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SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Ross Tester Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc Bao Smith, B.Sc Photography Ross Tester Reader Services Ann Morris Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Kevin Poulter Dave Thompson SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Offset Alpine, Lidcombe, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $105.00 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see our website or the subscriptions page in this issue. Editorial office: Unit 1, 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9939 3295. E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 Recommended & maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip Publisher’s Letter Where does innovation come from? This question comes about because of a story written by Dave Thompson in this month’s Serviceman’s Log. Normally his stories are a quirky mixture of electronic detective work combined with tragic-comedy as he copes with the vicissitudes of working in a quake-affected environment. He usually manages to sort out faults, source the wanted components for repairs and still manages to maintain a good humour in spite of everything. Having visited New Zealand over the Christmas period I have to record my admiration of that country’s achievement in managing quite good economic performance over the years since the devastating earthquake in Christchurch in 2011. This comes from a country which is not generously endowed with natural resources and whose population has had to cope with lots of earthquakes in the aftermath of the 2011 event. The contrast of New Zealand’s economic record with Australia’s is even more stark when you consider our enormous natural resources and our vast export incomes. But Dave Thompson’s Serviceman story this month was somewhat out of the ordinary. Instead of being about an electronic repair it is about his search for a solution to snoring. This problem probably affects the majority of the population as they age. It certainly affects the sleep patterns of the snorer and their unfortunate partner and it ultimately can lead to early death if nothing is done about it. Around the world huge amounts of money are spent on sleep research and it must be said that the various treatments are not simple, inexpensive or even particularly effective. So in the face of that enormous research effort, what chance would Dave Thompson have of coming up with any solution at all? The result may surprise you because it certainly surprised me. And millions of dollars were not spent! Dave just applied some kiwi ingenuity. As detailed in Dave Thompson’s story on page 58 of this issue, his solution is a simple VOX circuit which detects the incidence of snoring and then vibrates the snorer’s pillow to stop him – face it, it’s usually a male. I won’t give you the full details – read the story for yourself. In fact, readers can do their own experimenting with the idea using a standard SILICON CHIP VOX circuit and PCB. What gets me about this story is that Dave came to his solution in a relatively straightforward way. He wondered whether a VOX circuit might work, tried it out, did a few mods, lashed up a working prototype and there you are. Incredible. And maybe it may not prove to be the most effective solution but it sure is worth more development. So congratulations, Dave. Now I’m not saying that Dave is a genius (well, maybe he is!) but how is it that he came up with a simple solution using such a direct approach? What are all these other researchers doing? Or have such approaches been used in the past and found wanting? That seems unlikely. More to the point, given that we have huge resources these days in the form of almost magical electronic components, enormous databases of info on every subject available at any time from computers and smartphones, where are all the younger people with their supposedly more agile brains which are open to all sorts of new ideas? What are they doing? By comparison, Dave is an “old dude”. I haven’t heard of too many breakthrough ideas from all the smart young folk (apart from millions of useless smartphone apps). Or don’t they know enough about science in order to have useful ideas? Leo Simpson siliconchip.com.au