efy Mar09

South ASiASMoStPoPulArElEctronicSMAgAzinE MArch 2009 Vol. 41 No. 3hdTVStage All Set forMake A VersatileFrequency CounterScatternets Rekindle Hope in BluetoothFlexible CircuitsGetting BetterA Smart Chargerfor Li-ion BatteriesSalary Survey Resultsof Electronics IndustryTips for BuyingPersonal Music PlayersISSN 0013-516XSpecialOffer!!!rs 50/-Rs 60/-With cDwww.efymag.comTechnology Focus: LED LightingBuyers Guide: Which Watch?Survey/EFY Report:Embedded SystemsWorlds First 200Hz LCD TVGen-next Keyboards and PianosMultimedia ProjectorsAffordable Mobile PhonesPortable Music System Portable DLP ProjectorsTabletop DesktopsUltra-Short-Throw ProjectorAirtel IPTV Service First Look!68Personal Music Players Buyers Guide73Editor : rameshChopraEditorial : Editorial SecretaryCorrESpondEnCEphone: 011-26818096E-mail: [email protected](technical queries: [email protected])SubSCriptionS& : Customer Care offcer, EFYmiSSing iSSuESphone: 011-26810601E-mail: [email protected] iSSuES,: kitsnSpares,bookS, Cds, d-88/5, okhlaindustrial area, phase-1pCbs etc.newdelhi 110020phone: 011-32975879, 26371661, 26371662E-mail: [email protected]: indiabook House pvt ltdnEwSStand archno. 30, belowmahalaxmi bridgediStributormahalaxmi, mumbai 400034phone: 022-23541463, 23541871, 40497411,40497474; Fax: 24950392E-mail: [email protected] : Harpal bishtnEwdElHid-87/1, okhlaindustrial area, phase 1,(HEad oFFiCE)newdelhi 110020indiaphone: 011-26810602, 26810603Fax: 26817563E-mail: [email protected] : FlorydSouza207, Shivsmriti Chambers49, dr a.b. road, worli nakamumbai 400018; ph: 022-24950047, 24928520Fax: 24954278E-mail: [email protected] : Jayashreeno. 9, 17thmain, 1st Cross, Halii Stageindiranagar, bangalore 560008ph: 080-25260394, 25260023; Fax: 25260394E-mail: [email protected] : m. nackeerandbSHouse, 31-a, Cathedral gardenroadnear palmgroove Hotel, Chennai 600034ph: 044-28275191; mobile: 09962502404E-mail: [email protected] : d.C. mehra61-a, park Street, kolkata700016ph: 033-22294788; telefax: 22650094E-mail: [email protected]: 09432422932punE : Zakir ShaikhE-mail: [email protected]: 09372407753HYdErabad : p.S. muralidharanmobile: 09849962660guJarat: :Shambhubhai patelph: 079-22139841E-mail: [email protected]: 09825200451SingaporE : ms peggythaypublicitas Singapore pte ltd72, bendemeer road, #02-20,the luzerne, Singapore 339941phone: +65-68362272Fax: +65-62977302E-mail: [email protected],[email protected] StatES : ms veronique lamarqueE &techmediaphone: +18605366677E-mail: [email protected], published and owned by ramesh Chopra. printed at nutechphotolithographers, b-38, okhla industrial area, phase-i, newdelhi, on the frst dayof eachmonth and published fromd-87/1, okhla industrial area, phase i, newdelhi110020. Copyright 2009. all rights reserved throughout the world. reproductionofanymaterial fromthis magazine inanymanner without the writtenpermissionofthe publisher is prohibited. although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, noresponsibilitywhatsoeveris taken for any loss due to publishingerrors.articles thatcannot be used are returned tothe authors ifaccompanied byaself-addressed andsuffcientlystamped envelope. but noresponsibilityis takenfor anyloss or delayinreturningthe material.EFY will not be responsible for any wrong claims made by anadvertiser. disputes, ifany, will be settled inanewdelhi court only. of Publication Vol. 41No. 3 march 2009www.efymag.com41st Year Since January 1969I S S N - 0 0 1 3 - 5 1 6 XStage All Set for High-definition TVTechnology Focus28Flexible Circuits Getting BetterManufacture48A Versatile Frequency CounterDo-IT-Yourself107C o n t e n t sEFY-CD ........................................................ 08LETTERS.................................................... 12Qs&As ......................................................... 16TECHNOLOGY NEWS .................................... 20CIRCUIT IDEAS ............................................. 81NEW PRODUCTS ........................................ 115INDUSTRY NEWS ........................................ 118BIz ADS ..................................................... 123ELECTRONICS MART .................................. 130BOOKSHELF .............................................. 142SUBjECT & ORGANISATION INDEX............... 144ADVERTISERS INDEX................................ 145DepartmentsMicrocontroller-based Ring Tone Player Construction52112WirelessBluetooth Scatternets: A Cost-Effective Solution for CommunicationCharging Lithium-Ion BatteriesPower Supply924march2009electroNI cSforyou www. e f Y ma g . c o mSuBScrI PtI oN rateS*Period Domestic Digital OverseasYear WithCD WithoutCD (WithCD) (WithoutCD)Five rs2,160 rs1,445 rs1,445 three 1,510 1,015 1,015 one 575 385 385 uS$100 uS$65For receiving annual directories (priced at rs 300withCd), please add rs 250for eachyear (including handling and forwarding).kindlyadd rs 50/- for outside delhi cheques.please send payments onlyinfavour ofefy enterprises Pvt ltdnon-receipt of copies may be reported to [email protected] mentioningyour subscriptionnumberPC-based Wireless Stepper Motor ControlConstruction 60Empower Yourself with Power ElectronicsCareer36140InterviewThin-film modules reduce the cost of energy generation Dr Randhir Thakur, senior VP and gm of Applieds SunFab Thin Film Solar and Display Business Group, and Rajiv Arya, CEO of Moser Baer Photovoltaic (MBPV) *Foranniversaryoffer, refertopageno. 75Salary Survey: Electronics Industry Maintaining a VigilEFY Report43Reading the Datasheets ofElectronic DevicesPart 1 of 3Design100LAN-based Online ExamSoftware Section87EFY-CD PagEmarch2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mIn this MonthstoP4 softwareFreeMatScilabMultiMedia OffceFocus onMultimedia Abiword 2.6.6VideoDVDMaker.VideoDVD Maker is a fexible, easy-to-use and fo-cused DVD maker. It allows you to get high-qualityoutput,evenifyoudont knowthesubtletiesofrecordingtech-nology. The intuitive interface leads you through a comprehensive set of logical steps to capture and output DVDs. VideoDVDMakerenablesyou tocapturevideofromvariousvideo devices, including TV tuners and Web cameras, as well as import video from anyvideofle,includingAVI,DivX, XVID, MPEG-4, MPG, WMV, ASF and MOV. You can easily play these videos on your home DVD player after burn-ing to a CD/DVD.Avidemux.Avidemuxisafree videoeditordesignedforsimplecut-ting,flteringandencodingtasks.It supportsmanyfletypes,including AVI,DVD-compatibleMPEGfiles, MP4andASF,usingavarietyof codecs.Taskscanbeautomatedus-ingprojects,jobqueueandpowerful scriptingcapabilities.Avidemuxis availableforLinux,BSD,MacOSX and Microsoft Windows.MultiMediaOffice.Mul-tiMediaOffceisidealforbusiness, home or educational use. Create or edit documents,spreadsheets,drawings, presentations, photos, databases, web-pages, audio and video. And combine thesedifferentelementsintoasingle flethatmeetstheISOstandardopen document format. FreeMat. FreeMat is a free envi-ronmentforrapidengineering,scien-tifcprototypinganddataprocessing. Itissimilartocommercialsystems suchasMATLABfromMathWorks andIDLfromResearchSystems.Itis open-sourceandrunsonWindows, Linux and Mac OS X.Scilab.Thisopen-sourcesoft-wareprovidesapowerfulcomputing environmentforengineeringand scientificapplications.Itincludes hundredsofmathematicalfunctions with the possibility to add interactively programsfromvariouslanguages(C, C++, Fortran, etc). It has sophisticated datastructures(includinglists,poly-nomials,rationalfunctionsandlinear systems),aninterpreterandahigh-level programming language.Abiword2.6.6.AbiWordisa freewordprocessingprogramsimilar to Microsoft Word. It currently runs on Linux,MacOSXandMicrosoftWin-dows. It has a comprehensive language database with multiple languages, sup-port for tables and footnotes, as well as a spell checker and an advanced gram-mar checking system. Letters12march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mInvitationBorder Security Force Communication andITDirectorate,CGOComplex, New Delhi, is a subscriber to EFY mag-azine. The articles published in EFY are very educative and these are passed on to technical staff in the ranks of DIGs, commandantsanddeputycomman-dants. On behalf of the directorate, we invitewritersofsuchtopicsasnew telecom services on the way, WiFi and WiMAX,3Gaudiomanagementand telemedicine to deliver lectures at our headquarter. B.S. Kushwah, DIGThrough e-mailEFY-CD ContentMany thanks for providing Ubuntu op-erating system in the EFY-CD of Janu-aryissue.Itsaverygoodoperating system.Pleasepublishsomesoftware andcircuitdiagramsforprogram-ming the Atmel microcontroller under Ubuntu operating system.Subrat Kumar MallikThrough e-mail Please include:1.FreesoftwarelikeOCRinthe EFY-CD. 2.Buyersguideoncarstereosin the magazine.Jiji AbrahamKochiTest for TechnocratsIsuggestEFYtoconductatechnical test for the technocrats nationally. This will help those who are doing research work in various felds of electronics.Anshul C. KansaraNavsariSoftware CodesThesoftwarecodesoftechnicalarti-clespublishedinEFYmagazineare providedonlyintheaccompanying CD.IrequestEFYtoprovideallthe codes online. I have subscribed to EFY magazine online, but could not fnd the subscription number after login to this site. Please tell me where can I fnd it.Gerard CanekeratneOmanEFY:Thanksforpointingoutanarea forimprovement.Wehavetakenup this project, and it will be implemented verysoon.Subscriptionnumbersare currently not available on the website.Designing Low-Power ProductsThanks for publishing the article series Designing Low-power Products Using MSP430MicrocontrollersinJanuary andFebruaryissues.Irequestyouto publish a similar kind of article series onCypressCY3270andTexasInstru-mentsMSP430RF2500microcontrol-lers.Ialsosuggestyoutoprovidea referencebookletonMSP430F2013, CY3270, Atmega16 and MSP430RF2500 instruction sets and pin confgurations withEFYmagazineeveryquarter. Itwouldbeusefultohobbyists,stu-dents and professionals in working on projects or preparing for interviews.Maneesh SharmaNavi MumbaiCircuit Ideas of Anniversary Issue I have been a regular reader of EFY for manyyears.InJanuaryissue,Ihave noticed that:1. In Running LED Lights circuit, a 12V transformer has been used. I feel a 7.5V or 9V transformer will be a bet-terchoiceforlogicalandeconomical reasons.2.InTop10Circuits,twoemer-gencylightcircuitsandtwo3-phase applicationcircuitshavebeeninclud-ed, which are electrical in nature. You should publish a variety of circuits for different readers.Rakesh P.Through e-mailEFY:Thanksforyourfeedbackand interestinEFYmagazine.Asregards your observations:1.Useofa12Vtransformerinthe RunningLEDLightcircuitisalright in a hobbyist circuit design. Optimisa-tioncanalwaysbedonebytheusers forwhateverreasontheymaythink appropriate. 