011 ec coniesG 7 WORLDS LARGEST SELLING ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE MAY 1982/$1 THE ELECTRONIC WORLD Microcomputers: Which One Is Right for You? Experimenting with Fiber Optics Audio -Actuated Camera Flash Easy Car Tuneup with a Digital Meter r -t1 w..: Tested in this Issue: Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III Computer o Acoustic Research AR48s Speaker 14024 1427b Sylvania 13" Color TV Receiver 4 Make waves with an Apple. If you'd like to spend more of your research budget on research and less on computer costs, consider the discoveries of Dr. John Lilly and the Human/Dolphin Foundation. Dolphins vocalize at 2,000-40,000 Hz (compared with 300-3,000 Hz for humans) and `converse" 10-15 times faster than their bipedal brethren. In 1968, Dr. Lilly's interspecies communication experi- ments stalled for lack of affordable computer power to bridge this gap. But today, with the help of Apple Personal Computers and a DEC® PDP/11, things are going swimmingly. A new program called JANUS (Joint Analog Numeric Understanding System) uses a 48K Apple II Plus to generate dolphin -comprehensible wave forms matched to dolphin- . Fr r -- viewable symbols on an underwater screen. Dolphin responses are analyzed : ..---- C> through a PDP/11. A second Apple - monitors and eanxalypzese dratiam frome anll t.- phases of the The objective is to create an artificial language that is mutually ( intelligible to both species, with a beginning vocabu ary of 48 sound/symbol morphemes associated with objects, locations and actions. But, with all the micros available, why pick Apples? Because they're inexpensive enough to allow the use of a stand-alone computing system for dedicated functions. Because they're portable and rugged enough for field use in a wide range of environments. And because they can be configured for many scientific applications with no special I/O APPLE!! APPLE III Maximum RAM 64K 256K devices. (Apple's IEEE -488 inter- VO 8 expansion slots 4 expansion slots + built-in interfaces for face card will program and disks and printer. Disk Drives Up to 6 140K Built-in 140K + up to operate virtually any test, meas- floppies. 3 additional floppies. Available with ProFile" urement or control instrument.) 5MB hard disk. Languages BASIC, Pascal` Enhanced BASIC, PILOT COBOL, UCSD Pascal" There's more software Assembly. Assembly. Keyboard Fixed 96 -character Fully programmable available for Apples than for ASCII. 128 -character, includes numeric keypad. any other microcomputer on the market. And more full service dealers worldwide. Communicate with one and find out how an Apple can make waves for you, whatever your, ah ... porpoise. apple The personal computer. The Human/Dolphin Foundation is a non-profit research organization. For more information, write Dr. John Lilly, P.O. Box 4172, Malibu, CA 90265. For the authorized Apple dealer nearest you, call 18001538-9696. In California, call (800) 662-9238. Or write: Apple Computer Inc., 10260 Bandley Dr., Cupertino, CA 95014. CIRCLE NO. 6 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD MAY 1982 VOLUME 20, NUMBER 5 n you Popular Electronics bed WORLD'S LARGEST -SELLING ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE RecordingEnglneer The Electronic World COMPUTERS-WHICH ONE IS FOR YOU?/ Joe Desposito 45 A guide to making a wise computer buying decision. Feature Articles CURRENT -LIMITING TECHNIQUES/Mark Pitteikau 62 LEARNING QUIZ FOR ELECTRONICS/Fredrick W. Hughes 86 Construction Article.