Appendix I

Basic Electronics

Abstract Seismic instruments, like most scientific instruments today, have a fundamental
electronic basis. Whereas the design of these systems is mainly a matter for specialists, the
users should understand the basic components and the laws and rules involved as well. Many
questions about the choice of equipment, its interconnections, the solution of minor operation
problems, etc., depend on this knowledge. In summary this knowledge is about:

Basic physical electrical laws. They give a description of electrical charge, current voltage
and power. The most basic law is Ohm’s law.
The component used in circuits. These can be divided into passive components and active
components. The passive components are resistors, capacities, coils and diodes. The
active integrated component most used in analog circuits is the operational amplifier.
Their operation and interconnection is described with physical laws.
Electrical signals. Signals can be of constant sign (DC for direct current) or periodically
changing signals (AC for alternating current). Both types of signals are present in seismic
equipment and their behavior is described.
Analog filters. These are common circuits in electronics and their construction and response
is described.
Logic circuits. These are built of specialized integrated circuits. Logical or digital circuits
operate with only two nominal levels of voltage or current that represents a binary digit
or bit. The microcontrollers or the computer central processors, for instance, include
many thousands of such elements in a single integrated circuit. The ability to be
programmed makes these systems versatile for implementing a variety of complex
functions.

Seismic instruments, like most scientific instruments today, have a fundamental

electronic basis. Whereas the design of these systems is mainly a matter for
specialists, the users should understand the basic components and the laws and
rules involved as well. Many questions about the choice of equipment, its inter-
connections, the solution of minor operation problems, etc., depend on this
knowledge.

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 367

J. Havskov, G. Alguacil, Instrumentation in Earthquake Seismology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21314-9
368 Appendix I

A.1 Basic Terms

A.1.1 Electric Charge

The electric charge is defined by means of the Coulomb’s Law, which states that the
force F between two point charges q and q0 is proportional to their product and
inversely proportional to the squared distance r

q  q0
F¼k ðA:1Þ
r2

The constant k depends on the medium between the charges and for vacuum it is
k ¼ 9 · 109 Nm2/C2. For air, k is slightly less and usually taken at the same value. A
coulomb (C) is thus the charge of a particle that, situated at a distance of 1 m from
another particle with an identical charge, is repelled with a force of 9 · 109 newton
(N) (or equivalent to the weight of 1 million ton!).

A.1.2 Electric Potential, Current and Power

The potential difference or voltage v between two points is the work required for a
unit charge to move from one point to the other. A voltage of 1 V between two
points means that 1 J is required to move a charge of 1 C between them.
A material containing free charges is called a conductor. When a voltage is
supplied by an external power source between two points of a conductor, the
charges move. The charge that passes through a given section of the conductor
per unit time is the current i

dq
i¼ ðA:2Þ
dt

A current of 1 ampere (A) transports a charge of 1 C per second. The total charge is
conserved and thus, in a given portion of a circuit, the same current that enters must
flow out (the current is assumed to propagate instantaneously, a reasonable approx-
imation in practice for low-frequency circuits). From the definition of the potential
difference and the current, it follows that the instantaneous power p used to keep a
current i between two points with a potential difference v will be

p ¼ vi ðA:3Þ

A power of 1 W is required for a current of 1 A to flow between two points with

voltage difference of 1 V.
Appendix I 369

A.1.3 Kirchhoff Laws

Two useful rules to analyze circuits are known with this name. The first Kirchhoff
law is a consequence of the charge conservation and states that the sum of the
currents entering a junction is equal to the sum of the currents leaving the junction.
If a positive or negative sign is assigned respectively to them, we can simply say
that the algebraic sum of the currents in a junction must be zero.
The second law states that the algebraic sum of the potential differences around a
closed circuit is zero.

A.2 Passive Components

When energy is supplied to a circuit element, it may be transformed to heat: In this

case, the element is a resistor. Alternatively, the element may store the energy as
an electric field and this is a capacitor. If the energy is stored in a component as a
magnetic field, it is an inductor. Real circuit components usually have one or more
of these behaviors, but one of them predominates within a limited frequency
range.

A.2.1 Resistors, Inductors and Capacitors

An ideal resistor follows Ohm’s Law: The voltage between its terminals is propor-
tional to the current that flows. The proportionality constant is the resistance
R (ohms, Ω)

v ¼ iR ðA:4Þ

Both v and i may be constant (DC) or time-dependent.

A moving charge (a current) creates a magnetic field around it. If the current in
an inductive circuit varies, the magnetic flux through the closed circuit also varies
and a voltage is induced proportional to the flux variation rate. The constant of
proportionality L between the current change rate and the induced voltage in the
inductive element is called the self-inductance coefficient or simply the inductance
ð
diðtÞ 1
v ðt Þ ¼ L and so, iðtÞ ¼ vðtÞdt ðA:5Þ
dt L

The value of L is measured in henry (H).

370 Appendix I

An ideal capacitor stores a charge + q and –q in its plates, which is proportional

to the voltage applied to its terminals,

q ¼ Cv ðA:6Þ

where C is the capacity and is measured in farads (F). Only if the voltage varies
with time, will the charge of each plate change. A rise of voltage will cause a
positive charge flowing from the external circuit to the positive plate and a negative
charge towards the negative one, which is equivalent to a positive charge flowing
out of this plate. That is, a current i(t) passes through the capacitor

ðt
dq dvðtÞ 1
iðtÞ ¼ ¼C or ΔvðtÞ ¼ iðtÞdt ðA:7Þ
dt dt C
0

where Δv(t) is the change of capacitor voltage from the time origin to time t.
If we connect a resistor R in parallel with a capacitor initially charged with
voltage V0, the voltage on both will be v(t). The same current flowing from the
capacitor will pass through the resistor.

dvðtÞ vðtÞ
C ¼ ðA:8Þ
dt R

The minus sign means that a charge flowing from the capacitor will cause a voltage
drop on it. This equation may be written

dv 1
¼ dt ðA:9Þ
v RC

By integration between time t ¼ 0 and arbitrary time t,

ðv ðt
dv 1
¼ dt ðA:10Þ
v RC
V0 0

This gives

v t
ln ¼ , or vðtÞ ¼ V 0 et=RC ðA:11Þ
V 0 RC

Therefore, the charged capacitor will discharge exponentially over the resistor and
the voltage reaches 37 % of its initial value in time τ ¼ RC. RC is called the circuit
time constant.
Appendix I 371

Cw

Lw
R R

RL
Lp
C Rp
C
Cp
L

L Rw

Fig. A.1 Symbols of resistor (upper left), capacitor (middle left) and inductor (bottom left). The
right column represents models for real components: A resistor has some parallel capacitance Cw
and a serial inductance Lw due to the resistive elements (carbon or metal film, wire winding) and
the pins. A capacitor also presents a parallel leakage resistance RL, a small series resistance Rp
from plates and terminals and some inductance Lp due to the same elements. An inductor is made
of wire with some resistance Rw and the winding has a parasitic capacitance Cp. All these elements
usually have small importance in low frequency circuits if a suitable type of component is chosen,
but have to be considered for high frequency designs

A.2.1.1 Non-ideal Components

Real components always differ somehow from the ideal model. For instance, a
resistor has an associated series self-inductance and a parasitic capacitance in
parallel (Fig. A.1), which may be important for high frequencies. A capacitor also
has some inductance and a small series and large parallel resistance. A coil
(inductor) presents some parallel parasitic capacitance and a series resistance,
since it is made from conductor wire.
Furthermore, the way in which the components are situated on the circuit board
and the printed circuit (PCB) layout itself introduce stray couplings, parasitic
capacitances and inductances. Most of these effects may be neglected for low
frequency circuits, but they are an important design issue for high frequencies.
The layout of circuits dealing with low-level signals, like preamplifiers or high
resolution ADC’s, have also to be carefully designed so as to avoid such undesir-
able effects.
For a conductor, the resistance is proportional to its length l divided by its
transverse section area a

l
R¼ρ ðA:12Þ
a

The constant ρ is the resistivity and depends on the temperature. For a metal
conductor, ρ increases with temperature almost linearly from a few degrees Kelvin
to more than 1000 and is usually modeled as
372 Appendix I

ρ ¼ ρ0 ð1 þ αΔT Þ ðA:13Þ

where ρ0 is the resistivity at a given reference temperature, α is the temperature

coefficient (almost constant) and ΔT, the temperature difference with the reference.
For example, for copper wire, ρ0 ¼ 1.7 · 108 Ω · m at 25  C and α ¼ 0.0039  C1.
A coil made with 500 m of copper wire of 0.2 mm diameter will have a resistance at
25  C of approximately (see (A.12)) R ¼ 1.7 · 108 · 500/[π · (0.1 · 103)2] ¼ 270 Ω.
At a temperature of 0  C, the resistance will become R0 ¼ R · (1–0.0039 · 25) ¼ 244
Ω (a change of about 10 %).
Hysteresis is present in some physical systems able to “remember” somehow
their past states. For example, many elastic materials have a non-unique stress–
strain relationship: their present strain depends on how the stress has increased or
decreased and not only on its present value. This means that the elastic work is not
fully reversible and on a stress cycle a fraction of the work is dissipated as heat.
Another known example of hysteresis is presented by ferromagnetic materials,
whose magnetization depends on the history of the external field applied to them.
Capacitors may have some degree of hysteresis, depending of the dielectric
material.

