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South Asia’s Most Popular Electronics Magazine march 2009 Vol. 41 No. 3

Stage All Set for

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Make A Versatile Flexible Circuits
Frequency Counter Getting Better
Scatternets Rekindle A Smart Charger
Hope in Bluetooth for Li-ion Batteries
 Vol. 41 No. 3

41st Year
march 2009 Contents Departments
Since January 1969
of Publication 28 Technology Focus
Stage All Set for High-definition TV EFY-CD......................................................... 08
LETTERS ..................................................... 12
www.efymag.com Qs&As.......................................................... 16
Career
36
ISSN-0013-516X TECHNOLOGY NEWS..................................... 20
Editor : Ramesh Chopra Empower Yourself with Circuit Ideas.............................................. 81
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correspondence Phone: 011-26818096 New Products......................................... 115
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EFY Report
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73
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Publicitas Singapore Pte Ltd
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100 Reading the Datasheets of
Electronic Devices—Part 1 of 3
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Do-IT-Yourself
107
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A Versatile Frequency Counter
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of each month and published from D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi
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112
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Bluetooth Scatternets: A Cost-Effective

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Technology Focus:
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 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro ni c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 EFY-CD Page
In this Month’s
Focus on
Multimedia
TOP 4 software Video DVD Maker. Video DVD
Maker is a flexible, easy-to-use and fo-
MultiMedia Office
cused DVD maker. It allows you to get
high-quality output, even if you don’t
know the subtleties of recording tech-
nology. The intuitive interface leads you
through a comprehensive set of logical
steps to capture and output DVDs.
Video DVD Maker enables you
FreeMat to capture video from various video
devices, including TV tuners and Web
cameras, as well as import video from
any video file, including AVI, DivX,
XVID, MPEG-4, MPG, WMV, ASF and
MOV. You can easily play these videos
on your home DVD player after burn-
ing to a CD/DVD.
Scilab
Avidemux. Avidemux is a free
video editor designed for simple cut-
ting, filtering and encoding tasks. It
supports many file types, including
AVI, DVD-compatible MPEG files,
MP4 and ASF, using a variety of
codecs. Tasks can be automated us-
ing projects, job queue and powerful
Abiword 2.6.6
scripting capabilities. Avidemux is
available for Linux, BSD, Mac OS X
and Microsoft Windows.
MultiMedia Office. Mul-
tiMedia Office is ideal for business,
home or educational use. Create or edit
documents, spreadsheets, drawings,
presentations, photos, databases, web-
 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
pages, audio and video. And combine
these different elements into a single
file that meets the ISO standard open
document format.
FreeMat. FreeMat is a free envi-
ronment for rapid engineering, scien-
tific prototyping and data processing.
It is similar to commercial systems
such as MATLAB from MathWorks
and IDL from Research Systems. It is
open-source and runs on Windows,
Linux and Mac OS X.
Scilab. This open-source soft-
ware provides a powerful computing
environment for engineering and
scientific applications. It includes
hundreds of mathematical functions
with the possibility to add interactively
programs from various languages (C,
C++, Fortran, etc). It has sophisticated
data structures (including lists, poly-
nomials, rational functions and linear
systems), an interpreter and a high-
level programming language.
Abiword 2.6.6. AbiWord is a
free wordprocessing program similar
to Microsoft Word. It currently runs on
Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Win-
dows. It has a comprehensive language
database with multiple languages, sup-
port for tables and footnotes, as well as
a spell checker and an advanced gram-
mar checking system.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 Letters
Invitation
Border Security Force Communication
and IT Directorate, CGO Complex,
New Delhi, is a subscriber to EFY mag-
azine. The articles published in EFY are
very educative and these are passed on
to technical staff in the ranks of DIGs,
commandants and deputy comman-
dants. On behalf of the directorate, we
invite writers of such topics as new
telecom services on the way, WiFi and
WiMAX, 3G audio management and
telemedicine to deliver lectures at our
headquarter.
B.S. Kushwah, DIG
Through e-mail
EFY-CD Content
Many thanks for providing Ubuntu op-
erating system in the EFY-CD of Janu-
ary issue. It’s a very good operating
system. Please publish some software
and circuit diagrams for program-
ming the Atmel microcontroller under
Ubuntu operating system.
Subrat Kumar Mallik
Through e-mail
 Please include:
1. Free software like OCR in the
EFY-CD.
2. Buyers’ guide on car stereos in
the magazine.
Jiji Abraham
Kochi
Test for Technocrats
I suggest EFY to conduct a technical
test for the technocrats nationally. This
will help those who are doing research
work in various fields of electronics.
Anshul C. Kansara
Navsari
Software Codes
The software codes of technical arti-
cles published in EFY magazine are
provided only in the accompanying
CD. I request EFY to provide all the
codes online. I have subscribed to EFY
magazine online, but could not find the
subscription number after login to this
site. Please tell me where can I find it.
Gerard Canekeratne
Oman
EFY: Thanks for pointing out an area
for improvement. We have taken up
this project, and it will be implemented
1 2 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
very soon. Subscription numbers are
currently not available on the website.
Designing Low-Power
Products
Thanks for publishing the article series
‘Designing Low-power Products Using
MSP430 Microcontrollers’ in January
and February issues. I request you to
publish a similar kind of article series
on Cypress CY3270 and Texas Instru-
ments’ MSP430RF2500 microcontrol-
lers.
I also suggest you to provide a
reference booklet on MSP430F2013,
CY3270, Atmega16 and MSP430RF2500
instruction sets and pin configurations
with EFY magazine every quarter.
It would be useful to hobbyists, stu-
dents and professionals in working on
projects or preparing for interviews.
Maneesh Sharma
Navi Mumbai
Circuit Ideas of
Anniversary Issue
I have been a regular reader of EFY for
many years. In January issue, I have
noticed that:
1. In ‘Running LED Lights’ circuit,
a 12V transformer has been used. I feel
a 7.5V or 9V transformer will be a bet-
ter choice for logical and economical
reasons.
2. In ‘Top 10 Circuits,’ two emer-
gency light circuits and two 3-phase
application circuits have been includ-
ed, which are electrical in nature. You
should publish a variety of circuits for
different readers.
Rakesh P.
Through e-mail
EFY: Thanks for your feedback and
interest in EFY magazine. As regards
your observations:
1. Use of a 12V transformer in the
‘Running LED Light’ circuit is alright
in a hobbyist circuit design. Optimisa-
tion can always be done by the users
for whatever reason they may think
appropriate.
2. The two emergency light circuits
are quite different and these were
chosen based on the readers’ feedback
on EFY website. The automatic phase
changer is designed for balancing the
loads on different phases and also for
DTH TV
The article titled ‘Which DTH TV for
You?’ published in February issue, was
authored by Amit Goel, with some in-
puts from Uma Bansal. We are sorry, Mr
Goel’s name was inadvertently left out as
author of the article.
Mr Goel has several years’ experi-
ence in the field and runs his own blog,
which can be seen at “http://amitslab.
com/blog”
providing supply to essential loads
in the event of failure of a particular
phase, whereas the three-phase ap-
pliance protector provides supply to
the appliance only when all the three
phase are available. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, selection of these two
circuits was also based on the readers’
feedback.
Heart Rate Meter
Regarding the ‘Microcontroller-based
Heart Rate Meter’ project published in
May 2008 issue, I have the following
queries:
1. In the software program, it is
mentioned that time is noted down
after the end of three crossings. Are
these three crossings related to P, R, T
waves? In practice, while measuring
ECG, the ECG waveform also consists
of time period after ‘T’ wave of the
first ECG and before ‘P’ wave of the
second ECG waveform. Thus the time
should be read before ‘P’ wave of the
next ECG.
2. The time taken from time-count
register is converted in terms of the
number of 4ms intervals. I don’t under-
stand why 4ms interval is taken?
3. How can I stop the ambient light
from interfering with the readings?
Ms Amruta Pise
Mumbai
The author Prof. K Padmanabhan
replies:
1. Do not confuse ECG with the blood
flow signal into the finger. It is just
the blood flow signal that is used for
counting here. Refer to the waveform
shown in the article.
2. You can use any unit for measur-
ing time, provided you know the basic
unit; just as you can measure weight in
grams or kilograms, depending on the
measured value.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 Letters
Here 4 ms is well-nigh sufficient.
If we measure in 1ms units, we’ll get
a larger number for the time unit be-
tween two (blood) pulses, and we will
then be using a larger divisor to find
the rate of blood flow per minute.
3. The problem of ambient light has
been explained in the text. Please read
the article thoroughly and your doubts
will be cleared.
Speedometer-cum-
Odometer
I have constructed the ‘Microcontrol-
ler-based Speedometer-cum-Odometer’
project published in Nov. 2008 issue, as
per the instructions given in the text.
I have downloaded the ‘hex’ file but
nothing was displayed on the LCD
screen. Also, the Assembly program is
not clear. Please help.
Anil Patil
Ulhasnagar
 Regarding this project, I have the
following doubts:
1. How to make the LCD module
illuminate?
2. What is the name of the box
that encloses the LCD module and the
circuit board, and how to fix it in the
handle-bar?
3. Do I need to provide water-resis-
tive coating for the reed switch?
4. What changes are to be made in
the program and the circuit, so that it can
be used in my Honda Unicorn bike?
Roshan George V.
Cochin
The author Arun Kumar Vadla replies
to Anil Patil:
If you are testing the project on a
simulator software, nothing will dis-
play on the LCD. You have to test
the project in real hardware after
programming the microcontroller,
first with ‘init eeprom.hex’ program
and then with ‘speedo.hex’ program.
The Assembly code is well commented.
You’ll find explanation of each line of
the code. I have been using this speed-
ometer since one-and-a-half years and it
is working well without any problem.
Reply to George Roshan:
1. Backlight connections are usually
made at pins 15 and 16 of the LCD
module. The anode (pin 15) should be
connected to +5V DC through a series
1 4 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
resistor. Connect the cathode (pin 16)
to GND.
2. There is no particular name for
the enclosure, but I have used the enclo-
sure of an electronic choke and made a
slot according to LCD dimensions.
3. Since reed switch is encapsulated
in glass, it does not require any special
coating.
4. In the article, I have given the
formula for modifying the program for
any wheel dimensions. First, calculate
the radius of the wheel and then use
the formula given in the text to get the
constant. I have illustrated these steps
in the article, so please read carefully.
Mobile Bug
Regarding the ‘Mobile Bug’ project
published in January 2008 issue, I have
the following queries:
1. It is mentioned in the article that
the circuit can sense the presence of an
activated mobile phone. Does it mean
a switched-on mobile phone without
call/SMS/data transmission?
2. Can we use an FM radio’s tel-
escopic antenna in place of the 12.7cm
(5-inch) antenna shown in the circuit
diagram?
Prakash
New Delhi
The author D. Mohan Kumar replies:
1. The mentioned circuit senses an acti-
vated mobile phone. That is, switch on
the circuit and it will detect the signals
in response to a call, SMS or video re-
cording in the mobile phone.
2. A small telescopic antenna can
be used. The antenna is not necessary
if the 0.22µF capacitor is protruding
from the case.
Staircase Light
In the ‘Staircase Light With Auto
Switch Off’ circuit published in Janu-
ary issue, the schematic diagram is
wrong. Pin 2 of IC 555 appears at two
locations.
Ramasamy
Mysore
EFY: Thanks for pointing out the print-
ing error in the circuit diagram. In the
circuit tested, pins 6 and 7 of 555 timer
are shorted at the junction of resis-
tor R7 and capacitor C4. Kindly read
wrongly-printed pin 2 as pin 7.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Qs&As
Q1. What is the difference be-
tween condensers and capaci-
tors?
Sunil Prasad
Through e-mail
A1. From electrical engineering
point of view, condensers
and capacitors are the same. However,
you may often come across condens-
ers also being referred to as devices
used to condense vapour into liquid, a
range of laboratory glassware used to
remove heat from fluids, heat exchang-
ers installed in steam-electric power
stations to condense turbine exhaust
steam into water, air coils used in
HVAC refrigeration systems, a group
of lenses mounted below the stage of
an optical microscope to concentrate
light, and condenser microphones that
convert sound waves into an electrical
signal.
An ideal capacitor is character-
ised by a single constant value called
‘capacitance.’ This is defined as the
ratio of the amount of charge in each
conductor to the potential difference
between them. The unit of capacitance
is thus coulombs per volt, or farads.
Higher capacitance indicates that more
charge can be stored at a given voltage.
In practice, the insulator allows a small
amount of current through, called leak-
age current. The conductors add a series
resistance (specifically called equivalent
series resistance), and the insulator has
an electric field strength limit resulting
in a breakdown voltage.
The properties of capacitors in a
circuit may determine the resonant fre-
quency and quality factor of a resonant
circuit, power dissipation and operating
frequency in a digital logic circuit, en-
ergy capacity in a high-power system,
and many other important aspects.
Q2. What is the working principle
behind touchscreen mobiles?
How do they differ from ordinary mo-
biles? What are their drawbacks?
Anuja Wadatkar
Through e-mail
A2. Mobile phones may use two
types of input devices. In reg-
1 6 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
ular mobile phones, a keypad type of
device is used, which is mounted sepa-
rately from the screen of the cellphone.
Whereas in touchscreen cellphones,
a touch screen is a cellphone display
screen that also acts as an input device.
The touchscreens are sensitive to pres-
sure; a user interacts with the mobile
applications by touching pictures or
words on the screen.
Most mobile phone keyboards are
basic in that they use a tactile surface
you are accustomed to touching, and
underneath is a basic rubber peg (black
dot) which travels some depth until it
encounters resistance in the form of
the actual keyboard surface which is
sometimes called a ‘bubble board.’ This
is basically a semi-circle of aluminium
shaped in the form of a dome and
provides that springing effect of key
and feedback on your finger when you
press down and the button regains its
at-rest shape and normal position.
Touchscreen technologies used
in mobile phones include resistive,
capacitive and surface-wave based
system.
Resistive. The resistive system
consists of a normal glass panel that is
covered with conductive and resistive
metallic layers. These two layers are
held apart by spacers, and a scratch-
resistant layer is placed on top of the
whole setup. An electrical current runs
through the two layers while the moni-
tor is operational.
When a user touches the screen,
the two layers make contact exactly at
that spot. The change in the electrical
field is noted and the coordinates of
the point of contact are calculated by
the processor. Once the coordinates are
known, a special driver translates the
touch into something that the operat-
ing system can understand, much as a
computer mouse driver translates the
movements of a mouse into a click or a
drag. The change in the electrical cur-
rent is registered as a touch event and
sent to the controller for processing.
Resistive touchscreen panels are
generally more affordable but offer
only 75 per cent clarity and the layer
can be damaged by sharp objects. Re-
sistive touchscreen panels are not
affected by outside elements such as
dust or water.
Capacitive. In the capacitive sys-
tem, a layer of an electroconductive
material (most often indium tin-oxide)
that stores electrical charge is placed on
the glass panel of the monitor. When a
user touches the monitor with his fin-
ger, some of the charge is transferred
to the user, so the charge on the capaci-
tive layer decreases. This decrease is
measured in circuits located at each
corner of the monitor. The computer
calculates, from the relative differences
in charge at each corner, exactly where
the touch event took place and then
relays that information to the touch-
screen driver software.
One advantage of the capacitive
system over the resistive system is
that it transmits almost 92 per cent of
the light emitted from the monitor,
whereas the resistive system transmits
only about 75 per cent. This gives the
capacitive system a much clearer pic-
ture than the resistive system. Also,
the capacitive system has a very long
life (about 225 million clicks). The
bad news is that this touchscreen type
cannot be activated by contact with
inanimate objects (e.g., the gloves that
you might be wearing).
There are mainly two subtypes:
one cannot register more than one
touch at a time, while the other, called
‘MultiTouch’ (used in Apple iPhone
and iPod) does.
Surface wave. Surface-wave technol-
ogy uses ultrasonic waves that pass over
the touchscreen panel. On the monitor
of a surface acoustic wave system, two
transducers (one sending and the other
receiving) are placed along the ‘x’ and
‘y’ axes of the monitor’s glass plate.
Also placed on the glass are reflec-
tors—these reflect an electrical signal
sent from one transducer to the other.
The receiving transducer is able to tell
whether the wave has been disturbed
by a touch event at any instant, and can
locate it accordingly. When the panel
is touched, a portion of the wave is
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Qs&As

+12V
+5V RL1
DEVICE 1

LED1
N/O
RNW-10K x 8 230V
INTERNET C1 AC
1µ R2 50Hz
16V N/C

RL2
DEVICE 2

LED2
20 10 N/O
230V
1 19 1 18 AC
2 R3 50Hz
18 2 17 N/C
CELLULAR

R1 C1
PHONE

56K 33p 17 3 16 RL3

IC1 IC2 DEVICE 3

LED3
4 16 4 15 N/O
AT89 ULN 230V
BLUETOOTH AC
MODULE
XTAL C2051 15 5 2803 14 R4 50Hz
BLUETOOTH

5 N/C
14 6 13
C2 RL4
13 7 12 DEVICE 4

LED4
33p
N/O
230V
CTS-1

RTS-0

12 8 11
RX-1
GND
TX-0

10 9 AC
VCC

CELLULAR R5 50Hz
PHONE N/C
COMMUNICATION
ADAPTER RL5
DEVICE 5

LED5
N/O
230V
R2-R6 = 2.2K AC
RL1-RL5 = 12V, 1C/O RELAY R6 50Hz
XTAL = 11.052MHz LED1-LED5 = 5mm RED LED N/C

Circuit for home appliance control via Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone

absorbed. This change in the ultrasonic
waves registers the position of the touch
event and sends this information to the
controller for processing.
The wave setup has no metallic
layers on the screen, allowing for 100
per cent light throughput and perfect
image clarity. This makes the surface
acoustic wave system best for display-
ing detailed graphics (both the other
systems have significant degradation
in clarity). Surface-wave touchscreen
panels are the most advanced of the
three types, but these can be damaged
by outside elements.
Another area in which the systems
differ is the way stimuli is registered
as a touch event. A resistive system
registers a touch as long as the two lay-
ers make contact, which means that it
doesn’t matter if you touch it with your
finger or a rubber ball. A capacitive
system, on the other hand, must have a
conductive input, usually your finger,
in order to register a touch. The surface
acoustic wave system works much like
the resistive system, allowing a touch
with almost any object—except hard
and small objects like a pen tip.
locks and lights from a cellphone?
Premrashan Nair
Bangaluru
A3. The circuit of a simple cell-
phone-based device-control
system using bluetooth communica-
tion link and microcontroller is shown
above. It can be easily designed by en-
gineering students and hobbyists. The
advantage of bluetooth technology is
that it doesn’t require line-of-sight for
signal transmission from the transmit-
ter to the receiver.
This device control system over-
comes the problems of manual switch-
ing (on/off) of different devices
through bluetooth-enabled cellphone
communicating with the bluetooth
module interfaced with the micro-
controller. It is a simple and cost-ef-
fective design to solve the problem of
remote control for whatever reason it
may be.
The circuit consists of a cellphone
attached to a bluetooth adaptor (one
could use a cellphone having inbuilt
bluetooth), a bluetooth module inter-
faced with microcontroller AT89C2051,
a driver IC ULN2803, five 12V relays,
LEDs and associated discrete compo-
a 20-pin, 8-bit microcontroller with 2
kB of Flash programmable and eras-
able read-only memory (PEROM), 128
bytes of RAM, 15 input/output lines,
two 16-bit timers/counters, a five-vec-
tor two-level interrupt architecture, a
duplex serial port, a precision analogue
comparator, on-chip oscillator and
clock circuitry.
The ULN2803 (IC2) consists of
eight npn Darlington-connected tran-
sistors, which are ideally suitable for
interfacing between low-logic-level
digital circuitry and the higher cur-
rent/voltage requirement circuits such
as lamps, fans or other similar loads for
a broad range of computer, industrial
and consumer applications. It is used
here for driving the devices through
relay contacts. You can write a simple
software program for the microcon-
troller of the bluetooth-enabled cell-
phone, employing simple coding and
decoding of remote signals to perform
switching of devices.
Answers compiled by Air Cmde (Retd) P.D. Badoni
Letters and questions for publication may be
addressed to Editor, Electronics For You,

Q3. How can we interface a blue-

tooth module with a micro-
controller to control devices like door-
nents.
At the heart of the circuit is micro-
controller IC AT89C2051 (IC1). It is
D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi
110020 (E-mail: editsec@efyindia.com) and should
include name and address of the sender.

1 8 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Fact-filled AND the most happening current affairs from around the world
Technology News
‘Evolving’ robots
Taking cue from biological evolution,
the scientists have developed a robot
with a software ‘brain’ that automati-
cally grows in size and complexity as
its physical body develops. The only
but major difference is that it does this
trick in hours.
Existing robots cannot usually
cope with physical changes—the ad-
dition of a sensor or new type of limb,
say—without a complete redesign of
their control software, which can be
time-consuming and expensive. So
artificial intelligence engineer Chris-
topher MacLeod and his colleagues
at the Robert Gordon University in
Aberdeen, UK, created a robot that
adapts to such changes by mimicking
biological evolution. “If we want to
make really complex humanoid robots
with ever more sensors and more com-
plex behaviours, it is critical that they
are able to grow in complexity over
time—just like biological creatures
did,” he says.
The brain of Macleod’s robot as-
signs new clusters of ‘neurons’ to
adapt to new additions to its body.
The robot is controlled by a neural
network—software that mimics the
brain’s learning process. This compris-
es a set of interconnected processing
nodes which can be trained to pro-
duce desired actions. Such actions are
shaped by adjusting the importance, or
weighting, of the input signals to each
node. Certain combinations of these
sensor inputs cause the node to fire a
signal—to drive a motor, for example.
If this action works, the combination is
kept. If it fails, and the robot falls over,
the robot will make adjustments and
try something different next time.
Flexible electronic books
Screen breakage is a common com-
plaint about today’s electronic books.
However, UK-based Plastic Logic
2 0 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
World’s first flexible electronic book from Plastic Logic
claims to have developed the world’s
first flexible electronic book with a
bendy screen that can withstand a lot
of tumble.
Currently, the two most popular e-
books on the market, the Sony Reader
and Amazon Kindle, are paperback
book-sized devices that use B&W elec-
tronic ink displays. These consist of
a plastic sheet containing pixel-sized
voids, each filled with B&W ink par-
ticles. Electric fields attract the ink to
the top of these voids to display print.
The problem is, the transistors that ap-
ply these electric fields sit on a layer of
glass, making the displays fragile.
Plastic Logic has perfected a way
of printing polymer transistors onto
a layer of bendy plastic, allowing the
screens to flex and bounce. This device
will have wireless Internet connection
and a touch screen, allowing use of a
virtual keyboard for annotating text.
Optical clocks are the future
A new generation of clocks, called opti-
cal clocks, can keep time without miss-
ing a beat in almost two billion years.
These clocks are so precise that they
will allow satellites to track moving
objects to within less than a metre—a
prerequisite for automated cars.
The new devices are known as
optical clocks because lasers measure
the frequency with which electrons in
atoms vibrate. This enables them to di-
vide time into even tinier increments.
The most advanced clock, created
by researchers at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) in
Boulder, Colorado, measures the vibra-
tions of electrons in mercury ions and
can go 1.7 billion years without missing
a beat. A normal wristwatch, by con-
trast, loses about a second every week.
The most exciting developments
are likely to come in the field of global
positioning systems (GPS), which track
planes, ships and cars. GPS devices
receive microwave signals sent by
satellites and, by measuring the time
these take to arrive, can pinpoint the
location of an object on Earth to within
10 metres.
Universal charger
for mobile phones
We all need to buy a charger with
every new mobile phone. What if
you can charge your phone from any
available charger? This would not
only make life easier for mobile phone
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 consumers, but would be good for the
environment too.
The GSMA and 17 leading mobile
operators and manufacturers said at
the Mobile World Congress that they
are committed to implementing a
cross-industry standard for a univer-
sal charger for new mobile phones.
The aim of the initiative, led by the
GSMA, is to ensure that the mobile
industry adopts a common format for
mobile phone charger connections and
energy-efficient chargers resulting in
an estimated 50 per cent reduction
in standby energy consumption; old
chargers currently generate more than
51,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The group plans to make a universal
charging solution widely available by
year 2012. It will use Micro-USB as the
common universal charging interface.
So by January 2012, the majority of all
new mobile phone models available will
support a universal charging connector
and the majority of chargers shipped
will meet the high-efficiency targets set
out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Termi-
nal Platform)—the industry body who
developed the technical requirements
for universal charging solution.
The free My Phone service will en-
able you to access, manage and back
up your personal information on your
device to a password-protected Web-
based service. With automatic syncing
and backup, you can count on your
contacts, appointments, text messages
and other information being kept up to
date and easily restored should you lose
or upgrade your phone. You will also
be able to automatically upload photos
and video from your Windows phone
directly to the My Phone service.
The new Windows phones are
expected to be available in the second
half of 2009.
Solar-powered touch phone
Samsung Electronics has unveiled a
solar-powered, full-touch-screen phone
called ‘Blue Earth.’ By charging with
the solar panel located on the back of
the phone, users can generate enough
power to call anytime anywhere.
Blue Earth is made from recycled
plastic called PCM, which is extracted
from water bottles, helping to reduce fuel
consumption and carbon emissions in

Next-gen Windows phones

Microsoft is working with partners
across the industry to deliver a new
generation of Windows phones. These
phones will be based on Windows
Mobile 6.5 and feature a new user
interface and a richer browsing expe-
rience. In addition, they will feature
two new services: My Phone, to sync
text messages, photos, video, contacts
and more to the Web; and Windows
Marketplace for Mobile, a new mar-
ketplace that will provide direct-to-
phone mobile applications and can
be accessed from both the phone and
the Web.
The Windows Mobile 6.5 home
screen will keep you up-to-date on
important information by providing
a dashboard-like experience to items
such as new e-mails, texts, missed
calls and calendar appointments. The
improved touch-screen interface makes
it easy to take action with a finger. Samsung Blue Earth solar-powered phone

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the manufacturing process. The device,
including charger, is free from harmful
substances such as brominated flame
retardants, beryllium and phthalate.
Simple to set the screen brightness,
backlight duration and Bluetooth to
an energy-efficient mode, the unique
user interface allows the user to be
energy-efficient with just one click of
‘Eco’ mode. Through the ‘eco walk’
function the user can count his steps
with an in-built pedometer, calculating
how much CO2 emissions have been
reduced by walking as opposed to
motor transport. This unique function
allows the user to calculate the value
of this footprint through the number
of trees that have been saved.
The phone comes with a five-star
energy-efficient charger which uses
standby power of less than 0.03W.
Power meter from Google
Google is developing a tool called Pow-
erMeter that will show people their
electricity consumption in near real time
on a secure iGoogle gadget. The Internet
giant is partnering with a host of electric
utilities, device makers, regulators and
other technology companies to deliver
the data to consumers.
The Google PowerMeter is a piece
of software that people can view online
to see how much electricity they are us-
ing every time they leave an appliance
‘on’ overnight.
“If 5.3 million people used the new
tool and cut back their electricity con-
sumption by 10 per cent, they would
save the equivalent of a gigawatt of
power—enough to power a large city,”
said Kirsten Olsen Cahill.
The electricity-monitoring project
is also consistent with Google’s goal
of organising all the world’s informa-
tion, Cahill said. Getting it to work,
of course, will require aligning the
interests of government, utilities and
manufacturers of things like sensors
for electricity meters.
World’s smallest TV data card
ZTE claims to have developed the
world’s smallest TV data card and also
the world’s first plug-and-play data
2 4 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
CSR’s 802.11n range of devices add Wi-Fi to mobile devices
card. This USB modem (MF645) will
enable you to watch digital television
on a computer or laptop over a 3G
connection. As the MF645 supports a
download rate of up to 7.2Mbps, it of-
fers a user experience that is similar to
traditional TV sets.
World’s smallest
802.11n devices
Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) claims
to have launched the world’s smallest
and lowest-cost range of 802.11n com-
patible devices to add to its Connectiv-
ity Centre line-up. At less than 16 mm2
of silicon, the UniFi UF6000 range of
Wi-Fi chips are designed as embedded
Wi-Fi products, making them a low-
cost way of adding an 802.11n-enabled
Wi-Fi to mobile devices.
As more smart and feature-phones
start to include Wi-Fi, the UniFi UF6000
Wi-Fi range provides manufacturers
with a low-cost route to integrate Wi-Fi
into handsets without compromising
on performance or PCB space.
By combining the UF6000 with
the company’s recently launched low-
cost GPS and Bluetooth chip, BC7830,
CSR claims to offer customers Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, GPS and FM transmit and
receive at a combined silicon area of
27 mm2—in comparison to competing
solutions that are 40 per cent bigger.
The UniFi UF6000 range is fully
compliant with IEEE802.11e QoS, Wi-
Fi Alliance WMM Power Save and
802.11n power saving, ensuring the
lowest possible power consumption.
3D graphics in HDTV devices
The graphical user interfaces offered
by today’s set-top boxes (STBs) and
digital TVs are primarily static and
two-dimensional, and generally do
not provide the level of performance
demanded by the new Web-based
interactive services. These services re-
quire a new breed of STB and TV user
interfaces, based on advanced graphics
technologies.
STMicroelectronics offers broad-
casters, operators and STB and digital
TV manufacturers advanced 3D graph-
ics effects within its latest high-defini-
tion video consumer platforms. Based
on its latest generation of HD STB proc-
essors, including the STi7105, STi7111
and the recently announced STi7141,
together with advanced software
libraries, these digital consumer TV
platforms offer advanced 3D graphic
acceleration capabilities for a new gen-
eration of user interfaces, enabling 3D
dynamic effects, such as transparency,
mirroring, rotation and zoom-in and
zoom-out; graphical compositions, or
animations, combined with live HD
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
video pictures; and HD-resolution dynamic 3D-looking user
interfaces.

Share your whereabouts with friends

Google has launched a new service, Latitude, that lets cell-
phone users share their location with friends. The service is
part of Google Maps for Mobile—the company’s mapping
software for mobile phones—but can also be used through
a gadget loaded onto its iGoogle customised home page. It
will work in 27 countries.

Google Latitude

Latitude can be downloaded on the mobile phone and in-

vitations can be sent to friends and family to join the service.
The location-based service only works with prior permission
from the other person. Privacy settings can be adjusted in
Latitude so that you share as much or as little about your
location as you want, with whom you want.
So for each person, you can choose to share your avail-
able location or your location when you travel to a different
city, or you can be completely unavailable. Everything is un-
der your control and, of course, you can sign out of Latitude
at any time. The service also allows the user to communicate
with friends through text messaging, instant messaging or
a phone call.
The application is independent of mobile operators and
can be downloaded free from the Google website.