--, DIGITAL AUTOMOTIVE TUNE-UP METER/C.R. Ball 37 Measures dwell angle, engine rpm and voltage. EXPERIMENTING WITH FIBER OPTICS/ TJ Byers 63 SOUND -ACTIVATED PHOTO FLASH/Niel Ulevich 69 Simple circuit freezes the action in milliseconds. HOW TO SWEETEN THE SOUND OF YOUR PHONO CARTRIDGE/Martin Nagel 70 Provides switching capability, precision performance and extremely low noise. TEACH YOUR DIGITAL CLOCK TO CONTROL APPLIANCES/Robert Colwell 73 Turn a standard clock module into a versatile control center. Equipment Reviews ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR48s THREE-WAY SPEAKER SYSTEM 20 SYLVANIA 13" COLOR TV RECEIVER 23 RADIO SHACK TRS-80 MODEL III DESKTOP COMPUTER 31 KROHN-HITE MODEL 4400 ULTRA -LOW DISTORTION OSCILLATOR 81 learn via Columns - Audio Fundamentals 'Labs ENTERTAINMENT ELECTRONICS/Len Feldman 16 Listening Locations Equalized Digitally. Control Room & Console Labs COMPUTER BITS/Carl Warren 34 Studio -Synthesizer Lab Latest Micros Offer Power and Graphics. ° - Digital Logic Lab COMPUTER SOURCES/Leslie Solomon 83 HOBBY SCENE/Joe Desposito 88 Disc Cutting Lab SOLID-STATE DEVELOPMENTS/Forrest M. Mims 89 Obtain your Diploma in The Rainbow LED. Multi -track Recording Technology DX LISTENING/Glenn Hauser 92 in one year, or Taiwan Gets American Relay Station. B.S. Degreein Music Technology EXPERIMENTER'S CORNER/Forrest M. Mims 98 in four years Experimenting with Low -Power Integrated Circuits. via the Institute of Audio Research- PROJECT OF THE MONTH/Forrest M. Mims 108 Dual- Polarity Five -Volt Power Supply. New York University joint program, Departments Summer '82 Quarter starts Tuesday, July 6th. .° EDITORIAL/Art Salsberg 6 = The Two -Way Editorial Street. Fall '82 Quarter starts Thursddy; September BOth..' LETTERS 8 NEW PRODUCTS 10 Co(I or writélor 24-pg. illustrated brochure OPERATION ASSIST 101 -212/677-7580 , or NEW LITERATURE 103 1-800/847-4187 ADVERTISER'S INDEX 104 , (Toll -free outside of N.Y. State) ELECTRONICS LIBRARY 107 PERSONAL ELECTRONICS NEWS 1 22 nstitute COVER PHOTO BY AARON KILEY of Audio, GRAPHICS BY JACK WARD COLOR SERVICES, INC r ° COPYRIGHT 1982 BY ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. Popular Electronics (ISSN 0032-4485) May Research 1982, Volume 20, Number 5. Published monthly by Zit -Davie Publishing Co., at One Perk Ave., New York, NY 10018. Richard P. 64 University Place' Friese, President; Selwyn Teubmen, Treasurer. Bertram A. Abrams. Secretary. One year subscription rete lot U.S. end Posses- Greenwich Village sions, 515.00; Canada, 520.00; all other countries. 523.00 (cash orders only, payable in U.S. currency). Second Class Postage - ' Efla1o9li6s9h ed N(2e1w2 )Y o6r7k,7 -N7.Y5.8 100 003 PCInaadindea xadetad N, iena nwtdh Yefoo rrR kp,e aaNyd.meYre.' sn1 t0 Go0uf1 i8dp eoa stnotda gaPete arIindo ddciiatcisoahnl .a LPli tmOerPaaiUltiunLrgAe R.o ZfEfiiLctEe -DCs,Ta vRAiOsu tNhaIolCsroSiz eipnduc balulsids ihsneegcs o EnBLdoE aCctlTianRsgsO, NCmIaCardS a bnWyd O thRDeLr iDPve,o rTs. rtC aOdyecffl iecM.e aFDrlkye iRpntge..,g OiPsttoteaprwueldaa..r Photography, Skiing, Stereo Review. Electronic Experimenter's Handbook, and Tape Recording 8 Buying Guide. Forms 3570 and Licensed by N.Y. State Dept. ot'Edúcation all Subscription Correspondence: POPULAR ELECTRONICS. Circulation Dept. P.O. Box 2774, Boulder, CO 80302. Please allow Approved for Veterans Training at least eight weeks for change of address, enclosing, it possible, an address label tom a recent issue. Permissions. Material in this publication may not be reproduced m any form without permission. Requests for permission should be directed to John CIRCLE NO. 23 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD Babcock. Rights and Permissions, Ziff -Davis Publishing Co., One Park Ave., New York, NY 10018. 2 POPULAR ELECTRONICS '897 N.V. Grant Ave. Corvallis, OrEgon 97330 503/758-0521 DAWN. THE Introducing the Enhancer l[: a new FA Standard which is improving the NEW ERA relationship between Humans and Apples. The Enhancer ][ can help your Apple ]['s keyboard become FOR APPLE H: more sociable by remembering words or phrases which can be entered into the Apple by the mere THE touch of a key. Life can become even easier because the Enhancer ][ can remember what you typed ENHANCER H while your Apple was busy talking to your disc (or doing other things). Naturally, it knows the difference w . between upper and lower case a` I letters and what shift keys are 4 N1,U!