2. The two emergency light circuits arequitedifferentandthesewere chosen based on the readers feedback onEFYwebsite.Theautomaticphase changerisdesignedforbalancingthe loads on different phases and also for providingsupplytoessentialloads intheeventoffailureofaparticular phase,whereasthethree-phaseap-plianceprotectorprovidessupplyto theapplianceonlywhenallthethree phaseareavailable.Notwithstanding theforegoing,selectionofthesetwo circuits was also based on the readers feedback.Heart Rate MeterRegardingtheMicrocontroller-based Heart Rate Meter project published in May2008issue,Ihavethefollowing queries:1.Inthesoftwareprogram,itis mentionedthattimeisnoteddown aftertheendofthreecrossings.Are these three crossings related to P, R, T waves?Inpractice,whilemeasuring ECG, the ECG waveform also consists oftimeperiodafterTwaveofthe frstECGandbeforePwaveofthe second ECG waveform. Thus the time shouldbereadbeforePwaveofthe next ECG. 2. The time taken from time-count registerisconvertedintermsofthe number of 4ms intervals. I dont under-stand why 4ms interval is taken?3. How can I stop the ambient light from interfering with the readings? Ms Amruta PiseMumbai TheauthorProf.KPadmanabhan replies:1. Do not confuse ECG with the blood fowsignalintothefnger.Itisjust thebloodfowsignalthatisusedfor countinghere.Refertothewaveform shown in the article. 2. You can use any unit for measur-ing time, provided you know the basic unit; just as you can measure weight in grams or kilograms, depending on the measured value. DTH TVThearticletitledWhichDTHTVfor You?publishedinFebruaryissue,was authoredbyAmitGoel,withsomein-puts from Uma Bansal. We are sorry, Mr Goels name was inadvertently left out as author of the article.MrGoelhasseveralyearsexperi-enceinthefeldandrunshisownblog, whichcanbeseenathttp://amitslab.com/blog Letters14march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mHere4msiswell-nighsuffcient. Ifwemeasurein1msunits,wellget alargernumberforthetimeunitbe-tween two (blood) pulses, and we will thenbeusingalargerdivisortofnd the rate of blood fow per minute.3. The problem of ambient light has been explained in the text. Please read the article thoroughly and your doubts will be cleared.Speedometer-cum-OdometerIhaveconstructedtheMicrocontrol-ler-based Speedometer-cum-Odometer project published in Nov. 2008 issue, as pertheinstructionsgiveninthetext. Ihavedownloadedthehexflebut nothingwasdisplayedontheLCD screen. Also, the Assembly program is not clear. Please help.Anil PatilUlhasnagarRegardingthisproject,Ihavethe following doubts:1.HowtomaketheLCDmodule illuminate?2.Whatisthenameofthebox that encloses the LCD module and the circuitboard,andhowtofxitinthe handle-bar?3. Do I need to provide water-resis-tive coating for the reed switch?4.Whatchangesaretobemadein the program and the circuit, so that it can be used in my Honda Unicorn bike?Roshan George V.CochinThe author Arun Kumar Vadla replies to Anil Patil:Ifyouaretestingtheprojectona simulatorsoftware,nothingwilldis-playontheLCD.Youhavetotest theprojectinrealhardwareafter programmingthemicrocontroller, frstwithiniteeprom.hexprogram andthenwithspeedo.hexprogram. The Assembly code is well commented. Youllfndexplanationofeachlineof the code. I have been using this speed-ometer since one-and-a-half years and it is working well without any problem.Reply to George Roshan:1.Backlightconnectionsareusually madeatpins15and16oftheLCD module. The anode (pin 15) should be connected to +5V DC through a series resistor.Connectthecathode(pin16) to GND.2.Thereisnoparticularnamefor the enclosure, but I have used the enclo-sure of an electronic choke and made a slot according to LCD dimensions.3. Since reed switch is encapsulated in glass, it does not require any special coating.4.Inthearticle,Ihavegiventhe formula for modifying the program for any wheel dimensions. First, calculate theradiusofthewheelandthenuse the formula given in the text to get the constant. I have illustrated these steps in the article, so please read carefully.Mobile BugRegardingtheMobileBugproject published in January 2008 issue, I have the following queries:1. It is mentioned in the article that the circuit can sense the presence of an activated mobile phone. Does it mean aswitched-onmobilephonewithout call/SMS/data transmission?2.CanweuseanFMradiostel-escopic antenna in place of the 12.7cm (5-inch)antennashowninthecircuit diagram?PrakashNew DelhiThe author D. Mohan Kumar replies:1. The mentioned circuit senses an acti-vated mobile phone. That is, switch on the circuit and it will detect the signals in response to a call, SMS or video re-cordingin the mobile phone.2.Asmalltelescopicantennacan be used. The antenna is not necessary ifthe0.22Fcapacitorisprotruding from the case.Staircase LightIntheStaircaseLightWithAuto SwitchOffcircuitpublishedinJanu-aryissue,theschematicdiagramis wrong. Pin 2 of IC 555 appears at two locations. RamasamyMysoreEFY: Thanks for pointing out the print-ing error in the circuit diagram. In the circuit tested, pins 6 and 7 of 555 timer areshortedatthejunctionofresis-torR7andcapacitorC4.Kindlyread wrongly-printed pin 2 as pin 7. Qs&As16march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mularmobilephones,akeypadtypeof device is used, which is mounted sepa-rately from the screen of the cellphone. Whereasintouchscreencellphones, atouchscreenisacellphonedisplay screen that also acts as an input device. The touchscreens are sensitive to pres-sure;auserinteractswiththemobile applicationsbytouchingpicturesor words on the screen. Mostmobilephonekeyboardsare basicinthattheyuseatactilesurface youareaccustomedtotouching,and underneath is a basic rubber peg (black dot) which travels some depth until it encountersresistanceintheformof theactualkeyboardsurfacewhichis sometimes called a bubble board. This is basically a semi-circle of aluminium shapedintheformofadomeand providesthatspringingeffectofkey and feedback on your fnger when you press down and the button regains its at-rest shape and normal position.Touchscreentechnologiesused inmobilephonesincluderesistive, capacitiveandsurface-wavebased system. Resistive.Theresistivesystem consists of a normal glass panel that is covered with conductive and resistive metalliclayers.Thesetwolayersare heldapartbyspacers,andascratch-resistantlayerisplacedontopofthe whole setup. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the moni-tor is operational.Whenausertouchesthescreen, the two layers make contact exactly at thatspot.Thechangeintheelectrical feldisnotedandthecoordinatesof thepointofcontactarecalculatedby the processor. Once the coordinates are known,aspecialdrivertranslatesthe touchintosomethingthattheoperat-ing system can understand, much as a computermousedrivertranslatesthe movements of a mouse into a click or a drag. The change in the electrical cur-rent is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing.Resistivetouchscreenpanelsare generallymoreaffordablebutoffer only75percentclarityandthelayer Whatisthedifferencebe-tween condensers and capaci-tors?Sunil PrasadThrough e-mailFromelectricalengineering pointofview,condensers and capacitors are the same. However, youmayoftencomeacrosscondens-ersalsobeingreferredtoasdevices used to condense vapour into liquid, a range of laboratory glassware used to remove heat from fuids, heat exchang-ersinstalledinsteam-electricpower stationstocondenseturbineexhaust steamintowater,aircoilsusedin HVACrefrigerationsystems,agroup oflensesmountedbelowthestageof anopticalmicroscopetoconcentrate light, and condenser microphones that convert sound waves into an electrical signal. Anidealcapacitorischaracter-isedbyasingleconstantvaluecalled capacitance.Thisisdefnedasthe ratiooftheamountofchargeineach conductortothepotentialdifference between them. The unit of capacitance isthuscoulombspervolt,orfarads. Higher capacitance indicates that more charge can be stored at a given voltage. In practice, the insulator allows a small amount of current through, called leak-age current. The conductors add a series resistance (specifcally called equivalent series resistance), and the insulator has an electric feld strength limit resulting in a breakdown voltage.Thepropertiesofcapacitorsina circuit may determine the resonant fre-quency and quality factor of a resonant circuit, power dissipation and operating frequencyinadigitallogiccircuit,en-ergycapacityinahigh-powersystem, and many other important aspects.What is the working principle behind touchscreen mobiles? How do they differ from ordinary mo-biles? What are their drawbacks?Anuja WadatkarThrough e-mailMobilephonesmayusetwo types of input devices. In reg-Q1.A1.can be damaged by sharp objects. Re-sistivetouchscreenpanelsarenot affectedbyoutsideelementssuchas dust or water. Capacitive.Inthecapacitivesys-tem,alayerofanelectroconductive material (most often indium tin-oxide) that stores electrical charge is placed on the glass panel of the monitor. When a user touches the monitor with his fn-ger,someofthechargeistransferred to the user, so the charge on the capaci-tivelayerdecreases.Thisdecreaseis measuredincircuitslocatedateach cornerofthemonitor.Thecomputer calculates, from the relative differences in charge at each corner, exactly where thetoucheventtookplaceandthen relaysthatinformationtothetouch-screen driver software.Oneadvantageofthecapacitive systemovertheresistivesystemis thatittransmitsalmost92percentof thelightemittedfromthemonitor, whereas the resistive system transmits onlyabout75percent.Thisgivesthe capacitivesystemamuchclearerpic-turethantheresistivesystem.Also, thecapacitivesystemhasaverylong life(about225millionclicks).The bad news is that this touchscreen type cannotbeactivatedbycontactwith inanimate objects (e.g., the gloves that you might be wearing).Therearemainlytwosubtypes: onecannotregistermorethanone touch at a time, while the other, called MultiTouch(usedinAppleiPhone and iPod) does. Surface wave. Surface-wave technol-ogy uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen panel. On the monitor of a surface acoustic wave system, two transducers (one sending and the other receiving) are placed along the x and yaxesofthemonitorsglassplate. Alsoplacedontheglassarerefec-torstheserefectanelectricalsignal sentfromonetransducertotheother. Thereceivingtransducerisabletotell whetherthewavehasbeendisturbed by a touch event at any instant, and can locateitaccordingly.Whenthepanel istouched,aportionofthewaveis Q2.A2.Qs&As18march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mLettersandquestionsforpublicationmaybe addressedtoEditor,ElectronicsForYou, D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi 110020 (E-mail: [email protected]) and should include name and address of the sender.Answers compiled by Air Cmde (Retd) P.D. Badoniabsorbed. This change in the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the controller for processing.Thewavesetuphasnometallic layersonthescreen,allowingfor100 percentlightthroughputandperfect imageclarity.Thismakesthesurface acoustic wave system best for display-ingdetailedgraphics(boththeother systemshavesignifcantdegradation inclarity).Surface-wavetouchscreen panelsarethemostadvancedofthe three types, but these can be damaged by outside elements.Another area in which the systems differisthewaystimuliisregistered asatouchevent.Aresistivesystem registers a touch as long as the two lay-ers make contact, which means that it doesnt matter if you touch it with your fngerorarubberball.Acapacitive system, on the other hand, must have a conductive input, usually your fnger, in order to register a touch. The surface acoustic wave system works much like theresistivesystem,allowingatouch withalmostanyobjectexcepthard and small objects like a pen tip.How