eBay Auction (no reserve)

Early next year I plan to auction off a display case full of projects that I have had published in the Silicon Chip magazine. These are the original prototypes (except for two of them) - these all were submitted to the magazine, photographed, and published in their printed & online editions. Each project comes complete with a copy of the magazine that they were published in (12 in total) No reserve auction starts @ $1, postage at buyers expense, will ship world wide!

So there you have it, a dozen of Silicon Chip's projects that were published between 2001 - 2006, three of which were marketed commercially as kits, original prototypes housed in a custom made perspex display case, a copy of each issue to go with each project. See project list below. Will upload eBay link once auction commences. No reserve auction starts @ $1 (Must sell, I'm sick and tired of seeing these things)

http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_101729/article.html PC-Controlled Mains Switch MK1
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_101714/article.html Games Port Tester
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30755/article.html Continuity Tester (Reprinted in EPE)
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30495/article.html PC-Parallel Port Wizard
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30373/article.html Decision Maker MKI
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30519/article.html Digital Storage Logic Probe
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30808/article.html Programmable Timer
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_105433/article.html Serial IO Controller (Reprinted in EPE)
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30709/article.html Flip-Flop Timer
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_105834/article.html PC-Controlled Burglar Alarm
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_106068/article.html Universal Keypad
http://siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_107104/article.html PC-Controlled Mains Switch MKII

Note: sale doesn't include ownership to any copyrights that the magazine(s) may have enforce. The prototypes are in mint condition (except for the burglar alarm), clear protective coatings have been applied to projects that have front panel artwork (they'll be good for a few hundred years :D). They're all assumed to be still working, but haven't been tested for quite sometime now since they were returned from the publisher. The eBay listing will contain further information along with many detailed pictures.

Happy biding SC fans!

Trent Jackson

you sure you really want to get rid of those? seems like something to be proud of and pass down or show the grand kids. if your really sick of seeing them, maybe pack them away in a box out of sight for a while before deciding to off them. they're not something you can get back, and i've made a few similar moves only to regret it later. just something to think about.

Those projects will be worth a lot of money one day. They're part of the first phase of my design career which hasn't even begun yet. Perhaps when I make my first million I'll seek out their return for a handsome bounty. Who knows, maybe a few people might end up chasing them in years to come, and that's when the buyer at this auction might end up ultimately naming their price!

I still have both my Grandfather's war medals to hand down to my Grandchildren if ever I have any. They will never be sold. Not even for thousands!

Happy biding

U want take deal now how much u want? Your computer controlled power point was the first of its kind in kit, I must have this !!! How big is the display cabinet? Will u put ur signature on the projects?

projectX

Hard to put a price on them, like most oddities & collectibles - at the end of the day they're worth as much as someone is willing to pay! The value often comprises of two essential elements ...

1. Rarity
2. Demand

Much like a custom numberplate for a motor vehicle, there can only ever be one, and the more sought after it is - the more it's worth! The scenario here is very similar, except unlike a numberplate there's only one that exists in the entire world. Another example is the 1930 Australian penny, there's only 1,500 or so in existence! They're rare, they're highly sought after by thousands upon thousands of eccentric coin collectors, they typically fetch AUS 25K! The minted ones go for as much as 250K!

Hi Trent,

What state do you live in?

Cheers
Squib

Hi,

I'm in NSW, relatively close to the Central Coast.

Serial IO controller reproduced in EPE's Jan 2008 issue; http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/

Auction will commence on the 30th January 2008 and run for 30 days. Highest bidder wins, even if it's $1.

Good luck!

It's up!, the auction has started -- as usual I'm before schedule...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....:L:LCA:AU:1123

Funny...the Nov 05 issue cover looks like the same picture that EPE is using for one of their current magazines. (The MIDI drum project.)

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Originally Posted by tenaja

Funny...the Nov 05 issue cover looks like the same picture that EPE is using for one of their current magazines. (The MIDI drum project.)

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It is the same project, text, pictures and all !!! In case you're wondering -- EPE is entirely independent of Silicon Chip publications, they just purchase the rights to reprint some of the articles (I think) But it could be a complete sale of ownership to the articles (not sure)

Here's a prototype project that was scheduled for publication but never got done.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Arcade-Joysti...QQcmdZViewItem

$1 start, just $1 !!!

