_aoi z01í P12 OLIO
I

Fig. 7 Signal generator output. with cross -hairs positioned Fig. 8. Spectrum ofsignal shown in Fig.7
at discontinuity.

73
January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD
 When the display is paused, a cursor applications this would he an extremely I6F analogue interface card) this pack-
and cross appear (as in the case of the useful facility and, while one could age will operate at 100,000 samples per
REPLAY mode described earlier). This make use of a TSR program simply to second with Dry A transfer. The com-
facility permits extremely accurate capture screen displays, this is not quite bined price of a DAS -16F and ITEM
measurements of time and voltage. ;the same thing as being able to store the software amounts to about £1650. but
In spectrum analyser mode. the con- captured data and later reload. making the lack of an on -board memory buffer
trols operate in the same manner as in full use of the range of options avail- must he considered as something of a
the oscilloscope mode except that. able. shortcoming. SNAPS' IO'I' STORAGE
when the number of points is increased. The other notable omission is that of SCOPE software does, however, allow
the additional data is displayed by in- a dos shell facility. Many of today's users to store data in Lotus 1-2-3 com-
creasing the number of traces on the software applications allow users to exit patible format and also contains a
screen. In order to examine one of a to a dos shell to execute dos commands. mathematical package which incor-
number of multiple traces displayed on Such a facility would be almost manda- porates correlation and statistical func-
the screen, a zoom facility is provided tory if the software were to be enhanced tions (among others). My preference.
(as in REPLAY mode). to permit savings and loading data. however. remains with the Radioplan
One further small niggle concerns the offering.
Operation procedure for returning to the initial The Radioplan package will find a
Iput the package through its paces by Level I screen. which is only possible to place in education as well as in industry.
analysing a variety of different signals. reach by returning through all the pre- Furthermore. when one considers the
These included the output of a low - viously accessed levels. This is done by facilities offered by the package and the
distortion oscillator. a fast rise -time pressing F8. setting the screen mode to cost of equisalent stand-alone instru-
pulse derived from a high -voltage pulse QUIT or pressing any key. depending ments (i.e. an oscilloscope with digital
generator. and a noisy FSK signal re- upon the screen currently being display- storage oscilloscopes and a spectrum
ceived using a modern VHF CW-SSB ed. All this is very well but a single analyser). its package must he consi-
transceiver. The results of these inves- -escape" key would have been prefer- dered remarkable value.
tigations are displayed in Figs 4 to 8. At able.
all times. SCOPE proved to be powerful The SCOPE package is competitive
yet easy to use. with several others. Its nearest competi-
Radioplan Ltd are at Unit 14, Cheltenham
The software is. however, lacking in tion (which has a somewhat inferior Trade Park, Arle Road, Cheltenham.
two particular areas. The first of these is specification) is the SNAPSHOT Gloucestershire, GL50 811 Telephoned
the fact that there is no means of STORAGE SCOPE package from rf0242) 224304
preserving the recorded data on disk for II EM. When running in conjunction
future display and analysis. In many with MetraByte's hardware (a DAS-

BOOKS

A Twentieth Century Professional neglected. Its IS sections main deal with feel the pain. Among his subject headings
Institution: the story of the I.E. R.E. 1925- subjects ranging front the basic principles of are fundamentals of digital audio, the CD
1988. by Graham D. Clifford and Frank W. electronics to design, construction and system. player design principles, practical
Sharp. Having started life as the Institute of measurement techniques, taking in such concerns (concerns for the audiophile. that
Radio Engineers. a title which was changed matters as filters, microcomputers, high is), disc formats (including CD-rom. CD -
almost immediately to the Institute of frequencies and micropower design on the Video. erasable CDs and of hers) and
Wireless Technology to avoid confusion with way. The authors' text is unfailingly direct manufacturing processes; and at the end is a
its American cousin, the radio engineers' and approachable, always coming straight to glossary of technical terms. Each chapter
body continued in independent existence the point with solid information of practical ends with a useful reading list. Coding
until October I last year. This official value. Besides the t heory is a generous methods are explained in detail, but circuit
history, which deals with administrative amount of detailed advice and designers' descriptions are kept to block diagram level.
matters and the development of the lore which individuals might otherwise have The author's approach will appeal to
organization rather than its influence on the to learn the hard way: examples are the engineers who want to know how their
progress of radio technology. marks its troublesome quirksof c-mos and TTL domestic hi-fi works but do not want to
absorption into the IEF. Published by Peter devices. Very recommendable. Cambridge plough through an academic text. The
Peregrinus Ltd on behalf of the Institution of University Press, 125 pages, hardcovers.
1
information is well up to date and covers
Electrical Engineers, 331 pages, hard hack. £29.95. techniques such as piezoelectric embossing
£15. used in Teldec's DMM mastering process for
The Compact Disc, a handbook oft heory CDs. and the 18 -hit converters used in
The Art of Electronics by Paul I lorowitz and and use, by Ken C. Pohlmann. Chatty yet certain Japanese consumer CD players;
Winfield I lilt, second edition. Wide-ranging systematic and comprehensive treatment of though the exotic D -to-A conversion
reference work covering circuit elements the little silver miracles. As the author puts it methods used in the latest players look as if
and techniques of all types, including topics in his preface. a good teacher is like a good theycould change that. Oxford University
the book describes as important but nurse with a hypodermic needle -you never Press, 288 pages, hard covers. £30.

74 ELECTRONIC'S WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

Thc Archer- Z80 1)C
The SDS ARCHER The Z80 based single board
computer chosen by professionals and OEM users.
* Top quality board with 4 parallel and 2 serial ports,
counter -timers, power -fail interrupt, watchdog timer,
EPROM & battery backed RAM.
* OPTIONS: on board power supply, smart case,
ROMable BASIC, Debug Monitor, wide range of I/O &
memory extension cards.
CIRCLE NO. 127 ON REPLY CARD

The Bowman 68000 cSBC

BOWMAN - The 68000 based single board
The SDS
computer for advanced high speed applications.
* Extended double Eurocard with 2 parallel & 2 serial
ports, battery backed CMOS RAM, EPROM, 2 counter -
timers, watchdog timer, powerfail interrupt, & an
optional zero wait state half megabyte D -RAM.
* Extended width versions with on board power supply ...
and case.
CIRCLE NO. 143 ON REPLY CARD

c5hcnwocxi Data yáemb Ltcl

Unit 6, York Way, Cressex Industrial Estate, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 3PY. Tel: (0494) 464264

COMPUTER PERIPHERALS
SIGNAL ANALYSIS
HP 432A Power Meter 8 Head
200
£ Sekosha SL -80 24 Pin DIM Printer
(New)
Altos 986 40M Computer
225
1200
on a PC
HP 4951C + 1817GA Protocol Zenith Turbosport Laptop
Analyser 2250 Computer 2200
HP 612C 1250MHZ Generator 50
Wavetek 1503950MHZ f
NEW DISK DRIVES
Sweeper 295
HP 9816S Technical Computer SEAGATE arz,

Marconi 6550 Power Meter

1350 ST -225
ST-251-1
20MB
40MB
65MS
28MS
H/H
H/H 295
180
_
,,`-~
(ASiC) 50 ST-138-0 30MB 40MS 3.5in 235
Racal 9081A 512MHZ Sig. Gen. ST -138-1 30MB 28MS 3.5in 245 .41 l.
575 40MB 28MS F/H 375
ST-4053
Telequipment D75 50MHZ 450
ST-4096 80MB 28MS F/H
Scope 225
leader Loc-7000 Scope
Calibrator 400 ALL
HP 6521A 0-1000V DC Power A plug-in card and software from Radioplan give your PC
Supply 250 ST -225R 20MB 65MS H/H 150
AT/XT these capabilities:
Fluke 761 A Meter Calibrator 500 ST -277R-1 60MB 28MS H/H 310
HP 7475A Plotter RS232 750 122MB 28MS F/H
Oscilloscope
ST -4144R 525
HP 7221C Plotter RS232 250 FFT Spectrum Aralysis up to 4096 points
HP 7440 Plotter RS232 450 Digital recording up to 500 kBytes
HP 7650A Plotter RS232/HP-1B Sampling rates up to 500 kHz
1750 ALL DRIVES NEW AND SEALED. ALL Waterfall display of Spectrum frames
HP Laserjet II Printer 995 OTHER ITEMS SECOND USER BUT Spectrograph with colour -coded amplitude
Kyocera F1010 Laser Printer FULLY FUNCTIONAL WITH 30 DAY
1250 WARRANTY. MANY OTHER ITEMS Applications include.
Canon LPB 8-A1 Laser Printer AVAILABLE. SUITABLE EQUIPMENT Speech & acoustic signal analysis
750 PURCHASED. PLEASE CALL. Radio signal moaulation analysis
Vibration analysis
ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF VAT AND CARRIAGE 8 SUBJECT TOAVAILABILITY Impulse testing
Send for your brochure or demonstration disk to:

