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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : June SC Projects
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| Phil23 Guru  Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1667 |
[Rant] A little annoyed with the June SC projects. Some are interesting... The Hotel Alarm; Or be it "Teenager Cookie Jar Alarm".... Nice & easy to knock up on some strip board. Couple of others... All have the code on offer for $3.00. That bumps my purchase price a fair bit if I want to play with a few. Some are mentioned as "free to subscribers", I'm not one... I do have every issue back to 1999 though. I prefer to keep our local News Agency in business than Subscribe. Picked up June's issue on May 26; It arrived 4:30am according to the owner. As SC says on their page; "Expect postal delivery of subscription copies in Australia between May 25th and June 7th". In Northern NSW, I know from experience, that would be "June 7th", at lease. More like the 10th.... Nothing more annoying that seeing a magazine on the shelf, and waiting for it in the mail. Think something need to change here. Cheers [/Rant] |
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palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1982 |
At least we didn't get another Motor Speed Controller or some other project that's been done over and over. Geoff's articles have been a welcome change but I am seriously considering cancelling my subscription. I have all the issues since the early 1990's. Paul. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9589 |
It's very difficult for a printed magazine to survive these days, what with everything you could ever want, only a click away on the net. I can understand them charging for the code etc, as they are in the business of making money. We have all got so used to things being available for free download, that even a $3 download is enough to put people off, and that is pretty darn cheap at the end of the day. It's probably more a fee to cover their hosting and bandwidth costs then any profit per se'. Having said all that, I do hear what you are saying. One thing I will say about SC is how they devote pages and pages to letters to the editor. Many other rags only give one page, and a good part of that page is ads anyway, going from our local anyway. I collect my SC from the local Jaycar store, and they always seem to have the issues really early. I think I picked up June's issue at the end of May..... Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5116 |
I've bought most copies of SC, but I didn't buy a few when the editor was having a rant about topics better left to a political right wing tabloid magazine and had no place in a electronics hobby magazine. I think the software download for any microcontroller based project should be free, since the reader has already paid for the magazine. I would like to see more projects not using a microcontroller and not using surface mount components. More generic in use, test gear, etc. Stuff thats fun. I remember as a kid building the "Cudlip Cricket" I think it was called, would chirp when you made a noise. I build dozens! It was fun. A couple of suggestions that dont need a microcontroller or surface mount...... Audio Oscillator. I build one using a 741 and a light bulb years ago, nice range from a few hertz to 150kHz, sine and square wave. A hand held signal injector. Bench power supply 1v to 30v, current limiting, 5 amps, switchmode. FM to AM down converter so I can listen to FM with my old valve radios. Speaking of valves and radios, how about a single valve radio, using a 6v lantern battery and a few 9v batteries and headphones. Or a crystal radio? All these things can be bought cheap of ebay, but I want to make them! Electronics should be fun, I remember it once was. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| aargee Senior Member  Joined: 21/08/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 255 |
Yes, I'm a subscriber and the delay in delivery annoys the cr@p out of me as well. Sometimes it has been on the shelves for nearly a week before it shows up in the letter box. Every year of late I go through the will I / won't I subscription argument in my head. Some of the projects and info are great, other stuff not so... take the stance on global warming for example the stands on an argument with no basis in peer reviewed scientific fact. Reality is though, if Leo wants to rave about something so out of left field, then start another magazine on "Alfoil hat wearers and their thoughts" ... now I digress. 
