Silicon ChipMarket Centre - October 1994 SILICON CHIP
  1. Outer Front Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Publisher's Letter: Writing to Silicon Chip
  4. Feature: Dolby Surround Sound: How It Works by Leo Simpson
  5. Feature: Electronic Engine Management; Pt.13 by Julian Edgar
  6. Order Form
  7. Project: Beginner's Dual Rail Variable Power Supply by Darren Yates
  8. Project: Build A Talking Headlight Reminder by Darren Yates
  9. Project: Electronic Ballast For Fluorescent Lights by John Clarke
  10. Serviceman's Log: Two symptoms - one fault or two? by The TV Serviceman
  11. Project: Temperature Controlled Soldering Station by Jeff Monegal
  12. Book Store
  13. Vintage Radio: The winners of the Hellier Award by John Hill
  14. Product Showcase
  15. Feature: Computer Bits by Darren Yates
  16. Back Issues
  17. Notes & Errata: 40V/3A Adjustable Power Supply, January & February 1994; 12-240VAC 200W Inverter, February 1994
  18. Market Centre
  19. Advertising Index
  20. Outer Back Cover

This is only a preview of the October 1994 issue of Silicon Chip.

You can view 33 of the 96 pages in the full issue, including the advertisments.

For full access, purchase the issue for $10.00 or subscribe for access to the latest issues.

Articles in this series:
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.1 (October 1993)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.2 (November 1993)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.3 (December 1993)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.4 (January 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.5 (February 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.6 (March 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.7 (April 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.8 (May 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.9 (June 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.10 (July 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.11 (August 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.12 (September 1994)
  • Electronic Engine Management; Pt.13 (October 1994)
Items relevant to "Beginner's Dual Rail Variable Power Supply":
  • Beginner's Dual Rail Variable Power Supply PCB pattern (PDF download) [04110941] (Free)
Items relevant to "Build A Talking Headlight Reminder":
  • Talking Headlight Reminder PCB pattern (PDF download) [01109941] (Free)
Items relevant to "Electronic Ballast For Fluorescent Lights":
  • Electronic Ballast For Fluorescent Tubes PCB pattern (PDF download) [11309941] (Free)
Items relevant to "Computer Bits":
  • DOS software for Computer Bits, October 1994 (DIRSPLIT.EXE/BAS) (Free)
Articles in this series:
  • Computer Bits (July 1989)
  • Computer Bits (August 1989)
  • Computer Bits (September 1989)
  • Computer Bits (October 1989)
  • Computer Bits (November 1989)
  • Computer Bits (January 1990)
  • Computer Bits (April 1990)
  • Computer Bits (October 1990)
  • Computer Bits (November 1990)
  • Computer Bits (December 1990)
  • Computer Bits (January 1991)
  • Computer Bits (February 1991)
  • Computer Bits (March 1991)
  • Computer Bits (April 1991)
  • Computer Bits (May 1991)
  • Computer Bits (June 1991)
  • Computer Bits (July 1991)
  • Computer Bits (August 1991)
  • Computer Bits (September 1991)
  • Computer Bits (October 1991)
  • Computer Bits (November 1991)
  • Computer Bits (December 1991)
  • Computer Bits (January 1992)
  • Computer Bits (February 1992)
  • Computer Bits (March 1992)
  • Computer Bits (May 1992)
  • Computer Bits (June 1992)
  • Computer Bits (July 1992)
  • Computer Bits (September 1992)
  • Computer Bits (October 1992)
  • Computer Bits (November 1992)
  • Computer Bits (December 1992)
