ElecEd Autumn05

ELECTRONICS
EDUCATION Autumn 2005
A CENTURY OF ELECTRONICS
A look at the PC’s ancestors
PIC POWER
Controlling dc motors
Project Diary:
Rustling up a ringtone saver
Upwardly mobile
Contents 2 Engineering in Health Lectures
Autumn 2005
1
3 2006 IEE Faraday Lecture
4 Land Rover
Welcome 5 So you want to make design decisions

Paul Gardiner and Peter Branson discuss alternative approaches that
Welcome to a new school year and a teachers and pupils can adopt when making design decisions
new issue of Electronics Education.
As usual it’s full of project articles
that we hope you will enjoy. Look
11 PIC Power
out for details of the 2006 Faraday Paul Gardiner looks at how to control
Lecture ‘Emission Impossible – can dc motors using PICs
technology save the planet?’, which
is touring the country from January
to March . Make sure to book your 16 Project Diary
school’s free place as soon as Mobile Phone Ringtone Saver
possible.
As always, we welcome your 22 IEE Teacher Awards

contributions. Please send any
articles, ideas, helpful hints and
feedback to cfaulkner@iee.org.uk 23 100 Years of Electronics
Frank Thompson looks at a century’s
Have a good term! progress in electronics
Chris Faulkner
Editor 27 Colour Sensing in
The IEE Student Projects
Michael Faraday House
Clive Seager looks at a new sensor chip
Six Hills Way
Stevenage Hertfordshire SG1 2AY
Tel: +44(0) 1438 767370 31 Review
Fax: +44(0) 1438 765526
Editor Christine Faulkner | Designer Paul Martin | Sub Editor Jim Hannah | Advertising Executive Louise Hall | Chief Executive of the IEE Dr Alf Roberts
Editorial Board Chairman: Dr Philip Hargrave, Dr Peter Branson (Staffordshire University), Bridget Elton (Overton Grange School)
Paul Gardiner (Finham Park School), Frank Muraca (TEP), Torben Steeg (University of Manchester), Allen Bower (Nottingham University)
Editorial and Advertising Office Electronics Education, The IEE, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2AY, United Kingdom.
Telephone: Stevenage +44 (0)1438 313311 Facsimile: Stevenage +44 (0)1438 765526 Email: cfaulkner@iee.org.uk
Subscription inquiries and orders Publications Sales Department, The IEE, PO Box 96, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2SD, United Kingdom
Telephone: Stevenage +44 (0)1438 313311 Facsimile: Stevenage +44 (0)1438 765526
Three issues published per annum. Price £6.00. Annual subscription £18.00 (£12.00 for teachers).
This magazine is published by The IEE and approved by the Department of Trade & Industry and the Department for Education and Skills.
The IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL. The IEE is not as a body responsible for the opinions expressed by individual authors in Electronics Education.
© 2005: The Institution of Electrical Engineers

Printed by Unwin Bros, Old Woking, Surrey, England. ISSN 0265-0096 Copyright of all material in this publication belongs to the The IEE.
Permission is granted for single or multiple photocopying for instructional classroom purposes. All other photocopying is subject to the 1988 Copyright Act.
Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

NEWS
ENGINEERING
IN HEALTH
LECTURE SERIES
Free lectures for schools in October – book now as places are limited!
STUDENTS from around the UK are in need, requires the expertise of top
being offered the chance to explore engineers in the field.
fascinating technologies in the Aimed at 17-18-year olds and higher-
engineering health industries. A series achieving 14-16-year olds these
of one-hour lectures, to be given by stimulating lectures will raise
experts in their fields, is to be held on awareness and educate young people
the week commencing 10 October. about medical engineering technologies.
Within the medical industry, The lectures will be visiting four
engineering professionals are making venues, in London, Glasgow,
leaps in healthcare development that Birmingham and Swansea.
will revolutionise the face of modern The lectures will be particularly
medicine. Creating innovative useful to students taking advanced level For more information and to register for
technologies to assist preventative subjects such as physics, biology, these FREE lectures visit
diagnosis; discovering appropriate electronics, ICT, and systems and www.engineeringhealth.org.uk or
treatments and therapies for disease and control but all students in this age group email cfaulkner@iee.org.uk or
ultimately redefining the hope of people may find the lectures interesting. phone Chris Faulkner on 01438 767370
Venue Date Session 1 Session 2

11.00am - 12.00pm 1.00pm – 2.00pm
IEE, Savoy Place, London Monday 10 October Medical Imaging Sensors

WC2R 0BL By Miss Teresa Robinson By Dr Chris James
Department of Medical Physics Signal Processing and
& Bioengineering United Bristol Control Group
Healthcare NHS Trust University of Southampton
Taliesin Arts Centre, Tuesday 11 October Medical Imaging Sensors

University of Wales, By Miss Teresa Robinson By Dr Chris James
Swansea
IEE Midlands Engineering Thursday 13 October Medical Imaging Sensors

Centre, Birmingham By Dr William Sandham By Dr Ben Lo
Managing Director Department of Computing
Scotsig Imperial College London
IEE Teacher Building, Friday 14 October Medical Imaging Medical Imaging

Glasgow By Dr William Sandham By Dr David Hamilton
Managing Director

FARADAY LECTURE
3
EMISSION
IMPOSSIBLE
CAN TECHNOLOGY SAVE THE PLANET?
ANNOUNCING THE 2006 IEE FARADAY LECTURE
CLIMATE CHANGE is the most presentation will examine how the earth ‘Emission Impossible – Can
important issue we face when looking at regulates itself, how we affect this Technology Save the Planet?’ is a
our future way of life. The need to equilibrium and how alternative vibrant exciting, interactive lecture
address our impact on the global sources of energy and efficiency aimed at 14-16-year olds but will appeal
environment has never been more improvements, and the creative science to all age groups.
urgent and the technology at the behind them, can help redress the The lecture is FREE and lasts one
forefront of this battle is some of the balance. hour and is touring the UK from
most exciting and ground-breaking in The lecture will explore January through to March. So don’t
the world today. developments in supercomputer climate miss out on the chance for your
‘Emission Impossible – Can modelling as well as current school to attend this exciting,
Technology Save the Planet?’ takes a technologies designed to lessen our thought-provoking educational event.
fascinating look at how this technology environmental impact, such as novel
is helping us to tackle climate change building designs and exciting new
and make better use of the earth’s vehicles. For more information and to book
precious resources. Current and future power online go to www.faraday.org.uk
Using a dynamic mixture of live technologies such as solar, wind, wave, or call 01438 767302
demonstrations, video and graphics the tidal and nuclear are also on the agenda.
Date Venue Times
JANUARY
Thu 19 Preview Crawley Hawth Theatre 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
Fri 20 Preview Crawley Hawth Theatre 10.30am
Tue 24 Bristol Colston Hall 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
Thu 26 Brighton The Dome 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
Tue 31 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
FEBRUARY
Thu 2 Cardiff St David’s Hall 10.30am, 1pm, 7pm
Tue 7 London Sadler’s Wells 6pm
Wed 8 (includes live satellite broadcasts) 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
Mon 27 Belfast Waterfront Hall 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
MARCH
Mon 6 Manchester Bridgewater Hall 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
Wed 8 Harrogate ICC 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm
Tue 14 Birmingham Symphony Hall 10.30am, 2pm, 7pm

NEWS
LAND ROVER
4X4 IN SCHOOLS
TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE
J
une brought us the launch of an
The pilot scheme presented a demanding
exciting new competition for schools
off-road challenge to the braver 4x4s
in the presence of top business
leaders including the director general of
the CBI, Sir Digby Jones. The Land
Rover 4×4 In Schools Technology
Challenge aims to inspire and enthuse
the young engineers of tomorrow by
providing them with a complex but
stimulating design engineering project.
It is sponsored by Land Rover, the IEE
and Denford.
The challenge requires each team to
design and manufacture a radio
controlled 1/10th scale model 4×4 vehicle
capable of negotiating a variety of
challenging obstacles and terrain
surfaces on a seriously off-road track.
The vehicles have to be designed to meet
a demanding specification set by Land
Rover engineers and a successful
outcome requires a complex mix of
electrical, electronic and mechanical
engineering skills. promise of an exciting visit to Land and there will be both regional and
Teams are required to keep an Rover, including a trip around the 4×4 national finals. It is envisaged that the
electronic diary of all stages of the test track. In addition, all the competing Challenge could play a significant part
development process to include schools received a donation to their in the coursework for the GCSE in
research, design, manufacture and Design & Technology Department. Engineering or provide a focus for extra-
testing. This is judged together with a Headteacher Tricia McCarthy said that curricular Technology Clubs. As Sir
10-minute presentation by the team and winning the Challenge was “a Digby Jones said in his keynote speech;
the ability of the vehicle to negotiate the tremendous boost to the students, the “By giving GCSE students hands-on
test track. staff who took part and the school as a experience creating solutions to real-life
Seven schools took part in the pilot whole”. challenges, this initiative should really
scheme, the final of which was Following the successful pilot, the fire up their interest.”
incorporated in the launch event. The Challenge will now become a national
winner was Greenhead College from event managed by Denford. Over To find out more information
Keighly, West Yorkshire which carried 150 schools have already registered an about the 4x4 Challenge visit
off an impressive pewter trophy and the interest in taking part during 2005/06 www.4x4inschools.co.uk