The Little House Radioplan Limited

ENGTECH LTD. Shepherds Hill
Merstham
Unit 14, Cheltenham Trade Park, Arle Road, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL50 8LZ
Redhill RH1 3AD
Tel: 07374 5131 Fax: 07374 5161 Telephone (0242) 224304; Telefax (0242) 227154;
Telex: 437244 CMINTL
CIRCLE NO. 119 ON REPLY CARD CIRCLE NO. 133 ON REPLY CARD

January 19911 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WI RELESS WORLD 75

APPLICATIONS SUMMARY

3 1r2 DKi1T LCD DISPLAY

R6 C7
33K Dt 14
91µF VDO
FRED IN 1N914 1t Fano 1Q
COMP
1 t R 8
y tOM
Fan

- GND R5
BAT_._ C10 C11 6 51K
9V 2.2µF 2.2µF REFan
2pFFSET GAIN
COMM

r.M/,_
R9
t
1814S
TSC9400
it R10
ADJUST

R8
'1µF
-
36 V.
VREF. f3
100K E3 tz
12K 7 VREF 620K 03
35 VREF. C3 ti
VSS -AMPOUT 31
VnF.
B3 s

w
C3 R2 A3
tµF 47K 30 SRN
C4 R7
TSC7136
1 nF
10K 32 Ate

34
G2'-'-§~1
CREF. 02
ZERO
ADJUST
C1 C2
n

12
11 33 CREF,

39
OSC2
R3
150K 38 OSW
G1
C2
sc>nF - o
OSCt Éi
1

R4 Ai
1.01.1 A84 19
B/P 21
CS
.1µF
37
TEST
V. 26

Simple DFM
for 0 to 20kHz
Two chips from Teledyne Semiconduc- conversions per second, using an oscil- no digital conversion is required. It
tor provide a means of constructing a lator frequency of 48k Hz for maximum derives its input from the TSC9400
low-cost digital frequency meter suit- rejection of stray AC pick up. frequency -to -voltage converter.
able for audio frequencies. Application The TSC7136 dual -slope analogue - Semiconductor Supplies International
Note 37 details a battery-powered (sing- to -digital converter directly drives a 31/2 Ltd. Dawson /louse. 128-130 Carshal-
le 9V) frequency meter running at three digit non -multiplexed LCD display, so ion Road, Sutton, Surrey. SAD 4RS

Compact telephone construction

Motorola's MC34114 is a monolithic, hybrid circuit of a telephone set. It sidetone control. each with externally
integrated, telephone speech network incorporates the necessary functions of adjustable gain. To reduce RFI prob-
intended to replace the bulky magnetic transmit and receive amplification plus lems, the microphone amplifier has a
balanced differential input stage.
o The data sheet for this device con-
Tip tains several circuits. including a basic
Zbal FTVVY------ pulse/tone telephone, shown here.
Ring together with a fully featured telephone
o AGC
Receiver
with selectable handset/speakerphone
1
Dc operation, ten -number memory, tone
Level ringer and privacy functions. More in-
1-. Mute formation on these telephones is con-
AGC tained in Application Notes 002/ 1(X)4.
1.7 V
Reg
AGC VDD
Motorola Ltd, 88 Tanners Drive, Blake -
Reg
Mute (3.3 V) lands, Milton Keynes. MK/45BP
L
Mike Logic
Mute
L

DTMF In MUTE MS

76 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 19911

 APPLICATIONS SUMMARY

High voltage Schottky efficiency MBR10100 11

2A
Although the low forward voltage drop of Schottky recti- Dt
fiers has long been exploited to improve efficiency in Ni, loop 1

tD2 +36V
converters rated at up to 15 volts, their use in converters in
Cl
the 15-36 volt region has been limited by the lack of higher N,, MBR10100
voltage devices.
Motorola's application note AR322/D MBR10100

outlines a multi -output converter operating at high fre- -403 -36 V

quencies from a preregulated 120V DC supply. Using D4
MBR1060/MBR10100 devices, it provides ± 36V at 2A
max and ± I5V at 3A max. If conventional p -n junctions MBR10100

are used as rectifiers in the same output stages, a_trade-off

MBR1060
between output voltage and efficiency exists. 3A
While p -n -junction devices may be selected which meet 05
the reverse voltage requirements, the forward voltage drop tD6 +15 V
is high over a range of currents and, as a result, so too are
the rectifier losses. However, if the peak reverse voltage

Í
`MBR1060

requirements fall within ratings, Schottky rectifiers can

reduce rectifier losses.
MBR1060 V
-15 V
In this example, 100V Schottky rectifiers are adequate 4D7
for the 36V outputs while 60V devices suffice for 15V. 08
L4
C4 3A
Motorola Ltd, 88 Tanners Drive, Blakelands, Milton MBR1060
Keynes MK145BP. Tel. 0296395252

LED smoke detection

A smoke detector basest on the CS -235 val. During the second half of the pulse after three consecutive alarms, the logic
chip from Cherry Semiconductor uses a (the last IOms) the IR led is pulsed and drives the output latch to activate the
pulsed infrared led as the light source the unit samples for an alarm level alarm. This latch can sink I(N)rn A max-
and a silicon photodiode as the light smoke condition. imum and will clamp the V, pin to 5V.
detector. The CS -235. along with pas- After the first alarm, the sampling Clere Electronics Ltd, Kingsclere, New-
sive external components. controls the rage increases to two seconds. Finally, bury, Berks.
system tinting and signal processing.
C2=IO0y}(24V)
Low average current is attained by
pulsing the system once every Ws for
=150yf(12V) 0 O
CI R7 12M SUPPLY//OUTPUT
20ms. l3ias is applied to the signal
^ RI

j
.47yf 20M
processing circuitry for this time inter-
CUR RENT
LIMITER
R2
GATE ;w..._.
J I
POWER
UP
MAIN
TIMER o 75K

GATE BAS

LEO DRIVER
OSCILLATOR
R8
36n.

