Circuits & Schematics - Analogue Design - 10

A signal’s peak is typically measured with a diode. But if the diode is used alone, the input voltage must be much larger than the diode’s turn-on voltage to obtain acceptable accuracy. Since turn-on voltages range from 200 mV in ...

Most inexpensive pushbutton switches, particularly pc-board-mounting and membrane types, have momentary action. Latching types are often larger and relatively expensive, and they frequently are unavailable in the style you'd like to use. You ...

For an inverting amplifier with hysteresis, resistors R A , R B , and R F determine the crossover voltages (Figure 1). Unfortunately, using three resistors to set the upper and lower trip voltages creates a dependence between the two trip voltages: ...

Some amplifier applications require clamping or limiting due to large, sporadic signals appearing at the amplifier input. Clamping these errant signals protects the amplifier and other sensitive downstream circuitry. It also improves overdrive ...

Some of the electrical signals we work with are said to be “floating” with respect to ground. A typical example might be a voltage drop over a shunt resistor in a power supply or a complex biomedical signal, such as an ECG. In such ...

Comparators are great at turning little signals into large digital outputs. In the example described here, a friend wanted to detect the presence of a small 60-Hz AC signal centered on 2.5 V DC. When the AC is absent (beneath the specified ...

In adjustable, frequency-selective RC networks, the reciprocal of an RC product, ωC = 1/RC, determines the corner frequencies of the network. If the adjustable elements are potentiometers with a linear-control characteristic that is, taper ...

To determine the specifications of a solar-generating plant, I needed to accurately measure the load current a product consumed. The product switched several internal devices on and off during an interval of several seconds. An ammeter showed that ...

Sometimes, you need to distinguish between two voltages, using some hysteresis in the decision. When the levels of the compared signals vary over a wide range (for example, a few orders of magnitude), the hysteresis width should vary similarly to ...

It seems deceptively simple to establish galvanic isolation with the help of optocouplers between circuits that operate at different ground potentials. Optocouplers draw power from the isolated circuit, and switching can be relatively slow and ...