Wiring circuit

Friday, October 24, 2014

Automatic Range Switching Circuit Diagram

You can pick up a 3½-digit digital volt-meter module nowadays for a little as a couple quid. This is a simple and expensive way to fit out a piece of equipment with an instrument. Most modules are based on the well-known ICL7106 IC . They operate from an ordinary 9-V battery, and they only provide a fixed measuring range (200 mV or 2 V). The accessory circuit described here converts a DVM module into a voltmeter with 20-V and 200-V measuring ranges, with the added bonus of automatic range switching.

This requires a ground-referenced symmetrical supply voltage (±5 V) instead of a battery. An inexpensive TL431C is also used to generate an adjustable reference volt-age from the supply voltage. The circuit described here uses an LCD module with a fixed measuring range of 200 mV. It has three pins for driving the decimal point; two of them are used here.

Automatic Range Switching Schematic

This is how the circuit works: IC1 converts the voltage to be measured by the DVM module into a ground-referenced voltage. This part of the circuit is based on a design idea from Carsten Weber [1] that was pub-lished in the June 2005 issue of Elektor Electronics.

If the input voltage is less than 20 V, the voltage divider formed by R1 and R4 reduces it by a factor of 100. Transistor T2 is cut off, so R3 has no effect on the division ratio. The voltage at the junction of voltage divider R8/R13 is 200 mV because the open-collector output of comparator IC2A is in the high-impedance state. If the input voltage rises above 20 V, IC2A changes state and the voltage at the junction of voltage divider R8/R13 drops to less than 20 mV. In response to this, the out-put of comparator IC2B goes high and T2 conducts. R3 is now connected in parallel with R4.

This yields a division factor of 1000 (200-V range). Of course, the larger division factor also causes the input voltage of IC2A to drop. To prevent this comparator from changing back to its previous state (which would cause the circuit to act like a sort of oscillator), the value of R10 must be chosen such that the voltage at the junction of voltage divider R8/R13 is less than 20 mV, as previously mentioned. The calculated value (with R10 in parallel with R13) is approximately 9.6 mV. In practice, the value is around 18 mV due to the resistance of the output transistor of the comparator.

This means that the circuit will switch back to the lower voltage range when the input voltage drops below approximately 18 V. The amount of hysteresis can be set by adjusting the value of R10. However, the circuit will oscillate if the value is too high. Film capacitors C1, C3 and C4 sup-press noise and create a certain amount of inertia for range switching. This prevents frequent back-and-forth switching in the threshold region.

The other two comparators of IC2 sup-ply mutually complementary output levels that depend on the measuring range. The associated decimal points of the DVM module are driven via p-channel FETs.The circuit has two trimpots: P1 is used to correct for the offset voltage of the operational amplifier (IC1), while P2 is used to set the threshold level for range switching For this purpose, first adjust the trimpot to produce the maximum possible reference voltage (around 3.4 V). Next apply an input voltage that causes a display reading of 19.99 (which ideally means 19.99 V). Now turn P2 until the measuring range switches.

As a check, reduce the input voltage to force the measuring range to switch back, and then slowly increase the input voltage again. The ideal setting is reached when the measuring range switches before the DVM module displays an ‘overrange’ indication. Link

Author : Rainer Reusch - Copyright: Elektor

Extend Timer Range For The 555 Circuit Diagram

Anyone who has designed circuits using the 555 timer chip will, at some time have wished that it could be programmed for longer timing periods. Timing periods greater than a few minutes are difficult to achieve because component leakage currents in large timing capacitors become significant. There is however no reason to opt for a purely digital solution just yet. The circuit shown here uses a 555 timer in the design but nevertheless achieves a timing interval of up to an hour! The trick here is to feed the timing capacitor not with a constant voltage but with a pulsed dc voltage. The pulses are derived from the un smoothed low voltage output of the power supply bridge rectifier.

