OVER 2 YOU, 092 (06/08/02)

BRAIN WAVES

Is there any device or adaptor that I can connect to my computer to monitor the various electrical signals running around inside my body, i.e. brain waves, heart beat, nerve impulses etc?

Margaret Stevens, via email

A German firm called Visiplex manufactures a range of biomedical devices and software for use with a PC, you should have a look at ECG PCLink and CardioView at: http://www.visiplex.de/

U. Wittigan

Have a look at the Brentwood Medical web site, it carries a range of heart monitoring devices that plug into any IBM PC; you can find more details at:

http://www.brentwoodmed.com/

noflash/products.html

Monica Lee, via email

There’s an amazing looking device called the Biograph at: http://www.biof.com/biograph.html. This connects to your PC – any model will do, even old 486s – the subject wears some electrodes and it displays a range of brainwaves and images. It can be used in conjunction with training and teaching aids; the only trouble is it costs almost £3,000!

Pete Mills, Littlehampton

The Waverider Bioacoustic system turns your brainwaves into music! It’s a box that plugs into the serial port on your computer, with some electrodes that attach to your head, there’s more information at: http://cerebrex.com/bio.htm

Jill Farrow, via email

VOLUNTARY HELP

My voluntary civic society want to move our membership list to MS Access and improve it at the same time. We want to incorporate all conceivable data such as relevant skills, as well as the usual name, address and subscription amount. However, members may be reluctant to divulge say ‘disabilities’.  A difficulty is how to address the letters when each partner has a different name, we used to be able to do Mr & Mrs A.A. Smith but it now seems that another field must be included. 

Can anyone recommend a suitable Access template for such a database or/and maybe their own ideas of what to include?  I have approached other organizations but like us, most seem still to use old card indexes! We only have about 200 members and no funds for dedicated packages

Merrin Molesworth, via email

I would be happy to have a go at setting up an Access database, free of charge. I'm currently a full time mother, but in my previous job I used MS Access and Excel. I'm keen not to lose my computer skills while I'm at home and I would be glad of the opportunity to do some Access work on a "real life" problem.

Jane Brennecker

If Merrin Molesworth would like to email me I am sure I could design an Access Database to meet most if not all requirements - free of charge.

Frank Linley

FOOTWEAR

Can anyone recommend a computer program that will calculate football
league tables?
Don Starr

For many years I have dealt with this for my own League by using a spreadsheet with appropriate formulae, but the Football Association have recently commissioned InterClubNetplc (www.InterClubNet.com) who have produced integrated League Administration Software known as the WONFAS (Web Orientated Nationwide Football Administration System). This is an excellent system provided by the FA to all leagues free of charge. It will make your fixture list if you wish, and produce all relevant statistics on your own web site. It is excellent and very easy to use. The only drawback as far as I am concerned is that it does not recognise Apple Mac or virtual PC, although the FA have a policy for the provision of low cost PCs. Your County Association will be able to provide full details.
Brian Hillson

Try the brilliant Ltrack by Nigel Thomas at www.ngthomas.co.uk. It is perfect for tracking the English leagues (and others), as well as creating your own. Another bonus is that it is freeware.
Mike Lambden

I suggest Brian looks at: www.centercircle.co.uk 

Bob Aspinall

PC MICROSCOPE

Having taken up geology in my retirement, I want to branch out into petrology, which involves using a polarizing microscope to examine thin sections of rock. However, failing eyesight (AMD) is an increasing handicap, albeit a slowly growing one.  Has anyone experience of using an optical microscope with a PC? I have Windows 95 PC with a 21-inch monitor, what other hardware would I need, apart from the microscope?  Being able to show the angular direction of the polarizer on screen with the magnified section is the dream, but not the expectation! If the idea is technically/financially beyond reach of anyone outside a well-endowed laboratory, is there a program simulating a range of rock sections?

Douglas Hague, via email

In Over2You (July 30th) a correspondent mentions the Mattel QX3 microscope, which is certainly one solution. Last Easter, I saw an exhibition put on by the Swansea Astronomical Society that involved using a modified webcam with a telescope. I think the method could easily be adapted to be used with a microscope.

Basically, the astronomers bought a cheap webcam -- PC World had one for just under £10. They removed the lens from the webcam. A tube was attached to it, just wide enough to slide over the microscope tube, allowing the webcam to be moved closer or further away from the microscope eyepiece and thus allow a clear image to be displayed on the computer screen. This could be a very cheap and effective solution to Mr Hague's problem.
Allen Long

PAPER AEROPLANES

I seem to remember a few years ago seeing programs for designing paper aeroplanes, which were apparently superior to the traditional paper ‘dart’ type design. Does anyone know if they’re still available and if so, have any improvements been made?