DESIGN DECISIONS
5
So you want to make design

decisions in electronics
Paul Gardiner and Peter Branson Hardwired solution Softwired solution
continue to explore making design analogue digital analogue digital
comparing ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
decisions in electronics. This article is timing ✓ ✓ x ✓
the fourth in a series that will examine remembering x ✓ x ✓
counting x ✓ x ✓
a range of electronic processing functions
and discuss the alternative approaches
into GCSE and post-16 work, pupils need
that pupils and teachers can adopt when
to know about alternative approaches and
making design decisions. The articles to think creatively and about design. This
are intended to make you stop and think article, and the rest in the series, is
designed to give both you and your
about the advantages and disadvantages students some background information,
of those design decisions and their some alternative approaches but above all
to try and develop critical thinking.
alternatives.
In this article we shall complete our
look at the second ‘function’ in the table
Y
ou will remember from the previous article that below – timing. As we do this we will
we are exploring the options within the critically evaluate the approaches taken,
‘processing’ block of our familiar block diagram pose questions and suggest advantages
representation of an electronic system. and disadvantages of each option. In this
way we hope that you, and your students,
will begin to reflect on the electronic
Input Process Output design choices being made.
SO YOU WANT TO …TIME EVENTS – PART 3

As we have seen in the previous two
articles there are several ways in which
Feedback pupils and students use ‘timing’ processes
in their project work. The various timing
diagrams for these were illustrated in ➔
Fig 1 Cause an event to happen at regular times
You will also remember that for these processing 5.

.......repeated
functions the choice is between – ‘softwired’ (using a
on
programmed microcontroller) or hardwired (using
traditional electronic components).
We recognise that in many instances, certainly in
Key Stage 3, using a PIC system within creative off
projects is the way to engage pupils in motivating and time
exciting electronics activities. Beyond Key Stage 3 system enabled event finished ...................etc

DESIGN DECISIONS
6
an earlier edition of Electronics
Education. The timing diagram used in
Astable Driver Speaker this article is shown in fig 1 and is
produced by a standard astable circuit.
We shall work through one more typical
student project at GCSE level. This shows
Fig 2 System for basic instrument tuner how timing using both analogue and
digital signals are used. Again, we shall
explore the hardwired and softwired option
and look at alternative ways of achieving
SW1 the same function. The main idea is to get
VR1
50%
you and your students to think critically
LS1 about the options available to help you
R1
64 Ohm make those all important design decisions.
+
B1
9V
Q1
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TUNER
R2 BC548B The instrument tuner is a fruitful
IC1a 1K
C1
40106B
IC1 Power pins application for GCSE projects. There are
0V pin 7
+9V pin 14 many variations on the theme, from
products that generate a fixed note (like a
tuning fork) to products that detect the
frequency of a note being played. We will
Fig 3 Basic tuner produces a continuous note when SW1 is pressed
look at the former type which generates a
reference note for the musician to mirror
the practice of orchestra members who
tune their instruments to note A (440Hz)
Monostable Astable Driver Speaker
played by the oboe. It is also an example of
a situation where timing precision is
important. Using RC values determined by
Fig 4 System for enhanced instrument tuner
calculation will not necessarily produce
notes that are in pitch because of the
tolerance of components used.
The simplest system consists of an
astable and transducer driver to power a
speaker, as shown in fig 2.
9V
VR1
Timing resistance 50%
Fig 5 Monostable
controlled tuner
R1
R2
LS1
D1 64 Ohm
R3 Q1
IC1a IC1b BC548E
40106B 40106B
C1 C2 IC1 Power pins:
SW1
0V pin 7
+9V pin 14
0V

DESIGN DECISIONS
7
Envelope shaper This is one situation where it is
9V essential to be able to precisely calibrate
the astable – it needs to be accurate to
SW1
C1 better than 1%. So for astables that use RC
timing, it is necessary to incorporate a
+
variable resistor in the capacitor charging
- circuit to provide a means of setting the
IC1 Q2
CA3140E BC548B astable frequency (see fig 3).
+V
Unfortunately, the tuner shown in fig 3
consists of only one signal processing
block. For certain exam boards, if you are
R1
aiming for a high GCSE grade you need to
LS1 incorporate another signal processing
64 Ohm
block. For example, you could incorporate
10Hz
R3
a monostable that enables the tuner to play
Q1
BC548B a note for a short period when triggered by
the push button – see figs 4 and 5. Although
the circuit functions perfectly well it is not
particularly elegant because Q1 remains
0V
on, passing dc current though the speaker
Graph of XSC1 when the astable is not enabled. This could
12
be remedied by inserting another inverter
Supply voltage
9 between the output of IC1a and R2. The
Voltage [V]
40106 contains 6 inverters, so there are

6
Envelope-driver
plenty spare for this purpose.
V
3 supply voltage (+V) Control of the transducer driver power

supply is an alternative way to produce
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
notes of fixed duration (see fig 6). This
Time [ms] approach can also provide envelope
shaping where the note begins at full
Fig 6 Controlled power supply to give sharp attack and slow decay. (For clarity, 10Hz has
volume and slowly fades (sharp attack and
been used as the note reference frequency)
slow decay) – like a string being plucked.
The envelope shaper uses the classic RC
time delay to set the envelope shape.
Fig 7 Op-amp astable circuit. (IC1b, R1, R2 and R3 form an inverting schmitt Notice the exponential shape of the red
trigger of similar function to a 40106 schmitt inverter) trace. You can use the time constant
equation to estimate how long it takes for
the envelope to decay. The time T in
seconds is:
T = R1 x C1
R4 (remember: the units of R must be in ohms
R1
10K and C in farads) ➔
+
B2
9V +
IC1b
R3 Output frequency f is very
LM358
10K roughly 0.45/(R4C1)
C1 R2
10K
0V

DESIGN DECISIONS
8
IC1 and Q2 buffer the output of the
Timing resistance
potential divider formed by R1 and C1 to
prevent the transducer driver Q1 from
R1
VR1 affecting the time constant R1C1.
(IC1/Q2 are configured as a voltage
follower so that +V tracks the potential
R2
VR2 at the non-inverting input of IC1)
Using the controlled power supply
TPI does introduce more complexity and
R3
VR3 components – an operational-amplifier.
Fortunately, as many ICs include more
R4 than one op-amp, the circuit can be
VR4
rationalised using an op-amp configured
as an inverting schmitt trigger instead
R5 of using a 40106 inverter (see fig 7).
VR5
Instead of providing one reference
note, you could provide several – one for
R6 each string on a guitar for instance. You
VR6
would not need to replicate the circuit 6
times just provide a means of switching
in different timing resistances (see fig 8).
As the basic tuner circuit in fig 3 is
Fig 8 Resistor network for providing more fairly simple it may not lead you to
C1 than one note
consider a PIC alternative, but a guitar
tuner with 6 reference notes is a
different matter. Adding extra notes to a
PIC based tuner only requires adding
0V
push buttons (and pull up resistors) and
no tuning is required if the PIC is
controlled by a crystal or resonator.
(The internal RC oscillator is likely to
be close to its designed 4MHz frequency
but this is not guaranteed. It could be
+
out by as much as 8%). With a PIC
C1
R4 R3 tuner it is also possible to add envelope
+
shaping – see fig 9. When one of the
IC1
Q2 buttons is pressed the PIC needs to
PIC
D1
+V
pulse the envelope shaper (D1)
+
momentarily high then send a
B1 R1
6V
SW1 SW2
LSI continuous square wave reference
64 ohm
frequency to R2 for as long (or a bit

longer) as the note duration set by the
Q1
envelope shaper.
R2
BC548B
In this part of the series on timing we
0V
have made only minimal reference to the
Fig 9 PIC based multiple note tuner with envelope shaping. (Shown for 2 reference notes. 555 timer because this device features in
Resonator and reset details have been omitted) all examination specifications and it is
detailed in most text books. Instead, we
have introduced alternative devices and
circuits to give students a range of
options from which to make choices –
the essence of making design decisions.

