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Forum Index : Off topic archive. : Leo Simpson needs to move on.
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5015 |
I've been a dedicated reader of Silicon Chip magazine since it was first released. Every month I looked forward to the next issue, and especially like the Serviceman and Vintage Radio. But I've just about had a gut full of Leo Simpson and his pro nuclear, anti global warming attitude. Over the last year especially, just about every month he's using the "Publishers Letter" to express his own point of view on the matter, and promoting any "Mailbag" letters that agree with him. I really am sick of it. His rants have encouraged others to contribute to the arguments through the "Mailbag", its getting hard to find anything worth reading in the first few pages of the magazine lately. Silicon Chip magazine is a magazine about electronics. Its not about politics or environmental science. Its not the place to discuss such divisive issues. Next thing you know it will be used to discuss religion! Give it a break Leo. You want more people to contribute to Silicon Chip, while at the same time creating a unfriendly argumentive environment. Silicon Chip is still a great magazine, once you skip the first few pages. Hopefully Leo will either learn his place as a publisher of a ELECTRONICS magazine, or move on. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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Bryan1 Guru  Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1209 |
Hi Glenn, I just got the January edition and felt the same way. I have gotten the silly chip mag for over 8 years now and my pet peeve is the advertising within the mag. Altronics in the past have done flyers in the mag which I think is a great idea, but when I bring out a 5 year old mag who wants see old advertising from smithy dicks, jaycar etc. Also another pet peeve is the majority of projects are sponsored by the advertisers so theres no DIY and if you want to make the project you need to fork out what I feel is way too much for a kit. Whats the bet the new GPS project will be a closed project and it will cost over $75 if you want the kit. It really seems the last aussie electronic's magazine has gone by the way side to a point where it isn't worth buying. </rant> Cheers Bryan |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5015 |
Yeah I agree Bryan. Last month I read the December issue, and it was yet another rant from Leo about something. I dont even remember what it was about, I'm so tired of them. But I do remember thinking at the time I hope this was the last rant and we can get back to normal next month. Like you I now have the January issue, and its the same old ranting again. I so tired of it. I do agree with some of his views, and dissagree with others, but thats not the point. The point is a hobbiest electronics magazine is not the place for these discussions, all they do is create division. My only pet peeve, other than the editorial, is the dominance of microchip based projects. I do think they need to cut back on microchip based projects, and any projects using a microchip should include the source code, or even better, use a Picaxe or similar generic chip. Why? I have kept every Silicon Chip, Talking Electronics, EA and ETI magazine I bought, boxes of them. If I read a 10 year old magazine, and see a project I like, I can make it, because it uses components I can still buy, or substitute. But many of the projects published in the last few years are micro based, with no source code. Even if normal logic and descrete components could do the job, a micro is used instead. A classic example was the recent insulation tester project, a very handy bit of test gear, only this one used a micro to display the results, where a simple analogue or digital meter could do the job. This means, in 10 or 20 years time, these projects are redundant, becasue you wont be able to buy the pre-programmed micro. If I open a Silicon Chip magazine in 10 years, and see a interresting project, like the insulation tester, chances are it will be micro based and no longer worth the paper its printed on. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178 |
Well i dont know silicon chip magazine but that said I'm pro nuclear I'm pro renewable too and I'm seriously anti desalination "liquid energy" recently there have been "breakthroughs" which use "only" 1kw/hr of electricity to make 1l of drinkable water. nothing short of disgusting, when you could treat sewage for less, im not saying I want to drink shiit but there has to be some middle ground my family for example uses 33L/day from mains water and I havent spent a fortune on water but use it very wisely Luck favours the well prepared |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5015 |
I dont want to start a pro / anti anything debate here, raher keep it about what we think of Silicon Chip magazines recent trent. I'm sure you understand Karl The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi Crew,, I agree , I stopped my subscription to "RENEW" mag because of the politics and lack of wind / solar practical articles... Seems they were more interested in advertisers sponsored articles-- pushing their barrows. I pick up the mags now and read almost through before deciding to buy... Bruce Bushboy |
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| Dinges Senior Member  Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
Do paper magazines still exist? And are there still people who read them? (that's the essence of a 2-page long rant... captured in the above two sentences. I'll spare youse my thoughts on advertisers, PICs, closed software, using PICs to flash a LED, my opinion on global climate change and the stance on nuclear issues. After all, Glenn, we wouldn't want to fall in the same trap that Leo does, do we....  )
Peter. (<-- once was given a huge stack of ETI magazines from the mid-'70s. Man. I *devoured* those. Back in the days when we had 'Elex' for the electronics beginners (learn how to flash a LED - but *without* a PIC <evil grin>), Elektuur for the more experienced experimenters, Radio bulletin, RAM, and a few others I can't remember. And those were just the electronics magazines, I'm not even mentioning the radio amateur ones! Then again... now we have the internet. Wouldn't trade it for all the old magazines in the world!) |
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SSW_squall Senior Member Joined: 20/03/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 111 |
Leo simpson needs to move on?? AMEN TO THAT Has anyone read his latest RANT about council E-WASTE recycling?? http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_111890/article.html Totally F***ing Ridiculous!! The other week i took an old dishwasher, washing machines(one i'd ratted the smart drive out of) one non smart drive unit to the local metal recycler in hackham Never mind cutting them up to put them in the council bin, i earned myself $54 bucks!! It's not just afew tons of stuff, E-WASTE is a serious problem: EG: A lot of plastic electronic goods have poly-brominated diphenyls in the plastic as a fire retardant for safety reasons. As the plastic breaks down it's realeased into the enviroment and it's a dangereous neurotoxin. Do we want our kids drinking that in their water?? The government needs to get serious about the problem. Personally i wouldn't object to an extra $10 on the cost of new LCD TV if that means it can be recycled successfully when it's busted Nothing to do with premoting electronics, engineering or energy efficiency to the next generation of engineers who will be doing this stuff long after he's gone. All he seems to be on about is rocking out 2 or 3 pretty worn out hobby horses, isolating himself and the whole magazine _Rant_over Einstein: Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler |
