12 July 2009

Here is a revised version of the popular Lead-Acid Battery Zapper featured in the May 2006 issue of SILICON CHIP. It is now separate from the Battery Condition Checker and much easier to build. At the same time it has been revamped for more reliable long-period operation with 6V, 12V & 24V batteries.

08 July 2009

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.

06 July 2009

He's held onto a large library of VHS tapes for decades so Barrie Smith thought he could make good use of the Easter break by engaging with DVD recording. Here are his reactions to a Tevion DD1018 and an AWA DR711 DVD recorder.

04 July 2009

Last month we presented the full description, operation and construction details of our new Battery Capacity Meter. This month we guide you through the once-only setup and calibration. We also explain in detail how to use it!

01 July 2009

What do Perth, Saudi Arabia and cruise ships have in common? They all rely on desalination for fresh water. And the Gold Coast, Sydney and Adelaide are about to join the club!

24 June 2009

In the first part of this story in May SILICON CHIP Barrie Smith tipped us into the maelstrom of the funny yarns about Tech Support. Now he gets serious and investigates how the major companies handle the floods of enquiries and queries that rain upon enterprises brave enough to market their products... and daring enough to back them up with help and comfort for the buying public.

22 June 2009

Do you need to test audio equipment, including amplifiers and speakers, in the field and in the workshop? If so, you could use this compact and inexpensive digital audio oscillator. It can produce sine, square, triangle and sawtooth waveforms in the frequency range from 10Hz-30kHz and features three output ranges: 20mV, 200mV & 1V.

21 June 2009

Malcolm Faed has produced the first electric vehicle conversion using an industrial 3-phase induction motor controlled by a variable frequency, variable voltage converter. As far as we know, it is the first such road-registered DIY conversion in Australia and it is probably one of the first in the world.

19 June 2009

Recent SILICON CHIP articles on HopeRF 433MHz data transceivers have drawn our attention to other monitoring modules made by this Chinese firm. Amongst their offerings is a well-priced and calibrated humidity sensor, the HH10D. This has shown itself capable of extremely simple interfacing to even the humblest PICAXE, although factory calibration values first need reading via an I2C-level PICAXE such as the 18X.

17 June 2009

VoiceMe is a voice-activated remote control. It can be used to control up to ten functions on your TV, DVD player, Home Theatre system or whatever and it can have up to four separate users. If you are one of those who often loses remote controls, it could be an attractive option.