can we interface a blue-toothmodulewithamicro-controller to control devices like door-locks and lights from a cellphone? Premrashan NairBangaluruThecircuitofasimplecell-phone-baseddevice-control systemusingbluetoothcommunica-tion link and microcontroller is shown above. It can be easily designed by en-gineering students and hobbyists. The advantageofbluetoothtechnologyis that it doesnt require line-of-sight for signal transmission from the transmit-ter to the receiver.Thisdevicecontrolsystemover-comes the problems of manual switch-ing(on/off)ofdifferentdevices throughbluetooth-enabledcellphone communicatingwiththebluetooth moduleinterfacedwiththemicro-controller.Itisasimpleandcost-ef-fective design to solve the problem of remote control for whatever reason it may be. Thecircuitconsistsofacellphone attachedtoabluetoothadaptor(one coulduseacellphonehavinginbuilt bluetooth),abluetoothmoduleinter-faced with microcontroller AT89C2051, a driver IC ULN2803, fve 12V relays, LEDsandassociateddiscretecompo-nents. At the heart of the circuit is micro-controllerICAT89C2051(IC1).Itis a20-pin,8-bitmicrocontrollerwith2 kBofFlashprogrammableanderas-able read-only memory (PEROM), 128 bytesofRAM,15input/outputlines, two 16-bit timers/counters, a fve-vec-tortwo-levelinterruptarchitecture,a duplex serial port, a precision analogue comparator,on-chiposcillatorand clock circuitry. TheULN2803(IC2)consistsof eightnpnDarlington-connectedtran-sistors,whichareideallysuitablefor interfacingbetweenlow-logic-level digitalcircuitryandthehighercur-rent/voltage requirement circuits such as lamps, fans or other similar loads for a broad range of computer, industrial andconsumerapplications.Itisused herefordrivingthedevicesthrough relay contacts. You can write a simple softwareprogramforthemicrocon-trollerofthebluetooth-enabledcell-phone,employingsimplecodingand decoding of remote signals to perform switching of devices.CTS-1VCCGNDTX-0RX-1RTS-0C1116VR156K120219184175161514131210IC1AT89C2051C133pC233p123184175166157148139121011IC2ULN2803+5V+12VINTERNETCELLULARPHONEBLUETOOTHCELLULARPHONECOMMUNICATIONADAPTERBLUETOOTHMODULEN/ON/ON/ON/ON/ON/CN/CN/CN/CN/C230VAC50Hz230VAC50Hz230VAC50Hz230VAC50Hz230VAC50HzDEVICE1DEVICE2DEVICE3DEVICE4DEVICE5RNW-10Kx8RL1RL2RL3RL4RL5R2R3R4R5R6LED1LED2LED3LED4LED5R2-R6=2.2KRL1-RL5=12V, 1C/ORELAYLED1-LED5=5mmREDLEDXTALX =11.052MHz TALCircuit for home appliance control via Bluetooth-enabled cellular phoneQ3.A3.20March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o MFact-FilledaNdthemosthappeNiNgcurreNtaFFairsFromarouNdtheworldtechnologynewsevolving robotsTakingcuefrombiologicalevolution, thescientistshavedevelopedarobot withasoftwarebrainthatautomati-callygrowsinsizeandcomplexityas itsphysicalbodydevelops.Theonly but major difference is that it does this trick in hours.Existingrobotscannotusually copewithphysicalchangesthead-dition of a sensor or new type of limb, saywithoutacompleteredesignof theircontrolsoftware,whichcanbe time-consumingandexpensive.So artifcialintelligenceengineerChris-topherMacLeodandhiscolleagues attheRobertGordonUniversityin Aberdeen,UK,createdarobotthat adapts to such changes by mimicking biologicalevolution.Ifwewantto make really complex humanoid robots with ever more sensors and more com-plex behaviours, it is critical that they areabletogrowincomplexityover timejustlikebiologicalcreatures did, he says.ThebrainofMacleodsrobotas-signsnewclustersofneuronsto adapttonewadditionstoitsbody. Therobotiscontrolledbyaneural networksoftwarethatmimicsthe brains learning process. This compris-esasetofinterconnectedprocessing nodeswhichcanbetrainedtopro-duce desired actions. Such actions are shaped by adjusting the importance, or weighting, of the input signals to each node.Certaincombinationsofthese sensorinputscausethenodetofrea signalto drive a motor, for example. If this action works, the combination is kept. If it fails, and the robot falls over, therobotwillmakeadjustmentsand try something different next time.Flexible electronic books Screenbreakageisacommoncom-plaintabouttodayselectronicbooks. However,UK-basedPlasticLogic claimstohavedevelopedtheworlds frstfexibleelectronicbookwitha bendyscreenthatcanwithstandalot of tumble.Currently, the two most popular e-books on the market, the Sony Reader andAmazonKindle,arepaperback book-sized devices that use B&W elec-tronicinkdisplays.Theseconsistof aplasticsheetcontainingpixel-sized voids,eachflledwithB&Winkpar-ticles.Electricfeldsattracttheinkto the top of these voids to display print. The problem is, the transistors that ap-ply these electric felds sit on a layer of glass, making the displays fragile.PlasticLogichasperfectedaway ofprintingpolymertransistorsonto alayerofbendyplastic,allowingthe screens to fex and bounce. This device will have wireless Internet connection andatouchscreen,allowinguseofa virtual keyboard for annotating text.optical clocks are the future A new generation of clocks, called opti-cal clocks, can keep time without miss-ing a beat in almost two billion years. Theseclocksaresoprecisethatthey willallowsatellitestotrackmoving objectstowithinlessthanametrea prerequisite for automated cars. Thenewdevicesareknownas opticalclocksbecauselasersmeasure the frequency with which electrons in atoms vibrate. This enables them to di-vide time into even tinier increments. Themostadvancedclock,created by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, measures the vibra-tionsofelectronsinmercuryionsand can go 1.7 billion years without missing abeat.Anormalwristwatch,bycon-trast, loses about a second every week. Themostexcitingdevelopments are likely to come in the feld of global positioning systems (GPS), which track planes,shipsandcars.GPSdevices receivemicrowavesignalssentby satellitesand,bymeasuringthetime thesetaketoarrive,canpinpointthe location of an object on Earth to within 10 metres. universal chargerfor mobile phonesWeallneedtobuyachargerwith everynewmobilephone.Whatif youcanchargeyourphonefromany availablecharger?Thiswouldnot only make life easier for mobile phone Worlds frst fexible electronic book from Plastic Logic22March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o Mconsumers, but would be good for the environment too. TheGSMAand17leadingmobile operatorsandmanufacturerssaidat theMobileWorldCongressthatthey arecommittedtoimplementinga cross-industrystandardforauniver-salchargerfornewmobilephones. Theaimoftheinitiative,ledbythe GSMA,istoensurethatthemobile industry adopts a common format for mobile phone charger connections and energy-effcientchargersresultingin anestimated50percentreduction instandbyenergyconsumption;old chargers currently generate more than 51,000 tonnes of waste a year.The group plans to make a universal chargingsolutionwidelyavailableby year 2012. It will use Micro-USB as the commonuniversalcharginginterface. SobyJanuary2012,themajorityofall new mobile phone models available will support a universal charging connector andthemajorityofchargersshipped will meet the high-effciency targets set out by the OMTP (Open Mobile Termi-nal Platform)the industry body who developedthetechnicalrequirements for universal charging solution.Next-gen windows phonesMicrosoftisworkingwithpartners acrosstheindustrytodeliveranew generation of Windows phones. These phoneswillbebasedonWindows Mobile6.5andfeatureanewuser interface and a richer browsing expe-rience.Inaddition,theywillfeature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts andmoretotheWeb;andWindows MarketplaceforMobile,anewmar-ketplacethatwillprovidedirect-to-phonemobileapplicationsandcan be accessed from both the phone and the Web.TheWindowsMobile6.5home screenwillkeepyouup-to-dateon importantinformationbyproviding adashboard-likeexperiencetoitems suchasnewe-mails,texts,missed callsandcalendarappointments.The improved touch-screen interface makes it easy to take action with a fnger.The free My Phone service will en-ableyoutoaccess,manageandback upyourpersonalinformationonyour devicetoapassword-protectedWeb-basedservice.Withautomaticsyncing andbackup,youcancountonyour contacts,appointments,textmessages and other information being kept up to date and easily restored should you lose orupgradeyourphone.Youwillalso be able to automatically upload photos andvideofromyourWindowsphone directly to the My Phone service.ThenewWindowsphonesare expected to be available in the second half of 2009.solar-powered touch phoneSamsungElectronicshasunveileda solar-powered, full-touch-screen phone calledBlueEarth.Bychargingwith thesolarpanellocatedonthebackof the phone, users can generate enough power to call anytime anywhere.BlueEarthismadefromrecycled plasticcalledPCM,whichisextracted from water bottles, helping to reduce fuel consumptionandcarbonemissionsin Samsung Blue Earth solar-powered phone

0r l||| up. ard serd l||s coupor lo us :Nare:..........................................................................Co||ede : ........................... ..........................................Era||: ...............................Address: ........................... ..........................................P|ore: .............................24March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o Mthe manufacturing process. The device, including charger, is free from harmful substancessuchasbrominatedfame retardants, beryllium and phthalate.Simple to set the screen brightness, backlightdurationandBluetoothto anenergy-effcientmode,theunique userinterfaceallowstheusertobe energy-effcientwithjustoneclickof Ecomode.Throughtheecowalk functiontheusercancounthissteps with an in-built pedometer, calculating howmuchCO2emissionshavebeen reducedbywalkingasopposedto motor transport. This unique function allowstheusertocalculatethevalue ofthisfootprintthroughthenumber of trees that have been saved.Thephonecomeswithafve-star energy-effcientchargerwhichuses standby power of less than 0.03W.power meter from googleGoogle is developing a tool called Pow-erMeterthatwillshowpeopletheir electricity consumption in near real time on a secure iGoogle gadget. The Internet giant is partnering with a host of electric utilities, device makers, regulators and othertechnologycompaniestodeliver the data to consumers.The Google PowerMeter is a piece of software that people can view online to see how much electricity they are us-ing every time they leave an appliance on overnight. If 5.3 million people used the new tool and cut back their electricity con-sumptionby10percent,theywould savetheequivalentofagigawattof powerenough to power a large city, said Kirsten Olsen Cahill. Theelectricity-monitoringproject isalsoconsistentwithGooglesgoal oforganisingalltheworldsinforma-tion,Cahillsaid.Gettingittowork, ofcourse,willrequirealigningthe interestsofgovernment,utilitiesand manufacturersofthingslikesensors for electricity meters.worlds smallest tV data cardZTEclaimstohavedevelopedthe worlds smallest TV data card and also theworldsfrstplug-and-playdata card.ThisUSBmodem(MF645)will enableyoutowatchdigitaltelevision onacomputerorlaptopovera3G connection.AstheMF645supportsa download rate of up to 7.2Mbps, it of-fers a user experience that is similar to traditional TV sets.worlds smallest802.11n devicesCambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) claims to have launched the worlds smallest and lowest-cost range of 802.11n com-patible devices to add to its Connectiv-ity Centre line-up. At less than 16 mm2 ofsilicon,theUniFiUF6000rangeof Wi-Fi chips are designed as embedded Wi-Fiproducts,makingthemalow-cost way of adding an 802.11n-enabled Wi-Fi to mobile devices. As more smart and feature-phones start to include Wi-Fi, the UniFi UF6000 Wi-Firangeprovidesmanufacturers with a low-cost route to integrate Wi-Fi intohandsetswithoutcompromising on performance or PCB space.BycombiningtheUF6000with the companys recently launched low-cost GPS and Bluetooth chip, BC7830, CSRclaimstooffercustomersWi-Fi, Bluetooth,GPSandFMtransmitand receiveatacombinedsiliconareaof 27 mm2in comparison to competing solutions that are 40 per cent bigger.TheUniFiUF6000rangeisfully compliantwithIEEE802.11eQoS,Wi-FiAllianceWMMPowerSaveand 802.11npowersaving,ensuringthe lowest possible power consumption. 