shared wiring

Continuous monitoring of the mains voltage is required in many applications such as manual voltage stabilisers and motor pumps. An analogue voltmeter, though cheap, has many disadvantages as it has moving parts and is sensitive to vibrations. The solidstate voltmeter circuit described here indicates the mains voltage with a resolution that is comparable to that of a general-purpose analogue voltmeter. The status of the mains voltage is available in the form of an LED bar graph. Presets VR1 through VR16 are used to set the DC voltages corresponding to the 16 voltage levels over the 50-250V range as marked on LED1 through LED16, respectively, in the figure. The LED bar graph is multiplexed from the bottom to the top with the help of ICs CD4067B (16-channel multiplexer) and CD4029B (counter).

The counter clocked by NE555 timer-based astable multivibrator generates 4-bit binary address for multiplexer-demultiplexer pair of CD4067B and CD4514B. The voltage from the wipers of presets are multiplexed by CD4067B and the output from pin 1 of CD4067B is fed to the non-inverting input of comparator A2 (half of op-amp LM358) after being buffered by A1 (the other half of IC2). The unregulated voltage sensed from rectifier output is fed to the inverting input of comparator A2. The output of comparator A2 is low until the sensed voltage is greater than the reference input applied at the non-inverting pins of comparator A2 via buffer A1.

When the sensed voltage goes below the reference voltage, the output of comparator A2 goes high. The high output from comparator A2 inhibits the decoder (CD4514) that is used to decode the output of IC4029 and drive the LEDs. This ensures that the LEDs of the bar graph are ‘on’ up to the sensed voltage-level proportional to the mains voltage.The initial adjustment of each of the presets can be done by feeding a known AC voltage through an auto-transformer and then adjusting the corresponding preset to ensure that only those LEDs that are up to the applied voltage glow.

Note.
It is advisable to use additional transformer, rectifier, filter, and regulator arrangements for obtaining a regulated supply for the functioning of the circuit so that performance of the circuit is not affected even when the mains voltage falls as low as 50V or goes as high as 280V. During Lab testing regulated 12-volt supply for circuit operation was used.)

Most of the telephone security devices available in market are simple but quite expensive. These devices provide blinking or beeping type line-tap/misuse indications. Quite often they do not offer guaranteed protection against unauthorized operation. A very simple and unique circuit of a telephone watch-dog to safeguard subscriber telephone lines against any fraud is described here. This little circuit keeps continuous watch over the telephone lines and sounds an alarm in case of any misuse. In addition it transmits a loud tone through the telephone lines to prevent further misuse. When switch S1 is turned on, the normal (on-hook) telephone line voltage at the output of bridge-rectifier diodes D1 to D4 is approximately 48 volts, which being well above the break-down voltage of zener diode D5, the diode conducts.

As a result transistor T2 gets forward biased. This effectively grounds the base of transistor T1 which is thus cut off and the remaining circuit does not get any power supply. In this state, only a small (negligible) current is taken by the circuit, which will not affect the telephone line condition. However, when handset of any telephone connected to the telephone lines is lifted (off-hook), line voltage suddenly drops to about 10 volts. As a result, transistor T2 is switched off and transistor T1 gets forward biased via resistor R1. Now, the astable multivibrator built around timer IC1 starts oscillating and the speaker starts sounding.

Output of the astable multivibrator is also connected to the base of transistor T1 through capacitor C5. As a result, only a loud (and irritating) tone is heard in the ear-piece of the unauthorized telephone instrument. This circuit can be constructed on a veroboard using easily available low-cost components and it can be connected to any telephone line without the fear of malfunctioning. No extra power supply is required as it draws power from the telephone line for operation.

Note:

• Please disconnect the gadget when you are yourself using the telephone as it cannot distinguish between authorized and unauthorized operation.

This circuit passes frequencies in the 300Hz - 3.1kHz range, as present in human speech. The circuit consists of cascaded high-pass and low-pass filters, which together form a complete band-pass filter. One half of a TL072 dual op amp (IC1a) together with two capacitors and two resistors make up a second-order Sallen-Key high-pass filter. With the values shown, the cut-off frequency (3dB point) is around 300Hz. As the op amp is powered from a single supply rail, two 10kO resistors and a 10µF decoupling capacitor are used to bias the input (pin 5) to one-half supply rail voltage.

Circuit diagram:

 Voice Bandwidth Filter Circuit Diagram

The output of IC1a is fed into the second half of the op amp (IC1b), also configured as a Sallen-Key filter. However, this time a low-pass function is performed, with a cut-off frequency of about 3.1kHz. The filter component values were chosen for Butterworth response characteristics, providing maximum pass-band flatness. Overall voltage gain in the pass-band is unity (0dB), with maximum input signal level before clipping being approximately 3.5V RMS. The 560O resistor at IC1bs output provides short-circuit protection.