STATUS LED TC3 .0068 I8K

LR6
yf
IR LED CLOCK
.0010
0 }C6 POWER UP BIAS
R 10
"PRESET

\
150K
R9
270K SYHCHRORW
AZ OF DETECTOR COW OUTPUT
RII REF ER EMC (4 5) LATCH
150K
DATA
"C7 INPUT ALARM
.001 pf R3 ENABLE
6K R5

ZJ R4
IOOK

5 10r,
A7yfTC4
.47yf C5

ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS \VORLD 77

January 1990
BF CONNECTIONS

Speaking in digits
At a recent IEE colloquim, Professor
C. Xydeas (University of Manchester)
Speech
and speakers from the Universities of
Surrey and Southampton, Queen's Uni-
versity of 13elfast and I3T Research Synthetic speech-.
Laboratories atMendlesham described
Excitation LPC Noise shaping
progress in speech coding techniques,
claiming that coding techniques have
generator Synthesis filter O filter lam^
come a long way since the days of direct
+ 4
quantization into linear or non-linear Signal distortion
pulse code modulation (PCNI). Present
day algorithms seek to exploit the in-
trinsic properties of speech signals to Optimisation of
achieve better compression/speech- filter parameters and R M S

quality characteristics and hence higher excitation parameters measurement

efficiency. Study of novel coding algor-
ithms have been encouraged by new
applications such as satellite -to-mobile Optimum Optimum
communications, the proposed Pan - excitation filter ENCODER
European digital cellular -radio net- parameters parameters
works and voice store -and -forward sys-
tems, as well as by rapid advances in
VLSI digital signal processing which Excitation LPC Synthesized speech
have enabled complex coding algo- generator Synthesis filter
rithms to he implemented on a single 4 4
chip. The aim in such work is to provide
digitized speech of required quality and Received Received
excitation filter DECODER'
robustness while using the minimum parameters -parameters
number of bits at the lowest possible
cost. Compression can be achieved by
exploiting the intrinsic properties of Encoder and decoder of an analysis -by - at 4.8 Kbitls, comparable to 32Khit/s
speech, including redundancy. Factors synthesis predictive coder, Which repre- continuously variable slope delta
involved include quality of recovered sent a recent development in speech coding.
speech: output hit rate; complexity/ coding technology and which can pro- D.Freeman (BTRL) also reviewed
cost; resistance to transmission errors vide improved -quality speech in the some of the standards adopted or prop-
and noisy source environments; and range 9.6 to 4.8Khitis, implemented osed for low bit -rate speech coders.
coding delay. using existing DSP technology'. .including the 9.6Kbit/s standard for
Requirements range from broadcast - aeronautical -satellite communications.
quality speech (50 to 70(101Iz, S: R well in the time domain include adaptive Following international competition,
over 35dB); "toll quality" speech for predictive coding: residual predictive the BTRL 9.6Khit/s speech coder based
long-distance communications (20(1 to LPC coding: and analysis -by -synthesis on a multipulse LPC technique has been
34(1(11 Iz, S: R over 35dB): to "com- predictive coding which, in turn, in- chosen. Two competing systems, prop-
munications" and "military" quality cludes multipulse excitation LPC in the osed by AT&T and the Voicecraft con-
where the emphasis is on intelligibility. form of regular pulse excitation LPC; sortium, are currently being considered
For some military applications. "synth- codehook excitation LPC; and back- for a CCITT low -delay l6Kbit/s coder
etic" quality, where the recovered ward excitation recovery LPC. standard. Both algorithms are varia-
speech has lost its naturalness and Currently 32 and l6Kbit/s systems tions of CELP.
speaker -recognition characteristics and can provide near "toll" quality, with a At the University of Southampton a
with intelligibility degraded, can be lot of effort to extend this downwards to new coding strategy, based on a
based on high -cost vocoder with hybrid 9.6 and 4.8Khit/s. Professor Xydeas Iransformed-binary vector -excited
speech coding to permit a digital bit -rate noted that harmonic coding with adap- -LPC 7.5Khit/s coder. with embedded
of 2.4Kbit/s for use over IF circuits
I tive transform coding can produce error -correction, is claimed to provide a
with linear predictive coding (LPC). reasonable communications quality robust overall transmission rate of
Currently the main interest is for sys- speech at 8Kbit/s and modifications 11.-IKhit/s at an economic cost that
tems of "toll" quality. or a little less, have been proposed to improve results would be applicable to mobile radio.
with systems based on sub -multiples of at 6 and 4.8Khit/s. STC can produce W.T.K. Wong (BTR&T) described
the 64Khit/s ISDN basic subscriber tele- good communications quality speech at work in conjunction with the University
phone rate. Such work is producing an 8Khit/s which can be modified to oper- of Liverpool on a robust LSP (line
alphabetical soup of coding techniques. ate at 4.8 and 2.4Kbit/s. Codebook spectral pair) quantizer which can work
Those in the frequency domain include excitation LPC vocoders (CELP) form- satisfactorily with a bit error of in 40, 1

adaptive transform coding: sub -band ing speech -synthesis filters based on a more robust to channel errors than
coding; harmonic coding; and sinusoid- codehook of random vectors can result conventionally error -protected digital
al transform coding (STC), while those in good communications speech quality transmission schemes.

78 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

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CIRCLE NO. 1.560N REPI Y CARO

NE CONNECTIONS

mined by the phase delay of the delay

Stabilizing the LC line. Good spectral purity was obtained
dividers. A 1977 version used c-mos
devices. In effect the "huff and puff
oscillator when the oscillator was locked, since
feedback reduced the FM noise side -
stabilizer" converts a free -running VFO
into an oscillator which can be tuned
Rather over 20 years ago, recall Keith
I
bands within a band of ±2 and 31-Iz. I manually in the usual way but is then
Thrower of Racal patiently attempting had the opportunity of testing a form of held to the nearest of a series of small
to explain to me a novel frequency delay -line -stabilized variable oscillator predetermined incremental steps with
stabilizing system, marketed as the built by Brian Rose, without the minimal drift. Unlike simple. low-cost
Racalator. This was an external add-on continuous -tuning facility, and found PLL synthesizers. it does not introduce
digital system that could be connected that it gave a very high degree of spurious products or FM noise on to the
to the variable -frequency oscillator of short-term stability (within IIlz for oscillator output.
any receiver, transceiver or transmitter periods of five minutes or so) but had a Now Klaas Spaargaren has developed
having a free -running LC oscillator in disconcerting habit of suddenly jump- a new stable variable oscillator capable
the days before the built-in frequency ing to the adjacent locking point. of providing a pure, stable and accurate-
synthesizer had become firmly estab- In the mid -1970s, the Dutch amateur ly adjustable frequency which takes
lished. The Racalator, described in IEE Klaas Spaargaren, PAoKSB, de- advantage of the ability to "pull" the
Conference Publication No 31, 1967 veloped a much simplified stabilizer frequency of a crystal oscillator over a
Frequency Generation and Control for somewhat along the lines of the Racala- small range of frequencies without sig-
Radio Systems, allowed the LC VFO to tor and a number of British and Amer- nificantly degrading its performance.
be manually tuned to any desired fre- ican amateurs successfully implemented Ile then uses this as a reference signal
quency: the Racalatorwould then be his system. One of Brent, Joe Cropper, for an LC oscillator used, for example,
switched into circuit and hold the mean G3 BY. pointed out that when he as the local oscillator of an I-IF com-
oscillator frequency to within ±211z, viewed the action of the control voltage munications receiver. II is new system is
and was capable of correcting an un- pulses on an oscilloscope he was re- based on two voltage -controlled oscilla-
locked oscillator drift of ± part in 104 I .
minded of the old "hit and miss" gas - tors: a wide -band VCO with. for exam-
It could cope with a 5011z transient engine governor which, when lifting the ple, a range of 23 to 23.5M1lz and a
change in less than five seconds without valves to reduce speed. would emit as it narrow -hand voltage -controlled "vari-
any apparent increase in VFO noise and did so a series of "thump, thump, gasp, able crystal oscillator (VXO)" covering
no measurable degradation in cross - thump, gasp" sounds in varying 16.0(1(1 to 16(110k Hz. with a sample -and -
modulation performance. rhythms. This led rate to propose the hold phase detector driven by a signal
About five years later, I)r Michael name "huff and puff" for the Dutch between 10.000 and about 10.0005k Hz
Underhill (Philips ex-Mullard Research system and the name stuck. The original counted-down from the VXO. When
Laboratories) described a new HF'V IF I
stabilizer used TUL devices (74191, the VXO is tuned from 16,000 to
tunable oscillator, covering 3 to 6MHz. 7474) with a counted -down tinting sig- 16,014kI Iz the VCO follows and tunes
using a PAL -type (1)14) delay line as a nal from a crystal oscillator using 7490 tor example from 23,0(10 to 23.014k Hz.
stabilizing element for an LC oscillator. the multiplication factor of the phase
In his original system the delay line Outline of the stable, continuously tun- detector reference being 23(1(1.
provided a comb of equally spaced able oscillator based on two voltage - But the VCO will also stabilize for
locking frequencies (15.625k Hz apart controlled oscillators, one of which is a other high multiples such as 2301, 2302
for a 64µs delay line) with continuous crystal variable type which can be "pul- etc. In the locked situation with drift
tuning of the oscillator provided by a led" by about IOW' from its nominal correction the VCO is very stable as the
voltage control and phase detector 1611111z. The oscillator, as implemented effective multiplication factor of the
arrangement. later simplified by a by Klaus Spaargaren, uses both c-mos VXO frequency is only 1.4 and, as the
goniometer phasing technique. The sta- and TTL devices, together with a num- loop bandwidth of the PLL can be made
bility of such arrangements is deter- ber of discrete transistors and diodes. relatively large. low -frequency noise
and any mains -frequency modulation
are attenuated. The basic stability of the
crystal oscillator is degraded very little
Sample & hold
in a VXO that tunes over a narrow
phase detector range using only a single pulling capaci-
Z
S2 tor. Klaas Spaargaren has used the
23M1 Iz output as the injection signal for
a 14M11z amateur -band receiver with a

