Practical
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Editor
Matt Pulzer
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Louisa Pulzer
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Alan Winstanley
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Matt Pulzer
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We regret technical enquiries cannot be answered over the
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Questions about articles or projects should be sent to the editor
by email: pe<at>electronpublishing.com
Projects and circuits
All reasonable precautions are taken to ensure that the advice and
data given to readers is reliable. We cannot, however, guarantee
it and we cannot accept legal responsibility for it.
A number of projects and circuits published in Practical Electronics
employ voltages that can be lethal. You should not build, test,
modify or renovate any item of mains-powered equipment unless
you fully understand the safety aspects involved and you use an
RCD (GFCI) adaptor.
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We do not supply electronic components or kits for building the
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advise readers to check that all parts are still available before
commencing any project in a back-dated issue.
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Although the proprietors and staff of Practical Electronics take
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for late delivery, or for faults in manufacture.
Volume 52. No. 5
May 2023
ISSN 2632 573X
Editorial
Spring is here at last!
The sun is out, the grass is green and it’s time to welcome you to
the first springtime issue of Practical Electronics magazine. This
month, we bring you the latest news on EVs and power generation,
fun-to-build projects, insights into learning to use the Arduino, the
perils of using op amps as comparators. how to get up and running
with RC servo motors and much more.
Turning to this issue’s projects, we have our usual, generous
helping of exciting circuits for you to build. First up is Part 2 of
the impressive 500W Amplifier we started last month. Next, a
Precision AM-FM DDS Signal Generator and last, but not least,
an update to our very popular SMD Test Tweezers. The latter uses
the same fundamental hardware as the October project, but swaps
out the microcontroller with a newer, more powerful PIC that can
accommodate expanded software. If you liked the first version
then you’ll love the second one!
Is this me or a computer?
Thanks to recent advances in AI, this is an increasingly important
question. Unable to resist the hype, I signed up for a trial run of
ChatGPT – the latest AI ‘chatbot’ to hit the news. To be honest,
I really didn’t know what to expect. I tried asking it some fairly
straightforward, but varied questions just to see what it came up
with. ‘What is a Laplace Transform?’, ‘How can I remember my
dreams?’ and, with a nod to this month’s Circuit Surgery, ‘Do op
amps make good comparators?’.
I was impressed. The answers were concise, accurate, written
in proper English and – as far as I can tell – not just regurgitated
from a Wikipedia page. I then tried a more challenging question:
‘Can you write 200 words for the editorial in a hobby electronics
magazine?’ What returned was a little bland, but by no means
generic. Drop in a few key words relating to 500W Amps or a
PicoMite and it would be a pretty convincing piece of work. In
short, this is an impressive technology that everyone should try:
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt
I finished off my first AI session with, ‘Who is Matthew Pulzer?’
The answer came back: ‘I couldn’t find any notable public figure
or known person with the name Matthew Pulzer. It’s possible that
Matthew Pulzer is relatively unknown.’ Serves me right for asking,
but I can’t argue with the answer!
Matt Pulzer
Publisher
Transmitters/bugs/telephone equipment
We advise readers that certain items of radio transmitting and
telephone equipment which may be advertised in our pages
cannot be legally used in the UK. Readers should check the law
before buying any transmitting or telephone equipment, as a fine,
confiscation of equipment and/or imprisonment can result from
illegal use or ownership. The laws vary from country to country;
readers should check local laws.
Practical Electronics | May | 2023
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