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Contents SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Vol.25, No.8; August 2012 Features 12 We Drive Nissan’s Leaf Electric Car Were we just a little impressed? No way; we were VERY impressed with the Nissan Leaf electric car and the technology it uses – by Ross Tester 18 Multi-Rotor Helicopters A revolution is taking place with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), with quadcopters and other multi-rotor helicopters leading the way – by Bob Young 24 Flying The Parrot AR Drone 2 Quadcopter Impressive flying machine sports four rotors plus two cameras and can be controlled using an iPhone, iPad or Android device – by Nicholas Vinen We Drive Nissan’s Leaf Electric Car – Page 12. 12. 28 RPAs: Designing, Building & Using Them For Business SILICON CHIP talks to two enthusiasts turned businessmen who are now using RPAs for movie and TV cinematography – by Ross Tester Pro jects To Build 36 The Driveway Sentry Mk.2 It detects vehicles moving along a driveway and activates a relay to switch on lights and activate a piezo buzzer for a preset period – by Jim Rowe 64 Timer For Fans And Lights Use it to make a bathroom fan run for a set period after the switch has been turned off or to turn on a light for a set period of time – by Nicholas Vinen Detect Moving Vehicles With The Driveway Sentry Mk.2 – Page 36. 70 Isolated High-Current Adaptor For Scopes & DMMs It lets you safely monitor and measure mains currents using your DMM or scope. It also works with DC and has much better resolution and bandwidth than most clamp meters – by Nicholas Vinen 82 Wideband Oxygen Sensor Controller Mk.2, Pt.3 Final article describes how the oxygen sensor is installed in a car and connected to the Wideband Controller – by John Clarke Special Columns 31 Circuit Notebook (1) PICAXE-Based Non-Lethal Mouse Trap; (2) 7-Day Programmable Alarm Clock with 230VAC Switching; (3) Serial Cable For Old Computers; (4) Using Two PC Power Supplies For 24V; (5) Voltage Regulator For A Mitsubishi Van Timer For Fans & Lights – Page 64. 58 Serviceman’s Log Watchmaking is not really my forte 88 Vintage Radio The Dutch Philips BX373A 4-valve receiver – by Rodney Champness Departments 2   4 57 95 Publisher’s Letter Mailbag Product Showcase Order Form siliconchip.com.au 96 Ask Silicon Chip 103 Market Centre 104 Notes & Errata Isolated High-Current Adaptor For Scopes & DMMs – Page 70. August 2012  1