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Practical Electronics | April | 2023
Volume 52. No. 4
April 2023
ISSN 2632 573X
Editorial
Power!
We have a super, packed Practical Electronics for you this month,
especially if you like to learn about or build amplifiers. But even
if that’s not your primary interest we have plenty of other topics to
whet your appetite for electronics.
Our two big projects are all about the control of electrical power:
the conclusion of the Capacitor Discharge Welder and the start of a
new 500W Power Amplifier. The welder is an unusual, fascinating
design – in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one like this before. It
has a thousand and one uses for makers working with lightweight,
sheet-metal designs. I’d welcome photos and reports of how you
use yours – do let us know.
When it comes to headcount, there’s not much doubt we produce
a larger number of designs for pre-amplifiers compared to power
amps. There are many more opportunities for design variation
with pre-amplifiers – input choices, tone controls, remote control
and so on. Plus, pre-amplifiers tend to be cheaper compared to
their much larger siblings, so experimentation requires less outlay.
Therefore, when a new power amplifier design does come along,
we try to make it something special. This month, we present the
first part of our 500W Power Amplifier module – and yes, you read
that correctly, it can output half a kilowatt! But this is no dumb,
muscle-bound over-sized, clunking amp. It’s a sophisticated design
with a whole host of nice features from clever cooling fan control
to accurate clipping detection. As with so many big projects
these days, it does come with its own set of component sourcing
challenges, but we have made an agreement with our partner
magazine Silicon Chip to provide a kit of all the hard-to-find parts.
And more amps…
Following on from the popularity of the Single Op Amp Universal
Board in the December-January issues, Jake Rothman has
produced a Dual Op Amp version. It’s a really useful design and
development tool for audio and instrumentation tinkerers.
Maximum Max
In last month’s editorial we bade farewell to Techno Talk’s Mark
Nelson, and welcomed Clive ‘Max’ Maxfield to the column. Max
has hit the ground running and I thoroughly enjoyed his first
piece. That’s not Max’s only contribution this month, he’s up to
Part 4 of his must-read Arduino Bootcamp. If you’ve ever
wondered why the Arduino has such a strong following but felt
that digital control was perhaps not for you, then think again and
read Max’s thoroughly engaging pieces.
Matt Pulzer
Publisher
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