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THE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR ELECTRONICS AND COMPU-ER SERVICING

G1E01'11011'0Servicing & Technolocy April 1997

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THE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER SERVICING

LECTIMINGServicing & Technology

Contents

FEATURES6 Computer software for service

center managementBy The ES&T StaffUsing computer software to help runyour service center can make anyowner's life a little easier. This arti-cle contains a list of companies thatprovide just the type of software youmay be looking for, for your servicecenter needs.

10 Seeing the lightBy The ES&T StaffProviding enough light to performtasks such as consumer electronicsrepair is very important. So anythinga service manager can do to bright-en up a workplace will have positiveeffects on the employees.

16 ConvergenceBy Hulon ForresterWhen a yoke is transferred from anold tube to a new one, getting theyoke to work isn't the problem. Theproblem is getting the beams to worktogether to produce a clear color pic-ture. This is called convergence.

64 Noise tests and measurementsBy Alvin G. SydnorThe purpose of this article is to shedsome practical light on the generalsubject of noise and noise tests inelectronic systems.

ADVERTISINGSUPPLEMENT24 Distributor Showcase

A distributorship is the place wherethe service center buys the products;replacement parts, consumables, testequipment and other materials that itneeds to complete a repair and get theproduct back to the customer. Thisshowcase is written by distribu-tors, and features descriptions onwhat their business is about. Use thisshowcase to help you make a knowl-edgeable decision when it comes topicking a distributor.

DEPARTMENTS2 Editorial

4 News

13 What Do You Know AboutElectronics?Lightning, batteries and some star-tling numbers.

33 Profax

63 Literature

67 Calendar of Events

67 Test Your Electronics KnowledgeA mixed bag.

70 Classified/Reader's Exchange

72 Advertisers' Index

ON THE COVER

How do you find a distributor who can provide the products you need, when youneed them, reasonably priced and without charging outrageous shipping charges?Call or write to several and ask. One way to get started is to peruse the Distributors'Showcase in this issue. (Photo courtesy of Thomson Consumer Electronics.)

Volume 17, No. 4 April 1997

page III

page 16

page 24

April 1997 Electronic Servicing & Technology 1

-EDITORIAL

NationalTechniciansDay

Congratulations to all technicianson National Technicians Day,April 22. For more information

on what that's all about, take a look at thenews item in this issue titled "Electronictechnicians cited."

Technicians are the highly trainedindividuals who keep the high-tech prod-ucts that the developed world has cometo depend on operating. And techniciansdefinitely deserve recognition.

Actually, most people hold techni-cians in quite high regard anyway. Afterall, technicians can repair their TVs,VCRs, camcorders, microwave ovensand any other complex product that con-sumers find hard to even operate. In fact,in the last couple of years, a surveyshowed that the average person has con-siderable regard for the competence oftechnicians.

Do you ever wonder, then, why it isthat consumer electronics servicing,while respected in general, seems tocome in for a disproportionate share ofdisrespect. You know what I mean. Howoften do we see the local TV consumeradvocate reporter do a report on con-sumer electronics service "ripoffs."

You're familiar with the script. You'veseen it many times before. The stationrigs a TV or a VCR, or whatever, with afault, maybe just a blown fuse, and bringsit in to several service centers. Of course,a number of the service centers can'tresist the temptation to pad the bill justa little, or even rob the customer blind.

Well, we all hate those crooks whogive the majority of service centers a badname. And it's helpful to consumers tohave them exposed in reports like this.The reporters often do try to be evenhanded. They may tell the audience thatmany of the businesses to which theybrought in the "defective" product foundthe problem quickly and repaired it rea-sonably. The effect of the program, how-ever, is to instill mistrust in an entireindustry.

And it doesn't help that occasionallythe reporters give especially high marksto a service center that has found that "it'sonly a fuse," and says "no charge." Those

guys are heroes, says the reporter.Well, when was the last time you

walked into your doctor's office becauseyou had a minor temperature or ache orpain, and he examined you and said "justa minor infection. Here's some aspirin.No charge." That's what I thought.

If a service center takes in a product,makes out paperwork, performs a diag-nosis on a product, even if there's noth-ing wrong with it, they should receivepayment. Every time. They're profes-sional, and their time is worth money.

If you think about it, other professionsare guilty of far worse excesses and don'tseem to suffer the stigma that consumerelectronics sometimes does. For exam-ple, Reader's Digest recently publisheda scathing report on some dentists whocharge not ten or twenty dollars toomuch, but tens of thousands of dollarsfor restorations, crowns, etc. Per patient.Yet most people to hold dentists in highregard.

There have been scandals in the med-ical profession, the legal profession,stock brokers, auto rental companies.The list goes on and on. And yet, mostpeople continue to hold those profes-sions and businesses in at least relative-ly high regard. Why? It's a least in partbecause they act professional and busi-nesslike. They wear suits, or uniforms,they have businesslike places of busi-ness. And because they act professionaland businesslike, we treat them as such.

Many consumer electronics servicecenters conduct business in a very pro-fessional way. And they know what it'slike to be treated with respect. Unfortun-ately, many service centers project an im-age that is less than professional.

As we celebrate National TechniciansDay, we should all resolve to do what-ever it takes to become more profes-sional, to project a more professionalimage, and work together to enhance theimage of consumer electronics service inthe eyes of the public.

°salt C,4)2 Electronic Servicing & Technology April 1997

1111111111111111111111RIE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR ELECTRON,

ROOServicing & Technology

rnenicElectronic Servicing & Technology is edited for ser-vicing professionals who service consumer elec-tronics equipment. This includes service technicians.field service personnel and avid servicing enthusi-asts who repair and maintain audio, video, comput-er and other consumer electronics equipment.

EDITORIALNils Conrad Persson, Editor(Internet e-mail: cpersedit@aotcom)Kirstie A. Wickham. Associate Editor(Internet e-mail: kirstieest@aolcom)Richard S. Moseson. NW2L. On -Line Coordinator

CONSULTING EDITORSHomer L.Davidson, TV Servicing ConsultantVictor Meeldijk, Components ConsultantJohn E. Shepler, Audio ConsultantSam Wilson, Electronics Theory Consultant

PRODUCTIONElizabeth Ryan, Art DirectorBarbara McGowan, Associate Art DirectorEdmond Pesonen, Electronic Composition Mgr.Dorothy Kehrwieder, Production ManagerEmily Kreutz. Assistant Production ManagerPat Le Blanc. Phototypographer

BUSINESSRichard A. Ross, PublisherDiane G. Klusner, Associate Publisher(Internet e-mail: dianekest@aolcom)Frank V. Fuzia. ControllerCatherine Ross, Circulation ManagerMelissa Nitschke, Operations ManagerJean Sawchuk, Data ProcessingDenise Pyne. Customer Service

SALES OFFICEElectronic Servicing & Technology76 N. Broadway, Hicksville, NY 11801516-681-2922; FAX 516-681-2926

Diane G. Klusner, Director of AdvertisingEmily Kreutz. Sales Assistant

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE:P.O. Box 12487Overland Park, KS 66212913-492-4857

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Electronic Servicing & Technology (ISSN 0278-9922) ispublished 13 times a year by CO Communications, Inc.76 N. Broadway, Hicksville, NY 11801. Telephone (516)681-2922. Periodical class postage paid at Hicksville, NYand additional offices. Subscription prices (payable in USdollars only): Domestic-one year $24.75, two years$45. Canadian-one year $34.95, two years $65.40.Foreign Air Post-one year $42.75, two years $80.75.Entire contents copyright 1997 by CO Communi-cations, Inc. Electronic Servicing & Technology or COCommunications. Inc. assumes no responsibility forunsolicited manuscripts. Allow six weeks for delivery offirst issue and for change of address.Printed in the United States of America.Postmaster: Please send change of address notice toElectronic Servicing & Technology. 76 N. Broadway.Hicksville, NY 11801.

CO Communications. Inc. is publisher of CO The RadioAmateur's Journal, Popular Communications, CO RadioAmateur (Spanish CO). CO VHF. CO Contest, andElectronic Servicing & Technology.

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-4/1/1--N E WS /OPElectronics technicians cited

Electronics Technicians will receiverecognition on April 22, 1997, with thecelebration of National Technicians Day.This day recognizes the high standards ofperformance and excellence maintainedby professional technicians. TheCertified Electronics Technician (CET)program, now in its 32nd year of recog-nizing the professional capabilities ofelectronics technicians, is overseen by theInternational Society of CertifiedElectronics Technicians (ISCET).

National Technicians Day, April 22,1997, has been set aside as a NationalTesting Day for certification. Many of thevolunteer corps of ISCET test adminis-trators are planning to use "T -Day" toencourage electronics and appliancetechnicians to demonstrate their expertiseby taking the Certified ElectronicsTechnician, Certified ApplianceTechnician, or any one of a number ofFederal Communication Commission(FCC) exams.

By the end of 1996, over 42,000 elec-tronics technicians and nearly 200 appli-ance technicians has been certifiedthrough ISCET in all 50 states, and in 37territories and foreign countries.

Certification is now offered in the con-sumer, audio, video, industrial, commu-nication, computer, radar, and medicalelectronics fields plus the appliance pro-gram. Added this year for the first timeare exam endorsements, which are tech-nology specific additions for technicianswho already hold Journeyman CET cer-tificates. The first endorsements ap-proved are VCR and Camera, Camcorderand 8mm. Future endorsement examina-tions will include Computer Monitors,Audio Systems, Cellular Radio, Com-puter Networking, and Industrial Robots.

Each year, over 6,000 exams are takenby technicians, but only about 40% pass.The demanding criteria for certificationrequire technicians to be knowledgeablein both fundamental electronics and themore advanced theory applicable to theirspecialty fields. Appliance techniciansare required to know electrical circuitsand components, refrigeration systems,laundry, cooking, and dishwashing

equipment, and have a basic knowledgeof microwave cooking.

In addition to the CET and CAT exams,ISCET Test Administrators proctoredabout 1,200 examinations for FCC Li-censes including General Radiotele-phone, Radiotelegraph, GMDSS Opera-tor and Maintainer, and Radar.

For more information on ISCET andthe CET program, contact ISCET Head-quarters, 2708 W. Berry, Fort Worth, TX76109. 817-921-9101, Fax: 800-946-0201 or 817-921-0142, or send E-mail to:iscetFW @aol.com.

CEMA survey shows increasedconsumer interest in RDS featuresA recent survey by the Consumer

Electronics Manufacturers Association(CEMA) shows that consumers think thesafety features that a Radio Data System(RDS) car radio offers are highly desir-able. In an identical telephone surveygiven to 400 randomly chosen consumersin the state of Florida and to 400 randomlychosen consumers from around the coun-try, almost half of the consumers sur-veyed were interested in receiving theEmergency Broadcast System alert andautomatic traffic and emergency newswith an RDS car radio.

RDS provides a digitally encodedstream of information that FM broad-casters "piggyback" on their normal radiosignals. That stream of information en-ables a wide range of new capabilities forthe conventional home and car radio.RDS radios allow listeners to see the callletters of the station; tune by program for-mat (e.g. top 40, sports, country, etc.);view song titles and artist names; and heartraffic emergency alerts automaticallyamong other features.

Automatic searching for format andfavorite stations were top choices amongrespondents. One-third were interested inthe Program Type Category (PTY) fea-ture that allows RDS radio to search forradio stations by format, and one-fourthwere interested in the AlternateFrequency (AF) feature that permits auto-matic re -tuning of the radio to the nextstrongest signal carrying the same pro-gram when traveling in fringe reception

areas. For example, National Public Ra-dio (NPR) could be received throughoutthe country without having to retune theradio during travel.

The survey was formulated by EIAMarket Research Staff and fielded by theVerity Group of Fullerton, CA during themonth of March 1996. All results have amargin error of +/-4 percentage points.

The Consumer Electronics Manufac-turers Association (CEMA) is a sector ofthe Electronic Industries Association(EIA), the 72 -year -old Arlington, Vir-ginia -based trade association represent-ing all facets of electronics manufactur-ing. CEMA is the new name of EIA'sConsumer Electronics Group (CEG).

Video sales finish 1996 with aflourish; projection TVs, VCRs and

camcorders set all-time recordsLed by large -screen televisions - both

direct -view and projection models - salesof most consumer video products showedrenewed strength in December, the Con-sumer Electronics Manufacturers Asso-ciation (CEMA) reported today.

More impressively, the industry closedout 1996 with record -breaking unit salestotals in three major categories: projec-tion television, videocassette recordersand camcorders. Overall, more than 44million pieces of video hardware weresold to U.S. dealers last year.

Reflecting the growing popularity ofhome theater, sales of direct -view TVsmeasuring 30 inches and larger jumped22 percent in 1996, while those 25 inch-es and above advanced 6 percent. At thesame time, projection TVs grew 8 percentto 887,000 units. December sales ofdirect -view TVs increased 12 percent, ascompared with December 1995.

Reacting to the December and year-endresults, Guy Johnson, senior vice presi-dent of Thomson Consumer Electronics,said that it is a measure of our industry'sstrength that in an otherwise undistin-guished year, we managed to set a host ofnew sales records. And with a number ofinnovations on the way, including newdigital products, there is every reason tobe upbeat about the video future.

(Continued on page 68)

4 Electronic Servicing & Technology April 1997

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Computer software for servicecenter managementBy the ES&T Staff

Whether they own a computer ornot, every service center has adatabase of some kind. For

some service centers, the database maybe a filing cabinet in which there's a filefolder for every customer who has usedtheir services during the past severalyears. The folders, usually arranged inalphabetical order by the customer's last

name, might contain a customer contactsheet with name, address, telephone num-ber and possibly some other informationsuch as age, preferences, types of con-sumer electronics products owned, etc.

In other service centers, some of thatinformation might be distilled into a 3 by5 card file that contains only customername, address and telephone number and

a brief notation to provide service centerpersonnel with a few details about thecustomers. Still other service centers mayuse something like a Rolodex file.

Forms, forms, formsMost service centers need another data-

base of sorts. When a customer brings in

Service management software providers

Anatek CorporationPO Box 1200100 Merrimack RoadAmherst, NH 03031603-673-4342800-999-0304Fax: 603-673-5374

ASTEA International, Inc.100 Highpoint DriveChalfont, PA 18914215-822-8888

A -Tech Electronics198 Lincoln Highway #5Fairless Hills, PA 19037215-949-0400Fax: 215-949-0403

Automated Systems, Inc.4827 Pioneer Blvd. Suite 100Lincoln, NE 68506402-489-2717800-279-7312Fax: 402-489-2370

BGI Company, Inc. "AutoTech"50509 Hollyhock RoadSouth Bend, IN 46637219-277-8762Fax: 219-277-8762

Cahill Electronics160 Main StreetPO Box 568Kingston, NH 03848603-642-4292Fax: 603-642-7941

Computer Transaction Systems15 Bayview StreetPO Box 56North Weymouth, MA 02191617-331-6968800-331-6968Fax: 617-331-6969E -Mail: [email protected]

Core Software26303 Oak Ridge DriveSpring, TX 77380-1918713-292-2177Fax: 713-298-1492Web site: http://www.corwsoftware.com

Creative Logics Corporation1100 Jorie Blvd. Suite 221Oak Brook, IL 60521630-574-9025888-564-4737Fax: 630-574-9026E-mail: 75343,[email protected]

Custom Data Associates2535 Putty Hill AvenueBaltimore, MD 21234-4307410-668-9594800-451-0137Fax: 410-661-3942

Data -Basics Inc.9450 Midwest AvenueGarfield Heights, OH 44125216-663-5600800-837-7574Fax: 216-663-5454

DataBasic120 Judd StreetBristol, CT 06010800-967-5924

DAYTA-COPO Box 30191Mesa, AZ 85275602-835-2243Fax: 602-835-2243

Electronic Parts Supply4071 Emery StreetEmeryville, CA 94608510-420-1040800-227-0104Fax: 510-420-0812E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.gen.com/wondarl

Electronic Software Developers826 South Main StreetSouth Farmingdale, NY 11735-4152516-221-6403800-621-8477 (TIPS)E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.pa.net/vcrtips

Electronix Corp.313 West Main StreetFairborn, OH 45324-5036513-878-1828800-223-3205Fax: 513-878-1972E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.electronix.com


a product for service, some kind of track-ing form is attached to the product so thatits owner can be readily determined andperhaps the owner's description of thesymptoms might be included, the cus-tomer is issued a claim check, and a formis generated for the customer service staffso that they can keep track of it.

The problems with manual databasesThere are a number of problems with

manual databases. For one, every time anew form or portion thereof is generated,the information has to be manually en-tered again. Of course, carbon copies canimprove this situation, but carbons tendto be messy and they're not always easyto read. Moreover, any time a procedureis completed on the product, from initialdiagnosis to ordering of parts, to comple-tion of service and performing of the oper-ational tests, no one in the service centerwill be aware of the status of the productexcept the technician. That is unless anelaborate, and perhaps cumbersome, pro-cedure has been established such thateach location reports to a central locationeach time there is a change in status.

If such a procedure does not exist in agiven service center, then any time a cus-

tomer calls in to determine the status ofrepair of his product, the customer serviceperson has to check with the technician,via intercom or in person, thus disruptingthe flow of the work of both the techni-cian and the customer service function.

There is a better wayMany service centers still reject com-

puters. They simply feel that computersare an unnecessary product that theywould have to learn about and pay goodmoney for, for no reason. After all, theycan continue to do things the old fash-ioned, manual, way. And of course theycan. But a computer can certainly makeall of that work of writing out paperwork,retrieving data and generating reports awhole lot easier.

In fact, service management softwareis possibly the best argument for a servicecenter to buy a computer. And the bestthing about the software out today is thatit really doesn't require that the user knowanything about computers. They simplyhave to learn how to use the software.

But even that statement is somewhatmisleading. Many, if not most, of the ser-vice center management software pack-ages available use methods and proce-

dures that make using them as simple, oreven more so, than using their paperequivalent. And they make all of thepaperwork chores associated with con-sumer electronics service so much easierthan doing the same things on paper.

Tracking a setHere's a typical transaction using one

type of software on a networked system.A customer walks in with a VCR. Thecustomer service person asks if the cus-tomer has done business with the servicecenter before. If the answer is no, thecounter person asks for and keys in name,address and telephone number, etc. If thecustomer has done business there before,the customer service person asks for thecustomer's telephone number and keythatnumber in. The data for that person;name, address, telephone number, etc.,will appear on the screen.

At this point the information on the set:brand, model number, chassis number,screen size, complaint, etc. is then keyedin. Any other pertinent data such as theamount of deposit and the promised com-pletion date are also entered.

At this point, the computer prints out a

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EURAS USA, Inc.501 Sycamore Street, Ste. 300Waterloo, IA 50703-4643319-236-2000800-453-8727Fax: 319-236-2020

Foley-Belsaw6301 Equitable RoadKansas City, MO 64120-1395816-483-2700800-821-3452Fax: 816-483-5010E -Mail: [email protected] site: http://www.foley-belsaw.com

Good-Lyddon Data Systems6879 Sard StreetRancho Cucamonga, CA 91701909-980-4563E-mail: [email protected]

Higher Intelligence Software60 Farmington LaneMelville, NY 11747-4019516-643-7740800-215-5081

Magic Solutions, Inc.180 Franklin TurnpikeMahwah, NJ 07430201-529-5533Fax: 201-529-2955

MaxServe, Inc.8317 Cross Park DriveAustin, TX 78754512-834-8341Fax: 512-834-1137

Merlin Software15735 Barranca Pkwy Ste B108Irvine, CA 92618714-453-9563Fax: 714-753-0501E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.merlinsoft/merlin

Metrix Inc.20975 Swenson DriveWaukesha, WI 53186414-798-8560800-543-2130Fax: 414-798-8573

NESDA2708 W. BerryFort Worth, TX 76109-2356817-921-9061Fax: 817-921-3741

PD Software7320 Louetta RoadSpring, TX 77379281-370-0600Fax: 281-251-9300E-mail: [email protected] site:

http://www.infohwy.com/-pallen

Philips Software DevelopmentPO Box 555Jefferson City, TN 37760-0555423-475-0044Fax: 423-475-0038

Plaza Distributing13268 66th Street N.Largo, FL 34643813-531-5484800-531-5484Fax: 813-530-1821

RAM Software Enterprises3434 Bren Lee CourtIndianapolis, IN 46227-7905317-881-0690

Sage Data SystemsDivision of America West C&E1900 Elk StreetRock Springs, WY 82901-4005307-382-5663800-542-9378Fax: 307-382-7323

SBS Direct123 NW 13th Street, Ste 213Boca Raton, FL 33432561-394-8771800-603-9000Fax: 561-361-9774E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.sbsdirect.com

Sencore Electronics3200 Sencore DriveSioux Falls, SD 57107605-339-0100800-SENCOREFax: 605-339-0317

Service Management Software931 Sunset BoulevardWest Columbia, SC 29169803-791-5860Fax: 803-791-8521

ServiceWare Corporation200 Montcalm Suite R8Hull, PQ J8Y 3B5819-770-4000Fax: 819-770-1795E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.servcieware.ca

Servicing Systems132 Lamplighter DriveManchester, CT 06040860-647-9124Fax: 860-647-9124E-mail: 72570,[email protected]

Sirius Software Inc.345 West Second Street, Ste. 201Dayton, OH 45402-1443937-228-4849800-788-4849Fax: 937-228-1159E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.siriusacct.com

DW Smith & Associates2929 Campus Drive Ste. 200San Mateo, CA 94403415-349-7725Fax: 415-349-5693

SyncPulse SoftwarePO Box 4503Sunland, CA 91041818-353-9595Fax: 818-353-7016E-mail:

102654,[email protected]

TV Man Tech Tips Inc.8614 State Road 84Fort Lauderdale, FL 33324954-723-1977800-474-3588

Warrantech Corp.300 Atlantic StreetStamford, CT 06901203-975-1100800-544-9510

claim check and inventory tag to be at-tached to the set. If the system has thecapability, these documents may be barcoded for simplified data entry when thestatus of the set is updated.

