Operationandusesfor the

5701571lC compandorchiP
Thus, unless otherwise stated here- a virtual ground node, therefore
PARTI the input impedance is sirnPlY the
after, all of the ci-rcuits shown
may use either device, with the 20K value of R2, and the resulting
b y t , l a l t J u n g , C o n t r i b u t ' i n gE d i t o r innut current will be Vin/2OK. The
final choice being uP to the user.
a n d C r a i g T o d d ,S i g n e t i c s C o r P . The 570 and 571 are dual devices, AG cell is designed to accePt a
consisting of two sets of the func- naxinun of tlOouA of inPut current
IFHIS A R T I C L E D I V E R G E Ss o m e w h a t
tional signal blocks indicated. (200yA p-p), or a 1.4V nax RMSsine
I fror past op Anps fot Audio col- These are a AG cell (for variable wave level. Wherenecessary, higher
unlrrs, and is also a great deal more input levels can be acconnodated by
Notewotxhg gain, if you will), a full wave
than one of the tYPical including an external series re-
rectifier which controls the gain
and New itens. The reason for these si s t o r .
of the AG cell, and an output oP
differences will be evident as You In its gain control nechanisn,
amp stage connected as shown. An
begin to grasp the details of oPer- the net action of the AG cell in
ation and'working of a new and fas- on-chip 1.8V bias reference voltage
is included, which suPPlies bias effect proportions the applied in-
cinating IC chip. The Signetics put current, and Passes it on to
voltage to both halves of the dual
NE570 ahd NE571 are monolithic IC the output op anp, where it is ul-
circuit. This reference voltage,
compandots, devices which can be timately converted into the cir-
along with the supply voltage and
used for the audio gain control cuitts output voltage. The propor-
ground pins, are the onlY things
functions of compression and expan- tionality (or scaling factor) of
c o m m o nt o t h e t w o r r h a l v e s i l o f t h e
sion, as well as other gain-con- the AG cell is in turn controlled
circuit, with the renainder of the
trolled functions. by the rectifier, which Produces an
for pin functions shown being duplicat-
Although designed PrimarilY outDut current which directly con-
ed, one set per side of the 16 Pin
telephone trunk line conrnunications trois the AG cell. The AG cell rnay
the 570 and laybut.
service applications, be viewed as a current controlled,
The 570 and 571 oPerate fron
571 devices possess Perfonnance current scaling circuit. The con-
and built-in flexi- single power supply voltages in the
soecifications trolling current is the DC outPut
sufficient for a host of range of +6 to +24Y, with quite 1ow
Uifity of the rectifier, and the con'
power, typical current drain being
high quality audio signal process- trolled current is the audio sig-
sur- only 3mA (both sections). The de-
ing uses. This first article nal. We havenrt roon hete for the
vices are therefore well suited to
veys what the 570 and 571 are, how actual details of the AG cell cir-
battery operation, for not onlY is
and what theY do, and how to aPPIY cuit irnplenentation, but they nake
the current drain low but internal
them to audio uses. We think Yourll interesting reading. Consult the
regulation makes operation highly
agree this sonewhat unusual anount references for further insight into
is warranted when You immuneto supply voltage, in gen-
of interest the technique.
eral.
see what these devices, with rela- The AG cell, in short, conpen-
tive ease, can do with audio sig- sates for natural transistor non-
The lG Cell
nals, and we think You will quicklY linearities and temperature sensi-
grasp their imPortance to audio in
In operation the audio signal to be tivity, providing a stable and Pre-
general. Before this article is
controlled is applied to the AG IN dictable prograrnrnablegain element
conplete, you will be able to build
been input through a coupling capacitor. with a dynarnic control range of
projects which have heretofore
AC coupling is necessarY due to a 100dB, with low signal distortion.
sinply inpossible or impractical.
+1.8V bias level present at the AG The ultinate linitation on distor-
This article is bY intent both
cell. The AG celi also constitutes tion is deterrnined by the matching
tutorial and Practical, and fea-
of the gain cellsr internal tran-
tures nany readY-to-use 570/571
sistor pairs, and this Practical
circuits.. Inforrnation on 570/571
Fig.7: 570, 571 Functional- Diagtam lirnit accounts for the aforenen-
availability is included at the end
(f of 2 channefs).
of the article.