Futuristic transport system

The implementation of an intelligent transport system (ITS)
in India may now be postponed for some time.
ITS refers to the use of new technologies like mobile
phones and the worldwide web to guide traffic within a city.
Once the system is in place, you can get mobile alerts while
driving, indicating the routes with high traffic congestion
and suggesting alternative route.
It also means toll collection can be made electronically,
which can enable you to drive through toll gates without
facing a traffic snarl. In the case of an accident, an in-vehicle
emergency e-call can be generated to the nearest emergency

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 2 5
 point. The system can also provide in-
formation about parking space at any
location in the city.
The system is futuristic, but the fear
is that terrorists can access informa-
tion each moment on traffic trends in
a city. They can know where the traffic
is most congested so as to cause maxi-
mum damage. Officials also fear that
the central control room—from where
the entire ITS facility of a city will be
coordinated—can become the target
of a terror attack, exposing the city to
great risks.
Emergency alert via mobile
In an emergency you can register a
missed call on Softspin’s server. The
server, in turn, will send text messages
to the pre-saved numbers anywhere in
the world with details like the location
of the call, the mobile service provider
and the country. This way, the service
alerts your friends and family that you
need help.
Softspin’s server
number needs to
be saved under a
speed dial on a mo-
bile or a landline to
enable a quick call.
“A message also
reaches the caller
saying that help is
on its way. Even
if the network is
jammed, messages
do pass through as
they don’t require
much bandwidth,” Atoall.com’s search engine
Vinay Sathe, man-
aging director of Softspin, says.
The service, Saviour, is available for der to access a Website, one has to type
a lifetime registration fee of Rs 200 and
Rs 120 as yearly subscription.
Live news on the mobile
Motorola India and Pressmart Media,
a digital publisher, have announced
a live news-on-the-mobile service on
MOTO VE66, MOTOSURF A3000 and
MOTOROKR EM35 phones slated for
distribution in India.
The service will provide you
Check efytimes.com for more news, daily
2 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
with access to branded news content
powered by Pressmart. By selecting
the WAP link ‘Daily News’ on your
Motorola phone, you can receive free
news content and access your favourite
newspapers while on the go.
Newspapers offered on the service
include Indian Express, The Financial Ex-
press, The Asian Age and Deccan Chroni-
cle. A GPRS connection is required to
access the free news content.
New Internet technology
Atoall.com has launched a new In-
ternet technology that uses keyboard
shortcuts to access Google, Orkut,
Yahoo!, Microsoft and similar such
popular sites. For example, if you want
to visit Google, you will have to type
the following three consecutive let-
ters in the keyboard, ‘gghhjj.com.’ To
visit Orkut, you will have to just type
‘ookkmm.com.’
The technology makes it easier for
the illiterate to use the Internet as in or-
three letters twice on the computer
keyboard which are in a straight line;
e.g., ‘C’ or inverted ‘C,’ ‘V’ or inverted
‘V,’ twice, followed by dot (.) com or
ctrl+enter (for www. .com). Shortcut
keys are located together on the key-
board, e.g., rrddcc.com, ccddrr.com,
mmjjnn.com and nnjjmm.com.
This technology search engine in-
vention also allows users to access their
favourite games sites, videos, etc.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Technology
focus

Stage All Set for

high-definition TV
Currently, HDTV broadcast does not take place in India, but the scene is hotting
up with broadcasters producing content for HDTV and consumer electronics
companies offering HD TV sets and set-top boxes

uma bansal are trying to switch consumers at a est-level resolution offered within the

T

premium for HDTV set-top boxes as digital TV category. We can also infer
he highest form of dig- INX Media and STAR TV are already that HD is digital, but not all digital TV
ital television is all set to producing content on HDTV. This is is HD. HDTV has a 16:9 aspect ratio,
storm India. The greatest expected to take off by mid 2009. With which is the same as that of a movie
push has come from the so much of activity happening in this theatre screen.
government’s announce- space, it is good time to dwell on the HD resolution is listed in two dif-
ment that DD (Doordarshan) will subject. ferent forms: “number of lines + type
broadcast the Commonwealth Games of scan” or “number of pixels” (vertical
in high-definition (HD) format. HDTV What is HDTV? by horizontal).
programming through cable/satellite There are two modes of TV transmis- Tarun Jain, country head-India,
also is coming to India very soon, as sion: analogue and digital. Digital Hitachi Home Electronics, gives a
the film industry has geared into HD TV comes in standard, enhanced and breakdown of the HD formats listed by
production. high-definition formats. Standard has how manufacturers label them on their
For the end users, HDTV sets a resolution of 480i, enhanced is 480p, product summaries:
are already available in the market. and high-definition is 720p, 1080i and • 720p or 720×1280 - 720 lines, pro-
Direct-to-home (DTH) TV operators 1080p. Therefore HDTV has the high- gressive scanned

HDTV LCD range by Samsung

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Technology
focus

Bravia W-series HDTV by Sony

• 1080i or 1080×1920 - 1080 lines, How does it differ from

interlaced scanned
• 1080p or 1080×1920 - 1080 lines,
progressive scanned
The number of lines/pixels and
type of scan matter because more
lines/pixels and faster scan equal
a better picture. In ranking the HD
signal formats, 720p and 1080i are
virtually equal in overall resolution,
while 1080p is the best. HDTV also
provides a cinematic theatre experi-
ence with Dolby Digital surround
sound.
conventional TV?
Jain explains that high-definition pro-
grammes are encoded with a type of
resolution: 720p, 1080i or 1080p. The
number stands for the amount of lines
embedded within the signal. The letter
describes the type of scan the televi-
sion uses to display the picture. The
‘i’ means interlaced and the ‘p’ means
progressive.
The number of lines on a televi-
sion is important because it allows for
greater detail in the image. This is a

Analogue vs Digital TV
In the basic analogue TV, the signals are transmitted as continuously varying radio
waves. In fact, the video is transmitted in AM mode, while the audio is transmitted in
FM.
Like radio, analogue TV is subject to noise, interference (such as ghosting and
snow) and attenuation with distance. In addition, the analogue TV signals require a wide
bandwidth for their video and audio signals, which restricts the resolution and overall
quality of the image.
On the other hand, digital TV is transmitted as a series of binary numbers 0’s and
1’s (data bits of information). Computer processing is used to compress it, so it can be
transmitted in a fraction of the bandwidth taken by the equivalent analogue TV signal. The
freed-up extra space can be used for additional video, audio and text signals.
As the signal is basically ‘on’ or ‘off,’ the viewer either sees an image or nothing at all.
There is no signal loss due to attenuation as distance from the transmitter increases. In
case the viewer is too far from the transmitter, there is nothing to see.

3 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Technology
focus
essentially nearly doubles the quality
of picture.
R. Zutshi, deputy managing direc-
tor of Samsung India, says that high-
definition TVs offer the best TV view-
ing possible. HD format contains more
and finer detail than other formats, so
images can have almost lifelike clarity.
The picture quality can be stunning,
especially on a large, wide-screen set.
In technical terms, HD images have
higher definition, meaning more pic-
ture elements (lines or pixels) make up
each image.
HDTV provides wide-screen picture
quality with compact disk (CD) sound
quality. It has over twice the sharpness
and clarity of analogue TV broadcasts
together with a far superior colour
resolution. With HDTV, problems such
as double images from ghosting or
multi-path, snow caused from a weak
signal and picture sparkles from im-
pulse noise are a thing of the past. These
problems often seen on a conventional
television broadcast just do not occur on
high-definition TV. Also, the sound for
conventional TV is only stereo.
However, currently, HDTV broad-
cast does not take place in India, and
the usage of HD resolution is limited to
HDTV by Hitachi DVDs or other media only, so a high-
definition TV is effective if it is used for
viewing DVD titles, etc.
What all is required for
HDTV reception?
You may ask “Do I need a special TV
to be able to see HDTV?” The answer is
that only high-definition televisions can
display HD content in the HD resolu-
tion. Enhanced-definition televisions
can display HD content in a 480p reso-
lution, which is DVD quality. All other
televisions that are analogue of standard
digital will not be able to display HD
content in an HD resolution because
they lack the technology to do so.
As is clear, anyone who owns
a high-definition television can get
high-definition content. One has three
options: over-the-air signals, cable or
satellite. Over-the-air high-definition
signals are those that a typical rooftop
antenna would receive. The signals are
digital and encoded in HD. Over-the-
air signals are free to receive. The only
cost out of pocket would be for the
equipment needed to receive them. To
receive HD programming from a cable
or satellite provider, you would need
to subscribe to their HD package if
they have any. This subscription may
not be free. The provider might require

Sources of HDTV Signals

similar concept to digital photos and
how dpi determines print quality.
In the conventional TV system,
waves are scanned at 480i. This means
that at a given point of time four hun-
dred and eighty (480) lines of pictures
are sent by the broadcaster to the
television. The lines alternate between
odd and even in a succession that is too
fast for the human eye.
HDTV sends around a thousand
eighty (1080) or seven hundred and
twenty (720) lines, which is more
than double the conventional TV. By
almost doubling the amount of lines in
combination with the type of scan, HD
You can receive HD signals from the following sources:
1. Over the air with an antenna. Over-the-air signals are free to receive. However, to
receive these signals, you need an HD tuner. Latest HDTVs have an HD tuner built into them.
For HDTV televisions without a built-in HD tuner, a separate set-top HD tuner box can be
rented from a cable or satellite company, or purchased.
2. Cable or satellite service. To receive HD programming from a cable or satellite provider,
you would need to subscribe to their HD package if they have any. This subscription may not
be free. The provider might require a minimum length of service. You require a set-top box
issued by the cable company, to receive HD content. DishTV and Reliance Communications
(BIG TV) are among the satellite TV providers in India who plan to offer HDTV-ready set-top
boxes.
3. Blu-ray disk can store over nine hours of high-definition (HD) video on a 50GB disk.
4. A DVD-R can also store up to three hours of HD video content, readable by Blu-ray
player, PlayStation 3 video game console or Blu-ray drive installed in a PC, depending on
encoder settings.
5. Video game consoles. The latest generation of game consoles is more HD-friendly.
While Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 let you enjoy HD gaming, the Wii will not. The PlayStation
3 also doubles as a Blu-ray movie player.
6. If your computer graphics card supports the standard SVGA resolution, it can be used
to output video to an HDTV’s ‘PC input’ jack.
7. The DVI or HDMI interfaces of newer computer graphics cards can be used to output
video to an HDTV.

3 2 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

Components of a typical satellite HDTV system; courtesy Wikipedia
a minimum length of service.
An integrated HDTV has an HDTV
tuner built into the TV. So you don’t
have to purchase an external box to
receive HDTV. However, if you sub-
scribe to a cable or satellite service,
you may have to purchase their box to
receive their HD channel service.
In comparison, an HD-upgradable,
HD-ready, or HD-compatible TV has
all that you need to watch HDTV, but
you must add a set-top box to receive
HDTV signals.
When you are not in a mood to
watch television shows, you can con-
nect your HDTV to an upscaling DVD
player or a Blu-ray DVD player. In
order to take full advantage of this
viewing option, your HDTV needs to
have either an HDMI or DVI-HDCP
connection.
Jeremy Hang, division head-Bravia
Display, Sony India, explains that up-
scaling DVD players match the pixel
resolution of a standard DVD to that
of your HDTV. Although the quality is
not the same as watching your DVD in
true high-definition, there is a definite
improvement in the image quality of
your DVDs when played on an upscal-
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Technology
focus
ing DVD player through an HDTV.
In India, Samsung offers two HD-
DVD players. The Samsung 1080PK
is a full-HD DVD player with USB
host and HDMI cable included. The
Samsung F1080 is full-HD stylish DVD
player with HDMI cable included.
Kishalay Ray, general manager-
marketing, Sharp Business Systems
(India), says that not many Blu-ray titles
are currently available in the Indian
market, not making it worth buying at
this stage. However, DVDs can output
the video at 720p or 1080i resolution via
their HDMI jack if it is available in the
DVD player as well as in the TV set.
If one is a gaming freak, game
consoles have been making a slow but
steady conversion to high-definition.
The latest generation of game consoles
is even more HD-friendly. All of the
Xbox 360 game titles run at 720p or
1080i, meaning these can look just as
good as standard DVDs.
Programming other than
HD?
HDTV allows programming other than
the HD content to be displayed on the
screen. There is no drop in quality: On
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 3 3
Technology
focus
HDTV sets, the native resolution is
higher, hence the lower resolution can
be easily accommodated without affect-
ing the quality.
Types and cost of
HDTV sets
HDTVs are available in liquid-crystal
display (LCD), plasma, digital light
processing (DLP) and liquid-crystal-on-
silicon (LCoS) technologies. However,
currently the mainstream technologies
are LCD and plasma.
The cost of HDTV sets varies ac-
cording to the size and quality of tech-
nology. The comparatively high cost
of HDTV sets may be a ‘turn off,’ but
HDTVs offer excellent picture quality
coupled with a big screen experience.
Plasma and LCD HDTVs are wall-
mountable and save space too.
Availability of HDTV sets
Most high-end plasma and LCD TVs
are HDTV-capable. Sony’s Bravia LCD
TVs let you enjoy full advantages of
HDTV technology. With slim and stylish
designs, these can fit anywhere in your
home. Samsung too has a complete port-
folio of HDTV and HD-ready LCD TVs:
the Full HD LCD Series 6 and 5 and the
HD ready Series 4 and 3. In the case of
plasma televisions, the Full HD Series 5
and the 3D Ready Series 4 have also been
launched in the Indian market.
Issues with HDTV
To be able to receive HD content, you
need to have an HD-ready TV set or TV
set with built-in HDTV tuner, which is
comparatively expensive. Also, tradi-
HDTVs are available in
liquid-crystal display
(LCD), plasma, digital
light processing (DLP)
and liquid-crystal-
on-silicon (LCoS)
technologies. However,
currently the mainstream
technologies are LCD
and plasma.
3 4 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
Major Contributors
to this Report
• Tarun Jain, country head-India, Hitachi
Home Electronics
• R. Zutshi, deputy managing director,
Samsung India
• Jeremy Hang, division head-Bravia
Display, Sony India
• Kishalay Ray, general manager-
marketing, Sharp Business Systems
(India)
tional SD programmes originally filmed
in the standard 4:3 ratio, when seen on
an HDTV monitor, will have empty
margins to the left and right of the im-
age because 16:9 wide-screen aspect
ratio is the standard for digital HDTV.
You can choose to fill this unused dis-
play area by stretching the SD shows
horizontally to fill the screen, but this
will only distort the image.
Normally, the HDTV transmission
is provided through satellite and the
same may not be available on free ba-
sis. In such a case, you may be required
to subscribe to HDTV with the service
provider.
HDMI, or component video cables,
must be used to support high-definition
signals. HDMI is an all-digital connection
that allows both HD audio and video to
pass through a single cable. If you use
older video cabling standards like com-
posite or S-Video for connections from
a cable box or satellite dish, you will get
only an SDTV-quality picture.
Another drawback of HDTV is that
most of the operators do not fully fol-
low HDTV specifications. So the HD
picture quality is usually not as good
as promised. Operators tend to use
slower bitrates or lower resolution to
accommodate more channels within the
limited bandwidth, which reduces the
video quality.
While on an analogue TV, the
interference causes the picture to
slowly deteriorate from bad to worse,
interference in HDTV broadcast will
freeze, skip, or display ‘garbage’ in-
formation. 
The author is a deputy editor at EFY
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 careers
Empower Yourself with
Power Electronics
To continue its growth trajectory, India would need a lot more emphasis on
the power sector. So a career in power electronics could prove to be a good
take-off for you
 Sudeshna das
P
ower is one of those sectors
which are showing a promise of
growth and expansion amidst
the economic slowdown clatter. It may
even benefit from the current recession.
Its steady rise can be attributed to the
immediate need for infrastructure.
As corporate majors look to cut
costs and increase productivity, the
one way they are likely to achieve
this is through introduction of a cost-
effective power solution. In fact, the
Target Mission of India ‘Power for
All by 2012’ would mean achieving
the target of 1000 kWh (units) of per
capita consumption of electricity by
this period. Hence, if you wish to
make your own contribution to the
growth story of emerging India, this
is one sector that will provide im-
3 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
mense scope and opportunity.
The power story…
Let’s first probe a little deep inside
India’s growth story. It is well known
that the growth of a country can be
sustained only if its infrastructure
keeps pace with it. Power is the most
prominent vertical amongst the infra-
structural sectors. According to a mid-
term report released by Assocham, it
topped the list of the most preferred
investment sectors with 18.4 per cent of
the total infrastructural investment.
The current economic recession
doesn’t seem to have had any sig-
nificant impact on job opportunities
in the power sector. Commenting on
an upbeat employment scenario in
the power industry, Sunil Bhatnagar,
director, Parker Power System, says,
“In times of an economic slowdown
the government looks to pump in more
with respect to public expenditure,
thus ensuring continuous job creation.
For this reason, the power sector has
the greatest element of anti-cyclical be-
haviour, thereby maintaining a healthy
growth rate”.
Bhatnagar also outlines the new
recruitment plan for his organisation.
The recruitment trends of PSUs also
are in accordance with his comment.
NTPC itself has recruited about 1225
professionals last year and is planning
to hire more than 1000 engineering
and management professionals every
year over the coming years. Other
power companies—private- as well as
public-sector—would also have high
manpower requirements in the coming
years in view of the growth opportuni-
ties present.
Large investments from private-
sector players like Tata Power, Sterlite
Industries, Jindal India Thermal Power
and Lanco Group are increasing the
chances of new job creation. Moreover,
private players in energy management
sectors like Conzerv, Enercon and APC
are also in hiring mode. Bhatnagar
feels that power will be the highest
job-generating sector by 2012.
Be a part of the
power game
Since the power sector comprises a
wide range of firms from fairly large
and mature companies to the SMBs,
the manpower requirement also varies
accordingly. The skill requirements are
vast and there is room for professionals
in product design and development,
project engineering, product manage-
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 careers
ment, marketing and sales. Profession-
als who have a superior understanding
of electronics, instrumentation, electri-
cal, mechanical and power engineering
are required amongst others.
Most of the companies have ambi-
tious expansion as well as diversifica-
tion plans. Companies like NTPC have
taken a number of steps to emerge as an
integrated power company with pres-
ence in coal mining, hydel power gen-
eration, power trading and power dis-
tribution. Accordingly, there are huge
job opportunities for new entrants.
While there is still a shortage of
quality manpower in the power sec-
tor, this seems to be easing out with
changing preferences among the fresh
engineers from IT to core fields like
power and other heavy industries.
“We do find that entry-level technical
graduates are still charmed by the IT
industry, however this trend is chang-
ing and bright youngsters are choosing
careers in the power industry looking
at the long-term growth perspective,”
says Anil Kumar Challyil, technical
services manager, Arrow Electronics.
As an electronics professional you
may find your place in the power
circuit design section of a solutions
providing firm. But opportunities are
present even in the maintenance, in-
strumentation and control sections of
any power plant. Work opportunities
in the power sector primarily include
creation, expansion and enlarging of
existing units by utilising both renewa-
ble and non-renewable energy sources.
Upgradation of the existing capacity
through modernisation of equipment
and introduction of new technolo-
We do find that entry-level technical graduates
are still charmed by the IT industry. However,
this trend is changing and bright youngsters are
choosing careers in the power industry looking
at the long-term growth perspective.
—Anil Kumar Challyil, technical services manager, Arrow Electronics
3 8 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
In the times of an economic
slowdown, the government looks
to pump in more with respect to
public expenditure, thus ensuring
continuous job creation. For this
reason, the power sector has the greatest
element of anti-cyclical behaviour, thereby
maintaining a healthy growth rate.
—Sunil Bhatnagar, director, Parker Power System
gies and better instrumentation may
finally open up new job opportunities.
Adjunct systems operating with core
infrastructure, such as smart energy
management systems for commercial
and industrial units, may be a right
choice for your career.
You may ask “How to get an entry
ticket?” A decent technical background
(ITI, diploma or graduation) along with
fundamental knowledge can secure
your job ticket. However, for some
fields requiring specialised knowl-
edge such as R&D, recruiters look for
postgraduates and doctorates. Many
employers take campus recruits and
train them directly in different areas
of power projects to prepare them for
various roles in the company. Thank-
fully, most of the big players in this
sector still believe in talent building
rather than raiding. This was further
confirmed by Neelam Kumar, execu-
tive director and head of the depart-
ment-power electronics, Aplab, who
considers talent building as a part of
social responsibility.
Power in your pocket
Let’s check whether this field is power-
ful enough to fill your pocket to a good
extent. You could be part of a major
project as a junior engineer and grow in
10-12 years’ time to head major projects.
Speaking of salary prospects, fresh
engineering graduates usually start
at Rs 200,000-Rs 350,000 per annum
and can grow into either generalist or
specialist roles. However, the scene is
a little daunting for diploma holders as
their starting salary range is usually Rs
150,000 to 200,000 per annum.
Even at this moment of economic
downturn, the power sector is offering
salaries in the range of Rs 500,000 to Rs
1 million per annum for professionals
with 5-7 years of experience. It should,
however, be noted that for design-re-
lated roles, the salary is usually closer
to the upper limit. Nonetheless, if you
grab an international opportunity,
the minimum salary may move up to
around Rs 2 million within five years.
Explore the power circuit
I believe, up to this point, you have got
enough boosters from the opportuni-
ties-to-be-grabbed in the power field.
So get ready now to explore the power
circuit. The power field is specifically
suitable for engineering professionals
with multidisciplinary interests, such
as magnetics and mechanics. Exciting
and technically satisfying careers can
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 careers
We believe in building our
talent pool by inducting young
professionals and grooming them
into competent power professionals
through various HR interventions.
We have developed a well-structured system
for recruiting fresh engineering graduates and
diploma holders at the executive level. We recruit
people not only on the basis of qualification and
skill repertoire but, more importantly, also for
their attitude and cultural fit with the company.
We even arrange training programmes for
students of different technical institutes.
—Neelam Kumar, executive director and head of the department-power electronics, Aplab
be pursued in the fields of technical
marketing, design engineering, project
management, and integration and
servicing.
If you consider the application
of power electronics, I must say it is
present wherever there is a need for
control and conversion of electric
power. It may be the tiny converter of
your mobile phone in the range of some
milliwatts, or a giant one of hundreds
of megawatts in a high-voltage direct-
current (HVDC) transmission system.
The main metric of power electronics is
energy efficiency. And as a professional
you are expected to acquire knowledge
and skills needed to design practical
power electronics systems. If you can
achieve it, then control, instrumentation
and maintenance of power systems will
automatically be on your fingertips.
Largely, this is a technical field
and so domain expertise and process
knowledge are very important. Because
of the technology-driven nature of this
field, professionals must at all times
keep themselves abreast of the latest
improvements and technological up-
gradations that are taking place instead
of focusing only on their departmental
4 0 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
concerns. In addition to technical skills,
recruiters are also looking for com-
petencies such as interpersonal skills
and drive for end results down the
ranks. Don’t get nervous. You are not
expected to know everything but your
learning ability should be high as a lot
of training takes place on the job.
Powerful fundamentals
Keep in mind that power electronics is
primarily concerned with the process-
ing of electrical power using electronic
devices. So the key element is the
switching converter. All other devices
are improved versions of it.
In general, a switching converter
comprises three ports—power input
port, power output port and control.
Converters are even classified accord-
ing to the nature of these ports. For
example, in a simple DC-DC converter,
the DC input voltage is converted into
a DC output voltage by changing its
magnitude. The device may perform
some additional functions like rectifica-
tion and inversion of voltage, thereby
acquiring the names ‘rectifier’ and
‘inverter,’ respectively. The third port,
i.e., control, is required to produce a
well-regulated output voltage in pres-
ence of variations in the input and load
currents.
I have already mentioned the met-
ric of power process. High efficiency
is a must for any processing system.
The primary reason for this is not to
save money on one’s electricity bill or
conserve energy. Rather, according to
power rule, it is impractical to design
a low-efficiency converter which can
produce high voltage output.
The next thing that you need to
know is the application of power elec-
tronics. A basic design is modified ac-
cording to the need of the application.
Let’s consider an aerospace application
of power electronics. In the power
system of an earth-orbiting spacecraft,
a solar array produces the main power
bus voltage. A DC-DC converter con-
verts the bus voltage into the regulated
voltage required by the spacecraft
payloads. Battery charge controllers in-
terface the main power bus to the bat-
teries; this controller may also have a
DC-DC converter. The power systems
of almost all spacecrafts and aircrafts
follow this simple scheme.
On the other hand, in an electrically
driven vehicle, batteries are charged
by converters that draw high-factor
sinusoidal current from a single-phase
or a three-phase AC line. The batteries
supply power to the variable-speed
AC motors to propel the vehicle. The
speed of the AC motor is controlled
by the variation of the electrical input
frequency. The inverter produces
three-phase variable output to control
the speed of the motor as well as the
vehicle. In some applications, a DC-DC
converter steps down the original volt-
age to a lower level according to the
electronics need of the systems.
The list of examples may be end-
less. So instead of mugging up the
nitty-gritty of individual systems,
try to understand the function of the
individual elements, so that you can
use them to design the power system
of your choice. You may put special
emphasis on various common systems
to recheck your understanding. A
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 careers
general understanding of locomotives,
battery chargers for telecommunica-
tions, inverter systems for applications
involving renewable energy generation
such as wind and photovoltaic conver-
sion, and also general power utility
systems may help you comprehend
any unknown power system that you
may come across.
Know the elements of
power electronics
Undoubtedly, one of the things that
makes power electronics interesting is
its incorporation of elemental concepts
from diverse set of fields. As a power
electronics professional, you may come
across the basics of analogue circuits,
electronic devices, control systems,
power systems, magnetics, electric ma-
chines and even numerical solutions.
Thus the practice of power elec-
tronics requires a broad understand-
ing of electrical as well as electronics
engineering. In addition, there are fun-
damental concepts which are unique to
power electronics and require special-
ised study.
Let’s start with the switching mode.
High-frequency switching makes con-
verter modeling the central element of
your study. You need to know how
to put a converter in equilibrium. The
principles of steady-state converter
analysis including inductor-volt-sec-
ond balance, capacitor charge balance
and small ripple approximation are of
great importance. Try to get a clear idea
of how these principles are applied
in boost (capable of voltage increase),
buck (capable of voltage decrease) and
cuk (capable of inverting the voltage
priority) converters. For example, ripple
approximation greatly simplifies the
analysis, especially in a well-designed
converter where the switching ripples in
inductor current and capacitor voltage
are comparatively small with respect to
the DC component.
Another important element is
circuit modeling. You are expected to
understand how the DC transformer
model is manipulated and solved
using conventional circuit analysis
4 2 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
In the IT/ITES segment, with
energy efficiency and reduction of
operational costs becoming critical
business goals, two major trends
in data centre infrastructure design
are notable today: power efficiency and power
distribution.
techniques. How the models can be
refined to account for loss elements
such as inductor-winding resistance
and semiconductor ‘on’ resistance and
voltage drops?
Realise the field
Now that you are aware of the basic
elements, it’s time to realise the modus
operandi of the actual devices. Switch
realisation would be a good starting
point. Knowledge about majority car-
rier devices like MOSFETs and minor-
ity carrier devices like BJTs, IGBTs and
thyristors is must. Additional knowl-
edge like the operation of unidirec-
tional switches to handle discontinu-
ous conduction mode, may give you an
edge over your competitors.
Converter circuit is another impor-
tant matter that needs thorough under-
standing. Basically, circuit manipula-
tion, transformer isolation along with
circuit evaluation and design related
skill sets are in high demand. Try to get
familiar with converter dynamics and
control. The basic understanding of
modelling and averaging approaches
will be an added advantage.
In the next step, you have to per-
form the actual design job by apply-
ing all those techniques and concepts
discussed so far. Controller design and
input filter design are the two major
challenges in this field.
Your next challenge is to provide
a solution for real-life systems. Go be-
yond your textbook and enter your own
power electronics design laboratory.
Try to collect some problems pertaining
—Pramod Agashe, COO of APW
to AC and DC equivalent circuit model-
ling and resonant conversion and chalk
out possible solutions. Last but not the
least, update yourself on the latest tech-
nological advances in this field.
Prepare for the future
challenges
Bear in mind that technological ad-
vances are meant to increase energy
efficiency and reduce operational cost.
As a result, the present era is solely
dedicated to green energy and energy-
saving equipment. Understand this
hidden demand and keep pace with
it. Your final-year project may be on
the utilisation of solar energy or wind
energy to run a traditional power sys-
tem—a solar power fuel dispenser, for
example. In fact, there are many ingen-
ious ways to improve power efficiency
through various innovations.
According to industry veterans like
Pramod Agashe, COO of APW, tradi-
tional power distribution units often
fail to cope with today’s high-density
computing environments, so designing
of efficient power distribution system
for data centres may be a good chal-
lenge. Any of these real problems may
be your next food for thought.
Perhaps, at this moment the di-
lemma about your career prospect is
driving you nuts. Boost up your brain.
Dig down the power field. It will pro-
vide you not only a secure job but the
opportunity to be an active part of a
nation-building story. 
The author is a research analyst cum journalist at EFY
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 EFY
REPORT

Salary Survey
electronics Industry Maintaining a vigil
has the current economic downturn affected the salaries in the Indian
electronics industry? Where does it leave employees, as far as prospects of
increments in april are concerned? While attempting to figure out the answers
to these questions, we surmised that, though employee wages are under the
highest scrutiny, it’s time to perform one’s way to a healthy hike

 SudeShna daS increase. This, however, should not be of quarters of 2009, while 67 per cent
a cause of concern for the cream of the foresaw either no imminent change in

I
f you are earning your bread and crop. An EFY research bureau survey the numbers or were unsure.
butter by working for the Indian of 105 firms suggests that the huge do- As expected, cost cutting seemed
electronics industry, it’s time to mestic need and savings-based econo- to be high on the
take up more responsibilities and my of the country help position agenda of
heighten your performance. Returns electronics as one of the few Consumer
at the workplace will now be commen- industries poised for mod- Others Electronics
surate with your performance more erate staffing growth (Value-added 10%
than ever. in 2009 in spite of the Resellers)
On the salary front, it signifies global slowdown. So 12%
salary structures becoming more job seekers in the In-
Components
performance-based, critical functions dian electronics in-
taking centrestage and support func- dustry may heave 14% Industrial
tions witnessing marginal or no salary a sigh of relief! ics 5
% Electronics
E l e ctron 32%
The bird’s egic ace)
Strafet nce & Sp
Methodology eye view (De
Communication
To assess compensation trends in the Indian Has recession hit In-
electronics industry, EFY’s research bureau
& Broadcasting Computer
dian electronics pro-
collected data on salaries across a range of 15% Hardware
sectors and companies. The survey covered
fessionals? Of course 12%
entry-level professionals, with an average it has; though not as
Verticals
work experience of 0-2 years, to top-level dramatically as it has im- surveyed
executives with more than 10 years of work pacted professionals in some
experience. The salary data was compiled of the other sectors. As recruitment most executives.
from 105 companies belonging to these budgets are stretched tighter, many With respect to human resource, this
sectors. organisations are on the lookout for cost-consciousness implies “doing
Since salary data is confidential, names
innovative and cost-effective ways for more while paying less” as companies
of the companies have not been revealed.
The industry ver ticals covered under talent management. The cost head that raise the bar of expectation. They also
the survey are consumer electronics, has risen most rapidly in the recent hinted that the top management was
industrial electronics, computer hardware, years is the ‘pay package.’ Hence, it is taking a salary cut to help companies
communication and broadcasting, strategic also the one that is being met with the tide over.
electronics, components and other specific highest level of scrutiny now. Though India is one of the highest
sectors. Information was collected from The survey found that approxi- paymasters in Asia, the same cannot be
small, medium as well as large companies.
mately 18 per cent of current employ- said for the electronics industry, par-
However, most of the responses came from
medium-sized companies. The results of the ers in the industry planned to increase ticularly in the second half of the fiscal
analysis are presented here. the number of full-time employees year 2008-09. There is a salary freeze in
in their firms within the first couple most companies. However, the salary

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 4 3
 EFY
REPORT
what’s on offer?
Salary range for entry level Salary range for mid level Salary range for senior level
80 Entry Level, Tier-I (0-1 year) 80 80
Mid Level, Tier-I (2-5 year)
Entry Level, Tier-II (1-2 years) Mid Level, Tier-II (5-10 years) Senior Level (More than 10 years)
70 68 70 70

60 60 58 60
Responses in %

Responses in %

Responses in %
50 48 50 50

40 40 40 36
32 33
30 30 28 30 26
21 22 21
20 18 20 20
11 10 11
10 10 10 10
8 7 6
5 3 2 2 3
0 0
0 0
0-1 1-2 2-5 5-7 7+ 0-2 2-5 5-7 7-10 10+ 0-7 7-10 10-15 15-20 20+
Salary range in the unit of Rs 100,000 Salary range in the unit of Rs 100,000 Salary range in the unit of Rs 100,000

cases, firms, in fact, reported a decline

hike or freeze? in salary levels. Availability of surplus
manpower as well as negligible profits
Hike pattern for entry level Hike pattern for mid level due to economic sluggishness were the
80
underlying reasons.
Fiscal ’08-09 80 Fiscal ’08-09
70 Fiscal ’07-08
70 Fiscal ’07-08 71
Expected pay package
60 60 Pay packages offered to electronics
Responses in %

professionals are proportional to their

Responses in %

50 50

40 40 40 experience and hierarchy. These also

30
32 31
28 30 vary with the educational background
26 25
20
23
of the employee, with degree holders
20
10 11 9 12
14
10 11
13
16
attracting higher salary levels within
10 10
10 8
5
2
6 the same band than diploma holders
0 0 0 0 0 0
0
0- 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 20+ Amt
0
0- 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 20+ Amt with similar experience.
Hike Pattern for Entry Level in % Undecided Undecided
Hike Pattern for Mid Level in %
In fiscal 2008-09, due to a dip in the
average salary growth, entry-level em-
bracket for middle- and sen- ployees more or less remained in the
techno-commercial ior-level managers has been
adjusted. This indicates that
same salary bands. Take the youngest
group of employees, for instance, who
jobs gain favour companies are now gradually have less than one year of experience;
getting their middle-manage- 68 per cent of this group continued to
Highest paying job functions
Highest Paying Job Functions ment strategy right and using draw salaries under Rs 200,000 per an-
salary as a tool to retain em- num and 18 per cent stayed within the
33
R&D 24 ployees for better leadership Rs 200,000-Rs 500,000 bracket. Very
18
roles. Companies seem to few firms hired freshers, with most,
Administrative 37 have become selective about such as Cadence Design Systems, pro-
6
Fiscal ’08-09 the kinds of employees they viding free internships at best.
Production 10 Fiscal ’07-08 need to retain and have ac- However, at entry-level, candidates
41
cordingly adjusted the salary with less than two years of experience
Sales & Marketing 24
quotient. The growth in an typically receive between Rs 100,000-Rs
2 average salary for a given 500,000 per annum as CTC. Employees
Others* 5
position has been nominal in receiving Rs 200,000-Rs 500,000 per an-
0 10 20 30 40 50 fiscal 2008-09 in comparison num get increments as their experience
*Other include HR and Finance Responses in %
to the previous year. In some levels increase. In a few cases, the CTC