23.0 to 23.5MHz S4 balanced mixer and had "found it one of

the hest oscillators that have ever used
I

for that purpose. It has excellent stabil-

S3 ity with a mininnrnt of unwanted effects.

Z°~*--- The tuning rate can easily be adjusted

Output 47p
between just a few and many kilohertz
16.0 to 1601 MHz per knob revolution. There are many
options for the basic system. I hope that
VXO 1600
Control many experimenters will become just as
0-5 to 10V enthusiasticas I ant.

RI' Connections are hV Pat Hawker

80
ELECTRONICS WORLD I- WIRELESS WORLD January 1990
 TAYLOR RF/VIDEO MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS

MEASUREMENTS MADE EASY

0
UNAOHM EP741FMS
FIELD STRENGTH METER/SPECTRUM ANALYZER
1 Frequency Range: 36.9MHz to 860MHz, continuously adjustable via a geared -down vernier

u* m,'r mn I
e r"7 -"e"' r Frequency Reading: TV Bands - 4digit courrer with 100KHz resolution
FM Band - 5 digit courier with 10KHz resolution
Reading Accuracy reference Xtal+1- digit 1

Function: NORMAL: pictue only

s TV Monitor ZOOM : 210 1 horizontal magnification of picture

picture a line sync pulse (with chromaburst if TV signal is coded

or colour

Panorama: Panoramic display of the frequency spectrum within the selected band and of tuning marker.

Panorama Expansion Adjustable expansion cl a portion of the spectrum around the tuned frequency.

Analogue 20 to 40dy. Static meaurernenl of received signal. Scale calibrated in dBuV (at top of picture
Measurement: tube) to rms value of signal level.

DC/AC Voltmeter 510 50V.

Measurement 2010 1300RuV in ten 19áB adencalion steps for all bands -60 to 130dBuV in nine 1008
Range: steps for F.
I

Measurement ANALOGUE. brightness: stripe against calibrated scale superimposed on picture tube. The stripe
Indication: length is proportional to the sync peak of the video signal

Video Output 8NC connector. 1Vpp maximum on 7511

DC Output vt2V/50mA maximum Power supply source for boosters and converters

TV Receiver. Tunes in and displays CCIR system I TV signals. Other standards upon request.

Additional (1) Video input 75L1 r.2) 12V input for external car battery. (3) Output connector for stereo
Features- earphones.

PRICE £1344.00 n?tt. excluding V.A.T. 2nd Carriage

UNAOHM EP742
r FIELD STRENGTH METER;SPECTRUM ANALYZER
Specification as EP741 a Synthesized Tuning 99 channels, Programme Storage.
(EP815 Satelli:e Converter can be added as illustrated)

wr,.ell i.
PRICE: £1498.00 Hitt. excluding V.A.T. and Carriage

UNAOHM EP815
T.V. SATELLITE CONVERTER
Frequency Range of 950MHz to 1750MHz Frequency is continuously adjustable through a geared -down control
Input Signal.

Frequency Reading: Throughout the frequency meter of the associated field strength meter

Input Signal Level: From 2012 100dBuV in two ranges -20 to 70 and 70 to 100.

Power Source: Available at BNC input connectors as follows' 15V DC/0 SA internal or 25V DC maximum external.

Satus Indication: Continuity, overload and short circuit conditions of power circuit are all shown by LED lights

Demodulation: FM for PAL and SECAM coding. Switching to MAC system is provided together wlh room for an
optional MAC decodrr.
Audio Subcarrler. 5.5MHz to 7.5MHz ontinuously adjustable. Provision for an automatic frequency control

PRICE: £536.20 nest. excluding V.A.T. and Carriage

UNAOHM EP760
COLOUR TV FIELD STRENGTH METER

e
e.pm, q
oitM:c iM ?[
v,.leri.o >eó
.M

..
I - ne
INPUT
Sensitivity:

Readout:
2010 13edBuV in ten 10-08 steps for TV and FM bands 60 to 130dBuV in eight
10 -dB steps for If.
Digital: input signal evel provided directly in dB.

FREQUENCY
iifr ,, 11 Range:
Selection:
38.9Mhz lo 860Mhz
-99 channel frequency synthesis within bands 1-III-IVN. -30 program storage
capabilit es -manual tuning with sharp -tune control.
ée

k
11 Readout:

SPECTRUM ANALYSIS
Frequency Range:
Two LCD displays, me first for channel or program; the latter for frequency in MHz
with 10CKHz resolution for TV bands and 10KHz for FM.

The entire IV and F.4 range.

band.
It is possible to display a portion of the selected

i Marker: Two ma kers are ay.rilable in different colours and with digital frequency reading.
In additón to locating frequencies, they are used to define frequency intervals.
UNAOHM 4. raw

Video Filter. A switclable video tiller is provided to improve measurement accuracy in

connection with Uneohm noise generator NG750.
SYNC PULSE DISPLAY
Display: The entire horizontal blanking lime, sync pulse and burst included, is displayed
on the left side of tie picture tube
AUDIO
Mono: TV and FM audio can be heard through a loudspeaker 0 5W maximum power.
Stereo: TV and PM audio can be heard through a pair of earpieces (Z equal to or higher
than BR)
VIDEO
External video Approx 1Vpp on 711. positive polarity Pin pair 19-20 of SCART.
TAYLOR BROS (OLDHAM) LTD. input/output:
BISLEY STREET WORKS, LEE STREET, RGB output. Approx 1Vpp on 75,0.3 Pins 7-11-15 of SCART.
All teletext pages broadcast can be recalled by means of the front keyboard of the
OLDHAM, ENGLAND. OL8 l EE Teletext decoder:
unit.
TEL: 061-652-3221 TELEX: 669911 FAX: 061 626 1736
PRICE:_ £2465.40 nett. excluding V.A.T. and Carriage.'

