Electronics Now articles from February 1994

Electronics Now archives from February 1994

Digital Dolby comes home. (Dolby Laboratories and Zoran Corp.'s integrated circuitry for home-theater equipment) (Product Announcement)
February 1, 1994... Dolby Laboratories (San Francisco) and Zoran Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) introduced integrated circuitry that they say is a giant step toward including Digital Dolby Surround Sound in consumer home-theater equipment. Their programmable,...

ITT Pomona Logic Scope Probe. (Product Announcement)
February 1, 1994... Many technicians and hobbyists need a logic analyzer occasionally, but not often enough to justify the purchase of a full-featured unit. That's just who the Logic Scope Probe is built for. The Logic Scope Probe, from ITT Pomona (1500 E. Ninth...

Take back control of your telephone. (caller-identification circuits) (Cover Story)
February 1, 1994... Know who's calling you before you pick up the phone with this easy-to-build Caller-ID circuit. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TOO BUSY TO answer your phone but afraid of missing an important call? Are you tired of spending your dinner time brushing off...

Long-range body-heat detector.
February 1, 1994... Build this instrument that detects the infrared emission of humans and animals for security or for performing science experiments. A PYROELECTRIC DETECTOR IN THIS battery-portable instrument detects the presence of animal or human intruders...

PIC microcontroller programmer.
February 1, 1994... We hope you PICed up all the parts you need because it's time to build the PIC programmer. LAST MONTH THE OPERATING THEOry of a PIC programmer was covered. This month, complete construction details are provided, along with details on a...

Stepper motors as shaft encoders.
February 1, 1994... A stepper motor, believe it or not, makes a pretty good shaft encoder! SHAFT ENCODERS ARE USUALLY OPtoelectronic devices that produce quadrature (90-degree) signals in response to the rotation of a shaft. The phase relationship of the signals...

68705-based experimenter's clock.
February 1, 1994... Now that you know how to program 68705 microcontrollers, and have built the equipment to do so, you can put one to use in a clock circuit. LAST MONTH THE DESIGN OF A PROgrammer for Motorola's HMOS 68705 family of microcontrollers was presented....

Radon monitor.
February 1, 1994... Build this radon monitor to detect a possible health threat in your home and, while doing it, learn more about radioactivity. THIS IS THE SECOND PART OF A TWO-part article on the design, construction and use of a simple, inexpensive...

Voice messaging. (direct analog storage technology) (Hardware Hacker)
February 1, 1994... At one time, analog tape recorders were the only reasonable way to record and play back voice messages. But these days, we've got compact, low-power, reliable electronic solutions--solutions that require no mechanical parts or moving media. Uses?...

A hacker data format. (Hardware Hacker)
February 1, 1994... Wouldn't it be nice if there were some sort of data standard for getting exact size printed-circuit artwork for construction projects, as well as ready-to-use panel art and dial plates? Well, I've been doing this for years with all of my more...

Audiophile silliness: absolute sounds off. (audiophile magazines) (Audio Update) (Column)
February 1, 1994... The editor of The Absolute Sound, who signs himself "HP," has finally responded (in his Summer 1993 issue) to my repeated cage rattlings. In a fit of dudgeon, he quotes my comment that his publication includes "a witch's brew of pseudo-science...

Our automotive power supply comes to life. (Drawing Board)
February 1, 1994... Adding homemade electronics to a modern car can be a complex business. Open the hood of your car and you might get the impression that there's more electrical wiring there than hoses, pipes, and other more traditional kinds of automotive...

The National Information Infrastructure. (Computer Connections)
February 1, 1994... One good thing about the Clinton administration: It seems to value technology. Nowhere is the administration's acceptance of technology more apparent than in its Agenda for Action regarding the National Information Infrastructure (NII). NII...