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Abstract –
An on going project to develop a 3 phase TOU (Time of use) meter and a
wireless handheld meter reader is described. The internal hardware of each
device is described. The TOU meter is capable of measure and record various
data such as active energy, reactive energy, apparent energy for each tariff and
15 minute energy demand for the past 30 days. This large amount of data makes
manual reading impossible. Therefore both devices install a ZigBee 2.4GHz RF
module for handling the wireless communication protocol and transmitting data.
A single reader can automatically search for all meters within its100m range and
read data from each meter based on the ANSI Cxx format.
Automatic meter reading, or AMR, is the technology of automatically collecting
consumption, diagnostic, and status data from water meter or energy metering
devices (water, gas, electric) and transferring that data to a central database for
billing, troubleshooting, and analyzing. This advance mainly saves utility
providers the expense of periodic trips to each physical location to read a meter.
Another advantage is billing can be based on near real time consumption rather
than on estimates based on previous or predicted consumption. This timely
information coupled with analysis, can help both utility providers and customers
better control the use and production of electric energy, gas usage, or water
consumption.
Originally AMR devices just collected meter readings electronically and matched
them with accounts. As technology has advanced, additional data could then be
captured, stored, and transmitted to the main computer, and often the metering
devices could be controlled remotely. This can include events alarms such as
tamper, leak detection, low battery, or reverse flow. Many AMR devices can also
capture interval data, and log meter events. The logged data can be used to
collect or control time of use or rate of use data that can be used for water or
energy usage profiling, time of use billing, demand forecasting, Demand
response, rate of flow recording, Leak detection, flow monitoring, water and
energy conservation enforcement, remote shutoff, etc. Advanced Metering
Infrastructure, or AMI is the new term coined to represent the networking
technology of fixed network meter systems that go beyond AMR into remote
utility management. The meters in an AMI system are often referred to as smart
meters, since they often can use collected data based on programmed logic.
Advanced Metering systems can provide benefits for utilities, retail providers and
customers. Benefits will be recognized by the utilities with increased efficiencies,
outage detection, tamper notification and reduced labor cost as a result of
automating reads, connections and disconnects. Retail Providers will be able to
offer new innovative products in addition to customizing packages for their
customers. In addition, with the meter data being readily available, more flexible
billing cycles would be available to their customers instead of following the
standard utility read cycles. With timely usage information available to the
customer, benefits will be seen through opportunities to manage their energy
consumption and change from one REP to another with actual meter data.
Radio frequency based AMR can take many forms. The more common
ones are handheld, mobile, and fixed network. There are both two-way RF
systems and one-way RF systems in use that use both licensed and
unlicensed RF bands.
In a two-way or "wake up" system, a radio transceiver normally sends a
signal to a particular transmitter serial number, telling it to wake up from a
resting state and transmit its data. The meter attached transceiver and the
reading transceiver both send and receive radio signals and data. In a
one-way “bubble-up” or continuous broadcast type system, the transmitter
broadcasts readings continuously every few seconds. This means the
reading device can be a receiver only, and the meter AMR device a
transmitter only. Data goes one way, from the meter AMR transmitter to
the meter reading receiver. There are also hybrid systems that combine
one-way and two-way technologies, using one-way communication for
reading and two way communication for programming functions.
RF based meter reading usually eliminates the need for the meter reader
to enter the property or home, or to locate and open an underground
meter pit. The utility saves money by increased speed of reading, has
lower liability from entering private property, and has less chance of
missing reads because of being locked out from meter access.
The technology based on RF is not readily accepted everywhere. In several Asian
countries the technology faces a barrier of regulations in place pertaining to use of
the radio frequency of any radiated power. For example in India the radio
frequency which is generally in ISM band is not free to use even for low power
radio of 10 mW. The majority of manufacturers of electricity meters have radio
frequency devices in the frequency band of 433/868 MHz for large scale
deployment in European countries. The frequency band of 2.4 GHz can be now
used in India for outdoor as well as indoor applications but few manufacturers
have shown products within this frequency band. Initiatives in radio frequency
AMR in such countries are being taken up with regulators wherever the cost of
licensing outweighs the benefits of AMR.
