Radio Technique
THE Coulomb meter. If batteries were like bottles of Coca-ColaR, we could look at them and see how much charge they contain. They're not, so we need another way to assess their state of charge. General Varionics, Inc., 10 Adelphi Drive, Greenlawn, NY 11740, offers a new system for that purpose. The heart of the system is a device called a "Coulomb meter." It looks a bit like a thermometer, since the indicating element is a bubble of transparent electrolyte in the middle of a column of mercury which is encased in a glass tube. The unit of electrical charge is named the Coulomb, and it specifies the quantity of charge conveyed by a current of one ampere acting for one second. When a small current of electricity flows through the Coulomb meter, the bubble of electrolyte migrates toward one end of the column.
Radio Technique
THE Ace R/C Experimenter's Special. Have you seen all the new radios with switches, mixers, meters and other goodies covering the surface of the transmitter? Have you thought: 1. I'd like to show off like that, but who can afford to? 2. It would take forever to learn how to fly that way. You'd practically need an instrument ticket. 3. I could find a more sensible way to do things than that. 4. How can I get my hands on one to try it? I'm here to tell you today that Ace R/C, Inc., aided by the designing talents of the famous Mr. Fred Marks, has done something extra-special-nice for the type of guy who likes the smell of hot rosin. The Ace R/C Silver Seven transmitter kit offers everything you've seen elsewhere, and maybe a bit more. Ask for the "Experimenter's Special." This kit offers you a blank red box that you can drill, saw, bend, file and shape any way your heart desires. Inside and outside the box you will place meters, controls, pushbuttons, mixers, etc., that you have selected from the Silver Seven menu of options. If you think that you want something that they don't have, just ask.
Radio Technique
ANOTHER KIND of battery charger. Life is full of changes. They happen all around us and we adapt to them. The question for today is, "How do you react when you realize that you hold a piece of the future in your hands?" I didn't realize that I was doing it while Mr. Gerry Jarvis of M.E.N. (Model Engineering of Norwalk, 54 Chestnut Hill, Norwalk, CT06851) was extolling the virtues of his new pulse-charger at the 1980 WRAMS show. Gerry could see that I was interested, but not enough to lay my money down. "Let me send you one, so you can convince yourself." In about a week the UPS man left a package. The contents appear in the photo above. This I viewed with mixed delight.
Radio Technique
"SAY, GEORGE, when are you going to quit playing with that red box and get back to flying like the rest of us?" "When I stop having so much fun doing what I'm doing, that's when!" The August, 1980 column dealt with construction of a standard Ace R/C Silver Seven transmitter kit inside a customized box. That was an example of what you might do with the Silver Seven "Designer's Package," which is available in kit form from Ace R/C, Inc., Box 511E, Higginsville, MO 64037. We promised to continue on to "stage 2," which customizes the electronics. Fundamental to the customizing process is the design of a dual mixer, which is discussed here.
Radio Technique
THIS will be a column about solving problems. I'm going to assume that you have a problem with an electronic circuit, that you want to try to fix it yourself, and that you are willing to accept the risk of failure. This will describe one way to proceed. I will use as an object lesson the MPS System Alert, which I received for evaluation from Edward Zindle, Model Protective Systems, 279 Jefferson Ave., Buffalo, NY 14204. It is a device that inserts between: the receiver and a servo for the purpose of signalling when your battery voltage is low (by beeping at you) or that your transmitter is turned off (by a continuous buzz). I'm told that it is very helpful for finding your model when it has decided to hide under a bush or among the tall corn stalks.
