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Contents Vol.23, No.3; March 2010 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Features 12 A Look At The MacBook 2010 PC users beware – this innovative new laptop computer from Apple is a winner. Try it and you could become hooked – by Kevin Poulter 18 Digital TV: Where To From Here? Digital TV transmissions now cover 60% of the Australian population but to get full HD programming, we need MPEG-4 broadcasts – by Alan Hughes 22 An Innovative Early-Warning System For Bushfires A year on from the disastrous 2009 Victorian Bushfires, a possible life-saver goes begging – by David Ambry Solar-Powered Intruder Alarm For Sheds & Boats – Page 28. 85 Review: The UNIQUE UQ2062C Digital Storage Scope We take a look at this highly-affordable 60MHz digital storage oscilloscope with a colour screen and two channels – by Nicholas Vinen Pro jects To Build 28 A Solar-Powered Intruder Alarm For Sheds & Boats Have you got a shed in the back yard or a boat on a mooring? Here is the ideal alarm for it. It’s solar powered so no mains supply is needed – by John Clarke 58 Digital Audio Signal Generator, Pt.1 Versatile design generates high-quality sine, square, triangle and sawtooth waveforms and features both digital (TOSLINK & S/PDIF) and analog outputs. Its distortion with a high-quality DAC is extremely low – by Nicholas Vinen 70 A Low-Capacitance Adaptor for DMMs Easy-to-build unit allows a standard digital multimeter to measure low-value capacitors from less than one picofarad to over 10nF. It also allows you to measure stray capacitance in switches, connectors and wiring – by Jim Rowe Digital Audio Signal Generator – Page 58. 78 A Very Accurate Thermometer/Thermostat It measures from -55°C to +125°C and shows the current, minimum & maximum readings on an LCD. Use it for controlling air-conditioners, heaters, cool rooms, wine cellars, etc – by Michael Dedman Special Columns 38 Circuit Notebook (1) Simple Beam-Break Detector For Camera Shutter Or Flash Control; (2) Capacitance Meter Is Based On Reactance; (3) Discrete Low-Dropout Voltage Regulators; (4) Simple FM Receiver Has Pulse-Counting Detector Low-Capacitance Adaptor For DMMs – Page 70. 43 Serviceman’s Log It sometimes pays to keep your mouth shut – by the Serviceman 88 Vintage Radio The 1933 Airzone 503 5-Valve Mantel Set – by Rodney Champness Departments   2   4 57 69 Publisher’s Letter Mailbag Product Showcase Book Review siliconchip.com.au 93 96 100 102 Order Form Ask Silicon Chip Notes & Errata Market Centre Accurate -55 -55°C to +125 +125°C Thermometer/Thermostat – Page 78. 78. March 2010  1