Another major factor in my decision to expand the Documentaries content is that I am stunned by how many “Things” have been invented here in Australia!There are so many incredible innovations in the field of Electronics & Computing that to not include them would be a major mistake. To name just a few items, I have compiled a simplified list:
1877 – Louis Brennan patents a wire-guided and wire-driven torpedo for harbour defences.

1878/79 – Henry Sutton of Ballarat invents the carbon filament lamp 16 days after Edison demonstrates his!

1885 – the Telephane – precursor to television is invented by Henry Sutton of Ballarat!

1889 – Arthur James Arnot invents the Electric Drill in Melbourne and Patents it.

1890 – Professor Richard Threlfall of Sydney University is the first person in the world to suggest publicly (at a meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science) that ‘Hertzian waves’ might be used for Telegraphy — Which would be commonly known as Radio!

1926 – The first Cardiac Pacemaker in the world is used to revive a new-born baby!

1929 – Alfred Traeger develops the first pedal wireless transceiver for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

1932 – George Julius invents a Totalisator with an automatic odds-calculating device.

1934 – The first Car Radio is fitted to a car made by Kelly’s Motors in NSW.

1939 – Degaussing of Ships to help protect them from magnetic mines was patented by Frankin Barnes of Scoresby Victoria.

1947 – A team at CSIR (the fore-runner of the CSIRO) built CSIRAC, the world’s fifth computer, and the first to play ‘computer music’.

1950 – The Flying Doctor’s radio service is adapted to operate the School of the Air.

1952 – Alan Walsh (CSIRO) develops the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer.

1958 – David Warren develops the prototype of the Black Box flight recorder.

1961 – Ultrasound – David Robinson and George Kossoff’s work at the Australian Department of Health, resulted in the first commercially practical water path ultrasonic scanner.

1975 – Interscan – An aircraft approach and landing guidance system using microwaves was successfully tested at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne.

1976 – Electronic Ignition System. A silicon-chip ignition system for small engines in lawnmowers and chainsaws was developed by the Notarus brothers in Sydney.

1978 – The first Bionic Ear was fitted to an Australian patient.

1979 – Geoff Healey invents the Race-Cam.

1981 – The Earth Leakage Circuit breaker is developed in Adelaide by Gerard Industries.

1993 – Australia invents the first Underwater Computer – Bruce Macdonald at the Australian Institute of Marine Science developed the world’s first underwater computer with a multi-button hand-held keypad that mimics a conventional keyboard.

1997 – Neil H. E. Weste and David Skellern were the first to invent WiFi – they invented the first 802.11a chip.

1998 – The Aurora solar car achieves a world record speed of 100.9 km per hour over one hour, running on commercial solar cells and lead-acid batteries

So to be able to tell the “History” of an Industry and how it shaped todays industry, is vitally important I feel. The Documentary will be split into three sections now. Episode 1 will deal with the early days, and is essentially a recount of important innovations in Australia from 1854 (the first telegraph pole) through to the (US) Invention of the Transistor in 1947. Episode 2 will be the start of the “Current” doco which deals with the early experiences from Dick Smith, Owen Hill, Leo Simpson, Andy Gelme and anybody involved in electronics before 1982. Although the PC was introduced really in 1975-77 (Sphere1, Apple, Commodore PET & others) it isn’t really until many of the “Micro Computers” are commercialised (IBM, Microbee, TRS80, other Z80 based Computers) in 1981/82. So Episode 2 ends with the introduction of the PC in 1982 in Australia, with the first Australian designed & manufactured PC the Microbee. Episode 3 takes us through from 1982 until the present day. It’s a huge task I have set myself but one that I’m keen to see to the end. If you think you may be able to help with the Documentary, please feel free to contact me through this website.

I have two other Posts on this project now. You can reach them both here: the Beginning and “State of Electronics” Trailer is now Online

Another thing I should mention is the extraordinary response my initial trailer has had. It’s been linked on so many Blog sites, referred on Twitter and Facebook. There are many comments on Youtube, Vimeo, the EEVBlog and many, many more which have been very encouraging. Thank you to all. Just yesterday it was spoken about on the Amp Hour Podcast Episode16 (a podcast for electronic enthusiast & engineers). If you don’t know the Amp Hour and you are interested in Electronics I highly recommend it. David L Jones, who appears in my Doco co-hosts with Chris Gammell – Check it out!

Until the next update – Enjoy!

The discussion is focused initially on the world of Hobby Electronics and how it’s decline could effect the Electronics Industry in the future. The Documentary then discusses many issues that face industry including the issue of “Repair and Recycle”, “Education”, “Surface Mount Technology”, “Globalisation”, “Opportunities” and many many more off the cuff & candid comments from Industry professionals.

