Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

PRODUCT SHOWCASE PIR detectors from DSE Passive infrared detectors are becoming cheaper and their uses more varied. They are used to detect movement and are most commonly found in alarm systems, automatic doors and lighting systems. The sensor consists of two infrared elements on a single substrate which is heated to operating temperature. One element is exposed to incoming infrared radiation with the other protected. With a static background, the amount of infrared radiation seen by the exposed element remains constant, but when a body moves across the background, it alters the amount of heat seen by the element, causing a voltage shift between the two elements. Placing a Fresnel lens in front of the sensor maximises the change in heat seen by breaking the background into zones. As a person moves across the sensor's field, he or she moves from zone to zone causing a pulsing heat signal to be seen by the exposed element. This difference is detected by the electronics and if enough pulses are detected in a set time the detector opens a relay to indicate that it has seen movement. People are not the only sources of heat, so care has to be taken when installing the detectors so that sources of heat do not lead to false triggering. Common sources of false triggering are direct sunlight, air conditioners and heaters. Stickers can be placed on the inside of the Fresnel lens to blind particular zones from the source of interference. Three PIR detectors are available from Dick Smith Electronics. The first Low cost video enhancer If your VCR is in tiptop condition you probably have no need for a video enhancer but if you want to dub between VCRs or want to send video signals over a longish cable, then this SuperBooster II model from Jaycar may be for you. It has controls for video boost and the stereo audio levels and will provide a maximum video gain of two (+3dB). Note that it does not boost the video high frequencies which would enhance picture detail. If you want a detail enhancer. Jaycar has another model, the JVE-1. 84  Silicon Chip The video enhancer is powered by an external 9V 200mA DC plugpack (not supplied) and sells for $39.95 (Cat. AV-6500). It is available from all Jaycar Electronics stores. (DSE PIR detector) is a budget version and has a fixed 90° field of view. The sensitivity is adjustable and a LED gives visual indication of detection to help with setup procedures. A tamper switch inside detects any attempt that is made to open the case. The detector needs a 12V supply and has an N/C (normally closed) alarm output (Cat. L-5011). The second detector (Everspring 180 degree PIR) is a half hemisphere in shape and uses mirrors above the sen­sor to gain a 180° view. It can have the Fresnel lens mounted vertically or horizontally to tailor the field of view to wide or tall. Four lenses are included to provide further response tailoring and are la­ belled wide angle, long distance, pet and curtain. Detection pulses are counted over a time frame to mini­mise false triggering. Tamper protec­tion and LED indication are also in­cluded. The unit needs a 9-16V sup­ply and has N/C tamper and alarm outputs (Cat. L-5015). The last detector (Ir-tec IR-820 PIR) has three different Fresnel patterns in its lens to detect motion. The patterns are designated wide angle, long range and finger curtain. Stickers are included to mask out any zone that has a source of interference. The sensor can also be moved in relation 12-PPM laser printers from Hewlett Packard SILICON CHIP SOFTWARE Now available: the complete index to all SILICON CHIP articles since the first issue in November 1987. The Floppy Index comes with a handy file viewer that lets you look at the index line by line or page by page for quick browsing, or you can use the search function. All commands are listed on the screen, so you’ll always know what to do next. Notes & Errata also now available: this file lets you quickly check out the Notes & Errata (if any) for all articles published in SILICON CHIP. Not an index but a complete copy of all Notes & Errata text (diagrams not included). The file viewer is included in the price, so that you can quickly locate the item of interest. The Floppy Index and Notes & Errata files are supplied in ASCII format on a 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppy disc to suit PC-compatible computers. Note: the File Viewer requires MSDOS 3.3 or above. ORDER FORM Hewlett-Packard has introduced two new 12-page-per minute (PPM) laser printers that are 30-40% faster, on average, than their predecessors. Called the HP LaserJet 4 Plus and HP LaserJet 4M Plus, these printers fea­ture 600 x 600 dots per inch (dpi) resolution and a 12-ppm print engine with a 25MHz Intel i960 RISC processor with cache, advanced memory management and other performance enhancements. HP's Memory Enhancement technology (MEt) effectively doubles the printer's memory and enables it to print more complex pages with stand­ a rd memory in PCL, while u s e r­c o n f i g u r a b l e i n p u t / o u t p u t (I/O) buff­ering allows the printer to accept print data faster, returning control of the host computer to the user sooner. The resource-saving feature retains downloaded fonts, logos, forms and macros, eliminating the time normally needed to download this information again when switching between PCL and Postscript. Job overlap enables the printer to process one print job while it is printing another. This re­ sults in faster printer throughput when multiple jobs are sent to the PRICE ❏ Floppy Index (incl. file viewer): $A7 ❏ Notes & Errata (incl. file viewer): $A7 ❏ Alphanumeric LCD Demo Board Software (May 1993): $A7 ❏ Stepper