03 June 2011

During the past few years, SILICON CHIP has exposed some decidedly "shonky" power-saving devices. So it gives us great pleasure in "exposing" another power-saving device . . . one that actually lives up to its claims. The FutureWave Energy Saver WILL save energy and therefore money. And we have the test figures to prove it.

24 May 2011

Do you suspect your broadband speed (DSL) is slower than it should be? It could be as simple as incorrect polarity in your phone wall socket. Build this very cheap, very simple device to find out whether you need to change your wiring!

20 May 2011

18 May 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.

16 May 2011

Did you build the 12/24V 3-stage MPPT solar charge controller published in the February 2011 issue? Then you will probably want this companion 12V 100W inverter as well. It will power laptops and other devices which require a DC voltage between 15V & 35V.

14 May 2011

An increasing number of SILICON CHIP projects use memory cards for storing data, loading software and the like. Originally intended for digital cameras, mobile phones etc, these cards are small, now quite inexpensive and can store an enormous amount of data (8 and 16GB cards are now common). But as some readers have discovered, there can sometimes be issues . . .

10 May 2011

Over the past two months we introduced the Maximite, a tiny microcomputer that can turn its hand to many things, from teaching programming to controlling your greenhouse. In this final article we provide an introduction to the BASIC language running on the Maximite and show you how to use this tiny marvel for measurement and control.

08 May 2011

While Jaycar is now the dominant electronic parts retailer in Australia it had very small beginnings, 30 years ago. Since then it has grown from a single run-down store in a virtual dungeon in a Sydney lane to an operation with 72 stores (and climbing) and employing over 1100 people in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Leo Simpson recently sat down with the owner, Gary Johnston, to chew the fat and review some of the high points.

04 May 2011

Many sports fans feel that radio commentary is better than that on TV, particularly commercial TV. To eliminate the annoyance of the TV commentary (and the adverts) they want to turn down the sound on the TV and listen to the radio instead. But the delay in the live TV broadcast causes a major problem. This simple project lets you delay the commentary on the radio to match the action on your TV - and it's remote controlled.

02 May 2011

Have you got a horde of old junk, er, good stuff, that is now taking up too much space in your home? Here's the good oil on how to get rid of it at the best price, by selling it on eBay.