DESIGN DECISIONS
9
The 40106 chip based multivibrators

40106 MONOSTABLE +V
In its resting state, C1 is charged so the input to IC1a is

high and the output is low. Bringing the trigger input low R1
discharges C1 making the input to IC1a low resulting in 1K
the output going high. C1 now charges through R1. As C1

charges, the potential at the input of IC1a rises D1 output
exponentially. When it reaches the upper trip point of trigger

IC1a
IC1a the output goes low – back into its resting state. 40106B
C1
1µF
40106 ASTABLE Fig 10
At switch on, C1 is in a discharged state so the input to
IC1a is low and the output high. This produces a 0V
potential difference across R1 so a current flows through
R1
it charging C1. As C1 charges, the potential at the input 1K
to IC1a increases. When it reaches the upper trip point
of IC1a the output switches low. Now the potential
difference across R1 changes polarity and the current
flowing in it starts to discharge C1. As C1 discharges the D1 output
potential at the input to IC1a decreases. When it reaches enable
IC1a
the lower trip point of IC1a the output switches high 40106B
and the cycle continues. D1 is required only if you want C1
to stop and start the astable using an enable input. Make 1µF Fig 11
the enable input high to allow the astable to run.
40106 HEX SCHMITT INVERTER 0V

Monostable and astable circuits based on the 40106 are,
in many ways, more suitable for use in the class room
than those based on the 555 timer. 40106 circuits are
+V
easer to understand and fault find. The 40106 is also
more robust in the hands of students, more power
efficient than standard NE555 devices and a single 40106
device contains 6 inverters.
Note: If you want to drive an LED with the 40106
astable or monostable always buffer it with a spare 0V
inverter first and use low current LEDs. You should also
connect the inputs of any unused inverters to either
power rail or some other source of high or low signal. Fig 12
So again ‘you pays your money and you takes your decisions. In the next article we begin our
choice’. What we have tried to show in this article is look at typical pupil projects where
that there are many electronic design decisions that can remembering is involved and look at the
be made in even the simplest GCSE project. Try and get two different routes – hardwired and
your pupils to consider the alternative approaches to softwired - to compare and contrast these
solving problems and, as they do so, for them to develop two approaches.
their evaluative skills.
In this article we have completed our look at ‘timing’ Paul Gardiner (Finham Park School, Coventry)
and shown how it is possible to make important design Peter Branson (Staffordshire University)

DATA CHALLENGE
10
NOTTS SCHOOLS
HIT THE SPOT all made excellent contributions.
The event was planned as part of the
EIS Hub programme involving
University staff and students who
developed the competition along with
Nottinghamshire SETPOINT and
Nottinghamshire Education Business
Alliance. The aim was to stimulate
public awareness of the value of
electronics education and to celebrate
and publicise the considerable
achievements of Nottinghamshire
schools in developing electronics
courses.
The challenge was integrated with
the PGCE programme and students
designed and made their own robots to
demonstrate at a teachers’ launch
Meden School went for a meeting. The students also completed
two-pronged attack, with a
fluffy design undercut by an assignment on the benefits of
explosive party poppers competitions and planned a related unit
of work. The competition events were
enhanced by presentations from
S
econdary and link primary triggered at the end of the run. Marconi, IEE, New Wave Concepts and
schools have been given the Additional prizes were given for NTU Progression Partnerships. Prizes
opportunity to show off their innovation and a school poster display. and sponsorship were provided by
electronic control designing skills in A variety of interesting designs Nottingham SETPOINT, the Technology
the inaugural Notts Electronic emerged on the day with speed and target Enhancement Programme, Rapid
Challenge. accuracy providing conflicting Electronics, the EIS NTU Hub and NTU.
The head-to-head contest, held at constraints. Sensing black lines on the The event proved rewarding for all
Nottingham Trent University, saw white track for ball release and reversing and the presence of the local television
battery-powered robot racers sprinting proved the toughest challenge, especially and press added to the general
along a track, ejecting a ball onto a for fast robots. Rylands Junior School excitement. We hope to run the event
target area, and returning to the start achieved the best overall score using a again next year and to attract wider
in the shortest time. For secondary cam profile on the track to release the school participation by involving
schools the challenge favoured PIC ball; PICs apparently have some catching teachers more directly in the planning.
programming, while primary schools up to do! Lees Brook School won the prize Hopefully the experience gained will
explored mechanical/electrical for innovation with its vacuum ball enable the electronic designs to
solutions, and strictly no remote release, while Meden School excelled with outsmart the mechanical solutions.
control was allowed! Prizes were Key Stage 3/4 scores and with explosive
awarded for the best scores at Key Stage party popper displays. Bramcote Park, Andy Cooper
2/3 and 4 and for an entertaining event Chilwell, Gedling and Kimberly schools Senior Lecturer Education NTU

ELECTRONICS
11
PIC POWER
Do your PICs hang up when you try to control motors
T
he commutator arrangement of the
conventional dc motor is one of the
with them? DC motors can be difficult devices to control.
sources of control problems.
Paul Gardiner looks at some of the causes of these The commutator is, in effect, a switch.
problems and suggests possible remedies. As the armature rotates it switches the
coil current on and off. At the moment of
switch off, the energy stored in the coil’s
magnetic field has to be converted almost
instantly into a different form of energy.
As a result, a large voltage spike is
generated by the coil (which can lead to
arcing at the brushes). For a three-pole
motor this occurs six times every
revolution of the armature. Without
taking any special measures, the voltage
spikes (commutation noise) appear on the
power supply – see fig 2.
PICs are susceptible to noise on their
power lines. Commutation noise is easily
controlled using a suppression capacitor
Fig 1 View inside a small DC motor showing the commutator and brushes. (In this example, across the motor terminals (it needs to be
the brushes are made of copper strips. Larger motors use brushes made from blocks of as close as possible to the brushes). As the
carbon which self lubricate and last longer)
coil’s magnetic field collapses its energy is
V
stored as an electric field in the capacitor
2.0 instead of being converted into heat, light
1.6
and other frequencies of electromagnetic
radiation. (Arcing at the brushes of an
1.2
unsuppressed motor often causes
0.8 interference with other electronic devices
such as radios and televisions). The
0.4
suppression capacitor should be as large
0.0 as possible and be of an unpolarised type
-0.4
e.g. 470nF ceramic.
Unfortunately, when controlling dc
-0.8
motors, commutation noise is not the
-1.2 only phenomenon to deal with. A more
difficult to observe effect occurs at motor
-1.6
switch on. ➔
-2.0
-0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Fig 2 Oscilloscope traces showing commutation

0.4 noise. The top trace is with no suppression, the
bottom trace is with a 470nF capacitor placed
0.0
across the motor terminals. The capacitor reduces
-0.4 voltage spikes of over 2V to less than 0.5V

ELECTRONICS
12
Current [A] Voltage [V]

V
1.6 2
0.8 0
Fig 4 Test motor with a small vane to provide a
mechanical load
0
current of 1.8A is a large current to supply
0 0.1 0.2 0.3
Time (s) from an alkaline battery – especially from
the AA size frequently used in school
Fig 2 Oscilloscope trace showing the terminal voltage of a 6V battery made from alkaline
project work. From the graph you can see
AA cells and the current drawn by a small dc motor at switch on.
that drawing 1.8A from the battery causes
the terminal voltage to drop by nearly 2V.
This loss of battery terminal voltage is
Ch.1 Ch.2 due to the internal resistance of the
+- +- battery. If a PIC is also powered by the
battery it will see a sudden drop in supply
voltage. This step change in supply voltage
may well cause the PIC to malfunction. It
is even possible for the supply voltage to
fall below the minimum operating voltage
of the PIC.
There are several approaches to solving
470nF M
+ the motor start-up problem:
6V
Approach 1: Reduce the internal
resistance of the battery see
www.iee.org/Educareers/schools/
You cannot change the way the battery
0.5 chemistry works but you can switch to use
larger size cells or use a different
chemistry. NiCd, NiMH and sealed lead
acid batteries have much lower internal
Fig 3 Test circuit used to produce trace shown in fig 2. The potential difference across the
resistance but they can be hazardous if
0.5R resistor is used to derive the current trace. This resistor is chosen to be small enough
to have minimal impact on the performance of the motor. short-circuited due to high currents they
can source. NiCd and NiMH have lower
Fig 3 shows the current pulse taken from the terminal voltages to start with so you may
power supply when a typical low cost 3-6V motor at need to use an extra cell in your battery.
rest is switched on. At the moment of switch on the Upsizing from AA to C or D size will
motor draws a current of 1.8A from the battery. When reduce the internal resistance but you end
up to full speed approximately 300ms later the current up with a much larger/heavier battery
falls to 0.3A. (As the armature starts to rotate it which may be impractical for the project.
generates a voltage opposing the applied voltage of
the battery. The size of the generated voltage depends Approach 2: Limit the peak motor current
on rotational speed which is why motor current One of the simplest ways to reduce the start-
reduces as the armature speed increases.) The peak up current is to use a different motor for

ELECTRONICS
13
Start-up current can also be reduced by
Voltage [V]
V
Current [A] incorporating a resistor in series with the
motor. This will reduce start-up torque but
can be an effective solution. Fig 6 shows
4
the effect of using a 6R8 series resistance
1.6 2 with our test motor. Notice that the peak
current is reduced but it takes longer to
0.8 0 reach final speed. The area of the current
pulse remains nearly the same because it
0
still takes the same energy to accelerate
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time (s)
the motor.
Fig 6 Oscilloscope trace showing terminal voltage and current drawn by a small dc
motor at switch on wired in series with 6.8Ω. Approach 3: Isolate motor power supply
from PIC power supply
A standard method of separating the
power supplies is to use two different
batteries. Fig 7 shows a typical
C1
arrangement. One battery powers the PIC
D1
MTI M 470nF while another, often at a higher voltage,
+ powers the motor driver. This is a very
B1 effective approach.
6V
+ C2
+ Industrial solutions often go a step
B2 100µF further to give even greater reliability
6V PIC
Q1 and immunity from noise. They provide
R1
1K MPSA14 complete electrical isolation between the
microcontroller and the motor drive
circuits. Fig 8 shows how you can do this
with an opto isolator.
The last and, in my view, most
example a ‘solar’ motor. So called because it can be Fig 7 Supplying the appropriate approach for use in school,
powered by solar cells. It is designed to operate with motor driver with a achieves isolation with a diode and
separate power supply.
lower start-up current but does not have as much torque reservoir capacitor – see fig 9. This simple
(This can be at a higher
as similar sized motors. Motors worth considering are37- or lower voltage than
but elegant method saves the need for a
0440 from Rapid, EW2 011A and EW2 011 from TEP. the PIC supply) second battery for the motor. An important
consideration where budgets are tight and ➔
Fig. 8 Electrical separation of

controller and driver using an
R1
+ opto isolator
PIC 10K
B2
6V D1 C1
1 5 MTI M 470nF
+
C2 +
100µF B1
6V
MOC8101x
MPSA14
2 4
R2 Q1
1K

