12 April 2011

The new Agilent InfiniiVision DSO/MSO 2000X and 3000X series oscilloscopes will certainly stir up the scope market. They combine high performance and a wide screen format with ease of use – something that is not always a feature of today's digital scopes.

08 April 2011

40 years ago this month, a brash new electronics magazine burst onto the scene in Australia: Electronics Today - later called Electronics Today International or simply ETI. It really caused a stir and provided stiff competition to the long-established "bible", Electronics Australia. Here is the story of how it began, as told by ETI's founding editor, Collyn Rivers.

02 April 2011

Since the 20W Stereo Class-A amplifier was published in 2007, it has been widely acclaimed for its sound quality. But there has been a consistent niggle experienced by quite a few constructors – low level buzz from the power transformer. We recently took a look at this problem and have come up with a cure.

24 March 2011

Hearing-aid wearers often have difficulty understanding conversations in noisy environments, especially if they have switched their personal hearing aid from microphone mode to T-coil mode. This projects solves that problem.

22 March 2011

How do you test or develop a solar charge controller such as the unit described in SILICON CHIP last month? You could use a solar panel but then you are at the whim of the weather and time of day. Also you would need several panels of different sizes to test it properly. This device solves all those problems.

18 March 2011

Do you have excessive mains voltage at your place? In some parts of Australia the mains voltage can be above 250VAC and that can spell early death for imported appliances rated to work on only 220VAC. In this article we show you how to reduce the mains voltage to a safe level for your equipment.

14 March 2011

Every young techie needs a vacuum pump. They rate alongside the air compressor, multimeter and soldering iron as one of the most useful tools to take their place in the arsenal. This guide will show you how to make a serious vacuum pump for next-to-nothing. Add a vacuum tank for much the same price and you are loaded for bear.

12 March 2011

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.

10 March 2011

08 March 2011

If you watch digital TV in mainland capitals, you may have come across a "community" channel. In Sydney it's a station called TVS, which has a range of interesting programs, quite different to those on main-stream stations. So what is TVS and who are the people behind it?