Contents
Vol.31, No.2; February 2018
Features & Reviews
14 Turning your garbage into useful electricity
Most garbage still goes to landfill – but in many cities around the world, it’s used
as fuel for boilers to generate power. There are at least two firm proposals to do
so here in Australia, if the NIMBYs don’t scuttle the plans – by Ross Tester
30 We review: Navman’s DriveDuo – Satnav AND Dashcam
SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Thousands
of cities
around the
world are
generating
power from
rubbish –
Page 14
After a less-than-stellar performance with our last Satnav, we were more than
pleasantly surprised by the DriveDuo. It combines a state-of-the-art Satnav with
a very high performance Dashcam – and does both very well – by Leo Simpson
44 El Cheapo Modules 13: sensing motion and moisture
Two very different modules this month: first is a motion sensor that uses
microwaves instead of the normal infrared; second is a soil moisture
measurement system for pot plants, gardens, etc – by Jim Rowe
Constructional Projects
20 A Water Tank Level Meter with WiFi and More!
Got a water tank? Want to know how much water is in it? This one not only
tells you (anywhere on Earth, via WiFi) it can also log all the details for you.
But wait, there’s more: it also has inbuilt weather reporting – by Nicholas Vinen
Using
low-cost
modules,
this water tank depth
gauge relays its data via WiFi, along
with current weather – Page 20
36 6-Element VHF TV Yagi to kill UHF 4G interference
If you’re still using a VHF/UHF antenna in metro areas, chances are you’re also
picking up a lot of unwanted 5ubbish from the now-vacated UHF TV bands. This
VHF-only TV antenna is what you need! – by Leo Simpson
64 Highly versatile & accurate dot/bar 10-LED Bargraph
With the venerable LM391X series now getting difficult (if not impossible) to
obtain we developed this 10-LED display module to take their place. It can
display log, linear, VU or PPM signals in dot or bar form – by John Clarke
The Navman DriveDuo is more
than a SatNav; it’s more than a
dashcam. It’s both – in one highperformance package – Page 30
83 The Arduino Mega Box Music Player revisited
The Mega Box concept (Dec17/Jan18) has proved popular, but we thought
it needed some refinement. So we added a music player, made provision for
remote control and updated the software. Now it really sings! – by Bao Smith
Your Favourite Columns
57 Serviceman’s Log
Smart TVs can be pretty dumb sometimes – by Dave Thompson
78 Circuit Notebook
Old-style multi-band (VHF/UHF)
TV antennas can be plagued by
annoying 4G interference on UHF
– if you’re in a metro area (VHF only)
build this Yagi Antenna – it simply
won’t receive UHF! – Page 36
(1) Vintage car logbook reminder with temperature and clock display
(2) PICAXE roulette wheel simulator using 7-segment displays
(3) Active probe uses switched capacitor charge pump
(4) OLED clock gets its time from the internet using NTP
87 Vintage Radio
A more detailed look at the 1919/20 Grebe Synchrophase – by Ian Batty
Everything Else!
2
4
94
100
Editorial Viewpoint
103 Market Centre
Mailbag – Your Feedback
104 Advertising Index
Ask SILICON CHIP
104 Notes and Errata
SILICON CHIP Online Shop
The Grebe Synchrophase
is so exceptional that it
warrants a detailed analysis, with
its performance rivalling some of
the finest superheterodyne sets
of the period – Page 87.
www.facebook.com/siliconchipmagazine
