Lambda Probe Readout For Carburetor Tuning

A lambda probe (or oxygen sensor) can be found on the exhaust system of most cars running on unleaded fuel. Having reached its normal operating temperature (of about 600 degrees Celsius!) the lambda probe supplies an output voltage proportional to the amount of residual oxygen measured in the exhaust gas.

This information is indicative of, among others, the air/fuel ratio supplied by the carburetor(s) and hence the combustion efficiency. In modern car (and motorcycle) engines, this information is used to (electronically) adjust engine parameters like ignition timing and fuel injection. The indicator described here is intended for permanent installation on a motorcycle of which the air/fuel ratio needed to be watched, with the obvious aim engine power tuning after fitting a different set of carburetors. Apart from this obvious technical use the unit’s bright LEDs will no doubt attract the attention of curious motorcyclists.

At the local junkyard a single-wire lambda probe may be salvaged from a wrecked car. Once a suitable nut has been found, the probe can screwed into the exhaust pipe of the motorcycle, at about 30 cm from the cylinders.  Since we’re talking of welding and drilling in an expensive (chrome-plated) exhaust pipe, you may find that actually fitting the probe is best left to specialists!  The starting point for the design of a suitable electronic indicator is that in the noble art of carburetor tuning an air/fuel ratio of 14.7 to 1 is generally considered ‘perfect’, the range covering 16.2 to 1 (‘lean’) to 11.7 to 1 (‘rich’). The perfect ratio typically corresponds to a probe output voltage of 0.45 V. 

 Referring to the circuit diagram, that is the input level at which 5 of the 10 LEDs will light, including the green one, D5. If one of the red LEDs lights, the mixture is definitely too rich. Note that in general it is better to have a mixture that is a little to rich than one that’s on the lean side, hence a yellow LED lights between the green LED and the first red one. Also note that the engine needs to be at its normal operating temperature before a meaningful indication is obtained.

10 000x With One Transistor

For a collector follower with emitter resistor, you’ll often find that the gain per stage is no more than 10 to 50 times. The gain increases when the emitter resistor is omitted. Unfortunately, the distortion also increases. With a ubiquitous transistor such as the BC547B, the gain of the transistor is roughly equal to 40 times the collector current (Ic), provided the collector current is less than a few milliamps. This value is in theory equal to the expression q/KT, where q is the charge of the electron, K is Boltzmann’s constant and T is the temperature in Kelvin.

For simplicity, and assuming room temperature, we round this value to 40. For a single stage amplifier circuit with grounded emitter it holds that the gain Uout /Uin (for AC voltage) is in theory equal to SRc. As we observed before, the slope S is about 40Ic. From this follows that the gain is approximately equal to 40I cRc. What does this mean? In the first instance this leads to a very practical rule of thumb: that gain of a grounded emitter circuit amounts to 40·I c·Rc, which is equal to 40 times the voltage across the collector resistor.

If Ub is, for example, equal to 12 V and the collector is set to 5V, then we know, irrespective of the values of the resistors that the gain will be about 40R(12–5) = 280. Notable is the fact that in this way the gain can be very high in theory, by selecting a high power supply voltage. Such a voltage could be obtained from an isolating transformer from the mains. An isolating transformer can be made by connecting the secondaries of two transformers together, which results in a galvanically isolated mains voltage.

Circuit diagram:

10,000x With One Transistor Circuit diagram

That means, that with a mains voltage of 240 Veff there will be about 340 V DC after rectification and filtering. If in the amplifier circuit the power supply voltage is now 340 V and the collector voltage is 2 V, then the gain is in theory equal to 40 x (340–2). This is more than 13,500 times! However, there are a few drawbacks in practice. This is related to the output characteristic of the transistor. In practice, it turns out that the transistor does actually have an output resistor between collector and emitter.

This output resistance exists as a transistor parameter and is called ‘hoe’. In normal designs this parameter is of no consequence because it has no noticeable effect if the collector resistor is not large. When powering the amplifier from 340 V and setting the collector current to 1 mA, the collector resistor will have a value of 338 k. Whether the ‘hoe’-parameter has any influence depends in the type of transistor. We also note that with such high gains, the base-collector capacitance in particular will start to play a role.

