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PRODUCT SHOWCASE Panasonic GPS receiver 12VDC to 240VAC inverter This compact 12V to 240VAC inverter will operate most low powered electrical equipment such as VCRs, TV sets, fans, computers, small kitch­en appliances and in fact, almost any mains-powered appliance with a power consumption of up to 160 watts. No-load power consumption is a mere 1.2W while the output surge capability is 400W. Weight is 1.1kg and dimensions are 180 x 105 x 60mm. The inverter is available from all Dick Smith Electronics stores at $249 (Cat. M-5010). Also available is a 600 watt model at $399 (Cat. M-5000). Dynalink dish alignment meter This dish alignment meter covers the frequency range from 900-2050MHz and it contains a nicad battery pack, allowing the LNB (low noise block) of the dish to be powered directly. The instrument has a 2-stage MMIC (monolithic microwave IC) amplifier and internal integrator to average all signals in the LNB output band and then drive an analog signal strength meter. It has an adjustable sensitivity control and an audio indicator which increases in pitch as the dish alignment is improved. For anyone contemplating dish installations for either the present or future pay TV transmissions, this is an indispensable tool. The unit comes complete with a 2-metre length of RG-6/U cable with F connectors, wall charger and carry case with should­ er strap. The meter can be looped into the coax feed from a satellite receiver to verify LNB power consumption and polarity. The Dynalink SM-01 Satmeter is available now for $470. For further information on this product and other satellite TV products, contact Av-Comm Pty Ltd, PO Box 225, Balgow­lah, NSW 2093. Phone (02) 949 7417 or fax (02) 949 7095. Panasonic’s KX-G5500 GPS receiver is a compact receiver which measures a mere 130 x 65 x 35mm and offers all the benefits of portability and easy operation. It’s powered by a long-lasting, rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery or from a AA alkaline battery pack (supplied). A lithium battery serves as a memory backup. The KX-G5500 comes complete with external antenna, antenna/DC adaptor, adjustable mount, carry case, battery charg­er and AC adaptor, and alkaline battery case. The case is splash resistant and features a backlit LCD panel so that it can be read in the dark. Note: all GPS receivers are subject to a degradation of position of plus or minus 100 metres as determined by the US Department of Defence. For further information, contact Panasonic Australia by phoning (02) 986 7400. Rack mounted personal computers Modgraph Inc, well known as a manufacturer of Super-VGA colour monitors, now offers a range of personal computers in a series of rack-mounted configurations. Intended for applications where high July 1993  65 Music on hold for phones Peter Lacey has moved Peter Lacey has moved his whole­sale antenna and instrument supply business to larger premises in Frankston. Ac­cording to Peter, the company “experienced incredible growth through the aggregation boom of last year. With a number of new product opportunities in front of us, we decided that the cost of extra space was a small price to pay to improve service. Some unique antenna products combined with our installation background means we can help technicians achieve better results from their antenna work”. The new address for Peter C. Lacey Services Pty Ltd is 80 Dande­ nong Rd, Frankston, Vic 3199. Phone (03) 783 2388 or fax (03) 783 5767. In keeping with the rack mount configuration, the system’s 89-key keyboard can be mounted on a slide which goes under the PC, or can be folded over the screen and disc drives. For further information, contact Amtex Electronics, 13 Avon Rd, North Ryde 2113. Phone (02) 805 0844. This Austel approved device allows any phone system to provide music on hold for incoming callers or outgoing callers. To place a call on hold you merely press 8 on a tone or pulse dial phone. To pick up the call again, press 8 again. The music program may be from any source such as a tape player or radio. The device itself uses US modular phone plugs and sockets but Telecom adaptor plugs are also supplied. The Music-On-Hold adaptor is priced at $279 while an Austel approved line isolation transformer is an extra $80. For further information contact David Reid Electronics, 127 York St, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 267 1385. Rotational speed sensor 8-channel relay board resolution colour and PC processing capabilities are needed in a standard 19-inch rack format, the GX-4500 offers 800 x 600 resolution. The GX-4500’s Sony Triniton-based super VGA 8.5-inch diag­ onal, flat screen display is mounted with the disc drives along­side. There is a choice of 286, 386 or 486 processors, with two to five expansion slots and internal hard disc drives up to 200 megabytes. 