8 Electronic Servicing & Technology

During the service process, pertinentupdate information is entered into thecomputer network; such things as thename of the technician assigned to theproduct, trouble found, parts that need to

April 1997

be ordered, location of the set if it has tobe temporarily stored, etc.

If the customer calls to ask about theprogress of the VCR, customer serviceonly has to enter the individual's tele-

phone number into the computer and theappropriate information appears on thescreen, as if by magic.

When the repair is complete, the totallabor and parts, as well as any miscellane-ous materials charges are entered into thecomputer, the invoice is prepared, and theowner of the product is notified.

Sharing informationDepending on the particular software

package, the service center may be ableto do a lot of other things with the infor-mation available. If, for example, the re-placement parts and service informationinventory are also on the network, whenthe service technician needs to select theservice information he checks the com-puter to see where it is. If another techni-cian is already using it, that informationwill be displayed. If the service literatureis on file, when the technician takes it outof storage he makes the appropriate entryand every one in the service center knowswhere that literature is.

If the technician uses a part from inven-tory to perform this repair, the inventoryis updated to show the new correct num-ber of parts, and if the stocking level hasreached the reorded trigger point, the part

can be placed on order.Other features

If the software is properly equipped, allof the financial information can beaccessed and brought into the accountingsystem, without the need to re-enter thedata. If the program has an electronic fil-ing option, the appropriate warrantyinformation can be transmitted directly,electronically to the manufacturer.

Which one?Service management software pro-

grams range in price from a few hundreddollars to several thousand dollars. It'simpossible without a thorough study todetermine which one is the best for a par-ticular service center. The one with thelargest price tag is not necessarily themost full -featured or useful. The onlyway to determine which would be the bestfor your purposes would be to try sever-al that seem to be in line with your needsand find out which one will do the job.

Most service management softwarecompanies offer demo programs, some ofwhich are actually fully featured versions,but limit the number of records that canbe entered to ten or twenty. Experiment-ing with several of these demos will give

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you a chance to determine if one of themwill work for your service center.

Be sure to try all of the features andmake sure it will do everything you needit to do. One service center owner withwhom we've spoken has a wonderfullyuseful program for managing his servicecenter, but it won't interface with hisaccounting system, so every month hisclerical personnel have to manually trans-port all or part of the financial data to theaccounting system. That's an unfortunatewaste of time when it really should bepossible to achieve that interface withanother program.

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Circle (83) on Reply Card Circle (65) on Reply CardApril 1997 Electronic Servicing & Technology 9

Seeing the lightBy The ES&T Staff

Lighting is one of those things thatmost of us take for granted, yet it'sone of the most important things

in our lives. If the day is bright and sunny,it usually buoys our spirits. Given a drea-ry day, on the other hand, most of us can'thelp but feel down in the dumps.

In fact, light is so important to humans,that some people when the weather isdark, are afflicted by a malady called sea-sonal affective disorder (SAD), in whichthey become depressed. The only knownremedy is to sit in bright lights for up toan hour at a time to straighten out what-ever it is in their bodies that requires light.

SeeingBut in addition to being so important,

in general, to humans, it's also, of course,very important when we perform any kindof task, whether it be reading, tying flies,building a piece of furniture, sewing ortrying to solder or desolder a surface -mount component.

Imagine trying to do any of those tasksin total darkness. Of course, it's impossi-ble. Now imagine trying to do any one ofthose tasks in bright sunlight. That wouldbe blinding and painful. Somewhere be-tween the two extremes there's a properamount of light for performing any ofthose difficult visual tasks.

Task lightingOf course, it might be possible to pro-

vide enough light for any task by in-stalling enough ceiling mounted light fix-tures. But there would have to be a lot oflights, at a fairly high brightness level.That would mean that the cost of in-stalling those lights would be quite high.And the cost of electricity to operate themwould be prohibitive. And you'd proba-bly wind up with unacceptable shadowson the work anyway.

The answer to obtaining proper light-ing levels in the service center is to use acombination of good ambient light withadditional task lighting at each work sta-tion. Task lighting refers to any lightsource designed specifically to directlight onto some task performed by a per -

Powerful 18 -wattcompact fluorescentbulb gives light outputequal to a 75 -wattincandescent blu b.

son or machine. Task lighting can in-crease productivity improve viewingcomfort, give greater control of individ-ual lighting levels and save energy.

Task lighting and productivityA recent study by the American Society

of Interior Designers found that poorlighting and eyestrain are the most fre-quent office worker complaints. We mustbe comfortable to maintain productivityover the course of a day. There are alreadyenough demands and distractions thatcompete for our energy and concentra-tion. Straining to see should not be one ofthem. Seeing should be effortless and

automatic. We spend a great deal of timeand money trying to make ourselves morecomfortable so that we can be more effi-cient and productive. Yet frequently, weneglect a simple and inexpensive solu-tion: a task light.

Advantages of an adjustable -armtask light

A good way to provide task lighting isto use a light with an adjustable arm forpersonal control. This allows the user toadjust the level of light for individualviewing comfort.

People's postures change during theday. Our tasks vary to some degree. If we


have windows, light in the room changesfrom morning to evening. In response tothese changing conditions, we need to beable to adjust the lighting levels directedon our work in order to maintain maxi-mum performance. Task lighting allowsus to correctly position the angle of lightto eliminate glare and veiling reflections.

MagnificationIs it a good idea to have task lighting,

even if the work station is provided withmagnification? The answer to that is yes.Magnification is only half of the solutionfor achieving good vision. Proper light-ing is of equal importance. Take an ex-treme example. How much good wouldmagnification do in the dark? Not much.The benefits derived from visual aidssuch as magnifiers and prescription glass-es are entirely dependent upon the light-ing conditions in which they are used.Proper task lighting allows us to get themaximum benefit from a visual aid, andmay even allow for reduced magnifica-tion. Increasing the amount of light(brightness) directed onto a task will helpcompensate for small print size or poorcontrast. Examples of poor contrast in-clude faded print on white paper, or darkprint on a dark background.

The older we get, the more lightwe need

It's unfortunate, but true, the older weget, the more light we need to see. Re-search indicates that people in their 60'sneed 80% more light for reading than peo-ple in their 20's. This increased need forlight is due to a number of biological factsin the aging process.

For example, the muscle in the eyecalled the iris, expands and contracts tocontrol the amount of light entering oureye. As with all our muscles, the iris losessome of its flexibility in the aging process,and doesn't open as wide. Therefore,more light is needed to compensate forthe reduced ability of the iris to open wide.

Energy and economic considerationsInstead of trying to maintain proper

lighting levels on desktops from overheadfixtures, task lights can do a better jobwhile using less energy. A task light usingthe new 13W compact fluorescent lampwill consume far less energy than a typi-cal overhead lighting fixture. A work en-vironment can maintain lower levels of

Common diopter/power relationships: diopters / 4 = powerDiopter Power % Bigger than Object Focal Length in Inches

3 0.75X 75% 13

5 I.25X 125% 8

8 2.00X 200% 5

11 2.75X 275% 3.7513 3.25X 325% 3

16 4.00X 400% 2.5

Figure 1. The relationships between diopters, power, apparent size of the object magnified andfocal length of the lens are shown here.

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Circle (69) on Reply Card


overhead lighting by illuminating desk-tops with energy -efficient task lights. Inaddition, maintenance and bulb replace-ment costs are less with task lighting.

Experts tell us that with the use of ener-gy -efficient lighting technologies, we canreduce electrical use for lighting by 50percent. This reduction would save over$20 billion annually and decrease powerplant pollutants by millions of tons.

Illuminated magnification?Illuminated magnification is the com-

bination of a magnifying lens with a lightsource. There is a wide variety in the typeand quality of both the magnifying lensand light source. Magnifying lenses comein numerous sizes and powers, with somehaving less distortion than others. Lightsources range from poor quality penlighttypes to those designed to provide the bestillumination for the magnifying lens.

Proper lighting is as important as mag-nification in achieving good viewing. Amagnifying lens would be useless in thedark, so increasing light levels results inbetter vision. The better the quality oflight used with a magnifying lens, the lessmagnification is needed. When less mag-

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12 Electronic Servicing & Technology

nification power is required, you can seea larger area under the lens. You also havemore working distance between the lensand the object you are examining.

I get by now-why would I need anilluminated magnifier?

You are able to get by, but that's notgood enough. It is frustrating to have dif-ficulty seeing details or to quit activitiesbecause you cannot see well enough.Proper lighting plus magnification helpsyou see the small details. You can readand work for longer periods with less eye-strain and fatigue. You may be lessdrowsy because you don't have to con-centrate so hard on trying to see. Ac-tivities can be fun again!

Will I need my glasses with anilluminated magnifier? Absolutely!An illuminated magnifier is not a sub-

stitute for your glasses. It is another toolto help you see better. In most cases, theadditional light and magnification pro-vide a tremendous boost to your glasses.Some vision problems can be helpedmore than others. However, there aresome serious vision problems that will notimprove with more light and magnifica-tion. The only way to find out how muchyour vision will be helped from an illu-minated magnifier is to try one.

Why is hands -free viewing easier?It is much easier to have both hands free

to grasp an object and not worry aboutholding a magnifier or light. When usingan illuminated magnifier mounted on anadjustable -arm, you are able to hold afully spread newspaper with both hands.When your task requires working withboth hands, it is essential that the magni-fier be mounted on an adjustable -arm forhands -free viewing.

What is the price of an illuminatedmagnifier?

The price varies depending upon thetype of light, magnification, and mount-ing options. The most popular models andoptions cost about the same as a good pairof prescription eye glasses.

What is a diopter?Diopter refers to the curvature of a lens.

As the diopter increases, the lens becomesthicker and the curvature greater. As thecurvature increases, light rays are redi-

J rected to fill a greater portion of the per -April 1997

son's retina which makes the object lookbigger. Higher diopter lenses have greatermagnification power.

What is power?Power refers to how much larger an

object is made to look through a magni-fying lens. Power is typically indicated byan X; such as 2X or 4X. The relationshipbetween diopters and power is: dioptersdivided by 4 equals power. For example,an 8 diopter lens would make an objectlook two times bigger, over and abovewhat the unaided eye already sees (8diopters / 4 = 2X power). See Figure 1 forthe relationship between diopters andpower.

What is focal length?Focal length is the distance from the

center of a lens to the point where the lightrays converge and the object is in optimalfocus (focal point). This is also known asthe working distance of the lens. Focallength is important when the task requiresusing tools with the object being viewed.Because focal length of a lens decreasesas power increases, there is less room toperform work on an object under higherpower magnification lenses.

What is field of view?The field of view is the size of the mag-

nified area that is in focus under the lens.The field of view decreases as power in-creases. More powerful lenses makesmall details look big, but less of the totalobject is visible. There is a trade-off forthe person who must decide between thesize of the field of view and the amountof magnification (see below).

Good lighting helps keep workershappy

The information above on providingenough light to perform tasks adequatelyis certainly important. But ambient lightprovided by ceiling fixtures, wallsconces, etc., are also important. Servicecenters tend to be pretty much gray witha smattering of browns and other dull col-ors of the products waiting to be serviced.Anything the service manager can do toimprove the lighting and brighten up thesurroundings are sure to result in happiertechnicians and better productivity.

This article was adapted from techni-cal information provided by DazorLighting (http:11www.dazorcom)

What Do You Know About Electronics?

Lightning, batteries and somestartling numbersBy J.A. Sam Wilson

Here comes the summer, and there-fore, here come the tornados.Right? Well. not exactly. In some

parts of the lower 48 states tornados canoccur at any time of the year, summer orwinter. (Florida is an example.)

Some number of years ago the NationalElectronics Associations (NEA) distrib-uted literature that explained ways of de-tecting tornados by watching the televi-sion screen. It was a member benefit.

Maybe this is a good place to stop andremind you that both ISCET and ETA areworth joining. There are many, many ben-efits. Before you write and tell me youdon't have enough money to join both, letme say this: Quit smoking! That will saveyou the money you need to join bothISCET AND ETA!

Anyway, I am going to reprint the tor-nado thing here.

Protecting yourself from lightningTornados are spawned by severe thun-

derstorms, and they are only one of thethunderstorm hazards. Lightning is theworst killer. Stay indoors and away fromelectrical appliances while the storm isoverhead. If lightning catches you out-side, keep yourself lower than, and at aconsiderable distance from, the nearesthigh, conductive object.

I'm going to stop here and repeat somegood advice I've put in this column be-fore. Don't lie flat on the ground! Doingso will ground all of your body. Get downon the heels of your hands and your kneesonly. Stretch out as far as you can, thatreduces the parts of the body that aregrounded. While you are in that positionyou might throw in a little prayer for addi-tional protection.

Wilson is the electronics theory consulatnt for ES&I

TYPE TERMINALVOLTAGE

Leclanche (Carbon Zinc) 1.53VNickel CadniumMercuryAlkaline

1.5V

1.35V1.52V

AMPERE -HOURCAPACITY (MAX)

0.3 ah10.2 ah10.0 ah2.5 ah

COST OFCELL SIZE D

$0.26$2.27$0.72$0.58

Table 1. Vol -age. Ampere Hour and cost ratings of various cells.

Thunderstorms may cause flash floods.Be careful where you take shelter.

Watches and warnings and detectingtornados

During thunderstorm season, theweather bureau may issue one of the fol-lowing bulletins:

Tornado watch: conditions are right fortornados to develop.

Tornado warning: a tornado has beendetected; take shelter.

Here is how you can adjust your TV todetect a tornado:

warm up your TV set and tune forchannel 13. Darken your screen to almostblack. (Use your brightness control.)

turn to channel 2 and leave the vol-ume control down (unless you have abroadcaster on that channel).

Your tornado detector is now in opera-tion. As a storm approaches. lightningwill produce momentary white bands ofvarying widths across the screen. A tor-nado within 15 to 20 miles will produce

a totally white screen (color on color TV).Should this occur, turn off your TV setand take your portable radio. Go to astorm shelter at once.

Don't depend on the power company;run your house on dry cells

Some years ago I wrote and distributed(at my cost) a monthly publication called"Technical Notebook". Recently I ranacross a back issue with this article and Iam passing it on to you. Since it was writ-ten for the March 1976 issue, the costsand prices are out of date, but the mes-sage is clear, nevertheless.

If your electric bills have been out ofsight you may be in the market for anoth-er source of electricity. I've calculated thecost of converting over to dry cells as apossible alternative. Gray Brandon, CETof REM Electronics gave me the price ofthe batteries. The May 1963 issue of Elec-tronic Products magazine supplied thekilowatt-hour and the voltage values.

Not taken into consideration was the

TYPE

Leclanche (Carbon Zinc)Nickel CadmiumMercuryAlkaline

KILOWATT-HOUR RATING

0.000459 KWH0.0153 KWH0.0135 KWH0.0038 KWH

Table 2. These Kilowatt -Hour rati.lgs for various cells were calculated from Table 1.


cost (and power loss) of the required in-verters needed to convert the dc to ac. Notall equipment in the home is ac operated,so the cost of the inverters depends onyour particular situation.

Table 1 shows the ratings of varioustypes of dry cells.

The ampere -hour capacity multiplied bythe terminal voltage gives the volt-ampere -hour rating which is the same asthe Watt-hour rating. Dividing the productby 1000 gives the kilowatt-hour rating:

KILOWATT-HOUR RATING =

V TERMINAL x AHr CAPACITY

1000

Using the values in Table 1, the valuesin Table 2 were obtained.

The cost per kilowatt-hour is obtainedwhen you divide the cost of the cell by thekilowatt-hour rating.

Cents per KWH =cost of cell (cents)

KWH rating of the cell

Using in Tables 1 and 2, the followingwas obtained (See Table 3):

TYPE

Leclanche (Carbon Zinc)Nickel CadmiumMercuryAlkaline

COST INCENTS PERKILOWATT HOUR

56,644.8814, 836.605,333.33

15,263.18

* Divide cost in cents per kilowatt hour by 100

COSTS INDOLLARS PERKILOWATT HOUR*

$566.45$148.37

$53.33$152.63

Table 3. The dollar cost per KWHr for various types of cells.

To find the cost of operating your housefor a month on dry cells, use the follow-ing equation:

Cost per month =

Number of KWH used x Dollar costKWH

You get the number of KWH used fromyour electric bill, and, you get the dollarcost per kilowatt-hour from Table 3.

As an example, at my house I used 1347kilowatt-hours of electricity in onemonth. Table 4 shows the cost of operat-ing my house for that month.

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I couldn't make up my mind which wayto go. The mercury cell was cheaper, butthere was the problem of disposing of allof those calls without fouling up the envi-ronment. Nickel -cadmium looked like agood deal until I realized that the termi-nal voltage drops to 1.2V almost as soonas current is drawn. That would mean ahigher initial cost.

There was also the job of replacing thecells as they are used up.

The series -parallel arrangement need-ed to get 120V, ISA would mean the extracost of diodes to keep current from onebank from flowing into another bank.

There is no advantage here betweenusing a primary type of battery (can't berecharged) or a secondary type (can berecharged but there would be no place toplug in the many, many chargers). Ofcourse, trying to operate the chargers byusing cells to operate the chargers is a lostcause. It would be a lot like trying to bor-row your way out of debt.

Ohio Edison charged me $42.26 forthat month. I decided to pay it.

The size of atomsThere are about 2.5 centimeters in an

inch. A cubic centimeter of pure Ger-manium semiconductor has in the orderof 44,000,000,000,000,000,000,000(4.4 x 1022) atoms. That's 44 thousandmillion million million atoms. If thatdoesn't boggle your mind your mind justisn't boggleable.

Now think about this: A lightly -dopedgermanium block has a resistance of 100.It has only about 1.7 x 1012 free electrons,and, 3.68 x 1014 holes. In other words, ithas only about 1/15 as many free elec-trons as the undoped version. Does itmake sense to believe that the current



I

Leclanche (Carbon Zinc)

KWH

1347

DOLLARS PER KWH

$566.45

COST OF ELECTRIC BILL PASTMONTH USING DRY CELLS

$763,008.15Nickel Cadium 1347 $148.37 $199, 854.39Mercury 1347 $53.33 $71, 835.51Alkaline 1347 $152.63 $205, 592.61

Table 4. If you used 1347 KWHrs, as I did one month, this would be your cost to do so using various types of batteries.

through P -type germanium conductselectricity by electron flow?

Some students don't want to deal withthe idea of hole flow. It's really simply aconcept. Have you ever tried playing withone of those games in which you have asquare with fifteen numbered small slid-ing squares and one hole, or a place wherethere's no square. The object is to get allof the squares in numerical order. Everytime you slide a square to a new position,the "hole" moves. In a P -type semicon-ductor, electrons move from hole to hole,much like the movement of the "hole" inthe game. Effectively, the "holes" move,even though it's really electrons in thematerial moving from hole to hole.

Some very old ideasDid you know that the first commercial

diodes were available in 1924? They wereinvented originally for use in railwaycrossings. Also, the first UJT was manu-factured in 1953.

Calculator AccuracyThe RMS value of a sine wave voltage

is about 0.707 times the peak value. If youneed a really accurate value, use the peakvoltage divided by it. The average valueis usually given as 0.636 times the peakvalue. If you need a more accurate value,use the peak value divided by the square -root of 2 (approximately 1.414).

rms sine -wave voltage = VMAX

Average sine -wave voltage = VMAX

VT

And, here is the last word for thismonth's WDYK: The bubble in a bubblememory is not a bubble. It is actually acylindrical region that has a magneticfield in the opposite direction of its sur-rounding material. It looks like a bubblefrom the top. Bubble memories are hard-er to manufacture (read that more expen-sive) so, you probably would only seethem as replacements.

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Circle (76) on Reply CardApril 1997 Electronic Servicing & Technology 15

ConvergenceBy Hulon Forrester

For some reason, many trade schoolsfeel that teaching CRT (cathode raytube) technology is about as useful

as teaching receiving tube theory. Theyhave been predicting the demise of theCRT since before 1960. The CRT is actu-ally older than the receiving tube, havingbeen invented in 1897, whereas LeedeForest patented the triode in 1907,which began the radio era.The transistor has replaced most of thereceiving tubes, but there are certainapplications in which the tube works bet-ter. Therefore a receiving tube market stillthrives. A transistor is totally unforgiv-ing. If it experiences a momentary over-load it will be destroyed. A tube can sur-vive a momentary overload many times,which is ideal in certain applications.

The CRT has some similarities to a re-ceiving tube in that it has a cathode, a grid,a screen and an anode. In addition, theCRT has a focus element and the electronflow from the cathode is directed by mag-netic or electrostatic deflection to pin-point an area on a screen.

The CRT is the most economical andmost reliable method of producing animage on screens that vary in size fromless than 1" to 45" or more. The CRTinspired the creation of all other screentypes. Its only disadvantages are itsweight and power requirements. The flatpanel LCD screen is more applicable inareas where space and weight are a majorfactor, but the CRT still excels in bright-ness, picture quality and longevity.

If a superior method of producing apicture on a screen were invented today,it would take forty or fifty years to replacethe CRT, and many would still be in oper-ation even then.

The futureThe future for the CRT is still bright.

The new digital TV format will call for arevised shape in CRT design, but it willnot demand more standards than havealready been met by the CRT in otherapplications. The new digital system will

Forrester is a CRT consultant.

