Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulator

Current generated flows through clips placed on the earlobes Output current adjustable from 80 to 600 microAmperes

Device purpose:

Owing to the recent launching in Europe of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) portable sets, we have been "Electronically Stimulated" in designing a similar circuit for the sake of Hobbyists. CES is the most popular technique for electrically boosting brain power, and has long been prescribed by doctors, mainly in the USA, for therapeutic reasons, including the treatment of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and chemical dependency. CES units generate an adjustable current (80 to 600 microAmperes) that flows through clips placed on the earlobes. The waveform of this device is a 400 milliseconds positive pulse followed by a negative one of the same duration, then a pause of 1.2 seconds. The main frequency is 0.5 Hz, i.e. a double pulse every 2 seconds. Some people report that this kind of minute specialized electrical impulses contributes to achieve a relaxed state that leaves the mind alert.


Obviously we can't claim or prove any therapeutic effectiveness for this device, but if you are interested in trying it, the circuit is so cheap and so simple to build that an attempt can be made with quite no harm.

Parts:

• R1_____________1M5 1/4W Resistor
• R2____________15K 1/4W Resistor
• R3___________100K Linear Potentiometer
• R4_____________2K2 1/4W Resistor
• C1___________330nF 63V Polyester Capacitor
• C2___________100µF 25V Electrolytic Capacitor
• D1_____________3mm. Red LED
• IC1___________7555 or TS555CN CMos Timer IC
• IC2___________4017 Decade counter with 10 decoded outputs IC
• SW1___________SPST Slider Switch
• B1______________9V PP3 Battery
• Clip for PP3 Battery
• Two Earclips with wires (see notes)

Circuit operation:

IC1 forms a narrow pulse, 2.5Hz oscillator feeding IC2. This chip generates the various timings for the output pulses. Output is taken at pins 2 & 3 to easily obtain negative going pulses also. Current output is limited to 600µA by R2 and can be regulated from 80 to 600µA by means of R3. The LED flashes every 2 seconds signaling proper operation and can also be used for setting purposes. It can be omitted together with R4, greatly increasing battery life.

Notes:

• In order to obtain a more precise frequency setting take R1=1M2 and add a 500K trimmer in series with it.
• In this case use a frequency meter to read 2.5Hz at pin 3 of IC1, or an oscilloscope to read 400msec pulses at pins 2, 3 or 10, adjusting the added trimmer.
• A simpler setting can be made adjusting the trimmer to count exactly a LED flash every 2 seconds.
• Earclips can be made with little plastic clips and cementing the end of the wire in a position suited to make good contact with earlobes.
• Ultra-simple earclips can be made using a thin copper foil with rounded corners 4 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide, soldering the wire end in the center, and then folding the foil in two parts holding the earlobes.
• To ensure a better current transfer, this kind of devices usually has felt pads moistened with a conducting solution interposed between clips and skin.
• Commercial sets have frequently a built-in timer. Timing sessions last usually 20 minutes to 1 hour. For this purpose you can use the Timed Beeper the Bedside Lamp Timer or the Jogging Timer circuits available on this website, adjusting the timing components in order to suit your needs.

Active Antenna HF/VHF/UHF, 3-3000MHz

If you have a shortwave or high-frequency receiver or scanner that is struggling to capture signals with a short, whip antenna, and you'd like the kind of performance that a 60-foot 'longwire' antenna can provide but lack the space to put one up, consider building the AA-7 HF/VHF/UHF Active Antenna described in this article. The AA-7 is a relatively simple antenna that is designed to amplify signals from 3 to 3000 MegaHertz, including three recognized ranges: 3-30Mhz high-frequency (HF) signals; 3-300Mhz very-high frequency (VHF) signals; 300-3000MHz ultra-high (UHF) frequency signals. Those bands are typically occupied by shortwave, ham, government, and commercial radio signals.


Active Antennas:

In its simplest form, an active antenna uses a small whip antenna that feeds incoming RF to a pre-amplifier, whose output is then connected to the antenna input of a receiver. Unless specifically designed otherwise, all active antennas are intended for receive-only operation, and thus should not be used with transceivers; transmitting into an active antenna will probably destroy its active components. A well designed broadband active antenna consider field strength of the desired signal (measured in microvolts per meter of antenna length), atmospheric and other noise, diameter of the antenna, radiation resistance, and antenna reactance at various frequencies, plus the efficiency and noise figure of the amplifier circuit itself.