As a consequence the input frequency may not be too high. For a higher bandwidth we will have to use a transistor with small Cbc, such as a BF494 or perhaps even an SHF transistor such as a BFR91A. We will have to adjust the value of the base resistor to the new hfe. The author has carried out measurements with a BC547B at a power supply voltage of 30 V. A value of 2 V was chosen for the collector voltage. Measurements confirm the rule of thumb. The gain was more than 1,000 times and the effects of ‘hoe’ and the base-collector capacitance were not noticeable because of the now much smaller collector resistor.

 

 

Author: Gert Baars

12 V AC Dimmer

The circuit described here is derived from a conventional design for a simple lamp dimmer, as you can see if you imagine a diac connected between points A and B. The difference between this circuit and a normal diac circuit is that a diac circuit won’t work at 12 V. This is the fault of the diac. Most diacs have a trigger voltage in the range of 30 to 40V, so they can’t work at 12 V, which means the dimmer also can’t work.

Circuit diagram :

12-V AC Dimmer Circuit Diagram

The portion of the circuit between points A and B acts like a diac with a trigger voltage of approximately 5.5 V. The network formed by R1, P1 and C1 generates a phase shift relative to the supply voltage. The ‘diac equivalent’ circuit outputs a phase-shifted trigger pulse to the triac on each positive and negative half-cycle of the sinusoidal AC voltage.

This works as follows. First consider the positive half of the sine wave. C1 charges when the voltage starts to rise, with a time constant determined by C1, R1 and P1. T1 does not start conducting right away. It waits until the voltage across D2 reaches 4.7 V and the Zener diode starts to conduct. Then current starts to flow, driving T1 and T3 into conduction. This produces a pulse at point B. The same principle applies to the negative half of the sine wave, in this case with D1, T2 and T4 as the key players.

The trigger angle can be adjusted with P1 over a range of approximately 15 degrees to 90 degrees. C2 provides a certain amount of noise decoupling. Depending on the load, the triac may need a heat sink. You can use practically any desired transistors; the types indicated here are only examples. If the circuit does not dim far enough, you can change the value of P1 to 25 kΩ. This allows the trigger angle to be increased to 135 degrees.

Note: this circuit works fine with normal transformers, but not with ‘electronic ’ transformers.

http://www.ecircuitslab.com/2012/02/12-v-ac-dimmer.html

Power On Indicator

Some types of electronic equipment do  not provide any indication that they are  actually on when they are switched on.  This situation can occur when the back-light of a display is switched off. In addition, the otherwise mandatory mains  power  indicator  is  not  required  with  equipment  that  consumes  less  than  10 watts. As a result, you can easily forget  to switch off such equipment. If you want  to know whether equipment is still drawing power from the mains, or if you want  to have an indication that the equipment  is switched on without having to modify the equipment, this circuit provides a solution. 

One way to detect AC power current and  generate a reasonably constant voltage  independent of the load is to connect a  string of diodes wired in reverse parallel in series with one of the AC supply  leads. Here we selected diodes rated  at 6 A that can handle a non-repetitive  peak current of 200 A. The peak current  rating is important in connection with  switch-on  currents.  An  advantage  of  the selected diodes is that their voltage  drop increases at high currents (to 1.2 V  at 6 A). This means that you can roughly  estimate the power consumption from  the brightness of the LED (at very low  power levels). The voltage across the diodes serves as  the supply voltage for the LED driver. To  increase the sensitivity of the circuit, a  cascade circuit (voltage doubler) consisting of C1, D7, D8 and C2 is used to double  the voltage from D1–D6. Another benefit  of this arrangement is that both halve- waves of the AC current are used. We use  Schottky diodes in the cascade circuit to  minimise the voltage losses. 