CIRCLE NO. 135 ON REPLY CARD

 EPROM PROGRAMMER
A
Versatower:
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98
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COMPUTER APPRECIATION,
The Penny Theatre, 30/31 Northgate,
Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1 BL.
Tel: (0227) 470512
REPRINTS
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A PARTICULAR
HEWLETT PACKARD MODEL 5501A LASER TRANSDUCER. With Piezoelectric
tuning for precise control of wavelength in measuring applications. With ARTICLE SPECIAL FEATURE OR
various mirrors and accessories. £250.00
KRATOS MS30 DOUBLE BEAM MASS SPECTROMETER. Approximately 8 years ADVERTISEMENT IN OUR JOURNAL WHY NOT
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CIRCLE NO. 138 ON REPLY CARD CIRCLE NO. 136 ON REPLY CARD

82 ELECTRON ICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

HISTORY

1 8th-century
resistors
The squire of Seaton Delaval invented the metal -oxide
resistor in 1759. With his experimental method, he was
lucky to survive to tell the tale.
LEONID N. KHRYZHANOVSKY

The invention of the resistor rested on the powders. thus giving

does not seem to have ever me an opportunity to discover truths
been considered by historians, of no small importance'.
which is in contrast with the Richmann performed the following
case of the capacitor, the liter- experiment on each powder. Ile poured
ature on the history of the Leyden jar some powder into a metal vessel con-
abounding! My purpose is to trace the nected somehow to the earth. Dipped
invention of the resistor back to the 18th into the powder was a wire suspended
century and it is appropriate to start from a prime conductor with Rich-
with some scientific developments in mann's electrometer connected to it.
eighteent h century Russia. J Ile found that the higher the humidity
was. the faster would be the leakage of
RICHMANN'S POWDERS the charge on the prime conductor as
Although systematic research into elec- indicated by the electrometer. Ile re-
tricity in Russia had begun a century portcd:
and a half later than in Western Europe,
Starting from this indication, it is
Russia's first electrician, Georg- possible to apprehend the state of the
Wilhem Richmann (171 -1753). of Ger-
I
air in different places and at different
man descent. built in 1745 the world's
times.
first electric measuring instrument. a here we see the idea of a humidity
sensor of the resistor type. Richmann
quadrant -scale electrometer based on a
linen thread fixed to the top of an also found that 'a fine powder entraps
insulated vertical metal bar. the deflec- moisture stronger than a coarser one
tion angle of the thread being a measure does'. pointing to the feasibility of
of the 'electric virtue' communicated to humidity sensors with different sensiti-
vities. to use modern terms.
the hear'. Richmann's electrometer.
called by him index eleciricus and Thus, an intrinsically insulating subst-
known in Europe as the electrical ance such as glass could be made to
gnomon`. allowed important experi- exhinit electrical conduction in the St.
ments. Petersburg experiments. An inverse
Richmann was a colleague and friend problem was solved in Britain several
of Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765). years later, using a similar experimental
Russia's greatest scientist of the 18th arrangement.
century. Richmann began his report at
the conference of the Imperial DELAVAL'S CALCES
Academy of Sciences of St Petersburg, Edward Hussey Delaval (1729-1814)
held on 30th April 1753. with the follow- showed in his letter dated 15th March
ing words: 1759 to Benjamin Wilson. Fellow of the
Lomonosov passed me three por- Royal Society of London. that although
tions of crushed glass differing in the the metals are conductors. their calcces
degree of coin minuition and express- offer 'resistance to the passage of the
ed a wish for me to investigate what electric fluid', i.e. constitute resisters
would occur if an electrified mass (Delaval's spelling)". The term 'resist -

January 1990 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD 83

 BOOKS

ance' alread\ existed'. He implied that body as an ammeter in discharge cir- Computer Integrated Testing, by Allen
different resistors might have different cuits of Leyden jars to estimate various Buck royd. Computer integrated manufacture
resistances. resistances. also in series or parallel (CIM), which would ultimately use a central
Delaval reports on the design and connections. controller to co-ordinate the whole process of
construction of his resistors: design and production, is not yet common.
Delaval's resistors might have served
I have filled several small glass tubes
although it is developing fairly rapidly. To
as a model for l3ranly's coherer. the
achieve the ideal, all the separate computer -
with the dry powders and calcined importance of which to the develop- controlled processes must he brought together
metals, viz. ceruse. lead ashes, ment of wireless communication cannot under one controller; one such is test.
minium. calx of antimony. etc. Into he overestimated. Automatic testing is. of course, well
each end of every tube I put a piece As for the materials of his resistors, established, but for the maximum benefit ATE
of iron wire. which communicated Delaval has anticipated a future tech- has to be integrated in the CIM concept. in
with the calx, and fastened them with nological development in electronics, which role it is termed computer integrated
wax: so that the electric fluid, not metal -oxide resistors being nowadays testing (CIT). This extensive book is intended
being able to escape by means of the very popular electronics components. for engineers who are already familiar with the
glass. must either pass thro' the calx. The inventor of the resistor bore the ATE environment but who need to know how
or not at all. Upon hanging one of the to incorporate it into the overall system. A
title of Esquire of Seaton Delaval. complete section on computer -aided design is
wires, bent for the purpose. to the Northumberland. and Dodington. Lin- included and there are five case studies,
electrified bar. and holding the other colnshire. and was not a prolific author. including one on asics. BSB Professional
in my hand... He left several papers on optics and only Books, hard covers, 394 pages, £45.
Ile estimated the resistance by his two known papers on electricity. of
Electronic Engineer's Reference Book, sixth
sensation of the 'passage of the electric which the first has been discussed here.
edition, edited by F.F. Mazda. A massive work
fluid' and sparks. I-Ie did not become Fellow of the Royal of reference which contains contributions from
I lere he modestly observes in a foot- Society until 1814". nearly ninety authors. It is impossible to do
note: 'Since I wrote this letter, I have justice to such a hook in this amount of space,
been informed that part of this first References but perhaps it can he said that there is not a
experiment. relating to metallic calces. I. J.L. I-leilbron. "Electricity in the 17th and great deal of electronic engineering left
has been made before by Dr. Watson'. 18th Centuries: A Study of Early Modern uncovered, in greater or lesser detail. It is
reference being made to a well-known Physics". I3erkeley and Los Angeles: Universi- organized in five sections: techniques, which is
paper of William Watson (1707-1787)'.
tyof California Press. 1979. p.314 ff. concerned with mathematics, statistics and
2. G.-\\'. Rick mann. "Works on Physics", electric circuit theory; physical phenomena;
Rut there is no evidence that Watson Moscow 1956, p.338 ff. The hook (in Russian)
had fabricated any devices similar to materials and components, from simple passive
contains Richmmnn's complete works in phy- devices to VLSI integrated circuits; electronic
Delaval's resistors. Watson does state sics, both published and unpublished, trans-
design, instrumentation and broadcasting: and
that 'the calces of metals...prevent in a lated from the Latin or German.
3. W. Watson. An Answer to 1)r. Lining's
applications such as communications satellites,
great degree the quick propagation of radar and the Integrated Services Digital
electrical power' and that ceruse, i.e. Query relating to the Death of Professor Rich-
man n. Phil. Trans., 1754. vol. 48. I't.11. p.768- Network. As befits a work of this size, the index
the calx of lead, red lead, litharge. lunar 772. is extensive and well organized. Butterworth
caustic. the calx of silver or rusted iron 4. Richmann. Op.cir.. p.322. Scientific, hard covers, about two inches thick
filings are unsuitable for the electrodes, 5. hid.. p.323.
I (no page numbers!), M.
either inside or outside of a Leyden jar. 6. Wilson. A letter from...to the Rev. Tho.
13.
Newnes Computer Engineer's Pocket Book,
However, it was Delaval who has intro- Birch. D.D. Secret. R.S., Phil. Trans., 1759,
vol. 5 . I't t p.83-88. second edition, by Michael Tooley. An
duced the term 'resistor'. made real I . .

7. L G. le Monnier. Recherches sur la com- extremely comprehensive storehouse of well

resistors and conducted a thorough re- munication de I'clectricitr. llistoire de l'Acudé- organized information on computer hardware
search into their nature. nrie... Paris. 1746, p.447-464. and software, intended for those who fall into
Delaval goes on: 8. W. Watson. A Collection of the Electrical the somewhat hazy category of "software
That this change (in resistance). in Experiments.... Phil. Trans.. 1748. vo1.45, engineer". It contains notes of varying length
metals particularly. is riot owing to, p.49-1211. on the whole spectrum of practical computer -
or promoted by. the circumstances of 9..I.C. I'oggcndorff (Editor). "I3ibliographic- related topics, from Boolean algebra to
Iiterarisches I-Iandssürterbuch zur Gcschichte microprocessor architecture, all in
mere pulverization. is evident... be- der exacten Wisscnschaften". in 2 vols.. Leip- considerable detail and clearly indexed.
cause the finest filings or powders of zig: Bart. 1863. vol. 1. columns 54(1-541. Heinemann Professional Publishing, 222
metals conduct as readily as the intire pages, hard covers, £9.95
substances do. I have glass tubes
armed as above. and filled with the Servicing TV and Video Equipment, by Eugene
preparations called powder of tin, Trundle. This is a well produced and
etc. which conduct as well as a wire illustrated, practical text on the fault-finding
and repair of equipment. including video
when it is not discontinued.
cameras, both modern and slightly longer in the
Delaval addressed himself to the tooth. It is general in nature, but uses
effect of temperature ('a moderate commercial circuitry to illustrate the points
heat, not the intense one that calcines) made in the text. As the author points out. the
on resistance and found that tempera- complexity of domestic electronics has reached
ture affects resistance in a complicated the point where "seat -of the pants" servicing is
manner. no longer feasible and where repair by
Now a forgotten electrician of the substitution is by no means as easy as it was.
18th century. Delaval had paved the There is a useful chapter on the use of modern
test equipment and, wherever necessary. the
way with the above experiments for The author is with the A.S. Popov
mechanical aspects of servicing are well
Henry Cavendish (1731-121111) who. Central Museum of Teleconutnnricu- covered. Heinemann Professional Publishing,
more than a decade later. used his own lions. Leningrad hard covers, 2119 pages. £25.