A.2.1.2 Practical Values

Resistors used for low power are usually carbon film type. For low-noise or
precision circuits, metal film types are preferable, at a higher cost. The commercial
values most used are the so called series E-24 for carbon type (with 5 % tolerance of
nominal value), E-48 (2 %) and E-96 (1 %) for metal film type. E-24 series, for
example, means that 24 nominal values are available within a decade, with an
approximate logarithmic spacing (e.g. 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27,
30, 33, 36, 39, 43, 47, 51, 56, 62, 68, 75, 82, 91, 100). Most usual values range from
10 Ω to 1 MΩ. Power dissipation rates most commonly used for resistors of type
‘through holes’ (mounted on the component side of a printed circuit and soldered on
the copper side) are ½ W, ¼ W or 0.125 W. Miniature surface mount resistors may
have power rates as low as 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32 W.
Capacitors are made with a variety of dielectrics (the isolating material between
the plates), which present different characteristics. Some examples are shown in
Fig. A.2. Ceramic types have low inductance and are suitable for high frequency
applications, including power supply decoupling (high frequency ripple filtering).
Their tolerance and temperature coefficient make them unsuitable for precision
circuits. Polyester and polycarbonate types have good stability and linearity. They
are used in low or medium frequency circuits (e.g. filters). Their inductance pre-
vents their use for high (i.e. radio) frequencies. Electrolytic types are used also for
low frequency and have large capacitance/volume ratio. Liquid electrolyte’s have
wide tolerances, poor stability and leakage, but high capacity, and are mainly used
in power supply circuits. Solid electrolytic tantalum types are suitable also for
Appendix I 373

Fig. A.2 Left: Capacitors made with several types of dielectrics. 1 Polyester types of medium
capacity 10–1000 nF, 2 Polycarbonate, 3 Ceramic disk or multilayer (low capacity, high fre-
quency), 4 Electrolytic, high capacity, 5 Solid tantalum, 4 and 5 can only be used with DC and one
polarity and have a limited voltage range. Right: A circuit board with some surface mount
components as indicated with red circles

filters, because of their stability and low leakage. Both electrolytic types have to
work under fixed sign polarization. This restriction may be overcome using two
opposed capacitors in series, although the resultant capacity is half the capacity of
one. These types of capacitors are rated for maximum voltages of e.g. 10 V, 16 V,
25 V, 40 V. . ., which cannot be exceeded or the devices may be destroyed. All other
capacitor types also have a maximum voltage limit, but usually higher than
electrolytic capacitors, except for the miniature versions.

A.2.2 Connection of Components in Series and Parallel

Two resistors, R1 and R2, connected in series (the same current flows through both)
have the total resistance R ¼ R1 + R2 . In parallel (they have both terminals in
common and hence the same voltage drop), the inverse of their resistances is
added, and thus the equivalent resistance is R ¼ R1R2/(R1 + R2). For two capacitors
C1 and C2, connecting in parallel gives C ¼ C1 + C2 while in series, C ¼ C1C2/
(C1 + C2). For inductors, the rule is the same as for resistors.

A.2.3 A Passive Non-linear Component: The Diode

The diode is a semiconductor passive device that generally only permits flow of
current in one direction. Ohm’s law does not hold for it, since its voltage-current
characteristic is not linear. Figure A.3 represents a piecewise linear model of the
volt-ampere function of a diode. For small forward voltages, the current is very
small (typically nA for a silicon diode). At a given threshold voltage vt (0.4–0.6 V
374 Appendix I

Fig. A.3 A piecewise i

i
linear model of the diode
volt-ampere characteristic. + -
vt is the threshold voltage,
below which the diode is
not a conductor. For an VZ v
inverse voltage vz the
current increases quickly Vt
with a small voltage
increment (dashed line).
There exist Zener diodes
designed to operate in this
zone as voltage references

for silicon types), the forward current increases and the dynamic resistance
Rf ¼ Δv/Δi remains almost constant for a limited current. The static resistance v/i
is current dependent and has practical importance for rectifier diodes. Rf is typically
5–20 Ω, depending on the current.
Diodes are often used as rectifiers in power supply circuits. They also perform a
variety of functions in radio and logic circuits. They are also useful for transient
protection of inductive load drive circuits, such as relay control. A special kind of
diode is the LED (light emitting diode). Its threshold voltage is about 1.6–1.7 V (for
red, yellow and green types) and the maximum average current is typically 20–60 mA.
Forward voltage for blue and white LED’s is 3–3.5 V and maximum current depends
on its type. Solar cells are also diodes, and act as voltage sources when illuminated.
For reverse voltages, the current is also very small until a breakdown, or Zener
voltage Vz is reached, for which the current raises suddenly and the diode may be
destroyed, unless it is a Zener diode, designed to operate in this avalanche zone, and
the current is limited (for example by a series resistor). This kind of diode is used,
e.g., for voltage reference, clipping circuits or voltage regulation.

A.3 DC and AC Signals

DC (direct current) refers to power sources or signals of constant sign. AC

(alternate current) is applied to power sources or signals whose sign changes
periodically with time. By extension, any variable signal that takes positive and
negative values along time may be considered as AC.
Power lines use sinusoidal voltages and currents. Any other periodic signal may
be expressed as a sum of sinusoidal ones by the Fourier Theorem (see 6.2).
Transient signals may also be represented by a Fourier integral of variable fre-
quency sinusoids. A pure sinusoidal voltage v(t) is

vðtÞ ¼ v0 cos ðωt þ ϕÞ ðA:14Þ

The voltage amplitude is v0. The frequency is f ¼ ω/2π and φ is the initial phase (the
angle for t ¼ 0). For sinusoidal voltages or currents, the amplitude is also the peak
Appendix I 375

value. The peak-to-peak value is the two extremes difference, that is vpp ¼ v0–
(v0) ¼ 2v0.
Sometimes, an AC voltage contains a DC value or offset vos, which is its mean
value. A pure AC signal has no DC component.
ð τþT
1
vOS ¼ vðtÞdt ðA:15Þ
T τ

where T is the period. If the signal is not periodic, this expression has to be modified
by taking the limit when T tends to infinity.
The same concepts apply to currents, with the correspondent i(t), i0, ipp and ios.
A current i(t) in a pure resistor R dissipates a heat power p(t) ¼ i(t) · v(t) ¼
[i(t)]2 · R.
Its average value P is
ð τþT 2
R
P ¼ h pð t Þ i ¼ ½iðtÞ dt ðA:16Þ
T τ

The constant current (DC) value that would produce the same heat power is called
the RMS (root mean square) or effective value Irms

P ¼ I 2rms R ðA:17Þ

thus
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ð
1 τþT
I rms ¼ ½iðtÞ2 dt ðA:18Þ
T τ

Of course, the same relation applies to rms voltage Vrms. For a pure sinusoidal
voltage or current, its rms value is related to its peak value and can be calculated by
inserting iðtÞ ¼ i0 cos ðωtÞ in (A.14):
pffiffiffi pffiffiffi
i0 ¼ I rms 2 and v0 ¼ V rms 2 ðA:19Þ
pffiffiffi
For a triangular wave, the relation is v0 ¼ V rms 3 and for a square wave it is
v0 ¼ V rms .
When a voltmeter measures an AC voltage, its readout is usually an rms value.
Cheap instruments simply measure the peak value and use the relation (A.19),
which is accurate for sinusoidal waveforms, but not for others. If a voltmeter
measures true rms, it calculates rms as (A.18), valid for any waveform. If an AC
voltage is measured by using an oscilloscope, you will directly get the peak value,
so do not be confused by the mismatch with the rms value!
If the circuit is not purely resistive (there is some capacitance or inductance), in
general the current will not be in-phase with the source voltage. As power is
376 Appendix I

dissipated only by resistance (the real part of the circuit impedance (see
Sect. A.3.2)), the average power will be h pi ¼ I rms V rms cos ðθÞ, where θ is the
phase angle between the voltage and the current.

A.3.1 Decibels

The bel (B) was named in honor of A. G. Bell. It is used to compare two power
levels. A power p1 is one bel above another power p2 if p1 ¼ 10 · p2. The bel number
was defined as the decimal logarithm of the ratio of two power levels B ¼ log (p1/
p2). Therefore, a positive value represents power gain and a negative value power
loss. More used is the decibel (dB), ten times smaller, thus the number of decibels is
 
p
dB ¼ 10log 1 ðA:20Þ
p2

The amplitudes ratio (for example voltages v1 and v2) may be used instead of the
power ratio. As power is proportional to squared amplitude (for a constant load)
 2  
v1 v1
dB ¼ 10log ¼ 20log ðA:21Þ
v2 v2

For example, a signal-to-noise ratio of 40 dB means that the signal power is

1040/10 ¼ 104 times the noise power, or that the signal amplitude is 1040/20 ¼ 100
times the noise amplitude, which is equivalent. Another example: An amplifier gain
of 66 dB means that the input is amplified 1066/20 ffi 2000 times. As a rule of thumb,
every increase of 6 dB adds a factor of nearly two and every 20 dB adds a factor ten
to the amplitude.
When a physical magnitude value is expressed in dB, it always means a ratio
with a reference value (see Figs. 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6). For instance, sound intensity
I -power per unit area- in dB is referred to the value I0 ¼ 1012 W/cm2 (a standard
value of threshold of hearing), so I(dB) ¼ 10 · log(I/I0); I0 thus corresponds to 0 dB.
To explicitly specify the reference value, sometimes values in dB are expressed
with the acronym WRT (with reference to) the corresponding base level or simply
adding this level to ‘dB’. E.g., a radio wave power measured in dBmW means that
the power of 1 mW is taken as 0 dB.

A.3.2 Complex Impedances and Response

A sinusoidal voltage of amplitude v0 and angular frequency ω may be expressed in

complex form
Appendix I 377

V ¼ v0  eiðωtþϕÞ ðA:22Þ
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
where i is the imaginary unit i ¼ 1 (in electric circuits, it is customary to use
j instead of i, to avoid confusion with current, but there is little danger of misinter-
pretation here) and the phase ϕ is the angle for t ¼ 0. Of course (see also 6.1), only
the real part of (A.22) represents the actual voltage.
We can group the constant factors of (A.22) as the complex voltage amplitude V0

V 0 ¼ v0  eiϕ ðA:23Þ

that is a complex number, whose modulus is the real voltage amplitude and its
phase is the initial angle of the voltage.
For current, we can also define a complex amplitude I 0 ¼ i0  eiθ , where i0 is the
current amplitude and θ its initial phase. With this notation, and keeping in mind
that in a linear circuit the voltage and currents must have the same frequency, but in
general different phase, we can write

V ¼ V 0 eiωt and I ¼ I 0 eiωt ðA:24Þ

Therefore, in a capacitor, (A.7),

dV
I¼C ¼ CiωV ðA:25Þ
dt

Simplifying the equation by removing the time-variable factor eiωt, the relation
between the complex amplitudes is

I 0 ¼ V 0 iωC ðA:26Þ

This leads to the introduction of the complex impedance of a capacitor ZC ¼ iωC

1
,
and a generalized Ohm’s Law

V 0 ¼ I0 Z ðA:27Þ

Similarly, a complex impedance for inductance ZL is found using (A.5) as

ZL ¼ iωL ðA:28Þ

and for a resistance, simply Z ¼ R. The relation (A.27) holds for any kind of
impedance Z.
The rules for the equivalent series and parallelX
components can also be gener-
alized now: Impedances in series are added (Z S ¼ Z i) and the sum of inverses of
i
378 Appendix I

Fig. A.4 An RC circuit to R

demonstrate the use of
complex impedances,
voltages and currents to find
the circuit response as a Vi C Vo
function of frequency. For
symbols, see text