Cathode (b)Focus grid (G4)

Glass G1 (c)seal

Filament (a)Acceleratorgrid (G2)

Acceleratorgrids (G3 & 5)

DAG (outer coating)

Yoke

High -voltageannode

Figure 1. The cathode ray tubes in television sets use magnetic deflection (a yoke mounted onthe outside of the tube) to deflect the electron beam(s), creating the picture on the face of tube(screen).

use a 9 by 16 screen ratio, which willallow a complete panoramic picture to fillthe screen. The picture will also be com-posed of about twice as many lines. Thiswill produce near 35mm picture quality.

Each year more and more CRTs are pro-duced. It is estimated that the industry will

manufacture some 300,000,000 CRTs inthe year 2000. There is already a shortageof high X-ray absorbing glass which pro-tects the viewer from harmful radiation,but the industry will find a way to over-come the shortage.

Once the component manufacturer

Figure 2. In a color CRT, the three individual electron guns must work as a team in order to pro-duce a color picture. Each gun illuminates one of the three color phosphors on the CRT face.The failure of any one of the guns is easily recognized and is the most common cause of CRTfailure. There are several types of color guns and screens, but the in -line tube is the only oneconsidered here.


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11'

017;piater t".

For over seventy years, EIA. his been the

primary trade association re oresenting all

face -s of electronics manufacturing. CEMA

represents U.S. manufacturers of audio,

video, home office and home automation,

consumer information, accessoies, mobile

electronics, multimedia products, and

assistive devices for people w ti- disabilities.

Ir addition to managing the 'nternational

*inter Cc 'sumer Electronics Show, CEMA

Timber manufacturers work to promote

optimum servicing of consumer electronic

products and foster interest in continuing

dt.cation of electronics technicians through

the Products Set -dices Deponent.

eCEMAConsumer ElectronicsManufacturer's nssoci.rionAF.e.m.ther,

Cht-es are designed to upgrade the 4( Its of both

trchniciais anc educators with electrani,:s backgrounds.

The workshops are provided by CEMA'; P-oduct

Services Department.

There E a min nal fee of S50 to S1 5C for the technician

worksFops. The educaion workshops :re 0 -sponsored

by the respective state and may be provided free or at

a mirimal charge by the state.

For specific details, or Dther inbrmati:n, contact Product

Services or check our website listed be ow.

Product Services, EIA/CEMA25(0 Wilson Bculevard

A-li lgtcri, VA 22201-3834

(;03)c07-7656

http://www.comacity.org/worki/rkshop.htm

FOR;ELECTR II NICS INSTRUCTORS AND. UNMANS

The Consumer Electronks Malufactcrers Association (CEMA), a sector of the EIA, will

offer the following courses 3.c. listed below. These 3-5 day technical worksFops cover

theory, hands-on training cad troubleshooting techniques They fulfill the "training"

requirements for pie im nary service authorization for most major ma lufc curers.

PC Servicing - (PCS)

Color TV Technology & Servicing - (CTV)

Computer Monitor Servicing - (MON)

VCR Technology & Servicing - (VCR)

Microprocessor/PC Servicing - (UPC)

1997 Technician

WORKSHOF

Workshop Schedule

QTY/STATE

Walnut, CA

!NUE

4/22/97MONPCS Salt Lake City, UT 5/20/97MON Lewiston, ID 5/29/97CTV Walnut, CA 6/3/97MON Salt Lake City, UT 6/10/97PCS Beloit, KS 6/11/97VCR Los Angeles, CA 6/16/97CTV W. Palm Beach. FL 6/23/97VCR Brerrerton, WA 7/7/97VCR Tampa, FL 7/7/97MON River Grove, IL 7/14/97MON Walnut, CA 7/23/97PCS Gresham, OR 8/5/97MON California 8/ 19/97PCS California 9/17/97PCS California 9/22/97CTV Tampa, Fl. 10/7/97CTV River Grove, IL 1 0/13/97CTV Walnut, CA 1 1 /1 1 /97

1997 Educator Workshop ScheduleUPC Norman, OK 6/2/97UPC Shelby, OH 6/9/97PCS Raleigh, NC 6/23/97PCS Lexington, KY 6/25/97PCS Lincoln, RI 6/30/97UPC Virginia Beach, VA 7/21/97PCS Springfield, MO 7/23/97VCR North Little Rock, AR 7/28/97PCS Logan, U- 8/1 1 /97VCR Sylmar, CA 8/1 1 /97

LCircle (114) on Reply Card

Figure 3. In this photo, a new tube without a yoke is sitting beside an old tube hat has a yoke. The old yoke must be removed from the OLD CRTand mounted on the new tube. "A" and "B" are the convergence magnet assemblies (CMA).

uses all of the CRTs furnished by the newCRT manufacturer, new replacementtubes are almost never available. The onlysource of replacement CRTs are from therecycler. That is why old CRTs havevalue. It is important therefore that youcarefully choose your CRT source of sup-ply. Warranties vary, but a well remanu-factured CRT will last as long as a newone. The recycling industry has grown involume and quality.

They're everywhereIf you plan to make electronic service

your vocation, you will find the CRT in

every facet of the industry. Whenever ascreen is needed it is usually a CRT. It is toyour advantage to know as much as youcan about it. If you know how to use yourold yoke and have a good understanding ofthe CRT, you can repair more monitors, TVsets, medical equipment, RADAR andcomputers faster and at lower cost as well.

Most importantly, since hundreds ofmonitors use the same tube but differentyokes, your inventory will be more flex-ible and economical. It's like limitingwhat you drive to cars with automatictransmissions only. Being able to drive a5 -speed and an automatic can resolve

your transportation problems in a moreefficient manner.

The deflection circuitsAny component with a CRT, regardless

of its application, depends on a group ofcircuits whose cumulative performanceproduces an image on the screen. Thereare two basic types of deflection, but ourprimary concern here is magnetic deflec-tion (a yoke) as in the monochrome tubeas shown in Figure 1.

The filament heats the cathode whichemits electrons. The quantity of electronsis controlled by G 1, the grid. Usually, you

-4- Figure 4. Note that the "lock" on this yoke has four tabs and theothers only two each. Turning the lock counterclockwise allows you tomove the tabs easier. You may have to break loose a paint -like sub-stance before you can move the tabs. This substance was used to pre-vent moving the tabs accidentally after the last convergence.

Figure 5. With the yoke back against the CMA, and the red and bluescreen controls turned down your screen might look like this.t

;


Figure 6. Use the purity tabs to center thegreen "blob."

Figure 7. Slide the yoke all the way forward,then ease it back just far enough to have a fullgreen screen. There should be no discolorationof the green on the entire screen. Turn the yoketo level the raster and adjust the height andwidth control for a full screen. Tighten the "C"clamp on the yoke.

will find the brightness control is tied toG 1 and the signal is fed to the cathode.The electron flow is accelerated by aseries of grids with higher voltages, G2,G3, and 05. The focus anode (or grid) G4,does what its name implies: focuses thebeam on the screen. The color of thescreen depends on the color of the phos-phor it is coated with. The yoke has twowindings, vertical and horizontal forimage height and width.

As shown in Figure 2, a color tube hasthree guns which must work as a team in

order to produce a color picture. Each gullilluminates one of the three color phos-phors on the CRT face. The failure of anyone of the guns is easily recognized andis the most common cause of CRT fail-ure. There are several types of color gunsand screens, but the in -line tube is the onlyone considered here.

Transferring the yokeWhen a yoke is transferred from an old

tube to a new one, getting the yoke towork isn't the problem. The problem isgetting the beams to work together to pro-

duce sharp, true color. This is called con-vergence. An engineer at Video DisplayCorporation confirmed to me that thisseems to be one of the least understoodbut most important areas to learn.

Many of you reading this may thinkmuch of this as repetitious or too basic.No matter how well you know CRTs, itdoesn't hurt to review theory once in awhile. On the other hand, looking at thebasics from another point of view engen-ders even better understanding.

Remember, we are talking about in -linecolor CRTs only. Delta color tubes are adifferent breed. They use a differentmethod of convergence and the procedureis more complex. Oddly enough, thesharpest possible image is produced by ahigh resolution delta CRT. Nevertheless,because convergence is less demandingfor an in line tube, remarkable imagesmay be possible because it is possible toachieve better convergence.

Becoming familiar with the partsIn Figure 3 a new tube is sitting beside

an old tube. Before we attempt the trans -

Figure 8. Turn down the green gun and turnup the blue. The screen should be solid blue.

Figure 9. Turn down the blue gun and turnup the red. The screen should be solid red. Ifthe screen was pure green, blue and red withthe green, blue and red guns turned up,respectively, the screen is said to have color"purity."

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Figure 10. With the brightness control still onmid range without a video signal, turn the redblue and green screen controls up or down untilyou have a white center screen as shown here.You may or may not have some discolorationaround the sides, but if the center is solid white,you're on your way to good convergence.

fer old yoke to the new tube, let us con-sider the nomenclature.

"A" and "B" are the convergence mag-net assemblies (CMA). Note the close-upview in Figure 4. You will note that the"lock" has four tabs and the others onlytwo each. Turning the lock counterclock-wise allows you to move the tabs easier,but a paint -like substance may have to bebroken loose first. Using this substanceprevents accidental movement of the tabsafter the last convergence.

"C" and "D" are the yokes. Under eachyoke are usually three and sometimes fourrubber wedges. They play an importantpart in convergence also.

A closer look at the yokeFirst let us take a moment to look at the

yoke. The yoke has two windings: verti-

cal and horizontal. The vertical windinghas a higher dc resistance in ohms thanthe horizontal winding because of the dif-ferences in sweep frequencies; the verti-cal sweep operates at a lower frequencythan the horizontal.

Sometimes, though it is not always rec-ommended, the yoke that comes with thenew tube will work in the TV in whichyou're installing the new tube, but, (1) theplug is different and needs to be changed,and (2) the windings are not identical butsometimes close enough to work. If allyou have to do is change the plug, adjustthe horizontal and vertical size, this extrawork of swapping yokes and convergenceisn't necessary!

In most instances the colors of the wiresfrom each winding are the same. If thecolors are not the same, and you connectthe wires wrong, all you will get is an up-side-down picture or a picture with theletters backward. All you have to do tocorrect the problem is to reverse the wires.

To determine if it is possible to use thenew yoke that comes with the replace-ment picture tube, simply measure theresistance of each winding. If the resis-tance is within +/-10% of its counterpart,do a trial installation, even though youhave to change the plug. If the new tubeworks with the new yoke, you don't needto reconverge the CRT at all! You'vesaved yourself some time.

Assuming there is no similarity in theyoke windings, we will now take a de-tailed look at changing the yoke from theold CRT to the new one. When discon-

Figure 11. From a cross hatch generator or a computer signal, put asignal similar to this on the screen with several vertical and horizontallines. You probably have green, red and blue somewhat parallel linesin both the vertical and horizontal planes. Adjust the CMA tabs markedwith 4 or YELLOW to superimpose red on top of blue in the center ofthe screen both horizontally and vertically.

necting your old tube don't forget to dis-charge your HV by shorting the CRT HVterminal to ground. As in every proce-dure, "practice makes perfect". After afew times, you'll wonder why you lookedat this procedure with apprehension.

Exchanging yokesOf course, if there is no yoke or mag-

net assembly on the new tube, you willuse all of the old parts. Otherwise, pro-ceed as described in the following.

First, you will have to remove the con-vergence magnet assemblies. It is impor-tant to return the new magnet assemblyas close to the spot where it came from aspossible. This will make convergenceeasier. Mark the neck of the new tube,remove the new magnet assembly andkeep it to put back on the new CRT.

Remove the new yoke by loosening theneck clamp and sliding a knife betweenthe wedges and the tube. Remove thewedges from the yoke by holding theyoke in one hand and using a circulartwisting action of the wedge with the oth-er. Be careful not to damage either yoke;you may need the unused one anothertime. Save the wedges for use in the laststeps of the convergence.

Use the same procedure on the old tube,but keep the yoke and put aside the mag-net assembly. place the old yoke on thenew tube and replace the new magnet as-sembly in the position you had previous-ly marked. Tighten the "C" clamp of themagnet assembly.

Now install the new tube into the mon-

Figure 12. Adjust the yoke as described in the text so that you have onlywhite lines on the screen.


Figure 13. This is an example of a well -converged CRT with one type Figure 14. The clarity of this pattern shows that the CRT has beenof pattern from a signal generator on the screen face. properly converged.

itor. Connect your HV lead, base plug anddon't forget to plug in your yoke (turningthe unit on without vertical and horizon-tal sweep is the quickest way to damagethe CRT) and connect your ground leads.Turn the unit on, check for a raster, andfocus for a sharp scan. At this point, letthe unit warm up for at least 20 minutes,then slide the yoke all the way back to theCMA for the first purity adjustment.

Purity adjustments

At this point, use a degausser or turnthe monitor off for ten minutes so theautomatic degausser will do it for you,then turn the unit back on. Now adjust G2.With a cross hatch pattern, turn G2 justfar enough to blank out any backgroundand focus for best resolution. (This is im-portant because any future changes infocus will change resolution). On theCMA you will find a thick ring that hasfour tabs 90 degrees apart. That is yourtab lock (Figure 4). Turn the lock so theconvergence tabs will turn snugly, butstay where you leave them. As mentionedbefore, it may be necessary to break loosesome glue/paint. The purity tabs are thefront or rear pair marked "P", 2 or RED.

Turn the brightness control to mid-range and contrast to full. With the screencontrols, turn down the red and bluescreens. Adjust the green screen to a mod-erately bright level. With the yoke backagainst the CMA, your screen couldappear as shown in Figure 5. Use the puri-ty tabs to center the green "blob" as shownin Figure 6. Slide the yoke all of the wayforward, then ease it back just far enoughto have a full green screen, (Figure 7).

There should be no discoloration of thegreen on the entire screen. Turn the yoketo level the raster and adjust the heightand width control for a full screen. Tight-en the "C" clamp on the yoke.

Turn down the green gun and turn upthe blue. You should have a solid blue,(Figure 8). Repeat for red (Figure 9). Ifyou have a solid red, green and bluescreen as in Figures 7, 8 and 9, you nowhave achieved "purity". It is sometimesnecessary to repeat the purity procedurefor optimum results.

Convergence

With the brightness control still on midrange without a video signal, turn the redblue and green screen controls up or downuntil you have a white center screen(Figure 10). You may or may not havesome discoloration around the sides, butif the center is solid white, you have thebeginnings of proper convergence.

From a cross hatch generator or a com-puter signal, put a signal similar to FigureII on the screen with several vertical andhorizontal lines. You probably havegreen, red and blue somewhat parallellines in both the vertical and horizontalplanes. Adjust the CMA tabs marked with4 or YELLOW to superimpose red on topof blue in the center of the screen bothhorizontally and vertically.

The CMA tabs marked with 6 or BLUEwill move the converged red and bluelines on top of the green line. Note: Thegreen is stationary. Readjustment of the 4or YELLOW and the 6 or BLUE tabs maybe necessary to get perfectly white linesacross the center of the screen. Turn the

lock ring to hold the CMA tabs in place.Now the objective is to get white lines onthe sides both horizontally and vertically.

Tilt the yoke toward the 12 or 6 o'clockposition to converge the red and blue ver-tical lines at the top and bottom of theraster. Insert a wedge as necessary tomaintain this new yoke position.

Next, tilt the yoke toward the 3 or 9o'clock position to converge the red andblue vertical lines at the sides of the raster.Insert two wedges 120 degrees apart tomaintain this new yoke tilt position. Youmay have to repeat these steps until youget only white lines as in Figure 12. Whenconvergence is complete, glue the wedgesin place with silicon cement or a glue gun,making sure the yoke clamp is tight.

With no signal, you should have a solidwhite screen. You may readjust the red,green and blue controls in order to get thebest white. Turn the brightness down justbelow the point of visibility. Now put oneor two color patterns on the monitor andlook at your handiwork. It's always agood idea to check your focus one lasttime. Figures 13 and 14 are good exam-ples of a well converged CRT.

In spite of your efforts, convergencemay not meet your specifications in thecorners. This can be improved by slidingstrip magnets between the CRT and theyoke; then gluing them in place. It maytake several magnets to get to the pointwhere you have perfect convergence.

Congratulations, you're finished withthe convergence procedure.

[This information was supplied with the assis-tance of the Engineering Department at VideoDisplay Corporation. Tucker, GA.)


* * * DISTRIBUTORS' SHOWCASE * * *

Adistributorship is the place wherethe service center buys the prod-ucts; replacement parts, consum-

ables (solder, wire, chemicals, etc.) testequipment and other materials that itneeds to complete a repair and get theproduct back to the customer. Distribu-tors share some characteristics in com-mon with other types of stores. Some dis-tributors just do a better job than others.

For example, some distributors offerdepth and breadth of product line. Inother words, they have replacement partsfor most, or all, of the major brands. Notonly that, they even stock some of thehardest to obtain replacement parts forthose brands. They offer a wide selectionof brands and types of test equipment,consumables, etc. Their mission is toprovide as much assistance as they pos-sibly can to their clients, consumer elec-tronics servicing professionals.

Other distributors may be newer to thebusiness, and, until they grow, offerfewer replacement parts and other prod-ucts. Other distributors may simplynever wish to expand their product lines.On the other hand, they may offer betterprices, greater convenience, or otherincentives to make dealing with themmore attractive. As long as the servicecenter dealing with these distributors isaware of any limitations or shortcom-ings, one of these distributors may be justthe one they need.

Consider these variablesMost people are careful shoppers

when it comes to buying consumergoods. It pays to shop just as carefullywhen choosing a distributor.

Here are some of the factors you shouldconsider when settling on a distributor.Some apply only to the local distributor,and some apply only to mail order, but itwould be a good idea to keep them in mindany time you're thinking about doingbusiness with a new firm. These items arenot listed in any particular order, for thesimple reason that their order of priorityor importance depends upon your partic-ular wants and needs. Put them in orderof importance for yourself.

Do the distributor's facilities and/orliterature give the impression of com-petence and order? Do prices seem reasonable and in linewith what other companies charge? Are most items in stock, or does thedistributor have to back order many? Does the distributor offer a broad line,or will you have to find other sourcesof supply for many of your needs? Does the distributor specialize in anyparticular kinds of products that youtypically order? What kind of payment options doesthe distributor offer: Open orderaccount, credit card, COD, check, etc.? How soon after receipt of an orderdoes the distributor ship? Does the distributor add a shippingsurcharge, or a handling charge? Does the company list a toll -free num-ber for you to call? Are such ordering options as fax, andtelex available? How about such com-puter ordering options as MCI Mail,Compuserve, and EasyLink? What is the distributor's return policy? Are all of the distributor's policieswell documented, or do you have toguess what they are? Or do they seemto differ depending on his whim? What kind of warranty, if any, doesthe distributor offer? Does the distributor publish a cata-log? If so, is it clear and easy to under-stand? Is there a minimum order amount? Ifso, is it reasonable? What kind of shipping options areavailable: mail, UPS, Federal Express? What kind of special services, such asassembling cables, etc. does he offer? What research services does the dis-tributor offer to help you to find exact-ly the part you need?

Some important questions to askSome of these questions may not seem

important, but from what we havelearned from some of our readers, theyare very important. For example, welearned from one of our readers that onemail order company that he dealt with

made a regular practice of chargingunnecessarily high shipping charges.

Another practice that some distribu-tors indulge in is to hold shipment ofproducts for some time after the pur-chaser's check has cleared. This givesthe distributor a nice little interest -freeloan between the time the check clearsand the time he decides to ship the mer-chandise. This is not necessary. Somecompanies ship the product immediatelyafter receiving an order.

One other thing to keep in mind is thatsome distributors charge a restocking feeeven when they were responsible forshipping the incorrect product.

Check this showcaseThe purpose of this distributors' show-

case is to provide the distributors whoadvertise in the magazine with addition-al space to give readers informationabout their companies. We hope you willtake this opportunity to learn a little moreabout these companies so that you willhave a better understanding of their capa-bilities and practices.

Let the buyer bewareMost replacement parts distributors

are hard-working, well -organized, ethi-cal companies, who will make everyeffort to help you obtain the correctreplacement for a faulty component.Some are less ethical in their practices.It's not always easy to locate the goodones and avoid the ones that will giveyou problems.

When you're considering orderingproducts from a new distributor, it mightbe wise to start out with a small order andsee what kind of treatment you get. If theservice is good, you might gradually in-crease the size of your order and build upa close working relationship.

If the service you receive from the dis-tributor is not what you'd like, try some-one else. It's your business that will suf-fer if you don't get what you order whenyou need it, or if you're hit with exorbi-tant freight charges that you have to passalong to your customer.



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For over thirty years PTS has beenproviding television replacement tunersand mainboards to the electronic ser-vice industry. PTS is the nation's largestsingle source for all major brands ofreplacement Television Tuners,Mainboards, Projection Set Modulesand Complete Chassis. Brands such asRCA, Zenith, Philips and GE are avail-able at substantial savings when com-pared to manufacturers pricing. PTSemploys over 275 technical and supportstaff with a 100,000 square foot facilityand branch locations in California,Texas and Colorado.

Thousands in stockPTS maintains an extensive invento-

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PTS has expanded its available ser-vice to include Computer Productssuch as Monitors, Printers andMotherboards.

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Circle (73) on Reply CardApril 1997 Electronic Servicing & Technology 25

* * * DISTRIBUTORS' SHOWCASE * * *Dalbani Corporation4225 N.W. 72nd AvenueMiami, FL 33166Phone: 1-800-325-2264Fax: 305-594-6588

Dalbani Corporation is a national andinternational distributor of high quality testequipment, electronics components andparts servicing the wholesale, retail andmanufacturing industry.

Since finding the parts you needshould not be a major task, DalbaniCorporation maintains a huge stock ofthe most popular parts as well as thoseparts that are hard to find. Our extensiveinventory of over 30,000 different itemsreflects our commitment to our cus-tomers anticipating their needs and offer-ing the lowest prices available for thebest quality merchandise.

