Circuit Cellar Ink 68
March 1996

Table of Contents

2 Ken Davidson	Task Manager The Mensa House?
6	Reader I/O Letters to the Editor
8 Harv Weiner	New Product News
14 Brian Millier	Capacitive Measurement of Fluid Level Need to monitor a remote tank? If so, listen up. Brian modifies an idea from a ConnecTime discussion to come up with a microcontroller-based readout with control capability and a trend feature. Download: LEVEL.ZIP
22 Leon Byerley	Lightning Protection Techniques Traditional lightning protection fails to adequately protect the complex electrical infrastructure we now have. Leon introduces us to the preemptive protection currently used to improve electrical systems' reliability.
30 Ron Huber John Pastre	Thick-Film Hybrid Technology Hybrid technology has made the shift from the simple single-layer circuit to multilayer networks of surface-mount and complex integrated circuits. Ron explains what applications are suitable for hybrid technology.
38 Bob Perrin	Microvolt-Level Data Acquisition Microvolt design is no easy task, especially for the uninitiated. Here, Bob exposes the problems that come with microvolt design and explores specific solutions to those problems.
46 Wayne Thompson	Light Probe for the Blind Light probes enable visually impaired people "see" light intensity via audio signals. All it takes to build this inexpensive device is a TSL235 converter, an AT-17 audio transducer, and a custom PC board.
Home Automation & Building Control 50 Harv Weiner	Innovations in Home Automation & Building Control
Home Automation & Building Control 53 John Morley	A Wind Speed and Direction Interface for the HCS II In addition to describing a wind speed and direction interface for the HCS II home control system, John presents background information for the various techniques for measuring wind speed and direction. And, unlike the golfer, his finger stays dry and there's no grass in his hair.
Home Automation & Building Control 63 Orrin Charm	Designing and Evaluating the User Interface Make Your Design User Seductive Although average consumers can handle automobiles and ATMs, they're stumped by VCRs, security alarms, or office phones. Orrin traces these difficulties to the user interface. He shows how to minimize such dilemmas for interfaces like remotes, video monitors, telephones, control panels, and voice-control products.
68 Ed Nisley	Firmware Furnace Flat Surfaces, Widowmakers, and a Surfeit of Bugs Ed covers two problems: an unsafe connector and a backup unit that won't back up. He walks us through his attempts to find solutions. His bottom line: don't cut design corners, think ahead, and be prepared for multifaceted problems.
74 Jeff Bachiochi	From the Bench Stepping into an Analog World Most analog control doesn't have to be elegant, although it can be with PWM. Here, Jeff adds a twist to combining analog and digital in a motor-control system -- he controls digital stepper motors with an analog input voltage. Download: FTB68.ZIP
78 Tom Cantrell	Silicon Update Pick a Peck of PLDs Believing PLDs to rate a spot in the microelectronics revolution right up there with heros such as the microprocessor, DRAM, and EPROM, Tom reviews programmable logic ICs. His focus: Cypress Semiconductor.
81	Advertiser's Index
90 Ken Davidson	ConnecTime -- Excerpts from the Circuit Cellar BBS
96 Steve Ciarcia	Priority Interrupt The Old Curmudgeon

FTP Directory for INK 68
Follow this link to order a copy of INK 68
<<< Ink 67	Ink 69 >>>
Main Index	Author Index