Circuit diagram :

Power On Indicator Circuit Diagram

The LED driver is designed to operate the LED  in blinking mode. This increases the amount  of current that can flow though the LED when  it is on, so the brightness is adequate even  with small loads. We chose a duty cycle of pproximately 5 seconds off and 0.5 second  on. If we assume a current of 2 mA for good  brightness with a low-current LED and we can  tolerate a 1-V drop in the supply voltage, the  smoothing capacitor (C2) must have a value of  1000 µF. We use an astable multivibrator built around two transistors to implement a  high-efficiency LED flasher. It is dimensioned to minimise the drive current of  the transistors. The average current consumption is approximately 0.5 mA with a  supply voltage of 3 V (2.7 mA when the  LED is on; 0.2 mA when it is off). C4 and  R4 determine the on time of the LED (0.5  to 0.6 s, depending on the supply volt-age). The LED off time is determined by  C3 and R3 and is slightly less than 5 seconds. The theoretical value is R × C × ln2,  but the actual value differs slightly due to  the low supply voltage and the selected  component values.

 

Diodes D1-D6 do not have to be special  high-voltage diodes; the reverse volt-age is only a couple of volts here due  the reverse-parallel arrangement. This  voltage drop is negligible compared to  the value of the mains voltage. The only  thing you have to pay attention to is the  maximum load. Diodes with a higher  current rating must be used above 1 kW.  In addition, the diodes may require cool-ing at such high power levels.  Measurements on D1–D6 indicate that  the voltage drop across each diode is  approximately 0.4 V at a current of 1 mA.  Our aim was to have the circuit give a  reasonable indication at current levels  of 1 mA and higher, and we succeeded  nicely. However, it is essential to use a  good low-current LED.

 

Caution: the entire circuit is at AC power potential. Never work on the circuit with the mains cable plugged in. The  best enclosure for the circuit is a small,  translucent box with the same colour as  the LED. Use reliable strain reliefs for the  mains cables entering and leaving the  box (connected to a junction box, for  example). The LED insulation does not  meet the requirements of any defined insulation class, so it must be fitted such that it  cannot be touched, which means it cannot  protrude from the enclosure.

Digital Mains Voltage Indicator

Continuous monitoring of the mains voltage is required in many ap-plications such as manual volt-age stabilisers and motor pumps. An ana-logue voltmeter, though cheap, has many disadvantages as it has moving parts and is sensitive to vibrations. The solidstate voltmeter circuit described here indicates the mains voltage with a resolution that is comparable to that of a general-pur-pose analogue voltmeter. The status of the mains voltage is available in the form of an LED bar graph. Presets VR1 through VR16 are used to set the DC voltages corresponding to the 16 voltage levels over the 50-250V range as marked on LED1 through LED16, respectively, in the figure. The LED bar graph is multiplexed from the bottom to the top with the help of ICs CD4067B (16-channel multiplexer) and CD4029B (counter). The counter clocked by NE555 timer-based astable multivibrator generates 4-bit binary ad-dress for multiplexer-demultiplexer pair of CD4067B and CD4514B. 

Circuit diagram:

Digital Mains Voltage Indicator Circuit Diagram

The voltage from the wipers of pre-sets are multiplexed by CD4067B and the output from pin 1 of CD4067B is fed to the non-inverting input of comparator A2 (half of op-amp LM358) after being buff-ered by A1 (the other half of IC2). The unregulated voltage sensed from rectifier output is fed to the inverting input of com-parator A2. The output of comparator A2 is low until the sensed voltage is greater than the reference input applied at the non-inverting pins of comparator A2 via buffer A1. When the sensed voltage goes below the reference voltage, the output of com-parator A2 goes high. The high output from comparator A2 inhibits the decoder (CD4514) that is used to decode the out-put of IC4029 and drive the LEDs. This ensures that the LEDs of the bar graph are ‘on’ up to the sensed voltage-level pro-portional to the mains voltage.

The initial adjustment of each of the presets can be done by feeding a known AC voltage through an auto-transform and then adjusting the corresponding pre-set to ensure that only those LEDs that are up to the applied voltage glow. 