There are also meters using AMR with RF technologies such as cellular phone
data systems, zigbee, bluetooth, Wavenis and others. Some systems operate
with FCC licensed frequencies and others under FCC Part 15 which allows use
of unlicensed radio frequencies.
This paper thus presents an on going development of a new AMR system using
a standard 2.4GHz RF protocol name “ZigBee” for reading a 3 phase TOU meter.
The hardware of the TOU meter will be described in section II. The handheld
ZigBee reader will be described in section III and sample readouts will be shown
in Section IV.
The internal hardware architecture of the meter is shown in Fig. 4. The function
of each unit in the figure is briefly described as follows. The line voltages and line
currents are sensed and properly scaled by voltage dividers and current
transformers to within the operating ranges (2V approximately) of the
measurement unit. These scaled voltages and currents are then sampled by
the energy IC (ADE7758 [7]) which performs 16 bit Delta- Sigma analog to digital
conversion and calculates all energy values as well as the RMS values. For
example, the active energy is obtained by calculating and accumulating
Such a fine 16 bit digitization of voltages and currents in the energy IC gives the
meter an accuracy of class 0.5 that guarantees less than 0.5% error through a
wide range of voltage, current and power factor. These data are then read from
the energy IC by the microcontroller (MCU: MSP430F448 [9]) which also
performs appropriate energy collection, updates time (sec, min, hour, day and
year), displays the energy data on an LCD panel and controls two
communication devices, i.e. an infrared optical port and a ZigBee 2.4GHz RF
Module.
This meter also has a DC back-up system using a super capacitor and a 1.5V
button battery cell. When there is a power failure, the brown-out detector unit in
the MCU will automatically inform the MCU to shut down all units except the time
keeper and store all important energy data in the EEPROM. During this time, the
MCU is put into sleep mode and the total current consumed from the back-up
system is kept minimum at 1 A ì or less. Hence, this TOU meter can retain data
for as long as one year without external power. The whole system will be turned
back to normal when the main power is back.
ZigBee [10] is a standard wireless protocol designed for low data rate control
networks. It is layered on top of the IEEE 802.15.4 specifications [11] and
provides a standard set of functions, including network formation, messaging and
device discovery. Compared to other wireless protocols, the ZigBee protocol
offers low complexity and reduced resource requirements. There are a number of
applications that can benefit from the ZigBee protocol, e.g. Building automation
For demand calculation or energy consumption profile study, the MMC card also
has the detailed energy used during each 15 minutes for the past 40 days. These
data can be tabulated as shown in Fig. 8 or plotted in Fig. 9.
What is Power Theft?
INTRODUCTION:
Revenue protection is a major concern of electricity utilities all over the world,
especially when energy theft is growing at an ever-increasing pace. Various
pilfering techniques have been devised by consumers with criminal tendencies,
with the result that a large portion of the utility’s revenues remain unaccounted
for. This in turn makes utilities’ operations more difficult.
However, these losses are controllable if they are effectively dealt with. The key
components of commercial losses are caused by defective or dead meters,
defective connections, illegal connections to the distribution network, meter
tampering and billing losses due to closed services and human errors. The
recorded losses are as high as 43% in some Indian utilities, where approximately
30% of these losses are non-technical.
FUTURE STRATEGIES
The people involved in energy theft are using ingenious methods, posing new
challenges to the utility and to energy measurement system manufacturers.
Some of the forms of tamper prevalent today include burning of the meter by
applying excessive voltages and direct tapping of supply before the metering
point. Utilities should gear themselves to counter these forms of tamper and
adopt suitable revenue protection programmes and secure metering systems to
control the losses.
