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Contents Vol.28, No.2; February 2015 SILICON CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Features 14 Look Mum, No Hands: It’s The AirWheel What has one wheel, no handlebars and no apparent controls but is enormous fun to ride? An accelerometer-stabilised, microprocessor-controlled AirWheel, that’s what! We recently took one for a spin – by Ross Tester 18 Reach For The Sky . . . And Way, Way Beyond, Pt.1 Rapid advances in technology are enabling amateur enthusiasts to make unprecedented achievements with unmanned aerial vehicles such as balloons, multi-rotor aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, kites and rockets – by Dr David Maddison 44 What’s In A Spark? – Measuring The Energy How do you measure high-voltage spark energy, as generated in automotive ignition systems? Here’s a look at how it’s done – by Dr Hugo Holden 6-Digit Retro Nixie Clock With GPS Time Accuracy, Pt.1 – Page 26. Spark Energy Meter For Ignition Checks, Pt.1 – Page 57. 70 Review: 3-Way USB Scope Shoot-out PC-based digital sampling oscilloscopes can be a cheap alternative to fullsize scopes. We compare three popular USB units: the Hantek DSO-2250, the Virtins DSO-2820R and the Link Instruments MSO-19.2 – by Jim Rowe 92 Review: CBA IV Pro Computerised Battery Analyser It tests virtually any type of battery up to 55V DC – by Nicholas Vinen Pro jects To Build 26 6-Digit Retro Nixie Clock Mk.2, Pt.1 Revel in the retro glow of this cool Nixie Clock. This updated design uses a 32bit microcontroller and a GPS receiver module to always give you accurate time and date, plus a 7-day alarm with snooze feature – by Nicholas Vinen 57 Spark Energy Meter For Ignition Checks, Pt.1 This unit is ideal for checking automotive ignition systems. It has two ranges and works with both uni-polarity spark currents as seen in MDI systems and the bipolarity spark currents generated by CDI systems – by Dr Hugo Holden 84 CGA-To-VGA Video Converter Do you have an old Amiga, Commodore 128, Microbee, Apple or Tandy CoCo 3 computer that you would like to fire up? This CGA-to-VGA Video Converter lets you to use any recent monitor that has a VGA input – by Ewan Wordsworth Special Columns 38 Serviceman’s Log Transforming a Roland Cube-120XL BASS amplifier – by Nicholas Vinen 66 Circuit Notebook (1) Remote Doorbell For Video Door-Phone System; (2) PICAXE-Based Electronic Code Lock; (3) Simple Dual Gate Controller; (4) Controlling The Speed Of A Centrifugal Switch Induction Motor 94 Vintage Radio The Philco T7 transistor portable radio – by Ian Batty Departments   2 Publisher’s Letter 4 Mailbag 64 Online Shop siliconchip.com.au 91 Subscriptions 99 103 104 104 Ask Silicon Chip Market Centre Advertising Index Notes & Errata CGA-TO-VGA Video Converter For Retro Computers – Page 84. February 2015  1