Extend Timer Range For The 555 Circuit Diagram

The power supply output is not referenced to earth potential and the pulsing full wave rectified signal is fed to the base of T1 via resistor R1. A 100-Hz square wave signal is produced on the collector of T1 as the transistor switches. The positive half of this waveform charges up the timing capacitor C1 via D2 and P1. Diode D2 prevents the charge on C1 from discharging through T1 when the square wave signal goes low. Push-button S1 is used to start the timing period. This method of charging uses relatively low component values for P1 (2.2 MΩ) and C1 (100 to 200 µF) but achieves timing periods of up to an hour which is much longer than a standard 555 circuit configuration.

Low Cost Step Down Converter With Wide Input Voltage Range

The circuit described here is mostly aimed at development engineers who are looking for an economical step-down converter which offers a wide input voltage range. As a rule this type of circuit employs a step-down converter with integrated switching element. However, by using a more discrete solution it is possible to reduce the total cost of the step-down converter, especially when manufacturing in quantity. The TL5001A is a low-cost PWM controller which is ideal for this project. The input voltage range for the step-down converter described here is from 8 V to 30 V, with an output voltage of 5 V and a maximum output current of 1.5 A.

When the input voltage is applied the PWM output of IC1 is enabled, taking one end of the voltage divider formed by R1 and R2 to ground potential. The current through the voltage divider will then be at most 25 mA: this value is obtained by dividing the maximum input voltage (30 V) minus the saturation voltage of the output driver (2 V) by the total resistance of the voltage divider (1.1 kΩ). T1 and T3 together form an NPN/PNP driver stage to charge the gate capacitance of P-channel MOSFET T2 as quickly as possible, and then, at the turn-off point, discharge it again.

The base-emitter junction of T3 goes into a conducting state when the PWM output is active and a voltage is dropped across R2. T3 will then also conduct from collector to emitter and the gate capacitance of T2 will be discharged down to about 800 mV. The P-channel MOSFET will then conduct from drain to source. If the open-collector output of the controller is deactivated, a negligibly small current flows through resistor R2 and the base of T1 will be raised to the input voltage level. The base-emitter junction of T1 will then conduct and the gate capacitance of T2 will be charged up to the input voltage level through the collector and emitter of T1.

The P-channel MOSFET will then no longer conduct from drain to source. This driver circuit constructed from discrete components is very fast, giving very quick switch-over times. Diodes D2 and D3 provide voltage limiting for the P-channel MOSFET, whose maximum gate-source voltage is 20 V. If the Zener voltage of diode D2 is exceeded it starts to conduct; when the forward voltage of diode D3 is also exceeded, the two diodes together clamp the gate-source voltage to approximately 19 V. The switching frequency is set at approximately 100 kHz, which gives a good compromise between efficiency and component size.

Finally, a few notes on component selection. All resistors are 1/16 W, 1 %. Apart from electrolytic C1 all the capacitors are ceramic types. For the two larger values (C2 and C5) the following are used:

C2 is a Murata type GRM21BR71C105KA01 ceramic capacitor, 1 µF, 16 V, X7R, 10 %;
C5 is a Murata type GRM32ER60J476ME20 ceramic capacitor, 47 µF, 6.3 V, X5R, 10 %. D1 (Fairchild type MBRS340T3) is a 40 V/3 A Schottky diode. Coil L1 is a Würth WE-PD power choke type 744771147, 47 µH, 2.21 A, 75 mΩ.
T1 (BC846) and T3 (BC856) are 60 V, 200 mA, 310 mW complementary bipolar transistors from Vishay. The TL5001AID (IC1) is a low-cost PWM controller with an open-collector output from Texas Instruments.

Wiring circuit

Friday, October 24, 2014

Automatic Range Switching Circuit Diagram

Friday, October 17, 2014

Extend Timer Range For The 555 Circuit Diagram

Extend Timer Range For The 555 Circuit Diagram

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Low Cost Step Down Converter With Wide Input Voltage Range