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Originally Posted by tenaja

Funny...the Nov 05 issue cover looks like the same
picture that EPE is using for one of their current magazines.

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Sydney is 11 hours ahead of London!

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Originally Posted by Luciano

Sydney is 11 hours ahead of London!

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I wouldn't be too surprised if they end up in the UK, I just finished exposing the auction on the EPE forum. Then again, I won't be too surprised if they don't sell at all. I have 5 watchers, but no bids as of yet. Five mysterious people looking over them.

Don't be too surprised if EPE reprints that burglar alarm. For the record, I think that Silicon Chip has lost plot in calling it "Ultimate" -- it's absolutely far from it! Gah, anyway I'm through with these clowns.

Wooho! 20 watchers now.

Just to clarify something ...
The auction states that there are 11 projects while the start of this thread suggests 12. I have actually had 15 projects published in total, confused? Well, 11 of them are full form (PCB, other artwork, documentation) -- these typically range from 5 to 10 pages in the magazines. The other remaining 4 are all short form (schematic only)-- these were published in a column entitled; Circuit Notebook, basically consuming less than a page in the magazine, I see them as insignificant and consequently left them out of scope.

For the record -- if the auction ends @ $1, I will honor the sale to retain my 100% feedback rating. eBay is going to make me a lot of money in up and coming years.

Anyhow, speaking of years -- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

(yeah I'm a bit drunk at the moment)

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Originally Posted by T.Jackson

For the record -- if the auction ends @ $1, I will honor the sale to retain my 100% feedback rating.

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Or I suppose the other way works too.

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Originally Posted by eBay

Explanation:The seller ended the listing early and cancelled all bids.

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??

They're no longer for sale, couldn't go through with it. Sorry for wasting everyones time.

oh blimey, and i was about to bid 1.01$ on it :(

it's so hard to make cash with something these days ;)

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No reserve auction starts @ $1 (Must sell, I'm sick and tired of seeing these things)

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Really?

Oh gee, thanks -- you're all heart mister_e.

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(Must sell, I'm sick and tired of seeing these things)

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When I'm sick and tired of seeing something, I throw it out...

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Those projects will be worth a lot of money one day

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Yep, last year, they were worth at least $.99
Who knows what next year will bring...

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Perhaps when I make my first million I'll seek out their return for a handsome bounty

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$1.01 maybe?

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at the end of the day they're worth as much as someone is willing to pay!

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$1.01

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1. Rarity

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Yep, one of a kind...

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2. Demand

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Yep, only one of a kind...

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Auction will commence on the 30th January 2008 and run for 30 days. Highest bidder wins, even if it's $1.

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???

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For the record -- if the auction ends @ $1, I will honor the sale to retain my 100% feedback rating. eBay is going to make me a lot of money in up and coming years.

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Yep, $1.01 isn't a bad start...

Hi Trent,

The real value of these items is far beyond their intrinsic value.
You have learned something while developing them and the readers of
the magazine where they were published have also learned something
while building them. I am quite sure that you have also learned something
about interpersonal relations and unpleasant situations probably caused
by wrong expectations.

Best regards,

Luciano

You're a good person Luciano, don't ever let anyone tell you differently. I know I have helped a lot of people learn a thing or two from my articles, have I also managed to learn a thing or two? -- you betcha!

That joystick is gonna go for a little bit though (possibly $100) Depressing though when you consider that my cost to develop it would have been about $1000. The bulk of this is of course a fee for my time. I had a lot of fun designing that thing, nothing plays Street Fighter II like it :)

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Originally Posted by mister_e

oh blimey, and i was about to bid 1.01$ on it :(

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No heart, no soul, no passion, no care in the world for another person's feelings. I see a monster.

Trent .... I really need your help regarding the PC Alarm and keypad.

EPE and SiliconChip don't really seem to be able or willing.

I have built both.

I made a custom serial cable with only the tx, rx and earth connected for the PC comms. This goes direct to the 3 way block on the main PCB. I was having an issue with the 'standard' serial cable I had (that worked with the Serial IO Controller) going via the front D socket. I'm not sure why, but I never got a connection working (all connectivity was checked and fine).

The PC software works but seems very intermittent ... sometimes the alarm responds to commands, other times it doesn't. My gut feel is there is a handshaking problem somewhere down the line.

