8/8/2019 BITS Pilani Electronics Instrumentation Monthly 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bits-pilani-electronics-instrumentation-monthly-1 1/5
NUTS & VOLTS is Instrumentation Forum’s periodic Wall Mag through which we shall
keep you informed about the latest happenings, future prospects and trivia from the fields
of electronics, instrumentation, communication, science and technology. This shall also
serve to be your one stop destination to know about the ongoing activities of the Forum.
So keep reading, stay updated!
THE EDITORIAL TEAM
ABHISHEK ANAND, NIKHIL R,
AYUSHI KANSAL, MANAS KHANNA, SURABHI MAHATA
8/8/2019 BITS Pilani Electronics Instrumentation Monthly 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bits-pilani-electronics-instrumentation-monthly-1 2/5
Cartography is a fast declining disci-
pline. Today, you get a pocket-sizedgadget that will tell you exactly where
you are on Earth at any moment. As
long as you have a GPS receiver and a
clear view of the sky, you'll never be
lost again.
• GPS is a Constellation of 27 Earth-
orbiting satellites (24 in operation and
three extras).
• It was developed by the U.S. Military,
implemented as a military navigation
system, but soon opened it up to eve-
rybody else.
• Each satellite is solar-powered and
they circle the globe making two com-
plete rotations every day.
• Orbits are arranged so that at any-
time, anywhere on Earth, at least four
satellites are “visible”.
• When distance from 4 satellites are
known, 4 spheres can be drawn with thesatellites as centers and the distances as
radii and these spheres would intersect at
a unique point which is the location of the
receiver.
• Three spheres will intersect even if your
numbers are way off, but four spheres will
not intersect at one point if you've meas-
ured incorrectly.
• The GPS receiver figures the distance
and location of these satellites by analyzing
high-frequency, low-power radio signals
from the GPS satellites. Better units havemultiple receivers, so they can pick up
signals from several satellites simultane-
ously.
So, the next time you’re out shopping, do
check these portable and useful gadgets.
P A G E 1
Global Positioning System (GPS)The GPS Receiver
A GPS receiver is a hand held device
whose job is to locate four or more of the
GPS satellites
• It figures out the distance to each, and
uses this information to deduce its own
location.
• Position Measurement is done through
the process of “Trilateration”.
5 Electronics Tools You Should Know
VACUUM SUCTION PEN PLACEMENT TOOL
Little parts can be hard to pick up. That's where this comes in handy! Push the
button to expel the air, touch down on a flat surface and release the button toform suction.
Works great for just long enough to get your part where it needs to be. Inter-
changeable suction cups allow you to work with different sized parts.
RESISTOR LEAD FORMING TOOL
You can bend your resistor leads by hand. We know. But, resistor benders
are fabulous for getting the leads bent squarely enough to go easily through
the holes in your PCB or perf board. It helps keep your board looking neat,
and keeps the resistors from sticking too far above the board. It makes sure
that your resistors are bent to exactly the correct length, so that they go
through the hole on the first try, without any fuss. The tool itself is just a
piece of injection-molded plastic, with slots on both sides for different sizes
(i.e., power rating), and for different total lead lengths. You hold the resistor
in the appropriately sized slot and bend the leads down.
8/8/2019 BITS Pilani Electronics Instrumentation Monthly 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bits-pilani-electronics-instrumentation-monthly-1 3/5
Across:
4 What happens to a fuse when too large
current flows through it. (5)
5 An LED emits this. (5)
6 I get this if I divide voltage by current.(10)
7 Color of "live" wire. (5)
9 The unit of energy used by the ESB. (12)
11 The unit of electric Current (6)
Down:
1 Does not allow electricity to flow
through it easily. (9)
2 The unit of potential difference. (4)
3 Continuously changing current. (11)
8 A device that allows current to flow in
one direction only. (5)
10 The unit of power. (4)
The Electronics Crossword : Easy
CHIP INSERTER
This tool is designed to insert a DIP chip into a circuit board even though the
leads are bent outwards, as they chip. come from the factory. You slide the chip
into the end of the tool, put it where it goes, and press the button to push it
into the board. When aligned correctly, they do a good job of putting evenpressure across the chip.
IC LEAD STRAIGHTENER TOOL
When you get chips, the leads aren't quite parallel, so they don't quite fit in a
socket or PCB without some prebending. A quick squeeze of this crimper, and
they fit perfectly. By performing the straightening role, it eliminates the pri-
mary need for the DIP insertion tool, which is to straighten the leads as they
are inserted. Accommodates two different widths of DIP ICs in a variety of
lengths.
IC POPPER
When you are scavenging parts off of boards, you need a way to get the chips
off. Slide the very fine wire ends under surface mount components to lift
them off while using hot air to melt the solder.
P A G E 2
8/8/2019 BITS Pilani Electronics Instrumentation Monthly 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bits-pilani-electronics-instrumentation-monthly-1 4/5
8/8/2019 BITS Pilani Electronics Instrumentation Monthly 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bits-pilani-electronics-instrumentation-monthly-1 5/5
Apple’s iPod Touch-Screen
P A G E 4I S S U E 1
A touch-screen interface for port-
able electronics device is something
that can sense when an object, such
as a person's finger, when it is ap-
proaching. When an object is
sensed, the touch-screen interface
may perform an action such as dis-
playing a "virtual scroll wheel,"
navigation pad or virtual keypad.
Alternatively, the touch-screen
interface described could be
adapted to work with Apple's
current iPod menu interface, al-
lowing users to employ a stylus or
their finger to navigate through
and select menu items on an
iPod's display screen.
Figure 1
During operation, the light from
the emitter 40 hits the object 38
and scatters when a object is pre-
sent above the I/O surface 32. At
least a portion of the scattered
light is reflected towards the de-
tector 42. The increase in light
intensity is read by the detector
42, and this is interpreted by a
controller to mean an object is
present. If no object is present,
the light is not reflected back to-
wards the detector.
Figure 2
It is a diagram of an I/O platform
50, in accordance with one embodi-
ment of the present invention. The
I/O platform 50 includes an I/O
surface 52 including any number of
I/O devices 54 in any number of
combinations. The I/O platform 50
also includes a capacitive sensing
circuit 56 for detecting the pres-
ence of an object 58 in close prox-
imity but spaced apart from the I/O
surface 52 (non contact). The ca-pacitive sensing circuit 56 works by
detecting changes in capacitance in
an area 60 above the I/O surface
52. As should be appreciated, when
an object (e.g., finger) is placed in
the sensing area 60, the value of the
capacitance changes due to the fact
that the finger has different dielec-
tric properties than air. Any
changes can therefore be used to
determine the presence of the ob-
ject 58 above the I/O surface 52.
Apple and several
other companies
have been sued
for patent
infringement by
Tsera, a Texasbased business
that is claiming to
have invented the
touchpad used
today in many
media devices.
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
For feedbacks/contributions, contact: Abhishek Anand, Editor, Instru Forum
Crossword Answers: Across: 4. Melts, 5. Light, 6. Resistance, 7. Brown, 9. KilowattHour, 11. Ampere.Down : 1. Insulator, 2. Volt, 3. Alternating, 8. Diode, 10. Watt.
Optimist: The glass is half full. Pessimist: The glass is half empty.Micro Electronics Engineer: That glass is twice as large as it needs to be.