Circuit Description:



Figure shows the schematic diagram of the AA-7, which contains only two active elements; Q1 (an MFE201 N-Channel dual-gate MOSFET) and Q2 (a 2SC2570 NPN VHF silicon transistor). Those transistors provide the basis of two independent, switchable RF pre-amplifiers. Two double-pole double-throw (DPDT) switches play a major role in this operation of the AA-7. Switch S1 is used to select one of the two pre-amplifier circuits (either HF or VHF/UHF). Switch 2 is used to turn off the power to the circuit, while coupling the incoming RF directly to the input of the receiver. That gives the receiver non-amplified access to the auxiliary antenna jack, at J1, as well as the on-board telescoping whip antenna. With switch S2 in its power-on position, the input and output jacks are disconnected and B1 (a 9 volt battery) is connected to the circuit. With switch S1 in the position shown in the schematic, incoming RF is directed to the HF pre-amp circuit built around Q1 (an MFE201 N-Channel dual-gate MOSFET). The HF pre-amp operates with an exceptionally low noise level, and is ideal for copying weak CW and singe-side band signals. When S1 is switched to the other position, the captured signal is coupled to the VHF/UHF pre-amp built around Q2 (a 2SC2570 NPN VHF silicon transistor), which has excellent VHF through microwave characteristics. With the on-board whip antenna adjustable to resonance through much of the VHF-UHF region (length in feet = 234 divide by the frequency in MHz), the VHF/UHF mode is ideal for indoor and portable use with VHF scanners and other receivers. Either mode can be used when tuning 3-30 MHz HF signals. The VHF/UHF pre-amp offers higher gain than the HF pre-amp, but also has a higher noise level. You can easily choose either amplifier for copying any signal; of interest--just try both positions. The RF gain control (R5) can be used to trim the output of either amplifier.

Caution: The AA-7 is not intended for transmitting operation (be it Ham, Maritime, or CB); if it is used with a transceiver of any kind, make sure it is not possible to transmit by accidentally pressing a mike button or CW keyer. Transmitting RF into the AA-7 is likely to ruin one or both of the transistors in the circuit.

Parts List and other components:

Semiconductors:

Q1 = MFE201, SK3991, or NTE454. N-Channel, dual-gate MOSFET, TO-72 (see text)
Q2 = 2SC2570, NTE107. Silicon RF IF/Amp, NPN transistor (see text)
Note: If you use the NTE107 as a replacement, make sure to insert it correctly
into the pcb. The orientation is different than as shown on the parts layout
diagram. (e-c-b seen front view for NTE107). See this Data Sheet

Resistors:

All Resistors are 5%, 1/4-watt
R1 = 1 Mega Ohm
R2 = 220K
R3,R6 = 100K
R4 = 100 ohm
R5 = 10K potentiometer (pc mount)
Capacitors:

C1,C2,C5,C6 = 0.01uF, ceramic disc
C3 = 100pF ceramic disc
C4 = 4.7 to 10uF, 16WVDC, radial lead electrolytic

Additional Parts & Materials:

B1 = 9-volt alkaline battery
S1,S2 = DPDT PC mount pushbutton switch
J1,J2 = PC mount RCA jack
ANT1 = Telescoping whip antenna (screw mount)
MISC = PCB materials, enclosure, enclosure, battery holder and connector,
wire, solder, etc.

Motorcycle Battery Charger

This 3A charger was originally designed to work with small batteries like those used in motorcycles. In principle it can be used to charge car batteries also but will take a lot longer.
The charger below charges a battery with a constant current to 14.1 volt. When this level is reached, the current charge drops automatically to a safer level (13.6V) and keeps charging at this slower rate untill the LED lights up indicating a fully charged battery. This project looks very much alike with the Gel cell II charger elsewhere posted in the 'Circuits' section. The difference is the IC, namely a LM1458 instead of a LM301A. Nice job Jan!



