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Pad2Pad Printed Circuit Board Poll Results:
We have had lots of replies.
Many hobbyists have paid for a professional PCB and been very satisfied with the end-result.
But there's one thing you must remember.
If the project is fairly complex, you may need to modify the circuit, add components, change the layout or alter the tracks. And this means your first effort may need a second or third board.
If you think you can go from a circuit diagram to a PC board, and everything will work, you are kidding yourself. Unless you have made lots of projects and know exactly what you are doing, most circuits will not work the first time.
There are lots of things that will prevent it from working - depending on the complexity and the frequency of operation.
Things creep in like stray capacitance or positioning of components and you may need a second or even a third prototype, before you are satisfied with the performance. And will add considerably to the cost of the project.
To reduce the costs, I suggest the use of one of our Matrix Boards, such as the one shown below:


It has the order No: PK-MB2450 and by simply placing the components on the top side and connecting the pads with very fine tinned copper wire, you will produce a very neat layout. Don't forget to place the IC's in sockets so they are not damaged. You can even re-use the board and the components, although many of the parts will have very short leads, so the additional cost of prototyping will be very low. 
Once you are satisfied with the operation of the circuit, you can copy the layout using the CAD program provided by Pad2Pad and you will have a much greater chance of the circuit working perfectly the first time.
Even if you are not in the need of a board at the moment, go to the site and download the program to create some artwork to get an idea of how to use it.
All packages take a while to learn and it's best to get some experience before you need make a board - so you don't get frustrated when the pressure is on.
Try it as soon as you can, you will be impressed with the features. 

PERPETUAL MOTION
Do I believe in Perpetual Motion? Yes.
Do I believe it is here? No.
There has not been any scientific evidence that any device can rotate indefinitely without any input-energy or produce any output without any input-energy.
We have got very close (even to the extent of 99.9%) but that magical figure of 100% has not been obtained.
That doesn't mean we should not keep trying, but as a practical person I prefer to explore the potentials of using the vast amount of energy that already surrounds us.
The sun provides 1kw per square metre on a brightly-lit day, the wind provides considerable energy in a windy location and the tide, waves and streams provide enormous potential for harnessing energy.
So, to get down to practicalities, let's consider the energy from the sun in the form of solar-cell voltage production and heat via solar-heat collection. (You will need to go to other websites for solar-heat production as we are very interested in this area but it does not involve electronics.)
Some of the new projects we are working on include charging storage cells via a solar panel and using an inverter to provide charging when the panel is not producing a high output. See our solar projects in the index on the left side of the site and these will include links to other projects .

Invention-assistance FRAUD
I almost got caught by the Davison Invention assistance company. I have a number of products that need development and Davison had sent me emails as to how they had assisted so many inventors with their inventions.
It all sounded "so easy."
I sent them an outline of the idea. It was an electronic module for greeting cards. When you open the card, it contains a game such as a Reaction Timer to test your reaction. Two pressure-sensitive buttons and a 7-segment display tested the players timing. The 7-segment display was made from LEDs and was low-profile.
The module needed to be made in tens of thousands to keep the price low.
Davison looked at the idea and gave it the "go ahead."
Then they phoned me with the spiel that they needed to do a patent search for $685.
I said I could do that myself, and anyway these ideas cannot be found in any greeting cards.
Davison said it was imperative that they do the search before taking on the idea.
I told them that anyone taking on my invention would need to do their own "due diligence" and anything I provided would have to be verified by them.
That was not good enough for Davison.
I said I had absolutely no intention of parting with $685 for a search.
Davison then hung up the phone on me.
I then thought I would Google "Davison."
What a surprise!
A whole website has been set up, exposing the fraudulent behavior of this company. Some inventors have parted with $10,000 and more, developing prototypes and packaging so Davison can show a photo of all the products they have "developed." None of these products have actually reached the shop shelves. They are all prototypes in prototype packaging and some inventors have been strung along for 2 years!
In this world, there are only two things you can rely on. And they are on the end of your own two arms.
Getting an invention to market is not easy and is fraught with dangers and high costs. It certainly does not need a "Davison FRAUD" company to enter the picture.
Even getting a thing produced overseas is not easy as most manufacturers have a range of products and they are not really equipped to produce something new.
If you can find a company that produces something similar to yours, you have a slim chance that they can help, but most of the components in a product are made by other, smaller, companies and you will never be able to actually reach the manufacturer.
Secondly, companies do not have the money to develop any of your ideas and the cost of development is very high.
This means you will not make a cent out of the first 10,000 items and that's why you need to look at very large quantities.
I don't want to put you off, but don't think any of the items in a $2.00 store have appeared overnight. Everything is a lot of work and even the packaging and labeling needs a considerable amount of attention.
If you have any "electronic idea" that you want mass-produced, let me know as I have now found reliable contacts in China and the modules are getting organized.


