Silicon Chip №12 2019.pdf

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DECEMBER 2019
ISSN 1030-2662
12
9
771030 266001
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Contents
Vol.32, No.12
December 2019
SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Features & Reviews
14 The Electrical House of Horrors
We’ve found some absolute death traps in electrical equipment imported from, or
available, overseas. You can’t be too careful! – by Dr David Maddison
46 Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive: it’s brilliant!
An in-depth look at arguably the world’s most successful hybrid motor. It’s often
misunderstood but it’s very, very clever! – by Roderick Wall
70 Review: the new Altium Designer 20. We love it!
Australia’s world-class Altium Designer has a brand new version for 2020 – we put
it through its paces here at S
ILICON
C
HIP
– by Tim Blythman
Australia’s strict electrical laws
should keep you safe from dodgy
products. But what about the stuff
you buy direct from overseas? –
Page 14
94 Review: Ausdom ANC7S Noise Cancelling Headphones
Constructional Projects
Just in time for Christmas! These rechargeable Bluetooth headphones feature
active noise cancellation technology and great sound quality – by Nicholas Vinen
24 Have you got a dumb battery charger in your garage?
Simple car battery chargers can cook your car battery because they’re d-u-m-b!
This simple add-on project will ensure that won’t happen. Suits lead acid, SLAs
and even LiFePO
4
rechargeables – by John Clarke
Don’t throw out your
battery charger just ’cos it’s dumb!
Make it real smart with our 12V
Battery Charger Controller! – Page 24
If you’re into prototyping with
Arduino, you should
be into the new
Altronics
MegaBox V2
– Page 38
38 Altronics’ new MegaBox V2 Arduino Prototyping System
With a second set of shield headers, more relays and a whole lot more
refinements, the new MegaBox makes prototyping with the Arduino a breeze
– by Tim Blythman
61 Our new FM Radio Receiver – construction & alignment
With FM radio now available just about everywhere, this DIY FM receiver is creating
a lot of interest. It’s not difficult to build or align – and this final instalment even has a
mini oscillator to build which will help you do just that – by John Clarke
86 High performance linear power supply – part three
In this final part of our 45V, 8A linear supply we fit it in its case and mount all the
parts – then set it up ready for use – by Tim Blythman
Do you
understand how
Toyota’s very
clever Hybrid
Synergy Drive works? Very few
people do! – Page 46
104 A Christmas Light Display for less than $20.00
Your Favourite Columns
76 Serviceman’s Log
Two devices what failed th’idiot test – by Dave Thompson
Imagine a LED lighting display with infrared control and pattern changing, where
all you have to do is solder four wires! Imagine no longer – by Ross Tester
96 Circuit Notebook
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Dot-matrix scrolling LED display
Hearing loop receiver for Android phones
Discrete switching LED driver
Low voltage three-phase motor speed controller
This month we
finish off our new Super-9
FM receiver with the case and
alignment – and there’s a simple
FM alignment oscillator to make
it really easy! – Page 61
100 Vintage Radio
Ferris 106 “portable”/car/home radio – by Associate Professor Graham Parslow
Everything Else
2 Editorial Viewpoint
4 Mailbag – Your Feedback
85 Product Showcase
106 Ask S
ILICON
C
HIP
109
111
112
112
S
ILICON
C
HIP
O
NLINE
S
HOP
Market Centre
Advertising Index
Notes and Errata
Altium’s new EDA software
for 2020. It is even better than
AD19, and we loved that! Read our
review starting on Page 70
www.facebook.com/siliconchipmagazine
SILICON
CHIP
Publisher/Editor
Nicholas Vinen
www.siliconchip.com.au
Editorial Viewpoint
Toyota deserves praise for innovation
We have an interesting article on Toyota’s Hybrid
Synergy Drive system starting on page 46 of this is-
sue. While this system has been around for just over
20 years now, it is still very much current; just recent-
ly, Toyota (finally) released the hybrid RAV4 in Aus-
tralia, and it has (predictably) been selling very well.
One wonders what took them so long.
Still, I have to give credit to Toyota for not only
popularising hybrid drivetrains but also perfecting them and bringing them
to the masses.
Not only that, but they have been able to fit these complex systems into a
range of vehicles, without charging a huge premium to do so.
And despite this complexity, Toyota’s hybrid systems are very reliable. Per-
haps even more reliable than traditional engines! That’s quite an achievement.
Keep in mind that Toyota has a reputation for outstanding reliability, in
part because their engineering is so conservative. They’re not a company
known for rushing new technology into production, with the high likelihood
of early failures, like some other manufacturers.
That makes the fact that they have been so innovative in the drivetrain
field even more impressive.
I think many electronics enthusiasts must also be fascinated with me-
chanical engineering. There are many parallels between the two disciplines,
especially in the automotive field. And of course, the hybrid system brings
the two together, combining electric motors, inverters and batteries with in-
ternal combustion engines, transmissions, gears etc.
Part of what makes Toyota’s system so brilliant, and I think better than
any other hybrid drive system, is the way it uses the “Power Split Device”
to eliminate the need for a traditional transmission.
This simple (and thus reliable) mechanical device is responsible for pro-
portioning and directing energy between the petrol engine, electric motors
and wheels. Read our in-depth article for a full explanation of how it works.
Of course, there’s a lot of talk lately about pure electric vehicles, and more
models are being released all the time.
But Toyota has managed to sell more than 10 million hybrid vehicles
worldwide, while EV leader Tesla has yet to sell one-tenth of that (admit-
tedly, in a somewhat shorter timeframe).
And one significant advantage that hybrid vehicles have is that their
much smaller battery pack is not only cheaper, but it uses fewer resources
to manufacture. So the same quantity of rare earth metals can go into man-
ufacturing dozens of hybrids compared to just one EV. Plus the onboard in-
ternal combustion engine and liquid fuel source make ‘range anxiety’ vir-
tually non-existent.
In fact, with their great fuel economy, hybrids can have an even better
range than purely internal combustion-engined vehicles. And with the ad-
vent of plug-in hybrids, you even have the option of using it as a pure EV for
short trips (eg, driving to-and-from work), while still being having a longer
range when needed.
I hope that other manufacturers begin adopting Toyota’s approach of of-
fering a hybrid version of virtually every model that they sell. It gives con-
sumers the option of spending a little bit more money to get lower fuel use
and a greater range.
There are many more hybrid vehicles available overseas, which surely
will become available in the Australian market soon.
Technical Editor
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Technical Staff
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc
Bao Smith, B.Sc
Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc
Technical Contributor
Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD
Art Director & Production Manager
Ross Tester
Reader Services
Ann Morris
Advertising Enquiries
Glyn Smith
Phone (02) 9939 3295
Mobile 0431 792 293
glyn@siliconchip.com.au
Regular Contributors
Dave Thompson
David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1),
PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov.
Geoff Graham
Associate Professor Graham Parslow
Ian Batty
Cartoonist
Brendan Akhurst
Founding Editor (retired)
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
S
ilicon
c
hip
is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20
880 526 923. All material is copy-
right ©. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written
consent of the publisher.
Subscription rates (12 issues):
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For overseas rates, see our website or
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silicon@siliconchip.com.au
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Brookvale, NSW 2100.
Postal address: PO Box 139,
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Phone (02) 9939 3295.
E-mail: silicon@siliconchip.com.au
ISSN 1030-2662
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Nicholas Vinen
Australia’s electronics magazine
siliconchip.com.au
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