  • Computer Bits (February 1993)
  • Computer Bits (April 1993)
  • Computer Bits (May 1993)
  • Computer Bits (June 1993)
  • Computer Bits (October 1993)
  • Computer Bits (March 1994)
  • Computer Bits (May 1994)
  • Computer Bits (June 1994)
  • Computer Bits (July 1994)
  • Computer Bits (October 1994)
  • Computer Bits (November 1994)
  • Computer Bits (December 1994)
  • Computer Bits (January 1995)
  • Computer Bits (February 1995)
  • Computer Bits (March 1995)
  • Computer Bits (April 1995)
  • CMOS Memory Settings - What To Do When The Battery Goes Flat (May 1995)
  • Computer Bits (July 1995)
  • Computer Bits (September 1995)
  • Computer Bits: Connecting To The Internet With WIndows 95 (October 1995)
  • Computer Bits (December 1995)
  • Computer Bits (January 1996)
  • Computer Bits (February 1996)
  • Computer Bits (March 1996)
  • Computer Bits (May 1996)
  • Computer Bits (June 1996)
  • Computer Bits (July 1996)
  • Computer Bits (August 1996)
  • Computer Bits (January 1997)
  • Computer Bits (April 1997)
  • Windows 95: The Hardware That's Required (May 1997)
  • Turning Up Your Hard Disc Drive (June 1997)
  • Computer Bits (July 1997)
  • Computer Bits: The Ins & Outs Of Sound Cards (August 1997)
  • Computer Bits (September 1997)
  • Computer Bits (October 1997)
  • Computer Bits (November 1997)
  • Computer Bits (April 1998)
  • Computer Bits (June 1998)
  • Computer Bits (July 1998)
  • Computer Bits (November 1998)
  • Computer Bits (December 1998)
  • Control Your World Using Linux (July 2011)
MARKET CENTRE Cash in your surplus gear. Advertise it here in Silicon Chip. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES VINTAGE RADIO Advertising rates for this page: Classified ads: $10.00 for up to 12 words plus 50 cents for each additional word. Display ads (casual rate): $25 per column centimetre (Max. 10cm). Closing date: five weeks prior to month of sale. To run your classified ad, print it clearly in the space below or on a separate sheet of paper, fill out the form & send it with your cheque or credit card details to: Silicon Chip Classifieds, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. Or fax the details to (02) 979 6503. VINTAGE RADIO SWAP meet/fair. Inc. military, amateur radio and antique sound. Sunday 23rd October, 1994 10am to 5pm. Glenroy Technical School Hall, Melbourne. Bookings: R. Howarth, PO Box 9, Junortoun 3551. Phone (054) 49 3207. _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ FOR SALE REAL TIME ICE!!! The only way to go. MOTOROLA 6805 EMULATOR and programmers. Prices and data from Graham Blowes, Mantis Micro Products, 38 Garnet Street, Niddrie 3042. Phone (03) 337 1917 (a/h), (03) 575 3349 (b/h). Fax (03) 575 3369. AUSTRALIAN PRODUCT: Control Canaries, Cameras, Cars or Circuits from the printer port of your PC. 32 bits in. 32 bits out. Bare PCB, Software Disk and Data $38. Add-on Relay Board $15, or Demo/Promo Disk $2. Don McKenzie, 29 Ellesmere Crescent, Tulla­ marine 3043. Phone (03) 338 6286. SUBSTITUTE FOR A HANDFUL OF ICs: Parallax “BASIC STAMP”. A gen­er­al purpose small circuit module, it is really a 25 x 50mm board with a computer chip (4MHz PIC 16C56), EEPROM, 8 I/O pins, board space includes prototyping area. Program it on a PC (only 33 instructions) with development kit which includes one “BASIC STAMP” Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $­__________ or please debit my RCS RADIO PTY LTD Card No. ✂ ❏ Bankcard   ❏ Visa Card   ❏ Master Card Signature­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________ Card expiry date______/______ Name ______________________________________________________ Street ______________________________________________________ Suburb/town ___________________________ Postcode______________ 94  Silicon Chip RCS Radio Pty Ltd is the only company that manufactures and sells every PC board and front panel published in SILICON CHIP, ETI and EA. RCS Radio Pty Ltd, 651 Forest Rd, Bexley 2207. Phone (02) 587 3491 Microprocessor For Stereo Preamplifier Now back in stock: the 68HC705-C8P pre-programmed micro­pro­cessor for the Infrared Remote Controlled Stereo Preamplifier (SILICON CHIP, Sept.