The Documentary features interviews with famous Australians and Industry professionals including Dick Smith, Dave L Jones, Doug Ford, Leo Simpson, Grant Petty, Matthew Pryor, Jonathan Oxer, Andy Gelme, Andrew Griffiths, Eugene Ruffolo & Bill Petreski. In the future, I am planning to interview just a few more before the final release of the Documentary soon.

Shot completely on the Canon 5DMK2, using the Zoom H4N Audio recorder, the Documentary was a massive undertaking by yours truly. I have to admit I did it completely on my own, with no assistance from anyone along the way. It was an experiment in filmmaking that I was keen to try as well as put modern DSLR cameras through the riggers of serious production filmmaking. By that I mean, to have them recording for hours at a time. In reality that’s not possible because the FAT32 file system on the cameras prevent a recording larger then 12 minutes on the 5DMK2. However, as I regularly shoot with 35mm Film cameras, where the maximum recording time is roughly 10 minutes per magazine, I’m well disciplined in taking a breather for a second or so while I press “Stop” and “Start” on the camera! So I never found this to be a limitation of DSLR cameras.

This project started when one day I realised that many of my favourite electronic stores had started to disappear. I also realised that much of the “culture” of hobby electronics was fast disappearing also. With the advent of Online resources, many schools, magazines and swap meets appeared to fade with time. As a kid, I enjoyed playing around with electronics and while I never got serious, I did go through 1st year Swinburne (Electronics) Engineering, after graduating from high school! Trouble was I looked out the window and watched crazy long haired louts running around with movie cameras, making films and was subsequently lured into their world. The passion for technology has stayed with me constantly. So making a documentary on “Electronics” was really a natural progression. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking at length with so many fascinating people, who appear to have the same disease as myself! Once bitten with the bug, you can’t help yourself but be interested in electronics. That’s why it is a great shame to me that young kids aren’t able to get into electronics as easily as perhaps my generation was able to. With the complexity of “Electronic Systems” today, how is anyone expected to start to learn? For Australia, I believe this to be a major problem of the future.

This documentary is as far as I’m aware of, the only documentary of it’s kind in Australia. There are no records like books, films etc which document the history of the profession of electronics! Many of it’s founders are fast moving on and I really felt like this story should be preserved as a Film to highlight how entrepreneurial & sophisticated Australians can be. My final version of the documentary is about 2 hours long and the exact format is yet to be decided. Stay tuned for more. Meanwhile enjoy the trailer!

For the last couple of months, I have been working hard on a new project, tentatively called “State of Electronics”. It’s basically concerned with the history, development and future of the Australian Electronics Design and Manufacturing Industry. Partly fuelled by my own interests in Electronics, the documentary hopes to investigate the life cycle of an industry – how an industry is born, how it develops and then how it goes into decline. It’s a subject that can apply to many forms of industries including my own industry – the film industry.

Filming has begun and over the last couple of weeks and I have interviewed many people who helped create the Electronics Design & Manufacturing industry in Australia as well as those who are very active within it still today. The documentary will highlight many of the individuals who tinker in their back sheds designing and building innovative electronic devices, large & small scale manufacturers, Repairers, Component Suppliers, Design houses, Technicians, Businessmen and Woman, futurists, Hackers and Organisations with the sole purpose of showing a worldwide audience the state of the Australian Electronics Industry.

The format is driven by interviews that are mostly like “Discussions”. The topics vary from how people became involved with electronics as a child, how they developed their careers and then how they changed the world around them with innovation, good business sense etc. However, as with any good story, there is a darker side also. The Documentary is investigating the decline of the industry also. Through both economic and political change, the Electronics Industry is constantly undergoing change. World economic problems as well as technological advancements have meant the end of an era in certain sectors of the Industry, leaving jobs at risk or making them extinct! However, not everything is of doom and gloom. The documentary will also highlight individuals and companies that have been able to break through the difficulties and find their feet on a worldwide platform, delivering state of the art products and innovation.

As the project progresses I will update this blog with further information. For now, I can tantalise you with just a few images already shot on the 5DMKII. Perhaps this is an appropriate moment to describe the shooting process. The entire documentary is being filmed on Canon’s 5DMKII using L series glass. Audio is recorded using a Zoom H4N digital recorder and the video and audio are combined in Post Production, using Final Cut Pro. Because this is such a small gear package, I am largely able to handle most of the production needs by myself. When it’s all said and done, I will write up my feelings on going solo on such a big project, however for now I can say that it is incredibly liberating, somewhat demanding but very efficient! I’m also using my iPad as my “questions note pad” and also to carry out research on the fly (even while asking questions). I’ve had the opportunity to include “others” very quickly into the Documentary by being quick to research and write new questions for them. The iPad has made this possible. It’s an amazing tool used in this manner! The last thing I should mention is the overall size of the gear package i’m using, is so small that I can  (using a Defence Force term)  ”deploy” very quickly by air or road to carry out interviews. On the 19th of July, I flew to Sydney for two days of interviews with just two pieces of luggage!

More to come!