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Projects and circuits
All reasonable precautions are taken to ensure that the advice and
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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
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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
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