X
several impedances in parallel is the inverse of the equivalent (Z1
P ¼ Z1
i ).
i
From these, the case for resistors, capacitors and inductors can be easily derived.
Let us show the use of these concepts to analyze a circuit response for a variable
frequency input voltage. The simple RC circuit of Fig. A.4 has an input, represented
by the voltage sine source vi(t), with a complex amplitude Vi. The output is the
voltage between the capacitor terminals, with the same frequency as the input and
complex amplitude Vo.
The current I through the resistor and the capacitor will be, using (A.27),

Vi
I¼ ðA:29Þ
ZR þ ZC

and the output voltage,

V i ZC
V o ¼ IZ C ¼ ðA:30Þ
R þ ZC

If we define the circuit response T(ω) as the ratio between the output and input
complex amplitudes (see also Chapter 6),

V o ðωÞ 1
T ðωÞ ¼ ðA:31Þ
V i ðωÞ iωRC þ 1

This relation explicitly shows the dependence on the frequency. This will be the
case in general when imaginary impedances are present.
The amplitude response is the relation between the output and input amplitudes
and is just the amplitude or absolute value of T(ω), that is |T(ω)|. The phase response
Φ(ω) represents the angle that the output is advanced relative to input. It is the (A.31)
numerator phase minus the denominator phase, which in the present case is

ωRC
ΦðωÞ ¼ 0  tan 1 ðA:32Þ
1

In this example, the output phase is delayed with respect to the input signal.
Appendix I 379

Fig. A.5 A simple unregulated power supply. Upper: The circuit consists of a transformer to
obtain a low voltage from the mains (in this case 50 Hz), a diode bridge full-wave rectifier and a
capacitor filter. The load is represented by a resistor, draining about 1 A. Lower: The waveform
obtained at the transformer output and at the circuit output. The ripple increases with the current
load. A small delay is observed due to the RC filter formed by the diodes dynamic resistance and
the capacitor

A.4 Power Supply

Any electronic equipment, with a few exceptions as e.g. simple passive filters,
needs a power source to work. Most systems work with one or more DC voltage
sources, which may be obtained from AC power lines, batteries (rechargeable or
not), solar cells, etc.
A power supply must provide power, that is not only a suitable voltage, usually
between two limits, but it also has to be capable of delivering a specified current
without significant voltage drop. For example, a 12 V, 5 W power supply cannot
feed a seismic recorder that needs 12 V, 1 A (12 W).
The basic operations that a power supply performs are to change the voltage
level, rectify AC, filter-out ripple (see Fig. A.5) and regulate the output voltage.
380 Appendix I

DC-DC converters use a DC input voltage (which may have a range) and supply
another DC regulated voltage at a different level, which may be lower or higher
than the input or even of inverse polarity. Figure A.5 represents a typical circuit of
an unregulated power supply and the waveform obtained when it is connected to a
load. A transformer changes the input AC voltage level, then the signal is rectified
by a diode bridge and filtered by a high-value capacitor to smooth ripple to an
acceptable amplitude. Keep in mind that transformers are specified for rms volt-
ages: A 12 V transformer for mains will provide 12 Vrms or 12 · √2 ¼ 17 V peak,
which, once rectified, may be some 16 V DC.
Transformers are heavy parts and many modern power supplies operating from
mains AC use active switching techniques for the same purpose: For example,
rectifying directly the mains voltage and then obtaining the suitable DC voltages
with switching DC-DC converters. The signal is cut up in small time duration DC
pulses (kHz frequency), which are then fed to a charging capacitor through an
inductor to make an average lower voltage. Sophisticated regulation electronics is
used to make a stable voltage.
Voltage regulated power is required for most circuits. A simple monolithic linear
voltage regulator, such as the LM7805 (National semiconductors, LM78xx for
other voltages), a three pins integrated circuit with input, output and ground, may
provide regulation and short-circuit protection. Linear regulators are simple and
have good ripple rejection, but have poor efficiency: for example, a 5 V regulator
driving a 1 A load, whose input is a 12 V battery, will drain from the battery more
than 1 A (the regulator itself consumes some current), so its efficiency will be less
than 5/12 or 41 % while the rest of the power (in this case 7 W) is wasted as heat in
the regulator.
DC-DC converters use a variety of techniques and are available for different
voltage input ranges, output voltages and powers. Their efficiency may exceed
90 % for some units, an advantage for power saving and low heat dissipation. Many
of them operate as black boxes that the user just has to connect to his circuit. They
generally accept a wide range of input voltages and provide one or several regulated
output voltages. Some models have complete insulation between input and output
(i.e. the input ground may be different of the output ground). For good efficiency,
all of them use switching techniques, usually at frequencies of tens or hundreds of
kilohertz. The output has a high-frequency ripple, which may cause noise in
analogue circuits unless filtered out by suitable external circuitry. An example is
the series R-78xx-05 (Recom), switching regulators that are direct pin to pin
replacement of the linear regulators LM78xx mentioned above for a maximum
output current of 0.5 A. They are available for several output voltages and have an
efficiency better than 90 %.
Appendix I 381

R
CIRCUIT V A
R CIRCUIT

Fig. A.6 Voltage and current measurement. For a voltage measurement (left), the meter is
connected in parallel with the element through which the voltage drops. Right: Current measure-
ment needs the circuit to be interrupted and the meter connected in series (AC current may be
measured with a magnetic probe without circuit interruption)

Fig. A.7 Voltage divider R1

used in a multimeter. The
input voltage is V1 and the V2
meter measures V2 V1 R2

A.5 Common Laboratory Instruments

The most used instruments at a test laboratory are the multimeter, the oscilloscope
and the waveform generator.
The multimeter may measure voltage or current DC and commonly also AC,
resistance and sometimes capacity and frequency.
The range may be selected by the user or automatically by the most sophisticated
instruments. The voltage is measured between two points in parallel with the
existing circuit, while for a current measurement, the circuit has to be interrupted
and the meter inserted in series (Fig. A.6). For resistance measurements, the circuit
has to be powered off and the resistance must be disconnected from the circuit at
least from one terminal, so the rest of the circuit resistance does not affect the
measurement. The multimeter feeds a known current through the resistor and
measures the voltage drop, thereby calculating the unknown resistance.
Analog multimeters, nowadays almost completely outdated, used microamp-
meters to measure current, voltage and resistance. Digital multimeters, on the other
hand, are internally just voltmeters. The current is measured by the voltage drop
along a shunt resistor in series with the circuit and in parallel with the internal
voltmeter.
Different ranges of measurements are selected by using voltage dividers in the
instrument (Fig. A.7). This may make the input impedance dependent of the range
selected, which may itself affect the circuit under measurement. For the voltage
divider of Fig. A.7, the ratio between output and input voltages is

V2 R2
¼ ðA:33Þ
V 1 R1 þ R 2

and the input impedance (in this case pure resistance) Ri is Ri ¼ R1 + R2, unless
other non-negligible loads are connected to the output.
382 Appendix I

Oscilloscopes are essentially dynamic voltmeters that represent graphically the

variable input voltage as a function of time. Most instruments have at least two
input channels for voltage and some of them a separate synchronization input.
Different y and x scales can be selected. Using a probe, the oscilloscope measures
the voltage at a point referred to a common ground point. The probe ground may be
connected to any point of the circuit under test, but if two probes are used or the
oscilloscope ground is common to the power supply ground of the circuit, care must
be taken to avoid a short-circuit. A better and safer practice is to always connect the
probe ground to the circuit ground and use both probes to measure in differential
mode, if this is required.
Most modern oscilloscopes are digital and may perform a variety of other
functions, in addition to plotting the waveform in real time: measure peak values,
frequency, average a repetitive waveform to improve signal/noise ratio, capture a
transient, FFT, etc.
On the other hand, as the PC-based data acquisition cards or modules
(e.g. connected via USB) have become reasonably cheap, a virtual oscilloscope is
easy to implement in the lab or with a laptop for field use. Figure A.8 represents an
example of such an instrument, as seen on the PC screen. All the equivalent controls
of a real oscilloscope are present. There also exist some programs that use the sound
card of a PC to implement a virtual oscilloscope. Nevertheless, this is not so useful
for servicing seismological instruments, since a sound card does not manage DC or
low frequency signals or it has a voltage level not suitable for seismic instruments.

Fig. A.8 An example of a virtual oscilloscope made with a laptop using a USB module of data
acquisition (From Pico Technology, www.picotech.com) and the accompanying program. All the
controls normally included in a real oscilloscope are available
Appendix I 383

16 Bit AtoD and DtoA circuit.

16
V2
Ref
Status
Status
Over-range
U2 Over-range
Convert
Convert Ref
BO
Out0 In0
B1
Out1 In1
B2
Out2 In2
B3
Out3 In3
B4
Out4 In4
B5
Out5 In5
IN B6
In Out6 In6
B7
Out7 In7 OUT
NF E1 B8 Out
Out8 In8
B9 C1 R2
Out9 In9
B10 10p 50
Out10 In10
B11
Out11 In11
B12
Out12 In12
B13
Out13 In13
B14
Out14 In14
B15
Out15 In15
Gnd Gnd

AD16.CIR
25.00

20.00

15.00

10.00

5.00

0.00
0.00n 20.00n 40.00n 60.00n 80.00n 100.00n 120.00n 140.00n 160.00n 180.00n 200.00n
V(In) V(Out) D(Convert) D(B1) D(B2) D(B3)
T

Fig. A.9 An example of circuit simulation using a computer-aided design program. Upper: The
schematics used for testing as defined by the user. The program has built in the functionality of all
the components and can therefore calculate the outputs corresponding to a given user input (lower
figure)

At present, many circuits can be tested, after being designed, without the need of
building a real prototype, by using simulation programs that include schematic
capture, components libraries, analogue and digital simulation algorithms, and even
random parameters variations from nominal values to test the reliability of the
circuit. An example is represented in Fig. A.9. An analog to digital converter
(ADC) followed by a DAC (digital to analog converter) is simulated with Microcap,
a program from Spectrum Software (www.spectrum-soft.com).
384 Appendix I

A.6 Amplifiers

Some sensor outputs are too low level to be used directly by digitizers or analog
recorders, because the digitizing or recording device sensitivity is low and an
amplifier must be used. As modern digitizers have improved resolution, this
problem is less frequent nowadays. Another reason to use an amplifier is when
the sensor is not located close to the recording system, and noise from external
sources masks the signal. A low-noise preamplifier may adapt the output level of
the sensor to the input of a digitizer or provide a low-impedance path to transmit the
signal through a long cable. Sometimes the amplifiers are also used to implement
some kind of filtering or analog processing of the signal. For instance, the feedback
loop of a force balanced accelerometer (FBA) or broadband seismometer (BB) use
amplifiers to integrate, add or subtract signals, etc.
The basic building block of an instrumentation amplifier is the operational
amplifier (op amp). Its schematic symbol is represented in Fig. A.10a. It has a
pair of differential input terminals (vi + and vi) and an output terminal vo. This
means that the output voltage is the voltage difference between the input terminals
multiplied by the gain, provided that both input voltages, with respect to ground, are
within the common mode input range, generally limited by the supply voltage. The
amplifier usually has a flat response from DC to some product specific cut-off
frequency. The power supply is usually bipolar, so the output spans from near the
negative supply voltage to near the positive supply voltage. The ideal operational
amplifier has a gain of infinity (open loop gain), an input impedance of infinity and a
null output impedance.