_! 0 supposed to do. It even knows to auto repeat any key held down. The Enhancer replaces the encoder lE board making installation simple. Suggested retail price: $149.00. r VIDEOTERM SOFT VIDEO KEYBOARD AND ACCESSORIES: SWITCH DISPLAY ENHANCER Videoterm Utilities Disc $37.00 The Soft (includes) Font Editor Video Pascal Mid -Res Graphics Switch is Applesoft Read Screen Utility an auto- ' matic ver- Top & Bottom Scrolling Pascal Vidpatch. sion of the Graphics Template popular Tcohleu mtimn ec taersdt ed Videoterm 80 Splwatietc. hI -t The original Keyboard and Display CharHaacltfe rI nSteent sEitPyR OMs $29.00 ea 80 characters x 24 lines knows Enhancer is still available for Revi- Inverse True decen7ers whether it should disp ay 40 or 80 sion 0-6 Apples (on which the new German 7 x 9 character resolution columns or Apple graphics. It does Enhancer II will not fit). These Katakana (Japanese) LCoowm ppoawtibelre c woinths ummopsttio wno rd tohuet tseigdnioaulss s wo oyroku o df osnw'tt chhavneg t ov.i dTehoe - Aatp pchleips hloacvaet imonesm oDr1y , sEe1le c&t sFo1c. kTehtse L(Einxep aDnrdaewdi)n g Graphics processors Soft Video Switch canoe controlled Keyboard and Display Enhancer Spanish Softcard and CP/M compatible by software. Any Videotºrm with allows entry and display of upper & French Modem compatible Firmware 2.0 or greater may be lower case letters with fully func- Math & Greek Symbols Most popular character set of used with the Soft V deo Switch. tional shift keys. It does NOT have Super & Subscript aAnltye r8n0a tceo lcuhmanra ccaterdr fonts available Tpohret esdin. gPlea cwkiareg es phriifcte m isc d$ 3it5 a.0ls0o. sup- ubsueffre rd.e fTinhaeb pler ikceey iss n$o1r2 a9 t.y0p0e. ahead D(Evnohraakn cEePr)R OM $29.00 Suggested retail price $345.00 Lower Case Chip $29.00 CIRCLE 64 Apple and Apple II are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. couter. Th& personal 4995 Introducing the Sinclair ZX81 If you're ever going to buy If you already own a ZX80 a personal computer, now is the The 8K Extended BASIC time to do it. chip used in the ZX81 is available The new Sinclair ZX81 is the as a plug-in replacement for your most powerful, yet easy -to -use ZX80 for only $39.95, plus shipping computer ever offered for anywhere and handling-complete with new key- near the price: only $149.95' completely board overlay and the ZX81 manual. assembled. So in just a few minutes, with no Don't let the price fool you. The special skills or tools required, you can ZcoXu81ld haassk jufosrAt ainbb raoe uaptke etrhsvroeonruyagtlh hcino gm pyuoute r. accMuarathtee mtoa t8ic dael cainmda ls pcileancetifsic functions uphapovgwerea erdfvueel yrfyeotauhtriun ZrgeX se8 x0oc f teotph het a cZvoXen8 t1ain.ll u (toYhueos u 'lld is- the origTinhIaen l ZpSXei8nrs1co laisni raa lZ mcXoa8mjo0pr- tuahtdeevr aswn ocreld 'osv er IlSik eAU uPntRioqImNueTa ,t oiRcnU esN -yt noatunacdxh e LerISrnoTtrr y d oeft ekcetyio wn oarndds palnady , SbCuRt yOoLuL ccaonm smtilal nudsse tthoe g ePtA mUSoEv ing graphics.) largest selling personal computer and easy editing the first for under $200. Randomize function useful for both With the 8K BASIC chip, your In fact, the ZX81's new 8K Extended games and serious applications ZZXX 8P0r inwtiell ra alsnod bSei necqlauiirp spoefdtw taor eu.s e the BASIC offers features found only on com- Built-in interface for ZX Printer puters costing two or three times as much. 1K of memory expandable to 16K Warranty and Service Program" Just look at what you get: The ZX81 is also very convenient The Sinclair ZX81 is covered by a Continuous display, including moving to use. It hooks up to any television set 10 -day money -back guarantee and a graphics to produce a clear 32 -column by 24 -line limited 90 -day warranty that includes free Multi -dimensional string and numerical display. And you can use a regular parts and labor through our national arrays cassette recorder to store and recall service -by -mail facilities. Plus shipping and handling. Price includes Connectors ipr ograms by name. "Does not apply to /X81 kits for TV and cassette, AC adaptor, and FREE manual. r "= y;;`;tis.'