If you want any of the project software, let me know. For crying out loud, all I wanted to do was flash this blasted LED. |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2932 |
Oh dear Geoff - your MicroMite is 'doomed'  |
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| isochronic Guru Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 689 |
In general, is software from SC copy-protected ? (ie it will read as blank even though it is in place.) Personally I have largely given up on SC, there seems little rhyme or reason on what they print - other than a drift to glossiness and pulpy rehashes. I suspect it is something to do with financial arrangements. A bad sign is the cannibalizing of its own market group vendors' trade. A small qvga lcd might be $50 from a high-quality vendor - but sc is pushing them at $60 plus postage. The customers will probably just get cheapies from the net..in the meantime the vendor is left in the empty middle ground. |
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| 5bar Newbie  Joined: 10/07/2014 Location: AustraliaPosts: 16 |
Sad to aee it go I have about 20 years worth, but stopped buying it a couple of years ago Like Grogs, I bought mine at Jaycar I'll miss the letters and the misadventures of "The Serviceman" Circuit notes, etc Leo may have to take the last step off his soap box I can count to 31 on one hand |
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| damos Regular Member  Joined: 15/04/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 74 |
Same here. It is usually in the shop a couple of days before I get my copy. Recent changes to Australia Post make it worse. Yes, that really annoyed me too. I even emailed him about it. Keep the politics out and approach it from a credible scientific basis. Even good journalism means that both sides should be discussed. Personally, I think he did it deliberately to stir up debate. I have had a few things published in Circuit Notebook (including June 2016), and I always provide the source code for free. I think SC is important as it provides a good path for people to get into electronics. Unfortunately this is dying as the readership is steadily getting older (as are the staff). I think there need to be more non-micro projects because they are the ones that teach useful things about electronics. Micro projects are usually just a black box (micro) with a couple of components hanging off it. The source code generally represents 90% of what is going on in the circuit, so there needs to be a lot more explanation of the source code, and possible some partial listings of the critical bits. Having said that, I accept that it is much cheaper these days to build a really smart circuit with a micro and a couple of other components. Geoff's XXXXmite series has definitely injected a lot of life into the magazine, allowing them to publish projects that are very useful and still within a low budget. |
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brucepython Regular Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 64 |
It's interesting to see the thoughts I've been having for the past two or three years appearing on this forum. The sad state of SC these days isn't quite as bad as that of Electronics Australia during its demise - that was spectacularly tragic - but the sad rants in the editorials combined with the dearth of genuinely useful projects (Geoff's projects are about all that's worth a look these days) has been making me question why I should bother to continue buying it. And as for allowing that automatic car starter idea to appear in print... can I hear the fluttering wings of legal eagles in the distance? This month's weirdly out-of-place article on nuclear reactors is probably going to push me over the edge. Perhaps neither the author nor the editor have seen the mess left behind by the one installed at McMurdo Base, Antarctica. Unfortunately I have. It was a major financial, engineering, managerial, political and environmental disaster and yes, the article says so, but to seriously believe that such a debacle couldn't happen again... well, I can only quote Darryl Kerrigan ('The Castle'): "Tell 'em they're dreaming." It's hard to find a reason for that article to even be printed, especially at such length. I'm sure few readers of SC and this forum will be abandoning their current wind, solar and water generator projects to start exploiting radioactive substances in their shed, nor would they wish to. In that light, it seems little more than another desperate push by pro-nuclear advocates to repair their crumbling career paths, or a quick way of filling pages that would be better used for a worthwhile project. Perhaps the comments in the same issue from various people about the unattractiveness of using surface-mount components is another symptom of SC's failure to remain engaged with the home tinkerer. (That alarm for hotel safes? I had to check the cover to make sure it wasn't a 1st April issue.) My eyesight is now well past that kind of activity, and I have a pile of fried components to prove it. Apart from soldering audio leads and building the odd solar controller I'm pretty well out of the shed most days now, not because I have better things to do - sixty years of making things emit smoke is not abandoned lightly - but simply because I can't see what to burn next, or read the identification marks on many of them even when using a magnifier. I can only congratulate, envy and admire those who can. Hang in there, all of you! |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2932 |
I like your chosen Avatar 
In many ways it is a great shame that electronic components have 'shrunk' in size; but at least with modules with 0.1" headers, the ability to use many parts allows you still to 'play'. I love the fact that Geoff try to make all his projects easy to assemble with through hole components (although the 64pin & 100pin MMs will require a SMD PIC). For me I am so used to soldering SMDs that I truly find soldering through hole components a challenge (it may sound strange, but it is very true!). In fact I received a PCB from a member here the other and apart from the PIC, it is all through hole - what a nightmare (for me!). I believe that electronic magazines should do an even mix of projects - some using traditional through hole components only, and an equal number using SMDs. Then they should offer PCBs for sale with all SMDs pre-soldered for those people interested in the project but unable to solder SMDs. I have not updated my website for a long time, but with some real good MicroMite stuff about to come out, I will be offering PCBs for sale with SMDs pre-populated (as well as unpopulated PCBs). Hopefully this will keep everyone happy 
WW |