Fig. A.10 (a) Upper: the symbol of an operational amplifier (op amp). The terminals VC and VE
represent the inputs for positive and negative power supply. Bottom: In an open loop, the op amp
acts as a voltage comparator (see text), due to the very high open-loop voltage gain. (b) An
example of input waveforms (Vi+ and Vi) of the comparator. The output is saturated at the
positive end (Vsat+) of the output voltage swing if the voltage at the non-inverting input vi + is
above the voltage at the inverting input vi; it becomes saturated negative (Vsat) in the
opposite case
Appendix I 385

Real amplifiers have an open-loop gain Av of several million, their open-loop

input impedance is typically tens of mega-ohm to giga-ohm and the open-loop
output impedance is a few tens of ohm. They have also offset errors: for the output
to be null, there must be a small voltage difference between the inputs (for the
instrumentation models, this input offset is typically less than 1 mV which can be
further reduced by suitable external resistors).
The open loop configuration is only used when the op amp operates as compar-
ator (Fig. A.10a bottom). Its differential input stage and high open loop gain drives
the output to positive saturation (Fig. A.10b) if the non-inverting input vi + voltage
is above (even a fraction of a millivolt) the inverting input voltage vi. The output
becomes saturated negative in the opposite case vi + < vi. The output transition
occurs within a few microvolt change at the inputs, but in practice, if the input
signals contain some noise, this may lead to multiple edges transitions. In this case,
a comparator with some hysteresis is more suitable; that is, a comparator with a
higher threshold voltage for the input rising edge than for the falling edge. A
technique to implement this consists of applying a small positive feedback to the
non-inverting input (a circuit known as Schmitt trigger, see, e.g. Millman, 1987).

A.6.1 Basic Amplifier Configurations

When the op amp is used as a linear amplifier, a much smaller gain is used (even
less than 1 in some special cases) which is achieved by feeding back some of the
output to the negative input. Since the feedback opposes the input signal, a reduced
gain is obtained. This negative feedback thus determines the gain, the so called
closed-loop gain. For the analysis of the circuit, it is now helpful to introduce the
concept of virtual ground. In normal operation, the output is not saturated. This
means that, due to the very high open loop gain, the voltage difference between the
input terminals must be almost null. If one of the inputs is at zero level (ground),
then the other input has to be null as well. This is called a virtual ground. We will
show how this idea helps to analyze the closed-loop gains of the four basic
configurations of the op amp as amplifier represented in Fig. A.11a–d: Inverting
amplifier (a), non-inverting amplifier (b) differential amplifier (c) and a summing
amplifier (d). Amplifiers (a) and (b) are also called single ended input amplifiers,
since they amplify the voltage at their single input referred to ground. The four
examples are single ended output, since their output voltages are at their terminals
relative to ground.
All the configurations shown in Fig. A.11 use negative feedback and each
closed-loop gain is determined by the feedback network. Let us calculate the
voltage closed-loop gain for these amplifiers.
The circuit represented in (a) is an inverting amplifier since the output has
opposite sign to the input. The non-inverting input is tied to ground, so, because
of the virtual ground, the voltage at vi must also be zero. Since the input
386 Appendix I

Fig. A.11 Several linear applications of the op amp as amplifier. (a) Inverting amplifier. The
voltage gain in this example is 10. (b) Non inverting amplifier. The gain is (1 + 10) ¼ 11. (c)
Differential amplifier. The output voltage is ten times the difference v3  v4. (d) A summing
amplifier. The output in this example is v04 ¼ 10(v5 + v6)

impedance is very high, the current flowing into the input is negligible, so the same
current must flow through R1 and R2. By applying Ohm’s law, the current is

0  vO1 v1  0
i¼ ¼ ; ðA:34Þ
R2 R1

and the voltage gain with feedback,

vO1 R2
Av f ¼ ¼ ðA:35Þ
v1 R1

The input impedance in this circuit is simply R1, due to the virtual ground. In
practice, the non-inverting input is connected to ground by a resistor (no effect on
the gain) of equivalent value to the parallel of R1 and R2, to minimize offset error
due to the input bias currents.
The circuit in Fig. A.11b is a non-inverting amplifier. Since the voltage at vi has
to be equal to the input at vi+ ¼ v2 (due to the virtual ground) and the same current
flows on R4 and R3,
vO2  v2 v2
¼ ; ðA:36Þ
R4 R3

thus the voltage gain is

Appendix I 387

vO2 R4
Av f ¼ ¼1þ ðA:37Þ
v2 R3

The input impedance in this case is very high, since the signal source is only
connected to the amplifier input, which draws a negligible current. In practice,
the signal source is connected to the input by means of a resistor, to minimize DC
errors due to small input bias currents. If the signal source is a geophone, it will
have a parallel damping resistor to also be considered.
We thus see that it is very simple to construct an amplifier with a desired gain by
just adjusting the values of two resistors.
A particular case of a non-inverting amplifier is obtained using the circuit of
Fig. A.11b by choosing R3 as infinity, that is, an open circuit. Then the value of R4
becomes irrelevant and in fact may be just a short. In this case, the gain is unity and
the circuit is called a voltage follower. This is used as an impedance adapter, since
the high input impedance does not affect the signal source and the voltage follower
has very low output impedance.
The superposition principle states that a general linear system responds to two
inputs as the sum of the individual corresponding outputs. Applied to a circuit, if
two independent signal voltage sources are used as inputs, the output is obtained as
the sum of the individual outputs that the circuit will give for each source when the
other is shorted.
By using the superposition principle, the output of the circuit in Fig. A.11c may
be considered as the sum of an inverting amplifier with input v4 and a non-inverting
one whose input is v3 · R8/(R7 + R8) (R7 and R8 form a voltage divider). Using (A.35)
and (A.37), this output will thus be
 
R6 R8 R6
vO3 ¼ v4 þ v3 1þ ðA:38Þ
R5 R7 þ R8 R5

If we choose the resistors values so as RR65 ¼ RR87 , it may be shown by using (A.38), that
the output then depends only on the difference v3–v4 and is

R6
vO3 ¼ ðv 3  v 4 Þ ðA:39Þ
R5

Hence, the common mode gain (gain of the same signals relative to the true ground)
is null and the differential gain is R6/R5. The differential amplifier will thus suppress
noise induced into a signal cable if the same amount is induced into both wires. The
input differential impedance can be shown to be R5 + R7. Again, in practice, making
R5 ¼ R7 and R6 ¼ R8 helps to avoid DC errors. If a higher input impedance is
needed, a circuit with three op amps is commonly used, generally at the cost of a
higher output noise (e.g. each input of the differential amplifier is buffered with a
high-impedance non-inverting stage).
388 Appendix I

input high

input low

200
uV (input high) - (input low)
0

-200
time ms

-100 0 100 200 300 400 500

output +
400
200 mV
output -
0
-200 output difference
-400

Fig. A.12 An example of differential input and differential output. Top: A seismic pulse is
contaminated with mains noise, picked-up in both wires (two top traces) from sensor to amplifier.
The difference eliminates this noise (also a good cable shielding would do it).
Below: A differential output of the same amplifier with gain 60 dB (x1000). Output  is output
+ inverted. If only one output (single ended, relative to ground) is used (+ or ), the gain is x1000,
but if the differential output is used by connecting to, e.g., a differential digitizer, the gain will be
x2000 (bottom signal).

Most active seismometers have differential output in order to match the differ-
ential input of the digitizers and to help rejection of external noise. This output may
be easily implemented from a single-ended (referred to ground) output using in
parallel two output stages, one non-inverting and another one inverting. Differential
inputs and outputs are illustrated in Fig. A.12.

A.6.2 Active Filters

A passive RC filter has been described earlier. Since the RC filter has no amplifier,
it attenuates the signal. The op amp may be used as a building block for so called
active filters that do not attenuate the signal and even might have a gain. Multistage
(multipole) active filters may be implemented with a variety of responses that can
be sharper than the passive RC filters.
Appendix I 389

Fig. A.13 Two examples of active filters. (a) An active integrator. (b) A second-order
Butterworth low-pass filter

Filter theory is beyond the scope of this book, and many such circuits can be
found in the application notes of op amp manufacturers. Let us show two simple
examples: an integrator circuit and a second-order filter. Figure A.13a shows an
integrator (integrates the signal, see also Sect. A 6.3).
Integrator. From the concept of virtual ground explained above, the current
through R1 has to be just v1/R1 and this same current will flow through C1. The
voltage drop over it, vo1, changes with time as

ðt ðt
1 1
Δvo1 ¼ idt ¼ v1 dt ðA:40Þ
C1 R1 C1
0 0

In this expression, the time origin is taken when the voltage on the capacitor is null.
This may be controlled by a temporal short on the capacitor at this instant.
Integration in the time domain is equivalent to dividing by iω in the frequency
domain, see (2.8), so the frequency response will be

1
H ð ωÞ ¼ ðA:41Þ
R1 C1  iω

The amplitude frequency response is inversely proportional to the time constant

R1C1 and to the frequency. The phase is delayed 90 deg (remember that a complex
division by i is equivalent to a phase delay of π/2 ) and inverted, or advanced
90 deg. In practice, this circuit may be unstable, since the offset error of the op amp
is integrated, producing an output continuous drift. This may be overcome by a
high-value resistor in parallel with the capacitor, at the cost of a low-frequency limit
for the circuit operation as integrator.
A differentiator may be built by interchanging the resistor and the capacitor in
the circuit of Fig. A.13a. In this case, the current through C1 will be
390 Appendix I

dv1
i ¼ C1 ðA:42Þ
dt

and the output voltage is the voltage drop in R1, that is

dv1
vo1 ¼ R1 C1 ðA:43Þ
dt

Its frequency response is, thus, H(ω) ¼ R1C1 · iω.