66  Silicon Chip The AX5008 relay and isolated digital input board plugs directly into any expansion slot of an IBM PC/XT, AT or better. The eight SPDT relays are intended for low power switching; their contacts are rated at 3A at 120VAC or 24VDC with a resistive load. The eight opto-isolated digital inputs provide 1kV channel to channel or channel to ground isolation. Their input impedance is 800Ω. Connections are made via a 37-way D-type male connector which is supplied with the board. For more information, contact Boston Technology Pty Ltd, PO Box 1750, North Sydney 2059. Phone (02) 955 4765. The Philips KMI10/1 rotational speed sensor is claimed to be the first fully integrated contactless speed sensor to meet all the requirements of the automotive industry. Features include accurate measurement down to zero rpm, an ability to operate at toothto-sensor spacings as large as 2.5mm and at ambient temper­atures as high as 190°C. These sensors operate with a wide variety of wheel teeth structures while a built-in hyster­esis in the signal conditioning circuit makes it immune to vibra­tions. This combination of features suits the KMI10/1 for use in automotive applications such as ABS (Anti-lock Brake Systems), ASC (Anti Slip Control) and engine management systems. Industrial applications include the detection of ferrous metals, proximity detection and current flow detection. With a very small sensor head and no requirement for external magnets or additional com­ponents, the KMI10/1 is small and rugged enough to be integrated into ball-and roller-bearings. Two KMI10/1 sensors operating together can be used to detect speed and direction, or to make incremental measurements. The KMI10/1 is a 2-terminal device which operates at fre­ quencies from 0-25kHz, producing a pulsed current output at the tooth frequency. Unlike inductive sensors, the magnitude of this pulsed current (7mA in the low state and 14mA in the high state) is frequency independent. Only one low value resistor and capacitor are required to turn the output current into a TTL-compatible signal that is suitable for microcontrollers or other control logic. For further information, contact Philips Components, 34 Waterloo Rd, North Ryde, NSW 2113. Phone (02) 805 4455. Vivitar video fader/ audio mixer Home control system from Cebus Now available from CEBus Australia is the HCS II home control system as featured last year in the American magazine “Steve Ciarca’s Circuit Cellar INK”. The HCS II is a control system which monitors sensors and controls devices via the AC power mains. Such systems have been talked about for many years as the “intelligent home concept” but this is the first time that a dedicated system has become available. Essentially, the HCS II transmits serial data over the AC power line via special isolating modems. You York St, Sydney NSW 2000. Phone (02) 267 1385 or fax (02) 261 8905. Kenwood’s luxury L-A1 amplifier Kenwood’s new top of the line L Series hifi equipment is finished in a luxurious anodised gold fascia plate with hand-rubbed rosewood side panels. This compact video fader can mix the sound from three separate sources as well as being able to provide a smooth fade-in or fade-out of a source such as a camcorder or VCR. The unit comes with its own microphone and is supplied with video and audio leads. It runs from an external 12V DC plugpack adaptor (not supplied). The unit retails for $199 and is available from David Reid Electronics, 127 can program the system to control devices such as lights, heating systems and so on. The system uses a program language called Express and this is supplied on floppy discs. Our photo shows some of the control boards in the system. Not shown are an LCD board (20 line dis­play), the appliance module and modems, and the various cables which are supplied. The price is $1442 plus tax where applicable for an assem­bled and tested basic system. For more information, contact CEBus Australia, 26 Lambourn Rd, Watsonia, Vic 3087. Phone (03) 435 1185 or fax (03) 432 1825. Inside the L-A1 amplifier is a specially developed Super C4 (Super Constant Cascade Circuit) that represents a major depar­ture from conventional differential amplifier design. The super C4 circuitry is claimed to reduce the in-phase noise in much the same way as the high CMRR (Common Mode Rejection Ratio) of dif­ferential designs but it produces a much cleaner signal. continued on page 83 VIDEO & TV SERVICE PERSONNEL TV & VIDEO FAULT LIBRARIES AVAILABLE AS PRINTED MANUALS $90 EACH + $10 DELIVERY BOTH MANUALS VIDEO & TV $155 + $15 DELIVERY OR AS A PROGRAM FOR IBM COMPATIBLES $155 + $10 DELIVERY FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT TECHNICAL APPLICATIONS FAX / PHONE (07) 378 1064 PO BOX 137 KENMORE 4069 July 1993  67 The number of uses for this system seems inexhaustible and has continually expanded since being adopted by the USMC in 1988. Designed prim­arily for reconnaissance, surveillance and target spotting, the list has grown to include evaluation of the effec­tiveness of the concealment techniques of