EFY note.  It is advisable to use ad-ditional transformer, rectifier, filter, and regulator arrangements for obtaining a regulated supply for the functioning of the circuit so that performance of the cir-cuit is not affected even when the mains voltage falls as low as 50V or goes as high as 280V. During Lab testing regu-lated 12-volt supply for circuit operation was used.)

Author : Pratap Chandra Sahu - Copyright : EFY

Lighting Up Model Aircraft

This circuit provides aircraft modellers with extremely realistic beacon and marker lights at minimum  outlay. The project ’s Strobe out-put (A) provides four brief pulses repeated periodically for the wing  (white strobe) lights. In addition the Beacon output (B) gives a double pulse to drive a red LED for indicating the aircraft’s active operational status. On the proto-type this is usually a red rotating  beacon known as an Anti-Collision Light (ACL). The circuit is equally useful for road vehicle modellers, who can use it to flash headlights and blue emergency lights. 

Circuit diagram :

Lighting Up Model Aircraft Circuit Diagram

All signals are generated by a 4060 14-stage binary counter and some minimal output selection logic. Cycle time is determined by the way the internal oscillator is con-figured (resistor and capacitor on pins 9/10) and can be varied within quite broad limits. High-efficiency LEDs are your first choice for the indicators connected to the Bea-con and Strobe outputs (remember to fit series resistors appropriate to the operating voltage Ub and the current specified for the LED used). 

The sample circuit is for operating voltages between 5 and 12 V. Cur- rent flow through the two BS170 FET devices must not exceed 500 mA.

Author : Werner Ludwig

Ultra Bright LED Lamp

This ultra-bright white LED lamp works on 230V AC with minimal power consumption. It can be used to illuminate VU meters, SWR meters, etc. Ultra-bright LEDs available in the market cost Rs 8 to 15.These LEDs emit a 1000-6000mCd bright white light like welding arc and work on 3 volts, 10 mA. Their maximum voltage is 3.6 volts and the current is 25 mA. Anti-static precautions should be taken when handling the LEDs.

Circuit diagram :

Fig.1: Ultra-Bright LED Lamp Circuit Diagram

The LEDs in water-clear plastic package emit spotlight, while diffused type LEDs have a wide-angle radiation pattern. This circuit (Fig. 1) employs capacitive reactance for limiting the current flow through the LEDs on application of mains voltage to the circuit. If we use only a series resistor for limiting the current with mains operation, the limiting resistor itself will dissipate around 2 to 3 watts of power,whereas no power is dissipated in a capacitor. The value of capacitor is calculated by using the following relationships:
XC = 1/(2fC) ohms —————(a)
XC = VRMS /I ohms ———— (b)

where XC is capacitive reactance in ohms, C is capacitance in farads, I is the current through the LED in amperes, f is the mains frequency in Hz, and Vrms is the input mains voltage.

The 100-ohm, 2W series resistor avoids heavy ‘inrush’ current during transients. MOV at the input prevents surges or spikes, protecting the circuit. The 390-kilo-ohm,½-watt resistor acts as a bleeder to provide discharge path for capacitor Cx when mains supply is disconnected. The zener diode at the output section prevents excess reverse voltage levels appearing acrossthe LEDs during negative half cycles. During positive half cycle, the voltage across LEDs is limited to zener voltage.

Fig.2: 16-LED combination

The 100-ohm, 2W series resistor avoids heavy ‘inrush’ current during transients. MOV at the input prevents surges or spikes, protecting the circuit. The 390-kilo-ohm, ½-watt resistor acts as a bleeder to provide discharge path for capacitor Cx when mains supply is disconnected. The zener diode at the output section prevents excess reverse voltage levels appearing across the LEDs during negative half cycles. During positive half cycle, the voltage across LEDs is limited to zener voltage.