Energy Meter
Pulse
Indication LCD Display
LED
000000567
9
Power Supply 5v
Clock
Reset
Relay
Out
Driver
IC ULN 2803
Cut out
Relay Board Zig-
Bee
Modul
e
Power Supply
Alarm
+9v
Receiver Section For Control Room
Computer
RS 232 Serial Zig-
Communication Bee
VB 6 Software IC MAX 232 Modul
e
IR Sensor
This sensor sense red led pulses. and also The photo depicts the schematics for
an infrared sensor which allows you to detect an object's distance from the robot.
The big picture problem is attach this infrared sensor on both wings of the aerial
robot. Attaching these sensors on the wing tips will help the robot navigate
through the halls of any building .
2. Micro switch
This is a small switch inside the controller connected to the full on power and full
off brake. Gives positive contact, and eliminates the resistor from the circuit. A
very efficient way of handling power, even in the newer electronic controllers.
3. AT89S51
1. Description
Features
• Compatible with MCS®-51 Products
• 4K Bytes of In-System Programmable (ISP) Flash Memory
– Endurance: 10,000 Write/Erase Cycles
• 4.0V to 5.5V Operating Range
• Fully Static Operation: 0 Hz to 33 MHz
• Three-level Program Memory Lock
• 128 x 8-bit Internal RAM
• 32 Programmable I/O Lines
• Two 16-bit Timer/Counters
• Six Interrupt Sources
• Full Duplex UART Serial Channel
• Low-power Idle and Power-down Modes
• Interrupt Recovery from Power-down Mode
• Watchdog Timer
• Dual Data Pointer
• Power-off Flag
• Fast Programming Time
• Flexible ISP Programming (Byte and Page Mode)
• Green (Pb/Halide-free) Packaging Option
LCD DISPLAY: Various display device such as seven segment display. LCD
display, etc can be interfaced with microcontroller to read the output directly. In
our project we use a two line LCD display with 16 characters each.
GENERAL SPECIFICATION:
• Drive method: 1/16 duty cycle
• Display size: 16 character * 2 lines
• Character structure: 5*8 dots.
• Display data RAM: 80 characters (80*8 bits)
• Character generate ROM: 192 characters
• Character generate RAM: 8 characters (64*8 bits)
• Both display data and character generator RAMs can be read from MPU.
• Internal automatic reset circuit at power ON.
• Built in oscillator circuit.
There are many types of power supply. Most are designed to convert high
voltage AC mains electricity to a suitable low voltage supply for electronic circuits
and other devices. A power supply can by broken down into a series of blocks,
each of which performs a particular function.
Power supplies made from these blocks are described below with a circuit
diagram and a graph of their output:
− Transformer only
− Transformer + Rectifier
− Transformer + Rectifier + Smoothing
− Transformer + Rectifier + Smoothing + Regulator
• Transformer only
The low voltage AC output is suitable for lamps, heaters and special AC
motors. It is not suitable for electronic circuits unless they include a rectifier
and a smoothing capacitor.
• Transformer + Rectifier
The varying DC output is suitable for lamps, heaters and standard motors. It
is not suitable for electronic circuits unless they include a smoothing
capacitor.
The regulated DC output is very smooth with no ripple. It is suitable for all
electronic circuits.
The fig. above shows the circuit diagram of the power supply unit. This block
mainly consists of a two regulating IC 7805 and a bridge rectified and it
provides a regulated supply approximately 5V.
The transformer used in this circuit has secondary rating of 7.5V. The main
function of the transformer is to step down the AC voltage available from the
main. The main connections are given to its primary winding through a switch
connected to a phase line. The transformer provides a 7.5V AC output at its
secondary terminals and the maximum current that can be drawn form the
transformer is 1 Amp which is well above the required level for the circuit.
The bridge rectified the AC voltage available from the secondary of the
transformer, i.e. the bridge rectifier convert the AC power available into DC
power but this DC voltage available is not constant. It is a unidirectional
voltage with varying amplitude.