3d graphics in hdtV devicesThegraphicaluserinterfacesoffered bytodaysset-topboxes(STBs)and digitalTVsareprimarilystaticand two-dimensional,andgenerallydo notprovidethelevelofperformance demandedbythenewWeb-based interactive services. These services re-quire a new breed of STB and TV user interfaces, based on advanced graphics technologies.STMicroelectronicsoffersbroad-casters, operators and STB and digital TV manufacturers advanced 3D graph-ics effects within its latest high-defni-tion video consumer platforms. Based on its latest generation of HD STB proc-essors, including the STi7105, STi7111 andtherecentlyannouncedSTi7141, togetherwithadvancedsoftware libraries,thesedigitalconsumerTV platformsofferadvanced3Dgraphic acceleration capabilities for a new gen-eration of user interfaces, enabling 3D dynamic effects, such as transparency, mirroring,rotationandzoom-inand zoom-out;graphicalcompositions,or animations,combinedwithliveHD CSRs 802.11n range of devices add Wi-Fi to mobile deviceselectroni csforyouMarch200925 www. e f y Ma g . c o Mvideo pictures; and HD-resolution dynamic 3D-looking user interfaces.share your whereabouts with friends Google has launched a new service, Latitude, that lets cell-phone users share their location with friends. The service is part of Google Maps forMobilethecompanys mapping software for mobile phonesbut can also be used through a gadget loaded onto its iGoogle customised home page. It will work in 27 countries. Latitude can be downloaded on the mobile phone and in-vitations can be sent to friends and family to join the service. The location-based service only works with prior permission fromtheotherperson.Privacysettingscanbeadjustedin Latitudesothatyoushareasmuchoraslittleaboutyour location as you want, with whom you want. So for each person, you can choose to share your avail-able location or your location when you travel to a different city, or you can be completely unavailable. Everything is un-der your control and, of course, you can sign out of Latitude at any time. The service also allows the user to communicate with friends through text messaging, instant messaging or a phone call. The application is independent of mobile operators and can be downloaded free from the Google website.Futuristic transport systemThe implementation of an intelligent transport system (ITS) in India may now be postponed for some time.ITSreferstotheuseofnewtechnologieslikemobile phones and the worldwide web to guide traffc within a city. Once the system is in place, you can get mobile alerts while driving,indicatingtherouteswithhightraffccongestion and suggesting alternative route. It also means toll collection can be made electronically, whichcanenableyoutodrivethroughtollgateswithout facing a traffc snarl. In the case of an accident, an in-vehicle emergency e-call can be generated to the nearest emergency Google Latitude26March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o MCheck efytimes.com for more news, dailypoint. The system can also provide in-formationaboutparkingspaceatany location in the city. The system is futuristic, but the fear isthatterroristscanaccessinforma-tioneachmomentontraffctrendsin a city. They can know where the traffc is most congested so as to cause maxi-mumdamage.Offcialsalsofearthat the central control roomfrom where theentireITSfacilityofacitywillbe coordinatedcanbecomethetarget of a terror attack, exposing the city to great risks. emergency alert via mobile Inanemergencyyoucanregistera missedcallonSoftspinsserver.The server, in turn, will send text messages to the pre-saved numbers anywhere in the world with details like the location of the call, the mobile service provider and the country. This way, the service alerts your friends and family that you need help. Softspins server numberneedsto besavedundera speed dial on a mo-bileor a landline to enableaquickcall. Amessagealso reachesthecaller sayingthathelpis onitsway.Even ifthenetworkis jammed,messages dopassthroughas theydontrequire muchbandwidth, VinaySathe,man-aging director of Softspin, says. The service, Saviour, is available for a lifetime registration fee of Rs 200 and Rs 120 as yearly subscription. live news on the mobileMotorolaIndiaandPressmartMedia, adigitalpublisher,haveannounced alivenews-on-the-mobileserviceon MOTO VE66, MOTOSURF A3000 and MOTOROKR EM35phones slated for distribution in India.Theservicewillprovideyou withaccesstobrandednewscontent poweredbyPressmart.Byselecting theWAPlinkDailyNewsonyour Motorolaphone,youcanreceivefree news content and access your favourite newspapers while on the go. Newspapers offered on the service include Indian Express, The Financial Ex-press, The Asian Age and Deccan Chroni-cle.AGPRSconnectionisrequiredto access the free news content. New internet technologyAtoall.comhaslaunchedanewIn-ternettechnologythatuseskeyboard shortcutstoaccessGoogle,Orkut, Yahoo!,Microsoftandsimilarsuch popular sites. For example, if you want tovisitGoogle,youwillhavetotype thefollowingthreeconsecutivelet-tersinthekeyboard,gghhjj.com.To visit Orkut, you will have to just type ookkmm.com.The technology makes it easier for the illiterate to use the Internet as in or-der to access a Website, one has to type threeletterstwiceonthecomputer keyboardwhichareinastraightline; e.g., C or inverted C, V or inverted V,twice,followedbydot(.)comor ctrl+enter(forwww..com).Shortcut keysarelocatedtogetheronthekey-board,e.g.,rrddcc.com,ccddrr.com, mmjjnn.com and nnjjmm.com. Thistechnologysearchenginein-vention also allows users to access their favourite games sites, videos, etc. Atoall.coms search enginehigh-definition tVCurrently, hdtV broadcast does not take place in india, but the scene is hotting up with broadcasters producing content for hdtV and consumer electronics companies offering hd tV sets and set-top boxes Stage All Set forHDTV LCD range by Samsung umA bAnSAlaretryingtoswitchconsumersata premiumforHDTVset-topboxesas INX Media and STAR TV are already producingcontentonHDTV.Thisis expected to take off by mid 2009. With so much of activity happening in this space, it is good time to dwell on the subject. What is hdtV?TherearetwomodesofTVtransmis-sion:analogueanddigital.Digital TVcomesinstandard,enhancedand high-defnitionformats.Standardhas a resolution of 480i, enhanced is 480p, and high-defnition is 720p, 1080i and 1080p.Therefore HDTVhasthe high-est-levelresolutionofferedwithinthe digital TV category. We can also infer that HD is digital, but not all digital TV isHD.HDTVhasa16:9aspectratio, whichisthesameasthatofamovie theatre screen.HDresolutionislistedintwodif-ferentforms:numberoflines+type of scan or number of pixels (vertical by horizontal). TarunJain,countryhead-India, HitachiHomeElectronics,givesa breakdown of the HD formats listed by how manufacturers label them on their product summaries: 720p or 7201280 - 720 lines, pro-gressive scannedThehighestformofdig-ital television is all set to storm India. The greatest pushhascomefromthe governmentsannounce-mentthatDD(Doordarshan)will broadcasttheCommonwealthGames in high-defnition (HD) format. HDTV programmingthroughcable/satellite alsoiscomingtoIndiaverysoon,as theflmindustryhasgearedintoHD production.Fortheendusers,HDTVsets arealreadyavailableinthemarket. Direct-to-home(DTH)TVoperators Technologyfocus28march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mTechnologyfocus30march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o m1080ior10801920-1080lines, interlaced scanned 1080por10801920-1080lines, progressive scanned Thenumberoflines/pixelsand typeofscanmatterbecausemore lines/pixelsandfasterscanequal abetterpicture.InrankingtheHD signalformats,720pand1080iare virtuallyequalinoverallresolution, while1080pisthebest.HDTValso providesacinematictheatreexperi-encewithDolbyDigitalsurround sound.how does it differ from conventional tV?Jainexplainsthathigh-defnitionpro-grammesareencodedwithatypeof resolution:720p,1080ior1080p.The number stands for the amount of lines embedded within the signal. The letter describesthetypeofscanthetelevi-sionusestodisplaythepicture.The i means interlaced and the p means progressive.Thenumberoflinesonatelevi-sion is important because it allows for greaterdetailintheimage.Thisisa Analogue vs Digital TV InthebasicanalogueTV,thesignalsaretransmittedascontinuouslyvaryingradio waves. In fact, the video is transmitted in AM mode, while the audio is transmitted in FM.Likeradio,analogueTVissubjecttonoise,interference(suchasghostingand snow) and attenuation with distance. In addition, the analogue TV signals require a wide bandwidth for their video and audio signals, which restricts the resolution and overall quality of the image.Ontheotherhand,digitalTVistransmittedasaseriesofbinarynumbers0sand 1s (data bits of information). Computer processing is used to compress it, so it can be transmitted in a fraction of the bandwidth taken by the equivalent analogue TV signal. The freed-up extra space can be used for additional video, audio and text signals.As the signal is basically on or off, the viewer either sees an image or nothing at all. There is no signal loss due to attenuation as distance from the transmitter increases. In case the viewer is too far from the transmitter, there is nothing to see. Bravia W-series HDTV by Sony Technologyfocus32march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o msimilarconcepttodigitalphotosand how dpi determines print quality. IntheconventionalTVsystem, waves are scanned at 480i. This means that at a given point of time four hun-dred and eighty (480) lines of pictures aresentbythebroadcastertothe television. The lines alternate between odd and even in a succession that is too fast for the human eye.HDTVsendsaroundathousand eighty(1080)orsevenhundredand twenty(720)lines,whichismore thandoubletheconventionalTV.By almost doubling the amount of lines in combination with the type of scan, HD essentiallynearlydoublesthequality of picture.R. Zutshi, deputy managing direc-torofSamsungIndia,saysthathigh-defnition TVs offer the best TV view-ing possible. HD format contains more and fner detail than other formats, so images can have almost lifelike clarity. Thepicturequalitycanbestunning, especiallyonalarge,wide-screenset. Intechnicalterms,HDimageshave higherdefnition,meaningmorepic-ture