Dalbani Corporation keeps customersinformed of the latest introductions of newitems by publishing two full line catalogsper year including catalog supplements,seasonal brochures, and notifications ofsales promotions and specials. The mul-

tilingual Sales Department coupled withthe state-of-the-art computerized orderprocessing, enables Dalbani Corporationto offer prompt and efficient service tobenefit the customers: Monday throughFriday 9:00 A.M to 7:00 P.M. EasternTime. A toll -free number (1-800-DAL-BAN1/1-800-325-2264) for the U.S.A. isavailable, in addition to a 24 -hour fax line(305-594-6588).

Dalbani Corporation offers many ship-ping options (UPS Red, Blue, Orange &Ground, FedEx, etc.). Orders received by2:00 P.M. Eastern Time will be shippedthe same day, and most other orders areshipped within 24 -hours. CODs, compa-ny checks and cash, and most major cred-it cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, & Dis-cover) are accepted. There is a $20.00minimum order.

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Order N° 50-845

26 Electronic Servicing & Technology April 1997 Circle (63) on Reply Card


Parts Express340 E. First StreetDayton, OH 45402-1257Phone: 800-338-0531Fax: 513-937-4644

Parts Express is a full line distributorof electronic parts, tools, test equipment,and accessories geared toward the con-sumer electronics industry and the tech-nical hobbyist. In business since 1986,Parts Express has quickly establisheditself as a leader in the industry by con-sistently providing quality products, firstrate customer service, low prices, andtoll -free technical support.

Parts Express stocks an impressive ar-ray of CATV and VCR repair parts, tools,semiconductors, test equipment, chemi-cals, computer accessories, adhesives,telephone products, educational materi-als, pro sound equipment, raw loud-speaker drivers for home, car, and home

theater applications, crossover parts,specialized connectors, batteries, cellu-lar accessories, and a huge selection ofwire and cable. Parts Express stocksover 15,000 items and strives to contin-ually expand is product line to offer thecustomer a wide and diverse selection ofsometimes hard to find products andaccessories. Some of the items stockedare from names like 3M, Fluke, Tripplett,Littelfuse, Klein, Goldstar, Mueller,Electro-Voice, Catamount, NTE,Motorola, Pioneer, Eminence, Pyle,Pyramid, Celestion, Audax, Vifa, Morel,Monster Cable, Sherwood, Dynamat,Ultimate, Kester, Neutrik, Augat,Cambridge, GC Electronics, Tech Spray,

Rite Off, Caig, GB, Lisle, Phoenix Gold,Easypower, Mag-Lite, Weller/Ungar,Panavise, Carol, Ferrofluidics, and manymore. All of these products are stockedand ready for immediate shipment (mostorders shipped within 24 hours).

The sales department at PartsExpress prides itself on offering fast,friendly, dependable service and com-plete customer satisfaction. The phonerepresentatives can provide informa-tion about current pricing and availabil-ity and the technical support staff ishappy to provide answers on a widevariety of questions. Orders can beplaced 8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. ET Mon-day through Friday, and 9:00 A.M. - 5:00P.M. ET on Saturday.

Each year Parts Express produces afull line catalog, showcasing the com-plete product offering plus detailed de-scriptions and specifications. This cata-log is supplemented with numeroussales flyers during the year, offeringspecial bargains and hot deals. Formore information or to request a free244 page full line catalog, please call1-800-338-0531.

Original Japanese semiconductors.Test equipment from Fluke, Goldstar,and Triplett.Audio/Video accessories.Original VCR replacement parts.Microwave oven parts, flybacks, andchemicals.Wire and connectors.Tools and soldering equipment.Same day shipping.

Source Code: ESM

CALL TOLL FREE

1-800-338-0531Parts Express 340 E. First St. Dayton, Ohio 45402-1257 Phone: 513-222-0173 Fax: 5' 3-222-4644

Circle (74) on Reply Card April 1997 Electronic Servicing & Technology 27


CitiTronix, Inc/Panson ElectronicsAmerica's one call source for brand name electronicparts and accessories®

CitiTronix/Panson's affiliation isbased on 90 years of combined partsdistribution experience. ServingNorth America's servicers and cus-tomers by distributing high qualityexact replacement parts and ac-cessories for most major consumerelectronic manufacturers.

In January, 1994 CitiTronix, Inc.and Panson Electronics formed analliance which operates under thename CitiTronix/Panson.

Benefits for you from this allianceare:

More product lines-by combin-ing resources the alliance offers morelines than ever.

More Inventory-With multiplewarehouse facilities the "in -stock"parts inventories are larger than ever.

Faster shipping-Multiple ware-house facilities allows your order tobe filled and shipped from the mostefficient location.

State-of-the-Art/ComputerizedPhone System-allowing for immedi-ate access to the customer servicedepartment, research help desk,fax and Dial-In/On-Line access( P. A . R . T. SO).

The company maintains an experi-enced staff dedicated to serving youand providing exact replacementparts for your servicing needs. Partsresearch is provided via the On -Linesystem, or by calling 1-800-846-2484. This research includes helpingyou determine the correct parts andrecommending alternates when partsare no longer available. A large col-lection of manufacturer's literature,microfiche and computer data ismaintained for the sole purpose ofassisting you.

The company maintains a state-of-the-art computerized telephone sys-tem, Fax, and one -line computer sys-tem for communicating with you. Theremote customer access system(P.A.R.T.S.®) is continually updatedand provides research capabilities aswell as access to the complete com-bined company inventories.

Warehouses are located in PineBrook, New Jersey, St. Louis,Missouri and the Chicago area.

In 1994 JCPenney namedCitiTronix/ Panson as their exclusiveauthorized repair parts distributor.

Both CitiTronix, Inc. and PansonElectronics are long-time parts dis-tributors and have interesting histo-ries.

CitiTronix was founded on June 1,1936 and was called City RefrigerationCompany. It began as a service com-pany servicing washers, dryers,ranges and refrigeration products.

A dramatic change came toCitiTronix in 1977 when the first elec-tronic lines were added to the exist-ing appliance lines. Following are thebrands of exact replacement partsoffered:

Sony Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania,

Philco Matsushita

(Panasonic, Quasar, Technics) Sanyo & Fisher Thomson Consumer Electronics

(RCA Premier, GE, ProScan) Kenwood JC PenneyOn January 8, 1988, the name City

Refrigeration Co., Inc. was changedto CitiTronix, Inc. and a 13,800 sq. ft.facility was established.

Panson Electronics was estab-lished in 1965 as a supplier of elec-tronic repair parts wand was autho-rized as the first Panasonic repairparts distributor in the U.S.

Responding to the ongoingchanges and needs of the consumerand repair industry, Panson beganexpanding its services so that todayit distributes exact replacement partsfor such well-known electronics prod-ucts as:

Sharp Hitachi JVC Zenith Thomson Consumer Electronics

(RCA Premier, GE, ProScan)

Matsushita(Panasonic, Quasar, Technics)

JC PenneyIn August 1993, Panson relocated

from Greenpoint, NY to the present20,000 sq. ft. facility in Pine Brook, NJin order to provide the fastest partsdelivery available.

CitiTronix/Panson features: A consistent high level of service. A knowledgeable customer ser-

vice department that is available from8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST.

Free freight on back orders. On-line remote access system

with extensive data base, partsprice/availability, model number topart number research, open orderstatus and order entry (P.A.R.T.S.0).

Open line of credit available. Daily open order and shipped

order reporting. Outside sales-calling on region-

al accounts. Monthly specials. One stop shopping for major and

secondary brand parts support. Line item ID to servicer's work

order number. Exact replacement parts, kits and

accessories. Warranty Pricing. Same Day Shipping on in stock

orders.Toll -Free ordering phone and fax

numbers.

The CitiTronix/PansonCorporation will provide toyou a total service which isgreater than the sum of theservices provided by the

individual companies.America's one call sourcefor brand name electronicparts and accessories®

Call Toll -Free1-800-846-2484

Fax Toll -Free1-800-397-8587


America'sOne Call SourceFor Brand NameElectronic Parts

and Accessories®

1-800-846-2484

RCAMAGNAVOX

FAX 1-800-397-8587 Extensive Parts Database & Inventory 24 Hour Shipping of Stocked Products On-line Parts Availability & Parts Research State-of-the-art Distribution Process

INCIPARNoVUS

_0111 PansonElectronics

Panasonic SHARPTechnics Zkr....____WTH

quasar JCPenney FISHER

SONY KENWOOD SANYO PROSCAN

SYLVANIA PROSCAN JVCn PHILIPS PHILCO Technics

RCAEfu5SarPanasonic

JCPenneyHITACHI

CitiTronix 1641 Dielman Rd. St. Louis, MO 63132-1597 Office: 314-427-3420

Panson 1-80 & New Maple Ave. P.O. Box 2003 Pine Brook, NJ 07058 Office: 201-244-2440Circle (98) on Reply Card


PO Box 176Whitewater, WI 53190-0176Phone: 414-473-2151/Fax: 414-473-4727Internet:www.prbline.com/e-mail:[email protected]

What PRB Line Can Do For YouRIGHT NOW!

PRB presents the ZephytronicsTM/ChipQuik® System....The cure for the commonSMD Rework Headache! Finally, a lowcost, low temperature SMD removal andreplacement solution easy enough forentry-level personnel. No more burnedboards or chips, no more reflowing adja-cent components, no more nozzles!

The process is simple: 1) Always Pre-heat the PCB using the award -winningZephytronicsTM AirBath and AdjustableBoard Cradle; 2) Remove the SMD using

the revolutionary low temperature patent-ed Chip Quik® kit; 3) Replace the SMDusing the ZephytronicsTM AirPencil andQuik Stickl"" No Clean Rework Paste.This system is so amazing we've devel-oped a demonstration video so you cansee it and believe it (see ad below).

Throughout our many years of servingthe electronics industry, PRB's goal hasalways been to put our customers first.Our in-house staff of professionals workshard to provide the best possible productsand superior service.

With the help of our customers, we have

expanded our HR® line of flybacks toinclude over 30 newly developed trans-formers for brand names such as Gold-star, RCA, and Sony. Since HR® is ISO -9001 certified, PRB Line guarantees thequality of their flybacks. We are lookingforward to continued growth in this line.

PRB Line has been the nation's leadingwholesale supplier of replacement belts forthe electronics industry for over 40 years.We offer the invaluable PRB Line CrossGuide. It contains replacement informationon Belts, Idler Assemblies, Tires, PinchRollers, Video Heads, RF Modulators, andSensing Lamps for various consumer elec-tronic equipment. The Cross Guide lists amajority of the mechanical parts by manu-facturer, make, and model and is crossedto the recommended PRB Line replace-ment part. The guide is also available oncomputer diskette. We feel our customersdeserve the time, energy, and money wehave invested every year to improve thisexcellent resource.

Contact your local PRB Line distributor,or for a list of distributors in your area, call1-414-473-2151. We're also on the Inter-net at www.prbline.com or e-mail us [email protected].

Are Surface Mount Rework Headaches Costing YouValuable Time, Money & PC Boards?

Are You Tired of: Burning boards & chips? Reflowing adjacent components?

Warping boards & thermally stressing components?

Then We Have the COMPLETE SOLUTION for You!

THE ZEPHYRTRONICSTM/CHIP QUIK® SMD REWORK SYSTEMSAFELY REMOVES:

Components at less than 300°F Flexible PC Board componentsSOICs, PLCCs, QFPs, Surface Mount Resistors & Capacitors

THE ZEPHYRTRONICSTM/CHIP QUIK® SMD REWORK SYSTEM

EFFECTIVELY REPLACES:

SOICs, PLCCs, QFPs Surface Mount Capacitors & Resistors*Components at less than 500°F

ESD SAFE MIRRORS ORIGINAL OEM PRODUCTION THERMAL PROFILES

WANT MORE INFORMATION on the ZephyrtronicsTm/Chip Quik® Systemor the Demonstration Video? Interested in other PRB Line Products?

See Us at EDS Booth No. 6202-6208

Contact your local PRB Line distributor or call 414-473-2151for details on these and other PRB Line products

P/N: CO -1000Chip Quik- SMD Bench Rework System

P/N: ABC -1 & ZT-1Zephynronicsr" Adjustable Board Cradle & AirBath

"Best New Product Award" SMT Magazine

P/N: ZT-2ZephyrtronicsT" AirPencil

Non -contact pinpoint soldering

30 Circle (75) on Reply Card


Andrews ElectronicsPO Box 914Santa Clarita, CA 91380-9014Phone: 800-289-0300Fax: 800-289-0301

Andrews Electronics is housed in 50,000square feet of warehousing and officespace. Miles of shelving are arranged forimmediate identification and easy accessi-bility for over 250,000 different parts thatwe carry.

Maintaining an inventory of this size hasbeen the cornerstone of our success as theO.E.M. parts distribution industry leader. Itprovides us with an average first pass fillrate of above 90% and makes us the largestsupplier in America for the manufacturersthat we represent. Our fill rate is calculat-ed on not only everything that is orderedbut also on every call or fax that we receivefor availability, even if it isn't ordered! Ourdealer order desk has 32 available salesrepresentatives to handle all of your order-ing needs.

We've built our reputation on a very sim-ple philosophy.... service. Not very fancy,but very effective. Our constant growthattests to it. You see, all of our policies thathave been developed over the years havebeen based on that one simple thought:"How may we better serve the industry?"How about:

14 major brands to save you time,frustration, and money with "one -stopshopping."

Orders placed before 2:30 PST are rou-tinely shipped the same day.

A freight program that offers free anddiscounted shipping.

No minimum orders or handlingcharges.

Automatic backorder reports withETA's mailed bi-weekly.

A fast, highly -efficient research de-partment, second to none.

A program that converts make/modeldescriptions to part numbers instantly forthe majority of research requests.

24 -hour toll -free phone and faxorder lines.

Over 80 full-time employees waiting toserve your needs.

Our already outstanding freight pro-gram has been drastically improved! Theminimum qualifying amount has been cutin half and the 2 day air discount has beenalmost doubled! Even if an order is belowthe minimum, we'll ship it blue label at the3 day select rate! With this type of ship-ping program, we're a lot closer than youmight think.

In case you've heard this elsewherebefore, now's the time to let us prove it to

you. By investing a mere two minutes ofyour time, you can discover what thou-sands of others have: that there is a differ-ence. When you place your next order with

your local supplier, check the availability ofall the items. Then call or fax Andrews andcheck our stock levels. We believe you'll bepleasantly surprised! Wouldn't gettingthose extra units repaired a week or twosooner be good for your reputation? Sureit would! And we can help! After all is saidand done, it is performance that counts. Weknow that your ability to perform your jobdepends on how well we perform ours. Ourregular office hours are from 8:15 to 4:45PST and we're closed for lunch between12:00 and 12:30. When you think of elec-tronic parts...think of Andrews.

there s ad fference

Over 250,000 differentparts in stock.

Shipped the same dayr

AIWA RCA* SONYHITACHI PROSCAN* JVC

OPTONICA GE* PANASONICQUASAR TOSHIBA TECHNICSSHARP (*Premier,. ZENITH

Over a 90% Fill Rate Free or Discounted No minimum orders freight program Backorder reports with Fast, EfficientETA's mailed biweekly Research

No handling charges Factory Authorized'Applies to orders received by 2:30 PST

Phone 800-289-0300 FAX 800-289-0301P.O. Box 914

Santa Clarita, CA 91380-014

electronics In 58-0259-52-5571-6727 00

Largest Inventory of O.F.M. Parts,and Service Literature in the Country

Beapdrews

Stocking theAccessories,

Circle (62) on Reply CE rd43


Philips Software Development

PO Box 555Jefferson City, TN 37760-0555Phone: 423-475-0393Fax: 423-475-0071

Software Development is a new depart-ment in Philips. We grew out of an effortto create the best electronic service man-ual program possible. From this effort wehave embraced the goal to "Develop themost user friendly software productsfor the service industry".

We were the first to develop a parts crossreference program covering all 250,000 ofour parts with substitutes, prices, dudallowance, and availability. It was in thisproject that we started to develop methodsto reduce the size of our data which makesit practical to load on a hard drive.

Our next big effort was to take all of ourTV/PTV models going back to 1985 andput them into a program that allows fastaccess to any component in those setswith a link back to the pricing program.This combination was very fast and pow-erful, allowing access to all parts includ-ing hand units by typing the model num-ber. Substitutions, price, and availabilityare then only a keystroke away.

In 1994 we began to research how wecould create an electronic service manu-al. We insisted that it meet certain criteria:

1. An electronic service manual pro-gram had to be FAST in order to bring updiagrams and move through them withoutdelay.

2. It had to be COMPATIBLE with allother manufacturers. In order to preventservicers from having to have multiplesystems, our program is designed to beflexible to accommodate any manufac-turers service manual data.

3. The most challenging and importantis that our program had to OVERCOMEEVERY COMPLAINT we could imagineconcerning the use of paper manuals.

Overcoming every complaint was themost difficult. There are so many prob-lems and as we talked to technicians thelist grew even longer. This is a short listof problems to overcome:

Manuals get lost on the bench underother manuals as they do not get refiled.

Tracing signals through a manual is

too time consuming and difficult. Finding any information in a man-

ual takes too long. The diagrams are printed too

small for most people.It takes too long to order and

receive a manual when it is needed. Paper manual files take up too much

floor space in the shop. Paper manuals take up too much bench

space when opened to view the diagram. Keeping paper manuals updated in a

timely manner is difficult. In most cases paper manuals lack a

history of known fixes and troubleshoot-ing techniques.

Paper manuals cost too much. Every company makes their manual

in a different style.We have listened to every one of these

complaints and designed FORCE to over-come these and so many more. The pro-gram was initially called SmartMan. Re-grettably there was a trademark alreadyissued for that name so we have changedthe name to FORCE (FOR ConsumerElectronics).

We have designed FORCE to makeevery manual available to every techni-cian. It includes HotSpot signal tracing toquickly jump from one diagram to another.Location information for components, Dr-cuits, diagram name, and all Known Faultsare included. We can deliver our manualsvia the Internet as well as update it at anytime. We allow you to make notes aboutany fix you find. We are also soliciting con-sumer electronics companies wishing tomake manuals in this style to join us.

We designed our program, FORCE, tobe user friendly and can improve produc-tivity so much that every technician willsoon have his own computer. We see pro-ductivity improving by 10% to 30%,depending on the technician's use and thekind of jobs done. It costs only 2% of thatproductivity improvement to put a com-puter in the hands of every tech.

CD-ROMs have been considered to be

A PowerfulFORCE is Here.

. m,

Leg matt bew

(423)475-0480PHILIPS

the only way to go with a program like this.A CD-ROM style would make the manu-als too large for Internet delivery. Most ofour manuals are under one floppy disk insize. If our manuals required a CD-ROM,we would not be able to easily deliverthem by Internet and only one techniciancould access a manual at a time. Updatingwould have been much more difficult andadding your own information, impossible.

The FUTURE of FORCE is growth andexpansion. We are going to add manymore features:

The ability to annotate a diagram withyour notes.

Cause voltage measurements toappear on -screen and remain there whileyou diagnose a problem.

Draw or write on a diagram, save itand FAX it to a help line.

Link via modem to any compatiblehelp line to exchange ideas on a repair.

Tie to any company's service pro-grams and record the results.

Allow NARDA claims to be generatedand electronically filed right from the job.

There are more features being plannedand we expect technicians will be makingsuggestions that will turn into even morenew features.

The Software Development Depart-ment hopes to overcome years of every-one doing their own thing. We stand readyto help any company that wants to join aunified standard for the industry. We wantto overcome the last complaint aboutpaper manuals and finally produce man-uals that are easy and intuitive to use.FORCE is designed to do just that.



Philips Service CompanyPO Box 555401 E. Old Andrew Johnson HighwayJefferson City, TN 37760Phone: 800-851-8885Fax: 800-535-3715

Rated #1 in the IndustryPhilips Service Company surveys its

Authorized Servicers throughout thecountry to ask them to rate our serviceamong the service of the top ten consum-er electronic manufacturers. All manu-facturers are rated in seven service -re-lated categories as well as an overallrating. The Philips Service Company hasconsistently achieved a #1 rating in all cat-egories, including the category of ServiceParts Support.

Easy to Do Business With

Toll Free Order Line - 800-851-8885Toll Free Fax Line - 800-535-3715

Courteous and knowledgeable phonerepresentatives are available Mondaythrough Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ESTand Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.EST and are ready to take your order orassist you with on-line pricing and avail-ability information. A toll free fax is alsoavailable 24 -hours a day, 7 days a weekfor customers to fax their orders. A con-firmation of your order can be returnedupon request indicating the order numberand item availability.

No Hassle Return PolicyIn our continued effort to be easy to do

business with Philips offers a 30 -day NoHassle Return policy. The details of thispolicy are provided on the back of yourpacking slip, and enable the servicer tomaximize this turnaround time of custom-er repairs and estimates by allowing thereturn of new parts within 30 -days of pur-chase with No Hassle.

Customer Service DepartmentServicers are encouraged to contact

our Customer Service Department if theyexperience any problems with their or-ders, parts returns, or account. Associ-ates are trained to resolve most problemswhile you are on the phone. The Customer

Genuine Philips Parts...The Intelligent Choice

Service Department can be reachedthrough the Parts and Accessories order-ing number 1-800-851-8885.

Teleserve DepartmentOur Teleserve Department consists of

knowledgeable representatives workingto keep you informed of new items andspecial promotions that are available foryou to offer :o your customers. Represen-tatives are continuously finding new ave-nues of reaching our customer base suchas outbound calling and group faxing.