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centrex Guru Joined: 13/11/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 320 |
I am puzzled if you don't like the content why do you buy the magazine? Cliff |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1982 |
The reason I keep getting SC is firstly because I subscribe, so I am locked in for a year. Secondly I have been getting the mag. for 25 years and I suppose I hate to let it go and just keep hoping it will get better. Personally I think they need a change of editor and a change of direction. Maybe diversify a bit get back to the format of the early Electronics Australia when it was Radio & Hobbies. It was still very much an electronics mag. but there were also articles on model aircraft, boats and trains. They even had a magicians page. Even if you were not into these things it was still interesting reading. SC seem to be struggling for content. Paul. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| brucepython Regular Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 64 |
Great question Cliff! I guess it's hard to break a habit of over 55 years. Upon reflection, I'm probably waiting for one of those great projects that makes my hobby an adventure. Long, long ago in a newsagents very far away, I purchased an 'Electronics Australia' magazine and ended up building the DREAM 6800 micro. What I learned from that eventually led to many things, including a new career and a decent income for the rest of my life. Because I'm a chronic optimist I've never given up hope that a project that's similarly satisfying might come along. In recent times the Maximite family has been one such delight. It seems Paul remains optimistic enough not to break the habit. For me though, I think the time to say farewell to SC really has come. |
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| isochronic Guru Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 689 |
BTW - as an aside - many people report eyesight problems. As the lens becomes mottled, no glasses will help , eventually you cannot see much at all. I found that by putting a pinhole in some alfoil, and fixing that to the glasses, with a bit of luck you can restrict the view to use a small bit of the lens and the image improves a lot. I widened the pinhole to a horizontal slit and could then read a few words in a line of text at a time. Hope it helps a bit. (ed) Of course the cataract op is the best thing, but be warned, the public waiting list in aus can mean a year to be assessed, then 1-2 years more.. |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9589 |
I will just throw my 2c in the ring here, and say that for years and years and years, I would not touch any project with any SMD on it - even SOIC packages scared me off. SOT-23 transistors were DEFINITELY out as far as I was concerned, and as for the IC's with less then 1.27mm pin spacing - forget it. Now, with a little practise and some hindsight, I can see that was TOTALLY misguided perception. SMD really is easy to do - seriously. Even the 0.5mm QFP's are dead easy to do - the key to success is MAGNIFICATION and FLUX. For SMD IC's any smaller then 1.27mm in pin-pitch, you really do need a microscope - no two ways about it. Generally speaking, you are wasting your time and straining your eyes trying to solder the really small stuff with a domestic magnifying glass or illuminated loupe. What all this boils down to is that much as you might not want an electronics magazine to publish projects that use SMD, it is inevitable simply because you can't get any of these fancy chips in anything BUT SMD packages for the most part. Through-hole IC's are a very tiny corner of the IC market - probably less then 5% of all IC's made. Everything else is SMD. I don't say any of this to put anyone off, as I was one of the "SMD haters" myself only a few years ago, but once I had a go at it, I found it really WAS as easy and beautifully fast as in the demo videos on YouTube from the likes of Dave from EEVBlog fame. A kit such as this one for US$8.50 comes with a board and sample components is a really good place to start, without having to worry about cooking a valuable chip or PCB etc. I know this is a bit of a long post, but I am trying to hammer-home that SMD really is not the problem that many people make it out to be. I speak from experience, both as someone who used to be one of the moaners about SMD only a few years ago, to now, where I don't even bat an eyelid at 100-pin 0.5mm QFP's - they're a piece-of-piss to solder.
Even those of you whose eyesight is indeed not as good as it used to be(by you own admission), a US$300 microscope should take care of that for you, as all you have to do is adjust it to bring it into focus for anyone using it - weather you have good eyesight or bad. At least, that is how I would expect it to work, as they have a very large focal range, so should be able to compensate for any long/short sightedness issues just by twiddling the focus knob.(if I am wrong about that, please do correct me) I guess therein lies the problem - many won't want to spend the three hundred bucks on a microscope if they only use it for a couple of projects. However, as more and more projects concentrate on SMD components, I would be prepared to say that it would not necessarily be a waste of money in the long-term........ Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 10215 |
You don't need a 300 dollar microscope one of these works fine. Dave on EEVBlog has reviewed this version and it got a thumbs up. Here is a screen capture of a 100-pin MM+ using this microscope 
This was full screen on a 23" monitor Takes a few minutes practice to coordinate the soldering iron with the screen image but once cracked SMD is easy. Vision isn't ever the limiting factor although manual dexterity might sometimes be
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MicroBlocks Guru Joined: 12/05/2012 Location: ThailandPosts: 2209 |
I have the same and they work ok. They cost around 25-30US$. I have two, one top view and one side view. :) Microblocks. Build with logic. |
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vegipete Guru Joined: 29/01/2013 Location: CanadaPosts: 1129 |
Getting off-topic from the SC issue but how important is the stereo aspect of (some) microscopes compared to the digital camera displayed on a monitor? Visit Vegipete's *Mite Library for cool programs. |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1982 |
BRUCEPYTHON WROTE:- If there is anything in the Micromite line that you would like soldered up send me a PM, I can do the surface mount for you and you can do the rest. Paul. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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