Description:

The LM350 is an adjustable voltage regulator and keeps the voltage between points C and B at 1.25 Volt. By adding a 1K resistor between point B and gnd (-) you can, as it were, lift up the output voltage. To accurately control the output voltage we add to this resistor, in series, a 2K adjustable 10-turn potentiometer. As soon as a battery is connected a current flow occurs, controlled by the right halve of the LM1458. The current through the 0.1 ohm resistor causes a voltage drop. This drop is compared with the voltage on the walker of 100-ohm pot. The moment this drop is greater than the one adjusted with the potmeter will cause the output of the LM1458 IC to go low and a small current starts to flow thru the diode and this in effect will reduce the current through the series resistors 1K + 2Kpot. The current is hereby stabilized.

The point between C and B is devided by three resistors; 2.2 ohm, 100 ohm pot, and the 150 ohm. 2.2 ohm and the 100 ohm potmeter are connected to the non-inverting input (+) of the LM1458 IC. The inverting input (-) is connected to the 0.1 ohm wire-wound resistor in series with the output. As long as the voltage drop, caused by the current-flow over this resistor is greater than the voltage drop over the 2.2 ohm resistor the output of the LM1458 will stay high and in turn block the BC558 transistor. But as soon as the charge current falls below a specific value the 1458 will go low and turn on this transistor which wich activate the LED. At the same time a small current will flow thru the 'Rx' resistor, which will cause that the output voltage of the charger switches to 13.6 Volt. This is a very safe output voltage, and does not cause overcharging to the battery and remains fully charged (trickle).

Rx should be an experimental value determined below; a mathematically calculation is possible but the exact value is determined by the tolerances of your specific components.

The voltage regulator LM350 has to dissipate a lot of energy so make sure to mount it on a large cooling fin. (e.i. 3.3°C/Watt) Diode 1N4001 over the input/output is necessary to prevent damage to the regulator in case the input voltage gets interrupted.

The LM350 can be substituted with a NTE970, and the BC558B with a NTE159 if you wish.
The adjustments for this charger are really simple and the only thing needed is digital multimeter. The LM1458 should NOT be in the socket while doing the first adjustment. When no battery is connected there is no current flow thru the 0.1 ohm resistor and therefore pulling the output low. So no IC yet in the socket. Do NOT connect a battery also. I know that is obvious to most of us, but some people... :-)

Okay, here we go:

1. Connect the multimeter (set for Volt DC) to the '+' and '-' battery output and adjust with the 2k trimpot the output voltage to 14.1 Volt.
2. Switch the power off. Discharge the capacitors (short them out with a piece of wire).
3. Now insert the LM1458 IC carefully (check no pins are bend underneath the chip).
4. Switch the power back on and make the resistor marked Rx such a value that the output voltage reads 13.6 volt exactly.
5. Switch the multimeter to 'Amp-dc'. Turn the 100-ohm trimpot all the way CCW. Connect the 'to-be-charged-battery' (e.i. NOT a fully charged battery) and turn back the trimpot untill the current load is 0.1 X the battery capacity (max 3A). Example: A 16Amp battery adjusting to 1.6A. If you don't have an Amp meter on your multimeter you can use the 2-volt setting on your meter and connect it over the 0.1 ohm resistor. The current is volt devided by 0.1, so for 3A the meter should read 0.3 volt.

That's it. To get the Rx value you could also use a trimpot until you get the 13.6volt and then read the ohm's value of the trimpot and replace with a resistor. In my opinion this resistor should be a metalfilm type at 1 or 2% tolerance.

The Technical bits:

For those of you interested in how the value of essential components was calculated, read on. You may be able to design your own charger for use with a different current or voltage (like 6-volt).
Calculations origin from the voltage between points C and B of the LM350 regulator. When a resistor is connected between these two points, enough current starts to flow that the voltage over this resistor measures 1.25 volt. In our case, the resistor total is 2.2 + 100 + 150 =252.2 ohm. Because we deal with very small currents the calculations are performed in milliamps and the calculations of resistance in Kilo-Ohms. Thus, the current thru this resistor is 1.25 / 0.2522 = 4.9564 mA. The same current also flows thru the 1K & 2K series resistors. We want the output voltage to be 14.1 volt, meaning the voltage drop over these series resistors must be 14.1 - 1.25 = 12.85 Volt.

