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Practical Electronics Editorial offices Practical Electronics Tel 01273 777619 Electron Publishing Limited Mob 07973 518682 1 Buckingham Road Fax 01202 843233 Brighton Email pe<at>electronpublishing.com East Sussex BN1 3RA Web www.electronpublishing.com Advertisement offices Practical Electronics Adverts Tel 01273 777619 1 Buckingham Road Mob 07973 518682 Brighton Email pe<at>electronpublishing.com East Sussex BN1 3RA Editor Matt Pulzer General Manager Louisa Pulzer Digital subscriptions Stewart Kearn Tel 01202 880299 Online Editor Alan Winstanley Web Systems Kris Thain Publisher Matt Pulzer Print subscriptions Practical Electronics Subscriptions PO Box 6337 Bournemouth BH1 9EH Tel 01202 087631 United Kingdom Email pesubs<at>selectps.com Technical enquiries We regret technical enquiries cannot be answered over the telephone. We are unable to offer any advice on the use, purchase, repair or modification of commercial equipment or the incorporation or modification of designs published in the magazine. We cannot provide data or answer queries on articles or projects that are more than five years old. 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. Component supplies We do not supply electronic components or kits for building the projects featured, these can be supplied by advertisers. We advise readers to check that all parts are still available before commencing any project in a back-dated issue. Advertisements Although the proprietors and staff of Practical Electronics take reasonable precautions to protect the interests of readers by ensuring as far as practicable that advertisements are bona fide, the magazine and its publishers cannot give any undertakings in respect of statements or claims made by advertisers, whether these advertisements are printed as part of the magazine, or in inserts. The Publishers regret that under no circumstances will the magazine accept liability for non-receipt of goods ordered, or for late delivery, or for faults in manufacture. Volume 53. No. 6 June 2024 ISSN 2632 573X Editorial Test your speakers! Of all the elements in a Hi-Fi set up, the loudspeaker is the most difficult to test. Amplifiers, preamplifiers and power amplifiers may contain dozens, perhaps even hundreds of components, but they have a signal output that is straightforward to check electronically. The big problem with speakers is that their output is essentially mechanical – sound – which is not easy to analyse. Yes, the ultimate arbiters of speakers are your ears, but that is – by definition – a somewhat subjective approach, and you certainly can’t ‘see’ what is going on in terms of frequencies, phase and levels. Add to this the fact that loudspeakers are far and away the least ideal link in the audio chain, with distortion and non-linearity levels that would make an amplifier designer faint, and you have a real test and measurement problem. But it doesn’t stop there. Imagine if it mattered where you placed an amplifier or CD player; that the sound changed dramatically if your amp was set up next to or away from the wall. Sounds a little daft, but that is exactly what happens with speakers – it really does matter where they are positioned. All of this is a rather longwinded way of saying that testing speakers is challenging; so difficult that many of us don’t bother. Now though, there is a really nice solution. This month, we have an excellent project that combines analogue electronics, your PC’s sound card and some free software to give you all the data you need to really understand your loudspeakers. The Loudspeaker Test Jig is an audiophile’s dream come true – recommended! The battle for semiconductor supremacy I’m a little late to this next item, a very readable 2022 book called Chip War, by Chris Miller. It sat on my to-read pile for over a year, but having finally got around to it I enjoyed it so much that I thought I’d pass on the recommendation. Chip War is a fascinating account of the rise (and in some cases fall) of semiconductor giants; from the original start-ups in the US (Silicon Valley) to the current domination by Taiwanese company TSMC and Dutch lithography leader ASML. It’s a truly fascinating story that is far from over, and I’m sure you will enjoy it. It reminded me a little of the wonderful three-part documentary, Triumph of the Nerds, which did a superb job of explaining the history of the PC. You can find it on the Internet and I’m sure you will enjoy that too. 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 | June | 2024 7