Publishing the Code
Dear Don,
Just reading through an excellent article on the BAT, January 21, Page 53, 2nd column, second full paragraph, line 3: '... advantageous dependant on the age ...'
That seems a doubtful statement indeed. However, if it were to say ... advantageous, dependent on the age... then it would likely mean what had been intended by the author.
This is a tricky one, I know, like licence/license, practice/practise, as they slip through spell checkers as if they were spelt correctly.
On a second point, I was disappointed to note the comment that software was not downloadable for the Modular DC Receiver, as documented in the generally excellent article on page 26. This seems quite inappropriate for something under the banner of Doing it by Design. Further, there would appear to be no design information at all, so I’m not really convinced that this is being done ‘By Design’ from the reader’s viewpoint.
Personally, I can manage a laplace transform or two, but not all readers can, so it would seem helpful to provide just a little more design information, but software should always be made available, otherwise, these designs are essentially worthless once the proprietary holder of the code decides not to share it.
Your reminiscences regarding the wealth of electronics and radio magazines, only a few decades back, reflect an experience we, more mature folk, all share, but it’s worth considering that most designs could still be built, with a little effort expended upon searching out suitable components. Designs published in magazines where the software is held as proprietary are dead on arrival, for all practical purposes.
Could we please have software published under a GPL or BSD or similar licence, going forwards, please? Retrospectively would also help, too!
In any case, please keep up the good work, and as per your remarks, at least one magazine is still going!
Mark Kent G8PHM Sevenoaks
(Editor’s comment: Thanks Mark. The problem with Doing it by Design is that although Eric GW8LJJ is responsible for the physical design, the firmware has been developed by someone else, who is not prepared to release the code. However, Eric tells me he now has another collaborator, who will be prepared to do so. Eric says, “Unfortunately my software contact will not allow release of the software and I have to respect his wishes. The devices are sent out ‘programmed’ and there is no charge for this of course. My programming days were with PIC16C84 and PICBASIC and I have not done any since those days”.)