4 4 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 EFY
REPORT
2 million range. This trend
trends in training reflected in the Rs 2 million+
Training Provision Training Duration salary bracket too. This was
Training Duration
Training Provision indicative of the drop in
98 72 lateral hiring, especially for
Yes Upto 15 Days
higher roles.
97 54

Fiscal ’08-09

No
2
3
Fiscal ’07-08
15-30 Days 8
21 Fiscal ’08-09
Fiscal ’07-08 Hike or freeze?
Considering the current cir-
7
Paid Training 38
78
30-90 Days 33 cumstances, should the em-
ployees expect ‘increments’
Unpaid Training
12
62 90+ Days
0
5
in April, or is this word
irrelevant in today’s con-
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Responses in % Responses in %
text? It’s a mixed bag for the
industry. Although only 10
per cent of the respondents
Rs 1 million with 34 per cent reported ‘no hike’ in the survey, only
more flexibility? people receiving more than a few firms like LG Electronics India
Rs 500,000 a year. The most actually handed out a definite amount
Flexible Work Options
Flexible Work Options noticeable shift in trend was to employees of all levels—it handed
visible in the group having out an average increment of 14 per
Yes 67 over five years of experience. cent to its employees in January 2009.
58
While 57 per cent of these Most firms were not certain about the
Fiscal ’08-09 senior employees drew above amount of increments they intended to
Fiscal ’07-08
No 33
42
Rs 500,000 a year, 22 per cent dole out to staff. For instance, around
of employees moved into the 80 per cent firms have decided to limit
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Rs 700,000-Rs 1 million band the increment to 15 per cent; only 5 per
Responses in % versus the 10 per cent in the cent have decided to provide a hike of
2-5 years of work experience more than 20 per cent. The scene is a
daunting one if you compare
it with last year’s, when 28
paternity leave per cent of the companies
Paternity Leave Option PaternityPaternityLeave Duration
Leave Duration were ready to provide more
than 21 per cent hike for the
Paternity Leave Option Upto 15 Days 75
87 same level.
Things, however, pan out
63
Yes
50 13 Fiscal ’08-09 differently at the managerial
Fiscal ’08-09 15-30 Days
Fiscal ’07-08
19 Fiscal ’07-08 level with around 71 per cent
37
of the respondents stating
No
50 30-90 Days
0
6 that increments at this level
were more closely associated
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0 with individual performanc-
Responses in % 90+ Days 0
es. In some companies, like
0 20 40 60 80 100 A.V. Systems, top-level ex-
Responses in %
ecutives voluntarily declined
to accept pay hikes and even
may even rise to anywhere between Rs range. This is a clear indicator of the paid a cut from their bonuses to help
500,000-Rs 700,000 per annum, depend- efforts made by companies to retain their firms stay afloat.
ing on the candidate’s qualification, middle-management talent.
skill set, critical aspects of the job and However, the trend changed at Techno-commercial jobs
payment practices of the company. the senior level, which comprises gain favour
For mid-level employees with employees with more than ten years The existing human resource demand
around 2-5 years of experience, the of experience. Twenty-six per cent of in the electronics industry stems pri-
pay packet ranged from Rs 200,000- these employees stayed in the Rs 1.5- marily from the junior and middle

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 4 5
 EFY
REPORT
management levels in sales and mar-
keting functions. Given the present
economic scenario, firms have an acute
focus on conceiving new business as
well as capitalising on every possible
sales opportunity. The highest paid
job function in an organisation, once
again, has corresponded with this new
focus. Forty-one per cent of companies
reported sales and marketing as the
highest paid function in their organi-
sations, compared to 24 per cent last
year (fiscal 2007-08)—a huge increase
of 17 per cent.
Furthermore, new-age employers
prefer to perceive prospective employ-
ees as complete packages, endowed
with more than just one specific skill.
Even the requirements of a technical
job can no longer be satisfied solely by
technical competencies; economic and
business process knowledge as well
as requisite soft skills are heralded
as cardinal. Knowledge of enterprise
resource planning (ERP) systems, par-
ticularly in the field of sales automa-
tion, is deemed ‘nice-to-have.’
Surely, companies worldwide
are also looking for innovative prod-
ucts as well as new business models
to establish a niche for themselves
amidst the competitive clutter. In this
context, research and development
(R&D) is turning out to be a key area
where skilled professionals are getting
rewarded now more than ever. This
is confirmed by Mr Basavaraj, manag-
ing director of Neural Systems, when
he says, “In a nutshell, it is an ideal
situation to invest in long-term plans
emphasising on R&D and IP with
adequate, talented manpower.” This
fiscal, 33 per cent of the respondents
identified R&D as their highest paying
function, which is 9 per cent higher
than last year.
Among the sub-segments of the
electronics industry, telecom is show-
ing the maximum promise of growth.
It doesn’t come as a surprise therefore
that R&D and business development
activities in this sector offer the high-
est pay packets for almost all levels of
employees.
4 6 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
Training could be the key
A lull across the salary front could spell
out an opportunity elsewhere. Accord-
ing to 98 per cent of the respondents,
improvement in staff training is a
valuable way of proofing their busi-
nesses for the future. In fact, roughly
78 per cent of the surveyed firms pro-
vided paid trainings across all levels
to improve internal efficiencies and
processes, which is quite promising in
comparison with the 38 per cent figure
for 2007-08.
Apart from the usual expectations
pertaining to remuneration, there is
also the demand in some quarters,
especially from the design engineers,
for a flexible work environment. Pres-
ently, two-thirds (67 per cent) of the
firms surveyed, supported alternative
work schedules or flexible timings,
along with compressed hours of the
week—work for the same number of
hours in lesser number of days. Last
year, the figure was 58 per cent. It
clearly indicates that flexibility is a
major strategy of the firms to retain
key talent.
The scenario may not be so coop-
erative in matters like paternity leave.
Though the proportion of firms (63
per cent) allowing paternity leave was
higher than last year (50 per cent),
companies seemed to be getting strin-
gent about the number of days leave is
granted for. None of the firms allowed
more than one month of leave, with
more firms (12 per cent higher than
2007-08) stipulating around 15 days
only.
To sum up, the electronics indus-
try in India appears to be marching
right ahead, unfazed by the turmoil
around it. While talented individuals
in other sectors may be struggling to
find stepping stones in times when
lay-offs and hiring freezes are the
order of the day, the employees in the
Indian electronics industry have more
than a bright chance to override the
recession and kickstart their careers
in this industry. 
The author is a research analyst cum journalist at EFY
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Manufacture
FLEXIBLE CIRCUITS
getting better
Circuits that stretch, fold or twist will improve numerous devices. One particular
application is biomedical sensors that can be comfortably implanted in the
human body
 Dr S.S. Verma
E
lectronics circuits till now are fab-
ricated mostly on hard substrates.
This rigidity imposes shape limi-
tations for electronic equipment. Though
miniaturisation of integrated circuits has
helped to a large extent in giving the
desired shape to electronic equipment,
much more can be achieved with the
latest developments in the fabrication of
flexible circuits.
Flexible circuitry reduces the size
and weight of a finished product. It
allows increased circuit density and
eliminates bulky connections and
wiring. And the added ability to fold
the circuit expands the boundaries of
design and packaging.
The underlying technology
Flexible electronics, also known
as flex circuits, or flex circuit
4 8 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
boards, is a technology for assem-
bling electronic circuits by mounting
electronic devices on flexible high-
performance plastic substrates, such
as polyimide. Circuits can be designed
in configurations from simple, single-
sided conductive paths to complex,
high-density, three-dimensional as-
semblies utilising a variety of fabrica-
tion materials from low-cost polyester
to mid-range PEN to high-density
adhesiveless polyimide Novaclad. Ad-
ditionally, flex circuits can be screen-
printed silver circuits on polyester.
Flexible electronic as-
semblies may be
manufactured
using the same com-
ponents as used for rigid
printed-circuit boards, allowing
the board to conform to a desired
shape, or to flex during its use.
Developments so far
The original method for flexible CMOS
circuits comprised a 2- to 3-microme-
tre circuit layer sitting atop a plastic
substrate as much as 100µm thick.
It could curve around a small roll of
coins. But the new version has a total
thickness of only 1.7 µm, including
the plastic, which gives it the ability to
wrap around a rod whose diameter is
roughly 85 µm.
In LCD fabrication, glass is used as
the substrate. If a thin, flexible plastic
or metallic foil is used instead of glass,
the entire system can be flexible, as the
film deposited on top of the substrate
is usu-
ally very thin
(of the order of a few
micrometres).
OLEDs are normally used in-
stead of a backlight for flexible dis-
plays, making a flexible organic
light-emitting diode display. Flexible
solar cells have been developed for
powering satellites. These cells are
lightweight, can be rolled up for
launch and are easily deployable,
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Manufacture
which makes them a good match for
the application.
Bendable, twistable electronic
circuits whose performance nearly
matches that of conventional CMOS
chips, have been reported. These
circuits, developed by a team of re-
searchers at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign (USA), are built
from ribbons of silicon only a few
nanometres thick that are mounted on
flexible plastic substrates. The same
group or researchers has developed an
improved plastic circuit that is not only
flexible but also stretchable and fold-
able. To make it foldable, they looked
at the behaviour of everyday objects
and decided to make the circuit much
thinner.
The researchers made plastic cir-
cuits by transferring thin ribbons of
silicon onto glue-coated plastic using a
patterned rubber stamp. But before the
ultra-thin silicon layer is applied to the
substrate, the plastic is heated, causing
it to expand. Once the circuit layer is
deposited and chemically bonded to
the expanded substrate, the plastic is
5 0 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
allowed to cool and contract. Relaxing
the strain causes the circuit layer to
buckle and form wavy patterns like
the bellows of an accordion. It’s the
folds and wrinkles that give the circuit
the ability to stretch and bend without
breaking. The researchers said that in
laboratory tests, the circuits showed no
signs of fatigue even after a few hun-
dred stretch-and-release cycles.
Applications abound
Flex circuits are often used as con-
nectors in various applications where
flexibility, space savings or production
constraints limit the serviceability of
rigid circuit boards or hand wiring.
In addition to cameras, a common ap-
plication of flex circuits is in computer
keyboard manufacturing; today, most
keyboards use flex circuits for the
switch matrix.
Flexible circuits are advantageous
in numerous applications:
1. Tightly assembled electronic
packages, where electrical connections
are required in three axes, such as cam-
eras (static application)
2. Electrical connections where the
assembly is required to flex during its
normal use, such as folding cell phones
(dynamic application)
3. Electrical connections between
sub-assemblies to replace wire har-
nesses, which are heavier and bulkier,
such as in rockets and satellites
4. Electrical connections where
board thickness or space constraints
are driving factors
The researchers are entering into
partnerships with physicians for devel-
opment of flexible biomedical devices
that can be implanted in the human
body in a more comfortable manner;
for example, an implantable sensor
that will monitor electrical activity in
the brain to help predict the onset of
epileptic seizures. The device may also
work in reverse, sending electric pulses
that head off the seizures. This requires
a device that will conform to the rip-
pled geometry of the brain. 
The author is from Department of Physics,
S.L.I.E.T. (deemed to be university), Longowal,
District Sangrur (Punjab)
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 cONSTRUCTION

Microcontroller-Based
Ring Tone Player sunil ku
mar

 Subhajit Roy frequency.

A cylindrical air column with both

M
obile phone ring tones sound ends open vibrates with a fundamental So λ =2L1
like real audio recordings. frequency. Each end of the column Frequency n1 = V/λ (where ‘V’ is
It’s not because of the way must be an antinode, with one node at the velocity of sound)
the melodies are composed, but the the centre for By putting the value of ‘λ,’ we get:
protocol behind playing the melody. the air motion. n1 = V/2L1
The ring tone text transfer language Therefore if If length is half, then:
(RTTTL) is behind those wonderful ‘λ’ is the wave- Frequency n2 = V/L1
lullabies and songs you have on your length of the n1/n2 = (V/2L1) × (L1/V) = 1/2
mobile phone. sound pro- or n1 = 2n2
Basically, a ring tone is the sound duced by an Thus halving the length doubles
made by a mobile phone to indicate an open cylindri- the frequency, i.e., frequency n1 is cre-
incoming call or text message. Here we cal air column, ated with one octave higher (2n1).
present a microcontroller-based ring its length ‘L1’ If the length is made quarter of the
tone generator. Fig. 1: Fundamental
frequency vibration in an
will be: original, the frequency becomes 4n1,
open air column L1 = λ/2 (λ/4+ i.e., two octaves higher.
The basics λ/4) If n1 is octave 1, then
The lowest resonant frequency of a vi- n2 is octave 2,
brating object is called its fundamental then
frequency. Most vibrating objects have n3 is octave 3,
more than one resonant frequency and and so on.
those used in musical instruments If the length is
typically vibrate at harmonics of the doubled, the fre-
fundamental. A harmonic is defined as quency is halved.
an integer multiple of the fundamental That is, the fre-
Fig. 2: PWM signal, where Ts1, ts1 and D1 are the time period, half time
period and duration of note 1, while Ts2, ts2 and D2 are the time period, half
quency becomes
Parts List time period and duration of note 2 n1/2, which is one
Semiconductors: octave lower.
IC1 - AT89C51 microcontroller In music, fre-
IC2 - 7805, 5V regulator Table I quency n1 is called a
T1 - BC337 npn transistor Nokia RTTL Frequencies (Hz) note. The pitch of a
D1-D4 - 1N4007 rectifier diode
LED1 - 5mm LED (For Octave 4 to Octave 7) piano key or guitar
Resistors (all ¼-watt, ±5% carbon): No. Octave=4 Octave=5 Octave=6 Octave=7 string is described
R1 - 330-ohm by the note.
1 A 220.000 440.000 880.000 1,760.000
R2 - 8.2-kilo-ohm According to
R3 - 10-kilo-ohm
2 A# 233.082 466.164 932.328 1,864.655
musical frequency
R4 - 1-kilo-ohm 3 B 246.942 493.883 987.767 1,975.533
conventions, there
Capacitors: 4 C 261.626 523.251 1,046.502 2,093.005
are twelve notes in
C1 - 1000µF, 25V electrolytic 5 C# 277.183 554.365 1,108.731 2,217.461
C2, C6 - 0.1µF ceramic disk
all, namely, A, A#,
6 D 293.665 587.330 1,174.659 2,349.318
C3 - 10µF, 16V electrolytic B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F,
7 D# 311.127 622.254 1,244.508 2,489.016
C4, C5 - 22pF ceramic disk F#, G and G#, where
8 E 329.628 659.255 1,318.510 2,637.020
Miscellaneous: ‘# ‘sign indicates a
9 F 349.228 698.456 1,396.913 2,793.826
X1 - 220V AC primary to 9V, sharp note.
500mA transformer 10 F# 369.994 739.989 1,479.978 2,959.955
According to
XTAL - 11.0592MHz crystal 11 G 391.995 783.991 1,567.982 3,135.963 Nokia RTTTL spec-
LS1 - 8-ohm, 1W speaker
12 G# 415.305 830.609 1,661.219 3,322.438 ifications, note A

5 2 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
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Reference designs
Application notes
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 cONSTRUCTION

Table II
Values in Hex to be Loaded to Timer 1 (Oscillator Frequency 11.0592 MHz)
Notes a a# b c c# d d# e f f# g g#
Octave 4: A4=220 Hz F7D1 F847 F8B6 F91F F982 F9DF FA37 FA8A FAD9 FB23 FB68 FBAA
Octave 5: A5=440 Hz FBE9 FC23 FC58 FC8F FCC1 FCEF FD1B FD45 FD6C FD91 FDB4 FDD5
Octave 6: A6=880 Hz FDF4 FE12 FE2D FE48 FE60 FE78 FE8E FEA3 FEB6 FEC9 FEDA FEEB
Octave 7: A7=1.76 kHz FEFA FF09 FF17 FF24 FF30 FF3C FF47 FF51 FF5B FF64 FF6D FF75
Octave 8: A8=3.52 kHz FF7D FF44 FF8B FF92 FF98 FF9E FFA3 FFA9 FFAE FFB2 FFB7 FFBB

is not specified
for a particu-
lar note, the
default values
are assumed.
After get-
ting the notes,
you must
calculate the
duration for
which a note is
to be played:
Number
of notes per
second to be
played (N) =
60/beats per
minute (b)
=60/125
Net dura-
Fig. 3: Circuit of microcontroller-based ringtone generator tion D in sec-
onds for which
with octave 5 has a frequency of 440 32p, 32c, 32p, 8d, 32p, 8c, 32p, 8g, 32p, a note is to be played = No. of notes
Hz (refer Table I): f, 8p, 16c, 32p, 32c, 32p, 8c6, 32p, 8a, per second × (Default note duration)/
A5 = 440 Hz 32p, 8f, 32p, 8e, 32p, 8d, 32p, 16a#, 32p, (Duration specified for the current
So we get: 32a#, 32p, 8a, 32p, 8f, 32p, 8g, 32p note)
A6 = 880 Hz (A5x2) 1. The first section is the name of = N×d/dn
A7 = 1760 Hz (A6x2) the RTTTL melody, i.e., ‘Happy Birth- = (60/125) ×(4/8)
The space between two consecutive day Song.’ = 30/125
octaves like A5 and A6 is divided into 2. The second section defines the So to play music, all you need to
eleven equally spaced parts on the log- default values for the file. There are do is to get the RTTTL ring tone of the
arithmic scale. Thus there are twelve three categories of default values: du- particular music, then read its note and
equally spaced notes per octave: A5, ration (d=4), octave (o=5) and beat per generate the frequency for the calcu-
A#5, B5, C5, C#5, D5, D#5, E5, F5, F#5, minute (b=125). lated duration (D).
G5, G#5 and then A6 starts. 3. The third section describes the “If the note is dotted; for example,
RTTTL is a simple text-based for- melody. ‘2b’ (here ‘b’ denotes note, not beats
mat that you can use to create ring It is a set of notes separated by a per second), the duration is made 1.5
tones. An RTTTL file is made up of a comma. The notes are given in the fol- times, so that D=1.5D.”
single string divided into three sections lowing format: Generation of PWM frequency.
separated by colons (:). Duration (dn) Note Octave Since we are dealing with digital
In the example of a Happy Birthday 8 c 6 systems, we need to generate PWM
song given below: where ‘dn’ is the duration of the (pulse-width-modulated) signals from
d=4, o=5, b=125:16c, 32p, 32c, 32p, present note. port pin P2.0 of the microcontrol-
8d, 32p, 8c, 32p, 8f, 32p, e, 16p, 16c, If either the duration (dn) or octave ler. A PWM signal consists of ‘high’

5 4 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m



 cONSTRUCTION
period calculation as follows:
1. Timer 0 for calculating
the duration (D)
2. Timer 1 for calculating
the half time period (ts)
The CPU takes certain
number of clock cycles to ex-
ecute an instruction. The sim-
plest instruction takes a single
byte of code and executes in
one machine cycle. The stand-
ard 8051 machine cycle is equal
to twelve oscillator cycles.
We have used a 11.0592MHz
Fig. 4: Actual-size, single-side PCB for the microcontroller-
crystal.
based ring tone generator So time period =
1/(11.0592×106) = 0.0904 µs
Time period of a machine
cycle = 0.0905×12 = 1.085 µs
Timer 0. Timer 0 is a 16-bit
timer that is used for dura-
tion ‘D.’ It is loaded with
value DC00H. Therefore the
number of machine cycles
taken by the timer before it is
reset=FFFF–DC00+1=2400H=
9216 in decimal.
Therefore time taken ‘t’
= 9216×1.085 µs
= 0.001 second
So after timer 0 is set, it will
take 0.001 second to reset.
Fig. 5: Component layout for the PCB For 1-second duration,
the timer needs to be set
(P2.0 = 1) and ‘low’ (P2.0 = 0), i.e., the 1/0.001=100 times.
bit remains ‘high’ for a certain period For duration ‘D,’ timer 0 needs to
of time and ‘low’ for the same period be set Dx100 times.
of time (refer Fig. 2). Timer 1. The half time period is
Time period of the note (Ts) = ‘ts.’
1/frequency of note Therefore the number of machine
Therefore, cycles needed = ts/1.085 µs
Duration of ‘high’ bit (time for If the value of the timer is ‘x,’ then
which P2.0 is ‘1’)= Ts/2 = ts1 (half-time FFFF–x+1 = ts/(1.085x10-6)
period) From this equation, the value of ‘x’
Duration of ‘low’ bit (time for can be calculated.
which P2.0 is ‘0’)= Ts/2 = ts1 (half-time 1’s and 0’s are continuously gener-
period) ated from port pin P2.0 at an interval
So you need to use two timers for of ‘ts’ seconds alternatively until dura-
duration D and half-time period ‘ts.’ tion ‘D’ (in seconds) completes (refer
Use one timer to generate 1’s and 0’s Table II).
at a time interval of ‘ts’ and the other
timer to interrupt the PWM signal after Circuit description
time interval D. Fig. 3 shows the circuit of the micro-
We have used two timers for time- controller-based ring tone generator.

5 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 cONSTRUCTION
At the heart of the circuit is microcon-
troller AT89C51. It is a low-power,
high-performance, 8-bit microcontrol-
ler with 4kB Flash programmable and
erasable read-only memory. It has 128
bytes of RAM, 32 input/output (I/O)
lines, two 16-bit timers/counters, a
five-vector two-level interrupt archi-
tecture, on-chip oscillator and clock
circuitry.
The 11.0592MHz crystal provides
the basic clock frequency to the mi-
crocontroller. Port pin P2.0 of the
microcontroller provides the ring
tone melody signal for speaker LS1.
Transistor BC337 is used for amplifica-
tion. The power-‘on’ reset signal for
the microcontroller is generated by
the combination of capacitor C3 and
resistor R2. Switch S1 provides manual
reset to the microcontroller.
The 230V AC mains is stepped
down by transformer X1 to deliver
the secondary output of 9V, 500
mA. The transformer output is recti-
fied by a full-wave bridge rectifier
comprising diodes D1 through D4,
filtered by capacitor C1 and regu-
lated by IC 7805 (IC2). Capacitor C2
bypasses the ripples present in the
regulated power supply. LED1 acts
as the power-‘on’ indicator and re-
sistor R1 limits the current through
LED1.
An actual-size, single-side PCB for
the microcontroller-based ring tone
generator is shown in Fig. 4 and its
component layout in Fig. 5.
Software
The program plays “happy birthday
to you” in RTTTL ring tone format
using the microcontroller AT89C51.
The source program, written in As-
sembly language and assembled us-
ing assembler ASM51, is self-explana-
tory and easy to understand.
Initialise timer 0 and timer 1 as
16-bit timers with predetermined
value. When you start timer 0, the data
pointer register is loaded with memory
address labeled as ‘SONG.’ After play-
ing the current note, the control jumps
to the next note and it starts playing.
This process continues until the end
of music data is reached. Thereafter,
it starts playing the music from the
beginning.
Nokia RTTTL ringtones can be
downloaded from the following web-
sites:
1. http://www.2thumbswap.
com/members/tones/nokia/tones_
nokia_latest.html
2. http://nokiatone.ifrance.com/
nokiatone/rtttf.htm
3. http://ringtones.frostzone.com/
index.htm
4. http://arcadetones.emuunlim.
com/files.htm
RTTL ringtones can also be tested
on the computer, the software for
which can be downloaded from the
link ‘http://arcadetones.emuunlim.
com/files/nokring_full.zip.’
(Refer “A Cell Phone Player Em-
bedded in Microcontroller” by Manoel
Gomes de Andrade for details.)
EFY note. The source code and other
relevant files of this article are included
in this month’s EFY-CD.

ringtones.asm
$mod51 RET DB 1,24,0FDH,06CH
FLAG EQU 07FH PLAY_NOTE: DB 0,6,0,0
SPEAKER EQU P2.0 CONTINUE: DB 1,48,0FDH,045H
BEGIN: CLR A DB 0,12,0,0
ORG 0000H MOVC A,@A+DPTR DB 1,12,0FCH,08FH
AJMP MAIN MOV R0,A DB 0,6,0,0
INC DPTR DB 1,6,0FCH,08FH
ISR: CLR A DB 0,6,0,0
ORG 000BH MOVC A,@A+DPTR DB 1,24,0FCH,0EFH
LCALL ACTION MOV R1,A DB 0,6,0,0
RETI INC DPTR DB 1,24,0FCH,08FH
ORG 0050H CLR A DB 0,6,0,0
MAIN: MOVC A,@A+DPTR DB 1,24,0FDH,0B4H
MOV TMOD,#00010001B ; MOV R2,A DB 0,6,0,0
MOV IE,#82H ; INC DPTR DB 1,48,0FDH,06CH
MOV TH0,#0DCH CLR A DB 0,24,0,0
MOV TL0,#00H MOVC A,@A+DPTR DB 1,12,0FCH,08FH
SETB TR0 MOV R3,A DB 0,6,0,0
MOV DPTR,#SONG INC DPTR DB 1,6,0FCH,08FH
MOV R0,#02 RET DB 0,6,0,0
LOOP1: ACTION: DB 1,24,0FEH,048H
ACALL PLAY_NOTE CLR TR0 DB 0,6,0,0
CJNE R0,#02,CARRY_ON CJNE R1,#0,DO2 DB 1,24,0FBH,0E9H
SJMP MAIN ;end of mu- CLR FLAG DB 0,6,0,0
sic has been detected so start again SJMP DO3 DB 1,24,0FDH,06CH
CARRY_ON: DO2: DEC R1 DB 0,6,0,0
ACALL PLAY DO3: DB 1,24,0FDH,045H
SJMP LOOP1 MOV TH0,#0DCH DB 0,6,0,0
PLAY: MOV TL0,#00H DB 1,24,0FCH,0EFH
CLR EA SETB TR0 DB 0,6,0,0
SETB FLAG RET DB 1,12,0FCH,023H
SETB EA SONG: ; HAPPY BIRTHDAY DB 0,6,0,0
RUN: JNB FLAG,STOP ; R0 R1 R2 R3 DB 1,6,0FCH,023H
DO: CJNE R0,#0,START DB 0,6,0,0
SJMP RUN DB 1, 12, 0FCH, 08FH ;R0=1 DB 1,24,0FBH,0E9H
START: MOV TH1,R2 indicates there is a note to played DB 0,6,0,0
MOV TL1,R3 DB 0,6,0,0 ;R0=0 DB 1,24,0FDH,06CH
SETB TR1 indicates there is no note to be played DB 0,6,0,0
HERE: JNB TF1,HERE DB 1,6,0FCH,08FH DB 1,24,0FDH,0B4H
CLR TF1 DB 0,6,0,0 DB 0,6,0,0
CLR TR1 DB 1,24,0FCH,0EFH DB 1,48,0FDH,06CH
CPL SPEAKER DB 0,6,0,0 DB 2,0,0,0 ;R0=2 indicates
SJMP RUN DB 1,24,0FCH,08FH end of music
STOP: CLR SPEAKER DB 0,6,0,0 END 

5 8 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 cONSTRUCTION
PC-BASED WIRELESS
STEPPER MOTOR control
 V. Mariyappan
S
tepper motors find lots of ap-
plications in process control,
machine tools and robotics. Es-
pecially in robotics and process control,
it is necessary to control the stepper
motor from a remote place.
Here we describe how to wirelessly
control a stepper motor from a remote
place by using RF modules. For this
wireless stepper-motor control system,
you need to design and develop the
required hardware and software. The
parallel port of the PC is used to con-
trol the direction of the stepper motor
at the transmitter side. RF interface is
used instead of IR to overcome all the
drawbacks of the IR interface. The PC
Table I
Output Power and Current
Drain w.r.t. VCC
VCC O/P Current
5V DC –0 dbm 1.0 mA
12V DC +9 dbm 3 mA
Table II
Technical Specifications of
RF Receiver RX-433
Description Value
Working voltage 4.5V-5.5V
Bandwidth 12 MHz
Sensitivity –103 dbm
Data rate 4800 bps
Max. data rate 9600 bps
Standby current 1, 2 mA
Antenna Whip, strip line or helical
Fig. 1: Block diagram for PC-based wireless control of a stepper motor
6 0 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
mar
sunil ku
signals are transmitted from the RF Parts List
transmitter and received by the RF
Semiconductors:
receiver. IC1 - HT12E Holtek encoder
IC2 - 7806, 6V regulator
Circuit description IC3 - HT12D Holtek decoder
IC4 - CD40106 hex inverter
Fig. 1 shows the block diagram for IC5 - ULN2003 Darlington array
PC-based wireless control of a stepper T1-T4 - BC547 npn transistor
motor. The signals from the parallel T5 - BC548 npn transistor
port of the PC are interfaced to the RF D1-D4 - 1N4148 switching diode
D5-D10 - 1N4007 rectifier diode
transmitter through an encoder. The TX1 - TX-433 RF transmitter
encoder continuously reads the status RX1 - RX-433 RF receiver
of the relay switches, passes the data LED1 - 5mm LED
to the RF transmitter and the transmit- Resistors (all ¼-watt, ±5% carbon):
R1 - 1-mega-ohm
ter transmits the data. At the receiving R2-R5 - 10-kilo-ohm
end, the RF receiver receives this data R6-R9 - 1.2-kilo-ohm
and gives it to the decoder. The de- R10 - 1-kilo-ohm
R11 - 47-kilo-ohm
coder converts the single-bit data into
R12 - 3.9-kilo-ohm
four-bit data and presents to the step- R13 - 470-ohm
per-motor driver. Now, the driver per- Capacitors:
forms the corresponding C1, C3 - 100µF, 16V electrolytic
action, i.e., it rotates the C2 - 0.1µF ceramic disk
stepper motor clockwise
C4 - 10µF, 16V electrolytic
Miscellaneous:
or anticlockwise. BATT.1 - 9V battery
Remote control. BATT.2 - 6V, 4.5Ah battery
For remote control, we S1, S2 - On/off switch
DIP-SW1,
have used the Holtek
DIP-SW2
- 8-way DIP switch
Fig. 2: Pin encoder-decoder pair - 25-pin D-type male
configuration of HT12E and HT12D. connector
of the rf
transmitter Both of these are 18-pin
module DIP ICs. Encoder HT12E has eight address and
Operation of Holtek another four address/data lines. The
HT12E and data set on these twelve lines (address
H T 1 2 D . and address/data lines) is serially
HT12E and transmitted when transmit-enable pin
HT12D are TE is taken low. The data output ap-
CMOS ICs pears serially on DOUT pin. It is trans-
with a work- mitted four times in succession.
ing voltage The data consists of differing
Fig. 3: Pin configuration of the r a n g e of lengths of positive-going pulses for
rf receiver module 2.4V to 12V. ‘1’ and ‘0,’ the pulse width for ‘0’ be-
ing twice the width of the pulse
for ‘1.’ The frequency of these
pulses may lie between 1.5 and 7
kHz depending on the resistance
value between OSC1 and OSC2
pins. The internal oscillator fre-
quency of decoder HT12D is 50
times the oscillator frequency of
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 cONSTRUCTION

Fig. 4: Transmitter circuit for wireless stepper motor control

encoder HT12E. The values of timing
resistors connected between OSC1
and OSC2 pins of HT12E and HT12D,
for the given supply voltages, can be
found out from the graphs given in
the datasheets of the respective chips
(included in this month’s EFY-CD).
The resistance values used in the
circuits are chosen here for approxi-
mately 3kHz frequency of the encoder
(HT12E) at Vcc of 9V and 150 kHz of
the decoder (HT12D) at Vcc of 5V.
The HT12D receives the data from
the HT12E on its DIN pin serially. If
the address part of the data received
matches the levels on A0 through A7
pins four times in succession, the valid
transmission pin (VT) is taken high.
The data on pins AD8 through AD11 of
the HT12E appear on pins D8 through
D11 of the HT12D. Thus the device acts
as a receiver of 4-bit data (16 possible
codes) with 8-bit addressing (256 pos-
sible channels).