elements (lines or pixels) make up each image.HDTV provides wide-screen picture quality with compact disk (CD) sound quality. It has over twice the sharpness andclarityofanalogueTVbroadcasts togetherwithafarsuperiorcolour resolution. With HDTV, problems such asdoubleimagesfromghostingor multi-path,snowcausedfromaweak signalandpicturesparklesfromim-pulse noise are a thing of the past. These problems often seen on a conventional television broadcast just do not occur on high-defnition TV. Also, the sound for conventional TV is only stereo.However, currently, HDTV broad-castdoesnottakeplaceinIndia,and the usage of HD resolution is limited to DVDs or other media only, so a high-defnition TV is effective if it is used for viewing DVD titles, etc.What all is required for hdtV reception?YoumayaskDoIneedaspecialTV to be able to see HDTV? The answer is that only high-defnition televisions can displayHDcontentintheHDresolu-tion.Enhanced-defnitiontelevisions can display HD content in a 480p reso-lution, which is DVD quality. All other televisions that are analogue of standard digitalwillnotbeabletodisplayHD contentinanHDresolutionbecause they lack the technology to do so.Asisclear,anyonewhoowns ahigh-defnitiontelevisioncanget high-defnition content. One has three options:over-the-airsignals,cableor satellite.Over-the-airhigh-defnition signals are those that a typical rooftop antenna would receive. The signals are digitalandencodedinHD.Over-the-air signals are free to receive. The only costoutofpocketwouldbeforthe equipment needed to receive them. To receive HD programming from a cable orsatelliteprovider,youwouldneed tosubscribetotheirHDpackageif theyhaveany.Thissubscriptionmay not be free. The provider might requireHDTV by Hitachi Sources of HDTV SignalsYou can receive HD signals from the following sources:1.Overtheairwithanantenna.Over-the-airsignalsarefreetoreceive.However,to receive these signals, you need an HD tuner. Latest HDTVs have an HD tuner built into them. For HDTV televisions without a built-in HD tuner, a separate set-top HD tuner box can be rented from a cable or satellite company, or purchased.2. Cable or satellite service. To receive HD programming from a cable or satellite provider, you would need to subscribe to their HD package if they have any. This subscription may not be free. The provider might require a minimum length of service. You require a set-top box issued by the cable company, to receive HD content. DishTV and Reliance Communications (BIG TV) are among the satellite TV providers in India who plan to offer HDTV-ready set-top boxes.3. Blu-ray disk can store over nine hours of high-definition (HD) video on a 50GB disk. 4. A DVD-R can also store up to three hours of HD video content, readable by Blu-ray player, PlayStation 3 video game console or Blu-ray drive installed in a PC, depending on encoder settings. 5.Videogameconsoles.ThelatestgenerationofgameconsolesismoreHD-friendly. While Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 let you enjoy HD gaming, the Wii will not. The PlayStation 3 also doubles as a Blu-ray movie player.6. If your computer graphics card supports the standard SVGA resolution, it can be used to output video to an HDTVs PC input jack.7. The DVI or HDMI interfaces of newer computer graphics cards can be used to output video to an HDTV. Technologyfocuselectroni csforyoumarch200933 www. e f y ma g . c o ma minimum length of service.An integrated HDTV has an HDTV tunerbuiltintotheTV.Soyoudont havetopurchaseanexternalboxto receiveHDTV.However,ifyousub-scribetoacableorsatelliteservice, you may have to purchase their box to receive their HD channel service. In comparison, an HD-upgradable, HD-ready,orHD-compatibleTVhas all that you need to watch HDTV, but you must add a set-top box to receive HDTV signals.Whenyouarenotinamoodto watchtelevisionshows,youcancon-nect your HDTV to an upscaling DVD playeroraBlu-rayDVDplayer.In ordertotakefulladvantageofthis viewingoption,yourHDTVneedsto haveeitheranHDMIorDVI-HDCP connection. Jeremy Hang, division head-Bravia Display, Sony India, explains that up-scalingDVDplayersmatchthepixel resolutionofastandardDVDtothat of your HDTV. Although the quality is not the same as watching your DVD in true high-defnition, there is a defnite improvementintheimagequalityof your DVDs when played on an upscal-ing DVD player through an HDTV.InIndia,SamsungofferstwoHD-DVDplayers.TheSamsung1080PK isafull-HDDVDplayerwithUSB hostandHDMIcableincluded.The Samsung F1080 is full-HD stylish DVD player with HDMI cable included.KishalayRay,generalmanager-marketing,SharpBusinessSystems (India), says that not many Blu-ray titles arecurrentlyavailableintheIndian market, not making it worth buying at this stage. However, DVDs can output the video at 720p or 1080i resolution via their HDMI jack if it is available in the DVD player as well as in the TV set.Ifoneisagamingfreak,game consoles have been making a slow but steadyconversiontohigh-defnition. The latest generation of game consoles isevenmoreHD-friendly.Allofthe Xbox360gametitlesrunat720por 1080i,meaningthesecanlookjustas good as standard DVDs.Programming other than hd?HDTV allows programming other than the HD content to be displayed on the screen. There is no drop in quality: On Components of a typical satellite HDTV system; courtesy WikipediaTechnologyfocus34march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mHDTVsets,thenativeresolutionis higher,hencethelowerresolutioncan be easily accommodated without affect-ing the quality.types and cost ofhdtV setsHDTVsareavailableinliquid-crystal display(LCD),plasma,digitallight processing (DLP) and liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) technologies. However, currently the mainstream technologies are LCD and plasma.ThecostofHDTVsetsvariesac-cording to the size and quality of tech-nology.Thecomparativelyhighcost ofHDTVsetsmaybeaturnoff,but HDTVsofferexcellentpicturequality coupledwithabigscreenexperience. PlasmaandLCDHDTVsarewall-mountable and save space too. Availability of hdtV setsMosthigh-endplasmaandLCDTVs areHDTV-capable.SonysBraviaLCD TVsletyouenjoyfulladvantagesof HDTV technology. With slim and stylish designs, these can ft anywhere in your home. Samsung too has a complete port-folio of HDTV and HD-ready LCD TVs: the Full HD LCD Series 6 and 5 and the HD ready Series 4 and 3. In the case of plasma televisions, the Full HD Series 5 and the 3D Ready Series 4 have also been launched in the Indian market.issues with hdtVTobeabletoreceiveHDcontent,you need to have an HD-ready TV set or TV set with built-in HDTV tuner, which is comparativelyexpensive.Also,tradi-tional SD programmes originally flmed in the standard 4:3 ratio, when seen on anHDTVmonitor,willhaveempty margins to the left and right of the im-agebecause16:9wide-screenaspect ratio is the standard for digital HDTV. You can choose to fll this unused dis-playareabystretchingtheSDshows horizontallytofllthescreen,butthis will only distort the image.Normally, the HDTV transmission isprovidedthroughsatelliteandthe same may not be available on free ba-sis. In such a case, you may be required to subscribe to HDTV with the service provider.HDMI,orcomponentvideocables, must be used to support high-defnition signals. HDMI is an all-digital connection that allows both HD audio and video to passthroughasinglecable.Ifyouuse older video cabling standards like com-positeorS-Videoforconnectionsfrom a cable box or satellite dish, you will get only an SDTV-quality picture.Another drawback of HDTV is that mostoftheoperatorsdonotfullyfol-lowHDTVspecifcations.SotheHD picturequalityisusuallynotasgood aspromised.Operatorstendtouse slowerbitratesorlowerresolutionto accommodate more channels within the limitedbandwidth,whichreducesthe video quality.WhileonananalogueTV,the interferencecausesthepictureto slowly deteriorate from bad to worse, interferenceinHDTVbroadcastwill freeze,skip,ordisplaygarbagein-formation.The author is a deputy editor at EFY Major Contributorsto this ReportTarunJain,countryhead-India,Hitachi Home ElectronicsR.Zutshi,deputymanagingdirector, Samsung IndiaJeremyHang,divisionhead-Bravia Display, Sony IndiaKi shal ayRay, general manager-marketing,SharpBusinessSystems (India)hdtVs are available in liquid-crystal display (lCd), plasma, digital light processing (dlP) and liquid-crystal-on-silicon (lCoS) technologies. however, currently the mainstream technologies are lCd and plasma.careers36March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o M SudeShna daSempower YourSelf with power electronicSto continue its growth trajectory, india would need a lot more emphasis on the power sector. So a career in power electronics could prove to be a good take-off for you the government looks to pump in more withrespecttopublicexpenditure, thus ensuring continuous job creation. Forthisreason,thepowersectorhas the greatest element of anti-cyclical be-haviour, thereby maintaining a healthy growth rate. Bhatnagaralsooutlinesthenew recruitmentplanforhisorganisation. TherecruitmenttrendsofPSUsalso areinaccordancewithhiscomment. NTPCitselfhasrecruitedabout1225 professionals last year and is planning tohiremorethan1000engineering andmanagementprofessionalsevery yearoverthecomingyears.Other power companiesprivate- as well as public-sectorwouldalsohavehigh manpower requirements in the coming years in view of the growth opportuni-ties present.Largeinvestmentsfromprivate-sector players like Tata Power, Sterlite Industries, Jindal India Thermal Power andLancoGroupareincreasingthe chances of new job creation. Moreover, private players in energy management sectors like Conzerv, Enercon and APC arealsoinhiringmode.Bhatnagar feelsthatpowerwillbethehighest job-generating sector by 2012.Be a part of thepower game Sincethepowersectorcomprisesa widerangeoffrmsfromfairlylarge andmaturecompaniestotheSMBs, the manpower requirement also varies accordingly. The skill requirements are vast and there is room for professionals inproductdesignanddevelopment, projectengineering,productmanage-Powerisoneofthosesectors which are showing a promise of growthandexpansionamidst the economic slowdown clatter. It may even beneft from the current recession. Its steady rise can be attributed to the immediate need for infrastructure. Ascorporatemajorslooktocut costsandincreaseproductivity,the onewaytheyarelikelytoachieve this is through introduction of a cost-effectivepowersolution.Infact,the TargetMissionofIndiaPowerfor Allby2012wouldmeanachieving the target of 1000 kWh (units) of per capitaconsumptionofelectricityby thisperiod.Hence,ifyouwishto makeyourowncontributiontothe growth story of emerging India, this isonesectorthatwillprovideim-mense scope and opportunity.the power storyLetsfrstprobealittledeepinside Indias growth story. It is well known thatthegrowthofacountrycanbe sustainedonlyifitsinfrastructure keepspacewithit.Poweristhemost prominentverticalamongsttheinfra-structural sectors. According to a mid-termreportreleasedbyAssocham,it toppedthelistofthemostpreferred investment sectors with 18.4 per cent of the total infrastructural investment. Thecurrenteconomicrecession doesntseemtohavehadanysig-nifcantimpactonjobopportunities inthepowersector.Commentingon anupbeatemploymentscenarioin