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PUBLISHER’S LETTER www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Production Manager Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Peter Smith Ross Tester Rick Walters Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Enquiries Rick Winkler Phone (02) 9979 5644 Fax (02) 9979 6503 Mobile: 0414 34 6669 Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Louis Challis Rodney Champness Garry Cratt, VK2YBX Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Bob Young SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490 All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Hannanprint, Dubbo, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $69.50 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial & advertising offices: Unit 8, 101 Darley St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended and maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip Electrical licence to build a kit is ridiculous A letter in the Mailbag pages of the June 2000 issue has generated more responses than any other issue ever raised in the history of SILICON CHIP. Entitled “Monkeys in charge of the kingdom” it raised the concern that it was illegal for people in Queensland to build mains-operated kits or even do repairs on mains-operated equipment unless licensed by the Electrical Li­censing board in that state. Since then we have had letters on the same subject in the July & August issues and quite a few since then, some of which are featured in this issue. As well, we have an official letter of response from the Queensland ELB which we have printed in full. Our reaction, on reading their letter, was that the ELB have their heads in the sand. Surely they cannot be “for real”. Safety is not really the issue. It is seen as an attempt by electricians to extend their sphere of influence into areas in which they previously had none. Sure, there are some electricians who are highly competent in some areas of electronics. But that does not mean that a restricted electrical licence should be required in order to service electronic equipment or assemble mains-operated electron­ic kits. The assembly of electronic kits and reading magazine arti­cles about electronic circuitry is the only way in which most people ever learn about electronics. In fact, do-it-yourself electronics has been the main activity which has generated tech­nical skills in this country, ever since radio broadcasting became possible, back in the 1920s. Do the various state ELBs really think they are doing the right thing by trying to restrict these activities to people who are licensed electricians? Do they realise the ramifications of this draconian approach? Would Australia be as technically inno­vative if this sort of regulation had been enforced in the past? Would we ever have developed a viable radio industry in the 1920s, 1930s, during World War II and so on, if licensed electri­cians were the only ones allowed to build or work on mains-oper­ated equipment? The answers to all these questions are perfectly obvious. If you have too much legislation and regulation you end up with a stultified society in which very little innovation occurs. Example - most of Europe. Keep it loose and you get an innovative society like America. Which path do we want to take? Clearly, the concept of only allowing suitably licensed people to assemble mains-operated electronic equipment is ridicu­lous. Next thing, they’ll want people to hold a licence to oper­ate their TV and microwave oven; after all, they are mains-oper­ated appliances and potentially lethal in the wrong circumstanc­ es, aren’t they? Having discussed this topic with the secretary and chairman of the Queensland ELB, I can assure you that they are perfectly reasonable people who do not have their heads in the sand. Although they have legislation to administer, they realise that they cannot regulate matters in this way. And most readers will cheer loudly on that score. But their letter resolves nothing. Let us hope, when they get around to reviewing the relevant legislation, that sanity will prevail. To that end, the ELB will be inviting submissions from interested parties in the near future. Ultimately, electricians should be the only ones to work on fixed mains wiring. We have no argument with that. But assembly and repairs on mains-operated appliances and electronic kits are none of their business. Leo Simpson