ELECTRONICS
14
the weight and size of electromechanical
projects need to be as low as possible.
C1 acts as a reservoir capacitor, storing
D2
D1 C2 charge for powering the PIC. It is kept topped up
MTI M 470nF
via D2 which maintains the voltage across C1
+ at the battery terminal voltage less the
B2
6V forward voltage drop across the diode. When
the motor starts up the sudden drop in
+ battery terminal voltage reverse biases D2
C1 PIC
220µF Q1 switching it off. The PIC power supply is
R1
1K MPSA14
now isolated from the battery and the PIC
receives its energy from C1. As the PIC
continues to draw energy from the reservoir
capacitor the voltage across C1 steadily
falls. To ensure it does not fall too far, C1
Fig 9 Power supply arrangement that isolates the PIC from motor start-up transient pulses needs to be of sufficient size to maintain the
PIC supply at a suitable operating voltage
during the start-up pulse. After a short
Current [A] Voltage [V]
V period (300ms for our example) the battery
terminal voltage rises back to its normal
operating level. When it reaches the
forward voltage of the diode, D2 switches
4
back on and recharges C1 in preparation for
the next start-up pulse. Fig 10 shows how
effective this is. The PIC supply does
1.6 2 experience a fall in voltage but no longer
‘sees’ the sudden instant fall – the red trace
does not show a vertical line. However,
0.8 0 adding a diode into the supply line does
introduce the diode forward voltage drop
reducing the battery voltage by about 0.7V.
0 For modern ‘flash’ PICs this is not a
problem as long as their supply remains
above 3V. (You can reduce the effect of
Fig 10 Oscilloscope trace showing the effectiveness of the diode isolated power supply.
The red trace shows the PIC power supply, the blue trace the motor start-up current pulse forward voltage drop by using a Shottky
diode, e.g. BAT42. This has a forward
voltage of 0.4V at 10mA.)
The dramatic results shown by the
oscilloscope traces (fig 3) in this article are
Fig 11 Test circuit used to produce
Ch.1 Ch.2 for the control of just one motor. Imagine
oscilloscope trace in fig 9 +- +-
how much worse the situation when
controlling two motors – as is often the case
with buggy projects. Good design of power
supply is essential for reliable circuit
D1 operation and need not result in complex
470nF M circuits that are difficult to implement or
+
6V understand.
+ R2
C2 Paul Gardiner
440µF 360
Head of Electronics,
0.5
Finham Park School, Coventry
MarconiECT Trainer

ELECTRONICS
15
HOW IT WORKS
DC Motor
The DC motor finds its way into many projects Electromagnet fixed
because it is a very useful device for producing to rotating shaft
Fixed
movement; it is inexpensive and its speed and
permanent
direction are easily controlled. In order to understand
how to control motors reliably it is useful to
magnet N
understand how they work.
The key parts of a small dc motor are a stationary Axis of
permanent magnet wrapped around an electromagnet rotation
N S
which is fixed to a rotating shaft. (In larger dc motors,
the stationary magnet is replaced by an
electromagnet.) Electromagnetic
When the electromagnet is switched on (see A) it S coil
interacts with the permanent magnet and rotates the
shaft until it lines up with the magnet (see B). The
electromagnet is then switched off and the shaft
continues to rotate under its own momentum
(inertia). After half a revolution (see C), the
electromagnet is switched on again but this time the
current in the electromagnet is reversed. The
resulting interaction between the electromagnet and direction every half rotation with a
the permanent magnet produces further rotation of process called commutation. To prevent
the shaft for another half revolution (see D). The the wires twisting and to provide
electromagnet is then switched off and the shaft commutation, connection between the
continues to rotate under its own momentum (see A). battery and the coil is made using a
The diagram shows the ends of the coil brought special sliding contact on the motor shaft
straight out and connected to a battery. In practise called a commutator. The battery leads
this would not work because the leads would become connect to the commutator via brushes
twisted. It is also necessary to change the coil current (see fig 1 on page 11).
N N
N S N S N S N S
S S
A B C D

PROJECT DIARY
16
PROJECT DIARY:
RINGTONE SAVER
Dear Diary
Mobile phones are the reason why I’m studying
electronics, so I thought I would do a project that had
something to do with them. Of course, the mobile itself
is far too complicated for me to build, and I haven’t got
a licence to transmit radio waves, but something to do
with ringtones should work out okay. So, what I want to
build is a ringtone saver. You download a ringtone into
it, instead of your mobile phone, so it would be a bit
like a very small MP3 player. I know that it isn’t going
to be anything original, nor is there a market for such a
device, but I think it will be a good way for me to show
how good I am at electronics.
Play a tune
So, here is my specification. My project has to
■ play a short tune each time a button is pressed
■ the sound should be as loud as a normal mobile ringtone
■ the stored tune can be replaced by downloading a new
one into the circuit
■ the whole circuit to operate from a 6V supply
(such as four button cells) to make it portable
Make it simpler
Mr Jones insists on interviewing all of the students about their
project specification before they can start building anything. He
says that there are too many marks at stake and he needs to
make sure that we don’t set off on a project that is too hard for
us. So I’ve been doing some research about ringtones while
waiting for my turn to sit down with Mr Jones, and discovered Fig 1 Block diagram for the main part of my project
that downloading them from the Internet, like you do for a
mobile phone, isn’t going to be that easy. This is because they
come as compressed files, to save space, and you can only
play them if you uncompress them first. This sounds like a job
Fig 2 Mr Smith’s four
for a PIC, and we’ve been warned not to base the entire
bit digital-to-analogue
project around one. So I’ve altered the specification. Instead of converter
downloading from a PC, my ringtone saver will use a
microphone to record a ringtone played on a mobile. Instead
of being a small MP3 player, it’s going to be a small sampler.
Block diagrams
Fig 1 shows the block diagram of the main bit of my system. I
had to draw this for Mr Jones before he would let me start,
and talk him through what each block has to do. The heart of
the system is the memory. This holds the ringtone as a series
of bytes, with each byte coding for a voltage somewhere in the
range of 5V and 0V. So 1111 1111 gives 5V and 0000 0000

PROJECT DIARY
17
Fig 3 My first trial circuit to

test the converter...
gives 0V, with 254 other values in between. The counter

generates the address for the memory. When the clock circuit Fig 4 ...and what the
is active, the address increases by one for every clock pulse, so output looked like on
the oscilloscope
the bytes come out of the memory along the data bus in quick
succession. The digital-to-analogue converter decodes each
byte into a voltage. The resulting analogue signal goes to a
power amplifier and a speaker.
Decoding digital
I’m starting with the digital-to-analogue decoder because I
know exactly how to do it. Look at fig 2. Mr Jones showed it to
us one afternoon, and went through a proof of this equation:
(A+2B+4C+8D+...)
V≈5× where A, B, C ... are 1 or 0
2(1+2+4+8+...)
Apparently he’d worked this out when he was designing one of

our PIC practicals, the one where a serial word is converted
into a voltage. Anyway, this is a four-bit converter. He’s proud of
it because he says that it’s easy to remember. The 5 comes
from the supply voltage, and 2 is the number of states for each
bit. The more bits you have, the more exactly it works out. The Fig 5 The test circuit
four-bit version should give 15 different voltages between 0V for the improved
and 2.5V, at intervals of about 0.2V. converter. The LEDs around with the oscilloscope probe, I tracked
tell me what the
down the source of the problem. The C and D
binary input is and the
Uneven steps voltmeter gives me the outputs weren’t going all the way up to 5V when
I’ve built the circuit shown in fig 3 to test the operation of the output voltage. The they went high. The D output was particularly bad.
converter. As the pulses enter the counter, the binary output driver stops the Easy, I thought, just another duff chip. However,
counter outputs being
goes up by one each time, raising the voltage across the 1kΩ loaded by the LED
after three new chips proved to have exactly the
resistor. A sketch of the oscilloscope trace is shown in fig 4, not current same fault, I had to agree with Mrs Brown that
quite as it should be. I didn’t expect the steps to be very even, the fault probably lay elsewhere.
because I’ve had to use the nearest resistor values that
Mrs Brown keeps in stock. (You should have seen her face Loading outputs
when I asked for the exact values!). No, it’s the fact that some In despair, I consulted Mr Smith. He took one
of the steps go down instead of up. After a bit of poking look at the circuit, asked “How much current can