I then built the keypad. When connected to the front dpad the LED comes on and you get a crescendo tone indicating power up. I set up codes for each of the 4 users in the Zone Config GUI and the Tx / Rx light came on when OK was hit suggesting they were being sent to the PIC.
When I hit a numeric button on the keypad (PC serial cable disconnected from PC), you get a single beep. When you hit arm or disarm ... you get 4 beeps like a D D D D. I never see the Tx / Rx light flicker suggesting no comms ... and I never get a different arm / disarm tone regardless of whether I put the right or wrong code in.

It strikes me that the PICs are not communicating. I have tried two 4Mhz crystals in the main alarm and 2 in the keypad thinking maybe that was causing one not to be talking at 2400 baud. I also tried programming both PICS with Oscillator mode of XT and HS. I'm pretty sure HS is what is needed for 2-4Mhz and that is what they are both currently programmed with.

As I say .... I've checked all connections, particular those with ribbons in between. In all cases I've taken the connection from the source component to the destination component (eg PIC16f84a output to PIC16f877a input .... and they are all perfect.

I'd hugely appreciate any diagnostics suggestions you may have.

Best regards

Paul

Hi Paul,

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I made a custom serial cable with only the tx, rx and earth connected for the PC comms. This goes direct to the 3 way block on the main PCB. I was having an issue with the 'standard' serial cable I had (that worked with the Serial IO Controller) going via the front D socket. I'm not sure why, but I never got a connection working (all connectivity was checked and fine).

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Just having a look at the schematic of the alarm for you. First thing I've picked up on is that it's showing TX and RX reversed at the D9 connector (probably an error on my behalf, I'm renowned for making silly little mistakes like this)

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The PC software works but seems very intermittent ... sometimes the alarm responds to commands, other times it doesn't. My gut feel is there is a handshaking problem somewhere down the line.

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This is a bug in the software which I'm aware of. Unfortunately the prospects of repairing it are impossible -- the source code no longer exists, and I no longer own an electronics laboratory in a million dollar house at Dural. In fact, I don't even own a soldering iron anymore (no plans on replacing it either) I do apologize for this rather annoying imperfection.

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I then built the keypad. When connected to the front dpad the LED comes on and you get a crescendo tone indicating power up. I set up codes for each of the 4 users in the Zone Config GUI and the Tx / Rx light came on when OK was hit suggesting they were being sent to the PIC. When I hit a numeric button on the keypad (PC serial cable disconnected from PC), you get a single beep. When you hit arm or disarm ... you get 4 beeps like a D D D D. I never see the Tx / Rx light flicker suggesting no comms ... and I never get a different arm / disarm tone regardless of whether I put the right or wrong code in.

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If my memory serves me well -- I don't think that the TX / RX led was programmed to operate with the keypad. Clearly there is an error on the schematic on pg 30 of the magazine, showing TX and RX reversed with respects to the terminal block. If this isn't the problem -- I strongly suggest triple checking for things like; dry solder joints, loose wires, dead pics (or similar components) Persevere with it Paul, the system certainly does work okay with the exception of a few quirks here and there. There are no known issues with the keypad.

Trent Jackson

Paul,

I might also add that, that bug is really only apparent on really fast systems running XP. The Windows-based software was developed / tested on a PIII system running Win 98. I suggest trying it out on an older, slower system running 98 to try and improve things.

I contemplated an update to correct some issues quite sometime ago before the source code was lost. Unfortunately, it was never carried out, because prior to that I spent over a fortnight updating the software for the PC-Controlled Mains Switch, Silicon Chip publications completely ignored the update. (the current version on their website isn't even compatible with the revised hardware) Two weeks of my time wasted. So I hope you can understand why it hasn't been fixed. They will never get anymore work from me.

Trent Jackson

I have two PCs ... and they are both high end XP ones. I have no access to any older PC technology I'm afraid.

If I could get the keypad side of things working it wouldn't be too much of an issue. Assuming that I can get the alarm config right by just trying each send from the PC s/w multiple times until it took .... I will just use the alarm with the keypad and SMS controller (which I already have built, tested and boxed ready).

I have tried reversing the tx/rx on the four way connector in the keypad unit (which would obviously do the same thing as swapping on the front panel.

Unfortunately all I ever get is a dddd whenever I hit the arm / disarm button. It responds so quickly with the dddd it makes me wonder if it is even waiting for a response from the main alarm which is odd in itself.