To regulate the voltage from the bridge rectifier, capacitors are connected.
Capacitors C1 filter the output voltage of the rectifier but their output is not
regulated and hence 7805 is connected which is specially designed for this
purpose.
The 78 XX series consists of three terminals viz, input, output & ground. This
is a group of fixed positive voltage regulator to give and output voltage
ranging form 5V to 24V. These IC’s are designed as fixed voltage regulators
and with adequate heat sinking, can delivery output current in excess of 1
Amp although these devices do not require external components and such
components can be used to obtain adjustable voltage and current limiting. In
addition, the difference between the input and output voltages (V in Vo) called
the dropout voltage must be typically 2V even from a power supply filter.
Capacitors C2, C3, C4, and C5 are small filters which are used for extra
filtering.LED1& LED2 are used for Power ON indicator for IC1 and IC2,
current-limiting resistors R2&R4, which prevents the LED’s from getting
heated and thus damaged.
Relay Driver
ULN2803
The eight NPN Darlington connected transistors in this family of arrays are ideally
suited for interfacing between low logic level digital circuitry (such as TTL, CMOS
or PMOS/NMOS) and the higher current/voltage requirements of lamps, relays,
printer hammers or other similar loads for a broad range of computer, industrial,
and consumer applications. All devices feature open–collector outputs and free
wheeling clamp diodes for transient suppression.
The ULN2803 is designed to be compatible with standard TTL families while the
ULN2804 is optimized for 6 to 15 volt high level CMOS or PMOS.
Features
1. Eight darlingtons with common emitters;
2. Output current to 500 Ma;
3. Output voltage to 50 V;
4. Integral suppression diodes;
5. Versions for all popular logic families;
6. Output can be paralleled;
7. Inputs pinned opposite outputs to simplify board layout.
Description
A nail, some wire, and a battery is all that is needed to make one,
to demonstrate and amaze your small children..add a switch, and presto! You're
the talk of the town.
So, herein lies the concept. If we take an electromagnet, it will interact with
metals in its vicinity. now lets take this one step further... If we were to place a
piece of metal, near the electromagnet, and connect some contacts, so that
when the electromagnet is energized, the contacts close, we have a working
relay.
The simplest relay, is the Single Pole, Single Throw (spst) relay. It is nothing
more than an electrically controlled on-off switch. It's biggest property, is the
ability to use a very small current, to control a much larger current. this is
desireable because we can now use smaller diameter wires, to control the
current flow through a much larger wire, and also to limit the wear and tear on the
control switch.
The control circuit (GREEN) powers the coil inside the relay, using a small
amount of current. It flows from the battery, thru the fuse ( for protection) to a
switch, (say, a light switch) then to the coil in the relay, energizing it.
The coil, now energized becomes an electromagnet, and attracts the metal strip
with the contacts, which closes, providing a secondary heavy current path (
RED ) to the device ( say, the fog lights)
Turning off the switch, opens the circuit to the coil, removes current flow, and the
electromagnet is no longer a magnet, the secondary path is opened, and the
lights extinguish.
This article paper provides a complete description of the concepts and features that
make ZigBee technology what it is. All aspects of ZigBee are described including the
IEEE802.15.4 layers, the ZigBee stack, the motivation behind the system, typical
applications and design methodologies.
What ZigBee chips are available and what are the differences?
Many silicon manufacturers are currently taking advantage of the features and popularity
of ZigBee.This article surveys the devices currently on the market, the advantages and
disadvantages of each, and provides a simple, unbiased, side by side comparison of the
available silicon. This comparison is aimed at helping a newcomer to ZigBee select a
device that will be suitable for their application.
The most difficult part of getting started in any new electronics field is quantifying exactly
what represents a usable development platform. This article looks at what is available in
terms of development kits, software, test equipment and diagnostic tools and provides
structured advice on selecting what is really needed for your particular application.