The total resistance value thus must be 12.85 / 4.9564 = 2.5926 Ohms. To enable us to adjust it to this value, one of the resistors is chosen as a 10-turn trimpot (trimmer potentiometer). Together with the 1K in series (making it a total of 3K)we can adjust it to this correct value.

The Rx value is calculated this way; In this scenario we like to have a output voltage of 13.6 volt, in other words, the voltage on the connection point between the 1K/2Kpot should be 13.6 - 1.25 = 12.35 volt. This means that the current thru the 'voltage-divider' will be 12.35 / 2.5926 = 4.7635 mA and the leftover current should be 4.9564 - 4.7635 = 0.1929 mA thru Rx and also cause a voltage drop of 12.35 - 2.78 = 9.57 volt. Measuring this calculated value at the base of the BC558 transistor was 2.78 volt after the output of the LM1458 had become low. With the current of 0.1929 mA the result has become9.47 / 0.1929 = 49.611 Kilo-Ohm. A resistor of 47K would come close enough. Ofcourse you could also use a 50K trimpot to adjust the value even more accurately. The 1K5 (1500 Ohm) resistor in series with the LED is to limit the current thru the LED below 20 mA.

The only thing left is to calculate the value of the series resistor which determines the switch-over from charge to float condition. This occurs when the voltage drop over the 0.1 ohm (wire-wound) resistor at the positive leg smaller is than over the 2.2 ohm resistor. This value is 2.2 x 4.9564 = 10.9 mV. The resistance is 0.1 ohm, to get a voltage drop over this resistor of 10.9 mV is the current 10.9 x 0.1 = 109 mA. The second this charge current becomes lower then 109 mA, the LM1458 triggers over to the float condition.
The adjustment with the 100-ohm trimpot determines the maximum charge current. The voltage on the walker of this trimpot varies between 10.9 mV - 506.54 mV. The current is this way made adjustable between 0.1A - 5A, but we should not go that far because the LM350K can not handle anything over 3Amp. If we chose a trimpot with a value of 50 ohm, then on the other hand the 3A can not be obtained. So, careful adjustment is the remedy. Take your time!

With this information it is a simple task to calculate the dissipation values of the resistors. In other words, the product of the resistance multiplied with the current in square (I2xR).

The only resistor which gets it difficult is the 0.1 ohm, but then again, not by much 3 x 3 x 0.1 = 0.9 Watt.
Rest us to calculate the power. For that we have add a couple of voltages. We have the input voltage of 14.1, the voltage drop over the resistor, 0.1 x 3 = 0.33 volt, and 3 volt minimum over the LM1458 for proper function, total 17.43 volt. The transformer provides 18V (effective). With ideal rectifying this should total 18 x 1.41 = 25.38 volt. There are however losses via the diodes and bridge rectifier so there is about 23.88 volt remaining. Not much tolerance to play with, on the other hand, too much causes energy loss in the form of heat anyway.
The voltage drop over the buffer capacitor may not be lower than 17.43 volt, meaning, the ripple voltage may reach about 23.88 - 17.43 = 6.45 volt. By double-fase rectifying is the ripple voltage equal to I/(2xfxC) whereby I is the discharge current, f is the supply frequentie and C is capacity of the buffer capacitor in Farad. Exchanging places this would give C = 3/(2x50x6.45) = 0.004651 Farad, or 4651 uF. A standard value of 4700 uF with a minimum voltage value of about 35-40 Volt. The other capacitor is not very critical and is only there to kill small voltage spikes which could influence the operation of this charger otherwise.

The bridge rectifier gets a good workout also and it is therefore recommended to chose NOT a too light a unit. A 5A rectifier is often too small, better to take a 8 or 10A type. These are readily available everywhere.

Last but not least, the transformer. The buffer capacitor has approximately 25 volt accros. The current is 3A. This calculates to a power of 25 x 3 = 75 watt. This transformer has its own problems with powerloss (naturely occuring) and so a unit of about 80 watt is acceptable.
Never attempt to charge a 6 volt battery with a 12 volt charger; you are asking for trouble. Good luck all!

Foam Cutting Power Supply

After seeing other modelers building their model wings from plastic foam, I decided that I wanted to do the same. Building your wings from foam covered with 1/16 in. balsa can produce a strong and light wing that could be difficult to duplicate with the standard balsa rib construction, especially if the wing had a duel tapered, symmetrical airfoil. The standard way to cut foam is with the Hot Wire technique, using steel or nichrome wire through which an electrical current flows to heat the wire.