PROJECT DIARY
18
you get out of a CMOS logic gate?” and walked
away. So I looked it up in Electronics Expounded
and found that the answer is about 1mA. This
means that the smallest resistor which should be
connected to the output of a logic gate should
not be less that 5V/1mA = 5kΩ. My circuit has
less than that for the D output. So I immediately
replaced all of the resistors in my converter with
values ten times larger – and it all works fine. The
table gives the output voltage for each of the
sixteen binary words, measured with the circuit
shown in fig 5. (Mr Jones says that
measurements are important for high marks...)
Fig 6 The sort of power
amp that I can’t use
because it needs three DCBA voltage / V
supply rails 0000 0.00
0001 0.13
0010 0.28
0011 0.40
0100 0.59
0101 0.71
0110 0.86
0111 0.99
1000 1.25
1001 1.38
1010 1.53
1011 1.65
1100 1.84
1101 1.97
Fig 7 An emitter- 1110 2.12
follower power
amplifier 1111 2.24
Darlington driver
I plan to use one of the new miniature speakers
that plug straight into breadboard. It has a
resistance of only 8Ω, so it will need some sort of
power amplifier. I can’t use the one that we’ve
been taught (fig 6) because it needs three supply
rails, and I want to run the whole of my circuit off
just two, so that I can use a 6V battery. So I can’t
Fig 8 An improved use an op-amp at all. Instead I’ve decided to go
emitter-follower
for an emitter-follower, like the one shown in fig 7.
amplifier
I used these calculations to work out how many
transistors to use. I assumed an hFE of about 100
for each transistor.
2.2V
maximum load current = = 280mA
8Ω
1 1
base current of first transistor = 280mA × × = 0.03mA
100 100
2.24V
current in the 10kΩ resistor = = 0.2mA
10kΩ

PROJECT DIARY
19
So if I choose transistors with hFE of at least
100, the current drawn from the converter
should be about ten times smaller than the
current in the converter itself.
Drivers suck
Big problem when I tested the power amplifier
today. It doesn’t work for any of the voltages below
1.38V. I should have known that really. Each
transistor loses 0.7V as the voltage goes through, so
two transistors give a total drop of 1.4V. Not only
Fig 9 Pinout of our 2 K memory chips
does this mean a loss of voltage, half of the signals
won’t get through anyway. Then I had an
inspiration. Mr Smith was having a go at Charlie
because she’d got her LEDs connected to a driver
the wrong way round, connected to the 0V rail
instead of the 5 V rail. “Drivers suck,” he said, “they
don’t blow.” I immediately realised that my problem
would be solved if I turned my circuit upside down
(fig 8). It doesn’t matter that 0V from the converter
results in maximum current in the speaker, because
it’s the change in voltage that makes the sound. So
I put together a PNP darlington driver and used a
relaxation oscillator to make the counter cycle
rapidly through its words – and out came a lovely
buzzing sound. Real progress!
Memory chips
I know that I’m going to need a lot of memory to
hold my ringtone, but Mr Jones is adamant that I
can’t ask Mrs Brown to order several megabytes of
flash memory. Instead, I have to use the 2K RAM
chips that we used in practical work (fig 9). He says
that it’s dangerous to use a chip that you’re not
familiar with – a lot of valuable project time can be
wasted sorting out how to use it. Mrs Brown has a
lot of 2K chips – they came out of an old school
computer – and even some flash ones, which don’t
forget their contents when the power supply goes
off. She’s promised to let me have them when I’ve
proved that the circuit works. (Apparently they were
expensive.)
How much memory?

So how many chips will I need? Well, middle C has
a frequency of 256Hz. One octave above that is
512Hz, probably high enough for my project.
Fig 10 Four chips can hold almost ten seconds of
Sampling twice in each cycle means 1024 samples
music! The pull-up resistors on the multiplexer
outputs have been omitted for simplicity per second, so a 2K RAM chip should hold two
seconds worth of ringtone. Four chips (fig 10)
holds eight seconds, long enough to demonstrate
that the system works. It should fit comfortably onto

PROJECT DIARY
20
Separate testing
Testing the analogue-to-digital converter on its own
Fig 11 The circuit so far was quite tricky, because it requires an AC analogue
signal. In the end, I gave up and used a
potentiometer to put a DC signal at the plus input of
the comparator. I’d been really worried about the
comparator because op-amps need three supply
rails, but Mr Smith came to the rescue and
produced a chip that did the same job but with only
two supply rails. It didn’t take me more than a day
to chase up the wrong connections, and after that
Fig 12 The CLOCK signal tells the analogue-to-

digital converter when to start its conversion. The
END signal which tell the memory to store a four-
bit word must happen before the next rising edge
at START
a pair of breadboards. To keep things simple, I’m only using four-

bit words.
Stop and start

Fig 11 shows what I’ve got assembled on my breadboards. The
two banks of analogue switches allow the data bus to be written to
from the analogue-to-digital converter or read from by the digital-to-
analogue converter. They are controlled by the signals OUT and IN,
which come from another part of the circuit (yet to be designed).
Pressing the GO switch turns off the reset on the pair of counters,
allowing them to count pulses from the oscillator. The flip-flop is
reset when the most significant bit of the second counter goes
high, forcing the counters to be reset once more. I selected
components for the oscillator to give it a frequency of about 1kHz. I
didn’t bother to check it directly, but observed that the LED glows Fig 13 My circuit for the analogue-to-
for about 8s each time that the GO switch is pressed. digital converter block. Making sure
that the four-bit word didn’t disappear
before it had been safely stored in
Analogue to digital memory was tricky to work out
Fig 13 is adapted from a circuit in Electronics Expounded. It’s the
analogue-to-digital converter block. I built and tested it separately,
over several days, before connecting it to the rest of the system.
I’ve drawn it in fig 13, with a timing diagram for the control signals
in fig 14. This is how it works. Each rising edge from START sets
the flip-flop, allowing the counter to register pulses from the
20kHz oscillator. The digital-to-analogue converter is an exact copy
of the one in fig 5. Its output is compared with the microphone
signal, which has been shifted up by 1.2V, so that it is centred in
the middle of the range of the digital-to-analogue converter. As the
output from the converter rises in steps, the comparator output
eventually falls, triggering pulses from the pair of monostables. The
first pulse which is output at END is used to write the four-bit
word DCBA into the memory. The second pulse, delayed by
another 100µs, resets the flip-flop, resetting the whole system.

PROJECT DIARY
21
Signal generator
Fig 14 The state of the SAMPLE switch It’s nail-biting stuff. Today, I connected a signal
sets the system to read a fresh ringtone generator to my final system, closed the SAMPLE
or read out a stored one
switch and punched the GO switch. Having opened
the SAMPLE switch, I hit the GO switch again – and
got eight seconds of sound from the speaker! It
didn’t sound like a pure tone at middle C, which is
what I’d set the signal generator to, but never mind.
It worked. Later on, when I got an oscilloscope
connected to find out what was going wrong, I
found the problem. My sine wave at the
microphone input was too big. I’d set the signal
generator to 1.2V, thinking that it was the
amplitude, but it must have been rms, because the
amplitude was nearer 2V. Reducing the amplitude
to 1V, as measured on the oscilloscope screen,
made the system sound better. I could even record
a tune by adjusting the frequency of the signal
generator during the sampling time. It didn’t make
for a great ringtone, but it did prove that the system
worked!
Almost there
Fig 15 shows the last piece that I added today –
the microphone and its pull-up resistor. I expected
the system to work perfectly when I held my
mobile phone next to the microphone, closed the
SAMPLE switch and pressed GO. Alas, I was sadly
disappointed. The signal coming out of the speaker
Fig 15 The final part ... bore little resemblance to Tipsy Toad, my latest
but more is needed! ringtone. As last time, the oscilloscope came to my
rescue. Unless I hold the mobile at exactly the right
distance from the microphone, I either saturate the
analogue-to-digital converter or have too little signal
to be registered correctly. Mr Smith says that I need
an automatic gain control to get the microphone
the system worked perfectly – even though you had to watch the signal large enough, but not too large. But, apart
oscilloscope screen very carefully to see the pulse at END ... from the fact that I’ve no idea how to make such a
circuit, I’ve run out of time anyway. Despite the fact
Control circuits that the final system doesn’t work very well,
So far, so good. The analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue (especially with high pitched notes) Mr Jones says
converters both work, the memory runs through its 8K that all of the testing and measurements that I’ve
locations in 8s. But will the whole system work when I recorded should earn me lots of marks. And
connect these bits together? Fig 14 shows the final parts I’ve used more breadboards than anyone else
required to generate the various control signals shown in Fig in the class...
11. When the switch labelled SAMPLE is open, the memory is
in read mode, with RD low and OUT high. Closing the switch
makes IN high, allowing the analogue-to-digital converter to Project Diary is written by textbook
put words on the data bus. It also connects END from the author Michael Brimicombe.
converter through to WR, allowing pulses through to the Please send any feedback to
cfaulkner@iee.org.uk or to the
memory which will instruct it to store four-bit words from the
editorial address
converter.