Ian Douglas, via email

I recommend the most comprehensive paper aeroplane website: www.paperairplanes.co.uk

Dietrich  Schultz, mail@schultz42.freeserve.co.uk

DOMESDAY BOOK

Whatever happened to the ‘Domesday Project’ where an updated version of the Domesday Book – compiled I believe in the late 1980’s – was put on to the now defunct laserdisc format for use in schools and libraries. Was it ever made available on CD-ROM, and if so where can I obtain a copy?

T. L. Simmonds, via email

Our company, Phillimore & Co Ltd has produced an interactive CD-ROM of the original Domesday Book.  This CD contains the entire Great Domesday Book Latin text in facsimile copy, as well as the Phillimore translation of this text.  It also as 500,000 embedded codes enabling the user to conduct any kind of search, allowing them to instantly retrieve names, places, lands of any landowner or religious institution or even any occurrences of any word or phrase. There is also a highly sophisticated mapping system that enables the user to conduct map searches and create maps, which illustrate the density and distribution of such things as manors, estates, livestock, etc.  The text, maps and facsimile can be viewed to any magnification.  For more information you can visit our website www.phillimore.co.uk.
Carolyn Oliver

BLUEPRINTS

I have a fairly large number of rare technical drawings, including blueprints, which I would like to archive. Scanning these as line art may be the answer but I can see any number of problems, like how to avoid jaggies and losing thin lines in printouts. A small number of the drawings are about A1 size. Are there any commercial operations that would scan these for me?
Richard Danik

I am afraid that Mr Danik is stuck with the old adage "You pays your money and takes your choice". True digitising of drawings is an expensive process.  Scanning or, so called digital photography only produces a raster picture type file stored in a digital format, usually .bmp, .jpg or .gif. When reproduced, either by Inkjet or laser printer, it will always have the pixelly effect. Lines will be jagged if over enlarged and thin lines will not print at all. Every industrial estate will have a printing firm which will print out your "digital" files at very reasonable cost but they will be pictures not reproduction drawings.

True digitisation of drawings is always possible at a price. I know of a couple of firms who digitise drawings in vector form and present the files in DrafixCAD or AutoSketch format, but the cost is proportionate to the work involved as the work has to be redrawn on a computer. Unless Mr Danik's drawings have considerable intrinsic value the cost of archiving them in this form would not be cost effective and the process is time consuming and very expensive.

Even if he could afford to go down this route, he would need access to an appropriate printer to print out accurate reproduction drawings. One such printer is the Hewlett Packard DesignJet 750C Plus but this machine is a commercial type of inkjet printer, large and expensive, which can print out perfect copies (in black & white or colour) from the digitised files, e.g. in such formats as .skf or .cad, up to A0 size. I have found that attempting to print out digitised drawing files in AutoSketch format, i.e. .skf, on a laser colour printer capable of printing up to A3 size produces unsatisfactory results.

I believe that work is going on to try and link the two methods of storing pictures and drawings in digitised form but I do not know how far this work has progressed towards producing a working program.
Tony Owen

CAN YOU HELP?

We have an Acorn A5000 home computer, with a Citizen Swift 200 colour printer. It was purchased for our boys over 10 years ago, as it was the same model used in our local schools. It has been totally reliable but unfortunately is now redundant!!! Is their anyone/institution/organisation that could make use of it (free to them of course) or is it destined for the skip! 

Geoff Halliday, via email

Attempting to fathom the real rates I pay each month for my mobile phone, I have scanned a few months' bills into my PC, run OCR (optical character recognition) on them, and have come up with some data MS Excel should be to handle.

However, the duration of each call is written in a Mins: Secs format – i.e. '2 mins 37 secs' as 02:37. I have tried every function I can think of to render this value into decimal minutes or seconds, including TIMEVALUE(), MINUTE(), SECOND(), CONVERT (integer or cell value, "min", "sec"), etc. but with no joy at all.

If I am to be able to make a meaningful comparison between my current service providers' rates and a competitor I might wish to switch to, the only way it seems, through the morass of "Confusion Marketing" and small print, is to know exactly how and when I run my mobile phone bill up, and on what sort of calls. Living on a boat, my mobile is my only telephone, and also has to cope with email, faxes and graphic free surfing.

John Keyes, via email

I recall reading about someone developing a ‘lie detector’ program for the PC a couple of years ago, did anything ever come of it?

Paddy Taylor, via email

Does anyone know of a site that tells you how many miles various types of aircraft have travelled?

Peter Duerden, via email