Circuits & Schematics - 4

For a variety of reasons, designers often discover that their creations need yet more power-supply voltages. For example, a system powered by 2.5 V power supplies suddenly needs a precision 1.4 V reference for a signal-level-shifting circuit and ...

Although an analog moving-coil meter may lack the resolution and accuracy that a digital readout provides, a meter remains the display of choice for certain applications. A digital readout simply cannot provide information about a measurement's ...

A previous Design Idea describes an interesting and useful method for using a moving-coil analog meter to measure currents in the less-than-1A range ( Reference 1 ). The design offers considerable flexibility in the choice of meter-movement ...

This circuit was born from an application that required an input signal to be precisely clamped to less than 2.5 V, while operating on a 2.5 V supply (actually a reference) with a maximum output of 4 mA. Since the signal’s dynamic range is ...

A random-bit-sequence generator is basic equipment for prototyping and testing any data-transmission system. You use such a generator when measuring BER (bit-error rate) and pattern-dependent effects in a transmission system. Such effects can ...

A broadband source of white noise can be useful for measuring and testing communications equipment. The source in Figure 1 is simple and produces a large noise signal at its output terminals. The circuit comprises a zener diode and a few amplifying ...

Digitally controlled potentiometers are useful for generating analog control voltages under the control of a microcontroller. In some applications, manual pushbutton switches could replace a microcontroller and simplify product design. Mechanical ...

The circuit in Figure 1, using a low-offset amplifier, is a basic ohmmeter circuit common in multimeters, except for the addition of the two diode-connected transistors. A current source supplies a selectable current, I M , to ranging from 100 nA ...

Many single-supply applications need precision amplifiers that can operate from 5 V or lower. Although many precision, single-supply op amps are currently available for configuring as 2- and 3-amplifier instrumentation amplifiers (IAs), these ...

Taking only a cursory look at the input-voltage ratings of your power-supply IC can limit the usable input-voltage range. With careful examination of an IC's operating specifications and circuit topology, you may be able to work around that ...