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...and the . Following the review of tiny two-way radios in the March issue of SILICON CHIP, we conducted a competition to find the uses our readers would put these radios to. The prizes were: TWO PAIRS OF UNIDEN MINI UHF TWO-WAY RADIOS COURTESY OF First of all, we have to say a big “thank you” to all those who entered this competition. A trickle at the start of July turned into a flood at the end and picking the overall winners was very, very difficult indeed. There were several dozen entries from people who wanted to use the little Unidens in rural applications. In fact, just reading those entries made us realise how lucky we are in the big cities with conditions on the land now so difficult. Most, if not all, told a similar story: they desperately needed to keep in touch on the farm but conditions were so bad many simply couldn’t afford to outlay even the couple of hundred dollars required to buy a pair of the Unidens. To single out any one of these entries as more deserving than another was impossible, so we decided to group all similar entries and then pick one of those out as a winner. Then there were the “offbeat” entries. Yes, we did say that they were allowed – it’s just that we didn’t quite expect to be taken quite so literally. In deference to the sensibilities of many readers (young and old!) and in the interests of decorum and good taste, we haven’t reproduced some of those entries here. Suffice to say that we had never even dreamed possible some of the more unusual applications suggested! Again, our thanks to all those who entered and, of course, to Dick Smith Electronics for sponsoring the prizes. 88  Silicon Chip www.siliconchip.com.au winner s is are Here are the winning entries: From John O’Grady, Frankston, Victoria: "Sailing a tall ship presents challenges. In ad- dition to the usual ship/shore ad ship/boat communications, a real need exists for reliable comms between foredeck, masthead crew and bridge, especially on our 44m brigantine where wind, waves and particularly movement make other forms of communication (currently shouting!) unrealistic From Victor Tarhanoff, Blantyre, Qld: "I suffered from a stroke in January and my side was paralysed. Should I have an accident on the farm and be unable to get up promptly, I need Uniden 2-ways to contact my wife for help. Ants, snakes and aggressive animals are always around.” Your two Uniden UH-040XR transceivers will be on their way to you both shortly. But wait, there's more! We received quite a few entries from our younger SILICON CHIP readers – but this one really caught our attention! It was from Petah Chapman, a young lady who lives right up in north Queensland and she not only sent us the entry below, she also attached a letter telling us that her Mum had filled in the entry because her writing wouldn't fit. But she also sent us this beaut drawing illustrating how she would be using them. . . We admit it! We’re suckers when someone goes to a bit of effort. So we grovelled a bit (lot!) to Dick Smith Electronics PR department and they agreed to give us a third pair of Unidens. Thanks, Nicola! So Petah, your entry is also a winner: your two Uniden UH-040XR CB radios will be on their way to you shortly. Oh yeah . . . what did Petah want to do with the Unidens? What any self-respecting kid would do, of course: play! "I saw the radios in SC months ago. I showed them to my brother (9) and sister (7). We're saving up to buy three. We want them for communicating between the house, our forest cubby and pontoon at the river. We’ll use them like phones and when we play “spies” and when we are camping out bush.” Now you’ll only have to save up for one, Petah! Two Unidens will be on their way real soon. But it was the P.S. on the entry at right that we really enjoyed. Hopefully you can read it! Onya, Dad! Ross Tester www.siliconchip.com.au August 2001  89