Making Things Better

Reduced PricingIn our effort to continually make things

better, Philips Service Company reducedits parts pricing in late 1996. This repre-

sented a reduction in price from 2%-23%for many of our popular items, such astuners, remotes, and transformers.

Same Day Shipping - Two-dayDelivery

Philips continues to achieve same dayshipme-it of orders received by 6:00 p.m.EST. Your orders will be delivered within2 working days anywhere within the Unit-ed Sates. Free shipping for all set war-ranty replacement parts.

Inventory AvailabilityPhilips prides itself on inventory avail-

ability, measuring its orderfill percentageto ensure that it consistently meets 95%or better. All of this is to allow our servicerto provide the best service support to theircustomer.



I.C.M. Components1226 Third Street Promenade , Suite 206Santa Monica, CA 90401, U.S.A.Phone: 310-260-1444, 800-748-6232Fax: 310-451-8727

I.C.M. Components is an importer anddistributor of high quality computer mon-itor flybacks, computer monitor testers,schematics and service manuals. Fly -backs for televisions are also available.

Offering the highest level of service,I.C.M. processes and ships most ordersthe same day from an inventory of over600 different types of flybacks and 750 dif-ferent types of schematics/service man-uals. There are no minimum orders andmost major credit cards are accepted.

Helping the repair technician is I.C.M.'stop priority. In addition to schematics andService manuals, we offer several typesof software designed to assist the tech.One such software program is our Tech -Tip Repair Program for Windows that wesell for $199.95 plus S&H; the programcontains over 1,400 Monitor, CPU, and

Power Supply failures listed by symptomand solution. The program is updatedonce a month and upgrades can be pur-chased for a small charge plus S&H. Asa bonus, the FCC -ID Database programdescribed below is included at no ex:racharge with the new WINDOWS TechTips program (a $50.00 value if pur-chased separately).

To help identify who made the differentbrands of monitors, I.C.M. offers a FCC -ID software program for $50.00. TneFCC -ID database contains over 60 pagesof monitor manufacturers names andaddresses. The software is easy to installand operate; no long instruction texts areever required. With so many off -brands ofmonitors being sold now, this program isa must to easily identify the O.E.M.

Our line of Computer Monitor Testers

are affordable and easy to operate.Starting at only $129.00 plus S&H ourtesters can test most of the IBM compat-ible monitors including MDA, CGA, EGA,VGA, SVGA. There is no need to use acomputer or to change video cards; theease of operation, reliability and low pricehas made our testers a very popularchoice with repair depots that already ownthe top names in testing equipment . For1997 we have introduced two new testersthat will test Apple Mac monitors in addi-tion to the IBM compatibles; one of thenew models is also capable to test up tofive different IBM compatible monitorssimultaneously for long term burn -in. Anew TV tester is now also available; priceand specifications on all testers are avail-able upon request.

I.C.M. sales people are dedicated tocomplete customer satisfaction. Our staffis knowledgeable, dependable andfriendly. To obtain the latest availabilityand pricing call our toll -free telephone linebetween 7:30AM - 5:00 PM (Pacific)Monday through Friday. During off hoursand days use our voice mail to leavedetailed parts request information; allcalls will be promptly returned with priceand availability.

YOUR MONITOR & TV FLYBACK SOURCE(ATTENTION SERVICE PROFESSIONALS!

Highest Quality ReplacementFlybacks

Fully GuaranteedFlybacks

Prompt Reply ToYour Parts Requests

Courteous &Efficient Service

Competitive Pricing

OMMEUM

NEC Macintosh

X

wrAT&TCZGoldStor

SAN/SUNG

PACKARD Nil=

MT802 MONITOR TESTER )Can be used to quickly

and easily trouble -shoottest and align IBM com-patible and Macintoshcomputer monitors

(MT803 MONITOR TESTER)Same functions as the

MT802. plus can test upto 5 IBM compatible

monitors simultaneously

(TELEVISION TESTER )

If You FixMonitors:

(MT830 MONITOR TESTER)Portable. Can be usedto quickly and easily

troubleshoot. test andalign computer

monitors.

800 748 6232

DeAL

ICMINTERNATIONAL COMPONENTS

MARKETING FAX

F.C,C.-I.D.DATABASEPROGRAM

$50.00On 1.44 disk to help you identify who

manufactured the monitor you are trying torepair. Program contains over 60 pages of

manufacturers names and addresses.

SCHEMATICS.:-or over 700 monitors/terminals. Call

us with the make, model and F.C.C.-I.D.number of the monitors you need

schematics for.

TECHTIP REPAIRPROGRAM FOR WINDOWS'

$199.95Lists over 1000 monitor, CPU & powersupply failures by symptom & solution.

BONUS!! -Included at no additional cost is our F.C.C.-

1.D. DATABASE program ($50.00 Value).`.MICROSOFT CORP

4)5111800.748.6232

310.260.1444

310.451.8727

SO AMU GilICIMILS.11

ALLBRANDMANIESLWEDAREREGISTEREDIRADEESPECTWECOMPAWES

Circle (67) on Reply Card46 Electronic Servicing & Technology April 1997


Herman Electronics7350 Herman WayMiami, FL 33122Phone: 800-938-4376Fax: 800-938-4377

Herman Electronics is a diverse andmulti -faceted full -line distributor of every-thing in electronics, committed to offeringonly the best in original replacementparts, tools, test equipment, cable, con-nectors, chemicals, and most important-ly, customer service to their customers. Inbusiness for over 40 years and havingrecently moved to their new state-of-the-art corporate offices and distribution facil-ity, Herman Electronics has clearly estab-lished itself as one of the leaders in theindustry by providing only quality productsand superb customer service to all facetsof the electronics industry.

The heartbeat of the company lies inthe OEM parts department. While servingthe industry for over 3 decades, Hermanhas many of the major OEM parts linesenabling them to provide more efficientand cost effective service to you, their

valued customer. The company pridesitself on being a SINGLE source to theservice trade.

Herman Electronics is one of the largestoriginal replacement parts and accessorydistributors in the country and is factoryauthorized for SONY, PANASONIC,THOMSON -Premier (RCA -GE -PRO -SCAN), SAMSUNG, QUASAR. ONKYO,TECHNICS, TOSHIBA, and KENWOOD.Stocking one of the largest and most com-prehensive parts inventories in the countryenables the company to fill over 80% oftheir orders from their inventory and guar-antees SAME DAY shipment of all in -stockorders placed before 4:30 P.M. (EST).

Herman Electronics provides a varietyof customer support services as a resultof their commitment to customer serviceexcellence. They have several profes-sional customer service representatives

to serve all your needs from 8:30 A.M. to6:00 P.M. (EST) Monday thru Friday.

The company prides itself on beingaccommodating to its customers in orderto provide complete customer satisfaction."We realize there are many good distribu-tors throughout the country," says JeffreyA. Wolf, President and son of one of thecompany's founders. "It is our job to be bet-ter by taking that extra step in giving ourcustomers professional, personalized ser-vice. This industry has quickly become ser-vice d-iven and therefore it is our focus anddedication to maintain a standard of excel-lence in customer service. As the year2000 rapidly approaches we must contin-ue to develop innovative ideas and freshapproaches to meet and exceed thedemands that lie ahead." And the compa-ny is doing just that. On-line computer ser-vices, 24 hour electronic ordering, EDI, on-line parts research just to name a few. Toaccommodate the west coast and afterhours requests, Herman has an electron-ic telephone and fax ordering system avail-able 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you haven't given Herman Electronicsa try, please do so now. Call to requesttheir monthly specials and experience thetrue HERMAN ADVANTAGE where withONE call you can get it all!

/IF YOU NEED IT...WE HAVE IT!

THE HERMAN ADVANTAGE

HE All In -Stock Orders Placed Before 4:00 PM EST Are Shipped the Same Day.

FREE or DISCOUNTED Air Freight Program

RAPID RESPONSE to All Research Requests.

PROFESSIONAL Customer Service Representatives to Serve Your Every Need.

CONSOLIDATE YOUR BUYING and purchase all the major lines from

ONE SOURCE.

NO MINIMUM ORDER.

Phone: 80E16938.4316 Fax Order Line: 800.938.4311ORIGINAL REPLA NT PARTS a ACCESSORIES

SONY KENWOOD Panasonic RCAGO.VIDEO TOSHIBA Technics

Qua-Uat- ONKYO TRDNICS PRoScAN-* PREMIER DISTRIBUTOR

Test Equipment, Tools, Soldering Equipment,Chemicals, and Service Accessories

BIC FREC=C4 GoldStar FLUKE 1HAK(OHITACHI KENWOOD LEADER

WAVETEK GC 3M Weller Xcelite

INBRIrnors

(cs

mak 7350 HERMAN WAY, MIAMI, FL 33122WV' Internet E -Mail Address: [email protected]

Web Page: http://gatein .com/hermanelecCircle (66) on Reply Card April 1997 Electronic Servicing & Technology 47


Thomson Consumer Electronics7225 Winton Drive, INH 915Indianapolis, IN 46268Phone: 317-415-2568Fax: 317-587-9647

Thomson Consumer Electronics be-lieves that you should have a choice. Werealize that you rely on our genuine re-placement parts not only during the re-quired warranty period, but also when youwant the highest level of quality and per-formance available. We also realize thatnot every estimate you give can be con-verted to a repair using original parts.That's our difference, we give you thechoice!

Original PartsRCA and GE genuine replacement

parts provide today's service profession-al with the reliability they need when com-pleting in -warranty repairs. And they aredelivered to you by parts distributors whoprovide an outstanding level of service. Infact, our most recent survey of the serviceindustry continues to show that three outof four servicers believe that no othermanufacturer provided a consistently bet-ter parts fulfillment system than the Thom-son Consumer Electronics' parts distribu-tors.

Thomson Premier Distributors can fillyour warranty part orders either off theirshelves on all in -stock products, or byplacing a Direct Drop Shipment (DDS)order via computer directly into the TCEnational parts depot. Either way, youreceive the part you need to complete therepair quickly and you get the highest pos-sible fill rate for warranty parts to serviceRCA, GE and ProScan products. Thiscomputer link also allows the PremierDistributor access to all the informationneeded to provide you with the high levelof service you require in today's fastpaced business.

SK Series Universal PartsYou know that lower estimates equal

more repairs and more business for you.To help you turn more of those COD esti-mates into repairs, Thomson continues tobroaden it's line of SK Series UniversalProducts. These quality parts let youreduce the repair estimate by loweringyour replacement parts cost, and that'sgood news for you!

Thomson is so serious about the uni-versal parts business that we have put ourmoney where our mouth is! In January weplaced a "reward" on your replacementvideo head business. TCE offered a $2.50rebate on every SK Series replacementvideo head that you used 1/1/97-3/31/97.Your response has been so great that weare now upping the ante! TCE is verypleased to announce the extension of theReward Program on video heads as wellas the addition of a reward on two otherproduct groups! TCE will offer a $2.50reward on every SK Series replacementvideo head, SK Series flyback trans-former and SK Series laser pick up thatyou purchase from a participating distrib-utor between 4/1/97 and 6/30/97. Videoheads, flybacks and laser pick ups all ata $2.50 savings. What could possibly bebetter?

SK Series Universal Products cover awide range of high wear, high usage parts.Whether you need video heads, flybacktransformers, video replacement parts,belts, tires, pinch rollers, laser pickups,RF modulators, exact semiconductors,servicer aids and more, you can look toSK Series First.

TCE LiteratureThomson also provides a number of

publications which makes finding the rightpart for the repair even easier. Our latest"SK Series Product Guide" (Catalog#201) serves as a quick reference tool tothe SK Series Universal Product line.Photographs, text and graphic illustra-tions all help guide you to the right stocknumber very quickly and easily.

In addition to TCE's comprehensiveservice data, the "Television ComponentsQuick Reference Guide" contains key partnumbers for recent RCA, GE andProScan chassis. It's ideal for the techni-cian on the road. It folds to fit in your pock-et. The Quick Reference Guide also con-tains a section dedicated to the EPROM'sassociated with chassis CTC168 throughCTC187.

Another hard copy publication is theTCE "Source Book" which contains a wide

variety of information. The extensive mainsection contains VCR/Camcorder KeyItems, with a look -up by brand and model.Also included is a complete CamcorderBattery cross-reference along with infor-mation on TCE tools and fixtures by modelnumber, flameproof resistors, IC protec-tors, and axial lead zener diodes.

And there is of course, our well knownand widely accepted "OEM Remote Con-trol" book. This book is printed once a yearand no one that repairs TCE productsshould be without one!

These publications are available fromyour Authorized Thomson Parts Distribu-tor. For the "SK Series Product Guide"order publication 1J1226, for the "QuickReference Guide" order publication1J9548, for the "VCR/Camcorder SourceBook" order publication number 1J9780and for the "Remote Control" book order1 F5790.

Accessories and ComponentsBusiness

The Thomson Consumer Electronics,Accessories and Components Businessprovides service from a 358,000 squarefoot facility located in Deptford, NewJersey. All business functions-customerservice, sales and marketing, quality as-surance, product analysis, administrativedepartments and warehousing operateunder one roof. Some parts are stockedin satellite warehouse facilities in El Paso,TX, Asheville, NC and Indianapolis, IN.

A full line of RCA brand Consumer Elec-tronics Accessories is marketed from thisfacility as well. The business is managedby Jack Nick, Vice President. ThomsonConsumer Electronics corporate head-quarters is in Indianapolis.

One Call Is All You Need To MakeWhether you need original RCA and GE

parts or SK Series products, your Thom-son distributor is your one stop source. Asingle call to a Thomson Distributor givesyou the choice you deserve, making yourbusiness more profitable. To locate anearby Thomson Authorized Distributorsimply call (800) 338-1900 today.


O

THE SK SERIES GANG

"CUR LEY"Video Head

$REWARD

"TEX" "SLIM"Laser Pickup Flyback Transformer

All you have to do is purchase any SK Se-iesvideo head, laser pickup, or flyback betweenApril 1 and June 30, 1997, fill out a redemptionform and send it along with the numbered boatop and your invoke. Simple as that. Somerestrictions apply. Void where prohibited by law.See your paricipating authorized ThomsonConsumer Electronics distributor for details.

See Your Participating AuthorizedThomson Consumer Electronics

Distributor For Details. 441Wr


Philips ECGPO Box 967Greeneville, TN 37744-0967Phone: 423-636-5693Fax: 800-346-6621

Leading the Industry to SuccessPhilips ECG has stood the test of time

and reliability by building upon a tradi-tion of providing the highest qualityproducts, most reliable customer ser-vice, technical support and consistentavailability in the industry. This long-term focus on quality and service firsthas made the ECG brand a standardby which others are compared. ECGhas also earned ISO -9002 registration,so very important in today's competi-tive environment. ECG products aredistributed through a nationwide net-work of leading Electronic parts distrib-utors and major catalog houses.

Over 31 Years of UniversalReplacements

In 1966, the ECG Semiconductor Re-placement Line was introduced, and ayear later the company introduced itsfirst replacement guide with 23 typescross referencing to 2,700 industrialpart numbers. Thirty one years and 17editions later, the ECG MasterReplacement Guide now crosses near-ly 4,000 devices to over 294,000 indus-try part numbers. Throughout this time,ECG has continually offered the broad-est available line of universal replace-ment semiconductors to the commer-cial, industrial OEM/MRO, computer,entertainment, and communications in-dustries. Philips ECG pioneered theconcept of universal replacement semi-conductors to provide customers anopportunity to reduce redundant inven-tories and the number of suppliers theymust deal with. The ECG semiconduc-tor line replaces more industrial partnumbers than any other line.

Philips ECG - Our Product LinesKeep Growing

In addition to ECG's wide range ofuniversal replacement semiconduc-tors such as transistors, IC's, rectifiers,diodes and opto devices, just to namea few, ECG recently introduced a line

ECGRELAYS and Accessories

-

of generic semiconductors. The ECGbrand has become the recognizedindustry leader in universal replace-ment relay's, as well. The ECG relaycross reference guide crosses over58,700 industry part numbers, cover-ing 210 different brands, to 700 ECGtypes. Other Philips ECG product linesinclude a totally revamped line of envi-ronmentally friendly chemicals, a lineof top quality digital & analog multi -meters, scope & logic probes, anexcellent capacitance meter, etc., anextensive line of flame proof resistors,flybacks for TV's and monitors, andwide selection of multi -outlet surgesuppressor strips. ECG also has a topquality antenna rotator and cable con-verter. These lines are continuouslymonitored and updated to ensure thatPhilips ECG customers receive the lat-est in state-of-the-art technology.

Save Money With Less PartsPhilips ECG is dedicated to helping

our customers improve their bottomline. Our products save distributors andservice technicians money by helpingthem enjoy the benefits of a broaderparts coverage with less inventory andat a substantial savings. When our cus-tomers succeed, we succeed.

The First Name in ReplacementFrom its inception in 1966 to it lead-

ership role in the semicondutorreplacement industry, the ECG brandhas continued to stand the test of timeby providing the highest quality, relia-bility, and customer service.

Ask your ECG distributor today orcall 1-800-526-9354 for the name ofthe distributor nearest you.


VERSATILITY

ECG.Solving replacement problems.ECG products help you reduce inventory by ilicreas-ing their uses. Our devices support so many brandsthat you're always ready when you need to replace.

With extensive parts lines, we make hard -to -findreplacements easy -to -find. The ECG SemiconductorsMaster Replacement Guide features over 4,000devices which replace 294,000 part numbers. OurRelay Guide lists over 700 relays/accessories andcross-references over 58,700 part numbers. Theseguides are the time -tested industry standard.

Versatility means you have what you need when youneed it-without overstocking your inventoriesECG provides long-lasting solutions to yourreplacement problems.

In addition to semiconductors, relays, and relayaccessories, we carry antenna rotators, cableconverters, chemicals, cube timers, flameproofresistors, flyback transformers, input/outputmodules, multimeters, proximity switches,rechargeable batteries, surgesuppressors, testequipment, TVaccessories,

VCR

tools/parts,and wiringaccessories.

When it's time to replace, the industry calls ECG,because it fits and it works.

For ECG distributor information. call 1-800-;26-9354.

Philips ECG is ISO -9002 registered

'11Mlir -111.11W " . Circle (119) on Reply CardillillirPHILIPS

ECG ProductsA Division of Philips Electronics North America Corp.


Matsushita Services Company20421 84th Avenue SouthKent, Washington 98021Phone: 800-833-9626Fax: 800-237-9080

For 35 years, the Panasonic, Quasar,and Technics brand names have ap-peared throughout American homes andindustries. In that time, our company'scommitment to total customer satisfactionhas manifested itself in many ways. Our ap-proach to post sales support has evolvedto include programs that encompass qual-itative human resource training, as well asones that stress the development of auto-mated processes that allow us to offertimely, accurate solutions to our end us-ers' service needs.

The engine behind MSC's ability to en-sure timely repairs is our ability to deliverparts, accessories, and service literatureto our network of factory service centers,independent servicers, and dealers intimely manner. We are now seeing the re-sults of over a decade of continued invest-ment in the modernization of our facilities.The primary point of support for all re-placement parts and service literature isthe National Parts Center in Kent, Wash-ington. From here, and with further sup-port from sales & marketing staff and fieldstaff throughout our U.S. regions, we han-dle a wide variety of inquiries and fill justabout any request made of us.

Customer ContactGenerally, the first line of customer sup-

port is provided by our order offices locat-ed in Kent, Washington. This office han-dles a wide variety of customer callsranging from simple parts orders to re-quests to do research on unique modelnumbers. Currently, the order office han-dles an average of 1,400 calls a day justfor taking orders, as well as take an aver-age of 250 calls from customers request-ing such things as estimated shippingtime, return authorizations, processingcredits, and special orders. Also, the officereceives over 500 faxes daily. In additionto all of this, we offer retail customers toll -free phone and fax numbers to call andorder literature, parts, or any of our com-prehensive line of accessories.

One of our recent changes was the con-solidations of our Kent, WA and Suwanee,

GA order offices. The single order officeallows us to process customer ordersmore quickly and efficiently. In order to fur-ther improve our level of service, we'vemade significant investments in phonemanagement systems to improve our effi-ciency. Data gathered from these systemswill graphically depict work load volume,peak times, and average call length on adaily basis, and give management a truepicture of where additional improvementsare needed.

Our staff includes representatives whichreach out to the field as well. Regionalparts accessory representatives call ondistributors, independent servicers, deal-ers, and even end users, to assess theirneeds. With a comprehensive portfolio ofsales programs and promotional items,they are able to keep in touch with the everchanging needs of all, and make the nec-essary recommendations to our marketdevelopmental personnel.

Our commitment doesn't stop with ourinternal efforts. We also maintain a net-work of over 40 authorized independentparts and accessory distributors who arewell positioned to support our wide rangeof customers in various markets through-out the country.

Parts and Service LiteratureDistribution

Once we've established what our cus-tomer needs, we have to get it to them.That's the job of over 80 employees thatstaff our parts and service literature ware-house in Kent. The building is a qua -termile long, and encompasses 228,000square feet, which houses over 125,00line items and 31/2 million pieces.

The warehouse day begins at 6:00 A.M.There are nearly 2,000 parts orders beingprocessed at any given time. In order tomanage such an overwhelming task, pro-cedures have been created that allow usto meet our goal of having all ordersshipped within 24 hours. By the end of theday, the facility will have shipped approx-imately 3,000 parts and literature orders,which consist of over 10,000 line items,

and over 40,000 pieces!Through the use of bar coding, and a

RF (radio frequency) based receiving sys-tem, we are able to reduce the turn aroundtime for receiving and stocking, makinggoods available to the customer evensooner.

We are in the process of completing ouriinvestment in the modernization of ourwarehouse operations. This will includethe expanded use of RF and bar codesthroughout the facility, conveyors,carousels and a new software system.Designed to create a paperless environ-ment, this comprehensive, state of the artinstallation will enable us to provide faster,error free service to our customers as wellas positioning Matsushita for the nextdecade.