Fig. 5: Actual-size, single-side PCB for the transmitter circuit Fig. 6: Component layout for the PCB shown in Fig. 5

6 2 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 cONSTRUCTION
Fig. 7: Receiver-cum-decoder circuit for wireless stepper motor control
Once the frequency of the pair
is aligned, then on ground of any
data pin of the encoder, LED1 of
the decoder should glow. You can
also check the transfer of data on
pins AD8 through AD11, which
is latched to D8 through D11 pins
of the decoder once TE pin is mo-
mentarily taken low by grounding
it through diodes D1 through D4.
RF transmitter and receiver. RF
transmitter and receiver modules
from Alpus India, Mumbai, have
Fig. 8: Actual-size, single-side PCB for the receiver-cum-
been used for RF remote control.
decoder circuit The RF transmitter TX-433 is
AM/ASK type. Its features in-
clude:
1. 5V-12V single-supply opera-
tion
2. On-off keying (OOK)/am-
plitude shift keying (ASK) data
format
3. Up to 9.6kbps data rate
4. +9dBm output power (about
200m range)
5. SAW-based architecture
6. A 45cm wire is adequate for
the antenna
The output power and current
Fig. 9: Component layout for the PCB shown in Fig. 8 drain for Vcc of 5V and 12V are
6 4 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
shown in Table I.
The pin configuration
of the transmitter module
is shown in Fig. 2.
The RF receiver RX-
433 is a 433MHz module.
Its pin configuration is
shown in Fig. 3, while the
technical specifications
are given in Table II.
Transmitter. Fig. 4
shows the circuit of the
transmitter for wireless
stepper motor control.
The receiver address to
be transmitted can be set
with the help of 8-way
DIP switch SW1. When
any of the switch con-
tacts is open the respec-
tive pin will be at logic
1, and when any of the
switch contacts is closed
the respective pin will be
at logic 0. The data pins are pulled high
via resistors R2 through R5.
When pin 2 of the parallel port
goes high, transistor T1 is driven into
saturation and relay RL1 energises. Pin
10 (AD8) goes low through relay RL1
contacts and a ‘0’ is sent at that data
position, while other data pins repre-
sent logic-1 state. The logic circuitry at
the receiver-decoder end decodes the
data appropriately for controlling the
stepper motor.
An actual-size, single-side PCB for
the transmitter circuit (Fig. 4) is shown
in Fig. 5 and its component layout in
Fig. 6.
Receiver and decoder. Fig. 7 shows
the circuit of the receiver-cum-decoder
for wireless stepper motor control.
Assuming that identical address is
selected on the encoder and decoder,
when any of the data pins of the PC’s
parallel port on the transmitter side
is low, the corresponding data pin
of the decoder will go low. The data
outputs (D8 through D11) of HT12D
are fed to inverters N1 through N4,
which, in turn, are connected to driver
ULN2003. The low output of ULN2003
drives the stepper motor. When any
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 cONSTRUCTION
Fig. 10: Main screen of wireless stepper motor
control
data is received, valid transmission
(VT) pin goes high to drive transistor
T5 into saturation and LED1 lights
up.
An actual-size, single-side PCB for
the receiver-cum-decoder circuit (Fig.
7) is shown in Fig. 8 and its component
layout in Fig. 9.
Software
The software program for the user
interface to control the stepper motor
is written in ‘C’ language. The signals
are generated by the outport( ) func-
tion. The speed of rotation of the step-
per motor can be varied by changing
the argument of the delay( ) function.
Direction of rotation (clockwise or
anticlockwise) depends on the switch
function.
When the program (WSTEPPER.
C) is loaded and run, the screen shows
the welcome message. Pressing any key
will lead to the main screen shown in
Fig. 10. The main screen displays three
messages. Pressing ‘c’ key rotates the
stepper motor in clockwise direction,
while pressing ‘a’ key rotates the step-
per motor in anti-clockwise direction.
The program can be terminated by
pressing ‘q’ key.
EFY note. The source code and
other relevant files of this article are
included in this month’s EFY-CD.

WSTEPPER.C
/*PC BASED WIRELESS STEPPER MOTOR CON- tact”}; getch();
TROL*/ int j; }
#include<stdio.h> char ex1[31]={“Email-marietech2003@ya-
#include<conio.h> hoo.co.in”}; void clock(void)
#include<dos.h> int k; {
void main() void clock(void); int p=0x0378;
{ void anty(void); char e;
void dub(void); char ch; clrscr();
char ex[26]={“Programmed by clrscr(); textcolor(14);gotoxy(31,12);
V.MARIYAPPAN”}; textcolor(14);gotoxy(20,6); cprintf(“CLOCKWISE DIRECTION”);
int i; cprintf(“PC BASED WIRELESS STEPPER MO- textcolor(9);gotoxy(1,25);
char ex1[22]={“Programming Language: TOR CONTROL”); cprintf(“Press any key to stop”);
C”}; textcolor(11); gotoxy(24,14); do
int j; cprintf(“FOR CLOCKWISE ROTATION PRESS {
char ex2[28]={“Operating system: Win- ‘c’”); outport(p,1);
dows 98”}; textcolor(11);gotoxy(22,16); delay(200);
int k; cprintf(“FOR ANTICLOCKWISE ROTATION outport(p,2);
char ex3[39]={“PC BASED WIRELESS STEPPER PRESS ‘a’”); delay(200);
MOTOR CONTROL”}; textcolor(9);gotoxy(31,20); outport(p,4);
int l; cprintf(“FOR EXIT PRESS ‘q’”); delay(200);
clrscr(); ch=getch(); outport(p,8);
for(l=0;l<39;l++) switch(ch) delay(200);
{ { outport(p,0);
textcolor(14);gotoxy(21+l,9); case ‘c’:clock();break; sound(1000);
cprintf(“%c”,ex3[l]); case ‘a’:anty();break; delay(200);
delay(50); case ‘q’: nosound();
} clrscr(); }
sound(1900); { while(!kbhit());
delay(500); for(j=0;j<29;j++) getch();
nosound(); { dub();
delay(100); textcolor(9);gotoxy(27+j,14); }
for(i=0;i<26;i++) cprintf(“%c”,ex[j]);
{ delay(30); void anty(void)
textcolor(11);gotoxy(27+i,16); } {
cprintf(“%c”,ex[i]); for(k=0;k<31;k++) int p=0x0378;
delay(30); { char e;
} textcolor(9);gotoxy(26+k,15); clrscr();
for(k=0;k<28;k++) cprintf(“%c”,ex1[k]); textcolor(14);gotoxy(30,12);
{ delay(30); cprintf(“ANTI CLOCKWISE DIRECTION”);
textcolor(9);gotoxy(26+k,18); } textcolor(9);gotoxy(1,25);
cprintf(“%c”,ex2[k]); outport(0x0378,0); cprintf(“Press any key to stop”);
delay(30); textcolor(14);gotoxy(1,25); do
} cprintf(“Press any key”); {
for(j=0;j<22;j++) getch(); outport(p,8);
{ exit(0); delay(200);
textcolor(9);gotoxy(29+j,20); } outport(p,4);
cprintf(“%c”,ex1[j]); default: clrscr(); delay(200);
delay(30); textcolor(12);gotoxy(33,1 outport(p,2);
} 4); delay(200);
sound(1800); cprintf(“WRONG KEY outport(p,1);
delay(500); PRESSED”); delay(200);
nosound(); for(i=0;i<5;i++) outport(p,0);
getch(); { sound(2000);
dub(); sound(1000); delay(200);
} delay(100); nosound();
nosound(); }
void dub(void) delay(100); while(!kbhit());
{ } getch();
int i; dub(); dub();
char ex[29]={“For any clarification con- } } 

6 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 first look!
the latest Home and office products
World’s First 200Hz LCD TV
Watch action and sports without jerks on Sony BRAVIA Z450A
Price:
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Sony claims to have introduced the
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200Hz technology in India. With its
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Bravia Z450A takes home entertain-
Gen-next Keyboards and Pianos
The new keyboards and pianos from Casio
come with Indian tones and rhythms
Casio India has launched a new range
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combine tradition with technology.
The multifunctional keyboards come
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6 8 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
ment to the next level.
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Give edge to your business
presentations with Sharp’s PG-
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Sharp Business Systems (India) has
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Both the models are ideal for use with
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sized venues.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m

Affordable
Mobile Phones
Say goodbye to headsets as LG
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Price:
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7 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
first look!
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Hear your iPod the Bose way
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The BenQ CP270 and MP727 are good for business travelers
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the MP727 high-brightness projector is projector has HDTV compatibility,
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suit the needs of small- and medium- 1.3 (with HDCP). The universal audio
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w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 first look!
Tabletop Desktops Airtel IPTV
The HP CQ 2000 series desktops weigh only 3.5 kg and come loaded
with Compaq Bhasha vernacular interface
Service
Airtel’s digital TV interactive
The Compaq Presario CQ 2000 series and do what you need to.  The CQ offers telephone, broadband
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of Hewlett Packard (HP) is a sleek, eco- 2000 is Energy Star certified for being
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modern households, this small device Price: Rs 18,990 plus taxes TV interactive—its Internet protocol
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The CQ 2000 also comes initially available to custom-
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vernacular interface. active claims to bring many
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Ultra-Short-Throw Projector comfort of your TV set. Time-shift

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problems. projectors.
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in throw distance (ca- provides crisp, flicker-free images and store favourite programmes for
pability to project at XGA resolution. Brightness seven days. Movie-on-demand with
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Price: Rs 125,000 a guest room in a hotel! top box.

7 2 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 Buyers’
Guide

Personal
Music Players
Personal music players are available in a multitude
of formats, sizes and feature sets. So you are
bound to get confused in selecting the right one.
Here are the guidelines for a smart buy

iPod touch

Uma Bansal There is loss of quality with each sub- dedicated CD players, MP3-enabled

P

ersonal music players are
of two types: analogue and
digital. Analogue players
are long-play gramophone
record/cassette type, while
digital players can be uncompressed
(capable of CD playback) or com-
pressed (capable of MP3/WMA/AAC
playback).
The quality of analogue music is
excellent to start with but deteriorates
over the usage period of time. Also,
mechanical devices are used for play-
back, which are bulky and prone to
wear and tear. Portability is lesser.
sequent copy. Storage becomes head-
ache when collection grows bigger.
On the other hand, the quality of
digital music varies from average to
excellent depending upon the conver-
sion format and compression technique
used, quality and the technological
advancement of replay device. Con-
sistency of music quality is very high.
Playback devices are compact to ultra-
compact. And storage is no issue for
compressed music.
What’s available in digital?
When going for a personal music
player, you have a choice between
mobiles and portable MP3 players.
Of these, MP3 players are ubiquitous
today.
Portable MP3 players. These are
continually evolving from simple
audio players to complex multimedia
devices. Most can show digital photos
transferred from your computer, some-
times with accompanying music. Many
can also play movies and music videos
downloaded from the Web.
Among the flurry of models avail-
able, Apple’s iPods account for ma-
jority of MP3 players sold. Apple’s
success rests in part on its creation of
a self-contained digital entertainment

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 7 3
Buyers’
Guide
system. Its online iTunes store offers
a large library of online video content,
supplementing its dominance over
online music sales.
MP3 players score high over mo-
biles on the following counts:
1. The sound clarity of portable
MP3 players is far superior to MP3-
enabled mobiles.
2. The battery life of MP3 players
can be up to 35 hours, without requir-
ing recharging even for weeks.
3. Some MP3 players come with
very high ease of use while searching
for the songs or storing and retrieving
different album arts.
There are hundreds of MP3 players
to choose from, all with their own ad-
vantages. Major brands of MP3 players
include Apple, Creative Labs, iRiver,
Philips, RCA, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony
and Toshiba. Brands from smaller com-
panies are also available in the market.
MP3 playback has also been incor-
porated into handheld products like
CD players, cell phones and personal
digital assistants (PDAs).
Digital MP3 players can be differ-
entiated based on the type of memory
used: Flash and hard-disk.
Flash-memory type. Players that use
Philips personal audio player
7 4 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
MP4 players, also known as personal video players,
let you view video clipping/video films apart from
listening to audio. These score over MP3 players
in that they have a larger display screen and can
support more formats.
flash memory are extremely sturdy
and robust for usage on the move. The
reason is these have no moving parts,
so you can take them for jogging and
your music won’t skip. They are the
smallest and lightest players, measur-
ing no bigger than a pack of playing
cards. Flash memory is available up
to 64 GB. In India, you can get up to
16GB only. Most users prefer flash
memory-based music players. MP3
players can also double as USB mem-
ory sticks. Some may have expansion
slots to add more memory via card
slots on the player.
However, MP3 players are little
expensive in terms of per GB cost com-
pared to hard-disk type.
A good example of MP3 players is
Sony’s Walkman. Catering to music
fanatics with countless CDs at home,
Sony’s collection of MP3 Walkman is
able to shrink your multitude of CDs
into just one small device. The flash
memory digital music player range
does not only look good, it can accom-
modate unlimited music transfers or
even serve as a data storage device.
Some of the latest Walkman video
MP3 players include NWZ-E436F/P
and NWZ-E435F/B. Both of these are
compact and light-weight, come with
FM tuner, support high-quality video
playback and have a user-friendly
interface for easy operation. The 4GB
NWZ-E436F/P is available for Rs 6490,
while the 2GB NWZ-E435F/B is priced
at Rs 4990.
Hard-disk memory type. These play-
ers use mechanical parts and are prone
to usage issues when used while
skipping or dropped down. They are
larger and heavier than flash players.
The memory capacity cost per GB is
low. In India, you can get up to 160GB
hard-disk player. It can store up to
40,000 songs.
Hard-disk MP3 players like Apple
iPods lead the portable audio world
in terms of storage. The limiting fac-
tor is usually price. In general, buy
as large a memory as you can afford,
but if you only need the space to hold
a thousand tunes, there is no reason
to spend the extra money for a 40GB
player.
Portable MP3 players can be further
differentiated based on the formats:
1. MP3-only audio players. Branded
good-quality MP3-only players are
available for Rs 1500 to Rs 6000. Chi-
nese unbranded versions can come for
as less as Rs 600-Rs 2000.
2. MP4 players. MP4 players, also
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Wi n n ers of Diwali Dhamaka
1st Prize
Plasma TV

Mrs Poonam Kapoor, Director, EFY Group,

presenting the Plasma TV to
Ms Deepalaxmi, the First Prize Winner

2nd Prize 1. Mr Vilas Katke, Mumbai

2. Mr Earnest Selva Paul, Secunderabad
6. Great Lakes Instt. of Management, Chennai
7. Mr Rahul Singh Kotesa, Goa
MP4 Player 3. Mr Rishi Kumar, Delhi 8. Collage of Engineering, Maharastra
4. Mr Vijay Kumar, Bangalore 9. Bharathiyar Centenary Memori, Tamil Nadu
5. Sarada Instt of Tech. & Science, Khammam 10. Ms S Padhmalakshmi, Chennai

36. Perfect Communications, Ludhiana 59. Mr A.M. Panduranga, Karnataka 81. Vimala College, Trichur

3 Prize
rd
Travel Bag
1. Mr Viraj Patel, Mumbai
2. Ms Shruti Verma, New Delhi
3. Ranganathan Engineering, Coimbatore
4. SRA Systems Ltd, Chennai
5. Mr Sri Balaji M, Bangalore
6. Mr Ravinder Reddy Tumu, Bodhan
7. Mr Anuraj Anand, Pathanamthitta
8. Sloka Telecom Pvt Ltd, Bangalore
9. Akashganga AME India Pvt Ltd,
Chennai
10. Mr V Sundaresan, Chennai
11. Mr Darshan Kumar, Punjab
12. Mr Om Prakash Kanoongo, Mumbai
13. Mr Jaisingh Varma, Mumbai
14. Mr Niranjan Sahoo, Visakhapatnam
15. Mr K Parthiban, Tiruchirappalli
16. Mr N M Irshath, Kayalpatnam
17. Mr Vismay Buche, Hyderabad
18. VVM's Shree Damodar College, Goa
19. Mr P R Mantry, A P
20. Dr Bhagwati Prasad, Span, Mumbai
21. Mr Sivaji Mopidevi, EATON, Pune
22. Mr Kishor Narkhede, Secunderabad
23. Industrial Training Instt, Pune
24. St Mira's College For Girls, Pune
25. Dr P K P Mahamood, Kerala
26. Mr Steve Antony Sequeira, Karnataka
27. Indira Shiva Rao Polytechnic,
Karnataka
28. V N Krishnaswamy Naidu, Coimbatore
29. Mr Narendra K Sangame, Karnataka
30. Mr A Sudarshan, Virudhunagar
31. Mr Ramkumar R, Coimbatore
32. Government Industrial, Chittoor
33. Mr Biju Kumar J, Kerala
34. Mr T Vetrivel, Tamil Nadu
35. Fr Nijo, Principal, Kerala
37. Rajeev Electronics Pvt Ltd, New Delhi
38. The Vazir Sultan College of Engg.,
Khammam
39. Mr R K Maharana, Orissa
40. Mr Sajith Kumar V R, Bangalore
41. Mr Pundalik Sutar, Mumbai
42. Siemens Enterprises Communications
Pvt Ltd, New Mumbai
43. Mr Sunil R, Kerala
44. Safa College Of Engg & Tech, Andhra
Pradesh
45. Mr B N V Prasad, Andhra Pradesh
46. Mr Venkatesh V, Chitradurga
47. Mr B L Desai, Karnataka
48. Mr Krishna Prasad Y Bhat, Karnataka
49. Mr Biswanath Das, Kolkata
50. Sivanandha Mills Ltd, Coimbatore
51. Shriram Instt of Engg Technology,
Maharashtra
52. Ms Lalita Bhardwaj, Sonepat
53. City Power Conversion, Secunderabad
54. Mr Syan Kumar R, Cochin
55. Mr Vinod Kumar P P, Kerala
56. Mr Pankaj Bhagat, Hyderabad
57. Mr Manoj Rakhyani, Madhya Pradesh
58. VLB Janakiammal Polytechnic College,
Tamil Nadu
60. Mr Manuvel Nadar M, Kerala
61. Mr Raghavendra C, Karnataka
62. Mr Bharat H Karani, Mumbai
63. Mr V R Aneesh, Kerala
64. Mr K Sathianarayanan, Chennai
65. Sri Sankara Arts & Science College,
Tamil Nadu
66. Mr Dinesh Malyiya, Rajasthan
67. Mr Labh Singh, Bathinda
68. Info Instt of Engg, Coimbatore
69. J R Communications & Power
Controls, Trichy
70. Al-Madina College of Computer
Science, Andhra Pradesh
71. Ms Vijayalakshmi K, Bangalore
72. Mr Deependra Kumar Rajput,
Bangalore
73. Mr Arvind Kumar, Kaithal
74. Mr Ramakrishna V, Bangalore
75. Centre for Environment Education,
Ahmedabad
76. Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Engineering
College, Tamil Nadu
77. Sandur Polytechnic, Karnataka
78. Mr Kirit P Budh, Gujarat
79. Mr Sadiq Hussain, Dibrugarh
80. Mr Kirit P Budh, Gujarat
82. Rotary Midtown Library, Rajkot
83. Ms Snehal Joshi, Gujarat
84. Mr Komel Bhojani, Pune
85. The ICFAI Institute of Science &
Technology, Jaipur
86. Mr Sachin G. Gune, Pandharpur
87. Mr Z Jatin Shah, Mumbai
88. R P Gogate College of Arts &
Science, Maharashtra
89. St Edumund's College, Meghalaya
90. Amity Electronics Corporation,
Mathura
91. Mr Bhaskar N Chhibber, Pune
92. Sangamner Nagarpalika Arts,
Maharashtra
93. Mr Charan Jit Singh, New Delhi
94. Mr Sumanta Sarkar, Gwalior
95. Mr Sanjay V M, Bangalore
96. Sree Narayana College of
Technology, Kerala
97. Mr Satish Kumar Bidwaik,
Mumbai
98. Mr Suresh S, Kerala
99. Sri Venkata Ramaswamy,
Karnataka
100.Mr Tufan Sharma, Maharasthra

EFY Enterprises Pvt Ltd, D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi 110 020 Ph: 011-26810601-03;
Fax: 011-26817563, E-mail: subscribe@efyindia.com, website: www.efyindia.com
Buyers’
Guide
known as personal video players,
let you view video clipping/video
films apart from listening to audio.
These score over MP3 players in that
they have a larger display screen and
can support more formats than MP3
players. Like MP3 players, these may
come in hard drive or flash memory
versions. Good-quality branded MP4
players are priced between Rs 2000
and Rs 18,000.
MP4 players from Humx are avail-
able in screen sizes ranging from 7.1
cm (2.8 inches) to 7.6 cm (3 inches),
with built-in capacity of 1 GB, 2 GB
or 4 GB. There are four models in all:
MP252, MP342, MP432 and MP522.
All are MLC flash memory-based and
support rechargeable Li-ion battery,
20 FM channels, numerous audio and
video formats (MP3, WMA, WAV,
DAT, VOB, MP4, MOV, ASF, ASX and
WMV), e-book and game function.
The MP252 and MP432 also support
RM/RMVB, AVI, FLV, 3GP and MPG
formats.
CD players with ‘MP3’ compat-
ibility. Other than flash-memory and
hard-disk portable players, many of
today’s portable CD players also let
you play digital music saved on disks.
But these don’t support the copyright-
protected formats from online music
stores. Controls and displays are as
good as in portable MP3 players, and
Humx MP4 player
7 8 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
you can group songs on each disk
according to artist, genre and other
categories.
A CD, with its 650 to 800MB stor-
age capacity (about 150 to 200 songs),
can hold more than ten hours of MP3-
format music at the standard CD-qual-
ity setting. You can create MP3 CDs
using the proper software and your
PC’s CD burner.
Cell phones. An increasing number
of phones have built-in MP3 play-
ers—some with controls and features
that rival standalone players. Some
cell-phone providers let subscribers
download music over their networks.
Song capacity is often determined by
the size of the external memory card,
as well as the phone manufacturer,
carrier or music provider.
What to look for in an
mP3 player?
Size, weight and design. Let’s face it,
aesthetics go a long way. Just like mo-
bile phones, MP3 players have become
fashion accessories. The player should
also be lightweight, compact and easy
to operate with one hand. Some MP3
players are so small that these can
hang off a keychain, while others will
barely fit in your hand.
Tomonori Moroda, division head,
personal audio, Sony India, says that
the smallest players are great for
workout routines, jogging or even
clipping to a shirt lapel for everyday
use. Larger MP3 players are fantastic
for playing video and enjoying music,
but these are typically much more ex-
pensive and can be considered niche
products with far fewer accessories.
Appearance aside, a player’s design
also goes hand in hand with its size
and weight. This can vary a lot be-
tween devices, the lightest weighing
around 20 gm.
Hard-disk players tend to be much
heavier than their flash counterparts
due to the weight of the hard disk
and the larger battery required. Light-
weight and sleek flash-memory-based
players are the current style state-
ment.
Whichever MP3 player you choose,
make sure you’ll be comfortable using
the device. Look for a display that is
easy to read. Also, the controls should
be easily accessible.
Audio format. MP3 (Moving Pic-
tures Expert Group Audio Layer 3)
is just one of the many formats you
can play on digital audio players. It
is a digital audio format encoded on
computer from a source such as CD.
The files are compressed but retain
near-original sound quality. Most
MP3 players can play one or more
other compressed audio formats
too, such as Advanced Audio Cod-
ing (AAC), Ogg Vorbis (OGG) and
Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio
(WMA). Make sure that your player
is compatible with MP3, WMA and
AAC at least.
Here’s how these audio formats
differ:
WMA. A Windows Media Audio
file is about half the size of an MP3 file,
but offers similar sound quality.
If you want to fit as many songs
as possible onto your audio player,
look for WMA compatibility. A 60GB
WMA-compatible MP3 player can
store up to 30,000 songs in WMA for-
mat—or just 15,000 in MP3.
MP3Pro. It has better audio quality
than MP3, but isn’t widely popular
among manufacturers.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 Buyers’
Guide
Pros and cons of MP3 players
Pros
• Most MP3 players are compact and light
• With the lack of moving parts, unlike CD players, there is no chance of skip, whether
the user is jogging, on a bumpy car ride or cycling
• These can store large collections of music, thus usually supporting your playlists on
a single device
• Often contain extra features such as radio
Cons
• More expensive than older-format devices
• Some storage formats (such as MP3) could be superseded
• Encoding files and transferring data can be time consuming and require other devices
such as PCs
—Tomonori Moroda, division head, personal audio, Sony India

OGG. Ogg Vorbis format has ex-
cellent sound quality and is gaining
popularity.
AAC. Dolby’s Advanced Audio
Coding format is used in Apple iPods
and can be downloaded from Apple’s
Internet music store ‘iTunes.’
WAV. It’s uncompressed audio, just
as you would hear on a standard CD.
Storage capacity and format.
The storage capacity of an M3 player
depends on the memory used. As
mentioned earlier, in India you can
get up to 16GB flash player or up to
160GB hard disk player. A 1GB player
can store around 250 songs (16 hours
of music).
Hard disk-based players can store a
fairly large collection of songs, but are
expensive and not as sturdy as flash
memory-based players.
Some players may use memory

Sony NWZ-B130F series

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 7 9
Buyers’
Guide
cards such as MultiMediaCard (MMC),
SecureDigital, CompactFlash and
MemoryStick (for Sony) for storage. In
case you have a handheld gadget like
cellphone or digicam using memory
card, make sure that you choose an
MP3 player that accepts that particular
card too.
Battery type, replaceability and
life. Most players come with an inbuilt
rechargeable battery. When you con-
nect it to your computer or laptop, the
battery gets charged automatically.
After full charging, it can play audio
for up to 15-30 hours and video for up
to 2-6 hours depending upon the brand
and model of player you are using.
Battery life of no less than 12 hours
for music and four hours for video is
a good bet. Rechargeable batteries last
up to three years depending on the
usage.
A few players have battery bays
for AA or AAA batteries. Generally,
users don’t prefer the recurring cost of
replaceable batteries.
Display. The display lets you eas-
ily select your music by artist, album
or genre. It is also useful when you’re
looking for a particular radio station.
In audio formats, the displays avail-
able are 2.5cm black & white (capable
of one to three lines), 2.5cm colour and
3.8cm OLED.
In video formats, the screen size
varies from 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) to 8.9
cm (3.5 inches) with 262,000 colours.
The screen type varies from TFT to
QVGA/WQVGA. The resolution also
varies from 128x128 to 240x400.
Hard disk players may come with
a colour screen for song info and for
viewing your digital photos.
Music store. Online music buying
is not very prevalent in India but is a
normal practice in West. The benefits
of online music buying are:
1. Offers instant, legal access to
hundreds and thousands of songs
2. Allows you to preview/prelisten
and purchase individual songs instead
of the whole album
3. Legal source complies with copy-
right laws
8 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
4. More consistent and higher-qual-
ity metadata
Software bundled with the player.
Good bundled software is a great bo-
nus as the quality of your recordings
depends on the quality of software
you use.
Media player is the software used
for playback of multimedia files. Typi-
cal features of such a software are:
1. Rips music from a CD and saves
it as an MP3 file
2. Burns MP3 file to CD or DVD
3. Organises MP3 files with ID3
data tags
4. Allows you to create your own
playlists
It’s important that the media player
software is supported by the operating
system of your computer.
Some common software are iTunes,
Real Player, Windows Media Player,
Quick Time and KM player.
Other extra features (like FM tuner,
voice recording, games, etc). Most
MP3 players come with FM tuner. FM
comes very handy for current news
update and change in music enter-
tainment. Lots of college students are
using voice recording feature very in-
novatively. They record lectures in the
classroom and prepare notes at leisure.
This helps them focus on the content at
the time of lectures. A 1GB MP3 player
can support voice recording of up to 65
hours, while a 2GB player can support
up to 135 hours.
FM tuner and voice recording are
standard features on all Philips digital
players. Also, high-end players from
Philips come with inbuilt noise cancel-
lation feature.
Accessories. Flash-based MP3 play-
ers need speakers and amplifiers for
loud sound. Lots of docking systems
are available for these music players.
The small and sleek players can be
worn on the body as ornaments. The
related accessories are available in
various shapes and sizes. Philips pro-
vides high-definition earphones with
noise-isolation technique. 
The author is a deputy editor at EFY
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 circuit
ideas
Triple Power Supply s.c. dwiv
edi

 Sandip Trivedi and P.D. Lele is used for op-amp-based analogue

circuit experiments.