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Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
I must have missed this thread B4. Its funny because i had a little rant about Leo Simpson on a different forum only a few days ago. Same thoughts ....its time for him to go. One can only hope there is enough of the magazine left that a good editor can pick up the pieces to get it back on track. It really was a great magazine once. I no longer buy it as i find it easier to read the handfull of pages of interest now in the newsagents. I have no interest in the tests on the latest Cro or another amp with coloured disco lights to build. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Yeah,, "RENEW" mag years ago used to be pretty tech towards wind and solar .. I've stopped buying and my subscription because it's now nearly all 'greenie" stuff .hardly any more Cct's or handy things to build. I did build their charge controller 12 years ago --very basic ,bult around a couple comparators. still working perfectly after all those years,just tweak a pot up or down for the dump load function. Bruce Bushboy |
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| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Bruce, Is funny you say "their circuit" as many circuit designs were presented to them by others like ourselves only to find they snub you after and then print your design with a few cosmetic changes as their own idea some time later. This has become very much the case with L.S. as editor. The energey meter that SC done some years back was designed by a guy here in Adelaide and was presented to them as an artical, they snubbed him after, then printed it as their idea with minor changes. In the time that SC held the idea before print the designer had registered the design. He took them to court over it and won, he now receives roylties from SC for any kits they sell. If they had printed it with credit to the designer they could of had it for free. That is just one example of how L.S runs the magazine. There is many more that i am aware of and some even include members of this forum including myself. I did notice the photo of L.S in the mag now is a much younger looking person then a year or so ago. When you need to doctor the photo it might mean you have been there to long and time to go Leo. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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| adam Newbie  Joined: 06/12/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2 |
Hi all, Sorry to dig up an old thread. New member, found this forum by googling the name in the title after having pretty much the same thoughts. I was just speaking to a local techie, who mentioned all the problems solar is creating in the distribution grid - according to silicon chip. Ive never been a subscriber but have purchased a mag here or there for light reading. So I googled the subject to learn something and landed on this publishers letter from Leo: http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_112704/article.html At first glance it sounded reasonable, but the last sentence set off alarm bells: "This is yet another instance of the impracticality of the Green’s advocacy of Australia generating all its electricity from renewable sources. For this and a whole host of other technical reasons, it just ain’t ever going to happen." This to me sounds more like a political rant, than electronics. So, I did a bit of my own research to see what I could find. I have a 1.5kw array on my house, and being an aerosharp inverter (v2 hardware, not the recalled one) I ran cat5 out to the device and set up the linux software available at http://www.ozzicomp.com/aerosharp/ Unfortunately, I was getting a lot of data corruption so I tidied up the code and made it a bit more robust (and have resubmitted it to the original author, though its not on his site yet). I have been monitoring grid voltage as there is a lot of solar in my area, and cant see any of these voltage issues Leo has raised alarm about. 
This is the last week, and with grid volts min 237.75, max 245.72 and average 241.62 I dont see any signs of significant over voltage. I have also been monitoring different days, and dark rainy days where the solar generates around 30% of the power it does on a clear day, I see no difference in the daily grid voltage. As you guys are obviously interested in this stuff I'll post a link to the live data feed. If it gets too many hits I'll have to take it down, but here we go. Solar Monitor Whats more, ive asked around and cant find a single story anywhere of anyone who has heard of equipment damage due to suspected solar over voltage (including me). And I quote the SC whoswho page "He may be the Publisher etc but the staff refer to Leo Simpson as “Der Fuhrer” which probably means either that they’re terror-stricken or not frightened at all." hmmm..... So, whats all this mean to me? Well, im going to vote with my wallet and im not going to buy any more silicon chip! Shame really, are there any good electronics mags left? |
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| paceman Guru Joined: 07/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1327 |
Hmmm - I've subscribed to Silicon Chip for a few years now too and the above finish to Leo's recent Editorial also set my alarms ringing. I hadn't read the earlier parts of this thread till tonight but having now done so I tend to agree with Glenn that these sorts of political comment shouldn't be part of the magazine - it makes me wonder if Leo hasn't become part of the Murdoch big-business, right-wing publishing mafia that is no friend of (green) small distributed energy development vs big business, nuclear generation. As far as content of SC goes though I don't mind a reasonable amount of micro stuff and without it we wouldn't have the capability, fun and interest of Geoff's Maximite project and it's positive effect on 'The Back Shed' forum. The point about micro stuff being un-useable in ten years time is certainly an issue but electronics is a fast moving game and I like to keep up with new stuff. The Maximite project has re-kindled a latent electronics interest that I've always had so that's a plus and maybe will mean I'll go further with electronics in future. (My field's metallurgy by the way, not electronics!) Back to Adams comments on Leo claiming future effects on mains voltages - I remember several years during the '90's when mains fluctuations caused us headaches with analytical equipment in Thomastown in Melbourne. The problems there were caused by a major substation that needed upgrading, not by any solar installations. No doubt that scenario wasn't unique either so where's the difference? |
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