Get-Rich-Quick Schemes
How do you know if a "Get-Rich-Quick Scheme" is a FRAUD?
It's simple. They are ALL FRAUD.
I am constantly being bombarded with emails on: "how to get rich quick."
They are all either fraud or simply a business designed to "rope-in" your friends and family.
Many of them are a "Pyramid Scheme" in which you get a commission when you get 5 or 10 friends to join.
I have asked 3 promoters of "million dollar" schemes to fax me a copy of their Tax Return (the only true indication of their wealth). I have never received a reply.
Before you join any "scheme," ask to see the Tax Return for the business. A non-reply will answer all your questions.
The latest is a revised version of the "Nigerian Money Scam." It asks for assistance in transferring money into your account. If you see an email with "$1,000,000" on it, delete it immediately. This is the quickest way to get rid or your junk emails. I get hundreds like this EVERY DAY!

Gustavo - from Columbia

This is exactly what we want you to do.
It's only when you change something and it works, can you say you really understand what you are doing. This is a perfect example of "going further!"
-Colin



Any subscribers who have/had a subscription to POPTRONICS Interactive will be entitled to receive a lifetime entry to TALKING ELECTRONICS Interactive (this site) by contacting (Colin Mitchell).
 All subscriptions entitle you to a lifetime entry to the site -  not just a "one year"  or "one month" entry!


POPTRONICS
It was sad to see the demise of POPTRONICS. The magazine had a history of more than 50 years of publishing with its forerunners going back to the days of  electricity and crystal sets.
It was one of the editions (under a previous name) that presented the world's first computer in kit-form. Even though it did almost nothing (compared to today's standards), it started a revolution that is today's "miracle of electronics."
Don't be fooled. It was not the corporate enterprises that created the interest in computers. It was the back-yard hobbyist. It was the enthusiasm of programmers that turned the computer from a number-crunching scientific monster to a household, user-friendly, product.
And for this you can thank brilliant hobbyists/programmers. They were all phenomenally clever - even thinking of the @ sign for an email address is brilliant!
Computers were originally the size of a room and cost $1,000,000. After spending a year or more on simplifying the design and reducing the size, IBM came up with a $15,000 desk-top product that was enormously complex and almost impossible for the average user to get operational. It flopped totally.
It was the kit (mentioned above) and lots of hobbyists that changed the whole picture. They produced software and games that absolutely exploded the capabilities of the computer.
The two things that accelerated this was the concept of exchanging programs AT NO COST and COMPUTER SWAP-MEETS - these concepts are completely foreign to "industry."
Exactly the same explosion took place with the internet, to make it the most valuable technological introduction of the past 20 years.
Again, you can thank the "hobbyist."
It is undeniable that an enormous amount of capability lies in the hands of "you" and "me," the hobbyist. That's why we are so important. That's why it is such a pity that we have not banded together to create an electronics hobbyist's magazine for the "paper-formatted" market. Unfortunately this hasn't happened and it was sad to see POPTRONICS go.

This site is produced by Colin Mitchell and the approach is completely different to anything you have seen before. We answer your emails and help you with anything within our capability. We are here to help you achieve a goal. This must be of an electronics nature - as this is our only field of expertise. We have been active in this field for the past 30 years and are fully conversant with the basics.