Obviously, ZigBee is not the right system for every application. Each situation must be
analysed to determine the exact requirements, and to determine how many of these are
in line with what ZigBee can provide. This paper details the types of applications that
may benefit from a ZigBee approach, those that will not, and provides worked examples
for several typical applications.
There is some confusion over ZigBee compliance – what it means, how to achieve it,
what costs are involved and whether it is actually necessary at all. This paper looks at
several typical applications and provides a step by step procedure for ascertaining
whether compliance is required or desirable, and details in plain English where to go,
what to do and what the associated costs are likely to be. A walkthrough is provided that
illustrates a compliant and non-compliant approach to the same application and the
benefits and disadvantages of each approach.
This paper provides an unbiased, side by side comparison of several technologies and
looks in depth at how each is suited to a particular class of application. Worked
examples are provided detailing how to select the appropriate technology for your
project. These examples look at the overall requirements from required data rate to final
BOM and even go into such detail as PCB implications for a given technology.
A relatively recent development in ZigBee systems is location tracking. This paper looks
at the suitability of ZigBee for this type of application, demonstrates how it works and
makes compares the ZigBee approach to other leading systems in terms of
effectiveness, location techniques, cost and complexity.
ZigBee device profiles are a (sometimes unnecessary) confusion for those new to
ZigBee concepts. This paper looks at what profiles are, what they represent to you as a
developer, and whether you need concern yourself with them at all.
In this part of the series, an objective market survey is carried out. Commercial devices
currently based on IEEE802.15.4 are identified, and the reasoning and philosophy
behind their design strategies are revealed. In addition, a clear explanation is given as to
why there appears to be little ZigBee market penetration, and what this really represents
in terms of your product.
Mesh networking is a very useful tool for wireless network coverage, but can be
confusing for those new to ZigBee. In this paper we show you exactly what mesh
networking is, how it works in theory, how well it works in practice and show you how
test and analyse your prospective vendors’ hardware and software for meshing
capability. Not all vendors are equal in this regard, and a system that looks good on the
surface may fail to meet your expectations in the real world. Several systems
are surveyed and compared in terms of their meshing capability and reliability.
This paper looks in-depth at the differences, similarities and overall philosophy behind
several major (and some less popular) wireless personal area networking systems.
Comparisons are made in terms of network stability, data rate, reliability and automated
network management. Cost-of implementation comparisons are made between several
popular systems and an analysis of cost versus real and perceived benefits is
performed.
This paper not only looks at the battery life of several ZigBee implementations, but also
walks through several worked examples showing you exactly how to calculate the
battery life in your particular application. ZigBee can achieve formidable battery life, but
only if you analyse your system and requirements correctly at the outset.
The ZigBee protocol carries all the benefits of the 802.15.4 protocol
with added networking functionality.
ZigBee Applications
ZigBee enables broad-based deployment of wireless networks with
low-cost, low-power solutions. It provides the ability to run for years
on inexpensive batteries for a host of monitoring applications: Lighting
controls, AMR (Automatic Meter Reading), smoke and CO detectors,
wireless telemetry, HVAC control, heating control, home security,
Environmental controls, drapery and shade controls, etc.
1 – 100* 1 - 100 1 – 10
Transmission Range
(meters)
> 64,000 32 7
Network Size (# of
nodes)
4 – 32 1,000 250
Stack Size (KB)
Mesh Networks
A key component of the ZigBee protocol is the ability to support mesh
networks. In a mesh network, nodes are interconnected with other
nodes so that at least two pathways connect each node. Connections
between nodes are dynamically updated and optimized in difficult
conditions. In some cases, a partial mesh network is established with
some of the nodes only connected to one other node.
