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Don't get caught with a flat battery; this easy-to-build circuit can cut off the power to a 12V fridge or car stereo system if the battery voltages drops below critical level. Electric fridges in vans and 4WDs are a great idea but if you are not careful, they can severely discharge the battery and leave you stranded. Maybe the battery will end up with severe damage as well. The same problem applies if you have a big stereo system and you like to play it without the motor running.... [read more]

The CDI ignition circuit produces a spark from an ignition coil by discharging a capacitor across the primary of the coil. A 2uF capacitor is charged to about 340 volts and the discharge is controlled by an SCR. A Schmitt trigger oscillator (74C14) and MOSFET (IRF510) are used to drive the low voltage side of a small (120/12 volt) power transformer and a voltage doubler arrangement is used on the high voltage side to increase the capacitor voltage to about 340 volts.... [read more]

This circuit uses an MC2830 to form a voice activated switch ( VOX ). A traditional VOX circuit is unable to distinguish between voice and noise in the incoming signal. In a noisy environment, the switch is often triggered by noise, or the activation sensitivity must be turned down. This circuit overcomes this weakness.... [read more]

In most countries it is now mandatory or at least recommended to have a rear fog light on a trailer with the additional requirement that, when the trailer is coupled to the car, the rear fog light of the towing car has to be off. The circuit shown here is eminently suitable for this application. The circuit is placed near the rear fog light of the car. The 12-V connection to the lamp has to be interrupted and is instead connected to relay contacts 30 and 87A (K1, K3). When the rear fog light is turned on it will continue to operate normally.... [read more]

This two-transistor white noise generator has a surprising feature – about 30dB more noise than the more traditional designs. Q1 and Q2 can be any small-signal transistors with a beta of up to 400. The reverse-biased emitter-base junction of Q1 provides the noise source, which is fed into the base of Q2. Q2 forms a simple amplifier with a gain of 45dB. The improved output level is due mainly to the inclusion of C1, which provides a low-impedance AC source to the noise source while not disturbing the DC bias of Q1.... [read more]

Oscilloscope testing module (huntron circuit)... [read more]