Low pass filter. The circuit of Fig. A.13b is a second order low-pass filter. It uses
a topology or configuration known as Sallen-Key, with a positive feedback (through
C2) in addition of the gain-fixing negative feedback with R4/R5. It may be shown,
using the techniques explained above and with a little algebra, that for R2 ¼ R3 and
C2 ¼ C3 the response T(ω) of this circuit is (e.g. Millman, 1987)

vo2 ω20
T ðωÞ ¼ Av 2 ðA:44Þ
v2 ω0  ω2 þ 2hω0  iω

with ω0 ¼ R21C2 and 2h ¼ 3  Av where Av is the amplifier gain. In this case, since it
uses a non-inverting configuration, it is Av ¼ 1 + R5/R4. With the component value
shown, the corner frequency is f0 ¼ 10.3 Hz, Av ¼ 1.56 and h ¼ 0.72, close to the
nominal value of 0.707 for a second-order Butterworth filter. If the resistors R2 and
R3 are interchanged with the capacitors C2 and C3, we have a high-pass filter, with
the response

0 vo2 ω2
T ðωÞ ¼ Av 2 ðA:45Þ
v2 ω0  ω2 þ 2hω0  iω

This is formally identical to the response of a mechanical seismometer for ground

displacement (2.33), including the sign for the polarity convention, except for the
factor Av. The low-pass filter has a response like a mechanical pendulum when used
as accelerometer (2.35), except for a constant factor. These three responses are
represented in Fig. A.14.

A.6.3 Switched Capacitors Integrator

Some analog processing circuits need to integrate a signal with a switchable time
constant (RC). This may be needed, e.g., to design a filter with variable cutoff
frequency. A circuit that performs this operation is shown in Fig. A.15.
An analog switch connects, with a frequency fCK, the capacitor C1 alternatively
to the input voltage Vi and to the inverting input of the amplifier. In each clock
cycle, while the switch is connected to a, the capacitor C1 is charged with
Appendix I 391

AMPLITUDE RESPONSE PHASE RESPONSE

1000 0
low-pass
100
integrator
-90
10

1 low-pass high-pass

deg
V/V

-180
0.1

0.01 high-pass -270

integrator
0.001

0.0001 -360
0.1 1 10 100 0.1 1 10 100
FREQUENCY (Hz) FREQUENCY (Hz)

Fig. A.14 Amplitude (left) and phase (right) response of the low-pass second order filter of
Fig. A.13b (solid), the integrator of Fig. A.13a (long dashes) and a second order high pass filter
(short dashes). Note the similarity of the latter with the mechanical seismometer response for
ground displacement. The phase response of the integrator is 270 instead of 90 because the
sign inversion of the circuit in Fig. A.13a

Fig. A.15 A switched

capacitors integrator

ΔQ ¼ C1 V i . In the second half-cycle the switch is connected to b and the charge ΔQ

is fully transferred to C2, due to the virtual ground at b. Since the current i(t) flowing
into C2 is the charge per unit time, this may be approximated as
iðtÞ ¼ ΔQ=T CK ¼ ΔQ f CK , where TCK is the clock period and fCK is its frequency.
Thus the ‘effective’ resistor R as seen by the input, is R ¼ V i =iðtÞ ¼ 1=C1 f CK and
(A.40) becomes in this case

ðt ðt
1 C1 f CK
Δvo1 ¼ idt ¼ vi dt ðA:46Þ
C2 C2
0 0

fCK is chosen to be much higher than the frequencies present in the input signal,
since we are approximating the true derivative of the capacitor charge with a finite
difference.
392 Appendix I

This kind of circuit is used in the integration stages of sigma-delta AD con-

verters. The ratio between two integrated capacitances may be very precise and
stable and noisy large value resistors may be avoided. Variable clock frequencies
are very easily generated.

A.7 Introduction to Logical Circuits

Logical or digital circuits operate with only two nominal levels of voltage or current
that represents a binary digit or bit. Each family of digital circuits may use different
definitions for the two levels, but the logical representation is the same. The two
possible values are often represented as 0 and 1, TRUE and FALSE or HIGH
and LOW.
The mathematical basis to operate with binary variables is the Boolean algebra.
The fundamental operations between these logical variables are AND, OR and
NOT, defined by their truth tables:

x y x AND y x y x OR y
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 1

NOT 0 ¼ 1, NOT 1 ¼ 0.
Abbreviated logical symbols for these operations are:

x AND y  x  y ; x OR y  x þ y ; NOT x  x

An auxiliary common operation is the exclusive OR (XOR), whose symbol is ,

which is true if ONLY one of the two variables is true. This may be expressed by the
following relation: x  y ¼ x  y þ x  y (read “x and not y or not x and y”).

a) AND z = x·y
x x
a z b z x c z b) OR z =x +y
y y
c) NOT z =x
d) NAND
x x x z = x·y = x + y
d z e z f z
y y y e) NOR z = x + y = x·y
f) XOR z = x ⊕ y

Fig. A.16 Left: The standard symbols for the main types of logic gates. Right: The logic functions
that each of them performs
Appendix I 393

The symbols for the logical gates that implement these functions are represented
in Fig. A.16.
These functions are implemented by specialized integrated circuits of different
families, such as (obsolete) TTL (transistor-transistor logic), LSTTL (TTL low
power Schottky), CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor), PMOS,
NMOS, etc. Each family has a different range of power supply voltage, transition
levels, input and output impedance, maximum clock frequency (how fast they can
follow input state changes) and so on. Seismic equipment often requires low power
consumption and does not need high speed. CMOS 4xxx series or equivalent are
suitable for many such applications. The power drained by these circuits is propor-
tional to the transition frequency. Some seismic sensors include control circuits
(e.g. for driving mass centering or calibration pulse sequences) with this type of
gates.
The circuits with only logical gates perform combinational logic. Other kinds of
logic functions require the use of circuits with memory, i.e. circuits whose output
depends not only on the present input, but also on the past states. The basic building
block of these sequential circuits is the flip-flop or one-bit-memory cell. There exist
a number of implementations of such blocks. One of the simplest is the D-flip-flop.
An example is the CD4013 chip, which has four inputs (D, CK, CL and PR) and two
outputs (Q and Q) (Fig. A.17). Q is just the opposite of Q. The inputs CL (clear), PR
(preset) and D (data) are normal logical inputs. CK stands for clock input and it is
different from the other inputs in that it only reacts to the rising edge of a pulse, not
the falling edge, so it can only register a change of state from 0 to 1, but not from
1 to 0. CK is usually used with a synchronous clock signal, while CL and PR are
used with asynchronous signals and the output reacts immediately to a change in
any of them, therefore they are labeled asynchronous inputs. If PR and CL are not
active, the output Q follows the input D synchronously with the next rising edge of
the clock input CK. Figure A.17 reproduces the complete truth table.

CK D CL PR Qn+1 Qn+1

0 0 0 0 1

1 0 0 1 0
D Q
x 0 0 Qn Qn

x x 1 0 0 1

x x 0 1 1 0
CK Q
x x 1 1 1 1

PR CL x: Don´t care
Clock rising edge

Fig. A.17 Left, the symbol of a D flip-flop. Right, its truth table. Qn+1 represents the state of Q
after the clock edge has passed and Qn is the previous state of Q
394 Appendix I

Fig. A.18 A circuit to generate a sequence of three calibration pulses every 12 h. U1 has a crystal
oscillator and a 24-stage counter, U2 divides the frequency further and together with the logic
about U3 and U5, provides two pulses per day. U4 generates then the three pulse sequence. The
voltage reference VR1 and the op amp U6 form a current source connected to the sensor coil by
K1, controlled by the pulses. See text

It is easy to implement a binary counter with flip-flops. For example, a D type

may be configured so its output Q is connected to its input D. Then, with every rising
edge of the input clock, the output state changes. This output may be used as clock
input for another identical stage and so on. In this way, the output of each stage has
half the frequency of the precedent one. There exist cheap integrated counters
(or frequency dividers) of e.g. 4, 7, 20 or 24 stages (two counters of 24 and 14 stages
are used in the circuit in Fig. A.18 as an example).
Logic gates and flip-flops are the building blocks for every digital function. The
microcontrollers or the computer central processors, for instance, include many
thousands of such elements in a single integrated circuit. The ability to be
programmed makes these systems versatile for implementing a variety of complex
functions.
Appendix I 395

A.7.1 Example: A Daily Calibration Sequence Generator

for Seismometers

A remote field station may suffer from changes in the constants, not so constant
actually, or malfunction with time. A convenient way of monitoring the correct
working and even of keeping a record of the possible changes is to periodically
generate calibration pulses, for instance by injecting a known current to the
calibration coil.
Let us describe in detail a circuit (Fig. A.18) for this purpose and how it works.
This will illustrate several concepts discussed in the previous sections.
The circuit has two distinct main parts: A digital sequence generator (can make a
defined sequence of pulses or logical states) and a linear current generator (gives an
output current proportional to an input voltage).
The digital block is implemented with CMOS circuits, for low power drain. As
the frequency is not high, the 4000 series performs well. U1 is an oscillator plus a
24-stage binary counter. With a quartz crystal of 2.097152 MHz (221 Hz), we obtain
at the output of its last stage, Q24, a frequency of 221/224 ¼ 23 Hz, or a period of
8 s. This clock signal is then fed to a 14-stage counter, U2. If we want to get a
calibration pulse sequence two times per day, to account for possible diurnal
variations, we need a period of 12 h ¼ 43200 s. Since our clock has a period of
8 s, we should divide its frequency by 43200/8 ¼ 5400. Expressed in binary form,
this is 5400 (decimal) ¼ 1010100011000 (binary). Then we must reset the counter
when it reaches this final count (FC). This condition becomes true when “Q4 and
Q5 and Q9 and Q11 and Q13” are 1 (there would be many other states that meet this
condition, but the first one to occur is the count 5400). Its Boolean expression is

FC ¼ Q4  Q5  Q9  Q11  Q13 ðA:47Þ

This logic function is implemented in this case with four two-input AND gates
(U3) as:

FC ¼ ððQ11  Q13Þ  ðQ5  Q9ÞÞ  Q4 ðA:48Þ

This signal resets both counters, thus making the condition false immediately.
Therefore it is high just for the time needed to propagate the change through the
circuits, somewhat less than 1 μs. This pulse occurs every 12 h.
To assure that the circuit starts up at a known state, the NAND gates of U5
provide a power-on reset. U5B acts as an inverter with hysteresis, that is, the input
threshold level at rising edge is higher than the input threshold level at falling edge,
just to prevent multiple resets due to possible noise. At power on, C3 is initially
discharged and starts to charge through R3. The same effect is obtained when the
manual reset button is pushed and left, discharging C3 for a while. The output of
U5B, RE2, is 1 until the capacitor voltage reaches the input threshold, then it
396 Appendix I