thepowerindustry,SunilBhatnagar, director,ParkerPowerSystem,says, Intimesofaneconomicslowdown careers38March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o Mment, marketing and sales. Profession-als who have a superior understanding of electronics, instrumentation, electri-cal, mechanical and power engineering are required amongst others.Mostofthecompanieshaveambi-tiousexpansionaswellasdiversifca-tion plans. Companies like NTPC have taken a number of steps to emerge as an integratedpowercompanywithpres-ence in coal mining, hydel power gen-eration, power trading and power dis-tribution.Accordingly,therearehuge job opportunities for new entrants. Whilethereisstillashortageof qualitymanpowerinthepowersec-tor,thisseemstobeeasingoutwith changing preferences among the fresh engineersfromITtocorefeldslike powerandotherheavyindustries. We do fnd that entry-level technical graduatesarestillcharmedbytheIT industry, however this trend is chang-ing and bright youngsters are choosing careers in the power industry looking at the long-term growth perspective, saysAnilKumarChallyil,technical services manager, Arrow Electronics.As an electronics professional you mayfindyourplaceinthepower circuitdesignsectionofasolutions providingfrm.Butopportunitiesare presenteveninthemaintenance,in-strumentationandcontrolsectionsof anypowerplant.Workopportunities inthepowersectorprimarilyinclude creation,expansionandenlargingof existing units by utilising both renewa-ble and non-renewable energy sources. Upgradationoftheexistingcapacity throughmodernisationofequipment andintroductionofnewtechnolo-giesandbetterinstrumentationmay fnally open up new job opportunities. Adjunctsystemsoperatingwithcore infrastructure,suchassmartenergy managementsystemsforcommercial andindustrialunits,maybearight choice for your career.You may ask How to get an entry ticket? A decent technical background (ITI, diploma or graduation) along with fundamentalknowledgecansecure yourjobticket.However,forsome fieldsrequiringspecialisedknowl-edge such as R&D, recruiters look for postgraduatesanddoctorates.Many employerstakecampusrecruitsand trainthemdirectlyindifferentareas of power projects to prepare them for variousrolesinthecompany.Thank-fully,mostofthebigplayersinthis sectorstillbelieveintalentbuilding ratherthanraiding.Thiswasfurther confrmedbyNeelamKumar,execu-tivedirectorandheadofthedepart-ment-powerelectronics,Aplab,who considerstalentbuildingasapartof social responsibility.power in your pocket Lets check whether this feld is power-ful enough to fll your pocket to a good extent.Youcouldbepartofamajor project as a junior engineer and grow in 10-12 years time to head major projects. Speakingofsalaryprospects,fresh engineeringgraduatesusuallystart atRs200,000-Rs350,000perannum andcangrowintoeithergeneralistor specialistroles.However,thesceneis a little daunting for diploma holders as their starting salary range is usually Rs 150,000 to 200,000 per annum.Evenatthismomentofeconomic downturn, the power sector is offering salaries in the range of Rs 500,000 to Rs 1 million per annum for professionals with 5-7 years of experience. It should, however,benotedthatfordesign-re-lated roles, the salary is usually closer to the upper limit. Nonetheless, if you grabaninternationalopportunity, theminimumsalarymaymoveupto around Rs 2 million within fve years.explore the power circuitI believe, up to this point, you have got enoughboostersfromtheopportuni-ties-to-be-grabbedinthepowerfeld. So get ready now to explore the power circuit.Thepowerfeldisspecifcally suitableforengineeringprofessionals withmultidisciplinaryinterests,such asmagneticsandmechanics.Exciting andtechnicallysatisfyingcareerscan We do find that entry-level technical graduates are still charmed by the IT industry. However, this trend is changing and bright youngsters are choosing careers in the power industry looking at the long-term growth perspective.Anil Kumar Challyil, technical services manager, Arrow Electronics In the times of an economic slowdown, the government looks to pump in more with respect to public expenditure, thus ensuring continuous job creation. For this reason, the power sector has the greatest element of anti-cyclical behaviour, thereby maintaining a healthy growth rate.Sunil Bhatnagar, director, Parker Power Systemcareers40March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o Mbepursuedinthefeldsoftechnical marketing, design engineering, project management,andintegrationand servicing.Ifyouconsidertheapplication ofpowerelectronics,Imustsayitis presentwhereverthereisaneedfor controlandconversionofelectric power.Itmaybethetinyconverterof your mobile phone in the range of some milliwatts,oragiantoneofhundreds ofmegawattsinahigh-voltagedirect-current(HVDC)transmissionsystem. The main metric of power electronics is energy effciency. And as a professional you are expected to acquire knowledge andskillsneededtodesignpractical powerelectronicssystems.Ifyoucan achieve it, then control, instrumentation and maintenance of power systems will automatically be on your fngertips.Largely,thisisatechnicalfeld andsodomainexpertiseandprocess knowledge are very important. Because of the technology-driven nature of this feld,professionalsmustatalltimes keepthemselvesabreastofthelatest improvementsandtechnologicalup-gradations that are taking place instead of focusing only on their departmental concerns. In addition to technical skills, recruitersarealsolookingforcom-petenciessuchasinterpersonalskills anddriveforendresultsdownthe ranks. Dont get nervous. You are not expected to know everything but your learning ability should be high as a lot of training takes place on the job.powerful fundamentalsKeep in mind that power electronics is primarily concerned with the process-ing of electrical power using electronic devices.Sothekeyelementisthe switching converter. All other devices are improved versions of it. Ingeneral,aswitchingconverter comprisesthreeportspowerinput port,poweroutputportandcontrol. Converters are even classifed accord-ingtothenatureoftheseports.For example, in a simple DC-DC converter, the DC input voltage is converted into aDCoutputvoltagebychangingits magnitude.Thedevicemayperform some additional functions like rectifca-tion and inversion of voltage, thereby acquiringthenamesrectifierand inverter, respectively. The third port, i.e.,control,isrequiredtoproducea well-regulated output voltage in pres-ence of variations in the input and load currents.I have already mentioned the met-ricofpowerprocess.Higheffciency isamustforanyprocessingsystem. Theprimaryreasonforthisisnotto save money on ones electricity bill or conserveenergy.Rather,accordingto powerrule,itisimpracticaltodesign alow-effciencyconverterwhichcan produce high voltage output.Thenextthingthatyouneedto know is the application of power elec-tronics. A basic design is modifed ac-cording to the need of the application. Lets consider an aerospace application ofpowerelectronics.Inthepower system of an earth-orbiting spacecraft, a solar array produces the main power busvoltage.ADC-DCconvertercon-verts the bus voltage into the regulated voltagerequiredbythespacecraft payloads. Battery charge controllers in-terface the main power bus to the bat-teries;thiscontrollermayalsohavea DC-DC converter. The power systems ofalmostallspacecraftsandaircrafts follow this simple scheme.On the other hand, in an electrically drivenvehicle,batteriesarecharged byconvertersthatdrawhigh-factor sinusoidal current from a single-phase or a three-phase AC line. The batteries supplypowertothevariable-speed ACmotorstopropelthevehicle.The speedoftheACmotoriscontrolled by the variation of the electrical input frequency.Theinverterproduces three-phase variable output to control thespeedofthemotoraswellasthe vehicle. In some applications, a DC-DC converter steps down the original volt-agetoalowerlevelaccordingtothe electronics need of the systems. Thelistofexamplesmaybeend-less.Soinsteadofmuggingupthe nitty-grittyofindividualsystems, trytounderstandthefunctionofthe individualelements,sothatyoucan usethemtodesignthepowersystem ofyourchoice.Youmayputspecial emphasis on various common systems torecheckyourunderstanding.A We believe in building our talent pool by inducting young professionals and grooming them into competent power professionals through various HR interventions. We have developed a well-structured system for recruiting fresh engineering graduates and diploma holders at the executive level. We recruit people not only on the basis of qualification and skill repertoire but, more importantly, also for their attitude and cultural fit with the company. We even arrange training programmes for students of different technical institutes.Neelam Kumar, executive director and head of the department-power electronics, Aplab careers42March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o Mgeneral understanding of locomotives, batterychargersfortelecommunica-tions, inverter systems for applications involving renewable energy generation such as wind and photovoltaic conver-sion,andalsogeneralpowerutility systemsmayhelpyoucomprehend anyunknownpowersystemthatyou may come across. Know the elements of power electronicsUndoubtedly,oneofthethingsthat makes power electronics interesting is its incorporation of elemental concepts from diverse set of felds. As a power electronics professional, you may come acrossthebasicsofanaloguecircuits, electronicdevices,controlsystems, power systems, magnetics, electric ma-chines and even numerical solutions.Thusthepracticeofpowerelec-tronicsrequiresabroadunderstand-ingofelectricalaswellaselectronics engineering. In addition, there are fun-damental concepts which are unique to power electronics and require special-ised study.Lets start with the switching mode. High-frequencyswitchingmakescon-verter modeling the central element of yourstudy.Youneedtoknowhow toputaconverterinequilibrium.The principlesofsteady-stateconverter analysisincludinginductor-volt-sec-ondbalance,capacitorchargebalance andsmallrippleapproximationareof great importance. Try to get a clear idea ofhowtheseprinciplesareapplied inboost(capableofvoltageincrease), buck (capable of voltage decrease) and cuk(capableofinvertingthevoltage priority) converters. For example, ripple approximationgreatlysimplifesthe analysis,especiallyinawell-designed converter where the switching ripples in inductor current and capacitor voltage are comparatively small with respect to the DC component.Anotherimportantelementis circuitmodeling.Youareexpectedto understandhowtheDCtransformer modelismanipulatedandsolved usingconventionalcircuitanalysis techniques.Howthemodelscanbe refnedtoaccountforlosselements suchasinductor-windingresistance and semiconductor on resistance and voltage drops?realise the fieldNowthatyouareawareofthebasic elements, its time to realise the modus operandioftheactualdevices.Switch realisationwouldbeagoodstarting point.Knowledgeaboutmajoritycar-rier devices like MOSFETs and minor-ity carrier devices like BJTs, IGBTs and thyristorsismust.Additionalknowl-edgeliketheoperationofunidirec-tionalswitchestohandlediscontinu-ous conduction mode, may give you an edge over your competitors.Converter circuit is another