.,.w . ¡........ ' .4ó.i I NEW SOFTWARE:Sinclair has ZX PRINTER: The Sinclair ZX 16K MEMORY MODULE: ZX81 MANUAL: The ZX81 published pre-recorded pro- Printer will work with your ZX81, Like any powerful, full fledged comes with a comprehensive grams on cassettes for your or ZX80 with 8K BASIC. It will computer, the ZX81 is expand- 164 -page programming guide ZX81, or ZX80 with 8K BASIC. be available in the near future able. Sinclair's 16K memory and operating manual de- We're constantly coming out and will cost less than S100. module plugs right onto the signed for both beginners and with new programs, so we'll back of your ZX81 (or ZX80, experienced computer users. send you our latest software with or without 8K BASIC). A $10.95 value, it's yours free catalog with your computer. Cost is $99.95, plus shipping with the ZX81. and handling. T9995 comp personal ter. Introducing the ZX81 kit If you really want to save money, and you enjoy building electronic kits, you can order the ZX81 in kit form for the incredible price of just $99.95' It's the same, full -featured computer, only you put it together , yourself. We'll send complete, easy - to -follow instructions on how you can assemble your ZX81 in just a few hours. All you have to supply is the soldering iron. How to order Sinclair Research is the world's larg- Tf. est manufacturer of personal computers. The ZX81 represents the latest , technology in microelectronics, and it picks up right where the ZX80 left off. /4' Thousands are selling every week. We urge you to place your order for the new ZX81 today. The sooner you yM order, the sooner you can start enjoying . your own computer. To order, simply call our toll free , number, and use your MasterCard or VISA. To order by mail, please use the oupon. And send your check or money AD CODE \05PE PRICEf CITY. AMOUNT order. We regret that we cannot accept ZX81 $149.95 purchase orders or C.O.D's. ZX81 Kit 99.95 CALL 800-543-3000. Ask for op- erator #509. In Ohio call 800-582-1364. 8K BASIC chip (for ZX80) 39.95 In Canada call 513-729-4300. Ask for 16K Memory Module (for ZX81 or ZX80) 99.95 operator #509. Phones open 24 hours Shipping and Handling 4.95 $4.95 a day, 7 days a week. Have your Master- + Card or VISA ready. To ship outside USA add $10.00 These numbers are for orders TOTAL only. For information, you must write to Sinclair Research Ltd., One Sinclair Plaza, MAIL TO: Sinclair Research Ltd., One Sinclair Plaza, Nashua, NH 03061. Nashua, NH 03061. NAME ADDRESS CITY/STATE/ZIP - U.S. Dollars O"k E7 The Two -Way Editorial Street Editing is a two-way street. We try our best same time. It's best to send a letter with a in the dark. Should a word-processing sys- to respond to your needs as cited by you in self-addressed envelope for reply. No SASE, tem be used with a dot-matrix printer for letters, phone calls, and reader studies. and it's likely to be round -filed. hard copy, it's doubly important that a fresh There are ways you can help us to assist you You should assume that information ribbon be used. If you have an overstrike faster and better, though, as follows. published constitutes everything we have in capability, this should be employed. More- If you wish to get an old issue of PE, our files. To research beyond what appeared over, if your printer has a coarse matrix pat- please order it through Consumer Services will jeopardize our magazine deadlines, tern, it might be best not to use it at all for Division, P.O. Box 278. Pratt Station, which is tantamount to attacking mother- lengthy manuscripts, fresh ribbon or no. Brooklyn. NY 11205. Cost is $3.00 ($4.50 hood or apple pie. No upper -case -only letters, please. Up- foreign) per copy, which includes postage If you wish to contact