Fig. A.19 The waveforms at several outputs of the counter U2 and the calibration sequence,
immediately before and after the final count (5400). The calibration sequence is triggered by this
state

switches back to 0. U5C inverts again this pulse. The output of U5A is the signal FC
inverted. The output of U5D, RESET, is thus:
 
RESET ¼ FC  RE2 ¼ FC þ RE2 ðA:49Þ

In this way, the counters are RESET with the power-on OR the manual reset
pushbutton OR the final count.
This same RESET pulse is fed to the shift register U4. This circuit charges
asynchronously its eight flip-flops in parallel with the present inputs values (hard-
wired through inputs A to H) and then shifts them serially to the output synchro-
nously with the next clock pulses. The effect is to generate a sequence 00101010,
that is, three calibration pulses, each eight seconds high and eight low (since the
input clock frequency is 1/8 Hz on CLK). Figure A.19 shows the waveforms at
several points of the circuit at times around the final count.
The function described above could have been implemented with a single-chip
programmable microcontroller. But the approach followed here has two advan-
tages: It is useful to illustrate how the gates and counters work and, not less
important: There is no warranty that a program running on a microcontroller does
not get out of control (techniques to prevent it do exist, such as watch-dog circuits),
Appendix I 397

which is undesirable if the calibration unit is far away at a remote station or on the
sea bottom! The simple design described has been working without a single fault
for 30 years, as part of several stations of a radio-telemetered local network.
Nevertheless, new designs are made with microcontrollers that are often
programmed in high-level languages such as C. A modern seismic recorder may
have the ability to generate calibration signals at programmed times and this is
performed by the same microcomputer that controls the data acquisition, recording,
etc., as just another task.
The analog part includes a voltage reference and a current source. The LM336 is
a precision voltage reference of 2.5 or 5 V. In this case we use the former. The
diodes D1 and D2 and the adjustable resistor R6 is recommended by the manufac-
turer for maximum temperature stability. The voltage output is tied to the
non-inverting input (pin 3) of an op amp with very high input impedance to avoid
input current errors. Because of the virtual ground (see Sect. A.6.1), the voltages at
pin 2 and pin 3 have to be the same when the circuit of the coil is closed. Therefore,
since the op amp input current is negligible, the current IC on the charge coil and the
resistor R7 will be 2.5 V/R7. For example if R7 ¼ 1 Mohm, IC ¼ 2.5 μA.
The sensor coil is connected to this current source by a relay switch K1, activated
by the three pulse sequence every 12 h. A transistor Q1 is used to provide enough
current for the relay to be switched on. D3 protects the transistor from the inverse
extra-voltage generated on the relay coil at disconnection.
The whole circuit is powered by a dual supply at 5 V. Vdd is the positive
voltage and Vss the negative one. The capacitors C4–C6, each mounted close to the
integrated circuit, have the function of “decoupling” the power line, i.e., to avoid
that the little current pulses drained by the CMOS circuits propagate as voltage
noise on the power line within the circuit board. The power voltage may be up to
7.5 V, for the CMOS circuits to be safe, but in this case the value of R5 should be
changed to keep the current around 1 mA (Vdd-2.5 V ffi R5  1 mA): This minimizes
the temperature coefficient of VR1.

Reference

Millman J (1987) Microelectronics: digital & analog circuits & systems. McGraw-Hill Education,
New York, 996 pp
Appendix II
Company References

CalAmp
Communication
www.calamp.com
1401 N. Rice Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93030, USA
Tel (805) 987–9000, Fax (805) 987–8359
Campbell Scientific
Communication
815 West 1800 North, Logan, Utah 84321–1784, USA
Tel 435 227. 9090, Fax 435.227.9091
www.campbellsci.com
[email protected]
China Geological Equipment Group Co.
Geological and geophysical equipment
5th floor Botai Building, 221 Wangjing Xiyuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing
100102, China
Tel 86-10-64845172/3, Fax 86-10-64843866
www.chinageomach.com
[email protected]
Data-Linc
Communication
1125 12th Ave. NW, Suite B-1.Issaquah, WA 9802, USA
Tel: 1 425-882-2206, Fax: 1 425-867-0865
www.data-linc.com
[email protected]

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 399

J. Havskov, G. Alguacil, Instrumentation in Earthquake Seismology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21314-9
400 Appendix II

Earth data
Digitizer and recorder
Kenda Electronic Systems, Nutsey Lane, Totton, Southampton, UK, SO40 3NB
Tel: 44 2380 869922, Fax: 44 2380 86 0800
www.earthdata.co.uk
[email protected]
Eentec
General seismic equipment
1100 Forest Ave, Kirkwood, MO 63122, USA
Tel: 1 314 984 8282, Fax: 1 314 984 8292
www.eentec.com
[email protected]
ES&S, Environmental System and Services
Recorder
141 Palmer Street, Richmond, Victoria, 3121 Australia
Tel: 61 3 8420 8999, Fax: 61 3 8420 8900
www.esands.com
[email protected]
Eutelsa
Satellite communication
70, rue Balard, F-75502 Paris Cedex 15, France
Tel: 33 1 53 98 47 47, Fax: 33 1 53 98 37 00
www.eutelsat.com
FreeWave Technologies
Communication
5395 Pearl Parkway, Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Tel: 1 303 381–9200, Fax:1 303 786–9948
www.freewave.com
[email protected]
Geodevice
General seismic equipment
20 Jin Xing Road, Daxing District, Beijing, China
Tel: 86 10 60212330, Fax 86 10 60212293
www.geodevice.cn/en/info.aspx?m¼20090918171341706389
[email protected]
Geospace
Geophones
7334 N. Gessner, Houston, Texas 77040, USA
Tel: 1 713 939–7093, Fax: 1 713 937–8012
www.geospace.com
[email protected]
Appendix II 401

GeoSIG Ltd.
General seismic equipment
Wiesenstrasse 39, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland
Tel: 41 1 810 21 50, Fax: 41 1 810 23 50
www.geosig.com
[email protected]
Geotech Instruments, LLC
General seismic equipment
10755 Sanden Drive, Dallas, TX 75238, USA
Tel: 1 214 221 0000, Fax: 1 214 3434400
www.geoinstr.com
[email protected]
Güralp
General seismic equipment
3 Midas House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Reading, Berks, RG7 8EA, UK.
Tel: 44 118 981 90 56, Fax: 44 118 98 199 43
www.guralp.com
[email protected]
Hakusan Corporation
Satellite communication, recorder
J Tower10F, 1–1 Nikko Chou, Fuchu City, Tokyo, Zip Code 183–0044
Tel: 81 42 333 080, Fax: 81 42 333 0096
www.hakusan.co.jp
Kinemetrics Inc.
General seismic equipment
222 Vista Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91107, USA
Tel: 1 626 795 2220, Fax: 1 626 795 0868
www.kinemetrics.com
[email protected]
Lennartz electronic
Sensors
Bismarchstrasse 136, D-72072 Tübingen, Germany
Tel 49 7071 93550, Fax 49 7071 935530
www.lennartz-electronic.de
[email protected]
Metrozet LLC
Sensors
21143 Hawthorne Blvd., #456, Torrance, CA 90503
Tel: 310-684-2486
www.metrozet.com
[email protected]
402 Appendix II

Nanometrics
General seismic equipment
250 Hertzberg Road, Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2K2A1
Tel 1 613 592 6776, Fax 1 613 592 5929
www.nanometrics.ca
[email protected]
PMD scientific
General seismic equipment
PO Box 258, Weatogue, CT 06089, USA
Tel:1 860 217 0991, Fax:1 860 217 0631
www.pmdsci.com
[email protected]
REFTEK
General seismic equipment
1600 10th Street, Suite A, Plano, Texas, 75074 USA
Tel: 1 214 440 1265, Fax: 1 972 578.0045
www.reftek.com
[email protected]
R-Sensors
Sensors
8A Zhukovskogo St., Dolgoprudny, Moscow region, 141700, Russia
Tel: 7 498 744 6995, Fax: 7 498 744 6995
www.r-sensors.ru
[email protected]
SARA
General seismic equipment
Via A.Mercuri 4–06129 – Perugia – Italy
Tel: 39 075 5051014, Fax: 39 075 5006315
www.sara.pg.it
[email protected]
Sercel
Sensors
SERCEL Inc.,17200 Park Row, Houston, Texas 77084, USA
Tel: 1 281 492 66 88, Fax: 1 281 579 75 05
www.sercel.com
Symmetric Research
Digitizers
9101 W Sahara Ave #105 PMB 209, Las Vegas NV 89117
Tel: 1 702 341 9325, Fax: 1 702 341 9326 24
www.symres.com
[email protected]
Appendix II 403

Streckeisen AG Messgeräte
Sensors
Dätlikonerstrasse 5, 8422 Pfungen, Switzerland
Tel: 41-52-3152161, Fax: 41-52-315 2710
[email protected]
TAIDE Enterprise Co
General seismic equipment
3F, Chengxin Building, No. 284 Meihua East Road, Xiangzhou, Zhuhai, Guang-
dong, Chin
Tel: 86 756 2521071, Fax: 86 756 2521061
www.tai-de.com
[email protected]
Tokyo Sokushin Co. Ltd.
General seismic equipment
3-14-34, Ougi, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 123–0873, Japan
Tel: 81 3 3855 5911 Fax: 81 3 3855 592.
www.to-soku.co.jp
Ubiquito Networks
Communication
2580 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, California CA 95131, USA
[email protected]
www.ubnt.com
Wood & Douglas Ltd
Communication
Lattice House, Baughurst Tadley, Hants, RG26 5LP, UK
Tel 44 118 981 1444, Fax: 44 118 981 156.
www.woodanddouglas.co.uk
[email protected]
Worldsensing
Seismic recorder
Arago, 383 4t, 08013 Barcelona, Spain
Tel: 34 93 418 05 8.
www.worldsensing.com
[email protected]
Index