impor-tant matter that needs thorough under-standing.Basically,circuitmanipula-tion,transformerisolationalongwith circuitevaluationanddesignrelated skill sets are in high demand. Try to get familiar with converter dynamics and control.Thebasicunderstandingof modellingandaveragingapproaches will be an added advantage.Inthenextstep,youhavetoper-formtheactualdesignjobbyapply-ingallthosetechniquesandconcepts discussed so far. Controller design and inputflterdesignarethetwomajor challenges in this feld.Yournextchallengeistoprovide asolutionforreal-lifesystems.Gobe-yond your textbook and enter your own powerelectronicsdesignlaboratory. Try to collect some problems pertaining to AC and DC equivalent circuit model-ling and resonant conversion and chalk out possible solutions. Last but not the least, update yourself on the latest tech-nological advances in this feld.prepare for the future challengesBearinmindthattechnologicalad-vancesaremeanttoincreaseenergy effciency and reduce operational cost. Asaresult,thepresenteraissolely dedicated to green energy and energy-savingequipment.Understandthis hiddendemandandkeeppacewith it.Yourfnal-yearprojectmaybeon the utilisation of solar energy or wind energy to run a traditional power sys-tema solar power fuel dispenser, for example. In fact, there are many ingen-ious ways to improve power effciency through various innovations.According to industry veterans like Pramod Agashe, COO of APW, tradi-tionalpowerdistributionunitsoften failtocopewithtodayshigh-density computing environments, so designing ofeffcientpowerdistributionsystem fordatacentresmaybeagoodchal-lenge. Any of these real problems may be your next food for thought. Perhaps,atthismomentthedi-lemmaaboutyourcareerprospectis driving you nuts. Boost up your brain. Dig down the power feld. It will pro-vide you not only a secure job but the opportunitytobeanactivepartofa nation-building story.The author is a research analyst cum journalist at EFYIn the IT/ITES segment, with energy efficiency and reduction of operational costs becoming critical business goals, two major trends in data centre infrastructure design are notable today: power efficiency and power distribution.Pramod Agashe, COO of APW electroni csforyoumarch200943 www. e f y ma g . c o mEFYREPORTIf you are earning your bread and butterbyworkingfortheIndian electronicsindustry,itstimeto takeupmoreresponsibilitiesand heightenyourperformance.Returns at the workplace will now be commen-suratewithyourperformancemore than ever. Onthesalaryfront,itsignifies salarystructuresbecomingmore performance-based,criticalfunctions takingcentrestageandsupportfunc-tions witnessing marginal or no salary SudeShna daSSalary Survey electronics Industry Maintaining a vigilhas the current economic downturn affected the salaries in the Indian electronics industry? Where does it leave employees, as far as prospects of increments in april are concerned? While attempting to figure out the answers to these questions, we surmised that, though employee wages are under the highest scrutiny, its time to perform ones way to a healthy hike increase. This, however, should not be a cause of concern for the cream of the crop.AnEFYresearchbureausurvey of 105 frms suggests that the huge do-mestic need and savings-based econo-myofthecountryhelpposition electronicsasoneofthefew industries poised for mod-eratestaffinggrowth in2009inspiteofthe global slowdown. So job seekers in the In-dianelectronicsin-dustrymayheave a sigh of relief!The birds eye view Has recession hit In-dianelectronicspro-fessionals?Ofcourse ithas;thoughnotas dramaticallyasithasim-pactedprofessionalsinsome oftheothersectors.Asrecruitment budgetsarestretchedtighter,many organisationsareonthelookoutfor innovative and cost-effective ways for talent management. The cost head that hasrisenmostrapidlyintherecent years is the pay package. Hence, it is also the one that is being met with the highest level of scrutiny now.Thesurveyfoundthatapproxi-mately 18 per cent of current employ-ers in the industry planned to increase thenumberoffull-timeemployees intheirfrmswithinthefrstcouple ofquartersof2009,while67percent foresaw either no imminent change in the numbers or were unsure. Asexpected,costcuttingseemed tobehighonthe agendaof mostexecutives. Withrespecttohumanresource,this cost-consciousnessimpliesdoing more while paying less as companies raise the bar of expectation. They also hintedthatthetopmanagementwas takingasalarycuttohelpcompanies tide over.Though India is one of the highest paymasters in Asia, the same cannot be saidfortheelectronicsindustry,par-ticularly in the second half of the fscal year 2008-09. There is a salary freeze in mostcompanies.However,thesalary Others(Value-addedResellers)ConsumerElectronicsComputerHardwareCommunication& BroadcastingStrategic Electronics(Defence & Space)ComponentsIndustrialElectronics32%15%10%12%12%14%5%MethodologyTo assess compensation trends in the Indian electronics industry, EFYs research bureau collected data on salaries across a range of sectors and companies. The survey covered entry-levelprofessionals,withanaverage workexperienceof0-2years,totop-level executives with more than 10 years of work experience.Thesalarydatawascompiled from105companiesbelongingtothese sectors.Since salary data is confidential, names ofthecompanieshavenotbeenrevealed. Theindustryver ticalscoveredunder thesurveyareconsumerelectronics, industrialelectronics,computerhardware, communication and broadcasting, strategic electronics, components and other specific sectors.Informationwascollectedfrom small, medium as well as large companies. However, most of the responses came from medium-sized companies. The results of the analysis are presented here. Verticals surveyed44march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mEFYREPORTbracketformiddle-andsen-ior-levelmanagershasbeen adjusted.Thisindicatesthat companies are now gradually getting their middle-manage-ment strategy right and using salaryasatooltoretainem-ployeesforbetterleadership roles.Companiesseemto havebecomeselectiveabout thekindsofemployeesthey needtoretainandhaveac-cordingly adjusted the salary quotient.Thegrowthinan averagesalaryforagiven position has been nominal in fscal2008-09incomparison to the previous year. In some cases, frms, in fact, reported a decline in salary levels. Availability of surplus manpower as well as negligible profts due to economic sluggishness were the underlying reasons.expected pay packagePaypackagesofferedtoelectronics professionals are proportional to their experienceandhierarchy.Thesealso vary with the educational background oftheemployee,withdegreeholders attractinghighersalarylevelswithin thesamebandthandiplomaholders with similar experience.In fscal 2008-09, due to a dip in the average salary growth, entry-level em-ployeesmoreorlessremainedinthe same salary bands. Take the youngest group of employees, for instance, who have less than one year of experience; 68 per cent of this group continued to draw salaries under Rs 200,000 per an-num and 18 per cent stayed within the Rs200,000-Rs500,000bracket.Very fewfrmshiredfreshers,withmost, such as Cadence Design Systems, pro-viding free internships at best. However, at entry-level, candidates with less than two years of experience typically receive between Rs 100,000-Rs 500,000 per annum as CTC. Employees receiving Rs 200,000-Rs 500,000 per an-num get increments as their experience levels increase. In a few cases, the CTC Entry Level, Tier-I (0-1 year)Entry Level, Tier-II (1-2 years)Salary range in the unit of Rs 100,000Responses in %010203040506070807+ 5-7 2-5 1-2 0-11154868183210230Salary range in the unit of Rs 100,000Mid Level, Tier-I (2-5 year)Responses in %0102030405060708010+ 7-10 5-7 2-5 0-2Mid Level, Tier-II (5-10 years)8582133228102237Salary range in the unit of Rs 100,000Senior Level (More than 10 years)Responses in %0102030405060708020+ 15-20 10-15 7-10 0-7636212611WhaTS on offer?Salary range for entry level Salary range for mid level Salary range for senior levelhIke or freeze?Hike pattern for entry level Hike pattern for mid levelHike Pattern for Entry Level in %Fiscal 08-09Responses in %01020304050607080AmtUndecided20+ 16-20 11-15 6-10 1-5 0-Fiscal 07-0810011932263123121452820Hike Pattern for Mid Level in %Fiscal 08-09Responses in %01020304050607080AmtUndecided20+ 16-20 11-15 6-10 1-5 0-Fiscal 07-081008611131025400160710Techno-coMMercIal jobS gaIn favourHighest paying job functions Responses in %Fiscal 08-090 10 20 30 40 50Others*Sales & MarketingProductionAdministrativeR&DFiscal 07-08Highest Paying Job Functions*Other include HR and Finance33243718610412425electroni csforyoumarch200945 www. e f y ma g . c o mEFYREPORTmay even rise to anywhere between Rs 500,000-Rs 700,000 per annum, depend-ingonthecandidatesqualifcation, skill set, critical aspects of the job and payment practices of the company.Formid-levelemployeeswith around2-5yearsofexperience,the paypacketrangedfromRs200,000-Rs1millionwith34percent peoplereceivingmorethan Rs500,000ayear.Themost noticeableshiftintrendwas visibleinthegrouphaving overfveyearsofexperience. While57percentofthese senior employees drew above Rs 500,000ayear,22 percent ofemployeesmovedintothe Rs700,000-Rs1millionband versusthe10percentinthe 2-5yearsofworkexperience range.Thisisaclearindicatorofthe effortsmadebycompaniestoretain middle-management talent.However,thetrendchangedat theseniorlevel,whichcomprises employeeswithmorethantenyears ofexperience.Twenty-sixpercentof theseemployeesstayedintheRs1.5-2millionrange.Thistrend refected in the Rs 2 million+ salarybrackettoo.Thiswas indicativeofthedropin lateralhiring,especiallyfor higher roles. hike or freeze?Consideringthecurrentcir-cumstances,shouldtheem-ployeesexpectincrements inApril,oristhisword irrelevantintodayscon-text? Its a mixed bag for the industry.Althoughonly10 percentoftherespondents reportednohikeinthesurvey,only afewfrmslikeLGElectronicsIndia actually handed out a defnite amount toemployeesofalllevelsithanded outanaverageincrementof14per cent to its employees in January 2009. Most frms were not certain about the amount of increments they intended to dole out to staff. For instance, around 80 per cent frms have decided to limit the increment to 15 per cent; only 5 per cent have decided to provide a hike of morethan20percent.Thesceneisa daunting one if you compare itwithlastyears,when28 percentofthecompanies werereadytoprovidemore than21percenthikeforthe same level.Things, however, pan out differentlyatthemanagerial level with around 71 per cent oftherespondentsstating thatincrementsatthislevel were more closely associated withindividualperformanc-es.Insomecompanies,like A.V.Systems,top-levelex-ecutives voluntarily declined to accept pay hikes and even paidacutfromtheirbonusestohelp their frms stay afoat.Techno-commercial jobs gain favourThe existing human resource demand intheelectronicsindustrystemspri-marilyfromthejuniorandmiddle More flexIbIlITy?Flexible Work Options Responses in %Fiscal 08-090 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80NoYesFiscal 07-08Flexible Work Options33426758paTernITy leavePaternity Leave Option Paternity Leave Duration Responses in %Fiscal 08-090 20 40 60 80 10090+ Days30-90 