Finally, in our effort to be earth friend-ly, the warehouse has been a leader in theeffort to recycle. It all started five yearsago when we began to use biodegradablepacking material. Today, we have a com-prehensive program to recycle all paper,cardboard, aluminum cans, and pallets.We make an effort to purchase recycledproduct when it is available. In recognitionof our efforts, we were designated a "dis-tinguished Business in the Green" by KingCountry.

The FutureThere will be a continued emphasis on

expansion of our customers' ability to go"on line" with MSC, not just for order entryand order inquiry, but also for credit andreturn procedures.

Internally, with systems that our cus-tomers don't directly see, we move furtherinto the information age. Not only do ourpurchasing agents continue to employCD-ROM information systems, we arenow on line with our factories in Japan forinquiry purposes, a capability we plan ex-pand to selected aspects of our market.The use of bar coding will continue toexpand.

Our goal for the future is customer sat-isfaction, not just for our direct customer,but anyone who comes in contact withPanasonic, Technics, or Quasar.


Matsushita OriginalReplacement Parts and Accessories

A Guaranteeof Quality

Nothing less than total satisfaction is expected by today's customers. The onlyway to live up to this standard is by using Matsushita Original Replacement Partsand Accessories. The source of this quality is Matsushita Services Company andyour Authorized Replacement Parts Distributor. Consult the list below, or call1-800-545-2672 for the location nearest you.

CALIFORNIA MINNESOTAAndrews Electronics (CN/M/A) 25158 Avenue Stanford, Santa Clarita 91355 800-289-0300 FAX 800-289-0301AVAC Corp. (V) 3746 Bradview Dr., Sacramento 95827 916-361-7491 FAX: 916-361-5480Cass Electronics (C/V/M/A) 801 Seventh Ave., Oakland 94606 510-839-2493 or 800-289-0300(outside 510) FAX 510-465-5927E and K Parts, Inc. (C/V/M/A) 2115 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles 90025 800-331-8263 or 310-475-6848 FAX 800-826-0890 or 310-474-0846Pacific Coast Parts (C/V/M/A) 15024 Staff Court, Gardena 92048 800-421-5080 FAX 800-782-5747Star For Parts (V) 10727 Commerce Way. Suite B, Fontana 92335 909-428-1404 FAX 909-428-3213Blakeman Wholesale (V) 1800 E. Walnut St.. Fullerton 92631 714-680-6800 FAX 714-680-8700

COLORADOStar For Parts (V) 2350 Arapahoe St., Denver 80205 303-296-2117 FAX 303-296-2120

CONNECTICUTSignal Electronics Supply. Inc. (C/M/A) 589 New Park Ave.. West Hartford 06110 860-233-8551 FAX 860-233-8554

FLORIDAHerman Electronics (C/V/M/A) 7350 N.W. 35th Terrace, Miami 33122 800-938-4376 305-477-0063 FAX 800-938-4377 305-477-8087Layco, Inc. (C/V/M/A) 501 South Main St., Crestview 32536 904-682-0321 FAX 904-682-8820Vance Baldwin (C/M/A) 2701 West McNab Road, Pompano Beach. 33069 800-432-8542 or954-969-1811 FAX 800-552-1431 or 954-969-0226Vance Baldwin (C/M/A) 1801 NE 2nd Ave., Miami 33132 305-379-4794 FAX 305-373-8855Vance Baldwin (C/V/M/A) 1007 N. Nimes Ave., Tampa 33607 400.299-1007 FAX 813-870-1088

GEORGIABuckeye Vacuum Cleaner (V) 2870 Plant Atkinson Rd., Smyrna 30080 .404-351-7300 FAX 404-351-7307Wholesale Industrial (C/M/A) 5925 Peachtree Corners East. Norcross 30071 770-447-8436 FAX 770-447-1078

ILLINOISB -B & W, Inc. (C/V/M) " 2137 S Euclid Ave., Berwyn 60402 708-749-1710 FAX 708-749-0325Hesco, Inc. (V) 6633 North Milwaukee Ave., Niles 60714 847-647-6700 FAX 847-647-0534Joseph Electronics, Inc. (C/M/A) 8830 N. Milwaukee Ave.. Niles 60714 847-297-4208 FAX 847-297-6923Union Electronic DisL (CN/M/A) 311 E. Corning Road, Beecher, IL 60401 800-648-6657 or 708-946-9500 FAX 8(10 -43 -UNION or 708-946-9200

INDIANAElectronic Service Parts (C/V/M) 2901 E. Washington St., Indianapolis 46201 317-269-1527 FAX 800-899-1220

KANSASG & A Distributors, Inc. (CN/M/A) 635 N. Hydraulic St., Wichita 67214 800-247-1439 cr316-262-3707 FAX 316-262-6494

MARYLANDTritronics (C/V/M/A) 1306 Continental Dr.. Abingdon 21009-2334 410-676-7300 FAX 800-888-FAXD

MASSACHUSETTSSignal Electronics Supply, Inc. (C) 484 Worthington St., Springfield 01105 413-739-3893. FAX 413-739-3895Tee Vee Supply Co. (C/V/M/A) 407 R Mystic Avenue. P.O. Box 649. Medford 02155 617-395-9440 FAX 413-739-3895

MICHIGANG. M. Popkey Co. (CN/M/A) 5000 W. Greenbrooke Dr. S.E.- Grand Rapids 49512 800-444-3920or 616-698-2390 FAX 616-698-0794Remcor Electronics (C/V/M/A) 10670 W. Nine Mile Rd.. Oak Park 48237 810-541-5666 FAX 810-398-1016

AVAC Corporation (V) 666 University Ave., St. Paul 55104 612-222-0763 FAX 612-224-2674Ness Electronics, Inc. (CN/M/A) 441 Stinson Blvd. NE. Minneapolis 55413 612-623-9505 FAX 612-623-9540

MISSOURIChitronix., Inc. (CN/M/A) 1641 Dielman Rd.. St. Louis 63132 314-427-3420 or 800-846-2484 FAX 314-427-3360Tacony Corp. (V) 1760 Gilsinn Lane. Fenton 63026 314-349-3000 FAX 314-349-2333

NEVADAMCM Electronics (C/V/M/A) 495 East Parr Blvd.. Reno 89512 800-543-4330 FAX 513.434-6959 (OH)

NEW JERSEYAVAC Corp. ,,V) 66 Ethel Rd.. Edison 081.18 908-287-3300 FAX 908-287-3331Pinson Electronics (CN/M/A) 1-80 and New Maple Ave.. P.O. Box 2003, Pine Brook 07058 800-255-5229 or 201-244-2400 FAX 800.332-3922

NEW YORKDale Electronics oCN/M/A) 7 E. 20th St., New York City 10003 212-475-1124 FAX 212-475-1963Fox International, Inc. (CN/M/A1 241-A Central Ave., Farmingdale 11735 516-694-1354 or800-321-6993 FAX 516-694-0595Radio Equipment Corp. (C/A) 196 Vulcan St.. Buffalo 14207 716-874-2690 FAX 716-874-2698Star For Parts (V) 250 Rabro Drive East, Hauppauge 11788-0255 800-525-6046 FAX 516-348-7160

OHIOFox International, Inc. (CN/M/A) 23600 Aurora Rd.. Bedford Heights 44146 216-439-8500 FAX 800-445-7991MCM Electronics (C/V/M/A) 650 Congress Park Drive. Centerville 45459-4072 937-4340031 or800-5434330 FAX 937-434-6959

OREGONDiversified Parts (C/V/M/A) 2114 S.E. 9Lh Ave.. Portland 97214-4615 800-338-6342 FAX 800-962-0602Northwest Wholesale (V) 426 NE Davis St., Portland 97232 800-234-8227 or 503-232-7114 FAX 503-232-7115

PENNSYLVANIACRS Electronics (C/M) 818 Brownsville Ed., Pittsburgh 15210 412-431-7700 FAX 412-431-5666Steel City Vacuum Co., Inc. (V) 919 Pena Ave., Pittsburgh 15221 800-822-1199 or 412-731-0300 FAX 412-731-3205

TENNESSEEAVAC Corp. (V) 236-B Space Park South Dr., Nashville 37211 615-834-8800 FAX 615-831-1051Electrontex, Inc. (CN/M/A) 6122 Macon Rd.. Memphis 38134 901-383-9300 * FAX 901-388-0258Shields Electonics Supply, Inc. (CN/M/A) 4722 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville 37921 423-588-2421 FAX 615-588-3431

TEXASElectrotex, Inc. (CN/M/A) 813 Morrow, Austin 78757 512-454-0318 FAX 512-454-0859Electrotex, Inc. ICN/M/A) 555 S. 23rd St.. Beaumont 77707 409-842-3456 FAX 409-842-5262Electrotex, Inc. (CN/M/A) 1411) Crescent. Corpus Christi 78412 512-993-9697 FAX 512-993-9699Electrotex, Inc. (CN/M/A) 2300 Richmond Ave.. Houston 77098-3299 713-526-3456 Fax 713-639-6400Electrotex, Inc. (C/V/M/A) 1200 W. Hildebrand. San Antonio 78201 210.735-9271 FAX 210-737-2642Fox International (CN/M) 752 So. Sherman. Richardson 75081 800-321-6993 or 216-439-8500 FAX 8130445-7991Interstate Electric Co. (C/V/M/A) 11292 Leo Lane. Dallas 75229 214-247-1567 or 800-527-4029 FAX 214-247-2137VCP International, Inc. (V) 2285 Merritt Dr., Garland 75040 214-271-7474 FAX 214-278-5981

WISCONSING. M. Popkey Company (CN/M/A) 2035 Larsen Ave.. Green Bay 54307-2237 414-497-0440 FAX 414-497-4894G. M. Popkey Company (CN/M/A) 2355 S. Calhoun Rd.. New Berlin 53151 414-786-5887

ICI Consumer Electronics PartsAVI Vacuum Cleaner Parts DistlibutorAMItsialor Appliance Parts/IA) Accemories las of 3/171 FAX 414-786-9031

Matsushita Services Company20421 84th Avenue South, Kent, Washington 98032

Panasonic Technics Quasar®

* * DISTRIBUTORS' SHOWCASE * * *

RNJ Electronics, Inc.202 New Highway, PO Box 667Amityville, NY 11701-0667Phone: 800-645-5833Fax: 800-RNJ-FAX1

RNJ Electronics, Inc. is now entering its17th year as a full -line discount distribu-tor, servicing the TV, VCR, computer,stereo, and microwave repair industries.In addition, RNJ Electronics is a leadingsupplier of background sound productsincluding PA amplifiers, microphones,speakers, wire, etc. RNJ is also yoursource for all home theater productsincluding Dolby Pro -logic receivers, in wallspeakers, subwoofers, center channelspeakers, as well as Decora volume con-trols. RNJ electronics can now fill yourDSS satellite needs including both thebasic and deluxe systems. The companyhas also become a leading distributor inan industry experiencing tremendousgrowth: the security industry, stockingproducts such as cameras, monitors,sequential switchers, quad splitters, mul-tiplexers, lenses, m odulators, etc.

The company publishes a semi-annu-

al, 136 -page catalog containing thou-sands of items all at discounted prices.Product categories in our catalog includetest equipment by B&K Precision, EMCO,Global Specialties, Fluke, Wavetek, andAVCOM. In addition, the company alsostocks a full line of audio video and anten-na accessories, universal remotes, TV andVCR wall mounts, mobile carts, servicechemicals, an extensive line of VCR parts,camcorder accessories, TV and monitorflybacks, Japanese semi -conductors,microwave oven parts, educational kits,tools and soldering equipment and com-puter accessories. RNJ is also one of thelargest stocking dstributors of Panasoniccable converters.

RNJ Electronics prides itself on its abil-ity to stay current with the ever changingneeds of its customers. Customer serviceis a top priority for the company. All ordersare processed in a timely manner with

shipping viaadded additional phone lines as well as an800 fax line.

The company offers volume discountsfor large orders. It also ships all over theworld. RNJ Electronics, Inc. can meet allof your needs. Call toll free and see.

UPS. The company has

DSS SATELLITE SYSTEMS

TEST EQUIPMENT

AUDIO/VIDEO ACCESSORIES

VCR PARTS & ACCESSORIES

CAMCORDER BATTERIES &

ACCESSORIES

PANASONIC CABLE TV CONVERTERS

VIDEO HEADS

TV & VCR MOUNTS

MOBILE SERVICE TABLES

TV PARTS & ACCESSORIES

HOME THEATER PRODUCTS

SERVICE CHEMICALS

EDUCATIONAL KITS

TOOLS & SOLDERING EQUIPMENT

SECURITY EQUIPMENT

PA EQUIPMENT

INTERCOM SYSTEMS

SPEAKERS

AN PRODUCTS

COMPUTER ACCESSORIES

FLYBACKS

ELECTRONICS, INC.516-226-2700 800-645-5833

0

FAX-1-800-RNJ-FAX1

OURith

Yr AP

r:11;51

CALL OR WRITEFOR FREECATALOG

SUPER SPECIALBKICAY- MAX INTERNATIONAL CORP.

B&K MODEL 2120B20Mhz OSCILLOSCOPE

CALL FORDISCOUNTED PRICE

202 NEW HIGHWAY, P.O. BOX 667AMITYVILLE, NY 11701-0667

54 Electronic Servicing & Technology April 1997 Circle (77) on Reply Card


MCM Electronics650 Congress Park DriveCenterville, OH 45459Phone: 800-543-4330Fax: 937-434-6959

MCM Electronics , Your Source ForService Parts and Accessories

For over 20 years, MCM has been aleading supplier to the electronics serviceindustry. Stocked is a wide variety of orig-inal OEM and generic repair parts used inall aspects of consumer electronics re-pair. As authorized distributors for RCA/GE, Panasonic, Technics, Quasar andnow ECG, Philips and Maganavox, wehave the exact replacement items youneed. For the bench, we stock a broadselection of tools and technician aids fromtrusted names like Chemtronics, TechSpray, Caig, Xcelite, Crescent, Klein,Weller, Ungar and Hakko. Not to mentiontest equipment from Tenma, Fluke, B&KPrecision, Hitachi, Sencore, Leader, Trip-lett, Simpson and Tektronix.

Discover The MCM ElectronicsDifference

MCM publishes two full-sized catalogsannually. The latest issue boasts over6500 new products, and features over 100pages devoted solely to semiconductors,repair parts and accessories. In all, MCMstocks over 35,000 items essential to theservice industry. Sales flyers are mailedregularly featuring specially priced itemsand new product additions keeping thecustomers up to date on the latest avail-able products.

Superior Customer ServiceThe MCM staff is trained to answer all

calls fast, friendly and efficiently All salesrepresentatives are professionals whoare available on toll -free lines to provide

immediate information on stock availabil-ity and pricing. They are available Mondaythrough Friday 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.EST, and Saturday 9:00 am to 6:00 p.m.EST. Faxed orders are also accepted 24hours a day, seven days a week. MCMalso p-ovides highly trained electronicstechnicians to answer customers productquestions. With a separate toll -free "Tech -Line," customers receive prompt answersto their questions by calling 1 -800 -824 -TECH (8324)

Fast Delivery From TwoDistribution Facilities

MCM is committed to providing superi-or customer service. Distribution centersare strategically located near Reno, NVand Dayton, OH. This enables fast deliv-ery at ground rates throughout the U.S. Inaddition, with over 35,000 items stocked,99% of all orders are shipped within 24hours. In fact, all in stock orders receivedby 5:00 p.m. (your time) are shipped theSAME DAY! For more information and afree catalog, call 1-800-543-4330, in Day-ton, OH, call 513-434-0031.

II

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MCM s comprehensive line of tools,test equpment and other products areengineered specifically for the consumerelectrorics repair industry. A widevariety c -f OEM and generic parts,gassive :omponents and over 10,000s arnicorductors are all stocked andready tc ship.

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CODE: ES93



Howard W. Sams & Company2647 Waterfront Parkway East DriveIndianapolis, IN 46214Phone: 1-800-428-7267Fax: 1-800-552-3910Web site: http://www.hwsams.com

Howard W. Sams & Company isproud to be celebrating 50 years as thenation's leading technical publisher.Since its inception in 1946, Sams hasseen its product offerings expand anddiversify, so that today, Sams boasts themost complete lineup of technical doc-umentation, services, and publicationsfound anywhere.

Over 50 years ago, Howard Samswas the first company to recognize thatthe increasing popularity of home enter-tainment electronics meant a corre-sponding demand for reliable servicedocumentation. This insight gave birthto the first PHOTOFACTO, which pre-sented concise technical information tohelp service technicians repair specificmakes and models of radios.Televisions soon were added to theproduct line, followed by computerequipment and then VCRs, furtherenhancing Sams' ability to provide com-plete, consistent, high -quality repairinformation to service technicians.

Today, Howard Sams is the nation'slargest provider of after -market servicedata for the television and VCR repairindustry in the form of the PHOTO -FACTO and VCRfacts0 subscriptionservices, as well as through electronicsdistributors. Research shows that 95percent of the companies providingafter -market repair service for colortelevisions use Sams technical data.

While PHOTOFACTO provided thefoundation for Howard Sams' rise to thetop of the technical publishing industry,it is only a portion of what the companypublishes today. Sams currently offersa complete line of service products, dis-tributor catalogs, technical books, copyservice, and custom manuals for a widerange of clients.

Another major part of the Sams tech-nical products line, PROMPT®Publications has grown to become one

of the top technical imprints in the nationand one of Sams' brightest stars.Concentrating its efforts on technicalbooks designed both for the novice andthe experienced electronics technician,PROMPT® published over 60 books inits first five years, with another 30scheduled to go to press this year.Among the upcoming titles yet to bereleased are Electronic Projects for the21st Century Desktop Digital Video.Home Security Projects Book, andHoward W Sams Computer MonitorTroubleshooting and Repair.

Each and every PROMPT® bookprovides a clear understanding of theprinciples involved in the installation,maintenance, and performance of elec-tronic devices that have become sucha large part of our everyday lives. Someof PROMPT's most recent best-sellingtitles include The Component Identifierand Source Book, Howard W samsComplete VCR Troubleshooting andRepair, and Optoelectronics.

Sams' photocopy service is anotherelement of the company's business thatprovides invaluable information to itscustomers. With a library of hundredsof manufacturers covering a wide rangeof product lines and thousands of mod-els, Sams can provide service docu-mentation on most any product, includ-ing TVs, VCRs, FAX machines,computers, microwave ovens, antiqueradios, plus much more.

Howard Sams experienced anotherhistoric growth year in 1995 as it wasacquired by Bell Atlantic DirectoryGraphics, a member of the Bell Atlanticfamily. The acquisition was a result of asuccessful strategic teaming agree-ment that started in 1994, when BADGand Sams began working together todevelop DATAHOSTO an industry -leading on-line catalog delivery system.

The teaming agreement demonstrat-

ed that Directory Graphics' technologi-cal skills combined with Sams' content -rich database and technical catalogexpertise would lead to next -generationbusiness -to -business information prod-ucts for both print and electronic deliv-ery. Presently, Sams' five -million itemdatabase is being converted to a rela-tional database platform, coined DATA -HOST®. The information contained inDATAHOSTO can be extracted from thedatabase and delivered to distributorcustomers through not only traditionalprint catalogs and niche catalogs, butalso CD-ROMs and electronic on-lineapplications.

The growth of 1995 was followed byeven more expansion in 1996. HowardSams created an on-line presence atwww.hwsams.com. By visiting this site,guests are treated to complete titlesummaries for PROMPT® books, aswell as an entirely searchable versionof the Annual Index. The site also fea-tures an interactive demonstration ofthe DATAHOSTO cataloging system. Inaddition to the Web site, Sams addedthree national sales offices in 1996.National headquarters remain inIndianapolis, IN, with sales offices nowlocated in California, Florida, andPennsylvania.

Since its very creation, Howard W.Sams & Company has been setting thestandard by which every other techni-cal publisher is judged. Many havetried, but few have succeeded in match-ing the level of quality and customer sat-isfaction that Sams provides with everyone of its products. Sams is now takingits half -century of technical expertiseinto the next generation, once againforging the path that other publisherswill try to follow.

To receive more information on anyof Sams' products or services, pleasecall 1-800-428-7267.


A Friend of the Service IndustryA Bell Atlantic Company

Howard W. Sams...Again!

Howard Sams is recommitting itself to the service Industry. We are striving to offer the products you need at the prices you want. We are supporting your local publications through advertiser dollars. We are empowering young technicians with essential training materials. We are attending local and national conferences, along with trade shows. We are listening to your comments, your requests, and your suggestions.

We are here for you, to serve you.We are the best source for the widest range of

service data, technical books, and referencematerials for the electronics industry.

SEMICONDUCTORCROSS REFERENCE BOOKFourth Edition

VCRIActs. norm sm.. ors

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Call today for more informationand the name of your

local distributor.

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MAT Electronics(East Coast)400 Pike RoadHuntingdon, PA 19006-1118Phone: 800-628-1118Fax: 800-628-1005

"The On Time Electronic Distributor" isour motto at MAT Electronics and we haveproudly served the electronic repair indus-try for over ten years. Over the past sev-eral years, MAT Electronics has strived toconstantly improve their product lines,customer service and competitive pricing.

MAT Electronics has two locations tobetter serve our customers -our originallocation in Pennsylvania and our newestlocation in Las Vegas, Nevada. The growthof MAT Electronics has been due to the fol-lowing: quality product, competitive pricesand fast reliable service. The company;sproducts are used by manufacturers, engi-neers, hospitals, technical trainingschools, hobbyists, and technicians.