-Oct. 1993). Also suits the Remote Volume Control (May & June, 1993). Price: $45 + $6 p+p Payment by chequeor credit card to: Silicon Chip Publications, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9795644; Fax (02) 979 6503. TRANSFORMER REWINDS • • • • 350 Watt Power MOSFET Amplifier Module As published in the June 1994 issue of Silicon Chip. Kit price $159.00. Postage and handling $8.00. Payment by M/C, B/C, Visa, Cheque or Money Order. 3kg O/N Air Bag $10.00 Computer & Electronic Services Pty Ltd 27 Osborne Avenue, Trevallyn Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Phone 003-34 4218; Fax 003-31 4328 MEMORY & DRIVES PRICES AT SEPTEMBER, 1994 SIMM (all 70ns) Parity/No Parity 1Mb 30-pin $58/54 4Mb 30-pin $208/195 2Mb 72-pin $125 4Mb 72-pin $230/215 8Mb 72-pin $460/420 16Mb 72-pin $815/775 32Mb 72-pin $1690/1500 MAC 6Mb P’BOOK CO-PROCESSORS 387S/DX to 40 $395 $90 LASER PRINTER HP with 2Mb $200 ALL TYPES OF TRANSFORMER REWINDS COMPAQ CONTURA TRANSFORMER REWINDS 8Mb $440 WEATHER FAX programs for IBM XT/ ATs *** “RADFAX2” $35 is a high resolution, shortwave weather fax, Morse & Rtty receiving program. Suitable for CGA, EGA, VGA and Hercules cards. Needs SSB HF radio & Radfax decoder. *** “SATFAX” $45 is a NOAA, Meteor & GMS weather satellite picture receiving program. Needs EGA or VGA plus “WEATHER FAX” PC card. *** “MAXISAT” $75 is similar to SATFAX but needs 2Mb expanded memory (EMS 3.6 or 4.0) and 1024 x 768 SVGA card. All programs are on 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch disks (state which) & include documentation. Add $3 postage. Only from M. Delahunty, 42 Villiers St, New Farm, Qld 4005. Phone (07) 358 2785. FLUORESCENT INVERTER KIT (SC, Feb 91) (Soft Technology No. 46): 12V, 24V or 48V/16W version. Secondary wind, board plus compon­ents $30 plus $4 p&p. SOLAR BATTERY CHARGING REGULATOR: short form kit 12V or 24V (SC, Jan 94) 10A $54 plus $4 p&p. $8 $8 IBM PS.2 THINKPAD L40/N33 90/95 8Mb 4Mb 4Mb $655 $280 $230 TOSHIBA 3100SX 46/6400 4Mb 4Mb $245 $265 SUN SPARC 10/20 16Mb SPARC 10/20 64Mb $965 $4080 DRIVES – SEAGATE 214Mb 10ms 3yr w 528Mb 12ms 3yr w 1052Mb 9ms 5yr w $260 $465 $1075 1st Floor, 100 Yarrara Rd, PO Box 382, Pennant Hills, 2120. Tel: (02) 980 6988 Fax: (02) 980 6991 MICASOFT Electronics and Computing tutor program, written in UK, ideal for TAFE, schools, or individual use. Now available in Australia. Send $1.80 in stamps for demo disk (tell us what size). MicroZed Computers, PO Box 634, Armidale 2350. 70ns 70ns Sales tax 21%. Overnight delivery. Credit cards welcome. Ring for latest prices. Reply Paid No.7, PO Box 1058, St Marys, NSW 2760. Ph: (02) 833 1146. Fax: (02) 623 5559. ($249 plus S/T & post), extra modules ($66 plus S/T & post). Send 45c stamp for more information. Parallax distributor and techni­cal support in Australia: MicroZed Computers, PO Box 634, Armi­dale, NSW 2350. Facsimile (067) 72 8987. DRAM DIP 1Mb x 1 256 x 4 Additional Mosfet $8 and Schottky diode $5 to make 20A regulator. With every kit ordered FREE used LEAD SEALED BATTERY 12V/4Ah or 6Ah while stocks last. Good condition but no warranty. Only p&p is charged for battery. Ring for postage cost. Cheques and postal money orders accepted with mail orders. Send orders to: Otakar Priboj, PO Box 362, Villawood, NSW 