Days15-30 DaysUpto 15 DaysFiscal 07-08Paternity Leave Duration131900068775Responses in %Fiscal 08-09010 20 30 40 50 60 70 80NoYesFiscal 07-08Paternity Leave Option37505063TrendS In TraInIngTraining ProvisionTraining Duration Responses in %Fiscal 08-090 20 40 60 80 100Unpaid TrainingPaid TrainingNoYesFiscal 07-08Training Provision98977838231262Responses in %Fiscal 08-090 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 8090+ Days30-90 Days15-30 DaysUpto 15 DaysFiscal 07-08Training Duration72215485033746march2009electroni csforyou www. e f y ma g . c o mEFYREPORTmanagementlevelsinsalesandmar-ketingfunctions.Giventhepresent economic scenario, frms have an acute focusonconceivingnewbusinessas wellascapitalisingoneverypossible salesopportunity.Thehighestpaid jobfunctioninanorganisation,once again, has corresponded with this new focus. Forty-one per cent of companies reportedsalesandmarketingasthe highestpaidfunctionintheirorgani-sations,comparedto24percentlast year(fscal2007-08)ahugeincrease of 17 per cent. Furthermore,new-ageemployers prefer to perceive prospective employ-eesascompletepackages,endowed withmorethanjustonespecifcskill. Eventherequirementsofatechnical job can no longer be satisfed solely by technical competencies; economic and businessprocessknowledgeaswell asrequisitesoftskillsareheralded ascardinal.Knowledgeofenterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, par-ticularlyinthefeldofsalesautoma-tion, is deemed nice-to-have.Surely,companiesworldwide arealsolookingforinnovativeprod-uctsaswellasnewbusinessmodels toestablishanicheforthemselves amidst the competitive clutter. In this context,researchanddevelopment (R&D) is turning out to be a key area where skilled professionals are getting rewardednowmorethanever.This is confrmed by Mr Basavaraj, manag-ing director of Neural Systems, when hesays,Inanutshell,itisanideal situation to invest in long-term plans emphasisingonR&DandIPwith adequate,talentedmanpower.This fscal,33percentoftherespondents identifed R&D as their highest paying function,whichis9percenthigher than last year.Amongthesub-segmentsofthe electronicsindustry,telecomisshow-ing the maximum promise of growth. It doesnt come as a surprise therefore thatR&Dandbusinessdevelopment activitiesinthissectorofferthehigh-est pay packets for almost all levels of employees.Training could be the keyA lull across the salary front could spell out an opportunity elsewhere. Accord-ingto98percentoftherespondents, improvementinstafftrainingisa valuablewayofproofngtheirbusi-nessesforthefuture.Infact,roughly 78 per cent of the surveyed frms pro-videdpaidtrainingsacrossalllevels toimproveinternaleffcienciesand processes, which is quite promising in comparison with the 38 per cent fgure for 2007-08.Apart from the usual expectations pertainingtoremuneration,thereis alsothedemandinsomequarters, especially from the design engineers, for a fexible work environment. Pres-ently,two-thirds(67percent)ofthe frms surveyed, supported alternative workschedulesorfexibletimings, alongwithcompressedhoursofthe weekworkforthesamenumberof hoursinlessernumberofdays.Last year,thefgurewas58percent.It clearlyindicatesthatfexibilityisa majorstrategyofthefrmstoretain key talent.Thescenariomaynotbesocoop-erative in matters like paternity leave. Thoughtheproportionoffrms(63 per cent) allowing paternity leave was higherthanlastyear(50percent), companies seemed to be getting strin-gent about the number of days leave is granted for. None of the frms allowed morethanonemonthofleave,with morefrms(12percenthigherthan 2007-08)stipulatingaround15days only.Tosumup,theelectronicsindus-tryinIndiaappearstobemarching rightahead,unfazedbytheturmoil around it. While talented individuals inothersectorsmaybestrugglingto fndsteppingstonesintimeswhen lay-offsandhiringfreezesarethe order of the day, the employees in the Indian electronics industry have more thanabrightchancetooverridethe recessionandkickstarttheircareers in this industry.The author is a research analyst cum journalist at EFYManufacture48March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o M Dr S.S. Verma FLeXIBLe CIrCUITS Circuits that stretch, fold or twist will improve numerous devices. One particular application is biomedical sensors that can be comfortably implanted in thehuman body shape, or to fex during its use. Developments so farThe original method for fexible CMOS circuitscompriseda2-to3-microme-trecircuitlayersittingatopaplastic substrateasmuchas100mthick. Itcouldcurvearoundasmallrollof coins.Butthenewversionhasatotal thicknessofonly1.7m,including the plastic, which gives it the ability to wrap around a rod whose diameter is roughly 85 m. In LCD fabrication, glass is used as thesubstrate.Ifathin,fexibleplastic or metallic foil is used instead of glass, the entire system can be fexible, as the flm deposited on top of the substrate isusu-allyverythin (of the order of a few micrometres). OLEDsarenormallyusedin-steadofabacklightforfexibledis-plays,makingaflexibleorganic light-emittingdiodedisplay.Flexible solarcellshavebeendevelopedfor poweringsatellites.Thesecellsare lightweight,canberolledupfor launchandareeasilydeployable, geTTIng BeTTerboards,isatechnologyforassem-blingelectroniccircuitsbymounting electronicdevicesonflexiblehigh-performanceplasticsubstrates,such as polyimide. Circuits can be designed inconfgurationsfromsimple,single-sidedconductivepathstocomplex, high-density,three-dimensionalas-sembliesutilisingavarietyoffabrica-tion materials from low-cost polyester tomid-rangePENtohigh-density adhesiveless polyimide Novaclad. Ad-ditionally,fexcircuitscanbescreen-printed silver circuits on polyester.Flexibleelectronicas-sembliesmaybe manufactured using the same com-ponents as used for rigid printed-circuit boards, allowing theboardtoconformtoadesired Electronics circuits till now are fab-ricated mostly on hard substrates. This rigidity imposes shape limi-tations for electronic equipment. Though miniaturisation of integrated circuits has helpedtoalargeextentingivingthe desiredshapetoelectronicequipment, muchmorecanbeachievedwiththe latest developments in the fabrication of fexible circuits.Flexiblecircuitryreducesthesize andweightofafnishedproduct.It allowsincreasedcircuitdensityand eliminatesbulkyconnectionsand wiring.Andtheaddedabilitytofold thecircuitexpandstheboundariesof design and packaging. The underlying technologyFlexibleelectronics,alsoknown asfexcircuits,orfexcircuit Manufacture50March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o Mwhichmakesthemagoodmatchfor the application.Bendable,twistableelectronic circuitswhoseperformancenearly matchesthatofconventionalCMOS chips,havebeenreported.These circuits,developedbyateamofre-searchersattheUniversityofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), are built fromribbonsofsilicononlyafew nanometres thick that are mounted on fexibleplasticsubstrates.Thesame group or researchers has developed an improved plastic circuit that is not only fexiblebutalsostretchableandfold-able. To make it foldable, they looked atthebehaviourofeverydayobjects and decided to make the circuit much thinner. Theresearchersmadeplasticcir-cuitsbytransferringthinribbonsof silicon onto glue-coated plastic using a patterned rubber stamp. But before the ultra-thin silicon layer is applied to the substrate, the plastic is heated, causing ittoexpand.Oncethecircuitlayeris depositedandchemicallybondedto theexpandedsubstrate,theplasticis allowed to cool and contract. Relaxing thestraincausesthecircuitlayerto buckleandformwavypatternslike thebellowsofanaccordion.Itsthe folds and wrinkles that give the circuit the ability to stretch and bend without breaking.Theresearcherssaidthatin laboratory tests, the circuits showed no signsoffatigueevenafterafewhun-dred stretch-and-release cycles. applications aboundFlexcircuitsareoftenusedascon-nectorsinvariousapplicationswhere fexibility, space savings or production constraintslimittheserviceabilityof rigidcircuitboardsorhandwiring. In addition to cameras, a common ap-plication of fex circuits is in computer keyboard manufacturing; today, most keyboardsuseflexcircuitsforthe switch matrix. Flexiblecircuitsareadvantageous in numerous applications: 1.Tightlyassembledelectronic packages, where electrical connections are required in three axes, such as cam-eras (static application) 2. Electrical connections where the assembly is required to fex during its normal use, such as folding cell phones (dynamic application) 3.Electricalconnectionsbetween sub-assembliestoreplacewirehar-nesses, which are heavier and bulkier, such as in rockets and satellites 4.Electricalconnectionswhere boardthicknessorspaceconstraints are driving factors Theresearchersareenteringinto partnerships with physicians for devel-opment of fexible biomedical devices thatcanbeimplantedinthehuman bodyinamorecomfortablemanner; forexample,animplantablesensor thatwillmonitorelectricalactivityin thebraintohelppredicttheonsetof epileptic seizures. The device may also work in reverse, sending electric pulses that head off the seizures. This requires adevicethatwillconformtotherip-pled geometry of the brain.TheauthorisfromDepartmentofPhysics, S.L.I.E.T.(deemedtobeuniversity),Longowal, District Sangrur (Punjab) cONSTRUcTION52March2009electroni csforyou www. e f y Ma g . c o MMobile phone ring tones sound likerealaudiorecordings. Itsnotbecauseoftheway themelodiesarecomposed,butthe protocolbehindplayingthemelody. Theringtonetexttransferlanguage (RTTTL)isbehindthosewonderful lullabies andsongs youhaveonyour mobile phone.Basically,aringtoneisthesound made by a mobile phone to indicate an incoming call or text message. Here we presentamicrocontroller-basedring tone generator. The basicsThe lowest resonant frequency of a vi-brating object is called its fundamental frequency. Most vibrating objects have more than one resonant frequency and thoseusedinmusicalinstruments typicallyvibrateatharmonicsofthe fundamental. A harmonic is defned as an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. A cylindrical air column with both ends open vibrates with a fundamental frequency.Eachendofthecolumn must be an antinode, with one node at thecentrefor the air motion. Thereforeif is the wave-lengthofthe soundpr o-ducedbyan opencylindri-cal air column, itslengthL1 will be: L1 = /2 (/4+ /4) SubhajiT Roy MicRoconTRolleR-baSed Ring Tone PlayeR sunil kumarSo =2L1Frequencyn1=V/(whereVis the velocity of sound)By putting the value of , we get:n1 = V/2L1If length is half, then: Frequency n2 = V/L1n1/n2 = (V/2L1) (L1/V) = 1/2or n1 = 2n2Thushalvingthelengthdoubles the frequency, i.e., frequency n1 is cre-ated with one octave higher (2n1).If the length is made quarter of the original,thefrequencybecomes4n1, i.e., two octaves higher.If n1 is octave 1, thenn2is octave2, then n3is octave3, and so on. If the length is doubled,thefre-quency is halved. Thatis,thefre-quencybecomes n1/2, which is one octave lower. Inmusic,fre-quency n1 is called a note.Thepitchofa pianokeyorguitar stringisdescribed by the note.Accordi ngt o musicalfrequency conventions,there aretwelvenotesin all,namely,A,A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G and G#, where #si

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