MAX 232
FEATURES:
• Meets or Exceeds TIA/EIA-232-F and ITU
Recommendation V.28
• Operates From a Single 5-V Power Supply
With 1.0-_F Charge-Pump Capacitors
• Operates Up To 120 kbit/s
• Two Drivers and Two Receivers
• 30-V Input Levels
• Low Supply Current . . . 8 mA Typical
• ESD Protection Exceeds JESD 22
- 2000-V Human-Body Model (A114-A)
• Upgrade With Improved ESD (15-kV HBM)
and 0.1-_F Charge-Pump Capacitors is
Available With the MAX202
• Applications
- TIA/EIA-232-F, Battery-Powered Systems,
Terminals, Modems, and Computers
DESCRIPTION:
The MAX232 was the first IC which in one package contains the
necessary drivers (two) and receivers (also two), to adapt the RS-232
signal voltage levels to TTL logic. It became popular, because it just
needs one voltage (+5V) and generates the necessary RS-232 voltage
levels (approx. -10V and +10V) internally. This greatly simplified the
design of circuitry. The MAX232 has a successor, the MAX232A. It
should be noted that the MAX232 (A) is just a driver/receiver. It does
not generate the necessary RS-232 sequence of marks and spaces
with the right timing, it does not decode the RS-232 signal, it does not
provide a serial/parallel conversion. All it does is to convert signal
voltage levels. Generating serial data with the right timing and
decoding serial data has to be done by additional circuitry.
The original manufacturer offers a large series of similar ICs,
with different numbers of receivers and drivers, voltages, built-in or
external capacitors, etc. E.g. The MAX232 and MAX232A need external
capacitors for the internal voltage pump, while the MAX233 has these
capacitors built-in.
Serial Communication
Transmission in 89C51
89C51 has a serial data communication circuit that uses register SBUF
to hold data. Register SCON controls data communication. Register
PCON controls data rates. Pins RxD (p3.0) and TxD(3.1) connect to
serial data network. SBUF is physically two registers, one is writing
only i.e. to hold data to be transmitted out of microcontroller via TxD.
The other is read only and holds received data from an external
transmitting source via RxD.
The Serial Port is harder to interface than the Parallel Port. In most
cases, any device you connect to the serial port will need the serial
transmission converted back to parallel so that it can be used. This can
be done using a USART.
So what are the advantages of using serial data transfer rather than
parallel?
1. Serial Cables can be longer than Parallel cables. The serial port
transmits a '1' as -3 to -25 volts and a '0' as +3 to +25 volts where
as a parallel port transmits a '0' as 0v and a '1' as 5v. Therefore,
the serial port can have a maximum swing of 50V compared to the
parallel port which has a maximum swing of 5 Volts. Therefore
cable loss is not going to be as much of a problem for serial cables
as they are for parallel.
4. Hardware Properties
Devices which use serial cables for their communication are split into
two categories. These are DCE (Data Communications Equipment) and
DTE (Data Terminal Equipment.) Data Communications Equipments
are devices such as your modem, TA adapter, plotter etc while Data
Terminal Equipment is your Computer or Terminal.
The electrical specifications of the serial port are contained in the EIA
(Electronics Industry Association) RS232C standard. It states many
parameters such as -
1. A "Space" (logic 0) will be between +3 and +25 Volts.
2. A "Mark" (Logic 1) will be between -3 and -25 Volts.
3. The region between +3 and -3 volts is undefined.
4. An open circuit voltage should never exceed 25 volts. (In Reference
to GND)
5. A short circuit current should not exceed 500mA. The driver should
be able to handle this without damage. (Take note of this one!)
Serial Ports come in two "sizes". There are the D-Type 25 pin
connector and the D-Type 9 pin connector both of which are male on
the back of the PC, thus you will require a female connector on your
device. Below is a table of pin connections for the 9 pin and 25 pin D-
Type connectors.
RS-232 Waveforms
The diagram above shows the expected waveform from the UART
when using the common 8N1 format. 8N1 signifies 8 Data bits, No
Parity and 1 Stop Bit. The RS-232 line, when idle is in the Mark State
(Logic 1). A transmission starts with a start bit which is (Logic 0). Then
each bit is sent down the line, one at a time. The LSB (Least
Significant Bit) is sent first. A Stop Bit (Logic 1) is then appended to
the signal to make up the transmission.