2163, Australia. Phone (02) 724 3801. INTELLIGENT INFRARED RECEIVER (ref SILICON CHIP, March 94). Now with 8 outputs. Use your TV or VCR infrared remote control trans­mitter to control your TV or hifi appliances with an intelligent infrared receiver kit. Also available infrared transmitters, preprogrammed and learning models. For details call BENETRON P/L (018) 20 0108. THE HOMEBUILT DYNAMO: (plans) brushless, 1000 DC watt at 740 revs. $A85 postpaid airmail from Al Forbes, PELHAM PO Box 3919 - SC, Auckland, NZ. Phone Auckland (09) 818 8967 any time. Rotor magnets (3700 gauss) kit now available. VALVE AMPLIFIERS: Australian made. Mono, stereo, guitar using 2A3, 211, 6L6 or 807 valves. Williamson reproductions. Parts available for DIY constructors. Circuit diagrams and construction details for many types of valve amplifiers. Valve equipment repairs. Lancroft Pty Ltd, PO Box 439, Bexley 2207. Phone (02) 567 5390. THE 8051 MICRO-COMTROLLER book includes a simulator disk ($40). ROMLoader EPROM Emulator (EA Jan/Feb 92, EA June 94) (PCB $30). 8051 Proto-Boards (EA Feb 93) (PCB $30). Tantau Australia, PO Box 1232, Lane Cove, NSW 2066. Phone AH (02) 878 4715. CALLING ALL HOBBYISTS We provide the challenge and money for you to design and build as many simple, useful, economical and original kit sets as possible. We will only consider kits using lots of ICs and transistors. If you need assistance in getting samples and technical specifications while building your kits, let us know. YUGA ENTERPRISE 705 SIMS DRIVE #03-09 SHUN LI INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX SINGAPORE 1438 TEL: 65 741 0300    Fax: 65 749 1048 October 1994  95 SmallTALK for PCs: voice digitiser for 286's and up Play speech on your PC's speaker with no sound card! 3 minute version $34.95 HDD version $39.95 Optional QLB/LIB libraries $14.00 All orders add $3.05 p+p. Send your cheque/order to: RAT Electronics AUSTRALIA PO Box 641, Penrith, NSW 2750 Ph: (047) 77 4745 Fax: (047) 77 4745 ELECTROSTATIC LOUDSPEAKERS 3-PANEL FULL RANGE DESIGN, AVAILABLE IN KIT FORM OR FULLY ASSEMBLED. LOCALLY DESIGNED & MANUFACTURED. FOR INFORMATION BROCHURE, PHONE/FAX (09) 397 6212 OR WRITE TO: E. R. AUDIO, 119 BROOKTON HWY, ROLEYSTONE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6111. Advertising Index Altronics ................................ 20-22 Av-Comm................................69,81 Computer & Elect. Services.........95 David Reid Electronics ..............86 Dick Smith Electronics........... 10-13 Emona Instruments.....................87 E. R. Audio...................................96 Harbuch Electronics....................86 UNUSUAL BOOKS: Electronic Devices, Fireworks, Locksmithing, Radar Invisibility, Surveillance, Self-Protection, Unusual Chem­ istry and more. For a complete catalog, send 95 cents in stamps to Vector Press, Dept S, PO Box 434, Brighton, SA 5048. PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS for the hobbyist. For service & enquiries contact: T. A. Mowles (08) 326 5590. BINARY CLOCK - OCTOBER 1993: complete documentation supplied, includes introduction to binary, how it works, PLD source list­ings, conversion tables. Kit with PC board and all components $75 plus $5 p&p. Optional Z frame stand (includes spacers and chassis DC connector) $25 plus $5 p&p. Available from Prototype Electronics, 1/29 Stewart St, Parra­matta, NSW 2124. Phone (02) 890 2960; Fax (02) 630 3148. Pay by cheque, money order, credit card. TES FIELD STRENGTH meter, model MC661/F, VLF/VHF/UHF VGC complete with charger and manual. $300. (079) 28 0966. WANTED WANTED: made in USA or Western Europe for audio valves, vintage audio equipment and books about valve technology. Wai Kei Leung, Block B, 5th Floor, 7 