a columnist or per- and lower-case, hopefully with descend- and handling. Copies are available of issues other author, address the mailing envelope to ers for the latter, are required. dated from August 1978 to the present. the author, c/o POPUL'SR EtECTRO"JICS, and If your article involves wiring diagrams Should you have a subscription prob- enclose your letter in a SASE. We'll forward or other types of drawings, please make lem-not receiving an issue, receiving two in it. But don't expect him to act as your per- them neat. However, don't waste time trying the same month, etc. -don't call an editor. sonal design consulting service, to perform to make the drawings reproducible since we Instead, dial 212-725-3628 or 4197. You'll prodigious research tasks, or to give you a redraw almost everything to our standards. reach someone who talks to the demon com- short correspondence course on the subject If you want to include a photograph, puter that makes it happen. he wrote about. fine; but if we are to reproduce it, it must be Photocopies of articles are no longer If you're looking for a specific article a good, well -lighted, in -focus glossy print. available from us. Government regulations from a past issue, before writing with your For a project, it's better to send us the work- made it prohibitive since our modest 25c inquiry, refer to the annual index we publish ing model to photograph and examine. charge requires maintaining sales tax infor- in our December issues. Whatever you do, don't submit your mation for each and every one. So check If you're a writer, here are ways to article to two publishers at the same time. your library or order a back issue for this increase your chances of having an article Paying attention to the foregoing reason- purpose. Sorry. accepted as well as speeding up evaluation able practices will enable the editors here to Owing to the great volume of mail we response time. handle your requests with greater efficiency. receive from our more than 500,000 readers, TYPE your manuscript and DOUBLE- Thanks for your cooperation. we cannot help you modify a published SPACE lines. Handwritten manuscripts are design or provide circuit details for an idea not accepted! We love wide margins, too, you have. and give extra points for them. In most cases, we can't answer questions Be sure that you use a fresh typewriter by phone and meet copy deadlines at the ribbon. Reading faded print is like reading Popular Electronics Editorial and Executive Offices Ziff- Davis Publishing Company ONenew PYaorkr k,A Nveenwu eY ork 10016 Richard P. Friese President JOE MEsICS 212 725-3500 Albert S. Traína President, Consumer Publisher Magazine Division ARTENdUitRo rPia.l Director Publisher Furman Hebb Executive Vice President Joe E. Mesics Phillip T. Heffernan Senior Vice Presidents 212 725-3568 DONALD MENNIE Sidne'y Holtz LTEEeSxcLehIcnEuic tSaivlO eD LEiOrdeMictotOorNr NAdewve Yrtoisrikn gO Mfficaen ager: EPdhwiliapr dS inDe. Muhlfeld JOHN R. RIGGS Richard Govatski(725-7460) Robert Bavier Vice Presidents Managing Editor Sales: Baird Davis EDWAARrtD D I.t rUecXtoBr AUM TKoemn LBipakllao u( 7(72255-3-3558708) ) George Morrissey Selwyn Taubman Treasurer JOSTEePcHhn DicEaSl EPdOitSoIrT O SMuiidtew e1s4t0e0rn, O18f0fi cNe. Michigan Ave., Bertram A. Abrams Secretary DAFVeaIDtu rNes. WEdEitBoEr R SCahleicsa: gToe, dI LW 6e0lc6h0 1 (312 346-2600) I PEadrkit oArviae.l , coNrerews pYoonrdke,n cNeY: P1O00P1U6.L AERdi toErLiaEl CcToRntOribNuICtioSn,s ANDRE DUZANT must be accompanied by return postage and will be handled Technical Illustrator Western Representative with reasonable care: however, publisher assumes no re- Norman S. Schindler & Associates, Inc. sponsibility for return or safety of manuscripts, art work, or ProductionR OEBdiLtoErS 7050 Owensmouth Ave., #209 models submitted. Canoga Park, CA 91303 (213 999-1414) EJdEiFtoFr iaNlE AWssMisAtaNn t Sales: Norm Schindler, Jo Ann O'l lara whTichhe wpuillb