However, the methods that many use to get the wire hot leaves something to be desired. The most common method I saw used was to connect a 12volt battery charger to 4 or 5 feet of nichrome wire which was tied to some kind of a bow. Using the variable charging rate, you could control (to a limited degree) the temperature of the wire and thus the speed of the cut. But if you cannot accurately control the heat, you'll get many poor cuts. Some have connected a series of light bulbs in line with the wall service of 115 volts AC.

It works, but WOW, is it ever dangerous! Terrible shock hazard! I've even seen some connect the nichrome wire across a 12 volt car battery, also very dangerous. Over the years there have been several schematics listed in the model magazine for building a hot wire foam cutter power supply. All of them worked, I'm sure. Some were very simple, but left little heat control, and others were complex and expensive. Heat control is the secret for making good foam cuts. Also a good transformer is important for removing the electrical shock hazard that threatens the modeler in his shop. A good current limiting feature also makes the device safe from high current burns, which some auto mechanics have suffered when working with large 12 volt batteries.


The following circuit is a simplification of several older designs. This design uses readily available parts, is easy to build, has total temperature control for both a long bow (48") and a short bow (24"), and has served me well for the last 15 years. Many of the planes that I fly are my own design and I build most of them with foam wings, foam turtle decks, foam stabs, etc, usually with dual tapered, symmetrical designs. The short bow is valuable for sculpting foam pieces into various shapes, as it can be held in one hand and the foam sample in the other.



The first step in building one of these foam cutters is to take the Bill of Materials to your local Radio Shack and search for the parts. I picked this source because of shopping convenience and the total cost is a little above $30. Also get a small copper clad circuit board (CB), about 3 by 4 inches or larger in size. If you chose not to make the circuit board, you can solder the parts together using electrical stand-offs. The first order of business is to mount the switches, the potentiometer, the Red and Black electrical posts (#274-662), and the red indicator light on the front panel of the component box according to the picture and illustration. Next mount the transformer (#273-1512), fuse holder (#270-364), and electrical cord (#278-1255) in the box as shown in photo. Put some rubber feet on the bottom of the box (also from Radio Shack) so that it won't scratch your wife's end table when you take it to show her what a great craftsman you are.


The circuit is a simple AC Triac voltage control circuit similar to the ones used to control house lamps. The transformer provides the electrical isolation the makes this item safe to operate. The voltage at the bow will tingle a little, but will not harm the operator. The OFF/ON switch is a simple s.p.s.t. switch (#275-651). The "Long/Short" Bow selector switch is the same part number. Across the primary side of the transformer is mounted an indicator "ON" lamp (#272-712) which will light up when the unit is turned on. The temperature control is through the 5k ohm potentiometer R2 (#271-1714). The Triac gate current is controlled by R3, a 470 ohm, 1 watt resistor. This resistor is not part of radio Shack's inventory, therefore it may be required to solder two 1k ohm, 10 watt resistors in parallel. The capacitor, C1, is a 0.22microF disk (#272-1070). The 5 ohm, 20 watt resistor R1 is made of two 10 ohm, 10 watt resistors in parallel. They are large ceramic resistors mounted side by side. These resistors drop the voltage when the short 24" bow is being used. These resistors will get hot, don't touch!

Enclosed in this article is a actual size drawing of the circuit board (CB, 2.5" x 4"). Cut out this drawing and use it as a template, and paste it on the side opposite of the copper on the CB (circuit board) with some rubber cement. Next use a center punch to mark the center of each hole. Then drill the holes with the CB held tightly to some wood backing, making the four corner holes a 1/8" in dia and all the rest about 1/16" in dia. These smaller holes will be where you solder the components and wires. The larger holes are for the mounting bolts to hold the CB to the case. Cut the CB to the exact size as shown on the template (2.5" x 4"). Then, print out the copper side drawing and paste it on the copper side of the board. Use a sharp X-acto knife to remove thin strips of copper as shown. This will isolate the copper soldering pads from one another. Remove the paper. Insert the components in the CB on the side opposite the copper. Where the component leads stick out on the copper side, solder the component leads to the board being careful not to allow solder to bridge the cut lines in the copper. Cut off any excessive lead after soldering it. Bolt the Heat Sink on to the Triac with the fins pointing out. The Triac should be mounted in a vertical position, perpendicular to the CB. Next mount the CB in the box with 6-32 x 1" bolts and stand-offs. Finish soldering the connecting wires to the board before tightening the bolts. Drill 3 or 4 vent holes (1/4" dia) in the top of the box in the area above the Triac heat sink.