MAT Electronics stocks an extensiveline of flybacks (TV and monitor), Japan-ese semiconductors, capacitor andMATV accessories. Recently, MAT Elec-tronics has started to distribute original

(West Coast)Phone: 800-811-5177Fax: 702-434-7509

parts from Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic andSony at very competitive pricing. Thecompany publishes an easy -to -read 116 -page catalog filled with thousands ofinventoried items, which can be accessedimmediately on their state-of-the-art com-puter system.

MAT Electronics is always current withmarket trends in the repair industry -always emphasizing what is new in elec-tronic parts and components -for VCRs,TVs, computer monitors, stereos, micro-waves and surveillance equipment. MATElectronics sources its products fromaround the world as well as domesticallyto offer the best product at a true savings.

MAT Electronics is proud to be a promi-nent distributor in the surveillance indus-try and is authorized Sony, Philips, Pro -video distributor.

MAT Electronics takes great pride it itsability to accommodate the various needs

of all their valued customers -both in theU.S. and worldwide. The company nor-mally ships orders within 24 -hours ofreceipt of your order, but UPS red and bluelabel service is also available to ensureeven faster delivery service if necessary.

The company takes pride in our friend-ly and knowledgeable telephone opera-tors on both coasts, who are waiting totake your phone call and deal courteous-ly with any questions you may have aboutany electronic part. If you don't see it inthe catalog -just ask for it.

MAT Electronics takes the risk out ofordering from a catalog, offering a 90 -day100% guarantee on all purchases. Largevolume discounts are also available. Thecompany's toll -free lines are open week-days 8:30 A.M. to 7 P.M. EST, and Sat-urdays from 8:30 A.M. EST until 2:00 P.M.The toll -free FAX number is available 24hours a day.

VCR REPIACIEMINI PARTS POPULAR SEMIUMUCITNIS FLYBACK IIEPIACEMENIS

VXP0521 Panasonic Idler $2.99ea 10 min BU208A $2.50ea 10 min 154-040A $19.95ea164113 RCA Idler Original $1.89ea 10 min 2SC1172B $2.50ea 10 min 154-074E $19.95eaNPLY0111GEZZ Idler Original $7.95ea 10 min 2SD869 $2.50ea X10 min 2434391 $24.95ea613-022-2534 Sanyo/Fisher Gear $.29ea 10 min 2SD1397 $1.99ea 10 min 2434651 $24.95ea199347 RCA Belt Kit $1.99ea 2SD1398 $1.99ea 10 min 3214003 $24.50eaVTK-1 Video Tool Kit $29.95ea 2SD1426 $1.99ea 10 min 043220011 $26.50ea198522 Audio Bias Oscillator $2.25ea 2SD1427 $1.99ea 10 min 79A307-1 $24.95eaVSJS0018 Orig. Panasonic Solenoid $5.95ea 2SD1650 $1.99ea 10 min 1-439-357-11 $19.95eaVEMS0099 Panasonic Motor $9.50ea 2SD1651 $1.89ea 10 min F0014 $19.95ea143-0-7504-01000 Fisher Belt $.85ea 10 min 2SD1879 $2.50ea 10 min F0015 $19.95ea157061 RCA Belt $.85ea 10 min SDA-3202-3 $6.50ea 10 min F0016 $19.95ea157062 RCA Belt $.85ea 10 min STK4273 $8.50ea 10 min F1588 $26.50eaMSU911 Toshiba RF Mod $13.95ea STK4274 $6.95ea TLF14401F $28.50eaMSU951 Toshiba RF Mod $13.95ea STK0080 $13.00ea 10 min TLF14423F $29.95eaVA3409 Emerson RF Mod $13.95ea STK5481 $12.25ea 10 min TLF14530 $24.95eaVA3422 Emerson RF Mod $13.95ea TA7777 $9.50ea 10 min TLF14515F $26.95eaRTU006GEZZ Sharp RF Mod $13.95ea TDA4505A $8.95ea TLF14561F $26.95eaRTU0035GEZZ Sharp RF Mod $13.95ea TDA8305 $9.50ea (10 min TLF14801F $24.50ea

UPD1705-C12 $9.95ea FCC1415 $19.95eaFCM2015AL $19.95ea

CAPACITORS

4.7M/160V Radia4.7M/250V Radia4.7M/350V Radia10M/160V Radia10M/250V Radia10M/350V Radia100M/50V Radia100M/63V Radia100M/100V Radia100M/160V Radia100M/200V Snap -in100M/250V Radia330M/200V Snap -in470M/200V Snap -in680M/200V Snap -in800M/200V Snap -in

$.45ea (10 min$.45ea 10 min$.55ea 10 min$.55ea 10 min$.65ea 10 min$.75ea 10 min$.50ea 10 min$.50ea 10 min

$1.00ea 10 min$1.00ea 10 min$1.00ea 10 min$1.25ea 10 min

10/for $19.90$1.99ea$2.99ea 5 min$2.50ea 5 min

utt ELECTRONICS0

400 PIKE ROAD HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA 1 9006-1 61 0

1,1rT1 "The On Time Electronics Distributor"

C.O.D. ORDERS ACCEPTED

CALL TOLL -FREE1-800-628-1118

FAX: 215-364-8554EMAIL: [email protected]

60 Circle (70) on Reply Card


SBS Direct123 NW 13th Street, Ste. 213Boca Raton, FL 33432Phone: 800-603-9000Fax: 561-361-9774

Over the past several years, SBS Directhas built a name for itself in the electron-ics service industry as a leader in totalstore automation systems.

It's star product, Store-Trak®, was de-veloped by people who worked in the retailand service sectors of the electronics in-dustry. They saw the need for a PC -basedsystem that would manage most, if not all,aspects of small -to -medium sized busi-nesses. The product they envisionedwould provide easy -to -learn and easy -to -implement solutions in the ever-changingbusiness environment. Their vision result-ed in the development of Store-Trak®.With more than 1,000 systems shipped todate, SBS's customers can attest to thetime and money they have saved withStore-Trak®, not to mention the profes-

sional image they project to their cus-tomers with the computer -printed workorders and invoices.

Store-Trak® is easily installed andmost customers find they are comfortablewith the system in about a week. Up-grades and enhancements are providedevery 9-12 months based on customerfeedback and suggestions. The system isvery intuitive and based on the work flowin your service business. Its a system thatthinks the way you do!

SBS Direct's efforts are totally dedicat-ed to the support and enhancement ofStore-Trak®. Selling, maintaining and up-grading software for managing the elec-tronics service industry is not a sideline atSBS; it is all that SBS does. And they doit very well, judging by what their cus-

tomers nave to say about them. Their fullytrained and qualified staff is available dur-ing normal business hours and is alwaysready to assist you with any questions youmay have.

The current version of Store-Trak®software is available now. A number of at-tractive financing options for up to twelvemonths are available to you. If you don'tpresently own a computer, SBS has com-plete, turnkey systems (printer included),pre -loaded and ready to go right out of thebox. Just think, within 7-10 business days,you can begin to gain better control overyour business. If you have a need for alow cost PC for your technician's work-bench, call them. They have high-pow-ered, reasonably priced PC's available aswell. In short, SBS works very hard atearning, and keeping, you as a satisfiedcustomer.

Does saving time and money soundrood to you? Would you like to be moreproductive and profitable? Would you liketo project a more positive, professionalimage '.o your customers? If you would, acall to SBS at 1-800-603-9000 would bea great first step.

Store Management SoftwareDesigned Exclusively For

Electronics (1 Appliance Sales ( Service Stores

STORE-TRAK, Release 3.22An easy -to -use menu -driven system that organizes every aspect of

your business more effectively, using state of the art programming technology.

+ Service Call Scheduling-I- Eliminates Paperwork & Filing.4- Service & Sales Invoices+ Purchase Orders+ Bar Code/Cash Drawer Capability+ Detailed Business Summaries+ Vendor & Manufacturer Files

-I- Electronic Warranty Processing4- Complete Store Inventory Records+ Previous Repair Histories of Brands+ Repair Unit Job Board+ Serialized Inventory/Floor Planning4- Dealer Billing+ Fully Networkable

Turnkey Hardware/Software Systems Available!

1-800-603-9000 Ext. 99123 N.W. 13th Street, Suite 213 Boca Raton, Florida 33432

http://www.sbsdirect.com



Tritronics, Inc.1306 Continental DriveAbingdon, MD 21009Phone: 800-638-3328Fax: 800-888-3293

Tritronics, Inc. a family owned and op-erated business, is poised to launch intothe twenty-first century with the openingof its website, www.tritronicsinc.com. Thesite is currently interactive to request freeliterature and catalogs, and to leave amessage requesting price and availabili-ty. A response will be sent by 5:00 pm thesame day.

Future plans for the website include on-line ordering; live price and availabilitysearches by model and/or part number;the ability to download the information:and hot links with NESDA, ATT and keyproviders of EDI in our industry.

Our goal at Tritronics is to make it aseasy and efficient as possible to placeorders. EFFICIENCY is great, but howcan we save our customers' time andmoney? Tritronics offers toll -free pricing

and availability for common parts by de-scription and by part number. Our head-quarters can be reached at (800) 638-3328 and our Florida branch at (800)365-8030. The order desk is staffed by anexperienced sales force. We also offertoll -free fax numbers for pricing and avail-ability, headquarters (800) 888-FAXDand Florida (800) 999-FAXD. Faxed inresearch is usually returned in four hours.

Many of our customers are looking forways to cut costs and Tritronics is com-mitted to helping the service industry doso. Tritronics, a stocking distributor forB&K Precision Instruments, consistentlysells test equipment below the publisieddealer price. Our newest catalog hasmore pages of products and cross-refer-ences, and now includes test and solder-ing equipment, optical pick-ups and many

new products. Please call (800) 638-3328if you have not received our latest edition.If you are located in the Southeast, pleasecall (800) 365-8030.

Tritronics has full staffed research andsales departments that are knowledge-able. The majority of the staff has been withTritronics for a minimum of three years.Orders received by 4:00 pm EST areshipped the same day. Tritronics averagesan overall 85% fill rate on initial shipments.We also offer an on-line ordering systemcalled DRAGNET. It is available to all ser-vicers, operates with Procomm Plus and afree software package from Tritronics.

Tritronics, Inc. has a branch located inMiami at 1952 NW 93rd Avenue. Thebranch manager, Doug Maris, has recent-ly created a counter area with about 1,500square feet of tools, service aids, acces-sories, antenna/DSS supplies and parts.If you are in the area, stop by for a visit.The branch is located within minutes ofMiami's International Airport.

In our travels to the various industrymeetings, Tritronics officers often havethe pleasure of meeting other people whowork their business with family members.The Tritronics family looks forward toserving your business now and in thefuture.

tIitronic5NCOR P ATED

MEMBER OF NESDA

1306 Continental Drive Abingdon, MD 21009-2334

1-800-638-33281-800-888-FAXD

orders placed by 4pm ESTship same day

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LITERATURE

Instrument selection guideA comprehensive Selection Guide and

Data Pack for application -specific testingsolutions is now available from Field-piece Instruments. The new, full -colorguide features a complete selection of kitsand accessories for H VAC, electrical, andelectronic applications, including the ver-satile Fieldpiece Model HS26 "Stick"DMMs, and is available free of charge.

This easy -to -use data pack highlightsthe complete line of the company's heavyduty DMMs and accessories and featuresthe interchangeable accessory headswhich measure most parameters neededby field service technicians.

Test kits are also covered in the selec-tion guide and offer field service and planttechnicians complete test solutions andconvenience for most applications. Datasheets in the pack provide detailed spec-ifications on the HB74 Heavy -DutyDMMs, Test Lead Sets, Thermocoupleaccessories and Fieldpack Kits.


Sencore publishes new Sencore newsSencore, Inc. has announced that Sen-

core News #177 is published and nowavailable through the company's AreaSales Engineers. Sencore News #177 in-troduces the new CR7000 "BEAM -RITE" CRT Analyzer & Restorer. Theall -new CR7000 "BEAM -RITE" pro-vides servicers with fast accurate meth-ods of testing and restoring CRTs. Thetests and safe restoration techniques addconfidence and security to your CRT test-ing, according to the company.

['he Sencore News is a technical pub-lication printed six times a year designedto help electronic servicers (owners oroperators) with informative articles andtroubleshooting tips in each issue.


Electronic componentMouser Electronics announces the

publication of their newest electroniccomponent catalog. This 340 page pur-chasing manual is newly updated and of-fers over 68,000 products from more than125 of today's leading electronics manu-facturers. The catalog features new prod-ucts from 3M, Amp, NEC, SGS-Thom-son, Rectron, Teccor, E -Switch, BI Tech-nologies and other electronic leaders.

These products complement the com-pany's established line of electronic com-ponents from companies such as AMP,3M, SGS-Thomson, NEC, Amphenol,Mallory, Rohm, Spectrol, Thomson -Passive and many more. A guide for bothbuyers and engineers, this catalog pro-vides complete specification drawingsand guaranteed prices.


Wire processing equipmentThe Eraser Company, Inc. announces

its all new 136 -page full color catalog ofwire processing equipment.

The company manufactures a completerange of wire and tubing cutters, wire andcable strippers, twisters, dereelers, coax-ial cable strippers, Fybrglass industrialbrushes and infrared tubing shrinkers.

In the new catalog, last updated twoyears ago, there are a number of new prod-ucts, including a variable speed wire andtubing cutter, air -operated cable cutterand air -operated cable stripper, an auto-matic wire twister for twisting togetherpre -connected wires, and much more.

In addition, information on Eraser'sproducts can be found on two Internetsites on the World Wide Web. They arehttp://www.rapid-response.com, andhttp:// www .thomasregister.com.


LED databookDialight Corporation's Electronic Prod-

ucts Group has issued a new edition of itscircuit board indicator databook. It con -

CIRCUITBOARDINDICATORS

dins specifications for more than 1,000LED Products, among them 30 new offer-ing including orange and blue LEDs.Covered are circuit board indicators, sur-face mount devices and light pipes, anddiscrete LEDs. Also provided are a prod-uct selector guide, part number index,application notes, and glossary of terms.


Tool/tool kit catalogTechni-Tool's 1997 catalog includes a

selection of hard -to -find tools, produc-tion aids, test equipment and computeraccessories. This 264 -page, catalog listsmore than 16,000 items from over 650manufacturers, including electromechan-ical and assembly devices, electronic andtelecommunication tools, productiontools, custom tool kits, bio-medical-relat-ed tools and field service tool kits.


Power monitorA new four -page, color brochure de-

scribes BMI's two product lines: (1) thePQNode family of power monitors thatform a networked system controlled bycomputer, and (2) portable instrumentsincluding harmonics analyzers, self-con-tained power monitors with user -inter-face, and single-phase computer -con-trolled instruments.

The brochure also describes additionalsoftware capabilities including reportwriting, notification of events, and infor-mation exchange using the Internet.

The company now also has a web siteat http://www.electrotek.com/bmi/.



Noise tests and measurementsBy Alvin G. Sydnor

Noise is usually considered to berandom sound waves with littleor no periodicity. This does not

completely define noise, for there are cer-tain "noises" that are associated with cer-tain commonplace events such as a gateopening, floor creaking, motor hum andfoot steps on a hard surface.

The fact that amplifiers and receiverscan be sources of "noise" is well known.This type of noise offends the ear as a hiss,rushing sound, or roar (in extreme cases).Any experienced technician has at sometime given thought to noise reduction, butfew have bothered to inquire into thenature of internal noise or appreciated theimportance of noise measurements. Thepurpose of this article is to shed some prac-tical light on the general subject of noiseand noise tests in electronic systems.

Reference sound pressureEarly experimenters dealing with noise

subjected a group of young men withgood hearing to a 1,000Hz tone from asource positioned one meter (39.37 inch-es) from the ear. During this test, the tonewas turned off and on, and at the sametime the sound level was lowered, even-tually arriving at the lowest sound pres-sure that the subject could hear. Thislevel, which was found to be highly repro-ducible, was defined as the referencesound pressure. This level, called OdB, isdefined as one tenth of a bel. It is a dimen-sionless quantity, equal to the logarithmof the ratio of two quantities.

dB = KlogQ2/Q1 K = constant

Thus 0dB sound pressure level (SPL)is equal to a dynamic pressure change of2.9x10-91bs/in2, or, in international units,2x10-4pbar. Using this as the base refer-ence, all sound measurements are scaledfrom this point.

Sydnor is a retired consumer electronics servicingtechnician.

9V

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NOTE:RL = Input impedance of device under testM = Multimeter with MA and 1.IA scale

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Noiseoutput

Figure 1. This simple silicon diode noise generator generates useful noise at frequencies up toseveral thousand MHz.

Significance of noise level

Aside from its obvious disturbing fea-tures, noise level is extremely importantin the design and improvement of high -gain electronic systems. The unavoidablepresence of noise in a sensitive system,such as an amplifier or receiver, puts apractical limit on the weakest signal thatcan be handled. Signals having ampli-tudes less than that of the noise generat-ed within the system are masked by noise,while those of the same amplitude mustcompete unfavorably. Thus the amount ofinternal noise limits the usable sensitivi-ty of a receiver or the usable voltage gainof an amplifier.

Similarly, the amount of usable gainthat may be obtained with a preamplifierdepends upon the inherent noise level ofthe preamplifier. Providing considerablevoltage gain, a preamplifier offers over-all improvement in the performance of thesystem ahead of which it is operated if itimproves, or keeps constant (in somecases), the amount of noise with respectto the amount of signal in the system.

For determining the relationship be-tween noise and signal and also to expressthe improvement that might be expectedfrom boosters and preamplifiers, ouryardstick is the ratio of signal amplitudeto noise amplitude, which is called thesignal-to-noise ratio.

If the output signal measured at thespeaker terminals of an amplifier is 4V

and the voltage due to noise alone in theabsence of the signal is 4mV, the signal-to-noise ratio is 4/0.004 = 1000 to 1. Theamount of noise in a system is expressedas its noise figure in so many dB. Thismay be considered as the dB ratio be-tween the signal-to-noise ratio of an idealsystem and the signal-to-noise ratio of thepractical system being tested.

The nature of noiseElectrical noise has the characteristic

of being unpitched, or non -periodic. Inaudio systems, it is usually harsh to theear. This feature distinguishes noise fromother types of interference, such as hum,oscillation and spurious modulation.Noise voltage is spurious and is consid-ered to be composed of large numbers ofnarrow pulses of different amplitudeswhich occur at random frequencies. Im-pulse noise is characterized as ignitioninterference which consists of separatelyrecognizable sharp pulses, while randomnoise is composed of rapidly successivepulses which often overlap.

Electrical noise arises from severalsources and is typed according to theseorigins. The principal types are discussedhere in the following text.

External originThe external origin includes all noise

impulses that arise outside of the electron-ic system. Some examples are static, ei-


ther natural or man-made, cosmic hiss,etc. Such impulses are picked up by re-ceiving antennas, or unshielded or poor-ly shielded input circuitry. Generally,very little control of these noises is pos-sible, with respect to the signal amplitude,once they enter the electronic system.Their elimination is achieved efficientlyonly at the points of their origin. Man haslittle or no control over natural and cos-mic sources of noise.

Thermal noiseAll audio technicians have at some time

or other run into thermal noise problems.We have heard it as hiss in high gain andotherwise quiet amplifiers. Interstationnoise in an FM broadcast receiver is anexample of such noise. Thermal noise isoften called white noise, Gaussian noiseor Johnson noise.

The waveform of thermal noise neverrepeats itself exactly, it is random innature and it has no period, therefore ifthe waveform is analyzed it will be foundthat frequency components occur equal-ly or are of equal magnitude across thebandwidth of the noise source. In otherwords, the power spectrum of a thermalnoise source is flat with frequency. Also,we will notice that instantaneous peaks ofvarious heights occur. If measurementsare taken over a long period, all magni-tudes can be recorded. The distribution orfrequency of occurrence of the severalpeak values follows a normal, or Gaus-sian, distribution.

The last point brings up an interestingobservation. In a simple sinewave thepeak value of the voltage is related to theRMS value by the factor of 1.414, or 3dB.If thermal noise is analyzed, it can beshown mathematically that peak ampli-tudes greater than the RMS value by a fac-tor of four occur less than 0.01 percent ofthe time. Thus the peak-to-RMS ratio ofthermal noise is usually considered to be4:1 or 12dB. Thus an amplifier designedto amplify thermal noise will have apower handling capability 9dB less thanwhen handling sine -wave signals. Itshould be noted that this figure is quiteclose to the usual 10dB "headroom"which is the standard practice in well -designed audio systems.

Quantifying thermal noiseIt was J.B. Johnson in 1928 who estab-

lished quantitative values for thermalnoise. His findings show that Noise Fig-ure is directly proportional to temperatureand bandwidth. It is proportional also tothe resistive component of the impedanceacross which the noise voltage is devel-oped, but R is often constant in a givensystem. You can expect an electronic sys-tem to be noisier when heated; and if it isa wide -band device, it will be noisier thana sharply -tuned system.

The latter is obvious, since a wide -bandsystem allows more of the random noisefrequencies to pass through. Don't expecta wide -band untuned TV booster to give asignal that is as free of snow as that of asharply -tuned, or single channel, booster.

As an analogy, consider that the suc-cessful reproduction of audible noiserequires efficient transmission through-out the audio frequency spectrum. Forthis reason, the jingling of keys or simi-lar sounds are often used for quick qual-itative testing of audio systems.

The noise level due to thermal agitationis expressed by a complex mathematicalequation which says that if R. the resis-tive component of the impedance acrosswhich the thermal agitation voltage isdeveloped, is plotted against frequency, apeaked curve will be obtained. If we com-pute the area under that curve between thepass -band limits and then multiply thisarea by four times the temperature of theresistive component, the result is thesquare of the voltage.