lbiseh veiro lhaatse dn ob ky ntohwe lemdagkei nogf aonr y upsrinogp roief taarnyy riitgemhtss Contributing Editors: Representation In Japan disclosed in this issue. Waiter Buchsbaum, J. S. Yagi Lan Feldman, Glenn H , Julian Hirsch, Iwai Trading Co., Ltd. MPA Forrest Mime, Stan Prenttas, Oari Warren 603 Ginza Sky Heights Bldg. 4i1tf MARIE MAESTRI 18-13, Ginza 7-Chome Member Audit Bureau Executive Assistant Tokyo, Japan 104 or Cvcutat,o e 6 POPULAR ELECTRONICS TEK2200 SERIES THE PERFORMANCE/ DUAL TRACE OSCILLOSCOPES PRICE STANDARD 1PJ(tronix 22 13 e°w,°auacve 8 8 -., gnu «III maw e r i r IS MI la I0,1 s 9. °°..,.. Thictronix 2213 Introducing a direct line to a 60 MHz Tektronix scope built for your bench! From the world's most lesser -name scopes. 2 mV div to 10 mV/div). ance, positive attachment, respected name in oscil- The 2213's practical de- Sweep speeds: Sweeps 10-14 pF and 60 MHz at the loscopes: a new scope, sign includes 65% fewer from 0.5 s to 50 ns (to 5 probe tip. plus a new direct order mechanical parts, fewer ns/div with X10 mag). The price: Just $1100 number, that finally circuit boards, electrical Sensitivity: Scale factors complete*. Order direct makes it practical to put connectors and cabling. from 100 V div (10X probe) from Tektronix National Tektronix quality on your Result: a lower price for you to 2 mV/div (1X probe). Ac- Marketing Center. Phones bench ... at work or home. plus far greater reliability. curate to ± 3%. Ac or dc are staffed by technical Among professional en- Yet performance is pure coupling. people to answer your gineers and technicians Tektronix: there's 60 MHz Delayed sweep meas- questions about the 2213. there is no substitute for the bandwidth for digital and urements: Standard Your direct order includes a performance and reliability high-speed analog circuits. sweep, intensified after 15 -day return policy and full Tektronix warranty. of Tektronix oscilloscopes. The sensitivity for low signal delay, and delayed. Now, for the first time, measurements. The sweep (Need dual time- base Now it's easier than Tektronix is offering an ad- speeds for fast logic families. performance and timing ever to get your hands on vanced scope at an un- A complete trigger system accuracy to ± 1.5%? Ask a Tek scopel precedented low price- for digital, analog or video about our 2215 priced at ORDER TOLL -FREE and has a direct order line waveforms. And new high- $1400.) 800-547-1845 performance Tektronix that lets you get your order Complete trigger system: processed today! probes are included! Modes include TV field, Ask for Department A02 The scope: the 2213. 2213 PERFORMANCE normal, vertical mode, and (In Oregon, Alaska and Its radical new design DATA automatic; internal, exter- Hawaii: 1-503-627-5402 brings you Tektronix Bandwidth: Two channels, nal, and line sources; vari- collect.) Lines are open quality for well below dc -60 MHz from 10 V/div able holdoff. from 8 am EST to 5 pm PST what you would pay for to 20 mV/div. (50 MHz from Probes: I-igh perform- Téktronbc 'Price FO B . Beaverton, OR. (x)MA1R TEO TO Ex(ZLLENCE Copyright©1982 Tektronix, Inc All rights reserved 121 WHY K40 BECAME THE LARG EST SELLING CB ANTENNA LETTERS IN JUST ONE YEAR! Wrong Wow and Flutter when bass keys aren't struck, their Soetade In the review of the Realistic SCT-32 strings resonate, adding to richness of cassette deck, the figure given for wow sound.) and flutter should have been 0.06% not This is not to imply that my speakers 0.6%.