10 March 2010

You can sense the frustration in this first-hand account of the design and development of an effective, targeted and most of all affordable natural disaster warning system. Developed specifically in response to those terrible bushfires of a year ago, everyone who sees it says "fantastic!" So why is it languishing in some bureaucrat's "in" tray?

08 March 2010

This Digital Audio Signal Generator has TOSLINK and coax (S/PDIF) digital outputs, as well as two analog audio outputs. If a digital output is used, the harmonic distortion from a high quality DAC is extremely low. Alternatively, if you use the analog outputs the harmonic distortion of the sinewave signal is typically still very low at less than .06%.

06 March 2010

Most blokes have got a shed - or wish they had! While many people have alarms for their home and cars, a lot of valuable stuff is unprotected in garages and sheds. It needs protecting and now you can do it with this simple alarm based on a PIR sensor. It's solar-powered so no mains supply is needed. And let's not forget boats on moorings - they need protecting too.

04 March 2010

Digital TV commenced in Australia on 1st January 2001 - yes, nine years ago, making Australia one of the first countries to start regular DTV transmissions. These transmissions now cover 60% of the population but for Australians to get full HD programming, we need MPEG-4 broadcasts. At present, we are being short-changed.

02 March 2010

Computer companies release their latest models with much fanfare and we all go 'ho-hum', as the look and feel of a new computer soon vapourises when we discover bugs, plus a host of software and drivers won't work without expensive upgrades. This time Apple should have bought out the brass band and fireworks!

21 February 2010

Interesting circuit ideas which we have checked but not built and tested. Contributions from readers are welcome and will be paid for at standard rates.

15 February 2010

Looking for a really accurate clock? This simple add-on board for the WIB (Web Server In A Box) displays the time and date, as gathered from an internet time server. You can use it as a clock you never need to adjust and it can even be configured in the WIB to automatically adjust for daylight saving time.

11 February 2010

Do you occasionally need to measure very low resistances accurately but don't have access to an expensive benchtop Milliohm Meter or DMM? This low-cost adaptor will let you use almost any DMM to make accurate low-resistance measurements.

07 February 2010

You may not know it but your late-model car has an astonishing array of sensors to make sure that its engine and electronic systems all run at peak efficiency, while keeping emissions to a minimum. This increasing use of electronics in vehicles has also lead to improvements in the way a vehicle can be maintained. With On Board Diagnostics (OBD), the performance of critical engine components can be easily monitored.

05 February 2010

If you have a laptop PC you can build your own OBDII interface so you can access all the information available to a dedicated hand-held scan tool but at a much lower cost. Not only can you access all the fault codes in your car's ECU but you can then store them in your laptop for future reference.