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Mini Metronome... [read more]

The heater element (not shown) is connected in series with two back to back 16 amp SCRs (not shown) which are controlled with a small pulse transformer. The pulse transformer has 3 identical windings, two of which are used to supply trigger pulses to the SCRs, and the third winding is connected to a PNP transistor pair that alternately supply pulses to the transformer at the beginning of each AC half cycle. The trigger pulses are applied to both SCRs near the beginning of each AC half cycle but only one conducts depending on the AC polarity.... [read more]

An increasing number of appliances draw a very small current from the power supply. If you need to design a mains powered device, you could generally choose between a linear and a switch-mode power supply. However, what if the appliance’s total power consumption is very small? Transformer-based power supplies are bulky, while the switchers are generally made to provide greater current output, with a significant increase in complexity, problems involving PCB layout and, inherently, reduced reliability.... [read more]

A peak level indicator when a signal exceeds a certain maximum value. It can be quite useful, for instance, with tape recorders, mixing consoles etc. One of the most important requirements of a peak level indicator is that it should respond to very short signals.... [read more]

The op-amp is basically a differential amplifier having a large voltage gain, very high input impedance and low output impedance. The op-amp has a "inverting" or (-) input and "noninverting" or (+) input and a single output. The op-amp is usually powered by a dual polarity power supply in the range of +/- 5 volts to +/- 15 volts. A simple dual polarity power supply is shown in the figure below which can be assembled with two 9 volt batteries.... [read more]

IR Remote Control Tester... [read more]