T
his low-cost, multipurpose
power supply fulfils the re-
quirements of almost all labora-
tory experiments. Nonetheless, it can
be easily fabricated by hobbyists.
A single transformer is used to
build this triple power supply. Regula-
tor IC LM317 generates variable power
supply of 1.25 to 20V, 1A. The dual
±12V, 1A power supply is generated
by regulators 7812 and 7912. Similarly,
dual ±5V, 1A power supply is gener-
ated by regulators 7805 and 7905.
‘On’/‘off’ switches (S2 through S4)
select the required power supply. Vari-
able power supply is used to study the
characteristics of devices. Fixed +5V
power supply is used for all digital,
microprocessor and microcontroller
experiments. Dual ±12V power supply
Fig. 1 shows the circuit of the triple
power supply, while Fig. 2 shows the
pin configuration of the regulators
used in the circuit. Transformer X1
steps down the mains power to deliver
the secondary output of 18V-0-18V.
The transformer output is rectified by
full-wave bridge rectifier BR1, filtered
by capacitors C1, C2, C3, C7 and C8,
and regulated by IC1 through IC5.
Regulator IC1 (LM317) provides vari-
able voltages (1.25 to 20V), while IC2
and IC4 provide regulated +12V and
–12V, respectively. The output of IC2 is
fed to regulator IC3 (7805), which pro-
vides fixed +5V. Similarly, the output
of IC4 is fed to regulator IC5 (7905),
which provides fixed –5V. Capacitors
C4 through C6, and C9 through C11,
are used for further filtering of ripples
in positive and negative regulated
power supplies. LED1 glows to indi-
cate that +5V is available, while LED2
indicates that –5V is available.
Switch S1 is used for mains ‘on’/
‘off’. Using switches S2 through
S4, any of the three supplies can be
independently turned off when not
required in a particular experiment.
This reduces unnecessary power dis-
sipation and increases the life and
reliability of the power supply. Since
the circuit uses three terminal regula-
tors, only capacitors are required at
the input and output. The use of few
components makes the circuit very
simple. The three terminal regulators
have heat-sink provision to directly
deliver 1A output current. To ensure
the maximum output, do not forget to

HEAT SINK

S2 = FOR VARIABLE VOLTAGE IN IC1 OUT

3
LM317 2
S3 = FOR +12V AND +5V S2 1
R1
ADJ. +1.25 TO 20V
S4 = FOR –12V AND –5V 120

S1-S4 = ON/OFF SWITCH C3

0.1µ
VR1 GND
2.2K
+12V
POT

S1
ON/OFF HEAT SINK HEAT SINK
SWITCH
IN IC2 OUT IN IC3 OUT
1 7812 3 1 7805 3
X1 S3 2 2
F1
1.5A GND GND
R2
FUSE
BR1 330
C1 C4 C5
L W04 1000µ C2 100µ 10µ
+5V
C6
230V AC 35V 0.1µ 25V 16V 0.1µ
50Hz
BR1 LED1
N W04

GND
X1 = 230V AC
PRIMARY TO 18V-0-18V, C7 C8 C9 C10 R3
1.5A SECONDARY 1000µ 0.1µ 100µ 10µ 330
TRANSFORMER 35V 25V 16V C11 –5V
0.1µ
GND GND
1 1 LED2
BR1-W04 2 IC4 3 2 IC5 3
1.5A, BRIDGE S4 IN 7912 OUT IN 7905 OUT
RECTIFIER

HEAT SINK HEAT SINK

–12V
GND

Fig. 1: Tripple power supply

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 8 1
circuit
ideas
Fig. 2: Pin configurations of regulators
use heat-sinks for the regulators.
The three-terminal regulators are
almost non-destructible. These have
inbuilt protection circuits including
the thermal shutdown protection. Even
if there is overload or shorting of the
output, the inbuilt overload protection
circuit will limit the current and slowly
reduce the output voltage to zero.
Similarly, if the temperature increases
beyond a certain value due to excessive
load and heat dissipation, the in-built
thermal shutdown circuit will reduce
the output current and the output volt-
age (gradually) to zero. Thus complete
protection is provided to the circuitry.
Assemble the circuit on a general-
purpose PCB and enclose in a box as
shown in Fig. 3.
The step-by-step procedure to build
the triple power supply for the labora-
tory follows:
earthing tag.
5. If the 18V-0-18V
transformer is replaced
with 15V-0-15V trans-
former, the output
voltage of the variable
supply using LM317
will be correspond-
ingly lower.
6. If proper voltages
are available, go to step
Fig. 3: Proposed cabinet for power supply 7. Otherwise, check the
connections.
1. Collect all the components shown 7. Connect variable regulator
in the circuit diagram. LM317 to the circuit and check 1.25V
2. Connect switch S1, fuse, trans- to 20V output by varying the 2.2-kilo-
former and mains cord to the assem- ohm linear potentiometers.
bled PCB as well as the box. 8. Now connect ICs 7812, 7912, 7805
3. Keep the multimeter in DC volt- and 7905 to the circuit and check their
age range (more than 25V DC) and output voltage.
measure the DC voltage across ca- 9. Connect terminals, potmeter,
pacitors C1 and C7 (1000 µF, 35V). This switches and indicator LED on the
voltage should be around 18V×1.41=25 front panel of the box and complete
to 26V DC. Check both positive and the connections. Close the box by us-
negative voltages with respect to ing screws.
ground. Precaution. At the primary side of
4. It is advisable to use three-wire the transformer, 230V AC could give
mains cable and plug. If you are using lethal shocks. So be careful not to touch
any metallic box, earthing wire/pin of this part. EFY will not be responsible
the mains plug should be soldered to for any resulting loss or harm to the
the body of the metallic box using an user. 

unique Water Pump Controller

edi
s.c. dwiv A R4
12K S1
ON/OFF
B SWITCH

7 R6
3 +
 D. Mohan Kumar IC1 6
220
T1

H
µA741 +
D1 BC558 12V
–
ere is a simple solution for 2 4 1N4148 DC

automatic pumping of water

to the overhead tank. Unlike C1
220
other water-level indicators, it does 25V N/O

not use probes to detect the water level R5

MOTOR

VR1 LED4
10K 12K D2
and hence there is no probe corrosion PRESET 1N4007 N/C
C2
problem. It has no direct contact with
RL1
470µ 230V
25V
water, so the chance of accidental leak- L AC N
50Hz
age of electricity to the water tank is RL1 = 12V, 1 C/O RELAY
also eliminated. Two important advan-
tages of the circuit are that the water Fig. 1: Water pump controller

8 2 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

Fig. 2: Sensor circuit
level never goes below a particular
level and no modification in the water
tank is required.
Fig. 1 shows the circuit of the wa-
terpump controller. The circuit uses an
LDR-white LEDs assembly to sense the
water level. It forms a triggering switch
to energise the relay for controlling the
pump. The LDR-LEDs assembly (shown
in Fig. 2) is fixed on the inner side of the
cap of the water tank without making
contact with water. The light reflected
from the water tank is used to control
the resistance of LDR1.
When the water level is high
enough, light from the white LEDs
(LED1 through LED3) reflects to fall
on LDR1. This reduces the resistance
of LDR1, increasing the voltage at the
non-inverting input (pin 3) of IC1.
IC1 is used in the circuit as a voltage
comparator. Resistors R4 and R5 form
a potential divider to fix half of supply
voltage to the inverting input of IC1.
Normally, when the water tank is
full, LDR1 gets more of reflected light
because the distance between the water
THREE-COMPONENT FLASHER
 T.A. Babu
S
ince this flasher system uses
only three components, it is rel-
atively easy to build and install.
It can be used for signal flashing, haz-
ard warning and alternate flashing.
At the heart of this circuit is a
single-pole double-through (SPDT)
contacts relay (see Fig. 1). It is a 12V,
400-ohm, single-changeover (1C/O),
PCB-mounted relay with contacts cur-
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Fig. 3: Sensor assembly
level and the face of LDR1 is minimal.
When white light falls on LDR1, the
voltage at the non-inverting input (pin
3) of IC1 increases and its output goes
high. This high output makes pnp
transistor T1 non-conducting and the
relay remains de-energised. LED1 also
remains ‘off.’ Since the water-pump
power supply is connected to the nor-
mally-open (N/O) contacts of relay
RL1, pumping is stopped.
When water level falls, the amount
of light reflected to LDR1 decreases
and its resistance increases. This re-
duces the voltage at pin 3 of IC1 and
its output goes low. This low output
from IC1 makes transistor T1 conduct.
Relay RL1 energises to close the N/O
contacts and the motor starts pump-
ing water. LED1 glows to indicate the
edi
s.c. dwiv
rent rating of 5A.
The working of the circuit is very
simple. Initially, bulk capacitor C1
charges through resistor R1 and the
bulb filament. When capacitor C1
charges, relay RL1 energises and
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 8 3
circuit
ideas
pumping of water.
Assemble the circuit on a general-
purpose PCB and enclose in a suitable
cabinet. Solder the white LEDs-LDR1
assembly on a separate PCB and use
a separate power supply for it. Mount
LEDs behind the LDR. Otherwise, light
from the LEDs will affect the working
of the circuit. Connect LDR1 to the main
circuit board at ‘A’ and ‘B’ points.
Fix the LEDs-LDR1 assembly on
the inner side of the water-tank cap as
shown in Fig. 3. Orient the LEDs and
the LDR such that when the water tank
is full, the light emitted from the LEDs
and reflected from the water surface
falls directly on LDR1. The distance
between the upper level of water and
the LEDs-LDR setup should be mini-
mal, ensuring that water doesn’t touch
LDR1. Otherwise, the circuit will not
function properly. By using more white
LEDs, this distance can be increased.
Cover the LDR with a black tube to
increase its sensitivity.
You can fix the main unit at a
convenient place and connect it to the
LEDs-LDR assembly through wire.
Select the relay according to the horse-
power (HP) of the water pump. After
arranging the setup (with maximum
water in the tank), adjust VR1 until
LED1 stops glowing. In this state, the re-
lay should de-energise. When the water
level decreases, the relay automatically
energises to connect mains to the motor
and it starts pumping water. 
Fig. 1: Simple flasher circuit
circuit
ideas

Fig. 4: Circuit of alternate flasher

the left or right.

Fig. 2: Circuit of turn signal flasher
throws its contacts to the other posi-
tion. Capacitor C1 holds the contacts
until there is enough charge to keep
the relay energised. Bulb L1 (12V, 5W)
glows for a while through the N/O
contacts of the relay. When the charge
in the capacitor ceases, the relay con-
tacts return to their initial normally-
closed position.
The charging cycle repeats to give
a flashing effect in the bulb. The ‘on’
time of the flasher is controlled by the
Fig. 3: Circuit of hazard-warning flasher
charge stored in the capacitor. The ‘off’
time is controlled by the discharging
time of the capacitor.
The signal flasher is a four-bulb
system as shown in Fig. 2. Two bulbs
are used at the front of the vehicle and
the other two at the back of the vehicle.
The primary function of the ‘turn’ sig-
nal flasher is to flash the lamps when
the ‘turn’ signal switch is activated to
The circuit of the hazard-warn-
ing flasher is shown in Fig. 3. Used in
vehicle lighting systems, it flashes all
the four bulbs when hazard-warning
switch S3 is ‘on.’ During hazard warn-
ing, switch S2 can be in the left or right
position.
The alternate flasher circuit is
shown in Fig. 4. It flashes the lamps
alternately when the system is acti-
vated. This type of flasher is typically
used in emergency vehicles and school
buses. 

In-Car Food and Beverage Warmer

edi
s.c. dwiv

 Ashok K. Doctor

T
his is a very useful
device for those
who are frequently
on the move. It will keep
your tea, coffee or food
warm while consuming
little power.
The circuit is simple.
The ubiquitous timer 555
is used as a free-running astable mul- nected in reverse direction to facilitate Power transistor T1 is Darlington type
tivibrator. Diodes 1N4148 are con- maximum variation of the duty cycles. with 5A capacity and output of more

8 4 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

than 60 watts. The chosen discrete
components assure fixed frequency of
1 Hz (approximately) at pin 3 of timer
IC1 (555). Resister R1 and potmeter VR1
(1-mega-ohm) allow adjustment of the
duty cycle. The higher the duty cycle,
the higher the output of the heater.
You can connect up to five 10W
heating elements in parallel, totaling 50
watts. The consumption of current will
be significantly less if fewer coil ele-
ments are connected in parallel through
toggle switches S2 through S4. Each of
these switches has a 6A rating.
Assemble the circuit on a general-
purpose PCB. Mount power transistor
TIP120 on a thick heat-sink. Isolate the
circuit from the heating elements using
circuit
ideas
only two wire connections. Use wires
that can carry more than 6A current.
Fix the coil elements below an alumin-
ium or steel rectangular plate which
is at least 1mm thick. Do not forget
to insulate the heating plate from the
elements. Use the car battery for the
power supply with a proper current-
carrying-capacity wire. 

WHITE LIGHT FOR REFRIGERATOR

 Uday ShEnde The circuit is transformerless
and uses a capacitor for provid-

N
ormally, the refrigerator lights ing the power supply to the white edi
s.c. dwiv
are yellow in colour and go LEDs. Mains input is fed to capaci-
bad very often. If you want tor C1 and resistor R1, rectified by a
a long-lasting white light for your re- bridge rectifier comprising diodes D1
frigerator, this circuit is especially for through D4, and filtered by capaci- white LEDs in 2×8 parallel-connec-
you. The circuit is easy to install inside tor C2 to provide sufficient voltage tion configuration.
the refrigerator. Also, it consumes very to drive the white LEDs. Resistor R2 Assemble the circuit on a gen-
little power compared to the traditional limits the current flowing through eral-purpose PCB along with 16 white
yellow bulb. the LEDs. The circuit uses 16 bright LEDs. Connect the LEDs in series with
resistor R2. Take out
the two wires from
the usual bulb con-
nection and connect
to the circuit. After
connecting the supply
wires, wrap electrical
tape around the wires
properly. Enclose the
entire PCB (exclud-
ing LEDs) in a plastic
box and wrap the box
properly with tape to
seal it against mois-
ture. 

Smart Hearing Aid sani the

o

Devrishi Khanna and when sound is detected. The sensi-

Rohit Modi tivity of the detection section and the
‘on’ time duration of the sound am- microphone, earphone, and sound

N
ormally, hearing aid circuits
consume battery power
continuously once they are
switched on. The circuit given here
saves battery power by switching
on the sound amplifier section only
plifier circuit can be set by the user.
Also the circuit uses only a single
condenser mic for sound detection
and amplification.
As is clear from the above, this
hearing aid consists of a condenser
detection and amplification sections.
The sound detection section employs
a quad op-amp IC LM324 (IC1(A)) and
a timer NE555 (IC2). The sound signal
received at the mic is pre-amplified
by transistor BC549 (T1). The voltage

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 8 5
circuit
ideas
at its collector is fed to the inverting
terminal (pin 2) of op-amp IC1(A),
which is used as a comparator. The
reference voltage (Vref) at the non-
inverting terminal (pin 3) of IC1(A)
is set using preset VR1. The preset is
also used to control the sensitivity of
the sound signals received by the cir-
cuit. The output from pin 1 of IC1(A)
is fed to the trigger input (pin 2) of
timer NE555, which is configured in
monostable mode.
When sufficient sound signal
strength is detected at the base of tran-
sistor T1, the pulsating voltage at its
collector exceeds the reference voltage
at pin 3. As a result, output pin 1 of
IC1(A) goes low. The low output from
8 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
IC1(A) triggers the NE555 timer and its
output goes high for a preset duration.
R4 and C2 are the timing components
for setting the time duration. The high
output of the timer is directly used as
the power source for the sound ampli-
fier section.
The sound amplifier section is built
around transistors T2 through T5. The
last amplifier stage T5 (pnp transistor
BC558) drives the earphone. The sound
signal received from the mic is fed to
the non-inverting pin of the second
op-amp of IC1(B) which is wired in
unity follower configuration. The unity
follower mode resolves the problem
of impedance mismatch which would
have occured if the output of the mic
is fed directly to amplifier stage. The
output from pin 7 of IC1(B) is fed to the
base of transistor T2. The weak signal
received at transistor stage T2 is further
amplified by transistors T3, T4 and T5.
An earphone to listen to the sound is
connected between the collector of T5
and ground. It is recommended to use
a mono earphone with volume control
attached.
With 9V DC supply, when sound is
detected through the mic, the amplifier
section is automatically triggered and
the current consumption of the circuit
is about 96 mA. When the amplifier cir-
cuit is ‘off,’ the circuit draws a current
of about 6 mA only, thus saving con-
siderable amount of battery power. 
w w w. e f y m ag . co m

LAN-based Online Exam
 Rahul Bagai
U
sing this program, examina-
tions can be conducted online
for students of various sub-
jects in schools and colleges. The ex-
amination result along with solutions
to the questions is displayed at the end
of the exam.
The questions are randomly gener-
ated from a bank of questions stored
in a database maintained by the ad-
ministrator. These are multiple-choice
with four possible answers. Each
question is worth one mark. The stu-
dent has to select one subject at a time,
so the questions will be on that topic
only. For example, a subject may have
many chapters and multiple questions
related to that chapter are stored in
the database. From here, only 15
questions from selected chapter are
generated randomly for the test. The
software has the facility to store many
chapters under one particular subject.
The exam paper will be made up of
some questions taken from every
topic/chapter.
The administrator can change this
content by adding new topics and
changing the number of questions for
each topic. He can add any number of
questions and topics.
The student can answer each ques-
tion by clicking a radio button, so from
four possible answers only one answer
is selected per question. After answer-
ing all the questions, the student
needs to click a button at the bottom.
All the answers by the student are
stored in the PC and the marks scored
displayed.
Software program
The program is developed using J2SE
software development kit (JDK1.6) and
MS Access application on a Windows
XP machine. It is designed on a cli-
ent-server architecture which operates
only when the server provides services
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
to the client. The question database
is stored at the server end. The client
accesses the database from the server
machine and displays the contents on
its output screen.
The project includes three Java
source code files: ServerOnline.java,
Fig. 1: First page on the client PC
Fig. 2: Instructions for the students
Fig. 3: Screenshot to select a chapter
Fig. 4: Screenshot of the online question
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 8 7
Software
section
sani the
o
ConnectDatabase1.java and Clien-
tOnline.java. There is an Online
Exams.mdb Microsoft Access data-
base file which contains the list of
questions and answers. The detailed
questions are saved in GIF (graphic
interchange format). The ‘Questions
and Answers’ folder contains the
images of the multiple-choice ques-
tions. There are also some other images
and MP3 files included for the project.
All the image and MP3 files are linked
to the MS Access database through
configurations as explained under the
testing steps.
Operation of the program
1. As soon as the client program is
started, a Java applet page as shown
in Fig. 1 loads into its output screen.
Here the student can select his class
(10th or 12th) and the subject (physics,
chemistry, biology or mathematics) for
which he wants to give the exam. In
the database for this project, we have
included sample questions on biol-
ogy and mathematics only. As soon
as a radio button corresponding to a
particular subject
is selected using
mouse, the client
machine needs
to connect to the
database stored
in the server ma-
chine. So click
‘Connect to Da-
tabase’ button to
start the test.
2. Next, the
instruction page
is loaded. It dis-
plays some in-
structions to be
software
section
followed. Click ‘Continue’ button
(refer Fig. 2).
3. Select a chapter of your choice
using a pull-down menu (refer Fig. 3).
4. Start attempting the questions
(refer Fig. 4). The questions here are
generated randomly from the database
stored in the server machine. You can
select the respective radio button for
your choice of answer.
5. As soon as you select an option,
click ‘submit’ button to submit the an-
swer and move to the next question.
Note that chapters stored in the
database can store any number of
questions but from those questions,
only 15 are displayed on the client side
for each test.
At the end of 15 questions, a test
report is generated (refer Fig. 5), where
you can view your performance.
To view the correct answers after
the test, just click ‘Get Answers’ button
on the test report screen (refer Fig. 6).
Testing steps to run the
program on a PC
Using a single PC, server and client
programs can be run at the same time.
Here, the server program is under the
control of the administrator and the
client program is accessed by the stu-
dent. To achieve this, first the server
program is made to run, followed
by the client program as explained
below:
1. Download ‘Java SE Develop-
ment Kit (JDK) 6’ from ‘http://java.
sun.com/javase/downloads/index.
jsp’ website.
2. Install JDK in your machine. By
default it is installed under ‘c:\pro-
gram files\java\jdk1.6.0\bin’ direc-
tory.
3. Install MS Access application
program and configure the data source
for accessing MS Access database from
Java as follows:
(a) Open ‘Administrative Tools’
from ‘Control Panel.’
(b) Now open ‘Data Sources’
(ODBC) and click ‘Add’ button.
(c) Locate ‘Microsoft Access Driver’
(*.mdb) and click ‘Finish.’
8 8 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
Fig. 5: Test report
(d) Type ‘Data Source Name’ as
‘OnlineExams’ while observing case
sensitivity.
(e) Assuming that all the relevant
programs of this project are stored
under ‘D:\Rahul’ folder, locate
the database stored in ‘D:\Rahul\’
by using ‘Select’ button of the same
window. When the database is se-
lected, you will see the path of your
database under ‘Database’ of the same
window.
(f) Click ‘Ok’ to complete the con-
figurations.
4. Run the server program. All the
questions are stored in ‘Questions
And Answers’ file of ‘Rahul’ folder.
Open the command prompt from
‘Start\Run...’ option and type ‘cmd’
from the keyboard. Open ‘Rahul’
folder from ‘D’ drive. Type the ap-
propriate path against the prompt as
given below:
“Path = c:\program files\java\
jdk1.6.0\bin”
This is the path where the JDK files
like javac, java and appletviewer are
located.
5. Now type command ‘javac Serve-
rOnline.java’ to compile the ServerOn-
line.java program. If you have set the
path correctly, you will find class files
under ‘d:\rahul.’ Else, you will find
error. Ignore warnings, if any.
6. Next type ‘Java ServerOnline’ on
first command prompt to execute the
software. You will see “Server Started
!!!” in the next line.
7. Minimise the window and then
Fig. 6: Solutions to the questions
go to the next step to run the client
program.
The steps for compiling and run-
ning the client program are the same as
mentioned above. That is, click ‘Start/
Run’ option followed by ‘cmd.’ Open
‘D:\Rahul’ folder and give the path of
the JDK files.
8. Now instead of ‘ServerOnline.
java,’ type ‘ClientOnline.java’ against
the prompt.
If you run the ClientOnline pro-
gram successfully, you will see the
screen as shown in Fig. 1. A PC can
handle multiple clients, so you can
minimise the current client operation
and open another client program on
the same machine.
Testing steps to run on
two PCs
1. Make sure that the PCs used for the
project are connected on a local area
network (LAN).
2. Place ‘Rahul’ folder in server and
client machines. This is mandatory.
Next, follow Steps 1 through 3 under
sub-heading “Testing steps to run the
program on a single PC.”
3. Provide an appropriate path
for JDK as mentioned in Step 4 of the
above sub-heading. Compile the Serve-
rOnline.java program and run it on the
server machine.
4. On the client PC, the Connect-
w w w. e f y m ag . co m

Database1.java file, which is located
under ‘Rahul’ folder, requires the IP
address of the server. So open the
ConnectDatabase1.java source file and
replace ‘localhost’ with the IP address
of the server wherever ‘localhost’ ap-
pears. Save the file and close it.
5. Provide an appropriate path for
JDK as mentioned in Step 4 under the
previous sub-heading, and compile
Software
section
both ConnectDatabase1.java and Cli-
entOnline.java programs.
6. Run the ClientOnline.java pro-
gram. You will see the program output
as shown in Fig. 1. Click the appropri-
ate button to proceed for the online
exams.
EFY-CD. All the relevant files and
source codes of this article have been
included in this month’s EFY-CD.

serveronline.java
import java.net.*; BufferedReader is = null;
import java.io.*; PrintStream os = null;
import java.sql.*; Socket clientSocket = null;

public class ServerOnline { Connection conn;

public static void main(String Statement stmt;
args[]) {
try { String chapterSelected = “”,pass;

DriverManager.registerDriver(new public connection(Socket client-

sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver()); Socket) {
this.clientSocket = clientSocket;
}catch(Exception e) {
System.out.println(“Error oc- try {
cured : “+e.getMessage()); is = new BufferedReader(new
} InputStreamReader(clientSocket.getInput-
new ServerClass(); Stream()));
} os = new
} PrintStream(clientSocket.getOutput-
Stream());
class ServerClass implements Runna-
ble { }catch(IOException e) {
try {
Thread t; clientSocket.close();
ServerSocket echoServer = null; }catch(Exception ex) {}
Socket clientSocket = null; System.err.println(“Unable to
setup stream “+e);
ServerClass() { return;
try { }
echoServer = new ServerSock- t = new Thread(this,””);
et(1111); t.start();
}
}catch(IOException e) {
System.out.println(“Could not public void run() {
start server.” + e );
System.exit(1); try {
}
conn = DriverManager.
t = new Thread(this); getConnection(“jdbc:odbc:OnlineExams”);
System.out.println(“Server started stmt = conn.createStatement(Resu
!!!”); ltSet.TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE,ResultSet.
t.start(); CONCUR_READ_ONLY);
}
}catch(Exception e) {
public void run() { System.out.println(“Error oc-
try { cured : “+e.getMessage());
}
while(true) {
clientSocket = echoServer. try {
accept();
connection con = new connec pass = is.readLine();
tion(clientSocket);
} if(pass.equals(“1”)) {

}catch(IOException e) { tableName =
System.err.println(“Not listen- is.readLine(); //subject-
ing.” + e); Selected
System.exit(1); tableName +=
} is.readLine(); //classSe-
} lected
}
ResultSet rset = stmt.
class connection implements Runnable { executeQuery(“Select * from “+tableNa-
me);
Thread t; rset.last();
String tableName = “”; //this gets os.println(rset.get-
the name of the tablename from where String(1)); //lastSNo
the question and options are to be re-
trieved rset = stmt.
String requestQuestion = “”; executeQuery(“Select * from “+tableNa-

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 8 9
software
section
me); lected); }
while(rset.next()) { rset.last();
os.println(rset.get- os.println(rset.get- }catch(Exception e) {
String(2)); //chapterNos String(1)); System.out.println(“Error oc-
os.println(rset.get- cured while sending/retrieving data:
String(3)); //chapterNames rset = stmt. “+e);
} executeQuery(“Select * from “+chapterSe- }finally {
} lected + “ where QNo = “+requestQues- try {
tion); clientSocket.close();
else if(pass.equals(“2”)) if(rset.next()) { is.close();
{ os.println(rset.get- os.close();
chapterSelected = String(2)); //send ques- stmt.close();
is.readLine(); //chapterSelected tion conn.close();
os.println(rset.get-
requestQuestion = String(3)); //send An- }catch(Exception e) {}
(String)is.readLine(); swer }
os.println(rset.get- }
ResultSet rset = stmt. String(4)); //send hint }
executeQuery(“Select * from “+chapterSe- }

clientonline.java
import java.awt.*; Group(); JRadioButton chemistry = new JRadi
import java.awt.event.*; bg.add(physics); oButton(“Chemistry”);
import javax.swing.*; bg.add(chemistry); chemistry.addActionListener(this);
bg.add(biology); add(chemistry);
public class ClientOnline extends bg.add(mathematics);
JFrame { JRadioButton biology = new
JButton connect = new JRadioButton(“Biology”);
public ClientOnline() { JButton(“Connect to DataBase”); biology.addActionListener(this);
connect.addActionListener(this); add(biology);
JTabbedPane jtp = new JTabbed- add(connect);
Pane(); } JRadioButton mathematics = new
jtp.addTab(“Class 10th”,new JRadioButton(“Mathematics”);
Class10th()); public void actionPerformed(ActionE mathematics.
jtp.addTab(“Class 12th”,new vent ae) { addActionListener(this);
Class12th()); add(mathematics);
getContentPane().add(jtp); if(ae.getActionCommand().
equals(“Connect to DataBase”) && sub- ButtonGroup bg = new Button-
addWindowListener(new WindowA- jectSelected != “”) { Group();
dapter() { try { bg.add(physics);
public void windowClosing(Wind new ConnectDatabase1(classS bg.add(chemistry);
owEvent we) { elected,subjectSelected,1,1,0,img,img,r bg.add(biology);
dispose(); andomQnoStored); bg.add(mathematics);
}
}); }catch(Exception e) { JButton connect = new
} System.out.println(“Could JButton(“Connect to DataBase”);
not connect to the database Server connect.addActionListener(this);
public static void main(String !!!”+e); add(connect);
args[]) { } }
ClientOnline clonlie = new Clien- }
tOnline(); public void actionPerformed(ActionE
clonlie.setSize(400,150); else if(ae.getActionCommand(). vent ae) {
clonlie.setVisible(true); equals(“Physics”)) { if(ae.getActionCommand().
} subjectSelected = “Physics”; equals(“Connect to DataBase”) && sub-
} } jectSelected != “”) {

class Class10th extends JPanel imple- else if(ae.getActionCommand(). try{

ments ActionListener { equals(“Chemistry”)) { new ConnectDatabase1(classS
subjectSelected = “Chemistry”; elected,subjectSelected,1,1,0,img,img,r
String subjectSelected = “”; } andomQnoStored);
String classSelected = “10”; }catch(Exception e) {
String[] img = new String[15]; else if(ae.getActionCommand(). System.out.println(“Could
int[] randomQnoStored = new int[15]; equals(“Biology”)) { not connect to database !!!”);
subjectSelected = “Biology”; }
public Class10th() { } }

JRadioButton physics = new else if(ae.getActionCommand(). else if(ae.getActionCommand().

JRadioButton(“Physics”);
physics.addActionListener(this);
add(physics);
JRadioButton chemistry = new JRadi
oButton(“Chemistry”);
chemistry.addActionListener(this);
add(chemistry);
JRadioButton biology = new
JRadioButton(“Biology”);
biology.addActionListener(this);
add(biology);
JRadioButton mathematics = new
JRadioButton(“Mathematics”);
mathematics.
addActionListener(this);
add(mathematics);
ButtonGroup bg = new
equals(“Mathematics”)) { equals(“Physics”)) {
subjectSelected = “Mathemat- subjectSelected = “Physics”;
ics”; }
}
} else if(ae.getActionCommand().
} equals(“Chemistry”)) {
subjectSelected = “Chemistry”;
class Class12th extends JPanel imple- }
ments ActionListener {
else if(ae.getActionCommand().
String subjectSelected = “”; equals(“Biology”)) {
String classSelected = “12”; subjectSelected = “Biology”;
String[] img = new String[15]; }
int[] randomQnoStored = new int[15];
else if(ae.getActionCommand().
public Class12th() { equals(“Mathematics”)) {
subjectSelected = “Mathemat-
JRadioButton physics = new ics”;
JRadioButton(“Physics”); }
physics.addActionListener(this); }
Button- add(physics); } 

9 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Power Supply

Charging Lithium-Ion
Batteries
Properly restoring energy using the latest battery technology for today’s portable
products requires careful consideration. An understanding of the charging
characteristics of the battery and the application’s requirements is essential in
order to design an appropriate and reliable battery charging system.
Linear and switch-mode charging solutions for Li-ion batteries are presented
here. Also given are the guidelines and considerations that should be taken into
account when developing any battery charging system
Each application is unique, but
one common theme rings through:
maximise battery capacity usage. This
theme directly relates to how energy is
properly restored to rechargeable bat-
teries. No single method is ideal for all
applications. An understanding of the
charging characteristics of the battery
and the application’s requirements is
essential in order to design an appro-
priate and reliable battery charging
system. Each method has its associated
advantages and disadvantages.
It is the particular application
with its individual requirements that
determines which method will be the
best to use.
Far too often, the charging system
is given low priority, especially in cost-
sensitive applications. The quality of
the charging system, however, plays a
key role in the life and reliability of the
battery. In this article, the fundamen-
tals of charging Lithium-ion (Li-ion)
batteries are explored. In particular,
linear charging solutions and a micro-
controller-based, switch-mode solution
shall be explored.

 Scott Dearborn batteries as a prime power source is on
the rise. As a result, a burden has been
Li-ion charging
The rate of charge or discharge is often
expressed in relation to the capacity of
the battery. This rate is known as the
C-rate. The C-rate equates to a charge

P
owering today’s portable world placed on the system designer to create or discharge current and is defined as:
poses many challenges for sophisticated systems utilising the bat- I = M × Cn
system designers. The use of tery’s full potential. where ‘I’ is charge or discharge current

9 2 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Power Supply
Fig. 1: Li-ion charge profile
Fig. 2: Capacity loss vs undercharge voltage
Fig. 3: Typical linear solution
in amperes, ‘M’ is the multiple or frac-
tion of ‘C,’ ‘C’ is the numerical value of
9 4 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
current of 100 mA.
Typically, manufacturers specify
the capacity of a battery at a 5-hour
rate, n = 5. For example, the above-
mentioned battery would provide
five hours of operating time when
discharged at a constant current of
200 mA. In theory, the battery would
provide one hour of operating time
when discharged at a constant current
of 1000 mA. In practice, however, the
operating time will be less than one
hour due to inefficiencies in the dis-
charge cycle.
So how is energy properly restored
to a Li-ion battery? The preferred
charge algorithm for Li-ion battery
chemistries is a constant-current, con-
stant-voltage algorithm that can be
broken up into four stages, namely,
trickle charge, constant-current charge,
constant-voltage charge and charge
termination (refer to Fig. 1):
Stage 1 (trickle charge): Trickle
charge is employed to restore charge
to deeply depleted cells. When the cell
voltage is below approximately 3V, the
cell is charged with a constant current
of 0.1C maximum.
Stage 2 (constant-current charge):
After the cell voltage has risen above
the trickle-charge threshold, the charge
current is raised to perform constant-
current charging. The constant-current
charge should be in the 0.2C to 1.0C
range. The constant current does not
need to be precise and semi-constant
current is allowed. Often, in linear
chargers, the current is ramped-up as
the rated capacity in the cell voltage rises in order to mini-
Ah and ‘n’ is the time mise heat dissipation in the pass tran-
in hours at which ‘C’ sistor.
is declared. Charging at constant current rates
A battery dis- above 1C does not reduce the overall
charging at a C-rate charge cycle time and should be avoid-
of ‘1’ will deliver its ed. When charging at higher currents,
nominal rated capac- the cell voltage rises more rapidly due
ity in one hour. For to over-voltage in the electrode reac-
example, if the rated tions and the increased voltage across
capacity is 1000 mAh, the internal resistance of the cell. The
a discharge rate of constant-current stage becomes shorter,
1C corresponds to a but the overall charge cycle time is not
discharge current of 1000 mA. A rate reduced because the percentage of time
of C/10 corresponds to a discharge in the constant voltage stage increases
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 Power Supply
proportionately.
Stage 3 (constant voltage): Constant
current charge ends and the constant-
voltage stage is invoked when the
cell voltage reaches 4.2V. In order to
maximise performance, the voltage
regulation tolerance should be better
than 1 per cent.
Stage 4 (charge termination): Un-
like nickel-based batteries, it is not
recommended to continue to trickle-
charge Li-ion batteries. Continuing Fig. 4: Typical, fully integrated, linear solution
to trickle charge can cause plating
of metallic lithium—a condition that
makes the battery unstable. The result
can be sudden, automatic and rapid
disassembly.
Charging is typically terminated by
one of two methods: minimum charge
current or a timer (or a combination
of the two). The minimum current
approach monitors the charge cur-
rent during the constant voltage stage
and terminates the charge when the
charge current diminishes in the range
of 0.02C to 0.07C. The second method
determines when the constant voltage
stage is invoked. Charging continues
for an additional two hours, and then
the charge is terminated. Fig. 5: MCP73843 charge cycle waveforms
Charging in this manner replenish-
es a deeply depleted battery in roughly age can vary from 90Vrms to 132Vrms of 9V to 18V.
2.5 to 3 hours. for a standard wall outlet. Assuming Constant-current charge rate and
Advanced chargers employ ad- a nominal input voltage of 120Vrms, accuracy. The choice of topology for a
ditional safety features. For example, the tolerance is +10 per cent, –25 per given application may be determined
the charge is suspended if the cell tem- cent. The charger must provide proper by the desired constant current. Many
perature is outside a specified window, regulation to the battery independent high-constant-current, or multiple-cell,
typically 0°C to 45°C. of its input voltage. The input voltage applications rely on a switch-mode
to the charger will scale in accordance charging solution for improved effi-
Li-ion charging: system to the AC mains voltage and the charge ciency and less heat generation.
considerations current: Linear solutions are desirable in
A high-performance charging system VO =√2×VIN×a–1O (REQ+RPTC) – 2×VFD low to moderate fast-charge-current
is required to recharge any battery REQ is the resistance of the second- applications for their superior size and
quickly and reliably. The following ary winding plus the reflected resist- cost considerations. However, a linear
system parameters should be consid- ance of the primary winding (RP/a2), solution purposely dissipates excess
ered in order to ensure a reliable, cost- RPTC is the resistance of the PTC and power in the form of heat.
effective solution. VFD is the forward drop of the bridge The tolerance on the constant-
Input source. Many applications rectifiers. In addition, transformer-core current charge becomes extremely
use very inexpensive wall cubes for loss will slightly reduce the output important to a linear system. If the
the input supply. The output voltage voltage. regulation tolerance is loose, pass
is highly dependent on the AC input Applications that charge from a transistors and other components
voltage and the load current being car adaptor can experience a similar will need to be oversized adding size
drawn from the wall cube. problem. The output voltage of a car and cost. In addition, if the constant-
In the US, the AC mains input volt- adaptor will be typically in the range current charge is low, the complete