Fig.3: 46-LED combination

Use AC capacitors for Cx. Filter capacitor C1 across the output provides flickerfree light. The circuit can be enclosed in a CFL round case, and thus it can be connected directly to AC bulb holder socket. A series combination of 16 LEDs (Fig. 2) gives a luminance (lux) equivalent of a 12W bulb. But if you have two series combinations of 23 LEDs in parallel (total 46 LEDs as shown in Fig. 3), it gives light equal to a 35W bulb. 15 LEDs are suitable for a table lamp light. Diode D1 (1N4007) and capacitor C1 act as rectifying and smoothing elements to provide DC voltage to the row of LEDs. For a 16-LED row,use Cx of 0.22 μF, 630V; C1 of 22 μF, 100V; and zener of 48V, 1W. Similarly, for 23+23 LED combination use Cx of 0.47 mF, 630V; C1 of 33 μF, 150V; and zener of 69V, 1W.

Author : N.S. Harisankar Vu3nsh – Copyright : EFY

Protection For Your Electrical Appliances

Here is a very low-cost circuit to save your electrically operated appliances, such as tv, tape recorder, refrigerator, and other instruments during sudden tripping and resumption of mains supply. Appliances like refrigerators and air-conditioners are more prone to damage due to such conditions. The simple circuit given here switches off the mains supply to the load as soon as the power trips. The supply can be resumed only by manual intervention. Thus, the supply may be switched on only after it has stabilised.

Circuit diagram :

Protection For Your Electrical Appliances

The circuit comprises a step-down transformer followed by a full-wave rectifier and smoothing capacitor C1 which acts as a supply source for relay rl1. Initially, when the circuit is switched on, the power supply path to the step-down transformer X1 as well as the load is incomplete, as the relay is in de-energised state. To energise the relay, press switch S1 for a short duration. This completes the path for the supply to transformer X1 as also the load via closed contacts of switch S1. Meanwhile, the supply to relay becomes available and it gets energised to provide a parallel path for the supply to the transformer as well as the load.

If there is any interruption in the power supply, the supply to the transformer is not available and the relay de-energises. Thus, once the supply is interrupted even for a brief period, the relay is de-energised and you have to press switch S1 momentarily (when the supply resumes) to make it available to the load. Very short duration (say, 1 to 5 milliseconds) interruptions or fluctuations will not affect the circuit because of presence of large value capacitor which has to discharge via the relay coil. Thus the circuit provides suitable safety against erratic power supply conditions.

Author : MALAY BANERJEE

110 and 220V AC LED Voltage Indicator

Useful for power lines control, Simple, transformerless circuitry

This circuit, designed on request, has proven to be useful to indicate when the voltage in a power supply line is changing from 120V to 240Vac. It can be used in different circumstances and circuits, mainly when an increase in ac or dc supply voltage needs to be detected. D3 illuminates when the line voltage is approaching 120V and will remain in the on state also at 240V supply. On the other hand, D6 will illuminate only when the line voltage is about 240V and will stay on because the latching action of Q1, Q2 and related components. C1, D1 and D2 provide a low dc voltage in the 4.5V - 6V range in order to allow proper operation of latch circuit and LEDs.

Circuit diagram:

110 and 220V AC LED Voltage Indicator Circuit Diagram

Parts:
R1__________470R 1/2W Resistor
R2__________220K 1/4W Resistor
R3,R7_______470R 1/4W Resistors
R4__________1K 1/4W Resistor
R5__________2K2 1/4W Resistor
R6_________330R 1/4W Resistor
C1_________330nF 630V Polyester Capacitor
C2_________10µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
D1,D2______N4007 1000V 1A Diode
D3,D6______LEDs (Color and shape at will)
D4_________BZX79C10 10V 500mW Zener Diode (See Notes)
D5_________1N4148 75V 150mA Diode
Q1_________BC547 45V 100mA NPN Transistor
Q2_________BC557 45V 100mA PNP Transistor

Notes:

• D4 value could require some adjustment in order to allow precise switching of the circuit at the chosen voltage. If the case, please try values in the 8.2V - 15V range.
• Warning! The circuit is connected to 240Vac mains, then some parts in the circuit board are subjected to lethal potential! Avoid touching the circuit when plugged and enclose it in a plastic box.

http://www.ecircuitslab.com/2011/07/110-and-220v-ac-led-voltage-indicator.html