AWARDS
22
ANNOUNCING THE
PRIZES FOR WINNING TEACHERS
■ Awards will be presented at a
celebration dinner
2006 IEE NATIONAL ■ Overnight luxury accommodation for

winner and a guest, plus travel expenses
■ Supply cover for one day
TEACHER AWARDS ■ Cash prize

■ Free year’s membership of the IEE
■ Framed certificate
■ Local and national publicity for award
N
ominations are invited for teachers in He or she might be: winners and schools
primary or secondary education who ■ A secondary teacher who, through ■ Proposers of award winning teachers are
through good practice, enthusiasm and enthusiastic teaching, has inspired pupils to invited to the celebration dinner
dedication have encouraged students to pursue careers in engineering or who has
develop a keen interest in subjects appropriate given pupils the opportunity to be Anyone with personal experience of the
to electrical, electronic and manufacturing innovative and creative in the classroom. qualities of a potential winner whether as a
engineering. ■ A teacher who has applied knowledge and current or past student, parent, governor,
The awards, up to 12 in number, are not understanding to the real world and has colleague, advisor or engineer who has links
restricted to teachers in any particular subject raised awareness of the work of engineers with the school is invited to nominate a
area, although they may be particularly through developing links with companies, or teacher. Nominations should be supported
appropriate for those teaching design and involving engineers with the school. by a seconder.
technology, mathematics or science. Anyone ■ A young or newly qualified teacher who The deadline for nominations is 9 June
can make a nomination and local communities has brought new ideas into the school and 2006.
across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern has been a role model for pupils.
Ireland are invited to put forward inspiring ■ An experienced teacher who has supported
teachers. and encouraged other teachers through
A nominated teacher will have displayed in-service training or by publishing articles.
high quality in their teaching and encouraged ■ Someone who has raised the status of
pupils to set themselves high standards in science or technology in the school,
whatever they do. amongst parents or in the local community.
■ A primary or middle school teacher who
has nurtured an enthusiasm for science
and technology which pupils have taken
with them to secondary school.
Copies of nomination forms are

available either from: Teacher
Awards, Education 5-19, The
Institution of Electrical Engineers,
Michael Faraday House, Six Hills
Way, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2AY or
email: schools@iee.org.uk

ELECTRONICS
23
ONE HUNDRED YEARS

OF ELECTRONICS 1904-2004
Frank Thompson of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at University of
Manchester takes a look at a century’s progress in electronics
M
odern computers are the result of the evolution
of electronics over the past 100 years from the
glass diode and valves, via transistors based on
semiconductors, to integrated circuits and modern
microprocessors. In this article we will trace the
development of this technology and see how it feeds into
our electronics-dependent world.
We hear so much about the ‘information age’ these
days that one is apt to think that it has always been with
us. Most people take mobile phones for granted and will
tap into their home computer or visit a cyber cafe to
keep in touch with their nearest and dearest. However,
the path to our present position has been a long and
tortuous but extremely exciting adventure.
THERMIONIC DEVICES
After Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb in 1878,
John Ambrose Fleming, a professor in electrical Fig 1 Diagrammatic link in his system was the so-called coherer,
engineering at University College, London, carried out form of the which had to detect minute electrical signals.
further investigations into metal filaments in glass Fleming diode Now, the Fleming diode was perfectly suited
bulbs. In 1904 he patented a device with two electrodes in to detecting oscillating signals such as in a
the same glass envelope, called a diode, beginning one of radio signal. The positive part of the wave
the most momentous journeys mankind has ever made – flows across the device and the negative part
the evolution of electronics. doesn’t (imagine a sine wave with the
In fig 1 the normal filament of an Edison bulb is negative portions chopped off) and thus the
labelled as F and the new electrode is the cylinder, C, ensuing direct output could readily be detect-
which encases the filament. It is possible to connect a ed with sensitive galvanometers. With this
wire to this latter electrode via the terminal, T. As in the increase in sensitivity the distance of wire-
case of the Edison light bulb, the glass bulb, B, is less communication was vastly increased
evacuated. The remarkable property of this device was and the communications era was born.
that, although electrons could flow from the filament to It was not long after Fleming had
the terminal T, they could not flow in the opposite constructed the diode that a third electrode
direction. This was therefore what is known as a non- was added to the valve and this produced the
ohmic device and the term ‘valve’ was soon introduced so-called triode. This device was very
as an analogy to valves for controlling water flow. An versatile in that it could amplify electrical
illustration of the device is shown in fig 2. signals and so it became the workhorse of
So, why was this primitive device such a timely early electronics. Later refinements gave rise
arrival? In 1896, Marconi first demonstrated the to the tetrode – three electrodes and the
transmission and detection of radio waves as a means of filament – and yet later the pentode.
communication without wires, i.e. ‘wireless’. The weak It is fair to say that in the late 1950s, i.e. ➔

ELECTRONICS
24
more than halfway Fig 2 Photograph of the been devoted to the technology of valves,
through the 100-year Fleming diode largely irrelevant today.
period of electronics to- Eventually, the quantum theory of solids
date, the valve reigned was developed in the 1930s, and this opened
supreme. There had been the route to the development of what is
massive developments in known as solidstate electronics. The point
electronic components contact transistor was announced to the
during the Second World world by Bardeen and Brattain in 1947. It is
War and good quality shown in figs 4 and 5.
sound reproduction, The two critical points about the
radio and TV were transistor were that (a) it was light and
[Courtesy of the ULC Fleming Collection.]
enjoyed by most of the robust and that it did not require a heated
population in the post- filament to produce electrons, and therefore
war years. An (b) it consumed much less power than valves.
illustration of a quality The point contact device, shown in fig 5, was
stereo amplifier from the reminiscent of the cat’s whisker diode and
late 1950s is given in fig 3. was not 100% reliable. However, the
Despite the many technology of diffusing impurity atoms into
successes of thermionic semiconductors was soon developed and a
valves there was one third advantage could be added to
field of study where problems were arising. In the characterise transistors: (c) they offered
construction of digital computers a prodigious number reliability. Planar diffusion processes, in
of valves were necessary to provide storage and data which diffusion occurs at only one surface,
manipulation. The ENIAC computer (the initials stand helped to create many different forms of the
for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was transistor.
unveiled in the USA in 1946 and used 18,000 valves; these Incorporating design ideas introduced in
valves failed at a rate of approximately one every the days of valves, transistor circuits using
10 minutes, making successful operation somewhat discrete components developed at a rapid
intermittent. The Mark I computer developed by the pace, and radio receivers could be
Ferranti Company in the UK had similar problems, so
the idea of developing such computers for use at home
was a distant dream. To pick up the story of computer
development it is necessary to retrace our steps to the
turn of the century.
DISCRETE SOLID-STATE DEVICES

In the early days of broadcasting a point metal contact
pressed onto a semiconducting crystal of lead sulphide
was used as a detector for wireless waves. A fine wire
was required to make the metal contact and it was
likened to a ‘cat’s whisker’. The crystal detector was
more sensitive than the coherer but much less reliable,
and therefore when the Fleming diode became available
this detector (and the coherer) was replaced by the
thermionic diode. Whereas the basic theory of electron
flow in evacuated valves was well understood at the turn
of the 20th century, there was no adequate theory to
show how electrons moved in solids and, in particular,
semiconductors.
Thus the development of the cat’s whisker diode Fig 3 A stereo amplifier
could not proceed with confidence; in retrospect, this has with valves mounted on
meant that a large part of the century of electronics has an aluminium chassis

ELECTRONICS
25
was increasing – and all at a lower cost!
In the early days of IC development, it
was noted by Gordon E Moore, director at
Fairchild Incorporated, that the complexity
of ICs doubled every two years. His
predictions, now blessed with the name
Moore’s Law, have proved to be remarkably
correct over subsequent decades.
So, electronics in its integrated form was
now in fast-forward mode and all branches of
the subject were to benefit from this rapidly
changing technology. In particular, the
manufacture of computers made rapid
advances. In 1960 the Minicomputer PDP1
was introduced by Digital Equipment
Incorporated and it was to be followed
rapidly by other PDP models. The PDP8 was
the first minicomputer to sell for less than
£10,000, and therefore a computer for the
manufactured as lightweight items. This dramatic Fig 4 Diagram of a point home was beginning to seem possible.
reduction in weight was partly due to the compactness of contact transistor The first microprocessor, which was
the circuit layout on printed circuit boards1 as compared basically a whole computer on a chip (model
to the aluminium ‘chassis’ (illustrated as the base of the number 4004), was launched by Intel in 1969
stereo amplifier in fig 3) used for mounting valves and and it is the microprocessor that has brought
also due to the low power requirement of the transistor computers into our homes.
circuit, typically a few milliwatts, which could be
supplied by, say, four size AA, 1.5 V batteries. HOME COMPUTING
The 1970s to the present have seen
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS remarkable developments. No other topic
In little more than 10 years after the transistor had been illustrates the extent to which the silicon
announced, Kilby (1959) filed a patent for the production chip has changed people’s lives as that of the
of integrated circuits (ICs). Using the planar process, all home computer in the last 30 years.
manner of components could be fabricated adjacent to The 1970s were very much involved with
each other on the same piece of semiconductor with developments of the microprocessor families.
masks to define the areas to be diffused. Then, by inter- The Intel 4004 had a 4-bit instruction and data
connection through a metallisation procedure, a complete word length and therefore had limitations in
circuit could be fabricated on a semiconductor wafer. data manipulation and memory addressing.
Each small element on the semiconductor slice By 1974, Intel had introduced the 8-bit
(usually silicon—hence the term silicon chip) is a processor 8008 but there were other
complete circuit and, after cutting and mounting on a companies in the semiconductor processing
suitable terminal base, is ready for use. business: Fairchild, Texas, RCA, National
The dramatic size reduction that accompanied Semiconductors, Zilog and Mostek were all
transistor circuits was dwarfed by the IC revolution and producing microprocessor chips. In the late
whole instruments were reduced to a single chip. For 1970s these chips were finding their way into
instance, the author used a 10 MHz frequency counter computers, for example Apple, TRS80,
(Marconi Type TF1345), which was a product from the Commodore PET, Sinclair ZX80/81 and
‘valve days’, and the complete functionality of this Acorn BBC computers to name but a few.
Marconi instrument was replaced by a 28-pin counter Features of the earlier transistor
chip, type IC 7216. At this time the so-called Large Scale technology, such as small size, low power and
Integration was rapidly giving way to Very Large Scale good reliability, were translated to integrated
Integration and, as geometrical sizes of components on circuit technology but the advantages of low
the chip were reduced, the speed of operation of the chip cost also became evident. Since the fabrica- ➔