B a s i cO p e r a t i o n r-
Fig.l is a block diagrarn of the 570
and 57I. Both the 570 and 571 units
consist of the functional comPon-
ents shown, and are in fact derived
fron the same basic chiP. The dif-
fetence between the two devices
lies in their sPecifications, the
570 being the prirne of the two
units, with lower inherent distor-
tion perforrnance. The 571 has nore
but J | .,lu
l?iilriiriiiur I
*F----i
relaxed basic sPecifications,
nay be trirnned with outboard con-
ponents to a Perfonnance level
eoual or near that of the 570.

Issue4/1976
 tioned differences between 570 and
571 devices. Solace arrives, how-
ever, in the news that either de-
vice can be trirnned using the THD
TRIM terninal. Whentrimned, tyai-
cal devices can show THD figures of
0.1% or less (while untrimrnedTHD
can be up to 0.5%). Distortion is
this high, however, only at full
scale audio signal inputs; at lower
levels distortion drops rapidly,
and noise becones the limit to dy-
narnic range.
Noise in a bipolar transistor
transconductance multiplier such as
is used here has been a topic of
controversy in the audio fraterni-
ty, with nany designers disnissing
the technique as being practically
useless because of its ilinherently
limited dynamic range,t' or because
it is rrinherently noisy.rrThese ob-
jections are simply not justified
when a linearized transconductance
multiplier is irnplernented,as it is
here. Signal to noise ratio in a
570 or 571 can be as high as 90dB
in a 20kHz noise bandwidth,
which of course easily exceeds al-
nost aIl available progran sources.
Further, signal to noise irnproves
(even beyond this figure) at lower
working gains, where the circuit is
nost apt to be used.
Recti fi e r
The rectifier circuit of the 570/
571 accepts a signal at the RECTIN
terminal, and full wave rectifies
this signal, converting it to a
proportional DC signal which is
used to control the AGcell. Like
the AG IN input, the RECTIN input
is biased at +1.8V and is AC cou-
pled in normal operation. Input im-
p e d a n c ei s t h e v a l u e o f R l , o r l 0 K .
Full scale rectifier input current
i s 2 0 0 u Ap e a k , e q u i v a l e n t t o l . 4 V
' RMSinto 10K.
After fu11 wave rectification
within the circuit, an external
capacitor attached to the CRECT
Fig.3a: Circuit hookuP, Basic
pandet.
ctN"
VIN
cnscr
t----
T 'L?R E C T
G a i n= 1 . 4 3 v t N ( A v g . )f o r c o n -
n e c t l o n s s h o w n - - i n g e n e r a l:
Ga i n = I2 t..
v1 x(A vs')
n,
llf6l
fne nuOioO*r"r,
ries or shunt conbinations.
We gain further insight into the
!---'TfrnTr"---il----l
I nanner of. 570/57Lrs working by ex-
; (-)rN{5
39aGrN amining the two basic connections,
I I as an expander and as a compressor.
ezorszt nr 06
i (a) The subsequent schenatic represen-
-zle necr
- rH I tations follow the device s"yrnbol
our+z d i a g r a r no f F i g . 2 , w h i c h a l s o s h o w s
! ....t cND ! the pinout. Although it is not ob-
L --- €-----€r---J
vious fron this drawing, the 570/
571 is laid out in a synnetrical
9 pattern (with the exception of sup-
l----rJ-- ply pins), which facilitates PC
I rxorntu I layout.
t-)rrrr
{ rz
r 4!? a G r N ! Basic Expander
i szorstt n. {rr
(B)
rslnEcrrru i Connection and operation of a 570
I o u r{ r o or 571 as an expander is shown in
I c"ect i Fig.3. The hookup is shown in gen-