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 9 5
Power Supply

Fig. 6: Switch mode SEPIC charger

9 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

charge cycle will be extended.
Output-voltage regulation accu-
racy. The output-voltage regulation
accuracy is critical in order to obtain
the desired goal: maximise the battery
capacity usage. A small decrease in
output voltage accuracy results in a
large decrease in capacity. However,
the output voltage cannot be set arbi-
trarily high because of safety and reli-
ability concerns.
Fig. 2 depicts the importance of
output-voltage regulation accuracy.
Charge termination method. It can-
not be stressed enough that over-charg-
ing is the Achilles’ heal of Li-ion cells.
Accurate charge termination methods
are essential for a safe, reliable, charg-
ing system.
Cell temperature monitoring. The
temperature range over which a Li-ion
battery should be charged is 0°C to
45°C, typically. Charging the battery
at temperatures outside of this range
may cause the battery to become hot.
During a charge cycle, the pressure
inside the battery increases causing
the battery to swell. Temperature and
pressure are directly related. As the
temperature rises, the pressure can
become excessive. This can lead to
a mechanical breakdown inside the
battery or venting. Charging the bat-
tery outside of this temperature range
may also harm the performance of
the battery or reduce the battery’s life
expectance.
Generally, thermistors are included
in Lithium-ion battery packs in order
to accurately measure the battery
temperature. The charger measures
the resistance value of the thermis-
tor between the thermistor terminal
and the negative terminal. Charging
is inhibited when the resistance, and
therefore the temperature, is outside
the specified operating range.
Battery discharge current or reverse
leakage current. In many applications,
the charging system remains connected
to the battery in the absence of input
power. The charging system should
minimise the current drain from the
battery when input power is not
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Power Supply
present. The maximum current drain
should be below a few microamperes
and, typically, below one microam-
pere.
Application examples
Taking the above system consid-
erations into account, an appropriate
charge management system can be
developed.
Linear solutions. Linear charg-
ing solutions are generally employed
when a well-regulated input source
is available. Linear solutions, in these
applications, offer advantages of ease
of use, size and cost.
Due to the low efficiency of a
linear charging solution, the most
important factor is the thermal design.
The thermal design is a direct function
of the input voltage, charge current
and thermal impedance between the
pass transistor and the ambient cool-
ing air. The worst-case situation is
when the device transitions from the
trickle charge stage to the constant-
current stage. In this situation, the
pass transistor has to dissipate the
maximum power. A trade-off must
be made between the charge current,
size, cost and thermal requirements of
the charging system.
Take, for example, an application
required to charge a 1000mAh, single
Li-Ion cell from a 5V±5% input at a
constant-current charge rate of 0.5C
or 1C. Fig. 3 depicts a low-cost, stan-
dalone linear solution. With a few
external components, the preferred
charge algorithm is implemented.
The MCP73843 combines high-accu-
racy constant-current, constant-volt-
age regulation with automatic charge
termination.
In an effort to further reduce the
size, cost and complexity of linear
solutions, many of the external compo-
nents can be integrated into the charge
management controller. Advanced
packaging and reduced flexibility
come along with higher integration.
These packages require advanced
equipment for manufacturing, and,
in many instances, preclude rework.
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 9 7
Power Supply
Fig. 7: Switch-mode charge cycles with and without PS700, 2200mAh
Typically, integration encompasses
charge-current sensing, the pass tran-
sistor and reverse-discharge protection.
In addition, these charge-management
controllers typically employ some type
of thermal regulation. Thermal regula-
tion optimises the charge cycle time
while maintaining device reliability by
limiting the charge current based on
the device die temperature. Thermal
regulation greatly reduces the thermal
design effort.
Fig. 4 depicts a fully integrated,
linear solution utilising the MCP73861.
The MCP73861 incorporates all the
features of the MCP73843 along with
charge-current sensing, the pass tran-
sistor, reverse-discharge protection and
cell temperature monitoring.
Charge-cycle waveforms. Fig. 5 de-
picts complete charge cycles utilising
the MCP73843 with constant-current
charge rates of 1C ad 0.5C. Charging
at a rate of 0.5C instead of 1C takes
about one hour longer for the end of
charge to be reached. The MCP73843
scales the charge termination current
proportionately with the fast charge
current. The result is an increase of
36 per cent in charge time with the
benefit of a 2 per cent gain in capacity
and reduced power dissipation. The
change in termination current from
0.07C to 0.035C results in an increase
in final capacity from around 98
per cent to 100 per cent. The system
9 8 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
designer has to make a trade-off be-
tween charge time, power dissipation
and available capacity.
Switch-mode charging solutions.
Switch-mode charging solutions are
generally employed in applications
that have a wide-ranging input or a
high input-to-output voltage differen-
tial. In these applications, switch-mode
solutions have the advantage of im-
proved efficiency. The disadvantages
are system complexity, size and cost.
Take, for example, an application
required to charge a 2200mAh, single
Li-ion cell from a car adaptor at a con-
stant-current charge rate of 0.5C or 1C.
It would be extremely difficult to utilise
a linear solution in this application due
to the thermal issues involved. A linear
solution employing thermal regulation
could be utilised, but the charge cycle
times at the reduced charge currents
may be prohibitive.
The first step to designing a suc-
cessful switch-mode charging solution
is to choose a topology: buck, boost,
buck-boost, flyback, single-ended pri-
mary inductive converter (SEPIC) or
other. Knowing the input and output
requirements, and experience, quickly
narrows the choices down to two for
this application: buck or SEPIC. A buck
converter has the advantage of requir-
ing a single inductor. Disadvantages
of this topology include an additional
diode required for reverse-discharge
protection, high-side gate drive and
current sense, and pulsed input current
(EMI concern).
The SEPIC topology has advantag-
es that include low-side gate drive and
current sense, continuous input current
and DC isolation from input to output.
The main disadvantage of the SEPIC
topology is the use of two inductors
and an energy transfer capacitor.
Fig. 6 depicts a schematic for a
switch-mode charger. A high-speed
pulse-width modulator (PWM),
MCP1630, has been utilised in a
pseudo smart battery charger ap-
plication. The MCP1630 is a high-
speed, microcontroller-adaptable,
pulse-width modulator. When used
in conjunction with a microcontroller,
the MCP1630 will control the power
system duty cycle to provide output
voltage or current regulation. The
microcontroller, PIC16F684, can be
used to regulate the output voltage
or current, switching frequency and
maximum duty cycle. The MCP1630
generates duty cycle, and provides
fast over-current protection based
on various external inputs. External
signals include the input oscillator,
the reference voltage, the feedback
voltage and the current sense. The
output signal is a square-wave pulse.
The power train used for the charger
is SEPIC.
The microcontroller provides an
enormous amount of design flexibility.
In addition, it can communicate with
a battery monitor inside the battery
pack to significantly reduce charge-
cycle times.
Charge-cycle waveforms. Fig. 7 shows
complete charge cycles utilising the
switch-mode charging solution. By
utilising a battery monitor in the
charging system, charge cycles can
be significantly reduced. The battery
monitor eliminates sensing the voltage
produced across the pack’s protection
circuitry and contact resistance by the
charging current. 
The author is principal applications engineer at
Microchip Technology Inc., Chandler, USA
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
design
Part 1 of 3
Reading the Datasheets of
Electronic Devices
A thorough understanding of datasheets allows the designers to select the right
device for their application and subsequently exploit the potential of the device
to the fullest. Beginning this month in a series of three articles, we would focus
on how to read a datasheet and then go on to discuss the datasheets of two of
the most commonly used electronics devices representing discrete devices and
integrated circuits
 Anil Kumar Maini and
Varsha Agrawal

M
ost of the present-day electron-
ics designers and application
engineers do not find it neces-
sary to look beyond the first page of the
datasheets of the electronic components
or devices while selecting one for their
application. They consider the knowl-
edge of a few major specifications of the
device sufficient for the design exercise
that they wish to undertake. Though
it may be adequate in some cases, the
design where the components are chosen
without giving due consideration to the
information contained in the datasheet
may not be the optimal one.
The datasheet of a device reveals its
true character and hence its suitability
for a given application. In addition to
listing down the device parameters, it
gives the electrical and environmental
conditions at which these parameters Fig. 1: First page of datasheet of power Mosfet type IRF250
have been measured and also contains
information on variation of important ally available from manufacturers. The Surely, the technical data of a given
parameters as a function of other word ‘comprehensive’ is used here to device in the short-form catalogue will
relevant electrical and environmental differentiate between the datasheet of a not be as comprehensive as it would
parameters. It is vital information device found in a short-form catalogue be in the detailed catalogue. In the
particularly when you are designing a and another datasheet of the same de- condensed version, one is likely to find
circuit or a module that has to qualify vice available in the detailed version. salient features, major performance
stringent environment standards. A For example, a company manufactur- specifications, package information
comprehensive datasheet almost in- ing a range of semiconductor devices and electrical characteristics along with
variably includes application circuits may have one condensed catalogue the condition for which they are valid.
recommended by the manufacturer. containing data on all categories of On the other hand, a detailed datasheet
devices like diodes, bipolar transistors, offers a range of characteristic curves
Comprehensive and MOSFETs and thyristors that it manu- showing variation of important pa-
condensed datasheets factures. It may also offer detailed rameters as a function of other relevant
Both comprehensive as well as con- catalogues separately for each of these parameters and typical application
densed versions of datasheets are usu- categories. circuits.

1 0 0 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
    !
 
  
 

  

 
  
 
  
  
        
   

     !"
 
   


   
   
  

 

 
   
   
 
  
 

 
    
    


  
  
    

# 

               !
! " #  $%  &'(&) *+'% ,- *&) *+'%
design
capability and a low ther-
mal resistance… designed
primarily for half-wave AC
power control such as motor
controls, heating controls…
(taken from the datasheet
of S2800 series SCR)… high
photosensitivity, hermeti-
cally sealed… fast optical
sensor of high-modulation
bandwidth... (taken from the
data sheet of PIN photodiode
type BPX-65)… single-pulse
avalanche energy rated, na-
nosecond switching speeds,
linear transfer characteristics,
high input impedance… well
suited for applications such
as switching regulators, mo-
tor drivers, relay drivers…
Fig. 2: Package styles of op-amp type LM741 (taken from the datasheet
of power MOSFET type
IRF250 shown in Fig. 1)” are
representative of the first
page of the datasheet of the
device. This gives designers
a fair idea of the important
features and applications
without going through the
whole datasheet.
Device package outline.
A sketch with device dimen-
sions and lead identification,
outline of the package styles
of the device and other me-
chanical information are in-
cluded in this part. Quite of-
ten a given device is made in
more than one package style
either with no difference in
performance specifications
(such as medium-power sili-
con transistor type 2N6045/
MJE6045 made in TO220AB
Fig. 3: Internal schematic of op-amp type LM741
and TO127 package styles),
or with a minor difference
Common features ing features. All datasheets begin with (such as bipolar transistor 2N2222 in
A study of the datasheets of a variety typical applications as suggested by TO-92 plastic and TO-18 metal can
of devices, be they discrete or integrat- the manufacturer and the outstanding packages), and occasionally with a
ed circuit (IC), reveals a commonality features of the device. This informa- major difference (such as IC regulator
in the type of data and characteristic tion appears on the first page of the type 78-series in TO-92 plastic, TO-220
curves. These common features are datasheet and is an essential part of and TO-3 packages).
outlined in the following paragraphs. both condensed and detailed versions. Fig. 2 shows the package options
Typical applications and outstand- Statements like “It has high dv/dt for the operational amplifier LM741.

1 0 2 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 design

Absolute Maximum Ratings (Note 1)

If military/aerospace specified devices are required, contact the National Semiconductor Sales Office/Distributors
for availability and specifications.

LF155/6 LF256/7/LF356B LF355/6/7

Supply voltage ±22V ±22V ±18V

Differential input voltage ±40V ±40V ±30V
Input voltage range (Note 2) ±20V ±20V ±16V
Output short circuit duration Continuous Continuous Continuous
TJMAX
H-package 150°C 115°C 115°C
N-package — 100°C 100°C
M-package — 100°C 100°C
Power dissipation at TA=25°C (Notes 1, 8)
H-package (still air) 560 mW 400 mW 400 mW
H-package (400 LF/min air flow) 1200 mW 1000 mW 1000 mW
N-package — 670 mW 670 mW
M-package — 380 mW 380 mW
Thermal resistance (typical) θJA
H-package (still air) 160°C/W 160°C/W 160°C/W
H-package (400 LF/min air flow) 65°C/W 65°C/W 65°C/W
N-package — 130°C/W 130°C/W
M-package — 195°C/W 195°C/W
(Typical) θJC
H-package 23°C/W 23°C/W 23°C/W
Storage temperature range –65°C to +150°C –65°C to +150°C –65°C to +150°C
Soldering information (lead temp.)
Metal can package
Soldering (10 sec.) 300°C 300°C 300°C
Dual-in-line package
Soldering (10 sec.) 260°C 260°C 260°C
Small outline package
Vapour phase (60 sec.) — 215°C 215°C
Infrared (15 sec.) — 220°C 220°C
See AN-450 ‘Surface Mounting Methods and Their Effect on Product Reliability’ for other methods of soldering
surface mount devices.
ESD tolerance
(100 pF discharged through 1.5kΩ) 1000V 1000V 1000V
Absolute maximum ratings tell the designer the conditions that will damage the device. Remember these are
not maximum operating limits

Fig. 4: Absolute maximum ratings for op-amp type LF156/256/356

As you can see from the figure, it is
available in three packages, namely,
the metal can package, dual-in-line
package and ceramic flatpak pack-
age.
Schematic diagram. Detailed sche-
matic of the internal structure of the
device is also given in the datasheet.
Fig. 3 shows the internal schematic of
operational amplifier LM741. It helps
the designer to correlate the electrical
features of the device with its internal
architecture. This sometimes helps the
designer to explain the device behav-
iour that is otherwise not described in
the datasheet.
Absolute maximum ratings. Abso-
lute maximum ratings (Fig. 4) contain
information on voltages, currents, pow-
ers and temperature range that should
never be exceeded. As is evident from
the figure, the maximum supply volt-
age for operational amplifier LF356 is
±18V.

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 0 3
design

Fig. 5: Performance curves of diodes 1N4001 to 1N4007

Performance curves. Perform- characteristics of the device, such characteristics) in the case of FETs,
ance curves of interest as a function as drain current versus drain volt- emitter voltage versus emitter cur-
of voltage, current, temperature, age (drain characteristics) or drain rent in the case of UJTs and forward
etc follow next. These include the current versus gate voltage (transfer voltage versus forward current in the

1 0 4 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

case of diodes. Fig. 5 shows the char-
acteristics curves for diodes 1N4001
Fig. 6: Thyristor-cathode voltage vs. cathode current for different
temperatures
Fig. 7: Electrical characteristics of Mosfet type number IRF250
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
to 1N4007.
It could also be variation of the cath-
ode voltage vs cathode
current as a function of
temperature (Fig. 6) in
the case of a thyristor, or
dark current as a func-
tion of applied reverse
bias in the case of a PIN
photodiode, or transcon-
ductance versus drain
current as a function of
temperature in the case
of power MOSFET. The
curve in the first case
emphasises that the re-
lationship between the
cathode voltage and cath-
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 0 5
design
ode current changes with temperature.
The curve in the second illustration
indicates critical dependence of the
dark current of the PIN photodiode
on the applied reverse bias voltage.
And the third demonstrates significant
reduction in the transconductance of the
MOSFET at a fixed drain current with
increase in temperature. These are all
very important aspects of design and
therefore should not be side-stepped.
Electrical characteristics. Electri-
cal characteristics are usually given
in tabular form indicating spread
in parameter values that is likely to
occur in a batch of devices in terms
of minimum, typical and maximum
values. It is a vital design input as in
design
These are always
an asset to the
designers, more
so for those who
are a little short
of design experi-
ence. Quite of-
ten, expressions
used to calculate
different compo-
nent values in a
given application
circuit are also
presented.
Fig. 8 shows
some of the appli-
cation circuits for
operational ampli-
fier LF356 given
in its datasheet.
The information
contained in Fig.
8 is reproduced
from the detailed
datasheet of LF
355/356/357 se-
ries of FET input
op-amps.

To sum up...
This part of the
article highlighted
the importance of
reading a datash-
eet and the host
of technical infor-
mation contained
therein. In par-
ticular, it focused
Fig. 8: Some application circuits of op-amp type LF156/256/356 on salient features
that are common
some cases, spread in values could be to the datasheets of all categories of
as much as an order of magnitude. devices illustrating the significance of
To substantiate the statement, the different parameters with practical ex-
datasheet of C122-series of SCRs from amples. The next part of the article will
RCA tells that its dv/dt rating could focus on semiconductor diodes.
be anywhere between 10V/s and …To be continued
100V/s. Similarly, the gate-source
threshold voltage of power MOSFET Anil Kumar Maini is the head of EOCM and Op-
type IRF250 could vary from 2V to toelectronics Division and associate director at
4V (Fig. 7). Laser Science and Technology Centre (Defence
R&D Organisation) and Varsha Agrawal is a senior
Application circuits. Application scientist in EOCM and Optoelectronics Division at
circuits are usually included only in Laser Science and Technology Centre (Defence
the detailed version of the datasheet. R&D Organisation)

1 0 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
 do-it-yourself

A Versatile
Frequency Counter
Often, the need for a frequency counter is felt that operates in the LF, HF
and VHF ranges. The most common deterrents are the lack of programming
knowledge and the non-availability of VHF prescalers to bring down VHF to a
manageable HF range. Here we show how a commonly available low-cost radio
may be ripped apart and used as a frequency counter covering frequencies
from 500 kHz to 150 MHz
 Vasuki Prasad this section. It is used
only to keep track of

C
hinese radio company Kchibo COM1 1 36 VDD time.
makes radios based on the CX- COM2 2 35 FMIN The on-chip oscil-
A1619BM IC. This IC is a sur- COM3 3
lator is a NOT gate
34 VSS
face-mount version of the CXA1619BS, that requires an exter-
SEG0 4 33 AMIN
which most designers are familiar nal 32.768kHz crystal
with; FM boards available in the mar- SEG1 5 32 AM/FM-SEL to generate the timing
ket are built using this IC. Kchibo and SEG2 6 31 RANGE base.
other companies went a step ahead The adder/subtrac-
SEG3 7 30 NC
and thought of implementing a radio tor unit works like this:
frequency display, along with an alarm SEG4 8 29 IF70K A super heterodyne
clock, in their radios so that any station SEG5 9 28 AL-OUT radio receiver requires
can be tuned into, without doubting
SEG6 10
6610 27 AL-SIG
a local oscillator operat-
the actual frequency which the radio ing at a fixed frequency
is tuned to (no blind or approximate SEG7 11 26 CLKFREQ-SEL above the incoming
tuning). This is not a radio synthesiser; SEG8 12 25 NC signal’s frequency. This
it’s a conventional, mechanically tuned SEG9 13
fixed frequency is called
24 HR-SET
radio that sports a frequency display. intermediate frequency,
SEG10 14 23 MIN-SET
As opposed to conventional radios or IF. For commercial
which use a single IC (the CXA1619BS/ SEG11 15 22 AL DISP FM radios, it is 10.7
BM), the so-called digital radio uses SEG12 16 21 AL ON/OFF MHz for FM and 455
two ICs: the radio receiver IC and the kHz for AM/SW.
OSC IN 17 20 RST
UTC6610. Now, if the frequen-
At the heart of this project is OSC OUT 18 19 VLCD cy counter was reading
UTC6610. It comes in many pack- the actual frequency of
ages, but these radios use the chip-on- Fig. 1: Pin configuration of UTC6610 the oscillator, the user
board variety. The UTC6610 comes would have been put to
equipped with a frequency counter low-to-high) within a set period. great trouble in determining the actual
circuitry, prescaler for VHF, clock cir- The prescaler for VHF is a divide- receiving frequency. For example, for a
cuitry (time), on-chip oscillator, simple by-ten block that probably uses high- 100MHz signal to be detected, the local
adder/subtractor or offset unit, and speed CMOS circuitry to divide the oscillator is made to run at 110.7 MHz
LCD driver. As can be seen, this unit number of pulses. When a 150MHz (100+10.7=110.7 MHz). So to display
is completely self-sufficient. The only signal is fed to the prescalar, the output the intended receiving frequency, the
external components required are is 15 MHz. Datasheets specify 300mV UTC6610 subtracts 10.7 MHz from the
crystal and LCD. peak-to-peak input; higher voltages will counted frequency. This means that if
The frequency counter circuitry of destroy the IC. The prescaler is activated you are to use the UTC6610 as a fre-
the IC measures the frequency of the only in the FM mode of operation. quency counter, always bear in mind
incoming RF wave by counting the As regards clock circuitry, we’re that the actual frequency is 10.7 MHz
number of transitions (high-to-low or not interested in it and hence skipping higher than the displayed frequency

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 0 7
 do-it-yourself

Modes of Operation
FM mode AM mode
Function details details
Input frequency range 11 to 150 MHz 0.5 to 30 MHz
Prescaler In operation Not in operation
Input voltage 300mV pk-pk recommended 300mV pk-pk recommended
Frequency resolution 10 kHz: 11.00 to 99.99 MHz 1 kHz: 500 to 9999 kHz
100 kHz: 11.0 MHz to 149.9 MHz 10 kHz: 0.50 to 29.99 MHz
Set in radio to 100kHz resolution Set in radio to 10kHz resolution for
SW and 1kHz resolution for MW Fig. 5: The brown PCB with the metallic shield,
which is our target
IF offset 10.7 MHz 455 kHz
70 kHz also available
Input resistance 150 ohms 2000 ohms

COL S1
AM
MHz
FM KHz
PM AL
DP2 DP1

(a)

Fig. 6: Opened up: The frequency counter

UTC6610 hidden away behind the LCD, while
the flip-flop circuitry (just to set FM, AM states) is
visible as the SMD transistors
Fig. 3: The radio

(b)

Fig. 2: (a) 4 digit-LCD and (b) image of the LCD

in the FM mode. In the AM mode, it is

455 kHz above the displayed frequen-
cy. 70kHz offsets are also available as
Fig. 7: The back side: RF shield-cum-LCD
an option in the FM mode, but we are mechanical support. Notice the purple and black
skipping this for now as the radios wire for VHF and HF input, respectively
we rip these modules from have no
70kHz IF.
The LCD driver converts binary
data into voltages necessary to drive
the LCD unit.

Opening up the radio

The best part about Kchibo KK-939B
radio is use of minimal external points.
Also, it is simple to understand and
operate, has an LED light to illuminate
the LCD, and looks good. I recommend
beginners to buy this radio and rip it
apart for a clean, high-performance
frequency counter.
To access the frequency counter
board, the radio (Kchibo KK-939B) has
to be opened up. In the close-up of the
Fig. 4: Opened up radio; note that the brown
PCB is the frequency counter and LCD section
and green PCB is the radio receiver
frequency counter PCB (Fig. 9), you
will notice the solder joints marked VH
input, HF input, points ‘1’ through ‘5,’
FM and AM. VHF input is to be con-
nected to the RF source whose frequen-
cy you want to determine (from 11 to
150 MHz). HF input is to be connected
to the RF source whose frequency you
Fig. 8: The purple line leads to the take-off point
for the VHF oscillator (FM section), while the
rightmost black wire leads to the take-off point
for the AM oscillator
want to determine (up to 30 MHz).
‘1’ is an input point. It has to be
kept at 0V for FM (VHF) operation
and 10kHz resolution in the AM mode

1 0 8 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

Fig. 9: Close-up of the frequency counter PCB
Fig. 10: The chip-on-board is the UTC6610
(HF opera-
tion). Setting
it to Vcc in HF
mode only sets
the display
resolution to
1 kHz. ‘2’ is an
output point
Fig. 11: Connect a small
switch between point ‘1’ for the radio
and GND and Vcc which lets
the IC know
whether it’s the AM (SW/MW) mode
or FM mode. ‘3’ is an input point at
Vcc (3V, do not exceed 3.3V). ‘4’ is the
input point at GND. ‘5’ is the output
point that controls power to the radio,
shutting off power to the IC when in
clock mode.
Pressing FM button activates the
VHF counter with a resolution of 100
kHz and frequency range of 11 MHz
to 150 MHz. The input is via the pur-
ple wire (shown in Fig. 9); the colour
may differ in your radio. You must set
point 1 to 0V for proper operation. The
display reading must be added to 10.7
MHz to get the actual frequency.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Fig. 12: Crude connection example
A flip-flop comprising SMD transis-
tors on the PCB locks the UTC in this
mode until the AM button is pressed.
Default mode on startup is the FM
mode.
Pressing AM button activates the
HF counter with frequency range of 0.5
to 30 MHz. The input is via the black
wire (shown in Fig. 9); the colour may
differ in your radio. Set point 1 to Vcc
for 1kHz resolution and RF input of
0.5 to 9.999 MHz. Set point 1 to 0V for
10kHz resolution and 0.5 MHz to 29.99
MHz. Actual tests show it exceeds
75 MHz in this mode, which is good.
Reading on the display must be added
to 455 kHz to get the actual frequency.
A flip-flop comprising SMD transis-
tors on the PCB locks the UTC in this
mode until the FM button is pressed.
Default mode on startup is the FM
mode. To activate the AM mode, this
button has to be pressed.
Notice the blob of solder above the
VHF input point. This is the ground.
Of course, the clock pushbuttons
are still working perfectly, so you may
use them to set the clock too. You will
have to shift the SPDT switch (the
switch which controls the radio ‘on’
and ‘off’) to ‘off’ position in order to
activate the clock, and to ‘on’ position
in order to activate the RF counter.
Please note that here we’re not try-
ing to use the UTC6610 directly. Most
of the hard work of wiring up the 6610
IC, providing an LCD, making the PCB
and adding components has been done
by the radio manufacturer; in this case,
Kchibo. All we are attempting to do
here is to understand operation of the
UTC6610, and in turn operation of the
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 0 9
do-it-yourself
PCB provided by the manufacturer of
the radio, so as to come up with a quick,
compact, cost-effective RF counter.
To have a look at the IC, lift the
LCD, and you will see that the chip-
on-board (COB) is the UTC 6610 (see
Fig. 10).
Making the RF counter
1. Cut out the 5-wire ribbon cable. Un-
solder it from the counter board.
2. Cut the VHF and HF input wires
from the points on the radio PCB, not
the counter PCB.
3. The counter PCB is now sepa-
rated from the radio receiver PCB.
4. Solder a red wire to point ‘3’ of
the counter PCB. This is your positive
3V supply wire.
5. Solder a green wire to point ‘4’ of
the PCB. This serves as ground.
6. Connect a small switch between
point ‘1’ and GND and Vcc, as shown
in Fig. 11. Push the switch to 1kHz
position for 1kHz resolution in the
AM mode, and to 10kHz resolution for
10kHz in the AM mode. The switch has
to be kept in the 10kHz resolution mode
for proper VHF operation (FM mode).
With this, your crude-looking but
great-performance RF counter is set to
go. But bear a few things in mind:
1. Keep the VHF and HF wires as
short as possible. Their length will not
affect the performance of the counter,
but the circuit under test (for example,
the oscillator you might have built).
2. Couple the HF and VHF wires to
the RF sources via a 2pF capacitor.
3. Preferably, replace the VHF and
HF crude wires with easily available
75-ohm cable TV coax. This provides
RF shielding and noise immunity to a
good degree.
Fig. 12 shows a crude connection
example. Note how the green wire (HF
wire) is directly fed to the output of the
oscillator (very crude, do not attempt
this), without any capacitor or buffer.
(I admit this green wire belongs to a
different counter, but the operation
and concept are the same, as it too uses
the UTC6610.) Once I disconnected the
counter from the oscillator I had made,
 do-it-yourself
the frequency moved up by 1 MHz.
What is important to understand
here is: If you’re keeping the counter
connected to the output of a non-
buffered oscillator, the reading of the
counter plus 455/10.7 (as the case may
be, FM or AM mode, as shown on the
LCD) will be the true reading. At-
tempting to count the frequency and
then disconnecting the counter will set
the oscillator at a different frequency
after counting due to the capacitance
and loading effect of the counter. The
reading got then is invalid as the fre-
quency changes on the removal of the
counter.
Keeping this effect in mind, it is
important to:
1. Use the 2pF capacitor. It causes
minimal frequency shift due to mini-
mal capacitance effect, so that the
reading obtained, and the frequency
after removing the counter from your
oscillator, don’t differ much.
2. Buffer your oscillator. Buffer-
ing of oscillators is very important to
prevent your oscillators from being
affected by external components.
Fig. 13: Suggested connection
Fig. 13 shows the suggested con-
nection. Never connect the HF and
VHF counter pins together. Use sepa-
rate ports and coax cables for both.
Why it’s good for
beginners?
There are other radio receiver models
available with more work to do (in
terms of points). Fig. 14 shows an
example: As you can see, the number
of lines is more, and more connec-
tions have to be made in order to get
it working. But for a beginner, the KK-
939B is a great radio with a great coun-
ter board. It has on-board flip-flops
that make the external connections
simple. In the case of the board shown
in Fig. 14, all the flip-flops are on the
radio PCB, so the number of connec-
Fig. 14: Another radio receiver example
tions is much more. Besides, separating
the counter PCB from the radio PCB
removes the luxury of pushbuttons
and flip-flops; which are present in the
KK-939B.
It took me two month to under-
stand the operation of the counter
shown in Fig. 14. After all the UTC6610
learning and circuit decoding (exten-
sive), the KK-939 took only 17 minutes
flat. That’s why it’s good for beginners.
Enjoy and have fun with your inexpen-
sive counter. The radio should be avail-
able for Rs 250 or less. Have fun! 
The author is from Manipal Institute of Technol-
ogy

Statement about ownership and other particulars about

Electronics For You
FORM IV (See Rule 8)
1. Place of publication : New Delhi
2. Periodicity of its publication : Monthly
3. Printer’s Name : Ramesh Chopra
Nationality : Indian
Address : Electronics For You
D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area,
Phase I, New Delhi 110020
4. Publisher’s Name : Same as (3) above
Nationality
and address
5. Names and addresses of : EFY Enterprises Pvt Ltd
individuals who own the D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area,
newspaper & partners or Phase 1, New Delhi 110020
shareholders holding more
than 1% of the total capital

I, Ramesh Chopra, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of
my knowledge and belief.
Date: 28-2-2009
Ramesh Chopra
Publisher