ELECTRONICS
26
tion of an IC chip is completely automated, very complex Fig 5 Photograph of
circuits could be produced at low cost provided the the first point contact
transistor. Property
quality control of processing was of a suitable standard.
of AT&T Archives.
In the 1980s IBM joined in the race. IBM, the world’s Reprinted with
largest computer company of the day, entered the permission
desktop computer market in a somewhat half-hearted of AT&T
way, possibly believing that it would remain only a
hobbyist’s fad. The IBM Personal Computer (PC) was
launched in 1981 and was based on the Intel 8086
processor. Using a ‘ready-made’ processor was a
serious departure from IBM’s normal strategy in that
it would normally develop a critical component, such
as a processor, in-house so that design security would
be maintained. Not only did IBM ‘farm out’
manufacture of the processor but it commissioned Bill
Gates of Microsoft to develop an operating system who can carry out his/her normal daily
called MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) for routine. See www.capsuleendoscopy.org for
the PC. A year later in 1982 IBM launched an improved details.
model called the IBM Personal Computer-AT The M2A is very much an example of
(Advanced Technology) and published many details of exceptional circuit miniaturisation
this new design. It was only a matter of time before operating at extremely low power levels and
IBM clones appeared, since any company could build offering great complexity of functionality. It
the computer with the circuit details provided by IBM will, undoubtedly, be of great benefit to
and purchase the processor chip and software directly medicine. It is, however, just one device
from Intel and Microsoft, respectively. amongst thousands being manufactured in
The benefit to the consumer was the availability of a the electronics industry of today. With such
sophisticated cloned PC computer at a fraction of the a picture of the recent past, the future can
cost that IBM would have charged. The PC home only lead to even more exciting times, so,
computer was to dominate the world from this moment “Here’s to the next 100 years.”
in history.
1
In the 1990s the story of home computing has Details of the fabrication of printed
broken all limits of excellence. Data links with the circuit boards (PCBs) can be found at
Universal Serial Bus (USB) and modems have enabled www.methodbook.net/electronics.
the home computer to be connected to the world in a
manner impossible to envisage 100 years ago when FURTHER READING
Fleming was developing his diode. Indeed, the decade An Inaugural Lecture by G D Sims provides
has given rise to exceptional developments in processor a most readable article on electronics and
capability and software provision, and unquestionably, the early days of integrated circuits:
the story of the PC, as it links into other media areas, www.orc.soton.ac.uk/about/earlydays/
has much further to go. sims.php.
There is no doubt that the modern PC has impressed
today’s generation with its versatility, speed and low cost Frank Thompson taught Physics at
but another device will be mentioned to show what a Manchester Metropolitan University after
varied subject electronics has become. spending several years oil prospecting in
Zarlink Semiconductors has recently introduced its Libya. He took early retirement in the mid
M2A capsule endoscope. This pill sized capsule, which 1990s and has since pursued various
passes naturally through the digestive tract, incorporates consultancies.
a miniature camera, LED-based flash, radio frequency
transmitter chip and two batteries. During the course of This article was originally published in
its passage, the camera takes two high-resolution colour Physics Education, Vol. 40, No 3. For further
images per second of the digestive tract. These are information please visit
relayed to a data recorder in a belt worn by the patient, www.iop.org/journals/physed

ELECTRONICS
27
COLOUR SENSING
IN STUDENT PROJECTS!
Clive Seager introduces an economical, but extremely powerful, sensor chip that can be used
to identify the colour of anything placed under it. The sensor can easily be interfaced to a low
cost PICAXE-08M microcontroller to create a very powerful sensing system.
SOIC PACKAGE complicated, but is actually quite

(TOP VIEW) straightforward to do!
Selection of the photodiodes is achieved
by the S2 and S3 input pins, as defined in
SO 1 8 S3 fig 2. By putting these two pins high or low
the different filtered photodiodes are
S1 2 7 S2 selected.
Fig 2 TAOS Colour Filter Selection table

OE 3 6 OUT
S2 S3 Filter
GND 4 5 V DD 0 0 Red
0 1 Blue
1 0 None
Fig 1 TAOS TCS230 Pinout 1 1 Green
The TAOS TCS230 sensor is a ‘programmable colour The output of the sensor is a square wave
light-to-frequency converter’. In simple terms this with the frequency directly proportional to
means that it is a sensor that can measure the reflected the light intensity. Therefore by counting the
light intensity from an illuminated sample, by use of an number of pulses in a short sample time
8∞8 array of photodiodes (a photodiode is a device that (e.g. 50ms), you can gain a reliable
measures light intensity). Of these 64 photodiodes, 16 indication of the light intensity. This
are covered by blue filters, 16 have red filters, 16 have counting is easily achieved, for example, by
green filters and 16 have no filter. a PICAXE-08M chip using the COUNT
White light is an equal mixture of red, green and command.
blue light. By mixing red, green and blue light in Therefore the process for measuring the
different combinations you can get any other colour – as R-G-B light intensity from a sample is:
demonstrated by any television screen.
The red, green and blue (RGB) filters embedded in 1. Connect S0 and S1 pins to 5V and
the TAOS sensor ensure only these colours are connect OE pin to 0V.
exposed to the underlying photodiodes. Therefore, by 2. Select red filters (S2=0, S3=0)
using a PICAXE microcontroller, the user can 3. Count pulses for a short time (red value)
programmatically select which coloured filtered 4. Select blue filters (S2=0, S3=1)
photodiodes to use at a particular time, and, by 5. Count pulses for a short time (blue value)
cycling through the four different options, come to a 6. Select green filters (S2=1, S3=1)
very good approximation of the RGB content of the 7. Count pulses for a short time
sample – hence identifying its colour. This may sound (green value) ➔

ELECTRONICS
28
Note that background lighting conditions and distance As the TAOS TCS230 colour sensor is a
from the sample will also make a small difference to the tiny surface mount device, it is supplied
readings, so you may need to re-calibrate the sensor pre-soldered on the AXE045 module PCB as
when moving its position. shown in fig 3. This module also contains
two white LEDs – these shine down at 45º
Colour Sensor Module onto the sample to flood it with white light.
The reflected light is then focused by a
small lens (as typically used in CCD
cameras) onto the TCS230 chip. The lens
also filters out any unwanted background
infra-red light.
Note that care should be taken to ensure
the two LEDs are correctly aligned – their
light output should merge to produce a
single light dot at a focal length of about
30mm from the PCB. If you have a ‘figure of
8’ light pattern try tweaking the angle and
position of the LEDs slightly.
+6V
serial
+ D1
PICAXE-08M
C1 C3
1 6
Out 0
2 7
22K Out 4 Out 1
3 6
4 In 3 Out 2
5
330R
LCD 1
10K +
Fig 3a TCS230 chip on PCB Serv 0
C2
0V
PICAXE SENSOR
0V 3 1 4 V+
Colour Out0 = LED
Sensor Out1 = S2
Connector In3 = OUT
0V 0 Out4 = S3
Fig 4 PICAXE PICAXE Connection

Connection Circuit Fig 4 shows the full connection of the colour
sensor module to a PICAXE-08M chip.
Output 0 controls the LEDs, and outputs 1
and 4 are linked to control pins S2 and S3 to
select the appropriate colour filter. Input 3 is
connected to the TCS230 pulse output. On
the 08M chip this leaves one output (output 2)
available for other use, e.g. to drive a servo.
Naturally, if you require more input/output
pins for a project the same circuit and
program could be ported to a PICAXE-18X or
28X. If desired you could also leave the white
LEDs permanently on, freeing up a PICAXE
leg for use elsewhere – e.g. connected to a
push switch to activate the sensing.
If you do not wish to make your own
Fig 3b Complete module with LEDs and Lens fitted PCB, a pre-etched and drilled PCB for the

