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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.)
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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
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