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SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher/Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc Bao Smith, B.Sc Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc Technical Contributor Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD Art Director & Production Manager Ross Tester Reader Services Ann Morris Founding Editor (retired) Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Dave Thompson David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Ian Batty M.Ed. Cartoonist Brendan Akhurst Silicon Chip is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20 880 526 923. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Subscription rates: $105.00 per year, post paid, in Australia. For overseas rates, see our website or email silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Editorial office: Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9939 3295. E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended & maximum price only. Printing and Distribution: Editorial Viewpoint Jaycar Maker Hubs bring great possibilities We have featured Jaycar’s new Maker Hub on our front cover this month because we’re excited about the possibilities that it opens up for our readers. For some time now, we’ve been aware of the popularity of 3D printers but have been reluctant to design projects which require 3D printed parts because inevitably, some people who wanted to build those projects would not have access to a 3D printer. We could supply 3D printed parts, like we do laser-cut acrylic pieces, but that would require a significant investment of time and effort. But now you can join Jaycar’s free Nerd Perks program, rock up to their Maker Hub at Broadway and use one of their 3D printers to print just about anything you want at quite low cost. And if the Sydney Hub is successful, we expect that more will open up, with at least one in every capital city – and ideally at least two or three in Sydney and Melbourne. That will mean that we can start using 3D printed parts in our designs, confident that readers have a relatively easy and inexpensive way to produce them, even if they don’t have access to a 3D printer themselves. And as they will soon have a laser cutter too, that means you can make custom versions of our case pieces and so on (eg, in a different colour). The Maker Hubs should also be a great way to meet with and help (or get help from) other like-minded individuals, many of whom would also be SILICON CHIP readers. And as we’ve written in the introduction article (pages 27-29), we hope to host the occasional Q&A/tutorial sessions at our local Maker Hub. New Micromite V3 BackPack will be the standard The various versions of the Micromite LCD BackPack have been very popular since the first one was described by Geoff Graham in our February 2016 issue. The two main reasons for this great popularity – all around the world – are the colour touchscreen and the ease of programming and interacting with the touchscreen that MMBasic provides. Once we’d designed the V3 BackPack, utilising the much higher resolution 3.5-inch touchscreen module, I was quite surprised to find that we could supply a kit for this new version for only a few dollars more than the V2 BackPack, which is itself only slightly more expensive than the original BackPack, despite having an onboard USB/serial converter and programming interface. So given that you get a much nicer screen and more convenience for a relatively modest increase in price, I’m sure the new V3 BackPack kit will be the one to use from now on. We will continue to supply the V1 and V2 BackPack kits with the smaller 2.8-inch screen, but I don’t see us designing many projects around them any more. The 3.5-inch screen is much clearer than the old one, and the BackPack with it still fits into a UB3 Jiffy Box. The new laser-cut lid is a little bit of a neater fit too, as it recesses inside the box itself, rather than sitting on top. The V3 BackPack also has provision for several different onboard ‘helper’ modules and chips, most of which we can supply via our Online Shop, which makes it an excellent platform for experimentation and building simple microcontroller-based projects. Check out the article, starting on page 30, for more details. Nicholas Vinen Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148. 2 Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au