ELECTRONICS
29
PICAXE circuit is available as part AXE024. This PCB is Colour Identifcation
designed to fit exactly above the colour sensor to give a A table of colour values, found by
neat and compact ‘tower’ as shown in fig 5. experimentation, is shown in fig 7. Note
these figures use very broad ‘thresholds’ as
Testing the reading will be slightly different each
Fig 5 Photo of tower
time the sweet moves, particularly as it is a
rounded shape. However, the important
point is that each colour sweet can be
uniquely identified from these values.
Fig 7 Threshold Values
Sweet red _value blue_value green_value

blue 0<w4<50 200<w5<350 50<w6<150
green 0<w4<50 100<w5<200 200<w6<300
red 50<w4<100 20<w5<100 20<w6<80
yellow 150<w4<250 80<w5<120 230<w6<350
The second program is a bit of fun based on

a normal radio control type servo. The servo
Once the circuit is complete it is necessary to run arm is used as a ‘pointer’ to indicate which
some tests to ‘learn’ the reflected light properties of sweet is under the sensor. A simple dial is
some samples. In this example we will use some made from a blank CD-ROM, which is then
small Smartie sweets. You will need to adjust the placed under the servo arm. The servo itself
height of the tower to compensate for the height of is simply connected to output 2 of the
the sweet. PICAXE chip. This program is a bit more
The test program is shown in Program 1. Download involved as it has to determine which sweet
this program into the PICAXE-08M chip and then use is which colour by some mathematical
the Programming Editor Terminal function comparisons. This is achieved by testing the
(PICAXE>Terminal menu at baud rate 4800) to display threshold values for each of the RGB values
the RGB data being output via the ‘sertxd’ command. from the table. ➔
Fig 8 Photo of Servo Dial

Fig 6 Sample values displayed on the computer screen

ELECTRONICS
30
KH Resources Ltd have taken this servo mechanism
idea one step further and produced a complete ‘Smartie Fig.9 Smartie Counter
Counter’ based upon this colour sensor module. This
robotic mechanism, constructed from precision laser cut
pieces of perspex, takes a Smartie from a tube and then
scans it to identify its colour. It is then moved to an
appropriate ‘bin’ to allow the Smarties to be sorted by
colour. A self assembly kit for the mechanism is
available to schools wishing to build a classroom
demonstration unit – further details are available at
www.picaxe.co.uk
Summary
The TAOS TCS230 colour sensor is an economical
solution to colour sensing projects. It is easily interfaced
to a PICAXE microcontroller and is a versatile sensor
that can be incorporated into students GCSE and A
Level projects.
Clive Seager is an educational consultant and can be

contacted at Revolution Education Ltd on 01225 340563
DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA THAT COULD CHANGE THE
FUTURE?
Enter the IKB Awards and you could walk
away with a £2000 prize to help kick start
your idea! The IKB Awards is a national
The four IKB Awards are:
INNOVATION AWARD
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD
Age group: 16-25 years
Theme: Show how you would put a
competition to celebrate Isambard Age group 1: 14-18 years business together to not only make money
Kingdom Brunel’s bicentenary. The (Key stages 3, 4 and post-16) but also to benefit society
competition, organised by Brunel Age group 2: 19-25 years
University in association with Ideas21, is Theme: Devise a product to solve YOUNG COMPANIES AWARD
sponsored by the IEE, IMechE, the an everyday problem Age group: 18-30 years
Specialist Schools Trust, IMI Vision, Thomas Theme: Awarded to a (UK) business
Telford Ltd and ICE. ENGINEERS AWARD founded in the last five years that has
With four separate awards for Age group 1: 14-18 years provided innovative solutions to benefit
Innovation, Engineering, Entrepreneurship (Key stages 2, 4 and post-16) society.
and Young Companies, the IKB Awards Age group 2: 19-25 years
offers an outstanding opportunity for Theme: Thinking about the future, TO ENTER VISIT
young people to take their ideas to the and using engineering principles, devise www.brunel.ac.uk/ikbawards AND
next level and win some fantastic prizes. In something that could make a change DOWNLOAD YOUR APPLICATION PACK!
addition, all finalists will receive mentoring to the modern world For further information please contact
and valuable consultancy from some of Francesca Insole on 01895 265936
the country’s most successful people. or email events@brunel.ac.uk

31
Reviews
Technology with more snap:
By Bridget Elton
Overton Grange School
New version of Crocodile 410 released

After a break of several years, a new version of
Crocodile Technology was released last
autumn. Previous sections on system blocks
and flowcharts and PIC programming have
been overhauled, and there are several new
features including control simulation.
The screen has a completely new look, with
more space for working in. Icons for the
components have been replaced by a listing,
allowing for easier navigation. Circuits look
similar to before, but more modern, and this
version is backwards compatible with previous
ones, so you can still use your old circuits.
Wires have been made stretchy so that, if you
move a component, its connections come with
it. Component values, including units, can now
be changed on the component itself, so there
is no need to move the mouse to a separate
properties box if you want to change from say
kΩ to MΩ.
As with earlier versions, components are
‘generic’ rather than specific, real components.
Above: Screenshot of a ‘context’: a PIC controlling the temperature of a greenhouse. Outputs 0 and
Generally, this is not a problem, but
1 are connected to the fan and the heater, which respond to changes in temperature on the input
occasionally it can cause confusion with a real pin. The flowchart to progam the PIC is also shown.
life circuit not behaving as expected from the
simulation, and you may need to consult a data The big new feature is that you can create integrated into the rest of a circuit simulation,
sheet to get the pinout for some chips. interactive pictures of control situations, such as a so that the whole thing can be test run
The system blocks section is visually much greenhouse with opening windows, fans, heaters together. Most of the most common PIC
improved. The blocks are now ‘black boxes’, and so on, and your students then use the chips used in schools are supported.
and the schematic is hidden in a pop-up. The software to control it. You can also combine the Flowcharts can also be converted to BASIC.
blocks are very clear and the buttons, sliders system blocks mentioned above with the other Existing users of Crocodile Technology,
and so on are very user friendly. A real plus is animation parts to give context and meaning to who have been used to being able to import
the provision of custom blocks, which allow logic systems students are designing. circuits into PCB Wizard, should be aware
teachers to create their own fully operational The software contains a number of ready that this is no longer possible with this
system blocks. This is very easy to do, and made backgrounds and button and animation version of Crocodile. Crocodile Technology is
combined with the fairly comprehensive range parts you can use to create contexts. It is also now associated with another pcb layout
of standard blocks, makes this part of the possible to import your own photos and graphics software, Real-PCB, distributed by Crocodile
software an excellent and flexible resource for to produce what you want for your students. Clips. In future, schools will need to decide
teaching electronics at the level of systems. It is The section on flowcharts and programming whether to use New Wave Concepts
also particularly effective for teaching logic. As PICs has been expanded and made more software (Control Studio, Livewire and
well as allowing you to create exactly the accessible and user-friendly. However, it is still PCBWizard) or Crocodile Clips software
function your students need, it also means that rather awkward to use, and some things take (Crocodile Technology and
if you want to design a function block quite a lot of clicking. For flowchart Real-PCB). They won’t work together.
differently to one provided, you can produce programming it doesn’t compare with some of
one in about five minutes and save it for your the dedicated PIC software available. Its great For pricing structure go to website
students to use. advantage is that a programmed chip can be www.crocodile-clips.com

ElecEd Autumn05

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

ElecEd Autumn05

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

ELECTRONICS

EDUCATION Autumn 2005

3 2006 IEE Faraday Lecture

Welcome 5 So you want to make design decisions

As always, we welcome your 22 IEE Teacher Awards

© 2005: The Institution of Electrical Engineers

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Venue Date Session 1 Session 2

IEE, Savoy Place, London Monday 10 October Medical Imaging Sensors

Taliesin Arts Centre, Tuesday 11 October Medical Imaging Sensors

IEE Midlands Engineering Thursday 13 October Medical Imaging Sensors

IEE Teacher Building, Friday 14 October Medical Imaging Medical Imaging

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Date Venue Times

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

So you want to make design

SO YOU WANT TO …TIME EVENTS – PART 3

Fig 1 Cause an event to happen at regular times

You will also remember that for these processing 5.

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

40106 contains 6 inverters, so there are

3 supply voltage (+V) Control of the transducer driver power

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

frequency to R2 for as long (or a bit

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

The 40106 chip based multivibrators

In its resting state, C1 is charged so the input to IC1a is

the output going high. C1 now charges through R1. As C1

exponentially. When it reaches the upper trip point of trigger

40106 HEX SCHMITT INVERTER 0V

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Fig 2 Oscilloscope traces showing commutation

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Current [A] Voltage [V]

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Fig. 8 Electrical separation of

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Fig 3 My first trial circuit to

gives 0V, with 254 other values in between. The counter

Apparently he’d worked this out when he was designing one of

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

How much memory?

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Fig 12 The CLOCK signal tells the analogue-to-

a pair of breadboards. To keep things simple, I’m only using four-

Stop and start

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

2006 IEE NATIONAL ■ Overnight luxury accommodation for

TEACHER AWARDS ■ Cash prize

Copies of nomination forms are

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

ONE HUNDRED YEARS

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005

DISCRETE SOLID-STATE DEVICES

Electronics Education | Autumn 2005