A Amplitude spectrum, 205, 206

Absolute calibration, sensor, 346–352 Analog amplifier, 150–151
Absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery, 250 Analog data transmission, 280
Acceleration, 13 Analog devices, 126
Acceleration power spectrum, 107 Analog filter, 135
Acceleration response, 27 Analog network, 269, 270
Accelerometer, 18, 44 Analog recording, 155
absolute calibration, 352 Analog signals, 114
dynamic range, 45 Analog-to-digital converters (ADC), 7, 114
example, 86 accuracy, 117–118
force balance, 43, 51 cross talk, 118
generator constant, 45 dynamic range, 117
poles and zeros, 215 full scale, 117
upper frequency limit, 45 gain, 117
AC driven displacement transducer, 61 input impedance, 118–119
Active sensors, 43 multiplexer, 121
ADC. See Analog-to-digital converters (ADC) n-bit converter, 117
ADSL, 288, 289, 293 noise level, 118
Aliasing, 134–135, 156, 207 non linearity, 118
spatial, 317 offset, 119
Allen trigger, 170 one bit, 126
Amorphous solar cell, 255 range, measure, 359
Amplifier resolution, 116–117
bandwidth, 154 sample and hold, 118
chopper, 154 skew, 121
circuit, 69 Analog transmission, 286
DC coupled, 152 dynamic range, 281
gain, 70 ANTELOPE, 276
noise, 64, 150–151 Anti alias filter, 135–139, 217
noise 1/f, 154 Apparent velocity, 310, 312–317
Amplifier gain, dB, 153 ARCES, 316
Amplitude response function Arrays
definition, 201 beam forming, 317
measure, 201 cables, 323
Amplitude response, measure, 343 configuration, 313

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 405

J. Havskov, G. Alguacil, Instrumentation in Earthquake Seismology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21314-9
406 Index

Arrays (cont.) C
diameter, 313 Cables, shielded, 151
and geometry, 313–317 Calibrate recorder, 358–360
instruments characteristics, 320–322 Calibration
large, 310 using background noise, 347
NORSAR, 310 BB sensor, 350
portable, 323 bridge circuit, 344
radiation pattern, 318 pulse, 352–358
semicircular, 316 by stepwise motion, 349–350
size, 313–317 with weight lift, 340
studies, 310 Calibration by tilt, 352
subarrays, 323 Calibration coil, 42
transfer function, 317–320 accelerometer, 357
Array propagation window, 175 feedback sensor, 43
Astatic suspension, 36, 38 motor constant, 42, 340
AutoDRM, 278, 296 signal coil inductance, 344
Automatic dial up, 292 spurious coupling, 43
Average peak amplitude, 108 California networks, 300
Azimuth, 265, 312 CALTECH, 301
Capacitive transducer, 47
Causal filter, 139, 217
B CD 1.1, 274
Background noise, calibration of sensor, 347 CDR, 26, 33, 339
Band code, 166 Cellular phone, 288, 290
Bandwidth, amplifier, 154 Centering, sensor, 83
Battery, 249 Central recorder, 271, 277
AGM, 250 Channel identifier, 165
charging, 253 Channel spacing, radio channel, 286
gel-cell, 250 Charge coupled ADC, 136
internal resistance, 252 Charging batteries, 253
lead-acid, 250 Chart recorder, 333
lead-calcium, 250 Checksum, 160, 297
li-ion, 251 Code, instrument, 167
low temperature, 251 Code, orientation, 167
NIMH, 251 Coherence, 312, 313, 316
self discharge, 250 analysis, 362
voltage, 253 3 channels, 361
Baud rate, radio, 286 Coincidence trigger, 175
Beam forming, 317 Combining response curves, 220–223
Bit error rate, 279 Common mode rejection, 155
24 bit ADC, 133 Communication
Bits, ADC, 117 cellular, 289
Borehole and graphics, 298
installation, 241 Community seismic network, 278
noise reduction, 243 Comparator, 115, 120
sensor, 91–92 Complex frequency response function,
Bridge circuit for calibration, 344 202
Broad band sensor, 7, 46 Complex response, 19
example, 87 Complex spectrum, 205
installation, 9, 240 Component code, 166
Brownian thermal motion, 63 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization
Butterworth filter, 20, 135, 216, 219 (CTBTO), 274, 310
Index 407

Compression Digital to analog converter (DAC),

of seismic data, 164 7, 128
Steim, 165, 296 Digitizer, dynamic range, 8, 140
Continuous transmission, 271 Discrete Fourier transform (DFT), 209
Convolution of signals, 138 Discriminator, analog, 280
Correct for instrument, an example, 212 Displacement, 3, 14
Cost, network, 306 low frequency, 5
Counter, ADC, 120 response, 25, 27
Counts, 116 sensor, 20
Critical damping resistance, 26, 33, 337 transducer, 44, 51
Cross axis sensitivity, 44, 49, 82, 97 Display, recorder, 176
Cross power spectrum, 362 Distortion, sensor, 28
Cross talk, ADC, 118, 145 Dithering, 123
Crystal ADC, 126 Download data, 176
Crystal controlled oscillator, 161 Drum recorder, 269
Crystalline solar cell, 255 Dry cells, 249
CTBTO. See Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Duplex, 287, 297
Organization (CTBTO) Duty cycle, ADC, 130
Current noise, 64 Dynamic range, 140–145
accelerometer, 45
ADC, 117, 121
D analog transmission, 281
DAC. See Digital to analog converter (DAC) digitizer, 8, 140
Damping, 16, 18, 25, 30 frequency dependent, 81
free period, 32 ground motion, 15
feedback system, 53 measure, 360
high, 62 network, 271
resistor, 25, 338, 339 requirement, 194
Data acquisition software, 270 seismometer, 140
Data base for processing, 303, 305 sensor, 7, 78, 81
Data collection, speed, 277 DynDNS, 289
Data download, 176
Data-linc spread spectrum, 284
Data logger, virtual, 277 E
Data processing, 302, 303 EarlyBird, 276
Data retrieval, recorder, 175 Earth data, 160
DC coupled amplifier, 152 Earth free oscillation, 3
DC-DC converter, 249 Earth tide as a calibration signal, 361
DC level, 203 Earth tides, 3, 240
DC output from sensor, 83 Earthquake location, 263, 264
Delay, group, 321 accuracy, 265
Demodulator, 280 EarthWorm, 166, 177, 274, 275
Demultiplexed, 165 Effective generator constant, 25
Determine sensor orientation, 244 Electrical damping, 25
De-trigger ratio, 172, 173 Electrochemical sensor, 71, 75
DFT. See Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) Electronic noise, 64
Dial up, automatic, 292 E-mail, 296
Dial up, manual, 292 Epicenter, 264
Difference filter, 174 Equivalent circuit, 68
Differences equation, 217 Error correction, 281–282, 296, 297
Differential input-output, 151 Ethernet, 176, 283, 284, 293
Differential transformer transducer, 47 EVALRESP, 227
Digital filter, 136, 137, 217 Event detection, analog, 269
Digital storage requirements, 159 Extended response, 48, 63
408 Index

F Generator coil resistance, 24, 80

FBA. See Force balanced accelerometer (FBA) Generator constant, 24
FEC. See Forward error correction (FEC) accelerometer, 45
Federation of Digital Seismographic Networks GEOFON, 240
(FDSN), 164, 214, 300 Geology, seismic station, 233
Feedback control, 50 Geophone, 4.5 Hz, 64, 66, 82, 84, 90, 91, 150
Feedback current, 47 GeoSIG, 294
Feedback for extending frequency response, 48 Geotech, 79, 157, 244
Feedback sensor, 52 Global positioning system (GPS), 150, 161,
Feedback with signal coil, 48 163, 194, 237, 302
Filter, 152 Global seismic network (GSN), 182, 278, 296,
difference, 174 299
and polarity, 219 GPRS, 290
poles and zeros, 215 Graphics and communication, 298
precursory effect, 218 Gravity meter, 18
zero phase shift, 218, 219 Ground amplitudes, range, 3
Finite impulse response (FIR) filter, 137, 138, Ground displacement, 3
217, 321 Ground motion, dynamic range, 15
Firewire, 272 Ground noise acceleration power, 103
Flash ADC, 115–116 Ground rotation, 14
Float voltage, 254 Grounding, 151–152
Force balanced accelerometer (FBA), 6, 44, of equipment, 247
56 Group delay, 321
Force balance principle, 6, 43 GSE, 195
Format GSM router, 290
MiniSeed, 165 Güralp, 275
SAC, 227 Gzip, 164
SEED, 164
Forward error correction (FEC), 281, 297
Fourier analysis, 203 H
Fourier density spectrum, 209 Helicorder, 156, 157
Fourier transform, 209 High damping, 62
Free period by spectral analysis, 335 Hi-net, 300
Frequencies, negative, 206 HSPA, 290
Frequency, amplitude and phase (FAP), 223 Hypocentral depth, 265
Frequency displacement response, 19 4.5 Hz geophone, 150, 321
Frequency response function
complex, 202
definition, 198 I
harmonic drive, 342 IASPEI software, 177
sensor, 78 Impedance
velocity sensor, 25 input, 333
Ftp server, 278 RC filter, 200
Fuel cell, 259 Incorporated Research Institutions for
Seismology (IRIS), 225, 241, 299
Inertial seismometer, 16
G Infinite impulse response (IIR) Filter, 138
Gain Ink recording, 156
ADC, 117 Input impedance, 333
feedback loop, 50 ADC, 119
ranging, 121 Installation
sensor, 79–80, 82 broad band sensor, 240
Gal, 44 examples, 237
Gel-cell battery, 250 sensor, 238
Index 409

Instrument codes, 167 M

Instrument correction, 211, 212 Magnetic field and sensor noise, 240
Instrument self noise, 63 Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD), 73
Integrator, feedback system, 53 Magnification, 198
International monitoring system (IMS), 299 Magnitude, 121, 265
Inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), Maximum recording time, 173
209 Manual dial up, 292
Inverse filter, 48 Mark products, 84
ISDN, 293 Mass position, 46
Mechanical clipping, sensor, 82
Mechanical seismometer, 16
J 900 MHz band, 284
Japan, 300 Micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS),
Johnson noise, 68, 80 74
accelerometer, 278
Microseismic noise, 212
K Microzonation, 10
Kinemetrics, 86, 148, 179 Miller theorem, 50
K-net, 300 Minimum number of triggers, 175
Minimum recording time, 173
MiniSeed format, 165
L Mobile phone, 290
LaCoste suspension, 38 Modem, 302
Large aperture seismic array (LASA), Motor constant, 25
310 calibration coil, 42
Lead-acid battery, 250 Moving reference frame, 14
Lead-calcium battery, 250 Multi channel recorder, 182
Leaf spring suspension, 39, 40 Multimeter, 332
Least significant bit (LSB), 116 Multiple feedback, BB sensor, 46
ADC, 116 Multiplexer
determine, 359 ADC, 121
typical, 194 analog, 280, 286
Lennartz, 79, 84, 90–91 digital, 287
Level trigger, 168, 173
Li-ion battery, 251
Line of sight, 285 N
Linear phase filter, 138 Nanometrics, 122, 160, 275, 290
Linear systems, 199–203 Natural frequency
Linearity, sensor, 81 feedback system, 53
Linux, 177 sensor, 44
Live Internet Seismic Server (LISS), 274 Negative feed back sensor, 90–91
Loaded generator constant, 25 Negative frequency, 206, 207
Location code, 167 Negative resistance, 61
Location identifier, 165 Netquakes recorder, 180, 278
Long period (LP) Network
seismograph, 198 code, 165, 167
sensor, 15, 37 construction, 305
Long term average, 169, 172 cost, 306
Low frequency sensitivity, 29 geometry, 264
Low noise amplifier, 150 operation, 302
Low temperature battery, 251 optimal configuration, 266, 267
LSB. See Least significant bit (LSB) real time, 271
LTA, 172 virtual, 267
410 Index