1 1 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
wireless
Bluetooth Scatternets
A Cost-Effective Solution for Communication
The most popular application of Bluetooth is communication between
two directly paired devices. Here, we explore a less popular but powerful
application of Bluetooth which can help extend the range of Bluetooth
communication and provide a free infrastructure for communication
 Ahzam Ali
B
luetooth is a low-power, low-
cost and short-range wireless
technology. It was originally
developed by Ericsson for short-range
communication between personal
devices, e.g., data transfer between
a cellphone and a computer, or com-
munication with a printer. Bluetooth
devices use the unlicensed ISM band
at 2.4 GHz.
Nowadays most of the mobile de-
vices, including mobile phones, MP3
players, digital cameras, video cam-
eras, PDAs, laptop PCs, tablet PCs and
so forth, are equipped with Bluetooth.
So you can exchange data between
these devices without requiring the
use of wires. Bluetooth is considered
to be a high-potential technology for
providing wireless communication in
a home-networking environment.
1 1 2 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
Bluetooth is an evolving technol-
ogy. It has gone through three (stand-
ardised) revisions of the approved
standard by Bluetooth Special Interest
Group (SIG), the latest one being Blue-
tooth 2.1 EDR (enhanced data rate) in
early part of 2008. The latest standard
supports enhanced usability, i.e., pair-
ing of devices by means of near-field
communication (NFC), enhanced
security and broader range of device
profiles.
When a number of Bluetooth de-
vices communicate to each other in the
same vicinity, there is a high level of
interference. To combat interference,
Bluetooth technology applies a fast
frequency-hopping scheme which hops
over 79 channels 1600 times per second.
For devices to communicate to each
other using Bluetooth they need to be
paired with each other to have synchro-
nised frequency-hopping sequence.
Scatternets: A set of
piconets
When there is a collection of devices
paired with each other, it forms a
small personal area network called
‘piconet.’ A piconet consists of a mas-
ter and at most seven active slaves.
Each piconet has its own hopping se-
quence and the master and all slaves
share the same channel. In a piconet,
the master and slave devices trans-
mit packets in even and odd slots,
respectively.
Two or more piconets connected
to each other by means of a device
(called ‘bridge’) participating in both
the piconets, form a scatternet. The role
of the bridge is to transmit data across
piconets. Fig. 1 shows a scatternet
structure in which devices ‘a’ and ‘c’
play the master role and device ‘b’ acts
as the bridge.
The scatternet formation has not
been formally defined in the Bluetooth
SIG specifications. As a result, numer-
ous protocols have been proposed.
While modeling ad-hoc networking,
in general, is complex, the additional
restrictions imposed by the Bluetooth
specifications—such as low cost of
the device, low power consumption
and network resilience while using
piconets that have a maximum of
seven active nodes—have created a
P1 c P2
a b
MASTER
SLAVE
BRIDGE
Fig. 1: Scatternet structure
w w w. e f y m ag . co m

significant challenge.
Formation of scatternets
There has been a comprehensive study
to propose an efficient formation of con-
nected scatternet. One important prob-
lem that exists with scatternet as well
as piconet formation is to keep track of
the device that comes in and goes out of
the network—since these are low-power
handheld devices with limited commu-
nication range over Bluetooth. A device
connects to another device at random,
according to their 48-bit Bluetooth ad-
dresses and clocks, which control the
hopping behaviour in inquiry or inquiry
scan states. Most protocols seek to re-
duce the scatternet formation time and
form fast routing algorithms.
It turns out that a good scatternet
formation protocol should:
1. Be fully distributed and rely on
local information
2. Generate connected scatternets
3. Be resilient to the disconnection
of nodes anywhere in the scatternet
4. Provide multiple routes for ro-
bustness and be self-healing
5. Limit the number of bridges
6. Limit the number of roles a de-
vice can assume
7. Be aware of device resources
While forming a scatternet, keep
in mind that you are dealing with, in
general, small, energy- and process-
ing-power-starved devices. The fol-
lowing points should be taken care of
while developing scatternet formation
protocols:
1. Minimise scatternet construction
time
2. Minimise the amount of control
data transmitted
3. Minimise the number of hops
required for communication between
devices, in order to improve response
times
4. Minimise power consumption.
Master-and-bridge mode of operation
requires more power than slave mode
5. Minimise the number of roles
assigned to nodes
6. Minimise the number of piconets
to provide faster routing and reduced
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Fig. 2: Showing efficient network after role
switching
Fig. 3: Unnecessary bridge elimination
packet collisions
7. Maximise the amount of data
throughput
Given a scatternet, you can evaluate
its performance based on the number
of piconets, the number of nodes per
piconet, the number of bridge nodes,
the number of roles per node, average
traffic delay, throughput and maxi-
mum traffic delay.
Numerous models have been
proposed for constructing Bluetooth
scatternets, some of which may require
modifications to the existing Bluetooth
specifications.
Role switching
Role switching enables two devices
to exchange roles very rapidly, rather
than reconnecting by executing the
time-consuming inquiry and inquiry
scan processes. The role switching
operation involves fewer slots than the
inquiry/inquiry scan and page/page
scan operations in switching the roles
of the devices.
There are three major types of role
switching operations:
1. Combining. A situation where a
single node works both as slave in one
piconet and master in another.
2. Splitting. A piconet with a large
number of devices divided in two
piconets with smaller number of de-
vices.
3. Take-over. When the existing
mast or a bridge is about to move out
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 1 3
wireless
of the scatternet, it transfers its re-
sponsibilities to another device in the
scatternet.
There is a switching delay (called
‘guard time’) introduced by bridges
while they try to transmit packets
across the piconets. Eliminating the
unnecessary bridges from the net-
work will improve the perform-
ance of the scatternet. There exist
various protocols and algorithms
to optimise the roles that a device
assumes in a scatternet.
We see in the following exam-
ples how effective role assignment
can reduce the hop count while
routing a packet, help reduce
the number of bridges in the network
and result in an efficient scatternet
structure.
In Fig. 2, the original network was
formed with ‘c’ as a bridge node and ‘a’
and ‘b’ as the masters on two different
piconets p1 and p2. Using role switch-
ing, with the help of ‘c,’ improves the
structure of the scatternet (now formed
as a ‘piconet’), shortens the routing
path and eliminates the bridge delay
in the network.
Fig. 3 shows another example of
better role switching operation that
results in an improved network struc-
ture.
Scatternet applications
By now you might be wondering what
possible use these scatternets could be
put to. Well, there are papers proposing
voice communication between two mo-
bile devices connected over a Bluetooth
scatternet, up to a distance of 100 metres
in an indoor environment. One of the
popular applications developed by No-
kia, called ‘sensor,’ works on somewhat
similar principles. It lets users communi-
cate to each other, bypassing the service
provider’s network, over Bluetooth.
Sensor networks are another ex-
ample where the Bluetooth scatternets
can be used. Since sensor networks are
generally ad-hoc, Bluetooth scatternet
can be used for communication of
sensors with each other and the base.
This will eliminate the requirement of
wireless
developing a special-purpose protocol
for sensor networks.
Problems to be addressed
The Bluetooth scatternet formation
devices are generally small, running on
batteries, with low-powered CPU and
low memory. At the same time, these are
highly mobile and may frequently move
in and out of the network. This leads us
to think about:
1. Topology and size of scatternets.
What is the optimal number of piconets
in the scatternet and how many nodes
are there? The number of bridge nodes
increases (proportionally) with the
increasing number of piconets. The in-
creases, in turn, incur significant over-
head: loss of one or more time slots to
readjust clocking when shifting from
one piconet to another, more traffic
than non-bridge nodes and increased
battery power consumption to perform
these tasks.
What is the optimal number of
piconets in which a bridge should par-
ticipate? The more the piconets with
which a bridge communicates, the less
the time during which the bridge will
be available for dealing with traffic
from/to each individual piconet, thus
increasing the likelihood of bottlenecks,
at the bridge itself.
2. Formation delay and resilience.
How much time is required to con-
struct, optimise and maintain the scat-
ternet? The ad-hoc, dynamic nature of
a Bluetooth network requires constant
modifications to the scatternet topol-
ogy to support devices that join and
leave. How to handle the nodes that
join or leave the scatternets?
3. Polling and scheduling. In what
order will the slaves be polled by the
master? Does the scatternet topology
impact the ability to handle scheduled
communications from slaves in sniff or
hold state?
4. Routing. Does the scatternet topol-
ogy allow efficient routing of messages?
Work in the area
There are a number of papers discuss-
ing the effective routing protocols
1 1 4 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
for Bluetooth scatternets. Also, there
are quite a few papers which discuss
the point of organising the scatternet
in an efficient fashion, dealing with
disparate aspects of scatternet opti-
misation. A proposal in ‘Bluetooth
Scatternet Formation for Supporting
Device Mobility,’ by Chorng-Horng
Yang and Yi- Sheng Chen, deals with
mobility support in a Bluetooth scat-
ternet network, but relies on a Blue-
tooth backbone network consisting of
devices that are not mobile. Another
work done on similar lines is ‘Tracking
the Optimal Configuration of a Blue-
tooth Scatternet’ by Csaba Kiss Kalló
and Carla-Fabiana Chiasserini, which
deals with similar problem of redefin-
ing the role of nodes in scatternets but
concentrates on improving the energy
efficiency of the nodes. Also, there are
numerous proposals for routing proto-
cols including MANET (mobile ad-hoc
network) protocols.
Future in Bluetooth
The new Bluetooth specification, called
the Bluetooth 2.1, is already published.
It is fully backward-compatible with
1.1. The specification includes many
new security and usability enhance-
ments. The most interesting of these
is incorporation of the near-field
communication (NFC) device, which
helps in pairing of two Bluetooth de-
vices equipped with NFC chip by just
bringing them close to each other. For
example, a headset can be paired with
a Bluetooth 2.1 phone having NFC
chip just by bringing the two devices
close to each other. Another example
is automatic uploading of photos from
a mobile phone to a digital picture
frame just by bringing the phone close
to the frame. Features like this and
other security enhancements will help
Bluetooth gain user confidence.
A lot of work is in progress in
the area of Bluetooth, to enhance and
widen the application of Bluetooth
protocol. In the future, we may expect
features like:
1. Broadcast channels. These will
enable Bluetooth information points
that broadcast information to all Blue-
tooth devices in the vicinity. So users
will be able to pull relevant informa-
tion from the system.
2. Topology manger. It will enable
better configuration of piconets and
even scatternets.
3. Alternate media access physical
layer. It will enable use of some other
wireless technology for actual data
transfer at higher rate while maintain-
ing the initial pairing on standard
Bluetooth.
4. QoS improvements. These will
enable audio and video data transmis-
sion at a higher quality.
Nokia and Bluetooth SIG have an-
nounced that Wibree (Nokia’s low pow-
er wireless communication protocol) will
be a part of the Bluetooth specification
as an ultra-low-power Bluetooth tech-
nology, to be used in caller ID watches,
sports sensors (used for monitoring the
wearer’s heart rate during exercise) as
well as medical devices. A medical de-
vices profile and associated protocols are
being developed by the Medical Devices
Working Group (MDWG).
Bluetooth 3.0. The next version of
Bluetooth after v2.1, code-named Seat-
tle, is proposed to adopt ultra-wide-
band (UWB) radio technology. This
will allow Bluetooth use over UWB
radio, enabling very fast data transfers
of up to 480 Mbps, while taking the ad-
vantage of very low-power idle modes
of Bluetooth.
Extending the scope
Even though work on Bluetooth scat-
ternet is going on for about a decade
now, it has failed to generate interest
amongst general consumer electronics
goods manufacturers. Bluetooth scat-
ternets find most of their use in sensor
networks. When there is a limitation
on setting up the communication in-
frastructure, Bluetooth scatternet could
turn out to be a cost-effective solution.
In future, as the processing power of
electronic devices grows and they be-
come more energy-efficient, Bluetooth
might see its way into already evolving
Bluetooth standards. 
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Recently introduced in India, From near and far
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Enterprise-class hard drives
Seagate has announced two new mem-
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8.9cm (3.5-inch) enterprise infrastruc-
ture, the new Cheetah drives bolster
sustainability through easy drive/sys-
tem integration, and provide improved
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
levels of system performance, capacity,
reliability and lower power consump-
tion.
Built for 8.9cm Tier 1 storage ap-
plications, the 15K.7 and the NS.2
are said to be the largest-capacity,
mission-critical drives offered at 600
GB. The 15K.7 is claimed to deliver
the highest performance of any 8.9cm
drive, while the NS.2 features the low-
est power requirement of any 8.9cm
Tier 1 drive.
Fortune Marketing (Seagate Distributor),
New Delhi
Phone: (011) 26414468, 26472491
E-mail: sales@fortune-it.com
Test & measurement
Reference thermometers
Hart Scientific, a division of Fluke Cor-
poration, has introduced the Fluke 1523
and Fluke 1524 handheld reference
thermometers for platinum resistance
thermometer
(PRT), ther-
mocouple
and thermis-
tor tempera-
ture meas-
urement. The
single- and
dual-channel
models fea-
ture precision
components
and circuitry
to put lab-quality measurement in
easy reach of field technicians and
engineers.
These rugged and affordable ther-
mometers offer accuracy of ±0.002°C—
a level appropriate for high-precision
field work in oil, gas and other in-
dustries, where the current practice
is the use of toxic mercury-in-glass
thermometers. Fluke guarantees
the specifications in –10°C to 60°C
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 1 5
ambient temperatures, with the best
performance over the range of 13°C
to 33°C.
TTL Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bangalore
Fax: (080) 25291285
Phone: 25260646, 25251859
E-mail: tmidirect@ttlindia.com
Website: ttlindia.com
Handheld digital
multimeters
Messals Overseas (India) has intro-
duced high-performance, handheld
digital multimeters (model Nos 1061
and 1062) from Kyoritsu, Japan.
These 50,000-count, true-RMS
multimeters have basic DC accuracy of
0.025 per cent. They use high-perform-
ance, UL-standard fuses with user cali-
bration function. Peak-hold response
time is 250 µs. The multimeters can
measure AC/DC voltage up to 1000V,
current up to 10A and resistance up to
50 mega-ohms. Other functions include
temperature and capacitance measure-
ments with diode test and continuity
check.
Messals Overseas (I) Pvt Ltd, Jaipur
Fax: (0141) 2706639
Phone: 2705361
E-mail: messals_kew@dataone.in
Tools & Equipment
Energy saver
The Coolite energy saver by Conzerv
helps to save 10 to 20 per cent of
direct lighting energy consumption
and runs lamps cooler. It looks simi-
lar to a computer’s CPU and has to
be connected to the
lighting supply. Coolite
is suitable for stabi-
lised lighting circuits in
commercial buildings
and complexes, hotels,
hospitals, BPOs, cinema
halls, auditoria, stadia
(indoor/outdoor), educational institu-
tions, residential buildings and apart-
ments and all industrial facilities. It
filters harmonics injected to the line by
electronic lighting ballasts and reduces
spikes in lighting circuits.
E Power Engineering, Chennai
Fax: (044) 24337599
Phone: 24337598
Inductive proximity sensor
R.S. Electronics has introduced induc-
tive proximity sensors that can detect
the presence of a wide range of metallic
targets. This detection is accomplished
without contacting the target and is
mechanically wear-free.
The sensors are available in DC
as well as AC, in various sizes rang-
ing from M8 to M80, with various
configurations and sensing distances.
Inductive micro box sensors, slot
sensors or any other type of sensor
can be supplied as per the specific
requirement.
R.S. Electronics, Chennai
E-mail: rselectronics75@ymail.com
Foot switch
Teknic’s foot switch (type FS-99) is
ideal for any light- to medium-duty
application, with an electrical rating
of 16A, ½HP,
250V AC. It
can serve as
a foot-operat-
ed, ‘on’/‘off’
switch for a
wide range of
motor-driven
and electrical
devices. The switch is constructed with
a sturdy metal housing and can be
used as an independent product, but
can also be supplied with an additional
guard in different colours for certain
applications.
The switch can be used in
1 1 6 • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
operation of logic signals, coil-winding
machines, photo lab equipment, sew-
ing machines, packaging equipment,
conveyor belts, printing equipment
and CNC machines.
Teknic Electromeconics Pvt Ltd, Bangalore
Fax: (080) 28520254
Phone: 28520389, 28520714
E-mail: tepl_wks@satyam.net.in
Air-dust cleaner
Cecon Pollutech Systems has intro-
duced a high-efficiency, portable,
air-dust cleaner designed to create
dust-free atmosphere in conditioned
and non-conditioned areas. Clean-
ing efficiency of this system is 0.1
micron with power consumption of
150 watts.
The wall-hanging cleaner is easy
to install with low maintenance cost
and nil consumables required for op-
eration. It is highly useful for places
like currency chest and sorting areas
in process control rooms of banks, tel-
ephone exchanges, research labora-
tories, operation theatres, and other
places requiring clean and dust-free
atmosphere.
Cecon Pollutech Systems (P) Ltd, Lucknow
Telefax: (0522) 2386331
Phone: 2700202, 2391709
E-mail: cecon5@yahoo.com
Networking
Broadband router
Edimax’s Ultra Range plus Wireless-N
broadband router is a 3-in-1 device.
First, there’s the wireless access point,
which lets you
connect to the
network without
wires. There’s
also a built-in 4-
port, full-duplex
10/100 switch
to connect your
wired-Ethernet
devices together.
Finally, the router function ties it all
together and lets your whole network
share a high-speed cable or DSL Inter-
net connection.
Edimax Technology Co. Ltd, New Delhi
Phone: (011) 41608180
E-mail: renu@edimax.com.tw
Web: www.edimax.com
Components
IGBT for xenon flash
Sanyo Semiconductor claims to have
developed the industry’s smallest
IGBT for xenon flash to be used in
portable camera phones and compact
digital cameras.
The new IGBT reduces its mount-
ing area by 60 per cent compared
to Sanyo’s current products while
keeping the equivalent performance
required for light control of the xenon
flash. This new product is ideal for
portable camera cell phones as well as
compact digital cameras.
The IGBT contributes to environ-
mental friendliness by incorporating
lead-free external terminals, halogen-
free packaging and reduction of rare
metals used. Smaller, thinner, and
high-performance package leads to re-
source savings and energy efficiency.
Sanyo Semiconductor (S) Pte Ltd, India Liaison
Office, Noida
Fax: (0120) 4232108
Phone: 4232106-8, 4232109 (Direct)
E-mail: puneet03_sanyo@airtelmail.in
Broadband signal amplifier IC
STMicroelectronics has introduced
a broadband signal amplifier IC that
supports higher frequencies and faster
response, as well as lower noise, than
amplifiers used in current equipment.
The TS617 supports up to 200MHz
operation, which will satisfy faster
broadband services such as 24Mbps
ADSL2+, and VDSL offering up to
100Mbps download and upload
speeds. It is also optimised for use
in broadband powerline networking
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
using standards such as HomePlug
1.0 and HomePlugAV. HomePlugAV
is a new standard developed by the
HomePlug Powerline Alliance which
will allow home entertainment devices
to share the Internet and TV, audio and
video using AC mains wiring instead
of dedicated network cables.
STMicroelectronics Marketing Pvt Ltd, Noida,
Uttar Pradesh
Fax: 0120-4243417
Phone: 4243400
Miscellaneous
TFT monitor
Moser Baer India has launched a sleek
and stylish LCD TFT monitor for those
who have a knack for gaming, video
editing and other multimedia applica-
tions. The monitor (MBI TFTL5C) is
priced at Rs 7000, thus making it ideal
for low-cost entertainment and gaming.
Its other features are 38cm (15-inch)
wide display with high resolution, fast
response time of six microseconds and
aspect ratio of 16:10.
Moser Baer India Ltd, New Delhi
Phone: 26911570-74
Fax: (011) 26911860
E-mail: manish.sood@moserbaer.in
SDHC video cards
Kingston Technology Company, Inc.,
has released a line of SDHC video
cards for use in digital camcorders.
The SDHC video cards carry plenty of
recording time and are available in 60-
minute (4GB), 120-minute (8GB) and
240-minute (16GB) capacities.
The cards feature a Class-4 speed
rating, which guarantees a minimum
data transfer rate of 4 MB/s, making
them ideal for use in the latest digital
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
camcorders and for fast transfer from
the card to a PC.
Kingston Technology, Mumbai
Phone: (022) 26592961
E-mail: techsupport_india@kingston.com.tw
Website: kingston.com/asia
Video encoder
Axis Communications has introduced
a highly compact and cost-effective
one-channel video encoder with H.264
video compression.
The M7001 video encoder is perfect
for integrating small or large numbers
of analogue CCTV surveillance camer-
as into an IP-based video surveillance
system. Installed close to an analogue
camera, it converts analogue video
signals from the analogue camera into
digital video streams that are then sent
over an IP-based network (LAN/in-
tranet/Internet). The video encoder
also provides pan, tilt and zoom sup-
port to PTZ and PTZ dome cameras.
AXIS M7001 can deliver two simul-
taneous video streams, one in H.264
and another in Motion JPEG, at full
frame rate in all resolutions up to D1
(720x480 in NTSC, 720x576 in PAL).
It drastically reduces bandwidth and
storage requirements without compro-
mising image quality.
Axis Video Systems India Private Limited,
Bangalore
Fax: (080) 40239111
Phone: 41571222
E-mail: prakash.prabhu@axis.com
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • M a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 1 7
 corporate news
Industry News
Semiconductor market
continues to grow
The total revenues of the Indian semi-
conductor market are poised to grow
from $5.9 billion in 2008 to $7.59 billion
in 2010 at a CAGR of 13.4 per cent. The
total available market revenues are
anticipated to climb from $2.53 billion
in 2008 to $3.24 billion in 2010 with a
CAGR of 13.1 per cent, according to
a report by The India Semiconductor
Association (ISA) and Frost and Sul-
livan (F&S).
IT and office automation, wireless
handsets and communication segments
are going to define the semiconductor
market growth. The semiconduc-
tor market growth is expected to be
driven by such products and services
as set-top boxes, wireless handsets,
the 3G rollout, deployment of WiMAX,
notebooks and smart cards. Opportuni-
ties exist for semiconductors in LCD
TV, digital camera and storage Flash
memory markets.
Telecom too shows growth
Defying the economic slowdown, the
telecom sector has witnessed a robust
growth. The companies are adding
substantial number of subscribers
and this trend is persisting for the last
many quarters. For instance, the ag-
gregate net subscriber addition during
the quarter ended December 2008 was
around 31.6 million resulting in a se-
quential growth of 10 per cent.
Indian telecom services providers
are at different phases of their growth
cycles and have adopted different
business models to attract new custom-
ers. Bharti Airtel, which is the market
leader with around 25 per cent market
share, is in a stable growth phase,
thanks to its pan-India GSM service.
The other two big players—Reli-
ance Communications (RCom) and
Idea—are launching their GSM serv-
1 1 8 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
 new ventures  calendar
Satoru Ito to retire as
Renesas chairman, CEO
Renesas Technology has announced
changes in its management team,
with effect from April 1, 2009. The
new appointments are subject to
approval of the general shareholders’
meeting to be held before the end of
March 2009. Satoru Ito, chairman and
CEO since April 2006, will retire from
his position. Katsuhiro Tsukamoto,
currently president and COO, will be
appointed as the company’s chairman
and board director. And, Yasushi Akao
will take up the post of president, while
continuing as board director.
Samsung appoints GM-IT
volume sales
Samsung India has appointed Gurpreet
Brar as the general manager for its IT
volume sales business. In this role,
Brar will handle the company’s volume
business, comprising LCD monitor,
HDD, OMS and notebook PC product
categories along with the company’s
retail business for both the volume and
printer business in India.
ices in different circles of the country.
From aggressive marketing to very low
tariffs, these two companies are adopt-
ing every startegy to attract subscribers
in the circles they have launched their
services recently. Almost all companies
are increasing their network capacity,
setting up new equipment for technol-
ogy adoption or spending more money
to acquire new subscribers.
Flat growth expected
in PC sales
Given the current macro-economic
conditions and conservative buying
sentiment in the market, the overall PC
sales in fiscal 2008-09 are expected to
remain at the same levels as in the last
fiscal at 7.3 million units.
As per the findings of The Manu-
facturers’ Association for Information
 new appointments
In Focus
NDS appoints director-sales
NDS India, a provider of technology
solutions for digital pay-TV, has
appointed Alan Dishington as the
director of sales. Based out of New
Delhi, Dishington will be reporting to
Sue Taylor, senior vice president and
general manager, NDS Asia Pacific.
In his new position, he will oversee
all Indian business development,
sales and pre-sales activities. He
will be responsible for identifying
and developing new business
opportunities for NDS end-to-end pay-
TV solutions in India in cable, satellite
(DTH) and IPTV.
Rathore is Videocon’s
chief marketing officer
Jaideep Rathore has been appointed
as the chief marketing officer by
consumer durable firm Videocon.
Earlier, Rathore was heading the
company’s Italy operations. Rathore
would be overseeing the marketing
functions of all the brands for
consumer electronics and appliances
of Videocon across the country.
Technology (MAIT), the total PC sales
between April and September 2008,
with desktop computers and notebooks
taken together, were 3.69 million units,
registering a growth of 12 per cent over
the same period last fiscal. The sales of
desktops stood at 2.91 million units,
registering a growth of 12 per cent.
Notebooks recorded a consumption of
770,000 units, growing 13 per cent over
the same period last year.
The desktop PC and notebook sales
in fiscal 2008-09 are expected to be 5.5
million units and 1.85 million units—
almost the same as in fiscal 2007-08.
HDTV broadcast to start
soon in India
Doordarshan plans to broadcast next
year’s Commonwealth Games in high-
definition TV (HDTV) format. HDTV
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
will provide viewers a picture that is
16 times better than regular television.
The Information and Broadcasting
Ministry has asked for the Cabinet’s
approval for studios in four metros to
broadcast the games on HDTV, already
adopted by BBC and Sky Sports.
However, to get HDTV broadcast,
the end user’s TV should be HD-ena-
bled. For that you can buy an HD-com-
patible TV or a set-to box to make your
existing TV HD-compatible.
Delhi to get its SEZ
The Delhi government plans to establish
a special economic zone (SEZ) in the
capital. The government has also iden-
tified sectors for the setting up of SEZs,
which include electronic hardware
and software, information technology-
enabled services (ITeS), nanotechnol-
ogy and biotechnology amongst others.
No polluting industries will be allowed
to set up inside SEZs, and environmen-
tal clearance is a must for all projects
except those dealing with ITeS.
The proposed SEZ should also con-
form to the land use pattern prescribed
in the overall Master Plan Delhi 2021,
and only those proposals where the ap-
plicants already have adequate land as
prescribed under the SEZ Act will be
considered by the government.
Videocon forays into power
backup business
Consumer durable major Videocon
has entered the power backup equip-
ment space with the launch of a range
of devices. With this new venture, the
company aims to reach a revenue of Rs
5 billion by next year and further it to
Rs 10 billion by 2011.
The products will be available in
three variants (600VA, 800VA and
1400VA), in the price range of Rs 4990
to Rs 11,990. The company has also
introduced batteries in the market.
Samsung to launch
nine digicams
Samsung India is betting big on the
digital camera market and plans to
launch nine new models in the first
half of 2009.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
“This year, we expect the 7- and
8-megapixel resolution cameras to
continue to dominate the market. We
also expect to see the introduction of
full high-definition digital cameras in
the Indian market,” shared R. Zutshi,
deputy managing director, Samsung
India.
Samsung closed 2008 with a mar-
ket share of around 11 per cent in the
digital still camera market. It is now
looking at doubling its volumes this
year based on the introduction of nine
new digital still camera models in the
first half of this year.
ViewSonic remodeling its
distribution plans
ViewSonic has announced its expan-
sion plan for India for the year 2009.
The company is planning to introduce
in India its high-end products such as
all-in-one PCs and netbooks. To unveil
these products, ViewSonic is remodel-
ling its distribution plans for India.
Alan Chang, managing director of
ViewSonic International, said, “Our
focus now is to scale up the Indian op-
erations by launching unique concept
product lines suited specifically to the
Indian environment of operation that
not only provide innovative solutions
to the customers but also set a bench-
mark for the industry to follow.”
In addition, the company would
be launching a demo drive through
its key channel partners in the metro
cities. This would be later followed by
a country-wide aggressive marketing
initiative to educate the customers on
the benefits of these concept products.
Dixon to set up LCD TV unit
Dixon Technologies, the owner of the
consumer durable brand Weston, will
set up a manufacturing unit for LCD
TV sets at Oragadam in Tamil Nadu.
According to Dixon’s managing di-
rector Sunil Vachini, “The 200,000 units
per annum plant will service the South-
ern markets, while the company’s other
LCD TV plant at Uttarakhand (having
annual capacity of 100,000 units) will
serve the remaining markets.”
Once operational, the plant will
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 1 9
start making the 48.3cm (19-inch) LCD
TVs, which will be sold at Rs 10,000.
Philips Electronics India
moves to new office
Philips Electronics India has moved
to its new office in Gurgaon. Based on
the concept of work place innovation
(WPI), the new workplace is part of
the company’s approach to integrate
business processes and leverage scale
and synergies across organisation. Pre-
viously, Philips had its offices spread
across Pune, New Delhi and Mumbai.
Working from one office, at one
location, will offer employees an op-
portunity to communicate and inter-
act across divisional and functional
boundaries.
According to Gerard Kleisterlee,
president and CEO, Royal Philips
Electronics, “The new Philips India of-
fice will be a trendsetter in work space
design and ways of working, support-
ing teams in their commitment to scale
up Philips’ presence in India.”
Moser Baer to install
rooftop solar PV in Surat
Moser Baer Photovoltaic (MBPV) has
won a contract from roads and build-
ings department of Gujarat to set up
what the company calls one of India’s
largest rooftop solar photovoltaic (SPV)
installations in Surat. The SPV system, of
approximately 135 kilowatt-peak (kWp)
installed capacity, will run a 40kW load
for ten hours every day and charge a bat-
tery bank of 6000 ampere hours.
Work on the project has already
started, and the complete system will be
commissioned by April 2009. MBPV will
also manage the operations and mainte-
nance of this site for seven years.
RCom adds five million
new subscribers
Reliance Communications has added
five million new wireless subscribers
on its network during January 2009.
With this achievement, the company
claims to have become India’s first and
world’s first (apart from China) to add
five million new subscribers in a span
of 30 days, on its fully-IP enabled, next-
generation wireless network.
The entry of Reliance Mobile in the
GSM segment has led to an expansion
of the market, with the company seeing
a 285 per cent rise in new subscriber
additions, within the first month of its
nationwide GSM rollout.
BEL signs MoU with Boeing
and Astra Microwave
Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Lim-
ited (BEL) has signed an MoU with
Boeing to jointly develop an analysis
and experimentation centre in India to
offer customers the ability to make bet-
ter informed decisions in modernising
India’s defence forces.
“This joint facility will be staffed
with local personnel who, with an
inherent understanding of India’s chal-
lenges, will be most qualified to work
with the Ministry of Defence to explore
and identify the best ways to satisfy
their capability needs,” said I.V. Sarma,
director-R&D, BEL.
Working together, BEL and Boe-
ing will develop in-country processes
that allow for the development of local
intellectual property as well as integra-
tion of other non-US products into our
environment.
In another development, BEL and
Astra Microwave Products, a provider
of RF and microwave components
and sub-systems for critical defence
and civilian applications, have signed
a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) to form a joint venture com-
pany. The joint venture will design,
develop, prototype, manufacture, and
market RF and microwave products
for use in defense, space and telecom-
munications.
HP India partners with TERI
Hewlett Packard (HP) India, in part-
nership with The Energy and Resourc-
es Institute (TERI), has launched the
‘Hewlett Packard–TERI Schools’ initia-
tive to improve environment projects
in schools. As part of the project, HP
India has awarded a grant of $250,000
comprising cash and technology re-
sources to TERI for the programme.
The primary objective of this partner-
1 2 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u
Calendar of Forthcoming Electronics
Fairs/Exhibitions/Seminars
Name, Date and Venue Topics to be covered Contact address for details
CeBIT 2009 World’s leading event for Geeta Bisht
March 3-8, 2009
Hannover, Germany
software, IT and
communication
Manager-International Fairs
Hannover Fairs India Pvt Ltd
B-303 Dynasty Business Park
Andheri-Kurla Road
Chakala, Andheri East, Mumbai 400059
Fax: (022) 40050683; Phone: 40050681, 82
E-mail: info@hf-india.com; Web: hf-india.com
Information Management Technical conference on For registration, contact:
Technical Conference 2009 IM software Bangalore: 09322302220; Chennai:
(IMTC 2009) 09381506258; Hyderabad: 09391351766;
March 4-6, 2009 Mumbai: 09373466010; Delhi: (011) 32921868
Hotel Le Meridian, Bangalore E-mail: imtc2009@onetwoonemarketing.com
The 3rd World Mobile Summit & Events on the worldwide Rebecca Lee
Sourcing Fair achievement of the mobile Room 629, West Tower
The 5th China Int’l Mobile phone industry supplier Tian’an High-Tech Plaza
Sci-Tech Exhibition chain Phase II, Futian Distt., Shenzhen, China
March 6-7, 2009 Fax: (86755) 83293923, 83297552
Shenzhen Convention & Phone: 82507486, 83293923
Exhibition Center, China E-mail: info@smca.org.cn
Web: smca.org.cn
Open Source India India’s biggest Abhay Kumar
Tech Days 2009 open-source event EFY Enterprises Pvt Ltd
March 12-14, 2009 D-87/1, Okhla Phase-1, New Delhi 110020
Chennai Trade Centre Fax: (011) 26817563; Phone: 26810601, -02, -03
Chennai E-mail: info@efyindia.com, itadvtg3@efyindia.com
17th Convergence India 2009 South Asia’s largest Bunny Sidhu, Vice President
March 18-20, 2009 ICT event Exhibitions India Pvt Ltd
Pragati Maidan, New Delhi 217-B, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase III
New Delhi 110020
Fax: (011) 42795098/99
Phone: 42795000 (Board)/42795031 (Direct)
E-mail: bunnys@eigroup.in
Web: convergenceindia.org
IT India Fair, New Delhi Fair on computer hardware, India Trade Promotion Organisation
March 26-29, 2009 computer systems, Pragati Bhawan, Pragati Maidan
application software, New Delhi 110001
network management Fax: (011) 23371492; Phone: 23371540
and technologies, SAP
and ERP solutions,
E-mail: info@itpo-online.com, itpo@vsnl.com
Web: indiatradefair.com
computer peripherals,
consumables, etc
International CTIA Wireless 2009 Global showcase of the
April 1-3, 2009 latest products and
Tulika Sen
Phone: (022) 42300800
Las Vegas Convention Center innovations in E-mail: tulika.sen@montgomeryindia.com
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA wireless telecom Jignesh Khamar
Phone: (022) 42300800 Ext: 801
E-mail: jignesh.khamar@montgomeryindia.com
Global Sources Electronics & Electronics and Register online: www.chinasourcingfair.com
Components China Sourcing Fair components fair
April 12-15, 2009
AsiaWorld-Expo (next to the
Hong Kong Airport)
GITEX Saudi Arabia 2009
April 19-23, 2009
8th international information
technology exhibition
Vaishali Dua
India representative—GITEX Saudi Arabia 2009
Riyadh International Exhibition Falcon Infocomm Pvt Ltd
Centre, Saudi Arabia 1207, Kailash Building
K.G. Marg, New Delhi 110001
Fax: (011) 23323953; Phone: 23324288
E-mail: events.falcon@gmail.com
Connect 2009
May 5-7, 2009
4th information and
communications technology
Pegasus Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd
2nd Floor, Business Centre
Karachi Expo Centre exhibition and conference Mumtaz Hassan Road, Karachi, Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan Fax: (9221) 2410723
Phone: 111734266 (Pegcon)
E-mail: info@connectit.com.pk
Web: pegasus.com.pk
Edutech Expo 2009
June 13-14, 2009
Hundreds of educational
institutions offering
EFY Enterprises Pvt Ltd
D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1
Pragati Maidan professional courses and New Delhi 110020
New Delhi training under a single roof Fax: (011) 26817563; Phone: 26810601-03
Continued on page 121
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Continued from page 120

