inction generator In this circult, Is capable of producing 7 different waveforms, sine, square, triangle, positive pulse, negative pulse, P and negative ramp waveforms, Adjust VR2 for purest output 2 at -60d8 rel Vala and VRIb Ganged pot. For single 1kHz frequency use 6k6 and 220 e=10K wiper i= Any 12-24V low current (<50ma) Lamp Ramp, Triangle and Rectangle Generator prototype was constructed out of curiosity after researching the internet to find out what types of non-commercial or homie made erator circults were avaliable, In the main, usually three-waveform versions predominate. Square, trlangle and sine, fed that my alm of Including sawtooth waveform generation wes lowish on the public priority need, so I looked up the decument offerings ‘Marston of the US. His electronics practical experience Is renowned. s-amp cookbook series Nuts and Volts, I noted in part three, the figure 17 description 100H2-1kHz ramp/rectangle generator with variable /S ratio, was an eye-catching multifunction generator and suited my experimenting purposes perfectly. prise, this particular design offered more variety of waveforms than I realised until I had built my prototype to explore Ray's design tes. In fact I use two of his circuits together, which generate na lass then seven waveforms, This article is the result of my findings. cilators come as single supply and split supply versions. Mine Is spit supply, so for the convenience of portability, use two 9 volt PP3 +9V and -8V. This total 18v arrangement with the common junction az OV technical ground, in my view offers greater waveform ‘headroom before clipping or saturation. photo, my finished test jig assembly Is not a traditional circuit breadboard, but otherwise constructed in a workmanlike makeshift ‘Euses # wooden base material, two secured springy toolelips to hold the batteries and a small veroboerd sub-chassis mounted on a agboard for the tio main IC bases and associated components which form the core circult. There Is also a small extra veroboard, housing blised sinewave oscillator secured to the base. ipply power rails are paralleled to the two circus and the source +/~ battery leads are switched on and off together as per the system, 1esembly uses six multiturn pre-set pote which chould be wired the right way round. By convention, the fully anticlockwise end where screw Is; should face Ov. This ensures that when approaching signal maximum, amplitude is in the clockwise direction lke a volume absorb any external vibration causing microphony to the stabilising lamp filament through Its connecting wires, as per the photo It Is d to lay the lamp down on a small cushion of thin sponge on the pcb. ght angles the two thin wires from out of the lamp base and pass them through two tiny holes made in the sponge, before soldering to the peb. tof black tape to firmly hold the exposed lamp legs to the upper surface of the sponge. Output level stability ofthe sine wave should so be d by vibration and stay constant after unt tasting. Tange Is approx 45h2 to just over akhz. battery drain currents, the two ICs 741 shown were replaced by TLO71. Approx battery currents: +9v = tima, -8v 2mA nce of a lab banch oscilloscope for testing, T use software on a leptop. This Is a satisfactory substitute but it must be remembered that jum signal into the microphone socket shouldn't exceed 100m\ for safety. I recommend throughout 77.Smy RMS which Is -20db also neg twenty” when set by each amplitude pre-set and viewed on the spectrum analyser part of the program. | clockwise adjustment of the variable slope-Mark/Space ratio pre-set, the following waveforms were observed In thls order; tthe ramp output; negative going slope sawtooth, changing to uniform triangle, changing te positive going slope eauvtooth, ly atthe rectangle output; positive going pulse, changing to a 1:1 M/S squarewave, changing to negative going pulse. the sine board output; a single frequency with prompt startup and stable ikhz fi sine wave, having Its f2 rel harmonic at -SSdB and f3, nie at -65dB, bie to fine tune f2 distortion down to rel -60db, but the sine oscillator startup behaves erratically and Is unpredictable to settle ently at the same level, 12 individual control operations are observed, this completed unit should form a good analogue waveform learning experience.