THE AMAZING WEB
I have always said the web is the most amazing "product, item  or thing" to be invented in the 20th Century, and this has been confirmed by a recent email.
It said the majority of Americans spend more time on the internet than watching television!
It went on the say 160,000 new customers are signing up for the internet each week.
You can multiply this figure many-fold when you include world-wide subscriptions and as new features are added to search engines, you will find it much easier to reach the type of sites you are looking for.
You may not realize it, but the Internet started in 1963 as ARPAnet - an Advanced Research Program of the US Military.   
It was designed to get messages through, no matter what happened or which computers (& areas) were no longer accessible. Over time their suppliers were added in, then the Universities & Libraries, and eventually the world.   
There were no graphics then - everything was done in UNIX commands.
By the 80's, users could visit the CERN labs in Switzerland, Chiba University in Japan, and the archives of the University of New South Wales in Australia and download the info ... all with a 2400-baud dial-up modem!
But things rapidly improved.
In 1994 the "Internet" was replaced with the "World Wide Web."
Suddenly we were thrust into an arena of brilliant graphics, flashing text & a whole lot of really great designs. In the 12 years since then, everything has evolved. No one could foresee how HTML would evolve, languages like PHP and Java would enter, modems would go from 2400 baud to broadband - or the rise of entities like Yahoo! and Google.
It's SO different we really shouldn't even refer to it as the Internet any more.    Everything since 1994 has just been incremental - little steps that constantly upgraded the users experience. Overall they had a major impact, but not any one step itself.  The next MAJOR change is already underway, though really just taking it's first steps.
This year, 2006, will see the first real strides in converting the Web to an audio-video universe - complete with infomercials.
We've all seen small videos online, and audio is becoming more prevalent every day. But as of the end of 2005, half of all American Internet connections are broadband, using either cable or phone lines for the most part. And numbers are similar in many parts of the world.
This will enable full-screen recorded video or live streaming video sites to come.
We are in the process of producing small videos of our kits and products to show  how they operate.
Keep watching for more news about this.

We have added two pages of links we found very interesting and they can be found here:  P1 links   P2 Links

JUNK EMAILS
Just when I thought the internet was going to provide us with better communications, we find scammers and junk email clogging up the works.
I thought the time was ripe for a global network of technical information to be introduced via this amazing medium.
No only would it arrive instantly, but it could be presented in full color, at almost no cost and consist of text, photos, animations and audio links.
By combining the output from universities, R&D departments, technical journals, Patents Office and other technical resources, we could have the most up-to-date information at our fingertips each day.
Technology is advancing and changing so rapidly that some technical electronics journals are now being printed every 2 weeks -  as an indication of the need for immediate information.
Imagine the savings in paper, printing and postage, to have the "magazine" sent to each subscriber via the internet!
I wonder why it hasn't happened?
Maybe the number of subscribers with internet access (or regular use of the internet) is smaller than we think?
Maybe I'm thinking too far into the future.
I know it will happen.
It's the future and it's a brilliant concept.
Can you imagine getting all the latest articles, journals, projects and releases from around the world, each day?
Each newsletter would consist of thumbnail photo's, a brief description and a link.
By clicking the link you would be taken to the full article.
Surely this is not too difficult?  It's just a matter of getting all the separate sectors to combine.
I had hoped the technology sector would have done this by now, rather than junk email operators filling up the internet, sending me phony emails to say I had won $2,000,000 in a lottery, or $500 cash from a casino!
Not only am I receiving 95% junk but they are all fraud!
Even low interest loans or $2,000 cash into your account, are either deceptive or  fraud. They all have to be deleted. But you need to be careful not to mix them up with an email from a legitimate source.
"Scam Software" or any form of filtering is useless as it cannot differentiate between a request and a scam . . .unfortunately I have to laboriously go through every email!
The filtering networks consider the short note I send to subscribers as "SPAM!" This proves filtering is absurd!  What word or combination of words could I possibly use in a short note to infer you don't want to receive my message?
And the most stupid part is, university teachers apply the filter to my emails and don't get my messages!  What can I say?
How can we reduce junk emails and increase technical thru-put?
The big problem is the technology sector does not provide enough funding to keep the internet profitable. It takes fraudsters to keep it operating!
What a distorted world!

Newsletter continued:  Page 2
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