L---+---------J eral form in Fig.3a. The signal is
t6
applied in cornmonto the AG IN and
Fig.2:570,571 bvice sgnboT dia- RECTIN terninals, through a corunon
gram and pinout. coupling capacitor, Cttt. h averag-
ing capacitor, CRECT,-is connected
terminal filters the DC sig- frorn the CRECTterninal to ground.
nal, which is now equal to the av-
erage AC input level. The current
The output is jurnpered for use of
R3 as a feedback resistor. Cr* and
fed to the AG ceII as a gain con-
trol signal is then the average of CO are input and output coupling
the input AC signal.
capacitors, chosen for the desired
circuit low end frequency response;
0 u t o u t C ir c u i t
they will typically be on the order
The output op amp used in the 570/ of several microfarads for wide
range audio work. (Note: observe
571 is similar to a 741, and like
the rest of the circuit is biased correct polarity when using elec-
trolytics.)
for nininun quiescent power drain.
This amplifier can be used only in The gain of this circuit is de-
scribed nathenatically as 1.43 VIN,
the inverting mode, and is set up
for operation by connection of R3, where V'U is the average input
either as an input or feedback re-
sistor. You may also use external
resistors, as access is provided to
the (-) input. The op amp is biased
at its inputs to a DC level of
+1.8V; connection of R3 as a feed-
back resistor biases the output to
3V, optinun for a 6V supply level.
You can achieve output biasing to
other DC levels for greater swing
by using external resistors in se-
Ex-
L I
{
I
57o/57t nr #lFourPur*
OUTI-J =
GND |
I
t_
lu = 140uA
R , = l O K , R , = 2 0 K ,R , = 2 0 K
** Select clN, co for-desired in-
Put/output corne r r req .
voltage. The 570/571 circuit
are set up in such a way that the
gain of this expander circuit
u n i t y a t a n i n p u t l e v' \e l o f 0 . 7 7 5
rr /^+ n 7tf
"(Rl.rs)'"''''(Avc;'' , a leVel ob-
viously convenient for conmunica-
tions work. In the input/output
graph of Fig.3tr, you will note that
indeed the output is 0.775V when
the input is 0.775V.
The expansion ratio of this cir-
cuit is l/2, thus an inPut change
of 6dB will yield an output change
of l2dB, which can be noted from
the curve. Although this is a some-
what sinplistic curve intended to
illustrate the effect, it is true
in practice that a 570/571 circuit
wilI follow this relationship over
an input dynamic range of 40dB or
more (or 80dB or nore of outPut
range) .
Errots which do occur at the low
end of the dynamic range are large-
ly due to the rectifier, and can be
minimized. You may use separate
coupling capacitors into the AG and
RECT inputs to eliminate offset
rors here, and a trin technique can
be applied to the RECT IN terminal
to optimize low level tracking (to
be discussed below).
For the innovative designers out
there, we include the circuitrs
pertinent complete desi.gn equa-
tions. You can shift the unity
of
crossover point by alteration
R3. 0r you may also adjust the ef-
fective value of Rl (or R2) bY us-
at these ter-
ing series resistors
minals. I. is an internal circuit
constant,oand is not alterable.
B a s ci C o m p r e s s o r
Fig.4 is a basic 570/571 compres-
sor. Fig.4a details the circuit
hookup, and 4b shows the input-out-
put relation. You will note that
this is the exact conplement to the
expander curve of 3b, as the addi-
