PIC Snooker and Darts Scoreboard - readily tots up and displays the scores at your snooker and darts matches. Keypad entry of scores, displays on seven segment LED as well as on a separate LCD for the adjudicator's benefit. Battery operation. Free source code available from our Downloads page or preprogrammed from Magenta Electronics.
Please Take Note (Dec. 2005 issue page 859) It has been found that PIC Port D occasionally fails to correctly control IC4 and IC5. This may be due to the PIC's Port E pins being unused in Input mode and affecting the internal control of Port D. The problem may be cured by connecting all Port E pins to 0V.
All-Band Radio - nothing beats the thrill of listening to radio transmissions on a home-built radio receiver, and our All Band Radio is a sturdy design that does not require special coil winding or antenna fabrication skills. 
This design will appeal to electronics enthusiasts as it uses mostly ordinary discrete parts without the need for any other specialist RF components apart from a variable capacitor and simple home-made coil. A CMOS hex inverter and an audio amplifier chip are the active components. Offers remarkable radio reception for its size and simplicity. 
Multicore Cable Tester - conveniently check lengthy multicore cables with this PIC-assisted design. Tests most cable types having up to eight cores including LAN/ ethernet, SCART, audio, monitor and USB cables. It will identify a cable, check continuity on all cores and identify a crossover-type cable. All that is required is the right connector for the cable under test and that at least two cores are connected.
Controlling Model Railway/ Railroad Signals - Using stepper motors to control the semaphore signals used in model railway systems. A ideal accessory for discerning railway modellers looking for authentic representations of the way things used to be.
Back To Basics (6) Daily Reminder and Whistle Switch. Simple easy to build circuits based on just one or two CMOS logic chips. The Daily Reminder helps to remind you to perform a daily task, e.g. taking medication. It indicate stheday of the week and also sounds an alarm once each day. The Whistle Switch can operate a relay (e.g. to operate a mains load) and is tuned to respond to a particularly narrow frequency band. It will ignore many naturally occuring sounds. More Back To Basics projects next month!