Can you remember what tones it is supposed to make ?

i.e. if you put in a correct code, what tone should it make ?
if you put in an incorrect code, what tone should it make ?
and is there a tone for a communications issue (like I suspect I have ... ) ?

Are any of the tones you remember the dddd ?

As regards the s/w, am I correct in thinking that the keypad codes you setup in zone config are completely independent of the users created in access control ? I have one owner setup in access control and I have tried setting the keypad codes to 0000, 1111, 2222, 3333 respectively. I have ensured that following hitting ok on zone config that the tx/rx led shows activity ... this makes me assume that the codes are being stored in the eprom correctly.

Have checked for dry joints .... all good connections. Have also tried different PICs in both main alarm and keypad ... and also swapped both crystals for new ones.

Although I struggled previously to understand your frustrations with SC ... my recent experiences with EPE have led me to sympathise.

If there is anything you can do to help I'd hugely appreciate it.

Best regards

Paul.

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Originally Posted by pgamble

Unfortunately all I ever get is a dddd whenever I hit the arm / disarm button. It responds so quickly with the dddd it makes me wonder if it is even waiting for a response from the main alarm which is odd in itself.

Can you remember what tones it is supposed to make ?

i.e. if you put in a correct code, what tone should it make ?
if you put in an incorrect code, what tone should it make ?
and is there a tone for a communications issue (like I suspect I have ... ) ?

Are any of the tones you remember the dddd ?

As regards the s/w, am I correct in thinking that the keypad codes you setup in zone config are completely independent of the users created in access control ? I have one owner setup in access control and I have tried setting the keypad codes to 0000, 1111, 2222, 3333 respectively. I have ensured that following hitting ok on zone config that the tx/rx led shows activity ... this makes me assume that the codes are being stored in the eprom correctly.

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You should be getting a single chirp each time you press a key (much like the "beep" you hear on the ATM machines) If the code is correct a brief melody is played (similar to the one that you hear when it's first powered up / initialized. However, if the code is invalid you will get the series of 4 chirps ("dddd")

There have been so many revisions of the firmware for this thing, more than I've had hot dinners over the course of these past few years. I do hope that SC have the correct version on their website.

If I were you Paul I'd trying programming the system on a slower win 9x machine. It's possible that the data in the eeprom is incorrect, the bug, as previously discussed, in the windows software is at the core of things and doesn't only just effect control over the system from the PC side of the equation.

The system was half implemented on a Win 98 machine around 2002 and finalized in 2005 when SC requested it. I hope this gives you some form of direction with it Paul.

Regards,

Trent Jackson

Paul,

I might add also that Silicon Chip publications didn't ask me for permission to reproduce that project, they didn't give me any clue that it was going to be reproduced in EPE. If I had been informed I would have made the appropriate people aware of some of the issues with the project, plus the fact that these problems can't be rectified, because the source code longer exists.

Trent Jackson

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Originally Posted by T.Jackson

I might add also that Silicon Chip publications didn't ask me for permission to reproduce that project, they didn't give me any clue that it was going to be reproduced in EPE. If I had been informed I would have made the appropriate people aware of some of the issues with the project, plus the fact that these problems can't be rectified, because the source code longer exists.

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Maybe you can get the AU Secret Service after them eh? :D

No, they're too busy getting ready to chase someone else.

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Originally Posted by T.Jackson

No, they're too busy getting ready to chase someone else.

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What did you do? :)

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Originally Posted by mackrackit

What did you do? :)

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Ran down the streets of Sydney with all of my old work buddies from EA trailing behind with sharp instruments.

The projects are now for sale again. Offers above AUS $100,000 will be considered.

Trent Jackson

The accepted offer includes a lifetime worth of additional servives.

Trent Jackson

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Originally Posted by T.Jackson

The accepted offer includes a lifetime worth of additional servives.

Trent Jackson

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And those additional services would be what? My house needs painted.

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Originally Posted by mackrackit

And those additional services would be what? My house needs painted.

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Well, that's good because I believe, and I could be wrong, that T.J. has one heck of a ladder. :D

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Originally Posted by mackrackit

And those additional services would be what? My house needs painted.

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I’m a terrible painter, but I'm great with psychology and a pair of scissors. I'm good at exposing people too.

Trent Jackson