tion of the two curves will yield a
linear input-output curve.
The compressor circuit is sone-
what more complex than the expand-
er, because it requires sone addi-
tional bias components. In this
values will change only SdB for a 6dB in-
put change, which is a 2/1 conpres-
is sion ratio. Modification of the
unity gain crossover point (when
desired) rnay be acconplished by
TO AG CELL using an external resistor in place
THDTRIM of R3, connected to the (-) IN
( P r NI O R9 )
terninal.
This circuit can also be opti-
rnized for low level tracking, by
using separate capacitors to the AG
and RECT IN inputs, as in the con-
pressor. Also you may trin as de-
scribed in the next section.
TO RECT, INPUT T r i m m i nT
gechniques
(PrN 2 0R 15)
You may apply several trimming
b. LOW LEVEL ATTENUATION techniques to various 570/57l ter-
C A L I B R A T I O NT R I M minals, to optimize or enhance op-
+l5v
eration of either device. All of
the techniques discussed here, and
shown in Fig.S, are optional, and
need be applied only when you want
TO AG CELL the highest perfonnance.
roK INPUT
o Fig.5a shows the most useful of
( P r N3 0 R t 4 )
the three techniques, a trin for
nininun TllD. This circuit corrects
er- C .C O N T R O F
LEEDTHRU
for the offset voltage in the AG
Fig.5 : Optionaf trinnning ^netwotks cel1, in so doing mininizing its
g
output second harmonic distortion
content. It is quite effective, and
circult the AG cell is the AC feed-
in some cases can reduce distortion
back path, and a separate DC output
bias path is provided bY the ROa by as much as a factor of ten. The
trimmer is adjusted for minimum
resistors. These resistors bias the output THD with the AG input driven
output up to a stable DC point, and
to its maxinum level.
COa renoves any AC feedback. ROa The circuit of Fig.5b is useful
be in the range of 20 in cornpensating for the bias cur-
can typically
to 30K, while c." is on the order rent of the rectifier, which is
l0uF. typically 50-l00nA. This DC bias
CO is a coppling capacitor to the current places a lower linit on
tracking range, as it appears as an
AG and RECTIN inputs, while C^
equivalent AC input, if unconect-
and C^ are input and output cou- ed. The trirnmer is adjusted for
pling"capacitors (typically chosen correct rectifier tracking, with an
as described previously). input 50-60dB below full scale.
You nay have already intuitively Note that this trim will not be ef-
noted that this circuit reduces fective unless a separate coupling
gain for increasing input levels, capacitor is used at the rectifier
as more signal feedback to the rec- input, as mentioned above.
Thp Fio (e eirerrif can be USed tO
tifi-er increases the AG cell cul-
rent, which reduces gain by being minimize feedthrough of a gain
in the feedback path. change signal to the output. Ideal-
Again, both the si.nple and gener- ly gain change signals should not
al forns of design equations are be seen in the output, but if input
shown. Unity gain crossover Point signal levels are very low they nay
in this circui-t is also 0.775V, to be noticeable. The tTililner is ad-
complement the expander. The output iusted for minimun shift in the
Fig .4a : Circuit hookup' Basic Com- u+
ptessor.
RDC R0c
O U T P U *T
ctN
* \t+
v tN o---rr
, .t*
i n7
Grin = l---;:l-l Gain =
lvtu\^vs.r;
I s s u e4 / l 9 7 6
J