Author: M. Sharp - Copyright: Silicon Chip Electronics

A 4-cell pack is a convenient, popular battery size. Alkaline manganese batteries are sold in retail stores in packs of four, which usually provide sufficient energy to keep battery replacement frequency at a reasonable level. Generating 5 V from four batteries is, however, a bit tricky. A fresh set of four batteries has a terminal voltage of 6.4 V, but at the end of their life, this voltage is down to 3.2 V. Therefore, the voltage needs to be stepped up or down, depending on the state of the batteries. A flyback topology with a costly, custom designed transformer could be used, but the circuit in the diagram gets around the problem by using a flying capacitor together with a second inductor.


The circuit also isolates the input from the output, allowing the output to go to 0 V during shutdown. The circuit can be divided conceptually into boost and buck sections. Inductor L1 and switch IC1 comprise the boost or step-up section, and inductor L2, diode D1 and capacitor C3 form the buck or step-down section. Capacitor C2 is charged to the input voltage, Vin, and acts as a level shift between the two sections. The switch toggles between ground and Vin+Vout , while the junction of L2, C2 and D1 toggles between –Vin and Vout +Vd1. Efficiency is directly related to the quality of the capacitors and inductors used.

Better quality capacitors are more expensive. Better quality inductors need not cost more, but normally take up more space. The Sanyo capacitors used in the prototype (C1–C3) specify a maximum ESR (effective series resistance) of 0.045 ½ and a maximum ripple current rating of 2.1 A. The inductors used specify a maximum DCR (direct current resistance) of 0.058 ½. Worst-case r.m.s. current through capacitor C2 occurs at minimum input voltage, that is, 400 mA at full load with an input voltage of 3 V.

This is a CMOS IC (CD4033) based circuit which can be used to detect presence of AC mains voltage without any electrical contact with the conductor carrying AC current/voltage. Thus it can be used to detect mains AC voltage without removing the insulation from the conductor. Just take it in the vicinity of the conductor and it would detect presence of AC voltage. If AC voltage is not present, the display would randomly show any digit (0 through 9) permanently. If mains supply is available in the conductor, the electric field would be induced into the sensing probe. Since IC used is CMOS type, its input impedance is extremely high and thus the induced voltage is sufficient to clock the counter IC. Thus display count advances rapidly from 0 to 9 and then repeats itself. This is the indication for presence of mains supply. Display stops advancing when the unit is taken away from the mains carrying conductor. For compactness, a 9-volt PP3 battery may be used for supply to the gadget.

The Over-the-Top type of operational amplifier is ideal for use as a current sense for battery charger applications. The design described here can be used with chargers for rechargeable batteries (Lead/acid or NiCd etc). The 5 V operating supply for the circuit is derived from the battery on charge. The circuit uses a sense resistor R8 to determine the value of current flowing in or out of the battery.

An LED output shows whether the battery is charging or discharging and an analogue output displays the battery charge or discharge current. The circuit can also be altered to shown different ranges of charging current to cater for higher capacity cells. IC1a and IC1b together with T1 and T2 form two current sources, which produce a voltage across R5. The voltage across R5 is proportional to the current through resistors R8 and R1 (for IC1a) or R8-R3 (for IC1b).

The current source formed by IC1a and T1 is active when the batteries are discharging and IC1b and T2 is active when the batteries are being charged. In each case the inactive opamp will have 0V at its output and the corresponding transistor will be switched off. IC1d amplifies the voltage across R5, which is proportional to the sense current. The component values given in the diagram produce an amplification factor or 10. A sense current of 0.1 A will produce an output voltage of +1 V. The supply voltage to the circuit is +5 V so this will be the maximum value that the output can achieve. This corresponds to a maximum charge/discharge current of 0.5 A To display currents from 0 to 5.0 A, resistor R7 can be omitted to give IC1d a voltage gain of 1.

Higher currents can be displayed by using a lower value of sense resistor R8. A DVM or analogue meter can be used at Vout to give a display of the charge/discharge current. The constant current sources can only function correctly when the supply to the voltage regulator circuit (UBatt. e.g. 6V or 12V) is greater than the operating voltage of the opamps (+5 V). The supply voltage to the LT1639 can be in the range of +3 V and +44V and voltages up to 40V over the supply voltage are acceptable at the inputs to the opamp. IC1c controls the charging/discharging LED output. The inputs to this opamp are connected to the outputs of the current source opamps and its output goes high when the battery is being charged and low when it is discharging.