D/A CONVERTERS INCOMPATIBLE WITH MICRODRIVE
Eprom Services has produced two digital-to-analogue converters for the ZX-81 and Spectrum. They allow you to program an output voltage up to +9 volts by outputting a number from the computer. One of them is an independent unit which has three A/D converters and requires no extra port to use it. It is a bare board and an edge connector must be soldered on if you are not using a motherboard. The unit is incompatible with the Interface One, which controls the Microdrive, as both use the same address line A4.
The three outputs appear on screw terminals at the top of the board and there are three sets of variable resistors to adjust the zero volts and the maximum volts setting.
Each output is controlled by an A/D converter chip so that all the programmer has to do is OUT a number to set up the system - the port used is based on a 8255 chip - select the output required and output the number for the voltage required.
The device is one of the few which will allow you to obtain more than 2.55 volts DC. The devices can be very useful for measuring where a standard voltage is input and the output is measured by a D/A converter for the device reaction, transistor testing and resistance measurements.
The other D/A is very similar but will fit only on to the Mk 1 version of the company's I/O port.
Both work well but are incompatible with other devices you may want to use on the system.
The three-output D/A board costs £27 and the single output one for use with a Mk1 port only £10.
Eprom Services is at 3 Wedgewood Drive, Leeds LS8 1EF. Tel 0532-667183.
BITS 'N' PIECES
My, how it's grown - almost a MegaSpectrum! Which of these useful little add-ons could you do with on your Speccy? To help you choose, Stephen Adams has done his bit and come up with a piecemeal review of them all.
1. A/D and D/A BOARDS
EPROM Services/£23.95-£57.95 (A/D), £26.95-£54.95 (D/A)
The A/D board allows you to digitise the voltage input into a number the computer can then understand by changing it from an analogue reading to digital number. The D/A board lets you send out a voltage that's not digital (not just on or off). You can use the D/A board to send voltages to control things like amplifiers or train sets - speeding the trains up or slowing them down. In schools and labs these boards are often used to replace the voltmeter, ammeter and resistance meters - that way they can have an accurate computerised version that's able to take several versions at once. You can even use the boards with a simple Basic program to find out where in the circuit something's happening.
All information in this page is provided by ZXSR instead of ZXDB