The diagram shows the next bit after the Stop Bit to be Logic 0. This
must mean another word is following, and this is it's Start Bit. If there
is no more data coming then the receive line will stay in it's idle state
(logic 1). We have encountered something called a "Break" Signal.
This is when the data line is held in a Logic 0 state for a time long
enough to send an entire word. Therefore, if you don't put the line
back into an idle state, then the receiving end will interpret this as a
break signal. The data sent using this method, is said to be framed.
That is the data is framed between a Start and Stop Bit. Should the
Stop Bit be received as Logic 0, then a framing error will occur. This is
common, when both sides are communicating at different speeds.
The above diagram is only relevant for the signal immediately at the
UART. RS-232 logic levels uses +3 to +25 volts to signify a "Space"
(Logic 0) and -3 to -25 volts for a "Mark" (logic 1). Any voltage in
between these regions (i.e. between +3 and -3 Volts) is undefined.
Therefore this signal is put through a "RS-232 Level Converter". This is
the signal present on the RS-232 Port of your computer, shown below.
The above waveform applies to the Transmit and Receive lines on the
RS-232 port. These lines carry serial data, hence the name Serial Port.
There are other lines on the RS-232 port which, in essence are Parallel
lines. These lines (RTS, CTS, DCD, DSR, DTR, RTS and RI) are also at
RS-232 Logic Levels.
Almost all digital devices which we use require either TTL or CMOS
logic levels. Therefore the first step to connecting a device to the RS-
232 port is to transform the RS-232 levels back into 0 and 5 Volts. As
we have already covered, this is done by RS-232 Level Converters.
Two common RS-232 Level Converters are the 1488 RS-232 Driver
and the 1489 RS-232 Receiver. Each package contains 4 inverters of
the one type, either Drivers or Receivers. The driver requires two
supply rails, +7.5 to +15v and -7.5 to -15v. As you could imagine this
may pose a problem in many instances where only a single supply of
+5V is present. However the advantages of these I.C's are they are
cheap.
This is handy in many cases when you only want to use the Transmit
and Receive data Lines. You don't need to use two chips, one for the
receive line and one for the transmit line. However all this convenience
comes at a price, but compared with the price of designing a new
power supply it is very cheap.
There are also many variations of these devices. The large values of
capacitors are not only bulky, but also expensive. Therefore other
devices are available which use smaller capacitors and even some with
inbuilt capacitors.
Computer Software
Visual Basic (VB) is an event driven programming
language and associated development environment
from Microsoft for its COM programming model. VB has
been replaced by Visual Basic .NET. The older version
of VB was derived heavily from BASIC and enables the
rapid application development (RAD) of graphical user
interface (GUI) applications, access to databases using
DAO, RDO, or ADO, and creation of ActiveX controls
and objects.
Visual Basic was designed to be easy to learn and use. The language
not only allows programmers to easily create simple GUI applications,
but also has the flexibility to develop fairly complex applications as
well. Programming in VB is a combination of visually arranging
components or controls on a form, specifying attributes and actions of
those components, and writing additional lines of code for more
functionality. Since default attributes and actions are defined for the
components, a simple program can be created without the
programmer having to write many lines of code. Performance
problems were experienced by earlier versions, but with faster
computers and native code compilation this has become less of an
issue.
So what is Visual Basic? The "Visual" part refers to the method used to
create the graphical user interface (GUI). Rather than writing
numerous lines of code to describe the appearance and location of
interface elements, you simply add prebuilt objects into place on
screen. If you've ever used a drawing program such as Paint, you
already have most of the skills necessary to create an effective user
interface.
Whether your goal is to create a small utility for yourself or your work
group, a large enterprise-wide system, or even distributed applications
spanning the globe via the Internet, Visual Basic has the tools you
need.
• Your finished application is a true .exe file that uses a Visual Basic
Virtual Machine that you can freely distribute.