16 March 2010

The UNIQUE UQ2062C is a highly affordable and portable entry-level 60MHz, 500MS/s digital storage oscilloscope with a colour screen and two channels.

10 March 2010

You can sense the frustration in this first-hand account of the design and development of an effective, targeted and most of all affordable natural disaster warning system. Developed specifically in response to those terrible bushfires of a year ago, everyone who sees it says "fantastic!" So why is it languishing in some bureaucrat's "in" tray?

04 March 2010

Digital TV commenced in Australia on 1st January 2001 - yes, nine years ago, making Australia one of the first countries to start regular DTV transmissions. These transmissions now cover 60% of the population but for Australians to get full HD programming, we need MPEG-4 broadcasts. At present, we are being short-changed.

02 March 2010

Computer companies release their latest models with much fanfare and we all go 'ho-hum', as the look and feel of a new computer soon vapourises when we discover bugs, plus a host of software and drivers won't work without expensive upgrades. This time Apple should have bought out the brass band and fireworks!

23 February 2010

Each year around the world enormous numbers of marine mammals are caught in both commercial fishing nets and the shark nets protecting our beaches. Now an Australian company has come up with a way to warn cetaceans - dolphins, porpoises and soon whales – away from nets and hopefully save many of these magnificent creatures from becoming what is euphemistically known as "by-catch".

07 February 2010

You may not know it but your late-model car has an astonishing array of sensors to make sure that its engine and electronic systems all run at peak efficiency, while keeping emissions to a minimum. This increasing use of electronics in vehicles has also lead to improvements in the way a vehicle can be maintained. With On Board Diagnostics (OBD), the performance of critical engine components can be easily monitored.

03 February 2010

Agilent Technologies has just released a new addition to its range of affordable handheld test and measuring instruments: the U1732A handheld Digital LCR meter. Designed for testing and measuring almost any kind of passive component (L, C or R) quickly, easily and accurately - on the bench or in the field, it is priced at a level much lower than Agilent's existing LCR meters.

13 January 2010

I first noticed this giant "golf ball" last year, sitting high on its "tee", right next to the Terrey Hills golf driving range in Sydney's north. "Surely," I thought, "that's not just an advert for the driving range . . ." No it's not (although I bet they are very grateful!) – it's much more interesting than that – it's the latest in the Bureau of Meteorology weather radar upgrades! And the best part: you can view its images via the 'net.

04 January 2010

Regular SILICON CHIP readers will recall Stan Swan's AIS article in August 2009. It's not stretching the truth to say it has stirred an enormous amount of interest. But we bemoaned the fact that there appeared to be very little coverage in Australia's north west.

11 December 2009

For anyone involved in assembly line or service soldering, the Hakko brand needs no introduction. Their latest offering, the Hakko FX-888 Soldering Station features a number of upgrades and improvements over previous models and should find a ready market in the assembly industry, service personnel and technicians and advanced hobbyist users.