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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. Nicolas Hannekum – Dip.Elec.Tech. Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Allan Linton-Smith Dave Thompson David Maddison – B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Dr Hugo Holden – B.H.B, MB.ChB., FRANZCO Ian Batty Phil Prosser – B.Sc., B.E.(Elec.) Cartoonist Brendan Akhurst Founding Editor (retired) Leo Simpson – B.Bus., FAICD 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 (Australia only): 6 issues (6 months): $65 12 issues (1 year): $120 24 issues (2 years): $230 Online subscription (Worldwide) 6 issues (6 months): $50 12 issues (1 year): $95 For overseas rates, see our website or email silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Recommended & maximum price only. 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. Making kits is not easy! You might have noticed the announcement last month that we are selling an almost complete kit for the USB Cable Tester project. As we were building the prototypes we realised that, due to ongoing shortages, there was no guarantee that the parts would be available by the time the project was published. And what would be the point in publishing a project article if nobody could build the thing? Of course, there are other reasons to offer kits. We realise that it’s much easier for readers to build most of our designs if they can buy all the parts as a set, rather than running around gathering them from various sources. It can also be cheaper to buy a kit, mainly because you don’t have to pay delivery fees to multiple vendors. There are two primary reasons we haven’t done this in the past. One is that Jaycar and Altronics have tended to produce kits for our projects (and still do, thankfully; see below), and we didn’t want to ‘step on their toes’. Another is the perception that it would be a lot of work to produce kits, distracting us from working on the magazine. Our experience now shows us that concern was not misplaced. It might seem like a simple job to make a kit; just order some parts, throw them in a bag, and then send that to the customer, right? Well, it turns out it isn’t quite that easy. Problem number one is estimating the demand. It takes time to find all the vendors, order the parts, gather those orders, and then make the kits, so you need to do it well before the article is published. But how do you know how many parts to order before you’ve had a chance to gauge reader interest? Order too few sets, and you run the risk of delaying getting kits to customers (or, under the current circumstances, possibly not being able to supply them at all!). Ordering too many not only means a large cash outlay upfront, but it could even result in the whole exercise being a net loss, with a bunch of unsold kits sitting around taking up space. Once you’ve figured that out, it takes a surprising amount of time and labour to actually order the parts, track all the incoming shipments and then put it all together in preparation for making the kits. The kit-making then takes a deceptively large amount of time and effort. Some parts are not easily separated. Some need re-packing. Some need programming. Some need to be cut or broken apart into smaller sections. Often, they need to be separated into several bags or other containers to be later combined to make the final kits. Some parts need extra protection to survive delivery (anti-static bags, foam, tape, bubble wrap etc). You also need to be meticulous to ensure you don’t leave anything out of a kit and put in the correct number of each component. The time spent doing all these things adds up, and it ends up consuming way more hours than you might guess when making dozens or even hundreds of kits. I’m delighted that our SMD Test Tweezer and USB Cable Tester kits have been so popular (partly because it shows that people enjoyed the articles), but it will be a relief once we get all the kits to our customers! Altronics kit for projects in this magazine Printing and Distribution: Finally, I am pleased to announce that Altronics will be producing kits for three projects this month: the Hummingbird amplifier (starting on p18), SMD Trainer (p38) and Digital Lighting Controller Translator (p61). See the respective parts lists for the relevant code that you can search for on their website. 24-26 Lilian Fowler Pl, Marrickville 2204 Cover background image source: www.freepik.com/free-vector/realistic-motion-neon-lights-background_15292690.htm ISSN 1030-2662 2 Editorial Viewpoint Silicon Chip by Nicholas Vinen Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au