Motor Controller Software (January 1994): $A7 ❏ Gamesbvm.bas /obj /exe (Nicad Battery Monitor, June 1994): $A7 ❏ Diskinfo.exe (Identifies IDE Hard Disc Parameters, August 1995): $A7 ❏ Computer Controlled Power Supply Software (Jan/Feb. 1997): $A7 ❏ Spacewri.exe & Spacewri.bas (for Spacewriter, May 1997): $A7 ❏ I/O Card (July 1997) + Stepper Motor Software (1997 series): $A7 POSTAGE & PACKING: Aust. & NZ add $A3 per order; elsewhere $A5 Disc size required:    ❏ 3.5-inch disc   ❏ 5.25-inch disc TOTAL $A Enclosed is my cheque/money order for $­A__________ or please debit my ❏ Bankcard   ❏ Visa Card   ❏ MasterCard Card No. Signature­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________________________ Card expiry date______/______ Name ___________________________________________________________ PLEASE PRINT Street ___________________________________________________________ Suburb/town ________________________________ Postcode______________ Send your order to: SILICON CHIP, PO Box 139, Collaroy, NSW 2097; or fax your order to (02) 9979 6503; or ring (02) 9979 5644 and quote your credit card number (Bankcard, Visa Card or MasterCard). ✂ to the lens to alter the response pattern. A gauge on the PC board helps in align­ment. LED indication is jumper selectable and can be turned off once setup is complete, thereby not letting an intruder know that he has been detected. Tamper protection and pulse count­ing are also included. The detector needs 9-16V and has N/C tamper and alarm outputs (Cat. L-5014). These PIR detectors sell for $39.95, $59.95 and $89.95 respectively and are available from all Dick Smith Electronics stores. October 1994  85 printer, particularly if the jobs alternate between PCL and PostScript. The HP LaserJet 4M Plus printer offers improved greyscale capability when printing in Postscript. The result is reduced visual banding so transitions in grey tones appear smoother and more even, while scanned images are reproduced with better detail. The new LaserJet comes standard with 2Mb of RAM while the LaserJet 4M Plus includes 6Mb of RAM. Addi­ tional memory can be used in both printers to increase I/O buffer space for faster return to the user's application and for saving of downloaded fonts, forms and macros. The HP LaserJet 4 Plus and 4M Plus are upgradable to 66Mb and 38Mb, respectively. For further information on HP products and services, phone 131 347 (toll free, no STD area code required). Ultra-thin toroidal transformers from Tortech Conventional toroidal transformers are readily available from several sources in Australia but if you want to place a toroidal transformer with a reasonable high VA rating in a one-unit high rack case, you have a problem. Or at least you did, until now. Pictured above are two toroids, one a conventional unit and one an ultra-thin unit measuring only 20mm thick and having a rating of 50VA. Want to know more? It is available from Tortech Pty Ltd, 24/31 Wentworth Street, Greenacre, NSW 2190. Phone (02) 642 6003. Replace your mouse with a tablet from DSE Dick Smith Electronics has two new graphics tablets to improve your CAD and drawing ability on the PC. The Acecat II is a high resolution digitising tablet with up to 2000 line per inch (LPI) resolution. Using the supplied WinTab multi-pointer soft­ware driver, the tablet can be used alongside a stand­ard mouse or trackball in the Windows environment as a template overlay for easy tracing of existing drawings or creating free­hand drawings. 86  Silicon Chip For CAD users, the tablet uses "absolute" positioning which means that where you point on the tablet is exactly where your cursor will appear on the screen. This, it is claimed, makes the selection of icons and drawing faster than using a conventional mouse or trackball. The programmable 2-button stylus comes with replaceable tips on either a 5-inch square or 12-inch square tablet. The right mouse button is on the barrel of the stylus and is controlled by your index finger, while the left mouse button is actuated by pressing the sty­lus more firmly on the tablet. The smaller tablet is about the size of a mouse pad and can be used in the palm of the hand or on the desk, whereas the larger tablet is intended for desk use. Supplied with five software drivers and various testing utilities, the Acecat II can be software configured to suit your favourite program and connects to any serial port. The Win Tab driver appears as an icon in the Windows envi­ r onment and may be clicked on to change parameters such as tracking areas, tablet sensi­tivity and button configura­tions. The smaller tablet (5 x 5-inch) retails for $199 and the larger (12 x 12-inch) sells for $399. Both come with a quickstart guide and comprehen­sive user's manual. For more information, contact the Dick Smith Electronics store nearest you. Beyer kick drum microphone The new TG-X mic from Beyer Dynamic is designed primarily for close miking of kick drums in re­ cording and live performance ap­plications. It is also useful for miking high sound pressure levels such as musical instruments. The heart of the microphone uses a pressure gradient dynamic transducer with a hypercardioid pattern. The capsule has a quoted frequency response of 15Hz to 18kHz (no dB limits). The microphone body is constructed of diecast zinc with a matt black finish and it is fitted with a standard 3-pin XLR connec­tor. Standard accessories are a mic clip and padded carry bag. Options include a range of mic and boom stands and cables with Neutrik jack and XLR connec­t ors. Recommend­ed retail price of the Beyer TG-X 50 is $495. For more information, contact Amber Technology, Unit B, 5 Sky line Place, Frenchs Forest 2086. Phone (02) 975 1211. October 1994  87