-M. Winston, Radio Shack. Ft. now equal a pair three times as large Worth, TX. with twice as many drivers, costing ten times as much. But distortion becomes noticeable only at sound levels far louder OFFERS A Bass Boost and Distortion than what I would care to listen to. Speaker design is very much a series MONEY BACK Re "Electronic Bass Boost for Woof- of compromises, of trade-offs between ers" (November 1981), distortion is pro- different parameters. Bass equalization portional to how far the diaphragm is certainly worthy of consideration for WOUBLE GUARANTEL moves. Including greater motion by high-fidelity applications where healthy "equalizing" or whatever other means bass response is desired from reason- TRANSMITS must inevitably create an increase in able -size speakers-even though the modulation distortion. FARTHER Harmonic distortion in loudspeakers, pisr icneo t isn eac egsrseaartye rt op oawcceer prt eqhiugihre mleveenlst. oItf RECEIVES even up to several percent, may be distortion as a trade-off.-Richard ignored because the frequencies gener- Kaufman, New York, NY. CLEARER ated are harmonically related to the input frequencies. But modulation dis- tortion, even in amounts of a fraction of CP/M Users Address ...THAN ANY ANTENNA a percent, causes objectionable effects. IT REPLACES! anCd eertvaeinn trheev ieewxiss tednecney othf em aoduudliabtiiloitny addInre stsh e fJoar nuthaer y C1P98/M2 issUusee r(sp 3G0r)o uthpe, dmisotdourtliaotnio,n adltishtoourtgiohn baonthd afrmeqpulietundcye -- fCroPm/M w uhsiec ha reC aovmapiluatbeler , Lshaonugluda gbee s1 6f5o1r modulation distortion have been mea- Third Ave., New York, NY 10028.- sured and demonstrated to be audibly Stan Veit, New York, NY. perceived. For those who are deaf to dis- tortion, bass boost is the way to go.- Paul W. Klipsch, Klipsch and Asso- Tax Tips ciates, Hope, AK. Your editorial "The IRS Cometh" Author's reply: Distortion is only in- directly related to diaphragm excursion. (December 1981) is well -taken. I hope A driver's range of linear (undistorted) your readers will see it and heed its bmyo tviooinc em caoyi l beo vleimrhiatendg , bay nidts bsyu stpheen snioonn ,- amdvoincee yb.e- cWa.u sRe. iHt acman, Jsra.,v eM tihlteomn , sWomVe. linearity of air under compression in the speaker enclosure. Larger drivers do not automatically guarantee lower distor- Making PC Boards tion. Small drivers will often exhibit less In building projects from your maga- transient, harmonic, and intermodula- zine, I have developed a process for tion distortion than larger drivers that making pc boards that, I think, is simple have less cone motion due to imperfect and does not require any special photo- piston motion of larger diaphragms. In- graphic equipment. First, make a copy termodulation is normally present in of the foil pattern on a photo -copying music, but can be aggravated by cone machine. Use a machine that produces breakup in larger diaphragms. clean white areas and a solid black S 1 Equalization does not necessarily in- trace. Second, make a negative on high - crease cone motion at a given cutoff fre- contrast film by direct -contact printing. quency (for drivers of the same size) The exposure is made with the photoco- AN AMERICAN MADE PRODUCT where one driver is equalized and the py face down against the emulsion on FROM AN AMERICAN COMPANY. other is not. It can be demonstrated that the film. Experiment with exposure Call your local CB Dealer equalization masks some forms of dis- times to get the best contrast. Finally, tortion. Any modulation distortion pro- make the pc board from the negative, duced by bass boost is present only dur- using negative photo -sensitive resist. To ing the presence of deep bass in program improve this process even more, it would For a FREE demo! material. My listening tests have shown be helpful if you printed the patterns this condition to be preferable to a lack with nothing on the reverse side so the AMER [CAN ANTENNA of bass reproduction. For example, the photocopy step could be omitted and the © Copyright 1979 American Antenna Elgin, Illinois lyoowuers st penaoktee rso nc aan 'tp riaenporo disu c2e7 .t5h atH zn.o teI,f nthergoautgivhe mthaed e bpya gdeir.e-cKt e-cnorpicy k priCnthining, pianos just won't sound real. (Even Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. CIRCLE NO. 3 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD 8 POPULAR ELECTRONICS
Description: