May 2024

This month’s highlights

GPS-Disciplined Oscillator

This project is mostly built in software which does the ‘heavy lifting’, so it only needs a PIC microcontroller, an oven-controlled crystal oscillator and some supporting parts . The oscillator provides an exceptionally accurate 10MHz signal with an error in the parts per billion range. A ready-made GPS module is used on a board that employs standard discrete components.

The software can be fetched from our website or the author’s GitHub resources at https://github.com/ajcashin/budget-gpsdo

Dual RF Amplifier

This small RF amplifier has two outputs with individually selectable gains. This makes it suitable to add to a signal generator to provide a higher output level, or for better drive strength, or fanning out to multiple other items of equipment, and more besides. It has an operating frequency range of 100kHz to 75MHz.

Surface mount components  are used throughout and good soldering skills are required to complete this project successfully.

UVM-30A Module Ultraviolet Light Sensor

We investigate this UV light-sensing breakout module which detects the intensity of UV solar radiation. We show how it can be adapted using an Arduino Uno or Nano to indicate the current weather’s UV Index on a 16 x 2 LCD display, helping you to guard against over-exposure to the sun’s rays.

Songbird

You would have to search all the way back to Everyday Electronics, June 1979 to find our first ‘Electronic Canary’ project, designed by the late F G Rayer. It used a few basic components (and a germanium transistor!) to build a ‘squegging oscillator’, which produced chirpy bird song effects. This month we present an updated version of a perennial favourite project, imitating the song of our feathered friends. It uses classic discrete components on a bird-shaped board to provide a new ‘take’ on a project that is suitable for beginners in electronics as well as old hands.

Teach-In 2024 – Learn electronics with the ESP32
Part 3: analogue input and output

In the third part of this special tutorial, the ESP32’s analogue to digital converter is introduced and we utilise simple analogue I/O to interface with analogue sensors. If you’re thinking of trying out the ESP32, our latest Teach-In series is for you!

Max’s Cool Beans
Arduino Bootcamp – Part 17

Max continues to grapple with the practical considerations of using the Arduino, as Max explores the intricacies of employing solderless breadboards before finishing an Arduino-powered digital timepiece.

Audio Out
Back to the buffers – Part 4

Rounding off this fascinating mini-series that describes the practical design and construction of discrete op.amp/ buffer circuits.

Also in this month’s issue:

• Techno Talk – Max ruminates on the possibility of AI and VR heralding the beginnings of a new dystopian society
• Net Work – our roundup of tech and Internet trends tries more Tapo devices with mixed success, there’s news of new EVs from Lotus Cars and Smart, more moon-shot missions and the author unearths a new scam where pirated book content is re-copied and published using generative marketing content on Amazon.
• The Fox Report – excellent advice on cloning hard drives using thel atest hardware adaptors, and tekkiepix of the month – remembering the U-matic video cassette recorder. (www.tekkiepix.com)

Next month

Wi-Fi Time Source for GPS Clocks; Loudspeaker Test Jig;Heart Rate Sensor Module for Arduino. Contents subject to change.