The energy resulting from thermal agi-tation voltages across a resistance is dis-tributed throughout the frequency spec-trum from zero to many MHz. It is inter-esting to note that it is the actual band-width and not the position of this bandwithin the spectrum that determines thethermal agitation voltage level.

Resistor noiseNoise voltages are proportional to the

current flow, and are generated in carbonresistors as a result of fluctuation in con-tact resistance between adjacent carbongranules. It is for this reason that carbonresistors are not used in the critical posi-tions of the input or other sensitive sec-tions of any electronic system. So far, wecan see that noise is inherent in electron-ic systems, and that its nature is that ofrandom voltage pulses distributed

throughout the frequency spectrum andarising from various sources.

Practical considerationsOur discussion up to this point has

defined noise, and described the phe-nomena responsible for its generation andthe factors upon which it is dependent.Our concern now is to see how this fitsinto the practical consideration of elec-tronic systems, and how to use it as a tool.In the following discussions, several il-lustrative examples will be given that arepurely hypothetical, although entirelylogical. The figures do not apply to anyparticular existing amplifier or system.

Example 1

An amplifier has a voltage gain of 100.At its output terminals (high -impedanceloaded), a 0.2V signal is measured. Thenoise output voltage is 2mV (0.002V).This is a signal-to-noise ratio of 100:1.

It is desired to increase the gain of thesystem to 1000 by means of a preampli-fier having a voltage gain of 10. The avail-able preamplifier has a signal-to-noiseratio of 50, which is twice as bad as thatof the main amplifier. Thus, the signal isamplified 100 times, and the main ampli-fier output becomes 20V. But twice thenoise voltage is also amplified 100 times,and this becomes 0.4V. Now, the signal-to-noise ratio is 50:1. Although we havesucceeded in increasing the gain, we alsohave more noise to contend with.

If the preamplifier had the same signal-to-noise ratio as the main amplifier, therequired boost of 10X would be obtainedat no increase in noise.

Example 2Signal-to-noise ratios of 100 to I or bet-

ter are desirable in TV receivers to insuresnow -free pictures. A certain TV receiv-er is operated in a fringe area, so a boost-er is required. With this set operatingbelow its agc threshold, a signal of1,000,000pV is measured at the picturetube. The noise voltage at the same pointis 100,000mV. Here we have a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1 or 20dB.

One booster available for the purposehas a gain of 10X and has a noise figureof 20dB; the same as that of the set. Thiscombination of booster and receiver givesa picture tube signal voltage of


10,000,000pV and a noise voltage of1,000,000pV. The signal-to-noise ratioremains 10:1, so greater sensitivity hasbeen obtained without increasing thenoise level. But neither is the noise ratioimproved. The result is increased gain butno improvement in the picture.

Example 3A second booster is available that will

provide a voltage gain of 10X, but itsnoise figure is 26dB. This additional 6dBover the noise figure of the receiver meansthat twice as much noise voltage is gen-erated. Therefore, this booster would in-crease the signal to 10,000,0000/, as thefirst one would, but the noise is increasedto 2,000,000pV. Now the desired gain hasbeen obtained with a worse signal-to-noise ratio which is 5:1, certainly con-ducive to snow.

Example 4A third booster has 10X gain with a sig-

nal to noise ratio of 40dB. This change of20dB in the noise figure means that onlyhalf as much noise is generated by thethird booster as by the receiver. This low-er noise level is amplified in the set alongwith the signal, so that now the output sig-nal voltage is 10,000,000pV, as required,with an improved noise level. Thus giv-ing us improved sensitivity along withimproved picture quality.

Noise testingIt is not an easy task to measure the sig-

nal-to-noise ratio of a receiver with ordi-nary methods. It is difficult to observe andmeasure the random voltage, except withan oscilloscope, and even then care isrequired in making the measurements andevaluating the data.

When the noise is of a relatively con-tinuous nature, a keyed or warbled signalfrom a microvolt -calibrated rf signal gen-erator may be employed. The generator isconnected to the receiver by appropriateimpedance networks. The signal ampli-tude is adjusted to a level just barely audi-ble in the presence of the backgroundnoise. This level is in pV, read at the gen-erator output, which can be assumed tocorrespond approximately to the receiv-er noise level. When making such mea-surements, care must be taken to prevent

hum or stray signal voltages from beingincluded in the noise measurements.

Noise diode

Some years ago, there were special di-ode tube noise generators being used forthe determination of the noise figure ofamplifiers and audio systems. In the tube,"shot -noise" energy due to ac compo-nents of the fluctuating diode plate cur-rent was proportional to the average dccurrent. For a given current, the noise ismaximum when the plate collects all ofthe electrons emitted by the filament.When this condition is met, the emissionis said to be temperature limited. Withina frequency band the RMS current in atemperature -limited diode tube is:

= V3.18x10-19 IOf

where i is the rms fluctuating currentexpressed in amperes, I is the diode dcplate current expressed in amperes , andAf is the frequency band in which thenoise is measured.

The temperature -limited diode may beused to check the noise characteristics ofamplifiers and receivers. When operatedwith sufficient plate voltage to saturatethe emission, the random rf noise (hiss)generated by the diode is wide -band andconstant. Its level can be adjusted by vary-ing the filament voltage. The noise out-put is proportional to the dc plate current,which can easily be read.

With the diode tube operated as asource of known noise power, the ampli-fier under test is operated first with itsinput terminated and its noise output (PA)observed with a relative -power meter.Then the diode noise output power (PN)is fed into the amplifier and increased tothe point where the amplifier power out-put doubles. At this point, PA = PN.

When the diode generator circuit ismatched to the amplifier input, the noisefigure of the system can be calculatedfrom F = 0.21IR, where I is the diode dcplate current (mA) and R is the amplifi-er input impedance (ohms). F also equals10log(0.021R), in dB.

Crystal diode noise generatorSince temperature -limited diode vacu-

um tubes are almost impossible to obtain,

their cost is prohibitive, and their require-ments in filament -controlling power sup-plies are stringent, the experimenter andservice technician interested in makingnoise tests will prefer a less critical de-vice. For this purpose, a noise generatorusing a silicon diode is recommended.Germanium diodes are not satisfactoryfor this purpose.

A simple silicon diode noise generatoris shown in Figure 1. The circuit generatesuseful noise up to several thousand MHz.

The 50kS2 potentiometer is the noiseoutput control. The dc current meter willbe an aid in setting the exact values of thediode reverse current. The noise genera-tor's output can be connected to the anten-na terminals or the input terminals of theamplifier under test. When the unit undertest does not provide a dc return path, aresistance, R, equal or close to the inputimpedance of the unit under test, must beplaced across the noise generator's out-put terminals as shown.

Comparative tests may be made in thefollowing manner:

I. Switch off the avc and bfo as well asany other automatic control circuit of theunit under test.

2. Set the gain controls in the desiredpositions for the test.

3. Connect the noise generator to thedevice under test as explained above.

4. Connect an output meter, preferablyone that reads audio power directly, to theoutput terminals of the unit under test andnote the noise reading.

5. Switch on the noise generator andincrease its output until the output meter(receiver or amplifier) reads twice thefirst power reading (or if a voltmeter isused, 1.4 times the first voltage reading,or a 3dB change).

6. The dc meter or potentiometer set-ting in the noise generator now indicatesrelative noise. A low current readingindicates low noise level, and vice versa,as does a low setting of the 50ki2potentiometer.

Please keep in mind that the testdevice and results you will obtain herewill differ from those published bymanufacturers under the auspices of thenew IHF (Institute of High Fidelity)standards. Manufacturers use muchmore sophisticated test methods andequipment.


Test Your Electronics KnowledgeA mixed bag By J.A. Sam Wilson

1. What is the value of (LogI)Log 6?

2. Here is the definition: "The range through which the mea-sured signal can be varied without initiating response." Whatis the term?

3. Is the following statement correct? You should align thei.f. stage of a superheterodyne radio receiver for maximum out-put at the speaker.

4. Is the following advice correct? Assume that you have ananalog VOM. You should wipe the glass front frequently witha clean cotton cloth.

5. Temperatures of -459.67F and -273.I5C are defined as

6. Assuming there is no dc component, the ratio of the peakvoltage to the rms voltage of a waveform is called the

Wilson is the electronics theory consulatnt for ES&T.

7. If you take the cosine of the phase angle between the volt-age across a load impedance and the current through that loadimpedance you will get the

8. When using J -K flip-flops to count from 0000 to 1111.which of the following places a greater demand on the powersupply?

A. Asynchronous counting.B. Synchronous counting.

9. In this question we are asking about power in a circuit asdefined by scientists. The product of the rms voltage and rmscurrent in a circuit gives the value of

A. rms power.B. Average power.C. Peak power.

10. What is the name of the device used for measuring anelectric charge?

(Answers on page 68 )

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tCALENDAR

April 1997 E-iectronic Servicing & Technology 67

Test YourElectronicsKnowledgeAnswers to the Quiz

(from page 67 )

1. 6 - This is an important rule inbasic electronics: "the inverse loga-rithm of the logarithm of a number isthe number."

2. The statement is the definition ofthe term "Dead Band" according to theIEEE dictionary.

3. The statement is not correct. Thei.f. stage should be aligned for maxi-mum bandwidth In order to do that youneed a sweep generator. Can anyoneafford to take the time to do that on anAM radio?

4. Not correct! Rubbing cotton overglass can create static charges that ruinthe accuracy of the meter (until thecharge dissipates). Consult the manu-facturer's literature.

5. Absolute zero. They are calculatedvalues. They have never been produced.

6. Crest Factor - by definition

7. Power Factor - by definition

8. B - with synchronous counting allflip-flops change at the same time.

9. B. In the world of science and engi-neering and math there is no such thingas rms power. It only exists in the mindof sales people. Peak power is VmAx x'MAX in a purely resistive circuit.

10. Electroscope. In its simplest formit is made with gold leaf draped over awire. Very sensitive electroscopes aremade today with MOSFETs.

E WS (from page 4111/)

During 1996, more than 25 million tele-visions - direct -view, projection andTV/VCR combinations - were sold in theUnited States, equal to one in every fourTV households. Of that total, 22.4 millionwere direct -view TVs and 2.2 millionwere color TV/VCR combinations.

As for the record -breaking categories,projection TV was propelled to newheights by a 17 percent gain in December.The new annual record was set despite a10 percent decline in shipments of mod-els 49 inches and under. Units with 50 -inch screens and larger enjoyed 21 per-cent growth to 587,000 units.

VCRs surpassed the 14 million markwith sales of more than 14.6 million units.Stereo VCRs generated most of thatgrowth, increasing 38 percent in 1996 andaccounting for 46 percent of sales.

Camcorders also posted an all-timerecord with unit sales topping 3.6 million,a 2 percent improvement over calendar1995. The compact formats-8mm andVHS-C-represented 87 percent of allcamcorder sales last year.

On the negative side of the ledger, colorTV/VCR combinations declined frac-tionally last year, while sales of laserdiscplayers fell nearly 40 percent.

National Certification Council (NCC)goes international (ICAC)

The National Certification Council ap-proved a name change which more aptlycharacterizes the world wide applicabilityof this accreditation council. Concernedover a perceived country limitation, withthe word National, the new name adoptedis The International Certification Accredi-tation Council (ICAC).

In accordance with the by-laws ap-proved by Charter members of the orga-nization, four officers and nine of twelveauthorized Directors were elected to lead-ership positions of the ICAC. The four topofficers elected were; Jay Warmke,Executive Director of BISCI (President);Carrie Giannakos, Executive Director ofNASA (Vice President); John Holmberg,Executive Director of NARTE (Secre-tary); and Carl Brown, Vice President ofPSA (Treasurer).

The council has been formed in re-'.ponse to a growing flood of credential

programs in the technical and profession-al disciplines. While most of these pro-grams are well designed and of tremen-dous benefit to their respective industries,the need for an objective body to evalu-ate the programs against standard criteriahas increased along with our reliance onthese credentials.

Acknowledging that ICAC memberswould retain their autonomy as separateand distinct organizations, ICAC's statedmission is to create a medium by whichdeveloped and developing certificationprograms could be evaluated, accreditedas appropriate and counseled so as to pro-mote the highest certification standardspossible. Further, the ICAC serving as theofficial representation of certificationprograms of council members, wouldmaintain a centralized organization forconcerted action upon any matter affect-ing certification standards.

The ICAC, as an advisory and accredit-ing body would also promote the sharingof technical know-how, encourage coop-erative action and interaction among itsmembers, advance the professional inter-est and foster the practice of ethical prin-ciples among member organizations.

While the initial organization member-ship is comprised of non-profit and not -for -profit associations, the ICAC is opento and welcomes all who are interested inthe creation and the sustaining of credi-ble and worthy certification programs.

Charter organization member associa-tions which have been instrumental informing the ICAC are BICSI (A Telecom-munications Association), CFESA(Commercial Food Equipment ServiceAssociation), ETA -I (Electronics Tech-nicians Association International), NAC/SA (North American Computer ServiceAssociation), NARTE (National Asso-ciation of Radio TelecommunicationsEngineers), NASA (National ApplianceService Association), PSA (ProfessionalService Association), SDA (SatelliteDealers Association), and USA (UnitedServicers Association).

The next meeting for this organizationis scheduled to be held on June 15, 1997at Berea College, KY.

For additional information contact RonSawyer, ICAC Director at 518-237-7777or fax at 518-237-0418.


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FOR SALE

Service Tips. Over 9,000 Quality tips from our service dept and30 other Professional Servicers. All brands, all categories. NEW Paperversion 7.5 $49.95 including shipping. KDTV 514 3rd Street, Aurora,IN 47001, 812-926-4321 credit cards OK.

SEMI -CONDUCTORS, CAPACITORS, RESISTORS, DIODES.WHITES ELECTRONICS, 1-800-404-9634. ALL PRB PRODUCTSARE 10% OFF DEALER COST. MAJOR BRAND VCR REPAIRPARTS. PRB VCR BELTS & TECH AIDS. ZEPHYERTRONICS SMD Est. 30 year TV & VCR Repair Business for sale. Excellent location.REMOVAL SYSTEMS. CHIP QUIK & CHEMICALS. Moreno Valley, CA 909-242-4794, ask for Peter.

WANTED

WANTED: USED TEST EQLIPMENT. AST Global Marketing. Ph814-336-2138. Fax 814-337-7920. E-mail [email protected].

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Established TVNCR Repair Shop - Albuquerque area. Only shop in 15mile radius. Serving about 100,000 residents. Sell or Trade. 505-892-4248.

-/1/1/ READERS' EXCHANGEReaders' Exchange is a free service.The following restrictions apply to Readers' Exchange:

Only individual readers may use Readers' Exchange, and items must be restricted to those that are ordinarily associated with consumer electronics as a businessor hobby. If you're in business to sell the item(s) you want to offer for sale, the appropriate place for your message is in apaid advertisement, not Readers' Exchange.

Readers' Exchange items must be restricted to no more than three items each for wanted and for sale.All submissions must be typed or printed clearly!

Send your Readers' Exchange submissions to:Readers' Exchange, Electronic Servicing & Technology, 76 North Broadway, Hicksville, New York 11801

FOR SALE

Sencore VC93 $1600.00. B&K Precision 3020sweep/function generator, $100.00. Contact: EdSlagle, 120 Bunton Road, Johnson City, TN 37604,423-926-1346 (home) 423-461-2305 (work).

B&K NTSC generator 1249 with cables andmanual. Excellent condition, $250.00 plus ship-ping. Telematic VHF -UHF tuner subber withcables, $40.00 plus shipping. Contact: JohnBrouzakis, 247 Valley Circle, Charleroi, PA 15022,412-483-3072.

New/old stock television tubes, 500 for $150.00plus shipping. RCA voltohmyst WV980 workingorder, $59.00. Contact: Don Maurer Sr., 29 S. 4thStreet, Lebanon, PA 17042, 717-272-2481.

Sencore VA62A universal video analyzer, VC63VCR tester, NT64 NTSC pattern generator, andEX231 expander jack. All original test leads includ-ed. All units in new condition, $1000.00. Contact:614-899-9049, leave message.

Closing business. Sencore VC93, $1500.00,SC3100 $2500.00. All like new. All cablesand manuals, original box. Contact: Vic, 817-692-1065.

Retiring after 50 years. For lists of parts, tubes,etc send SASE (two stamps). Contact: AndrewBruck, RR -1 Box 356, Cleveland, VA 24225.

B&K model 1560 dual trace oscilloscope with1805 frequency counter, $400.00. Sencore DVM56,$25.00. Contact: Jamil, 414-231-1306.

B&K solid state sweep/marker generator model415. Toshiba camcorder video tube #8844. RCAoscilloscope model WO -505A, perfect condition.Contact: Andrew, 1418 Hwy 199 South, East Dublin,GA 31027, 912-272-6561.

Sencore SC61 oscilloscope, $700.00, TF46Cricket, $175.00, IBM 4019 laser printerwith many options, $500.00. Contact: Al,516-395-4862.

Sencore CV A94 and VR40, used twice, $2000.00,

VC93, never used, $1500.00. With cables and man-uals. Will pay shipping. Contact: Gordon Wilmot, 12Putnam Road. Hyde Park, NY 12538, 914-229-0478(9AM-5PM EST M-Th )

Sencore VG91 and TVA92, $3000.00, VC93 allformat VCR analyzer, $1250.00. S4000.00 willtake it all. Original box, cables, manual, etc. Likenew condition. Contact: Gabe, 800-296-6493.

WANTED

Television collector looking for any pre -1940TV, pre -1948 RCA TV and unusual pre -1960 TV.Contact: Bill Russell, 3236 Laurel Canyon Road,Santa Barbara, CA 93105, 805-682-8115 (phone),805-682-0865 (fax), e-mail: [email protected].

Schematic for Bearcat scanner 210XL modelBC210-1. I will pay for copy. Contact: Leo Wojnar,RR #2 Box 81, Catawissa, PA 17820.

Senheiser HD414 headset 2000ohm, need driver.Contact: Howard H. Nieporent, 3190 NW 94thTerrace, Sunrise, FL 33351-7131.

Older pocket -sized transistor radios (AM only)made in Japan, USA or Germany. Also would likeold 4 -pin output tubes and older wooden/plasticradios. Contact: D. Maurer, 29 South 4th STreet,Lebanon, PA 17042, 717-270-7037.

Citizen TV model JCTV3310, need flybackETF46L9AY. Contact: Gerard Michaud, 88 Notre -Dame Est., Victoriaville Que, Canada G6P 3Z6.819-758-1877 (fax/phone).

Funai symphonic color TVNCR model 13TVCRWWI diagram. Radio Shack Portavision, 7 inch b/wTV/AM/FM cat 16-245. Daewoo 25 inch color TV,model DTQ 2605FL. Contact: Gloria Flores,Apenines 633, Pto. Nuevo, Puerto Rico 00920.

Need source for n.O.S. NOVAR (not miniature9 pin tube sockets. Contact: John Phipps. 1412Navaho Trail, St. Charles, M163304.

VGA monitor schematics. I have CTX CPS-15600LR, CM5-1461 schematics, Packard BellPB-8531, PB8541. Will trade only! Contact: CWElectronics. 40 N. Bailey, Freeport, IL 61032, 815-233-0224, 815-233-1994 (fax), e-mail:vsw 1 @mwci.net.

Sencore LC102 or compatible capacitor check-er. Wanted for entry level technician. Contact: JonLyn, PSC37 Box 1088, APO. AE 09459. (live over-seas at military base).

Sony 1041Q-103 IQ copy of service manual,Sony 1041Q SD -187 R,G,B tubes or SD130G,R. Schematic for San Doubler. Contact: 562-924-2666.


-Sperry Tech'sPricing Guide"Updated new 6th edition.. .aframework tor setting ratesthat apply to Hi -Tech pro-ducts .a formula thatguarantees SUCCESS'Call Toll Free for details1-8 00-2 28-4 338


TUBES.TUBES.TUBESWorld's Largest Range

Over 2,000 Types, Domestic & Foreign

L., 11P TO 85% OFFpAnsckefolisrt

let International Components CorporationToll Free 800-645-9154 N.Y. State 516-293-1500107 Maxess Road, Melville, New York 11747


The Ultimate WWW Service Site

www.electronix.comThe One -Stop Service Sitefor Electronic TechniciansElectronix Corp 313 W Main St Fairborn, OH 45324

(513) 878-1828 Fax 1513)878-1972 [email protected]


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At the Ua= prompt, type JOINGENIEAnd for a special introductory offer, At thekey/offer code prompt, type MEG528


NationalComputerAssociation,The National Computer Association bringstogether computer professionals to promote

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PageReaderService Advertiser

Company Number Number HotlineAndrews Electronics 43 62 800/289-0300

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LG Precision 11 69 562/404-0101MAT Electronics 60 70 800/628-1118

MCM Electronics 57 71 800/543-4330

Matsushita 53 800/545-2672

MicroData 5 116 800/539-0123

NCA/National Computer Assn. 14,72 72 800/615-6224

PRB Line 30 75 414/473-2151

PTS Electronics 25 73 800/844-7871

Panavise 15 76 702/850-2900

Parts Express 27 74 800/338-0531

Philips ECG 51 119 800/526-9354Philips Software Development IFC 118 423/475-0480

Philips Service Company IBC 120 800/851-8885RNJ Electronics 54 77 800/645-5833

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Sencore 7,BC 80,1 800/SENCORE

Sperry Tech 72 82 800/228-4338Tritronics 62 81 800/638-3328

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We'd like to see your company listed here too. Call Diane Klusner at516/681-2922 or E -Mail her at [email protected] to work out an adver-tising program tailored to suit your needs.

SALES OFFICEPHONE (516) 681-2922

FAX (516)681-2926

72

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