Voltage to Frequency Converter AD Interface

This is the Analog front end of the 80C39 Process Controller. The analog input is protected by a Zener barrier, low leakage. You could use clamping diodes too.

The non-inverting low-offset amp offers high input impedance. After further amplification it reaches the VCO LM331. The pulse train from the VCO reaches the uC port and is gated and measured by the MCS48 firmware. The voltage is deduced from the Frequency or Pulse width.

You can get a resolution near to a 8-10 bit A/D converter. It does not work for negative voltages. It is a low cost Voltmeter or Process Display solution.

80C39 and MCS48 based Process Controller is the main circuit that has the LED 7 segment display for output and push keys for input.

Battery Backup for SRAM or Microcontroller

This circuit can be used as a low cost SRAM and Microcontroller-Microprocessor Battery Backup. All the diodes are 1N4148, The diodes prevent battery discharge back to power source. D8 gives a one way path to charge Battery thru R13 which limits current. D4 ensures a one way path of supply to chip when power is present. D5 is backup supply on power failure.



The chip a real time clock, RAM or Processor can be put to standby or sleep on power failure. If it is not a smart chip then make sure on power failure all outputs of chip are high impedance or floating. do not use any pullups or resistor dividers to Vbat, which is the supply to chip. There should be no leakage path from Vbat, decoupling cap of chip must be plastic.

Microcontroller in Process Control

If you want to use this circuit for short term retention or for CMOS logic chips then you can use a 4700uF Cap in place of battery. This works for many hours but the cap has big footprint on PCB. For long duration use more battery AH Ampere-Hour. Vcc is 5V DC regulated.

The Vbat and Vcc can be monitored with comparator like LM339, this circuit can generate the reset or low battery signals. The power on reset and power down reset can corrupt data on brown outs or black outs or even spikes and EMI. So back up data on flash. For Rapid writing and reading SRAM is better and if write-read cycles are high SRAM is best. But if you need to store values and refer to them like a look-up table flash is better.

Serial Interface a 80C31 to ICL7135

The power fluctuations can hang the chip, so a watchdog chip may be required. The conventional way was the to monitor the keyboard-display scan on a i/o port. If the pulses are coming at the rate you programmed the cpu is alive and kicking and doing its job. If the CPU is taking a nap, then the pulses stop coming and it needs to be reset.

Simple High speed data switch

This circuit is a small representation of a very low cost printer sharer. It has no Active Devices only diodes.



Pot the product in epoxy with a black dye, they serve the purpose. Output impedance of this circuit is high, sink is 220K source is 3.9K+ so use some buffers or drivers at Output. If Buffers are omitted, then fix this unit on the printer port connector of Computer.

when Enable A is at float-high impedance or low the output O1-O4 is not influenced by A1-A4 inputs. If Enable A is made logic high or 5V then A1-A4 is available at O1-O4.

• Control Interface to PC Ports.
• Printer Port, 256 Relays - 16K Dot Matrix.

By turning Enable A or Enable B high, you can route the data A1-A4 or B1-B4 to the output O1-O4, you can also mix data and you can expand to any number of input sets or data width. 1N4148 is fast, 4nS, that makes this data switch quite fast. This circuit cannot drive long printer cables without drivers. They will load the output.

100kHz Half Bridge Convertor - SG3525

This is a SMPS Circuit improved over the Application Note in the book SGS Motion Control Application Manual. This worked well. It helps you learn more about High Frequency Power Supply Design.  More details and PCB's Here SG3525 SMPS Project.

This was the Module that contained the smps chip. It was done to prevent easy replication by other firms. Alos to Keep the Signals isolated from the Main board board currents and Corrosion Prevention by impregnating Module in Epoxy. Yet the main board suffered some corrosion even with some coating protection.

Industrial Systems that involve processes like Etching, Coating and Electroplating have to be well ventilated so that electronics around them have some life. Else find ways to package Electronics in Sealed Enclosures with a new plan for Heat Dissipation.