Noise Overdamping, 60
amplifier, 64, 72 Overplay ADC, measure, 359
and bandwidth, 103 Oversampling, 122
current, 64 Overshoot, 21, 30
curves, 104
electronic, 64
IRIS station, 105 P
Johnson, 64 Paper recording, 155
man made, 110 Parasitic resonance, 47
measure in recorder, 360 Parseval’s theorem, 210
Norwegian West Coast, 110 PCANYWHERE, 298
ocean generated, 111 PCMCIA, 186
power spectrum, 210 PDDC, 229
reduction, borehole, 243 Pendulum, 34
RMS amplitude, 106 Periodic signal, 203, 209
sensor, 63 Peterson noise curves, 64, 105
spectrum, 103, 235 Phase-locked loop (PLL), 323
survey, 234 Phase response, sensor, 20
swinging mast, 239 Phase shift, 16, 19, 21
and temperature, 240 definition, 201
voltage, 64 measure, 343
wind, 110 wrong, 27–30
Noise in (μg)2/Hz, converted to dB, Phase spectrum, 205
79 Phone line, 288
Noise level, ADC, 118 Phone, cellular, 290
Non causal filter, 217 Physical network, 269
Non linearity, ADC, 118 definition, 269
Normalization constant Piezoelectric sensor, 77
Hz, 223 Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP),
poles and zeros, 215, 222 289
Radian, 223 Polarity
spectrum, 206, 207, 212 convention, 17, 26
NORSAR, 316 check from recording, 342
Norwegian National Seismic Network definition, 218
(NNSN), 301 determine, 340
Nyquist frequency, 135, 206, 217 and filters, 219
Nyquist sampling, array, 313 network, 341
type of response, 219
Poles and zeros (PAZ), 215, 223
O example, 221
Oblique components, 87 filter, 215
Ocean bottom seismographs (OBS), 183 seismometer, 215
Offset, ADC, 119 Portable recorder, 183
One bit ADC, 126 Post event memory, 173
One component sensor, use, 264 Post event recording, 173
ORFEUS, 274 Posthole seismometer, 83
Orientation code, 166 Posthole sensor, 244
Oscillator Power consumption, radio, 283
crystal controlled, 161 Power density spectrum, 211
oven controlled, 161 Power spectral density
Oscilloscope, 332 and amplitude, 106
OS9, 182 normalized, 106
Oven controlled oscillator, 161 Power spectrum, 210
Index 411

Power Recursive filter, 217

AC, 248 Reference voltage, 116
solar cell, 256 REFTEK, 249
wind, 258 Repeater station, 286
PQLX software, 109 Resolution, ADC, 117
Precursors to sharp onsets, 218 Resolve ground noise, 80
Pre-event memory, 169, 173 Response, 27
Price, bore hole, 244 Response curve, example, 220
Probability density function, noise, 109 Response file, making, 230
Programmable gain, ADC, 121, 148 Response function, 11
Public domain software, 177 accelerometer, 27
Pulse per second (PPS), 161 check from recording, 341
P-wave, 2 displacement, 25
feedback system, 50
formats and conventions, 223
Q recorder, 333
QNX, 162 rational function, 214
Quake catcher network, 278 Richter magnitude scale, 2, 265
Quanterra, 87, 133 Ring buffer, 159, 163, 166, 277
Quantization error, 126, 130, 143 Ringing transient response, 53
Quantization noise, 134, 141 Root mean square (RMS)
amplitude, 105
noise, 79
R Rotation, 14
Radio channel, channel spacing, 286 Rotational seismometer, 41
Radio interference, 281 Rotation seismometer, 73
Radio license, 286 Rothaphone, 41
Radio link, 281 RS232, 160, 271–273, 291
line of sight, 285 and graphics, 298
power consumption, 286 RS422, 272
Ramp ADC, 119 RS485, 160, 272
Random wavelet, 106 RTquake, 276
Rational function, 214
RC filter, 200, 214
Real time clock, PC, 161, 162 S
Real time network, 271 Sample and hold, ADC, 118, 120
Reciever, 283 Sample rate, 117, 147
Recorder Satellite link, 290
calibrate, 358–360 SCNL code, 168
central, 271, 277 SDADC, 126
chart, 333 Sealed battery, 250
digitizer, 160 SEED. See Standard for the Exchange of
display, 176 Earthquake Data (SEED)
dynamic range, 30 SeedLink, 176, 180, 274, 306
noise, measure, 360 SEISAN, 195, 220, 228, 276
environment, 195 SeisComP, 166, 178, 274, 275
polarity, 341 SeisLog, 160, 178
price, 194 Seismic Analysis Code (SAC) format,
virtual, 277 227
Recording, analog, 155 Seismic array, definition, 312
Recording time Seismic noise, 101, 211
maximum, 173 example, 235
minimum, 173 frequency dependence, 102
412 Index

Seismic station uses, 96

communication, 233 vault, 238
power, 233 Serial data communication, 291
Seismogram, 155, 198 Servo system, 44
example, 235 Servo velocity sensor, 59
VLP, 244 ShakeMap, 179
Seismograph sensitivity, 64 Shaking table, 347
Seismometer Short period (SP)
natural frequency, 17 seismograph, 198
pendulum, 36 seismometer, dynamic range, 82
phase response, 20 seismometer, self noise, 64, 67
poles and zeros, 215 sensor, 15, 30, 86
SEISNET, 278, 301 Short term average, 169, 172
Self discharge, battery, 250 Side lobes, 209
Self induction, 25 Sigma Delta ADC, 125, 126
Self noise Signal coil, 24
in instruments, measure, 360–365 Signal generator, 332
SP seismometer, 64, 67 Signal to noise ratio (SNR), band limited, 146
testing, 63 Skew, 121, 161, 322
Sensitivity, sensor, 79–80 Slowness, 312, 318
Sensor Smoked paper recording, 157
absolute calibration, 346–352 Software, virtual data logger, 278
active, 43 Solar cell, 254
adjustments, 83–84 efficiency, 255
bore hole, 94 installation, 256, 258
calibration coil, 42 open circuit voltage, 256
centering, 84 tilt, 256
component, 89 Spatial aliasing, 317
control, 84 SPatial Auto Correlation (SPAC), 10, 310
cost, 96 Spectral analysis, 203, 335
cross axis sensitivity, 82 Spectral coefficients, 206
DC output, 84 Spectrum, 205
dynamic range, 7, 81 complex, 205
frequency response, 78 factor 2 forgotten, 206
gain, 79–80, 82 normalization constant, 206, 207, 212
4.5 Hz, 321 Speed, radio link, 282
installation, 232, 236, 238 Spread spectrum radio, 283, 288, 323
internal noise, 79 Sprengnether, 157
linearity, 81 Spring force, 17
low frequency capability, 5 Spring stiffening, 51
mass locking, 83 STA/LTA trigger, 169, 172
mechanical clipping, 82 Standard for the Exchange of Earthquake Data
natural frequency, 44 (SEED), 195
non linearity, measure, 345 example response, 226
orientation, 236, 244 format, 164
parameters, 78 Station code, 165, 166
pendulum, 34 Station density, 264
restrict motion, 33 Station, repeater, 286
selectcion, 263 Steim compression, 164, 165, 296
self noise, 63 Step function, 356
sensitivity, 79–80 Storage media, 163
specifications, summary, 95 Streckeisen, 87
strong motion, 44 Strong motion sensor, 44, 75
Index 413

Strong motion velocity meter, 90 Velocity, 14

SUDS, 163, 195 broad band sensor, 46
Surface waves, 3, 198 meter, strong motion, 90
response, 27
sensor, 6, 21
T sensor, frequency response, 25
TCP/IP, 293 Very long period (VLP), 241
and graphics, 298 performance, 240
TeamViewer, 298 Very small aperture terminal (VSAT), 290, 295
Test equipment, 332 VHF band, 284
Test, self noise, 63 Virtual data logger, 277
Texas Instrument, 126 Virtual network, communication, 283
Thermal insulation, sensor, 236 Virtual private network (VPN), 289
Three components, 14 Virtual seismic network, 267, 273
Time mark generator, 156, 269, 271 VME, 185
Time skew delay, 161 VNC, 298
Timing Volcanic tremor, 310
accuracy, 161 Voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), 280, 286
array, 325 Voltage noise, 64
different ways, 162 Voltmeter, peak hold function, 343
general principle, 160
and transmission delay, 297
Torsion seismometer, 35 W
Transceiver, 282, 287 Watch dog systems, 302
Transient response, 30, 53 Waveform request, 278
Transmission break, 160 Waveform similarity, 313
Transmission speed, 279 Wavefront, 312–315
Transmitter, 283 Wavenumber, 315
Trigger, 8, 159, 168, 172–175 Web server, 298
and DC level, 171 Weight lift and calibration, 340
example, 170 Wide area networks (WAN), 279
and filter, 170, 173 Wiechert pendulum, 38
level, 168, 169 Wind generator, 258
ratio, 172 Wind noise, 110
on S, 175 Winston system, 166
STA/LTA, 169 Wood Anderson seismometer, 28, 34
Tunneling effect, 75 Word, 2 byte, 115
Two way transmission, 282 World Wide Standard Seismographic Network
(WWSSN) seismogram, 198

U
Uninterruptible power supply (UPS), 248 X
Universal serial bus (USB), 163, 176 X-server, 298
Unix, 298
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 299
Z
Zero length spring, 38
V Zero phase filter, 138, 139, 219
Variable capacitance bridge, 44 Z-transform, 217
Vault, sensor, 238
VBB sensor, 15