84 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 199(1

 A I
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ELECTRONICS WORLD + AUDIOLAB
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SCIENCE ASSISTANT EDITOR,

Experimental Officer
Electronics World
Wireless World
+
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ENGINEERS
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You should normally possess a degree in This full-time job, based at recently moved to St. John's
Computer Science or Engineering, or Electronic Sutton, Surrey, involves the run- Innovation Centre,
ning of outside contributors
Engineering, or an equivalent qualification, and together with the commission- Cambridge. We now wish to
have experience of digital circuit design. ing and preparation of feature recruit two graduate
Experience of CAD techniques for p.c.b. layout material. You will also find yc ir -
self reporting and writing on
Electronics Engineers with
would be an advantage. The work involved will technology matters. experience in RF, Digital,
be in support of the Department's research and Your responsibilities will Broadcast and Audio
require a fair degree of personal
teaching activities in computer science and order. However, the rewards are
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The post is available immediately and the salary Interested? Please write to
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Cellular Radio
TO ADVERTISE IN THE CLASSIFIED M3/M4 Corridor 10-20K
SECTION PLEASE PHONE Career prospects in Radio and Telecommunications are
01-661 8640 exceptional in the Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey area. Expansion
for a number of our clients who are leaders in this field, has
Effiffit7ffiffiffiffi17ffiffie1t7 resulted in career opportunities in the following areas:
CLIVEDEN Electronics Design
Technical `ENGINEERING' Electro -Mechanical Design
Recruitment Software Design
CAREERS Product Support
Field Service Engineer South East Manufacturing/Production Engineering
Radio Communications
Kent based engineer to install and maintain
in 1990 Purchasing/Materials Control
paging intercom systems RF and logic Let CADMUS eliminate the Installation/Commissioning
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equivalent in electronic engineering To engineer and qualify for cover-
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Up to 12K - Car Benefits will give you discrete access to experience in:
T.V. Engineers Berkshire
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advantage HNC Electronics or City and phone 0603 761220 (24hrs) for a
Guil(151224) [10.000-[12.000 C/Pascal/Assembler
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Repairing mobile telephones down to
CV and details of your career
Electronics Packaging
component level Experience of a modern
testing environment essential Knowledge of objectives to:-
ASICNLSI Design
signal generators audio analysers Test/ATE
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[ 10.500-C 11,000K
Field Service Engineer Middlesex
City and Guilds Qualified Engineer with
Excellent benefits packages are available along with plenty of
Component level repair experience required
Must have radio and television knowledge
scope for personal development within a commercial
Excellent career prospects in small electronics environment.
expanding company [11.000

L ADNALIS
Field Service Engineer South East
Engineer with IBM PC Compatibles
experience required Must have at least 18 For further information please contact
months similar experience and be prepared 4., Professional
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to cover south-east area [11.500 - Car PERSONNEL LIMITED 6 Technlcal
Appointments. Unit 9b, Intec 2, Wade
Roger Howard. C.Eng. M.I.E.E.. M.I.E.R.E. Freepost. Sackville Place ;VAppolntments
Road, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 ONE.
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r Wanted urgently EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

1
Practical people for the AUDIO VISUAL AIDS
Third World. 1 TECHNICIAN
Many people want to help the Third World. £9,879-£10,935 pa inc.
1 But relatively few can offer the kind of help + qualification allowance
wanted most: the handing on of skills and 1 + essential car user allowance
professions which lead to self-reliance. Required at Barnet Schools Technical
Suoport workshops situated at
You could make this priceless contribution
Manorside School, Squires Lane, N3.
1 by working with VSO. 1 Responsible for maintaining video
Current requests include: cassette recorders and televisions to
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installation E A current driving licence is essential.
Hospital
1 Electronics Electronics 1 Ref: ADM/E/608.

Engineers Instructors Closing date: 5th January 1990.

For more information contact
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Technician E Technician 1 Manorside School, Squires Lane, N3.
Tel:01-349 2775.
For more details, please complete and return Application forms available from the
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1 EW W/1/90 COUNTY SUPPLIES
MAINTENANCE OF RADIO EQUIPMENT
1 1 FOR POLICE AUTHORITY
Contractors are invited to submit an application for inclusion on an
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1 1 maintenance of equipment used throughout the Northamptonshire
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J I

III

IV
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86 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WIRELESS WORLD January 1990

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ARTICLES FOR SALE ANCHOR SURPLUS LTD

OSCILLOSCOPES 8, GENERAL TEST EQUIPMENT
_ _ ..
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- -
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Also
AVO Model 9S (Mil. version of model 81 c/w case probes leads £50
UNIVERSITY OF READING Telequipment CT 17 curve tracer mint - £200
Marconi TF2008 Sig Gen's I ONAHz 510MHz AM -FM - £375
Marconi TF2002AS Sig Gen's 10KHz 72MHz AM -FM - £80
ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN (Grade D) in Speech Marconi TF2603 RF Millivolt 10 1.5GHz £75
Research Laboratory, Department of Linguistic Science Accessory kits available

to assist in design and construction of specialised instru-

mentation. Candidates should have experience in elec- MANY, MANY more items in stock and arriving daily at our three
acre depot in Nottingham We are open to callers 9am-6pm
tronics and a knowledge of IBM personal computers weekdays 8pm-4pm Saturday-
would be an advantage. Informal enquiries to: Mr. W. PLENTY OF FREE PARKING
Jones (0734 875123 ext. 7468). Salary scale £8,645 to
Anchor Surplus Ltd., The Cattle Market Dept., I
£10,632 p.a. T 72A. off London Road, Nottingham NG2 3GY
Application forms available from: Telephone: (0602) 864041 or 864902
Fax: (0602) 864667
Personnel Office, Shaun Pollard (Electronics Manager)
University of Reading, ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT & CARRIAGE
Whiteknights,
P.O. Box 217,
Reading RG6 2AH TO MANUFACTURERS, WHOLESALERS,
031662 BULK BUYERS, ETC.
WE BUY AND SELL TOP QUALITY TEST AND MEASUREMENT EQUIPMENT LARGE QUANTITIES OF RADIO, TV AND
RALFE ELECTRONICS
E
ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS FOR DISPOSAL
SEMICONDUCTORS, all types, INTEGRATED CIRCUITS, TRANSISTORS. DIODES.
36 Eastcote Lane,
A B RECTIFIERS, THYRISTORS, etc. RESISTORS, C/F, M/F, W/W, etc. CAPACITORS,
S.HARROW, Middlesex HA2 8DB SILVER MICA. POLYSTYRENE. C280,C296, DISC CERAMICS, PLATE CERAMICS, etc.
U U
Tel: 01-422 3593. Fax: 01-423 4009. ELECTROLYTIC CONDENSERS. SPEAKERS. CONNECTING WIRE CABLES. SCREENED
Q Y
Please contact us for our latest stock list of
top-quality re -calibrated, test WIRE. SCREWS, NUTS, CHOKES. TRANSFORMERS. etc. ALL AT KNOCKOUT PRICES
equipment. Good equipment also WANTED for stock and waiting - Come and pay us a visit ALADDIN'S CAVE.
customers for 'high -end' equipment.
P
Stock examples: TAKEDA RIKEN 1GHz analyser £2950, MARCONI TF2370
A
TELEPHONE: 445 0749/445 2713
D N HENSON LTD.
analyser £3000, B&K 1023 £2000, FERRO RTS2's E250 etc etc etc. R.
T D 21 Lodge Lane, North Finchley, London N12.
t` n ...te from Tall/ Ho Corner) 1611
ILES DNA YUB EW TNEMPIUOE TNEMERUSAEM DNA TSET YTILAUQ POT LLES