Calendar of Forthcoming Electronics ship is to create a motivated force

Fairs/Exhibitions/Seminars of students—leading to cleaner and
greener school campuses—and initiate
Name, Date and Venue Topics to be covered Contact address for details ecologically beneficial initiatives in the
Global Sources Electronics Electronics fair Register online: www.chinasourcingfair.com areas of energy, e-waste management
China Sourcing Fair
June 14-16, 2009
and greening of neighbourhoods.
Dubai International Convention & The initiative will help primary and
Exhibition Centre
secondary schools in Bengaluru, Chen-
EnterpriseIT2009
June 16-19, 2009
The 6th international
information technology
Agnes Leung
Senior Project Manager
nai and Delhi to take practical action
Singapore Expo exhibition and conference (Communications Events) to save energy and water while reduc-
ing their utility bills. It will support
for the enterprise No. 1, Jalan Kilang Timor
# 09-02 Pacific Tech Centre
CommunicAsia2009 The 20th international Singapore 159303 the schools directly with ideation, as
June 16-19, 2009 communications and Fax: +65 6233 6633
Singapore Expo information technology Phone: +65 6233 6638 well as in implementing their environ-
exhibition and conference E-mail: events@sesallworld.com mental initiatives. The initiative also
Web: sesallworld.com
involves providing HP technology to
InteractiveOne The 3rd international Media Exposition & Events
June 16-19, 2009 interactive, digital media 112-A, Sant Nagar, (GF), East of Kailash the schools, which will enable them to
Singapore Expo and entertainment New Delhi 110065 network with other schools and share
exhibition and conference Fax: (011) 41620861
Phone: 26445191/2 best practices.
Robotics & Automations
World Expo 2009
Exhibition on automation
industry
KMG Business Technology
C-3/803, Anushruti Tower Kshitij 2009
Aug. 20-23, 2009 Opp. New York Tower, New Thaltej Circle,
Pragati Maidan S.G. Road, Thaltej, Ahmedabad 380059 Students from all over India and
New Delhi Fax: (079) 26463145; Phone: 32410602 neighbouring countries made their
E-mail: info@kmgindia.com
presence felt at Kshitij 2009, the annual
Smartcards Expo 2009 Expo on smart-card Electronics Today
Sep. 10-12, 2009 technology and 104, Andheri Industrial Estate techno-management symposium of IIT
Pragati Maidan applications Off. Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W) Kharagpur.
New Delhi Mumbai 400053
Fax: (022) 26730547/48; Phone: 26730869-71 Kshitij 2009 was host to a lot of
E-mail: electoday@vsnl.net
events in which the participants had a
Expo Comm India 2009 Exhibition and conference Bimal Ghosh, Project Head chance to showcase their knowledge in
Sep. 17-19, 2009 on ICT Inter Ads Exhibitions Pvt Ltd
Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre 859, Phase-V, Udyog Vihar the fields of electronics, coding, hard-
New Delhi Gurgaon 122016, Haryana ware designing, aeronautics, robotics,
Fax: (0124) 4381162; Phone: 4524200, 4524106
E-mail: contact@interadsexhibitions.co.in mechanical engineering, chemical
Mobile Asia 2009 Platform for mobile handset International Venture Partners engineering and various other fields
Oct. 2-5, 2009 companies, mobile A-20, Lajpat Nagar-II, New Delhi 110024 of engineering, technology and also
Pragati Maidan accessories, VDS companies Phone: (011) 29840908
New Delhi E-mail: info@ivpindia.net management.
Global Sources Security Security products Register online: www.chinasourcingfair.com Of the forty odd events conducted
Products China Sourcing Fair fair during Kshitij 2009, the following
Oct. 12-15, 2009
AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong events were a special attraction for the
Electronics & Components Electronics and Register online: www.chinasourcingfair.com
students of the department of electron-
China Sourcing Fair components fair ics and electrical engineering all over
Nov. 20-22, 2009
Bombay Exhibition Centre the country: Anadigix (the electronics’
India Telecom 2009 Event on communication Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
circuit design competition) and Eureka
Dec. 3-6, 2009 arcade, customer premise Industry (the technical paper presentation com-
petition).
Pragati Maidan equipment, IT corridor Federation House, Tansen Marg
New Delhi New Delhi 110001
Fax: (011) 23320714; Phone: 23738760
E-mail: ficciexhibition@vsnl.net
LG may increase
Energy Tech, New Delhi
Dec. 14-17, 2009
Event on emerging power
technologies, sustainable
India Trade Promotion Organisation
Pragati Bhawan, Pragati Maidan
R&D investment
Pragati Maidan energy solutions, alternative New Delhi 110001 LG Electronics has announced its
New Delhi energy sources, energy Fax: (011) 23371492; Phone: 23371540
management and trends E-mail: info@itpo-online.com, itpo@vsnl.com long-term business plan and strategy
Web: indiatradefair.com to succeed in the current business en-
International CES 2010 International consumer Registration Help (inside US): CESreg@CE.org, vironment. Yong Nam, CEO of LG
Electronics, confirmed that the com-
Jan. 7-10, 2010 electronics fair 866-233-7968
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Registration Help (outside US): CESreg@CE.org,
301-694-5243 pany would not reduce—and could
Look up under ‘Events’ section in www.electronicsforu.com for a comprehensive list even increase—its investment in R&D,
Since this information is subject to change, all those interested are advised marketing, branding and design.
to ascertain the details from the organisers before making any commitment. The company has intensified its ef-

w w w. e f y m ag . co m e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 2 1
 electronics consumer market.
Snippets The company, however, plans
to focus on low-end handset emerg-
Mobile number portability by August! ing markets this year with the aim of
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to start mobile number
portability (MNP) in major Indian cities by August and in the remaining cities by the end
boosting its global handset market
of this year. Bids had already been invited for providing the MNP switches. The faster share to more than 10 per cent from 8.5
penetration of 3G would enable people to use the services with greater accessibility. per cent last year.
“The global handset market in
BSNL rolls out 3G services 2009 is expected to shrink by about 5
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched next-generation 3G mobile per cent to 10 per cent led by weaker
services in the country even as the private operators are still waiting to get spectrum demand in developed countries,” said
through auction process. BSNL and public-sector unit MTNL (for Delhi and Mumbai) Skott Ahn, president of LG’s mobile
were given 3G spectrum last year ahead of auction for private players keeping in
mind the cumbersome tendering process involved in the public-sector procurement
communications division. “But emerg-
system. ing nations are expected to grow over
10 per cent (this year). Thus, we have
By 2011, Kerala to get ten IT parks to focus on emerging markets to main-
It will be a matter of time when Kerala will develop as the preferred IT destination tain our growth,” Ahn said.
in India, as the state would soon be equipped with over ten IT parks. According to Ahn also said that the company is
Ajay Kumar, secretary, Information Technology, Kerala, the hub-and-spoke model of targeting to increase the proportion of
development being undertaken in Kerala’s information technology sector will enable the low-end handsets it sells to more than
state to equip itself with over ten IT parks at various destinations by 2011.
20 per cent this year, from around 5 per
cent in 2008.
Samsung to invest in Chennai and Noida facilities Low-end handsets refer to mobile
Samsung India is going to invest $20 million in its Chennai and Noida facilities this
phones that are typically sold to con-
year to expand operations. Last year, the company had invested $200 million as part
of its global expansion plans. It had reported a turnover of $1.7 billion last year and has sumers for less than $100.
projected to grow 27 per cent approximately this year.
Forecast for PV cell and
China Mobile considering acquisition in India module manufacturing
China Mobile, which has the world’s largest number of subscribers (457 million), is equipment
considering an acquisition in India for expansion. The company, however, might face According to VLSI Research Inc., the
hurdles in India over security issues, especially because it has operations in Pakistan. photovoltaic (PV) cell and module
manufacturing equipment market for
forts to increase market share despite the discussions of how the two companies all cell technologies reached a value of
volatile economic situation. To achieve can best deploy their resources and $4.4 billion in 2008. Growth in the mar-
this, LG has reorganised its business expertise, continue to negotiate in good ket is expected to slow to 8 per cent in
portfolio to focus on areas with longer- faith and have set June 30, 2009 as the 2009 as demand for cells starts to cool
term growth potential and profitability. target date by which to enter into a and smaller manufacturers struggle to
Partnerships will continue to be a key definitive agreement to establish a joint secure the financing necessary to fund
element of the company’s marketing venture that will be mutually beneficial the next round of expansion.
activities to elevate its brand position. for both companies. However, the outlook for equip-
LG will continue to invest in future Sharp plans to start operating its ment suppliers this year varies by cell
growth engines such as solar power, new LCD panel factory in Sakai-City, technology. Providers of equipment
commercial air-conditioners and B2B Osaka, by March 2010 as originally for thin-film cell technologies will
solutions. scheduled. experience strong growth in revenues
in 2009 due to large order backlogs
Sharp, Sony postpone LG may shut down PC and long customer acceptance times.
LCD production business, to focus on In contrast, suppliers of equipment for
Faced with changes in the world low-cost handsets silicon wafer cell manufacturing are
economy, Sharp and Sony have de- LG is likely to shut down its PC busi- expected to see a decline from 2008 lev-
cided to postpone the establishment of ness globally owing to lower market els as customers with excess capacity
their joint venture to produce and sell response amidst economic slowdown. choose to fully ramp existing facilities
large-size LCD panels and modules, The company’s IT vertical contributes before committing to new equipment.
until March 2010. only 10 per cent to its overall revenues, Overall, this results in growth of 8 per
The duo will, through continued and it will not have any impact on its cent for the year.

Check efytimes.com for more news, daily

1 2 2 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
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Interview

Thin-film modules reduce the

cost of energy generation
 Dr Randhir Thakur
senior vp and gm of
Applied’s SunFab Thin
Film Solar and Display
Business Group
Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is the global leader in
nanomanufacturing technology solutions with a broad portfolio
of innovative equipment, services and software products for
fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays, solar
photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy-efficient glass.
Dr Randhir Thakur, senior vice president and general manager
of Applied’s SunFab Thin Film Solar and Display Business Group,
was recently in India to announce that Moser Baer India is their
first Indian customer that will start volume production of thin-film
photovoltaic (PV) modules. On this occasion, Dr Thakur, along
with Rajiv Arya, CEO of Moser Baer Photovoltaic (MBPV), spoke
to EFY’s Uma Bansal about the solar energy market and Applied  Rajiv Arya
CEO of Moser Baer
Material’s advanced SunFab solar technology as a cost-effective Photovoltaic (MBPV)
option for clean renewable energy

Q
What is the current state of the solar energy technology
market in India and globally?
RT: According to Solar Buzz, annual growth of the
global photovoltaic (PV) market has averaged a compound
rate of just over 47 per cent since 2003 and strong growth is
expected into the foreseeable future. In 2007, world PV cell
production was 3036 MW for crystalline silicon and 400 MW
for thin-film. Thin-film cell production now represents 12
per cent of global PV cell production and this percentage is
expected to increase.
India is regarded as one of Asia’s fastest growing eco-
nomic powerhouses and, as a result of this growth, there
and beyond. Thin-film also has some technical advantages
for these types of deployments. For example, when a solar
cell is shaded, the output of the entire module decreases.
With the unique size of the SunFab produced panels, the cell
is as long as the module—up to 2.6 metres in length. This
makes it very difficult for any shading to cover the entire cell
to the extent that it decreases power production. Addition-
ally, solar panels overall can lose power output when they
reach extremely high temperature, like in very sunny places
on hot summer days. Thin-film modules retain more of their
power output than crystalline silicon under these conditions
because of differences in the materials that make the cell.

is increased demand for electricity. As a matter of fact,
India is the world’s third largest consumer of coal, which
accounts for more than half of India’s total energy genera-
tion. However, even the current consumption of coal is not
enough to meet India’s demands. Of the estimated 132 GW
of energy capacity in India, only 110 MW is derived from
solar.
Therefore the increased demand for electricity, coupled
with the dwindling supply of fossil fuels, represents sig-
nificant opportunities for all sources of renewable energy,
especially solar.
Q
Which products use the thin-film PVs and what are the
market opportunities for these products?
RT: Any product can use thin-film PVs. From applica-
tions as small as calculators to utility-scale installations and
building integrated photovoltaics, the market opportunity
is virtually endless.
Q
How does Applied Materials’ technology benefit Indian
customers?
RA: The thin-film line that we have established with Ap-

Q
What are the benefits of thin-film PV over crystalline
silicon cells?
RT: Each technology is well positioned to serve a unique
market segment. For space-constrained areas such as resi-
dential and small commercial rooftops, crystalline silicon
panels are ideal because of their higher efficiency.
For large commercial and utility-scale solar farms, thin-
film offers tremendous cost-saving benefits that will help
drive the cost of solar power generation toward grid parity
plied Materials is a fully-integrated PV module production
line that delivers leading-edge solar manufacturing capabil-
ity using advanced engineering, process equipment, automa-
tion and other key supporting technologies. The technology
will provide innovative PV products that can significantly
reduce electric power and utility costs and provide a cost-
effective option for clean and renewable energy.
Thin-film modules can facilitate reduction in the cost
of energy generation for two reasons: thin-film amorphous
silicon is more appropriate for warm climates and large

1 4 0 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

modules (5.7 m2) reduce the overall balance of system costs.
The net effect is that the customer gets power cheaper.
Q
The technology is expensive. How long will it take to
make it affordable?
RT: Solar technology has already achieved grid parity in
several areas today. For example, California’s peak summer
electricity rates hover above 35 cents/kWh in certain places,
which is more expensive than unsubsidised solar power
generated today at about 30 cents/kWh. In addition, solar
power can be distributed across the grid to relieve pressure
on critical substations or transmission lines without the time
or expense of re-wiring new transmission or distribution
facilities.
As a resource for energy generation, solar is incredibly
abundant. Every day, the sun provides more energy than
we need for the planet. What this means is that from a cost,
availability and rapid-deployment perspective, solar power
makes sense right now.
Additionally, thin-film technology dramatically reduces
the amount of silicon needed to produce a module, thereby
reducing costs. By applying our company’s 40 years of
experience in driving down the cost of integrated circuits,
and more recently flat-panel displays, we’re also bringing
advances in deposition process, automation and factory
efficiency to the thin-film production environment. All of
these efforts further help to drive down the price of solar
power generation.
w w w. e f y m ag . co m
Interview
Q
What are your future plans with Applied Materials?
RA: We have just started production at this 40MW capac-
ity line, which is the largest thin-film solar line in India. This
single-junction line has demonstrated the highest produc-
tion capacity to date for manufacturing the world’s largest
(2.2×2.6m2) solar modules.
Next, we are building the second plant in Greater Noida
with AMAT. This is a 65MW tandem junction plant with
the same large-footprint module. The full-size product will
generate greater than half-a-kilowatt per panel. We are also
in advance stages of discussions with AMAT on our 500MW
thin-film plant in Chennai.
Q
What trends do you foresee in the Indian solar PV space?
RA: The technological landscape of solar power is
impressive: Crystalline silicon is the most mature tech-
nology and has the largest market share, but it is in short
supply. Thin-film is a maturing technology and poised
for high growth. Also, it has the potential to reduce costs
significantly. Concentration PV is being rapidly developed
for the market and it has significant cost-reduction poten-
tial as well. Finally, nanotechnology is in the R&D phase
and it has tremendous cost-reduction potential.
As a trend we see more installations of solar PV for
small, medium and large off-grid applications and large
solar farms for on-grid applications. Our effort is to work
diligently in all PV technologies and bring the solar dream
to fruition to meet India’s energy needs.
e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • 1 4 1
bookshelf
Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy An Introduction to
Decision Making Mixed-Signal IC Test
The fuzzy logic provides and Measurement
an inference structure that This textbook is useful for ad-
enables appropriate human vanced undergraduate and
reasoning capabilities. On the graduate-level students as well
contrary, the traditional bina- as engineering professionals.
ry set theory describes events It assumes a solid background
that do or do not occur. in analogue and digital circuit
This book helps academi- as well as working knowledge
cians, researchers and stu- of computers and computer
dents in the fuzzy set theory programming. A background in
and fuzzy decision making. digital signal processing and sta-
It is written as a textbook for tistical analysis is also helpful.
the course in fuzzy logic and The book covers the testing of
its application at graduate, both analogue and mixed-signal
By: Dr G. Kannan By: Mark Burns,
postgraduate and doctorate Published by: Galgotia Publications circuits including many exam- Gordon W. Roberts
levels. Pvt Ltd, 5, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, ples. Digital testing is covered, Published by: Oxford University
The book is divided into New Delhi 110002 Press, YMCA Library Building,
but not extensively. Examples
Pages: 186; Price: Rs 200 Jai Singh Road,
two parts. The first contains and illustrations using state-of- New Delhi 110001
fuzzy sets, fuzzy relations, the-art industrial technology Pages: 684; Price: Rs 495
membership function and fuzzy decision making. The enrich the presentation through-
second part covers application of fuzzy logic, introduc- out. In considering the applications of this technology, the
tion to optimisation techniques and introduction to neural testing of large-scale mixed-signal circuits and individual
network. circuits is introduced.

The DSP Handbook: Robot Programmer’s

Algorithms, Applications Bonanza
and Design Techniques This book is aimed at those
who are ready to go beyond
This book is a hands-on guide to just building robots and start
digital signal processing (DSP) and programming them to perform
its applications. It provides you useful tasks.
with the training, tools and build- Using the versatile Robot-
ing blocks necessary to assess and BASIC programming language,
unlock the potential of DSP in your you’ll discover how to prototype
own products and services. your creative ideas using the in-
Mathematical analysis is pro- tegrated mobile robot simulator
vided as clearly and concisely as and then port your finished pro-
possible and real-time examples grams to nearly any hardware/
are liberally provided through- software configuration. You can By: John Blankenship,
Samuel Mishal
out the text. The book includes By: Andrew Bateman, even use the built-in wireless Published by: BPB Publications,
numerous design tips, describing Iain Paterson-Stephens protocol to directly control real- B-14, Connaught Place,
the ‘tricks of the trade.’ Also given Published by: Dorling Kindersley world robots that can be built New Delhi 110001
(India) Pvt Ltd, 482, F.I.E., Pages: 396; Price: Rs 297
are many written examples and Patparganj, Delhi 110092 from readily available sensors
descriptions of devices for most Pages: 664 and actuators.
mainstream DSP manufacturers. Price: Not mentioned The RobotBASIC program, along with all the programs
Real-time audio and visual DSP examples enable you to in this book, can be downloaded from ‘www.RobotBASIC.
experience the power and application of DSP from the very com.’ Adaptable and customisable programs help to solve
beginning. Four algorithm-packed ‘toolboxes’ allow easy realistic problems. Appendices detail RobotBASIC’s ex-
access to particular algorithms/models of interest. The ac- tensive commands and functions as well as the integrated
companying CD contains related applications. programming environment.

1 4 2 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m
subject & organisation index

Subjects Covered in This issue

Subject Page No. Subject Page No. Subject Page No. Subject Page No.
3D Graphics ....................................................... 24 Hard Drives (NP) ...............................................115 Multimeters (NP) ...............................................115 Software ............................................................... 8

3G . ................................................................... 122 HDTV . ............................................... 28, 30, 32-34 Music System ..................................................... 70 Solar PV ....................................................119, 122

Amplifier IC (NP) ...............................................116 HDTV Broadcast ...............................................118 Optical Clocks .................................................... 20 Solar-powered Phones . ..................................... 22

Battery Charging ........................................... 92-98 Hearing Aid (CI) . ................................................ 85 PC Sales ...........................................................118 Telecom .............................................................118

Bluetooth ....................................................112-114 IGBT (NP) . ........................................................116 PC-based Wireless Stepper Motor Thermometers (NP) . .........................................115

Broadband Router (NP) . ...................................116 In-car Food Warmer (CI) .................................... 84 Control (C) . ................................... 60, 62, 64, 66 Three-Component Flasher (CI) .......................... 83

Cameras, Digital . ..............................................119 Intelligent Transport System . ............................. 25 PCs . ................................................................. 122 Triple Power Supply (CI) .................................... 81

Capacitors .......................................................... 16 Internet ............................................................... 26 Personal Music Players . ................... 73, 74, 78-80 TV Data Card ..................................................... 24

Career, Power Electronics . .............. 36, 38, 40, 42 IPTV ................................................................... 72 Pianos ................................................................ 68 Video Cards (NP) ..............................................117

Charger, Mobile .................................................. 20 IT Parks ............................................................ 122 Power Backup ...................................................119 Video Encoder (NP) ..........................................117

Cleaner, Air-Dust (NP) . .....................................116 Keyboards .......................................................... 68 Power Meter ....................................................... 24 Water Pump Controller (CI) ................................ 82

Condensers ........................................................ 16 LAN-based Online Exam (SW) . .................... 87-90 Projector, Ultra-Short-Throw . ............................. 72 White Light for Refrigerators (CI) ....................... 85

Datasheets, Device ........................... 100, 102-106 LCD TV . ..............................................68, 119, 122 Projectors, DLP .................................................. 70 Wi-Fi ................................................................... 24

Desktop PCs ...................................................... 72 Microcontroller-based Ring Tone Projectors, Multimedia . ...................................... 68 Windows Phones . .............................................. 22

DSPs ................................................................ 142 Player (C) ..................................... 52, 54, 56, 58 Robotics ........................................................... 142

e-books . ............................................................. 20 Mobile Number Portability ................................ 122 Robots ................................................................ 20

Energy Saver (NP) ............................................115 Mobile Phones . .................................................. 70 Salary Survey ................................................ 43-46

Flexible Circuits ............................................. 48-50 Mobiles ............................................................... 26 Semiconductor ..................................................118

Abbreviations
Foot Switch (NP) ...............................................116 Mobiles, Touchscreen . ....................................... 16 Sensor (NP) . .....................................................116 C=Construction........... CI=Circuit Idea
Frequency Counter . .................................. 107-110 Monitor, TFT (NP) . ............................................117 SEZ ...................................................................119 SS=Software Section NP=New Products

Organisations Covered in This issue

Organisation Page No. Organisation Page No. Organisation Page No. Organisation Page No.
A.V. Systems ...................................................... 45 Dixon .................................................................119 Microchip ............................................................ 98 Samsung India ............................................. 32, 34

Airtel ................................................................... 72 Doordarshan . ....................................................118 Microsoft . .......................................................... 22 Sandisk . ............................................................. 74

Aplab ............................................................ 38, 40 E Power Engineering . .......................................116 Moser Baer . ..............................................117, 119 Sanyo Semiconductor .......................................116

Apple ............................................................ 73, 74 Edimax ..............................................................116 Moser Baer Photovoltaic .................................. 141 Seagate .............................................................115

Applied Material . .............................................. 140 Fortune Marketing .............................................115 Motorola ............................................................. 26 Sharp . .............................................................. 122

APW ................................................................... 42 Frost & Sullivan .................................................118 MTNL . .............................................................. 122 Sharp Business Systems (India) ............ 33, 34, 68

Arrow Electronics ............................................... 38 Google . ........................................................ 24, 25 NDS . .................................................................118 Softspin .............................................................. 26

Astra Microwave . ............................................. 120 GSMA ................................................................ 22 Neural Systems .................................................. 46 Sony ........................................................... 74, 122

Atoall.com . ......................................................... 26 Hart Scientific ....................................................115 NIST ................................................................... 20 Sony India ........................................ 30, 34, 68, 79

Axis Communications . ......................................117 Hewlett Packard (HP) . ....................................... 72 Nokia .................................................................114 STMicroelectronics . ....................................24, 116

BenQ .................................................................. 70 Hitachi ................................................................ 72 Parker Power Systems . ............................... 36, 38 Supertron Electronics ........................................115

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) ............................ 120 Hitachi Home Electronics ............................ 28, 34 Philips . ......................................................... 74, 80 Teknic ................................................................116

Bharti Airtel ........................................................118 HP India . .......................................................... 120 Philips Electronics .............................................119 Toshiba ............................................................... 74

Boeing .............................................................. 120 Humx .................................................................. 78 Plastic Logic ....................................................... 20 Transcend . ........................................................115

Bose ................................................................... 70 Idea ...................................................................118 Pressmart ........................................................... 26 TTL Technologies ..............................................115

BSNL ................................................................ 122 iRiver .................................................................. 74 R.S. Electronics . ...............................................116 Videocon ...................................................118, 119

Cambridge Silicon ............................................. 24 ISA . ...................................................................118 Radio .................................................................. 24 ViewSonic . ........................................................119

Casio India ......................................................... 68 Kchiloo . ............................................................ 107 RCA .................................................................... 74 VLSI Research ................................................. 122

Cecon Pollutech ................................................116 Kingston ............................................................117 Reliance Communications . .......................118, 119 ZTE . ................................................................... 24

China Mobile .................................................... 122 LG . ..................................................................... 70 Renesas ............................................................118

Conzerv .............................................................115 LG Electronics .......................................... 121, 122 Robert Gorden Univ. . ......................................... 20

Creative Labs ..................................................... 74 MAIT ..................................................................118 Samsung ...............................22, 74, 118, 119, 122

1 4 4 • m a r c h 2 0 0 9 • e l e c t ro n i c s f o r yo u w w w. e f y m ag . co m

Accord Communication (www.accordcom.com).............................69
Advance Tech Services Pvt Ltd (www.advancetechonline.in)........6
Agilent Technologies India P Ltd (www.agilent.com)....................39
Bharat Electronics Ltd (www.bel-india.com)......................................63
Binay Opto Electronics Pvt Ltd  (www.binayLED.com)...............111
Chetan Cabletronics Pvt Ltd (www.chetancabletronics.com).....124
Deltronik Engineers..................................................................................128
Dynalog (India) Ltd (www.dynalogindia.com)...................................5
Edutech..........................................................................................................91
ei-labz (www.emblitz.com)......................................................................23
Electromech (www.electromechindia.com)......................................128
Electronic Annual Guide...........................................................................55
Electronic India..........................................................................................138
Electronic Project.......................................................................................101
Electronics Bazaar.......................................................................................99
EnterpriseIT 2009 (www.communicasia.com)...................................93
Falcon Electro-Tek Pvt Ltd  (www.falconindia.biz)..........................29
Farnell Electronics India Pvt Ltd (www.farnell.in)...........................15
Frontline Electronics Pvt Ltd (www.Frontline-Electronics.com)..10
Fujitsu Microelectronics Asia Pte Ltd (www.fujitsu.com)..............59
Gunze Electronics USA Corp..................................................................89
Hitachi India Trading Pvt Ltd (www.hitachi.co.in)..........................27
Inde Enterprises...........................................................................................13
Indian Service Machine (www.ismbangalore.com).........................71
Innovators and Simplifiers.......................................................................30
Instt. of Mobile Phone Tech. (www.britco.co.in)................................71
Integrated Services & Consultancy (www.instek.com).................146
Advertisers’ Index
Intron (www.intronresistors.com).......................................................127
Kaku Enterprises (www.toroidalhouse.com)...................................128
Keithley (www.keithley.com).................................................................14
Keptek Power Controls Pvt Ltd............................................................103
Kitek TechnologiesPvt Ltd (www.kitektechnologies.com)..........128
Kits.................................................................................................................141
Lattice Semiconductor.................................................................................9
Linkwell Telesystems Ltd  (www.visiontek.co.in)..............................7
Live Wire Electronics (www.livewireinfo.com).................................21
Mac Net Technology................................................................................139
Macroblock....................................................................................................49
Mastech Delhi.............................................................................................127
Max Electronics (www.trontekindia.com)..........................................80
Max Electronics (www.trontekindia.com)..........................................97
Max Technology & Co. (www.maxtechnoloindia.com)...............148
MDR Electronics (www.mdrelectronics.com)....................................33
Meco Instruments Pvt Ltd (www.mecoinst.com).............................35
Millenium Technologies..........................................................................129
Miracle Electronic Devices P Ltd (www.toroidal.com)..................101
Mithra Electronics.......................................................................................57
Mornsun Guangzhou Science & Technology Co., Ltd....................17
National Instruments India (www.ni.com)...........................................2
National Semiconductor (www.national.com)..................................53
Neelam Import Pvt Ltd...........................................................................129
Open Source Tech Days............................................................................41
Omniscient Electronics Pvt Ltd  Young India Appliances (www.youngindiaappliances.com).....139
(www.omniscientelectronics.net).......................................................25
Omron Electronic Components Pte Ltd
(http://ecb.omron.com.sg)................................................................143
Pantech Solutions Pvt Ltd (www.pantechsolutions.net)...............126
Penram Intl. Publishing (India) (www.penram.com)......................79
Pla Components (www.plarelays.com).............................................129
Qmax Test Technologies P Ltd (www.qmaxtest.com)..................117
Radhika Agencies.....................................................................................125
Rajmane Telectric P Ltd (www.rajmaneteletric.com).......................71
Relaytronics/Insight Innovation (www.relaytronics.com)............37
RS Components & Controls (I) Ltd (www.rsindia.com)...................3
S.M Semiconductors (www.aplusindia.com)...................................139
Seoul Semiconductor (www.seoulsemicon.com)..............................11
Siemens Ltd  (www.siemens.com/enterprise)...................................51
Signet (www.signet-instruments.com).................................................10
Solar EnergieTekchnik Ltd (www.infinitsolar.in)...........................126
Sparr Electronics Ltd (www.sparrl.com).............................................31
Subscription Form ........................................................................75, 76, 77
Sumitron Exports Pvt Ltd (www.sumitron.com)..............................19
Tadiran Batteries (www.tadiranbat.com)............................................61
Taiyo Yuden (S) PL (www.ty-top.com)..............................................101
Tektronix (India) Ltd (www.tektronix.com/2170)..........................147
TTL Technologies Pvt Ltd (www.ttlindia.com).................................34
upsinverter.com.........................................................................................123
VPL Infotech & Consultants (www.vplinf.com)...............................47
Xtend Technologies Pvt Ltd (www.xtendtech.com)........................65

EFY Magazine Attractions

During 2009
MONTH Tech Focus SURVEY/EFY REPORT eStyle Buyers’ Guide Trade Fair Participation

January E-waste Management Industry Forecasts Which Camera Phone?

Componex Nepcon India, New Delhi, Jaipur Book Fair,

February Artificial Space Satellites Budget Memorenda Which DTH?
Lighting Asia, Mumbai, Automotive Electronics, Bengaluru
17th Convergence India, New Delhi, Infocomm India,
March High Definition Television Salaries in Electronics Industry Which Personal Music Player?
Mumbai, Mobile China Expo, Shenzen (China)
April LED Lighting Embedded Systems Which Watch?

May Electronic SMT Components Chip, Circuit & Product Designers Which UPS/Inverter? Connect 2009, Karachi

Communic Asia 2009, Singapore

June New T&M Devices India’s Top Training Institutes Which Notebook?
EduTech 2009, New Delhi
July Mobile Entertainment Automotive Electronics Industry Which TV?

August The Open Source: Hardware? SMT in India Digital Camera/Camcorder?

ElectronicIndia, Bangalore
September IPTV Industrial Automation Home Security System Globaltronics, Singapore

October What’s New in Wireless India's Top 100 Electronics Companies Which DVD Player?

November Contract Manufacturing T&M Manufacture in India Which Home Theatre? China Electronics Fair, Shanghai

December Solar Cells: An Update Indian Solar Energy Industry Which New Gizmo? India Telecom 2009, New Delhi

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