EDN Europe - Design Ideashttp://www.edn-europe.comEDN Europe - Design Ideasen-USCopyright 2008 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Thu, 15 May 2008 08:27:01 +0800Retriggerable monostable multivibrator quickly discharges power-supply capacitorhttp://www.edn-europe.com/retriggerablemonostablemultivibratorquicklydischargespowersupplycapacitor+article+2173+Europe.htmlUniversal power supplies must work from mains power lines ranging from 90 to 264V ac at 50 or 60 Hz. Directly rectifying the input voltage charges the filter capacitor to between ....http://www.edn-europe.com/retriggerablemonostablemultivibratorquicklydischargespowersupplycapacitor+article+2173+Europe.htmlThu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 +0800Simple analog circuit provides voltage clipping and dc shifting for flash ADChttp://www.edn-europe.com/simpleanalogcircuitprovidesvoltageclippinganddcshiftingforflashadc+article+2172+Europe.htmlMany flash ADCs, such as National Semiconductor’s (www.national.com) ADC1175, have a recommended operating input-voltage range ....http://www.edn-europe.com/simpleanalogcircuitprovidesvoltageclippinganddcshiftingforflashadc+article+2172+Europe.htmlThu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 +0800Current source makes novel Class A bufferhttp://www.edn-europe.com/currentsourcemakesnovelclassabuffer+article+2171+Europe.html The basis for this Design Idea is a classic two-transistor current source (Figure 1). Current through R1 depends only ....http://www.edn-europe.com/currentsourcemakesnovelclassabuffer+article+2171+Europe.htmlThu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 +0800Compact laser-diode driver provides protection for precision-instrument usehttp://www.edn-europe.com/compactlaserdiodedriverprovidesprotectionforprecisioninstrumentuse+article+2170+Europe.htmlContinuous-wave laser diodes in precision-instrument applications require constant-current sources to drive them. Proper design of such a driver must involve careful tackling ....http://www.edn-europe.com/compactlaserdiodedriverprovidesprotectionforprecisioninstrumentuse+article+2170+Europe.htmlThu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 +0800Chop the noise gain to measure an op amp’s real-time offset voltagehttp://www.edn-europe.com/chopthenoisegaintomeasureanopampsrealtimeoffsetvoltage+article+2169+Europe.htmlOne of the most important specifications of an op amp is its input-offset voltage. You can null out this voltage on many op amps, but the problem with determining the input-offset ....http://www.edn-europe.com/chopthenoisegaintomeasureanopampsrealtimeoffsetvoltage+article+2169+Europe.htmlThu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 +0800AC-continuity tester finds single-ended faults in cableshttp://www.edn-europe.com/accontinuitytesterfindssingleendedfaultsincables+article+2130+Europe.html An ac-based continuity tester for front-line test-and-repair jobs provides a simple go/no-go test for localizing faults in multiconductor cables (<a href=''cmsimages/0408/60f1.jpg'' ....http://www.edn-europe.com/accontinuitytesterfindssingleendedfaultsincables+article+2130+Europe.htmlTue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0800Optoisolators compute watts and volt-ampereshttp://www.edn-europe.com/optoisolatorscomputewattsandvoltamperes+article+2129+Europe.htmlA decade or so ago, I designed a simple circuit that included a quad optoisolator arranged in a full-wave analog-multiplier bridge (Figure ....http://www.edn-europe.com/optoisolatorscomputewattsandvoltamperes+article+2129+Europe.htmlTue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0800Single-supply circuit measures 48V high-side currenthttp://www.edn-europe.com/singlesupplycircuitmeasures48vhighsidecurrent+article+2128+Europe.htmlThe nominal -48V rail, which finds wide use in wireless base stations and other telecommunications equipment in network central offices, can vary from -48 to -60V. Measuring ....http://www.edn-europe.com/singlesupplycircuitmeasures48vhighsidecurrent+article+2128+Europe.htmlTue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0800High-speed clamp functions as pulse-forming circuithttp://www.edn-europe.com/highspeedclampfunctionsaspulseformingcircuit+article+2127+Europe.htmlAmplifiers with positive feedback are the bases of signalgrade pulse-forming circuits. This setup ensures a trigger-like operation in which the input signal crosses the input-threshold ....http://www.edn-europe.com/highspeedclampfunctionsaspulseformingcircuit+article+2127+Europe.htmlTue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0800Three-state switch interface uses one microcontroller pinhttp://www.edn-europe.com/threestateswitchinterfaceusesonemicrocontrollerpin+article+2089+Europe.htmlHuman interfaces for electronic gadgets sometimes require three states for control. A single- axis joystick has states to define motions to the right, to the left, and with ....http://www.edn-europe.com/threestateswitchinterfaceusesonemicrocontrollerpin+article+2089+Europe.htmlTue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0800