output as gain is varied, with no

AC signal applied to the AG cell.

Applications

We are now ready to discuss more

specific circuit uses for the 570/ rct-B @

57I. Alf the circuits which follow 570/571

are for single supply, +lsv opera-
tion, but nany can be battery oper-
ated if desired. A nunber of mixer
type functions are included, thus
the reader could readily use 570rs ct*
O.OlpF
or 571rs to build a portable mixer
with sorne interesting features.
IL

20K<R<
S i n eW a v e0 s c i I I a t o r 1
'
2rRC -A
r.c_l
F i g . 6 s h o w s h o w a 5 7 O / 5 7I c a n b e R2T ^a
(as shown f = 400H2) 570/571 39K toPF x o
used to build a simple, self-AGCrd rooo
sine wave oscillator of the Wien OUT I
type. This circuit is reasonably
clean in terms of THD content and
is suitable for a medium perforn-
ance, fixed frequency sine wave Fig.6: sine Wave osciTTator
r
=
source.
In this circuit, the Wien network Distortion is reasonably low, but be replaced by a single resistor of
is conposed of components R1-Cl and can vary due to two factors. If a 5k.
C2-R2, which in conjunction with 570 unit is used it will yield dis-
the output op anp of the 570/571 tortion of about 0.25%, without A m p li t u d e M o d u l a t o r
section A form the frequency deter- trimning. A 571 can also be used,
nining filter. This filter reso- and the optional trim network shown With the wide dynamic range gain
nates at a frequency of can reduce distortion at both out- control capability of the AG cell,
1
Duts to about 0.1% or less. The u1- various modulation schemes are pos-
t=,: (for ei-
ZTKL ti-mate level of distortion sible using the 570/57f. One of
With equal element values as ther device) is dependent upon the these is an arnplitude nodulator,
shown (RI = R2 and Cl = C2) the value of C4. Unfortunately, how- shown in Fig.7.
networksf signal loss is 2/7 at the ever, C4 cannot be increased indef- AM nodulation requires a circuit
resonant frequency, and the Phase initely to decrease distortion, as which can vary the anplitude of a
relationship from the input at Cl it will lengthen settling tine and signal (the carrier) between 0 and
to the output at R2-C8 is invert- thus compromise stability. For fre- 100% in a linear fashion. In this
ing. To sustain oscillation, a sec- quencies greatly rernoved from the circuit, the AG cell of the 570/571
ond gain stage nust provide signal example shown, C4rs value should be nodulates the gain of the signal
inversion for in-phase feedback, optimized, going lower for higher (carrier) channel, up to 100%.
and a gain of 2. The gain nust be frequencies, higher for lower fre- With no modulating signal ap-
held at 2 to sustain undistorted quencies. plied, the gain of the circuit is a
constant amplitude oscillations. Output anplitude is set by trim nominal unity, as set up by the re-
Section B of the 570/57L provides of the R3-R4 resistance, which ac- s i s t a n c e R 3 + R 4 f r o n R E C TI N t o
the required gain and phase inver- commodates variations in the 570/ ground. This resistance biases the
sion, in its output stage. BY con- 571 internal resistance. Output 2 LG cell to a mid-gain point. With
necting the AG cell of this section can be adjusted in the range of 0.5 rnodulation applied, negative nodu-
as a cornpressor, the gain is auto- to lV RMS, and output I will follow lation peaks double the gain, ac-
matically regulated to the required at half the output 2 1evel. Distor- c o m p l i s h i n g 1 0 0 %r n o d u l a t i o n . T h e
value to sustain undistorted oscil- tion is lowest at output 1, due to resistance R3 is nade variable, to
Iation. Resistors R3-R4i form the the filtering of the Wien network. acconrnodate nodulating signals be-
input resistance of the op amP gain Either or both outputs may be used, tween 0.5 and IV RMS in amplitude.
network, and the chiprs internal and they are well buffered against The circuit can be used as a nod-
20K resistor is used as the feed- loading effects. If exact output ulation effects or tremolo genera-
back resistor. Note that the i-ni- levels are not desired, R3-R4 can tor. For very low modulating fre-
tial noninal gain of this stage is
higher than the required 2/7 {about
this factor is neces- Fig.7: AnPfitude Modulatot Xt
4/l in fact);
sary to start oscillation. Once
started, oscillations bulld uP un-
til the AG celt connected as a com-
pressor reduces the gain to 2/1,
and is thereafter self-sustaining. rNPUr *+---+L-facli---ii
sTGNAL
id; I " c3
IB 1 W F[' 1, lilo*' s7o/57t
*r
iI _--'"" "li-ll-?r' [3n
Due to DC bias restrictions, the
range of tining resistance has a -r IN
fairly narrow spread, about 4 to I s C 2 l O p F| lnr l----
as shown. However, the capacitance - -f t0K
MOoULATION f ,tt+ I | * sEE lruuK
value is relatively unrestricted. rNPUr tnz I l@ | SEE T
r EEXxTr I uOouuareo
(o.775vRMS) fiir-ox | | | | ourpur
The values shown are for 400H2 oP- R4
eration, but other frequencies over 4.7K
a wide range, up to about 20kHz,
are possible.

The Audio Amateur

 bI RGATN(ext). This can be nodi-
f-ied for higher gains, up to SdB
,ith RGAIN (ext) = O.

M ix e r -F a d e r

SENSITIVITY The Fig.9 circuit shows how a sin-

R6 gIe 570/571 device can be used as a
rooo
logic level controlled mixer-fader
R7
rooK O U T P U T amplifier. This circuit uses the
two halves of the device as gated
anplifiers, with a commonoutput
which is nixed in the output op anP
of section A.
For either the A or B Portion of
the circuit, the 570/57I AG cells
?.2pF
perform as controlled gated anpli-
fiers, which are controlled bY the
Fig.8: Squelch Circuit drive applied to the respective
R E C Ti n p u t s , p i n s 2 o r 1 5 . F o r t h e
A s e c t i o n , C M O Si n v e r t e r s t a g e I C 2 -
ouencies such as below 10H2, C2 With no signal applied, resistor
a gates the 570/57L AG cell on with
ihoufd be increased to about 50uF. R4 provides base drive for Q2 which
a HIGH control input level. This
Cl is lOuF for wide band audio, but causes it to saturate, clamPing the
provides a DC path to ground, the
can be reduced for carrier frequen- " ' ^i ' n e I t o s r o u n d , T h i s r e -
"cR E C T t- 'e- m l5K gain programming resistor, R2.
cies above l0OFlz. Both inputs are duces the 570/S7l gain to -80d8 (or with an 0N condition in the A chan-
conpatible with the 570/571 sine less). When an input signal is aP- nel, the A signal input is passed
wavl oscillator outPuts, as shown plied which overcones the to the output with a nominal unitY
here. threshold bias set up bY R2-R3 at gain (as deternined by R2).
the base of Ql, C2 is discharged,
S q u e l c hC i r c u i t turning off Q2 and gating the am- When the control input is low,
plifier on by releasing the clamP the conduction path through R2 is
Fig.8 operates as a gated amplifier on C3. b r o k e n a n d t h e A c h a n n e l A G .c e l l
controlled bY the signal level or Switching actj-on is snooth, due switches off. The A channel gain
squelch. In this aPPlication, the times. A
to controlled transition goes snoothly to 0, as controlled
5io/571 functions as a fixed gain long tirne constant is
relatively by a tine constant of (10K)C2.
stage when on. Signal level sensing provided for by R4-C2. This time At the -same time as the A channel
and on/off control are performed by constant provides a delaY Prior to goes high, inverter
logic iriverter
transistors Ql-Q2. turnoff, which prevents Prenature IC2-b goes low, which prograns the
In the Ql-Q2 rectifier circuit
switchoff between sentellces, or B channel to an 0N condition, with
PNP Ql is a conbination emitter
other natural pauses. the B channelts AG cel1 oPerating
foLlower and half wave rectifier. in a sinilar way to the A channel.
as se- Threshold sensitivity is a maxi-
Ql buffers the inPut signal The output of this AG cell (pin 12)
iected by sensitivity control Rl, mum of 200mV RMSwith Rl fu1lY ad-
is tied into the A sectionrs amPli-
and discharges C2 on the negative vanced, and can of course be re-
fier summing input, at pin 5. With
peaks. Ql can discharge C2 quicklY, duced as Rl is lowered. As shown,
the B channel AG cell on, the B
but C2 nust recharge through R4. the on state gain is unity, as set
channel signal is passed to the
output at unity gain (as deternined
Fig.9: Mixet-Fader
by Rs).
In the transition from off to on
the B channel tine constant is set
+l5V by (10K)C4. Thus while channel A is
going to zero gain, the oPPosite
side, channel B is going to maxinurn
gain. There is an overlapping tran-
c6
R7 lO;.tF sition period where both signals
IN P U T rooo are on, due to time constants of
the rectifier network. The effect
is a I'soft lap'r type switching,
CONTROL very snooth and pleasant to the
IN P U T R3+ c2
IM E G lpF ear. You nay vary transition tine
H I G H . C HA if you like, by adjusting C2 and
LOW.cH B C4 values.
This circuit can also be rnodified
for gated rnixing by separating the
A and B channel control lines. Ei-
ther or both may be 0N as desired,
'Jl I in any combination. Adjust signal
B R4 | rcre
INPUT I M E G. I1 s ii-r ,^l 571 gains of each respective channel
via R2 or R5.

V o l t a g eC o n t r olle d F a d e r

An interesting and useful forn of

gain controlled circuit is an an-

I s s u e4 / 1 9 7 6
plifier with a gain which is an ex- Several circuit features are For nanually operated faders, use
pnentiaT function of an input con- noteworthy, and can aid the user to a lk pot for a low source inped-
trol voltage. Such a circuit nay be realize naximum performance. Gain ance. The 3V for pot excitation can
used as an all-electronic, voltage is calibrated by R4 to unity, with be obtained fron a three-terrninal
controlled fader, by utilizing a 3V applied to R9. At the other regulator (which can drive a number
linear control pot excited by a DC range extreme, gain is calibrated of pots in parallel). A suitable
voltage. The exponential control to -60dB via R7, wj-th +.23\Y ap- circuit for this use is shown in
gives the circuit a control law plied to R9. If the IC2-b stage, the Fig.lO inset; it can drive at
which is a linear "dB/voltt' func- R18, R19, LED and Dl are used least two dozen pots with good
tion. Fig.10 is an exarnple of this l'these na rts are not essent-iaI to regulation.
type of circuit. basic operation), gain should drop
In this hookup a section of a ^L-..-+1.. +^ o^rD ^- Iess and the
au1 uPLr/ For further technical information
570/57I is used as a DC current- LED extinguish as the input voltage on the 570 and 571, write:
controlled attenuator. The current is taken down through +.128V. If
which detennines the attenuation is these components are not used, gaj-n Si g n e t i c s
supplied by Q5. Q1-Q5 and IC2-a should be -o5dB wj-th 0V input at R9. 811 East Arques Ave.
form an exponential voltage-to- The THD trim network is also op- Sunnyvale, CA 94086
current converter, which gives the tional, and may not even be deemed
whole conbination an exponential necessary as the additional AG cel1 The 570 and 571 devices are avail-
voltage gain control characteris- input resistor R2 reduces AG celL able from:
tic. This characteristic is sup- nonlinearity. Input overload is
plied by matched transistors Ql and raised to more than 2V by this re- Janes Electronics, PO Box 822,
Q5, part of a 3046 IC array. cicfnr Af l\/ innrrf se lr l u urr L L/ Ba rrr t
Belnont CA 94002 Prices: NES7OB:
The input of the circuit is the THD is typically 0.1% or less 1 0 . 5 0 e a . ; N E 5 7 1 B :g t 0 . O O e a .
enitter of diode connected transis- (without trim) and S/N greater than
tor Ql. Directly at this point, the 72dB wideband (equivalent to 80dB Quest Electronics, P0 Box 44J0,
control sensitivity is one dB of or better in a 20kHzbandwidth). Santa Clara CA 95054 prices:
gain change for 3mV of control Both these figures inprove at gains N E 5 7 0 B$: 5 . 0 0 e a . ; N E 5 7 t B :$ 5 . e a
voltage change. The input voltage of -20dB to -15dB, where a fader is concl-uded on page 1 3
divider scales this sensitivity to normally operated.
a more usable form, at the Vc j.nput. Control voltape is scaled to 3V rid 1n ;naa+ : Three voft source
With the values as shown, the for unity gain, a voltage which un- +t5v
circuit has OdB of gain with a +3V fortunately dictates a non-standard + NATIONAL SEMICONOUCTOR
control voltage, and a control sen- R9 value. R9 and R10 are ideally le"
sitivi"ty of 46nV/dB. Gain is -60dB components, but a quite close ap-
I +.231V of input, the limit of proximatj-on to R9 can be had with L M 3 1 7 H*
OR
useful working range. For further parallel 15K and 300K 5e,units. L M3 I 7 P
RI
reductions of input voltage, the The cjrcuit can be built up in a rooo
circuit switches to an OFF stage dual format with only four ICrs:
below about -62dB, where attenua- one 570 or 571 , one 324 quad op
O.lyF
tion is more than 80dB. Within the amp, and two 3046 IC arrays. It may
60dB working range tracking accu- be used as either a dual channel ADJUST FOR
racy is within about ldB of an unit, or strapped for stereo by Ly- 3.OOV OUT
ideal exponential law. ing the Vc inputs together.
3 VOLT S O U R C E
+l5V
Fig.70: voTtage ConttofJ-ed Fadet

33K

tooK
R3 THD TRIM
r50K (9)

THD TRIM
AG IN
rctA(B)
INPUT 570 / 571
0.775 VRMS CT IN
ils)
i
L

Rt4
c3 l00n
+l?v O.lpF
.i7ox
CONTROL fl3* ourPur
VOLTA6E
46 mvldB l C 2s ( c )
5V. OdB
o . 2 5 t v .- 6 0 d 8

r c 2b ( d )

x Po 3046
I C T R A N S I S T OARR R A Y

The Audio Amateur