Plug the nichrome wire bow leads into the dual plug speaker connectors. It is best to trim the wire insulation on the wires back about 1/2 in. then tin the wire ends. After the wires are plugged in, turn the unit on and with the temperature control at half point and the heat switch set up to long. The wire should get hot to the touch almost immediately. If it doesn't, then examine the construction on the circuit board and wiring, and fix any errors found. After the unit is finished, bolt the top on and your and you're done.

When you use the foam cutter, be sure that the Bow switch is in the correct position. The switch must be in the "Short" position (down) if the 24" bow is used. Otherwise you may blow the fuse. Leave the unit in the "Long" bow position at all times unless you are using the short bow and you should have no problems. Before you turn the Foam Cutter on, turn the temperature (TEMP) control fully counter-clockwise, to minimum temperature. Turn the unit on with a bow plugged in and increase the temperature by turning the TEMP knob clockwise. The temperature of the wire increases almost immediately. With a piece of foam, test for the foam cutting temperature. Reduce the TEMP control until the cut is smooth with little foam evaporation around the wire. Remember, the smoothest cuts are made slowly. Spend some time practicing until your cuts are smooth. You will never go back to balsa ribs!

Lead Acid Battery Charger

Parts List:

C1 = 100uF/63V
C2 = 10uF/63V
D1 = 1N5401/NTE5801
D2 = LED (Red, 5mm)
Q1 = NTE374/BD140
Q2 = NTE123AP/BC547
R1 = 120 Ohm
R2 = 82 Ohm
R3 = 10K
R4 = 33K
R5 = 22K
P1 = 2K2
U1 = LM350 (On large coolrib!)


How it works:

Except for use as a normal Batter Charger, this circuit is perfect to 'constant-charge' a 12-Volt Lead-Acid Battery, like the one in your flight box, and keep it in optimum charged condition. This circuit is not recommended for GEL-TYPE batteries since it draws to much current.

The above circuit is a precision voltage source, and contains a temperature sensor with a negative temperature coëficient. Meaning, whenever the surrounding or battery temperature increases the voltage will automatically decrease. Temperature coëficient for this circuit is -8mV per °Celcius. A normal transistor (Q1) is used as a temperature sensor.

This Battery Charger is centered around the LM350 integrated, 3-amp, adjustable stabilizer IC. Output voltage can be adjusted with P1 between 13.5 and 14.5 volt. T2 was added to prevent battery discharge via R1 if no power present. P1 can adjust the output voltage between 13.5 and 14.5 volts. R4's value can be adjusted to accommodate a bit larger or smaller window. D1 is a large power-diode, 100V PRV @ 3 amp. Bigger is best but I don't recommend going smaller.

The LM350's 'adjust' pin will try to keep the voltage drop between its pin and the output pin at a constant value of 1.25V. So there is a constant current flow through R1. Q1 act here as a temperature sensor with the help of components P1/R3/R4 who more or less control the base of Q1. Since the emitter/base connection of Q1, just like any other semiconductor, contains a temperature coëficient of -2mV/°C, the output voltage will also show a negative temperature coëficient. That one is only a factor of 4 larger, because of the variation of the emitter/basis of Q1 multiplied by the division factor of P1/R3/R4. Which results in approximately -8mV/°C. To prevent that sensor Q1 is warmed up by its own current draw, I recommend adding a cooling rib of sorts.
(If you wish to compensate for the battery-temperature itself, then Q1 should be mounted as close on the battery as possible) The red led (D2) indicates the presence of input power.

Depending on what type of transistor you use for Q1, the pads on the circuit board may not fit exactly (in case of the BD140).

Caution: Adjust the voltage of capacitor C1 according to the input voltage. Example, if your input voltage will be 24 volt, your C1 should be able to carry at least 50V.