SILICON CHIP
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
Editor
Greg Swain , B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec .)
Robert Flynn
Adver,lslng Manager
Paul Buchtmann
Regular Contributors
Neville Williams, FIREE, VK2XV
Bryan Maher, M.E. B.Sc.
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
Jim Lawler, MTETIA
John Hill
David Whitby
Photography
. Bob Donaldson
Editoriai Advisory Panel
Philip Watson, MIREE , VK2ZPW
Norman Marks
Steve Payor, B.Sc., B.E.
SILICON CHIP is published 1 2 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd . All material
copyright (c). No part of the contents of this publication may be
reproduced without prior written
consent of the publisher. Kitset
suppliers may not photostat articles without written permission
of the publisher.
Typesetting/makeup: Magazine
Printers Pty Ltd , Waterloo , NSW
2017.
Printing: Masterprint Pty Ltd ,
Dubbo, NSW 2830 .
Distribution: Network Distribution
Company.
Subscription rate: currently $4 2
per year ( 1 2 issues) inside
Australia. For overseas rates ,
refer to the subscription page in
this issue.
Liability: Devices or circuits
described in SILICON CHIP may be
covered by patents. SILICON CHIP
disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the
manufacturing or selling of any
such equipment.
Address all mail to: Silicon Chip
Publications Pty Ltd , PO Box
139, Collaroy Beach, NSW
2097 . Phone (02) 982 3935.
ISSN 1030 -2 6 6 2
* Recommended and maximum
Australian price only .
2
SILICON CHIP
PUBLISHER'S U'l-l'ER
Editorial content: juggling
the mix isn't easy
At a particular time in the production cycle of SILICON CHIP, we
have to make critical decisions on the editorial content of the issue. As
time goes on, we are finding these decisions quite difficult. Do we
leave out a feature article so a project article will fit? Do we run a project article in one big slab rather than in several episodes? Can we afford to run more readers' letters and so on.
Questions like these are difficult because we are trying to cater for
such a wide range of reader interests. Each month we try to include a
good range of articles but we are not sure just how they will be received by you, the reader. What we think is great may not necessarily appeal to you. We'd like to hear more reactions from you.
Take for example the Passive Loop Antenna project. Superficially,
this is a very simple device and you would be justified in thinking that
it wouldn't do much. We reacted exactly the same way at first. I mean,
it's just too simple, isn't it? But if you have an AM broadcast radio
with its own loopstick antenna and you're having trouble picking up a
weak station, this device works like magic. The increase in signal
when the Loop is placed near the radio and tuned for maximum pickup
is amazing. It's just the thing if you are staying in a caravan. Anyway,
I'll not say anymore; you can read about it for yourself.
The second project that we are very pleased with is the Touch-Lamp
Dimmer. It uses just a single new IC from Siemens and a Triac to provide a dimmer which can be turned on and off or dimmed at a touch. It
can also be programmed to provide either a "soft start" switch on or
to store the selected brightness of the lamp so that when you switch on
next time the lamp will be set to the same level. This is pretty fancy
stuff and makes the ordinary knob type dimmer look pretty passe.
Well what do you think of projects like these? We know that some
readers do not buy an issue unless there is something in it that is of
specific interest at the time. Later on they often regret not buying the
issue because they have missed out on an article which is now vital. If
you don't buy SILICON CHIP every month, we'd like to know why and
what we have to do to make you a convert. Why not drop us a line?
Leo Simpson