US ground troops. Thus, any unit digging in will launch a Pointer to check its own camou­flage from the air and to maintain perimeter security. In the Iraq war, it was operated by the US Army 82nd Airborne Division, 4th M Expeditionary Brigade and the 1st and 4th M expeditionary Force as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Used in the above manner for the first time, it was also used for real-time battle damage assessment, reconnaissance, surveillance and advance warning of enemy movements. Another novel use for Pointer is from a ground vehicle. In this manner, the UAV and pilot can extend the range, depending on the terrain, to around 50-65km, whilst maintaining an opera­tional field of view of up to eight kilometres ahead of and around the ground vehicle; very handy for convoys and armoured columns. However, the Pointer is not without its drawbacks and there were reports of launch difficulties due to high winds. This problem of high winds and low cruise speeds is a serious one for all aircraft, as effective ground speeds can very quickly drop to zero. Thus, a Pointer cruising at 35km/h into a 35km/h head­ wind has a ground speed of 0km/h, whereas a UAV with a 70km/h cruise speed will still have a ground speed of 35km/h and there­ fore will be able to accomplish its mission, albeit with a re­duced range or loiter time. When cruise speed reaches hundreds of km/h, headwinds become less of a problem. Improvements These problems aside, the Pointer appears to have a good future and improvements are already in the system. These include automatic heading and altitude hold, spread spectrum transmission to minimise threat from ECM, increased range (16km), endurance (2 hours) and flight speed. Reduction of airframe and payload weights are also in the pipeline, as is a twin-engined version. All in all, this is a very handy little unit for what is essen­tially a toy aeroplane. Pointer also has a big brother, the HILINE, which is a high altitude long endurance (HALE) UAV for acquisition and tracking of hot airborne targets (launched ballistic missiles, etc). At first glance, the figures on this UAV appear fantastic, with a typical mission profile as follows: carry 45kg payload for 800km, loiter for more than 24 hours and return; range more than 4830km with an endurance of approximately 20-30 hours; range 100km from launch at 25,000 feet; or fly for 15-20 hours at 40,000 feet. The wingspan of this UAV is quoted as 15.24 metres and maximum take off weight as 341kg. It is powered by one 31kW Ackerman OMC-200 tur­ bo­charged 2-cylinder engine. Whilst on the subject of high altitude UAVs, I have seen mission profiles calling for altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet from piston engined UAVs. How they get a piston engine to breathe at that altitude is beyond me. However here we are again at the end of the allocated space. Next month we will continue with a discussion on SC the really exotic UAVs. Product Showcase – ctd from page 67 The end result is that the L-A1 boasts one of the quietest phono stages found in an integrated amplifier irrespective of price. Another outstanding feature is a newly developed master volume control with an unusually low impedance of only 1kΩ. Such a low impedance design reduces thermal and other types of noise to the order of one tenth of traditional designs. Power output is rated at 100 watts RMS from a push pull parallel Darl­ ington design that employs a group of driver tran­sistors for each power section. All stages prior to the output sections are class A. The power output sections are powered by a specially designed toroidal transformer with extremely low mag­ n etic leakage and massive 18,000µF reservoir capacitors that have been specially selected for their outstanding electrical and musical properties. The main amplifier board and phono section boards are glass epoxy, Kenwood claiming that this new material offers excellent electrical characteristics and better rigidity than phenolic resin board. Specifications include 100 watts RMS per channel, with both channels driven into 8Ω from 20Hz to 20kHz with no more than 0.005% THD. Dynamic power is up to 420 watts into 2Ω. The frequency response is 3Hz to 100kHz at the -3dB points, while phono RIAA response is from 20Hz to 20kHz within ±0.5dB. The Kenwood L-A1 stereo amplifier is covered by a 12-month warranty on parts and labour and has a recommended retail price of $3999. For further information, contact Ken­wood Elec­tronics Australia Pty Ltd by phoning (008) 251 697. Nifty little magnifier This combined m a g­n i f i e r a n d tweez­­er set is very handy when you have to examine PC boards for cold solder joints and also to examine the lettering on those teensy-weensy components. And even if you never touch a PC board, it is ideal for getting splinters out of fingers. It sells for just $5.50 from All Electronic Components, 118122 Lons­­ dale St, Mel­ bourne, 3000. Phone (03) 662 3506. July 1993  83