RF & MICROWAVE!
FIGOLLEDGE1 I Design & Test Engineers seeking
IItop positions, from satcomms to I SERVICES ARTICLES WANTED
IEL EC T RONIC_Sj-1 ICT2 should contact the specialists I
GARIBALDI RECRUITMENT
QUARTZ CRYSTALS OSCILLA- STEWART OF READING
TORS AND FILTERS of all types. 0494 773918 SHORT -RUN 110 WYKEHAM ROAD,
Large stocks of standard items. Spe- 160 Bellingdon Road Chesham HP5 2HF READING RG6 PL.
cials supplied to order. Personal and ELECTROMECHANICAL AND 1

TEL: 0734 68041.

export orders welcomed - SAE for lists VALVES FOR AUDIO, industry, ELECTRONIC REPAIR AND FAX: 0734 351696
please. OEM support thru: design receiving, transmitting - wholesale, MAINTENANCE WORK
advice, prototype quantities, produc- export, retail. Phone/fax for immediate TOP PRICES PAID FOR ALL
tion schedules. Golledge Electronics, quote. Billington Valves, 39 Highlands UNDERTAKEN BY TYPES OF SURPLUS TEST
Merriott. Somerset TA16 5NS. Tel: Road, Horsham RH13 5LS. England. EXPERIENCED ENGINEERS. EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER
0460 73718. 124721 Phone 0403 210729. Fax 0403 40214. EQUIPMENT, COMPONENTS
Callers by appointment only Mon -Fri WRITE TO BOX NO: 2606 etc. ANY QUANTITY. 103
9.00am-5 30pm.
 DAISYWHEEL PRINTER
720K 3.5 INCH DRIVE £34.50.4- VAT Olivetti DY200. Modern, office quality, bidirectional daisywheel printer. Complete
NEW LOW PRICE TO CLEAR WAREHOUSE with manual, daisywheel, ribbon and standard Centronics interface. Prints at 25
cps, variable pitch; 132 characters in 12 pitch, proportional spacing. Sprocket and
Japanese made, modern, low sheet feed options, p.o.a. Full IBM and Diablo emulations. £99.50 (carr. £6.50).
component, cast chassis drive. Surface
mount design with industry standard FACIT ULTRA FAST DOT MATRIX PRINTER
interface. Removed from almost new Prints at up to a maximum of 500 CPS. Made to a very high standard for heavy
systems, these are top quality drives in duty use. Compact slimline desktop model (only 26 inches wide). Ideal for
excellent condition. Boxed and with a full Universities, large mailing lists, central printer in department or any other serious
six month guarantee. 80 track double application í349.0C (carr. £25).
sided 1 megabyte unformatted; £34.50
(carr. £3); £30 ten or more. Cradle to fit drive in a 5.25' slot e.g. IBM PC £4.95 WANG PMO05 12" COLOUR MONITORS
(carr. £1.00; free with drive). Power and data connectors to suit £0.99p (carr. 15KHz analogue RGB input, high definition, suitable for Amiga, Atari, BBC etc.
free). Box of 10 3.5' discs £9.95 (carr. £1). £99.50 (carr. £6.5C).
N.B. Drives work with virtually all computers but we have not yet succeeded in HITACHI COLOUR MONITORS
getting them to work with the Atari ST. CM1473ME 14' MULTISYNC suits all standards. Latest technology high spec.
EPSON 12" TTL MONO MONITOR (GREEN) monitor £279 (carr. £12.50).
High resolution, IBM and Hercules compatible. CM1474 12' as above but fixed on the VGA standard frequency £239 (carr. £10).
Supplied complete with leads for direct connection QUALITY VGA CARD
to any PC. £46.50 (carr. £5.50) Up to 800 x 600.
RACAL V22 MODEM MPS1222 Fully compatible £129 (carr. £3).
Microprocessor based modem providing full duplex HITACHI PROFESSIONAL CAD MONITORS
communication at 1200, 600 and 300 baud to the CM2086 20' the ultimate monitors available in 48KHz CAD frequencies £494
CCITT V22 standard. Features include: *
Can be
(carr. £35).
used on standard phone line (PSTN) and private circuit (PC) *
Auto answer but
CM1686A 16' ultra high resolution also in two CAD frequencies: 48 KHz £325
needs telephone to dial *
1200 600 and 300 baud *
Very high quality
(carr. £25), 64 KHz £395 (carr. £25).
construction *
BT approved *
Self and loop tests (V54) *
Comprehensive
manual included. Uncased card £19.95 seven cards in rack £195 (carr. one HITACHI CDR2500 CD ROM DRIVE
£3.50; seven £15) Full height 5.25', high sierra spec., including IBM controller card and MS-DOS
HARD DISC DRIVES extension £285 (cam. £4).

Rodime R0352 3.5' 10M byte. Standard MFM ST 506 interface £55 (carr. £3.50) STC SCRIBE KEYBOARDS
As above, but with SCUSI interface, £75 (carr. £0.50) Keyboards as supplied with Scribe wordprocessors. These are serial units but no
CDC Wren 80 M byte ST 506 28ms MFM £349.00 last few! (carr. £5) data is available. £5.95 (carr. £3).
Rodime 26 M byte ST 506 MFM £89.50 (carr. £4)
SOUND EQUIPMENT all second-hand.
CDC Wren 35 M byte non-standard NRZ interface £49.00 (carr. £3.50)
Hill DX140 140 watt_peer channel stereo amplifier. 19' rack mounting very high
5.25 INCH FLOPPY DISC DRIVES
Panasonic (720K IBM) 80 track double-sided £34.95 (carr. £3.50)
Teac 1.2 M byte IBM AT style drive £49.95 (carr. £3.50)
quality £119 (carr. 55).
Speakers, amps, mikes etc. regularly in stock - please ring for current details.

POWER SUPPLIES
Farnell N180 cased 180 Watt PSU + 5V at 20A, + 12V at 2A, -
12V at 2A, +24V * VAT and carriage must be added to all items.
-
at 5A and 5V at 1A. Very high quality British unit. £26.95 (carr. £3). ASTEC
AC9231 cased 50 Watt PSU + 5V at 6A, + 12V at 2.5A, 5V at 0.5A (float) and
* Everything .new unless stated otherwise.
12V at 0.5A £15.95 (carr. £3). * Access and Visa telephone service.
VISA
1 Visa & Access
accepted 24 hour
phone service
Dotmos Matmos Ltd., Unit 11, TM Enterprise Park, Lewes Road, Lindfleld,
West Sussex RH18 2LX.
Telephone: (04447) 2091 or 3830 Fax: (04447) 4258

CIRCLE NO. 106 ON REPLY CARD

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Appointments Vacant Advertisements appear on pages 85 - 87

PAGE PAGE PAGE

ABI Electronics 79 Johns Radio 67 Raedek Electronics Co 942
Audio Electronics 4 Kestrel Electronic Radioplan 75
Computer Appreciation 82 Components 70 Ralfe Electronics 32
Dataman Designs IFC Lab-Volt (UK) 49/OBC Rank Taylor Hobson .... 24 & 25
Display Electronics 52 Langrex Supplies 27 Sherwood Data Systems 75
Electrical & Radio Trading ...70 M & B Radio (Leeds) 67 South Midlands
Engineering Technologies ....75 M Q P Electronics 82 Communications 49
Fairchild 27
Matmos 88 Stewart of Reading 81
Field Electric 67
National Instruments 65 Strumech Engineering 82
Flight Tech Heathrow 8
Flight Electronics 2/6/56/70 Number One Systems 63 Taylor Bros. (Oldham) 59/IBC
Icom (UK) 67 Pineapple Software 49 Those Engineers 81
Integrex 15 Practical Computer 22 Thurlby Thandar 4
J A V Electronics 32 R. Henson 81 Triangle Digital Services 27

OVERSEAS ADVERTISEMENT AGENTS

France and Belgium: Pierre Mussard, 18-20 Place de la Madeleine, Paris 75008.
United States of America: Jay Feinman, Reed Business Ltd., 205 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 - Telephone (212) 867 2080 - Telex 23827.

