Electronics Conference In Auckland Assessed

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 23

Electronics Conference In Auckland Assessed

(By B. S. FUBBY, M.N.Z.E.1.) Even opossums are being equipped with electronics, so great is the proliferation of this technology. This was revealed at the seventh annual conference in electronics at Auckland. , Miniature transmitters have been hung about the necks of some of the local marsupials and the animals’ wanderings after release tracked by direct-finding equipment as part of a study of their habits: the technicalities for electronics involved in this application were one of 40 papers presented at Nelcon 70. The papers were presented at afternoon sessions of the four-day conference, the mornings being given , over to symposia where the subjects revealed current interests in electronics in New Zealand.

Immediately after the official opening by the Minister of Finance, Mr Muldoon, the conference heard papers on colour television as the

subject of the first symposium. The intricacies in adding colour to our pictures were discussed by N.Z.B.C. and industrial representatives and the 350 engineers, scientists and technicians at the conference showed by their interest their awareness of the need to be prepared for colour’s advent in New Zealand. Public Services

The next two symposia (on succeeding mornings) debated the technicalities of subjects whose end results are of direct interest to the public. Communications beyond New Zealand using satellites were described by a post office team headed by a Wellington engineer, Mr D. Rose, whose able exposition of a highly technical project held the attention of his audience. The New Zealand terminal at Warkworth was described and all the design needed to amplify a low power signal with a minimum of noise background introduced those present to the engineering achievements of satellite communication. The public will gain by an

extra 132 circuits to three overseas destinations when the system begins operating next year: supplementing New Zeeland's present share of the 80 circuit capacity of the Compac cable. The satellite will also make possible two-way television between New Zealand, and any other television network in the world.

The emergence of electronics as an important tool for medicine in diagnosis, patient monitoring and data recording fully justified this more specialist subject as the choice for the third symposium. Electronics technicians in hospitals achieved recognition as paramedical staff only as recently as earlier this year, and the symposium gave many technicians from the smaller hospitals the opportunity to catch up with developments in this field. Both this symposium and related papers delivered in the afternoon session that day included medical practitioners among the audiences. Enlarging World First developed for computer technology, and now spreading into other applications, microelectronics proved a popular choice for the fourth and final symposium. Microelectronics covers integrated circuits where various transistors and the components required to make complete circuits are formed on “chips” and packaged in units the size of present transistors. Colour television receivers in New Zealand, one Australian engineer forecast, will need only five transistors and associated components, and seven integrated circuits—with resultant economy in receiver construction and servicing. Integrated circuits are being manufactured to meet many requirements currently designed and assembled locally. It was considered that local design in the future will tend more to systems instead of circuitry. The warn--1 ing was sounded that despite this change in emphasis there will be a continuing need for circuitry knowledge if de- ’ signers are to extract all possible applications from this advance in electronics. A further conclusion at this symposium was the constant need for frequent re-educa- ; tion at all levels, so rapid are , the progressions in electronics technology. Computer Technology

i No startlingly, new applica- , tion of electronics in New Zealand emerged from the s papers presented at the aftert noon sessions, but neither ■ had any been expected. Com--5 puter technology—and its i applications in other fields—appeared to be the largest J single field covered by the papers. In general, they - showed the application of [ electronics in industry, . science, engineering, medicine, commerce and com- ’ munications: confirming that ; electronics is rapidly spreading into nearly all aspects of ■ human endeavour. 1 That technicians and tradesmen not only were i present at the conference ■ along with engineers and ' scientists but also contributed i papers was • commended by Mr Muldoon in his opening speech. This broad range in the annual conferences of the electronics profession in ■ New Zealand is considered as adding to the value and coverage of each Nelcon. One aspect drew criticism: the numbers of papers which were badly presented because those delivering them were not as competent in communication as they were in technical ability. The contrasting excellence of presentation by some recent graduates showed that educational institutions are responding to this previous deficiency. Othc.-wise, the poor presentations demonstrated that some speakers had failed to grasp that a project is not completed when its technicalities have beeu perfected: its meaning and use have to be communicated successfully before the project can be considered as terminated.

University Contribution Auckland University provided the venue for Nelcon 70, and Professor A. G. Bogle, dean of the school of engineering, was the Nelcon chairman. The university’s contribution to the conterence was a direct result of its desire to be associated more closely with industry. Through its association with the conference, its best graduates have the opportunity to meet members of the industry, giving industry the chance to see what the university is doing, and also enabling the graduates to learn abdut industry’s problems.

The annual national conferences in electronics, when held at Auckland In alternate years, range over the whole field of electronics in New Zealand. Nelcons at Wellington (last year’s was held at Christchurch) concentrate on a particular aspect of electronics. The successful development of these conferences, and their value to the profession, are a tribute to their organisers and also to the New Zealand Electronics Institute. They have been developed to their present scale through hard work by members of that institute and with only limited resources available at their beginning. (Local members of overseas institutes also collaborate with the organisation of Auckland conferences.) The undeniable success of Nelcon 70, just concluded, proves the healthy state of the New Zealand electronics profession, and its determination to advance its technology in the interests of the community.