Kweilin Street, Shamshuipo, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Fax: 852 387 5560. PC COMPUTERS (08) 364 0902 (08) 332 6513 36 Regent St, Kensington, South Australia High Power 2.5 Watt Transmitter Kit FMTX1 $69 This kit uses a single transistor to provide up to 2.5 watts into a 50-ohm load. It can be set on the FM band from 88-108MHz. Audio is 500mV P-P with Australian pre-emphasis. Power supply from 12-24 volts DC. Range up to 100 miles. Leaky coax distribution can be used with any of our transmitters, terminate up to 2km of coax with a 50-ohm resistor and no radiation occurs. Use a 150-ohm WW pot and you can set the level of radiation up to 300 metres from the coax. You can use this method to comply with DOTC schedule 3. Instant PCBs................................95 Jaycar ......................... 33-36,61-64 L & M Video.................................32 Macservice............................ 47-50 Oatley Electronics.................. 82-83 PC Computers.............................96 Pelham........................................95 Rat Electronics............................96 RCS Radio ..................................94 Rod Irving Electronics .......... 73-77 Silicon Chip Back Issues....... 90-91 Silicon Chip Binders....................89 Silicon Chip Bookshop.................70 Silicon Chip Projects Book......OBC Silicon Chip Software..................85 Silicon Chip Wallchart................IBC Tortech.........................................89 Transformer Rewinds...................95 Yokogawa..................................IBC XTAL Locked 30mW Transmitter (The best quality kit transmitter in Australia) FMTX2B $49 This transmitter is XTAL-locked on 100MHz (XTAL supplied) and is the most stable kit transmitter on the market. It features a 3-stage design with only two tuned circuits and a clean output. This design can be used as the basis of a station exciter. Yuga Enterprise...........................95 _________________________________ Digital Stereo Coder (All Digital Design With Australian Pre-emphasis) FMTX2A $49 This is a universal stereo coder able to be used with all of our transmitter designs and many others. Its performance is superior to domestic encoder single chip designs. Dozens have been sold to FM stations as a standby stereo coder or with the FMTX2B as an exciter. Printed circuit boards for SILICON CHIP projects are made by: Both FMTX2A and FMTX2B on 1 PCB as a complete stereo transmit­ter FMTX5 $99 MAX I/O Board for PCs (Talk To The Outside World) $169 This kit features 7 relays, ADC, DAC, stepper motor driver with sample software in Basic and connects to a PC’s parallel port. Now also available I/O bits software for MS Windows so you can program functions without being a programmer. Call relays by a name like stop relay, assign its own icon - uses a simple VISUAL interface to make your own PLC. Full developer’s version has DOS runtime so you do not require Windows and optional sup­port for LCD displays. Data logging ADC and DAC boards and more. MAX version $169. FM Band Linear Amplifier Kits (All Imported Kits) New 30mW to 1 watt linear coming in September 1994 (advance orders taken) 500mW to 5 or 10 watts $199 250mW to 25 watts 15 watts to 110 watts $599 40 watts to 300 watts Power supplies and heatsinks not included in short form kit price. $99 $249 $999 Other kits available. Call for a list or see Silicon Chip April-June 1994 or the Silicon Chip Model Railway Book. 96  Silicon Chip PC Boards • RCS Radio Pty Ltd, 651 Forest Rd, Bexley, NSW 2207. Phone (02) 587 3491. • Marday Services, PO Box 19-189, Avondale, Auckland, NZ. Phone (09) 828 5730. • H. T. Electronics, 35 Valley View Crescent, Hackham West, SA 5163. Phone (08) 326 5590.