Printed in Great Britain by Carlisle Web Offset Caxton Road, Newtown Trading Estate, Carlisle, Cumbria CA2 7NR, and typeset by Graphac Typesetting, 181 191 Garth Road. Morden. Surrey
SM4 4LL, for the proprietors, Reed Business Publishing Ltd, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM''2 5AS. e
Reed Business Publishing Ltd 1989. Eh', trollies clod Wireless World can be
obtained from the following: AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND: Gordon & Gotch Ltd, INDIA: A. H. Wheeler & Co. CANADA: The Wm Dawson Subscription Service Ltd., Gordon & Gotch Ltd.
SOUTH AFRICA: Central News Agency Ltd: William Dawson & Sons (S.A.) Ltd. UNITED STATES: Worldwide Media Services Inc., 115 East 23rd Street, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010. USA.
Electronic & Wireless World $5.951745131.

88 ELECTRONICS WORLD + WI RELESS WORLD January 199(1

 t311~=1.

TAYLOR R.F. EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS

PERFORMANCE
& QUALITY 19" RACK MOUNT CRYSTAL CONTROLLED
VESTIGIAL SIDEBAND TELEVISION MODULATOR
PRICES FROM £214.13 (excluding VAT & carriage)
Prices CCIR/3 £214.13
CCIRl3-1 £273.67

,artoiu vr0 ra
c,unMr
r yo"

. 19" RACK MOUNT VHFIUHF

000PF
W

lsiLos TELEVISION DEMODULATOR

.
PRICE Al ONLY £198.45 (excluding VAT & carriage)
1014110

.a CCIR/3 SPECIFICATION
Power requirement -- 240VPk 8 Watt (available other voltages)
Ohm
Video Input IV -Plc 75
Audio Input - .8V 600 Ohm
FM Sound Sub -Garner
Modulation
-- 6MHz (available 5.5MHz)
Negative
IF Vision
IF Sound
-- 38.9MHz
32.9MHz (available 33.4MHz)
Sound Pre -Emphasis -- 50us
Ripple on IF Saw Filter
Output (any channel 47-86(39IHz) - .6dB
+6dBmV (2mV) 75 Ohm
Vision to Sound Power Ratio
--- Equal
10to 1

lntermodulation or less than 60d8

Spurious Harmonic Output -40dB (80dB fitted with TCFLI filter or
if
combined via TCFL4 Combiner/Leveller

CCIR/3-I - Specification as above but output level

60dBmV I000mV lntermodulation 54dB
WALLMOUNT DOUBLE SIDEBAND
Other Options Available - I.F. Loop/Stereo Sound/Higher Power Output
TELEVISION MODULATOR
PRICES FROM ONLY £109.76 (excluding VAT & carriage) Alternative Applications - CCTV Surveillance up to
down one coax, telemetry
100 TV channels
camera control
signals, transmitted in the same coax in the
reverse direction

802 DEMODULATOR SPECIFICATION

Frequency Range -- 45-290MHz.

+/- MHz
470-860MHz
A.F.C. Control
Video Output
Audio Output
-- .75V
IV 75 Ohm
1.8

600 Ohm unbalanced

c.W
Audio Monitor Os -put - 4 Ohms
Tunable by internal preset
Available for PAL System or BC 1

A[piD
AUDIO
viOSD
vine-0 Options - Channel selection via remote switching.
Crystal Controlled Tuner.
Stereo Sound.

CCIF/5 MODULATOR SPECIFICATION

UHF
Power Requirement
Video Input
-- 240VPk -Pk 75 Ohms
IV
VIF D rt Per* Audio Input -- torms Ohms Adjustable
IV 30K .4 to 1.2

án PUT Vision to Sound Power Ratio

Output
10
- 6dBmV (2mV) 470-860MHz
I

tail"PJT Modulation -- 6MHz

Negative
or 5.5MHz
Audio Sub -Carrier
Frequency Stability --
25 Deg temperature change 150KHz
less than 60dB
Intermodulation
O CH a7
Sound Pre -Emphasis -
50us
Double Sideband Modulator(unwanted sideband can be suppressed using TCFL4
CH24 D Combiner/Leveller)
arl

TOO/ was y.6

xia
viOED
AUOO
iN6HM6 CHANNEL COMBINER/FILTER/LEVELLER
tc combine outputs of modulators

TCFL2 2 Channel Filter/Combiner/Leveller. Insertion loss 3.548

TCFL4 4Channel Filter/Combiner/Leveller. Insertion loss 3.5dB
TSKO Enables up to 4 x TCFL4 or TCFL2 to be combined.
Prices
CCIR/5-1 1 Modulator £109.76
CCIR/5-2 2 Modulators £167.99 TAYLOR BROS (OLDHAM) LTD:
CCIR/5-3 3 Modulators £237.59 BISLEY STREET WORKS, LEE STREET,
CCIR/5-4 4 Modulators £307.19 OLDHAM, ENGLAND.
CCIR/5-5 5 Modulators £376.79 CIKCLE NO. ill.' ON REPLY CARD TEL: 061-652 3221 TELEX: 669911 FAX: 061-626 1736
 f b

Telecommunications Training
from fundamentals tó: státé=óf=thé-árt technology
Lab -Volt offers a comprehensive range of telecom-
munications training equipment that covers basic RADAR SYSTEMS
electronics, analogue and digital communications
circuits_and systems, fibre_optics, and microwave
and radar technologies.
MICROWAVE SYSTEMS
Our equipment is:
modular and easy to upgrade
industry relevant
engineered for educational purposes. ADVANCED DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
TDM B(M1PSK/APK/QAM
T1/CEPT MULTIPLEX DPSK/OOPSK
Lab -Volt closely relates its telecommunications
training equipment to operational systems found in
industry, with educational enhancements such as
fault insertion switches in many .of the modules, DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
labelled and easily -accessible test points,. short- PAM/PPM/PWM ASK/FSK/PSK
PCM/DPCM/DELTA
circuit protection, silk-screened component identifi-
cation; and-full -signal compatibrlity for -system -level
modules. We supply student and instrüctor manuals
that are written specifically for the equipment; they
ANALOG COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
provide practical hands-on technical training with AM/DSB/SSB FM/PM
step-by-step exercises, laboratory experiments, and
troubleshooting activities.

FUNCTIONAL ANALOGUE

MULTIPLEX FM
COMMUNICATIONS
COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS
*FREQUENCY SYNTHESIS
FDM SSB PLL
TELEPHONY - \, FUNCTIONAL DIGITAL
COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS
FIBRE OPTICS PCM/DELTA
ASK/FSKJPSK PAM/PPM/PWM

wi
;
~sr
RF COMMUNICATIONS CIRCUITS
AM/FM DIGITAL ELECTRONICS

1
For more information about our telecommunications AF COMMUNICATIONS
training equipment, please contact:
'UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Lab -Volt (U.K.) Ltd.
4A Harding-Way ELECTRICITY/ELECTRONICS FUNDAMENTALS

Industrial Estate
St. Ives
Cambridgeshire
PE 17 4WR
Or. Call: 0480 300695 ab- o/t°
CIRCLE NO. 103 ON REPLY CARD